DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 9 November 2021

President of India Presents Padma Awards

• The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind presented 7 Padma Vibhushan, 10 Padma Bhushan and 102 Padma Shri awardees. Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were the Vice President of India, Prime Minister, Union Minister for Home Affairs.
• George Fernandes , Arun Jaitley, Chhannulal Mishra & Sushma Swaraj etc were awarded Padma Vibhushan.
• M. Mumtaz Ali, Syed Muazzem Ali, Balkrishna Doshi, S. C. Jamir, Anil Prakash Joshi, Neelakanta Ramakrishna Madhava Menon, Jagdish Sheth, P. V. Sindhu etc were awarded Padma Bhushan.

Tele-Law on Wheel Campaign

• Joining the country-wide celebrations of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Department of Justice kicked-off the week- long “Tele-Law on Wheels” campaign from 8th to 14th November 2021. As part of this campaign, a series of activities are being undertaken to empower people through pre-litigation advice for rightfully claiming their entitlements and for timely redressal of their difficulties.
• Dedicating this one week for ensuring Justice for All by digital legal empowerment of the needy and disadvantaged would be another one in the series of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav events which was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi to realize the dreams of progressive and New India and to celebrate the glorious history of our people, culture and achievements.

17 scientists from across India awarded Swarnajayanti Fellowships

• Seventeen scientists from scientific institutions across India have been awarded the Swarnajayanti Fellowships for their innovative research ideas and the potential of creating impact on R&D in different disciplines.
• Scientists selected for the award will be allowed to pursue unfettered research with a freedom and flexibility in terms of expenditure as approved in the research plan. The scientists with proven track record and selected through a rigorous three-layered screening process will pursue basic research in frontier areas of science and technology.
• The Swarnajayanti Fellowship scheme was instituted by Govt. of India to commemorate India’s fiftieth year of Independence. Under the scheme the awardees are facilitated by the Department of Science & Technology, GOI with support for all the requirements for performing the research including a fellowship of Rs. 25,000/- per month for five years. In addition, DST supports the awardees by giving them a research grant of 5 lakh Rupees for 5 years. The fellowship is provided in addition to the salary they draw from their parent Institution. In addition to fellowship, grants for equipment, computational facilities, consumables, contingencies, national and international travel, and other special requirements, are covered based on merit.

Star College Mentorship Programme Launched

• Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today launched the first-ever Mentorship Programme for Young Innovators to mark the 75th Year of India’s independence.
• Dr Jitendra Singh said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government is taking several steps to promote scientific temper among the masses, particularly youngsters, by strengthening scientific research and innovation efforts in the country. He said, this is a pan India Scheme that envisages Star College in every district of the country supported by the Department of Biotechnology.
• Dr Jitendra Singh said that the DBT-Star College Mentorship Programme will help towards the concept of networking, hand holding and outreach. The plan envisages organizing workshops, meetings per month; handhold at colleges particularly in the rural areas or lesser endowed areas and conduct outreach activities with government schools. He said, the activities will enable newer colleges which have begun their journey under the scheme to come up as per the mandate of Star college scheme. The Star Status Colleges will help in incorporating the vision of DBT towards strengthening of UG Science Courses throughout the country by mentoring the newer colleges through hand-holding and peer learning and bringing them under the aegis of Star College Scheme, the Minister added.

Logos of Darjeeling Toy Train as Intellectual Property

• India has finally registered the logos (two) of the iconic ‘Toy Train’ internationally as its intellectual property.
• The claim for registration was sent to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) with the procedure laid down in WIPO’s Vienna Classification (VCL). There is a six-month window to register any counter-claims, following which the Indian government’s claim will receive international approval.
• The use of these logos anywhere in the world will now require written permission from India and the payment of a fee.
• Both logos are over a century old, and popular in world heritage circuits.
• They are used randomly on merchandise and communications materials by various commercial organisations in Europe, the UK, and the US; even the West Bengal government has used it in communications and on merchandise in the past.

Nationwide polio vaccination campaign starts in Afghanistan

• The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations children’s agency kicked off a polio vaccination campaign in Afghanistan today. This is the first nationwide campaign to fight the disease in three years.
• The Taliban-run Afghan public health ministry announced yesterday, the start of a four-day nationwide polio vaccination campaign aimed at inoculating children under age 5. For the past three years before taking control of Afghanistan, the Taliban had barred UN-organised vaccination teams from doing door-to-door campaigns in parts of the country under their control. 
• The group apparently was suspicious the team members could be spies for the previous government or the West.
• Because of the ban and ongoing fighting, some 3.3 million children over the past three years have not been vaccinated.  The Taliban’s acting public health Minister, Dr Qalandar Ebad, said without any doubt polio is a disease that without treatment will either kill our children or cause them with permanent disability, so in this case the only way is to implement the vaccination.
• Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan are the only countries in the world where polio remains endemic, and the disease can cause partial paralysis in children.

Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) report, 2021

• Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal today launched the 3rd edition of the Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) report, 2021. As per the report, Gujarat has been adjudged as the Best Performing State while Uttar Pradesh is the top improver.
• Launching the report in New Delhi, Mr Goyal said that some states have leapfrogged in their rankings and Uttar Pradesh has moved ahead seven places. The Minister also said this reflects the efforts that have been done in improving the quality of infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh.
• He said, better logistics infrastructure will improve Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living and during the COVID period the government was able to manage critical requirements due to efficient infrastructure. He mentioned that LEADS is an attempt to bring Longevity, Efficiency, Accuracy, Durability, and  Smartness in the Logistics sector.

Srinagar joins UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN)

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has expressed happiness over Srinagar joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) with a special mention for its craft and folk art.
• The UNESCO Creative Cities Network is a project of UNESCO launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities which recognized creativity as a major factor in their urban development.
• Mumbai and Hyderabad are already in the network, having made it to the list in October 2019.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

• Recently Sir David Attenborough was awarded with
• Bharat Ratna
• Padma Shree
• Padma Vibhushan
• Indira Gandhi Peace Prize.

ANSWER: D

• The Indira Gandhi Peace Prize is given for?
• The best work in the field of politics
• Environment Conservation
• Peace, disarmament, and development
• None of the above

ANSWER: C

• Who was the first woman to win the Jnanpith Award?
• Pratibha Ray
• Ashapoorna Devi
• Mahasweta Devi
• Indira Goswami

ANSWER: B

• Who was the first Indian woman Awardee of ‘Bharat Ratna’?
• Sushma Swaraj
• Indira Gandhi
• Sarojini Naidu
• Pratima Puri

ANSWER: B

• The Sahitya Akademi Award was instituted in the year ______.
• 1960
• 1954
• 1989
• 1992

ANSWER: B

• The medal of Bharat Ratna is designed like a leaf of ______.
• Banyan
• Peepal
• Sandalwood
• Banana

ANSWER: B

• The Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award is given in India for contribution to the field of
• sports
• social work
• science and technology
• literature

ANSWER: C

• The first Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award was given to whom?
• Viswanathan Anand
• Geeta Sethi
• Sachin Tendulkar
• Dhanraj Pillai

ANSWER: A

• The highest peace time gallantry award is
• Sena Medal
• Ashok Chakra
• Param Vir Chakra
• Vir Chakra

ANSWER: B

• ‘Ramnath Goenka Award’ is presented for which field of excellence?
• Agriculture
• Science
• Technology
• Journalism

ANSWER: D

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