Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 28-09-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 28-09-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. COVID-19 Updates – India still far from herd immunity, says Vardhan – Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan cautioned that the Indian Council of Medical Research’s first COVID-19 sero-survey should not create a sense of complacency among the people with regard to the virus. Speaking in his social media interaction, Samvaad-3, Dr. Vardhan said indications from the upcoming second sero-survey “are that India is far from having achieved any kind of herd immunity”. He said people should continue to follow COVID-19 appropriate behaviour. The first sero-survey from May had revealed a nationwide prevalence of novel coronavirus infection of only 0.73%. In a reversal, the Minister said the Health Ministry has advised against the wide usage of investigational therapies such as Remdesivir and plasma therapies.
2. Environment and Ecology – Invisible killer threatens country’s sandalwood forests – India’s sandalwood trees, the country’s pride — particularly of Karnataka — are facing a serious threat with the return of the destructive Sandalwood Spike Disease (SSD). The infection has resurfaced in the aromatic tree’s natural habitats in Karnataka and Kerala. According to a study by scientists R. Sundararaj and R. Raja Rishi of the Bengaluru-based Institute of Wood Science & Technology (IWST), the natural population of sandalwood in Marayoor of Kerala and various reserve forests in Karnataka, including MM Hills, are heavily infected with SSD for which there is no cure as of now. Presently, there is no option but to cut down and remove the infected tree to prevent the spread of the disease, caused by phytoplasma — bacterial parasites of plant tissues — which are transmitted by insect vectors. With between 1 and 5% of sandalwood trees lost every year due to the disease, scientists warn that it could wipe out the entire natural population if measures are not taken to prevent its spread. Also, they fear that any delay in arresting the trend may result in the disease spreading to cultivated sandalwood trees.
3. Defence – India, Japan navies match skills in northern Arabian Sea – The fourth edition of the biennial India and Japan naval exercise is under way in the borth Arabian Sea, the Navy said. This is the first exercise following the conclusion of the mutual logistics support agreement early this month. The maritime cooperation has significantly increased between the two sides with focus on information sharing and Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and Indo-Pacific. Stating that naval cooperation has increased in scope and complexity over the years, the Navy said advanced level of operations and exercises planned during JIMEX-20 are indicative of “the continued upswing in Indo-Japanese defence relations and continued efforts by both governments to work closely for a more secure, open and inclusive global commons, in accordance with international regulations.”
4. US Presidential Elections – Senate push to confirm Trump’s SC pick – U.S. Senate Republicans prepared a concerted push toward quickly confirming President Trump’s third SC nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, despite strenuous objections by Democrats who appear powerless to stop them. In a White House Rose Garden ceremony  Mr. Trump announced Judge Barrett, 48, as his selection to replace liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on September 18. Judge Barrett said she would be a justice in the mold of the late staunch conservative Antonin Scalia. Her confirmation would result in a 6-3 conservative majority on the court. Mr. Trump urged Republicans, who hold a 53-47 Senate majority, to confirm Judge Barrett, a federal appeals court judge and a favourite of religious conservatives, by the November 3 election. He has said he expects the justices to have to resolve the election in which he faces Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
5. World – Clashes erupt between Armenia, Azerbaijan – Clashes erupted between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the volatile Nagorno-Karabakh region, reigniting concern about instability in the South Caucasus, a corridor for pipelines transporting oil and gas to world markets. Both sides, which fought a war in the 1990s, reported fatalities. Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region that is inside Azerbaijan but is run by ethnic Armenians, declared martial law and mobilised their male populations. Armenia said Azerbaijan had carried out an air and artillery attack on Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan said it had responded to Armenian shelling and that it had seized control of up to seven villages, but Nagorno-Karabakh denied this. Sixteen fighters were killed in Nagorny Karabakh.
