Context: A controversial anti-superstition law in Karnataka, the Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and Black Magic Act, 2017, has been formally notified by the government.

• The practice of Vaastu, astrology, pradakshina or circumambulation of holy places, yatras, parikramas performed at religious places were kept out of the purview of the law.


• Made Snana, the practice of having Dalits roll over leftover food, has now been modified to be voluntary and not involving leftover food.


• Practices such as barring menstruating women from entering houses of worship and their homes, coercing people to take part in fire-walks, and beating up people by declaring them evil, are among the irrational practices that have been banned under the 2017 law.


• A total of 16 practices have been banned under the law.


• The law stipulates “imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to seven years and with fine which shall not be less than five thousand rupees but which may extend to fifty thousand rupees”, as punishment for violations.

Context: Indian Railways has commissioned the country’s first governmental Waste to Energy Plant, having the capacity of 500 Kg waste per day, in Mancheswar Carriage Repair Workshop at Bhubaneswar in East Coast Railway.

• This Waste to Energy Plant, a patented technology called POLYCRACK, is first-of-its-kind in Indian Railways and fourth in India.


• It is world’s first patented heterogeneous catalytic process which converts multiple feedstocks into hydrocarbon liquid fuels, gas, carbon and water.

• Using Polycrack Plant, all types of waste including plastic and e-waste can be converted to Light Diesel Oil which is used to light furnaces. It can be fed with all types of Plastic.


• Polycrack has the following advantages over the conventional approach of treating solid waste:


• Pre-segregation of waste is not required to reform the waste. Waste as collected can be directly fed into Polycrack.


• It is an enclosed unit hence the working environment is dust free.


• All constituents are converted into valuable energy thereby making it Zero Discharge Process.

Context: The report of the YS Malik Committee, constituted to give recommendations to transform the Indian Academy of Highway Engineers (IAHE) into a world-class premier institute on-highway sector was submitted to the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways.

• IAHE is the premier institute for pooling of experience and sharing of knowledge on entire range of subjects involving management of highways.


• It was created by Ministry for Road Transport & Highways in 1983.


• It is located in NOIDA (Uttar Pradesh).


• The recent report says, there is need to improve existing training infrastructure, content and training methodology, establish linkages with world-renowned international institutes and carry out applied research & related works.

Context: Ramsar has declared 10 more wetland sites from India as sites of international importance for the conservation of global biological diversity.

• The Ramsar Convention was signed in 1971 to maintain an international network of wetlands which are important for the conservation of global biological diversity.


• Wetlands declared as Ramsar sites are protected under strict guidelines of the convention.

• Maharashtra gets its first Ramsar site:


• Nandur Madhameshwar.


• Punjab added 3 more:


• Keshopur-Miani.


• Beas Conservation Reserve.


• Nangal.


• UP has added 6 more:


• Nawabganj.


• Parvati Agra.


• Saman.


• Samaspur.


• Sandi.


• SarsaiNawar.


• With this, the numbers of Ramsar sites in India are now 37 and the surface area covered by these sites is now 1,067,939 hectares.

Context: During the Republic Day celebrations of 2020, the tableau of Odisha displayed the famous Rukuna Ratha Yatra of Lord Lingaraja worshipped as both Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu in a sixth-century built a temple named 'Lingaraj Temple' at Bhubaneswar.

• Rukuna Rath Yatra of Lord Lingaraj in Bhubaneswar is one of the biggest festival of the city.


• The Chariot Festival of Lord Lingaraja is celebrated at Bhubaneswar on the day of Ashokastami or Basanti Durga Puja.


• The festival takes place in the month of Chaitra (March-April) the day preceding Ramanavami.


• On the day of Ashokastami 3 deities i.e. Chandrasekhar – the representative of:


• Lord Lingaraja.


• Rukmini.


• Basudeva are ceremonially brought to ascend chariot.


• After that, the chariot is drawn to Rameswara temple and remained there for four days called Gundicha Gharand on the fifth day the three deities start the return journey called Bahuda.

Context: The newly constituted Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM) has approved the release of the Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) for inviting Expression of Interest (EOI) from the Interested Bidders (IBs) for Strategic Disinvestment of Air India.

• The newly constituted Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM) is headed by Union Home Minister and comprises Union Ministers of Commerce & Industry, Finance & Corporate Affairs and Civil Aviation, as members.


• This is the second attempt in two years by the government at privatising the national carrier. On May 31, 2018, when the deadline for bids closed, not even a single private player had shown interest.

• The Union government invited bids for a 100% stake sale of Air India (AI) and transfer of management control along with its complete share in two subsidiaries —


• Low-cost international carrier Air India Express.


• Ground-handling arm AISATS.


• The government has also offered to hive off liabilities worth nearly ₹40,000 crore.


• On the table is a 100% stake in AI.100% stake in AI Express Limited (AIXL) and all of the government’s 50% stake in AISATS, which is a joint venture with the Singapore-based ground handling company SATS Limited.


• The buyer will get a total of 146 aircraft, 56% of which are owned by the airline group, while the remaining are on lease.


• Any private or public limited company, a corporate body and a fund with a net value of ₹3,500 crores will be eligible to bid.


• The last date for submitting interest to the transaction adviser is March 17 and the outcome of this round will be known by March 31.

Context: On January 27, 2020, survivors of the Holocaust and international heads of state marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

• During the Second World War, the government of Nazi Germany killed approximately 17 million people across Europe in half a dozen camps specifically designated for killings.


• Of these seven killing centers, the camp at Auschwitz (in German-occupied Poland), perhaps the most well known, was the largest in size. In many ways, Auschwitz has become the center of Holocaust history and research and serves as a reminder of the horrors of the Holocaust.


• Allied forces entered Auschwitz on January 27, 1945:


• Finding hundreds of sick


• Starving


• Exhausted prisoners, who had somehow survived.


• In 2005, the UN-designated January 27 as the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Context: India’s third-highest gallantry medal in peacetime, Shaurya Chakra, has been awarded to six Army and three police personnel for conspicuous bravery in counter-terror operations.

