Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 17-04-2020
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- COVID-19 pandemic update – India registered over 800 COVID-19 positive cases, with the tally touching 12,759 cases and 420 deaths. These include over 10,824 active cases. A total of 1,541 people have been cured and discharged and one had migrated. The total number of cases include 76 foreign nationals. The Health Ministry noted that India’s case fatality rate is 3.3% and percentage of people recovered is 12.02. According to reports from the State Health Departments, the total number of COVID-19 cases in India are 13,339, of which 11,289 are active ones. A total of 452 people have died of the disease. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said the rapid testing kit is not for diagnosis but for surveillance, especially in hotspots. A total of 3,02,956 samples from 2,86,714 individuals have been tested as of April 16.
- Indian Economy – Record foodgrain production predictated - On the back of a normal monsoon forecast, the Agriculture Ministry is targeting a record foodgrain production of 298.3 million tonnes for 2020-21, higher than the 291.95 million tonnes estimated for 2019-20. The main kharif season crop is rice, and the Agriculture Ministry is targeting a harvest of 102.6 million tonnes, slightly higher than the last kharif season harvest of 101.95 million tonnes. However, it has lowered its rice production target for the next rabi season to 14.9 million tonnes. This means that the total rice production target for 2020-21 is 117.5 million tonnes, barely higher than the previous year's target of 117.47 million tonnes. Wheat production is also expected to remain steady, with a 2020-21 target of 106.5 million tonnes, in comparison to the previous year’s estimate of 106.21 million tonnes. It is targeting a harvest of 48.7 million tonnes of coarse cereals in comparison to the previous season’s 45.24 million tonnes. With regard to pulses, the target is 25.3 million tonnes compared to the previous season's estimates of 23 million tonnes, with the entire increase projected to come from the kharif season. The targeted harvest of oil seed is 36.64 million tonnes, in comparison to the last season's estimates of 34.19 million tonnes.
- Bhima-Koregaon violence case - Civil rights campaigner Gautam Navlakha was sent to a seven-day police custody by a city court. Mr. Navlakha, accused of involvement in the Bhima-Koregaon riots of 2018, surrendered to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in New Delhi. NIA had appealed for a ten-day custody of Mr. Navlakha on the ground that custodial interrogation was required for analysing the data and documents retrieved from electronic devices that were recovered during the investigation. Mr. Navlakha’s counsel opposed the application, stating that he was 67 years old and had been falsely implicated in the case. Additional District Judge Sunena Sharma said that considering the nature of allegations, custodial interrogation was indeed required. The Judge then granted the police Mr. Navlakha’s custody for seven days. The court told the investigating officer that Mr. Navlakha must be medically examined every 48 hours.
- COVID-19 impact: Unproven drugs - A petition filed in the Supreme Court contends that seriously ill COVID-19 patients in intensive care units in hospitals are subjected to “controversial, unproven, non-specific and potentially toxic off-label” use of anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine and broad-spectrum antibiotic Azithromycin without taking any precautionary measures to prevent cardiac complications and possible death. A non-governmental organisation called People for Better Treatment, through its president Dr. Kunal Saha, drew the court’s attention to an extraordinary bulletin issued jointly on April 8 by the American Heart Association (AHA), the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) with stark warnings to doctors about the use of these two drugs on COVID-19 patients with existing cardiac conditions..
- China: Low level nuclear test - China may have secretly set off low-level underground nuclear test explosions despite claiming to observe an international pact banning such blasts, the U.S. State Department said in a report on Wednesday that could fuel U.S.-Chinese tensions. The finding, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, may worsen ties already strained by U.S. charges that the global COVID-19 pandemic resulted from Beijing’s mishandling of a 2019 outbreak of the coronavirus in the city of Wuhan. U.S. concerns about Beijing’s possible breaches of a “zero yield” standard for test blasts have been prompted by activities at China’s Lop Nur nuclear test site throughout 2019.
- Indian Economy: Rupee hits a new low – The rupee hit a new low against the dollar as it dropped to 76.87 amid concerns of a delay in economic revival following the spread of COVID-19. After opening at 76.75 a dollar as compared with Wednesday’s closing of 76.44, the rupee slipped to 76.87 per dollar at close of day, depreciating 43 paise, or 0.56%. The domestic unit weakened with the dollar strengthening against various currencies.
- Indian Economy: Textile and clothing exports drop - Textile and clothing exports have dropped 6% during the 2019-2020 financial year, with a major fall in March. According to data available, textile and clothing exports in 2018-2019 were worth $35.9 billion and from April 2019 to March 2020 it was worth $ 33.8 billion. In March 2020, exports fell 32.2% compared with the same period last year. Apparel exports, which were about $16.1 billion in 2018-19, fell almost 4% to $15.4 billion, with the March exports alone dropping almost 35% compared with the same month last year.
