Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 04-02-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 04-02-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Religious practices protected or not? – Renowned jurist and senior advocate Fali Nariman has objected to the manner in which the Supreme Court turned a review of the Sabarimala case into an opportunity to set up a nine-judge Bench and examine whether certain essential religious practices of various faiths, including Islam and Zoroastrianism, should be constitutionally protected. The CJI observed orally that Mr. Nariman had a formidable point there. The Sabarimala case review by a five-judge Bench, led by then CJI Ranjan Gogoi, took a curious turn on November 14 last. The Bench sidestepped the task of reviewing the September 2018 judgment, which declared the prohibition on the entry of women of menstruating age into the Sabarimala temple as discriminatory.Instead, the Bench referred seven questions, including whether essential religious practices should be afforded constitutional protection under Article 26 (freedom to manage religious affairs), to a larger Bench.
2. Children falling in borewells, what are the measures taken? : SC – The Supreme Court sought a response from the Centre and States on measures taken to prevent children from falling into abandoned or open borewells. A Bench led by Justice Arun Mishra issued notice on a petition filed by advocate G.S. Mani seeking the court to ask the governments at the State and Central levels to file a report on the action taken against errant officials whose neglect led to the tragic deaths of children trapped in borewells. Mr. Mani’s petition was filed in October last year in the wake of the death of two-year-old Sujith Wilson after he got trapped in an abandoned borewell in Tiruchi in Tamil Nadu. Mr. Mani said authorities remain negligent about safety measures concerning borewells despite Supreme Court directions in 2010.He annexed several news reports of borewell deaths in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra over the years.
3. Membrane based water purification devices will be banned if water quality meets BIS standards – The Union Environment Ministry has published a draft notification that effectively prohibits users from installing membrane-based water purification, mainly reverse osmosis, systems in their homes if the water has been sourced from a supply that meets the Bureau of Indian Standards’ (BIS) drinking water norms. The proposed regulation is not the final word and the Ministry will await comments from the public for 30 days, after which it may incorporate the changes before it becomes a law. The Delhi Jal Board, among others, claims that the water it supplies meets BIS norms.The Water Quality Association of India, which represents companies that make RO systems, had moved the Supreme Court for a stay of the NGT’s order.
4. NBWL permits road through Tiger reserve – After years of back and forth, work on the controversial Laldhang-Chillarkhal road may soon start as the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has given a go-ahead to the project. The road, proposed to minimise travel time between Garhwal and Kumaon, will cut through the reserve forest area of Rajaji Tiger Reserve (RTR), which has a healthy wildlife population. The 11.5-km-long road also includes a 4.5 km stretch from Chamaria Bend to Siggadi Sot — which is the sole wildlife corridor between Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) and RTR, which are the two premier sanctuaries of Uttarakhand.In June 2019, the project had been put on hold by the SC, which had directed the state government to first get clearance from National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and NBWL before commencing with the motor road project.
5. Suicides in Indian Armed Forces – Over 1,110 soldiers, airmen and sailors ended their lives in the last decade, once again underlining the urgent need for much better suicide prevention interventions in the over 14-lakh strong Indian armed forces. The defence ministry says several measures have been taken over the years to reduce stress among military personnel, ranging from counselling, yoga and grievance redressal mechanisms to improvements in food, clothing, married accommodation and a liberalised leave policy. Latest figures show there were over 895 suicides in the over-12-lakh Army in the 2010-2019 time-frame, followed by 185 and 32 in the muchsmaller IAF and Navy, respectively.
6. Coronavirus outbreak HIGHLIGHTS – With three confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan declared the outbreak as a state disaster. The third case of coronavirus emerged from Kerala’s Kasaragod district, a day after a student tested positive. With a similar background as the first two cases, this patient is also a student from Wuhan and is currently admitted to an isolation ward at a hospital in Kanjangad in the district. As the Philippines reported a death due to Coronavirus— first one outside mainland China— the death toll crossed 360. As the virus is spreading across the globe, it is likely to become a pandemic, according to world’s leading infectious disease experts.
7. Turkey-Syria struggle – Turkish and Syrian troops traded fire in northwest Syria, with more than 20 reported dead, further raising tension between Ankara and regime ally Moscow over the war-torn Idlib region on Turkey's border. Russian air strikes also killed 14 civilians in the same area, as the World Health Organization warned dozens of medical facilities had been closed amid a fierce government offensive.
8. 1917 won 73rd British Academy Film Awards – Gut-wrenching World War I epic 1917 was the big winner at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards, winning seven prizes including best picture and best director.Sam Mendes’ drama about one of the most devastating conflicts in British history bested hotly tipped American contenders including Joker, The Irishman and Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood at a glitzy London event that was overshadowed by criticism of the nominees’ lack of diversity —  even from some of the nominees themselves.
9. Manufacturing PMI at 8-year high – The manufacturing sector which is blamed for dragging down economic growth in current fiscal year, rose to an eight year high in January, according to the widely-tracked purchasing managers’ index (PMI) survey. The IHS Markit India Manufacturing PMI rose from 52.7 in Dec. 2019 to 55.3 in Jan 2020, its highest level in just under eight years.
10. Tatas to bid Air India – The Tatas appear to be moving closer to a decision to bid for Air India in partnership with Singapore Airlines and have already started working of the structure for such acquisition – including a merger of Air Asia India, in which they hold 51% and Air India Express, a 100% subsidiary of the government-owned national carrier.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	MUCBL	Clerical Trainee	40	M.Com, M.Sc, MCA, MBA	Feb 24, 2020	https://www.mucbank.com/mucb/downloads/recruitment_of_clerical_trainee.png
2	SCTIMST	Technician	6	10th Class, ITI	Feb 7, 2020	https://www.sctimst.ac.in/recruitment/resources/TECHNICIAN%20(ELECTRICAL)%20-%20TEMPORARY,%20DATE%20&%20TIME%2011.02.2020%20-%20%2009.00%20AM.pdf
3	AIIMS, Bhopal	Programme Coord., Field Monitor, other	13	Any Degree, PG	Feb 21, 2020	http://aiimsbhopal.edu.in/project/CSAM&AMB%20Feb20%20Ad.pdf
4	Physical Research Lab.	Technical Trainee	15	ITI	Feb 7, 2020	https://www.prl.res.in/~notices/Advertisement/2020/02/07/advertisment_workshop_hindi_2020-_pdf.pdf
5	ECIL	Technical Officer	7	B.E/ B.Tech, MCA/ M.Sc	Feb 15, 2020	http://www.ecil.co.in/jobs/Advt_No_09_2020.pdf
6	THSTI	Principal Scientist – I, II, other	14	MD, M.V.Sc, Ph.D	Feb 10, 2020	https://thsti.in/ethsti/writereaddata/157857358469THS-RN-08-2020.pdf
7	NIT, Rourkela	Librarian, Superintending Eng.	58	10+2, Degree, PG	Feb 12, 2020	https://www.nitrkl.ac.in/docs/Announcement/13012020132021824.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 Gram Nyayalayas Act 2008
 

