Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 22-09-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 22-09-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Polity and Governance – 8 Opposition MPs suspended from RS for ‘unruly behaviour’ – The Rajya Sabha suspended eight Opposition MPs for their “unruly” behaviour with Deputy Chairman Harivansh on Sunday during the debate and voting on two farm sector Bills. Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu also rejected the Opposition’s no-confidence motion against the Deputy Chairman, saying the notice was not in proper format. However, the suspended MPs refused to leave the House and the day’s proceedings saw repeated disruptions and adjournments. After four adjournments, Vice-Chairman Bhubaneswar Kalita adjourned the House. Mr. Naidu said the incidents were unfortunate and the image of Parliament had been “tarnished”, some members had entered the well of the House, thrown papers, broken microphones and abused Mr. Harivansh while the two Bills were being discussed. He added that the Deputy Chairman had been physically threatened.
2. India-China Standoff 2020 – India, China begin sixth round of talks – India cannot meet China half way in the disengagement process as India has to maintain troops for protection of territory, an official source said as the sixth round of Corps Commander-level talks aimed at ending the five month long standoff along the disputed boundary in Ladakh. The Indian side is led by Lt. Gen. Harinder Singh, 14 Corps Commander who was accompanied by Lt. Gen. P.G.K. Menon, set to take over as the 14 Corps Commander in October. The Chinese side is led by Maj. Gen. Lin Liu, South Xinjiang military commander. For the first time, Naveen Srivastava, Joint Secretary handling East Asia division in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), is part of the Indian delegation. Mr. Srivastava has been part of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) talks between India-China border affairs and holding talks with the Chinese side during the ongoing standoff.
3. COVID-19 Updates – Over 90,000 COVID-19 recoveries for third day – India has reported more than 90,000 COVID-19 recoveries for the third day in succession, with 93,356 patients having been discharged in the last 24 hours, the Union Health Ministry said, adding that 79% of the new recoveries are from 10 States/Union Territories. The total recovered cases are close to 44 lakh [43,96,399] and India tops the global figure of total recoveries. It accounts for more than 19% of the world total.
4. Environment and Ecology – Hundreds of whales stranded in Australia – At least twenty-five whales have died and scientists are trying to rescue 250 more that are stranded in a remote bay on the Australian island of Tasmania. Tasmania’s environment department said the whales had become stuck on a sandbar in Macquarie Harbour, on the island’s rugged and sparsely populated west coast. Nic Deka, who is managing the incident response, said two large pods were stranded on sandbars a few hundred metres apart inside the harbour. They are believed to be pilot whales but officials are yet to confirm the species. Mass whale strandings occur often in Tasmania, but the large numbers involved present a daunting rescue prospect.
5. Social – SC quashes NLSIU’s entrance test, orders CLAT on Sept 28 – The SC quashed the September 3 notification issued by the National Law School India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, for conducting a separate National Law Aptitude Test (NLAT) on September 12 for admission to its UG and PG courses. A bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, Subhash Reddy and MR Shah has held that NLSIU could not have issued the said notification without the recommendation of the academic council, as required under the provisions of National Law School India University Act 1986. The top court directed the conduct of Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) on September 28, by taking all precautions to address the health safety of candidates after following the standard operating procedures of the ministry of health and family welfare and ministry of human resource development.
6. World – Support for Taiwan independence doomed to fail: China – China ramped up its rhetoric over Taiwan, describing any support for its independence as “doomed to fail”, and threatened retaliation against U.S. diplomatic visits to the island. Taiwan has been ruled separately from China since the end of a civil war in 1949, but Beijing considers the island part of its territory awaiting reunification. The island is a flashpoint with Washington, which promises military support to the elected government and has sent two envoys to Taipei in as many months. At a press briefing on Monday, the Foreign Ministry said that the envoys’ visits were a “political provocation” and threatened retaliation.
7. Environment and Ecology – Bacteria behind deaths of 330 Botswana elephants – Toxins in water produced by cyanobacteria killed more than 300 elephants in Botswana this year, officials said. Cyanobacteria are microscopic organisms common in water and sometimes found in soil. Not all produce toxins but scientists say toxic ones are occurring more frequently as climate change drives up global temperatures. The number of dead elephants had risen to 330, from 281 reported in July. Botswana has highest Elephant population in world.
8. Covid-19 Updates – U.S. closes in on 2 lakh deaths weeks before election – The United States edged close to registering 200,000 COVID-19 deaths, the latest grim milestone for the country just weeks before voters decide if President Donald Trump will stay in office. According to a rolling tally by Johns Hopkins University, 199,743 Americans have died and 6.8 million have been confirmed infected. The US has had the world’s highest official death toll for months, ahead of Brazil and India, with 136,895 and 87,882 deaths respectively. Overall, the US accounts for four percent of the world’s population and 20 percent of its coronavirus deaths, while its daily fatality rate relative to the overall population is four times greater than that of the European Union. Critics say the statistics expose the Trump administration’s failure to meet its sternest test ahead of the November 3 election.
9. Economy – Centre Hikes MSP For Rabi Crops – A day after the passage of two farm bills amid opposition protests and allegations that farmer interests were being sacrificed, the Centre announced increase in minimum support price of six Rabi crops ranging from 2%to 6% with lentils (pulses) and mustard (oilseed) getting the highest raise. The announcement in Lok Sabha of new MSPs much ahead of the beginning of the Rabi sowing season is seen as an attempt by the government to allay doubts of farmers over the future of the support price regime in the wake of the two farm bills — one on agri market and the other on contract farming. Some farm organisations and many opposition parties have taken up the issue, with BJP’s longtime partner Akali Dal quitting the cabinet. Records of the past 12 years show that the government had not made an announcement on MSPs for Rabi crops in September.
10. Economy  – Black Monday on Dalal Street – The stock market tumbled over 2% mirroring global weakness as the rapid rise in Covid-19 cases in Europe revived fears of fresh curbs on people movement.  Mid- and smallcap shares — which outperformed in the past week — suffered bigger losses as the unexpected drop mid-way through the session triggered margin calls by brokers, forcing retail investors to cut exposure. News reports said France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK had witnessed a renewed surge in Covid-19 cases over the weekend, causing European markets to decline almost 3% and Dow futures to drop nearly 720 points. Last week, the WHO had termed the rising novel coronavirus cases in Europe a “very serious situation”.

