Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 03-06-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 03-06-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Internal Security – China made significant deployment: Rajnath – Defence Minister Rajnath Singh acknowledged that China had moved troops in ‘significant numbers’ in the ongoing stand-off on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). There was an important dialogue between the two countries scheduled on June 6 to resolve the issue, he said. A dialogue was held on Tuesday at the Major General level. Dialogue between military commanders had been going on daily, including at the level of Majors General on June 2 too. No concrete resolution had been achieved and the talks would continue.
2. Natural Disasters – 21 killed in Assam landslips – Twenty-one people were killed and seven injured in a series of landslips due to incessant rain in the Barak Valley of southern Assam early. Many of the victims died in their sleep. The dead included 10 minors, the youngest being three years old, and four women. Eight were killed in Hailakandi, seven in Cachar and six in Karimganj. The landslips occurred almost simultaneously in eight locations across four revenue circles in the three districts that make up the valley.
3. COVID-19 Updates – Scientists identify second most common coronavirus type in India – Scientists at multiple CSIR laboratories have identified a type of coronavirus that may be the second most prevalent in India, and may comprise 3.5% of the genomes globally. The most dominant coronavirus clade in India is the A2a, and of 213 genomes analysed by the group, 62% of them were A2a. The newly identified type, that the scientists have christened A3i, comprised 41% of those analysed. With this, there are 11 SARS-CoV-2 types identified globally, with at least six of them identified in India. The coronavirus type, or clade, is a cluster of SARS-CoV-2 viruses that share evolutionary similarities.
4. COVID-19 Updates – 10% of popn (aged 60+) accounts for 50% deaths – The elderly, who constitute 10% of India’s population, accounted for over 50% of its Covid-19 deaths. Besides, 73% of the deaths were among those with co-morbidities, the health ministry said, arguing that India was able to manage Covid treatment and reduce deaths better than many countries. People aged 60 to 74 years — 8% of the population — accounted for 38% of the deaths, while those above 74 — 2% of the population, constituted 12% of the deaths. The analysis was shared by the Centre even as the coronavirus death toll rose to over 5,500 with 219 more fatalities, while 8,128 new cases took the total number of infections to over 2 lakh.
5. Indian Economy – Spike in MGNREGS numbers reveals impact of lockdown – As many as 90% of the total number of households who worked under MGNREGA in Chhattisgarh last year have participated in the job scheme in just around 40 days in 2020-21. The figure stands at a staggering 86% for Andhra and 68% for UP, indicating both the impact of the lockdown as also the lifeline it has been. The spike is likewise for major states across the country as it becomes clear that more and more families are seeking shelter under the flagship job scheme in the wake of destruction of employment owing to the pandemic and lockdown. Madhya Pradesh has already covered 53% of households who worked last year, Karnataka 46% and Gujarat 55%. The rush towards the programme is staggered during a year and the annual tally of households or persons who work in MGNREGA stabilises during the course of months.
6. International Relations – PM Modi spoke to US President – Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to US President Donald Trump on the latter’s proposal to include India in the G-7 club of advanced economies. Trump has extended an invitation to PM Modi to attend the next G-7 Summit that the US is hosting this time. Trump had earlier suggested that the Group of 7 be called “G10 or G11”, and proposed that it meet in September or November this year. Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said he had a “warm and productive conversation with my friend”, adding that they discussed “his plans for the US Presidency of G-7, the COVID-19 pandemic, and many other issues.”.
7. Natural Disasters - Cyclone Nisarga moves closer to Maharashtra coast – The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that Cyclone “Nisarga” is very likely to intensify into a “severe cyclonic storm” over the next 12 hours and cross Maharashtra and South Gujarat coast. The cyclonic storm will cross North Maharashtra and adjoining South Gujarat coast between Harihareshwar and Daman, close to Alibaug (in Maharashtras Raigad), on June 3 as a severe cyclonic storm with a maximum sustained wind 100-110 gusting to 120 kmph. Mumbai, Thane, Palghar have been put on red alert till June 4. Cyclone Nisarga comes weeks after Super Cyclone Amphan hit West Bengal, Odisha and Bangladesh. Residents along the coasts of Maharashtra and Gujarat have been alerted of the storm.
8. Environment and Ecology – Pregnant elephant fed fruit laced with explosives, dies – In a horrifying case of animal cruelty, a pregnant wild elephant was fed fruits laced with explosives that blew and injured her mouth, jaw and tongue. While she survived the ordeal, it took her a week to die a painful death. The forest department began an investigation after her carcass was found in Velliyar River under Mannarkkad forest division on May 27. Wildlife warden of Silent Valley National Park, Samuel Pachuau, said that the department is trying to identify the perpetrators. Assistant forest veterinary officer in Thrissur, Dr David Abraham, said that he discovered that the elephant was pregnant during autopsy.
9. Afghanistan-Taliban – Taliban closely tied to Qaida - UNSC– The Taliban continues to be closely allied with al-Qaida, contrary to all its assurances to the United States during the peace deal negotiations. This has been made clear in the latest report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team of the United Nations security council. According to report a large number of foreign terrorist fighters, including up to 6,500 Pakistani nationals, operating in Afghanistan. Besides, UN designated entities like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammed, operating from Pakistancontrolled territories facilitating trafficking and imparting training to other terrorists in Afghanistan. For India, the report reaffirms its view that Pakistan remains the epicentre of terrorism.
10. Indian Economy – Govt eyes $17bn investment proposals to boost local manufacturing – The government is considering proposals for investment of $16-17 billion (around Rs 1.25 lakh crore) to boost domestic production of air conditioners and its components, furniture and leather footwear, while looking at options, including duty hikes, to reduce import dependence and push exports. 

