Environment?

  • Britain has appointed naturalist Sir David Attenborough as “People’s Advocate” for UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) to be held in November-2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. Role of people’s advocate? 1) He will address world leaders at major international events over the next six months, including the G7 Summit in Cornwall, Britain. 2) he will address world leaders and the public at the Glasgow Summit. स्कॉटलैंड में होने वाली संयुक्त राष्ट्र जलवायु परिवर्तन सम्मेलन के लिए डेविड एटनबरो को “जनता का वकील” नियुक्त किया गया है, और वह दुनिया के सब बड़े नेताओं को संबोधित करेंगे, यह जानकर ग्रेटा थनबर्ग को मजा आएगा, या फिर कि उसे बुरा लगा है कि मुझे ‘जनता का वकील’ क्यों नहीं बनाया? लगता है ट्विटर अकाउंट पर नजर रखनी होगी.
  • Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi): BEFORE Business Responsibility Report (BRR) rules. AFTER: Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) 2021. This role requires top 1000 listed companies to disclose ESG (environmental, social and governance) risks and opportunities. सेबी मैं बड़ी कंपनियों पर नियम लगाया है कि उन्होंने “व्यवसाय जिम्मेदारी और स्थिरता रिपोर्ट” प्रकाशित करनी होगी जिसमें पर्यावरण सामाजिक और कॉरपोरेट्स शासन से जुड़े हुए जोखिम और अवसरों के बारे में जानकारी देनी होगी.

Science?

  • Geometric Energy Corporation is a startup company that created the DOGE-1 cubeset Mini satellite for moon voyage. Elon Musk’s SpaceX Company has agreed to launch it with Falcon 9 rocket and accepted the payment from Startup, in the form of Dodgecoins- This is the first case where space launch payment is made with cryptocurrency. Dogecoin was invented as a joke by two software developers who passed the digital image of a Japanese Shiba Inu dog on to the crypto currency they created. एक स्टार्टअप कंपनी का उपग्रह चांद पर भेजने के लिए, एलॉन मस्क कि स्पेसएक्स कंपनी ने भुगतान dogecoin नामक क्रिप्टो मुद्रा में स्वीकार किया है- जो कि दुनिया में पहली बार हुआ है. कहीं ऐसा तो नहीं कि गंजेड़ी एलॉन मस्क ने कुछ दिन पहले सैटरडे नाइट लाइव टीवी कार्यक्रम में जानबूझकर अंट-शंट बकवास करके dogecoin की कीमतों को गिराया ताकि वह उसे सस्ते में खरीद सके, और बाद में अब यह space/satellite वाली न्यूज़ रिलीज करवा रहा है ताकि वापस dogecoin की कीमतें बढ़ जाए? और वह बड़े मुनाफे पर dogecoin बेच सकें? लगता है कि कोचिंग माफियागिरी सस्ता धंधा है, असली माल cryptocurrency में है.
  • Medicine-Baricitinib: Anti Corona drug by US pharma giant Eli Lilly. Company has issued royalty-free, voluntary licences to three Indian drug makers — Cipla, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Lupin — to manufacture this.
  • Medicine-Ivermectin: Goa state government announced that all aged 18/> will be given anthelmintic drug Ivermectin Irrespective of coronavirus symptoms. Anthelmintic are a group of antiparasitic drugs that kill parasitic worms (helminths) and other internal parasites from the body. In Corona patients, this drug prevents the attachment of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein to the human cell membrane. Various studies in the US, UK Japan, Germany showed that if Ivermectin is administered in advance= Corona mortality rate fell. (गोवा राज्य सरकार ने तय किया है कि इवरमेक्टिन नाम की कृमि-मारक दवा सभी वयस्कों को दी जाएगी भले उनको करोना हो या ना हो ,क्योंकि इस दवाई को लेने पर कोरोना संक्रमण में मृत्यु की संभावना कम हो जाती है ऐसा कुछ विदेशी प्रयोगों से मालूम हुआ है.
  • B-1617 variant of coronavirus, first identified in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, India, has been classified as a “variant of concern” at the global level by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
  • Vaccine divide: OVER 40 per cent of Mumbai’s 1.3 crore population lives in slums. Many of them do not have a smartphone or are not adept at handling one. The government’s insistence on registering and booking slots online through CoWIN App makes it especially difficult for these slum dwellers. 2) Vaccines are in short supply So even after getting a slot a person may have to revisit the same clinic multiple Times / Wait in long queues. So, many daily-wage workers can not afford to lose their daily wage to get vaccinated. मुंबई की झोपड़पट्टी में रहने वाले गरीबों के पास, ना तो कोरोनावायरस टीकाकरण का पंजीकरण करवाने के लिए मोबाइल फोन है, ना तो पूरे दिन का वेतन गवा कर कतार में खड़ा रहने का समय।
  • Kerala model of Oxygen federalism: KERALA state government informed the Centre that it would not be able to provide oxygen to other states, Because Kerala own cases will jump to 6 lakh by May 15. So, Kerala State government has asked the Centre to run ‘Oxygen Express’ trains for Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Telangana to provide the liquid medical oxygen (LMO) to these Southern states. केरल राज्य सरकार, जिसका “मॉडल” वैसे तो बहुत महान है, उसने यह कहा है कि हम दूसरे राज्यों को ऑक्सीजन आपूर्ति नहीं कर पाएंगे क्योंकि हमारे राज्य में 6 लाख लोगों को कोरोना संक्रमण होने वाला है इसलिए हमारे खुद के वान्धे हो गए हैं, अभी केरल के इस “सहकारी संघवाद” पर _ _ _ _ अखबार का क्या कहना है, यह भी सोचने का विषय है.

