Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 21& 22th April 2022

NEWS

Karnataka government launched ‘Social Awareness and Action to Neutralise Pneumonia Successfully’ (SAANS), a campaign to ensure greater awareness and early detection of pneumonia in children under five

DETAILS

Launched by union government in Gujarat in 2018

AIMS:

• To reduce child mortality due to pneumonia, which contributes to around 15% of deaths of children under the age of five annually
• To mobilise people to protect children from pneumonia, and train health personnel and other stakeholders to provide prioritised treatment to control the disease

KEY FEATURES OF THE PROGRAMME

• A child suffering from pneumonia will be treated with a pre-referral dose of antibiotic amoxicillinby Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers.
• Pulse Oximeter (device to monitor oxygen saturation) will be used at the Health and Wellness Centre for identification of low oxygen levels in the blood of child and if required, the child can be treated by the use of oxygen cylinders.
• A mass awareness campaign will be launched about the effective solutions for pneumonia prevention like breastfeeding, age-appropriate complementary feeding and immunization etc.

NEWS

National Civil Services Day is celebrated on April 21

DETAILS

• Why April 21 - Commemorate the day when first Home Minister of Independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel addressed the probationers of Administrative Services Officers in 1947 at Metcalf House, Delhi
• Patel addressed Civil servants as the ‘Steel Frame of India’
• The Day is dedicated to all those who are involved in Civil Services in order to commemorate their exemplary Services.
• On this day, the central government evaluates the work of various departments, and they also make plans for the coming years
• Every year on this day, Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration are conferred  "to acknowledge, recognize and reward the extraordinary and innovative work done by Districts/ Organizations of the Central and State Governments", according to the official website of the awards

NEWS

NITI Aayog has prepared draft battery swapping policy

WHAT IS BATTERY SWAPPING

• Mechanism that involves exchanging discharged batteries for charged ones
• Provides the flexibility to charge these batteries separately by de-linking charging and battery usage, and keeps the vehicle in operational mode with negligible downtime
• Generally used for smaller vehicles such as two-wheelers and three-wheelers with smaller batteries that are easier to swap, compared to four-wheelers and e-buses, although solutions are emerging for these larger segments as well

WHAT IS IN THE PROPOSAL

• GST Council consider reducing the differential across the tax rates on Lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicle supply equipment. Currently, the tax rate on the former is 18 per cent, and 5 per cent on the latter
• Offer the same incentives available to electric vehicles that come pre-equipped with a fixed battery to electric vehicles with swappable batteries. The size of the incentive could be determined based on the kWh (kilowatt hour) rating of the battery and compatible EV
• An appropriate multiplier may be applied to the subsidy allocated to battery providers to account for the float battery requirements for battery swapping stations in different battery swapping ecosystems
• Government will also specify a minimum contract duration for a contract to be signed between EV users and battery providers to ensure they continue to provide battery swapping services after receiving the subsidy
• State governments must ensure public battery charging stations are eligible for EV power connections with concessional tariffs
• Transport Departments and State Transport Authorities will be responsible for easing registration processes for vehicles sold without batteries or for vehicles with battery swapping functionality, the draft says
• Municipal corporations will be responsible for planning, zoning permissions and land allocation for battery swapping stations
• The policy also proposes to assign a unique identification number (UIN) to swappable batteries at the manufacturing stage to help track and monitor them. Similarly, a UIN number will be assigned to each battery swapping station
• Proposes to install battery swapping stations at several locations like retail fuel outlets, public parking areas, malls, kirana shops and general stores etc

NEWS

The sixth and last of the French Scorpene-class submarines, INS Vagsheer, was launched into water at the Mazagon Docks in Mumbai

INS VAGSHEER

• Named after the sand fish, a deep sea predator of the Indian Ocean
• Diesel attack submarine, designed to perform sea denial as well as access denial warfare against the adversary
• Enabled with a C303 anti-torpedo counter measure system
• Superior stealth features include advanced acoustic absorption techniques, low radiated noise levels, hydro-dynamically optimised shape
• Ability to launch a crippling attack using precision guided weapons, underwater or on surface

PROJECT-75

• Envisages indigenous construction of six modern conventional submarines with contemporary equipment, weapons & sensors including Fuel-Cell based AIP (Air Independent Propulsion Plant), advanced torpedoes, modern missiles and state-of-the-art countermeasure systems
• Progressively build indigenous capabilities in the private sector to design, develop and manufacture complex weapon systems for the future needs of the Armed Forces
• Aid in boosting the core submarine/shipbuilding industry but would also greatly enhance the manufacturing/industrial sector, especially the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by developing an industrial ecosystem for the manufacture of associated spares/systems/equipment related to submarines.
• The Kalvari class is a class of diesel-electric attack submarines based on the Scorpène-class submarine being built for the Indian Navy
• The first of the Project – 75 submarines was commissioned into the Navy in 2017

NEWS

The 401st birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur was observed on 21st April, 2022.

ABOUT

Guru Tegh Bahadur

•  1621 – 1675
• Was the ninth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion.
• Was born as Tyaga Mal
• Came to be known by the name Teg Bahadur (Mighty of The Sword), given by Guru Hargobind after he shown his valour in a battle against the Mughals.
• Son of Sixth guru, Guru Hargobind
• Father of Guru Gobind Singh
• Built the city of Anandpur Sahib (in Rupnagar/Ropar district, on the edge of Shivalik Hills, near the Sutlej River, in Punjab). Here Guru Gobind Singh Ji founded the Khalsa Panth in 1699.
• Contributed more than 100 poetic hymns to Granth Sahib which cover various topics, such as the nature of God, human attachments, body, mind, dignity service etc.
• Resisted the forced conversions of Kashmiri Pandits and non-Muslims to Islam.
• Was publicly beheaded in 1675 on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi for himself refusing to convert to Islam.
• Is remembered for giving up his life for freedom of religion.
• Martyrdom is remembered as the Shaheedi Divas of Guru Tegh Bahadur
• Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib mark the place of his execution.
• Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib mark the places of cremation of his body.

NEWS

Earth Day is celebrated annually on April 22

DETAILS

• Has been celebrated since 1970
• First observed in the United States
• Reminder to protect the environment, restore damaged ecosystems and live a more sustainable life
• Landmark Paris Agreement, which was signed by nearly 200 countries to set a common target to reduce global greenhouse emissions, was signed on Earth Day in 2016
• In 2009, the United Nations designated April 22 as ‘International Mother Earth Day’
• 2022 theme - ‘Invest In Our Planet’

• BOB Financial Solutions Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of Baroda, and CreditAI Fintech Pvt. Ltd., a Singapore and Bengaluru-based farmer digitisation and credit scoring company, launched Unnati, a credit card exclusively for farmers to purchase farm inputs
• On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence & ongoing Azadi ka Amrit Mahotasav, India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), a 100% government owned entity under Department of Posts (DoP) announced the launch of Fincluvation– a joint initiative to collaborate with Fintech Startup community to co-create and innovate solutions for financial inclusion
• Oil India Limited (OIL) has taken the first significant step towards Green Hydrogen Economy in India with the commissioning of India’s First 99.999% pure Green Hydrogen pilot plant, with an installed capacity of 10 kg per day at its Jorhat Pump Station in Assam.