Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 16-12-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 16-12-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Covid-19 Updates – Pfizer set to fix lower price for vaccine in India – Global pharma major Pfizer may price its vaccine lower in India than in UK and the US. The government in the recent past had indicated that India wouldn’t be keen to procure the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine because of its high cost and the extreme cold chain requirement at minus 70 degree Celsius. Regarding the concern over the temperature requirement, India had cold chain infrastructure owned by Department of Agricultural Research and Education, that would be sufficient for vaccine like the one developed by US-based Pfizer along with Germany’s BioNTech.
2. Economy – Exports decline for second month in a row, trade deficit at ten-month high – The September revival in exports proved a blip with outbound shipments contracting for the second straight month in November. Exports fell sharper at 8.7 per cent in November than 5.1 per cent in October, as major overseas markets continued to witness muted demand due to Covid-induced lockdowns. Exports stood at $23.52 billion in November compared to $25.77 billion in the same month of the last year. On the other hand, imports fell 13.32 per cent to $33.39 billion in November. This led to a 10-month high trade deficit of $9.87 billion. Within imports, non-oil non-gold imports came down by 1.67 per cent at $24.10 billion in November. The rate of fall shrank from around 5 per cent in October. The index of industrial production (IIP) rose for the second month in a row at 3.6 per cent in October.
3. Polity and Governance – No winter session of Parliament due to Covid, budget session in Jan likely - Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi informed that winter session will not be held in the Parliament view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government also indicated that it will be appropriate to convene the budget session in January next year. Joshi said that he informally contacted floor leaders of various political parties and they have expressed their concerns about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and many have suggested the government to cancel the session. Government is willing to have the next session of Parliament at the earliest; it would be appropriate to have the Budget Session, 2021 in January 2021 keeping in mind the unprecedented circumstances created by Covid-19 pandemic. The winter session of Parliament normally starts from the last week of November or the first week of December. The Constitution broadly stipulates one major rule that there should not be a gap of more than six months between two sessions of Parliament. However, it has been a convention to hold three sessions of Parliament -- budget, monsoon and winter -- in a year.
4. US Presidential Elections – US Electoral College confirms Joe Biden's victory - The Electoral College decisively confirmed Joe Biden as the nation's next president, ratifying his November victory in an authoritative state-by-state repudiation of President Donald Trump's refusal to concede he had lost. The presidential electors gave Biden a solid majority of 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232, the same margin that Trump bragged was a landslide when he won the White House four years ago. Heightened security was in place in some states as electors met to cast paper ballots, with masks, social distancing and other pandemic precautions the order of the day. The results will be sent to Washington and tallied in a Jan. 6 joint session of Congress over which Vice President Mike Pence will preside.
5. Environment and Ecology - Emmanuel Macron wants climate goals in French constitution - French President Emmanuel Macron vowed to hold a referendum to add France’s commitment to fighting climate change to the country’s constitution. While speaking to the Citizens' Climate Council, a citizen’s group in charge of proposing changes on climate-related issues, Macron acknowledged that France has not done enough to fulfill its commitments to fight global warming. The French president has been under increased pressure from left-leaning factions within his centrist party for failing to do enough to curb climate change. This comes as the Green Party gains momentum, potentially eroding Macron’s support base ahead of the 2022 presidential election. Last week, European Union leaders agreed to ramp up the bloc's 2030 targets to reduce greenhouse gases from 40% to at least 55% in comparison with 1990 levels.
