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IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 24th SEPTEMBER 2020

Archives (PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS) Bilateral Netting of Qualified Financial Contracts Bill, 2020 passed Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Economy In news Parliament has passed the Bilateral Netting of Qualified Financial Contracts Bill, 2020 with the Rajya Sabha approving it. Key takeaways The bill provides a legal framework for bilateral netting of qualified financial contracts. Applicable to: Qualified Financial Contracts between two qualified financial market participants where at least one party is an entity regulated by the specified authorities RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, PFRDA or the IFSCA. Significance Without bilateral netting, Indian banks have had to set aside higher capital against their trades in the over-the-counter market, which impacts their ability to participate in the market. Moreover, it also increases the systemic risk during defaults. Bilateral netting would also help reduce hedging costs and liquidity needs for banks, primary dealers and other market-makers, thereby encouraging participation in the over-the-counter derivatives market.  It would also help develop the corporate default swaps market, which, in turn, would provide support to the development of the corporate bond market. It would also improve investor confidence and to expand the scope of credit default swaps. Do you know? Bilateral netting is a legally enforceable arrangement between a bank and a counterparty that creates a single legal obligation covering all included individual contracts.  This means that a bank’s obligation, in the event of the default or insolvency of one of the parties, would be the net sum of all positive and negative fair values of contracts included in the bilateral netting arrangement. Netting refers to offsetting of all claims arising from dealings between two parties to determine a net amount payable or receivable from one party to another. State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Disaster Management In news Recently, the limit of using the State Disaster Response Fund for COVID-19 specific infrastructure has been increased from 35% to 50%.  The decision will help States have more finances at their disposal to fight the virus. Important value additions The State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) It was constituted under Section 48 (1) (a) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. It is the primary fund available with State Governments for responses to notified disasters. The Central Government contributes 75% of SDRF allocation for general category States/UTs and 90% for special category States/UTs (NE States, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir).  Laser Guided ATGM successfully test fired Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Defence In news Laser Guided Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) was successfully test fired from MBT Arjun Tank at KK Ranges, Ahmednagar recently. Developed by: Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune in association with High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) Pune, and Instruments Research & Development Establishment (IRDE) Dehradun  Important value additions Lasers guided ATGMs lock and track the targets with the help of laser designation to ensure precision hit accuracy. The missile employs a tandem HEAT warhead to defeat Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA) protected armoured vehicles.  It has been developed with multiple-platform launch capability. It is currently undergoing technical evaluation trials from gun of MBT Arjun. Successful flight-tests of Abhyas High-speed Expendable Aerial Target conducted Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Defence In news Recently, successful flight-tests of the indigenously-designed Abhyas High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) in Balasore (Odisha) were conducted. Conducted by: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)  Designed and developed by: Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of DRDO Key takeaways Two demonstrator vehicles of Abhyas cleared all the evaluation parameters like 5 km flying altitude, vehicle speed of 0.5 mach (half the speed of sound), endurance of 30 minutes etc. Important value additions Abhyas High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) It is a drone (UAV) that will be used as a target for various missile systems. It is powered by a small gas turbine engine. Navigation by: Micro-electromechanical (MEMS) systems based Inertial Navigation System (INS). It is lightweight and reliable, consumes less power and is cost-effective. It is programmed for fully autonomous flight. Do you know? MEMS is a process technology used to create tiny integrated devices or systems that combine mechanical and electrical components. KRITAGYA hackathon planned for enhancing farm mechanization Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Agriculture In news A hackathon named “KRITAGYA” has been planned by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) under National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP). Objective: To promote potential technology solutions for enhancing farm mechanization with special emphasis on women friendly equipment. Key takeaways Eligibiliy: Students, faculties and innovators/entrepreneurs from any university / technical institution across the country can apply and participate in the form of a group. Participating students can collaborate with local start-ups, students from technology institutes.  Cash prizes are included. Important value additions National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) The ICAR commenced NAHEP in 2017. It is a Government of India and World Bank project. Objective: To support the National Agricultural Research and Education System providing more relevant and better quality education to the students. Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020 Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Ports In news Lok Sabha passed the Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020. Key takeaways The Bill seeks to provide for regulation, operation and planning of major ports in the country and provide greater autonomy to these ports.  It seeks to replace the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963. The legislation provides for the creation of a Board of Major Port Authority for each major port.  These Boards will replace the existing Port Trusts. The bill will help the ports develop world class infrastructure. It will also enhance transparency in their functioning. YuWaah Platform launched Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – Welfare schemes In news Recently, the Government has launched YuWaah. It is a multi-stakeholder platform to make young people career ready. Launched by: The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) A 'Statement of Intent' has also been signed to establish Generation Unlimited in India (YuWaah). Objectives of YuWaah Providing career guidance support to young people through career portal. Job-readiness and self-exploration sessions to make young people career-ready. Supporting young people by providing entrepreneurship classes with successful entrepreneurs and experts. Creating linkages with aspirational economic opportunities to connect young people with jobs or self-employment. For this, innovative solutions and technology platforms will be engaged to maximize the scale and reach. Upskilling young people on 21st century skills, life skills, digital skills and supporting them through self-learning, for their productive lives and the future of work. Important value additions Generation Unlimited in India (GenU - YuWaah) It was founded in September 2018. Aim: To transform education, employment and entrepreneurial outcomes for young people around the world at a global and local level It was launched by UNICEF at the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly. Miscellaneous PASSEX The Indian and the Australian navies are undertaking Passage Exercise or PASSEX exercises on September 23-24 in the Indian Ocean. From the Indian side, Indian Naval Ships Sahyadri and Karmuk will be present and Australia will be represented by HMAS Hobart. PASSEXs are regularly conducted by the Indian Navy with units of friendly foreign navies. Australia is the third country, since June, with which India has conducted conduct the exercises.  The first was with US Navy's USS Nimitz and the second was the Russian Navy. (MAINS FOCUS) GOVERNANCE/ JUDICIARY / ECONOMY Topic: General Studies 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation  On regulation of Digital media (Sudarshan TV Case) Context: Government has filed an affidavit in Sudarshan TV case stating that the regulation of web-based digital media is the need of the hour. What is Sudarshan TV Case? Sudarshan TV’s ‘Bindas Bol’ programme had accused Muslims of “infiltrating” the civil services with the help of funding from terror-linked organisations abroad. Petitions were filed in Supreme Court where it was maintained that the episode is an example of vilifying a community and the content amounts to hate speech. The court had orally observed it would set up a committee of five citizens who can come up with standards for electronic media A three-judge Bench had asked the government for suggestions to improve the self-regulatory mechanism for electronic media.  What was government’s response? Central government submitted that while regulations already exist for the print and television media, there was a need to regulate digital media as it has faster reach, and its content has the potential to go viral. The centre termed digital media as ‘parallel media’ which is ‘completely uncontrolled’, and uses spectrum or radio airwaves and the internet, which is public property The Centre also cautioned that regulating television content could have the undesired impact of media organisations pushing similar content on digital platforms, which are unregulated Regulatory policies for television and print media would also have to apply to digital media, and vice versa, to curb the spread of fake news and misinformation Governments View on Self-regulation of electronic media The central government has opposed the apex court’s idea of setting up a panel to suggest standards for electronic media.  The government has argued that the self-regulatory mechanisms currently in place are effective, ensure impartiality and may only require a little fine tuning to remove the lacunae. Self-regulatory bodies at present can only govern those who voluntary choose to be its members. And for television channels which aren’t members of the self-regulating bodies, the matter is taken up directly by the ministry There is, however, a need to regulate the digital media space What are the issues involved in this case of regulating digital media? Constitutional Rights involved: The content of the episodes in question goes against and demeans the constitutional right of access to equality of employment Balancing contending interests: The court has to balance the right to freedom of speech versus right of dignity of a community and hate speech Public interest issue: Since the case deals on issues of “foreign funding” and “reservation”, there has to consultation with government before any order Role of Courts: Constitutional values, human dignity are needed to be protected but the court cannot “become the enforcers of programme code” (which falls under the domain of Executive) Extent of Courts Power: There is debate on whether the court could order a blanket injunction of a programme or should restrict itself to only those portions which hurt a community. Complex Nature of Hate Speech: Hate speech comes dressed as small nuggets of facts, and a lot depends on the tenor, tone and manner of their presentation. Thus any regulation of speech has to be on case-to-case basis. Sophisticated Nature of Media Space: The lines between the different platforms for media and journalism today are increasingly blurring. For example, Sudarshan TV also has a dedicated YouTube channel, where all of its programs are uploaded. Ineffective implementation of existing rules: The laws to tackle incendiary content and hate speech that fuels violence is already in place. What is seen lacking is a will to uniformly apply these rules, irrespective of political affiliations.  Ability to survive legal scrutiny: Earlier attempts at imposing a high degree of liability on intermediaries (like Google & Facebook) for content posted on their platforms have not survived legal scrutiny, with Section 79(1) of the IT Act, 2000, giving them some immunity in this regard. Conclusion An intervention that is light and well considered is what will work. Connecting the dots: Net Neutrality Shreya Singhal Case GOVERNANCE / POLITY Topic: General Studies 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation  Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability A culture of Secrecy Context: While transparency is a cornerstone of democracy, today’s India is cultivating secrecy Some of the recent examples where culture of secrecy is being promoted Electoral bonds introduced in February 2017 They allowed anonymous donations to political parties and, therefore, protected the privacy of the donors. The Election Commission of India (ECI) criticised the opacity of this financial mechanism and described it as “a retrograde step”. ECI held that Electoral Bonds would prevent the state from ascertaining whether a political party has taken any donation in violation of provisions under Section 29B of the Representation of the People Act, which prohibits the political parties from taking donations from government companies and foreign sources Electoral bonds also made it impossible to check whether a company was giving to parties more than what the Companies Act (2013) permitted, that is 7.5 per cent of the net average profit of the three preceding financial years. Sealed Envelope Procedures Sealed envelope has become modus operandi in several Indian institutions, including the Supreme Court (SC) In the case of political funding (by electoral bonds or otherwise), SC in 2019 directed political parties to submit the details of donations received to the ECI in sealed cover.  The Assam administration had to show the progress it was making in the implementation of the National Register of Citizens by submitting reports in sealed covers When Justice Gogoi was accused of sexual harassment, the panel formed by the SC found “no substance in the allegations” on the basis of a report it had received in a sealed cover that was not disclosed even to the complainant. RTI Act diluted Vacant Posts: Government did not fill vacant information commissioner posts in the Central Information Commission (CIC) between 2016 and 2018 After the SC intervened, some appointments were made in January 2019, but four posts remained vacant, a clear indication of the government’s lack of interest. Huge Backlogs: The backlog of pending appeals had reached 30,000 cases in late 2019 as the CIC has become a rather dysfunctional body. Restriction on RTI: Queries about phone tapping are not responded to anymore by CIC.  High Rejection of RTI requests: In 2016-17, the home and finance ministries rejected close to 15 per cent of the applications they received while the RBI and public sector banks rejected 33 per cent.  The RBI, for instance, refused to give any information about the decision-making process that led to demonetisation. Government amended the RTI Act to limit the power of the CIC.  The five-year fixed tenure for the Chief Information Commissioner and information commissioners was abolished.  Their salaries were not fixed any more — as with Election Commissioners — but notified separately by the government. Whistleblower’s Protection Act diluted Whistleblowers can now be prosecuted for possessing the documents on which the complaint has been made. Issues flagged by them have to be in “public interest” and should not be “affecting the sovereignty and integrity of India”, related to “commercial confidence” or “information received in confidence from a foreign government”. Data Phobia Data phobia has resulted in the non-publication or alteration of some statistical information by government organisations.  108 social scientists wrote an open letter in 2019 inviting the government to “re-establish institutional independence and integrity to the statistical organisations”. The National Crime Records Bureau has been affected by delays (its 2017 report was released in October 2019) and deletions. Conclusion Transparency is not only necessary for maintaining a democratic polity, it is also necessary for making the economy work Connecting the dots: Critically assess the efficacy of the Right to Information (RTI) as a tool of accountability and transparency in governance. (TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE) Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section) Note:  Correct answers of today’s questions will be provided in next day’s DNA section. Kindly refer to it and update your answers.  Comments Up-voted by IASbaba are also the “correct answers”. Q.1 Which of the following is true regarding Bilateral Netting? It is a legally enforceable arrangement between a bank and a counterparty that covers all included individual contracts.   It is a legally enforceable arrangement between two individuals that covers all included individual contracts.  It is a legally enforceable arrangement between India and USA that covers all included individual contracts.  It is a legally enforceable arrangement between Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry if Finance that covers all included individual contracts. Q.2 Consider the following statements regarding The State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF): The Central Government contributes 50% of SDRF allocation for general category States/UTs and  It also contributes 75% for special category States/UTs. Which of the above is/are correct? 1 only 2 only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.3 Consider the following statements regarding Abhyas High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT): It is a satellite that will be used as a target for various missile systems. It consumes less power. It is highly expensive. Which of the above is/are correct? 1 and 2 only 2 only 1 and 3 only 1, 2 and 3 ANSWERS FOR 23nd September 2020 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE (TYK) 1 A 2 D Must Read About efficacy of female leadership: The Hindu About opening of schools and colleges in COVID times: The Hindu About US withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan: The Indian Express

