Daily Current Affairs 26 February 2020 | UPSC 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

Daily Current Affairs 26 February 2020 | UPSC 2020 Daily News Teller


    1) Hampi

    • The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is about to install a wooden barricade around the stone chariot inside the Vittala Temple complex at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hampi to protect it from damage.
    • The Vittala Temple is among the most-visited and the most photographed protected monuments at Hampi.

    Hampi 

    • Hampi is the 14th century capital of the Vijayanagar Empire, located in the Tungabhadra basin in Bellary District, Central Karnataka.
    • Vittal Temple Complex is the finest example of Vijaynagar Temple Architecture.
      • A large number of royal buildings were raised by Krishnadeva Raya (A.D. 1509-30) and Vittal Temple Complex is one of them.
    • Temples of Hampi are noted for their large dimensions, florid ornamentation, bold and delicate carvings and stately pillars which include subjects from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.
    • The majority of these temples in Hampi were provided with widespread bazaars flanked on either side by storied Mandapas.
    • The Mahanavami Dibba, a variety of ponds and tanks, and the row of pillared Mandapas are some of the important architectural remains of Hampi.
    • In 1986, Hampi was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO.

    Vijaynagar Empire

    • Vijayanagara or “city of victory” was the name of both a city and an empire.
    • The empire was founded in the fourteenth century (1336 AD) by Harihara and Bukka of the Sangama dynasty. They made Hampi as the capital city.
    • It stretched from the river Krishna in the north to the extreme south of the peninsula.
    • Vijayanagar Empire was ruled by four important dynasties and they are:
      • Sangama
      • Saluva
      • Tuluva
      • Aravidu
    • Krishnadevaraya (ruled 1509-29) of the Tuluva dynasty was the most famous ruler of Vijayanagar.
    • He is credited with building some fine temples and adding impressive gopurams to many important south Indian temples.
    • He composed a work on statecraft in Telugu known as the Amuktamalyada.
    Source: The Hindu

    2)  Mizoram asks Centre to review border with Assam

    The Mizoram Government has been making efforts to resolve the long-pending boundary dispute with Assam and has asked the Centre to review the inter-State border.

    Background:

    • The border dispute between Mizoram and Assam is a long-pending issue that remains unresolved to date.
    • The border issue has remained relatively calm, except a few instances in 1994, 2007 and 2018 when tensions flared up. But because of timely intervention by the Central Government, a major crisis was averted.
    • Several dialogues held since 1995 to resolve the border dispute have yielded little results.

    Details:

    • The three Mizoram districts of Kolasib, Aizawl, and Mamit share about 123 km long border with south Assam’s Cachar, Hailakandi and Karimganj districts.
    • While Mizoram claimed that a 509 square-mile stretch of the inner-line reserve forest notified in 1875 under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation of 1873 belongs to Mizoram, the Assam side agreed with the constitutional map and boundary drawn by the Survey of India in 1993.
    • The last border stand-off between the two States had taken place at Zophai in March 2018 when members of a student body of Mizoram attempted to construct a wooden resting shed there.
    • The 2018 border dispute was put under control with the intervention of the Centre, which asked both the Mizoram and Assam governments to maintain the status quo on the disputed land till issues are resolved.
    • A joint committee was also constituted by both the state governments under the Union Home Ministry.
    • The committee carried out an inspection of illegal structures in the inner line reserved forest area along the Mizoram-Assam border, which was suspended again following a dispute at zero points in the Dholchera-Phaisen area in April 2018.
    • The Mizoram Cabinet had in July 2019 declared that the inner-line reserve forest area belonged to Mizoram and is the actual boundary of the State.
    The Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) has been constantly demanding the state government to immediately resolve the border dispute.

    Source: The Hindu

    3) Consultative Committee

    The meeting of the Consultative Committee of the Members of Parliament for the Ministry of Steel was held on 24th February 2020.

    KEY POINTS

    Formation

    • These committees are constituted by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
    • These are normally constituted after the new Lok Sabha is constituted.
    • This implies that these committees stand dissolved upon dissolution of every Lok Sabha and thus, are reconstituted upon the constitution of each Lok Sabha.

    Composition

    • The guidelines regarding the composition, functions, and procedures of these committees are formulated by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
    • These consist of members of both the Houses of Parliament.
    • However, the membership of these committees is voluntary and is left to the choice of the members and the leaders of their parties.
    • The maximum membership of a committee is 30 and the minimum is 10.