6. Farmers protests - Farmers’ protest chokes units in Bahadurgarh’s industrial cluster – Hundreds of industrial units in Haryana’s Bahadurgarh, the hub for India’s non-leather footwear manufacturers, are bearing the brunt of the farmers’ agitation at Tikri. Though a majority of the industrial units in this satellite town of Delhi are now running at less than half of their capacity, many are temporarily shut, with the transportation of raw material and processed goods taking a hit. Part B of the Modern Industrial Estate (MIE), housing around 1,600 units, including footwear, electronics, plastic, auto-parts and chemicals, was the worst hit.
7. World - U.S. imposes CAATSA sanctions on Turkey over S-400 purchase - The U.S. has imposed sanctions on NATO-ally Turkey for its purchase of Russia’s S-400 missile defence system, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced. The issue of sanctions under Section 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) for purchase of Russian arms is of particular interest to New Delhi, which is also in the process of buying the S-400 from Moscow. Sanctions were imposed on Turkey’s main defence procurement agency, the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) for “knowingly engaging in a significant transaction with Rosoboronexport (ROE), Russia’s main arms export entity” the office of the U.S. State Department spokesperson. These SSB sanctions comprise a ban on granting specific U.S. export licences and authorisations for any goods or technology, a ban on loans or credits by U.S. financial institutions totalling more than $10 million in any 12-month period, a ban on U.S. Export-Import Bank assistance for exports and mandated U.S. opposition to loans by international financial organisations to SSB.
8. Social - Higher percentage of men drink in ‘dry’ Bihar than Maha - Govt survey - You might associate Goa with booze and partying, but a higher proportion of people in Telangana consume alcohol than in the former. And a larger percentage of men drink in Bihar, a state under prohibition, than in Maharashtra. When it comes to tobacco consumption, the northeast is the region that tops the charts, according to data from the National Family Health Survey 2019-20. Gujarat and Jammu & Kashmir, in that order, have the least consumption of alcohol among men. In the 2015-16 survey, the data pertained to the age group 15-49 years whereas in the latest survey it is for all above 15 years.
9. Social – Reimagining India’s Health System - The Lancet Citizens' Commission on Reimagining India's Health System has been launched online which is a stage towards accomplishing Universal Health Coverage in India. It is a first-of-its-sort participatory, countrywide activity, in a joint effort with world's driving health journal The Lancet and the Lakshmi Mittal and Family South Asia Institute, Harvard University. To figure a guide for understanding a strong wellbeing framework that offers thorough, responsible, available, comprehensive, and reasonable quality medical care to all residents in India. The Commission will be guided by four standards which are: Universal Health Coverage (UHC) covers all health worries. Prevention and long-term care amd Monetary assurance for all health costs.
10. Economy - Small personal loans up 4.5 times in two years - Small-ticket personal loans, which were the scourge of the crisis in the same segment a decade ago, are back. This time, they are being driven by software deployed by finance companies and fintechs to approve and disburse low-value loans based on analytics. The share of small-ticket loans in personal loans disbursed during the last two years has jumped almost five times. During 2017-18, these loans were only 12.9% of the personal loan disbursed, which shot up close to 60% by March 2020. Although there has been some moderation since then, with other personal loans growing faster, small-ticket loans still account for half of the fresh disbursements. Within the personal loan segment, credit of below Rs 50,000 is considered a smallticket personal loan (STPL) and it is this segment that has been driving volumes with growth as high as 162% during 2019-20 in terms of the number of loans disbursed.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	JK Bank	CA, Civil Engineer, Mechanical Engineer	21	Degree. PG (Engg), CA	31-12-2020	https://www.jkbank.com/pdfs/jobs/New%20Notification-14122020.pdf
2	AIATSL	Dy Terminal Manager, Duty Manager, Officer & Jr Executive	13	Degree, PG (Relevant Discipline)	28-12-2020	http://www.airindia.in/writereaddata/Portal/career/913_1_Final-Advt-Dec-2020.pdf
3	IRFC	Group General Manager, Joint General Manager, DGM & Dy Manager	5	Degree with CA/ CMA, LLB, MBA/ PG Diploma	14-01-2021	http://irfc.nic.in/uploads/AdvExecutive02122020.pdf
4	NHSRCL	Senior Executive & Asst Manager	61	Diploma/ B.E/ B.Tech, Any Degree	01-01-2021	https://www.nhsrcl.in/sites/default/files/notice/2020-12/NHSRCL%20Vacancy%20Notice%2015-2020.pdf
5	Medical & Health Dept, Guntur	Medical Officer	66	MBBS	21-12-2020	https://cdn.s3waas.gov.in/s30777d5c17d4066b82ab86dff8a46af6f/uploads/2020/12/2020121459.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 

