WHY IN NEWS?

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed the nation on July 15, 2021, on the occasion of World Youth Skills Day 2021 and the 6th anniversary of the Skill India Mission.
• In his address, Prime Minister highlighted “Skill development of the youth of new generation is a national need and a huge foundation for self-reliant India”.
• According to PM, under Skill India Mission, 1.25 crore youth have been trained till date. Skill India Mission initiative was launched by Government to train over 40 crore Indians in different jobs related to the industry.
• Under this mission, the government seeks to create an empowered workforce by 2022 with the help of several schemes and training courses.

WHY IN NEWS?

Recently, the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) celebrated its 93^rd foundation day and on the occasion, the Kisan Sarthi platform was launched.

About:

• It was jointly launched by theUnion Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and the Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology.
• It is a digital platformto facilitate farmers to get ‘right information at right time’ in their desired language.
• It will help farmers to interact and avail personalised advisories on agriculture and allied areas directly from the respective scientists of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs).
  • Farmers can also learn new farming methodsusing it.

WHY IN NEWS?

• Pulitzer Prize-winning Indian journalist Danish Siddiqui was killed on July 16, 2021 while covering the clashes between Afghan security forces and Taliban fighters in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar city in Afghanistan.
• The Reuters photojournalist had been covering the situation in Kandahar over the past few days. Earlier in the day, he had been wounded in the arm by shrapnel while reporting on the clash. However, he was treated and was recovering when Taliban fighters retreated from the fighting in Spin Boldak.
• The Taliban reportedly attacked again, while Siddiqui was talking to local shopkeepers in the area. The clashes reportedly erupted as Afghan Special Forces attempted to retake the main market area of Spin Boldak, which is a vital border crossing with Pakistan.

WHY IN NEWS?

• Arjun Munda, Minister of Tribal Affairs on July 15, 2021, launched the ‘COVID Teeka Sang Surakshit Van, Dhan and Uddyam’ nationwide campaign in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF to accelerate COVID-19 vaccination of 10.5 crores tribal people in India.
• Munda launched the COVID-19 campaign via a conference link-up with field camps in Mandla, Madhya Pradesh, and Bastar, Chhattisgarh. Rajat Bansal, District Collector, Bastar, and Harshika Singh, District Collector, Mandla, shared about preparation levels for vaccination in respective districts.
• UNICEF India Representative, Dr Yasmin Haque said, “COVID-19 has exacerbated issues of access to sanitation, nutrition, and health services in the tribal areas making the people more vulnerable

About:

• The campaign will be leveraging 45,000 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVK) of the Tribal Co-operative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED). The campaign is expected to declare Van Dhan Vikas Kendras and villages in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh as COVID-19 free and related restrictions.

WHY IN NEWS?

The Supreme Court has questioned the Central government whether the provision of Sedition under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was still needed after 75 years of independence.

What was the case?

• A petition was filed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the offense of sedition under Section 124A of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
• The petitioner stated that Section 124A should be struck down as it was in violation of Article 14 (equality before law), 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression), and 21 (protection of life and personal liberty).

WHY IN NEWS?

Sporadic cases of cytomegalovirus (CMV) are being reported from Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, making it the latest post-covid complication.

What is Cytomegalovirus (CMV)?

• Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is also known as Human Herpes virus 5 (HHV-5). It is a common herpes virus that often causes natural infections in childhood and remains asymptomatic in patients with normal immunity.
• Once infected, the virus is retained in the body for life. Most people don’t realise that they have been infected by CMV because it rarely causes problems in healthy people.
• The symptoms usually surface only when carriers become immuno-compromised, such as those suffering from cancer, AIDS, or those who have recently had transplants.

Symptoms of CMV:

• The symptoms of CMV range from fever and fatigue to severe symptoms involving the eyes, brain or other internal organs.
• These symptoms include gastrointestinal bleeding (blood in stools), diarrhea, swollen glands, mouth ulcers, inflamed liver, and inflammation of the brain (encephalitis).

WHY IN NEWS?

The Prime Minister has inaugurated the Tourism Facilitation Centre and operation of Cruise Boat in Varanasi. These projects have been developed under the PRASHAD Scheme.

About the PRASHAD Scheme:

• The National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive(PRASHAD) was launched by the Ministry of Tourism in the year 2014-15.
• Purpose: It is a Central Sector Scheme launched with the objective of integrated development of identified pilgrimage and heritage destinations.

Objectives of the Scheme:

• To enhance tourism attractiveness in a sustainable manner.
• To harness pilgrimage tourism so that it directly affects and multiplies employment generation and economic development.
• Furthermore, to promote local art and culture, handicraft and cuisines, etc.
• To develop world-class infrastructure in religious destinations.

WHY IN NEWS?

The Prime Minister has inaugurated the International Cooperation and Convention Centre – Rudraksh in Varanasi.

About Rudraksh:

• Rudraksh is an international cooperation and convention centre that will offer a glimpse of the cultural richness of Varanasi.
• The centre has been built with the assistance from Japan International Cooperation Agency.
• Purpose: The centre has been developed with the objective to dedicate an ideal platform for social and cultural interactions between people and strengthen the city’s competitiveness by developing the tourism sector.
• Moreover, the centre is also ideal for holding international conferences, exhibitions and music concerts and other events.
• Further, at the centre as many as 108 Rudraksha have been installed at this convention centre and its roof is shaped like a Shiva Linga.

WHY IN NEWS?

Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad have developed India’s First Rapid Electronic and Artificial Intelligence-powered COVID-19 test called COVIHOME. This test can be performed at an affordable cost at home.

About:

• Test kit can produce results within 30 minutes for symptomatic as well as asymptomatic patients.
• This test does not require RT-PCR (Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction) test.
• A patent for this kit has been filed and researchers are waiting for industry partners for Transfer of Technology (ToT) to produce kits at mass level.

WHY IN NEWS?

Central Government has notified jurisdiction of Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) & Godavari River Management Boards (GRMB), Seven years after their constitution under Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

About:

• With the constitution of boards, Centre transferred operation of all projects, including generation of hydel power, in two river basins in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to them. It will be in effective from October 14, 2021.
• Notification was issued by Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS).
• Notification brought 35 projects in Krishna basin and 71 in Godavari basin, under purview of boards.
• It empowered the boards to operate headworks of barrages, dams, reservoirs, part of canal network, regulating structures, transmission lines and power houses at projects.
• P. and Telangana will deposit Rs 200 crore each to bank account of KRMB within sixty days of publication of notification in order to enable boards to discharge its functions effectively.