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 5 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 5 August 2021
US approved Harpoon missile deal with India
The US has approved the sale of Harpoon Joint Common Test Set (JCTS) and related equipment to India for an estimated cost of USD 82 million.
The Harpoon, first deployed in 1977, is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system. It has a low-level, sea-skimming cruise trajectory with active radar guidance, according to Boeing.
The Harpoon missile is the world’s most successful anti-ship missile and is in service with the armed forces of more than 30 countries.
This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to strengthen the US-Indian strategic relationship and to improve the security of a major defensive partner.
New Hydrogen-Producing method shows energy-efficient route
A team of researchers from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay have developed hydrogen manufacturing route which increases its production three times and lowers the energy required that could pave the way towards environment-friendly hydrogen fuel at a lower cost.
As a fuel, hydrogen has a critical role to play in driving the paradigm shift towards a green and sustainable economy.
In addition to having about three-fold higher calorific value compared to non-renewable energy sources such as coal and gasoline, the combustion of hydrogen to release energy produces water and is thus completely non-polluting.
Due to the extremely low abundance of molecular hydrogen in the earth’s atmosphere, electric-field driven breakdown of water is an attractive route for production of hydrogen.
India, Russia begin Joint Military Training Exercise INDRA 2021
The India-Russia joint training Exercise INDRA 2021 commenced at Prudboy Ranges, Volgograd with an opening ceremony that saw the unfurling of the national flags of both countries.
The aim of INDRA 2021 exercise is to facilitate joint training between Indian and Russian Armies to jointly plan and conduct counter-terror operations under the UN mandate.
The conduct of the exercise will also entail academic discussions between expert groups of both contingents.
The exercise will focus on unit-level joint planning and conduct of anti-terrorist operations and will include cordon and search operations, intelligence gathering and sharing, perception management, humanitarian laws and hostage rescue in simulated settings.
Exercise INDRA will strengthen mutual confidence, interoperability and enable sharing of best practices between the armed forces.
INS Khanjar Maiden Visited to Gopalpur Port
INS Khanjar becomes the first Indian Navy ship to call at the heritage coastal port of Gopalpur in Odisha.
Gopalpur is a coastal town and a Notified Area Council on the Bay of Bengal coast in Ganjam district in the southern part of Odisha.
During ancient times, Gopalpur served as an important port for the seafarers of ancient Kalinga. It is identified with the site Mansurkota located near Gopalpur, just below the mouth of the river Rushikulya.
Even during the World War –I, it was an important military port where soldiers used to embark on a journey to Burma.
Bhubaneswar becomes first city to vaccinate 100% of its population against Covid
Odisha’s Bhubaneswar became the first city in India to achieve 100 per cent vaccination coverage against Covid-19.
Furthermore, it has also administered the first dose of the vaccine to around one lakh migrant workers in the capital.
Several strategies like identification of priority population, increase in vaccination centres, and creating awareness helped the administration to achieve 100% vaccination in the city.
A total of 55 immunization centres were set up across the city to fasten the vaccination drive.
India joined Community of Portuguese Language Countries as Associate Observer
India has joined the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, CPLP as Associate Observer in July this year.
The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) is also known as the Lusophone Commonwealth.
It is an international organization and political association of Lusophone nations across four continents, where Portuguese is an official language.
The CPLP consists of 9 member states and 32 associate observers, located in Europe, South America, Asia, Africa and Oceania, totaling 37 countries and 4 organizations.
There are nine full member states of the CPLP. Seven were founding members of the CPLP: Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, and São Tomé and Príncipe; Timor-Leste joined in 2002 and Equatorial Guinea joined in 2014.
Boeing to attempt uncrewed test flight to ISS
Boeing is going get its spaceflight program back with an uncrewed flight of its Starliner capsule to the International Space Station (ISS).
The spacecraft, which is called the Crew Space Transportation-100 (CST-100) , is part of an uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station (ISS).
The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Its objective is to make access to space easier in terms of its cost, so that cargo and crew can be easily transported to and from the ISS, enabling greater scientific research.
The Starliner, which is supposed to carry more than 400 pounds of NASA cargo and crew supplies, will take roughly 24 hours to reach the ISS, after which it will dock there.
The spacecraft has been designed to accommodate seven passengers or a mix of crew and cargo for missions to low-Earth orbit.
The Starliner has an innovative, weldless structure and is reusable up to 10 times with a six-month turnaround time. It also features wireless internet and tablet technology for crew interfaces.
Net zero carbon targets may not be enough to tackle climate change
The Independent charitable organisation Oxfam reported that ‘net zero’ carbon targets that many countries have announced may be a “dangerous distraction” from the priority of cutting carbon emissions.
“Land-hungry ‘net zero’ schemes could force an 80 per cent rise in global food prices and more hunger while allowing rich nations and corporates to continue “dirty business-as-usual,” Oxfam has said in a new report titled “Tightening the Net”.
The report says that if the challenge of change is tackled only by way of planting more trees, then about 1.6 billion hectares of new forests would be required to remove the world’s excess carbon emissions by the year 2050.
Net-zero, which is also referred to as carbon-neutrality, does not mean that a country would bring down its emissions to zero. That would be gross-zero, which means reaching a state where there are no emissions at all, a scenario hard to comprehend.
