Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 23-11-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 23-11-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Covid-19 – Govt may get Oxford shots in Jan-Feb, at 50% of MRP – India is likely to get the first lot of anti-Covid shots in late January-early February, which will allow some frontline workers like doctors, nurses and municipal staff to get the vaccine. This will be possible as India plans to give Serum Institute of India (SII) emergency use approval for the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine candidate soon after it gets similar approval in the UK. While the SII will need to apply for emergency use, the firm is expected to do so in December. The Centre is finalising a contract with vaccine manufacturers for procurement of doses. The government, which will make bulk purchases, has also negotiated a better price—almost half that of the likely MRP of Rs 500-600 for the two-shot vaccine. Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin can be considered for emergency approval after it submits data from phase I and II trials.
2. Polity & Governance – Parl may skip winter session, reopen Jan-end, before Budget – With coronavirus cases on the rise in the national capital, Parliament is unlikely to be convened before the last week of January, raising the possibility that there may be no winter session. The budget is presented on February 1. In September, the truncated monsoon session had to be curtailed after several MPs as well as staff tested positive for the virus. The current thinking in government is that Parliament could be called closer to the regular budget session. A considerably delayed winter session, though, will not be a first. Parliamentary records show that out of 65 winter sessions of Rajya Sabha between 1952 and 2019, eight commenced in December and at least two, in 1962 and 1963, stretched from December to January.
3. Defence – Desi air-to-air missile to be tested from Tejas soon – India’s first indigenous air-to-air missile Astra will soon be tested from the first home-grown fighter Tejas, in yet another major step towards making the weapon the mainstay of the country’s combat fleet against hostile jets in the years ahead. The integration of the Astra beyond visual range air-toair missile (BVRAAM), which flies over four times the speed of sound at Mach 4.5, on the Tejas and the “initial ground trials” are virtually complete. The all-weather day and night capable Astra, which currently has a strike range of around 100-km, will eventually replace the expensive Russian, French and Israeli BVRAAMs that are currently imported to arm IAF fighters. DRDO also plans to begin testing the Mark-2 version of Astra, with a range of 160-km, in the first half of next year. Plans are underway for a 350-km range Astra Mark-3 as well.
4. Covid-19 – Himachal, Delhi, Raj lead in positivity rate – Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana, Kerala and Goa, in that order, are the current coronavirus hotspots with high positivity rates (confirmed cases per 100 tests) — between 10% to over 15% — measured over two 14-day periods between October 26-November 8 and November 8-21. These states have shown an increase in positivity rate that indicates more people are infected and fewer tests are taking place. The exceptions are Kerala, Goa and West Bengal where the disease has somewhat slowed compared to last month, but they still remain in the danger zone. Maharashtra, with a positivity rate of 8% over the last fortnight, has shown major improvement as it consistently hovered around 18% during the past few months. The number of confirmed cases in West Bengal and Chhattisgarh has been slowing down but, nonetheless, the two states have positivity rate above 7-8%.
5. World – Pak secures $800m in debt relief from G20 nations: Report – Cash-strapped Pakistan has secured $800 million worth of debt freeze deals from 14 members of the G20 while it was still awaiting ratification by the remaining six countries of the grouping, including Saudi Arabia and Japan. The country owes $25.4 billion to the G20 nations as of August 2020. Pakistan along with 76 other African countries had qualified for the G20 debt relief initiative, announced in April 2020, to combat the impact of the pandemic. During the past seven months 14 countries ratified their deals with Pakistan, which has provided fiscal space of $800 million to Islamabad for the time being.
6. World – Indian-American appointed as policy director of Jill Biden – U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has appointed Indian-American Mala Adiga as the policy director of his wife Jill, choosing an experienced education policy hand as the incoming First Lady focuses on education and plans to continue teaching community college classes. Ms. Adiga was a senior adviser to Ms. Biden and senior policy adviser for Mr. Biden’s 2020 campaign. She previously worked for the Biden Foundation as director for higher education and military families. Before that, during President Barack Obama’s administration, she was deputy assistant secretary of state for academic programmes at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and worked in the State Department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues as chief of staff and senior adviser to the Ambassador-at-large.
7. Economy – At ₹44,378cr, net FPI inflows into equities near record peak in Nov – Monthly foreign fund buying in domestic equities in November is on the cusp of breaking the all-time high record set in August 2020, if the current trend continues. The surge comes as global liquidity flows from major central banks worldwide continued their easy-money policy to support fragile economies. So far in November, foreign fund managers have net bought stocks worth Rs 44,378 crore. That seems on track to beat the Rs 47,080 crore level seen in August 2020, which is the highest recorded ever since the corresponding official data was made available starting January 2002.
8. World – Ethiopia gives Tigray 72 hours to surrender – Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed gave Tigrayan regional forces 72 hours to surrender before the military begins an offensive on the regional capital of Mekelle. A military spokesman said earlier that advancing Ethiopian troops plan to surround Mekelle with tanks and may shell the city to force surrender. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which is refusing to surrender its rule of the northern region, said its forces were digging trenches and standing firm.
9. Survey/Research – Mumbai buys most health covers in FY21 – Mumbaikars seem to be beating Delhiites when it comes to buying health insurance amid the Covid pandemic. For insurance sales portal PolicyBazaar, the rush in Mumbai has resulted in an 88% rise year-over-year since April 1, 2020. This has pushed Maharashtra’s share of India’s individual health insurance purchase to 24%. In fact, Bengaluru seems to be outpacing Mumbai in terms of the run rate, but its share in the overall pie is much small. Delhi has clocked a 31% increase during this period. For public sector general insurers, the territories are marked according to their headquarters. For New India, the country’s largest staterun general insurance player, the western region is the biggest market.
10. Polity & Governance – Panel proposes stricter GST registrations – The law committee of the GST Council has proposed several changes to tighten registration through an Aadhaar-type mechanism and keep a tighter vigil on suspected wrongdoers as it seeks to check the menace of fake invoices — a problem that has dogged the system since its launch almost three-and-ahalf years ago. Although the idea is to ensure that businesses do not face difficulties, the registration process could take up to 60 working days for new entities that opt for a non-Aadhaar-based authentication process and do not have income tax returns to support “adequate financial capability”. Such entities may have to submit recommendation letters from two taxpayers of “adequate reliability”.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	UCIL	Ex ITI Trade Apprentice	244	10th Class with ITI	DEC-10-2020	https://www.freejobalert.com/ucil-apprentice/884484/
2	Canara Bank	Specialist Officer	220	Deg, PG, PG Deg, CA	DEC-15-2020	https://www.freejobalert.com/canara-bank/9122/
3	SPMCIL	Welfare Officer, Supervisor, Jr. Draftsman	42	B.Tech/ B.E (Engg) Deg (Arts)	DEC-21-2020	https://ispnasik.spmcil.com/UploadDocument/Detail%20Advt.%20-20.11.2020.6947e89c-0302-4126-8ab1-cbe97266d394.pdf
4	Min. of Envi., Forest and Climate Change	Scientist B, C, D, G	34	-	DEC-20-2020	http://moef.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/FINAL-SHORT-WINDOW.pdf
5	Cochin Shipyard Limited	Junior Technical Asst & Junior Commercial Asst	7	Diploma	DEC-7-2020	https://cochinshipyard.com/uploads/career/a01a88db0cfa2a11cfe09a38e5c68b24.pdf
6	IARI	SRF, YP-II	7	M. Sc (Agriculture)	15 and 16-12-2020	https://www.iari.res.in/bic/projectnew32/admin/jobs/Tender_20112020.pdf
7	Cabinet Secretariat	Field Assistant (GD)	12	10+2	DEC-15-2020	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2020/11/Notification-Cabinet-Secretariat-Field-Asst-_Advt-No-09-2020_-Posts.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 Africa Industrialization Day – Celebrated on November 20 

