Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 25 July 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 25 July 2021

::NATIONAL::

NITI Aayog and IEA launch report 'Renewables Integration in India 2021'

A report on “Renewables Integration in India 2021” was jointly launched by Dr. RakeshSarwal, Additional Secretary, NITI Aayog& Mr. Keisuke Sadamori, Director of Energy Markets and Security, IEA on 22nd July, 2021. The report is based on the outcome of three states workshops held with the Governments of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat to understand the specific energy transition challenges faced by these renewable-rich states. The report uses IEA modelling results to show the effects of different flexibility options on the power system.
The report highlights that India’s power system can efficiently integrate renewables (175 GW by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030), but it would require identification of resources and proper planning, regulatory, policy and institutional support, energy storage and advance technology initiatives.
Indian states need to employ a wide range of flexibility options – such as demand response, more flexible operation of coal based power plants, storage, and grid improvements – to transition to cleaner electricity systems. Larger shares of renewables can be better managed by shifting time of use in agriculture. Time of Use (ToU) tariffs will be an effective tool to incentivise demand side management and encourage flexible consumption.
Mr. Keisuke Sadamori, the IEA Director of Energy Markets and Security, indicated that the joint report underscores IEA’s commitment to provide support to India with its clean energy transition agenda.
Launching the report, Dr. RakeshSarwal, Additional Secretary, NITI Aayog, said that the joint report provides useful suggestions for the states to consider to best manage their integration challenge.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Cases of 'Norovirus' infection have been reported in the UK

The United Kingdom, which has relaxed the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) restrictions, is now reporting an outbreak of norovirus. Public Health England (PHE) recently issued a warning after finding a jump in norovirus cases during a routine surveillance.
In the five weeks since the end of May, 154 cases of norovirus have been recorded in England, according to PHE. The health body said that this is is a three-fold increase in cases over the same time period during the previous five years.
And in a more worrying development, the PHE reported increase in norovirus cases in educational settings, particularly in nursery and childcare facilities.
This increase in cases of norovirus can be a reason of concern for England as well as the world which is already grappling with the spread of Covid-19.
According to CDC, a person can contract norovirus by coming in direct contact of an infected person, consuming contaminated food or water and touching contaminated surfaces and then putting your unwashed hands in your mouth.

::ECONOMY::

India's foreign exchange reserves reached a record level of $ 612.73 billion

The country's foreign exchange reserves rose by USD 835 million to touch a record high of USD 612.73 billion in the week ended July 16, 2021, RBI data showed.
In the previous week ended July 9, 2021, the reserves had surged by USD 1.883 billion to USD 611.895 billion.
In the reporting week ended July 16, 2021, the increase in forex reserves was on account of the rise in foreign currency assets (FCA), Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) weekly data released on Friday showed.
The FCA, a major component of the overall reserves, rose by USD 463 million to USD 568.748 billion in the reporting week.
Expressed in dollar terms, foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.
The special drawing rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were up by USD 1 million at USD 1.548 billion.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

Chinese government scientists have unveiled plans for a first-of-its-kind, experimental nuclear reactor that does not need water for cooling.
The molten-salt nuclear reactor, which runs on liquid thorium rather than uranium, is expected to be safer than traditional reactors because the molten salt cools and solidifies quickly when exposed to the air, insulating the thorium, so that any potential leak would spill much less radiation into the surrounding environment compared with leaks from traditional reactors.
The prototype reactor is expected to be completed next month, with the first tests beginning as early as September. This will pave the way for the building of the first commercial reactor, slated for construction by 2030.
As this type of reactor doesn't require water, it will be able to operate in desert regions. The location of the first commercial reactor will be in the desert city of Wuwei, and the Chinese government has plans to build more across the sparsely populated deserts and plains of western China, as well as up to 30 in countries involved in China's "Belt and Road" initiative — a global investment program that will see China invest in the infrastructure of 70 countries.

::SPORTS::

Sumit Nagal became the third Indian to win a tennis singles match at the Olympics

It took SumitNagal a second attempt to serve out the match. And when he did eventually beat Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4, he became the first Indian since 1996 to win a singles match at the Olympics.
It took him two hours and 34 minutes to pull off the win. But that’s just a blink of the eye when compared to the 25-year wait the country has had to endure to get moving at the Olympics in singles.
To put that wait into perspective, Nagal, 23, wasn’t even born when Leander Paes went on to win bronze at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.