Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 23-12-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 23-12-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

• World – Israel on the brink of fourth poll in two years – Israel has headed for its fourth election in less than two years, with its Parliament set to dissolve at midnight after lawmakers rejected a last-ditch effort to salvage the fractured ruling coalition. The government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been inching towards collapse for weeks and now the right-wing incumbent looks set to face a re-election battle as his long-awaited trial on corruption charges gets under way next year. The coalition, led by Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud and his rival Benny Gantz’s centrist Blue and White party, has until the start of Wednesday (December 22) to pass a 2020 budget or Parliament will automatically dissolve. Mr. Gantz demanded the government pass a budget covering both 2020 and 2021, arguing Israel needs stability. But Mr. Netanyahu has refused to endorse a 2021 budget.
• World – China slams U.S. over Tibet Bill, S. China Sea ‘trespass’ – The US and China have sparred over Tibet and the South China Sea, with new moves from Washington marking the start of the last month of President Donald Trump in office fuelling fresh tensions in an already fraught relationship. China has hit out at the U.S. for passing the Tibetan Policy and Support Act (TPSA), a landmark legislation that calls for the opening of a U.S. consulate in Lhasa and also underlines U.S. backing for the Dalai Lama to determine his successor. With the Act, the U.S. will back the choice made by the Dalai Lama, even as China has made clear it would anoint its own successor, just as it did by naming its own 11th Panchen Lama in 1995 as Gyancain Norbu, rejecting the Dalai Lama-backed candidate, Gedhun Choekyi Nima, aged six at the time, who has not been seen in public since.
• Polity & Governance – Gupkar alliance wins 97 seats, BJP 70 in J&K district polls – The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), a conglomeration of seven parties, has taken a significant lead in the first-ever District Development Council (DDC) elections in Jammu and Kashmir even as the alliance’s main opponent, the BJP, emerged as the single largest party, sweeping the polls in many districts in the Jammu region while making some inroads in the valley. However, it is the independents — 44 of whom have already won— who will call the shots in many places, particularly in the valley. Nearly 20 more independents were leading in the counting. The DDC election was the first electoral exercise since the nullification of Article 370 on August 5 in 2019. Voting was conducted for 280 seats— 14 in each of the 20 districts of the Union Territory.
• Covid-19 – Tuesday tally: 24k fresh cases, 330 deaths – India recorded nearly 24,000 fresh Covid cases on Tuesday (December 22), with the trend of decline in cases continuing as compared to the average count in the previous week. On December 21, daily cases had dipped to a 175-day low of 18,588. On Tuesday, the number of fresh cases stood at 23,866, with data from Assam yet to come. The case count on Tuesday was lower than the daily average of the previous week (24,502) as well as the tally recorded last Tuesday (26,239). India has so far recorded 1,00,99,264 cases. There were 330 deaths on Tuesday, around the same as the daily toll over the past eight days. India’s cumulative toll has risen to 1,46,424.
• World – Nepal’s ruling party appears headed for split – The ruling Nepal Communist Party on December 22 appeared to be headed for a split after the warring factions held separate Central Committee meetings, with Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli announcing a new 1,199-member committee to organise the party’s general convention in an effort to strengthen his hold on it. Mr. Oli, who is also one of the two chairmen of the ruling party, announced the new committee during a meeting of the party’s Central Committee members close to him, at Baluwatar, the Prime Minister’s official residence. The members of the newly-formed general convention organising committee took oaths in the presence of the Prime Minister. The meeting also decided to remove Naryan Kaji Shrestha as the party spokesperson.
• Covid-19 – Drugmakers rush to test if vaccines stop virus variant – Ugur Sahin, chief executive of Germany’s BioNTech, has said he needs another two weeks to know if his shot can stop the mutant variant of the virus. Moderna expects immunity from its vaccine to protect against the variant and is performing more tests in coming weeks to confirm. The mutation known as the B.1.1.7 lineage may be up to 70% more infectious and more of a concern for children. It has sown chaos in Britain, prompting a wave of travel bans that are disrupting trade with Europe and threatening to further isolate the country. Germany’s CureVac said it does not expect the variant to affect the efficacy of its experimental shot, which is based on the same messenger RNA (mRNA) technology and is currently in the late stage of clinical trials.
• World – Russia bans entry of EU officials – Russia is hitting several EU officials with tit-for-tat sanctions in response to penalties imposed by the bloc over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The Foreign Ministry said that in response to “confrontational” EU actions, it had “decided to expand the list of representatives of EU member states and institutions who will be denied entry to the Russian Federation”. The counter sanctions were announced after Moscow summoned senior diplomats from three EU nations where labs concluded that Mr. Navalny was poisoned in August with Novichok, a Soviet-designed nerve agent.
• Economy – ‘Centre to set up development finance entity in 3-4 months’ – The government plans to set up a Development Finance Institution (DFI) in the next three to four months with a view to mobilise the ₹111 lakh crore required for funding of the ambitious national infrastructure pipeline. In her last Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had proposed to set up DFIs for promoting infrastructure funding. About 7,000 projects have been identified under the National Infrastructure Pipeline with projected investment of ₹111 lakh crore during 2020-25.
• Education – ‘CBSE Board exams only after February’ – Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has said that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class X and Class XII examinations would only be held after February next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Usually, the practical exams are conducted in January and theory exams begin in February. He added that the schedule for the exams had not been decided yet. The CBSE had earlier announced that the Board exams in 2021 would be conducted in the written mode and not online.
• Law & Constitution – HC: None can interfere if adult converts, marries on her own – There can be “no interference if an adult marries as per her choice, converts and refuses to return to her parents”, the Calcutta high court said on December 21 while hearing the plea of a Hindu man whose daughter had converted to marry a Muslim youth. The father, a 44-year-old peasant from Durgapur in Nadia district of West Bengal, said his daughter had left home on September 15 and the next day he learnt that she had converted, taken a Muslim name and got married. He alleged that his daughter was either coerced into doing so or lured. In his petition, the father claimed he wouldn’t have doubted her intention had the marriage been formalised under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 that provides for inter-religious marriages. But she changed her religion and got married within 24 hours.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	SBI	Specialist Cadre Officer	452	BE / B.Tech, PG, CA / CFA / FRM	11-01-2021	https://www.sbi.co.in/
2	Spices Board	Software Engineer, System Engineer & System Support Eng.	8	B.E / B.Tech/ MCA / B.Sc/ BCA	30-12-2020	http://www.indianspices.com/sites/default/files/Notification%20for%20uploading%20in%20the%20website%20appd.pdf
3	Oil India Limited	Asst Operator, Asst Technician, Jr Asst	11	10th, 12th Dip (Civil), B.Sc, B.Com	20-01-2021	https://www.oil-india.com/Document/Career/OIL,RF_Notification_megerd.pdf
4	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
5	CCRAS	Senior Research Fellow	10	BAMS	15-01-2021	http://www.ccras.nic.in/sites/default/files/viewpdf/Vacancies/17122020_RARIMCH_Nagpur_Advt.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 News Round-up – Indian Economy

