Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 1st March 2021

Centre Of Excellence In Gaming:

The government has decided to form a Centre of Excellence in gaming and other related areas in collaboration with IIT Bombay.

• The Centre is at an advanced stage of preparation and will come into effect as the new session of IIT begins in 2021.
• This was announced by Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar while addressing the virtual exhibition and prize announcement of “Khel Khel Mein”, a Pan Maharashtra toy/game project design competition.
• The solution is to create our own games and apps in line with #MakeInIndia for the world so that these are adopted the world over for their basic values that are an integral part of our Indian ethos,’ said I&B Minister Javadekar

Field Assessment Of Swachh Survekshan 2021:

Government Launches Field Assessment Of The Annual Cleanliness Survey

• According to the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, indicators under Swachh Survekshan 2021 focus on parameters pertaining to wastewater treatment and reuse along with fecal sludge management
• It is the sixth edition of the cleanliness survey which is being conducted every year by MoHUA since 2016.
• While Mysore in Karnataka achieved the tag of the cleanest city in 2016, Indore in Madhya Pradesh has been winning every year since 2017.
• This year, in order to find the cleanest city, the ministry has roped in over 2,000 assessors who will be examining the performance of cities and towns.
• The assessment which will continue till March 28 will also take into consideration over 3 crore citizen feedback received through platforms like Vote for Your City App, Swachhata App, and Swachh Survekshan portal, amongst others.
• According to MoHUA, with an aim to ensure the sustainability of efforts made towards sanitation, the Swachh Survekshan 2021 indicators focus on parameters pertaining to wastewater treatment and reuse along with fecal sludge.
• Similarly, the crucial issues of legacy waste management and remediation of landfills have also been brought to the fore in this edition of Survekshan.

The survey will categorize cities on the basis of six indicator-wise performance criteria:

• Segregation of waste into wet, dry, and hazard categories
• Processing capacity against wet waste generated
• Processing and recycling of wet and dry waste
• Construction and demolition waste processing
• Percentage of waste going to landfills
• Sanitation status of cities

Amazonia-1: ISRO’S First Satellite For The Year 2021:

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), in its first mission of 2021, has successfully launched the Brazilian satellite Amazonia-1 on Sunday from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. “#PSLVC51 lifts off successfully from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota

• The 637-kg Amazonia-1, which is the first Brazilian satellite to be launched from India, is the optical earth observation satellite of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
• This satellite would further strengthen the existing structure by providing remote sensing data to users for monitoring deforestation in the Amazon region and analysis of diversified agriculture across the Brazilian territory, PSLV-C51 rocket is the 53rd mission of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
• The satellite in the first move launched the Amazonia-1 satellite of Brazil as the primary satellite.

Golden Globes Awards 2021:

The 78th Golden Globe Awards ceremony recently took place in a virtual as well as in offline format on February 28, 2021. The award ceremony was filmed in Los Angeles and New York City.

• The Golden Globe Awards for the year 2021 were the first major televised awards amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
• The ceremony also got postponed from its usual date in January.
• Chadwick Boseman won a posthumous award: Best Actor – Drama (Film) for his work in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
• The Netflix film called “Mank” and “The Trial of the Chicago 7” were nominated for the Best Picture (Drama) Nominations.
• The award for the Best Motion Picture-Drama award went to Nomadland while the Best Director award went to the director of Nomadland, Chloe Zhao.
• She became the second woman ever to win this award after Barbra Streisand won in the year 1984.

Sugamya Bharat App:

Sugamya Bharat app is a part of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment’s efforts that will ensure a barrier-free environment in government and other buildings as well as transport systems

• Sugamya Bharat app would also allow public participation in case of issues faced by not just the differently-abled but even pregnant women, children, and those who are temporarily disabled owing to various types of illnesses, surgery etc.
• To ensure the app’s smooth functioning, the project management unit has also been set up.
• once someone has raised an issue or lodged a complaint about the difficulty in accessing a building or a facility by uploading a picture and briefly described the problem, the social justice ministry team would then forward it to the concerned authorities.
• In case the matter is not addressed soon, it will be taken up with the head of the department of the particular body.
• Reminders will be sent for the same, and they would be followed up until the issue is resolved.
• The App has been developed by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• Sugamya Bharat APP — a Crowdsourcing Mobile Application is a means for sensitizing and enhancing accessibility in the 3 pillars of the Accessible India Campaign i.e. built environment, transportation sector, and ICT ecosystem in India.
• The app provides for five main features, 4 of which are directly related to enhancing accessibility, while the fifth is a special feature meant only for Divyangjan for COVID-related issues.
• The accessibility-related features are the registration of complaints of inaccessibility across the 3 broad pillars of the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyaan; positive feedback of examples and best practices worth emulating being shared by people as jan-bhagidhari; Departmental updates; and guidelines and circulars related to accessibility.

Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav 2021:

The third and final leg of the 11th edition of the Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav 2021 took place at Murshidabad, West Bengal.

• Various colorful performances were given by the local artists, including ‘Baul Gaan’, ‘Alkup Gaan’, ‘Leto gaan’, ‘Jhumuriya’ and Ranpa folk dances.
• Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav is the flagship festival of the Ministry of Culture.
• It has been organized since 2015 with the active participation of Seven Zonal Culture Centres.
• It was started with an intention to exhibit the rich cultural heritage of the country in all its rich and varied dimensions namely, Handicrafts, Cuisine, Painting, Sculpture and Performing Arts- Folk, Tribal, Classical and Contemporary- all at one place.
• It has been playing a pivotal role to take the vibrant culture of India out to the masses instead of confining it to auditoria and galleries.
• It has been instrumental in showcasing folk and tribal art, dance, music, cuisines & culture of one state in other states reinforcing the cherished goal of “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat”.
• It also provides an effective platform to the artists and artisans to support their livelihood.
• It reconnects the people (especially the youth) with their indigenous culture, its multifaceted nature, magnificence, and historical importance in the context of ‘India as a Nation’ over the millennia.
• Till date, Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsavs have been held at various places such as Delhi, Varanasi, Bengaluru, Tawang, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tehri and Madhya Pradesh.

National Science Day:28th February:

National Science Day (NSD) is celebrated every year on 28th February to commemorate the discovery of the ‘Raman Effect’ by Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930. The first NSD was celebrated in1987.

• Basic Objective: To propagate the message of the importance of science and its application among the people.
• 2021 Theme: ‘Future of STI (Science, Technology and Innovations): Impacts on Education, Skills, and Work’.
• Nodal Agency to Support Celebration: National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC) of Ministry of Science and Technology.

Awards Conferred:

• National S&T Communication Awards, Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research (AWSAR) awards, and SERB Women Excellence Awards and Rajendra Prabhu Memorial Appreciation Shield for outstanding work in science media and journalism.
• The first-ever National S&T Databases on S&T Awards in India and Indian origin Academicians abroad, was released.
• Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research (AWSAR): AWSAR is an initiative that aims to disseminate Indian research stories among the masses in an easy-to-understand and interesting format.

Global Association For Physicians Of Indian Origin:

Union Minister for Health addressed the Global Indian Physicians Congress, organized by the Global Association for Physicians of Indian Origin (GAPIO), through video conference.

• GAPIO is a non-profit organization established in 2011.
• Padma Vibhushan, Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman of Apollo Hospitals Group is the Founder President of GAPIO along with Dr. Sanku Rao – Past President of AAPI, USA and Dr. Ramesh Mehta – President of BAPIO, UK.
• The aim of the organization is to bring together 1.4 million physicians of Indian origin in the world on one professional platform.
• GAPIO has held 10 annual conferences in India and has held 9 midyear conferences overseas since 2011.

The Suryakiran Aerobatic Team:

The Suryakiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) will perform at an airshow at the Galle Face in Colombo from March 3 to 5 as part of the 70th-anniversary celebrations of the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF).

• This will be the first performance for the SKAT team outside India since it was resurrected in 2015 with the Hawk advanced jet trainers.
• Earlier, the SKAT team had toured Sri Lanka during the 50th anniversary of the SLAF in 2001.
• The SKAT team, also known as 52 Squadron or The Sharks, is based in Bidar.
• The team was formed in 1996 with Kiran Mk-II aircraft and had enthralled spectators across the country till 2011.
• It was revived in 2015 with Hawk trainers initially with four aircraft and grew to the nine-aircraft formation.
• Since its inception, the SKAT team has carried out over 600 displays all around the country.
• It has also represented India across southeast Asia including China.

Policy of Neutrality :

Switzerland’s Ambassador said that its traditional foreign Policy of Neutrality (Swiss Neutrality) has become attractive again because of the changing political reality in the world.

The Policy of Neutrality:

• It is a foreign policy position wherein a state intends to remain neutral in future wars.
• A sovereign state that reserves the right to become belligerent if attacked by a party to the war is in a condition of armed neutrality.
• A permanently neutral power is a sovereign state which is bound by international treaty, or by its own declaration, to be neutral towards the belligerents of all future wars.
• An example of a permanently neutral power is Switzerland. Other being Ireland, Austria, etc.
• The concept of neutrality in war is narrowly defined and puts specific constraints on the neutral party in return for the internationally recognized right to remain neutral.
• International Day of Neutrality is a United Nations recognized day held on 12th December each year to raise public awareness of the value of neutrality in international relations.
• National policies of neutrality are aimed at promoting the use of preventive diplomacy, which is a core function of the United Nations.
• The term “Preventive diplomacy” refers to diplomatic action taken to prevent disputes from escalating into conflicts and to limit the spread of conflicts when they occur.