Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 22-08-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 22-08-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. World – Turkey to convert another former church to mosque – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ordered another ancient Orthodox church that became a mosque and then a popular Istanbul museum to be turned back into a place of Muslim worship. The decision to transform the Kariye Museum into a mosque came just a month after a similarly controversial conversion for the UNESCO World Heritage-recognised Hagia Sophia. Both changes reflect Mr. Erdogan’s efforts to galvanise his more conservative and nationalist supporters at a time when Turkey is suffering a new spell of inflation and economic uncertainty caused by the virus. But they have added to Turkey’s tensions with Greece and its Orthodox Church.
2. Economy – State-run banks stare at capital shortage again, warns Moody’s – A sharp slowdown in India’s economic growth exacerbated by the COVID-19 outbreak will hurt public sector banks’ (PSBs) asset quality, and result in sharp increases in credit costs, hurting profitability, according to Moody’s Investors Service. This will lead to a depletion of the already weak capital buffers of the PSBs. The banks’ asset quality will deteriorate, led by retail and small business loans. As a result, formation of new non-performing loans (NPLs) will accelerate substantially, driven by retail and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) segments. Although the one-time loan restructuring allowed by the RBI will prevent a sudden rise in NPLs, NPLs and credit costs will increase in the next two years, hurting PSBs’ already weak profitability and depleting their capitalisation.
3. Education – Covid effect: 61% students defer plan to study abroad, says study – THE Covid-19 pandemic has forced Indian students to rethink their higher education choices abroad, with 61 per cent of them deciding to defer their course of study by a year, 8 per cent choosing to study in a different country and another 7 per cent cancelling their plans altogether. Almost half the respondents (49 per cent) plan to study at ‘postgraduate-by-coursework’ level (MBA, Master’s and graduate diploma), another 19 per cent at ‘postgraduate-by-research’ level (Master’s and PhD) and 29 per cent want to pursue undergraduate studies abroad. The remaining are planning to pursue English language studies, foundation courses, and vocational education and training. The decision to put off higher studies abroad by a year could be attributed to several universities moving their Fall Semester entirely online.
4. Economy – Despite slump, exports to China jump 31% to $7.29 billion in April-July – India’s exports to China have jumped 31 per cent to $7.29 billion during April-July 2020, despite a slump in the economy. While overall exports have registered a negative growth of 29.99 per cent in the first four months (April-July) of 2020-21, exports to China have increased by 30.71 per cent. During April-July this year, exports to China increased to $7.29 billion — 30.71 per cent up from $5.57 billion in the same period of the last year. However, in this period, the country’s overall exports contracted by 29.99 per cent to $75.01 billion from $107.14 billion in the same period last year. With the latest surge, share of exports to China in India’s total exports have also climbed to 9.71 per cent during April-July, as against 5.2 per cent in the year-ago period.
5. Education – Govt firm on NEET, JEE Main 2020 in September – The National Testing Agency (NTA) is firm on holding the JEE (Main) and NEET next month as per schedule even as Rajya Sabha members Subramanian Swamy and Vivek Tankha have written to the Union government seeking their postponement. JEE (Main) is scheduled to be held over six days – from September 1 to September 6. NEET, meant for undergraduate medical programmes, is scheduled for September 13. According to ministry sources, the government is keen on sticking to the schedule, especially since the country’s top court has endorsed its decision. This week the Supreme Court had refused to entertain a plea for further postponement of the entrance tests.
6. COVID-19 – India registers 68,898 new coronavirus cases, total over 29 lakh – India's coronavirus case tally rose to 29,05,823 on August 21 as it registered a spike of 68,898 cases, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. As many as 983 deaths were reported in the country, taking the toll to 54,849. Meanwhile, 62,282 recoveries were also reported, taking the total recovered coronavirus cases in the country to 21,58,946. The number of active cases currently constitute 24.20% of total cases while the fatality rate of the country stands at 1.90 %. The recovery rate of the country is at 73.91%. The total number of samples tested up to August 20 is 3,34,67,237 including 8,05,985 samples tested on Thursday.
7. Polity & Governance – Chinese firm sole foreign bidder, Railways cancels tender for Vande Bharat trainsets – More than a month after a state-owned Chinese rolling stock major emerged as the sole foreign company in the bid to manufacture 44 Vande Bharat trainsets, Indian Railways have cancelled the tender and said a fresh tender will be called within a week as per India’s revised public procurement policy. The policy took shape over the past month or so in the wake of tension with China over a border standoff. Fresh tender will be floated within a week as per Revised Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) order.
8. Polity & Governance – Rajiv Kumar appointed as Election Commissioner following resignation of Ashok Lavasa – Rajiv Kumar, a 1984-batch IAS officer, has been appointed as the Election Commissioner following the resignation of Ashok Lavasa. As reported earlier, Lavasa will be joining the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as vice president. He announced his resignation earlier this week and urged the President of India to relieve him before August 31. Kumar has over 30 years of experience in policy-making and administration. Meanwhile, Election Commission of India, on Friday issued guidelines for the conduct of elections and by-elections in light of COVID-19 crisis in the country. The poll body said that postal ballot system will be extended to certain classes of citizens in light of the pandemic.
9. Agriculture – Paddy headed for record acreage – A 6 per cent increase in monsoon rainfall has pushed up kharif sowing by 8.6 per cent compared to the same week last year, with paddy heading for a record acreage with planting is still on. Data showed that planting was completed on 1,063 lakh hectares (lha) compared to 979 lha in the corresponding week of the last kharif season. Total area planted so far is 378 lakh hectares against 339 lha in the same week last year. There has been a substantial increase in planting of paddy in many States that received bountiful rains so far.
10. Economy – Investments via P-notes soar to ₹63,000 cr. – Investments through participatory notes (P-notes) in the domestic capital market soared to ₹63,288 crore till July-end, making it the fourth consecutive monthly rise. P-notes are issued by registered foreign portfolio investors to overseas investors who wish to be a part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly. They, however, need to go through a due diligence process. According to SEBI data, the value of P-note investments in Indian markets — equity, debt, hybrid securities and derivatives — stood at ₹63,288 crore till July-end, while such investments stood at ₹62,138 crore at the end of June. 

