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Daily Current Affairs 07th Jan 2021

To prepare for any competitive exam, one of the important sections to read and learn is current affairs. Exams like UPSC, Bank, SSC, RRB or any Government

India launches 40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica from Mormugao Port, Goa

  • India flagged off the 40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica (40-ISEA) from the Mormugao Port, Goa. The Expedition will have 43 members and the chartered ice-class vessel MV Vasiliy Golovnin will take the team to Antarctica. On return, the vessel will bring back the members of the 39th Expedition. The Ministry of Earth Science launched the expedition.
  • National Centre for Polar & Ocean Research (NCPOR), Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) is the implementation agency of the Indian Antarctic Programme. They are responsible for carrying out expedition programs to Antarctica.
  • Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) has supplied Jet A1 fuel, lubes & Marine Gas Oil (MGO) for the 40th ISEA mission.
  • The Team is being led by 3 Polar Veterans Dr. Yogesh Ray from National Centre for Polar & Ocean Research; Mr. Atul Suresh Kulkarni from Indian Institute of Geomagnetism; & Ravindra Santosh More from India Meteorological Department.
  • India has 3 permanent research base stations in Antarctica - Dakshin Gangotri, Maitri, & Bharati. There are two operational research stations in Antarctica named Maitri & Bharati.

Indian Antarctic Programme:

  • Initiated in 1981, it is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional program to construct Scientific Research in Antarctica
  • The programme is bound by rules of the Antarctic Treaty System, which India signed in 1983.
  • The 1st Indian Antarctic expedition began in 1981 and it comprised a team of 21 scientists led by Dr SZ Qasim.

About National Centre for Polar & Ocean Research (NCPOR):

  • Director - M. Ravichandran
  • Headquarters - Vasco-da-Gama, Goa

About Ministry of Earth Sciences:

  • Union Minister - Harsh Vardhan
  • Headquarters - New Delhi

PM Narendra Modi Virtually Inaugurated National Metrology Conclave 2021

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the National Metrology Conclave 2021 on the theme 'Metrology for the Inclusive Growth of the Nation and also delivered the inaugural address.
  • The Conclave was organized by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research- National Physical Laboratory (CSIR NPL). PM Modi dedicated 'Bhartiya Nirdeshak Dravya' and 'National Atomic Timescale' to the nation and also laid the foundation stone of the National Environmental Standards Laboratory.

Bhartiya Nirdeshak Dravya (BND):

  • It helps the industry to make quality products in sectors like Heavy metals, Pesticides, Pharma and Textiles by drafting a Certified Reference Material System' at par with international standards.

National Atomic Timescale:

  • With this, India has become self-reliant in measuring the time within the range of a nano second. India achieved the accuracy level of 2.8 Nano Second. Now Indian Standard Time (IST) is matching the International Standard Time with the accuracy range of less than 3 nano second.

National Environmental Standards Laboratory:

  • It is India's first laboratory for self-reliance in the certification of ambient air and industrial emission monitoring equipment. The Ministry of Environment, forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has designated the CSIR-NPL as the verification and certification agency for emission and ambient air pollution monitoring equipment in India.
  • Harsh Vardhan released a Book titled "Metrology for Inclusive Growth of India", edited by Dr. D.K. Aswaland contributed by CSIR-NPL's Scientists. This book signifies the role of metrology for inclusive growth in India and describes various metrological applications. He also releases a "Thesaurus of NPL" on the occasion

About Council of Scientific and Industrial Research- National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL):

  • Director- Dr. Dinesh K. Aswal
  • Headquarter- New Delhi

FSSAI reduces permissible level of Trans-Fatty Acids in oils & fats to 3% for 2021

  • The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) released guidelines to reduce the permissible level of Trans-Fatty Acids (TFA) in oils and fats to 3% for 2021 & 2% by 2022 from the current permissible limit of 5%. The change has been brought through an amendment to the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations.
  • The regulation applies to edible refined oils, vanaspati (partially hydrogenated oils), margarine, bakery shortenings & other mediums of cooking like vegetable fat spreads & mixed fat spreads.
  • WHO has set a target for global elimination of trans fats by 2023.

About Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI):

  • Chief Executive Officer (CEO) - Arun Singhal
  • Headquarters New Delhi

"Centennial Observing Station Status' by World Meteorological Organization

  • Patna Meteorological Observatory has been conferred the status of Centennial Observing Station' by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to recognize its contribution towards long-term meteorological observation exceeding over 100 years.
  • The Patna meteorological observatory was established in 1867 by the British Corps of Engineers.
  • Centennial Weather Stations maintain the world's longest robust records of weather observations, they are key to understanding of the climate system & global warming.
  • Globally, there are 234 such recognised stations.
  • In India alone, there are 12 recognized stations in 12 cities which are Ahmedabad, Alipore, Gopalpur, Mumbai, Nungambakkam, Panjim, Patna, Port Blair, Pune, Puri, Srinagar & Thiruvananthapuram.

