Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 16-03-2020

Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 16-03-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Confirmed COVID-19 cases rise to 114 –Figures released by the Union Health Ministry late on Sunday put the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country at 110. However, according to reports from States, 114 persons have tested positive. Of the new cases, two were from Maharashtra, two from Kerala and one each from Rajasthan, Karnataka, Telangana and Uttarakhand. Ten persons have so far been discharged after treatment.The government has maintained that no cases of community transmission — people testing positive for the virus who have no traceable link to travellers who’ve come into India from abroad — have been detected..
2. Modi calls for SAARC emergency fund–The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) should create a fund to fight the threat of COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced.Addressing the first-ever video conference of the heads of member countries, he extended $10 million as India’s contribution to the fund.
3. Crucial test of strength for Kamal Nath govt. –The fate of the Congress-led government in Madhya Pradesh is set to be decided in a floor test. Although 92 Congress and four Independent MLAs returned to Bhopal from Jaipur, there was no sign of either the 107 BJP or 16 rebel Congress MLAs. The Kamal Nath government was pushed to the brink following the exit of senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia and the block of 16 lawmakers owing allegiance to him. It will now have to secure the votes of at least 112 MLAs to prove its simple majority in the Assembly, which has an effective strength of 222 after the resignation of six Congress MLAs and the death of two MLAs in the 230-member House.
   
4. Cong. suffers Rajya Sabha setback in Gujarat as four MLAs resign –Four Congress MLAs in Gujarat have tendered their resignation to the Assembly Speaker, delivering a blow to the party ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections in the State. The party was hoping to wrest two of the four seats from the State, but will now have to either withdraw one of the two candidates or face defeat in the second seat.All three candidates fielded by the ruling BJP — Abhay Bhardwaj, Ramila Bara and Narhari Amin, who is a former Congress leader — are likely to win, along with one candidate of the Congress now.The legislators who resigned are Somabhai Patel from Limbadi, J.V. Kakadia from Dhari, Pravin Maru from Gadhada and Pradhyumansinh Jadeja from Abdasa.
5. Covid-19 cases to be discharged only after 2 negative tests in 24 hrs: Govt –The government has issued a discharge policy for Covid-19 cases under which a positive case shall be managed as per protocol and discharged after only two samples test negative within 24 hours and there’s evidence of chest radiographic clearance and viral clearance in respiratory samples. Cases of suspected coronavirus, who test negative in the first instance, can be discharged on doctor’s advice but will be monitored for 14 days after their last contact with a confirmed Covid-19 case.
   
6. COVID-19 vaccine at least 2 years away –Senior health officials have said a COVID-19 vaccine will take at least two years to develop even with expedited clinical trials and approvals..
7. Delhi riots: Around 14 people have been arrested in last couple of days, one for stabbing IB man. Delhi Police arrested 14 people in connection with the northeast Delhi riots. The accused have been booked on charges of murder, attempted murder and rioting. Police have also identified six women who were involved in the mayhem at Chand Bagh in which a cop was killed and two others were critically injured. Raids are on to nab them. They were identified through mobile videos and CCTV footage.
8. Travel industry faces 80% cancellations – With India quarantining itself for the next one month and advising people against all non-essential travel, the hospitality and travel industry is bracing for what is likely to be one of its toughest years on record. The peak travel season between April to June is facing large cancellations due to the coronavirus scare, while the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has petitioned PM Narendra Modi and the tourism ministry, seeking their urgent intervention in rolling out relief measures for the sector. Claiming that the industry is facing up to 80% cancellations in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, the association has also sought the creation of a corpus to bail out the “sinking” industry.
9. Aramco slips 9%, now below IPO price –Shares of Saudi state oil company Aramco slumped below their initial public offering (IPO) price for the first time since they began trading in December, after Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (Opec’s) pact with Russia to restrict oil supplies fell apart.
   
