Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 09-03-2020

Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 09-03-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Five new COVID-19 cases in Kerala; total in India now 39 – Five persons, including two women from Pathanamthitta in Kerala, tested positive for COVID-19, taking the total number of confirmed cases across the country to 39. Kerala Health Minister K.K. Shailaja said the State had been put on high alert in the wake of the new cases. The Minister added that all the passengers who travelled with the infected family on the Venice-Doha Qatar airlines QR 126 flight on February 29 and the Qatar Airlines flight QR514 from Doha to Kochi on March 1 should get in touch with health authorities.
2. After 15 hours of questioning, RanaKapoor arrested by ED – After being grilled for more than 15 hours, Yes Bank founder RanaKapoor was placed under arrest by the Enforcement Directorate. The central agency first questioned Mr.Kapoor at his Worli residence on Friday and later brought him to its office on Saturday morning, where he was questioned throughout the day.ED officials stopped his daughter, Roshni, from taking a flight to London as she is required to join the probe in the PMLA case.
3. Former Minister and PDP leader Bukhari floats a party – Businessman-turned-politician and former Minister AltafBukhari, 60, floated the J&K Apni Party (JKAP) as an alternative to regional parties such as the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), of which he was once a member. The JKAP becomes the first Valley-based regional party since 1947 that stands for integration of Jammu and Kashmir into the Union of India and that is against any special status or autonomy for the Union Territory, in contrast to the NC’s pre-1953 position, the PDP’s ‘self-rule’ and Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference’s ‘Achievable Nationhood’.
4. Arunachal bans entry of foreign tourists – After Sikkim, the Arunachal Pradesh government has decided to ban entry of foreign tourists in order to eliminate any possibility of the COVID-19 outbreak in the State. The decision follows the Bhutan government’s alert about a 76-year-old U.S. citizen who tested positive for COVID-19. The man spent a week holidaying in Assam before leaving for Bhutan.State government has stopped issuing Protected Area Permits (PAPs) to foreigners temporarily.Arunachal Pradesh is one of the four northeastern States that a foreign tourist can visit only if he or she possesses a PAP. The other three states are Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland.
5. J&K delimitation likely to give more political heft to Jammu – The Centre has decided to complete the delimitation exercise in Jammu & Kashmir within a year which is likely to increase the number of seats in the Jammu region, adding to its clout in the Union Territory’s legislature. The Centre had notified constitution of the delimitation commission headed by former SC judge Justice Ranjana Desai to redraw the assembly and parliamentary constituencies of J&K as per the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019. After abrogation of Article 370, the state was carved into two separate UTs of J&K and Ladakh, the former with a legislature.According to the J&K Reorganisation Act, seven seats are to be added to the present 85 in J&K. Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK) with 24 allotted seats will remain untouched.
6. Anti-CAA protest: Couple with ‘IS link’ held in Delhi – Delhi Police’s special cell arrested a couple with alleged links to the Khorasan module of Islamic State from. The couple — Jahanjeb Sami (36) and Hina Bashir Beg (39) — is accused of instigating anti-Citizenship Ammendment Act protests and motivating youths to carry out terror strike in retaliation. Sami was given the name of Abu Muhammed Al Hind by IS leadership and was using aliaseslikeDawood Ibrahim, Xaib and Abu Abdullah. He belonged to Shivpora locality in Srinagar and was living with his wife in OkhlaVihar area.
7. Corona, split in Opec+ may bring crude relief – Oil could once again prove to be PM Modi’s friend at a time his government is grappling with economic slowdown. The end of the three-year marriage between Saudi Arabia-led OPEC and Russia, coming amid faltering global demand due to economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, could hammer oil prices below the $40/barrel mark. For India, which imports 83% of its oil, an extended spell of low prices will bring down fuel prices faster and leave money in the government’s kitty for incentives to revive growth without pulling back on social spending.
8. Travel chaos as Italy puts quarter of population under coronavirus quarantine– Panicked travelers rushed to flee northern Italy before more than a quarter of its population was placed under lockdown to combat coronavirus outbreak. Chaos ensued as people tried to escape before the quarantine decree signed by Italian Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte went into effect in the Lombardy and Veneto regions, which are home to more than 16 million people. Former Deputy Prime Minister MatteoSalvini shared a video from the Garibaldi station of crowds of people rushing to catch the final trains out of the region, according to Metro UK.
9. Kamala Harris endorses one-time rival Joe Biden's White House bid – U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, a former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, on Sunday said she would endorse her one-time rival Joe Biden’s bid for the White House.Biden has been eager to capitalize on a string of wins in South Carolina and a set of states that voted, where was helped by the endorsements of one-time rivals Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar. In in St. Louis, Biden thanked them and supporters of Harris, fueling speculation that the former Democratic presidential candidate may be about to endorse him.
10. Australia won T20 Cricket World Cup – India saved their worst for the last as a brutal Australian side outclassed them by 85 runs for an unprecedented fifth T20 World Cup triumph in a final that promised much but delivered very little. Batting first after the coin landed in Meg Lanning’s favour, Australia came out in scintillating fashion with their openers Alyssa Healy (75 off 39 balls) and Beth Mooney (78 off 54 balls) laying the foundation with a 115-run partnership in double quick time. Stirred up by the grand occasion, their onslaught fired Australia to a formidable total of 184 for four in the stipulated 20 overs. Overwhelmed by the occasion, India crumbled to 99 all out in front of a turnout of 86,174 at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, a record in women’s cricket history.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	Cement Corporation of India Limited	Addl. General Manager, Dy. General Manager, Sr. Manager, Manager	10	Degree, PG (Relevant Discipline), CA/ ICWA	April 7, 2020	https://www.cciltd.in/UserFiles/files/012020%20Advertisement.pdf
2	ESIC Hospital, New Delhi	Senior Resident, Specialist	23	MBBS, PG Degree/ Diploma	March 13, 2020	https://www.esic.nic.in/attachments/recruitmentfile/e0ef8b362c797bf6ca214e6d99fcfff1.pdf
3	NRIDA	Consultant	8	-	March 25, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/03/NRIDA-Consultant-Posts.pdf
4	DMRC, Jodhpur	Field Worker, Technician	10	12th Class, DMLT, Degree	March 15, 2020	http://www.dmrcjodhpur.nic.in/SnakeBite06-3-2020.pdf
5	AIIMS, Patna	Medical Record Technician	23	12th Class	June 7, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/03/AIIMS-Patna-Medical-Record-Technician-Posts.pdf
6	ECIL	General Manager, Sr Dy General Manager	5	-	April 10, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/03/ECIL-Manager-Accounts-Officer-Other-Posts.pdf
7	IIT, Delhi	Dy Registrar, Asst Registrar, Hindi Officer, Asst Spo. Off.	12	B.P. Ed, PG (Relevant Discipline)	March 23, 2020	http://www.iitd.ac.in/sites/default/files/jobs/non_acad/2020/E-II032020DRE.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 Weekly Roundup – Constitution and Law

