Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 16-09-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 16-09-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. India-China Standoff 2020 – China has massively deployed troops along LAC, says Rajnath – China has mobilised a large number of troops and armaments along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as well as in the “depth areas”, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh informed the Lok Sabha. He pointed out that there were several friction areas in eastern Ladakh, including Gogra, Kongka La and the north and south banks of Pangong Tso (lake). On the violent clash at Galwan on June 15, he claimed that Indian troops had inflicted heavy casualties on the Chinese side. Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in the incident. The Minister said the nature of the current stand-off with China was different “both in terms of scale of troops involved and the number of friction points”.
2. COVID-19 Updates – India’s Covid cases cross 5m, last million in 11 days – India has become the second country in the world after the US to record 5 million Covid-19 cases, with the last 1 mn coming in a world-record time of 11 days. The grim milestone was crossed, when over 90,000 fresh infections were reported while deaths rose by 1,275, the highest single-day toll recorded so far. While it took 167 days for cases in India to reach the first 1 million—the slowest among the worst-hit countries, with a strict lockdown in place—infections have been racing ever since. The next 4 million cases have come in 61 days, the fastest rise in the world. Only the US, with 6.7 million infections, has more recorded cases. Active cases also crossed the 1-million mark on Tuesday. As with the total infection count, India’s active cases are the second highest in the world after the US, where the tally is 2.5 million.
3. Polity and Governance – ‘New Bill on powers of Delhi govt., L-G soon’ – The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is likely to introduce a legislation in the ongoing Parliament session to amend a 1991 Act pertaining to the powers and functions of the Delhi government and the Lieutenant-Governor. The National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2020, to “bring ease in implementation of certain provisions of the Act”, is among more than 20 Bills proposed to be introduced in this Parliament session. The Bill is yet to get the Cabinet’s nod and it was not taken up at the Union Cabinet meeting. A Home Ministry spokesperson did not respond to requests regarding the provisions of the Bill. According to a source, the Bill proposes to clearly spell out the functions of the Council of Ministers and the Lieutenant-Governor by giving more discretionary powers to the L-G.
4. World Politics – India pips China to win seat at UN body – India has won a seat at the prestigious UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) beating China, which failed to garner even half the votes, in the Asia-Pacific States category. It got elected as member of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the principal global body focussed on gender equality and women empowerment, a functional commission of ECOSOC. The 54-member ECOSOC, holding the first plenary meeting of its 2021 session in the General Assembly Hall, held elections for two seats in the Asia-Pacific States category with Afghanistan, India and China in the fray. Afghanistan, which is led by Ambassador Adela Raz at the UN, garnered 39 votes and India got 38 votes of the 54 ballots cast. China, despite being a permanent member of the UN Security Council, got only 27 votes and could not even cross the half-way mark and failed to get the required majority of 28 votes.
5. India and its neighbours – Ajit Doval walks out of SCO interaction – India responded strongly after Pakistan displayed the newly-unveiled political map of the country during the meeting of the National Security Advisers of the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, who was participating in the virtual interaction, left the meeting mid-way after Pakistan displayed the map prominently behind its delegation.
6. Environment and Ecology – Fossil fuel usage set to drop for first time – India’s thirst for fossil fuels will outpace China’s by a big margin, even though globally, consumption will shrink for the first time in modern history through 2050 as climate initiatives propel renewable energy while the coronavirus pandemic leaves a lasting scar on demand, the benchmark BP Energy Outlook 2020 said. The outlook saw India’s primary energy consumption growing by 2.5% between 2018 and 2050 against 0.1% in China and 0.3% globally. It sees India’s oil consumption more than doubling to 10 million barrels by 2050 under the ‘business-as-usual’ scenario. But gas demand is seen jumping from 58 bcm (billion cubic metres) to 357 bcm under the ‘rapid’ scenario.
