Tag: latest Current Affairs

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.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
18 October 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Draw on experience of holding massive elections to plan speedy delivery of vaccine, says PM.

Emphasizing that every step in the logistics, delivery and administration of Covid-19 vaccine must be put in place  rigorously, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that this must include advance planning of cold storage chains, distribution network, monitoring mechanisms, and thorough assessment and preparation of ancillary equipment such as vials and syringes, said a release issued by the Central government on 17 October. The PM has reviewed the pandemic situation and the preparedness of vaccine delivery, distribution and administration at a meeting attended by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and officials. At the meeting, he stressed that in view of the geographical spread and diversity of the country, speedy access to the vaccine is critical. The PM further directed that India should draw on the experience of successful conduct of elections and disaster management. 

B) Mumbai court orders probe into complaint against Kangana, sister.

A magistrate’s court in Mumbai has asked the police to investigate a complaint against Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut and her sister Rangoli Chandel for allegedly trying to create tension between communities through their tweets. Bandra metropolitan magistrate Jaydeo Y. Ghule passed the order on Friday after casting director Sahil Ashrafali Sayyed lodged the complaint seeking registration of an FIR under IPC sections 153A (promoting enmity), 295A (malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings), 124A (sedition) against the actor and her sister, his lawyer Ravish Zamindar said. In his complaint, Sayyed said that Ms. Ranaut’s tweets are creating divisions between Hindu Artistes and Muslim Artistes. She is maliciously bringing religion in almost all her tweets. He also said that she has gone to such an extent that she has also blamed Jamaatis for spreading coronavirus etc. thereby trying to create hatred and communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims deliberately as she is well aware that she is a well known actress and has a big fan base so her tweets will be seen and will reach out to many people. 

C) 76% of rural Indians can’t afford a nutritious diet: Study.

3 out of 4 rural Indians cannot afford a nutritious diet, according to a paper recently published in the journal Food Policy. Even if they spent their entire income on food, almost 2 out of three of them would not have the money to pay for the cheapest possible diet that meets the requirements set by the government’s premier nutrition body, it says. The paper, titled affordability of nutritious diets in rural India is authored by International Food Policy Research Institute economist Kalyani Raghunathan and others, and uses the latest available food price and wage information from the National Sample Survey’s 2011 dataset. According to the study, even if they spent all their income on food, 63.3% of the rural population, or more than 52 crore Indians, would not be able to afford a nutritious meal. If they set aside just a third of their income for non-food expenses, 76% of rural Indians would not be able to afford it. This does not even account for the meals of non-earning members of a household, such as children or older adults. These numbers are somewhat speculative, but they do reveal the scale of the dietary affordability problem in rural India: nutritious diets are too expensive, and incomes far too low. The National Institute for Nutrition’s guidelines for a nutritionally adequate diet call for adult women to eat 330 gm of cereals and 75 gm of pulses a day, along with 300 gm of dairy, 100 gm of fruit, and 300 gm of vegetables, which should include at least 100 gm of dark green leafy vegetables. 

D) Dr. Reddy’s, RDIF get DCGI nod for Sputnik V clinical trial.

Pharma major Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and Russia’s sovereign wealth fund Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) have received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to conduct an adaptive phase 2/3 human clinical trial for Sputnik V vaccine in the country. This will be a multi-centre and randomized controlled study, which will include safety and immunogenicity study. Developed by Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Russia, Sputnik V vaccine is the world’s first registered vaccine against Covid-19 and is based on the human adenoviral vectors platform. The vaccine was registered by Russia’s Health Ministry in August. The DCGI approval is a significant development that allows us to commence the clinical trial in India, Dr. Reddy’s Co-chairman and Managing Director G V Prasad said. RDIF CEO Kirill Dmitriev said that they are pleased to collaborate with the Indian regulators and in addition to Indian clinical trial data, they will provide safety and immunogenicity study from the Russian phase 3 clinical trial. This data will further strengthen the clinical development of Sputnik V vaccine in India. 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

