Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 11-01-2021

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 11-01-2021

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Economy – Q3 private investment in manufacturing jumps 102% – A continued rise in private investments in the third quarter (Q3) of 2020-21, led by a 102% surge in manufacturing investments, helped India register a healthy 10.3% increase in fresh project spending in Q3 over the previous quarter. However, new capital expenditure proposals from the government collapsed between October and December 2020, as funding constraints began to pinch the States, dragging their new project investments down nearly 25% from the previous quarter. The Q3 project investment numbers suggest a reversal from recent years’ trend of government capital expenditure propping up the economy while the private sector remained reluctant to invest due to flat consumer demand and weak balance sheets.
2. Economy – Dec. fuel demand rises to 11-month high – India’s fuel demand rose sequentially for the fourth straight month in December as the resumption of economic activity took consumption to a 11-month high. Still, demand was about 2% lower than pre-COVID levels. Total demand for petroleum products in December fell to 18.59 million tonnes, from 18.94 million tonnes a year earlier. Fuel consumption posted a month-on-month increase for the fourth straight month, helped by reviving transportation and business activity. India had consumed 17.86 million tonnes in November. The consumption in December was the highest since January 2020. While petrol had reached pre-COVID levels in September, diesel consumption returned to normal in October. However, demand for the main transportation fuel declined again in November and December.
3. World – Twitter bans Donald Trump, citing risk of violent incitement – Twitter banned President Trump’s account on January 8, citing “the risk of further incitement of violence” following the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Twitter has long given Mr. Trump and other world leaders broad exemptions from its rules against personal attacks, hate speech and other behaviours. But in a detailed explanation posted on its blog on January 8, the company said recent Trump tweets amounted to glorification of violence when read in the context of the Capitol riot and plans circulating online for future armed protests around the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. On January 7, Facebook suspended Mr. Trump’s account through January 20 and possibly indefinitely.
4. Study/Research – Identical twins aren’t perfect clones, study shows – Identical twins are not exactly genetically the same. Scientists in Iceland sequenced DNA from 387 pairs of identical twins – those derived from a single fertilized egg – as well as from their parents, children and spouses. That allowed them to find “early mutations that separate identical twins.” A mutation means an alteration in a sequence of DNA – a tiny change that is not inherently good or bad, but can influence physical features or susceptibility to certain diseases. They can occur when a cell divides and makes a slight error in replicating DNA. On average, identical twins have 5.2 of these early genetic differences, the researchers found. But about 15% of identical twin pairs have more genetic differences, some of them up to 100.
5. Agriculture – Farmers to set fire to law copies – Farmers will express their anger and pain by burning copies of the three new farm laws during Lohri at the protest site at the Singhu border. On January 10, protesters said the death of the farmer Amarinder Singh would not go in vain, and they would intensify their agitation. Before consuming a poisonous substance at the protest site, Amarinder had told friends that he was forced to take this step because the government had refused to listen to their demands. Sukhvinder Singh, who walked to the protest site from his native village in Ludhiana, said that after going through reports on social media he took leave from his office and planned to join the protest. Speakers on the stage observed a two-minute silence in respect for the farmers who died during the protest.
6. World – U.S. removes restrictions on diplomatic contact with Taiwan – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that the State Department is voiding longstanding restrictions on how U.S. diplomats and others have contact with their counterparts in Taiwan, another move that is expected to upset China as the Trump administration winds to an end. The Trump administration has sought to strengthen bilateral relations with Taiwan. It announced that UN Ambassador Kelly Craft would go to Taiwan, a move that sparked sharp criticism from Beijing and a warning that the U.S. would pay a heavy price. In August, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar became the first Cabinet member to visit Taiwan since 2014. Mr. Pompeo said that the State Department has created complex restrictions when it comes to contacts between the two parties. He said those actions were taken to appease the Communist regime in Beijing. Mr. Pompeo said the U.S. maintains relationships with unofficial partners around the world, and Taiwan is no exception.
7. Economy – Arunachal harbours a vanadium source – Arunachal Pradesh, considered a sleeping hydropower giant, is likely to become India’s prime producer of vanadium, a high-value metal used in strengthening steel and titanium. Exploration being carried out by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has placed the eastern Himalayan State on the vanadium map of the country, and geologists are confident of identifying a deposit soon. India is a significant consumer of vanadium, but is not a primary producer of the strategic metal. It is recovered as a by-product from the slag collected from the processing of vanadiferous magnetite ores (iron ore). India consumed 4% of about 84,000 tonnes of vanadium produced across the globe in 2017. China, which produces 57% of the world’s vanadium, consumed 44% of the metal. Vanadium mineralisation in Arunachal Pradesh is geologically similar to the “stone coal” vanadium deposits of China hosted in carbonaceous shale.
8. Covid-19 – Vaccination drive to start on January 16 – The COVID-19 vaccination drive in India will begin on January 16, with priority being given to an estimated three crore healthcare workers and frontline workers. The Ministry said this would be followed by the voluntary vaccination of people above 50 and those below 50 with co-morbidities, numbering around 27 crore. The Ministry, in a release, said the Drugs Controller General of India had granted Emergency Use Authorisation to two vaccines — Covishield and Covaxin.
9. Polity & Governance – Kejriwal announces ban on import of live birds – CM Kejriwal has announced a ban on the import of live birds to Delhi and ordered the shutting down of Ghazipur poultry market in the wake of the avian influenza outbreak across the country. He said a 24-hour helpline — 23890318 — has been set up for the assistance of people and the Delhi government has collected 104 samples till now which have been sent to a laboratory in Jalandhar. Three recreational parks, including the Hauz Khas park and the Dwarka Sector 9 park, and the famous Sanjay Lake have been closed by the authorities as several birds were found dead on their premises in the last couple of days.
10. World – Indonesia jet carrying 62 goes missing – A jet carrying 62 people lost contact with air traffic controllers minutes after taking off from Indonesia’s capital Jakarta on a domestic flight on January 9. Officials were examining debris found by fishermen to see if it was from the missing plane. The plane was carrying 50 passengers and 12 crew members, all Indonesian nationals. Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said Sriwijaya Air's Flight SJ182 was delayed for an hour before it took off at 2:36 p.m. The Boeing 737-500 disappeared from radar four minutes later, after the pilot contacted air traffic control to ascend to an altitude of 29,000 feet (8,839 meters).