RSTV Video

Global Biodiversity Outlook - Target 30x30 – The Big Picture – RSTV IAS UPSC

Global Biodiversity Outlook - Target 30x30 Archives TOPIC: General Studies 3 Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment. In News: The UN Convention on Biological Diversity has released its fifth Global Biodiversity Outlook report. The report notes the importance of biodiversity in addressing climate change, and long-term food security, and concludes that action to protect biodiversity is essential to prevent future pandemics.  None of the 20 agreed conservation targets of the past 10 years could be fully met by the world.  Experts believe that all nations will now have to implement the ambitious new target of protecting at least 30% of the planet by 2030 – popularly known as 30x30 target – under the UN Convention.  The Wake-up Call - A decade ago, the world agreed to 20 biodiversity targets. It did not meet any of them. The study acts as a wake-up call, and an encouragement to consider the dangers involved in mankind’s current relationship with nature: continued biodiversity loss, and the ongoing degradation of ecosystems, are having profound consequences of human wellbeing and survival. The setbacks have been many. Pollution levels are high.  The global rate of deforestation has fallen by a third compared to the previous decade. A number of places have successfully eradicated invasive species. More than 60 percent of the world’s coral reefs are under threat.  Only 66 percent of the stocks fished worldwide were at biologically sustainable levels in 2017, down from 71 percent seven years earlier. Some countries have introduced good fisheries management policies, which helped build back marine fish stocks that have been hard hit by overfishing and environmental degradation. Experts warn ecosystem loss and the wildlife trade, which reduce biodiversity, can also increase the likelihood that novel pathogens will spread to humans. Habitat loss and degradation remains high, especially in forests and tropical regions. Global wetlands are declining and rivers are fragmenting, posing a "critical threat to freshwater diversity Indigenous communities are still largely excluded from these conversations, and their valuable knowledge on sustainable resource management isn't reflected in national legislation. This year’s study is considered to be particularly significant, because it serves as a “final report card” for the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, a series of 20 objectives set out in 2010, at the beginning of the UN’s Decade on Biodiversity, most of which were supposed to be reached by the end of this year. However, none of the targets – which concern the safeguarding of ecosystems, and the promotion of sustainability – have been fully met, and only six are deemed to have been “partially achieved”. Aichi Biodiversity Targets Strategic Goal A: Address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by mainstreaming biodiversity across government and society Strategic Goal B: Reduce the direct pressures on biodiversity and promote sustainable use Strategic Goal C: To improve the status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosystems, species and genetic diversity Strategic Goal D: Enhance the benefits to all from biodiversity and ecosystem services Strategic Goal E: Enhance implementation through participatory planning, knowledge management and capacity building The six targets partially met are: preventing invasive species, conserving protected areas, access to and sharing benefits from genetic resources, biodiversity strategies and action plans, sharing information, and mobilizing resources. What do we need to do? Many of the actions needed have already been identified and agreed upon under international treaties like the Paris Climate Change Agreement (which the United States is currently withdrawing from). The report outlined eight areas where we need to transition to sustainability: land and forests, agriculture, food systems, fisheries and oceans, cities and infrastructure, freshwater, climate action and an integrated "One Health" global framework. Finding these solutions is "challenging" but critical, and we've seen what happens when we fail. The Covid-19 pandemic, for example, has illustrated "the link between our treatment of the living world and the emergence of human diseases. As long as humanity is putting more resources into destroying biodiversity rather than protecting it, the ability of ecosystems to provide everything from pollinators, clean water, and fertile soil, to inspiration and joy, will deteriorate. If we continue business as usual, it could cost the world economy some $10 trillion by 2050, with poorer countries bearing the brunt Connecting the Dots: Aichi Biodiversity Targets Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) A decade ago, the world agreed to 20 biodiversity targets. It did not meet any of them. Discuss. Humanity stands at a crossroads with regard to the legacy it leaves to future generations. What are your views? Is there any solution to it?

Important Articles

UPSC Prelims 2020: IASbaba’s ALL INDIA MOCK EXAM - 4 QUESTION PAPER & SOLUTION (in ENGLISH & HINDI)

Dear Students On the request of many students, we are providing the Questions and Solutions of Mock Exam 4 (UPSC Prelims 2020) in PDF format. Please find the PDFs (Questions & Solutions) of All India Full Mock -4. Questions (English) - CLICK HERE Questions (हिन्दी) - CLICK HERE Solutions (English) - CLICK HERE Solutions (हिन्दी) - CLICK HERE For More OPEN MOCKS (FREE FOR ALL) -> CLICK HERE  MOCK EXAM 5 will be held on 27th September (Sunday) The question paper is made on similar lines of UPSC. The questions are designed with different difficulty levels – easy, moderate, difficult, and very difficult. This was done so that you can understand how to pick the questions for the attempt and how to leave the very difficult ones. There are several questions that could be solved using the elimination method so that even if you don’t remember the exact fact, through logic, you can get to the correct answer. P.S: We would request you take the test in a 'stipulated time' and 'wearing a mask' so that you are used to it and face any issues during the exam. All the Best :) IASbaba

Daily Prelims CA Quiz

UPSC Quiz - 2020 : IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 92]

For Previous Daily Quiz (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE The Current Affairs questions are based on sources like ‘The Hindu’, ‘Indian Express’ and ‘PIB’, which are very important sources for UPSC Prelims Exam. The questions are focused on both the concepts and facts. The topics covered here are generally different from what is being covered under ‘Daily Current Affairs/Daily News Analysis (DNA) and Daily Static Quiz’ to avoid duplication. The questions would be published from Monday to Saturday before 2 PM. One should not spend more than 10 minutes on this initiative. This is a part of our recently launched, NEW INITIATIVE IASbaba’s INTEGRATED REVISION PLAN (IRP) 2020 – Road Map for the next 100 Days! FREE INITIATIVE! We will make sure, in the next 4 months not a single day is wasted. All your energies are channelized in the right direction. Trust us! This will make a huge difference in your results this time, provided that you follow this plan sincerely every day without fail. Gear up and Make the Best Use of this initiative. Do remember that, “the difference between Ordinary and EXTRA-Ordinary is PRACTICE!!” To Know More about the Initiative -> CLICK HERE SCHEDULE/DETAILED PLAN – > CLICK HERE Important Note: Don't forget to post your marks in the comment section. Also, let us know if you enjoyed today's test :) After completing the 5 questions, click on 'View Questions' to check your score, time taken and solutions. To take the Test - Click Here

