Daily Current Affairs, 11th June 2020

1) MHA reconstituted a new committee for the welfare of freedom fighters

•Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has reconstituted a new committee for the welfare of the freedom fighters. This committee chaired by the minister of state for home affairs G Kishan Reddy and 9 other “eminent freedom fighters” from across the country.

•The ministry features a separate division to serve freedom fighters who are alive and their families. It disburses pension to about 30,000 freedom fighters and their families. Besides Reddy, former Congress MLA from Gujarat Dinakar Bhai Desai, who took part within the 1942 Quit India movement, is among those a part of the panel. The new panel may verify if one person has given affidavits to 2 or more applicants and can examine the stress to create memorials and museums for freedom fighters.

2) GoI increases customs duty on bamboo from 10% to 25%

•The Government of India has raised the Customs duty on bamboo imports from 10% to 25% with immediate effect. The decision to increase the Customs duty on bamboo imports was taken to encourage the use of domestic bamboo under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. The newly decided customs duty will now be applicable uniformly to any import of bamboo, including by traders.

•Government of India expects that the uniform rate will help in avoiding the misuse and rate-related disputes, and will also benefit the farmers as well as the MSME agarbatti manufacturers.




3) GoI allocates Rs 4000 cr to State Governments under ‘PMKSY-PDMC’

•The Government of India has allocated Rs 4000 crore to the State Governments under under ‘Per Drop More Crop’ component of Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY- PDMC) for the year 2020-21. The annual allocation of the fund will be distributed to the beneficiaries identified by the State Governments.

•The PMKSY-PDMC envisages to enhance water use efficiency at farm level with the application of Micro Irrigation technologies such as Drip and Sprinkler irrigation systems. Apart from water saving, the Drip micro irrigation technique also helps in reducing fertilizer usage, labour expenses and other input costs.

•To expand the coverage of Micro Irrigation in the states, a Micro Irrigation Fund corpus of Rs 5000 crore has been created with National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). It will also incentivise micro irrigation beyond the facilities available under PMKSY-PDMC to encourage farmers to install micro irrigation systems.

4) India records 29% increase in Asiatic Lion population

•India has recorded a 29% increase in the population of Asiatic Lions. The count of Asiatic Lions has increased from 523 in 2015 to 674 in 2020, indicating a rise of 29% in lion’s population. Asiatic Lions are found in the wild in the Gir sanctuary in western Gujarat. The announcement was made by the Gujarat government.

•The period from 2015 to 2020 also saw a 36% increase in the distribution area of the lions. The distribution area of the lions in 2015 was 22000 sq km which increased to 30000 sq km in 2020.

5) S&P keeps India’s sovereign rating at “BBB-“

•The rating agency “S&P” has kept India’s sovereign rating at “BBB-” along with a stable outlook. The rating agency stated that the economy and fiscal position of India will stabilise and begin to improve from 2021 onwards.

•While maintaining India’s stable outlook, the rating agency expects that India’s economy will revive following the containment of the Covid-19 pandemic, and will also maintain its sound net external position.

6) GRSE delivered ICGS Kanaklata Barua to ICG

•Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) has delivered ICGS Kanaklata Barua, the fifth and last boat in the series of Fast Patrol Vessels (FPV) for the Indian Coast Guard. This is the 105th vessel conveyed by the Defense PSU shipyard dependent on the banks of stream Hooghly.

•GRSE had before made conveyances of FPVs ICGS Priyadarshini, ICGS Annie Besant and ICGS Amrit Kaur in this arrangement to the Indian Coast Guard. The fourth boat Yard 2116 in the series of FPVs is reserved for sending out a conveyance to the Seychelles Coast Guard and is probably going to be conveyed soon after finishing the related conventions. The quick watch vessels, which have been altogether structured by GRSEs Central Design Office, can accomplish speeds surpassing 34 knots with the perseverance of in excess of endurance.