 

 

• The Cabinet in Dec 2020 approved the launch of Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY) to provide employees' provident fund (EPF) contribution to firms hiring additional workforce for two years.  This would cost the government Rs 22,810 crore during the entire period, from 2020 to 2023. Under the package, the union government will provide subsidy for two years in respect of new employees engaged on or after October 1, 2020 and upto June 30, 2021. The government will pay employees as well as employers contribution at 12% of wages each towards EPF in respect of new employees in establishments employing up to 1000 employees for two years. However, it will pay only employees' share of EPF contribution at 12% of wages in respect of new employees in establishments employing more than 1000 employee for two years. Employees drawing monthly wage less than Rs 15,000 will be covered.
• The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has circulated a draft of Indian Ports Bill 2020 for public consultation which will repeal and replace the Indian Ports Act, 1908. The Bill seeks to create an enabling environment for the growth and development of the ports sector through measures like constitution of Maritime Port Regulatory Authority, formulation of the National Port policy and National Port plan in consultation with Coastal State Governments.
• PM Modi delivered inaugural address at the virtual India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2020 on December 8, 2020 through video conference. The theme for IMC 2020 is “Inclusive Innovation - Smart, Secure, Sustainable”.
• India’s industrial production as captured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), grew by 3.63% year-on-year (YoY) in the month of October 2020. It shrank by 6.6% in October 2019.
• The Asian Development Bank (ADB), in its Asian Development Outlook (ADO) Supplement released in Dec 2020, upgraded its forecast for the Indian economy, projecting 8 per cent contraction in 2020-21 as compared to 9 per cent degrowth estimated earlier, on the back of faster than expected recovery.

