Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 25-02-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 25-02-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. CAA Violence in Delhi – A police head constable and four protesters died in violence that erupted over opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in the Jaffrabad, Maujpur and Bhajanpura areas of northeast Delhi. The violence took a communal colour and spread to other parts of northeast Delhi as organised groups attacked each other, setting shops and vehicles on fire. Tensions escalated hours before U.S. President Donald Trump was scheduled to reach Delhi for bilateral talks as part of his first state visit to India. While Mr. Trump will stay in central Delhi, more than 20 km from the violence, he is scheduled to travel to RashtrapatiBhavan and Raj Ghat in Old Delhi.
2. Trump’s India visit – U.S. President Donald Trump, on his maiden two-day visit to India, heaped praise on Prime Minister NarendraModi, calling him a “true friend”, and said his rise from a humble background as a tea-seller to India’s Prime Minister “underscores India’s limitless promise”. The President also described Mr.Modi as a “tremendously successful leader”. Mr. Trump’s lavish praise, while addressing a mammoth crowd at the Motera stadium in Gujarat, reflected the bonhomie shared by the two leaders.
3. Rise in sedition cases – A dissenter is not an anti-national. Holding a contrary view to that of the government does not make one an anti-national, according to Supreme Court judge Justice Deepak Gupta. Justice Gupta made the observation during a lecture organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association on “Democracy and dissent”. His speech received a standing ovation. Justice Gupta red-flagged the hike in sedition cases against activists, lawyers and students and branding voices of dissent as “anti-national”. Expressing dissent to government’s policies did not amount to acting against the nation.
4. Public view is mandatory to apply SC/ST act: Allahabad HC – The Allahabad HC set aside an order of summoning under the Scheduled Castes Act, saying for constituting an offence under this act, public view is mandatory. If the offence has allegedly been committed behind closed doors where no witness is present the SC/ST Act cannot be applied, said Justice RK Gautam while quoting an SC ruling and disposing a plea filed by a Sonbhadra residence against the order of Duddhi judicial magistrate. Petitioner KP Thakur was probe officer in a departmental inquiry against one Vinod Kumar Tanay.
5. PM KisanSammanNidhi’s one year complete – One year after the launch of the Pradhan MantriKisanSammanNidhi, the Centre has revised the farmer income support scheme’s beneficiary target down to just under 12 crore from 14 crore. In fact, empirical evidence suggests that saturation level will reach around 10 crore families. So far, almost 8.5 crore farmers have benefited. Speaking at an event to mark the first anniversary, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar pointed to West Bengal and Bihar as the major culprits for the lag. While the West Bengal government has refused to join the scheme at all, the Bihar government’s approach of waiting for applicants means more than 60% of potential beneficiaries are yet to register.
6. Fear of coronavirus pandemic grows but China eases curbs as new infections fall – Fears of a coronavirus pandemic grew after sharp rises in new cases reported in Iran, Italy and South Korea but China relaxed restrictions on movements in several places including Beijing as its rates of new infections eased. The surge of infections outside mainland China triggered steep falls in Asian shares and Wall Street stock futures as investors fled to safe havens such as gold. Oil prices tumbled and the Korean won fell to its lowest since August. The Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) said it no longer had a process for declaring a pandemic but the coronavirus outbreak remained an international emergency.
7. Malaysia's Mahathir resigns but is asked to stay as interim PM – Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has announced his resignation but was asked to stay on as interim leader by the country's monarch. Mahathir said in a two-line statement that he had informed the country's king of his resignation.Mahathir also reportedly resigned from his own party, PartiPribumiBersatu Malaysia.
8. Harvey Weinstein found guilty of rape in watershed case– Weinstein, 67, was convicted in New York City of third-degree rape and first-degree criminal sexual act. He was cleared of the most serious count of predatory sexual assault but faces up to 25 years in prison. He still faces charges in Los Angeles of assaulting two women in 2013. At least 80 women had accused him of sexual misconduct stretching back decades, including actresses Gwyneth Paltrow, Uma Thurman and Salma Hayek.
9. Coronavirus outbreak: Sensex falls 807 pts – The benchmark indices logged their largest single-day drop since the Union Budget, amid fears that the outbreak of coronavirus has now become a global pandemic. With an increase in the number of cases outside China, market players said investors were worried over a prolonged economic damage to the global economy.The Sensex closed 807 points or 1.96 per cent lower at 40,363, while the Nifty dropped 242 points or 2 per cent to close at 11,829. All the BSE sectoral indices, as well as components of the Sensex and Nifty, ended the session in the red. The last time all Nifty components had ended with losses was in November 2013.
10. Adani group in race to buy Air India – The Adani group will join the race to acquire Air India and plans to submit an expression of interest (EoI) by next month. The final decision of Adani will, however, depend on the outcome of the due diligence after submission of the EoI. After the EoI process, prospective bidders will get access to data of the airline. Apart from the Adani group, the Tata group, the Hinduja group, Indigo and a New York-based fund, Interups, are expected to submit EoIs.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	MSCB	Trainee Officer & Clerk	164	BE/ B.Tech, Any Degree, PG	March 16, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/02/Notification-MSC-Bank-Trainee-Officer-Clerk-Advt-No.-01-2019-20.pdf
2	Northern Coalfields Ltd	Accountant, Overseer, Amin, Junior Chemist	93	10th Class, ITI, Diploma (Engg), Any Degree, CA	March 30, 2020	http://nclcil.in/recruitment/Accountant%20Amin%20chemist%20Overseer%20and%20format.pdf
3	NIELIT, Calicut	Scientist B & Scientific/Technical Asst A	495	Degree (Engg), PG	March 26, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/02/Notification-NIELIT-Calicut-Scientist-B-Scientific-Technical-Asst-A-Posts.pdf
4	Army Recruiting Office, Sambalpur	Soldier	-	8th, 10th Class, 10+2	April 6, 2020	http://joinindianarmy.nic.in/writereaddata/Portal/BRAVO_NotificationPDF/RALLY_NOTFN_20_FEB_202_pdf.pdf
5	Independent Recruiting Office, Delhi Cantt	Soldier	-	8th, 10th Class, 10+2	April 11, 2020	https://joinindianarmy.nic.in/writereaddata/Portal/BRAVO_NotificationPDF/Notification_Apr_2020_English__NEW__Latest.pdf
6	Army Recruiting Office, Jammu	Soldier	-	10th Class, 10+2	April 6, 2020	https://joinindianarmy.nic.in/writereaddata/Portal/BRAVO_NotificationPDF/Jammu_Rally_Notification_ALG_Rajouri_20_Apr_to_29_Apr_2020.pdf
7	Army Public School, Hempur	PGT, TGT, PRT	17	Any Degree, B.Ed, D.E.Ed, PG	March 1, 2020	http://apshempur.com/Uploads/Advt%20Feb2020.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. ECONOMY (Prelims, GS Paper 3, Essay paper

