Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 13-06-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 13-06-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. COVID-19 Updates – Covid count crosses 3L as fresh cases hit new peak of 11,775 – The Covid-19 pandemic in India crossed another sombre milepost of 3 lakh cases even as fresh infections zoomed to a new record of 11,775, while the death toll grew by 389 to 8,886. Maharashtra alone has so far accounted for a third of the cases and 42% of deaths. India is now in the third place after Brazil and the US in the list of countries currently with the highest daily caseloads. With this, the total Covid-19 cases reported by India went up to 3,09,360. It took just 10 days for the count to hit 3 lakh after crossing the 2 lakh mark on June 2. Growth rate of infection reduces from 4.5% to 4%.
2. India-China Standoff 2020 – Delhi, Beijing hold 5th round of talks – India and China held another round of major-general level talks in eastern Ladakh in a bid to defuse the on-going confrontation in the Galwan Valley region, even as defence minister Rajnath Singh reviewed the operational situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with the military brass in the capital. Sources said the major-general level dialogue at “patrolling point 14” specifically focused on de-escalation in the Galwan Valley and Gogra-Hot Springs areas, which have already witnessed a slight pullback of rival troops as a confidence-building measure. This was the fifth round of talks at this level, with the Indian delegation led by Leh-based 3 Infantry Division commander Major General Abhijit Bapat.
3. International Relations – Amid map row, Indian killed in firing by Nepal – A day before a vote in Nepal’s parliament seeking to change the nation’s map to include a part of India in its territory, tensions escalated along the border in Sitamarhi district after a local disagreement turned ugly and led to firing by the Nepal Armed Police Force in which one Indian national was killed and two received serious injuries while another was detained in Nepal. The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) which guards the border, said the incident was “completely avoidable” and was an offshoot of a local situation with no wider implications.
4. Constitution and Law – Sharing PDFs of newspaper on social media illegal, say lawyers – Newspapers are the copyright owners of e-papers and all of its content, and any attempt to copy and circulate the e-papers on social media or apps is a violation of the Copyright Act, say lawyers. These copies are often in PDF format and are wrongly shown as an official offering from the newspaper. According to industry experts, these may contain fake news, may be doctored and give rise to a multitude of legal issues. Senior lawyer Chander Lall said this was a clear case of violation of Copyright Act. The piracy of e-papers came in for criticism from the Indian Newspaper Society (INS), the apex body for print publications, which raised concerns that this will hit subscription revenue besides exacerbating the problem of fake news.
5. India: Society – CBSE boards results likely by Aug 15 – According to Union HRD minister, the results of CBSE classes X and XII boards are expected by August 15. The delay has been caused by disruptions to the exams and evaluation schedules in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak and the subsequent national lockdown. CBSE will start conducting all leftover exams from July 1.
6. George Floyd Protests – North Korea Vows to Boost Nuclear Program, Saying U.S. Diplomacy Failed –  North Korea said that two years of diplomacy with President Trump had “faded away into a dark nightmare,” and vowed to increase its nuclear weapons capabilities. When Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump met in Singapore on June 12, 2018, they signed a vaguely worded agreement to improve ties between their nations and work toward “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” But bilateral ties have since deteriorated, especially after the two leaders’ second meeting, held in Vietnam in February 2019, ended without agreement on how to dismantle the North’s nuclear weapons program and when to ease sanctions against the North.
7. World Politics - Trump administration moves to solidify restrictive immigration policies – The administration proposed a rule this week that would raise the standard of proof for migrants hoping to obtain asylum and is expected to propose additional visa restrictions. Stephen Miller, an architect of President Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda, is using the coronavirus pandemic to further restrict legal immigration.
8. Covid-19 Updates – This is about livelihoods': U.S. virus hotspots reopen despite second wave spectre – The moves by governors of states such as Florida and Arizona came as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the United States could not afford to let the novel coronavirus shut its economy again and global stocks tanked on worries of a pandemic resurgence. As Florida reported its highest daily tally of new coronavirus cases, Governor Ron DeSantis unveiled a plan to restart public schools at “full capacity” in the autumn, arguing the state’s economy depended on it. North Carolina reported record COVID-19 hospitalizations for a fifth straight day, a day after legislators passed a bill to reopen gyms, fitness centers and bars in a state where more than one in ten workers are unemployed.
9. Indian Economy – Ambanis’ stake in RIL at 12-year high after rights issue – Billionaire Mukesh Ambani has increased his stake in Reliance Industries to a 12-year high of 49.14% after the conclusion of the firm’s mega rights issue recently. Ambani and other members of the promoter family committed to invest Rs. 28,286 crore and subscribed to 225 million shares in the Rs. 53,124 crore issue. Regulatory filings show that the promoter family picked up additional shares from the unsubscribed portion of the issue raising their stake to nearly 50% of RIL’s paid-up equity capital.
10. Indian Economy – Factory output shrinks 55.5% in April – India’s industrial production shrank by a record 55.5% in April from the year earlier with manufacturing crashing 64.3%, as computed from data released by the government, which didn’t provide a number for the change from April 2019 because of the Covid-19 lockdown. The ministry of statistics & programme implementation also withheld the headline retail inflation figure for May but official data showed retail food inflation rose 9.28% on year last month. It had also withheld the headline inflation number for April on the grounds that the data wasn’t reliable because of the lockdown. One expert pegged retail inflation at 5.2%.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	NAL	Scientist, Sr Scientist	13	--	July 6, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/06/Notification-NAL-Scientist-Posts.pdf
2	IIT, Kanpur	Asst Registrar, Catering Manager, Jr. Superint.	21	10+2, Degree, Diploma, PG	July 12, 2020	https://www.iitk.ac.in/new/data/recruitment/Advt_No_1_2020/Advt-No.-1-2020-12-06-20.pdf
3	GRSE Ltd	Expert/ Specialist	8	Degree(Eng.)	June 24, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/06/Notification-GRSE-Expert-Specialist.pdf
4	RRC, Eastern Railway	Cultural Quota, Scouts & Guides Quota, Sports Quota	36	PG	July 13, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/06/Notification-RRC-Eastren-Railway-Cultural-Scouts-Guides-Quota.pdf
5	DFCCIL	SAP Consultant/ Team Lead & SAP Consultant	5	BE/ B.Tech/ CA/ ICWA/ MBA/ MCA	June 17, 2020	https://dfccil.com/upload/Advt_No_03_of_2020_9DQ0.pdf
6	North Central Railway	Act Apprentice	196	10th Class, ITI	July 15, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/06/Notification-North-Central-Railway-Act-Apprentices-Posts.pdf
7	Assam University	Finance Officer, Hindi Translator	23	--	July 15, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/06/Notification-Assam-University-Finance-Officer-Jr-Engineer-Other-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 Not Available Today

