January 2019
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JOIN THE DOTS! A CURRENT AFFAIRS SERIES FOR UPSC EXAMINATION Compendium – January 2019 Dear Students, With the present examination pattern of UPSC Civil Services Examination, General Studies papers require a lot of specialization with ‘Current Affairs’. Moreover, following the recent trend of UPSC, almost all the questions are based on news as well as issues. CL IAS has now come up with ‘Join the dots! A current affairs series for UPSC Examination’ series which will help you pick up relevant news items of the day from various national dailies such as The Hindu, Indian Express, Business Standard, LiveMint, PIB and other important sources. ‘Join the dots! A current affairs series for UPSC Examination’ series will be helpful for prelims as well as Mains Examination. We are covering every issue in a holistic manner and covered every dimension with detailed facts. This edition covers all important issues that were in news in the month of January 2019. Also, we have introduced Prelim base question for Test Your Knowledge which shall guide you for better revision. In addition, it would benefit all those who are preparing for other competitive examinations. We have prepared this series of documents after some rigorous deliberations with Toppers and also with aspirants who have wide experience of preparations in the Civil Services Examination. For more information and more knowledge, you can go to our website https://www.careerlauncher. com/upsc/ “Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there” All the best!! Team CL Join the dots! A current affairs series for UPSC Examination Economic development/Agriculture/Infrastructure development Small growers may get tea estates’ support Project Trinitea to create better value: Small growers’ share in Indian tea crop now constitutes 47% of total production. Relevance IN (CSE Perspective – Prelims (factoids) + Mains – GS Paper – III Major cropping pattern in various parts of the country) What’s the NEWS • Recognising the rising importance of small tea growers (STG) in the supply chain, tea estates in North India are testing a project called ‘Trinitea,’ which aims at providing support to the STG at the farm and market level. Know! About the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed and its benefits • A MoU was signed between the Indian Tea Association (ITA) the apex body of North Indian tea producers and Solidaridad for jointly implementing this project, which aims at providing support to STGs in the form of customised farm management as well as access to real time information on climate, soil and markets • Solidaridad is a network which works to promote sustainable production of 13 commodities across nine regions globally. • The project is already being rolled out in select ITA-member tea gardens who supplement their output through the STG crop. • This comes close on the heels of the three MoUs signed between ITA and STG Associations in West Bengal and Assam. • The MoUs would create better value and acceptability in the global and domestic market for teas produced across the value-chain encompassing both the sectors • The STG sector’s share in total Indian tea crop has been rising steadily and now constitutes 47% of the total production. • Many large producers are sourcing green leaf from STG and in the absence of testing facilities, outsourced green leaf from multiple agents fail to comply with the permitted standards of pesticides and good farm practices. • The project would help monitor green leaf quality, establish traceability mechanisms and set up vendor development for supply of farm inputs. Page: 1 Join the dots! – January 2019 The One District, One Product Regional Summit in Varanasi Relevance IN (CSE Perspective – Prelims (factoids) + Mains – GS Paper III Economic developments + GS Paper II Government policies and interventions What’s the NEWS • Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and South Asia Regional Centre (ISARC) on the campus of National Seed Research and Training Centre (NSRTC) in Varanasi Know! about One District, One Product scheme • Uttar Pradesh has initiated One District, One Product scheme to encourage indigenous and specialized products and crafts of the state. • The scheme aims to capitalize the rich heritage of the Uttar Pradesh by reviving them through modernization and publicisation to enhance the reach of these products. • Many of these rich traditions are facing the existential threat. The One District, One Product aims to revive these traditional heritages by reviving them through modernization and publicisation. • ODOP - One District One Product is a government scheme and is committed to help local artisan and provide access to world market. • ODOP is a market place which connects buyers and sellers. Buyers get a convenience of connecting with sellers anytime, anywhere and get access to wider marketplace with a range of products and suppliers. • On the other hand Suppliers have enhanced business visibility and increased credibility for their brand. Cabinet approves first-ever three way merger in Indian Banking with amalgamation of Vijaya, Dena and Bank of Baroda