Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 22-12-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 22-12-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Covid-19 – Centre suspends all UK flights; Maha brings back quarantine, night curfew – India has suspended all scheduled passenger flights to and from the UK between December 23 and 31 to keep out the new Covid strain spreading across Britain. Travellers from the UK landing at Indian airports before the flight ban kicks in at midnight Tuesday (December 22) will have to undergo RTPCR tests, based on which institutional quarantine for at least 14 days or monitored home isolation for a week will be advised. Maharashtra has imposed an 11pm-6am curfew from Tuesday (Dec.22) till January 6. Only emergency services such as transportation and supply of milk and vegetables will be allowed within civic corporation limits in the state. Christmas and New Year celebrations, large gatherings, parties, functions, shops, hotels and theatres will have to wind up at 11pm. People have been advised to reach home before 11pm and not step out till 6am unless there is an emergency. Karnataka has made Covid tests mandatory for passengers arriving from Denmark and the Netherlands, too.
2. Study/Research – Leopard nos up from 8,000 to nearly 13,000 in 4 years – The leopard population in India recorded an encouraging increase of 62% in four years – from 7,910 in 2014 to 12,852 in 2018. Madhya Pradesh has the highest number of leopards (3,421), followed by Karnataka (1,783) and Maharashtra (1,690). These three states together account for more than 50% of leopards in the country’s tiger habitats which serve as a common ecosystem for different species of wild animals. The numbers have increased despite leopards often falling victim to human-animal conflict as they stray into human habitations or even become road-kills. The increase in big cat numbers over the past decade and a half indicates their resilience and ability to bounce back if provided secure environs.
3. Economy – In a 1st, discoms now liable to pay up to ₹1L relief for outages – Distribution companies (discoms) will be liable to pay compensation of up to Rs 1 lakh for resorting to wanton blackouts and will have to deliver other services such as installing a new connection, replacing or shifting a meter and changing the load within stringent time-lines under the first-ever service rules and consumer rights for the power sector announced by the Centre on December 21. This is the first time that the power supply has been recognised as a service industry and standards have been laid to ensure consumers, so far taken for granted by state government monopolies, get value for their money. Uniform service standards will ensure consumers get their money's worth, irrespective of whether they are served by private or state government entities.
4. People & Personalities – Trump presents ‘Legion of Merit’ to PM Modi for elevating India-US ties – US President Donald Trump has presented the prestigious Legion of Merit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his leadership in elevating strategic partnership of the two countries and emergence of India as a global power. Modi was presented with the highest degree Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit which is given only to the Head of State or Government. He was given the award in recognition of his steadfast leadership and vision that has accelerated India’s emergence as a global power and elevated the strategic partnership between the United States and India to address global challenges. Trump also presented the Legion of Merit to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
5. Environment and Ecology - UNEP AWARD – Indian entrepreneur Vidyut Mohan (29) is among the seven winners of the “Young Champions of the Earth” 2020 prize given by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Mohan is the co-founder of “Takachar”, a social enterprise enabling farmers to prevent open burning of their waste farm residues and earn extra income by converting them into value-added chemicals. Other six winners are: Niria Alicia Garcia of US, Fatemah Alzelzela of Kuwait, Nzambi Matee from Kenya, Xiaoyuan Ren from China, Lefteris Arapakis and Max Hidalgo Quinto from Peru. The prize is awarded every year to seven entrepreneurs under the age of 30 with bold ideas for sustainable environmental change.
