19 august 2021 current affairs

1. CURRENT AFFAIRS
19 AUGUST 2021
Dr.A.PRABAHARAN
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2. DRDO develops advanced chaff technology to
safeguard IAF fighter aircrafts
 The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) informed
on August 19, 2021, that it has developed an advanced Chaff Technology
that to safeguard the fighter jets of the Indian Air Force against hostile
radar targets.
 Chaff technology has been given to the industry for production in large
quantities in order to meet the annual rolling requirement of the Indian
Air Force.
 Chaff is a critical defence technology that is used to protect fighter
aircraft from hostile radar targets.
 The Indian Air Force has already started the process of induction of the
technology after the completion of successful user trials.
 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh IAF, DRDO and the industry for the
successful indigenous development of this critical defence technology.
 He termed it as one more step of DRDO towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat in
strategic defence technologies.
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3. N K Singh elected as President of IEG Society
 N K Singh, the Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission, has been
elected as the President of the Institute of Economic Growth (IEG)
Society during a meeting on August 16, 2021, IEG said in a
statement.
 IEG further in the statement said that Singh will be succeeding
former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who retired from the
Presidency of IEG Society earlier in August 2021.
 Dr Manmohan Singh had recommended Singh for the General
Assembly of the IEG to consider for Presidency of the Society.
 Dr Manmohan Singh has served as the President of IEG since 1992.
Currently, Tarun Das, former Director-General, Confederation of
Indian Industry (CII) is the Chairman, Board of Governors, and
Professor Ajit Mishra is the Director of IEG.
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4. World Photography Day 2021
 World Photography Day was observed on August 19, 2021.
 The day is celebrated every year to recognize and celebrate the art of
photography.
 Those who share photography as their passion come together to discuss
various techniques of photography and how much the methods have
evolved.
 Photographers, like historians, also preserve moments for future generations
to understand the past.
 World Photography Day 2021 is a day to celebrate creativity as well as to
acknowledge the adverse situations that the photographers have to go
through sometimes to capture the perfect shot.
 In today’s world, Photography Day also takes a special place as clicking
pictures have become a lot linear with everyone holding a camera.
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5. BRICS nations sign deal for remote sensing
satellite data sharing
 BRICS nations- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South
Africa signed an agreement on August 18, 2021 for
cooperation in remote sensing satellite data sharing, as
per the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
 The deal will enable building a virtual constellation of
specified remote sensing satellites of BRICS space
agencies and their respective ground stations will receive
the data.
 ISRO said in a statement that "this will contribute in
strengthening multilateral cooperation among BRICS
space agencies in meeting the challenges faced by
mankind, such as global climate change, major disasters
and environmental protection."
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6. World Humanitarian Day 2021
 World Humanitarian Day 2021: World Humanitarian Day is
commemorated annually on August 19, 2021 to honour those
who are working for a humanitarian cause across the world.
 The day is observed to pay tribute to all the people who lost their
lives working for humanitarian causes and those who continue to
provide protection and life-saving support to people in need.
 The theme of World Humanitarian Day is decided every year
based on particular humanitarian crisis to raise awareness about
it around the world.
 The World Humanitarian Day 2021 theme is #TheHumanRace.
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7. UNSC Open Debate: EAM Jaishankar proposes
four-point framework to secure UN peacekeepers
 External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on August 18, 2021, while
chairing the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on
Technology and Peacekeeping said that the UN peacekeeping
missions continue to operate in a variety of challenging settings
involving terrorists, armed groups, and non-state actors.
 During the open debate, Jaishankar also announced India’s support
to the UN in the rollout of the UNITE AWARE platform across select
peacekeeping missions.
 Since the deployment for the first time in 1948, the nature of
peacekeeping missions and their attendant threats have become
more complex, and hence it is vital to secure the peacekeepers to
keep pace, he said.
 In the presence of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, EAM
Jaishankar emphasized the role of technology in the safety of UN
peacekeepers and the role the peacekeepers play in maintaining
peace and tranquillity.
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8. Historic relationship with Afghan people to continue:
EAM S Jaishankar on Indian investment in Afghanistan
 Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on August 18, 2021
that India's historic relationship with the Afghan people will
continue and that will guide its approach in the coming days. He
said this upon being asked about the evolving situation in
Afghanistan.
 Responding to the question 'how will India deal with Taliban' at
UNSC, Jaishankar said that India like everybody else is at the
moment very carefully following developments in Afghanistan. He
said India's focus is on ensuring security in Afghanistan and the
safe return of Indian nationals.
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9. Afghanistan crisis: Taliban stops import,
export from India through Pakistan
 The Federation of Indian Export Organisation has informed that the
taliban rebels, after their recent takeover in Afghanistan, have stopped all
the imports and exports from India through the transit routes of Pakistan
 The Director-General of the Federation of Indian Export Organisation
(FIEO) Ajay Sahai said that the terror group has stopped the movement
of cargo through transit routes of Pakistan, thereby stopping the imports
from Afghanistan.
 Imports from the country come through the transit routes of Pakistan and
as of now, Taliban has stopped the movement of cargo to Pakistan, so
virtually imports have also been stopped.
 He further added that as far as exports are concerned, some of the
goods have been exported through the international north-south
corridor route which is going fine now. While some other goods go
through the Dubai route which is also working fine.
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10. Resistance 2.0: Legendary anti-Taliban leader's son Ahmad
Massoud launches Panjshir resistance against Taliban
 The war in Afghanistan is not over yet! Ahmad Massoud, the son of
legendary anti-Taliban leader Ahmad Shah Massoud has declared the
start of armed resistance, "Resistance 2.0" against the Taliban's return
from Panjshir Valley.