MindMaps

MIND-MAPS: GEOGRAPHY BASICS (INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE & CLASSIFICATION OF ROCKS) – General Studies 1

MIND-MAPS: GEOGRAPHY BASICS (INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE & CLASSIFICATION OF ROCKS) – General Studies 1 For Previous Important Topics (Mind Maps) - ARCHIVES Hello Friends, Recently we have come up with a NEW INITIATIVE - BRAINSTORMING THROUGH MIND-MAPS! Mind-map is an incredible powerful thinking tool, an innate human language that will have immense benefit in your preparation. The main idea is to brainstorm different aspects of an issue - think in multi-dimensions; what we call 360 degrees of an issue. The whole of this exercise will unleash your creativity to push your brain cells to recall the data learnt and to make it more relevant for your preparation. It will help you to make your Revision and Retention a far better apart from giving you more Clarity in the topics/issue at hand and improve your Concentration. You can see the drastic impact mind-maps will have in a few weeks, provided you are regular with this exercise. So here we are with Today’s TOPIC! INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE & CLASSIFICATION OF ROCKS - General Studies 1 NOTE – Instructions to download Mind Maps/Images Right Click on the image and ‘Open image in new tab’ Remove/Delete the resolution part from the URL. Eg. “-1536x757” and Press Enter/Load Again Right Click and Save Image As/Download (You’ll get the maximum resolution) INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE   CLASSIFICATION OF ROCKS    YOUR PARTICIPATION? – VERY IMPORTANT Unlike what we were doing before, in this initiative we want students to learn and brainstorm through mind-maps (It is not necessary that you use a software/tool to design mind maps. You can prepare mindmaps using a pen and a sheet of paper). We will share the final printable mind map twice a week. We will also provide specific inputs on your mind maps to improve your skill of mind mapping.  To Know More about the initiative, Benefits and How to use a mind-map ->CLICK HERE Together we can, we will. The strength of the community is more powerful than individual effort. We have started it. You have to strengthen it” You can Start sharing Your Mind-maps (get feedback from IASbaba) & Topics of your interest in the comment section below!!   Thank You IASbaba

PIB

PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU (PIB) IAS UPSC – 14th September to 20th September – 2020