• 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.


• 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.


• Shaurya Chakra is awarded to the armed forces for instances of extraordinary gallantry.


• President Kovind also approved four Uttam Yudh Seva Medals (UYSM) for top Army generals including Lt. Gen. Y K Joshi, who will soon take charge of the Northern Army Command.


• The President also approved:


• Five Nao Sena Medals (gallantry)


• Four Bar to Sena Medals (devotion to duty).


• 36 Sena Medals (devotion to duty).


• Eight Nao Sena Medals (devotion to duty).


• One Bar to Vayu Sena Medal (devotion to duty).


• 13 Vayu Sena Medals (devotion to duty).

Context: An international study in Quaternary Science Reviews has sought to bring some order into our understanding of giant straight-tusked elephant.

• The straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiques) is an extinct species of elephant that inhabited Europe and Western Asia during the Middle and Late Pleistocene (781,000–50,000 years before present).


• Palaeoloxodon namadicus or the Asian straight-tusked elephant was a species of prehistoric elephant that ranged throughout Pleistocene Asia.

• About 800,000 years ago, a giant straight-tusked elephant migrated out of Africa and spread across Europe and Asia.


• Marked by a huge head, the elephant divided into many species, such as:


• Palaeoloxodon antiquus (in Europe).


• Palaeoloxodon namadicus (India).


• Palaeoloxodon naumanni (Japan).


• One key point of confusion was the different sizes of skull crests in fossils found in Europe. The new study has concluded that there was a single European species.


• On the other hand, fossils found in Asia and East Africa represent distinct species that evolved.

Context: As part of the commemoration of Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary, the Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) has dedicated an entire issue of its journal on what it calls “Gandhian insights into applied anthropology”.

• According to the recent journal, equality and human community of the Gajan (a rural festival of Bengal), had so much in common with the Gandhian yatra.

• Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) is the apex Indian government organisation involved in anthropological studies and field data research for human and cultural aspects.


• Formed in 1945.


• Headquarters in Kolkata.


• Parent organisation : Ministry of Culture.

Context: The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has begun a nationwide capacity building programme for social workers who help assess the suitability of the adoptive family and prepare a child for a new home.

• Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is the nodal body for adoption of Indian children.

• It regulates in-country and inter-country adoptions (in accordance with the provisions of The Hague Convention on Inter-Country Adoption, 1993, ratified by Government of India in 2003).


• It is an autonomous body of the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development.


• The mandatory registration of Child Care Institutions (CCIs) and linking to CARA has been provided in Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

Context: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was the chief guest at India's Republic Day celebrations. The Chief Guest at the Republic Day parade is accorded India’s highest honour in protocol terms.

• The two sides also concluded 15 agreements/MoU on a variety of issues including an action plan to deepen their strategic partnership.

• Under the action plan, existing mechanisms, as well as goals, have been grouped in six major thematic areas.


• The India-Brazil Joint Commission for political, economic, scientific, technological and cultural cooperation will be the main forum for monitoring the implementation of the Action Plan and will convene every two years, the action plan states.


• MoU for establishing a nodal institution in India to carry out research on Bioenergy.


• Investment Cooperation and Facilitation Treaty.


• Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.


• MoU on cooperation in the field of Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy.


• Cultural Exchange Programme for the period 2020-2024.


• MoU between Invest India and the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency.

Context: President of India Ram Nath Kovind has approved the conferment of Jeevan Raksha Padak Series of Awards - 2019 on 54 persons.

• Jeevan Raksha Padak series of awards are given to a person for meritorious act of human nature in saving the life of a person.


• The award is given in three categories, namely:


• Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak.


• Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak.


• Jeevan Raksha Padak.


• Persons of all walks of life are eligible for these awards. The award can also be conferred


• The decoration of the award (medal, a certificate signed by the Union Home Minister and lump sum monetary allowance) is presented to the awardee in due course by the respective Union Ministries/Organizations/State Government to which the awardee belongs.


• This includes Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak to seven, Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak to eight and Jeevan Raksha Padak to 39 persons. Five awards are posthumous.

Context: The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), with help from Gujarat’s Forest Department, is attempting for the first time a process to restore coral reefs using bio rock or mineral accretion technology.

• Biorock is the name given to the substance formed by electro accumulation of minerals dissolved in seawater on steel structures that are lowered onto the sea bed and are connected to a power source, in this case solar panels that float on the surface.

• The technology works by passing a small amount of electrical current through electrodes in the water.


• When a positively charged anode and negatively charged cathode are placed on the seafloor, with an electric current flowing between them, calcium ions combine with carbonate ions and adhere to the structure (cathode). This results in calcium carbonate formation. Coral larvae adhere to the CaCO3 and grow quickly.


• Technology helps corals to counter the threats posed by global warming. A bio rock structure was installed one nautical mile off the Mithapur coast in the Gulf of Kutch on January 19.


• The location for installing the bio rock had been chosen to keep in mind the high tidal amplitude in the Gulf of Kutch. The low tide depth where the bio rock has been installed is four meters, and at high tide, it is about eight meters.

Context: The Supreme court (SC) has affirmed a 3% quota for disabled persons both in direct recruitment and in promotions in PSUs.

• Reservation for disabled is granted under Article 16(1) of the Constitution.


• The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 emphasizes that “employment is a key factor in the empowerment and inclusion of people with disabilities”.

• The judgment confirms a 2016 verdict of the top court in Rajeev Kumar Gupta’s case that granted reservation in promotion to disabled persons employed in Groups A and B in addition to Groups C and D in the public sector.


• The 2016 judgment had held that wherever posts were identified to be suitable for persons with disabilities, 3% reservation must be given.


• The government had however challenged the judgment, leading to the reference to the larger Bench.


• The government had referred to the Indira Sawhney case, which had capped reservation at 50% and prohibited reservation in promotions.


• But supreme court countered that the Sawhney judgment only pertained to the Backward Classes. It has no relevance to the case of persons with disabilities.


