CURRENT AFFAIRS
07 JULY 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) 1.4 lakh families reach MGNREGA’s annual work limit.
At least 1.4 lakh poor rural households have already completed their quota of 100 days of work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the first three months of the year, and will not be eligible for further benefits under the scheme for the rest of the year. Another seven lakh households have completed 80 days and are on the verge of running out of work as well, according to the scheme’s database.
As per a provision in the scheme of MGNREGA, the districts that are affected by drought or any other natural disasters can request an expansion of the scheme to allow for 150 days of work per household. Since the pandemic of novel coronavirus was declared a national disaster, activists have demanded that this period shall be increased to 200 days. Till now, 23 lakh households have already completed 60 days of their work.
B) Final year exams by September-end: UGC.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided that the final year university examinations may be postponed until the end of September, but must be conducted in either online or offline mode. Students who will not be able to give these examinations will be given an opportunity to appear for special examinations which will be conducted afterwards. In a letter to the Ministry of Human Resources Development, the Home Ministry has given its approval for the conduct of the pending examinations and directed that the final term exams must be compulsorily conducted as per the guidelines issued by the UGC.
C) Oil PSUs implementing ₹3.57 lakh-cr. Projects.
As per the Petroleum Ministry, oil public sector undertakings (PSUs) such as IOC and ONGC are implementing about ₹3.57 lakh crore worth of projects across the entire hydrocarbon value chain which will enhance energy accessibility, create jobs and boost the economy further. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has told in a twitter post that ₹3.57 lakh crore will spent on 859 projects and more than ₹60,000 crore will be invested during the fiscal year 2020-21. While Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is busy to implement projects to upgrade oil refineries and to expand the pipeline network to take fuel to every corner, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is exploring for oil and gas from deserts to the deep sea. Out of this, more than 3.5 crore man-days of employment is expected to be generated in fiscal year ending March 2021 itself.
D) Reopened monuments wear a deserted look on first day.
Monuments that reopened to the public on Monday after being closed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic wore a deserted look on the first day, with more media persons than visitors at the sites. Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel had announced on July 2 that all Centrally protected monuments of the Archaeological Survey of India that were located outside containment zones would open starting Monday, subject to the guidelines of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and Health and Family Welfare Ministry.
Keeping in view the safety of visitors and staff, the ASI had announced online-only ticket booking for restricted number of slots at each monument. The ASI’s ticket booking platform showed that only a handful of visitors booked for major tourist attractions like Qutub Minar etc.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) PLA pulls back from Galwan clash site.
After three weeks of the worst military clashes in decades, India and China have begun the process of disengagement at contentious locations along the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC). The disengagement is in process and it is commenced after Special Representatives of Indian and China Ajit Doval and Wang Yi, were assigned the work to find a solution to the boundary dispute. They spoke over telephone on July 5 in the evening.
The Chinese troops have moved back some distance and dismantled their tents at some locations along the LAC. In the Galwan Valley, the Chinese troops have shifted about 2 kilometers from the site of the clashes held on Juje 15. Some tents had also been removed by the PLA in the Finger 4 area of Pangong Tso.
