APRIL 22 and 23rd Current Affairs

1. Civil Services Day

IN NEWS:

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has wished all Civil Servants on the occasion of Civil Services Day.
• The National Civil Services Day is observed on April 21 every year and is dedicated to India’s civil servants for their contribution and hard work in public administration.
• The first National Civil Service Day was observed in the year 2006.

KEY POINTS:

About:

• It is celebrated as an occasion for the civil servants to rededicate themselves to the causes of citizens and renew their commitments to public service and excellence in work.
• The date is chosen to commemorate the day when the first Home Minister of Independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel addressed the probationers of Administrative Services Officers in 1947 at Metcalf House, Delhi.
• He referred to civil servants as the ‘Steel Frame of India’.

Sardar Vallabhai Patel

• Sardar Vallabhai Patel was the first Deputy Prime Minister of India. He was a barrister. Also, he served as the Home Minister of the country during the political integration of India.
• He is called the Unifier of India for his role in unifying the princely states in the country.
• On 31 October, 2018, the Statue of Unity was dedicated to him. It is the world tallest statue. The height of the statue is 182 metres.
• He was also called the Iron Man of India.
• Patel was elected as the President of the Indian Nation Congress for the Karachi session of Congress that was held in 1931.The Gandhi-Irwin pact was ratified at this congress.
• The TRIUMVIRATE that ruled India between 148 and 1950 was formed by the Governor General of India Chkravarti Rajagopalachari, Patel and Nehru.

SOURCE:PIB

2. International Religious Freedom Report 2021

IN NEWS:

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent bi-partisan commission, has released its 2021 annual report.

Key Points

About the USCIRF:

• USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan US federal government commission, dedicated to defending the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad.
• It is an advisory body to the US Congress.
• USCIRF’s 2021 Annual Report assesses religious freedom violations and progress during calendar year 2020 in 26 countries and makes independent recommendations for US policy.
• It is Headquartered at Washington DC.

About the Report:

• The Report’s primary focus is on two groups of countries:
• “Country of Particular Concern (CPC)” is a designation by the US Secretary of State of a nation engaged in severe violations of religious freedom under IRFA (International Religious Freedom Act of 1998).
• A “Special Watch List” country is one that is deemed not to meet all of the CPC criteria but engages in or tolerates severe violations of religious freedom.
• The Report also includes USCIRF’s recommendations of violent nonstate actors for designation by the US State Department as “entities of particular concern,” or EPCs, under IRFA.

Latest Recommendations of USCIRF:

For the CPC List:

• Recommendations for the CPC list are Russia, Syria and Vietnam and India.
• Countries already on the CPCs list and recommended by USCIRF for re-designation are Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
• For A Special Watch List:
• Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Turkey and Uzbekistan are recommended for a ‘Special Watch List’, along with Cuba and Nicaragua, both of which were already on the list for 2019.

For EPCs:

• Recommends seven non-state actors for redesignation as “entities of particular concern” (EPCs)—al-Shabaab, Boko Haram, the Houthis, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), and the Taliban.

SOURCE:TH

3. BOAO FORUM

IN NEWS:

While speaking at the annual Boao Forum, China’s President Xi Jinping said that global rules cannot be imposed “by one or a few countries”.

Key Points

About BFA Annual Conference 2021:

• The forum witnessed more than 2500 participants coming from more than 60 countries. This year’s theme is ‘A World in Change: Join Hands to Strengthen Global Governance and Advance Belt and Road Cooperation’.
• The main agenda is to strengthen mutual understanding in the post-pandemic era, create additional incentives for overall socio-economic growth and effective global governance.
• An annual report on Asian Economy was released on the occasion which highlighted the importance of Asian economies which have fared well despite the ongoing pandemic.
• In terms of purchasing power parity, Asia’s share in the global economic aggregate in 2020 reached 47.3%, up 0.9 percentage points from 2019.
• It showed that the economic integration of all Asian economies is accelerating.
• Signing of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) has been injecting strong momentum into regional and global economic growth. India is not a part of RCEP.

About Boao Forum:

• The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) is an international not for profit organization which was jointly initiated by 26 member states in 2001, the members have now increased to 29.
• India is also a member of the BFA.
• Its annual conference is held in Boao, Hainan province of China on a regular basis.
• The establishment of BFA is modelled on the lines of the World Economic Forum which bases its annual meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. Thus earning the name of ‘Davos of the East’.
• The founding purpose of BFA was to promote economic integration in Asia. Its mission now is to pool positive energy for the development of Asia and the world.
• The forum has not only played a unique role in pooling consensus and putting forward valuable “Boao proposals,” but also engaged countries in addressing global issues and promoting world development and prosperity.
• Its five focal areas include technology innovation, health, education, culture and media in response to the new economy

SOURCE:TH

4. Appointment of Ad-hoc Judges

IN NEWS:

To deal with mounting backlog of cases, the Supreme Court cleared the way for appointment of retired judges as ad-hoc judges in High Courts under Article 224A of the Constitution.

