1)Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) will take up Research and Development initiatives in the areas of Health Care, like Manufacturing and Certifying PPE to deal with COVID-19 pandemic. Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) functions under the Ministry of Chemicals and fertilizers. It was established in 1968 by Government of India with the assistance of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at Chennai.
Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology (CIPET) has been renamed as Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology (CIPET). The changed name has been registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act 1975. According to government, with changed name, now CIPET will be in a position to fully devote itself for the growth of entire petrochemical sector. CIPET was established in 1968 by Government of India with the assistance of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at Chennai.
2)The Union Finance Minister formally launched a facility for instant allotment of online PAN (permanent account number) card (on near to real time basis) on furnishing(प्रस्तुत) of Aadhaar details. This facility is now available for those PAN applicants who possess a valid Aadhaar number and have a mobile number registered with Aadhaar. The allotment process is paperless and an electronic PAN (e-PAN) is issued to the applicants free of cost. In the Union Budget, 2020, Finance Minister had announced that in order to ease the process of allotment of PAN, she will soon launch a system under which PAN shall be instantly allotted online on the basis of Aadhaar without any requirement for filling up of detailed application form.”
3)Less than two months after detecting its first infection, Montenegro is the first country in Europe to declare itself coronavirus-free. Montenegro is a country of South and Southeast Europe on the coast of the Balkans. It borders Bosnia-Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast, Kosovo to the east, Albania to the southeast, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, and Croatia to the west. Its capital is Podgorica.
4)Uttar Pradesh government will develop 800 km roads as Herbal roads in the state. These herbal roads will have medicinal and herbal trees – like Peepal, Neem, Sehjan along with other herb varieties like Brahmi, Ashvagandha and Jatrofa – along with the land on their both sides. These plants will provide raw material for the medicines and will also help in curbing the erosion of land. The herbal garden will keep air-borne, bacterial and other diseases at bay.
5)Larry Kramer, who helped shape U.S. healthcare policy with his early advocacy of a national response to AIDS when it first emerged in the 1980s, died at the age of 84. Laurence David Kramer (1935 – 2020) was an American playwright, author, film producer, public health advocate, and LGBT rights activist. He co-founded the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC), which has become the world's largest private organization assisting people living with AIDS. Kramer, whose works include the award-winning 1985 play, “The Normal Heart,” established himself as a fierce advocate for LGBTQ rights as the gay community, including many of his friends, became afflicted with AIDS, a newly emergent disease in the 1980s
6)Women peacekeepers from India and Brazil – Major Suman Gawani of the Indian Army, a Military Observer formerly deployed with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and Commander Carla Monteiro de Castro Araujo, a Brazilian Naval officer – have jointly won the United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year 2019 Award. United Nations “Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award” was created in 2016- For the first time, two peacekeepers will receive the award jointly for their contribution to this important cause.
It recognizes the dedication and effort of an individual military peacekeeper in promoting the principles of UN Security Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in a peace operation context.
7)Union Ministry of HRD has decided to take forward the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat (EBSB) programme by using innovative ways in view of the prevailing conditions of COVID 19. To move towards digital mediums for the carrying on the activities under EBSB by each participating Ministry/ Department. To organise webinars on Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat themes for their wide dissemination. To have a common repository for the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat digital resources that can be used by every Ministry. This repository may be hosted on a common portal. The Ministry of Human Resource Development has been designated Nodal Ministry for co-ordination of the EBSB programme.
1) World Gold Council released its report on Retail Gold Insights: India Jewellery Report. According to the report, around 37% of Indian women never bought jewellery. • The report says that gold jewellery was the second most popular item among “Fashion and Lifestyle” shoppers next to clothes and silk sarees. • Around 60% of Indian women already owned jewellery. • The 37% of Indian women that do not buy gold are now being seen as new target by the gold industry. Of these, 44% of the women are from rural areas and 30% are from urban.
• According to the World Gold Council, the current young Indian women show least interest towards gold ornaments. • Only 33% of women in the age group 18-24 bought gold jewellery. • This is a great threat to the gold market- India is one of the largest gold market in the world and decrease in gold purchase in the country will affect gold industry badly.
2) Karnataka State Government announced that it will launch a “State Health Register” to collect data of all its citizens. • The register is first of its kind in the country. • The register will hold names of all the citizens of the state • The need to maintain such a register has been raised by COVID-19. • The register is to be created in the future with 50% partnership from private hospitals.
• The State Government is to undertake a survey including every person of the state. • The current population of Karnataka is 6.5 crores- The survey is to be conducted through ASHA workers, educational department staffs, staffs in primary health centre and revenue officials. • The survey to create the register is to be conducted by visiting to each and every household. • The data will help the state government in allocating funds, better implementation of the schemes, efficient resource management.
3)India and China have activated the “working mechanism” at the diplomatic level alongside the military-to-military conversation taking place at the field level to “dis-engage” and “de-escalate” the situation. The “Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC)” was established in January 2012 after border talks between then National Security Adviser (NSA) Shivshankar Menon and his Chinese counterpart Dai Bingguo.
It is headed by joint secretary-level officials from both sides. They are entrusted to help the special representative for boundary talks, a position currently held by NSA Ajit Doval. These officials have had 14 meetings since 2012, the last one in July 2019, and meet more frequently than the special representatives.
