Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 22-01-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 22-01-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. NPR: Questions on parents may be dropped– Chief of key BJP ally LokJanshakti Party (LJP) and Union Minister, Ram Vilas Paswan said the government may consider the widespread demand to remove the questions on date and place of birth of a respondent’s parents from the National Population Register. The government would agree to the demand and had repeatedly clarified that the production of documents would not be mandatory. So far, there is no official notification from the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is helming the exercise, on changes to the NPR form. The government has not yet notified the NPR form, but fears about its links with NRC are spurring protests.
2. Census 2021: data can be filled online –In the second phase of the Census exercise that will be conducted in February 2021, respondents will have the option to fill in details on their own. The ‘population enumeration’ phase of the Census — which is to be carried out from February 9 to 28, 2021 — will have the facility of online self-enumeration for the public. The respondent could register online and fill in the details and share the reference number with the enumerators when they arrive. Around 30 lakh enumerators, mostly government officials and government school teachers, will each be assigned the responsibility of collecting details of about 650-800 people online and offline.
3. Coronavirus outbreak –As six deaths were reported in China due to the Novel Coronavirus, Dr. Roderico Ofrin, Regional Emergency Director, World Health Organisation (WHO) South-East Asia Region, has said much remains to be understood about the virus. An emergency meeting of the WHO will assess the situation. It will decide whether the situation constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, and what recommendations should be made. The death toll from the virus in China climbed to six as new cases surged beyond 300. Thailand has reported two cases and South Korea one, all involving Chinese travellers from Wuhan. Japan and Taiwan also confirmed one case each. WHO is dealing with the matter as well, on urgent basis.
4. Indian Railways: possibilities of PPP mode –Even with an annual capital expenditure of about Rs. 1.6 lakh crore for the Railways — which is the highest-ever — it will take decades to complete the sanctioned projects, the Ministry of Railways told a parliamentary panel adding that public private partnership (PPP) is the only way out. The transporter needs Rs. 50 lakh crores to complete the sanctioned projects till 2030. The Centre said it does not plan to privatise the Railways and Union Minister PiyushGoyal had clarified in the past that there was a proposal to outsource the commercial and on-board services of a few trains and to permit private players to induct modern rakes to run trains on select routes to improve services.
   
5. Thirty Metre Telescope: proposed place could change –India, a partner in the construction of one of the largest telescopes in the world, wants the project to be moved out of the proposed site at Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano in Hawaii. The TMT or Thirty Metre Telescope, is a joint venture (JV) involving five countries, but the $2 billion project has been spoiled by protests for over a decade. The proposed site is considered sacred to indigenous Hawaiians, and also has too many observatories for one more such massive establishment to come up.
6. US-Iran relations: $3 mn to kill Trump – An Iranian lawmaker offered a $3 million reward to anyone who killed U.S. President Donald Trump and said Iran could avoid threats if it had nuclear arms. U.S. disarmament Ambassador Robert Wood dismissed the reward asridiculous and said that it showed the terrorist underpinningsof Iran's establishment. Tensions have escalated since the U.S. pulled out of Tehran’s nuclear agreement and reimposed sanctions. The standoff erupted into tit-for-tat military strikes in Jan 2020.
   
7. Hacking charges on Journalist Glenn Greenwald –Federal prosecutors charged U.S. journalist Glenn Greenwald with assisting a group of hackers who intercepted the cellular phone calls of Justice Minister Sergio Moro when he was the judge handling Brazil's biggest-ever corruption case. The Intercept website edited by Mr. Greenwald published damaging conversations between Mr. Moro and prosecutors in the Car Wash investigation that showed the judge advising them in the case against now jailed former leftist president LuizInacio Lula da Silva.
   