• The Supreme Court has granted relief to persons with disabilities by allowing reservation in promotion in all groups for those employed in public sector jobs. It confirmed that 3% reservation should be given to disabled persons both in direct recruitment and in promotions.

Context: The Supreme Court agreed to examine a proposition made by the Election Commission (EC) to ask political parties to not give the ticket to those with criminal antecedents.

• The Bench also agreed to come up with a joint proposal detailing how it can be ensured that parties did not fall in with criminal politicians. Senior advocate Vikas Singh said 46% of Members of Parliament have criminal records.


• A September 2018 judgment of a Constitution Bench led by then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had directed political parties to publish online the pending criminal cases against their candidates. The judgment had also urged Parliament to bring a “strong law” to cleanse political parties of leaders facing trial for serious crimes.

Context: Scientists at the National Centre for Microbial Resource — National Centre for Cell Science (NCMR-NCCS) in Pune have reported a new archaeon (a kind of microorganism), which they discovered in Sambhar Salt Lake in Rajasthan.

• The new archaeon discovered in Sambhar Lake has been named Natrialba swarupiae, after Dr. Renu Swarup, secretary, Department of Biotechnology, for her initiative in supporting microbial diversity studies in the country.


• Once the new organism was found, it took researchers one year to complete the study because archaea grow so slow.

• Archaea (singular archaeon) are a primitive group of microorganisms that thrive in extreme habitats such as hot springs, cold deserts, and hypersaline lakes.


• These slow-growing organisms are also present in the human gut and have a potential relationship with human health.


• They are known for producing antimicrobial molecules, and for anti-oxidant activity with applications in eco-friendly waste-water treatment.


• Archaea are extremely difficult to culture due to challenges in providing natural conditions in a laboratory setting.

Context: The Department of Telecom (DoT) announced that it will not take any ‘coercive’ action against telecom companies that failed to meet the January 23 deadline to pay dues related to adjusted gross revenue (AGR) as per the Supreme Court’s recent order.

• In October 2019, the Supreme Court of India upheld the DoT’s interpretation of AGR, which came as a huge blow to telecom service providers. Following the order, the telcos are now staring at dues of around ₹1 lakh crore.

• The order comes as a huge relief for operators — mainly Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea — that would have otherwise faced possible contempt action for not paying dues by the deadline. Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea together owe the telecom department Rs 88,624 crore.


• There is no change in the amount they have to pay — however, it buys them time as they hope for relief from the Supreme Court, which will soon hear their plea seeking permission to negotiate the timeline for payment of dues with the DoT.


• Telecom operators are required to pay the licence fee and spectrum charges in the form of ‘revenue share’ to the Government. The revenue amount used to calculate this revenue share is known as AGR.


• The definition of AGR has been under litigation for 14 years. While telecom companies argued that it should comprise revenue from telecom services, the Department of Telecom (DoT)’s stand was that the AGR should include all revenue earned by an operator, including that from non-core telecom operations.

Context: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to recruit 35% of the specialised supervisory and regulatory cadre (SSRC) from the market while the remaining 65% will be recruited via internal promotions.

• On November 1, 2019, RBI decided to reorganise its regulation and supervision departments. It merged the three regulatory departments (department of banking, non-banking, and cooperative bank) into one and did likewise for the three supervisory departments.

• The Specialized Supervisory and Regulatory Cadre (SSRC) will comprise officers in Grade B to Executive Director level.


• As a result, there is only one supervisory department which looks after supervision of banks, NBFCs and cooperative banks and only one regulatory department for these three.


• The move was aimed at dealing more effectively with potential systemic risk that could come about due to possible supervisory arbitrage and information asymmetry.

Context: Amnesty International India released a report titled “Troll Patrol India: Exposing Online Abuse Faced by Women Politicians in India”.

• The research found that women are targeted with abuse online not just for their opinions - but also for various identities, such as:


• Gender.


• Caste and Religion.


• Marital status.

• The report analyzed more than 114,000 tweets sent to 95 women politicians in the three months during and after last year’s general elections in India.


• Indian women politicians face substantially higher abuse on Twitter than their counterparts in the U.S. and the U.K.


• Around 13.8% of the tweets in the study were either “problematic” or “abusive”. Problematic content was defined as tweets that contain hurtful or hostile content, especially if repeated to an individual on multiple occasions but do not necessarily meet the threshold of abuse.


• While all women are targeted, Muslim women politicians faced 55% more abuse than others.


• Women from marginalised castes, unmarried women, and those from non-BJP parties faced a disproportionate share of abuse.

Context: Transparency International released the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI-2019).

• The index ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, according to experts and business people.


• It uses a scale of zero to 100, where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.

• The top countries are:


• New Zealand and Denmark, with scores of 87 each.


• Finland (86).


• Singapore (85).


• Sweden (85).


• Switzerland (85).


• The bottom countries are:


• Somalia (9).


• South Sudan (12).


• Syria (13).


• India’s ranking has slipped from 78 to 80 compared to the previous year. Its score of 41 out of 100 remains the same.


• China has improved its position from 87 to 80 with a score of 41 out of 100.


• In the Asia Pacific region, the average score is 45, after many consecutive years of an average score of 44, which “illustrates general stagnation” in the region.

Context: The International Labour Organization (ILO) released a new report titled the World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2020 (WESO).

• The annual World Employment and Social Outlook (WESO) Trends report released by the International Labour Organization (ILO) analyses key labor market issues, including:


• Unemployment


• Labor underutilization


• Working poverty


• Income inequality


• Labor income share and factors that exclude people from decent work.

• Due to slowing global economic growth, Global Unemployment is projected to increase by around 2.5 million in 2020.


• In addition to the global number of unemployed (188 million)


• 165 million people don’t have enough paid work.


• 120 million have either given up actively searching for work or otherwise lack access to the labor market.


• In total, more than 470 million people worldwide are affected.


• At the global level, income inequality is higher than previously thought, especially in developing countries.


