VISION IAS www.visionias.in CURRENT AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2019 Copyright © by Vision IAS All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Vision IAS. 1 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS Table of Contents 1. POLITY & GOVERNANCE _______________ 4 6.2. SDG India Index 2019 _________________ 63 1.1. Citizenship Amendment Act ____________ 4 6.3. Global Gender Gap Report 2020 ________ 63 1.2. Creamy Layer Criteria for SC/ST in 6.4. Universal Health Coverage _____________ 65 Promotions _____________________________ 6 6.5. Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and 1.3. 126th Constitutional Amendment Bill _____ 7 Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 2019 ______ 66 1.4. Reforms in Criminal Laws_______________ 8 6.6. Mental Health ______________________ 68 1.5. Doctrine of Neutrality _________________ 9 6.7. PISA Test ___________________________ 70 1.6. Good Governance Index ______________ 10 6.8. EChO Network ______________________ 71 1.7. Political Parties Registration Tracking 7. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ____________ 72 Management System (PPRTMS) ____________ 11 7.1. The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 __ 72 1.8. Arms (Amendment) Act, 2019 __________ 11 7.2. National Guidelines for Gene Therapy ___ 74 2. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS __________ 13 7.3. Annular Solar Eclipse _________________ 76 2.1. India-US 2+2 Dialogue ________________ 13 8. CULTURE ___________________________ 78 2.2. Russia-China Relations and India________ 14 8.1. Earliest Sanskrit inscription in South India 2.3. UN Peacekeeping Forces ______________ 15 found in A.P. ___________________________ 78 2.4. NATO ______________________________ 16 8.2. Paika Rebellion ______________________ 78 3. ECONOMY _________________________ 17 8.3. Nehru-Liaquat Agreement _____________ 79 3.1. National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) ____ 17 9. ETHICS _____________________________ 80 3.2. India’s Digital Finance Infrastructure ____ 19 9.1. Vigilante Justice _____________________ 80 3.3. India Skills Report 2020 _______________ 20 10. NEWS IN SHORT ____________________ 82 3.4. Future Skills Prime ___________________ 21 10.1. Indian Ocean Dialogue 2019 _____________ 82 3.5. Mega Food Parks ____________________ 22 10.2. Agreement on Social Security Between India 3.6. Food Grain Storage in India ____________ 24 and Brazil ________________________________ 82 3.7. Digitisation of Land Records ___________ 27 10.3. INSTEX Barter Mechanism ______________ 82 3.8. Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) _______ 28 10.4. Palestine-India Techno Park _____________ 82 10.5. Fugitive Economic Offender _____________ 83 3.9. Railway Restructuring ________________ 30 10.6. National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) 3.10. IMF Suggests Policy Actions to Combat Available Round the Clock ___________________ 83 Slowdown _____________________________ 31 10.7. No MDR Charges on Payment via RuPay, UPI 83 3.11. The Code on Social Security, 2019 ______ 32 10.8. 38th Meeting of GST Council ____________ 83 3.12. Independent Director’s Databank ______ 34 10.9. Government e-Marketplace (GeM) Samvaad 83 3.13. Draft National Statistical Commission (NSC) 10.10. Government Instant Messaging System Bill, 2019 ______________________________ 36 (GIMS) ___________________________________ 84 4. SECURITY __________________________ 38 10.11. UN Index Assessing E-Commerce Readiness 84 4.1. Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) ___________ 38 10.12. BrahMos Missiles ____________________ 84 10.13. Military Exercises_____________________ 84 4.2. Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill 2019 __________ 39 10.14. Global Climate Risk Index 2020 _________ 84 4.3. India Nepal Cross Border Cooperation ___ 41 10.15. Global Carbon Project Report ___________ 84 5. ENVIRONMENT _____________________ 42 10.16. WMO Provisional Statement on the State of 5.1. COP 25 ____________________________ 42 the Global Climate _________________________ 85 5.1.1. Carbon Markets ______________________ 43 10.17. Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) ______________ 85 5.1.2. Climate Finance ______________________ 45 10.18. Ekal Vidyalaya Abhiyan ________________ 85 5.2. Ocean Deoxygenation ________________ 47 10.19. Disha Act ___________________________ 85 5.3. India State of Forests Report 2019 ______ 49 10.20. Jaga Mission ________________________ 86 5.4. HLC Submits Report on Combatting Air 10.21. Fit India School grading system _________ 86 Pollution in NCR ________________________ 52 10.22. RISAT-2BR1 _________________________ 86 5.5. Climate Change Performance Index -2020 52 10.23. ClearSpace-1 mission _________________ 86 10.24. Wi-Fi Calling _________________________ 87 5.6. 