Daily Current Affairs for 26th July 2021

GS PAPER II

Tokyo Olympics

Why in News

Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu won the silver medal in the women’s 49 Kg weightlifting event, winning India’s first medal at the Tokyo Olympics.

Key Points

• She had total lifts of 202kg, including 87kg in Snatch and 115kg in Clean & Jerk.

Tokyo Olympics 2020

• The 2020 Tokyo Olympics was originally scheduled to be held from July to August 2020, has been postponed to 2021.
• Despite being rescheduled for 2021, the event retains the Tokyo 2020 name for marketing and branding purposes.
• This is the first time that the Olympic Games have been postponed and rescheduled, rather than cancelled.
• The Summer Paralympics will be held between 24 August and 5 September 2021, 16 days after the completion of the Olympics.
• The 2020 Games are the fourth Olympic Games to be held in Japan, following the Tokyo 1964 (Summer), Sapporo 1972 (Winter), and Nagano 1998 (Winter) games.
• Tokyo is the first city in Asia to hold the Summer Games twice. The 2020 Games are the second of three consecutive Olympics to be held in East Asia, following the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea and preceding the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.

GS PAPER II

Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)

Why in news

Recent report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) has surprised everyone by claiming that the unemployment rate fell in a year when India’s GDP growth was at its weakest.

Key Points

• While the Covid pandemic made unemployment worse, the troubles started long back.
• According to one estimate between 2011-12 and 2017-18, the total employment declined by 9 million and this is the first time in India’s history when the total employment itself had come down.
• In a nutshell, India had two main worries about unemployment:
• Low labour force participation rate (LFPR): The proportion of people in the working-age who seek to participate in the economy is considerably lower than other economies.
• The other problem is that despite a low LFPR, India’s unemployment rate has been quite high.
• The latest annual report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) showed two things:
• One, in 2019-20, India’s Low labour force participation rate improved,
• And, two, the unemployment rate improved.
• Since 2019-20 the India’s economy’s GDP grow by just a paltry 4.2%.

Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)

• The PLFS is an annual survey conducted by the National Statistical Office.
• It was started in 2017 and it essentially maps the state of employment in the country.
• It collects data on several variables such as the level of unemployment, the types of employment and their respective shares, the wages earned from different types of jobs, the number of hours worked etc.

GS PAPER II

PM CARES for Children

Why in News

Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched the web-based portal to facilitate submission of applications, identification of children eligible to receive support under the ‘PM CARES for Children’ scheme and processing of applications for securing benefits to them.

Key Points

• The module on Child registration and identification of beneficiaries has been made functional. The portal shall be regularly updated with necessary information and modules.
• ‘PM CARES for Children’ scheme was announced by the Prime Minister for supporting children who have lost both parents or surviving parent or legal guardian or adoptive parents due to COVID-19 pandemic.
• The scheme aims to ensure comprehensive care and protection of children who have lost their parents to COVID pandemic, in a sustained manner.
• It enables their wellbeing through health insurance, empower them through education and equip them for self-sufficient existence with financial support of Rs. 10 lakh, on reaching 23 years of age.

Eligibility

• All children who have lost:
• Both parents or
• Surviving parent or
• legal guardian/adoptive parents due to COVID 19 pandemic, starting from 11.03.2020 till the end of pandemic, shall be entitled to benefits under this scheme.

PM CARES for Children

• The PM Cares for Children scheme was announced by prime minister on May 29^th at a time when the devastating second Covid-19 wave was at its peak.
• Under this scheme, children, whose parents lost their lives due to Covid-19, will get a monthly stipend once they turn 18 and a fund of ₹10 lakh when they turn 23.
• On July 22, the Union government informed Parliament that between April and May 28, parents of 645 children lost their lives due to the viral disease.
• The government will also help with school education and extend a health insurance cover of ₹5 lakh under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme.

GS PAPER III

Kakatiya Ramappa Temple

Why in News

On 25^th July 2021, India gets its 39th World Heritage Site.

Key Points

• Kakatiya Rudreshwara Ramappa Temple in Mulugu district, Telangana has been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list.
• At the 44^th session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO on 25^th July, 2021, the UNESCO proposed Ramappa Temple as the World Heritage site.
• Ramappa temple, a 13th century engineering marvel named after its architect, Ramappa, was proposed by the government as its only nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage site tag for the year 2019.
• This is the first world heritage site from Telangana.

Kakatiya Rudreshwara Ramappa Temple

• The Ramappa Temple was constructed in 1213 CE, during the reign of Kakatiya empire, by Recharla Rudra, the general of King Ganapathi Deva.
• Though the presiding deity here is Ramalingeshwara Swamy, the temple was named after the sculptor, Ramappa, who executed all works in the temple in a span of 14 years.
• The temple complexes of Kakatiyas have a distinct style and technology, exhibiting the influence of their architecture.
• The temple is situated on a six-foot-high star-shaped platform with walls, pillars and ceilings adorned with intricate carvings.
• There is a hall in front of the sanctum sanctorum with four pillars. These pillars were skilfully placed with mathematical perfection.
• The roof is built with bricks that are so light they float on water. The pillars in the temple produce different musical notes when tapped in certain places.

Significance of World Heritage Site Tag to Ramappa Temple

• The Ramappa Temple will now get financial assistance for protection of its cultural and natural heritage.
• It will get international assistance that can support projects related to emergency, conservation and management, and for preparatory assistance under the national tentative list
• The site will also have access to global project management resources if a repair is needed. The site will also receive protection under the Geneva Convention, in events of war.
• India will also receive expert advice from the World Heritage Committee to support activities for the preservation of the site.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a specialised agency of the United Nations (UN) founded in 1945 as the successor to the League of Nations’ International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.
• It aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, the sciences, and culture.
• It has 193 member states and 11 associate members as well as partners in the non-governmental, inter-governmental, and private sector.
• Headquartered at the World Heritage Centre in Paris, France, UNESCO has 53 regional field offices and 199 national commissions that facilitate its global mandate.
• UNESCO’s programmes contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals defined in Agenda 2030, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015.

History of UNESCO

• In 1942, during the Second World War, the governments of the European countries, which were confronting Nazi Germany and its allies, met in the United Kingdom for the Conference of Allied Ministers of Education (CAME).
• Upon the proposal of CAME, a United Nations Conference for the establishment of an educational and cultural organization (ECO/CONF) was convened in London from 1 to 16 November 1945.
• Finally, at the end of the conference, the UNESCO was institutionalised on 16 November 1945 and its first session was held at Paris in between November-December of 1946.