Daily Current Affairs 16 January 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) ‘Saksham’ annual one-month long, people-centric fuel conservation mega campaign

• ‘Saksham’, an annual one-month long, people-centric fuel conservation mega campaign of Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) under the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is going to be launched on 16th January by Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel Shri Dharmendra Pradhan in a function to be held in Delhi.
• PCRA and Oil & Gas companies shall carry out various interactive programs during this month-long campaign.  Activities like ‘Saksham’ Cycle Day, Cyclothons, Workshops for drivers of commercial vehicles, Seminars for housewives/cooks on adopting simple fuel-saving measure, Nationwide campaign through Radio, TV, Digital Cinemas, Outdoor, etc. are planned to reach the nook and corner of the country with the message of fuel conservation, Greener Environment, and Better Health.
• PCRA has been creating awareness amongst the general public about the need for fuel conservation and adopting tips for saving the fuel. PCRA has prepared a comic book jointly with NCERT on the theme ‘Fuel Conservation’ aimed at the younger generation especially the school children and is available on E-Pathshala on the NCERT website.

About PCRA

• Petroleum Conservation and Research Association (PCRA) in association with the Institute of Petroleum-Dehradun has developed a high energy efficient PNG burner/Gas stove for a household where piped gas is supplied which will save gas as compared to modified LPG stove for PNG.
• As a part of involvement with the public in the field, and awareness Campaign on 100 busiest intersections of Delhi through CRRI on encouraging switching-off engine at red light behavior was recently carried out by PCRA and the outcome of this campaign was remarkable with encouraging results of approx. 22% reduction in idling fuel losses for petrol fuel “before” and “after” the campaign phase. Similarly, approx. 14%, 12% and 19% reduction in Diesel, CNG, and LPG respectively were observed due to awareness campaigns.

2) Cara Celebrates 5th Annual Day

• Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)celebrated its 5th Annual Day in New Delhi
• Last year, CARA has conducted various training programs and workshops at national and state levels for all the stakeholders of the adoption program.  It has also carried out several advocacy programs through various mediums for creating awareness and sensitization of the general public and reached out to citizens through various inter-active programs like Jan Sampark and through Social Media platforms.  It is giving emphasis to the rehabilitation of older and special needs children in various Child Care Institutions across the country.

About CARA

CARA is an apex body of the Government of India for promoting and facilitating In-country Adoption and is the designated Central Authority for regulating Inter-country adoption.  CARA was designated as a Statutory Body on 15 Jan 2016, under the provisions of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. 

3) The 6th National Standards Conclave

The 6th National Standards Conclave is being held in Delhi on 15-16 January 2020 and is organized by Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Export Inspection Council of India (EIC), National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) and the Centre for Research on International Trade.

No imports will be allowed without HSN code

• No imports will be allowed without HSN code into the country said the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Railways, Piyush Goyal
• The government will support the industry in every way to establish standards for Indian goods and services to meet international requirements so that brand India is recognized in the world as a provider of quality products and services.
• The Government is committed to establishing standards of Indian products and services to world-class levels which will enable our exports to be accepted globally due to the quality of goods and services

 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) 

• The Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) entered into with other countries has not led to the growth of India’s trade and business because of the poor quality of the products and services that get restricted with non-tariff barriers when exported.
• The number of Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) in countries like the US (8000), Brazil (3879), China (2872) and India with only 439 TBTs. 

Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act

• Commerce and Industry Minister informed that the new Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) Act is relooking at all standards for goods and services to balance the interest of consumers with that of the industry which will enable the culture of quality to take root in the country and production or import of substandard products and services will not be tolerated any longer.
• Commerce and Industry Minister urged BIS, FSSAI and other departments of the Government, that are mandated to set up and establish standards, to work in mission mode so that goods and services produced and imported in India meet international quality requirements. This will help India to engage with the world on equal and reciprocal terms.

Taal volcano

4) Taal volcano

• It is a volcano on the island of Luzon in the Philippines.
• It erupted recently.
• It is classified as a “complex” volcano. A complex volcano, also called a compound volcano, is defined as one that consists of a complex of two or more vents, or a volcano that has an associated volcanic dome, either in its crater or on its flanks.

5) Juice jacking

• SBI has publicly issued a warning of ‘Juice Jacking’ through its twitter handle.
• The bank has advised its customers and the general public to “think twice before plugging-in their phone at (pubic) charging stations, as hackers can maliciously infect their smartphone with malware.”

About Juice Jacking

It is an attack carried out by hackers through a USB charging cable.

Functioning of malware

• When a user plugs in the charging cable in his mobile’s charging port and connects it to any of the rigged charging stations installed at public spaces such as airports, train stations, hotels, cafes, etc – it gives a back-door entry to hackers into the compromised device.
• The charging port which is also used for data transfer over the USB is pointed as the main cause of concern over here.

