Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 14-03-2020

Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 14-03-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. COVID-19 pandemic updates – India reported its second COVID-19 death, with a 68-year-old woman from west Delhi succumbing to the infection at the Ram ManoharLohia Hospital, while the number of positive cases touched 82. With the country in the second stage of transmission of the disease, countrywide containment efforts were launched. Bihar, Delhi, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha announced the closure of schools, colleges, malls and theatres and cancellation of public events till March 31, while Haryana ordered a ban on religious gatherings and festivals.44 Indians brought from Iran. US President declared national emergency in the country over COVID-19 pandemic.
2. Farooq set free from detention – In a significant step to allow the resumption of regional politics, the Jammu and Kashmir administration on Friday released National Conference (NC) president and MP Farooq Abdullah, 82, by revoking his detention under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA). Dr. Abdullah, who was in detention for over seven months, said his “freedom is incomplete till other detained leaders are released”. Dr. Abdullah has become the first of the three incarcerated former Chief Ministers to be set free since the Centre revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomous status on August 5 last. NC vice-president Omar Abdullah and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti remain in detention in Srinagar.
3. Delhi Assembly passes resolution against NPR, NRC – The Delhi Assembly passed a resolution against the National Population Register (NPR) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) at a special session. By conducting the NPR exercise across the nation, Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal alleged during his address, the BharatiyaJanata Party-led Central government was attempting to “divert” the attention of people from “the real issues” being faced by the country such as unemployment and economic crises.
4. UP clears Ordinance for recovery of damages – The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government gave its approval to an Ordinance for the recovery of damage to public and private property during protests. U.P. Finance Minister Suresh Khanna announced the decision of the State Cabinet, which gave its consent to the U.P. Recovery of Damage to Public and Private Property Ordinance, 2020. The government decision came a day after the SC  did not stay the Allahabad HC order to the Lucknow administration to “forthwith” remove roadside hoardings displaying the personal details of persons accused of vandalism and arson during the protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act last December.
5. Pehlu Khan case: minor convicts sent to special home – Two minors convicted of participating in the murder of dairy farmer Pehlu Khan as members of a mob of cow vigilantes in 2017 were sent by Alwar’s Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) to a special home for three years. Six persons accused of having led the attack were acquitted by a sessions court in August last year. The convicts, who were minors when they committed the crime, are in the age group of 18-21 now. They are likely to be shifted to a special home on the Central Jail premises in Jaipur.
6. Sengar, 6 others get 10-year jail – A special court sentenced expelled UP  BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar and six others to 10 years imprisonment in two cases linked to the death of the Unnao rape victim’s father in 2018. Sengar and his brother, Jaideep alias Atul Singh, have also been directed to pay Rs. 10 lakh each as compensation to the family of the deceased. Among those convicted are the then Makhi Police Station in-charge Ashok Singh Bhadauria and then Sub-Inspector K. P. Singh. The court asked the State government to take appropriate action against the doctors whose medical negligence led to the death of the girl's father. On March 4, Sengar was held guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
7. Centre announces Common Eligibility Test – Applicants for jobs in railways, banks and lower levels of Central government will now write a Common Eligibility Test (CET) from 2021.In a bid to streamline the hiring process for government agencies as well as the 2.5 crore candidates who apply each year, the Centre will set up an autonomous National Recruitment Agency (NRA) to conduct this online test, under which, candidates can apply through a common registration portal.NRA proposal would soon go for Cabinet approval.The CET will replace the first level tests conducted by the Staff Selection Commission, the Railway Recruitment Board and the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection.
8. Pro-democracy march in Thailand – Hundreds of pro-democracy protesters marched in Bangkok, wearing black T-shirts to mourn the state of Thailand under an Army-aligned government, in the first street protest for several years. Discontent with the administration of ex-Army chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha is seething, with a progressive Opposition party disbanded and the country’s economy faltering as the COVID-19 crisis batters the key tourism industry. Thailand voted Mr.Prayut’s conservative government into power a year ago. It was the first election since a 2014 coup and held under an Army-scripted Constitution that critics say gave Mr.Prayut an unfair advantage.
9. Even more disturbed middle-east - Civilian among 6 dead in US strikes on Iraq –US air strikes targeting pro-Iranian military factions in Iraq killed one civilian and five security personnel, the raids risked a bloody escalation in the war-battered country. The Pentagon said the strikes were in retaliation for rocket fire against an Iraqi base that killed one British and two U.S. military personnel, the deadliest such attack in years. The U.S. strikes hit bases hosting personnel from the state-sponsored Hashed al-Shaabi military network. The same bases also host Iraqi government forces.
10. Bulls quarantine bears – Investors thought it would be a Black Friday as the barometer Sensex yo-yoed 5,400 points and the Nifty hit the lower circuit breaker of 10% as trading ground to a halt, albeit temporarily. But the markets sprang a surprise, ending in the green. The Sensex, which had touched a low of 29,388.97 during the morning session, rebounded to a high of 34,769.48 before closing at 34,103.48, up 1,325.34 points or 4.04%. The broader Nifty settled at 9,955.20, gaining 365.05 points, or 3.81%.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	Virudhunagar District Central Coop Bank	Assistant	55	Any Degree	March 31, 2020	http://vnrdrb.net/recruitment/admin/images/01-2019drb%20asst%20CCB%20renotification%2010.3.20739435_1583819051.pdf
2	Virudhunagar District Central Coop Bank	Assistant/ Clerk	64	Any Degree	March 31, 2020	http://vnrdrb.net/recruitment/admin/images/02_2019574141_1583819694.pdf
3	Tirunelveli District Central Coop Bank	Assistant	25	Any Degree	April 3, 2020	https://www.tnydrb.in/doc_pdf/Notification_2.pdf
4	Villupuram District Central Coop Bank	Assistant	59	Any Degree	April 9, 2020	http://www.vpmdrb.in/doc_pdf/Notification_2.pdf
5	Villupuram District Central Coop Bank	Assistant	49	Any Degree	April 9, 2020	http://www.vpmdrb.in/doc_pdf/Notification_1.pdf
6	Thiruvannamalai District Central Coop Bank	Assistant/ Clerk	57	Any Degree	April 9, 2020	http://www.drbtvmalai.net/recruitment/admin/images/03_2020_DRB_TVM..(11.03.2020)241139_1583935014.pdf
7	Thiruvannamalai District Central Coop Bank	Assistant/ Clerk	70	Any Degree	April 9, 2020	http://www.drbtvmalai.net/recruitment/admin/images/02_2020_DRB_TVM(1)..(11.03.2020)722408_1583934709.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 The Crypto currency judgement of Supreme Court

