Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 21 December 2021

::NATIONAL::

Project P15B is Visakhapatnam-class destroyers being built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDSL) for the Indian Navy.
Mormugao is Indian Navy’s second indigenous stealth destroyer of the Project P15B.
Other warships under this project include Visakhapatnam, Imphal, and Surat.

About:

The Project 15B (P15B) / Visakhapatnam-class is the latest destroyer design currently under construction for the Indian Navy.
These ships have been designed indigenously by the Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design, New Delhi.
Each ship spans 163 metres in length and 17.4 metres at beam and displaces 7,300 tonnes. These ships will be propelled by four gas turbines to achieve speed in excess of 30 knots.
Recently, Mormugao sailed for maiden sea trials on Goa Liberation Day.
Goa Liberation Day is observed on December 19 every year to mark the day of liberation of Goa from Portuguese rule in 1961 under ‘Operation Vijay’ of the Indian military.

The Central government is all set to celebrate ‘Good Governance’ week, according to the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievance (DARPG).

About:

These events include the launch of a nationwide campaign for Redressal of Public Grievances and Improving Service Delivery titled “Prashasan Gaon Ki Aur” and the inauguration of the Exhibition on Good Governance Practices.
The other events which would be convened are Good Governance in the Ministry of External Affairs.
Ease of Living and Next Phase of Reforms for Reducing Compliance Burden; Mission Karmayogi - The Path Ahead; Experience Sharing Workshop by DARPG on Best Practices in Initiative for Increasing Efficiency in Decision Making; and Good Governance Day celebration by DARPG.
Access to an online portal shall be provided to all District Collectors of each state and Union Territories (UTs) to upload and share the progress and achievements.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that it will end censorship of films that are released in cinemas, a decision that is being interpreted as the Gulf country’s effort to become competitive in the region and importantly, appear broad-minded and liberal to foreigners.

About:

According to IGN Middle East, recently, the Adam Driver and Lady Gaga starrer ‘House of Gucci’ received numerous cuts due to its sexual content, while the release of Marvel Studios’s‘Eternals’ was delayed for similar reasons.
The move to stop censoring is important for the country as it tries to diversify its economy by reducing dependence on oil, and attracting foreign investment.
Recently, it has also carried out some social or “secular-leaning reforms” which include decriminalising the consumption of alcohol and allowing out-of-marriage cohabitation.
Earlier this month, the country announced that government offices will be adapting to a four-and-a-half workday week, which will treat Saturdays and Sundays as weekends from 2022, an attempt to align with typical western work weeks.

So, what changes for movie goers in the UAE?

The country’s Media Regulator Office, which comes under the Ministry of Culture and Youth, announced on Twitter that it was introducing a 21+ age category within its motion picture content rating system.
As per this classification, the movies that will be screened in cinemas will be the international versions, which means that certain scenes that would, under the previous system, be thought of us objectionable, will not be edited out.

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has directed all engineering and technical colleges in the country to ensure their faculty members do not participate in conferences organised by countries which are not recognised by the Indian government.

About:

The stern directive by the technical education regulator came following an objection raised by the Cyprus government with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) after some Indian academics participated in a conference organised in the occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus.
Cyprus, officially called the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.
It is the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean and is located south of Turkey; west of Syria; northwest of the Gaza Strip, Israel, and Lebanon; north of Egypt; and southeast of Greece.
The country’s capital and largest city is Nicosia.
However, the Republic of Cyprus is de facto partitioned into two main parts:

the area under the effective control of the Republic, located in the south and west and comprising about 59% of the island’s area, and
the north, administered by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, covering about 36% of the island’s area.

Government has constituted Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS) headed by Cabinet Secretaryto monitor implementation of PM GatiShakti.

About:

PM Gatishakti is a 100 lakh crore National Master Plan for multi-modal connectivity plan.
It aims to ensure integrated planning and implementation of infrastructure projects in thenext four years, with focus on expediting works on the ground, saving costs and creating jobs.
It includes building 11 industrial corridors and 2 new defence corridors.
It brings together 16 infrastructure related Ministries, establishing a Gati Shakti Digital Platform.

Key highlights about the species:

Finn’s weaver:

IUCN status: Endangered (Earlier Vulnerable).
Primarily found in Terai grasslands in Uttarakhand and western Uttar Pradesh,apart from a fewpockets in Assam.
Destruction of terrai habitat is the primary reason for the sharp decline.
There are merely 1,000 birds remaining in the world, half of which are in India.

Lesser Florican:

IUCN status: Critically Endangered (Earlier Endangered).
It is only found in India, particularly in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
It survives in dry grasslands of lowland areas, but rapid conversion of grassland into agricultureland is the cause of its rapid decline.

Nicobar Imperial-pigeon:

Green Imperial pigeon:

IUCN status: Nearly Threatened (Earlier Least Concerned).
It is distributed in India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh, China and southeast Asia.
They are found in forests, mangroves and grasslands.
They are distributed in the states along the coasts, north east India & Andaman Nicobar Islands.

Mountain Hawk-eagle:

IUCN status: Nearly Threatened (Earlier Least Concerned).
It is distributed in Indian subcontinent, Indochina, Southeast Asia, China, Japan and Indonesia.
They have been observed in mountains at altitude of 4,000 meters i.e. mainly in Himalayanregion.