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

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

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. India-China Standoff 2020 – Both countries agree to resolve differences peacefully – India and China held talks between their Foreign Ministries and agreed to follow a consensus that differences should be handled peacefully and should not become disputes, in the highest-level diplomatic engagement since tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) erupted in May. Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs Naveen Srivastava held a videoconference with Wu Jianghao, Director General of the Asia Department at the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2. COVID-19 Updates – Massive spike in foreign flows into market – In just under a week in June, the quantum of foreign flows into the equity market has surpassed that of any other month in the current calendar year. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs.20,814 crore in just five trading sessions in the current month. This is the highest in any month of 2020, with the previous high registered in May at Rs.14,569 crore. Market participants are of the view that the sudden surge was on account of the rights issue of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), the stake sale in Kotak Mahindra Bank, and the slight uptick in optimism even as pandemic concerns continue to linger.
3. India-China Standoff 2020 – China appoints new Army commander for India border – China has appointed a new Army commander to oversee the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Ground Force on the India border, amid ongoing tensions across the Line of Actual Control (LAC). The appointment was first publicly confirmed on June 1 in a Chinese media report that identified Lieutenant General Xu Qiling as the new commander of the Western Theater Command Ground Force. It is unclear when the appointment was made. Indian and Chinese forces have been in stand-offs along the LAC since early May. Lt. Gen. Xu will report to General Zhao Zongqi, who is the commander of the Western Theater Command and oversees all forces there, including the Ground Force, the Air Force and the Rocket Force. The command is responsible for the India border and is the biggest of five theater commands. Theater commands are usually headed by generals.
4. COVID-19 Updates – Can private hospitals treat all at Ayushman Bharat rate, asks SC – The SC asked the government to respond to whether COVID-19 patients, who are not beneficiaries under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, can be treated in private hospitals at the same subsidised rates offered under the scheme. A Bench led by CJI S. A. Bobde heard petitioner-advocate Sachin Jain argue that COVID-19 treatment costs only Rs. 4000 for an Ayushman Bharat beneficiary in a private hospital, while others have to shell out a minimum of Rs. 50,000 for treatment in the same hospital. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the Ayushman Bharat scheme was meant for an identifiable category drawn from the poorest of the poor sections of society. The scheme cannot cover every strata of society. Mr. Mehta said it was untrue to say that the government was “supporting” corporate hospitals.
5. Environment and Ecology – Close to 28% of Sunderbans damaged in Cyclone Amphan – About 28% of the Sunderbans have been damaged by Cyclone Amphan, CM Mamata Banerjee said at the launch of a drive for planting mangroves and trees to mark World Environment Day. 1,200 sq km of the 4,263 sq km forests had been “destroyed”. The Indian Sunderbans, an area south of the Dampier Hodges line, is spread over 9,630 sq km, of which the mangrove forest accounts for 4,263 sq km. The damage was mostly in the Patharpratima and Kultali areas of South 24 Parganas.
6. International Relations – Ahead of vote of UNSC seat, India unveils ‘panchsheel’ –  India unveils ‘panchsheel’, or five principles, for election to UNSC on June 17; samman (respect), samvad (dialogue), sahyog (cooperation), and shanti (peace), to create conditions for universal samriddhi (prosperity).
7. George Floyd Protests Updates - First Thing: a message to white America: 'Get your knee off our necks – Curfews were lifted from Los Angeles to Washington DC on Thursday as peaceful protests against police violence continued for another day in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by officers in Minneapolis. Floyd’s family led the mourners at a memorial service in the Minnesota city – the first of three such events planned across the country - where the Rev Al Sharpton gave voice to the passion, anger and hope of the protesters in a moving eulogy. Amid the widespread unrest over Floyd’s death, several fresh incidents of police violence stand out.
8. World – Facebook to apply state media labels on Russian Chinese outlets – Facebook Inc will start labeling Russian, Chinese and other state-controlled media organizations, and later this summer will block any ads from such outlets that target U.S. users. The world's biggest social network will apply the label to Russia's Sputnik, Iran's Press TV and China's Xinhua News, according to a partial list Facebook provided. The company will apply the label to about 200 pages at the outset. Facebook will not label any U.S.-based news organizations for now, as it determined that even U.S. government-run outlets have editorial independence, Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook's head of cybersecurity policy, said in an interview.
9. India – Important launches – Road Transport and Highways Ministry launched national awareness campaign on ‘Prevention of Human and Animal Mortality on Highways’. HRD Ministry launched booklet “Safe online learning in the times of COVID-19” for students and teachers; prepared by NCERT and UNESCO.
10. Indian Economy – Scheme Freeze – Finance Ministry asked all Ministries and departments not to initiate any new scheme in the current financial year. Funds for schemes under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package, the AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package and any other special package or announcement would be allocated. Schemes that are already approved for the current financial year will remain suspended till March 31, 2021 or further orders.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	Jute Corporation of India	Assistant Manager, Deputy Manager	17	B. Com, Degree (Law)	June 8, 2020	https://www.jutecorp.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/JCI_Recruitment_10_2020-1.pdf
2	IIVR	Sr Research Fellow, Young Professional I, Agromet Observer	12	10+2, PG, Ph. D.	June 12, 2020	https://www.iivr.org.in/sites/default/files/events/YP-II_0.pdf
3	ALIMCO	General Manager, Manager, Dy. Manager, Internal Auditor	31	ITI, Diploma (Engg), Any Degree	July 13, 2020	https://www.alimco.in/WriteReadData/Recruitment_Document/AD_3F_01_May-20201/1_ALIMCOMay2020Advertisement.pdf
4	PGCIL	Apprentice	336	--	June 30, 2020	https://careers.powergrid.in/CCApprenticeShip/w/home.aspxf
5	C-DAC, Mohali	Project Engineer & Manager	13	BE/ B.Tech/ MCA/ ME/ M.Tech, Ph.D	June 15, 2020	https://cdac.in/index.aspx?id=ca_career_4June2020
6	ECIL	Technical Officer	70	Degree (Engg)	June 11, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/06/Notification-ECIL-Technical-Officer-Posts.pdf
7	ICFRE	Research Associate I, Jr Project Fellow & Jr Research Fellow	6	PG, Ph.D	June 11, 2020	http://icfre.gov.in/vacancy/vacancy353.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 Bombay High Court passed an interim order to allow all airlines to keep middle seats occupied

