Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 29-09-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 29-09-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. COVID-19 Updates – COVID vaccine likely in early 2021: Vardhan – Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the first vaccine for COVID-19 is likely to be available in the first quarter of 2021. The Minister was speaking at the launch of a dedicated online vaccine portal by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) that details research studies, COVID-19 vaccine development in India as well as abroad and a history of vaccine development in India. The three leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates in India — Covishield, Covaxin and ZyCov-D — are mentioned in the portal with information on the underlying technology used to make them, the trials that have so far been completed and current progress on the trials.
2. Polity and Governance – Will fight new farm Acts legally, says Punjab CM – Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said the Congress would fight the Centre’s new agriculture sector Acts constitutionally and legally. Talking to journalists here and earlier at Khatkar Kalan, where he participated in the party’s sit-in against the new legislation, Capt. Singh said he would consult lawyers to work out the legal course of action for challenging the “unconstitutional” laws in the Supreme Court. “Agitation and legal recourse will have to be undertaken simultaneously to force the Union government to rethink its decision.”.
3. Health – Ideal weight up 5kg now: 65 for men, 55 for women – The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) has added another 5kg to the ideal weight of Indians. While the weight of an ideal or reference Indian man was 60kg in 2010, it has now increased to 65kg. In case of women, it has gone up to 55kg from 50kg a decade ago. Along with this, the earlier height for a reference Indian man was 5 feet 6 inches and a woman was 5 feet. It is now revised to 5 feet 8 inches for a man and 5 feet 3 inches for a woman. NIN scientists said this was because nutritional food intake had gone up. Also, data from rural and urban areas was taken into account this time as against only urban data 10 years ago. A premier nutrition research body of the ICMR, NIN has also revised its recommended dietary allowance and estimated average requirement of nutrition for Indians in its 2020 report. The definition for reference Indian adult man and woman with regard to age was changed to 19-39 years instead of 20-39 years, which was fixed in 2010.
4. Health – Covid deaths top 1m, but 15 diseases kill more every year – Even as recorded Covid deaths across the globe crossed a million, medical professionals called for balance in the treatment of Covid and non-Covid cases, pointing out that every year cardiovascular diseases kill about 18 million, cancers over 9.6 million and chronic respiratory diseases almost four million. According to the medical journal Lancet’s report, Global Burden of Diseases, there are at least 15 diseases that kill over a million people every year. While the 2009 swine flu pandemic is estimated to have killed about half a million in one year, the 1918 Spanish flu is estimated to have killed about 50 million people but Covid has stretched the capacity of health systems as no other pandemic in recent history as an unprecedented number of patients required hospitalised care.
5. Constitution and Law – SC seeks to reopen land acquisition case – Six months after a five-judge bench settled issues relating to land acquisition, the SC sought to reopen the matter relating to time period for payment of compensation to land owners, saying the bench had not settled this. A bench of Chief Justice S. A. Bobde and Justices A. S. Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian said the larger bench had held that land acquisition would lapse if the government had neither taken possession of the land nor paid compensation. But the three-judge bench had an issue with the ruling that if the government had taken possession of the acquired land, but not paid compensation, then the land acquisition would not lapse.
6. Defence – Offset policy to reinvest 30% in India abolished in defence deals – India’s new defence acquisition procedure (DAP) abolishes offsets in government-to-government and single vendor deals, enables leasing military equipment, emphasises on realistic technical parameters for weapon systems and simplifies cumbersome trial procedures. The new DAP, which comes into force from October 1, seeks to empower the domestic defence industry through the ‘Make in India’ initiative with the eventual aim of turning India into a global manufacturing hub. The 15-year-old offsets policy, under which at least 30% of the total contract value had to be ploughed back into India as re-investments, “loaded extra costs” into contracts while failing to bring critical military technology into the country. Foreign companies are known to increase the contract price by around 8-10% to cater for their offsets commitments.
7. USA – Trump’s tax returns show chronic losses – President Donald Trump paid $750 in federal income taxes the year he won the presidency. In his first year in the White House, he paid another $750. He had paid no income taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years — largely because he reported losing much more money than he made. As the President wages a re-election campaign that polls say he is in danger of losing, his finances are under stress, beset by losses and hundreds of millions of dollars in debt coming due that he has personally guaranteed. Also hanging over him is a decade-long audit battle with the Internal Revenue Service over the legitimacy of a $72.9 million tax refund that he claimed, and received, after declaring huge losses. An adverse ruling could cost him more than $100 million.
8. World – Armenia-Azerbaijan clashes enter second day, toll rises – Fierce fighting raged between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces, sparking bellicose rhetoric from regional power Turkey despite international pleas for a halt in fighting between the longtime enemies. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a territorial dispute over the ethnic Armenian region of Nagorny Karabakh for decades, with deadly fighting flaring up earlier this year and in 2016. The region declared its independence from Azerbaijan after a war in the early 1990s that claimed 30,000 lives but is not recognised by any country — including Armenia — and is still considered part of Azerbaijan by the international community.
9. India and its neighbourhood – Shehbaz Sharif arrested ahead of protest launch – Pakistani anti-corruption officials arrested the country’s opposition leader on Monday, days after he vowed to help lead efforts to dislodge Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government. Shehbaz Sharif — who heads the Opposition in the country’s National Assembly — was arrested in Lahore after the eastern city’s high court rejected a bail plea in a money-laundering case. Mr. Sharif is the brother of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted over corruption allegations in 2017 and is currently residing in Britain after being released from prison earlier this year for medical treatment.
10. Economy – RBI postpones policy meeting – The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has postponed the announcement of its monetary policy scheduled for Oct 1. The tenures of the three external members of the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will end on September 30, a day before the policy is announced. The MPC, which must have a quorum of four, cannot meet unless the Centre appoints new independent members. This is the first time that the bimonthly policy announcement has been deferred since the establishment of the MPC in 2016 through the RBI Act. The three external members appointed by the government — Chetan Ghate, a professor at Indian Statistical Institute; Pami Dua, director at Delhi School of Economics; and Ravindra Dholakia, professor at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad — are not eligible for reappointment. The rest of the members of the MPC come from the RBI.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	NIRT	Project Technical Officer, Project Tech.	11	Degree, PG	03-10-2020	https://www.nin.res.in/employment/NIN_NATBPS.pdf
2	NIEPVD	TGT, Orientation and Mobility Instructor, PRT	6	Diploma, Any Degree	20-10-2020	http://nivh.gov.in/images/niepvd_Sep2020_adv.pdf
3	HPCL Biofuels Ltd.	GM, DGM, Manager/ Dy. Manager, Ele. Eng.	51	ITI, Diploma, Any Degree	10-10-2020	http://www.hpclbiofuels.co.in/downloads/Website-AD-Recruitment-2020.pdf
4	PGIMER – RML Hospital	Asst Professor, Sr Resident, Staff Nurse	10	MBBS, MD/ DNB, B.Sc	05 to 08-10-2020	https://rmlh.nic.in/WriteReadData/LINKS/vacancyb00aef73-a410-45f8-843e-b9b97af11fe4.pdf
5	HIL (India) Ltd.	Deputy Gen Manager, Assist. Mgr, Officer	5	Degree, PG	05-10-2020	http://www.hil.gov.in/Career/Advertisement%20of%20Various%20post%201409.pdf
6	Hindustan Shipyard Ltd	Graduate & Technician (Diploma) Apprentice	40	Diploma, Degree	01-10-2020	http://portal.mhrdnats.gov.in/sites/default/files/file_upload/Notification_Hindustan_Shipyard_Limited_Vizag.pdf
7	East Coast Railway	Radiographer, Nursing Superintendent	9	HSC, 10+2, GNM, Diploma	30-09 to 16-10-2020	https://eastcoastrail.indianrailways.gov.in/uploads/files/1601109951310-Para%20Medical%20Walkin.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 Roundup

