Comprehensive Current affairs 15 July 2020

GOI aims to increase public expenditure by 2025.

The Union Health Ministry has pushed for an increased expenditure on public health. In a meeting with the 15th Finance Commission, the Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan, yesterday highlighted that the government aims at gradually increasing the public health expenditure to 2.5 per cent of the nation's GDP by the year 2025.

The Minister asserted that the outlay for primary health expenditure will also be made nearly two third of the total public health expenditure in the country.

Reiterating the government's target of the National Health Policy 2017, Dr.Vardhan emphasized on the importance of increasing the state’s health sector spending to nearly 8 per cent of their total budget.
The Health Ministry apprised the Finance Commission of the need to further strengthen the public

health sector, surveillance and public health management, preventive and promotive health care system in the country.

The Health Ministry has also revised its requirement of around 4.9 lakh crores to 6.04 lakh crores in view of the COVID pandemic. It has asked for additional resources for the States which would be utilized for achievement of the National Health Policy targets. 

 

Modi  claims India amongst the most opened up economies in the world.

Indian P M Modi has said that India is among the most open economies in the world. He was interacting with the CEO of Google, SundarPichai through video conferencing yesterday. The Prime Minister said that Indians are adjusting to and adopting technology at a rapid pace.

Mr.Modi and Mr.Pichai spoke on a wide range of subjects, particularly leveraging the power of technology to transform the lives of India’s farmers, youngsters and entrepreneurs. Mr.Modi also spoke about the recent steps taken by the government towards reforming agriculture and creating new job opportunities.

The Prime Minister explored the idea of virtual labs that can be used by students as well as farmers. On issue of data security and cyber safety, he said, tech companies need to put in efforts to bridge the trust deficit. 

World Youth Skills Day is observed on 15 July.

World Youth Skills Day is observed on 15 July every year. The day is aimed to recognize the importance of equipping young people across the world with skills for employment and entrepreneurship. The day also aims to highlight the crucial role of skilled youth in addressing current and future global challenges.

Events:
World Youth Skills Day 2020 is to take place in a challenging context. The coronavirus pandemic and lockdown measures have led to the worldwide closure of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions, threatening the continuity of skills development.
Many virtual events focusing on the theme of “Skills for a Resilient Youth” is organized to mark the occasion.

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)-International Project on Technical and Vocational Education (UNEVOC) is organizing a Virtual Conference on Skills for a Resilient Youth for a week. It will be held from  6-14 July 2020.

History:
In December 2014, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution and declared 15th July as World Youth Skills Day. UNGA established the day with an aim to achieve better socio-economic conditions for the youth as a means of addressing the challenges of unemployment and underemployment. World Youth Skills Day is an opportunity for young people, training institutions, public and private sector stakeholders to celebrate and acknowledge the importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship.

Polish President Andrzej Duda wins the 2020 Presidential Election of Poland.

Polish President Andrzej Duda wins the 2020 Presidential Election of Poland

In the first round, Andrzej Duda gained the highest 43.50% of the total valid vote share followed by Rafal Trzaskowski with 30.46% in the second place.

Polish President Andrzej Duda won the 2020 Presidential Election of Poland on 12 July 2020. He has secured another five-year in office. Andrzej Duda’s current term will expire on 6 August 2020.

Duda aligned with the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and won 51.2% of the votes and Rafal Trzaskowski from the main opposition center-right Civic Platform party secured 48.7%.

2020 Presidential Election of Poland:

The First Round of the 2020 Presidential Election of Poland was conducted on 28 June 2020. A total of 11 candidates contested for the post of President. In the first round, Andrzej Duda gained the highest 43.50% of the total valid vote share followed by Rafal Trzaskowski with 30.46% in the second place. On 12 July 2020, the Second-Round election was conducted in Poland.

 

Iran kicks India from Chabahar rail project.

Four years after India and Iran signed an agreement to construct a rail line from Chabahar port to Zahedan, along the border with Afghanistan, the Iranian government has decided to proceed with the construction on its own, citing delays from the Indian side in funding and starting the project.

