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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 27 January 2021

::NATIONAL::

Electronic Electoral PhotoIdentity Card

It was recently launched on National Voter’s Day (January 25).
It is a secure portable document format (PDF) version of the EPIC which can be downloaded on mobile or in aself-printable form on the computer.
Digitisation is to ensure there is no delay in getting voter ID cards as the physical card takes time to print andreach the voter.
Digital voter ID cards can be stored on Digilocker.
This will be first time that government will issue voter identity cards in digital formats.

Birds of the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve

Indian Sunderbans, which is part of the largest mangrove forest in the world, is home to 428 species of birds.
The publication, “Birds of the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve”, released by the ZSI, not only documents the avifauna of the Sunderbans, but also serves as comprehensive photographic field guide, with detailed distribution and locality data for all the species from the region.
The Indian Sunderbans, which covers 4,200 sq km, comprises of the Sunderban Tiger Reserve of 2,585 sq km — home to about 96 Royal Bengal Tigers (as per last census in 2020) is also a world heritage site and a Ramsar Site.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Ageing water infrastructure: An emerging global risk

According to a UN report which notes that by 2050, most people on Earth will live downstream of tens of thousands of dams built in the 20th century.
The report, titled ‘‘Ageing water infrastructure: An emerging global risk’’ and compiled by United Nations University’s Canadian-based Institute for Water, Environment and Health.
Ageing signs include increasing cases of dam failures, progressively increasing costs of dam repair and maintenance, increasing reservoir sedimentation, and loss of a dam’s functionality and effectiveness, “strongly interconnected” manifestations.
By 2050, most people on Earth will live downstream of tens of thousands of large dams built in the 20th century, many of them already operating at or beyond their design life.
The analysis includes dam decommissioning or ageing case studies from the USA, France, Canada, India, Japan, and Zambia and Zimbabwe.
According to the report, the world is unlikely to witness another large dam-building revolution as in the mid-20th century, but dams constructed then will inevitably be showing their age.
The report said that 32,716 large dams (55 per cent of the world’s total) are found in just four Asian countries: China, India, Japan, and South Korea - a majority of which will reach the 50-year threshold relatively soon.
The same is true of many large dams in Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe.
In India, there are over 1,115 large dams that will be roughly 50 years old in 2025, more than 4,250 large dams in the country will be over 50 years old in 2050 and 64 large dams will be more than 150 years old in 2050.

Global Climate Risk Index

According to the Global Climate Risk Index, 2021, India ranks seventh among countries most affected in 2019 by climate change.
The index released by Germanwatch an NGO based in Bonn, Germany.

About:

In 2019, monsoon continued for a month longer than normal in India. From June to the end of September 2019, 110% of the long-period average was recorded.
Flooding caused by heavy rain was responsible for 1,800 deaths across 14 states and led to the displacement of 1.8 million people, the report said. There were eight tropical cyclones in India. Six of them intensified to become “very severe.”
Globally, 11.8 million people were affected by intense monsoon with the economic damage estimated to be US $10 billion.

Economy

Cabinet approved Minimum Support Price of Copra for 2021 season

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairshas given its approval for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of copra for 2021 season.
The approval is based on recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
The increase in MSP for copra for 2021 season is in line with the principle of fixing the MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times the all India weighted average cost of production which was announced by the Government in the Budget 2018-19.
It assures a minimum of 50 percent as margin of profit as one of the important and progressive steps towards making possible doubling of farmers’ incomes by 2022.
The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumer Federation of India Limited (NCCF) will continue to act as Central Nodal Agencies to undertake price support operations at the MSP in the coconut growing States.
For 2020 season, Government has procured 5053.34 tonnes of ball copra and 35.58 tonnes of milling copra benefiting 4896 copra farmers.

Science and Technology

Akash-NG Missile

Recently, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted the maiden testof the New Generation Akash missile (Akash-NG).
Akash-NG is a new generation Surface to Air Missile meant for use by Indian Air Force with an aim ofintercepting high manoeuvring low RCS (Radar Cross Section) aerial threats.

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Sports

Former India goalkeeper Prasanta Dora dies of rare disease

Former India goalkeeper Prasanta Dora, who made a name for himself while playing for big three clubs of Kolkata Maidan, died.
He was diagnosed with Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) in December after he developed unremitting fever.
HLH is severe systemic inflammatory syndrome that can cause a strong activation of the immune system, such as infection or cancer.