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 9 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 9 August 2021
Piyush Goyal calls for steps to boost handloom production and exports
Union Minister of Textiles, Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal, Handloom exports should increase from ₹2,500 crore a year to ₹10,000 crore in the next three years.
The minister announced that a Committee will be constituted consisting of all weavers, trainers equipment makers, marketing experts and other stake holders to recommend ways and means to achieve the objective and improve all round progress of handloom sector.
It is a sector that directly addresses women’s empowerment with over 70% of all weavers and allied workers being female.
An e-commerce portal is being developed in coordination with Digital India Corporation (under MEITY) for handloom weavers and handicraft artisans. This will enable our weavers and artisans to sell directly to consumers.
On the clarion call of the Prime Minister, National level – “My Handloom My Pride Expo” is being organized at Dilli Haat, INA, New Delhi from 1st August to 15th August 2021 by National Handloom Development Corporation (NHDC) to celebrate the 7th National Handloom Day.
Criminal case and ban of abroad travel
A recent circular issued by the police in Kashmir has asked field intelligence units to look into the past record of involvement in stone-pelting incidents and other street protests whenever someone applies for a passport or a government job.
Under Section 6(2) of the Indian Passports Act, 1967, the passport authority can refuse to issue a passport for specific reasons such as
- the applicant being not a citizen of India;
- that the applicant may engage, outside India, in activities prejudicial to the country’s sovereignty and integrity, or
- that the applicant’s departure may be detrimental to the country’s security; or
- that the person’s presence abroad may prejudice India’s friendly relations with a foreign country.
Refusal of passport may also be related to a person’s antecedents. Conviction for any offence that involves “moral turpitude” with a sentence of not less than two years in the five preceding years would mean denial of passport.
In January 2016, the Delhi High Court upheld the validity of Section 6(2)(f) of the Act, which allows the Centre to refuse a passport to anyone against whom criminal proceedings are pending.
Increasing Temperature causing Retreat of Glaciers in Zanskar Valley, Ladakh
Increasing Temperature and Low Winter Precipitation are causing Retreat of Glaciers in Zanskar Valley, Ladakh.
Since 2015, the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) at Dehradun, an autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology, has been working on various aspects on glaciology.
A team of scientists from the institute ventured to study the less explored region of the Himalayas at Zanskar in Ladakh.
The study also said that field observations for four years (2015–2019) showed that the glacier is now retreating at an average rate of 6.7 plus/minus 3 metre per annum.
Google Doodle honours India’s first woman pilot Sarla Thukral
Google honoured India’s first woman pilot Sarla Thukral on her 107th birthday with a dedicated Google Doodle.
Sarla Thakral (1914 – 15 March 2008) was the first Indian woman to fly an aircraft.
Born in 1914, she earned an aviation pilot license in 1936 at the young age of 21 and flew a Gypsy Moth solo.
Thukral was a student of the Lahore Flying Club. She was the first Indian women to complete 1,000 hours of flight time to gain her A licence.
When she began preparations to become a commercial pilot, World War II put a stop.
Thukral then studied fine art and painting at Lahore’s Mayo School of Arts (now the National College of Arts). She later returned to Delhi where she continued painting and built a successful career designing jewellery and clothing.
China impacted by temperature rise higher than the global average
China is facing a growing risk of experiencing extreme weather and climate events and a temperature rise higher than the global average as a result of continuing climate warming.
A Blue Book on Climate Change in China 2021 published by China’s China Meteorological Administration (CMA) this week cautioned that between 1961 and 2020, extreme heavy precipitation sees a gradual rise, and since the mid-1990s extreme heat events have increased significantly in the country.
According to the Blue Book, China is a sensitive and significant area impacted by global climate change with a rise of temperature significantly higher than the global average during the same period.
The Blue Book points out that China’s climate risk index from 1961 to 2020 shows a tendency of increase, and in 2020 the number was 10.8, the third-highest value in that period.
The Blue book comes within weeks of devastating floods in the central Chinese province of Henan, which killed more than 300 people and affected millions more.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell-Based Technology for Diesel-Run Trains
The Indian Railways Organisation of Alternative Fuels (IROAF) recently invited bids for Hydrogen Fuel Cell based Train on Indian Railways Network, which will be used to determine whether diesel-run trains can be operated by using hydrogen instead.
The project entails retrofitting Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) in 89 km Sonipat-Jind section of Northern Railway.
The retrofitting of diesel-powered DEMU and converting it into hydrogen fuel-powered train set will not only save the cost to the tune of ₹2.3 crore annually by converting from diesel to hydrogen, but also save the carbon footprint (NO2) of 11.12 kilo tons per annum and particulate matter of 0.72 kilo tonnes per annum.
Presently, very few countries are using this method. The trial of one rake is being done in Germany and the trial of the other in Poland.
