Saturday, July 11, 2020

Comprehensive Current affairs 11 July 2020

CPCB to strengthen monitoring system in Ganga and its tributaries.

Government has directed the Central Pollution Control Board to strengthen the monitoring system in Ganga and it’s major tributaries.It also asked the Board to carry out inspection of Grossly Polluting Industries on regular basis.

The directions were given in an inter-ministerial meeting which was held in the presence of Environment Minister and Minister of Jal Shakti in New Delhi today.

Close monitoring of water quality in coordination with National Mission on Clean Ganga was also emphasised and it was agreed upon that suitable mechanism will be developed.

Indian Ministry of culture to reprint 108 volumes of Mongolian Kanjur.

The Ministry of Culture has taken up the project of reprinting of 108 volumes of Mongolian Kanjur under the National Mission for Manus, NMM.

The first set of five volumes of Mongolian Kanjur published under the NMM was presented to the President Ram NathKovind on the occasion of Guru Purnima, also known as Dharma Chakra Day, on 4th July.

The National Mission for Manus was launched in February 2003 by the Government of India with the mandate of documenting, conserving and disseminating the knowledge preserved in the manus.

One of the objectives of the mission is to publish rare and unpublished manus so that the knowledge enshrined in them is spread to researchers, scholars and general public at large.

India-EU summit to be held on 15 July through video conference.

The Fifteenth summit between India and the European Union (EU) will be held via video conference on 15 July 2020. The summit is aimed to deliver concrete benefits for the people in the EU and India.

Highlights:

·         The summit will provide a platform to strengthen the EU-India strategic partnership based on shared principles and values of democracy, freedom, and rule of law.

·         Indian P M Modi is expected to hold extensive talks with the President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on a range of issues in the summit.

·          The leaders will reaffirm to promote effective multilateralism and a rules-based multilateral order, with the United Nations (UN) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at its core.

·          The summit is aimed to deliver concrete benefits for the people in the EU and India.

·          The leaders will discuss ways to boost cooperation in areas of security, climate, environment, trade, and investment, digital economy, and connectivity.


Australia suspends extradition treaty with Hongkong.

Australia said on Thursday it was suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong in response to a new security law imposed there and announced measures to attract businesses from the Asian financial hub, provoking an angry response from Beijing.

PM Scott Morrison said Hong Kong students, graduates and workers in Australia on temporary visas will have the opportunity to stay and work for an extra five years and apply for permanent residency after that time.

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Mr. Morrison’s government should stop interfering in Chinese affairs, warning that China, the biggest customer for Australian exports, reserved the right to take retaliatory action.


India-UAE gives permission for airlines to transport authorized people.

Civil Aviation Ministry today said, India and the UAE have allowed their airlines to carry people authorised to travel between the two countries.

According to the arrangement, charter flights operated by UAE carriers to bring Indian citizens from UAE will be allowed to carry ICA approved UAE residents on their return leg.
Indian carriers operating repatriation flights to bring Indian citizens from UAE to India will be allowed to carry the ICA approved UAE residents on the outward journey from India to UAE.
On the India to UAE journey, these flights will carry only those passengers who are destined for the UAE.ICA is UAE's Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship.The Civil Aviation authorities of both the countries have agreed to operationalise the arrangement from 12th July.


India observed Fish Farmers Day 2020.

India celebrates 10th July every year as the "National Fish Farmers Day" to honor the fish farmers, aquapreneurs& fisher folks in recognition of their accomplishments in the field and their contribution in the growth of the fisheries sector in the country. This year it was 63rd National Fish Farmer's Day.

On July 10th, the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying in association with the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) hosted a webinar on the occasion of National Fish Farmers Day.

Background History:

Every year, on 10 July, the National Fish Farmer's Day is celebrated in memory of scientists Dr. K. H. Alikunhi and Dr. H.L. Chaudhury who successfully demonstrated induced breeding (Hypophysation) technology in Indian Major Carps on 10 July 1957 at the former CIFRI Pond Culture Division in Cuttack, Odisha. (presently Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, CIFA, Bhubaneswar). The event aims to draw attention to changing the way the country manages fisheries resources to ensure sustainable stocks and healthy ecosystems.