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

3.1 Air pollution killed 1.7 million Indians in 2019: Study

 

 

 

What does the study say –

• The economic loss due to premature deaths and morbidity from air pollution was ₹ 2,60,000 crore or 1.4 per cent of the GDP in India in 2019.
• Lost output from deaths and diseases due to air pollution led to a loss of 1.4 per cent of the GDP of the country.
• 1.7 million deaths (18 per cent of the total deaths) in the country were attributable to air pollution in 2019.
• Household air pollution decreased in India resulting in 64 per cent reduction in the death rate attributable to it from 1990 to 2019, whereas the death rate from outdoor ambient air pollution increased during this period by 115 per cent.
• The economic loss due to air pollution as a percentage of the state GDP was higher in the northern and central India states, with the highest in Uttar Pradesh (2.2 per cent of GDP) and Bihar (2 per cent of GDP).
• India has a good economic and development trajectory, which can improve further with the reduction of air pollution.

What do the experts say –

• The study presents the latest evidence on air pollution in India, translating the health loss to economic impact.
• It provides a robust assessment of the trends and current situation in each state, and highlights that augmenting the existing air pollution control efforts based on the specific situation of each state would be useful.
• Air pollution and its impact is not a matter for the health sector alone, and the solutions lie in a multi-sectoral approach with a common commitment to reducing exposure to toxic air, which is impacting the health and productivity of Indians.
• Various government schemes such as the 'Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana'' and 'Unnat Chulha Abhiyan'' have aided in reducing household air pollution in the country.
• The findings in this analysis show that while 40 per cent of the disease burden due to air pollution is from lung diseases, the remaining 60 per cent is from ischemic heart disease, stroke, diabetes and neonatal deaths related to preterm birth, thus highlighting the broad ranging impact of air pollution on human health.

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

4.1 India-Vietnam virtual summit

 

Highlights –

• India and Vietnam have signed seven agreements for cooperation in areas such as defence, petrochemicals and nuclear energy and unveiled a joint vision for peace and prosperity against the backdrop of concerns in both countries about China’s aggressive actions across the region.
• Participating in a virtual summit with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc, PM Modi described Vietnam as “an important pillar of India’s Act East policy and an important ally of our Indo-Pacific vision”.
• Nyugen Xuan Phuc said the upgrading of bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016 had bolstered trust and bolstered understanding of other’s vision and interests on international issues. He said the Vietnamese side had aso agreed on India’s proposals for a further defence line of credit.
• PM Modi said the seven agreements signed by the two countries cover diverse issues such as defence, nuclear power, petrochemicals, renewable energy and treatment of cancer.
• The meeting was held at a time when both countries are grappling with China’s aggressive actions in the region.
• India is locked in a military standoff with China in Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) while Vietnam has major differences over Chinese claims within its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.
• The two leaders released a joint vision document and a plan of action for bilateral engagements during 2021-23.

Important details –

• India is currently implementing a $100-million defence line of credit for 12 high speed patrol boats for Vietnam. The boats being built for the Vietnam Border Guard are meant to enhance coastal security and prevent illegal activities.
• Five vessels are being built at Larsen & Toubro’s shipyard in Chennai, and the rest will be made at Hong Ha shipyard in the Vietnamese port city of Hai Phong under the Indian firm’s supervision.
• Both countries also have stakes in the Indo-Pacific region and significant maritime interests, and the summit enabled them to look at potential cooperation on India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative and Asean’s Indo-Pacific outlook.
• Both the countries will also concurrently serve as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council from 2021, and this has opened up new opportunities for cooperation and coordination on regional and international issues.

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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 – Corporate World

 

 

• The pandemic that hit the world a year ago crippling the lives of both individuals as well as organisations, has created a winner -- high technology adoption across the globe, with Indian organisations leading such upgrades. According to a global study by PwC India, the highest increase in use of artificial intelligence (AI) during COVID-19 times has been witnessed in India. The study also showed that 94 per cent of the over 200 chief executives in India surveyed said they've either adopted or are planning to implement AI in their companies.
• Cybercrime incidents could cost the world nearly a trillion dollars in 2020, a 50% jump from around $600 billion in 2018. The annual global cost of cybercrime this year is estimated to be around $945 billion, which is more than 1% of the global gross domestic product (GDP), according to a recent global report by McAfee titled ‘The Hidden Costs of Cybercrime’.
• Food delivery firm Swiggy has expanded its Street Food Vendors programme to 125 cities under the Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme. Swiggy facilitates a Food Safety Training and Certification (FOSTAC) in partnership with FSSAI and their empanelled partners.
• Global machine connectivity solutions company Skylotech India has partnered with BSNL to launch a satellite-based narrowband IoT network in India. This solution, developed by Skylo, will connect with BSNL’s satellite ground infrastructure and provide pan-India coverage, including Indian seas.
• Google has opened its open-source operating system Fuchsia, in the works for nearly four years, to the contributors from the public. Fuchsia is designed to work across the Internet of Things (IoT) and other connected devices and will take Huawei HarmonyOS head-on.
• Amazon India recently announced that the company will host the fourth edition of its sale event - Small Business Day (SBD) 2020 starting from midnight on December 12, 2020 until 11:59 pm on the same day. The online event will offer customers the opportunity to discover and purchase products from startups, women entrepreneurs, artisans and weavers, and local shops.

