DAILY GK : 03 JULY 2021

DAILY GK : 03 JULY 2021

1.REPORT ON UDISE+ 2019-20 FOR SCHOOL EDUCATION

•     Union Minister for Education Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ released the report on ‘United District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2019-20’ for School Education in India.

•     It is the official statistics system of the Ministry of Education (MoE).

•     Enrolment of girls from primary to higher secondary is more than 12.08 crore, an increase of 14.08 lakh compared to 2018-19.

•     Total Students in school education from pre-primary to higher secondary has crossed 26.45 crore in 2019-20, which is an increase of 42.3 lakh compared to 2018-19.

 

2.AJNIFM PARTNERS WITH MICROSOFT

•     Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management (AJNIFM) made a strategic partnership and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft to build a Centre of Excellence at AJNIFM, enabled with AI (Artificial Intelligence) and emerging technologies.

•     AJNIFM, registered society under Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

 

3.WORLD’S 5TH LARGEST HST IN PITHAMPUR, INDORE (MP)

•     On the lines of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Initiative, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises (MoHI&PE) virtually inaugurated Asia’s longest and world’s 5th largest 11.3 km NATRAX (National Automotive Test Tracks) High-Speed Track (HST) in India’s Pithampur district of Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

•     It is designed for neutral speeds of 250 kmph (kilometre per hour) and maximum speeds of up to 375 kmph on curbs.

•     There is no limit to maximum speed on the straight patch.

 

4.RBI’S 23RD FSR 2021

•     Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the 23rd issue of its bi-annual Financial Stability Report (FSR) 2021.

•     It estimated the Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPAs) to rise by 9.8 percent in March 2022 (as per the baseline scenario), from 7.48 percent in March 2021.

•     GNPAs in March 2022 is estimated to be 11.22 percent as per the severe stress scenario.

•     The report stated economic recovery in May and early June 2021.

•     H2 FY21 PROJECTION OF SCBS’ GNPA AND NNPA RATIO:

TYPE                                                GNPA  RATIO        NET NON-PERFORMING ASSETS (NNPA) RATIO

All SCBs                                                     7.5%                                                                2.4%

Public Sector Banks (PSBs)                       9.5%                                                                3.1%

Private Banks (PVBs)                                4.8%                                                                1.5%

Foreign Banks (FBs)                                   2.4%                                                               0.6%

 

5.66TH FOUNDATION DAY OF SBI

•     On July 1 2021, the State Bank of India (SBI), the largest lender and the oldest commercial bank in India, has celebrated its 66th Foundation Day.

•     On the same day in 1955, the Government of India took control of the Imperial Bank of India, with the Reserve Bank of India taking a 60 percent stake, renamed it as the State Bank of India.

•     It has allocated Rs 62 crore to PM CARES Fund on its foundation day to support the fight against          Covid-19. 

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DAILY GK : 02 JULY 2021

 DAILY GK : 02 JULY 2021

1. CONSTRUCTION OF UNITS 5 & 6 OF KUDANKULAM NUCLEAR PLANT

•          Rosatom, a Russia’s State-run Nuclear Energy Corporation & Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), a PSU under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) have started the construction work on Units 5 & 6 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in Tamil Nadu.

•          Kudankulam is India’s largest nuclear power station.

•          India and Russia’s agreement on nuclear power envisions building as many as 12 nuclear plants by 2035.

 

2. CYBER MUSEUM ON WAR HEROES

•          As part of the 75th Anniversary of India’s Independence, the Ministry of Defence has initiated a project to create the 1st of its kind cyber museum which will honour the war heroes  of India.

•          It will be an interactive virtual museum of India’s Gallantry award winners and will be hosted by the Gallantry awards portal.

 

3. GLOBAL CYBERSECURITY INDEX 2020

•          Recently, the Global Cyber security Index 2020 (GCI 2020) – 4th Edition was released by International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN agency for Information & Communication Technologies (ICT).

•          India with a score of 97.5 has been ranked 10th (India was placed at the 47th spot in the last edition of GCI in 2018) in the Index.

•          The US topped the Index, UK & Saudi Arabia shared the 2nd spot while Estonia took the 3rd rank.

 

4. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN HEALTHCARE

•          World Health Organisation (WHO) released the World’s 1st report on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the healthcare sector called, “Ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health”.

•          WHO with inputs from various international experts prepared the report that can be used by countries to minimize the risk & maximize the benefits of AI.

