July 27th Current Affairs

1. Kandla SEZ.

IN NEWS:

• Kandla becomes first Green SEZ
• Achieves CII’s IGBC ( Indian Green Building Council) Green Cities Platinum Rating
• IGBC Green Platinum rating awarded to Kandla SEZ

KEY POINTS:

• KASEZ is the First Green SEZ to achieve the IGBC Green Cities Platinum Rating for Existing Cities.
• The plaque was presented to KASEZ team consisting of Shri Satyadeep Mahapatra, Joint Development Commissioner and Shri Chandan Singh, Appraiser in the presence of senior officials of the Department Commerce and DGFT.
• The efforts of KASEZ team were applauded especially noting the fact that this was accomplished in Bhuj region where water conservation and afforestation are critical interventions.
• This was major achievement and is part of activities envisaged under the commitment of the Government to the Green SEZs Mission as part of celebrations marking India@75 – Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav. 
• It may be noted that Government of India working towards ensuring environmentally sustainable development through a series of measures and efforts that encompass many Ministries.
• IGBC Platinum rating has been awarded for ‘Green master planning, policy initiatives and implementation of green infrastructure’ by CII’s Indian Green Building Council (IGBC).
• The recognition is set to pave way for all the other SEZs in the country to emulate the green initiative and efforts of Kandla SEZ.

SOURCE:PIB

2. Vegetables exported to UAE from Uttarakhand.

IN NEWS:

In a major boost to agricultural produce exports from Uttarakhand, first consignment of vegetables including curry leaf, okra, pear and bitter gourd sourced from the farmers of Haridwar, was exported today to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

KEY POINTS:

• In 2020-21, India exported fruits and vegetables valued at Rs 11,019 crore compared to Rs 10,114 crore worth of exports in 2019-20.
• The exports of vegetables come after a consignment of millets grown in Uttarakhand was exported to Denmark in May, 2021.
• APEDA, in collaboration with Uttarakhand Agriculture Produce Marketing Board (UKAPMB) & Just Organik, an exporter, sourced & processed ragi (finger millet), and jhingora (barnyard millet) from farmers in Uttarakhand for exports, which meets the organic certification standards of the European Union.
• The Uttarakhand government has been supporting organic farming. UKAPMB, through a unique initiative, has been supporting thousands of farmers for organic certification. These farmers produce mainly millets such as Ragi, Barnyard millet, Amaranthus etc.
• Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has been carrying out promotional activities to bring Uttarakhand on the agricultural and processed food products export map of India.
• APEDA is planning to provide financial assistance for setting up a pack house in Uttarakhand which would fulfil the mandatory requirement or infrastructure for export of fresh fruits and vegetables to the international market.

SOURCE:MINT

3. Exercise Cutlass Express 2021.

IN NEWS:

Indian Naval Ship Talwar is participating in Exercise Cutlass Express 2021, being conducted from 26 July 2021 to 06 August 2021 along the East Coast of Africa.

KEY POINTS:

• The exercise is an annual maritime exercise conducted to promote national and regional maritime security in East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean.
• The 2021 edition of the exercise involves participation of 12 Eastern African countries, US, UK, India and various international organisations like International Maritime Organisation (IMO), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Interpol,  EurEuropean Union Naval Forc (EUNAVFOR), Critical Maritime Routes Indian Ocean (CRIMARIO) and EUCAP Somalia. Indian Navy is participating in the exercise in a ‘trainer role’.
• The exercise focusses on East Africa’s coastal regions and is designed to assess and improve combined maritime law enforcement capacity, promote national and regional security and increase interoperability between the regional navies.
• As part of the exercise, the Indian Navy, together with other partners, shall undertake training of contingents from various participating countries in various fields across the spectrum of maritime security operations.
• Information sharing and information flow between various partner countries with respect to maritime domain awareness is also a key focus of the exercise and participation of India’s Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) would contribute in achieving the same.
• As part of the exercise, the ship is visiting Mombasa, Kenya, wherein various other professional interactions are also planned with the Kenya Navy.
• The ship, during its stay at Mombasa, will also host a number of events to build stronger bridges of friendships with Kenya, Indian community and host of other partners in addition to the Cutlass Express participants.

SOURCE:PIB

4. Kargil Vijay Diwas

IN NEWS:

The 22nd anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas was observed on the 26th of July 2021.

The day is dedicated to the martyred soldiers of the Kargil war.

Key Points.

• After the Indo-Pak war of 1971, there had been many military conflicts. Both the countries conducted nuclear tests in 1998 which further escalated tensions and finally the Kargil War in 1999.
• Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between May-July of 1999 in the Kargil (now a district in the UT of Ladakh) district of Jammu and Kashmir along the Line of Control (LoC) in which India got the victory.

Operation Vijay:

• In the year 1999, India and Pakistan signed the Lahore Agreement to mutually resolve the Kashmir issue in a peaceful manner.
• However, the Pakistani troops began infiltrating toward Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC) under Operation Badr, hoping to cut off Indian Troops in Siachen. Indian Army responded by launching Operation Vijay.
• On 3rd May 1999, Pakistan started this war when it had infiltrated into the high altitudes in the rocky mountainous region of Kargil with around 5000 soldiers and captured it.
• When the Indian Government got the information about it, ‘Operation Vijay’ was launched by the Indian army to throw back the intruders who had treacherously occupied Indian Territory.

SOURCE:IE

5. Garib Nawaz Employment Scheme

IN NEWS:

Recently, the Union Minister for Minority Affairs replied in the Parliament that a total number of 371 training centers under Gharib Nawaz Employment Scheme were opened across the country.

Key Points:

• It was launched by the Ministry of Minority Affairs in 2017.
• Maulana Azad Education Foundation, an autonomous body under the aegis of Ministry of Minority Affairs, implements the Scheme.
• The main aim of this scheme is to provide short term job oriented skill development courses to minorities’ youth in order to enable them for skill based employment.
• This scheme is implemented as per common norms of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSD&E) through the empanelled Program Implementation Agencies (PIAs).
• The PIA is mandated to place minimum 70% trainees out of total trained trainees.
• The monthly stipend for maximum of three months and post placement support for maximum of two months after getting employment are also being paid to the beneficiaries directly into their account.

SOURCE:PIB

6.Phosphatic rock

IN NEWS:

India to explore Indigenous Deposits of Phosphatic rock.

Key Points:

• Currently we are dependent on other countries for raw materials to produce DAP (Di-ammonium Phosphate) and (Single superphosphate) SSP primarily.
• India needs to reduce its dependencies on imports.
• In order to achieve that goal, India shall explore indigenous deposits of Phosphatic rock and Potash and make it available to indigenous industries.
• Rock Phosphate is the key raw material for DAP and NPK fertilizers.
• Currently, India is 90% dependent on imports for this raw material.
• Volatility in international prices affects domestic prices of fertilizers.
• Import dependence also hinders the progress and development of the agriculture sector in the country and puts extra pressure on our farmers.

SOURCEPIB