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 13 August 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.
International Army Games 2021
The International Army Games is organized annually by the Ministry of Defense of Russia (MoD) since August 2015 which involves close to 30 countries taking part in dozens of competitions over two weeks to prove which is the most skilled.
The games have been referred to as the War Olympics. In addition to the competition, the International Army Games includes a military theme park, a recruitment station, and souvenir shops.
A 101 member contingent of the Indian Army will proceed to Russia to participate in International Army Games – 2021 from 22 August to 04 September 2021.
The contingent will also contribute two observers (one each) for the Open Water and Falcon Hunting games in which Pontoon Bridge laying and UAV crew skills will be showcased by the participating teams.
The Indian Army contingent has been selected out of the best from various arms after three levels of screening. Participation in these annual games is a reflection of the level of professionalism of the Indian Army amongst the world Armies.
CEC inaugurated 11th Annual Meeting of the FEMBoSA for 2021
Chief Election Commissioner of India inaugurated the 11th Annual meeting of the Forum of the Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA) for the year 2021.
The meeting in Virtual mode was hosted by the Election Commission of Bhutan. Sushil Chandra, CEC, as the outgoing Chair of FEMBoSA, virtually handed over the Chairmanship of FEMBoSA to Dasho Sonam Topgay, Chief Election Commissioner of Bhutan.
The Forum of the Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA) was established at the 3rd Conference of Heads of Election Management Bodies of SAARC Countries held at New Delhi in 2012.
The annual FEMBoSA meeting is held by rotation among the members.
Besides ECI, the other 7 members are EMBs from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The objectives of the Forum are to promote contact among the EMBs of the SAARC countries; share experiences with a view to learning from each other and cooperate with one another in enhancing the capabilities of the EMBs towards conducting free and fair elections.
The statue of Rana Punja Bhil triggered tensions between two groups
A dispute in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district over hoisting of a flag on August 9 on the statue of Rana Punja Bhil, a historical figure considered as a hero by the tribal Bhil community, has triggered tensions between Adivasi groups and BJP members.
After the Amagarh fort dispute, this is the second issue in Rajasthan within a month when Adivasi groups and Hindu outfits are at odds over tribal history.
According to historians, Punja Bhil was a contemporary of 16th century ruler of Mewar, Maharana Pratap.
When Maharana Pratap was readying for the battle with Akbar, the tribal Bhil community voluntarily came to his assistance and at the time the Bhil army was commanded by Punja. Owing to his status as a commander, he was bestowed the title of Rana.
Apex Child Rights Body’s report claimed ‘Minority Schools in India Violating Norms’
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has released a report — The “Impact of Exemption under Article 15 (5) with regards to Article 21A of the Constitution of India on Education of Children in Minority Communities’’.
In this report, it has assessed minority schools (schools run by minority organisations) in the country.
Minority schools are exempt from implementing The Right to Education policy and do not fall under the government’s Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
Through this report, the NCPCR has recommended that these schools be brought under both RTE and SA, amongst a host of other recommendations.
In 2006, the 93rd Constitution Amendment Act inserted Clause (5) in Article 15 which enabled the State to create special provisions, such as reservations for advancement of any backward classes of citizens like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, in all aided or unaided educational institutes, except minority educational institutes.
Productivity in a Parliament session marred by disruptions
From the time the Session began on July 19, Opposition parties had disrupted both Houses over the government’s unwillingness to allow discussion on the Pegasus snooping scandal, the farmers’ protests, and the rise in prices, especially of auto fuels.
According to PRS Legislative Research data, the Monsoon Session was the fourth least productive Lok Sabha session of the last two decades, with a productivity of just 21 per cent. Rajya Sabha logged a productivity of 28 per cent, its eighth least productive Session since 1999.
Even though the Monsoon Session was badly hit in terms of productivity, and the time spent on discussion and passage of Bills came down drastically, the government did manage to push through a large volume of legislation.
According to PRS data, Lok Sabha took only 34 minutes on average to pass a Bill, while Rajya Sabha did it in 46 minutes.
Some Bills, like the Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Bill, 2021, were passed within five minutes. Only the OBC Bill was discussed for more than an hour in both Houses.
In comparison, the current Lok Sabha as a whole has so far spent 2 hours and 23 minutes on average discussing a Bill; Rajya Sabha has spent 2 hours on average.
PM Modi participated in ‘Atmanirbhar Narishakti se Samvad’
Prime Minister Modi participated in the ‘Atmanirbhar Narishakti se Samvad’ and interacted with women Self Help Group (SHG) members promoted under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM).
DAY-NRLM aims at mobilizing rural poor households into Self Help Groups (SHGs) in a phased manner and provide them long-term support to diversify their livelihoods, improve their incomes and quality of life.
Most of Mission’s interventions are being implemented and scaled up by the SHG women themselves who are trained as community resource persons (CRPs) – Krishi Sakhis, Pashu Sakhis, Bank Sakhis, Bima Sakhis, Banking Correspondent Sakhis etc.
The Mission is also working on empowering the SHG women through awareness generation and behaviour change communication on issues like domestic violence, women’s education and other gender related concerns, nutrition, sanitation, health etc.
