Why in news ?

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has extended the tenure of NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Amitabh Kant, by one year till June 30, 2022.
• This is for the third time that Kant’s tenure has been extended. Mr Kant was first appointed as the CEO of the federal policy think tank on February 17, 2016, for a fixed two-year term.
• The 1980 batch IAS officer was given an extension for the first time till 30 June 2019, after his tenure was to expire in February 2018. Again he was given two years extension till June 30, 2021.

Why in news ?

• Air Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari will be the new Vice Chief of Indian Air Force succeeding Air Marshal Harjit Singh Arora.
• Air Marshal Chaudhari is currently serving as commander-in-chief of the IAF’s Western Air Command (WAC) that looks after the security of the country’s air space in the sensitive Ladakh sector as well as various other parts of north India. Air Marshal Arora retired from service and Air Marshal Chaudhari is likely to take charge of the new assignment.

Why in news ?

Maana Patel has become the first female and only the third swimmer from India to qualify Tokyo Olympics 2021 ticket.

About:

• Maana Patel joins Srihari Nataraj and Sajan Prakash to have qualified for the Olympics.
• She is a 21-year-old backstroke swimmer from Ahmedabad who have won gold medals in 50 metre backstroke and 200 metre backstroke at National Games.
• She also won gold in 100 metre backstroke at 60th National School Games (2015) and broke the national record in backstroke.
• She was selected for Olympic Gold Quest in 2015 making it the first time a swimmer was roped in.
• In 2018, she secured three gold medals at 72nd Senior National Aquatic Championships.

Maana Patel

She was born on March 18, 2000. She is an Indian backstroke swimmer from Ahmedabad, Gujarat. She started at the age of seven. At 13, she clocked 2:23.41s in 200m backstroke at 40th Junior National Aquatics Championship in Hyderabad.  In 2019, she won six medals (1 gold, 4 silvers, 1 bronze) at 10th Asian Age-group Championships, Bangalore. She has won 11 international, 61 national and 75 state level medals; as of 2016.

Why in news ?

United States military has left Afghanistan’s Bagram airfield after nearly two decades.

About:

• Bagram airfield was the site of several military encounters and an epicenter of US ‘war on terror’ in Afghanistan in the backdrop of 9/11 terror attacks.
• Bagram airfield has now been handed over to Afghan National Security and Defense Force.
• This airbase has been the site of US military’s war against Taliban and al-Qaida terrorist outfits.
• It remained staffed by 455th Air Expeditionary Wing of US Force.
• It has been used as a base by rotating units of US Army, Navy, and Marine Corps also used the airfield as a base.
• Background

US president Joe Biden had promised for withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan completely by September 11. Current withdrawal of 2,500-3,500 US troops from Bagram airbase is an indication of the follow-up on that promise. Now, United States harbours around 6,500 troops in Afghanistan to protect American embassy in Kabul. However, they have not yet divulged when last US soldier will leave Afghanistan for security reasons.

Why in news ?
India and majority members of OECD and G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion & Profit Shifting adopted a high-level statement that outlines a consensus solution in a bid to address tax challenges that are arising from digitalisation of economy.

About:

• This proposed solution comprises of two components:

1. First pillar is about reallocation of additional profit share to market jurisdictions and
2. Second pillar comprises of minimum tax and subject to tax rules.

• However, some significant issues like share of profit allocation and scope of subject to tax rules are open and need to be addressed.
• Technical details of proposal will be worked out soon and a consensus agreement will come by October 2021.

• How will it impact India?

Pillar I of OECD and G20 two-pillar solutions of addressing tax challenge seeks to show a special purpose nexus rule and profit allocation formula to reallocate a part of super normal profits of largest and most profitable and multinational groups in market countries like India and China. The outcome will have quantitative benefits on India as it will ensure that India gets its fair share of corporate tax on earnings from market it provides to MNEs.

Syllabus: General Studies paper 1 (Geography)

Context:

Canada broke a national heat record on june 27, when the temperature in a small town in british columbia reached almost 116 degrees fahrenheit. At least 134 people have died suddenly in canada.

• A historic heat wave is prevailing in the pacific northwest.
• Heat waves are generally the result of trapped air.

