Daily news will speed up the preparation for the Civil Services Examination and it also plays a crucial role to grasp the current affairs topic comprehensively. Here we have covered most of the topics related to various categories including National, International, Sports, Science and Technology, and so on.
1. Special Report on Sustainable Recovery Post Covid-19
– Against the backdrop of the ongoing Covid-19 crisis, International Energy Agency (IEA), in collaboration with NITI Aayog, launched a ‘Special Report on Sustainable Recovery’.
– The report was virtually launched by IEA Executive Director Dr Fatih Birol and NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, in the presence of Minister of Railways and Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal.
– Part of IEA’s flagship World Energy Outlook series, the report proposes a number of actions that could be taken over the next three years to revitalize economies and boost employment while making energy systems cleaner and more resilient.
– The report mentions key sectors for creating jobs: electricity, transportation, buildings, industry and sustainable biofuels and innovations. A combination of policy actions and targeted investments will offer huge benefits to the economy and generate jobs.
Daily Gist of ‘The Hindu’, ‘PIB’, ‘Indian Express’ and Other Newspapers: 21 September, 2020
2. Schemes of the Ministry of Science & Technology
– The Ministry of Science & Technology has formulated the following schemes to provide attractive avenues and opportunities to Indian researchers who are residing in foreign countries to work in Indian Institutes and Universities.
- Visiting Advanced Joint Research (VAJRA) Faculty Scheme
- Ramanujan Fellowship
- Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowship
- Biomedical Research Career Programme (BRCP)
- Scientists/ Technologists of Indian Origin (STIO) in Indian research Laboratory
- Senior Research Associateship (SRA) (Scientist’s Pool Scheme)
3. Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for Rabi Crops
– The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for all mandated Rabi crops for marketing season 2021-22.
– This increase in MSP is in line with the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission.
– In view of nutritional requirements and changing dietary pattern and to achieve self-sufficiency in pulses and oilseeds production, the Government has fixed relatively higher MSP for these crops.
– The highest increase in MSP has been announced for lentil (Rs. 300 per quintal) followed by the gram and rapeseed & mustard (Rs. 225 per quintal each) and safflower (Rs. 112 per quintal).
– For barley and wheat, an increase of Rs. 75 per quintal and Rs 50 per quintal respectively has been announced.
– The Umbrella Scheme “Pradhan Mantri AnnadataAaySanraksHan Abhiyan” (PM-AASHA), comprising Price Support Scheme (PSS), Price Deficiency Payment Scheme (PDPS), and pilot Scheme of Private Procurement and Stockist Scheme (PPSS) will aid in the procurement of pulses and oilseeds.
Daily Gist of ‘The Hindu’, ‘PIB’, ‘Indian Express’ and Other Newspapers: 18 September, 2020
4. Ocean Services, Modelling, Applications, Resources and Technology (O-SMART) SCHEME
Some of the objectives of O-SMART (Ocean Services, Modelling, Applications, Resources and Technology) scheme of Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Govt. of India are:
– To generate and regularly update information on Marine Living Resources and their relationship with the physical environment in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
– To periodically monitor levels of seawater pollutants for health assessment of coastal waters of India, to develop shoreline change maps for assessment of coastal erosion due to natural and anthropogenic activities.
– To develop high-resolution models for ocean forecast and reanalysis system.
– To generate and disseminate a suite of user-oriented ocean information, advisories, warnings, data and data products for the benefit of society.
– To develop algorithms for validation of satellite data for coastal research and to monitor changes in the coastal research.
– To develop technologies to tap the marine bioresources.
– To develop technologies generating freshwater and energy from the ocean.
– To develop underwater vehicles and technologies.
– Establishment of Ballast water treatment facility, etc.
Daily Gist of ‘The Hindu’, ‘PIB’, ‘Indian Express’ and Other Newspapers: 17 September, 2020
5. FinCEN and FIU-IND
– Recently, over 2100 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) were filed by banks with the United States Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
– The FinCEN files identify at least USD 2 trillion in transactions between 1999 and 2017 flagged as possible evidence of money laundering or other criminal activity by compliance officers of banks and financial institutions.
– Kakatii Devi temple was built by Ganapati Deva, Kakatiya ruler in Dharanikota (Andhra Pradesh) which is converted into an abode of local Goddess ‘Balusulamma’.
Important Points:
– At this 13th-century temple, the presiding deity was Kakati Devi, the tutelary deity of Kakatiya rulers.
– Ganapati Deva is the first king who introduced the worship of Kakati Devi into the coastal region of Andhra and outside the dominions of his kingdom.
– Architectural significance of the temple is that the ceiling bears decorations of lotus medallions and no sikhara on its top. These architectural features are totally akin to their counterparts found in shrines at Hanamkonda and Warangal fort etc.
Daily Gist of ‘The Hindu’, ‘PIB’, ‘Indian Express’ and Other Newspapers: 16 September, 2020
7. Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020
– It was introduced in the Lok Sabha. It seeks to make significant changes to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA).
Proposed amendments of the Bill are:
– It seeks to prohibit ‘public servants’ from receiving any foreign funding.
– It proposes to reduce the use of foreign funds to meet administrative costs by NGOs from the existing 50 per cent to 20 per cent.
– It seeks to “prohibit any transfer of foreign contribution to any association/person”.
– It proposes to make Aadhaar cards a mandatory identification document for all office-bearers, directors and other key functionaries of NGOs or associations eligible to receive foreign donations.
nice.