October-2020-Precure.pdf - Sleepy Classes

PRE-Cure (Relevant Current Affairs for UPSC

Civil Services Examination)

Compilation

for

October 2020 Visit our website www.sleepyclasses.com or

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1. Geography 1 ...................................

1.1.Centre working on rejuvenation of 13

rivers across the country 1 ........................

1.2.Global Initiative to reduce Land

Degradation and Coral Reef program

launched at G20 Environment Ministers

Meet 2 ............................................................

1.3.Coral Reefs in India 4 ...............................

1.4.What is Solar Cycle 25, recently

announced by NASA and NOAA scientists?

4

1.5.Harvest Moon appeared in the night sky

with a fiery-red object 7 .............................

1.6.Autumnal Equinox in Northern

Hemisphere 8 ...............................................

1.7.Kozhikode-Wayanad project launched 9

1.8.Uttarakhand mulls plantation drive in

other states to clear compensatory

afforestation backlog 10 ..............................

1.9.Artemis Accords 10 .....................................

1.10.ESO telescopes record last moments of

star devoured by a black hole 11 ...............

1.11.Indus water treaty completes 60 years

12

1.12.India launches flash flood guidance

services for South Asia 13 ............................

1.13.Formation of State Water Grid in

Maharashtra to overcome flood crisis in the

State 14 ............................................................

1.14.Aldabra’s coral reefs 16 ..........................

1.15.Nechiphu Tunnel on road to China

border in Arunachal 16 ................................

1.16.Assam-Mizoram Border Dispute 17 ....

2. History & Culture 18 ......................

2.1.Harijan Sevak Sangh celebrates its

foundation day 18 .........................................

2.2.COVID-19 infection spreads to

vulnerable tribal community in Odisha 18

2.3.Tata group to construct India's new

parliament building. 19 ................................

2.4.Onam 20 ........................................................

2.5.Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana (KSVY) 20 .

2.6.Tech for Tribals 21 .......................................

2.7.Chardham Project 22 .................................

2.8.Rare inscription unearthed in Andhra

Pradesh's Kadapa district 23 ......................

2.9.Life in Miniature project 23 ......................

2.10.Kongali Bihu in Assam 25 ......................

2.11.Large 2,000-year-old cat discovered in

Peru's Nazca lines 25 ....................................

2.12.Commemoration of ‘77th Year of

Formation of Azad Hind Government’ 26

2.13.Indus valley had dairy production way

back in 3rd millennium BCE 27 .................

3. Polity & Governance 28 ................

3.1.Official Secrets Act: The anti-spying law

28

3.2.Covid-19 patients, elderly can vote in

elections via postal ballot 29 ......................

3.3.AYUSH Grid to Operationally Integrate

With National Digital Health Mission 29

3.4.The Code on Social Security 2020 31 ...

3.5.IIM Kozhikode to launch e-learning hub

for villagers 32 ................................................

3.6.IFFCO, Prasar Bharati sign MoU to

broadcast & promote new agriculture

technology & innovations 32 ......................

3.7.Gujarat to launch 'Digital Seva Setu'

phase-I in villages 32 .....................................

3.8.SWAMITVA scheme 33 .............................

3.9.ISLRTC, NCERT Sign MoU to Convert

Educational Materials into Indian Sign

Language 33 ....................................................

3.10.NCDC Ayushman Sahakar Fund for

creation of healthcare infrastructure by

cooperatives 34 ..............................................

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3.11.NHRC Completes 27 Years 36 ..............

3.12.Uttar Pradesh launches Mission Shakti

for security of women in the state 37 .......

3.13.GovTech- Thon 38 ....................................

3.14.Electoral bonds will be up for sale from

19 October 39 ................................................

3.15.NHRC 40 .....................................................

3.16.CVC amends SOP for adoption of

Integrity Pact in govt. organisations 40 ...

3.17.The Maharashtra government has

withdrawn “general consent” given to the

CBI to probe cases in the state. 41 ............

3.18.SEC moves HC against govt 42 .............

3.19.Andhra CM’s allegations against a SC

judge 43 ............................................................

3.20.Data Protection Bill and Amazon 44 ..

4. International Relations 45 ............

4.1.Crisis in Caucasus: On Armenia,

Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh 45 ...

4.2.US imposes new curbs on H-1B visas 46

4.3.India provides USD 1 million for

Palestinian refugees 47 ................................

4.4.India and France re-elected President and

Co-President of International Solar

Alliance 48 .......................................................

4.5.Pakistan re-elected to United Nations

Human Rights Council 50 ............................

4.6.Top US diplomat calls for expansion of

Quad group 50 ................................................

5. Economy 52 ......................................

5.1.G20 & Debt Freeze 52 ...............................

5.2.Cabinet approves e-bidding platform for

natural gas pricing 53 ...................................

5.3.India Energy Modelling Forum 55 ..........

5.4.Indian Power Market goes Green 55 ......

5.5.Index-Linked Insurance Plans 57 ............

5.6.National Logistics Portal 58 .....................

5.7.Exim Bank extends line of credit of USD

400 million to the Government of Republic

of Maldives. 59 ...............................................

5.8.IFSCA introduces Framework for

Regulatory Sandbox to tap into innovative

fintech solutions 60 .......................................

5.9.India to get USD177 million loan from

Asian Development Bank for Maharashtra

road improvements 61 .................................

5.10.Union Finance Minister announces

Stimulus to boost Demand in the Economy

62

5.11.TRP Manipulations 63 ............................

5.12.Centre to cap the number of subsidised

fertiliser bags 64 .............................................

5.13.Assam to have India’s first Multi-Modal

Logistics park 64 ............................................

5.14.Govt. to widen manufacturing PLI plan

65

5.15.Centre invokes new Essential

Commodities Act to set stock limits on

onion 66 ............................................................

5.16.RBI to buy ₹20,000 cr. of G-Secs 67 ...

5.17.Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh

addresses the firstever Ministerial

Meetingof G-20 Anti-Corruption Working

Group 68 ..........................................................

5.18.India gets chairmanship of International

Labour Organisation’s governing body after

a gap of 35 years 69 ......................................

5.19.AIM Launches India–Australia Circular

Economy Hackathon (I-ACE) 70 ................

6. Environment 71 ...............................

6.1.Human-Leopard Conflict 71 ....................

6.2.The Earthshot Prize 71 ..............................

6.3.IMD’S New Improved Air Quality Models

Capture Air Pollution Spike in Delhi 72 ...

6.4.NTPC Collaborates with Cement

Manufacturers across Country to Supply

Fly Ash 73 ........................................................

6.5.Cabinet approves Memorandum of

understanding between Zoological survey

of India and International Barcode of Life, a

Canadian Not-For-Profit corporation 74


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6.6.Environment Impact Assessment

Notification 2020 74 ....................................

6.7.Madhuca Diplostemon Tree 76 ...............

6.8.Scientists trying to cultivate “Heeng” in

the Himalayas for the first time. 76 ..........

6.9.Chinese pink dolphins are making a

comeback in the Pearl River estuary 77 ..

6.10.Rajasthan Health Department to

administer deworming tablets in campaign

mode from October 5 to 11 79 ..................

6.11.NGT red-flags Kaleshwaram project 79

6.12.NGT Completes 10 Years 80 .................

6.13.Blue Flag Beaches in Karnataka 82 .....

6.14.What is ‘yellow dust’? 83 ........................

6.15.Himalayan brown bear 83 .....................

6.16.First National Protocol to Enumerate

Snow Leopard Population in India

Launched 84 ....................................................

6.17.EU environment ministers strike deal on

climate law, leave out 2030 target 85 .....

6.18.Stubble burning explained 86 ...............

6.19.Kabartal and Asan Conservation

Reserve designated as Ramsar Sites 87 ...

7. Science & Technology 89 ................

7.1.The SMART torpedo system 89 ...............

7.2.China to send first-ever ‘asteroid mining

robot’ into space 90 .......................................

7.3.IMD to release dynamic and impact-

based cyclone warnings 90 .........................

7.4.France to partner India on ISRO's 2025

Venus mission 91 ...........................................

7.5.Transmissible mutation of the coronavirus

92

7.6.Russia says it successfully tested, Tsirkon,

a new hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile 93


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1. Geography Click on the following links, to watch the topics given below on YouTube

• Video 1

• Video 2

• Video 3

1.1.Centre working on rejuvenation of 13 rivers across the country • The Centre is working on rejuvenation of 13 rivers across the country and their detailed project

reports (DPR) are already being prepared.

• Anniversary of "Cauvery Calling" movement (Aim- To revitalise the river).

• 13 important rivers-- Beas, Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi, Sutlej, Luni, Yamuna, Narmada, Godavari, Kaveri,

Krishna, Brahmaputra and Mahanadi.

Cauvery Calling Mission

• It was launched by Isha Foundation headed by 'Sadhguru' Jaggi Vasudev.

• 'Cauvery Calling' promotes tree-based agriculture on private farmlands in the Cauvery basin and

aims to enable over 50 lakh farmers to plant 242 crore high-value trees on their farms for economic

gain.


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1.2.Global Initiative to reduce Land Degradation and Coral Reef

program launched at G20 Environment Ministers Meet

Highlights

• The Environment Ministerial Meeting (EMM) of the G20 countries took place today through video

conferencing under the Presidency of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

• India believes that Equity, Common but differentiated responsibilities, finance and technology

partnerships are key pillars and

India is walking the talk on Paris

Agreement and its Climate

commitments.

• T h e G l o b a l I n i t i a t i v e o n

Reducing Land Degradation

a i m s t o s t r e n g t h e n t h e

implementation of existing

frameworks to prevent, halt,

and reverse land degradation

within G20 member states and

globally, taking into account

possible implications on the

achievement of other SDGs and

adhering to the principle of

doing no harm.

• The Global Coral Reef R&D

Accelerator Platform is an innovative action-oriented initiative aimed at creating a global research

and development (R&D) program to advance research, innovation and capacity building in all facets of

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coral reef conservation, restoration, and adaptation, and strengthen on-going efforts and

commitments made to enhance coral reefs conservation and their further degradation.

Reasons of Land Degradation

• The degradation is the result of loss of vegetation due to deforestation, cutting beyond permissible

limits, unsustainable fuel wood and fodder extraction, shifting cultivation, encroachment on forest

lands, forest fires and overgrazing.

• Other factors leading to large scale degradation comprise extension of cultivation to lands of low

potential or high natural hazards, non- adoption of adequate soil conservation measures, improper

crop rotation, indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals, improper planning and management of irrigation

systems and excessive extraction of groundwater.

UNCCD

• Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole

legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land

management.

• The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the

drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found.

• The new UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework is the most comprehensive global commitment to

achieve Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) in order to restore the productivity of vast expanses of

degraded land, improve the livelihoods of more than 1.3 billion people, and reduce the impacts of

drought on vulnerable populations to build a future that avoids, minimizes, and reverses

desertification/land degradation and mitigates the effects of drought in affected areas at all levels ...

to achieve a land degradation-neutral world consistent with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable

Development.

G20

• The G20 is made up of 19 countries and the European Union. The 19 countries are Argentina,

Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Russian

Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, and the US.



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1.3.Coral Reefs in India • CORALS- Coral reefs are large underwater structures composed of the skeletons of colonial marine

invertebrates called coral. The coral species that build reefs are known as hermatypic, or "hard,"

corals because they extract calcium carbonate from seawater to create a hard, durable exoskeleton

that protects their soft, sac-like bodies.

• Other species of corals that are not involved in reef building are known as “soft” corals. These types of

corals are flexible organisms often resembling plants and trees and include species such as sea fans

and sea whips.

• Each individual coral is referred to as a polyp. Coral polyps live on the calcium carbonate exoskeletons

of their ancestors, adding their own exoskeleton to the existing coral structure.

• As the centuries pass, the coral reef gradually grows one tiny exoskeleton at a time, until they become

massive features of the marine environment.

1.4.What is Solar Cycle 25, recently announced by NASA and

NOAA scientists?

News

• On 15th September, scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA) announced their predictions about the new solar cycle, called Solar Cycle 25, which they

believe has begun.

• Solar cycles have implications for life and technology on Earth as well as astronauts in space.

Solar Cycle

• Since the Sun’s surface is a very active space, electrically charged gases on its surface generate areas

of powerful magnetic forces, which are called magnetic fields.



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• Since the gases on the Sun’s surface are constantly moving, these magnetic fields can get stretched,

twisted and tangled creating motion on the surface, which is referred to as solar activity.

• Solar activity varied with the stages of the solar cycle, which lasts on average for a period of 11 years.

• This split image shows the difference between an active Sun during solar maximum (on the left,

captured in April 2014) and a quiet Sun during solar minimum (on the right, captured in December

2019). December 2019 marks the beginning of Solar Cycle 25, and the Sun’s activity will once again

ramp up until solar maximum, predicted for 2025.

How do scientists track solar activity?

• Scientists track a solar cycle by using sunspots, which are the dark blotches on the Sun that are

associated with solar activity.

• Sunspots are associated as the origins for giant explosions such as solar flares that can spew light,

energy and solar material into space.

What are sunspots?

• A Sunspot is an area on the Sun that appears dark on the surface and is relatively cooler than the

surrounding parts.

• These spots, some as large as 50,000 km in diameter, are the visible markers of the Sun’s magnetic

field, which forms a blanket that protects the solar system from harmful cosmic radiation.

• When a Sunspot reaches up to 50,000 km in diameter, it may release a huge amount of energy that

can lead to solar flares.

Highlights

• The beginning of a solar cycle is typically characterised by only a few sunspots and is therefore

referred to as a solar minimum.

• On 15th September, the experts announced that the solar minimum for Solar Cycle 25 occurred in

December 2019.

• It took time for them to announce this because of the variability of the Sun.



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• Scientists predict a solar maximum (middle of the solar cycle) will be reached by July 2025 and that

this solar cycle will be as strong as the last solar cycle, which was a “below-average cycle” but not

without risks.

Why do scientists track solar activity or how will it affect our lives?

• Scientists track solar activity because it can have effects on Earth. For example, when charged

particles from coronal mass ejections (CMEs) reach areas near the Earth, they can trigger intense

lightning in the skies referred to as auroras.

• When CMEs are particularly strong, they can also interfere with the power grids, which can cause

electricity shortages and power outages.

• NASA notes that solar flares and CMEs are the most powerful explosions in our solar system.

• Further, solar flares can have a major effect on radio communications, Global Positioning Systems

(GPS) connectivity, power grids, and satellites.

• Last month, spaceweather.com reported observing a massive Sunspot group, AR2770, which emitted

a few minor solar flares

• In 1967, a major solar flare almost led to a nuclear war during the Cold War, as per a space.com

report. In May that year, the US Air Force’s Ballistic Missile Early Warning System radar sites in

Alaska, Greenland and the UK got jammed due to the flare, causing US officials to mistakenly hold the

Soviet Union responsible for the radar failures.

• It was only after scientists at the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) informed

US leaders of the solar flare that the matter deescalated.

• Recently, scientists have developed a new model that can successfully predict seven of the Sun’s

biggest flares from the last solar cycle, out of a set of nine with the help of NASA’s Solar Dynamics

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1.5.Harvest Moon appeared in the night sky with a fiery-red object

Highlights

• Harvest Moon is all set to tantalize the curious sky observers and usual folks because tonight the

moon in all its glory will be brilliant and brightest, embellishing the night-sky with its vibrant shine

across the horizon.

• Harvest Moon is typically a full

moon, which is set to take place in

the month of late September or

early October.

• Reportedly, this full moon, at this

time of the year remains so dazzling

and glaring that it shines late till the

night which in earlier times used to

help farmers to harvest their

s u m m e r a g r i c u l t u ra l p r o d u c e

beyond midnight. Hence, this

gorgeous full moon came to be

known as ‘Harvest Moon’.

• In fact, this will be the closest full moon for the entire northern hemisphere as the Harvest Moon will

come nearest to the autumnal equinox on 1st and 2nd October.

• It is also estimated that the glittering phenomenon of the Harvest moon is going to take place 17

times from 1970 to 2050.

• In addition, astronomers predict that, on average, this full moon occurs once in 3 years but may vary

up to 8 years.

• That’s why the next Harvest Moon will rise only in the year 2028.

• While sometimes, Harvest Moon is also called September full moon, it takes an equal amount of time

to rise to the horizon as taken by the Sun to set in the evening, which differs from normal day’s

difference of 50 minutes between the Moon-rise and the Sunset.

• Thereafter, the Moon-rise would gradually delay by 24 minutes in the following days.

• As the moon revolves around the Earth in its elliptical orbit, that’s why, currently, its elliptical will

make the smallest angle with respect to the horizon and will eventually make the Moon appears to be

a glowing and illuminating heavenly body in the sky.

• Interestingly, a day after Harvest Moon, a bewildering and fiery red object can be observed towards

the upper-left direction of the Moon which is touted to be Mars as it will make yet another closest

approach to the Earth.

• Last year, the Harvest Moon occurred in September, while for the Southern Hemisphere it appears

usually in the month of late March or early April. The second full moon for this month will glow on

31st October and is famously said as ‘Blue Moon’.



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• Besides that, the next moon after the Harvest Moon will be called ‘Hunter’s Moon’ as its glaring light

will help hunters to prey till late in the night.

1.6.Autumnal Equinox in Northern Hemisphere • On 22nd September 2020, the day and night was almost equal in most locations marking the start of

autumn in the Northern Hemisphere which lasts until the winter solstice (December 21 or 22).

Equinox

• On 21st March and September 23rd, direct rays of the sun fall on the equator. At this position, neither

of the poles is tilted towards the sun; so, the whole earth experiences equal days and equal nights.

This is called an equinox.

• On 23rd September, it is autumn season (season after summer and before the beginning of winter) in

the northern hemisphere and spring season (season after winter and before the beginning of summer)

in the southern hemisphere.



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1.7.Kozhikode-Wayanad project launched • The 7-km tunnel, being described as the third longest in the country, is part of an 8-km road cutting

through sensitive forests and hills of the Western Ghats.

• Its endpoints are at Maripuzha in Thiruvambady village panchayat (Kozhikode) and Kalladi in

Meppadi panchayat (Wayanad).

• At present, Wayanad plateau is linked to the rest of Kerala via four roads, all with hilly sections, the

longest being the 13-km Thamarassery Ghat Road along the Kozhikode-Mysuru NH 766.

• The tunnel road is an outcome of a decades-long campaign for an alternative road as the

Thamarassery Ghat Road is congested and gets blocked by landslides during heavy monsoon. A

proposal for widening the road has been pending clearance from the MoEFCC.

• The Forest Department has identified the proposed route as a highly sensitive patch comprising

evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, marsh lands and shola tracts. This region is part of an elephant

corridor spread between Wayanad and Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu.

• Chaliyar and Kabani- these two major rivers that flow to the state of Karnataka, originate from these

hills in Wayanad.

• The region, known for torrential rain during monsoon, has witnessed several landslides, including in

2019 at Kavalappura near Nilambur and at Puthumala, Meppadi in Wayanad.

• TORRENTIAL RAIN: Torrential rain, or a torrential downpour, is any amount of rain that is considered

especially heavy. National Weather Service (NWS) defines heavy rainfall as rain that accumulates at a

rate of 3 tenths of an inch (0.3 inches), or more, per hour.

The Dangers of Torrential Rain

• Heavy rain can trigger any one or more of the following deadly events:

✓ Runoff: If heavy rains arrive more quickly than the ground can absorb water, you get runoff—

stormwater that "runs off" the land instead of seeping into the ground. Runoff can carry

pollutants (like pesticides, oil, and yard waste) into nearby creeks, rivers, and lakes.

✓ Flooding: If enough rain falls into rivers and other bodies of water it can cause their water levels

to rise and overflow onto normally dry land.



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✓ Mudslides: If rain is record-breaking (typically more rain in a few days than is normal over a

month or year) the ground and soil can liquify and carry unsecured objects, people, and even

buildings away in debris flows. This is exacerbated along hillsides and slopes since the ground

there is more easily eroded away.

1.8.Uttarakhand mulls plantation drive in other states to clear

compensatory afforestation backlog • Compensatory afforestation is done against the transfer of forest land for non-forestry purposes like

the development of dams, mining and the construction of industries or roads.

• In compensatory plantation, 1,100 plants are planted over an area of one hectare.