• Allahabad High Court - Section 438 of CrPC doesn't mandate that Sessions Court must be moved First; But Special Circumstance must be shown to directly approach HC. (AnkitBhartivs State of UP  and others).
• Allahabad HC dismisses plea to quash FIR against four Journalists booked for inciting violent mob (AfzalQuraishivs State of UP)
• Delhi HC directs for areformation and rehabilitation plan of a POCSO convict.(Manoj Tyagivs The State)
• Gauhati High Court Citizenship - Proof beyond all reasonable doubt not needed in Foreigners Tribunal for establishing citizenship. (Idrish Ali vs The Union of India)
• The Gauhati High Court has reiterated that in the absence of documentary evidence in a proceeding under the Foreigners Act1946, oral testimony alone is no proof of citizenship.
• The Madras High Court held that Section 6 of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 is not violative of Articles Articles 14 (State shall not deny any person equal protection of laws), 16 (equality of opportunity in matters of public employment) and 23 (prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labor) of the Constitution. (R Gandhi vs Union of India)
• The Kerala High Court has held that for elevation to the higher judiciary, a Judicial Officer should not be more than 581/2 years of age, as on the date of occurrence of a vacancy.
• The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held that the courts cannot routinely order determination of paternityby way of DNA tests as forcefully subjecting someone to medical examination violates their right to privacy. (Ajay Singh vs Smt. Rama Bai)
• The High Court of J&K has directed the Central government to take immediate steps for the evacuation of Indian students who stand stranded in Iran, amidst the spread of Coronavirus. (Court on its own motion)
• The Delhi High Court allowed MCD's application for condonation of delay, subject to it planting 500 trees in the riot-affected areas of Delhi within 2 weeks.

