Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 07-03-2020

Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 07-03-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Supreme Court upholds 2018 order on land acquisition –A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court held that land acquisition proceedings under the 1894 Act will not be deemed to have lapsed under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, if the authorities have tendered the compensation by deposit in the Treasury. A five-judge Bench, led by Justice Arun Mishra, held that landowners, who had refused to accept compensation or who sought reference for higher compensation, cannot claim that the acquisition proceedings had lapsed under Section 24(2) of the 2013 Act.With this, the Constitution Bench has affirmed the February 2018 ruling on Section 24 by a three-judge Bench, led by Justice Mishra himself, in the Indore Development Authority case.
   
2. Centre cannot brand organisations ‘political’: SC–The Central government cannot brand an organisation ‘political’ and deprive it of its right to receive foreign funds for using “legitimate forms of dissent” like bandh, hartal, road roko or jail ‘bharo’ to aid a public cause, the Supreme Court held.But the foreign funding pipeline could be cut if an organisation took recourse to these forms of protest to score a political goal, the court said.
   
3. Avoid mass gatherings, says govt as corona cases hit 31 –The Centre advised all states to avoid or postpone mass gatherings till Covid-19 is contained as various regulators and institutions went into prevention mode to arrest the spread of the novel coronavirus infection that has so far affected 31 people across India. The advisories came on a day the total number of Covid-19 cases crossed 1 lakh globally. The number of deaths caused by the novel coronavirus worldwide stood at 3,411. India hasn’t reported any deaths yet. As of March 5, 29,607 people across India were under observation through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) network for the novel coronavirus..
   
4. SBI set to acquire 49% in Yes Bank even as ED raids promoter Kapoor –A day after the Reserve Bank of India superseded the Rana Kapoor-promoted Yes Bank board and capped cash withdrawals at Rs 50,000 (Rs 5 lakh in exceptional situations) and the State Bank of India said it was “exploring an investment opportunity” in Yes, the RBI came out with a “draft reconstruction scheme” under which SBI will bring in Rs 2,500 crore for a 49% stake in the crisis-ridden private sector bank. The scheme proposes full repayment of all deposits, dilution of equity, and write-off of Rs 10,800 crore of additional tier one (AT-1) bonds. In a bid to reassure depositors and markets, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said although a moratorium of 30 days had been imposed, the resolution would be much quicker. RBI has invited comments and suggestions on the scheme up to March 9, after which it will take a final view.
   
5. LS passes 2 bills amid oppn protests over Delhi violence –While opposition MPs continued with protests and sported black bands in Lok Sabha, the House conducted business for a brief period and passed two bills — the Mineral Laws (Amendment) Bill and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill — between spells of adjournments.
6. Two minors convicted in Pehlu Khan lynching case –The Juvenile Justice Board in Alwar convicted two minors accused of participating in the lynching of Pehlu Khan in 2017. The quantum of punishment is likely to be pronounced on March 7. The board had asked the two accused if they had anything to say in their defence in case they were found guilty, following which they were convicted. Pehlu Khan (55), a dairy farmer from Nuh district of Haryana, his two sons and some others were attacked by cow vigilantes near Behror on April 1, 2017.
   
7. Global Coronavirus Infections Surpass 1,00,000–The number of people infected with coronavirus across the world surpassed 1,00,000 as the outbreak reached more countries and the economic damage intensified, with business districts beginning to empty and stock markets tumbling.An increasing number of people faced a new reality as many were asked to stay home from work, schools were closed, large gatherings and events were cancelled, stores cleared of staples like toiletries and water, and face masks became a common sight.The outbreak has killed more than 3,400 people and spread across more than 90 nations.
8. 27 killed in blast at top leader's rally in Afghanistan – It wasthe deadliest assault in Afghanistan since the US signed a withdrawal deal with the Taliban. The attack highlights the glaring lack of security in the heavily fortified Afghan capital just 14 months ahead of the scheduled withdrawal of all foreign forces under an agreement signed on February 29 by the US and the Taliban. Interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said women and children were among the dead with an additional 29 wounded.
9. South Korea threatens retaliation over 'irrational' Japan virus quarantine –Seoul threatened to retaliate over what it called Tokyo's "irrational" plan to quarantine arrivals from South Korea over the coronavirus outbreak, turning the scientific issue into a diplomatic row. The two countries have close economic ties and are both major US allies, democracies and market economies faced with a rising China and nuclear-armed North Korea.
   