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

2.1 Factory output shrinks 55.5% in April 

• News –

1. India’s industrial production shrank by a record 55.5% in April from the year earlier with manufacturing crashing 64.3%. The 55.5% decline is the sharpest since at least April 1994.
2. Government didn’t provide a number for the change from April 2019 because of the Covid-19 lockdown.
3. Retail food inflation rose 9.28% on year last month.
4. Govt. had also withheld the headline inflation number for April on the grounds that the data wasn’t reliable because of the lockdown.
5. Experts pegged retail inflation at 5.2%.

• Reasons -

1. India imposed a nationwide lockdown on March 25 to curb the coronavirus outbreak.
2. Curbs were eased starting early May in order to get the economy moving again.
3. This impacted production in April, with a number of responding units reporting zero production.
4. Retail inflation rose due to continued limited market transactions of products.

• GDP predictions -

1. A contraction of 3.5-5% in India’s FY21 GDP.
2. The recovery of both demand and supply would be uneven over the next few months as activity slowly normalises. 

• Categorywise contraction - 

1. The worst-affected categories in April were consumer durables, capital goods and infrastructure/construction goods, with end demand severely constrained by the lockdown.
2. Capital goods output, an indicator of investment, contracted 92% while consumer durables output shrank 95.7% compared with a 33.1% contraction in March.

2.2 Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered virtual address to the Plenary session of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata.

2.3 Foreign exchange reserves surged by $8.22 billion to $501.70 billion in the week ended June 5, first time above $500 billion. 

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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 Donald Trump targets ICC (International Criminal Court) with sanctions for probing whether U.S. forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan

•  News - 

1. President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on court officials who are investigating whether US forces committed war crimes in Afghanistan.
2. The executive order allows the US to block the assets of International Criminal Court (ICC) employees and stop them from entering the country.

• ICC’s stand -

1. The ICC described the decision as an "unacceptable attempt to interfere with the rule of law".
2. Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised the court and questioned its independence.

