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.
Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region
Ministry of Earth Sciences' (MoES) released a report titled Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region.
It is a first ever attempt to document and assess climate change in different parts of India.
The report highlights the observed and projected changes in various climatic dimensions over the Indian region, their impacts and various policy actions to deal with the regional climate change.
Science & Tech
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund)
UNICEF and the Geena Davis Institute released a report on Gender in Media (GDI) titled Gender Bias and Inclusion In Advertising In India.
According to report - Indian advertisements on television and YouTube are superior to global benchmarks but their portrayal is problematic as they further gender stereotypes.
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) is a United Nations agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide.
Read More: UNICEF
Social Issues
African swine fever (ASF)
Certain areas in four districts of Mizoram have been declared as epicentres of the African swine fever (ASF) that has so far killed 1,119 pigs in a month.
African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a large, double-stranded DNA virus that causes a hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in domestic and wild pigs.
It was first detected in Africa in the 1920s.
It is the only virus with a double-stranded DNA genome known to be transmitted by arthropods.
African swine fever (ASF) cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans.
Science & Tech
Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs
Recently, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) inaugurated the fifth session of the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) established under Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC).
The Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) was formed in 2013 to elaborate worldwide standards for spices and culinary herbs.
India is the host country and Spices Board India (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) is the Secretariat for organising the sessions of the committee.
Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC)
Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is an intergovernmental body established jointly by the UN?s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1963, within the framework of the Joint Food Standards Programme.Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) ensures to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade.
Currently, it has 189 Codex Members, India is a member.
The Secretariat of the CAC is hosted at FAO headquarters in Rome.
Read More: Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH)
Economy
Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE)
Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) was able to produce oxygen from the thin Martian atmosphere for the first time.
MOXIE produced 5 grams of oxygen from carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere, enough for an astronaut to breathe for 10 minutes.
Like a tree on Earth, MOXIE inhales carbon dioxide and exhales oxygen.
Read More: Perseverance rover
Science & Tech
Earth Day 2021 : 22 April
April 22, 2021 marks the 51st anniversary of the annual Earth Day, this year's theme is "Restore Our Earth".
Earth Day was first observed in 1970, in 2009, the United Nations designated April 22 as International Mother Earth Day.
The Paris Agreement was also signed on Earth Day 2016.
Environment
#FOSS4GOV Innovation Challenge
Acknowledging the huge potential of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), the Government of India had issued a Policy on Adoption of Open Source Software in 2015.
To increase awareness about the usage of FOSS in governance and Government functioning, and adoption of FOSS, a virtual roundtable discussion Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in Government was organized by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) in collaboration with Omidyar Network.
Science & Tech