(FREE) UPSC Current Affairs 2024 PDF

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 18 November 2021

::NATIONAL::

Hidden in plain sight on a traffic island on Mathura Road, with an estimated 60 lakh vehicles passing by annually, is one of Delhi’searliest Mughal-era monuments— Sabz Burj.

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It has been conserved and restored over the last four years using traditional materials and building-craft techniques favoured by16th Century craftsmen.
The tomb, which was built in 1530, does not have any markings pointing to the identity of those buried under it. However, it is of immense significance due to the ceiling on its double dome structure painted in pure gold and lapis and revealed after conservation efforts began.
Conservationists believe that the painting on the ceiling that has floral motifs predates similar work that was seen in miniature paintings and textiles from the Mughal era.
The monument stands at the entrance to Humayun’s Tomb and would have originally stood within an enclosed garden.

The percentage of rural children who were not enrolled in school doubled during the pandemic, with government schools seeing an increase in enrolment at the expense of private schools.

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While 92% of children had textbooks for their grade, only a third had access to any other learning resources or support.
Online learning was restricted to a quarter of students, though there were major differences in the experience of students from different States. For instance, 91% of students from Kerala and almost 80%from Himachal Pradesh had online education, but only 10% from Bihar and 13% from West Bengal
Government school enrolment spiked significantly from 64.3% in 2018 to 70.3% in 2021, while private school enrolment dropped from 32.5% to 24.4% over the same period.
In smartphone owning households, 26% of children had no access at all, while 47% had only occasional access.

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Global Climate Risk Index (GCRI) 2021, published in January 2021, ranked 180 countries based on the impact of extreme weather events and associated socio-economic data from 2000-2019.
Rankings are meant to forewarn countries about the possibility of more frequent and/or severe climate related events in future. This index uses historical data to provide insights on exposure to extreme events.
GCRI ranks countries based on four key indicators: number of deaths; number of deaths per 1,00,000inhabitants; sum of losses in Purchasing Power Parity (in U.S. dollars); and losses per unit of the GrossDomestic Product (GDP).
Ranking under the GCRI is done based on data collected by Munich Re’s NatCatService.
India ranked at 7th position in Global CRI 2021 with a CRI score of 16.67. The score and position improvised in comparison to the 2020 report, where India ranked at the 5th position with a CRI score of 18.17.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are likely to hold their first“2+2” format talks with their Russian counterparts Sergey Lavrov and Sergey Shoygu, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi for the annual summit on December 6.
India conducts joint foreign and defence ministerial only with its closest ‘Quad’ partners — the U.S., Japan and Australia.
A “fundamental change” in the defence relationship since 2018 has taken bilateral contracts from $2-3billion per year to $9-10 billion, making Russia India’s “top defence partner”.
Two major defence deals awaiting conclusion are the AK-203 assault rifles and the Igla-S very short range air defence systems.
India and Russia are expected to sign the Reciprocal Ex-change of Logistics Support Agreement and aNavy-to-Navy cooperation MoU.

The Union government launched a nationwide campaign to provide the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to all eligible animal husbandry, dairy and fishery farmers in the country and is targeting to enrol around two crore people in the next three months.

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Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying launched the ‘Nationwide AHDF KCC campaign’ from November 15, 2021, to February 15, 2022.
In the Budget 2018-19, the government had announced extension of the KCC facility to animal husbandry farmers and fishermen to help them meet their working capital requirements.
Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fish (AHDF) KCC will help in improving sector potential with income and employment gains with nearly 10 crore farmers engaged in AHD alone.
KCC scheme provides credit support for

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Epilepsy is a chronic non-communicable disease of the brain that affects around 50 million people worldwide.
It is characterized by recurrent seizures, which are brief episodes of involuntary movement that may involve a part of the body or the entire body and are sometimes accompanied by loss of consciousness and control of bowel or bladder function.
Nearly 80 per cent of people with epilepsy live in low and middle-income countries.
Although epilepsy is treatable, yet three-fourths of affected people in developing countries do not receive the required treatment