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	PGCIL	Company Secretary Professional	5	Associate Member of ICSI	SEPT-12-2020	https://www.powergridindia.com/sites/default/files/Detailed%20advt_CS%20Contractual.pdf
2	ECIL	ITI Trade Apprentice	285	ITI (Relevant Trade)	19-09-2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/08/Notification-ECIL-ITI-Trade-Apprentice-Advt-No.-27-2020.pdf
3	RFRI	Store Keeper, Forest Guard, Technician, Driver	5	10th Class, 10+2	30-10-2020	https://rfri.icfre.gov.in/jobs/vacancy39.pdf
4	Oil India Limited	Operator (HMV) Grade VII	36	10+2	18-09-2020	https://oilindia.onlinereg.in/advt0120/Images/OIL%20Online%20Advertisement_Operator-I%20(HMV).pdf
5	Central Ayurveda Res. Inst. For Cancer	Senior Research Fellow	7	BAMS	Aug-31-2020	http://www.ccras.nic.in/sites/default/files/viewpdf/Vacancies/20082020_RRAPCARIC_Mumbai_Advt.pdf
6	South Central Railway	Specialist Doctor, Nursing Sister, Pharma.	42	10+2, GNM, MBBS and PG	Aug-28-2020	https://scr.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/files/1597915119150-CMP%20P%20HA%20NOTIFICATION.pdf
7	District Hospital, Nanded	Lab Technician	35	10+2, DMLT, Diploma, B. Sc	AUG-8-2020	https://cdn.s3waas.gov.in/s32b24d495052a8ce66358eb576b8912c8/uploads/2020/08/2020081927.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 Madras HC suspended order restraining Patanjali from using term ‘Coronil’ for COVID-19 medicine.

1.2 SC to examine when corruption allegations against judiciary can be made public.

1.3 Sushant Singh Rajput case: SC orders CBI probe, asks Mumbai Police to hand over evidence.

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

2.1 Min. Rs 500 cr net worth must for licence to sell petrol, diesel to retail, bulk users

• The government on August 4, 2020 said any entity with a net worth of at least Rs 500 crore is eligible for obtaining the liberalised licence to sell petrol and diesel to both retail and bulk consumers. Clarifying on the November 2019 liberalised fuel licensing regime, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said any entity with a net worth of Rs 250 crore can get a licence to retail petrol and diesel to either bulk or retail consumers.
• In 2019, the government had relaxed norms for retailing of auto fuels, allowing non-oil companies to venture into the business - a move that could help private and foreign firms to enter the world’s fastest-growing market.
• Prior to that, a company had to invest Rs 2,000 crore in either hydrocarbon exploration and production, refining, pipelines or liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals to obtain a fuel retailing licence in India.
• State-owned oil marketing companies Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) currently own most of the 69,924 petrol pumps in the country.
• Reliance Industries, Nayara Energy (formerly Essar Oil), and Royal Dutch Shell are the private players in the market but with limited presence. Reliance, which operates the world’s largest oil refining complex, has 1,400 outlets. Nayara has 5,756 pumps, while Shell has just 194.
• Currently, IOC is the market leader with 29,368 petrol pumps in the country, followed by HPCL with 16,707 outlets, and BPCL with 16,492 fuel stations.

