Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 29 August 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

::NATIONAL::

India administered over one crore COVID-19 vaccine doses on Friday, crossing a new inoculation milestone that was hailed by top BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) leaders, including Prime MinisteeNarendraModi.
With this, COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the country has crossed 62 crore (62,09,43,580) doses, according to a provisional report compiled at 7pm. The final report for the day would be compiled by late night, the ministry said earlier in the day.
A total of 23,72,15,353 people in the age group of 18-44 years have received the first dose and 2,45,60,807 have been administered the second dose of the vaccine since the start of the third phase of the vaccination drive, according to the health ministry.
The vaccination exercise - a tool to protect the most vulnerable population groups in the country from COVID-19 - continues to be regularly reviewed and monitored at the highest level, the ministry said.
India, a country of over 130 crore people, began its inoculation drive on January 16, with health care workers getting the shot in the first phase. The net was widened in February to include frontline workers in the list of beneficiaries. In March, all above 60 and the 44+ population with comorbidities became eligible for vaccination. In April, the comorbidity clause was dropped, making all above 44 eligible for the drive. In May, the entire adult population was made eligible for the jabs.

India and the EU have carried out a joint naval drill in the Gulf of Aden to improve operational interoperability among the forces.
A total of five ships participated in the two-day exercise between the Indian Navy and the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia.
The vessels were Indian frigate INS Trikand, Italian frigate Carabiniere, Spanish frigate Navarra, French frigate Surcouf and French amphibious assault helicopter carrier Tonnerre.
During the drill, the naval activities were based on the scenario of an anti-piracy operation and involved live firing, cross-deck helicopter landings and complex tactical evolutions at sea.
The participating vessels also conducted a night-time joint patrol and a naval parade in the high seas off the coast of Somalia.
The Indian Ministry of Defence said in a statement: “The EU and India are committed to a free, open, inclusive and rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region, underpinned by respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, democracy, rule of law, transparency, freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded lawful commerce, and peaceful resolution of disputes.
“They reaffirm the primacy of international law, including the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).”

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between India and BRICS nations for setting up of BRICS Agriculture Research Platform (BRICS-ARP).
“The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister NarendraModi has given its ex-post facto approval for anMoU signed among India and various BRICS countries for establishment of the BRICS Agriculture Research Platform (BRICS-ARP),” said an official release.
On October 16, 2016, anMoU for the establishment of agriculture research platform (ARP) was inked by the foreign ministers of the member-countries at the eighth BRICS Summit held in Goa, it said.
“The Centre will promote sustainable agricultural development and poverty alleviation through strategic cooperation in agriculture to provide food security in the BRICS member countries,” it added.
BRICS-ARP will serve as a natural global platform for sustainable development based on agriculture and led by science to address issues related to world hunger, poverty, under-nutrition, and inequality, majorly between farmers' income and non-farmers' income, and to boost agriculture trade, climate resilient agriculture and bio-security, the statement said.

The Quantum Computer Simulator (QSim) toolkit was launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). It will serve as an important educational / research tool that would attract students/researchers to the field of Quantum Technology and provide a platform to acquire the skills of ‘programming’ and ‘designing’ real Quantum Hardware.
Quantum Computing is a rapidly emerging computational paradigm which can perform a variety of tasks with greater speed and efficiency than present day digital computers by harnessing the power of Quantum Mechanics. In areas such as cryptography, computational chemistry and machine learning, Quantum computing promises exponential growth in computing power. QSim is a first-of-its-kind toolkit to be indigenously developed and is intended to be a vital tool in learning and understanding the practical aspects of programming using Quantum Computers and thus herald a new era of Quantum Computing research in India.
Besides, the QSim toolkit is in alignment with Honourable Prime Minister NarendraModi’s vision for transforming India into a self-reliant nation by 2022, which is part of the central government’s flagship programme called AatmaNirbhar Bharat. It is a proud moment for the entire QSim Toolkit team, who have worked relentlessly on the initiative to enable a toolkit for advancing Quantum Computing research in India.

RakshaMantri, ShriRajnath Singh visited the Army Sports Institute, Pune,. He was accompanied by Chief of Army Staff, General ManojMukundNaravane and Southern Army Commander, Lieutenant General JS Nain.
During his maiden visit, the RakshaMantri felicitated Olympians from the three services. In the unveiling ceremony, he named the Army Sports Institute stadium as “Neeraj Chopra Stadium”. He then addressed the troops and interacted with the budding sportsmen of Army Sports Institute.
In a tweet RakshaMantri said “Felicitated SubedarNeeraj Chopra at the Army Sports Institute in Pune today for his amazing performance at Tokyo Olympics. He made the country proud by winning the Olympics Gold Medal. Now, the ASI has renamed the Stadium after him. Wishing him success in his future endeavours.”
“Delighted to facilitate all the Armed Forces personnel who participated in the Tokyo Olympics. My good wishes to them for a successful career ahead,” he added.
ShriRajnath Singh hoped that India would become a top sports nation in future and host Olympics.
The Indian Army’s “Mission Olympics” programme was launched in 2001 with an intent to deliver medal winning performances in Olympics and other international events. The focus of the Indian Army is to identify and train promising sportspersons in 11 disciplines. Mission Olympics of Indian Army through Army Sports Institute has been spearheading this initiative of the Army.