DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 18^th August 2021

India Records 572% Growth in Grant of Patents in last 7 years

• 28,391 patents granted in 2020-21 as compared to 4,227 grants during 2013-14.
• Shri Piyush Goyal conferred National Intellectual Property Awards 2020.
• Centre aims to impart training & awareness to 10 Lakh students on IPR matters in this Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav (15th Aug 2021 to 15 Aug 2022)
• 14.2 lakh trademark registrations done in 4 years (2016-2020) in comparison to 11 lakh for 75 years (1940-2015).
• India’s ranking in Global Innovation Index jumps to 48th in 2020, (+33 ranks from 81st in 2015-16)
• Powered by Intellectual Property, India can be the Innovation Powerhouse of the world and we must aim to make India the “Design hub of World” said Shri Piyush Goyal (Minister of Commerce and Industry)

India Won 15 Medals in the Youth World Archery Championship

• India won highest ever 15 medals at Youth World Archery Championship in Wroclaw (Poland) held from 9th to 15th August,2021.
• 15 medals (8 Gold, 2 Silver and 5 Bronze medals) which is India’s best performance in the Youth World Archery Championship till date.
• Five Youth archers who won medals, have also been selected as members of the senior team that is going to participate in the USA-World Championships – Sept 2021.
• Komalika Bari became the second Indian after Deepika Kumari to win both the Cadet and Junior Recurve Women World Champions’ titles.

Vriksharopan Abhiyan – 2021

• “Vriksharopan Abhiyan – 2021” of Coal Ministry to be Launched on 19th August 2021 as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Celebrations
• An Important Step Towards Enhancing Green Cover In and Around Coalfields and for Environmental Sustainability in Mining Operations.
• One of the key initiatives has been “Go Greening” drive in and around mining areas thereby not only disturbing the local ecosystem but also creating additional carbon sink to mitigate the causes of climate change.
• Further, coal companies are also aiming to achieve carbon neutrality through various environment friendly measures such as extensive plantation and adoption of clean coal technologies.

Novel Orchid Species Found in Uttarakhand

• In a pleasant development for the Indian flora, a rare species of Orchids were recently found in India for the first time.
• The rare species of orchids, scientifically named as ‘Cephalanthera erecta var. Oblanceolate was found recently, for the first time in India in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district.
• Uttarakhand is the home to 250 recorded species of orchids. With the Mandal valley in the Chamoli district being particularly rich in orchid species, due to high rainfall and very rich vegetation cover.

TAPAS Initiative by Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment

• The Ministry for Social Justice and Empowerment has launched an online portal TAPAS (Training for Augmenting Productivity and Services).
• The idea of TAPAS was conceptualized at a time when exploring the online medium for work and education had become imperative due to the outbreak of Covid 19 pandemic.
• It offers various courses in the field of social defense for the capacity building of stakeholders. It is an initiative of National Institute of Social Defense (NISD).
• Social defense is generally understood as the protection of society against crime through a systematically organized and coherent action by both the State and civil society.

Record 88.13 lakh vaccine doses Administered in One Day

• In a landmark achievement, nearly 88 lakh (88,13,919) doses have been administered under the Largest Vaccination Drive on the 16th of August 2021.
• With the administration of the more than 88.13 lakh doses, the cumulative vaccination coverage has increased to 55.47Cr (55,47,30,609). This translates to 46% of all adult Indians receiving the first dose. 13% of all adult Indians have received both doses of vaccine and are protected against COVID-19.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

• _______ of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, provides for the right to protection of scientific, literary, or artistic productions.
• Article 27
• Article 28
• Article 29
• Article 30

ANSWER: A

• Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property was adopted in
• 1881
• 1882
• 1883
• 1884

ANSWER: C

• Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works was adopted in
• 1885
• 1886
• 1887
• 1888

ANSWER: B

• World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) was established in
• 1945
• 1955
• 1967
• 1988

ANSWER: C

• Headquarters of WIPO is at
• Geneva
• Paris
• New York
• London

ANSWER: A

• Current Union Minister for Mines
• Nithin Gadkari
• Piyush Goyal
• Arjun Munda
• Pralhad Joshi

ANSWER: D

• Geological Survey of India has headquarters at
• Mumbai
• Hyderabad
• Kolkata
• Ranchi

ANSWER: C

• Indian Bureau of Mines has headquarters at
• Secundrabad
• Nagpur
• Chennai
• Kochi

ANSWER: B

• The first National Mineral Policy was enunciated by the Government in _____for liberalization of the mining sector.
• 1990
• 1993
• 1996
• 1998

ANSWER: B

• India’s first Minister for Mines was
• N. V. Gadgil
• Swaran Singh
• Keshav Dev Malviya
• N. Sanjeev Reddy

ANSWER: A

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