Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 23-07-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 23-07-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. World – U.S. orders China to close Texas consulate; Beijing may retaliate – In an unprecedented escalation of tensions with China, the Trump administration has ordered the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston within 72 hours (by Friday), with the consequent threat of retaliation from Beijing, possibly with the closure of the US consulate in Wuhan. The state department said the closure was in response to repeated Chinese violations of American sovereignty, including “massive illegal spying”. The shutdown order came hours after President Trump again blamed Beijing for letting loose the coronavirus on the world, calling it the “China virus”. A fire was reported at the Houston consulate as Chinese officials purportedly burned documents and files.
   
2. COVID-19 – US inks nearly $2bn deal for 600m doses of Covid vaccine – The Trump administration has announced a nearly $2 billion contract with the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and a smaller German biotechnology company for up to 600 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, with the companies on track to manufacture the first 100 million doses by December. Under the arrangement, the federal government would obtain the first 100 million doses for $1.9 billion, with the rights to acquire up to 500 million more. Americans would receive the vaccine for free. Before it could be distributed, it would first need at least emergency approval by the Food and Drug Administration.
3. Economy – WhatsApp plans pensions, loans – WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose says the company will start multiple pilots in areas like digital lending, micro-insurance and micro-pension. He added WhatsApp will also help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) digitise over the next 18 months, outlining for the first time plans for financial services. While WhatsApp has about 400 million users, it can bring at least 200 million new users to the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform as it takes on Alibaba and SoftBank-backed Paytm, Walmart-backed Phonepe and units of Amazon and Google.
4. Economy – 15% pay hike for PSU, old pvt bank staff from 2017 – Around nine lakh employees from public sector banks and old private sector banks are in for a bonanza as the Indian Banks’ Association and unions finally agreed to a 15% hike in their salary—a move that will increase the annual wage bill by Rs 7,900 crore. It will also result in an increase in the pension contribution to 14% of basic pay and DA, instead of 10% currently. Besides there is a thrust on the introduction of perfor mance-linked incentive with employees reporting over 5% rise in operating profits eligible to at least five days of basic salary and DA. The amount will be higher for banks that report higher operating profit. The pay hike will be applicable from November 2017, while the pension fund contribution will be increased prospectively.
5. International Relations – As China builds pressure, India goes all out to woo Bhutan – From identifying more border trade points to carrying out a feasibility study for a railway link between the two countries, the government is going all out to thwart China’s attempts to wean Bhutan away from India’s influence. After opening a new trade route last week, India is likely to approve Bhutan’s request for another permanent land customs station (LCS) to facilitate more Bhutan exports to India and Bangladesh. India is also considering opening another integrated check post (ICP). These initiatives are significant as Bhutan dodges attempts by China to establish formal diplomatic relations with India’s only neighbour which is yet to join Beijing’s BRI initiative. The government realises though that Bhutan could still be susceptible because of its border dispute with China which recently saw Beijing making a new territorial claim in Bhutan’s east and close to the border with Arunachal Pradesh.
   
6. Economy – India-made N-plant achieves criticality – India has declared its first indigenously developed atomic power plant built at the Kakrapar nuclear complex in Gujarat ready to be switched on. PM Narendra Modi described the development as a “shining example” of his vision for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and a “trailblazer for many such future achievements”. Nuclear power accounts for roughly 3-4% of supply though India has 22 nuclear reactors in operation at seven nuclear power plants with a total installed capacity of 6,780 MW. Most of these reactors were based on Candian heavy water technology, followed by Russian designs. Seven more reactors are under construction with a combined generation capacity of 4,300 MW.
   
7. Study/Research – Humans arrived in N America 30,000 years ago: Study – Stone tools unearthed in a cave in central Mexico and other evidence from 42 archeological sites indicate people arrived in North America earlier than previously known — over 30,000 years ago. The findings contradict the conventional view that the first people arrived in the Americas around 13,000 years ago. It suggests low numbers of people entered the continent — some perhaps by boat along a Pacific coastal route — and some died out without leaving descendants.
8. Economy – Declaring country of origin on products mandatory for e-commerce platforms: Centre to HC – The Centre has told Delhi High Court that it is mandatory for the e-commerce companies to declare the country of origin of the products sold on their platforms. There is a provision for declaring the country of origin on e-commerce sites under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011. The affidavit was filed in response to a plea seeking directions to the government to ensure the display of name of the manufacturing country on the products offered for sale on e-commerce websites. The high court has asked the respondents to file their replies and listed the matter for hearing on 2 September.
   