7. World – UAE, Bahrain set to ink deals with Israel – The UAE and Bahrain will become the latest Arab states to break a longstanding taboo when they sign agreements toward normalising relations with Israel in a strategic realignment of West Asian countries against Iran. US President Donald Trump was due to host the White House ceremony around noon, capping a dramatic month when first the UAE and then Bahrain agreed to reverse decades of ill will without a resolution of Israel’s decades-old dispute with the Palestinians. At the U.S.-brokered event, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will sign agreements with Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani. The deals make them the third and fourth Arab states to take such steps to normalise ties since Israel signed peace treaties with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.
8. World – British MPs back Johnson’s Brexit Bill despite EU anger – British lawmakers backed a new Bill that would override parts of the Brexit treaty struck with the EU last year, despite outrage in Brussels and alarm at home over such an overt breach of international law. MPs in the House of Commons gave their initial approval to the U.K. Internal Market Bill by 340 votes to 263, clearing the way for four days of detailed scrutiny of the text this week and next. Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier argued the legislation was a “safety net” against what he claimed were EU threats to impose tariffs on U.K. internal trade and even stop food going from mainland Britain to Northern Ireland.
9. Economy – Exports drop in Aug, 6th mth in row – Exports was dragged down by a decline in shipments of petroleum, leather, engineering goods, and gems & jewellery, while imports tumbled by 26% during the month but data for Sept indicated a turnaround with exports registering a double-digit increase during the first half of the month. Between Sept 1 and 14, exports rose 12% to $13 billion, while imports were almost 22% lower at a shade under $13.5 billion. Oil imports were a little lower in the second week of September and called for pushing textiles and gems & jewellery exports. Exports in August were $22.7 billion, compared to nearly $26 billion a year ago, which was a decline of 12.7%. Imports fell by 26% to almost $30 billion in August, resulting in a trade deficit of $6.8 billion.
10. Economy  – ETFs jump 26x in 5 yrs, cross ₹2L cr – There has been a 26-fold rise in assets under management (AUM) of exchangetraded funds (ETFs) in a little over five years to more than Rs 2 lakh crore now. The main reasons are government support for these schemes, rising popularity among investors, and acceptance by fund houses to launch equity and debtbased ETFs with lower management costs. Of the total, ETFs on the NSE’s Nifty index have a 49% market share, accounting for a little over Rs 1 lakh crore, data from MF industry body Amfi showed. And gold ETFs managed assets worth an additional Rs 13,500 crore.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	Bank of India	Officer (Scale IV)	214	Deg/ Dip. Ph.D, CA	SEPT-30-2020	http://www.freejobalert.com/bank-of-india-recruitment/15141/#Officer
2	RITES Ltd	General Manager (Civil)	5	BE/ B.Tech/ B.Sc (Engg)	OCT-5-2020	https://rites.com/web/images/stories/uploadVacancy/6_20GMregular-ad.pdf
3	NHPC Limited	Trade Apprentice	26	10th Class with ITI	OCT-1-2020	http://www.nhpcindia.com/writereaddata/Images/pdf/EngagementApprentices-Teesta-V.pdf
4	CIMFR	Project Asst, Project Associate -I, II	48	Diploma (Engg), B.E	OCT-9-2020	https://cimfr.nic.in/upload_files/current_opportunity/1600090973_Project%20Staff%20Recruitment%20Notification%20at%20CIMFR%20Bilaspur%20Centre%20(1).pdf
5	Steel Autho. of India Ltd, Rourkela	Trainee	76	DMLT, BPT, MBA /BBA/ PG Dip	25-09, 09 to 03-11-2020	https://www.sailcareers.com/media/uploads/ADVT_MEDICAL.pdf
6	RMRC, NE Region	Scientist B, Research Asst, Lab Tech.	11	DMLT, Degree, PG	SEP-20-2020	http://rmrcne.org.in/images/pdf/appoint/leprospirosis_89.pdf
7	DHFWS, West Godavari	STLS, TB Centre Statis. Asst, STS, Counselor	5	DMLT, Typing Speed	SEP-21-2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/09/Notification-DHFWS-West-Godavari-STLS-TB-Centre-Statistical-Asst-STS-Counselor.pdf

