Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 02-01-2021

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 02-01-2021

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Covid-19 – Expert panel gives the go-ahead for Covishield – Covishield, the vaccine candidate from the Pune-based Serum Institute of India, was approved by a subject expert committee (SEC) of the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) on January 1. Bharat Biotech has been asked to furnish more data demonstrating the efficacy of its candidate, Covaxin. The SEC gives its recommendation to the DCGI which is the approving authority for drugs and vaccines. Covishield was approved by the health regulator in the U.K. under emergency use conditions on December 30. Under this, the company is allowed to deploy its vaccines to priority groups and then the larger public, even though a full safety assessment hasn’t been completed.
2. Agriculture – Farmers threaten to step up protest – Farmer groups have said they would intensify their protest if the Centre did not take a firm decision on the repeal of the three farm laws during the next round of talks. Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders threatened to shut down malls and petrol pumps in Haryana, hold a tractor rally on the Kundli-Manesar Highway, and march further towards Delhi on the highway from Jaipur unless their demands were met. Tens of thousands of farmers have been protesting on the borders of Delhi for 37 days in a row. After six rounds of talks with the Centre, they have reached in-principle agreements on issues related to stubble burning and power subsidies, but are deadlocked on the major demands to repeal the three laws and provide a legal backing for the procurement of crops at minimum support prices.
3. Economy – GST collections touch an all-time high in December – Gross revenues from the GST hit a record high in December 2020, with collections of ₹1,15,174 crore, 12% higher than a year ago and 9.7% greater than the previous month’s inflows. December marks the fourth month in a row that GST collections have grown year-on-year, after revenues collapsed in the first quarter of 2020-21 amid the COVID-19 lockdown. The 12% year-on-year growth recorded in December was the highest in 21 months. The government said the highest monthly GST kitty since the introduction of the indirect tax in 2017, was a reflection of a rapid economic recovery under way. It also attributed part of the gains to better compliance following an official crackdown on malpractices to weed out taxpayers evading GST or using fake bills to defraud the exchequer.
4. World – Trump extends visa ban until March 31 – President Trump has extended pandemic-related bans on green cards and work visas to large groups of applicants through March 31, while a federal appeals court sided with him on a rule that requires new immigrants to have their own health insurance. The twin developments on the final day of 2020 encapsulated how Mr. Trump has made U.S. immigration policy more restrictive without support from Congress. President-elect Joe Biden has promised to undo many of Mr. Trump’s actions but it is unclear how quickly and even to what extent. Federal judges have limited the impact of the pandemic-related visa bans, which were set to expire on December 31.
5. World – U.K. in ‘eye of storm’ as cases surge – British hospitals around the country face a perilous situation in January, medical workers warned on January 1 amid surging coronavirus infections blamed on a new virus variant. Authorities pressed to reactivate field hospitals previously mothballed just to handle the crush of new patients. Concerns are mounting about the ability of the already stretched National Health Service to cope with the anticipated increase in people seeking treatment for COVID-19 infections. On January 1, the U.K. recorded another 53,285 new infections, down slightly from the previous day’s record high of 55,892. Although comparisons with the outset of the pandemic are difficult given that testing was limited in the spring, the U.K. has recorded its four highest daily new infection numbers over the past four days — all above 50,000 and around double the daily number of a few weeks ago.
6. Polity & Governance – PM unveils project for affordable housing – PM Modi has laid the foundation stone of six Light House Projects in six cities as part of the Global Housing Technology Challenge-India (GHTC-India) initiative. The aim of the programme is to build around 1,000 houses each in Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Rajkot (Gujarat), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Ranchi (Jharkhand), Agartala (Tripura) and Lucknow (UP) over a period of 12 months. Modern construction practices from countries such as France, Germany and Canada would be adopted. The GHTC provided the scope for incubating new technologies for construction and innovation, Mr.Modi pointed out, and called upon planners, architects and students to visit the project sites, learn from the technologies, and mould them for use in accordance with the local requirements. Another major initiative — the Central rental housing complex project — was conceived in 2019, for migrant labourers.
7. Polity & Governance – RBI’s digital payments index unveiled – The RBI has constructed a composite Digital Payments Index (DPI) to capture the extent of digitisation of payments across the country. The RBI-DPI has been constructed with March 2018 as the base period. The DPI for March 2019 and March 2020 work out to 153.47 and 207.84 respectively, indicating appreciable growth. The RBI-DPI comprises five broad parameters, including Payment Enablers, Payment Infrastructure – Demand-side factors and Supply-side factors, Payment Performance and Consumer Centricity.
8. Economy – Dec. power consumption goes up 6% – India’s power consumption grew by 6.1% to 107.3 billion units (BU) in December, signalling a spurt in economic activity. Power consumption in December 2019 was 101.08 BU. After a gap of six months, power consumption saw growth of 4.5% in September and 11.6% in October. In November, the growth slowed to 3.12% to 96.88 BU mainly due to early onset of winter. Experts said the 6.1% growth in power consumption and the all-time high peak power demand of 182.88 GW seen on Wednesday indicated a considerable spurt in economic activity.
9. Covid-19 – Virus variant cases in India rise to 29 – Four more cases of the mutant strain of the COVID-19 virus were detected in the country on January 1, taking the total number of those affected by it to 29. So far, 10 cases have been detected by labs in Delhi, 10 by a Bengaluru lab, one in West Bengal, three in Hyderabad and five by the National Institute of Virology, Pune. On January 1, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan reviewed the preparedness of the States and the Union Territories for a dry run on January 2 for the roll-out of a COVID-19 vaccine.
10. Study/Report – In 2020, RS saw lowest number of sittings ever – With the government refusing to call the winter session of Parliament, the Rajya Sabha sat for just 33 days in 2020, its lowest-ever tally of sittings in a year. There are only three other occasions when the sittings were below 50 days in a year. The Budget and the monsoon sessions had to be cut short due to COVID-19. The Budget session, which was scheduled to have 31 sittings, was brought to a close after 23 sessions. Similarly, the monsoon session, which was to have 18 sittings could manage to have only 10 as the number of COVID-19 positive cases among parliamentarians and the supporting staff started spiralling. There are only three other occasions when the Rajya Sabha met for fewer than 50 sittings in a year — 48 in 1999 and 46 each in 2004 and 2008. The BJP now has 93 members. The House is no longer the stumbling block that it was during the first term of the Modi government.