National Commission for Homoeopathy (Amendment) Bill, 2021
The National Commission for Homoeopathy (Amendment) Bill, 2021, proposes to amend the National Commission for Homoeopathy Act, 2020 to provide a medical education system that improves access to quality and affordable medical education.
The 2020 Act replaced the Homeopathy Central Council Act, 1973. The 1973 Act set up the Central Council of Homeopathy for regulating homeopathic education and practice.
The 2020 Act replaced the Council with a national commission for regulating homeopathic education and practice.
The National Commission was constituted on July 5, 2021 to supersede the Central Council and on the same date the 1973 Act was repealed.
The 2021 Bill specifies that all powers exercised and functions performed by the Board of Governors (as under the 1973 Act) will be deemed to have been done under the 2020 Act and will continue to remain in force.
National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (Amendment) Bill, 2021
Parliament has passed the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (Amendment) Bill, 2021, with the Rajya Sabah approving it. The Lok Sabha had passed it earlier.
The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (Amendment) Bill, 2021 proposes to amend the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Act, 2020.
The 2020 Act replaced the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970. The 1970 Act set up the Central Council of Indian Medicine to regulate the education and practice of the Indian Medicine system which includes Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy.
The 2020 Act replaced the Council with a National Commission for regulating education and practice of the Indian medicine system.
The National Commission was constituted on June 11, 2021 to supersede the Central Council and on the same date the 1970 Act was repealed.
The 2021 Bill specifies that all powers and functions of the Board of Governors (as under the 1970 Act) will be deemed to have been done under the 2020 Act and will continue to remain in force.
ISRO’s GSLV failed to place earth observation satellite into orbit
The second mission of the year of ISRO to place an earth observation satellite by a GSLV rocket faced a setback as the mission could not be accomplished fully due to performance anomaly in the cryogenic stage of the rocket.
The GSLV-F10/EOS-03 rocket successfully lifted off from the second launch pad at the spaceport. However, minutes later, they announced that the “mission could not be accomplished fully due to performance anomaly”.
EOS-03 is a state-of-the-art agile Earth observation satellite which will be placed in a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit by GSLV-F10. Subsequently, the satellite will reach the final geostationary orbit using its onboard propulsion system.
EOS-03 was launched ahead of EOS-02, which has been delayed. EOS-02 is now scheduled for a launch in September-October.
That launch will try out a new rocket — SSLV, or small satellite launch vehicle. Though India has developed four rockets till now — SLV, ASLV, and different versions of PSLV and GSLV — only two are currently operational.
The SSLV is designed to cater to the increasing demand for launch of small satellites, mainly from businesses and universities; it costs much less and consumes less energy.
India’s first national park to be equipped with satellite phones
Kaziranga National Park of Assam became the first national park in India to be equipped with satellite phones. 10 satellite phones were handed over to the park officials.
The satellite phones will give an edge to the forest personnel over the poachers by boosting anti-poaching measures and also during emergencies like floods.
The public is barred from using satellite phones in India.
The Assam State Disaster Management Authority had procured the 10 satellite phones for Kaziranga at an estimated cost of ₹16 lakh. The park authorities will bear the monthly expenses for the service provided by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
International Lefthanders Day 2021
International Lefthanders Day is celebrated on August 13 to highlights the uniqueness of those using their left hand to perform their day to day activities.
The day was first celebrated in 1992to celebrate their uniqueness and to be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of being a left-hander.
Many prominent personalities across the globe are lefties. The illustrious list starts from former US President Barack Obama and goes on to influential businessmen like Mark Zuckerberg, Ratan Tata, and Bill Gates.
Renowned names in the entertainment industry like Lady Gaga, Julia Roberts and Amitabh Bachchan are also left-handers. Legends like Walt Disney, Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein were also lefties.
World Organ Donation Day 2021
World Organ Donation Day is observed on August 13 to encourage more people to take up organ donation, to celebrate the people who regained their lives through organ transplant, and to make people aware of the health benefits, and to assure them of the safety of the entire procedure.
According to a study conducted by Global Alliance for Eye Banking (GAEB), there has been no substantial evidence of COVID-19 being transferred through blood transfusion and tissue transplant.
The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) has rolled out several guidelines to be followed in case of transplantation – the procedure is to be done only in emergency cases.
The operation theaters employed in transplantation are to be solely used for that purpose. There should be ample availability of PPE kits, masks and disinfectants that are to be reserved for patients.
And most importantly, the transplant is to be initiated only after proper counselling is done of both donor and the recipient and they are educated on the risks of contracting the virus.
Manipur observes Patriots’ Day
Manipur observed Patriots’ Day on 13 August each year in memory of state heroes who laid down their lives fighting the British during the Anglo-Manipuri war of 1891.
After the graceful defeat at the Battle of Khongjom where the Manipuri armies fought gallantly under Major Paona Brajabashi, Manipur lost its sovereignty to the British.
And, on the fateful day of 13th August 1891, martyrs of Manipur- Yubraj Tikendrajit, Thangal General were hanged in front of the public at Pheidabung, presently known as Bir Tikendrajit park.
Patriots’ Day is observed every year on August 13 with the highest kind of tribute and honour the Manipuris can pay to those martyrs in remembrance of their bravery and love of their motherland.
Manipur ended its dark history of Seven Years’ Devastation and regained its freedom from the Burmese forces with the help of the British in the year 1826.
