DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 15^th – 16^th August 2021

India Celebrates 75th Independence Day

• India is celebrating ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, marking the 75th year of Independence from the foreign rule.
• Remembering the sacrifices made by the Indian freedom fighters on the 75th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed his wishes to the entire country.
• Speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the PM hailed the Tokyo Olympics participants and greeted the athletes who made the country proud by their achievements.
• 75th Independence Day should not be merely a ceremony; we must march with new pledges for next 25 years.
• We must ensure we meet our goal of building Atmanirbhar Bharat when we celebrate 100 years of India’s Independence.
• PM Modi gives call for ‘Sabka Prayas’ along with ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’ for building a new India.
• To honor the pain and suffering faced by people during the partition, the prime minister said that August 14 will now be observed as “Partition Horrors Remembrance Day.”
• From Ujjwala to Ayushman Bharat, the poor of the nation knows the strength and impact of these schemes.
• Over 4.5 crore new households have received piped water supply within two years of ‘Jal Jeevan Mission.’
• We must bridge the gap between lives in villages and cities and reach out to the deprived communities.
• Today, the optical fiber network is providing the power of data to villages, and the internet is reaching there.
• India will launch ‘Pradhan Mantri Gatishakti National Master Plan’, a 100-lakh crore national infrastructure master plan which will create a foundation for holistic infrastructure and give an integrated pathway to our economy.
• Seventy-five Vande Bharat trains will connect every corner of India in 75 weeks of Amrit Mahotsav of Independence.
• Efforts have increased in the last 7 years to free the people from unnecessary laws and procedures.
• The government’s New Education Policy is a means to fight poverty, it will focus on encouraging teaching in regional languages.
• We must ensure India becomes self-reliant in energy production.
• More Details Click: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day Speech: Key Points

Four New Ramsar Sites: India’s Wetlands

• Four new sites have been recognised as wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. Two of these sites are in Haryana, while the other two are in Gujarat. PM Modi called it “a matter of pride” for the country.
• Sultanpur National Park in Gurgaon and Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary in Jhajjar (both in Haryana) have been added to the list this year. Apart from that, Thol and Wadhwana from Gujarat too have now become a part of the convention.
• Natural wetlands are permanently or seasonally saturated in water and create habitats for aquatic plants. They retain large volumes of water, and their slow release makes them important for combating extreme weather conditions like floods and droughts.
• The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty adopted on February 2, 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar, It came into force for India on February 1, 1982.
• The World Wetlands Day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands (February 2, 1971).
• Last year, Ramsar declared 10 more wetland sites from India as sites of international importance. After the latest addition, India now has 46 such sites, the Union environment ministry said.

NIAB Launches IndiGau

• National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB), Hyderabad has launched a chip called IndiGau.
• It is India’s first Cattle Genomic Chip for the conservation of pure varieties of indigenous cattle breeds like Gir, Kankrej, Sahiwal, Ongole etc.
• NIAB is an Indian autonomous research establishment of the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology.
• IndiGau is purely indigenous and the largest cattle chip of the world.
• The Chip to achieve the goal of conservation of our own breeds with better characters and help towards doubling of farmers’ income by 2022.
• The manufacturing of this chip is in synergy with Rastriya Gokul Mission and a great example of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• Further, the chip exemplifies the application of scientific knowledge and innovations for “Ease of Living” for all sections of society.
• Gene chips are postage stamp-sized glass wafers that contain half a million or more tiny cells. Each cell holds DNA from a different gene. This array makes it possible to carry out a very large number of genetic tests on a single sample of genomic DNA at one time.

President Approves 144 Gallantry Awards

• President Ram Nath Kovind has approved 144 Gallantry awards to Armed Forces, police, and paramilitary personnel.
• These include one Ashok Chakra, one Kirti Chakra, 15 Shaurya Chakras, four Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry), 116 Sena Medals (Gallantry), five Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry) and two Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry).
• Of the 15 Shaurya Chakra awardees, three have been given the honor posthumously.
• More Details Click: List Of Gallantry Awardees 2021 – Independence Day

Taliban Takes Over Kabul

• The Taliban readied its forces on outskirts of the Afghan capital from all sides as panicked civilians prepared for the armed group’s takeover of Kabul nearly 20 years after relinquishing power in an American-led assault.
• “Negotiations for peaceful transfer of power”, whereas panicked workers fled government offices. Thousands of civilians now live-in parks and open spaces in Kabul itself, fearing the future.
• American Diplomats evacuated by help of Choppers.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

• National Optical Fiber Network (NOFN) was launched in
• 2010
• 2011
• 2012
• 2013

ANSWER: B

• Bharat Net Project was launched in
• 2012
• 2013
• 2014
• 2015

ANSWER: D

• It is a dispute resolution scheme for closing pending disputes relating to Service Tax and Central Excise cases.
• Sabka Saath
• Sabka Sankalp
• Sabka Vishwas
• Sabka Vikas

ANSWER: C

• It is India’s first indigenously built engineless semi-high-speed train.
• Vande Bharat Express
• Train 19 Express
• Rajdhani Express
• Bullet Train

ANSWER: A

• Vande Bharat Express has been built by
• Integral Coach Factory, Chennai.
• Rail Coach Factory, Punjab.
• Bharat Earth Movers Ltd., Bangalore.
• Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW), Varanasi.

ANSWER: A

• Montreux Record sometimes seen in news is associated with
• Kyoto Protocol
• Nagoya Protocol
• Ramsar Convention
• Rio Declaration

ANSWER: C

• World’s first Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention was from
• India
• Australia
• New Zealand
• Canada

ANSWER: B

• The countries with the most Ramsar Sites is
• USA
• UK
• Mexico
• Brazil

ANSWER: B

• _______has the largest area under Ramsar protection.
• Australia
• Philippines
• Bolivia
• Argentina

ANSWER: C

• Largest Ramsar Site of India
• Sundarbans Wetland
•  Vembanad Kol Wetland
• Chilka Lake
• Kolleru Lake

ANSWER: A

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