DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 13th August 2021
International Youth Day Celebrated
- International Youth Day (IYD) is an awareness day designated by the United Nations. The purpose of the day is to draw attention to a given set of cultural and legal issues surrounding youth. The first IYD was observed on 12 August 2000.
- It was based on a recommendation made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth in Lisbon to the UN General Assembly.
- Theme 2021: Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health ”.
- The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Department of Youth Affairs confers the National Youth Awards (NYA) on individuals (aged between 15-29 years)and organizations for excellent work and contribution in different fields of development and social service such as health, promotion of human rights, active citizenship, community service etc.
- The award comprises of a medal, a certificate, and a cash prize of Rs 1,00,000/- to individual and a cash prize of Rs. 3,00,000/- to organization respectively
Fit India Freedom Run 2.0
- Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Sh. Anurag Singh Thakur will launch the Nationwide programme of Fit India Freedom Run 2.0 on 13th August.
- Fit India Freedom Run being organized as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
- It will be organized in 744 Districts, 75 villages in each of the 744 Districts and 30,000 Educational Institutions across the country
- Through this initiative, more than 7.50 Crore youth and citizens will be reached to take part in the run.
54-member Indian Contingent for Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
- A 54-member Indian contingent was given a formal send-off for Tokyo Paralympics today.
- This is the biggest-ever contingent India is sending to any Paralympic.
- The Paralympic Games or Paralympics are a periodic series of international multi-sport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities.
India achieves 100 GW Milestone of Installed Renewable Energy Capacity
- The total installed renewable energy capacity in India, excluding large hydro, has crossed the milestone of 100 GW.
- Today India stands at 4th position in the world in terms of installed RE capacity, 5th in solar and 4th in wind in terms of installed capacity.
- While 100 GW has been installed, 50 GW is under installation and 27 GW is under tendering. India has now set its ambition to install 450 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030.
- If large hydro is included the installed RE capacity increases to 146 GW.
Prime Minister’s Shram Awards announced
- The GOI today announced the Prime Minister’s Shram Awards (PMSA) for the year 2018.
- These awards are to be awarded to 69 workers employed in the Departmental Undertakings & Public Sector Undertakings of the Central and State Governments and Private Sector Units employing 500 or more workers in recognition of their distinguished performance, innovative abilities, outstanding contribution in the field of productivity and exhibition of exceptional courage and presence of mind.
- This year the Prime Minister’s Shram Awards are given in three categories namely
- Shram Bhushan Awards which carry a cash prize of Rs.1,00,000/- each,
- Shram Vir/Shram Veerangana Awards which carry a cash prize of Rs. 60,000/- each and
- Shram Shree/Shram Devi Awards which carry a cash prize of Rs.40,000/- each.
World Elephant Day 2021
- World Elephant Day is an international annual event on August 12, dedicated to the preservation and protection of the world’s elephants.
- Conceived in 2011 by Canadian filmmakers Patricia Sims and Michael Clark and Elephant Reintroduction Foundation of Thailand.
- It aims to create awareness of the urgent plight of African and Asian elephants, and to share knowledge and positive solutions for the better care and management of captive and wild elephants.
- African elephants are listed as “Vulnerable” and Asian elephants as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of threatened species.
- Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change announced on the occasion that “All India Elephant and Tiger population estimation” exercise to be done in convergence for the first time in 2022.
- The required estimation protocol to be adopted was also released.
ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2 Finds Hydroxyl & Water molecules on Lunar Surface
- Even though India’s historic lunar-landing bid, the Chandrayaan-2 (2019) mission may have had a fatal ending on the moon, the orbiter that remained active and currently orbiting the moon, is now used by the scientists for high and low, new discoveries from the lunar surface.
- The latest revelation of the orbiter is detecting the presence of hydroxyl and water molecules on the surface of the Moon.
- The discovery is being hailed as significant for future planetary explorations & future projects on earth’s lunar surface.
- productivity by involving all employees and by making the work environment more efficient.
- Chandrayaan-2 is the second lunar exploration mission developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), after Chandrayaan-1.
- It consists of a lunar orbiter, and included the Vikram lander, and the Pragyan lunar rover, all of which were developed in India.
- The main scientific objective is to map and study the variations in lunar surface composition, as well as the location and abundance of lunar water.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
- _______ was name of Lunar Lander in Chandrayaan-2.
- Vikram
- Vineet
- Aryabhata
- Pragyan
ANSWER: A
- _______ was name of Lunar Rover in Chandrayaan-2.
- Parikrama
- Vineet
- Aryabhata
- Pragyan
ANSWER: D
- ________ was the launch vehicle used for Chandrayaan-2.
- GSLV Mark IV
- GSLV Mark III
- PSLV C-37
- PSLV C-41
ANSWER: B
- ________ was the first lunar soft landing of USA.
- Surveyor 1
- Surveyor 2
- Surveyor 3
- Surveyor 4
ANSWER: A
- ________ was the first lunar soft landing of China.
- Chang’e 3
- Chang’e 1
- Chang’e 2
- Chang’e 4
ANSWER: A
- _________is the first gold medalist for India in 2016 Paralympics.
- Varun Singh Bhati
- Deepa Malik
- Mariyappan Thangavelu
- Pooja Khanna
ANSWER: C
- _______ won gold for Men Javelin Throw in Rio 2016 Paralympics.
- Neeraj Kumar
- Amit Kumar
- Devendra Jhajharia
- Ritu Kumari
ANSWER: C
- When was the First Paralympic Games held?
- 1955, Berlin
- 1960, Rome
- 1980, Amsterdam
- 1975, London
ANSWER: B
- ________ has the highest Medal Count in Paralympics.
- USA
- UK
- China
- Russia
ANSWER: A
- With three medals, _______is India’s most decorated Paralympian.
- Devendra Jhajharia
- Kunal Singh
- Joginder Singh Bedi
- H M Kapoor
ANSWER: C