• As per a report presented in at a recent meeting of the Uttarakhand Compensatory Afforestation

Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) steering committee, the state government has

carried out afforestation on 24,908 hectare land, against the total target of 33,944 hectare, which

translates into a backlog of 9,035 hectare.

• Against this backlog, the state CAMPA has set a target of afforestation on 3,500 hectare in the

current financial year. However, Uttarakhand faces a shortage of suitable land for the remaining

5,535 hectare.

• To this effect, the Uttarakhand CAMPA steering committee discussed a proposal for a plantation

drive in other states.

• To clear the backlog for compensatory afforestation over the next two years, the Uttarakhand Forest

Department is mulling a plantation drive in Uttar Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region and parts of

Rajasthan.

Objectives of CAMPA

• Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) are meant to

promote afforestation and regeneration activities as a way of compensating for forest land diverted

to non-forest uses.

• National CAMPA Advisory Council has been established as per orders of The Hon’ble Supreme Court

with the following mandate:

✓ Lay down broad guidelines for State CAMPA.

✓ Facilitate scientific, technological and other assistance that may be required by State CAMPA.

✓ Make recommendations to State CAMPA based on a review of their plans and programmes.

✓ Provide a mechanism to State CAMPA to resolve issues of an inter-state or Centre-State

character.

1.9.Artemis Accords • The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced a global set of principles for

space exploration for international organizations called the ‘Artemis Accords.’



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• The founding member nations that have signed the Artemis Accords are: Australia, Canada, Italy,

Japan, Luxembourg, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America

• The Artemis Accords will describe a shared vision for principles, grounded in the Outer Space Treaty

of 1967.

• Under the Artemis Accord principles, signatories agree to:

✓ Conduct all activities for peaceful purposes;

✓ Publicly and transparently describe their policies and plans;

✓ Use open standards and strive for interoperability;

✓ Provide emergency assistance;

✓ Register space objects to help avoid harmful interference;

✓ Release scientific data publicly;

✓ Protect sites and artefacts of historic value;

✓ Extract and use space resources in accordance with the Outer Space Treaty;

✓ Provide public information about the location and nature of operations, and work to DE conflict

where necessary; and

✓ Mitigate orbital debris.

• There are five international treaties that deal with issues such as the non appropriation of outer space

by any one country, arms control, freedom of exploration, liability for damage caused by space

objects, safety and rescue of spacecraft and astronauts, prevention of harmful interference with

space activities and the environment, notification and registration of space activities, scientific

investigation and the exploitation of natural resources in outer space, and settlement of disputes.

• Outer Space Treaty: The foundation of international space law, it forbids weapons of mass

destruction in space and reserves the moon and other bodies for peaceful purposes. It opened for

signature in January 1967 and entered into force on Oct. 10, 1967.

• Rescue Agreement: It outlines the obligations for any state party that becomes aware that the

personnel of a spacecraft are in danger. The Rescue Agreement went into force in December 1968.

• Liability Convention: Coming into force in 1972, it established liability rules for space. The Soviet

Union was penalized under this convention when one of its nuclear-powered satellites crashed in

Canada in 1978.

• Registration Convention: In 1976, it created a system to identify and register space objects.

• Moon Agreement: It was opened for signatures in 1979 but did not enter into force until 1984. The

agreement reaffirmed and elaborated on the Outer Space Treaty as it relates to the moon and other

celestial bodies, which should be used exclusively for peaceful purposes, their environments should

not be disrupted, and the United Nations should be informed about any stations built on those bodies.

1.10.ESO telescopes record last moments of star devoured by a

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• Using telescopes from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) astronomers have spotted a rare

blast of light from a star being ripped apart by a super massive black hole.

• The phenomenon, known as a tidal disruption event, is the closest such flare recorded to date at just

over 215 million light-years from Earth.

• Black holes are points in space that are so dense they create deep gravity sinks. Beyond a certain

region, not even light can escape the powerful tug of a black hole's gravity. And anything that ventures

too close—be it star, planet, or spacecraft—will be stretched and compressed like putty in a

theoretical process aptly known as spaghettification.

• There are four types of black holes: stellar, intermediate, super massive, and miniature. The most

commonly known way a black hole forms is by stellar death.

• As stars reach the ends of their lives, most will inflate, lose mass, and then cool to form white dwarfs.

But the largest of these fiery bodies, those at least 10 to 20 times as massive as our own sun, are

destined to become either super-dense neutron stars or so-called stellar-mass black holes.

• In their final stages, enormous stars go out with a bang in massive explosions known as

supernovae .Such a burst flings star matter out into space but leaves behind the stellar core.

• While the star was alive, nuclear fusion created a constant outward push that balanced the inward

pull of gravity from the star's own mass.

• In the stellar remnants of a supernova, however, there are no longer forces to oppose that gravity, so

the star core begins to collapse in on itself.

• If its mass collapses into an infinitely small point, a black hole is born. Packing all of that bulk—many

times the mass of our own sun—into such a tiny point gives black holes their powerful gravitational

pull.

• Thousands of these stellar-mass black holes may lurk within our own Milky Way galaxy.

• A white dwarf is what stars like the Sun become after they have exhausted their nuclear fuel.

1.11.Indus water treaty completes 60 years • Indus Waters Treaty, treaty was signed on September 19, 1960, between India and Pakistan.

• It was brokered by the World Bank

• The treaty fixed and delimited the rights and obligations of both countries concerning the use of the

waters of the Indus River system.

• The treaty gave the waters of the western rivers—the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab—to Pakistan and

those of the eastern rivers—the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej—to India.

• It also provided for the funding and building of dams, link canals, barrages, and tube wells—notably

the Tarbela Dam on the Indus River and the Mangla Dam on the Jhelum River.

• Much of the financing was contributed by member countries of the World Bank.

• The treaty required the creation of a Permanent Indus Commission, with a commissioner from each

country, in order to maintain a channel for communication and to try to resolve questions about

implementation of the treaty. In addition, a mechanism for resolving disputes was provided.



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• The Indus River rises in the southwestern Tibet and flows through the disputed Kashmir region and

then into Pakistan to drain into the Arabian Sea. It is joined by numerous tributaries, notably those of

the eastern Punjab Plain—the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers.

1.12.India launches flash flood guidance services for South Asia

What Is Flash Flooding?

• Flash Floods are highly localized events of short duration with a very high peak and usually have less

than six hours between the occurrence of the rainfall and peak flood.

• They occur due to extremely heavy rainfall from thunderstorms. Flash Floods can occur due to Dam

or Levee Breaks, and/or Mudslides (Debris Flow).

• The intensity of the rainfall, the location and distribution of the rainfall, the land use and topography,

vegetation types and growth/density, soil type, and soil water-content all determine just how quickly

the Flash Flooding may occur, and influence where it may occur.

• The impervious surfaces in the urban areas do not allow water to infiltrate the ground, and the water

runs off to the low spots very quickly.

• India has launched Flash Flood Guidance services for India and other South Asian countries --

Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

• It is to issue impact-based forecasting at the watershed and also city level, of floods which are very

sudden and of short duration.

• It is designed by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to provide the necessary products in

real-time to support the development of warnings for flash floods about 6-12 hours in advance at the

watershed level with a resolution of 4kmx4km for the Flash Flood prone South Asian countries --

India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.



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• IMD has tested the performance of the system during recent monsoon seasons in the preoperational

mode and the Flash Flood Bulletins were issued to National Hydrological and Meteorological Services

in the Region for its validation.

• The system has in-depth science, dynamics, and diagnostics to provide guidance for the possible

occurrences of flash floods at the local level.

• The Guidance for flash floods in the form of Threats (6 hours in advance) and Risks (24 hours in

advance) will be provided by Regional Centre to National Meteorological & Hydrological Services,

National and State Disaster Management Authorities, and all other stakeholders for taking necessary

mitigation measures to reduce the loss of life and property in the South Asian Region countries.

• The Fifteenth WMO Congress had approved the implementation of a Flash Flood Guidance System

(FFGS) project with global coverage that had been developed by the WMO Commission for

Hydrology jointly with the WMO Commission for Basic Systems and in collaboration with the US

National Weather Service, the US Hydrologic Research Center (HRC) and USAID/OFDA.

1.13.Formation of State Water Grid in Maharashtra to overcome

flood crisis in the State • Maharashtra Government to take up formation of the State Water Grid to overcome the recurring

flood crisis in the State.

• The State Water Grid is to be formed on the lines of the National Power Grid and Highway Grid.

• The idea is to divert the flood water from one river basin to the other river basin in the drought prone

area of the state.

• The areas with shortage of the water, scanty rainfall can get relief by the Grid.

• This would help to increase the area under irrigation, while bringing significant reduction in the

numbers of suicides of farmers. (particularly Vidarbha region)



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• This would also help to increase agriculture produce and strengthen the rural and national economy.

• The diverted flood waters would relieve the stress on the local resources. Transportation of goods

and passengers through rivers (Water Transport) can be commenced in near future.

• Fishing and other businesses can flourish alongside and major employment can be generated if such

project is taken up as an essential infrastructure.

• This synchronization of N.H. construction and water conservation results not only in increasing water

storage capacity but saving environment. Initially this activity was done on large scale in Buldhana

district as pilot project and hence named as 'Buldhana pattern'.

• The Tamaswada Pattern adopted in Wardha and Nagpur districts is another effort towards Rain

Water Harvesting, Conservation and Ground Water Recharge.

• These works are done on the basis of Scientific and Complete Development of Mini-Micro

Watersheds based on study of Hydrogeology, Topography and Civil Engineering.

• Tamaswada Pattern is most helpful to create augmented Surface rain and Ground Water storages.

• It creates Flood free as well as Drought free situation in treated Watershed. These types of works are

resulting in Preservation and Conservation of Traditional natural water bodies.

• The National Water Grid is a perspective plan for the transfer between watersheds from surplus

basins to deficit basins by Interlinking of Rivers in India, Indo-Gangetic Plains witness devastating

Floods while the Peninsular States suffer severe droughts.



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1.14.Aldabra’s coral reefs • Coral reefs are large underwater structures composed of the skeletons of colonial marine

invertebrates called coral.

• The coral species that build reefs are known as hermatypic, or "hard," corals because they extract

calcium carbonate from seawater to

create a hard, durable exoskeleton that

protects their soft, sac-like bodies.

• Each individual coral is referred to as a

polyp.

• Coral polyps live on the calcium

c a r b o n a t e exo s ke l e t o n s o f t h e i r

ancestors, adding their own exoskeleton

to the existing coral structure.

• As the centuries pass, the coral reef

gradually grows one tiny exoskeleton at a

time, until they become massive features

of the marine environment.

• Climate change is the greatest threat to coral reef ecosystems. Ocean warming and associated coral

bleaching are one of the foremost causes of coral loss across the world.

• Coral reefs in the lagoon of the Seychelles’ Aldabra atoll, however, recovered faster after the

2015-2016 bleaching event due to tolerance to heat stress.

• Bleaching is a process where corals lose their vivid colour and turn white. This happens when the

zooxanthellae algae, which is in a symbiotic relationship with corals and provide them with food, die

due to ocean warming and acidification.

• If bleaching continues for an extended period of time, corals eventually die. Coral bleaching and

mortality exacerbated by climate change are one of the biggest threats to oceanic biodiversity.

• Aldabra — one of the world’s largest atolls — is a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site in Seychelles and located in the Indian Ocean.

1.15.Nechiphu Tunnel on road to China border in Arunachal • The foundation stone of the Nechiphu Tunnel on the Balipara-Charduar-Tawang (BCT) road in West

Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh was laid.

• The 450m-long tunnel, will bypass the existing road, will be D-shaped and comprise two lanes of 3.5m

width each.

• Another 1.8 km-long tunnel is also being constructed on the BCT road and both will reduce distance

to the area bordering China by 10km.

• It will be constructed by Border Roads Organisation (BRO)

BRO



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• The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) (Indian army corps of engineers) develops and maintains road

networks in India's border areas and friendly neighboring countries.

• BRO maintains operations in twenty-one states, one UT (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), and

neighboring countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka.

• The BRO operates and maintains over 32,885 kilometres of roads and about 12,200 meters of

permanent bridges in the country.

1.16.Assam-Mizoram Border Dispute • The border dispute between Assam and Mizoram exits since the colonial era when the British

Administration demarcated the inner lines on grounds of administrative needs.

• Assam was granted the status of a constituent state in 1950, losing its territory to the newly formed

states within its border areas between the 1960s and the 1970s.

• On the other hand, Mizoram (earlier Lushai Hills) was part of Assam which was later carved out as a

Union Territory and later achieved statehood in the year 1987 via the State of Mizoram Act of 1986.

• The two states share an inter-state border of 164.6 km. Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts of

Assam shares border with Kolasib, Mamit and Aizawl districts of Mizoram.

• The boundary between the two states is a naturally occurring border having rivers, hills, valleys and

forests. Many times, the residents of the border areas cross to the other side as the border

demarcation is not-so-clear.

The 1875 and 1933 demarcation

• The Government of Mizoram is of the view that the boundary should be demarcated as stated in the

1875 notification, derived from the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) Act, 1873, while the

Government of Assam believes that the 1933 demarcation must be followed.

✓ 1875 notification- Marks a boundary between Lushai Hills from the plains of Cachar.

✓ 1933 notification- Marks a boundary between Lushai Hills and Manipur. Mizo society was not

consulted.

• The dispute between the two states is due to these demarcations.



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2. History & Culture Click on the following links, to watch the topics given below on YouTube

• Video 1

• Video 2

• Video 3

2.1.Harijan Sevak Sangh celebrates its foundation day • Harijan Sevak Sangh is a non-profit organization founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1932, fast to

eradicate untouchability in India.

• After the Second Round Table Conference, British government agreed to give Communal Award to

the depressed classes on the request of B. R. Ambedkar. Gandhi opposed the government's decision

which he considered it would divide the Hindu society and subsequently went on to the indefinite fast

in Yerwada Jail.

• He ended his fast after signing Poona Pact with Ambedkar on 24 September 1932. On 30 September,

Gandhi founded All India Anti Untouchability League, to remove untouchability in the society, which

later renamed as Harijan Sevak Sangh ("Servants of Untouchables Society").

• Ghanshyam Das Birla was its founding president with Amritlal Takkar as its secretary.

• He ended his fast after signing Poona Pact with Ambedkar on 24 September 1932. On 30 September,

Gandhi founded All India Anti Untouchability League, to remove untouchability in the society, which

later renamed as Harijan Sevak Sangh ("Servants of Untouchables Society").

• Ghanshyam Das Birla was its founding president with Amritlal Takkar as its secretary.

2.2.COVID-19 infection spreads to vulnerable tribal community in

Odisha



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• Didayi and Bonda tribes a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) in Odisha’s Malkangiri district

have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 novel coronavirus.

• They are dependent mainly on shifting cultivation in the hills, and wetland cultivation of paddy in the

plains. The Didayi also collect minor forest product like fruits, roots and mushrooms. Also,

horticulture and kitchen gardening have recently caught the interest of the community and they grow

seasonal vegetables, banana, papaya, tobacco, mango, jackfruit and tamarind.

• Odisha is home to 62 tribal communities — the largest diverse groups of tribal population in India.

Thirteen of them are PVTGs.

• Particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTGs) are the marginalized section of the Scheduled tribes of

India. They are relatively isolated, educationally and socio-economically backwards, living in a habitat

far away from amenities.

✓ PVTG is not a Constitutional category, nor are these constitutionally recognized communities.

✓ It is a government of India classification created with the purpose of enabling improvement in the

conditions of certain communities with particularly low development.

✓ A separate category of PVTGs was constituted based on the recommendations of the Dhebar

Commission in 1975.

✓ PVTGs are identified by the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs based on the recommendations from

the state governments or Union territories.

• Criteria for identifying PVTGs-

✓ A pre-agriculture level of technology

✓ A stagnant or declining population

✓ Extremely low literacy

✓ A subsistence level of the economy.

2.3.Tata group to construct India's new parliament building. • Tata Projects to build India’s new Parliament building as a part of the government’s Central Vista

redevelopment plans.

• The Central Public Works Department under Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs will be the nodal

agency implementing the project, estimated the cost of construction at Rs 940 crore over 21 months.

• The Central Vista is an iconic 3 km stretch in the heart of New Delhi that runs from the Rashtrapati

Bhavan to India Gate. Flanked by large green spaces and containing significant structures such as

Parliament, the Secretariat buildings and the National Archives.

• The proposed triangular building will come up in the same premises where the current, circular

Parliament building is located, and is part of the Rs 20,000 crore Central Vista redevelopment project.

• Apart from the new Parliament, the project will include construction of the new prime minister’s

residence, and 10 new building blocks to accommodate government offices, including Shastri Bhavan,

Nirman Bhavan, Udyog Bhavan, Krishi Bhavan and Vayu Bhavan, among others.

• The North and South Block will be converted into museums. www.sleepyclasses.com


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• The Rashtrapati Bhawan area to the ridge will be converted into biodiversity arboretum in order to

showcase India’s biological diversity

Background

• The shape of the present circular building was based on the Chausath Yogini temple, one of the oldest

heritage sites in India.

• Originally called the House of Parliament, it was designed by the British architects Sir Edwin Lutyens

and Sir Herbert Baker in 1912-1913 as part of their wider mandate to construct a new administrative

capital city for British India.

• Construction of the Parliament House began in 1921 and it was completed in 1927.

2.4.Onam • Onam is the biggest festival of Kerala which is celebrated to welcome King Mahabali whose pious sole

is believed to visit Kerala during the 10-day festival.

• Date of Onam is based on the Hindu Panchangam and falls on the 22nd nakshatra Thiruvonam in the

month Chingam of Malayalam calendar, which in Gregorian calendar overlaps with August–

September.

• It is a 10-day festival, conducted to celebrate the golden rule of King Mahabali, the mythical ruler of

Kerala. According to the folklore, the demigods sent Vishnu in the form of dwarf Brahmin to defeat

Mahabali. After defeating the ruler, Vishnu granted the king’s sole wish to visit his land every year for

10 days. These 10 days are celebrated as Onam every year in the state of Kerala.

• Kathakali, the traditional dance form of Kerala is performed on Onam.

Other major terms associated with Onam are -

• Tripunithura Athachamayam - his marks the first day of Onam which is celebrated with grandeur and

zeal. The day is filled with colorful inauguration which features a street parade. This includes different

Kerala art forms, musicians, dancers and carnival floats and decorated elephants which walk down

the streets.

• Pookalam: The Floral Decorations & Arrangement.

• Pulikali: The Grand Tiger Dance.

• Vallamkali: The Snake Boat Race.

• Onam Sadya: The Complete Meal

• Folk Dances: One of the dance forms is Kaikottikali during King Mahabali is praised. It is a type of clap

dance form. Another dance form is the Thumbi Thuallal in which the women dance in circles.

2.5.Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana (KSVY) • Culture Ministry issued guidelines for holding cultural events/activities in Virtual/Online mode under

various scheme components of Central Sector Scheme ‘Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana’ (KSVY)



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• Ministry of Culture (Performing Arts Bureau) implements many schemes under its Kala Sanskriti

Vikas Yojana (KSVY), where the grants are sanctioned/approved for holding programs/activities

which involve large audience.

• The Ministry of Culture has formulated & devised the following guidelines to help artists/

organizations who have already been sanctioned grant under various scheme components of ‘Kala

Sanskriti Vikas Yojana’ (KSVY) to conduct events on virtual mode.

• This will enable them to avail benefits under these schemes even if they are not able to stage

programs in the physical format as before and will ensure continued financial assistance to tide over

the present Covid crisis.

2.6.Tech for Tribals • TRIFED has designed the training programme ‘Tech for Tribals’ in collaboration with the Ministry of

Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) under the ESDP.

• Tech for Tribals is an initiative aims at the holistic development of tribals with a focus on

entrepreneurship development, soft skills, IT, and business development through SHGs operating

through Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs).

• It was launched by TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal Affairs in association with Chhattisgarh MFP

Federation and IIT Kanpur.

• Under the program trainees will undergo a 30 days training program over six weeks comprising 120

sessions.

• The programme aims to tap the traditional knowledge and skills of tribals and add branding,

packaging and marketing skills to optimize their income through a market-led enterprise model by

setting up Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs).