- Indian Economy: Stock Market - The Indian equity benchmarks gained strong ground in the first half of the session but pared all the gains at the fag end and ended in the red. The 30-share Sensex, which gained nearly 880 points to touch an intra-day high of 31,568.35, closed at 30,379.81, down 310.21 points, or 1.01%. The broader Nifty ended the day at 8,925.30, shedding 68.55 points or 0.76%.
- Sports: No IPL this summer - A day after informing the eight franchises of the Indian Premier League’s indefinite postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has “suspended IPL 2020 till further notice”. While confirming the deferment, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a statement released on Thursday the decision had been taken in consultation with franchise owners, broadcaster, sponsors and all stakeholders, adding “the IPL 2020 season will only commence when it is safe and appropriate to do so”.
- Indian Economy - The Reserve Bank warned banks that they will have to pay 200 bps additional penal interest if they fail to invest the mandated 50 per cent of the funds raised through targeted long-term repo operations (TLTRO) route in corporate bonds within a month. The apex bank announced the TLTRO on March 27 to ensure sufficient liquidity in corporate bond market and has already conducted three such operations worth Rs 25,000 crore each. The central bank promised to keep the market fully liquid.
Important Exam Notifications
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or Seats
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to Apply
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for Details
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1
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DHFW,
Kolkata
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District Epidemiologist, Data
Manager, Microbiologist
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19
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PG
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April
21, 2020
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2
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DHFWS,
Purulia
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Medical Officer, Staff Nurse
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14
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GNM, MBBS
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April
20, 2020
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3
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Directorate
of Medical Education, AP
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General Duty Medical Officer,
Specialist
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1184
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MBBS, MD/ DNB
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April
19, 2020
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4
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AIIMS,
Bhubaneswar
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Senior Resident (Non Academic)
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84
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MD/MS/MDS/DM/M.Ch/DNB
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May 20,
2020
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5
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MAPIT
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Manager & Trainer
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166
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BE/ B.Tech/ M.Sc/ MCA
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April
20, 2020
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6
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Eastern
Railway
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Medical Practitioner & Nursing
Staff
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15
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April
16, 2020
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7
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Central Railway
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Contract Med Practitioner/ GDMO
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37
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MBBS
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April
14, 2020
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1.1 Senior advocate and Padma Bhushan awardee Ashok Desai, who served as Attorney General of India in 1996-98, passed away at the age of 77.
1.2 International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) asked Centre to take effective measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on migrant workers.
1.2 International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) asked Centre to take effective measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on migrant workers.
2.1 The downward journey of Rupee
- The rupee slipped 17 paise against the dollar on 15th April, 2020 and one day later hit a new low against the dollar as it dropped to 76.87 amid heightened uncertainty over the economy as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread.
- However, the dollar index was trading 0.3% higher at 99.19. The U.S. Dollar Index (USDX) is an index (or measure) of the value of the United States dollar relative to a basket of foreign currencies.
- It can be noted that the rupee has weakened about 7% against the dollar in 2020 and has hit a record intraday low of 76.55.
- This implies that the rupee has become less valuable with respect to the dollar, implying depreciation of the rupee. The RBI has not intervened strongly in the market to stop rupee depreciation.
- They expect the RBI to intervene once the rupee breaches the 77 to a dollar.
- In its macroeconomic review , RBI had said if the rupee depreciates 5% from the baseline (i.e. Rs 75 per dollar), inflation could rise by 20 basis points (bps) while the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth could be higher by about 15 bps via increased net exports.
- Currency Depreciation - Currency depreciation is a fall in the value of a currency in a floating exchange rate system. In a floating exchange rate system, market forces (based on demand and supply of a currency) determine the value of a currency. Currency depreciation increases a country’s export activity as its products and services become cheaper to buy. Some of the factors that influence the value of a currency are – Inflation, Interest rates, Trade deficit, Macroeconomic policies and Equity market.
- Rupee Depreciation – It means that rupee has become less valuable with respect to dollar. It means that the rupee is now weaker than what it used to be earlier. For example: $1 used to equal to Rs.70, now $1 is equal to Rs. 76, implying that the rupee has depreciated relative to the dollar i.e. it takes more rupees to purchase a dollar.
