These current affairs are written in a easy to remember format and are useful for competitive exams like - UPSC Civil Services, UPPSC, BPSC, MPPPSC, State PSCs and other competitive examinations.
Section 66A of the Information Technology Act
The Supreme Court on Monday found it "distressing", "shocking" and "terrible" that people were still booked and tried under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act even six years after the SC struck down the provision as unconstitutional and a violation of free speech.
Section 66A was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in a judgment in 2015.
Section 66A of the IT Act had prescribed three years' imprisonment if a social media message caused annoyance or was found grossly offensive.
Section 66A provides punishment for sending offensive messages through communication services.
These messages may be any information created, transmitted or received on a computer system, resource or device including attachments in the form of - Text, Images, Audio, Video.
Proffer false information intending to cause annoyance, inconvenience, intimidation, insult, obstruction, etc.,
Polity
What is "NIPUN Bharat" ?
Union Ministery for Education virtually launched a National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat).
It will ensure that every child in the country necessarily attains foundational literacy and numeracy by the end of Grade 3, by 2026-27.
It will cover the learning needs of children in the age group of 3 to 9 years.
A five-tier implementation mechanism will be set up at the National-State-District-Block-School level in all States and UTs, under the aegis of the centrally sponsored scheme of Samagra Shiksha.
The scheme aims at reducing the dropouts, improve transition rate from primary to upper primary and secondary stages,improve the quality of education, toy-based and experiential learning, capacity building of teachers etc.
Gov. Schemes
Istanbul Convention on violence against women
Turkey has received severe criticism from various quarters and has led to protests across the country after quitting from Istanbul Convention on Violence Against Women.
On November 24, 2011, Turkey became the first country to ratify the convention and, on March 8, 2012, it incorporated it into domestic law.
The Council of Europe established the Istanbul Convention, a human rights treaty, with the aim to prevent and prosecute all forms of violence against women, promote gender equality and ensure protection and rehabilitation of women who are victims of violence.
It is also called as the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.
The treaty is the world's first binding instrument to prevent and tackle violence against women.
When a government ratifies the Convention, they are legally bound to follow it.
Social Issues
Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC)
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry has initiated a project on Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to curb "digital monopolies".
This is a step in the direction of making e-commerce processes open source, thus creating a platform that can be utilised by all online retailers.
The department is also appointing an advisory committee for its Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) project.
ONDC is globally first-of-its-kind initiative that aims to democratise Digital Commerce, moving it from a platform-centric model to an open-network.
As UPI is to the digital payment domain, ONDC is to e-commerce in India.
ONDC will enable, buyers and sellers to be digitally visible and transact through an open network, no matter what platform/application they use.
Making a software or a process open-source means that the code or the steps of that process is made available freely for others to use, redistribute and modify it.
ONDC is expected to digitise the entire value chain, standardise operations, promote inclusion of suppliers, derive efficiency in logistics and enhance value for consumers.
Economy
Unity 22 a space odyssey
"Unity 22" will be Virgin Galactic's next rocket-powered test flight of its SpaceShip - VSS Unity.
This will be Virgin Galactic's fourth crewed spaceflight.
The Indian-American astronaut, Sirisha Bandla will be one of the six crew members aboard Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic flight "VSS Unity", which is scheduled to blast off to space on July 11, 2021 from New Mexico.
Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group is set to become the first billionaire to go to space, beating Jeff Bezos' space flight by nine days.
The world's richest man, Jeff Bezos is scheduled to fly into space aboard New Shepard rocket on July 20 from Van Horn, Texas.
Social Issues
Financial Stability Report
Union Ministery for Education virtually launched a National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat).
It will ensure that every child in the country necessarily attains foundational literacy and numeracy by the end of Grade 3, by 2026-27.
It will cover the learning needs of children in the age group of 3 to 9 years.
A five-tier implementation mechanism will be set up at the National-State-District-Block-School level in all States and UTs, under the aegis of the centrally sponsored scheme of Samagra Shiksha.
The scheme aims at reducing the dropouts, improve transition rate from primary to upper primary and secondary stages,improve the quality of education, toy-based and experiential learning, capacity building of teachers etc.
Economy