Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 21-04-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 21-04-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. COVID-19 pandemic update: Good News! Speed of virus infections slows in 18 states of India – Eighteen States and Union Territories have shown improvement in containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, with Odisha and Kerala leading the pile. These were States with a 'doubling time' (an indicator of how quickly cases increase) of more than 8.5 days which is higher than the national average of 7.5 days. Kerala leads the list with a doubling rate of 72 days, followed at a considerable distance by Odisha at 39.8 days. The Ministry confirmed 17,655 cases, with 14,255 active infections and 559. Reports from States show a jump of 1,214 new cases and 33 deaths in the past 24 hours. The nationwide death toll was 592, with 14, 913 active cases out of 18,509 confirmed COVID-19 infections. Maharashtra recorded 466 new positive cases, including 155 in Mumbai, taking the number of the infected people to 4,666. With nine more patients succumbing to COVID-19, the death toll in the State rose to 232.
2. Vijay Mallya loses U.K. High Court appeal – The High Court of Justice in the U.K. dismissed the appeal of businessman Vijay Mallya against a lower court’s order for his extradition to India in connection with the IDBI Bank fraud case. The High Court did not find any merit in the objections raised by Mr. Mallya to the senior district judge’s findings on December 10, 2018, that a prima facie case was made out against him on account of misrepresentation to the bank in securing credit facilities, conspiracy and money laundering. Mr. Mallya has 14 days to apply for permission to appeal to the U.K. Supreme Court.
3. COVID-19 pandemic impact: Water quality of Yamuna river improves - According to a report by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), the quality of water in the Yamuna has improved along the Delhi stretch during the nationwide lockdown, compared to April last year. An increased flow of water in the river has also contributed to less pollution. But the report noted that the Yamuna has still not met the “water quality criteria”. According to the report, the pollution has reduced by 21% at ITO Bridge, 20% at Nizamuddin Bridge, and 18% at Okhla Barrage. Also, pollution has reduced in five out of the six major drains, which flow into the Yamuna, that the DPCC measured. A National Green Tribunal (NGT)-appointed monitoring committee had earlier this month asked the DPCC and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to measure the quality of water in the Yamuna.
4. COVID-19 pandemic innovation: Afghan girls turn car parts into ventilators – The war stricken Afghanistan faces the pandemic nearly empty-handed. It has only 400 ventilators for a population of more than 36.6 million. So far, it has reported just over 900 coronavirus cases, including 30 deaths, but the actual number is suspected to be much higher since test kits are in short supply. This has spurred Ms. Farooqi and her team members to help come up with a solution. The members of Afghanistan’s prize-winning girls’ robotics team are on a life-saving mission — to build a breathing machine from used car parts and help their country battle the virus.
5. Mathura folk artistes curse virus in Braj Bhasha, spread awareness through music - Known for capturing bucolic settings and spiritual meanings in sweet Braj Bhasha, folk singers, composers and poets in Mathura have found a new theme to express their creativity: COVID-19. In one such song, “corona tero nash jayego, toku koi thor milego na”, which has gone viral on social media, poet Bharti Sharma curses the virus that it will not find any place to hide. What makes the song so special is the way Ms. Sharma brings out the problems being faced by the people in the region, which is popular for its food and pilgrim centres.