• Firoz Iqbal Khan vs UOI – Sudarshan TV “UPSC Jihad” show – SC deferes hearing as the central government issues notice to channel on complaint against the programe. Justices DY Chandrachud, Indu Malhotra and K. M. Joseph
• Rakesh K. Agarwalla and Anr vs NLSIU, Bengaluru and Others – SC quashes NLSIU’s decision to hold NLAT; directs it to admit students based on CLAT. Justices Ashok Bhushan, R. Subhash Reddy and M. R. Shah
• Ajit Mohan vs UOI – Delhi riots: SC issues notice on facebook vice president’s plea against Delhi Assembly panel summons. Justices S. K. Kaul, Aniruddha Bose and Krishna Murari
• Iltija vs UOI – Iltija Mufti moves SC for quashing of confirmation and extension orders or detention passed against form J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti.
• Sudha Bhardwaj vs NIA – Sudha Bhardwaj withdraws plea for interim bail on medical grounds. Justices U. U. Lalit and Ajay Rastogi.
• Anika Samvedi and Ors vs UOI and Anr – Results for compartment students of class XII will be declared on or before October 10: CBSE tells SC. Justices A. M. Khanwilkar and Sanjiv Khanna.
• Beli Ram vs Rajinder Kumar – [Motor Accident Compensation] Insurer not liable unless vehicle owner proves that he took reasonable care to see that his driver renewed Driving License with time: SC. Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Aniruddha Bose and Krishna Murari.
• UOI vs M/s G. S. Chatha Rice Mills – Time of publication of E-Gazette is significant for determining the enforceability of notificaiton: SC. Justices D. Y. Chandrachud, K. M. Joseph and Indu Malhotra.