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

2.1 Why did Yes Bank collapsed: updates and details on the ongoing crisis 

• Yes Bank Limited is an Indian private sector bank founded by RanaKapoor and Ashok Kapur in 2004. It is involved in retail banking and asset management businesses. Ashok Kapur died in 26/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai. After his death RanaKapoor tried to not involve family members of Ashok Kapur in business.
• The three largest shareholders of Yes Bank limited were foreign portfolio investors (43%), insurance companies (14%) and mutual funds including UTI (10%).Smallershareholdings were owned by its three promoters RanaKapoor, Yes Capital India Pvt. ltd.and Morgan credits pvt. ltd.and other investors including MadhuKapur (wife of Ashok Kapur) etc.
• Yes Bank limited operates under three distinct entities – Yes Bank, Yes Capital and Yes Asset Management.
• On March 5, 2020, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced that, in the interest of its customers and depositors, it would suspend and supersede Yes Bank's board and impose a 30-day moratorium on its operations.
• The RBI cited Yes Bank's failures to raise new funding to cover its non-performing assets, inaccurate statements of confidence in its ability to receive new funding, and its underreporting of its non-performing assets, among other factors, as the impetus for this moratorium.
• Customers are being limited from withdrawing more than Rs 50,000 from their accounts, except in certain exceptional circumstances (such as to cover medical care, emergencies, higher education, and "obligatory expenses" for ceremonies such as weddings).
• Finance minister NirmalaSitharaman announced a draft turnaround plan, under which the State Bank of India would take a 49% stake which would involve Rs. 2400 crorein Yes Bank and introduce a new board.
• On March 06,2020 ICRA downgrades Yes Bank’s Rs 52,600 core bonds to ‘default’, it said that this rating downgrades factor in the moratorium on the bank and the cap on payments to its depositors.
• On March 08, 2020 Yes Bank Founder RanaKapoor was arrested by The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in money laundering case.
• Reasons why the RBI superseded the board of Yes Bank -
   

1. Deteriorating Financial Position - Its inability to raise capital to address potential loan losses and resultant downgrades, triggering invocation of bond covenants by investors, and withdrawal of deposits hints the same
2. Governance Issues - The serious governance issues have led to a steady decline of the bank. Take, for instance, the bank under-reported NPAs to the tune of Rs 3,277 crore in 2018-19.
3. False Assurance -The bank management had indicated to the Reserve Bank that it was in talks with various investors and they were likely to be successful but in reality, there was no concrete proposal from investors.
4. Non-serious Investors -Theinvestors to which the bank was engaged with for exploring opportunities to infuse capital in February this year did hold discussions with senior officials of the Reserve Bank but for various reasons eventually did not infuse any capital.
5. Outflow of liquidity - The bank was facing regular outflow of liquidity. It means that the bank was witnessing withdrawal of deposits from customers. In fact, the deposits are bread and butter of a bank. The bank had the deposit book of Rs 2.09 lakh crore at the end of September 2019.

2.2 Kerala governmentissued order capping the retail price of bottled drinking water at Rs. 13 per litre.

2.3 Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship launched Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship programme at IIM, Bengaluru.

2.4 ‘Conference on Empowering Women Entrepreneurs 2020’ being organised in New Delhi from March 7 to 9 by the MSME Ministry in collaboration with FLO (FICCI Ladies Organization), CII and India SME Forum.

2.5 Agartala (Tripura) and Ghojadanga (West Bengal) designated as authorised land immigration check posts on the Bangladesh border.

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

3.1 Water crisis looms large in Himalayan regions, study finds

• Eight towns in the Himalayan region of Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Pakistan were nearly 20%-70% deficient in their water supply. 
• The researchers surveyed 13 towns across these countries to understand the challenges of the urban denizens of these regions.
• Unplanned urbanisation and climate change are the key factors responsible for the state of affairs.
• The places surveyed are extremely dependent on springs (ranging between 50% and 100%) for their water, and three-fourths were in urban areas. Under current trends, the demand-supply gap may double by 2050.  
• Although only 3% of the total Hindu Kush Himalayan population lives in larger cities and 8% in smaller towns, projections show that over 50% of the population will be living in cities by 2050, placing ‘tremendous stress’ on water availability.
• Study points that rural areas have typically garnered much of the attention in terms of development and issues surrounding urban environments have been side-lined.

