Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 31st August 2021

What is in news :  The Covid-19 technical advisory committee (TAC) constituted by the Karnataka government has proposed the 'school bubble' concept to mitigate the spread of the disease among children (aged below 18) attending offline classes at schools and pre-university colleges across the state.

Details :

What are school bubbles

• Physical classifications made between groups comprising a small number of students. Each such bubble will include students who tend to remain as a group during school hours throughout the term or an academic year.
• Would help managements easily isolate a fewer number of students in case anyone gets infected. For instance, a school bubble can include 30 students. If one among them gets infected, the others can self-isolate but the school need not be closed completely.

Significancw

• More relevant to students studying in primary school or below who have more chances of peer-to-peer interactions on a daily basis
• Risk assessment process to identify close contacts of a Covid-positive student will also get easier.

Is this concept completely new:

• No. This has been cited by the TAC for being successfully implemented at schools in the United Kingdom.
• The government there has further relaxed social-distancing measures for students within a particular school bubble.
• However, all members of the bubble are mandatorily subjected to RT-PCR tests if a student is infected.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

What is in news : Union AYUSH Ministry launched a Y-Break App from Vigyan Bhawan

Details

• A year-long campaigns like cultivation of medicinal plants in farmland, distribution of medicinal plants to households and sensitisation of School & College going students on Ayush systems were also launched.
• These activities will be launched with the aim of reaching to remote areas in India and address all categories of our population viz., children, old people, farmers and corporate.
• Other Activities and Campaigns
  • Cultivation of medicinal plants on 75,000 hectares of land to benefit farmers.
  • Launch of the Y-Break App.
  • Five-minute Yoga protocol for office goers.
  • Distribution of Ayush prophylactic medicines, focusing specially on people aged above 60 years age group.
  • AyushAapkDwar Programme to take taking medicinal plants to the doorstep of 75 lakh families in the year 2021.
  • Series of sensitisation lectures & distribution of IEC material to school and college students
  • Webinar on Y-break application.

What is in news : Government of India launched Fit-India app recently

About FIT INDIA

• The Fit India movement is aimed at encouraging people to inculcate physical activity and sports in their day to day life.
• Sports has a direct relation to fitness but ‘Fit India Movement’ aims to go beyond fitness. Fitness is not just a word but an essential pillar to a healthy and prosperous life.
• The mission of the Movement is to bring about behavioural changes and move towards a more physically active lifestyle.
• Towards achieving this mission, Fit India proposes to undertake various initiatives and conduct events to achieve the following objectives:
  • To promote fitness as easy, fun and free
  • To spread awareness on fitness and various physical activities that promote fitness through focused campaigns
  • To encourage indigenous sports
  • To make fitness reach every school, college/university, panchayat/village, etc.
  • To create a platform for citizens of India to share information, drive awareness and encourage sharing of personal fitness stories

What is in news : Web version of e-GOPALA application was launched recently

Details :

• Developed by National Dairy Development Board
• Aid dairy farmers
• Launched in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of ‘Digital India’

About E-GOPALA

• Comprehensive breed improvement marketplace and information portal, directly used by farmers
• Will help farmers to manage their livestock including buying and selling of disease-free germplasm like semen, embryos, etc.
• Inform regarding the availability of quality breeding services as well as guide farmers on animal nutrition & treatment of animals with the help of appropriate Ayurvedic ethno veterinary medicine.
• Send alert regarding due date for vaccination, pregnancy diagnosis & calving and provide information to farmers about government schemes.
• Facilitate real time checking of coverage and progress of several projects and government schemes

MAHITI FOR PRELIMS

Digital India Mission

• Launched in 2015
• Has been enabled for several Government schemes like Make in India, BharatNet, Startup India and Standup India etc
• Was launched with the objective of preparing India for a knowledge future and making technology central to enable change
• Works in the areas of:
  • Providing Digital infrastructure as Utility to Every Citizen.
  • Providing Governance and services on demand.
  • Digital empowerment of every citizen.

What is in news : A new initiative to revive pashmina shawls has been revived

About Pashmina shawls :

• Pashmina Shawls are a fine variant of shawls spun from cashmere wools.
• A cashmere wool itself is obtained from the Changthangi goat (Capra aegagrus hircus) native to the high plateau of Ladakh.
• Pashmina shawls gained much prominence in the days of the Mughal Empire as objects of rank and nobility. Babur first established the practice of giving khilat – giving ‘robes of honour’ – in 1526 to members of his court for their devoted service, high achievements or as a mark of royal favour. A khilat could be a set of clothes consisting of turban, coat , gown, trousers, shirts etc. all of which could be made of Pashmina wool.
• Every winter the goats from whom pashmina is acquired shed their coat. About 80-170 grams of wool is shed. In the spring the undercoat is shed, which is collected by combing the goat instead of shearing them as is the case with other wool collection activities. The pashmina wool is produced by the people known as the Changpa, a nomadic people who inhabit the Ladakh region. The Changpa rear sheep in a harsh climate where temperature drops to −40 °C .
• Raw pashmina is exported to Kashmir where the combing, spinning, weaving and finishing are traditionally carried out by hand by a specialised team of craftsmen and women. The major production centre of pashmina shawls is in the old district of Srinagar. It takes about 180 hours to produce a single piece of pashmina shawl

• Debutant Sumit Antil smashed his own world record multiple times for the F64 class gold, while veteran Devendra Jhajharia’s F46 category silver cemented his status of being India’s greatest para-athlete as javelin throwers led the country’s track-and-field medal rush at the Paralympics. Another javelin thrower Sundar Singh Gurjar picked up bronze in Jhajharia’s event, while discus thrower Yogesh Kathuniya’s F56 silver ensured that India made its presence felt across the podium
• India’s fastest growing Insurtech company, PhonePe, announced it has got an Insurance Broking license issued from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and it will now serve as Direct Insurance Broker.