Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 26-11-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 26-11-2020

• [message]
• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Constitution and Law – A woman is free to live with whoever she wishes: Delhi HC – An adult woman is free to live wherever and with whoever she wishes, the Delhi high court has said, reuniting a 20-year-old woman with her husband. The ruling by a bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rajnish Bhatnagar comes at a time when moves by UP and other BJP-governed states to enact laws against “love jihad” have sparked a debate on the freedom and right of an adult to marry anyone s/he chooses. The high court directed that the woman, Sulekha, be permitted to reside with Babloo, brushing aside objections by her family who alleged that she was a minor and was kidnapped.
2. India Society – India has highest bribery rate (39%) in all of Asia – Only 47% of people surveyed in India believe that corruption has increased over the past 12 months and 63% believe that the government is doing a good job in tackling corruption. Perhaps, the ‘feel good’ factor ends here. India has emerged as having the highest bribery rate of 39% in the Asian region. It also has the highest rate of people (46%) who used personal connections to access public services, according to a recent survey-report released by Transparency International, a global civil society. Nearly 50% of those who paid bribes were asked to, while 32% of those who used personal connections said they would not receive the service otherwise. Cambodia had the second highest bribery rate of 37%.
3. India Society – Farmers break barriers in bid to enter Capital – Hundreds of farmers led by Bharatiya Kisan Union (Charuni) leaders set out for Delhi from Ambala with tractors and trolleys breaking through two barriers on National Highway 44, in response to a call for “Dilli Chalo” from several farmers’ groups for November 26 and 27 in protest against the three controversial farm laws. The Haryana police placed barricades on all roads across the State and sealed its border with Punjab to prevent the farmers from marching. The Delhi police too deployed three companies of paramilitary forces at the border with Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. However, the farmers’ response from Uttar Pradesh remained lukewarm with the Bharatiya Kisan Union, leading the protests in west U.P., distancing itself from the march.
4. Indian Politics – Ahmed Patel, Congress strategist, passes away – Rajya Sabha member and senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, 71, died after a prolonged battle with complications arising out of a COVID-19 infection. He had contracted the virus more than a month-and-a-half ago, on October 1, and was treated at a private hospital at Faridabad before being shifted to Medanta Medicity in Gurugram. Popularly known as Ahmed Bhai or AP in political circles, Mr. Patel, who served as the powerful political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, was the quintessential backroom strategist during the 10-year rule of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). He was never a part of the Manmohan Singh Cabinet yet enjoyed more power than any Cabinet Minister. Known for his loyalty to the Gandhis, Mr. Patel served as a key link not just between the Congress and its allies but also Dr. Singh’s government.
5. Polity and Governance – Amaravati land scam: FIR says former AG had prior info of capital location – An FIR filed by the Andhra Pradesh anti-corruption bureau against former advocate general Dammalapati Srinivas, two daughters of a senior SC judge and others in an alleged land purchase scam in Amaravati has led to an unprecedented spat between the executive and the judiciary. With the SC staying the gag order of the AP HC, the FIR registered by the ACB has become a public document. The ACB had registered the FIR on Sept 15, but the court stayed the proceedings on Srinivas’s plea and directed that the contents of the case be not made public. The case had been originally posted before the bench of Justice D Ramesh, who then recused himself. It was then posted for hearing on September 16, but the court took it up late on Sept 15 itself after Srinivas moved a house motion. The government filed a petition in the SC against the high court’s order.