8. Zomato purchasesUber Eats in $300 million– Zomato announced the acquisition of Uber’s food delivery business Uber Eats, in India, in an all-stock deal that will give the U.S.-headquartered ride-hailing services 9.99% stake in Zomato. Effective from Jan 21, 2020, Uber Eats’ operations in the country have been discontinued and users, along with restaurants and delivery partners are being directed to Zomato. Uber, which is aiming to turn profitable by 2021, had launched Uber Eats in India in 2017, and has about 26,000 restaurants listed on the platform across 41 cities.
9. FMCG growth in single digit in 2019: Nielsen – After two years of double-digit growth, the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment slowed down to single digit growth in 2019 even as the last quarter of the previous calendar year indicated that the slowdown is showing signs to reduce. According to Nielsen, FMCG grew at 9.7% in 2019, much lower than the previous year’s growth of 13.5%. Further, the growth trend was dampened by a drop in volume growth — down to 5.8% from 10.5% in 2018 — while price-led growth sustained at 3.4%.
10. Rearming of anti-defection law – In an important order aimed at rearming the anti-defection law, the Supreme Court set three months as the outer limit for the Speaker to conclude disqualification proceedings against defectors. It also recommended that keeping in view the partisan conduct of Speakers, Parliament should amend the Constitution to set up a permanent tribunal to decide cases under the 10th Schedule.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	UPSC	Enforcement Officer/ Accounts Officer	421	Any Degree	Jan 31, 2020	https://upsconline.nic.in/oraepfo/EOA.pdf
2	UPSC	Principal Library, Sr Div. Medical Officer, Asst Professor, Lecturer	24	PG (Relevant Discipline)	Jan 30, 2020	https://upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/Advt-01-2020-Engl_0.pdf
3	RBI	Assistant	926	Any Degree	Jan 24, 2020	https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/Bs_viewcontent.aspx?Id=3806
4	TN State Coop. Bank	Assistant, Jr. Assistant	300	Any Degree	Feb 1, 2020	http://www.tncoopsrb.in/doc_pdf/Notification_1.pdf
5	NABARD	Officer Gr A (Asst. Manager)	150	Degree, PG (Relevant Disciplines)	Feb 3, 2020	https://www.nabard.org/careers-notices.aspx?cid=545&id=26
6	UPSC	NDA & NA (I), 2020	418	Class 12	Jan 28, 2020	https://upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/Notif-NDANA-I-2020-Eng.pdf
7	UPSC	Civil Service Exam 2019 (DAF II)	896	Any Degree	Jan 27, 2020	https://upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/Advt-04-19-Engl_0.pdf

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• SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

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• 1. CONSTITUTION AND LAW (Prelims, GS Paper 2, Essay paper)

1.1 Not Available Today                                                                    

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• 2.1 ECONOMY (Prelims, GS Paper 3, Essay paper)

2.1  Only hallmarked jewellery made of 14, 18 and 22 carat gold can be sold from Jan 15, 2021

• Context - Jewellers can sell only hallmarked jewellery and artefacts made of 14, 18 and 22 carat gold from January 15, 2021 and violation of this will attract penalty and imprisonment of one year.
• Details - A notification to make mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery from January 15, 2021 was issued on January 16 by the Consumer Affairs Ministry.
• For Jewellers - Jewellers have been given one year-time to register with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and implement the mandatory hallmarking of gold jewellery. The penalty would be Rs. 1 lakh to five times of the value of the commodity and also one year imprisonment.
• For Consumers - Consumers have to watch out for four marks on hallmarked gold jewellery: Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) mark, purity in carat, assay centre’s name and jewellers’ identification mark. 
• What is Gold hallmarking? – Gold hallmarking is a purity certification by the BIS. The BIS symbol certifies that the jewellery has BIS standards.  Therefore, one must ensure that jewellery has a BIS hallmark. It has a triangular mark as a purity certification of gold. Apart from that, the year of manufacturing of the product and the logo of the producer are also there. It is voluntary in nature at present. The BIS is already running a hallmarking scheme for gold jewellery since April 2000 and around 40 per cent of gold jewellery is being hallmarked currently. 
• 14, 18 and 22 carat gold - Instead of nine grades earlier, hallmarked gold jewellery will now be available in three grades of 14 carat, 18 carat and 22 carat. 14, 18 or 22 karat gold is made by mixing pure gold with copper, nickel, zinc, etc. These non-gold metals are added to make the alloy more durable than pure gold, which is very soft. 14 carat gold contains 58.3% gold, 18 carat gold contains 75% gold and 22 carat gold contains 91.67% gold. 
• Present status of Hallmarking - At present, there are 892 assaying and hallmarking centres in 234 district locations, and 28,849 jewellers have taken BIS registration. 
• Gold: Demand and Import - India is the largest importer of gold, which mainly caters to the demand of jewellery industry. In volume terms, the country imports 700-800 tonne of gold annually. 

