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Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS Preparation

02.12.2019 terrain, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief etc. 1. Operation ‘Clean Art’ to crackdown on Topic- GS Paper 3 –Defence illegal trade in mongoose hair Source- PIB • Operation Clean Art was recently 3. 20th Edition of Hornbill Festival th counted to crackdown on the • The 20 Edition of Hornbill Festival smuggling of mongoose hair in the was held in . country. Related Information • Operation Clean Art was conceived by Hornbill Festival Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) • The festival is named after the bird with the singular aim of ensuring that “Indian hornbill”, which is also the the mongoose hair brush trade should state bird of Nagaland. be closed down across the country. • The festival organised by Nagaland • The hairs brushes of mongoose have Government is an annual tourism been used mainly by painters. promotional event. Related Information • The objective of the festival to Mongoose encourage inter-tribal interaction and • There are six species of mongoose to promote the cultural heritage of found in are Indian grey Nagaland. mongoose, small Indian mongoose, Great Indian Hornbill ruddy mongoose, crab-eating • The great hornbill is also known as the mongoose, stripe-necked mongoose great Indian hornbill or great pied and brown mongoose. hornbill, is one of the larger members • All mongoose species found in India of the hornbill family. are protected under Schedule II (Part • It is predominantly fruit-eating, but is II) of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) an opportunist and preys on small Act, 1972, which prohibits all trade of mammals, reptiles and birds. animals listed in it. • IUCN status: Vulnerable (uplisted • Its IUCN Status is the least concern. from Near Threatened in 2018). Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment • It is also listed in Appendix I of CITES. Source- Hindustan Times Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture 2. Exercise Surya Kiran – XIV Source- AIR • Exercise Surya Kiran – XIV is a 4. Loktak Inland Waterways project in Joint military between India and Nepal will be conducted at Salijhandi, • Shipping Ministry has recently given Rupendehi district of Nepal. approval for the development of Related Information Loktak Inland Waterways About the Exercise improvement project in Manipur. • It is an annual event which is • It is a central sector scheme. conducted alternatively in Nepal and Related Information India. Loktak lake • The aim of this exercise is to conduct • The Loktak Lake is the largest a Battalion level combined training freshwater lake in Northeast located between the Indian Army and Nepal at Moirang in Manipur. Army. • It is famous for the phumdis floating • It will help to increase interoperability over it. in jungle warfare and counter- • Phumdis are a series of floating terrorism operations in mountainous islands, exclusive to the Loktak Lake in Manipur.

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• Keibul Lamjao National Park is the Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance only floating national park in the world Source- Indian Express located in this region. 6. Promotion of e-agriculture • The park is the last natural refuge of • Union Minister of Agriculture and the endangered Sangai and also a Farmers Welfare informed Rajya state animal of Manipur. Sabha about the various initiatives for • It has been designated as a wetland promotion of technology in the of international importance under the agriculture sector. Ramsar Convention in 1990. These are • It is also listed under the Montreux a. Indian Council of Agricultural Record in 1993, "a record of Ramsar Research (ICAR) has established a sites where changes in ecological network of 715 Krishi Vigyan Kendras character have occurred, are (KVKs) in the country mandated with occurring or are likely to occur. Technology Assessment and Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment Demonstration for its Application and Source- PIB Capacity Development (TADA–CD). 5. Global Migration Report 2020 KVKs organize demonstrations, • UN-affiliated International training programs and skill Organization for Migration (IOM) development programs for the benefit released the Global Migration Report of farmers and farm women, rural 2020. youth and in-service extension Highlights of the report personnel. • Of the 272 million international b. Agro-advisories are given to the migrants worldwide (3.5% of the farmers through various service global population), India accounts for providers and the mKisan portal. the highest share with 17.5 million mKisan portal is a platform which Indians living outside the country. provides web-based mobile advisory • India is followed by Mexico (11.8 to farmers with the technological million) and China (10.7 million). backstopping from Research • The report also revealed that roughly Institutes and Agricultural Universities two-thirds of international migrants supporting farmers. are labour migrants. c. Sub Mission on Agricultural • International remittances in 2018 Mechanization (SMAM) provides a (2020 report) reached $689 billion in suitable platform for converging all which India is the leading recipient of activities for inclusive growth of remittances around $78.6 million. agricultural mechanization by • The top destinations for international providing a ‘single window’ approach migrants are the USA followed by for implementation with a special Germany, Saudi Arabia, the Russian focus on small & marginal farmers. Federation and the UK. d. Government is also implementing • The top migration corridors for National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) Indians are the United Arab Emirates, scheme for transparent price the US and Saudi Arabia. discovery for remunerative prices for • The highest number of migrants the farmers for their produce through entering India comes from a competitive online bidding system. Bangladesh. e. Under Marketing Research & • Oceania is the region with the highest Information Network (MRIN) Scheme, proportion of international migrants support is provided to the States and the UAE is the country with the towards setting up and maintaining highest proportion of international connectivity with Agmarknet portal migrants. for collection and dissemination of

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market information on arrivals and • Vaccines for Japanese encephalitis prices of agri-commodities. and Hemophilus influenzal are also Topic- GS Paper 3 –Agriculture being provided in selected areas. Source- PIB • The IMI 2.0 aims to achieve targets of 7. UNDP launches Accelerator Lab in full immunization coverage in 272 India to work on tackling pollution districts spread over 27 States. • The United Nations Development • The IMI 2.0 will be carried out between Programme launched Accelerator Lab December 2019 and March 2020. in India to work on tackling pollution. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Health Issues Related Information Source- AIR UNDP Accelerator lab 9. India becomes the first country to • It is an innovative initiative by the make entire Haj process digital UNDP, Qatar Government and the • India has become the first country to Federal Republic of Germany to find make the entire process for pilgrims 21st-century solutions to today's going on Haj completely digital. complex new challenges. • An online application, e-visa, Haj • These labs seek to identify grassroots mobile app, 'e-MASIHA' health solutions together with local actors facility, "e-luggage pre-tagging" and validate their potential to providing all information in India itself accelerate development. regarding accommodation and Accelerator Lab in India transportation in Mecca and Madina • The UNDP is partnered with the Indian will be provided to 2 lakh Indian government’s Atal Innovation Mission Muslims going for Haj in 2020. to achieve its objectives • E-MASIHA (E-Medical Assistance • It will seek to address some of the System for Indian Pilgrims Abroad), most pressing issues facing India, an online system to create and such as air pollution, sustainable maintain the complete health water management and client- database of Indian pilgrims along with resilient livelihoods through doctors' preions, medical treatment innovation. as well as medicine disbursal, has • The vision is also to make faster been developed to deal with any progress in meeting the ambitious emergency in Mecca and Madina. Sustainable Development Goals Topic- GS Paper 2 –E-governance (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN) by Source- AIR 2030. 10. Lok Sabha takes up all 20 starred Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment questions Source- Economics Times • According to Lok Sabha officials, this is the 8. Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0 first time since 1972 that all the 20 starred • Centre launched the Intensified questions were taken up during the Question Hour in Lok Sabha. Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0

across the country on 2nd Dec 2019. Related Information • The government's flagship scheme is Types of Questions asked in Question aimed at immunizing children under Hour (not mentioned in the Rules of the age of 2 years and pregnant Procedure) women against eight vaccine- Starred Questions: preventable diseases. • Starred Question is one to which a • The IMI covers vaccines for member desires an oral answer from diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, the Minister in the House and is poliomyelitis, tuberculosis, measles, required to be distinguished by meningitis and Hepatitis B. him/her with an asterisk.

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• The answer to such a question may be with Iran after the US sanction followed by supplementary questions under the Joint by members. Comprehensive Plan of Action. Unstarred Questions It will allow trade between the • An Unstarred Question is one to which EU and Iran without relying on written answer is desired by the direct financial transactions. member and is deemed to be laid on o INSTEX has been registered in the Table of the House by Minister. France and will be run by • Thus it is not called for oral answer in German Commerzbank the House and no supplementary manager Per Fischer. question can be asked thereon. o It is based in Paris and About Zero Hour functions as a clearinghouse • It is the time immediately following allowing Iran to continue to the Question Hour has come to be sell oil and import other known as Zero Hour. products or services in • It starts at around 12 noon and exchange. members can with prior notice to the o INSTEX will support legitimate Speaker raise issues of importance European trade with Iran, during this time. focusing initially on the sectors • It is also not mentioned in the Rules most essential to the Iranian of Procedure. population – such as Topic- GS Paper 2 –Polity pharmaceutical, medical Source- PIB devices and agri-food goods. o It aims in the long term to be 03.12.2019 open to economic operators from third countries who wish 1. The instrument in Support of Trade to trade with Iran and the E3 Exchanges: A Barter System continue to explore how to 1. achieve this objective.” o Recently six European o The EU three, also known as countries joined Instrument in EU big three, EU triumvirate or Support of Trade Exchange EU trio, refers to France, also known as barter system Germany and Italy, a group which is designed to that consists of the three large circumvent U.S. sanctions founding members of the against trade with Iran by European Union; avoiding the use of the dollar. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of o These European countries are Action Belgium, Denmark, Finland, o It is a detailed agreement with the Netherlands, Norway and five annexes reached by Iran Sweden, to join INSTEX as and the P5+1 (China France, shareholders. Germany, Russia, the United About Instrument in Support of Trade Kingdom, and the United Exchanges States) in July 2015. o The founding member of o The nuclear deal was endorsed INSTEX is France, Germany by UN Security Council and Britain. Resolution 2231, adopted on o This move will allow the July 20, 2015. European Union to circumvent o Iran’s compliance with the U.S. sanctions in an effort to nuclear-related provisions of continue humanitarian trade the JCPOA will be verified by

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the International Atomic o The Central Economic Energy Agency (IAEA) Intelligence Bureau was according to certain established in July, 1985 requirements set forth in the responsible to the Department agreement. of Revenue, Ministry of Topic- GS Paper 2 –International Finance. relation o Currently, the CEIB runs a Source- Indian Express captive database called 2. National Economic Offence Secured Information Exchange Records Network (SIEN) which o The Central Government is operates on intranet (not preparing a comprehensive available online). database to track economic o The information on economic offenders called the National offenders is shared with Economic Offence Records. headquarters of 13 select About the National Economic central agencies. Offence Records Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance o It a web portal that will Source- PIB disseminate information to 3. Exercise Hand-in-Hand- grassroots level officers of 2019 enforcement and investigating o The 8th India-China joint agencies. training exercise 'HAND-IN- o The database will help in HAND 2019' with the theme coordinated actions by counter-terrorism under multiple agencies against United Nations mandate is corrupt officials and corporate scheduled to be conducted at houses indulging in financial Umroi, . frauds and money laundering. About the exercise o It is being prepared by the o The aim of the exercise is to Central Economic Intelligence practice joint planning and Bureau (CEIB), an arm of the conduct of counter-terrorist finance ministry. operations in semi-urban o The NEOR is proposed to have terrain. two-way access for field o The exercise schedule is formations of agencies as they focused upon training on can enter data generated by various lectures & drills them and simultaneously have associated with counter- access to data fed by them or terrorist handling & firing with by other agencies if needed each other’s weapons, special during investigations. heliborne operations and case About Central Economic studies of various operations Intelligence Bureau carried out in the counter- o The Central Economic terrorist environment. Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) is o Two tactical exercises are an Indian intelligence agency scheduled during the training; responsible for gathering 0. one on counter-terrorism information and monitoring scenario the economic and financial 1. other on Humanitarian and sectors for economic offences Disaster Relief (HADR) and warfare. operations. Topic- GS Paper 3 –Defence

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Source- PIB Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment 4. Blue Flag Certification for beaches Source- PIB • Minister of State, Ministry of 5. Power of Siberia' gas pipeline Environment, Forest & Climate cements China-Russia bond Change has informed the Rajya Sabha • Chinese President Xi Jinping and his about the Blue Flag certification for Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin beaches. have remotely inaugurated the • The ‘Blue Flag’ beach is an Eco- “Power of Siberia” gas pipeline. tourism model endeavouring to About the Gas Pipeline provide to the tourists/beachgoers • It is a massive cross-border clean and hygienic bathing water, undertaking not only central to facilities/amenities, safe and healthy China’s energy security but also for environment and sustainable bolstering special ties between Beijing development of the area. and Moscow. About the Blue Flag Programme • Gas is being sourced from • It is international recognition Chayandinskoye and Kovytka fields in conferred on beaches and marinas eastern Siberia and is then piped to that meet certain criteria of Blagoveshchensk — the last town on cleanliness and environmental the Russian side of the border. propriety and equipped with • From there, it is tunnelled under the amenities of international standards Amur River, before entering Heihe on for tourists. the Chinese side. • It is run by international, non- • Analysts say that the brand new governmental, non-profit pipeline is an emblem of closer energy organisation Foundation for integration in Eurasia, with Russia and Environmental Education (FEE) of China as the key partners. Denmark. Topic- GS Paper 2 –International • It was first started in France in 1985 relation and has been implemented in Europe Source- The Hindu since 1987. 6. Parliament passes the Prohibition • Since 2001 it has been implemented of Electronic Cigarettes Bill, 2019 in areas outside Europe when South • Parliament has passed the Prohibition Africa joined. of Electronic Cigarettes Bill, 2019 Criteria Salient features of the bill • It is based on 33 stringent criteria in • Any production, manufacturing, four major heads i.e. import, export, transport, sale a.) Environmental Education and Information (including online sale), distribution or b.) Bathing Water Quality advertisement (including online c.) Environment Management and advertisement) of e-cigarettes shall Conservation be a cognizable offence. d.) Safety and Services on the beaches. • It is punishable with an imprisonment • Spain has the highest number of blue of up to one year or fine up to Rs. 1 flag certified beaches followed by lakh or both for the first offence; and France, Turkey. imprisonment of up to three years and • Japan and South Korea are only fine up to Rs. 5 lakh for a subsequent countries from South/southeastern offence. Asia to have Blue Flag beaches. • Storage of electronic-cigarettes shall • Chandrabhaga beach on Konark coast also be punishable with imprisonment in was first in Asia to get Blue up to 6 months or fine up to Rs 50,000 Flag certification (awarded in June or both. 2019).

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• No person is allowed to use any place • The concept of ILP comes from the for the storage of any stock of e- colonial area under the Bengal cigarettes. Eastern Frontier Regulation Act, 1873, • It prohibits the trade, advertisement, the British framed regulations storage, and transport of e-cigarettes restricting the entry and regulating as studies indicate that they may the stay of outsiders in designated attract new users of nicotine. areas. About Electronic cigarettes • This was to protect the Crown’s own • Electronic-cigarettes are battery- commercial interests by preventing operated devices that produce an “British subjects” (Indians) from aerosol by heating a solution trading within these regions. containing nicotine, which is the • In 1950, the Indian government addictive substance in combustible replaced “British subjects” with cigarettes. “Citizen of India”. • These include all forms of Electronic • This was to address local concerns Nicotine Delivery Systems, Heat Not about protecting the interests of the Burn Products, e-Hookah and the like indigenous people from outsiders devices. belonging to other Indian states. • Note that, the definition of e- The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill cigarettes does not include any connection medical product licensed under the • The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. aims to make it easier for non-Muslim Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance refugees from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Source- PIB and Afghanistan to obtain Indian 7. Inner Line Permit system citizenship. • Union Home Minister has recently said • If it is implemented with provisions for that the Citizenship Amendment Bill, excluding from its ambit the states 2016 would provide protection to such under the ILP regime, it means that regions and states where the Inner beneficiaries under CAB will become Line Permit (ILP) is applicable. Indian citizens but will not be able to About Inner Line Permit system settle in these three states. • It is a document that allows an Indian • As a matter of fact, the same citizen to visit or stay in a state that is restriction applies to the existing protected under the ILP system. Indian citizens. • The system is in force today in three • The three states that have seen the Northeastern states — Arunachal highest migration are , Pradesh, Nagaland and . and Meghalaya, none of which has an • Under ILP no Indian citizen can visit ILP system. any of these states unless he or she Topic- GS Paper 3 –Internal Security does not belong to that state, nor can Source- Indian Express he or she overstay beyond the period 8. End-to-end encryption specified in the ILP. • United state attorney General William How will People get ILP? P. Barr, joined by his British and • It is issued by the state government Australian counterparts, recently concerned. pressed Facebook’s chief executive, • It states the dates of travel and also Mark Zuckerberg, to abandon plans to specifies the particular areas in the embed end-to-end encryption in state which the ILP holder can travel services like Messenger and to. Instagram. WhatsApp. Background How does encryption work?

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• End-to-end encryption scrambles through nodal agency Animal Welfare messages in such a way that they can Board of India(AWBI)under the aegis be deciphered only by the sender and of Ministry of Environment & Forests the intended recipient. • The Pilot Project for Animal Health • As the label implies, end-to-end Component by AWBI has been ended encryption takes place on either end with the closure of last FY of 12th FYP of a communication. i.e. with effect from 31.3.2017. • A message is encrypted on a sender’s Objectives: device, sent to the recipient’s device • Training of Health Care professionals in an unreadable format, then on appropriate Animal bite decoded for the recipient. management and Rabies Post • End-to-end encryption ensures that Exposure Prophylaxis. no one can eavesdrop on the contents • Advocacy for states to adopt and of a message while it is in transit. implement Interdermal route of Post- • It forces spies or snoops to go directly exposure prophylaxis for Animal bite to the sender or recipient to read the Victims and Pre-exposure prophylaxis content of the encrypted message. for high-risk categories. • Or they must hack directly into the • Strengthen Human Rabies sender’s or recipient’s device, Surveillance System. something that can be harder to do • Strengthening of Regional “at scale” and makes mass Laboratories under NRCP for Rabies surveillance much more difficult. Diagnosis. Topic-GS Paper 3–Science & Technology • Creating awareness in the community Source- Economics times through Advocacy & Communication and Social Mobilization. 04.12.2019 Problems faced by India • As there is rabies elimination drive by 1. National Rabies Control 2030 globally, there is significant programme demand for Anti Rabies Vaccine and • The Minister of State (Health and Serum from the neighbouring Family Welfare) has informed in a countries like Myanmar, Malaysia and written reply in the Lok Sabha about Philippines and these countries are the National Rabies Control importing vaccine from India. Programme. • Many states and stakeholders have About National Rabies Control pointed out that preferential export of programme Anti- Rabies vaccine by Indian • National Rabies Control Programme Manufactures at escalated prices to was approved during 12th FYP by the neighbouring countries has Standing Finance Committee. resulted in nonresponse and non- • It is a Central Sector Scheme to be participation by the manufactures in implemented under the Umbrella of domestic tenders. the Nation Health Mission. About Rabies • The Programme had two components • Rabies is caused by Ribonucleic Acid a) Human component (RNA) virus that is present in the b) Animal Components saliva of a rabid animal. • Human Component is rolling out in the • It is transmitted following a bite of a all States and UTs through nodal rabid animal that leads to deposition agency National Institute of of the saliva and the virus in the Communicable Diseases. wound. • Animal Health Component for pilot Topic- GS Paper 2 –Health Issue testing in and Chennai Source- PIB

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2. Pradhan Mantri Yuva Udyamita • All citizens including the unorganized Vikas Abhiyaan (PM YUVA) Yojana sector, women, and existing • Minister of State for Skill entrepreneurs in rural as well as Development and Entrepreneurship urban areas. has informed in a written reply in the Topic- GS Paper 2 –Important Yojana Lok Sabha about the Pradhan Mantri Source- PIB Yuva Udyamita Vikas Abhiyaan 3. Saudi Arabia first (Arab) nation to (PM YUVA) Yojana. take over the G20 presidency About Pradhan Mantri YUVA Yojana from Japan (Yuva Udyamita Vikas Abhiyan) • Saudi Arabia became the first Arab • It is a centrally sponsored Scheme on nation to take over the G20 entrepreneurship education and presidency from Japan. training being implemented by the About G20 Summit Ministry of Skill Development and • Saudi Arabia will host the G20 Summit Entrepreneurship. in its capital, Riyadh on November 21, • The Scheme aims at creating an 2020. enabling ecosystem for • The Kingdom will guide the work of entrepreneurship development the G20 under the theme of through "Realizing Opportunities of the i. Entrepreneurship education and 21st Century for All. training • It will focus on three aims: ii. Advocacy and easy access to o Empowering People, by entrepreneurship support network creating the conditions in iii. Promoting social enterprises for which all people—especially inclusive growth. women and young people—can • The scheme spans over five years live, work and thrive. (2016-17 to 2020-21). o Safeguarding the Planet, by Specific objectives and deliverables fostering collective efforts on • Educate and equip potential and food and water security, early-stage entrepreneurs. climate, energy and • Design an assessment and environment. certification mechanism. o Shaping New Frontiers, by • Focus on the promotion of social adopting long-term, bold entrepreneurship. strategies to share the benefits • Connect entrepreneurs in enabling of innovation and technological networks of peers, mentors, funds advancement. and business services. About G20 • Catalyze a culture shift to encourage • The G20 (or Group of Twenty) is an entrepreneurship. international forum for the • Create a culture of dynamic governments and central bank entrepreneurship through events, governors from 19 countries and the branding and media. European Union (EU). Beneficiaries of the scheme: • The aim of G20 is to discuss policy • Traditional students enrolled in pertaining to the promotion of degree programme across international financial stability. undergraduate/ postgraduate • It has expanded its agenda since 2008 courses/ PhD programme/ Diploma. and heads of government or heads of • School Students state, as well as finance ministers and • Students in Industrial Training foreign ministers, have periodically Institutes (ITIs) conferred at summits ever since.

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Topic- GS Paper 2 –International • The city is also one of the largest Organisation economic initiatives that Mr Kim has Source- Al Jazeera launched as part of his drive for a 4. Contaminant of drinking water “self-reliant economy. • Ministry of Jal Shakti tabled data on Topic- GS Paper 1–Art and Culture water contamination in Parliament. Source- The Hindu Highlights of the report 6. India’s first maritime museum • has the highest number of coming up at Lothal, rural habitations affected by • A National first maritime heritage contamination. museum will be established at Lothal, • Iron is the most common contaminant a Harappan site on the Saurashtra of drinking water followed by salinity coast in Gujarat. arsenic, fluoride and heavy metal. • The museum will also be an • In terms of arsenic and iron pollution, independent research centre of and Assam are the worst underwater archaeology for the affected. reconstruction of maritime history, • Assam has the highest number of the archaeology of boat building and rural habitations affected by iron materials traded. contamination followed by West • The museum is being set up with Bengal, Tripura, and Odisha. technical help from the Portuguese • States and UTs that are not affected Maritime Heritage Museum. by any of these contaminants include • The central government has Andaman & Nicobar Islands, , appointed the first Director-General Gujarat, , , for the museum which will be attached Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, to the Maritime Board of the Gujarat Puducherry, and . government. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Important Report • Lothal is the site of one of the oldest Source- AIR ports in India dating to the Bronze 5. Samjiyon Country Age. • North Korea has celebrated the About Underwater archaeology completion of Samjiyon a new city • It is a specialized branch of which is leader Kim Jong-un’s archaeology that involves recovering signature construction project, near submerged remains such as ports, the sacred mountain in North Korea. shipwrecks and studying proxy About Samjiyŏn County records of maritime activity from • It is located in Ryanggang Province, archaeological excavations as well as North Korea. archival and historical records. • It takes its name from three lakes in • The Indian marine studies have the county, which are collectively covered wooden and steel-hulled known as the Samjiyŏn. shipwrecks off Sunchi Reef dating • Samjiyŏn is situated near Mount back to the 17th-century Indo- Paektu, and tour groups fly to the Portuguese trade and commerce district's airport to see the mountain, network. which holds significance in North Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture Korean mythology. Source- AIR • North Korea is projecting Samjiyon as 7. Govt launches 4th round of Regional a ‘socialist utopia’ with new Connectivity Scheme-UDAN apartments, hotels, a ski resort and • Government has launched the 4th commercial, cultural and medical round of Regional Connectivity facilities. Scheme - UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) to further enhance the

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connectivity to remote and regional • NAFED, Food Cooperation of India areas of the country. (FCI) will also take up PSS operations • The focus in this round will be North in states and districts. East Region, Hilly States, Jammu and Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS) Kashmir, Ladakh and Islands. • It will cover all oilseeds for which About UDAN Scheme minimum support price is notified. • The scheme was launched in October • Pre-registered farmers will be directly 2016, which seeks to provide paid the difference between MSP and connectivity to un-served and under- selling or modal price for his produce served regions through the revival of in the notified market yard through existing airstrips and airports. transparent auction process. • In the last three years government Pilot of Private Procurement & Stockist has successfully completed three Scheme (PPPS) rounds of bidding under the Scheme • It will allow participation of private and awarded about 700 routes. sector in procurement operation • The Ministry aims to operationalize needs on pilot basis. one thousand routes and more than • Initially it will be applicable for 100 airports in the next five years. procurement of oilseeds. States will Topic- GS Paper 2 – Governance have option to roll out this scheme on Source- AIR pilot basis in selected districts and APMCs of district involving 05.12.2019 participation of private stockiest. Topic- GS Paper 3 – Economics 1. PM-AASHA scheme (Agriculture) • According to Agriculture Ministry data, Source- The Hindu less than 3% of this season’s 2. Climate Emergency CoP 25: What sanctioned amount of pulses and is the carbon budget? oilseeds have actually been procured • The Global Carbon Budget is the sum so far under the PM-AASHA scheme. of all exchanges (inflows and About Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay outflows) of carbon compounds Sanrakshan Abhiyan between the earth's carbon reservoirs • It was announced in September 2018, (such as landmass and atmosphere) as an effort to ensure that farmers in the carbon cycle. growing pulses, oilseeds and copra • It is used to determine, whether a actually get the minimum support particular pool/reservoir/circle is prices they are promised for their working as a source of the Carbon crops each year. Dioxide. • The Scheme is aimed at ensuring • It is important to be in line what is remunerative prices to the farmers for scientifically required to keep global their produce as announced in Union warming and climate change Budget for 2018. tolerable. • Three Components of PM-AASHA • According to the Intergovernmental i. Price Support Scheme (PSS). Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the ii. Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS) global average temperature rise iii. Pilot of Private Procurement & should not exceed 1.5°C if Stockist Scheme (PPPS). catastrophic climate change is to be Price Support Scheme (PSS) avoided. • Under its physical procurement of • Americans, some 4.3 per cent of the pulses, oilseeds and copra will be world population, caused 25% of done by central modal agencies with historical emissions (1751-2017). The proactive role of state governments. EU, which consists of 6.8 per cent of

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the world population, caused 22 per international organisations it cent of the emissions (1751-2017). manages to convince to recognise it • However, India, which houses nearly as a country. 18 per cent of the world population, • The biggest sanction of nationhood is had emitted only 3 per cent. the United Nations recognising a • The Global Carbon Project, which puts territory as a country. out emission estimates for across the • Examples : world every year, has said India’s i. Somaliland in Somalia has been emissions in 2019 (2.6 billion tonnes calling itself a country since 1991, but or gigatonnes) was likely to be only no one else recognises it. 1.8 per cent higher than in 2018. ii. Kosovo in Serbia declared About Global Carbon Project independence in 2008, and only a few • The Global Carbon Project (GCP) is an other countries recognise it. organisation that seeks to quantify What criteria must a nation-hopeful global greenhouse gas emissions and meet? their causes. • According to the Montevideo • Established in 2001, its projects Convention, 1933 country-hopeful include global budgets for three must have a defined territory, people, dominant greenhouse gases — carbon government, and the ability to form dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. relationships with other countries. • The main object of the group has been Why UN recognition matters? to fully understand the carbon cycle. • UN recognition means a new country • The project has brought together has access to the World Bank, the emissions experts, earth scientists, IMF, etc. and economists to tackle the problem • Its currency is recognised, which of rising concentrations of greenhouse allows it to trade. gases. • Often, UN member states recognise a • It publishes Global Carbon Budget and country, but not the UN as a body. Global Carbon Atlas. • This puts a country in the grey area Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment with respect to protection against the Source- Down to Earth parent country’s aggression, and 3. Explained: From Bougainville international trade. referendum to Nithyananda’s Topic- GS Paper 2 – International issue Kailasa, how is a new country Source- Indian Express formed? 4. Prime Minister launches Fit India • Recently, Bougainville, an island in School grading system the Pacific, is holding a referendum to • Prime Minister has launched the Fit decide if it wants to remain a part of India School grading system in Papua New Guinea or become an schools across the country. independent country. About Fit India School grading system • Across the world, various territories • The Fit India School rankings have are agitating for independence — been divided into three categories -- Catalonia in Spain, Kurdistan in Iraq, The Fit India Schools, which is the first Tibet in China demanded for new level of ranking, Fit India School (3 countries. star) and Fit India School (5 star). Who can declare it a country? • The level of ranking will depend on • There is no law barring regions from how much importance the school declaring independence. gives to inculcating fitness among its • Beyond a few set requirements, a students and teachers, besides region’s quest for nationhood mainly facilities available for fitness depends on how many countries and activities.