The development comes as China finalises a massive 25-year, $400 billion strategic partnership deal with Iran, which could cloud India’s plans.

The railway project, which was being discussed between the Iranian Railways and the state-owned Indian Railways Construction Ltd (IRCON), was meant to be part of India’s commitment to the trilateral agreement between India, Iran and Afghanistan to build an alternate trade route to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

In May 2016, during indian PM Modi’s visit to Tehran to sign the Chabahar agreement with Iranian President Rouhani and Afghanistan President Ghani, IRCON had signed anMoU with the Iranian Rail Ministry.

Indian Army to acquire Raven and Spike Firefly.

The Indian army is to acquire hand-launched, remotely controlled unmanned aerial vehicle Raven from the US and state-of-the-art Israeli Spike Firefly. The aim is to add lethality to its ground infantry apart from long-range precision artillery shells with a range of over 40 kilometers.

Highlights:

·         The first batch of acquisition comprises 4-6 jets are likely to touch down in India on 27 July.

·         Indian Army is set to acquire 200 pieces of RQ-11 UAV. RQ-11 UAV can fly up to 10 kilometers at an altitude of 500 feet and speed up to 95 km per hour. It will help infantry troops conduct reconnaissance of the battle theatre ahead and placement of enemy troops.

·         The Spike Firefly can deliver a precision strike on enemy troops hiding within a range of 1 kilometre. It has the ability to locate a target and will be called back if the target has moved beyond ranger. It is developed under a joint venture (JV) of Israeli company- Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel’s Ministry of Defence.

 

U.S, China and UAE to send unmanned spacecraft to Mars.

Mars is about to be invaded by planet Earth - big time. Three countries - the United States, China and the United Arab Emirates - are sending unmanned spacecraft to the red planet in quick succession beginning this week, in the most sweeping effort yet to seek signs of ancient microscopic life while scouting out the place for future astronauts.

The US, for its part, is dispatching a six-wheeled rover the size of a car, named Perseverance, to collect rock samples that will be brought back to Earth for analysis in about a decade.

Scientists want to know what Mars was like billions of years ago when it had rivers, lakes and oceans that may have allowed simple, tiny organisms to flourish before the planet morphed into the barren, wintry desert world it is today.

 

Govt. support not to fully mitigate negative impact of pandemic,claimsMoodys

The challenging economic and credit conditions stemming from COVID-19 will weigh on ASEAN and Indian banks’ asset quality and profitability, Moody’s Investors Service said in a new report.

Moody’s said the asset quality and profitability will deteriorate from good levels in 2019 across most banking systems, with Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines having the best asset quality with non-performing loans below 2%. 

While government support measures will offset some of the pressure on banks, they will not fully eliminate the negative impact, the report said.

Despite the challenging outlook, the majority of banks are adequately capitalised, and their funding and liquidity will remain sound and stable in 2020-21.

For instance, regulators in India, Thailand and Vietnam have restricted bank dividends, a credit positive for banks, while the largest banks will continue to benefit from deposit inflows as they are seen as safe-heavens in times of stress.

“Moody’s expects the GDP of most ASEAN economies and India will contract in 2020 and gradually recover in 2021.

 

Indian Railways are going to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030.

Indian Railways has stepped up its efforts to become a Green Railway within a span of 10 years. It has set the target to achieve net zero carbon emission by the year 2030. 

Railways has taken a number of initiatives for mitigation of global warming and combating climate change to achieve the Green Railway status. Electrification of lines, improving energy efficiency of trains, green certification for installation and stations, fitting bio toilets in coaches and switching to renewable sources of energy are parts of Railways’ strategy for achieving net zero carbon emission.

Indian Railways has completed electrification of more than 40 thousand route kilometres which is 63 per cent of the total broad gauge routes. More than 18 thousand six hundred kilometre electrification work has been completed during the last six years. 

Railways has fixed a electrification target of seven thousand route kilometres for this financial year. All routes on the broad gauge network have been planned to be electrified by the end of year 2023. In all, 365-kilometre major connectivity work has been commissioned during COVID pandemic period.