9. COVID-19 – India records highest single-day recoveries – India reported its highest ever number of recoveries on a single day, with 28,472 COVID-19 patients having been cured or discharged from hospitals in 24 hours. With this, the number of patients recovered stands at 7,53,049. This has strongly boosted the recovery rate to 63.13%.
   
10. Economy – Rising water crisis forces Indian farmers to rethink their crops selection – Farmers love rice and wheat primarily because of stable prices and assured state purchases. These two staples, along with another thirsty crop, sugar cane, are grown in 40% of the country’s gross farmed area but consume about 80% of its irrigation water. India’s 1.3 billion people have access to only about 4 per cent of the world’s water resources, and farmers consume almost 90 per cent of the groundwater water available. As global temperatures rise and overuse of water depletes existing resources, the threat to lives and businesses in Asia’s third-largest economy is projected to grow. Nearly half the country’s population faces high-to-extreme water stress and about 200,000 die each year due to inadequate access to safe water. Stoked by climate change, the water crisis has forced PM Modi’s government to try and turn around decades of established farming practices and convince the country’s most powerful voting bloc to change the crops they plant. Water-guzzlers like rice and wheat are out, corn and pulses are in.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	IIFPT	Team Leader, Consultant, Young Professional	7	MBA, PG	Aug 9, 2020	http://www.iifpt.edu.in/pmupmfme.php
2	CDRI	Project JRF, SRF, Project Assistant	31	MBBS, Degree (Relevant Disciplines), PG, Ph.D	July 27, 2020	https://cdri.res.in/pdf/recruitment/advt062020.pdf
3	National Institute of Epidemiology	Project Technical Assistant (Sr Treatment Supervisor)	10	Degree or PG	Aug 10, 2020	http://nie.gov.in/images/careers/ihci_sts_advt_bihar_goa_and_others_169.pdf
4	BEL	Project Engineer-I	21	B.E/ B.Tech, B.Sc (Engg)	Aug 18, 2020	http://www.bel-india.in/Documentviews.aspx?fileName=FINAL-ADD-PROJECT-ENGG-21-07-2020.pdf
5	BEL	Trainee Engineer	5	B.E/ B.Tech	Aug 02, 2020	http://www.bel-india.in/Documentviews.aspx?fileName=KFON-WEB-ADVT-21-07-2020.pdf
6	BEL	Trainee Engineer-I, Project Engineer-I	50	BE/ B.Tech (Engg)	Aug 02, 2020	http://www.bel-india.in/Documentviews.aspx?fileName=ADSN-WEB-ADVT-21-07-2020.pdf
7	Govt General Hospital, Srikakulam	Female Nursing Orderly & Operation Theatre Asst	11	10th Class	July 28, 2020	https://cdn.s3waas.gov.in/s3f899139df5e1059396431415e770c6dd/uploads/2020/07/2020072152.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 Supreme Court orders Income Tax department to refund Rs. 833 crore to Vodafone Idea

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

2.1 RedX plan: TDSAT sets aside Trai order on Vodafone Idea, says regulator free to conduct inquiry but can’t block tariff plan

• Key points –

1. In what can be seen as an embarrassment for the TRAI, the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has stayed the former’s directive to Vodafone Idea to withhold its RedX plan, which promises 4G network on a priority basis to its certain premium customers.
2. Although it is an interim stay order granted on the principle of natural justice and Trai has been allowed to conduct its inquiry into the plan and pass its final order, It is nevertheless a partial victory for Vodafone Idea as it can carry on with the plan and on-board subscribers till then.
3. For Trai, it is a setback since the tribunal has directed it to first give Vodafone Idea an opportunity to explain its position on the plan, and observed that the regulator had failed to establish why the tariff plan needed to be suspended to conduct an inquiry.

