Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 31-12-2020

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 31-12-2020

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. World – British lawmakers approve post-Brexit trade deal with EU – Britain’s House of Commons voted resoundingly on December 30 to approve a trade deal with the European Union, paving the way for an orderly break with the bloc that will finally complete the U.K.’s years-long Brexit journey. With just a day to spare, lawmakers voted 521-73 in favour of the agreement sealed between the U.K. government and the EU last week. It will become British law once is passes through the unelected House of Lords later in the day and gets formal royal assent from Queen Elizabeth II. The U.K. left the EU almost a year ago, but remained within the bloc’s economic embrace during a transition period that ends at midnight Brussels time —- 11 p.m. in London — on December 31.
2. World – China set to launch third aircraft carrier in 2021 – The launching of China’s third and largest aircraft carrier is likely to take place in 2021, with a renewed push to take forward military modernisation plans amid a number of territorial and maritime disputes. China one year ago launched its second aircraft carrier, the Shandong, which was the first to be built at home. It joined the Liaoning, which was developed by retrofitting a Soviet-era cruiser and commissioned in 2012. The Shandong, which has already been deployed in the Taiwan Straits and in the South China Sea, is likely to be combat ready in 2021. Two larger aircraft carriers are being built at the Jiangnan Shipyard near Shanghai, the first of which is likely to be launched in 2021. This means it could be commissioned into service and be combat ready by 2023.
3. Economy – Current account surplus moderates to $15.5 bn in Q2 – India’s current account surplus moderated to $15.5 billion (2.4% of GDP) in the second quarter compared with a $19.2-billion surplus (3.8% of GDP) in the April-June quarter. The country had recorded a deficit of $7.6 billion for the quarter ended June, 2019. The narrowing of the current account surplus in Q2 of FY21 over the preceding quarter was due to a rise in the merchandise trade deficit to $14.8 billion from 10.8 billion in Q1. Net services receipts increased on a year-on-year basis, primarily on the back of higher net earnings from computer services. Private transfer receipts, mainly representing remittances by Indians employed overseas, declined from a year earlier but sequentially improved 12% to $20.4 billion. The net outgo from the primary income account, primarily reflecting net overseas investment income payments, increased to $9.3 billion from $8.8 billion a year earlier. In the financial account, net foreign direct investment recorded inflow of $24.6 billion compared with $7.3 billion.
4. Economy – ‘Govt. eyes asset sales to partly fund higher spending in FY22’ – India is likely to spend more next fiscal year than this year’s budgeted $415 billion and prioritise infrastructure projects, relying on asset sales of about $40 billion for some of the funding. Actual spending in the current fiscal year ending March 31 could be lower than the original target of ₹30.4 trillion (₹1 lakh crore = ₹1 trillion), but will be higher than last year’s ₹26.86 trillion. India had aimed to raise more than $28 billion this fiscal by selling stakes in companies such as Bharat Petroleum, Container Corp. of India, Shipping Corp. of India and Air India, and by listing the Life Insurance Corp., but the pandemic delayed the process.
5. Economy – CCEA nod for 3 infra projects – The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved three infrastructure proposals estimated at ₹7,725 crore for setting up greenfield industrial cities with connectivity to major transportation corridors such as the eastern and western dedicated freight corridors, expressways and National highways. The three projects, proposed by the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, include construction of various trunk infrastructure components for the Krishnapatnam Industrial Area in Andhra Pradesh at an estimated cost of ₹2,139.44 crore; the Tumakuru Industrial Area in Karnataka at ₹1,701.81 crore; and a multi-modal logistics hub (MMLH) and multi-modal transport hub (MMTH) at Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh at ₹3,883.8 crore.
6. Defence – Cabinet gives approval for Akash missile export – As part of efforts to boost defence exports, the Union Cabinet has approved the export of the indigenously developed and manufactured Akash short-range Surface to Air Missile (SAM) system. It also approved the high-level committee formed to expedite clearance of such exports. Besides Akash, there was interest coming in for other major platforms such as the Coastal Surveillance System, radars and air platforms. For faster approval of export of such platforms, a committee comprising the Defence Minister, the External Affairs Minister and the National Security Advisor had been created. So far, Indian defence exports included parts and components but the export of big platforms was minimal. After its induction in the Services, interest was shown in the Akash missile by many friendly countries during international exhibitions/Def Expo/Aero India.
7. Covid-19 – U.K. approves Oxford vaccine – The COVID-19 vaccine by Oxford Universty and AstraZeneca has been approved for emergency supply in the U.K., with the first doses being released on December 30 so that vaccinations may begin early in the New Year. This is significant for India, as the Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) has tied up with AstraZeneca to deploy the vaccine in the country. India’s drug regulators reviewed an application by the SII for “emergency use authorisation” (EUA). The EUA is for active immunisation of individuals of 18 years or older and recommends two doses with an interval of between four and 12 weeks.
8. Agriculture – Farmers, Centre reach agreement on two issues – The protesting farmers and the Union Ministers have reached an agreement on the decriminalisation of stubble burning and the safeguarding of power subsidies — two of the four issues on the negotiating table — during their final round of talks for the year. However, deadlock continued on the two biggest demands — repeal of the three farm market reform laws and a legal guarantee for minimum support prices (MSPs) for farm produce. Further discussion on these issues will be held at the next meeting on January 4.
9. Covid-19 – U.S. detects first case of new coronavirus variant – A new variant of the coronavirus that may be more contagious has been found in a Colorado man who had not been travelling, triggering a host of questions about how the first U.S. case of the new version showed up in the Rocky Mountain state. As per reports, for the moment, the variant is likely still rare in the U.S., but the lack of travel history in the first case means it is spreading, probably seeded by travellers from Britain in November or December. President-elect Joe Biden has criticised the Trump administration for the pace of distributing COVID-19 vaccines.
10. Study/Report – Over 66,000 police on VIP duty in 2019: report – More than 20,000 additional policemen above the sanctioned strength were deployed in VIP protection duty in the year 2019. As many as 66,043 policemen were deployed to protect 19,467 Ministers, Members of Parliament, judges, bureaucrats and other personalities in 2019 compared to 63,061 policemen for similar duty in 2018. The sanctioned strength for the job was 43,566 policemen. The highest number of persons who received police protection in 2019 were in West Bengal — 3,142, followed by Punjab (2,594), Bihar (2,347), Haryana (1,355) and Jharkhand (1,351). The total number of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel engaged for providing personal protection to various individuals was not included in the report.