IR/Defense?

  • India and Middle East:
    • 1) As America steps back from the Middle East, most regional actors either need alternate patrons (Russia and China) to provide weapons/funding. However neither Russian or China has the same level of money / weapons power like the USA, to help Middle Eastern allies, so most of these countries are now looking to normalise relations with their neighbouring countries, disregarding the previous Shia/Sunni conflicts e.g. Turkey trying to normalise relations with Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
    • 2) Saudi Arabia Trying to normalise relations with Qatar and Iran. “Abraham Accords” Sponsored by US ex-President Donald Trump: Israel was recognized as a country by UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
    • 3) Middle East nations can no longer afford old ideological tropes like pan-Islamism, pan-Arabism, or anti- Americanism. Now they will have to to look towards Nationalism, economic interest, and regime security. India kept good relations with all the middle Eastern countries and did not meddle with any of their internal/domestic/neighbour disputes.
    • 4) However, Turkey under President Erdogan, continues to remain hostile/non-friendly against India.
    • 5) On the other hand Pakistan couldnot calibrate its policies towards the Middle East/Israel, So its relationships have suffered.
    • 6) When Pakistani foreign minister criticized Saudi-led Organisation of Islamic Cooperation for not Opposing India’s Constitutional changes on J&K,
    • Saudis Started asking Pakistan to repay the loans. अमेरिका मध्य पूर्व एशिया से अपने पैर पीछे कर रहा है इसलिए यहां के देश कोई नया मसीहा ढूंढ रहे हैं, हालांकि रशिया और चीन मसीहा बनने का ख्वाब तो देखते हैं, लेकिन हथियार और पैसों के रूप में इन देशों की अमेरिका की तुलना में मदद नहीं कर सकते/ अंततः मध्य पूर्व एशिया के देश अपनी पुरानी दुश्मनी या और प्रतिस्पर्धाए भूलकर पड़ोसियों के साथ रिश्ते बेहतर करने की कोशिश कर रहे हैं. जैसे तुर्की -सऊदी अरब और इजिप्ट के साथ तथा सऊदी अरब – कतर और ईरान के साथ अपने रिश्ते सुधारने में लगे हैं. भारत ने इन सभी देशों के साथ मित्रता पूर्ण व्यवहार रखा है और उनके आंतरिक मसलों में या पड़ोसियों के साथ झगड़ों में हमने किसी का पक्ष नहीं लिया. इसके विपरीत पाकिस्तान अपनी विदेश नीति को ठीक से बना नहीं पाया, और मध्यपूर्व के साथ उसके रिश्ते खराब हो रहे हैं.
  • 2018- Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF, HQ Paris) put Pakistan on the grey list For money laundering and terror Finance. 2021-Feb: FATF Demanded Pakistan to demonstrate that 1) Pakistani government has prosecuted criminals involved in Money laundering and terror Finance. 2) Put financial sanctions against all designated terrorists. If Pakistan manages to prove this by June 2021 then it could be removed from the grey list. Foreign investments towards Pakistan have already fallen because of the grey list + Corona, So Imran Khan government is under tremendous pressure to act against elements like Hafiz Saeed. धन शोधन और आतंकी वित्तपोषण से लड़ने के लिए पाकिस्तान पर अंतरराष्ट्रीय दबाव और बढ़ रहा है.

Ethics GSM4☯️

  • Sport ethics: Tokyo Olympics Sportsmen are having following doubts 1) False positives: What happens if an athlete tests positive on the day of his/her event, is forced to sit out and it then emerges as a false positive case? 2) In team sports, if one player tests positive, Will the entire team be disqualified from participating? 3) Safety: all athletes need to be given individual rooms with private bathrooms to avoid catching infection From others. 4) Mask: Olympic organisers should provide free medical-grade masks during the Games, But presently the organizers are requiring athletes to bring their own masks.

Geo?

  • Al- Aqsa mosque: East Jerusalem. Israel police entered, after clashes between Jews and Muslims.

PIN-GK?️

  • Death: Fortunato Franco – footballer from India’s last Asian Games gold winning football team in 1962.
  • Bamboo cricket bat: Traditionally the cricket bats are made from English willow wood. Researchers develop bats from bamboo. Benefits?
    • 1) Bamboo bats are 40% heavier and more robust than traditional english willow wood bats. So, batsmen will be able to hit the ball much harder.
    • 2) Moso bamboo matures in 5-6 years, While English willow takes 15 years to mature.
    • 3) India is the second largest cultivator of bamboo after China. Great potential for selling bamboo cricket bats across the globe.
    • Challenge? However, cricket rules require that Bat must be made consist solely of wood, whereas bamboo is grass- So cricket rules will have to be updated/Amended to permit this.
  • Book: The Premonition: A Pandemic Story Author: Michael Lewis, Financial journalist

Download Current Affairs Excel File?

Download topicwise Current Affairs Excel file at https://Mrunal.org/current