- How can RBI intervne - By buying and selling dollars. If the RBI wishes to increase the rupee value, then it can sell dollars and when it needs to bring down rupee value, it can buy dollars. The central bank can also influence the value of rupee by the way of monetary policy. RBI can adjust the repo rate (the rate at which RBI lends to banks) and the liquidity ratio (the portion of money banks are required to invest in government bonds) to control rupee.
3.1 Not Available Today
4.1 ASEAN Summit 2020
- Vietnam chaired the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit held online.
- The discussions pertained to the impact of Covid-19 on southeast Asia.
- Leaders from China, Japan and South Korea joined the summit.
- ASEAN leaders have warned of the crippling economic cost of Covid-19 and called for trade routes to reopen to protect jobs and food supplies, as well as the stockpiling of medical equipment.
- The Covid-19 has ruined the region's tourism and export-reliant economies.
- Vietnam has urged Southeast Asian leaders to set up an emergency fund to tackle the coronavirus.
- Existing Fears on the impact of Covid-19 on the Region:
- Limited testing in Indonesia has resulted in the lower number of cases -- and under 400 deaths -- for a country of 260 million.
- Health systems from Myanmar to Laos are widely believed to be missing the true scale of infections.
- A recent surge in cases in Singapore has raised fears the pandemic could rebound in places which had batted back the initial outbreak.
- The Thai economy, the second largest in ASEAN, is expected to shrink by 5.3% in 2020 -- a 22-year low -- with millions left jobless.
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAM) - ASEAN is a regional grouping that promotes economic, political, and security cooperation. It was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the founding fathers of ASEAN, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Ten members: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Chairmanship of ASEAN rotates annually, based on the alphabetical order of the English names of Member States. ASEAN countries have a total population of 650 million people and a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $2.8 trillion.
5.1 Tourism Ministry launched webinar series DekhoApnaDesh on the many destinations to see in the country
- The webinar series is organised to provide information on the many destinations and details and expanse of the culture and heritage of our Incredible India. The move comes as tourism is hugely impacted with no movement happening either domestically or from across the border due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The first webinar of DekhoApnaDesh shall unfold and touch upon the long history of Delhi. The webinar was titled 'City of Cities- Delhi's Personal Diary'. It unfolded Delhi as 8 cities, each one unique in its character and leaving behind traces which makes Delhi, today's magnificent city.
- The webinars will be an on-going feature of the Tourism Ministry.
- The Ministry will showcase the diverse and remarkable history and culture of India including its natural landscapes, monuments, cuisine, arts, dance forms, festivals and many other aspects of the rich Indian civilization.
- It also holds a session that raises awareness about tourism and social history.
- The series will be available on the Ministry's social media handles 'IncredibleIndia' on Instagram and Facebook.
- The next webinar will be telecasted on 16 April from 11 am to 12 noon and shall take visitors to the amazing City of Kolkata.
6.1 Weekly Roundup – Defence
- Veteran Army officer Lt Gen (retd) K. P. Dhal Samanta, who had played a valiant role in 1971 and Kargil wars, passed away in New Delhi.
- He was 70 years old.
- A product of the first batch of Sainik School Bhubaneswar, Lt Gen Samanta had retired as Director General of the Rashtriya Rifles, India’s premier counter insurgency force deployed in Kashmir.
- Commissioned at the young age of 19 to the Regiment of Artillery, Gen Samanta fought in the 1971 war on the eastern front and was awarded the Poorvi Star. He was among the veterans invited regularly to Bangladesh as a mark of honour for their valiant efforts in the liberation of Bangladesh.
- Later in his career, he participated in Operation Blue Star and the larger fight against terrorism in Punjab. He then went on to command an artillery regiment in the worlds highest battlefield the Siachen Glacier.
- During the 1999 Kargil war, Samanta was instrumental in helping deploy the 155 mm Bofors guns in difficult conditions. The act tilted the course of the war in Indias favour.
- Gen Samanta earned a considerable reputation in roles involving aid to civil authority. As Sub Area Commander of Bihar, Jharkhand & Odisha, he contributed immensely in providing aid during various disasters and formulating policies on disaster management besides managing military assets in the three states.
- In his last military assignment as DG Rashtriya Rifles (2007-2010), he was instrumental in leading, managing and modernizing the then 92,000-strong counter-insurgency force. On retirement, he was made Member of the then newly created Armed Forces Tribunal in Kolkata before setting down in Bhubaneswar 2014 onwards.
- Besides this, Gen. Samanta was a specialist in Group Behavioural Science and a trained Interviewing Officer. He remained associated with the Defence Institute of Psychological Research (DIPR) on related issues besides being in the expert panel with the UPSC.