6. No communal angle in Palghar lynching: Uddhav – Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray reiterated that there was no communal angle to the mob-lynching episode in Palghar last week. In his social media address, he said the killings were the result of rumours being spread about thieves roaming the area. While warning of strict action against people spreading fake news and rumours on the incident, the Chief Minister said he had spoken to Union Home Minister Amit Shah on this.
7. Europe begins easing lockdown steps - Germany and other parts of Europe took tentative steps to ease lockdown measures but officials warned the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic was far from over. Some shops reopened in Germany and Denmark and parents dropped their children off at nurseries in Norway as tight restrictions were lifted in parts of the continent. But Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans to stay disciplined, warning: “We stand at the beginning of the pandemic and are still a long way from being out of the woods.”
8. 17 killed in 12-hour rampage by gunman in Nova Scotia - A gunman who at one point masqueraded as a policeman killed at least 16 people in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia during a 12-hour rampage, authorities said on Sunday, in what was the country’s worst modern-era mass shooting. Among the victims of the shooting spree that spread across part of the Atlantic Canadian province was RCMP officer Heidi Stevenson, a 23-year veteran of the force with two children. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the gunman, 51-year-old Gabriel Wortman, who worked as a denturist, appeared at one stage to have been wearing part of a police uniform. He had also painstakingly disguised his car to look like a police cruiser.
9. 23 Afghans killed in Taliban attacks – The Taliban have killed at least 23 Afghan troops and nine civilians, officials said on Monday, as a fresh wave of violence grips Afghanistan despite a deal with the U.S. and a worsening coronavirus crisis. Under the terms of the U.S.-Taliban deal, the Afghan government and the insurgents were by now supposed to have concluded a prisoner exchange and started talks aimed at bringing about a comprehensive ceasefire. But the stalled prisoner swap has been beset with problems — with Kabul claiming the Taliban are demanding the release of some of the group’s most notorious warriors — and peace talks seem as elusive ever amid ongoing attacks.
10. Australia to force tech giants to share revenue  - Australia will force Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google to share advertising revenue with local media firms, the country’s treasurer said on Monday, becoming one of the first countries to require digital platforms to pay for content they use. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the move comes after talks with Facebook and Alphabet failed to yield a voluntary code to address complaints by domestic media players that the tech giants have too tight a grip on advertising, their main source of income.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	DHFW, Kolkata	District Epidemiologist, Data Manager, Microbiologist	19	PG	April 21, 2020	https://www.wbhealth.gov.in/uploaded_files/careers/Advt.203_.pdf
2	DHFWS, Purulia	Medical Officer, Staff Nurse	14	GNM, MBBS	April 20, 2020	https://www.wbhealth.gov.in/uploaded_files/careers/341.pdff
3	Directorate of Medical Education, AP	General Duty Medical Officer, Specialist	1184	MBBS, MD/ DNB	April 19, 2020	http://dme.ap.nic.in/E11/2020/Recruitment_notification_14042020.pdf
4	AIIMS, Bhubaneswar	Senior Resident (Non Academic)	84	MD/MS/MDS/DM/M.Ch/DNB	May 20, 2020	https://aiimsbhubaneswar.nic.in/admin/Document/Notices/ROLLING%20ADVT417abb38-d6d9-4845-9c1a-e768c882f80b.pdf
5	MAPIT	Manager & Trainer	166	BE/ B.Tech/ M.Sc/ MCA	April 20, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/04/Notifiction-MAPIT-Manager-Trainer-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