6. Covid-19 – European medicines regulator approves Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine – The European Medicines Agency recommended conditional approval for a coronavirus vaccine developed by BioNTech and Pfizer to be used across the EU, weeks after the shot was first granted permission under emergency provisions in Britain and the US. The EU drug regulator has recommended the shot be licensed for use in people over 16 years of age, with some exceptions. The pharmaceutical companies will need to submit follow-up data on their vaccine for the next year.
7. Polity & Governance – Suspension of IBC extended till March 2021 – The government has decided to extend the suspension of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) till March 31, 2021, to help businesses cope with the lingering difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This settles a major uncertainty facing businesses since the present government order to keep the insolvency code in abeyance was due to expire on December 25. All defaults arising on or after March 25, when the national lockdown was imposed to curb the pandemic, will effectively remain out of the insolvency net for a full year.
8. Economy – GDP growth likely to turn positive in Q3: NCAER – Having witnessed a contraction in the first half of the current financial year, India’s GDP growth is likely to turn positive at 0.1% in the October-December quarter. The NCAER, in its mid-year review of the Indian economy, also forecast 2% growth in the fourth-quarter (January-March 2021). The overall contraction in the current fiscal is likely to be contained at 7.3%. India’s economy contracted by 23.9% in the first quarter of the current fiscal on the account of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The contraction narrowed to 7.5% in the second quarter.
9. Polity & Governance – Facebook bans Kisan Ekta Morcha Page, restores after outrage – Facebook banned a page on its platform sharing updates on farmer protests across the country citing its "Community Standards on Spam" but it later restored the page after widespread opposition on social media. The page called the Kisan Ekta Morcha which has been posting updates on the ongoing protests by the farmers against the Center’s farm laws and was being used by activists such as Yogendra Yadav was reportedly “unpublished” on December 20 for violating Facebook’s content policies.
10. Polity & Governance – Six international, Nine domestic locations to get ferry connectivity – The shipping and waterways ministry has identified nine domestic locations and six international routes, connecting four international destinations, including Chattogram in Bangladesh, Seychelles and Madagascar in Africa and Jaffna in Sri Lanka, from Indian major coastal port towns with ferry services. The nine domestic locations are Hazira, Okha, Somnath Temple, Diu, Pipavav, Dahej, Mumbai/ JNPT, Jamnagar, Kochi, Ghogha, Goa, Mundra and Mandvi for ferry and RO-RO (Roll-on Roll-Off) services. These routes have been identified under the Sagarmala project, a flagship programme of the ministry, which aims to promote port-led development through harnessing India’s 7,500 km long coastline and potentially navigable waterways. The ministry recently launched one of such services by deploying RO-PAX vessel ferry service between Hazira and Ghogha.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	Oil India Limited	Asst Operator, Asst Technician, Jr Asst	11	10th, 12th Class, Diploma (Civil), B.Sc, B.Com	20-01-2021	https://www.oil-india.com/Document/Career/OIL,RF_Notification_megerd.pdf
2	IREL (India) Ltd	Trade/ Technician/ Graduate Apprentice	13	ITI, Diploma, B.E (Engg)	31-12-2020	https://www.irel.co.in/documents/20126/91500/Engagment+of+App.+Advertisement+2020-21+-+1I+%281%29.pdf/0f40d3e8-8bf8-1a19-21eb-48e96ad244f8?t=1607670893964
3	Army Recruiting Office, Calicut	Soldier	--	8th Class, SSLC, 10+2	02-02-2021	https://joinindianarmy.nic.in/writereaddata/Portal/BRAVO_NotificationPDF/calicut_notfn.pdf
4	APSWREIS	Staff Nurse	17	GNM, B.Sc (Nursing)	28-12-2020	http://www.apswreis.info/files/STAFF%20NURSE%20PART%20TIME.pdf
--	Army Recruiting Office, Katihar	Soldier (Tradesman)	--	8th Class, 10th Class	02-02-2021	https://joinindianarmy.nic.in/writereaddata/Portal/BRAVO_NotificationPDF/Final_Notification_for_rect_rally__Tradesman__ARO_Ktr.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 ONGC starts production in Bengal basin, making it India’s eighth functional

