Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

What is the news : The Udupi-Kasargod beaches damaged by TAUKTAE are being restored now.

Details:

• Kasarkod Beach is near Honnavar, Uttara Kannada and Padubidri Beach is near Udupi.
• The two beaches were among eight in the country which bagged the coveted eco-label ‘Blue Flag’ from the International Agency Foundation For Environment Education, Denmark, last year, in first phase.
• ‘Blue Flag’ beach is an eco-tourism model to provide tourists clean and hygienic bathing water, facilities/amenities, safe and healthy environment and sustainable development of the area.
• The certification is awarded based on 33 stringent criteria in four major heads - environmental education and information, bathing water quality, environment management and conservation, and safety and services in the beaches.

Additional information : In the second phase of the blue flag certification, the five beaches shortlisted from Karnataka include Idya beach in Surathkal, Tannirbavi beach in Mangaluru, Kodi beach in Kundapura, Belekan and Tagore beach in Uttara Kannada districts

What is the news : 12 Annual day of the commission was celebrated.

Establishment : The CCI was established under the Competition Act, 2002, on 20th May , 2009, as a statutory body

Details :

• The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 (MRTP Act) was repealed and replaced by the Competition Act, 2002|on the recommendations of Raghavan committee.
• Composition :

• One Chairperson and six Members as per the Competition Act who shall be appointed by the Central Government.
• Chairperson and every other Member shall be a person of ability, integrity and standing and who, has been, or is qualified to be a judge of a High Court, or, has special knowledge of, and professional experience of not less than fifteen years in international trade, economics, business, commerce, law, finance, accountancy, management, industry, public affairs, administration or in any other matter which, in the opinion of the Central Government, may be useful to the Commission.

• Functions :

• To eliminate practices having adverse effect on competition
• quasi-judicial body which gives opinions to statutory authorities and also deals with other cases.
• To give opinion on competition issues on a reference received from a statutory authority established under any law and to undertake competition advocacy, create public awareness and impart training on competition issues.

What is the news :An Iceberg recently calved off from the continent of Antarctica and now moved to Weddell sea. This iceberg is now the largest iceberg in the world. It has been named as A-76.

Details :

• Slightly larger than the Spanish island of Majorca, A-76 had been monitored by scientists since May 13 when it began to separate from the Ronne Ice Shelf, according to the U.S. National Ice Center.
• The iceberg, measuring around 170 km long and 25 km wide, with an area of 4,320 sq km is now floating in the Weddell Sea.
• It joins previous world’s largest title holder A-23A — approximately 3,880 sq. km. in size — which has remained in the same area since 1986.
• A-76 was originally spotted by the British Antarctic Survey and the calving — the term used when an iceberg breaks off — was confirmed using images from the Copernicus satellite, the European Space Agency said.
• Icebergs form when hunks of ice break off from ice shelves or glaciers and begin to float in open wate

What is the news: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced a plan to sell sovereign gold bonds (SGBs) — government securities denominated in grams of gold — in six phases until September 3.

Details :

Features of the scheme :

• The bonds will be offered in series till the last date
• The nominal value of the 8-year bond works out to Rs 4,777 per gram of gold, based on the simple average closing price published by India Bullion and Jewellers Association Ltd (IBJA) for gold of 999 purity on the last three business days of the week preceding the subscription period of Series I (May 11, 12 and 14).
• There’s a discount of Rs 50 per gram to investors applying online, and the payment against the application is made through digital mode.
• Gold bonds bear interest at a fixed rate of 2.50% per annum on the amount of initial investment which will be credited semi-annually.
• Bonds are sold through offices or branches of nationalised banks, private banks, foreign banks, designated post offices, Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd. and the authorised stock exchanges either directly or through their agents.
• Investors gain from appreciation in gold prices as redemption of bonds will be based on the then prevailing prices. If gold prices treble after eight years, the investor will get the higher prices plus the 2.5% interest. If gold prices fall, which is unlikely, investors’ returns will fall accordingly. The investor does not lose in terms of the units of gold which he has paid for.

Why should an investor buy gold bonds rather than physical gold?

• The quantity of gold the investor pays for is protected, since he receives the ongoing market price at the time of redemption/premature redemption.
• The bonds offer a superior alternative to physical gold. The risks and costs of storage are eliminated.
• Investors are assured of the market value at the time of maturity, and periodical interest.
• Bonds are free from issues like jewellery making charges and purity.
• The bonds are held in RBI books or in demat form, eliminating the risk of loss of scrip etc.

ABOUT:

• The National Archives of India is the custodian of the records of enduring value of the Government of India.
• Established on 11 March, 1891 at Calcutta (Kolkata) as the Imperial Record Department, it is the biggest archival repository in South Asia.
• It has a vast corpus of records viz., public records, private papers, oriental records, cartographic records and microfilms, which constitute an invaluable source of information for scholars-administrators and users of archives.
• The Director General of Archives, heading the Department has been given the mandate for the implementation of the Public Records Act, 1993 and the rules made there under, the Public Records Rules, 1997 for the management, administration and preservation of public records in the Ministries,Departments,Public Sector undertakings etc.of the Central Government.
• Located at the heart of New Delhi, the Department functions as an Attached Office of the Ministry of Culture and has one Regional Office at Bhopal and three Records Centres at Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Puducherry.

What was the recent news : Changes proposed under central vista project to the heritage building is very uncertain.

What is the news : The Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel recently announced that around six cultural heritage sites have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Details :

The following six places have successfully entered the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

1. Ganga Ghats of Varanasi
2. Temples of Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu
3. Satpura Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh
4. Maharashtra Military Architecture
5. Hire Benkal Megalithic site
6. Bhedaghat Lametaghat of Narmada Valley in Madhya Pradesh

With this, the total number of sites in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites Tentative list has increased to 48.

