Daily Current Affairs 27 March 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana

Insurance cover of Rs 50 Lakh per health worker fighting COVID-19 to be provided under Insurance Scheme
80 crore poor people will get 5 kg of wheat or rice and 1 kg of preferred pulses for free every month for the next three months
20 crore women Jan Dhan account holders to get Rs 500 per month for next three months
Increase in MNREGA wage to Rs 202 a day from Rs 182 to benefit 13.62 crore families
An ex-gratia of Rs 1,000 to 3 crore poor senior citizen, poor widows and poor disabled
Government to front-load Rs 2,000 paid to farmers in the first week of April under existing PM Kisan Yojana to benefit 8.7 crore farmers
Central Government has given orders to State Governments to use Building and Construction Workers Welfare Fund to provide relief to Construction Worker

The Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman today announced Rs 1.70 Lakh Crore relief package under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana for the poor to help them fight the battle against Corona Virus.

Following are the components of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package: —

PRADHAN MANTRI GARIB KALYAN PACKAGE

I. Insurance scheme for health workers fighting COVID-19 in Government Hospitals and Health Care Centres

Safai karamcharis, ward-boys, nurses, ASHA workers, paramedics, technicians, doctors and specialists, and other health workers would be covered by a Special insurance Scheme.

Any health professional, who while treating Covid-19 patients, meet with some accident, then he/she would be compensated with an amount of Rs 50 lakh under the scheme.

All government health centers, wellness centers and hospitals of Centre, as well as States, would be covered under this scheme approximately 22 lakh health workers would be provided insurance cover to fight this pandemic.

II. PM Garib Kalyan Ann (अन्न) Yojana

The government of India would not allow anybody, especially any poor family, to suffer on account of the non-availability of foodgrains due to disruption in the next three months.

80 crore individuals, i.e, roughly two-thirds of India’s population would be covered under this scheme.

Each one of them would be provided double of their current entitlement over the next three months.

This addition would be free of cost.

Pulses:

To ensure adequate availability of protein to all the above-mentioned individuals, 1 kg per family, would be provided pulses according to regional preferences for the next three months.

These pulses would be provided free of cost by the Government of India.

III. Under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana

Benefits to farmers:

The first installment of Rs 2,000 due in 2020-21 will be front-loaded and paid in April 2020 itself under the PM KISAN Yojana.

It would cover 8.7 crore farmers

IV. Cash transfers Under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana:

Help to Poor:

A total of 20.40 crores PMJDY women account-holders would be given an ex-gratia of Rs 500 per month for the next three months.

Gas cylinders:

Under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, gas cylinders, free of cost, would be provided to 8 crore poor families for the next three months.

Help to low wage earners in organized sectors:

Wage-earners below Rs 15,000 per month in businesses having less than 100 workers are at risk of losing their employment.

Under this package, the government proposes to pay 24 percent of their monthly wages into their PF accounts for the next three months.

This would prevent disruption in their employment.

Support for senior citizens (above 60 years), widows and Divyang:

There are around 3 crore aged widows and people in the Divyang category who are vulnerable due to economic disruption caused by COVID-19.

The government will give them Rs 1,000 to tide over difficulties during the next three months.

MNREGA

Under PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, MNREGA wages would be increased by Rs 20 with effect from 1 April 2020. The wage increase under MNREGA will provide an additional Rs 2,000 benefit annually to a worker.

This will benefit approximately 13.62 crore families.

V. Self-Help groups:

Women organized through 63 lakh Self Help Groups (SHGs) support 6.85 crore households.

The limit of collateral-free lending would be increased from Rs 10 to Rs 20 lakhs.

VI. Other components of PM Garib Kalyan package

Organized sector:

Employees’ Provident Fund Regulations will be amended to include Pandemic as the reason to allow the non-refundable advance of 75 percent of the amount or three months of the wages, whichever is lower, from their accounts.

Families of four crore workers registered under EPF can take benefit from this window.

Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Fund:

Welfare Fund for Building and Other Constructions Workers has been created under a Central Government Act.

There are around 3.5 Crore registered workers in the Fund.

State Governments will be given directions to utilize this fund to provide assistance and support to these workers to protect them against economic disruptions.

District Mineral Fund

The State Government will be asked to utilize the funds available under the District Mineral Fund (DMF) for supplementing and augmenting facilities of medical testing, screening and other requirements in connection with preventing the spread of COVID-19 pandemic as well as treating the patients affected with this pandemic.