A) Jacinda Ardern wins landslide re-election in New Zealand vote.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s centre-left Labour Party has won a landslide victory in New Zealand’s general election on 17 October as voters rewarded her for a decisive response to Covid-19. The mandate means that Ardern, 40, could form the first single-party government in decades, and face the challenge of delivering on the progressive transformation she promised but failed to deliver in her first term, where Labour shared power with a nationalist party. New Zealand has shown the Labour Party its greatest support in almost 50 years. Labour had 49.0% of the votes, far ahead of National at 27%, the Electoral Commission said, with 77% of ballots counted in an election that was largely a referendum on Ardern’s aggressive handling of Covid-19. This is a historic shift, said the political commentator Bryce Edwards of Victoria University in Wellington, describing the vote as one of the biggest swings in New Zealand’s electoral history in 80 years.

B) U.K., EU set to discuss ‘structure’ of Brexit talks. 

European and British negotiators will be in touch Monday to discuss the structure of post-Brexit trade talks, despite London’s threat on 17 October to walk away unless there was a major shift in Brussels’ approach. An EU spokesman tweeted that chief negotiator Michel Barnier held video talks with his British counterpart David Frost on 17 October after the results of European Summit provoked an angry response in London. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there was no point in holding any more talks without a dramatic softening of the EU’s position, bringing a step closer the possibility that the planned divorce at the end of the year will end acrimoniously. Mr. Johnson said that the summit outcome had ruled out a comprehensive, Canada-style free trade agreement between the EU and Britain. 

C) Trump appeals to GOP base as polls slide. 

President Donald Trump fought on 17 October to recover from sinking election polls by campaigning with a hardline pitch to America’s right wing, claiming at rallies in Florida and Georgia that his Democratic opponent Joe Biden would deliver communism and a flood of criminal immigrants. While Mr. Trump put on a brave face, the fact that he was fighting for the 2 southern States he won four years ago illustrated how much ground he has to make up against Mr. Biden in the 18 days left until the election. With his polls sliding and U.S. COVID-19 infections spiking, Mr. Trump is focusing entirely on his core Republican base, in hopes that highly energised supporters will turn out in huge numbers. In Ocala, Florida, the coronavirus was an afterthought. Instead, Mr. Trump tossed the large, loudly cheering crowd red meat on immigration, race, and his conspiracy theory that Mr. Biden is steeped in corruption. Spicing his stump speech with lurid exaggerations, Mr. Trump claimed that the Biden family is a criminal enterprise. He said Democrats have nothing but disdain for your values and want to turn America into a communist country, a reprise of his successful 2016 message tapping into white, working-class resentment.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
17 October 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Supreme Court appoints ex-judge Madan Lokur as one-man panel to prevent stubble-burning smog.

Former Supreme Court judge Justice Madan B. Lokur has been tasked with protecting Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region) from pollution caused by stubble-burning in neighbouring Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh this winter. In this endeavour, he will be aided by student volunteers from the National Cadet Corps, the National Service Scheme, and the Bharat Scouts and Guides. A Supreme Court Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad A. Bobde on 16 October has appointed Justice Lokur as a one-man committee to monitor and prevent instances of stubble-burning by farmers in the three States. Why can’t the NCC go and see who is lighting the fires? The Supreme Court’s own Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) would consult with the committee on issues related to stubble-burning. The court made it clear to Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati that the formation of the one-man committee was not meant as an adverse comment on the functioning of the EPCA. 

B) Hathras victim’s brother wants case to be heard in Delhi. 

The elder brother of the Scheduled Caste victim of the alleged gang rape and murder in Hathras has demanded that the case and the family be shifted to Delhi. Speaking to reporters in the village on 16 October, he said that they had demand that the case be heard in a Delhi court. They would also like to look for employment opportunities in Delhi. It would be better if the government could help them in providing protection and finding employment in Delhi. She said that they are providing ration to the family and fodder to the cattle. Their regular medical checkup is also being done. She added that when the victim’s father asked if they could work in the fields, she said they could start their normal life under police protection.

