VISION

Friday, December 20, 2019

Daily Current Affairs, 20th December 2019

1) International Human Solidarity Day: 20 December

•International Human Solidarity Day is organized across the world on 20th December. The General Assembly, on 22 December 2005, by resolution 60/209 identified solidarity as one of the fundamental and universal values.

2) Portugal announces Gandhi Citizenship Education Prize

•Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced the setting up of a Gandhi Citizenship Education Prize. Portugal will be launching a Gandhi Citizenship Education Prize, each year inspired by his different thoughts and quotes. The first edition of this prize will be dedicated to animal welfare as Mahatma Gandhi said that the greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.

3) Afghanistan becomes 1st country to recognize Indian Pharmacopoeia

•The Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP) has been recognised formally by the National Department of Regulation of Medicines and Health Products of the Ministry of Public Health of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. With this Afghanistan has become the 1st country to recognize IP pursuant to the efforts of Department of Commerce and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

•IP is an officially recognized book of standards as per the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules 1945 thereunder. It specifies the standards of drugs manufactured and marketed in India in terms of their identity, purity and strength. To ensure the quality of medicinal products, the legal and scientific standards are provided by Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) in the form of Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP).

4) Meghalaya Assembly to pass resolution to bring state under ILP

•The Meghalaya Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Government of India to implement Inner Line Permit in the state under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873. The one-day special session was conducted with the sole intention to pass the resolution in view of the demand by the indigenous residents of the state for implementation of the ILP.

•Inner Line Permit (ILP) is an official travel document issued by the Government of India to allow inward travel of an Indian citizen into a protected area for a limited period. It is obligatory for Indian citizens from outside those states to obtain a permit for entering into the protected state. The document is an effort by the government to regulate movement to certain areas located near the international border of India.

5) Donald Trump becomes 3rd US President to be impeached

•Donald Trump has become the third US President in history to be impeached by the House of Representatives. The impeachment will led to setting up a trial in the Senate that will decide whether Trump will remain in office or not. The House of Representatives formally charged Donald Trump with abuse of power.

•The Democratic-led House passed the abuse of power article of impeachment on a largely party-line 230-197 vote. Although, no President in the 243-year history of the United States has been removed from office by impeachment. Only two previous presidents have been impeached in the US history. The House in 1998 impeached President Bill Clinton while President Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868.

6) Upgraded version of Pinaka Rocket successfully test-fired off Odisha coast

•An upgraded version of the indigenously developed Pinaka-guided rocket system with enhanced strike range and guidance system was successfully test-fired from the DRDO’s Proof and Experimental Establishment firing test range off Odisha coast. The system has a maximum range of 40 km for Mark-I and 75 km for Mark-II and can fire a salvo of 12 HE rockets in 44 seconds. It is mounted on a Tatra truck for mobility.

•Pinaka is an indigenous multi-barrel rocket launch (MBRL) system, which has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Army. The weapon system is equipped with state-of-the-art guidance kit comprising of an advanced navigation and control system.

•While the all-weather tracked-chassis Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QR-SAM) also tested from a mobile launcher at a launch complex of the Integrated Test Range.

7) Former HC Judge CV Ramulu appointed as Telangana Lokayukta

•Former High Court Judge Justice CV Ramulu has been appointed as the Lokayukta of Telangana. Former Law Secretary V Niranjan Rao has been appointed as Upa Lokayukta.

•The governor also appointed another former judge Justice G Chandraiah as Chairman of the State Human Rights Commission. This is the first time that the state government has constituted the Lokayukta and Human Rights Commission since the state was formed in 2014.

8) IPS officer Atul Karwal appointed as Director of National Police Academy

•The Union Government appointed a senior Gujarat Cadre IPS officer Atul Karwal, as Director of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad. He is a 1988 batch IPS officer, is currently posted as Additional Director General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

9) Devesh Srivastava appointed GIC chief

•Devesh Srivastava has been raised to the position of Chairman and Managing Director (MD) at the General Insurance Corporation India (GIC Re). Previously he was managing the departments of human resource and training, ReInsurance Worldwide (RIWW), corporate communications, CMD’s Secretariat and innovation centre, he was transferred to GIC in 1999.

10) International Astronomical Union names new star ‘Sharjah’

•The International Astronomical Union (IAU) announced the names of the newly discovered stars and planets, where the name “Sharjah” was chosen for a star with “Barjeel” being the name of one of its planets.

11) Indian men’s football team ranked 108th in latest FIFA rankings

•The Indian men’s football team remained static at 108th spot in the year-ending FIFA rankings. India lost 11 places throughout the year. With 1187 total points, India is placed at 19th spot among Asian countries headed by Japan 28th.