The event is celebrated every year by congratulating outstanding farmers, aquapreneurs, and farmers in appreciation of their accomplishments in the field and their contribution to the development of the country's fisheries sector. Apart from officials, scientists, professionals, entrepreneurs, and stakeholders, fishermen, and fish farmers from across the nation will participate in the event.

About NFBD Webinar:

On  July 10th the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying in association with the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) hosted a webinar on the occasion of National Fish Farmers Day. Shri Giriraj Singh, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri P. C. Sarangi, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Dr. Rajeev Ranjan, Secretary, Department of Fisheries, Government of India and senior officials from the Department of Fisheries graced the occasion.

Interacting with fishermen, officials, scientists, entrepreneurs at various locations across the country, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, observed that to consolidate the achievements of the Blue Revolution and pave the way from NeeliKranti to ArthKranti, under the leadership of Prime Minister PM Modi The "Pradhan MantriMatsyaSampadaYojana" (PMMSY) has been launched with the highest investment ever of Rs. 20,050 crore over the next five years in order to realize its goal of doubling the farmer 's income. This scheme would tackle critical gaps in fish production and sustainability, efficiency, technology, post-harvest infrastructure and management, improving and enhancing the value chain, traceability, creating a comprehensive system for fisheries management and welfare for fishermen.
Fisheries Minister said that providing ‘Quality Seed’ of fish is very important in enhancing production and productivity in the country.  On the occasion of 'National Fish Farmers Day,' he announced that the NFDB, in collaboration with the NBFGR, will undertake the work of developing 'Fish Cryobanks' in various parts of the world, which will promote the availability of 'fish sperms' of desired species to fishermen at all times. This will be the first time in the world when "Fish Cryobank" will be created, which can bring a revolutionary change in the country's fisheries sector to boost fish production and productivity, thereby enhancing prosperity among the fishermen.


The Tiger Census of India sets a New Guinness Record.

The fourth cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation 2018, results of which were declared to the nation on Global Tiger Day last year by Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has entered the Guinness World Record for being the world’s largest camera trap wildlife survey. 

world’s largest camera trap wildlife survey Terming this achievement a great moment, Indian Environment Minister, in a tweet message said that this is a shining example of Atma nirbhar Bharat which in the Prime Minister’s own words, was attained through Sankalp se siddhi. 

The Environment Minister also said India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, has fulfilled its commitment to double the number of tigers four years before the deadline. The country now has an estimated 2967 tigers according to the most recent census. With this number, India is home to nearly 75 per cent of the global tiger population and has already fulfilled its determination to double tiger numbers, made in St. Petersburg in 2010, well before the 2022 target year. 

The citation at the Guinness World Record website reads- “The fourth iteration of the survey – conducted in 2018-19 - was the most comprehensive to date, in terms of both resource and data amassed. Camera traps (outdoor photographic devices fitted with motion sensors that start recording when an animal passes by) were placed in 26,838 locations across 141 different sites and surveyed an effective area of 121,337 square kilometres (46,848 square miles). In total, the camera traps captured 34,858,623 photographs of wildlife (76,651 of which were tigers and 51,777 were leopards; the remainder were other native fauna). From these photographs, 2,461 individual tigers (excluding cubs) were identified using stripe-pattern-recognition software.

About Project Tiger

As well as unprecedented camera trap usage, the 2018 “Status of Tigers in India” assessment also conducted extensive foot surveys that covered 522,996 km (324,975 mi) of trails and sampled 317,958 habitat plots for vegetation and prey dung. It’s estimated that the total area of forest studied was 381,200 km2 (147,181 sq mi) and cumulatively the collection and review of data equated to some 620,795 labour-days.”

