Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 05 January 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 05 January 2021

::NATIONAL::

M Modi delivers inaugural address at National Metrology Conclave

Prime Minister NarendraModi delivered the inaugural address at the National Metrology Conclave, via video conferencing. The theme of the conclave was 'Metrology for the Inclusive Growth of the Nation'. Union Minister for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan was also present on the occasion.
PM Modi also dedicated 'National Atomic Timescale', and 'BhartiyaNirdeshakDravya' to the nation, and laid the foundation stone of the 'National Environmental Standards Laboratory'.
The National Atomic Timescale generates Indian Standard Time with an accuracy of 2.8 nanoseconds. BhartiyaNirdeshakDravya is supporting testing and calibration of laboratories for quality assurance, at par with international standards.
The National Environmental Standards Laboratory will aid self-reliance in the certification of ambient air and industrial emission monitoring equipment.

::ECONOMY::

India’s manufacturing poised to witness recovery in July-Sep: Survey

India’s manufacturing sector is poised to witness recovery in the July-September quarter, even as hiring outlook for the segment remains bleak, according to a survey. Industry body FICCI’s latest quarterly survey on manufacturing points towards recovery of the manufacturing sector in the second quarter ended September as compared to the previous quarter, with a rise in percentage of respondents reporting higher production.
The proportion of respondents reporting higher output during July-September rose to 24 per cent, as compared to 10 per cent in the previous quarter. Besides, the percentage of respondents expecting low or same production is 74 per cent in the second quarter which was 90 per cent in the first quarter of 2020-21.
However, hiring outlook for the sector, though improving slightly, shows a bleak picture as 80 per cent of the respondents mentioned that they are not likely to hire additional workforce in the next three months.
“This presents slightly improved situation in the hiring scenario as compared to the previous quarter Q-1 of 2020-21, where 85 per cent of the respondents were not in favour of hiring additional workforce,” FICCI said.

::INTERNATIONAL::

World Braille Day

World Braille Day is celebrated every year on January 4th because it is Louis Braille’s birthday, the inventor of braille! Louis was born in 1809 in France.
He became blind after a childhood accident, and he quickly mastered his new way of living.
When he was just 15 years old, he created the system we know today as braille, based on a system of writing developed by Charles Barbier.
Over the years braille was tweaked to make it easier to read, and now it’s used the world over!

SCIENCE AND TECH

40th Indian scientific expedition to Antarctica launched

The 40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica (ISEA) departed for the South Pole from Mormugao Port, Goa with 43 members on board, January 5, 2021.
India has two stations on the polar continent of Antarctica — Maitri and Bharati — which are being operated under the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Union Ministry of Earth Sciences.
The 40th ISEA team of scientists, engineers, doctors, and technicians, is led by three polar veterans — Yogesh Ray from NCPOR, Atul Suresh Kulkarni from Indian Institute of Geomagnetism and RavindraSantosh More from India Meteorological Department.
They will have different roles and responsibilities of managing the voyage operations. Bharati base operations and Maitri base operations share a common goal of rewriting the success story of the Indian Antarctic Programme under this year’s special circumstances. Cautious steps have been taken to avoid contraction and spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on board the expedition vessel and the virus reaching Antarctica.
Highlighting the pivotal role of NCPOR in this vital mission, M Ravichandran, sirector, NCPOR said, “Polar regions are crucially important in answering key questions about global climate change, its contribution towards global sea-level rise, the background aerosol properties, variability in the sea ice cover and phenomena like Antarctic haze and ozone concentrations. Attempts to address some of these issues are helping in mitigating several important problems concerning human life and well-being.”

Sports

TeimourRadjabov wins the Airthings Masters

TeimourRadjabov clinched the Airthings Masters title, winning $60,000 and qualified for the tour final in September. In the match for third place, MaximeVachier-Lagrave bested DaniilDubov.
After winning the first set of the final Teimour needed just a draw in the second one, but LevonAronian did not go down easily. In the first see-saw game, Aronian went for a very sharp line which is refuted by the only and very hard-to-find move (21…d3). Teimour missed it and found himself in a lost position but then it was Levon’s turn to err. Teimour was winning but did not demonstrate necessary accuracy and the game was drawn.