Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 19-06-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 19-06-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. India-China Standoff 2020 – Days after clash, China frees 10 soldiers – Three days after clashes in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh left 20 Indian soldiers dead, the Chinese released 10 Indian Army personnel, including a Lieutenant Colonel and three Majors, from their custody. All 10 persons were released around 5 p.m. after an agreement was reached at the Major General-level talks and they were returned unharmed. Separately, the Army clarified in a statement that there were “no Indian troops missing in action”. In another development, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said the Indian troops, who were outnumbered and attacked by the Chinese side, carried arms. Article VI of the 1996 agreement between India and China on “Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs) in the military field along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border areas” says, “Neither side shall open fire, cause bio-degradation, use hazardous chemicals, conduct blast operations or hunt with guns or explosives within two kilometres from the line of actual control. This prohibition shall not apply to routine firing activities in small arms firing ranges.”
2. Arts and Culture – SC halts Puri rath yatra, 1st no-show in 300+ yrs – The Supreme Court stopped one of the biggest annual festivals in the world—the rath yatra in Puri, Odisha. The yatra is as old as the 12th century Jagannath temple and the three chariots of the deities have always rolled except for a few years in the 16th and 17th centuries. As the chariots of the deities—Balabadra, Jagannath and Subhadra—were almost ready, the Centre, through solicitor general Tushar Mehta, urged the SC for time to deliberate on the issue. When a bench led by CJI S A Bobde said it would not sit on the last working day before the court goes into summer vacation, the SG requested the court to permit rituals and religious ceremonies associated with the yatra.
3. Indian Economy – Modi to launch Rs. 50,000cr job plan for migrants in 6 states – The government unveiled a Rs 50,000 crore plan to provide jobs to returning migrants spread across 116 districts in six states, a move aimed at blunting criticism over the government’s handling of the migration triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. PM Narendra Modi will launch the plan under the government’s Garib Kalyan Rojgar Yojana through video conference on June 20 from a village in Khagaria district in Bihar where elections are due later this year. The districts have been selected based on surveys conducted by states, with a cut-off of 25,000 migrants to qualify under the proposed mission. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharamana told a news conference that the 125-day campaign will involve “intensified and focused implementation” of 25 different types of works to provide employment to migrant workers and create infrastructure in the rural areas of the country.
4. COVID-19 Updates – Coal auction starts, PM says business close to pre-Covid levels – Business activity in India is normalising with consumption and demand rapidly approaching the pre-Covid levels, PM Narendra Modi said while launching the first-ever auction of coal mines for commercial mining. The Prime Minister’s statement underlines his government’s intention to allow resumption of more economic activities from next month, something he made clear during discussions with chief ministers by saying it was time to think about ‘Unlock-2’.
5. Environment and Ecology – SC seeks Centre’s reply on Pench tiger’s death – More than two months after a 10-year-old tiger died under mysterious circumstances in the Pench Tiger Reserve, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to submit a reply within two weeks on the cause of the animal’s death. The apex court passed the order while hearing a PIL which alleged that the big cat may have died from Covid-19. Earlier, the Delhi high court had dismissed a PIL filed by Sangeeta Dogra seeking a thorough investigation into the death of the tiger under suspicious circumstances after government agencies clarified that Covid-19 was not the reason. Dogra had challenged the HC order before the SC.
6. Environment and Ecology – Chhattisgarh sees 6th elephant death in 10 days –  Yet another elephant – the sixth in 10 days — was found dead in a village in Chhattisgarh. This time, it’s a tusker, and it was electrocuted in Dharamjaiarh region of Raigarh. A farmer has been arrested for the elephant’s death.
7. World Politics – No plans to mediate between India and China over border tension: US – There are no formal plans for US President Trump to mediate between India and China following their border clash, the White House said amid an uproar in Washington over massive concessions he has allegedly made to Beijing on trade and human rights front in order to win a re-election in November 2020. In brief comments on the India-China situation, White House spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany said Washington is monitoring the situation along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.
8. Racism issue – Trudeau backs Sikh MP after he is ousted from House for calling a lawmaker racist – Canada’s Indian-origin Sikh MP Jagmeet Singh was removed from parliament after he called a lawmaker “racist”. New Democratic Party head, the first minority leader of a federal Canadian political party, had been trying to win support for a motion recognising the existence of systemic racism in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. When legislator from the Bloc Quebecois, Alain Therrien, refused to support the motion, Singh called him racist, prompting the speaker to eject Singh for the rest of the day.
9. Indian Economy – Fitch cuts India’s sovereign rating outlook to negative – Global ratings agency Fitch revised the outlook on India’s sovereign rating to negative from stable but retained the rating at BBB (minus), saying the coronavirus pandemic has significantly weakened India’s growth outlook for this year and exposed the challenges associated with a high public debt burden. Fitch expects economic activity to contract by 5% in the fiscal year ending March 2021 (FY21) due to the strict lockdown measures, before rebounding by 9.5% in FY22, mainly driven by a low-base effect.
10. Indian Economy – Govt: No need for PSUs to pay 96% of AGR due – A week after being slammed by the Supreme Court for unreasonably seeking over Rs 4 lakh crore from various PSUs on the basis of its verdict on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) for private telecom companies, the Centre informed the apex court that it has decided to withdraw 96% of the demand. Appearing before a bench of Justices Arun Mishra, S Abdul Nazeer and M R Shah, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the court that the government had reconsidered its demand as asked by the court and the “dues” of AGR would be taken back. The department of telecommunication (DoT) faced the ire of the apex court on June 11 for raising the demand from PSUs.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	SSC	SI In Delhi Police & CAPFs	1564	Any Degree	July 16, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/06/Notification-SSC-SI-CPO.pdf
2	Lok Sabha Secretariat	Translator	47	Diploma (Translation), PG	July 27, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/06/Notification-Lok-Sabha-Secretariat-Translator-Posts.pdf
3	DRDO-Defence Lab., Jodhpur	Research Associate, JRF	9	Degree, PG, Ph.D	---	https://drdo.gov.in/sites/default/files/career-vacancy-documents/DLJ_Advt.pdf
4	Northern Railway	Nurse, GDMO & Other	128	10th Class, GNM, Degree, PG Deg/ Dip	---	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/06/Notification-Northern-Railway-Nurse-Multi-purpose-Hospital-Assistant-Other-Posts.pdf
5	APVVP	Civil Asst Surgeon, Dental Asst Surgeon	723	DNB/BDS, PG Deg/Dip	July 18, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/06/Notification-APVVP-Asst-Surgeon-Posts.pdf
6	Public Health & Family Welfare, Vijayawada	Civil Assistant Surgeon	665	MBBS	July 18, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/06/Notification-Directorate-of-Public-Health-Family-Welfare-Vijayawada-Civil-Assistant-Surgeon-Vacancy.pdf
7	Assam Agricultural University	Young Professional II	8	PG (Agri Science)	June 29, 2020	http://www.aau.ac.in/data/recruitment/Walk-in-YP-II.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 COVID-19 pandemic loan moratorium: no merit in ‘charging interest on interest’ for deferred payments, says SC