2.1 Launch of India-Central Asia Business Council

• Launch time – Feb 2020
• Launched by – Central government of India and FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry)
• Members -The council includes nominated chambers from India, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.  
• Aim -The Council will share its recommendations on how to promote business in the region and with each other.

2.2 Appointments -

• Supratim Bandyopadhyay appointed as Chairman of Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).
• RBI approved appointment of  Sunil Gurbaxani as MD and CEO of Dhanlaxmi Bank.
• Banks Board Bureau recommended G.R. Chinatala as the next Chairman of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).

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

3.1 Dolphin population in India under threat

• Dolphins of Gahirmatha marine sanctuary

1. The annual January 2020 census at Odisha’s Gahirmatha marine sanctuary spotted only 62 of the marine mammals at Gahirmatha — also the world’s largest rookery of sea turtles — down from 126 found last year.
2. Odisha’s total dolphin count was pegged at 233, down from 259 in 2019.
3. Dolphin census was conducted for the first time in Gahirmatha in 2015 which recorded 270 dolphins.  

• Dolphins of Chilika lake–

1. The number of Dolphins in Chilkalake reduced to 130 in 2019 from 146 previously.
2. Chilika — spread across Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts — had been designated a Ramsar site in 1981. A Ramsar site is a wetland site which comes under the Ramsar Convention of 1971 and allows for measures to conserve biodiversity in these areas.

•  Ganga river dolphin (GRD)–

1. The national aquatic animal no longer sighted in the central and eastern parts of the archipelago.

• Measures taken by government –  

1. In 2019, the Odisha High Court had ordered the state government to initiate the demolition of illegal prawn gherries in Chilika Lake to restore the wetland’s ecology.
2. Gherries are encroached areas used for illegal prawn cultivation inside wetland areas. Illegal prawn farming has choked Chilika’s biodiversity.
3. The dolphin has been included in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.
4. GRD is categorised as endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List.
5. Rise in salinity in the water system is the main cause of reducing population of GRD.

