Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 21-09-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 21-09-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Polity and Governance – Govt. tables Bill to amend FCRA – The Centre is set to amend the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act and proposes to make Aadhaar a mandatory identification document for all the office-bearers, directors and other key functionaries of an NGO or an association eligible to receive foreign donations. The Bill says the amendment is required to enhance transparency and accountability in the receipt and utilisation of foreign contributions worth thousands of crores of rupees every year and facilitating the “genuine” non-governmental organisations or associations who are working for the welfare of society. The Bill proposes to include “public servant” and “corporation owned or controlled by the government” among the list of entities who are not eligible to receive foreign donations, the draft says.
2. Polity and Governance – Amid fierce protests, Rajya Sabha passes two farm Bills – Two of the three agriculture-related legislation piloted by the Narendra Modi government, aimed at liberalising the farm sector, were passed by the Rajya Sabha by voice vote on Sunday amid a din as the Opposition parties, enraged by the refusal of Deputy Chairman Harivansh to allow voting on resolutions they moved, broke microphones, stood up on tables and flung papers in the air. The legislation — the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020, and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020, were cleared by the Lok Sabha last week.
3. COVID-19 Updates – ICMR’s second sero-survey ends – The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has completed its second national sero-survey to gauge the prevalence of COVID-19. The first survey was conducted in May across 400 districts and about 28,000 were sampled — most of them in rural India — to gauge the spread of the infection. After a long delay, the ICMR finally published its results this month that suggested that nearly 6.4 million were likely infected with the virus by May. There were 82-130 infections that went undetected for every confirmed case in May. But newspaper reports citing unnamed authors of that study, alleged that a portion of their results were expunged, which showed high prevalence of the infection in hotspots in 10 cities that were originally part of the paper. This suggested that in May the possible prevalence of the infection was 36% in Dharavi, Mumbai; 48% in Ahmedabad and 30% in Kolkata.
4. COVID-19 Updates – First desi gene-based Covid test gets nod – An indigenously developed test that uses the cutting-edge CRISPR gene-editing technology to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been approved for commercial launch by the Drugs Controller General of India. Developed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology) in Delhi, along with the Tata Group, the test—named Feluda—will diagnose the virus in two hours. The Tata CRISPR test is the world’s first diagnostic test to deploy a specially adapted Cas9 protein to successfully detect the virus causing Covid-19. CSIR officials told TOI it is similar to a pregnancy test, containing a strip of paper that changes colour on detection of the virus in the sample. The cost of the test once commercialised is estimated to be under Rs 600.
5. Constitution and Law – Make ethics code must for all news channels, NBA tells SC – The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has told the SC to make its code of ethics against airing malicious, biased and regressive content applicable to all TV news channels. For this, the NBA suggested that the court direct the government to include its ethical code in the Programme Code of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994. All news channels, whether they are NBA members or not, will then have to follow the Programme Code containing the proposed amendments. The NBA affidavit is in response to an order by the Supreme Court on September 18 to suggest steps to strengthen the self-regulatory mechanism to prevent or penalise airing of communal or derogatory content on electronic media. The order was in the background of a plea to stop the telecast of a programme ‘Bindas Bol’ on Sudarshan TV containing objectionable content against the Muslim entries into the civil services.
