VISION

Thursday, May 07, 2020

THE HINDU NEWSPAPER IMPORTANT ARTICLES 07.05.2020

the hindu articles

VisionIAS 07:19

INTERNATIONAL

European economy faces historic recession

OPINION

Fear and loathing in the land of the free

Resuscitating multilateralism with India’s help

A war-like state and a bond to the rescue

Everyone wants a good stimulus

Rent control amidst pandemic

Blame game

Mitras IAS Philosophy Optional Complete Class Notes PDF

Upsc

VisionIAS 06:23

Mitras IAS Philosophy Optional Complete Class Notes

GS Score May 2020 1st Week Current Affairs PDF

Weekly Magazines

VisionIAS 06:14

GS Score May 2020 1st Week Current Affairs PDF

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Daily Current Affairs, 06th May 2020

vision ias current affairs

VisionIAS 17:02

1) Chandigarh launches App “CHDCOVID” to provide COVID-19 information

•Chandigarh government has launched a new mobile app named “CHDCOVID” to provide COVID-19 related information. The app has been developed in-house by the Society for Promotion of IT in Chandigarh (SPIC). The app will act as a single point platform where people can access all the guidelines, orders and notifications issued by Administration and Government of India.

2) Bamboo Conclave held via Video Conferencing

•A Bamboo Conclave was held through Video Conference and featured the participation of representatives of Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), the Union Ministry of Agriculture and various other stakeholders from different sectors. The conclave was addressed by Union Minister of State (I/C) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Dr Jitendra Singh. While addressing the conclave, the minister emphasized on the importance of Bamboo to India’s Post- COVID economy and also stated that Bamboo will provide India an opportunity to evolve as an economic power with the support of its Bamboo resources.

•Jitendra Singh also deliberated on the Ministry of DoNER’ plans to promote bamboo manufacturing and trade, as well as working out the practicability of Public Private Partnership (PPP) in this sector.

3) National Gallery of Modern Art presents “NGMA KE SANGRAH SE”

•National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi has presented a virtual program “NGMA KE SANGRAH SE“. For the current week, the theme of the virtual program is “ARTIST BY ARTISTS” and dedicated it to Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore as it coincides with his 159th birth anniversary on 7th May 2020. During the program “NGMA KE SANGRAH SE”, NGMA will display the rarely seen jewels from its repository.

•Various other exciting and thought-provoking themes are planned for the coming days. These kind of virtual programs as well as exhibitions will provide art lovers, artists, art connoisseurs, students, teachers, an opportunity to see the rarely presented artworks from their homes. It would be based on various weekly/ daily themes from NGMA’s prestigious collections.

4) Lt Gen Raj Shukla assumes charge of ARTRAC

•Lieutenant General Raj Shukla assumed command of the Army Training Command (ARTRAC). General Shukla was commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery in December 1982. He commanded a Medium Regiment in the Eastern / Desert Theatres, an Infantry Brigade in counter-insurgency operations, an Infantry Division along the LoC in Kashmir and a Corps along the Western Borders.

•General Shukla has served two tenures at the Military Operations Directorate and as the Director-General, Perspective Planning at Army HQ. He has also been Commandant of the Indian Army War College.

5) Indian Navy launches Operation “Samudra Setu”

•An operation named “Samudra Setu” has been launched by the Indian Navy. “Samudra Setu” means “Sea Bridge”. This operation is a part of India’s effort to bring back Indian citizens who are stranded overseas amid COVID-19 pandemic. The whole operation will be executed in close coordination with Ministries of Defence, External Affairs, Home Affairs, Health including various other agencies of the Government of India and State governments.

•As part of Phase-1 of operation “Samudra Setu”, Indian Naval Ships Jalashwa and Magar are presently proceeding to the port of Malè, Republic of Maldives to start evacuation operations from 08 May 2020. Indian Navy has planned to evacuate a total of 1000 persons during the first trip. To overcome the unique challenges associated with COVID-19 strict protocols have also been stipulated.

6) Ashok Michael Pinto nominates as US representative to IBRD

•United States President, Donald Trump has nominated Indian-American lawyer Ashok Michael Pinto as US representative to World Bank’s lending arm International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). He was nominated as US Alternate Executive Director of IBRD for a period of 2 years. He currently serves as Counsellor to the Under Secretary for International Affairs at the United States (US) Department of the Treasury.

7) The Marcus Wallenberg Prize 2020 announced

•Joseph J Landsberg, Richard H Waring and Nicholas C Coops, share the 2020 Marcus Wallenberg Prize for forest sector’ for 3-PG (Physiological Principles Predicting Growth), a model to predict forest growth in a changing climate. The prize 2020 will be presented by King Carl Gustaf XVI of Sweden during a ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden & the prize money is 2 million Kronor.

8) Vladimir Putin honoured World War II medal to Kim Jong-un

•Russian President Vladimir Putin has awarded North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un a commemorative war medal marking the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany.

•The World War II medal was awarded to the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for his role in preserving the memory of Soviet soldiers who died on North Korean territory. In 2019, Russia invited Kim to visit Moscow on May 9, 2020, to attend the military parade marking the 75th anniversary of the victory. Alexander Matsegora, Russia’s ambassador in North Korea, presented the award to the North Korea Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon.