• Worldwide, the share of national income going to labor (rather than to other factors of production) declined substantially between 2004 and 2017, from 54% to 51%.


• Currently working poverty (defined as earning less than US$3.20 per day in purchasing power parity terms) affects more than 630 million workers or one in five of the global working population.


• Around 267 million young people (aged 15-24) are not in employment, education or training, and many more endure substandard working conditions.

Context: Donald Trump, President of the United States, announced that the United States will join the 1 Trillion Trees initiative which was launched at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2020.

• 1t.org is a World Economic Forum (WEF) initiative, designed to support the trillion tree community.


• It is being set up with the initial financial support of Marc and Lynne Benioff.

• 1t.org is a platform for:


• Leading governments


• Businesses


• Civil society


• Ecopreneurs committed to restoring and reforesting the planet.


• It will provide a global platform for any reforestation commitment, initiative or campaign, from the grassroots level to large, multi-country efforts.

Context: Union Cabinet has approved the closure of Hindustan Fluorocarbons Limited (HFL), a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals.

• The company has been making losses since 2013-14 and was also registered with the erstwhile Board for Industrial and Financial Construction (BIFR) as a sick company.

• Administration: Hindustan Fluorocarbons Limited (HFL) is a subsidiary company of Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd. (HOCL), a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) under the administrative control of the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals.


• HFL is engaged in the manufacture of:


• Poly Tetra Fluoro Ethylene (PTFF)


• Chloro Di Fluoro Methane (HCFC-22 or CFM-22).


• HFL also uses HCFC-22 for conversion to PTFE.


• Reason for Closure:


• Due to uneconomic plant capacity, conversion of HCFC-22 to PTFE is not financially viable and the company is constrained to sell a higher quantity of HCFC- 22 directly as refrigerant gas.


• Under the provisions of the Montreal Protocol on phasing out of ozone-depleting substances, HFL's HCFC-22 non-feedstock production quota is only about 392 MT per the calendar year.

Context: The World Economic Forum (WEF) released a report titled Nature Risk Rising, the first in the series of New Nature Economy (NNE) reports.

• Around $44 trillion of economic value generation – more than half of the world’s total GDP – is moderately or highly dependent on nature and its services and is therefore exposed to nature loss.


• Together, the three largest sectors that are highly dependent on nature generate close to $8 trillion of gross value added (GVA):

Data According to report


• Construction ($4 trillion)


• Agriculture ($2.5 trillion)


• Food and beverages ($1.4 trillion).

• The World Economic Forum is launching a series of New Nature Economy (NNE) reports in 2020, making the business and economic case for safeguarding nature.


• The series of reports is being developed under the umbrella of the Nature Action Agenda (NAA), a platform for committed actors to catalyze public-private momentum in the run-up to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity COP15 – in Kunming, China, in October 2020.


• The series will span three reports that focus on the following priorities:


• Make the case for why the nature crisis is crucial to business and the economy.


• Identify a set of priority socioeconomic systems for transformation.


• Scope the market and investment opportunities for nature-based solutions to environmental challenges.


• Nature Risk Rising:


• Nature Risk Rising is the first report in the NNE series.


• It has been produced by World Economic Forum in collaboration with PwC.


• The report explains how nature-related risks matter to business and why they must be urgently mainstreamed into risk management strategies.

Context: The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released the Global Investment Trend Monitor report.

• The report showed that cross-border M&As declined 40% in 2019 to $490 billion – the lowest level since 2014.


• The fall in global cross-border M& As sales were deepest in the services sector which declined 56% to $207 billion, followed by a 19% fall in manufacturing to $249 billion and a 14% decrease in the primary sector to $34 billion.


• The decline in M&A values was driven also by a lower number of mega-deals. In 2019, there were 30 mega deals above $5 billion compared to 39 in 2018.

• The global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) remained flat in 2019 at $1.39 trillion, a one % decline from a revised $1.41 trillion in 2018 against the backdrop of weaker macroeconomic performance and policy uncertainty for investors, including trade tensions.


• The FDI flows to developed countries remained at a historically low level, decreasing by a further six % to an estimated $643 billion.


• Developing economies continue to absorb more than half of global FDI flows. South Asia recorded a 10 % increase in FDI to $60 billion.


• India was among the top 10 recipients of FDI in 2019, attracting $49 billion in inflows, a 16 % increase from the previous year, driving the FDI growth in South Asia. The majority went into services industries, including information technology.


• The United States remained the largest recipient of FDI, followed by China with flows of $140 billion and Singapore with $110 billion. China saw zero growth in FDI inflows.

Context: The Union Finance Ministry held its traditional Halwa ceremony in its headquarters at North Block. The function was presided over by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

• The “lock-in” which follows the ‘halwa ceremony’ is observed to maintain the secrecy of the Budget preparation process.

• The tradition, which goes back several years, involves preparing the ‘halwa’ sweet dish in a big ‘kadhai’ (large frying pot) and serving it to the entire staff in the ministry.


• The ceremony marks the commencement of the printing process of the Central government’s budget.


• After Halwa is served, the officials and support staff, who are directly associated with the Budget making and printing process, are required to stay in the Budget Press (situated inside North Block) and remain cut off from their families until the presentation of the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha.

Context: The Ministry of Law and Justice issued an Extraordinary Gazette Notification, declaring the United Arab Emirates to be a “reciprocating territory” under Section 44A of the CPC, 1908. The notification also declared a list of courts in the UAE to be “superior Courts” under the same section.

• The decision is believed to help bring down the time required for executing decrees between the two countries. Indian expatriates in the UAE would no longer be able to seek safe haven in their home country if they are convicted in a civil case in the UAE.

• Section 44 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908: Section 44A, titled “Execution of decrees passed by Courts in reciprocating territory”, provides the law on the subject of execution of decrees of Courts in India by foreign Courts and vice versa.


• Reciprocating territory: Essentially, orders passed by certain designated courts from a ‘reciprocating territory’ can be implemented in India, by filing a copy of the decree concerned in a District Court here. The courts so designated are called ‘superior Courts’.


• Other countries declared to be “reciprocating territories” are:
  
  
  • United Kingdom
  
  
  • Singapore
  
  
  • Bangladesh
  
  
  • Malaysia
  
  
  • Trinidad & Tobago
  
  
  • New Zealand
  
  
  • The Cook Islands (including Niue) and the Trust Territories of Western Samoa
  
  
  • Hong Kong
  
  
  • Papua New Guinea
  
  
  • Fiji
  
  
  • Aden.

Context: Scientists in the United States have created the world’s first “living machines” — tiny robots built from the cells of the African clawed frog, that can move around on their own.

• They have named the millimeter-wide robots “xenobots” — after the species of aquatic frog found across sub-Saharan Africa from Nigeria and Sudan to South Africa, Xenopus laevis.


• The xenobots “can move toward a target, perhaps pick up a payload (like medicine that needs to be carried to a specific place inside a patient) — and heal themselves after being cut.
The “novel living machines” were “neither a traditional robot nor a known species of animal”, but “a new class of artifact: a living, programmable organism”.

Context: The report, titled Time to Care: Unpaid and Underpaid Care Work and the Global Inequality Crisis were published by Oxfam, the international non-profit focussed on the alleviation of global poverty.

• 2,153 individuals, the number of billionaires in the world in 2019, have more wealth among them than 4.6 billion people. The world’s richest 1% have more than twice as much wealth as 6.9 billion people.

• India’s richest 1% hold more than four times the wealth held by the 953 million who make up for the bottom 70% of the country’s population.


• This great divide is based on a flawed and sexist economic system” which has “accumulated vast wealth and power into the hands of a rich few, in part by exploiting the labor of women and girls. Globally, 42% of working-age women are outside the paid labor force, compared with 6% of men, due to unpaid care responsibilities.


• Globally, extreme poverty rates are 4% higher for women than men; this gap rises to 22% during women’s peak productive and reproductive ages; that is, 122 women aged 25-34 for every 100 men of the same age group live in extremely poor households, largely due to childcare responsibilities.


• An additional 0.5% tax on the wealth of the richest 1% over the next 10 years can create 117 million jobs in education, health and elderly care, etc.

Context: The Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Home Minister Amit Shah, which was constituted to strengthen the legal framework to prevent sexual harassment at the workplace, has finalised its recommendations which will be put up for comments from the public soon.

• As per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) the number of sexual harassment incidents at “work or office premises” registered under Section 509 IPC (words, gesture or act to insult the modesty of a woman) were 479 and 401 in the years 2017 and 2018 respectively.


• Among the cities, the highest number of such cases were registered in 2018:


• Delhi (28).


• Bengaluru (20).


• Pune (12).


• Mumbai (12).


• The total number of sexual harassment incidents in 2018 including that in public places, shelter homes and others was 20,962.

• The Women and Child Development Ministry had steered the Sexual Harassment of Women and Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act in 2013, which was applicable to government offices, the private sector, NGOs and the unorganised sector.


• It made the employer responsible to prevent or deter acts of sexual harassment at the workplace.


• The 2013 Act had shortcomings like giving the powers of a civil court to the internal complaints committee without specifying if the members need to have a legal background. It only imposed a fine of ₹50,000 on employers for noncompliance.


• The Act said the employer shall provide assistance to the woman if she chooses to file a complaint under the IPC “against the perpetrator after the conclusion of the inquiry”.


• The proposed amendments would be largely based on the Vishaka Guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in 1997, on which the 2013 Act was based.

Context: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test-fired a 3,500-km range submarine-launched ballistic missile, K-4.

• The test was conducted from a submerged pontoon off the Visakhapatnam coast. A pontoon simulates the situation of a launch from a submarine.


• SSBN is the US Navy hull classification symbol for a nuclear-powered, ballistic missile-carrying submarine.


• The SS denotes "submarine" or "submersible."


• The B denotes "ballistic missile."


• The N denotes "nuclear powered."

• According to DRDO, there are very few countries which have managed to achieve this technological breakthrough with India’s Circular Error Probability (CEP) is much more sophisticated than Chinese missiles.


• The CEP determines the accuracy of a missile.


• The lower the CEP, the more accurate the missile is.


• K-4 is one of the two underwater missiles that were being developed by DRDO. The other one is the over 700 kilometre strike range BO-5 missile.


• The missile has been tested several times earlier as part of developmental trials to validate different parameters.


• Once inducted, these missiles will be the mainstay of the Arihant class of indigenous ballistic missile nuclear submarines and will give India the standoff capability to launch nuclear weapons submerged in Indian waters.


• INS Arihant, the first and only operational SSBN, is armed with K-15 Sagarika missiles with a range of 750 km.

Context: The Union health ministry launched this year’s Pulse Polio Programme.

• The last polio case in the country was reported from Howrah district of West Bengal in 2011.


• In 2012 WHO, removed India from the list of countries with active endemic wild polio virus transmission.


• In 2014, the South-East Asia Region of the WHO, of which India is a part, was certified as polio-free.

• India launched the Pulse Polio immunisation programme in 1995, after a resolution for a global initiative of polio eradication was adopted by the World Health Assembly (WHA) in 1988.


• Children in the age group of 0-5 years are administered polio drops during national and sub-national immunisation rounds (in high-risk areas) every year.


• To prevent the virus from coming to India, the government has since March 2014 made the Oral Polio Vaccination (OPV) mandatory for those travelling between India and polio-affected countries, such as:


• Afghanistan.


• Nigeria.


• Pakistan.


• Ethiopia.


• Kenya.


• Somalia.


• Syria.


• Cameroon.


• Polio or poliomyelitis is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children.


• The virus is transmitted by person-to-person, spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (e.g. contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and can cause paralysis.


• Initial symptoms of polio include:


• Fever.


• Fatigue


• Headache.


• Vomiting.


• Stiffness in the neck.


• Pain in the limbs.


• In a small proportion of cases, the disease causes paralysis, which is often permanent.