• The Bombay High Court passed an interim order to allow all airlines to keep middle seats occupied in compliance with May 31 circular issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
• The order was passed after an Expert Committee headed by Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation informed the Court that mere touch of a person infected with Covid-19 will not lead to transmission of the virus.
• Virus transmission happen when droplets from the mouth or nose of Covid positive person through sneezing or coughing come in contact with hands, mouth, nose of a non-covid person increases the chances of infection.
• As per the ciruclar isued on May 31 the DGCA had advised airlines to keep middle seats vacant as per its circular issued on May 31.
• If the middle seat cannot be kept vacant due to high passenger load, then its occupant should be provided protective equipment lquipment like wrap-around gowns of standards approved by Ministry of Textiles in addition to the face mask and face shield.
• A Division bench of Justice SJ Kathawalla and Justice SP Tavade was hearing the writ petition filed by Commander Deven Y Kanani of Air India.
• Commander Kanani relied upon circular issued by the Government of India dated March 23 and alleged that the national carrier violated the said circular by failing to follow the rule of keeping the middle seat empty during evacuation of stranded passengers as part of the Vande Bharat Mission.
• On May 25, the SC granted a partial relief to Air India, allowing it to operate with middle seat bookings for ten days, and disposed of the matter urging Bombay HC to finally decide the issue at the earliest.

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

2.1 ‘Forced waiver of interest’ on loans during 3-month moratorium period neither prudent nor appropriate - RBI tells SC 

• The Reserve Bank of India told the Supreme Court that it cannot waive interest on loans for the moratorium period.
• It would affect the financial stability of the banking sector.
• It estimated the interest payable on these loans to be Rs 2.01 lakh crore, or equivalent to 1% of India’s gross domestic product.
• The RBI has announced a sixmonth moratorium on loans repayments from March, giving borrowers the option to postpone EMIs till August, to ease the financial stress on them due to Covid-19 and the lockdown.
• The banking regulator told the court that the moratorium was only a deferral and not a waiver on payments.  
• It only defers collection of loans and interest till a further point of time, which is not later than March 31, 2021.
• While the Reserve Bank of India is making efforts to provide relief to all sectors, it doesn’t consider it prudent or appropriate to offer a forced waiver of interest.
• The RBI said the moratorium would help reduce the immediate burden of borrowers and also take care of the effective income of banks which are commercial entities and need to sustain themselves to remain being the guardian of depositors.