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

2.1 Not Available Today

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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 Armenia-Azerbaijan war: Dynamics in the Indian subcontinent

 

• Key point –

1. Worst clashes have broken out between Christian Majority Armenia and Muslim majority Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a dispute dating back 2 decades - a remnant of Soviet legacy.

• Important details –

1. The international community recognises Nagorno-Karabakh as an integral part of Azerbaijan. Ethnic Armenians form the majority of population in this region.
2. Global community have called for ceasefire and have urged Moscow which backs Armenia and Turkey that back Azerbaijan to deescalate the situation in order to avoid a major crisis.
3. The clashes between the two former Soviet republics, which fought a war in the 1990s, were the latest flare-up of a long-running conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region that is inside Azerbaijan but is run by ethnic Armenians.
4. As always, South Asia has its own views about. India has good ties with both Armenia and Azerbaijan. The North-South international transport corridor goes from Mumbai to Chabahar via Azerbaijan to Moscow, something crucial for India's connectivity plans.
5. Infact, in 2018, the then Indian External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had visited Fire Temple in Baku in Azerbaijan. The temple was once used by Hindu and Zoroastrian communities, probably by visiting merchants from India as a place of worship. But when it comes to Armenia, it backs India on some key several fronts.
6. Moving on to Pakistan, and it is the only country in the world that does not recognize Armenia. Islamabad's close ties with Azerbaijan and Turkey have a substantial role in this decision.
7. On expected lines, Pakistan was the first and only South Asian country to comment on the clashes so far, and in line with Turkish reaction backing Azerbaijan.
8. Islamabad doesn't recognize the Armenian Genocide during World War 1. During the world war one, Ottomans or present-day Turkey killed 1.5 million ethnic Armenians. Turkey continues to deny the genocide till this date but a number of countries including the US, Russia recognize it.

