DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 12 March 2022
Svamitva Scheme: Commencement Of Drone Flying
- Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh has said, SVAMITVA scheme has shown exemplary results and so far drone flying is completed in more than 1.16 lakh villages across the country.
- Mr. Singh on Friday launched SMS sending functionality to inform MPs and MLAs about the commencement of drone flying in their constituency under SVAMITVA Scheme. On this occasion, the Minister emphasized on the latest technology being used to implement the scheme. He underlined that proper use of technology has increased transparency and ensured effective implementation of schemes.
- He said, when the property records will be prepared by surveying more than 2.5 lakh Panchayats across the country under the SVAMITVA Scheme, then the available data will prove to be very useful in the implementation of many schemes across the country.
Sahitya Akademi Awards 2021
- As many as twenty-four eminent writers, playwrights and novelists have been conferred Sahitya Akademi Awards- 2021 in New Delhi on Friday.
- These awards have been provided for best writings in twenty-four Indian languages. Sahitya Akademi president DR. Chandrashekhar Kambar gave away the awards to them and handed a cheque of one lakh rupees, a shawl and memento to each of them.
- Those awarded with the Sahitya Akademi Awards are- Eminent Assamese novelist Anuradha sarma for her novel- Iyat Ekhan Aronya Asil, Bengali writer Bratya Basu, Bodo Poet Dr. Devakanta Ramchiary, Dogri Fiction writer Raj Rahi, English writer Namita Gokhale, Gujrati Poet Yagnesh Dave, Hindi playwright Daya Prakash Sinha and many more.
- The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India’s National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 24 major Indian languages such as Tamil, English, Bengali, Punjabi and the 22 listed languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution recognised by the Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi.
- Established in 1954, the award comprises a plaque and a cash prize of ₹ 1,00,000. The award’s purpose is to recognise and promote excellence in Indian writing and also acknowledge new trends. The annual process of selecting awardees runs for the preceding twelve months. The plaque awarded by the Sahitya Akademi was designed by the Indian film-maker Satyajit Ray. Prior to this, the plaque occasionally was made of marble, but this practice was discontinued because of the excessive weight. During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965, the plaque was substituted with national savings bonds.
High Powered Committee On Char Dham Project
- The Supreme Court on Friday appointed its ex-judge A.K. Sikri as Chairperson of the High-Powered Committee, which would consider the cumulative and independent impact of the Chardham project on the entire Himalayan valley. A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Surya Kant accepted the resignation of Professor Ravi Chopra as Chairperson of the Committee after he wrote a letter in January wishing to relinquish his post.
- Attorney General K.K Venugopal, appearing for the Centre said that since Justice (Retd.) Sikri has already been appointed by this court as Chairperson of the oversight committee to look after environmental concerns and other issues related to the Chardham project, it would be better if he is appointed as Chairperson. The bench agreed to the suggestion and appointed Justice (Retd.) Sikri.
5th Ministerial Dialogue: India & Canada
- The Commerce and Industry Ministry has said, India-Canada will re-launch the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations to unlock full potential of bilateral trade.
- India and Canada held the fifth Ministerial Dialogue on Trade and Investment on Friday. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade of Canada Mary Ng co-chaired the meeting. A range of other bilateral trade and investment issues were discussed during the meeting.
- The Ministers emphasised that the trade agreement would help in expanding bilateral trade in goods and services through unlocking the potential across sectors. Canada also agreed to examine expeditiously the request for conformity verification body status to Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority for facilitating Indian organic export products.
- The Ministers acknowledged the significance of establishing resilient supply chains in critical sectors and exchanged views on collaboration. They emphasised on enhancing cooperation in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, rare earth minerals, tourism, urban infrastructure, renewable energy and mining. They also noted the role of strong people-to-people ties between the two countries.
Russia Alleges US Of Biological Activities In Ukraine
- The United Nations Security Council will convene a meeting at Russia’s request. The meeting will be held on Friday. First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russian Mission Dmitry Polyanskiy said in a tweet that his country asked for a meeting of security council to discuss the military biological activities of the US on the territory of Ukraine, Russia repeated its accusation of several years that the United States is working with Ukrainian laboratories to develop biological weapons. Such assertions in Russian media increased in the run-up to Moscow’s military move into Ukraine and were made as recently as Wednesday by foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.
- However, the United States denied renewed Russian accusations that Washington was operating biological warfare labs in Ukraine, calling the claims “laughable” and suggesting Moscow may be laying the groundwork to use a chemical or biological weapon.