2.2 According to Reserve Bank Survey of Professional Forecasters GDP to contract by 1.5% in 2020-21

2.3 RBI set-up Payment Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) of Rs. 500 crore to promote digital payments.

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

3.1 World Environment Day (WED) was celebrated on June 5 with theme on ‘Biodiversity’

• WED has been celebrated on June 5 every year since 1974.
• It is the UN's primary vehicle to spread awareness about the challenges and the need for environment conservation.
• It has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on environmental issues emerging from marine pollution, human overpopulation, and global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime.
• It has grown to become a global platform for public outreach, with participation from over 143 countries annually.
• The theme for WED 2020 is biodiversity, a concern described as "both urgent and existential".
• India will be focusing on the Nagar Van (Urban Forests) apart from the official theme of the WED.
• The Indian Navy has also marked the day through various initiatives which are intended to reduce its environmental footprint.
• The emergence of COVID-19 has underscored the fact that, when we destroy biodiversity, we destroy the system that supports human life.
• One consequence of Covid-induced lockdowns around the world has been lower air pollution levels.
• In April, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reported 46% reduction in PM2.5 levels and 50% depletion in PM10 concentrations in Delhi - one of the most polluted capitals in the world.
• Humanity’s unhealthy relationship with nature:

1. Humanity has altered 75 per cent of the Earth’s ice-free surface.  
2. Since 1990, 420 million hectares of forest, equal to three times the size of South Africa, have been lost.
3. Nearly one million species face extinction, while the illegal wildlife trade is the fourth largest illegal trade crime in the world.

• World Environment Day: Announcements from government – 

1. Government to implement Nagar Van scheme to develop 200 Urban Forests across the country in next five years.
2. Power Ministry launched the ‘#iCommit’ initiative to promote energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainability.

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

4.1 World Bicycle Day celebrated on June 3 by UNO.

4.2 Legislature of Hong Kong approved bill making it illegal to insult the Chinese national anthem.

4.3 Google pledges $37 million to fight racism amid outrage over the custodial killing of African-American George Floyd.

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

5.1 COVID-19 Lockdown - Andhra Pradesh government handed over Rs. 10,000 to each of 2,62,000 auto, cab drivers under YSR Vahana Mitra scheme.

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• 6. MISCELLANEOUS (Prelims, Various GS Papers)

6.1 Weekly Roundup – Defence and Sports

• IAF operationalises no.18 Squadron at Sulur Air Force Station in Tamil Nadu - The Indian Air Force (IAF) on May 27, 2020 operationalised its no.18 Squadron, the “Flying Bullets”, at the Sulur Air Force Station near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, equipping it with the fourth generation Mk1 LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) Tejas. The No 18 Squadron, formed in 1965 with the motto “Teevra aur Nirbhaya” meaning “Swift and Fearless,” was earlier flying MiG 27 aircraft.

 

• Indian Navy setting up missile park ‘Agneeprastha’ at INS Kalinga - Foundation Stone for a Missile Park ‘Agneeprastha’ was laid at INS Kalinga on May 28, 2020. The park aims to capture glimpses of Missile History of INS Kalinga since 1981 till date.

 

• US athlete Bobby Morrow dies at 84; won 3 golds at 1956 Olympic Games - American sprinter Bobby Morrow, who won three gold medals at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, died on May 30, 2020 at the age of 84. Morrow won gold in the 100 and 200 metres and anchored the U.S. to victory in the 4x100m relay, in which they set a world record.
• Narendra Batra appointed Olympic Channel Commission member - The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Narinder Batra has been appointed as a member of the Olympic Channel Commission.

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Home Ministry blacklists 2,550 foreign Tablighi Jamaat members

• The home ministry has blacklisted 2,550 Tablighi Jamaat members from nearly 40 countries who were staying in India during the nationwide coronavirus lockdown and indulging in missionary activities in violation of visa rules.