Important Exam Notifications
S. No	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	UPSC	NDA & NA (I) Exam 2021	400	12th Class	19-01-2021	https://www.upsc.gov.in/
2	NALCO	SUPT, Operator (Boiler) Gr.I, II, II	10	Matriculation / ITI	30-01-2021	https://nalcoindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Advertisement-No.14200301-for-SUPTJOT-OperatorBoiler_ver-02.pdf
3	National Institute of Epidemiology	Project DEO (Grade A), Semi-Skilled Worker, Project Junior Nurse	10	DMLT, ANM, , BSMS / BAMS / BUMS, MD/ MS	18 to 21-01-2021	http://nie.gov.in/images/careers/No._NIE-PE-Advt-Dec-2020_-17_159.pdf
4	CSIR-CDRI	Sr Technical Officer, Technical Officer & Technical Asst, Technician-1	55	B.Tech (Engg), B.Sc. (Sci.), MBBS, BVSc	05-02-2021	https://cdri.res.in/pdf/recruitment/AdvertisementTechnicalStaff11_2020.pdf
5	IRCON International Ltd	Dy. General Manager, Assistant Manager, Joint General Manager	42	Degree (Engg), ME/ M.Tech, LLB, CA/ICWA	29-01-2021	http://www.ircon.org/images/file/cosecy/Combined_advt_2020_for_Civil_Elect_Fin__Legal.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 Maintaining inflation at 4% appropriate for India: RBI paper

 

RBI paper–

• Maintaining 4 per cent inflation is appropriate for India as targeting a lower rate could impart deflationary bias to the monetary policy.

Highlights –

• Under the current dispensation, the RBI has been mandated by the government to maintain retail  inflation at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.
• The paper has found a steady decline in trend inflation to 4.1-4.3 per cent since 2014.
• The paper notes that estimating trend inflation with regular updates is important for the formulation of monetary policy, irrespective of the country setting.
• Section 45ZA of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 mandates that the Central Government shall, in consultation with the Bank, determine the inflation target once in every five years.
• The inflation target has to be reviewed by end-March 2021. In this context, trend inflation provides the metric to gauge the appropriate level of the target going forward.
• In a bid to keep inflation under specified level, the government in 2016 had decided to set up Monetary Policy Committee headed by the RBI Governor entrusted with the task of fixing the benchmark policy rate (repo rate).
• The six-member panel, which had its first meeting in October 2016, was given the mandate to maintain annual inflation at 4 per cent until March 31, 2021, with an upper tolerance of 6 per cent and lower tolerance of 2 per cent.