6. India and its neighbours – Mahinda statement on Modi meet silent on 13-A – Hours after India and SL issued a joint statement referring to PM Modi’s call to the Sri Lankan government to address the Tamil minority’s aspirations, with the implementation of the 13th Amendment, PM Rajapaksa’s office released a statement, making no mention of Mr. Modi’s call, or the constitutional provision on power devolution. Mr. Rajapaksa’s statement, following the leaders’ virtual meet, focused on Sri Lanka’s response to the coronavirus pandemic that has drawn international praise.
7. World – PM pitches for larger role in UN – Articulating an inclusive vision for the world and India’s role in manifesting it, PM Modi asked the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) how long India would be kept out of the top UN decision making bodies. He assured the world of the adequate supply of vaccines and highlighted India’s contribution to the UN peacekeeping missions and its non-exclusive foreign policy, making the case for India playing a leading role in the world body. Mr. Modi, who spoke in Hindi and delivered the first speech at the UNGA debate, said the problems and solutions of the world in 1945 were quite different from today.
8. Polity and Governance – Akalis quit NDA, say Centre ignored farmers’ sentiments – The BJP’s oldest alliance partner, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), on Saturday announced that it was ending its ties with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as farmers’ protests continued across Punjab over the new farm sector Bills. SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal announced the decision which, he said, was ‘unanimously’ taken at the party’s core committee meeting here. “The Central government completely ignored the sentiments of farmers and pushed the agriculture sector Bills with force. The SAD becomes the third major NDA ally to pull out of the grouping after the Shiv Sena and the TDP.
9. World – Lebanon PM-designate quits over Cabinet picks – Lebanon’s PM-designate Mustapha Adib quit after trying for almost a month to line up a non-partisan Cabinet, dealing a blow to a French bid aimed at rallying sectarian leaders to tackle the worst crisis since the nation’s 1975-1990 civil war. Mr. Adib, former Ambassador to Berlin, was picked on August 31 to form a Cabinet after President Emmanuel Macron’s intervention secured a consensus among various political factions. Mr. Adib, a Sunni Muslim under the sectarian power-sharing system, announced he was stepping down but said Lebanon must not abandon the French plan or squander Mr. Macron’s goodwill.
10. Economy  – CAG moots probe over cess accounting dodge – The CAG of India has mooted an investigation against the Central government’s accounting officials for incorrectly recording ₹10,250 crore of cess receipts from additional excise duties on petrol and diesel, as non-tax receipts for the exchequer in 2018-19. This was done through a journal entry made after the end of the financial year, which the CAG said was done ‘primarily for the purpose of artificially inflating revenue receipts of the year’. The national auditor also dismissed the finance ministry’s explanation and rebuttals on the matter as ‘untenable.’ Cess collections from petrol and diesel are to be routed to the Central Road Fund (CRF), created by the Parliament as a dedicated non-lapsable Reserve Fund to be used only for designated purposes. The CRF was replaced with a Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) through amendments introduced in the Union Budget for 2018-19.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	Manipur State Coop Bank	Driver, Multi – Tasking Staff	19	Matric, Valid Driving Lic	OCT-30-2020	http://mscbmanipur.in/?p=854
2	NARI	Sr Investigator, Research Asst, DEO, Manager	6	Deg, PG (SST/ Anthro)	OCT-3-2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/09/Notification-NARI-Sr-Investigator-Research-Asst-DEO-Manager-Community-Liaison-Officer-Posts.pdf
3	NIIST	Scientist, Senior Scientist	10	M.E./M. Tech, Ph.D	NOV-4-2020	https://www.niist.res.in/recruitment/advt_022020.pdf
4	CMPDI	Asst Driller (Trainee), Jr Scientific Assistant Gr II	-	B.Sc, Diploma/ Degree	OCT-25-2020	http://www.cmpdi.co.in/Rectt/advtdownload/1601011288LOCAL_REF_898_1599560791109.pdf
5	IOCL, Faridabad	Chief Research Manager, Sr Res. Mgr.	6	Degree, PG, Ph. D	OCT-23-2020	https://iocl.com/PeopleCareers/PDF/Advt_97_Press_Release.pdf
6	Central Electronics Ltd	Sr Manager/ Manager, Asst Technical Manager	8	BE/ B.Tech, Any Degree, CA/ ICWA	NOV-6-2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/09/Notification-CEL-Manager-Sr-Manager-Other-Posts.pdf
7	CSIR Madras Complex	Sr Project Associate, Project Asst	6	Diploma (ECE), B.E	OCT-2-2020	https://www.csircmc.res.in/sites/default/files/attachments/csio_in152020.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 India’s retrospective imposition of a tax liability, violation of the arbitration rules of UNCITRAL - PCA