Press Information Bureau (PIB) IAS UPSC – 14th to 20th September, 2020 ARCHIVES GS-1 Ministry of Tourism has taken various steps to develop and promote Buddhist sites in India (Topic: Culture) Ministry of Tourism has undertaken development of tourism related infrastructure and facilities at various Buddhist Sites in the country under its flagships schemes of Swadesh Darshan & PRASHAD. Buddhist sites has been identified as one of the 15 thematic circuits under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme. Ministry of Tourism has also identified Buddhist Sites at Bodhgaya, Ajanta & Ellora to be developed as Iconic Tourist Sites. CNBs Signage have been installed in Chinese language at 5 below monuments in Uttar Pradesh: Site and Stupa and monastery of the Sakyas Piprahwa- Lucknow Circle Sravasti – Lucknow Circle Ancient Buddhist site of Sarnath- Sarnath Circle Chaukhandi Stupa – Sarnath Circle Buddhist relics and Mahaparinirvana temple located at Kushinagar- Sarnath Circle. The CNBs signage in Sinhali language at Sanchi monuments in Madhya Pradesh has also been installed. Some important places –  Sarnath- The Deer Park adjoining the Archaeological Complex at Sarnath that the Buddha is believed to have delivered his first sermon after he attained enlightenment under a Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya.  The reason for choosing Sarnath was that the five men who had accompanied Buddha on his journey of asceticism, and later abandoned him had settled in Sarnath.  So when Buddha attained enlightenment, he felt that they should be the first one to know what he learned.  So he proceeded to Sarnath and preached his first teachings known as Dharmachakrapravartana Sutra. Rajgir-  It was the capital of Magadh Kingdom.  It was here that Gautama Buddha spent several months meditating, and preaching at Gridhra-kuta, (Vulture peak). He also delivered some of his famous sermons and initiated king Bimbisara of Magadha and countless others to Buddhism. It was here that Budhha delivered his famous Atanatiya Sutra. Sravasti- It was the capital of ancient Kosala kingdom and is sacred to the Buddhists because it is here that Lord Buddha performed the greatest of his miracles to confound the Tirthika heretics. These miracles include Buddha creating multiple images of himself, which has been a favourite theme of Buddhist art. Buddha showed his divine prowess to impress upon the non-believers. The Buddha passed the greater part of his monastic life in Sravasti.  Vulture peak- One of the several sites frequented by the Buddha and his community of disciples for both training and retreat. Kesariya -  Kesariya Stupa is a Buddhist stupa in Kesariya, located at a distance of 110 kilometres  from Patna, in the Champaran (east) district of Bihar, India. The first construction of the Stupa is dated to the 3rd century BCE. Kesariya Stupa has a circumference of almost 400 feet (120 m) and raises to a height of about 104 feet. Vaishali-  It is said that the Buddha visited this place thrice and spent quite a long time here. The Buddha also delivered his last sermon at Vaishali and announced his Nirvana here. Kushinagar- It is one of the four sacred places of Lord Buddha. Buddha delivered his last sermon, attained Mahaparinirvana (salvation) in 483 BC and was cremated at Rambhar Stupa. GS-2 Three bills aimed at transformation of agriculture and raising farmers’ income introduced (Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors) Three bills aimed at transformation of agriculture in the country and raising farmers’ income were introduced to replace ordinances promulgated on 5th June 2020– The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020 seeks to provide for the creation of an ecosystem where the farmers and traders enjoy the freedom of choice relating to sale and purchase of farmers' produce which facilitates remunerative prices through competitive alternative trading channels to promote efficient, transparent and barrier-free inter-State and intra-State trade and commerce of farmers' produce outside physical premises of markets or deemed markets notified under various State agricultural produce market legislations; to provide a facilitative framework for electronic trading and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The motive behind the Bill Farmers in India suffered from various restrictions in marketing their produce. There were restrictions for farmers in selling agri-produce outside the notified APMC market yards.  The farmers were also restricted to sell the produce only to registered licensees of the State Governments. Further, barriers existed in free flow of agriculture produce between various States owing to the prevalence of various APMC legislations enacted by the State Governments. This legislation is a historic-step in unlocking the vastly regulated agriculture markets inthe country. It will open more choices for the farmer, reduce marketing costs for the farmers and help them in getting better prices.  It will also help farmers of regions with surplus produce to get better prices andconsumers of regions with shortages, lower prices. The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020 seeks to provide for a national framework on farming agreements that protects and empowers farmers to engage with agri-business firms, processors, wholesalers, exporters or large retailers for farm services and sale of future farming produce at a mutually agreed remunerative price framework in a fair and transparent manner and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The motive behind the Bill Indian agriculture is characterized by fragmentation due to small holding sizes and has certain weaknesses such as weather dependence, production uncertainties and market unpredictability. This makes agriculture risky and inefficient in respect of both input & output management.  This legislation will transfer the risk of market unpredictability from the farmer to the sponsor and also enable the farmer to access modern technology and better inputs. It will reduce cost of marketing and improve income of farmers.  Farmers will engage in direct marketing thereby eliminating intermediaries resulting in full realization of price. Farmers have been provided adequate protection.  Effective dispute resolution mechanism has been provided for with clear time lines for redressal. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 seeks to remove commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes from the list of essential commodities. This will remove fears of private investors of excessive regulatory interference in their business operations. The freedom to produce, hold, move, distribute and supply will lead to harnessing of economies of scale and attract private sector/foreign direct investment into agriculture sector. The motive behind the Bill While India has become surplus in most agri-commodities, farmers have been unable to get better prices due to lack of investment in cold storage, warehouses, processing and export as the entrepreneurial spirit gets dampened due to Essential Commodities Act.  Farmers suffer huge losses when there are bumper harvests, especially of perishable commodities.  The legislation will help drive upinvestment in cold storages and modernization of food supply chain.  It will help both farmers and consumers while bringing in price stability.  It will create competitive market environment and also prevent wastage of agri-produce that happens due to lack of storage facilities. Policy initiatives to promote ‘Make in India’ in defence sector (Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors) A. ‘Negative list’ of 101 items: Ministry of Defence has prepared a ‘Negative list’ of 101 items for which there would be an embargo on the import beyond the timeline indicated against them. This is a big step towards self-reliance in defence.  Offers a great opportunity to the Indian defence industry to rise to the occasion to manufacture the items in the negative list to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces in the coming years This negative list comprises of not just simple parts but also some high technology weapon systems like artillery guns, assault rifles, corvettes, sonar systems, transport aircrafts, light combat helicopters (LCHs), radars and many other items to fulfil the needs of our Defence Services. B. ‘Buy {Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)}’: Introduced in Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP)-2016 to promote indigenous design and development of defence equipment. It has been accorded top most priority for procurement of capital equipment. C. Simplified ‘Make’ Procedure of capital procurement: There is a provision for funding of 90% of development cost by the Government to Indian industry under Make-I category. In addition, there are specific reservations for MSMEs under the ‘Make’ procedure. D. Separate procedure for ‘Make-II’ category (industry funded) has been notified under DPP to encourage indigenous development and manufacture of defence equipment.  Relaxation of eligibility criterion, Minimal documentation,  Provision for considering proposals suggested by industry/individual etc. E. An innovation ecosystem for Defence titled Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) has been launched.  iDEX is aimed at creation of an ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace by engaging Industries including MSMEs, Start-ups, Individual Innovators, R&D institutes and Academia and provide them grants/funding and other support to carry out R&D which has potential for future adoption for Indian defence and aerospace needs.  Under the iDEX scheme, a maximum of Rs 1.5 crore funding is available to a participant for development of a prototype.   F. Establish two defence industrial corridors to serve as an engine of economic development and growth of defence industrial base in the country. They span across Chennai, Hosur, Coimbatore, Salem and Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu and across Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, Kanpur, Chitrakoot and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh (UP). An indigenization portal namely SRIJAN DEFENCE has been launched to provide development support to MSMEs/Startups/Industry for import substitution. Defence EXIM portal has been created for enhancing ease of doing business and to streamline Export authorisation procedures. ‘Strategic Partnership (SP)’ Model envisages establishment of long-term strategic partnerships with Indian entities through a transparent and competitive process, wherein they would tie up with global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to seek technology transfers to set up domestic manufacturing infrastructure and supply chains. ‘Policy for indigenisation of components and spares used in Defence Platforms’ to create an industry ecosystem which is able to indigenize the imported components (including alloys & special materials) and sub-assemblies for defence equipment and platform manufactured in India. FDI Policy has been revised in the year 2016 and accordingly, FDI is allowed under automatic route upto 49% and beyond 49% through Government route wherever it is likely to result in access to modern technology or for other reasons to be recorded. So far, FDI inflows of over Rs 3450 crores have been reported in Defence and Aerospace sector. Defence Investor Cell has been created to provide all necessary information including addressing queries related to investment opportunities, procedures and regulatory requirements for investment in the sector. Defence Products list requiring Industrial Licences has been rationalised and manufacture of most of parts or components does not require Industrial License. Government is taking measures for modernisation of Armed Forces, through procurement of new equipment and upgrading of existing equipment and systems.  The modernization projects are being progressed as per approved capital acquisition plan and in terms of extant Defence Procurement Procedure. Steps taken by the Government to ensure quality education  (Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors) For vulnerable groups Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) ranked in top 100 NIRF or NAAC score of 3.26 can offer online programme without prior approval of UGC. Institutions with NAAC score of 3.01 to 3.25 can offer online programme with prior approval of UGC.  For conventional courses, the online content has been increased from up to 20% to 40% in regular degree programmes. DIKSHA the nation’s digital infrastructure for providing quality e-content for school education in states/UTs and QR coded Energized Textbooks for all grades (one nation, one digital platform) Study materials have been provided on an experimental basis for 12 channels for classes 1 to 12 and actions are expedited to run these channels in a full-fledged manner. Extensive use of Radio, Community radio and CBSE Podcast- ShikshaVani Special e-content for visually and hearing impaired developed on Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY) and in sign language on NIOS website/ YouTube. Quality Online courses are provided through SWAYAM which is an indigenously developed MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course) platform. Since everyone does not have access to internet, under one of the flagship Initiatives,SWAYAM-Prabha, Ministry of Education is providing 34 educational TV channels covering educational contents for Schools and Higher Educational Institutions. Curriculum-based contents are telecast every day as per pre-defined schedule which can be accessed by students as per their convenience. There is a provision of one class, one channel for school education.  PM eVIDYA has been initiated which unifies all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable multi-mode access to education. For rural children SamagraShiksha - an Integrated Scheme for school education, which is an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class XII and aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels of school education.   It envisages the ‘school’ as a continuum from pre-school, primary, upper primary, secondary to senior secondary levels Subsumes the three erstwhile centrally sponsored schemes i.e. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE). Bridging gender and social category gaps at all levels of school education is one of the major objectives of the scheme.  The scheme reaches out to girls and children belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), minority communities and transgender.  The scheme also gives attention to urban deprived children, children affected by periodic migration and children living in remote and scattered habitations.  Under the scheme, provision has been made for giving preference to Special Focus Districts (SFDs), Educationally Backward Blocks (EEBs), LWE affected districts, and aspirational districts while planning interventions like setting up of primary schools, upper primary schools, construction of additional classrooms, toilets, Kasturba Gandhi BalikaVidyalayas (KGBVs). PM eVIDYA has been initiated which unifies all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable multi-mode access to education.  