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	NIRT	Project Technical Officer, Project Asst, DEO	61	Degree, PG	NOV-22-2020	http://www.nirt.res.in/pdf/2020/ADVT/18.09.2020/Advertismenet%20for%20recruitment%20under%20NTBPS.pdf
3	ECIL	Technical Officer	17	Degree (Engg)	SEP-30-2020	http://careers.ecil.co.in/app/Advt_28_2020.pdf
4	APSCSCL	Technical Asst Grade III & Charted Accountant	108	Degree, CA	23-09-2020	http://www.apscscl.in/
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	Delhi University	Assistant Professor	85	PG	--	http://ss.du.ac.in/assets/teachadd20.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 Weekly Round-up – Constitution and Law

1. Firoz Iqbal Khan vs UOI - “You cannot target one community and brand them in a particular manner”: SC restrains Sudarshan TV from Telecasting “UPSC Jihad” show. Justices DY Chandrachud, Indu Malhotra and K. M. Joseph.
2. Defence of fair comment ignored – Prashant Bhushan files review against contempt verdict.
3. Nandini Praveen vs UOI and Others – SC issues notice on plea challenging provisions of Special Marriages Act requiring publication of private details of parties intending marriage. CJI S. A. Bobde, Justices A. S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanium.
4. SBI vs Anil Ambani – SC rejects SBI plea seeking vacation of stay on insolvency proceedings against Anil Ambani. Justices L. Nageswara Rao, Hemant Gupta and S. Ravindra Bhat.
5. “Sardesai’s statement not serious as to undermind the majesty of Supreme Court”: AG declines consent to initiate contempt against Rajdeep Sardesai.
6. Abhilasha vs Parkash – Major unmarried daughter not suffering from any physical or mental abnormality not entitled to claim maintenance from father u/s 125 of CrPC – SC. Justices Ashok Bhushan, R. Subhash Reddy and M. R. Shah
7. Sagufa Ahmed vs Upper Assam Plywood Products Pvt. Ltd. – SC order extending limitation period does not enlarge the period upto which delay can be condoned in exercise of statutory discretion – SC. CJI S. A. Bobde, Justices A. S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian
8. Jeet Ram vs Narcotics Control Bureau, Chandigarh – Section 50 NDPS Act Applicable only in the case of personal search, reiterates SC. Justices Ashok Bhushan, R. Subhash Reddy and M. R. Shah.

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

2.1 Lok Sabha passes Bill to amend Companies Act, promote ease of doing biz

• Highlights – 
  

1. The Lok Sabha has passed the Companies Act (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which decriminalises a number of technical and filing-related corporate offences.
2. It also allows direct listing of Indian companies on foreign stock exchanges and revokes the criminal provisions added to the Companies Act for violations of provisions of corporate social responsibility rules.
3. The Bill is set to replace an Ordinance that has already brought these changes into effect. It also looks to promote ease of doing business.