 

  

Highlights –

• Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Limited has begun crude oil production from the Asokenagar-1 well, Bengal Basin in 24 Paragana district.
• This has made the Bengal basin India’s eighth producing basin, joining the ranks of Krishna-Godavari (KG), Mumbai Offshore, Assam Shelf, Rajasthan, Cauvery, Assam-Arakan Fold Belt and Cambay.
• There are 26 sedimentary basins in India, covering a total area of 3.4 million square kilometer. Of these, 16 are onland basins, 7 located both onland and offshore and 3 completely offshore.
• ONGC sent its first hydrocarbon consignment produced during well testing to Indian Oil Corporation Limited’s Haldia Oil Refinery on November 5, 2020.
• This producing basin was dedicated to the nation by Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan on December 20. Mr. Pradhan commenced the formal production of oil by switching on the Sucker Rod Pump (SRP).
• Pradhan said that the discovery would contribute towards attaining the goal for reducing oil import dependence given by PM Narendra Modi.
• Addressing the ‘Urja Sangam’ conference during March 2015, Modi had said that India needs to bring down its oil import dependence from 77 percent in 2013-2014, to 67 per cent by 2022, when India will celebrate its 75th year of independence.

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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 Nepal Parliament dissolved amid ruling party feud 

 

 

Highlights –

• Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari has dissolved the country's parliament on the recommendation of PM KP Sharma Oli following a political stalemate over an executive order issued recently.
• The decision to seek the disbandment of the House of Representatives has been taken at an emergency meeting of the Cabinet.
• Nepal's House of Representatives, elected in 2017, has 275 members. The next general election in the Himalayan country was due in 2022.
• President Bhandari has announced that the national polls will now be held between April 30 and May 10 of 2021.
• Following the Prime Minister's recommendation to dissolve the House, and President Bhandar's nod for the same, seven of his minister resigned from the Cabinet on December 20.
• The ordinance to amend the Constitutional Council Act was introduced on December 15, and allegedly undermined the principle of checks and balances. It allowed the Constitutional Council to convene a meeting if a majority of its members attend it.
• The Constitutional Council is headed by the prime minister and includes the chief justice, speaker, chairperson of the National Assembly, leader of the opposition, and the deputy speaker as its members. It recommends key appointment to various constitutional bodies.
• Meanwhile, the Prime Minister's Nepal Communist Party has said that he has lost majority support.

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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 News Round-up – Arts, Culture and History 

• Contemporary Indian dancer Astad Deboo, known for amalgamating Indian and western dance techniques, died in Mumbai in Dec 2020 at the age of 73. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in 1995 and Padma Shri in 2007.
• The second non-fiction book by best-selling author Amish Tripathi will be released in Dec 2020 announced publishing house Westland. The book, titled "Dharma: Decoding the Epics for A Meaningful Life", offers practical, philosophical lessons drawn from ancient Hindu epics. It is co-authored by Amish's sister Bhavana Roy.
• South Korea’s seven-member K-pop boy band BTS was named ‘Entertainer of the Year’ by TIME magazine on December 10, 2020. Time also announced the selection of Los Angeles Lakers club’s basketball player LeBron James as its Athlete of the Year.
• A new study has found the presence of animal products, including cattle and buffalo meat, in ceramic vessels dating back about 4,600 years at seven Indus Valley Civilisation sites in present-day Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The study, which was published on December 9, 2020 in the Journal of Archaeological Science and conducted as a part of the Two Rains project of the University of Cambridge and Banaras Hindu University, analysed the lipid residue in pottery found at the ancient sites.
• Renowned Sanskrit scholar Vidyavachaspati Bannanje Govindacharya died in Udupi, Karnataka on December 13, 2020 at the age of 85. He was conferred the Padma Shree in 2009. He was the brand ambassador of India at the World Conference on Religion and Peace held at Princeton, USA in 1979.
• Veteran Hindi writer Madhukar Gangadhar died in Dec 2020 in New Delhi at the age of 88. After serving for 39 years in All India Radio (AIR) he became an independent writer based in Delhi. ‘Motiyo Wale Hath’, ‘Hirna Ki Aankhen’ are some of his most well-known works.
• Hindi poet and writer Manglesh Dabral passed away on December 9, 2020 at the age on 72. He had returned his Sahitya Akademi Award in 2015 as a protest against violence against public intellectuals.
• TV actress Divya Bhatnagar of "Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai" fame, who had been diagnosed with COVID-19, died in Dec 2020 at the age of 36.