2019 Pollution and Health Metrics ______ 53 10.25. Comet 2i/Borisov _____________________ 87 5.7. Jal Jeevan Mission ___________________ 53 10.26. Nasa Selects Site on Asteroid Bennu for 5.8. Atal Bhujal Yojana ___________________ 56 Sample Collection Mission ___________________ 87 5.9. Environmental Migration ______________ 57 10.27. NAVIC as Allied System of US ___________ 87 5.10. Urban Fires ________________________ 59 10.28. Gold-Coated Fungi ____________________ 87 6. SOCIAL ISSUES ______________________ 61 10.29. India’s Science Publications ____________ 87 6.1. Human Development Report 2019 ______ 61 10.30. Portugal Sets up Gandhi Prize ___________ 88 2 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS 10.31. Sahitya Akademi Awards 2019 __________ 88 11.1. AMRUT ______________________________ 90 10.32. Indian Culture Portal __________________ 88 11.2. Mission Antyodaya ____________________ 90 10.33. 100 Years of ASSOCHAM _______________ 88 11.3. Pradhan Mantri- Annadata Aay Sanrakshan 10.34. National Florence Nightingale Award _____ 89 Yojana (PM-AASHA) ________________________ 91 10.35. Rohtang Tunnel renamed as Atal tunnel __ 89 11.4. Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana (PMVDY) _ 91 11. GOVERNMENT SCHEMES IN NEWS ____ 90 11.5. Interest Subvention Scheme for MSMEs ___ 92 3 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS 1. POLITY & GOVERNANCE 1.1. CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT ACT Why in News? Link between CAA and NRC/NRIC Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 was recently According to Section 14A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 enacted by the Parliament that seeks to amend the (inserted by Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003): Citizenship Act, 1955. • The Central Government may compulsorily Background register every citizen of India and issue national identity card to him. • Article 11 of Indian constitution empowers • The Central Government may maintain a National Parliament to make any provision with respect to the Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) and for that acquisition and termination of citizenship and all purpose establish a National Registration other matters relating to citizenship. Authority. • Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2003 provided that • Registrar General, India, appointed under ‘illegal migrants’ will not be eligible to apply for Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 shall act as the National Registration Authority and he citizenship by either registration or naturalisation. shall function as the Registrar General of Citizen • Section 2(1)(b) of Citizenship Act, 1955 defines illegal Registration. migrant as a foreigner who: • To implement CAA, citizens and illegal migrants o enters the country without valid travel have to be identified. So, a National Register of documents, like a passport and visa or Indian Citizens (NRIC) is the necessary first step. o enters with valid documents, but stays beyond Link between NRC and NPR the permitted time period. • The National Population Register (NPR) is a list of • However, considering the plight of minorities in “usual residents of the country”. A “usual resident these countries, some concessions have been given of the country” is one who has been residing in a in recent times, such as: local area for at least the last six months or o Foreigners Act, 1946 (regulates the entry and intends to stay in a particular location for the next departure of foreigners in India) and the six months. So, NPR may have foreigners as well. Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 (mandates • However, after a list of residents is created, if a foreigners to carry passport) empower the nationwide NRC is needed, it could be done by central government to imprison or deport illegal verifying the citizens from that list. So, a NRC, if migrants. undertaken, would flow out of NPR. ✓ In 2015 and 2016, two notifications were issued by Central government exempting certain groups of illegal migrants from provisions of the 1946 and the 1920 Acts. These groups are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who arrived in India on or before December 31, 2014. This implies that these groups of illegal migrants will not be deported or imprisoned for being in India without valid documents. o A Citizenship Amendment Bill was introduced in Parliament in 2016 but the bill got lapsed. Key provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 • The amendment provides that illegal migrants who fulfil four conditions will not be treated as illegal migrants under the Act. The conditions are: o they are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis or Christians o they are from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan o they entered India on or before December 31, 2014they are not in certain tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, or Tripura included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, or areas under the “Inner Line” permit, i.e.,