• There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented by immunization.

Context: The Forest Advisory Committee has approved a scheme that could allow “forests” to be traded as a commodity. If implemented, it allows the Forest Department to outsource one of its responsibilities of reforesting to nongovernment agencies.

• The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Environment Ministry is a statutory body. It is tasked with adjudicating requests by the industry to raze forest land for commercial ends. It comprises official members in the Centre’s forestry division and independent experts, who are the non-official members. Current scenario:


• In the current system, the industry needs to make good the loss of forest by finding appropriate non-forest land — equal to that which would be razed.


• It also must pay the State Forest Department the current economic equivalent — called Net Present Value — of the forest land.


• It’s then the department’s responsibility to grow appropriate vegetation that, over time, would grow into forests.


• Industries have often complained that they find it hard to acquire appropriate non-forest land, which has to be contiguous to existing forest.


• Nearly ₹50,000 crore had been collected by the Centre over decades, but the funds were lying unspent because States were not spending the money on regrowing forests.

• The proposed ‘Green Credit Scheme’ allows agencies — they could be private companies, village forest communities — to identify land and begin growing plantations.


• After three years, they would be eligible to be considered as compensatory forest land if they met the Department’s criteria.

Context: The Kerala government, the first state to challenge the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, filed a petition under Article 131 of the Constitution to declare the law unconstitutional and in violation of Articles 14 (equality before law), 21 (protection of life and personal liberty) and 25 (freedom of conscience and free profession, practice, and propagation of religion).

• Unlike the original jurisdiction under Article 32 (which gives the top court the power to issue writs, etc.), the jurisdiction in Article 131 is exclusive, meaning it is only the Supreme Court which has this authority.


• Under Article 226, the High Courts too have the power to issue writs, directions etc.

• Article 131 of the Constitution vests the Supreme Court with original jurisdiction over disputes occurring between states or between states and the Centre.


• The original jurisdiction of a court means the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, in which the court reviews the decision of a lower court.


• This jurisdiction shall not extend to a dispute arising out of any agreement having been entered into or executed before the commencement of this Constitution.


• In ‘State of Rajasthan vs Union of India’, 1977, the Supreme Court ruled that “mere wrangles between governments have no place in the scheme of that Article.”

Context: The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approved the commissionerate system of policing for state capital Lucknow, and Noida. This comes in the wake of violence during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and allegations of police brutality and use of excessive force against protesters.

• As per the Police Act of 1861, the system is to be implemented in cities with more than 10 lakh population.


• Almost all states barring Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, UT of J&K, and some Northeastern states have a commissionerate system. The British brought the system first in Kolkata.

• Under the 7th Schedule of the Constitution, ‘Police’ is under the State list, meaning individual states typically legislate and exercise control over this subject.


• In the arrangement in force at the district level, a ‘dual system’ of control exists, in which the Superintendent of Police (SP) has to work with the District Magistrate (DM) for supervising police administration.


• At the metropolitan level, many states have replaced the dual system with the commissionerate system, under which the Commissioner of Police (CP) is the head of a unified police command structure, is responsible for the force in the city, and is accountable to the state government.


• The office also has magisterial powers, including those related to regulation, control, and licensing.


• The commissioner does not report to the DM. He reports directly to the government.


• The CP is drawn from the Deputy Inspector General rank or above, and is assisted by Special/Joint/Additional/Deputy Commissioners.

Context: The Centre issued an Extraordinary Gazette Notification declaring a list of activities and facilities that would be permissible in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) areas of certain beaches, which have been identified for obtaining the ‘Blue Flag’ certification.

• In July 2019, the Ministry of Environment had identified 13 beaches across the country for the Blue Flag certification.


• According to the latest notification, the following activities and facilities would be permitted in the CRZ of these beaches, including Islands, subject to maintaining a minimum distance of 10 meters from the High Tide Line (HTL):


• Grey water treatment plant


• Solar power plant


• Landscaping lighting


• CCTV surveillance


• First aid station


• Parking facilities


• These activities and facilities would be exempt from prior clearance under the provisions of CRZ Notification, Island Protection Zone Notification and Island Coastal Regulation Zone Notifications respectively.

• The ‘Blue Flag’ is a certification that can be obtained by a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator, and serves as an eco-label. The certification is known as an indication of high environmental and quality standards.


• The certification is awarded by the Denmark-based non-profit Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) with 33 stringent criteria under four major heads for the beaches:

i. Environmental Education and Information
ii. Bathing Water Quality
iii. Environment Management and Conservation
iv. Safety and Services.


• The Blue Flag Programme started in France in 1985 and in areas outside Europe since 2001.


• 47 countries currently participate in the program, and 4,573 beaches, marinas, and boats have this certification.

Context: The latest edition of the Henley Passport Index, widely acknowledged to be the most reliable of such rankings, was released recently.

• The index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations. The data are updated in real-time as and when visa policy changes come into effect.

• According to Henley & Partners, the residence and citizenship planning firm that publishes the ranking, the Index lists the world’s passports “according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa”.


• The ranking is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade association of some 290 airlines, including all major carriers.


• Japan has been topping the Index for three straight years; according to the 2020 index, its citizens are able to access 191 destinations without having to obtain a visa in advance.


• Singapore is in second place.


• Germany and South Korea are ranked at No. 3.


• Afghanistan, at rank 107, has the world’s weakest passport.


• The Indian passport is ranked 84th in the world. It was ranked higher in both 2019 (82 ranks) and 2018 (ranked at 81).


• Since the index began in 2006, the Indian passport has ranked in a band of 71st to 88th.

Context: Consumer Affairs Minister announced that from January 15, 2021, onwards, No jeweller will be allowed to sell gold jewellery or artifacts without hallmark from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

• The BIS Act 2016 has enabling provisions under Section 14 & Section 16 for mandatory hallmarking of Gold jewellery & artefacts by the Central Government.


• BIS (Hallmarking) Regulations, 2018 were notified w.e.f. 14.06.2018.