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

4.1 Aid packages funded to fight coronavirus outbreak

• India had applied last month to be considered for observer status.
• The decision was taken at the meeting of the IOC Conference of ministers in Seychelles on March 6.
• The other four observers China, Malta, European Union and International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF).
• The five-member grouping is important given India’s plans to expand in The Western Indian Ocean (WIO) which is strategically connects the Indian Ocean to the Southeastern coast of Africa and beyond.
• The member states are known to be erstwhile French colonies or partly British, partly French colonies. With France a member of IOC because of Reunion Islands, sources say they played a key role in ensuring India’s admission.
• The admission of India, even as an observer, to IOC is of great strategic significance since it will allow collective engagement with the island nations of western Indian Ocean (WIO) and further boost ties with an already strong friend, France.
• The move will also lend greater significance to India’s SAGAR (Security and Growth for all in the Region) policy of the Modi administration.
• It boosts cooperation with France that has strong presence in the Western Indian Ocean and lends depth to India's SAGAR policy of PM NarendraModi 2015.
• The IOC was created in 1982 at Port Louis, Mauritius, and later institutionalised in 1984.
• It has five member nations- Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion (an overseas region of France) and Seychelles.

4.2 Ukraine’s Parliament, the VerkhovnaRada, accepts resignation of PM OleksiyHoncharuk; Denys Shmygal appointed new PM.

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

5.1 Chronicles of Change Champions, a compilation of 25 innovative initiatives taken under BetiBachaoBetiPadhao (BBBP) scheme, released by WCD Minister SmritiIrani.

5.2 UP Govt. to pay Rs 900 per month to farmers willing to keep stray cattle at their houses.

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• 6. MISCELLANEOUS (Prelims, Various GS Papers)

6.1 Movie Review – Movies from Hollywood and Bollywood to watch around International Women’s Day

• Five the best feminist movies of all time to watch around International Women’s Day

1. Hidden Figures (2017) - This movie follows the true story of the three black women behind NASA’s early feats in the Space Race.
2. On the Basis of Sex (2018) - This is based on the true story of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (otherwise known as The Notorious RBG) and her journey to winning a groundbreaking tax case, and eventually, the Supreme Court.  
3. Becoming Jane (2007) - Anne Hathaway plays Jane Austen as a young woman who resists her parents’ wish for her to marry the grandson of the wealthy Lady Gresham (Maggie Smith).
4. Erin Brockovich (2000) - Erin Brockovich (Julia Roberts), an unemployed single mother, gets into a car accident for which she is not at fault. Later, she figures out that a nearby town is being contaminated by water that is causing devastating illnesses. These events are based on a true story.
5. The Favourite (2018) - It’s the early 18th Century, England is at war with France. Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) is on the throne, but her close friend, Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough (Rachel Weisz), is actually the one making all the combat decisions. Enter Abigail Masham (Emma Stone), Sarah’s cousin, who learns just how she can take over control from Sarah as the monarch’s new “favorite.”

• Five Bollywood movies that are stories of Sheroes -    

1. Kahaani (2012) - The well-made thriller is helmed by brilliant VidyaBalan. She played the role of VidyaBagchi, a heavily pregnant character, who lands in Kolkata to search for her husband, Arnab. 
2. Queen (2014) - What do you do if your fiancé decides not to marry you just days before the marriage? You go on your supposed honeymoon all alone and
   rediscover life.
3. Parched (2016) - The 2015 film featured at the Toronto International Film Festival and was released a year later in India. A raw portrayal of rural Rajasthani women, Parched is a testament to strong performances.
4. No One Killed Jessica (2011) - The semi-biographical thriller revolves around two women trying to bring justice to Jessica Lal. Jessica was a model, who was killed while working in a crowded celebrity bar. 
5. Pink (2016) - Pink taught consent to the general public. Three women, led by TaapseePannu, fight in the court of justice as they get dragged into a case of assault.

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Lok Sabha passes Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Second Amendment) Bill

• The Code allows creditors to initiate an insolvency resolution process if a company defaults on its payments.  The Ordinance introduces an additional threshold for certain classes of financial creditors, including allottees of real estate projects, for initiating the resolution process. At least 10% of them or 100 such persons have to jointly initiate the process.
• The Ordinance empowers the resolution professional to require suppliers to continue providing goods and services.  This provision will not apply if the debtor has unpaid dues arising from such supplies during the moratorium period.
• The Ordinance provides that the company will not be liable for any offense committed prior to the insolvency resolution process if there is a change in the management or control of the company. 
• Under the Code, the insolvency resolution process commences when the Insolvency Resolution Professional (IRP) is appointed.  The Ordinance states that the IRP must be appointed on the date of admission of the application by NCLT, which will be considered as the insolvency commencement date. 
• In the case of defaults by real estate developers, the insolvency resolution application should be filed jointly by at least 100 homebuyers or 10% of their total number.  The rationale for adding such a threshold only for certain creditors is unclear.  Further, a homebuyer wishing to initiate the process may not have details of other allottees.
• The Ordinance empowers the resolution professional to require suppliers to continue providing goods and services during the moratorium period.  This provision overrides the agency of suppliers to negotiate and decide whether to continue a contractual arrangement.
• It may also force the supply of goods and services even if the supplier finds it risky or unviable.
• In order to balance the rights of the suppliers, the Ordinance provides that suppliers have to continue supplying only if their current dues are paid. In other countries, additional safeguards are available.
• These include the right to seek a payment guarantee, and court-granted permission to terminate the contract in cases where the supplier demonstrates that continuation will cause hardship.

