Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 03 May 2021
Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 03 May 2021
::NATIONAL::
Alternate Investment Fund
- Labour ministry has notified that Employees Provident Fund Organisation can invest up to 5% in AIF to support infra push.
- Alternate Investment Fund (AIF) means any fund established or incorporated in India which is a privately pooled investment vehicle which collects funds from sophisticated investors, whether Indian or foreign, for investing it in accordance with defined investment policy for the benefit of its investors.
- SEBI categorises AIF into
- CategoryI AIF like Venture Capital Funds.
- Category II AIF like Private Equity (PE) Funds.
- Category III AIF like Hedge Funds.
Operation Samudra Setu-II
- It is launched by Indian Navy to augment ongoing national mission to meet the country's oxygen requirements.
- Warships have been deployed to carry liquid oxygen-filled cryogenic containers and associated medical equipment to India amid its worsening COVID-19 pandemic.
- All such containers carried on aircraft around country are empty because oxygen-filled tanks cannot be transported by air.
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::INTERNATIONAL::
India receives COVID-19 aid from Taiwan
- India received assistance from Taiwan including oxygen concentrators and cylinders, with more batches of medical equipment set to follow from Taipei.
- Taiwan’s deployment of medical supplies is testament to the close collaboration and partnership across multiple agencies on both sides.
About:
- Taiwan officially the Republic of China (ROC)is a country in East Asia.
- Neighbouring countries include the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south.
- The main island of Taiwan has an area of 35,808 square kilometres (13,826 sq mi), with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanised population is concentrated.
- The capital is Taipei, which, along with New Taipei and Keelung, forms the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Other major cities include Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan and Taoyuan.
- With 23.57 million inhabitants, Taiwan is among the most densely populated countries.
World Press Freedom Day
- World Press Freedom Day is being observed on 3rd May.
- This day is celebrated on the 3rd of May every year.
- This year’s World Press Freedom Day theme “Information as a Public Good” serves as a call to affirm the importance of cherishing information as a public good.
::ECONOMY::
Scheme of FinancialAssistance to States forCapital Expenditure
- The Centre will provide additional Rs15,000 crore in FY22 to states as interest-free loan for capital expenditure.
About:
- It including Rs5,000 crore if states undertake asset monetization and disinvestment of their public sector enterprises.
- Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided to state governments in the form of 50-year interest free loan.
- The Government has decided to continue the scheme in the year 2021-22.
- Funds provided to the states will be used for new and ongoing capital projects. The funds can also be used for settling pending bills in ongoing capital projects.
- Capital expenditure creates employment, enhances the future productive capacity of the economy, and results in a higher rate of economic growth.
::SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY::
CT scan
- Several Covid positive patients with mild to moderate Covid symptoms, and some with negative RT-PCR reports but Covid symptoms are coming for CT scans.
About:
- CT scan is a combination of multiple X-rays and a computer process to create a picture of the body or any part of the body and it shows much more details about the body than the regular X-ray.
- If a patient’s oxygen level is going down below 95 during home quarantine or his health is not improving even after a week after coming Covid positive then such patients should get their CT scan done to detect the infection level.
- Even if a patient is showing mild or moderate symptoms and his report is false negative they should act wisely and go in home quarantine and must keep a tab on the oxygen level and there is no need to expose the body to such radiations of CT scan unnecessarily.
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