1. The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruled that India’s retrospective imposition of a tax liability, as well as interest and penalties on Vodafone Group for a 2007 deal was violation of the Bilateral Investment Treaty with Netherlands and the arbitration rules of UN Commission on International Trade Law UNCITRAL.
2. In a  unanimous decision the International Arbitration Tribunal at Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that the government’s demand is in breach of fair and equitable treatment and the government must cease seeking the dues from Vodafone.
3. Apart from India, many countries including the USA, the UK, the Netherlands, Canada, Belgium, Australia and Italy have retrospectively taxed companies.

• Case History -

1. On 6th November, 1995, India and the Netherlands had signed a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) for promotion and protection of investment by companies of each country in the other’s jurisdiction.
2. The two countries would ensure that companies present in each other’s jurisdictions would at all times be accorded fair and equitable treatment and shall enjoy full protection and security in the territory of the other.
3. The BIT between India and the Netherlands expired on 22nd September, 2016.
4. In May 2007, The Indian government for the first time raised a demand of capital gains and withholding tax (under the Income Tax Act of 1961) from Vodafone when later bought a 67% stake in a company called Hutchison Whampoa, arguing that Vodafone should have deducted the tax at source before making a payment to Hutchison.
5. In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Vodafone Group but the Finance Act was amended (2012) giving the Income Tax Department the power to retrospectively tax such deals.
6. Vodafone then initiated arbitration in 2014 invoking the Bilateral Investment Treaty signed between India and the Netherlands in 1995.
7. Vodafone invoked BIT as its Dutch unit, Vodafone International Holdings BV, had bought the Indian business operations of Hutchison Telecommunication International Ltd. This made it a transaction between a Dutch firm and an Indian firm. 

• The road ahead -

1. India needs to improve arbitration ecosystem to prevent the disputes from going to international courts, save the cost and time expenditure and to have a positive impact on ease of doing business.

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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 Centre sanctions 670 electric buses, 241 charging stations under Phase II of FAME scheme

 

•  Key points –
  

1. The Union government has sanctioned 670 electric buses in the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat and Chandigarh, and 241 charging stations in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat and Port Blair under Phase-II of the 'FAME India' scheme.

• Highlights –

1. The Department of Heavy Industries (DHI) under the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises is administering the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) scheme since April 2015 to promote the adoption of electric/hybrid vehicles (xEVs) in India.
2. In the first phase of the scheme up to March 31, 2019, about 2,80,987 hybrid and electric vehicles were supported by way of demand incentive, amounting to about Rs 359 crore.
3. Further, DHI sanctioned 425 electric and hybrid buses to various cities in the country with a total cost of about Rs 280 crores.
4. The Department of Heavy Industry had also sanctioned 520 charging stations for Rs 43 crore (approx.) in cities like Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Delhi under Phase-I of the FAME India scheme.
5. At present, Phase-II of the FAME India scheme is being implemented for a period of three years from April 1, 2019, with total budgetary support of Rs 10,000 crore.
6. This phase focuses on supporting the electrification of public and shared transportation and aims to support through subsidies, approximately 7000 e-Buses, five lakh e-3 wheelers, 55,000 e-4 wheeler passenger cars and 10 lakh e-2 wheelers.
7. In addition, the creation of charging infrastructure is also supported to address the anxiety among users of electric vehicles.