• 63rd Founding Day of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) was observed on December 4, 2020. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released the ‘Smuggling in India Report 2019-20’ which analyses organised smuggling trends on Gold and Foreign Currency, Narcotic Drugs, Security, Environment and Commercial Frauds.
• S&P Global Ratings on November 30, 2020 retained its forecast of 9% contraction in the Indian economy for the current fiscal. S&P, in its report on Asia Pacific, projected the Indian economy to grow at 10% in the next fiscal.
• Commerce, Industry and AYUSH ministries have decided to work together to set up an Export Promotion Council to boost AYUSH exports. This decision was taken at a review meeting of AYUSH trade and industry by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and AYUSH Minister Shripad Naik.

2.2 Industrial output rises 3.6% in October

 

 

Highlights –  

• India's industrial output, measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), grew 3.6 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in the month of October.
• The country's industrial output had contracted 6.6 per cent in October 2019, while it grew by 0.2 per cent in September 2020.
• The October IIP growth was the fastest in last 7 months after it turned positive in September, following a six months of contraction.
• The sustained growth in the industrial output for the second consecutive indicated that the general economic situation improved across sectors.
• During April-October period of the fiscal year 2020-21, the industrial production contracted 17.5 per cent as against a 0.1 per cent growth in the year ago period.
• The October IIP growth was driven by a positive rise in electricity and manufacturing sector.
• The electricity sector grew 11.2 per cent year-on-year to 162.2, while the manufacturing sector jumped by 3.5 per cent to 130.7. However, the mining sector contracted 1.5 per cent to 98.0.

2.3 Wistron suffers loss of Rs. 437 cr in violence 

 

Highlights –

• After the violence at Wistron's plant in Karnataka's Kolar on December 12, the company said it suffered a loss of Rs 437 crore as thousands of iPhones were looted.  
• The workers at the factory which manufactures iPhones went on a rampage and pelted stones at the factory over the non-payment of salaries. The factory is located at Narasapura in Kolar district.
• Police have said that the employees at the facility in the Narasapura Industrial Area of Kolar district rampaged through the factory, damaging furniture besides other things over non-payment of salaries.
• The employees, who had been protesting over the salary dues, alleged that they have not been paid for the past four months.
• The Karnataka government has condemned the incident of violence at Wistron's factory in Narasapura, Kolar.
• Karnataka labour minister Shivaram Hebbar has said the damages caused to the company were unacceptable and condemned the incident.

Other details –

• Wistron is one of Apple’s global contractors and the company manufactures iPhone 7 handsets and second-generation iPhone SE devices in India.
• Apple Inc.’s effort to expand the manufacturing of its products in India has run into trouble after the violence at the Kolar plant.
• The company had plans to hire up to 25,000 employees by the end of 2021 in a bid to expand their India operations. Currently, 12,000 people are employed by them, of which 1,200 are permanent while the rest are contractual employees.
• The clash is part of a broader geopolitical challenge for Apple, the most valuable company in the world with a market capitalization of $2 trillion.

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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 Eswatini’s PM dies after testing positive for Covid-19

 

 

Highlights –

• Eswatini Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini, who was undergoing treatment for coronavirus in neighbouring South Africa, has died.
• He was 52. The prime minister of Africa’s last absolute monarchy Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, was moved to South Africa on December 1, a fortnight after testing positive for COVID-19.
• Dlamini had worked in the banking sector and then as the chief executive officer in Eswatini of South African telecom giant MTN before being appointed in October 2018 as Prime Minister by King Mswati III, who names all ministers and controls Parliament.
• The landlocked kingdom of Eswatini, with a population of just over 1.2 million, has reported over 6,700 coronavirus cases and 127 deaths so far.
• World Bank statistics showed that almost 40 percent of Eswatini lived below the poverty line in 2017.

