VISION

 Vision IAS Prelims 2021 Test 16 With Solution PDF

 Why in news?

Parliamentary committee thinks that India may miss the roll out of 5G services as mentioned in the government’s report.

What are the findings of parliamentary committee?

• It says that despite Department of Telecommunications (DoT) report that India is ready to roll out 5G as early as 2018 but there is little progress on the ground.
• Uncertainty in spectrum auctions, high reserve price of spectrum, inadequate development of test cases, low reach of optical fibre & deficient back-haul capacity are the causes for it.
• It also noted that reserve price for auction of 5G was one of the highest in the world which needs to be rationalised.
• The reserve price must take into account the per capita income of the country & reserve prices mandated by other countries.

What is the status of global countries are in implementing 5G?

1)  National Women’s Day of India 2021

•In India, the National Women’s Day is observed every year on 13 February to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sarojini Naidu. This year Nation celebrates its 142nd Birth Anniversary. She was born on February 13, 1879. She was famous for her nickname ‘Nightingale of India’ or ‘Bharat Kokila’ because of her poems.

•Sarojini Naidu was not only a freedom fighter, but she also became the first woman governor of the United Provinces, the present Uttar Pradesh. She was one of the forefront leaders who led the Civil Disobedience Movement and the Quit India Movement. She was an important figure in India’s struggle for independence from colonial rule.

2)  World Radio Day: 13 February

•World Radio Day is celebrated on 13 February each year to recognize radio as a powerful medium, which brings people together from every corner of the globe, to promote diversity and help build a more peaceful and inclusive world.

•The theme of World Radio Day 2021 is  “New World, New Radio”.

On the occasion of World Radio Day 2021 (WRD 2021), UNESCO calls on radio stations to celebrate this event’s 10th anniversary and the more than 110 years of radio through three sub-themes.

•Evolution: The world changes, radio evolves – radio is resilient and sustainable;

•Innovation: The world changes, radio adapts and innovates- radio adapts to new technologies and remains the go-to medium of mobility, accessible everywhere and to everyone;

•Connection: The world changes, radio connects – radio services our society during natural disasters, socio-economic crises, epidemics, etc.

3)  National Productivity Day 2021

•National Productivity Day is observed every year in India on February 12. The objective of National Productivity Council is stimulating and promoting productivity and quality consciousness across all sectors in the country. The main observance of the day is to encourage all stakeholders in the implementation of productivity tools and techniques with contemporary relevant themes.

•The day is celebrated by the National Productivity Council (NPC) to promote productivity culture in India. National Productivity Council (NPC) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Government of India is a premier institution for propagating productivity movement in India. NPC works for providing solutions towards accelerating productivity, enhancing competitiveness, increasing productivity.

4)  Pakistan Army successfully test-fires Babur cruise missile

•The Pakistan Army conducted a successful test-firing of a short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile ‘Babar’ on February 11, 2021. This test was the third missile test carried out over the past three weeks.

5)  Rajnath Singh inaugurates ‘Jalabhishekam’ campaign in Madhya Pradesh

•The state government of Madhya Pradesh has launched a water conservation campaign called ‘Jalabhishekam’, under which more than 57,000 water structures has been constructed. The campaign was inaugurated by the Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually.

6)  ISRO opens satellite testing centre for private sector

•Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has opened its UR Rao Satellite Centre for testing satellites developed by the private sector for the first time in its history. Two satellites, developed by the Indian startups SpaceKidz India and Pixxel (incorporated as Sygyzy) were tested at the UR Rao Satellite Centre.

•ISRO also helped these two companies in fixing problems with the solar panels on their respective satellites. So far in its history, the space agency has only taken help in manufacturing and fabrication of various parts of satellites and rockets from the Indian industry. Both these two companies will also test their engines at the Sriharikota spaceport and Thiruvananthapuram rocket centre in coming days.

7)  Exim Bank to provide USD 400 mn funding for Maldives

•Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has opened its UR Rao Satellite Centre for testing satellites developed by the private sector for the first time in its history. Two satellites, developed by the Indian startups SpaceKidz India and Pixxel (incorporated as Sygyzy) were tested at the UR Rao Satellite Centre.