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	J&K Bank	Banking Associate and Probationary Officer	5	--	July 20, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/06/Notification-JK-Bank-Banking-Associate-Probationary-Officer-Posts.pdf
2	ECIL	Technical Officer	12	Degree (Engg)	June 22, 2020	http://careers.ecil.co.in/app/Advt_No_17_2020_EWD.pdf
3	Air India Ltd	Manager, Officer, Assistant & Other	17	Any Degree, MBA/ICWA..	June 18, 2020	http://www.airindia.com/error.htm
4	NTPC Ltd	Head, Execuitve, Asst Mine Surveyor..	23	Diploma, Degree	June 22, 2020	http://open.ntpccareers.net/2020_ExpSenMgmt/index_files/adeng.pdf
5	NESAC	JRF	5	M.Sc	June 19, 2020	https://mobileapp.nesdr.gov.in/htdocs/Advertisement%20of%20JRF,%20May%202020.pdf
6	Assam Legislative Assembly	Under Secretary, Librarian & Other	11	Degree, PG	June 20, 2020	http://assamassembly.gov.in/recruitment.pdf
7	NHM, Sindhudurg	Medical Officer, Audiologist, Social Wor.	90	12th Class, GNM, Degree	June 3, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/05/Notification-PCMC-ASHA-Posts.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 Fees not stated in Admission Prospectus can't be charged on students - Kerala HC

• In an important judgment, the Kerala HC held that deemed universities affiliated with the University Grants Commission (UGC) cannot levy fees on students in excess of what is stated in the admission prospectus.
• A single bench of Justice Anu Sivaram directed the Indian Institute of Space Science Technology (IIST), Thiruvananthapuram, to refund the excess fees collected from research scholars, which had no mention in the admission prospectus issued in 2013.
• The decision came in the writ petition filed by 51 Ph.D students of IIST challenging the mid-term decision of the institute to introduce tuition fee (Rahul O. R and others vs IIST and others).
• In 2017, the institute took a decision to introduce a semester tuition fee of Rs.12,500/-. This was challenged by students as contrary to the UGC Regulations.
• Seeking to justify the decision, IIST stated that the fee was meager when compared to the fellowship offered to the students.
• The UGC took an ambivalent stand before the Court stating that its regulations were "silent whether a deemed to be university can increase/enhance the fee at mid term.  
• Despite that, the HC proceeded to enforce the regulations framed by UGC itself.
• The Court noted that the admission prospectus had no provision for tuition fee, and that such fee was introduced mid-term.
• This was found to be contrary to the specific provisions in the UGC Regulations.
• The Court directed IIST to collect only such fees as are provided in the in the admission notifications/prospectus on the basis of which the petitioners were admitted. The excess fees was directed to be refunded to the petitioners forthwith.

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

2.1 Moody's downgrades sovereign rating of India

• Moody’s downgraded the GOI’s foreign-currency and local-currency long-term issuer ratings to “Baa3” from “Baa2”.
• It stated that the outlook remained “negative”.
• Moody’s says that India's policymaking institutions will be challenged to mitigate the risks of a prolonged period of slower growth, rising debt and stress in the financial sector.
• The ratings cut was not driven by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic but amplifies vulnerabilities in India's credit profile that were present and building prior to the shock.
• The downgrade reduces India to the lowest investment grade of ratings and brings Moody’s ratings for the country in line with the other two main rating agencies in the world — S&P and Fitch.
• Reason for this downgrade –

1. Weak implementation of economic reforms since 2017.
2. Relatively low economic growth over a sustained period.
3. A significant deterioration in the fiscal position of governments.
4. The rising stress in India’s financial sector.

