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October 1 – 31, 2020 Current Affairs Index A. Polity And

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October 1 – 31, 2020 Current Affairs Index A. Polity And OCTOBER 1 – 31, 2020 CURRENT AFFAIRS 2. Road beneath Western Ghats 3. EPCA directs Delhi, States on INDEX GRAP A. POLITY AND GOVERNANCE 4. Blue Flag Certification 1. Defence Offset 5. Nilgiris Elephant Corridor 2. SC Vs. NCPCR 6. Nandakanan’s “Adopt an Animal” 3. TN defends Mullaiperiyar Panel Scheme 4. RTI @ 15 7. One Man committee for Stubble 5. HC’s Step towards e-Courts Burning 6. Move to delete ‘ineligible’ names 8. ZSI Species List from NRC Assam 9. Kaleshwaram Eco clearance 7. Bodoland Statehood stir violates law: NGT 8. Indira Rasoi Yojana 10. Air Pollution biggest health risk 9. J & K Panchayat (Amendment) Act 11. Outbleak for Himalayan Brown 10. Gupkar Alliance Bears 11. Buying land in J & K 12. Commission for NCR Pollution B. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS E. SOCIAL ISSUES 1. India-Myanmar 1. Crime in India Report 2. India-Japan 2. STARS Project 3. India-Maldives 3. 99% India ODF 4. Galwan Clash and ICRC 4. Top 5 risk factors for death 5. UNHRC Council – China, Pakistan 5. Global Hunger Index 2020 seats 6. TN rejects IOE to Anna University 6. Australia in Malabar Exercise 7. Rural India and Nutrition 7. China opposes India-Taiwan trade 8. India and HIV ties 9. ASER Report 8. Pakistan on FATF Greylist 9. India-USA F. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 10. India-Central Asian Republics 1. DRDO’s ASW 11. India-UK 2. Digital Vaccine Supply Platform 3. Shaurya Missile C. ECONOMY 4. Rudram – 1 1. ASIIM 5. SERB – POWER 2. Cabinet Reforms on Natural Gas 6. Brahmos Supersonic Missile 3. Atal Tunnel 7. Plasma Therapy 4. RBI Keeps Rate Unchanged 5. RBI’s TLTRO & OMO G. PRELIMS TIT BITS 6. RBI Vs. SC – NPA Classification 7. GST shortfall 8. IMF on India’s GDP H. UN @ 75 9. Government to widen Manufacturing PLI Plan 10. CPI – IW Base year revised I. FAO @ 75 11. Kerala fixes base price for agricultural products 12. Fiscal deficit widens J. NOBEL PRIZES 2020 D. ENVIRONMENT 1. Human – Leopard Conflict OCTOBER 2020 CA KAMARAJ IAS ACADEMY Page | 1 A. POLITY AND GOVERNANCE It is to leverage capital acquisitions to develop Indian defence industry by 1.DEFENCE OFFSET: (i) fostering development of What’s in news? internationally competitive enterprises, The Defence Ministry came up with its latest (ii) augmenting capacity for Research, Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 (DAP Design and Development related to 2020) which comes into effect from October 1. defence products and services and (iii) encouraging development of Changing a 15-year old policy, the government synergistic sectors like civil aerospace, has decided to remove the clause for offsets if the and internal security equipment is being bought either through deals or agreements between two countries, or through an Will no defence contracts have offset clauses ab initio single-vendor deal. now? What are defence offsets? (i) Only government-to-government agreements (G2G), ab initio single The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in a vendor contracts or inter-governmental report defined offsets as a “mechanism generally agreements (IGA) will not have offset established with the triple objectives of: clauses anymore. For example, the deal (a) partially compensating for a significant to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets, signed outflow of a buyer country’s resources in a large between the Indian and French purchase of foreign goods governments in 2016, was an IGA. (Ab initio single vendor means that (b) facilitating induction of technology and when you start the process you have (c) adding capacities and capabilities of domestic only one vendor) industry”. (ii) IGA is an agreement between two countries, and could be an umbrella An offset provision in a contract makes it contract, under which you can go on obligatory on the supplier to either “reverse signing individual contracts purchase, execute export orders or invest in local (iii) According to DAP 2020, all other industry or in research and development” in the international deals that are competitive, buyer’s domestic industry and have multiple vendors vying for it, When was the policy introduced? will continue to have a 30% offset clause (i) The policy was adopted on the recommendations of the Vijay Kelkar Advantage of the new Defence Acquisition Committee in 2005 Procedure 2020 (DAP 2020): (ii) The Sixth Standing Committee on (i) It will help in Ease of Doing Business Defence (2005-06) had recommended (ii) It will rationalize the procedure for in December 2005 in its report on trials and testing Defence Procurement Policy and (iii) Boost the Make in India initiative Procedure that modalities for (iv) It will be helpful in import substitution implementation of offset contracts and reducing Life Cycle cost should be worked out. (v) It will be helpful in developing (iii) The first offset contract was signed in domestic and indigenous content 2007. (vi) India is one of the major country has Key objectives of the Defence Offset Policy : spends more money for defence, this will help in cost cutting AP - 127, AF block, 6 th street, 11th Main Rd, Shanthi Colony, Anna Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600040 OCTOBER 2020 CA KAMARAJ IAS ACADEMY Page | 2 Other Initiatives to improve the defence sector local child welfare committees for their “immediate repatriation” with their families. i. Government recently enhanced the foreign investment limit in the defence sector from Repatriation States: 49% to 74% under the automatic sector i. The NCPCR reportedly wrote to Tamil for companies seeking new industrial Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, licences Mizoram, Karnataka, Kerala, ii. Innovations for Defence Excellence Maharashtra and Meghalaya in this (iDEX) is aimed at creation of an regard. ecosystem to foster innovation and ii. These States combinedly have 1.84 lakh technology development in Defence and children in care homes. Aerospace by engaging Industries iii. This accounts for over 70% of the including MSMEs, Start-ups, Individual children in care homes. Innovators, R&D institutes and Academia and provide them grants/funding and other Court Decision: support to carry out R&D which has potential for future adoption for Indian i. The court is suo motu monitoring the defence and aerospace needs. condition and welfare of children places in iii. Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti which aims care homes across the country during the to provide boost to the IPR culture in pandemic. indigenous defence industry. ii. This a form of judicial activism of the iv. Technology Development Fund to Court encourage participation of public/private (The active role of the judiciary, even in the industries especially MSMEs, through executive or legislative sphere, for upholding the provision of grants, so as to create an eco– rights of citizens and preserving the constitution is system for enhancing cutting edge known as judicial activism) technology capability for defence applications SC Vs. NCPCR: v. Government has notified the ‘Strategic i. SC wants the repatriation of the children to Partnership (SP)’ Model which their families should be done on an envisages establishment of long-term individual basis strategic partnerships with Indian entities ii. While NCPCR opposes the Stand through a transparent and competitive iii. The NCPCR, explained need for a child to process, wherein they would tie up with grow up in a familial environment. global Original Equipment Manufacturers iv. According to Amicus curiae the NCPCR (OEMs) to seek technology transfers to set direction violated the Juvenile Justice Act up domestic manufacturing infrastructure of 2015. and supply chains. v. Besides, the pandemic would make a child 2. Supreme Court questions NCPCR on more vulnerable to domestic abuse. children ‘repatriation’ (Amicus Curiae - “friend of the court” - one who What’s in News? assists the court advice regarding questions of law or fact) The Supreme Court sought a response from the country’s apex child rights body, the National Child Care Homes: Commission for Protection of Child Rights i. The children being taken in child care (NCPCR), to its request to eight States to homes, are not only those who are “produce” children living in care homes before the orphans/abandoned children, but also AP - 127, AF block, 6 th street, 11th Main Rd, Shanthi Colony, Anna Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600040 OCTOBER 2020 CA KAMARAJ IAS ACADEMY Page | 3 children hailing from receives complaints under the Right to downtrodden/financially unstable families. Education Act, 2009 ii. Therefore, if there is any child who is v. It also examine all factors that inhibit the either being brought up by a single parent enjoyment of rights of children affected by or comes from a family which is not able terrorism, communal violence, riots, to bring up the child properly, then that natural disaster, domestic violence, child can avail all the facilities at a care HIV/AIDS, trafficking, maltreatment, home. torture and exploitation, pornography and iii. All the children in these care homes are prostitution and recommend appropriate required to study in nearby government remedial measures. schools 3. Tamil Nadu defends Mullaperiyar dam Juvenile Justice Act, 2015: panel i. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection What’s in News? of Children) Act, 2015 comprehensively The Tamil Nadu government has rebutted addresses children in conflict with law and allegations made in the Supreme Court that the children in need of care and protection. Supervisory Committee for Mullaperiyar Dam ii. As per the Section 27(1) of the Act, Child “abdicated its duties” to evaluate the safety of the Welfare Committees (CWCs) are to be structure and water levels. constituted by State Government by notification in the Official Gazette for Mullaperiyar Dam: every district, for exercising the powers and to discharge the duties conferred on i. Mullaperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity such Committees in relation to children in dam on the Periyar River in Kerala need of care and protection under the Act ii.
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