6. World – Violent Attacks Plague Afghanistan as Peace Talks in Doha Slow – Violence continued unabated across Afghanistan, as negotiators from the warring sides remained bogged down by disagreements over a framework for talks a week after historic negotiations began in Doha. More than a dozen civilians were feared dead in one airstrike by Afghan forces in the North. The deaths came as a week of discussions still had not finalized the rules for negotiations over contentious issues, like a cease-fire and the form of a future government. The slow pace highlighted how complicated the effort to end to the Afghan war will likely be.
7. USA  – SC nominee will be a woman: Trump – President Trump said he will nominate a woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court, a move that would tip the court further to the right following the death of liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He praised Ginsburg as a “legal giant... Her landmark rulings, fierce devotion to justice and her courageous battle against cancer inspire all Americans.” Earlier, he praised two women as possible replacements: conservatives he elevated to federal appeals courts. Mr. Trump named Amy Coney Barrett of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit and Barbara Lagoa of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible nominees for a lifetime appointment to the highest U.S. court. It would be his third appointment during his first term. Ginsburg’s death from cancer after 27 years on the court handed Mr. Trump, who is seeking re-election on November 3, the opportunity to expand its conservative majority to 6-3 at a time of a gaping political divide in America.
8. World – Thailand protesters challenge monarchy, seek PM’s ouster – Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand’s Grand Palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy. The kingdom has seen near-daily gatherings of youth-led groups since mid-July calling for the resignation of Mr. Prayut, the former Army chief behind the 2014 coup, and a complete overhaul of his administration. Some are also demanding reforms to Thailand’s ultra-wealthy and powerful monarchy — a once-taboo topic in the country due to its tough royal defamation laws. The burgeoning movement, partly inspired by Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests, remains largely leaderless.
9. World – U.S. says UN sanctions on Iran back in force, others disagree – The U.S. unilaterally proclaimed that UN sanctions against Iran were back in force and promised to punish those who violate them, in a move other major countries — including its allies — said lacked legal basis. The so-called snapback — announced last month — also drew a sharp rebuke from Tehran, which called on the rest of the world to unite against U.S. “reckless actions.” The U.S. administration also promised to “impose consequences” on any UN member state which does not comply with the measures. The sanctions in question were lifted in 2015 when Iran signed on to an international agreement not to seek to build nuclear weapons.
10. Covid-19 Updates  – WHO clears protocol for COVID-19 herbal medicine trials – The WHO endorsed a protocol for testing African herbal medicines as potential treatments for the coronavirus and other epidemics. COVID-19 has raised the issue of using traditional medicines to battle contemporary diseases, and the endorsement clearly encouraged testing with criteria similar to those used for molecules developed by labs in Asia, Europe or the Americas. It came months after a bid by the President of Madagascar to promote a drink based on artemisia, a plant with proven efficacy in malaria treatment, was met with widespread scorn.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	THDC India Ltd.	Trade Apprentice	110	10th Class, ITI	OCT-20-2020	https://www.thdc.co.in/sites/default/files/ITI_Notification_RKSH2020.pdf
2	ICFRE	Research Asso., Senior Project Fellowship	6	Degree, PG	NOV-22-2020	https://icfre.gov.in/vacancy/vacancy391.pdf
3	ECIL	Technical Officer	17	Degree (Engg)	SEP-30-2020	http://careers.ecil.co.in/app/Advt_28_2020.pdf
4	RIE, Bhopal	Jr Project Fellow, Visual Analyzer, Lab Asst	25	Any Degree, PG, M.Ed	SEP-28-2020	http://riebhopal.nic.in/downloads/jpfposting.pdf
5	CSMCRI	Project Associate I & Field Assistant	-	B.Sc, PG	OCT-9-2020	https://www.csmcri.res.in/jobs/project-associate-i-project-associate-i-and-field-assistant-advt-no-apb012020
6	AIATSL	Para Med. Agent Cum Cabin Service Agent	16	Deg + Dip (Nur)/B. Sc (Nur)	OCT-2-2020	http://www.airindia.in/writereaddata/Portal/career/900_1_AIASL-ADVT-Sept-2020.pdf
7	MIDHANI	Assistant	38	Diploma (Metall. Eng)	03-10-2020 – Walk in	https://midhani-india.in/WordPress-content/uploads/2018/11/Detailed-Advertisement18092020-1.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 SC grants relief to Vedanta, Videocon in Ravva oil fields case