4)National Payment Corporation of India launched Artificial Intelligence based chatbot called Pai. The Chatbot aims to increase financial inclusion in India. The PAI can be accessed 24/7. It provides information about NPCI products. The queries can be sent by the users through text or voice. In order to send queries, the users shall use websites of RuPay, NPCI and UPI. Currently, PAI is available in English and Hindi languages. The AI based chatbot was created by Bengaluru based startup CoRover Private Limited.
5)The Sports Authority of India recently transferred Rs 30,000 to the accounts of Khelo India athletes. The authority has spent Rs 8.25 cr in all to achieve this. The Sports Authority of India recently deposited Rs 30,000 to more than 2749 Khelo India athletes accounts. The sports allowance has been provided for the athletes to travel to their home town, to keep up their diet at home and to suffice other miscellaneous expenses. The Out of Pocket Allowance under Khelo India scholarship is Rs 1.20 lakhs annually.
6)Under its Perspective Aviation Complex for Long Range Aviation (PAKDA) programme, Russia has constructed its first Stealth Bomber. Russia is currently modernizing its military at a very fast pace. The Stealth Bomber is one such advancement. The bomber is the second-generation combat aircraft after Sukhoi Su-57 supersonic fighter jet. The Stealth Bomber has been developed under PAKDA programme. The PAKDA programme is to use latest technologies to reduce its radar signature.
7)Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman attended the Special Board of Governors meet of New Development bank through video conference. The leaders that attended the meet elected the president, vice president of new development bank. The bank has so far approved 16.6 billion USD to over 55 projects in its member countries. Mr Marcos Troyjo of Brazil was elected as the president at the meet. The 5th annual meet of board of governors of the New Development Bank was held in April 2020.
8)The US President Donald Trump's administration has launched a program called Operation Warp Speed. Operation Warp Speed is a public–private partnership, initiated by the Federal Government of the United States, to facilitate and accelerate the development of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. It is an interagency program that includes components of the Department of Health, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health and private firms.
9)European Union proposed 750 billion Euros as COVID-19 recovery fund. The fund is to be used by the countries to recover from deep recession caused by the COVID-19. The European Union has broken the deficit limit to keep jobs, health care systems and businesses alive in its member countries. France and Germany had earlier agreed to provide 543 billion USD fund to add cash to the financial measures of the bloc. The European Union is to implement the blueprint that are in several ways similar to that of the Franco-German model. India supports the Franco-German model greatly. The model aims to pull in world organizations in the fight against COVID-19
1)For the first time in a decade, the naturalists have filmed a Saharan Cheetah in a Hoggar Mountains national park in Algeria. Saharan cheetah (Zoological name: Acinonyx jubatus hecki) or Northwest African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus hecki) is a subspecies of Cheetah endemic to Sahara and the Sahel regions of Africa. It is a critically endangered fauna and its total population was suspected to be less than 250 in 2008.
The Saharan cheetah used to be found in fragmented populations in western and central Sahara and Sahel regions of Africa- The main countries where it is found include Algeria, Chad, Mali, Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. However, it is now extinct from most of the countries in wild.
2)British author J.K. Rowling released first two chapters of her new Children’s book “The lckabog”. The story is to be published in installments on The Ickabog website for free before its official publication in November 2020. The Ickabog is her first children’s book since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was published in 2007. J. K. Rowling (original name Joanne Rowling) is a British author, film & TV producer, screenwriter and philanthropist, best known for writing the Harry Potter fantasy series.
3)Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and MSMEs Shri. Nitin Gadkari inaugurated the breakthrough event of Chamba Tunnel under Chardham Pariyojana through video conference. The foundation stone of Char Dham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojana (Char Dham Highway Development Project) was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 27 December, 2016. Its a two lane National Highway project currently under construction in Uttarakhand with a total investment of around Rs. 12000 Cro
4)Three-judge bench of the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of migrant workers issue and noted that there have been “inadequacies and certain lapses” on the part of the Central and State governments in dealing with the migrant workers crisis during the lockdown. Suo motu is a latin phrase which means “on its own”. This means that the court has taken the matter into cognisance on its own and without any plaintiff. A plaintiff is a person or entity which files a case or petition in the court. Normal court cases need a plaintiff and a defendant, while in suo moto, there is no plaintiff. In the current matter, the court has taken suo motu cognisance on the basis of newspaper and media reports on helpless migrants forced to travel thousands of miles on foot or cycles.
5)In July, China will launch its first Mars mission, the ‘Tianwen1’, which is expected to land on the Red Planet’s surface in the first quarter of 2021. • Tianwen-1, an all-in-one orbiter, lander and rover will search the Martian surface for water, ice, investigate soil characteristics, and study the atmosphere, among completing other objectives. • The Tianwen-1 mission will lift off on a Long March 5 rocket. • The success of the mission will make China the third country to achieve a Mars landing after the USSR and the United States. • The Chinese mission is expected to take off in late July, around the same time when NASA is launching its own Mars mission– the ambitious ‘Perseverance’ which aims to collect Martian samples and bring them back to Earth in a two-part campaign.
6) India Observatory, an open-source database, has come up with a GIS-enabled dashboard that includes an India map reflecting the movement of migrants in real time on their long journeys, along with facilities and relief organisations on their routes. • The platform, a collaboration with Anand-based Forest Ecological Security (FES) as its main nodal point, is called CoAST India (Collaboration/Covid Action Support Group).