• The Van Dhan tribal start-ups, a component of the same scheme are micro tribal enterprises for

processing and value addition of forest produce.

• The scheme is being further expanded to more locations under the ‘Vocal for Local Go Tribal’ initiative

of TRIFED during the current financial year.



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TRIFED

• TRIFED was established in August 1987 under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 1984 as a

National level Cooperative body.

• Under the administrative control of the then Ministry of Welfare of India, TRIFED is mandated to

bringing about socio-economic development of tribals of the country by institutionalising the trade of

Minor Forest Produce (MFP) & Surplus Agricultural Produce (SAP) collected/ cultivated by them.

• TRIFED plays the dual role of both a market developer and a service provider, empowering them with

knowledge and tools to better their operations in a systematic, scientific manner and also assist them

in developing their marketing approach.

• TRIFED is involved actively in capacity building of the tribal people through sensitisation and the

formation of Self-Help Groups (SHGs).

• The organisation also assists them in exploring and creating opportunities to market the developed

products in national and international markets on a sustainable basis.

• TRIBES India is the brand under which the sourced handcrafted products from the tribal people are

sold. There are 120 brick-and-mortar TRIBES India outlets across the country, making it a sustainable

and reliable brand.

2.7.Chardham Project • The project will connect Badrinath Dham, Kedarnath Dham, Gangotri, Yamunotri, and part of the

route leading to Kailash Mansarovar yatra.

• A controversial aspect was the proposed width of the two-line highways envisaged.

• The SC committee was divided over the width with one set of members saying it only be 5.5-metre-

wide and another plumbing for a higher road width.



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• The SC ruled last month that a 5.5-metre width be enforced as it was in conformity with a 2018

recommendation by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) for mountain roads.

• The MoRTH is also the key coordinator of the Chardham project. Prior to this, the government had

sanctioned a road width of 10-12 metres.

• The works under Char Dham Pariyojna are being implemented on Engineering Procurement and

Construction (EPC) mode of contract.

• These projects are being implemented by 3 executing agencies of Ministry of Road Transport and

Highways, viz, Uttarakhand State PWD, Border Road Organization (BRO) and National Highway &

Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL).

2.8.Rare inscription unearthed in Andhra Pradesh's Kadapa

district • A rare inscription dating back to the Renati Chola era has been unearthed in a remote village of

Kadapa district.

• It is found engraved on a dolomite slab and shale, which are part of a fragmentary pillar which was

excavated.

• Going by the language and characters, the inscription was written in archaic Telugu which was

readable in 25 lines - the first side with eleven lines and the remaining on the other side.

• It was assigned to the 8th Century C.E., when the region was under the rule of Chola Maharaja of

Renadu.

• The inscription seems to throw light on the record of a gift of six Marttus (a measuring unit) of land

gifted to a person Sidyamayu, one of the Brahmins serving the temple at Pidukula village.

The Renati Cholas

• The Telugu Cholas of Renadu (also called as Renati Cholas) ruled over Renadu region, the present day

Cuddapah district. They were originally independent, later forced to the suzerainty of the Eastern

Chalukyas.

• They used the Telugu language in their inscriptions belonging to the 6th and 8th centuries.

• The earliest of this family was Nandivarman (500 C.E.) who claimed descent from the family of

Karikala and the Kasyapa gotra.

• The family seems to have had its origin in Erigal in the Tunmkur district, situated in the border

between Pallava and Kadamba regions.

• Dhananjaya is described as Erigal-mutturaju and as ruling Renadu.

• In the first half of the seventh century, we find Punyakumara, a descendant of Nandivarman, ruling

over Renadu and Hiranyarashtra. He too bears the title Erikal-mutturaju

2.9.Life in Miniature project

Miniature Painting



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• These are colorful handmade paintings very small in size with intricate brushwork which contributes

to their unique identity.

• The colors used in the paintings are derived from various natural sources like vegetables, indigo,

precious stones, gold and silver.

• While artists all around the world convey their respective theme through their paintings, the most

common theme used in the miniature paintings of India comprises of the Ragas or a pattern of musical

notes, and religious and mythological stories.

Project

• Several hundred miniature paintings from the National Museum, New Delhi can be viewed online by

people around the world through “Life in Miniature” project.

• It is collaboration between the National Museum, New Delhi and Google Arts & Culture, a

partnership that began in 2011.

• It is in line with Digital India initiative and showcases the role of technology in the preservation of

India’s heritage.

• The project uses technologies like machine learning, augmented reality and digitization with high-

definition robotic cameras, to showcase these special works of art in a magical new way.

• On the Google Arts & Culture app, online viewers can experience the first Augmented Reality-

powered art gallery designed with traditional Indian architecture, and explore a life-size virtual space

where you can walk up to a selection of miniature paintings.

• The artworks showcased are presented along five universal themes of the human relationship with

nature, love, celebration, faith and power.

• Another highlight of the launch is the application of Machine Learning-based algorithms to the corpus

of paintings being brought online, so that users can explore these miniature marvels guided by

Artificial Intelligence.

• “Magnify Miniatures” enables online users to explore multiple artworks.

• With “Life in Miniature”, users will be able to see famous miniature collections of the National

Museum, like the Ramayana, Royal Saga, Pahari style paintings.

About The National Museum, New Delhi

• The National Museum, New Delhi, under the Ministry of Culture. The National Museum, today, has in

its possession over 2,00,000 antiquities & art objects, both of Indian and Foreign origin covering more

than 5,000 years of our cultural heritage. During current pandemic time, the National Museum has

been engaging its visitors through digital platforms.

About Google Arts & Culture

• Google Arts & Culture puts the collections of more than 2,000 museums in a single app.

Schools of Indian Miniature Paintings

• Pala School

• Orissa School



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• Jain school

• Mughal School

• Rajasthan School

• Pahari School

• Deccan School

2.10.Kongali Bihu in Assam • Bihu are three festivals held in Assam.

✓ Bhogali or Magh Bihu is observed on January 13th or 14th - symbolises the end of the harvest

season.

✓ Rongali or Bohag Bihu is observed on April 14th or 15th - Assamese New Year.

✓ Kongali or Kati Bihu is observed in October. ( In the month of kartik)- celebrates the harvest

season.

• This Bihu is celebrated during the time of relocation of the rice sapling - Kati means "cut".

• Kati Bihu is also called Kongali ("Poor") as the granaries are usually empty and there is not much to

eat at this time of the year.

• This means Kati Bihu is not as flamboyant a festival as the other Bihus and the festivities are more

sombre in nature.

• This Bihu is celebrated by the lighting of lamps or saaki (candles) in different parts of the house. The

main lamp is lit in the courtyard near the sacred Tulsi plant.

• For Kati Bihu, the plant is cleaned and is placed on an earthen platform called a "Tulsi Bheti". Offerings

and prayers are made to the Goddess Tulsi for the wellbeing of the family and for a good harvest. This

formal procedure continues for the whole month of Kati.

• In the paddy fields, farmers light a special type of lamp, called 'Akaxh Banti' (Sky candle). These

mustard oil lamps are placed high on the tips of tall bamboo poles. It is believed these lamps are lit to

guide ancestors to heaven, though they serve a practical purpose by drawing insects to the flame and

their doom, which helps keep the crops healthy.

• The instruments used in Bihu are Dhol, Taal, Toka, Pepa, Xutuli, Gogona and Baanhi (Flute).

2.11.Large 2,000-year-old cat discovered in Peru's Nazca lines • The Peruvian archaeologists have uncovered a 37 meter resting long cat on the famous Nazca lines of

Peru.

What are the Nazca Lines?

• The Nazca Lines are a group of geoglyphs, or large designs made on the ground by creators using

elements of the landscape such as stones, gravel, dirt or lumber.

• These are believed to be the greatest known archaeological enigma, owing to their size, continuity,

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• The images on the ground are so big in size that the best way to get a full view of them is overflying

them.

• Drawn more than 2 millennia ago on the surface of southern Peru’s arid Pampa Colorado (“Red Plain”

in Spanish), the geoglyphs feature different subjects, but mainly plants and animals.

• The figures include pelicans (the largest ones sized around 935 feet long), Andean Condors (443 feet),

monkeys (360 feet), hummingbirds (165 feet), and spiders (150 feet).

• There are also geometric shapes, such as triangles, trapezoids and spirals, and some have been

associated with astronomical functions.

• The Lines were first discovered in 1927, and were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in

1994. The site is around 450 km away from capital Lima southwards along the South Pan-American

Highway.

• A geoglyph is a large design or motif (generally longer than 4 metres) produced on the ground and

typically formed by clastic rocks or similarly durable elements of the landscape, such as stones, stone

fragments, gravel, or earth.

2.12.Commemoration of ‘77th Year of Formation of Azad Hind

Government’ • On July 8, 1945, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose laid the foundation stone of the INA War Memorial to

commemorate the ‘Unknown Warrior’ of the Indian National Army (INA).

• The Azad Hind Government, founded on 21st October, 1943 was inspired by Neta ji Subhash Chandra

Bose

• He was the leader of Azad Hind Government and also the Head of State of this Provisional Indian

Government-in-exile.

• It was a part of the freedom movement, originating in 1940s outside India with a purpose of allying

with Axis powers to free India from British rule.

• The existence of the Azad Hind Government gave a greater legitimacy to the independence struggle

against the British.

• Pertinently, the role of Azad Hind Fauj or the Indian National Army (INA) had been crucial in

bequeathing a much needed impetus to India’s struggle for Independence



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2.13.Indus valley had dairy production way back in 3rd millennium

BCE • The Indus Valley Civilization was a cultural and political entity which flourished in the northern region

of the Indian subcontinent between c. 7000 - c. 600 BCE.

• Its modern name derives from its location in the valley of the Indus River, but it is also commonly

referred to as the Indus-Sarasvati Civilization (after the Sarasvati River mentioned in Vedic sources

which flowed adjacent to the Indus) and the Harappan Civilization (after the ancient city of Harappa

in the region, the first one found in the modern era).

• The nuclear dates of the civilization appear to be about 2500–1700 BCE, though the southern sites

may have lasted later into the 2nd millennium BCE.

• Between c. 1900 - c. 1500 BCE, the civilization began to decline for unknown reasons.

• The year 2020 marks 100 years of discovery of Indus Valley Civilisation.

• A new study has shown that dairy products were being produced by the Harappans as far back as

2500 BCE.

• The results were based on molecular chemical analysis of residue in shards of pottery found at the

archaeological site of Kotada Bhadli, a rural settlement located in Gujarat.

• Through a process called stable isotope analysis, the researchers were also able to identify the type of

ruminant used for dairy, and concluded that these were cattle, like cows and buffalo, rather than goats

and sheep.



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3. Polity & Governance Click on the following links, to watch the topics given below on YouTube

• Video 1

• Video 2

• Video 3

3.1.Official Secrets Act: The anti-spying law

Why in news

• A strategic affairs analyst was arrested by Delhi police for passing on information such as the

deployment of Indian troops on the border to Chinese intelligence officers.

Background

• Officials Secrets Act has its roots in the British colonial era. This was brought in with the main

objective of muzzling the voice of a large number of newspapers that had come up in several

languages, and were opposing their policies.

• It was amended and made more stringent in the form of The Indian Official Secrets Act, 1904, during

Lord Curzon’s tenure as Viceroy of India.

• In 1923, a newer version was notified. The Indian Official Secrets Act (Act No XIX of 1923) was

extended to all matters of secrecy and confidentiality in governance in the country.

Provisions

• It broadly deals with two aspects — spying or espionage, covered under Section 3, and disclosure of

other secret information of the government, under Section 5.

• Secret information can be any official code, password, sketch, plan, model, article, note, document, or

information. Under Section 5, both the person communicating the information and the person

receiving the information can be punished.

• For classifying a document, a government Ministry or Department follows the Manual of

Departmental Security Instructions, 1994, not under OSA. Also, OSA itself does not say what a

“secret” document is. It is the government’s discretion to decide what falls under the ambit of a

“secret” document to be charged under OSA.

• It has often been argued that the law is in direct conflict with the Right to Information Act, 2005.

• Section 22 of the RTI Act provides for its primacy vis-a-vis provisions of other laws, including OSA.

This gives the RTI Act an overriding effect, notwithstanding anything inconsistent with the provisions

of OSA. So if there is any inconsistency in OSA with regard to furnishing of information, it will be

superseded by the RTI Act. However, under Sections 8 and 9 of the RTI Act, the government can

refuse information.

• If the government classifies a document as “secret” under OSA Clause 6, that document can be kept

outside the ambit of the RTI Act, and the government can invoke Sections 8 or 9.



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https://youtu.be/fco0hsVt_Cg

https://youtu.be/TUW5iHY3hvk

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3.2.Covid-19 patients, elderly can vote in elections via postal

ballot • The Ministry of Law and Justice issued a notification for the Conduct of Elections (Amendment) Rules

2020 for extending the postal ballot facility for voters above the age of 65 years as well as Covid-19

patients under home or institutional quarantine.

• The notification said that in the rule 27A, clause (aa) of the Conduct of Election Rules 1961, after the

words “or persons with disability” occurring at the end, the words, “or the Covid-19 suspect or

affected persons” shall be inserted.

What is postal voting?

• A restricted set of voters can exercise postal voting. Through this facility, a voter can cast her vote

remotely by recording her preference on the ballot paper and sending it back to the election officer

before counting.

• The postal ballot facility had so far been reserved only for people over the age of 80 and those voters

involved in essential services who are not posted in their home state.

3.3.AYUSH Grid to Operationally Integrate With National Digital

Health Mission

NDHM - Universal Health Coverage

• The National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) aims to develop the backbone necessary to support the

integrated digital health infrastructure of the country.

• It will bridge the existing gap amongst different stakeholders of Healthcare ecosystem through digital

highways.

• NDHM shall create a

s e a m l e s s o n l i n e

platform “through the

provision of a wide-

r a n g e o f d a t a ,

i n f o r m a t i o n a n d

infrastructure services,

duly leveraging open,

i n t e r o p e r a b l e ,

standards-based digital

systems” while ensuring

t h e s e c u r i t y ,

c o n fi d e n t i a l i t y a n d

privacy of health-related

personal information.



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AYUSH Grid

• The AYUSH Grid Project is the IT backbone for the entire AYUSH sector covering the healthcare

systems Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Homoeopathy.

• AYUSH Grid is envisaged as an omnibus digital ecosystem that would lead to all round development

of the AYUSH sector in fields of healthcare delivery at all levels, research, education, schemes and

various health programs.

• To develop a network of People, Knowledge and Technology for radical, sustainable and wholesome

transformation of AYUSH sector, and play a pivotal role in taking care of holistic health care needs (i.e.

curative, preventive and promotive health) and socio- economic wellbeing of Indian citizens and

further extending the benefits to entire world population.

• To create an organic and dynamic information and communication technology (ICT) powered network

interconnecting all streams of AYUSH in their key functional areas viz. health care delivery, capacity

building, research & development, AYUSH drug regulation and education.

• This will be beneficial for all stakeholders of AYUSH and also helpful for effective governance.

• Strategies for development will be in sync with the national and international policies and health care

needs.

• The main components of AYUSH GRID Project are as under:

✓ Health Services

✓ Education

✓ Research

✓ Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored Schemes

✓ Training

✓ Citizen Centric Services

✓ Drug Licensing Portal

✓ Media Outreach

NAMASTE Portal

• National AYUSH Morbidity and Standardized Terminologies Electronic Portal (NAMASTE Portal) was

launched on 17th October, 2017 (2nd Ayurveda day).

✓ The National Ayurveda Day is celebrated every year on the occasion of Dhanwantari Jayanti

(Dhanteras).

• The portal provides standardized terminologies & morbidity codes for Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani

systems of medicines.

• Morbidity codes provide a comprehensive classification of diseases described in the traditional

medicines system.



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3.4.The Code on Social Security 2020 • The objective is to consolidate and simplify the multitude of labor regulations into four labor Codes –

the Code on Wages, Social Security, Industrial Relations and Occupational Safety and Health,

subsuming 29 existing regulations.

• It has enhanced the coverage, extended the benefit to all workers in the organized / an unorganized

sector introduced concepts of providing maximum benefits under minimum governance and reflects

uniformity in approach across the four labour codes.

• The Code on Social Security 2020 (Code) subsumes nine regulations relating to social security,

retirement and employee benefits such as:

✓ The Employees Compensation Act, 1923

✓ The Employees State Insurance Act, 1948

✓ The Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952,

✓ The Employees Exchange (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959

✓ The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961

✓ The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972

✓ The Cine Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1981

✓ The Building and Other Construction Workers Cess Act, 1996

✓ The Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008).

Key features

Uniformity in determining wages

• This has provided a wide definition for wage. Specific exclusions with ceilings have been provided for

discouraging inappropriate structuring of salaries to minimize social security benefits.

Consultative approach

• The Code has brought in a facilitating approach by the authorities. Unlike the existing role of

inspectors, the Code provides for an enhanced role of inspector-cum-facilitator whereby employers

can look for support and advice to enhance compliances.

Career Centre

• To enable that demand for human resources is met and to monitor employment information, career

centers will be established. Employers have to report vacancies to career centers before filling up the

same.

Digitization

• All records and returns have to be maintained electronically. Digitization of data will help in exchange

of information among various stakeholders / funds set up by the Government, will ensure compliance

and also facilitate governance.



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Stringent penalties

• Any failure to deposit employees’ contributions not only attracts a penalty of Rs 100,000, but also

imprisonment of one to three years. In case of repeat offence, the penalties and prosecution is severe,

and no compounding is permitted for repeated offences.

3.5.IIM Kozhikode to launch e-learning hub for villagers • IIM has adopted 5 villages under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan.

• The baseline socio-economic survey and focus group discussions are being carried out with the

involvement of faculties and students of IIMK, to prepare the Village Development Plan (VDP) for

each village. The intervention activities will be brought in action based on the VDP.

• IIM will soon be launching an e-learning hub and library as a pilot project for villagers in Mavoor, one

of the five villages adopted by the institute under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA).

• The program is aimed at creating a virtuous cycle between society and an inclusive academic system

by providing knowledge and practices for emerging professions.

UNNAT BHARAT ABHIYAN

• A flagship programme of Ministry of Education.

Vision

• Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is inspired by the vision of transformational change in rural development

processes by leveraging knowledge institutions to help build the architecture of an Inclusive India.

Mission

• To enable higher educational institutions to work with the people of rural India in identifying

development challenges and evolving appropriate solutions for accelerating sustainable growth.

• To create a virtuous cycle between society and an inclusive academic system by providing knowledge

and practices for emerging professions and to upgrade the capabilities of both the public and the

private sectors in responding to the development needs of rural India.

3.6.IFFCO, Prasar Bharati sign MoU to broadcast & promote new

agriculture technology & innovations • According to the agreement, DD Kisan will broadcast various innovative techniques being adopted in

agriculture field in easy language through 30 minutes program series for the benefit of farmers.

• To make the farmers Atmanirbhar, these new agriculture techniques and their implementation will be

explained to the farmers. The MoU will help in achieving this objective.

• IFFCO’s innovations will be shared with farmers in easy language through DD Kisan in approximate

25 episodes.

3.7.Gujarat to launch 'Digital Seva Setu' phase-I in villages • Under this 3,500 village panchayats have been connected with 100 MBPS optical fibre network to

facilitate online availability of public welfare services.



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• The programme, an initiative under BharatNet project, is meant to ensure optimum utilisation of

technology for public welfare.

• The public welfare services will be made available at the e-gram office in each panchayat and villagers

will not have to go all the way to taluka or district-level offices.

• It aims to provide fast and faceless services to people by removing corruption or the need of

middlemen.

• The 20 services to be offered initially to villagers under the programme include ration cards, affidavits

and certificates for widows, residence, caste, senior citizen, language-based minority, religious

minority, nomad-denotified, and income certificates.

• A 'talati' (revenue officer) has been given the power to provide affidavits at the village level so that

beneficiaries do not have to visit the notary offices in towns and cities.

• Use of e-signature in place of physical signature has also been facilitated so that a beneficiary gets the

required documents, made available in a digital locker, at the click of his/her mobile phone.

• Citizens will have to pay a nominal fee of Rs 20 for each service, a part of which will go to the village

panchayat.