• Key points –

1. In a major setback for the government, the SC has upheld a foreign arbitration award in favour of Vadanta and Videocon for the development of the Ravva oil and gas fields off the coast of Andhra Pradesh between 2000 and 2007.
2. The ruling allowed the companies to recover $499 million for the project, an amount that was capped at $198 million by the centre, dismissing the government's appeal against the foreign arbitration award.

• Important details –

1. The Supreme Court said the Malaysian court rightly examined the Ravva arbitration award, which doesn't offend public policy of India, as it is a subsequent event.
2. The top court upheld an order by the Delhi High Court, which refused to interfere with the arbitral award in the production-sharing contract (PSC) for Ravva oil fields in the Krishna Godavari basin.
3. Cairn India (now Vedanta) and Videocon were allowed to recover $198 million as per the contract.
4. In July 2014, the Malaysian Court of Appeals had upheld the arbitral award allowing additional recoveries to Vedanta.
5. The dispute centres around the production-sharing contract between the companies and the government over exploration of the Ravva oil fields between 2000 and 2007.
6. The Petroleum Ministry moved the top court in June 2020, after the Delhi High Court refused to interfere with the arbitral award in favour of Vedanta.

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

2.1 Weekly Round-up – Banking and Finance

 

• Best performing PSBs under EASE Banking Reforms Index felicitated - Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman on September 9, 2020 felicitated best performing public sector banks on EASE (enhanced access and service excellence) Banking Reforms Index.
• The overall score of PSBs increased by 37 per cent between March 2019 and March 2020, with the average EASE index score improving from 49.2 to 67.4 out of 100.
• The index measures the performance of each PSB on 120-plus objective metrics across six themes. ‘Deepening Financial Inclusion and Digitalisation’, ‘Customer Responsiveness’, ‘Responsible Banking’, ‘Governance and HR’, ‘PSBs as Udyamimitra for MSMEs’, and ‘Credit off-take’.
• EASE 1.0 was launched in January 2018, and the subsequent edition of the program -- EASE 2.0 built on the foundation laid in EASE 1.0 and furthered the progress on reforms.
• Reform Action Points in EASE 2.0 are aimed at making the reforms journey irreversible, strengthening processes and systems, and driving outcomes.
• Bank of Baroda, State Bank of India, and erstwhile Oriental Bank of Commerce were felicitated for being the top three in the ‘Top Performing Banks’ category according to the EASE 2.0 Index results.
• Bank of Maharashtra, Central Bank of India and erstwhile Corporation Bank were awarded in the ‘Top Improvers’ category.
• Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India and Canara Bank were also recognised for outstanding performance in select themes.
• Govt forms committee for assessment of relief to bank borrower - Government has constituted a three-member expert committee to assist in the assessment of relief to bank borrowers. The committee chaired by former CAG Rajiv Mehrishi will measure the impact on the national economy and financial stability of waiving of interest and COVID-19 related moratorium. It will also give suggestions to mitigate financial constraints of various sections of society in this respect and measures to be adopted in this regard. The move came as various concerns have been raised during the ongoing hearing in the Supreme Court in the matter regarding relief sought in terms of waiver of interest and waiver of interest on interest and other related issues.
• Public Sector Banks’ doorstep banking services launched - Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on September 9, 2020 launched a doorstep banking services initiative by public sector banks (PSBs). This is part of EASE (enhanced access and service excellence) reforms that the Department of Financial Services had undertaken in 2018. The services will be rendered by the doorstep banking agents deployed by the selected service providers at 100 centres across the country.
• At present only non-financial services like pick up of negotiable instruments (cheque/demand draft/pay order etc), pick up of 15G / 15H forms, pick up of IT/GST challan, request for account statement, delivery of term deposit receipt, among others, are available to customers. Financial services shall be made available from October 2020 and can be availed by customers of PSBs at nominal charges.
• RBI constituted KV Kamath committee names 26 sectors for loan restructuring - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed KV Kamath committee on September 7, 2020 picked 26 sectors which will need loan restructuring and listed the respective parameters the sectors need to meet in order to avail the scheme from the lenders.
• The lenders need to consider financial parameters like total outside liability to adjusted tangible net worth, debt to EBIDTA, current ratio, debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) and average debt service coverage ratio (ADSCR), before clearing restructuring of loans. Based on these criteria, sector-specific thresholds for each ratio in respect of 26 sectors have been prescribed by the committee. The lenders are also free to consider other parameters.
• The committee was formed in August 2020 under the chairmanship of former ICICI Bank CEO KV Kamath to make recommendations on the financial parameters to be considered in the restructuring of loans impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The committee will also scrutinise restructuring of loans above Rs 1,500 crore. The term of the committee has been extended till June 30, 2021.
• Recently, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had asked banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to roll out a loan restructuring scheme for companies.
• RBI lays down guidelines for appointment of chief compliance officer in banks - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on September 11, 2020 laid down guidelines for appointment of chief compliance officer (CCO) in banks to ensure uniform approach with regard to compliance and risk management culture across the banking industry. The CCO should be appointed for a minimum fixed period of three years in the rank of a general manager or not below two levels of the rank of CEO.
• RBI to construct digital payment index to assess extent of digitisation - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is in the process of constructing a digital payment index (DPI) to assess the extent of digitisation in the country and innovation in existing modes and channels to bridge digital divide. A comprehensive index had been recommended by a high-level committee headed by Nandan Nilekani on deepening digital payment in India.

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

3.1 DCGI approves commercial launch of low cost Covid-19 test ‘Feluda’

 

• Key points –

1. The Drugs Controller General of India has approved the commercial launch of ‘Feluda’, the Tata CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) COVID-19 test.
2. CRISPR is a genome editing technology to diagnose diseases.

• Important details –

1. This test uses an indigenously developed, cutting-edge CRISPR technology for detection of the genomic sequence of SARS-CoV-2 virus.
2. The Tata CRISPR test achieves accuracy levels of traditional RT-PCR tests with quicker turnaround time, less expensive equipment and better ease of use.
3. The technology has been developed by CSIR-IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology).
4. The Tata CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) test, powered by CSIR-IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology) FELUDA, received regulatory approvals today from DCGI for commercial launch, as per ICMR guidelines, meeting high quality benchmarks with 96 per cent sensitivity and 98 per cent specificity for detecting novel coronavirus.
5. The Tata CRISPR test is the world’s first diagnostic test to deploy a specially adapted Cas9 protein to successfully detect the virus causing COVID-19.
6. Moreover, CRISPR is a futuristic technology that can also be configured for detection of multiple other pathogens in the future.
7. The Tata Group has worked closely with CSIR-IGIB and ICMR to create a high-quality test that will help the nation ramp up COVID-19 testing quickly and economically, with a ‘Made in India’ product that is safe, reliable, affordable and accessible.