Important Exam Notifications
S. No	Institution	Exam or Post Name	Vacancies or Seats	Qualification	Last Date to Apply	Link for Details
1	National Research Centre on Pomegranate	Young Professional – II & I	13	Diploma, Degree, PG (Relevant Disciplines)	18-01-2021	https://nrcpomegranate.icar.gov.in/files/Recruitment/92.pdf
2	National Metallurgical Laboratory	Jr Research Fellow	5	B.E/ B.Tech (Engg)	18-01-2021	--
3	Air India Express Ltd	Manager, Sr Officer, Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, Dy Manager	10	10+2, Degree (Relevant Disciplines), MCA, MBA	15 Days	https://img.freejobalert.com/uploads/2021/01/Notification-Air-India-Express-Ltd-Manager-Sr-Officer-Other.pdf
4	RFCL	Attendant Gr.I	31	10th Class, ITI (Relevant Discipline)	12-01-2021	https://www.nationalfertilizers.com/images/pdf/career/RFCL/ADVT%20-%20ITI%20Holders_RFCL.pdf
5	IMTECH	Scientist, Senior Scientist & Principal Scientist	9	Ph.D/ MD (Relevant Discipline)	15-02-2021	https://www.imtech.res.in/files/job/20210101152653.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 Budge 2021 

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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 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2021

 

 

Key points –  

• Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is observed on January 9th every year to mark the contribution of the Overseas Indian community in the development of India.
• On this day in 1915, Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest Pravasi, returned to India from South Africa, which led India's freedom struggle and changed the lives of Indians forever. Therefore, January 9 was selected as the day to celebrate this occasion.
• In order to connect India with vast overseas diaspora and bring their knowledge, expertise and skills on a common platform, the PBD Convention - the flagship event of MOIA is organized from January 7th-9th every year since 2003.
• Suriname President Chandrikapersad Santokhi, Curacao Prime Minister Eugene Rhuggenaath and New Zealand minister Priyanca Radhakrishnan were among 30 NRIs, and Indian-origin people and organisations who were conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award on January 9.