1. According to World Gold Council data, India's cumulative gold demand declined to 496.11 tonne during the first nine months of 2019 from 523.9 tonne in the year-ago period. In 2018, gold demand stood at 760.4 tonne.
2. Similarly, the cumulative gold import declined to 502.9 tonnes in the first nine months of 2019 from 587.3 tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous year. India's gold imports stood at 755.7 tonnes in 2018.

• Significance - Hallmarking will curb frauds and fake gold jewellery. As per the data released by the World Gold Council (WGC) India’s gold import in the first nine months of 2019 was 496.11 tonnes. It was 523.9 tonne in the year 2018. On the other hand, according to the World Trade Organization's global trade rules, member countries have to notify their quality control order with Geneva-based multilateral body and the process takes about two months’ time. India is a part of the 164-member WTO since 1995.        
  
                                                      

2.2  Yudhvir Singh Malik appointed as CMD of crisis-hit real estate firm Unitech by the government.

 

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• 3. ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY (Prelims, GS Paper 3, Essay paper)

3.1 The World Economic Forum along with various partners launched 1t.org, a multi-stakeholder effort to support efforts to grow, restore and conserve one trillion trees around the world.

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• 4. FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Prelims, GS Paper 2, Essay paper)

4.1 Impeachment trial of US President Donald Trump began in senate

• Context - United States President Donald Trump's historic impeachment trial began in the Senate on January 21, 2020.
• Details - This is only the third time in history that an American President is facing an impeachment trial.Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton are the two other US Presidents who have been impeached earlier, while Richard Nixon missed the proceedings after he tendered resignation before the trial. Chief Justice John Roberts will preside over the trial.
• Charges - Trump is facing two articles of impeachment, or charges.

1.  Firstly, he is accused of seeking help from Ukraine's government to help himself get re-elected this November. He is alleged to have held back millions of dollars of military aid to Ukraine and dangled a proposed White House meeting with Ukraine's president, both as bargaining chips. In exchange, witnesses say he wanted Ukraine to publicly announce an investigation into Joe Biden, the man who's leading the Democratic race to challenge him in the election.
2. Secondly, after the White House refused to allow staff to testify at the first impeachment hearings last year, Democrats accused Mr Trump of obstructing Congress, the part of the US government that writes and brings in laws, and which was investigating him.

• Trump’s point - The brief echoes the repeated assertions of the 73-year-old President Trump that the saga is a political witch hunt and a hoax, and that his phone call with the Ukrainian leader was perfect.
  Trump’s point - The brief echoes the repeated assertions of the 73-year-old President Trump that the saga is a political witch hunt and a hoax, and that his phone call with the Ukrainian leader was perfect.
• Conclusion - The lawmakers will decide if Trump abused his office and obstructed Congress as charged in two articles of impeachment.

 4.2 Founder, Chairperson and Managing Director of Biocon Biopharmaceutical Company Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has been awarded the — ‘Order of Australia’ — Australia’s highest civilian honour. 

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• 5. GOVERNMENT SCHEMES (Prelims, GS Paper 2, GS Paper 3)

5.1 Not Available Today

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• 6. MISCELLANEOUS (Prelims, Various GS Papers)

6.1 Defence - Indian Navy signed MoU with Geological Survey of India (GSI) for sharing of offshore data.                                                                      

6.2 Sports – New inductees in All India Council of Sports.. 

• Celebrated Wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt and Paralympian Deepa Malik among new inductees in All India Council of Sports (AICS).
• Sachin Tendulkar and chess wizard Viswanathan Anand omitted for not being "active" enough.
• Formed in 2015, AICS is an advisory body to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
• Veteran sports administrator V. K. Malhotra is President of AICS.

