GK Snapsots on 15 May 2021

Nepali Mingma Tenji Sherpa Sets World Record by climbing Mount Everest Twice

Nepali mountain guide, Mingma Tenji Sherpa, a 43-year-old, had created a world record by climbing 8848.86-meter-high Mount Everest(world’s highest peak) twice in the shortest span of just four days.

• Previously, Indian mountaineer Anshu Jamsenpa had held the record for fastest dual ascents on Mount Everest in 118 hours and 15 minutes in 2017 and still holds the record for fastest dual ascent on Mount Everest by a woman

• On May 8, Nepali mountain guide Kami Rita Sherpa broke his own record of the most ascents of the world’s highest peak for the 25th time.

K P Sharma Oli Re-appointed as Prime Minister of Nepal

KP Sharma Oli, (69 years old) Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML) was re-appointed as the Prime Minister(PM) of Nepal by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari.

• KP Sharma Oli has previously served as the PM of Nepal from 2015 to 2016 and from 2018 to 2021.

Key points:
i.KP Sharma Oli was reappointed since the opposition parties failed to secure majority seats in the House to form a new government.
ii.President Bidhya Devi Bhandari administered the oath of office and secrecy to KP Sharma Oli at the ceremony at Shital Niwas.
iii.KP Sharma Oli has to take a vote of confidence at the house within 30 days, failing which the attempt to form a government under Article 76(5) will be initiated. iv.At present he needs 136 votes to form a majority government.
 

NITI Aayog set up CovAid – portal to track COVID-19 related aid

NITI Aayog has set up the CovAid portal, a dedicated platform to monitor all the COVID-19 aid received by the Government of India. The portal will enable donors to do end to end tracking till the ultimate beneficiary.

Objective: To track all the relief aids coming through the missions and individual organisations.

About CovAid:
 

i.The Indian Red Cross Society is financially responsible for all the consignments of donations from foreign countries which are received through the mission.
ii.HLL Lifecare Limited and Concor has been engaged to provide logistical support.
iii.HLL Lifecare acts as the customs agent for the processing of customs and other regulatory clearances.
iv.The mission forwards the list of aid to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) which is also shared with the ministry of Health for allocation of aid.
NASA, Axiom sign pact to send 1st Private Astronaut Mission to ISS

US Space Agency NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has signed an agreement with Axiom Space to send the 1st private astronaut mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by January 2022. The mission has been designated as ‘Axiom Mission 1 (Ax-1)’.

• The mission will consist of a crew of 4 astronauts, they will be launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, US.

• SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Capsule will carry the crew to the ISS.

Rugby World Cup-New Zealand to Hold Women’s Rugby on October 2022

World Rugby announced that, New Zealand is set to host the Women’s Rugby Tournament, Rugby World Cup from 8th October 2022 to 12th November 2022.

• The Tournament was originally to be held in 2021, but was officially postponed by a year in March 2021 due to COVID-19.

• The tournament has been extended from 35 to 43 days, allowing all teams a break of at least five days between matches.

• Venues-Auckland’s Eden Park, Northlands Events Centre in Whangarei and Waitakere Stadium.

Manchester City Won Premier League 2020-21 Defeating Manchester United

Manchester City won the 2020-21 Premier League by defeating Manchester United. 2020-21 Premier League is the 29th edition of Premier League, the top English professional league for association football clubs. i.It is Manchester City’s 5th Premier League title and 7th English league title.It was also the Manchester City’s third title in the last four seasons.

ii.With this victory, Manchester City Football Club equalled the number of Aston Villa Football Club’s win & was behind Manchester United Football club, Liverpool Football Club & Arsenal Football Club.

Kazakhstan Tennis player Roman Khassanov given 10-year ban for corruption

The International Tennis Integrity Agency announced that Roman Khassanov a tennis player who represented Kazakhstan in the Davis Cup has been banned for 10 years after admitting to a string of corruption charges. the offenses that took place from 2014 through 2018. He has been banned from attending any official tennis events and fined $100,000, with all but $25,000 of that sum suspended.

Environment Appraisal Committee allows Great Nicobar Plan to Advance

The Environment Appraisal Committee (EAC) – Infrastructure I of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has recommended NITI Aayog’s project ‘Great Nicobar Plan’ for “for grant of Terms Of Reference (TOR)” for Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) studies.

• The grant is one of the first steps in the environmental clearance process.

