Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 22 April 2021

SSC CGL Current Affairs

::NATIONAL::

The Union labour and employment ministry has set up control rooms across the country to receive and address on a war-footing, the grievances of workers who have been denied wages or retrenched during the national lockdown.
The labour ministry has made public a list of 60 officers -- essentially labour commissioners in 20 regions across the country -- along with their e-mail address and contact numbers. They will deal with distress calls from workers who are working under the ‘central sphere’.
This comes as a time when there is growing discontentment among workers living in shelter homes or relief camps in various states.
Hundreds of migrant workers from such camps in Surat, Gujarat took to the streets to demand logistical arrangements for them to return home. The workers, who went to the extent of torching vegetable carts, also asked for wages to be paid by their employers.

Greece is expected to finalise a deal with Saudi Arabia for the deployment of a Greek Patriot anti-aircraft system next week, two government officials in Athens.
Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos are due to travel to Riyadh next week to sign the agreement, one of the officials with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Greece will lend a battery of the U.S.-made Patriot anti-aircraft system to the kingdom to protect critical energy facilities, another official said on condition of anonymity.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which is battling a Saudi-led coalition that intervened in the country’s war in 2015, has stepped up drone and missile attacks on Saudi targets in recent weeks.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is governed by the WFP Executive Board, which consists of 36 Member States and provides intergovernmental support, direction and supervision of WFP’s activities.
The organization is headed by an Executive Director, who is appointed jointly by the UN Secretary-General and the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The Executive Director is appointed for fixed five-year terms and is responsible for the administration of the organization as well as the implementation of its programmes, projects and other activities. Since 2017, the post has been held by David Beasley.
WFP also has one Deputy Executive Director and four Assistant Executive Directors with specific briefs.
The organization's direction is mapped out in its Strategic Plan, which is renewed every four years. The 2017–2021 Strategic Plan aligns WFP with the 2030 Agenda, focusing on ending hunger and contributing to revitalized global partnerships to implement the Sustainable Development Goals.
WFP relies entirely on voluntary contributions for its funding. Its principal donors are governments, but the organizations also receive donations from the private sector and individuals.

Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine Covaxinneutralises multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 and effectively works against the double mutant strain as well, said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Wednesday.
In a tweet from its official handle, the ICMR said, “ICMR study shows Covaxinneutralises against multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2 and effectively neutralises the double mutant strain as well.” It added: “Covaxin has been found to effectively neutralise the double mutant strain as well.”
The B.1.617 or ‘double mutant” Indian variant carries two mutations, including the L452R and E484Q, which have been seen separately before in other variants but never together in one variant.
ICMR-National Institute of Virology (NIV) recently has been successful in isolating and culturing the double mutant strain B.1.617 SARS-CoV-2 identified in certain regions of India and several other countries, the ICMR stated.
Most of the mutations are known to decrease although not completely eliminate the binding of the antibodies created by infection or vaccination, said DrBaviskar.
Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin has not only received approval in India, but also in several international markets. The company is pursuing emergency-use authorisations in 60 countries now.