 

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• SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

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• 1. CONSTITUTION AND LAW (Prelims, GS Paper 2, Essay paper)

1.1 Not Available Today

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

2.1 Weekly Round-up – Corporate World

• Adani Group acquires 74% stake in Mumbai International Airport Ltd. (MIAL) - Gautam Adani-led Adani Group has acquired 74% stake in Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) that operates the airport in Mumbai. Under the transaction Adani Group will acquire 50.5% stake of GVK group and acquire 23.5% stake of 2 minority partners -- Airport Company of South Africa (10%) and Bidvest (13.5%).
• CII launches Future Business Group initiative to support new businesses - Future Business Group, an initiative by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to provide support to new businesses launched during the past few years, was launched on September 3, 2020. Together with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), CII will create a ‘national strategy for future businesses’ as part of the initiative.
• CSIR-CMERI develops World’s Largest Solar Tree in Durgapur - CSIR-CMERI has developed the World’s Largest Solar Tree, which is installed at CSIR-CMERI Residential Colony, Durgapur. The installed capacity of the Solar Tree is above 11.5 kWp. It has the annual capacity to generate 12,000-14,000 units of green power.
• Govt bans 118 Chinese apps, including PUBG, over security concerns - India has banned 118 Chinese mobile apps, including the popular multiplayer game PUBG (PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds) and Chinese search engine Baidu, citing them as security threats. The government invoked its powers under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act and relevant provisions under IT Rules 2009 to block these apps, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said on September 2, 2020.
• Intel launches 11th Gen Core mobile processor - American chipmaker Intel has announced its next generation mobile processors for future thin and light notebooks. The 11th Gen Intel Core mobile processors, codenamed Tiger Lake, brings computing and performance improvement, and several other upgrades over its predecessor, the 10th Gen Intel Core mobile processors.
• N. Ravi elected Chairman of Kasturi & Sons Limited - N Ravi was elected Chairman of Kasturi & Sons, the holding company of The Hindu group, at the meeting of the company’s Board on September 3, 2020. Currently the Publisher of the group’s various newspapers, Ravi succeeds N Murali. Among the subsidiary companies under Kasturi and Sons Ltd are THG Publishing that publishes The Hindu, Business Line, Frontline and Sportstar; KSL Media that publishes Hindu Tamil Thisai; KSL Digital Ventures that hosts the digital real estate platform, Roofandfloor.com; and Sporting Pastime that has taken up the resorts business.

• SIAM Maruti Suzuki MD and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa as its new President - Auto industry body SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) on September 4, 2020m said its members have elected Maruti Suzuki MD and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa as its new president for a two-year term. SIAM’s 60th annual convention titled ‘SIAM 2020 - ‘Rebuilding the Nation Responsibly’ was organised through video conference.
• Tata Group, L&T to build six Pinaka rocket regiments for Army - The Defence Ministry has signed contracts with the Tata Power Company Limited (TPCL) and the Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for supply of six Pinaka rocket regiments for the Army at approximately ₹2,580 crore. These six Pinaka regiments comprise 114 launchers with automated gun aiming and positioning system (AGAPS) and 45 command posts to be procured from TPCL and L&T and 330 vehicles to be procured from Bharat Earth Movers Ltd. (BEML). The Pinaka Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) has been indigenously designed and developed by DRDO.
• Tata Motors, Hyundai win EESL’s order for electric passenger vehicles - Tata Motors and Hyundai Motor have emerged winners in a tender to supply 250 electric passenger vehicles to the government floated by Energy Efficiency Services Ltd. Out of the total procurement, Tata Motors will supply 150 Nexon electric compact SUVs while Hyundai will supply 100 units of its Kona electric SUVs.

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

3.1 Assam Baghjan well fire tamed 110 days after blowout

 

1. The flame atop the Baghjan Well No 5 in eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district has been tamed, 110 days after the well had a disastrous blowout.
2. A blowout is uncontrolled escape of gas at great speed, usually due to equipment failure.

• Highlights –

1. Oil India Limited (OIL) and foreign experts have managed to divert the gas to two controlled flare pits. This cut off the supply to the well head for the fire to die out.
2. With the flame tamed, OIL officials hope to be over with the killing of the well soon.
3. This entails injecting the killing fluid — a viscous cement mud — through the inlet of the blowout preventer at very high pressure to a depth of 3.5 km.
4. The fluid takes up to 10 hours to inject and is expected to plug subterranean perforations and block the upward movement of natural gas and associated condensates.

• Three Oil employees killed –

1. Well No 5, one of 22 crude oil and natural gas wells in the Baghjan Oilfield close to the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, had a blowout on May 27. It burst into flames on June 9.
2. The well has so far killed three OIL employees — two firemen who died fighting the flame and a 25-year-old electrical engineer who was electrocuted on September 9 while checking cables at the site.
3. Three of the six foreign experts engaged for disaster control had also sustained injuries during a failed capping operation.

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

4.1 Louisiana government declares emergency as state prepares for Tropical Storm Sally 

 

 

• Key points – 
  

1. Louisiana Governor John Bel has declared a state of emergency as Tropical Storm Sally moved into the Gulf of Mexico.
2. Tropical Storm Sally brought heavy rain and winds to Florida on Saturday (September 12).
3. The National Weather Service has issued hurricane and tropical storm watches for areas of Southeast Louisiana.
4. According to the US National Hurricane Center, Sally will strengthen to a hurricane by Monday (September 14) afternoon, but will weaken back to a tropical storm while moving inland over Louisiana and Mississippi on Wednesday (September 16).
5. Barely two weeks ago, Louisiana suffered a devastating blow when Hurricane Laura came ashore as the strongest hurricane ever to make landfall in Louisiana history, leaving a trail of destruction in its path.

