Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 09 October 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 09 October 2021

::NATIONAL::

India joins 'High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People'

At a ceremony held between the French and Indian governments on 7thOctober in New Delhi, India officially joined the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, a group of more than 70 countries encouraging the adoption of the global goal to protect 30x30.
HAC members currently include a mix of countries in the global north and south; European, Latin American, Africa and Asia countries are among the members. India is the first of the BRICS bloc of major emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to join the HAC.
India’s announcement comes in the lead up to a high-level biodiversity meeting, hosted by China. The virtual meeting to take place October 11-15 will tackle key aspects of the biodiversity treaty to be finalized in 2022. The global 30x30 goal is currently a centrepiece of the treaty.
ShriRameshwar Prasad Gupta, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India handed over the signed HAC agreement to H.E. Mr. Emmanuel Lenain, Ambassador of France to India in a ceremony held.
Expressing delight on India joining member countries of HAC, ShriRameshwar Prasad Gupta, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, said that resource mobilization will always be the cornerstone for implementation of policies and programmes for conserving biodiversity and said India would ensure all support in meeting the global biodiversity targets.
Welcoming India’s decision to join the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, which was initiated at the “One Planet Summit” in Paris in January 2021, Mr. Emmanuel Lenain, Ambassador of France to India saidthaton the eve of the opening of COP15, India joining the High Ambition Coalition is a real game changer and will boost our multilateral efforts. Stating that India is a major player for biodiversity protection, the French ambassador informed that this coalition aims to promote an international agreement to protect at least 30 % the of world's land and ocean by 2030.

::INTERNATIONAL::

WHO approves world's first malaria vaccine

The World Health Organization (WHO) is recommending widespread use of the RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) malaria vaccine among children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high P. falciparum malaria transmission. The recommendation is based on results from an ongoing pilot programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi that has reached more than 800 000 children since 2019.
“This is a historic moment. The long-awaited malaria vaccine for children is a breakthrough for science, child health and malaria control,” said WHO Director-General DrTedrosAdhanomGhebreyesus. “Using this vaccine on top of existing tools to prevent malaria could save tens of thousands of young lives each year.”
Malaria remains a primary cause of childhood illness and death in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 260 000 African children under the age of five die from malaria annually.
In recent years, WHO and its partners have been reporting a stagnation in progress against the deadly disease.
"For centuries, malaria has stalked sub-Saharan Africa, causing immense personal suffering,” said DrMatshidisoMoeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “We have long hoped for an effective malaria vaccine and now for the first time ever, we have such a vaccine recommended for widespread use. Today’s recommendation offers a glimmer of hope for the continent which shoulders the heaviest burden of the disease and we expect many more African children to be protected from malaria and grow into healthy adults.”

::ECONOMY::

Center releases 40,000 crore as GST compensation

The central government on Thursday released an amount of 40,000 crore to states and union territories (UTs) with legislature under the back-to-back loan facility to meet the shortfall in GST compensation, said the ministry of finance in a statement.
The Ministry of Finance today released an amount of 40,000 crore to the States and UTs with Legislature under the back-to-back loan facility to meet the shortfall in GST Compensation. Earlier on 15th July, 2021 an amount of 75,000 crore was released to the States & UTs with legislature. With the current release, the total amount released in the current financial year as back to back loan in-lieu of GST compensation has reached to 1,15,000 crore. This release is in addition to normal GST compensation being released every 2 months out of actual cess collection.
Subsequent to the 43rd GST Council Meeting held on 28.05.2021, it has been decided by the Central Government that it would borrow 1.59 lakh crore in 2021-22 and release it to States and UTs with Legislature on a back-to-back basis to meet the resource gap due to the short release of Compensation on account of inadequate amount collected in the Compensation Fund. This amount is as per the principles adopted for a similar facility in FY 2020-21, where an amount of 1.10 lakh crore was released to States under a similar arrangement.
This amount of 1.59 lakh crore to be provided to States as back to back loan would be over and above the compensation in excess of 1 lakh crore (based on cess collection) that is estimated to be released to States/UTs with Legislature during the current financial year. The sum total of 2.59 lakh crore is expected to exceed the amount of GST compensation accruing in FY 2021-22.
All eligible States and UTs (with Legislature) have agreed to the arrangements of funding of the compensation shortfall under the back-to-back loan facility. For effective response and management of COVID-19 pandemic and a step-up in capital expenditure all States and UTs have a very important role to play. For assisting the States/UTs in their endeavour, Ministry of Finance has frontloaded the release of assistance under the back-to-back loan facility during FY 2021-22 of 1,15,000 crore (more than 72 percent of the total estimated shortfall for the entire year). The balance amount will be released in due course.
The release of 40,000 crore made today is funded from borrowings of GoI in 5-year securities, totalling 23,500 croresand 2-year securities for 16,500 crore issued in the current financial year, at a Weighted Average Yield of 5.69 and 4.16 percent per annum respectively. No additional market borrowing by the Central Government is envisaged on account of this release.
It is expected that this release will help the States/UTs in planning their public expenditure among other things, for improving, health infrastructure and taking up infrastructure projects.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

PM Modi to launch 'Indian Space Association'

Prime Minister NarendraModi will launch the Indian Space Association, a grouping of space and satellite companies, at a virtual event on October 11, the industry body said.
Indian Space Association (ISpA) represents homegrown and global corporations with advanced capabilities in space and satellite technologies.
Its founding members include BhartiAirtel, Larsen & Toubro, Nelco (Tata Group), OneWeb, Mapmyindia, Walchandnagar Industries and Ananth Technology Limited.
Other core members include Godrej, Hughes India, Azista-BST Aerospace Private Limited, BEL, Centum Electronics and Maxar India.
"We are truly honoured to have the Hon'ble Prime Minister grace the launch ceremony and outline his vision for the growth of India's space industry and making our nation a global leader in the space arena," ISpA Director General A K Bhatt said in a statement.
L&T-NxT Senior Executive Vice President for Defence, JayantPatil has been appointed as the first chairman of ISpA, while BhartiAirtel's Chief Regulatory Officer Rahul Vatts will serve as vice chairman.

::SPORTS::

Anshu Malik became the first Indian female wrestler to win a silver medal at the World Championships

A billion hopes were riding on the young shoulders of Anshu Malik in Oslo, Norway, during the World Wrestling Championships. She had already made history by winning her 57kg semifinal on Wednesday, becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to reach the final at the World Championships.
Anshu, the reigning Asian Championships gold medallist, was in control of the final in the first period as she thwarted all the attacks of the American wrestler. She led 1-0 after the first period from a passivity point. But all changed seconds into the second period when Maroulis first scored a two-point take-down and then accrued another two points for exposure and then pinned Anshu to win.