Daily Current Affairs 5 May 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) DRDO develops UV Disinfection Tower

Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an Ultra Violet (UV) Disinfection Tower for rapid and chemical-free disinfection of high infection-prone areas.
The equipment named UV blaster is a UV based area sanitizer designed and developed by Laser Science & Technology Centre (LASTEC), the Delhi based premier laboratory of DRDO with the help of M/s New Age Instruments and Materials Private Limited, Gurugram.
The UV Blaster is useful for high tech surfaces like electronic equipment, computers, and other gadgets in laboratories and offices that are not suitable for disinfection with chemical methods. The product is also effective for areas with a large flow of people such as airports, shopping malls, metros, hotels, factories, offices, etc.
The UV based area sanitizer may be used by remote operation through laptop/mobile phone using wifi link. The equipment has six lamps each with 43 watts of UV-C power at 254 nm wavelength for 360-degree illumination. For a room of about 12 x 12 feet dimension, the disinfection time is about 10 minutes and 30 minutes for 400 square feet area by positioning the equipment at different places within the room.
This sanitizer switches off on the accidental opening of the room or human intervention. One more salient safety feature of the product is the key to arm operation.

Source: PIB

2) The Saras Collection

The Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj and Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, launched “The Saras Collection” on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal Krishi Bhavan in New Delhi.
A unique initiative of GeM and the DeenDayalAntyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), Ministry of Rural Development, the Saras Collection showcases daily utility products made by rural self-help groups (SHGs) and aims to provide SHGs in rural areas with market access to Central and State Government buyers.
Under this initiative, the SHG sellers will be able to list their products in 5 product categories, namely

handicrafts,
handloom and textiles,
office accessories,
grocery and pantry, and
personal care and hygiene.

In the first phase, 913 SHGs from 11 States have already registered as sellers and 442 products have been on-boarded. To develop a scalable model capable of onboarding a large number of SHGs across the country in a short time frame, GeM has developed an API based integration mechanism with the NRLM database.
GeM will provide dashboards for functionaries at the national, state, district and block level to provide them real-time information about the number of products uploaded by SHGs, and value and volume of orders received and fulfilled. Also, Government buyers shall be sensitized through system-generated messages/ alerts in the Marketplace about the availability of SHG products on the portal. Potential buyers shall be able to search, view, cart, and procure such products through the stipulated modes of procurement.
The on-boarding of the SHGs under the initiative has been initially piloted in the States of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. The coverage shall be rapidly extended to enable a large number of SHGs from all the states/ Union Territories to sell their products to Government buyers.
To handhold and facilitate the SHGs in uploading their products, GeM, along with the State and National Rural Livelihoods Missions, are assisting the sellers with product catalog management, order fulfillment, and bid participation. GeM shall also collaborate with State functionaries to address the capacity building and training needs of SHGs, and build up their competencies required for order packaging, catalog management, and logistics.
With inputs and assistance from NRLM and SRLMs, GeM will develop online learning resources in vernacular content for SHGs and SRLM staff to meet user-specific needs. Further, GeM will conduct online webinars for SHGs and functionaries at State Livelihoods Missions and develop videos, eBooks, Manual, and repository of FAQs fora seamless learning experience.
By providing SHGs with direct access to Government buyers, the Saras Collection will do away with intermediaries in the supply chain, thus ensuring better prices for SHGs and spurring employment opportunities at the local level. This is just the beginning and GeM is delighted at this opportunity to partner the SHGs in their growth story.
The SHGs deserve to be specially commended for how they, like the entire country, are fighting the COVID-19 pandemic valiantly at this time of national health emergency of unprecedented and historic scale.

About DAY-NRLM:

DAY-NLRM aims to reduce poverty through the promotion of diversified and gainful self-employment while creating skilled wage employment opportunities. The scheme supports building social capital and ensuring financial linkages to alleviate poverty and enhance the quality of the life of rural poor women. It has ambitious plans on innovations for alternate channels of financial inclusion like digital finance, creating value chains around rural products and improving market access, rural enterprise, and strengthening community institutions.

About GeM:

Government e-Marketplace (GeM) is a 100 percent Government owned Section 8 Company set up as the National Public Procurement Portal for procurement of goods and services required by Central and State Government organizations. GeM provides an online, end to end solution for procurement of goods and services for all Central Government and State Government Ministries, Departments, Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs), local bodies and autonomous organizations. The platform reduces human interventions in procurement and enables transparency, cost savings, inclusiveness, and efficiency of faceless standardized public procurement.

Source: PIB

3) MSP Hiked for Minor Forest Produce

Recently, the Central Government has revised the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Minor Forest Produce (MFP).

