Daily Current Events – 21st April 2021

Topics/Highlights

1. Travel Bubble
2. Russia is planning to launch own space station in 2025
3. South China Sea dispute
4. Council of the European Union
5. Demographic Advantage

Focus

1. Travel Bubble

In News

Sri Lanka has decided to postpone the launching of the ‘travel bubble’ with India in the wake of the recent increase in COVID – 19 cases in India.

Key Points

1. Travel Bubble involves reconnecting countries and states that have shown good success in the past in holding the novel coronavirus pandemic domestically.
2. It would allow the members of the group to regenerate trade ties with each other.
3. It will also allow the restart of industries like travel and tourism.
4. A potential travel bubble would account for around 35 percent of the global GDP.
5. Travel bubbles are usually being favoured by smaller countries, who are likely to benefit with large partners.

Source – The Hindu

2. Russia is planning to launch own space station in 2025

In News

Russia is planning to launch its own orbital station in 2025.

Key Points

1. Russia is taking into account the withdrawal from the International Space Station programme.
2. Russia lost its monopoly to the ISS last year for manned flights after the first successful mission of the U.S. by company SpaceX.

International Space Station

1. It was launched in 1998.
2. ISS involves Russia, the United States, Canada, Japan, and the European Space Agency.
3. It is one of the most ambitious international collaborations in human history.
4. It is a habitable artificial satellite revolving in low earth orbit.
5. It circles the Earth in around 93 minutes, completing 15.5 orbits per day.
6. It works for the scientific experiments which are conducted in astrobiology, astronomy, meteorology, physics, and other fields and serves as microgravity and space environment research laboratory.

Source – The Hindu

3. South China Sea dispute

In News

1. Philippine is planning to station military ships to the South China Sea. It is planning to maintain country’s claim over oil deposits 
2. The Philippine President has been facing domestic criticism for his resistance to confront China over the activities in Philippine-claimed waters.

South China Sea

1. It is a part of western pacific ocean in Southeast Asia.
2. It is in the east & south of Vietnam, south of China, west of the Philippines and north of the island of Borneo.
3. Taiwan Strait connects it with the East China Sea and Luzon Strait with Philippine Sea.
4. People’s Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam are the bordering countries.

Strategic Importance

1. The sea is of tremendous importance for the location and connecting link between Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean.
2. It is a significant geopolitical water body as one-third of the global shipping passes through it, according to UNCTAD.

Source – The Hindu

4. Council of the European Union

In News

The Council of the European Union concluded on European Union strategy for cooperation in the Indo-Pacific to contribute to regional stability at a time of  “rising challenges and tensions in the region”.

Key Points

1. It is the third of seven institutions in the EU listed in the Treaty on European Union.
2. It is the one of the three legislative arms with the European parliament for the approval and proposals of the European commission.
3. Founded on 1 July 1967.
4. Council jointly with the parliament holds the budgetary power of the Union.
5. It acts as the vetoing body of the EU’s legislative branch, the other being the European Parliament.

Source – The Hindu

5. Demographic Advantage 

In News

India’s demographic advantage is about to overtake China by the year 2035 according to China’s central bank report.

Key Points

1. China’s demographic transition is struggling with the problem of ageing population and dwindling work-force because of its stricter birth policies.
2. A report by People’s Bank of China (PBOC), China’s central bank, mentioned that China should liberalise its birth policies to tackle the problem of ageing population. It will help them to compete economically with the demographically young India.
3. The report also mentioned that the gap is narrowing between the two countries.
4. China’s economic growth has been faster than India’s but in recent times China’s demographic dividend is fading and India’s economic growth has proceeded towards China.
5. The report also said that India’s Labour force will exceed China by Hundreds of Millions in the coming years.
6. By 2015, India will have a much narrower elderly population at the top and wider workforce in the middle and the bottom reaching to a greater growth potential.

Source – All India Radio