Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 13th August 2021

What is in news : The Delhi government is set to implement a world-class Health Information Management System (HIMS) soon in line with its bid to bring a transformation in the healthcare system of the Capital.

What are its features :

• Health cards will be assigned to each citizen which will be a repository of medical information
• Doctors will be able to see patients’ medical history using the card and patients will be able to take appointments from home
• Patients will be designated a time frame to meet the doctor and will be able to get consultation as per it

What is its significance :

• Lessened waiting time of patients and doctors
• Faster check up
• Assumes importance during pandemic

ENVIRONMENT & GEOGRAPHY

What is in news : From December, India will move to a system that will count tigers and elephants as part of a common survey.

Details :

• The tiger survey is usually held once in four years and elephants are counted once in five years
• According to the most recent 2018-19 survey, there were 2,997 tigers in India. According to the last count in 2017, there were 29,964 elephants in India
• 90% of the area occupied by elephants and tigers is common, and once estimation methods are standardised, having a common survey can significantly save costs
• Asian elephants are listed as “endangered” on the IUCN Red List of threatened species. More than 60% of the world’s elephant population is in India

ELEPHANT CENSUS

• Elephant census, is conducted once in 5 years under the aegis of Project elephant.
• A scientist associated with the census are of the view that discrepancy had resulted from Kerala’s insistence in 2017 on using a technique called the ‘direct count’ method.
• Elephant Counting Methods Employed in Census
• The direct counting method is based on sightings of elephants.
• The indirect counting method uses the elephant elephant ‘dung decay’ formula, in which the analysis of dung is used to estimate the population of the elephant.

Project Elephant

• Project Elephant (PE), is a centrally sponsored scheme, and was launched in February 1992 for the protection of elephants, their habitats and corridors.
• It also seeks to address the issues of human-wildlife conflict and welfare of domesticated elephants.
• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change provides the financial and technical support to major elephant range states in the country through Project Elephant.

TIGER CENSUS

• Since 2006, the government of India has been conducting the census every four years led by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) with cooperation from various state forest departments and conservation NGOs.
• The exercise aims at arriving at a nationwide assessment into the country’s population and habitat of tigers (Panthera tigris Tigris).
• The data was collected using an Android-based application- M-STrIPES ( Monitoring system for Tigers’ Intensive Protection and Ecological Status) which is developed by Wildlife Institute of India.

About Project Tiger Initiative:

• Project Tiger initiative was launched in 1973.
• The project is administrated by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
• The aim of the project is to ensure that the population of Bengal tigers is well-maintained in their natural habitats, damages done to these habitats should be repaired so that the ecosystem is balanced and maintains a viable tiger population.
• Under the project, the government has also set up a tiger protecting force that ensures there is no poaching of any kind or any human-tiger conflict.

What is in news : The Odisha government has directed engineers of its Water Resources Department to prepare an action plan for the coastal stretches of the State, which are highly vulnerable to storm surges, within a month along with a map.

Details :

• Plan is to raise saline and flood embankments along the coast to prevent tidal surges from inundating human habitations
• Reason - Possibility of increased frequency and intensity of the cyclones in the future
• Identification of “at risk” areas from where permanent evacuation appeared to be the only scientific solution
• Odisha faces around 35% of cyclonic storms along with tidal surges and is sixth most cyclone prone area of the world
• Recently,coastal belt witnessed tidal surges of 3.5 metres to 4.5 metres during cyclones

What is a Tidal Surge : An unusual, often destructive rise in sea level above normal high-tide level in a coastal area, caused by a combination of low atmospheric pressure and strong onshore winds during a storm.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

What : Nuclear capable missile

By : Pakistan

What is in news : Pakistan  successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile which can strike targets up to 290 kilometres

NUCLEAR MISSILES OF INDIA

• Recent estimates suggest that India has 160 nuclear weapons and has produced enough weapons-grade plutonium for up to 161–200 nuclear weapons
• Recent additions -
• New generation nuclear capable ballistic missile Agni-P (Prime)
• Shaurya short-range Submarine Launched nuclear capable Ballistic Missile

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

What is in news : The Government of India  announced the Prime Minister’s Shram Awards (PMSA) for the year 2018.

Details :

• By - Ministry of Labour & Employment
• For - Workers employed in the Departmental Undertakings & Public Sector Undertakings of the Central and State Governments and Private Sector Units
• Why - Distinguished performance, innovative abilities, outstanding contribution in the field of productivity and exhibition of exceptional courage and presence of mind
• Categories –
  • Shram Bhushan Awards which carry a cash prize of Rs.1,00,000/- each
  • Shram Vir/Shram Veerangana Awards which carry a cash prize of Rs. 60,000/- each
  • Shram Shree/Shram Devi Awards which carry a cash prize of Rs.40,000/- each.

What is in news : Maharashtra government has announced for creation of a new award named “Rajiv Gandhi Award for Excellence in Information Technology (IT)”.

Details :

• Given to institutions and companies for their outstanding performance in information technology sector
• Several organisations like NASSCOM will finalise modalities of the award
• Maharashtra IT Corporation Limited (MAHA-IT), a state government enterprise, has been appointed a nodal agency to propose the newly constituted award

What is in news : The Skytrax World Airport Award ranking 2021 was recently published in which Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi has emerged among world’s top-50 best airports in the 2021.

Details :

• Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru have also found a rank among world’s 100 best airports.
• Delhi has been ranked at 45th position. Ranking has improved by five places as compared to number 50 in 2020. Delhi airport is first Indian airport to achieve this mark.
• World’s top-5 airports include:
  • Doha Hamad International Airport
  • Tokyo Haneda airport
  • Changi airport Singapore
  • Seoul Incheon International Airport and
  • Tokyo Narita
  • Awards are given on the basis of customer reviews

SNIPPETS

• 11th Annual meeting of the Forum of the Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA) for the year 2021 was inaugurated recently.This virtual meeting was hosted by the Election Commission of Bhutan. FEMBoSA meeting was held under the theme of ‘Use of Technology in Elections’
• India and USA signed an agreement on Monsoon Data Analysis and cooperation in order to improve weather forecasts.

EXPLAINED

• In India, the Constitution gives the government the right to levy taxes on individuals and organisations, but makes it clear that no one has the right to levy or charge taxes except by the authority of law. Any tax being charged has to be backed by a law passed by the legislature or Parliament.
• A document on the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation website quotes the definition of tax as a "pecuniary burden laid upon individuals or property owners to support the government, a payment exacted by legislative authority”, and that a tax "is not a voluntary payment or donation, but an enforced contribution, exacted pursuant to legislative authority".
• Taxes in India come under a three-tier system based on the Central, State and local governments, and the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution puts separate heads of taxation under the Union and State list.