• Background -

1. The ICC investigation began after a preliminary report found reason to believe war crimes had been committed.
2. The US is not a signatory of the Hague-based ICC and does not recognise its authority over American citizens.
3. Shortly after the executive order was signed, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US would not be "threatened by a kangaroo court".
4. The investigation into alleged war crimes by the US and others in the Afghan conflict was given the green light by the ICC earlier this year.
5. The actions of the Taliban, the Afghan government and US troops since May 2003 are expected to be examined in the probe.
6. Afghanistan is a member of the court, but officials there have also expressed opposition to the inquiry.

• What are the allegations?

1. Intentional attacks against civilians, imprisonment and extra-judicial executions.
2. Torture at secret detention sites operated by the CIA.

• The ICC -

1. The ICC has been part of the global justice system since 2002, and it is designed to prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
2. But the court's operation is seen as weakened without US involvement.

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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 Weekly Roundup - Sports

• HRD, Sports Ministries jointly produce films promoting 10 indigenous sports - The ‘Department of School Education and Literacy’ under MHRD has joined hands with Sports Ministry’s flagship programme ‘Fit India’ to produce a series of special films promoting 10 indigenous sports of India under the ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’ initiative.  The 10 sports to be covered in the series are Kho-kho, Gatka, Kalaripayttu, Mallakhamb, Thang-Ta, Sqay, Kabaddi, Roll Ball, Tug of War and Shooting Ball.
• Russia’s Daniil Dubov wins Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge chess title - Russia’s Daniil Dubov won the $150,000 Lindores Abbey Rapid Challenge chess title on June 3, 2020 by defeating USA’s Hikaru Nakamura in the final. Dubov earned $45,000 while Nakamura, who defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen in the semifinals, received $27,000.
• Former India footballer Hamza Koya (61) died of COVID-19 in Kerala - Former Indian footballer Hamza Koya on June 6, 2020 died of COVID-19 in Kerala at the age of 61. He had represented Maharashtra at the Santhosh Trophy and also the Indian team in Nehru trophy.

• Archery coach Jayantilal Nanoma dies at 34 - International archer-turned-coach Jayantilal Nanoma died in a road accident in Rajasthan on June 7, 2020 at the age of 34. Nanoma was an Asia Cup and Asian Grand Prix medallist in compound individual and team events in 2010. 

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Krishna and Godavari water utilization

• Key point -

1. The central government will take stock of water utilization from the Krishna and Godavari rivers following Telangana and Andhra Pradesh filing complaints against each other.

• Highlights -

1. The main goal of the exercise seems to be to assess whether enough water will be available for the new projects in the light of the disputes.
2. The government has also sought information regarding the projects that Andhra Pradesh and Telangana had on the two rivers.
3. Both the States share stretches of the Krishna and the Godavari and own their tributaries.
4. They have started several new projects without getting due clearance from the authorities concerned as per law.
5. While the Godavari discharges over 3,000 tmc ft into the sea, the Krishna has almost dried up, with Maharashtra and Karnataka taking up large projects.
6. Telangana has also embarked on several projects on the Krishna and the Godavari.

• No new projects in AP -

1. In AP, however, no new projects have been taken up.
2. The previous Telugu Desam government accelerated several unfinished projects to increase the water utilization of the State.
3. The current government, however, proposed some projects to increase the utilization of the Krishna water from a section of the river above the Srisailam Reservoir – this has led to the Telangana government filing a complaint against AP.
4. The AP came up with its own grievances saying that Palamuru-Rangareddy, Dindi Lift Irrigation Schemes on the Krishna River and Kaleshwaram, Tupakulagudem schemes and some barrages proposed across the Godavari were all new projects.

• The history of the disputes of the Krishna water -

1. Two tribunals have been constituted to resolve them.
2. Andhra Pradesh government has countered the second Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal order issued by Justice Brijesh Kumar.
3. It even filed a special leave petition (SLP) in the apex Court and the same is still pending.
4. Maharashtra and Karnataka governments have been impleaded in the cases demanding that the order of the Brijesh Kumar Tribunal allocating additional flood water to the two upper riparian States be put into practice immediately.
5. The Brijesh Kumar Tribunal distributed 81 tmcft of surplus water to Maharashtra, 177 tmcft to Karnataka and only 196 tmcft to AP. 
6. AP, as a tail-end State, is insisting that it had a right on all the 448 tmcft of surplus water and moved the court.
   