• It draws information from 55 organisations on the ground, mostly in villages, and aims to make such data available so that it would enable governments and small local civil society groups to be of assistance. • The map matches “time and spatial data, on administrative facilities in the area, transportation and healthcare facilities of an area and summaries, on the fly, in real time of people passing by. • India Observatory was set up in December 2019, with FES focused on ecological issues about forests, water bodies, conservation, etc. that needed “a bird’s eye view or a satellite’s vision”.
Velankanni in Tamil Nadu has thrown up a new species of small freshwater fish.
◎ What is it? ➔ It is a new species of small freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae. ◎ Name ➔ The silver-hued fish has been named Puntius Sanctus — ‘Sanctus’ is Latin for holy — after the popular pilgrim town. ◎ The Puntius species are known locally as ‘Paral’ in Kerala and ‘Kende’ in Tamil Nadu.
Puntius Sanctus fish
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◎ The species is small in size and grows to a length of 7 cm, it bears lateral line scales and pre-dorsal scales. ◎ It found to use both as food and as an aquarium draw. ◎ Physical characteristics ➔ included a protractible mouth, a pair of maxillary barbels (a sensory organ near the snout), 24-25 lateral line scales and 10 pre-dorsal scales. ◎ They are purely freshwater fishes.
◎ It is a subordinate organization of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and was established in 1916. ◎ Functions ➔ It is a national centre for faunistic survey and exploration of the resources leading to the advancement of knowledge on the exceptionally rich faunal diversity of the country. ◎ Headquarters➔ at Kolkata and 16 regional stations.
International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature ◎ Functions ➔ It regulates a uniform system of zoological nomenclature ensuring that every animal has a unique and universally accepted scientific name.
Puntius Sanctus fish
◎ It creates and revises the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. ◎ It is based in the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore.
2)Ramkinkar Baij
Ministry of Culture’s has organised virtual tour titled “Ramkinkar Baij | Journey through silent transformation and expressions” to commemorate his 115th Birth Anniversary.
◎ Ramkinkar Baij (1906-1980), one of the most seminal artists of modern India, was an iconic sculptor, painter and graphic artist. ◎ He was born in Bankura, West Bengal. ◎ In 1925, he made his way to Kala Bhavana, the art school at Santiniketan and was under the guidance of Nandalal Bose.
Ramkinkar Baij
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◎ Encouraged by the liberating, intellectual environment of (Tagore’s) Santiniketan, his artistic skills and intellectual horizons blossomed, thus acquiring greater depth and complexity.
◎ His works➔ ◎ He assimilated the idioms of the European modern visual language and yet was rooted in his own Indian ethos. ◎ He experimented restlessly with forms, moving freely from figurative to abstract and back to figurative. ◎ His themes were steeped in a deep sense of humanism and an instinctive understanding of the symbiotic relationship between man and nature.
Ramkinkar Baij
◎ Both in his paintings and sculptures, he pushed the limits of experimentation and ventured into the use of new materials. ◎ For instance, his use of unconventional material, for the time, such as cement concrete for his monumental public sculptures set a new precedent for art practices. ◎ Awards and honours➔ ◎ He was invited to participate in the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles in 1950 and in the Salon de Mai in 1951. ◎ In 1970 - Padma Bhushan for his irrefutable contribution to Indian art. ◎ In 1976 he was made a Fellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi. ◎ In 1976, he was conferred the honorary Doctoral Degree of ‘Desikottama’ by Visva Bharati.
3)ANtarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna or ANITA
Designed by NASA, the ANITA instrument is a radio telescope which is used to detect ultra-high energy cosmic-ray neutrinos from a scientific balloon flying over Antarctica. ◎ ANITA is also the first NASA observatory for neutrinos of any kind.
ANtarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna or ANITA
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◎ It involves an array of radio antennas attached to a helium balloon which flies over the Antarctic ice sheet at 37,000 meters. ◎ How does ANITA detect Neutrinos ➔ The ANITA instrument detects these ultra-high energy neutrinos by use of the Askaryan effect. ◎ Askaryan Effect ➔ It predicts the production of a coherent radio emission from the cascade of particles produced in a high-energy particle interaction. ◎ How many ANITAs? ➔ ANITA-I was launched in 2006–07 and ANITA-IV was launched in 2016.
ANtarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna or ANITA
👉 ◎ A neutrino is a subatomic particle very similar to an electron. ◎ But it has no electrical charge and a very small mass, which might even be zero. ◎ Neutrinos are one of the most abundant particles in the universe. ◎ Because they have very little interaction with matter, they are incredibly difficult to detect.
4)CoAST India (Collaboration/Covid Action Support Group) Platform
It is a GIS-enabled dashboard that includes an India map reflecting the movement of migrants in real time on their long journeys, often on foot, along with facilities and relief organisations on their routes. ◎ It is a collaboration with Anand-based Forest Ecological Security (FES) as its main nodal point.
CoAST India (Collaboration/Covid Action Support Group) Platform
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◎ How it work?➔ ◎ It draws information from 55 organisations on the ground, mostly in villages, and aims to make such data available so that it would enable governments and small local civil society groups to be of assistance. ◎ The map matches “time and spatial data, on administrative facilities in the area, transportation and healthcare facilities of an area and summaries, on the fly, in real time of people passing by.
