WHY IN THE NEWS?

US President Joe Biden administration has announced a new trilateral security partnership for the Indo-pacific. Security partnership was done between Australia, United Kingdom and United States.

• About:
  This security grouping called AUKUS, will focus towards advancing strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Officials noted that, the trilateral grouping was security focused and is different but complementary to arrangements like the Quad.

Features of the partnership

• The central feature of this partnership comprises of a trilateral 18-month effort in order to help Australia in acquiring nuclear powered submarines which are quieter, more capable as compared to their conventional counterparts.
• Such submarines can be deployed for longer periods and needing to surface less frequently.
• These are nuclear powered submarines and not armed with nuclear weapons.
• AUKUS will also involve a new architecture of meeting and engagements between three countries.
• It also involves the cooperation across emerging technologies like AI, quantum technologies as well as undersea capabilities.

Why this partnership came into picture?

• • Australia has felt increasing pressure from assertive China, like other countries in the region felt. So, Australia has sought to strengthen its partnerships with India, the U.S., the U.K. and Japan as well as through other plurilateral forums.
  • Though QUAD is there but according to the officials, QUAD is not a response to China.

• However, this initiative was launched in response of Australia wanting to strengthen its feet with regard to maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region.

Background

AUKUS partnership is a very rare because U.S. shared this kind of technology on nuclear powered submarines only once to UK, before sharing it with Australia.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is working on technologies in order to develop a reusable GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle.

About:

• This new technology will help ISRO to land its GSLV Mk-III launch vehicles vertically.
• It will be similar to what Elon Musk’s SpaceX is doing.
• With this technology, ISRO also seeks to recover the first and second stages of the launch vehicle.
• The development of a reusable GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle will help ISRO is saving money as well.

How reusable vehicles is being developed?

To develop reusable GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle, a “wholesale change or augmentation” has been made. One of the ways of bringing change is that, vehicle would have to rework its three stages. Second liquid stage will be replaced with a semi-cryo stage, while the terminal cryo stage C-25, will be converted into C-32. Apart from this, inert mass for the terminal stage will be optimised.

About GSLV Mk-III

This launch vehicle, chosen as launch vehicle for Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft, is a three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle. It was developed by ISRO. It comprises of two solid strap-ons, a core liquid booster as well as a cryogenic upper stage. It was designed to carry 4-tons of satellites into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) as well as10 tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). First developmental flight of GSLV Mk III called GSLV-Mk III-D1 had successfully placed GSAT-19 satellite in to the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) on June 05, 2017. GSLV MkIII-M1 had successfully placed the Chandrayaan-2 in to Earth Parking Orbit on July 22, 2019

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Reserve Bank has given its nod to the Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (SFB) to form a special committee of directors in order to oversee the operations in absence of an MD and CEO.

About:

• The Special Committee of Directors will comprise of three independent directors as its members.
• This committee will oversee the operations and administration of the bank in effect from September 16.
• Ujjivan Small Finance Bank had appointed Carol Furtado to take charge as officer on special duty (OSD). She will be in charge till September 30, 2021. She was appointed after the resignation of Nitin Chugh as MD and CEO.

What is the issue?

Ujjivan SFB witnessed some top-level exits in recent days besides high level of bad assets and management issues. Its overall stressed pool stands at 15.6 per cent of the loan book. It also includes gross non-performing assets of 9.8 per cent as well as restructured loans of 5.8 per cent. Furthermore, the portfolio-at-risk has come down to 30 per cent as of June 2021. Its stock closed at Rs 20.60 apiece on BSE.

Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Limited

It is an Indian small finance bank, with headquarter in Bangalore. Its operation was started from February 1, 2017. Ujjivan Financial Services is having a stake of 80 percent in the bank. The bank is licensed under Section 22 (1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 in order to carry out small finance bank business. It received Scheduled Bank status in August 2017 from the Reserve Bank of India

WHY IN THE NEWS?

World Ozone Day or the International Day for the preservation of Ozone Layer was observed.

About:
This day is celebrated every year and is dedicated to a cause that might not be visibly relevant but is important for the protection of the ozone layer.

History

• World Ozone Day was proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly in 1994, after the signing of the Montreal Protocol.
• Montreal Protocol on Substances depleting the ozone layer was signed by almost every country in 1987.

Significance of the day

This day is significant in the light of depleting Ozone Layer. Ozone is the fragile layer of gas that protects people from harmful cosmic rays. But people have itself became a threat to the natural paradigm of the Earth. Thus, this day is celebrated with the objective of curbing all human-led ozone-depleting substances.

Theme of the Day

Theme of the day in year 2021 is “Montreal Protocol – Keeping us, our food, and vaccines cool”. This theme is selected to highlight the long-term results of 35-year-old Montreal protocol, which is the first ever protocol to be ratified by all the 197 members of the United Nations.

India’s efforts

Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change initiated “India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP)” in 2019. This action plan aims to provide an integrated vision towards reducing refrigerant transition, curbing cooling demand and enhancing energy efficiency. The ICAP aligns with the international theme of the day in 2021.

About Montreal Protocol

It was a deal for countries to curb the existence of all ozone-depleting substances like chlorofluorocarbon aerosols, halons, etc. that are widely used for cooling and refrigeration purposes. The usage of these harmful substances had resulted in a hole in the ozone layers in Antarctica. This hole was discovered in 1970 and led to acute global warming in past 20 years.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Indian Railways took a leap in the advancement of Skill India Mission by launching the “Rail Kaushal VikasYojana (RKVY)” under the aegis of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)”.

