Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 15 June 2021

::NATIONAL::

The work from home norm during Covid-hit 2020 delivered some good news for the Parsi community which saw a record 61 births.
It has been assisted through the Centre’s Jiyo Parsi scheme aimed at arresting a decline in the community’s numbers which added up to all of 57,000 in the 2011 census.

Jiyo Parsi scheme was launched (2013-14) to arrest the decline in population of the Parsi Zoroastrian Communityin India.
Scheme, developed by the Ministry of Minority Affairs and Parzor Foundation, comprises three components, Medical Assistance for Assisted Reproductive Treatments, Advocacy, Health of the Community.
Population of Parsis-Zoroastrians declined from 1,14,000 in 1941 to 57,264 in 2011.

The office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government said 'Project O2 for India' has been initiated to ensure supply of critical raw materials such as zeolites, setting up of small oxygen plants, and manufacturing of compressors.

It aims is to enable stakeholders working to augment the country's ability to meet this rise in demand for medical oxygen.
The consortium is not only looking forward to providing immediate to short-term relief but also working to strengthen the manufacturing ecosystem for long-term preparedness.
A committee of experts has been evaluating critical equipment such as oxygen plants, concentrators, and ventilators from a pool of India-based manufacturers, start-ups, and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

India signed off on a joint statement by G-7 and guest countries on “open societies”.

The ‘Open Societies Statement’ was adopted at the end of an outreach session titled ‘Building Back Together—Open Societies and Economies’, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was invited as a lead speaker.
The joint statement was signed by the G-7 countries, and India, South Korea, Australia and South Africa, with host British Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling them “Democracies 11”.

The statement reaffirms and encourage the values of “freedom of expression, both online and offline, as a freedom that safeguards democracy and helps people live free from fear and oppression”.
The statement also refers to “politically motivated internet shutdowns” as one of the threats to freedom and democracy.
It also affirmed “human rights for all, both online and offline, as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other human rights instruments, and opposition to any form of discrimination, so that everyone can participate fully and equally in society”.

Albania, Brazil,Gabon,Ghana and the United Arab Emirates were elected to UN Security Council (UNSC)as non-permanent members for the 2022-23 term.
In earlier India was also elected.
UNSC is one of the six principal organs of United Nations (UN), charged with ensuring international peace and security, accepting new members to UN and approving any changes to its charter.

The Council is composed of 15 Members.
Five permanent members: US, UK, China, Russia, France.
0 non-permanent members: 5 from African and Asian States; 1 from Eastern European States; 2 fromLatin American states; Two from Western European and other States.

The government plans to bring in a clutch of anchor investors to invest up to ₹25,000 crore in the shares of Life Insurance Corp. of India (LIC) in its planned mega initial public offering (IPO).
It will also undergo a change in its board structure and adopt new accounting norms before the IPO.

Anchor investors are institutional investors who are invited to subscribe the shares before the Initial PublicOffers (IPOs).
Each anchor investor needs to invest a minimum of Rs 10 crore.
Investors are Essential Anchor brought in to enhance the confidence of investors and gauge the demand for theIPO in the market.

The anchor investor who apply for the anchor quota surely get guaranteed allotment.
Anchor investors are able to make an offer of shares at anywhere. It is to be noted that it should be within the price band which is declared by the company.
The anchor investor is not allowed to sell his/her share for at least 30 days after the allotment. Investors who want to flip shares on the listing are advised not to use this anchor route.
One of the main features of anchor investment is, the allotment is done a day before an IPO opens.

Last week, Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos’s space company called Blue Origin concluded the online auction for the first seat on New Shephard, a rocket system meant to take tourists to space. The seat went for a winning bid of $28 million.

Blue Origin is an American privately funded aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company headquartered in Kent, Washington.
It was founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, the founder and chief executive officer of Amazon.

Named after Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American to go to space.
New Shepard is blue origin’s reusable suborbital rocket system designed to take astronauts and research payloads past the Kármán line – the internationally recognized boundary of space.