3.8.SWAMITVA scheme • It includes physical distribution of property cards.

• It will allow villagers to use property as a financial asset for taking loans and other financial benefits.

• The launch will enable around one lakh property holders to download their property cards through an

SMS link sent on their mobile phones, and this would be followed by the physical distribution of

property cards by respective state governments.

• The beneficiaries from all states will receive the physical copies of their property cards within a day

except for Maharashtra.

• In Maharashtra there is a system of recovering a nominal cost of property cards. So it will provide

property card within a month after applying for it.

• The scheme was launched by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. It was launched on the occasion of

National Panchayati Raj Day on April 24 2020.

• The scheme is aimed at providing the ‘record of rights’ to the village household owners in rural areas

and issue property cards.

• The scheme is being implemented across the country for a period of four years that is from

2020-2024 in a phased manner. It targets to cover 6.62 lakh villages.

3.9.ISLRTC, NCERT Sign MoU to Convert Educational Materials

into Indian Sign Language • A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Indian Sign Language

Research and Training Center (ISLRTC) and the National Council of Educational Research and

Training (NCERT) to make educational materials accessible for hearing impaired children.



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• NCERT textbooks, teacher`s handbooks and other materials for Class I-XII of all subjects in Hindi and

English medium would be converted into ISL in digital format.

At World Level

• International Day of Sign Languages– The day is celebrated on September 23 annually to

commemorate the foundation of the World Federation of the Deaf

3.10.NCDC Ayushman Sahakar Fund for creation of healthcare

infrastructure by cooperatives • It is a scheme to assist cooperatives for creation of healthcare infrastructure in the country

formulated by the autonomous development finance institution under the Ministry of Agriculture and

Farmers Welfare, the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).

• NCDC would extend term loans to prospective cooperatives to the tune of Rs.10, 000 crore to

revolutionize the way healthcare delivery takes place in rural areas.

• NCDC’s scheme aligns itself with the National Health Policy, 2017, covering the health systems in all

their dimensions- investments in health, organization of healthcare services, access to technologies,

development of human resources, encouragement of medical pluralism, affordable health care to

farmers etc. It has a comprehensive approach-hospital, healthcare, medical education, nursing

education, paramedical education, health insurance and holistic health systems such as AYUSH.

• Ayushman Sahakar scheme fund would also assist cooperative hospitals take up medical / Ayush

education.

• Any Cooperative Society with suitable provision in its byelaws to undertake healthcare related

activities would be able to access the NCDC fund. NCDC assistance will flow either through the State

Governments/ UT Administrations or directly to the eligible cooperatives. Subsidy/ grant from other

sources can be dovetailed.

• Ayushman Sahakar specifically covers establishment, modernization, expansion, repairs, renovation

of hospital and healthcare and education infrastructure encompassing:

• Hospitals and/ or Medical/ AYUSH/ Dental/ Nursing/ Pharmacy/ Paramedical/ Physiotherapy

Colleges for running UG and /or PG programmes,

✓ Yoga Wellness Centre,

✓ Ayurveda, Allopathy, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy and other traditional medicine healthcare

centres,

✓ Health care services for elderly,

✓ Palliative care services,

✓ Health care services for Persons with Disabilities,

✓ Mental healthcare services,

✓ Emergency Medical Services / Trauma Centre,

✓ Physiotherapy centre,



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✓ Mobile Clinic Services,

✓ Health Club and Gym,

✓ AYUSH pharmaceutical manufacturing,

✓ Drug testing laboratory,

✓ Dental care centre,

✓ Ophthalmic care centre,

✓ Laboratory services,

✓ Diagnostics services,

✓ Blood Bank / transfusion services,

✓ Panchkarma/ Thokkanam/ Kshar sutra therapy centre,

✓ Regimental Therapy of Unani (IlajBilTadbeer) centre,

✓ Maternal health and Childcare services,

✓ Reproductive and Child Health services,

✓ Any other related centre or services as may be deemed fit by NCDC for assistance,

✓ Telemedicine and remote assisted medical procedures,

✓ Logistics health, healthcare and education,

✓ Information and Communication Technology related to digital health,

✓ Health insurance accredited by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).

• The scheme also provides working capital and margin money to meet operational requirements.

• The scheme provides interest subvention of one percent to women majority cooperatives.

• NCDC was set up under an Act of Parliament in 1963 for promotion and development of

cooperatives. Since 1963, it has extended around Rs.1.60 lakh crore as loans to cooperatives.

National Health Mission

• The National Health Mission (NHM) encompasses its two Sub-Missions, The National Rural Health

Mission (NRHM) and The National Urban Health Mission (NUHM).

• The main programmatic components include Health System Strengthening, Reproductive-Maternal-

Neonatal-Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCH+A), and Communicable and Non-Communicable

Diseases.

• The NHM envisages achievement of universal access to equitable, affordable & quality health care

services that are accountable and responsive to people’s needs.

• six financing components:

✓ NRHM-RCH Flexi pool,

✓ NUHM Flexi pool,



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✓ Flexible pool for Communicable disease,

✓ Flexible pool for Non-communicable disease including Injury and Trauma,

✓ Infrastructure Maintenance and

✓ Family Welfare Central Sector component.

3.11.NHRC Completes 27 Years • The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was established on 12 October 1993.

• NHRC is an independent statutory body constituted under the Protection of Human Rights Act

(PHRA), 1993 as amended by the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Act, 2006.

• It is the watchdog of human rights in the country, i.e. the rights related to life, liberty, equality, and

dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the international covenants

and enforceable by courts in India. NHRC has its headquarters in New Delhi.

• NHRC is composed of a Chairman and seven other members. Out of the seven members, three are ex-

officio members. The Chairman and members of NHRC are appointed by the President of India on the

recommendation of a high-powered committee headed by Prime Minister.

• The Chairman and the members of the NHRC are appointed for 5 years or till the age of 70 years,

whichever is earlier. They can only be removed on the charges of misbehaviour or incapacity if proved

by an inquiry conducted by a Supreme Court Judge.

Functions

• NHRC holds the power to investigate grievances related to the violation of human rights either suo

moto or after receiving a petition.

• It has the power to interfere in any judicial proceedings involving any allegation of violation of human

rights.

• It can visit any jail or other government-controlled facility to see the prisoners' living conditions and

make recommendations on them.

• It can review the protections provided for in the constitution or any human rights protection

legislation and can recommend effective remedial steps.

• NHRC also undertakes and promotes research in the field of human rights. It works to spread human

rights literacy among various sections of society and promotes awareness of the safeguards available

for the protection of these rights through publications, media, seminars, and other means.

• The Commission takes an independent stance while, for the time being, giving advice on the defense

of human rights in the constitutional parlance or in the statute.

• NHRC has the powers of a civil court and can grant interim relief.

• It also has the authority to recommend payment of compensation or damages.

• It can recommend to both the central and state governments to take suitable steps to prevent the

violation of Human Rights.



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• NHRC submits its annual report to the President of India who causes it to be laid before each House

of Parliament.

Limitations

• NHRC cannot take any action against violation of Human rights by private parties

• The Recommendations made by the NHRC are not binding.

• NHRC cannot penalize the authorities that don’t implement its recommended orders.

• The NHRC has limited jurisdiction over cases related to armed forces

• The NHRC cannot hold jurisdiction in the following cases:

✓ Cases older than one year.

✓ Cases that is anonymous, pseudonymous, or vague.

✓ Frivolous cases.

✓ Cases pertaining to service matters.

3.12.Uttar Pradesh launches Mission Shakti for security of women

in the state • It is a 6-month long women empowerment programme to raise awareness and tackle crime against

women in the state.

• Six month campaign has two phases, Mission Shakti' and 'Operation Shakti. Mission Shakti will

feature awareness campaigns related to women’s safety. The initiatives like gender-based

sensitization, training, corporate activity, voice messages, interviews, programmes in Durga Puja and

other cultural pandals should be organised to create greater awareness under ‘Mission Shakti’.

• A weeklong special campaign will be launched every month during the campaign to create awareness

among masses and sensitize people on the subject. These programmes will be organised in all the 521

blocks, 59,000 gram panchayats, 630 urban local bodies and 1,535 police stations in the 75 districts

of the state. Women nodal officers appointed by government in all the districts for the execution and

monitoring of the campaign will try to create awareness about the help lines - 1090, 181, 1076, 108

and 102.

• Operation Shakti will be the enforcement drive during which the police will prepare a register of

persons who have come out of jail after serving time for crimes against women and monitor them.

• THE PINK PATROL: The new women patrolling force called 'Pink-Patrol' is a part of the Mission

Shakti campaign launched to mark the beginning of Navratri. Approximately 250 women police

personnel have been deployed in the 'Pink Patrol' after going through a rigorous training.

• The 'Pink- Patrol' is designed to take immediate action on the cases of molestation and crime against

women.

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• The Green Gang, comprising women volunteers, is running de-addiction and anti-gambling campaigns

in rural areas of Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh.

• They will take responsibility for the security of women in 200 villages in Varanasi, Sonbhadra,

Mirzapur, Jaunpur, Chandauli and Ayodhya districts. In the coming months, the Green Gang will be

activated in 50 more villages, he said.

• Volunteers will also celebrate the birth of the girl child in villages. As a mark of happiness, they will put

a green impression on the door and wall of houses where girls are born. Members will pursue

complaints of harassment and ensure that anti-social elements involved in harassment of women are

put behind bars.

• The Green Gang is run by Hope Welfare Trust constituted by students of Banaras Hindu University

(BHU) in 2015. It will also impart self-defence training to girls. The volunteers will enlighten rural

women and girls about the law and organise programmes to boost their self-confidence, he added.

• The Green Gang has launched a self-defence programme in 10 villages where Maoists had been

active. Dressed in green sarees, the volunteers of Green Gang move on foot from one village to

another, urging people to give up gambling and liquor.

3.13.GovTech- Thon • Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), National Informatics Centre (NIC), IEEE

Computer Society and Oracle have come together to announce Gov Tech-Thon 2020, to incubate new

ideas, boost innovation and use technology in agriculture and allied sectors.

• It will help increase the use of technology, reduce the digital divide in agriculture, transportation and

education and will help in delivering better governance.

• Gov Tech-Thon 2020, a pan India 36 hours virtual Hackathon, to be organised from 30 October to 1st

November, 2020. The Hackathon will be facilitated by IEEE.

• The virtual hackathon is open to students, working professionals, startups, freelance technologists,

faculty, and other IT service firms in India. During the hackathon, participants will receive mentorship

and advice from technical experts from NIC, IEEE and Oracle, as well as senior domain experts from

the Ministries of Agriculture, Education and Transport Departments.

• Participating teams will have access to the latest tools from Oracle, Oracle Autonomous Database,

built-in and easy-to-use cloud security, and compute – to help them develop prototypes that are

practical and scalable. Additionally, they will be able to leverage open source technologies that bring

benefits of high performance, reliability and data security.

About National Informatics Centre (NIC)

• National Informatics Centre (NIC) is attached office of Ministry of Electronics and Information

Technology (MeitY). NIC was established in 1976, and helps providing ICT and e-Governance support.

It has emerged as a promoter of digital opportunities for sustainable development. NIC spearheaded

“Informatics-Led-Development” by implementing ICT applications in social and public administration

and facilitates electronic delivery of services to the government (G2G), business (G2B), citizen (G2C)

and government employee (G2E). NIC, through its ICT Network, “NICNET”, has institutional linkages

with all the Ministries /Departments of the Central Government, 37 State Governments/ Union

Territories, and about 720+ District Administrations of India.



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• NIC has been closely associated with the Government in different aspects of Governance besides

establishing a Nationwide State-of-the-Art ICT Infrastructure, it has also built a large number of

digital solutions to support the government at various levels, making the last-mile delivery of

government services to the citizens.

About IEEE Computer Society

• IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for

the benefit of humanity. IEEE and its members inspire a global community to innovate for a better

tomorrow through its more than 419,000 members in over 160 countries.

• The IEEE Computer Society is the source for information, inspiration, and collaboration in computer

science and engineering. Connecting members worldwide, the Computer Society empowers the

people who advance technology by delivering tools for individuals at all stages of their professional

careers.

About Oracle

• The Oracle Cloud offers a complete suite of integrated applications for Sales, Service, Marketing,

Human Resources, Finance, Supply Chain and Manufacturing, plus Highly Automated and Secure

Generation 2 Infrastructure featuring the Oracle Autonomous Database.

3.14.Electoral bonds will be up for sale from 19 October • Electoral bonds are an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to

bring transparency in political funding.

• Electoral bonds can be purchased by a person who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established

in India

• SBI is the only authorized bank to issue such bonds. They are interest free denominations.

• Only the Political Parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951

(43 of 1951) and which secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the last General

Election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of the State, are eligible to receive the

Electoral Bonds.

• The electoral bonds shall be encashed by an eligible political party only through a Bank account with

the authorised bank.

• An electoral bond will be valid for 15 days from the date of issue.

• No payment will be made to any payee political party if the bond is deposited after expiry of the

validity period.

• The bond deposited by any eligible political party into its account will be credited on the same day.

• The Election Commission of India has clearly laid out that No political functionary shall make any

reference in this regard during any public speech or communication to the press or public in the

constituencies going for poll. (Model code of conduct)



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3.15.NHRC • To make the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) more inclusive and efficient, Lok Sabha

passed the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2019 which amends the Protection of

Human Rights Act, 1993.

Amendment proposed

• A person who has been a Judge of the Supreme Court is also made eligible to be appointed as

Chairperson of the Commission in addition to the person who has been the Chief Justice of India.

• Increasing the members of the commission who have knowledge of human rights issues, from two to

three, out of which one must be a woman;

• Include Chairperson of the National Commission for Backward Classes, Chairperson of the National

Commission for the Protection of Child Rights and the Chief Commissioner for Persons with

Disabilities as deemed Members of the Commission;

• Reduces the term of the Chairperson and Members of the Commission and the State Commissions

from five to three years and shall be eligible for re-appointment;

• A person who has been a Judge of the High Court is also made eligible to be appointed as Chairperson

of the State Commission in addition to the person who has been the Chief Justice of the High Court;

and,

• Confer upon State Commissions, the functions relating to human rights being discharged by the

Union territories, other than the Union territory of Delhi, which will be dealt with by the Commission.

3.16.CVC amends SOP for adoption of Integrity Pact in govt.

organisations • The Central Vigilance Commission has amended the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on

adoption of “Integrity Pact” in government organisations for procurement activities.

• This order revises the SOP issued in January 2017.

• It has restricted the maximum tenure of Integrity External Monitors (IEMs) to three years in an

organisation.

• The amended provision states that the choice of IEM should be restricted to officials from the

government and Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) who have retired from positions of the level of

Secretary to the Central government or of equivalent pay scale.

• Such officials who retired as Chairman and Managing Directors (CMDs) of PSUs — Schedule 'A'

companies and CMD/Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer levels in the Public Sector Banks

(PSBs), insurance companies and financial institutions — should be at least of the level of Additional

Secretary or its equivalent.

• Officers of the Armed Forces who have retired from the rank equivalent of General may also be

considered for appointment. Preference would be given to persons who have worked in any other

sector, other than their own, or have worked as CVO [Chief Vigilance Officer] in any organization.



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• It provides that for appointment as IEM, the Ministry, department or organization concerned has to

forward a panel of suitable persons to the CVC, of those persons who are in the panel maintained by

the Commission.

• The previous corresponding provision stated that the panel could include those already in the panel

maintained by the Commission, or they could propose names of other suitable persons.

• The latest order provides that the IEM will be appointed for a period of three years in an organization.

• Integrity Pact is a vigilance tool that envisages an agreement between the prospective vendors/

bidders and the buyer, committing both the parties not to exercise any corrupt influence on any

aspect of the contract.

• The pact is also to ensure transparency, equity and competitiveness in public procurement.

• The IEMs independently and objectively review the documents to determine if the parties have

complied with their obligations under the pact. They may submit a report to the chief executive of the

organisation concerned or directly to the CVO and the CVC, if they find serious irregularities

attracting the Prevention of Corruption Act provisions.

• Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) was created in 1964 to address governmental corruption.

✓ In 2003, the Parliament enacted a law conferring statutory status on the CVC. It has the status of

an autonomous body, free of control from any executive authority, charged with monitoring all

vigilance activity under the Central Government advising various authorities in central

Government organizations in planning, executing, reviewing and reforming their vigilance work.

3.17.The Maharashtra government has withdrawn “general

consent” given to the CBI to probe cases in the state. • The decision means the central agency will have to get

consent from the state government for every case it

registers in Maharashtra.

• CBI functions under the superintendence of the Deptt.

Of Personnel, Ministry of Personnel, Pension & Public

Grievances, which falls under the PMO.

• However for investigations of offences under the

Prevention of Corruption Act, its superintendence vests

with the Central Vigilance Commission.

• It is also the nodal police agency in India which

coordinates investigation on behalf of Interpol Member

countries.

• The CBI is divided into three categories when it comes to investigation.



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✓ The Anti-Corruption Division that investigates cases against public servants under the control of

the central government, public servants in public sector undertakings, also under the control of

the central government, cases against public servants working under state governments, which

have been entrusted to the CBI by the state, and serious departmental irregularities committed

by the above mentioned.

✓ The Economic Offences Division investigates financial crimes, bank frauds, money laundering,

illegal money market operations, graft in PSUs and banks.

✓ The Special Crimes Division handles cases of conventional nature such as offences relating to

internal security, espionage, sabotage, narcotics and psychotropic substances, antiquities,

murders, dacoities/robberies, and cheating among others.

✓ Maharashtra is not the first state to flag this distrust of the federal agency: Andhra Pradesh, West

Bengal and Chhattisgarh have done the same in recent times.

✓ Kerela is on the line to do the same.

3.18.SEC moves HC against govt • Andhra Pradesh State Election Commission (SEC) filed a writ petition in the High Court seeking a

direction to the government (Principal Secretaries of Finance and Panchayat Raj & Rural

Development) to provide budget and release funds as and when a request is made by it (SEC) for

conducting elections.

• The SEC also prayed for assistance from the government in holding the civic polls.

State Election Commissions (SECs)

• The State Election Commission has been entrusted with the function of conducting free, fair and

impartial elections to the local bodies in the state.

• Article 243K(1): It states that the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of

electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to the Panchayats (Municipalities under Article

243ZA) shall be vested in a State Election Commission consisting of a State Election Commissioner to

be appointed by the Governor.

• Article 243K (2): It states that the tenure and appointment will be directed as per the law made by the

state legislature. However, State Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his/her office

except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of a High Court.

• The state governments need to follow the guidelines given by the Supreme Court in Kishan Singh

Tomar vs Municipal Corporation of Ahmedabad case:

✓ The provisions of Article 243K of the Constitution, which provides for setting up of SECs, are

almost identical to those of Article 324 related to the ECI.

✓ Also, the state governments should abide by orders of the SECs during the conduct of the

panchayat and municipal elections, just like they follow the instructions of the EC during

Assembly and Parliament polls.



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3.19.Andhra CM’s allegations against a SC judge • The Issue: The chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Jagan Mohan Reddy, in a letter to the Chief Justice

of India (CJI) on October 6, has made serious allegations of interference in the course of

administration of justice by Justice N V Ramana, the senior-most judge after the CJI and the next in

line for the post.

✓ Justice Ramana, according to Reddy, is close to the former CM of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu

Naidu, and has been influencing the sittings of the high court judges of Andhra Pradesh —

including the allocation of cases important to the Telugu Desam Party — to a few chosen judges.

• This situation is unprecedented and being termed as indulging in bench hunting.

• It is being seen as is as an attempt to overreach “judicial proceedings”.

• Allegations of misconduct against serving judges of the superior judiciary, that is, the various high

courts and the Supreme Court, are dealt with through an ‘in-house procedure’.

• When a complaint is received against a High Court judge, the Chief Justice concerned has to examine

it. If it is frivolous or concerns a judicial matter, she may just file the complaint and inform the Chief

Justice of India.

• If she considers it serious, she should get a response from the judge concerned. If she is satisfied with

the response and feels no further action is required, she may close the matter and keep the CJI

informed.

• However, if the CJ feels a deeper probe is needed, she should send the complaint as well as the judge’s

response to the CJI, with her own comments, for further action.