DIKSHA the nation’s digital infrastructure for providing quality e-content for school education in states/UTs:  and QR coded Energized Textbooks for all grades (one nation, one digital platform) One earmarked TV channel in SWAYAM PRABHA per class from 1 to 12 (one class, one channel) SWAYAM Portal, E-PATHASHALA, extensive use of Radio, Community radio and CBSE Podcast- ShikshaVani Special e-content for visually and hearing impaired developed on Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY) and in sign language on NIOS website/ YouTube Highlights of New Education Policy-2020 Ensuring Universal Access at All Levels of schooling from pre-primary school to Grade 12; Ensuring quality early childhood care and education for all children between 3-6 years; New Curricular and Pedagogical Structure (5+3+3+4); No hard separations between arts and sciences, between curricular and extra-curricular activities, between vocational and academic streams; Establishing National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy; Emphasis on promoting multilingualism and Indian languages; The medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language/mother tongue/local language/regional language. Assessment reforms - Board Exams on up to two occasions during any given school year, one main examination and one for improvement, if desired; Setting up of a new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development); Equitable and inclusive education - Special emphasis given on Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups(SEDGs); A separate Gender Inclusion fund and Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups; Robust and transparent processes for recruitment of teachers and merit based performance; Ensuring availability of all resources through school complexes and clusters; Setting up of State School Standards Authority (SSSA); Exposure of vocational education  in school and higher education system; Increasing GER in higher education to 50%; Holistic Multidisciplinary Education with multiple entry/exit options; NTA to offer Common Entrance Exam for Admission to HEIs; Establishment of Academic Bank of Credit; Setting up of Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities(MERUs); Setting up of National Research Foundation(NRF); ‘Light but Tight’ regulation; Single overarching umbrella body for promotion of higher education sector including teacher education and excluding medical and legal education- the Higher Education Commission of India (HECI)-with independent bodies for standard setting- the General Education Council; funding-Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC); accreditation- National Accreditation Council (NAC); and regulation- National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC); Expansion of open and distance learning to increase GER. Internationalization of Education Professional Education will bean integral part of the higher education system. Stand-alone technical universities, health science universities, legal and agricultural universities, or institutions in these or other fields, will aim to become multi-disciplinary institutions. Teacher Education - 4-year integrated stage-specific, subject- specific Bachelor of Education Establishing a National Mission for Mentoring. Creation of an autonomous body,the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF) to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration. Appropriate integration of technology into all levels of education. Achieving 100% youth and adult literacy. Multiple mechanisms with checks and balances will combat and stop the commercialization of higher education. All education institutions will be held to similar standards of audit and disclosure as a ‘not for-profit’ entity. The Centre and the States will work together to increase the public investment in Education sector to reach 6% of GDP at the earliest. Strengthening of the Central Advisory Board of Education to ensure coordination to bring overall focus on quality education. Ministry of Education: In order to bring the focus back on education and learning, it may be desirable to re-designate MHRD as the Ministry of Education (MoE). Mission Karmayogi (Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors) 1. PM led Human Resource Council It will also include state Chief Ministers, Union Cabinet ministers and eminent national and global Academicians, thought leaders, Industry leaders This council will approve and review civil service capacity building programmes. Mandate of the Council includes: Apex body driving & providing strategic direction to the Programme Approves & Monitors Civil Service Capacity Building plan  Reviews reports submitted by Capacity Building Commission 2. Cabinet Secretary Coordination Unit  It comprises of select secretaries and cadre controlling authorities, headed by Cabinet Secretary The primary function of this body is to monitor progress, and execution of plans.  3. Capacity Building Commission: It will include experts in related fields and global professionals. The mandate of the commission are:  To prepare annual Capacity building plans and seek approval from PM HR Council Audit human resources available in the government. Harmonize training standards and capacity building Create shared faculty and resources Supervisory role over all Central Training Institutions. Set norms for common mid-career training programs Undertake analysis of data from iGOT-Karmayogi Prepare the Annual HR Report on health of Civil Services and Target Achievements  4. Wholly owned Special Purpose Vehicle(SPV)  Legal: Company under Section 8 (of Companies Act) with 100% Government ownership Board of Directors: Representing all participating entities of the Programme Revenue Model: Self sustaining – Annual Subscription fee of INR 431 per employee  Key functions of SPV are: Own and operate the online Platform, iGOT Karmayogi on behalf of Government Operationalize a robust content ecosystem Manage assessment & certification eco-system Telemetry data based scoring – monitoring and evaluation Feedback assessment – driven by Artificial Intelligence & evolvable and scalable platform Curate & deliver programmes for capacity building of Civil Servants in other countries The SPV will own all Intellectual Property Rights on behalf of the Government of India. What is iGOT- Karmayogi platform? The Karmyogi Programme will be delivered by setting up an Integrated Government Online Training (iGOT) Karmayogi Platform. iGOT-Karmayogi is a continuous online training platform, which would allow all government servants from assistant secretary to secretary level to undergo continuous training, depending on their domain areas. Courses from international universities will be made available on the platform for officers to take any time The platform is expected to evolve into a vibrant and world-class market place for content where carefully curated and vetted digital e-learning material will be made available.  Besides capacity building, service matters like confirmation after probation period, deployment, work assignment and notification of vacancies etc. would eventually be integrated with the proposed competency framework Transparent Taxation – Honouring the Honest (Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors) The platform provides faceless assessment, faceless appeal and a taxpayers’ charter. Faceless Assessment: Under faceless assessment, the scrutiny of returns of a taxpayer will be done by a tax officer selected at random and not necessarily from the same jurisdiction.  This will do away the need for any face-to-face contact between the taxpayer and tax official, thereby reducing the chances of coercion and rent-seeking.  The move is expected to ease the compliance burden for assessees and reward the “honest taxpayer”, who plays a big role in nation-building.  A faceless tax system would give the taxpayer confidence on fairness and fearlessness.  It helps to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of income taxpayers. The assessment system seeks to eliminate corrupt practices by doing away with the territorial jurisdiction of income-tax offices. Faceless appeal facility: This facility would be available to all citizens from September 25 (Deen Dayal Upadhyaya’s birth anniversary) A faceless appeal system would allow the taxpayer to appeal against a tax official’s decision without the need of making a physical representation. Taxpayers’ charter The taxpayers’ charter was announced in the Union Budget for fiscal year 2020-21 by the Finance Minister.  The charter outlines the rights and duties of an honest taxpayer.  It also defines the commitment of the tax department and the expectations from the taxpayers. It is a step towards bringing together rights and duties of the taxpayer and fixing the government’s responsibilities towards the taxpayer Development of Textile Parks (Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors) Knitting and Knitwear Sector: In order to boost production in knitting and knitwear clusters, Government has launched a separate scheme for development of Knitting and Knitwear Sectorto boost production in knitting and knitwear cluster at Ludhiana, Kolkata and Tirupur. Government is implementing Amended Technology Up-gradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS) for technology up-gradation of the textile industry to incentivize production with an outlay of Rs.17,822 crore during 2016-2022. It is expected to attract investment of Rs.1 lakh crore and generate 35.62 lakhs employment in the textile sector by 2022. Government has launched a special package of Rs.6000 crore in 2016 to boost investment, employment and exports in the garmenting and made-ups sector with the following components viz., (i) full refund is provided under Remission of State Levies (ROSL) to the exporters for the State level taxes; (ii) production linked additional incentive of 10% is provided under the Amended Technology Up-gradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS). Scheme for Integrated Textile Park (SITP): Government of India grant with a ceiling limit of Rs. 40 crore for setting up textiles parks for creation of world class infrastructure facilities for setting up of textile units. National Handloom Development Programme, Comprehensive Handloom Cluster Development Scheme, Handloom Weaver Comprehensive Welfare Scheme and Yarn Supply Schemes under which financial assistance is provided for raw material purchase, looms and accessories, design innovation, product diversification, infrastructure development, skill upgradation, marketing of handloom products & loans at concessional rate etc. for enhancing production and boost the textile sector. National Handicrafts Development Programme (NHDP) and Comprehensive Handicraft Cluster Development Schemes aims at holistic development of handicrafts clusters through integrated approach by providing support on design, technology up-gradation, infrastructure development, market support etc. PowerTex India: A comprehensive scheme for Powerloom sector with components relating to Powerloom up-gradation, infrastructure creation, concessional access to credit, etc. Silk Samagra – An integrated Scheme for development of silk industry with components of research & development, transfer of technology, seed organization and coordination, market development, quality certification and export. Jute ICARE for increasing the income of farmers by at least 50% through promotion of certified seeds, better agronomic practices, use of microbial reusing of Jute plant, retting to produce quality of jute, increase productivity and to reduce the cost of jute production for the jute farmers. North East Region Textile Promotion Scheme (NERTPS) for promoting textiles industry in the NER by providing infrastructure, capacity building and marketing support to all segments of textile industry. Initiatives for growth and development of MSME Sector (Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors) Prime Minister’s Employment Generation programme (PMEGP) is a credit-linked subsidy programme aimed at generating self-employment opportunities through establishment of micro-enterprises in the non-farm sector by helping traditional artisans and unemployed youth. Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) under which assistance for replacement of obsolete equipments, setting up common facility centres, product development, market promotion and other support is provided in clusters of traditional industries including khadi industries. A Scheme for Promoting Innovation, Rural Industry & Entrepreneurship (ASPIRE): To promote Innovation & Rural Entrepreneurship through rural Livelihood Business Incubator (LBI), Technology Business Incubator (TBI) and Fund of Funds for start-up creation in the agro-based industry. Interest Subvention Scheme for Incremental Credit to MSMEs Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises: To facilitate easy flow of credit to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Micro and Small Enterprises Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP) Credit Linked Capital Subsidy and Technology Upgradation Scheme (CLCS-TUS)   Recently, Post Covid-19, Government has taken a number of initiatives under Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan to support the MSME Sector in the country especially in Covid-19 pandemic. Some of them are: Rs 20,000 crore Subordinate Debt for MSMEs. Rs. 3 lakh crores Collateral free Automatic Loans for business, including MSMEs. Rs. 50,000 crore equity infusion through MSME Fund of Funds. New revised criteria for classification of MSMEs. New Registration of MSMEs through ' Udyam Registration' for Ease of Doing Business. No global tenders for procurement up to Rs. 200 crores, this will help MSME. An online Portal “Champions” was launched to cover many aspects of e-governance including grievance redressal and handholding of MSMEs. RBI has also announced several measures to Reduce Financial Stress of MSMEs. Skill India Mission (Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors) Under Skill India Mission, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship imparts employable skills to the youth through long term and short term training.  Has led to creation of a vast infrastructure for skilling, reskilling and upskilling and enhancing opportunities to access employment both locally and globally.  It has led to hundreds of PM Kaushal Kendras being set up across the country and increase in the capacity of the ITI ecosystem. Due to these concerted efforts, more than five crore youth have been skilled in the last five years. A. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY 2.0): Under PMKVY, a total of 92 lakhs candidates have been trained so far across 37 sectors in more than 250 job roles PMKVY is a flagship scheme under MSDE. A special focus was placed on the agricultural sector and 3.42 lakh were trained in special farming. Some special projects were also taken up under which 5514 Jail Inmates and 5549 misguided youth were trained in Delhi. PMKK: To improve the quality of short-term training, 720+ Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras as Model Skill Centres were opened in 704 districts in India. These are based upon Aspiration, Quality and Self Sustainable principles. B. Free Digital Learning Platform “Skills Build Reignite”: The Skills Build Reignite aims to provide job seekers and entrepreneurs, with access to free online coursework and mentoring support designed to help them reinvent their careers and businesses. Multifaceted digital skill training in the area of Cloud Computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is provided to students & trainers across the nation in the National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs).  C. YUKTI 2.0: The Ministry of Education has launched an initiative ‘YUKTI 2.0’ in June 2020 to help systematically assimilate technologies having commercial potential and information related to incubated start-ups in the higher education institutions. D. International Collaboration: Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship met officials from counterparts working in skill development across countries like Singapore, UAE, Japan, Canada, Australia  to further build capacity for skilled workforce in the country, jointly work on transnational standards and bridging demand for skilled workforce in these countries by collaborating with them and supplying them with trained professionals. E. Increased participation in Apprenticeship Programmes: Various initiatives taken on the Apprenticeship intervention saw a 44% increase in enrolment of apprentices and 10% increase in establishments participating in apprenticeship training, as compared to FY 18-19. A total of 8.61 lakhs people have been engaged under National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) with around 85,000 establishments hiring the apprentices. F. Jan ShikshanSansthan (JSS) Scheme: During the last financial year, a total of 4.10 lakhs beneficiaries trained under JSS Scheme as compared to 1.67 lakhs trained during 2018-19, 2.5 times increase over a period of six months. G. eSkill India Platform:  NSDC created an e-Skill India, a multilingual e-learning aggregator portal, providing e-skilling opportunities to the Indian youth. eSkill India leverages the skilling opportunities from Indian and global leaders in online learning, by consolidating online courses curated by leading knowledge organizations that share NSDC’s commitment of making India a Skill Capital of the World.  H. Vision Report 2025: MSDE has prepared its Vision Report 2025 in consultation with various stakeholders.  I. Initiatives for Women: To mark the celebration of International Women’s Day on 8th March 2020, a two-year programme namely Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF) programme was launched by MSDE at IIM Bangalore, Karnataka. The fellowship programme has been conceptualized under the World Bank loan assisted Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) Programme. Out of the total 75 Fellows selected, 32 are women candidates (43 % of the total).   