 

Yet another challenge to the dalit movement.

Context:
The pandemic is forcing us to understand the changing nature of society. In north India, specifically, it has also reshaped the discourse on marginalisation.Dalit issues are part of this discoursebut are submerged in the broader discussions on economic vulnerabilities highlighted by COVID-19.

This pandemic has brought about two important shifts in the political discourse on the marginalised.

As the lockdown caused untold suffering to poor, migrant labourers, it brought them from the margins to the centre of deliberations.

Second, discussions on the space for the marginalised in the public health system and their safety are in focus.

However, the concerns of Dalits remain hidden under the broader categories of poor, vulnerable, marginal, etc.

Changing vocabulary:

In contemporary debates, there is a reappearance of class-based vocabulary.Caste-based issues have either become invisible or are only visible as part of the wider discourse.
Leaders such as Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati and Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad have not been able to engage effectively with these new shifts.They have not been able to carve outa location in these new debates for their own politics.They have to reorient their exclusively caste-based language and reshape their political discourse to be in tune with the times.

There are a large number of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes among the migrant labourers.But Dalit leaders in north India have not been able to represent their concerns.
It is possible that these shifts in political debates may continue in the post-pandemic phase at least for a few years as vulnerabilitiesof the marginalised will increase.

Key challenges:

The Dalit movement in north India is habituated in using caste-based binaries in its mobilisational language but has failed to respond to the changing political diction.

In fact, leaders have not changed their political diction for 30 years, since the time of the Kanshi Ram-led Bahujan movement.

The movement is facing a crisis of agendas and social programmes.

The constant repetition of unfulfilled claims and commitments and slogans and promises create disillusionment among a section of their support base.

Another issue is that the Dalit movement in north India is grappling with a leadership crisis.In States such as U.P., Bihar, Punjab and Rajasthan, Dalit assertions are mostly centred around the electoral politics of Dalit-Bahujan political groups and parties.Even alternative social movements led by Jignesh Mevani and Mr. Azad seem to be caught in the logic of electoral politics.

Leadership crisis:

During the Bahujan movement in the 1990s, the idea was that the movement and the party could facilitate each other.

But the BSP, which emerged from the Bahujan social movement, developed gradually as a party structured like a pyramid. Under Ms. Mayawati, it has stopped its reciprocal relationship with the Dalit movement.

In the BSP, the emergence of political leaders of various Dalit-Bahujan castes at different levels became frozen.

This caused erosion in the broader social base and ultimately weakened the Dalit movement.The Dalit movement is constantly facing new challenges but its leaders are not able to change their strategies and grammar of politics to respond to them.

Under the influences of the Ambedkarite ideology and the Dalit-Bahujan movements, an assertive and politically aware Dalit consciousness was being formed among a section of Dalit groups.In the meantime, interventions by Hindutva leaders among Dalits mobilised a section of the most marginalised Dalits under the Hindutva flag.Now the pandemic has posed a new challenge for the Dalit movement.

Conclusion:
Caste-based identities formed the ideological resource base, but now concerns have gone beyond caste and religion, thus posing a different challenge.The challenge may be temporary but it may

lead to a paradigm shift for Dalit politics.The Dalit movement has to evolve new social strategies for its expansion in order to keep up with the changing times.

Gains from rains: on monsoon performance.

Context:
As of the most recent data available from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), rainfall during the season has been 14% more than what is usual for this period.
The month of June only accounts for about 17% of the monsoon rainfall spanning June-September.
It is the month during which the monsoon sets in and that process can sometimes be delayed for as much as a week.

Two branches:

June is also when the monsoon begins its journey from two extremities of the country.
One branch starts its journey northwards from Kerala and the other wing — called the Bay of Bengal branch — enters India from the southeast.

Both branches eventually converge in the north and usually, this merging and strengthening of the monsoon currents over the mainland takes at least until July 15.

The IMD never forecasts the possible rainfall likely during June because of the vagaries involved in onset and the pace of the journey.