 

5. WORLD BANK TO SUPPORT INDIA’S INFORMAL WORKING CLASS

•          World Bank (WB) Board of Executive Directors approved a USD 500 million loan programme to support India’s informal working class to overcome the COVID-19 distress and to support the states to manage the current pandemic, future climate and disaster shock.

•          Out of the USD 500 million loan, USD 112.50 million will be financed by the International Development Association (IDA) and the remaining USD 387.50 million will be provided as a loan from International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).

•          The loan programme was named – ‘Creating a Coordinated and Responsive Indian Social Protection System’ (CCRISP), it was built on the USD 1.15 billion ‘Accelerating India’s COVID-19 Social Protection Response Program’ which was approved to support schemes under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY).

 

6. ICICI BANK LAUNCHED – ‘SALUTE DOCTORS’

•          On the eve of National Doctor’s Day, on July 01, 2021, ICICI Bank launched ‘Salute Doctors’, a digital and instant banking solution that is designed exclusively for medical doctors.

•          The solution is powered by ICICI STACK, a digital banking platform with nearly 500 services

 

7. NPST RECEIVES TPAP REGISTRATION FROM NPCI

•          Network People Services Technology (NPST), an Thane-based banking technology provider has received a Third-Party Application Provider (TPAP) registration from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for its TimePay solution.

•          TPAP is the entity that provides the UPI compliant app to the end-user customers to facilitate UPI (Unified Payments Interface) based payment transactions.

 

8. DIANA AWARD 2021

•          Three Delhi students – Kaif Ali, student of JamiaMillia Islamia; Sana Mittar, from the University of Warwick; and Devanshi Ranjan, from Lady Shri Ram College has won the 2021 Diana Award Roll of Honour for their contribution to society during the COVID-19 pandemic.

•          The Diana Award is established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales and is given out by the charity named – Diana Award, it is supported by her sons, William, the Duke of Cambridge, and Harry, the Duke of Sussex.

 

9. AMAZON WEB SERVICES ACQUIRED WICKR

•          Amazon is all set to have its own messaging application as its cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services (AWS), has acquired encrypted messaging platform Wickr for an undisclosed sum.

•          The acquisition is on the lines of the company’s strategy for government contract work. Notably, Wickr is a popular app with government agencies in the United States (US).

 

10. ABHIMANYU MISHRA BECAME THE YOUNGEST CHESS GRANDMASTER

•          Indian American chess player Abhimanyu Mishra (12 years 4 months, 25 days old) became the youngest ever Chess Grandmaster after he scored his third Grandmaster (GM) norm in Budapest, Hungary.

•          He won the title against 15-year-old Indian chess player Leon Luke Mendonca

 

11. ICC MEN’S T20 WORLD CUP 2021 SHIFTED TO UAE – OMAN

•          The International Cricket Council (ICC) has shifted the venue of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Tournament from India to United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman, due to India’s prevailing pandemic situation.

•          The tournament will be hosted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) at 4 venues from 17 October to 14 November 2021.

•          ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will be participated by 16 teams and the last T20 World Cup event was won by West Indies in 2016 in India.

 

12. “FIERCELY FEMALE: THE DUTEE CHAND STORY”

•          Journalist Sundeep Mishra authored a new book, “Fiercely Female: The Dutee Chand Story”.

•          The book insights on the Gender-identity controversy of popular Indian sprinter Dutee Chand.

•          She is India’s first openly homosexual athelete.

•          The book details the controversy, when Dutee Chand was dropped from the 2014 Commonwealth Games on false gender identity claims, which was later turned to her favour by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

 

13. NATIONAL CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS’ DAY 2021 – JULY 1

•          The National Chartered Accountants'(CA) Day is annually observed across India on July 1st to commemorate the establishment of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) by the Parliament under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.

 

14. NATIONAL DOCTORS DAY 2021 – JULY 1

•          The National Doctors Day is annually observed across India on 1st July to recognise the efforts and contributions of the doctor’s community to society and the commitment of the doctors towards their profession.

•          The headquarters of IMA has declared “Save the Saviours” as the theme of National Doctors Day 2021.

 

15. GOODS AND SERVICES TAX (GST) DAY 2021 – JULY 1

•          The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Day is annually observed across India on 1st July.

•          The day marks the commemoration of the unprecedented reform of Indian taxation – Goods and Services Tax (GST).

•          The day is observed by the Central Board of Indirect Tax and Customs (CBIC) across India.

•          The year 2021 marks the observance of the 4th GST Day.