Relevance IN – Prelims(factoids) + Mains (GS Paper III – Economic development What’s the NEWS • The Union Cabinet has approved the scheme of amalgamation for amalgamating Bank of Baroda, Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank, with Bank of Baroda as the transferee bank and Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank as transferor banks. • The amalgamation will be the first-ever three-way consolidation of banks in India, with the amalgamated bank being India’s second largest Public Sector Bank. Join the dots! – January 2019 Page: 2 Know! About the benefits of the amalgamation • The amalgamation will help create a strong globally competitive bank with economies of scale and enable realisation of wide-ranging synergies. • Leveraging of networks, low-cost deposits and subsidiaries of the three banks has the potential of yielding significant synergies for positioning the consolidated entity for substantialrise in customer base, market reach, operational efficiency, wider bouquet of products and services, and improved access for customers. • The amalgamated bank will be better equipped in the changing environment to meet the credit needs of a growing economy, absorb shocks and capacity to raise resources. • Economies of scale and wider scope would position it for improved profitability, wider product offerings, and adoption of technology and best practices across amalgamating entities for cost efficiency and improved risk management, and financial inclusion through wider reach. • It would also enable creation of a bank with scale comparable to global banks and capable of competing effectively in India and globally. • The amalgamated banks will have access to a wider talent pool, and a large database that may be leveraged through analytics for competitive advantage in a rapidly digitalising banking context. • Benefits would also flow as a result of wider reach and distribution network and reduction in distribution costs for the products and services through subsidiaries. • Public at large shall benefit in terms of enhanced access to banking services through a stronger network, the ability to support a wider offering of product and services, and easy access to credit. Key points of the Scheme of amalgamation • Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank are transferor banks and BoB is transferee bank. • The scheme shall come into force on 1.4.2019. • Upon commencement of the scheme, the undertakings of the transferor banks as a going concern shall be transferred to and shall vest in the transferee bank, including, inter alia, all business, assets, rights, titles, claims, licenses, approvals and other privileges and all property, all borrowings, liabilities and obligations. Survey on Retail Payment Habits of Individuals (SRPHi) Relevance IN – Prelims(factoids) + Mains (GS Paper III – Economic development What’s the NEWS • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched Survey on Retail Payment Habits of Individuals (SRPHi). • The Survey will capture payment habits of individuals in cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Guwahati. Page: 3 Join the dots! – January 2019 Know! about the Survey • Sigma Research & Consulting Pvt Ltd has been engaged by RBI to conduct the fieldwork of the survey. • Around 6000 individuals from various socio-economic backgrounds across six cities would be covered under the survey. • The survey seeks qualitative responses from individuals on their payment habits. • The findings of the survey willprovide insights into awareness and usage habits of digital payment products. Panda Bonds Relevance IN – Prelims(factoids) + Mains (GS Paper III – Economic development What’s the NEWS • Panda Bonds launched by Pakistan to raise loans from Chinese capital markets. • It is part of Pakistan’s plans to move towards giving the Chinese currency, a status at par with that enjoyed by the US dollar. • The Panda Bonds are part of its multipronged approach for bridging the foreign financing needs and building foreign exchange reserves. • Panda Bonds will help Pakistan to diversify the investor base of capital market issuance and provide a source of raising renminbi. Know about Panda Bonds • Panda bonds are Chinese renminbi-denominated bonds from a non-Chinese issuer, sold in the People’s Republic of China. • The first two Panda bonds were issued in October 2005 by the International Finance Corporation and the Asian Development Bank • The Philippines issued its inaugural Panda bonds in 2018. It was the first ASEAN member to issue Panda bonds. Centre of Excellence in Oil, Gas and Energy Relevance IN – Prelims (factoids) + Mains (GS Paper III Infrastructure development -Energy What’s the NEWS • A Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) for setting up Centre of Excellence in Oil, Gas and Energy was signed between IIT Bombay and PSU Oil Companies and EIL Know! About the MoU signed and the benefits of Centre of Excellence • The MoU will meet the need of the Mission Green, as it will encourage Research and development in the sector and also do the capacity building. • India is a large energy market, and effort should be made to develop our own petroleum standards.