•ISRO also helped these two companies in fixing problems with the solar panels on their respective satellites. So far in its history, the space agency has only taken help in manufacturing and fabrication of various parts of satellites and rockets from the Indian industry. Both these two companies will also test their engines at the Sriharikota spaceport and Thiruvananthapuram rocket centre in coming days.

8)  Odisha To Construct ‘COVID Warrior Memorial’ in Bhubaneswar

•In order to recognize the sacrifice and services rendered by the Covid warriors who lost their lives fighting the pandemic, the government has decided to construct a Covid Warrior Memorial in Odisha. The Biju Patnaik Park in Bhubaneswar has been selected for this purpose.

•Odisha Health and Family Welfare Department to the Works Department it was also said that the Works Department has been declared as the Nodal Department for construction of the Covid Warrior Memorial. They will engage an architect to finalise the design and structure of the said memorial and take approval from the competent authority.

9)  World Bank Signs $100 million Project with Chhattisgarh

•Indian Govt and Chhattisgarh Govt has signed a $100 million for CHIRAAG (Chhattisgarh Inclusive Rural and Accelerated Agriculture Growth) project with the World bank. The main purpose is to develop sustainable production systems that allow tribal households in remote areas of Chhattisgarh to practice round-the-year production of diversified and nutritious food.

•The project will be implemented in the southern tribal-majority region of the state where a large population is undernourished and poor. Over 180,000 households from about 1,000 villages in eight districts of Chhattisgarh, will be benefited from this project.

10)  Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ memoir named ‘Unfinished’

•Actor-producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas officially turned author with the release of her first book, “Unfinished: A Memoir”, which she described as “honest, raw and vulnerable”. The end result is a book, published by the Michael Joseph imprint, which covers her dual-continent 20-year-long career as an actor and producer and her work as a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador.

Vision IAS Prelims 2021 Test 15 With Solution PDF

Insight IAS Prelims 2021 Subject wise Test 12 with Solution PDF

📰 Inter-caste marriages the way forward to reduce communal tensions: Supreme Court

 Why in news?

Recently, government said that a law will made to regulate crypto currencies for ending the ambiguities over their usage in India.

What is Crypto currency?

• It is a digital currency that is secured by cryptography, which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit.
•  Many crypto currencies are decentralized networks based on block chain technology.

What is their existing legal status?

 Why in news?

United States Trade Representative (USTR) reported that India’s DST is discriminatory & inconsistent with international tax principles.

What is Digital service tax (DST)?

• Digital companies are not adequately taxed because they don’t have a physical location in the markets where they operate.
• DST aims to ensure that non-resident, digital service providers pay their fair share of tax on revenues generated in the Indian digital market.

How does India’s DST evolved?

1)  Centre Launches Official Website of India Toy Fair 2021

•The Government of India will organise the first-ever ‘The India Toy Fair, 2021′ from February 27, 2021, to March 02, 2021, on a virtual platform. The official website for India Toy Fair-2021 is www.theindiatoyfair.in. This initiative is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of making India a global hub for the Toy Industry.

•The website and online registration were inaugurated on February 11, 2021, jointly by the Union Education Minister, Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Union Minister of Textiles, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani and Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal.

2)  New Development Bank Commits $100 million in NIIF Fund of Funds

•The New Development Bank (NDB) has committed to invest USD 100 million (Rs 727.6 crore), into the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund Limited (NIIF) Fund of Funds (FoF). With NDB’s investment, the total commitments secured by the FoF has reached $800 million (about Rs 5,820 crore). This investment marks NDB’s first equity investment into India and its first-ever investment into a Fund of Funds.

•Currently, the Government of India (GoI), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) are the investor in the FoF. Now NDB has joined the group. The FoF was established in 2018 with the objective of providing homegrown Indian private equity fund managers access to an India-focused institutional investor that operates at scale.

3)  Indian Navy undertaking exercise “TROPEX” in Indian Ocean Region

•The Indian Navy is carrying out a mega war game involving almost all operational assets like warships, submarines and aircraft over a vast geographical expanse in the Indian Ocean Region to test the force’s combat readiness in a complex multi-dimensional scenario. The biennial ‘Theatre Level Operational Readiness Exercise (TROPEX)’ aims to validate the Navy’s offensive as well as defence capabilities and safeguard national interests in the maritime domain besides promoting peace and stability in the Indian Ocean.

