Daily Current Affairs 20 August 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

 Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) Cabinet approves setting up of National Recruitment Agency to conduct Common Eligibility Test

• Cabinet approves creation of National Recruitment Agency (NRA), paving the way for a transformational reform in the recruitment process for central government jobs
• NRA: A Multi-Agency Body to encompass the first level test by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) and the Institute of Banking Service Personnel (IBPS)
• Common Eligibility Test (CET) to screen candidates at the first level for SSC, RRBs and IBPS
• CET: A computer-based online Common Eligibility Test (CET) for the Graduate, the Higher Secondary (12thpass), and the Matriculate (10th Pass) candidates as a path-breaking reform.
• CET in Every District: Ease of Access to Rural youth, women and disadvantaged candidates
• CET: Focus on access to Test Centres in Aspirational Districts
• CET: Uniform Transformative Recruitment Process
• CET In; Multiplicity of Exams Out
• CET by NRA: Robust use of ICT to Eradicate Malpractices
• CET: A first stage screening of eligible candidates
• CET to reduce Recruitment Cycle
• NRA to conduct Mock Test for rural youth
• NRA to have mock tests, 24x7 helpline, and grievance redressal portal
• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for the creation of the National Recruitment Agency (NRA), paving the way for a transformational reform in the recruitment process for central government jobs.

Recruitment Reform - a major boon for the youth

• At present, candidates seeking government jobs have to appear for separate examinations conducted by multiple recruiting agencies for various posts, for which similar eligibility conditions have been prescribed. Candidates have to pay a fee to multiple recruiting agencies and also have to travel long distances for appearing in various exams. These multiple recruitment examinations are a burden on the candidates, as also on the respective recruitment agencies, involving avoidable/repetitive expenditure, law and order/security related issues, and venue related problems. On average, 2.5 crores to 3 crore candidates appear in each of these examinations. A common eligibility Test would enable these candidates to appear once and apply to any or all of these recruitment agencies for the higher level of examination. This would indeed be a boon to all the candidates.

National Recruitment Agency (NRA)

• A multi-agency body called the National Recruitment Agency (NRA) will conduct a Common Eligibility Test (CET) to screen/shortlist candidates for the Group B and C (non-technical) posts. NRA will have representatives of the Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Finance/Department of Financial Services, the SSC, RRB & IBPS. It is envisioned that the NRA would be a specialist body bringing state-of-the-art technology and best practices to the field of Central Government recruitment.

Access to Examination Centres

• Examination Centres in every District of the country would greatly enhance access to the candidates located in far-flung areas. Special focus on creating examination infrastructure in the 117 Aspirational Districts would go a long way in affording access to candidates at a place nearer to where they reside. The benefits in terms of cost, effort, safety, and much more would be immense. The proposal will not only ease access to rural candidates, it will also motivate the rural candidates residing in the far-flung areas to take the examination and thereby, enhance their representation in Central Government jobs. Taking job opportunities closer to the people is a radical step that would greatly enhance the ease of living for the youth

Major Relief to poor Candidates

• Presently, the candidates have to appear in multiple examinations conducted by multiple agencies.  Apart from the examination fees, candidates have to incur additional expenses for travel, boarding, lodging, and other such. A single examination would reduce the financial burden on candidates to a large extent

Women candidates to benefit greatly

• Women candidates especially from rural areas face constraints in appearing in multiple examinations as they have to arrange for transportation and places to stay in places that are far away. They sometimes have to find suitable persons to accompany them to these Centres that are located far away. The location of test centers in every District would greatly benefit candidates from rural areas in general and women candidates in particular.

Bonanza for Candidates from Rural Areas

• Given the financial and other constraints, the candidates from rural backgrounds have to make a choice as to which examination they want to appear in.  Under the NRA, the candidates by appearing in one examination will get an opportunity to compete for many posts.  NRA will conduct the first-level /Tier I Examination which is the stepping stone for many other selections. 

