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Thursday, May 14, 2020

Daily Current Affairs, 14th May 2020

17:53





1) FM announces 2nd tranche of measures for “Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan”
•Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced the details of the 2nd tranche of Economic Relief Package for “Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan” amid COVID-19 pandemic. This 2nd tranche is the part of economic package of Rs 20 lakh crore has been announced with the prime objective of making India self-reliant.

 •During her address, the minister mentioned that the second tranche of Economic Relief Package for “Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan” is dedicated to migrant workers, street vendors, small traders, self employed people & small farmers.

 •During her address, she mentioned that the 2nd tranche comprises of 9 different measures according to the given composition: 3 related to migrant workers, one related to shishu loan within mudra, one related to street vendors, one for housing, one related to employment generation largely for tribals, and two related to farmers.

2) J&K & Haryana to provide tap connections till 2022
•The Jammu and Kashmir administration and Haryana Government have framed a plan to implement the Jal Jeevan mission to provide tap connections to every rural household by 2022. The Jal Jeevan Mission aims to provide drinking water to every household.

 Jammu and Kashmir:

 •Jammu and Kashmir will receive 680 crores for the Jal Jeevan Mission. So far, 5.75 lakhs have been covered out of 18.17 lakh households. he Territory plans to cover 1.76 lakh households by 2020-21.  J&K will use the help of 98 water testing laboratories to achieve the mission.

 Haryana:

 •The Haryana Government has provided 1.05 lakh tap connections in the year 2019-20 under the mission. There are 28.94 households in Haryana. Out of these, 18.83 lakhs already have tap water connections and 10.11 lakh households are to be covered. In order to achieve this, the Haryana Government will take help from 44 NABL accredited laboratories in the state.

3) NDB approves USD 1 bn Emergency Assistance Program Loan to India
•Emergency Assistance Program Loan of USD 1 billion has been approved by the New Development Bank (NDB) to India. The Emergency Assistance Program Loan aims to support the Government of India in its attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19 as well as to minimize the human, social and economic losses caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. This is NDB’s second emergency assistance program in order to help its member countries to fight COVID-19.

 •The program will help India by providing critical healthcare resources and strengthening the social safety net which will improve the resilience of public health sector and health emergency response systems, and facilitate the socio-economic recovery in India.

4) Uttarakhand CM launches ‘HOPE’ portal to help unemployed youth



•Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has launched “HOPE” (Helping Out People Everywhere) portal to help unemployed youth to get jobs opportunities. The portal will be used to collect the data on the youths of the state who are staying in as well as the recently returned migrant youths.

 •This platform will help unemployed youths for job seeking and skill development. The database in the portal will help employers to find suitable candidates for their requirements. The employers will get knowledge about the candidates like where they worked. When the database is ready it’ll be linked with the Mukhya Mantri Swarojgar Yojana.

5) Indian Railways makes Aarogya Setu app mandatory for passengers
•The Indian Railways has made the Aarogya Setu app mandatory for the passengers to travel by train. According to the announcement made by the Indian Railways, it has become mandatory for passengers to download Aarogya Setu application in their mobile phones, before starting their journey.

 •“Aarogya Setu” is the official COVID-19 tracking app that has been launched by the Government of India. It has been developed by the National e-Governance Division of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in association with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

6) US’ CDC commits $3.6 million to assist Government of India
•An assistance of $3.6 million to India has been committed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The amount aims to enhance India’s response to the COVID-19 epidemic. It will also led to prevention, preparedness, and response activities in India. It will also help India in its effort to increase the laboratory capacity for SARS-COV-2 testing.

 7) Italy develops ‘iFeel-You’ bracelet for social distancing
•The Genoa-based Italian Institute of Technology (IIT) has developed ‘iFeel-You’ bracelet for social distancing. This bracelet will help users respect social distancing rules. The bracelet has been developed as the measures for safeguarding against the coronavirus lockdown is being gradually lifted.

 •This bracelet uses a radio signal only when another bracelet is approaching, it does not use GPS and therefore does not keep track of user locations. It just reminds us when needed that we are not observing social distancing rules.

8) V. Vidyavathi becomes new DG of Archaeological Survey of India
•IAS officer V. Vidyavathi is appointed as the new Director-General of Archaeological Survey of India(ASI) effective from 12th May 2020. She is a 1991 batch Karnataka cadre officer.