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 Approval to industrial corridor nodes at Krishnapatnam, Tumakuru

 

 

Highlights –

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved industrial corridor nodes at Andhra Pradesh's Krishnapatnam and Karnataka's Tumakuru under Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC) and Multi Modal Logistics Hub and Multi Modal Transport Hub (MMTH) at Greater Noida.
• The construction of Krishnapatnam Industrial Area in Andhra Pradesh has got the Cabinet's approval with an estimated cost of the project of Rs 2,139.44 crores and Tumakuru Industrial Area in Karnataka with an estimated cost of Rs 1,701.81 crores.
• The estimated cost of Multi Modal Logistics Hub (MMLH) and Multi Modal Transport Hub (MMTH) at Greater Noida is Rs 3,883.80 crores.
• As per reports, these projects are expected to generate ample employment opportunities through industrialisation.
• For Krishnapatnam node, estimated employment projection on completion of the first phase of development is likely to be around 98,000 persons of which about 58,000 persons are likely to be employed at the site.
• For Tumakuru node, employment of about 88,500 persons is estimated, out of which 17,700 persons will be from service industries such as retail, offices and other commercial opportunities in the initial development phase.
• Multi Modal Logistics Hub and Multi Modal Transport Hub (MMTH) Projects at Greater Noida is estimated to generate employment for about 1,00,000 persons by 2040.

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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 Government to open missions in Estonia, Paraguay, Dominican Republic 

  

Key points –

• The Cabinet has approved the opening of three Indian Missions in Estonia, Paraguay and Dominican Republic in 2021.
• As per reports. opening of Indian Missions in these countries will help expand India's diplomatic footprint, deepen political relations, enable growth of bilateral trade, investment and economic engagements, facilitate stronger people-to-people contacts, bolster political outreach in multilateral fora and help garner support for India's foreign policy objectives.
• Indian mission in these countries will also better assist the Indian community and protect their interests.
• Government has said that the decision to open these new Indian Missions will be a "forward-looking step in pursuit of our national priority of growth and development or Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas".
• There are presently Missions and Posts across the world, which serve as conduits of our relations with partner countries.

4.2 S News Round-up – International Affairs

 

• The U.S. Federal Reserve said in Dec 2020 that it has joined an international group of central banks focused on climate change risk, a signal that the Fed could move to incorporate the impacts of global warming into its regulatory writ. The Fed has joined the Network of Central Banks and Supervisors for Greening the Financial System (NGFS). It had been the only major global central bank besides the Reserve Bank of India that was not a member of the NGFS.
• The U.S. in Dec 2020 removed Sudan from its state sponsors of terrorism blacklist, less than two months after the Arab nation pledged to normalise ties with Israel. The move opens the way for aid, debt relief and investment to a country going through a rocky political transition.
• The International Human Solidarity Day was observed by the UN on December 20, 2020. In 2005, the UN General Assembly identified solidarity as one of the fundamental and universal values that should underlie relations between peoples in the twenty-first century, and in that regard decided to proclaim 20 December of each year International Human Solidarity Day.
• The International Migrants Day was celebrated on December 18, 2020 with its theme as: 'Reimagining Human Mobility'. On 18 December 1990, the General Assembly adopted a resolution on the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.
• Eswatini Prime Minister Ambrose Dlamini died after contracting Covid-19, the first world leader to succumb to the disease. He was 52. Eswatini is Africa's last monarchy and has been led by King Mswati III since 1986 and was previously known as Swaziland before changing its official name in 2018.
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed senior UN official Siddharth Chatterjee of India as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in China. Resident Coordinators are the UN Secretary-General's representatives for development at the country level. They lead UN teams supporting countries to recover better from the COVID-19 pandemic through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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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 Export of Akash missile system