1. FM’s views & other details –

1. Speaking on the Bill, Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said decriminalisation of various provisions under the companies law will also help small companies by reducing litigation burden on them.
2. Around 48 Sections of the Companies Act, 2013 will be amended to decriminalise various offences.
3. There are currently around 124 penal provisions compared to 134 in 2013 under the Companies Act.
4. Stressing that there will be no relaxation for serious offences, including fraud and those that cause “injury to public interest or deceit”, the minister said the number of “non-compoundable” offences under the Act remains the same at 35.
5. Generally, compoundable offences are those which can be settled by paying certain amount of money.
6. There will also be a new chapter on producer organisation, the minister said, adding that it will be particularly helpful for farmer producer organisations.
7. For promoting “ease of doing business,” the minister said that 17 provisions will be amended.

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

3.1 Not Available Today

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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 – Arts and Culture

• Paresh Rawal appointed Chairperson of the National School of Drama - Actor Paresh Rawal (65) was on September 10, 2020 appointed the chairperson of the National School of Drama (NSD), India’s premier theatre institute. The post had been vacant since 2017. The actor is known for his role in films such as ‘Hera Pheri’, ‘Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge’ and ‘OMG-Oh My God’.
• Culture Ministers’ meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation held - Culture Ministers’ meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was held on September 11, 2020 via video conferencing. Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said that it was the “shared Buddhist heritage” that brought the SCO countries together.
• UNICEF appoints Ayushmann Khurrana as celebrity advocate for children’s rights - UNICEF India on September 11, 2020 announced Ayushmann Khurrana as its celebrity advocate for children’s rights campaign - ‘For Every Child’. Khurrana will support UNICEF towards ending violence against children.
• Reggae singer Toots Hibbert dies at 77 - Reggae singer Toots Hibbert, known for songs such as “Pressure Drop,” “Monkey Man” and “Funky Kingston” died at the age of 77 in Kingston, Jamaica on September 12, 2020.  
• Game of Thrones, James Bond actor Diana Rigg dies aged 82 in London - British actress Diana Rigg, who came to fame in the cult 1960s TV show “The Avengers” and recently appeared in “Game of Thrones”, died on September 10, 2020 aged 82 in London. Rigg also appeared in the James Bond film “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
• Winners of UNESCO International Literacy Prizes announced - The winners of UNESCO International Literacy Prizes were announced by the Director-General of UNESCO on September 1, 2020. The UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize is sponsored by the government of South Korea while the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy is sponsored by the government of China.
• The 2020 UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize was awarded to - 'Ageing Nepal' in Nepal for its 'Basic Literacy Class for Older Persons' programme. 'United World Schools' in United Kingdom for its 'Providing Non-Burmese Speaking Out-of-School Children with Access to Education' programme
• The UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy was awarded to - 'Just Commit Foundation' in Ghana for its 'Inspirational Business Stories' programme. 'University Center for Social Participation' in Mexico for its 'Literacy programme: learning by teaching'. 'General Literacy Office in Sanaa' in Yemen for its 'Educating and integrating refugees in literacy classes in Yemeni society' programme
• Venice Film Festival awards conferred - The 77th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from September 2 to 12, 2020. The 77th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from September 2 to 12, 2020. The list of winners include the following:

1. -GOLDEN LION: Nomadland (English), directed by Chloé Zhao
2. - SILVER LION - GRAND JURY PRIZE: New Order (Spanish), directed by Michel Franco (Spanish)
3. -SILVER LION - AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTOR: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Wife of a Spy (Japanese)
4. -SPECIAL JURY PRIZE: Dear Comrades! (Russian), directed by Andrei Konchalovsky
5. -AWARD FOR BEST SCREENPLAY: Chaitanya Tamhane, The Disciple (Marathi)
6. -COPPA VOLPI for Best Actress: Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman (English)
7. -COPPA VOLPI for Best Actor: Pierfrancesco Favino, Padrenostro (Italian)
8. -MARCELLO MASTROIANNI AWARD for Best Young Actor or Actress: Rouhollah Zamani, Sun Children (Persian).

• Telugu actor Jayaprakash Reddy dies at in Guntur (AP) - Veteran Telugu stage and film actor Jayaprakash Reddy died at the age of 74 in Guntur (AP) on September 8, 2020.

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Rajya Sabha passes bill to punish those attacking healthcare workers

• Key points –

1. The Rajya Sabha has passed a legislation that provides for up to five years in jail for those attacking doctors and healthcare workers fighting the COVID-19 outbreak or during any situation akin to the current pandemic.
2. The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill, 2020, was introduced by Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan in the Upper House on Saturday (September 19) to replace an ordinance issued by the government in April.