    Functions

    • These committees are attached to various ministries/departments of the Central Government.
    • The Minister/Minister of State in charge of the Ministry concerned acts as the chairman of the consultative committee of that ministry.
    • These provide a forum for informal discussions between the ministers and the members of Parliament on policies and programs of the government and the manner of their implementation.
    • The Consultative Committees are not Parliamentary Committees. A parliamentary committee:
      • Is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker/Chairman.
      • Works under the direction of the Speaker/Chairman.
      • Presents its report to the House or to the Speaker/Chairman.
      • Has a secretariat provided by the Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha
    Source: PIB

    4) Institutions of Eminence (IoE) Scheme

    A high-level meeting to review the progress of Institutions of Eminence (IoE) Scheme was held recently.
    Launched to empower the Higher Educational Institutions and to help them become world-class teaching and research institutions.

    Objectives:

    • Excellence and Innovation: To provide for higher education leading to excellence and innovations in such branches of knowledge as may be deemed fit at post-graduate, graduate and research degree levels.
    • Specialization: To engage in areas of specialization to make distinctive contributions to the objectives of the university education system.
    • Global Rating: To aim to be rated internationally for its teaching and research as a top hundred Institution in the world over time.
    • Quality teaching and Research: To provide for high-quality teaching and research and for the advancement of knowledge and its dissemination.

    Incentives of the scheme:

    • Institutes with IOE tag will be given greater autonomy and freedom to decide fees, course durations and governance structures.
    • The public institutions under the IOE tag will receive a government grant of ₹1,000 crores, while the private institutions will not get any funding under the scheme.

    Why is it important?

    Academic institutions that can impart the highest quality education, generate cutting edge research, and attract the best and the brightest from across the globe can have multiplier beneficial effects for the country. So the idea of elevating the best in a sector to an eminent status by granting autonomy is a good one. But to maintain credibility, the process and the selection of these institutions should be above reproach.

    Source: PIB

    5) Kalasa-Banduri Nala Project

    The cost of the Kalasa-Banduri Nala project on the Mahadayi basin has risen from about ₹94 crores (2000) to ₹1,677.30 crores (2020) due to the ongoing inter-State river water dispute.

    Mahadayi River

      Daily Current Affairs 26 February 2020 | UPSC 2020 Daily News Teller
    • Mahadayi or Mhadei, the west-flowing river, originates in Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary (Western Ghats), Belagavi district of Karnataka.
    • It is essentially a rain-fed river also called Mandovi in Goa.
    • It is joined by several streams to form the Mandovi which is one of two major rivers (the other one is Zuari river) that flows through Goa.
    • The river travels 35 km in Karnataka; 82 km in Goa before joining the Arabian Sea.

    Kalasa-Banduri Nala Project

    • It is undertaken by the Government of Karnataka to improve drinking water supply to the three districts of Belagavi, Dharwad, and Gadag.
    • It involves building across Kalasa and Banduri, two tributaries of the Mahadayi river to divert water to the Malaprabha river (a tributary of Krishna river).
    • Malaprabha river supplies the drinking water to Dharwad, Belgaum, and Gadag districts.
    • Kalasa-Banduri project was planned in 1989; Goa raised an objection to it.
      • The Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal was set up in 2010. Goa, Karnataka, and Maharashtra are parties to the tribunal.
    Source: The Hindu

    6) Indo-Pacific Strategy of the U.S.

    The U.S. President’s visit to India and the renewed focus on the Indo-Pacific Strategy of the U.S.

    BACKGROUND:

    China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI):

    • Adopted in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is intended to use China’s massive surpluses to build infrastructure in key parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
    • It is intended as a mechanism to end China’s reliance upon the markets of the West and to develop new markets in other continents.
    • According to estimates by Morgan Stanley, by 2027, China will spend about $1.3 trillion on the BRI.
    • The U.S. government has repeatedly expressed its concerns regarding China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
    • BRI has signed on more than 70 countries in the world. Even Saudi Arabia, a close ally of the U.S., has made the BRI one of the cornerstones of its Saudi Vision 2030 plan.
    • The scale of Chinese investment, and the participation of a range of countries with different political identities in the BRI, is astonishing.
    • The U.S. views the BRI as a Chinese attempt to increase its influence in the region.
    • Despite massive U.S. expenditure through the Department of State and the USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and through its U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, it will still not be able to match the amount spent by China. Given the ‘America First’ attitude, there are very fewer chances of more money being funneled towards investments in the region.
    • Since 2017, the United States government has released reports and fact sheets on its new Indo-Pacific strategy.