About:
RKVY was launched by Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw.

• This Mission will provide Railways with entry-level training in industry-relevant skills with the help of 75 Railway training institutes across India.
• This mission seeks to empower youth by providing entry-level training in skills relevant to the industry as part of 75 years of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

Significance of the mission

This mission incorporates the vision of skill development of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mission will train about 50 thousand youth. It was launched with the aim of imparting training skills to the youth across several trades to bring qualitative improvement. Under the mission, training will also be conducted in remote areas. It will improve the employability of the youth as well as upgrade the skills of the self-employed. It will also cater to those who are working with contractors through re-skilling and upskilling.

Training under RKVY

Under the mission, training will be provided to 50000 candidates in a period of three years. In the initial phase, training will be provided to 1000 candidates. Youth will be trained in four trades namely, Electrician, Welder, Machinist and Fitter. The mission comprises of initial basic training of 100 hours. In later phases, zonal railways will add other trades to the training programs. Youth will be trained for free and participants will be selected from applications received online, on the basis of marks in matriculation. Candidates who are 10th passed and between 18-35 years shall be eligible to apply.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Swachhata Pakhwada 2021 was launched at the Cochin Port Trust and the Swachhata pledge was administered in all departments.

About:

• On the occasion, shramdaan cleaning activities were also started in the Port areas.
• Activities that were proposed during the Pakhwada comprise of cleaning of work places, crafts & public spaces and office premises within the Port area.
• Programmes will be led by all heads of the department during the period.

About Swachhta Pakhwada

Swachhta Pakhwada was started in April 2016, with the objective of bringing a fortnight of intense focus on issues and practices of the Swachhta by engaging all the government ministries & departments in their jurisdictions. In order to plan the Pakhwada activities, an annual calendar is circulated among the Ministries in advance. Ministries that observe Swachhata Pakhwada are monitored by means of the online monitoring system of Swachhata Samiksha. On this system, action plans, images & videos related to Swachhata activities are uploaded and shared.

Background

This is an environmental awareness campaign launched under Swachh Bharat Mission. It was launched to achieve the goal of total sanitizations and cleanliness by October 2, 2019. Under the campaign, several ministries organise a theme-wise campaign called “Swachh Bharat Fortnight”. It is a voluntary exercise and it seeks to raise awareness and target programmes.

Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)

SBM is a country-wide campaign that was initiated by central government in 2014 with the objective of eliminating open defecation and improving solid waste management. This mission is a restructured version of Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan which was launched in 2009. Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan failed to achieve its intended targets. Phase 1 of the Swachh Bharat mission ended in October 2019 while Phase 2 of the mission has been implemented between 2020–21 & 2024-25.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• The Florence Nightingale Award will be given to a nurse, Bhanumati Gheewala, from Sir Sayajirao General Hospital, Gujarat. She has been in charge of COVID-19 positive pregnant women’s deliveries as well as infant care.
• She worked in the gynaecology department as well in the paediatric ward. In 2019, when the wards of the hospital were waterlogged due to flood. She carried her duty in the gynaecology department and the pediatric ward.

The Florence Nightingale Award is given by the Indian Nursing Council. This is a statutory agency under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to recognise the contributions of healthcare workers

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), run by the education ministry, has bagged global recognition from UNESCO for its innovative approach towards education.
• The recognition is for educating differently-abled people through the technology-enabled inclusive learning material. The NIOS move has a specific focus on Indian sign language-based content.
• By awarding NIOS the King Sejong Literacy Prize, the jury has recognized the value of providing for the unique educational and language needs of PwD learners by developing teaching content in sign language through digital mode.
• The award-winning programme focuses on the use of digital tools and local language to help persons with disabilities the option to access Indian Sign Language (ISL)-based content.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• Mathematician Anand Kumar was conferred with the Swami Brahmanand Award 2021 for his contribution in the field of education through his ‘Super 30’ initiative, which prepares underprivileged students for the IIT entrance exam.
• He received the award from Professor Roop Kishore Shastri, the vice-chancellor of Haridwar’s Gurukula Kangri deemed university, at a function in the Rath area of Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Super 30′ is a coaching programme of Kumar’s Patna-based Ramanujan School of Mathematics.
• It hunts for 30 meritorious students from among economically backward sections of the society and shapes them to clear the test to get into the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT).
• It has been instituted in the name of Swami Brahmananda, a freedom fighter, former MP and a saint known for his sacrifices and his contribution in the field of education.

WHY IN THE NEWS?

• The Government of India has proposed to institutionalise the India-Africa Defence Dialogue, as a regular event, to be held on the sidelines of the biennial DefExpo military exhibition. The first India-Africa Defence Ministers Conclave (IADMC) was held at DefExpo in February 2020 in Lucknow.
• Following this, the second India – Africa Defence Dialogue will be held on the sidelines of the DefExpo, scheduled to be held at Gandhinagar, Gujarat in March 2022. The theme of the 2nd India Africa Defence Dialogue will be ‘India – Africa: Adopting Strategy for Synergizing and Strengthening Defence and Security Cooperation. 
• Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh will host the Defence Ministers of African Nations at the upcoming India – Africa Defence Dialogue.