Theme –

• The theme of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is "Contributing to Aatmanirbhar Bharat".

Significance –

• Since 2003, PBD conventions are being held every year. Its format was revised in 2015 to celebrate the PBD once every two years and also to hold theme-based PBD Conferences during the interim period with participation from overseas diaspora experts, policymakers and stakeholders.
• These conventions serve as a platform for the overseas Indian community to engage with the government and people of their ancestral land for mutually beneficial activities.
• These conventions are a means of networking for the overseas Indian community residing in various parts of the world for allowing them to share their experiences in various fields.

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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 

 

 

Highlights – 

• Larsen & Toubro Construction said it has successfully 3D printed a ground plus one building, claiming it to be the first in India. The company has 3D printed the building of 700 square feet built-up area at its Kanchipuram facility with an in-house developed concrete mix, using indigenously available regular construction materials.
• Troubled infrastructure financier Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) will sell its Chinese road asset for nearly Rs 2074 crore to PingAn Insurance (Group) Company of China.
• SBI Life Insurance acquired an 8.99% stake for ₹186.20 crore in non-deposit taking NBFC Paisalo Digital that provides loans to individuals, MSMEs and to Joint Liability Group (MFI).
• Shares of Mrs Bectors Food Specialities on December 17, 2020 made a remarkable market debut and closed with a premium of 107 per cent against its issue price of Rs 288.
• Road Transport & Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on December 24 announced that FASTag is being made mandatory for all vehicles in the country from 1st of January, 2021.
• E-com sites not to sell mobile signal boosters: DoT - With mobile network boosters becoming a major reason for poor service quality, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has asked online sellers to pull down listings of such equipment, an official statement said. The DoT has also carried out raids across multiple locations in South which led to the removal of 68 illegal boosters (or repeaters).
• General Motors has shut down its last factory in India, the fallout of raging tension between India and China. GM wanted to sell its Maharashtra factory to Great Wall Motors, China’s largest SUV maker, for over Rs 2,000 crore, but India has not cleared the deal. With the closure of the Talegaon plant on December 24, 2020, GM will bring the curtains down on its India operations which began in 1996. GM had already sold its other Indian factory (at Halol in Gujarat) to China’s SAIC in 2017, which is now being used by MG Motors.
• China’s financial regulators have asked Ant Group, the world’s largest fintech company, to return to its original business as a payment services provider and strictly prohibit unfair competition, in an attempt to rein in the industry and to prevent uncontrolled growth from leading to financial risks. Jack Ma, the founder of both Alibaba and Ant Group, is one of China’s richest and most prominent entrepreneurs.
• The Centre on December 22, 2020 invited expression of interest (EoI) for the disinvestment of its entire 63.75% shareholding in the Shipping Corporation of India Limited (SCIL) along with the handing over of its management control. Potential bidders have time until February 13 to submit their interest. The SCIL was incorporated in 1961 and owns a fleet of 59 vessels, including two container vessels, 13 crude oil tankers and eight off-shore supply vessels.
• The Directorate General of Training (DGT) of MSDE joined hands with Microsoft and NASSCOM Foundation to provide a digital content for ITI students and also future-ready employability skilling program for upskilling and reskilling. Students of around 3000 ITIs across India can avail of this digitized e-learning module via the Bharatskills portal.

