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 15 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.
Daily Current Affairs 15 August 2021
Independence Day 2021
India celebrated its Independence Day on 15 August each year to mark the freedom from British rule. India is celebrating its 75th Independence Day on August 15, 2021.
The Indian Independence movement began during World War I and was led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. On August 15, 1947, India got its freedom, ending an almost 200-year British rule.
The Indian Independence Bill was introduced in the British House of Commons on July 4, 1947, and passed within a fortnight.
It provided for the end of British rule in India on August 15, 1947. After that, India became a free country with the bifurcation of India and Pakistan.
Indian Navy takes part in US Navy-led SEACAT exercises
The Indian Navy demonstrated its maritime maneuvers in U.S. Navy-led Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) military exercise in Singapore.
The military exercise also included navies of 20 other partner nations as well.
The maritime exercise aimed to foster enhanced cooperation between Southeast Asian countries by incorporating tactics, standardized training, and procedures to combat contingencies or illegal activities in the maritime domain.
Notably, the exercise featured a maritime operations center based out of the International Fusion Centre in Singapore, which will serve as a centralised hub for crisis coordination and information sharing of suspicious vessels during the simulation.
SEACAT began in 2002 as “Southeast Asia Cooperation Against Terrorism” and this is the 20th iteration of the exercise. In 2020, the event was conducted as part of a virtual symposium amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Centenary celebration of Baba Saheb Purandare
The Prime Minister Modi has paid rich tributes to Baba Saheb Purandare ji on entering the 100th year of his life.
Balwant Moreshwar Purandare (born 1922), popularly known as Babasaheb Purandare is a writer and theatre personality from Maharashtra.
His works are mostly based on the events related to the life of Shivaji, the 17th-century founder of the Maratha Empire; as a result he is termed as Shiv-Shahir (“Shivaji’s bard”). He is mostly known for his popular play on Shivaji Jaanta Raja.
In 2015, he was awarded with Maharashtra Bhushan Award, Maharashtra’s highest civilian award. He was awarded with Padma Vibhushan in 2019.
Piyush Goyal chaired Open Network for Digital Commerce
The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal recently chaired a meeting for the review of the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) initiative of DPIIT.
ONDC is globally first-of-its-kind initiative that aims to democratise Digital Commerce, moving it from a platform-centric model to an open-network.
As UPI is to the digital payment domain, ONDC is to e-commerce in India.
ONDC will enable, buyers and sellers to be digitally visible and transact through an open network. no matter what platform/application they use.
ONDC will empower merchants and consumers by breaking silos to form a single network to drive innovation and scale, transforming all businesses from retail goods, food to mobility
ONDC will be compliant with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and designed for compliance with the emerging Personal Data Protection Bill.
‘Operation Blue Freedom – Land World Record at Siachen Glacier’
Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Flagged-Off ‘Operation Blue Freedom – Land World Record at Siachen Glacier’.
People with disabilities from across the country will undertake an expedition till Kumar Post (Siachen Glacier) to create a new World Record for the largest team of people with disabilities to reach the world’s highest battlefield.
The name of this expedition is ‘Operation Blue Freedom’. This team is trained by ‘Team CLAW’ a team of Armed Forces veterans.
APEDA partners with HPMC to export five varieties of apples to Bahrain
Agriculture and processed food production export Development Authority (APEDA) recently collaboration with Himachal Pradesh Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation Ltd (HPMC) exported first consignment consisting of five unique varieties of apples – Royal Delicious, Dark Baron Gala, Scarlet Spur, Red Velox & Golden Delicious to Bahrain.
The apple promotion programme is also being organized for familiarising consumers in Bahrain about varieties of apples in India.
This comes at a time when India has been expanding its footprint of mango exports to the newer countries, notwithstanding logistical challenges posed by COVID19 pandemic.
In July, 2021, in a major initiative for boosting mango export potential from the eastern region especially to middle east countries, a consignment of Geographical Identification (GI) certified Fazil mango variety sourced from Malda district of West Bengal was exported to Bahrain.
MoHUA launched one brand -‘SonChiraiya’
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched ‘SonChiraiya’ – (A brand and logo)- for marketing of urban Self-Help Group (SHG) products.
DAY-NULM, under the aegis of MoHUA, has focussed on equipping the urban poor women with adequate skills and opportunities, and to enable them to promote sustainable micro enterprises.
It mobilises women from urban poor households into SHGs and their federations to create a support system for these women.
Many of these SHGs are engaged in livelihood activities, producing goods such as handicrafts, textiles, toys, eatables and so on.
This initiative (SonChiraiya) will certainly prove as a step towards increased visibility and global access for the products made by urban SHG women.
China partially shut down world’s third-busiest container port
China has partially shut down the world’s third-busiest container port after a worker there tested positive for Covid-19.
The Meishan terminal at Ningbo-Zhoushan port, which is south of Shanghai, accounts for over a fourth of the container cargo handled at the Chinese port.
Meishan terminal mainly services trade destinations in North America and Europe.
In the aftermath of Covid-19, global supply chains have remained fragile mainly on account of closures and lockdowns that affected both the manufacturing and the logistical segments of the chain.
Handbook to Guide EV Charging Infrastructure in India
NITI Aayog recently released a handbook to guide state governments and local bodies to frame policies and norms towards setting up charging networks for electric vehicles (EV).
The objective is to enhance charging infrastructure and facilitate a rapid transition to electric mobility in the country.
“The Handbook for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Implementation” has been jointly developed by NITI Aayog, Ministry of Power, Department of Science and Technology, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, and World Resources Institute India.
The Handbook provides a systematic and a holistic approach for adoptions by implementing authorities and other stakeholders involved in planning, authorisation and execution of electric vehicles charging infrastructure.
Narendra Modi launched national vehicle scrappage policy
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the national vehicle scrappage policy that will help phase out unfit and polluting vehicles.
The vehicle scrappage policy will bring in investments of around Rs 10,000 crore in the country, which will help phase out unfit and polluting vehicles in an environment-friendly manner.
As per law, a registration certificate for a passenger vehicle is valid for 15 years from date of issue. For a commercial vehicle, it is valid for a period of 10 years.
The scrappage policy will come into effect after the expiry of this 10 or 15 year period. The vehicle will then have to undergo a mandatory fitness test.
As per the motor vehicle law, renewal of fitness certificate annually is mandatory for a commercial vehicle once it is older than eight years. For the first eight years, such vehicles will need to undergo the test after every two years.
If a vehicle passes the fitness test then it will have to repeat the same after every 5 years to keep a check. A valid fitness certificate will be necessary for renewal of registration certificates after 15 years. The renewed certificate will be issued for a period of 5 years in case of private vehicles.
Maharashtra government launched e-crop survey initiative
Maharashtra state government launched the e-crop survey initiative which will become effective in Maharashtra from August 15.
The project, which was initially introduced as a pilot in two districts, is jointly implemented by the departments of revenue and agriculture along with the Tata Trust.
The concept will be a role model for the country, and the e-crop survey app is yet another initiative to reduce the hardships of the farmers as it would provide them crop-related information without hassles.
