DAILY GK 31 JULY

 DAILY GK 31 JULY 

1.      IAF to Phase Out Remaining 4 MiG-21 Squadrons by 2025

·           The Indian Air Force (IAF) has planned to phase out four MiG-21 fighter squadrons by 2025.

·           At present, the IAF has around 70 – MiG-21 aircraft and 50 MiG-29 variants.

·           The IAF has also planned to phase out the 3 squadrons of MiG-29 fighter jets in the next 5 years.

·           One of the MiG-21 fighter squadrons, Sri Nagar-based No 51 Squadron(also known as “Sword Arms,”), is set to retire from service in September 2022.

·           The other 3 squadrons at Uttarlai, Suratgarh and Nal in Rajasthan will subsequently retire by 2025.

·           TheMiG variants were first launched in 1963. The MiG-21 is India’s longest-serving fighter plane.

·           The aircraft was designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau (OKB) of the erstwhile Soviet Union, and it made its maiden flight on 16 June, 1955.

 

2.      WHO declares Monkeypox as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern

·           The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the global monkeypox outbreak a ‘Public Health Emergency of International Concern’ (PHEIC), one step below that of a ‘pandemic.’

·           Public Health Emergency of International Concern’ (PHEIC)-According to the WHO, a PHEIC is an extraordinary event, which constitutes a public health risk to other States through the international spread, and which potentially requires a coordinated international response.

·           Earlier in 2020, the WHO also categorised COVID-19 as a PHEIC

·           WHO previously declared emergencies for public health crises such as the Ebola outbreak in 2014 and Zika virus in Latin America in 2016.

·           WHO Director General- Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,Headquarters- Geneva, Switzerland

 

3.      RBI Imposes Restrictions on Three Urban Cooperative Banks

·           The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed restrictions on three urban co-operative banks (UCBs) including Durga Co-operative Urban Bank, Jaiprakash Narayan Nagari Sahakari Bank and Karmala Urban Co-operative Bank.

·           Durga Co-operative Urban Bank, Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh) – Depositors withdrawal limit must not exceed Rs. 1.50 lakh of the total balance across all savings bank or current accounts or any other account, subject to RBIs direction.

·           Jaiprakash Narayan Nagari Sahakari Bank, Basmatnagar (Maharashtra) – The customers cannot withdraw amounts due to the bank’s liquidity position but are allowed to set off loans against deposits subject to RBIs direction.

·           The Karmala Urban Co-operative Bank, Solapur (Maharashtra) – Depositors will be allowed to withdraw not more than Rs. 10,000 of the total balance across all savings bank or current accounts or any other account, subject to RBIs direction.

·           UCBs- The term Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) are not formally defined but it refers to primary cooperative banks located in urban and semi-urban areas.

·           Until 1996, these banks were allowed to lend money only for non-agricultural purposes and now they essentially lend to small borrowers and businesses.UCBs are supervised under the Registrar of Cooperative Societies.

 

4.      WORLD DAY AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 2022 – 30 JULY

·           The United Nations(UN)’s World Day Against Trafficking in Persons is annually observed across the globe on 30th July to create awareness about the state of victims of human trafficking and for the promotion and protection of their rights.

·           The theme of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons 2022 is “Use and abuse of technology”.
Background:

·           United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Headquarters– Vienna, Austria