• These people would not be allowed to enter India for 10 years.
• This is perhaps for the first time that the government has blacklisted a large number of people in one stroke and banned their entry into India for such a long duration under the Foreigners Act.
• The action has been taken by the home ministry after various state governments provided details of the foreigners who were found to be illegally living in mosques and religious seminaries across the country.
• Almost all of these foreign Tablighi Jamaat activists had come to India on a tourist visa but were engaged in missionary works, thus violating the visa conditions.
• The government has already decided not to issue a tourist visa to any foreigner who wishes to visit India and take part in Tablighi activities.

7.2 Other Important News 

• Brajendra Navnit appointed as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to WTO in Geneva.

• Ex-MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar to be India’s next Ambassador to Finland

 

• Visa, travel restrictions eased for some categories of foreign nationals such as businessmen, healthcare professionals, health researchers, engineers and technicians.
• Centre advises students of J&K and Ladakh UTs against taking admissions in colleges/universities in PoK as they are not recognised by India.
• Cabinet approves renaming of Kolkata Port Trust as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Trust.
• Rahul Shrivastava appointed as next Ambassador of India to Romania.

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

8.1 HRD and Housing & Urban Affairs Ministries jointly launched TULIP (The Urban Learning Internship Program) with ULBs (Urban Local Bodies) across the country

• The Centre has launched TULIP for fresh engineering graduates, who will get an opportunity to work for 4,400 urban local bodies and 100 smart cities in the country.
• The plan to introduce the programme was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the budget speech.
• It will allow applicants internship for up to one year in areas like urban planning, financing, environmental engineering, sanitation and infrastructure.
• The government’s aim is to provide internship to one crore youths in the next five years.
• The government has set a target of providing 25,000 fresh engineering graduates in the next one year.
• The new programme is expected to infuse fresh ideas and energy with engagement of youth in co-creation of solutions for solving country’s urban challenges.
• It would further government’s efforts to strengthen community partnership and government-academia-industry-civil society linkages.
• HRD minister’s views:
• TULIP will help reap the benefits of India’s demographic dividend as it is poised to have the largest working-age population in the world in the coming years.
• India has a substantial pool of technical graduates for whom exposure to real world project implementation and planning is a must for professional development.
• General education is not enough to reflect the depth of productive knowledge present in society.
• Instead of approaching education as ‘doing by learning,' our societies need to reimagine education as ‘learning by doing’.

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

9.1 Global Vaccine Summit 2020

• India pledges $15 million to GAVI, the international vaccine alliance, at the virtual Global Vaccine Summit hosted by UK.
• GAVI, officially Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public–private global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunization in poor countries.
• On 4 June 2020, the UK-hosted Global Vaccine Summit raised US$8.8 billion in pledges to help GAVI protect a further 300 million more children against infectious diseases and save up to 8 million lives over the next five years.
• World leaders make historic commitments to provide equal access to vaccines for all.
• GAVI is not only a global alliance but also a symbol of international solidarity. Thus, the whole world needs to stand united to get rid of the crisis caused by the pandemic.
• India’s contribution -  
• India pledges 15 million US dollars to GAVI. In 2014, from being a recipient country of GAVI, India became a donor country and has contributed around USD 12 million to date.
• At the summit, PM Modi said that India stands in solidarity with the World in these challenging times.
• The PM further said that India not only has the capacity to contribute to the global health efforts, but also has the will to do so in a spirit of sharing and caring.
• India has also shared its stocks of medicines with over 120 countries in the wake of the Covid pandemic.
• In order to expand protection, India has added six new vaccines to its National Immunization Programme.
• India is also the World’s foremost producer of vaccines and the country is fortunate to provide immunization to about 60 percent of the World’s children.

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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 -

• All Surplus, Exports and Imports indicators of services trade of India increased in 2019-20.
• K. V. Kamath is the head of New Development Bank.
• Innovate for a Green Future was the theme of the World Intellectual Property Day observed on April 26.
• Odisha Foundation Day (Utkal Divas) was observed on April 1, 2020. The state was founded in 1936.
• Krzysztof Penderecki died at the age of 86 in Poland in March. He was well-known for Composing music.

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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