 He is joined by former Afghanistan Vice President Amrulla Saleh who
has declared himself as caretaker president of Afghanistan.
 The Panjshir resistance has sparked hope for Afghans to gain freedom
from the Taliban, who are currently seeking to form the new
government in Afghanistan.
 Panjshir is the last and only one of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces that
have not been taken by the Taliban.
 All anti-Taliban commanders and Afghan soldiers who did not
surrender to the Taliban are reportedly regrouping in Panjshir to join
Amrulla Saleh and Ahmad Massoud's resistance against the Taliban's
return from Panjshir.
 All the loyalists of Amrulla Saleh have been seen moving to Panjshir.
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11.  India, following the footsteps of the United States and China, has
decided to ratify the Kigali amendment to the 1989 Ozone saving
Montreal Protocol negotiated five years ago.
 Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol enables the phase-out
the hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
 The decision by India to ratify the amendment was taken at a Union
Cabinet meeting on August 18, 2021.
 The country also said that it will draw up a national strategy for the
phase-down of HFCs by 2023, in consultation with all the industry
stakeholders.
 The latest announcement by India comes close to the similar decisions
by China and the United States, which are the world’s largest producers
and consumers of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
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India decides to ratify Kigali amendment to phase down HFCs;

12. COVID-19 Delta Variant infects both
vaccinated and unvaccinated people,
confirms ICMR Study
 The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in Chennai has shown
in its study that the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is capable of
infecting both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, however, the
mortality rate is low among the former group.
 The Institutional Ethics Committee of ICMR- National Institute of
Epidemiology, Chennai approved the study which was published in the
Journal of Infection on August 17, 2021.
 The study advised that the scale and rate of administration of COVID-
19 vaccines be increased to alleviate possibilities of further waves of
the pandemic. Systematic genomic surveillance should be conducted
to keep track of any emerging new variants and assess their
capabilities to escape immunity or vaccine protection.
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13. US Congress to award Gold Medal to
Mahatma Gandhi
 Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney from New York on Friday 13, 2021,
reintroduced legislation in the US House of Representatives to
posthumously award the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal to
Mahatma Gandhi in recognition of his ways and contributions
through non-violence and peace.
 In every session of the Congress in the US, the legislation for
awarding Congressional Gold Medals is introduced.
 As per the Congressional Research Service (CRS), 52 bills were
introduced in the 113th Congress session (2013-2014), 42 bills were
introduced in the 114th Congress session (2015-2016), and 55 bills
were introduced in the 115th Congress session (2017-2018), and 57
bills were introduced in the 116th Congress session (2019-2020).
 If the legislation receives the vote, Mahatma Gandhi would become
the first Indian to be conferred the Congressional Gold Medal.
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14. DMart owner Radhakishan Damani enters
World’s 100 Richest People List
 Radhakishan Damani, a reclusive investor, and billionaire, who
owns the retail chain DMart has entered the list of the world’s
100 richest people. Damani, who grew up in a humble
background has been ranked at 98 on the Bloomberg
Billionaires Index with a net worth of $19.2 billion.
 The other Indians in the top 100 list are Gautam Adani,
Mukesh Ambani, Pallonji Mistry, Azim Premji, Lakshmi Mittal,
and Shiv Nadar. The Bloomberg Billionaire Index is a daily
ranking of the richest people in the world.
 In 2020, Radhakishan Damani had also become the richest in
India with a net worth of $16.5 billion. He was ranked at 117
on the global list of billionaires.
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15. COVID-19: Centre allocates Rs 1,353 crores package to
Northeastern states to fight pandemic
 Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced on August 17,
2021, that the Centre will provide a financial package of Rs 1,352.92 crore
for eight states of the Northeastern region to tackle the COVID-19
pandemic.
 The Government of India is constantly monitoring the situation in the
Northeastern region and is working to provide all necessary financial
assistance and enough vaccines to the states in this region. The special
financial package for the Northeastern states to tackle the COVID-19
pandemic is a part of the pan-India package of over Rs 23, 000 crore.
 Initially, various factors such as difficult terrain and vaccine hesitancy
along with other factors were keeping the vaccination rate low in the
Northeastern region, Mandaviya noted. “However, in the last two weeks,
the cases have started to decline in the Northeast, and this a good sign,”
he added.
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16. UK to start trade talks with India by the end
of 2021
 The United Kingdom said on August 17, 2021, that it aims to
start the trade negotiations with India by the end of 2021.
 A spokesperson for Britain’s Department for International
Trade informed that UK is currently in the pre-negotiation
scoping phase of an FTA (Free-Trade Agreement), with an
aim of starting the negotiations by the end of this year.
 A trade accord with India can be seen as a keen target for
post-Brexit Britain. Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,
Boris Johnson had earlier reluctantly called off his trip to
India in April 2021 after COVID-19 cases were on the peak in
India.
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17. SC Collegium recommends 3 women judges among 9
names, India could get first woman CJI
 The Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) N
V Ramana has recommended nine names, including three women
judges for appointment as judges in the top court.
 The three women judges recommended by the SC Collegium are
Justice B V Nagarathna of Karnataka HC, Justice Hima Kohli of
Telangana HC, and Justice Bela M Trivedi of Gujarat HC.
 Of the three women judges, Justice B V Nagarathna of Karnataka HC
could become the first woman Chief Justice of India (CJI) in 2027 if SC
Collegium’s recommendations of names are considered by the Union
Government.
 The SC Collegium consisting of 5 senior-most judges, has been led by
the Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, Justice
Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, Justice A M Khanwilkar, and Justice L
Nageswara Rao.
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