CET Score to be valid for three years, no bar on attempts

• The CET score of the candidate shall be valid for three years from the date of declaration of the result.  The best of the valid scores shall be deemed to be the current score of the candidate.  There shall be no restriction on the number of attempts to be taken by a candidate to appear in the CET subject to the upper age limit. Relaxation in the upper age limit shall be given to candidates of SC/ST/OBC and other categories as per the extant policy of the Government. This would go a long way in mitigating the hardship of candidates who spend a considerable amount of time, money, and effort preparing and giving these examinations every year. 

Standardized Testing

• NRA shall conduct a separate CET each for the three levels of graduate, higher secondary (12th pass) and the matriculate (10th pass) candidates for those non-technical posts to which recruitment is presently carried out by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) and by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS).  Based on the screening done at the CET score level, final selection for recruitment shall be made through separate specialized Tiers (II, III, etc) of examination which shall be conducted by the respective recruitment agencies. The curriculum for this test would be common as would be the standard. This would greatly ease the burden of candidates who are at present required to prepare for each of the examinations separately as per the different curriculum.

Scheduling Tests and choosing Centres

• Candidates would have the facility of registering on a common portal and give a choice of Centres. Based on availability, they would be allotted Centres. The ultimate aim is to reach a stage wherein candidates can schedule their own tests at Centres of their choice.

OUTREACH ACTIVITIES BY NRA

Multiple languages

• The CET would be available in several languages. This would greatly facilitate people from different parts of the country to take the exam and have an equal opportunity of being selected.

Scores – access to multiple recruitment agencies

• Initially, the scores would be used by the three major recruitment agencies. However, over some time, it is expected that other recruitment agencies in the Central Government would adopt the same. Further, it would be open for other agencies in the public as well as a private domain to adopt it if they so choose. Thus, in the long run, the CET score could be shared with other recruiting agencies in the Central Government, State Governments/Union Territories, Public Sector Undertaking, and Private Sector. This would help such organizations in saving costs and time spent on recruitment.

Shortening the recruitment cycle

• A single eligibility test would significantly reduce the recruitment cycle. Some Departments have indicated their intention to do away with any second-level test and go ahead with the recruitment based on CET scores, Physical Tests, and Medical examination. This would greatly reduce the cycle and benefit a large section of youth.   

Financial Outlay

• The Government has sanctioned a sum of Rs. 1517.57 crore for the National Recruitment Agency (NRA). The expenditure will be undertaken over three years. Apart from setting up the NRA, costs will be incurred for setting up examination infrastructure in the 117 Aspirational Districts.

Source: PIB

2) Reservations Based on Place of Birth

Recently, the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh has announced that the government jobs will be reserved for the “children” of the state, and legal provisions will be made for the same.

Arguments Against Providing Reservation Based on Place of Birth:

• Article 16 in the Constitution of India refers to equality of opportunity in government jobs.
• Article 16(1) provides for equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to 'employment or appointment' to any office under the State.
• Article 16(2) provides that there cannot be any discrimination on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence, or any of them.
• Reservation based on domicile and residence would mean discrimination as even a minimal departure creates an irrational class depriving a meritorious candidate of his fundamental rights.
• This kind of parochialism encourages regionalism and threatens the unity of the nation.

Arguments in Favour of Providing Reservation Based on Place of Birth:

• Article 16(3), allows for making provisions in government appointments concerning residence (not a place of birth).
• The Parliament (and not the legislature of a state) can prescribe residence within a state or union territory as a condition for certain employments or appointments in that state or union territory, or local authority or other authority within that state or union territory.
• Some states have been using the loopholes in the laws to reserve government jobs for locals. They have used other criteria like language tests or proof of having resided/studied in the state for a certain period.
• In Maharashtra, only those living in the state for over 15 years with fluency in Marathi are eligible.
• In Jammu and Kashmir, government jobs are reserved for “domiciles”
• In West Bengal, reading and writing skills in Bengali is a criterion in recruitment to some posts.
• Last year, the Govt of Karnataka issued a notification mandating private employers to give “priority” to Kannadigas for clerical and factory jobs in the state.
• It is argued that giving preferential treatment to the residents of a state will help in the rightful allocation of the resources of the state and would encourage people to work within the boundaries of their state.
• This is also seen as a way to stop the migration of people from backward states to metropolitans, thereby reducing the burden on such cities.