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• The schools that achieve this Fit India • With an increase in demand for their ranking system will also be able to use bonds, these issuers may be able to the Fit India logo and flag.” borrow at reduced cost thereby • Schools can declare themselves as fit reducing their cost of borrowing over by visiting the Fit India portal. a period of time. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance • Further, Bond ETF trading on the Source- Live mint exchange will help in better price 5. Bharat Bond Exchange Traded discovery of the underlying bonds. Fund: first corporate Bond ETF in Topic- GS Paper 3 – Economics the country Source- The Hindu • The Cabinet Committee on Economic 6. Madden–Julian Oscillation Affairs has given its approval for • Recently in a study by a team of creation and launch of Bharat Bond Indian and U.S. researchers has found Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). that Global warming has altered a key • Bharat Bond ETF would be the first weather system and that may be corporate Bond ETF in the country. whetting cyclones in the Bay of • It helps to create an additional source Bengal, decreasing winter rain in of funding for Central Public Sector north India and altering global rainfall Undertakings (CPSUs) Central Public patterns. Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), Central About the Madden–Julian Oscillation Public Financial Institutions (CPFIs) • The MJO can be characterized as an and other Government organizations. eastward-moving “pulse” of cloud and Features of Bharat Bond ETF: rainfall near the equator that typically • ETF will be a basket of bonds issued recurs every 30 to 60 days and is a by CPSE/CPSU/CPFI/any other feature of the tropical atmosphere. Government organization Bonds • MJO effects are most evident over the (Initially, all AAA-rated bonds) Indian Ocean and western equatorial o Tradable on exchange Pacific. o Small unit size Rs 1,000 • It influences the timing, development o Transparent NAV (Periodic live and strength of the major global NAV during the day) monsoon patterns, including the o Transparent Portfolio (Daily Indian and Australian monsoons. disclosure on the website) How it is affected? o Low cost (0.0005%) • The lifecycle of the MJO gets affected Index Methodology: when it interacts with surface waters • The index will be constructed by an of the Indo-Pacific Ocean, the largest independent index provider – National pool of warm water in the globe. Sock Exchange • Ocean temperatures are also one of • Different indices tracking specific the reasons for the reduction in the maturity years - 3 and 10 years number of MJO days over the Indian Bharat Bond ETF Benefits for CPSEs: Ocean. • Bond ETF would offer CPSEs, CPSUs, • The changes in MJO behaviour have CPFIs and other Government increased the rainfall over northern organizations an additional source of Australia, west Pacific, Amazon basin, meeting their borrowing requirements southwest Africa and Southeast Asia apart from bank financing. (Indonesia, Philippines and Papua • It will expand their investor base New Guinea). through retail and HNI participation Topic- GS Paper 1 –Geography which can increase demand for their Source- The Hindu bonds.

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7. “Political Parties Registration the State Assemblies was to expire on Tracking Management System” 25th January 2020. (PPRTMS) Article 330 • The Election Commission of India has • Article 330 provides for the reviewed the system and process of reservation of seats in the Lok Sabha registration of political parties under for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled the “Political Parties Registration Tribes. Tracking Management System” • The number of seats reserved in any (PPRTMS). State or Union territory for such • It will be implemented through an castes and tribes will be made on the online portal, to facilitate tracking of population basis. the status of the application by • Similarly, Article 332 provides for the applicants. reservation of seats for Scheduled Salient feature of Political Parties Castes and scheduled tribes in the Registration Tracking Management legislative assemblies of every state. System • The constitution 58th amendment act • The applicant (who is applying for 1987 has amended article 332 of the party registration from 1st January constitution which provides for 2020 onwards) will be able to track reservation of seats for “STs” in the progress of his / her application Arunachal, Meghalaya, Mizoram and and will get the status update through Nagaland. SMS and email. The Constitution (79th Amendment) Act • The applicant is required to provide 1999: contact mobile number and email • The seats are reserved for the SCs address of the party/applicant in his and STS and they are elected by all application if he/she wishes to track the voters in the constituency. the progress of the application. • There is no separate electorate for Note : SCs and STs. • The Registration of Political Parties is • Article 325 expressly provides that governed by the provisions of section there shall be one general electoral 29A of the Representation of the roll. This means that a member of SC People Act, 1951. and ST may contest any seat other • A party seeking registration under the than reserved. said section with the Commission has Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance to submit an application to the Source- AIR Commission within a period of 30 days 9. Union Cabinet clears Citizenship following the date of its formation (Amendment), Bill Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance • Union Cabinet has cleared the Source- PIB Citizenship (Amendment) Bill. 8. Cabinet approves SC/STs reservation • Briefing media in New Delhi after the in Lok Sabha, state assemblies for Cabinet meeting yesterday, Minister another 10 years. of Information and Broadcasting, • Union Cabinet has approved a Prakash Javadekar said, the bill takes proposal to extend the reservation for care of India's interest, and it will be Scheduled Castes (SCs) and introduced in Parliament as soon as Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Lok possible. Sabha and State Assemblies for About Citizenship (Amendment) Bill: another 10 years. • Bill seeks to amend the Citizenship • The reservation for these categories in Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants of the Lower House of Parliament and six communities from Afghanistan,

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Bangladesh and Pakistan eligible for • Tactical operations end drills such as Indian citizenship. cordon house intervention, handling • The communities are Hindus, Sikhs, and neutralisation of Improvised Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Explosive Devices, prevention of arms Christians. smuggling through the sea route and • It relaxes the 11-year criteria for anti-piracy measures will be citizenship to six years for persons practised. belonging to these six religions. Topic- GS Paper 3 –Defence • The bill was passed by the last Lok Source- PIB Sabha but it could not be taken up in 2. Extra Neutral Alcohol the Rajya Sabha. • Alcohol manufacturers have written to Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance NITI Aayog asking for a reduction in Source- AIR import duty of Extra Neutral Alcohol 10. Parliament bill to grant ownership (ENA). rights to Delhi unauthorised Colonies' About Extra Neutral Alcohol residents • It is the primary raw material for • Parliament has passed the National making alcoholic beverages which are Capital Territory of Delhi (Recognition derived from different sources — of Property Rights of Residents in sugarcane molasses and grains. Unauthorized Colonies) Bill, 2019 with • It also serves as an essential the Rajya Sabha approving it ingredient in the manufacture of yesterday. cosmetics and personal care products About the Bill: such as perfumes, toiletries, hair • The bill provides for a legal framework spray, etc. to grant ownership rights to more Properties of ENA than 40 lakh people living in • It is colourless food-grade alcohol that unauthorised colonies in Delhi. does not have any impurities. • It envisages offering the residents the • It has a neutral smell and taste and rights of ownership of the properties typically contains over 95 per cent or transfer or mortgage rights on the alcohol by volume. basis of holding documents like Power • It is used in the production of alcoholic of Attorney, Agreement of Sale, Will beverages such as whisky, vodka, gin, or Possession letters. cane, liqueurs, and alcoholic fruit Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance beverages. Source- AIR Topic- GS Paper 3 –Science and Technology 06.12.2019 Source- Indian Express 3. Women help desks in police 1. Exercise INDRA 2019 stations • Exercise INDRA 2019 is a joint, tri- • The Home Ministry has sanctioned services exercise between India and ₹100 crores from the Nirbhaya Fund Russia will be conducted in India for setting up women help desks in simultaneously at Babina (near police stations across the country. Jhansi), Pune, and Goa. About the Women help desk About the Exercise • These desks would focus on making • The INDRA series of exercise began in the police stations more women- 2003 and the First joint Tri-Services friendly and approachable, as they Exercise was conducted in 2017. would be the first and single point of • The exercise will consist of a five-day contact for any woman walking into a training phase consisting of a police station. comprehensive training curriculum.

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• Women police officers would be • At present, three different models – deployed at these help desks. PPP Annuity, PPP Toll and EPC • These help desks would have enlisted (Engineering, Procurement and panel of experts like lawyers, Construction) were followed by the psychologists and NGOs to facilitate government while adopting private legal aid, counselling, shelter, sector participation. rehabilitation and training,” the Features of HAM statement added. • The HAM is a mix between the existing Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance two models – BOT (Build Operate and Source- AIR Transfer) Annuity and EPC 4. India’s first 14MLD, HAM project Engineering, Procurement and in sewerage sector Construction) Model. • India’s first Hybrid Annuity (HAM) • As per the design, the government will project in sewerage sector, the 14MLD contribute to 40% of the project cost Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) at in the first five years through annual Sarai in Haridwar, was inaugurated by payments (annuity). Chief Minister of . • The remaining payment will be made • It is the first STP project to be on the basis of the assets created and completed under the Hybrid Annuity the performance of the developer. (HAM) Based Public-Private Advantages of HAM: Partnership Model. • It gives enough liquidity to the • This Plant is based on advanced developer and the financial risk is aerobic biological process, Sequential shared by the government. Batch Reactor (SBR) process, capable • While the private partner continues to of removing the nutrients during bear the construction and treatment and is a 100% eco-friendly maintenance risks as in the case of project. BOT (toll) model, he is required only • Another unique feature of this HAM to partly bear the financing risk. project is that after its commissioning, • Government’s policy is that the HAM this plant will also be maintained and will be used installed projects where operated for a period of 15 years by other models are not applicable. the same developer for efficient Topic- GS Paper 3 –Economics (Various performance and for meeting output Models) parameters. Source- PIB • The vision of the National Mission for 5. Aerial seeding and Dart Seeding Clean Ganga (NMCG) is long term and • The Delhi High Court has recently hence the capability being created asked forest authorities whether would fully take care of the “planting of seeds could be done by requirements up to 2035. throwing dart shots containing them About Hybrid Annuity from helicopters into forest areas • Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) has been which help in reducing air pollution in introduced by the Government to Delhi. revive PPP (Public-Private Partnership) in highway construction About Aerial seeding in India. • It is a well-established concept, but • In financial terminology, a hybrid annuity this is generally achieved not with means that the government makes darts but by spraying seeds through payment in a fixed amount for a an aircraft or a drone. considerable period and then in a variable • Aerial seeding can be used not only to amount in the remaining period. plant various crops but also to spread • This hybrid type of payment method is grasses to large areas of the land after called HAM in the technical parlance.

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wildfires, a common problem in • Bio coal has higher energy content per countries like the United States. unit volume, and torrefaction followed Benefits of Air Seeding by palletization at the harvest sites • It is quicker and more effective than facilitates transport over longer planting manually. distances. • It also allows access to areas where • It also avoids problems associated the terrain is rocky or at high with the decomposition of biomass elevation. during storage. • It has been used with varying degrees • It help to convert about 65% of the of success around the world. biomass could be converted to Dart seeding energy. • Dart seeding is used with the same Topic- GS Paper 3 –Science and broad objective as aerial seeding: a Technology plantation in inaccessible areas. Source- Indian Express • The process involves throwing darts 7. Maintenance and Welfare of containing seeds onto open ground. Parents and Senior Citizens Bill, • In aerial seeding, many seeds fail to 2019 germinate and if dart plantation is • Union Cabinet has approved the done from a low-flying helicopter, Maintenance and Welfare of Parents seeds have a relatively better chance and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, of survival as they reach deeper into 2019. the ground. • The Bill seeks to amend the • At the late 1990s, a variation of dart Maintenance and Welfare of Parents seeding was used in Asola Bhatti and Senior Citizens Act, 2007. Wildlife Sanctuary. • The aim of the bill to provide for the Note: maintenance and welfare of parents • Plantation with both aerial and dart and senior citizens for ensuring their plantations are carried out close to the basic needs, safety and security, onset of monsoon as watering the establishment, management, and seeds is often challenging in regulation of institutions and services, inaccessible areas. and rights guaranteed under the Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment Constitution. Source- Indian Express The key features of the act 2007, as per 6. Torrefaction: A Swedish a summary published by PRS Legislative technology to reduce stubble Research, were: burning 1. Children and heirs were legally • The government recently thought to obligated to provide maintenance to use Torrefaction, a Swedish senior citizens. technology to reduce stubble burning 2. State governments were permitted to which is the key contributor to the establish old age homes in every sharp decline in air quality in Delhi. district. About Torrefaction 3. Senior citizens who are unable to • It is a thermochemical process maintain themselves were given the typically at 200-350 °C in the absence right to apply to a maintenance of oxygen, at atmospheric pressure tribunal seeking a monthly allowance with low particle heating rates and a from their children or heirs. reactor time of one hour. 4. State governments were to set up • The process causes biomass to partly maintenance tribunals in every decompose, creating torrefied subdivision to decide the level of biomass or char, also referred to as maintenance. Appellate tribunals 'bio coal'.

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were to be established at the district • The heatwave was one of the major level. causes of damage in 2018. 5. State governments were to set the • Among the top ten most affected ceiling for the maximum monthly countries, India, Germany and Japan maintenance allowance. The Bill suffered from extended periods of a capped the maximum monthly heatwave during 2018. allowance at Rs 10,000 per month. • India’s rank has worsened from 6. Punishment for not paying the the 14th spot in 2017 to 5th in required monthly allowance was fixed 2018 in the global vulnerability at Rs 5,000, or up to three months in ladder. prison, or both. Reason for ranking The major salient features” of the • In 2018, a severe summer heatwave proposed Maintenance and Welfare of in Japan killed 138 people and caused Parents and Senior Citizens Amendment more than 70,000 people to be Bill 2019. hospitalised with heatstroke and i. Definition of ‘children’ and ‘parents’ exhaustion. has been expanded. • India suffered water shortages, crop ii. Definition of ‘maintenance’ and failures and worst flooding. ‘welfare’ has been expanded. • The Philippines was hit by Typhoon iii. Mode of submission of application for Mangkhut in September 2018, which maintenance has been enlarged. was categorized as a category 5 iv. The ceiling of Rs 10,000/- as maintenance typhoon, the most powerful typhoon amount has been removed. recorded worldwide in 2018. v. Preference to dispose of applications • The Philippines were battered by top- of senior citizens, above eighty years strength Typhoon Mangkhut. of age, early has been included. • In Germany, the period from April- vi. Registration of Senior Citizens Care July 2018 was the hottest ever Homes/Homecare Service Agencies recorded in the country, leading to the etc. have been included. deaths of over 1,200 people. vii. Minimum standards for senior citizen care • In Madagascar, two cyclones killed homes has been included in the Bill. about 70 people and forced 70,000 to viii. Appointment of Nodal Police Officers seek refuge. for Senior Citizens in every Police Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment Station and District level Special Source- Down to Earth Police Unit for Senior Citizens has been included. 09.12.2019 ix. Maintenance of Helpline for senior

citizens has been included. 1. Davi Kopenawa wins Alternate Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Nobel Prize for protecting the Source- Indian Express Amazon rainforest 8. Global Climate Risk Index 2020 • Recently Yanomami shaman Davi • An environment think tank, Kopenawa winner of ‘Right Livelihood Germanwatch has released Global Award’ has frequently been Climate Risk Index 2020. threatened by the gold miners and Highlight of the index politicians who target the resources • According to the index, Japan is the inside the Yanomami territory. most affected followed by the About the Right Livelihood Award Philippines as well as Germany in • The Right Livelihood Award was 2018 followed by Madagascar, India created in 1980 by Swedish-German and Sri Lanka. philatelist Jakob von Uexkull.

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• The award is also known as the • They are also called foreign currency alternative Nobel Prize. reserves or foreign reserves. • The award honours courageous Purpose of Foreign exchange reserves people and organisations offering • Countries use their foreign exchange solutions to the root causes of global reserves to keep the value of their problems that the prize founder felt currencies at a fixed rate. were being ignored by the Nobel Prizes. • They are also held to ensure that a • Unlike most other international prizes, central government agency has the Right Livelihood Award has no backup funds if their national currency categories. rapidly devalues or becomes About Right Livelihood Award 2019 altogether insolvent. • The Swedish teenage climate activist • The critical function is to maintain Greta Thunberg along with other liquidity in case of an economic crisis. three other global leaders was • The Reserve Bank has always recently awarded the Right Livelihood maintained its foreign reserves which Award-2019. help to intervene in the foreign • These leaders are exchange market to curb volatility and o Brazilian indigenous leader does not target a particular level of Davi Kopenawa who secured the exchange rate. the land rights of the • The central bank supplies foreign Yanomami people. currency to keep markets steady. It o Chinese women's rights lawyer also buys the local currency to support Guo Jianmei. its value and prevent inflation. o Western Sahara human rights defender Aminatou Haidar. • It helps to provide confidence among About Yanomami Tribe the foreign investors that it's ready to • The Yanomami are the largest take action to protect their relatively isolated tribe in South investments. It will also prevent a America. sudden flight to safety and loss of capital for the country. • The Yanomami people live in large circular and communal houses called Components of Foreign exchange Yanos or Shabonos. reserves • They live in the rainforests and The Foreign exchange reserves of India mountainous regions of Northern consists of four categories which are Brazil and Southern Venezuela. Foreign Currency Assets Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture • They are in the form of the US dollar Source-Down to Earth and other major non-US global currencies. 2. India’s forex reserves cross $450 billion for the first time Special Drawing Rights • Recently for the first time, India’s • It is an international reserve asset forex reserves cross $450 billion due created by the IMF in 1969 to to back of strong inflows which supplement its member countries enabled the central bank to buy official reserves. dollars from the market. • The SDR basket includes five About Foreign Exchange reserves currencies namely the U.S. dollar, the euro, the Chinese renminbi, the • Foreign exchange reserves are the Japanese yen and the British pound foreign currencies held by a country's sterling. central bank. Gold

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• It is held by the Reserve Bank of India • It is the world’s first solar-powered with the intention to serve as a remote survey device that can be guarantee to redeem promises to pay installed at any frog pond and which depositors, noteholders or trading receives a 3G or 4G cellular network. peers or to secure a currency. How do these devices work? Reserve Tranche Position • With FrogPhone, researchers can simply “call” a frog habitat. • A reserve tranche is a portion of the • After a call is made to one of the required quota of currency each FrogPhones already on a site, the member country must provide to the device will take three seconds to International Monetary Fund that can receive it. be withdrawn at any time without any • During these few seconds, the interest during critical situations of a device’s temperature sensors will get country. activated and environmental data Topic- GS Paper 3 –Economics such as air temperature, water Source- Indian Express temperature and the battery voltage 3. ‘Bird Walk’ festival will be sent to the caller’s phone via a text message. • The being the first in the

State to organise a Bird Walk Festival

which aims to promote awareness of that part of nature which it protects. Benefits • The Bird Walk tour includes a visit to • The FrogPhone will allow researchers the scenic habitat of the Long-billed to dial these devices remotely, and vultures in Penchikalpet range, the analyse the data later. scavenger bird being the flagship • It will reduce costs and risks, species. including the negative impact of About Flagship species human presence on the field site, the • These are the species that have the researchers say. ability to capture the imagination of • These devices also allow for the public and induce people to monitoring of local frog populations support conservation action and/or to more frequently than before, which is donate funds. important because these populations • These are popular, charismatic are recognised as indicators of species that serve as symbols and environmental health. rallying points to stimulate Topic- GS Paper 3 –Science and conservation awareness and action. Technology • Examples of flagship species include Source- Indian Express the , the giant panda, 5. Paika Rebellion Asian elephant etc. Note: • President of India recently laid the foundation stone for a memorial to • Long-billed vulture is one of the mark 200 years of the Paika Rebellion, species of Indian Vulture which is listed as Critically Endangered in IUCN an uprising against colonial rule that red list. predates the rebellion of the sepoys in 1857. Topic- GS Paper 1 – Art and Culture Source- The Hindu About Paika Rebellion 4. FrogPhone • It is also called the Paika Bidroha • Researchers have developed a device which was an armed rebellion against called FrogPhone that will allow the British East India Company's rule scientists to monitor frogs in the wild. in Odisha in 1817.

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• It is also called the 1st war of • It used the same principle as a Independence that started in 1817 Computerized tomography or a much before the sepoy mutiny of magnetic resonance imaging machine 1857. could be used. • In 1817, some 400 Kondhs descended • A virtual autopsy is faster than a from the Ghumusar area to rise in traditional one — 30 minutes against revolt against the British. Bakshi 2½ hours. Jagabandhu Bidyadhar Mohapatra • “An autopsy (postmortem Bharamarbar Rai, the highest-ranking examination, autopsia cadaverum, or military general of Mukund Dev II, obduction) is a highly specialized and erstwhile holder of the lucrative surgical procedure that consists of a Rodanga estate led an army of Paikas thorough examination of a corpse to to join the uprising of the Kondhs. determine the cause and manner of • The Paikas set fire to government death and to evaluate any disease or buildings in Banapur killed policemen injury that may be present. and looted the treasury and the • The All India Institute of Medical British salt agent’s ship docked on the Science (AIIMS), New Delhi and Chilika. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) are working together on a • They then proceeded to Khurda and technique for postmortem without killed several British officials. Over the incising/dissecting the body. next few months, the Paikas fought • This technique is likely to become bloody battles at several places, but functional in the next six months.” the colonial army gradually crushed Benefits of Virtual Autopsy the revolt. • It can be employed as an alternative • Bakshi Jagabandhu escaped to the to standard autopsies for a broad and jungles and stayed out of reach of the systemic examination of the whole British until 1825 when he finally body as it is less time consuming, aids surrendered under negotiated terms. better diagnosis, and renders respect About Paikas to religious sentiments. • The Paikas were the traditional militia Background of Odisha. • According to a paper in The Lancet, • They served as warriors and were the advent of virtual autopsy owes to charged with policing functions during the “Longstanding public objection to peacetime. the dissection of cadavers (that) re- Note: emerged in the UK as a major issue • The Government also released the after organ retention scandals in the commemorative coin and postage late 1990s. stamp in memory of Paika Rebellion in • Some groups —notably Jewish and 2018. Muslim communities — have religious Topic- GS Paper 1 –History (Tribal objections to the autopsy, and Movement) demand for a minimally-invasive Source- Indian Express alternative has increased.” 6. Virtual autopsies Topic- GS Paper 3 – Science and • Health Minister told in Rajya Sabha Technology that India will be the first country in Source- TOI South and Southeast Asia to carry out 7. Definition of Farmer “virtual autopsies”. • Union Agriculture Minister failed to • In a virtual autopsy, doctors use reply in Parliament to a question that radiation to examine the innards to Who is a farmer? What is the reach a conclusion about the cause of government’s definition of a farmer, death.

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and how many farmers are there in Topic- GS Paper 2 – Governance India by that definition? Source- Indian Express • In a written response, the Minister 8. White Dwarfs System only noted that the Centre provided • Recently for the first time ever, income support to all farmer families astronomers have found indirect who owned cultivable land through evidence of a giant planet orbiting a PM-KISAN. white dwarf star (WDJ0914+1914). • The government’s ambiguity has • The system was found in the Cancer serious implications for the design and constellation. beneficiaries of the schemes meant to • The planet was not seen directly but help them, including its flagship PM- evidence of its presence was in the KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan form of a disc of gas (hydrogen, Samman Nidhi). oxygen and sulphur) formed due to its • Members of the parliament pointed evaporating atmosphere which was out that the number of landholdings detected by the Very Large Telescope did not necessarily equate with the of the European Southern number of farming households and Observatory in Chile. hence was not the right way to • This is the first evidence of an actual estimate the number of farmers in planet revolving around a white dwarf India. star. About National Policy for Farmers About White Dwarfs • There is a clear and comprehensive • A white dwarf, also called a definition available in the National degenerate dwarf, is a stellar core Policy for Farmers drafted by the remnant composed mostly of National Commission of Farmers electron-degenerate matter. headed by M.S. Swaminathan and • A white dwarf is very dense: its mass officially approved by the Centre in is comparable to that of the Sun, while 2007. its volume is comparable to that of • The policy states that for the purpose Earth. of this Policy, the term ‘Farmer’ will • A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes refer to a person actively engaged in from the emission of stored thermal the economic and/or livelihood energy; no fusion takes place in a activity of growing crops and white dwarf. producing other primary agricultural • The nearest known white dwarf is commodities. Sirius B, at 8.6 light-years, the • It will also include all agricultural smaller component of the Sirius operational holders, cultivators, binary star. agricultural labourers, sharecroppers, • There are currently thought to be tenants, poultry and livestock rearers, eight white dwarfs among the fishers, beekeepers, gardeners, hundred star systems nearest the pastoralists, non-corporate planters Sun. and planting labourers, as well as • The unusual faintness of white dwarfs persons engaged in various farming- was first recognized in 1910. related occupations such as Topic- GS Paper 3 –Science and sericulture, vermiculture and agro- Technology forestry. Source- Indian Express • The term will also include tribal families/persons engaged in shifting 10.12.2019 cultivation and in the collection, use and sale of minor and non-timber 1. Santhali language forest produce.