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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 Central government departments asked to include “transgender” as a separate category of gender for recruitment in civil services and other posts

• All the departments in the central government have been asked to include "transgender" as a separate category of gender for recruitment in civil services and other central government posts.
• The move is based on the provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, notified in December last year.
• The matter regarding inclusion of "Third Gender/any Other Category" in the application forms in recruitment to various posts under the central government, was under consideration of the government for quite some time.
• Based on the provisions of the Act and the legal opinion obtained on the subject, civil services examination rules, 2020 have been notified on February 5, 2020, providing for inclusion of 'Transgender' as a separate category of gender for the said exam.
• Transgender rights in India: In April 2014, the Supreme Court of India declared transgender to be a 'third gender' in Indian law. The transgender community in India (made up of Hijras and others) has a long history in India and in Hindu mythology. Justice KS Radhakrishnan noted in his decision that, "Seldom, our society realizes or cares to realize the trauma, agony and pain which the members of Transgender community undergo, nor appreciates the innate feelings of the members of the Transgender community, especially of those whose mind and body disown their biological sex".

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

2.1 RBI announces extension of Ways & Means Advances limit from Rs 1.2 lakh crore to Rs 2 lakh crore for the remaining part of first half of the financial year 2020-21 (April 2020 to September 2020)

• This move supports RBI's decision to increase the Ways and Means Advances limit by 60% for States/UTs.
• Increase in the Ways and Means Advances (WMA) limits to state governments by 60% over the existing limit as at FYE20.
• Increase in the number of days a state/ can be in overdraft continuously to 21 working days from 14 and the number of days a state/union territory can be in overdraft in a quarter to 50 working days from 36.
• Allowing states under Article 293(3) of Constitution of India to raise Rs 3.2 trillion during the first 9MFY21 of which they are slated to borrow Rs 1.27 trillion during 1QFY21 (states in two tranches have already borrowed Rs 446.88 billion and as per borrowing calendar another Rs 152.25 billion is proposed to be borrowed in April 2020).
• Advance release of Rs 110.92 billion central share from state disaster risk management fund for FY21 and INR61.95 billion revenue deficit grant under 15th finance commission.
• RBI, banker to the State Governments, provides Ways and Means Advances (WMA) to the States banking with it to help them to tide over temporary mismatches in the cash flow of their receipts and payments. Such advances, are repayable in each case not later than three months from the date of making that advance but some experts believe that this is too little.

2.2 RBI asks banks and NBFCs to carry out money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) risk assessment exercise periodically.

2.3 China calls new norms requiring prior clearance by the government mandatory for foreign investments from countries that share land border with India as violative of WTO’s principles.

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

3.1 Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu inaugurates revamped “strategic bridge” over Subansiri river in Upper Subansiri district

• The bridge was in a dilapidated condition and movement of vehicles over it was restricted owing to huge risk of it collapsing anytime.

• Why the bridge is strategic - This bridge is the only line of communication to Daporijo and other villages located on the other side of Subansiri River. It also connects the Siang belt with Upper Subansiri.
• Now that this strategic 430 feet multi span bridge is completed, hassle free communication is restored to Daporijo and around 451 villages as well as all the forward locations along LAC where our security forces are deployed.
• The bridge has been named after martyr Hangpan Dada, who laid down his life fighting terrorists in Jammu & Kashmir and was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra.

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

4.1 COVID 19: 4478 m high Matterhorn mountain in Swiss Alps lights up with Indian flag in show of solidarity

• Switzerland has expressed solidarity with India in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic by projecting the tricolour on the famous Matterhorn mountain in the Swiss Alps to give "hope and strength" to all Indians.
• Swiss light artist Gerry Hofstetter has been lighting up the 4,478-meter pyramidal peak straddling between Switzerland and Italy with spectacular displays of flags of different countries and messages of hope as part of a nightly series supporting the nations combating the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

 4.2 PM Modi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas discuss COVID-19 pandemic challenges.

 

4.3 Nirmala Sitharaman attended Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of Shanghai-based New Development Bank through video-conference.

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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 COVID-19 Measures

• Road Transport and Highways Ministry launches dashboard containing list of dhabas and truck repair shops on its website.
• Rajasthan government partners with healthcare startup MedCords for consultation and medicine delivery through Aayu and Sehat Sathi apps.
• Goa becomes FIRST zero COVID-19 state in the country - Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Central Government constitutes 6 Inter-Ministerial Teams to make assessment of situation and augment State efforts to fight and contain spread of COVID-19 effectively

• The Centre has constituted 6 Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs), two each for West Bengal and Maharashtra and one each for Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to make on-spot assessment of situation and issue necessary directions to State Authorities for its redressal and submit their report to Central Government in larger interest of general public. 
• Situation is specially serious in Indore (MP), Mumbai and Pune (Maharashtra), Jaipur (Rajasthan) and Kolkata, Howrah, Medinipur East, 24 Parganas North, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Jalpaiguri in West Bengal. 
• IMCTs to focus on complaints of implementation of lockdown measures as per guidelines, supply of essential commodities, social distancing, preparedness of health infrastructure, safety of health professionals and conditions of the relief camps for labour and  poor people.
• It may be mentioned that if the incidents of violations are allowed to occur without any restraining measures in hotspot districts or emerging hotspots or even places where large outbreaks or clusters may be expected and pose a serious health hazard, both for the population of these districts and for that living in other areas of the country.
• After analyzing the prevalence of such violations in major hotspot districts, it is clear to the Central Government that the situation is especially serious in the above mentioned areas and expertise of the Centre need to be used.
• The Committees have been constituted  by the Central Government in exercise of the powers, conferred, inter alia, under Section 35(1), 35(2)(a), 35(2)(e) and 35(2)(i) of the Disaster Management Act 2005.