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

2.1 Indian Digital Payment System abroad

• Key point -

1. After requests from many countries, RBI may take payment system abroad.
2. The RBI said cross-country cooperation with Bhutan is already in place with CTS, NACH and NEFT operational there as well. NEFT is available for one-way transfers from India to Nepal.

• Highlights -

1. There is scope for enhancing global outreach of our payment systems, including remittance services, through active participation and co-operation in international and regional fora by collaborating and contributing to standard setting.
2. Currently, there are no RBI authorised payment system operators providing payment services outside India.
3. Many countries have expressed interest in partnering in this growth and replicating our products based on their country specific requirements.
4. However, the risks of such systems would also be high. The participants in a domestic system might become dependent on overseas funds to fund their domestic debt position, leading to possible liquidity risk issues.
5. According to the RBI, this could also be on account of different time zones and also due to lacking nature of suitable depth in the currency markets of such economies, and more so in the event of financial distress.
6. There has to be constant cooperation with the concerned central banks and other regulatory authorities.

• RBI’s views on cash -

1. Cash, as a payment mode, is still important but it is increasingly seen as a way to store value, more than to make payments.
2. India’s growing use of retail digital payments, along with the radical reconstruction of its cash economy, indicates a shift in the relationship with cash. This is evidenced by the steep growth observed in the retail digital payments.
3. While currency in circulation (CIC) across the country increased at a compounded annual growth of 10.2 per cent over the past 5 years, the CIC to GDP reduced from 11.6 per cent in 2014-15 to 11.2 per cent in 2018-19.
4. The cash withdrawals from ATMs increased during the same period, but the percentage of cash withdrawals to GDP was constant at around 17 per cent.