• Implications of this downgrade - A rating downgrade means that bonds issued by the Indian governments are now “riskier” than before, because weaker economic growth and worsening fiscal health undermine a government’s ability to pay back.
• Future outlook - India’s real GDP is expected to contract by 4.0% in FY21. Thereafter a sharp recovery is expected in 2021-22. A prolonged period of slower growth may dampen the pace of improvements in living standards. 
• Note - India’s GDP growth contracted to an 11-year low of 4.2% in FY20. The fiscal deficit also widened to 4.6% of the GDP as against the revised estimate of 3.8% of GDP in the previous financial year.

2.2 Other Important News

• Government fixed minimum percentage of local content in public procurement of 55 chemical and pesticide products to boost domestic manufacturing.
• Government made export of alcohol-based hand sanitizers except those in containers with dispenser pump free.
• Prime Minister delivered inaugural address at Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) annual session 2020 – ‘Getting Growth Back’.

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

3.1 Not Available Today

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

4.1 Antifa in USA

• Trump has said that America will designate "far-left extremist group" Antifa as a terrorist organization in view of its role in violence across the country after the killing of a black man (George Floyd) by a white police officer in Minnesota.
• Even in the past, Trump has described Antifa as a terrorist group. Other right-wing politicians have also condemned the group.
• The Trump administration alleges that the violence is planned, organized and driven by anarchistic and far left extremists using Antifa-like tactics, many of whom travel from out of state to promote the violence.
• What is ANTIFA –  

1. It is a political protest movement comprising autonomous groups affiliated by their militant opposition to fascism and other forms of extreme right-wing ideology. 
2. Antifa is open to violence, arguing that fascism thrives under liberal tolerance.
3. It has been around for several decades, though accounts vary on its exact beginnings.
4. The Merriam-Webster dates the term as far back as Nazi Germany, describing the etymology of ‘antifa’ as “borrowed from German Antifa, short for antifaschistische ‘anti-fascist’.
5. It does not have a formal organizational structure. 
6. It draws its members from other movements such as Black Lives Matter and the Occupy movement.

• It is known to have a presence in the US in the 1980s. 
• It shot into prominence following the Presidential election in 2016, with violence marking some of its protests and demonstrations.
• Criticizing mainstream liberal politicians for not doing enough, Antifa members have often physically confronted their conservative opponents on the streets, although the group also participates in non-violent protests.
• Members take up causes such as LGBTQ and indigenous rights.

4.2 60 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty in 2020 due to coronavirus crisis: World Bank Group President David Malpass

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

5.1 Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal launched ‘Delhi Corona’ app for information on availability of beds in Delhi’s hospitals.

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• 6. MISCELLANEOUS (Prelims, Various GS Papers)

6.1 Weekly Roundup - Accidents, Natural and Manmade Disasters

• Thunderstorm kills 3 persons in Agra, damages Taj Mahal’s marble railing - At least three people were killed and marble railing of iconic Taj Mahal was damaged due to thunderstorm that swept Agra on May 29, 2020.
• NGT probes May 7 Styrene gas leak from LG Polymers plant in Vizag; 12 died - A committee tasked by the National Green Tribunal to inquire into the gas leak from the LG Polymers plant in Visakhapatnam on May 7 has concluded that shortage of an inhibitor to control the temperature of the Styrene Monomer storage tank led to the failure of containment efforts, resulting in the leak that left 12 people dead and landed 500 others in hospitals.
• Tropical Storm Amanda kills 17 in El Salvador and Guatemala - Rains from Tropical Storm Amanda left at least 17 dead and seven missing while causing extensive damage across El Salvador and Guatemala that pushed thousands of people into shelters amid the coronavirus pandemic. EL Salvador Interior Minister Mario Durán said some 7,000 people were scattered across 154 shelters. He said a quarter of the rain that the country normally receives in a year fell in 70 hours. 