• The procedure is the same if the CJI receives the complaint directly. The comments of the high court

Chief Justice, the judge concerned and the complaint would be considered by the CJI.

• If a deeper probe is required, a three-member committee, comprising two Chief Justices from other

High Courts and one High Court judge, has to be formed.

• The committee will hold a fact-finding inquiry at which the judge concerned would be entitled to

appear. It is not a formal judicial proceeding and does not involve lawyers or examination or cross-

examination of witnesses.

• If the charge is against a high court Chief Justice, the same procedure of getting the person’s response

is followed by the CJI. If a deeper probe is deemed necessary, a three-member committee comprising

a Supreme Court judge and two Chief Justices of other High Courts will be formed.

• If the charge is against a Supreme Court judge, the committee would comprise three Supreme Court

judges. There is no separate provision in the in-house procedure to deal with complaints against the

CJI.

What are the possible outcomes from the inquiry committee?

• If it finds that there is substance in the allegations, the committee can either hold that the misconduct

is serious enough to warrant removal from office, or that it is not so serious as to warrant removal.

• In the former case, it will call for initiation of proceedings to remove the judge. The judge concerned

would be advised to resign or take voluntary retirement. If the judge is unwilling to quit, the Chief



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Justice of the High Court concerned would be advised to withdraw judicial work from him, and the

President of India and the Prime Minister would be informed of the situation.

• Such an action may clear the way for Parliament to begin the political process for impeachment. In

case, the committee finds substance in the allegation, but it is not grave enough to warrant removal

from office, the judge concerned would be advised accordingly, and the committee’s report will be

placed on record.

3.20.Data Protection Bill and Amazon • Amazon, Twitter, Facebook, Google and Paytm are among the companies from whom the Joint

Committee of Parliament (JCP) that is examining the draft Data Protection Bill has sought views on

data security and protection amid concerns that the privacy of users is being “compromised” for

commercial interest.

• Amazon declined to depose before the panel stating that its “subject experts” cannot take the risk of

travelling from the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic.

• Facebook India executives were asked whether they obtain the consent of its users before their data

is shared with third parties.

• They told the panel that Facebook does sell data but arrived at inferences based on user behaviour.

• Amazon’s “refusal” amounts to a breach of parliamentary privilege according to JCP



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4. International Relations Click here to watch the following questions on YouTube

4.1.Crisis in Caucasus: On Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-

Karabakh • The ongoing fighting between Armenian rebels and the Azerbaijani Army in Nagorno-Karabakh, a

self-declared republic within Azerbaijan, risks becoming a wider regional conflict.

Issue

• Recently, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a Russia-mediated ceasefire after days of fighting.

• But, the ceasefire crumbled immediately amid a blame game.

• Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, seems determined to press ahead with its offensive.

Background

• The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh is decades old. The region is largely populated by ethnic

Armenians. It is located within the international boundaries of Azerbaijan.

• Under the Soviet Union, it was an autonomous province that was part of the Azerbaijan republic.

✓ 1988- In 1988, when the Soviet power was receding, the regional assembly in Nagorno-Karabakh

voted to join Armenia, triggering ethnic clashes.

✓ 1991- After the Soviet disintegration in 1991, Armenia and Azerbaijan went to war over this

largely mountainous, forested enclave.

✓ 1994- By the time a ceasefire was reached in 1994, the rebels had established their de facto rule,

with support from Armenia and Russia.



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• The rebels extended their influence to the Armenian border. Ever since, the border has remained

tense.

Recent Issue

• External intervention makes the clashes now far more dangerous.

• Turkey has called Armenia a threat to peace in the region.

• The Azeris and Turks share ethnic and linguistic bonds.

• Also, the pre-Soviet Azerbaijan was a local ally of the Ottomans when they invaded Transcaucasia in

the last leg of World War I.

• For Turkey, which is trying to expand its geopolitical reach to the former Ottoman regions, the conflict

over Nagorno-Karabakh is an opportunity to enter the South Caucasus.

4.2.US imposes new curbs on H-1B visas • The Trump administration has announced new restrictions on H-1B nonimmigrant visa programme

which it said is aimed at protecting American workers, restoring integrity and to better guarantee

that H-1B petitions are approved only for qualified beneficiaries and petitioners, a move which is

likely to affect thousands of Indian IT professionals.

Update

• The US administration said it was announcing an interim final rule, which will strengthen the non-

immigrant work visa programme.

• The new rules will be effective 60 days from their publication in the Federal Register, which is the

official journal of the US government.

Interim Final Rule

• Executive policies announced by agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or the

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) require them to consult stakeholders.

• They should give them a notice period of 60 days and seek comments before any sweeping changes

are brought in.

• This method allows agencies such as DHS to act with urgency and within a specified time after a new

rule or law is made.

• In the latest announcement on the proposed policy changes, the DHS said that the USCIS would forgo

the usual 60-day comment.



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• It also said that notice period to immediately ensure that employing H-1B workers will not worsen

the economic crisis caused by COVID-19.

• The impact of the pandemic on the US economy and its domestic workers was an obvious fact which

justified the agency issuing this rule.

Proposed Changes

• Detrimental - As per the DHS, the H-1B work visa regime had over the years gone far beyond the

mandate, for which it was launched, often to the detriment of US workers.

• Therefore, in order to bring back the integrity to the regime, the DHS has announced some changes.

• These changes would ensure that H-1B petitions are approved only for qualified beneficiaries and

petitioners.

• The new rule will narrow down the definition of what constitutes a “specialty occupation”.

• This means that companies and agencies which hire workers on H-1B visas will have a tough time

proving to the immigration agencies that such employees are not available from the domestic pool of

workers.

• Filling Quota - Another proposed change relates to companies allegedly making fictitious work offers

to fictitious employees just to fulfill their quota of H-1B visa applications approved.

• The US administration had alleged that both Indian and the US-based companies have often given

fictitious H-1B work visa offers to foreign employees.

• They do so to evade some part of taxes, while also undercutting the jobs for eligible US workers.

• Enforcement - The final proposed rule change talks about better enforcement of the new H-1B norms

which will be announced later.

• This will be done through worksite inspections and monitoring compliance, before, during and after

the H-1B work visa is approved.

4.3.India provides USD 1 million for Palestinian refugees • India has contributed one million dollars to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)

for Palestine Refugees in Near East region. This will support the UNRWA’s programmes and services

including the education, health care, relief and social services.

• India’s support to the Palestine is an

integral part of the India’s foreign policy.

United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)

• • It is a United Nations agency established

by the General Assembly in 1949.

• It supports the rel ief and human

development of Palestinian refugees

across its five fields of operation.



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• Its services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and

improvement, protection and microfinance.

• Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank, including East

Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.

• It is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions and financial support.

• Palestine refugees are defined as persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the

period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of

the 1948 conflict.

India-Palestine

• India had recognized the Palestine’s statehood for the first time on 18 November 1988. However, the

relations between both the countries formally established in 1974.

• After the full diplomatic relation was established in March 1980, India and Israel have increased

cooperation in military and intelligence ventures.

• In the line, Narendra Modi became the first Prime Minister of India to visit Palestine in 2018.

• India supported Palestinian self-determination in the aftermath of the partition of British India after

India got Independence.

• India have also provided $10 million relief to Palestine’s annual budget once.

• US$300,000 was provided for the construction of two addition floor in the Al-Azhar University and

human resource development programme.

• India had also offered 51 specialized security training slots to Palestinians during 1997-98 with an

estimated expenditure of Rs. 55 lakhs.

• India offers 8 scholarships under ICCR Schemes to Palestinian students for higher studies in India and

several slots for training courses under the ITEC Programme.

• In 1998-99, 50 training slots were provided to Palestinian personnel for specialized training courses

where 58 Palestinian officers completed their training.

4.4.India and France re-elected President and Co-President of

International Solar Alliance

News

• Along with India, France has also been re-elected as the Co-President of the alliance in the ISA’s Third

Assembly.

• Tenure- 2 years

• The Third Assembly of ISA was attended by 34 ISA Member Ministers, 53 member countries besides

the 5 signatory and prospective member countries

• The Third Assembly further approved the initiatives of the ISA Secretariat to institutionalize the

International Solar Alliance’s engagement with the public and private corporate sector. They will also

collaborate for the Sustainable Climate Action (CSCA).



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• At the assembly, 10 public sector organizations from India presented cheques of USD 1 million.

• The solar awards were distributed for the first time to the countries where institutions and regions

are working for solar power.

International Solar Alliance (ISA)

• The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is an alliance of more than 122 countries initiated by India, most

of them being sunshine countries, which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer

and the Tropic of Capricorn, now extended to all members of UN.

• The Paris Declaration establishes ISA as an alliance dedicated to the promotion of solar energy

among its member countries.

Objective

• The ISA’s major objectives include global deployment of over 1,000GW of solar generation capacity

and mobilization of investment of over US$ 1000 billion into solar energy by 2030.

• As an action-oriented organization, the ISA brings together countries with rich solar potential to

aggregate global demand, thereby reducing prices through bulk purchase, facilitating the deployment

of existing solar technologies at scale, and promoting collaborative solar R&D and capacity building.

• When it entered into force? When the ISA Framework Agreement entered into force on December

6th, 2017, ISA formally became a de-jure treaty based International Intergovernmental Organization,

headquartered at Gurugram, India.

New Vice-Presidents of ISA

• At the assembly, four new Vice-Presidents were also selected to represent four regions-

✓ Representatives of Fiji and Nauru- chosen for Asia Pacific Region

✓ Representative of Niger and Mauritius – chosen for Africa Region

✓ Representative of The United Kingdom and the Netherlands- chosen for Europe and other

regions

✓ Representative of Cuba and Guyana- chosen for Latin America and the Caribbean Region



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• The President of ISA Assembly- From India side, RK Singh will represent the ISA.

• The Co-President of ISA Assembly- Barbara Pompili, The Minister for Ecological Transition of France,

represented the France at the assembly.

• She said, France’s involvement in the solar project by pointing out that France has committed 1.5

billion euros of financing for solar projects in ISA member states until 2022.

4.5.Pakistan re-elected to United Nations Human Rights Council • Pakistan has been re-elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

• It was selected on the basis of votes of member countries.

• It secured 169 votes out of 193 votes of the member of UN General Assembly.

• Pakistan has secured the highest number of votes among the five candidates from the Asia-Pacific

region. 5 candidates were seeking for four seats in elections in New York.

Background

• Pakistan has served the UNHRC since January 2018.

• Now, the country will continue for another three-year term commencing from January 1, 2021.

• Pakistan has been elected 5th time since 2006.

United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)

• UNHRC is a United Nations body which was established on 15th March 2006 and replaced the UN

Commission on Human Rights.

• Its primary mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world.

• It has 47 members who are elected for three-year terms on a regional group basis.

• The organization is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

• It investigates the allegations of breach of human rights in United Nations member states.

• The body also addresses the important human rights issues including the women’s rights, LGBT rights,

freedom of association and assembly, freedom of expression, freedom of belief and religion, and the

rights of racial and ethnic minorities.

4.6.Top US diplomat calls for expansion of Quad group • The United States at the recent India-US forum has called for the expansion of QUAD grouping.

• US stated that like-minded countries and groupings should come together and join hands to protect

and ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific ocean.

• The call was made by US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun at the India-US forum in New

Delhi.

• US side highlighted that the Quad grouping have potential to deepen and strengthen the cooperation

with the ASEAN bloc in Southeast Asia.



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• This would help to ensure freedom of seas and security of the seas in accordance with the United

Nations Conventions on Law of Sea.

• US side further said that Quad nations can also work with ASEAN bloc in areas of governance,

environmental protection, health and transparent data sharing.

Expanding QUAD

• Quad is a partnership forum that is driven by the shared interests.

• Any nation seeking free and open Indo-Pacific and who wants to take measures to ensure the

openness can join the hands and admitted to the grouping.

QUAD Grouping

• The QUAD grouping comprises of four nations namely US, India, Australia and Japan.

• The grouping was established in 2007 after a dialogue between the then Japanese Prime Minister

Shinzo Abe, Australian Prime Minister John Howard, US Vice President Dick Cheney, and Indian

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

• The four members since then try to revive the grouping in the backdrop of tensions in the Indo-Pacific

region because of China’s expansion policy.



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5. Economy Click on the following links, to watch the topics given below on YouTube

• Video 1

• Video 2

• Video 3

5.1.G20 & Debt Freeze

What’s the news

• One of the key measures designed to support low-income countries under the G20 Action Plan is the

initiative for a time-bound suspension of loan repayments (of both principal and interest) for

countries which request it.

• The Initiative was welcomed by countries facing the acute social, medical and economic challenges

caused by the rapid global spread of COVID-19.

What is G20 Action Plan?

• The G20 Action Plan is an unprecedented fiscal, monetary and financial intervention to support the

global economy, maintain stability and ensure the resilience of the financial system.

What does the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) mean?

• The Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) means that bilateral official creditors will, during a

limited period, suspend debt service payments from the poorest countries (73 low- and lower middle-

income countries) that request the suspension.

• The DSSI helps address immediate liquidity needs but does not mean that existing debt sustainability

problems in some of these countries will be resolved.

• Before the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, debt vulnerabilities had become elevated in many IDA

(International Development Association) countries, with more than 50 percent being classified as

either in or at high risk of debt distress.

• But DSSI does help by providing more time to properly assess and address debt sustainability on a

country-by-country basis.

How long will this debt service suspension last

• For now, bilateral official creditors have agreed to provide relief until the end of 2020.

• The purpose is to give quick liquidity relief during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The poorest countries are offered temporary debt service relief, but many of them are already in debt

distress or at high risk of debt distress.

• IMF is also working with a number of countries to conduct the debt sustainability analysis (DSA) to

determine the financing envelope necessary to restore debt sustainability and underpin member’s

efforts to gain the debt relief needed to enable a lasting economic recovery.

• But assessing debt sustainability takes times, especially in the current situation of immense

uncertainty about the economic impact of the pandemic.



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Criteria for participation

• The G20 agreed a common term sheet setting out the key features and conditions to be eligible for

debt relief as follows:

✓ Access to the Initiative will be limited to countries which:

✓ have made a formal request for debt service suspension from creditors; and

✓ Are benefiting from, or have made a request to IMF Management for, IMF financing including

emergency facilities (RFI/RCF).

• In addition, each beneficiary country will be required to commit to:

✓ use the created fiscal space to increase social, health or economic spending in response to the

crisis, with a monitoring system expected to be put in place by the IMF and World Bank;

✓ Disclose all public sector financial commitments (debt), while respecting commercially sensitive

information. Technical assistance is expected to be provided by the IMF and World Bank as

appropriate to achieve this; and

✓ Contract no new non-concessional debt during the suspension period, other than agreements

under the Initiative or in compliance with limits agreed under the IMF Debt Limit Policy or World

Bank Group policy on non-concessional borrowing.

India-Myanmar

• Recently, under the DSSI of G-20, India agreed to provide relief to Myanmar.

• Myanmar can repay loans bought from India under G-20 initiative after 2020 or whichever time is

being fixed.

• This decision was taken during the 19th round of Foreign Office Consultations that was held between

India and Myanmar on October 1, 2020.

About G-20

• The G20 (Or Group Of Twenty).

• It is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and

the European Union.

• The EU is represented by the European Commission and by the European Central Bank. Membership

includes:

5.2.Cabinet approves e-bidding platform for natural gas pricing

What’s the news

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved ‘natural gas marketing reforms’ with an aim to

standardize the procedure to discover the price of gas sold in the market.

Details of the announcement

• The policy aims to permit affiliate companies to participate in the bidding process in view of the open,

transparent and electronic bidding, promoting more competition in the market.

• Rebidding would be needed in case only affiliates participate and if there are no other bidders. www.sleepyclasses.com


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• 75-80 per cent of natural gas produced is priced by the government under the administered pricing

mechanism.

• The new policy will also grant marketing freedom to the field development plans (FDPs) of those

blocks in which production sharing contracts (PSCs) already provide pricing freedom.

Gas pricing in India

• There are multiple pricing regimes existing in the country for Natural gas supplies.

• Also, there is differential pricing existing for different sectors.

• Policy makers have been considering various aspects to look at the pricing of natural gas.

• Much of the natural gas being produced in the country does not command a market-determined price

— that is, it is not determined by buyers and sellers based on demand-supply dynamics in the market.

• Rather, a formula — and a peculiar one at that — is used to fix the price of the fuel every six months.

• As per the formula, the domestic gas price is the weighted average price of four global benchmarks :

✓ The US-based Henry Hub

✓ Canada-based Alberta gas

✓ The UK-based NBP, and

✓ Russian gas.

• The domestic price is based on the prices of these international benchmarks in the prior year, and

kicks in with a quarter’s lag. It applies for six months.

Natural Gas

• Natural gas is a non-renewable hydrocarbon used as a source of energy for heating, cooking, and

electricity generation.

• It is also used as a fuel for vehicles and as a chemical feedstock in the manufacture of plastics and

other commercially important organic chemicals.

Composition



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Natural Gas

• Natural gas is the cleanest fossil fuel and a highly efficient form of energy. The simple chemical

composition of natural gas lends itself to fewer impurities and generally results in less pollution.

• Using natural gas instead of oil or coal produces less chemicals that contribute to greenhouse gases,

acid rain, smog, and other harmful forms of pollution.

• Natural gas promotes the use of other clean energy sources. It’s used as a raw material in lightweight

cars, wind power blades, solar panels, and energy-efficient materials.

• Approximately 90 percent of natural gas produced is delivered to customers as useful energy. By

comparison, only 30 percent of energy converted to electricity reaches consumers.

5.3.India Energy Modelling Forum

Idea

• The India Energy Modelling Forum' will provide a platform to examine important energy and

environmental related issues, and facilitate exchange of ideas.

• In the joint working group meeting of the Sustainable Growth Pillar, India Energy Modeling Forum

was launched.

• Sustainable Growth Pillar is an important pillar of India-US Strategic Energy Partnership co-chaired

by NITI Aayog and USAID.

• The SG pillar entails energy data management, energy modelling and collaboration on low carbon

technologies as three key activities.

The India Energy Modelling Forum will accelerate this effort and aim to

• Provide a platform to examine important energy and environmental related issues;

• Inform decision-making process to the Indian government;

• Improve cooperation between modelling teams, government, and knowledge partners, funders;

• Facilitate exchange of ideas, ensure production of high-quality studies;

• Identify knowledge gaps at different levels and across different areas;

• Build capacity of Indian institutions.

5.4.Indian Power Market goes Green

Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM)

• As a first step towards Greening the Indian short term power Market, pan-India Green Term Ahead

Market (GTAM) was launched.

• The introduction of GTAM platform would lessen the burden on RE-rich States and incentivize them

to develop RE capacity beyond their own RPO.

• This would promote RE merchant capacity addition and help in achieving RE capacity addition targets

of the country.



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• GTAM platform will lead to increase in number of participants in renewable energy sector. It will

benefit buyers of RE through competitive prices and transparent and flexible procurement.

• It will also benefit RE sellers by providing access to pan- India market.

• The Government of India’s target of 175 GW RE Capacity by 2022 is driving accelerated renewable

penetration pan-India.

• Green Term Ahead Market contracts will:

✓ Allow additional avenues to the RE generators for sale of renewable energy

✓ Enable Obligated entities to procure renewable power at competitive prices to meet their

Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO)

✓ Provide a platform to environmentally conscious open access consumers and utilities to buy

green power.

Key features of GTAM

• Transactions through GTAM will be bilateral in nature with clear identification of corresponding

buyers and sellers, there will not be any difficulty in accounting for RPO.

• GTAM contracts will be segregated into Solar RPO & Non-Solar RPO as RPO targets are also

segregated.

• Further within the two segments GTAM contracts will have Green Intraday, Day Ahead Contingency,

Daily and Weekly Contracts:

✓ Green Intraday Contract & Day Ahead Contingency Contract – Bidding will take place on a 15-

minute time-block wise MW basis.



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✓ Daily & Weekly Contracts – Bidding will take place on MWh basis. Both buyers and sellers can

submit the bid, however the seller will provide profile in terms of 15-minute time block wise

quantity (MW) along with the price (Rs/MWh).

✓ After the contract gets executed scheduling will take place as per the profile.

✓ In case of multiple buyers, the profile will get allocated on a pro-rata basis.

