Current Affairs 7 & 8 November 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 7 & 8 November 2021, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2021 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

Finance Ministry approves 8.5% return on PF deposits for FY21The Ministry of Finance approved an 8.5% interest rate on Provident Fund (PF) deposits for 2020-21 (FY21). Now, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) will credit this interest in accounts of active 60 million beneficiaries.
Key Points:
i.With this move, EPFO will have a surplus of Rs 300 crore as compared to the preceding financial year when it had a surplus of Rs 1000 crore.
ii.The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of EPFO, headed by the Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, Ministry of Labour and Employment.
iii.Every year EPFO invests 15% of its annual accruals in equity and rest in debt instruments.

UIDAI’s Launched Aadhaar Hackathon 2021 to Celebrate ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has organised a Hackathon ‘Aadhaar Hackathon 2021’ to celebrate “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” and promote the culture of innovation among youth.

• This is the first-ever event conducted by UIDAI.

Objective:
To find innovative solutions to enhance the experience of the residents and to improve the interface of Aadhaar Enrolment and Authentication Software platforms.
About Aadhaar Hackathon 2021:
Aadhaar Hackathon 2021 was held from 28th October 2021 to 31st October 2021.
More than 5000 innovators from across India participated in the 95 Hours Aadhaar Hackathon 2021.
Theme:
The hackathon consists of multiple problem statements categorised under 2 themes:

• Theme 1: Address Update
• Theme 2: Authentication Reimagined

Prize:
i.Each theme carries the following rewards.

• 1st Prize – Rs 3,00,000
• 2nd Prize – Rs 2,00,000
• 3rd Prize – Rs 1,00,000 (for two teams)

ii.The winning teams will get a chance to work with the Aadhaar team to create the next generation identity and authentication platform under Aadhaar 2.0 initiative.
iii.The team members will also get an invitation to participate in the 1st ever global conference on Aadhaar 2.0.
Key Points:
i.The innovators worked on the solution for the real-life challenges under consideration by the UIDAI and created novel ideas and solutions for the next decade of Aadhaar.
ii.UIDAI has also arranged an online mentoring session to explain the problem statements and Aadhaar technologies to the teams under the guidance of Anup Kumar, Deputy Director General (DDG), UIDAI, Dr Vivek Raghavan, Chief Product Manager, UIDAI, Gp Capt B P Sabut, Assistant Director General(ADG), UIDAI and other members from the technology team.
Click here to know more about Aadhaar Hackathon 2021 
About Unique Identification Authority of India(UIDAI): 
UIDAI is a statutory authority established under the provisions of the Aadhaar act 2016 by the Government of India under the MeitY.
CEO– Saurabh Garg
Headquarters– New Delhi

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Highlights of 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 26) – PART 1The 26th Conference of Parties (COP26) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is being held in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom (UK) from 31st October – 12 November 2021.

• Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi Visited the UK to attend the COP26 from November 1 to 2, 2021.
• The COP 26 is being hosted by the United Kingdom, in partnership with Italy.

-India’s 5 Commitments set at COP 26
i.At the summit, the PM has set 5 ambitious targets for India to combat climate change. It includes that India will aim to attain net-zero emissions by 2070.
ii.The PM asserted that India is the only country that is delivering on the commitments on tackling climate change under the Paris Agreement.

iii.In order to support vulnerable island nations that are in danger of submerging because of rising sea levels, the PM urged the rich countries to provide $ 1 trillion in climate finance to the developing world to achieve its climate change mitigation targets.