6. Environment and Ecology – Thirteen-year-old eco activist on BBC ‘most influential’ list – Uttarakhandbased teen environmental activist Riddhima Pandey has been included in the recently released BBC list of “100 most influential and inspiring women across the globe who are leading change and making a difference during these turbulent times.” At 13, she is the youngest person to feature in the coveted list this year. Among the others from India on the list are anti-CAA protester Dadi Bilkis Bano, para-badminton champion Manasi Joshi, and singer Isaivani.
7. World – Hong Kong leader vows to restore political order – Hong Kong’s leader vowed to restore order to the city’s legislature and save its political system from “chaos”, in a key policy speech at a muted gathering of almost exclusively pro-Beijing lawmakers. Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s annual policy address to the Legislative Council — postponed for more than a month after she was ordered to travel to mainland China for meetings with central government officials — outlines the administration’s plans for the city. Hong Kong is ruled under a ‘One Country, Two Systems’ model that allows it to retain a degree of autonomy and some freedoms that are denied to citizens on the authoritarian mainland.
8. USA – America is back and ready to lead the world, says Joe Biden – President-elect Joe Biden introduced a slate of veteran diplomats and policy-makers who will make up his national security and foreign policy team, saying: “America is back, ready to lead the world.” Mr. Biden, 78, presented his picks for Secretary of State, National Security Advisor, Homeland Security Secretary, intelligence chief, UN Ambassador and climate change envoy. Mr. Biden said that after he is inaugurated on January 20 and Donald Trump leaves the White House, the U.S. will “once again sit at the head of the table, ready to confront our adversaries and not reject our allies”.
9. India and its neighbourhood – Bhutan establishes formal ties with Germany – Bhutan announced that it had established diplomatic relations with Germany, increasing the restricted number of capitals that Thimphu has formal ties with to 53 states and the EU. The move, which was announced at an “Exchange of Verbal Notes ceremony” in Delhi by Bhutan’s Ambassador to India Major General Vetsop Namgyel and Germany’s Ambassador Walter Lindner, was described by the German Foreign Office as a “special day” and a “rare” event. This is the kingdom’s first diplomatic foray in seven years.
10. Obituary –Maradona in God’s hand - Considered by many the greatest footballer ever, the genius who mesmerised the world with his heavenly game before descending Into an alcohol-&-drug-fuelled hell dies At 60.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No.	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	Min. of Envi., Forest & Climate Change	Legal Asst, MTS, LDC/ UDC, Technical Officer, Scientist C, D	7	Matriculation, 12th Class, Degree, PG	NOV-26-2020	http://moef.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/NIC_Contractual-Staff_IRO_19.11.2020.pdf
2	NTPC Limited	Diploma Engineer	70	Diploma	DEC-12-2020	https://www.freejobalert.com/ntpc-recruitment/17710/#DiplomaEngineer
3	Indian Air Force	Airmen (Group Y – Non-Technical Trades)	-	Intermediate / 10+2	NOV-27-2020	https://airmenselection.cdac.in/CASB/img/upcoming/rally/PUDUCHERRY%20RALLY%20GP%20'Y'.pdf
4	Min. of Env., Forest & Climate Change	Legal Asst, MTS, LDC/ UDC, Technical Officer, Scientist C, D	7	Matriculation, 12th Class, Degree, PG	DEC-26-2020	http://moef.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/NIC_Contractual-Staff_IRO_19.11.2020.pdf
5	Dr. YSR Aarogyasri HCT, Nellore	Aarogya Mithra & Team Leader	8	B.Sc, M.SC (Nursing), B Pharma, B.Sc	NOV-25-2020	https://cdn.s3waas.gov.in/s39c82c7143c102b71c593d98d96093fde/uploads/2020/11/2020112141.pdf
6	Dr. YSR Aarogyasri HCT, Krishna	Aarogya Mithra & Team Leader	13	B.Sc, M.SC (Nursing), B Pharma, B.Sc	NOV-28-2020	https://cdn.s3waas.gov.in/s3c399862d3b9d6b76c8436e924a68c45b/uploads/2020/11/2020112115.pdf
7	Indian Air Force	Airmen (Group Y – Non-Technical Trades)	-	Intermediate / 10+2	DEC-22-2020	https://airmenselection.cdac.in/CASB/img/upcoming/rally/PUDUCHERRY%20RALLY%20GP%20'Y'.pdf