• It assesses the environmental impact of a project based on scope and details of the project submitted by the applicant.

• Earlier, EAC had flagged concerns about the ‘Great Nicobar Plan’.

Great Nicobar Plan

• Proposed by NITI Aayog, it aims to promote holistic development of Greater Nicobar.

• It is estimated to cost ~ INR 75, 000 Crores, the proposal includes International container transshipment terminal (at Galathea Bay), a greenfield international airport, a power plant and a township complex spread over 166 Square Kms.

• Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO) is the nodal agency for implementation of the plan.

India Hosted 1st BRICS Employment Working Group Meeting in Virtual Format

The 1st BRICS Employment Working Group (EWG) Meeting in virtual format was held on 11th – 12th May 2021 in Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, New Delhi. The Meeting was hosted by India, which assumed the BRICS Presidency in 2021.

The meeting was chaired by Apurva Chandra, Secretary, Labour and Employment.

Key People:

Apart from the representatives of BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), the representatives of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Social Security Agency (ISSA) participated in the meeting.

EAMPL Signs MoU with Beowulf Mining to Set Up JV in Finland

Epsilon Advance Material (EAMPL), a subsidiary of Epsilon Carbon, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Beowulf Mining plc to set up a Joint Venture(JV) company in Finland.

Objective:

• The main objective of this JV is to become a prominent player in the European Lithium-ion Battery ecosystem

• And to become a potential future supplier of the raw materials that Finland and Europe need for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries

Assamese Writer and Veteran Journalist Homen Borgohain passed away

Eminent Assamese writer and Veteran journalist Homen Borgohain has passed away at the age of 88 after suffering cardiac arrest in Guwahati, Assam.He was born on December 7, 1932 in Lakhimpur district,Assam

About Homen Borgohain:
i.Homen Borgohain was awarded Sahitya Akademi Award in 1978 for Assamese language for his novel ‘Pita Putra’, but he returned his award in 2015 in protest against intolerance being created in the Indian society.

ii.He worked as an Assam Civil Service (ACS) officer. He also wrote several novels, poetry and short stories.

iii.Later he started a career in journalism and was associated with several newspaper and finally he became the Chief editor of Assamese daily Niyomiya Barta

iv.He was also the President of Asam Sahitya Sabha.

v.His other notable literary works are Saudor Puteke Nao Meli Jay, Halodhiya Soraye Baudhan Khai, Astarag, Timir Tirtha, Matshyagandha, Subala, Nisongota, Aatmanuxandhan, Gadyar Sadhana, Progyar Sadhana, etc.

Punjab set to become 1st Indian state to join Global COVAX Alliance

Punjab is set to become the 1st Indian state to join the Global COVAX (COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access) Alliance. Joining the Alliance will help Punjab to address the Anti-Covid-19 vaccine shortage & to procure vaccines at the best price.

• The decision to join the Global COVAX Alliance was taken during a virtual Cabinet meeting headed by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

• Across India, several states are facing shortage of COVID-19 vaccines, this has prompted state governments to float global tender for procuring vaccines.

Puducherry Becomes 4th ‘Har Ghar Jal’ State/ UT

Puducherry has become ‘Har Ghar Jal’ Union Territory(UT) by achieving the target of 100% piped water connection in rural areas under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) With this, Puducherry becomes 2nd ‘Har Ghar Jal UT and the fourth State/UT after Goa, Telangana and Andaman & Nicobar Islands to provide assured tap water supply to every rural home

Key Points:

i.Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) is a flagship programme of the Union Government, which aims to provide tap water connection to every rural household of the country by 2024.

ii.In 2021-22 Union Budget, Rs 50,000 Crore has been allocated for JJM

iii.It has to be noted that the State of Punjab and the UTs of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu have covered over 75% of rural homes with assured tap water supply.

Maharashtra CM Introduced “Mission Oxygen” to Combat 3rd Wave of COVID-19

Maharashtra Chief Minister(CM) Uddhav Thackeray introduced “Mission Oxygen” to combat the third wave of COVID-19. The state government is working towards increasing India’s Oxygen producing capacity to combat the 3rd wave of the COVID-19 infection.

• The state government aims to ensure the production of 3000 metric tons of Oxygen per day.

• The cabinet of Maharashtra has sanctioned special incentives to industrial units under the Maharashtra Mission Oxygen Swavalamban.

• The incentives include a 150% waiver in GST in Marathwada and Vidarbha and 100% in the rest of the State.

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