• The United States has retained India among many other countries on its currency manipulation watchlist.
• India was added to the list for a second time in December 2020.
• It was first added to the list in December 2018, and later removed in 2019.

Currency Manipulation

• The US Treasury Department uses three criteria to assess whether an economy has manipulated its currency or not:

1. Bilateral trade surplus with the US of more than $20 billion
2. Current account surplus of at least 3 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
3. Net purchases of foreign currency of 2 percent of GDP over 12 months.

Currency Manipulation

• This is a label given by the US government to countries it feels are engaging in “unfair currency practices” by deliberately devaluing their currency against the dollar.
• The practice would mean that the country in question is artificially lowering the value of its currency to gain an unfair advantage over others.
• This is because the devaluation would reduce the cost of exports from that country and artificially show a reduction in trade deficits as a result.

• Amazon has secured an agreement with space launch firm, United Launch Alliance (ULA), to support the deployment of its Project Kuiper satellites.

Project Kuiper

• In July, 2020, Amazon had received approval to build Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites to provide high-speed and low latency broadband service to under-served regions.
• US Federal Communication Commission (FCC) allows Amazon to deploy and operate a constellation of 3,236 inter-connected satellites to provide internet.
• In comparison to Amazon’s plan, SpaceX is working on blanketing the earth with nearly 12,000 LEO satellites by 2027.
• Apart from SpaceX and Amazon, Facebook, Boeing and Luxemborg-based LeoSat are also planning to enter the LEO-based internet business.

• Chad’s President Idriss Deby Itno died in combat after three decades in power.
• Mr. Deby had died from injuries sustained as he led his troops against rebels who launched an offensive against his regime from Libya last week.

Chad

• Chad is a landlocked state in north-central Africa.
• It is bounded on the north by Libya, on the east by Sudan, on the south by the Central African Republic, and on the west by Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger.

• The State Department of Archaeology has made some encouraging finds in the excavation at Maligaimedu near Gangaikondacholapuram, the capital of King Rajendra Chola I, in Tamil Nadu.

Gangaikondacholapuram

• It was established by King Rajendra Chola I (1012-1044 CE) after his victorious expedition up to the Gangetic plains.
• Excavations conducted earlier at Maligaimedu had revealed the remains of a royal palace.
• The previous excavations were carried out at the site on a smaller scale on six occasions when portions of the Rajendra Chola’s palace were unearthed.
• Antiques and other items found in the excavations are on display at a museum at Gangaikondacholapuram.

• Pale yellow urine is a sign of drinking enough water.
• If you are dehydrated, the urine will become a deep amber or even light brown.
• Pigments and other compounds in certain foods and medications can also change the urine colour.

Green New Deal (GND)

• Recently, the US President Joe Biden has unveiled his $2 trillion infrastructure plan, promising to fight climate change and create new jobs in the process.
• The Green New Deal is a resolution, a roadmap for what America needs to do to address climate change and avoid a global catastrophe.
• The resolution says the US must take a leading role in reducing emissions.
• The main goal is to reduce US’s greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2030 along with creating jobs, establishing universal healthcare, high minimum wages and integrating the US through public transport.
• It includes improvements to the public transport network to include more electric vehicles, and also investments in making the network denser.
• It aims to decarbonise the economy by reducing carbon emissions to net-zero by switching to 100 percent renewable energy sources.
• It aims to reduce emissions by implementing a zero-carbon standard for new buildings and funding for retrofitting of existing buildings that are dependent on natural gas for heating and cooling.

Saturation of Peripheral Oxygen (SpO2)

• The body needs there to be a certain level of oxygen in the blood or it will not function as efficiently.
• In fact, very low levels of SpO2 can result in very serious symptoms, this condition is known as hypoxemia.
• There is a visible effect on the skin, known as cyanosis due to the blue (cyan) tint it takes on.
• Hypoxemia, low levels of oxygen in the blood can turn into hypoxia (low levels of oxygen in the tissue).
• This progression and the difference between the two conditions is important to understand.
• Healthy individuals at sea level usually exhibit oxygen saturation values between 96% and 99%, and should be above 94%.
• At 1,600 meters' altitude (about one mile high) oxygen saturation should be above 92%.
• SaO2 (arterial oxygen saturation) value below 90% causes hypoxia, which can also be caused by anemia.
• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed SpO2 (Blood Oxygen Saturation) supplemental Oxygen Delivery System for soldiers posted at extreme high-altitude areas.

RESPOND Programme

• Under RESPOND, projects in the advanced areas of relevance to Space programme are encouraged to be taken up by premiere universities/academic institutions.
• ISRO helps the academic institutions to establish the necessary technical facilities and also provide fellowships to researchers to work on cutting edge research topics.
• ISRO provides financial support to Academic Institutions in India for conducting research and development activities related to Space Science, Space Technology and Space Applications.
• Its objective is to establish strong links with premiere academic institutions in the country to carry out research and developmental projects which are of relevance to Space.
• The research proposals received from academia for consideration under RESPOND are accepted for taking up research along with appropriate technical and financial support.
• Recently, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced that it will support the projects of IIT-Delhi under its RESPOND Programme.

World Press Freedom Index

• Recently, the Reporters without Borders (RSF) has released the 2021 edition of World Press Freedom Index.
• It is an annual report published every year since 2002 by Reporters without Borders (RSF).
• It is a qualitative analysis combined with quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period evaluated.
• It does not rank public policies even if governments obviously have a major impact on their country’s ranking.
• The countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with 0 being the best possible score and 100 the worst, ever since the 2013 index.
• It ranks 180 countries, topped by Norway followed by Finland and Denmark, while Eritrea is at the bottom.
• In the South Asian neighbourhood, Nepal is at 106, Sri Lanka at 127, Myanmar (before the coup) at 140, Pakistan at 145 and Bangladesh at 152.
• India is ranked 142 after it had consistently slid down from 133 in 2016.
• It continues to be counted among the countries classified “bad” for journalism, India shares the “bad” classification with Brazil, Mexico and Russia.
• India is termed as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists trying to do their jobs properly.

Reporters without Borders (RSF)

• It is an international journalism not-for profit body based in Paris.
• It is an independent NGO with consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF).
• It was founded by four journalists in the southern French city Montpellier in 1985.

Boao Forum for Asia (BFA)

• The Boao Forum for Asia is a non-profit organisation, was initiated in 2001 by 25 Asian countries and Australia (increased to 28 in 2006).
• It has provided a high-end platform for political, business and academic leaders in Asia and the world.
• The Forum is committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries even closer to their development goals.
• It has made positive contributions to the promotion of regional economic integration, common development and the building of a more prosperous and harmonious Asia.
• Recently BFA released an annual report on the Asian economy.