Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 13-04-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 13-04-2020

• [message]
• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. COVID-19 pandemic update - With the nationwide death toll from COVID-19 touching 273 and the number of positive cases reaching 8,447 on Sunday, the Union Health Ministry said India is preparing for a possible exponential surge in cases. The country registered as many as 909 new cases and 34 deaths since Saturday evening. The fatalities included 17 from Maharashtra, five from Delhi and three each from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. As many as 716 persons have been cured/discharged after treatment.
2. COVID-19 pandemic update - Maharahstra recorded 149 deaths, with 1,625 active cases, while Tamil Nadu recorded 1,014 active cases, with 11 deaths. Delhi had 1,104 active cases as the toll in the national capital climbed to 24. Kerala, however, saw 36 more patients cured of the disease, adding only two positive cases. A total of 179 persons have been discharged in the State, with only two deaths reported so far. With the average rate of over 4% growth in cases recently, the government is expanding testing capacity in State-run as well as private medical institutions. More than 1,86,906 samples had been tested across the country. While 40-plus COVID-19 vaccines were under consideration across the world, none had moved to the testing phase.
3. US-India relations: Issue of Illegal Aliens - The government is engaged in talks with the U.S. administration to reconsider President Donald Trump’s orders to impose visa sanctions on countries that don’t take back illegal ‘aliens’ in the U.S. within a week. In particular, the order clashed with New Delhi’s decision to restrict all passengers, including Indian citizens from any other country, owing to the coronavirus pandemic. If Washington refuses to relent on its seven-day deadline, or New Delhi refuses to lift the ban on incoming travel within the week, Indians could face a major cut in U.S. visas granted this year. According to the Department of Homeland Security’s 2018 survey, Indians constitute one of the largest groups of illegal aliens in the U.S., numbering an estimated 4,70,000 who had entered by 2015.
4. Easter Sunday amid COVID-19 pandemic - Billions around the world celebrated Easter Sunday from lockdown at home as the Pope urged solidarity to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and the European death toll from the virus topped 75,000. Unprecedented scenes of empty churches emerged from Italy to Panama and the Philippines, as religious leaders found creative ways to address parishioners marking the holiday weekend from the confines of their homes. More than half the world are in lockdown worldwide as governments scramble to halt the pandemic’s deadly march. The toll from the virus soared past 1,09,000 this weekend, with more than 1.7 million reported infections globally.
5. US-Afghan-Taliban updates - The Taliban said it would release the first prisoners in a delayed exchange deal with the Afghan government — a potential breakthrough after the insurgents walked out of talks with Kabul last week. The Afghan government has pressed ahead with freeing hundreds of Taliban prisoners over the past week. The peace deal requires the Afghan government — which was not a signatory to the accord — to free up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners, and for the militants to release 1,000 pro-government captives in return. The exchange was supposed to have happened by March 10, allowing peace talks to begin, but has been beset with problems. Kabul has claimed the Taliban want 15 of their “top commanders” to be released, while the insurgents have accused Afghan authorities of needlessly wasting time. The Taliban cautioned that their decision to release a group of prisoners did not mean that the talks with Kabul were being restarted.
6. Ebola outbreak in Congo - Democratic Republic of Congo recorded a second Ebola death in days following more than seven weeks without a new case. Congo had been due to mark an end to the second-deadliest outbreak of the virus on record, until a case was confirmed on Friday in the eastern city of Beni. The outbreak has killed more than 2,200 people since August 2018. The latest victim was an 11-month-old girl, who was treated at the same health centre as the previous case, a 26-year-old electrician, said Boubacar Diallo, deputy incident manager for the WHO’s Ebola response.
7. Bangladesh: Assassination convict of Father of Nation – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman hanged - Bangladesh executed a former military captain Abdul Majed for his involvement in the 1975 coup in which the country’s founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated, nearly four-and-a-half decades after the high profile massacre. Majed was arrested in Dhaka on April 7, 2020 after hiding in India for nearly two-and-a-half decades. Earlier, President Abdul Hamid rejected his mercy plea. Majed is one of the six absconding ex-Army officers who were handed down capital punishment.
8. Natural Disasters: Quake in Delhi - Strong tremors felt across Delhi and the national capital region (NCR) prompted thousands of people to rush out of their houses. The 3.5-magnitude earthquake was a rare event for the region as its epicentre lay within the capital, at Sonia Vihar in north-east Delhi, at a depth of 8km below the surface. No injuries or damage to property was reported, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) said. The National Centre for Seismology said the quake occurred at 5.45pm.
9. Economy: Moratorium on loans to NBFCs unlikely - The country’s top NBFCs that are actively monitored by the RBI have around Rs 65,000 crore of bank debt maturing in three months and may not get any reprieve via a moratorium on loans. While some NBFCs and microfinance institutions (MFIs) have been aggressively lobbying with the RBI and the government on extending the moratorium facility from banks. The regulator had analysed the business of the top NBFCs, and is closely monitoring the top 100, and concluded that most are not facing a cash crunch at present.
10. Economy: Investments by China in India - China’s central bank has acquired 1% stake in the country’s largest mortgage company HDFC. As of March 31, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) held nearly 1.75 crore shares, currently worth nearly Rs 3,000 crore. Due to the coronavirus pandemic-led global market sell-off, HDFC’s stock price has lost 32% of its value from its January 14 high of Rs 2,500 to its March 9’s close of Rs 1,702. The investment is not a sudden development. PBOC, which has the largest financial asset holdings among the world’s central banks, has been gradually hiking its stake.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	HLL Lifecare Limited	Manager, Engineer, Architect, Office Boy	106	10th Class, ITI, Dip, Degree	April 28, 2020	http://hllhites.com/uploads/Careers/741579418_2020-03-31_03-28-31.pdf
2	Indian Institute of Petroleum	Sr Project Associate, Pro. Asso, Lab Asst	11	Diploma, B.Sc, PG, Ph.D	April 17, 2020	https://www.iip.res.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Advt.-No.-02-2020.pdf
3	Cantonment Board, Kasauli	Medical Officer, Clerk, Fireman	13	8th, 12th Class	May 15, 2020	https://www.canttboardrecruit.org/uploads/Kasauli/AKasauli6.pdf
4	Northeast Frontier Rly	Contract Medical Practitioner	9	MBBS	April 13, 2020	https://nfr.indianrailways.gov.in/cris//uploads/files/1586413576050-RNY%20CMP.pdf
5	South East Central Rly	SMO & General Duty Medical Officer	42	MBBS, MD	April 13, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/04/Notification-South-East-Central-Railway-SMO-General-Duty-Medical-Officer-Posts.pdf
6	Eastern Railway	Medical Practitioner & Nursing Staff	15	-	April 16, 2020	https://er.indianrailways.gov.in/view_detail.jsp?lang=0&dcd=2222&id=0,4,268#
7	North Central Railway	Contract Med Practitioner/ GDMO	37	MBBS	April 14, 2020	https://ncr.indianrailways.gov.in/cris//uploads/files/1586416891803-pers.pdf