 

• [message]
• SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

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

1.1 Not Available Today

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

2.1 RBI – the first Central Bank in the World to have 1 million followers on Twitter 

Highlights – 

• The Reserve Bank of India has become the first central bank in the world to have more than one million followers on its Twitter handle.
• India's monetary authority has beaten the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank on Twitter by emerging as the most popular central bank on the microblogging site with one million followers.
• The 85-year-old RBI got a Twitter account in January 2012. Governor Shaktikanta Das has a separate Twitter handle with 1.35 lakh followers.
• As per the latest information available on the RBI's twitter handle '@RBI', the number of followers has increased from 9.66 lakh on September 27, 2020 to 10 lakh.
• Since March 2019, the count of followers has more than doubled from just about 3,42,000 to over 7,50,000 by March 2020. In the current financial year, as many as 2.5 lakh new followers joined the handle.
• In contrast to this, the world's most powerful central bank, the US Federal Reserve, has only 6.67 lakh Twitter followers and the Frankfurt-headquartered European Central Bank (ECB), the second most powerful monetary authority in the world, has 5.91 lakh followers.
• US Fed joined Twitter in March 2009, while ECB has been active on the microblogging site since October 2009.
• Besides, its main Twitter handle, RBI has another Twitter account called 'RBI Says' and also started a Facebook page with the same name in early April.

2.2 India bans 43 Chinese apps  

 

Highlights –

• The government has blocked 43 more mobile apps, mostly Chinese, for activities that are "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order". Four apps owned by China's retail giant, the Alibaba Group, are on the latest banned list.
• The apps have been banned under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.
• The government said that the move was based on comprehensive reports received from Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center.
• The government had first banned 59 Chinese apps in June as tension with China peaked following the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers in a clash with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley.
• In September 2020, the government banned 118 more apps saying they posed a threat to the country's sovereignty.
• A total of 220 apps now stand blocked, including the viral video platform TikTok and the popular mobile shooting game, PUBG, in what ministers have described as a "digital strike".
• The blocked apps include Alibaba Workbench, AliExpress, Alipay Cashier, CamCard and WeDate.
• AliExpress, a China-based online shopping platform, is popular in India among traders and small businesses who rely on it for supplies and components. The ban effectively places a check on imports from China.
• Another popular app to be banned is Lalamove. The logistics provider offers local courier and delivery services and employs a large number of delivery partners.
• Most of the other blocked apps are social media and dating applications. In earlier bans, the government had focused more on sharing platforms and games.

Important details –

• Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a standoff in several places in Ladakh since April 2020, when China's People's Liberation Army attempted to transgress the Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border between the two countries.
• India and China have had several rounds of military and diplomatic dialogues in which India has demanded that the Chinese troops return to their April positions. 

• [message]
• 3. ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY (Prelims, GS Paper 3, Essay paper)

3.1 Not Available Today

• [message]
• 4. FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Prelims, GS Paper 2, Essay paper)

4.1 Nodal agency for protection of water bodies 

 

Highlights –  

• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed all the states and union territories to designate a nodal agency for the protection of water bodies.
• The Green Tribunal Principal bench has noted that the concerned authorities had failed to take adequate steps to protect the water bodies so far.
• Under the oversight of chief secretaries of states/UTs, the designated nodal agency has been asked to hold its meeting by January 31, 2021 to take stock of the situation and plan further steps, including directions to district authorities for further course of action up to the Panchayat level.
• The bench also said that the nodal agency would evolve further monitoring mechanism as well as Grievance Redressal Mechanism (GRM) and submit periodical reports to the Central Pollution Control Board or Secretary of Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India.
• Hearing a plea filed by a petitioner, Haryana resident Lt Col (retd) Sarvadaman Singh Oberoi, seeking to restore the Ghata Lake in Gurgaon and 214 other water bodies in Faridabad district, the Tribunal expanded the scope of petition to the entire country.
• The tribunal also asked the Central Monitoring Committee, formed for monitoring remediation of 351 polluted river stretches, to monitor the steps for restoration of water bodies by all the states periodically, at least thrice in a year. First such monitoring may take place by March 31, 2021.

4.2 India, EU and Disarmament

 

 

Highlights –

• India and the European Union (EU) have held the sixth round of discussions on disarmament and non-proliferation issues.
• During the consultation, India and the EU exchanged developments in the area of nuclear, chemical, biological disarmament and non-proliferation among others.
• The discussions aimed at improving mutual understanding and appreciation between India and the EU on international security issues. These are part of the broad dialogue architecture with the EU as a key strategic partner of India.
• Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will begin on a six-day tour of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Seychelles beginning Tuesday, November 24.
• During his two-day visit to Bahrain from November 24 to 25, the union minister will personally convey condolences to the Bahraini leadership on the sad demise of Prime Minister of Bahrain Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa on November 11.
• He will also hold talks on bilateral issues as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest with Bahraini leaders.