Source: PIB

2) DST sets up a task force for mapping of technologies by Start-Ups on COVID-19

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is coordinating an effort to upscale appropriate technologies and manufacturing available in India for addressing a plethora of issues related to COVID-19, as well as scout for new and developing solutions more relevant to the country to help prepare the country for exigencies arising out of COVID-19 pandemic.
DST has set up a COVID 19 Taskforce for mapping of technologies from R&D labs, academic institutions, startups, and MSMEs to fund nearly market-ready solutions in the area of diagnostics, testing, health care delivery solutions, equipment supplies. Some of these solutions include masks and other protective gear, sanitizers, affordable kits for screening, ventilators and oxygenators, data analytics for tracking, monitoring, and controlling the spread of outbreak through AI and IOT based solutions, to name a few.
The capacity mapping group consists of representatives from DST, Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Startup India and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). The Task Force is to identify the most promising startups that are close to scale up, who may need financial or other help or connects or projected demand to rapidly scale up.
Nodal officers of concerned Ministries and Departments have been requested to personally expedite the process of obtaining information on startups and other entities supported by them that have technology solutions for any important aspect of COVID-19.
As part of the mechanisms being used for rapid development, manufacturing, and deployment of relevant technology options, DST has already invited two separate sets of proposals, one each under Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB) and Technology Development Board (TDB), to support scientific solutions and commercial manufacturing of both new and existing solutions.

Source: PIB

3) G20 virtual summit

Leaders of the G20 (Group of Twenty) nations are holding a video conference.
The virtual summit will be led by King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud of Saudi Arabia, which is the current president of the economic grouping.
For 2020, Spain, Jordan, Singapore, and Switzerland are the invited countries.

What is the G20?

The G20 is an annual meeting of leaders from the countries with the largest and fastest-growing economies. Its members account for 85% of the world’s GDP, and two-thirds of its population.
The G20 Summit is formally known as the “Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy”.

Establishment:

After the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997-1998, it was acknowledged that the participation of major emerging market countries is needed on discussions on the international financial system, and G7 finance ministers agreed to establish the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in 1999.

Presidency:

The group has no permanent staff of its own, so every year in December, a G20 country from a rotating region takes on the presidency.
That country is then responsible for organizing the next summit, as well as smaller meetings for the coming year.
They can also choose to invite non-member countries along as guests. The first G20 meeting took place in Berlin in 1999, after a financial crisis in East Asia affected many countries around the world.

Full membership of the G20:

Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.

Its relevance in changing times:

As globalization progresses and various issues become more intricately intertwined, the recent G20 summits have focused not only on macroeconomy and trade but also on a wide range of global issues which have an immense impact on the global economy, such as development, climate change, and energy, health, counter-terrorism, as well as migration and refugees.
The G20 has sought to realize an inclusive and sustainable world through its contributions towards resolving these global issues.

What is G20+?

The G20 developing nations, also called G21/G23/G20+ is a bloc of developing nations that was established on August 20, 2003. It is distinct from the G20 major economies.

The G20+ originated in September 2003 at the 5th ministerial conference of the WTO held at Cancun, Mexico.
Its origins can be traced to the Brasilia Declaration signed by the foreign ministers of India, Brazil and South Africa on 6th June 2003.
The declaration stated that the major economies were still practicing protectionist policies especially in sectors they were less competitive in and that it was important to see to it that the trade negotiations that took place provided for the reversal of those policies.
The G20+ is responsible for 60% of the world population, 26% of the world’s agricultural exports and 70% of its farmers.

Source: PIB

4) MSP for MFP

The Union government’s ‘mechanism for the marketing of minor forest produce (MFP) through minimum support price (MSP) and development of value chain for MFP’ scheme can offer respite to forest-dependent laborers in the wake of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, according to experts.

What is this scheme all about?

The Union Cabinet, in 2013, approved a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for the marketing of non-nationalized / non monopolized Minor Forest Produce (MFP) and development of a value chain for MFP through Minimum Support Price (MSP).

This was a measure towards social safety for MFP gatherers, who are primarily members of the Scheduled Tribes (STs) most of them in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) areas.
The scheme had Rs. 967.28 crore as Central Government share and Rs. 249.50 crore as the States shares for the current Plan period.
Key features of the scheme:
Ensure that the tribal population gets a remunerative price for the produce they collect from the forest and provide alternative employment avenues to them.
Establish a system to ensure fair monetary returns for forest dweller’s efforts in the collection, primary processing, storage, packaging, transportation, etc, while ensuring the sustainability of the resource base.
Get them a share of the revenue from the sales proceeds with costs deducted.

