Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 03-11-2020

Daily Current Affairs,DCA-CS,November 2020,

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. India Politics – SC stays EC order revoking ‘star campaigner’ status of Nath – The Supreme Court stayed the Oct 30 order of the Election Commission (EC) revoking the ‘star campaigner’ status of former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath. Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde, heading a three-judge Bench, said the Commission had no power to determine who should be the ‘star campaigner’ of a political party. On October 30, the EC found Mr. Nath guilty of violating the model code of conduct in place for the byelections. The EC revoked his name on the basis of a complaint from the BJP that Mr. Nath derogatorily referred to its candidate, Imarti Devi, as an “item” during a campaign rally at Dabra in Gwalior district.
2. Constitution and Law – A-G declines consent for contempt case against Jagan – Attorney-General K. K. Venugopal declined consent to initiate contempt proceedings against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy and his Principal Adviser Ajeya Kallam. Mr. Venugopal, however, said the “timing itself” of the Chief Minister’s letter to the Chief Justice of India, containing allegations against Supreme Court judge N.V. Ramana and the subsequent public release of the document could “certainly said to be suspect”. The Attorney-General was responding to a petition filed by SC advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay for his prior consent under the Contempt of Court Act to initiate proceedings against Mr. Reddy and Mr. Kallam. Mr. Venugopal said Mr. Reddy’s letter on October 6 and its release by Mr. Kallam at a press conference held on October 10 was “suspect” because they came “in the background of the order passed by Justice Ramana dated Sept 16, directing pending prosecutions of elected representatives to be taken up and disposed of expeditiously”.
3. Covid-19 Updates – As cases soar, ventilator beds go scarce in Delhi – Delhi, which currently has the second highest number of new COVID-19 cases in the country and the third highest number of virus-related deaths is now seeing an increased pressure on its healthcare infrastructure. Several private hospitals have indicated that they have near 100% occupancy of ICU beds with ventilators and only a few government hospitals are showing availability of beds with ventilator support for COVID-19 patients. The Delhi government’s mobile app — Delhi Corona — providing COVID-related information shows that of the 1,244 ICU beds with ventilators, 845 are occupied currently (Nov. 2 evening).
4. India Society – 32 protesters held for Ballabgarh violence – Thirty-two people were arrested by the Faridabad police in connection with the violence during a Sarv Biradari Sangathan gathering at Ballabgarh to seek justice for Nikita Tomar, who was shot dead by a stalker and his friend last week. The arrested persons were produced before a court and sent to jail. A case has been registered under various Sections of the IPC at the Ballabgarh police station. The 32 persons belonged to Delhi, Faridabad, Nuh and Palwal. Three of those arrested had tested positive for COVID-19, they advised all those present in the panchayat to get tested for the coronavirus. The police added that the organisers of the panchayat would be quarantined.
5. Economics – Message from economic data is steadily positive: Nirmala – A positive message is being conveyed by the spate of economic data pointing to a rebound, FM said but asserted that sustaining the numbers in the months ahead will lend certainty to the recovery. While she acknowledged that inflation is always a concern, she said the smallest of supply disruptions accentuates the problem. “Only systemic reforms, better storage, better preservation of perishable goods can help, on which we are working.” On her priorities for the next Budget, the FM said focus on infrastructure and reforms will be among the key issues. She also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with top global investors on Thursday will serve as a major catalytic point.
6. India and World – First generation migrant first desi to become NZ minister – Priyanca Radhakrishnan, a first-generation immigrant, became New Zealand’s first-ever Indian-origin minister after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern inducted five new ministers into her executive, two weeks after a landslide victory in the country’s general election. Radhakrishnan was born in Chennai, but her family is from Paravur in Kerala. She went to school in Singapore before moving to New Zealand to further her education. The new minister for diversity, inclusion and ethnic communities comes from an illustrious family in Kerala. Her Left-leaning great-grandfather, C R Krishna Pillai — a doctor—played a major role in shaping the literary and cultural sensibilities of the state.
7. India and its neighbourhood – Gilgit-Baltistan to be a full province: Pak. PM –  Prime Minister Imran Khan has angered India after declaring that part of the contested Kashmir region will provisionally become a full province of Pakistan. Pakistan has administered the area now known as Gilgit-Baltistan since shortly after the country’s birth in 1947, but New Delhi asserts the mountainous territory bordering China and Afghanistan is an integral part of Kashmir. The move comes after New Delhi last year revoked the special status of Kashmir, upending a decades-long status quo and drawing strong condemnation from Islamabad.
8. India Society – France killings: Poet booked for remarks – UP police have registered an FIR against Urdu poet Munawwar Rana for his remarks on the recent beheadings in France over Prophet Mohammad’s caricatures. The FIR is based on a complaint lodged with Hazratganj police on Sunday by SI Deepak Kumar Pandey, who alleged that Rana’s remarks were tantamount to promoting communal enmity, hurting religious sentiments and disturbing peace. Last week, Rana had said that caricaturing Prophet Mohammad and killing people over it were both wrong. But he admitted that he “would also have done the same” as insulting a religious figure was unacceptable. The poet said he was ready to face the consequences of speaking his mind.
9. India and its neighbourhood – Hindu homes attacked in Bangladesh over rumours about alleged Facebook post slandering Islam– The houses of several Hindu families have been vandalised and burned by some radical Islamists in Bangladesh's Comilla district over rumours about an alleged Facebook post slandering Islam. The households were vandalised and later set on fire after a Bangladeshi man, who lives in France, allegedly praised President Emmanuel Macron for taking steps against “inhumane ideologies” after a teacher in Paris was decapitated for showing caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.
10. Economy – Mfg activity rises at fastest pace in thirteen years: Survey – Manufacturing sector conditions in India continued to improve in Oct with companies raising output to the greatest extent in thirteen years amid robust sales growth. Rising from 56.8 in September to 58.9 in October, the IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) pointed to the strongest improvement in the health of the sector in over a decade. Growth was led by the intermediate goods category, but there were also robust expansions in the consumer and investment goods sub-sectors. The 50-point mark separates expansion from contraction and the sector has staged a smart recovery after contracting for four successive months since April.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	ESIC Model Hosp., Ludhiana	Senior Resident, FT/ PT Specialists	40	P.G. Degree/ Diploma	NOV-9-2020	https://www.esic.nic.in/attachments/recruitmentfile/74fc6aa4e9b99004ac831078010ca87f.pdf
2	Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission	Associate, Research Scientist	12	Deg. (Bio. Engg/ Clinical Engg) or M.Pharm	NOV-4-2020	http://www.ipc.gov.in/https://ipc.gov.in/news-highlights/799-vacancy-circular-for-various-posts-at-ipc-purely-on-contractual-basis-through-manpower-resource-outsourcing-services-providing-agency-28-10-20.html
3	Army Public Sc,, Prayagraj	TGT, PRT, Special Educator & Other	7	10+2, B.Ed, B.Tech/ B.Sc	NOV-15-2020	https://www.apsoldcanttald.in/Uploads/NewsPosts/NEWS00038.pdf
4	South East Central Railway	Trade Apprentice	413	10th Class & ITI	DEC-1-2020	http://www.freejobalert.com/south-east-central-railway/16395/
5	Office of the Dy Commissioner, Hojai	Junior Assistant	6	Any Degree	NOV-16-2020	https://hojai.assam.gov.in/sites/default/files/swf_utility_folder/departments/hojai_epr_amtron_in_oid_2/menu/document/readvertisement_for_the_post_of_junior_assistant_under_the_amalgamated_establishment_of_the_office_of_the_deputy_commissioner.pdf
6	Office of the Dy Comm., Dhubri	Jr Assistant	17	Any Degree	NOV-20-2020	https://niyukti.assam.gov.in/dhubri/files/advertise.pdf
7	SCERT, Assam	Lower Division Assistant, Laboratory Asst, Library Asst	34	Deg., B.Ed, Typing, Shorthand	NOV-22-2020	http://103.8.249.155/SCERT/resources/pdf/web_adv.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

