CURRENT AFFAIRS
19 October 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) India past COVID-19 peak, says Science Ministry panel.
India passed its COVID-19 peak in September and, if current trends continue, there will be minimal cases by February. These are the findings of a modelling study by a seven-member expert panel on the future course of the pandemic, which was commissioned by the Department of Science and Technology. According to the study, India’s COVID burden is expected to be capped at 106 lakh symptomatic infections by early next year, with less than 50,000 active cases from December. There are 74 lakh confirmed cases as of Sunday, of which about 7,80,000 are active infections. This, however, is premised on no spikes triggered by festivals or mutations in the virus aiding its spread in winter.
B) ‘Second wave possible in winter’.
Meanwhile, Niti Aayog member V.K. Paul who is also the chief of an expert panel coordinating efforts to tackle the pandemic in the country, in an interview to PTI said that while cases and deaths have declined in most States he could not rule out the possibility of a second wave of infections in the winter season. In India, the new coronavirus cases and number of deaths have declined in the last 3 weeks and the pandemic has stabilized in most of the States. However, there are 5 States (Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal) and 3-4 Union Territories (UTs), where there is still a rising trend. According to him, India is in a somewhat better position now but the country still has a long way to go because 90 per cent of the people are still susceptible to coronavirus infections.
C) Health Minister says Kerala paying price for ‘gross negligence’ during Onam.
With Kerala witnessing a spike in coronavirus infections recently, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on 18 October has said that the State was paying the price for gross negligence during Onam festivities when unlocking of services along with an increase in travel for trade and tourism led to the spread of Covid-19. The Minister said this ought to serve as a good lesson for all the State governments that were being negligent in planning for the festival season. Kerala’s COVID-19 tally has crossed 3.3 lakh while the toll climbed to 1,139 on Saturday. Prior to Onam (August 22), the State had reported around 54,000 cases, while the death toll was nearly 200. During an interaction with his social media followers on the sixth episode Sunday Samvaad, Dr. Vardhan reiterated his request to everyone to celebrate festivals at home with their loved ones in the traditional way to ward off the risk of COVID-19 infection.
D) Covid regulations breached in Bihar campaigns.
India’s first full fledged Assembly elections held amid the Covid-19 pandemic is under way in Bihar, and the Election Commission of India (ECi) guidelines for campaigning are clearly only being observed in breach. In indoor public meetings where the crowd is not to exceed 200 and social distancing of at least 6 feet is expected in rallies, the rules are visibly being violated. In Chapra, at a Janata Dal (United) meeting held by candidate Chandrika Rai (ex-father-in-law of Tej Pratap Yadav), the rally stage itself collapsed as there were too many people atop it. In Gaya, the local administration has lodged an FIR against organisers of an event where Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president J.P. Nadda was present for violating social distancing norms. When Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leaders Tejaswi and Tej Pratap Yadav filed their nomination papers, they too took out a mini-road show violating norms. Politically, social distancing violation has become an equal opportunity infraction. Some of it is due to the fact that for long elections have been a participative event not just on polling day but during campaigns too. Big shows of strength with a large turnout are par for the course while filing nominations, and public rallies. The EC’s rules allowing only a handful of people in these events is a culture shock yet to be adapted to.
E) Pollution problem cannot be resolved in a day: Environment Minister.
Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on 18 October has said that the pollution problem cannot be resolved in a day and continuous efforts are needed to tackle each of the contributing factors. Interacting with people during a Facebook Live event, he said the major factors behind air pollution in the country are traffic, industries, waste, dust, stubble, geography and meteorology. The pollution problem cannot be resolved in one day. Continuous efforts needed to tackle each contributing factor. e-vehicles are becoming popular and more than 2 lakh e-vehicles are being used in India currently. The Minister said the number of bad air days has reduced from 250 in 2016 to 180 in 2020. He said that people have a big role to play in tackling air pollution and urged them to download Sameer mobile application of the Central Pollution Control Board for monitoring pollution levels in different cities.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Trump slams ‘anti-American radicals’
President Donald Trump has stepped up attacks on the Democratic Party on Saturday as he accused the left of trying to destroy the American way of life in a late re-election pitch to voters in Michigan and Wisconsin, 2 Midwestern states that were instrumental to his 2016 victory but may now be slipping from his grasp. In back-to-back rallies, Mr. Trump accused the left of wanting to erase American history and purge American values. He claimed, with no basis, that Democratic rival Joe Biden would put communities at risk. Mr. Trump offered the dark message as he faces headwinds not only in national polling, which shows Mr. Biden leading, but also in key battleground surveys. His comments come after his campaign, with far less cash than Mr. Biden’s, largely retreated from TV advertising in the Midwest, shifting much of its money to Sun Belt states such as Florida, North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia, as well as Pennsylvania. As he tries to energise his base and keep on-the-fence voters from turning against him, Mr. Trump sought to paint Democrats as anti-American radicals and said moderates had a moral duty to join the Republican Party.
B) Iran hails lifting of UN arms embargo.
Iran said that a longstanding UN embargo on arms sales to and from the Islamic republic expired on Sunday in line with a 2015 landmark nuclear deal with world powers from which Washington has withdrawn. Tehran, which could now purchase weapons from Russia, China and elsewhere, has hailed the development as a diplomatic victory over the U.S., which had tried to maintain an indefinite freeze on arms sales. The embargo on the sale of conventional arms to Iran was due to start expiring progressively from Sunday, October 18, under the terms of the UN resolution. As of today, the Islamic Republic may procure any necessary arms and equipment from any source without any legal restrictions, and solely based on its defensive needs. U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the nuclear deal in 2018 and has unilaterally begun reimposing sanctions on Iran.
C) China passes law to safeguard national security, sensitive tech.
China has passed a new law restricting sensitive exports to protect national security, a move that adds to policy tools it could wield against the U.S. as tensions especially in technology continue to rise. The law, which China’s top legislature passed on 17 October, comes into effect on December 1 and allows Beijing to take reciprocal measures against countries that abuse export controls and pose a threat to national security. Technical data related to items covered will also be subject to export controls, according to the published text of the law. Beijing’s measure gives it more room to hit back in U.S. President Donald Trump’s war on Chinese tech firms, with the White House moving against popular platforms and major companies including apps TikTok and WeChat, tech giant Huawei and chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.
The new law, “formulated to safeguard national security and interests”, adds to China’s regulatory toolkit which also involves a restriction catalogue of tech exports and an unreliable entity list.
“Where any country or region abuses export control measures to endanger the national security and interests of the People’s Republic of China, (it) may take reciprocal measures,” the law states.
It adds that Chinese authorities will formulate and adjust an export control list of items to be published in a “timely manner”.
Foreign individuals and groups can also be found liable for violating export control rules.
The economic relationship between Beijing and Washington has been roiled by Mr. Trump’s unprecedented campaign of tariffs, threats of bans and sanctions on Chinese tech firms.