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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 S Jaishankar meets Qatar’s Emir, PM

 

 

  

Highlights –

• External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar concluded his two-day stand-alone visit to Qatar from 27 to 28 December.
• During the visit, he called on The Amir and Father Amir as well as the Prime Minister and Interior Minister of the State of Qatar and held detailed discussions with the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.
• Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani appreciated the contribution of the Indian community in Qatar and recalled his visits to India.
• EAM Jaishankar thanked him for his continued guidance on India-Qatar relations. He also appreciated Father Amir for his insights on global and regional developments.
• Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H.E. Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani and EAM discussed strengthening bilateral economic and security cooperation.
• Both Ministers discussed ways to strengthen the multifaceted bilateral relationship in areas such as energy, trade, investment, food processing, healthcare, education, culture, defence and security. They agreed to maintain regular consultations and coordination on all issues of mutual interest at multilateral fora.
• EAM also extended an invitation to Deputy PM and Foreign Minister of Qatar to visit India for the first Joint Commission Meeting in 2021.
• Moreover, EAM interacted with the business leaders from Qatar, including the Chairmen and board members of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Qatar Businessmen Association.
• EAM also appreciated their commitment for business partnerships with India and briefed them about new opportunities flowing from Atmanirbhar Bharat.
• EAM visited the Ahmed bin Ali FIFA Stadium that has been constructed by Indian company L&T along with Qatari partners Al Balagh group. He also visited the Qatar National Museum.
• EAM held a virtual interaction with the Indian community in Qatar. He appreciated the contribution of the community in meeting the Covid-19 challenge.

4.2 S News Round-up – India and the World

• The U.S. Treasury labelled Switzerland and Vietnam as currency manipulators on December 16, 2020 and added three new names, including India, to a watch list of countries it suspects of taking measures to devalue their currencies against the dollar. To be labelled a manipulator by the U.S. Treasury, countries must at least have a $20 billion-plus bilateral trade surplus with the U.S., foreign currency intervention exceeding 2% of gross domestic product and a global current account surplus exceeding 2% of GDP.
• Government of India and World Bank December 16, 2020 signed $400 million loan for project to protect India’s poor and vulnerable from the impact of COVID-19. Finance Ministry said, this is the second operation in a programmatic series of two. The first operation of 750 million dollar was approved in May 2020.
• The government signed a loan agreement worth $1 billion with the New Development Bank (NDB) to support the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and India’s rural infrastructure, on December 16, 2020.
• United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has tied up with Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to launch a technology-assisted psycho-social counselling service called “iCALL” which will use telephonic, email and chat-based mediums to provide counselling services to those battling mental distress brought on by the pandemic.
• India and the U.K. have agreed to set up a joint task force consisting of designated higher education organisations from both the countries to work towards mutual recognition of academic qualifications, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ said following his talks with U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in New Delhi on December 16, 2020.
• India and UK on December 15, 2020 held delegation level talks in New Delhi. Visiting UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar held discussions to strengthen cooperation in different areas including trade and prosperity, defence and security, climate and health
• UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has accepted his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi’s invitation to be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade on January 26, Downing Street said London on December 15, 2020, marking his first major bilateral visit since taking office last year and the first since Britain’s exit from the European Union.
• Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Sekhar Vempati has been elected as Vice President of Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABPU) that was formed in 1964 as a professional association of broadcasting organisations with over 286 members in 57 countries and regions.

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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 International Day of Epidemic Preparedness – December 27

 

Highlights–

• The first ever International Day of Epidemic Preparedness, being held on 27 December 2020, was called for by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to advocate the importance of the prevention of, preparedness for and partnership against epidemics.
• The UNGA called on nations to observe the day “in accordance with national contexts and priorities” through education and awareness-raising activities.
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• WHO works closely with governments to support efforts to build strong emergency and epidemic preparedness systems, as part of an overall approach to advance universal health coverage and strengthen primary health care systems. The world body also recognised the pivotal role of governments and other major stakeholders such as healthcare workers in managing outbreaks.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of investing in systems to prevent, detect and respond to infectious disease outbreaks.