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

4.1 UNESCO celebrated International Mother Language Day on February 21

• It was first observed in 2000.
• It is observed to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.
• It was the initiative of Bangladesh.
• Theme 2020 - Languages without borders.
• 2008 was proclaimed as the International Year of Languages by UN.
• Globally 40% of the population does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand. 
• The Ministry of Human Resource and Development of India along with educational institutions and language institutions celebrate this day as Matribhasha Diwas in the country.
• Ravish Kumar anchored in Bhojpuri on the occasion.

4.2 South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar sworn in as first vice president in capital Juma.

4.3 Pakistan inaugurated first-ever Afghan transit cargo train service connecting Karachi to Kandahar.

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

5.1 Tamil Nadu governmentto provide 50% subsidy for ‘Ulemas’ to buy new two-wheelers; doubled their pension to Rs. 3,000.

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• 6. MISCELLANEOUS (Prelims, Various GS Papers)

6.1 Weekly Roundup – Accidents, Natural and Man-made disasters

• Appointments – Kamal Kishore, Krishna Vatsa, Rajendra Singh, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Syed Ata Hasnain appointed new members of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), for a 5-year term.
• National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) – Apex institute of disaster management in India.Formed – 2005, HQ – New Delhi, Parent Department – Ministry of Home Affairs.

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Bharatiya Chhatra Sansad (Indian Student Parliament), 2020

• Edition – 10th(First was in 2011)
• Time – Feb 20 to 23, 2020
• Place – New Delhi
• Organiser(s) –MIT-School of Government- Pune, India  
• Key Features – 

1. 80,000+ Strong BCS Community comprising Indian Youth from all 27 States of India.
2. 300+ Working Co-ordinators and 60+ Active Student Council Members have conducted regional BCS chapters supported by Regional Government Body in many cases across states of India.
3. Witnessed ‘Passing of 70+ Resolutions’, many of which have been introduced as policy reforms by the serving governments at the centre.

7.2 Appointments of Shri Ram Janma bhoomi TirthK shetra Trust

•  President - Mahant Nritya Gopal Das
• General Secretary - Champat Rai
• Head of temple construction committee - Nripendra Misra (ex-bureaucrat)

7.3 Tamil Nadu government celebrated Birth Anniversary of former CM J. Jayalalithaaon February 24 as ‘State Women Children Protection Day’.

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

8.1 Food Planet Prize

• Sweden has created two new prizes named ‘Food Planet Prizes’.
• This prizes will be awarded for solutions to feed billions of people.
• Food Planet Prizes will be worth US $ 1 million each, and will encourage people to work towards sustainable food production. 
• The prizes will be awarded annually in two categories – First, an existing scalable solution for sustainable foods and second innovative initiatives that could transform the global food sector.
• The first edition of prizes is scheduled to be awarded in 2020 ending.
• The importance of these prizes is due to two reasons first the increasing demand of food because of population increase and second fear of hindrance in food supply because of climate change.

8.2 IRCTC-operated Varanasi-Indore Kashi Mahakal Express started its commercial run.

• It connects JyotirlingaOmkareshwar (near Indore in MP), Mahakaleshwar (Ujjain, MP) and KashiVishwanath (Varanasi in UP).

 8.3 FIRST floating jetty of country inaugurated in Panaji, Goa on the banks of Mandoviriver.

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

9.1 Government elevated BISAG to a national institute under MEITY

• BISAG - Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Applications and Geoinformatics, Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat
• MEITY - Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

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

10.1   Ranking – Yidan Prize Forecast – Education to 2030 report  

• Forecast is related to that how economies will expected perform on the front of education in 2030.
• Forecast is based on five metrics - Public expenditure on education, Affordability of education, Youth unemployment, Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates and Access to internet in schools.
• South Africa ranked first on Public expenditure on education. India ranked 14th.
• Norway ranked first on Affordability of education. India ranked 22nd.
• Japan ranked first on Youth unemployment. India ranked 2nd.
• Russia ranked first on STEM graduates in labour force. India ranked 12th.
•  Finland ranked first on Access to internet in schools. India ranked 15th.

Download pdf of the report from here –

Download pdf of the report from here –https://eiuperspectives.economist.com/sites/default/files/EIU_Yidan%20prize%20forecast_Education%20to%202030.pdf

10.2 Daily dose of FIVE Facts -

1. SBI Card and Vistara airline launched co-branded credit cards in Nov 2019.
2. The third India- Australia Secretary-level 2+2 Dialogue was held in New Delhi in Dec2019.
3. Mark Esper is the US Secretary of Defense.
4. INS Arihant and INS Chakra are the two nuclear-powered submarines functional in Indian Navy. 
5. Koneru Humpy won the Women’s title at the World Rapid Chess Championship in Moscow in Dec2019.  
   

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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