ABOUT UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES

• A World Heritage site is classified as a natural or man-made area or a structure that is of international importance, and a space which requires special protection.
• These sites are officially recognised by the UN and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, also known as UNESCO.
• UNESCO believes that the sites classified as World Heritage are important for humanity, and they hold cultural and physical significance.
• The list is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 UNESCO member states which are elected by the General Assembly.
• Each World Heritage Site remains part of the legal territory of the state wherein the site is located and UNESCO considers it in the interest of the international community to preserve each site.
• To be selected, a World Heritage Site must be an already classified landmark, unique in some respect as a geographically and historically identifiable place having special cultural or physical significance

When : May 20 every year

By : United Nations

Why :

• To commemorate birthday of Anton Janša, who in the 18th century pioneered modern beekeeping techniques in his native Slovenia and praised the bees for their ability to work so hard, while needing so little attention.
• To raise awareness of the importance of Bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies, bats and hummingbirds, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development

In India : On the occasion of World Bee Day and in the context of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Minister  launched the project of setting up of a honey testing laboratory at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, New Delhi.

Other details :

• Honey bees are biggest pollinators across globe
• In December 2017, the United Nations declared the celebration of World Bee Day
• The theme of World Bee Day 2021 is: Bee Engaged - Build Back Better for Bees.
• Fruits and vegetables like watermelon, pumpkin, tomato, aubergine, papaya, orange, lime, strawberry, apple, mango and many more depend directly or indirectly on bees for pollination.

When : May 20 every year

By : 'The International Organization of Legal Metrology' and 'Bureau International des Poids et Mesures'(International Bureau of Weights and Measures )

Why :

• World Metrology Day is an annual celebration of the signature of the Metre Convention on 20 May 1875 by representatives of seventeen nations. The Convention set the framework for global collaboration in the science of measurement and in its industrial, commercial and societal applications.
• The theme for World Metrology Day 2021 is Measurement for Health.

What is the news : The Sri Lankan Parliament on Thursday passed a controversial Bill on laws governing the China-backed Colombo Port City, with a majority of 149 legislators — in the 225-member House — voting in its favour.

About the Project :

• Name - Colombo Port City Project(Due to its proximity to Colombo)
• Why this project - being developed as a Special Economic Zone(SEZ). It aims to attract billions of dollars for trade, banking and offshore services similar to what is available in Dubai and Singapore.
• City will be administered by a commission with unprecedented powers to fast track investment approvals.
• China Communication Construction is developing the project through its subsidiary China Harbor Engineering Construction (CHEC)
• The transactions within Port City will be denominated in foreign currency. Further, all salaries earned by any worker of the Port City will be tax-exempt.

What was in news : The central government on Wednesday announced a 140% increase in the subsidy on di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), from Rs 511 to Rs 1,200 per 50-kg bag, which amounted for a 140% increase

Details:

What is DAP and why is it important for farmers?

• DAP is the second most commonly used fertiliser in India after urea.
• Farmers normally apply this fertiliser just before or at the beginning of sowing, as it is high in phosphorus that stimulates root development. Without well-developed roots, plants will not grow to their normal size, or will take too long to mature.
• While there are other phosphatic fertilisers as well — for instance, single super phosphate that contains 16% P and 11% sulphur (S) — DAP is the preferred source of P for farmers. This is similar to urea, which is their preferred nitrogenous fertiliser containing 46% N.

What is the subsidy scheme in DAP, and how is it different from other fertilisers?

• The maximum retail price (MRP) of urea is currently fixed at Rs 5,378 per tonne or Rs 242 for a 45-kg bag.
• Since companies are required to sell at this rate, the subsidy (the difference between the cost of manufacturing or import and the fixed MRP) is variable.
• The MRPs of all other fertilisers, by contrast, are decontrolled. Technically, companies can sell these at the rates that they — and not the government — decide.
• The government only gives a fixed per-tonne subsidy. In other words, the subsidy is fixed, but MRP is variable.
• As already noted, the subsidy on DAP for 2020-21 was Rs 10,231 per tonne, or Rs 511.50 for a 50-kg bag. Most companies, till recently, were selling DAP to farmers at around Rs 24,000 per tonne or Rs 1,200/bag.
• They could do this when international prices — both of the final product as well as the imported raw materials/ingredients such as rock phosphate, sulphur, phosphoric acid, and ammonia — were at reasonable levels.

Why was it done?

• As the old stocks started running out, the companies started selling the new material at the higher rates.
• April being a lean month for fertiliser sales, the extent of price increase did not really dawn upon anybody, farmers included. It was when purchases started picking up from around the second week of this month — ahead of the kharif planting season — that all hell broke loose.
• The focus naturally fell on DAP; having to pay 58% more — an extra Rs 700/bag on top of Rs 15/litre for diesel in the last one year — was obviously too much. Nor could companies oblige the government not to increase MRPs beyond a point.

How will it benefit? The timing of keeping DAP prices in check is good, as farmers will start sowing operations from next month with the arrival of the southwest monsoon rains.

• In a new advisory, the government has warned that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can be transported through air as well in the form of aerosols, and infect people up to 10 metres away. The warning, included in an updated general advisory on Covid-19 issued by the office of the Principal Scientific Advisor.
• On the 21st of May, a glorious era will come to an end with the decommissioning of the first destroyer of the Indian Navy - INS Rajput. INS Rajput, the lead ship of the Kashin-class destroyers built by the erstwhile USSR was commissioned on 04 May 1980 and has rendered yeoman service to the Indian Navy for over 41 years.
• On May 19, 2021, China and Russia began the biggest Nuclear Power Project. The Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Chinese President Xi Jing Ping attended the ceremony that began the construction of the project on May 19, 2021