C) Hyderabad floods: Telangana seeks immediate aid of ₹1,350 crore.

The Telangana government has requested the Centre to release ₹1,350 crore as immediate assistance so that it could take up relief and rehabilitation work in the areas affected by incessant rain over the last coupe of days. Of this, ₹600 crore is proposed as assistance for farmers and ₹750 crore will be spent on relief and rehabilitation work in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area. Preliminary estimates put the losses incurred on account of the deluge at around ₹5,000 crore. Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking immediate release of ₹1,350 crore. The letter followed a high-level meeting convened by Rao to review the situation arising out of the recent rains. The rains and floods resulted in 50 deaths, including 11 in the GHMC area, and crops in over 7.35 lakh acres were submerged.

D) Supreme Court seeks AG’s view on bail conditions that ‘trivialise’ trauma of sexual assault victims.

On 16 October, the Supreme Court has decided to seek the views of Attorney General K.K. Venugopal on courts imposing problematic bail conditions for sex crime offenders, conditions that often end up further harassing and objectifying the victims. A Bench led by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar decided to take into consideration the position of Venugopal, the government’s topmost law officer and constitutional authority, after 9 women lawyers brought to the court’s attention a bail order passed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court in a sexual assault case recently. The High Court, as a condition for grant of bail, had ordered the accused man to visit his victim at home on ‘Rakshabandhan’ and allow her to tie a rakhi on him. The Bench has now scheduled a hearing on November 2. The nine lawyers, led by advocate Aparna Bhat and represented by senior advocate Sanjay Parikh, said the High Court order was a trivialisation of her (victim’s) trauma. 

E) Health Ministry deputes teams to states reporting surge in Covid-19 cases. 

On 16 October, the Union Health Ministry has deputed teams to Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal all states that have been reporting a surge in new Covid-19 cases in recent days. A Ministry release said that the teams would support the states’ efforts towards strengthening containment, surveillance, testing, infection prevention and control measures, and efficient clinical management of the positive cases. They shall also guide in effectively managing the challenges related to timely diagnosis and follow-up. Each team comprises a Joint Secretary (nodal officer for the respective State), one public health expert to look after the public health aspects, one clinician to look after infection prevention practices and clinical management protocol being followed by the State. In the past 24 hours, the country has reported 895 case fatalities, and of these, nearly 82% were concentrated in Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Odisha and Delhi. More than 37% of the new fatalities were reported from Maharashtra (337), the Ministry noted.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) Johnson says prepare for no-deal Brexit, cancels talks.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that it was now time to prepare for a no-trade deal Brexit unless the European Union fundamentally changed course, bluntly telling Brussels that there was no point in talking any more. A tumultuous no deal finale to the United Kingdom’s 5 year Brexit crisis would sow chaos through the delicate supply chains that stretch across Britain, the EU and beyond just as the economic hit from the pandemic worsens. At what was supposed to be the Brexit Summit on 15 October, the EU delivered an ultimatum, it said it was concerned by a lack of progress and called on U.K. to yield on key sticking points or see a rupture of ties with the bloc from January 1. Mr. Johnson’s spokesman said shortly afterwards that talks were now over and there was no point in the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier coming to London next week barring a change in approach.

B) Knesset backs Israel-UAE deal. 

Israel’s Parliament voted on 15 October in favor of normalization of ties with the United Arab Emirates after a marathon debate with over 100 speeches lasting more than 8 hours. A total of 80 lawmakers voted to approve the U.S.-brokered agreement, with 13 from the Arab-led Joint List against. This historic agreement will bring them closer to other countries in the region to sign other peace agreements, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. He said that Israel had contact with another country in the region for the first time, but did not reveal its name. The UAE in August became the first Arab state to establish relations with Israel since Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. It was quickly followed by Bahrain. The U.S.-brokered deals were formalized at the White House on September 15. The West Asia agreements were condemned by the Palestinians as a betrayal. 