About Patna Meteorological Centre:

  • Director - Vivek Sinha

Dharmendra Pradhan Inaugurates India's 1st of its kind Migrant Worker Cell at Surat, Gujarat

  • Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Inaugurated India's 1st of its kind Migrant Worker Cell at Surat, Gujarat. An initiative of Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) it aims to help Migrants from Odia & other parts of the country working in different industries of Surat.
  • The cell will be based at iLab, Udhna, Surat and has been created under the National Urban Livelihood Mission Scheme'.
  • This will help in connecting 'Shramshakti' to relevant industries and boost their livelihood and also ensure their dignity.
  • To create a database of migrant workers in Surat City, which will be useful during natural calamities and other situations like Pandemic.
  • Surat has also become the first city to offer affordable housing units to migrant labourers on rent, Surat Urban Development Authority (SUDA) has built 339 units at Sachin, Gujarat

About Gujarat:

  • Chief Minister - Vijay Rupani
  • Capital - Gandhinagar

Indigenously Designed ballastless tracks to be used for High-Speed RRTS trains

  • The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) will use indigenously designed ballastless tracks for the country's first Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS).
  • As RRTS technology supports high-speed trains therefore these tracks will be suitable for high-speed trains running up to 180 kmph and require low maintenance.
  • Track slabs will first be used on the 17-km-long Sahibabad-Duhai priority section of the Delhi-Ghaziabad Meerut RRTS corridor. The section will be operational by 2023, while the entire 82-km-long corridor will be completed by 2025.
  • Tracks will be manufactured indigenously in a unit, currently being constructed in Meerut.
  • India's first RRTS corridor is being implemented between Delhi and Meerut via Ghaziabad, Duhai and Modi Nagar

About National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC):

  • Chairman- Durga Shanker Mishra
  • Headquarter- New Delhi

RODTEP Scheme Implemented from January 1, 2021

  • The Ministry of finance has notified that Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RODTEP) scheme will be implemented from January 1, 2021. The benefits of the reimbursement scheme are extended to all export goods.
  • The Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry will notify the RODTEP rates shortly on the basis of the recommendation made by a committee chaired by Dr. G.K. Pillai, former Commerce and Home Secretary.
  • The benefit of RODTEP is available from January 1, 2021, even though the rates and other details are prescribed later.
  • Exporters who want to avail the benefit of the scheme are required to declare their intent for each export item in the shipping bill or bill of export.

PM virtually inaugurates Kochi-Mangaluru Natural Gas Pipeline

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the 450 Km Long Kochi-Mangaluru Natural Gas Pipeline. The pipeline has been constructed by GAIL (India) Ltd at a cost of INR 3, 000 crores. The pipeline will carry natural gas from Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) regasification terminal at Kochi, Kerala to Mangaluru, Karnataka.
  • The PM cited the inauguration of the pipeline as a step towards Government's 'One Nation One Gas Grid'.
  • The pipeline has the capacity to transport 12 MMSCMD (Million Metric Standard Cubic Metres Natural gas per Day).
  • The new pipeline will create around 21 Lakh new Piped Gas Connections and passes through Ernakulam,Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur & Kasargod districts.

About GAIL (India) Ltd:

  • Chairman & Managing Director - Manoj Jain
  • Headquarters - New Delhi

Interest Rates for Small Savings Schemes for 4th Quarter of 2020-21 Remains Unchanged

  • The finance ministry notified that the interest rates on small savings schemes including Public Provident Fund (PPF) and National Savings Certificate (NSC) for 4th quarter of 2020-21 ( January 1 to March 31, 2021) will remain unchanged from those notified for the third quarter (October 1 December 31, 2020).
  • The interest rates are as follows: Annual Interest Rate- PPF(7.1%), NSC( 6.8 %), Kisan Vikas Patra-KVP(6.9 %); Interest rate for the five-year Senior Citizens Savings Scheme (paid quarterly) 7.4%; Interest rate on savings deposits- 4% per annum; Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, the girl child savings scheme- 7.6 %; Interest Rate of Term deposits of 1-5 years(paid quarterly)- 5.5-6.7 %; Interest rate on five-year recurring deposit- 5.8%.

Bajaj Allianz General Partners with J&K government for PMJAY SEHAT

  • Bajaj Allianz General Insurance in association with Jammu & Kashmir Government launches health insurance coverage under Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB- PMJAY) Social, Endeavour for Health, and Telemedicine(SEHAT).
  • Since 2018, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance has been implementing the AB PMJAY in the J&K, where it has covered over 6 lakh families.

India's Dr. Raghu Ram Pillarisetti in Queen Elizabeth Il's 2021 New Year's Honours list

  • India's Dr Raghu Ram Pillarisetti Director and Consultant Breast Surgeon, KIMS-USHALAKSHMI Centre for Breast Diseases has been honoured with 'OBE-Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire' in Queen Elizabeth II's 2021 New year's Honours list.
  • This second highest ranking Order of the British Empire award (excluding a knighthood/damehood) conferred to him in recognition of his outstanding services to Breast Cancer care and Surgical Education in India and to UK/India relations,
  • He is one of the youngest Surgeons of Indian origin in over 100 years to be honoured by the Queen with an OBE. He is also the Founder/CEO of Ushalakshmi Breast Cancer Foundation.
  • He is also a recipient of Padma Shri award and Dr BC Roy National award. The award was instituted in 1917 by King George V.

World's first wooden satellite to be launched by Japan in 2023 to reduce space Junk

  • Japan's Sumitomo Forestry company and Kyoto University of Japan is all set to launch the world's first wood-based space satellite by 2023 to combat the problem of space junk. In this regard, several wooden materials are being tested by the research team to find a suitable one for space missions.
  • According to the European Space Agency (ESA) statistical model, there are more than 130 million pieces of anthropogenic space debris due to human activities.
  • ESA is also planning to launch a mission to collect space debris in 2025.