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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 Round-up – Accidents and Natural Disasters

 

 

• Assam: Fire at Oil India Ltd. Baghjan well in Tinsukia district doused - Oil India Limited (OIL) and foreign experts succeed in dousing the fire at the Baghjan Well No 5 in Assam’s Tinsukia district, 110 days after the well had a disastrous blowout. The well has so far killed three OIL employees.
• US: Emergency declared in Louisiana state due to Tropical Storm Sally - A state of emergency was declared in Louisiana state in US on September 12, 2020 as Tropical Storm Sally moved into the Gulf of Mexico.  The storm brought heavy rain and winds to Florida state.
  

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Education Minister confers 2nd Utkrisht Sansthan Vishwakarma Award in 14 categories to institutes under AICTE

• Key points –

1. Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has virtually conferred Second Utkrisht Sansthan Vishwakarma Award in 14 categories to the Institutions under AICTE on Vishwakarma Divas Celebration (September 17).
2. The Utkrisht Sansthan Vishwakarma Award aims to motivate, recognize and honor the AICTE approved institutions to raise their performance in the specific domain leading to significant contribution for the growth and development of the society.
3. Mr Pokhriyal said India is facing an extraordinary challenge to protect citizens from the rapidly spreading COVID-19 pandemic all around the globe.
4. He informed that more than 900 institutions were registered for the award in 2020.
5. 535 applications were considered for the first round of evaluation and were scrutinized by a Committee of experts.
6. The Committee shortlisted 103 institutions under 14 and out of 103 institutions, 34 were selected for the awards.
7. In order to motivate and honor technical institutions, AICTE under its UtkrishtSansthanVishwakarma Award (USVA) 2020 proposed the theme of the year as “INDIA FIGHTS CORONA”.

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

8.1 World Patient Safety Day 2020

1. The World Patient Safety Day was established in May 2019 by the World Health Assembly, and the day itself is celebrated on 17 September.
2. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and its associated institutions and nations are virtually celebrating this day in 2020 with the theme Health Worker Safety: A priority for patient safety and the slogan “Safe health workers, safe patients”.

• Objectives of World Patient Safety Day 2020 –

1. To raise global awareness about the importance of health worker safety and its interlinkages with patient safety.
2. To engage multiple stakeholders and adopt multimodal strategies to improve the safety of health workers and patients.
3. To implement urgent and sustainable actions by all stakeholders which recognize and invest in the safety of health workers, as a priority for patient safety.
4. To provide due recognition of health workers’ dedication and hard work, particularly amid the current fight against COVID-19.

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

9.1 Not Available Today

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

10.1 Smart City Index 2020

•  Key point – 
  

1. The Institute for Management Development (IMD), in collaboration with Singapore University for Technology and Design (SUTD), released the 2020 Smart City Index, with key findings on how technology is playing a role in the COVID-19 era.

• The report –

1. Four Indian cities — New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru — witnessed a significant drop in their rankings in the global listing of smart cities that was topped by Singapore.
2. In the 2020 Smart City Index, Hyderabad was placed at the 85th position (down from 67 in 2019), New Delhi at 86th rank (down from 68 in 2019), Mumbai was at 93rd place (in 2019 it was at 78), and Bengaluru at 95th (79 in 2019).
3. Cities in India (New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru) suffer significant drops this year. This can be attributed to the detrimental effect that the pandemic has had where the technological advancement was not up to date.
4. Indian cities have suffered more from the pandemic because they were not prepared.
5. From 15 indicators that the respondents perceive as the priority areas for their city, all four cities highlighted air pollution as one of the key areas that they felt their city needed to prioritize on.
6. For cities like Bangalore and Mumbai, this was closely followed by road congestion while for Delhi and Hyderabad it was basic amenities.
7. The 2020 Smart City Index (SCI) was topped by Singapore, followed by Helsinki and Zurich in the second and the third place respectively. Others in the top 10 list include Auckland (4th), Oslo (5th), Copenhagen (6th), Geneva (7th), Taipei City (8th), Amsterdam (9th), and New York at the 10th place.
8. In SCI’s context, ‘smart city’ describes an urban setting that applies technology to enhance the benefits and diminish the shortcomings of urbanization.

10.2 Daily dose of  FIVE Facts -

1. Murali Ramakrishnan has been appointed as the new MD & CEO of South Indian Bank.
2. The International Booker Prize was awarded for the Dutch language novel ‘The Discomfort of Evening’ in Aug 2020.
3. Iran displayed missiles named after its martyrs Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi in August.
4. Alex Azar became the first Cabinet Minister of United States to visit Taiwan since 1979.
5. World Emoji Day was celebrated on July 17.

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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