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• Santhali language has been recently population and the expected years of spoken for the first time in the Rajya schooling for children. Sabha. Highlights of the Report About Santhali language • Norway has been ranked the highest • Santhali is also known as Santali is the on the HDI scale followed by most widely-spoken language of the Switzerland and Ireland. Munda subfamily of the Austroasiatic • As per the report, South Asia was the languages, related to Ho and Mundari. fastest-growing region in human • It is recognized as the second state development progress witnessing a language of the states of 46% growth over 1990-2018, and West Bengal. followed by East Asia and the Pacific • It is spoken mainly in the Indian at 43%. states of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, India and HDI Mizoram, Odisha, Tripura and West • India ranks 129 out of 189 countries Bengal. on the 2019 HDI — up one slot from • It is also a recognized regional the 130th position last year. language of India per the Eighth • India’s HDI value increased by 50% Schedule of the Indian Constitution. (from 0.431 to 0.647), which places it Background above the average for other South • The Ol Chiki was created for Asian countries (0.642). Santali by Mayurbhanj poet • Among India's neighbours, Raghunath Murmu in 1925 and first Afghanistan (170) was ranked lower publicized in 1939. on the list. • Ol Chiki is alphabetic, sharing none of Inequality-adjusted HDI the syllabic properties of the other • India’s position drops by one position Indic scripts, and is now widely used to 130, losing nearly half the progress to write Santali in India. (.647 to .477) made in the past 30 Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture years. The Inequality-adjusted HDI indicates Source- PIB • percentage loss in HDI due to 2. United Nation development index inequalities. 2019 • The report notes that group-based • United Nations Development inequalities persist, especially Programme has recently released the affecting women and girls and no 2019 Human Development Report place in the world has gender /index, entitled “Beyond income, equality. beyond averages, beyond today: About Gender Inequality Index inequalities in human development in • The Gender Inequality Index (GII) is the 21st Century. an index for measurement of gender About the Human Development Index disparity that was introduced in the The HDI is the composite measure of every 2010 Human Development Report by country’s attainment in three basic the United Nations Development dimensions: Programme (UNDP). • Health measured by the life • According to the UNDP, this index is a expectancy at birth. composite measure to quantify the • Standard of living measured by the loss of achievement within a country gross national income (GNI) per due to gender inequality. capita. • It uses three dimensions to measure • Education levels calculated by mean opportunity cost: years of education among the adult 1. reproductive health 2. empowerment,

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3. labour market participation. • Section 376 provided for seven years • In the Gender Inequality Index of jail term to life imprisonment to (GII), India is at 122 out of 162 whoever commits the offence of rape. countries. • Section 228A makes it punishable to • Neighbours China (39), Sri Lanka disclose the identity of the victim of (86), Bhutan (99), Myanmar (106) certain offences including rape. were placed above India. Criminal Law (Amendment) Act in 2013: • The report notes that the world is not • The minimum punishment in case of on track to achieve gender equality by rape of women was increased from 2030 as per the UN’s Sustainable rigorous imprisonment of 7 years to Development Goals. 10 years, extendable to life • It forecasts that it may take 202 years imprisonment. to close the gender gap in economic • It provided for the death penalty in opportunity — one of the three rape cases that cause the death of the indicators of the GII. victim or leaves her in a vegetative Topic- GS Paper 2 –Important state. Report/index • It also created new offences, such as Source- The Hindu the use of criminal force on a woman 3. Explained: The laws on rape and with intent to disrobe, voyeurism and sexual crimes stalking. • In the Parliament, there has been a • Stalking was made punishable with up clamour to make the criminal justice to three years in jail. system tougher on an offender • The offence of acid attack was committing sexual crimes against increased to 10 years of women and children. imprisonment. Rape laws in India POCSO Act Indian Penal Code, 1860: • The POCSO Act, 2012 was enacted to • ‘Rape’ as a clearly defined offence was protect the children from offences of first introduced in the Indian Penal sexual assault, sexual harassment Code in 1860. and pornography. • The rape law in India even today • The Act has been amended in 2019. remains gender-specific, as the • The amendment provides for the perpetrator of the offence can only be gender-neutral application of a ‘man’. stringent punishment, including the • Section 375 of the IPC made death penalty, for aggravated punishable the act of sex by a man penetrative sexual assault of both girl with a woman if it was done against and boy below 16 years of age. her will or without her consent. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance • The definition of rape also included Source- Indian Express sex when her consent has been 4. Global arms industry rankings obtained by putting her or any person 2018 in whom she is interested, in fear of • According to a new report by the death or of hurt. Stockholm International Peace • Also, sex with or without her consent, Research Institute (SIPRI ), the when she is under 18 years is worldwide arms sales rose by nearly considered rape. five per cent in 2018. • However, under the exception, sexual • US manufacturers alone accounted for intercourse or sexual acts by a man 59 per cent of the market which is with his wife, the wife not being under dominated in this list. 15 years of age, is not rape. • Russia was second in the rankings for arms production, with 8.6 per cent of

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the market, just ahead of the United the scale and nature of the changes Kingdom on 8.4 per cent and France being driven by ocean deoxygenation. on 5.5 per cent. • Ocean deoxygenation is the About the Stockholm International expansion of oxygen minimum zones Peace Research Institute in the world's oceans as a • It is established in 1966 which is an consequence of anthropogenic independent international institute activities such as the nutrient runoff dedicated to research into conflict, from farm fertilizers into waterways armaments, arms control and • According to the findings of the study, disarmament. the levels of oxygen in the oceans fell • Based in Stockholm (Sweden) the by around 2 per cent from 1960 to Institute provides data, analysis and 2010. recommendations, based on open Impact of the deoxygenation sources, to policymakers, • In many parts of the world, including researchers, media and the interested along the western coast of the United public. States, fish have been dying en masse Topic- GS Paper 2 –International — a clear illustration of the ways in Institution which deoxygenation is choking the Source- PIB oceans. 5. Pashu Kisan Credit Cards • Also, the loss of oxygen in the oceans • Haryana government has recently can affect the planetary cycling of distributed the first Pashu Kisan credit elements such as nitrogen and cards in India. phosphorus which are essential for life • Haryana Government has set a target on Earth. to issue 10 lakh Pashu Kisan Credit • As oceans lose oxygen, they become cards by March 2021. more acidic, a phenomenon that has About Pashu Kisan credit cards resulted in some places in shellfish • Haryana is the first state to implement having their shells degraded or this scheme. dissolved — the so-called • As many as 101 livestock owners have “osteoporosis of the sea”. been handed over cards and can use Topic- GS Paper 3–Environment these to pay for animal feed, etc. Source- Down to Earth • They can repay within a stipulated 7. A platform for Science-based period. Ocean Solutions • Under the Scheme, banks give Rs • Chile has launched the Platform for 40783 for a cow and Rs 60249 for a Science-based Ocean Solutions in the buffalo. 25th session of the Conference of the • The credit amount for goat and sheep Parties (COP 25). each is Rs 4063. In the case of a pig, About Platform for Science-based Ocean it is Rs 16337 per pig. For Hens, it is Solutions Rs 720 per layer and Rs 161 per • The Platform aims to promote the broiler hen. necessity of addressing ocean and Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance climate issues synergistically and to (Important for state PCS) encourage the incorporation of the Source- AIR and the Tribune ocean in-country climate 6. IUCN report on decreasing commitments and strategies. oxygen in oceans • The Platform concept note outlines • International Union for Conservation the impacts of climate change on the of Nature (IUCN) has released a ocean and highlights potential marine report titled “Ocean deoxygenation: nature-based solutions. Everyone’s problem” which reports

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• The Platform will encourage and guide development with a speed of Mach 7- implementation of policies, 8 to boost aerial fast strike capability. programmes and projects to support • It is expected to be ready for testing evidence on climate change and its by 2020. impact on the ocean Topic- GS Paper 3–Defence COP 25 as the ‘Blue COP’ Source- PIB • Chile is promoting COP 25 as an opportunity to raise awareness on the 11.12.2019 importance of including an ocean component in climate action, 1. White Island volcano declaring COP 25 as the ‘Blue COP.’ • New Zealand's White Island volcano is • This is the first time when member showing increased seismic activity, countries have study, protection and putting recovery efforts on hold. sustainable management of oceans About White Island within a major climate action • White Island is also known as conference. Whakaari Island which is an active • COP 25 will feature several additional andesite stratovolcano. discussions and events on the • It is located on the east coast of the importance of protecting the ocean. North Island of New Zealand, in the • The Nairobi work programme on Bay of Plenty. impacts, vulnerability and adaptation • It is New Zealand's most active cone to climate change (NWP) has volcano. facilitated a group of experts who are • Whakaari erupted continually from consolidating knowledge and learning December 1975 until September on climate change. 2000, marking the world's longest Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment historic eruption episode, according to Source- Livemint/SDG knowledge Hub GeoNet, and also in 2012, 2016, and 8. Philippines likely to finalise 2019. BrahMos deal by next year Note: • The Philippines is set to become the • A stratovolcano is also known as a first country to buy the BrahMos composite volcano, is a conical cruise missile jointly developed by volcano built up by many layers India and Russia. (strata) of hardened lava, tephra, About BrahMos missile pumice and ash. • It is a medium-range ramjet Topic- GS Paper 1 –Geography supersonic cruise missile that can be Source- The Guardian launched from submarine, ships, 2. Green activist opposes coastal aircraft, or land. highway connecting Odisha with • It is the fastest supersonic cruise West Bengal missile in the world and also the • Green Nobel Prize winner Prafulla world's fastest anti-ship cruise missile Samantara has opposed the 415-km- in operation. long coastal highway from Digha in • It is a joint venture between the West Bengal to Gopalpur in south Russian Federation's NPO Odisha proposed by the Central and Mashinostroyeniya and India's State governments. Defence Research and Development • The proposed highway will pass Organisation (DRDO). through , Bhitarkanika Recent development and related eco-sensitive areas. • A hypersonic version of the missile, • This project will jeopardise the fragile BrahMos-II, is also presently under coastal environment of the Odisha

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coast and affect major biodiversities aided dispatch of field resources to like Chilika Lake and Bhitarkanika. the location of distress. • According to him, the project will also • 'Safe City Projects' have been destroy the natural mangrove forests sanctioned in the first Phase in 8 cities about 33% and lead to an increased such as Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, threat of sea erosion. Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, About Green Nobel Prize Lucknow, and Mumbai. • It is also known as Goldman National Database on Sexual Offenders Environmental Prize which is an • It has launched the (NDSO) to annual award established in 1989 by facilitate investigation and tracking of U.S. philanthropists Richard and sexual offenders across the country Rhoda Goldman. by law enforcement agencies. • It is awarded by Goldman One-Stop Centre (OSC) scheme Environmental Foundation, • It has been being implemented across headquartered in San Francisco, the country since April 1, 2015. California. • It is exclusively designed to provide • It honours grassroots integrated services such as medical environmentalists, who risk their lives aid, police assistance; legal to protect the environment and counselling/court case management, empower those people who are most psycho-social counselling and vulnerable to lose from industrial temporary shelter to women affected projects. by violence under one roof. Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment Topic- GS Paper 2 – Women related Source- The Hindu Issue 3. MHA lists measures taken by the Source- PIB government to prevent crime 4. ISRO to launch spy satellite, 9 against women foreign customer satellites • In a written reply to a question • Indian Space Research Organisation regarding crime against women, the (ISRO) is gearing up to launch the Minister listed various initiatives taken nation's latest satellite RISAT-2BR1 by the government for women's and nine foreign satellites from the safety across the country. Satish Dhawan Space Centre in These are: Sriharikota, on • The Criminal Law (Amendment), December 11. Act 2013 was enacted for effective • The other nine foreign satellites are - deterrence against sexual offences. - USA's multi-mission Lemur-4 • Further, the Criminal Law satellites, technology demonstration (Amendment) Act, 2018 was Tyvak-0129, earth imaging 1HOPSAT, enacted to prescribe even more Israel's remote sensing Duchifat-3, stringent penal provisions including Italy's search and rescue Tyvak-0092, the death penalty for rape of a girl and Japan's QPS-SAR - a radar below the age of 12 years. imaging earth observation satellite. • The Act also inter-alia mandates • These all 10 satellites will be sent to completion of investigation and trials space through the Polar Satellite within 2 months each. Launch Vehicle rocket (PSLV-C48) • Emergency Response Support About satellite RISAT-2BR1 System' provides a pan-India, single, • It is a radar imaging earth observation internationally recognized number satellite. (112) based system for all • It has a synthetic aperture radar to emergencies, with the computer- provide all-weather surveillance.

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• It will enhance India’s defence Topic-GS Paper 2–Governance (Imp. Bill) capabilities to monitor cross border Source- PIB activities. 6. WADA bans Russia from • RISAT-2BR1, short for “Radar international sporting events for Imaging Satellite-2B”, is the second in four years a series of satellites used to observe • The World Anti-Doping Agency, weather conditions on Earth using WADA, has banned Russia for four radar imagery. years after accusing Moscow of • It is equipped with an active sensor, falsifying data from an anti-doping the synthetic aperture radar (SAR), laboratory. can sense or ‘observe’ Earth in a • Now Russia will not participate in special way from space day and night, global sporting events, including the rain or cloud. 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Topic- GS Paper 3 –Science and Beijing Winter Olympics, after. Technology About the World Anti-Doping Agency Source- PIB • The World Anti-Doping Agency is a 5. The Recycling of Ships Bill 2019 foundation initiated by the • Parliament has passed a landmark International Olympic Committee “The Recycling of Ships Bill 2019’’ for based in Canada to promote, Safe and Environmentally Sound coordinate and monitor the fight Recycling of Ships in India. against drugs in sports. • The existing Shipbreaking Code • The agency's key activities include (revised), 2013 and the provisions of scientific research, education, the Hong Kong Convention, 2009 are development of anti-doping dovetailed in this Bill. capacities, and monitoring of the • Now, ships to be recycled in India will World Anti-Doping Code, whose need to obtain a ‘Ready for Recycling provisions are enforced by the Certificate’ in accordance with the UNESCO International Convention Hong Kong Convention. against Doping in Sport. The Key Benefits of the bill are as • The aims of the Council of Europe follows: Anti-Doping Convention and the • The bill will harbinger a significant United States Anti-Doping Agency are increased number of global ships also closely aligned with those of entering into Indian Shipyards for WADA. Recycling. Topic- GS Paper 2 –International • Recycling of Ships will boost business Institution & employment opportunities and Source- AIR strengthen India’s position in the 7. ASI identified 138 monuments as recycling industry. a “ Must See Monuments” • It will raise the brand value of our • Minister of State for Culture and Ships Recycling Yards located at Alang Tourism has informed Parliament in Gujarat, Mumbai Port, Kolkata Port about the "Must See Monuments" & Azhikkal in Kerela. identified by the Archaeological • 10% of the country’s Secondary steel Survey of India (ASI). needs, as an outcome of Recycling of Features of ‘Must Seen Monument’ Ships, will be met in an eco-friendly • The “Must See” list features manner. outstanding Indian monuments and • Ships recycling facilities will become archaeological sites, under the compliant to International standards protection of the ASI, including those and Ships will be recycled only in such that feature on UNESCO’s World authorised facilities. Heritage List.

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• Such monuments and sites display Source- PIB exceptionality in terms of arts and 10. Code on Social Security, 2019 architecture, planning and design, are introduces in Lok Sabha a unique testimony to the civilization • Bill aims to reduce the number of in the past and are outstanding types legislations on employees’ welfare of buildings showing exemplary and social security from 44 to just engineering skills. four. Note: • Earlier Government had released a • There are 38 World Heritage Sites in draft Social Security Code. India, out of which 22 cultural sites Features of the Draft Social Security including monuments/ buildings and Code,2019: caves are under the protection of the 1. Insurance, PF, life cover for ASI. unorganized sector employees: Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture Central Government shall formulate Source- Financial Express and notify, from time to time, suitable 8. International Seminar cum welfare schemes for unorganised Exhibition on Naval weapon workers on the matter relating to life Systems – NAVARMS-19 and disability cover; health and • The fourth edition of International maternity benefits; old age Seminar cum Exhibition on Naval protection; and any other benefit as Weapon Systems ‘NAVARMS-19’ is may be determined by the central scheduled at Institute for Defence government. Studies and Analysis, Development 2. Corporatization of EPFO and ESIC: Enclave, New Delhi. The pension, insurance and • The theme of NAVARMS is “Make in retirement saving bodies including India - Fight Category: EPFO and ESIC will be a body Opportunities and Imperatives” corporate. Labour minister, labour About NAVARMS secretary, the central PF • It is the only international seminar commissioner and Director General of and exhibition on Naval Weapon ESIC may not be by default the head Systems conducted in the country to of such organizations. invite all the stakeholders in life cycle 3. Benefits for Gig workers: “Central management of Naval Weapons and Government may formulate and provide a common platform to share notify, from time to time, suitable their views and concerns. social security schemes for gig • The past three editions of NAVARMS workers and platform workers” and organised in 2007, 2010 and 2013. such schemes would encompass Topic- GS Paper 3 –Defence issues like “life and disability cover”, Source- PIB “health and maternity benefits”, “old 9. Gandhi Encyclopedia age protection” and “any other benefit • Ministry of Culture has approved a as may be determined by the Central project for the development of Gandhi Government”. Paedia by National Council of Science 4. Maternity Benefits: Subject to the Museums, Kolkata for promotion of other provisions of this Code, every appropriate Gandhian philosophy. woman shall be entitled to, and her • The project had been approved on the employer shall be liable for, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma payment of maternity benefit at the Gandhi. rate of the average daily wage for the • ‘Gandhi Encyclopedia’ helps to spread period of her actual absence, that is to awareness in the society. say, the period immediately preceding Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture the day of her delivery, and any

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period immediately following that iv. Climate Policy day. • The CCPI 2020 results illustrate the 5. The Code on Social Security, 2019 main regional differences in climate once in place will merge eight protection and performance within the exiting labour laws including 57 evaluated countries and the EU. Employees’ Compensation Act, 1923; Highlights of the index Employees‘ State Insurance Act, • India was ranked 9th in the high 1948, Employees‘ Provident Funds category showing that emissions are and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, still comparatively low. 1952; Maternity Benefit Act, 1961; • India for the first time ranks among Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972; Cine the top 10 in CCPI. Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981; • The current levels of per capita Building and Other Construction emissions and energy use in India, Workers Cess Act, 1996 and ranked 9th in the “high category”, are Unorganized Workers‘ Social Security still comparatively low and, along with Act, 2008. ambitious 2030 targets, result in high Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance ratings for the greenhouse gas Source- AIR emissions and energy use categories • It found the U.S. ranks last, followed 12.12.2019 by Saudi Arabia and Australia. • China, the largest global emitter 1. Climate Change Performance slightly improves its ranking in the Index 2020 index to 30th place. • Climate Change Performance Index • While only two G20 countries, the UK (CCPI), 2020 has been released at (7th) and India (9th), are ranked in UNFCC CoP25 in Madrid, Spain the high category, eight G20 countries About the Climate Change Performance are remaining in the worst category of • The CCPI is an independent the index. monitoring tool of countries’ climate protection performance which is Topic- GS Paper 3–Environment published annually since 2005. Source- The Guardian • The index is developed by Germanwatch, New Climate Institute 2. World economy is slowing down, and Climate Action Network. UNCTAD’s new statistics say • It aims to enhance transparency in • United Nations Conference on Trade international climate politics and and Development’s (UNCTAD) has enables the comparability of climate released its Handbook of Statistics protection efforts and progress made report 2019. by individual countries. • The UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics • It aims to enhance transparency in 2019 provides a wide range of international climate politics and statistics and indicators relevant to enables comparison of climate the analysis of international trade, protection efforts and progress made investment, maritime transport and by individual countries development. • The ranking results are defined by a Highlights of the Statistics country’s aggregated performance in • According to UNCTAD's 2019 14 indicators within the four Handbook of Statistics, real global categories economic output or gross domestic i. GHG Emissions product is expected to grow by 2.3 per ii. Renewable Energy cent, 0.7 percentage points less as iii. Energy Use compared to last year.

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• The report predicts that merchandise • Parliament has passed the Citizenship trade will drop by 2.4 per cent to $19 (Amendment), Bill trillion for 2019-2020. • The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill • The drop is significant when compared 2019 will amends The Citizenship Act, to the growth in the last few years — 1955 which regulates who may 9.7 per cent in 2018 and 10.7 per cent acquire Indian citizenship and on what in 2017. grounds. • Trade-in services are also predicted to Related Information slow. • The Bill seeks to grant Indian Citizenship to persons belonging to • The report also highlighted the rising Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and merchandise trade deficit of the Christian communities who have developed economies as a group since migrated to India after facing 2016. persecution on grounds of religion in • According to the report, the values of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the goods exported exceed the value Bangladesh. of the goods imported, especially for • The Bill makes applicants belonging to developing and transition economies. the said communities from the About the United Nations Conference on aforesaid countries eligible for Trade and Development citizenship by naturalisation if they • It is one of the principal organs of the can establish their residency in India United Nations General Assembly for 5 years instead of the existing 11 (UNGA) dealing with trade, years. investment, and development issues. • The provisions of the amendments to • It was established in 1964 and its the Act would not apply to the tribal permanent secretariat is in Geneva. area of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram • Its primary objective is to formulate or Tripura as included in the Sixth policies relating to all aspects of Schedule to the Constitution and the development including trade, aid, area covered under ‘The Inner Line’ transport, finance and technology notified under the Bengal Eastern which ordinarily meets once in four Frontier Regulation, 1873. years • Manipur would be brought under the Reports ILP regime. UNCTAD produces a number of topical • The Bill seeks to amend section 7D of reports, including: the act to empower the Central • The Trade and Development Report Government to cancel registration as • The Trade and Environment Review Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) • The World Investment Report Cardholder in case of violation of any • The Least Developed Countries Report provisions of the Citizenship Act or • UNCTAD Statistics any other law for the time being in • The Information Economy Report force. • The Review of Maritime Transport Concerns about the bill • The International Accounting and • The bill makes illegal migrants eligible Reporting Issues Annual Review for citizenship on the basis of religion • The Technology and Innovation – a move that may violate Article 14 Report of the Indian Constitution, which Topic- GS Paper 3–Economics guarantees right to equality. Source- Economics Times Topic- GS Paper 2–Governance 3. Parliament passes the Citizenship Source- The Hindu (Amendment) Bill 2019 4. Disha Bill: To ensure rape verdicts in 21 days

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• The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet has mode or any other form), it has been recently cleared the A.P. Disha Bill, proposed to sentence the guilty to 2019 (A.P. Criminal Law imprisonment for up to two years on (Amendment) Bill, 2019). first conviction and four years on subsequent convictions. • Under Section 354-F (molestation / sexual assault), imprisonment is sought to be increased to a minimum of five years and a maximum seven years. Topic- GS Paper 2– Governance Source- The Hindu 5. USMCA: Agreement reached on NAFTA trade deal replacement • The US, Mexico and Canada have finalised a trade deal called US-

Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA Highlights of the bill )that will replace the 25-year-old • The bill helps the way for awarding the North American Free Trade death penalty for the offences of rape Agreement (NAFTA). and gang-rape and expediting the About North American Free Trade verdict in trials of such cases to 21 Agreement days. • The North American Free Trade • The introduction of the A.P. Special Agreement is an agreement signed by Court for Specified Offences against Canada, Mexico, and the United Women and Children Bill, 2019, for States, creating a trilateral trade bloc dealing with offences against women in North America. and children, including rape and • The agreement came into force on gang-rape, acid attacks, stalking, January 1, 1994, and superseded the voyeurism, sexual harassment and 1988 Canada–United States Free cases under the Protection of Children Trade Agreement between the United from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. States and Canada. • The A.P. Criminal Law (Amendment) • The NAFTA trade bloc is one of the Bill, 2019, envisages the completion largest trade blocs in the world by of investigation and trial in seven and gross domestic product. 14 working days respectively, where About US-Mexico-Canada Agreement there is adequate conclusive • The new United States-Mexico- evidence, and reducing the total Canada Agreement (USMCA) is a judgment time to 21 days from the mutually beneficial win for North existing four months. American workers, farmers, ranchers, • The proposed laws seek to amend and businesses. relevant provisions in the Indian Penal Agreement highlights include: Code, 1860, and the Code of Criminal • Creating a more level playing field for Procedure, 1973. American workers, including • It also introduces Sections 354-E and improved rules of origin for 354-F in the IPC for dealing with automobiles, trucks, other products, harassment of women through social and disciplines on currency media and sexual assault of children manipulation. respectively. • Benefiting American farmers, • Under Section 354-E (harassment of ranchers, and agribusinesses by women through social media, digital modernizing and strengthening food

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and agriculture trade in North • Until now, experts from more than America. eighty countries have contributed • Supporting a 21st Century economy towards framing the test questions, through new protections for U.S. mostly from countries that have intellectual property, and ensuring already participated in the test. opportunities for trade in U.S. What is the aim of the test? services. • The aim of the test is not to rank the • New chapters covering Digital Trade, countries which volunteer to Anticorruption, and Good Regulatory participate in the evaluation but to Practices, as well as a chapter devoted give a comprehensive analysis of how to ensuring that Small and Medium- education systems are working in Sized Enterprises benefit from the terms of preparing its students for Agreement. higher education and subsequent Topic- GS Paper 2–International employment. Relation • After collecting results from across the Source- BBC world, experts translate these results into data points which are evaluated 6. Explained: What is PISA test and to score the countries. why is it significant? How has India performed in the PISA • Recently the students of Chandigarh’s test? government schools buckle up to • India has participated in the PISA test represent India in the Programme for only once before, in 2009. International Student Assessment • India ranked 72nd out of 73 countries, test in 2021. outranking only Kyrgistan. What is PISA? • Since then, India has strayed away • It is initiated by the Organization for from the test until now, for students Economic Cooperation and from Chandigarh will be sitting for the Development (OECD), an test in 2021. intergovernmental economic • Students from Navodaya Vidyalayas organisation with 36 member and Kendra Vidyalayas will take the countries. three-hour-long PISA test in 2021. • The Programme for International Topic- GS Paper 3–Education Student Assessment (PISA) is a study Source- Indian Express done to produce comparable data on 7. Partial credit guarantee scheme education policy and outcomes across • The Union Cabinet has approved a countries. partial credit guarantee scheme for • The study, which began in the year public sector banks (PSBs) to 2000, conducts a test evaluating 15- purchase high-rated pooled assets year-olds in member and non- from financially sound NBFCs and member countries to assess the housing finance companies. quality and inclusivity of school About Partial credit guarantee scheme systems in these countries. • The scheme has been announced by • The PISA test is held every three Finance Minister in the Budget speech years and the next test will be held in for 2019-20 that the government will 2021, in which students from provide one-time six months' partial government schools in Chandigarh credit guarantee to PSBs for first loss will represent India. of up to 10 per cent for purchase of Who sets the test? high-rated pooled assets of financially • The test is set by educational experts sound NBFCs. from across the world. • PSBs can purchase high-rated pooled assets from financially sound Non-

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Banking Financial Companies About (NBFCs)/Housing Finance Companies • Papikonda National Park is located in (HFCs), with the amount of overall the Papi Hills in East Godavari and guarantee provided by the West Godavari districts of Andhra government till the first loss of up to Pradesh. 10 per cent of fair value of assets • It is an Important Bird and being purchased by banks or Rs Biodiversity Area and home to some 10,000 crore, whichever is lower. endangered species of flora and • The scheme would cover NBFCs/HFCs fauna. that may have slipped into SMA-0 • No part of Papikonda remains outside category during the one year period East and West Godavari districts after prior to August 1, 2018, and asset 2014 and after the construction of pools rated "BBB+" or higher. Polavaram Dam. • SMA-0 accounts are the special Topic- GS Paper 3–Environment mention accounts (SMA) against Source- The Hindu which the principal or interest or any other amount wholly or partially is 13.12.2019 overdue between 1-30 days. Topic- GS Paper 3–Economics 1. Parliament passes the bill to Source- Economics Times extend SC-ST quota in 8. Nanavati Commission legislatures • The Gujarat government tabled in the • The Constitution provides for Assembly the report of the Nanavati reservation of seats for Scheduled Commission, which it had appointed Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes to probe the burning of the Sabarmati (STs) and representation of the Express in 2002 and the subsequent Anglo-Indian community by riots in the state. nomination, in Lok Sabha and About Nanavati Commission Legislative Assemblies of states. • It was set up in 2002 following the burning of the Sabarmati Express • The Constitution (126th) Amendment near Godhra station on February 27, Bill seeks to extend the reservation 2002. quota for the SC and ST community • Initially, a one-judge Commission by another 10 years, till January 25, headed by Justice K G Shah, it was 2030. The bill, however, does not later expanded to be headed by propose an extension of reservation retired Justice G T Nanavati. quota for the Anglo-Indian • The Commission inquired into events community, which is also set to expire leading to the Sabarmati Express on January 25. incident, and subsequent incidents of About Anglo Indians violence in the state in which nearly • The term Anglo Indian was first 1,200 persons had been killed defined in the Government of India (including the 59 in the train Act, 1935. carnage). • The article 366 defines Anglo-Indian Topic- GS Paper 2–Governance as a person whose father or any of Source- The Hindu whose other male progenitors in the 9. Papikonda National Park male line is or was of European • The Andhra Pradesh Forest descent but who is domiciled within Department and experts from the territory of India and is or was and northeastern States will begin the born within such territory of parents first survey of butterfly species in the habitually resident therein and not Papikonda National Park (PNP).

