Daily Current Affairs for State Exams: 21st June 2021

Daily Current Affairs

14 Cross-Disability Early Intervention Centres for children

Why in the News?

The Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot inaugurated 14 Cross-Disability Early Intervention Centres located at 7 National Institutes and 7 Composite Regional Centres under the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan).

Key Points

About Disability Early Intervention Centres:

The Centres will provide screening and identification, rehabilitation, counselling, therapeutic services among others for different disabilities under one roof and in a contiguous manner.
These 14 Early Intervention Centers have been started in Mumbai, Dehradun, Delhi, Secunderabad, Kolkata, Cuttack, Lucknow, Chennai, Surendranagar, Bhopal, Rajnandgaon, Patna, Nellore and Kozhikode.
The Handbook on Early Intervention Centres for Children with Disabilities was also released on the occasion.

Need:

According to the 2011 Census, there are more than 20 lakh children with disabilities in the age group of 0-6 years, who belong to the categories of visually impaired, hearing impaired, locomotor disability etc.
This means that around 7 percent of children in this age group suffer from some form of disability.
These are expected to increase with the enactment of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act 2016, as there are now 21 categories in the disability category instead of 7.

Other Initiatives:

Right of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act 2016
Unique Disability Identification (UDID) Portal
Accessible India Campaign
DeenDayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme
Schemes of the National Trust
National Fellowship for Students with Disabilities

Source: PIB

India maintains 43rd rank on IMD's World Competitiveness Index 2021

Why in the News?

India maintained 43rd rank on an annual World Competitiveness Index 2021 released by the IMD (Institute for Management Development).
The IMD examined the impact of COVID-19 on economies around the world in 2021.

Key Points

Rank 1: Switzerland
Rank 2: Sweden
Rank 3: Denmark
Rank 43: India

India’s Performance:

Among the BRICS nations, India is ranked second (43rd) after China (16th), followed by Russia (45th), Brazil (57th) and South Africa (62nd).
India has maintained its position for the past three years but in 2021, it had significant improvements in government efficiency.
India's improvements in the government efficiency factor are mostly due to relatively stable public finances and subsidies provided by the government to the private companies.

Recent Steps Taken by India to Increase its Competitiveness:

The Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme in various sectors for enhancing India’s manufacturing capabilities and exports.
The five pillars of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ are Economy, System, Infrastructure, Vibrant Demography and Demand.

About World Competitiveness Ranking:

The IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook, first published in 1989, is a comprehensive annual report and worldwide reference point on the competitiveness of countries.
The Yearbook provides extensive coverage of 64 economies.
The ranking is based on 334 competitiveness criteria selected as a result of comprehensive research using economic literature, international, national and regional sources and feedback from the government agencies, business community and academics.

Factors:

The ranking measures the prosperity and competitiveness of 64 nations by examining four factors:

Economic performance
Government efficiency
Business efficiency
Infrastructure

Source: Business Standard

Indian Navy - European Union Naval Force (IN-EUNAVFOR) Exercise

Why in the News?

Indian Naval Ship Trikand, a mission deployed for Anti-Piracy Operations, has participated in the maiden IN– EUNAVFOR Joint Naval Exercise in the Gulf of Aden on 18thand 19th June 2021.

Key Points

A total of five warships from four navies (India, Italy, Spain and France) have participated in the exercise.
The aim of the exercise was to enhance and hone their war-fighting skills and their ability as an integrated force to promote peace, security and stability in the maritime domain.

Significance:

Indian Navy and EUNAVFOR converge on multiple issues including counter piracy operations and protection of vessels deployed under the charter of World Food Programme (UN WFP).
Indian Navy and EUNAVFOR also have regular interaction through SHADE (Shared Awareness and De-confliction) meetings held annually at Bahrain.
Concurrently, a virtual “Information sharing Exercise” was also conducted between the Indian Navy Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region and Maritime Security Centre-Horn of Africa.

Major Indian Maritime Exercises:

JIMEX: Japan
SLINEX: Sri Lanka
Bongosagar and IN-BN CORPAT: Bangladesh
Naseem-Al-Bahr: Oman
Indra: Russia
Samudra Shakti: Indonesia
Za’ir-Al-Bahr: Qatar
Indo-Thai CORPAT : Thailand
IMCOR: Malaysia
AUSINDEX: Australia
Malabar Exercise: Japan and the USA
SIMBEX: Singapore

Source: PIB

Antonio Guterres re-elected as UN Secretary-General

Why in the News?

The UN General Assembly (UNGA) appointed Antonio Guterres as the UN Secretary-General for a second term beginning on January 1, 2022 and ending on December 31, 2026.

Key Points

Appointment:

Under the United Nations Charter, the Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.
Each Secretary-General has the option of a second term if they can garner enough support from Member States.

About Antonio Guterres:

Antonio Guterres, the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations, took over on January 1, 2017, and his first term ends on December 31 this year.
Former Prime Minister of Portugal, Mr. Guterres served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for a decade from June 2005 to December 2015.

Facts about United Nations:

Formation: 24 October 1945
Headquarter: New York, USA
Membership: 193 member states

The United Nations has six principal organs:

The General Assembly
The Security Council
The Economic and Social Council
The International Court of Justice
The UN Secretariat
The Trusteeship Council

Funds and Programmes:

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment)
World Food Programme (WFP)
United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)

Facts about UNSC (United Nations Security Council):

Formation: 24 October 1945
Membership: 15 countries
‍Permanent members: 5 (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and United States)
‍Non-permanent members: 10 including India

Source: The Hindu

World's first wooden satellite to be launched from New Zealand

Why in the News?

The European Space Agency (ESA) has planned to put the world’s first wooden satellite, WISA Woodsat, on Earth’s orbit.

Key Points

About WISA Woodsat:

It will be launched to space by the end of 2021 with a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from the Mahia Peninsula launch complex in New Zealand.
The mission of the satellite is to test the applicability of wooden materials like plywood in spacecraft structures.
The satellite, designed and built in Finland, will orbit at around 500-600 km altitude in a roughly polar Sun-synchronous orbit.

About European Space Agency (ESA):

It is an intergovernmental organization of 22 member states dedicated to the exploration of space.
Headquarters: Paris, France
Founded: 30 May 1975
CEO: Johann-Dietrich Wörner

Source: The Hindu

Milkha Singh, the legendary sprinter, passes away

Milkha Singh also known as The Flying Sikh, was an Indian track and field sprinter who was introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army.
He won four gold medals at the Asian Games. He also won gold at the Commonwealth Games in Cardiff.
He was awarded the Padma Shri, in recognition of his sporting achievements.

Source: The Hindu

June 21, International Day of Yoga

Why in the News?

International Day of Yoga (IDY) is observed annually on June 21. The idea behind the day is to create awareness about yoga and its many benefits.

Key Points

It is said that the word ‘Yoga’ was first mentioned in the sacred text of the Rig Veda.
The theme for 2021 is 'Yoga for well-being'.

History:

The idea of an International Day of Yoga was proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Meeting.
UNGA proclaimed 21st June as the International Day of Yoga in their resolution adopted on 11th December 2014. Since 2015, this Day has been observed all over the world in ever-growing numbers of participants.

Source: Indian Express