The MSP is the rate at which the government buys produce from farmers and tribals.
The idea of MSP is to counter price volatility of commodities due to factors like the variation in their supply, lack of market integration, and information asymmetry.

Key Points

The increased minimum support price (MSP) ranges from 16% to 66%.
MSP for MFPs is revised once every three years by the Pricing Cell constituted under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

However, the authorities have revised the MSP much earlier than 3 years.

This will offer much-needed support to tribal gatherers given the "exceptional and very difficult" circumstances prevailing in the country due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Centre has also asked all the states to speed up procurement operations.
The central government has also created an online monitoring dashboard, called the Van Dhan Monit Dashboard, for reporting the procurement activities undertaken at the state level.

The dashboard is a part of the “TRIFED E- Sampark Setu” that aims to facilitate the exchange of information to and from every Panchayat and Van Dhan Kendra, either through email or mobile phone.

States have appointed the Van Dhan Kendras as their primary procurement agents for MFP procurements from haat bazaars.

Van Dhan Vikas Kendra

Van Dhan Vikas Kendras have been set up under the program ‘Van Dhan Yojana’ which was launched in 2018, in Chhattisgarh.
The Van Dhan Vikas Kendra caters to ten Self Help Groups of thirty tribal gatherers each.
The selection of the tribal beneficiaries and formation of the SHGs has been undertaken by the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED).
The Van Dhan Vikas Kendras boost the economic development of tribals involved in the collection of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) and provide a sustainable MFP-based livelihood in MFP-rich districts.

Minor Forest Produce (MFP)

MFP includes all non-timber forest produce of plant origin and includes bamboo, canes, fodder, leaves, gums, waxes, dyes, resins, and many forms of food including nuts, wild fruits, honey, lac, tusser, etc.
It provides both subsistence and cash income for people who live in or near forests. They form a major portion of their food, fruits, medicines, and other consumption items and also provide cash income through sales.

Source: PIB

4) Opposition to Permanent Bru Settlement in Tripura

In the middle of the Covid-19 lockdown, two community-specific groups have renewed their opposition to the permanent settlement of Bru refugees from Mizoram in Tripura.

The two groups namely, Nagarik Suraksha Mancha (mostly representing Bengali people displaced from erstwhile East Pakistan post-partition in 1947) and the Mizo Convention have submitted a memorandum protesting against the proposed settlement of the displaced Brus in Tripura.

Background

Bru or Reang is a community indigenous to Northeast India, living mostly in Tripura, Mizoram, and Assam. In Tripura, they are recognized as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group.
In Mizoram, they have been targeted by groups that do not consider them indigenous to the state. In 1997, following ethnic clashes, nearly 37,000 Brus fled Mamit, Kolasib and Lunglei districts of Mizoram and were accommodated in relief camps in Tripura.
Since then, 5,000 have returned to Mizoram in eight phases of repatriation, while 32,000 still live in six relief camps in North Tripura.

In June 2018, community leaders from the Bru camps signed an agreement with the Centre and the two-state governments, providing for repatriation in Mizoram. But most camp residents rejected the terms of the agreement.
The camp residents say that the agreement doesn't guarantee their safety in Mizoram.

The Centre, the governments of Mizoram and Tripura and leaders of Bru organizations signed a quadripartite agreement in January (2020) to let the remaining 35,000 refugees who have stayed back to be resettled in Tripura.

The rehabilitation package offered included financial assistance of ₹4 lakh and land for constructing a house for each family.

Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups

In India, the tribal population makes up 8.6% of the total population.
Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) are more vulnerable among the tribal groups.
In 1973, the Dhebar Commission created Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) as a separate category, which is less developed among the tribal groups. In 2006, the Government of India renamed the PTGs as PVTGs.
PVTGs have some basic characteristics - they are mostly homogenous, with a small population, relatively physically isolated, absence of written language, relatively simple technology and a slower rate of change, etc.
Among the 75 listed PVTG’s the highest number is found in Odisha.

Source: The Hindu

5) Corona-Killer 100

Corona-Killer 100 is an automated disinfecting Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) developed by Garuda Aerospace - an ISO- 9001 company.
These drones will aid in the sanitation of public places, hospitals, and tall buildings up to 450 feet amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
It is equipped with fuel-efficient motors that enable the drone to be deployed for 12 hours a day.
Drone operations are faster, longer & safer than manual spraying by workers who can become potential carriers of Covid-19.
It also consists of patented autopilot technology, advanced flight controller systems.

