VISION

Sunday, January 26, 2020

THE HINDU NEWSPAPER IMPORTANT ARTICLES 26.01.2020

the hindu articles

VisionIAS 07:18

NATIONAL

India, Brazil ink action plan to deepen strategic partnership

PMO reviews measures to combat coronavirus threat

Bodoland Area is set to be redrawn

Remember the gift of Ahimsa: President

‘Brazil vital ally in economic growth’

‘Nepal can mediate between India and Pak.’

INTERNATIONAL

Hong Kong declares outbreak ‘an emergency’

‘Democrats trying to overturn 2016 results’

SCI-TECH & AGRI

A safer alternative to treat aggressive prostate cancer found

Why are there more men than women in the field of STEM?

Daily Current Affairs, 25th January 2020

vision ias current affairs

VisionIAS 19:32

1) India celebrates National Voters’ Day on 25th January

•25th of January is celebrated every year in India as National Voters’ Day. This is the 10th edition of the National Voters’ Day. The theme for the 10th edition of National Voters’ Day is ‘Electoral Literacy for Stronger Democracy’. The theme aims to renew the citizens’ faith in the electoral process as well as to educate the voters of India.

•The Election Commission of India was established on 25th January 1950 and the “National Voters’ Day” marks the Foundation Day of Election Commission of India. The day was celebrated for the first time in 2011.

2) Election Commission of India to sign MoU with EC of Tunisia and Papua New Guinea

•The Election Commission of India has received the approval from the Union Cabinet to sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Papua New Guinea Electoral Commission and Independent High Authority for Elections of Tunisia. The MoU aims to enhance the cooperation in the field of electoral management and administration.

•The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also approved the agreements in the field of mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, cooperation in the field of early childhood care, oil and natural gas, and Geology and Mineral Resources between India and Brazil.

3) India hosts International Summit “Visualizing the Future: New Skylines”

•The International Summit on Women in STEM “Visualizing the Future: New Skylines” was held at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The summit was organized by the Department of Biotechnology. The summit aimed to boost the women participation in STEM field for the development of scientific career. The summit included various sessions aiming to empower women through networking, career opportunities and interactive exercises with scientists. Around 350 participants from different STEM field including scientists, socialists, entrepreneurs, researchers, teachers and students across the globe participated in the summit.

4) CEC Sunil Arora becomes Chairman of FEMBoSA for 2020

•Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, Sunil Arora has taken the charge as the Chairman of Forum of the Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBoSA) for the year 2020. He has replaced KM Nurul Huda who is the present Chief Election Commissioner of Bangladesh. Sunil Arora assumed the charge during the 10th Annual Meeting of FEMBoSA.

•Forum of the Election Management Bodies of South Asia is an active regional association of Election Management Bodies having 8 members and represents a very large part of the democratic world.

5) GoI & Maharashtra signs USD 210 million loan agreement with World Bank

•The Government of India and the Government of Maharashtra has signed a USD 210 million loan agreement with the World Bank. The loan agreement has been signed for Maharashtra Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project. The USD 210 million loan will be funded by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), having a 6-year grace period with a maturity period of 13.5 years.

6) World Archery conditionally lifts suspension on India

•The World Archery has conditionally lifted the suspension on India and hence enabled the Indian Archers to represent India in the upcoming International tournaments. The World Archery has advised the Archery Association of India to comply with the rules set up by the World Archery constitution to ensure the good governance in the sport. The world body has also advised Archery Association of India to report the world body every three months regarding the compliance of the rules and other activities.

•Recently, Arjun Munda was elected the President of the Archery Association of India (AAI) in the election held as per the Delhi High Court order and under the observance of the World Archery.

7) Rowing Federation of India lifts ban over Dattu Bhokanal

•The Rowing Federation of India has lifted the ban over Indian rower Dattu Bhokanal. He was suspended in March, 2019 from the game by the Rowing Federation of India for the period of 2 years. He was suspended against the charges of leaving a single sculls race midway during the 2018 Asian Games. The suspension has been lifted off from the rower with effect from 23 January, 2020 and allowed him to prepare for the Olympic qualification Regatta to be held in April 2020 at South Korea.

