Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 16 January 2021

::NATIONAL::

The Centre has reserved government jobs for people with learning disabilities, autism and victims of acid attacks, four years after it decided to extend benefit of reservation to new categories.
The government has identified jobs, including Group A and B posts, for the new category of differently-abled.
The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) has notified new government posts earmarking for the first-time certain posts for autistic persons and those suffering from learning disabilities.
The enactment of Right of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, had increased reservation in government jobs and educational institutions for disabled from 3 to 4% and the number of benchmark disabilities from seven to 21.
An expert committee under DEPwD secretary was formed to review the government posts which could be opened up for the new categories of differently-abled. The expert committee finalised its report in November 2019. The government has approved it and has now notified the new jobs which would be opened up.
While acid attack victims would be able to hold any Group A, B, C and D posts, specific posts have been opened up for those identified as suffering with mild autism spectrum disorder.

The Corporate Affairs Ministry (MCA) has now allowed Corporate India to spend its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds for carrying out awareness campaigns/ programmes or public outreach campaigns on Covid-19 vaccination programmes.
This will be treated as an eligible CSR activity under Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013, under items relating to promotion of healthcare, including preventive healthcare and sanitisation, promoting education and disaster management respectively.
CSR refers to social and environmental activities by private companies.
In 2014 India became the first country in the world to make CSR legally mandatory (amended CompaniesAct, 2013).
Companies with net worth of at least Rs 500 crore, turnover of Rs 1,000 or net profit of Rs 5 crore. are required tospend 2% of their average profit of the previous three years on CSR.

Archaeologists have discovered the world’s oldest known cave art — a life-sized picture of a wild pig that was painted at least 45,500 years ago in Indonesia.
The cave painting uncovered in South Sulawesi consists of a figurative depiction of a warty pig, a wild boar that is endemic to this Indonesian island.
The finding, published in the journal Science Advances, also represents some of the earliest archaeological evidence for modern humans in the region.
The researchers noted that the Sulawesi warty pig painting, dated to at least 45,500 years ago, is part of a rock art panel located above a high ledge along the rear wall of Leang Tedongnge.
The previously oldest dated rock art ‘scene’ at least 43,900 years old, was a depiction of hybrid human-animal beings hunting Sulawesi warty pigs and dwarf bovids.
It was discovered by the same research team at a nearby limestone cave site.

Great Green Wall (GGW) initiative was started by the African Union to address desertification, land degradation and climate change in the Sahel region, the project had hit a wall due to funds crunch.

How will the grant help?

The GGW initiative, launched in 2007 by the African Union, aims to transform the lives of 100 million people by growing an 8,000-kilometre-long and 15-km-wide mosaic of trees, grasslands, vegetation and plants.
The initiative aims to make Sahel green again by restoring degraded lands and providing decent livelihoods to its people, snaking the Sahel all the way from Senegal in the West to Djibouti in the East, providing jobs and opportunities for millions of people in Africa, according to the United Nations.
This will contribute to the GGW goals with a target of restoring 100 million hectares of degraded land, sequestering 250 million tonnes of carbon and creating 10 million green jobs.
The GGW goals will also contribute to 15 of the 17 UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goals. One of the key objectives of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is to reach Land Degradation Neutrality by 2030, a target also included in the SDG 15.
It will also contribute to implementation of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

The UK-India Business Council (UKIBC) has sought reduction in India’s corporate tax rates for branches of foreign companies to bring them “at par’’ with domestic companies.
In its recommendations to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for Budget 2021-22, the UKIBC also made a case for reduction in import duties on alcohol and spirits in a phased manner, remove retrospective taxation and raising foreign direct investment limit in defence sector and insurance.
In the area of taxation, the UKIBC pointed out that the reduction in the corporate tax rate for domestic companies coupled with the abolition of Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) created a disparity between the effective tax rates applicable to foreign companies (43.68 per cent) and domestic companies (25.17 per cent).

Allocation for defence sector:

The council also said the Budget allocation for the defence sector should be raised to more than 2.5 per cent of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and FDI should be increased from 74 per cent to 100 per cent through the automatic route and also raise cap for FDI in insurance companies to 100 per cent (from 49 per cent).
UKIBC proposed that spending on education and skill development should be increased to 4.5 per cent from 3 per cent of GDP to enable effective implementation of New Education Policy.
It also favoured enhanced government spending on public healthcare to 3 per cent of GDP (from 1.3 per cent) and revise the National List of Essential Medicines to exempt inexpensively-priced medicines from unnecessary controls.
Pushing for a reduction in import duties on alcohol, UKIBC proposed reduction of basic customs duty on Bottled-In-Origin and Bulk Spirit from 130 per cent to 75 per cent and eventually to 30 per cent.
The council suggested that India should conclude trade agreements with the UK and other major economies to boost its trade-to-GDP ratio.

It is India's first indigenous 9mm Machine Pistol that has been jointly developed by DRDO and Indian Army.
The Asmi machine pistol fires the in-service 9 mm ammunition and has an upper receiver made from aircraft-grade aluminum and lower receiver from carbon fibre.
The 3D printing technology has been used in designing and prototyping of various parts, including trigger components which have been made by metal 3D printing.
It can be used as personal weapon for heavy weapon detachments, commanders, tank and aircraft crews,drivers/dispatch riders, radio/radar operators, Closed Quarter Battle etc.
Machine Pistol is likely to have production cost under rupees 50000 each and has potential for exports