CoAST India (Collaboration/Covid Action Support Group) Platform
👉 ◎ What is it? ➔ It is India’s first socio, economic and ecological open-source integrated Geospatial data platform. ◎ Function➔ The observatory is designed to supplement local level decision making by village communities, Panchayats, NGOs and government officials. ◎ Structure ➔ It has the ‘India Data Platform’ at its core, which is built on open source and brings together data on over 1,600 parameters, ranging from village to national level in the form of maps, graphs, tables and infographics. ◎ Benefit ➔ It is freely available for civil society organizations, students, government departments and citizens.
1)The Department of Posts, Government of India and Department of Horticulture, Government of Bihar have joined hands to supply ''Shahi Lichi'' from Muzaffarpur and "Zardalu Mango" from Bhagalpur to the people at doorstep. The ''Shahi Lichi'' of Muzaffarpur (Bihar) and "Zardalu Mango" of Bhagalpur(Bihar) are famous in world by virtue of their unique fragrance and demand everywhere. Zardalu Mango has received GI tag. This facility of online delivery will be initially available to people of Muzaffarpur & Patna for ''Shahi Lichi'' & Patna & Bhagalpur for "Zardalu Mango". Lichi will be booked minimum for 2 kgs and mangoes for 5 kgs.
2)Economists around the world are searching for the right terminology to describe the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression. The IMF calls it the Great Lockdown. At its spring meetings in April - held virtually this year - the International Monetary Fund used that phrase to summarize how the world economy had been upended. Morgan Stanley says it’s the Great Covid-19 Recession, or GCR for short to reflects its expectations for the deepest peacetime contraction in global growth since the Great Depression. Ed Yardeni has named this the Great Virus Crisis. There’s even a suggestion to call it a Pandession, as suggested by economist David McWilliams, who previously worked for the Central Bank of Ireland. A Pandession is a new word because it is a new thing.
3)Farmers in Chhattisgarh would get up to ₹13,000 an acre a year under the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyaya Yojana, a new income support programme announced by the State government. In the first instalment, ₹1,500 crore would be distributed among 18 lakh farmers, more than 80% of them small and marginal. The annual cost of the scheme would be ₹5,700 crore. The scheme would cover rice, maize and sugarcane farmers to begin with, and would expand to other crops later. Rice and maize farmers would get ₹10,000 an acre, while sugarcane farmers would get ₹13,000. The money would be distributed in four instalments. This will help them through the agricultural cycle and help with extension activities. The additional income to farmers would increase rural demand and also act as a stimulus for the State’s economy
4)e payroll data of the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) was released. The data says that around 821,000 new members have joined ESIC social security scheme. The data was released by National Statistical Office (NSO). The Employment State Insurance Scheme was launched in 1952 under the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948. The act was the first legislative social security step for workers in India. The scheme was designed to help employees fight against their sickness, disablement, maternity and death due to employment.
5)World Steel Association released the World Steel Report. According to the report, the crude steel report of India declined by 65%. During April 2020, the steel output of India was 3.13 million tonnes. China has reported 1.7% fall in steel production. This is the first time China is facing an output decline. US faced a decline of 32%. South Korea’s steel production declined by 8.4%. The other global steel producers such as European Union, France, Italy, Turkey, Spain, Russia, Ukraine and Brazil also faced decline in their output. India is currently operating under its National Steel Policy 2017. Under the policy, India is to increase its steel production to 300 million tonnes by 2030. It also aims to make India selfsufficient in steel. It also aims to build a globally competitive steel industrial output in the country.
6)Ministry of Road Transport and Highways notified emission norms for L7 category for BS VI. With the notification, the BS VI process L, M and N category vehicles in the country gets completed. The emission norms will encourage the production of quadricycles. The quadricycle segment in India was introduced in less than 2 years. Thus, the full-fledged production has not completely begun. The quadricycle segment was introduced in 2018 for both commercial and private use.
7)The World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced eight candidates to enter human trials. Several people step forward to participate in human challenge trial as the race to develop new vaccine for the virus is increasing. The trial involves infecting volunteers intentionally with COVID-19 virus. This is done to speed up the process of vaccine development.
8)Union Minister of Food Processing Industries(MoFPI), appreciated the initiative taken by Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT) to manufacture nutrient rich foods for COVID-19 patients at a time when the need for healthy and immunity boosting foods is indispensable. • IIFPT is a premier national Institute for promoting research and education in food processing. • It works under the administrative control of Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI). • HQ: Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu.
9)Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has announced the launch of Facebook Shops. • Facebook Shops is a platform that small mom-and-pop stores across the world could leverage to sell things directly across its apps, such as WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook too. • For small store owners in developing countries, the launch of this platform could mean easy access to the large customer base of the social media giant, Facebook. • With WhatsApp and Instagram, the trio makes a formidable presence on the internet. • The launch of this platform coincides with the plans of many other global conglomerates to launch themselves in the Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME) segment, by providing some kind of platform or training space- It is unclear if Facebook Shops would be launched in India as well.
1)Director of Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), based in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, a constituent lab of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has claimed that Kangra Tea could lower coronavirus activity better than HIV drugs. Although Kangra cultivates both black tea and green tea, black tea constitutes around 90 percent of the production. Kangra tea was given the Geographical Indication status in 2005. Kangra tea is known for its unique color and flavor
2)The 58-member crew of Malayalam film Aadujeevitham reached India after being stranded in Jordan since March 16 following the COVID-19 outbreak. The shooting of the movie was progressing at the Wadi Rum desert when the global pandemic hit normal life. Wadi Rum is also known as the Valley of the Moon. It is a valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock in southern Jordan. It is the largest wadi in Jordan.
