DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 25 September 2021
Blue Planet Prize
- NHPC’s 510 MW Teesta-V Power Station located in the Himalayan State of Sikkim has been conferred with the prestigious Blue Planet Prize by International Hydropower Association (IHA), a London based non-profit membership association operating in 120 countries. The power station has been built, owned, and being operated by NHPC.
- The award for Teesta-V Power Station was announced yesterday during the World Hydropower Congress, 2021. The award had been conferred to Teesta-V Power Station based on its sustainability assessment undertaken by a team of accredited lead assessors of IHA in 2019 using the Operation Stage tool of the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (HSAP) of IHA.
Scheme for “Promotion of Medical Device Parks”
- In a bold move that would make India ‘Atmanirbhar’, the Government of India has taken a key initiative to support the medical devices industry to reach its potential in the coming years identifying the industry is as a sunrise sector with great potential for diversification and employment generation. Recognizing the need for higher levels of investments for the creation of proper infrastructure in the sector, the Department of Pharmaceuticals has notified the Scheme for “Promotion of Medical Device Parks” with the following objectives:
- Easy access to standard testing and infrastructure facilities through creation of world class common infrastructure facilities for increased competitiveness will result into significant reduction of the cost of production of medical devices leading to better availability and affordability of medical devices in the domestic market.
- Reaping the benefits arising due to optimization of resources and economies of scale.
- The Medical Devices Parks to be developed under the scheme will provide common infrastructure facilities at one place thereby creating a robust ecosystem for the medical device manufacturing in the country and also reducing the manufacturing cost significantly. The total financial outlay of the scheme is Rs. 400 crore and the tenure of the scheme is from FY 2020-2021 to FY 2024-2025. The financial assistance to a selected Medical Device Park would be 70% of the project cost of common infrastructure facilities. In case of Northeastern States and Hilly States, financial assistance would be 90% of the project cost. Maximum assistance under the scheme for one Medical Device Park would be limited to Rs. 100 crores.
National Service Scheme Awards 2019-20
- President of India Presents National Service Scheme Awards for the year 2019-20.
- Pointing to the fact that the National Service Scheme was established in 1969, on the birth centenary of Mahatma Gandhi, the President said that Mahatma Gandhi devoted his entire life in the service of humanity.
- The NSS Awards were instituted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports in 1993-94 on Silver Jubilee Year of National Service Scheme. The aim of these awards is to recognise and reward outstanding contributions towards voluntary community service made by the Universities/ Colleges, (+2) Councils and Senior Secondary, NSS Units/ Programme Officers and NSS Volunteers.
PM Modi in USA: Key Takeaways
- PM Modi met American CEOs in Washington DC attended by Cristiano E Amon from Qualcomm, Shantanu Narayen from Adobe and other Officials.
- PM Modi’ met with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and discussed key issues regarding QUAD and Bilateral Cooperation.
- India, Japan reaffirm commitment towards free, open & inclusive Indo-Pacific region: Prime Minister Modi & Yoshihide Suga asserted.
- PM Modi & US Vice President Kamala Harris discussed a host of global issues, including the pandemic and Pakistan’s role in terrorism.
QS Graduate Employability Rankings – 2022
- Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay stands among top 22 per cent in the 2022 QS Graduate Employability Rankings. As per the release, in last one year, IIT Bombay has moved up in the range from 111-120 to 101-110 rankings in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022. On employer reputation indicator, with a score of 73.9, IIT, Bombay ranked at 70th place globally.
- QS World University Rankings is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises of three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings, which name the world’s top universities for the study of 51 different subjects and five composite faculty areas, as well as five independent regional tables, namely Asia, Latin America, Emerging Europe and Central Asia, the Arab Region, and BRICS.
Fast and Secured Transmission of Electronic Records (FASTER) System
- The Supreme Court has given the go-ahead to implement a system for electronic transmission of its orders.
- The system proposes transmission of e-authenticated copies of interim orders, stay orders, bail orders and record of proceedings to the duty-holders for compliance and due execution, through a secured electronic communication channel.
- It will ensure effective implementation of Article 21 (right to life).
- Earlier, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) launched an Artificial Intelligence (AI) based portal ‘SUPACE’ (Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Court’s Efficiency) in the judicial system aimed at assisting judges with legal research.
- It is a tool that collects relevant facts and laws and makes them available to a judge.
- It is not designed to take decisions, but only to process facts and to make them available to judges looking for an input for a decision.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
- International Hydropower Association was established in
- 1991
- 1995
- 1998
- 1999
ANSWER: B
- HQ of International Hydropower Association
- Paris
- London
- Geneva
- New York
ANSWER: B
- World Hydropower Congress 2021 is taking place at
- West Indies
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Colombia
ANSWER: B
- International Hydropower Association’s ‘Blue Planet Prize’ was first awarded to
- Sechelt Creek power plant, Canada
- Salto Caxias Project, Brazil
- Palmiet Pumped Storage Scheme, South Africa
- King River Hydropower Development, Tasmania, Australia
ANSWER: D
- Teesta River rises in the ______of eastern Himalayas.
- Pauhunri Mountain
- Nanga Parbath Mountain
- Makalu Mountain
- Nanda Devi Mountain
ANSWER: A
- The river is considered as ‘Sorrow of Bengal’
- River Teesta
- River Damodar
- River Kosi
- River Lohit
ANSWER: B
- The National Service Scheme (NSS) program is conducted by the
- Ministry of Education
- Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports
- Ministry of Home Affairs
- Ministry of Defence
ANSWER: B
- When was NCC established in India?
- 15 July 1949
- 15 July 1950
- 15 July 1947
- 15 July 1946
ANSWER: A
- QS World University Rankings were first issued in
- 2000
- 2002
- 2005
- 2007
ANSWER: C
- Which institution has ranked 1st in QS World University Rankings 2022
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- University of Oxford
- University of Cambridge
- Stanford University
ANSWER: A
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