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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 Operation Oliva

 

 

Highlights –

• The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has launched ‘Operation Oliva’ to protect the endangered Olive Ridley turtles on the coast of Odisha.
• Two ships have been deployed at the major nesting sites of the turtles at Gahirmatha marine sanctuary, Rushikulya beach and Devi river mouth to prevent entry of fishing vessels into the prohibited zone.
• Besides, an aircraft has also been pressed into service to protect the turtles as part of the operation.
• The ICG is working in coordination with the Forest department, fishery officials and marine police to keep watch on illegal fishing in the restricted zone.
• The Union government had launched ‘Operation Oliva’ in 1999 to save the marine species.
• The ICG headquarters at Paradip  launches the operation off Odisha coast every year. ICG is the nodal agency for protecting the environment in the country’s coastal areas.
• As per reports, 65 fishermen have been arrested and 12 fishing vessels seized since November 1 by the marine police and ICG.

6.2 Weekly Round-up – Arts and Culture

 

• British Indian journalist and author Anita Anand’s book ‘The Patient Assassin: A True Tale of Massacre, Revenge and the Raj’ won the 2,000-pound PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History 2020, awarded annually for a non-fiction book of specifically historical content. English PEN, which stands for Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, Novelists, is one of the world’s oldest human rights organisations championing the freedom to write and read.

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Centre issues guidelines for vaccination drive

 

Highlights – 

• The government of India has issued guidelines for vaccination drive for Covid 19 infection in the country.
• Centre has made it clear that the COVID-19 vaccine would be offered first to healthcare workers, frontline workers and to persons above 50 years of age, followed by persons younger than 50 years of age with associated comorbidities based on the evolving pandemic situation, and finally to the remaining population, based on the disease epidemiology and vaccine availability.
• Under the ‘COVID-19 Vaccine Operational Guidelines’, up to 100-200 people will be vaccinated in each session per day.
• In a step-by-step guideline to all the states and Union Territories, the government has asked them to prepare for the vaccination drive as per the guidelines.
• States have been asked to implement an integrated 360-degree comprehensive advocacy communication and social mobilisation strategy to address the challenges surrounding vaccine rollout progress and benefits.  

CoWIN Mobile App – 

 

• The Health Ministry has introduced CoWIN, a digital platform for real-time monitoring of COVID-19 vaccine delivery which includes a mobile application where users will be able to self-register to get vaccinated.
• The CoWIN digital platform and app has been developed for real-time monitoring of coronavirus vaccine delivery, recording data and to enable people to get themselves registered for vaccination.

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

8.1 Vision 2035 – Public Health Surveillance in India

 

Highlights – 

• NITI Aayog has released a white paper Vision 2035 - Public Health Surveillance in India.
• The white paper lays out India’s vision for public health surveillance through the integration of the three-tiered public health system into Ayushman Bharat.
• It also spells out the need for expanded referral networks and enhanced laboratory capacity.
• The building blocks for this vision are an interdependent federated system of governance between the Centre and states.
• The white paper was released by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar, Member (Health) Dr Vinod K Paul and CEO Amitabh Kant.
• The vision of this white paper is to make India’s public health surveillance system more responsive and predictive to enhance preparedness for action at all levels.
• Citizen-friendly public health surveillance system will ensure individual privacy and confidentiality, enabled with a client feedback mechanism.
• India targets regional and global leadership in managing events that constitute a public health emergency of international concern.

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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 in Nov 2020 reviewed the coronavirus vaccine development process at the Zydus Cadila research centre in Ahmedabad.
• Mumbai Indians won the Indian Premier League title for the Fifth time in 2020.
• Typhoon Goni killed ten people in the Philippines in Oct-Nov 2020.
• Ravi Chopra is the Chairman of the Supreme Court appointed Chardham High-Powered Committee (HPC).
• According to the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry over six lakhs community and public toilets have been constructed since the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban in 2014.

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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