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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 02 August 2021

::NATIONAL::

Parent participation in home-based learning

The guidelines on home-based learning emphasize on the need for parents to create a safe and engaging environment and a positive learning environment, have realistic expectations from the child, take care of health and eat healthy, while at the same time having fun with children.

About:

These guidelines are meant not only for parents but also for caregivers, other family members, grandparents, community members, older siblings who all are engaged in promoting the welfare of children.
The guidelines provide many simple tips for parents and others to facilitate children in Home based learning. These suggestive activities are in accordance with the various stages of school education as per NEP 2020.
Age-appropriate art activities have been categorized on basis of 5+3+3+4 system viz

1. Foundation Stage (Age 3-8yrs);

2. Preparatory Stage (Age 8-11 yrs);

3. Middle Stage (Age 11-14yrs); and

4. Secondary Stage: From Adolescent to Adult age (Age 14-18 years).

The activities are simple and suggestive, which can be adapted and adopted to local needs and contexts.The Guidelines appreciate the role of Art as a therapy for children under stress or trauma.

Significance:

The Guidelines lay significance on improving children's learning by monitoring and addressing their learning gaps.
Collaboration of parents with teachers in documenting and reflecting on the progress that children are making in their learning is important for both teachers and parents.
The Guidelines also advise the schools to involve parents by providing information and ideas on helping students at home with homework and other curriculum-related activities, decisions, and planning, and involving them in school decisions. Resources like sending Newsletters, emails, memos, etc. may be provided to parents.

Indira Gandhi Canal

The states of Rajasthan and Punjab accomplished civil work of restoring around 70 kilometers of both feeder canals and main canal of the Indira Gandhi Canal Project in a record time of 60 days.

About:

Indira Gandhi Canal (IGC) is the country's longest canal which irrigates the desert land of Western Rajasthan with Himalaya's water and provides drinking water to inhabitants of this area.
Origin of this canal is from Harike barrage situated in Punjab and utilizes Rajasthan's share in surplus water of Ravi- Beas rivers.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Tax Inspectors Without Borders

Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB), a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), launched its programme in Bhutan.
India was chosen as the Partner Jurisdiction and has provided the Tax Expert for this programme.
This programme is expected to be of about 24 months’ duration through which India in collaboration with the UNDP and the TIWB Secretariat aims to aid Bhutan in strengthening its tax administration by transferring technical know-how and skills to its tax auditors, and through sharing of best audit practices.
The focus of the programme will be in the area of International Taxation and Transfer Pricing.

INSTC connects Europe with India for first time

The western wing of the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which offers a shorter multimodal transportation route between Europe and India compared with the Suez Canal way, became operational this week with a Finnish logistics company despatching a consignment from Finland to India.

About:

The INSTC is a 7,200 km-long multimodal transportation network encompassing sea, road, and rail routes to offer the shortest route of connectivity.
It links the Indian Ocean to the Caspian Sea via the Persian Gulf onwards into Russia and Northern Europe.
It is aimed at reducing the carriage cost between India and Russia by about 30 percent and bringing down the transit time by more than half.
It was launched in 2000 with India, Russia, and Iran as its founding members and work on actualizing the corridor began in 2002.
Since then, INSTC membership has expanded to include 10 more countries – Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, Syria, Belarus, and Oman. Bulgaria has been included as an observer state.
The Baltic countries like Latvia and Estonia have also expressed willingness to join the INSTC.

Architecture of the INSTC: Transport routes and modes

The INSTC spirals across the following branches:

Central branch: It begins from the Jawaharlal Nehru Port in India’s western state of Maharashtra (in the Indian Ocean Region) and connects to the Bandar Abbas port on the Strait of Hormuz. It then passes through the Iranian territory via Nowshahr, Amirabad, and Bandar-e-Anzali, runs along the Caspian Sea to reach the Olya and Astrakhan Ports in Russia.
Western branch: It connects the railway network of Azerbaijan to that of Iran via the cross-border nodal points of Astara (Azerbaijan) and Astara (Iran) and further to Jawaharlal Nehru port in India via sea route.
Eastern branch: It connects Russia to India through the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.

::ECONOMY::

Draft rule on Social Security (Employee’s Compensation) (Central) Rules, 2021

Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India has notified the draft rules relating to Employee’s Compensation under the Code on Social Security, 2020.

About:

The Code on Social Security, 2020 amends and consolidates the laws relating to social security with the goal to extend social security to employees and workers in the organised as well as unorganised sectors.
Chapter VII (Employee’s Compensation) of the Social Security Code, 2020 envisages, inter-alia, provisions relating to employer’s liability for compensation in case of fatal accidents, serious bodily injuries or occupational diseases.
The draft Employee’s Compensation rules provide for

1. the provisions relating to manner of application for claim or settlement,

2. rate of interest for delayed payment of compensation,

3. venue of proceedings and transfer of matters,

4. notice and manner of transmitting money from one competent authority to another and arrangements with other countries for the transfer of money paid as compensation.

::SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY::

Agni Prime

DRDO will soon test the new missile Agni Prime, advanced version of the ‘Agni-1’ missile.

About:

Agni Prime Is a short-range (surface to a surface) ballistic missile that will have a range of 1000 km to 1500km and will have advanced features in agility and road mobility.
It can carry a payload of around 1,000 Kg or a nuclear warhead.
The double stage missile will be lighter and much sleeker than its predecessor ‘Agni-1’.
Agni-1 is a short-range (surface to a surface) nuclear capable ballistic missile.It has a strike range of over 700 km.

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