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• 5. GOVERNMENT SCHEMES (Prelims, GS Paper 2, GS Paper 3)

5.1 It’s National Medical Commission now

• Highlights –
  

1. The National Medical Commission (NMC) has replaced the Medical Council of India (BoG-MCI).
2. Dr. Suresh Chandra Sharma, former head of ENT, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, has been appointed as its chairman for three years.
3. The change was aimed at bringing in reforms in medical education. The government dissolved the MCI in 2018, replaced it with a BoG, which was chaired by Dr. VK Paul, member (health), NITI Aayog.
4. The NMC will have four separate autonomous boards: under-graduate medical education, post-graduate medical education, medical assessment and rating and ethics and medical registration.

• Gazette notification issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoH&FW) –

1. Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956) is hereby repealed with effect from September 25.
2. The BoG appointed under section 3A of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956) in supersession of the MCI constituted under sub-section (1) of section 3 of the said Act shall stand dissolved.

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• 6. MISCELLANEOUS (Prelims, Various GS Papers)

6.1 Weekly Round-up – Arts and Culture

 

• Renowned arts scholar Kapila Vatsyayan dies in Delhi at 91 - Kapila Vatsyayan, renowned scholar of art history, architecture and Indian classical dance, died in New Delhi on September 16, 2020 at the age of 91. Vatsyayan was chairperson of the Asia Project at the India International Centre (IIC). She was also the founding director of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. She was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 2006 but had to vacate her seat following the office of profit controversy. In April 2007, she was re-nominated. Vatsyayan received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 1970. In 2011, she was awarded the Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India.
• US: Famed jewel thief, Jack ‘Murf the Surf’ Murphy dies at 83 - Jack ‘Murf the Surf’ Murphy, who was behind one of the biggest jewel heists in U.S. history, died in Florida at the age of 83. Murphy is best known for a daring heist in 1964 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, where he stole the famed Star of India sapphire along with other precious gems.
• Obama announces ‘A Promised Land’ as title of his forthcoming memoirs - Former U.S. President Barack Obama on September 17, 2020 announced the publication of the first half of his memoirs, ‘A Promised Land’, by Penguin Random House on November 17. Obama, America’s first Black president, served two terms in the White House from January 2009 through January 2017, when he was succeeded by Donald Trump.
• Education Minister confers Utkrisht Sansthan Vishwakarma Awards - Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ virtually conferred Second Utkrisht Sansthan Vishwakarma Award in 14 categories to the Institutions under AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education) on Vishwakarma Divas Celebration on September 17, 2020.  
• First AICTE - Visvesvaraya Best Teachers Awards presented - The first ever AICTE Visvesvaraya Best Teacher Awards 2020 were presented by Union Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ to 12 faculty members of AICTE approved institutes on the occasion of Engineers Day. The event also saw the launch of SPICES (Scheme for Promoting Interests, Creativity and Ethics among Students) to promote co-curricular activity amongst the students for their all-round development.
• Mira Nair wins Jeff Skoll Award at Toronto International Film Festival - Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair received the Jeff Skoll Award for Impact Media at the 45th Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 2020.  Nair was one of six recipients of the TIFF Tribute Awards alongside actor Sir Anthony Hopkins, actress Kate Winslet, filmmaker Chloe Zhao, Canadian director Tracey Deer and musician Terence Blanchard.
• Fashion designer Sharbari Dutta (63) dies in Kolkata - Fashion designer Sharbari Dutta, known for designing ethnic men’s wear, died at the age of 63 in Kolkata on September 18, 2020.
• Veteran Rabindra Sangeet exponent Purba Dam dies at 85 - Veteran Rabindra Sangeet exponent Purba Dam died in Kolkata at the age of 85 on September 19, 2020.

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Swiss voters refuse to rein in immigration from EU

• Key points –
  

1. The Swiss have rejected a bid to dramatically reduce immigration from the European Union, but have embraced offering paid paternity leave for the first time, projections from several votes in the country Sunday showed.
2. While not an EU member, Switzerland is bound to the bloc through an array of intricately connected bilateral agreements. Ending free movement from the EU was likely to topple other bilateral pacts on land and air transport, procurement, technical barriers to trade, and research.

