National NEWS
The Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), of which the Prime Minister is the ex officio chairperson, for failing in its duty to recommend ex gratia to the families of those who lost their loved ones due to COVID-19.
- It gives NDMA 6 weeks to fix rules for compensation to COVID-19 victims’ kin
The Western Ghats have yielded a genus and species of nocturnal semi slug new to science.
- The newly-described glossy grey or greyish-white Varadia amboliensis with irregular dark mottling measures 6.9 cm long at most, but scientists are enthused by its sensitivity to the slightest of climatic fluctuation.
- The genus of the new land species has been named after Varad Giri in recognition of his transformative contribution to the study and conservation of the Indian herpetofauna while the species name ‘amboliensis’ refers to the Amboli area of Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district.
Two child Norms :
- In the recent past, States like Uttar Pradesh and Assam, and Union Territories like Lakshadweep, have proposed to implement a two-child norm as a pre-condition for government jobs or to be nominated for panchayat elections.
- So far, 12 States have introduced the two-child norm. These include Rajasthan, Odisha, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Bihar and Assam. Of these, four States have revoked the norm — Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana.
- The policy on the two-child norm has not been independently evaluated in any State and its efficacy has never been demonstrated.
- It is important to note here that States such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu have experienced significant reduction in fertility rates without any coercive methods. This has been achieved by empowering women and by providing better education and healthcare facilities.
Google removed 59,350 pieces of content from its social media platforms in April last, following over 27,700 complaints received from individual users in India, according to the company’s maiden monthly transparency report.
- The report follows the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 that came into force on May 26.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a viability gap funding support of up to Rs. 19,041 crore for the implementation of the BharatNet project through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model in 16 States.
- The project will be extended to all inhabited villages beyond the gram panchayats in 16 States — Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
- Extension of BharatNet to all inhabited villages will enable better access to e-services offered by various governments, enable online education, telemedicine, skill development, e-commerce and other applications of broadband, Mr. Prasad said, adding that it would help bridge the digital divide.
State NEWS
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday launched the students credit card scheme where an education loan up to Rs. 10 lakh will be made available for higher studies in India and abroad.
- It is a unique scheme where loans up to Rs. 10 lakh can be disbursed.
- The State government will be the guarantor.
- All course fee, tuition and hostel fee, expenses for books and laptops will be covered.
- The period of repayment will be 15 years and persons till the age of 40 years can avail themselves of the benefits of the scheme.
- All government and private cooperatives will give this loan.
- The parents no longer have to worry about their children’s education.
- Other prevailing schemes of West Bengal governments are : Kanyashree, Shikhashree, mid-day meal, free uniforms and books.
The Delimitation Commission chaired by Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai (retd) on Wednesday decided to visit Jammu and Kashmir from July 6 to 9.
- To gather first-hand information and input concerning the ongoing process of delimitation of Assembly seats.
- The Commission which, includes the Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra and J&K Election Commissioner K.K. Sharma, decided to visit the Union Territory and interact with political parties, public representatives and administration officials.
International NEWS
European Union has supplied the half a million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Bhutan.
- The vaccines will allow Bhutan to complete its second round of inoculation.
- India, which had provided enough vaccines for the first round, failed to export the next batch due to the pandemic surge in April, when its Vaccine Maitri programme was suspended.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution, introduced in May, when India was in the throes of a massive second wave of COVID-19, expressing solidarity with India, backing the Biden administration’s assistance to India and asking it to facilitate in kind medical supply donations from the private sector.
- While criticised for being slow to mobilise support for India, over the course of May, the U.S. had provided — as per official estimates — over $100 million in government assistance and a total of over $500 million in assistance, including individual and private sector contributions.
Health
The U.S.’ National Institute of Health, India’s Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research, effectively neutralises both Alpha and Delta variants of coronavirus.
Black carbon linked to premature mortality
- The Indo-Gangetic plain has a high burden of black carbon with serious implications for regional climate and human health. Several cities in this belt routinely find themselves at the top of the list of the most polluted cities in India as well as the world.
- Black carbon results from incomplete burning of fossil fuel and studies have previously linked it to global warming.
- It’s a relatively short-lived pollutant in the atmosphere but influences cloud formation and atmospheric heat absorption processes.
- Importantly, the health effects in terms of mortality due to BC aerosol exposure have never been evaluated in India. This is the first time we get to know the health effects due to BC.
- A 10-point increase in air pollution from black carbon led to an average 5% increase in mortality whereas a similar rise in PM 2.5 led to an average 1% increase in mortality. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) where both associated with a 2.3% and 1.3% increase in mortality
Sports
Dutee Chand has qualified for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics in both 100m and 200m through the World Rankings quota on Wednesday.
- Dutee’s overall position of world No. 44 in 100m and world No. 51 in 200m .
Abhimanyu Mishra, the US player of Indian origin has become the youngest GM in history, at 12 years, four months and 25 days.
- He beat the record of Sergey Karjakin, who had completed his GM title in 2002 at 12 years and seven months.