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Rajnath Singh inaugurates Hypersonic wind tunnel test facility at DRDO 

 

Highlights –

• Defence minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated the advanced Hypersonic Wind Tunnel test facility in Hyderabad.
• The state-of-the-art facility is pressure vaccum driven enclosed free jet facility with nozzle exit of one-meter diameter.
• As per reports, this will simulate Mach 5 to 12. Mach represent the multiplication factor to the speed of sound, making India the third country after the US and Russia to have such a facility.
• With this India has become the third country to have such a huge facility in size and capability after America and Russia. The project is an indigenous development and an outcome of synergistic partnership with Indian industries.
• Hyderabad-based DRDO labs showcased various indigenously developed systems and technologies in wide ranging areas including missiles, avionics systems, advanced materials and electronic warfare. Two anti-drone technologies were also demonstrated by DRDO labs on the occasion.

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

8.1 International Human Solidarity Day 2020

 

Key points –

• International Human Solidarity Day 2020 is observed annually on December 20 by the UN General Assembly.
• Solidarity is recognized as one of the basic values of international relations in the Millennium Declaration in the 21st Century. In this, the ones who either suffer or are least benefitted deserve help from those who are at the most benefit.
• Therefore with the globalization and the growing challenges of inequality, it has become important to build up international solidarity.
• Thus, the UN General Assembly proclaimed December 20 as International Human Solidarity Day. The General Assembly, on December 22, 2005, by resolution 60/209 recognized solidarity as one of the fundamental and universal values in the twenty-first century.
• The concept of solidarity was promoted through the establishment of the World Solidarity Fund to eradicate poverty and the proclamation of International Human Solidarity Day.

Objective –

• Celebrate our unity in diversity.
• Remind governments to respect their commitments to international agreements.
• Raise public awareness of the importance of solidarity.
• Encourage debate on the ways to promote solidarity for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals including poverty eradication.
• A day of action to encourage new initiatives for poverty eradication.

Importance –

• The United Nations’ creation brought the nations and people of the world together to promote peace, human rights and social and economic development.
• The Organization was founded on the fundamentals of unity and harmony among its members.
• It is expressed in the concept of collective security that relies on the solidarity of its members to unite “to maintain international peace and security.”.

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

9.1 National Mathematics Day 2020

 

Highlights –  

• National Mathematics Day or Math Day is observed every year on December 22, honouring the legendary mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan Aiyangar on his birthday.
• Former PM Manmohan Singh had inaugurated on this date in 2012, after which it is observed as Math Day every year.
• The objective behind celebrating the day is to raise awareness among people about the importance of mathematics for the development of humanity.

The mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan – 

 

• He was born to a Tamil Brahmin Iyengar family at Erode, Tamil Nadu. He had developed a talent for mathematics from a very young age, mastering trigonometry at the age of 12 and was eligible for a scholarship at the Government Arts College in Kumbakonam. He had enrolled in Madras’ Pachaiyappa College at the age of 14.
• In 1912, Ramanujan started working as a clerk in the Madras Port Trust where his mathematical genius was recognized by a colleague who was also a mathematician. The said colleague referred Ramanujan to Professor GH Hardy of Trinity College, Cambridge University.
• Ramanujan met Hardy in 1913, a year after which he went to Trinity College where he honed his craft. In 1916, he received a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree. He was elected to the London Mathematical Society in 1917.
• In 1918, Ramanujan was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for his research on Elliptic Functions and theory of numbers. In October 1918, he became the first Indian to be elected a Fellow of Trinity College.
• Ramanujan made priceless contributions to several mathematical concepts like infinite series, continued fractions, number theory and mathematical analysis. He also made notable contributions like the hypergeometric series, the Riemann series, the elliptic integrals, the theory of divergent series, and the functional equations of the zeta function.
• Ramanujan died at the young age of 32 owing to deteriorating health on April 26, 1920.
• In 2015, the movie 'The Man Who Knew Infinity' was released based on the biography and the role was played by British-Indian actor Dev Patel.

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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 -

• Keep Soil Alive, Protect Soil Biodiversity was the theme of the World Soil Day observed on Dec 2020.
• Ramkumar Ramanathan beat Blu Baker of Britain in the final to win the men’s singles title at the UTR Pro tennis tournament in Naples, USA.
• The first BRICS Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting was held virtually in Nov 2020.
• Founder of Emirates News Agency Ibrahim al-Abed passed away in Oct 2020 in Dubai at the age of 78.
• The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been jointly won by Harvey J Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice.

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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