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established there for temporary the 12-kilometre models used by the purposes only. India Meteorological Department to Anglo Indians in Parliament and generate forecasts. Legislative Assemblies • For its forecasts, IBM relies on a global • According to Article 331, the President network of sensors — automatic can nominate two members of the weather station, data buoys and Anglo-Indian community to the Lok barometric pressure data from Sabha if the community is not cellphones of users who’ve adequately represented. downloaded the application. • Weather forecasts will be available to • Article 333: It states that the individuals for free download and can Governor of a State may if he is of the be used by farmers. opinion that the Anglo Indian • The forecast engine will also be used community needs representation in to provide custom forecasts for the Legislative Assembly of the State energy companies, consumer brands, and is not adequately represented insurance businesses and satellite therein; nominate one member of imagery analysts. that community to the Assembly. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance • Article 334 of the Constitution lays Source- PIB down the provisions for the 2. Licypriya Kangujam: An Indian reservation of seats for the SCs and Greta Thunberg the STs and the representation of the • Licypriya is one of the youngest Anglo-Indian community and those speakers at the 2019 United Nations provisions will cease to have an effect Framework Convention on Climate on January 25, 2020, if not extended Change being held in Madrid Spain further has recently gave the world a glimpse • The reservation of the Anglo Indian of her resolve as she urged global community in the Legislative bodies leaders to "act now against climate was extended for 40 years in 1949 change". through the insertion of Article About Licypriya Kangujam 334(b). • Licypriya Kangujam is a child • National Commission for SCs (Article environmental activist from India. 338) will investigate all matters • In 2019 she was awarded the World relating to the Constitutional and Children's Peace Prize, the India other legal safeguards for the Anglo- Peace Prize and the Dr A. P. J. Abdul Indian community and report to the Kalam Children’s Award. President upon their working. SUKIFU (Survival Kit for the Future) Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance • Licypriya brings out a symbolic device Source- PIB called SUKIFU (Survival Kit for the 2. IBM’s weather forecast system: Future) to curb the air pollution on 4 IBM GRAF October 2019. • International technology company • SUKIFU is almost a zero budget kit IBM plans to make a high-resolution designed from trash to provide fresh weather forecast model that will also air into our body when the pollution rely on user-generated data to rate is high. improve the accuracy of forecasts • This wearable plant in recognition of available in India. the Green Movement for air pollution. About IBM GRAF Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment • IBM GRAF, as the forecast system is Source- The Hindu called, can generate forecasts at a resolution of 3 kilometres which is a significantly higher resolution than

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3. V.S. Sirpurkar Panel: To probe the Minorities, Backward Classes, killing of Telangana rape-murder Protection of Child Rights) and Chief accused Commissioner for Persons with • The Supreme Court set up an inquiry Disabilities serve as ex officio commission led by its former judge, members. Justice V.S. Sirpurkar, to probe the Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance circumstances of the police Source- The Hindu ‘encounter’ killing of four persons 4. Odisha awarded 'World Habitat accused in the gang-rape and murder Award' for Jaga Mission of a veterinarian in Hyderabad. • Odisha has won the 'World Habitat • The Bench gave the Inquiry Award 2019, global recognition for its Commission six months to complete ambitious initiative -- Jaga Mission. the probe. About the World Habitat Award • The Commission would sit in • This award is given by World Habitat, Hyderabad. a UK-based organization, in • The apex court has, meanwhile, partnership with United Nation (UN)- stayed the proceedings in the Habitat, every year, in recognition of Telangana High Court and the innovative, outstanding, and National Human Rights Commission revolutionary ideas, projects, and into the incident. programmes from across the world. About National Human Rights About the Jaga Mission Commission of India • Odisha Liveable Habitat Mission • The National Human Rights "JAGA" is a society under the Housing Commission (NHRC) of India is a & Urban Development Department, Statutory public body constituted Government of Odisha. under the Protection of Human Rights • Jaga Mission is a slum land titling Ordinance of 1993. project, benefiting a million urban- • It was given a statutory basis by the poor living in the slums. Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 • It aims to transform the slums into (TPHRA). liveable habitat with all necessary • The NHRC is the National Human civic infrastructure and services at par Rights Commission of India, with the better off areas within the responsible for the protection and same urban local body (ULB) and to promotion of human rights. continuously improve the standard of Composition the infrastructure and services and The NHRC consists of: access to livelihood opportunities. • A Chairperson, who has been a Chief • This Mission also aims at leveraging Justice of India or a Judge of the and converging various schemes/ Supreme Court. programs/ funding opportunities by • One member who is, or has been, a strengthening the collaboration Judge of the Supreme Court of India among various Departments/ Urban • One member who is, or has been, the Bodies/ Non-Government Chief Justice of a High Court Organisations/ Financial Institutions/ • Three Members, out of which at least International Agencies/ Trusts/ one shall be a woman to be appointed Communities and other Stakeholders. from amongst persons having • It will also provide advisory support to knowledge of, or practical experience the Government of Odisha to examine in, matters relating to human rights options for policy reforms required for • In addition, the Chairpersons of the sustainable transformation of lives National Commissions (Scheduled of urban poor. Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Women, Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance

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Source- Indian Express • The bill introduces additional 5. Explained: The Nehru-Liaquat thresholds for Financial Creditors Agreement of 1950, referred to in represented by an authorized the CAB debate representative due to large numbers • Home Minister has recently refered to in order to prevent frivolous triggering the Nehru-Liaquat Pact that was of Corporate Insolvency Resolution signed in Delhi in 1950 during the Process (CIRP). ongoing debate on The Citizenship • It also removes bottlenecks, Amendment Bill (CAB) in Parliament. streamlines Corporate Insolvency About the Nehru-Liaquat pact Resolution Process (CIRP) and protects last-mile funding in order to • The Nehru-Liaquat Pact, also known boost investment in financially as the Delhi Pact, was a bilateral distressed sectors of the country. agreement signed between India and Pakistan in order to provide a • The amended Act would also ensure framework for the treatment of that the substratum of the business of minorities in the two countries. a corporate debtor is not lost. • The refugees were allowed to return • It can continue as a going concern by to dispose of their property, abducted clarifying that the licences, permits, women and looted property were to concessions, clearances cannot be be returned, forced conversions were terminated or suspended or not unrecognized, and minority rights renewed during the moratorium were confirmed. period. • Minority commissions were set up in About Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, both countries. 2016 • More than one million refugees • The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, migrated from East Pakistan (now 2016 (IBC) is the bankruptcy law of Bangladesh) to West Bengal in India. India which seeks to consolidate the existing framework by creating a • The need for such a pact was felt by single law for insolvency and minorities in both countries following bankruptcy. Partition, which was accompanied by massive communal rioting. • The bankruptcy code is a one-stop solution for resolving insolvencies Topic- GS Paper 1 –History which previously was a long process Source- Indian Express that did not offer an economically 6. Cabinet approves Insolvency and viable arrangement. Bankruptcy Code (Second • The code aims to protect the interests Amendment) Bill, 2019 of small investors and make the • The Union Cabinet has approved the process of doing business less proposal to make amendments in the cumbersome. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, • The Code outlines separate insolvency 2016 (code), through the Insolvency resolution processes for individuals and Bankruptcy Code (Second and companies. Amendment) Bill, 2019. • It acts as a regulator by establishing • The amendments aim to remove the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board certain difficulties being faced during of India. insolvency resolution process to • The Board has 10 members, which realise the objects of the code and to includes representatives from the further ease doing of business. Ministries of Finance and Law, and the Reserve Bank of India which oversees Highlights of the Bill the insolvency proceedings in the

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country and regulates the entities entry of women in the Sabarimala registered below it. temple under police protection. • The Code creates time-bound • The top court said the issue was very processes for insolvency resolution of emotive and it did not want the companies and individuals. situation to become explosive. • These processes should be completed • A bench, headed by Chief Justice S A within 180 (extended to 330) days. Bobde, said the balance of • The resolution processes have to be convenience required that no orders conducted by licensed insolvency are passed in the mater today as the professionals (IPs). issue had already been referred to a • This IPs is members of insolvency seven-judge bench. professional agencies (IPAs). • The apex court said it would Topic- GS Paper 3 –Economics endeavour to constitute the larger Source- Indian Express bench at the earliest to hear the 7. Cabinet clears social security pact matter. with Brazil • The bench said though there was no • The government has approved a stay on the earlier judgment allowing social security agreement between entry of women of all ages into the India and Brazil. shrine, it is equally true that it is not • This would enable workers of both final. nations to avoid making double social Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance security contributions while their stay Source- AIR in each other's territory. Why this is Important? 16.12.2019 • India has been signing bilateral social security agreements (SSAs) with 1. Inner Line Permit regime other countries in order to extended to Manipur i. protect the interests of Indian • The Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime professionals/skilled workers working has been extended to Manipur after abroad for short durations the President assent. ii. enhance the competitiveness of About Inner Line Permit Indian companies. • Inner Line Permit (ILP) is an official iii. easy remittance of benefits travel document issued by the (exportability); Government of India to allow inward iv. aggregating the contribution periods travel of an Indian citizen into a (in two countries) to prevent loss of protected area for a limited period. benefits (totalisation). • It is obligatory for Indian citizens from • The SSA will cover the territories of outside those states to obtain a permit India and Brazil for entering into the protected state. Note: • The document is an effort by the • As on date, India has signed a social government to regulate movement to security pact with 18 countries. certain areas located near the Topic- GS Paper 2 –International international border of India. Relation Background Source- TOI • This is an offshoot of the Bengal 8. Sabarimala: SC declines to pass any Eastern Frontier Regulations, 1873, order for safe entry of women which protected Crown's interest in • Supreme Court has declined to pass the tea, oil and elephant trade by any order on the pleas by two women prohibiting "British subjects" from activists seeking a direction to the entering into these "Protected Areas. Kerala government to ensure safe

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• The word "British subjects" was application which will ensure high replaced by Citizen of India in 1950. accuracy and data security. • ILP was originally created by the Topic- GS Paper 3 –Economics British to safeguard their commercial Source- PIB interests; it continues to be used in 3. Explained: What is the Assam India, officially to protect tribal Accord that is fueling protests in cultures in northeastern India. the state? • There are different kinds of ILP's, one • Recently the Citizenship Amendment for tourists and others for people who Bill (CAB) passed by Parliament has intend to stay for long-term periods, repeatedly flagged the alleged often for employment purposes. violation of the Assam Accord by the Note: new law. • Manipur is the fourth state after About Assam Accord , Nagaland and • The Assam Accord was a Mizoram where the ILP regime has Memorandum of Settlement signed by been made applicable. the Governments of India and Assam, Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance and the All Assam Students’ Union Source- PIB (AASU) and the All Assam Gana 2. Economic Census Flagged off in Sangram Parishad (AAGSP) in New Delhi Delhi on August 15, 1985. • The Seventh Economic Census was • The signing of the Accord led to the launched in the National Capital conclusion of a six-year agitation that Territory of Delhi. was launched by AASU in 1979, • Delhi is the 26th state where the demanding the identification and survey has been launched, while the deportation of illegal immigrants. process is already on in 20 states and What was agreed upon in the Assam 5 UTs. Accord? • The Ministry of Statistics and Program • At the heart of the Accord was the Implementation (MoSPI) has tied up “Foreigners Issue” (Clause 5), and with Common Service Centre (CSC), “Safeguards and Economic an SPV under Ministry of Electronics Development” (Clauses 6 and 7). and IT, to carry out the 7th National • There were some “Other Issues” Economic Census. (Clauses 8-12), and a section on About Economic Census “Restoration of Normalcy” (Clauses 13 • The process of the Economic Census and 14). was first held in 1978. • The Home Ministry was the nodal • This is the Seventh Census which will Ministry for the implementation of the provide disaggregated information on Accord. various operational and structural • In 1986, a new Department was set aspects of all establishments in the up in the Government of Assam, country. called “Implementation of Assam • The census will provide valuable Accord Department”, to implement insights into geographical the various clauses of the spread/clusters of economic activities, Memorandum of Settlement. ownership pattern; persons engaged Who are the Foreigners according to etc. of the establishments engaged in accord? economic activity. • Foreigners who “came to Assam after • The seventh economic census is 1.1.1966 (inclusive) and upto 24th unique because for the first time the March 1971 shall be detected in entire Census is being conducted on a accordance with the provisions of the digital platform by the use of an Foreigners Act, 1946, and The

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Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964”, • Minister of State for Jal Shakti & Social and their names “will be deleted from Justice and Empowerment has the electoral rolls in force”. informed about the Atal Bhujal Yojana • “Such persons”, it was agreed, “will be in Lok Sabha. required to register themselves before About Atal Bhujal Yojana the Registration Officers of the • It is a Central Sector Scheme, for respective districts in accordance with sustainable management of the provisions of the Registration of groundwater resources with Foreigners Act, 1939, and The community participation. Registration of Foreigners Rules, • The scheme is funded by the 1939”. Government of India and World Bank • Under Clause 5.8, “Foreigners who in a pattern of 50:50. came to Assam on or after March 25, • It will give emphasis to recharging 1971, shall continue to be detected; groundwater sources and ensure deleted and practical steps shall be efficient use of water by involving taken to expel such foreigners.” people at the local level. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance • The identified over-exploited and Source- Indian Express water-stressed areas for the 4. Wi-Fi Calling implementation of the scheme fall in • Bharti Airtel, which recently removed the States of Gujarat, Haryana, its FUP (Fair Usage Policy) on calls to , , other networks, has introduced , Rajasthan and Uttar over Wi-Fi (VoWiFi), a first for India. Pradesh. • Airtel Wi-Fi calling claims to enhance • The States have been selected indoor voice calling experience for according to a number of criteria, smartphone customers. including About the Wifi calling i. degree of groundwater exploitation • Wi-Fi Calling is aimed especially for and degradation areas where cellular networks are not ii. established legal and regulatory strong. instruments • It uses the high-speed Internet iii. institutional readiness connection, available via broadband, iv. experience in implementing initiatives to make and receive high definition related to groundwater management. (HD) voice calls. Significance • Users don’t have to pay extra for • This scheme will help those who are in these calls as it is using a Wi-Fi need of constant groundwater supply network. especially farmers who have been Is it different from WhatsApps Calling? hard impacted by an acute shortage • This is not much different from a voice of groundwater for the past several call using WhatsApp or any other years. over-the-top messaging platform, but • Its focus is primarily on the here the call is from one number to involvement of communities and another, and not using an app. convergence with different water • Since these calls use stable Wi-Fi schemes. connections, call drops are not • Its major component is making expected to be a problem. socially responsible and bringing Topic- GS Paper 3 –Science and about behaviour change to manage Technology groundwater resource. Source- Livmint • It will help improve overall outlook 5. Atal Bhujal Yojana towards water resource. Topic- GS Paper 3 –Government Scheme

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Source- PIB • Completing the accessibility audit of 6. Targets missed, Accessible India at least 25-50 most important campaign’s deadline extended government buildings in 50 cities and • The Ministry of Social Justice and making them fully accessible by the Empowerment has informed the Lok end of December 2015. Sabha that the deadline for the • Making 50% of all the government government’s Accessible India buildings of NCT and all the State campaign has been extended to capitals fully accessible by December March 2020, due to “slow progress”. 2018; • The decision was taken by the Central • Completing the accessibility audit of Advisory Board chaired by Social 50% of government buildings and Justice and Empowerment Minister. making them fully accessible in 10 • The original deadlines under the most important cities/towns of States Accessible India campaign were July not covered in targets (i) and (ii) by 2016 for conducting an accessibility December 2019. audit of 25-50 of the most important • Transport accessibility component of government buildings in 50 cities and Accessible India Campaign aims to making them completely accessible make all international airports fully by March 2018. accessible immediately and domestic About Accessible India Campaign airports by March 2018. • It is a nationwide flagship campaign of • they are perceived as gods, spirits, or the Department of Empowerment of ancestral beings in many religions Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), worldwide. Ministry of Social Justice and Topic- GS Paper 2 –Social Empowerment Empowerment. Source- The Hindu • It was launched by the Prime Minister on International Day of Persons with 7. The European Green Deal Disabilities on 3rd December 2015. (climate-neutrality) 2050 • The aim of the Campaign is to make a • EU leaders claimed to have reached a barrier-free and conducive solid agreement on achieving climate- environment for Divyangjans all over neutrality by 2050 in CoP25 in Madrid, the country. Spain. • The campaign is based on the • The deal aims to be a comprehensive principles of the Social Model of strategy document which puts the Disability, that disability is caused by European Union (EU) on a trajectory the way society is organised, and not toward “no net emissions of the person’s limitations and greenhouse gases in 2050 and where impairments. economic growth is decoupled from • For creating universal accessibility for resource use.” Persons with Disabilities, the About the European Green Deal campaign has been divided into three It is highly conscious of this fact, announcing verticals: a number of climate-focused action points i. Built Environment over the next 12 months, some of which are: ii. Transport and Information • Proposal on a European ‘Climate Law’ iii. Communication Technology (ICT) enshrining the 2050 climate neutrality ecosystem. objective (March 2020). Targets • Comprehensive plan to increase the The Built Environment Accessibility EU 2030 climate target to at least 50 component of Accessible India Campaign per cent and towards 55 per cent in a entails following targets: responsible way (Summer 2020)

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• Assessment of the final National About the International Geological Energy and Climate Plans (June 2020) Congress • Strategy on offshore wind • It is popularly described as the • Initiatives to stimulate lead markets Olympics of Geosciences which is held for climate-neutral and circular once in four years. products in energy-intensive • It was founded as a non-profit industrial sectors (from 2020) scientific and educational organization • Proposal to support zero-carbon steel- in 1878. making processes by 2030 • However, it came under the aegis of • Legislation on batteries in support of the International Union of Geological the Strategic Action Plan on Batteries Sciences (IUGS) in 1961. and the circular economy (October • The first session of IGC assembled in 2020) 1878 in France with an aim to provide • Launch of the European Climate Pact the global geological community with (March 2020). an opportunity to create an About Climate neutrality organizational framework for meeting • Carbon neutrality, or having a net- at regular intervals. zero carbon footprint, refers to Note: achieving net-zero carbon dioxide • India is the only Asian country to host emissions by balancing carbon the event twice. In 1964, India had emissions with carbon removal (often hosted it for the first time, which was through carbon offsetting) or simply the 22nd IGC. eliminating carbon emissions altogether (the transition to the "post- Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture carbon economy"). Source- AIR India’s Nationally Determined 9. StrandHogg Contributions under the Paris • The Union Home Ministry has sent an Agreement: alert to all States warning them about • reduce the emissions intensity of its the vulnerability of the Android GDP by 33% to 35% by 2030 from operating system to a bug called 2005 level, ‘StrandHogg’. • increase the total cumulative About the StrandHogg electricity generation from fossil-free • It allows real-time malware energy sources to 40% by 2030, applications to pose as genuine • Create additional carbon sink of 2.5 to applications and access user data of 3 billion tons through additional forest all kind. and tree cover. • This malware can then potentially Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment listen to their conversations, access Source- Down to Earth photo album, read/send messages, 8. 36th International Geological make calls, record conversations and Congress get login credentials to various • India is gearing up to host the 36th accounts. International Geological Congress • Such malware can access include (IGC) in the New Delhi 2020. private images, files, contact details, • The theme of the forthcoming call logs, and location information. conference is ‘Geosciences: The • It can activate the microphone, Basic Science for a Sustainable allowing a hacker in a remote location Development to listen to live conversations. • Geological Survey of India is the nodal Topic- GS Paper 3 –Science and agency for organizing the 36th Technology International Geological Congress. Source- Economics Times

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10. The World’s oldest cave Painting the country and the information • According to a study by a team of stored would be in the government- Australian and Indonesian based cloud — NIC. researchers a 44,000-year-old cave • It is being packaged for employees of art in found in Indonesia which Central and state government appears to be the earliest known departments and organisations for pictorial record of story-telling. intra and inter organisation • This cave painting found on communications. Indonesia’s island of Sulawesi, • It is designed and developed by the depicting human-like figures hunting Kerala unit of National Informatics animal. Centre (NIC). About the Painting • It is being developed as a secure • The painting, found in a limestone Indian alternative without the security cave in 2017, was dated to nearly concerns attached to apps hosted 44,000 years ago using uranium- abroad or those owned by foreign series analysis. entities. • It shows eight therianthropes, or • Like WhatsApp, GIMS employs end- humans with animal characteristics, to-end encryption for one-to-one appearing to chase and kill six animals messaging. such as the warty pigs native to the Topic- GS Paper 3–IT and Computer island, using what seem to be spears Source- PIB and ropes. 2. Various initiatives to develop • Therianthropes occur in the folklore or world-class research facilities in narrative fiction of almost every India: HRD Minister modern society and • Government has taken following Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture initiatives to promote research in the Source- AIR field of science & engineering and to develop world-class research 17.12.2019 facilities. Prime Minister Research Fellowship: 1. Government Instant Messaging • Under this scheme, meritorious System students of IITs, IIITs, NITs and • The government is testing a prototype IISERs, after completing their B.Tech of an Indian equivalent of popular programme can straightaway get messaging platforms, such as admission in the PhD programme at WhatsApp and Telegram, for secure IITs and IISc. internal use called codenamed GIMS • They are given fellowship @ Rs or Government Instant Messaging 70,000/- p.m. for the first two years, System. Rs. 75,000/- p.m. for 3rd year and Rs. • This application comes amid the 80,000/- p.m. in 4th & 5th year. recent controversy over the WhatsApp breach after the Indian Impacting Research, Innovation and Express first reported that some Technology (IMPRINT): Indian users’ mobile devices were • It is a flagship national initiative, targeted through spyware called launched in 2015, of the Government Pegasus. (jointly by IITs and IISc Joint About the Government Instant Initiative) seeking to develop a Messaging System roadmap for research. • It is being touted as a safer bet as the • It aims at providing solutions to the platform has been developed in India, most relevant engineering challenges the server hosting it is installed within and translating knowledge into viable

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technology in 10 selected technology • This prompting some economists to domains. warn that the country could be • The projects are funded jointly by entering into a stagflationary phase. MHRD and the participating Ministry in About Stagflation the ratio of 50:50. • Stagflation is a condition of slow Institutions of Eminence (IoE): economic growth and relatively high unemployment, or economic • In order to empower the Higher stagnation, accompanied by rising Educational Institutions and to help prices, or inflation. them in becoming world-class • It can also be defined as inflation and teaching and research institutions, a decline in the gross domestic government has recently declared 20 product (GDP). institutions (10 public and 10 Private • Stagflation was first widely recognized institutions) as Institutions of after the mid-20th century, especially Eminence. in the U.S. economy during the • These institutes will emphasis on 1970s, which experienced persistently multi-disciplinary initiatives, high- rapid inflation and high quality research, global best practices unemployment. and international collaboration. • This led to a breakdown of the inverse relationship between inflation and Institutions Innovation Council (IIC): unemployment as suggested by the • The ‘Institution’s Innovation Council Phillips Curve. (IIC) program launched under the The Phillips Curve Innovation cell of MHRD in 2018. • The Phillips curve shows the inverse The purpose of formation of a network • relationship between inflation and of IICs is to encourage, inspire and unemployment: as unemployment nurture young students by exposing decreases, inflation increases. them to new ideas and processes • The concept states that economic resulting in innovative activities in growth comes with inflation which in their formative years. turn should lead to more jobs and less Uchhatar Avishkar Yojana unemployment. • Uchhatar Avishkar Yojana has been launched in 2015 to promote Topic- GS Paper 3 –Economics innovation of a higher order that Source- Economics Times directly impacts the needs of the 4. DSC Prize for South Asian Industry and thereby improves the Literature 2019 competitive edge of Indian • Amitabha Bagchi has won 2019 DSC manufacturing. Prize for South Asian Literature, for • The projects are funded jointly by his novel "Half the Night is Gone". MHRD, participating Ministries and the About the DSC Prize Industry in the ratio of 50:25:25. • The DSC Prize for South Asian Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Literature is an international literary Source- PIB prize awarded annually to writers of 3. India's rising retail prices stoke any ethnicity or nationality writing worries of stagflation about South Asia themes such as • India's retail price inflation in culture, politics, history, or people. November jumped to a 40-month • South Asian region, which includes high, at a time when growth in Asia's Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, third-largest economy has slowed to a India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, six-year low. Pakistan and Sri Lanka, as well as from the diaspora.

