Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 21-10-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 21-10-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Polity and Governance – Government increases poll spend ceiling by ten per cent – The Law Ministry has increased the ceiling on poll expenditure for Assembly and Lok Sabha elections by 10%. The move follows a recommendation by the Election Commission in view of curbs imposed during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This will help candidates contesting the Bihar Assembly polls and bypolls to 59 Assembly seats across 11 States and one LS seat. The ceiling on poll expenditure varies across States, with candidates in Assembly elections in bigger States like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu now allowed to spend up to ₹30.8 lakhs as against ₹28 lakhs earlier. For a candidate contesting a Lok Sabha poll in these States, the revised ceiling on poll expenditure is now ₹77 lakh instead of the earlier amount of ₹70 lakh.
2. Economy – FDI blooms in COVID-19 gloom – Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into India in the first five months of 2020-21 have hit a record high, despite a sharp 60% contraction in the first quarter, with July and August raking in over $20 billion of equity FDI. Total FDI inflows surged from $11.51 billion between April and June to $35.73 billion by the end of August. Equity FDI more than quadrupled from $6.5 billion between April and June to $27.1 billion by August — 16% higher than that of the first five months of 2019-20. To put that in context, India received about $50 billion in equity FDI in 2019-20. The increased FDI is a result of FDI policy reforms, investment facilitation and ease of doing business. Total FDI flows include fresh equity investments as well as re-invested earnings of foreign investors and other forms of investment capital, such as debt.
3. Polity and Governance – Punjab formally rejects farm laws – Punjab became the first State to formally reject the Centre’s three recent agriculture sector laws, with its Assembly unanimously passing three Bills to negate the Union legislation. The Assembly passed a resolution rejecting the Central legislation and the proposed Electricity Amendment Bill and demanding their immediate annulment. It also sought an ordinance to protect the minimum support price (MSP) regime and ensure the continuance of procurement by the Centre. The three State Bills provide for imprisonment of not less than three years and fines for sale-purchase of wheat or paddy under a farming agreement below the MSP, besides prevention of hoarding and black-marketing of agricultural produce, among other things. The provision of punishment for sale-purchase below the MSP has been incorporated in The Farmers’ (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services (Special Provisions and Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2020.
4. Social – Don’t let negligence ruin festive happiness, says PM – Citing a second wave of infections in other countries, PM Modi exhorted people not to rush to the conclusion that the battle against the virus had been won and lower guard until they have been vaccinated. The address, his seventh on Covid -19 since imposition of the lockdown in March, appeared to have been prompted by widespread concern over growing complacency because of the steady slide in the number of infections and fatalities and the fear that this might lead people to abandon caution altogether in the festival season. Modi talked about efforts to develop a vaccine on a “war footing”, and said the government was working on a plan to ensure that the vaccine was speedily delivered to each citizen but emphasised that masks, hand hygiene and physical distancing were the only defence against the virus until the vaccine became available.
5. Covid-19 Updates – At 310/m, India’s cases among fewest globally – Even as many countries are witnessing a second wave of Covid-19 with the number of infected cases rising rapidly, India recorded 310 cases a day per million people in the last seven days, which is among the lowest globally. The global average was 315 cases per million in the last week, whereas Brazil and Russia reported 665 and 706 respectively. Along with India, Brazil and Russia are among the high caseload nations. Among countries that are witnessing second surges, France recorded 2,457 cases, the US had 1,153 and Spain registered 936 cases per million population in the last seven days. Similarly, India recorded 83 deaths per million in the same period, which is also among the lowest globally.
6. Society – 33% rise in deaths due to cell use while driving – According to data released by the road transport ministry, nearly 30% of the total 1.51 lakh deaths in road crashes in 2019 were due to non-wearing of helmets and another 16% of fatalities were on account of not wearing seatbelts. The fatalities in road crashes caused due to use of mobile phones while driving increased by nearly 33% last year as compared to 2018. The report on road accidents shows that out of the 56,136 two-wheeler riders who were killed last year, 44,666 of were found riding without helmets. Two-third of such victims without helmets were drivers. UP topped the list of states in this category registering 7,069 deaths, followed by Maharashtra (5,328) and MP (3,813).
7. Science and Technology – US Justice department files landmark antitrust case against Google –  It could just be an opening salvo. Other major tech companies including Apple, Amazon and Facebook are under investigation at both the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission. Lawmakers and consumer advocates have long accused Google of abusing its dominance in online search and advertising. The case filed in federal court in Washington, DC, alleges that Google uses billions of dollars collected from advertisers to pay phone manufacturers to ensure Google is the default search engine on browsers.
8. India and its neighborhood – Sharif’s daughter booked for holding anti-govt. rally – Former PM Sharif’s daughter and Opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s VP, Maryam Nawaz, was booked along with more than 2,000 party members for holding an anti-government rally in Lahore. The rally by the 11-member Opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement was held here on October 16 before the Gujranwala public meeting. Ms. Maryam had openly called Prime Minister Imran Khan a “coward, selected and puppet” in the rally, saying he hid behind the Army to cover up his nalaaiki (bad governance). She dared the “selected” Prime Minister to arrest her as she is not afraid of going to jail.
9. World – Thailand shuts down news site linked to ex-PM – A Thai news outlet connected to exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra was ordered to close over its coverage of anti-government protests that have rocked the capital for nearly a week. Voice TV, a website partly owned by Mr. Thaksin’s family, was one of four media organisations under investigation. Thousands of protesters have massed daily in the capital since last week, flouting an emergency edict prohibiting gatherings of more than four people. The largely leaderless youth movement is calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha — a former army chief and mastermind of a 2014 coup — as well as a re-writing of the military-drafted Constitution they say rigged last year’s election in his favour. They are also calling for the reform of the kingdom’s powerful and ultra-wealthy monarchy.
10. Economy  – Government pushes strategic PSU sales, four companies may net ₹49k cr – The department of investment and public asset management (Dipam) is ready to push ahead with the strategic sale of several public sector companies with bids and expressions of interest (EoIs) for oil marketing company BPCL, Shipping Corporation, Concor and BEML planned next month. These four companies can help the government realise close to Rs 49,000 crore, based on current market value of their shares.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	CIMFR	Scientist	18	M. E./M. Tech, Ph. D	NOV-24-2020	https://cimfr.nic.in/upload_files/current_opportunity/1603106041_CIMFR-05-2020.pdf
2	THDC India Limited	ITI Trade Apprentice	10	10th Class & ITI	NOV-28-2020	https://thdc.co.in/sites/default/files/ITI2020_VPHEP.pdf
3	CCRH	Senior Research Fellow	19	Degree, PG (Homoeopathy)	27-10-2020 – Walk in	https://www.ccrhindia.nic.in/WriteReadData/LINKS/Senior%20Research%20Fellow4664a01d-a0fe-4b98-b4f0-cfc428d43e60.pdf
4	Cantonment Board, Deolali	Staff Nurse	6	Diploma (GNM), B.Sc (Nursing)	DEC-10-2020	https://www.canttboardrecruit.org/uploads/Deolali/ADeolali26.pdf
5	SHKM Govt Medical College	Junior Resident	15	MBBS	Every Wednes Day – Walk in	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/10/Notification-SHKM-Government-Medical-College-Junior-Resident-Posts.pdf
6	HP Bose	HP TET Nov 2020	20	10+2, D.El.Ed, BA, B.Sc, B.Com, B.Ed, B.El.Ed, MA	NOV-5-2020	http://www.freejobalert.com/hp-tet/215143/#HPTET-Nov-2020
7	CIMFR	Scientist	18	M. E./M. Tech, Ph. D	NOV 24,2020	https://cimfr.nic.in/upload_files/current_opportunity/1603106041_CIMFR-05-2020.pdf

