Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 02-07-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 02-07-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. COVID-19 Updates – India’s Covid tally breaches 6L as 19k more test positive – Covid cases in India crossed six-lakh, five days after breaching the half-million mark, even as the growth rate of fresh cases and fatalities in the last one lakh cases dropped marginally compared to preceding one lakh cases. After a gap of two days, fresh cases breached the 19,000-mark again with 19,684 patients testing positive, taking the country’s caseload to 6,05,068. However, daily fatalities on Wednesday dropped to 434, taking the country’s cumulative death toll to 17,837. On the positive side, 3,59,671 people have recovered from the virus. The growth rate of 3.6% for one lakh cases on June 26 — when India breached the half-million mark — fell to 3.5% on Wednesday. Similarly, the growth rate of fatalities dropped from 2.9% to 2.6%.
2. India-China Standoff 2020 – India, China agree to restart Galwan, Hot Springs pullback – India and China have broadly agreed to restart the gradual and verifiable troop disengagement from ‘friction points’ in Galwan Valley and Gogra-Hot Springs areas of eastern Ladakh, which got derailed after Chinese soldiers reneged on the pullback agreement, leading to the bloody clashes on June 15. However, there has been no breakthrough in defusing the major troop confrontation at Pangong Tso, where PLA has built large fortifications and taken the dominating heights after occupying the ‘Finger-4 to 8 area’ (mountainous spurs over 8km) on the north bank of the lake since early May.
   
3. Religion – Lalbaugcha Raja not to give darshan first time in 87 yrs – For the first time since its inception 87 years ago, the Lalbaugcha Raja Ganeshotsav Mandal will not celebrate the festival this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Ganeshotsav begins on August 22 this year and September 1 is final day of immersions. The organisers of Mumbai’s best-known Ganeshotsav mandal called a press conference to announce that they were cancelling celebrations, which were started in the 1930s, this year. The mandal declared a contribution of Rs 25 lakh to the CM’s Relief Fund to fight the pandemic. It said it would conduct a 10-day blood and plasma donation drive during Ganeshotsav.
   
4. Industrial Disaster – Six killed, 17 injured in explosion at NLC power plant in TN – Six workers died and 17 others were injured in a blast at thermal power station (TPS) II of the Neyveli Lignite Corporation in Neyveli. According to NCIL sources, the cause of the explosion was being ascertained. The accident comes just a month after five workers died in an explosion at the plant on May 7. The injured workers were given first aid at NLCIL hospital and 16 of them were referred to a private hospital in Chennai for treatment. Eleven of the 16 injured were said to be in critical condition. One worker, who sustained minor injuries, was undergoing treatment at the NLCIL GH.
5. COVID-19 Updates – Plasma therapy can be considered for treating moderate corona cases – Convalescent plasma can be considered for treatment of moderate Covid-19 patients who are not improving (oxygen requirement is progressively increasing) despite use of steroids, the directorate general of health services (DGHS) said, clearing the air on use of convalescent plasma therapy. Convalescent plasma therapy is allowed as an investigational therapy for use in Covid-19 patients. The clinical management protocol prescribed by the government recommends convalescent plasma by plasmapheresis as in Covid-19 patients with a few safeguards.
   
6. Hong Kong Protests – First arrest made under new security law –  Hong Kong was facing up to a new reality, after China's central government imposed a sweeping national security law late the night before that critics say stripped the city of its autonomy and precious civil and social freedoms, and cements Beijing's authoritarian rule over the territory. Hundreds turned out to protest the legislation in the busy shopping district of Causeway Bay, but were met with a heavy security presence. Riot police fired pepper spray into the crowd, kettled and dispersed protesters, and deployed water cannons. Police were later seen seen firing tear gas and rubber bullets. At least 370 people were arrested Wednesday, including 10 on suspicion of violating the national security law. Among those was a 15-year-old girl.
   