• The PM also urged to make ‘Lifestyle for Environment’ a global mission.

iv.India’s launch at COP26: At the COP26, PM launched a programme IRIS (Infrastructure for the Resilient Island States), a key India-led initiative to boost infrastructure in small island nations.
v.World’s 1st Green Grids Initiative Launched by Indian and UK
PM Modi and his British counterpart Boris Johnson jointly launched the world’s 1st ‘green Grids’ Initiative, the One Sun One World One Grid (GGI-OSOWOG) on the sidelines of the COP26 summit.
vi.Countries pledge to cut methane, deforestation
i.A Global methane pledge was launched to make a 30 percent reduction in global methane emissions from 2020 levels by 2030. The pledge is jointly led by the United States and the European Union. So far, over 90 countries have signed the pledge.
ii.The pledge to stop and reverse deforestation by 2030 (not a formal agreement) was also made in the same manner. Over 100 countries including the U.S., China and Brazil have signed on to it.
About United Kingdom(UK):
Capital – London
Currency – Pound sterling
Prime minister – Boris Johnson
>>Read Full News

Vulnerable Nations doing most to tackle Climate Crisis: UNDP reportIn accordance with the report titled ‘The State of Climate Ambition’ 2021 released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), vulnerable nations are doing most to tackle the climate crisis while the biggest emitters or richer countries are showing slow response towards climate crisis.

• Vulnerable countries are often home to the world’s poorest people who are on the frontlines of the climate crisis,

Key Points:
i.Notably 93% of the Least developed countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) had submitted enhanced national climate pledges, or plan to do so. This group of LDCs and SIDS comprising 78 countries is only responsible for 7% of global GHG emissions.

• On the other hand only 3 members from G20 (Group of Twenty) submitted new pledges that too by missing a key cut-off date 12 October 12, 2021.

ii.The pledges were needed to be included in the ongoing United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Glasgow, Scotland for analysis.
iii.Also, the 18 NDCs (Nationally determined contributions) submitted by G20 members, many are reliant on long-term targets lacking near-term ambition of reducing GHG (Greenhouse Gas) emissions.
iv.The report featured the promising initiatives from ten countries that have been supported under the Climate Promise including Chile, Iraq, North Macedonia, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe, Somalia, etc.
About report:
It provides global assessment of both the pledges already submitted to the UNFCCC as well as ambition intentions of countries that are still planning to submit.  It also compares current trends against those that were assessed in the first NDC Global Outlook report in 2019.

UNSC Adopted First of its Kind Resolution on ‘Protecting education From Conflict’

On 29th October 2021, The United Nations Security Council(UNSC) adopted the first of its kind resolution(resolution 2601) on protecting schools and civilians connected with schools including children and teachers during armed conflict.

• The resolution condems the attacks against schools, children and teachers and urges the conflict parties to safeguard the right to education.
• It also condemns attacks against schools and hospitals as well as denial of humanitarian access by parties to armed conflict and all other violations of international law.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS   

Mountaineer Priyanka Mohite to Receive 2020’s Tenzing Norgay National Adventure AwardMaharashtra-based, 28-year old mountaineer Priyanka Mohite was selected by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for the prestigious ‘Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2020’ for outstanding contribution in the field of land adventure.
Achievements
i.She scaled the world’s highest peak Mt Everest, Mt Lhotse and Mt.Makalu
ii.She is the 1st Indian woman to climb Mt Annapurna, the 10th highest mountain peak in the world.
Note – In 2018, Shivangi Pathak, 16-year old, became the youngest Indian woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
Tenzing Norgay National Award 2020
Priyanka is one among the 7-recipients of ‘2020 Tenzing Norgay National Award’ & will receive the award from President Ram Nath Kovind in during the 2021 National Sports Award.

About Tenzing Norgay National Award:
i.Established in 1994 as ‘National Adventure Award’, later renamed as ‘Tenzing Norgay National Award’ in 2002.

• Tenzing Norgay is regarded as the 1st person to scale Mount Everest.

ii.It is the highest National award in the field of adventure on land, sea and air, which is equivalent to the Arjuna Award.

Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the Year 2021 – ‘Vax’ ‘Vax’ has been chosen as the Word of the Year for 2021 by the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). In 2021, Vax which inturn refers to ‘Vaccine’ or ‘Vaccination’ repeatedly appeared in the news, and other written media more than any other word.