• Digital payments -

1. While the digital payments in the country have witnessed a growth of 61 per cent and 19 per cent in terms of volume and value, respectively, the value of digital payments to GDP has also increased from 660 per cent in 2014-15 to 862 per cent in 2018-19.
2. In addition, the deployment of ATMs has grown at a low pace (4 per cent) and the PoS terminals contrastingly grew at a high pace of 35 per cent.

2.2 Other important news -

1. Nirmala Sitharaman met private banks, NBFCs to ensure smooth roll out of emergency credit line guarantee scheme (ECLGS) to help micro, small and medium enterprises.
2. Reserve Bank of India to modify regulations governing Housing Finance Companies after taking over as their regulator from National Housing Bank.
3. Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) clears $ 750 mn loan to India for coronavirus response; second one after an earlier loan of $500 million.
4. China’s Great Wall Motor Company signs MoU with Maharashtra government to invest $1 billion in the state.
5. PM launched auction of 41 coal blocks for commercial mining, a move that opens India’s coal sector for private players.
6. France to provide loan of 200 million euros to India to support Delhi’s Covid response. 

• Paratha vs Roti

1. The Authority for Advance Rulings (Karnataka bench) ruled that paratha (parota) is different from roti (chapati) and will attract a higher Goods and Service Tax (GST) of 18% GST while roti will have a GST of 5%. AAR stated that rotis are already prepared or completely cooked products while parotas need to be heated before consumption. On this ground, AAR held that parotas do not merit lower GST.

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

3.1 Arctic Sea ice saw largest decline in 41 years in July 2019

•  Key points -

1. Loss of ice cover in the Arctic Sea has had strong effects on components of climate system, such as reduction of heat and momentum, water vapour.
2. The worrying element to note is that the volume of ice formation during winters is unable to keep pace with the volume of ice loss during summers.
3. The study revealed that global ocean-atmospheric warming has enhanced the Arctic Sea ice loss.

• Highlights -

1. The National Centre of Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) found the largest decline in the Arctic Sea ice in the last 41 years due to global warming — leading to localised increase in evaporation, air humidity, cloud cover and rainfall.
2. Arctic Sea ice is a sensitive indicator of climate change and has strong retaliatory effects on other components of the climate system.
3. It has been noted that this decline in Arctic Sea ice happened in July 2019.
4. In the last 40 years (1979-2018), the sea ice has been declining at -4.7 per cent per decade, while its rate was found to be -13 per cent in July 2019.
5. If this trend continues, there would be no ice left in the Arctic Sea by 2050.
6. The decrease of the Arctic Sea ice area and the increase in the duration of summer and autumn seasons affected the local weather and climate over the Arctic Ocean and its marginal seas.
7. While there were no extreme weather events recorded in 2020 so far, an accelerated decline in sea-ice extent and sea-ice volume in summer 2019 was dominant.
8. The northern hemisphere experienced record high-temperature rise, especially during the spring and summer months.
9. The sea-ice loss at this rate can have a catastrophic impact due to rising global air temperature and slowing down of global ocean water circulation.

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

4.1 Weekly Roundup

• Amazon banned police use of its facial recognition software “Rekognition” for a year.
• PM Boris Johnson to establish a commission to look at racial equality in the UK.
• India, Ireland, Mexico and Norway elected non-permanent members of UN Security Council for 2-year term.
• Nepal’s parliament approves new map that lays claim to Indian territory in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district.
• Volkan Bozkir of Turkey elected president of 75th UN General Assembly.
• US President confirmed plans to withdraw 9,500 American soldiers from bases in Germany.
  

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

5.1 Jal Jeevan Mission

• Key point - 

1.  The Centre has decided to step up implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) to stick to its target and provide employment to migrant workers who returned to their villages due to the Covid-19 lockdown and do not want to immediately return to the cities.

• Highlights -  

1. The mission targets supply potable drinking water through piped connections to 15 crore rural households by 2024.
2. Since the objective of the Mission is universal coverage, emphasis is laid on the principle of ‘equity and inclusiveness’ i.e. every family in the village gets tap water connection in their households and none is left behind.
3. The government is expected to spend Rs 3.6 lakh crore - Rs 2.08 lakh crore is the central state - to achieve its 2024 target of supplying 55 litres per capita per day.
4. Nearly 163 million Indians lack access to clean water, the highest number for any country.
5. According to data from the Jal Shakti ministry, in states like Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand, fewer than 5% of rural households have piped water.  
6. That compares with 99% of rural households that have piped water supply in Sikkim.
7. The provision of household tap connection in rural areas will help in removing ‘drudgery’ of women, especially girls as fetching water is their responsibility.
8. It will also improve the ‘ease of living’ for people living in rural areas.
9. The government has roped in National Skill Development Corporation to create a pool of skilled Human Resources in rural areas to make villages a self-reliant unit without depending on others for regular upkeep and maintenance of water supply systems.