Drone as a Service

Historically, many UAV applications were developed in the military as a spy or reconnaissance vehicles used during wartime.
However, the development of this type of aircraft has evolved towards commercial, civil, and consumer spaces, including professional videography, surveying, construction, inspection, traffic management, and last-mile delivery.
Commercial drone services are developing UAV services, sometimes called Drones as a Service (DaaS), to help industries, such as agriculture, construction, search and rescue, package delivery, industrial inspection, insurance, and videography, with tasks like collecting imagery and measurements and managing or broadcasting events.
Drone services seem cost-effective, portable, and – in extreme emergencies like Covid-19 can – provide the first take, including visuals, assessment, and extent of the damage.

Source: PIB

6) African Swine Fever in Assam

The Centre has advised the Assam state government to go for the culling of pigs affected by the African Swine Fever (ASF).

Key Points

It has been advised to divide the affected areas into zones and go for culling accordingly.
The disease was first reported in November-December, 2019 from the areas of China bordering Arunachal Pradesh.
A few organized piggeries in Assam have been affected and the possible carrier could be humans.

However, there is no confirmation of humans being the carrier of the virus.

Earlier in April, there were reported deaths of pigs due to the Classical Swine Fever (CSF).
ASF and CSF are different from Swine Flu (H1N1) and do not affect humans.
CSF can be prevented by proper vaccination but there is no vaccination for ASF. Culling of the affected pigs is the only option.

African Swine Fever

It is a highly contagious and fatal animal disease that infects and leads to an acute form of hemorrhagic fever in domestic and wild pigs.
It was first detected in Africa in the 1920s.
The mortality is close to 100% and since the fever has no cure, the only way to stop its spread is by culling the animals.
ASF is not a threat to human beings since it only spreads from animals to other animals.
ASF is a disease listed in the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Terrestrial Animal Health Code and thus, reported to the OIE.

World Organisation for Animal Health

OIE is an intergovernmental organization responsible for improving animal health worldwide.
In 2018, it had a total of 182 Member Countries. India is one of the member countries.
OIE standards are recognized by the World Trade Organization as a reference to international sanitary rules.
It is headquartered in Paris, France.

Source: The Hindu

7) Drop-in FPI Outflows

According to recent data from Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL), the Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have significantly reduced the pace of outflows from the equity and debt market in April 2020, after a record net outflow of Rs 1,18,203 crore in March 2020.

Key Points

FPIs sold a net of Rs 6,883 crore from the equities market and net holdings worth Rs 12,551 crore from the debt market in April.
Equity market shares are issued and traded, either through exchanges or over-the-counter markets (i.e directly). It is also known as the stock market.
The debt market is the market where debt instruments are traded.
Debt instruments are instruments that require a fixed payment to the holder, usually with interest. E.g. bonds (government or corporate) and mortgages.
However, they invested a net of Rs 4,032 crore in debt Voluntary Retention Route (VRR) scheme.
VRR scheme allows FPIs to participate in repo transactions and also invest in exchange-traded funds that invest in debt instruments.
Outflows have continued due to uncertainty surrounding economic conditions caused by Covid-19 lockdown and investors are cautious. However, the pessimism also continues to grip the markets.
So far, India has been able to contain the Covid-19 pandemic from spreading aggressively. The measures announced by the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) periodically to revitalize the sagging economy have also resonated well with investors.
With selective relaxation in the lockdown and gradual opening up of economic activity in the country, foreign investors will be closely watching the developments on this front.
Success in developing medicine and vaccines will lead to a V-shaped recovery in the economy and markets.

Voluntary Retention Route (VRR) scheme

The VRR scheme is aimed at attracting long-term and stable FPI investments into debt markets.
Investments through the route will be free of the regulatory norms applicable to FPI investments in debt markets, provided investors to maintain a minimum share of their investments for a fixed period.
VRR Scheme has a minimum retention period of three years and investors need to maintain a minimum of 75% of their investments in India.
FPIs registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) are eligible to voluntarily invest through the route in government and corporate bonds.

V-Shaped Recovery

A V-shaped recovery is characterized by a sharp economic decline followed by a quick and sustained recovery.
The recession of 1953 is an example of a V-shaped recovery.
A V-shaped recovery is different from an L-shaped recovery, in which the economy stays in a slump for a prolonged period.