KEY POINTS:

• There are almost 40% vacancies remaining in the regular appointments (both permanent and additional judges) over the last two years.
• So, the court ruled that the Chief Justice of a High Court may initiate the process of recommending a name if,
• Number of judges’ vacancies is more than 20% of the sanctioned strength,
• Cases in a particular category are pending for over five years,
• More than 10% of pending cases are over 5 years old, or percentage of the rate of disposal is lower than the institution of the cases either in a particular subject matter or generally in the court.
• The Chief Justice of a High Court should prepare a panel of judges after personal interaction with the concerned judge to take their consent. 
• The appointments can follow the procedure laid down in the Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of judges.
• Since the nominees have been judges before, the need to refer the matter to the IB or other agencies would not arise, shortening the time period.
• A Chief Justice should start the recommendation process three months in advance for such appointment.
• Tenure – Generally for a period between two and three years (may vary on the basis of the need.)
• Number – The number of ad-hoc judges in the court should be in the range of 2 to 5 for the time being (Depending on the strength of the High Court and the problem faced by it.)
• Work – Since the goal was to clear the backlog, the ad-hoc judges can be assigned more than five-year-old cases; however, this would not affect the High Court Chief Justice’s discretion to allot any other matter.
• The ad-hoc appointees are barred from performing any other legal work – advisory, arbitration or appearing in court for clients.
• If a Division Bench needs to be constituted to hear a matter, it would comprise of only ad-hoc judges (not a mix of ad-hoc and sitting judges).
• Allowances – Their emoluments and allowances should be on a par with a permanent judge of that court minus the pension.
• They will be entitled to allowance/perks/perquisites as are available to permanent/additional judge(s).

SOURCE:TH

5. KRI NANGGALA SUBMARINE.

IN NEWS:

The Indian Navy on Thursday dispatched its Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel (DSRV) from Visakhapatnam to support the Indonesian Navy in search and rescue efforts for its submarine  KRI Nanggala that went missing.

KEY POINTS:

• KRI Nanggala (402) is a diesel-electric attack submarine of the Indonesian Navy, one of two Cakra-class submarines (Type 209 design).
• On 21 April 2021, it went missing in deep waters during a SUT torpedo drill north of Bali.
• The boat is named after the Nanggala, a divine and powerful short spear that was owned by Prabu Baladewa (the elder brother of Kresna), a recurring character in wayang puppet theatre.

Important Info :

Deep submergence rescue vessel (DSRV)?

• India is amongst the few countries in the world capable of undertaking search and rescue of a disabled submarine through a DSRV.
• Indian Navy’s DSRV system can locate a submarine up to 1,000-metre depth utilising its state-of-the-art side scan sonar and remotely operated vehicle.
• After the submarine is successfully located, another sub module of DSRV — the submarine rescue vehicle (SRV) — links with the submarine to rescue the trapped personnel. The SRV can also be used to provide emergency supplies to the submarine.

6. Earth Day

IN NEWS:

• Every year, 22nd April is celebrated as Earth Day to raise public awareness about the environment and inspire people to save and protect it.
• Theme for the year 2021 ‘Restore Our Earth’ examines natural processes, emerging green technologies and innovative thinking that can restore the world’s ecosystems.

Key Points

Background:

• Earth Day was first observed in 1970, when 20 million took to the streets to protest against environmental degradation on the call of US Senator Gaylord Nelson.
• The event was triggered by the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, as well as other issues such as smog and polluted rivers.
• In 2009, the United Nations designated 22nd April as ‘International Mother Earth Day’.

About:

• Earth Day is now globally coordinated by EARTHDAY.ORG, which is a non profit organisation. It was formerly known as Earth Day Network.
• It aims to “build the world’s largest environmental movement to drive transformative change for people and the planet.”
• It recognizes a collective responsibility, as called for in the 1992 Rio Declaration (Earth Summit), to promote harmony with nature and the Earth to achieve a just balance among the economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations of humanity.
• The landmark Paris Agreement, which brings almost 200 countries together in setting a common target to reduce global greenhouse emissions, was also signed on Earth Day 2016.

SOURCE:PIB

7. FOSS4GOV INNOVATION CHALLENGE

IN NEWS:

MeitY announces #FOSS4GOV Innovation Challenge to accelerate adoption of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) In Government.

KEY POINTS:

• India is well positioned to become a vibrant hub for Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) innovations, due to the large number of 4G data subscribers in India.
• Some of India’s largest-government projects (including Aadhaar) and many technology start-ups have also been built using FOSS.
• Acknowledging the huge potential of FOSS, the Government of India had issued a Policy on Adoption of Open Source Software in 2015.
• The #FOSS4GOVInnovation Challenge calls upon FOSS innovators, technology entrepreneurs and Indian Startups to submit implementable open source product innovations in CRM and ERP with possible applications for Govtech in Health, Education, Agriculture, Urban Governance etc.
• Participants to be eligible for incubation support, prize money, mentorship by domain experts, institutional support from eminent organizations for incubation of ideas and listing of solutions on GeM.Further details about the challenge and how to participate will be shared soon by the Ministry through MyGov and MeitY Startup Hub.

SOURCE:PIB