- U.S. Mission, spokesperson to the United Nations Olivia Dalton said Russia has a well-documented history of using chemical weapons and has long maintained a biological weapons program in violation of international law and US will not going to let Russia get away with gaslighting.
- In a statement, State Department spokesman Ned Price also said Russia is inventing false pretexts in an attempt to justify its own horrific actions in Ukraine.
- Like many other countries, Ukraine has public health laboratories researching how to mitigate the threats of dangerous diseases affecting both animals and humans. Its laboratories have received support from the United States, European Union, and World Health Organization.
Worst COVID Surge In China Again
- China is again battling a severe COVID-19 outbreak of highly infectious omicron variant as it has put 9 million residents of Changchun, capital of Northeast China’s Jilin Province under lockdown and suspended schools in the financial center Shanghai.
- According to the National Health Commission, China reported 1,100 domestic infections on Friday, the highest level since the peak of the Wuhan outbreak, a tally that has risen from just over 300 cases a day in less than a week. The surge presents a significant challenge to the country’s ongoing, zero-tolerance approach to the virus which has scattered across 14 provinces and municipalities in the ongoing outbreak including Qingdao, Shanghai, Guangzhou etc.
WHO Advises Ukraine To Destroy Pathogens
- The World Health Organization (WHO) advised Ukraine to destroy any dangerous pathogens being kept in research laboratories to prevent any potential spills that could harm the public amid the conflict with Russia, a News agency reported.
- Biosecurity experts feared that bombardment on Ukrainian cities have raised the risk of an escape of disease-causing pathogens, should any of those facilities be damaged.
- Like many other countries, Ukraine has public health laboratories researching how to mitigate the threats of dangerous diseases affecting both animals and humans including, most recently, COVID-19.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
- SVAMITVA Scheme Was Launched In
- 2018
- 2019
- 2020
- 2021
ANSWER: C
- SVAMITVA Scheme Works Under Aegis Of
- Ministry of Panchayati Raj
- Ministry of Rural Development
- Ministry of Electronics & IT
- Ministry of Home Affairs
ANSWER: A
- National Panchayati Raj Day
- January 26
- March 12
- April 24
- July 15
ANSWER: C
- PRIs Were Established Under
- Article 35
- Article 40
- Article 45
- Article 50
ANSWER: B
- The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Added
- Part IX
- Part X
- Part XI
- Part XII
ANSWER: A
- Highest Literary Honour In India
- Sahitya Akademi
- Jnanpith award
- Kabir Puraskar
- Vyas Samman
ANSWER: B
- Sahitya Akademi Award Established In
- 1954
- 1964
- 1974
- 1984
ANSWER: A
- Sahitya Akademi Gives ____ Annually To Literary Works
- 21 Awards
- 22 Awards
- 23 Awards
- 24 Awards
ANSWER: D
- Official Languages In India
- 7th Schedule
- 8th Schedule
- 9th Schedule
- 10th Schedule
ANSWER: B
- Besides 22 Languages Sahitya Akademi Has Recognised
- English and Rajasthani
- Dekhnni and Bhojpuri
- Haryanvi and Marathi
- English and Nepali
ANSWER: A
- Not Part Of Chardham Pilgrimage
- Badrinath
- Kedarnath
- Gangotri
- Kasi
ANSWER: D
- Char Dham Project Has Been Proposed In
- Uttarakhand
- Himachal Pradesh
- Haryana
- Uttar Pradesh
ANSWER: A
- Uttarakhand Was Formed In
- 1956
- 1960
- 1998
- 2000
ANSWER: D
- World Health Organization Was Founded In
- 1948
- 1950
- 1954
- 1960
ANSWER: A
- HQ Of World Health Organization
- Brussels
- Geneva
- New York
- London
ANSWER: B
- World Health Day
- March 13
- April 7
- July 5
- December 15
ANSWER: B
- WHO’s – India Global Polio Eradication Initiative
- 1988
- 1990
- 1992
- 1995
ANSWER: A
- WHO Director-General
- Lee Jong
- Anders Nordstrom
- Margaret Chan
- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
ANSWER: D
- Biological And Toxic Weapons Convention Was Signed In
- 1972
- 1975
- 1982
- 1985
ANSWER: A
- First Recorded Uses Of Biological Warfare Occurred In
- 1211 AD
- 1347 AD
- 1456 AD
- 1778 AD
ANSWER: B
Also Read:
