DAILY DIGEST for 27-01-2020 - USEFUL FOR ALL COMPETITIVE EXAMS

DAILY DIGEST for 27-01-2020 - USEFUL FOR ALL COMPETITIVE EXAMS

Namaste dear student

Happy to bring to you DAILY DIGEST. Read, digest, click, learn, succeed :)

 

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PART 1 - Daily Current Affairs + MCQ quiz to solve

 

SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. 71st Republic Day celebrations:events at Rajpath, New Delhi – India showcased its anti-satellite (A-SAT) missile capability to the world as a weapon, during the impressive Republic Day parade on 26th January 2020. Mission Shakti was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Chinook heavy lift helicopters and Apache attack helicopters, also made their debut. DRDO also displayed the Air Defence Tactical Control Radar (ADTCR). There were 16 marching contingents this year, including six from the Army, and 22 tableaux from various States and departments in the 90-minute parade. The flypast consisted of 41 aircraft of the IAF.
2. MGNREGA: Funds crunch hits the scheme –The Centre is on the verge of running out of funds for the crucial Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme. More than 96% of the allocated money has already been spent or is needed to pay pending dues, with less than Rs. 2,500 crore left to sustain the scheme for the next two months. Fifteen States are already in the red. According to the scheme’s financial statement as on January 26, Rajasthan has the highest negative net balance of Rs. 620 crore, followed by Rs. 323 crore in Uttar Pradesh. The situation on the ground may be worse as States do not always enter pending payments into the information system. January, February and March are months with little agricultural activity, when rural workers desperately need employment.
3. EU Parliament set to vote on Kashmir, CAA–Close on the heels of a number of critical international statements and parliamentary resolutions, the government is bracing for six scathing resolutions on both Jammu and Kashmir and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019, that have been filed by an overwhelming majority of members in the European Parliament. These will be taken up for discussion and voting this week. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) declined an official comment on the resolutions, which could have a deep impact on ties between India and the European Union.The draft resolutions are due to be taken up during the plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels on January 29 for discussion (around 6 p.m. local time) and January 30 for a vote.
4. Corona virus Outbreak: death toll hits 56–The ability of the new coronavirus to spread is strengthening and infections could continue to rise, with more than 2,000 people in China infected and 56 killed by the disease. Health officials around the world are racing to prevent a pandemic after a handful of cases of infection were reported outside China, including in Thailand, Australia, the U.S. and France. The Mayor of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, said he expected 1,000 new patients in the city, which was stepping up construction of special hospitals. The newly identified corona virus has created alarm because much about it is still unknown, such as how dangerous it is and how easily it spreads between people.
5. Blatant violations of Libya arms embargo continue: United Nations –The United Nations decried continued blatant violations by several countries of an arms embargo on war-torn Libya, flying in the face of pledges of peace made last week at an international conference in Berlin. These countries were supplying advanced weapons, armoured vehicles and foreign fighters. Libya sits on Africa’s Mediterranean coast, and is divided between rival governments, each supported by various armed militias and foreign backers. It has the ninth largest known oil reserves in the world and the biggest oil reserves in Africa. The weak but UN-recognised government in the capital Tripoli is backed by Turkey, and Qatar and Italy too.
6. Donald Trump Impeachment– According to a video recording released to US media, Donald Trump demanded the dismissal of Marie Yovanovitch, the Ambassador to Ukraine and a key figure in the President’s impeachment trial. The issue is central to Mr. Trump’s ongoing impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate.His order to fire the Ambassador came after Mr. Parnas told him that Ms. Yovanovich was an impediment, and claiming that she had privately disparaged the President.The footage was reportedly taken during an April 2018 donor dinner at a hotel and released to news outlets by an attorney for Lev Parnas, an indicted associate of Mr. Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.
7. US-Iran issue updates
   1. A volley of rockets landed near the U.S. Embassy in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, in the latest unclaimed attack on American installations in the country.
   2. The United States will not lift sanctions on Iran in order to negotiate – US President
8. Israel-Palestine issue: Palestine threatened to quit Oslo Accord – Palestinian officials threatened to withdraw from key provisions of the Oslo Accords, which define relations with Israel, if U.S. President Donald Trump announces his West Asia peace plan next week. Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said that Mr. Trump’s initiative will turn Israel’s “temporary occupation (of Palestinian territory) into a permanent occupation.The Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement, signed in Washington in 1995, sought to put into practice the first Oslo peace deal agreed two years earlier.
9. India and Brazil signed 15 pacts to enhance ties–India and Brazil signed 15 agreements as Prime Minister N. Modi held talks with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro who was the chief guest at the Republic Day parade on Rajpath. The two sides signed a joint statement and an action plan with specific goals to deepen cooperation in defence and security; trade and investment; agriculture and energy; civil aviation; energy; environment; and health and innovation. The two sides promised to work together to deal with international terrorism. They set a target of US $ 15 billion in bilateral trade by 2022.
10. Medical board approves plan to add 10,000 PG seats this year – There may be a significant addition of 10,000 new postgraduate medical seats from the new academic session this year which will help improve availability of specialists across the country as well as facilitate the District Residency Programme which entails at least three months of rural posting. The Board of Governors (BoG) — vested with powers of the Medical Council of India (MCI) — approved the proposal to increase PG seats after states raised concerns about the residency programme, saying hospitals attached to medical colleges will suffer if these students are sent to district hospitals, a senior official said. The service at district hospitals is mandatory for every PG student.

SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

 

1. CONSTITUTION AND LAW (Prelims, GS Paper 2, Essay paper)

 

1.1 National Voters Day celebrated on January 25
 

• Edition –10th (First National Voters Day was celebrated in year 2011)
• Background– It is celebrated on January 25 to mark the foundation of Election Commission in the year 1950.
• Aim- To encourage more young voters to take part in the political process. 
• Theme - 2020 -Electoral Literacy for Stronger Democracy; 2019 -No Voter to be Left Behind; 2018 -Accessible elections

                                                                               

 

 

 

 

 

2. ECONOMY (Prelims, GS Paper 3, Essay paper)

 

2.1 Event: Annual meeting of World Economic Forum

• Edition –50th
• Time – January 20 to 24, 2020
• Place – Davos, Switzerland
• Theme -Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World.
• Union Minister of Commerce and Industry and Railways Piyush Goyal lead the Indian delegation in the event.
• Four global issues that featured prominently on the agenda were
  1. How to address the urgent climate and environmental challenges that are harming our ecology and economy;
  2. How to transform industries to achieve more sustainable and inclusive business models as new
  3. political, economic and societal priorities change trade and consumption patterns;
  4. How to govern the technologies driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution so they benefit business and society while minimizing their risks to them; and
  5. How to adapt to the demographic, social and technological trends reshaping education, employment and entrepreneurship.
                                                           
  

 

 

2.2  Launch of Electric Scooters - TVS Motors launched electric scooter iQube at Rs. 1,15,000. Earlier this month Bajaj Auto launched Chetak electric for Rs. 1, 00,000.
                                                                               

 

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

 

3.1 According to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF), globally, unprovoked Shark attacks have been declining in the last two years. 

 

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

 

4.1 Dutch government offered first apology for persecution of Jews in Second World War

• Prime Minister of Netherlands Mark Rutte made the historic apology at Holocaust Memorial in Amsterdam.
• He was giving an address on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz.
• Only 38,000 of the 140,000 Jews who lived in the Netherlands survived World War II.
• Holocaust survivors will gather in Auschwitz on Jan 27 to mark 75 years since Soviet troops liberated the camp.
• More than 1.1 million people, mainly Jews, were killed at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
• Nazi Germany systematically detained, deported and killed more than six million Jews during world war II.
• It also massacred millions of others, including Poles, Slavs, Romani and members of other ethnic and social groups.

                                                                               

5. GOVERNMENT SCHEMES (Prelims, GS Paper 2, GS Paper 3)

 

5.1 Paryatan Parv initiative by Government 
 

• Government to reward people visiting 15 tourist spots in a year by funding their expenses.
• The Scheme was launched by Tourism Ministry at two day National Tourism Conference, organised by Odisha government in association with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) at Konark.
• Present Union Tourism Minister is Prahlad Singh Patel.
• Other announcement at the occasion - The Sun Temple at Konark would be included in the list of 'iconic sites'.

                                                                     

 

 

6. MISCELLANEOUS (Prelims, Various GS Papers)

 

6.1  Arts – Obituary -Sher Singh Kukkal passed away (1934 to 2020)

• Noted artist and sculptor Sher Singh Kukkal passed away at 86 in New Delhi.
• He was former art teacher at the Sainik School Satara. 
• Mr. Kukkal hailed from Buffa district, now in Pakistan. 
• He worked as a freelance artist, doing drawing, painting, sculpture, printing and photography. He painted with graphite pencils, pen and ink.
• Awards and Recognitions

1. Gold Medal in Painting from Queens College, Lucknow.
2. Rajiv Gandhi Foundation Award.
3. Best Port Folio Award in Photography from AIFACS 2006.
4. All India Annual Sculpture Award from Art Mall, Delhi 2008.
5. Awarded as Sr Fellowship in Visual Art Photography 2008-09 by Ministry Of Culture, Govt. Of India, Delhi.

                                                           

 

 

 

6.2 Arts –Web series "The Forgotten Army" created Guinness World Record for being the ‘biggest team of musicians to perform live ever’. Filmmaker Kabir Khan is the director of the web series.