 

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• SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

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

1.1 Not Available Today

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

2.1 Weekly Round-up – Economy

 

• Foreign exchange reserves at $545.638 billion in the week ended Oct 2 - India’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $3.618 billion to reach a life-time high of $545.638 billion in the week ended October 2. Foreign currency assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves, increased by $ 3.104 billion to $ 503.046 billion. Gold reserves were up by $ 486 million to $ 36.486 billion. The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rose by $ 4 million to $ 1.476 billion. The country’s reserve position with the IMF was up by $ 23 million to $ 4.631 billion.
• Govt grants pricing, marketing leeway to gas producers - The government on October 7, 2020 came out with a new model of granting marketing and pricing freedom for natural gas producers in India, with the Union Cabinet clearing a standardised e-bidding process for price discovery from new production areas and high-pressure and high-temperature areas.
• Govt launches website to support entities involved in R&D in coal sector - The government October 9, 2020 announced the launch of a website for entities involved in research and development (R&D) in the coal sector. The website has been designed and developed by Coal India subsidiary Central Mine Planning and Design Institute.
• Govt removes export curbs on N-95 masks - The government on October 6, 2020 removed export curbs on N-95 masks, to promote outbound shipments of the product..
• IFFCO, Prasar Bharati sign MoU to broadcast new agriculture technology - Prasar Bharati and Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited, IFFCO have signed a MoU to broadcast and promote new agriculture technology and innovations. DD Kisan will broadcast various innovative techniques being adopted in agriculture field in easy language through 30 minutes program series for farmers.
• Labour Bureau to conduct three surveys to gauge employment situation - The Labour Bureau would conduct three surveys on migration, domestic workers and professional bodies for evaluating the employment situation in the country especially during the coronavirus pandemic. An expert group has been constituted by the government for a period of three years for providing technical guidance to Labour Bureau with respect to surveys on migration, professional bodies, domestic workers and other surveys. It is chaired by Prof S.P. Mukherjee of University of Kolkata.

