GK/CA

Following the footsteps of cricket legends, the BCCI has retired the No.7 jersey of MS Dhoni, the former captain who led India to many victories. This is a tribute to his legacy and achievements, similar to the retirement of Sachin Tendulkar’s No.10 in 2017. Both Dhoni and Tendulkar are widely regarded as two of the greatest players in the history of Indian cricket.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently released the Global Status Report on Road Safety, which revealed that while there has been a 5% reduction in global road crash deaths from 2011 to 2021, India’s recorded fatalities increased in the same period. The total number of deaths in road crashes across the globe dropped from 1.25 million to 1.19 million in the ten-year period. However, India’s road safety record deteriorated, with fatalities increasing from 134,000 in 2010 to 154,000 in 2021. India’s share in global road fatalities also rose from 11% to 13%.Therefore, there is an urgent need to enhance road safety in India, by adopting a holistic, multisectoral, and evidence-based approach, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced three redrafted Bills in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday to replace the existing British-era criminal laws, after withdrawing the three Bills that were introduced in August. The three Bills seek to replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, respectively.

India's population is ageing in line with the majority of the global population. According to the India Ageing Report 2023 published by the UN Population Fund, there will be twice as many people over 60 in 2050 than there were in 2022 (10.5% or 14.9 crore), or 20.8% or 34.7 crore. There will be effects on society, the economy, and the health of one in five people as they get older. As children migrate in search of better opportunities, elderly people who live alone are becoming more prevalent, for example in Kerala and West Bengal. There are difficulties in raising children as life expectancy rises as a result of advances in disease prevention and reductions in fertility rates in many nations, including India.

India has stepped up its fight against cervical cancer, with the Central Government announcing that it will provide vaccinations to girls aged 9 to 14 through schools. The decision comes at a critical juncture, as a study published this month in The Lancet found that India has the highest number of cervical cancer cases in Asia, followed by China. More than 58% of all cervical cancer cases and deaths worldwide were estimated to have occurred in Asia, with India accounting for 21% of cases and 23% of deaths, followed by China (18% and 17%). Cervical cancer is both preventable and treatable. It is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, and there are vaccines available to protect against carcinogenic HPV.

A recent study resulted in the addition of three medicinal plant species from the Himalayas to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. According to assessments, Dactylorhiza hatagirea is "endangered," Fritilloria cirrhosa is "vulnerable," and Meizotropis pellita is "critically endangered."

Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and a symbol of stability in a turbulent era that saw the decline of the British empire and disarray in her own family, died Thursday after 70 years on the throne. She was 96.

Poshan Maah celebrations from 1st September–30th September with a focus on“Mahila aur Swasthya”and“Bachaaur Shiksha”.

Registered violent crimes such as r**e, kidnapping, crimes against children and robberies increased again across India in 2021, after pandemic-related restrictions led to a decline in these severe offences in 2020. Murders, which did not come down even in 2020, continued to increase last year too.
The number of registered r**e cases increased from 28,046 in 2020 to 31,677 in 2021, closer to the 2019 figure of 32,032 cases. Cases related to kidnapping and abduction fell to 84,805 in 2020 from 1,05,036 cases in 2019, but again rose to 1,01,707 in 2021. On the other hand, murder cases continued their consistent increase with 29,272 cases in 2021, up from 29,193 in 2020 and 28,915 in 2019.
However, the number of overall registered cognisable crimes decreased from 66 lakh in 2020 to 60.9 lakh in 2021, a 7.6% decrease. The crime rate (crimes per 1 lakh people) also decreased from 487.8 in 2020 to 445.9 in 2021.

Marking a steady increase since 2014, the share of daily wagers among those who die by su***de in the country has crossed the quarter mark for the first time, according to the latest report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) — one in four of the recorded 1,64,033 su***de victims during 2021 was a daily wage earner.
The report — “Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India” — shows that daily wage earners remained the largest profession-wise group among su***de victims in 2021, accounting for 42,004 su***des (25.6 per cent).

Carbon dioxide measured at the Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory, Hawaii, run by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), peaked for 2022 at 421 parts per million in May. This has pushed the atmosphere further into territory not seen for millions of years, scientists from NOAA and Scripps Institution of Oceanography announced last week.
NOAA’s measurements averaged 420.99 parts per million (ppm), an increase of 1.8 ppm over 2021. Scientists at Scripps independently calculated a monthly average of 420.78 ppm.

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma signed an agreement in the presence of Union home minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Tuesday to end the 50-year-old border dispute between the two northeastern states.

Apple’s “CODA” wins historic Oscar for Best Picture at the Academy Awards :

“CODA” landed three Academy Awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with wins for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Troy Kotsur, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Siân Heder. The winners were revealed this evening at the 94th Annual Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles.