4.3   India to host G-20 Summit in 2023

 

Highlights –  

• G-20 leaders have announced that India will be the chair of the multilateral group a year later, in 2023 rather than 2022.
• This is the second time that India’s turn to host the G-20 has been postponed.
• India had first got the chance to host the summit for 2021. But, during the 2018 summit in Argentina, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had requested for a change so that its G-20 chairmanship would coincide with the 75th anniversary of Indian independence.
• However, no reason for this change has been given publicly. Indonesia was earlier scheduled to hold both G-20 and ASEAN summits in 2023.
• Sources said that India looks forward to taking forward the G20 agenda in 2023 after the Italian and Indonesian presidencies.
• The focus of this year’s (2020) summit, which took place mostly virtually, was the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The leaders also extended support to the Anti-money Laundering (AML)/Counter-terrorist Financing (CFT) policy responses detailed in the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) paper on the Covid-19. They reaffirmed their support for the FATF, as the global standard-setting body for preventing and combating money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing.

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

5.1 Not Available Today

• [message]
• 6. MISCELLANEOUS (Prelims, Various GS Papers)

6.1 SITMEX-20

Highlights –

• The Indian Navy participated in the two-day trilateral maritime exercise SITMEX-20 in the Andaman sea along with the navies of Singapore and Thailand.
• Indian naval ships, including indigenously-built anti-submarine warfare corvette Kamorta and missile corvette Karmuk, participated in the 2nd edition of the trilateral exercise held on November 22 & 23.
• The two-day maritime drills witnessed the three navies participate in a variety of exercises, including naval manoeuvres, surface warfare exercises and weapon firings.
• The SITMEX series of exercises were conducted to enhance mutual interoperability and to imbibe best practices between the Indian Navy, Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and Royal Thai Navy (RTN).
• The RSN was represented by the Formidable-class frigate Intrepid and Endurance-class landing ship tank Endeavour and the RTN by the Chao Phraya-class frigate Kraburi in the exercise.
• The exercise was conducted as a ‘non-contact, at sea only’ exercise in view of the COVID-19 pandemic and it highlighted growing synergy, coordination and cooperation in the maritime domain between the three friendly navies and maritime neighbours.
• The first edition of SITMEX, hosted by the Indian Navy, was conducted off Port Blair in September 2019.
• The 2020 edition of the exercise was hosted by the RSN.

• [message]
• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 First meeting of ‘gau cabinet’

 

Key points – 

• The first meeting of Madhya Pradesh's 'gau cabinet' concluded on November 22 with various decisions taken by the cabinet for protection and conservation of cows.
• The meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
• CM Chouhan has informed that self-help groups have agreed to take responsibility for operating cow sheds in the state.

Decisions taken –

• Ministers of departments related to animals and principal secretary will together form a council of ministers of 'Mantri Parishad Samiti' to work on cow protection and promotion. Earlier, the chief minister had said that ministers of Animal Husbandry, Forest, Panchayat and Rural Development, Revenue, Home and Farmers' Welfare departments will be part of the new cabinet.
• Research center for cows will be established at the cow sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh's Agar.
• Cow-shelters will be made self-sufficient.
• A large number of cow shelters will be constructed across the state.
• Help of urban organisations will be taken to provide shelter to destitute cows in urban cities.
• Suggestions will be taken from experts on how to effectively use cow dung and cow urine.

