Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 22 January 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 22 January 2021

::NATIONAL::

Indian Army signs MoU with SIDM

An MoU between the Indian Army & Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) was signed on 21 January 2021 to provide further impetus to indigenisation under the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and to achieve strategic independence by reducing dependence on foreign origin equipment.
This MoU was signed on the occasion of 25 Years of Army-Industry Partnership with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Collaboration between the Indian Army and industry started in 1995 with the indigenisation of spares and has progressed to major defence platforms and a wide range of weapons and equipment.
Increasing security challenges due to India's rising stature in the international community, apart from unresolved borders and revisionist adversaries require continuous and concerted capability building of the Army through modernisation to address them.
This can be done by equipping the Army with indigenously built equipment. In order to optimise capability building and single contact with the industry, Indian Army has reorganised itself by aligning both the revenue and capital routes of procurement under Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Capability Development & Sustenance).
Army Design Bureau (ADB) has been established to act as a direct facilitator with the industry and thereby connect the defence manufacturers directly with the user.
These changes have resulted in a collaborative engagement between the technology provider, the equipment manufacturer and the user.
The Government has made necessary policy changes to support indigenisation and achieving self-reliance in defence sector with the active support from the Army. Industry associations have provided a common platform for industry to interact with Indian Army to showcase their expertise.
The inputs of industry go a long way in effecting policy modulation and changes. With the signing of MoU with SIDM, Indian Army has reiterated its firm resolve towards achieving self-reliance by supporting and handholding indigenous defence industry.

::INTERNATIONAL::

Oxford researchers to update Covid-19 vaccines to fight new strains

Researchers at Oxford are bracing for the production of advanced versions of the Covid-19 vaccine that can fight the emerging and more contagious Covid-19 variants.
The research team that developed vaccines from Oxford and AstraZeneca Plc is now reconfiguring their technology to produce potent doses of vaccine against emerging mutations from the UK, South Africa, Brazil, among others.
The scientists are now estimating how quickly they could reconfigure their ChAdOx vaccine platform.

::ECONOMY::

Center proposes to suspend implementation of three new agricultural laws for 1.5 years

Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar hopeful of resolution in next meeting as farmers will discuss Centre's proposal of staying the implementation of the laws for about two years on Thursday.
The 10th meeting between the Centre and protesting farmers resulted in what can be termed as a breakthrough in the ongoing impasse, as the Centre has proposed to suspend the three contentious farm laws for 1.5 to two years.
The farmers, however, want a complete withdrawal of the laws as a mere suspension of the laws for some period of time will not bring about any change, farmer leaders said on Wednesday after the 10th round of talks concluded. The next round of meeting will be held on January 22.
Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar, however, is hopeful of a resolution in the next meeting. "I am happy that farmer unions have taken our proposal seriously and said that they would consider it tomorrow and consider their decision on January 22.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

Smart Anti-Airfield Weapon Successfully Test Fired From Hawk-i Aircraft

The state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited achieved a major milestone by successfully test-firing a Smart Anti Airfield Weapon (SAAW) from the Hawk-i aircraft off the coast of Odisha.
The indigenous stand-off weapon, developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation's Research Centre Imarat (RCI), is the first smart weapon fired from an Indian Hawk-Mk132, the HAL said in a statement.
"This was the first test conducted from the Hawk-i aircraft. The results were on the expected line when it hit the target with precision," an HAL official told PTI.
The aircraft flown by HAL test pilots Wing Commander (Retd) P Awasthi and Wg Cdr (Retd) M Patel executed the weapon release in a text book manner and all mission objectives were met.
The telemetry and tracking systems captured all the mission events confirming the success of the trials.
The HAL had rolled out the indigenously upgraded Hawk Mk132 on the eve of Republic Day in 2017.
The Imported Mission Computer and Data Transfer Units in the upgraded aircraft were substituted with HAL designed and developed systems.

::SPORTS::

First defeat for Indian women's hockey team on tour of Argentina

In the previous matches, India drew 2-2 and 1-1 respectively with the Argentina junior team.
ndian women's hockey team suffered its first defeat on the tour of Argentina when it lost 1-2 to B side of the host, letting AgustinaGorzelany strike late in the match.
Sol Pagella (11') put the Argentina side while Indian forward SalimaTete (54') scored in the final quarter.
However, the Indian defence let Gorzelany score three minites after finding the equaliser.
In the previous matches, India drew 2-2 and 1-1 respectively with the Argentina junior team.