Civil Services Exam 2020: Important Dates

Upsc

VisionIAS 15:23

Click here for UPSC Exam Calender 2020

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) would officially announce Civil Services exam 2020 details on February 12. This is one of the biggest exams of the country for which more than 10 lakh candidates register. The Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), Indian Forest Service (IFS) among others are included in the Civil Services. The UPSC conducts the exam for appointment to the Civil Services as assigned under Article 320.
The selection for Indian Forest Service (IFS) would also be held alongside Civil Services exam. IFS is one of the three All India Services; the other two are IAS and IPS. The selection to IFS main exam is held through Civil Services prelims.

The HINDU Notes – 20th December 2019

the hindu notes

VisionIAS 15:17

📰 NITI Aayog seeks ideas on population policy

Think tank to hold consultation today

•Government think tank NITI Aayog will hold a national consultation on population stabilisation on Friday to explore ways to strengthen the country’s population policy and family planning programmes.

•The event, being held in partnership with the Population Foundation of India, will include government officials from the Centre as well as seven States — Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu — and experts on the subject. “The conference will contribute to a NITI Aayog working paper to help India in its vision for attaining population stabilisation as voiced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 15, 2019,” said a press statement from NITI Aayog.

•Speaking from the ramparts of Red Fort about population explosion, Mr. Modi said keeping families small is “an act of patriotism.” The officials will brainstorm over recommendations such as treating population stabilisation and family planning as a national priority and ensuring inter-governmental convergence and multisectoral participation, increasing budgetary allocations for family planning, enhancing the basket of contraceptive choices, addressing existing socio-cultural barriers towards contraception as well as social determinants of health such as age at marriage and sex-selective practices, the statement added.

📰 U.S. House impeaches President Donald Trump

Indian Polity by M.Laxmikanth (Complete Compilation) PDF Download

Upsc

VisionIAS 08:10

Indian Polity by M.Laxmikanth (Complete Compilation)

Click Here to Download Indian Polity by M.Laxmikanth (Complete Compilation) PDF
Click Here to Like our Facebook page for latest updates and free ebooks

THE HINDU NEWSPAPER IMPORTANT ARTICLES 20.12.2019

the hindu articles

VisionIAS 07:52

FRONT PAGE

U.S. House impeaches President Donald Trump

NATIONAL

Pact to open door for U.S. defence firms

‘CAA paves the way for foreign aggression’

Section 144, a vestige of colonial rule

INTERNATIONAL

What’s next for President?

OPINION

Should the government exit navratna companies?

In thrall to its own violence

Inaccurate diagnosis, draconian remedy

A tale of two demands

Protest and order

Not unimpeachable

Wielding a pen amidst placards and pellet guns

EMS on status of Governors

BUSSINESS

MPC members cite rise in inflation for rate pause

RBI to conduct ‘Operation Twist’ to manage yields on Dec. 23

The HINDU Notes – 19th December 2019

the hindu notes

VisionIAS 07:17

📰 Are fears over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act misplaced?

To reassure Indian Muslims, the PM needs to state that the govt. will not conduct an exercise like NRC

•A day after asserting at an election rally that those “creating a storm” against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) can be “identified by their clothes itself”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that “no Indian has anything to worry regarding this Act”. It is unfair to dismiss without careful consideration the government’s claim that Indians have nothing to fear from the CAA. Not even its critics can deny that all that the CAA does is to offer a benefit: citizenship. It does not take away anything from anyone. And, it offers the benefits of citizenship to persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

•True, it doesn’t offer this benefit to persecuted Ahmadiyyas or Shias from these countries. It is discriminatory towards persecuted non-Indians who are Muslims. But what has that got to do with Indians, or Indian Muslims, for that matter? As has been pointed out umpteen times by Home Minister Amit Shah, the CAA doesn’t even refer to Muslims. So why is it being said that this law targets Indian Muslims?

No CAA without NRIC

•For an answer, we don’t need to look beyond the Home Minister’s own statements. Mr. Shah has repeatedly underscored two things: one, he will implement the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC), extending the NRC exercise conducted in Assam to the rest of India; and two, the sequence is all-important: he will implement the CAA first, and only after that, the NRIC.