 •Vidyavathi will be serving in the rank of Additional Secretary to the Government of India. Her appointment is confirmed by the order of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

9) Bangalore Airport wins SKYTRAX Award for Best Regional Airport
•The Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru has won the SKYTRAX Award 2020. The airport was chosen as the Best Regional Airport in India and Central Asia by the customers at the 2020 World Airport Awards.

 •Changi Airport, Singapore was voted the World’s Best Airport for 8th consecutive year, while Tokyo Haneda Airport was voted the World’s Cleanest Airport, and Paris Orly Airport was voted the World’s Most Improved Airport at the 2020 World Airport Awards. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai was voted as Best Airport Staff in India & Central Asia.

 •The World Airport Awards began in 1999 after Skytrax launched its first global “Airport customer satisfaction” survey. A central directive of the survey is for customers to make their own, personal choices as to which airport they consider to be the best, underlining the brand as the Passenger’s Choice Awards.

10) India ranks 74th on WEF Global Energy Transition Index
•India has been ranked at 74th position on the Global ‘Energy Transition Index’ by the World Economic Forum (WEF). India has moved up two positions with improvements on all key parameters of economic growth, energy security and environmental sustainability. India is one of the few countries in the world to have made consistent year-on-year progress since 2015.

 •Sweden has topped the “Energy Transition Index (ETI)”. Switzerland and Finland are on 2nd and 3rd rank respectively.
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The HINDU Notes – 14th May 2020

11:06




📰 Major stimulus package for MSMEs

TDS, TCS rates cut by 25% for next year; PF payments reduced from 12% to 10% for three months

•Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced a Rs. 3 lakh crore collateral free loan scheme for businesses, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as part of a Rs. 20 lakh crore economic stimulus package to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

•For salaried workers and taxpayers, some relief was provided in the form of an extended deadline for income tax returns for financial year 2019-20, with the due date now pushed to November 30, 2020. The rates of tax deduction at source (TDS) and tax collection at source (TCS) have been cut by 25% for the next year, while statutory provident fund (PF) payments have been reduced from 12% to 10% for both employers and employees for the next three months.

NBFCs get attention

•Apart from MSMEs, other stressed business sectors which got attention were non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), power distribution companies, contractors and the real estate industry.

•This is the first tranche of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday as a Rs. 20 lakh crore economic package. That package includes the ongoing Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, meant to support the poorest and most vulnerable communities during the pandemic, as well as several measures taken by the Reserve Bank of India to improve liquidity. More tranches are expected in the next few days.

•Ms. Sitharaman side-stepped queries on the actual cash outgo for the government, as well as how the Centre intends to raise the needed funds.

•Ernst and Young’s chief policy advisor D.K. Srivastava estimated that the measures announced on Wednesday amounted to Rs. 5.94 lakh crore, which include both liquidity financing measures and credit guarantees, although the direct fiscal cost to the government in the current financial year may only be Rs. 16,500 crore.

•MSMEs will get the bulk of the funding. The Rs. 3 lakh crore emergency credit line will ensure that 45 lakh units will have access to working capital to resume business activity and safeguard jobs, Ms. Sitharaman said. For two lakh MSMEs which are stressed or considered non-performing assets, the Centre will facilitate provision of Rs. 20,000 crore as subordinate debt. A Rs. 50,000 crore equity infusion is also planned, through an MSME fund of funds with a corpus of Rs. 10,000 crore.

•The definition of an MSME is being expanded to allow for higher investment limits and the introduction of turnover-based criteria. In a bid to fulfil the Prime Minister’s vision of a self-reliant or “atmanirbhar” India, global tenders will not be allowed for government procurement up to Rs. 200 crore.

•NBFCs, housing finance companies and microfinance institutions — many of which serve the MSME sector — will be supported through a Rs. 30,000 crore investment scheme fully guaranteed by the Centre, and an expanded partial credit guarantee scheme worth Rs. 45,000 crore, of which the first 20% of losses will be borne by the Centre.

📰 Nepal can let India use link road: K.P. Sharma Oli
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Vajiram and Ravi GS Handwritten Notes 2019 PDF

10:43




Vajiram and Ravi GS Handwritten Notes 2019 PDF



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THE HINDU NEWSPAPER IMPORTANT ARTICLES 14.05.2020

06:51
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GS SCORE Prelims 2020 Test 39 With Solution PDF

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GS SCORE Prelims 2020 Test 39 With Solution PDF





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Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Daily Current Affairs, 13th May 2020

18:04





1) Prime Minister announces Economic Package of Rs 20 Lakh Crore
•As the whole world is fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi addressed his countrymen and announced an Economic Package of Rs 20 Lakh crore, giving stress on land, labour, liquidity and law. Details of the Economic Package will be revealed very shortly by the Ministry of Finance. This package will intend to support farmers, labourers, fishermen, migrants and the industry of the country. Through this package, PM announced to ensure the rural India from the COVID-19 pandemic.

