06-11-21 Daily-Punjab-PPSC Current Affairs

The Punjab Government is set to start the Census of Indus River dolphin, the most threatened species.

Highlights:

Platanista gangetica minor is the scientific name for the Indus River dolphin.
It’s a freshwater dolphin that lives in the Beas River.
The census will begin in the winter as part of a central government operation.
Punjab’s wildlife preservation wing, on the other hand, will go a step farther and safeguard not only dolphins but also their natural habitat.
The project will take five years to complete.
It will focus on gathering data on species spatial and temporal distribution patterns, as well as Population status, using a well-established and authorized approach.
The Indus River dolphin is listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list ().
In 2007, a viable population of Indus dolphins was identified in Punjab’s Harike wildlife sanctuary along the lower Beas River.
Since its discovery, the Punjab Department of Forests and Wildlife Preservation has been undertaking studies on the habitat utilization, current distribution, and population of dolphins in collaboration with the WWF-India.
The Indus River dolphin was named the Punjab State Aquatic Animal in 2019.
Extension initiatives will be arranged by a group of dedicated persons known as the ‘Beas-Dolphin Mitras’ of the river Beas under Punjab’s initiative.
Dolphin eco-tourism will also be a part of the project.

Damon Galgut, a South African playwright and writer, has won the 2021 Booker Prize.

Highlights:

He is honored with the award for “The Promise,” his third shortlisted novel about a family in his nation from the end of apartheid to the election of Jacob Zuma.

The book spans several decades and depicts the family’s gradual disintegration as the country transitions to Democracy.

Mr. Galgut won his third medal as a finalist for a novel that the judges described as a “tour de force.”

He had previously been nominated for “The Good Doctor” in 2003 and “In a Strange Room” in 2010, but both times he was unsuccessful.

The indigenously-developed smart anti-airfield weapon (SAAW), which is a precision-guided bomb designed to destroy enemy runways, bunkers, aircraft hangers, radars and other reinforced structures at a maximum range of 100-km, has been tested twice byDRDOandIAFin recent days.

The electro-optical configuration of the system is equipped with imaging infra-red (IIR) seeker technology to enhance the precision strike capability of the weapon. In both the tests, the intended target was hit with high accuracy.

Around 15,000 students have enrolled for coaching classes in the year 2021, under the Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana Scheme.

Highlights:

The Delhi government initiated this scheme. It was started at a few private facilities for a variety of competitive tests.

It is for children from economically disadvantaged families and marginalized communities.

In addition to free coaching, the Delhi government would offer students a Rs 2,500 travel allowance.

It allows bright students from the SC, ST, OBC, and EWS groups to receive free competitive test preparation from private coaching institutes.

The scheme is available to families with annual earnings of less than Rs.8 lakh.

Students can benefit from free coaching classes at 46 different coaching centers.

An MoU was signed between MoRD and Flipkart for The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana (DAY-NRLM).

Highlights:

By bringing local companies and self-help groups (SHGs) into the E-Commerce fold, the government and Flipkart hope to empower them.

The DAY-goal NRLM’s of increasing rural communities’ self-EMPLOYMENT and Entrepreneurship capabilities are aligned with this PARTNERSHIP.

As a result, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of an Atma Nirbhar Bharat gains more traction.

The Memorandum of Understanding is part of Flipkart’s Samarth program.

It was struck with the goal of providing national market access to skilled and underserved communities of weavers, craftspeople, and artisans through the Flipkart marketplace.

At Israel’s Ovda Airbase, 84 Indian Air Force (IAF) soldiers and a Mirage 2000 aircraft squadron took part in the international multilateral combat exercise Blue Flag 2021.

Highlights:

Integration of fourth and fifth-generation aircraft in complicated operational circumstances is the focus of Blue Flag 2021.

Air Force missions from eight countries are participating in the exercise.

This aims to share information and battle experience in order to strengthen operational capabilities.

The US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Greece, and Israel are the other seven countries that took part in the exercise.