Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 30-03-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 30-03-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. As inter-State buses dwindle, migrants are stuck with nowhere to go - Hundreds of people remained suspended between hope and despair at Zero Point on the Yamuna Expressway as desperate migrant workers — forced by a sudden and indefinite loss of employment due to the nationwide lockdown — tried to return home to villages in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Haryana. Zero Point is an unofficially-designated spot on the Yamuna Expressway, which links New Delhi with Agra via Noida, where inter-State buses usually pick up passengers.
2. Migrant workers to be stopped, quarantined at borders: Centre - Terming the movement of migrant workers to reach their home towns a violation of the lockdown measures on maintaining social distance, the Union Home Ministry directed State and Union Territory (UT) governments to provide temporary shelters, food and other essentials to the stranded poor and needy. The migrant workers who have moved out of their work spots must be quarantined in the nearest shelter after proper screening for a minimum period of 14 days as per standard health protocol. The States and UTs had been asked to strictly enforce the 21-day lockdown by prohibiting movement of people across cities and highways. Directions have been given to seal the district and State borders and allow only the movement of goods. Adequate arrangements for food and shelter of the poor and needy, including migrant labourers, should also be made at the place of their work, for which the use of the State Disaster Response Fund has already been authorised.
3. Store staff held for denying entry to Nagas - Two students from Nagaland were denied entry into the grocery store of a popular retail chain in Mysuru. This sparked outrage on social media following which the police arrested four staff members. Yokai Johny Konyak and Ali Meren stood in the queue outside the store on Saturday evening to buy food items. But they were denied entry on the grounds that they were not “Indians”.
4. Air quality improves in over 90 cities - With a nationwide lockdown in place, over 90 cities, including Delhi, recorded minimal air pollution in the last few days. Welcoming the reduction in pollution, environmentalists urged the government to treat it as a “wake-up call” and stop its “obsession” with “development” at the cost of the environment. India is currently under the biggest lockdown with around 130 crore people asked to stay home in view of the COVID-19 outbreak. The government has urged people to avoid unnecessary travel, significantly reducing the traffic movement across the country. According to the Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), the measures against COVID-19 have led to a drop in PM2.5 (fine particulate pollutant) by 30% in Delhi and by 15% in Ahmedabad and Pune, respectively.
5. Elephant gifted to U.S. in 1961 euthanised - Ambika, a 72-year-old elephant which was gifted to the U.S. in 1961 on behalf of children of India, was “humanely euthanised” by veterinarians at a national zoo in Washington. Estimated to be the third oldest Asian elephant in the North American population, Ambika was euthanised at the Smithsonian National Zoo.
6. Arjun Dev: a legendary historian passes away - Professor Arjun Dev, the legendary educationist and historian, a kind, gentle and generous but extremely brave man, passed away today morning at a hospital near his home in Noida. Born on November 12, 1938 in Leiah, West Punjab (now in Pakistan), he did his schooling in Ambala and then studied at Kirori Mal College, Delhi University. He is survived by his wife Indira Arjun Dev with whom he shared every aspect of his professional life.