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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 Greece’s plan to extend  wall on Turkey border

 

 

Key points – 

• Greece's government has finalised plans to extend a wall along its northeast border with Turkey, over concerns that migrants may try to stage mass crossings into the European Union country.
• 26 kilometers (16 miles) of wall would be added to an existing 10-kilometer (six-mile) section in a 63-million-euro (USD 74 million) project due to be completed by the end of April.
• A standoff took place at the border earlier in 2020 after Turkey said it would no longer prevent migrants trying to reach the EU, and tens of thousands tried to cross into Greece.
• The two countries have been at odds over energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean in a dispute that has triggered a dangerous military buildup in the region and fears of conflict.
• Four Greek construction companies have been chosen to build the new wall and upgrade the existing section of fencing, running along or close to the Evros River, which forms much of the border between the two countries.
• The number of migrants and refugees traveling from Turkey to Greece fell sharply in 2020 during the pandemic and after the border standoff prompted tougher border policing.
• Turkey has accused Greece of illegally pushing back migrants reaching its islands in the eastern Aegean Sea, a charge that Athens denies.
• Turkey is believed to host the largest number of refugees worldwide, at nearly 4 million people, mostly from Syria.

4.2 Israeli Embassy to have Water Attache in India

 

  

Key points –

• Israel Embassy plans to have a separate ‘Water Attache’ from January 2021 to help share their country’s best practices and technologies for advancements in India’s water management and agriculture sectors.
• Israel will also nominate an honorary Consul in the North-East with the aim to increase its presence and collaboration in that region.
• Till now, Israel has been less present in the Northeast and now it is going to increase that presence as it feels it can bring a lot of added value to that region in various development sectors.

Important details – 

• In January 2021, Israel, for the first time, is going to nominate a ‘Water Attache’ who will join the ‘Agriculture Attache’ who has been here for many years and together they will go to the centres of excellence for agriculture established as part of Indo-Israel collaboration and bring to India technology and systems in water management and agriculture.
• As many as 29 such centres of excellence have already been established across India and nearly 1.5 lakh farmers have been trained at these centres in just one year. 

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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 – Corporate World

• Google defers 30% Play Store app fee for developers in India - Facing intense criticism over its Play Store billion policy, Google on October 5, 2020 said it has extended the time for developers in India who use alternative payment system, to integrate with the Play Store billing system till March 31, 2022, thus deferring the enforcement of 30% commission on in-app purchases of digital goods from its Play Store in the country.
• Navy cancels Reliance Naval and Engineering Ltd’s contract - The Indian Navy has cancelled Reliance Naval and Engineering Ltd’s (RNEL) Rs 2,500-crore naval offshore patrol vessels (NPOVs) contract, owing to delay in delivery. The contract to build five warships was signed with the Gujarat-based Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engineering Ltd. in 2011. Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group bought Pipavav from its owner Nihil Gandhi in 2015 and renamed it RNEL.
• Google renames G Suite as ‘Workspace’ - Alphabet Inc’s Google on October 6, 2020 announced Google Workspace as the new name for its package of business tools including email and document editing, replacing the G Suite brand introduced in 2016.
• London Stock Exchange to sell Borsa Italian to Euronext - London Stock Exchange Group Plc agreed to sell Borsa Italiana to Euronext NV and two Italian lenders for more than 4.33 billion euros ($5.1 billion), in a deal that will create the largest listing venue in Europe. LSE is selling Borsa Italiana to get approval from the European Union for its $27 billion Refinitiv deal.
• Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to buy 1.2% stake in Reliance Retail - Reliance Industries (RIL) on October 6, 2020 said that the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) would invest Rs 5,512.50 crore into subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) for 1.2-per cent stake.
• Indian cotton gets ‘Kasturi’ branding, logo - Union Minister for Textiles Smriti Zubin Irani unveiled a brand and a logo for Indian cotton recently. The branding — Kasturi Cotton — would initially be applicable to long staple cotton that is grown in India and meets prescribed standards. Also, Cotton Corp of India (CCI) launched mobile application called “Cott-Ally” to provide latest news on weather conditions, the crop situation and best farm practices.
• 42 CNG stations, 3 City Gate Stations of Torrent Gas opened in 6 states - Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on October 6, 2020 launched 42 CNG stations and 3 City Gate Stations of Torrent Gas. The CNG stations are located in UP (14), Maharashtra (8), Gujarat (6), Punjab (4), Telangana (5) and Rajasthan (5). The City Gate Stations are one each in UP, Maharashtra and Punjab.
• US: Indian-origin academician named as Dean of Harvard Business School - Indian-origin academician Srikant Datar has been named as Dean of Harvard Business School, succeeding Nitin Nohria and becoming the second consecutive dean hailing from India to lead the prestigious 112-year-old institution.
• Nilesh Shah re-elected AMFI Chairman - Nilesh Shah, managing director (MD) of Kotak Mutual Fund, was on October 6, 2020 re-elected as chairman of the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Not Available Today