3)The Mizoram Cabinet has granted industry status to sports, a move aimed at generating employment. The government seek to invest more in sports for the generation of employment and increasing value. The industry status will help them to meet the requirements of sportspersons and others involved in the sector. Mizoram was the first state to decide granting of industry status to sports. The Mizos are sports loving people and football is their favourite.
4)Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister has launched a new programme ‘ReStart’ to support the MSME sector in the State. The programme is expected to benefit 98,000 units that provide employment to more than 10 lakh people. The government will spend ₹1,100 crore on revival of the sector. The government also waived power demand charges of MSMEs during the months of April, May and June which is roughly around Rs 188 crore. Additionally, Rs 200 crore is going to be provided as input capital to the firms at low-interest rates which would put the MSMEs back on rails. The government will directly purchase 360 items manufactured by the MSMEs and give payments in a period of 45 days which will further help the sector
5)Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas reviewed pipeline projects worth approx. Rs. 8000 Crore, under various stages of implementation by oil and gas companies. GAIL (India) Ltd. is executing Jagdishpur-Haldia-BokaroDhamra Pipeline (JHBDPL) of length 2,655 km under Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Project to connect Eastern India with the West to Central natural gas pipeline corridor. The Indradhanush Gas Grid Ltd. (lGGL), the natural gas pipeline grid being developed in the north-east, will ensure uninterrupted supply of natural gas to all the 8 north-eastern states. Indian Oil is implementing 1450 km long natural gas pipeline project in southern India, with a project cost of ₹6025 crore.
6)IMD cyclone warnings, weather forecast, rainfall information, tourism related updates, among other services, provided by the Met Department are now available on UMANG app. The Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) is a Government of India all-in-one single, multi-lingual, multi-service mobile app, powered by a robust back-end platform providing access to high impact services of various organization (Central and State). Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched UMANG app in 2017 to bring all the government services on a single mobile app. About 660 services from 127 department and 25 states, including utility payments, are available on the app and more are in pipeline.
7)Jammu and Kashmir Administration issued rules to provide domicile certificates. The “J&K Grant of Domicile Certificate (Procedure) rules 2020” has been provided through an amendment of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Decentralisation and Recruitment) Act, 2010. On March 31, 2020, GoI issued Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization (Adaptation of State Laws) order, 2020. According to the order, the domicile of a person is defined as “A person who has resided in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for a period of 15 years or has studied in the UT for a period of 15 years and appeared in Class 10 or 12 examination in an educational institution of J&K” is considered to be a domicile of J&K. Due to the order, the West Pakistan Refugees and children of the women married outside J&K and Safai Karamcharis are now eligible to obtain domicile status
1)Indian Council of Medical Research has revised its advisory on the use of HCQ (Hydroxychloroquine). Under the new advisory guidelines, the HCQ should be given only on the prescription of a registered medical practitioner. The advisory was issued after the Joint Monitoring Group held its meeting. The meeting was attended by ICMR, NCDC (National Centre for Disease Control), WHO (World Health Organization) and National Disaster Management Authority.
2)The US President Donald Trump recently announced that USA is to withdraw from Open Skies treaty. The Treaty on Open Skies was signed in 2002. The treaty established an aerial surveillance system for its participants. Both US and Russia are signatories of the treaty. The treaty is considered as one of the most wide-ranging arms control effort that promotes transparency and openness amongst military forces.
3)The policy committee met in an emergency meeting to review the current economic outlook and impacts of COVID-19. The RBI has reduced the repo rate from 4.4% to 4%. It has reduced the reverse repo rate to 3.35%. The RBI also announced that the reduction in policy rate is to be provided as long as the economic growth in the country is to be mitigated. The manufacturing activity in the country has fallen down by 21% post COVID19. Also, the output from core industries has fell by 6.5%.
4)United Nations listed KHUDOL initiative of Manipur as one of the top 10 global initiatives to fight against COVID-19. KHUDOL is an initiative of a NGO called Ya_All. Under the initiative, the NGO provides food, hygiene and health of LGBTQ community, daily wage workers, people with AIDS. The organization mobilized network of 100 volunteers. Through the volunteers the organization distributed 1000 health kits, 1500 condoms and 6500 sanitary pads. Manipur has been creating inclusive safe space for the transgender community. The state has been taking extra care towards the transgenders as compared to other states. Separate rooms and toilets were established for the transgender community.
5)Union Agriculture Minister said that Government of India is promoting Beekeeping as part of its aim to double farmers’ income by 2024. Government has allocated Rs.500 crore towards Beekeeping under the Atma Nirbhar Abhiyan. India is among the world’s top five honey producers. Compared to 2005-06 honey production has risen by 242% and exports shot by 265%. The National Bee Board has created four modules to impart training as part of the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) and 30 lakh farmers have been trained in beekeeping. Government has launched ‘Honey Mission’ as part of ‘Sweet Revolution.’
6)A report on ‘status of persons with disabilities in India during the COVID-19 crisis’, was released by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP). Around 67% of them had no access to doorstep delivery of essentials, and only 22% confirmed that they have access to essentials. Around 48% had no access to a government helpline, and 63% had not received the financial assistance for persons with disabilities announced by the Finance Ministry. These and other similar issues could have been taken care of if the ‘Comprehensive Disability Inclusive Guidelines’ issued by the Central Government’s Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) had been uniformly enforced across the country.