The distinction between domicile status and place of birth

• According to the SC ruling in DP Joshi vs Madhya Bharat case,1955, Domicile or status of residence is a fluid concept that can change from time to time, unlike place of birth, which is fixed.
• Domicile of a person means his permanent home.
• The place of birth is one of several grounds on which domicile status is conferred.

SC Judgments:

• In 2019, the Allahabad High Court struck down a recruitment notification issued by the Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Service Selection Commission, which prescribed preference for women who were “original residents” of the state.
• In the Kailash Chand Sharma vs State Of Rajasthan case, 2002, the Supreme Court ruled that residence, be it within a state, district, or any other area, cannot be a basis for preferential reservation or treatment.
• While the Constitution specifically prohibits discrimination based on place of birth, the Supreme Court, in DP Joshi vs Madhya Bharat case, 1955 has held domicile reservations, especially in educational institutions, as constitutional.

Way Forward

• The move to give reservation to the candidates born in the state itself runs against the spirit of constitutional equality and fraternity. It is more likely that such politically motivated steps would be overturned by the judiciary as has been done several times in the past.
• Also, the government is not employment guaranteeing agency rather an authority that should create an environment through its policies that minimize inequalities in income, status, facilities, and opportunities.

Source: Indian Express

3) No Audit of PM-CARES Funds by CAG: SC

• The Supreme Court said that being a public charitable trust, “there is no occasion for an audit of Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES Fund) by the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) of India”
• It also refused to order the transfer of funds from the PM CARES Fund to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).
• No Audit by CAG: The Court ruled that while NDRF is to be audited by the CAG of India according to the Disaster Management Act, 2005, a public charitable trust like PM-CARES Fund need not be.
• The Fund will, however, be audited by an independent auditor.
• No Transfer of Funds of PM-CARES to NDRF: The Court ruled ”The PM CARES Fund is a charitable trust registered under the Registration Act, 1908. The trust does not receive any Budgetary support or any Government money.”
• NDRF, formed under Section 46 of the DM Act of 2005, was provided for by Central and State Budgets.
• Individuals Can Contribute to NDRF: The court held that there is “no statutory prohibition on individuals to make voluntary contributions to NDRF” under Section 46(1)(b) of the DM Act.
• No New National Plan: The Court also rejected the request for a direction to the government to put in place a new National Disaster Management Plan under the DM Act, to deal with the Covid-19 situation.
• The bench said “all aspects of epidemics, all measures to contain an epidemic, preparedness, response, mitigation have been elaborately dealt in the National Disaster Management Plan, 2019.”
• No intervention in Minimum Standards of Relief: The court also declined to intervene with the “minimum standards of relief” and the necessary guidelines issued by the government under Section 12 of the DM Act.
• The provision holds that the National Authority shall recommend guidelines for the minimum standards of relief to be provided to persons affected by the disaster, which shall include the minimum requirements to be provided in the relief camps about shelter, food, drinking water, medical cover, and sanitation; special provisions to be made for widows and orphans; ex gratia assistance on account of the loss of life as also assistance on account of damage to houses and for the restoration of means of livelihood, among other things.

Background

• The government authorities invoked their respective powers under the Disaster Management (DM) Act, 2005 to deal with the Covid-19 outbreak in the country.
• The PM-CARES Fund was created to deal with any kind of emergency or distress situation like posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said that the PM-CARES Fund is not a public authority under the ambit of the Right to Information Act (RTI), 2005.
• It also denied information on the number of applications and appeals related to PM-CARES and the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund, raising concerns on its transparency and accountability.
• Recently, the Fund’s website gave information that it collected more than ₹3,076 crores in the first five days after it was set up which also includes foreign donations.
• The Fund’s website says that ₹3,100 crores have been sanctioned from the PM-CARES Fund to be spent on ventilators, migrant worker welfare, and vaccine development.