This year, two significant things happened. The monsoon set in at a textbook date of June 1.This was even after concerns that Cyclone Amphan that had ravaged West Bengal would delay the monsoon’s entry into India from the Andaman Sea.

The second factor was the record pace at which the monsoon covered the country. Along with the monsoon onset this year, the IMD announced a revision to the onset and withdrawal dates across several cities.According to this, the monsoon covered India’s northern and western borders no later than July 8 as opposed to the previous historical date of July 15.

This year, however, the monsoon broke even this speed limit and covered the country by June 25 — at a pace that was unprecedented since 2013.

Signalling farmers:

The net result of all this: more rainy days in June and a fairly even distribution across the country.
The IMD’s records show that only on four days in that month did daily rainfall drop below its historical normal.
Except for northwest India, which is staring at a 3% deficit, the rainfall in east, south and central India has posted surpluses of 13%-20%.While good rains in June signal farmers to prepare the soil and sow kharif crop, the most important months are July and August.These two months account for two-thirds of the monsoon rain. This is also the time the monsoon goes into so-called ‘break’ conditions.
Breaks:
Prolonged breaks, or an absence of rainfall, can even lead to drought.
In spite of significant improvements in data gathering and technological advancement, meteorological agencies cannot yet reliably forecast the advent of a break or how long it can last.

What is critical is that ‘normal rains’ also obscurethe possibility of heavy rains or severe droughts in districts or over larger areas.

Therefore, short and medium range forecasts need to be strengthened and effectively communicated to the people.

Conclusion:
A steady, well-spread monsoon spells good news for farmers and the economy.So far, India appears to be having a good run with the monsoon.

Comprehensive Current affairs 27 June 2020

FATF describes illegal wildlife trade as a global threat.

In its first global report on the illegal wildlife trade, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has described it as a “global threat”, which also has links with other organised crimes such as modern slavery, drug trafficking and arms trade.

The illegal trade is estimated to generate revenues of up to $23 billion a year. The report says financial investigation is key to dismantling the syndicates involved, which can in turn significantly impact the associated criminal activities.

The findings of the study, which expressed concern over the lack of focus on the financial aspects of the crime, are based on inputs from some 50 jurisdictions across the FATF global network, as well as expertise from the private sector and civil society.

The study has highlighted the growing role of online marketplaces and mobile and social media-based payments to facilitate movement of proceeds warranting a coordinated response from government bodies, the private sector and the civil society.

The FATF found that jurisdictions often did not have the required knowledge, legislative basis and resources to assess and combat the threat posed by the funds generated through the trade.
The report noted that in 2012, India amended the Prevention of Money Laundering Act removing a value threshold — of ₹30 lakh and above — that was earlier applicable to the wildlife trade predicates.
Central government claims to have adopted comprehensive and planned urbanization programmes
Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said that India has undertaken one of the most comprehensive planned urbanization programmes in the history of the world. Mr Puri said this while addressing a webinar to mark the 5th Anniversary of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), Smart Cities Mission and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, AMRUT.
The Minister said, under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana - Urban, over one crore houses have been sanctioned. Out of which 65 lakhs are grounded and 35 lakhs have been built and delivered to beneficiaries across the country. The scheme was launched in 2015 with the objective of providing pucca house to all eligible beneficiaries of Urban India by 2022 with the vision of Housing for All.

The Minister said, the mission AMRUT aims at ensuring universal coverage of drinking water supply and substantial improvement in coverage and treatment capacities of sewerage. The Mission spans across 500 cities, covering more than 60 per cent of urban population.

Vini Mahajan becomes the first Woman Chief Secretary of Punjab.

Senior IAS officer Vini Mahajan assumed charge as Punjab’s first woman chief secretary on 26 June 2020. She replaced Karan Avtar Singh. She has become the first Woman Chief Secretary of Punjab.

Vini Mahajan:

Vini Mahajan is a 1987-batch IAS officer. Mahajan is the wife of the state’s director-general of police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta. Vini Mahajan will hold the additional charge of principal secretary, personnel, and vigilance.