 •During his speech, PM stressed on the local products and urged his countrymen to be “Vocal About Local”. He also mentioned that details of the phase-IV of the lockdown will be shared before 18th May, 2020. He stated that Phase-IV of the lockdown will be different from the earlier ones and will be redesigned with new rules.

 Prime Minister also mentioned 5-Pillars to make India self-reliant. These 5 pillars are:

 1. Economy: An economy that brings quantum jump along with incremental change.
2. Infrastructure: An infrastructure that becomes the symbol of modern India.
3. System: A system which will be based on technology.
4. Demography: A vibrant demography which would be the strength as well as the source of energy for self reliant India.
5. Demand: To improve demand and supply chain in India to enhance the Indian economy.

2) Jharkhand’s Sohrai Khovar painting & Telangana’s Telia Rumal gets GI-Tag
•The Sohrai Khovar painting of Jharkhand and Telia Rumal of Telangana have received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag from the Geographical Indications Registry. For the Sohrai Khovar painting of Jharkhand, application of GI-tag was made by Sohrai Kala Mahila Vikas Sahyog Samiti Limited. For the Telia Rumal of Telangana, application of GI-tag was made by Consortium of Puttapaka Handloom Cluster-IHDS.

 About Sohrai Khovar painting:

 •Local tribal women of Jharkhand practices the Sohrai Khovar painting which is a traditional and ritualistic mural art. It is primarily practised only in the district of Hazaribagh during local harvest and marriage seasons. It involves the use of local and naturally available soils of different colours in the area of Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand.

 About Telia Rumal:

 •Telia Rumal cloth involves complex handmade work with cotton loom which can be only created by using the traditional handloom process and and not by any other mechanical means. The teila rumal exhibits a variety of designs and motifs in three particular colours namely red, black and white.

3) Gujarat mandates digital payment for home delivery in Ahmedabad
•The Gujarat government has mandated the digital payment for all home delivery services in Ahmedabad. This step has been taken by the state government in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 through currency notes. Therefore, the payment of all the home delivery services in the city would be cashless i.e. via digital mode of payment. Hence the Cash On delivery (COD) option will not be available to the customers.

 •Apart from making the home delivery services cashless, the state government has also issued a protocol which must be abide by all the delivery persons. The protocol involves the use of hand gloves, sanitation cap as well as sanitizer. The delivery persons are also required to follow the social distancing norms. They must be having Aarogya Setu app downloaded on their mobile phone.

4) Manoj Ahuja becomes new chairman of CBSE
•Odisha cadre IAS, Manoj Ahuja has been appointed the new chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). He is currently served as Special Director, Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Department of Personnel and Training. He will replace Anita Karwal as the chairman of the CBSE.




 5) Sania Mirza becomes 1st Indian to win Fed Cup Heart Award
•Indian tennis player Sania Mirza becomes 1st Indian to win Fed Cup Heart Award 2020 for Asia/Oceania zone. She beats Indonesia’s 16-year-old Priska Madelyn Nugroho for this category & received the award for her successful return to the court after becoming a mother. She  is one of 4 winners chosen by a public vote, alongside Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia (wins Qualifiers award), Estonian Anett Kontaveit (Europe/Africa I zone) and Mexico’s Fernanda Contreras Gomez (Americas I zone).

6) ASSOCHAM organises Indo-Bangladesh “Virtual Conference”
•Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has organised the Indo-Bangladesh “Virtual Conference”. Union DoNER Minister of State (I/C) Dr Jitendra Singh addressed the virtual conference. The conference featured the participation of Minister of Commerce Bangladesh Tipu Munshi, Chief Minister of Meghalaya Conrad Sangma and Riva Ganguli Das High commissioner to Bangladesh.

 •While addressing the conference, Dr Jitendra Singh emphasized on the critical role that North Eastern Region can play to boost trade and business between the two countries. He also urged the participants to make some effort for the promotion of several items such as coal, ginger, citrus-fruit, etc. for export while cement, plastic, PVC pipes etc for import, in order to enhance trade between the two countries.