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

3.1 India ranks 1st in number of organic farmers and 9th in terms of area under organic farming.

• North East India has traditionally been organic. Sikkim became the first State in the world to become fully organic in 2016.
• The major organic exports from India have been flax seeds, sesame, soybean, tea, medicinal plants, rice and pulses.
• There was an increase of nearly 50% in organic exports in 2018-19, touching Rs. 5151 crore.
• Commencement of exports from Assam, Mizoram, Manipur and Nagaland to UK, USA, Eswatini and Italy have proved the potential by increasing volumes and expanding to new destinations as the demand for health foods increases.

• Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region (MOVCD) -

1. It is a Central Sector Scheme, a sub-mission under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)
2. It was launched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in 2015 for implementation in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
3. The scheme aims to develop certified organic production in a value chain mode to link growers with consumers and to support the development of the entire value chain.

• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) -

1. Launched in 2015 it is an elaborated component of Soil Health Management (SHM) of major project National Mission of Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA). Under it organic farming is promoted through adoption of organic villages by cluster approach and Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) certification.

• Certificate Schemes -

1. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is the food regulator in the country and is also responsible for regulating organic food in the domestic market and imports. Apart from it Participatory Guarantee System (PGS), National Program for Organic Production (NPOP) and Soil Health Card Scheme are other certificate schemes of GoI.

• One District - One Product (ODOP) -

1. The programme aims to encourage more visibility and sale of indigenous and specialized products/crafts of Uttar Pradesh, generating employment at the district level.

• The road ahead -

1. Agri-export Policy 2018 focuses on clusters and Marketing and promotion of “Produce of India” have positively impacted the organic farming in India.
2. In India farmers having tilled their land without the use of chemicals - largely relying on organic residues, cow dung, composts, etc. since time immemorial. This is also in sync with the Sustainable Development Goal 2 targeting ‘end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture’.

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

4.1 The Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced that Sri Lanka will draft a new Constitution and abolish the 19th Amendment that curtailed the powers of the President and strengthened the role of Parliament. 

• Key points –

1. The Rajapaksa led Sri Lanka People’s Party (SLPP) won a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections held in Aug 2020. Mahinda Rajapaksha is the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and new Cabinet includes members from the Rajapaksa family.
2. 19th Amendment was passed in 2015 during the former President Maithripala Sirisena-Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s term (2015-19). It clip the President’s executive powers, and strengthen independence of key pillars such as the judiciary, public service and elections. It brought back the two-term limit on Presidency.
3. It was hailed by many, including members of civil society, as a progressive legislation but the Rajapaksa camp viewed its clauses as primarily intended to prevent its leaders’ return to power.
4. It prevented dual citizens from contesting elections. At the time, two of the Rajapaksa family members including the current president were dual citizens of the USA and Sri Lanka.
5. Its abolishment will strengthen Rajapaksa's grip on power. President could appoint officials for the police, judiciary and public service and dissolve Parliament anytime after one year.
6. Sri Lanka's constitution has been changed 19 times from 1978, new Constitution would prioritise the concept of “one country, one law for all the people.” Changes in constitution will be made to ensure the stability of Parliament and people’s direct representation, while retaining the salutary aspects of the proportional representation system.
7. The civil war divided Sri Lanka along ethnic lines - pitting the majority Buddhist Sinhalese-dominated government against Tamil rebels who wanted a separate state. The Rajapaksa family, which dominated the government from 2005 to 2015, witnessed the climax of the country’s long civil war (1983-2009). The rebels were defeated by government forces in 2009. Rights activists see the planned changes to the Constitution as an attempt to further empower the SLPP and the Rajpaksha brothers’ mainly Buddhist - Sinhalese speaking electorate.

• India - Sri Lanka relations in recent days -

1. RBI has signed an agreement for extending a US $ 400 million currency swap facility to Sri Lanka to boost the foreign reserves and ensure badly hit financial stability by Covid-19 pandemic.
2. India assisted Sri Lanka by sending four consignments of essential medicines and equipment to fight the pandemic.
3. The Indian Housing Project is to build 50,000 houses for those affected by the civil war as well as for the estate workers in the plantation areas.
4. India and Sri Lanka conduct joint Military (Mitra Shakti) and Naval (SLINEX) exercises.