6.2 News Round-up - Defence

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on December 18, 2020 handed over three indigenously developed Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) systems to Army, Navy and Air Force at a function held in DRDO Bhawan in New Delhi. The Indian Maritime Situational Awareness System (IMSAS) was handed over to the Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh, ASTRA Mk-I Missile to Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria and Border Surveillance System (BOSS) to the Chief of Army Staff General M. M. Naravane.
• Indian Coast Guard Interceptor Boat got commissioned at Hazira in Gujarat on December 15, 2020. It has been built indigenously by M/s L&T Jetty, Hazira and its task is to strengthen coastal security of Gujarat maritime borders.
• Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ship ‘Sujeet’, the second in the series of five Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) built by Goa Shipyard Limited, was commissioned in Goa on December 15, 2020.
• The first of three stealth frigates, Himgiri, being built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkata under Project 17A for the Navy was launched into water on December 14, 2020. Under the Project 17A program, a total of seven ships, four at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and three ships at GRSE are being built.
• The fifth and the last of the Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) in the series, Saksham, being built at Goa Shipyard Limited, was launched into water on December 14, 2020.
• The Navy’s most senior submariner, Vice Admiral Srikant, died on December 15, 2020 due to COVID-19 related complications in New Delhi. He was the Director General of Project Seabird in Karwar, Karnataka. He was due to retire on December 31.
• Well-known aerospace scientist and Padma Vibhushan (2013) awardee Roddam Narasimha passed away in Bengaluru on December 14, 2020 at the age of 87. A distinguished scientist, Narasimha held various positions at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. He was also the Director of the National Aerospace Laboratories. He also won Padma Bhushan in 1987.

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 TN CM inaugurates Mayiladuthurai district

 

 

 Highlights– 

• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami has inaugurated the newly-formed Mayiladuthurai district.
• The 38th district in the state has been carved out of Nagapattinam district.
• The new district comprises four taluks - Mayiladuthurai, Sirkazhi, Tarangambadi, and Kuthalam. It has a total population of 9.01 lakh.
• The CM announced the formation of this district during March 2020 and the G.O was issued during April. The preparatory arrangements started immediately.
• R Lalitha, who served as the special officer for district formation has taken charge as the district collector. IPS officer Srinatha has been appointed as the superintendent of police.

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

8.1 India’s first driverless metro train

 

 

 

Key points – 

• The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has entered the elite league of 7 per cent of the world’s metro networks that can operate without drivers, with the launch of the country’s first ‘driverless’ train on the Magenta Line in the national capital.
• PM Modi has flagged off India’s first driverless metro via video-conferencing.

Important details –

• The driverless trains of Delhi Metro will offer more reliability due to reduced human intervention.
• These metro trains are equipped with hi-tech cameras and obstruction sensing devices to ensure safety of passengers.
• These trains can run at an average speed, which is a few notches higher than that of a regular driver-driven one (about 35 kmph).
• In old trains, in case of an emergency, a passenger can press the PAD (Passenger Alert Device) red button and alert the driver. In case of a driverless train, after pressing the button, the footage of the carriage will be sent to the operations control room to take action needed.
• The driverless train having six coaches are equipped with several advanced features.
• These new trains of Delhi Metro have undergone significant technological as well as eco-friendly upgrades and many more features have been added to increase passenger comfort.
• Each coach has four PAD buttons, so a total of 24 such alarm devices are there in a train.
• There is an obstruction detection device (ODD) below the main coach on the track facing side. This equipment can sense big hurdles through a sensor and the train get then be halted, or if the obstruction is very small, it can even remove and clear the way for the train.
• The fully automated trains will reduce human intervention in operations and offer more reliability and safety for the commuters. This system also brings more flexibility in trains in operation.
• About five driverless trains have been deployed and the number will be gradually increased.
• The operationalisation of these trains is a major technologcal milestone for the DMRC and the country. The 57-km Pink Line (Majlis Park–Shiv Vihar) will also have driverless operations by mid-2021.

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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 -

• McAfee cybersecurity firm released a global report titled ‘The Hidden Costs of Cybercrime’ recently.
• Armed Forces Flag Day observed on Dec 7.
• Former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah is the author of ‘My Years with Rajiv: Triumph and Tragedy’ released recently.
• Padma Shri Sekhar Basu passed away in Sept 2020 at the age of 68.
• Ex-President of India Mr. Pranab Mukherjee who recently died of Covid-19 disease was awarded with Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan.

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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