Cause behind heat wave:

The heat wave was caused by what meteorologists described as a dome of high pressure over the northwest and worsened by human-caused climate change

• Heat domes:heat domes or sprawling ridges of high pressure are a staple of summer. They bring copious sunshine and sinking air that heats up as it is compressed.
  • As the ground warms, it loses moisture, which makes it easier to heat even more.
  • And in the drought-ridden west, there is plenty of heat for the high-pressure system to trap.
  • As that trapped heat continues to warm, the system acts like a lid on a pot — earning the name “heat dome.”
  • In the pacific northwest, the heat and the drought are working in concert, exacerbating the problem and causing temperature records to fall day after day

Favourable conditions for heat wave:

• Transportation  /  prevalence  of  hot  dry  air  over  a  region: there should be a region  of warm  dry  air  and  appropriate  flow  pattern  for  transporting  hot  air  over the region.
• Absence of moisture in the upper atmosphere (as the presence of moisture restricts the temperature rise).
• The skyshould be practically cloudless (to allow maximum insulation over the region).
• Large amplitude anti-cyclonic flow over the area: heat waves generally develop over northwest india and spread gradually eastwards &  southwards  but  not  westwards  (since  the  prevailing  winds  during  the  season  are westerly  to  north westerly).

https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/explained-what-s-causing-heat-wave-in-northwestern-us-canada-101625036778779.html

Question: what is heat wave? What is the criteria for conditions to be classified as a heat wave ?

Why in news ?

Recently, India has ranked tenth (10^th) in Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 2020 by ITU (International Telecommunication Union) by moving up 37 places.

• The affirmation came just ahead of the sixth anniversary of Digital India on 1^st

Top Ranking:

• The US topped (1^st), followed by the UK (United Kingdom) and Saudi Arabia tied on the second position together.
• Estonia was ranked third (3^rd) in the index.

Results for India:

• India scored a total of 97.5 points from a possible maximum of 100 points, to make it to the tenth position worldwide in the GCI 2020.
• India secured the fourth position in the Asia Pacific region.
• India is emerging as a global IT superpower, asserting its digital sovereignty with firm measures to safeguard data privacy and online rights of citizens.
• The result shows substantial overall improvement and strengthening under all parameters of the cyber security domain.

Why in news ?

• This app was launched to app to help individuals start online businesses without any investment. It also deepens e-commerce penetration across non-metros.
• Once the users will register on this app, they will be able to share catalogues of 15 crore products which are offered by Flipkart sellers.
• Products will be ranging across categories like beauty, fashion, mobiles, electronics & home and others with potential customers through popular social media & messaging apps.
• Users can register on this app with their phone numbers and start their online entrepreneurial journey.

Aim of the app

With the Shopsy app, Flipkart aims to enable over 25 million online entrepreneurs on the back of digital commerce by 2023. On the platform they can set up their business as long as they have access to people that trust them.

Why in news ?

6^th anniversary of Digital India Abhiyan was observed on July 1.  On the occasion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with beneficiaries of various schemes.

ABOUT:

• Beneficiaries shared their experiences about how adopting digital methods have made their lives easier.
• PM highlighted that, principles of ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’ is the need of hour in order to bridge gap between system and facilities.
• According to PM, digital India means opportunity for all, facility for all, and participation of all. It means a transparent & a non-discriminatory system an attack on corruption.

Why in news ?

Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, has launched the Crop Insurance Awareness Campaign for Fasal Bima Yojana. It was launched during Crop Insurance Week.

ABOUT:

• Fasal Bima Yojana was launched with the aim of providing security cover to each farmer.
• Minister also announced that, this scheme has achieved milestone of 95 thousand crore of claims paid to farmers.
• According to minister, state governments and insurance companies played an important role in implementing this Scheme.
• In last four years, premium of 17 thousand crore rupees was deposited by farmers, against which about 95 thousand crore rupees have been provided as claims.
• Aim of the campaign

This campaign aims to bring stories of beneficiary farmers through videos and photo stories on social media. Stories of those farmers would be shared who have not only benefited from this scheme but helped entire farming community through their thought-leadership