C) Russia kicks off Caspian war games. 

Russia on 16 October has said that its Navy had begun military exercises in the central waters of the Caspian Sea north of the Azerbaijani capital Baku, insisting there was no threat to neighboring states as Armenia and Azerbaijan battle over the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The war games are taking place north of Azerbaijan’s Absheron peninsula, where Baku is located, and will include artillery and rocket fire, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. They involve 6 ships, 7 planes and more than 400 servicemen. Russia has so far kept its distance from the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. But Armenia, unlike Azerbaijan, is a member of the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) military alliance and Yerevan has made clear it is hoping for Russian backing. With protests still pressuring Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko after disputed elections, CSTO forces have also been taking part in joint military exercises this week in Belarus. The exercises are called Indestructible Brotherhood.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
16 October 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Centre to borrow ₹1.1 lakh crore to compensate States for GST shortfall.

On 15 October in an apparent climbdown from its stance that States should undertake market borrowings to bridge the ₹1.1 lakh crore of GST compensation shortfall this year, the Centre said that the Government of India will undertake the borrowings in tranches and pass it on to States as a back-to-back loan that will reflect on their own books. Asserting that this borrowing to be conducted through a special window would not affect the fiscal deficit or expand general government debt of centre, the finance ministry said this is being done to ensure that States would not have to pay different interest rates for these borrowings. This will also be an administratively easier arrangement, the ministry pointed out.  This will not have any impact on the fiscal deficit of the Government of India (GOI). The amounts will be reflected as the capital receipts of the State Governments and as part of financing of its respective fiscal deficits that this will avoid the prospect of individual States having to pay differential interest rates if they borrowed this corpus as a State development loan. Opposition leaders called it a change of stance from the government. If the Centre has decided to borrow the ₹1.1 lakh crore and extend it to the states as back-to-loans, I welcome the change of position. In its original proposal put up at the 41st GST Council meeting in August, the Centre had said the shortfall on account of GST implementation will be borrowed by States through issue of debt under a Special Window coordinated by the finance ministry.

B) Supreme Court likely to ask Allahabad HC to monitor Hathras case. 

On 15 October, the Supreme Court has indicated that it might ask the Allahabad High Court to supervise the CBI investigation into the brutal assault, alleged gang-rape, and subsequent death of a 19-year-old Dalit girl in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde orally told that the petitioners and intervenors who wanted the apex court to directly monitor the probe that they are sending all of them to Allahabad High Court. The Bench then reserved the case for orders. Members of Kerala Union of Working Journalists stage a candlelight vigil in New Delhi on October 15, 2020 demanding the release of journalist Siddique Kappan. U.P. Police has arrested Mr. Kappan and 3 others on October 6, 2020 while they were on their way to Hathras. Members of Kerala Union of Working Journalists stage a candlelight vigil in New Delhi on October 15, 2020 demanding the release of journalist Siddique Kappan. The State government and the Director General of Police left it to the wisdom of the court to decide which court should supervise the probe, saying their only purpose is to see justice in the case.

C) Air quality in national capital turns ‘very poor’.

The air quality of Delhi, Gurugram, and Noida which are part of the NCR (National Capital Region) — worsened to the very poor category on 15 October as per the data given by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi was 318 at 10 a.m. and the values for Gurugram and Noida were 302 and 315 respectively. An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’. The AQI of all 3 cities was in the ‘poor’ category, as per CPCB’s 4 p.m. bulletin on 14 October, which is an average of the past 24 hours. Also, a ban on diesel generators, except for emergency purposes, came into force in Delhi and neighboring cities from Thursday as part of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) measures to control air pollution.

D) India’s first Oscar winner Bhanu Athaiya passes away in Mumbai.

Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya, who is India’s first Oscar winner, died at her home on 15 October after prolonged illness, her daughter said. She was 91 years old. Athaiya, who won an Oscar for her work in the epic 1983 film Gandhi, passed away peacefully in her sleep, her daughter Radhika Gupta said. The Kolhapur-born Athaiya began her career as a costume designer in Hindi cinema with Guru Dutt’s 1956 superhit C.I.D. She went on to work in over 100 films. She won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi, with Ben Kingsley as the Mahatma. In 2012, Athaiya returned her Oscar to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for safe-keeping. The veteran, who defined the aesthetics of Hindi cinema through her prolific work, created some of Bollywood’s best remembered looks, including Vyjayantihmala in Aamrapaali, Waheeda Rehman in Guide, and Zeenat Aman in Satyam Shivam Sundaram.

E) SC asks Arnab Goswami to go to Bombay HC on TRP scam probe.

The Supreme Court on 15 October has asked the ARG Outlier Media and journalist Arnab Goswami to have faith in the Bombay High Court rather than come straight to the top court with their plea against the Mumbai police investigation in the Television Rating Point (TRP) scam involving allegations of rigged viewership. Justice D.Y. Chandrachud asked senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for ARG and Goswami that they think their client’s office is in Worli. It is not far from Flora Fountain and the Bombay High Court. Why don’t they go there under Article 226 of the Constitution or under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure to quash the FIR. Justices Indu Malhotra and Indira Banerjee, on the Bench, also suggested that the parties should move the High Court. Justice Chandrachud said that how do they entertain a petition like this without the High Court going into it first? The petitioners can go to the High Court. They must have faith in the High Courts. They have been functioning through the pandemic. Salve said that he would withdraw the case then and go to Flora Fountain. 

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) No messages sent to Pakistan: India.

The Union government on 15 October has categorically denied that it had reached out for a dialogue with Pakistan, dismissing a suggestion by a senior Pakistani official that the Modi government had sent messages for a conversation to the Imran Khan government in the past year. The statements are contrary to facts on the ground, misleading and fictitious. As regards the purported message, let me make it clear that no such message was sent from our side, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava has said it at a weekly press briefing. The claim by Mr. Khan’s Special Assistant on National Security and Strategic Policy Planning, Moeed Yusuf, in an interview with Karan Thapar on the news portal The Wire earlier this week, had led to speculation and skepticism. In the past year, they have got messages about a desire for conversation but they know why there is a desire for conversation in their reading? So that there can be a dialogue which India can take to the world and say. The Ministry dismissed the statements as interference in India’s internal affairs.

B) EU imposes sanctions on six Russians over Navalny attack.

The European Union (EU)and Britain imposed sanctions on 15 October on 6 Russians, some among the highest-ranked officials in the nation, and a state research institute over the nerve agent poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The move comes a day after Russia’s Foreign Minister threatened the 27-nation EU with retaliatory action. French President Emmanuel Marcon has said that Russia is their neighbor and shares this continent with them, but they will not give up their principles and convictions when it comes to chemical weapons. He said that the bloc must continue a transparent but demanding dialogue with Moscow. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas of Germany, which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said that only with a clear position and by sticking to principles can we as the European Union make progress with respect to Russia. Those hit by the sanctions, which consist of an asset freeze and travel bans in Europe, include Alexander Bortnikov, the chief of Russia’s Federal Security Service, the top KGB successor agency that is in charge of domestic security, and Sergei Kiriyenko, President Vladimir Putin’s Deputy Chief of Staff. The State Scientific Research Institute for Organic Chemistry and Technology was also targeted. The EU said that institute, which was responsible for destroying Soviet-era chemical weapon, was years ago involved in the development and production of chemical weapons, including the nerve agent Novichok allegedly used to poison Mr. Navalny.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
15 October 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) Following Mehbooba’s release, Farooq Abdullah convenes Gupkar signatories meeting on October 15.

