Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 13 April 2021
Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 13 April 2021
::NATIONAL::
Center extends ceasefire treaty with 3 Naga insurgent groups by one year
- The Centre extended the ceasefire agreement with three insurgent groups of Nagaland for another year. The pact, signed today, will remain in force till April next year.
- "It has been decided to extend the ceasefire agreements for a further period of one year with effect from April 28, 2021 to April 27, 2022 with NSCN/NK and NSCN/R and from April 18, 2021 to April 17, 2022 with NSCN/K-Khango, " the Home Ministry said in a written statement.
- The ceasefire agreements are in operation between the Centre and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland/NK (NSCN/NK), National Socialist Council of Nagaland/ Reformation (NSCN/R) and National Socialist Council of Nagaland/K-Khango (NSCN/K-Khango).
- These three outfits are the breakaway factions of dominant groups NSCN-IM and NSCN-K.
- Peace negotiations with the NSCN-IM has been on since 1997 when the group signed the ceasefire agreement with the central government for the first time.
- In 2015, the group signed a Framework Agreement on August 3 in the presence of Prime Minister NarendraModi to find a permanent solution.
::INTERNATIONAL::
Shantir Ogroshena, 2021 (Shantir Ogroshena) war exercise concludes
- Indian Army will take part in a four-nation military exercise in Bangladesh to commemorate Bangabandhu Sheikh MujiburRahman's birth centenary from April 4.
- From April 4 to 12, the Indian Army will take part in a four-nation military exercise in Bangladesh to commemorate Bangabandhu Sheikh MujiburRahman's birth centenary and the 50th anniversary of the country's liberation war. The exercise "ShantirOgroshena" (front runner of peace) will feature a 30-member Indian Army team comprising officers, junior commissioned officers (JCOs), and soldiers from the Dogra regiment.
- The Defence Ministry informed that the Royal Bhutan Army and the Sri Lankan Army, in addition to the armies of Bangladesh and India, will take part in the exercise. Indian Army in its official statement said, "Indian Army contingent comprising of 30 personnel to participate in military exercise ShantirOgroshena 2021 (Front Runner of the Peace) in Bangladesh, along with Royal Bhutan Army, Sri Lankan Army & Bangladesh Army from April 4 to April 12." "The theme of the exercise is ''Robust Peace Keeping Operations''. Military observers from the US, UK, Turkey, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Singapore will also be in attendance throughout the exercise.
::ECONOMY::
Health Minister launched Mission Aahar Kranti
- Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has launched an initiative aimed at spreading awareness about nutrition and locally available nutritious food, fruits, and vegetables, a statement said on Wednesday. Vijnana Bharati (Vibha), 'Global Indian Scientists and Technocrats' (GIST) Forum, VigyanPrasar, and PravasiBharatiya Academic and Scientific Sampark (PRABHASS) have come together to launch mission "Aahaar Kranti" with the motto of 'UttamAahaar-UttamVichaar' (Good Diet-Good Cognition).
- Launching the initiative on Tuesday, Vardhan said, "Today, when the country is reeling under the onslaught of a pandemic like COVID-19, a balanced diet serves as a special tool to reduce the impact of the pandemic. At such a time, the need to create awareness about the importance of a balanced diet has become more vital than ever before."
- The statement said the "AahaarKranti" movement is designed to address the peculiar problem being faced by India and the world -- hunger and diseases in abundance.
- Studies estimate that India produces as much as two times the amount of calories it consumes. However, many in the country are still malnourished. The root cause of this strange phenomenon is the lack of nutritional awareness, it said.
:: SCIENCE AND TECH::
DGCI approves Sputnik V vaccine in India
- The Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) granted permission to the Serum Institute of India (SII) to manufacture the Russian Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine in India for examination, test and analysis with certain conditions, according to official sources.
- Pune-based SII has partnered with Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Moscow, in Russia for developing Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in India at its licensed facility in Hadapsar.
- "The DCGI has granted permission to the Serum Institute to manufacture the Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine in India for examination, test and analysis at its licensed Hadapsar facility with certain conditions," an official source said, according to PTI. Earlier, on Thursday, SII had submitted an application to the drug regulator for this purpose.
- DCGI has set four conditions; as per these SII will have to submit a copy of the agreement between the firm and Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology for transfer of cell bank and virus stock and a copy of the agreement for technology transfer with Gamaleya.
- "Further, the SII has to submit a copy of the RCGM permission to import cell bank and virus stock and a copy of the RCGM permission to initiate research and development of viral vector vaccine Sputnik V," the sources said.