• The order and its consequences -

1. Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) said the TRAI’s directive suspending VIL’s RedX plan “lacks even prima facie reasons,” adding that even the regulator’s justification that suspension would facilitate a detailed examination of VIL’s RedX offer is devoid of any merits.
2. Accordingly, the tribunal order paves the way for VIL to continue onboarding new customers on in premium RedX plan that promises faster data speeds and priority services.

• The RedX plan – 

1. Vodafone Idea had introduced the RedX plan, which offered 50% higher speed compared to other post-paid plans, in November 2019.
2. In May this year, it improvised the plan which stated that it would offer “priority 4G network on RedX Plan as compared to other post-paid plans”. 

• What do the legal circles say –

1. The TDSAT order is unlikely to apply to Airtel’s Platinum offer that was also blocked by Trai on July 11, adding that the Sunil Mittal-telco would need to separately move the telecom tribunal to get similar relief for onboarding customers to its premium Platinum plan.  

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

3.1 NGT issued notices to the MoE, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Oil India Limited (OIL) and others to explain how environmental clearances for the seven proposed drilling sites in the Dibru- Saikhowa National Park were given

• Key point -  

1. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) took note of the petitioners’ contention that OIL did not carry out a biodiversity assessment study for the seven-well exploratory drilling project besides not conducting a public hearing as mandated by the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification of 2006.
2. OIL has clarified that its exploratory drilling project is “under” and not “in” the 765 sq km Dibru-Saikhowa National Park. 
3. This argument is based on Extended Reach Drilling (ERD) enabled drilling of wells up to a depth of approximately 4 km from an existing well plinth without entering the protected area.
4. OIL had obtained permission for the seven wells in 2016 on the basis of the ERD technology.
5. The notice has been issued following a gas leak that occurred at OIL’s baghjan oil field, located near the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park.
6. The disaster at Baghjan has impacted the surrounding ecological life and displaced close to 11,000 people from their homes.
7. Assam  is also the largest producer of crude oil in India. OIL is the second largest hydrocarbon exploration and production Indian public sector company with its operational headquarters in Duliajan, Assam under the administrative control of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
8. Dibru-Saikhowa is a National Park as well as a Biosphere Reserve situated in the south bank of the river Brahmaputra in Assam. The forest type of Dibru-Saikhowa comprises semi-evergreen forests, deciduous forests, littoral and swamp forests and patches of wet evergreen forests. It is the largest swamp forest in north-eastern India. It is an identified Important Bird Area (IBA), notified by the Birdlife International. It is most famous for the rare white-winged wood ducks as well as feral horses. Mammals found in the Park include Tiger, Elephant, Leopard, Jungle Cat, Bears, Small Indian Civet, Squirrels, Gangetic Dolphin, Hoolock Gibbon, etc.

3.2 Greta Thunberg wins 1 million euro prize, says she will donate it to environmental groups

• Key point - 

1. Climate activist Greta Thunberg was on Monday (July 20) awarded a Portuguese rights award and promptly pledged the million-euro prize to groups working to protect the environment and halt climate change.

• Detailed news – 

1. She was awarded the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity for the way she “has been able to mobilise younger generations for the cause of climate change and her tenacious struggle to alter a status quo that persists.
2. The million euro ($1.1 million) is the largest prize won by the 17-year-old environmental campaigner who has also won Amnesty International's top human rights prize and the Swedish Right Livelihood Award, often presented as an alternative Nobel.
3. The first 100,000 euros of the prize money will go to the “SOS Amazonia” campaign led by Fridays For Future Brazil to tackle the coronavirus outbreak in the Amazon.
4. Another 100,000 euros will go to the Stop Ecocide Foundation “to support their work to make ecocide an international crime”.
5. Thunberg and three other young climate activists have launched an appeal to EU leaders to “face up to the climate emergency”, in an open letter signed by 150 scientists and a host of celebrities.