• Gold hallmarking is a purity certification. Mandatory hallmarking will protect the public against lower caratage and ensure consumers do not get cheated while buying gold ornaments.


• Consumers have to watch out for four marks on hallmarked gold jewellery:

1. BIS mark
2. Purity in carat
3. Assay centre’s name
4. Jewellers’ identification mark.


• Jewellers will be allowed to sell only 14, 18 and 22-carat gold jewellery. Instead of 10 grades earlier, hallmarked gold jewellery will now be available in three caratages of 14 carats, 18 carats, and 22 carats.


• Jewellers have been given a year’s time (i.e. till January 2021) to register themselves with the BIS.


• If jewellery or artifacts made of 14, 18 and 22-carat gold are sold without a BIS hallmark, then the jeweller could be charged penalty five times the cost of the object or even given imprisonment up to one year.

Context: India’s telecommunication satellite GSAT-30 was successfully launched into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) on January 17, 2020 from Kourou launch base, French Guiana by Ariane-5 VA-251.

• According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), GSAT-30 is aimed at providing high-quality television, telecommunications and broadcasting services. With a mission life of 15 years, GSAT-30 is an operational communication satellite for DTH, television uplink and VSAT services.


• GSAT-30 will serve as a replacement to the aging INSAT-4A spacecraft services with enhanced coverage. The 3,357-kg GSAT-30 derives its heritage from ISRO's earlier INSAT/GSAT satellite series and is equipped with 12 C and 12 Ku band transponders.


• The satellite will provide Indian mainland and islands coverage in Ku-band and extended coverage in C-band covering Gulf countries, a large number of Asian countries and Australia.

Context: The People’s Congress of Tibet passed a law that makes ethnic unity in the region mandatory. These regulations will come into effect from May 1 and are meant to “strengthen ethnic unity”.

• The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) is a province-level autonomous region in southwest China. It is the second-largest province-level division of China by area after Xinjiang.

• Tibet Autonomous Region located on the Tibetan Plateau, the highest region on earth. Mount Everest is located on Tibet's border with Nepal.


• In 1951, the Tibetan representatives signed a 17-point agreement with the Central People's Government affirming China's sovereignty over Tibet and the incorporation of Tibet.


• The law makes it clear that Tibet has been an inalienable part of China since ancient times and that it is the common responsibility of the people of all ethnic groups to safeguard national reunification and take a clear stand against separatism.


• There are more than 40 ethnic minorities in the region, which account for 95 percent of Tibet’s population of over three million.


• This is not the first time that the phrase ethnic unity has been mentioned by China.


• Before this, in 2016, China began a campaign in the autonomous territory of Xinjiang to promote ethnic unity and called for people to respect the cultures of the minorities who call the region home.

Context: RBI has issued directions under Section 10(2) of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (Act 51 of 2007) to increase the security of card transactions. These shall come into effect from March 16, 2020.

• Contactless transactions are done using RFID technology or near-field communication (NFC).

• RBI has asked banks to allow only domestic card transactions at ATMs and point of sale (PoS) terminals in India at the time of issuance or re-issuance of a card.


• The RBI has also asked banks to offer all cardholders the facility to switch on or off and set or modify transaction limits within the overall card limit.


• Issuers should provide cardholders the facility for enabling ‘card not present’ (domestic and international) transactions, ‘card present’ (international) transactions and contactless transactions.


• ‘Card not present’ transactions involve furnishing of card number and CVV (card verification value) in transactions executed online.


• ‘Card present’ transactions need the card for use in PoS or ATM terminals.

Context: Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has extended the time for listed companies to split the position of chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD) from April 1, 2020 to April 1, 2022.

• The SEBI notification stated that with effect from April 1, 2022, the chairperson of any of the top 500 listed entities would be a non-executive director and not be related to the MD or CEO as per the definition of the term “relative” defined under the Companies Act, 2013.

• As part of the latest amendment to the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, SEBI postponed the deadline for the separation of the MD and CEO roles for the top 500 companies from the earlier stipulated April 1, 2020, to April 1, 2022.


• As many as 160 of the top 500 listed entities are yet to split the MD and the CEO posts, according to data from Prime Database.


• This assumes significance as some of the biggest names of India Inc. had sought relief in terms of postponing the deadline to comply with the norm notified in May 2018.


• Industry had various concerns in implementation, including seeking a clear regulatory demarcation on the role and responsibility under the Companies Act, 2013 and SEBI’s Listing Regulations for chairman and managing director.

Context: In the Philippines, a volcano called Taal on the island of Luzon, 50 km from Manila, erupted on January 12, spewing lava on the ground, and ash and smoke into the sky.

• Because the Philippines is situated at the boundaries of two tectonic plates — the Philippines Sea Plate and the Eurasian plate — it is particularly susceptible to earthquakes and volcanism.

• Taal is classified as a “complex” volcano.
  
• A complex volcano, also called a compound volcano, is defined as one that consists of a complex of two or more vents, or a volcano that has an associated volcanic dome, either in its crater or on its flanks. Examples include Vesuvius, besides Taal.


• The Taal volcano does not rise from the ground as a distinct, singular dome but consists of multiple stratovolcanoes (volcanoes susceptible to explosive eruptions), conical hills and craters of all shapes and sizes. Taal has 47 craters and four maars (a broad shallow crater).

Context: The World Future Energy Summit began in Abu Dhabi. The theme for this year's summit is "Rethinking Global Consumption, Production, and Investment."

• The 2020 edition includes exhibition and forum programs across five main pillars: energy, solar, water, waste and smart cities.

• World Future Energy Summit is the Middle East’s largest future energy and sustainability event.


• It is held annually at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre under the patronage of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.


• Also held alongside the World Future Energy Summit are the Climate Innovations Exchange (CLIX) for short and the Future Sustainability Summit.

Context: The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) reviewed the implementation of Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.

• Capital subsidy and skill development training had been provided to 1,007 and 7,383 of the identified manual scavengers, respectively, the data showed.