• Precursors – In April 2018, RBI banned trading in cryptocurrency in India. Cryptocurrency can be referred as digital currency.
• Context – Supreme Court has given a 180-page judgment on RBI’s banning of by allowing it in India.
• Background - Several persons had made efforts to create alternate of ‘formal’ money like American cryptographer David Chaum came up with ecash in 1983 etc. But the invention of Bitcoin was the first time a real breakthrough was made. Satoshi Nakamoto is considered as inventor of cryptocurrency. He wrote a paper titled ‘Bitcoin: A peer-to-peer Electronic Cash System’ in 2008. The intention was to create a decentralized digital currency that would operate without a central bank through an open-sourced network using cryptography to validate transactions. Under this each transaction would be recorded on a public ledger called blockchain. Since then, various other cryptocurrencies have cropped upeach using blockchain technology. The social media giant Facebook announced in June 2019 that it intended to launch its open form of cryptocurrency, Libra.
• In India, after the launch of Bitcoin a number of cryptocurrency exchanges began to operate. But they were working in what was really a regulatory vacuum.  
• There was not only no clear definition of what a cryptocurrency was but there was also no law that prohibited or regulated their use. April 2018, when the Reserve Bank of India issued a circular, not banning the use of crypto currencies themselves, but the provision of banking services to any person who dealt with such currencies.
• Two different petitioners went to court against the RBI move. One, the Internet and Mobile Association of India, a non-profit group that aims to represent the interests of the online and digital services industry, and two, a group of corporations that were in the business of running of crypto exchange platforms.
• The court found that while the RBI has the power to regulate Virtual Currencies [VCs], the prohibition imposed through the April 2018 circular is disproportionate, and, therefore, ultra vires the Constitution. In the court's belief, in the absence of any legislative proscription, the business of dealing in these currencies ought to be treated as a legitimate trade that is protected by the fundamental right to carry on any occupation, trade or business under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution.
• According to the court, the RBI's circular, in imposing a wholesale moratorium on the provision of banking services to these dealers unreasonably impinged on what is otherwise a valid vocation, by going beyond the limitations permitted under Article 19(6).

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

2.1 Reconstruction Scheme for YES Bank

• Union Cabinet approved reconstruction scheme for Yes Bank as proposed by RBI
• SBI will invest Rs. 7,250 crore for 49% equity in Yes Bank.
• Axis Bank and HDFC will invest up to Rs. 600 crore and Rs. 1,000 crore respectively in Yes Bank
• The authorised capital of Yes Bank has been increased to Rs 6,200 crore from Rs 1,100 crore.