The Ayurveda medical practitioner Dr Pramod Sawant will lead the BJP second time as Goa chief minister

The government of India has convened a multi-Ministerial group to look into how to overcome challenges in trade with Russia, including managing payments for exporters and importers, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar said in Parliament on Thursday, in comments that indicate a possible revival of “Rupee-Rouble trade” in the wake of economic sanctions against Russian banks and entities by more than 40 U.S. and European allies.

India on Thursday extended a $1 billion credit facility to Sri Lanka to assist the island nation through its worst foreign exchange crisis and enable it to procure food, medicines and other essential items.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the Statue of Equality in Hyderabad on 5th February 2022. The Statue of Equality commemorates the ongoing 1000th birth anniversary celebrations of Sri Ramanujacharya, a 11th century Bhakti Saint who promoted the idea of equality in all aspects of living including faith, caste and creed.

The 216-feet tall statue is one of the tallest seated metal statues in the world.

StatueofEquality

SC notice on Centre’s plea to modify order that protected Great Indian Bustard.

Google will invest up to $1 billion in Bharti Airtel through a mix of equity and commercial partnerships in areas like affordable smartphones, networks, and cloud.

This is the tech giant’s second investment in an Indian telecom service provider (after Reliance Jio) and is part of its $10-billion India digitisation fund. Discussion between the two companies had been going on since the first half of 2021 and culminated in an announcement on Friday.

The $1-billion commitment includes an equity investment of $700 million (Rs 5,224 crore). Shares will be issued to Google on a preferential basis at Rs 734 apiece and will give Google a 1.28 per cent stake in the company. The deal price is at a 2.5 per cent premium to Airtel’s stock price of Rs 715.90 on Thursday.

The Supreme Court sought replies from the Centre and the Election Commission on a PIL seeking direction to seize the symbol or deregister a political party that promises or distributes “irrational freebies” before polls.
A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli sought the response in four weeks on the PIL filed by BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay.

Flight Lieutenant Shivangi Singh, the country’s first Rafale pilot, was a part of the Indian Air Force (IAF) tableau that featured in the Republic Day parade on Wednesday.

Looking to double the trade between India and the United Kingdom (UK) by 2030, the countries launched formal Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations on Thursday, which they hope to conclude by the end of the year.
Bilateral trade between the countries is worth about $50 billion per year. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said both countries had agreed to avoid “sensitive issues” and focus on areas where there is more complementarity. The agriculture and dairy sectors are considered sensitive sectors for India in trade talks.

Data released by the National Statistical Office on Wednesday showed that retail inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), rose to a six-month high of 5.6 per cent in December 2021. As a consequence, inflation in the third quarter works out to just about 5 per cent, marginally lower than the estimate of 5.1 per cent projected by the Reserve Bank of India in the December monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting.

Prominent rocket scientist S Somanath is the new chairperson of the Indian Space Research Organisation, according to an order issued by the Centre on Wednesday.

7th January 2022 :
According to the first advance estimates released by the National Statistical Office on Friday, the Indian economy is expected to grow at 9.2 per cent in 2021-22. Considering that the economy grew just shy of 14 per cent in the first half of the year, these estimates translate to a growth of around 5.6 per cent in the second half. This is lower than the RBI’s estimates which, in the December monetary policy committee meeting, had projected real GDP growth at 9.5 per cent for the full year, comprising 6.6 per cent in the third quarter, and 6 per cent in the fourth quarter.

The Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was established by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1962. Under Indira Gandhi, IN- COSPAR became ISRO in 1969. At first ISRO had a purely developmental focus which included inserting satellites for communication and information, but eventually it split space exploration and high profile missions such as Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan. A natural progression in India's space exploration programme is the first crewed mission - 'Gaganyaan' which plans to send an Indian crew into space by June 2022.

Refugees as weapons", or "Weapon of Mass Migration" is a term a term used to describe a hostile government organizing, or threatening to organize, a sudden influx of refugees into another country with the intent of overwhelming its borders or causing political discomfort.

Employment during Lockdown

The prolonged lockdown resulted in the loss of employment and income for daily wage workers. To cater to the humongous demand for work, the department played a pivotal role in employing the MGNREGA Scheme. Due to the relentless efforts of the Department, the number of man-days increased by nearly 10 times from 2.7 lakhs in April 2020 to 21.7 lakhs in May 2020. The total number of man-days generated in 2020-21 increased by 60% as compared to 2019-20. The total expenditure incurred in 2020-21 was 1241 crores (the highest so far).
To commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, 550 plants per village, i.e., 77 lakh saplings were planted and around 26000 Van Mitras were appointed. As a result, the overall green cover of the State has increased by 11363 hectares since 2017. This ensured a means of livelihood to the rural poor at the time of crisis and helped the lower economic strata to generate a source of income by nurturing these plants.

DRDO Chairman Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy has been conferred the prestigious Aryabhata Award by the Astronautical Society of India (ASI) for his outstanding lifetime contribution to the promotion of astronautics in India.