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DAILY GK: 01 JULY 2021

 DAILY GK: 01 JULY 2021

1. ‘ONE NATION ONE RATION CARD’ BY JULY 31, 2021

•      The Supreme Court(SC) directed States and Union Territories (UT) to extend the implementation of the ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ scheme (ONORC) till July 31, 2021, to ensure food security, cash transfers and other welfare measures for migrant workers under COVID-19.

•      The bench of justices Ashok Bhushan and M R Shah mentioned the difficulties faced by 38 crore migrant workers around India, who form one-fourth of the country’s population during the second wave of COVID-19 due to lack of ration cards.

 

2. NITI AAYOG’S STUDY ON ‘NOT-FOR-PROFIT’ HOSPITAL MODEL

•      As India’s policies and programmes are aimed at achieving Universal Health Coverage by 2030, NITI Aayog released the Study on Not-For-Profit Hospital Model in India-Web providing insight into their operation model.

•      As of June 2018, these hospitals account for only 1.1% of treated ailments.

•      The report was released by Dr. Vinod Kumar Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog.

•      Not-for-profit hospitals account for only 2.7% of in-patients in the country while profit hospitals account for 55.3% of in-patients.

 

3. PMFME SCHEME LAUNCHED

•      The Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme, which was launched under the AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan  completed one year of its launch on 29th June, 2021.

•      PMFME is a centrally sponsored scheme, which aims to enhance the competitiveness of existing individual micro-enterprises in the unorganized segment of the food processing industry, promote formalization of the sector, and support Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), Self Help Groups (SHGs) and Producers Cooperatives along their entire value chain.

•      It was launched with an outlay of INR 10,000 crore over a period of 5 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25.

 

4. PM MODI INAUGURATED ZEN GARDEN

•      Narendra Modi, virtually inaugurated a Zen Garden and Kaizen Academy at Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat to display the bond between India and Japan.

•      The Zen Garden and the Kaizen Academy is a symbol of spontaneity and modernity of relation between Indian and Japan.

 

5. MERCER SURVEY 2021

•      According to Mercer’s 2021 Cost of Living City Rankings – Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan has become the world’s most expensive city for foreign workers (Expatriates) followed by Hong Kong, Hong Kong (SAR) & Beirut, Lebanon.

•      Mumbai, Maharashtra was ranked at 78, making it India’s most expensive city for expatriates (a fall of 18 places compared to 60th rank in 2020 Mercer Survey).

•      The rankings are based on Mercer’s 27th annual Cost of Living Survey.

 

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DAILY GK: 30 JUNE 2021

 DAILY GK: 30 JUNE 2021

1.NATIONAL CONVENTION ON PREVENTION OF OBESITY

•          NITI Aayog and United Nations (UN) hosted a National Convention/Consultation on Prevention of Maternal, Adolescent and Childhood Obesity in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Dr.Vinod Kumar Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog and Co-chairmanship of Dr. R Hemalatha, Director, Nutrition Institute of India.

•          During the meeting obesity was addressed as a silent epidemic.

•          India is committed to achieve WHA (World Health Assembly) 2025/ SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) 2030 of ‘no increase in obesity’.

 

2.WORLD’S LARGEST BAIHETAN HYDROPOWER STATION

•          China launched two units of its world’s largest Baihetan hydropower station worth USD 34 billion.

•          The units, currently under construction, are located on the Jinsha River, the upper section of the Yangtze River, and straddle the south western provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan.

•          It is equipped with 16 hydro-generating units, each with a capacity of one million kilowatts i.e. total installed capacity is 16 million kilowatts.

•          It is the largest single-unit capacity in the world.

 

3. INDIAN BANK’S ‘MSME PRERANA’

•          Union Minister of MSME (Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) and Road, Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari launched Indian Bank’s first of its kind flagship Business Mentoring Program named ‘MSME Prerana’ in Maharashtra.

•          MSME Prerana: It was designed by Indian Bank in collaboration with Poornatha and Co. to empower MSME entrepreneurs (especially women), under which MSMEs will be trained through capacity building workshops in local languages for skill development and business understanding.

 

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DAILY GK: 29 JUNE 2021

 DAILY GK: 29 JUNE 2021

1. NTPC SETS TARGET TO INSTALL 60GW OF RE CAPACITY BY 2032

•          India’s largest Power Producer NTPC Ltd unveiled its target to install 60 GW (or 60,000 MW) of renewable energy capacity (wind and solar) by 2032, as part of its plans to reduce 10% of its net energy intensity by 2032. 

•          With this, NTPC Ltd became India’s 1st energy company to declare energy compact goals as part of HLDE 2021.