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• 6. MISCELLANEOUS (Prelims, Various GS Papers)

6.1 Weekly Roundup – Corporate World

• Adani Green Energy wins solar bid of Rs 45,000 crore from Indian govt. - Adani Green Energy, the renewable energy arm of Adani Group, has bagged “the world’s largest solar tender” from the Union government to construct an 8-gigawatt (Gw) photovoltaic power plant and set up a 2-Gw solar cell and module manufacturing capacity in five years. This would entail an investment of Rs 45,000 crore.
• Massive fire engulfs Baghjan oil well of Oil India Lt. in Assam’s Tinsukia district - More than 1,000 people were evacuated on June 9, 2020 after a massive fire engulfed the damaged Baghjan oil well of Oil India Limited that had been spewing gas uncontrollably for the past 14 days in Assam’s Tinsukia district.
• GMR signs concession agreement with AP govt. to develop Bhogapuram airport - GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited (GVIAL), a 100 per cent subsidiary of GMR Airports Limited, on June 13, 2020 announced that it has signed a Concession Agreement for the development and operations of a greenfield international airport at Bhogapuram, Andhra Pradesh, with the state government. The proposed greenfield airport site lies on the border of Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts.
• NCLT allows Jet Airways to sell its premises in Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai - The NCLT has allowed Jet Airways to sell its premises in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai to settle Rs 360 crore dues of mortgage lender HDFC, clear overseas debt and cover corporate insolvency resolution process costs.
• Tata Power to sell ships for $212.76 million - Singapore-based Trust Energy Resources Pte Ltd (TERPL), a fully-owned subsidiary of The Tata Power Company Ltd (TPCL) has entered into definitive agreements with Oldendorff Carriers GmbH & Co. KG, Germany for the sale of three ships at an estimated consideration of $212.76 million or a little over ₹1,600 crore. 
• In a first, BSE to deliver India standard gold and silver in F&O segment - The BSE has introduced a first-of-its-kind India standard gold and silver delivery, under the ‘futures and options’ (F&O) bullion contracts. To facilitate the India standard delivery, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) had, in January, notified standards for purity of gold and silver. 
• Twitter to roll out ‘Fleets’ in India - Twitter has rolled out ‘Fleets’ in India that will allow its users to post content that disappears after 24 hours and have no retweets, likes or public comments. India is the third market globally after Brazil and Italy where Twitter is rolling out this feature to test. Fleets are for people to share their ideas and momentary thoughts. These posts disappear after 24 hours. Followers can reply privately via direct messages to continue the conversation. People can also report a Fleet.
• Twitter shuts down 170,000 accounts for spreading Chinese govt narratives  - Twitter on June 11, 2020 announced that it has shut down over 1,70,000 accounts for “spreading geopolitical narratives favourable” to the Chinese government. These accounts were pushing deceptive narratives around the Hong Kong protests, COVID-19, and other topics.
• Amazon bans police use of its facial recognition software “Rekognition” - Amazon.com Inc on June 10, 2020 said it was implementing a one-year moratorium on police use of its facial recognition software called “Rekognition”. Such softwares have faced criticism for incorrectly identifying people with darker skin. The death of George Floyd, a black man who died under the knee of a white police officer in May 2020, raised worries that facial recognition would be used unfairly against protesters.
• IBM has ceased offering facial recognition software: CEO Arvind Krishna - International Business Machines (IBM) Corp will no longer offer general purpose facial recognition or analysis software, new Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna said in a letter to the members of the United States Congress on June 8, 2020.
• UTI Asset Management Company appoints Imtaiyazur Rahman as its CEO - The UTI Asset Management Company (AMC) has appointed Imtaiyazur Rahman as its chief executive officer (CEO), who was acting as the interim CEO after Leo Puri’s term came to an end in 2018.
  

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Home Ministry reconstituted committee to look into the welfare of freedom fighters, MoS for Home G. Kishan Reddy appointed Chairman.

