Current Affairs is the most important area in all competitive exams. But the difficulty level is very high. That’s why; many aspirants get confused, how to select Current Affairs for Preparation of Competitive Examination? In this Post, Daily Current Affairs 31 July 2021, we have tried to cover each and every point and also included all important facts from National/ International news that are useful for upcoming competitive examinations such as UPSC, SSC, Railway, State Govt. etc.
Daily Current Affairs 31 July 2021
Commercial-cum-strategic facilities of 6.5 MMT storage capacity to be established
Under Phase I of strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) programme through its Special Purpose Vehicle, Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited (ISPRL), has established petroleum storage facilities with total capacity of 5.33 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT).
These have established at 3 locations, namely (i) Vishakhapatnam (1.33 MMT), (ii) Mangaluru (1.5 MMT) and (iii) Padur (2.5 MMT), and all the storage facilities have been filled with crude oil.
The petroleum reserves established under Phase I are strategic in nature and the crude oil stored in these reserves will be used during an oil shortage event, as and when declared so by Government of India.
Under Phase II of the petroleum reserve programme, Government has given approval in July 2021 for establishing two additional commercial-cum-strategic facilities with total storage capacity of 6.5 MMT underground storages at Chandikhol (4 MMT) and Padur (2.5 MMT) on PPP mode.
National Gallery of Australia to return 14 artworks worth $3m to India
The National Gallery of Australia will remove 14 works from its Asian art collection and return them to the Indian government.
The works being returned are:
- dancing child-saint Sambandar of 12th century belonging to Chola dynasty,
- processional standard [alam], from Hyderabad,
- arch for a Jain shrine (11th-12th century), seated Jina, 1163 from Mount Abu region, Rajasthan,
- the divine couple Lakshmi and Vishnu [Lakshmi Narayana] (11-12th century), and
- durga Mahisasuramardini, from Gujarat.
Sambandar, also referred to as Thirugnana Sambandar was a Saiva poet-saint of Tamil Nadu who lived sometime in the 7th century CE. He was a contemporary of Appar, another Saiva poet-saint.
He was a child prodigy who lived just 16 years. According to the Tamil Shaiva tradition, he composed an oeuvre of 16,000 hymns in complex meters, of which 383 (384) hymns with 4,181 stanzas have survived.
PM Modi addressed IPS probationers at SVPNPA
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the IPS probationers at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA).
SVPNPA, the premier police training institution in the country is situated at the historic city of Hyderabad.
It trains officers of the Indian Police Service, who have been selected through an All India based Civil Services Examination.
It trains officers of the Indian Police Service, who have been selected through the All-India Civil Services Examination.
The trained officers will be posted as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) in their respective states under whom the other sub-ranks of police force will be working.
12th round of Corps Commander level talks between India and China
The 12th round of Corps Commander level talks between India and China have scheduled at the Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control LAC in eastern Ladakh.
The Indian delegation at the talks will be led by the Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps, Lieutenant General PGK Menon.
The 11th round of the high-level military talks had taken place on 9th April this year at the Chushul border point on the Indian side of the LAC.
The two sides had agreed on the need to resolve the outstanding issues in an expeditious manner in accordance with the existing agreements and protocols.
The two sides had agreed that it was important to take guidance from the consensus of their leaders, continue their communication and dialogue and work towards a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest.
They also had agreed to jointly maintain stability on the ground, avoid any new incidents and jointly maintain peace in the border areas.
Hardeep Singh Puri launched DSF Bid Round-III
Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri launched the Discovered Small Field (DSF) Bid Round-III.
Under the bid round, 75 discoveries across 32 Contract areas in 11 basins/locations are being offered.
Estimated Hydrocarbon in place of approximately 232 MMTOE of oil and oil equivalent gas are on offer.
In the earlier two rounds, 54 contracts were awarded to 27 companies including 12 new entrants.
6th Meeting of the BRICS Counter Terrorism Working Group
The 6th meeting of the BRICS Counter Terrorism Working Group (CTWG) was held on 28-29 July 2021 under the Chairship of India.
The main outcome of the Working Group meeting was the finalisation of the BRICS Counter Terrorism Action Plan containing specific measures to implement the BRICS Counter Terrorism Strategy adopted by BRICS Leaders in 2020.
The Action Plan is aimed at further strengthening result oriented cooperation between BRICS countries in areas such as preventing and combating terrorism, radicalisation, financing of terrorism, misuse of internet by terrorists, and curbing travel of terrorists.
The BRICS Counter Terrorism Action Plan is one of the key deliverables during India’s Chairship of BRICS and will be adopted at the meeting of BRICS National Security Advisors scheduled next month.
New Zealand legislation introduced to ban LGBT conversion therapy
New Zealand has introduced legislation seeking to ban conversion therapy, which refers to the practice of trying to “cure” people of their sexuality, gender expression, or LGBTQI identity.
The Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill aims at preventing any harm caused by conversion therapy and promote healthy discussions on gender and sexuality. The bill also provides for civil redress.
The bill proposes to make an offence to perform conversion therapy on children, youngsters under the age of 18 or anyone with impaired decision-making capacity. The punishment for the offence will be up to three years of imprisonment.
Under the bill, it is also an offence to make anyone go through conversion therapy, irrespective of their age, and cause them serious harm. The punishment of this offence will be up to five years of imprisonment. Although, the bill is unclear on what “serious harm” means.
The Human Rights Commission would play a significant role in educating about conversion practices and in help survivors access any support that they need.