58,000 child labour rescued in 2020-21
Over 58,000 children were rescued across India from work, rehabilitated and mainstreamed under the National Child Labour Project in 2020-21. The National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme is a Central Sector Scheme.
Under this Scheme the District Project Societies (DPS) are set up at the district level under the Chairmanship of the Collector/District Magistrate for overseeing the implementation of the project.
Under this Scheme, the children in the age group of 9-14 years are withdrawn from work and put into NCLP Special Training Centres, where they are provided with bridge education, vocational training, mid-day meal, stipend, health care etc. before being mainstreamed into formal education system.
The children in the age group of 5-8 years are directly linked to the formal education system through a close coordination with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
A dedicated online portal named PENCiL (Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour) is developed in order to make the NCLP successful through better monitoring and implementation
Under this Scheme, funds are provided directly to the District Project Societies who in turn engage and allocate the funds to NGOs/Voluntary Agencies/Civil Societies Organisation etc. for running of Special Training Centres.
Government launched ‘Sabki Yojna Sabka Vikas’ campaign
Government of India launched ‘Sabki Yojna Sabka Vikas’ campaign for inclusive and holistic preparation of Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).
Under Article 243 G of Constitution, Panchayats have been mandated for preparation and implementation of plans for economic development and social justice.
With this aim, People’s Plan Campaign titled ‘Sabki Yojna Sabka Vikas’, for inclusive and holistic preparation of Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) was launched from 2nd October, 2020 to 31st January, 2021 as was done during 2018 and 2019.
In this endeavor, convergence was sought with all Departments relating to 29 devolved subjects listed in XI Schedule of the Constitution.
Ebrahim Raisi inaugurated as President of Iran
Ebrahim Raisi inaugurated as President of Iran, a country whose hopes of shaking off a dire economic crisis hinge on reviving a nuclear deal with world powers.
Raisi, a conservative, replaces moderate President Hassan Rouhani, whose landmark achievement was the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and six major powers.
Raisi won a presidential election in June in which more than half the electorate stayed away after many heavyweights were barred from standing.
A former judiciary chief, he has been criticised by the West for his human rights record.
Exercise of Pardon Power of Governor
The power of Governor under Article 161 of the Constitution to commute sentence or to pardon will override the restrictions imposed under Section 433-A of the Criminal Procedure Code.
In fact, the Governor’s power to pardon overrides a provision in the Code of Criminal Procedure — Section 433A — which mandates that a prisoner’s sentence can be remitted only after 14 years of jail
Section 433A of the Code cannot and does not in any way affect the constitutional power conferred on the President/Governor to grant pardon under Articles 72 or 161 of the Constitution.
If the prisoner has not undergone 14 years or more of actual imprisonment, the Governor has a power to grant pardon. Such power is in exercise of the power of the sovereign, though the Governor is bound to act on the aid and advice of the State Government.
In fact, the court noted that the sovereign power of a Governor to pardon a prisoner under Article 161 is actually exercised by the State government and not the Governor on his own.
The advice of the appropriate government binds the Head of the State, Justice Gupta observed in the judgment which referred to the Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench judgment in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case on the power of remission.
Lok Sabha Passed Tribunals Reforms Bill 2021
The Tribunals Reforms Bill, 2021 passed in Lok Sabha that seeks to replace the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021.
Uniform terms and conditions of service for Chairperson and Members of various tribunals, including the following, namely:
- Search-cum-Selection Committee for tribunals other than State Administrative Tribunals to be headed by the Chief Justice of India or a Judge nominated by him;
- Search-cum-Selection Committee for the State Administrative Tribunal to be headed by the Chief Justice of the High Court of the concerned State;
- age of retirement to be seventy years for Chairperson and sixty-seven years for a Member;
- the Chairperson and Member of a Tribunal shall be eligible for reappointment.
Abolition of tribunals or authorities under various Acts by amending
- the Cinematograph Act, 1952,
- the Copyrights, Act, 1957,
- the Customs Act, 1962,
- the Patents Act, 1970,
- the Airport Authority of India Act, 1994,
- the Trade Marks Act, 1999,
- the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999,
- the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001,
- the Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002;
Transfer of all cases pending before such tribunals or authorities to the Commercial Court or the High Court, as the case may be, on the appointed date.
MoU between IIST and TU Delft Netherlands for research activities
Union Cabinet has approved the MoU between Indian Institute of Space science and Technology (IIST) and The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), the Netherlands for carrying out the Academic programmes and Research activities.
The Parties may exchange students at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level and they will mutually discuss and decide the areas of studies and credits to be pursued under the scheme.
The signed Agreement will provide impetus to explore newer research activities and application possibilities in the field of Science and Technology.
Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology is a government-aided institute and deemed university for the study and research of space science, located at Valiamala, Nedumangad, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
ASEAN appointed envoy to open dialogue in Myanmar
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has appointed Brunei’s Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Erywan Yusof as its special envoy to facilitate the mediation of the dialogue process in Myanmar.
The appointment of the envoy from Brunei comes amid media reports of deep divisions within ASEAN countries on the issue.
The announcement came in a joint communique issued after the 54th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ meet in which 10 countries including Myanmar took part virtually.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is an intergovernmental organization aimed primarily at promoting economic growth and regional stability among its members.