Initiatives for COVID-19: A Task Force of the Ministry, which was constituted to plan the strategy in light of COVID, has submitted its report on 16/4/20, with its recommendations in the various areas including steps needed to be taken urgently for the growth of the sector, strategies for Framing Policies which were facing obstacles, preparation of Business Plan for Sector Players to start functioning, steps that Ministries can take for encouraging Make in India and to secure and increase India’s share in World exports. A number of innovations have been done by ITIs and NSTIs to assist the fight against COVID-19. These include design and development of design robot (to serve food/ medicine to patients) and tele-presentation robot (for enabling tele-monitoring and telemedicine) by ITI Cuttack. ITI Berhampur designed an Aerosol Box which tightly protects the face of the health provider. NSTI developed an aero blaster and handed it to the District Administration for sanitizing the city. SWADES: A collaborative initiative of the Ministries of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Civil Aviation and External Affairs, SWADES (Skilled Workers Arrival Database for Employment Support) is a skill mapping exercise of the returning citizens under the Vande Bharat Mission. SWADES aims to create a database of qualified citizens based on their skillsets and experience to tap into and fulfil demand of Indian and foreign companies. ASEEM: In order to improve the information flow and bridge the demand-supply gap in the skilled workforce market, MSDE recently launched ‘Aatmanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping (ASEEM)’ portal to help skilled people find sustainable livelihood opportunities. The Artificial Intelligence-based platform has been envisioned to strengthen workforce career pathways by handholding them through their journeys to attain industry-relevant skills and explore emerging job opportunities.  Boosting the Growth of Industries (Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors) A. Atmanirbhar Package to boost Industrial growth has been announced by the Government for Rs. 20.97 lakh crore with bold reforms in a number of sectors.   The Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), having provision of Rs 3 lakh crores, is 100% credit guarantee and Collateral Free Automatic Loans for MSMEs. Financial support has been given to the stressed MSMEs with infusion of Rs.20,000 crore equity support through Subordinate Debt.    Fund of Funds created to infuse equity worth Rs.50,000 crore in the MSME Sector by setting up Rs.10,000 crore Corpus Fund.  Also, Government is ensuring timely payment to the MSMEs by instructing all Government of India and CPSEs to clear all receivables of MSMEs within 45 days. Procurement from domestic companies is being encouraged by disallowing global tender in government procurement tenders upto Rs 200 crores. B. Higher FDI has been allowed through automatic route in a number of sectors by streamlining and liberalising several sectors. Empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS) & Project Development Cells (PDCs) have been set up in order to provide support and facilitation to investors for investing in India and to boost growth in key sectors of the economy. C. A centralized Investment Clearance Cell is being created, which would provide end-to-end facilitation support, including pre-investment advisory, information related to land banks and facilitating clearances at Central and State level. D. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code has been enacted in December 2016 to address India’s chronic problem of non-performing assets (NPA).  E. Corporate Taxes have been reduced to encourage domestic manufacturing. With effect from FY 2019-20, corporate tax for domestic companies has been reduced to 22 per cent and for new manufacturing companies, incorporated on or after 01.10.2019, to 15 per cent. F. In order to realize the economies of scale, incentives are extended to units as per annual increases in their production/sale under Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. PLI scheme has been announced for large scale electronics manufacturing (Rs.40,955 crore), medical devices (Rs.3,420 crore) and KSMs/ Drug Intermediates and APIs (Rs. 6,940 crore). G. In order to promote domestic manufacturing of sectors facing high imports or cheaper imports, incentives are provided through rationalization of Basic Customs Duty on identified products under Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP).  Presently, PMP is in operation for Cellular Mobile Handsets and e-vehicles. H. The Government has launched the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) in December, 2019 to provide world-class infrastructure across the country and improve the quality of life for all citizens. As per Final Report submitted by the NIP Task Force, the projected total expenditure on infrastructure would be of Rs. 111 lakh crore during the period FY 2020-25.   India has responded proactively to the Covid-19 challenge.  Indian manufacturers have enhanced production of PPE, N-95/N-99 masks, HCQ medicine and oxygen cylinders to meet the domestic/external requirements.  The Indian economy is known for its resilience and is expected to gradually return to its high growth performance in the coming months. As per IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) (June 2020), in the year 2020, global economic growth is projected to contract by 4.9 percent.  Please Note Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha: Shri Harivansh Narayan Singh 15th September: Engineer’s Day Prime Minister of Japan: Yoshihide Suga Agriculture: State subject; the Doubling of Farmers Income strategy include –  Improvement in crop productivity Improvement in livestock productivity Resource use efficiency or savings in the cost of production Increase in the cropping intensity Diversification towards high value crops Improvement in real prices received by farmers Shift from farm to non-farm occupations Increase in Domestic Violence against Women during Lockdown Period: As per the information received from National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) for the period from April 2020 to June 2020, legal aid and assistance has been provided in 2878 domestic violence cases and petition has been filed in 452 cases under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 (PWDVA).  694 cases have been resolved through counselling/ mediation.          In a first, eight beaches of India recommended for the coveted “Blue Flag” International eco-label: Blue Flag beaches are considered the cleanest beaches of the world.  Shivrajpur in Gujarat Ghoghla in Daman&Diu Kasarkod and Padubidri beach in Karnataka Kappad in Kerala Rushikonda in Andhra Pradesh Golden beach of Odisha Radhanagar beach in Andaman and Nicobar E-Gram Swaraj Portal: With a vision to strengthen digitalization in Panchayats for the purpose of empowering rural India, a unified tool e-Gram SWARAJ portal has been developed by the Ministry for effective monitoring and evaluation of works taken up in the Gram Panchayats. e-Gram SWARAJ unifies the planning, accounting and monitoring functions of Gram Panchayats.  It’s combination with the Area Profiler application, Local Government Directory (LGD) and the Public Financial Management System (PFMS) renders easier reporting and tracking of Gram Panchayat’s activities.  It provides a single window for capturing Panchayat information with the complete Profile of the Panchayat, details of Panchayat finances, asset details, activities taken up through Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP), Panchayat information from other Ministries/ Departments such as Census 2011, SECC data, Mission Antyodaya survey report etc. National River Conservation Programme: Under NRCP, various pollution abatement works relating to interception & diversion of raw sewage, construction of sewerage systems, setting up of sewage treatment plants, low cost sanitation, river front/bathing ghat development, public participation & awareness programme, etc are taken. Policy on promotion of City Compost with Market Development Assistance (MDA): The Government has introduced a policy on promotion of City Compost wherein a Market Development Assistance (MDA) of Rs. 1500/- MT in the form of subsidy has been provided for scaling up production and consumption of city compost made out from city waste. Loan disbursal by World Bank to India to fight COVID-19 pandemic: The World Bank has so far provided three loans worth $2.5 billion to Government of India to support Government of India’s response to COVID-19 pandemic situation for health ($1 billion), for social protection ($0.75 billion) and for economic stimulus ($0.75 billion), the benefits of which have accrued to all States and UTs. Single Window System: Creation of a centralized Investment Clearance Cell which would provide end-to-end facilitation support, including pre-investment advisory, information related to land banks; and facilitating clearances at Central and State level. The cell is being planned as a One-stop digital platform to obtain all requisite central and state clearances/approvals required to start business operations in India. This will eliminate the need for investors to visit multiple platforms/ offices to gather information and obtain clearances from different stakeholders and provide time-bound approvals and real time status update to investors. India has Air Bubble Agreements with 10 Countries India has entered into Air Bubble agreements with 10 countries viz. USA, Canada, France, Germany, UK, Maldives, UAE, Qatar, Afghanistan and Bahrain, till 13.09.2020. These are temporary agreements between two countries aimed at restarting commercial passenger services when regular international flights are suspended as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. They are reciprocal in nature i.e. airlines from both countries enjoy similar benefits. Tickets for the flights are sold through the airlines' website, travel agents and Global Distribution Systems. Scientists from Indian Institute of Astrophysics find a new model to probe how black holes rip apart starts Scientists have found a new way to probe into supermassive black holes – detecting their properties like mass and spin by observing how they rip apart stars. They have found a model which can infer black hole mass, its spin by observing how the stars are ripped apart on coming to the vicinity of these astronomical bodies with high gravitational force found at the centre of some massive galaxies. Most black holes lead isolated lives and are impossible to study. Astronomers study them by watching for their effects on nearby stars and gas.  Stars are disrupted when the black hole's tidal gravity exceeds the star's self-gravity, and this phenomenon is called tidal disruption events (TDE).  This model, which can be applied after the star is observed to be tidally disrupted, and an accretion disk is formed, will help in expanding our understanding of the physics besides building valuable statistics of the black hole mass and stellar mass. Supermassive black holes govern the movement of stars orbiting within their gravitational potential, and their tidal forces can disrupt or rip apart the stars that come to their vicinity. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 provides for establishment of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers as a class.  The Act provides for  simplifying the consumer dispute adjudication process in the Consumer Commissions, which include, among others, empowerment of the State and District Commissions to review their own Orders, enabling a consumer to file complaints electronically and file complaints in Consumer Commissions that have jurisdiction over the place of his residence, video conferencing for hearing and deemed admissibility of complaints if the question of admissibility is not decided within the specified period of 21 days.  To simplify the adjudication process, mediation, as an Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanism, has been provided in the new Act.  The Act introduces the concept of product liability and brings within its scope the product manufacturer, the product service provider and the product seller, for any claim for compensation. Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan: Launched to address the issues of returnee migrant workers and similarly affected rural population by Covid-19 pandemic through a multi- pronged strategy of providing immediate employment & livelihood opportunities to the distressed, to saturate the villages with public infrastructure and creation of livelihood assets to boost the income generation activities and enhance long term livelihood opportunities by giving focus on 25 works in 116 selected districts across 6 States with a resource envelope of Rs 50,000 crore. Global Initiative to reduce Land Degradation and Coral Reef program launched at G20 Environment Ministers Meet The Global Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation aims to strengthen the implementation of existing frameworks to prevent, halt, and reverse land degradation within G20 member states and globally, taking into account possible implications on the achievement of other SDGs and adhering to the principle of doing no harm. The Global Coral Reef R&D Accelerator Platform is an innovative action-oriented initiative aimed at creating a global research and development (R&D) program to advance research, innovation and capacity building in all facets of coral reef conservation, restoration, and adaptation, and strengthen ongoing efforts and commitments made to enhance coral reefs conservation and their further degradation. Postage Stamp released on A-SAT: India’s First Anti Satellite Missile Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted an Anti-Satellite (A-SAT) missile test ‘Mission Shakti’ from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha on 27th March 2019.  A DRDO developed A-SAT Missile successfully engaged an Indian orbiting target satellite in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in a ‘Hit to Kill’ mode.  The interceptor missile was a three-stage missile with two solid rocket boosters. Tracking data from range sensors had confirmed that the mission met all its objectives.  The entire effort was indigenous which demonstrated the Nation’s capability to develop such complex and critical missions. A number of industries also participated in the mission. With this success, India became fourth nation in the world to possess such capability. Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) launched: To bring about Blue Revolution through sustainable and responsible development of fisheries sector in India was recently launched. Goal: To double the fish exports in the next 3 to 4 years i.e. by 2024-25. Objective: To address critical gaps in fish production and productivity; quality, technology, post-harvest infrastructure and management, modernisation and strengthening of value chain, traceability, establishing a robust fisheries management framework and fishers’ welfare Harnessing of fisheries potential in a sustainable, responsible, inclusive and equitable manner Enhancing contribution to Agriculture GVA and exports Social, physical and economic security for fishers and fish farmers Robust fisheries management and regulatory framework The PMMSY is an umbrella scheme with two separate Components: (a) Central Sector Scheme (CS) and (b) Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS). Total estimated investment will be of Rs. 20,050 crores to be implemented over a period of 5 years from FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25.  Do you know: Fisheries constitute 1.24% of National GDP and 7.28% of Agriculture GDP. Parliament passes the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Bill 2020: Paves the way to establish a state-of-the-art Ayurvedic institution called the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda (ITRA) at Jamnagar, Gujarat, and to confer the status of Institution of National Importance (INI) to it. Provide autonomy to the institute to develop patterns of teaching in undergraduate and postgraduate education in Ayurveda and Pharmacy.  The synergies among the different constituent institutions will help ITRA to demonstrate high standards of such education and to emerge as a lighthouse institution to the entire AYUSH Sector.  It is expected to provide the highest level of training of personnel in all important branches of Ayurveda including Pharmacy, and to take up in-depth study and research in the field of Ayurveda. National Recruitment Agency:  A multi-agency body to encompass the first level test by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) and the Institute of Banking Service Personnel (IBPS) Common eligibility Test (CET) to screen candidates at the first level for SSC, RRBs and IBPS A computer based online Common Eligibility Test (CET) for the Graduate, the Higher Secondary (12thpass) and the Matriculate (10th Pass) candidates as a path-breaking reform. CET in Every District: Ease of Access to Rural youth, women and disadvantaged candidates Multiplicity of exams will not be there Robust use of ICT to eradicate malpractices CET Score to be valid for three years, no bar on attempts