7. Indian Society – Madhya Pradesh has highest under – 5 mortality rate of 56 – Deaths in the 0-4 year age group account for a shocking 20% of total deaths or one in every five in Madhya Pradesh. In contrast, deaths in this age group account for just 2% or one in fifty of total deaths in Kerala. This was revealed in the Sample Registration System (SRS) 2018 report released recently by the registrar general and census commissioner of India. A high proportion of deaths in the 0-4 age group is not unique to Madhya Pradesh and is the case among states with poor development indices. These include UP, Rajasthan and Bihar in that order with about one in six deaths is in the 0-4 age group.
8. World Politics – 52 killed in Ethiopia protests over singer's death – At least 52 people were killed in Ethiopia's Oromiya region in protests following the fatal shooting of a popular singer.  Musician Haacaaluu Hundeessaa was shot dead on Monday night in what police said was a targeted killing. Protests broke out the next morning in the capital and other cities in the Oromiya region. The dead included protesters and members of the security forces, spokesman Getachew Balcha said. Some businesses had also been set on fire.
   
9. Telecommunication – Data theft, security issues key in selecting 5G vendors – A day after the US communications department tagged Chinese telecom vendors Huawei and ZTE as a “national security risk”, government sources asserted that concerns over data theft and security implications will shape the crucial call on deciding 5G vendors for India.  Fifth-generation telecom (5G) technology is absolutely crucial for accelerating and deepening the Digital India campaign. We also need to factor in cost considerations. But considerations of integrity of data of Indian citizens and national security will be given the utmost importance when the decision is made. The stance may have serious implications for the Chinese giant Huawei, which has long struggled to quell the rampant suspicion about it being an arm of the Chinese PLA, as well as ZTE.
   
10. Indian Economy – Rly minister invites pvt bids to run 151 trains – The railway ministry on Wednesday invited bids from private players to operate 151 trains on 109 pairs of routes. The origin-destination routes have been formed into 12 clusters including two each under Delhi and Mumbai zones, one each under Howrah, Chennai, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Secunderabad, Patna, Prayagraj and Jaipur. The railway ministry has said each train will have at least 16 coaches with design speed of 160 kmph. The ministry has estimated nearly Rs 30,000 crore private investment due to this initiative.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	NBFGR	Research Associate, Sr Research Fellow	6	PG, Ph.D	July 13, 2020	http://www.nbfgr.res.in/site/writereaddata/siteContent/Online%20interview%20Kochi.pdf
2	NBFGR	Young Professional	11	Degree (Engg/ Tech/ Vet. Science),	July 13, 2020	http://www.nbfgr.res.in/site/writereaddata/siteContent/Online%20interview%20Hqrs.pdf
3	Army Recruiting Office, Jaipur	Soldier	--	8th Class, 10th Class, 10+2	August 14, 2020	http://joinindianarmy.nic.in/writereaddata/Portal/BRAVO_NotificationPDF/Army_Rect_Rally_RO_HQ_Jaipur_24082020.pdf
4	BECIL	Accountant, Lab Assistant, Cashier, DEO	35	10th, 10+2, DMLT, Dip, Deg	July 15, 2020	https://www.becil.com/uploads/vacancy/0c05373699c5ea29a21cddcadca38a76.pdf
5	Western Railway	Sr Resident	16	PG Degree/ Diploma	July 2, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/06/Notification-Western-Railway-Sr-Resident.pdf
6	Western Railway	GDMO, Specialist, Nursing Superintendent	67	DMLT, Dip., GNM, B.Sc	July 2, 2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/06/Notification-Western-Railway-Contract-Medical-Practitioner-Other-Posts.pdf
7	DCHS, Kurnool	Staff Nurse, Pharmacist Gr II, Lab –Technician	99	GNM/ B.Sc Nursing	July 22, 2020	https://cdn.s3waas.gov.in/s37f24d240521d99071c93af3917215ef7/uploads/2020/06/2020062862.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 Committee for reform in criminal law to start online consultation soon

• Key point - 

1. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has constituted a national level committee for reform in criminal law.

