Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 22 June 2021

::NATIONAL::

Apart from the three contentious farm laws, procurement and agricultural market price-related failures have contributed to a fivefold increase in major farmers’ protests since 2017, according to data collated by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
In 2017, there were 34 major protests across 15 States. That number has now shot up to 165 protests across 22 States and Union territories.

The CSE’s State of Environment in Figures 2021 report records that 12 of these are pan-India protests, including 11 agitations against the three farm reform laws introduced last year.
Along with protests against State legislation and inadequate Budget allocations for the agricultural sector, such anti-policy agitations account for 96 major protests across the country.
Although Punjab and Haryana farmers have caught the limelight for the recent protests outside Delhi, data shows that the largest number of recent protests have taken place in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
However, large numbers of farmers are also fighting against market failures and demanding fair prices, which have led to 38 major protests.
Battles against the acquisition of farm land for development projects, including highway and airport construction, are the prime cause of 17 agitations.
The report noted that India now has more farm labourers than landowning farmers and cultivators.
The latest data available shows that 5,957 farmers and an additional 4,324 farm labourers died by suicide in 2019.

The Ministry of Tribal Affairs and NCERT has come together on a joint mission for National initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement (NISHTHA) Program for Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) Teachers and Principals.
EMRSs are a flagship intervention of MoTA to provide quality education to tribal students in remote tribal areas.
NISHTHA is a capacity building programme for "Improving Quality of School Education through Integrated Teacher Training".
The aim of this training is to motivate and equip teachers to encourage and foster critical thinking in students, handle diverse situations and act as first level counsellors.

India abstained by stating that resolution is not conducive to aiding India's joint efforts towards strengthening democratic process in the country.
The resolution was adopted by UN General Assembly (UNGA).
It expressed concern at the February 1 coup and called upon Myanmar'smilitary junta to release government officials, politicians and those arbitrarily detained or arrested.

It was established in 1945.
It acts as the chief deliberative, policy making and representative organ of the UN.
It is the only UN forum in which all members receive equal representation.
Unlike resolutions of the UN Security Council (UNSC), resolutions of UNGA are non-binding on states.

The US Chambers of Commerce has launched a massive campaign to address the acute shortage of skilled and professional workforce in America.
It is prominent among which includes urging the current US administration and Congress to double the number of H-1B visas and eliminate per-country quota for the Green Card.

The most sought-after H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.
Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.
The demand to increase the H-1B quota, which currently is at 65,000 and another 20,000 for those who have higher studies from the US, is part of the America Works campaign launched by the US Chambers of Commerce early this month.

National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) has set up a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) to, inter alia, provide NFRA with inputs from the perspective of various key stakeholders.
The TAC has undertaken a consultative exercise to review NFRA’s engagement with its stakeholders, and has, in its report of March, 2021, recommended ways to enhance the same.
Important recommendations of the TAC relate to formation of advisory/consulting groups, institution of fellowship programmes, publication of NFRA’s Inspection Policy, and building up of NFRA’s Regulatory Capacity.

National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) was established by the Central Government with the fundamental objective of driving systemic change in the Indian Financial Reporting System for Public Interest Entities (PIEs).
NFRA has identified engagement with various categories of stakeholders as central in its strategy to deliver on its public interest mandate.

An analysis of more than one million SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences has led to the identification of a new variant that, over the past weeks, has been spreading mostly in Mexico but has also been found in Europe.

The scientific name of new variant is T478K.
Like other strains, this presents a mutation in the spike protein.
This variant has been increasingly spreading among people in North America, particularly in Mexico.