Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 07 August 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 07 August 2021

::NATIONAL::

Parliament panel recommends renegotiating the Indus Water Treaty to address the impact of climate change

A Parliamentary Standing Committee has recommended that India should renegotiate the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) with Pakistan in view of the “present day pressing issues such as climate change, global warming and environmental impact assessment”.
Headed by MP Sanjay Jaiswal, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources submitted the 12th report on ‘Flood management in the country including international water treaties in the field of water resources management with particular reference to treaty/agreement entered into with China, Pakistan and Bhutan’
“Present day pressing issues such as climate change, global warming and environmental impact assessment etc. were not taken into account by the treaty. In view of this, there is a need to re-negotiate the treaty so as to establish some kind of institutional structure or legislative framework to address the impact of climate change on water availability in the Indus basin and other challenges, which are not covered under the treaty. Hence, the Committee urges the Government of India to take necessary diplomatic measures to renegotiate the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan,” the Committee recommended in its report.
The Committee also noted that though India has, as per the IWT, the right to create water capacity storage of up to 3.6 million acre-feet (MAF) on the western rivers, no storage capacity has been created so far by India; and that out of the estimated power potential of about 20,000 megawatt, which could be harnessed from the west.

::INTERNATIONAL::

India to implement MoU in disaster management with Bangladesh

India has laid emphasis on implementation of the recently signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bangladesh in the field of disaster management, resilience, and mitigation on a priority basis.
“We are glad that Bangladesh has decided to accept our invitation to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure,” Indian External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar said.
He expressed his confidence in a letter to his counterpart Dr AK Abdul Momen that these mechanisms would help the two countries to remain better prepared to face such challenges in the future.
The minister also stated that capacity building, learning from each other’s best practices as well as extending support to each other is the need of the hour.

::ECONOMY::

Repo rate and reverse repo rate will remain unchanged

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept its key policy rates unchanged , for the sixth consecutive time and at record lows, as it continued with its “accommodative stance to revive and sustain growth on sustainable basis” amid the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to maintain status quo ie repo rate remains unchanged at 4%. MCC also decided to continue with accommodative stance as long as necessary to revive and sustain growth on durable basis and to mitigate impact of Covid on economy,” RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said in Mumbai after MPC’s three-day meeting.
RBI also held the reverse repo rate, the borrowing rate, unchanged at 3.35 per cent, Das added. The central bank also lowered its estimate for economic growth to 9.5 per cent for the current fiscal from earlier projection of 10.5 per cent due to the impact of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and bank rates were also kept unchanged at 4.25 per cent, he also said.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

India's first heart failure biobank launched at SCTIMST, Kerala

The first National Heart Failure Biobank (NHFB) in the country that would collect blood, biopsies, and clinical data as a guide to future therapies was inaugurated at the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST).
“There are no heart failure biobanks in the country, and this would greatly help in guiding future therapies and technologies and would benefit the heart failure patients significantly,” said Prof. Balram Bhargava, Secretary, Department of Health Research (DHR) and DG, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) while inaugurating the NHFB virtually on 5th August.
He added that the biobank will provide insights into heart diseases and heart failure among Indian children and adults, which are very different from that seen in the West.
“The facility will be useful for the research and treatment of post-covid heart failure. The increase in the observed prevalence of long-COVID symptoms and post-COVID heart failure calls for long-COVID clinics to collect patient data and biospecimens that can be biobank for future research. Through the NHFB, researchers can get access to well-annotated biological specimens linked to clinical data while maintaining appropriate standards of quality and security.
I sincerely hope that the NHFB will facilitate research both in India and abroad, helping clinicians and scientists to work together to understand and find solutions to heart failure-related morbidity and mortality. ” Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology (DST) pointed out in his message.

::SPORTS::

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award renamed as Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award

Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays floral tribute to Major Dhyan Chand. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 6 announced that the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the country’s highest sporting honour, will be renamed after decorated Olympian Major Dhyan Chand.
"Renaming the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award as Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award would be a political 'sport' and not a public sentiment. Major Dhyan Chand could have been honoured without insulting the sacrifice of Rajiv Gandhi.