National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah and vice-president Omar Abdullah on 14 October visited the residence of former Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehooba Mufti, who was released on  13 October after 14 months in detention. After the meeting, she said that it was nice of Farooq sahib and Omar sahib to come home. It gave her courage listening to them. She is sure together they all can change things for the better. Omar Abdullah said that his father and he called on Mufti Sahiba this afternoon to enquire about her well-being after her release from detention. She has kindly accepted the invitation to join a meeting of the Gupkar Declaration signatories.  All the signatories of the declaration are planning to meet on the afternoon of 15 October at the residence of Dr. Abdullah. They are expected to discuss the future course of action with regard to the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, which was revoked by the Centre last year.

B) Miffed at Minister’s absence, farmer leaders walk out of meeting at Krishi Bhavan.

On 14 October, a delegation of farmer leaders from Punjab walked out of a meeting with Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal at Krishi Bhavan. The meeting was held to discuss the widespread protests in Punjab over the controversial agricultural marketing laws passed last month. The Secretary was trying to give them some gyaan about the supposed benefits of the new laws. The leaders stood up and said BJP leaders are roaming all over Punjab, spreading propaganda, but they do not have time to meet us here in Delhi.  Jagjit Singh Dhaliwal, who is the state president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union-Ekta has said that the dialogue has failed as the Central government is not serious on the issue of farmer. Dallewal said that the Union Agriculture Minister should have talked to the representatives of all the farmers groups present in Chandigarh. Instead, a delegation of Union Ministers is engaged in efforts to mislead the farmers in Punjab.

C) Tanishq store in Gujarat puts up apology note over withdrawn ad. 

A Tanishq jewellery outlet in Gandhidham in Kutch district of Gujarat has put up a note on its door apologising to the Hindu community in the district over the brand’s controversial TV ad that has since been withdrawn. The handwritten note in Gujarati also condemned the TV commercial, which sought to promote the brand’s new jewellery range, Ekatvam. It was written on the note that they apologise to the Hindu community of Kutch on the shameful advertisement of Tanishq  which was aired in the media. It was pasted at the entrance of the outlet on October 12 and has since been removed. Photos of the apology note went viral on social media. The showroom manager and the local police has said that the news that the  showroom was attacked by some people angry with the Tanishq advertisement was a fake news. On request from the Tanishq outlet manager, the police have provided security. 

D) Loan borrowers’ Diwali is in your hands, Supreme Court tells Centre. 

The Supreme Court has questioned the government’s need to wait a whole month, till November 15, to notify the implementation of a scheme for waiving the compound interest (interest on interest) accumulated during the moratorium against loans worth up to ₹2 crore. The Court said that the waiver scheme is meant to hand-hold small and vulnerable borrowers whose fortunes have dipped during the lockdown. Their Diwali is in the hands of the government.  The waiver scheme has been proposed for eight different categories, including MSME, education, housing, consumer durables, credit card, auto, personal and consumption loans. Appearing for the Centre and the RBI, Justice Ashok Bhushan asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta,  that having taken the decision to waive their compound interest for the moratorium period, why do they require a month [till November 15] to bring this scheme into effect? Why do they delay issuing the circular?Justice M.R. Shah, on the Bench, said that the government has already helped him [with the waiver of compound interest]… Now he wants concrete results. When they have already taken a decision, why do they need 1 month just to issue a circular, he asked further. 

The Union Cabinet today approved the STARS (Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States) project under the New Education Policy to support States in strengthening the school education system, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said. The centrally sponsored project will be implemented by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education. It will cover Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha, he said. The World Bank-supported project is estimated to cost ₹5,718 crore and aims to support the states in developing and improving school education outcomes, Javadekar said.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) South African cricket in danger of ban as government intervenes. 

South Africa is in danger of being banned from international cricket after its government said on 14 October that it intended to intervene in the affairs of the sport’s national body following revelations of serious misconduct by senior officials. The statement, from sports minister Nathi Mthethwa, said he had informed the International Cricket Council of the intended action. The ICC’s constitution forbids government interference and the punishment is normally a ban from international games for the country’s teams until the national cricket body is operating independently again. The tension between the South African government and Cricket South Africa (CSA) relates to a long-running investigation into the affairs of the cricket body, which resulted in the firing of CEO Thabang Moroe for serious misconduct in August.

