VisionIAS
19:43
ForumIAS SFG 2020 Art & Culture Questions bank PDF
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Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Latest Speedy Yearly Current Affairs 2020 Pdf in Hindi
VisionIAS
16:51
Latest Speedy Yearly Current Affairs 2020 Pdf in Hindi
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Daily Current Affairs, 22nd April 2020
VisionIAS
16:41
1) Earth Day observed globally on 22 April
•The theme of Earth Day 2020: Climate Action. The organisers stated that the unified action on climate change has distinguished this issue making it the most pressing topic to celebrate the 50th anniversary.
2) Saudi Arabia organizes G-20 Extraordinary Agriculture Ministers Meet
•The Extraordinary virtual meeting of G-20 Agriculture Ministers was organized to deliberate on the measures in order to ensure continuity of food supply value chain including livelihood of farmers. During the virtual meet, G-20 agriculture ministers declaration was accepted and resolution was taken by the countries to have international cooperation in the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic. They also agreed to avoid food wastages and losses as well as maintain the continuity of food supply value chain across borders.
3) Health Ministry starts ‘COVID India Seva’ to address citizens queries
4) Ministry of Home Affairs issues SOPs for seafarers
•The Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) states that the ship owners have to ensure that the safety precautions are followed as per the protocol while seafarers’ disembarkation as well as before reaching the testing facility within the port premises. It has also directed the Port State Health Authorities to keep the seafarer in the quarantine facility till the time test report is received.
5) Rajasthan govt launches “Aayu & Sehat Sathi” app
•Indian startup “MedCord” is fully adopted 7 districts of Rajasthan (Kota, Udaipur, Sri Ganganagar, Bikaner, Ajmer, Pali and Jaipur). The app also contains a built-in comprehensive coronavirus guide for the users. The service is provided through the app and the helpline number – 7816811111 supports Hindi and English language. The helpline number helps the feature phone users to consult doctors from anywhere in India.
6) Gujarat govt gives approval to “Sujalam Sufalam Jal Sanchay Abhiyan”
7) N Kamakodi reappointed as MD & CEO of City Union Bank
•N Kamakodi will be reappointed as the MD & CEO of City Union Bank Ltd. City Union Bank has received approval for this reappointment from the Reserve Bank of India. His reappointment is for a further period of three years. The reappointments will be effective from 1 May 2020. He has been associated with the City Union Bank since 2003. He was raised as MD and CEO in 2011.
8) David Li becomes new CEO of Huawei India
•David Li was serving as CEO of Huawei Cambodia before returning to India to take on his new role. He joined Huawei in 2002 and has working experience in the Indian market, including in roles like vice president sales and vice president HR during different phases of his career.
9) Paytm Payments Bank inks partnership with Mastercard
•The main objective of PPBL is to issue over 10 million digital debit cards in FY 2020-21. Paytm Payments Bank Ltd cases to have 5.7 crore account holders and 30 crore computerized wallets. Mastercard offers its fully-integrated global payment platform to Paytm Payments Bank to enable cardholders to have access to the safest way of making electronic payments.
10) Adam Higginbotham’s bags William E. Colby Award
•The award is named for the late CIA director William E. Colby. The Colby award was established in 1999. Previous winners of the award include Karl Marlantes’ novel Matterhorn and Dexter Filkins’ The Forever War.
The HINDU Notes – 22nd April 2020
VisionIAS
11:48
📰 The ‘nowhere people’ of COVID-19 need better legal safeguards
The migrant workers’ plight during lockdown is a trigger to ensure they aren’t left high and dry again during tough situations
•Post-COVID-19, whenever that happens, one of the most enduring images of it would be that of the multitudes of migrant workers who became, all of a sudden, nowhere people, no one’s people. For the policymakers, it would be a trigger to rework a strategy for them and to ensure a better legal framework which doesn’t leave them high and dry yet again during tough situations.
•It is in this context that we need to revisit the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979. It was drawn up after repealing The Orissa Dadan Labour Act, 1975. Based on a very specific background, it couldn’t perhaps see much beyond the then-existing migrant workmen system. The ISMW Act defines inter-State migrant workman as any person who is recruited by or through a contractor. This definition keeps away any migrant workman out of the ambit if he is not brought in through a licensed contractor.
•It is common knowledge that most of the migrant workmen are not routed through licensed contractors. This small catch, in the definition, has been sufficient to exclude bulk of the migrant workmen from getting any benefit out of the Act.
•Furthermore, the Act is only applicable to any establishment in which five or more inter-State migrant workmen are employed. In reality, only a miniscule proportion of migrant workmen are placed under such establishments these days. So, if the establishment doesn’t come under the purview of the Act, its migrant employees, numbering less than five, cease to be migrants, legally, even though they may actually be one!
‘Inadequacy of Act’
•The current crisis has comprehensively exposed the inadequacy of the ISMW Act. While it has become anachronistic, the need for legal safeguards and welfare measures for migrants has become even more pressing and urgent.
•The Unorganised Workers’ Social Security (UWSS) Act, 2008 was enacted to provide for social security and welfare of unorganised workers. The Act defines unorganised workers as home-based worker, self-employed worker or wage worker in the unorganised sector.