The HINDU Notes – 25th January 2020

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VisionIAS 19:18

📰 Monetary policy has its limits, reforms must continue: Das

Govt. focusing on infrastructure spending to augment growth potential, says the RBI Governor

•Though recognising the signs of an economic slowdown and acting early helped the central bank to reduce interest rate as falling inflation provided space, monetary policy has its own limits, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Friday.

•Speaking at the St. Stephen’s College, his alma mater, on ‘Seven Ages of India’s Monetary Policy’, Mr. Das said structural reforms and fiscal measures may have to be continued and further activated to provide a durable push to demand and boost growth.

•He said inflation had fallen successively and averaged below 4% since 2017-18, though there was a recent up-tick driven by food prices, especially the sharp increase in vegetable prices, reflecting the adverse impact of unseasonal rains and cyclone.

•Since 2016, the RBI follows a flexible inflation targeting framework defined by a target of 4% for consumer price headline inflation, with a tolerance band of +/- 2% around it.

•The central bank’s primary objective is price stability, while keeping in mind the objective of growth, as defined by the RBI Act.

•The RBI Governor said there were some potential growth drivers which, through backward and forward linkages, could give a significant push to growth.

•“Some of these areas include prioritising food processing industries, tourism, e-commerce, start-ups and efforts to become a part of the global value chain,” he said, adding that the government was also focussing on infrastructure spending which would augment the growth potential of the economy. Financial stability had emerged as another key consideration for monetary policy, “though jury is still out as to whether it should be added as an explicit objective,” Mr. Das said.

•“It is interesting to note that the central banking function as the lender of last resort (LOLR) has remained intact, notwithstanding the developments and refinements in the policy frameworks across countries, including India,” he said.

📰 Centre seeks to revamp child care scheme in urban areas

Employment News 25 January to 31 January 2020 Download pdf

Employment News

VisionIAS 08:29

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The HINDU Notes – 24th January 2020

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VisionIAS 08:25

📰 India slips two places on Corruption Perceptions Index

Opaque political financing blamed by report

•India’s ranking in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI-2019) has slipped from 78 to 80 compared to the previous year, Transparency International said on Thursday, questioning the “unfair and opaque political financing” in the country. Its score of 41 out of 100 remains the same.

•In democracies such as India and Australia, unfair and opaque political financing, undue influence in decision-making and lobbying by powerful corporate interest groups have resulted in stagnation or a decline in the control of corruption.

•The report has revealed that a majority of countries are showing little to no improvement in tackling corruption. “Our analysis also shows corruption is more pervasive in countries where big money can flow freely into electoral campaigns and where governments listen only to the voices of wealthy or well-connected individuals,” Transparency International said. The 2019 CPI draws on 13 surveys and expert assessments to measure public sector corruption in 180 countries and territories, giving each a score from zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

•In the Asia Pacific region, the average score is 45, after many consecutive years of an average score of 44, which “illustrates general stagnation” in the region.

•China has improved its position from 87 to 80 with a score of 41 out of 100, a two-point jump.

•“Despite the presence of high performers like New Zealand (87), Singapore (85), Australia (77), Hong Kong (76) and Japan (73), the Asia Pacific region hasn’t witnessed substantial progress in anti-corruption efforts or results. In addition, low performers like Afghanistan (16), North Korea (17) and Cambodia (20) continue to highlight serious challenges in the region,” the report said.

•According to Transparency International, while often seen as an engine of the global economy, in terms of political integrity and governance, the region performs only marginally better than the global average.

📰 Rajasthan govt. to introduce resolution against CAA

Daily Current Affairs, 24th January 2020

vision ias current affairs

VisionIAS 08:08

1) International Day of Education celebrated globally on 24th January

•International Day of Education is celebrated globally on 24th January. The first-ever International Day of Education was celebrated on 24 January 2019 as per the resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly on December 3rd 2018 to celebrate the role of education in development.

•International Day of Education 2020 theme is ‘Learning for people, planet, prosperity and peace’. The theme highlights the integrated nature of education, its humanistic aims, as well as its centrality to our collective development ambitions.

2) India celebrates National Girl Child Day on 24th January

•India celebrates National Girl Child Day every year on 24th January. The day aims to focus on the inequalities faced by girls, to promote the education, health & nutrition of the girl child, and to spread awareness about the rights of a girl child. The day was observed for the first time in 2008 as an initiative by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Government of India.

