News: World Rhino Day is observed on September 22 every year to raise awareness and build a safe natural habitat for rhinos. It was first announced by WWF-South Africa in 2010.
2.Prime Minister launches the Age Appropriate Fitness Protocols
News: Indian Prime Minister launched the Age Appropriate Fitness Protocols on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Fit India Movement.
Facts:
- Fit India Movement was launched in 2019 on the occasion of National Sports day (29th August)
- Aim: To encourage people to inculcate physical activity and sports in their everyday lives.
- Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
3.More than 15 Lakh loan applications received under PM SVANidhi scheme
News: More than 15 lakh loan applications have been received so far under the PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme.
Facts:
- PM SVANidhi: It is a special micro-credit facility scheme to enable more than 50 lakh urban/peri-urban & rural street vendors to restart their livelihoods affected due to the lockdown.
- Duration: The scheme will be applicable till March 2022.
- Targeted Beneficiaries: The scheme is applicable to vendors, hawkers, thelewale, rehri wala among others. Street vendors belonging to the surrounding peri-urban/rural areas are also included.
- Features of the Scheme:
- Under this, each of the street vendors will be given a credit loan of Rs 10,000 which they can return as monthly installments within a year.
- Those who repay their loans on time will get 7% annual interest as subsidy which will be transferred in their bank accounts.
- Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
4.Explained: How NASA is planning to send humans to the moon again by 2024
News: NASA published the outline for its Artemis program.
Facts:
- ARTEMIS stands for Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of the Moon’s Interaction with the Sun.
- Objectives:
- Establishing of lunar outpost
- Investigating the Moon’s resources and how they might be exploited
- Using Moon as a base to explore Mars and further into deep space
- Broaden commercial and international partnerships
- Inspire a new generation and encourage careers in STEM.
- Parts of the Program:
- Artemis I: to be launched in 2021 and involves an uncrewed flight to test the SLS and Orion spacecraft.
- Artemis II will be the first crewed flight test and is targeted for 2023.
- Artemis III will land astronauts on the Moon’s South Pole in 2024.
Additional Information:
Previous Moon Missions:
- In 1959, the Soviet Union’s uncrewed Luna 1 and 2 became the first rover to visit the Moon.
- In 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to step on the Moon as part of NASA’s Apollo 11 mission.
- In 2008, India’s first lunar program Chandrayaan 1 was launched.
- In 2009, USA began a new series of robotic lunar missions with the launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS).
5.Explained: How CSIR will try to find out if coronavirus can spread while airborne
News: The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has started air sampling studies to study whether airborne transmission of Covid-19 is possible.
Facts:
- Virus causing Covid-19: SARS-CoV-2
- Spread of the Virus: It spreads through respiratory droplets from one person to another. The airborne transmission of the virus has been subjected to widespread debate.
- About CSIR Study: The study aims to collect air samples from intensive care units, hospital corridors, waiting rooms and places where healthcare workers are most at risk. It then seeks to investigate and understand whether airborne transmission is a possible route contributing to the pandemic.
Additional Information:
Difference between droplets and aerosol: A droplet is a liquid secretion coming out of the nose/mouth and is a heavy large particle that travels a short distance, while an aerosol is a lighter particle that travels longer.
6.Explained: What is the basis of MSP? How is it fixed, and how binding is it?
News: Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 does not provide any safeguards for the continuance of the existing minimum support price (MSP)-based procurement regime.
Facts:
- MSP is the minimum price paid to the farmers for procuring food crops. It is announced by the Government at the beginning of the sowing season.
- There are two objectives of the Minimum Support Price system (a)To prevent distress sale by the farmers in case of a bumper crop and (b)To procure the grains for public distribution by fair price shops.
- They are recommended by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. Food Corporation of India (FCI) is the nodal agency for procurement along with State agencies.
- The Centre currently fixes MSPs for 23 farm commodities — 7 cereals (paddy, wheat, maize, bajra, jowar, ragi and barley), 5 pulses (chana, arhar/tur, urad, moong and masur), 7 oilseeds (rapeseed-mustard, groundnut, soyabean, sunflower, sesamum, safflower and nigerseed) and 4 commercial crops (cotton, sugarcane, copra and raw jute)
- There is no law mandating their implementation. The only crop where MSP payment has some statutory element is sugarcane. Sugarcane pricing is governed by the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966 issued under the Essential Commodities Act.
Additional Information:
Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020
- Trade of farmers produce: It opens up agricultural marketing outside the notified Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) for farmers and also removes barriers to inter-State trade.
- Electronic Trading: It seeks to permit the electronic trading of farmers produced in the specified trade area.
Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP): it is an attached office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. It is not a statutory body set up through an Act of Parliament.