 

 

Key points –

• In an effort to achieve the target of $5 billion defence exports and improving strategic relations with friendly foreign countries, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has approved the export of the indigenous `Akash’ surface to air missile system missile system.
• The CCS chaired by PM Modi (Dec 30, 2020) has for faster approvals for export of the indigenous `Akash’ missiles, and other weapons systems and air platforms approved setting up a high-level committee. This will comprise of the defence minister, External Affairs Minister and National Security Advisor.
• Several friendly nations including the ASEAN nations Vietnam, the Philippines, and UAE in the Middle East have shown interest in buying the indigenous `Akash’ missile system.
• Several countries have expressed interest in buying other major platforms including the radars, surveillance systems as well as air platforms. Countries from South America, Middle East as well as ASEAN nations have expressed interest in the Indo-Russian BrahMos missile too.
• The UAE is also looking at the indigenous Astra 70-kilometre range air-to-air missile.

Important details –

• With the Cabinet approval, the Indian manufacturers will be able to participate in Request for Proposal/Information issued by various countries.
• The Special Committee will authorize exports of major indigenous platforms to friendly nations and would explore various options including the Government-to-Government route.
• The `Akash’ missile system which is going to be exported will be different from the one which the Indian armed forces are using.
• As per reports, the government intends to focus on exporting high-value defence platforms. And, the Cabinet’s decision will help to improve the defence products in the country and will make them competitive globally.
• The Akash Missile system will be the first-ever weapons platform to be exported. But India has been building fast patrol boats, helicopters and ammunition and radars for global customers.

The missile –

• The Missile is already inducted in the Indian Air Force (2014) and the Indian Army (2015).
• It has a range of 25 km which helps to keep the helicopters, fighters and drones from attacking critical installations. Almost 96 per cent of the system is manufactured indigenously.
• It has the capability to engage multiple targets in Group Mode or Autonomous Mode, simultaneously.
• It comes with built-in Electronic Counter-Counter Measures (ECCM) features.
• The whole system has been configured on mobile platforms.
• It has been designed by DRDO and has been produced by defence PSU Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL).

6.2 News Round-up - Sports

• Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski of Poland was named men’s Player-of-the-Year on December 17, 2020 at FIFA’s The Best’ awards ceremony in Zurich. Other winners are: Player-of-the-year–Women: Lucy Bronze of United Kingdom (Lyon), Goalkeeper: Men: Manuel Neuer (Bayern); Women: Sarah Bouhaddi (Lyon). Coach: Men: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool); Women: Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands). Puskas Award (best goal) was given to South Korea’s Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hostpur). The award is in honour of late footballer Ferenc Puskás of Hungary.
• The Sports Ministry has approved the inclusion of four indigenous sports -- Gatka, Kalaripayattu, Thang-Ta and Mallakhamba -- in the Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) 2021, scheduled to take place in Haryana. Kalaripayattu has its origin in Kerala. Mallakhamba has been well-known across India. Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have been the hotspots of this sport. Gatka originates from Punjab while Thang-Ta is a Manipur marital art.
• The 2030 Asian Games were awarded to Qatar’s capital Doha on December 16, 2020 and the 2034 event went to Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh. The decisions were announced in Olympic Council of Asia’s general assembly.
• Hosts Australia (191, 93/2) defeated India (244, 36) by eight wickets in the first test of the 4-match series at Adelaide on the third day on December 19, 2020. India recorded their lowest team total in Tests in their second innings. India’s earlier lowest score was 42 at the Lord’s in 1974 against England. It was the first instance in Tests when all 11 batsmen, and extras, did not cross single-figures in an innings.
• Former Australia Test all-rounder Eric Freeman passed away at the age of 76. Freeman made his debut in 1968. He went on to play 11 Tests for Australia in which he scored 345 runs and scalped 34 wickets.
• India finished the Cologne World Cup Boxing with three gold, two silver and four bronze medals on December 20, 2020. Gold medals were won by Simranjit Kaur (women’s 60kg), Manisha (women’s 57kg) and Amit Panghal (men’s 52kg). Silver were won by Amit Panghal (men’s 52kg) and Satish Kumar (men’s +91kg). Sonia Lather (women’s 57kg), Pooja Rani (women’s 75kg), Gaurav Solanki (men’s 57kg) and Mohammed Hussamuddin (men’s 57kg) returned with bronze medals.
• Indian rallyist Gaurav Gill (co-driver Musa Sherif) began his Champions Yacht Club-FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2020 with a bang, winning the Rally of Arunachal in Itanagar on December 17, 2020.