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

4.1 Weekly Roundup – Foreign Affairs

• Tunisia: PM Elyes Fakhfakh resigns over an alleged conflict of interest - Tunisian Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh submitted his resignation to President Kais Saied on July 15, 2020. Saied had asked him to do so as momentum grew in Parliament to oust the Prime Minister over an alleged conflict of interest. Fakhfakh is said to own shares in companies that had received government contracts.

• Denmark: PM Mette Frederiksen (42) marries filmmaker Bo Tengberg (55) - Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (42) married filmmaker Bo Tengberg (55) on July 15, 2020. Frederiksen was sworn in as Denmark’s youngest ever PM on June 27, 2019, becoming the second woman to hold the post.

• Taiwan conducts live-fire exercise to demonstrate defence against Chinese invasion - Taiwan’s military fired missiles from the air and the island’s shore facing China on July 16, 2020 in a live-fire exercise to demonstrate its ability to defend against any Chinese invasion. China regards Taiwan as a breakaway province that is part of its territory. It has a population of 24 million and lies 160 km off China’s southeast coast across the Taiwan Strait. 
• PM Modi delivers keynote address at High-Level Segment of ECOSOC at UN - Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the keynote address virtually at this year’s High-Level Segment of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) session on July 17, 2020 at the United Nations in New York. The theme of the High-Level Segment of the ECOSOC this year is “Multilateralism after COVID19: What kind of UN do we need at the 75th anniversary”.
• UN designates Pakistan Taliban leader Noor Mehsud as global terrorist - The United Nations on July 17, 2020 designated Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terror group’s leader Noor Wali Mehsud, as a global terrorist for participating in the financing, planning and perpetrating acts on behalf of and in support of entities associated with al-Qaida. The Pakistani national was added to the ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List by the UN Security Council’s Sanctions Committee, subjecting him to an assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo. Mehsud was named the leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan in June 2018, following the death of former TTP leader Maulana Fazlullah.
• Sitharaman attends 3rd G20 Finance Ministers & Central Bank Governors Meeting - Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman participated in the 3rd G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting under the Saudi Arabian Presidency through Video Conferencing on July 18, 2020 to discuss the global economic outlook amid evolving COVID-19 pandemic crisis along with other G20 Finance Track priorities for the year 2020.
  

4.2 Iran to continue cooperation with India on Chabahar line, says Railway Chief 

• Key point -

1. In the latest twist to Iran’s Chabahar-Zahedan railway project, Iran’s Railway Minister said Iran and India are “determined to continue” cooperation on the railway line. The remarks contradict Iranian officials who had previously said India was not a part of the project.

• Highlights:

1. Iranian railways had, on July 7, inaugurated the track laying operations for the 628 km line from Chabahar port to Zahedan on the border with Afghanistan, without Indian railway construction company IRCON’s participation. 
2. When asked why India had not been a part of the inauguration, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson had said that India had not heard back from Iran on a request to “finalise outstanding technical and financial issues” since December 2019.
3. Meanwhile, another Iranian official also said last week that India was not a part of the inauguration as it had not signed the Chabahar-Zahedan rail agreement, despite a previous 2016 MoU between Iranian railway infrastructure company CDTIC and Indian railway construction company IRCON.
4. When asked about the decision to go ahead alone, Iranian diplomatic officials had cited Indian delays and the impact of U.S. sanctions.
5. It is unclear whether there has been some progress in the issues pending since last December, and whether India will now sign an agreement with the Iranian government to take the project forward.

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

5.1 Delhi government approves ‘Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana’

•  Key points:

1. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on July 21 announced that his government has approved ‘Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana’.
2. The scheme will help the beneficiaries avail of the doorstep delivery of ration.
3. The scheme is expected to benefit lakhs of people in the national capital through 2016 PDS shops. 
4. At present subsidised ration is provided under the National Security, 2013 Act and this new programme would add to the benefits of the Act.
5. Earlier this year, the 'doorstep ration delivery' welfare scheme had resulted in a tussle between the Kejriwal government and the Centre.