Foreign Portfolio Investment

Foreign portfolio investment (FPI) consists of securities and other financial assets passively held by foreign investors.
It does not provide the investor with direct ownership of financial assets and is relatively liquid depending on the volatility of the market.
Foreign portfolio investment is part of a country’s capital account and is shown on its Balance of Payments (BOP).
The BOP measures the amount of money flowing from one country to other countries over one monetary year.
The investor does not actively manage the investments through FPIs, he does not have control over the securities or the business.
The investor’s goal is to create a quick return on his money.
FPI is more liquid and less risky than Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
A Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is an investment made by a firm or individual in one country into business interests located in another country. FDI lets an investor purchase a direct business interest in a foreign country.
FPI is often referred to as “hot money” because it tends to flee at the first signs of trouble in an economy.
FPI and FDI are both important sources of funding for most economies. Foreign capital can be used to develop infrastructure, set up manufacturing facilities and service hubs, and invest in other productive assets such as machinery and equipment, which contributes to economic growth and stimulates employment.

Source: Indian Express

8) RBI Cancels Licence of CKP Co-op Bank

Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has canceled the license of Mumbai-based CKP Co-operative Bank.

Key Points

RBI has canceled the license of the bank as the financial position of the bank was highly adverse and unsustainable.
The bank is not in a position to pay its present and future depositors.
The bank failed to meet the regulatory requirement of maintaining a minimum capital adequacy ratio of 9% and reserves.
RBI has asked the Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Maharashtra to start the process of winding up operations of CKP Co-operative banks and appoint a liquidator.
On liquidation, every depositor of the bank is entitled to get up to Rs 5 lakh from the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation.
In September last year, RBI had imposed restrictions on Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank not to do any business for six months after it found major irregularities, which included financial irregularities, complete failure of internal control and systems, and wrongdoing and under-reporting of its lending exposure.

Capital Adequacy Ratio

Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) is the ratio of a bank’s capital about its risk-weighted assets and current liabilities. It is also known as Capital-to-Risk Weighted Asset Ratio (CRAR).
It is decided by central banks to prevent commercial banks from taking excess leverage and becoming insolvent in the process.
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 CAR of 9%.

Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation

DICGC came into existence in 1978 after the merger of Deposit Insurance Corporation (DIC) and Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd. (CGCI) under the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act, 1961.
It serves as a deposit insurance and credit guarantee for banks in India.
It is a fully owned subsidiary of and is governed by the Reserve Bank of India.
DICGC charges 10 paise per ₹100 of deposits held by a bank. The premium paid by the insured banks to the Corporation is paid by the banks and is not to be passed on to depositors.
DICGC last revised the deposit insurance cover to ₹5 lakh in Feb 2020, raising it from ₹ 1 lakh since 1993. The protection cover of deposits in Indian banks through insurance is among the lowest in the world.
The Damodaran Committee on ‘Customer Services in Banks’ (2011) had recommended a five-time increase in the cap to ₹5 lakh due to rising income levels and increasing the size of individual bank deposits.
Banks, including regional rural banks, local area banks, foreign banks with branches in India, and cooperative banks, are mandated to take deposit insurance cover with the DICGC.

Co-operative Banking

A Co-operative bank is a financial entity that belongs to its members, who are at the same time the owners and the customers of their bank. It is distinct from commercial banks.
Co-operative banks in India are registered under the States Cooperative Societies Act. The Co-operative banks are regulated by both Registrar of Co-operative Societies and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and governed by the
Banking Regulations Act of 1949.
Banking Laws (Co-operative Societies) Act, 1955.
Features of Cooperative Banks:

Customer Owned Entities: Co-operative bank members are both customers and owners of the bank.
Democratic Member Control: Co-operative banks are owned and controlled by the members, who democratically elect a board of directors. Members usually have equal voting rights, according to the cooperative principle of “one person, one vote”.
Profit Allocation: A significant part of the yearly profit, benefits, or surplus is usually allocated to constitute reserves and a part of this profit can also be distributed to the co-operative members, with legal and statutory limitations.
Financial Inclusion: They have played a significant role in the financial inclusion of unbanked rural masses.

Co-operative Banks are broadly classified into Urban and Rural co-operative banks based on their region of operation.

Difference between UCBs and Commercial Banks

Regulation: Unlike commercial banks, UCBs are only partly regulated by the RBI. Their banking operations are regulated by the RBI, which lays down their capital adequacy, risk control, and lending norms. However, their management and resolution in the case of distress are regulated by the Registrar of Co-operative Societies either under the State or Central government.
The borrower can be a Shareholder: In general, for a commercial bank, there is a clear distinction between its shareholders and its borrowers whereas in a UCB, borrowers can even double up as shareholders.

Source: Indian Express

9) Bay of Bengal Boundary Layer Experiment or BoBBLE

A team from the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru and UK based the University of East Anglia have created a blueprint for accurate prediction of monsoon, tropical cyclones, and another weather-related forecast under the Bay of Bengal Boundary Layer Experiment or BoBBLE.