Mahajan is an Economics graduate from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University. She did her post-graduation from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.

OBC sub-categorization commission gets six-month extension.

The Union Cabinet has approved a six-month extension to the commission appointed to examine sub-categorisation of Other Backward classes.

About the News:

·         The commission had been appointed in October 2017 with the initial deadline of 12 weeks.
It has received several extensions since then.The commission will now extended till January 31, 2021 to submit its report.

·         The work of the commission was ongoing and has been extended since it is affected by the
COVID-19 pandemic.

·         The commission was looking into the issues of communities that were not getting the benefits of reservation. For instance, certain castes were left out of the ambit because of a difference in spelling in a State and such ‘anomalies’ would be addressed by the commission 

·       The commission has come to the view that it would require some more time to submit its report since the repetitions, ambiguities, inconsistencies and errors of spelling or transcription etc. appearing in the existing Central List of OBCs need to be cleared.
Panel for Sub-categorization of OBCs:

·        The panel under retired Delhi High Court Chief Justice G. Rohini was constituted in October 2017 and was supposed to file its report within three months.

·        It is mandated to divide 5,000-odd castes in the central OBC list into sub-categories for more equitable distribution of opportunities in central government jobs and educational
institutions.

· The commission has been established under Article 340 of Constitution under which Mandal commission had recommended 27% reservation for socially and educationally
backward classes, was appointed.

What does Article 340 says?

ü  Article 340: Appointment of a Commission to investigate the conditions of backward classes.

ü  340. (1) The President may by order appoint a Commission consisting of such persons as he thinks fit to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward
classes within the territory of India and the difficulties under which they labour and to make recommendations as to the steps that should be taken by the Union or any State to remove such difficulties and to improve their condition and as to the grants that
should be made for the purpose by the Union or any State and the conditions subject to which such grants should be made, and the order appointing such Commission shall define the procedure to be followed by the Commission.

ü  340. (2) A Commission so appointed shall investigate the matters referred to them and present to the President a report setting out the facts as found by them and making such recommendations as they think proper.

ü  340. (3) The President shall cause a copy of the report so presented together with a memorandum explaining the action taken thereon to be laid before each House of Parliament.

About Mandal Commission:

·         In exercise of the powers conferred by Article 340 of the Constitution, the President appointed a backward class commission in December 1978 under the chairmanship of B. P. Mandal.

·         The commission was formed to determine the criteria for defining India’s “socially and educationally backward classes” and to recommend steps to be taken for the advancement of those classes.

·          The Mandal Commission concluded that India’s population consisted of approximately 52 percent OBCs, therefore 27% government jobs should be reserved for them.

·          The commission has developed eleven indicators of social, educational, and economic backwardness.

·          Apart from identifying backward classes among Hindus,theCommission has also identified backward classes among non-Hindus (e.g., Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, and
Buddhists.

·          It has generated an all-India other backward classes (OBC) list of 3,743 castes and a more underprivileged “depressed backward classes” list of 2,108 castes.
Indra Sawhney Vs Union of India:

·          In the famous Mandal case (Indra Sawhney v. Union of India 1992), the scope and extent of Article 16(4), which provides for reservation of jobs in favour of backward classes, has
been examined thoroughly by the Supreme Court.

·          Though the Court has rejected the additional reservation of 10% for poorer sections of higher castes, it upheld the constitutional validity of 27% reservation for the OBCs with certain conditions, viz,

·    The advanced sections among the OBCs (the creamy layer) should be excluded from the list of beneficiaries of reservation.

·          No reservation in promotions; reservation should be confined to initial appointments only.
Any existing reservation in promotions can continue for five years only (i.e., up to 1997).

·         The total reserved quota should not exceed 50% except in some extraordinary situations.
This rule should be applied every year.

·          The ‘carry forward rule’ in case of unfilled (backlog) vacancies is valid. But it should not violate 50% rule. A permanent statutory body should be established to examine complaints
of over-inclusion and under-inclusion in the list of OBCs.

