Daily Current Affairs 25 August 2021 – Gkseries
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 25 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 25 August 2021
Andhra Pradesh became first state with three ‘water plus’ certified cities
The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has recognised three municipal corporations in Andhra Pradesh with ‘Water Plus’ certification.
With this, Andhra Pradesh has become the first state to be recognized with more than one ‘Water Plus’ certified municipal corporation.
Tirupati Municipal corporation, Vijayawada Municipal corporation, and Greater Vishakhapatnam Municipal corporation (GVMC) were certified as ‘Water Plus’ under the Swachh Bharat Mission and Swachh Survekshan Assessment.
As per the existing protocols prescribed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Water plus certification is the next step after receiving Open Defecation Free (ODF/ODF+ /ODF++) status.
Japan aims to bring back soil samples from Martian moon by 2029
Japan’s space agency plans to bring soil samples back from the Mars region ahead of the US and Chinese missions now operating on Mars, in hopes of finding clues to the planet’s origin and traces of possible life.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, plans to launch an explorer in 2024 to land on the Martian moon Phobos to collect 10 grams (0.35 ounce) of soil and bring it back to Earth in 2029.
NASA’s Perseverance rover is operating in a Mars crater where it is to collect 31 samples that are to be returned to Earth with help from the European Space Agency as early as 2031. China landed a spacecraft on Mars in May and plans to bring back samples around 2030.
JAXA scientists believe about 0.1% of the surface soil on Phobos came from Mars, and 10 grams could contain about 30 granules, depending on the consistency of the soil.
The saroop of Sikh Holy Book
Among the most striking images emerging from the flight of Sikhs from Afghanistan have been those of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri carrying on his head, one of the saroops of the holy Guru Granth Sahib flown in from that country.
Saroop is a physical copy of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, also called Bir in Punjabi. Every Bir has 1,430 pages, which are referred to as Ang. The verses on every page remain the same.
The Sikhs consider the saroop of Guru Granth Sahib a living guru and treat it with utmost respect. They believe that all the 10 Gurus were the same spirit in different bodies, and the Guru Granth Sahib is their eternal physical and spiritual form.
It was the fifth Sikh master, Guru Arjan Dev, who compiled the first Bir of the Guru Granth Sahib in 1604, and installed it at the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Later, the tenth Sikh master, Guru Gobind Singh, added verses penned by the ninth master, his father Guru Tegh Bahadur, and compiled the Bir for the second and last time. It was in 1708 that Guru Gobind Singh declared the Guru Granth Sahib the living Guru of the Sikhs.
Guru Granth Sahib is a compendium of hymns written by six Sikh gurus,15 saints, including Bhagat Kabir, Bhagat Ravidas, Sheikh Farid and Bhagat Namdev, 11 Bhatts (balladeers) and four Sikhs. The verses are composed in 31 ragas.
Narayan Rane moved HC over FIRs against ‘slam Thackeray’ remark
Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Narayan Rane moved the Bombay High Court seeking anticipatory bail and quashing of three FIRs filed against him over his statements that he would have “tightly slapped” chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, who he claimed was ignorant of the country’s independence year.
If Parliament is not in session, a cabinet minister can be arrested by a law enforcement agency in case of a criminal case registered against him.
As per Section 22 A of the Rules of Procedures and Conduct of Business of the Rajya Sabha, the Police, Judge or Magistrate would, however, have to intimate the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha about the reason for the arrest, the place of detention or imprisonment in an appropriate form.
The Chairman is expected to inform the Council if it is sitting about the arrest. If the council is not sitting, he/she is expected to publish it in the bulletin for the information of the members.
As per the main privileges of Parliament, in civil cases, they have freedom from arrest during the continuance of the House and 40 days before its commencement and 40 days after its conclusion, as per section 135 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
The privilege of freedom from arrest does not extend to criminal offences or cases of detention under preventive detention.
Greece built a 40-km long wall on its border with Turkey
Greece has completed building a 40-km long wall and installed a hi-tech surveillance system on its border with Turkey to avoid the influx of Afghan migrants following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
The development comes amid apprehensions about heavy migration of Afghan citizens into Greece via Turkey, and then further into Europe.
Greece built the wall stating that the country cannot let Afghan nationals penetrate their borders and enter the country.
The European Union faced a huge inflow of migrants from neighbouring countries, especially the middle-east, during the 2015 Syrian war.
More than 1.3 million people fled to Europe, seeking asylum in the EU, Norway and Switzerland, Pew Research stated.
Indian Army promoted 5 women officers to Colonel rank first time ever
The Indian Army’s Selection Board has cleared the way for the promotion of five women officers to Colonel (Time Scale) rank, post completion of 26 years of reckonable service.
This is the first time that women officers serving with the Corps of Signals, Corps of Electronic and Mechanical Engineers (EME) and the Corps of Engineers have been approved to the rank of Colonel.
Previously, promotion to the rank of Colonel was only applicable for women officers in the Army Medical Corps (AMC), Judge Advocate General (JAG) and the Army Education Corps (AEC).
