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WORLD’S 25 LARGEST ARMS COMPANIES & MORE (CURRENT AFFAIRS 10 DEC 2020 )

 WORLD’S 25 LARGEST ARMS COMPANIES

U.S. and Chinese companies dominated the global arms market in 2019, while West Asia made its first appearance among the 25 biggest weapons manufacturers, a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said.

About:

  • The U.S. arms industry accounted for 61% of sales by the world’s “Top 25” manufacturers last year, ahead of China’s 15.7%.

  • Total sales by the “Top 25” rose by 8.5% to $361 billion, or 50 times the annual budget of the UN’s peacekeeping operations.

  • Six U.S companies and three Chinese firms were in the top 10, rounded out by Britain’s BAE Systems in seventh spot.

  • S. companies Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Dynamics clinched the top five spots, while China’s AVIC, CETC and Norinco held spots six, eight and nine. U.S. group L3Harris Technologies was in 10th place.

  • For the first time, a company from the West Asia made it into the “Top 25”: EDGE, of the United Arab Emirates, was formed by the consolidation of some 25 defence entities in 2019.
BALA DEVI
Bala Devi created history by becoming the first Indian woman to score in a professional European football league, when she scored against Motherwell for Rangers FC.

About:

  • Ngangom Bala Devi is an Indian women's footballer who plays as a forward for Scottish Women's Premier League club Rangers and India women's national football team.

  • She was born in Manipur in 1990.

  • The forward joined the Scottish club in January 2020, and became the first Indian woman to sign a professional football contract overseas.
CLIMATE CHANGE PERFORMANCE INDEX (CCPI)
India remains in the top 10 for the second year in a row in the latest global Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) released in Germany.

About:

  • The biggest current emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG) China figures at 33rd rank while the largest historical polluter, the USA, appears at the bottom of the list.

  • Though India slid one position down from ninth in 2019 to 10th this year, the country’s journey towards climate protection has been consistent with it improving its ranking from 31st in 2014.

  • Globally none of the countries assessed for the annual CCPI report are, however, on the path to meet their Paris Agreement commitment of keeping global warming increase below 2 degree celsius by the end of the century and restrict it to 1.5 degree celsius rise.

  • The CCPI 2021, covering the year 2020, shows that only two G20 countries - the UK and India - are among the high rankers while six others - the USA, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Australia, South Korea and Russia (52nd) – are at the bottom of the index.
ANIL SONI
Indian-origin global health expert Anil Soni has been appointed as the first Chief Executive Officer of the newly launched The WHO Foundation.

About:

  • The Geneva-headquartered Foundation is an independent grant-making agency launched this May to complement the World Health Organization’s efforts (WHO) in addressing urgent global health challenges.

  • As a separate legal entity, the Foundation acts as a platform for new types of public-private engagement, while protecting the WHO’s neutrality and independence as the world’s leading international health authority.

  • Mr Soni will assume his role as The WHO Foundation's inaugural Chief Executive Officer on January 1 next year.
CHILD PORN
The cyber wing of the Maharashtra Police recently acquired a software from Interpol that would help them track down child pornography uploaded online.

TRACE team set up by Maharashtra Cyber to counter child pornography:

  • Earlier this year, 12 officers of Maharashtra cyber were trained by the Interpol officers in the use of this software after which they were provided access to it.

  • These 12 officers form the core of Tactical Response Against Cyber Child Exploitation (TRACE) Unit.

  • The TRACE unit was primarily set up to act against child pornography in Maharashtra that is part of a larger campaign against Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) across the country since 2019.
MOUNT EVEREST
The Foreign Ministers of Nepal and China jointly certified the elevation of Mount Everest at 8,848.86 metres above sea level — 86 cm higher than what was recognised since 1954. In feet, the new elevation is about 29,031 ft, or about 3 ft higher than Nepal’s previous claim.

How and when was the earlier measurement of 8,848 m done?