Catharsis -Unlock Your Talent and Creativity

Catharsis -Unlock Your Talent & Creativity: Drawings by ABHISHEK JHA !

Hello Friends, You must be aware of the term ‘catharsis’. It is the process of releasing and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions. Recently we have launched a new initiative by the name Catharsis -Unlock Your Talent & Creativity! Today's work is Drawings by ABHISHEK JHA ! Well done, Keep it up !! Be creative and find your catharsis in whichever form of creativity you are comfortable with.  It could be anything- a song, a painting, a poem, a story, a dance performance, rangolis, jokes/humor, culinary skills, mimicry and whatnot. There is no limit to creativity. Just unleash and share it with everyone! Why don’t you share your moments of catharsis with us? UPSC is not only about academics but personality as well. And your personality is shaped by the creativity that you possess.   We encourage you to keep the comment section alive by sharing your talents and also by commenting and encouraging the talent of your peers. We are also going to be a regular visitor here and will keep on posting the creative works by our talented team members and staff. NOTE- You can also nominate by tagging anyone (if you know about the talent of your friend or anyone) ? You can share your talent/creativity with us on support@iasbaba.com P.S: Kindly share it in a format that can be published

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 23rd SEPTEMBER 2020

Archives (PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS) FinCEN and FIU-IND Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – International Relations & GS-III – Money Laundering In news Recently, over 2100 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) were filed by banks with the United States Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The FinCEN files shall identify at least USD 2 trillion in transactions between 1999 and 2017 flagged as possible evidence of money laundering or other criminal activity by compliance officers of banks and financial institutions. Individuals and companies being probed by Indian agencies in different cases are part of the SAR flagged to FinCEN. Like, transactions of Indian entities named in scams such as the 2G scam, the Agusta-westland scandal, etc. cases have all been listed with the FinCEN. Important value additions FinCEN It was set up in 1990. It serves as the leading global regulator in the battle against money laundering. It collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes. Suspicious Activity Report SAR is a document filed by banks and financial institutions to report suspicious activity to the USA FinCEN. These are used to detect crime but cannot be used as direct evidence to prove legal cases Do you know? Money laundering: Concealing or disguising the identity of illegally obtained proceeds so that they appear to have originated from legitimate sources. It is frequently a component of crimes such as drug trafficking, robbery or extortion. The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) performs the same functions as FinCEN in the USA. Under the Finance Ministry, this was set up in 2004 as the nodal agency for receiving, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions. No Confidence Resolution against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – Parliament; Executive In news Rajya Sabha members of 12 opposition parties moved a no-confidence resolution against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman over the passage of two controversial farm Bills by the voice vote. Important value additions Relevant Rules of Procedures and Conduct of Business Rule 256, Suspension of member: This is decided by the presiding officer of the house on the grounds like a member disregarding the authority of the Chair or abusing the rules of the Council. Rule 258 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Rajya Sabha makes a provision to enable a member to raise a point of order.  Point of order: An objection to the pending matter or proceeding which is in violation of a written and unwritten rule of the House. Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha The Deputy Chairman is elected by the Rajya Sabha itself from amongst its members. The post of the Deputy Chairman is not subordinate to the Chairman. He performs the duties of the Chairman’s office when: (1) It is vacant; (2) When the Vice-President acts as President; (3) When the Chairman is absent from the sitting of the House. While presiding over the House, he cannot vote in the first instance; he can only exercise a casting vote in the case of a tie. Article 90: Deals with the removal of the Deputy Chairman Chendamangalam Saree: Kerala Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Intellectual Property Rights In news The Care 4 Chendamangalam (C4C) initiative is supporting the 2018 Kerala flood-affected weavers. Important value additions Kerala Kasavu Sarees It refers to the zari (gold thread) used in the border of the Kerala saree.  The identity of the saree comes from the geographical cluster they are associated with. The Indian government has identified three clusters in Kerala - Balaramapuram, Chendamangalam and Kuthampully - that have been given a Geographical Indication (GI) tag. Chendamangalam Saree  It is recognisable by its puliyilakara border, a thin black line that runs side by side with the sari’s selvedge. It has extra-weft chuttikara and stripes and checks of varying width. MSP Raised for Rabi Crops Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Agricultural Pricing In news Recently, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has marginally increased the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of six rabi crops for 2021-22. Key takeaways MSP rates were hiked for wheat, barley, gram, masoor dal (lentil), safflower, and rapeseed and mustard. The increase in MSP is in line with the principle of fixing the MSPs at a level of at least 1.5 times of the All-India weighted average Cost of Production as announced in Union Budget 2018-19. Important value additions Minimum Support Price The MSP is the rate at which the government buys grains from farmers. It is to counter price volatility of agricultural commodities due to the factors like variation in their supply, lack of market integration and information asymmetry. The MSP is fixed for 23 crops based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), Ministry of Agriculture. The Food Corporation of India (FCI), the nodal central agency of the Government of India, along with other State Agencies undertakes procurement of crops. Do you know? Rabi crops are agricultural crops that are sown in winter and harvested in the spring in India. Eg. Wheat, barley, mustard etc. PVTGs of Odisha infected with COVID-19 Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – Issues related to SCs & STs; Health  In news Six members of two Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (Bondas and Didiayis) in Odisha have recently contracted Covid-19. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has sought a report from the state government and has termed it a “matter of grave concern”. Important value additions Bondas and Didiayis Tribes They are found in the Malkangiri district of Odisha The Bondas are believed to have come to India as part of the first wave of migration out of Africa about 60,000 years ago. The Didayis are an Austro-Asiatic tribe. The population of Didayis is 7,250 according to the 2011 Census.  They live in the Konda Kamberu hills of Malkangiri. Read more about Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group here Komodo Dragon could become extinct Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Biodiversity; Conservation; Climate change In news A recent study conducted by Australian universities has found out that the Komodo dragon could become extinct in the next few decades due to climate change. Important value additions Komodo dragon  Scientific Name: Varanus komodoensis. They are the largest and heaviest lizards on Earth.  They have long, flat heads with rounded snouts, scaly skin, bowed legs, and huge, muscular tails. They can eat almost anything, including invertebrates, birds, and mammals. They have venom glands loaded with toxins which secrete anticoagulants. Habitat: Komodo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is situated in the Island of Komodo (eastern Indonesia) and is the only habitat for this lizard species. Threats: (1) Anthropogenic factors; (2) Less prey; (3) Climate change  Conservation: (1) IUCN Status: Vulnerable; (2) CITES: Appendix I Do you know? In February 2019, the Australian government officially declared the first known extinction of a mammal (Bramble Cay melomys) as a result of human-induced climate change. Miscellaneous International Day of Peace Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21st September. Theme for 2020: Shaping Peace Together The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire. (MAINS FOCUS) INTERNATIONAL / SECURITY/ HEALTH Topic: General Studies 2: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interest  SAARC – Uniting to combat COVID-19 Context: With the pandemic showing no signs of abating, growth prospects for the world’s fastest-growing region, South Asia, appear grim. COVID-19 in South Asia India has the second largest number of COVID-19 cases in the world (over 55 lakh) after the U.S Bangladesh has around 3.5 lakh cases.  Bhutan and the Maldives have managed to largely contain community transmission and avoid prolonged lockdowns due to a higher testing rate. Low Mortality: Unlike other regions, South Asian countries are experiencing a lower mortality rate despite having a higher infection rate.  Reasons for Low Mortality: The region’s tropical climate, protection offered by a tuberculosis vaccine (BCG), exposure to malaria, and a weaker strain of the virus are considered as some of the reasons for low mortality Have the governments in South Asia announced stimulus package? India, in late March, announced a $22.5 billion relief package to ensure food security and cash transfers to save the livelihoods of an estimated 800 million people living in poverty. RBI slashed the repo and reverse repo rate to create liquidity for businesses. Bangladesh, in early April, announced a stimulus package worth about $8 billion in addition to an earlier $595 million incentive package for export-oriented industries. Pakistan, in late March, unveiled a comprehensive fiscal stimulus package of $6.76 billion. Its central bank also slashed the interest rate.  Maldives, in late April, mobilised a $161.8 million emergency fund and Afghan government allocated about $25 million to fight COVID-19. Concerns: Inadequate Testing: Countries facing a surge in cases, such as India, could have flattened the curve by increasing the number of tests Data Reliability: South Asia houses one-fourth of the global population and one-third of the global poor, many COVID-19 deaths might have gone unnoticed, unreported or even under-reported. Implementation of Economic Package: Although countries like India and Bangladesh announced financial and material stimulus packages, distribution concerns remain unaddressed Inoperative SAARC COVID-19 fund: The fund was created following Indian PM Narendra Modi’s call to South Asian leaders, but governments are yet to decide on its modus operandi. Narrow Geopolitical Rivalry: This crisis is likely to result in prolonged economic slowdown in South Asia which will be further complicated by narrow geopolitical rivalry. Way Ahead - A coordinated response mechanism South Asia region could leverage its existing institutional framework under the umbrella of SAARC to effectively respond to the crisis.  For instance, SAARC Food Banks could be activated to tackle the imminent regional food crisis,  The SAARC Finance Forum can be activated to formulate a regional economic policy response Connecting the dots: BIMSTEC Shanghai Cooperation Organisation SOCIETY / GOVERNANCE/ ECONOMY Topic: General Studies 2, 3: Role of civil Society in a democracy. Formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity. Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate. FCRA Bill and why civil society matters Context: The Lok Sabha has passed the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment (FCRA) Bill 2020 regarding non-governmental organisations (NGOs) without debate. FCRA, 2010 was enacted to regulate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality for any activities detrimental to “national interest”. Significance of NGOs Interest Aggregators and Interest Articulators: Non-profit organisations play vital role in mobilizing public attention to societal problems and needs. They are the principal vehicle through which communities can give voice to their concerns. Complements Government Machinery: NGOs implement and monitor the government’s welfare policies, operating at the grassroots level where the official apparatus is often non-existent. Hold Government Accountable: NGOs broaden government’s accountability by ensuring government is responsive to citizens at large rather than to narrow sectarian interests. Constructive conflict resolution: In the international arena Track II diplomacy (involving non-governmental bodies) plays a crucial role in creating an environment of trust and confidence. Acts as Safety Valve: NGOs also provide a voice for marginal groups and social movements, offering a safety valve that prevents the country’s millions of local mutinies from becoming uprisings. Enriches Democratic Functioning: NGOs foster pluralism, diversity and freedom. They also perform the role of Capacity Builders – providing education, training and spreading awareness. Key Provision of FCRA Bill, 2020 are: Aadhaar has been made mandatory identification document for all the office bearers of an NGO or an association seeking foreign donations. Foreign contribution can now be received only in an account designated by the bank as “FCRA account” in a branch of the State Bank of India, New Delhi (as notified by the central government). No funds other than the foreign contribution should be received or deposited in this account. Limiting administrative expenses drawn from foreign donations to 20% as against the current 50% The amended Bill includes “public servant” and “corporation owned or controlled by the Government” among the list of entities not eligible to receive foreign donations Criticism of the FCRA Bill, 2020 The legislation may be used to target political opponents and religious minorities. Cripples NGO Functioning: Due to the 20% cap, many NGOs will shut shop and many people will become jobless. Double Standards: On one hand the government invites foreign funds, but when such funds come for educational and charitable purposes, it is prevented. Licence-Raj on NGOs: The Bill assumes that all NGOs receiving foreign grants are guilty and thus makes Aadhar of office bearers as mandatory requirement.  Open the doors for Bureaucratic Harassment: There is a thin line between enforcing transparency and using rules to allow official interference and harassment in the sector. Much of the present bill crosses that line and introduces a questionable degree of micro-management. Way Ahead The government should send the bill to a select committee of the Rajya Sabha.  NGOs are a necessary component of civil society and this bill needs greater public debate and scrutiny. (TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE) Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section) Note:  Correct answers of today’s questions will be provided in next day’s DNA section. Kindly refer to it and update your answers.  Comments Up-voted by IASbaba are also the “correct answers”. Q.1 Bondas and Didiayis are Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups, recently seen in news. They belong to which of the following state of India? Odisha Jharkhand Rajasthan Himachal Pradesh Q.2 Consider the following statements regarding Komodo Dragon: It is the largest Species of dragon fly known to man. Its IUCN status is Threatened. Which of the above is/are correct? 1 only 2 only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 ANSWERS FOR 22nd September 2020 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE (TYK) 1 B 2 D 3 C 4 A Must Read About making the language of law comprehensible: The Hindu About e-learning in India: The Hindu About Happiness Index: The Indian Express

