July 28th Current Affairs

1. Dholavira.

IN NEWS:

India gets its 40th World Heritage Site.

KEY POINTS:

• Dholavira, the Harappan City in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
• India submitted the nomination dossier for Dholavira: A Harappan City to the World Heritage Centre in January, 2020.
• The site was on the UNESCO’s tentative list since 2014.
• Dholavira: a Harappan city, is one of the very few well preserved urban settlements in South Asia dating from the 3rd to mid-2nd millennium BCE.
• Dholavira was an important urban centre and is one of our most important linkages with our past.
• This follows a few days after the Rudreswara Temple, (also known as the Ramappa Temple) at Palampet, Mulugu district, Telangana State becoming the 39th World Heritage Centre in India.
• With this successful nomination, India has 40 world heritage properties overall, which includes 32 cultural, 7 natural and one mixed property.

Important Information:

About the Harappan city of Dholavira

• Dholavira: a Harappan city, is one of the very few well preserved urban settlements in South Asia dating from the 3rd to mid-2nd millennium BCE.
• Being the 6th largest of more than 1,000 Harappan sites discovered so far, and occupied for over 1,500 years, Dholavira not only witnesses the entire trajectory of the rise and fall of this early civilization of humankind, but also demonstrates its multifaceted achievements in terms of urban planning, construction techniques, water management, social governance and development, art, manufacturing, trading, and belief system.
• With extremely rich artefacts, the well preserved urban settlement of Dholavira depicts a vivid picture of a regional centre with its distinct characteristics that also contributes significantly to the existing knowledge of Harappan Civilization as a whole.
• The property comprises two parts: a walled city and a cemetery to the west of the city. The walled city consists of a fortified Castle with attached fortified Bailey and Ceremonial Ground,and a fortified Middle Town and a Lower Town. A series of reservoirs are found to the east and south of the Citadel.
• The great majority of the burials in the Cemetery are memorial in nature.

SOURCE:PIB

2. EXERCISE INDRA-21.

IN NEWS:

12th Edition of Indo-Russia joint military Exercise INDRA 2021 will be held at Volgograd, Russia from 01 to 13 August 2021.

KEY POINTS:

• The exercise will entail conduct of counter terror operations under the United Nations mandate by  a joint force against international terror groups.
• 250 personnel from both the nations will form part of the exercise.
• The Indian Army contingent comprising of a Mechanised Infantry  Battalion underwent rigorous training at different locations in India to refine their drills for participation in the joint exercise.
• Exercise INDRA-21 will further strengthen mutual confidence and interoperability between the Indian & Russian Armies and enable sharing of best practices between the contingents of both the countries.
• The exercise will be yet another milestone in strengthening security cooperation and will serve to reinforce the longstanding bond of friendship between India and Russia.

SOURCE:PIB

3. Marine Aids to Navigation Bill 2021

IN NEWS:

• Parliament has recently passed the Marine Aids to Navigation Bill 2021.
• It aims to replace over 90-year-old Lighthouse Act 1927, to incorporate the global best practices, technological developments and India’s International obligations in the field of Marine Aids to Navigation.

KEY POINTS:

Benefits of the new ACT:

• The new Act will facilitate harmonized and effective functioning of aids to marine navigation and Vessel Traffic Services along the Indian coastline.
• The benefits include:
• Improved Legal Framework for Matters related to Aids to Navigation & Vessel Traffic Services and covers the future developments in the field of Marine Navigation.
• Management of ‘Vessel Traffic Services’ for enhancing the safety and efficiency of shipping and to protect environment.
• Skill development through Training and Certification for the operators of ‘Aids to Navigation’ and ‘Vessel Traffic Services’ at par with International standards.
• Auditing and Accreditation of Institutes to cater to the need of Training and Certification at par with global standards.
• Marking of “Wreck” in general waters to identify sunken / stranded vessels for safe and efficient navigation.
• Development of Lighthouses for the purpose of education, culture and tourism, which would tap the tourism potential of coastal regions and contribute to their economy.