•The Government of India has, in the recent past, introduced a host of social security schemes. Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan Yojana is meant to ensure old age protection for unorganised workers. Atal Pension Yojana has been launched under the National Pension System. Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana is a life insurance scheme. Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana is an accident insurance scheme. Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana aims at providing health cover. The UWSS Act itself has two very vitally useful features, viz., (a) Registration of unorganised workers, and (b) Portable smart I-card with a Unique Worker’s Identification Number. The coverage of these useful provisions and schemes, however, is still sub-optimal.
•The entitlements and benefits for the migrant workers have an unquestionable economic, legal and moral basis. In the present context, the following suggestions may require urgent consideration:
•Repealing of the ISMW Act, 1979 forthwith and replacing it with a new Act, or alternatively, enlarging the scope of UWSS Act to include legal entitlements, to define the migrant workman as a subset, to provide for contingencies of livelihood loss and to make the Act legally enforceable.
•Universalisation of registration and issuance of Aadhaar-based UWIN (Unique Worker’s Identification No.) ought to be done. It will serve multiple objectives.
•Schemes like MNREGA, PDS and Ujjwala need to be made portable. Geofencing of different benefits can be done so that a migrant workman can choose location-wise benefits for himself and his family from a matrix available.
•A comprehensive database of the migrant workers’ source and destination, demography, employment patterns and skill sets would not only help in skill development and providing for social security benefits, but would also be useful in planning for mass transit of migrant labour, and preparing for any contingency plan in abnormal situations.
•Issues related to migrant workmen have complex Centre-State and inter-State dimensions. The Inter-State Council, set up under Article 263 of the Constitution, may be a more appropriate forum to effectively and comprehensively deal with larger issues related to migrant workmen.
•It’s time to initiate a legal lattice that means business to the migrant workmen, and say goodbye to the antiquated law of 1979 that seems to have outlived its utility. It is better late than never.
📰 Regulator sweetens TLTRO deal for banks lending to NBFCs
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Daily Current Affairs, 21st April 2020
VisionIAS
17:06
1) India celebrates Civil Services Day on 21st April
•Civil Services Day is celebrated on this day to commemorate the address of the first Home Minister of Independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to the probationers of Administrative Services Officers in 1947 at Metcalf House, Delhi. During his address, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel referred to civil servants as the ‘steel frame of India’.
•As part of Civil Servant Day celebrations, Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration are conferred to Districts/Implementing Units for effective implementation of Priority programme and innovation categories.
2) World Creativity and Innovation Day: 21 April
History of World Creativity and Innovation Day:
•World Creativity and Innovation Day (WCID) was founded on 25 May 2001 in Toronto, Canada. The founder of the day was the Canadian Marci Segal. Segal was studying creativity in 1977 at the International Center for Studies in Creativity.
•The United Nations on 27 April 2017 resolved to include World Creativity and Innovation Day on 21 April as a Day of observance to raise importance among people about the use of their creativity in problem-solving for all issues that may be related to achieving the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals.
3) FM attends 5th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of NDB
•During the meeting, Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman lauded the efforts made by New Development Bank in establishing itself as a credible Global Financial Institution, living up to its mandate successfully by taking more sustainable and inclusive measures. She also commended the efforts taken by NDB as a response to combat the COVID-19 pandemic such as financial assistance of about $5 billion to the BRICS countries and the Emergency Assistance of $1 billion India to fight with the COVID-19 outbreak.
•The New Development Bank was formed in 2014 by the BRICS countries i.e. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, to mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS as well as other emerging market economies and developing countries.
4) Himachal Pradesh rolls out “e-sanjeevani-opd”
•To reap the benefits of “e-sanjeevani-opd”, a person should have a computer, laptop, tablet along with webcam mike, speaker as well as internet connection. To provide the free online medical consultation, a team of 16 doctors of various medical colleges of state will be available on all working days. This facility will be beneficial for the sick people who were feeling uncomfortable to visit hospitals in view of COVID-19 pandemic.
5) Bombay, Meghalaya & Orissa high courts to get new chief justices
•Supreme Court (SC) Collegium led by the chief justice of India, Sharad Arvind Bobde has recommended the appointment of new Chief Justices for the Bombay, Orissa and Meghalaya High Courts (HC).
| S. No. | Name | High court |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dipankar Datta | Bombay High Court |
| 2 | Biswanath Somadder | Meghalaya High Court |
| 3 | Mohammad Rafiq | Orissa High Court |
•Kapil Dev Tripathi has been appointed as the Secretary to the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind. He will replace Sanjay Kothari, who was selected as the Chief Vigilance Commissioner in February. The appointment of Kapil Dev Tripathi has been approved by Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Kapil Dev Tripathi is 1980-batch retired IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. Prior to this, He was retired as the Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in June 2018.
6) Fish gills used for rechargeable metal-air battery
•A low-cost electro-catalyst has been developed with “Fish gills” by the scientists at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology. These low-cost electro-catalyst will be used for the development of environmentally friendly energy conversion devices and storage technologies like fuel cell, biofuel cell, and metal−air battery.
•The scientists has fabricated a homemade rechargeable Zn−air battery (ZAB) with the catalyst as an air cathode and stated that the use of Fish Gills can lead to the development of highly efficient and low-cost bioinspired electrocatalyst. This low-cost bioinspired electrocatalyst is better than the commercial Platinum on carbon (Pt/C) catalyst. Hence, it could be used as the next-generation nonprecious carbon-based electrocatalyst for energy conversion and storage applications in the future.
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15:11
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