Hot Current Affairs Topics | February 2021 Short Notes-II

1. THE INDIAN COUNCIL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH (ICMR

• The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, is one of the oldest medical research bodies in the world.
• The ICMR has always attempted to address itself to the growing demands of scientific advances in biomedical research on the one hand, and to the need of finding practical solutions to the health problems of the country, on the other.
• The ICMR has come a long way from the days when it was known as the IRFA, but the Council is conscious of the fact that it still has miles to go in pursuit of scientific achievements as well as health targets.

2. EMPLOYEES’PROVIDENT FUND OR EPF

• Employees’ Provident Fund or EPFis a popular savings scheme that has been introduced by the EPFO under the supervision of the Government of India.
• The savings scheme is directed towards the salaried-class to facilitate their habit of saving money to build a substantial retirement corpus.
• The EPF scheme has catered to over 5 Crore individuals and is directed by three different Acts, namely, the Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme Act, 1952, the Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme Act, 1976 and the Employees’ Pension Scheme Act, 1995.
• The fund is built with monetary contribution extended by employees and their employer each month. Both parties extend 12% each of the employees’ monthly salary, as their share of contribution towards 

What is the eligibility to become an EPF India Member?

• The Employee Provident Fund is open for employees of both the Public and Private Sectors, which means all employees can apply to become a member of EPF India.
• Additionally, any organisation that employs at least 20 individuals is deemed liable to extend benefits of EPF to its employees.
• When an employee becomes an active member of the scheme, they are considered eligible to avail several benefits in the form of Employees Provident Fund benefits, insurance benefits and pension benefits.

What are the benefits of EPF India Scheme?

• Capital appreciation
• Corpus for Retirement
• Emergency Corpus
• Tax-saving
• Easy premature withdrawal – Members of EPF India are entitled to avail benefits of partial withdrawal. Individuals can withdraw funds from their PF account to meet their specific requirements like pursuing higher education, constructing a house, bearing wedding expenses or for availing medical treatment.

3. THE NON-COOPERATION MOVEMENT

• The Non-Cooperation Movement was pitched in under leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and the Indian National Congress from September 1920 to February 1922, marking a new awakening in the Indian Independence Movement.
• After a series of events including the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, Gandhiji realised that there was no prospect of getting any fair treatment at the hands of British, so he planned to withdraw the nation’s co-operation from the British Government, thus launching the Non-Cooperation Movement and thereby marring the administrative set up of the country.
• This movement was a great success as it got massive encouragement to millions of Indians. This movement almost shook the British authorities.

4. SIMON COMMISSION

• The Non-cooperation movement failed. Therefore there was a lull in political activities. The Simon Commission was sent to India in 1927 by the British Government to suggest further reforms in the structure of Indian Government.
• The Commission did not include any Indian member and the Government showed no intention of accepting the demand for Swaraj.
• Therefore, it sparked a wave of protests all over the country and the Congress as well as the Muslim League gave a call to boycott it under the leadership of Lala Lajpat Rai.
• The crowds were lathi charged and Lala Lajpat Rai, also called Sher-e-Punjab (Lion of Punjab) died of the blows received in an agitation.

5. CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE MOVEMENT

• Mahatma Gandhi led the Civil Disobedience Movement that was launched in the Congress Session of December 1929. The aim of this movement was a complete disobedience of the orders of the British Government.
• During this movement, it was decided that India would celebrate 26th January as Independence Day all over the country. On 26th January 1930, meetings were held all over the country and the Congress tricolour was hoisted.
• The British Government tried to repress the movement and resorted to brutal firing, killing hundreds of people. Thousands were arrested along with Gandhiji and Jawaharlal Nehru. But the movement spread to all the four corners of the country.
• Following this, Round Table Conferences were arranged by the British and Gandhiji attended the second Round Table Conference at London. But nothing came out of the conference and the Civil Disobedience Movement was revived.
• During this time, Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru were arrested on the charges of throwing a bomb in the Central Assembly Hall (which is now Lok Sabha) in Delhi, to demonstrate against the autocratic alien rule. They were hanged to death on March 23, 1931.