6.3 Accidents and Natural Disasters–Twenty people killed in Turkey in a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in eastern Elazig province.

 

7. POLITY (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

 

7.1 32nd review through PRAGTI

• Context – Prime Minister reviewed status of several projects through PRAGATI in January 2020.
• What is PRAGTI? – It is the Information and Communication Technology based multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation,
  involving Central and State governments.
• Background – PRAGATI was launched on March 25, 2015.
• Details – 
  1. It was the 32nd review through PRAGATI, first review of the year 2020.
  2. Total of eleven items were discussed, out of which nine were delayed projects.
  3. These nine projects worth Rs. 24,000 crores, are spread over nine states – Odisha, Telangana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Bihar, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh and three Union ministries.
  4. These include three from the Ministry of Railways, five from Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and one from Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
  5. Progress under insurance schemes – Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) reviewed.
  6. In the previous thirty one interactions of PRAGATI, projects worth over twelve lakh crores have been reviewed.
  7. In the last PRAGATI meeting of the year 2019, 9 projects worth over Rs. 61,000 crore related to 16 states and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir were taken up for discussion.
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7.2  Awards and Honours - 141 recipients of the 2020 Padma awards announced by the government.

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

 

8.1  Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, 2020
 

• The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar is given under two categories- Bal Shakti Puraskar and Bal Kalyan Puraskar.
• Bal Shakti Puraskar 2020 was awarded to 49 children in 5-18 years age group.
• Awards were given in the fields of innovation, social service, scholastic, sports, art and culture and bravery.
• The award was instituted in 1996 as National Child Award. From the year 2018, the award has been renamed as the Bal Shakti Puraskar.In bravery category,Soumyadeep Jana, Ishaan Sharma, Pema and Lalkansung won the award.
• Bal Kalyan Puraskar was instituted in 1979 as National Child Welfare Awards. It was renamed in year 2018 as Bal Kalyan Puraskar.This award was given in two categories – Individual and Institution.
• Award comprised a medal, a cash prize of  Rs.1 lakh, a certificate and a citation.
• This award comes under Ministry of Women and Child Development.

                                                                     

 

 

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

 

9.1 World Health Organisation (WHO) endorsed India-developed TB detection technology ‘TrueNat’ TB test

• Context -The World Health Organisation (WHO) has endorsed a technology developed by Indian scientists to detect tuberculosis and multi-drug resistant TB in view of its high diagnostic accuracy.
• Details -The WHO’s Global TB Programme has included TrueNat TB test -- a new molecular test that detects tuberculosis as well as resistance to the drug Rifampicin in about 90 minutes -in its rapid communication document on molecular investigative procedure in laboratory medicine and pharmacology.
• Low cost -Truenat is cost-effective because in its case the test for rifampicin resistance be carried out Only when samples test positive for TB. This is unlike Xpert (the other test for TB) where both TB diagnosis and rifampicin resistance test are done in one go. 
• Significance - The endorsement of the technology by WHO would enable low and middle-income countries to procure TrueNat for tuberculosis and Rifampicin resistance, thus supporting elimination of the disease in developing countries.
• Truenat is developed by the Goa-based Molbio Diagnostics. The company was provided with technical assistance and resources by the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) to help commercialise Truenat.
• World Health Organisation was established in 1948. Its headquarters is at Geneva, Switzerland. Its parent organisation is United Nations Economic and Social Council. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is present Director-General of the Organisation.

                                                                         

 

 

10.1 Ranking - Airpocalypse report by Greenpeace India, 2020

• 231 Indian cities out of 287 have been identified where air pollution levels exceeded the 60 µg/m3 limits for PM10 as prescribed under National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
• Jharia in Jharkhand topped the list, faring as the most polluted city in India in terms of PM10. 
• Lunglei in Mizoram was at last position in the list (least polluted).
• PM10 is particulate matter 10 micrometers or less in diameter. By way of comparison, a human hair is about 100 micrometres, so roughly 40 fine particles could be placed on its width.
  
  Download pdf of the report from here –
  
    https://storage.googleapis.com/planet4-india-stateless/2019/08/88c10172-airpocalypse-iv.pdf

10.2 Daily dose of FIVE Facts -

1. Indian Army conducted Sindhu Sudarshan exercise near Pakistan border in Barmer district of Rajasthan in Nov-Dec, 2019.
2.  IIIDEM stands for India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management.
3. India has pledged to contribute 13.5 million US $ for various operational activities of development across the UN agencies for the year 2020.
4. Under Article 356 of the Indian Constitution, President’s rule can be imposed in any state of India.
5. Borderman is the annual magazine of the Border Security Force (BSF).

10.3 Today’s best editorials to read 

• We offer you 7 excellent editorials from across 10 newspapers we have scanned. 

Source: PTeducation