• Price discovery will take place on a continuous basis i.e. price time priority basis. Subsequently,

looking at the market conditions open auction can be introduced for daily & weekly contracts.

• Energy scheduled through GTAM contract shall be considered as deemed RPO compliance of the

buyer.

5.5.Index-Linked Insurance Plans

What is it

• Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) revised product design draft guidelines for

traditional products.

• The latest draft has paved way for a new category of product called ILIPs in life insurance business.

• At present, life insurance has two categories of products—Traditional plans and unit-linked insurance

plans (ULIPs).



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Basic idea

• Not the first time ILIPs have been introduced.

• Earlier, most plans were linked to 10-year G-Sec as benchmark rate and each year premium was

linked to this index to arrive at a return for that particular year

• Now, ILIP will have a lock-in period of five years. The premium paying term will be same—like that of a

regular premium plan till the policy term or a single premium.

• According to IRDA draft, an ILIP will be promoted as an unbundled product which means it cannot be

sold with any other financial product.

• Many insurance products are bundled with other products like online booking of air tickets, credit

cards, vehicles, consumer durables, home loans or personal loans.

• There are multiple indices that can be offered other than reverse repo or 10-year G-sec paper.

• Some of the other indices include Nifty Long duration G-Sec Index, Nifty Long duration Bond Index,

Nifty 10 years SDL Index, and Nifty Bharat Bond Index.

Features

• ILIP will operate like bank account.

• An ILIP will operate more or less like a bank account, with each policyholder having a separately

managed account, according to draft regulations.

• The account value will reflect the premium paid by the policyholder and the interest gained from the

particular index to which the fund is linked.

• Insurance companies will be required to send a statement of policy account to the policyholder at the

end of every reporting period.

• Minimum death benefit under the new plan will be 10 times the life cover or sum assured.

5.6.National Logistics Portal

What is the news

• The plan is to scale up the current Port Community System (PCS 1x) to create NLP-Marine.

• The Shipping Ministry is planning to develop a National Logistics Portal (Marine) to help exporters,

importers and service providers exchange documents seamlessly and transact business in a

transparent and quick manner.



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Who is planning it

• The Indian Ports Association.

About The Indian Ports Association

• It is an apex body of state-owned major ports under the Shipping Ministry.

• It is a think tank for the country’s dozen state-owned ports, has invited bids for the design,

development, integration, implementation, operation and maintenance of the National Logistics

Portal (Marine) Version 1.0.

• It has become a member of the International Port Community Systems Association (IPCSA) in a clear

sign of the government’s focus on digitalisation of the maritime trade processes and enhances ease of

doing business.

What’s the Idea

• To develop a revolutionary national maritime single window known as National Logistics Portal (NLP-

Marine) encompassing complete end-to-end logistics solutions.

• NLP-Marine will act as a single platform to perform all core activities of the importer, exporter and

Customs broker such as domestic tracking of the shipment with notifications at each stage, undertake

Customs clearance on their own, online transaction with custodians, remote electronic data

interchange (EDI) system package — for Bill of Entry and Shipping Bill checklist plus EDI file

generation and document management system to store all the important documents securely on

cloud storage.

• It will facilitate real-time information of the activities.

• It will also enable digital transaction for all the payments required.

• It will facilitate ease of doing business..

5.7.Exim Bank extends line of credit of USD 400 million to the

Government of Republic of Maldives.

Exim Bank

• Export-Import Bank of India is a specialized financial institution, wholly owned by Government of

India, set up in 1982, for financing, facilitating and promoting foreign trade of India.

• EXIM Bank extends Lines of Credit (LOCs) to overseas financial institutions, regional development

banks, sovereign governments and other entities overseas, to enable buyers in those countries to

import developmental and infrastructure projects, equipment, goods and services from India, on

deferred credit terms.

Line of Credit

• A LOC is an arrangement between a financial institution and a client that establishes the maximum

loan amount the customer can borrow.

• The borrower can access funds from the line of credit at any time as long as they do not exceed the

maximum amount (or credit limit) set in the agreement and meet any other requirements such as

making timely minimum payments. It may be offered as a facility.



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• Unlike a closed-end credit account, a line of credit is an open-end credit account, which allows

borrowers to spend the money, repay it, and spend it again in a never-ending cycle.

• While a credit line’s main advantage is flexibility, potential downsides include high-interest rates,

severe penalties for late payments, and the potential to overspend.

• The amount of interest, size of payments, and other rules are set by the lender.

• A line of credit has built-in flexibility, which is its main advantage. Borrowers can request a certain

amount, but they do not have to use it all. Rather, they can tailor their spending on the LOC to their

needs and owe interest only on the amount they draw, not on the entire credit line.

• The borrowers can adjust their repayment amounts as needed, based on their budget or cash flow.

They can repay, for example, the entire outstanding balance all at once or just make the minimum

monthly payments.

• Most lines of credit are unsecured loans. This means the borrower does not promise the lender any

collateral to back the LOC.

• One notable exception is a home equity line of credit (HELOC), which is secured by the equity in the

borrower's home.

• Unsecured lines of credit tend to come with higher interest rates than secured LOCs. They are also

more difficult to obtain and often require a higher credit score or credit rating.

• A revocable line of credit is a source of credit provided to an individual or business by a bank or

financial institution that can be revoked or annulled at the lender's discretion or under specific

circumstances.

• Example: A credit card is implicitly a line of credit you can use to make purchases with funds you do

not currently have on hand.

5.8.IFSCA introduces Framework for Regulatory Sandbox to tap

into innovative fintech solutions • IFSCA: Set up by Finance Ministry, headquartered in Gandhinagar (Gujrat) {GIFT CITY}, a unified

authority to regulate all financial services in International Financial Services Centers (IFSCs) in the

country.

• GIFT CITY: Gujarat International Finance Tec located on the banks of the Sabarmati River is India's

first operational smart city and international financial services center. It was promoted by the

Government of Gujarat as a Greenfield project. The city is designed for walk to work concept and

includes commercial and residential complexes.

• “Regulatory Sandbox”: Under this Sandbox framework, entities operating in the capital market,

banking, and insurance and financial services space shall be granted certain facilities and flexibilities

to experiment with innovative FinTech solutions in a live environment with a limited set of real

customers for a limited time frame.

• These features shall be fortified with necessary safeguards for investor protection and risk mitigation.

The Regulatory Sandbox shall operate within the IFSC located at GIFT City.



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• IFSCA is proposing an “Innovation Sandbox”, which will be a testing environment where FinTech firms

can test their solutions in isolation from the live market, based on market related data made available

by the Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs) operating in IFSC.

• All entities (regulated as well as unregulated) operating in the capital market, banking, insurance and

pension sectors as well as individuals and startups from India and FATF compliant jurisdictions, shall

be eligible for participation in the Regulatory Sandbox.

5.9.India to get USD177 million loan from Asian Development

Bank for Maharashtra road improvements • The loan was sanctioned to upgrade 450 km of state highways and major district roads in the state of

Maharashtra.

• The project will upgrade 2 major district roads and 11 state highways, with combined length of 450

km, to 2-lane standard across seven districts of Maharashtra, and improve connectivity to national

highways, interstate roads, seaports, airports, rail hubs, district headquarters, industrial areas,

enterprise clusters and agricultural areas.

• The project will also focus on training the Maharashtra Public Works Department project staff to

build their capacity in climate change adaptation and disaster resilient features in road design, road

maintenance planning and road safety

ADB

• Founded in 1966, the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) headquarters are in Manila, Philippines. The

Asian Development Bank's primary mission is to foster growth and cooperation among countries in

the Asia-Pacific Region.

• It raises capital through the international bond markets. The ADB also relies on member

contributions, retained earnings from lending, and the repayment of loans for funding of the

organization.

• The two largest shareholders of the Asian Development Bank are the United States and Japan.

• The Asian Development Bank provides assistance to its developing member countries, the private

sector, and public-private partnerships through grants, loans, technical assistance, and equity

investments to promote development.

• Any Regional development bank usually works in harmony with both the International Monetary

Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in their activities.



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• Asakawa is the President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

5.10.Union Finance Minister announces Stimulus to boost Demand

in the Economy • Economic stimulus refers to targeted fiscal and monetary policy intended to elicit and economic

response from the private sector. Economic stimulus is a conservative approach to expansionary fiscal

and monetary policy that relies on encouraging private sector spending to make up for losses of

aggregate demand.

• Fiscal stimulus measures are deficit spending and lowering taxes; monetary stimulus measures are

produced by central banks and may include lowering interest rates.

Measures to Stimulate Consumer

• Spending Proposals to stimulate consumer spending has two components:

• LTC Cash Voucher Scheme

✓ Under LTC Cash Voucher Scheme, the Government has decided to give cash payment to

employees in lieu of one LTC during 2018-21, in which full payment on Leave encashment and

tax-free payment of LTC fare in 3 flat-rate slabs depending on class of entitlement will be given.

✓ An employee, opting for this scheme, will be required to buy goods / services worth 3 times the

fare and 1 time the leave encashment before 31st March 2021.The items bought should be those

attracting GST of 12% or more. Only digital transactions are allowed, GST Invoice to be produced.



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✓ The biggest incentive for employees to avail the LTC Cash Voucher Scheme is that in a four-year

block ending in 2021, the LTC not availed will lapse, instead, this will encourage employees to

avail of this facility to buy goods which can help their families.

✓ Estimated cost of LTC Cash Voucher Scheme: For Central govt.: ₹ 5,675 crore; for PSBs & PSUs: ₹

1,900 crore.

✓ Tax concessions for LTC tickets available for state govt. & private sector too, if they choose to give

such facility, these employees too can benefit.

• Special Festival Advance Scheme

✓ Special Festival Advance Scheme which was meant for non-gazetted government employees is

being revived as a one-time measure, for gazetted employees too. All central govt. employees can

now get interest-free advance of Rs. 10,000, in the form of a prepaid RuPay Card, to be spent by

March 31, 2021.

✓ The one-time disbursement of Special Festival Advance Scheme is expected to amount to Rs.

4,000 crore; if given by all state governments, another Rs. 8,000 crore is expected to be

disbursed. Employees can spend this on any festival.

Measures to Stimulate Capital Expenditure

• Capital Expenditure Boost for States

• A special interest-free 50-year loan to states is being issued, for ₹12,000 crore capital expenditure

✓ ₹ 200 crore each for 8 North East states

✓ ₹ 450 crore each Uttarakhand, Himachal

✓ ₹ 7,500 crore for remaining states, as per share of Finance Commission’s devolution.

✓ All the above interest-free loans given to states are to be spent by March 31, 2021; 50% will be

given initially, remaining upon utilization of first 50%.

✓ Under Part 3 of ₹ 12,000 crore interest-free loans to states, ₹ 2,000 crore will be given to those

states which fulfill at least 3 out of 4 reforms spelled out in Aatma Nirbhar Bharat package. This is

over and above other borrowing ceilings.

• Capital Expenditure Boost for the Centre

✓ Additional budget of ₹ 25,000 crore (in addition to ₹ 4.13 lakh crore given in Budget 2020-‘21) is

being provided for capital expenditure on roads, defence, water supply, urban development and

domestically produced capital equipment.

5.11.TRP Manipulations • TRP: A television rating point (TRP) is a metric used in marketing and advertising to indicate the

percentage of the target audience reached by a campaign or advertisement through a communication

medium. In the particular case of television, a device is attached to the TV set in a few thousand

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• These numbers are treated as a sample from the overall TV owners in different geographical and

demographic sectors. Using a device, a special code is telecasted during the programme, which

records the time and the programme that a viewer watches on a particular day. The average is taken

for a 30-day period, which gives the viewership status for the particular channel.

• Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in 2018 defined its importance as: “On the basis of

audience measurement data, ratings are assigned to various programmes on television. Television

ratings in turn influence programmes produced for the viewers. Better ratings would promote a

programme while poor ratings will discourage a programme. Incorrect ratings will lead to production

of programmes which may not be really popular while good programmes may be left out.”

• Manipulated TRP ratings results in miscalculated targeted audience for the advertisers, which in turn

resulted into losses of hundreds of crores of rupees because of the manipulated statistics of TRP.

• BARC functions under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) and the Telecom Regulatory

Authority of India (TRAI) .It is an industry body jointly owned by advertisers, ad agencies, and

broadcasting companies, represented by The Indian Society of Advertisers, the Indian Broadcasting

Foundation and the Advertising Agencies Association of India. It is set up to design, commission,

supervise and own an accurate, reliable, and timely TV audience measurement system.

5.12. Centre to cap the number of subsidised fertiliser bags • THE CENTRE is working on a plan to cap the number of subsidised fertiliser bags that individual

farmers can buy in any cropping season.

• Currently, the government is following a “no-denial” policy: anybody, non-farmers included, can buy

any quantity of fertiliser through POS machines.

• All they have to do is furnish their Aadhaar unique identity number.

• The quantities purchased, along with the person’s name and biometric authentication, are then

registered on the POS device that is linked to the ‘e-Urvarak’ online platform of the Department of

Fertilisers.

• Only restriction is that nobody can buy more than 100 bags of all fertilisers at one time.

• The subsidy on the total quantity of fertilisers sold to farmers through a retailer’s POS machine is

transferred to the company concerned on a weekly basis.

• In the event of capping, the machine/platform will stop registering the extra bags that would perforce

have to be retailed at the non-subsidised MRPs.

5.13.Assam to have India’s first Multi-Modal Logistics park • Multi-Modal Logistics Parks (MMLPs) are a key policy initiative to improve the country's logistics

sector by lowering overall freight costs, reducing vehicular pollution and congestion, and cutting

warehousing costs.

• (MoRTH) is developing multi-modal logistics parks at selected locations in the country under its

Logistics Efficiency Enhancement Program (LEEP).

• India is burdened with high logistics costs, which account for about 13% of the value of goods sold in

the economy compared with 8% in other major economies.



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• The average cost to export/import one container in India is about 72% higher than in China.

• LEEP, which is spearheaded by the MoRTH and NHAI, aims to enhance freight transport in India by

reducing costs and time, and improving the tracking and traceability of consignments through

infrastructural, procedural, and information technology interventions.

What is MMLP

• The government defines an MMLP as a freight-handling facility encompassing a minimum area of 100

acres (40.5 hectares), with various modes of transport access, and comprising mechanized

warehouses, specialized storage solutions such as cold storage, facilities for mechanized material

handling and inter-modal transfer container terminals, and bulk and break-bulk cargo terminals.

Benefits of MMLP

• Logistics parks will further provide value-added services such as customs clearance with bonded

storage yards, quarantine zones, testing facilities, and warehousing management services. Provisions

will also be made for late-stage manufacturing activities such as kitting and final assembly, grading,

sorting, labelling and packaging activities, reworking, and returns management.

• It will provide direct air, road, rail and waterways connectivity to the people.

• It will be developed under the ambitious Bharatmala Pariyojana.

• Ministry envisages developing 35 Multi-modal Logistic Parks (MMLPs) in the country.

• The first such MMLP is being made by NHIDCL in Jogighopa of Assam, which will be connected to

road, rail, air and waterways.

• This is being developed in 317-acre land along the Brahmaputra.

Bharatmala Project

• It was launched in 2017. It aims to improve road traffic can trade through road transportation. The

scheme aims to complete the following targets by 2022:

✓ National Highway development project works of Ten Thousand kilometres

✓ Economic corridor of 9000 kilometres

✓ Inter corridor roads of 6000 km

✓ Improve efficiency of national corridors of 5000 km

✓ Border connectivity roads of 2000 kilometre

✓ Expressways of 800 km

✓ Post connectivity roads of 2000 km

5.14.Govt. to widen manufacturing PLI plan • PLI: As a part of the National Policy on Electronics, the IT ministry had on April 1 notified a scheme

which would give incentives of 4-6 per cent to electronics companies which manufacture mobile

phones and other electronic components such as transistors, diodes, thyristors, resistors, capacitors

and nano-electronic components such as micro electromechanical systems.



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• The PLI scheme is to be active for five years with financial

year (FY) 2019-20 considered as the base year for calculation

of incentives.

• This means that all investments and incremental sales

registered after FY20 shall be taken into account while

computing the incentive to be given to each company.

• PLI is an outcome- and output-oriented scheme. That is,

incentives will be paid only if the manufacturers make the

goods.

• PLI scheme for manufacturing investments will soon be

extended to eight more sectors.

• This scheme will give cash incentives for five to seven years and all the sunrise and important sectors

are proposed to be covered in this.

• The sectors may be automobile, networking products, food processing, advanced chemistry and solar

PV manufacturing.

Sunrise Sectors

• A sunrise industry is one that is new or relatively new, is growing fast and is expected to become

important in the future.

• Examples of sunrise industries include hydrogen fuel production, petrochemical industry, food

processing industry, space tourism, and online encyclopedias.

5.15.Centre invokes new Essential Commodities Act to set stock

limits on onion • The Centre imposed limits on the extent of onion stocks that traders and wholesalers can hold

invoking a provision of the newly amended Essential Commodities Act of 1955.

• The stock holding limits will be in force till December 2020.

• The Essential Commodities Act, 1955, amended a few weeks back, says the Centre will not impose

stock holding limits unless there are extraordinary circumstances such as drought, floods, natural

calamity or exceptional spike in prices.

• Exceptional increase in prices in the case of perishables such as onions is defined in the Act as 100 per

cent spurt in retail prices over that prevailing in the immediate 12 months or the average retail price

of last five years, whichever is lower.

• According to the amended EC Act, “any action on imposing stock limit shall be based on price rise and

an order for regulating stock limit of any agricultural produce may be issued under this Act only if

there is 100% increase in retail price of horticultural produce and 50% in non-perishable agricultural

foodstuffs”. The defined price rises will be computed “over the price prevailing immediately preceding

12 months, or average retail price of last 5 years, whichever is lower. Nafed has aggressively started

liquidating its onion inventories to cool down prices.

NAFED



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• National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) is organization of

marketing cooperatives for agricultural produce

• It was founded on 2 October 1958 to promote the trade of agricultural produce and forest resources.

• It is registered under Multi State Co-operative Societies Act.

• NAFED is the nodal agency to implement price stabilization measures under Operation Greens

• NAFED along with FCI with state governments also physically procures oilseeds, pulses and copra

under the Price Support Scheme (PSS) which in turn is under the umbrella scheme of PM-AASHA

• In 2008, it established, National Spot Exchange a Commodities exchange as a joint venture of

Financial Technologies (India) Ltd. (FTIL).

5.16.RBI to buy ₹20,000 cr. of G-Secs • The multi-security auction will use the multiple price method.

✓ In a multiple price-auction, each successful bidder pays the price stated in his bid.

✓ In case of 'uniform price' auctions, all successful bidders pay the same price that is cut-off price at

which the market clears the issue.

Open Market Operations (OMO)

• OMOs are the market operations conducted by the Reserve Bank of India by way of sale/ purchase of

Government securities to/ from the market with an objective to adjust the rupee liquidity conditions

in the market on a durable basis.

• When the RBI feels there is excess liquidity in the market, it resorts to sale of securities thereby

sucking out the rupee liquidity.

• Similarly, when the liquidity conditions are tight, the RBI will buy securities from the market, thereby

releasing liquidity into the market.

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• It is a debt obligation of the Indian government to fund their fiscal deficit.

• These instruments are tradable and are issued either by the central or the state government.

• These securities are offered for short term as well as long term.

• Short-term instruments with a maturity of less than one year are typically called treasury bills (T-Bills)

• Whereas long-term instruments are called government bonds or dated securities with a maturity of

one year or more.

• However, in India, the central government issues T-Bills as well as bonds or dated securities.

• The state government issues only the bonds or dated securities called State Development Loans

(SDL).

• The central government also issues not fully tradable savings instruments like savings bonds, national

saving certificate etc or special securities like oil bonds, fertilizer bonds, power bonds etc.

Types of G-Sec

• Treasury Bills (T-bills):

✓ T-bills are money market short term debt instruments which are issued by the central

government in three tenures mainly 91-day, 182-day and 364-day.

✓ These instruments are zero coupon bonds which pay no interest but are actually issued at a

discount and redeemed at the face value at maturity.

• Cash Management Bills (CMBs):

✓ CMBs are a new short-term instrument having common characteristic of T-Bills but with a

maturity of less than 91-days.