7)NTPC Ltd. , the PSU under Ministry of Power and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), the PSU under Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, have signed a MoU to set up a Joint Venture Company for Renewable Energy business. As per the MoU, NTPC and ONGC will explore the setting up of offshore wind and other Renewable Energy Projects in India and overseas. They shall also explore opportunities in the fields of sustainability, storage, E-mobility and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) compliant projects. The MoU will enable both companies to accelerate their footprint in Renewable Energy.
Khadi fabric.1)The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) explore the possible option of exporting silk and cotton face masks to foreign countries. This is being done to promote “Vocal for Local”, that was initiated under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. So far, the KVIC has received 8 lakh orders of masks and has supplied 6 lakhs during Lock down period. With overwhelming responses in India, KVIC is to expand the khadi masks globally. The plan is to supply Khadi Masks to countries such as USA, Dubai, Mauritius, middle east and to several other European countries. The export of Khadi masks will help to increase production and ultimately help boost employment. As the masks are cost effective, breathable, reusable, washable and bio-degradable, their demands are increasing globally. Also, their efficiency is high as they are made of double twisted
Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) The KVIC is a statutory body formed in April 1957 by the Government of India, under the Act of Parliament, 'Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act of 1956'. • In April 1957, it took over the work of former All India Khadi and Village Industries Board. • Its head office is in Mumbai , whereas its six zonal offices in Delhi, Bhopal, Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai and Guwahati. Founded: 1956 Purpose: To plan, promote, facilitate, organise and assist in the establishment and development of khadi and village industries Agency executive: ? (Chairperson) Parent agency: Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises 2)Uttar Pradesh government has launched the ‘UP Startup Fund’ to encourage the youth of the state for entrepreneurship. Under it, UP Chief Minister handed over the first installment of 15 crore rupees to Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). A large number of migrant workers had come to the state and that they needed to be given jobs on the basis of their skills. The current emphasis on startups will solve their problems. 3)Union Minister Prakash Javadekar interacted with the Chief Ministers of the State Governments through video conference. The meeting held discussions relating to notification of declaring Western Ghats as Ecologically Sensitive Area. The states that participated in the video conference include Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. The Government of India constituted a High level working group under Dr Kasturirangan. The committee identified geographical areas in the states that need to be declared Ecologically Sensitive Areas. Based on the report, the Central Government in 2018 issued a draft notice to notify the areas as Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA). When an area is declared ESA, it means that restrictions are put on mining, thermal plants, quarrying, construction and setting up of industries 4)Government of India announced that around 6.8 crore free cylinders have been distributed under Prdhan Mantri Ujjawala Yojana. Under the scheme, free LPG cylinders are being provided by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. This covers more than 8 core beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Ujjawala Yojana. The beneficiaries are provided with the funds through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). The GoI has allocated separate funds to distribute the cylinders under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana. It was launched to ease the lives of the people during lock down.
5)India became the second largest producer of Personal Protective Equipment in the world. China is the leading producer of PPE in the world. The Ministry of Textiles has been taking several measures to maintain the quality of PPE alongside manufacturing. It is to be noted that the Textiles Committee recently launched the Synthetic Blood Penetration Testing Equipment. This will help increase PPE testing potential of the country.
6)Government of India amended General Financial Rules to make sure the goods and services that are of value less than Rs 200 crores are procured from domestic firms. The GFR 2017 (General Financial Rules) have been amended by the Central Government. Under the new amendment, global tenders henceforth will be disallowed in government procurement that are of value Rs 200 crores. This was announced in Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
7)Government of India disbursed RS 170 crores to MNREGA workers. The amounts were disbursed to the beneficiaries through the Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj. The Department has taken up more than 14,000 development projects under MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act) since April 20, 2020. This includes 8,300 Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana housing projects and 1,670 water conservation projects.
8)Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired the E-Conclave of Defence MSME (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises). The E-conclave was organized by CII (Confederation of Indian Industry), SIDM (Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers) and Department of Defence Production. Around 800 Defence MSMEs participated in the conclave that was held through video conferencing. The Conclave identified the fact that the US Defence industry developed within a short span of two years during World War II.
Topics Covered:Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
Aim: To provideLPG (liquefied petroleum gas)connections to poor households.
Key features: A deposit-free LPG connection is given to the eligible household with financial assistance of Rs 1,600 per connection by the Centre.
Target: The scheme gained traction with its ambit being expanded to include 80 million poor families from the earlier target of 50 million families with an additional allocation of Rs 4,800 crore.
Eligibility criteria:
Applicant must a woman above the age of 18 and a citizen of India.
Applicant should belong to a BPL (Below Poverty Line) household.
No one in the applicant’s household should own an LPG connection.
The household income of the family, per month, must not exceed a certain limit as defined by the government of the Union Territories and State Government.
Applicant must not be a recipient of other similar schemes provided by the government.
Objectives of the scheme are:
Empowering women and protecting their health.
Reducing the serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuel.
Reducing the number of deaths in India due to unclean cooking fuel.
Preventing young children from significant number of acute respiratory illnesses caused due to indoor air pollution by burning the fossil fuel.
Topics Covered:Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.
For Prelims: Overview, implementation and bodies established under the act.
For Mains: Significance of the law, performance analysis and ways to improve.
Context: Government of India has disbursed RS 170 crores to MGNREGA workers. The amounts were disbursed to the beneficiaries throughthe Department of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.
