Daily Current Affairs for State Exams: 7th July 2021

By Ashutosh Yadav|Updated : July 7th, 2021

Current Affairs forms one of the most important sections of the syllabus of almost every government examination be it, state PCS or other subordinate exams. Hence, Catching up on current affairs on a daily basis is an invaluable part of your preparation. Here we will be sharing you with all the relevant current affairs which are highly important for your examination. Check the important highlights of the day!

 Daily Current Affairs 

Freight Smart Cities

Why in the News?

  • The Logistics Division of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has unveiled plans for the ‘Freight Smart Cities’.
  • The ministry launched a website on ‘Freight Smart Cities’ and also released a handbook outlining 14 measures that can be taken to improve urban freight.

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Key Points

Freight Smart Cities

  • Freight, in simple language, means goods or cargo. These may be carried or transported by a ship, train, truck, or airplane.

Need:

  • Indian cities are driving the nation's economic activity, contributing more than 63% of the national GDP. 
  • This is all the more relevant as the demand for urban freight is expected to grow by 140 per cent over the next 10 years. 
  • Final-mile freight movement in Indian cities is currently responsible for 50 per cent of total logistics costs in India's growing e-commerce supply chains.
  • From the 10 cities to be identified on an immediate basis, it is planned to expand the list to 75 cities in the next phase before scaling up throughout the country, including all state capitals and cities with more than one million population.
  • Note: The need to focus on city logistics was first discussed with States/UTs during the first National Conference of States on Logistics on 19 January 2021. 

Importance of the Freight Smart Cities:

  • It is expected that 124 million people will be added to cities in this decade in India, thereby adding to an increase in the demand for urban freight by 140%. Further, the e-commerce market is expected to grow to Rs 11 lakh crore by 2022.

Measures to improve the freight system:

  • The handbook released by the Logistics department focuses on 14 key measures to enhance the urban freight system. According to it, measures have been divided into four categories- vehicle use optimization, infrastructure development, demand and land use planning, and technology adoption. 

About Logistics Division:

  • The Logistics Division was set up on 7 July 2017 due to the Government of India Rules, 1961 in the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry. 
  • It aims to develop an action plan for the integrated development of the logistics section in the nation by way of policy changes, advances in existing procedures, finding gaps and introducing technology in this sector.
  • On the Freight smart city initiatives, the Logistics Division is working closely with GIZ (Germany) under Indo-German Development Cooperation, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and RMI India.

Source: PIB

Minister of Ayush launches 5 Important Portals on Ayush sector

Why in the News?

  • Kiran Rijiju, Union Minister of Ayush (IC), launched 5 Important Portals in the Ayush sector.
  • He also released four publications related to the Traditional Indian Medicine System of India.
  • Ayush will play a big role in the National Digital Health Mission to provide health security to Indian people.

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Key Points

Five Portals:

  • Ayurveda Dataset on Clinical Trial Registry of India- CTRI Portal is a primary Register of Clinical Trials under the World Health Organization's International Clinical Trials Registry Platform. 
  • CCRAS-Research Management Information System (RMIS)- A collaborative effort of ICMR and CCRAS, this portal will be a one-stop solution for Research and Development in Ayurveda based studies. 
  • e-Medha (electronic Medical Heritage Accession) Portal- Online public access catalogue for more than 12000 Indian medical heritage books through NIC's e-granthalaya platform.
  • SHAI (Showcase of Ayurveda Historical Imprints) Portal- SHAI portal showcases inscriptions, Sculptures, Archeo-botanical Information, advanced Archeo Genetic studies and Philological sources.  
  • AMAR (Ayush Manuscripts Advanced Repository) Portal- AMAR Portal is of immense value. It has digitized rare and hard to find Manuscripts and catalogues of Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa in libraries or individual collections.

Four publications:

  • Proceedings of International Workshop on Preservation and Promotion of SOWA-RIGPA in Asia
  • Compendium of Important Cereals mentioned in Ayurveda-Series-1, volume-1
  • PathapathyaVinishcaya- An important book of Ayurveda and has details of diet and lifestyle
  • Ayurveda Sangraha: An important classical textbook of Ayurveda

About National Digital Health Mission (NDHM):

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the establishment of the NDHM on Independence Day 2020. 
  • The NDHM is an agency of the Government of India which seeks to provide medical identity documents to Indian people. 
  • This identity document would enable people to use Ayushman Bharat Yojana, service in India's publicly funded health care. 

