Nimbus Times | December, 2019 Civil Services Examination
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CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION 2019 << 1 >> | NIMBUS TIMES | DECEMBER, 2019 CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION 2019 PREFACE This booklet of Current Affairs is an attempt so as to help the Civil Services Aspirants in their process of learning, understanding and analyzing each and every aspect of the current issue in the easiest possible manner. In order to make the understanding of the current affairs a long lasting affair and to help students score good marks in the examination; a balance between factual content and analytical approach has been maintained in this booklet. The booklet has been meticulously designed to suit the needs of Civil Service Aspirants appearing in IAS and State PSC examinations. In addition, it would benefit all those who are preparing for other competitive examinations or such individuals who are knowledge starving and have a passion to learn more. Owing to nature of the booklet, the Nimbus Academy Team has prepared the material with the help of the facts and the information provided by various Ministries of Govt. of India and merging those with the concepts developed by the subject matter experts. Reader’s suggestions and feedback directed towards improvements are welcome and can be e-mailed at [email protected] Nimbus Academy for IAS << 2 >> | NIMBUS TIMES | DECEMBER, 2019 CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION 2019 Published by Nimbus Academy For IAS CHANDIGARH: SCO 72-73, 1st Floor, SEC 15-D MOBILE – 9317442200 SHIMLA: SUSHANT BHAWAN, 1st FLOOR, NEAR CO-OPERATIVE BANK, CHHOTTA SHIMLA, PIN CODE-171002. Mobile No.-86288-68800 All rights reserved, No part of this book can be reproduced in any form, by mimeograph or any other means, without permission in writing from Nimbus Academy for IAS. E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.NimbusIAS.com ADVISORY AND EDITORIAL COUNCIL FOR NIMBUS TIMES Chief Mentors : Rajeev Kumar Deepak Bijalwan Associate Editors : Armaanjot Brar Special Thanks to Ajay Singh Guleria, Rahul Dev, Bhushan Rohta, Arkaz Sharma and Sukhwinder Singh for their Valuable Contribution and Suggestions. << 3 >> | NIMBUS TIMES | DECEMBER, 2019 CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION 2019 TABLE OF CONTENT Sr. No. Topic Page No. POLICY AND GOVERNANCE 6-10 1. Legal Rights That The Deities Enjoy In India Global Smart Cities Alliance on Technology Governance Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) 2. SOCIETY 11-21 National Nutrition Survey School Education Quality Index (SEQI) Ayushman Bharat Poshan Atlas National Diabetes And Diabetic Retinopathy Survey Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) Global Hunger Index Global Tuberculosis (TB) Report India Innovation Index 2019 2. ECONOMY 22-28 Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme Exchange Traded Funds PM – Kisan Scheme Asian Development Bank (ADB) Libra Nobel Prize In Economic Sciences 2019 World Economic Outlook (WEO) Alternative Investment Funds (AIFS) 7. ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY 29-36 Ban On Single-Use Plastic Deep Carbon Observatory C40 Cities Climate Summit Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) ‘Green Wall’ Of India C40 Clean Air Cities Declaration International Day For Disaster Reduction Us To Exit The Paris Climate Deal 3. 37-37 HISTORY, ART & CULTURE Kartarpur Sahib Corridor Project, “The Road To Peace” 4. 38-44 INTERNATIONAL RELATION Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) << 4 >> | NIMBUS TIMES | DECEMBER, 2019 CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION 2019 India- China Informal Summit At Mahabalipuram ‘Dark Grey’ List Of Fatf Bimstec India Decided That It Won’t Sign The Regional Comprehensive Economic Participation Agreement SCOJTEX- 2019 Kalapani Territory Dispute 6. SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 45-52 Brahmos Missile Nobel Prize In Physics Rafale Fighter Jet Saturn Is The Planet With The Highest Number Of Moons The Nobel Prize In Chemistry 2019 The Nobel Prize In Physiology Or Medicine 2019 One Nation One Fastag New Drug To Treat Alzheimer’s Disease Voyager 2 Spacecraft NAVIC 8. Himachal Pradesh Subordinate Allied Services-2019, Model Test-01 53-71 9. Himachal Pradesh Subordinate Allied Services-2019, Model Test-02 72-91 << 5 >> | NIMBUS TIMES | DECEMBER, 2019 CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION 2019 POLITY LEGAL RIGHTS THAT THE DEITIES ENJOY IN INDIA why in news? Among the parties in the Ayodhya title suit appeals, Lord Ram is considered a litigant in court since he is considered as a juristic person. Who is recognized as a juristic person? The Juristic Person means recognition of an entity to be in law a person which otherwise it is not, i.e. It is not an individual natural person but an artificially created person which is to be recognised to be in law as such. Gods, corporations, rivers, and animals, have all been treated as juristic persons by courts. When did the concept came up? Started under the British: Temples owned huge land and resources, and British administrators held that the legal owner of the wealth was the deity, with a shebait or manager acting as trustee. Subsequently the principle was held up in the various judicial pronouncements, for example In 1887, the Bombay High Court held in the Dakor Temple case: “Hindu idol is a juridical subject and the pious idea that it embodies is given the status of a legal person.” The concept was again reinforced in the 1921 order in Vidya Varuthi Thirtha vs Balusami Ayyar, where the court said, “under the Hindu law, the image of a deity is a ‘juristic entity’, vested with the capacity of receiving gifts and holding property”. Rights deities have: 1. Own property. 