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

8.1 World Chagas Disease Day observed by WHO on April 14

• For the FIRST time, the global community is preparing to celebrate 14 April as the  World Chagas Disease Day.
• One of the aims is to raise the visibility and public awareness of people with Chagas Disease and the resources needed for the prevention, control or elimination of the disease.
• Chagas disease, also called American trypanosomiasis, has been termed as a “silent and silenced disease”, not only because of its slowly progressing and frequently asymptomatic clinical course but also because it affects mainly poor people who have no political voice or access to health care. 
• Once endemic in Latin American countries, Chagas disease is now present in many others, making it a global health problem.
• It was on this date in 1909 that the first patient, a Brazilian girl named Berenice Soares de Moura, was diagnosed for this disease by Dr Carlos Ribeiro Justiniano Chagas. 
• Raising awareness and the profile of this neglected tropical disease, which is often diagnosed in its late stages, is essential to improve the rates of early treatment and cure, together with the interruption of its transmission.
• Evidence-based, cost-effective interventions exist, including screening (blood, organs and of new-borns and children), early case detection, prompt treatment of cases, vector control, hygiene and food safety.
• WHO invites the countries to take action with us and add a global voice in favour of this and other neglected tropical diseases.
• Did you know?\

1. Chagas disease is prevalent mainly among poor populations of continental Latin America and affects 6–7 million people.
2. During the past decades, it has been increasingly detected in the United States of America and Canada and in many European and some Western Pacific countries.
3. The disease can be transmitted by vectorial transmission (T. cruzi parasites are mainly transmitted by contact with faeces/urine of infected blood-sucking triatomine bugs.
4. These bugs, vectors that carry the parasites, typically live in the wall or roof cracks of poorly-constructed homes in rural or suburban areas. Normally they hide during the day and become active at night when they feed on human blood. 
5. They usually bite an exposed area of skin such as the face, and the bug defecates close to the bite. The parasites enter the body when the person instinctively smears the bug faeces or urine into the bite, the eyes, the mouth, or into any skin break) contaminated food, transfusion of blood or blood products, passage from an infected mother to her newborn, and organ transplantation and even laboratory accidents.

• Without treatment, Chagas disease can lead to severe cardiac and digestive alterations and become fatal.
• The proposal to designate 14 April as World Chagas Disease Day was initiated by the International Federation of Associations of People Affected by Chagas Disease.
• On 24 May 2019, the World Health Assembly – WHO’s decision-making body - endorsed the proposal, which  was supported by several health institutions, universities, research centres, national or international nongovernmental platforms, organizations and foundations.
• Celebrating World Chagas Disease Day on 14 April will provide a unique opportunity to add a global voice in favour of this and other neglected tropical diseases.
  

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

9.1 Fish gills used to develop efficient low-cost electro-catalysts for energy conversion devices by scientists at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Mohali.

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

10.1  Not Available Today

10.2 Daily dose of  FIVE Facts -

• PSU HLL Lifecare Limited has developed a diagnostic kit named MakeSure for COVID-19.
• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on March 24, 2020 announced that threshold triggering insolvency proceedings has been raised to Rs. 1 crore from Rs 1 lakh.
• Pankaj Advani won the National 6-Red Snooker Championship in Ahmedabad on March 11, 2020.
• Kristalina Georgieva won the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• National Science Day was observed on February 28, 2020 to mark the Day of discovery of Raman Effect by C. V. Raman.

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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