Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 19 September 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 19 September 2021

::NATIONAL::

MyGov India launches Planetarium Innovation Challenge

MyGov India, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), has launched the Planetarium Innovation Challenge for Indian start-ups and tech entrepreneurs last week.The challenge aims to bring together the tech firms and Start-ups (based out of India) with the potential to build an indigenous planetariums system software using latest technologies including Augmented Reality (A.R.), Virtual Reality (V.R.) and Merged Reality (M.R.).
Inspired by the Chandrayaanlaunches,Indian Space Research Organization conducted the ISRO Quiz competition 2019 in collaboration with MyGovwhereseveral schools, parents and enthusiastic mentors made it memorable through their active participation.Prime Minister ShriNarendraModi was accompanied by the Quiz winners from across the country to watch Chandrayaan 2 lunar landing live from the ISRO control room. ‘We will succeed, no one can stop India’, said PM to ISRO scientists, inspiring space enthusiasts all across the nation.
Looking forward to a repeat of the ISRO Quiz, Planetarium Innovation Challenge was launched by MyGovIndiaon 11th September 2021. Registration is open till 10th October 2021 .
The challenge invites applications from start-ups and tech entrepreneurs to develop state-of-the-art technology for our Planetariums. There is an opportunity forPlanetariums in India to deploynew technologies (Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Merged Reality), especially for smaller cities and rural areas, all Made in India.
The Innovation Challenge is open to experts from all domains of Planetarium Technology athttps://innovateindia.mygov.in/. The applicants may include Start-ups, Indian Legal Entities;even Individuals (or Teams) are welcome to submit ideas.
The application will be evaluated on different parameters including Approach towards problem-solving, Product Idea, Degree of Innovation, Novelty of Approach. The participants will be evaluated by a Grand Jury based on parameters including Innovation, Replicability, Scalability, Usability, and Ease of deployment/roll-out and potential risks involved in implementation of the solution.

::INTERNATIONAL::

International Equal Pay Day observed on 18 September

257 years — that is how long it will take to close the pay gap between the salaries of men and women, as per the World Economic Forum. This quantification signifies that human society has left women behind in economic terms by more than two-and-a-half centuries, even if we set aside the oppression and other inequalities existing for centuries.
“Globally, despite decades of activism, and dozens of laws on equal pay, women still earn less than 80 cents for every dollar men do,” says the UN Secretary-General AntónioGuterres in a statement. Guterresemphasises that this inequality is even bigger for women with children, women of colour, women migrants and refugees, and women with disabilities.
“To build momentum around the urgent need to address the gender pay gap,” the United Nations observes the International Equal Pay Day on September 18 each year. The first International Equal Pay Day was observed in 2020 and this year marks the second edition of this international reminder. The observance represents the longstanding struggle of women for equal pay for the work of equal value. Currently, on a global average, women earn 23% less than men for work of the same value.
This figure is worse in India that ranks 151st among 156 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index for Economic Participation and Opportunity, as per Global Gender Gap Report 2021 by the World Economic Forum. Except for Afghanistan and Pakistan, every other South Asian country in the index has better economic conditions for women than India.

::ECONOMY::

Singh calls out developed world over lack of emissions planning

Ahead of the United Nations’ annual climate change conference COP26 next month, Union power and renewable energy minister Raj Kumar Singh said India would have 66% of its installed power capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030 even as he criticized developed nations for not doing enough to cut carbon emissions.
“We are the only major economy and G20 country whose actions in energy transition are consistent with the sub-2 degree rise in global temperature. We are the only G20 country whose achievements are way beyond the nationally determined contribution (NDC) we pledged in Paris. We said 40% of our installed capacity would come from non-fossil fuels. We are already at 38.5%. If you add the capacity under contribution, we are already beyond 50%. We will reach 40% by 2022, eight years before target. We will be 66% by 2030. We are way beyond what we pledged,” Singh said at the Mint Energyscape conclave.
Singh said India pledged an emission reduction of 33-35% by 2030. “We have already done 28%, and we will cross the target,” he added.
Singh said many countries have come out with targets for themselves that they will be net-zero by 2050 or 2060, which are meaningless if they continue emitting at the rate they are doing. “They want to be carbon net-zero by 2050 to limit the increase in global temperature below 2 degrees, but available carbon space gets occupied by 2045. That’s what I told ambassador Kerry and (president of COP26) Alok Sharma,” he said.
John Kerry visited India earlier this week, his second since being named special envoy for climate earlier this year, as part of US efforts to prepare for the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, or COP26, to be held in Glasgow between October 31-November 12. India is seen as the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after China and the US, though with far lower emissions per capita than the other two countries. Kerry pitched for India to announce a pledge to reduce emissions to “net-zero” by 2050.

::SCIENCE AND TECH::

India's 61st Software Technology Park Center opens in Nagaland

Nagaland’s first and India’s 61st Software Technology Park of India (STPI) centre was inaugurated at the state capital by Union Minister of State (MoS) for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar at the Directorate of Information Technology & Communication (DITC).
Prabir Kumar Das, jurisdictional director of ATPI in Northeast and West Bengal, said the state-of-the-art STPI centre, covering 18,137 sqft, in Kohima is envisaging to host as a Centre of Entrepreneurship in IT Applications in Graphic Design, where start-ups, students and innovators can utilize the facility for research and development of new innovative solutions.
KD Vizo, principal secretary to the chief minister, IT&C and power, shared that in 2015, the Director General of STPI, New Delhi, during the e-Naga Summit and had signed a MoU to set up the Software Technology Park of India at Kohima.
“It may be worthy to note that we had a vision of making the State of Nagaland the next IT hub of South East Asia and as far as the basic infrastructures is concerned, we are slowly getting ready to embrace IT culture in a big way. Our biggest strength is the availability of highly trained IT-savy youths who are willing to compete with the rest of the world and they are just waiting for infrastructure like the STPI,” he said.

::SPORTS::

Lingard, Ronaldo earn dramatic late win for Man United

Jesse Lingard scored a stunning late goal and David de Gea saved a stoppage-time penalty as Manchester United beat West Ham United 2-1 in a dramatic Premier League match on Sunday.
Substitute Lingard hit a thumping shot into the top corner in the 89th minute against his former club but West Ham were awarded a penalty moments later for a handball by defender Luke Shaw.
Mark Noble stepped up to take the penalty immediately after coming off the bench but De Gea guessed correctly and dived to turn his spot-kick away.