  • This was determined by the Survey of India in 1954, using instruments like theodolites and chains, with GPS still decades away.

  • The elevation of 8,848 m came to be accepted in all references worldwide — except by China. Mount Everest rises from the border between Nepal and China.

Need for new measurement:

  • The devastating earthquake of April 2015 triggered a debate among scientists on whether it had affected the height of the mountain.

  • The Nepal’s government subsequently declared that it would measure the mountain on its own, instead of continuing to follow the Survey of India findings of 1954.
MOUNT EVEREST
The Foreign Ministers of Nepal and China jointly certified the elevation of Mount Everest at 8,848.86 metres above sea level — 86 cm higher than what was recognised since 1954. In feet, the new elevation is about 29,031 ft, or about 3 ft higher than Nepal’s previous claim.

How and when was the earlier measurement of 8,848 m done?

  • This was determined by the Survey of India in 1954, using instruments like theodolites and chains, with GPS still decades away.

  • The elevation of 8,848 m came to be accepted in all references worldwide — except by China. Mount Everest rises from the border between Nepal and China.

Need for new measurement:

  • The devastating earthquake of April 2015 triggered a debate among scientists on whether it had affected the height of the mountain.

  • The Nepal’s government subsequently declared that it would measure the mountain on its own, instead of continuing to follow the Survey of India findings of 1954.
CO-WIN
The Government of India has introduced a new digital platform called 'CO-WIN' for COVID-19 vaccine delivery.

About:

  • There will be a new mobile app as well with the same name that will allow people to register for the vaccine. The CO-WIN app is yet to be available for smartphone users and it is expected that it will be publicly available soon.

  • The platform will be used for recording vaccine data and will form a database of healthcare workers too. All COVID-19 related data necessary for the delivery of the vaccine is presently being uploaded on the CO-WIN platform.

  • The app will have separate modules for administrator, registration, vaccination, beneficiary acknowledgement and reports. Once people start to register for thECO-DUCTS
    Ramnagar Forest Division in Nainital district, Uttarakhand, recently built its first eco-bridge for reptiles and smaller mammals.

    About:

    • Eco-ducts or eco-bridges aim to enhance wildlife connectivity that can be disrupted because of highways or logging.

    • These include
      • canopy bridges (usually for monkeys, squirrels and other arboreal species);

      • concrete underpasses or overpass tunnels or viaducts (usually for larger animals); and

      • amphibian tunnels or culverts.



    • Usually these bridges are overlaid with planting from the area to give it a contiguous look with the landscape.
    e app, the platform will upload bulk data on co-morbidity provided by local authorities.
WORLD HERITAGE CITY
Gwalior and Orchha of Madhya Pradesh have been included in the list of World Heritage City by UNESCO.

Orchha:

  • Orchha located in the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh was the 16th century capital of the erstwhile Bundela dynasty.

  • Orchha Raj Mahal, Jahangir Mahal, Ramaraja Mandir, Rai Praveen Mahal, Laxminarayan Mandir and many other famous temples and palaces are famous for a unique confluence of Rajput and Mughal architectural influences.

Gwalior:

  • At the same time, Gwalior city has been the capital of Gurjar Pratihar, Tomar, Baghel Kachhwahs and Scindia Rajvansh.

  • The ancient signs left by them will be found in the form of monuments, forts, palaces.
AGRA METRO
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the construction work of Agra metro.

About:

  • Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation has set a deadline of five years for the completion of two corridors of Agra metro which will connect all the major tourist destinations.

  • Agra Metro will take around 3 years for the first metro train on the priority section between Taj mahal to Jama Masjid.

  • For the first time Heritage impact assessment was done with the help of IIT Madras and archaeological survey of India as per the guidelines of UNESCO before starting of work.

  • Agra is also one of the most polluted cities of Uttar Pradesh and the Metro will definitely help in decreasing the pollution level of the city.

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