Source: PIB

Six technology innovation platforms

Why in the News?

  • The Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises launched 6 Technology Innovation Platforms, focusing on developing technologies for globally competitive manufacturing in India.

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Key Points

  • IIT Madras has developed the Six Technology Platforms, Central Manufacturing Technology Institute (CMTI), International Centre for Automotive Technology (iCAT), Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), BHEL and HMT in association with IISc Bangalore. 
  • These platforms will facilitate industry (including OEMs, Tier 1 Tier 2 & Tier 3 companies & Raw Material Manufacturers), start-ups, domain experts/professionals, R&D institutions, and academia (colleges & universities) to provide technology solutions and suggestions, expert opinions etc. on issues involving manufacturing technologies. 
  • Over 39000 Students, Experts, Institutes, Industries and labs have already registered on these platforms.     

Issues with Indian Manufacturing Industries:

  • Inadequate Skilled Workforce
  • Stringent Labor Laws
  • Low Spending On R&D
  • Basic Infrastructure

Way Forward

  • Imparting Skill
  • Reforming Labor Laws
  • Stable Power Supply 
  • More Spending on Research & Development
  • Reducing Logistic Cost

Source: PIB

India joins OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework tax deal

Why in the News?

  • India has joined the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and G20 Inclusive Framework tax deal. 
  • India and the majority of the members of OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting adopted a high-level statement containing an outline of a consensus solution to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy.
  • The proposed solution consists of two components- Pillar One, which is about reallocating an additional share of profit to the market jurisdictions and Pillar Two consisting of minimum tax and subject to tax rules.

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Key Points

Pillar One: 

  • It will ensure a fairer distribution of profits and taxing rights among countries concerning the largest MNEs, including digital companies.
  • It would re-allocate some taxing rights over MNEs from their home countries to the markets where they have business activities and earn profits, regardless of whether they have a physical presence.

Pillar Two: 

  • It is about minimum tax and subject-to-tax rules (All sources of income liable to tax without taking account of tax allowances).
  • It seeks to put a minimum standard tax rate among countries through a global minimum corporate tax rate, currently proposed at 15%.

India will have to roll back the equalisation levy imposed on companies such as Google, Amazon and Facebook when the global tax regime is implemented.

  • The levy at 6% has been in force since 2016 on payment exceeding Rs 1 lakh a year to a non-resident service provider for online advertisements.

The OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project: 

  • Base Erosion and Profit Shifting is an OECD/G20 project to set up an international framework to combat tax avoidance by multinational enterprises using base erosion and profit shifting tools. 

About Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD):

  • It is an intergovernmental economic organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. 

Headquarters: Paris, France

Source: PIB

Central government extends superannuation age of LIC chairman to up to 62 years

Why in the News?

  • The Central government has extended the superannuation age of IPO-bound LIC Chairman to up to 62 years by amending the Life Insurance Corporation of India (Staff) Regulations, 1960.
  • The changes made in the rules will be called the Life Insurance Corporation of India (Staff) Amendment Rules, 2021.

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Key Points

  • Last month, the government approved a nine-month extension to LIC Chairman M R Kumar till March 2022 in view of the insurer's proposed initial public offer towards the end of the current fiscal.

Note: 

  • The retirement age for the top executives of most PSUs is 60 years, barring a few exceptions, including the State Bank of India.

About Life Insurance Corporation of India: Headquarters: Mumbai

Chairman: M R Kumar

Founder: Government of India

Founded: 1 September 1956

Source: Economics Times 

Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair 

Why in the News?

  • Team India 2021 won 9 Grand Awards and 8 Special Awards at Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).

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Key Points

  • 26 winners of the Initiative for Research and Innovation in STEM -IRIS National Fair participated as ‘Team India 2021’ in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair. 

About Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF):

  •  It is an annual science fair in the United States. It is owned and administered by the Society for Science, a 501 non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C.

Source: PIB 

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