B) India, Pakistan exchange barbs. 

India and Pakistan sparred at a Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministerial meeting on 14 October, after Pakistan raised the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and accused India of targeting the religious minorities of India. For a state to hypocritically preach about religious minority groups elsewhere, while trampling upon the rights of its own indigenous minorities, was indeed most regrettable, and a blatant misuse of this august platform, said Secretary (West) at the Ministry of External Affairs, Vikas Swarup, in response to what he called a rant by Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi at the Commonwealth meet, held via videoconference, although he didn’t name Pakistan directly. In his speech, Mr. Qureshi had also not named India directly but accused a state in South Asia of targeting religious minority groups. It has transgressed rights and freedoms of millions and fanned hyper-nationalism to engineer illegal demographic change in a disputed territory. He said this in an apparent reference to the government’s move to reorganize Jammu and Kashmir and dilute Article 370 in August 2019.

CURRENT AFFAIRS
14 October 2020

NATIONAL NEWS:

 

A) India’s economy to contract by 10.3%, says IMF. 

The Indian economy is expected to grow at -10.3 %, which means it witness a contraction in 2020, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said. It projected global growth at -4.4%, a contraction in output by 4.4% for this year. The projections were a part of its World Economic Outlook October 2020 report titled, A Long and Difficult Ascent. The 2020 projection for India is a downgrade of -5.8 percentage points from the IMF’s June projection for the country. India is expected to rebound in 2021 with 8.8% growth – an upgrade of 2.8 percentage points relative to the June update. Revisions to the forecast are particularly large for India, where GDP contracted much more severely than expected in the second quarter. For the world as a whole, the 2020 growth projection has been revised upwards by 0.8 percentage points relative to June, a result of a less dire second quarter and signs of a stronger recovery in the third quarter, partly offset by downgrades in certain developing countries and emerging economies (except China).

B) Shocked by Governor’s language, says Sharad Pawar in letter to PM.

On 13 October, the NCP chief Sharad Pawar has wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi complaining about the intemperate language which was used by the Governor of Maharashtra, Mr. B S Koshyari in his letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on the subject of reopening places of religious worship in the state. In his letter, he agree the Hon. Governor can have his independent views and opinions on the issue. He also appreciate the prerogative of the Governor to convey his views to the Chief Minister. However, he is shocked and surprised to see the letter of the Governor released to the media and the kind of language used in the letter. After sending letter to PM Modi, he also tweeted that unfortunately Hon. Governor’s letter to the Chief Minister invokes the connotation as if written to the leader of a political party. His letter stated that in the very Preamble of our Constitution the word Secular is added that equates and shields all religions and hence the Chair of the Chief Minister must uphold such tenets of the Constitution. He is sure that he too would have noticed the intemperate language that has been used and also the kind of language used in the letter which does not behave well for a person who holds a constitutional position.

C) NGOs seeking foreign donations must open FCRA account at SBI’s New Delhi branch by March 31.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked all NGOs seeking foreign donations to open a designated FCRA account at the State Bank of India’s New Delhi branch by March 31, 2021. The MHA order reiterated that NGOs registered under FCRA shall not receive any foreign donations in any other bank account from April 1, 2021. In September, the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2020 was amended by Parliament and a new provision makes it mandatory for all non-government organizations and associations to receive foreign funds in a designated bank account at SBI’s New Delhi branch. An order specifying the process of opening the FCRA bank account was issued by the MHA on 13 October. As of now, there are 22,434 such NGOs and associations active under the FCRA. The order said that an NGO will have to report the amount and source of foreign remittance received to the authorities. The order said that the Centre has notified the New Delhi Main Branch (NDMB) of SBI, 11 Sansad Marg, New Delhi-110001 for the purposes of opening the FCRA account to receive foreign contribution. MHA said to open the account, the applicant need not visit the NDMB in Delhi and may approach the nearest SBI branch or their SBI branch of choice. It said all persons/associations/NGOs who are already registered under FCRA will get sufficient time to transition to the new system and can open accounts at NDMB till March 31, 2021. However, all fresh applicants for certificate of registration or prior permission under the FCRA, 2010, shall have to first open the FCRA account in the NDMB to receive any foreign contribution.