✓ These instruments are issued to meet the temporary disparity in the cash flow of the

government. CMBs too are issued at a discount and redeemed at face value on maturity.

• Dated Government Securities:

✓ These instruments are long-term securities which carry a fixed or floating coupon (interest) rate

paid on the face value, which is payable at fixed time periods generally half-yearly.

✓ The maximum tenure of these securities is 30 years.

5.17.Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh addresses the firstever

Ministerial Meetingof G-20 Anti-Corruption Working Group • It was a virtual meeting, hosted by Saudi Arabia.

• In June 2010 at the Toronto Summit, the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group’s (ACWG) was set up.

• Its primary goal is to prepare "comprehensive recommendations for consideration by leaders on how

the G20 could continue to make practical and valuable contributions to international efforts to

combat corruption" 2020 is the 10th anniversary of AWCG.



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• The ACWG actively works with the World Bank Group, the OECD, the UNODC (United Nations

Office on Drugs and Crime), the IMF, the FATF, as well as with the Business 20 (B20) and the Civil

Society 20 (C20).

• The World Bank and the UNODC are also involved in the ACWG through the active participation and

contribution of Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR) to its work.

• StAR plays an advisory role on asset recovery, anti-money laundering/counter-terrorism financing

(AML/CTF), transparency & beneficial ownership, and income & asset disclosures.

• In addition, StAR leads the World Bank Group delegation to the ACWG and coordinates the World

Bank Group contributions and engagement.

G-20

• The G20 (or Group of Twenty) is an international

forum for the governments and central bank

governors from 19 countries and the European

Union (EU).

• Founded in 1999 with the aim to discuss policy

pertaining to the promotion of international

financial stability.

5.18.I n d i a g e t s c h a i r m a n s h i p o f I n t e r n a t i o n a l L a b o u r

Organisation’s governing body after a gap of 35 years • The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance

social and economic justice through setting international labour standards.

• Founded in 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and oldest specialised agency of the UN.

• The ILO has 187 member states: 186 out of 193 UN member states plus the Cook Islands.

• It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with around 40 field offices around the world, and

employs some 2,700 staff from over 150 nations, of whom 900 work in technical cooperation

programmes and projects.

• The ILO's international labour standards are broadly aimed at ensuring accessible, productive, and

sustainable work worldwide in conditions of freedom, equity, security and dignity.

• The governing body is the executive body of the ILO. It meets thrice a year, in March, June and

November.

• Labour secretary Apurva Chandra has been elected as the chairperson of the governing body of the

organisation for the period October 2020- June 2021.

• Ten of the titular government seats are permanently held by States of chief industrial importance:

Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and

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5.19.AIM Launches India–Australia Circular Economy Hackathon

(I-ACE) • AIM (Atal Innovation Mission) in association with Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research

Organisation (CSIRO) is organizing a two-day hackathon on circular economy, ‘India–Australia

Circular Economy Hackathon (I-ACE)

• I-ACE will focus on identification and development of innovative technology solutions by bright-

minded students, start-ups and MSMEs of both nations.

• The four key themes for the hackathon are as follows:

✓ Innovation in packaging reducing packaging waste

✓ Innovation in food supply chains avoiding waste

✓ Creating opportunities for plastic waste reduction

✓ Recycling critical energy metals and e-waste

Circular Economy

• A circular economy is an economic system of closed loops in which raw materials, components and

products lose their value as little as possible, renewable energy sources are used and systems

thinking is at the core.



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6. Environment Click on the following links, to watch the topics given below on YouTube

• Video 1

• Video 2

• Video 3

6.1.Human-Leopard Conflict • A study conducted across Karnataka indicates that the policy guidelines brought out by Government

of India to mitigate human-leopard conflict and discourage translocation of the animal has had little

impact on the ground.

• The number of leopards captured per month increased more than threefold (from 1.5 to 4.6) after the

human-leopard policy guidelines were brought out in 2011.

• Similarly, there was a threefold increase in the number of leopards translocated per month (from 1 to

3.5).

• The guidelines for human-leopard conflict management were brought out in April 2011 to reduce

conflict with leopards, discourage their translocation, and suggest improved ways of handling

emergency conflict situations.

• Though eight reasons were attributed to capture and translocation of leopards, the main justification

was livestock depredation (38.1%).

• The other reasons included leopards rescued from snares and wells (15.7%), anxiety caused owing to

leopard sightings in human habitations (13.7%), and leopards entering human dwellings (10.9%).

• Human injuries (4.5%) and human deaths (2%) formed a small part of the reason for leopard captures

and translocation.

• IUCN Red List - Vulnerable

• CITES - Appendix I

• CMS - Appendix II

• Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 - Schedule I

6.2.The Earthshot Prize • Britain’s Prince William, launched a new 50-million pound Earthshot Prize, aimed at funding the most

innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.

• The five Earthshots unveiled include - protect and restore nature; clean our air; revive our oceans;

build a waste-free world; and fix our climate.

• Each Earthshot is underpinned by scientifically agreed targets including the UN Sustainable

Development Goals and other internationally recognised measures to help repair our planet.

• Together, they form a unique set of challenges rooted in science, which aim to generate new ways of

thinking, as well as new technologies, systems, policies and solutions.



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• Prizes could be awarded to a wide range of individuals, teams or collaborations – scientists, activists,

economists, community projects, leaders, governments, banks, businesses, cities, and countries –

anyone whose workable solutions make a substantial contribution to achieving the Earthshots.

• Every year from 2021 until 2030, Prince William, alongside the Earthshot Prize Council which covers

six continents, will award the Earthshot Prize to five winners, one per Earthshot.

• In addition to the Prize Council, the Earthshot Prize will be supported by its Global Alliance, a

network of organisations worldwide which share the ambition of the Prize to repair the planet.

• The five-stage prize process to select a winner for each Earthshot has been designed in partnership

with the Centre for Public Impact and a range of international experts.

• An awards ceremony will take place in different cities across the world each year between 2021 and

2030, at which the five winners for each of the Earthshots will be selected from 15 finalists.

• The first awards ceremony will take place in London in autumn 2021.

• After the awards, each winner will receive a global platform and prestigious profile, with their stories

being showcased over the decade and the ambition that their solutions lead to mass adoption,

replication and scaling.

• The GBP 1 million in prize money will support environmental and conservation projects that are

agreed with the winners.

• Shortlisted nominees will also be given tailored support and opportunities to help scale their work,

including being connected with an ecosystem of like-minded individuals and organisations.

6.3.IMD’S New Improved Air Quality Models Capture Air Pollution

Spike in Delhi • Ministry of Earth Sciences is constantly striving to improve Air Quality Early Warning System by

incorporating various changes in Air Quality Forecast Models such as improved emission inventories,

Land Use and Land Cover and improved assimilation of various observational data.

• The Air Quality forecast model System for Integrated modelling of Atmospheric composition (SILAM)

for India has been further improved by implementing global emission inventories CAMS-GLOB v2.1

supplemented with EDGAR v4.3.2 for coarse and mineral-fine anthropogenic particulate matter at

10km resolution.

• A very high resolution city scale model ENFUSER (ENvironmental information FUsion SERvice) for

Delhi also has been operationalized to identify the air pollution hotspots and pollution upto street

level.

• SILAM and ENFUSER have been developed in technical collaboration with Finnish Meteorological

Institute (FMI).

• The speciality of the ENFUSER is the high utilization of measurement data such as air quality

observations, a detailed description of the road network, buildings, land-use information, high

resolution satellite images, ground elevation and population data.

• The ENFUSER natively taps into the operative IMD’s regional SILAM access point.



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• The ENFUSER results are being evaluated with the satellite measurements and observations, model

is found to capture the hotspots over Delhi very well.

• WRF-Chem is another air quality model that has been updated by the Indian Meteorological

Department.

What is Air Quality Monitoring?

• Air quality monitoring regulates 12 pollutants namely

• Sulphur dioxide, Nitrogen dioxide, nickel, arsenic, lead, benzene, ammonia, carbon monoxide, ozone,

PM 10, PM 2.5 and BaP (Benzo(a)Pyrene)

• However, across the cities only PM 10, Sulphur dioxide and Nitrogen dioxide or monitored regularly.

• Other pollutants are monitored only in selected City.

• India has National ambient air quality standards to be followed in urban areas.

6.4.NTPC Collaborates with Cement Manufacturers across

Country to Supply Fly Ash • NTPC Ltd. at PSU under Ministry of Power has started to collaborate with cement manufacturers

across the country to supply fly ash as part of its endeavour to achieve 100% utilisation of the by-

product produced during power generation.

• Fly ash is a fine powder that is a byproduct of burning pulverized coal in electric generation power

plants.

• Fly ash is a pozzolan, a substance containing aluminous and siliceous material that forms cement in

the presence of water.

• When mixed with lime and water, fly ash forms a compound similar to Portland cement.

• This makes fly ash suitable as a prime material in blended cement, mosaic tiles, and hollow blocks,

among other building materials.

• When used in concrete mixes, fly ash improves the strength and segregation of the concrete and

makes it easier to pump.

• Fly ash requires less water than Portland cement and is easier to use in cold weather.

• Other benefits are -

✓ Produces various set times

✓ Cold weather resistance

✓ High strength gains, depending on use

✓ Can be used as an admixture

✓ Considered a non-shrink material

✓ Produces dense concrete with a smooth surface and sharp detail

✓ Great workability



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✓ Reduces crack problems, permeability, and bleeding

✓ Reduces heat of hydration

✓ Reduces CO2 emissions

6.5.Cabinet approves Memorandum of understanding between

Zoological survey of India and International Barcode of Life, a

Canadian Not-For-Profit corporation • ZSI and iBOL have come together for further efforts in DNA barcoding, a methodology for rapidly and

accurately identifying species by sequencing a short segment of standardized gene regions and

comparing individual sequences to a reference database.

• iBOL is a research alliance involving nations that have committed both human and financial resources

to enable expansion of the global reference database, the development of informatics platforms, and/

or the analytical protocols needed to use the reference library to inventory, assess, and describe

biodiversity.

• The MoU will enable ZSI to participate at the Global level programmes like Bioscan and Planetary

Biodiversity Mission.

ZSI

• The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) was established in 1916.

• To promote the survey, exploration, research and documentation on various aspects of animal

taxonomy in the Indian subcontinent. It also seeks advancement of knowledge on animal taxonomy.

• It has been declared as the designated repository for the National Zoological Collection as per section

39 of the National Biodiversity Act, 2002.

• They Study of the fauna of states, of conservation areas, of important ecosystems.

• Status survey of endangered species, fauna of India and ecological Studies & Environmental impact

assessments.

• ZSI publishes Red Data Book on Indian Animals.

• It was first published in 1983 and is similar to Red Data Book published by IUCN.

6.6.Environment Impact Assessment Notification 2020

EIA

• It makes a scientific estimate of the likely impacts of a project, such as a mine, irrigation dam,

industrial unit or waste treatment plant.

• There is also a provision for public consultation in the rules, including a public hearing at which the

local community and interested persons can give opinions and raise objections, based on the draft EIA

report prepared by experts for the project.



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• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has published the draft

Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification 2020, with the intention of replacing the existing

EIA Notification, 2006 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

How does the draft EIA Notification differ from the one now in force?

• THE Removal of several activities from the purview of public consultation.

• A list of projects has been included under Category B2, expressly exempted from the requirement of

an EIA.

• The projects under this category include offshore and onshore oil, gas and shale exploration,

hydroelectric projects up to 25 MW, irrigation projects between 2,000 and 10,000 hectares of

command area, small and medium mineral beneficiation units, small foundries involving furnace units,

some categories of re-rolling mills, small and medium cement plants, small clinker grinding units, acids

other than phosphoric or ammonia, sulphuric acid, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in

dye and dye intermediates, bulk drugs, synthetic rubbers, medium-sized paint units, all inland

waterway projects, expansion or widening of highways between 25 km and 100 km with defined

parameters, aerial ropeways in ecologically sensitive areas, and specified building construction and

area development projects.

• The EIA Notification 2020 excludes reporting by the public of violations and non-compliance.

• Instead, the government will take cognizance of reports only from the violator-promoter, government

authority, Appraisal Committee or Regulatory Authority.

• Such projects can then be approved with conditions, including remediation of ecological damage,

which, again, will be assessed and reported by the violator (and not an unconnected agency), although

Central Pollution Control Board guidelines must be used.

EIA 2006

• Environment Impact Assessment Notification of 2006 has decentralized the environmental clearance

projects by categorizing the developmental projects in two categories, i.e., Category A (national level

appraisal) and Category B (state level appraisal).

• Category A projects are appraised at national level by Impact Assessment Agency (IAA) and the

Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) and Category B projects are apprised at state level.

• State Level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) and State Level Expert Appraisal

Committee (SEAC) are constituted to provide clearance to Category B process.

• After 2006 Amendment the EIA cycle comprises of four stages:

✓ Screening

✓ Scoping

✓ Public hearing

✓ Appraisal

• Category A projects require mandatory environmental clearance and thus they do not undergo the

screening process.

• Category B projects undergoes screening process and they are classified into two types.



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✓ Category B1 projects (Mandatorily requires EIA).

✓ Category B2 projects (Do not require EIA).

• Thus, Category A projects and Category B, projects undergo the complete EIA process whereas

Category B2 projects are excluded from complete EIA process.

6.7.Madhuca Diplostemon Tree • A tree species, long believed extinct, has been rediscovered after a gap of more than 180 years from a

sacred grove in Kollam district.

• Scientists at the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI) at

Palode here have identified the tree as Madhuca diplostemon (family Sapotaceae), a threatened

species of the Western Ghats whose specimen was first collected in 1835.

• The JNTBGRI is planning to undertake the ex situ conservation of this species through the institute’s

species recovery programme.

• Since the species is represented only by one specimen in a single locality, it is eligible to be

categorised ‘Critically Endangered’ by the IUCN. (Present status is Endangered).

6.8.Scientists trying to cultivate “Heeng” in the Himalayas for the

first time. • Asafoetida is the dried latex exuded from the rhizome or tap root of several species of Ferula.

• The species are native to the deserts of Iran and mountains of Afghanistan where substantial

amounts are grown.

• Heeng thrives in dry and cold desert conditions. The plant of this herb stores the maximum amount of

its nutrients inside its deep fleshy roots.

• The agriculture ministry of Himachal Pradesh has identified four locations in the valley and has

distributed heeng seeds to seven farmers in the region.

• It is being cultivated by scientists at CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource, Palampur (IHBT) in the

Himalayas.

• India consumes nearly 40 percent of the world's production of heeng and is its largest importer.

• The National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources carried six categories of Heeng from Iran.

• The institute also standardized the protocol to produce the heeng as per Indian conditions.

Geo climatic Conditions

• The plant can withstand a maximum temperature between 35 and 40 degree, whereas during

winters, it can survive in temperatures up to minus 4 degree.

• During extreme weather, the plant can get dormant.

• Regions with sandy soil, very little moisture and annual rainfall of not more than 200mm are

considered conducive for heeng cultivation in India.



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Benefits

• Relief for digestive, spasmodic and stomach disorders, asthma and bronchitis.

• The herb is commonly used to help with painful or excessive bleeding during menstruation and pre-

mature labour.

• Being an anti-flatulent, the herb is fed to new mothers.

CSIR

• Council of Scientific and Industrial Research is the largest research and development (R&D)

organization in India. CSIR has a pan-India presence and has a dynamic network of 38 national

laboratories, 39 outreach centers, 3 Innovation Complexes and 5 units.

• Established: September 1942

• Located: New Delhi

• CSIR is funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology and it operates as an autonomous body

through the Societies Registration Act, 1860.

• CSIR covers a wide spectrum of streams – from radio and space physics, oceanography, geophysics,

chemicals, drugs, genomics, biotechnology and nanotechnology to mining, aeronautics,

instrumentation, environmental engineering and information technology.

• It provides significant technological intervention in many areas with regard to societal efforts which

include the environment, health, drinking water, food, housing, energy, and farm and non-farm

sectors.

• Prime Minister (Ex-officio) is the president.

• Union Minister of Science and Technology (Ex-officio) is the vice president.

6.9.Chinese pink dolphins are making a comeback in the Pearl

River estuary • The unique species was first spotted and documented in English by British traveler and writer Peter

Mundy in Hong Kong near the Pearl River in 1637.

• Chinese white dolphins – are white and become pink when they exert energy, somewhat like us when

we exercise. The dolphins appear pink due to the ventilation (passing of blood and oxygen)

underneath the skin – and even more so when they are swimming and jumping near the surface of the

water.

• The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) is one of four currently recognized species in

the genus Sousa. Its total range is in coastal waters from central China southward throughout

Southeast Asia and westward to the Bay of Bengal, with highest densities in and around estuaries.

• Pink dolphins have seen a decline in their numbers in the past 15 years by 70-80 per cent.

• IUCN status : Vulnerable

• But dolphin numbers in the waters between Hong Kong and Macau have seen a rebound this year

because the novel coronavirus disease pandemic has stopped ferries for the time being.



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• Dolphins use echolocation to find their way in water. The estuary is one of the busiest shipping lanes

in the world.

• Ships often disturb the dolphins in finding their way and even kill them.

• Echolocation is a technique used by bats, dolphins and other animals to determine the location of

objects using reflected sound. This allows the animals to move around in pitch darkness, so they can

navigate, hunt, identify friends and enemies, and avoid obstacles.

• Threat factors are agricultural, industrial, and urban pollution, fishing, marine construction (including

bridge building and land creation for airport expansion and residential/office development) and

transport (including fast ferries).

• The Yangtze River dolphin, or BAIJI, of China has already been declared extinct in 2006.

Some other important dolphins with their IUCN status are:

• Atlantic humpback dolphin (Sousa teuszii) – Critically Endangered

• Franciscana (Pontoporia blainvillei) –Vulnerable

• Indian Ocean humpback dolphin (Sousa plumbea) – Endangered

• Inia (Inia geoffrensis) – Endangered

• Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) – Endangered

• South Asian river dolphin (Platanista gangetica) – Endangered

• Tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis) – Data Deficient (but in the process of being reclassified as Endangered)

• Yangtze finless porpoise (Neo Phocoena Asiaeorientalis) – Critically Endangered

✓ IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources is an international

organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.

It is involved in data gathering and analysis, research, field projects, advocacy, and education.

✓ Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List), founded in

1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. It uses a set of

criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of species and subspecies.



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• An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams

flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between

river environments and maritime environment known as ecotone.

6.10.Rajasthan Health Department to administer deworming

tablets in campaign mode from October 5 to 11

National Deworming Day

• It aims at eradicating intestinal worms also known as Soil Transmitted Helminths (STH), among

children in the age group of 1-19 years.

• Children and adolescents are administered a single dose of a safe medicine Albendazole across

government, government aided schools, anganwadis, private schools and other educational

institutions.

✓ Deworming through Albendazole is an evidence-based, globally-accepted, effective solution used

to control worm infections in all children.

✓ It was started in 2015 by the Ministry Of Health And Family Welfare, the NDD is the largest

public health program implemented on a single day reaching crores of children and adolescents

through two NDD rounds every year.

✓ NDD is a key intervention of Anaemia Mukt Bharat.

✓ Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections are transmitted by eggs present in human faeces

which in turn contaminate soil in areas where sanitation is poor.

✓ The main species that infect people are the roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), the whipworm

(Trichuris trichiura) and the hookworms (Necator americanus and Ancylostoma duodenale).

✓ Intestinal worms produce a wide range of symptoms including intestinal manifestations

(diarrhoea, abdominal pain), general malaise and weakness. Hookworms cause chronic intestinal

blood loss that result in anaemia.

✓ Soil-transmitted helminths are transmitted by eggs that are passed in the faeces of infected

people. Adult worms live in the intestine where they produce thousands of eggs each day. In areas

that lack adequate sanitation, these eggs contaminate the soil. This can happen in several ways:

✓ Eggs that are attached to vegetables are ingested when the vegetables are not carefully cooked,

washed or peeled,

✓ Eggs are ingested from contaminated water sources,

✓ Eggs are ingested by children who play in the contaminated soil and then put their hands in their

mouths without washing them.

6.11.NGT red-flags Kaleshwaram project • The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project is a multi-purpose irrigation project on the Godavari River in

Kaleshwaram, Bhoopalpally, Telangana.