•          NTPC plans to invest INR 1 trillion between 2019 and 2024 to become a 130 GW power producer by 2032.

 

2. PAKISTAN REMAINS IN FATF’S ‘GREY LIST’

•          Pakistan has been retained on the ‘Grey List’ or  list of countries under ‘increased monitoring’ by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global terror financing watchdog.

•          It has been retained due to its inability to prosecute the top leadership of UN Security Council-designated Terror groups.

•          FATF also placed Malta, a member of European Union, on the ‘Grey List’ along with countries like Haiti, Philippines and South Sudan.

 

3. IMPLEMENTATION OF SALT PROGRAMME IN ANDHRA PRADESH

•          International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the lending arm of World Bank Group, had sanctioned a fund of Rs 1,860 crore to Andhra Pradesh for supporting the implementation of the ‘Supporting Andhra’s Learning Transformation’ (SALT) programme.

 

4. DELHI METRO WON JAPAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS AWARD

•          Delhi Metro’s Phases I, II and III projects have won the ”Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award” for the year 2020 by Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE).

•          The Delhi Metro’s project was termed as high-quality Infrastructure development project by JSCE.

 

5. TASK FORCE FOR BUREAUCRATIC REFORMS

•          The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (MoPP&P) named former Infosys Chief Executive Officer (CEO) S.D. ShibuLal as a chairperson of three-member task force which is formed to help the government in bringing major bureaucratic reforms through Mission Karmayogi.

•          The task force will submit its recommendations in the form of periodic/interim reports within a period of six months.

 

6. CENTRAL GOVT EXTENDED ATTORNEY GENERAL TENURE

•          Central Government extended the tenure of Attorney General (AG), K KVenugopal by 1 year till June 30, 2022.

•          He became the 15th AG of India by replacing AG MukulRohatgie on July 1, 2017.

•          is actual term was about 3 years and this was the second time that the centre is extending the tenure of AG as his tenure was extended by 1 year in June 2020.

 

7. DRDO TEST FIRES ‘AGNI-P’

•          The DRDO successfully test-fired the nuclear capable, Surface-to-Surface Missile ‘Agni-P (Prime)’ from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam island, Balasore, Odisha. Agni-P is a new generation advanced variant of the Agni class of missiles.

•          It is a canisterised missile and has a range capability between 1,000 and 2,000 kms.

•          Agni is a family of medium to intercontinental range ballistic missiles developed by DRDO.

 

8. FIRST TRANSGENDER ATHLETE TO COMPETE AT OLYMPICS

•          New Zealand’s Laurel Hubbard has become the first ever transgender athlete picked to compete at an Olympics, She will compete in the women’s 87-kg weightlifting category for Tokyo Olympics 2020.

•          Hubbard has satisfied the IOC’s requirements for trans women.

•          Note*Those who transition from female to male are eligible to compete in the male category without restriction.

 

9. BOOK ‘ANOMALIES IN LAW AND JUSTICE’

•          Chief Justice of India(CJI) Justice NV Ramana released a book  titled “Anomalies in Law and Justice” written by the former Supreme Court judge RV Raveendran.

•          This Book is based on Evolving Legal System

 

10. INDIA’S 1ST FENTON CATALYTIC REACTOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT

•          Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani virtually inaugurated India’s 1st Fenton Catalytic Reactor wastewater treatment plant at Vatva GIDC (Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation), Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

•          It has a capacity of 30 MLD (Million Litres per day) and has been set up by the Green Environment Services Co-operative Society Ltd (GESCSL) at a cost of INR 70 crore.

•          The plant will cater to the needs of at least 700 industrial units.

 

11. MONGOLIA’S ‘THE ORDER OF POLAR STAR’

•          Shri RK Sabharwal, C&MD, Engineers India Ltd. (EIL) has been honoured with the highest civilian award of Mongolia “The Order of Polar Star” by His Excellency, the President of Mongolia to recognize the outstanding contribution made by him towards the establishment of the first ever oil Refinery in Mongolia.

 

12. SAJAN PRAKASH BECOMES FIRST EVER INDIAN SWIMMER TO QUALIFY

•          Sajan Prakash became the first Indian swimmer to qualify for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

•          This is the first time an Indian swimmer managed to breach the Olympic qualification mark.

•          Sajan achieved the feat as he clocked 1:56:38 in the men’s 200m butterfly at the SetteColli Trophy in Rome.