7.2 United States of America handed over first shipment of 100 ventilators to Indian Red Cross Society.

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

8.1 Cuisine Culture - Akhuni or Axone

• Key point -

1. Axone — or fermented soya bean — is cooked, eaten and loved in Nagaland, and many tribal communities in different parts of Northeast India and beyond.

• What is axone - 

1. Axone — also spelled akhuni — is a fermented soya bean of Nagaland, known for its distinctive flavour and smell.
2. As much an ingredient as it is a condiment, axone used to make pickles and chutneys, or curries of pork, fish, chicken, beef etc.
3. Flavours generated by axone are comparable to that of Japanese miso, which is quite mainstream in Japanese restaurants.

• How popular is it in Nagaland - 

1. Axone is prepared and eaten across Nagaland but is particularly popular among the Sumi (also Sema) tribe.
2. Many students, professionals from Nagaland move to cities like Delhi and Mumbai and it is common for them to carry axone there.
3. Moreover, there are now number of eateries serving ethnic Northeastern cuisine which have opened in these cities, and axone is a prominent part of the menu.

• How is axone prepared -  

1. Axone is prepared by picking and cleaning the soyabeans well in fresh water, and then boiling them until they are soft, but still whole.
2. The excess water is drained and the soybeans are placed into a pot or degchi and put either out in the sun or next to the fire to warm and ferment.
3. This takes three to four days to ferment in summer and around one week in winter.
4. After it is fermented, the beans are mashed, made into cakes and wrapped in banana leaves and kept near the fireplace to ferment further.
5. This paste-like form of axone is used to make curries and stews of fish, pork, chicken etc.  
6. The drier form of axone, on the other hand, is not mashed, but further dried in the sun till it becomes dehydrated.
7. One can then fry it with ginger, garlic and chilli powder, make powdered chutney or pickles.

• What lends axone its characteristic smell and taste - 

1. Axone is made by fermenting soya beans. Fermentation is what lends it its distinct smell and taste.

• Does the ingredient play a role in tribal identity and culture - 

1. Tribal folklore has references to the ingredient. For example, as per a Sumi folktale, axone was an “accidental discovery.”
2. Legend says that a young girl, who worked as a domestic help, would be sent to the fields to work only with boiled soya bean and rice to eat. 
3. It was inedible, so the girl kept the soya bean aside, wrapped in a banana leaf. A few days later, she found the soya had fermented, with a unique smell.
4. She decided to use it in a dish and that is how axone was discovered.
5. Some people become lifelong connoisseurs, while others detest it and develop a long-lasting repulsion to it

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

9.1 Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI)

•  Key point -

1. India has joined the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), the European Union (EU) and Australia as one of the founding members of the newly launched GPAI.

• Highlights -

1. As its founding member, India shall actively partake in the global development of AI and leverage its experience in the usage of digital technologies for inclusive growth.
2. GPAI aims to guide responsible development and usage of AI, grounded in human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation and economic growth.
3. The other nation members of the initiative include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea.
4. GPAI was first officially proposed by France and Canada at the Biarritz G7 Summit in August of 2019.

• The role of OECD -

1. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will host Secretariat of the new GPAI in Paris, along with two Centers of Expertise – one each in Montreal and Paris.
2. It will enable the GPAI to create a strong relationship between policy development and technical discussion on AI, by applying OECD’s established expertise on AI policy as illustrated by its leadership on establishing the very first global standard for trustworthy AI – the OECD Principles on AI.
3. Hosting the GPAI Secretariat will strengthen the OECD’s potential to disseminate and implement its standards and its policy analysis in areas such as data governance, future of work, and diffusion and productivity.

• India’s role -

1. India has recently been very active in boosting National AI Strategy by putting in action committees and National AI Portal to bring the impact of the technology across various economic sectors.
2. India is a founding member of GPAI and is expected to play a critical role in expanding the responsible utilization of artificial intelligence for the world..

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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 -

• Basu Chatterjee passed away at the age of 93 in Mumbai in June 2020. He won the National Film Award for Best Film on Family Welfare in 1992 for Durga.
• Ajit Jogi passed away  on May 29, 2020 at the age of 74. He was a member of State Legislative Assembly.
• The World No Tobacco Day was observed on May 31.
• The Indian Air Force (IAF) in May 2020 operationalised its no.18 Squadron at the Sulur Air Force Station near Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. This squadron will have Tejas aircrafts.
• MOOC stand for Massive Open Online Courses in context of online distance education programmes of HRD Ministry.

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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