3) India’s 1st Mahatma Gandhi convention centre opens in Niger

•India’s first Mahatma Gandhi convention centre opens in Niger. Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou inaugurated the first convention centre established in Africa by India to honour the memory of Mahatma Gandhi. The establishment of the Mahatma Gandhi International Convention Centre (MGICC) is a landmark for India-Niger friendship, as also a symbol of India’s firm commitment towards Africa.

•The convention centre has been designed as a spacious, modern and eco-friendly facility, including a 2,000 capacity Plenary Hall, to witness high-level and wide-ranging participation from African Union member states and other high-level conventions.

4) Russia will be focal theme country in IKBF 2020

•The 44th International Kolkata Book Fair (IKBF) will be held from 29th January to 9th February 2020. Russia will be focal theme country of the 44th edition of the International Kolkata Book Fair.

•The theme gate will be a replica of the iconic Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. International Kolkata Book Fair is the world’s largest non-trade book fair, Asia’s largest book fair and the most attended book fair in the world. 20 countries will participate in the 2020 edition of Kolkata International Book Fair.

5) ISRO unveils ‘Vyommitra’ half-humanoid robot for Gaganyaan Space Mission

•Indian Space agency Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has unveiled ‘Vyommitra’ or “friend in the sky” a half-humanoid robot for Gaganyaan Space Mission. The half-humanoid robot ‘Vyom Mitra’ will be placed in the first unmanned mission under ‘Gaganyaan’ is capable of conversing with astronauts, recognising them, and responding to their queries.

•ISRO will send two unmanned missions before the Ganganyaan mission. It will monitor how the human system will behave in the environment control life support system. The robot introduced itself as:” Hello everyone. I am Vyom Mitra, the prototype of the half-humanoid, been made for the first unmanned Gaganyaan mission.

6) RBI cancels Certificate of Authorisation of Vodafone m-pesa

•The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the Certificate of Authorisation (CoA) of Vodafone m-pesa. This cancellation is done after its voluntary surrender of authorisation. Now Vodafone m-Pesa cannot continue to transact the business of issuance & will no longer have the right to provide payment facility as a prepaid instrument (PPI). Vodafone Idea in 2019 has decided to close m-pesa vertical after the closure of Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Limited (ABIPBL), with which it was being merged.

7) Katerina Sakellaropoulou becomes 1st woman president of Greece

•The Parliament of Greece elected Katerina Sakellaropoulou as the country’s first female president. Sakellaropoulou received the support of 261 MPs in the 300-seat Parliament, including the support of members of the ruling New Democracy Party.

8) India ranks 51 in EIU’s Democracy Index 2019

•12th edition of the “Democracy Index 2019: A year of democratic setbacks and popular protest”, released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The world’s biggest democracy India slipped 10 places in the 2019 global ranking to 51st place. India is included in a flawed democracy. Norway tops the list with a score of 9.87 while North Korea is at the bottom with 167th place with 1.08 points.

•According to the index, Pakistan is at the 108th position on the list. Similarly, Sri Lanka is ranked 69th, Bangladesh 80th. China fell to the 153rd position in 2019 with 2.26 points. It is close to the bottom position in the global ranking.

•As per the report, India’s democracy scores have declined due to lack of civil liberties, especially the removal of Article 370 from Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and the enforcement of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019.

9) Reliance Jio becomes 1st Telecom to launch UPI Payments Feature

•Reliance Jio becomes the 1st telecom operator to facilitate UPI payments feature through its platform. It has launched the feature on the MyJio app rather than its wallet app, JioMoney. This Reliance Jio will now compete with other private UPI payment providers such as Paytm, Google Pay and PhonePe. The users cannot use their existing UPI ids to avail this service. Instead, they will have to create a new JIO UPI Id.

10) ‘Women with Wheels’ service launched at Indira Gandhi International Airport

•‘Women with wheels’, a unique taxi service has been launched at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. The ‘Women with wheels’ taxi service is an initiative by ‘Sakha cabs’. The taxi service will be only available for the female commuters and will be driven by women drivers only. The entry of men in the cab will be allowed only if they are accompanied by a woman or women. The ‘Women with Wheels’ service can be availed by the female commuters for any part of Delhi.