Way Forward:

·          Reservation is fair, as far as it provides appropriate positive discrimination for the benefit
of the downtrodden and economically backward Sections of the society.

·         But when it tends to harm the society and ensures privileges to some at the cost of others for narrow political ends, it should be done away with, as soon as possible.\

·          The communities excluded from reservations harbour animosity and prejudice against the castes included in the reservation category.

·          When more people aspire for backwardness rather than of forwardness, the country itself stagnates. Meritocracy should not be polluted by injecting relaxation of entry barriers,
rather than it should be encouraged by offering financial aid to the underprivileged.

·          A strong political will is indispensable to find an equilibrium between justice to the backwards, equity for the forwards and efficiency for the Entire System.

NASA headquarters to be renamed as Mary W. Jackson, one of its Hidden Figures.

The US Space Agency, NASA has announced that its headquarters in Washington, D.C., will be named after Mary W. Jackson, one of its history-making engineers. The information was passed by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

Mary W. Jackson:

In 1942, Mary W. Jackson graduated with bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and physical science from Hampton University, which is a historically Black university. She was a mathematician & aerospace engineer. She started the NASA career in the segregated West Area Computing Unit of the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. In the year 1951, she was recruited by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which was succeeded in 1958 by NASA, where she worked until her retirement in 1985.

She worked along with Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan, two other history-making Black mathematicians, during the space race. The women’s stories were described in Margot Lee Shetterly’s 2016 nonfiction book “Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race.” The movie was adapted into a motion picture titled “Hidden Figures”. It was nominated for three Academy Awards.

India to reiterate cultural linkages with Nepal.

India on Thursday reiterated cultural links with Nepal in response to the upcoming amendments to the Citizenship Act of Nepal which is likely to affect a large number of families that have cross-border kinship with India.

The reiteration of ‘linkages’ came days after the ruling Nepal Communist Party decided to support amendments to the citizenship rules that will require foreign-born women marrying Nepalese men to spend at least seven years before getting citizenship.

The decision of the NCP’s secretariat to go ahead with the amendments drew prompt opposition from the Nepali Congress and the leaders from its plain areas which have extensive cross border kinship with Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. India has in the past described the relation as roti-beti (bread and bride).

India has, however, maintained silence about the difficulties the amendments will cause for families with cross-border ties.

Janata Samajvadi Party, largest political outfit of Nepal led by the Madhesis, have been protesting against the amendments which had been pending for years but received the NCP’s support soon after the passing of the Second Constitutional Amendment during which all political parties voted displaying unity over the emotive issue of the new map that claimed Pithoragarh.

North and South Koreas mark 70th year of war.

North and South Korea on Thursday separately marked the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War, a conflict that killed millions of people and has technically yet to end.

Communist North Korea invaded the U.S.-backed South on June 25, 1950, as it sought to reunify by force the peninsula Moscow and Washington had divided at the end of the Second World War.

The fighting ended with an armistice that was never replaced by a peace treaty.In the South, the remains of nearly 150 soldiers repatriated from Hawaii after being excavated in the North were to be formally received at a government ceremony on Thursday evening.

DST launches Logo for the celebration of Golden Jubilee Commemoration Year.

Secretary Department of Science and Technology (DST) Prof Ashutosh Sharma launched the official Logo for the Golden Jubilee Commemoration Year celebration. DST under the Ministry of Science & Technology has announced many activities like special lecture series of 15-20

lectures in the form of webinars and short feature films on each Autonomous Institutions for the year.

Highlights

·         DST has been directed to use AI to the newly launched 50 Year logo by representing it on banners in conferences held in the institutes.

·         The institutions will co-brand the lecture series with the DST logo to create greater awareness about 50 years of existence of DST.

·          Institutes with facilities like museums will make a digital walkthrough or virtual tour that gives a realistic version of the work.

·          DST will hold lecture series, bringing out publications, documentaries, updating Wikipedia pages of Survey of India, and Autonomous Institutions under DST and events by DST autonomous organizations in India.