Coverage:

Earlier, the scheme was extended only to Scheduled Areas in eight states and fixed MSPs for 12 MFPs. Later expanded to all states and UTs.
The total number of MFPs covered under the list includes 49.

Implementation:

The responsibility of purchasing MFP on MSP will be with State designated agencies.
To ascertain market price, services of market correspondents would be availed by the designated agencies particularly for major markets trading in MFP.
The scheme supports primary value addition as well as provides for supply chain infrastructure like cold storage, warehouses, etc.
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs will be the nodal Ministry for implementation and monitoring of the scheme. The Minimum Support Price would be determined by the Ministry with the technical help of TRIFED.

Significance of the scheme:

The Minor Forest Produce (MFP), also known as Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP), is a major source of livelihood and provides essential food, nutrition, medicinal needs and cash income to a large number of STs who live in and around forests. An estimated 100 million forest dwellers depend on the Minor Forest Produce for food, shelter, medicines, cash income, etc.
However, MFP production is highly dispersed spatially because of the poor accessibility of these areas and the competitive market not have evolved. Consequently, MFP gatherers who are mostly poor are unable to bargain for fair prices. This package of intervention can help in organizing unstructured MFP markets.

Source: Down To Earth

5) Kuril Islands

Recently, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck in the northern Pacific and a tsunami warning was issued for the closest shores on Russia’s far eastern Kuril Islands.
The earthquakes of this strength in the region have caused tsunamis in the past far from the epicenter of the earthquake.
The epicenter is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus. (The hypocenter is where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates.)

Geographic Location of Kuril Islands

The Kuril Islands are stretched from the Japanese island of Hokkaido to the southern tip of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula separating Okhotsk Sea from the North Pacific ocean.
It consists of 56 islands and minor rocks.
The chain is part of the belt of geologic instability circling the Pacific and contains at least 100 volcanoes, of which 35 are still active, and many hot springs.
Earthquakes and tidal waves are common phenomena over these islands.

Importance of the South Kuril Islands

Natural resources:

The islands are surrounded by rich fishing grounds and are thought to have offshore reserves of oil and gas.
Rare rhenium deposits have been found on the Kudriavy volcano on Iturup.
Nickel-based superalloys of rhenium are used in the combustion chambers, turbine blades, and exhaust nozzles of jet engines.
Tourism is also a potential source of income, as the islands have several volcanoes and a variety of birdlife.

Strategic Importance:

Russia has deployed missile systems in the region.
Russia also plans a submarine project and intends to prevent any American military use of the islands.

Cultural Importance:

The Japanese people, especially conservatives in Hokkaido, are emotionally attached to the islands.

Historical Background of Kuril Islands Dispute

Sovereignty Issue of South Kuril Islands:

The Kuril Islands dispute between Japan and Russia is over the sovereignty of the South Kuril Islands.
The South Kuril Islands comprises Etorofu island, Kunashiri island, Shikotan island, and the Habomai island. These islands are claimed by Japan but occupied by Russia as the successor state of the Soviet Union.
These islands are known as Southern Kurils by Russia whereas Japan calls the Northern Territories.

Original Inhabitants-Ainu People:

The Kurils were originally inhabited by the Ainu people, and they were later settled by the Russians and Japanese, following several waves of exploration in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The Ainu or the Aynu, also known as the Ezo in the historical Japanese texts, are an indigenous people of Japan and Russia.

Treaty of Shimoda (1855):

In 1855, Japan and Russia concluded the Treaty of Shimoda, which gave control of the four southernmost islands to Japan and the remainder of the chain to Russia.

Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1875):

In the Treaty of Saint Petersburg, signed between two countries in 1875, Russia ceded possession of the Kurils to Japan in exchange for uncontested control of Sakhalin Island.

Yalta Agreement (1945):

In 1945, as part of the Yalta agreements (formalized in the 1951 Treaty of Peace with Japan), the islands were ceded to the Soviet Union, and the Japanese population was repatriated and replaced by Soviets.
The San Francisco Peace Treaty signed between the Allies and Japan in 1951, states that Japan must give up “all right, title and claim to the Kuril Islands”, but it also does not recognize the Soviet Union’s sovereignty over them.

Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration (1956):

The dispute over the islands has prevented the conclusion of a peace treaty to end World War II.
In 1956, diplomatic ties were restored between Japan and Russia by the Japan-Soviet Joint Declaration.
During that time, Russia offered to give away the two islands closest to Japan. But the offer was rejected by Japan as the two islands constituted only 7% of the land in question.

