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0 2 0 2 - R E B M E T P E Farm Bills, 2020 S Reforms for Competition or S Violation of Federalism? R I A F F A T N E R R U C Y L H T N O M C Foreign Contribution United India’s Forest Scramjet (Regulation) Nations Policy Engine S Amendment Bill, 2020 P U Incredible Results CSE 2019 4 Ranks 13 Ranks 22 Ranks in top 10 in top 50 in top 100 Rank 3 Rank 6 Rank 8 Rank 10 Pratibha Verma Vishakha Yadav Abhishek Saraf Sanjita Mohapatra CSE 2018 CSE 2017 11 Ranks 28 Ranks 183 Ranks 5 Ranks 34 Ranks 236 Ranks in top 50 in top 100 in the final list in top 50 in top 100 in the final list Rank 11 Rank 16 Rank 21 Rank 3 Rank 6 Rank 8 Pujya Priyadarshni Dhodmise Trupti Ankush Rahul Jain Sachin Gupta Koya Sree Harsha Anubhav Singh Rank 24 Rank 31 Rank 9 Rank 10 Anuraj Jain Mainak Ghosh Soumya Sharma Abhishek Surana CSE 2016 CSE 2015 8 Ranks 18 Ranks 215 Ranks 5 Ranks 14 Ranks 162 Ranks in top 50 in top 100 in the final list in top 50 in top 100 in the final list Rank 2 Rank 5 Rank 12 Rank 20 Rank 24 Rank 25 Anmol Sher Singh Bedi Abhilash Mishra Tejaswi Rana Vipin Garg Khumanthem Diana Devi Chandra Mohan Garg Rank 30 Rank 32 Rank 27 Rank 47 Prabhash Kumar Avdhesh Meena Pulkit Garg Anshul Agarwal CSE 2014 6 Ranks 12 Ranks 83 Ranks in top 50 in top 100 overall selections Rank 4 Rank 5 Rank 16 Rank 23 Rank 28 Rank 39 Vandana Rao Suharsha Bhagat Ananya Das Anil Dhameliya Kushaal Yadav Vivekanand T.S SEPTEMBER-2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. POLITY 01 • Food inflation 33 • Representative governance system 01 • Vehicle scrappage policy 33 • Privy Purse and constitutional amendment 02 • A.P. tops in ease of doing business 34 • Block chain voting 02 • Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) 34 • Division of Votes 03 • One District One Product Concept 35 • Parliamentary scrutiny on the back burner 04 • CAROTAR, 2020 35 • Question hour dropped in monsoon session 05 • Rupee IR derivatives 35 • Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha 06 • Capping MEIS benefits 35 • 8 Opposition MPs suspended from RS for • RBI releases document on UCBs’ Cyber security 36 ‘unruly behaviour’ 07 • Nano-fertilizers 36 • Stop press 07 • Import substitution 37 • Virtual courts 08 • Domestic Systemically Important Insurers (D-SIIs) 37 • Where is the sentinel guarding our rights? 08 • Organic farming in India 38 • Gopala krishnan committee on non-personal • External debt 38 data governance 09 • Unorganized sector in India 38 • Aircraft (Amendment) Bill 11 • Vodafone wins $2 bn tax case 38 • Making the language of the law comprehensible 12 • G-20 Meeting of the Trade and Investment Ministers 40 • Same-sex Marriage 13 • Singapore Convention on Mediation comes into force 13 3. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 42 • Kesavananda Bharati Case 13 • Afghan Peace Process 42 • Juristic Person 14 • Rules of engagement on the LAC 42 • India, China agree on 5-point action plan 43 2. ECONOMY 17 • Logistics pacts 44 • World Bank’s forecast for India 17 • Relevance of Non-alignment policy 45 • Reviving the economy 18 • Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and conflict • Measures needed to revive economy 18 resolution 46 • Financing economic recovery 19 • Defence Technology and Trade Initiative 47 • Attracting foreign investment into India 20 • U.S. keen on finalising BECA at 2+2 dialogue 47 • Auto parts makers urged to cut imports 21 • Indo-Pacific trilateral dialogue held 48 • Exploiting the Chinese exit 21 • With China as backdrop, New Delhi’s Moscow watch 48 • Cess Pool 23 • Great power, little responsibility 49 • Closing old power plants 24 • Brexit deal in danger 50 • Labour codes 24 • India and the Abraham Accords 51 • Urban employment 26 • International Criminal Court 52 • Priority sector lending norms 27 • Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building • Farm Bills, 2020 28 Measures in Asia (CICA) 53 • Challenges in agricultural sector 30 • UN 75 54 • Bt cotton cultivation in India 31 For guidance contact us on +91 9243500460 SEPTEMBER-2020 • UN and the retreat from multilateralism 55 • Inequitable climate proposal 70 • Managing the global commons 56 • The benefits of a carbon tax 72 • Maharashtra to declare 600 acres of Aarey as 4. ART AND CULTURE 58 reserve forest 72 • Chendamangalam sari 58 • Kaziranga set to be expanded 73 • Dhrupad 58 • Climate Smart Cities Assessment Framework 73 • G20 Environment Ministers Meet 74 5. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 59 • Blue Flag Label 74 • Ground breaking inventions in ICT 59 • Fees must for forest use, Mines Ministry told 75 • Graphene 59 • Ozone 75 • Scramjet engine 60 • Sloth bears 76 • India’s first CRISPR test 60 • World Rhino Day 76 • Indian Astronomers discover one of the • Weeding out lantana restores grasslands in Rajasthan 77 farthest star galaxies in the universe 61 • Animal welfare 77 • Indian Brain Templates 61 • Invisible killer threatens country’s sandalwood forests 78 • Neutrino Observatory 62 • Polar Opposites 78 • Fast Breeder Reactor 62 • Steep decline 78 • Gravitational lensing 62 • Australia Whale Strandings 78 • Copernicus Programme 63 • India’s second Rocket Launching Port 63 8. HEALTH ISSUES 81 • IN-SPACe 63 • Reducing India’s cancer burden 81 • Cyanobacteria 64 • 40% children not fully vaccinated: NSO report 82 • Convalescent plasma therapy 64 • World Bank seeks ‘universal eligibility’ 82 • RAISE 2020 64 • Health worker safety deserves a second look 83 • Scrub typhus 83 6. SECURITY AND DEFENCE 65 • Brucellosis Control Programme 84 • Defence manufacturing in India 65 • Study links rice intake to diabetes 84 • Defence exports 65 • Ind-CEPI mission (India Centric Epidemic 84 • National Cyber Security strategy 66 Preparedness) for Rapid Vaccine • ABHYAS 66 Development and Supporting Indian Vaccine • Laser Guided Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) 66 Development • Pinaka Weapon System 66 • Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) 85 • Assam Rifles 67 • Indra exercise 67 9. SOCIAL ISSUES 86 • PASSEX 67 • The great greying of China 86 • JIMEX 20 67 • Barriers for the disabled 87 • Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 87 7. ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY 68 • Empowering the youth 88 • Environmental conservation-issues and solutions 68 • Housing rights of the urban poor 88 • Evaluating India’s forest policy 68 • Digital divide 89 • Wetlands being identified in Rajasthan to • Weighing in on the efficacy of female leadership 90 protect biodiversity 70 For guidance contact us on +91 9243500460 SEPTEMBER-2020 10. GEOGRAPHY 92 16. PRACTICE QUESTIONS 105 • Venus in focus 92 • Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin 92 17. ANSWER KEYS 122 • How African Sahara amplified a drought in Asia 93 18. MAINS PRACTICE QUESTIONS 125 11. EDUCATION 94 • AICTE-SPICES 94 19. INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT 129 12. HISTORY 95 • Rare Renati Chola era inscription unearthed 95 • Subramanian Bharathi 95 • Post-independence states reorganization 95 13. DISASTER MANAGEMENT 96 • California wildfires 96 • Building Collapse 96 14. GOVERNANCE 98 • Decentralized planning in rural areas 98 • FCRA 98 15. MISCELLANEOUS 100 • Mission Karmayogi 100 • e-Gopala App 100 • SAROD-Ports 100 • Five Star Villages Scheme 100 • Vaishwik Bharatiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) Summit 101 • Global Innovation Index (GII) 101 • Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (Global MPI) 101 • EASE 2.0 Index 102 • Startup rankings of India 102 • ‘State of the Young Child’ report 102 • Artemisia annua 103 • Make ethics code must for all news channels, NBA tells SC 103 • Kondapochamma reservoir 103 • World Tourism Day 103 • O-SMART Scheme 104 • Shinkun La Tunnel 104 For guidance contact us on +91 9243500460 Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here SEPTEMBER-2020 1 POLITY Indian Constitution-Features and significant provisions Multi party systems: • It is easier to form effective governments in electoral 1. Representative governance system democracies when there are fewer parties. When there » Mains: Challenges in representative democracies are too many parties and too many contradictory Challenges in representative democracies: points of view to be accommodated within a coalition, governance can break down. Money as a factor in elections: * The 1990’s witnessed political uncertainty in • Around the world, electoral democracies are affected India due to the lack of a clear mandate in by the issue of funding political parties and elections. the general elections. Recently, Israel had to • Money has become an important factor deciding undertake multiple rounds of elections to form the winnability of the candidates. Money is required a government. to win elections legitimately, even when people Intra party democracy: are not bribed to vote. Uninterrupted visibility and communication with citizens require advertisements • There is lack of intra party democracy in most political as well as teams of professionals for managing social parties of the day. media. This has increased the cost of elections. • Political parties when not internally democratic, • The race to raise more money for even legitimate they serve as means for self-aggrandising politicians electioneering purposes can corrupt the process of to amass power and wealth as a result of which funding parties and elections. This happens to be the democracy as a whole suffers. root causes of corruption in politics and government. The temptation of direct democracy: Quality of elected representatives: • Given the above discussed challenges to • Despite having been elected based on the principle representative democracy, it is tempting to abandon of universal adult franchise and enjoying popular political parties and parliaments and revert to direct mandate, the quality of the elected representatives is forms of democracy where every decision can be put a cause of concern. directly to all citizens to vote on. * There are growing indications of increasing • New Internet technologies could provide relevant criminalization of politics. tools to make this possible. * Debates within India’s Parliament, in which all • However, there are challenges with respect to direct members have been elected by the world’s most democracy as well.