7.1 Launch of CollabCAD in Atal Tinkering Labs
- Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog and the National Informatics Centre (NIC) have jointly launched CollabCAD in Atal Tinkering Labs (or ATL schools) to provide students experience in creating and modifying 3D designs.
- CollabCAD is a collaborative network enabled and desktop CAD (Computer -Aided Design) software system, which provides a total engineering solution from 2D drafting & detailing to 3D printing. 3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file. 3D printing has been used to create car parts, smartphone cases, fashion accessories, medical equipment and artificial organs.
- It is an initiative of National Informatics Centre (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology), New Delhi, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (Department of Atomic Energy), Navi Mumbai and Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (Department of Space, ISRO), Thiruvananthapuram.
- Atal Tinkering Labs - Atal Innovation Mission has established Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATLs) in schools across India. The objective of this scheme is to foster curiosity, creativity and imagination in young minds; and inculcate skills such as design mindset, computational thinking, adaptive learning, physical computing etc.
- Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is Government of India’s flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country. ATL is a work space where young minds can give shape to their ideas through hands on do-it-yourself mode; and learn innovation skills. Young children get a chance to work with tools and equipment to understand the concepts of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). AIM provides grant-in-aid that includes a one-time establishment cost of Rs. 10 lakh and operational expenses of Rs. 10 lakh for a maximum period of 5 years to each ATL.
- In light of the current situation (Covid-19), the ATL program has launched a ‘Tinker from Home’ campaign to ensure that the children across the county have access to useful easy-to-learn online resources to keep themselves fruitfully occupied. AIM has also launched the Game Development module as part of the ‘Tinker from Home’ campaign. It is an online platform through which students can learn to create their own games and also share it with others. This platform envisages to make students transition from ‘game players’ to ‘game makers’.
8.1 COVID-19: Updates, Innovations, Schemes
- MEA announced COVID-19 training program for healthcare professionals from SAARC countries.
- ‘COVID Sample Collection Kiosk’ named ‘COVSACK’ developed by DRDL, Hyderabad; gets automatically disinfected without requiring human involvement.
- Donation platform GiveIndia launches ‘India COVID Response Fund’ (ICRF) with initial donations worth Rs 75 crore.
- Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram develops diagnostic test kit Chitra Gene LAMP-N for COVID-19.
- PUSA decontamination and sanitizing tunnel, developed by ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, inaugurated.
- National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR), Hyderabad and UNICEF training community leaders online to combat COVID-19.
9.1 Google Pay launched ‘Nearby Spot’ to help users find local stores selling essentials
- Google has launched Nearby Spot to help its users find stores selling essentials in their town, amidst the lockdown. Nearby Spot has already been launched in Bengaluru. It will also be rolled out in cities like Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, and Delhi.
- Google Pay has rolled out COVID-19 Spot on its platform. It has aggregated information about the ongoing pandemic sourced from the Health Ministry.
- The Spot platform was launched by Google last year. Its main purpose is to allow a business to create a listing for the Google Pay app, which offers a customisable branded experience for that business, notes PTI.
- Moreover, Google Search, Maps, Google Assistant, YouTube have been tweaked to show consolidated information, COVID-19 related information with links to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare resources, and other authoritative content on symptoms, prevention and treatment, according to google.
- In addition to this, YouTube has come up with "Coronavirus News Shelf" that it displays on top of its homepage. The new shelf will show reliable and authentic information related to coronavirus.
- Earlier this month, Google Maps added two new shortcuts to the list of shortcuts on its mobile app to assist its users with availabilities in their vicinity.
- The takeaway and delivery options appear alongside the shortcuts for restaurants, chemists, petrol, ATM, etc. The delivery option presents its users with a list of nearby restaurants making deliveries in your locality. The Takeaway option presents its users with a list of restaurants that are providing takeaway options that will be provided to you.
10.1 Report and Rankings – Gartner 2019 Digital Workplace Survey
- India is the most digitally dexterous country in the world.
To download the report visit here –
https://www.gartner.com/teamsiteanalytics/servePDF?g=/imagesrv/media-products/pdf/infosys/Infosys-1-6CYY5QG.pdf
10.2 Daily dose of FIVE Facts -
- The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) celebrated the Play True Day on April 9, 2020.
- Interest for Public Provident Fund for April-June 2020 is 7.1%.
- Petteri Taalas is the head of World Meteorological Organisation.
- Uttarakhand in March 2020 decided to remove reservation in promotions for SC/ST employees.
- The new GST rate on mobile phones announced by the GST Council in March 2020 is 18%.
10.3 Today's best editorials to read
- We offer you 7 excellent editorials from across 10 newspapers we have scanned.
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