Important Information:

What is the Background?

• The administration and management of Lighthouse and Lightships in India is governed by Lighthouse Act 1927 for safe navigation.
• At the time of enactment of Lighthouse Act 1927, there were only 32 Lighthouses in the then British India spread across six regions viz. Aden, Karachi, Bombay, Madras, Calcutta and Rangoon.
• Post-Independence, 17 Lighthouses came under the administrative control of India, which have now increased manifold to meet the growing needs of the shipping industry.
• As the technology evolved, systems were put in place where with the help of Radar and other sensors, vessels were advised from shore about the position and thus Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) came into existence and found wide acceptability.
• These modern, technologically improved aids to marine navigation systems have changed their profile from a ‘passive’ service to that of ‘passive as well as interactive’ service.
• Lighthouses have also been globally identified as a major tourist attraction due to scenic location, typical architecture and heritage value.
• The need for enactment of a new Act is necessitated to provide an appropriate statutory framework which reflects the modern role of marine aids to navigation.

SOURCE:TH

4. World Economic Outlook.

IN NEWS:

On July 27th the International Monetary Fund has cut India’s GDP growth forecast to 9.5% for the fiscal year 2021-22. Previously, IMF has forecasted 12.5% GDP growth.

KEY POINTS:

• GDP forecast has been cut citing the hit on economic activity due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Due to the second wave during the months of March to May the growth prospect of India has been downgraded and it is expected that recovery will be slow.
• The report states that steady recovery is not assured in any country around the globe as long as the population remain susceptible to the COVID-19 virus and its various mutations.
• For the fiscal year 2022-23, IMF expects an economic growth of 8.5%, which is more than the 6.9 % projected by them in the month of in April.
• S&P Global Ratings projected a 9.5% growth in GDP in the fiscal year 2021-22 and 7.8% in the fiscal year 2022-23.
• RBI also forecasted 9.5% growth and it cut down from the previously projected 10.5%.
• The World Bank has projected India’s GDP growth at 8.3% for FY22..
• Asian Development Bank (ADB) has cut India’s economic growth forecast from 11% to 10%.

Global Economy

• In the latest World Economic Outlook report published by IMF, the global economy growth has been projected at 6% in the year 2021 and 4.9% for the year 2022.
• Gita Gopinath, IMF’s Chief Economist, has said that economic recovery globally is going on, but the gap is widening gap among the developing, emerging and advanced economies.
• IMF has estimated that this COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the per capita incomes in all the advanced economies of the world by 2.8%, with 6.3% of per capita loss annually for the developing and the emerging markets.

SOURCE:IE

5. Government to setup Centre of Excellence for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics.

IN NEWS:

• Government of India has announced they it will set up a Centre of Excellence for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics.
• This decision has been taken to create a globally acclaimed talent pool in the country so as to cater to the Indian as well as the global industry.

KEY POINTS:

• This Centre of Excellence will be set up in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
• This announcement was made in the Rajya Sabha by Anurag Thakur, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting.
• Film and Television Institute of India and Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute and have offered courses on VFX and Animation with the aim to support skilled manpower in these sectors.
• In India, the Media and Entertainment sector is one of the fastest and largest growing sectors and focus should be given on this sector so that they can produce an internationally acclaimed talent pool.
• To attract more foreign investments, Film Bazaar is organised by the National Film Development Corporation every year at the International Film Festival of India, Goa.
• Film Bazaar is the largest South Asian Film Market and it attracts lots of investors globally by encouraging financial and creative collaboration between the International and South Asian Film communities.
• With 15 countries, India has audio-visual co-production treaties.
• The Gaming industry is one of the biggest industries in the world and it earns a lot every year. Hence, the government has plans to set up a talent pool in India that can churn out international level talents and attract foreign investments.

SOURCE:TH