2.2 PETRONET MHB

• ONGC and HPCL acquired the 34.56% stake of 8 PSBs in Petronet MHB Ltd for about Rs 371 crore.
• ONGC and HPCL bought 17.28% stake each from the PSBs.
• Both ONGC and HPCL had held 32.72% apiece in Petronet MHB  
• Petronet MHB Ltd owns a petroleum product pipeline in Mangalore.

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

3.1 Europe wants ‘right to repair’ smartphones

• The European Union has announced an ambitious plan that would require manufacturers of electronic products, from smartphones to tumble driers, to offer more repairs, upgrades and ways to reuse existing goods, instead of encouraging consumers to buy new ones. 
• The “right to repair,” part of a wide-ranging policy package known as the Green Deal that was introduced this month, is the latest example of the EU’s ambitions to promote more sustainable economic growth and to prevent waste.
• It extends standards brought in last year that put “right to repair” obligations on the manufacturers of some large appliances.
• Manufacturers like Apple take old iPhones back when consumers buy a new one, but the EU plan wants them to go one step further: If implemented, it would encourage consumers to buy less and to keep a product in use as long as possible, and encourage industries to consider recycling only when a device is no longer usable.  
• Environmental groups said the plan represented a shift from the EU’s current policy, which is mostly based on recycling.
• With the “right to repair,” upgrading a phone’s software, replacing the battery of a tablet, or buying a new display for a laptop instead of changing the whole device would become easier.
• The plan also includes measures to introduce a common charger for smartphones — an effort that the EU has long tried to implement, with little success — targets to reduce packaging, and a new framework to recycle batteries and textiles, among other measures.

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

4.1 Canada set to welcome 10L immigrants over next 3 yrs

• Canada aims to welcome over 10 lakh immigrants over the next three years, up to 2022. This spells good news for skilled Indians, especially those in the technology sector.
  
• Given the challenges thrown up by the US immigration policies, Canada has emerged as an attractive alternate destination. 
• According to a press release by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the government agency that oversees immigration, the target is to admit up to 3.41 lakh permanent residents in 2020, increase it to 3.51 lakh in 2021 and 3.61 lakh in 2022. 
• Motivated by more restrictive immigration policies under the Trump administration and the difficulty of obtaining green cards in the United States, the number of Indians obtaining permanent residence in Canada has more than doubled since 2016. 
• In 2006, 39705 Indians admitted as permanent resident to Canada which increased to 80,685 in 2019. Reason behind this increase is that Canada is benefiting from a diversion of young Indian tech workers from U.S. destinations, largely because of the challenges of obtaining and renewing H-1B visas and finding a reliable route to U.S. permanent residence. 
• Another factor in the rise of Indian immigrants in Canada is the ability of Canadian universities to attract international students at record levels. 
• Number of Indian International students in Canada have been increased from 76,075 in 2006 to 1,72,625 in 2018.

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

5.1 Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE)

• Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), Government of India launched Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) to make available collateral-free credit to the micro and small enterprise sector.
• Both the existing and the new enterprises are eligible to be covered under the scheme.
• The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, GoI and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), established a Trust named Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) to implement the Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises.
• CGTMSE has introduced a new "Hybrid Security" product allowing guarantee cover for the portion of credit facility not covered by collateral security.

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• 6. MISCELLANEOUS (Prelims, Various GS Papers)

6.1 Weekly Roundup – Sports

• Boxing -Asian Olympic Qualifiers Boxing in Amman, Jordan - India’s M. C. Mary Kom (women’s 51kg), Amit Panghal (men’s 52kg) and LovlinaBorgohain (women’s 69kg) won bronze medals.
• Cricket –  

1. 42-year old former India opener WasimJaffer retired after scoring 1,944 runs in 31 Tests; first cricketer to play in 150 Ranji Trophy matches.
2. PoonamYadav is the only Indian player to feature in the Women's T20 World Cup team of the tournament: ICC.
3. Australia (184/4 in 20) defeat India (99/10 in 19.1) by 85 runs in the final at Melbourne to won their fifth ICC Women's T20 World Cup.
4. Saurashtra (425, 105/4) won Ranji Trophy cricket title by defeating Bengal (380) at Rajkot by virtue of their first innings lead.

• Football – MohunBaganwon I-League football title.
• Hockey - National team captains Manpreet Singh and Rani Rampal won the Dhruv Batra Player of the Year Award 2019 in the men's and women's categories
  respectively at the THIRD Hockey India Annual Awards in New Delhi. 
• Lawn Tennis–

1. Croatia defeat India 3-1 in Davis Cup tennis qualifier tie in Zagreb.
2. The Indian women’s tennis team comprising Ankita Raina, RutujaBhosale and SaniaMirza created history in the Fed cup tournament by progressing to the play-offs for the first time after defeating Indonesia 2-1 in Dubai.