• The appearance of words related to Vax such as ‘Vaccinate’ have increased 34 times and ‘Vaccination’ have increased 18 times.
• The usage of the word Vaccine has been doubled due to Covid – 19 pandemic from september 2020 to september 2021.
• Vax or Vaccine is derived from the Latin word ‘Vacca’, meaning cow and defined as Vaccination.

Note – ‘Lockdown’ was selected as the Collins Word of the Year for 2020
2020 Oxford Word of the Year:
In 2020, instead of choosing one word, Oxford Dictionary decided to name a series of words as ‘Word of the Year for 2020’, which includes – Covid-19, Lockdown, Bushfires, Black Lives Matter, WFH [Working From Home], Key workers and Furlough.              

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS 

NCLT Approved GAIL’s acquisition of ILFS’s 26% stake in OTPC

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the acquisition of the 26% stake of bankrupt Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services(ILFS) in ONGC Tripura Power Company (OTPC) by GAIL (India) Ltd.

• The 26% stake are acquired from IL&FS Group companies: IL&FS Energy Development Company Ltd (EDCL) and IL&FS Financial Services Ltd (IFIN).
• OTPC is a special purpose vehicle between Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), IL&FS Group and Government of Tripura to set up a 726.6 MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) thermal power plant at Palatana, Tripura.       

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Australia to send Rover on Moon in 2024 to search WaterPrivate companies in Australia and Canada in collaboration with University of Technology Sydney are all set to send a rover on the moon to hunt water by mid-2024. This will be the first rover with Australian-made components to make it to the Moon.

• It will be launched through the Hakuto lander made by ispace, a lunar robotic exploration company based in Japan.

Features of Rover:
Developer– ispace
Weight– 10Kg
Measurement– 60x60x50cm
Focus of mission:
To identify regions on the Moon with abundant water sources that can produce more usable water for human consumption, sample processing, mining operations and food growth.

• This would also set the foundation for the establishment of a manned Moon base for further space exploration.

Key Points:
i.The rover will have an integrated robotic arm created by the private companies Stardust Technologies (based in Canada) and Australia’s EXPLOR Space Technology.
ii.The arm will collect high-resolution visual and haptic data using cameras and sensors which will be sent back to the mission control centre at the University of Technology Sydney.
iii.It will also collect information on the physical and chemical composition of lunar dust, soil and rocks.
Static:
i.Moon experiences day and night cycles, just like Earth, but one day on the Moon lasts 29.5 Earth days.
ii.The surface temperatures of the moon reaches up to 127 degree Celsius during the day and falls as low as -173 degree Celsius at night.

China launches 3 Remote Sensing Satellites using Long March-2DOn 6th November 2021, China successfully placed 3-remote sensing satellites into orbit using the Long March-2D rocket. The satellites belonging to the Yaogan-35 family were launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan province of China.

• This also marks the 396th mission for the Long March series carrier rockets.

i.Long March rockets, developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, are responsible for almost 96.4% of all Chinese space missions.
ii.Previously in 2019, China made the 300th successful mission using Long March rockets, since its inception in the 1970s.
iii. Frequency of Chinese Rocket Launch:

• 37 years for first 100 launches
• 7.5 years for second 100 launches
• 4 years for third 100 launches

And in less than 2 years it is set to complete the next 100 launches.
Note – China previously launched the Core module of ‘Tiangong Space Station’ into Space. At present, Tiangong is the alternative to the International Space Station (ISS), which is set to retire in 2024.
About China: 
Capital – Beijing
President – Xi Jinping
Currency – Renminbi