Rajya Sabha passed Coconut Development Board (Amendment) Bill, 2021
The Rajya Sabha recently passed the Coconut Development Board (Amendment) Bill, 2021, making the post of the Chairman non-executive.
The amendment also seeks to raise the number of members of the Board to six from the current four.
Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat will also be able to nominate their representatives to the Board.
The bill will pave the way to appoint a professional persons as a non- Executive Chairman instead of a government official.
The number of members of the board has been raised from four to six as after the amendment, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat will be able to nominate their representatives in the Board.
Triangular Cooperation for global development
India and the US signed the Second Amendment to the Statement of Guiding Principles on Triangular Cooperation for global development.
The SGP Agreement, signed in November 2014, underscores the contribution of India-US partnership to global stability and prosperity.
It provides a framework for promoting cooperation between the two countries to meet the developmental aspirations of partner countries, particularly in Asia and Africa.
This triangular cooperation with the US will complement India’s other ongoing and future development partnerships, capacity building and technical assistance with countries globally.
First goods train on revived Chilahati-Haldibari route left India for Bangladesh
The first goods train on the revived Chilahati-Haldibari route between Bangladesh and India is scheduled has left the Alipurduar section of India for Bangladesh, July 31.
The Haldibari-Chilahati train route was opened in December last year for the operation of the goods train after a gap of 55 years during the virtual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The passenger train will also run on the same route. This route was closed during the India-Pakistan war of 1965.
However, the operation of the trains remained disrupted due to the COVID 19 pandemic in India and Bangladesh.
At present, five rail routes connect Bangladesh and India namely Petrapole-Benapole, Gede-Darshana, Singhabad-Rohanpur Radhikapur-Birol and Haldibari-Chilahati.
The Chief Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the North Western Frontier Railway Subhanan Chanda told Prasar Bharti Spl. Correspondent at Dhaka that goods train with 30 wagons will be carrying stone chips for Bangladesh. It is expected to reach Bangladesh on 1st August.
General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill 2021
The General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill 2021 was introduced in the Lok Sabha recently.
The bill aims for the constitution of a commission for better coordination, research, identification and resolution of problems related to air quality in the national capital region and adjoining areas.
The commission shall consist of a full-time chairperson having experience of not less than 15 years in the field of environment protection and pollution control or having administrative experience of not less than 25 years.
The chairperson or a member, other than an ex officio member, shall hold office for a term of three years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier, and shall be eligible for re-appointment.
Adjoining areas refers to Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan where any source of pollution may cause adverse impact on air quality in the NCR.
Once passed, the bill will replace an ordinance issued in the recent past.
According to the new Bill, “the commission may impose and collect environmental compensation from farmers causing air pollution by stubble burning, at such rate and in such manner, as may be prescribed”.
Bhut Zolokia exported from Guwahati to London
The famous ‘Bhut Zolokia’ Nagaland’s chilli was exported for the first time from the Gateway of North East Region- Guwahati to London.
The ghost pepper also known as bhut jolokia is an interspecific hybrid chili pepper cultivated in Northeast India.
It is a hybrid of Capsicum chinense and Capsicum frutescens and is closely related to the Naga Morich.
In 2007, Guinness World Records certified that the ghost pepper was the world’s hottest chili pepper, 400 times hotter than Tabasco sauce.
Kerala Police launched Pink project for women safety
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan formally rolled out the Kerala Police’s Pink Protection Project that aims at protecting women in public, private, and digital spaces.
The Pink Protection project aims to prevent dowry-related issues, cyber-bullying & humiliation in public places.
It has 10 components, one of which is activating the existing Pink Police Patrol system, named Pink Janamaithri Beat.
They will collect information from panchayat members, neighbours and other locals and hand it over to the Station House Officers for further action.
The Pink Beat system, in which specially trained women police officers have been deployed, will be present at Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and private buses and in front of schools, colleges and other public places including bus stops.
Pink control rooms have been set up in all 14 districts to coordinate the activities.
The Pink Shadow Patrol team will also be deployed to detect the presence of anti-socials in crowded areas and to take action.
BIAL signed deal with IBM to set up ‘Airport in a Box’ platform
IBM has signed a 10-year partnership with IBM and Kyndryl to create a new ‘Airport in a Box’ platform that supports end-to-end travel experience for passengers at the Kempegowda International Airport.
Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), has signed a ten-year partnership with the company IBM to set up the ‘Airport in a Box’ platform.
The partnership is designed to help Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) improve its productivity, automate its information technology services, increase operational flexibility to handle future growth in passenger traffic and reduce costs.
The airport operator chose IBM Global Business Services, IBM hybrid cloud capabilities and Kyndryl, the new, independent company that will be created following the separation of IBM’s Managed Infrastructure Services business, to design and implement a next-generation architecture with a dynamic delivery model.
Massive wildfires in southern Turkey
A massive wildfire broke out in Manavgat District of Antalya Province, southern Turkey, engulfing approximately 1500 hectares of land.
A wildfire is a fire in an area of combustible vegetation occurring in rural areas. It may crossroads, or burn in sparsely populated areas.
The vast majority of naturally-caused wildfires are ignited by lightning. When lightning strikes, it can create enough heat to ignite a tree or other fuel source. Lightning strikes cause approximately 60% of wildfires in the Province in an average year.
In Indian Country, arson and debris burning are the leading causes of wildfires in areas where vegetation interfaces with urban structures.
On average, human-caused wildfires account for 80% of all wildfires that occur in Indian Country every year. Due to their proximity to homes and other community infrastructure, they also destroy nearly 190 structures annually.