2. Pay taxes 3. Sue and being sued. 4. Do not have fundamental rights or other constitutional rights (Sabarimala case). Is every deity a legal person? No, not every deity is a legal person. This status is accorded to an idol only after its public consecration, or pran pratishtha. The Supreme Court ruled in Yogendra Nath Naskar vs Commissioner Of Income-Tax (1969): “It is not all idols that will qualify for being ‘juristic person’ but only when it is consecrated and installed at a public place for the public at large.” Other legal entities: In May, the Punjab and Haryana High Court held that the “entire animal kingdom” has a “distinct legal persona with corresponding rights, duties, and liabilities of a living person”. On March 20, 2017, the Uttarakhand High Court declared that the Ganga and Yamuna would be legally treated as “living people,” and enjoy “all corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a living << 6 >> | NIMBUS TIMES | DECEMBER, 2019 CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION 2019 GLOBAL SMART CITIES ALLIANCE ON TECHNOLOGY GOVERNANCE Why in news? India has joined the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance on Technology Governance. India’s joining the league is a critical first step towards accelerating global best practices, fostering greater openness and public trust as well as mitigating risks regarding the collection of data in public spaces. About: G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance on Technology Governance. It was established in June 2019, at the G20 Summit held in Osaka, Japan. It is a league of 15 of world’s leading city networks and technology governance organisations that will work towards advancing responsible and ethical use of smart city technologies. It seeks to create global norms and policy standards for the use of connected devices in public spaces. The aim of the alliance is to promote the responsible and ethical use of smart city technologies by establishing global norms and policy standards for the use of connected devices in public spaces. The Global Smart Cities Alliance’s founding set of institutional partners include the presidents and host nations of the Group of 20 (G20) in 2019 and 2020; Japan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; the Smart City Mission of India; Cities for All; Cities Today Institute; Commonwealth Local Government Forum; Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Network among others. Significance: The alliance unites municipal, regional and national governments, private-sector partners and cities’ residents around a shared set of core guiding principles for the implementation of smart city technologies. Currently, there is no global framework or set of rules in place for how sensor data collected in public spaces, such as by traffic cameras, is used. The effort aims to foster greater openness and trust as well as create standards for how this data is collected and used. This marks the first time that smart city technologies and global technology governance have been elevated to the main agenda. Smart city technologies can help cut decrease traffic congestions, combat crime, improve resilience during natural disasters and reduce greenhouse emissions. Without the proper governance, these technologies pose significant risk, notably to privacy and security. To ensure data collected in public places is used safely and ethically, the Alliance will develop, pilot collectively implement new global policy standards. Towards a global policy: The Alliance has committed to co-design and roll out a first-of-its-kind global policy framework on smart city technologies in advance of the 2020 G20 Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is currently accepting nominations from cities interested in piloting and contributing to global policy standards. ARMED FORCES (SPECIAL POWERS) ACT (AFSPA) Why in news? The Ministry of Home Affairs have been empowered to continue or revoke AFAPA in the newly created UT of J&k << 7 >> | NIMBUS TIMES | DECEMBER, 2019 CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION 2019 About AFSPA: Background: The Act came into force in the context of increasing violence in the Northeastern States during the initial decades after independence, which the respective State governments found difficult to control. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Bill was passed by both the Houses of Parliament and it was approved by the President on September 11, 1958. It became known as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958. AFSPA gives armed forces the power to maintain public order in “disturbed areas”. Various powers given to armed forces: The armed forces personnel have the authority to prohibit a gathering of five or more persons in an area, can use force or even open fire after giving due warning if they feel a person is in contravention of the law.