National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP)

• It provides a framework and direction to the government agencies for all phases of the disaster management cycle.
• The primary aim of the plan is to make India disaster resilient and drastically lessen the damage caused during and in the aftermath of disasters, natural and man-made.
• The National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) was first released in 2016. The plan was updated in 2016, 2018, and 2019.
• The NDMP 2019 incorporates Prime Minister's ten-point agenda for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Source: The Hindu

4) Jobs Data: CMIE

• Recently, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) has released data related to jobs gained or lost during the Covid-19 lockdown period (April-July 2020).
• CMIE is a leading business information company. It was established in 1976, primarily as an independent think tank.
• CMIE produces economic and business databases and develops specialized analytical tools to deliver these to its customers for decision making and for research. It analyses the data to decipher trends in the economy.

Salaried Jobs:

• They suffered a total loss estimated to be 18.9 million during April-July 2020.
• 17.7 million salaried jobs were lost in April. After gaining 3.9 million jobs on June, 5 million jobs were again lost in July.
• They offer better terms of employment and better wages and have a higher share in urban parts of the country than rural parts.
• They are more resilient to economic shocks and not lost easily, however, once lost they are far more difficult to retrieve.
• Only 21% of all employment in India is in the form of salaried employment.
• Loss of urban salaried jobs is likely to have a particular debilitating impact on the economy, besides causing immediate hardship to middle-class households.
• Since the lockdown was announced, several companies across sectors have taken to job cuts, along with salary reductions and leave without pay.

Informal and Non-Salaried Jobs:

• This category of the job has shown improvement during April-July 2020 increasing to 325.6 million in July 2020 from 317.6 million in 2019, an increase of 2.5%.
• This is because of the opening of the country in a phased manner.
• This category of employment accounted for about 32% of the total employment but it suffered 75% of the hit in April 2020.
• Out of a total of 121.5 million jobs lost in April 2020, 91.2 million of the jobs were lost from this category.
• Small traders, hawkers, and daily wage laborers were the worst hit by the lockdown.

Farm Jobs:

• The jobs lost in the non-farm sectors have resulted in people moving towards farm employment. The farm sector gained 14.9 million jobs in the April-July 2020 period.
• In 2019, 42.39% of the workforce in India was employed in agriculture.

Source: Indian Express

5) Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge

• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has announced the ‘Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge- Innovate Solutions for #Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ to provide further impetus to the Start-up ecosystem, innovation, and research in the country.
• MeitY has taken various initiatives and measures to improve the innovation-led ecosystem with a Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE) scheme, Centre of Excellence in IoT/FinTech space, etc.

About the Challenge:

• ‘Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge- Innovate Solutions for #Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ seeks to invite innovators, startups, and students to use microprocessors, developed by IIT Madras and C-DAC, to generate various technology products.
• IIT Madras and Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) have developed two microprocessors named SHAKTI (32 bit) and VEGA (64 bit) respectively using Open Source Architecture under the aegis of Microprocessor Development Programme of MeitY.
• The Challenge demands contestants to not only tinker with the Swadeshi Processor IPs and facilitate them with innovating the economical solutions for societal needs but also make available the entire home-grown ecosystem around Swadeshi Processors to develop the complex designs for catering to both global and domestic requirements in near future.
• The Challenge spread over 10 months, kick-started with the registration process through MyGov Portal on 18th August 2020 and will culminate in June 2021

Significance:

• Under the Aatmanibhar Bharat Abhiyan, there is a growing need for Swadeshi Compute Hardware, that shall be part of every smart device deployed in different domains, including electronics for public utility services such as surveillance, transportation, environmental condition monitoring, to commodity appliances like smart fans/ locks/ washing machines.
• Also, with the growing penetration of smart electronics in strategic areas including space, defense, and nuclear energy, the need for Swadeshi Compute Hardware is crucial.
• The dependence on external vendors, quick enhancements to suit the ever-growing requirements, and most importantly security, further drive self-reliance in the hardware domain.

Microprocessor Development Program

• It was approved in August 2017 with Rs. 289.21 crore earmarked for the program over four years.
• C-DAC, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, and IIT Bombay were roped in for implementation of the project.
• C-DAC is the premier R&D organization of the MeitY for carrying out R&D in IT, Electronics, and associated areas.
• The development of an indigenous microprocessor is necessary to meet domestic needs and shield the country from potential future embargoes on the transfer of critical technology.
• A microprocessor is an Integrated Circuit (IC) that contains a few millions of transistors (semiconductor-based electronic devices) fused on a semiconductor chip. It is just a few millimeters in dimension and is used in almost every electronic device—from the microwave and washing machine in homes to advanced supercomputers of a space station.
• The MDP was expected to lead to a reduction in the overall cost of production, maintenance, and upgradation of electronic products and systems in India, and cut foreign exchange outgo.
• Under the program, not only industry-grade microprocessors have been designed from scratch but also the ‘compute ecosystem’ around them has been evolved as a step towards meeting India's future requirements. SHAKTI and VEGA are two microprocessors developed under the program.

Open Source Architecture

• Open-source architecture is a concept that combines the advances in design and technologies with the practices and ideas from open-source projects to help reframe an architectural design as a collective and collaborative endeavor.
• Some of its features are as follow:
• The solutions provided are not restrictive. Future modifications or add-ons to the architecture are possible for the best interest of the end-user.
• It helps in the integration of the widest range of technologies and components.
• The proprietary design or technique is one that is owned by a company. It also implies that the company has not divulged specifications that would allow other companies to duplicate the product.

MyGov

• MyGov platform was launched in 2014 by the Prime Minister of India.
• It is a unique first of its kind participatory governance initiative involving the common citizen at large.
• The idea of MyGov brings the government closer to the common man by the use of an online platform creating an interface for a healthy exchange of ideas and views involving the common citizen and experts with the ultimate goal to contribute to the social and economic transformation of India.

Source: PIB

6) Dhanwantri Rath: Ayurveda Health Services

• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) and Delhi Police for extending the Ayurveda Preventive and Promotive health services in the residential colonies of Delhi Police.
• These services are to be provided through a mobile unit named ‘Dhanwantari Rath’ and Police Wellness Centres and are to be catered by AIIA, supported by the Ministry of AYUSH.
• Dhanwantari Rath and Police Wellness Centres would be outreach OPD (Outpatient Department) services of AIIA and aim to benefit the Families of Delhi Police through Ayurveda preventive health care services.
• Dhanwantari Rath – a mobile unit of Ayurveda health care services would consist of a team of Doctors who would be visiting Delhi Police colonies regularly.
• These Ayurveda health care services are expected to reduce the incidence/prevalence of various diseases and also reduce the number of referrals to hospitals thereby reducing the cost to the healthcare system as well as patients.
• Earlier, AYURAKSHA, a joint venture of AIIA and Delhi Police aimed for maintaining the health of frontline Covid warriors like Delhi police personnel through Ayurveda immunity-boosting measures were launched.
• With the latest MoU, Ayurveda Preventive and Promotive health care will be extended to the families of Delhi Police personnel.

Ayurveda

• It is made up of two words- Ayuh and Veda. Ayuh means life and Veda means knowledge or science. Thus ‘Ayurveda’ in totality means ‘Science of life’.
• It incorporates all aspects of life whether physical, psychological, spiritual, or social.
• It is considered as one of the ancient health care systems.
• Atharva-Veda mainly deals with extensive Ayurvedic information. That is why Ayurveda is said to be the offshoot of Atharva-Veda.
• The Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) was formed in 2014 to ensure the optimal development and propagation of AYUSH systems of health care.

All India Institute of Ayurveda

• It is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of AYUSH.
• It has been conceived as an apex institute for Ayurveda.
• It aims at bringing a synergy between the traditional wisdom of Ayurveda and modern tools and technology.
• The institute offers postgraduate and doctoral courses in various disciplines of Ayurveda and focuses on fundamental research of Ayurveda, drug development, standardization, quality control, safety evaluation, and scientific validation of Ayurvedic medicine.
• It is located in New Delhi.

Source: PIB

7) Digital Quality of Life Index 2020

• The report was released recently.
• The index is prepared by Surfshark, a virtual private network (VPN) provider based in the British Virgin Islands.
• It seeks to rank countries on internet affordability and quality, and electronic infrastructure, security, and government. All parameters have equal weightage.

Performance of other countries:

• Top 3: Scandinavian countries Denmark and Sweden topped the index, with Canada rounding up the top three.
• Israel offered the cheapest internet — calculated by considering how much time one must work to be able to afford the cheapest mobile internet and broadband.
• Of the total countries, 75% of them have to work more than the global average to afford the internet.
• Singapore, the UK, and the US performed the best on the e-government indicator — arrived at by checking the state of government’s online presence and readiness to employ artificial intelligence technology and help “minimize bureaucracy, reduce corruption and increase the transparency of the public sector”.
• The UK, France, and Lithuania offer the most security — cybersecurity and status of personal data protection.
• Best Internet Quality- Singapore, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
• The UAE, Sweden, and Denmark have the most developed e-infrastructure.

India’s performance:

• Of 85 countries, India ranked 9th on the internet affordability indicator and 15th on e-government.
• Overall, India is ranked 57th.
• Internet cost- India scored the best on this parameter, leading countries like the UK, US, and China.
• e-government indicator- India secured 15th position on this, ahead of the Netherlands, China and Belgium.
• Security- India performed poorly here, standing at 57th position.
• Internet quality- With a rank of 78, it fell behind countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, and the Philippines.
• On electronic infrastructure — focusing on active internet users and information and communications technology adoption rate — India ranked 79th, behind neighbors Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

Source: The Hindu

8) ‘No-Go’ forests cleared for coal mining, says report:

As per the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE):

• Since 2015, of the 49 blocks cleared for coal mining, 9 were in ‘No-Go’ areas, or regions that were once classified by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change as containing very dense forests and hence closed to coal mining.
• In 2020, of the 41 blocks put up for auction, 21 features in the original No-Go list.
• Currently, India is not utilizing its existing capacity fully: 67% of the mines auctioned since 2015 are were not operational yet.

What’s the issue?

• The environment ministry‘s ban on mining in areas of thick forest cover has locked away millions of tonnes of coal reserves.
• According to the power ministry, coal shortage is likely to hold up new power projects of over 17,000 MW aggregate capacity. This has triggered debate among the ministries of coal, power, and steel on the ‘Go, No-Go’ concept’s merits.

What are ‘No Go’ areas in coal mining?

• In 2009, the environment and coal ministries had jointly placed the country’s forested areas under two categories – Go and No-Go – and imposed a ban on mining in the ‘No-Go’ zones on environmental grounds.
• ‘No, Go’ areas are those having either more than 10 percent weighted forest cover (WFC) or more than 30 percent gross forest cover (GFC).

Is there a need for classifying ‘Go’ and ‘No Go’ areas?

• The exercise is aimed at prioritizing forest areas under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.
• Besides, Diversion of forest land for coal mining in these areas, which are rich in flora and fauna, will have an “avoidable serious adverse impact on forests and wildlife”.
• If mining were to continue, even with afforestation and reclamation, it would not be possible to restore the region's biodiversity.

Criticisms of this policy:

• The concept has no legal standing– They are mandated neither under Forest Conservation Rules, 2003 nor under any circular issued by the ministry of environment and forests.

Source: The Hindu