 

 

Highlights – 

• Every year, Africa Industrialization Day is celebrated as the culmination of Africa Industrialization Week.
• Africa Industrialization Day offers governments and development partners opportunities to explore, or highlight, initiatives that advance Africa's industrialization.
• The Africa Union Commission hosted the 2020 Africa Industrialization Week celebrations (#AIW2020) on 16-20 November 2020, under the theme “Inclusive and sustainable industrialisation in the AfCFTA and COVID-19 era”.
• Industrial development is of critical importance for sustained and inclusive economic growth in African countries.
• Industry can enhance productivity, increase the capabilities of the workforce, and generate employment, by introducing new equipment and new techniques.
• Industrialization, with strong linkages to domestic economies, will help African countries achieve high growth rates, diversify their economies and reduce their exposure to external shocks. This will substantially contribute to poverty eradication through employment and wealth creation.
• Within the framework of the Second Industrial Development Decade for Africa (1991-2000), the UN General Assembly, in 1989, proclaimed 20 November “Africa Industrialization Day”.

Background –

• On 21 March 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda, the Agreement establishing an African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was signed, creating a single African market for goods and services and the world’s largest free trade area by number of countries.
• The AfCFTA is expected to become operational on 1 January 2021, backed up by 28 ratifications to date, and 54 signatures to the Agreement.
• However, despite these positive developments, the advent of COVID-19 early 2020 has posed the most formidable risk to the smooth phase-in of the AfCFTA, given its disruptive nature to business and commerce. 

The impact of the pandemic –

• Despite being the second most-populated continent in the world (1.2 billion people), Africa represented only 1.4 % of the world Manufacturing value added in the first quarter of 2020.
• While the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved more slowly in Sub-Saharan Africa than in other regions, it has exerted a sizable toll on economic activity with a growth expected to fall to -3.3% in 2020, pushing the region into its first recession in 25 years.
• The combination of domestic lockdowns and lower external demand from the global recession is likely to weigh heavily on the industry sector.