•The exercise is being conducted over a vast geographical expanse in the Indian Ocean Region including its adjunct waters and is aimed at testing combat readiness of the Navy in a complex multi-dimensional scenario set in the context of the current geostrategic environment.

4)  “Koozhangal” Wins Tiger Award at Rotterdam International Film Festival 2021

•The Tamil film “Koozhangal” has won “Tiger” award, at the 50th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam 2021. The Tiger award is the top honour of the festival, given for best film. Koozhangal (meaning Pebbles) has been Produced by Nayanthara and directed by Vinod Raj PS.

•This is the second Indian film to win this international award and the first Tamil Film. The first Indian film was “Durga” directed by the Malayalam director Shashidharan. The Tiger Award worth Euro 40,000 cash prize, is shared between the director and producer of the winning film.

5)  RBI Organises Financial Literacy Week from February 8-12

•The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched the Financial Literacy Week (FLW) from February 8-12, 2021, to propagate financial education.  RBI conducts Financial Literacy Week (FLW) every year since 2016 to propagate financial education messages on a particular theme every year across the country, through a focused campaign.

•The theme for 2021 FLW is ”Credit Discipline and Credit from Formal Institutions”.

•Banks have been advised to disseminate the information and create awareness among its customers and the general public. Further, RBI will undertake a centralized mass media campaign during the month of February 2021 to broadcast essential financial awareness messages to the general public.

6)  Satishwar Balakrishnan appointed as Aegon Life’s MD & CEO

•Aegon Life Insurance, India’s first digital-only life insurance company, elevated Satishwar Balakrishnan to be the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer.  Prior to joining Aegon Life, he has worked with IndiaFirst Life, Reliance Life and ICICI Prudential Life. He is a Chartered Accountant by qualification.

•Satishwar, who joined the company in July 2019 as Chief Financial Officer, will spearhead Aegon Life’s transformation into a digital-only life insurance company.

7)  Meghalaya police inks MoU with SBI for e-Challan

•A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Meghalaya police and the State Bank of India for implementation of the e-Challan within the jurisdiction of the Shillong Traffic Police (STP). The e-Challan system which will be launched in the days to come is a digital traffic enforcement solution whereby, imposing penalties on violators of traffic rules and generating of challan will be done digitally.

8)  Jual Oram launches book on economic awareness in India

•Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Defence and MP Jual Oram has launched ‘Turn Around India: 2020- Surmounting Past Legacy’, a book on creating economic awareness among masses. The book is authored by RP Gupta.

9)  RBI releases Annual Report of Ombudsman Schemes for 2019-20

•Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released the Annual Report of the Ombudsman Schemes for the year 2019-20. There was an increase of around 65 per cent in the receipt of complaints out of which almost 92 per cent have been disposed of. RBI has three Ombudsman- Banking, Non-Banking Finance Company (i.e. NBFC) and digital transactions. A common man can approach this Ombudsman for their grievances.

•As per the RBI’s report, all three received in total 3,30,543 complaints in 19-20 as compared to 2,00,362 in 18-19. Banking Ombudsman received major complaints regarding ATM & Debit Cards, Mobile & Electronic Banking while NBFC’s Ombudsmen received most complaints about non-observance of regulatory guidelines, lack of transparency in contract/ loan agreement and levy of charges without notice.

10)  Manasa Varanasi crowned VLCC Femina Miss India World 2020

•Telangana-based Manasa Varanasi has been crowned as the winner of VLCC Femina Miss India World 2020. Manasa Varanasi was crowned by the winner of Miss India 2019, Suman Ratan Singh Rao from Rajasthan. The 23-year-old will now represent India at the 70th Miss World pageant in December 2021. Born in Hyderabad, Manasa Varanasi is an engineer by profession and works as a financial information exchange analyst.

11)  Samarpan Diwas: Deen Dayal Upadhyay Death Anniversary

•Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays floral tribute to former Bharatiya Jana Sangh leader Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya on his 53rd death anniversary as part of ‘Samarpan Diwas’, in New Delhi on Feb. 11, 2021.

•Deendayal Upadhyaya was an Indian politician and thinker of right-wing Hindutva ideology espoused by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and leader of the political party Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the forerunner of Bharatiya Janata Party.