7.2 Election Commission approved the merger of Jharkhand VikasMorcha (Prajatantrik) party, led by BabulalMarandi with the BJP.

7.3 Veteran DMK leader K. Anbazhaganpassed away in Chennai at the age of 97.

7.4 Comic book on former Odisha CM BijuPatnaik (1916-97) titled ‘Adventures of a Daredevil Democrat’ released. 

7.5 Former Union Law Minister and Congress leader Hans Raj Bhardwaj dies at 83 in New Delhi.

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

8.1 International Women’s Day Special Programs

• PM launched She Inspires Us campaign., to hand over his social media accounts “to women whose life, work inspire us”
• President awarded Nari Shakti Puraskar of WCD Ministry to 15 women: Rashmi Urdhwardeshe (60), Tashi Malik and Nungshi Malik (28), Padala Bhudevi (40), Kalavati Devi (58), Kaushiki Chakroborty (38), Avani Chaturvedi (26), Bhawanna Kanth (27), Mohana Singh Jitarwal (28), Bhageerathi Amma (105), Karthyayini Amma (98), Chami Murmu (47), NilzaWangmo (40), Bina Devi (43), Mann Kaur (103), Arifa Jan (33)
• NITI Aayog confers awards under its Women Entrepreneurship Platform: Priyanka Mokshmar (Vaayu Home Appliances), RamyaVenkataraman (Centre for Teacher Accreditation), Shilpi Kapoor (Barrier Break), Rinka Banerjee (Thinking Forks), Nidhi Pant (Science for Society), Anupriya Balikai (Spookfish Innovations), Kalpana Sankar (Hand in Hand), Khushboo Jain (ImpactGuru), Sneha Sundaram (Kutuki), Jayanti Pradhan (Agro-processor), Jugnu Jain (Sapien Biosciences), Pratyusha Pareddy (NemoCare), Poonam BirKasturi (Daily Dump), Ruchi Jain (Taru Naturals), Sujata Sahu (17000 ft Foundation), Dr Praveen Nair (Salaam Baalak Trust).
•  The 2020 BusinessLineChangemaker Awards presented to the winners in Chennai: Arunachalam Muruganandam won ‘Iconic Changemaker Award’. Pradeep Mewada won ‘The Young Changemaker Award’. Rashid K., Nikhil P., Arun George and Vimal Govind won ‘Young Changemakers’ award. Government e-Marketplace (GeM) won the ‘Digital Transformation’ award. India Stack won the award in ‘Financial Transformation’ category. The award in ‘Social Transformation’ category was won by Shanti Raghavan of Enable India. Woman athlete Dutee Chand won ‘Changemaker of the Year’ award. ISRO won ‘Changemaker of the Year’ award.
• PM hands over his social media accounts to seven women achievers under #SheInspiresUs campaign: Sneha Mohandoss, Malvika Iyer, Arifa Jaan, Kalpana Ramesh, Vijaya Pawar, Kalavati Devi, Bina Devi.

8.2 National Safety Day observed by National Safety Council of India on March 4; National Safety Week from March 4.

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

9.1 Not Available Today

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

10.1   Ranking– Corporate Engagement in Women’s Economic Empowerment report by UNDP

For more information download pdf from here –

https://www.undp.org/content/dam/india/docs/Publication/Digital%20Gender%20Report.pdf

10.2 Daily dose of  FIVE Facts -

• The UK India Business Council (UKIBC) in Nov2019 announced the establishment of the Aerospace and Defence Industry Group to boost bilateral cooperation in the areas.
• Russia in Dec2, 2019 inaugurated the 3000-km ‘Power of Siberia’ pipeline to transport natural gas to China.
• Union Minister for food processing HarsimratKaurBadal inaugurated Avantee Mega Food Park (MFP)the first MFP of Madhya Pradesh in Dec19.  
• UN’s International Day of Neutrality was observed on December 12, 2019. 
• Military Literature Festival was organised in Chandigarh on December 13-15, 2019.

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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