• Satyama Dubey and Others vs UOI and Others - Hathras case: Supreme Court asks Allahabad High Court to monitor CBI probe. CJI S. A. Bobde, Justices A. S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian
• Trivendra Singh Rawat vs Umesh K. Sharma and Others – Supreme Court stays Uttarakhand High Court order directing CBI investigation against CM Trivendra Singh Rawat. Justices Ashok Bhushan, R. Subhash Reddy and M. R. Shah.
• IBBI vs Lalit Kumar Jain and Others – Supreme Court orders transfer to itself all pleas challenging provisions of insolvency and bankruptcy code on personal gurantors. Justices L. Nageswara Rao, Hemant Gupta and Ajay Rastogi.
• State vs Devangana Kalita – ‘She is not going to run away’: Supreme Court dismisses Delhi police challenge against bail granted to Devangana Kalita. Justices Ashok Bhushan, R. Subhash Reddy  and M. R. Shah.
• M. C. Mehta vs UOI/Aditya Dubey vs UOI – “Expert say you beautiful cars also contribute to air pollution” CJI S. A. Bobde says, while hearing stubble burning issue. CJI S. A. Bobde , Justices A. S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian.
• Pendaya Hemlatha vs UOI – Bhima Koregaon Case: Supreme Court asks Bombay High Court to consider Varvara Rao’s bail application at the earliest. Justices U. U. Lalit, Vineet Saran and S. Ravindra Bhat.
• DECISIONS - Smriti Madan Kansagra vs Perry Kansagra – Preferences and inclinations of child are important in determining issue of parental custody: Supreme Court. Justices U. U. Lalit, Indu Malhotra and Hemand Gupta.
• DECISIONS - Tofan Singh vs State of Tamil Nadu – Officers authorised to investigate NDPS cases are ‘Police Officers’ and confessional statements made to them are not admissible: Supreme Court [2:1]. Justices Rohinton Fali Nariman and Navin Sinha. Justice Indira Banerjee dissents.
• DECISIONS – Roshni Biswas vs State of West Bengal – Power U/s 41A CrPC cannot be used to intimidate, threaten or harass: SC stays police summons to Delhi resident for FB post against West Bengal govt. Justices D. Y. Chandrachud and Indira Banerjee.