9) Saurabh Lodha gets Young Career Award in Nano Sci. & Tech. 2020

•IIT Bombay Professor Saurabh Lodha has been honoured with the Young Career Award in Nano Science & Technology for the year 2020. The Young Career Award in Nano Science & Technology is instituted by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India. He has been honoured with this award for his pioneering contributions in the development of logic transistor technologies past silicon and nanoelectronic devices based on two-dimensional Van der Waals materials.

10) CSIR-IGIB partners with TATA Sons for licensing KNOWHOW for FELUDA

•Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), constituent lab of CSIR, has signed a MoU with TATA Sons for licensing of KNOWHOW for FELUDA in order to execute rapid diagnosis of COVID-19. The MoU aims to provide license which will enable transfer of the knowledge for scaling up the KNOWHOW in the form of a kit in order to employ it for COVID-19 testing on ground as soon as possible. Hence, as per MoU, CSIR-IGIB will now work along with TATA Sons to bring FELUDA for widespread use at the earliest.

•FNCAS9 Editor Linked Uniform Detection Assay (FELUDA) has been designed to alleviate the current COVID-19 situation and cater to mass testing. The main advantages of FELUDA is its affordability, relative ease of use as well as non-dependency on expensive Q-PCR machines.

11) DRDO develops Ultra Violet Disinfection Tower

•An Ultra Violet (UV) Disinfection Tower has been developed by the Laser Science & Technology Centre (LASTEC), a premier laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The UV Disinfection Tower has been developed to achieve rapid and chemical free disinfection of high infection prone areas. It is a UV based area sanitiser which is beneficial for high tech surfaces such as electronic equipment, computers and other gadgets in laboratories as well as offices that are not suitable for disinfection with chemical methods.

•The UV based area sanitiser may be operated remotely through laptop/mobile phone with the help of wifi link and would be also effective for areas with large flow of people such as shopping malls, factories, metros, airports, hotels, offices, etc. It has also the facility of getting switched off on accidental opening of room or human intervention.

The HINDU Notes – 06th May 2020

the hindu notes

VisionIAS 14:32

📰 It’s time for a virtual judiciary

It will not only reduce costs but also lead to speedy disposal of cases

•During the nationwide lockdown imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19, it has become clear that many activities can simply be done online. Over the last decade, Indians have embraced technology in a greater way than ever before. We all have apps on our phones — Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy, Uber, Ola, Zomato, etc. — that help us procure various goods and services. Today, in these exceptional circumstances, ‘work from home’ is a concept whose time has come like never before. Many offices are gearing up for the new normal of staying at home and working, as restrictions are expected to continue for an indefinite period. This brings us to the question, how can we use technology to ensure speedy disposal of cases?

Many hurdles

•The pendency of cases in various courts in India is staggering. The Economic Survey of 2019-2020 dedicates a chapter to pendency of tax cases and revenue cases. The Survey mistakenly argues for more court infrastructure and judges to solve the problem. On the contrary, the existing infrastructure is grossly under-utilised. There are tribunals such as the Income Tax Tribunal that function only half-day most of the time. To make matters worse, most courts are closed for Christmas and summer vacations. Judges are not accountable for efficiency and performance. Thousands of Indians cannot afford to go to court as legal costs are high and legal procedures are complicated.

•It is a fact that most tax matters do not necessitate personal hearings. Tax cases reach tribunals and higher courts after lower authorities record all the facts. The High Courts and the Supreme Court deal with issues or interpretation of the law. The bane of the court system is that lawyers on both sides need to be physically present in court. Cases are often adjourned due to various reasons. It is in this context that we make the case for a virtual judiciary.

•In such a scenario, we can submit all the papers via mail. The judge can decide the case based on all the available information. Wherever the judge requires clarifications, he or she can seek the same through email. Typically, the judge, after considering all the material available, can pass a draft order and send it to both sides for any comments which they may want to provide. Thereafter, the judge can, after considering the comments, pass the final order. This will enhance the quality of the judgment and also eliminate obvious errors.

An efficient judiciary

•The use of the court hall to decide such matters is superfluous. Not only will a virtual judiciary result in substantial savings in costs but will also lead to speedy disposal of cases. The productivity of lawyers will increase substantially as visits to courts and long waiting hours will be more an exception than a rule. If this practice is extended to other civil cases, efficiency will double, even treble, in judicial functioning.

•The fact that the jurisdiction of a court is defined by geography makes no sense in matters such as taxation and company law. The change to remote, non-personal electronic court hearings will change this. All judges should be empowered to handle any case, wherever it originates. This will result in multiple advantages — the principal one being better utilisation of manpower and infrastructure by equitably distributing the work. Also, malpractices will be limited as there will no longer be familiarity between lawyers and judges in a city.

•While India grapples with a crisis on the health and economic front, we need to think out of the box. We need a change in mindset regarding the way we work. Imagine the overall savings and extent of improvement of the judicial ecosystem if 70% of the cases get decided without going to court? If vested interests are kept aside and collective will to initiate what is for the common good takes precedence, a virtual judiciary can become a part of our lives.