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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 JIMEX 20 Maritime Exercise

• Highlights – 
  

1. Indian and Japanese navies to begin their three-day-long maritime military exercise beginning from Saturday (September 26).
2. The naval exercise will take place in the North Arabian Sea. This is the fourth edition of  Japan Maritime bilateral exercise (JIMEX). The naval exercise will continue till September 28 and it is is being conducted in a `non-contact at-sea-only format`, in view of COVID-19 restrictions.

• Important details –

1. The exercise is taking place in the backdrop of growing concerns over China's military activity in the Indian Ocean Region as well as in the Indo-Pacific.
2. The officials said the fourth edition of the India-Japan maritime exercise JIMEX will feature a multitude of advanced exercises across the spectrum of maritime operations, in reflection of high degree of inter-operability and joint operational skills.
3. JIMEX-20 will see some advanced level of operations and exercises which is indicative of the continued upswing in Indo-Japanese defence relations and continued efforts by both Governments to work closely for a more secure, open and inclusive global commons, in accordance with international regulations.
4. Notably, this will be the first military exercise after the two countries signed a landmark agreement on September 9 that will allow their militaries to access each other's bases for logistics support.
5. The JIMEX series of exercises commenced in January 2012 with a special focus on maritime security cooperation. The last edition of JIMEX was conducted in October 2018 off Visakhapatnam coast.
6. JIMEX will showcase a high degree of inter-operability and joint operational skills through the conduct of a multitude of advanced exercises, across the spectrum of maritime operations.
7. Multi-faceted tactical exercises involving weapon firings, cross deck helicopter operations and complex surface, anti-submarine and air warfare drills will consolidate coordination developed by the two navies.

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

8.1 Scrub Typhus outbreak

• Highlights –

1. An outbreak of scrub typhus, a bacterial disease, has claimed the lives of five people in Nagaland’s Noklak district bordering Myanmar.
2. More than 600 others tested positive for the disease but recovered after treatment.
3. Scrub typhus, also known as bush typhus, spreads to people through bites of larval mites. The symptoms include fever, headache and bodyache.
4. Noklak has had to grapple with the disease in the past too, although there had been no scientific study on the whys. Doctors and other healthcare workers in the district have been trying to create an awareness on a large scale to contain the spread of the disease.

• Other fatalities –

1. Scrub typhus has been the latest in a string of viral and bacterial fatalities in the Northeast.
2. Apart from the novel coronavirus, which has killed 911 people in the region, vector-borne diseases such as malaria and Japanese encephalitis have accounted for 53 lives in Assam so far.
3. Animals have also fallen victim to “exotic” diseases. While more than 17,000 pigs have died in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya due to the African swine fever, milk yield has suffered after the viral lumpy skin disease in cattle in Assam.
4. Pest attacks have hit farmers too. Five types of beetles have damaged standing crops on large swathes across the Siang River belt in Arunachal Pradesh. Fall armyworms, inchworms and a strange species of grasshoppers affected paddy and maize crops in other parts of the Northeast.

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

9.1 Data Sonification: NASA

• Key point – 

1. While telescopes offer glimpses of outer space by translating digital data into stunning images, NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Center (CXC) has gone a step further by unveiling a new ‘sonification’ project that transforms data from astronomical images into audio.
2. Users can now ‘listen’ to images of the Galactic Centre, the remains of a supernova called Cassiopeia A, as well as the Pillars of Creation Nebula, which are all located in a region around 26,000 light years away from Earth.

• What is data sonification –

1. Data sonification refers to the use of sound values to represent real data. Simply put, it is the auditory version of data visualisation. With this data sonification project, users can now experience different phenomena captured in astronomical images as an aural experience.
2. The birth of a star, a cloud of dust or even a black hole can now be ‘heard’ as a high or low pitched sound.