Daily Prelims CA Quiz

UPSC Quiz - 2020 : IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 91]

For Previous Daily Quiz (ARCHIVES) - CLICK HERE The Current Affairs questions are based on sources like ‘The Hindu’, ‘Indian Express’ and ‘PIB’, which are very important sources for UPSC Prelims Exam. The questions are focused on both the concepts and facts. The topics covered here are generally different from what is being covered under ‘Daily Current Affairs/Daily News Analysis (DNA) and Daily Static Quiz’ to avoid duplication. The questions would be published from Monday to Saturday before 2 PM. One should not spend more than 10 minutes on this initiative. This is a part of our recently launched, NEW INITIATIVE IASbaba’s INTEGRATED REVISION PLAN (IRP) 2020 – Road Map for the next 100 Days! FREE INITIATIVE! We will make sure, in the next 4 months not a single day is wasted. All your energies are channelized in the right direction. Trust us! This will make a huge difference in your results this time, provided that you follow this plan sincerely every day without fail. Gear up and Make the Best Use of this initiative. Do remember that, “the difference between Ordinary and EXTRA-Ordinary is PRACTICE!!” To Know More about the Initiative -> CLICK HERE SCHEDULE/DETAILED PLAN – > CLICK HERE Important Note: Don't forget to post your marks in the comment section. Also, let us know if you enjoyed today's test :) After completing the 5 questions, click on 'View Questions' to check your score, time taken and solutions. To take the Test - Click Here

INTEGRATED REVISION PLAN (IRP) 2020

COMPILATION & THANK YOU NOTE- INTEGRATED REVISION PLAN(IRP – हिंदी & ENGLISH) 2020

Hi Babaites, It is believed that when time is good it flies quickly and when it is tough it moves at a snail’s pace. This year, right from the beginning, there were clouds of doubt regarding UPSC’s civil services exam. The students were thrown off track when it was declared that the exam has been postponed and it will be conducted in October. However, we geared up for a longer battle and IASbaba salutes you for your perseverance and your unwavering dedication towards your goal. To make your journey easy, we started INTEGRATED REVISION PROGRAM (IRP) 2020 and RAPID REVISION SERIES (RRS) of 500 HIGH PROBABLE TOPICS for UPSC PRELIMS 2020. We would like to thank you for your constructive feedback and full-fledged participation. We are sure that you could have done your revision on your own but we are also sure that we must have made your journey a little easier. We hope that the way we have designed our questions, it must have helped you in improving your preparation and you’ll definitely get some concepts in the coming exam. As promised earlier, we will be coming up with two Open Full-Mocks (OPEN FOR ALL). We have set the questions as per the recent trend of UPSC. We wish you all the very best in your endeavours. REGISTER - IASbaba’s ALL INDIA MOCK EXAM (BOTH ENGLISH & हिन्दी) - UPSC PRELIMS 2020 on 23rd and 27th September-OPEN for ALL! -> CLICK HERE DOWNLOAD THE IRP 2020 COMPILATIONS CURRENT AFFAIRS- ENGLISH/हिन्दी ENVIRONMENT- ENGLISH/हिन्दी POLITY- ENGLISH/हिन्दी ECONOMY- ENGLISH/हिन्दी HISTORY- ENGLISH/हिन्दी GEOGRAPHY- ENGLISH/हिन्दी SCIENCE & TECH- ENGLISH/हिन्दी FOR WEEKLY COMPILATIONS- CLICK HERE   FOR 60 DAY COMPILATIONS (BOTH ENGLISH & हिन्दी) -> CLICK HERE FOR ARCHIVES - IASbaba’s RAPID REVISION SERIES (RRS) of 500 HIGH PROBABLE TOPICS for UPSC PRELIMS 2020-> CLICK HERE To get Regular Updates from IASbaba, follow- TELEGRAM Channel – https://t.me/IASbabaOfficialAccount YOUTUBE  –  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChvbVdio9Wgj7Z3nQz1Q0ZQ FACEBOOK  – https://www.facebook.com/iasbaba/ Also, SUBSCRIBE to the WEBSITE Below, so that you don’t miss out on important posts! Thank You IASbaba

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