• Highlights -

1. The committee has been constituted under Ranbir Singh and several other members.
2. It will gather opinions online, consult with experts and collate material for their report to the government.
3. The consultation exercise is to start on July 4 and go on for the next three months.
4. The committee has invited experts in the field of criminal law to take part in the exercise through an online consultation mechanism.
5. Questionnaires have been posted online on the possible reforms in the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and Indian Evidence Act.

• Criminal Justice System of India -

1. The Criminal Justice System in India is an age-old system primarily based upon the Penal legal system that was established by the British Rule in India.
2. The system has still not undergone any substantial changes even after more than 70 years of Independence.
3. The entire Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C.) was amended in 1973.
4. The appointment of the Vohra Committee was the very first attempt towards reforming the Criminal Justice System in India.
5. Vohra Committee report (1993) made an observation on the criminalisation of politics and of the nexus among criminals, politicians and bureaucrats in India.
6. In 2000, the government formed a panel headed by Justice V.S. Malimath to suggest reform in the century-old criminal justice system.
7. The Malimath Committee submitted its report in 2003 with 158 recommendations but these were never implemented.
8. The Committee felt that the existing system “weighed in favour of the accused and did not adequately focus on justice to the victims of crime.”

• Why there is a need for reform -  

1. The system has become ineffective. Inefficiency in justice delivery.
2. Complex nature of the crime. Investigation incapability.
3. Inequality in the justice. The lowered confidence of common man.

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

2.1 Banking and Finance – Weekly Roundup

• Govt. launches Floating Rate Savings Bonds, 2020 (Taxable) of 7-year maturity -

1. The government has announced the launch of Floating Rate Savings Bonds, 2020 (Taxable) with an interest rate of 7.15% that will be available for subscription from July 1. The interest rate on these bonds will be reset every six months, the first reset being on January 1, 2021. The bonds shall be repayable on the expiration of seven years from the date of issue.
2. Individuals (including Joint Holdings) and Hindu Undivided Families (HUF) are eligible to invest in these bonds. NRIs cannot invest in these bonds.
3. There will be no maximum limit for investment in the bonds. The minimum investment starts from Rs 1,000 and in multiples of Rs 1,000, thereof.
4. The bonds shall be repayable on the expiration of seven years from the date of issue. Premature redemption shall be allowed for specified categories of senior citizens. This is similar to the earlier withdrawn 7.75% RBI Taxable Bonds.
5. The interest on the bonds is payable half-yearly on 1st January and 1st July every year. On 1st January 2021, interest shall be payable at 7.15%. The interest rate for next half-year (which is due on July 1, 2021) will reset every six months, the first reset being on January 1, 2021.  
6. There is no option to pay interest on cumulative basis. This would mean that once the interest on bonds are due, it will be credited to the investor’s bank account at the same time instead of payable at maturity.
7. Interest received from these bonds will taxed as per the income tax slab applicable to your income. Further, TDS will be applicable on the interest income.
8. Investment in these bonds will be in the form of cash (up to Rs 20,000)/drafts/cheques or any electronic mode acceptable to the Receiving Office. Applications for the bonds in the form of Bond Ledger Account will be received in the designated branches of SBI, nationalised banks, IDBI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. The bonds will be issued only in electronic form and held at the credit of the holder in an account called Bond Ledger Account, opened with the Receiving Office.
9. The bonds are not eligible for trading in the secondary market and cannot be used as collateral for loans from banks, financial institutions, NBFCs etc.
10. A sole holder or a sole surviving holder of a bond, being an individual, can make a nomination.
11. The bonds in the form of BLA shall not be transferable except transfer to a nominee(s)/legal heir in case of death of the holder of the bonds.

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

3.1 World Bank approves fresh funds for Ganga cleaning mission

• Key Points - 

1. The World Bank has approved a five-year loan to the Namami Gange project worth ₹3,000 crore ($400 million) to develop and improve infrastructure projects to abate pollution in the river basin.