The widening of promotion avenues to more branches of the Indian Army is a sign of increasing career opportunities for women officers.
Combined with the decision to grant permanent commission to women officers from a majority of branches of the Indian Army, this step defines the Indian Army’s approach towards a gender-neutral Army.
Standing Committee on Defence visited INS Chilka
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence (SCOD) visited the prestigious ab-initio sailors training establishment of Indian Navy, INS Chilka on 23 Aug 21.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence (SCOD) is a Department Related Standing Committee (DRSC) of selected members of parliament for legislative oversight of the defence policies and decision making of the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
INS Chilka is the only ab-initio training establishment of the Indian Navy, which trains more than 6600 raw recruits annually to make them able bodied sailors.
INS Chilka is located in the coastal state of Odisha in the vicinity of Chilka Lake.
Sree Narayana Guru Jayanti
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has paid tributes to Sree Narayana Guru on his Jayanti. Narayana Guru was a philosopher, spiritual leader and social reformer in India. He was born into a family that belonged to the Ezhava caste.
He led a reform movement against the injustice in the caste-ridden society of Kerala in order to promote spiritual enlightenment and social equality.
Shri Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (also known as SNDP Yogam) is an Indian spiritual organization that was formally founded by Dr. Padmanabhan Palpu in 1903, with the guidance of Shri Narayana Guru. The main aim of SNDP Yogam was to spiritually uplift the people of the Ezhava/Tiyyar communities.
Vaikom Satyagraha (1924–25) was a social protest in erstwhile Travancore against untouchability and caste discrimination in Hindu society of Kerala. Sree Narayana Guru involved himself with the Vaikom Satyagraha and extended much co-operation.
He published 45 works in Malayalam, Sanskrit and Tamil languages which include Atmopadesa Śatakam, a hundred-verse spiritual poem and Daiva Dasakam, a universal prayer in ten verses.
New portal launched to facilitate geospatial planning of MGNREGA assets
The government launched a new geospatial planning portal, ‘Yuktdhara’, which Union Minister Jitendra Singh said will help in facilitating new MGNREGA assets using remote sensing and geographic information system-based data.
The “Yuktdhara” Geospatial Planning Portal will serve as a repository of assets (Geotags) created under various national rural development programmes i.e. MGNREGA, Integrated Watershed Management Programme, Per Drop More Crop and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana etc., along with field photographs.
This portal integrates wide variety of thematic layers, multi-temporal high resolution earth observation data with analysis tools.
Planners will analyse previous assets under various schemes and facilitates identification of new works using online tools. Plans prepared will be evaluated by appropriate authorities under State Departments.
Thus, Yuktdhara based plans will be prepared by grassroot functionary and verified by appropriate authorities for relevance and resource allocation. This would ensure quality of plan and enable a long term monitoring of the assets created over the years.
Russia to deliver first stealth frigate by mid-2023
The first of two additional Krivak class stealth frigates being built by Russia is expected to be delivered to India in the middle of 2023.
In October 2016, India and Russia signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for four Krivak or Talwar class stealth frigates — two to be procured directly from Russia and two to be built by Goa Shipyard Ltd. (GSL) — after which a $1 billion deal was signed for the direct purchase.
The keel for the first ship to be built at GSL was laid in January and for the second ship in June this year. Keel laying is a major milestone in shipbuilding symbolises the formal commencement of the construction process.
The Navy currently operates six Krivak class frigates procured in two different batches.
Union minister Narayan Rane arrested for ‘slap Uddhav Thackeray’
Union Minister Narayan Rane was formally arrested by Maharashtra police for his slap remarks against Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Two FIRs were registered against the Union Minister, one in Pune and the other one in Nashik, regarding his remarks.
Rane had also approached the Bombay High Court earlier seeking protection from arrest.
In the first FIR filed against him at Mahad, Rane was booked under sections 189 (threat of injury to public servant), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of public peace), and 505 (statements conducive to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Egypt closed Gaza border amid tensions with Hamas
Egypt has closed its main border crossing point with the Gaza Strip amid tensions with the territory’s Hamas rulers.
It was the first time the Rafah crossing was shuttered during a workday since early this year. Egyptian authorities had kept it open during the 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in May.
According to the Egyptian officials, the closure was connected to Cairo’s efforts to broker a long-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. It was not immediately clear how long the closure would last.
The closure came hours after Egypt’s state-run news agency reported that the crossing point was opened after its weekly closing down for the Muslim weekend.
World Water Week 2021
World Water Week is observed on August 23 to 27 each year. It is the annual focal point for the globe’s water issues.
Organized by SIWI, this year’s event will be held entirely online, in a new, digital format designed to ensure that people across the world can collaborate to find solutions to the most pressing water-related challenges.
Under the theme “Building Resilience Faster,” World Water Week 2021 will address such issues as the climate crisis, water scarcity, food security, health, biodiversity, and impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
While the event is usually held in Stockholm, hosting 4,000 people from more than 135 countries, the 2021 conference will be fully digital to ensure that this important forum can take place despite the ongoing pandemic.