• Snooker - Pankaj Advani won National 6-Red Snooker Championship in Ahmedabad. 

• Olympics –  

1. Asian Olympic Qualifiers Boxing tournament in Amman (Jordan): VikasKrishan (men’s 69 kg) gets silver medal.
2. World Athletics Council fines Russian Athletics Federation USD 10 million for breaching anti-doping rules; caps at 10 the number of Russians allowed to compete as neutrals at the Tokyo Olympics.
3. Czech Republic’s Dana Zatopkova, 1952 Olympic women’s javelin champion, dies aged 97 in Prague.
4. Khelo India Sports– First ever Khelo India Winter Games begin at Gulmarg in J&K.

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Suspension of 7 Congress Lok Sabha MPs revoked by Speaker Om Birla; were suspended on March 5 on charges of “gross misconduct” in the House.

7.2 Rajya Sabha approves minor changes made by LokSabha in the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order Amendment Bill, 2019; bill includes Parivara and Talawara tribal communities of Karnataka in ST category.

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

8.1 Covid-19 officially a pandemic - what does that mean?

•  Difference between ‘pandemic’ and ‘epidemic’ - WHO defines an epidemic as “occurrence in a community or region of cases of an illness clearly in excess of normal expectancy.” A pandemic is “an epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a very wide area, crossing international boundaries and usually affecting a large number of people.But there isn’t a fixed definition of a pandemic based on mortality or number of cases. Previously, in 2009, WHO had declared H1N1(swine flu) which infected 24% of world’s population as a pandemic.
• Experts agree that an outbreak needs to fulfil three main criteria to be called a pandemic — it has to be a new virus, it should be capable of person-to-person spread, and it should show sustained local transmission in new regions.
• Does pandemic status mean the virus is now more deadly? – WHO took long time to upgrade COVID-19 as pandemic.Even as cases spiralled in Europe, Middle East and the US, WHO directorgeneral Dr TedrosAdhanomGhebreyesus stopped short of calling coronavirus a pandemic earlier this week. Instead, he said that the “threat of a pandemic has become very real”. Two days later, on March 11, the agency declared it had made the assessment that Covid-19 can be characterised as a pandemic.Pandemic has nothing to do with severity of the illness; it’s about how many parts of the world are dealing with it.
• Can a pandemic be stopped? – Yes. This is the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus and the first ever that can actually be controlled. All countries can still change the course of this pandemic...If countries detect, test, treat, isolate, trace and mobilise their people in the response, those with a handful of cases can prevent those cases becoming clusters, and those clusters becoming community transmission. Several countries have demonstrated that this virus can be suppressed and controlled.

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

9.1 Govt. launches helpline number for women students and scientists

• On International Women’s Day, Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan on March 8, 2020 launched a helpline number for women students, researchers, entrepreneurs and scientists to answer their queries related to ministry’s programmes. The helpline number 011-26565285 will be open during office hours -- 9:30am to 5:30 pm -- on working days. 

9.2 UAHS develops new paddy variety

• As part of its initiative to prevent decline in the area under paddy cultivation, the University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences (UAHS), Shivamogga, has developed ‘SahyadriMegha’, a new variety of paddy resistant to blast disease and rich in nutrients.

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

10.1   Ranking–  Observed Rainfall Variability and Changes over Indian Region   

• Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland — have shown “significant decreasing trends” in annual rainfall in the last 30 years and many parts of the country witnessed increase in number of “dry days” during the monsoon season which adversely affected the groundwater recharges in these regions.
• the situation for agriculture or water recharge in certain states in the Ganga river basin (UP, Bihar and West Bengal), Delhi and some southern states was “alarming”, as number of dry days (daily rainfall of 2.5mm or less) during the south-west monsoon was “significantly increasing”.

For more information download pdf from here –

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-981-10-2531-0

10.2 Daily dose of  FIVE Facts -

• A Lockheed C-130 Hercules military transport aircraft was found to have crashed on Dec 12 with no survivors. 
• Reporters Without Borders said in Dec2019 that 49 journalists were killed across the world in 2019.
• Liverpool the Club World Cup football tournament in Doha on Dec 2019.
• Phanfonetyphoon hit the Philippines in Dec 2019.
• P. N. Hoon(General Officer Commander in Chief of the Western Army of the Indian Armed Forces from 1986 to 1987)died in Chandigarh in Jan2020 at the age of 90.

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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