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

8.1 CSIR-IHBT and Himachal Pradesh Government Partner to Boost Cultivation of Saffron, Heeng

•  Key points - 

1. To increase the production of Heeng and Saffron, the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT) and the Government of Himachal Pradesh, have forged strategic and implementation partnership based on their mutual strengths.
2. The partnership is expected to provide immense benefits to Himachal Pradesh by way of increased farm income, livelihood promotion, and rural development.
3. Currently, around 2825 hectares of land is under cultivation of Saffron in J&K.  
4. IHBT has developed the production technology for Saffron and introduced its cultivation in non-traditional areas of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

• Saffron and Heeng (asafoetida) - 

1. They are the most valuable spices of the world and widely used in Indian cuisine since time immemorial.
2. In India, the yearly demand for Saffron spice is 100 tons but its average production is about only 6-7 tons per year – this is why a large amount of Saffron is being imported.
3. In a similar way, there is no production of Heeng in India and currently around 1200 tons of raw Heeng worth Rs 600 crore is being imported from Afghanistan, Iran, and Uzbekistan.

• Advantages -

1. Introduction of these crops will reduce the import.
2. It is expected to cover a total of 750 acres of land under these crops in the Himachal Pradesh in the next five years – this will create livelihoods for the farmers in the state.
3. CSIR-IHBT will provide technical know-how to the farmers, impart training to state agriculture department officers and farmers, and set up corm and seed production centres of Saffron and Heeng, respectively, in the state.
4. Thus, it will create a multi-dimensional development platform in the state.

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

9.1 Micro-plastics in deep oceans

•  Micro-plastics - 

1. They are very small pieces of plastic which can be harmful to our ocean and aquatic life.
2. Plastic is the most prevalent type of marine debris found in our ocean and Great Lakes.  
3. Plastic debris can come in all shapes and sizes, but those that are less than five millimetres in length are called “micro-plastics.”

• Key points -  

1. Seafloor currents sweep microplastics into deep-sea hotspots of ocean life.
2. A new research shows that powerful currents sweep these microplastics along the seafloor into large “drifts”, which concentrate them in astounding quantities.
3. The researchers found up to 1.9 million pieces of micro-plastic in a 5cm-thick layer covering just one square metre – the highest levels of microplastics yet recorded on the ocean floor.
4. While microplastics have been found on the seafloor worldwide, scientists weren’t sure how they got there and how they spread.
5. Recent research has shown that rivers transport microplastics to the ocean too.
6. Laboratory experiments revealed that giant underwater avalanches of sediment can transport these tiny particles along deep-sea canyons to greater depths.
7. Researchers have now discovered how a global network of deep-sea currents transports microplastics, creating plastic hotspots within vast sediment drifts.
8. By catching a ride on these currents, microplastics may be accumulating where deep-sea life is abundant.

• From bedroom floors to the seafloor -

1. Most micro-plastics found on the seafloor are fibres from clothes and textiles.
2. These are particularly insidious, as they can be eaten and absorbed by organisms.
3. Although micro-plastics on their own are often non-toxic, studies show the build-up of toxins on their surfaces can harm organisms if ingested.
4. These deep ocean currents also carry oxygenated water and nutrients, meaning that the seafloor hotspots where micro-plastics accumulate may also be home to important ecosystems such as deep-sea coral reefs that have evolved to depend on these flows, but are now receiving huge quantities of micro-plastics instead.
5. What was once a hidden problem has now been uncovered – natural currents and the flow of plastic waste into the ocean are turning parts of the seafloor into repositories for micro-plastics.

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

10.1 COVID-19 and Child labour: A Time of Crisis, A Time to Act, report

• Report was released by International Labour Organisation and  UNICEF on the occasion of World Day against Child Labour.
• World Day against Child Labour celebrated on June 12
• Theme: ‘Covid-19: Protect Children from Child Labour, now more than ever!’
  

To download complete report, visit here – 

https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/COVID-19-and-Child-Labour-publication.pdf
10.2 Daily dose of  FIVE Facts -

• Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers manufactured the Landing Craft Utility (LCU) that was commissioned into the Indian Navy at Port Blair in May 2020.
• Scientists at the CSIR’s Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology in New Delhi have come up with a low-cost coronavirus test and named it Feluda.
• World Health Day was observed on April 7 with focus on the critical role played by nurses and Midwives in keeping the world healthy.
• The ‘Earth Hour’ was observed on March 28, 2020 from 8:30 to 9:30 PM to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.
• Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar studied at London School of Economics in England during 1921-22.

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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