10. Ambedkar museum in UK gets lease of life – A museum dedicated to Dr Ambedkar, at the north London house he lived in from 1921-22 while a student, has been saved after the UK government approved an appeal by the Maharashtra government against its closure. Communities secretary Robert Jenrick, allowed the appeal on March 12. By granting retrospective planning permission, the museum, bought by the state government in September 2015 at a cost of Rs 31 crore, will remain at 10 King Henry’s Road. The government also quashed an enforcement notice from Camden Council ordering the museum’s closure on November 16, 2018.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	NLC India Limited	Assistant Manager (Survey)	15	Diplom (Mining/ Mine Survey)	April 7, 2020	https://www.nlcindia.com/new_website/careers/advt/AM-SURVEY-MAR-2020.pdf
2	NEERI	Project Assistant – II, III	5	Degree, PG (Engg)	March 26, 2020	https://www.neeri.res.in/file_homes/34524160_Notice_for_PA_March_20.pdf
3	National Horticultural Board	Chief Consultant, Consultant, Resource Person, Sr Program.	12	-	-	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/03/Notification-National-Horticulture-Board-Consultant-Resource-Person-Sr-Programmer-Posts.pdf
4	IIT, Bhubaneswar	Medical Officer, Progra., Helper, Acco., Office Asst	16	ITI, Degree, PG Degree/ Dip, CA/ ICWA	April8, 2020	https://www.iitbbs.ac.in/notice/noticeb_1584086192.pdf
5	THSTI	Sr Mgr, Admin. Officer, Section Officer & Other	29	Any Degree, PG Deg/Dip, CA/ICWA	-	https://thsti.in/ethsti/writereaddata/158407633413THS-RN-16-2020.pdf
6	National Museum	Consultant	6	PG (Relevant Discipline), Ph.D	April3, 2020	http://www.nationalmuseumindia.gov.in/pdfs/EngagementofConsultantsatNationalMuseumNewDelhi13032020.pdf
7	ISRO-SAC	Scientist/ Eng, Tech Asst, Technician B	55	B.E/ B.Tech, MCA, M.Sc	March31, 2020	https://recruitment.sac.gov.in/OSAR/Pdfs/0220.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

• Decision -Pharmacy Council alone has jurisdiction in the field of Pharmacy Education, Not AICTE.

         Case-The Pharmacy Council of India vs Dr S. K. Toshniwal Educational Trusts andothers.
         Bench -Justices Arun Mishra, Vineet Saran and MR Shah

• Decision -Farmer entering into buyback transaction with seed company is a 'Consumer'
  Case-M/s Nandan Biomatrix Ltd. vs S.Ambika Devi andothers.

          Bench - The bench comprising Justices Mohan M. Shanthanagoudar and R. Subhash Reddy

• Decision -Sexual harassment at workplace is an affront to women's Fundamental Rights
  Case-Punjab and Sindh Bank and others vs Mrs Durgesh Kuwar 

          Bench - Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud and Justice Ajay Rastogi

•  Decision -Unreasoned decisions delivered on technical grounds without entering into merits are not binding precedents 

           Case-Union of India andothers vs MV Mohanan Nair

           Bench - Justices R. Banumathi, A. S. Bopanna and Hrishikesh Roy

• Decision -High Court In Article 226 Proceedings Does Not Adjudicate Correctness Of Allegations In FIR 

          Case-Padma Mishra vs State of Uttarkhand and Another 

          Bench - Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Aniruddha Bose

• Decision -Appointment Secured On The Basis Of A Fraudulent Caste Certificate Is Void Ab Initio

          Case-Vijay Krishnarao v. State of Maharashtra andothers

          Bench - Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud and Justice Sanjeev Khanna

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

2.1 ‘WINGS INDIA 2020' Exhibition and Conference

• Organised by -Civil Aviation Ministry, Airports Authority of India and FICCI
• Place -Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad
• Time – March 12 to 15
• Theme – Flying for all
• Significance -It was Asia’s largest and most popular gathering in the aviation industry. 
• Airports Authority of Indiawas constituted by an Act of Parliament and came into being on April 1, 1995 by merging erstwhile National Airports Authority and International Airports Authority of India.It is entrusted with the responsibility of creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing civil aviation infrastructure both on the ground and air space in the country.
• Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) was established in 1927 and is the largest and oldest apex business organisation in India.It is a non-government, not-for-profit organisation.It provides a platform for networking and consensus building within and across sectors and is the first port of call for Indian industry, policymakers and the international business community.