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• The DSC Prize was instituted by responsibilities, liabilities, and Surina Narula and Manhad Narula in punishments related to this offence. 2010. In the courts Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture • In ‘Karam Singh vs Hardayal Singh Source- The Hindu And Ors’ the High Court of Punjab and 5. Right to Protest Haryana underlined in its judgment of • Recently the police action in Delhi's August 8, 1979, that “before any force Jamia Millia Islamia, where the police can be used, three prerequisites are entered the campus and employed to be satisfied”. force against students, is being widely o There should be an unlawful assembly criticised. with the object of committing violence or an assembly of five or more • The right of citizens to protest persons likely to cause a disturbance peacefully lies at the heart of any of the public peace. democracy. o Such assembly is ordered to be

dispersed.

o In spite of such orders to disperse, Provision in the Constitution such assembly does not disperse.” • The right to protest peacefully is guaranteed by the Constitution of In the United Nations India. • The ‘Basic Principles on the Use of • Articles 19(1) (a) and 19(1) (b) give Force and Firearms by Law to all citizens the right to freedom of Enforcement Officials’ adopted by the speech and expression, and to Eighth United Nations Congress on the assemble peaceably and without Prevention of Crime and the arms. Treatment of Offenders in Havana, • However, under Articles 19(2) and 1990. 19(3), the right to freedom of speech • It resolved that “law enforcement is subject to “reasonable restrictions officials, in carrying out their duty, in the interests of the sovereignty and shall, as far as possible, apply non- integrity of India, the security of the violent means before resorting to the State, friendly relations with foreign use of force and firearms. States, public order, decency or Topic- GS Paper 2 –Polity morality or in relation to contempt of Source- Indian Express court, defamation or incitement to an 6. Prevention of Damage to Public offence”. Property Act, 1984 In the CrPC and IPC • Supreme Court Bench headed by • The legal provisions and avenue Chief Justice of India S A Bobde available to police for handling expressed displeasure over rioting agitations, protests, and unlawful and destruction of the public property assemblies are covered by the Code of done by the students in Jamia Millia Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, the Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University. Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, and About the Prevention of Damage to The Police Act, 1861. Public Property Act, 1984 • The CrPC’s Sections 129-132 deal • The act punishes anyone “who with “Dispersal of assembly by use of commits mischief by doing any act in civil force”, use of the armed forces in respect of any public property” with a situations of civil unrest, and jail term of up to five years and a fine protection against prosecution for acts or both. Provisions of this law can be done under these sections. coupled with those under the Indian • The IPC’s Sections 141-158 deal with Penal Code. unlawful assembly, and the

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Public property under this Act includes • It will address environmental • “any building, installation or other concerns during the decommissioning property used in connection with the or closure of mines. production, distribution or supply of • The move gains significance as the water, light, power or energy; any oil new private entities are now going to installation; any sewage works; any form a significant part of the future. mine or factory; any means of public • The Cell will advise, mentor, plan and transportation or of monitor the mitigation measures telecommunications, or any building, taken by the coal companies for installation or other property used in maximizing the utilization of available connection therewith”. resources in a sustainable way, • In 2007, the court set up two minimizing the adverse impact of Committees headed by former apex mining and mitigating it for further court judge Justice K T Thomas and eco-system services. senior advocate Fali Nariman to • It will also formulate the future policy suggest changes to the law. framework for the environmental • In 2009, in the case of In Re: mitigation measures including the Destruction of Public & Private Mine closure Fund. Properties v State of AP and Ors, the Topic- GS Paper 3–Government Polices Supreme Court issued guidelines and Intervention based on the recommendations of the Source- PIB two expert Committees. 8. 6th Indian Ocean Dialogue and Recommendation Delhi Dialogue XI • The Thomas Committee • External Affairs Ministry will host the recommended reversing the burden 6th Indian Ocean Dialogue and Delhi of proof against protesters. Dialogue XI at the Pravasi Bharatiya • Accepting the suggestion, the court Kendra in New Delhi. said that the prosecution should be • For the first time, these two tracks 1.5 required to prove that public property dialogues will be held consecutively had been damaged in direct action and on similar Indo-Pacific themes. called by an organisation and that the • The Indian Ocean Dialogue theme is accused also participated in such "Indo-Pacific: Re-imagining the direct action. Indian Ocean through an • The Nariman Committee’s Expanded Geography”. recommendations dealt with Delhi Dialogue extracting damages for destruction. • Delhi Dialogue is a premier annual • Accepting the recommendations, the event to discuss politico-security, the court said the rioters would be made economic and socio-cultural strictly liable for the damage, and engagement between India and compensation would be collected to ASEAN. “make good” the damage. • It has been held annually since 2009 Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance and political leaders, policymakers, Source-Indian Express senior officials, diplomats, think tanks 7. Sustainable Development Cell and academicians from both sides • Coal Ministry has decided to establish participate in the discussions a Sustainable Development Cell, SDC, pertaining to ASEAN-India relations. to promote environmentally • It is aimed at finding common ground sustainable coal mining in the and expanding the scope of country. cooperation between India and About Sustainable Development Cell ASEAN nations.

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• The theme of the eleventh edition of • The database under the NPR will be dialogue is Advancing Partnership maintained by the Registrar General in Indo-Pacific. of India and Census Commissioner of Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance India, Ministry of Home Affairs. Source- AIR • Unlike the NRC, the NPR is not a 9. Pakistan court announces the death citizenship enumeration drive, as it sentence to former Army Chief Parvez would record even a foreigner staying Musharraf in high treason case in a locality for more than six months. • In a first in Pakistan's history, a three- • It is mandatory for every usual member bench of the special court, resident of India to register in the headed by Peshawar High Court Chief NPR. Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth, today • It is being prepared at the local handed former military ruler Pervez (Village/sub-Town), sub-District, Musharraf death sentence in the long- District, State and National level drawn high treason case. under provisions of the Citizenship Act • The former military chief is currently 1955 and the Citizenship Rules, 2003. in Dubai. • In India, National Population Register About the case: was prepared along with Census 2011 • The trial in the case of the former and which is last time updated in military dictator for clamping the state 2015. of emergency in November 2007, had • The new and latest NPR is planned to been pending since December 2013. be conducted across India (except • He was indicted in March 2014 and the Assam) between April 1, 2020, and prosecution had tabled the entire September 30, 2020 along with next evidence before the special court in census enumeration. September, the same year. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance • However, due to litigation at appellate Source- Indian Express forums, the trial of the former military 2. 'Fundamentally Discriminatory': dictator lingered on and he left UN Human Rights Expresses Pakistan in March 2016. Concern on Citizenship Act, 2019 Topic- GS Paper 2 –International Affairs • The United Nations High Source- AIR Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed concern that the 18.12.2019 Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, is “fundamentally discriminatory”, 1. West Bengal stops National and undermines India’s commitment Population Register work to international law and the Indian • Recently the West Bengal government constitution. withdrew activities related to the About United Nations High National Population Register (NPR). Commissioner for Human Rights About The National Population Register • The Office of the United Nations High • It is a register of the usual residents Commissioner for Human of the country. Rights(OHCHR) is a department of the • According to the Ministry of Home Secretariat of the United Nations. Affairs a “usual resident of the • It works to promote and protect the country” is one who has been residing human rights that are guaranteed in a local area for at least the last six under international law and stipulated months, or intends to stay in a in the Universal Declaration of Human particular location for the next six Rights of 1948. months. OHCHR’s work is guided by 1. The Charter of the United Nations

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2. The Universal Declaration of Human women's health and survival and Rights and subsequent human rights economic participation. instruments • India has improved to 18th place on 3. the Vienna Declaration and political empowerment; it has slipped Programme of Action the 1993 World to 150th on health and survival, to Conference on Human Rights 149th in terms of economic 4. the 2005 World Summit Outcome participation and opportunity and to Document. 112th place for educational • It was established in 1993 and is attainment. headquartered in Geneva, • The WEF said economic opportunities Switzerland. for women are extremely limited in Topic-GS Paper 2–International Organisation India (35.4 per cent), Pakistan (32.7 Source- TOI per cent), Yemen (27.3 per cent), 3. WEF Gender Gap Report 2019 Syria (24.9 per cent) and Iraq (22.7 • World Economic Forum (WEF) has per cent). released the Global Gender Gap Index • It also named India among countries Report 2019. with very low women representation About the Global Gender Gap Index Report on company boards (13.8 per cent), • The Global gender gap index is while it was even worse in China (9.7 published annually by the World per cent). Economic Forum (WEF) since 2006. • On health and survival, four large • The index measures the gender gap countries -- Pakistan, India, Viet Nam as progress towards parity between and China -- fare badly with millions men and women in four indicators: of women there not getting the same o Educational attainment, access to health as men. o Health and survival, • It also flagged abnormally low sex o Economic opportunity and ratios at birth in India (91 girls for o Political empowerment. every 100 boys) and Pakistan • Countries are ranked based scores on (92/100). a scale ranging from 0 (lowest i.e. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Important Report imparity) to 1 (highest i.e. parity). Source- Economics Times Highlights of the report 4. bird population took a • Iceland remains the world's most hit due to Cyclone Fani, says study gender-neutral country and ranked 1st • A recent study on the impact of super followed by Norway 2nd, Finland 3rd cyclonic storm Fani on a stretch of 40 th and Sweden 4 . km along the Mahanadi River has • Yemen is ranked the worst 153rd revealed that extreme weather events • Gender Gap Report to rank below like cyclones can have severe impacts countries like China (106th), Sri on bird populations of a region. Lanka (102nd), Nepal (101st), Brazil Finding (92nd), Indonesia (85th) and • The study has revealed that the Bangladesh (50th). population of sandbar-nesting birds • The report suggests that it will take 95 along a 40-km stretch from years to close the political gender gap Baideshwar to Kakhadi along the as women hold 25.2 per cent of Mahanadi river declined by 81%. parliamentary seats worldwide. • The highest decline was observed in India and the Report the case of Glareola lacteal (little • India has slipped four places to rank pratincole) whose population dropped 112th globally in terms of gender gap from over 500 to 50 before and after amid widening disparity in terms of the cyclone.

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• The study focused on eight species of • Under Article 331, the President could sandbar nesting birds, which prefer nominate up to two Anglo-Indians if riverine habitat and at times lay their he/she felt the community was eggs on the sandbars which emerge inadequately represented in the from the river when the water recedes House. during the summer. • However, The Constitution (126th • Among all the eight species of birds Amendment) Bill passed by that breed along the Mahanadi, five Parliament last week, while extending are globally threatened, including the reservation for SC/STs, did away a. Rynchops albicollis (Indian with the provision for the nomination skimmer), classified as of Anglo Indians to Lok Sabha and Vulnerable as per the IUCN some state Assemblies. Red list • Article 81 also mandates that the b. Sterna aurantia (river tern), number of Lok Sabha seats allotted to classified as Near Threatened a state would be such that the ratio c. Vanellus duvaucelii (river between that number and the lapwing), classified as Near population of the state is, as far as Threatened possible, the same for all states. d. Esacus recurvirostris (great • As per Clause 3 of Article 81, thick-knee), also classified as population, for the purpose of Near Threatened. allocation of seats, means “population Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment as ascertained at the last preceding Source- Indian Express census of which the relevant figures 5. Compostion of Lok Sabha have been published” — in other • Former President Pranab Mukherjee words, the last published Census. said that the number of seats in Lok • However, as a result of an Sabha should be increased to 1,000 amendment to this Clause in 2003, from the present 543, and advocated the “population” now means the a corresponding increase in the population as per the 1971 Census — number of MPs in Rajya Sabha and and will be so until the first Census state legislatures. that is taken after 2026. • According to Mukherjee, every MP Topic- GS Paper 2 –Polity currently represents an average 16- Source- The Hindu 18 lakh Indians — too large a number 6. Global Refugee Forum to be kept in touch within a • The first Global Refugee Forum (GRF), meaningful way. a two-day gathering of United Nations Constitutional Provision member states, began in Geneva, • Article 81 of the Constitution defines Switzerland. the composition of the House of the • The forum is jointly hosted by the People or Lok Sabha. United Nations High Commissioner for • It states that the House shall not Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Refugee consist of more than 550 elected Agency, and the government of members of whom not more than 20 Switzerland. will represent Union Territories. • It aims to debate and discuss the • At present, the strength of the Lok response of the world’s countries to Sabha is 543, of which 530 have been the global refugee situation. allocated to the states and the rest to • It is guided by the Global Compact on the Union Territories. Refugees, the Global Refugee Forum • The first House constituted in 1952 is an opportunity to translate the had 497 members. principle of international

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responsibility-sharing into concrete • Develop a Broadband Readiness action. Index (BRI) to measure the • The Forum will showcase impactful availability of digital communications pledges and contributions and the infrastructure and conducive policy exchange of good practices. ecosystem within a State/UT. • The GRF will be held every four years • Creation of a digital fibre map of the at the Ministerial level. Digital Communications network and • The first GRF has been organised infrastructure, including Optical Fiber around six areas of focus: Cables and Towers, across the o burden- and responsibility- country. sharing Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance o education Source- TOI o jobs and livelihoods 8. Hydrogen cell technology o energy and infrastructure • Supreme Court has recently asked the o solutions government to look into the feasibility o protection capacity. of hydrogen-based tech to deal with Topic- GS Paper 2 –International vehicular air pollution in New Delhi. Organisation • India is looking closely at Japan, Source- Indian Express which is gearing up to put on its roads 7. National Broadband Mission thousands of vehicles based on a • The Union Minister of Communication hydrogen cell technology, also known has launched the National Broadband as ‘fuel cells’. Mission (NBM). How its work? About the National Broadband Mission • Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) are a • The vision of the NBM is to fast track device that uses a source of fuel, such growth of digital communications as hydrogen, and an oxidant to create infrastructure, bridge the digital electricity by an electrochemical divide, facilitate digital empowerment process. and inclusion and provide affordable • The fuel cell combines hydrogen and and universal access of broadband for oxygen to generate electric current, all. water being the only byproduct. • Some of the objectives of the Mission • Like conventional batteries under the which is structured with a strong bonnets of automobiles, hydrogen emphasis on the three principles of fuel cells to convert chemical energy universality, affordability and quality. into electrical energy. • Broadband access to all villages by • Fuel cells produce much smaller 2022 which facilitate universal and quantities of greenhouse gases and equitable access to broadband none of the air pollutants that cause services for across the country and health problems. especially in rural and remote areas. • Such cells are also far more energy- • It helps in laying of incremental 30 efficient than traditional combustion lakhs route km of Optical Fiber Cable technologies. and an increase in tower density from • Unlike battery-powered electric 0.42 to 1.0 tower per thousand of the vehicles, fuel cell vehicles do not need population by 2024. to be plugged in. • It also significantly improves the • The process of making hydrogen quality of services for mobile and needs energy which is often from internet fossil fuel sources. • Develop innovative implementation Topic- GS Paper 3 –Science and models for Right of Way (RoW) and to Technology work with States/UTs. Source- Indian Express

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9. GEM launches national outreach 1. fast-track growth of digital programme 'GeM Samvaad' communications infrastructure • Government e-commerce portal GeM 2. bridge the digital divide has launched a national outreach 3. facilitate digital empowerment and programme, GeM Samvaad, to bring inclusion on-board more local sellers. 4. provide affordable and universal • The outreach programme will take access to broadband for all. place with stakeholders across the Broadband Readiness Index: country and with local sellers to • It will also be developed to measure facilitate on-boarding of local sellers the availability of digital on the marketplace. communications infrastructure within • The programme will take place from a State/UT. tomorrow to 17th February next year About Bharat Net Project and will cover all the States and Union • The Bharat Net Project is the new Territories of the country. brand name of National Optical Fibre • GeM has more than 15 lakh products Network (NOFN) which was launched and around 20,000 services, more in October 2011 to provide broadband than 3 lakh registered sellers and connectivity to all 2.5 Lakh gram service providers and more than 40 panchayats (GPs) through the optical thousand government buyer fibre. organizations. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance • It was renamed Bharatnet in 2015. Source- AIR • It is also being funded through the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). 19.12.2019 About the Universal Service Obligation 1. Govt. aims to provide broadband Fund access to all villages by 2022 • The fund was formed by the Central • The government has announced Government to help fund projects to ‘National Broadband Mission’ which boost connectivity in rural areas. aimed to provide broadband access in • The money for this fund comes all villages in the country by 2022. through a ‘Universal Access Levy,’ About the National Broadband Mission charged from the telecom operators • It will facilitate universal and as a percentage of various licenses equitable access to broadband fees being paid by them. services across the country, especially Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance in rural and remote areas. Source- PIB • It will also aim at significantly 2. US House of Representatives improving the quality of services for votes to impeach President Trump mobile and internet. • The US House of Representatives • Under the mission, the government voted to impeach President Donald plans to lay incremental 30 lakh route Trump. km of Optical Fiber Cable, while also • He is accused of abuse of power and increasing tower density from 0.42 to obstruction of the Congress, related to 1 tower per thousand of the his dealings with Ukraine. population by 2024.’ Why Impeachment? • It is being funded by the Universal • The founders of the United States Service Obligation Fund. feared presidents abusing their Vision powers, so they included in the The vision of the national broadband mission Constitution a process for removing is to one from office.

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• The president, under the Constitution, the first woman researcher-faculty at can be removed from office for the Tata Institute of Fundamental "Treason, Bribery, or other high Research in 1949. Crimes and Misdemeanours." • Bibha’s exoplanet was christened • "High crimes and misdemeanours" Santamasa, a Sanskrit word that has historically encompassed means “clouded”, which refers to the corruption and abuses of the public nature of the exoplanet’s atmosphere. trust, as opposed to just indictable • Bibha and Santamasa symbolise what violations of criminal statutes. the physical and lighting conditions of How Does It Work? the HD 86081 system could be, • Impeachment begins in the House, according to astrophysicists. the lower chamber, which debates About the International Astronomical and votes on whether to bring charges Union against the president via approval of • The International Astronomical Union an impeachment resolution, or is an international association of "articles of impeachment," by a professional astronomers, at the PhD simple majority of the body's level and beyond, active in members. professional research and education • A trio of House committees are in astronomy. currently interviewing witnesses and • It was founded in 1919. issuing subpoenas for documents to • It is headquartered in Paris, France. build a case against Trump - what Note: they have called an "impeachment • Exoplanet: Planets that orbit around inquiry." stars outside our solar system. • If the House approves articles of Topic-GS Paper 3–Science and Technology impeachment, a trial is then held in Source- TOI the Senate. 4. No State-wise minority classification, • House members act as the says Supreme Court prosecutors; the senators as jurors; • The honourable Supreme Court the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme dismissed a petition to recognise Court presides. Hindus as minorities in the States • A two-thirds majority vote is required where they are low in population. in the Senate to convict and remove a president. Background Note: • According to 2011 Census, Hindus are • Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were in monitory in eight states — other two former presidents who had Lakshadweep (2.5%), Mizoram been impeached. (2.75%), Nagaland (8.75%), Topic- GS Paper 2 –International Issue Meghalaya (11.53%), J&K (28.44%), Source- AIR Arunachal Pradesh (29%), Manipur 3. Bibha and Santamasa: Star named (31.39%), and Punjab (38.40%). after Indian scientist • It is argued that in the absence of • International Astronomical Union “minority” status to Hindus in these (IAU) has recently announced the states, benefits meant for minority name of two astronomical bodies on communities were being given away the name of Indian Scientist. to the majority community in an • A yellow-white dwarf star in the illegal and arbitrary manner. constellation Sextans, located 340 About National Commission for light-years away, was named Bibha, Minorities which means “a light beam” and • It is a statutory body set up under the refers to Bibha Chowdhuri, who was National Commission for Minorities

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Act, 1992 which works under the or language, shall have the right to Ministry of Minority Affairs. establish and administer educational Composition institutions of their choice. • The Commission consists of a Important SC Judgment: Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson and • In Bal Patil & Anr vs. Union of five members to be nominated by the India & Ors, 2005: SC observed that Central Government from amongst linguistic minorities are to be persons of eminence, ability and identified on the basis of their integrity. population within a particular state of • Provided that five Members including India. the Chairperson shall be from • However, recognizing religious amongst the Minority communities. minority status on the basis of their Function population at the state level would be • Its mandate is to evaluate the against the integrity and secular fabric progress of development of Minorities. of India. • It also monitors working of safeguards Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance provided in Constitution and in laws Source- The Hindu enacted by Parliament and State 5. GEM launches National Outreach Legislatures. Programme – GEM Samvaad • It also makes recommendations for • Ministry of Commerce & Industry the effective implementation of launched a national outreach safeguards for the protection of Programme, GeM Samvaad. interests of Minorities by the Central About GeM Samvaad Government or State Governments. • The program aim to spread awareness • It looks into specifics complaints about the Government e-Marketplace regarding deprivation of rights and (GeM). safeguards of minorities and takes up • The outreach programme will take such matters with the appropriate place with stakeholders across the authorities. country and with local sellers in order • Six religious communities, viz. to facilitate the on-boarding of local Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, sellers on the marketplace while Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains have catering to specific requirements and been notified in Gazette of India as procurement needs of buyers. minority communities by Union • The outreach programme will take Government all over India. place from 19 Dec 2019 to 17 Feb Constitutional safeguards: 2020 and will cover all the States and • Both Article 29 and Articles 30 UTs of the country. guarantee a certain right to the About Government e-Marketplace minorities. • It is the national public procurement • Article 29 protects the interests of the portal offering end to end solutions for minorities by making a provision that all procurement needs of Central and any citizen/section of citizens having State Government Departments, a distinct language, script or culture PSUs, autonomous institutions and have the right to conserve the same. local bodies. • Article 29 mandates that no • Since its commencement on 9th discrimination would be done on the August 2016, GeM has transformed ground of religion, race, caste, public procurement in the country by language or any of them. leveraging technology and making • Article 30 mandates that all procurement contactless, paperless, minorities, whether based on religion and cashless.

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Topic- GS Paper 3 – • Visakhapatnam, which has the Agriculture/Business infrastructure, can be considered as Source- The Hindu the executive capital. 6. AMRUT mission extended by 2 yrs • Amaravati can be retained as the to 2022 legislative capital. • Unable to meet set targets for urban • Kurnool can be considered as the renewal in 500 cities, the Centre has judicial capital, for balanced decided to extend the mission period development. of its flagship initiative Atal Mission for Related Information Rejuvenation and Urban About South Africa Transformation (AMRUT) by two more • South Africa is the only country in the years. world with three different official About Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and capitals goes back to the 1910 Urban Transformation unification of South Africa. • The mission was launched in 2015 by o Pretoria, the administrative Central government promising 139 capital lakh water connections and 145 lakh o Cape Town, the legislative sewer connections by March 2020. capital • The scheme also focused on to o Bloemfontein, the judicial establish infrastructures that could capital ensure adequate robust sewage Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance networks and water supply for urban Source- The Hindu transformation by implementing urban revival projects. 20.12.2019 • Rajasthan was the first state in the country to submit State Annual Action 1. Sahitya Akademi Award 2019 Plan under Atal Mission for • Recently the politician-writer Shashi Rejuvenation and Urban Tharoor and playwright Nand Kishore Transformation (AMRUT). Acharya are among 23 writers chosen • AMRUT is a centrally sponsored for the prestigious Sahitya Akademi scheme with 80% budgetary support Award 2019. from the Centre. • The national academy of letters Topic- GS Paper 3 –Infrastructure announced names of the winners on Source- Indian Express Wednesday. 7. Concept of 3 capitals to be • Shashi Tharoor won the award for his considered in Andhra Pradesh book “An Era of Darkness” in English • Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister has and Acharya will receive the recently hinted that the state may recognition for his book of Hindi have a total of three capitals to keep poetry, “Chheelatey Hue Apne Ko”. up with the aspirations of the people. About the Sahitya Akademi Award • Chief Minister stated that three cities • This is a literary honour annually — Amaravati, Visakhapatnam and conferred by Sahitya Akademi, India’s Kurnool — may all be considered as National Academy of letters, on the capitals and each will perform a writers of outstanding works in any of different function. the twenty-four major Indian • He said in terms of having three languages including the English capitals, one being the legislative language. capital and the other two being the • This award was instituted in 1954, executive capital and the judicial comprises a plaque and a cash prize capital. of Rs. 10,000.