7. PSU charges govt hospitals high margins on PPE - HLL Lifecare, the public sector company that acts as the government’s central procurement agency for personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers, is charging mark-ups of up to 50% on components of the protective gear it is providing to government hospitals. With HLL having floated tenders for 10 lakh coveralls and 40 lakh N95 masks recently, that would amount to almost Rs 22 crore as mark-up on coveralls alone and Rs 8 crore on N-95 masks. The mark-up was to account for transportation costs, which was high in the period of lockdown. In some cases, HLL might also need to send kit by airfreight, which would cost more.
8. US virus toll doubles in 2 days to 2200 - US President Donald Trump backed down from threats of imposing quarantine on New York after its Democratic governor said such an act would be tantamount to a “federal declaration of war” against states. Confrontation between the federal government and some states, and even between some states, is taking place as the US death toll from the coronavirus pandemic doubled in just two days to more than 2,200. Trump, whose ire has been directed mostly against Democrat-governed states, instead settled for a 14-day travel advisory warning against non-essential travel to New York and adjoining New Jersey and Connecticut.
9. E-tail to take $1bn hit in lockdown - The 21-day lockdown will lead to a loss of at least $1 billion in gross sales as India’s largest online retail platforms like Amazon and Flipkart stop selling non-essentials till at least the middle of next month, based on current government directives. What’s of further concern is that the online retail players are expected to grow only by 5% this year, in the most optimistic scenario, compared to about 26% growth in the previous year to reach $23-24 billion in gross sales. Overall ecommerce sales, including movie tickets and other platforms, was $32 billion in 2019. While online grocery is seeing a spike in orders, it constitutes only about 10% of overall sales for e-tailers.
10. Satish Gujral, master sculptor and veteran artist, dies at 94 - Gujral’s works traversed multiple modes and moorings and, over the decades, he drew inspiration from deities, the edifice of tribal forms, the gravitas of geometrical projections, animals as well as humans, to create a repertoire that entwined multiple references for his paintings as well as his sculptures. He beat all odds of hearing impairment to garner international recognition for his creativity that spanned painting, graphics, murals, sculpture and architecture.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	Army Recruiting Office, Srinagar	Soldier	-	8th Class, 10th Class, 10+2	May 11, 2020	https://joinindianarmy.nic.in/writereaddata/Portal/BRAVO_NotificationPDF/Bandipora_Rally_27_May_to_05_Jun_20.pdf
2	IHBAS	Technician & Technical Asst	5	10th Class/ 10+2	March 31, 2020	http://ihbas.delhigovt.nic.in/wps/wcm/connect/f79361004db051709b7aff982ee7a5c7/paramedic.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&lmod=-1696065228
3	Vadodara Municipal Corporation	Medical Officer, Paramedical Supporting Staff	112	MBBS, ANM, GNM, B.Sc (Nursing)	March 31, 2020	https://vmc.gov.in/VMCDocs/Recruitment/Recruitment_Advertise/2020//Health%20clinic%20recruitment.pdf
4	CUSAT	Security Guard	18	7th Class	April 20, 2020	http://faculty.cusat.ac.in/new/notifications/495_notification.pdf
5	CDMPHO, Balasore	MPHW, Staff Nurse & Other	314	10+2, Diploma, DMLT, DMRDT, GNM, ANM	April 2, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/03/Notification-CDMPHO-Balasore-MPHW-Staff-Nurse-Other-Posts.pdf
6	F. Mohan Med. College and Hosp., Balasore	Staff Nurse, Pharmacist, Lab Technician, Radiographer	223	10+2, Diploma/ Degree, DMLT, DMRDT, GNM	April 4, 2020	https://cdn.s3waas.gov.in/s370c639df5e30bdee440e4cdf599fec2b/uploads/2020/03/2020032719.pdf
7	Vadodara Municipal Corporation	Medical Officer, Paramedical Supporting Staff	112	MBBS, ANM, GNM, B.Sc (Nursing)	March 31, 2020	https://vmc.gov.in/VMCDocs/Recruitment/Recruitment_Advertise/2020//Health%20clinic%20recruitment.pdf