2.2   8th Foundation Day of LPAI

• Recently, the 8th Foundation Day of the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) has been celebrated in New Delhi.
• LPAI is involved in the development of land ports (also known as Integrated Check Posts (ICPs)) to maintain regional connectivity across the international
  borders of India. Currently, the LPAI is building the Passenger Terminal Building at Dera Baba Nanak, Kartarpur Sahib Corridor.
• Land Ports Authority of India is a statutory body established under Land Ports Authority of India Act, 2010. Committee of Secretaries in 2003 recommended setting up of Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) at major entry points on India’s land borders.
• These ICPs were planned to house all the regulatory agencies like Immigration, Customs, Border Security etc. together with support facilities in a single complex to serve as a single-window facility as is prevalent at Airports and Seaports. LPAI intends to provide safe, secure and systematic facilities for
  movement of cargo as well passengers at its ICPs along the international borders of India.
• It plans, constructs and maintains roads, terminals and ancillary buildings other than national highways, State highways and railways, at an ICP.
• It establishes and maintains warehouses, container depots and cargo complexes for the storage or processing of goods with the establishment of hotels, restaurants and restrooms at ICP.
• The Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) along with the border areas are Attari (Punjab), Agartala (Tripura), Petrapole (West Bengal), Raxaul  (Bihar), Jogbani (Bihar),Moreh (Manipur), Dawki (Meghalaya), Rupaidiha (Uttar Pradesh), Sunauli (Uttar Pradesh) and Sutarkandi (Assam) 

2.3  Union Cabinet approved amendments in the Companies Act, 2013; Both listed and unlisted Indian companies allowed to list their shares on overseas stock exchanges.

2.4 PSU Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd (TCIS) signed with The Gambia for the latter's participation in the eVBAB Network Project for tele-education and tele-medicine in Africa.

2.5 Current Account Deficit (CAD) narrows to 1% of GDP in April-December 2019.

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

3.1 Water Crisis in Himalayan Region

• Context -Several towns were surveyed in the Himalayan region of Bangladesh, Nepal, India and Pakistan to understand the challenges of the water crisis in urban areas of these regions.
• Findings – 

1. Eight towns were nearly 20%-70% deficient in their water supply. 
2. The places are extremely dependent on springs (ranging between 50% and 100%) for their water.
3. Three-fourth of these places were in urban areas.
4. Rural areas have typically garnered much of the attention and issues surrounding urban environments have been sidelined.

•   Reasons –

1. Unplanned urbanisation - the encroachment and degradation of natural water bodies (springs, ponds, lakes, canals, and rivers) and the growing disappearance of traditional water systems (stone spouts, wells, and local water tanks) are evident.
2. Climate change.

• Significance -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.
• Water Crisis in India–

1. India tops the list of people living with water scarcity with about one bn people living in areas with physical water scar city of which 600 million in areas of high to extreme water stress.
2. About 330 mn people from 302 districts were affected by droughts in 2016.
3. Over 21% of the country’s diseases are water related. In 2015, India lost over 1 lakh children under the age of five to diarrheal diseases.

• NITI Aayog Report -Bengaluru and 20 other major cities (including Delhi) in India will hit to Day Zero Situation – which means that taps in a region start running dry by the year 2020 with Bengaluru being 11 city of world.
• Situation around the world -The city of South Africa ‘Cape Town’, in 2018, launched a countdown to the day when tap water would be cut-off to millions of residents as a result of a three year drought.Brazil’s Sao Paulo faced its own Day Zero in 2015. The city turned off its water supply for 12 hours a day forcing many businesses and industries to shut down.In 2008, Barcelona in Spain had to import tankers full of fresh water from France.
• Way Forward -Communities were coping through short-term strategies such as groundwater extraction, which is proving to be unsustainable.A holistic water management approach that includes springshed management and planned adaptation is therefore paramount.
  