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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 Lord Meghnad Desai resigns from UK Labour Party

 

Highlights – 

• Indian-origin economist, author and peer Lord Meghnad Desai has resigned as a member of the UK's Opposition Labour Party over its failure to effectively tackle antisemitic racism within its ranks.
• As per reports, he was forced to take the decision to cancel his membership after 49 years after former party leader Jeremy Corbyn was readmitted after just 19 days of suspension despite findings of "unlawful acts" by the country's human rights watchdog.
• The Labour Party has been plagued by allegations of antisemitism over the years, with its disastrous electoral defeat in the December 2019 election also linked to the crisis.
• Sir Keir Starmer took over as the new party leader in 2020 with the promise of ridding the party of the scourge and had taken the step to suspend Corbyn last month after he seemed to downplay the very critical findings of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
• The watchdog had come to know that Labour had broken the law in its failure to handle antisemitism, or anti-Jewish, complaints and there were "serious failings" by its leadership at the time.

4.2 ‘Asia Health’ Summit by CII   

 

Key points –

• Union commerce & industry, railways and consumer affairs minister Piyush Goyal has stressed the need for collective responsibility and strong partnership among government, private sector and society in battling the Covid-19 pandemic, ensuring last-mile connectivity and effective distribution of the vaccine to India’s 1.3 billion population at an affordable cost.
• Addressing the valedictory session of the ‘Asia Health’ summit, Mr. Goyal pointed out that the task of creating a better future for all, especially for children, had to be undertaken collectively.
• Mr. Goyal admitted that the enormity of the pandemic and scale at which the country is fighting it has underscored many shortcomings and issues that need urgent attention.
• The minister also highlighted the challenges at the time of imposition of the nationwide lockdown in March, with regard to preparedness by the country in fighting the pandemic, availability of PPE kits, possibilities of running out of oxygen and inadequacies of testing facilities.
• He also pointed out that India’s move for an early and stringent lockdown has successfully helped save many lives, keep mortality rates low and prevent its spread in the villages.
• He believes that Atmanirbhar Bharat is key to India’s self-reliance and becoming health provider for the rest of the world.

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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 Douglas Stuart wins UK’s Booker Prize

 

 

Highlights –

• Scottish writer Douglas Stuart, whose debut novel Shuggie Bain narrates the story of a boy growing up in Glasgow in the 1980s, has won the 2020 Booker Prize for Fiction from a shortlist that included Indian-origin writer Avni Doshi’s Burnt Sugar.
• Stuart dedicated his book, which was turned down by 32 publishers before being picked up, to his mother, who died when he was 16.
• The awards ceremony was broadcast on BBC with Stuart and the five other shortlisted authors joining in virtually. A former fashion designer based in New York, Stuart took home £50,000 as prize money.
• He also received a trophy, a designer-bound edition of his book, and a further £2,500 for being shortlisted for the big award.
• Stuart was chosen from a shortlist comprising writers from diverse backgrounds.
• American contenders included The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste; Diane Cook’s dystopian tale The New Wilderness; Avni Doshi’s India-set mother-daughter tale Burnt Sugar; and Brandon Taylor’s campus novel Real Life, which explores racism and homophobia in academia.
• The other contender was This Mournable Body, by Zimbabwean writer Tsitsi Dangarembga.

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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 National Newborn Week 2020

 

Highlights – 

• Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on November 20 chaired an event to mark National Newborn Week 2020, being observed from November 15-21 to reinforce the importance of newborn health as a key priority area of health sector and to reiterate commitment at the highest level.
• The minister said that India has taken giant strides to achieve targets set for reducing the newborn mortality rate and stillbirth rate.
• India became the first country to launch the India Newborn Action Plan (INAP) in 2014, in alignment with the Global Every Newborn Action Plan towards eliminating preventable deaths of newborns and stillbirths.
• Initiatives like Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) scheme are testimony to India’s commitment to avoid all preventable maternal or pregnancy-related deaths as well as that of the newborns.
• Dr. Harsh Vardhan also unveiled National Newborn Week IEC posters for dissemination of information and for triggering behaviour change and demand generation on new-born health.
• He also released two uniquely designed training modules on Newborn Stabilization Unit and Newborn Care Corner for capacity building of healthcare providers associated with new-born care.

Theme – 2020

• Quality, Equity, Dignity for every newborn at every health facility and everywhere.

Note –

• India has successfully met important targets of 2017: the set target of Newborn Mortality Rate (NMR) of 24 for the year 2017 and the strides made to fulfil the target of Still Birth Rate (SBR) of 19 by 2020.
• India is now at newborn mortality of 23 per 1000 live births as per Sample Registration System (SRS) 2018 and United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNIGME) estimates and SBR of 4 as per the SRS estimates and about 14 as per the UNIGME estimates.

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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 -

• 57.05% was the voter turnout in Assembly elections in Bihar recently.
• Prominent international spokesman for the Palestinians Saeb Erekat passed away in Nov 2020 at the age of 65.
• Australia-India Water Centre was inaugurated in Guwahati virtually through a Webinar recently.
• Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh was declared a UNESCO biosphere reserve recently.
• Narendra Modi represented India at the 17th ASEAN-India virtual summit in Nov 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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