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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 Reggae star Toots Hibbert dies at 77

• Key points –

1. Toots Hibbert, one of reggae’s founders and most beloved stars who gave the music its name and later helped make it an international movement through such classics as “Pressure Drop," “Monkey Man” and “Funky Kingston,” has died. He was 77.
2. Grammy nominations for Hibbert included best reggae album of 2012 for “Reggae Got Soul” and best reggae album of 2007 for “Light Your Light.” Hibbert was ranked No. 71 on a Rolling Stone list, compiled in 2008, of the 100 greatest contemporary singers.
3. In 2012, he received the Order of Distinction by the government of Jamaica for outstanding contribution to the country’s music.

• Highlights –

1. News of the five-time Grammy nominee’s ill-health came just weeks after his last known performance, on a national live-stream during Jamaica’s Emancipation and Independence celebrations in August.
2. A muscular ex-boxer, Hibbert was a bandleader, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and showman whose concerts sometimes ended with dozens of audience members dancing with him on stage.
3. He was also, in the opinion of many, reggae’s greatest singer, so deeply spiritual he could transform “Do re mi fa so la ti do” into a hymn.
4. His raspy tenor, uncommonly warm and rough, was likened to the voice of Otis Redding and made him more accessible to American listeners than many reggae artists.
5. Original songs such as “Funky Kingston” and “54-46 That’s My Number” had the emotion and call and response arrangements known to soul and gospel fans.
6. Hibbert even recorded an album of American hits, “Toots In Memphis,” which came out in 1988.
7. Never as immersed in politics as his friend and great contemporary Bob Marley, Hibbert did invoke heavenly justice in “Pressure Drop,” preach peace in “Revolution,” righteousness in “Bam Bam.”

• Captured everyday life in Jamaica –

1. He also captured, like few others, everyday life in Jamaica in the years following its independence from Britain in 1962, whether telling of wedding jitters (“Sweet and Dandy”) or of trying to pay the rent (“Time Tough”).
2. One of his most popular and surprising songs was his reworking of John Denver’s nostalgic “(Take Me Home) Country Roads,” with the setting changed from West Virginia to a world Hibbert knew so well.
3. As with other reggae stars, Hibbert’s following soared after the release of the landmark 1972 film, “The Harder They Come,” which starred Jimmy Cliff as a poor Jamaican who moves to Kingston and dreams of a career in music. The Jamaican production was a word of mouth hit in the U.S. and the soundtrack, often ranked among the greatest in movie history, included the Maytals’ “Pressure Drop” and “Sweet and Dandy.”
4. Hibbert also appeared in the film, as himself, recording “Sweet and Dandy” in the studio while Cliff’s character looks on with awe.

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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 Not Available Today

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

9.1 COVID 19 - City University of Hong Kong produced a laser-induced form of graphene masks 

 

1. Graphene is a single layer (monolayer) of carbon atoms. It is one atom thick. It is the building-block of Graphite. It is harder than diamond yet more elastic than rubber; tougher than steel yet lighter than aluminium. Graphene is the strongest known material. It is lowest resistivity substance known at room temperature. High thermal stability. High elasticity. High electrical conductivity. Electron mobility is high at room temperature. It gets used miniaturised electronics to biomedical devices like computers, solar panels, batteries, sensors and other devices. Graphene is known for antibacterial properties.
2. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are known to cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

• Key point –

1. Initial tests deactivated two coronavirus species.
2. The researchers are planning to test this mask on the Covid-19 (SARS-Cov-2) virus.
3. The researchers also tested it on E coli (bacteria), which showed an antibacterial efficiency of around 80%.
4. The efficiency can be raised to almost 100% with exposure to sunlight for 10 minutes.

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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 -

• 5th BRICS Culture Ministers’ Meeting was held in Sept 2020.
• The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) has selected ….. and Shantanu Narayen for its 2020 Leadership Awards. Anand Mahindra.
• IPS Officer Rakesh Asthana is the Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau.
• Odisha Shiksha Sanjog WhatsApp based digital learning programme has been launched by Odisha.
• India’s Tiger Census of 2018 was entered the Guinness World Record for being the world’s largest Camera trap wildlife survey.

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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