• Highlights –

1. Shortly after polls closed, projections from gfs.bern polling institute indicated that 63% of Swiss voters had balked at the initiative to tear up an agreement permitting the free movement of people between Switzerland and the surrounding EU.
2. The initiative, backed by the populist right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) — Switzerland’s largest party — had been opposed by the government, Parliament, unions, employer organisations and all other political parties out of fear it would jeopardise overall relations with the bloc.
3. Public support for the initiative had also been seen slipping in recent opinion polls, but the suspense remained high since SVP has eked out surprise victories in the past in its war against tightening relations with the EU.
4. Most people vote in advance in the popular polls and referendum held in Switzerland every few months as part of the country’s famous direct democratic system, usually making it possible to quickly surmise which way the vote is headed.
5. SVP’s initiative called for Switzerland to revise its Constitution to ensure it can autonomously handle immigration policy.

• 2014 vote –

1. The proposal goes even further than a similar measure, also backed by the SVP, that narrowly passed in February 2014, demanding that Bern impose quotas on the number of work permits issued to EU citizens.
2. That vote threw Swiss-EU relations into disarray, with Brussels warning that any curbs on immigration by EU citizens would put a whole range of bilateral agreements at risk.
3. Bern struggled for years to find a way to respect the vote without permanently alienating EU neighbours.
4. After lengthy talks, an agreement reached in late 2016 stopped far short of an initial quotas plan, which Brussels had fiercely rejected.
5. Instead, Bern opted merely to require Swiss employers to jump through a few bureaucratic hoops before hiring from the bloc, and to prioritise Swiss job seekers, at least ostensibly.
6. The SVP condemned that compromise as a “betrayal” and launched its new initiative.

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

8.1 World Tourism Day 2020

• Key points – 
  

1. Every year, September 27 is celebrated as World Tourism Day. Tourism is one of the world’s most important economic sectors.
2. Several important contributions of the tourism sector encouraged the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to institute World Tourism Day. The day was first observed in 1980.
3. This year, however, tourism has gone virtual owing to the outbreak of the COVID-19. The industry is among those worst-affected due to the coronavirus pandemic.

• The theme of World Tourism Day 2020 –

1. The theme of the 2020 edition of World Tourism Day is 'Tourism and Rural Development'.
2. The theme encourages the celebration of the unique role played by tourism in job creation outside of the big cities. It also in a huge way helps in the conservation of cultural and natural heritage of nations.
3. World Tourism Day amid the pandemic this year has a crucial role to play. Amid job loses, tourism can to drive economic recovery and generate work in the rural sector.

• World Tourism Day 2020: Facts –

1. Tourism employs one in every ten people on Earth.
2. Due to COVID-19, 100-120 million direct tourism jobs are at risk.
3. Young people in rural areas are three times more likely to be unemployed.
4. Latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer shows that the near-complete lockdown led to a 98 per cent fall in international tourist numbers in May when compared to 2019.
5. 56% year-on-year drop in tourist arrivals between January and May.
6. Fall of 300 million tourists and US$320 billion lost in international tourism receipts - more than three times the loss during the Global Economic Crisis of 2009.

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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 Not Available Today

10.2 Daily dose of  FIVE Facts -

• PM Modi held online ‘Svanidhi Samvaad’ with street vendors from Madhya Pradesh in Sept 2020.
• Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu released ‘The State of Young Child in India’ report prepared by Mobile Creches.
• Padma Shri (1975), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987), Padma Bhushan (1990), Padma Vibhushan (2000) and Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (2010) award winner Pandit Jasraj passed away in Aug 2020 at the age of 90.
• Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix 2020 in Barcelona.
• Microsoft launched the Family Safety app, designed to help protect a family’s digital and physical safety.

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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