About MGNREGA:
The scheme was introduced as a social measure that guarantees“the right to work”.
The key tenet of this social measure and labour law is that the local government will have tolegally provide at least 100 days of wage employment in rural India to enhance their quality of life.
Key objectives:
Generation of paid rural employment of not less than 100 days for each worker who volunteers for unskilled labour.
Proactively ensuring social inclusion by strengthening livelihood base of rural poor.
Creation of durable assets in rural areas such as wells, ponds, roads and canals.
Reduce urban migration from rural areas.
Create rural infrastructure by using untapped rural labour.
The following are the eligibility criteria for receiving the benefits under MGNREGA scheme:
Must be Citizen of India to seek MGNREGA benefits.
Job seeker has completed 18 years of age at the time of application.
The applicant must be part of a local household (i.e. application must be made with local Gram Panchayat).
Applicant must volunteer for unskilled labour.
Key facts related to the scheme:
TheMinistry of Rural Development (MRD),Govt of India is monitoring the entire implementation of this scheme in association with state governments.
Individual beneficiary-oriented workscan be taken up on the cards of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, small or marginal farmers or beneficiaries of land reforms or beneficiaries under the Indira Awaas Yojana of the Government of India.
Within 15 days of submitting the application or from the day work is demanded,wage employment will be provided to the applicant.
Right to get unemployment allowancein case employment is not provided within fifteen days of submitting the application or from the date when work is sought.
Social Audit of MGNREGA works is mandatory,which lends to accountability and transparency.
The Gram Sabha is the principal forum for wage seekers to raise their voices and make demands.
It is the Gram Sabha and the Gram Panchayat which approves the shelf of works under MGNREGA and fix their priority.
Role of Gram Sabha:
It determines the order of priority of works in the meetings of the Gram Sabha keeping in view potential of the local area, its needs and local resources.
Monitor the execution of works within the GP.
Roles of Gram Panchayat:
Receiving applications for registration
Verifying registration applications
Registering households
Issuing Job Cards (JCs)
Receiving applications for work
Issuing dated receipts for these applications for work
Allotting work within fifteen days of submitting the application or from the date when work is sought in the case of an advance application.
Identification and planning of works, developing shelf of projects including determination of the order of their priority.
Responsibilities of State Government in MGNREGA:
Frame Rules on matters pertaining to State responsibilities under Section 32 of the Act ii) Develop and notify the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme for the State.
Set up the SEGC.
Set up a State level MGNREGS implementation agency/ mission with adequate number of high calibre professionals.
Set up a State level MGNREGS social audit agency/directorate with adequate number of people with knowledge on MGNREGA processes and demonstrated commitment to social audit.
Establish and operate a State Employment Guarantee Fund (SEGF).
Topics Covered:Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
For Prelims: Objectives of GFR, overview and recent amendments.
For Mains: Significance of these rules, need for and implications.
Context: The government has notified amendments to General Financial Rules (GFR)to ensure thatgoods and services valued less than Rs 200 crore are being procured from domestic firms,a move which will benefit MSMEs.
Implications:
The amendments ensure that henceforth global tenders will be disallowed in government procurement up to Rs 200 crore, as announced inthe Atma Nirbhar Bharat Package.
What are GFRs?
The General Financial Rules (GFRs) are set of rules that deal with matters that involve public finances. They were first issued in 1947 bringing together all the existing orders. They are instructions that pertain to financial matters.
They lay downthe general rules applicable to Ministries / Departments, and detailed instructions relating to procurement of goods are issued by the procuring departmentsbroadly in conformity with the general rules, while maintaining flexibility to deal with varied situations.
Topics Covered:e-technology in the aid of farmers.
For Mains: Significance of this move and benefits associated.
Context:National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA)has announced thatcoir geo textileswill be used for construction of rural roads underthe Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY-III).
What is Coir geotextile?
Coiris a 100% natural fiber,obtained froma renewable source – the coconut husk.
Coir Geo Textileis naturally resistant to rot, molds and moisture, and free from any microbial attack hence it needs no chemical treatment. It has a permeable, natural and strong fabric with high durability.
Benefits:
It has a permeable, natural and strong fabric with high durability.
It protects the land surface and promotes quick vegetation.
It is totally biodegradable, and helps in soil stabilisation.
It can dissipate the energy of flowing water and absorb the excess solar radiation.
What are Geotextiles?
They arepermeable fabricswhich, when used in association with soil, have the ability to separate, filter, reinforce, protect, or drain. These are typically made frompolypropylene or polyester.
Applications:
They support many civil engineering applications including roads, airfields, railroads, embankments, retaining structures, reservoirs, canals, dams, bank protection, coastal engineering and construction site silt fences or geotube.
They are also used for sand dune armoring to protect upland coastal property from storm surge, wave action and flooding.
They are used as matting to stabilize flow in stream channels and swales.
They can improve soil strength at a lower cost than conventional soil nailing.
Features of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana-lll (PMGSY-III):
Under the PMGSY-III Scheme, it is proposed to consolidate1,25,000 Km road length in the States.
It involvesconsolidation of Through Routes and Major Rural Links connecting habitations to Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs), Higher Secondary Schools and Hospitals.
Thefunds would be shared in the ratio of 60:40 between the Centre and State for all States except for 8 North Eastern statesand Himachal Pradesh & Uttarakhand for which it is 90:10.
