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■ Swachh Survekshan 2021: Indore becomes India’s first ‘Water Plus’ city. • India's cleanest city Indore has now been declared as the first 'Water Plus' city of the country under the Swachh Survekshan 2021. □ What is a Water Plus city? • As per the protocols of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, a city can be declared as Water Plus when all wastewater released from households, commercial establishments etc. is treated to a satisfactory level before releasing the treated wastewater to the environment. • In order to become a Water Plus City, it must be ensured that the dirty water from the city does not go into any river or drain. • Secondly, all public toilets in the city must be connected to sewer lines and must be cleaned. And finally, 30 per cent of the city’s sewer water has to be recycled and reused. • Subsequently, a Water Plus city certificate is allocated to a city for maintaining cleanliness in rivers and drains under its administration. • The Water PLUS protocol provided by the government aims to provide a guideline for cities and towns to ensure that no untreated wastewater is released into the environment thereby enabling sustainability of the sanitation value chain. • The focus of this mission goes parallel with the Government’s efforts towards conservation and reuse of water under the Jal Shakti Abhiyan in accordance with Sustainable Development Goals on clean water and sanitation. □ About Swachh Survekshan : • Swachh Survekshan was launched as a part of Swachh Bharat Mission. • It is an annual survey of cleanliness, hygiene and sanitation in cities and towns in India. • It is conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs since 2016. • Swachh Survekshan is the world’s largest urban sanitation and cleanliness survey which has been instrumental in fostering a spirit of healthy competition among towns and cities to improve their service delivery to citizens and towards creating cleaner cities. • The primary objective of Swachh Survekshans is to encourage large scale citizen participation while creating awareness amongst all sections of society about the importance of collective efforts towards making towns and cities better places to reside in.

Today's word 📚 Refute /rɪˈfjuːt/ (v) Meanings : •Prove (a statement or theory) to be wrong or false; disprove. •Prove that (someone) is wrong. •Deny or contradict (a statement or accusation). Examples : •Are you refuting the evidence? •We can easily refute his argument. •The evidence provided by the prosecutor will refute the defendant’s claim of innocence. https://youtu.be/iUmhPgqpl3c

■ WAY TO FREEDOM : • 1498 – A sea route connecting Europe to India came into the limelight in 1498 when Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama came to Calicut. • 1608 – The British landed in India for the purpose of trade in Surat on August 24, 1608. • 1746 to 1748 – 1st Carnatic war. • 1749 to 1754 – 2nd Carnatic war. • 1757 – Battle of Plassey - The British defeat Siraj-ud-daulah. This made British's dream of ruling India more assessable. • 1760 – Battle of Wandiwash (3rd Carnatic war)- The British defeat the French • 1764 – Battle of Buxar : The British defeat Mir Kasim. • 1765 –Treaty of Allahabad was signed on 12th August 1765 as a result of the Battle of Buxar. • 1765 – The British get Diwani Rights in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa • 1767 to 1769 – 1st Anglo Mysore War • 1772 – Warren Hastings appointed as Governor of Bengal • 1773 – The Regulating Act passed by the British Parliament • 1775 to1782 – 1st Anglo-Maratha war • 1780 to1784 – 2nd Anglo Mysore War. • 1784 – Pitt’s India Act • 1790 to1792 – 3rd Mysore War between the British and Tipu. The war ended with the Treaty of Seringapatam, 1792. • 1793 – Permanent Settlement of Bengal • 1799 – 4th Anglo Mysore War - The British defeated Tipu. Tipu died in this war. • 1802 – Treaty of Bassein [ Between English East India Company & Baji Rao II]. • 1803 to1805 – 2nd Anglo-Maratha war. • 1814 to1816 – The Anglo-Gurkha war. • 1817 to1818 – 3rd Anglo-Maratha war (The Pindari war). • 1824 to1826 – 1st Anglo-Burmese war • 1831 – Mysore administration taken over by East India Company. • 1833 – Slavery Abolition Act (Abolition of Slavery throughout the British Empire). • 1838 – Tripartite treaty between Shah Shuja, Ranjit Singh and the British • 1839 to1842 – First Anglo-Afghan war • 1843 – Gwalior war • 1845 to1846 – 1st Anglo-Sikh war • 1848 – Lord Dalhousie becomes the Governor-General • 1848 to1849 – 2nd Anglo-Sikh war • 1852 to 1953 – 2nd Anglo-Burmese war • 1857 – 1st War of Indian Independence(The Sepoy Mutiny) • 1858 – British Crown takes over the Indian Government • 1877 – The Queen of England proclaimed Empress of India. • 1878 – Vernacular Press Act (It curtailed the freedom of Indian language press). • 1878 to 1880 – 2nd Anglo-Afghan war. • 1885 – 3rd Anglo-Burmese war. • 1885 – Indian National Congress (INC) was formed. Its 1st session held in Bombay. • 1897 – Famine Commission • 1905 – Lord Curzon announced the Partition of Bengal • 1906 – Formation of Muslim League • 1911 – The Partition of Bengal was annulled and the two parts that were created 6 years back are reunited • 1911 – The Imperial capital shifted from Calcutta to Delhi • 1916 – Home Rule movement • 1919 – Rowlatt Act, Jalianwalla Bagh massacre • 1919 – Khilafat movement, 3rd Anglo-Afghan war • 1920 –  Non co-operation Movement • 1921 – Moplah (Muslim) rebellion in Malabar • 1922 –  Chauri-Chaura violence • 1927 – Simon Commission Appointed • 1928 – Simon Commission comes to India : Boycotted by all parties • 1929 – Lord Irwin promises Dominion Status for India; Trade Union split • 1930 – Civil Disobedience Movement, Salt Satyagraha (Dandi march), 1st Round Table Conference • 1931 – 2nd Round Table Conference; Irwin-Gandhi Pact • 1932 – 3rd Round Table Conference, Poona Pact • 1937 – Inauguration of Provincial Autonomy • 1942 – Cripps Mission, Quit India Movement, Indian National Army • 1944 – Gandhi-Jinnah Talks break down on Pakistan issue • 1946 – Interim Government formed, Constituent Assembly’s first meeting' • 3 June 1947 – Lord Mountbatten’s plan for partition of India • 15 Aug 1947 – Partition of India and Independence • 26 Nov 1949 – The Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution of India, and it came into effect on Jan 26, 1950 • 26 Jan 1950 – Declared itself a Sovereign, Democratic and Republic state with the adoption of the Constitution on January 26, 1950 □ Other Facts : • Adopted National Flag on 22 July 1947 • Adopted National Anthem on 24 January 1950 • Adopted National Song on 24 January 1950

