CURRENT AFFAIRS
31 August 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) The first phase of Census 2021 and NPR updates may be delayed by a year.
The first phase of the Census and the exercise to update the National Population Register (NPR), scheduled for this year and shifted due to the coronavirus outbreak, may be delayed by 1 year because of the current situation of the global pandemic and its abruptly increasing rate without any sign of a slowdown. The census of India is one of the biggest administrative and statistical exercises in the world. It involves more than 30 lakh officials who visit each household across the whole country. Census is not essential for now. Even if it is delayed by 1 year, there would be no harm. No final decision has been taken yet on when the Census 2021 and NPR update would take place but it is sure that the census of India will not take place because of the increasing rate of the novel coronavirus.
B) 14 lakh people affected by Odisha floods
On 30 August, over 14 lakh people were affected due to floods in 5 river systems of Odisha. Heavy rain triggered by back-to-back low-pressure areas over the Bay of Bengal had caused flooding in 20 districts. 17 people have lost their lives due to wall collapse and by slipping into swollen rivers. Around 2.65 lakh people were marooned by vast sheets of water in 340 villages and 57,824 people were being served cooked food after their evacuation from water-logged houses. Approximately 10,382 houses and 1.68 lakh hectare of cropland were affected by the flood.
C) The current banking challenge is the most intractable one even before COVID-19: Urjit Patel
In his first interaction with a journalist after stepping down from the Reserve Bank of India, former Governor Urjit Patel spoke about his new book, Overdraft: Saving the Indian Saver, in a conversation on invitation from the Pune International Centre. In the banking sector in India, which he has observed at various distances over the last 30 years, it’s the other way round. The macroeconomic problems have created a financial sector crisis periodically. The current banking challenge is the most intractable one even before COVID19. We have a tendency to make a premature pronouncement of victory over any challenge that we desire to solve. We get tired very quickly.
D) PM touts India’s potential to become ‘toy hub’.
On 30 August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India has the talent and the ability to become a toy hub for the entire world. So, he called upon startups to work towards understanding this potential by being vocal about local toys. He said that the global toy industry is over ₹7 lakh crore but the share of India in it is very small. So, he focused on the need to work to increase the share of India in the global toy industry. He called upon start-up entrepreneurs to ‘team up for toys’ and said that it is the time to get vocal for local toys. He also stressed on the young entrepreneurs that they should develop computer games to increase our share.
E) COVID watch – Numbers and Developments.
The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stands at 36,12,916 with the death toll at 64,604. A record single-day spike of 78,761 infections has pushed India’s COVID-19 tally to above 35 lakh.
F) The Tamil Nadu government announced its guidelines for Unlock 4. The Tamil Nadu government has announced its guidelines for Unlock 4 on 30 August, a day after the Union Home Ministry announced its guidelines for Unlock 4. The relaxations that were announced by the state are the opening of all places of worship, shopping malls, showrooms, and big formal stores that can open with 100% staff and metro rail services to resume from September 7. Educational Institutions, amusement parks, and other similar places will remain shut. Parks will be open only for normal walking and exercise and not for any kind of gatherings. Shops that supply essentials can stay open till 8 p.m. Restaurants and tea shops between 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and parcel services till 9 p.m.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Singapore to offer free tests to taxi drivers, hawkers
Singapore will offer free COVID-19 tests to community groups such as taxi drivers, food delivery workers, and hawkers in order to increase the testing rate. The government on 29 August has announced that the costs of the tests will be given by the government. To date, there are 56,771 confirmed cases of COVID19 in Singapore, in which 55,447 have fully recovered from the infection. Meanwhile, the government has reminded the people to use face coverings, Masks, sanitizers to prevent coronavirus. The government also tells to avoid the use of makeshift coverings for the face as scarves, etc. because these materials cannot be used to prevent the spread of the virus. They are not specifically made for the prevention of the disease.
B) White House ends key briefings to Congress.
The White House has announced to end in-person briefings to congressional intelligence committees about foreign election interference because of the accusations made on them on 29 August that they were taking Russian help for the re-election of US President Donald Trump. This announcement has made before 2 months of upcoming elections in which Donald Trump threatened foreign interference and accuses the democrats that they have leaked some sensitive information. He also said that the Congress will continue to access the classified written reports. But the lawmakers will no longer be able to question the officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). The Congress democrats described this move as a shameful act and accused Donald Trump of covering up the Russian Interference.
C) TikTok’s sale in the U.S. may need China’s approval
As per the new rules announced by China, the Byte Dance sale of US TikTok operation could need the approval of Beijing. Application ByteDance has been ordered by US President Donald Trump in order to divest TikTok which is challenging the order in the United States because of security reasons over the personal data it handles. Late on 28 August, China has revised a list of technologies that are banned or restricted for the first time in 12 years in other countries. On 30 August, ByteDance said that it has noted the revisions to the technology of export list of China and it would strictly be governed by the rules while dealing with matters related to it. The Ministry of Commerce of China has added 23 items to the restricted list which can take up to a month for approval to technology export.