Developments After 1991:

Despite a series of agreements, the dispute continues and Japan still claims historical rights to the southernmost islands and has tried repeatedly to persuade the Soviet Union and, from 1991, Russia to return those islands to Japanese sovereignty.
In 2018, the Russian President and the Japanese Prime Minister (PM) met on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit and decided to end the territorial dispute by Japanese PM agreeing to negotiate based on the 1956 declaration.

This implicitly showed that Japan has given up the two islands to maintain peace with Russia.
However, Russia indicated that the joint declaration signed by Japan and the Soviet Union in 1956 neither mentions a basis for returning Habomai and Shikotan nor clarifies which country has sovereignty over the islands.

Further, in 2019, Japanese PM made it clear that the country is not in the favor of withdrawing control over the Islands. Japan also believes that the islands are an inherent part of the nation’s territory. Therefore, Japan mentioned that it aims to sign the peace treaty after the territorial issue is resolved.

Source: The Hindu

6) Legacy Waste

Recently, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed a committee to assess the amount of damage caused to the environment due to the dumpsites (legacy waste) in Delhi.
The committee comprises representatives from the Central Pollution Control Board, National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and IIT Delhi.

Key Points

Legacy wastes are the wastes that have been collected and kept for years at some barren land or a place dedicated to Landfill (an area to dump solid waste).
This waste can be roughly grouped into four categories:

Contained and/or stored waste(contained or stored waste are wastes in tanks, canisters, and stainless steel bins).
Buried waste.
Contaminated soil and groundwater
Contaminated building materials and structures.

Biomining method has been proposed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for the effective disposal of legacy wastes.
Environmental Impact of Legacy Waste

Legacy wastes not only occupy large space, but also become a breeding ground for pathogens, flies, malodours, and generation of leachate, which may lead to water contamination.
They also contribute to the generation of greenhouse gases and pose a risk of an uncontrollable fire.

Biomining

Biomining is the process of using microorganisms (microbes) to extract metals of economic interest from rock ores or mine waste.
Biomining techniques may also be used to clean up sites that have been polluted with metals.
It is usually used for old dumped waste that remains in a partly or fully decomposed state with no segregation in existence between wet and dry waste.
In the cost-effective method of biomining, treatment is done by dividing the garbage heap at the site into suitable blocks to let the air percolate in the heap.
As a result, the leachate which is the water in the heap with suspended solid particles is drained off and microbes are sprayed in the heap to initiate biological decompositions.
The waste is turned over several times to devoid of the waste to leachate as much as possible.
This biological decomposition of the waste decreases the volume of the waste by 40%.

Source: The Hindu

7) Recapitalization of RRBs

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for continuation of the process of recapitalization of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) by providing minimum regulatory capital to RRBs for another year beyond 2019-20, that is, up to 2020-21.
This is for those RRBs which are unable to maintain minimum Capital to Risk-weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) of 9%, as per the regulatory norms prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India.

Why this is necessary?

A financially stronger and robust Regional Rural Banks with improved CRAR will enable them to meet the credit requirement in rural areas.
With the recapitalization support to augment CRAR, RRBs would be able to continue their lending to these categories of borrowers under their PSL target, and thus, continue to support rural livelihoods.

Background:

The recapitalization process of RRBs was approved by the cabinet in 2011 based on the recommendations of a committee set up under the Chairmanship of KC Chakrabarty.
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) identifies those RRBs, which require recapitalization assistance to maintain the mandatory CRAR of 9% based on the CRAR position of RRBs, as on 31st March of every year.

What is Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR)?

The CRAR, also known as the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR), is the ratio of a bank’s capital to its risk. It is a measure of the amount of a bank’s core capital expressed as a percentage of its risk-weighted asset.
It is decided by central banks and bank regulators to prevent commercial banks from taking excess leverage and becoming insolvent in the process.

Why CRAR was enforced?

The enforcement of regulated levels of this ratio is intended to protect depositors and promote the stability and efficiency of financial systems around the world. It determines the bank’s capacity to meet the time liabilities and other risks such as credit risk, operational risk, etc.
The Basel III norms stipulated a capital to risk-weighted assets of 8%.
However, as per RBI norms, Indian scheduled commercial banks are required to maintain a CRAR of 9%.

What are RRBs?

Regional Rural Banks were set up based on the recommendations of the Narasimham Working Group (1975), and after the legislation of the Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976.
The first Regional Rural Bank “Prathama Grameen Bank” was set up on 2nd October 1975.
The equity of a regional rural bank is held by the Central Government, concerned State Government and the Sponsor Bank in the proportion of 50:15:35.