• Problems for India -

1. Incidents of straying of fishermen in the Palk Straits and the Gulf of Mannar.
2. India’s entreaties after the civil war ended to devolve more powers to Tamil areas.
3. Use of China as a counter-weight to India.

• The Road Ahead -

1. The Constitution-making process of the new Government shall strengthen Sri Lanka’s democracy and provide an inclusive platform for the country to achieve prosperity for all, India should push for the reconciliation efforts for the Tamils there while remaining sensitive to security concerns of the country.

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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 Not Available Today

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 The Ministry of Defence has approved the proposal to expand the National Cadet Corps (NCC) in border and coastal districts.

• Restructuring of the NCC was one of the key recommendations of the Committee of Experts (CoE) headed by Lt Gen DB Shekatkar (Retd) in 2016.

• Recommendations Shekatkar Committee -

1. Closure of Military Farms and Army Postal Establishments in peace locations.
2. Enhancement in standards for recruitment of clerical staff and drivers in the Army.
3. Improving the efficiency of the National Cadet Corps.
4. Recommended a roll-on defence budget as against the present practice of surrendering unspent capital budget at the end of each financial year.

• Key Points -

1. A total of one lakh cadets from 173 border and coastal districts will be inducted into the NCC of which one-third of them will be girls.
2. The expansion plan would be implemented in partnership with the States.
3. The Army will provide training and administrative support to the NCC units located in the border areas, Navy to the units in the coastal areas and Indian Air Force to the units close to Air Force stations.
4. It will provide trained manpower for disaster management and skill training to youth for making their career in the armed forces.
5. It will increase youth’s interest in careers in Navy, Coast Guard and also Merchant shipping avenues.
6. In the border area, the trained cadets can play supporting roles to the Armed forces in various forms.
7. National Cadet Corps was formed in 1948 (on the recommendation of H. N. Kunzru Committee-1946). It has a strength of around 14 lakh cadets from Army, Navy and Air Force wings. The NCC falls under the purview of the Ministry of Defence and is headed by a Director General of three-star military rank.

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

8.1 Major Happenings

• Key point – 

1. Krishi Megh (National Agricultural Research & Education System-Cloud Infrastructure and Services) launched by Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar
2. Hyderabad-based NGO Naandi Foundation wins Food Vision 2050 Prize given by the Rockefeller Foundation of US
3. Mumbai became the first city to have female icons on traffic signals
4. PM Modi announces launch of National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), all Indians to get health IDs.
5. IIT Madras ranked number-one in the ‘Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements’
6. Health Ministry’s ‘eSanjeevani’ telemedicine service records 2 lakh tele-consultations.
7. Indian Railways procures Ninja drones for security surveillance and passenger safety.
8. SCTIMST & IIT Madras start-up set up portable hospital infrastructure for COVID -19.
9. All serving and retired soldiers in Maharashtra exempted from panchayat property tax.

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

9.1 Scientists from Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune have found the first synthetic route for producing flavonoids molecules related to the treatment of tuberculosis and chikungunya

• Key points –

1. For the first time scientists have been able to synthesize the flavonoid molecules such as rugosa flavonoids, podocare flavone and isoflavone in a lab. These three molecules have so far been isolated from plants only and are found to inhibit tuberculosis and chikungunya.

• Flavonoids -

1. Flavonoids are part of the polyphenol class of phytonutrients (plant chemicals) found in almost all fruits and vegetables they are responsible for the vivid colours in them.
2. Polyphenols are powerful antioxidants with anti-inflammatory and immune system benefits have been used in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine and are associated with skin protection, brain function, blood sugar and blood pressure regulation.

• Importance of the Research -

1. The research will ensure their availability at all seasons, uniformity to the natural product, prevent over-exploitation of medicinal plants and cost-effectiveness.

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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 -

• India has extended Line of Credit worth $18 million to the Government of Maldives for the expansion of fishing facilities at Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO).
• COVID-19 and indigenous peoples’ resilience was the theme of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples observed in August 2020.
• Rajnath Singh is the Indian counterpart of Prabowo Subianto of Indonesia.
• Income Tax Day was observed on July 23.
• The first container train from India arrived at the Benapole railways station of Bangladesh in July 2020.

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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