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• This project is unique because Telangana will harness water at the confluence of two rivers with

Godavari by constructing a barrage at Medigadda in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district and reverse

pump the water into the main Godavari River and divert it through lifts and pumps into a huge and

complex system of reservoirs, water tunnels, pipelines and canals.

• On October 12, the Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal, New Delhi, ruled that the

Environmental Clearance given to the project in December 2017 was void as the Telangana

government subsequently changed the design of the project to increase its capacity.

• The NGT also directed the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change to constitute

a seven-member Expert Committee within a month to assess the extent of damage caused in going

ahead with the project’s expansion and identify the restoration measures necessary.

• The Expert Committee will complete its exercise within six months.

• The NGT directed the Telangana Government to stop all work except the drinking water component

and obtain a Forest Clearance from the Centre before going ahead with the project.

6.12.NGT Completes 10 Years • The NGT was established on October 18, 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010, passed

by the Central Government.

• The stated objective of the Central Government was to provide a specialised forum for effective and

speedy disposal of cases pertaining to environment protection, conservation of forests and for

seeking compensation for damages caused to people or property due to violation of environmental

laws or conditions specified while granting permissions.

Structure

• The Principal Bench of the NGT has been established in the National Capital – New Delhi, with

regional benches in Pune (Western Zone Bench), Bhopal (Central Zone Bench), Chennai (Southern

Bench) and Kolkata (Eastern Bench).



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• Each Bench has a specified geographical jurisdiction covering several States in a region. There is also a

mechanism for circuit benches. For example, the Southern Zone bench, which is based in Chennai, can

decide to have sittings in other places like Bangalore or Hyderabad.

• The Chairperson of the NGT is a retired Judge of the Supreme Court, Head Quartered in Delhi.

• Other Judicial members are retired Judges of High Courts.

• Each bench of the NGT will comprise of at least one Judicial Member and one Expert Member. Expert

members should have a professional qualification and a minimum of 15 years’ experience in the field

of environment/forest conservation and related subjects.

Powers

• The NGT has the power to hear all civil cases relating to environmental issues and questions that are

linked to the implementation of laws listed in Schedule I of the NGT Act. These include the following:

✓ The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974;

✓ The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977;

✓ The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980;

✓ The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981;

✓ The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986;

✓ The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991;

✓ The Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

• This means that any violations pertaining only to these laws, or any order / decision taken by the

Government under these laws can be challenged before the NGT.

• The NGT has not been vested with powers to hear any matter relating to the Wildlife (Protection)

Act, 1972, the Indian Forest Act, 1927 and various laws enacted by States relating to forests, tree

preservation etc.

Principles of Justice adopted by NGT

• The NGT is not bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but shall

be guided by principles of natural justice.

• Further, NGT is also not bound by the rules of evidence as enshrined in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.

Thus, it will be relatively easier (as opposed to approaching a court) for conservation groups to

present facts and issues before the NGT, including pointing out technical flaws in a project, or

proposing alternatives that could minimize environmental damage but which have not been

considered.

• While passing Orders/decisions/awards, the NGT will apply the principles of sustainable

development, the precautionary principle and the polluter pays principles.

• However, it must be noted that if the NGT holds that a claim is false, it can impose costs including lost

benefits due to any interim injunction.



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6.13.Blue Flag Beaches in Karnataka • A ‘Blue Flag’ beach is an eco-tourism model to provide tourists clean and hygienic bathing water,

facilities/ amenities, safe and healthy environment and sustainable development of the area.

✓ The two beaches, Kasarkod beach near Honnavar in Uttara Kannada and Padubidri beach near

Udupi have bagged the coveted eco-label ‘Blue Flag’.

✓ The international agency Foundation for Environment Education, awards the certification based

on 33 stringent criteria in four major heads that is environmental education and information,

bathing water quality, environment management and conservation and safety and services in the

beaches.

✓ The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had embarked upon a program

for ‘Blue Flag’ certification for select 13 beaches in the country.

✓ The Indian beaches are being developed by the Society for Integrated Coastal Management

(SICOM), an environment ministry’s body working for the management of coastal areas,

according to the Blue Flag certification standards.

✓ Chandrabhaga beach of Odisha’s Konark coast is the first to complete the tag certification

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6.14.What is ‘yellow dust’? • North Korean authorities have urged citizens to remain indoors to avoid contact with a mysterious

cloud of ‘yellow dust’ blowing in from China, which they have warned could bring Covid-19 with it.

What is this mysterious yellow dust?

• Yellow dust is actually sand from deserts in China and Mongolia that high speed surface winds carry

into both North and South Korea during specific periods every year.

• The sand particles tend to mix with other toxic substances such as industrial pollutants, as a result of

which the ‘yellow dust’ is known to cause a number of respiratory ailments.

• Usually, when the dust reaches unhealthy levels in the atmosphere, authorities urge people to remain

indoors and limit physical activity, particularly heavy exercise and sport.

• Sometimes, when the concentration of yellow dust in the atmosphere crosses around 800

micrograms/cubic meter, schools are shut and outdoor events cancelled in the affected areas.

• Korean authorities said since research from around the world has shown Covid-19 can be

“transmitted through air”, the yellow dust cloud must be taken seriously.

6.15.Himalayan brown bear • The Himalayan brown bear is one of the largest carnivores in the highlands of Himalayas.

• It occupies the higher reaches of the Himalayas in remote, mountainous areas of Pakistan and India, in

small and isolated populations, and is extremely rare in many of its ranges.



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• Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) has predicted a significant reduction because of

climate change scenario, prompting scientists to suggest an adaptive spatial planning of protected

area network in the western Himalayas for conserving the species.

• The study carried out in the western Himalayas by scientists of Zoological Survey of India, predicted a

massive decline of about 73% of the bear’s habitat by the year 2050.

• “These losses in habitat will also result in loss of habitat from 13 protected areas (PAs), and eight of

them will become completely uninhabitable by the year 2050, followed by loss of connectivity in the

majority of PAs.

• In a situation when the protected areas in the Himalayan region lose their effectiveness and

representativeness, there is a need to adopt “preemptive spatial planning of PAs in the Himalayan

region for the long-term viability of the species”.

• The suitable habitats were mapped outside the PAs and are closely placed to PAs; such areas may be

prioritized to bring them into the PA network or enhanced protection.

• Himalayan brown bear has been taken an example because it is a top carnivore of the high-altitude

Himalayan region.

• The elevation gradient in which the brown bear is distributed is most vulnerable to global warming as

this elevation belt is getting warmer faster than other elevation zones of Himalayas.

6.16.First National Protocol to Enumerate Snow Leopard

Population in India Launched • International Snow Leopard Day is observed on October 23 every year since 2013.

• Leaders in the governments of all 12 snow leopard range countries have adopted the Bishkek

Declaration on the Conservation of the Snow Leopard on October 23, 2013 in Bishkek, Kyrgyz

Republic.

• Snow Leopard enumeration of the Nation, which is the first of its kind, has been developed by

scientific experts in association with the Snow Leopard States/UTs namely, Ladakh, Jammu &

Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunanchal Pradesh.



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GSLEP Programme

• GSLEP Programme is Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Programme. It is an inter-

governmental alliance of all 12 snow leopard range countries. This includes China, Bhutan, Nepal,

Mongolia, India, Pakistan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan.

• The programme mainly focuses on the need of awareness and understanding the value of snow

leopard in an ecosystem. It is organised by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

6.17.EU environment ministers strike deal on climate law, leave

out 2030 target • European Union environment ministers struck a deal to make the bloc’s 2050 net zero emissions

target legally binding.

• They left the decision on a 2030 emissions-cutting target for leaders to discuss in December.

• The landmark climate change law will form the basis for Europe’s plan to slash greenhouse gas

emissions, which will reshape all sectors, from transport to heavy industry, and require hundreds of

billions of Euros in annual investments.

• It will fix in law the EU target to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and define the rules for reviewing

progress towards climate targets.

What Does It Mean to Reach Net-Zero Emissions?

• Net-zero emissions are achieved when any remaining human-caused GHG emissions are balanced out

by removing GHGs from the atmosphere in a process known as carbon removal.

• First and foremost, human-caused emissions — like those from fossil fuelled vehicles and factories —

should be reduced as close to zero as possible.



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• Any remaining GHGs would be balanced with an

equivalent amount of carbon removal, for

example by restoring forests or through direct

air capture and storage (DACS) technology.

• The concept of net-zero emissions is akin to

"climate neutrality."

• The Paris Agreement has a long-term goal of

achieving "a balance between anthropogenic

emissions by sources and removals by sinks of

greenhouse gases in the second half of this

century, on the basis of equity, and in the

context of sustainable development and efforts

to eradicate poverty." The concept of balancing emissions and removals is akin to reaching net-zero

emissions.

• Coupled with the ultimate goal to limit warming well below 2 degrees C, and aiming for 1.5 degrees C,

the Paris Agreement commits governments to sharply reduce emissions and ramp up efforts to reach

net-zero emissions in time to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.

• The Paris Agreement framework also invites countries to submit long-term, low-emissions

development strategies by 2020. These strategies can be a vehicle for setting net-zero targets and

chart how countries aim to make such transitions.

6.18.Stubble burning explained • Stubble burning is, quite simply, the act of removing paddy crop residue from the field to sow wheat.

• It’s usually required in areas that use the ‘combine harvesting’ method which leaves crop residue

behind.

• Combines are machines that harvest, thresh i.e. separate the grain, and also clean the separated grain,

all at once.

• The problem, however, is that the machine doesn’t cut close enough to the ground, leaving stubble

behind that the farmer has no use for.

• There is pressure on the farmer to sow the next crop in time for it to achieve a full yield. The quickest

and cheapest solution, therefore, is to clear the field by burning the stubble.

• Burning is not the Only Solution, but it is the easiest and cheapest method available to farmers as of

now.

But why is this only a problem in the Northern States?

• India relies on its northern states of Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand for

wheat.

• States in the south use combine harvesting too. But the difference is that they don’t have the urgency

to remove the stubble to make it ready for the next crop.

• To sow wheat right after paddy, the field has to be harvested and readied for the next crop.



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• In the Punjab-Haryana-UP belt, the crucial time for the wheat crop to mature is in mid-April, when the

temperature is about to cross 35 degree Celsius.

• For the wheat crop to reach full maturity and give maximum yield by then, the farmer has no option

but to sow the crop latest by 15 November, so that it grows for full 140-150 day duration.

• Add to this complication the Punjab Preservation of Subsoil Water Act 2009 – Punjab’s water-saving

law – which bans sowing of paddy before 15 May and transplanting it before 15 June.

• This leaves the farmer with very little time to sow and reap paddy, and then ready the field for wheat

in just about 20 days.

• On December 10, 2015, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had banned crop residue burning in the

states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab.

• Burning crop residue is a crime under Section 188 of the IPC and under the Air and Pollution Control

Act of 1981. However, government’s implementation lacks strength.

• In addition to wheat and paddy, sugarcane leaves are most commonly burnt. According to an official

report, more than 500 million tonnes of parali (crop residues) is produced annually in the country,

cereal crops (rice, wheat, maize and millets) account for 70 per cent of the total crop residue.

• Instead of burning of the stubble, it can be used in different ways like cattle feed, compost manure,

roofing in rural areas, biomass energy, mushroom cultivation, packing materials, fuel, paper, bio-

ethanol and industrial production, etc.

• The Supreme Court appointed retired apex court judge Justice Madan B. Lokur as a one-man

committee to take steps for preventing stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh which

is a source of pollution in Delhi-national capital region (NCR).

• The court directed the court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) and chief

secretaries of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh to assist the Lokur panel to enable physical

surveillance of fields where stubble is burnt.

6.19.Kabartal and Asan Conservation Reserve designated as

Ramsar Sites • Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty adopted on February 2, 1971 in the

Iranian city of Ramsar, on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea.

• It was established in 1971 by UNESCO, which came into force in 1975.

• The name of the Convention is usually written “Convention on Wetlands’’.

• The Convention on Wetlands came into force for India on February 1, 1982.

• Those wetlands which are of international importance are declared as Ramsar sites.

• Wetlands can be designated to the Ramsar List under any (one or more) of the nine criteria that

ranges from uniqueness of the site to those based on species and ecological communities supported.

Asan



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• The criteria cleared by Asan Conservation Reserve to get Ramsar site tag include that it supports

vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species, it supports populations of plant and/or

animal species important for maintaining the biological diversity, it supports plant and/or animal

species at a critical stage in their life cycles and it is an important source of food for fishes, spawning

ground, nursery and/or migration path on which fish stocks, either within the wetland or elsewhere,

depend.

• Asan Conservation Reserve has become Uttarakhand’s first Ramsar site.

• Asan Conservation reserve is a 444-hectare stretch of the Asan River running down to its confluence

with the Yamuna River in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand.

• The site is a biodiversity hub that supports 330 species of birds including the critically endangered

redheaded vulture (Sarcogyps calvus), white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) and Baer’s pochard

(Aythya baeri).

• It also supports large congregations of migratory birds like red crested pochard and ruddy shelduck

and is a known feeding, spawning and migrating site for over 40 fish species.

Kabartal

• Kabartal, also known as Kanwar jheel covers 2,620 hectares of the Indo-Gangetic plains, in Begusarai

district of the state of Bihar.

• The site acts as a vital flood buffer for the region besides providing livelihood opportunities to the

local communities.

• As a habitat to biodiversity, the wetland supports about 165 plant, 394 animals and around 50 fish

species. • Kabartal is also an important stopover along the Central Asian Flyway, with 58 migratory

waterbirds using it as a wintering site.

• Besides, critically endangered vultures including red-headed vulture and white-rumped vulture also

use the site as a habitat.

• Wetlands International South Asia has been working closely with the Ministry of Environment, Forest

and Climate Change on the entire designation process.

• The engagement in Kanwar Jheel began in 2015, wherein under the World Bank assisted Capacity

Building Programme, Wetlands International South Asia was entrusted with formulation of an

integrated management plan.

• With these two sites, the network of Indian Ramsar Sites becomes the largest in South Asia.



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7. Science & Technology Click here to watch the following questions on YouTube

7.1.The SMART torpedo system • India successfully flight-tested its indigenously developed SMART torpedo system which is going to

be a game changer in anti-submarine warfare.

• The Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo or SMART was successfully tested from the

Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha.

• The test reportedly encompasses hybrid technology that helps to upgrade the present system and

also increase the striking range.

• A number of DRDO laboratories including DRDL, RCI Hyderabad, ADRDE Agra and NSTL

Visakhapatnam have developed the technologies required for SMART.

What is SMART?

• SMART is a missile-assisted release of lightweight Anti-Submarine Torpedo System for Anti-

Submarine Warfare (ASW) operations far beyond torpedo range.

• SMART system combines a solid fuel rocket with a lightweight torpedo (LWT) as its warhead. It

decelerates and releases the torpedo over the designated target area, after which the torpedo

operates normally and uses homing guidance to seek out enemy submarines.

• Torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled

towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in

proximity to the target.

✓ Varunastra is the first indigenous heavyweight ship launched anti-submarine electric torpedo.



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7.2.China to send first-ever ‘asteroid mining robot’ into space • China will send out the world’s first mining robot into space by November this year. A private Beijing

company, Origin Space, will send out the world’s first mining robot — termed as an ‘asteroid mining

robot’ — into space.

• The robot will, however, not do any actual mining. The mission will be a preliminary assessment of the

asteroid mining robot’s capabilities of identifying and extracting valuable resources, aimed at the

eventual mining of asteroids.

• The 30-gram spacecraft, NEO-1, is likely to be launched as a secondary payload on a Chinese Long

March rocket, which will enter at an orbit around the earth at 500-kilometre altitude.

• The goal is to verify and demonstrate multiple functions such as spacecraft orbital manoeuvre,

simulated small celestial body capture, intelligent spacecraft identification and control.

• The Chinese company has another mission ‘Yuanwang-1’, nicknamed ‘Little Hubble’.

7.3.IMD to release dynamic and impact-based cyclone warnings • The pre and post- monsoon months form the cyclone season. Storms during October to December,

especially in the Bay of Bengal, ravage the eastern coast and damage property.

• The India Meteorology Department will release dynamic and impact-based cyclone warnings for

districts this season to minimize economic losses and damage to property due to the intense weather

system

• The new system will give specific warnings. For instance, if a district is to be hit by winds up to 160

kmph, it will warn about the kind of infrastructure that is likely to be damaged and these can be

mapped.

• Under the system, location or district-specific tailored warnings, which factor in the local population,

infrastructure, settlements, land use and other elements, will be prepared and disseminated.

• All disaster management agencies will make extensive use of cartographic, geological and

hydrological data available for the district concerned.

• The National Disaster Management Authority is executing the project and developing a web-based

Dynamic Composite Risk Atlas (Web-DCRA) in collaboration with IMD and coastal states.



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7.4.France to partner India on ISRO's 2025 Venus mission • The VIRAL instrument (Venus Infrared Atmospheric Gases Linker) co-developed with the Russian

federal space agency Roscosmos and the LATMOS atmospheres, environments and space

observations laboratory attached to the French national scientific research centre CNRS has been

selected by ISRO after a request for proposals.

• CNES will coordinate and prepare the French contribution, the first time a French payload will be

flown on an Indian exploration mission.

• In August 2019, CNES and ISRO committed to developing and building a constellation of satellites

carrying telecommunications (AIS) and radar and optical remote-sensing instruments, constituting

the first space-based system in the world capable of tracking ships continuously.

• The satellites will be operated jointly by France and India to monitor ships in the Indian Ocean Region.

• The system will also cover a wide belt around the globe, with a revisit capability making it possible to

task acquisitions several times a day, it will also be able to detect oil slicks and trace their origin.

• CNES and ISRO are operating a number of climate-monitoring satellites together. TRISHNA, a highly

precise thermal infrared observer, will soon join this fleet of Indo-French satellites.

• After a successful design phase led by the joint ISRO-CNES team, the satellite is now set to enter its

development phases in the coming months.

• TRISHNA will provide continuous thermal monitoring at high resolution, its unmatched capabilities

serving precious applications ranging from sustainable agriculture to drought forecasting and

monitoring of urban heat islands.



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• At the end of last year, the Argos-4 Payload Module set to fly on the Oceansat-3 satellite—another

major collaboration between the two nations—arrived in India.

• Oceansat-3 is key to assuring the operational continuity of the Argos system and will bolster the fleet

of French-Indian satellites monitoring climate from space.

7.5.Transmissible mutation of the coronavirus • The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is constantly mutating, but D614G, mutation has been found more

transmissible than most others.

What is D614G mutation?

• All viruses mutate to adapt to the barriers that humans put up. RNA viruses such as SARS-CoV-2

mutate slowly as they require a host (human cell) in order to replicate.

• RNA viruses are more prone to mutations because they don’t have a repair mechanism.

• In this mutation, glycine (G) replaces aspartic acid (D) in the 614th position in the amino acid. Hence

the mutation came to be referred as ‘D614G’.

What makes this mutation unlike others?

• To understand this, we must understand how SARS-CoV-2 enters a human cell.

• The amino acids where mutation occurs are located in the spike protein of the virus.

• The spike proteins binds with the ACE2 receptor on the human cell and gains entry.

• It is the peptides in the spike protein that lock with the ACE2 receptor. In D614G mutation, two of the

three peptides open up, making chances of entry into human cell higher.

• The two peptides increase chances of the virus entering a human cell.

• Because its nature allows a better chance of entering a host cell than other mutated strains, D614G

has a higher rate of transmission.

• A virus mutates every time it replicates in the human cell to adapt and survive. This mutation is

helping the virus do exactly that.



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7.6.Russia says it successfully tested, Tsirkon, a new hypersonic

anti-ship cruise missile • Russia has test-fired the Hypersonic Cruise missile called TSIRKON (Zircon) successfully in the White

Sea.

• The test fire was conducted on the occasion of the birthday of the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

• Test fire was conducted from the Frigate Admiral Gorchakov Vessel in the white Sea.

• The Missile has a capacity to hit the destined target at a distance of 450 km in Just 4 and half minutes.

• It can reach the hypersonic speeds of more than Mach 8.

• This is the second test fire of the Missile. Earlier test fire was conducted in January 2020 for the first

time.



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