Threats:

Installing malware, cleaning user data, asking ransom in exchange for access to personal data on the phone, personal and financial account hijacking are just some of the many nefarious things that a hacker can do with this unrestricted access.

Steps to Mitigate the Risks

To guard your phone against Juice Jacking, take these precautionary measures:

• Avoid using public charging stations. These are soft targets for hackers as they are often kept unguarded and without any surveillance.
• Always use your own AC charging adapter and cable for charging the device. And be sure to plug it into the AC wall socket, and not the USB socket on the wall.
• Stay guarded against a stranger’s device and laptop. Do not connect with an unknown person’s laptop or PC for charging your electronic devices and vice-versa.
• For emergency situations, buy and carry a certified power bank with enough capacity to take care of your device’s emergency power backup needs.
• Try to use a cable that can be used only as a charging cable and not a data cable.
• Frequent travelers should use a USB blocker.

6) Retail inflation: Retail inflation at a 5-year high of 7.3% in December

• Retail inflation ascended to a five and a half year high of 7.35% 
• Released by the National Statistical Office 
• Retail inflation was only 2.11% in last year 

National Statistical Commission

• The new NSO as an agency was envisaged firstly by Rangarajan Commission to implement and maintain statistical standards and coordinate statistical activities of Central and State agencies as laid down by the National Statistical Commission (NSC).
• This commission had also recommended setting up of the NSC, headed by a person with a Minister of State-level designation, to serve as a nodal and empowered body for all core statistical activities of the country.
• According to a recent order, NSO will be formed with the merger of NSSO and CSO under MoSPI.
• This recent restructuring seems to be a reaction to the resignations tendered by the member and acting Chairman of the NSC earlier this year

What Is the Consumer Price Index (CPI)?

• The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure that examines the weighted average of prices of a basket of consumer goods and services, such as transportation, food, and medical care. It is calculated by taking price changes for each item in the predetermined basket of goods and averaging them.
• Changes in the CPI are used to assess price changes associated with the cost of living; 
• The CPI is one of the most frequently used statistics for identifying periods of inflation or deflation.

7) Middle Income Trap

• GDP growth for FY20 is likely to come in at 5%, an 11-year low. Nominal GDP growth will likely be at more than a four-decade low.
• Apart from the debate on whether the slowdown is cyclical or structural, there is also concern among the economists about the dangers of Middle-Income trap in medium to long term

What is the Middle-Income trap?

• In 2006, economists Indermit Gill and Homi Kharas at the World Bank coined the term “middle-income trap” while working on growth strategies for East Asian economies. 
• Simply put, low-income countries with cheap labor and access to ready-made technology grow fast and start becoming wealthier. 
• However, as they reach middle-income status, they tend to slow down as they lose some of their advantages. They fail to converge with wealthier nations and do not get beyond middle-income status. 
• It is a status of low productivity and entrenched inequality.
• Mexico and Brazil are classic examples of such countries. 
• A few, such as South Korea, have escaped the trap. China is at the cusp.

On what basis are countries usually categorized?

World Bank has used the 2018 data of gross national income (GNI) per capita to categorize countries into the following four categories

• Low income: Countries with GNI per capita is up to $1,025 
• Lower middle-income: Those with GNI per capita from $1,026 to $3,995. Ex: India – it's per capita income in 2018 was $2,020, at the halfway point for the lower-middle-income category.
• Upper middle-income: Countries with GNI Per capita between $3,995 and $12,375 are upper-middle-income Ex: Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, China 
• High income: Per capita income above $12,375 makes a country high income. Ex: US, Germany, Japan, Korea.
• The way the World Bank’s income classification system works is that as economies grow, the thresholds for these four categories also change. The threshold for the low-income category in 1988 was only $545.

Overall, the lower and upper-middle-income thresholds have increased at 2% per year over the last three decades. Over this period, India’s per capita income grew at an annual rate of about 5.6%. 

Cause of Concern for India

• If we assume that World Bank thresholds and India’s income per capita grow at the same pace as they have in the past 30 years, it will take India until 2038 to reach the lower end of the upper-middle-income threshold. 
• Likewise, statistics reveal that even in 2050, India would be well below Brazil and South Africa.
• India’s growth since the 1990s was on the back of consumption by the top 100 million Indians. The inequality has widened since then and therefore, the future growth has to come from bottom sections of the societal pyramid
• For this to happen there has to be adequate demand from these sections of society & thus adequate jobs and rising incomes

Way Ahead

• Thus there has to be a comprehensive agenda of policy and institutional change to create dynamic capitalism, else there is a risk of a Latin Americanization of India’s path 
• This involves changes in education, healthcare, skilling, agricultural, judicial and regulatory reforms.

Connecting the dots

• Impact on slowdown on India’s diplomatic might.
• Doubling of Farmers Income and Make in India initiative
• Political and Constitutional federal structures which enable comprehensive changes