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• 7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

7.1 Government sets up high-level committee to commemorate Netaji’s birth anniversary 

 

 

Key points –

• The Centre has planned a grand year-long programme to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, starting January 23 2021.
• The High-Level Committee, headed by PM Modi will decide on activities, approve policies and plans and supervise the commemoration programme. The committee will have 85 members, including union ministers, members of Parliament from Bengal, a few chief ministers, historians, and other distinguished citizens.
• The year-long commemoration activities will take place in Delhi, Kolkata and other places associated with Netaji and Indian National Army, both in India as well as overseas.
• The Centre has also appointed members of Netaji's family on the committee. They include his daughter Anita Bose, nephew Ardhendu Bose, grandnephew Chandra Kumar Bose and grandniece Renuka Malekar.
• Eminent persons associated with Subhas Chandra Bose' Indian National Army or Azad Hind Fauj are also on the committee. This includes the chairman of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose INA Trust, Brig (Rtd) RS Chhikara.
• Actor Kajol, BCCI boss Sourav Ganguly and renowned musician AR Rahman have also been appointed as members of the high-level committee.
• Recently, the West Bengal government too unveiled mega plans to commemorate Netaji's memory all through the year. This will include a grand parade in Kolkata on January 23, his 125th birthday anniversary and an Independence Day parade dedicated to him. 

7.2 News Round-up – Indian Politics

 

• The government in Dec 2020 announced “transformatory changes” to the Post Matric Scholarship for students from Scheduled Castes. Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thaawarchand Gehlot said that the government has decided that the share pattern will be 60% from the Centre and 40% from the state. Under the scheme, the government provides financial assistance to students from Scheduled Castes, whose household incomes are less than Rs 2.5 lakh annually, for higher education at post-matriculation and post-senior-secondary stages (Class XI onwards).
• Birth anniversary of ex-PM Vajpayee observed as Good Governance Day - Floral tributes were paid to former Congress President Madan Mohan Malaviya and former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Central Hall of the Parliament on their birth anniversary. Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a book titled ‘Atal Bihari Vajpayee: A Commemorative Volume’. Birth anniversary of Vajpayee is observed as Good Governance day every year on December 25.
• App launched to identify insanitary latrines, manual scavengers - Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot launched a Mobile Application “Swachhata Abhiyan” on December 24, 2020. The app was developed to identify and geotag the data of insanitary latrines and manual scavengers so that the insanitary latrines can be replaced with sanitary latrines and manual scavengers be rehabilitated.    
• Facebook banned a page called the Kisan Ekta Morcha on its platform citing its “Community Standards on Spam” but it later restored the page after widespread opposition on social media. The page has been posting updates on the ongoing protests by the farm.
• The history of Sikh gurus will be included in the school curriculum in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced on December 27, 2020. Adityanath made this announcement on the occasion of ‘Sahibzada Diwas’, which marks the martyrdom of four ‘sahibzada’ of Guru Gobind Singh and mata Gujri.
• Madhya Pradesh cabinet on Dec 2020 approved the Dharma Swatantrya (Religious Freedom) Bill 2020. The ordinance seeks to outlaw marriages with an aim of religious conversions. “Under the new Bill, forcing religious conversion on someone will attract 1-5 years of imprisonment and a minimum Rs 25,000 fine,” said state home minister Narottam Mishra.
• India’s first hot air balloon wildlife safari in a tiger reserve was launched on December 25, 2020 in the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve of Madhya Pradesh by state’s forest minister Vijay Shah who said that the activity will be restricted to the buffer area.
• The Karnataka government has unveiled the Farmer Registration and Unified beneficiary Information System (FRUITS), an e-governance portal, to create a repository of farmland information and farm loan details on a single platform. All farmers will be registered and given an identification number on the portal. Canara Bank has agreed to run FRUITS on a pilot basis.
• The Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI) will establish the ‘Dr. F C Kohli Centre of Excellence for Advanced Research in Mathematical and Computing Sciences’ “in honor of the visionary who created and shaped the IT industry in India and made it synonymous with excellence, globally”.
• Kerala government announces Rs 10,000 cr development projects - Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister of the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic government in Kerala, on December 24, 2020 announced Rs 10,000 crore worth development projects would either be completed or launched in the next 100 days in the state. Assembly elections are likely to be held in the state in April-May 2021.
• Maharashtra approves EWS quota for Marathas - The Maharashtra Cabinet has decided to extend jobs and academic admissions to Socially and Educationally Backward Class (SEBC) applicants under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category. The SEBC category was created by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in the State to provide reservation in jobs and education to Maratha community.
• PM addresses centenary celebrations of Visva-Bharati University - Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the centenary celebrations of Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan, West Bengal on December 24, 2020 through video conferencing. Founded by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore in 1921, Visva-Bharati is also the oldest Central University in the country. In 1951, Visva-Bharati was declared to be a Central University and an Institution of National Importance by an Act of Parliament.
• Six of the seven MLAs of the Janata Dal United in Arunachal Pradesh joined the BJP. Following the switchover, the BJP now has 48 MLAs in the 60-member House.
• Union Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Minister Nitin Gadkari on December 25, 2020 inaugurated and laid foundation stone for 27 highway projects in Assam. He also unveiled a life-size bronze statue of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated several development projects in Manipur on December 27, 2020 including the Thoubal Multipurpose Project (Thoubal Dam) in Imphal through virtual mode. He also laid the foundation stone of seven major development projects, including the Churachandpur Medical College.    
• Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Motilal Vohra passed away in New Delhi on December 21, 2020 at the age of 93. Vora was CM of MP in 1989 and also held the office of Governor of Uttar Pradesh between 1993 and 1996.