6. TEJAS LIGHT COMBAT AIRCRAFT

• The Tejas Mk-1A Light Combat Aircraft is an indigenously designed and manufactured fourth-generation fighter with critical operational capabilities that include an Active Electronically-Scanned Array (AESA) radar, an Electronic Warfare (EW) suite, and is capable of air-to-air refueling (AAR).
• It is India’s first self-made fighter jet and received the final operational clearance for induction into the air force as a fully-weaponised fighter jet in February 2019.
• The final operational clearance or FOC aircraft of Tejas has several additional capabilities compared to the initial operational clearance or IOC aircraft – the primary one being a more advanced missile capability with a significantly enhanced range.
• The indigenously-developed aircraft has been manufactured at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy.
• Tejas is a fully-weaponised light fighter with a single engine.
• Although a lightweight aircraft with a short range, Tejas aircraft can carry the same array of modern weapons that bigger warplanes carry, from precision-guided and standoff weaponry to long-range ‘beyond visual range’ missiles that can take down enemy planes from a safe distance.
• Tejas has many advanced features like: Beyond Visual Range Missile capabilities, Air-to-Air Refuelling and Air-to-Ground weapons.
• The military aviation regulator had given the initial operational clearance or IOC to LCA Tejas in 2013 and inducted it into the Indian Air Force’s 45 Squadron in July 2016 to prepare for combat readiness.

7. THE INDIAN OCEAN RIM ASSOCIATION (IORA)

• The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) was previously named the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative.
• It was also called the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation or the IOR-ARC for short.
• It is a regional tripartite forum that gathers government representatives, academia and business leaders for encouraging cooperation and greater interaction between them. 
• The organisation is founded upon the values of open regionalism for boosting economic cooperation especially on the realms of trade facilitation, investment, the region’s social development and promotion.
• Currently, it has 22 member states. 
• The IORA was formed in March 1997. 
• The idea for the IORA was formed by India and South Africa.

The Indian Ocean

• As the third largest ocean woven together by trade routes, commands control of major sea-lanes carrying half of the world’s container ships, one third of the world’s bulk cargo traffic and two thirds of the world’s oil shipments, the Indian Ocean remains an important lifeline to international trade and transport.
• Home to nearly 2.7 billion people, Member States whose shores are washed by the ocean are rich in cultural diversity and richness in languages, religions, traditions, arts and cuisines.
• They vary considerably in terms of their areas, populations and levels of economic development. They may also be divided into a number of sub-regions (Australasia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia and Eastern & Southern Africa), each with their own regional groupings (such as ASEAN, SAARC, GCC and SADC, to name a few). Despite such diversity and differences, these countries are bound together by the Indian Ocean.

8.  PRADHAN MANTRI MATERNITY VANDANA YOJANA (PMMVY)

Purpose of Pradhan Mantri Maternity Vandana Yojana (PMMVY): Compensation to compensate the loss of wages of working women and ensure their proper rest and nutrition. Improve the health of pregnant women and lactating mothers and reduce the impact of under-nutrition through cash incentives.

Benefits of the scheme:

• The scheme will benefit pregnant women and lactating mothers during the birth of the first surviving child. The benefit amount of the scheme will be sent directly to the beneficiary’s bank account through DBT. According to the report, the government will pay the amount in the following installments.
• First installment: Rs. 1000 at the time of pregnancy registration.
• Second installment: Rs. 2000, if the beneficiary undergoes at least one antenatal check after six months of pregnancy.
• Third installment:2000 rupees, when the birth of the child is registered and the child starts the first vaccine cycle including BCG, OPV, DPT and Hepatitis-B.
• The Pradhan Mantri Maternity Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) will not be applicable for low-grade pregnant women and lactating mothers.
  Those in regular employment with the Central or State Government or any Public Sector Undertaking.
  2. Who are recipients of the same benefits under any other scheme or law.

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February Current Affairs Notes for UPSC IAS Civil services examination 2021. All Latest Important Current Affairs study materials for UPSC Prelims exam 2021. Current Affairs hot topics