 

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• SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

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• 1. CONSTITUTION AND LAW (Prelims, GS Paper 2, Essay paper)

1.1 Not Available Today.

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

2.1 EPFO Regulations

• For the organised sector, the government will pay provident fund contribution of both the employer and the employee put together at 24% for the next three months.
• This is for those establishments with up to 100 employees and 90% of them earning less than Rs 15,000 per month.
• The EPFO regulation will be amended so that workers can draw up to 75% of the amount for their contingency expenditure.
   

2.2 15th Finance Commission sets up 8-member panel headed by its Chairman N. K. Singh to review fiscal consolidation road map of the both state and central governments.

2.3  Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) eases timelines within 330-day deadline for insolvency resolution process; lockdown period would not be counted for the purpose of timelines.

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

3.1 Himalayan Ibex a distinct species

• A recent study by scientists of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has proved that Himalayan Ibex, distributed in the trans-Himalayan ranges of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh, is a distinct species from the Siberian Ibex.
• The paper, ‘Genetic evidence for allopatric speciation of the Siberian Ibex (Capra sibirica) in India,’ has recently been published in Endangered Species Research, an international peer-reviewed journal.
• Siberian Ibex is a species of wild goat and is distributed in diverse habitats, ranging from cold deserts, rocky outcrops, steep terrain, high-land flats and mountain ridges to low mountains and foothills.
• From Mongolia, its distribution extends towards Altai, Hangai, Gobi-Altai, the Hurukh mountain ranges as well as Sayan Mountains near Russia and scattered populations in the small mountains of Trans-Altai Gobi.
• In Asia, Ibex is distributed in the Montane habitats, ranging in elevations from 500 m to 6,700 m in countries like India, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Southern Siberia and China. 
• In India, the Ibex is distributed mainly in the trans-Himalayan ranges of the Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh up to the river Sutlej.
• The genetic analysis conducted with the inclusion of the sequences available from all across the distribution ranges in Central Asia, Tajikistan, Altai Mountains, Mongolia and Russia provided first evidence to claim that Himalayan Ibex is genetically different from all other ranges of Siberian Ibex.
• The samples collected from India clustered with the sequences from Tajikistan in a phylogenetic analysis, which were adequately different from the other two clades: KZ clade of Tajikistan (which broadly represents one of the clusters in the phylogeny) and AMR clade of Altai Mountains, Mongolia and Russia.

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

4.1 World Meteorological Day celebrated on March 23

• Every 23 March, the World Meteorological Organization commemorates the coming into force of the Convention establishing the World Meteorological Organization on 23 March 1950.
• Theme 2020 - ‘Climate & Water’.
• Theme 2019 - “The Sun, the Earth and the Weather” 
• Headquarters of World Meterological Organisation – Geneva.

4.2 Ethnic Indian newspaper India Abroad in US ceased print edition after 50 years

 4.3 UK confirmed as co-chair of the governing council of India-led global Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)

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

5.1 J&K Health Scheme launched to provide free of cost Universal Health Coverage to all residents of UT in convergence with Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana

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• 6. MISCELLANEOUS (Prelims, Various GS Papers)

6.1 Weekly Roundup – Sports

• Greece hands over Olympic flame to Tokyo 2020 organisers - Greece on March 19, 2020 handed over the Olympic flame to Tokyo 2020 organisers at a ceremony held behind closed doors at the Panathenaic stadium in Athens. The flame was then handed to Tokyo 2020 representative Naoko Imoto, a swimmer who competed in the Atlanta 1996 Olympics.
• Former Indian football team captain Pradip Kumar Banerjee dies at 83 - Former Indian football team captain Pradip Kumar Banerjee passed away at the age of 83 in Kolkata on March 20, 2020. He was an integral part of India's gold medal-winning team in the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta. He was also the first footballer to receive the Arjuna Award (in 1961), and was awarded Padma Shri in 1990. Banerjee was also bestowed with the FIFA Fairplay Award (in 1990), and the FIFA Centennial Order of Merit in 2004.
• Former Real Madrid president Sanz dies after contracting coronavirus - Former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz, who was hospitalised with coronavirus, died on March 21, 2020 at the age of 76 in Spain. Sanz was in charge of the Spanish giant from 1995-2000, overseeing two Champions League titles.
• Former boxing world champion Roger Mayweather dies at 58 - Roger Mayweather, a two-time world champion turned trainer and uncle of unbeaten boxing great Floyd Mayweather, died at the age of 58 in Las Vegas (US) on March 17, 2020. Roger Mayweather had won world titles at super featherweight and super lightweight categories.

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Parliament passes bill to upgrade Sanskrit universities

• Parliament passes bill to upgrade three deemed to be Sanskrit universities into central universities: Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, Bhopal, Sri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, New Delhi and Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth Tirupati.
• The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on December 12 last year and sent to Rajya Sabha which passed it with some minor amendments on March 16. 
• The Lok Sabha on Friday approved the amendments made by the Upper House.