7) TDB & CII organises Digital Conference “RE-START”
•Technology Development Board (TDB) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have jointly organised a Digital Conference “RE-START”. The digital conference “RE-START (Reboot the Economy through Science, Technology and Research Translations)” was addressed by Union Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Health & Family Welfare, Harsh Vardhan. The conference was organised on the occasion of National Technology Day.

 •During the conference, Dr. Harsh Vardhan emphasized on the role played by S&T to combat COVID-19 by new discoveries, industry partnerships, and enhanced researches. The conference was followed by technical sessions on ‘Medicines & Medical Technologies’, ‘Advanced Materials: New Technology Horizons’ and ‘Technology Alliance for Global Economic Leadership’.

8) Video conference held on “Tribal livelihoods and safety”
•A video conference was held by the Minister of Tribal Affairs, Shri Arjun Munda on “Tribal livelihoods and safety”. The conference was held with States/UTs in New Delhi. The conference featured the participation of Chief Ministers, Deputy Chief Ministers, State Ministers for Tribal Affairs and state ministers for Forests from more than 20 states/UTs.

 •Shri Arjun Munda addressed the conference and commended the support given by the states to the tribal livelihood by stepping up the procurement of Minor Forest Produce at the revised MSP. The working of Prime Minister’s Vandhan Yojana in the states was also reviewed by the minister during the conference.
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Economic Relief Package announced for “Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan”

17:41
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced the details of the Economic Relief Package for “Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan” amid COVID-19 pandemic. This economic package of Rs 20 lakh crore has been announced with the prime objective of making India self-reliant.
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GS SCORE Prelims 2020 Test 38 With Solution PDF

12:35
GS SCORE Prelims 2020 Test 38 With Solution PDF





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The HINDU Notes – 13th May 2020

12:28




📰 India may miss nutrition targets

Global Nutrition Report says it has highest rates of inequalities in malnutrition.

•India is among 88 countries that are likely to miss global nutrition targets by 2025, according to the Global Nutrition Report 2020 released on Tuesday. It also identified the country as one with the highest rates of domestic inequalities in malnutrition.

•In 2012, the World Health Assembly identified six nutrition targets for maternal, infant and young child nutrition to be met by 2025. These require governments to reduce stunting by 40% in children under 5 and prevalence of anaemia by 50% among women in the age group of 19-49 years, ensure 30% reduction in low-birth weight and no increase in childhood overweight, increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months up to at least 50% and reduce and maintain childhood wasting to less than 5%.

•According to the Global Nutrition Report 2020, India will miss targets for all four nutritional indicators for which there is data available, i.e. stunting among under-5 children, anaemia among women of reproductive age, childhood overweight and exclusive breastfeeding.

Underweight children

•Between 2000 and 2016, rates of underweight have decreased from 66.0% to 58.1% for boys and 54.2% to 50.1% in girls. However, this is still high compared to the average of 35.6% for boys and 31.8% for girls in Asia.

•In addition, 37.9% of children under 5 years are stunted and 20.8% are wasted, compared to the Asia average of 22.7% and 9.4% respectively.

•One in two women of reproductive age is anaemic, while at the same time the rate of overweight and obesity continues to rise, affecting almost a fifth of the adults, at 21.6% of women and 17.8% of men.

Stunting level

•The report emphasises on the link between malnutrition and different forms of inequity, such as those based on geographic location, age, gender, ethnicity, education and wealth malnutrition in all its forms. “Inequity is a cause of malnutrition — both under-nutrition and overweight, obesity and other diet-related chronic diseases. Inequities in food and health systems exacerbate inequalities in nutrition outcomes that in turn can lead to more inequity, perpetuating a vicious cycle,” says the report.

•India is identified as among the three worst countries, along with Nigeria and Indonesia, for steep within-country disparities on stunting, where the levels varied four-fold across communities. Stunting level in Uttar Pradesh is over 40% and their rate among individuals in the lowest income group is more than double those in the highest income group at 22.0% and 50.7%, respectively. In addition, stunting prevalence is 10.1% higher in rural areas compared to urban areas. The same applies for overweight and obesity, where there are nearly double as many obese adult females than there are males (5.1% compared to 2.7%).

•Coming at a time the world is battling COVID-19, which has exposed different forms of socio-economic inequities, the authors have called for promoting equity to address malnutrition.

📰 Do numbers matter in Rajya Sabha?
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