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• This is the second-highest literary • The Union government has launched honour centred by the Govt. of India. Phase III of Pradhan Mantri Gram Other literary awards Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in New Delhi. Jnanpith Award • The Phase-III of PMGSY aims at • This award is the most prestigious and consolidation of 1, 25,000 Kms highest literary award, given for the Through Routes and Major Rural Links best creative literary writing by any that connect habitations to Gramin Indian citizen in any of the languages Agricultural Markets (GrAMs), Higher included in the eighth schedule of the Secondary Schools and Hospitals for Indian Constitution. the period 2019-20 to 2024-25. • This award carries a cash award of Rs. Funding 5 lakh. • The funding pattern will be 60:40 • Since 1982 this award has been given between Centre and the States and for the lifetime contribution of the 90:10 for North East and the writer, prior to that the award was Himalayan States. given for a single work. About Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak • The award was instituted in 1961, was Yojana the brainchild of late Smt. Rama Jain, • It was launched on 25th December the first President of Bhartiya 2000 under the Ministry of Rural Jnanapith. Development. • The Malayalam writer G. Sankar • It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme Kurup, was its first recipient. with the objective to provide all- Vyas Samman weather road connectivity to all • The Vyas Amman is a literary award eligible unconnected habitations in annually conferred by K. K. Birla rural areas of the country. Foundation. The award instituted in • It aims is to ensure rural connectivity. 1991. • The programme envisages connecting • It carries a cash prize of Rs. 2.5 lakh all eligible unconnected habitations (as of 2005). with a population of 500 persons and • This award is conferred on the best above (as per 2001 Census) in plain creative literary work in the Hindi areas. language, which has been published • 250 persons and above (as per 2001 in the last 10 years. Census) in the Special Category Saraswati Samman States namely Arunachal Pradesh, • This award is named after Indian Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, goddess Saraswati, the goddess of Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, learning. Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir • This highest literary works in any and Uttarakhand, Tribal (Schedule-V) Indian languages that are included in areas. the eighth schedule of Indian Road Connectivity Project for Left Wing Constitution and have been published Extremism Affected Areas in the previous ten years by a panel of • It was launched in 2016 and is scholars and former award winners. implemented under Pradhan Mantri • The Saraswati Samman was instituted Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) to in 1991 by the K. K. Birla Foundation. provide connectivity with necessary Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture culverts and cross-drainage Source- TOI structures in 44 worst affected LWE. 2. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak • The fund sharing pattern of LWE road Yojana: Phase–III project will be the same as that of PMGSY.

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• The roads taken up under the scheme • Bengal Florican listed as Critically would include Other District Roads Endangered. (ODRs), Village Roads (VRs) and • Great Indian Bustard, Lesser Florican upgradation of the existing Major and Bengal Florican are also listed in District Roads (MDRs) that are critical Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife from the security point of view. (Protection) Act, 1972. Topic- GS Paper 3 –Important Scheme Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment and Source- PIB Biodiversity 3. Houbara bustard Source- The Hindu • The government of Pakistan has 4. Digital India Land Records issued special permits to the Emir of Modernisation Programme Qatar and nine other members of the • About 90 per cent of villages in India royal family to hunt the houbara have computerised the Records of bustard, an internationally protected Right (RoR), the basic primary record bird species. that shows land rights and property About the Bustards transactions. • These are the large, terrestrial birds • The Centre, through the Digital India that belong to several species, Land Records Modernisation including some of the largest flying Programme (DILRMP), is providing birds. financial assistance to the States for • The houbara bustard, which lives in the computerisation of land records. arid climates, comes in two distinct About Digital India Land Records species as recognised by the Modernisation Programme International Union for Conservation Background of Nature, one residing in North Africa • The Land Reforms (LR) Division was (Chlamydotis undulata) and the other implementing two Centrally in Asia (Chlamydotis macqueenii). Sponsored Schemes viz.: • African Houbara is listed as Vulnerable Computerisation of Land Records in IUCN Red List. (CLR) & Strengthening of Revenue • Asian Houbara is listed as Critically Administration and Updating of Land Endangered in IUCN Red List Records (SRA&ULR). • The population of the Asian houbara • Later in 2008, the Cabinet approved bustards extends from northeast Asia, the merger of these schemes into a across central Asia, the Middle East, modified Scheme named Digital India and the Arabian Peninsula to reach Land Records Modernization the Sinai desert. Programme (DILRMP). About Great Indian Bustard • The purpose of the programme is to • It is the state bird of Rajasthan. digitize and modernize land records • It is endemic to the Indian and develop a centralised land record subcontinent and found in Rajasthan management system. (), Gujarat, Components Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, It has 3 major components Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in 1. Computerization of land record India and parts of Pakistan 2. Survey/re-survey • It is listed as critically endangered as 3. Computerization of Registration. per IUCN Red List. Programme implementation Other Bustard • The State Governments/UT • Lesser Florican is listed as Administrations will implement the Endangered. programme with financial and technical support from the Dept. of

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Land Resources, Government of c.) Non-use of force except in self-defence India. and defence of the mandate. • The district will be taken as the unit of • The UN Peacekeepers are led by the implementation, where all activities Department of Peacekeeping under the programme will converge. Operations (DKPO). Benefits • UN Peacekeepers are from diverse • The integrated land information backgrounds, from areas all around management system under the the world. DILRMP provides online, single- • They include police, military and window, at-a-glance access to all civilian personnel. available and relevant information to • They are often referred to as Blue give a fair comprehensive position of Berets or Blue Helmets because of any plot of land. their light blue berets or helmets. • The move helps reduce land disputes • The UN Peacekeeping Force won the and checks fraudulent and Benami Nobel Peace Prize in 1988. transactions. Digitisation of land • The United Nations Charter gives the records does not require any fee from United Nations Security Council the the landowners. power and responsibility to take Note: collective action to maintain • Karnataka was the first State to international peace and security. computerise land records under the India and UN Peacekeeping ‘Bhoomi Project’, followed by Andhra • The Indian Army is the largest Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. cumulative troop contributor to United Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Nations Peacekeeping Missions Source- PIB mandated to maintain stability and 5. Indian peacekeepers in South negotiate a peace settlement in Sudan receive prestigious UN turbulent regions of the world. medal • India is among the largest troop- • About 850 Indian peacekeepers contributing countries to UN serving in South Sudan have been peacekeeping operations. awarded the prestigious UN medal for • Currently, there are more than 6,700 their service and contribution to troops and police from India who have building peace in the strife-torn nation been deployed to UN peacekeeping and supporting the local communities. missions which is the fourth highest About the United Nations Peacekeeping amongst troop-contributing countries. • It was created in 1948 which provides • In 2007, India became the first security and the political and country to deploy an all-women peacebuilding support to help contingent to a UN peacekeeping countries make the difficult, early mission. transition from conflict to peace. Topic- GS Paper 2 –International • Its first mission involved the Organisation establishment of the UN Truce Source- Indian Express Supervision Organization (UNTSO), 6. Gandhi Citizenship Education which served to observe and maintain Prize. ceasefire during the 1948 Arab-Israeli • Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio War. Costa announced the setting up of a UN Peacekeeping maintains three basic Gandhi Citizenship Education Prize. principles: About the Prize a.)Consent of the parties, • Portugal would launch the prize in b.) Impartiality and order to promote Gandhi’s ideals. Every year, the prize would be

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inspired by Gandhi’s thoughts and Minister Narendra Modi on 15 August quotes. 2019. • The first year’s prize will be dedicated National Population Policy 2000 to animal welfare as Mahatma Gandhi • A number of socio-demographic goals always said that the greatness of any were formulated to be achieved by country can be evaluated by the way 2010. These were: animals are treated. o Reduce infant mortality rate Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture (IMR) to 30 per 1,000 live Source- The Hindu births. 7. Pinaka missile system o Reduce maternal Mortality • DRDO has recently successfully test- Rate (MMR) to below 100 per fired an upgraded version of India's 1, 00,000 live births. indigenously developed Pinaka guided o Achieve 80% institutional rocket system from a base on Odisha deliveries coast. Steps/Measures under Jansankhya • Earlier in March, three successful Sthirata Kosh/ National Population trials of Pinaka guided rocket system Stabilization Fund were conducted from Pokhran test Prerna Strategy:- range in Rajasthan. • Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh has • The weapon system, mounted on a launched this strategy for helping to Tatra truck, is equipped with state-of- push up the age of marriage of girls the-art guidance kit comprising an and delay in first child and spacing in advanced navigation and control the second child the birth of children system. in the interest of the health of young • The Navigation system of the missile mothers and infants. is also aided by the Indian Regional • The couple who adopt this strategy Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). awarded suitably which helps to • It is an indigenously developed change the mindsets of the system which is significantly boosting community. the capability of the artillery to hit the Santushti Strategy:- targets with precision and accuracy. • Under this strategy, Jansankhya Topic- GS Paper 3–Defence Sthirata Kosh invites private sector Source- Indian Express gynaecologists and vasectomy surgeons to conduct sterilization 23.12.2019 operations in Public-Private Partnership model. 1. NITI Aayog to draft roadmap for • The private hospitals/nursing home achieving population stabilisation who achieved the target to 10 or more • NITI Aayog in partnership with are suitably awarded as per strategy. Population Foundation of India is National Helpline: - organising a National Consultation at • JSK also running a call centre for New Delhi. providing free advice on reproductive • The titled of this National Consultative health, family planning, maternal meeting is “Realizing the vision of health and child health etc. population stabilization: leaving no About Population Foundation of India one behind”. • It is a national NGO, founded in 1970, • The recommendations from the which promotes and advocates for the consultation will contribute to a NITI effective formulation and Aayog working paper to help achieve implementation of gender-sensitive India’s vision of attaining population population, health and development stabilization, as voiced by Prime strategies and policies.

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Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Source- PIB About Co Jim Corbett National Park 2. EChO Network • It is the oldest national park in India • Government of India has recently and was established in 1936 as Hailey launched EChO Network in New Delhi. National Park to protect the • This initiative has drawn in partners endangered Bengal tiger. from Government, industry and • It is located in Nainital district and academia, with the Office of the Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand Principal Scientific Adviser to the and was named after Jim Corbett, a Govt. of India under the guidance of well-known hunter and naturalist. Prof. Shannon Olsson. • The park was the first to come under About ECho network the Project Tiger initiative which is • It is a national program to provide a launched in April 1973. template for cross-disciplinary • It has a humid subtropical and leadership in India with the specific highland climate. focus of increasing research, Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment knowledge, and awareness of Indian Source- Indian Express ecology and the environment. 4. Odisha launches 'Jalsathi' • It would develop a national network to programme to supply safe catalyse a new generation of Indians drinking who can synthesize interdisciplinary • Odisha Chief Minister has launched concepts and tackle real-world the 'Jalsathi' programme which will problems in medicine, agriculture, ensure the supply of safe drinking ecology, and technology. water to all households in the state. • The program will then train About the JalSathi programme postdoctoral leaders in research and • It aims to ensure the supply of clean outreach on these topics, while also drinking water to consumers through incorporating current public and piped water connections. private efforts into a national network. • The Odisha government has roped in Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance women volunteers to serve the people Source- PIB as 'Jalasathis'. 3. Rhinos to be re-introduced in • This will help boost the economic Uttarakhand empowerment of women in the state. • The Uttarakhand State Wildlife Board • The Jalasathis will be responsible for has cleared a proposal by the Wildlife testing of water quality, facilitating Institute of India (WII) to introduce new water connections and rhinoceroses in the Corbett Tiger regularising connections, reassessing Reserve (CTR). of demands, reading of the meter, bill Why in Corbett Tiger Reserve? generation and delivery, collection of • The geographical terrain and water charges and facilitating environmental conditions in CTR are complaints redressal. suitable for rhinos. Related Information • The ideal sites chosen in Corbett are • Recently the Jal Shakti Ministry has valley habitats bounded on either side set a target of providing clean by the lower Himalayas (north), drinking water to all by 2024. Shivalik Hills (south) or the • It includes increased coverage of Ramganga Reservoir (east), which piped water to households from the would also act as natural barriers to current 18 to 100% by 2024. rhino movement outside this area, thereby minimising conflict with people. About Jal Shakti Ministry

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• It has been made by reorganising • Biotherapeutics are pharmaceutical Ministry of Water Resources, River products derived from biological and Development and Ganga living sources. Rejuvenation. • They include therapeutic vaccines, • The Ministry of Drinking Water and blood, blood components, cells, gene Sanitation has also been added to its therapies, tissues and other Jal Ministry. materials. • This Ministry will cater to many • Several biological medicines are aspects relating to water such as ‘speciality drugs’, highly-priced and ensuring clean water and top-class effective in treating medical irrigation water facilities for farmers conditions for which no other Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance treatments are available. Source- AIR • Some biotherapeutics are effective 5. WHO prequalifies first biosimilar treatments for certain forms of medicine: Trastuzumab cancer, chronic diseases such as • World Health Organization has diabetes, Crohn’s disease (a type of recently prequalified its first biosimilar inflammatory bowel disease). medicine – trastuzumab. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Health • This medicine is helpful for breast Source- Down to Earth cancer patient. 6. RBI brings in India's version of About Trastuzumab 'Operation Twist' to lower yields • It is a monoclonal antibody – was • The Reserve Bank of India decided to included in the WHO Essential conduct its version of ‘Operation Medicines List in 2015 as an essential Twist’ through simultaneous purchase treatment for about 20% of breast and sale of government securities cancers. under Open Market Operations • It has shown high efficacy in curing (OMOs). early-stage breast cancer and in some About Operation Twist cases more advanced forms of the • It is the name given to a US Federal disease. Reserve monetary policy operation, • The biosimilar version of trastuzumab which involves the purchase and sale is generally 65% cheaper than the of government securities to boost the originator. economy by bringing down long-term About biosimilar interest rates. • It is a biological medicine highly • Operation Twist is when the central similar to another already approved bank uses the proceeds from the sale biological medicine (the 'reference of short-term securities to buy long- medicine'). term government debt papers, • Biosimilars are approved according to leading to easing of interest rates on the same standards of pharmaceutical the long term papers. quality, safety and efficacy that apply • Operation Twist first appeared in 1961 to all biological medicines. as a way to strengthen the U.S. dollar • The European Medicines Agency and stimulate cash flow into the (EMA) is responsible for evaluating economy. the majority of applications to market About Open Market Operations biosimilars in the European Union • The RBI manages and controls the (EU). liquidity, rupee strength and monetary management through Biotherapeutics purchase and sale of government securities (G-Secs) in a monetary tool called Open market Operations.

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• OMOs are the market operations Source- Business Standard conducted by the RBI by way of sale 8. Silver Line project and purchase of G-Secs to and from • The Ministry of Railways granted in- the market with an objective to adjust principle approval for the ‘Silver Line’ the rupee liquidity conditions in the project. market on a durable basis. • It is a proposal of the Kerala • When the RBI feels that there is government that involves laying the excess liquidity in the market, it third and fourth railway lines from resorts to sale of securities thereby Kasaragod in the north to Kochuveli sucking out the rupee liquidity. (Thiruvananthapuram) in the south • Similarly, when the liquidity for the movement of semi high-speed conditions are tight, the RBI may buy trains. securities from the market, thereby • The project aims to cut the travel time releasing liquidity into the market. between the two corners from 12 Topic- GS Paper 3 –Economics hours to less than four hours. Source- Indian Express • The Silver Line project, conceived at least a decade ago, aims to connect 7. US officially launch US military major districts and towns with semi 'Space Force' high-speed trains that will run on their • US President Donald Trump officially own tracks. launched US military 'Space Force' at Who will implement the project? an army base near Washington. • The Kerala Rail Development • The launch of the Space Force, the Corporation (K-Rail), a joint venture first in more than 70 years, falls under between the Ministry of Railways and the US Air Force. the Kerala government to execute About Military Space Force projects on a cost-sharing basis, will • The main goal of the Space Force is to be the nodal agency. secure and extend American Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance dominance of the space domain. Source- The Hindu • The features of the Military space 9. Afghanistan first country to force are: recognize Indian Pharmacopoeia o Rather than deploying soldiers in • The Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP) has space, the Space Force will focus on been recognised formally by the national security and preserving the National Department of Regulation of satellites and vehicles that are Medicines and Health Products of the dedicated to international Ministry of Public Health of Islamic communications and observation. Republic of Afghanistan. o Space could be a new warfighting • It will also be used based on the domain and the US aims to be requirement as reputable combat-ready with Military Space pharmacopoeia in the laboratory of Force. medicines and health products o The Space force will be responsible to quality. deter and defeat threats in space and will organize, train, and equip military About Indian Pharmacopoeia space forces. • IP is an officially recognized book of o The Space force will ensure unfettered standards as per the Drugs and access to, and freedom to operate in Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules 1945 space, and to provide vital capabilities thereunder. to joint and coalition forces. • The IP specifies the standards of Topic- GS Paper 3 –Defence drugs manufactured and marketed in (International news)

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India in terms of their identity, purity • POSHAN Abhiyaan empowers the and strength. frontline functionaries like Anganwadi • The quality, efficacy and safety of the Workers and Lady Supervisors by medicines are important from the providing them with smartphones. healthcare perspective. • ICDS-Common Application Software • In order to ensure the quality of has been developed under POSHAN medicinal products, the legal and Abhiyaan which enables data capture, scientific standards are provided by ensures assigned service delivery and the Indian Pharmacopoeia prompts for interventions wherever Commission (IPC) in the form of required. Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP). • This data/information is then made • As per, the Second Schedule of the available on web-based ICDS-CAS Drugs and Cosmetics Act, IP is dashboard on a near real-time basis, designated as the official book of for monitoring, to the supervisory standards for drugs imported and/or staff at Block, District, State and manufactured for sale, stock or National level, for action and decision exhibition for sale or distribution in making at their end. India. POSHAN Anthem Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance • Vice President of India launched the Source- AIR POSHAN Anthem on 3rd December 2019. 24.12.2019 • The aim of the POSHAN Anthem is to inspire people to join the movement 1. Year-End Review 2019 Ministry of to fight the scourge of malnutrition. Women and Child Development Protection of Children from Sexual Bharatiya Poshan Krishi Kosh Offences (POCSO) • The Union Minister of Women and • Section 28 of the POCSO Act 2012 Child Development (WCD) and provides for the establishment of Textiles along with Bill Gates, co-chair Special Courts for the purpose of of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation providing speedy trial. launched the Bharatiya Poshan Krishi • Further, Section 35 of the POCSO Act Kosh (BPKK) on November 18, 2019, provides that the evidence of the child in New Delhi. shall be recorded within a period of • The BPKK will be a repository of thirty days of the Special Court taking diverse crops across 128 agro-climatic cognizance of the offence and reasons zones in India for better nutritional for the delay, if any, shall be recorded outcomes. by the Special Court. September 2019 celebrated as POSHAN Maah • Further, Section 35 also lies down that • POSHAN Maah was celebrated in the Special Court shall complete the September this year (2019). trial, as far as possible, within a period of one year from the date of taking • There is no provision under the cognizance of the offence. POSHAN Abhiyaan to provide nutritious food it only ensures The Government of India has taken the convergence of various nutrition- following steps to ensure speedy related schemes/interventions of dispensation of justice: various line Ministries. • The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, • Providing Supplementary Nutrition is 2018, the Government has finalized a a part of Anganwadi Services scheme. scheme in August 2019 for setting up Software and dashboard for POSHAN of total of 1023 Fast Track Special Abhiyaan Courts (FTSCs) across the country for

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expeditious trial and disposal of o ante-natal check-up and pending cases pertaining to rape and registration of the birth of the POCSO Act, 2012, in a time-bound child manner under Centrally Sponsored o completion of the first cycle of Scheme. vaccination for the first living • The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, child of the family. 2013 was enacted for effective • The eligible beneficiaries also receive deterrence against sexual offences. cash incentive under Janani Suraksha Further, the Criminal Law Yojana (JSY). (Amendment) Act, 2018 was enacted • Thus, on average, a woman gets Rs. to prescribe even more stringent 6,000. penal provisions including the death One-Stop Centre (OSC) Scheme penalty for rape of a girl below the age • Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana of 12 years. (IGMSY) has been discontinued on • The Act also inter-alia mandates 31st March 2017. completion of investigation and trials • The One Stop Centre (OSC) Scheme within 2 months each. provides a range of services including police facilitation, medical aid, • A “National Database on Sexual psycho-social counselling, legal Offenders” has been launched on counselling and temporary shelter to 20th September 2018 to facilitate women affected by violence in an investigation and tracking of sexual integrated manner under one roof. offenders across the country by law Short Stay Home for women and girls enforcement agencies. Scheme Cyber Crime Prevention against Women • It was introduced as a social defence and Children mechanism, by the then Department • It is an online cybercrime reporting of Social Welfare in 1969. portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in) has • The scheme is meant to provide been launched on 20th September temporary accommodation, 2018 to enable public to report maintenance and rehabilitative complaints pertaining to child services to women and girls rendered pornography/ child sexual abuse homeless due to family discord, material, rape/gang rape imageries or crime, violence, mental stress, social sexually explicit content. ostracism or are being forced into prostitution. Swadhar scheme Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana • It has the same objective like Short • It is a direct benefit transfer (DBT) Stay Home for women and girls scheme under which cash benefits are Scheme which was launched by the provided to pregnant women in their Department of Women and Child bank account directly to meet Development in 2001-02 for women enhanced nutritional needs and in difficult circumstances. partially compensate for wage loss. • The scheme through the provisions of • Under the ‘Scheme’, Pregnant Women shelter, food, clothing, counselling, and Lactating Mothers (PW&LM) training, clinical and legal aid aims to receive a cash benefit of Rs. 5,000 in rehabilitate women in difficult three instalments on fulfilling the circumstances. respective conditionality, Nirbhaya Fund o early registration of pregnancy • Government of India has set up a dedicated fund called Nirbhaya Fund for implementation of initiatives

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aimed at enhancing the safety and attributable to mental health from security of women in the country. 1990 prepared by the India State- Sexual Harassment electronic–Box Level Disease Burden Initiative and (SHe-Box) published in The Lancet Psychiatry. • Government of India has developed Highlights of the report an online complaint management • The contribution of mental disorders system titled Sexual Harassment to the disability-adjusted life year electronic–Box (SHe-Box) for (DALY) — the sum of total years of life registering complaints related to lost and years lived with a disability — sexual harassment at the workplace has doubled between 1990 and 2017 by women, including government and increasing from 2.5% to 4.7%. private employees. • Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, • Once a complaint is submitted to the Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh SHe-Box portal, it directly reaches to account for a higher prevalence of the concerned authority having mental disorders that manifest jurisdiction to take action in the primarily during adulthood in matter. depression and anxiety. • The SHe-Box portal has been The scenario in states: Socio- developed with the objective to Demographic Index (SDI) facilitate the registration of • In its State-wise analysis, the study complaints related to sexual divides different States into three harassment of women at workplace. categories on the basis of their socio- Topic- GS Paper 2 –Women demographic index (SDI), Empowerment o Low SDI Source- PIB o Medium SDI 2. Bar-headed goose spotted in o High SDI Pandalam • The SDI is a composite measure of • Recently a Bar-headed Goose (Anser per-capita income, mean education, Indicus) has been spotted in the and fertility rate in women younger wetlands of Karingali Puncha, near than 25 years and is calculated on a Pandalam, Kerala. scale of one. About Karingali Puncha About The disability-adjusted life year • It is a wetland located in Kerala. (DALY) • It is a major birding spot in the district • It is a tool to measure of overall of Kerala which reported the highest disease burden, expressed as the bird count in the Asian Waterfowl number of years lost due to ill-health, Census of 2015. disability or early death. About Bar-headed geese • It was developed in the 1990s as a • These are the migratory bird which is way of comparing the overall health found in central China and Mongolia. and life expectancy of different • They come to India and return to their countries. homes by crossing the Himalayan Topic- GS Paper 2 –Important Report ranges. (Health issue) • In IUCN Red List it is listed as “Least Source- PIB Concern” 4. Nagpur Resolution adopted Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment • It is a Holistic Approach for Source- The Hindu Empowering Citizens’ was adopted 3. South has a higher prevalence of during the session on ‘Improving mental disorders: study Public Service Delivery – Role of • According to the first comprehensive Governments’, held recently in estimates of the disease burden Nagpur, Maharashtra.

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• The conference was organised by the o Ensure timely publication of Department of Administrative Good Governance Index to Reforms and Public Grievances identify the quality of (DARPG), Government of India, in governance in 10 sectors collaboration with the Government of especially those pertaining to Maharashtra and the Maharashtra welfare and infrastructure at State Commission for Right to Public the Union, State and District Services which will participate to levels. collaborate: Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance o Empower the citizens by policy Source- PIB interventions for better service 5. Arunachal to mark schools as delivery through timely ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ updation of citizen’s charters, • Arunachal Pradesh will soon have implementation of enactments schools marked ‘hard’, ‘soft’ and and benchmarking standards ‘medium’. for continuous improvement. • Reason for this categorization o Adopt a holistic approach of o Geography or Topography systemic public grievance o Lack of infrastructure reforms through improved o The reluctance of teachers to mapping, formulation of work beyond their comfort monitoring matrix, data zones collection and evaluation in Hard Schools: quality of grievance redressal. • It includes areas with difficult o To empower citizens by accessibility and topography. adopting a bottom-up • All new recruits will be given a hard approach to bring massive posting for a mandatory three years, improvements in quality of inclusive of their probation period. grievance redressal and Medium Schools: reduction in timelines of it. • It includes areas with medium o Provide an enabling accessibility, connectivity and environment for States and topography. Ministries/ Departments of the • After completing hard schools phase Government of India for the new teachers will be spending the creating web portals and to next five years in schools with levels adopt a holistic approach for of medium difficulty. improved service delivery Soft Schools: through digital platforms. • It includes areas with easy o Focus on dynamic policy- accessibility and connectivity majorly making and strategic urban areas. decisions, monitoring of • After completing hard and medium implementation, the schools phase the teachers will be appointment of key personnel, allotted soft schools. coordination and evaluation. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance o Achieve a sense of common Source- AIR identity by the exchange of 6. Centre urged to treat KLIP as a technical expertise in the areas national project of Improved Service Delivery • The State government has once again between the paired States requested the Centre to treat under the Ek Bharat – Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project Shreshtha Bharat Program. (KLIP) as a National Project.