  
  

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

4.1 Russian parliament approved amendments in constitution allowing President Vladimir Putin to stay in power for another 12 years after his current term ends in 2024

• President Vladimir Putin fast-tracked work on constitutional changes that could keep him in power well past the end of his term in 2024 while lawmakers quickly sealed his choice for new prime minister.
• Putin cast his proposals as a way to strengthen parliament and to bolster democracy.
• A constitutional reform announced by Putin indicated he was working to carve out a new governing position for himself after his current six-year term ends in 2024, although it remains unclear what specific path he will take to stay in charge.
• Putin suggested amending the constitution to allow lawmakers to name prime ministers and Cabinet members. The president currently holds the authority to make those appointments. Putin argued that Russia would not remain stable if it were governed under a parliamentary system. The president should retain the right to dismiss the prime minister and Cabinet ministers, to name top defense and security officials, and to be in charge of the military and law enforcement agencies, he said.
• Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, has been replaced by previous tax chief Mikhail Mishustin.
• The Kremlin-controlled lower house, the State Duma, quickly approved Mishustin in a unanimous vote.
• The reshuffle has shaken Russia's political elites, who were left wildly speculating about Putin's intentions and future Cabinet appointments.
• Background: The former KGB operative has been in power for more than 20 years, longer than any other Russian or Soviet leader since Josef Stalin, who led from 1924 until his death in 1953. Under the law now in force, Putin must step down when his current term ends. Putin has served as the President of Russia since 2012, previously holding the position from 2000 until 2008.He was also the Prime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012.
• Putin was born in Leningrad and studied law at Leningrad State University, graduating in 1975. Putin worked as a KGB foreign intelligence officer for 16 years, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, before resigning in 1991 to begin a political career in Saint Petersburg. He later moved to Moscow in 1996 to join the administration of President Boris Yeltsin, serving first as Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the KGB's successor agency, before being appointed as prime minister in August 1999. After the resignation of Yeltsin, Putin was elected to succeed him.
• Medvedev served as president from 2008 to 2012, keeping the seat warm for Putin who continued calling the shots as prime minister when he was forced to step down from the top job due to term limits. Under Medvedev, the constitution was amended to extend the presidential term from four years to six, although it limits the leader to two consecutive terms.
• The 53-year-old Mishustin is a career bureaucrat who has worked as the tax chief for the past 10 years, keeping a low profile and showing no political ambitions. He has won a good reputation among experts who praised him for boosting tax collection and streamlining Russia's rigid tax administration system.Mishustin vowed to focus on social issues and improve living standards.
  

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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 Movie Review – Shikara

• Director –Vidhu Vinod Chopra
• Running Time – 120 minutes
• Language –Hindi
• Cast–Aadil Khan, Sadia.
• Story -Centred around the mass evacuation of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990, the story traces the life of young newlyweds, Shiv Kumar Dhar (Aadil Khan) and Shanti Dhar (Sadia), who flee their homeland and take refuge at a camp in Jammu, with the promise that they will return home someday.
• Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus – The Hindus of the Kashmir Valley, were forced to flee the Kashmir valley as a result of being targeted by JKLF and Islamist insurgents during late 1989 and early 1990. Of the approximately 300,000 to 600,000 Hindus living in the Kashmir Valley in 1990 only 2,000–3,000 remain there in 2016. January 19, 1990 is widely remembered by Kashmiri Hindus as the tragic “exodus day” of being forced out of Kashmir. According to the Indian government, more than 62,000 families are registered as Kashmiri refugees including some Sikh and Muslim families. Most families were resettled in Jammu, National Capital Region surrounding Delhi and other neighbouring states. 