OBITUARY

Renowned Cricket Coach & Dronacharya Awardee Tarak Sinha Passed Away Renowned Cricket Coach and Dronacharya Awardee Tarak Sinha passed away due to cancer at the age of 71 in New Delhi. He was fondly referred to as “Ustad ji” by his disciples.
About Tarak Sinha:
i.Tarak Sinha was the founder of the Sonnet Cricket Club, Delhi.
ii.He has served as the coach of the Delhi team which won the Ranji title in the 1985-86 season.
iii.He has also served as the head coach of the National Women’s cricket team.
iv.The International cricketers who were trained by Tarak Sinha include Surinder Khanna, Aakash Chopra, Shikhar Dhawan, Anjum Chopra and Rishabh Pant.
Honours:
i.He received the Dronacharya Award (LifeTime) for Cricket in 2018.
ii.He was the 5th Indian cricket coach to win the honour, after Desh Prem Azad, Gurcharan Singh, Ramakant Achrekar and Sunita Sharma.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar Released Poonam Dalal Dahiya’s Book ‘Modern India’

Manohar Lal Khattar, Chief Minister(CM) of Haryana released the book titled “MODERN INDIA : For Civil Services and Other Competitive Examinations” authored by Poonam Dalal Dahiya, Assistant superintendent of Police (ASP), Gurugram(former Indian Revenue Service(IRS) officer). The book is published by McGraw Hill.

• During the launch event, Poonam Dalal Dahiya gifted the first copy of the book to CM Manohar Lal Khattar.
• The book offers a comprehensive information on the history of modern India.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict 2021 – November 6 The United Nations(UN)’s International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict is annually observed across the globe on November 6th to create awareness about the damages caused to the environment due to war and armed conflicts.
The exploitation of the environment in war and armed conflicts includes pollution of water wells, forest fire, deforestation, poisoning of soils, killing animals to gain military advantage.
Background:
i.The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/56/4 on 5th November 2001 and proclaimed the 6th November of every year as the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict.
ii.The first ever International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict was observed on 6th November 2002. 
About The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP):
Executive Director– Inger Andersen
Inception– 1972
Headquarters– Nairobi, Kenya
>>Read Full News

STATE NEWS

Union Minister Amit Shah launched Mukhyamantri Ghasiyari Kalyan Yojana in Dehradun, Uttarakhandi.The Union Minister Amit Shah, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) launched the Mukhyamantri Ghasiyari Kalyan Yojana and computerization of cooperative societies in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.
ii.Under the scheme nutritious fodder or cattle feed (Silage) would be provided in the vacuum pack bags of 25-30 kg to the cattle owners at the rate of Rs 2 per kg on 30% subsidy. This will be provided with the help of cooperative committees.
iii.He also inaugurated computerization of all the 670 Primary Agriculture Credit Society (PACS) committees.
About Uttarakhand:
Wild Life Sanctuary– Govind wildlife sanctuary, Kedarnath wildlife sanctuary, Askot wildlife sanctuary
Tiger Reserve– Corbett Tiger Reserve, Rajaji Tiger Reserve
Zoological Park– Bharat Ratna Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant high altitude Zoological Park
>>Read Full News

PM Interacts with Beneficiaries of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat Swayampurna Goa’Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi virtually interacted with the beneficiaries and stakeholders of  Atma Nirbhar Bharat ‘Swayampurna Goa’ programme. He made an address ensuring that various government schemes and benefits are available by the eligible beneficiaries.

• The Government of Goa launched ‘Swayampurna Goa’ initiative on October 1, 2020.

Objective – To ensure that every village in the state becomes self-reliant (Atma Nirbhar) using resources within the area.
About Swayampurna Goa:
i.’Swayampurna Mitra’, a dedicated officer appointed to oversee the programme implementation in every panchayat or municipality.
ii.Under the programme government officers, teachers and students reach out to each village panchayat to adopt various sustainable methods to gain economic empowerment.
iii.A study of the economic revival for village panchayats was undertaken by the Directorate of Higher Education and GIPARD, where 25 colleges were involved in the process of data collection, preparation of individual reports of 191 village panchayats.
About Goa:
Capital – Panaji
Chief Minister – Pramod Sawant
Governor – P.S. Sreedharan Pillai

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