• How did NASA translate astronomical images into sound –

1. NASA’s distant telescopes in space collect inherently digital data, in the form of ones and zeroes, before converting them into images. The images are essentially visual representations of light and radiation of different wavelengths in space, that can’t be seen by the human eye.
2. The Chandra project has created a celestial concert of sorts by translating the same data into sound. Pitch and volume are used to denote the brightness and position of a celestial object or phenomenon.
3. So far, the astronomers behind Project Chandra have released three examples made using data collected from some of the most distinct features in the sky — the Galactic Centre, Cassiopeia A, and Pillars of Creation Nebula.

• The Galactic Centre –  

1. The first example is that of the Galactic Centre, which is the rotational centre of the Milky Way galaxy.
2. It comprises a collection of celestial objects — neutron and white dwarf stars, clouds of dust and gas, and most notably, a supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A*, that weighs four million times the mass of the sun.
3. Based on data gathered by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, and the Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes, an image is rendered using X-ray, visible and infrared light before being translated into sound.

• Cassiopeia A –

1. Located around 11,000 light years away from Earth in the northern Cassiopeia constellation, Cassiopeia A is one of the most well-known remnants of a once-massive star that was destroyed by a supernova explosion around 325 years ago, according to NASA.

• The Pillars of Creation –

1. The iconic Pillars of Creation is located in the centre of the Eagle Nebula, which is also known as Messier 16. The Hubble Star Telescope was used for images of the celestial structure, which comprises wispy towers of cosmic dust and gas. Here too, different colours are used to represent elements — blue for oxygen, red for sulphur and green for both nitrogen and hydrogen.

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

10.1 S&P predicts India’s GDP to contract 9% in FY21

• S&P’s outlook –

1. India's GDP will experience a record contraction in FY21 due to the Covid crisis with some 'enduring' damage while a weakening fiscal position will constrain the government’s ability to support the economy.
2. The rating agency affirmed India’s long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit rating at BBB- with a stable outlook and maintained its short-term rating at A-3, pointing to the country’s improved external account.
3. S&P expects the economy to contract 9% in FY21 though there will be a sharp pickup to 10% growth in FY22 due to the base effect.
4. In the absence of fiscal room, the government’s ability to bring more economic reforms, especially those that boost investment and jobs, will be critical to recovery prospects.
5. The government had announced a Rs 20 lakh crore revival package in May to address the fallout of the pandemic, but fiscal support was seen at less than Rs 2 lakh crore.
6. Although additional stimulus may help to avert a steeper downturn this year, it would also further strain the government’s weak finances.
7. The near-term fiscal impulse to the economy is limited, and some damage to the real economy from India’s deep economic downturn this year could be enduring.

• Long-term outperformer –

1. S&P said direct government expenditure under India’s stimulus programme is limited to about 1.2% of GDP so far, against roughly 3% of GDP on average in other emerging markets.
2. The Indian economy will remain a long-term outperformer versus peers with a similar level of income, S&P said, pointing to its strength in demographics and low labour costs.
3. The government’s overwhelming majority in Parliament may help accelerate economic reforms.

• Rating Outlook –

1. The stable outlook reflects our view that India’s contraction in fiscal 2021 will be followed by a significant recovery, which will stabilise the country’s broader credit profile.
2. The outlook was underpinned by India’s above-average, long term real GDP growth, sound external profile, and policy stability.

10.2 Daily dose of  FIVE Facts -

• The International Day for South-South Cooperation was observed by the UN on Sept 12.
• Jens Stoltenberg is the Secretary General of NATO.
• Tribal Affairs ministry launched quarterly e-newsletter on health and nutrition titled ‘ALEKH’ in August.
• Novelist Shirley Ann Grau died at the age of 91 in New Orleans (US) in Aug 2020.
• Magnus Carlsen won the Chessable Masters online tournament 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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