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1  Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Nepal K. P. Sharma Oli jointly inaugurated second integrated border check post (ICP) at Jogbani-Biratnagar. First ICP was built in Raxaul-Birgunj in 2018.


7.2  Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura celebrated their Statehood Day on January 21.

7.3  Uttarakhand becomes first state to implement agricultural land leasing policy.

                                                                

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• 8. SOCIAL ISSUES (Prelims, GS Paper 1, GS Paper )

8.1 National Bravery Awards 2019

• Twenty two children - 10 girls and 12 boys - from 12 states have been selected for the Indian Council of Child Welfare (ICCW) National Bravery Awards 2019.
• One award has been given posthumously.
  
• Indian Council of Child Welfare (ICCW) has instituted five special awards this year -- ICCW Markandeya Award, ICCW Dhruva Award, ICCW Abhimanyu Award, ICCW Prahalada Award & ICCW Shravan Award.
• The National Bravery Awards were started by the Indian Council for Child Welfare in 1957 to recognise children for outstanding deeds of bravery and meritorious service and to inspire others to emulate their example.
• The selected children get financial assistance through donations from philanthropists till they complete graduation. Those opting for professional courses such as engineering and medicine get financial support through scholarship schemes.

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• 9. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (Prelims, GS Paper 3)

9.1 Indian researchers won Merck Young Scientist Award 2019

• Context - Indian researchers have received first Merck Young Scientist Award 2019 in Chemical Sciences recently at Bangalore instituted by Merck, a science and technology company operating worldwide.
• Details -Merck Young Scientist Award is given to researchers with less than ten years of experience with expertise in solving some of the toughest problems in chemical sciences.
• Recipient(s) –Dr.Sakya Singha Sen, a senior scientist from National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Pune has been awarded for doing remarkable research in chemical science.
• The other recipient of the award are Dr Debojyoti Chakraborty, Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi (IGIB); Dr Dipyaman Ganguly, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata (CSIR-IICB); Dr Siddhesh S Kamat, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune; Dr Mahendran K R, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram (RGCB) and; Dr Basker Sundararaju, Indian Institute of Technology, (IIT) Kanpur.
• Research Work -Sen and his research team specializes in main group chemistry and involves in the synthesis of compounds with main group element and their catalytic application. All the catalysts currently used mostly belong to precious metals platinum, palladium, iridium etc. These are very expensive and their abundance in the earth is very less. They can’t be used for longer period as there are chances that these may finish soon. Dr.Sen and group are trying to do the same chemical transformation with Earth’s abundance metals like silicon and calcium. Silicon is second most Earth’s abundance metal and calcium is fifth most.
• Prize Amount - The winners received cash award of INR 2,00,000 and Travel Award of INR 1,50,000 each.
• About Merck - Merck is a global company working on breakthrough solutions and technologies in more than sixty countries. It has been functional for more than 350 years, found by Friedrich Jacob Merck in Darmstadt, Germany in 1668. It invested a total of € 2.2 billion in research and development.

10. Facts, Charts and Rankings (Prelims)

10.1 Ranking – World Investment Report 2019 by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

• Global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in 2019 was US $ 1.39 trillion (1% decline from 2018).
• United States remained the largest recipient of FDI at US $ 251 billion in 2019.
• India among top 10 recipients of FDI in 2019, attracting US $ 49 billion (16% increases from 2018).

• Download pdf of the report from here –

https://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/wir2019_overview_en.pdf

10.2 Daily dose of FIVE Facts -

1. IRBM stands for Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile.
2. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was the first Education Minister of independent India.
3. ‘BRICS: Economic Growth for An Innovative Future’ was theme of the Eleventh BRICS Summit was organised in Brasilia in Nov 2019.
4. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar represented India at the second annual Paris Peace Forum organised in Nov 2019.
5. The World Pneumonia Day was observed on November 12.

10.3  Today’s best editorials to read

• We offer you 7 excellent editorials from across 10 newspapers we have scanned. 

CLICK HERE TO OPEN AND READ!

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• SECTION 3 - MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions)

Solve the online quiz given, right now. Check scores, and relative performance!

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