• [message]
• SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

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

1.1 SC order people to behave responsibly with the medical teams

• The Supreme Court of India has passed two orders related to COVID-19 pandemic
• First, asking people to behave responsibly with the medical teams fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Second, to made the testing for Coronavirus free in all hospitals.
• The orders come in the backdrop of several petitions highlighting the need to provide sufficient protective gear to the medical professionals. A few of them also highlighted the violence against the doctors.
• Medical teams will be provided protection while visiting the screening sites and the police have been ordered to take action against people who obstruct and commit any offence.
• The government has been directed to explore alternatives, including enabling and augmenting domestic production of protective clothing such clothing such as masks, suits, caps, gloves, etc. and gear for medical professionals. The government may also restrict export of such materials to augment inventory and domestic stock.
• Free Testing for Covid-19 - The order comes in response to a petition asking for implementation of free testing by private labs. An earlier SC notice also challenged the legality of the advisory price cap of ₹4,500 in private labs and hospitals saying that it may not be within the reach of a large population of the country. The order states that the tests relating to Covid-19, whether done in approved government or private laboratories, shall be free of cost. The government has been asked to issue the necessary directions immediately.
• These tests must be carried out only in the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accredited laboratories or any agencies approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) or the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
• The government has also decided to provide free testing and treatment to the existing beneficiaries of the Ayushman Bharat Scheme or the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).

