CURRENT AFFAIRS
19 August 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) PM-CARES funds need not be credited to NDRF: SC
On 18 August, the apex Court held that the money received into the PM-CARES Fund need not be credited to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) in order to fight against Covid-19. The court also held that there is no statutory prohibition on individuals to make voluntary contributions to NDRFunder Section 46(1)(b) of the Disaster Management Act of 2005. The judgment, read out by Justice Bhushan, found no reason to modify the National Disaster Management Plan. The judgment was in response to a PIL filed by the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), represented by senior advocate Dushyant Dave and advocate Prashant Bhushan. The government took the stand that PM-CARES was a “public charitable trust” to which “anyone can contribute”. It is a “misconception” that contributions received by a public trust such as PM-CARES could be transferred to a statutory fund such as the NDRF, the government maintained in the Supreme Court.
B) Government jobs only for locals, says Madhya Pradesh CM
On 18 August, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that government jobs in the State would now be reserved for people from the state only. In a video message, he described this decision as an important decision and told that they are going to make the required provisions for the same. He also said that the resources of Madhya Pradesh are only for the children of Madhya Pradesh. Their aim is to include the State’s talent in its development. Former Chief Minister Kamal Nath said that Chouhan had, in fact, acted in accordance with the decisions of the previous Congress government.
C) Ashok Lavasa resigns as Election Commissioner
The current Election Commissioner of India, Ashok Lavasa has submitted his resignation to the President, asking to be decided by 31 August. He was appointed as a vice-president at the Asian Development Bank, which was announced in July, and therefore, his resignation was expected. He was a retired IAS officer of the batch of 1980, he had been appointed as an Election Commissioner in 2018 and there were high chances that he can to become the Chief Election Commissioner when the present Chief Election Commissioner, CEC Sunil Arora retires in April 2021. But in July, the Manila-headquartered ADB announced that Ashok Lavasa had been appointed the VP for the private sector and public-private partnerships. His departure from the Election Commission now means that EC Sushil Chandra is next in line for the post of CEC.
D) COVID Watch: Numbers and Developments
The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 27,52,727 with the death toll at 52,865. Union Home Minister Amit Shah was on Monday night admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi. He had tested negative on August 14. He was complaining of fatigue and body aches for the last 3to 4 days. He was tested negative for Covid-19. He is now been admitted to AIIMS for COVID care. Meanwhile, the Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said that India has begun negotiations with 13 more countries to establish air bubble arrangements for international flight services. The countries are Australia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, Bahrain, Israel, Kenya, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Pakistan gets approval for phase 3 trials of a covid19 vaccine.
The drug watchdog of Pakistan has approved the phase-III clinical trial of a Covid-19 vaccine which was developed in collaboration with a Chinese company. As per a statement released from the National Institute of Health (NIH), the vaccine has obtained formal approval from the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) for phase-III clinical trial of a vaccine developed by CanSinoBio, which is a Chinese biopharma major, and Beijing Institute of Biotechnology China (BIB).
B) Curbs on China FDI hit GM car plant sale.
The ongoing tensions with China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) could impact the decision of the Indian government on a major U.S.-China auto plant deal in Maharashtra, with thousands of jobs on the line. The deal by the United States owned General Motor India (GMI) to sell its car manufacturing plant in an Industrial Area, near Pune, to Great Wall Motors (GWM) which is a Chinese company is waiting to get clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs. However, no clearances have been granted for Chinese FDI in the past few months, complicating matters for the U.S. company, which wants that India should exit with this deal. The MEA and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry did not comment on the status of the application
SPORTS NEWS
A) Rohit Sharma, VineshPhogat, Manika Batra, M Thangavelu recommended for Khel Ratna Award.
This year, Indian Cricketer Rohit Sharma, woman wrestler VineshPhogat, Paddler Manika Batra, and Rio Paralympic gold-winning high jumper MariappanThangaveluwere among the 4 athletes who were recommended for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, which is the highest sporting honor of the Country. The selection was done by a 12-member selection committee of the Sports Ministry.
B) Dream 11 wins IPL title sponsorship rights.
Dream11, a fantasy sports application, has bagged the title sponsorship rights for the IPL’s 2020 edition for ₹222 crores. The Chairman of IPL, Brijesh Patel has confirmed that Dream11 was finalized after evaluating the 3 bids that were submitted during the prescribed window earlier on18 July. Dream11, which has been a BCCI and IPL partner for a couple of years now, also has a minority investment by Chinese firm Tencent Holdings.BCCI was forced to invite EoIs for IPL title sponsorship rights after Vivo India pulled out barely six weeks before the start of the tournament.