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

8.1 Highest number of domestic tourist in UP in 2019

 

Highlights –

• Uttar Pradesh attracted the highest number of domestic tourists in the country in 2019 with a share of 23.1 per cent travellers visiting the state.
• As per the data, 53,58,55,162 domestic tourists visited UP in 2019.
• The state bagged the third spot in terms of the arrival of foreign tourists.
• As many as 47,45,181 foreign tourists visited UP in 2019.
• Several areas like Ramayana Circuit, Brij Circuit, Mahabharata Circuit, Shaktipeeth Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Jain Circuit, Buddhist Circuit in the state have been considered for up-gradation on the chief minister's instructions.

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

9.1 Nokia to set up 4G network on Moon

 

 

Highlights – 

• NASA has awarded Nokia of the US $14.1 million to deploy a 4G cellular network on the moon.
• The grant is part of $370 million worth of contracts signed under NASA's "Tipping Point" selections, meant to advance research and development for space exploration.
• It is believed that the system could support lunar surface communications at greater distances, increased speeds and provide more reliability than current standards.
• Nokia intends for the network to support wireless operation of lunar rovers and navigation, as well as streaming video.
• Nokia's plan is to build a 4G/LTE network, and eventually transition to 5G. It will be the first LTE/4G communications system in space.
• NASA's goal is to have a lunar base on the moon by 2028.

Note –

• This is not Nokia's first attempt to launch an LTE network on the moon. It had been planned to do this in 2018 in collaboration with PTScientists, a German space company, and Vodafone UK to launch an LTE network at the site of the Apollo 17 landing, but the mission never got off the ground.

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

10.1 METLDEX – India’s first Base Metals Futures Index

 

Key points – 

• After bullion index, leading commodity bourse MCX has recently launched futures trading in real-time Base Metals Index 'METLDEX'.
• On August 24, the exchange had launched the MCX Bullion Index (MCX BULLDEX) futures and since then it has clocked an average daily turnover of Rs 251.2 crore as on October 15.

Important details –

• The Base Metals Index will track real-time performance of a basket of MCX Base Metal (near month) futures that includes zinc, copper, nickel, lead, and aluminium.
• Currently, it carries around 33.06 per cent weight for zinc, 29.81 per cent for copper, 14.77 per cent for nickel, 12.88 per cent for lead and 9.48 per cent for aluminium.
• According to MCX, three contracts expiring in November, December and January are available for trade.
• The contract has a lot size equal to 50 times of underlying MCX iCOMDEX Base Metals Index.
• The tick size (minimum price movement) for the contract is Re 1.
• The contracts would finally be settled in cash at the end of expiry. The final settlement price will be based on the Volume Weighted Average Price (VWAP) of the underlying constituents between 4-5 pm on the expiry day of the index futures contract.

Experts’ views –

• Index trading will facilitate instant portfolio diversification and encourage passive, thematic elements in portfolios.
• The Index will soon emerge as a new real time barometer for Indian metal industry.

10.2 Daily dose of  FIVE Facts -

• RBI has decided to move to the Next Generation Treasury Application (NGTA) for managing the country’s foreign exchange and gold reserves.
• The meeting of the foreign ministers of the Quadrilateral coalition (Quad) was held in Tokyo in Oct. 2020.
• Prize money for each Nobel Prize has been increased by $110,000.
• Isher Judge Ahluwalia passed away on Sept 2020. She was a well-known Economist.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed KV Kamath committee in Sept 2020 picked 26 sectors which will need loan restructuring.

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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