10. Sensex tanks 894 points, Nifty 279 points – Domestic markets plunged due to a double-whammy from Covid-19 and YES Bank crisis. While the BSE Sensex plunged 894 points, the broader Nifty-50 crashed below the key 11,000-mark as regulatory curbs on YES Bank triggered a margin pressure among domestic investors while foreign portfolio investors continue their selling-spree fearing coronavirus spread. The BSE Sensex tanked 894 points to settle the day at 37,577. During the day, the index hit a low of 37,011 levels. The broader NSE Nifty shed 279.55 points to close at 10,989.45.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	PGCIL	Executive Trainee (Finance)	25	CA/ ICWA (CMA)	April 6, 2020	http://www.powergridindia.com/sites/default/files/Detailed%20Advt_ET%20Fin.pdf
2	NRRI	Young Professional – II	7	Any Degree, PG (Agricultural Science)	March 17, 2020	http://www.aau.ac.in/data/recruitment/Recruitment_of_YP-II.pdf
3	SAIL, IISCO Steel Plant	Technician Apprentice	100	10th Class, 10+2, Diploma (Engg)	March 17, 2020	http://portal.mhrdnats.gov.in/sites/default/files/file_upload/advt_sail_ISP-final.pdf
4	National Institute of Epidemiology	Project Scientist C, B, Project Technical Assistant & Other	10	12th Class, Diploma, PG, Ph. D.	March26, 2020	http://nie.gov.in/images/latevent/nie_advt_march_2020_165.pdf
5	NIPER	Professor, Associate Professor, Asst Professor, Registrar & Other	20	10+2, Any Degree, PG, Ph.D	March 27, 2020	http://www.niperguwahati.ac.in/DOC/RECRUITMENT/RECRUITMENT-PHASEII-05032020/Final_advt_Phase2.pdf
6	West Central Railway	Primary Teacher, TGT, PGT	13	10+2, Diploma, Any Degree, PG	March14, 2020	https://wcr.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/files/1583387850453-notification.PDF
7	BPSC	Assistant Engineer (Civil)	31	B.E/ B.Tech (Civil Engg)	March25, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/03/Notification-BPSC-Assistant-Engineer-Civil-Posts.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 Organisations supporting public cause cannot be barred from receiving foreign funds: Supreme Court

• The SC held that organizations supporting public causes without political affiliations are not banned from accepting foreign contributions in terms of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) 2010 and Rules made thereunder.
• As per Section 3(1)(f) of FCRA, an "organization of political nature" as specified by the Central Government is banned from receiving foreign contributions.
• The norms for declaring an organization ‘Political’ were laid down bythe Centre as per Rule 3 of the FCRA Rules 2011.
• These validity of these norms were challenged by an organization called Indian Social Action Forum(INSAF).
• The two judge bench comprised of Justice L Nageswara Rao and Deepak Gupta.
• The bench stated that organizations that support public causes by resorting to legitimate means for dissent such as organizing bandhs, hartals, strikes etc. 
• shall not come within the ambit of the ban in terms of the FCRA.
• The Court also specified that a balance must be drawn between the object of the legislation and the rightsof voluntary organisations to have access to foreign funds. While it was extremely necessary to protect the values of the sovereign, the organisations actually working towards social and economic
  welfare without political interest cannot be ruled out from receiving foreign funds.
• “Any organisation which supports the cause of a group of citizens agitating for their rights without a
  political goal or objective cannot be penalized by being declared as an organisation of a political nature" –The bench said

