Daily Current Affairs - 17-12-2021

According to Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is in process of developing a Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) with private participation. The satellite will be launched in first quarter of 2022.

Highlights

Contribution of Private sector

Private Industry will help in realizing the Hardware and structures for SSLV development project including:

  1. Solid motor cases
  2. Nozzle sub-systems
  3. Mandrels for casting of solid motors
  4. Inter-stage structures
  5. Actuator motors and
  6. Fixtures will be realized through private industry.

Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV)

SSLV is a small-lift launch vehicle, having a payload capacity to deliver 600 kgs to low Earth Orbit (at 500 km) or 300 kgs to Sun-synchronous orbit (500 km). It is being developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The SSLV have the capability to support multiple orbital drop-offs. Design of the vehicle was completed at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thumba on December 21, 2018.

Aim of the vehicle

SSLV is being developed with the aim of launching small satellites commercially at a reduced price and higher launch rate as against the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

On the Index on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, West Bengal has topped the chart in the large states category.

Four Categories of states in Index

Index has divided states into four categories: large states, small states, North East and Union Territories.

Which organisation prepared the index report?

The report on ‘Index on Foundational Literacy & Numeracy’ has been prepared by ‘Institute for Competitiveness’. It was released by chairman of Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), Bibek Debroy.

Key Findings of the report

Worst Performers

Index on Foundational Literacy & Numeracy

The ‘Index on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy’ establishes an understanding of overall state of Foundational Learning among children below ten years across states and Union territories in India. It has five pillars, comprising of 41 indicators. The five pillars include:

  1. Educational infrastructure
  2. Access to education
  3. Basic Health
  4. Learning outcomes and
  5. Governance.

Out of the five pillars, states have performed worse particularly in governance pillar.

On December 17, 2021, India and Vietnam signed agreement for cooperation in the field of Information Technology (IT).

Highlights

MoU on cooperation in IT

Ministers signed an agreement to extend India- Vietnam MoU on cooperation in Information Technology.  The MoU seeks to foster active cooperation and exchange between Governments, private entities & institutions involved in enhancing capacity building and other public & private organizations from both sides in the field of ICT.

India–Vietnam relations

Economic and cultural links between India and Vietnam date back to 2nd century. The Indic Cham Pa kingdom had influenced the Vietnamese music. Present day relations between both the countries have been governed by several areas of shared political interests. In 1992, both the countries established extensive economic ties, including agriculture, oil exploration and manufacturing. Their relations, especially defence ties, benefited extensively from the Look East policy of India. Bilateral military cooperation comprises of sale of military equipment, joint naval exercises, sharing of intelligence, and training in counterinsurgency & jungle warfare.

Strategic Partnership

Bilateral relations between India and Vietnam were upgraded to a “Strategic Partnership” in July 2007, when Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung visited to India. It was upgraded to a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” in September 2016, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited to Vietnam.

Most Favoured Nation Status

India had granted “Most Favoured Nation” status to Vietnam in 1975.

Ullal Veera Rani Abbakka Utsava committee recently decided to present “Veera Rani Abbakka award” during Veera Rani Abbakka festival in December 2021.

Highlights

Who will be awarded?

Veerarani Abbakka award will be given to the lady who has made substantial achievement in research and culture. Committee would also take mother,and, language and tradition into consideration for presenting the award. Award will be presented to a lady with Tulu background who has made substantial achievement in sports, arts, social service and other such sectors.

Rani Abbakka Chowta

Rani Abbaka Chowta was the first Tuluva Queen of Ullal. She fought the Portuguese in latter half of the 16th century. The queen belonged to the Chowta dynasty, who ruled over parts of coastal Karnataka (Tulu Nadu). Capital of the dynasty was Puttige. The port town of Ullal was their subsidiary capital. Ullal was strategically placed because of which, The Portuguese made several attempts to capture it. But the queen repulsed their attacks for over four decades. She came to be known as Abhaya Rani, because of her bravery.