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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 Stay-at-home order in England

 

 

Highlights – 

• The UK has crossed the grim milestone of 1 million Covid-19 cases as it prepares for a second complete lockdown in an attempt to curb the rapid spread of infections.
• UK PM Boris Johnson has declared the latest stay-at-home rules for England, to take effect from November 5, 2020 and last until at least December 2.
• People will allowed to leave home only for specific reasons, including for education; for work if someone cannot work from home; for exercise and recreation outdoors within your household or on your own with one person from another household; for medical reasons, appointments and to escape injury or harm; to shop for food and essentials; and to provide care for vulnerable people, or as a volunteer.
• Non-essential shops, leisure and entertainment venues will all be closed and pubs, bars, restaurants must close except for takeaway and delivery.
• Offices will stay open where people can't work from home.
• Officials have signaled the measures might have to be extended if they fail to contain the spread of Covid.

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

5.1 AYUSH Ministry and Invest India to set up Strategic Policy & Facilitation Bureau

 

Highlights –

• The Ministry of AYUSH and M/s Invest India will form a collaboration to set up a Strategic Policy & Facilitation Bureau to facilitate planned and systematic growth of the Ayush sector.
• This is among the several steps which the Ministry has initiated to chart future directions along which the stake-holding groups of the Ayush Sector can move.
• Setting up of the Bureau is a forward-looking step which is expected to make the Ayush systems future-ready.
• The Bureau will support the Ministry in strategic and policy making initiatives that shall help pave the way to reach the full potential of the Sector and stimulate growth and investment.
• As a partner in the project, M/S Invest India is to collaborate extensively with the Ministry to frame the work plan of the Bureau and define its short-and long-term targets.
• Invest India is to deploy highly trained and expert resources to implement and execute the plans of the Ministry of AYUSH.