The quadrennial All India Tiger Estimate is managed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority with technical backstop from India 's Wildlife Institute and implemented by departments and partners from State Forest. The latest 2018 findings showed that India now has an estimated

2967 tigers out of which photographed 2461 individual tigers, a whopping 83 percent of the tiger population, reflecting the detailed nature of the survey.

There is hardly any equivalent of such a based species-oriented program as Project Tiger in the world, which began with 9 Tiger Reserves, currently with 50 tiger reserves. India has now firmly established a leading role in the conservation of tigers, with its benchmarking practices viewed as a gold standard worldwide.

Indian space agency is going to launch Brazilian satellite next month.

The first earth observation satellite to be entirely developed by Brazil will be launch by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).The satellite is known by the name ‘Amazonia-1’.
On 25th January 2004, an agreement was signed for cooperation in the field of outer space between India and Brazil. As a part of the framework agreement ISRO will be launching a micro-satellite of the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB). This microsatellite will be for atmospheric studies as per the agreement.

Operations of Amazonia-1 will be joint with the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite Program (CBERS).  Under the CBERS program between China and Brazil, 6 satellites have been launched to date (The first satellite CBERS-1 was launched back in October 1999).

India's GDP to contract by 3 percent in FY21 says BofA.

BofA Securities, a foreign brokerage, stated that India's GDP will contract by 3% in FY21 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, assuming the economy is opened up fully from next. The Indian GDP will contract this fiscal, with some estimates ranging up to 7% negative growth.

Highlights:

·    It also stated that RBI will monetize the fiscal deficit through the purchase of government bonds of up to $95 billion through open market operations (OMO), and its revaluation reserves of $127 billion will be used to recapitalize state-run banks.

·    BofA Securities has an estimated 3% contraction with the assumption of the economy opening up fully from mid-August. It is expected that this might rise up to 5% if the COVID-19 crisis prolongs.

·      It should be noted that India's GDP growth decelerated to 4.2% in 2019-20, the weakest in over a decade. The growth potential is over 7%.

·       Repo rate points cut down by 135 points amid covid Crysis.

·     From February 2019 till COVID-19 began, the Reserve Bank of India ( RBI) has cut the repo rate by 135 basis points. That was shared by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das while delivering his keynote address on July 11, 2020 at the 7th SBI Banking & Economics Conclave.

Covid - 19's Adverse Effect on REPO Points

The RBI Governor said repo rate has been cut overall since February 2019 by 250 basis points to alleviate liquidity stress and provide financial stability in the economy. The main aim behind the move was to tackle the economic growth slowdown. Das stated that during the Monetary Policy

Committee (MPC) meeting, they had extensively touched on economic growth issues. The MPC has agreed to slash the policy repo rate by 115 base points cumulatively.

Worst Health & Economic Crisis in 100 years Says RBI Governor

The RBI Governor claimed that this is the worst health and economic crisis of the last 100 years with unparalleled negative impacts on employment, production, and well-being. Das said the  existing world order, global value chains, labor, and capital movements across the globe have been dented.
RBI Governor further claimed that the coronavirus pandemic has represented our economic and financial system 's largest test of resilience and robustness. The new RBI initiatives seek to accelerate a cyclical turnaround in economic activity at a time when COVID-19 has struck the world along with other calamities, causing poverty and endangering thousands of people's lives and livelihoods. According to Shaktikanta Das, COVID may result in higher non-performing assets (NPAs) and capital erosion of banks.

Indian Consumer affairs ministry makes country of origin rag mandatory for e-commerce portals.

·         Amid the clamour to ban China-made goods, the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs has sent out a reminder to all e-commerce portals to ensure that the “country of origin” of the products being sold by them should be mentioned as part of mandatory declarations.

·         The Ministry’s reminder to e-commerce portals is part of a concerted effort by the government to have ‘country of origin’ declarations on these websites. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on Wednesday held a second meeting on the matter after the initial consultation two weeks ago, attended by close to 30 e-commerce players.

·         These rules make it mandatory for all manufacturers to declare the package name and address of the manufacturer, common and generic name of commodity, net quantity, month and year of manufacturing, MRP and consumer care details.




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