D) Aadhaar not mandatory for registration of birth, death. 

The provision of Aadhaar is not mandatory for the registration of births and deaths, the Registrar General of India (RGI) has clarified in a recent reply to an RTI request. Where Aadhaar is provided voluntarily, it must not be printed on any document or stored in any database of births and deaths in full form, according to an RGI circular cited in the RTI response. Visakhapatnam-based advocate M.V.S. Anil Kumar Rajagiri had filed an RTI request asking whether Aadhaar was mandatory for the registration of death or not. In its reply last week, posted on Twitter by LiveLaw, the RGI referred to an April 2019 circular to clarify that the requirement of Aadhaar number is not mandatory for the registration of birth and death.

E) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments. 

The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 72,32,224 with the death toll at 1,10,620. 2 indigenous vaccine candidates are at the final stage of phase-II of the clinical trial, Niti Aayog member V.K. Paul said, adding that the results should be out soon. The third vaccine candidate (Oxford) involving Serum Institute is undergoing the third-phase clinical trial. Results are expected in November end or so. Cristiano Ronaldo has tested positive for coronavirus, the Portuguese football federation announced on 13 October. He has no symptoms and is in isolation, the federation added. The Juventus forward, who has been voted the world’s top player 5 times, played in Portugal’s goalless Nations League draw against France but will sit out his national side’s clash with Sweden.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS 

A) China blames India’s infrastructure development for LAC tensions. 

A day after marathon talks between the Corps Commanders, held at Chushul in eastern Ladakh, failed to yield an agreement on disengagement, China said the root cause for the recent tensions was the infrastructure development of India and military deployments along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Indian officials have previously rejected such claims, pointing to the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) build-up of troops, multiple transgressions, and attempt since May to unilaterally redraw the LAC. China’s claim underlines the difficulty that the seven rounds of military talks have faced in taking forward the stalled disengagement process and achieving a return to status quo ante that India has demanded. Following the sixth round on September 21, both sides in a joint statement had agreed to stop sending more troops to the frontline. The build-up of troops, however, remains, and Indian officials believe the Chinese side may be preparing for the long-haul and the harsh winter to come. The joint press release on 13 October shed no clarity on any possible timetable for disengagement. It said both sides had held a sincere, in-depth and constructive exchange of views on disengagement along the Line of Actual Control in the Western Sector of India-China border areas. Significantly, the release did not mention a return to status quo prior to May’s transgressions by China, a prospect that appears unlikely in light of the PLA’s entrenching of its positions in areas such as the north bank of Pangong Lake.

B) U.S. poses ‘huge security risk’ to Asia, wants to build ‘Indo-Pacific NATO, says Wang Yi.

On 13 October, the United States poses a huge security risk to Asia by pushing to boost engagement with the region. The Foreign Minister of China, Mr. Wang Yi said this during a tour of Southeast Asia, where Beijing and Washington are locked in a battle for influence. Wang Yi, speaking in Malaysia, said that the real aim of U.S is to build an Indo-Pacific NATO in a strategy that, according to him, harkened back to the Cold War. Washington is trying to stir up confrontation among different groups and blocs, and stir up geopolitical competition while maintaining the predominance and hegemony system of the U.S. Wang said at a joint news conference with his Malaysian counterpart, Hishammuddin Hussein. In this sense, this strategy itself is a huge security risk. He also urged Southeast Asian nations, which are aiming to draw up a code of conduct with China for the South China Sea, to remove external disruption in the disputed waters. The aggressive moves of China to assert its territorial claims in the South China Sea, through which a third of global shipping passes, have drawn rebuke from the United States and become a flashpoint in a region where several Southeast Asian nations, including Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei have rival claims.