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

2.1 The 11th National Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Conference was held in New Delhi.

• KVK is an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System (NARS). The first KVK was established in 1974 at Puducherry. The mandate of KVK is technology assessment and demonstration for its application and capacity development. KVKs also produce quality technological products (seed, planting material, bio-agents, livestock) and make it available to farmers.
• The KVK scheme is 100% financed by the Government of India and the KVKs are sanctioned to Agricultural Universities, ICAR institutes, related Government Departments and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) working in Agriculture.
• KVKs act as a bridge between the laboratories and farmland which are crucial to fulfilling the target of doubling farmers’ income by 2022.
• At present there are 713 KVKs, out of which 498 are under State Agricultural Universities (SAU) and Central Agricultural University (CAU), 63 under ICAR Institutes, 101 under NGOs, 38 under State Governments, and the remaining under other educational institutions.
• Development in the field of Agriculture - Superior crop varieties have been released like HD 4728 (Pusa Malvi) crop for wheat etc. 171 mobile apps developed for farmers like Kisan Suvidha etc. More than three lakh Common Service Centres (CSCs) opened. eNAM portal has been created so that the farmer gets a better price for his produce.
   

2.2 OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) lowered its India’s GDP growth forecast for 2020-21 to 5.1% from the earlier projection of 6.2%.

2.3 Governmentintroduces bill in Lok Sabha to bring cooperative banks under the RBI regulations.

2.4 SEBI launched mobile app ‘SEBI SCORES’ for investors to lodge grievances in SEBI Complaints Redress System (SCORES).

2.5 RBI Deputy Governor N. S. Vishwanathan to step down by March 31, 3 months before the end of his extended one-year tenure.

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

3.1 India is host to 457 migratory fauna, shows latest Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) list

• Birds comprise 83% (380 species) of this figure.
• The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) had for the first time compiled the list of migratory species of India under the CMS before the Conference of Parties (COP 13) held in Gujarat recently. It had put the number at 451. Six species were added later. They are the Asian elephant, great Indian bustard, Bengal florican, oceanic white-tip shark, urial and smooth hammerhead shark. 
• Globally, more than 650 species are listed under the CMS appendices and India, with over 450 species, plays a very important role in their conservation.
• The country has three flyways (flight paths used by birds): the Central Asian flyway, East Asian flyway and East Asian–Australasian flyway. Another group of birds that migrate in large numbers are waders or shore birds. In India, their migratory species number 41, followed by ducks (38) belonging to the family Anatidae.
• The estimate of 44 migratory mammal species in India has risen to 46 after COP 13.
• Fish make up another important group of migratory species. Before COP 13, the ZSI had compiled 22 species, including 12 sharks and 10 ray fish. The total number of migratory fish species from India under CMS now stands at 24.
• Seven reptiles, which include five species of turtles and the Indian gharial and salt water crocodile, are among the CMS species found in India. There was no addition to the reptiles list. 

3.2 World Wildlife Day celebrated on March 3 with its theme as ‘Sustaining all life on Earth’.

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

4.1 Aid packages funded to fight coronavirus outbreak

• World Bank President David Malpass unveild US $ 12 billion aid package.
• The US Congress (Senate and House of Representatives) passed US $ 8.3 billion emergency funding bill for response efforts to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

4.2 Former PM Indira Gandhi and freedom fighter Amrit Kaur named by the TIME magazine among world’s 100 powerful women who defined the last century.

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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 Weekly Roundup – Defence

• Badminton – PV Sindhu named Sportsperson of the Year at the fourth Times of India Sports Awards (TOISA) 2019.
• Cricket - BCCI appointed former India spinner Sunil Joshi as Chairman of the national selection panel.
• Khelo India University Games –

1. Khelo India University Games 2020 concluded in Bhubaneswar.
2. Panjab University (17 gold, 19 silver, 10 bronze) were crowned champions.
3. Swimmers Sadhvi Dhuri (Savitribai Phule Pune University) and Siddhant Sejwal (Panjab University) were most successful with five gold each.

• Tokyo marathon: Birhanu Legese of Ethiopia (2:4:15) won men’s race; Israel’s Lonah Chemtai Salpeter (2:17.45) wonwomen's race.
• Lawn Tennis – 

1. Mexican Open tennis tournament at Acapulco: Rafael Nadal (Spain) and Heather Watson (UK) win men’ and women’s singles titles respectively.
2. Dubai Championships tennis: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic won the men’s singles title. 