Source: PIB

8) COVID-19 Loans by Indian Bank

Recently, Indian Bank which is a public sector lender has announced special emergency loans for various categories of customers such as individuals, corporates, Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) and self-help groups (SHGs), retail borrowers and pensioners in the wake of the pandemic COVID-19.
It is expected that these credit lines will meet the immediate liquidity requirements of businesses and other sections of society.

Key Points

Ind-Covid Emergency Credit Line:

It will provide additional funding of up to 10% of the working capital limits (fund-based and non-fund-based) with a maximum limit of ₹100 crores.
Large corporates and medium enterprises that are in the standard category would be eligible for this loan.
The loans would only carry a fixed interest rate of one-year MCLR (marginal cost of funds based lending rate). All other charges are waived.

Ind-MSE Covid Emergency Loan:

It will provide additional funding of 10% of fund-based working capital limits subject to a maximum of ₹50 lakh to all MSMEs.

SHG-Covid-Sahaya Loan:

Under this, each member can avail of a soft loan of ₹5,000 and ₹1 lakh per SHG.
The loan is for 36 months with a six months moratorium.

Ind-Covid Emergency Salary Loan:

It will be given to salaried employees up to an amount equivalent to 20 times the latest monthly gross salary subject to a maximum of ₹2 lakh.
This is to meet urgent medical and other expenditures.
The loan will be given at a concessional rate of interest and all charges are waived.

Ind-Covid Emergency Pension Loan:

It is provided up to 15 times of monthly pension subject to a maximum of ₹2 lakh, with a 60-month repayment tenor.
Interest is charged at concessional rates interest and all other charges are waived.

Indian Bank

It is an Indian state-owned public sector lender.
It was established on 15th August 1907 as part of the Swadeshi movement.
It is headquartered in Chennai.

Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate

It is the minimum interest rate, below which a bank is not permitted to lend, though RBI can give authorization for the same in exceptional cases. It depends on factors such as fixed deposit rates, source of funds and savings rate.

Swadeshi Movement

It started in 1905 was one of the most successful movements of the Pre-Gandhian era.
Causes: Punjab land alienation Act of 1900, Passing of Indian university commission Act 1904, Partition of Bengal in 1905, economic exploitation, etc.
Methods and instruments: It initially adopted passive resistance but the movement gained momentum and a more active form of resistance.
Impact: It led to a significant decline in the foreign imports from 1905-1908, the building of self-reliance and gave the strength to masses to disobey the British. However, it set undertones for communal disharmony and extreme nationalism.

Source: The Hindu

9) DRDO develops ventilators

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a ventilator and is working with the industry to produce 5,000 of them per month to treat COVID19 patients
Some time back, the
DRDO developed a ventilator along with the Society for Biomedical Technology (SBMT), its technology has been transferred to the industry. An industry in Mysuru is producing the secondary version of that ventilator now
The industry currently can manufacture 5,000 ventilators per month and this could be scaled up to 10,000 per month
The Defence Ministry said in a statement the DRDO laboratories had manufactured 20,000 liters of sanitizer and supplied to various organizations, including 10,000 liters to the Delhi police. “The DRDO has also supplied 10,000 masks to Delhi police personnel. It is tying up with some private companies to make personal protection equipment such as bodysuits and also ventilators,

Source: The Hindu

10) Mamallapuram

Location: Mamallapuram, also called Mahabalipuram or Seven Pagodas, is a town that lies along the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, south of Chennai (Tamil Nadu).
History
It is an important town of the erstwhile Pallava dynasty that ruled in parts of South India from 275 CE to 897 CE.
It was founded by the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I in the 7th century AD.
The name Mamallapuram derives from Mamallan, or “great warrior”, a title by which the Pallava King Narasimhavarman I was known.
The name Mamallapuram got distorted during the British era to Mahabalipuram and thus it is also known as Mahabalipuram.
Architecture
Mamallapuram contains many surviving 7th- and 8th-century Pallava temples and monuments, chief of which are the sculptured rock relief popularly known as “Arjuna’s Penance,” or “Descent of the Ganges,” a series of sculptured cave temples, and the Shore Temple.
The town’s Five Rathas, or monolithic temples, are the remnants of seven temples, for which the town was known as Seven Pagodas. The entire assemblage collectively was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.
Significance:
Ancient Chinese, Persian, and Roman coins found at Mamallapuram point that it was a seaport.
Mamallapuram and the Pallava dynasty are also historically relevant, for the earliest recorded security pact between China and India (in the early 8th century) that involved a Pallava king (Rajasimhan, or Narasimha Varma II), from whom the Chinese sought help to counter Tibet.
The second informal summit between India and China was held here in October 2019.