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Government declared Nagaland as ‘Disturbed Area’

 

 Highlights– 

• The entire Nagaland has been declared a “disturbed area” for six more months by the central government.
• This has enabled the continuation of the controversial AFSPA which empowers security forces to conduct operations anywhere and arrest anyone without any prior warrant.
• The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) has been in force in Nagaland for several decades.
• The MHA said in a notification that the central government is of the opinion that the area comprising the whole of Nagaland is in such a “disturbed and dangerous condition” that the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power is necessary.
• The decision to continue the declaration of Nagaland as a "disturbed area" has been taken as killings, loot and extortion have been going on in various parts of the state which necessitated the action for the convenience of the security forces operating there.
• There have been demands from various organisations in the Northeast as well as in Jammu and Kashmir for repealing the AFSPA, which, they allege, gives "sweeping powers" to security forces.
• The AFSPA has not been withdrawn even after a framework agreement was signed on August 3, 2015 by Naga insurgent group NSCN-IM general secretary Thuingaleng Muivah and government interlocutor R N Ravi in the presence of PM Modi.
• The framework agreement came after over 80 rounds of negotiations spanning 18 years, with the first breakthrough in 1997 when the ceasefire agreement was sealed after decades of insurgency in Nagaland.
• However, the peace process has been stuck for some time as the NSCN-IM has been pressing for a separate flag and Constitution, a demand rejected by the central government.

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

8.1 Not Available Today

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

9.1 MoU between India and Bhutan on peaceful uses of outer space

 

 

 

 Highlights – 

• The Union Cabinet has approved the Memorandum of Understanding between India and Bhutan on cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space.
• This MoU shall enable India and Bhutan to pursue cooperation in potential interest areas, such as remote sensing of the earth; satellite communication and satellitebased navigation; Space science and planetary exploration; use of spacecraft and space systems and ground system; and application of space technology.
• As per reports, a Joint Working Group would be set up, drawing members from DOS/ISRO and the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) of Bhutan, which will further work out the plan of action including the time-frame and the means of implementation.
• The signed MoU is likely to provide Impetus to explore cooperation possibilities in the field of remote sensing of the earth; satellite communication; satellite navigation; space science and exploration of outer space.
• India and Bhutan have been discussing on establishing formal space cooperation. A template for Inter-Governmental MoU for Space cooperation was shared with the Ministry of External Affairs in November 2017 for further taking up with Bhutan. This draft was further discussed along with other cooperative proposals during the bilateral meeting in February 2020.

9.2 News Round-up – World of Science

• India’s communication satellite CMS-01 was successfully launched by ISRO’s PSLV-C50 on December 17, 2020 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota in AP. CMS-01 will take over the mantle from the ageing telecommunication satellite GSAT-12 that has outlived its planned operational period by rendering seamless service for 11 years. The CMS-01’s intended operational life is seven years.
• A dedicated control centre for Space Situational Awareness (SSA) activities in the country, aimed at monitoring, tracking and protecting India’s space assets, has been set up, the Indian Space Research Organisation said on December 16, 2020. ISRO SSA Control Centre, ‘NETRA’, is set up within the ISTRAC campus at Peenya, Bengaluru.
• OneWeb, a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications operator co-owned by Bharti Global and the UK government, launched 36 satellites on December 18, 2020 from the Vostochny cosmodrome in Russia, paving the way for launching high-speed internet services in key global markets from late-2021, and in India by mid-2022. Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Mittal, was recently named OneWeb’s executive chairman.

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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 -

• Former President of Uruguay Tabare Vazquez (age 80) passed away in Dec 2020.
• Samundar Samawe Boond Mein is the title of the Hindi book released by the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on the occasion of the 19th anniversary of the attack on Indian Parliament.
• China in Nov 2020 launched the Chang’e-5 probe to collect samples from the surface of Moon.
• PM Modi in Nov 2020 inaugurated a 90-km Ro-Pax ferry service on Sea connecting two towns in Gujarat.
• Well-known Musician Alexander Vedernikov (age 56) passed away in Moscow in Oct 2020.

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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