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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 31 May 2021

::NATIONAL::

The Supreme Court indicated in a judgment that a straitjacket and literal interpretation of a penal provision on dowry death may have blunted the battle against the “long-standing social evil”.
The scope of section 304-B of IPC in dowry deaths is widened by Supreme Court.
According to Section 304-B, to make out a case of dowry death, a woman should have died of burns or other bodily injuries or ‘otherwise than under normal circumstances’ within seven years of her marriage.
She should have suffered cruelty or harassment from her husband or in-laws ‘soon before her death’ inconnection with demand for dowry.

The Uttarakhand High Court in Nainital recently passed an interim order upholding the right of Van Gujjars to migrate to their summer homesteads in the bugyals (Himalayan alpine meadows) located within the GovindPashu Vihar National Park.
The Van Gujjars are nomadic pastoral community in Uttarakhand Himalayas that pursue transhumance from the Terai-Bhabar and Siwalik region to the higher bugyals in summer and vice versa in winter to enable their livestocks to feed on the meadows/pastures.

The ongoing 74th World Health Assembly declared January 30 as ‘World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day’ May 28, 2021.

The proposal to recognise the day was floated by the United Arab Emirates. It was adopted unanimously by the delegates.
NTDs are a group of infections that are most common among marginalised communities in the developing regions of Africa, Asia and the Americas. They are caused by a variety of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa and parasitic worms.
These diseases generally receive less funding for research and treatment than malaises like tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS and malaria. Some examples of NTDs include snakebite envenomation, scabies, yaws, trachoma, Leishmaniasis and Chagas disease.
A major milestone in the movement to recognise the global burden of these diseases was the London Declaration on NTDs that was adopted January 30, 2012.
The WHO’s new road map for 2021–2030 calls for three strategic shifts to end NTDs:
From measuring process to measuring impact.
From disease-specific planning and programming to collaborative work across sectors.
From externally driven agendas reliant to programmes that are country-owned and country-financed.

Germany for the first time has recognised that it committed genocide against the Herero and Nama people in present-day Namibia during its colonial rule over a century ago.
They promised financial support of over a billion euros to the Southern African nation.

Between 1884 and 1890, Germany formally colonised parts of present-day Namibia — a territory which was roughly twice as large as the European nation, but not as densely populated. By 1903, around 3,000 German settlers had occupied the central high ground of the region.
Tensions quickly rose as local tribes saw the German settlers as a threat to their land and resources.
The conflict reached a boiling point in 1904, when the Herero nation — a primarily pastoral community — rebelled against the Germans, and were closely followed by the Nama tribe.

According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the US replaced Mauritius as the second largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into India during 2020-21 with inflows of USD 13.82 billion.
Singapore remained the top source of FDI into the country for the third consecutive fiscal year at USD 17.41 billion.
During 2020-21 total FDI, including equity, reinvested earnings and capital, rose 10% to the highest-ever USD81.72 billion, as against USD 74.39 billion in 2019-20.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has announced a modest step towards achieving the ultimate aeronautical challenge, one that even resource-rich China is struggling to achieve: Developing a jet engine with the thrust to power a fighter in combat.

The DRDO established the near-isothermal forging technology to produce all the five stages of high-pressure compressor (HPC) discs out of difficult-to-deform, titanium alloy, using its unique 2000 MT (metric tonne) isothermal forge press.
Isothermal forging is a hot working process to work on super alloys that have low forge ability.
Here the workpiece is maintained at its maximum elevated temperature throughout the entire operation.
This technological breakthrough involves developing complex titanium and nickel based alloys that can withstand temperatures exceeding 1000 degrees Celsius.
It would help in India in developing jet engines with thrust to power a combat fighter.