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.
Medical Termination of Pregnancy rules in India
The Texas abortion law bars abortions once cardiac activity can be detected in the embryo, this typically occurs around the sixth week of pregnancy.
Other states - including Georgia, Mississippi, Kentucky and Ohio - have also passed heartbeat laws that ban abortion once cardiac activity can be detected on an ultrasound scan.
Abortion rules in India
Abortion in India has been legal under various circumstances for the last 50 years with the introduction of Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act in 1971.Before 1971, abortion was criminalized under Section 312 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, describing it as intentionally 'causing miscarriage'.
The terms for abortion have been liberalised in India after the - Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2021 - received the President's assent on March 25, 2021.
The amendment enhanced the upper gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks only for special categories of women, it includes survivors of rape, victims of incest and other vulnerable women.
Opinion of only one provider will be required up to 20 weeks of gestation and of two providers for termination of pregnancy of 20-24 weeks of gestation.
Women can now terminate unwanted pregnancies up to 20 weeks caused by contraceptive failure, regardless of their marital status.
There is also no upper gestation limit for abortion in case of foetal disability if so decided by a medical board of specialist doctors, which state governments and UTs administrations would set up.
Polity
National Farmers' Database
The Centre has created a National Farmers' Database by taking data from existing national schemes such as PM-KISAN, soil health cards and the insurance scheme - PM Fasal Bima Yojna.
So far, 5.5 crore farmers had been identified - with the help of state land record databases, a total of eight crore farmers would be included by the end of 2021.
The database could be used "for targeted service delivery with higher efficiency and in a focussed & time bound manner" and it was the core for the proposed Agristack digital agriculture ecosystem.
Social Issues
Sukhet model for LPG cylinders refill
The Sukhet (Village in Bihar's Madhubani district) model allows citizens to get their LPG cylinders refilled every two months in exchange for cow dung and the farmyard waste.
It ensures a pollution free environment at home, waste disposal, monetary assistance for LPG cylinders and availability of organic fertiliser to the local farmers.
It is an initiative by the Dr Rajendra Prasad Agriculture University (RPAU) at Pusa, Bihar.
Under the Sukhet model, two local workers visit households which have cattle to collect cow dung and farmyard waste and bring it to a vermicomposting yard.
Social Issues
India's missions during COVID-19
With missions like Operation Samudra Setu and Mission Sagar, the Navy was a key instrument of India's COVID outreach, delivering assistance and support to our maritime neighbours and partners in the Indian Ocean Region.
1) Operation Samudra Setu was launched in May 2020 as part of the national effort to repatriate Indian citizens from overseas during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was launched along with Vande Bharat Mission (VBM).
Indian Naval Ships Jalashwa and Airavat, Shardul and Magar participated in this operation.
2) Indian Navy had launched Operation Samudra Setu-II for shipment of Oxygen-filled containers to India. Indian Naval Ships Kolkata, Kochi, Talwar, Tabar, Trikand, Jalashwa and Airavat participated in this operation.
3) Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) is the biggest civilian evacuation exercise to bring back Indian citizens stranded abroad amidst the coronavirus-induced travel restrictions.
Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) has surpassed the large-scale airlift of 1,77,000 people in 1990 at the onset of the Gulf War.
4) Mission Sagar: India has sent Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kesari, carrying food items and medical assistance teams, to countries(Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, Seychelles and La Reunion) in the southern Indian Ocean to deal with Covid-19 pandemic.
The consignments also include Hydroxychloroquine tablets.
Note: Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) was launched in 2015. It is India's strategic vision for the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
Gov. Schemes
4th edition of AUSINDEX
Australia's Northern Territory will host the biennial AUSINDEX maritime warfare exercises between the Royal Australian and the Indian navies ahead of the two countries holding their first "2+2" Foreign and Defence Ministers meet in New Delhi.
This is the first time the naval exercises are being held in the Northern Territory.
Indian Navy Task Group comprising INS Shivalik and INS Kadmatt is participating in the 4th edition of AUSINDEX from 06-10 Sep 21.
Commenced in 2015 as a bilateral IN-RAN maritime exercise, AUSINDEX has grown in complexity over the years and the 3rd edition of the exercise, held in 2019 in the Bay of Bengal, included anti-submarine drills for the first time.
Defence
What is "Inspiration4" ?
Elon Musk's SpaceX announced that "Inspiration4", its first all-civilian, non-governmental spaceflight, is on track for launch on September 15.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft is set to be launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida in the US. It will take a group of four private citizens into space for three days.
The mission involves circling the Earth for three days, and then splashing down into the Atlantic Ocean.
Inspiration4 will orbit the Earth at 575km, higher than the International Space Station (408km) and the Hubble space telescope (547km).
All four seats on the spacecraft have been purchased by US billionaire Jared Isaacman, founder of the fintech company Shift4 Payments.
Science & Tech