• Context : SC directs states to issue notification for establishing 'Gram Nyayalayas' within four weeks.
• Background:An Act passed by Parliament in 2008 provided for setting up of 'Gram Nyayalayas' at the grass roots level for providing access to justice to citizens at the doorstep and to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to anyone by reason of social, economic or other disabilities.
• Details -The apex court also asked the high courts to expedite the process of consultation with state governments on this issue.The bench comprising of Justices NV Ramana, Sanjiv Khanna and Krishna Murari was considering a PIL filed by National Federation Of Societies For Fast Justice.
• Reasons -The court noted that though some States have issued Notifications for establishing the Gram Nyayalayas, all the established Gram Nyayalayas are not functioning. In some of the States, the proposals for establishing the Gram Nyayalayas are pending before the High Court for consultation and some of the States have not yet initiated the process of issuing Notifications for establishing such Nyayalayas, the bench observed. In this context, the bench issued the following directives.
• States in which notifications are pending - So far only 11 states have taken steps to notify Gram Nyayalayas. States like Gujarat, Haryana, Telangana, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha have not yet filed their affidavits on this issue despite the apex court's last year direction.
• Uttar Pradesh has issued notification for establishing 113 'Gram Nyayalayas', out of which only 14 are functioning, while the state had to establish 822.
• Only 208 'Gram Nyayalayas' are functioning in the country as against 2,500 estimated to be required by the 12th five-year plan.
  

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• 2. ECONOMY (Prelims, GS Paper 3, Essay paper

2.1 Global Potato Conclave, 2020

• Edition – 3rd (Two past conferences were organized in 1999 and 2008)
• Time – January 28 to 31, 2020
• Frequency – every 10 years
• Place – Gandhinagar, Gujarat
• Significance - Potato is the third most important food crop in the world after rice and wheat in term of human consumption.
• Background - Its importance in food and nutritional security of the world had led to official declaration of year 2008 as the International Year of the Potato by the United Nations. World Potato Day is celebrated on August 19 every year.
• The growth of potato in the world has been phenomenal during last six decades (1961 to 2016). During the period, although the area under potato has decreased from 22.14 to 19.24 million hectare, the production increased by nearly 40% (270.55 to 376.82 million tonnes) with a productivity increase of about 60%  (12.21 to 19.5 t/ha).
  

2.2 Hubbali-Dharwad Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project inaugurated in Karnataka by Vice President.

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

3.1 World Future Energy Summit, 2020

• Edition – 13th
• Time – January 13 to 16, 2020
• Place – Abu Dhabi
• Significance – The largest annual conference of World on renewable and future energy solutions.
• Rethinking Global Consumption, Production, and Investment.