7.2 Government launches international version of UMANG

 

Highlights –

• On the completion of three years of the UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) app, the international version of the app has been launched.
• The UMANG international version is for select countries including US, UK, Canada, Australia, UAE, Netherlands, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, and will help Indian international students, NRIs and Indian tourists abroad to avail government of India services anytime.
• The international version of the app will also help in taking India to the world through 'Indian Culture' services available on UMANG and create interest amongst foreign tourists to visit India.
• Additionally, the government also announced that it is integrating Common Services Centres service into the Umang app. Going forward, a voice-based solution using artificial may be developed for UMANG to be available to the common people living in the remotest corners of the country.
• Launched by PM Modi in November 2017, the UMANG mobile app is a Government of India all-in-one single, unified, secure, multi-channel, multi-lingual, multi-service mobile application providing access to high impact services of various government of India departments and state governments.
• Over the last three years, UMANG has grown to provide 2039 services (373 from 88 Central departments, 487 from 101 departments of 27 States and 1,179 services for utility bill payments).
• It has over 3.75 crore downloads and around 2.5 crore registered users. In March 2020, UMANG only had 643 services, whereas in November 2020, it has over 2000 services.

7.3 Kerala Police Act amendment put on hold

 

Highlights –

• A controversial move in Kerala to enable arrests for content or social media posts deemed offensive by the state has been put on hold after a severe backlash.
• CM Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the amendment to the Kerala Police Act will not be implemented for now.
• There has been massive criticism of the Left-led government's move, which the opposition said could be used to suppress free speech, silence critics and target the media.
• An ordinance or special order signed by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan sought to punish those guilty of spreading content by any means (including social media) that was said to be derogatory or defamatory. Offenders could face up to three years in jail, a fine of ₹ 10,000 or both.
• The amended law was compared to similar laws struck down by the Supreme Court - Section 66A of the IT Act and Section 118(d) of the Kerala Police Act.
• Kerala said the repeal of these laws had left it with no alternative to effectively deal with crimes.
• Mr Vijayan said his government's effort was to check the widespread malicious campaigns through social media and otherwise, which pose a threat to individual freedom and dignity, constitutionally ensured to citizens.
• He claimed that complaints against defamatory, untrue and obscene campaigns had been received from various quarters of the society.
• The Chief Minister had said the amendment to the Kerala Police Act will in no way be used against free speech or impartial journalism.
• CM Vijayan said the state had a duty to protect individuals' liberty and dignity, but that no action would be taken against the media or critics who stay within the limits of the Constitution.
• Kerala BJP chief K Surendaran called the amended law a tool of repression.
• Congress leader Shashi Tharoor alleged in tweets that the ordinance was so loosely drafted it could also be used against political opponents.

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

8.1 National Pharmacy Week 2020

 

Key points –

• The Indian Pharmaceutical Association-Delhi State Branch (IPADSB) in collaboration with Delhi Pharmaceutical Trust (DPT) celebrated the inaugural function of the 59th National Pharmacy Week (NPW) on November 15, 2020.
• The theme of the NPW this year was “Pharmacists: Frontline Health Professionals” and was celebrated throughout the country from November 16-22, 2020.
• IPA organises NPW during the third week of November every year to make all stakeholders aware of the presence of pharmacists in the society and to know the role played by registered pharmacists with respect to medicines, their usage, handling and dispensing.
• Throughout the week, there were webinars on the main theme of NPW on varied topics like ‘Role of pharmacist in COVID-19 crisis in India’, ‘Pharmacovigilance in COVID-19 pandemics’, ‘Recent developments in COVID-19 drugs’ or ‘vaccines & their challenges’, ‘Good storage practices’, ‘Telemedicine in India: its regulation & challenges’, and a topic on Intellectual property rights (IPR).

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

9.1 Not Available Today

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

10.1 Not Available Today

 

10.2 Daily dose of  FIVE Facts -

• TataMD CHECK is the Covid-19 diagnostic kit launched by Tata Medical and Diagnostics Ltd.
• Priyanca Radhakrishnan (41) was appointed as the first-ever Indian-origin minister of New Zealand in Nov 2020.
• Svetlana Tikhanouskaya was awarded the 2020 Sakharov Prize by the European Union in Oct 2020.
• European and Japanese space agencies launched BepiColombo spacecraft to probe Mercury in Oct 2018.
• Upendra Tripathy is the Director General of International Solar Alliance.

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!

• [message]
• SECTION 3 - MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions)

Solve the online quiz given, right now. Check scores, and relative performance!

---