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Current Affairs-22.01.2021

22.01.2021

1. Article 161 of the Constitution of India in context of the case of Rajiv Gandhi

Article 161 gives the Governor the “power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the state extends”.
The mercy petition of AG Perarivalan- a convict serving a life sentence for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhihas been pending with the Governor of Tamil Nadu, Banwarilal Purohit since December 30, 2015.
The Constitution Bench in 2015, in a majority decision, had held that the States cannot unilaterally remit the sentences of life convicts in cases investigated by a Central agency under a Central law.

2. Steps taken by Joe Biden on taking the Charge of Presidency of USA

US President-elect will take major steps to address the COVID-19 outbreak, the ailing US economy, climate change and racial injustice in the US.
Biden unveiled plans to seek USD 1.9 trillion to revive the economy and he is aiming to launch several measures in the coming days in order to boost the country's economy.

3. European Super League

The concept of a European Super League consisting of football clubs from across Europe has been discussed from 1990s and has occasionally been officially proposed, but has yet to be implemented.
FIFA and all six of the continental confederations including UEFA have rejected the formation of such breakaway league.

4. Six Airports bagged by Adani recently

5. Taipei rare shift

Taiwan’s de facto Ambassador to the U.S., Hsiao Bi-khim, was formally invited to President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Taipei’s Foreign Ministry said it was the first time in decades that a Taiwanese envoy had been “invited” by the inauguration committee.

6. APIG Alliance and Google Deal

The principles agreed between the French publishers' lobby, Alliance de la pressed'informationgénérale (APIG), and Google include criteria such as the daily volume of publications, monthly internet traffic and "contribution to political and general information."
Google and APIG did not say how much money could be distributed under the agreement to APIG members, which include national and local publishers. Details on how the remuneration would be calculated under the criteria were not disclosed.
The announcement follows months of bargaining between Google, French publishers and news agencies over how to apply revamped EU copyright rules, which allow publishers to demand a fee from online platforms showing extracts of their news.

7. Avril Haines

Avril Danica Haines is an American lawyer and government official who is the Director of National Intelligence in the Biden administration.
Haines previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor and Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the Obama administration, the first woman to hold this position.
Prior to her appointment to the CIA, she served as Deputy Counsel to the President for National Security Affairs in the Office of White House Counsel.

9. CoronaVac

CoronaVac is a COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac.
Beginning in mid-2020, the vaccine candidate was undergoing Phase III clinical research and trials in Brazil, Chile, Indonesia and Turkey.
CoronaVac uses a similar, more traditional technology as in BBIBP-CorV and BBV152, other inactivated-virus vaccines for COVID-19 in Phase III trials.

10. Serum Institute of India

Serum Institute of India is an Indian biotechnology and pharmaceuticals company.
It is the world's largest vaccine manufacturer.
It is located in the city of Pune, India, and was founded by Cyrus Poonawalla in 1966.
The company is a subsidiary of the holding company Poonawalla Investment and Industries.

11. Tsari Chu River Arunachal Tibet Border

Tsari Chu river is close to the McMahon Line, the de facto border with India's Arunachal Pradesh.
The Tsari Chu valley is considered holy ground by the Tibetans.
Dakpa Sheri (or Takpa Shiri), a mountain peak to the west of Migyitun, is regard so sacred that its circumabulation is believed to derive as much merit as that of Mount Kailas.

12. Zangnan

The term Zangnan is used for Southern Tibet.
The southern part of Tibet, covering the middle reaches of the YarlungTsangpo River Valley between Saga County to the west and Mainling County to the east, as well as neighbouring areas located between the Himalayas to the south and the Transhimalayas range to the north.
The region extends around 1,000 km from west to east and 300 km from north to south. By this definition, South Tibet includes most of modern-day Shigatse, Lhasa, Lhoka Prefecture and Nyingchi Prefecture.
When used in relation to the Sino-Indian border dispute, South Tibet is a term mainly used by China to refer to a Assam Himalaya region located south of the McMahon Line. This region was recognised by Tibet as belonging to British India under the McMahon Line agreement (part of the 1914 Simla Convention).
China does not recognise the McMahon Line and claims that the area belongs to Tibet instead.

13. Signal and Telegram Apps

Signal App: Signal is a cross-platform centralized encrypted messaging service developed by the Signal Technology Foundation and Signal Messenger LLC.
It uses the Internet to send one-to-one and group messages, which can include files, voice notes, images and videos. It can also be used to make one-to-one and group voice and video calls, and the Android version can optionally function as an SMS app.
Signal uses standard cellular telephone numbers as identifiers and secures all communications to other Signal users with end-to-end encryption. The apps include mechanisms by which users can independently verify the identity of their contacts and the integrity of the data channel.
Telegram App: Telegram is a freeware, cross-platform, cloud-based instant messaging (IM) software and application service.
The service also provides end-to-end encrypted video calling, VoIP, file sharing and several other features.
It was initially launched for iOS on 14 August 2013 and Android in October 2013.
The application servers of Telegram are distributed worldwide to decrease data load, while the operational center is currently based in Dubai.