• Highlights -  

1. Under the scheme, people will no longer have to visit the ration shop and the ration will be transported to people’s homes with due respect.
2. The scheme is expected to be rolled out in the next 6-7 months.
3. Under the scheme, wheat, flour, rice and sugar-packed hygienically in bags will be delivered to the doorstep of people. Taking ration from a PDS shop will be optional.
4. Kejriwal said that Centre's 'One Nation One Ration Card' scheme and 'Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana' will be implemented from the same day in Delhi.
5. Delhi CM mentioned that the state cabinet has approved the scheme and also added that the Delhi government has made major improvements in the system of rationing in the last five years.
6. Earlier, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had started doorstep delivery of several services like caste, income certificates and driving license.

• One Nation One Ration Card – 

1. Centre's ambitious 'One Nation One Ration Card' plan is implemented to enable the National Food Security Act (NFSA) ration card holders to lift their entitled quota of subsidised foodgrains from any ePoS enabled FPS of their choice anywhere in the country, by using the existing/same ration card after Aadhaar authentication on ePoS device. 
2. The facility so far is enabled in 20 States/UTs, namely – Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Odisha, Sikkim, Mizoram, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Telangana, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh. 

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• 6. MISCELLANEOUS (Prelims, Various GS Papers)

6.1 Centre allows contributions from any person or institution in NDRF

• Central Government has laid out the modalities for receipt of contributions/ grants from any person or institution for the purpose of disaster management in the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) as per Section 46(1)(b) of the Disaster Management (DM) Act, 2005.

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 the Bombay High Court passed an interim order directing that a government servant of the local authority be appointed as an administrator of gram panchayats in Maharashtra

• Key points:

1. It is for the 15,000 panchayats where the terms of these officers have ended or would be ending.
2. These administrators include sarpanch, secretary of the panchayats and gram sevaks.

• Petition Against Recent Decisions - 

1. The order came after petitions were filed against a recent Government Resolutions (GR) issued by the State Rural Development Department and Maharashtra Village Panchayat (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. The resolution and ordinance were challenged on various grounds related to the appointment of private individuals as administrators of gram panchayats.
2. It also challenged the section 151 of the Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act by allowing appointment of administrators in case the State Election Commission (SEC) could not hold elections due to a natural calamity, pandemic, financial emergency or administrative emergency. 

• High Court's points -

1. The Court admitted that working of the gram panchayat will be affected if the administrator is not appointed, but it also emphasised the need to address the concerns regarding the appointment of the private individual.
2. The administrator should be a government servant or an officer from the local authority. If not available and the appointment of a private individual is to be made, then each such order shall record the reasons because of which such officer was not available.
3. Local authority offices should be the first choice for appointment as an administrator. 

• State Government’s points - 

1. State government stated for urgent need because of halted election process due to pandemic and work overload on government servants.

• Gram Panchayat and Gram Sabha - 

1. These are the part of the Panchayati Raj System which has been granted constitutional status by the 73rd Amendment act. There are 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the country have been entrusted to provide basic services in the villages and plan for local economic development and good governance.
2. The Gram Sabha (GS) discusses the development work plans of the GP called Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) and the elected representatives execute the plans. The term is defined in the Constitution of India under Article 243(b).

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

8.1 Union Health & Family Welfare Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan launches 'Plasma Donation Campaign' in association with Delhi Police at AIIMS

8.2 Actor Sonu Sood launches ‘Pravasi Rojgar’ app to help workers find jobs

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

9.1 N-95 masks with valved respirators ineffective against Covid-19: Centre tells States/UTs

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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 -

• C. Rangarajan has won the ‘Prof. P. C. Mahalanobis National Award in Official Statistics’.
• Infosys has joined The Climate Pledge on June 16, 2020 and announced that it will make its business net zero carbon by 2040.
• Shakhriyar Mamedyarov won the Sharjah World Stars online chess tournament in June 2020.
• According to 2nd Advance Estimates released on June 2, 2020 the production of vegetables in 2019-20 crop year was 191.77 million tonnes.
• Commerce and Industry Minister in May 2020 participated in the ‘G20 Virtual Trade and Investment Ministers Meeting’ through video-conferencing.

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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