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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 31 July 2021

::NATIONAL::

Puri (Odisha) has become the first city in the country to have 'drink from tap facility on 24-hour basis under the Sujal Mission.
The Sujal Mission was launched in 2020 to ensure quality tapped drinking water in more than 15urban areas.
It includes 24/7 helpline centre with interactive Voice Response System for grievance redressal,and a mobile water testing laboratory.
No metropolitan city in India has such facility yet.

Recently, 11 cities were awarded as India's Top 11 Cycling Pioneers with Rs.1 crore reward to scale up the cycling initiatives.

About:

India Cycles 4Change Challenge, launched on 25th June 2020, is an initiative of the Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to inspire and support Indian cities to implement quick cycling-friendly initiatives in response to COVID-19.
Cycling is seen as a means of staying healthy- physically and mentally.
It promotes initiatives such as- pop-up lanes, traffic-calmed streets, community cycle rental schemes, and cycle-training programs.

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity's demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year.

About:

It is hosted and calculated by Global Footprint Network since 1970.
29th July was the Earth overshoot day for 2021.
Last year the Earth Overshoot Day was on 22nd August, which was an exception to the advancing trend of overshoot till 2019 (29th July).This year the pre-2020 trend has returned due to

Increased deforestation of Amazon's rainforests.

Increase in CO2 emissions by energy sector.

India and the US signed the Second Amendment to the Statement of Guiding Principles on Triangular Cooperation for global development.

About:

The SGP Agreement, signed in November 2014, underscores the contribution of India-US partnership to global stability and prosperity.
It provides a framework for promoting cooperation between the two countries to meet the developmental aspirations of partner countries, particularly in Asia and Africa.
The Second Amendment to the SGP Agreement, extends the validity of the SGP Agreement up-to 2026.
It expands the scope of capacity building activities undertaken jointly by India and the United States under this framework.
It also provides a consultative mechanism for joint biannual monitoring and review of activities undertaken under the SGP.
Under the Agreement, India and US will continue to offer capacity building assistance to partner countries in multiple sectors, focusing primarily on agriculture, regional connectivity, trade and investments, nutrition, health, clean and renewable energy, and women empowerment.
The Agreement helps fulfil the joint commitment of both nations to work together and leverage their combined capacities to provide demand-driven development partnership.
This triangular cooperation with the US will complement India’s other ongoing and future development partnerships, capacity building and technical assistance with countries globally.

The Government on 28 July took a big decision for bank account holders. The Union Cabinet has approved the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
The Bill provides account holders security of their money by allowing access to up to Rs 5 lakh within 90 days of a bank coming under a moratorium.
It was introduced in Parliament’s monsoon session held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Modi.

What is the Deposit Insurance Credit Guarantee Corporation of DICGC?

DICGC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). It provides deposit insurance that works as a protection cover for bank deposit holders when the bank fails to pay its depositors.

How does DICGC work?

1. all commercial and foreign banks located in India;

2. central, state, and urban co-operative banks;

3. regional rural banks; and

4. local banks, provided that the bank has opted for DICGC cover.

The agency’s operations are performed as per the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act, 1961 and The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation General Regulations, 1961.
Under the latest amendment in the DICGC Bill, 98.3% of all deposits will be covered and in terms of deposit value, 50.9% of deposits will be covered.

Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Bill 2021

The cabinet has also approved the Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Bill 2021.
This bill will remove the troubles caused by small mistakes in the business so that honest businessmen do not have to face unnecessary trouble.
The amendments of LLP Bill 2021 will provide “ease of doing business” for the startups that prefer the LLP model.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is likely to launch India’s third lunar mission ‘Chandrayaan-3’ in the third quarter of 2022.

Decoding Chandrayaan-3:

Chandrayaan-3 is a lander-and rover-specific mission, which will demonstrate India’s capability of soft landing on a celestial body, with the rover then communicating with Earth via the existing orbiter from Chandrayaan-2 and taking images 100 km from Moon’s orbit. The orbiter has an estimated lifespan of seven years.
The unique exploration of Chandrayaan-3 aims at studying not just one area of the Moon but all the areas combining the exosphere, the surface as well as the sub-surface in a single mission.