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

2.1 Moratorium issues of NBFCs with banks

• Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) find it difficult to follow the RBI’s recent directive on providing a moratorium on repayment. This is because though these entities are providing moratoriums to their customers, they still have to continue repaying banks and other borrowers.
• A significant part of money disbursed by NBFCs is term loan taken from banks. Moratorium simply refers to a legal authorisation to existing borrowers to defer or postpone their loan repayments for a predetermined period. The RBI has not specifically said NBFCs should not be given moratorium by banks. While a few banks are inclined to offer moratorium on NBFC loans, some of the big banks have ruled out any such facility.
• The NBFCs have already been facing liquidity problems due to the the IL&FS and DHFL crises.
• Total bank loan outstandings to Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) sector were Rs.7,37,198 crore as of January 31,2020 showing a rise of 32.2 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
• Collections from customers have declined due to the lockdown, closure of units and job losses.
• Almost 60% of NBFC borrowings are from non-bank sources and require continuity in debt servicing.
• With minimal collections, NBFCs can only depend on their cash reserves and any backup credit lines from banks, if available for servicing such debt. 
• Non-Banking Financial Companies - NBFCs are engaged in the business of loans and advances, acquisition of shares/stocks/bonds/debentures/securities issued by Government or local authority or other marketable securities of a like nature, leasing, hire-purchase, insurance business, chit business but it does not include any institution whose principal business is that of agriculture activity, industrial activity, purchase or sale of any goods (other than securities) or providing any services and sale/purchase/construction of immovable property. NBFC cannot accept demand deposits. They do not form part of the payment and settlement system and cannot issue cheques drawn on itself. 
• Deposit insurance facility of Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation is not available to depositors of NBFCs.

2.2 TRAI recommended all DTH and cable set-top-boxes (STBs) to provide the customers support interoperability.

2.3 Karnataka Bank got RBI’s nod to reappoint Mr. M S Mahabaleshwara as MD and CEO for 3 years.

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

3.1 National Board for Wildlife cleared infrastructure projects in 11 States in its first ever video conferencing meet

• It is difficult to scrutinise maps that show the location of the proposed projects in video conference so only the formal minutes of the meeting would reveal the conditions which projects would have to adhere to.
• Projects that encroach into forests or protected reserves require NBWL approval as part of the government’s environmental clearance process.
• Environment Clearance (EC) Process - An Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report is prepared to get Environment Clearance (EC) for a project. A process of ‘Public Hearing’ is conducted before the issue of ‘Consent to Establish (NOC)’ by state regulators. Concerns of people living in the proposed project area are heard. An application form with EIA report, details of public hearing and NOC is submitted for environmental clearance with the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to see whether the project falls in category A or B. The documents submitted for A and B category are then analyzed by an Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) under the Union Environment Ministry or the concerned State Environmental Impact Assessment Authorities (SEIAAs) respectively. The recommendations of the Committee gets processed in the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change for final approval or rejection.
• National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) - National Board for Wildlife is a statutory Board constituted in 2003 under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. It is chaired by the PM and is responsible for promotion of conservation and development of wildlife and forests. The board is ‘advisory’ in nature. The standing committee of NBWL is chaired by the Minister of Environment Forest and Climate Change. The standing committee approves all the projects falling within protected wildlife areas or within 10 km of them.

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

4.1 Doctors of Indian origin worldwide joined hands under the umbrella of ‘Global Indian Physician COVID-19 Collaborative' to combat coronavirus

• The move aims to "foster cross systems learning" to develop prevention and management strategy for COVID-19 which will include encompassing vaccination, newer diagnostic tests, ventilation strategies, early warning algorithms to identify deterioration, use of antiviral therapy, plasma therapy and novel agents.
• The experts will share their experiences and discuss strategies to halt the spread of the virus in the first meeting of the collaborative to be held soon.

