Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 04 February 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 04 February 2021

::NATIONAL::

Web portal launched to monitor the progress of Gobardhan scheme

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Animal Husbandry Minister Giriraj Singh, Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Minister of State for Jal Shakti Rattan Lal Kataria jointly launched a unified web portal for monitoring the progress of GOBARDHAN activities across the nation. Gobardhan is an important component of Swachh Bharat Mission Phase-2 for organic solid waste management.
Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said, at the rural level, earlier there was no way of proper disposal of cattle dung waste, but after the introduction of Gobardhan programme, people will be able to provide proper disposal of dung and achieve the goal of ODF Plus.
Animal Husbandry Minister Giriraj Singh said, Gobardhan pilot project will prove to be an important and useful step in cleanliness. He said, through this farmers will be able to get wealth from waste in a true sense.
Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, apart from making the country ODF Plus, through the important scheme of Gobardhan, we will get ethanol, bio-diesel and compressed bio-fuel in the coming years.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Norway ranks first in Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index

India slipped two places to 53rd position in the 2020 Democracy Index’s global ranking, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit, which said the "democratic backsliding" by authorities and "crackdowns" on civil liberties has led to a further decline in the country’s ranking.
India’s overall score fell from 6.9 in 2019 to 6.61 in the Index that provides a snapshot of the current state of democracy worldwide for 167 countries.
"With mounting pressure on India’s democratic norms, India’s score fell from a peak of 7.92 in 2014 to 6.61 in 2020 and its global ranking slipped from 27th (in 2014) to 53rd as a result of democratic backsliding" under the current regime, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said.
Norway topped The Economist Intelligence Unit’s latest Democracy Index report titled "Democracy in sickness and in health?", with Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand and Canada making up the top five.
Out of 167 countries, the Democracy Index classifies 23 countries as full democracies, 52 as flawed democracies, 35 as hybrid regimes, and 57 as authoritarian regimes. India has been classified as a ''flawed democracy'' along with countries such as the US, France, Belgium, and Brazil.
Japan and South Korea both returned to the “full democracy” fold for the first time since 2014. Taiwan attained “full democracy” status for the first time following a spectacular jump up the rankings.

::ECONOMY::

Center formally signed a Rs 48,000 crore deal to purchase 83 Tejas LCA from HAL

The government formally sealed the Rs 48,000 crore deal to procure 83 Tejas LCA from state-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, a deal described by the government as the 'biggest' Make in India defence contract.
The contract was handed over by Director General (Acquisition), Ministry of Defence, V L Kantha Rao to Chairman and Managing Director of HAL, R Madhavan, at the inaugural ceremony of Aero India-2021, the country's premier Defence and Aerospace show, here, in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
HAL has got the orders for development of 83 new indigenous LCA (light combat aircraft) Tejas MK1A from Indian Air Force valued at more than Rs 48,000 crore."
Tejas, manufactured by the HAL, is a single engine and highly agile multi-role supersonic fighter aircraft capable of operating in high-threat air environments.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month approved the procurement of 73 Tejas Mk-IA variant and 10 LCA Tejas Mk-I trainer aircraft from the HAL to boost IAF's combat prowess.
Singh had on Tuesday inaugurated HAL's second LCA-Tejas production plant here, and said Tejas is not only indigenous, but it is also better than its foreign equivalents on several parameters, besides being comparatively cheaper.
According to Madhavan, the delivery of the Tejas LCA to the IAF under the Rs 48,000-crore deal will begin from March 2024 and around 16 aircraft will be rolled out annually till the completion of the total supply of 83 jets.
He has also said that a number of countries have shown keen interest in procurement of Tejas and that the first export order is likely to come by in the next couple of years.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

Scientists decode how coronavirus mutates, escapes antibodies

Scientists have identified a pattern of mutations in the novel coronavirus which enable it to evade the immune system's antibodies, findings that shed light on how the virus may possibly escape existing vaccines and therapeutics.
According to the researchers, including those from the University of Pittsburgh in the US, the coronavirus undergoes selective deletions in parts of its genetic sequence that encode for the shape of its spike protein.
The spike protein is the part of the coronavirus which enables it to infect host cells, and is also the segment of the virus against which the body produces neutralising antibodies.
The study, published in the journal Science, assessed nearly 1,50,000 gene sequences of the spike protein collected from many parts of the world, and found that in variants possessing the deletion mutations, formerly neutralising antibodies cannot grab hold of the virus.
According to the study, the scientists first came across these neutralisation-resistant mutations in a sample from an immunocompromised patient, who was infected with coronavirus for 74 days before ultimately dying from Covid-19.
The researchers believe this long time of "cat and mouse" play between the immune system and the coronavirus in such patients gives "ample opportunity" to initiate a "co-evolutionary dance".
They said this competition results in "worrisome mutations" in the viral genome that are resulting in variants of the coronavirus such as the ones first reported in the UK and South Africa.

::SPORTS::

Man City restore lead at top with routine win at Burnley

Manchester City restored their three-point lead at the top of the Premier League after goals from Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling secured a comfortable 2-0 win at Burnley.
The routine victory at Turf Moor left City on 47 points from 21 games with second-placed Manchester United, who crushed Southampton 9-0 on Tuesday, three points behind having played one more match.
City have won 13 straight matches in all competitions and Pep Guardiola's side will head into Sunday's clash with Liverpool at Anfield in confident mood after another faultless display.