•Put simply, the CAA is a safety net that will ensure, and insure, the citizenship of all Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains and Paris — not just the lakhs of Hindus classed as “illegal migrants” by the Assam NRC, but also others all over India who might be categorised as “foreigners” when the NRIC is implemented. The citizenship of all of them will first be secured through the CAA, and only then, after all non-Muslims are protected with requisite citizenship-related documentation, will the all-India NRC or NRIC be implemented. If there is no NRIC, there would be no need for the CAA either. The NRIC’s objective is to divide the people domiciled in India into two categories: citizens and “illegal migrants”. The CAA’s objective is to pre-emptively rescue, prior to the NRIC exercise, the citizenship of all Indians except those whose religion finds no mention in the CAA.

Threat of omission

•It’s simple arithmetic: add all the religious groups under threat of exclusion by the NRIC (Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Christians, Parsis). Subtract from this set all the religious groups secured by the CAA (Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Christians, Parsis). We are left only with Muslims as the remainder. They will be the only community excluded from the ‘legislative benevolence’ of the Indian state as incarnated in the CAA. Ready to be scooped up, like so many gasping fish, by the NRIC net.

•Every Indian who is puzzled by the intensity of the anti-CAA protests sweeping the country needs to answer a few simple questions: What happens when, after Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian residents of India who are excluded by the NRIC are granted citizenship, thanks to the CAA, only Muslim “non-citizens” remain? Will these stateless people be sent to detention camps? Or will they be accorded an inferior status in a hierarchy of citizenship where non-Muslims occupy a higher position?

•Even if the government were to announce that it won’t implement the CAA, the very existence of this legislation is a danger to the social fabric of the country, for it is a tremendous enabler of hate speech. The world’s foremost experts on Genocide Prevention consider hate speech the prime harbinger of genocide. “The Holocaust did not start with the gas chambers. It started long before with hate speech,” observed Adama Dieng, the UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser on Prevention of Hate Speech, on Prevent Genocide Day this month. As a political tool, the CAB-NRIC combo has the potential to encourage hate speech, especially at election time. As an administrative tool, it weakens constitutional safeguards against genocidal machinations, which could prove deadly in the unlikely event of the world’s largest democracy mutating into a majoritarian state sympathetic to such machinations.

Exclusionary precedents

•There is ample historical precedent for exclusionary citizenship laws and the ends they served. The Reich Citizenship Law of 1935 stripped German Jews of their citizenship, and everyone knows what came after. Closer home, the 1982 Citizenship Law in Myanmar rendered Rohingya Muslims stateless, despite the fact that they were indigenous to the Arakan region. Myanmar is currently facing charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice.

•Assurances by the government that “no Indian will lose citizenship” are to be welcomed. But anti-CAA protesters are convinced that under the CAA-NRIC regime, sections of Muslims will cease to be “Indians” anyway. Once they lose their citizenship, the government can still claim that no “Indian” has lost citizenship, for it is the government which decides who is an Indian and who isn’t.

•If it is indeed the case that all fears about the CAA are misplaced, and it is only “vested interests” that are misleading the nation, then it is easy for the Prime Minister to dispel such misapprehensions. Instead of blandly insisting that “not a single Indian will lose citizenship”, he only needs to declare categorically that the government will never, ever conduct anything like the NRIC. And he must repeat this assurance in every election rally, tweet it out, and reiterate it in his radio address. Can he do so? If he cannot, or will not, then what does that say of the intent behind the CAA?

📰 The rhetoric and reality of capital punishment

Daily Current Affairs, 19th December 2019

vision ias current affairs

VisionIAS 07:05

1) Chennai Corporation launches India’s first waste exchange platform

•Chennai Corporation, Tamil Nadu launched India’s first waste exchange platform namely “Madras Waste Exchange” (www.madraswasteexchange.com) to buy and sell municipal solid waste online. It will run on a pilot basis for the first three months. Based on the response from public and waste recyclers, more features will be added to the website.

•The Madras Waste Exchange, which is both a web portal and an application, has been conceptualised by the Smart City Mission, with support from the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

2) GST Council fixes 28% uniform tax rate for lottery

•The Goods and Services Tax or GST Council has fixed a uniform tax rate of 28% on both state-run and private lottery. It also decided to rationalise the GST rate on woven and non-woven bags to 18%.

•It was for the first time that the GST Council resorted to voting to decide on an issue as it fixed a uniform tax rate on both state and private lotteries. The GST Council also decided to exempt upfront amount payable for long term lease of industrial and financial infrastructure plots by an entity having 20% or more ownership of Central or State Government.

3) 50% concession for ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ participants

•Indian Railways has decided to grant 50% concession for the youth participating in the “Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat” programme. The concession will be given in basic fares of Second and Sleeper Class to youths with emoluments of not more than 5000 rupees per month for travelling from one State to another State to take part in the programme.