New technique to study ultrasmall particles in cells
Researchers from IIT Madras and IISER Kolkata have developed a method to detect minute quantities of chemicals in solution.
They use a variation of absorption spectroscopy that surpasses the systemic limits imposed by conventional absorption spectroscopy.
With this technique, they can, in principle, illuminate the insides of cells and detect minuscule quantities of substances present there. The work was published in Nanoscale.
Absorption spectroscopy is a tool to detect the presence of elements in a medium. Light is shone on the sample, and after it passes through the sample is examined using a spectroscope.
Usually in absorption spectroscopy, the principle used is that light because of its wavelike nature, shows diffraction patterns, that is, dark and light fringes, when it scatters off any object. A related concept called the Abbe criterion sets a natural limit on the size of the object being studied.
Special moment for Indian wrestling
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated ace Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia for winning bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
The 27-year-old defeated Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov in the men’s freestyle 65kg category to clinch a medal on his Olympic debut.
Bajrang Punia is a freestyle wrestler from Haryana. He competes in the 65-kg weight category.
He is the only Indian wrestler to win 3 medals at the World Wrestling Championships.
He won a bronze medal by defeating Kazakhstan’s Daulet Niyazbekov at Tokyo Olympics 2020.
With Bajrang’s medal, Indian wrestlers have matched their best performance at the Olympic Games by earning two podium finishes. Ravi Dahiya had won an inspiring silver medal in the 57kg category.
At the 2012 London Games, Sushil Kumar had won a silver and Yogeshwar Dutt returned with a bronze.
Quit India Movement Day 2021
Quit India Movement Day is celebrated on 8 August each year in India. Quit India Movement was a mass civil disobedience movement launched by Mahatma Gandhi on 8 August 1942.
He launched the movement in Gowalia Tank Maidan (now also known as August Kranti Maidan), and gave a call ‘do or die’.
While launching the movement, he demanded that the British must leave India immediately or else mass agitations would take place.
One of the major triggers of Quit India Movement was British dragging India, without consent, into World War II to fight on behalf of Britain.
Over 87,000 Indian soldiers (including those from modern day Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh) died in World War II.
Nagasaki Day 2021
Nagasaki day is observed on 9 August each year to promote peace politics and is a focus for anti-war and nuclear disarmament groups around the world.
The pictures of mushroom clouds after the nuclear bombs were detonated by the United States over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan have gone down in history as the worst kind of devastation humans can unleash on earth.
On August 9, 1945, the US dropped the second nuclear bomb on Nagasaki, three days after Hiroshima was destroyed by the first one – a uranium bomb- ‘Little Boy’.
Code-named the ‘Fat Man’, the bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki, killed over 80,000 people. This led to Japan’s unconditional surrender in Second World War.
Balaram Jayanti 2021
Balaram Jayanti is observed on Shravan Purnima in many parts of the country and on Akshaya Tritiya day in other regions of India.
The festival of Balaram Jayanti is also famous as Lalahi Chhath or Shashti in some of the Northern states of the nation.
The day is also celebrated in the name Randhan Chhath or Baladeva Chhath in Gujarat. Primarily, all the old and young Vaishnavas, men and women celebrate the eve of this joyous festival with much vigor and devotion.
As per the Hindu religion and Puranas, Lord Balarama was found to be the ninth incarnation of the Lord Vishnu.
Lord Balarama was also the elder brother of Lord Krishna. He was very powerful and with his powers, he demolished Asura Dhenuka, the giant demon.
PM Modi released installment of financial benefit under PM-KISAN scheme
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently released the installment of financial benefit under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme.
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi is a central sector scheme under the government of India which provides income support to the farmers and their families.
PM-KISAN scheme was first implemented as the Rythu Bandhu scheme by the Government of Telangana where a certain amount was handed directly to the eligible farmers.
This scheme was introduced to augment the source of income of many small and marginal farmers. The main objectives of the PM-KISAN scheme are mentioned below:
- To provide income support to all eligible land-holding farmers and their families.
- PM-KISAN scheme also aims to supplement the financial needs of the farmers in procuring various inputs to ensure proper crop health and appropriate yields, commensurate with the anticipated farm income.
- The scheme is expected to increase the coverage of PM-KISAN to around 14.5 crore beneficiaries. It aims to cover around 2 crores more farmers with an estimated expenditure of Rs. 87,217.50 crores that will be funded by the Central Government.
Rekha Sharma got 3-year term as Chairperson of the National Commission for Women
Chairperson of the National Commission for Women, Smt. Rekha Sharma got Nominated for another term of 3 years.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) is the statutory body of the Government of India, generally concerned with advising the government on all policy matters affecting women.
It was established on 31 January 1992 under the provisions of the Indian Constitution, as defined in the 1990 National Commission for Women Act.
The first head of the commission was Jayanti Patnaik. As of 30 November 2018, Rekha Sharma is the chairperson.