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About The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation construction, are given national Project project status because state • It is a multi-purpose irrigation project governments cannot afford such huge on the in capital. Kaleshwaram, Bhoopalpally, Topic- GS Paper 1–Geography Telangana, India. Source- Indian Express • Currently it is the world's largest 7. 27th Ezhuthachan Puraskaram multi-stage lift irrigation project; its award farthest upstream influence is at the • Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan confluence of the Pranhita and presented the Ezhuthachan Award for Godavari rivers. the year 2019 to writer Anand at • The Pranahita River is itself a Thiruvananthapuram. confluence of various smaller • The author has penned novels such as tributaries including the Wardha, Aalkootam, Maranacertificate and Painganga, and Wainganga rivers Marubhoomikal Undakunnathu. which combine to form the seventh- About Ezhuthachan Puraskaram largest drainage basin on the • It is the highest literary honour that is subcontinent. given by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi, Mission Bhagiratha and Mission Kakatiya Government of Kerala which was are the two schemes that were taken up instituted in 1993. in the new State to meet the aspirations • The award is named after of people and to provide drinking water Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, the About Mission Bhagiratha father of the Malayalam language. • It is a project for safe drinking water • It consists of a cash prize of ₹5 lakh. for every village and city household in Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture Telangana State. Source- The Hindu • It aims is to provide piped water to 2.32 crore people in 20 lakh 25.12.2019 households in urban and 60 lakhs in rural areas of Telangana. 1. Cabinet approves Atal Bhujal • The ambitious project will supply Yojana clean drinking water to all households • The Union Cabinet approved the Atal in the state through water sourced Bhujal Yojana, a scheme for from River Godavari and River sustainable management of Krishna. groundwater resources. About Mission Kakatiya: About Atal Bhujal Yojana • The project aims to a rejuvenation of • The objective of the scheme is to water tanks and other water storage recharge groundwater and create structures to provide assistance and sufficient water storage for help to the small and marginal agricultural purposes. farmers of the state. • It will give emphasis to recharging Benefits of National Project groundwater sources and ensure • The main advantage of a project efficient use of water by involving which has received national project people at the local level. status is that 90% of the funding for • The scheme will cover 8,350 villages the project will be given by the central of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, government. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, • Usually, big multi-purpose projects Haryana and . involving irrigation, power generation, Funding storage of water etc., which require a huge amount of capital for

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• The funding pattern is 50:50 between months or more or a person who Government of India and the World intends to reside in that area for the Bank. next 6 months or more. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance The uniqueness about Census 2021 (Important Scheme) • It is for the first time, the Census Source- PIB 2021 will use the Mobile App for data 2. National Population Register collection. • The Union Cabinet has approved a • It will also provide a facility to the proposal to conduct Census 2021 and public for self-enumeration. update the National Population What is the difference between NPR and Register (NPR). NRC? • While the Census will be conducted in • The NPR is different from the National 2021, the NPR update will take place Register of Citizens which excludes from April to September 2020 in all the foreign citizens. the States/UTs except Assam. • According to the Citizenship • In the last NPR done in 2010, the data (Registration of Citizens and Issue of was collected on the 15 points and it National Identity Cards) Rules, did not include ‘date and place of birth notified on December 10, 2003, a of parents’ and last place of residence. Population Register is ‘the register About National Population Register containing details of persons usually • The NPR is a register of usual residing in a village or rural area or residents of the country. town or ward or demarcated area • It is mandatory for every usual (demarcated by the Registrar General resident of India to register in the of Citizen Registration) within a ward NPR. It includes both Indian citizens in a town or urban area. as well as a foreign citizen. • Whereas, the ‘National Register of • The objective of the NPR is to create a Indian Citizens’ is a register comprehensive identity database of containing details of Indian Citizens every usual resident in the country. living in India and outside India. Background What is the link between NPR and NRC? • The first National Population Register • According to the Citizenship was prepared in 2010 and updating (Registration of Citizens and Issue of this data was done during 2015 by National Identity Cards) Rules, conducting door to door survey. notified on December 10, 2003, The • The next update of the NPR will take Central Government may, by an order place in the year 2020 from April to issued in this regard, decide a date by September with the House listing which the Population Register shall be phase of the Census 2021. prepared by collecting information • It is being prepared at the local relating to all persons who are usually (Village/sub-Town), sub-District, residing within the jurisdiction of Local District, State and National level Registrar. under provisions of the Citizenship Act • The Local Register of Indian citizens 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration shall contain details of persons after of Citizens and Issue of National due verification made from the Identity Cards) Rules, 2003. Population Register. What is the usual resident? Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance • According to the Citizenship Source- Indian Express (Registration of Citizens and Issue of 3. Cabinet grants Ex-post facto National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003, approval to amend the Bengal a usual resident is a person who has Eastern Frontier Regulations resided in a local area for the past 6

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• The Union Cabinet has granted its ex- • As a matter of fact, the same post facto approval to amend the restriction applies to the existing Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations Indian citizens. (BEFR), 1873. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance • "The cabinet gave its ex-post facto Source- Business Standard approval to the Adaptation of Laws 4. Year-End Review of micro, small (Amendment) Order, 2019 issued by and medium enterprises (MSMEs) the President of India under clause (2) • Under the Prime Minister's of Article 372 of the Constitution to Employment Generation Programme amend the BEFR. (PMEGP), new micro-enterprises have • The notification will extend BEFR to been set up, the MSME Ministry said the state of Manipur to give its in its year-end review for 2019. indigenous people protection from the • The government said it envisions provisions of the Citizenship micro, small and medium enterprises (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 and (MSMEs) to contribute USD 2 trillion make necessary changes in the said to the country's target of becoming regulation. USD 5 trillion economy by 2024. About the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Prime Minister’s Employment 2019) Generation Programme (PMEGP): • It grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, • PMEGP is a major credit-linked Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians subsidy programme being fleeing religious persecution from implemented by the Ministry of MSME Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh since 2008-09. and came to India on or before • The Scheme is aimed at generating December 31, 2014. self-employment opportunities About Inner Line Permit system through establishment of micro- • It is a document that allows an Indian enterprises in the non-farm sector by citizen to visit or stay in a state that is helping traditional artisans and protected under the ILP system. unemployed youth in rural as well as • The system is in force previously in urban areas. three Northeastern states — SFURTI Clusters: Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and • 51 SFURTI (Scheme of Fund for Mizoram — and now it also included Regeneration of Traditional Manipur. Industries) Clusters approved earlier • Under this, no Indian citizen can visit are completed and are functional. any of these states unless he or she Solar Charkha Clusters: does not belong to that state, nor can • The President of India, Ram Nath he or she overstay beyond the period Kovind launched the Solar Charkha specified in the ILP. Mission on 27th June 2018. The CAB connection • The Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) • The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill of Solar Charkha Clusters have been aims to make it easier for non-Muslim approved by the Scheme Steering refugees from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Committee during the current and Afghanistan to obtain Indian financial year 2019-20. citizenship. Credit Link Capital Subsidy Re- • If it is implemented with provisions for Launched: excluding from its ambit the states • The Government approved for under the ILP regime, it means that continuation of Credit Linked Capital beneficiaries under CAB will become Subsidy component under Credit Indian citizens but will not be able to Linked Capital Subsidy-Technology settle in these three states.

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Upgradation Scheme (CLCS-TUS) in otherwise remained cut off from the February 2019. rest of the country for about six Technology Centre Systems Programme months during winters. (TCSP): • It is the 8.8-kilometre-long tunnel is • Ministry of MSME is implementing the world's longest tunnel above an Technology Centre Systems altitude of 3,000 metres. Programme (TCSP) at an estimated • It will reduce the distance between cost of Rs. 2200 crore, including Manali and Leh. World Bank Loan assistance of USD • It is a 10.5-metre wide single tube bi- 200 million, to establish 15 new Tool lane tunnel with a fireproof Rooms and Technology Development emergency egress tunnel built into Centres (TCs) and upgrade the the main tunnel itself. existing 18 TCs across the country. About Rohtang Pass • Four Technology Centres at Bhiwadi, • It is a high mountain pass on the Bhopal, Puddi and Tinsukia are ready eastern Pir Panjal Range of the for commissioning. Himalayas around 51 km from Manali. Khadi gets separate unique HS code, • It connects the Kullu Valley with the export to get a boost Lahaul and Spiti Valleys of Himachal • Khadi has got unique HS code issued Pradesh, India by the central government on Topic- GS Paper 1 –Geography 4thNov’19 to categorize its products in Source- The Hindu export. It will make the export of 6. Chief of Defence Staff Khadi, exclusively categorized from • The Union Cabinet has approved to the general league of textile products. create the post of Chief of Defence Launching of Sale of Khadi Rumal made Staff in the rank of a four-star General by militancy affected women of J&K: with salary and perquisites equivalent • Union Minister for MSME launched the to a Service Chief. sale of Khadi Rumal made by • The Chief of Defence Staff will also militancy affected women of J&K on head the Department of Military 17th December 2019. Affairs (DMA), to be created within the • The sale of Khadi Rumal will instil Ministry of Defence and function as its confidence and enable women all over Secretary. Jammu & Kashmir to live an As the Permanent Chairman of Chiefs of independent and respectful life. Staff Committee, CDS will perform the Topic- GS Paper 3 –Economics following functions: Source- The Hindu • CDS will administer tri-services 5. Tunnel under Rohtang pass to be organisations. Tri-service renamed after Atal Bihari agencies/organisations/commands Vajpayee related to Cyber and Space will be • The Union Cabinet has approved the under the command of the CDS. renaming of the strategic tunnel • CDS will be a member of Defence under Rohtang Pass after former Acquisition Council chaired by Raksha Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Mantri and Defence Planning • The renaming of the tunnel will take Committee chaired by NSA. place in the late Vajpayee's 95th birth • Function as the Military Adviser to the anniversary. Nuclear Command Authority. About the Tunnel • Bring about jointness in operation, • It is a strategically important tunnel logistics, transport, training, support which will provide all-weather services, communications, repairs connectivity to remote border areas of and maintenance, etc of the three Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh which

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Services, within three years of the and to amend the Insolvency and first CDS assuming office. Bankruptcy Code, 2016. • Ensure optimal utilisation of • The Amendment will remove certain infrastructure and rationalise it ambiguities in the Insolvency and through jointness among the services. Bankruptcy Code, 2016 and ensure • Implement a Five-Year Defence smooth implementation of the Code. Capital Acquisition Plan (DCAP), and proposed Amendments: Two-Year roll-on Annual Acquisition • the liability of a corporate debtor for Plans (AAP), as a follow up of an offence committed prior to the Integrated Capability Development commencement of the corporate Plan (ICDP). insolvency resolution process shall • Assign inter-Services prioritisation to cease. capital acquisition proposals based on • the corporate debtor shall not be the anticipated budget. prosecuted for such an offence from • Bring about reforms in the functioning the date the resolution plan has been of three Services aimed at approved by the Adjudicating augmenting combat capabilities of the Authority Armed Forces by reducing wasteful • if the resolution plan results in the expenditure. change in the management or control Background of the corporate debtor to a person • The proposal for a CDS has been there who was not: for two decades which was first made o A promoter or in the by the K. Subrahmanyam committee management or control of the appointed after the Kargil conflict of corporate debtor or a related 1999 to recommend higher military party of such a person; or reforms. o A person with regard to whom • However, lack of consensus and the relevant investigating apprehensions among services meant authority has, on the basis of it never moved forward. material in its possession. • In 2012, the Naresh Chandra • In addition, it provides immunity from Committee recommended the any action against the property (such appointment of a Permanent as attachment, seizure, or Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee confiscation) of the corporate debtor (COSC) as a midway to allay in relation to such offences. apprehensions over the CDS. • Such immunity will be granted if the • The CDS is also one of the 99 resolution plan approved by the NCLT recommendations made by the Lt results in the change of promoters or General D.B. Shekatkar (retd) management of the corporate debtor. Committee which submitted its report • However, any person in charge of the in December 2016 which had 34 corporate debtor, or associated with recommendations pertaining to the it, will continue to be held liable for tri-services. such offences. Topic- GS Paper 3 –Defence Topic- GS Paper 3 –Economics Times Source- The Hindu Source- The Hindu 7. Cabinet approves promulgation of 8. NITI Aayog to Launch SDG India the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Index & Dashboard 2019–20 Code (Amendment) Ordinance, • NITI Aayog will launch the second 2019 edition of the Sustainable • The Union Cabinet has approved a Development Goals (SDG) India proposal to promulgate an Ordinance Index. About SDG Index

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• The SDG index documents the • The Operational Guidelines will help progress made by India’s States and various functionaries involved in the Union Territories towards implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission. implementing the 2030 SDG targets. About Jal Jeevan Mission • The SDG India Index and Dashboard • The Union Cabinet has approved Jal 2019–20 have been developed in Jeevan Mission (JJM) this year to collaboration with the Ministry of provide Functional Household Tap Statistics and Programme Connection (FHTC) to every rural Implementation (MoSPI), the United household by 2024. Nations in India, and the Global Green • The objective of the mission to ensure Growth Institute. HarGharJal (piped water supply) to all • NITI Aayog has the mandate of rural households by 2024 under the overseeing the adoption and Jal Jeevan Mission. monitoring of SDGs in the country, at • Department of Drinking Water and the national and sub-national level. Sanitation under the Jal Shakti How does it work? Mantralaya is the Executing Agency. • The SDG India Index and Dashboard • This Mission will focus on integrated 2019 tracks the progress of and ranks demand and supply-side all States and UTs on 100 indicators management of water at the local drawn from MoSPI’s National level, including the creation of local Indicator Framework, comprising 306 infrastructure for source sustainability indicators. like rainwater harvesting, • It indicates where the country and its groundwater recharge and States and UTs currently are on SDG management of household implementation, and charts the wastewater for reuse in agriculture. distance to be travelled to reach the • The Mission will converge with other SDG targets. Central and State Government • The Index covers 16 out of 17 SDGs Schemes to achieve its objectives of and a qualitative assessment on Goal sustainable water supply 17. This marks an improvement over management across the country. the 2018 Index, which covered only Funding: 13 goals. • Besides using funds available under Note: various Schemes, the Government • The SDG India Index, whose first will also explore the possibility of edition was launched in December using additional funds available under 2018. the Compensatory Afforestation Fund • It was the first tool developed by any Management and Planning Authority. large country to monitor the progress For the implementation of JJM, following towards achieving SDGs at the sub- institutional arrangement has been national level. proposed: Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance a. National Jal Jeevan Mission at the Source- The Hindu Central level; b. State Water and Sanitation Mission 26.12.2019 (SWSM) at State level; c. District Water and Sanitation Mission 1. Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) (DWSM) at the district level; and • The Prime Minister released the d. Gram Panchayat and/ or its sub- Operational Guidelines of Jal Jeevan committees i.e. Village Water Mission (JJM). Sanitation Committee (VWSC)/ Paani Samiti at village Level. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance

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Source- PIB Benefits of India’s ratification 2. Good Governance Index • It would fulfil the obligations arising • The Ministry of Personnel, Public from Article 25 of the Constitution of Grievances & Pensions has released the UPU and its commitment as Good Governance Index on the expected of a member country of the occasion of Good Governance Day. Union. • The Good Governance Day is • It will also enable the Department of observed on the birth anniversary of Posts to bring out any administrative former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari orders to implement the provisions of Vajpayee. the UPU Convention in India. About the Good Governance Index Topic- GS Paper 2 –International • The Good Governance Index is a Institution uniform tool across the States to Source- Indian Express assess the Status of Governance and 4. Year Ender Review of the Ministry impact of various interventions taken of Rural Development up by the State Government and UTs. • The mandate of the Ministry of Rural • The objectives of GGI are to provide Development (MoRD) is sustainable quantifiable data to compare the state and inclusive growth of rural India by of governance in all states and UTs, increasing livelihoods opportunities, enable states and UTs to formulate providing social safety and developing and implement suitable strategies for rural infrastructure. improving governance and shift to • The five major rural development result-oriented approaches and themes around which the current administration. flagship Programmes of MoRD are Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance centred are as follows: Source- PIB i. Rural Housing (through Pradhan 3. Universal Postal Union Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin) • The Union Cabinet gave its approval ii. Rural Employment (through Mahatma to the ratification of the Tenth Gandhi National Rural Employment Additional Protocol to the Constitution Guarantee Scheme) of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) iii. Rural Connectivity (through Pradhan adopted by 2nd Extraordinary Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana) Congress of the Union held at Addis iv. Rural Livelihood (through Deendayal Ababa, Ethiopia in 2018. Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural About Universal Postal Union Livelihoods Mission) • It is established by the Treaty of Bern v. Rural Skilling (through Deen Dayal of 1874 which is a specialized agency Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya of the United Nations (UN) that Yojana and Rural Self Employment coordinates postal policies among Training Institutes) member nations, in addition to the • Apart from the above, the National worldwide postal system. Social Assistance Programme (NSAP), • The UPU contains four bodies Shyama Prasad Mukherjee RURBAN consisting of the Mission (SPMRM) and Saansad Adarsh o Congress Gram Yojana (SAGY) are other o The Council of Administration important Programmes of MoRD. (CA) • The Department is implementing o The Postal Operations Council programmes based on the evidence- (POC) based selection of poor households as o The International Bureau (IB). per the deprivation criteria of Socio- • Its headquarters are located in Bern, Economic Census (SECC, 2011) data. Switzerland.

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Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana that they diversify their livelihoods, (PMGSY) improve their incomes and quality of • It was launched on 25th December life. 2000. • All “automatically included” • It’s objective is to providing households and all households with connectivity by way of a single all- “at least one deprivation” as per the weather road to the eligible Socio-Economic and Caste Census unconnected habitations as per core- (SECC) 2011 data constitute the network with a population of 500 target group of DAY-NRLM. persons in plain areas and 250 The major components of the DAY-NRLM persons & above in respect of special are: category states like NE, Sikkim, HP, • Promotion of sustainable institutions J&K & Uttarakhand, desert areas, of the poor tribal & backward districts. • Ensuring access to financial services • The programme also provides for • Promote diversified livelihoods upgradation of the existing 'Through opportunities for the poor, in farm and Routes' and ‘Major Rural Links’ (MRL). non- farm sectors. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen • Promotion of skill development and Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) and Rural access to jobs Self Employment Training Institutes • Promotion of social inclusion, social (RSETIs) development and human • Ministry of Rural Development is development implementing two welfare schemes in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural the field of skill development for rural Employment Guarantee Scheme poor youth under the National Rural (MGNREGS) Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) as • Mahatma Gandhi National Rural follows:- Employment Guarantee Act o Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (MGNREGA) is the largest social Grameen Kaushalya Yojana security scheme in the world that (DDU-GKY) which is a guarantees 100 days of unskilled placement linked skill manual work to all rural households in development program for India. wage employment. • The MGNREGA actually gives rural o Skill development through households the right to work. It Rural Self Employment and makes obligatory for the State to give Training Institutes (RSETIs) them work on demand. A household enabling a trainee to take bank could actually sue the states for not credit and start his/her own doing so. Micro-enterprise. Some such Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin trainees may also seek regular (PMAY-G) salaried jobs. • The PMAY-G is a rural housing scheme Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National which was previously being Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) implemented as the Indira Awaas • It was launched in 2011, the Yojana. Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- • It has been restructured into Pradhan National Rural Livelihoods Mission Mantri Awaas Yojana – Gramin (DAY-NRLM). (PMAY-G), which came into effect • It aims to mobilize rural poor from 1st April 2016. households into Self Help Groups • PMAY-G aims to provide a pucca (SHGs) in a phased manner and house with basic amenities to all provides them long-term support such houseless households and households

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living in kutcha and dilapidated house family members or other sources, to by 2022. be identified by States/UTs. Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT): • At present NSAP includes five sub- • Under PMAY-G, the assistance to schemes as its components – beneficiaries is to be transferred IGNOAPS, IGNWPS, IGNDPS, NFBS, electronically through the AwaasSoft- and Annapurna. PFMS platform. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance • This ensured seamless transfer of Source- PIB funds electronically into the Bank/Post 5. Massive locust invasion threatens Office account of each beneficiary Gujarat farmers through Fund Transfer Order (FTO). • Recently Gujarat is under attack from Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission hoppers — new-born locusts — that (SPMRM) have flown in across the international • Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban border. Mission (SPMRM) is focused on the • The locusts, known as tiddis locally, comprehensive development of 300 have wreaked havoc on standing clusters spread across 29 States and crops of castor, cumin, jatropha, 6 Union Territories of the country. cotton, and potato, and fodder grass. • These clusters are identified in rural • Gujarat has not witnessed such an regions displaying potential for invasion of locusts since 1993-94. economic growth through presence of • According to local experts, the State thematic livelihood activities, administration has been caught increasing population and non-farm napping despite an alert from the UN employment. Food and Agriculture Organisation • The Mission is being implemented (FAO) of a massive locust attack in with an aim to transform these South Asia covering Pakistan and clusters by focusing on developing India. skills, strengthening economic • The Locust Warning Organization activities and provision of crucial basic (LWO) in Jodhpur had noticed the infrastructure amenities in an swarms and predicted their trajectory equitable and time-bound manner. across the international border. Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) About Locust • Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY), • Locusts are a collection of certain a pathbreaking initiative in rural species of short-horned development was launched in 2014 grasshoppers. with the objective of creating ‘Adarsh • These insects are usually solitary, but Grams’ across the country. under certain circumstances they • The scheme Guidelines for SAGY-I become more abundant and change (2014-19) called upon the Hon’ble their behaviour and habits, becoming Members of Parliament to make one gregarious. Gram Panchayat of their choice, a • No taxonomic distinction is made Model Village by 2016, and another between locust and grasshopper two by 2019. species. National Social Assistance Programme • Locusts have formed plagues since (NSAP) prehistory, during plagues. • National social assistance programme • Desert Locusts may spread over an (NSAP) is targeted at any such person enormous area of some 29 million who has little or no regular means of square kilometres, extending over or subsistence from his/her own source into parts of 60 countries. of income or financial support from

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• Desert Locust plagues occurred in diameter, to prevent detection by 1926-1934, 1940-1948, 1949-1963, unintended recipients. 1967-1969 and 1986-1989. • These dots are normally circular but • Originally, the locusts emerged in can be made into different shapes and February this year from Sudan and sizes and made from various Eritrea on Africa’s Red Sea Coast and materials such as polyester or metal. travelled through Saudi Arabia and • Microdot technology is a very effective Iran to enter Pakistan, where they form of Vehicle Marking. invaded the Sindh province and from • It involves spraying thousands of the there they moved into Rajasthan and microdots laser etched with a Vehicle Gujarat. Identification Number (VIN) on a Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment and vehicle or its any part. Biodiversity • Due to its small size, microdots are Source- The Hindu impossible to locate and remove. 6. Chillai-Kalan' begins in Kashmir • Microdots can be used to secure • Chillai-Kalan, a 40-day long period of equipment, tools, and household extreme cold in Kashmir, began on items. December 21 and will continue till • They have also been successfully used January 31 followed by Chillai-Khurd to secure plants in public gardens and Chillai-Bachha. against theft. • A 20-day long Chillai-Khurd (small Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance cold) starts from January 31 to Source- Business Standard February 19 8. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait end dispute • Chillai-Bachha (baby cold) is 10-day over shared oil fields long occurs between February 20 and • Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have ended March 2. a nearly five-year-long dispute over • As per India Meteorological shared oil fields and have agreed to Department, the period mostly resume oil production from the remains wet as the upper part of the divided Neutral Zone, but stressed Valley received heavy snowfall and this would not change their OPEC the maximum temperature drops commitments to crude oil production considerably. cuts. • During this period, water bodies like • The allied Gulf Arab nations signed the lakes, river and stream get frozen agreement in Kuwait City. with a thick layer of sheets. • About 300,000 barrels per day were Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture being pumped from the area before Source- The Hindu the dispute halted production in early 7. Microdot Technology 2015. • The Ministry of Road Transport and • The divided zone, located between the Highways has notified automotive two neighbouring countries' land industry standards in respect of borders, can produce up to half-a- Microdot identifiers affixed on the million barrels per day. motor vehicles and their parts, • The state-run Saudi Press Agency components, assemblies, sub- reported that the agreement will not assemblies. affect Saudi Arabia's commitments to • It has been done through the reduce its crude output to 9.7 million amendment in the Central Motor barrels of per day. vehicles Rules 1989. Topic- GS Paper 2 –International Affairs About Microdots Technology Source- AIR • Microdots are text or images reduced to a very small size, about 1 mm in 27.12.2019

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parties, i.e., where at times law or 1. Article 142: SC’s use of statute may not provide a remedy. extraordinary powers in the • The Court can extend itself to put a Constitution to allow a divorce quietus to a dispute in a manner which • Recently Supreme Court used its would befit the facts of the case. extraordinary powers under article What law Commission Suggest on 142 to allow divorce on the ground of ‘irretrievable breakdown’? "irretrievable breakdown of marriage” • The Law Commission of India has which are not included in Hindu twice recommended that marriage Act 1955. “irretrievable breakdown” of marriage Grounds for divorce under Hindu law be included as a new ground for • The Hindu Marriage Act 1955 lays granting divorce to Hindus under the down the law for divorce, which provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act applies to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and the Special Marriage Act. and Sikhs. • The Commission first suggested an • Currently, Hindu marriage law does amendment in 1978 in its 71st report, not include “irretrievable breakdown and in 2009 in the 217th report. of marriage” as a ground for divorce. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Polity Under Section 13 of the Act, the grounds for Source- Indian Express divorce include: 2. Year-end Review of M/O Social • “voluntary sexual intercourse with Justice and Empowerment & DEPwD any person other than his or her • The vision of the D/o Social Justice & spouse”; Empowerment is to build an inclusive • “cruelty”; society wherein members of the • desertion “for a continuous period of target groups can lead productive, not less than two years immediately safe and dignified lives with adequate preceding the presentation of the support for their growth and petition”; development. • “ceas(ing) to be a Hindu by • It aims to support and empower its conversion to another religion”, and target groups through programmes of being “incurably of unsound mind”. educational, economic and social • In addition, Section 13B provides for development and rehabilitation “divorce by mutual consent”. wherever necessary. • Section 27 of The Special Marriage A. TRANSGENDER PERSONS Act, 1954 provides the grounds for (PROTECTION OF RIGHTS) ACT the grant of divorce in the case of 2019 marriages solemnised under that Act. o The Act will make all the • However, neither of the two Acts stakeholders responsive and provide for “irretrievable breakdown accountable for upholding the of marriage” as a ground for divorce. principles underlying the Act. Article 142 of the Constitution o It will bring greater • Under Article 142(1), “The Supreme accountability on the part of Court in the exercise of its jurisdiction the Central Government and may pass such decree or make such State Governments/Union order as is necessary for doing Territories Administrations for complete justice in any cause or issues concerning Transgender matter pending before it, persons. • Article 142, the court said, “Provide a o The bill will lead to greater unique power to the Supreme Court, inclusiveness and will make to do “complete justice” between the the transgender persons