• Inauguration - Meghalaya CM Conrad K. Sangma lays foundation stone for an integrated sports complex in Tura district named after ex-CM late PA Sangma. 
• Obituary –  

1. India’s former national athletics coach and Dronacharya awardee Joginder Singh Saini dies at 90.
2. Ex hockey player Balbir Singh Kullar dies at 77; won 1966 Asian Games gold (Bangkok) and 1968 Olympic Bronze (Mexico).

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Cabinet gave its nod to order on adopting central laws in concurrent list for J&K

• The government gave its nod to an order to adopt 37 central laws in Concurrent List to make them applicable in the newly carved out Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.
• It has approved issuance of an order for adaptation of Central Acts in Jammu and Kahmir under Section 96 of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 by the central government.
• Last August, the Centre announced the abrogation of Article 370 provisions for Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into two Union territories. The new territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh came into being on October 31, 2019.

7.2 Government issued format for filing complaints of alleged corruption against public servants with the Lokpal, 11 months after the anti-corruption ombudsman was formed.

7.3 Information Commissioner (IC) Bimal Julka appointed as Chief Information Commissioner (CIC); Amita Pandove appointed IC.

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

8.1 Scientists from DRDO & IIT Delhi receive National Award for Young Women Showing Excellence through Application of Technology for Societal Benefits

• Dr. Shweta Rawat from Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), DRDO, Timarpur, Delhi has developed a female-specific Full Body Protector to safeguard the Female troops deployed in riot control actions.
• This gear has been developed in collaboration with the Rapid Action Force using the ergonomic design principle based on anthropometric dimensions specific for female troops. The full Body Protector has unique properties, including anti-stab, anti-puncture, flame retardant and acid resistance. It is designed to assure greater comfort and flexibility to the women forces while deployed in law and order maintenance duties.
• Dr. Shalini Gupta, Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, has successfully led the development of a technology SeptifloTM, which offers fast and affordable assay for point-of-care diagnosis and treatment of bacterial septicemia, one of the biggest in-hospital killers worldwide.
• This has led to the incubation of the start-up Nano DX Healthcare Pvt. She is pursuing unconventional approaches to design novel bio-systems for medical diagnosis, drug delivery, and biomaterials fabrication on a chip. A prototype diagnostic kit, using naturally amplified pathogen-derived endotoxins for early bedside diagnosis of bacteremia has been developed, which is currently undergoing clinical trials.  In drug delivery systems, cancer and bacterial therapies have been combined into a single delivery platform in order to co-eliminate cancer and bacterial infections residing inside cancer.

8.2 MP govt. to set up trust headed by CM Kamal Nath for the project of constructing ‘Ram Van Gaman Path’, a route taken by Lord Ram during his 14-year exile.

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

9.1 NASA's latest Mars rover has named ‘Perseverance’

• NASA announced ‘Perseverance’ as official name of its Mars 2020 rover; name suggested by school student Alexander Mather.
• Mission Name - Mars 2020
• Rover Name - Perseverance
• Launch Window - July 17 - Aug. 5, 2020
• Launch Location - Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
• Landing - Feb. 18, 2021
• Landing Site - Jezero Crater, Mars
• Mission Duration - At least one Mars year (about 687 Earth days).

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

10.1   Ranking– QS World Ranking of Universities, 2020   

• QS World Ranking for engineering colleges: 5 from India in top-100 -- IIT Bombay (44), IIT Delhi (47), IIT Kharagpur (86), IIT Madras (88) and IIT Kanpur
  (96)
• QS World Ranking for arts and humanities: JNU at 162nd, Delhi University at 231st.

For detailed rankings visit here –

 https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2020

10.2 Daily dose of  FIVE Facts -

• Hindi author Giriraj Kishore well-known for his novel ‘Pahla Girmitiya’, passed away in Kanpur in Feb2020 at the age of 82.
• The SC in Feb2020 ruled that reservation in promotions for government jobs is not a fundamental right. This case was related to reservation policy of  Uttarakhand government.
• India in Feb2020 airlifted 323 stranded Indians and seven Maldivian citizens from China’s coronavirus-hit Wuhan city. 
• Kanhaiyalal Sethia Award for Poetry was awarded at the Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) in Jan20.
• Amane Beriso won the Women’s race at the Tata Mumbai Marathon in Jan2020.

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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