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Telangana formation day celebrated on June 2

• Telangana is a state of India which is situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau.
• On June 2, 2014, the state of Telangana was officially formed as the 29th state in the country after it was carved out of Andhra Pradesh.
• Since then, Telangana Formation day is celebrated annually on June 2.
• Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) was elected as the first chief minister of the state after elections.
• History –  

1. In 1953, the States Reorganisation Committee (SRC) was appointed to prepare for the creation of states on linguistic lines. 
2. On 1 November, 1956, then Home Minister Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant decided to merge Andhra state and Telangana region to form Andhra Pradesh.
3. The period between 1969 and 1973 was marked by political protests asking for the implementation of safeguards that were promised during the formation of Andhra Pradesh.
4. In 1997, the state unit of BJP passed a resolution seeking a separate Telangana. 
5. In 2000, Congress party MLAs from the region formed the Telangana Congress Legislators Forum and submitted a memorandum to their president Sonia Gandhi requesting to support the Telangana state.
6. In 2001, the Congress Working Committee sent a resolution to the NDA government for constituting a second SRC to look into the Telangana state demand. This was rejected by the then Union home minister L K Advani. 
7. On 9 December 2009, the then Union Minister of Home Affairs P Chidambaram announced that the Indian government would start the process of forming a separate Telangana state. 
8. On 3 October 2013, the Union Cabinet approved the creation of the new State of Telangana. 
9. The Telangana Bill was passed by Parliament and the government declared 2 June 2014 to be Telangana Formation Day.

7.2 Tamil Nadu government made Aadhaar card compulsory for obtaining services at spas, salons, beauty parlours to enable contact tracing.

7.3 Gaitri Kumar appointed as next High Commissioner of India to UK. 

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

8.1 The government has hiked the MSP of more than a dozen crops for Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) 2020-21

• Minimum Support Price (MSP): MSP is the price at which government purchases crops from the farmers, whatever may be the price for the crops. It incentivizes the framers and thus ensures adequate food grains production in the country.
• The MSP has been hiked in the range of 2%-7.5% for the kharif crops.
• The move is in accordance with Union Budget 2018-19 announcement of fixing the MSPs at a level of at least 1.5 times of the all-India weighted average cost of production.
• Experts say that this is not enough – there has to be large scale government procurement in most crops at MSP.
• How MSP is calculated for each crop - For the calculation of the MSP, the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) takes into account a comprehensive view of the entire structure of the economy of a particular commodity or group of commodities. Commission makes use of both micro-level data and aggregates at the level of district, state and the country.
• National Commission on Farmers (NCF) - On November 18, 2004, the GOI formed the NCF, with MS Swaminathan as its chairman. Its aim was to come up with a system for sustainability in farming system and make it more profitable and cost competitive in farm commodities. The commission submitted five reports between December 2004 and October 2006. Its suggestions included fast and inclusive growth for farmers. The fifth and final report is considered the most crucial as it contains suggestions for the agriculture sector as a whole. It recommended that MSPs have to be at least 50% more than the cost of production.
• CAPC - It is a decentralized agency of the GOI. It was established in 1965 as the Agricultural Prices Commission, and was given its present name in 1985. It is an attached office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, GOI. It was established to recommend MSPs, to motivate cultivators and farmers to adopt the latest technology in order to optimize the use of resources and increase productivity.

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

9.1 Second most common coronavirus type in India

• Scientists at multiple CSIR laboratories have identified a type of coronavirus that may be the second most prevalent in India.
• It may comprise 3.5% of the genomes globally.
• The most dominant coronavirus clade in India is the A2a.
• Out of 213 genomes analysed by the group, 62% of them were A2a.  
• The newly identified type, that the scientists have christened A3i, comprised 41% of those analysed. 
• With this, there are 11 SARS-CoV-2 types identified globally, with at least six of them identified in India.
• The coronavirus type, or clade, is a cluster of SARS-CoV-2 viruses that share evolutionary similarities.
• Such classifications are useful in establishing whether certain strains are particularly virulent, spread more easily, how they are likely to evolve over time and whether some could be less vulnerable to certain kinds of vaccines.
• The A2a type has emerged dominant the world over - Previous studies indicate that while type O was the first ancestral family of the virus identified from China, it’s the A2a type that has emerged dominant the world over because of a mutation in its genes that allows that coronavirus’ spike to more efficiently infiltrate the lungs. So far, there is no evidence that A3i is more deadly.

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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 -

• Checkmate: How the BJP Won and Lost Maharashtra is authored by Sudhir Suryawanshi.
• Zalmay Khalilzad was the United States Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation.
• The term e-NAM  stands for National Agriculture Market.
• Uttar Pradesh claimed in April 2020 to have become the first state to have the infrastructure in all its courts for hearing cases through video conferencing.
• Ajay Mahajan is the new CEO and MD of Care Ratings.

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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