On December 16, 2021, the United Nations cultural agency, UNESCO placed a traditional Haitian soup called ‘Joumou Soup’ in the intangible cultural heritage list.

Highlights

Protected status to the soup

The Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee of UNESCO awarded Joumou soup a protected status on December 16, 2021.

Purpose of Intangible Heritage list

The intangible heritage list is prepared with the aim of improving the visibility of traditions and know-how of communities worldwide. The list comprises of traditions ranging from Arabic calligraphy to Italian truffle hunting.

Soup joumou

It is a mildly spicy soup from Haitian cuisine. It traditionally cooked with pumpkin winter squash.

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH)

It is a practice, expression, representation, knowledge, or skill, which UNESCO considers as a part of cultural heritage. Intangible heritage comprises of nonphysical intellectual wealth like customs, beliefs, folklore, knowledge, traditions, and language. ICH is considered by member states of UNESCO by focusing on intangible aspects of culture.

Telangana Government has issued a revised guidelines for curbing child labour menace, in line with the rules formulated by Centre.

Key facts

Task Force Committee

Labour Department will also constitute a task force committee headed by District Collector concerned, to effectively monitor and curb the child labour menace.

Can children work in movies or serials?

Provisions for parents

Guideline for School Principal

If any child fails to attend school for 30 days, without permission, school principal will require to bring it to the notice of concerned nodal officer.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to address and inaugurate an All-India Mayor’s Conference in Varanasi on December 17, 2021 via video conferencing.

Highlights

Location of the conference

The conference will be held in Deen Dayal Upadhyay-Business Facilitation Center (DDUTFC) in Bada Lalpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Significance of the conference

The conference marks the beginning of a month-long celebrations in Varanasi because of inauguration of Kashi Vishwanath Dham.

Inauguration of exhibition

Agenda of the conference

During the conference, groups of five mayors will be holding a discussion on urban development issues. They would also prepare a presentation on its results.

Minister of Communication, Ashwini Vaishnaw, recently highlighted that India has started work towards developing the next generation of communication technology, using indigenously developed 6G infrastructure. It is likely to be launch by 2023-end or early 2024.

Highlights

What is 6G network?

6G is the sixth-generation standard in telecommunications. It is currently under development for wireless communications technologies that support cellular data networks. It is the planned successor to 5G network. This network will probably be broadband cellular networks. In it, the service area is divided into small geographical areas known as cells. Companies like Nokia, Ericsson, Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, LG and Apple, as well as countries like China, Japan and Singapore have shown interest in developing 6G networks.

Significance of the network

6G networks are likely to exhibit even more heterogeneity as compared to their predecessors. It is expectedly to support applications beyond current mobile use scenarios like virtual & augmented reality (VR/AR), pervasive intelligence, ubiquitous instant communications, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Current Development

On December 16, 2021, Union Minister for Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Giriraj Singh, launched MIS (Management Information System) portal to ranking of States/UTs in Land Acquisition Projects.

Key Facts

Significance of the portal

MIS portal is being dubbed as a ‘Vikas Portal’. Portal will not only show data and figures but also the speed of development in India. It is a result of the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide impetus to the Gati Shakti Mission.

Concerns over delayed implementation

Delayed implementation of the projects in India increases the project cost as well as disturb the pace of development. This portal will help in mitigating this concern. Because of ranking available to all the States, it will be easier to monitor the progress of developmental projects. This in turn will increase the speed of projects.

Which department developed MIS Portal?

MIS portal was developed by the Department of Land Resources. It is a software-driven program for submitting information by respective State/UTs on land acquisition on developmental projects. It was developed in house by the NIC team of the land resource department with zero cost. Link to the portal is larr.dolr.gov.in.

Why MIS portal was launched?

MIS portal was launched to capture information on several parameters of land acquisition, which are necessary to rank the State/UTs.