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

8.1 Indian Railways achieves a train speed of 130 kilometer per hour

 

 

Highlights – 

• Indian Railways has started the New Year by achieving a landmark to enhance the maximum speed to 130 kilometres per hour for 1,280 km length out of 1,612 Km in Golden Quadrilateral - Golden Diagonal route.
• This covers the entire GQ-GD route over South Central Railway, except Vijayawada - Duvvada section, where signaling upgradation work is in progress.
• The Ministry of Railways said that the enhanced speed limits could be achieved due to the systematic and planned strengthening of track and its infrastructure by removing bottlenecks in these sections at a fast pace.
• This included heavier rails, laying of 260 meters long welded rail panels, improvement of curves and gradients among others. 

8.2 Institutions of Eminence can open foreign campusesn

 

Highlights –

• The government has issued guidelines for the so-called Institutions of Eminence (IoEs) to foray overseas through offshore centres and full-fledged campuses in a push to put India on the global education map.
• Each of these 20 higher education institutes has been allowed to open up to three offshore centres in the next five years.
• They will, however, require approval from as many as three ministries—education, home and external affairs—before they can venture out.
• Also, while an institute can start offshore operations with 500 students and five post-graduate programmes, as well as research activity, it needs to ensure that these operations eventually grow to become a full-fledged multi-disciplinary teaching and research campus with at least 3,000 students, and 300 faculty members within 10 years.
• They will also need to submit a detailed project report, a 10-year vision plan and five-year rolling implementation plan.
• The rolling action plan should have details related to the academic plan, financial status, student admission, infrastructure, research and development, a governance plan with clear annual milestones and an action plan on how the centre is to be set up with identifiable outcomes.
• In 2018 and 2019, the government declared 20 institutions, drawn equally from the public and the private sector, as IoEs. They include existing central and state-run top performers such as the IITs in Delhi, Bombay and Madras; IISc in Bengaluru; Anna University, Chennai, private universities such as Shiv Nadar University and Jindal Global University, and greenfield university projects by corporate houses or their foundations.
• The world-class university initiative is aimed at putting a pool of Indian varsities on the global high table, expand research work and take India’s higher education globally.
• These institutions have been offered wide autonomy in both academic and financial matters.
• The government-run IoEs are slated to get ₹1,000 crore each over a period of five years from the Union government..

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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 -

• The India International Science Festival (IISF) was celebrated in Dec 2020 to commemorate the birth anniversary of renowned mathematician S. Ramanujan born in the year 1887.
• International Tea Day was celebrated on December 15, 2020.
• Well-known dancer Astad Deboo died in Mumbai on December 10, 2020 at the age of 73.
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, addresses ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADDM Plus) online.
• RBI cancels license of Maharashtra-based The Karad Janata Sahakari Bank.

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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