About BOBBLE:

BoBBLE is a joint India-UK project.
It seeks to examine the impact of ocean processes in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) on the monsoon system.
It is is a project funded by the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK.
The Bay of Bengal (BoB) plays a fundamental role in controlling the weather systems that make up the South Asian summer monsoon system.

Key processes in the southern BoB:

The saline Southwest Monsoon Current (SMC), a major control on the salt and SST distribution of the BoB, is shown to be controlled by both local (wind stress curl) and remote (equatorial wave propagation) factors, strongly linked to sub-seasonal variability over the wider Indian Ocean basin.
The high salinity core (HSC) of the SMC is shown to have its origins in the western equatorial Indian Ocean, reaching the BoB via the Somali Current, the Equatorial Undercurrent, and the SMC.
Seasonal reversals that occur at the Somali Current and SMC junctions act as ‘railroad switches’ diverting water masses to different basins in the northern Indian Ocean.
Barrier layer formation and erosion in the southern BoB are found to be largely controlled by differential advection and resulting mixing driven by shear stress.
Chlorophyll is the southern BoB that is strongly influenced by mixed layer processes and barrier layer strength.

What are monsoons?

Monsoons are seasonal winds that reverse their direction with the change of season. The monsoon is a double system of seasonal winds. They flow from sea to land during the summer and from land to sea during winter.
Monsoons are peculiar to the Indian Subcontinent, South East Asia, parts of Central Western Africa, etc.
Indian Monsoons are Convection cells on a very large scale. They are periodic or secondary winds that seasonal reversal in wind direction.
Monsoons are also often associated with conditions like ‘El Nino’ (Spanish for ‘Little Boy’) that occurs every 2 to 7 years and La Nina.

Significance for India:

Monsoon is the lifeline of the Indian economy as 2/3rd of it depends on farm income and rain is the only source of irrigation for over 40% of the country’s cropped area. Over 70% of India’s annual rainfall occurs in the July-September monsoon season. A good monsoon increases crop productivity raises farm income and drives the economy while a weak monsoon inflates food prices, and harms the economy.

Source: AIR

10) Non-Aligned Movement summit

Indian Prime minister Narendra Modi will participate in a video conference meeting of the non-alignment movement (NAM) on the COVID crisis.

Significance:

This is the first time PM Modi is taking part in a NAM meeting since taking 2014 when he first became the Prime Minister. The last time any Indian PM participated at Tehran NAM meet was 2012 with the then PM Manmohan Singh was present.
Both in 2016, 2018 summits of NAM, India was represented at the Vice President level. The last NAM Summit happened in 2019 in Azerbaijan, before that it was 2016 in Venezuela.

Background:

Azerbaijan is the president of the grouping from 2019-2022 and the meet is being organized under the leadership of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. The title of the summit is “We stand together against COVID-19”.

What is non- aligned movement?

Non-Aligned Movement is an idea that emerged in 1950. NAM is the second-largest platform globally in terms of country membership after the UN. It currently has more than 120 members.

The evolution of NAM:

During the 1950s, the world was emerging out of the long, dark period of colonialism.

Newly independent nations dreamed they could make their way in this new world without hewing to either of the big powers, the United States and the Soviet Union, eschewing the icy hostilities of the Cold War and bask in the warmth of Third World (as it was then known) cooperation.
The co-founders were India’s Jawaharlal Nehru, Indonesia’s Sukarno, Egypt’s Gemal Abdel Nasser, Yugoslavia’s Josep Broz Tito, and Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah were all figures of international consequence, and their collective charisma attracted lesser lights from around the world.
The Asian-African Conference of 1955 held in Bandung was the catalyst for the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement.
The actual formation took place in Belgrade, where the Non-Aligned Movement was formally established by the leaders of 25 developing countries in 1961.

Why is it losing relevance today? – Criticisms:

NAM today has grown into a forum where developing nations could blame all their problems on the big powers.
It has become a platform for some of the world’s most despicable leaders to preen and posture.
NAM’s reason to exist ended in 1989, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the end of the Cold War. The world was left with a single superpower, the US, but quickly became multipolar, with China and India emerging as strong magnetic forces in their own right.

Way ahead:

There are now new kinds of alignments, more likely to be defined by economics and geography than by ideology. To be aligned is now a virtue, a sign of good leadership. Countries, especially small ones, can and should aim for multiple alignments of their interests. There is now no country in the world that can claim to be non-aligned.

Source: PIB