•          The 27-year-old swimmer from Kerala clocked a time of 1:56.96s

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DAILY GK: 27 , 28 JUNE 2021

 DAILY GK: 27 , 28 JUNE 2021

1. LIDAR SURVEY OF FOREST AREAS

•          Prakash Javadekar virtually  released the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) based survey of forest areas for 10 states.

•          The survey is the 1st of its kind in India which uses LiDAR technology.

•          The 10 states are Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Nagaland, and Tripura.

•          It is the 1st time that Central funds have been utilized for surveying of forest areas at such a large scale.

•          The survey was carried out by WAPCOS Ltd (formerly known as Water and Power Consultancy Services Ltd), a PSU under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India at a cost INR 18.38 Crore in 26 states over 2,61,897 hectares (DPRs for remaining 16 states to be released shortly).

 

2. INDIA’S 1ST INDIGENOUS AIRCRAFT CARRIER TO BE COMMISSIONED BY 2022

•          Minister for Defence Rajnath Singh has stated that India’s 1st Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) will be commissioned into Indian Navy’s Eastern Naval Command as ‘INS Vikrant’ by mid-2022.

•          It is being built at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL).

•          IAC contains nearly 75% indigenous content and has been designed by Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design (DND).

•          It is being built at a cost of INR 24,000 crore and was originally targeted to be commissioned by 2018.

 

3. TWO DAYS HEMIS FESTIVAL CELEBRATED IN LADAKH

•          The two days grand Hemis festival was celebrated by the people of Ladakh and the Tibetian community on 20th and 21st of June 2021.

•          It is celebrated at the sweeping courtyard of Hemis monastery, Ladakh.

•          The masked dances also known as ‘Chham Dance’ depict the triumph of good over the bad are the highlights of the Hemis Festival of Ladakh.

•          Also ‘Chang’, a local liquor is served to the people during the festival.

 

4.CHINA BECAME THE 2ND-LARGEST EXPORT DESTINATION OF INDIA IN FY21

•          As per the Central government data, China replaced the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the 2nd largest export destination for India in FY21.

•          The United States (US) remained as India’s top export partner.

•          China’s share in India’s export rose to 7.29 percent in FY21 from 5.3 percent of FY20 (Whereas the imports from China declined marginally in FY21).

•          Iron ore, organic chemicals, and petroleum were the top exports to China in FY21.

 

5.WORLD’S TOP PHILANTHROPIST OF LAST CENTURY

•          The founder of Tata Group, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata has emerged as the biggest philanthropist globally in the last century(between 1901-1999) by donating $102.4 billion, according to the list of top 50 givers prepared by the Hurun Report and EdelGive Foundation.

•          Total global donations in the last century stood at $832 billion.

•          The only other Indian in the list of 50 global philanthropists is Azim Prem ji, former chairman of Wipro.

•          He is ranked at 12th position.

 

6.MEENESH SHAH APPOINTED AS NDDB CHAIRMAN

•          National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) Executive Director Meenesh Shah has taken additional charge as the Chairman of NDDB for six months with effect from June 1,2021.

•          He is the member secretary of the Indian National Committee (INC) of the International Dairy Federation (IDF).

 

7.DRDO TEST FIRES PINAKA ROCKET

•          The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test fired the Extended range version of indigenously developed Pinaka rocket & Enhanced range versions of indigenously developed 122mm Caliber rocket from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur, Odisha.

•          Both rockets have been developed by Pune-based Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) and the High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL).

•          Pinaka Rocket – The enhanced range version of the Indigenous Pinaka Rocket System test fired from a Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) can destroy targets at distances up to 45 Kms.

 

8.‘ITAT E-DWAR’ E-FILING PORTAL OF ITAT

•          Union Minister for Law & Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad formally launched the e-filing portal of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) – ‘itat e-dwar’ from New Delhi.

•          The portal developed by ITAT will enable parties to file their Appeals, Miscellaneous Applications, documents, paper books etc electronically.

•          It is expected to benefit lawyers & tax litigants.

 

9.INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST DRUG ABUSE AND ILLICIT TRAFFICKING 2021

•          The United Nations (UN)’s International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is annually observed across the globe on 26th June to create awareness about the major problem that illicit drugs represent to society.

•          The theme of the 2021 International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is “Share Facts On Drugs, Save Lives”.

 

10.WORLD HUMANIST DAY 2021 – JUNE 21

•          The World Humanist Day is annually observed across the globe on 21st June to create awareness about the ways to spread information and combat misinformation about the positive aspects of Humanism, a means to affect the change in the world.

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