DST:
Department of Science & Technology was established on 3 May 1971. DST functions under the Ministry of Science and Technology in India. DST observes Golden Jubilee Commemoration Year during the period 3rd May 2020 to 2nd May 2021 with activities. The organization aims to promote new areas of Science & Technology. It is the nodal department to organize, coordinate, and promote Scientific and Technological activities in India. DST also provides funds to various approved scientific projects in India. It supports researchers in India to attend conferences abroad and to go for experimental works.

CSE report finds rise in Ozone pollution.

While particulate matter and nitrous oxide levels fell during the lockdown, ozone — also a harmful pollutant — increased in several cities, according to an analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

Ozone is primarily a “sunny weather problem” in India, said CSE researchers, that otherwise remains highly variable during the year. It is a highly reactive gas; even short-term exposure of an hour is dangerous for those with respiratory conditions and asthma and that’s why an eight-hour average is considered for ozone instead of the 24-hour average for other pollutants.
Ozone is not directly emitted by any source but is formed by photochemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and gases in the air under the influence of sunlight and heat. It can be curtailed only if gases from all sources are controlled 

Indian President promulgates Banking Regulation Amendment Ordinance 2020 to ensure safety.

Ram Nath Kovind promulgated the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020. It is in pursuance with the commitment to ensure the safety of depositors across banks. The Ordinance will amend the Banking Regulation Act 1949 as applicable to Cooperative Banks.

Highlights:

·    The Ordinance will seek to protect the interests of depositors and strengthen cooperative banks by improving governance and oversight.

·       The ordinance will extend powers that are already available with RBI in respect of other banks to Co-operative Banks and for sound banking regulation, and by ensuring professionalism and enabling their access to capital.

·          The amendments do not affect existing powers of the State Registrars of Co-operative Societies under state co-operative laws.

·    The amendments do not apply to Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) or co-operative societies whose primary object and principal business is long-term finance for agricultural development, and which do not use the word “bank” or “banker” or “banking” and do not act as drawees of cheques.

·     The Ordinance will amend Section 45 of the Banking Regulation Act, to enable the making of a scheme of reconstruction or amalgamation of a banking company for protecting the interest of the public, depositors, and the banking system.

·          The ordinance will also secure its proper management, even without making an order of moratorium, so as to avoid disruption of the financial system.

RBI asks banks and other digital lending platforms to disclose full information to customers.

To make digital lending more transparent, the Reserve Bank of India has directed banks, Non Banking Financial Corporations and digital lending platforms to disclose full information upfront on their websites to customers.

The direction comes against the backdrop of several complaints relating to exorbitant interest rates and harsh recovery measures, among others, against lending platforms.

The RBI said that immediately after sanction of loan, a letter must be issued to the borrower on the letter head of the bank/ NBFC concerned. It also said that a copy of the loan agreement along with a copy each of all enclosures quoted in the loan agreement shall be furnished to all borrowers at the time of sanction/ disbursement of loans.

It also asked the banks and NBFCs to create awareness about the grievance redressal mechanism.

Stating that digital delivery in credit intermediation is a welcome development, the RBI said that concerns emanate from non-transparency of transactions and violation of the guidelines on outsourcing of financial services and Fair Practices Code of banks and NBFCs.

Besides, it added that the banks and NBFCs must also meticulously follow regulatory instructions on outsourcing of financial services and IT services. The RBI also said any violation by banks and NBFCs will be viewed seriously.

SEBI eases preferential pricing norms for companies.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has relaxed the preferential allotment pricing norms for companies while tightening the insider trading regulations as part of its attempts to minimise instances of unpublished, price-sensitive information getting leaked.
The board of the capital markets regulator, which met here on Thursday, also amended the settlement proceeding norms to enable a faster disposal of cases while tweaking the Takeover Regulations as well.

Companies with frequently traded shares can take into account the average of the weekly high and low over the past 12 weeks or two weeks, whichever is higher, and price the preferential allotment above that mark.

Meanwhile, the regulator has also amended the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations making it mandatory for companies to maintain a structured, digital database containing the nature of unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI) and the names of persons who have shared the information.