• Highlights -

1. The mission has already received ₹4,535 crore ($600 million) from the World Bank until December 2021 as part of the first phase of the National Ganga River Basin project.
2. So far, 313 projects worth ₹25,000 crore have been sanctioned under the mission.
3. Some of the projects to be undertaken under the second phase of the mission include spillover projects from the first phase of the mission as well cleaning projects in tributaries such as the Yamuna and Kali rivers.
4. In the second phase, the loan would fund ₹1,134 crore ($150 million) for three new ‘Hybrid Annuity Projects’ in Agra, Meerut and Saharanpur for the tributaries of the Ganga.
5. ₹1,209 crore ($160 million) is provided for the ongoing DBOT (Design, Build, Operate and Transfer) projects in Buxar, Munger, Be.
6. Other heads of distribution would include: ‘Institutional Development’; ‘Improving Investments Resilience to COVID-19 like Emergency Situations’; Performance Based Incentive for Urban Local Bodies and Programme Communication and Management.
7. The first World Bank project helped build critical sewage infrastructure in 20 pollution hotspots along the river, and this project will help scale this up to the tributaries.
8. It will also help the government strengthen the institutions needed to manage a river basin as large and complex as the Ganga Basin.
9. The government’s Namami Gange Programme has revitalized India’s efforts in rejuvenating the Ganga.
10. Key Note: ‘Namami Gange Programme’, is an Integrated Conservation Mission, approved as ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government in June 2014 with budget outlay of Rs.20,000 Crore to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.

• Main pillars of the Namami Gange Programme are -

1. Sewerage Treatment Infrastructure. River-Front Development
2. River-Surface Cleaning. Bio-Diversity. Afforestation
3. Public Awareness. Industrial Effluent Monitoring
4. Ganga Gram.

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

4.1 Not Available Today

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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 – Arts and Culture and Defence

• India Pavilion at Cannes Film Market jointly set up by I&B Ministry and FICCI - Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar has inaugurated the India Pavilion at the Cannes Film Market 2020 virtually. It has been jointly set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and FICCI. Cannes Film Festival is being held virtually on June 22-26.
• Bharat Electronics Ltd to produce Advanced Torpedo Decoy System Maareech - Indian Navy on June 26, 2020 awarded the contract for building Advanced Torpedo Decoy System ‘Maareech’ to Bharat Electronics Limited, a Defence PSU. This anti-torpedo decoy system is capable of being fired from all frontline warships. Its design & development was done indigenously by DRDO labs (NSTL and NPOL).
• Russia agrees to speed up defence deals during Rajnath Singh’s Moscow visit - Russia has agreed to quickly address some urgent defence requirements sought by India and this was discussed during the recent trip of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The long-pending deals for AK-203 assault rifles and Ka-226T light utility helicopters were also discussed in a review of the entire gamut of defence cooperation. Singh was on a four-day visit to Moscow from June 21 for the 75th anniversary of the Victory Day Parade. There is some progress on the AK-203 assault rifle deal which has been held up over pricing. The deal was for over 7.5 lakh rifles, of which one lakh would be imported and 6.71 lakh rifles manufactured by a joint venture (JV) Indo-Russian Rifles Private Ltd. (IRRPL) at Korwa in Uttar Pradesh.
• Rajnath Singh attends 75th Victory Day Parade in Moscow’s Red Square - Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended the 75th Victory Day Parade in Moscow’s Red Square on June 24. The Tri-Service contingent of Indian Armed Forces also participated in the parade that was organised to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of Victory of the Soviet People in the great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Not Available Today

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

8.1 India's eight core sectors output contracts 23.4% in May 2020

• Key points -

1. Production in the eight core sectors of India’s economy contracted for the third month in a row, with output declining 23.4 per cent in May amid the pandemic and the ensuing lockdown.

