DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 08 October 2021
UNESCO: State of the Education Report for India 2021
- On the World Teachers’ Day (5th October), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launched its 2021 State of the Education Report (SOER) for India: “No Teacher, No Class”.
- There are nearly 1.2 lakh single-teacher schools in the country of which an overwhelming 89% are in rural areas.
- The proportion of teachers employed in the private sector grew from 21% in 2013-14 to 35% in 2018-19.
- The overall availability of computing devices (desktops or laptops) in schools is 22% for all India, with rural areas seeing much lower provisioning (18%) than urban areas (43%).
- Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for elementary schools, has increased from 81.6 in 2001 to 93.03 in 2018-19 and stands at 102.1 in 2019-2020.
- Overall retention is 74.6% for elementary education and 59.6% for secondary education in 2019-20.
Henley Passport Index 2021
- India has been ranked 90th in the most powerful passport report.
- The Henley Passport Index is the original ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.
- Launched in 2006 the ranking is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which maintains the world’s largest and most accurate database of travel information.
7th National Conference of Heads of Prisons
- 7th National Conference of Heads of Prisons of all States/Union Territories to take place on 07th-08th October 2021 at BPR&D Headquarters, New Delhi.
- DG, BPR&D, Shri Balaji Srivastava, said the deliberations in the Conference will be useful for preparing short term, mid-term, and long-term policies. He also briefed about different initiatives undertaken by the BPR&D on Prisons/Correctional Administration, such as:
- Developing Parameters for Ranking of Prisons.
- Preparation of 50 Prison Training Manuals for various categories of Staff and Officers in Jails.
- Formulation of Model Prison Legislation.
- On the first day of the Conference, the following themes were deliberated upon:
- Panel Discussion on “Correctional Services in India: A Perspective”.
- Presentation on Research Projects on Prisons/Correctional Administration.
- Syndicate discussions on Preparing a Decadal Road Map for Prisons and Correctional Services.
Nobel Literature Prize 2021
- Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah has said he was “surprised and humbled” to be awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature.
- The Swedish Academy praised Gurnah for his “uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism”.
- The prize is awarded by the Swedish Academy and is worth 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.14m / £840,000).
- Gurnah, 73, is the author of 10 novels, including Paradise and Desertion.
- He said how grateful he was to the academy, adding: “It’s just great – it’s just a big prize, and such a huge list of wonderful writers – I am still taking it in.
- “It was such a complete surprise that I really had to wait until I heard it announced before I could believe it.”
Over Five Billion People Could Face Water Shortage by 2050: UN
- The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), yesterday, said that climate change increases the global risk of water-related hazards like floods and droughts and the number of people affected by water scarcity is also expected to soar.
- According to figures cited in the report, 3.6 billion people had inadequate access to water at least one month per year in 2018. By 2050, this is expected to rise to more than five billion, the report titled ‘The State of Climate Services 2021: Water’ said.
WHO Recommends First Anti-Malaria Vaccine
- In a historic move, the World Health Organization (WHO) has endorsed the first anti-malarial vaccine. WHO said it is recommending the widespread use of malaria vaccine among children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high P. falciparum malaria transmission.
- Trade name “Mosquirix”, is an injectable vaccine targeting P. falciparum, the most prevalent malaria strain in Africa. It is the first and only vaccine to show partial protection in young children.
- It was developed by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline in 1987.
PM MITRA Parks
- The Union Cabinet approved the setting up of seven Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) Parks at an outlay of Rs. 4,445 crore.
- The MITRA park aims to integrate the entire textile value chain from spinning, weaving, processing/dyeing, printing to garment manufacturing at one location.
- PM MITRA Park will be developed by a Special Purpose Vehicle which will be owned by the Central and State Government and in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) Mode.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
- Nobel Literature Prize 2020 was Awarded to
- Louise Gluck
- Bob Dylan
- James Patterson
- John Grisham
ANSWER: A
- ‘Mosquirix’ WHO endorsed world’s first Malaria Vaccine was developed by
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Cipla
- Novartis
- Pfizer
ANSWER: A
- Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral disease transmitted by
- Aedes aegypti
- Anopheles
- Culex
- None
ANSWER: A
- ______ was recently declared by WHO as “Malaria Free Country”
- India
- China
- Nepal
- Pakistan
ANSWER: B
- ______ stood at the top of Henley Passport Index 2021.
- Japan
- South Korea
- UK
- France
ANSWER: A
- ______ stood at the last of Henley Passport Index 2021.
- Afghanistan
- Iraq
- Syria
- All the above
ANSWER: D
- India was ranked ____ in Henley Passport Index 2020
- 82nd
- 84th
- 86th
- 88th
ANSWER: B
- NIPUN Bharath Scheme aims to cover the learning needs of children in the age group
- 6 to 14 years
- 6 to 12 years
- 3 to 9 years
- 3 to 12 years
ANSWER: C
- Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act was passed in
- 2006
- 2007
- 2008
- 2009
ANSWER: D
- First Education Policy in India was passed under the leadership of
- Pandit Nehru
- Lal Bahdur Shastri
- Indira Gandhi
- Rajiv Gandhi
ANSWER: C
ALSO READ:
