Week 05 – 2020 UPSC Current Affairs Vignan IAS Academy

On Republic Day, the Prison Department of Maharashtra launched its jail tourism initiative starting with more than 150-year-old Yerawada Central Prison in Pune

• Constructed in 1866, Yerawada Central Prison is the largest jail in Maharashtra and one of the largest maximum security prisons in the country.
  
• In Maharashtra, there are 16 functioning prisons that were built in the 19th century, the oldest being Byculla District Prison in Mumbai which started in 1840.
  

Important Info :

Historical significance

• Many leaders of the Indian independence movement were incarcerated in this prison.
• Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned at Yerawada jail three times — from March 1922 to February 1924, from January 1932 to May 1933, and for three days in August 1933.
• The cell where Mahatma Gandhi was lodged is called the Gandhi Yard, which is also the place where the historic Poona Pact between Gandhi and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar was signed.

Source : Indian Express

There are dozens of ways to pick stocks, but few have been as unconventional — or as successful — as the coordinated short-squeeze being deployed by Reddit’s army of day traders. Now, Wall Street is scanning the matter

• Short squeeze is a term used by market participants to refer to a phenomenon where short sellers in a stock who have placed their bets on a stock’s fall, rush to hedge their positions or buy the stock in the event of an adverse price movement, in order to cover their losses.
  
• This leads to a sharp rise in demand for the share, and huge rally in share prices.
  
• In order to cover his loss, the trader who was initially short on the stock, starts buying the stock, which leads to a sharp rise in the share price of the stock.
  
• This phenomenon, where the short seller is buying the stock to cover her loss, is referred to as short squeeze in market parlance.
  
• It leads to a dramatic rise in share price, far beyond its fundamentals.
  

Source : Indian Express

A former Israeli fighter pilot, an American technology entrepreneur and a Canadian investor will be part of the crew of the first entirely-private orbital space mission

• The three men are paying $55 million each to fly aboard a SpaceX rocket for an eight-day visit to the International Space Station, organised by Houston-based spaceflight firm Axiom.
  
• The Axiom Mission 1 (AX 1) flight is being arranged under a commercial agreement with NASA.
  
• The mission will be led by former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, who now works for Axiom space.
  
• While private citizens have travelled to space before, the AX 1 mission will be the first to use a commercially built spacecraft, the SpaceX Dragon 2, best known for flying its first two crews to the ISS late last year.
  

Important Info :

Is this the first time civilians have been launched into space?

• No, private civilians have travelled to the space station before.
• Since 2001, Russia has been selling rides to the ISS to wealthy businessmen around the world. They travelled onboard the Russian Soyuz aircraft along with professional cosmonauts and NASA astronauts.

Source : Indian express

Twenty five years before the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre, more than a hundred peasants fell to the bullets of the British on January 28, 1894 in Patharughat, a small village in Assam’s Darrang district

• The unarmed peasants were protesting against the increase in land revenue levied by the colonial administration, when the military opened fire.
  
• On January 28, 1894, many local peasants gathered in a protest meeting at Patharughat (also known as Patharighat), condemning the increasing land tax levied by the British.
  
• As a result, a rebellion brewed in the hearts of the peasants against the British.
  
• After much discussion amongst themselves, it was decided that no taxes would be paid to the British, until a proper solution was found to the problem. They were even willing to revolt against the British for the cause.
  
• While the protest meeting was going on, Deputy Commissioner of Darrang district, JD Anderson, Mr Barrington, SP and Mr Remington, SDO, arrived at the venue along with full police force.
  
• On the orders of Barrington, the police opened fire on the gathering present there. hundreds of people were injured and around 140 of them were killed on spot.
  
• Every year on January 28, the government and local people pay respects to the martyrs of the incident (Krishak Swahid Diwas).
  

Source : Indian Express

Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports launched a breakthrough Reference Material for use in chemical testing in the field of anti-doping synthesized by collaborative efforts of National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) and National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Guwahati

• This Reference Material (RM), has been identified by NDTL as one of the rarely available RMs globally and would be used to strengthen anti-doping measures in all World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited laboratories.
  
• The MoU between NDTL and NIPER Guwahati was signed in August 2020 which proposes to synthesize 20 rarely available Reference Materials (RMs) during a period of 3 years.
  
• The availability of these RMs would help the anti-doping laboratories to strengthen their testing capacity. This will help in the greater cause of promoting fair play in sports.
  

Important Info :

• National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) is an autonomous body under Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. It is based in Delhi.
• It is the only laboratory in the country responsible for human sports dope testing.

Source : The Hindu

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare addressed the event on Restoring Cross Border Mobility by World Economic Forum’s Common Trust Network through Video Conference

• Background: As countries around the world work to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and restart their economies, they all face the challenge of how to reopen their borders and allow travel and commerce to resume while protecting their populations’ health.
  
• To address this challenge, The Commons Project Foundation and the World Economic Forum have launched the Common Trust Network in collaboration with a broad voluntary network of public and private stakeholders.
  
• The Common Trust Network is designed to
  • empower individuals with digital access to their health information,
    
  • make it easier for individuals to understand and comply with each destination’s requirements, and
    
  • help ensure that only verifiable lab results and vaccination records from trusted sources are presented for the purposes of cross-border travel and commerce.
    
  
  
• The Common Trust Registry: The Common Trust Network is enabled by a global registry of trusted laboratory and vaccination data sources, standard formats for lab results and vaccination records, and standard tools to make those results and records digitally accessible.
  

Source : PIB

January 30, 2021 will mark the second annual World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day, highlighting the global community’s commitment to ending Neglected Tropical Diseases

• On World NTD Day, on 30th January 2021, more than 50 landmarks representing 25 nations across the world will be lit up to celebrate how far we have come together in beating NTDs. India too will proudly join these countries, by illuminating UNESCO world heritage site Qutub Minar.
  
• Background: Originally announced by the Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi at the 2019 Reaching the Last Mile Forum, hundreds of partners signed up to mark World NTD Day and demand action to Face NTDs and End The Neglect.
  

Important Info :

• Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of tropical infections which are common in low-income populations in developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
• They are caused by a variety of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa and parasitic worms (helminths).
• They include dengue, rabies, blinding trachoma, Buruli ulcer, endemic treponematoses (yaws), leprosy (Hansen disease) etc.
• These diseases are contrasted with the big three infectious diseases (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria), which generally receive greater treatment and research funding.
• 1 in 5 people around the world are affected by NTDs. India is home to the world’s largest absolute burden of at least 11 of these major neglected tropical diseases.

Source : Outlook

Union Minister for Environment and French Minister for Ecological Transition launched the Indo-French Year of the Environment

• The basic objective is to strengthen Indo-French cooperation in sustainable development, increase the effectiveness of actions in favour of global environment protection and give them greater visibility.
  
• The Indo-French Year of the Environment over the period 2021-2022 would be based on five main themes: environmental protection, climate change, biodiversity conservation, sustainable urban development, and the development of renewable energies and energy efficiency.
  
• It is also a platform for engaging in discussions on critical areas of collaboration relating to environment and allied areas.
  
• From the Indian side, it will be coordinated by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) along with the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and other concerned Ministries/Departments/Organisations.
  
• A joint screening committee will also be set up to finalise the calendar of the events for the Indo-French Year of the Environment.
  

Important Info :

• India-France alliance is the main pillar of the International Solar Alliance launched by PM Narendra Modi.

Source : PIB

The Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has released ‘Marine Mega Fauna Stranding Guidelines’ and ‘National Marine Turtle Action Plan’

• The documents contains ways and means to guide improved coordination amongst the government, civil society and all relevant stakeholders on the response to cases of stranding, entanglement, injury or mortality of marine mammals and also conservation of marine turtles.
  
• These two documents highlight
  • actions to be taken for handling stranded animals on shore, stranded or entangled animals in the sea or on a boat,
    
  • management actions for improved coordination,
    
  • reducing threats to marine species and their habitats,
    
  • rehabilitation of degraded habitats,
    
  • enhancing people’s participation,
    
  • advance scientific research and exchange of information on marine mammals and marine turtles and their habitats.
    
  
  

Source : DD News

Union Education Minister addressed the Valedictory Function of Kala Utsav 2020

• Background: Kala Utsav National Competition was launched in 2015.
  
• Objective: To promote arts in education by nurturing and show casing the artistic talents of school students. Children with special needs too will have the opportunity to display their talents.
  
• Agencies involved: Kala Utsav is an initiative of the Department of School Education and Literacy of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD).
  
• Kala Utsav 2020 was launched online on 10 January 2021 through a digital platform. The Indigenous Toys and Games segment was introduced in Kala Utsav 2020.
  

Source : PIB

Asaddudin Owaisi, president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM), and CPI leader Binoy Viswam have filed dissent notes to the parliamentary standing committee’s report on the DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019 on the grounds that it does not take into account their concerns over privacy violations

• The Bill proposes DNA sampling and profiling of citizens accused of crime or reported missing, and storing their unique genetic information for administrative purposes.
  
• The objective of the Bill is limited to the establishment of a regulatory board to regulate the use of DNA technology in consonance with international standards.
  

Important Info :

Arguments against

• They say if enacted, the Bill will target Dalits, Muslims and Adivasis by way of DNA sample collection and indefinite storage.
• The fear is that the law could be used for caste or community-based profiling.
• The Bill ran afoul with the standards set in the Puttaswamy and Subramanian Swamy judgments of the Supreme Court.
• In the absence of a statutory framework protecting the right to privacy, this Bill will cause irreversible damage to individuals’ right to privacy as well as the criminal justice system.

Source : The Hindu

The Supreme Court appointed conservationist Nandita Hazarika as Member of a Technical Committee constituted by it on October 14 last year to hear complaints by land owners against the action taken by the Nilgris Collector, which included “arbitrary variance in acreage of the elephant corridor.”

• On October 14, the top court upheld the Tamil Nadu government’s authority to notify an ‘elephant corridor’ and protect the migratory path of the animals through the Nilgiri biosphere reserve, the largest protected forest area in India, spanning across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
  
• The corridor is situated in the ecologically fragile Sigur plateau.
  

Important Info :

• Sigur Plateau is a plateau in the north and east of Nilgiri District in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu.
• It connects the Western and the Eastern Ghats and sustains elephant populations and their genetic diversity.
• It has the Nilgiri Hills on its southwestern side and the Moyar River Valley on its north-eastern side. The elephants cross the plateau in search of food and water.

Source : The Hindu

Maharashtra Chief Minister said the disputed border area between Maharashtra and Karnataka should be made an Union Territory until the matter is heard by the Supreme Court. This sparked off a strong reaction in Karnataka

• Maharashtra has been claiming that Belagavi, Karwar and Nipani should be the part of that State as they are Marathi-speaking areas.
  
• The erstwhile Bombay Presidency, a multilingual province, included the present-day Karnataka districts of Bijapur, Belgaum, Dharwar and Uttara-Kannada (previously North Kanara).
  
• The Belagavi/Belgaum region at the border of Maharashtra and Karnataka comprises both Kannada and Marathi speakers.
  
• In 1948, the Belgaum municipality requested that the district, having a predominantly Marathi-speaking population, be incorporated into the proposed Maharashtra state.
  
• However, the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, which divided states on linguistic and administrative lines, made Belgaum a part of the then Mysore State (which was renamed Karnataka in 1973).
  
• The area has been under dispute since then. The Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti, formed in 1948, has been fighting for a merger of 800-odd villages in Karnataka with Maharashtra.
  
• In 2014, the Karnataka government renamed Belgaum as Belagavi.
  

Source : The Hindu

A formal MoU signing ceremony was held between Textiles Committee, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India and M/s. Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre Japan

• The objective of the MoU is to provide required support to textile’s trade and industry for ensuring quality as per the requirement of Japanese buyers  through Testing, Inspection & Conformity Assessment.
  
• It is expected that the MoU will strengthen the bilateral trade by enhancing India’s export of Textile and Apparels (T&A) to Japan, which is the third largest export destination of the world.
  

Important Info :

About Textiles Committee:

• The Textiles Committee was established in the year 1963 by an Act of Parliament.
• It is a statutory body under the Ministry of Textiles to ensure quality of all textiles and textile products for domestic and export markets.
• The Textiles Committee is the only body providing for all the quality related needs of the entire Textiles Value Chain (TVC) in an integrated format on a pan-India basis.

Source : PIB

The Framework for Strategic Partnership between the International Energy Agency (IEA) members and the Government of India was signed

• It aims to strengthen mutual trust and cooperation & enhance global energy security, stability and sustainability. This partnership will lead to an extensive exchange of knowledge and would be a stepping stone towards India becoming a full member of the IEA.
  
• The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organisation.
  
• It was established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis.
  
• The IEA is made up of 30 member countries.
  
• In addition, the IEA family also includes eight association countries which includes Brazil, China and India.
  
• Three countries are seeking accession to full membership, Chile, Israel and Lithuania.
  

Source : PIB

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare addressed the 4th edition of the Future Investment Initiative Forum, through Video Conference

• The Future Investment Initiative (FII) is an annual investment forum held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to discuss trends in the world economy and investment environment.
  
• It is hosted by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF).
  
• The first event was in October 2017.
  
• The purpose of this year’s forum was to find solutions on how business and government can expand access to healthcare, train healthcare workers, remove regulatory barriers and encourage investment in advanced health technologies.
  

Source : PIB

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) observed the International Customs Day, 2021

• The theme for this year as given by World Customs Organisation (WCO) is “Customs bolstering Recovery, Renewal and Resilience for a sustainable supply chain”.
  
• January 26 is celebrated as the International Customs Day (ICD). It is the day designated to honour the custom officials and agencies for their function in taking care of the flow of goods across the world borders.
  

Important Info :

Background: World Customs Organization (WCO)

• It was on January 26, 1953 that the Customs Cooperation Council (CCC) had held its inaugural session in Brussels which was attended by representatives from 17 European countries.
• International Customs Day was created by CCC in 1983. In 1994, CCC was renamed as World Customs Organization (WCO).
• WCO is the only international body looking after international customs and matters concerning border control.
• WCO has head-quarter in Brussels, Belgium.
• WCO currently has custom organizations from 182 countries as its members.
• More than 98% of world trade is administered by WCO.

Source : PIB

National Informatics Centre services Incorporated (NICSI) will celebrate 25 years of its establishment here on 28 January 2021

• National Informatics Centre services Incorporated (NICSI) is a Public Sector Enterprise under National Informatics Centre(NIC), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India.
  
• NICSI started its journey in the ICT service industry on 29th August 1995.
  
• Providing end-to-end IT solutions for e-governance projects for Central and State Governments and other PSUs across India, NICSI extends its services to the International level too in certain projects.
  

Important Info :

On the occasion, The Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology will launch:

• Tejas – a Virtual Intelligence tool (NIC&NICSI-CEDA) that extracts critical information from data to make its meaningful information for policy decisions and improving efficiency in government services and citizen delivery;
• e-Auction India – to cater to electronic forward and reverse auction requirements of the Govt. organisations serving online 24×7;
• Work from Anywhere Portal – a virtual environment, provisioned shall empower employees access routine applications like eoffice, calendar, mail, and other departmental applications and communicate across through Video Conferencing;
• NIC Products Portfolio for International Offering to augment Digital India branding through promotion of productized software applications at global level.

Source : PIB

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of copra for 2021 season

• Copra is the dried meat or kernel of the coconut, which is the fruit of the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera). Coconut oil is extracted from copra, making it an important agricultural commodity for many coconut-producing countries.
  
• The MSP for Fair Average Quality (FAQ) of milling copra has been increased, by Rs.375/-, to Rs. 10335/- per quintal for 2021 season from Rs. 9960/- per quintal in 2020.
  
• The approval is based on recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
  
• The increase in MSP for copra for 2021 season is in line with the principle of fixing the MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times the all India weighted average cost of production which was announced by the Government in the Budget 2018-19.
  
• The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumer Federation of India Limited (NCCF) will continue to act as Central Nodal Agencies to undertake price support operations at the MSP in the coconut growing States.
  

Source : PIB

Prime Minister Modi will address the World Economic Forum’s Davos Dialogue on 28th January, 2021 via video conferencing

• The Davos Dialogues agenda marks the launch of the World Economic Forum’s Great Reset Initiative in the post COVID world.
  
• The World Economic Forum (WEF), based in Cologny-Geneva, Switzerland, is an NGO, founded in 1971. The WEF hosts an annual meeting at the end of January in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland.
  

Source : PIB

Bharat Parv 2021, a festival to celebrate the spirit of India has begun. The festival is being organised on a virtual platform www.bharatparv2021.com this year from 26th of January till 31st of January

• Background: Bharat Parv is being celebrated as part of Republic Day celebrations since 2016.
  
• Objective: To generate a patriotic fervour, promote the rich cultural diversity of the country and to popularize the idea of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.
  
• Organized by: The Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with other central Ministries.
  
• Duration: 26th to 31st January 2021 (The 5-day event is a part of Republic Day Celebrations).
  

Source : All India Radio

The Dhannipur mosque project was formally launched on Republic Day at the five-acre plot in Dhannipur village of Ayodhya Uttar Pradesh

• The plot was allotted by the Uttar Pradesh government on the directions of the Supreme Court in the Babri Masjid Ram Janmabhoomi title suit.
  
• The Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) is overseeing the construction of the mosque.
  
• The project would take around 30 months to be completed.
  
• The project comprises three parts: a mosque based on a modern design; a multi-speciality 200-bed hospital and community kitchen; and an Indo-Islamic Cultural Research Centre.
  

Source : The Hindu

A statue of freedom fighter Govind Ballabh Pant that was removed from the Parliament premises recently would be unveiled at its new location, a roundabout opposite Gurdwara Rakab Ganj on Pandit Pant Marg in Delhi

• Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant (1887 – 1961) was a lawyer, an Indian freedom fighter and one of the architects of modern India.
  
• In 1921, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh.
  
• He was an untiring participant in both the Non-Cooperation Movement and the Civil Disobedience Movement.
  
• He was also a member of the Central Legislative Assembly and the Constituent Assembly.
  
• He served as the 2nd Chief Minister of United Provinces from 1937 to 1939.
  
• After independence, he served as the 1st Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 1950 to 1954.
  
• He served as Union Home Minister from 1955–1961.
  
• As Home Minister, his chief achievement was the re-organisation of States along linguistic lines.
  
• He was also responsible for the establishment of Hindi as an official language of the central government and a few states.
  
• To honour his exemplary services to the nation, he received Bharat Ratna, in 1957.
  

Source : The Hindu

Data privacy can take the form of non-price competition and abuse of dominance can lower privacy protection, a study by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has said

• CCI noted that an aspect of data in the context of competition in digital communications market is the conflict between allowing access and protecting consumer privacy.
  
• Privacy can take the form of non-price competition. Abuse of dominance can take the form of lowering the privacy protection and therefore fall within the ambit of antitrust as low privacy standard implies lack of consumer welfare.
  
• The study also made observations about other non-price factors such as quality of service (QoS), data speeds and bundled offerings, which are likely to be the new drivers of competitive rivalry between service providers in telecom sector in addition to just price.
  

Important Info :

• Competition Commission of India is a statutory body of the Government of India responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002.
• It was established in 2003 and became fully functional in 2009 with Dhanendra Kumar as its first Chairman.

Source : The Hindu

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti, said that It has been nearly 13 years since the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) started. The UN Security Council is finding itself unable to act effectively to address issues of international peace and security as it lacked inclusivity

• The Intergovernmental Negotiations framework (IGN) is a group of nation-states working within the United Nations to further reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), 15-member top organ of the world body.
  
• Composition: The IGN is composed of several different international organizations, namely:
  • The African Union;
    
  • The G4 nations (India, along with Brazil, Japan and Germany are pressing for a permanent seat in the reformed UNSC);
    
  • The Uniting for Consensus Group (UfC), also known as the “Coffee Club”;
    
  • The L.69 Group of Developing Countries;
    
  • The Arab League; and
    
  • The Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
    
  
  
• Each group represents a different set of positions vis-a-vis reforming the United Nations Security Council.
  
• In 2016, an “oral decision” was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly which approved of a declaration known as the “elements of convergence” which outlined the status of the consensus reached by the members of the IGN at that time.
  

Source : The Hindu

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration announced it was restoring relations with the Palestinians and renewing aid to Palestinian refugees

• It is a reversal of the Donald Trump administration’s cutoff and a key element of its new support for a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict agreed to by Israelis and Palestinians.
  
• Palestine is recognized officially as the State of Palestine by the United Nations and other entities.
  
• It is a de jure sovereign state in Western Asia claiming the West Bank (bordering Israel and Jordan) and Gaza Strip (bordering Israel and Egypt) with Jerusalem as the designated capital, although its administrative center is currently located in Ramallah.
  
• The entirety of territory claimed by the State of Palestine has been occupied since 1948, first by Egypt and Jordan and then by Israel after the Six-Day War in 1967.
  

Source : The Hindu

President of India has approved awards of 455 Gallantry and other Defence decorations to Armed Forces personnel and others. Colonel B Santosh Babu, the Commanding Officer of 16 Bihar Regiment, who lost his life during the Galwan Valley clash last year, will be posthumously awarded with Maha Vir Chakra

• Announcement: These gallantry awards are announced twice in a year – first on the occasion of the Republic Day and then on the occasion of the Independence Day.
  
• Order of precedence of these awards is the Param Vir Chakra, the Ashoka Chakra, the Mahavir Chakra, the Kirti Chakra, the Vir Chakra and the Shaurya Chakra.
  

Important Info :

Background:

• Three gallantry awards namely Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra and Vir Chakra were instituted by the Government of India on 26th January, 1950.
• Thereafter, other three gallantry awards i.e. the Ashoka Chakra Class-I, the Ashoka Chakra Class-II and the Ashoka Chakra Class-III were instituted in 1952. These awards were renamed as Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra respectively in 1967.

Source : All India Radio

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