• Highlights -

1. Barring fertilizer, all seven sectors - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, steel, cement, and electricity - had recorded negative growth in May.
2. Electricity production, which makes up nearly 20 per cent of the index, dropped 15.6 per cent in May, while coal production, which contributes around 10 per cent, dropped 14 per cent.
3. Fertilizer production, which accounts for nearly 3 per cent of the index, grew 7.5 per cent in May. Output in this sector had been on a decline for two consecutive months before this.
4. As per the data, the eight core sectors had expanded by 3.8 per cent in May 2019.
5. During April-May 2020-21, the sectors output dipped by 30 per cent as compared to 4.5 per cent in the same period in 2019.
6. In view of nationwide lockdown during April and May 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic, various industries - Coal, Cement, Steel, Natural Gas, Refinery, Crude Oil etc. experienced substantial loss of production.
7. These eight industries accounts for 40.27 per cent in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP)..

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

9.1 G4 flu virus

• Key point -

1. In a new research, scientists from China – which has the largest population of pigs in the world – have identified a “recently emerged” strain of influenza virus that is infecting Chinese pigs and that has the potential of triggering a pandemic.
2. Named G4, the swine flu strain has genes similar to those in the virus that caused the 2009 flu pandemic.

• How the discovery was made -

1. Scientists working on a study of influenza viruses among pigs from 2011 to 2018 in ten provinces of China, took more than 29,000 nasal swabs from slaughtered pigs.
2. They also collected lung tissues from farmed pigs that exhibited signs of any respiratory disease.
3. Through this surveillance, researchers isolated 179 swine flu viruses from the samples, the majority of which belonged to the newly identified G4 strain.

• Why mankind should be worried -

1. Whenever scientists study viruses specific to animals that mankind comes into contact with, they check if the particular viruses are capable of a jump from animal hosts to human hosts.
2. Scientists say that the G4 strain has the capability of binding to human-type receptors much like the SARS-CoV-2 virus binds to ACE2 receptors in humans.
3. This binding capacity enabled the COVID=19 virus to copy itself in human airway epithelial cells, multiply, infect other human hosts.
4. The G4 has already shown that it is able to infect ferrets and G4 aerosol transmission in ferrets is already a reality. 

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

10.1 45.8 Million ‘Missing Females’ In India Over Past 50 Years

• UNFPA Report - 

1. The UNFPA State of World Population Report, 2020, is themed 'Against My Will – Defying the practices that harm women and girls and undermine equality'.
2. India accounted for around 45.8 million of the world’s 142.6 million “missing females” over the past 50 years.
3. India along with China forms the majority of such missing women globally.
4. The report also mentioned around 19 harmful practices, ranging from breast ironing to virginity testing, which are considered human rights violations but are still carried out.
5. The report has described 'missing females' as those whose numbers are reflected in sex-ratio imbalances at birth as result of gender-biased (pre-natal) sex selection, combined with excess female mortality stemming from post-natal sex-selection.
6. The main reasons for this situation are son preference and underlying gender inequality along with easy access to technology and global trend towards small family size.

• Shocking facts -

1. Between 2015 and 2020, India lost an average of about 3.6 lakh females to 'excess female deaths' and 5.9 lakh female children to pre-natal sex selection (missing females at birth) every year.
2. In 2012, India had the highest rate of excess female mortality at 13.5 per 1000 in the world.
3. This excess was around 11.7 per cent of all deaths of females below five years of age indicating that one in nine such deaths was attributable to post-natal sex selection practices.

• Feminist activists’ views - 

1. The situation clearly arises out of patriarchal and capitalist mindset that is prevalent in the country.
2. The 'Beti Bachao' slogan and campaign of the central government is the most shameful because it suggests that daughters are to be 'saved' not from China or Pakistan but from their own parents.
3. Sex-selection techniques were made easily and illegally available by highly educated doctors and technicians simply for the lure of big money. 

10.2 Daily dose of  FIVE Facts -

• Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg has resigned as the Chief Economist at World Bank.
• 12-year old Kaamya Karthikeyan has become the youngest girl in the world to summit Mount Aconcagua.
• AGR payable by the telecom service providers to the Government is stands for Adjusted Gross Revenue.
• Udayan Mane won the TATA Steel PGTI Players Championship in Bengaluru in Feb 2020.
• The “3rd High Level Global C

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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