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Kisan Diwas 2020

 

 

Key points –

• Kisan Diwas or National Farmers' Day is observed on December 23, the birth anniversary of Chaudhary Charan Singh, the fifth prime minister of India.
• Born into a farmer's family, Chaudhary Charan Singh was known for his farmer-friendly policies. He was the PM between July 1979 and January 1980. During his short time as prime minister, Chaudhary Charan Singh worked hard for the welfare of Indian farmers. He had introduced several welfare schemes for the farmers.
• The government, in 2001, decided to mark Charan Singh's birth anniversary as Kisan Diwas.
• Kisan Diwas is a day to remember the role of Indian farmers in the economy.
• Chaudhary Charan Singh played a key role in bringing the issues of small and marginal farmers to the forefront.
• Carrying forward Sir Chhotu Ram's legacy, he founded the Kisan Trust on December 23, 1978, to spread awareness about farmers' issues in the country.

Important details –

• In 1939, he introduced the Debt Redemption Bill to give relief to the farmers from moneylenders.
• As the agriculture minister, in 1952, Charan Singh worked for abolishing the zamindari system and in 1953, he got the Consolidation of Holdings Act passed. Under this Act, fragmented land holdings were pooled and then re-allotted to the farmers in a way that each got a single farm.
• Chaudhary Charan Singh was committed to the farm sector and favoured small and cottage industries. For his association with the farming community, his memorial in New Delhi was named the Kisan Ghat.

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

8.1 National Consumer Rights Day 2020

 

 

Highlights – 

• Every Year, December 24 is observed as National Consumer Rights Day with a selected theme in India.
• On this day, the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 had received the assent of the president. The enactment of this Act is considered as a historic milestone in the consumer movement in the country.
• This day provides an opportunity for individuals to highlight the importance of the consumer movement and the need to make every consumer more aware of their rights and responsibilities.

Theme –

• In 2020, the National Consumer Day is celebrated with the theme ‘The Sustainable Consumer'.
• We urgently need drastic action to address the global crises of climate change and biodiversity loss. The decade of the 2020s is our last chance to limit global warming to 1.5°C since pre-industrial times, in line with the Paris Agreement and to reverse the current trend of wide-scale biodiversity loss.
• The consumer movement will highlight the lifestyle changes consumers can make to play their part, and what governments and businesses need to do to make sustainability the easy choice for consumers.

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

9.1 PM Wani

 

 

Highlights –  

• The central government is planning a four time increase in public Wi-Fi hotspots across the country by the end of 2021 through the Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) scheme.
• The registrations for the applications to offer these services will be rolled out in the first week of January 2021.
• India currently has five lakh hotspot access points and this will be increased to two million towards the conclusion of the year 2021.
• Registrations can be done as a public data operator aggregator (PDOA) on the central registry portal. Following that the PDOAs will collaborate with small businesses and setup Wi-Fi access points to provide hotspot in public spaces.
• They will have to purchase bandwidth from telcos and internet service providers and subsequently resell it to the consumers.
• Users will have to choose from a list of all PDOAs providing connectivity from the Wani application to access the Wi-Fi.

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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 -

• DRDO demonstrates communication between two labs in Hyderabad using Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology.
• 63rd Founding Day of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence was observed on Dec 4, 2020.
• External Affairs Minister held talks with Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, the Foreign Minister of Oman in Dec 2020 and discussed ways to bolster bilateral cooperation.
• Muthoot Finance’s proposal to acquire IDBI AMC was rejected by the Reserve Bank of India.
• The World Philosophy Day is observed on third Thursday of November every year.

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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