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

5.1 HRD Ministry launched YUKTI

• YUKTI - Young India Combating COVID with Knowledge, Technology and Innovation portal.
• Union Minister for HRD has launched a web-portal YUKTI in New Delhi. 
• It’s a unique portal and dashboard  to monitor and record the efforts and initiatives of MHRD.
• The portal intends to cover the different dimensions of COVID-19 challenges in a very holistic and comprehensive way.
• It will cover the various initiatives and efforts of the institutions in academics, research especially related to CoVID, social initiatives by institutions and the measures taken for the betterment of the total wellbeing of the students. 
• The portal will cover both qualitative and quantitative parameters for effective delivery of services to the academic community at large.
• Portal will also allow various institutions to share their strategies for various challenges which are there because of the unprecedented  situation of COVID-19 and other future initiatives.
• The HRD Minister hoped that this portal will give inputs for better planning and will enable MHRD to monitor effectively its activities for coming six months.

• [message]
• 6. MISCELLANEOUS (Prelims, Various GS Papers)

6.1 Not Available Today

• [message]
• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 COVID-19 related decisions .

• Operations of fishing (marine) and aquaculture industry exempted from coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
• LIC gave 30-days extension for premiums due in March, April amid Covid-19.
• India tops Hydroxychloroquine producer, exporter chart. It has 70% annual global production share.
• Apple and Google to assist governments and health agencies in enabling contact tracing to curb Covid-19 spread.

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

8.1 World Homoeopathy Day celebrated on April 10

• This day is celebrated to honor the birth of the father of the Homeopathy system of medicines Dr. Samuel Hahnemann. 
• Born in Paris, France, he was a German physician, who was an acclaimed scientist, a great scholar, and linguist. He discovered the way to heal through the use of homeopathy. He died on July 2, 1843.
• What is Homeopathy? - The way to heal by the doctrine of 'similia similibus curantur' i.e likes are cured by likes. This method was brought up by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann.
• How did homeopathy come into practice? - The homeopathy medicine was discovered by Dr. Samhuel 
• Hahnemann had a degree of MD. Later, Samuel quit his job to work as a translator. He then learned several languages such as English, French, Italian, Greek and Latin of medical, scientific textbooks.
• Homoeopathy Awareness Week is from April 10 to April 16, 2020. It is observed to celebrate the birth of Samuel Hahnemann, the father of Homoeopathy.
• Homeopathy in India - Homeopathy is one of the most popular medical systems in India. The theme of 2020 is "Enhancing the scope of Homoeopathy in Public Health". It is one of the Medicine systems in the AYUSH-- 'Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy' ministry.
• International Homoeopathy Conference cum Scientific Convention will be organized by Ministry of AYUSH on World Homoeopathy Day 2020 in collaboration with the National Institute of Homoeopathy, Kolkata, jointly organized along with CCRH, CCH & HPL, on April 10 and 11, 2020 at Biswa Bangla Convention Centre, Kolkata.
• The homeopathic medical system is a recognized medical system in India under the Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973. It is also recognized as one of the national systems of medicines.

 8.2 Social distancing a duty, not a discretion during pandemic: SC.

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

9.1 International Day of Human Space Flight celebrated, marks the historic space flight of USSR’s Yuri Gagarin on 12 April, 1961

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

10.1 'South Asia Economic Focus' report 2020

• At 1.5%-2.8%, Indian economy’s growth will be the worst since the 1991 liberalisation this fiscal year. 
• COVID-19 to hit South Asia very hard, likely to wipe out gains made in poverty alleviation.

 To download the report visit here –

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/33478

10.2 Daily dose of  FIVE Facts -

• Under the e-NAM (electronic agriculture market platform), e-NWR is electronic Negotiable warehouse receipt.
• Payment Aggregators are entities that facilitate e-commerce sites and merchants to accept various payment instruments from the customers for completion of their payment obligations.
• Gurpreet Singh Sandhu won the Golden Glove in the Indian Super League (ISL) football tournament in March 2020. 
• Verkhovna Rada is the Parliament of Ukraine?
• According to NSO data released on February 28, 2020, GDP growth rate in the October-December 2019 was 4.7%.

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!

• [message]
• SECTION 3 - MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions)

Solve the online quiz given, right now. Check scores, and relative performance!

---