 7.2 Construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya starts, idols of the deity shifted to a temporary structure

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

8.1 Measures against Coronavirus outbreak

• Army Chief General MM Naravane launched Operation Namaste - Indian Army’s anti-COVID-19 drive.
• Facebook launched Corona Helpdesk Chatbot on Messenger alongwith Ministry of Health and MyGov.
• Restrictions on domestic flights extended till April 14.
• UP CM Yogi Adityanath set up “Team-11” comprising of as many inter-departmental committees to fight the coronavirus spread.
• Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust donates Rs. 51 crore to Maharashtra Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to fight the COVID-19 outbreak.
• PMO set up high-level panels to suggest measures to restore normalcy post 21-day lockdown; these panels to work under guidance of P K Mishra, Principal Secretary to the PM.
• Home Ministry directs states, UTs to allow transportation of all essential, non-essential goods during lockdown.
• Centre orders closure of state and district borders, says violators to be put in 14-day quarantine.
• National Book Trust to launch ‘Corona Studies Series’ books for all age-groups for the post-Corona readership needs.
• IIT Bombay develops mobile app named 'CORONTINE' for tracking COVID-19 quarantine patients.
• Coronavirus: HRD Ministry to launch e-classes on Swayam Prabha DTH channels for school students.
• Govt. banned export of all ventilators, surgical/disposable masks and textile raw material used for making masks with immediate effect.
• PM announces the setting up of COVID-19 Economic Response Task Force led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
• NBT provided 100 books for free download during 21-day lockdown under its #StayHomeIndiaWithBooks initiative.
• Coronavirus outbreak: Govt. bans export of all sanitisers and ventilators with immediate effect.
• Odisha CM launches Mo Jeeban (My Life) programme; urges people to take a pledge to stay indoors.
• TN CM announces creation of state’s 38th district named Mayiladuthurai, carved out from Nagapattinam.
• TN CM hikes pension of village temple priests to Rs 3,000 from Rs 1,000, to launch a new TV channel dedicated to shrines.
• TN CM announces Rs 1,000 cash assistance for ration card holders to compensate for livelihood loss due to coronavirus outbreak.
• Govt constitutes high-level committee of medical experts headed by NITI Aayog member Dr V K Paul for prevention & control of COVID-19.
• Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) sets up India’s first COVID-19 dedicated hospital in Mumbai.
• Union Bank of India launches Covid Emergency Line of Credit (CELC) for its customers to tide over liquidity issues.
• Indian Bank launches IND- COVID Emergency Credit Line (IBCECL) for large corporates.
• Centre earmarks Rs 1.80 lakh crores for providing wheat at Rs 2 per kg and rice at Rs 3 per kg; amount to be given in advance to the states for the coming 3 months.
  

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

9.1 Noted fisheries scientist A Ramachandran is dead

• Noted Fisheries scientist and Vice-Chancellor of Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) Dr A Ramachandran died due to cardiac arrest at his residence in Kalamasery.
• Ramachandran, 61, had been the Fisheries Advisor to Sultanate of Oman and expert member in many a national and international fisheries councils and organisations.
• Son of former Cochin Mayor and Congress veteran late K S N Menon, Ramachandran is survived by wife and a son.
• While being the Director of the School of Industrial Fisheries of Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), Ramachandran was elevated to the position of Vice Chancellor of KUFOS in June 2016.
• It was under his leadership that the first ever International Blue Economy Congress in the country was held here in November last year.
• Ramachandran who secured his Post Doctoral from Delft Technical University, The Netherlands, had published over 300 internationally recognised research papers and authored many books in fisheries and guided as many as 132 research scholars to secure their PhDs.
• A committed scientist, Ramachandran had led the research to study the plastic waste menace in Vembanad lake in Kerala. 
• He had played crucial role in starting over 20 post graduate courses in KUFOS in various subjects related to Ocean Environment, Costal Zone Management, Climate Change Studies, Environmental Science and Disaster Management.

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

10.1   World Index of Economic Freedom by Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal 

• Singapore tops. India 120th.

Download PDF from here –
  
https://www.heritage.org/index/pdf/2020/book/2020_IndexofEconomicFreedom_Highlights.pdf

10.2 Daily dose of  FIVE Facts -

• Lok Sabha in March 2020 suspended seven MPs of Congress for the remaining period of the Budget Session for “gross misconduct”.
• Madhya Pradesh unveiled a mascot named "chilli chacha" for better marketing of chillies.  
• Jyoti Gawte won the Women’s race at IDBI Federal Life Insurance New Delhi Marathon in Feb, 2020. 
• Together for a better internet was the theme of the Safer Internet Day observed on February 11, 2020.
• Parliament of Portugal is called Assembly of the Republic.

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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