Our forefathers bought our freedom with their hard work and sacrifice. Now we must work hard to create a better nation for generations that follow. Happy Independence Day 🇮🇳

📰 In NEWS : ● The maiden bilateral navel exercise between India and Saudi Arabia named "Al-Mohed Al-Hindi". ● India's attempt to place a geoimaging satellite (GISAT-1) with its GSLV-F10-EOS-3 mission did not succeed. • EOS-3 was the first state-of-art agile Earth Observation Satellite which would have been placed in a Geo-Synchronous orbit around the Earth. • The objectives of EOS-3 were to provide real-time imaging of large areas of the Earth; to monitor natural disasters from its position in the sky; to provide warnings for natural disasters, observe cyclones, cloudbursts, thunderclouds etc. • The GSLV Mark II is the largest launch vehicle built by India until now. The GSLV expands to geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle. As its name suggests, it can launch satellites that will travel in orbits that are synchronous with the Earth’s orbit. ● Asian elephants are listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of threatened species. ● Pakistan successfully test-fires Nuclear-capable ballistic missile. It's a surface to surface ballistic missle which can strike targets upto 290 kms. It's named Ghaznavi.

Consider the following statement about "The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)". 1. Created in 1989 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 2. The objective of the IPCC is to provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. 3. It is open to all member countries of the United Nations (UN) and WMO. Currently, 189 countries are members of the IPCC. 4. IPCC does not conduct any research nor does it monitor climate related data or parameters.

■ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) : • IPCC is an intergovernmental body of United Nations (UN). • It was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to provide policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. • It was endorsed by United Nations General Assembly later. • Membership to IPCC is open for all the members of the WMO and UN. • The IPCC currently has 195 members. • It provides objective scientific information in order to understand human-induced climate change, its natural, political & economic impacts and possible response options. • IPCC assessments provide a scientific basis for governments at all levels to develop climate-related policies and also underlie climate negotiation at the UN Climate Conference – the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). • The main objective of UNFCCC is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. • IPCC does not carry out original research. It does not monitor climate or related phenomena itself. However, it conducts a systematic review of published literature and then produces a comprehensive assessment report. □ IPCC assessment reports : • The IPCC assessment reports have been extremely influential in directing the dialogue and action on climate change. • It recently published its sixth assessment report (AR6) titled “Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis”. IPCC in its report confirmed that, Indian Ocean was warming at a rate higher than other oceans. • The five previous assessment reports that have come out since the IPCC was established in 1988 have formed the basis of international climate change negotiations, and the actions of the governments. • The First Assessment Report led to the setting up of the UNFCCC, the umbrella agreement under which international negotiations on climate change take place every year. • The Second Assessment Report was the basis for the 1997 Kyoto Protocol that ran till last year, and the Fifth Assessment Report, which came out in 2014, guided the Paris Agreement. □ Key findings of 6th Assessment report : • The report notes that the Carbon dioxide has been and will continue to be the dominant cause of global warming under all greenhouse gas emissions scenarios. • The report brings out that the monsoon rainfall is expected to intensify in all ranges of the projected scenarios. Intensity and frequency of heavy rainfall events are projected to be on the rise. • Heat waves and humid heat stress will become more intense and frequent over Southeast Asia during the 21st century. • Both summer and annual monsoon precipitation will increase, with enhanced inter annual variability over Southeast Asia. • Relative sea level around Asia increased faster than global average, with coastal area loss and shoreline retreat. Regional mean sea level will continue to rise. • Report highlights, even if the temperature is limited 1.5 degree Celsius from pre-industrial levels, extreme weather events will be witnessed.

📰 News : Lok Sabha clears Bill restoring States’ rights to specify OBC groups. • The Constitution 127th Amendment Bill, 2021 seeks to restore the power of State governments to identify Other Backward Classes that are socially and economically backward after a Supreme Court order in May 2021, which had empowered only the Central government for such identification. • The amendment was thought necessary because the SC in its order on Maratha reservations upheld the 102nd Constitutional Amendment Act that inserted Articles 338B and 342 A (with two clauses) after Article 342 which said that the President of India, in consultation with governors would specify socially and economically backward classes, taking away the powers of state governments to do so. • In the Indra Sawhney case (1992), the court has observed that the limit can be increased beyond the 50% but only in certain special circumstances. □ Articles 338B & 342A : • 102nd Constitution Amendment Act inserted new Articles 338 B and 342 A. • The Supreme Court said that after the insertion of Article 342A in the Constitution, the Centre alone is empowered to identify Socially and Economically Backward Class (SEBC). • The top court added that the states can, through their existing mechanisms, or even statutory commissions, only make suggestions to the President or the Backward Class Commission under Article 338B, for inclusion, exclusion or modification of castes or communities, in the list to be published under Article 342A (1).

Consider the following statements about "e-RUPI" : 1. e-RUPI is a cashless and contact less instrument for digital payment. 2. It is a QR code or SMS string-based e-Voucher, which is delivered to the mobile of the beneficiaries. 3. It has been developed by the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and National Health Authority. 4. Being pre-paid in nature, it assures timely payment to the service provider without involvement of any intermediary.

■ e-RUPI : • e-RUPI is a cashless and contactless instrument for digital payment. • It is a QR code or SMS string-based e-Voucher, which is delivered to the mobile of the beneficiaries. • The users of this seamless one-time payment mechanism will be able to redeem the voucher without a card, digital payments app, or internet banking access, at the service provider. • It has been developed by the National Payments Corporation of India on its UPI platform, in collaboration with the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, and National Health Authority. • e-RUPI connects the sponsors of the services with the beneficiaries and service providers in a digital manner without any physical interface. • It also ensures that the payment to the service provider is made only after the transaction is completed. • Being pre-paid in nature, it assures timely payment to the service provider without the involvement of any intermediary. • It is expected to be a revolutionary initiative in the direction of ensuring a leak-proof delivery of welfare services. • e-RUPI does not require the beneficiary to have a bank account. • It ensures an easy, contactless two-step redemption process that does not require sharing of personal details either. • The e-RUPI will ensure that the purpose for which any help or any benefit is being given; it will be used for that only. • If it intends to vaccinate 100 poor people, it can give e-RUPI vouchers to those 100 poor people. The e-RUPI voucher will ensure that it is used only for vaccination and not for any other purpose. • Another advantage is that e-RUPI is operable on basic phones also, and hence it can be used by persons who do not own smart-phones or in places that lack internet connection. • e-RUPI is expected to play a major role in strengthening Direct-Benefit Transfer and making it more transparent. Since, there is no need for physical issuance of vouchers, it will also lead to some cost savings as well.