Background:
A total of 5,99,090 Km road length has been constructed under the scheme since inception till April, 2019 (inclusive of PMGSY-I, PMGSY-II and Road Connectivity Project for Left Wing Extremism Area (RCPLWEA) Scheme).
Sources: pib.
Topics Covered:Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.
For Prelims and Mains: What is it? Significance and applications.
Context: Researchers from Kolkata have developed a novel protocol to find outwhether a pair of electrons is in an entangled stateso that they can be safely used as resources for facilitating quantum information processing tasks. The protocol has been developed through theoretical and experimental analysis.
What is the protocol?
The theoretical idea is based on applying the fine-grained uncertainty relation to perform quantum steering. The experiment uses anall-optical set-upin whichentangled pairs of photons are created by laser light on Beta barium borate (BBO) crystals, a nonlinear optical crystal, used as laser crystal.
What is Quantum entanglement?
It isa quantum mechanical phenomenonin whichthe quantum statesof two or more objects have to be described with reference to each other, even though the individual objects may be spatially separated.
It is the physical phenomenon thatoccurs when a pair or group of particles is generated, interact, in a way such that the quantum state of each particle of the pair or group cannot be described independently of the state of the others.
Significance:
Quantum entanglement is one of the peculiarities of quantum mechanics, which makes phenomena such asquantum teleportation and super-dense coding possible.
For further understanding, please watch:
Sources: pib.
Topics Covered:Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
For Prelims: Western Ghats- Key geographical and environmental facts.
For Mains: Issues related to the conservation of the region, overview of Gadil and Kasturirangan committee reports.
Context: 6 States have expressed desireto expedite early notification of Ecologically Sensitive Area of Western Ghats.
These six states includeKerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.
Background:
The government had constituteda High Level Working Group under the Chairmanship of Dr. Kasturiranganto conserve and protect the biodiversity of Western Ghats while allowing for sustainable and inclusive development of the region.
The Committee had recommended that identified geographical areas falling in the six States of Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu may be declared asEcologically Sensitive Areas.
What are Eco-Sensitive Areas?
They arelocated within 10 kms around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
ESAs arenotified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) under Environment Protection Act 1986.
The basic aim is to regulate certain activities around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries so asto minimise the negative impacts of such activities on the fragile ecosystem encompassing the protected areas.
Objectives of declaring areas as ESA:
To manage and regulate the activities around these areas with the intention of creating some kinds of ‘shock absorbers’.
To provide for a transition zone between the highly protected and relatively less protected areas.
To give effect to Section 3(2)(v) of the Environment Protection Act, 1986 which restricts the operation of industries or processes to be carries out in certain areas or to maintain certain safeguards to operate industries.
What did the Gadgil Committee say?
Itdefined the boundaries of the Western Ghats for the purposes of ecological management.
It proposed that this entire area be designated as ecologically sensitive area (ESA).
Within this area, smaller regions were to be identified as ecologically sensitive zones (ESZ) I, II or IIIbased on their existing condition and nature of threat.
It proposedto divide the area into about 2,200 grids,of which 75 per cent would fall under ESZ I or II or under already existing protected areas such as wildlife sanctuaries or natural parks.
The committee proposeda Western Ghats Ecology Authorityto regulate these activities in the area.
Why was Kasturirangan Committee setup?
None of the six concerned states agreed with the recommendations of the Gadgil Committee, which submitted its report in August 2011.
In August 2012, then Environment Minister constituted a High-Level Working Group on Western Ghats under Kasturiranganto “examine” the Gadgil Committee reportin a “holistic and multidisciplinary fashion in the light of responses received” from states, central ministries and others.
The Kasturirangan report seeks to bring just 37% of the Western Ghats underthe Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) zones— down from the 64% suggested by the Gadgil report.
Recommendations of Kasturirangan Committee:
A ban on mining, quarrying and sand mining.
No new thermal power projects, but hydro power projects allowed with restrictions.
A ban on new polluting industries.
Building and construction projects up to 20,000 sq m was to be allowed but townships were to be banned.
Forest diversion could be allowed with extra safeguards.
Importance of western ghats:
The Western Ghats is an extensive region spanning over six States. It is the home of many endangered plants and animals. It isa UNESCO World Heritage site.
It isone of the eight “hottest hot-spots” of biological diversity in the world.
According to UNESCO,the Western Ghats are older than the Himalayas.They influenceIndian monsoon weather patternsby intercepting the rain-laden monsoon winds that sweep in from the south-west during late summer.
Eastern Ghats:
The Eastern Ghatsrun from the northern Odisha through Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka.
They are eroded and cut through byfour major rivers of peninsular India, viz. Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna, and Kaveri.
GS Paper : 1
Textiles Committee:
It isa statutory body established in 1963.
It is under the administrative control ofthe Ministry of Textiles,Government of India.
It has been formed to ensure the quality of textiles and textile machinery both for internal consumption and export purpose.
Important functions:establishing laboratories for the testing of textiles and textile machinery and providing for their inspection and examination.
International Day for Biological Diversity:
Observed on 22nd Mayevery year to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.
Theme for the year 2020 is“Our solutions are in nature”.
Background: The resolution to celebrate the day was adopted in 1992. The day was initially celebrated on December 29 till 2000 starting from 1993. It was marked onDecember 29 to celebrate the Day the Convention on Biological Diversity came into effect.It was later shifted toMay 22 to commemorate the adoption of convention at Rio Earth Summit.