    CONCERNS:

    Lack of clarity:

    • Despite the increased focus on the Indo-Pacific, there is very little clarity on the U.S. intentions.
    • The U.S. has repeatedly claimed that the Indo-Pacific Strategy is going to promote free, fair, and reciprocal trade despite failing to clarify what exactly the terms ‘free’, ‘fair’, and ‘reciprocal’ actually mean.
    • It appears that the U.S. unable to outspend the Chinese are making rhetorical arguments by claiming more respect for transparency, human rights, and democratic values than China, which accuses of practicing repression at home and abroad.
    • Important documents like the Free and Open Indo-Pacific report of November 2019 released by the U.S. seem plainly rhetorical.

    Targeting China:

    • The Indo-Pacific strategy of the U.S. seems more like the agenda of the U.S. government to use the three large states of Australia, India, and Japan to isolate China.
    • This will create power blocs in the region which can prove to be detrimental to the region’s peace in the long run.

    Military intentions of the U.S.:

    • The U.S. investments will likely come with subsequent military claims.
    • The U.S. has offered Nepal a grant of $500 million under its Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
    • Nepal is currently considering whether it should accept the grant given the possibility that acceptance of the grant money would mean that the Nepali government would have to allow U.S. troops and U.S. bases in the country.
    • Given the fact that in the recent past, Nepal discovered a large amount of uranium in Mustang, near the Nepal-China border, there is considerable U.S. interest in Nepal’s economy. If the U.S. money comes with U.S. military presence, this will create a possible flashpoint in the Himalayas.
    • In May 2018, the U.S. military’s Pacific Command has renamed the Indo-Pacific Command, a symbolic gesture that provides a military aspect to the Indo-Pacific Strategy.
    • The U.S. government, despite its tall claims for a “free and open Indo-Pacific”, what it actually wants is an Indo-Pacific with fewer Chinese ships and more U.S. warships.
    • The increased military presence in the region is not good for the peace and stability of the region.

    Precedents:

    • Given the numerous historical examples of the US’s lack of transparency in trade deals and the U.S. enabled Third World debt crisis in the 1980s, which was then used by the U.S.-driven International Monetary Fund’s Structural Adjustment Programs to strangle countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, there is very little hope for free, fair, and reciprocal trade as claimed by the U.S.
    • Recently, the U.S. government has expressed its lack of interest in multilateral deals. The U.S. withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017. The U.S. has been transactional in its interactions and can change its stance in a changed scenario.

    Disinterest in the idea:

    • As the military aspect of the Indo-Pacific strategy increased, both Australia and Japan edged away from full-scale adoption of the U.S. project.
    • Japan has begun to use the term “Indo-Pacific” without the word “Strategy”.
    • Australia has signed onto a “comprehensive strategic partnership” with China.
    • At the moment apart from the U.S., only India remains loyal to the agenda set by the U.S.

    Independence in Foreign policy:

    • Given the historical importance given by India to independent foreign policymaking, the aligning to the U.S.’s Indo-Pacific strategy poses a threat to this cherished ideal of India.
    • It is possible that by aligning to the U.S.’s Indo-Pacific strategy, India may remain a subordinate ally of the U.S. and may miss an opportunity to be part of a reshaped Asia.

    Way forward:

    • India should study the U.S. project thoroughly before becoming a part of it. It should consider both the short term and long term benefits of the proposed Indo-Pacific strategy. Long term national interest should be paramount in the considerations.
    Source: The Hindu

    7) SPICe+ Web Form

    Recently, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has launched the Simplified Proforma for Incorporating Company Electronically Plus (SPICe+) web form.                    
    • The SPICe+ form will replace the existing SPICe form.
      • SPICe was launched in 2016 and is a single form for multiple services for the incorporation of a company.
    • SPICe+ would offer 10 services by 3 central government ministries & departments (Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Labour & Ministry of Finance) and one State Government (Maharashtra).
    • SPICe+ has two parts:
      • Part A for name reservation for new companies and
      • Part B offering a bunch of services including incorporation, Director Identification Number (DIN) allotment, mandatory issue of Permanent Account Number (PAN), besides allotment of Goods and Service Tax Identification Number - GSTIN (if applied for).
    • The new web form will help save many procedures, time and cost for starting a business in India.
      • India has improved its ranking to the 63rd spot on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) survey, 2019 out of 190 countries. However, the report had cited India was lagging behind in certain parameters such as starting a business.
      • The latest step in an effort towards achieving the government’s target of reaching the 50th spot.
    Source: PIB

    8) Banks’ profitability remains fragile

    The profitability of the Indian banking sector remains fragile, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said, despite the sector turning around on the back of improvement in asset quality, with enhanced resolutions through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

    Issues:

    The banks continue to face challenges like the present crisis in the telecom sector.
    • The capital position of banks has improved on account of the recapitalization of public sector banks by the government and capital raising efforts by private sector banks.
    • The RBI Governor suggested that sector-specific pockets of stress needed policy attention.
    • On the issue of resolution of asset quality, the RBI Governor expects to have an integrated framework for resolution of financial firms operating in India, shortly.
    • On consolidation in public sector banks, he said a properly worked out consolidation of PSBs can generate synergies in the allocation of workforce and branches.
    • He highlighted that the focus has to be on ushering in significant improvements in the efficiency and rationalization of scarce capital to meet the capital adequacy requirements.
    • As far as regulation of banks is concerned, he said the RBI was focussing on a sharper and more forward-looking off-site surveillance framework, apart from on-site supervision.
    • On non-banking finance companies, he said recognizing the systemic importance of such entities and their inter-linkages with the financial system, the RBI had taken steps and the asset-liability management (ALM) position and other aspects of top 50 NBFCs were being closely monitored, covering all NBFCs with asset size above Rs. 5,000 crores.
    • The ALM of top 51-100 NBFCs is also being examined by the respective regional offices of the Reserve Bank, he added.
    • He reiterated that the RBI would also issue draft guidelines on corporate governance in banks.
    Source: The Hindu

     9) 1st Khelo India Winter Games in Leh, Ladakh

    • The Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports (I/c), Shri Kiren Rijiju has inaugurated the first-ever Khelo India Winter Games in the Union Territory of Ladakh at Leh, Ladakh, Jammu, and Kashmir today. The event, which is first of its kind in India, is being organized to promote winter sports in India and to popularise these games among the youth of the country.
    • The second leg of the Khelo India Winter Games will be held at Kongdori, Gulmarg from 7th till 11th March and will have participants competing in Alpine Skiing, Cross Country Skiing, Snow Boarding, and Snow Shoeing events.
    • A total of three winter sporting competitions are being held during the Ladakh leg of Khelo India Winter Games, these are – Open Ice Hockey Championship, Figure Skating, Speed Skating. These events will have over 1700 athletes from Leh and Kargil participating during the competition which would be held at Block, District and UT levels during these games.
    Source: PIB

    10) North East Sustainable Development Goals Conclave 2020

    • The North East Sustainable Development Goals Conclave 2020 is currently underway in Guwahati. On Day 2 of the Conclave, four technical sessions were held which saw active participation from senior officials of the governments of all 8 North-Eastern states as well as the central government, academia, civil society organizations, think tanks and financial institutions.
    • The first session on SDGs in the North Eastern Region: Pathways for Localisation and Achievement was chaired by Dr. Inderjit Singh, Secretary Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Govt of Assam. Chief Secretaries, Additional Chief Secretaries, and other senior officials from the state governments of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura were panelists at the session. Against the backdrop of the existing reality of SDG localization in the country, efforts and achievements of each North Eastern State were set forth. The session concluded with a shared perspective of the future course of action concerning achieving SDGs and associated targets in the context of the North-Eastern region.
    • The second session on Drivers of Economic Prosperity & Sustainable Livelihoods The panel included representation from the central and state government, academia, financial institutions, and the private sector.
    • The session focused on the potential of MSMEs, agro-processing and handicraft sectors to align with India’s export ambitions as articulated in the Act East Policy.
    • The Third Session on Climate Adaptive Agriculture was chaired by Prof Ramesh Chand, Member NITI Aayog. The session brought out the challenges of the environmental impact of high-external- input-driven agriculture and sustained agricultural productivity. Technology-based interventions in climate adaptive agriculture were analyzed to appraise their wider adaptability or replicability in the region. Prospects of knowledge development, capacity building, and institutional partnerships were assessed to explore actionable possibilities.
    • The final technical session for Day 1 on Nutrition Security & Health and Wellbeing for All.  The session broadly purveyed the health situation in the region and the issues faced by various vulnerable groups, such as women and children, people living with disabilities, people living with HIV/AIDS. the states to focus on developing a robust primary healthcare system and identify strategies to involve the private sector in secondary and tertiary care.