•The concession has been granted as a special case and it is admissible only in the normal train services and not for booking of Special Trains or Coaches. This concession will be provided on production of requisite certificate in the prescribed railway format from the Secretary of concerned Department of Human Resource Development of various States.

4) Odisha Govt. launches ‘Jalsathi’ programme

•Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched the ‘Jalsathi’ programme to ensure supply of safe drinking water to all households in the state. The Odisha CM also launched the ‘JalSathi’ App on the occasion. The Water Corporation of Odisha (WATCO) signed a memorandum of understanding with the women federations in Bhubaneswar for the implementation of the programme. The JalSathi initiative aims to ensure the supply of clean drinking water to consumers through piped water connections.

5) Govt approves Rs 436 cr outlay for skilling 4 lakh persons

•The government announced Rs 436 crore outlay for skilling 4 lakh professionals in futuristic areas such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and cybersecurity over the next 3 years. The ”Future Skills PRIME” programme will be jointly rolled out by the information technology ministry and industry body Nasscom and will seek to position the initiative as India stack for digital talent. The programme will increase employability.

6) India and US sign defence tech transfer pact during 2+2 dialogue

•India and the US have signed an agreement to facilitate the transfer of defence technology. During a 2+2 dialogue held at Washington DC, the top foreign affairs and defence leaders on growing strategic relations between the world`s largest and most powerful democracies.

•India and the US have a common vision of a free, seamless and peaceful Indo-Pacific region. India has bought weapons worth more than $15 billion from the United States over the past decade as it seeks to replace its Russian-origin military and is in talks for helicopters, armed drones and a bigger Indian plan for local production of combat planes together worth billions of dollars.

7) National conference on ‘Uniformed Women in Prison Administration’ begins

•Union Minister of State for Home affairs inaugurate a National Conference on ‘Uniformed Women in Prisons Administration’ begins in Central Academy for Police Training in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

•In this Conference, uniformed women officers and staff of all the states from Jail Wardens up to Director Inspector Generals level, members of non-governmental organizations, representatives of academic institutions and officers of other government departments are taking part in the conference. At present, there are more than 900 uniformed women government servants working in the state jail department.

8) “Environmental Sustainability and Economic Development” Summit held in Delhi

•Summit on “Environmental Sustainability and Economic Development” was held in Delhi. Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change addressed the summit with the concerns about the depleting ozone layer and the emission of Cfcs and Hfcs. He stated that there is the need of the hour to call upon a meeting to control the minimum temperatures and to keep a check on the emissions.

9) Thawarchand Gehlot launches Braille version of ‘Exam Warriors’

•Social Justice and Empowerment Minister launched the Braille version of the book “Exam Warriors” written by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. The braille version in English and Hindi has been printed by Rajasthan Netraheen Kalyan Sangh in Jaipur. The book contains a detailed-design of the animated picture and various yoga asanas which will let students imagine the pictorial graphics with ease.

•The book will surely benefit visually-impaired students who face mental stress during examinations. It will boost the confidence level of these students and help them get success in various competitive exams.

10) Dehradun hosts Conference of Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies

•Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla inaugurated the 79th Conference of Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies. The conference was held in Dehradun. The presiding officers of all state legislatures participated in the conference. Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla was also conferred the guard of honour during the conference.

11) Anti-hijacking exercise conducted in Kochi port

•The Indian Navy, in collaboration with Indian Coast Guard, Cochin Port Trust and all other concerned stakeholders, conducted a large-scale anti-hijacking exercise off the Port of Kochi. The Exercise code-named “Apharan” saw the participation of multiple agencies, including more than 12 ships and helicopters of the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and Cochin Port Trust.

•Apharan was aimed at streamlining the response mechanism/preparedness to thwart any attempt by anti-national elements to hijack a merchant’s vessel or attempt forced entry of a rogue/commandeered merchant vessel into the Kochi harbour.

12) S. Mandhana in ICC’s ODI and T20 team of the year

•India opener Smriti Mandhana was named in both the International Cricket Council’s ODI and T20 teams of the year. She has Jhulan Goswami, Poonam Yadav and Shikha Pandey for the company in the ODI team of the year and all-rounder Deepti Sharma in the T20 side.

•Mandhana has played 51 ODIs and 66 T20Is for India, besides a couple of Test matches. She has combined tally of 3476 runs in T20Is and ODIs.

GS SCORE Current Affairs December 2019 Week 3 PDF

GS Score

VisionIAS 07:38

GS SCORE Current Affairs December 2019 Week 3 PDF

Click Here to Download GS SCORE Current Affairs December 2019 Week 3 PDF

Click Here to Like our Facebook page for latest updates and free ebooks