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 States to be asked to invoke Epidemic Disease Act

• All States/Union Territories be advised to invoke provisions of Section 2 of the Epidemic Disease Act, 1897 so that all advisories being issued from time to time by the Ministry/State/UTs are enforceable
• The Group of Ministers was constituted to review the measures taken for the management of COVID-19 in India.The meeting was attended by Secretaries and other senior officials of the relevant Ministries and Departments.
• As a measure of prevention passengers with travel history to China, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Japan, Italy, Thailand, Singapore, Iran, Malaysia, France, Spain and Germany should undergo self-imposed quarantine for 14 days from the date of their arrival, and their employers should facilitate work-from-home for such employees during this period.
• The Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 is a law which was first enacted to tackle bubonic plague in Bombay state in former British India. The law is meant for containment of epidemics by providing special powers that are required for the implementation of containment measures to control the spread of the disease.The Act has been routinely used to contain various diseases in India such as swine flu, cholera, malaria and dengue.In 2018 the Act was enforced as cholera began to spread in a region of Gujarat. In 2015, it was used to deal with dengue and malaria in Chandigarh and in 2009 it was invoked in Pune to combat swine flu.
• Legal Provisions –  

1. Power to take special measures and prescribe regulations as to dangerous epidemic disease
2. Any person disobeying any regulation or order made under this Act shall be deemed to have committed an offence punishable under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
3. Protection to persons acting under Act- No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person for anything done or in good faith intended to be done under this Act.

• The Indian Medical Association (IMA) said that sharing data of infected people on a daily basis with the public has created panic across the country. It appealed to the government to “classify the data” of the pandemic and take appropriate action with “clinical precision.”

7.2 Home Ministry to treat coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as a “notified disaster”; states can now spend more funds from SDRF (State Disaster Response Fund) to fight the pandemic.

7.3 UP Cabinet passed ordinance for recovery of damage to public property during violent protests.Governor Anandiben Patel promulgatedit. 

7.4 Gujarat: Four Congress MLAs resign from Assembly; party now has 69 MLAs in 182-member Assembly.

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

8.1 Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, 3 others appointed by LG Anil Baijal to represent police in cases related to Delhi violence

8.2 The Future of Work: Women in India’s Workforce’ seminar organised by Women and Child Development (WCD) and the World Bank in New Delhi.

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

9.1 Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has isolated COVID-19 virus strain: Director General Balram Bhargava

• India’s efforts to develop a vaccine against the novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) have received a boost as the country’s apex virology laboratory, the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV) in Pune, has managed to isolate the strains of Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes the infection.
• The virus strains have been isolated using the throat swabs of the initial three patients in Kerala — all students from Wuhan in China.
• The isolation of virus strains is the first step towards expediting the development of drugs, vaccines and rapid diagnostic kits in the country.
• Other countries such as Japan, Thailand, the United States of America and China have already isolated the virus strains. Countries isolate strains from their patients to check for variations in samples.
• ICMR has been working in close coordination with the ministry of health, and other departments in its efforts to tackle the new outbreak.
• According to World Health Organization (WHO) experts, about 20 vaccines are currently under development by several research groups around the world.
• This is just a step even though a crucial step, the final answer lies in clinical trials. We take pride in isolating the virus because we managed it successfully with barely a few patients who had tested positive for the viral disease.

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

10.1   Ranking–  UNDP Gender Social Norms Index   

• Close to 90 percent of men and women hold some sort of bias against women.

For more information download pdf from here –

http://hdr.undp.org/en/GSNI

10.2 Daily dose of  FIVE Facts -

• Akbar Padamsee passed away in Jan2020 at the age of 91. He was a winner of Lalit Kala Akademi Award.
• Vladimir Norov is the Secretary-General of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
• A summit was organised in Berlin on January 19, 2020 to end civil war in Libya.
• Mary Higgins Clark a well-known author passed away in Florida (US) at the age of 92 on January 31, 2020. 
• Ajay Mathur is the Director General of The Energy Resources Institute (TERI).
   

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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