• Highlights –

1. The Union Cabinet had promulgated The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, to amend the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, to protect healthcare service personnel and property, including their living/working premises against violence during epidemics.
2. The Bill intends to ensure that during any situation akin to the current pandemic, there is zero-tolerance to any form of violence against healthcare service personnel and damage to property.
3. The healthcare service personnel include public and clinical healthcare service providers such as doctors, nurses, paramedical workers and community health workers; any other persons empowered under the act to take measures to prevent the outbreak of the disease or spread thereof; and any persons declared as such by the state government, by notification in the official gazette.
4. The penal provisions can be invoked in instances of damage to property including a clinical establishment, any facility identified for quarantine and isolation of patients, mobile medical units and any other property in which the healthcare service personnel have a direct interest in relation to the epidemic.
5. Offences will be investigated by an officer of the rank of inspector within a period of 30 days, and trial has to be completed in one year, unless extended by the court for reasons to be recorded in writing, the Bill proposes.
6. As per the its provisions, the commission or abetment of such acts of violence will be punishable with an imprisonment for a term of three months to five years, and with a fine of ₹50,000 to ₹2,00,000.

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

8.1 Niti Aayog, ISPP join hands for capacity building

• Highlights –

1. Niti Aayog and the Indian School of Public Policy (ISPP) have joined hands for training, mentoring and capacity building of government officials as well as public policy scholars.
2. The Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO) of the Aayog has signed a statement of intent with the ISPP to build a collaboration for faster intermediation of knowledge and use within the public system.
3. While under communications and outreach, evidence building exercises, organising joint conferences and podcast series will be conducted wherein ISPP scholars will interact and interview the DMEO and Niti Aayog's experts on current policy issues, evaluations and perspectives.
4. Other areas such as live projects for ISPP scholars, internships, exchange of experts between DMEO and ISPP will also be explored.

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

9.1 Tamil Nadu becomes first state with AI, Blockchain, cybersecurity policies

 

• Highlights – 

1. Tamil Nadu became first state in the country to come out with policies on Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Cybersecurity policies, when Chief minister Edapaddi K Palaniswami unveiled them at Connect 2020.
2. The policies go by the names Tamil Nadu Cyber Security Policy, 2020, Tamil Nadu Blockchain Policy, 2020, and Tamil Nadu Safe and Ethical Artificial Intelligence Policy, 2020.
3. Tamil Nadu has been attracting investments over the years and 81 projects signed during the Global Investors Meet, 2019, have commenced commercial production, while another 191 are under various stages of implementation.
4. Subsequent to the GIM 2019, the state also attracted 63 projects, including those that have taken shape during the CM's visit to the US and UAE, with an investment of Rs 19,000 crore. These projects have the potential to generate 83,300 jobs.
5. Even during the Covid lockdown period, TN signed 42 MoUs, involving an investment of Rs 31,464 crore, and a potential to create 69,712 jobs.
6. In order to promote IT/ITeS industry in the State and to attract more investments, eight Special Economic Zones were established in Chennai and tier-II cities by Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited (ELCOT) and a start-up warehouses were set up in Chennai and Coimbatore.
7. Centres of Excellence in FinTech and in Emerging Technologies (CEET) were also established at Chennai.
8. To overhaul the delivery of government services to citizens, the Knowledge Proof Identity Based Services Delivery Project will be implemented by establishing and leveraging the State Family Data Base (SFDB) and Block-Chain Backbone infrastructure.
9. The ambitious BharatNet and TamilNet projects will be implemented to connect all 12,524 Village Panchayats of the State with minimum 1 Gbps high-speed connectivity, which will help to achieve the targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of United Nations.

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

10.1 India ranked 116 in the World Bank’s Human Capital Index

 

•  Highlights – 
  

1. In the latest ranking of the World Bank's annual Human Capital Index, India has been ranked 116 in the list of 174 countries. Last year, India was ranked 115 in the list of 157 countries.
2. This index evaluates the major components of Human Capital in countries.
3. According to the Human Capital Index report released by the World Bank, India's score has increased from 0.44 in 2018 to 0.49 in 2020.
4. Health and education data for 174 countries were included in the Human Capital Index 2020.
5. These figures are until March 2020, after which the outbreak of Coronavirus in the world had increased rapidly.

• Poor countries progressed –

1. The analysis shows that prior to the epidemic, most countries made steady progress in the creation of children's human capital, and especially in low-income countries.
2. However, despite this progress, in an average country, relative to education and health standards, a child can expect to achieve only 56 percent of its potential human development potential.

10.2 Daily dose of  FIVE Facts -

• The Assam government re-launched the Swami Vivekananda Assam Youth Empowerment (SVAYEM) scheme recently.
• India’s ‘longest’ passenger ropeway across Brahmaputra was unveiled on which river in Aug 2020.
• Loktantrik Janata Dal member M. V. Shreyams Kumar was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Kerala in Aug 2020.
• Seven Indian companies are in Fortune Global 500 list launched in August 2020.
• Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan in Aug 2020 launched Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan programme for popularizing science among school students.

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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