    About North East Sustainable Development Goals Conclave 2020

    • North East Sustainable Development Goals Conclave 2020 commenced on 24th February 2020, at the Assam Administrative Staff College, Guwahati to identify solutions as well as accelerators for the implementation of SDGs in the North Eastern Region (NER). The 3-day Conclave is being organized by NITI Aayog, in partnership with the North Eastern Council, Govt. of Assam and Tata Trust, the conclave is supported by UNDP and RIS.
    • NITI Aayog has the mandate of overseeing the adoption and monitoring of SDGs at the national and sub-national levels. Progress in the northeast region is crucial in this decade of action for the country to achieve the SDGs by 2030 and this conclave is part of NITI Aayog’s continuous efforts towards fostering partnerships at the sub-national level. In terms of SDG localization, the states in the region have taken major strides in integrating the Agenda 2030 framework in their developmental planning and vision documents.
    Source: PIB

    11) Artemis Program

    United States space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that it will begin to accept applications for astronauts under its Artemis program from March 2 to March 31, 2020.

    Eligibility:

    Daily Current Affairs 26 February 2020 | UPSC 2020 Daily News Teller
    • The space agency has listed several requirements to qualify for training under the Artemis program: one must be a US citizen and have a master’s degree in a STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) field from an accredited institution.
    • Candidates must also have completed at least 1,000 hours of pilot-in-command time in jet aircraft or have two years of related experience.
    • Another mandatory requirement is to pass NASA’s long-duration spaceflight physical test.

    What is Artemis?

    • Artemis– Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of Moon’s Interaction with the Sun.
    • It is NASA’s next mission to the Moon.

    Objective: 

    • To measure what happens when the Sun’s radiation hits our rocky moon, where there is no magnetic field to protect it.
    • Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo and the goddess of the Moon in Greek mythology.
    • Significance of the mission:
    • With the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024.

    Mission details:

    • NASA’s powerful new rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), will send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft nearly a quarter-million miles from Earth to lunar orbit.
    • Astronauts will dock Orion at the Gateway and transfer to a human landing system for expeditions to the surface of the Moon.
    • They will return to the orbital outpost to board Orion again before returning safely to Earth.

    Artemis 1, 2 and 3:

    • The agency will fly two missions around the Moon to test its deep space exploration systems.
    • NASA is working toward launching Artemis I, an uncrewed flight to test the SLS and Orion spacecraft together, followed by the Artemis II mission, the first SLS and Orion test flight with the crew. NASA will land astronauts on the Moon by 2024 on the Artemis III mission and about once a year thereafter.

    Scientific objectives:

    • Find and use water and other critical resources needed for long-term exploration.
    • Investigate the Moon’s mysteries and learn more about our home planet and the universe.
    • Learn how to live and operate on the surface of another celestial body where astronauts are just three days from home.
    • Prove the technologies we need before sending astronauts on missions to Mars, which can take up to three years roundtrip.
    Source: Down To Earth 

    12) All India Tribal Workers Meet

    • Shri Arjun Munda, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs inaugurated the All India Tribal Workers Meet organized by BharatiyaAdimJatiSevakSangh (BAJSS) here today. Shri Munda garlanded the portrait of Thakkar Bapa on the occasion. Inmates of Tribal Boys hostel and destitute girls of KatyayaniBalika Ashram presented cultural programs on the occasion.
    • In his inaugural address, Shri Munda said that BharatiyaAdimJatiSevakSangh works for the communities primarily tribals and nomadic, semi-nomadic and VimuktaJati communities of India and weaker sections of the society by promoting their social, cultural educational and economic development and also to safeguard their constitutional rights to enable them to their legitimate share in the national life of the country as equal citizens.BAJSS is also maintaining a comprehensive national-level Tribal Museum exhibiting tribal articles, tribal culture and living in Thakkar BapaSmarakSadan, near Jhandewalan, New Delhi which is regularly visited by Students, Tourists, Scholars and Anthropologists from all over the country.
    • BhratiyaAdimJatiSevalSangh is a National Level Voluntary Organisation constituted on 24th October 1948 by Pujya Thakkar Bapa, well known dedicated social worker of the Servants of India Society. Being close associate, Mahatma Gandhi inspired him to work for the removal of deep-rooted poverty of tribals while giving service to untouchables. In the formulation of the Sangh, he got active participation of other eminent national level social workers and leaders. The first President of the Sangh was Dr.Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India who continued as President till he alive.
    Source: PIB

    Daily Current Affairs 26 February 2020 | UPSC 2020 Daily News Teller13) Yongle Blue Hole (YBH)

    Carbon more than 8,000 years old lies deep inside a yawning sinkhole in the South China Sea.

    About YBH:

    • It is the deepest known marine cavern.
    • Located in the Xisha Islands of the South China Sea (SCS).
    • It measures roughly 300 meters from top to bottom.
    • Its waters are mostly isolated from the surrounding ocean and receive little fresh water from rainfall, making it a rare spot to study the chemistry of oxygen-deprived marine ecosystems.

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