ANSWER: B

• Every year on December 10, Human Rights Day is observed globally to honour the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948.
• This was the first-ever global document on human rights that outlines the fundamental rights of all human beings that need to be protected universally.

About Human Rights Day

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948.
• The year, 2021 celebrates the 73rd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• The year, 2021’s theme is Human Rights Day theme is “Equality, Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights.”
• This year’s Human Rights Day theme relates to ‘Equality’ and Article 1 of the UDHR – “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
• The principles of equality and non-discrimination are at the heart of human rights. Equality is aligned with the 2030 Agenda and with the UN approach set out in the document Shared Framework on Leaving No One Behind: Equality and Non-Discrimination at the Heart of Sustainable Development.
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been translated into more than 500 languages and is the most translated document in the world.

ANSWER: C

• Government assume tank NITI Aayog recently introduced the launch of ‘e-Sawaari India Electric Bus Coalition’ in partnership with Convergence Energy Service Ltd () and World Resources Institute, India (WRI India), with assistance from Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI).

More about ‘e-Sawari India E-Bus Coalition’

• The coalition has been launched with the intention to share information and learnings on e-bus adoption in India amongst varied stakeholders, together with central and state governments, city-level authorities businesses, transit service suppliers, authentic tools producers (OEMs), financing establishments and ancillary service suppliers.
• As per NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, electrification of public transport particularly in the bus sector is vital to India’s decarbonisation technique.
• The e-Sawaari India Electric Bus Coalition is a step toward ensuring steady and paced electrification of the bus transport system in India.

Answer: D

• According to the recently released World Inequality Report 2022, India is now among the most unequal countries in the world.

About World Inequality Report 2022

Released by:

• World Inequality Lab, which aims to promote research on global inequality dynamics.
• This report presents the most up-to-date synthesis of international research efforts to track global inequalities.

Key Points of the Report

• Distribution of Wealth: The poorest half of the global population “barely owns any wealth” possessing just 2% of the total, whereas the richest 10% of the global population own 76% of all wealth.
• The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are the most unequal regions in the world, whereas Europe has the lowest inequality levels.
• Gender Inequalities: Women’s share of total incomes from work (labour income) was about 30% in 1990 and is less than 35% now. Inequalities within countries are now greater than those observed between countries. At the same time, the gap between the average incomes of the top 10% and the bottom 50% of individuals within countries has almost doubled.
• Rich Countries Poor Governments: Over the past 40 years, countries have become significantly richer, but their governments have become significantly poorer. The currently low wealth of governments has important implications for state capacities to tackle inequality in the future, as well as the key challenges of the 21st century such as climate change.

India Specific Findings

• Distribution of Wealth: India stands out as a poor and very unequal country. The top 1% of the population hold more than one-fifth of the total national income in 2021 and the bottom half just 13%.
• The economic reforms and liberalization adopted by India have mostly benefited the top 1%.
• Average Household Wealth: It stands at Rs. 983,010. It has been observed that the deregulation and liberalisation policies implemented since the mid-1980s have led to “one of the most extreme increases in income and wealth inequality observed in the world”.
• Gender Inequalities: The female labour income share is equal to 18% which is significantly lower than the average in Asia [21%, excluding China] and this value is one of the lowest in the world.

ANSWER: B

• Recently, in the Asia Power Index 2021, India Ranked as Fourth most powerful country in the Asia-Pacific region for comprehensive power.

About the Asia Power Index 2021

• India has been ranked the 4th most powerful country in the Asia-Pacific region for comprehensive power out of 26 countries.
• According to the Lowy Institute Asia Power Index 2021, Indians have an overall score of 37.7 out of 100. In comparison to 2020, India’s overall score dropped by two points.
• In 2021, India will once again fall short of the major power benchmark. India is one of 18 Asian countries with a declining overall score in 2021.
• The yearly Asia Power Index assesses the relative power of Asian states by measuring resources and influence.
• It’s a tool that rates 26 countries and territories based on what they have and how they use it, with countries as far west as Pakistan, as far north as Russia, and as far into the Pacific as Australia, New Zealand, and the United States included.
• The 2021 edition, which contains four years of data, is the most complete analysis of Asia’s evolving power distribution to date.
• Top 10 countries are: United States, China, Japan, India, Russia, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.

ANSWER: B

• Recently National Commission for Women (NCW) launched ‘She is a Changemaker’ programme.

About ‘She is a Changemaker’ programme

• Launched by: National Commission for Women (NCW)
• Main objective: To improve the leadership and decision-making skills of grassroot women political leaders and their communication skills including oration and writing skills.
• The pan-India capacity building programme has been launched for women representatives at all levels, from gram panchayats to the parliament including political workers and office bearers of national and state-level political parties.
• The capacity building programme will be undertaken in coordination with region-wise training institutes.
• The She is a Changemaker programme includes a series of training programmes. They were launched by National Commission for Women Chairperson Rekha Sharma in collaboration with Rhambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, Thane, Maharashtra.
• Benefit: The ‘She is a Changemaker’ programme aims to benefit every woman who wishes to make an identity for herself in politics and help her claim her rightful space in politics.

ANSWER: A

• Recently, a New Species of Bird named Flatbill flycatchers have been discovered in South America.

About Flatbill flycatchers

• Flatbill flycatcher is members of rubric Rhynchocyclusin simply New World family Tyrannidae.
• Four given species in this rubric are distributed across southern Mexico to north-eastern Bolivia, Brazil and eastern Venezuela.
• Olivaceous flatbill (Rhynchocyclus olivaceus),
• Eye- ringed flatbill (Rhynchocyclus brevirostris),
• Pacific flatbill (Rhynchocyclus pacificus) and
• Fulvous-breasted flatbill (Rhynchocyclus fulvipectus).
• The recently discovered species has been named as cryptic flatbill (Rhynchocyclus cryptus) after its remarkable morphological cryptic nature.
• It largely contrasts with its high situations of oral and inheritable isolation.
• The species prefers seasonally swamped lowland timbers (varzea), including degraded patches near to mortal agreements.
• Other region of its preference are Amazon River, banks of Madeira River in Amazonas & Acre in Brazil, west of Maranon River in Peru, and south to north or central Bolivia in the Mamore.

ANSWER: C

• NASA’s new Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) has recently been launched. It is the agency’s first-ever laser communications system. The LCRD will help the agency test optical communication in space.

About Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD)

• LCRD is a technology demonstration that will pave the way for future optical communications missions.
• The LCRD payload is hosted onboard the US Department of Defense’s Space Test Program Satellite 6 (STPSat-6).
• It will be in a geosynchronous orbit, over 35,000km above Earth.
• Optical communications systems are smaller in size, weight, and require less power compared with radio instruments.
• A smaller size means more room for science instruments. Less weight means a less expensive launch. Less power means less drain on the spacecraft’s batteries.
• With optical communications supplementing radio, missions will have unparalleled communications capabilities.