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• 6. MISCELLANEOUS (Prelims, Various GS Papers)

6.1 Weekly Round-up – Arts and Culture

• Prahlad Singh Patel launches “Life in Miniature” project - Hundreds of miniature paintings from the National Museum’s collections can now be seen through the Google Arts & Culture app after Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel launched the “Life in Miniature” project on October 22, 2020. The app allows users to magnify the paintings to see the details.
• B. Venkataraman, an authority on Chola history & architecture, dies - Former IAS officer B. Venkataraman, who was an authority on Chola history and architecture, died in New Delhi on October 20, 2020 at the age of 95. Some of the books that he had authored include ‘Laddigam: A Later Chola Temples’, ‘Temple Art under the Chola queens’ and ‘Rajarajeswaram-the pinnacle of Chola art’ on the Thanjavur Brihadeeshwara temple. He also co-authored a book ‘Later Chola Temples’ with his father S.R. Balasubrahmanyam.
• Mahesh Kanodia, former BJP Lok Sabha MP, dies - Famous Gujarati film musician, singer and former Parliamentarian Mahesh Kanodia died in Gandhinagar on October 25, 2020 at the age of 83. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Patan constituency as BJP candidate thrice between 1991 and 1999..

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Pakistan vows to grant provisional status to Gilgit-Baltistan

 

 

Key point – 

• Pakistan has said that its government will grant provisional status to a portion of the disputed territory of Kashmir, drawing condemnation from India and sparking a fresh war of words between the two countries.

Important details –

• The strategically important Gilgit-Baltistan region bordering Afghanistan and China is home to an estimated population of two million people.
• Pakistan and India have fought two of their three wars since gaining independence in 1947 over the mountainous territory of Kashmir, which both claim in full but administer separate portions of.
• It is believed that the proposal is unlikely to face opposition within Pakistan, where opposition political parties met secretly with the country’s army and intelligence chiefs in September to discuss the issue, lending their backing to the upgrade of Gilgit-Baltistan’s status.
• But, in India, Imran Khan’s pronouncement was met with a sharp rebuke from the foreign ministry, which said it “firmly rejects” the move.

$60bn CPEC project –

• Gilgit-Baltistan is an important part of the $60bn China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), with the project’s major overland crossing at Kashgar, in the territory’s north.
• Launched in 2014, CPEC is a set of trade and infrastructure projects that would connect China to the Arabian Sea through road and other transport infrastructure Pakistan, and also includes many power-generation and industrial revival projects.
• Gilgit-Baltistan is situated in the far north of Pakistan, at the intersection between the Himalaya, Karakorum and Hindu Kush mountain ranges.
• It is home to some of the highest mountain peaks in the world, including K2, the world’s second-highest mountain.
• At present, the territory is nominally governed by the legislative assembly, for which elections are due on November 15, but that body has few legal powers and the region remains largely governed directly by the federal government in Islamabad.
• The upgrade to provisional provincial status would see a more empowered local provincial assembly formed, with broad-ranging administrative and governance powers.

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

8.1 UP launches special campaign to identify people suffering from TB

Highlights –

• UP government has launched a special 10-day campaign to identify people suffering from tuberculosis (TB) in the state.
• PM Modi has pledged to make India TB-free by 2025.
• Under the door-to-door campaign, which will end on November 11, health workers will reach out to 81 lakh people, identify those suffering from TB, screen them and help them avail treatment at no cost.
• CM Adityanath has called upon public representatives to actively participate in the campaign.
• The CM also inaugurated a special vaccination campaign for children and pregnant women left out due to the COVID-19 situation.
• He also distributed "golden cards" to beneficiaries of the Ayushman Bharat scheme.
• He has also inaugurated the Culture and Drug and Susceptibility Testing (DST) lab of the Baba Raghav Das Medical College, Gorakhpur.

CM’s views –

• Uttar Pradesh will contribute its best towards PM Modi’s objective to make India TB-free by 2025.
• To achieve this, availability of proper health services and coordination between departments will be ensured.
• Stressing that "child health protection" should be made a mass movement, the CM said the dream of a "golden" Uttar Pradesh cannot be realised until childhood is healthy and safe.
• The infant mortality rate of the state has come down but it is still a big challenge for us to bring it below the national average.
• The state government is committed to protect women and children in every way and necessary vaccination for children and pregnant women will be completed through this campaign that will continue till January 2021.

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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 -

• World Food Program (WFP) won 2020 Nobel Peace Prize
• According to medical journal Lancet, India is likely to overtake Japan as the third largest economy in the world by 2050 behind US and China.
• Louis Pasteur’s death anniversary was observed as the World Rabies Day on Sept 28.
• The fifteenth CII-Exim Bank digital conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership was organised in Sept 2020.
• In Tourism, MICE is Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions.

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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