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productive members of under Madhya Pradesh Society society. Registration Act, 1973. B. VAYOSHRESHTHA SAMMAN TO • The objective is to promote mental EMINENT SENIOR CITIZENS AND health rehabilitation using an INSTITUTION integrated multidisciplinary approach o The President of India and developing trained professionals presented the in the area of mental health “VayoshreshthaSamman” to rehabilitation. the eminent senior citizens and Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance institutions in recognition of Source- PIB their services towards the 3. Eclipse cause of the elderly persons, • The last solar eclipse of this year to mark the “International Day recently will take place on December of Older Persons ( 1 October ). 26, which will fall over the eastern o The coveted hemisphere of the Earth. VayoshreshthaSamman was About Solar eclipse instituted in the year 2005 and • An eclipse happens when the moon was upgraded to the status of while orbiting the Earth comes in National Awards in the year between the sun and the Earth, due to 2013. which the moon blocks the sun’s light C. DEPARTMENT OF EMPOWERMENT from reaching the Earth, causing an OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES eclipse of the sun or a solar eclipse. (DEPWD) • During a solar eclipse, the moon casts o DEPwD was created in order to two shadows on the Earth; the first give focused attention to Policy one is called the umbra, which gets issues and meaningful thrust smaller as it reaches the Earth. to the activities aimed at • The second one is called the welfare and empowerment of penumbra, which gets larger as it the Persons with Disabilities. reaches the Earth. o It acts as a Nodal Agency for There are three types of eclipses: matters pertaining to disability A. Total solar eclipse: and Persons with Disabilities o A total solar eclipse happens including effecting closer when the sun, moon and Earth coordination among different are in a direct line. stakeholders: related Central o It is visible only from a small Ministries, State/UT area on Earth. Governments, NGOs etc. in o According to NASA, people matters pertaining to who are able to view the total disability. solar eclipse are in the centre o Its vision is to build an of the moon’s shadow as and inclusive society in which equal when it hits the Earth. opportunities are provided for B. Partial solar eclipse: in which the the growth and development shadow of the moon appears on a of Persons with Disabilities so small part of the sun. that they can lead productive, C. Annular solar eclipse, which safe and dignified lives. happens when the moon is farthest ACHIEVEMENTS OF DEPwD from the Earth, which is why it seems National Institute of Mental Health smaller. In this type of an eclipse, the Rehabilitation (NIMHR) moon does not block the sun • It is set up at Sehore, Madhya Pradesh completely, but looks like a “dark disk which has been registered as a society

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on top of a larger sun-coloured disk” sustainable university campuses, forming a “ring of fire”. human values and professional ethics, Topic- GS Paper 1 –Geography faculty induction and academic Source- Indian Express research integrity. 4. BrahMos missile • The Higher Education Quality • Defence Research and Development Improvement Programme Mandate Organisation (DRDO) has recently aims at evolving higher education carried out two successful tests of the system to equip country’s next- latest variant of the BrahMos missile generation with vital skills, knowledge one from the land platform and the and ethics for leading a rewarding life. other from the air. Different Initiative taken for Higher About BrahMos Missile Education • It is a joint venture between the • SATAT- the Framework for Eco- Defence Research and Development Friendly and Sustainable Campus Organisation of India (DRDO) and the development in Higher Educational NPOM of Russia. Institutions. The framework also • Brahmos is named on the rivers encourages universities to adopt Brahmaputra and Moskva. reflective policies and practices to • It is a two-stage (solid propellant enhance the environmental quality of engine in the first stage and liquid the campus and to adopt sustainable ramjet in second) air to surface green and sustainable methods in its missile with a flight range of around future. 300 km. • UGC has also developed a policy • Brahmos is a multiplatform i.e it can framework- “MulyaPravah - be launched from land, air, and sea Guidelines for Inculcation of Human and multi capability missile with values and Professionals Ethics in pinpoint accuracy that works in both Higher Educational Institutions”. day and night irrespective of the • Guru-Dakshta guidelines - It is a weather conditions. guide to Faculty Induction Programme • It operates on the "Fire and Forgets" which will fulfil its main objective to principle i.e. it does not require sensitise and motivate the faculty to further guidance after launch. adopt learner-centred approaches. Speed of the Missiles • ICT integrated learning and new • Supersonic cruise missile- When pedagogic approaches to teaching- the Speed of the Missile is attained learning, assessment tools in higher speeds 2.8 times that of sound (Mach education. 2.8). Topic- GS Paper 3 –Education • Hypersonic cruise missiles: When Source- PIB the speed is greater than Mach 5. 6. Groups call for ban on surgeries Topic- GS Paper 3 –Defense on intersex minors Source- PIB • Intersex individuals and rights 5. HRD Minister launches five organisations have sought a national documents developed by UGC ban on unnecessary medical surgeries • Ministry of Human Resource conducted on children with intersex Development has launched the five traits and appealed to the Union documents developed by University government to protect their human Grants Commission, UGC covering the rights. 5 verticals of Quality Mandate in New Related Information Delhi. • The demand for a nation-wide ban • These five documents cover comes months after Tamil Nadu evaluation reforms, eco-friendly and banned normative surgeries on

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infants and children except in life- services up to a limit of ₹10,000 per threatening situations after a historic month. judgment of the Madras High Court on About Prepaid payment instrument April 22, 2019. • These are the financial instruments • If adopted nationally, India could that facilitate the purchase of goods become only the third country after and services against the value stored Malta and Taiwan, to have a legal on such instruments. regime which protects the rights of • PPIs shall be issued by the bank and intersex children. non-bank 'PPI Issuers' after obtaining • The World Health Organisation and minimum details of the holder. the United Nations Human Rights • The amount loaded in such PPIs Council have called upon the Member during any month shall not exceed States to end invasive and irreversible ₹10,000 and the total amount loaded medical surgeries and other medical during the financial year shall not treatment on intersex children. exceed ₹1,20,000. About Intersex • According to the circular, the PPI • It is an umbrella term to describe issuers shall provide an option to close people who are born with natural sex the instrument at "any time and also characteristics (including genitals, allow to transfer the funds 'back to gonads and chromosome patterns) source' at the time of closure". that do not fit typical binary notions of • "The directive is issued under Section male or female bodies. 18 read with Section 10(2) of • Intersex persons have been referred Payment and Settlement Systems to as ‘hermaphrodites’ or persons with Act, 2007 and is effective from the ‘disorders of sexual development’ date of issuance of this circular (DSD). Types of Prepaid Payment Instrument • Globally experts estimate that Closed system PPI intersex persons constitute 0.05 to • It can be used only at specific 1.7% of the total population. locations, and cannot be used to Note: transfer funds from one account to • While the term intersex is confused another. with transgender, the two in-facts • The most common example of a have very different meanings. closed system PPI is a brand-specific • Individuals who identify as gift card. transgender or transexual have a Semi-Closed System Payment gender that is different from the one Instruments traditionally associated with the sex • These payment instruments are they were assigned at birth. redeemable at a group of clearly • Intersex refers to people born with identified merchants that contract biological or physical characteristics specifically with the issuer to accept that are more diverse than the payment instrument. stereotypical male or female bodies. • These instruments do not permit cash Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance withdrawal or redemption by the Source- The Hindu holder. 7. RBI launches Prepaid Payment • The examples of semi-closed PPI are Instrument for your daily digital e-wallets like Oxigen and Mobikwik. payments Semi-open System Payment • Reserve Bank of India has introduced Instruments a new type of prepaid payment • These are payment instruments that instrument (PPI) which could be used can be used to purchase goods and only for the purchase of goods and services at any card-accepting

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merchant locations (Point of sale spacecraft may be "parked" to make terminals). observations. • These instruments do not permit cash • These points are named after Joseph- withdrawal or redemption by the Louis Lagrange, an 18th-century holder. mathematician. Open system PPI About the Sun structure • The open system PPIs can be issued • According to a report by NASA, the only by banks and can be used at any temperature at the Sun’s core is merchant outlet for any purchase or roughly 27 million degrees Fahrenheit cash withdrawal. and its surface temperature is 10,000 • A travel card is a type of open system degrees Fahrenheit. PPI. Layers • It can be used for all types of spending • The Sun has seven inner and outer and for cash withdrawal from ATMs. layers. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance • The inner layers are the core, Source- Business Standard radiative zone, and convection zone, while outer layers are the photosphere, the chromosphere, the transition region, and the corona. Outer Layers 30.12.2019 Photosphere: • This is the Sun’s deepest layer, and 1. Aditya or Aditya-L1 the layer visible to human eyes • Prime Minister in his 'Mann ki Baat' directly from the Earth. programme of AIR has recently said • It is also called the solar surface. that ISRO is planning to launch a • Photosphere's temperature varies satellite called Aditya to study the from roughly 6500 degrees Kelvin at Sun. the bottom of it to 4000 degrees About Aditya-L1 Kelvin to the top. • Indian Space Research Organisation is Chromosphere: to launch Aditya-L1, its first mission • This layer of the Sun is located to study the sun, in 2020. between 250 miles and 1300 miles • The aim of the mission is to keep a above the photosphere. permanent eye on the sun without • The chromosphere has temperatures any disturbance. around 4000 degrees, Kelvin, at the • Aditya-L1 is meant to observe the base, and 8000 degrees Kelvin at the solar corona. top. • The Aditya-l1 mission is expected to • As a result, in this layer and other be inserted in a halo orbit around the higher layers of the sun, the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) - which is 1.5 temperature increases if one moves million km from the earth. away from the Sun, unlike in lower About Lagrange Points layers where it gets hotter if one gets • A Lagrange point is a location in space nearer to the Sun’s centre. where the combined gravitational Transition Region: forces of two large bodies, such as • This layer is very thin with a size of Earth and the sun or Earth and the about 60 miles, and it is tucked moon, equal the centrifugal force felt amidst the corona and the by a much smaller third body. chromosphere. • The interaction of the forces creates a • In the transition region layer, the point of equilibrium where a temperature rises rapidly from

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roughly 8000 to 500,000 degrees organisation set up by the Ministry of Kelvin. Information and Broadcasting). Corona: • The award prize consists of a golden • This layer is the Sun’s outermost lotus, a cash prize of ₹10 lakh and a layer. shawl. • It starts at roughly 1300 miles over • The award is given to people for their the photosphere and it has no upper "outstanding contribution to the limit. growth and development of Indian • Its temperature is between 500,000 cinema". degrees Kelvin to 1 million degrees History Kelvin. • It was first presented in 1969. • The corona cannot be seen with bare • The first recipient of the award was eyes, but during a total solar eclipse, actress Devika Rani, “the first lady of one can use a coronagraph telescope Indian cinema.” to view it. Note: Topic- GS Paper 3 –Science and • Dadasaheb Phalke was an Indian film- Technology maker who directed India's first full- Source- AIR length feature film, Raja 2. World Economic League Table Harishchandra (1913). 2020 • He is regarded as "the father of Indian • India is likely to surpass Germany to cinema." become the fourth-largest economy in Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture 2026 according to the report of 'World Source- The Hindu Economic League Table 2020'. 4. Aadhaar made mandatory for • India is also set to become a 5 trillion Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana dollar economy by 2026, 2 years later Yojana pension scheme than the -government's target of • The government has made Aadhaar 2024. mandatory for subscribers of the • The report said that Japan, Germany Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana and India will battle for the third (PMVVY). position over the next 15 years. About Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana About the World Economic League Table Yojana (PMVVY). • The World Economic League Table is • It is a Pension Scheme announced by an annual calculation by the UK-based the Government of India exclusively Centre for Economics and Business for the senior citizens aged 60 years Research (CEBR). and above which is available from 4th • It is jointly published by CEBR and May 2017 to 31st March 2020. Global Construction Perspectives. • It aims to provide social security • The base data for 2019 is taken from during old age and to protect elderly the IMF World Economic Outlook. persons aged 60 and above against a Topic- GS Paper 3 –Economics future fall in their interest income due Source- PIB to uncertain market conditions. 3. Dada Saheb Phalke Award • The scheme is implemented by the • The President of India has presented Life Insurance Corporation of India Dada Saheb Phalke Award to Shri (LIC) which envisages an assured rate Amitabh Bachchan. of return of 8% annually. About Dadasaheb Phalke award Eligibility Conditions and Other • It is India's highest award in cinema, Restrictions is presented annually by the 1. Minimum Entry Age: 60 years Directorate of Film Festivals (an (completed) 2. Maximum Entry Age: No limit

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3. Policy Term: 10 years • The Chebrolu inscription is in the Note: Sanskrit language written in Brahmi • In Budget 2018, the government has characters. increased the limit of Rs7.5 lakh per • Saptamatrikas are a group of seven senior citizen to Rs15 lakh. female deities worshipped in Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Hinduism as personifying the energy Source- Indian Express of their respective consorts. 5. Run through Files • The references of Saptamatrika • Haryana devises scheme know as Run worship in the early Kadamba copper through Files in the Centralised File plates and the early Chalukyas and Movement and Tracking Information Eastern Chalukya copper plates. System (CFMS). Note: About the Scheme • The inscription from the 4th century • The scheme helps to ensure that AD of King Ehavala Chantamula of the important government matters don’t Ikshavaku dynasty, discovered in get delayed owing to conflicting Nagarjunakonda, also located in hierarchical and departmental Guntur district was considered as the priorities. earliest Sanskrit Inscription from • A file shall be marked as Run Through southern India. Files only by the Chief Minister in the Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture CFMS. Source- AIR • Every file marked as RTF has to be 7. Scheme for Enhancement of cleared on priority greater than that is Competitiveness in Capital Goods currently being accorded to the files Sector to be Scaled up marked top priority. • Ministry of Heavy Industries and • A system generated SMS and email Public Enterprises is implementing the will automatically be sent on each scheme for Enhancement of downward or upward movement of Competitiveness in the Indian Capital the file. Goods Sector. • In a communication sent from the About Scheme for Enhancement of Chief Secretary office to all Competitiveness in Capital Goods Sector departmental heads and others • The Ministry of Heavy Industries and concerned, instructions had been Public Enterprises had launched this issued on the mechanism pertaining scheme on a pilot basis in November to urgent files. 2014 for enhancement of Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance competitiveness in the Indian capital Source- The Hindu goods sector. 6. Earliest Sanskrit inscription in • The scheme is focused on making the South India found in A.P. Indian capital goods sector globally • The Epigraphy Branch of the competitive and gives a boost to the Archaeological Survey of India has Indian economy. discovered the earliest epigraphic • The scheme addresses the issue of evidence so far for the Saptamatrika technological depth creation in the cult in Andhra Pradesh. capital goods sector besides creating • It is also the earliest Sanskrit common industrial facility centres. inscription to have been discovered in • The scheme consists of five South India as on date. components: About the Sanskrit inscription o Advanced Centres of • The inscription is in Sanskrit and in Excellence Brahmi characters and was issued by o Integrated Industrial Satavahana king Vijaya in 207 A.D. Infrastructure Facilities (IIFC)

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o Common Engineering Facility • The festival is held annually on the 1st Centre (CEFC) Day of the Eleventh Month of Tibetan o Testing & Certification Centre Calendar correlating to a date in the (T&CC) Gregorian calendar. o Technology Acquisition Fund • During the festival, Ladakhi Buddhists Programme (TAFP). make a religious offering before their About the Capital Goods Industry deities in the domestic shrines or in • Capital Goods refer to products that the Gompas. are used in the production of other Topic- GS Paper 1 –Art and Culture products but are not incorporated into Source- The Hindu the new product. 9. Sex-sorting semen technology • These include machine tools, • The Centre has recently implemented industrial machinery, process plant the sex-sorting semen technology for equipment, construction & mining artificial insemination, which will equipment, electrical equipment, produce only female animals. textile machinery, printing & • This will reduce the number of male packaging machinery etc. calves which are abandoned by • The Capital Goods industry is the farmers. “mother” of all manufacturing About Sexed Semen technology industry and is of strategic importance • Sexed semen technology is about pre- to the National security and economic selecting the sex of offspring by independence. sorting or separating the X-sperms • The Capital Goods industry from Y-sperms. contributes about 12% of the total • The aim is to deliver freedom from manufacturing activity in India that is male calves by ensuring that cows are about 2% of the GDP. inseminated by semen containing only Note: X-chromosome-bearing sperms. • An Industry 4.0 SAMARTH UDYOG • This will ensure that only a female calf Centre is also coming up at IISc is born. Bangalore in order to support Indian Note: manufacturing to adopt and • The Centre also wants States to take assimilate Industry 4.0 technology action against farmers under the such as Data Analytics, 3 D Printing, provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, to Animals Act, 1960 for abandoning robotics machine to Machine cattle. Communication, Smarting of the Constitutional Provision for these Legacy machine. animals Topic- GS Paper 3 –Economics • “As per Article 246(3) of the Source- Indian Express Constitution, in List II of Seventh 8. Losar: A Ladakhi New Year Schedule, the preservation, festival protection and improvement of stock • Ladakh is celebrating its first Losar and prevention of animal diseases, Festival after it’s become a Union veterinary training and practice come Territory. under the State List on which the About Losar Festivals State has exclusive power to make • It is the most important festival for laws. Tibetan Buddhism in Ladakh which Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance marks the beginning of the New Year. Source- Indian Express • It is celebrated in Tibet, Nepal, and 10. Explained: Significance of Iran, Bhutan and each has its own China, Russia holding the joint naval drill traditions.

84 www.gradeup.co in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment Oman Source- The Hindu • Iran, China and Russia have recently begun a joint naval exercise in the 31.12.2019 Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman.

• It is a four-day exercise which has 1. NITI Sustainable Development Goal been launched from the port city of Index 2019 Chabahar in southeastern Iran. • Recently NITI Aayog released NITI • The Chabahar port, which is near Aayog's SDG India Index 2019. Iran’s border with Pakistan, was built About The SDG India Index with Indian assistance and is operated • It has launched in 2018 by Niti Aayog by India. with the help of the United Nations, • The aim of this exercise is to bolster took into account 16 out of 17 goals the security of international maritime specified by the United Nations as commerce, combatting piracy and SDGs. terrorism and sharing information and • The Index this year ranked states experience. based on 54 targets spread over 100 Significance indicators out of 306 outlined by the • The Gulf of Oman, where the exercise UN. is being held, is a critical waterway as • The first report, which was launched it connects the Arabian Sea to the in 2018, had 13 goals and 39 Strait of Hormuz. indicators. • The year 2020 will be the fifth • It opens into the Persian Gulf — anniversary of the adoption of SDGs located between energy producers by 193 countries at the UN General Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Assembly. Bahrain, Qatar, Oman (the exclave of • The SDGs constituted through an Musandam), and the United Arab unprecedented consultative process, Emirates (UAE) have 17 goals and 169 related targets • It is also the fifth of the world’s oil to be achieved by 2030. passes and represents around 30% of Highlights of the Index all sea-borne crude oil globally. • According to 'SDG India Index 2019', Topic- GS Paper 3 –Defence Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim Source- Business Standard have shown maximum improvement. 11. Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve • Kerala retained the top rank with a • Madhya Pradesh gets its first elephant score of 70 while Bihar was adjudged colony in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. as the worst performer in the Index. • Chandigarh too maintained its top About the Bandhavgarh National Park spot among the UTs with a score of • It is located in the Umaria district of 70. Madhya Pradesh. • Himachal Pradesh took the second spot • It was declared as a national park in while Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and 1968 and then became Tiger Reserve Telangana shared the third spot. in 1993. • Bihar, Jharkhand and Arunachal Note: Pradesh are the worst-performing • Madhya Pradesh is also known as the states in this year's Index for ‘Tiger State’ because in the 2019 Sustainable Development Goals census the state has recorded the (SDGs). most number of estimated tigers at • According to the report, India's composite score improved from 57 in 2018 to 60 in 526.

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2019 with major success in water and • Russia’s military has recently sanitation, industry and innovation. deployed a new intercontinental • However, nutrition and gender weapon, the Avangard hypersonic continue to be problem areas for missile system that can fly 27 times India, requiring a more focussed the speed of sound. approach from the government. • This will be the Russian military’s first • Front Runners Category: In this Avangard hypersonic intercontinental category, only three states were ballistic missile (ICBM). placed in the category of Front About Avangard hypersonic missile Runners (with a score in the range 65- • Previously referred to as Project 4202, 99, including both) in 2018 - Himachal the Avangard hypersonic missile Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. system is a reentry body carried atop • With regard to poverty reduction, an existing ballistic missile, which has states which have done well include the capability to manoeuvre. Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, • Its manoeuvring capability makes it Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim. difficult to predict its trajectory and • On 'zero hunger' parameters, Goa, gives it the ability to protect itself Mizoram, Kerala, Nagaland and from the air and ballistic missile Manipur were the front runners, defences by delivering nuclear according to the report. warheads to targets, for instance, in Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Europe and the US. Source- The Hindu • The Avangard missiles have a range 2. The Drake Passage of over 6,000 km, weigh • Recently six rowers from four approximately 2,000 kg and can countries on December 25 crossed the withstand temperatures of over 2000 Drake Passage, in just under two degree celsius. weeks after pushing off from the Other Russia Hypersonic Missile southern tip of South America. Kinzhal hypersonic missile • The project was dubbed “The • This has been developed by Russia Impossible Row” which means double-edged Russian About the Drake Passage dagger. • The passage is named after Sir • It can fly 10 times the speed of sound Francis Drake, who was the first and has a range of 2,000km. Englishman to circumnavigate the • It is equipped with high-precision globe. aeroballistic missiles supporting • The Passage is located between Cape airstrikes without entering enemy’s Horn at the tip of South America and air defence zone. the Antarctic Peninsula. • The first air unit equipped with Kinzhal • The Drake Passage is considered one of system was deployed in Russia’s Southern the roughest waterways in the world. Military District in December 2017. • According to the National Topic- GS Paper 3 –Defence Oceanography Centre, it is also the Source- Business Standard narrowest stretch in the Southern 4. Renewable energy certificate Ocean and spans approximately 800 sales down 10 per cent km between the southern tip of South • Recently sales of renewable energy America and the northern tip of the certificates fell around 10 per cent to West Antarctic Peninsula. 5.04 lakh units in December as Topic- GS Paper 1 –Geography compared to 5.59 lakh in the same Source- Indian Express month a year ago due to lower supply. 3. Russia Avangard hypersonic About Renewable energy certificate missile

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• Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) feature and presents single-window is a policy instrument to catalyze the access to information on properties up development of renewable energy. for e-auction, comparison of similar • Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) and properties, and also contains videos Power Exchange of India (PXIL) are and photographs of the uploaded the two power bourses in the country properties. which are engaged in trading of • The purpose of this portal is to renewable energy certificates (RECs) enhance user experience through and electricity. seamless access to information by the • REC is a market-based mechanism search based on the type and location which will help the states meet their of the property put up for e-auction by regulatory requirements (such as the banks in India. Renewable Purchase Obligations • The platform also helps the buyer to easily (RPOs)) by overcoming the navigate to the bank e-auction site after a geographical constraints on the notified property is selected. existing renewable potential in • It also helps the user to search different states. property using State-wise, District- • RECs unbundle the electricity component wise and bank-wise details. (commodity) from the Related Information green/environmental attributes of the • Indian Banks Auctions Mortgaged power generated from renewable sources. Properties Information (IBAPI) portal • Both the components can then be is an initiative of Indian Banks traded separately. Association (IBA) under the policy of • Thus RECs help in incentivizing the the Department of Financial Services production of renewable energy over (DFS), Ministry of Finance. and above the RPO state limit as • It provides details of mortgaged tradable certificates are not properties to be auctioned online by constrained by the geographical banks, starting with PSBs limitations of commodity electricity. Topic- GS Paper 3 –Economics Note: Source- Economics Times • Under the renewable purchase 6. UN gives green light to a draft obligation (RPO), bulk purchasers like treaty to combat cybercrime Discoms, open access consumers and • The UN General Assembly approved a capacitive users are required to buy a resolution that will start the process of certain proportion of RECs. drafting a new international treaty to • They can buy RECs from renewable combat cybercrime. energy producers to meet the RPO About the International Treaty norms. The proportion of renewable resolution energy for utilities is fixed by the • The resolution establishes an expert central and state electricity regulatory committee representing all regions of commissions. the world "to elaborate a Topic- GS Paper 3 –Environment comprehensive international Source- Indian Express convention on countering the use of 5. Finance Minister launches information and communications 'eBkray' auction platform for technologies for criminal purposes". assets attached by banks • It says the committee will meet in • Finance Minister has launched eBkray, August 2020 to agree on an outline of an e-auction platform to enable online its activities. auction of attached assets by banks. • This resolution will undermine About the eBkray platform international cooperation to combat • It provides navigational links to all PSB e-auction sites, property search

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cyber-crime at a time when enhanced About the Committee coordination is essential". • The panel is formed under India’s first Budapest Convention chief statistician Pronab Sen. • The Convention on Cybercrime, also • They will review and develop the known as the Budapest Convention on country’s surveys on employment, Cybercrime is the first international industry and services sector amid treaty seeking to address Internet and criticism of official statistics. computer crime (cybercrime). • The SCES will subsume in it the four • It was drawn up by the Council of standing committees on labour force Europe in Strasbourg, France, with statistics, industrial statistics, the active participation of the Council services sector and unincorporated of Europe's observer states Canada, sector enterprises. Japan, Philippines, South Africa and • It will review the existing framework the United States. of data sources, indicators and • The Convention and its Explanatory definitions of the index of industrial Report were adopted by the production, periodic labour force Committee of Ministers of the Council survey, time use survey, economic of Europe at its 109th Session on 8 census and unorganised sector November 2001. statistics, among others. “ • It entered into force on 1 July 2004. Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance Note: Source-Economics • India has declined to adopt the 8. Centre launches portal to help Budapest Convention on the recover stolen phones grounds that they did not • The Centre has launched a new portal participate in its drafting. ‘Central Equipment Identity Register’ • Since 2018, India has been that will help consumers in the city in reconsidering its stand on the blocking as well as tracing lost or Convention after a surge in stolen cell phones. cybercrime, though concerns about About the Portal sharing data with foreign agencies • The users will be able to requests for remain.[6] blocking of stolen or lost mobile Topic- GS Paper 2 –Security Issues phones, share traceability data with Source- Livemint the police and also unblock recovered 7. MOSPI constitutes a committee phones. on economic statistics • The complainant has to upload the police • The Ministry of Statistics and complaint and their own ID proof. Programme Implementation has set • Based on this, the lost mobile will be up a single standing committee on blocked. economic statistics (SCES). • Also if someone uses it, the same can • It helps to deliberate and develop be traced based on the tower signals methodologies for surveys on so the police can also recover the industry, services and employment in device. place of multiple panels on these Topic- GS Paper 2 –Governance issues. Source- The Hindu

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