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

4.1 Mohammad Allawi appointed new Prime Minister of Iraq

• After two months of political deadlock, Iraqi President Barham Salih appointed Mohammed Allawi to replace caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.
• Adel Abdul Mahdi resigned in late November in the face of widespread anti-government protests.
• Mr. Allawi was former communications minister.
• About Mr. Alawi –  

1. A cousin of former vice president and prime minister Iyad Allawi, the 65-year-old prime minister-designate is a native of Baghdad and a Shia Muslim.
2. He earned an engineering degree from the American University of Beirut in the 1980s and began his political career after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq that toppled longtime President Saddam Hussein.
3. A member of parliament until 2005, he then served twice as communications minister under former President Nouri al-Maliki.
4. Allawi resigned in 2012, accusing al-Maliki of political interference in his ministry and the government of turning a blind eye to corruption.

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

5.1 Mukhyamantri Krishak Durghatna Kalyan Yojana

• Uttar Pradesh Cabinet on January 22, 2020 approved the implementation of 'Mukhyamantri Krishak Durghatna Kalyan Yojana'.
• Under this scheme, assistance of up to Rs 5 lakh will be provided to the dependents of a farmer, who dies or becomes divyang (physically disabled), due to an accident and if their age at the time of the accident is between 18 years and 70 years.
• The scheme can be availed by filling an application form within 45 days of the farmer's death or becoming divyang. 
• If the deceased or divyang is having insurance under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana or any other scheme provided by the government, then the amount to be provided to the beneficiary under Mukhyamantri Krishak Durghatna Kalyan Yojana will be adjusted accordingly.
  

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• 6. MISCELLANEOUS (Prelims, Various GS Papers)

6.1 Accidents and Natural Disasters –Weekly Roundup

• Indian Navy launched 'Operation Vanilla' to help cyclone-hit Madagascar.
• Tropical Cyclone Tino batters Fiji

1. Tropical Cyclone Tino strengthened to a Category Three storm on January 18, 2020
2. It closed in on Tonga after battering Fiji where two people were missing and more than 3,000 fled to emergency shelters.

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Conference of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region

• Edition – 7th
• Time – January 16 to 19, 2020
• Place – Lucknow, Uttar  
• It was inaugurated by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
• The India Region of CPA consists of the India Union Branch (Parliament of India) and 30 States/ Union Territories Branches besides India Union Branch.
• The conference was organised to discuss the capacity building of legislators for scrutinizing budgetary proposals and enhancing the focus of legislators on legislative business.

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• 8. SOCIAL ISSUES (Prelims, GS Paper 1, GS Paper 2)

8.1 Sri Lanka ranks first in Breast Feeding support Policies and Programs

• Sri Lanka has ranked first among 97 countries globally on breastfeeding rate according to a new survey conducted by the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi).
• Sri Lanka’s rank is based on its performance on ten indicators of policies and programs.
• WBTi uses to color- code and rank countries.
• Sri Lanka has scored 91 out of 100 points and earned a green color code, which implies best level of performance.
• Experts at the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India in Delhi developed the WBTi and launched it worldwide.
• So far, 120 countries have been involved in WBTi and 97 have completed assessments.
• India ranked 78th with a score of 45.0 and got yellow colour code.
• About WBTi - Launched in 2004, the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) assists countries to assess the status of and benchmark the progress in implementation of the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding in a standard way. It is based on the WHO's tool for national assessment of policy and programmes on infant and young child feeding.
   

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

9.1 National Space Challenge organised by National Design and Research Forum in Vellore

• Twelve payloads consisting of satellites were launched using a helium-filled balloon by school students during the National Space Challenge-2020 (NNSC).
• The challenge was organised by the National Design and Research Forum (NDRF).
• The balloon was launched from the launchpad at the Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore on January 19, 2020.  
• The balloon is expected to reach an altitude of 20 kilometres.

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• 10. FACTS, CHARTS, RANKINGS and EDITORIALS (Prelims + GS Mains)

10.1  Ranking –United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2020   

• Impacted by prolonged trade disputes, the global economy suffered its lowest growth in a decade, slipping to 2.3 per cent in 2019.
• The world, however, could see a slight uptick in economic activity in 2020 if risks are kept at bay.
  
  Download pdf of the report from here –
  
  
  https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/WESP2020_FullReport.pdf

10.2 Daily dose of FIVE Facts -

1. Lok Biradari Prakalp is the name of the NGO run by Dr. Prakash Baba Amte.
2. Commonwealth ‘Points of light’ award was presented to Kerala-based Jolly Johnson in Nov2019.
3. AYUSH Ministry organised International Conference on Yoga in Mysuru in Nov2019 with its theme asYoga for Heart Care.
4. ‘Communities Make the Difference’ was the theme of World AIDS Day observed on December 1, 2019.
5. Talley Valley Wildlife Sanctuary is in Arunachal Pradesh.

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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