• Of the 926 deaths inside sewers in the country, from 1993 till December 31, 2019, families of 172 victims were yet to receive compensation.


• Gujarat had the highest number of cases where the amount was not paid or the payment was unconfirmed (48), while Maharashtra was yet to pay or confirm payment of compensation in any of its 32 cases.


• A total of 53,598 people, of which 29,923 were in Uttar Pradesh alone, had been identified as engaged in manual scavenging after surveys in 2013 and 2018.


• One-time cash assistance had been disbursed in 35,397 cases, with Uttar Pradesh accounting for 19,385 such people.


• District Vigilance Committees had been constituted in 21 States/Union Territories, State Monitoring Committees in 26, and State Commissions for Safai Karamcharis in eight.

Context: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (NSFI) for the period 2019-2024.

• Strengthen the ecosystem for various modes of digital financial services in all Tier-II to Tier VI centers to move towards a less-cash society by March 2022.


• Increase outreach of banking outlets to provide banking access to every village within a 5-km radius or a hamlet of 500 households in hilly areas by March 2020.


• Aim was also to see that every adult had access to a financial service provider through a mobile device by March 2024.


• Every willing and eligible adult, who has been enrolled under the Prime Minister Jan-Dhan Yojana, to be enrolled under an insurance scheme and a pension scheme by March 2020.


• Make the Public Credit Registry (PCR) fully operational by March 2022 so that authorised financial entities could leverage the same for assessing credit proposals from all citizens.

Context: The Supreme Court held in a judgment that a citizen’s right to own private property is a fundamental right. The State cannot take possession of it without following due procedure and authority of law.

• The State cannot trespass into the private property of a citizen and then claim ownership of the land in the name of ‘adverse possession.’ Grabbing private land and then claiming it as its own make the State an encroacher.


• In a welfare state, right to property is a human right.

• The court was hearing a plea filed by Vidya Devi, a widow, whose four acres of land was taken over by the Himachal Pradesh government in 1967.


• Ordering the State to pay her ₹1 crore in compensation, the Supreme Court noted that in 1967, ‘right to private property was still a fundamental right’ under Article 31 of the Constitution.


• Property ceased to be a fundamental right with the 44th Constitution Amendment in 1978.


• Nevertheless, Article 300A required the State to follow due procedure and authority of law to deprive a person of his or her private property, the Supreme Court reminded the government.

Context: Indian American Raja Chari is among 11 new astronauts who joined NASA’s ranks. The new graduates are the first to graduates since NASA announced its Artemis programme.

• NASA wants to send the first woman and the next man to the Moon by the year 2024, which it plans on doing through the Artemis lunar exploration program.

• With the Artemis program, NASA wishes to demonstrate new technologies, capabilities and business approaches that will ultimately be needed for the future exploration of Mars.
  
• For the Artemis program, NASA’s new rocket called the Space Launch System (SLS) will send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft a quarter of a million miles away from Earth to the lunar orbit.


• Once astronauts dock Orion at the Gateway — which is a small spaceship in orbit around the moon — the astronauts will be able to live and work around the Moon, and from the spaceship, astronauts will take expeditions to the surface of the Moon.


• The astronauts going for the Artemis program will wear newly designed spacesuits, called Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or xEMU.

Context: The four illegal apartment complexes in Maradu, Kerala, was razed by controlled implosion on the orders of the Supreme Court for breaching Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms. The court had called the illegal constructions a “colossal loss” to the environment.

• Under the rules, the regulation zone has been defined as the area up to 500 m from the high-tide line. The restrictions depend on criteria such as the population of the area, the ecological sensitivity, the distance from the shore, and whether the area had been designated as a natural park or wildlife zone.

• In India, the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Rules govern human and industrial activity close to the coastline, in order to protect the fragile ecosystems near the sea.


• They restrict certain kinds of activities — like large constructions, setting up of new industries — within a certain distance from the coastline.


• The Rules have a no-development zone of 20 m for all islands close to the mainland coast, and for all backwater islands in the mainland.


• For the so-called CRZ-III (Rural) areas, two separate categories have been stipulated.


• In the densely populated rural areas (CRZ-IIIA) with a population density of 2,161 per sq km as per the 2011 Census, the no-development zone is 50 m from the high-tide level, as against the 200 m stipulated earlier.


• CRZ-IIIB category (rural areas with population density below 2,161 per sq km) areas continue to have a no-development zone extending up to 200 m from the high-tide line.


• While the CRZ Rules are made by the Union environment ministry, implementation is to be ensured by state governments through their Coastal Zone Management Authorities. In the current case, the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority (KCZMA) identified the CRZ violations.

Context: Samsung’s Star Labs has officially unveiled Neon as its latest artificial intelligence (AI) powered project.

• Neons are digitally composed next-generation artificial intelligent entities created Star Labs’ CORE R3 and SPECTRA engines.


• The CORE R3 engine has been revealed to bring lifelike reality and realtime responsiveness to Neons.


• The SPECTRA engine is responsible for providing the Neons with intelligence, learning, emotions and memory.

• Neons are Artificial Intelligence virtual beings capable of showing human-like emotions and intelligence.


• Neons look and behave like a real human, with the ability to show emotions and intelligence. Neons can learn new skills and form memories from experiences.


• Neons are capable of human-like interactions and have the ability to communicate with human effect, learn from experiences and even form new memories. They can serve as an individualized teacher, a personal financial advisor, a healthcare provider, or a concierge.

Context: Iran launched missile attacks on US-led forces in Iraq, including the al-Asad air base, in retaliation for the US drone strike on an Iranian commander whose killing raised fears of a wider Middle East conflict.

• On January 7, 2020, the Al Asad Airbase came under a rocket attack in retaliation for the killing of Quds leader Qasem Soleimani in a 2020 U.S. airstrike.

• Ayn al Asad is an Iraqi Armed Forces and United States armed forces base located in Al Anbar Governorate of Iraq. The base is also used by British armed forces in Iraq.


• It was the second-largest US military airbase in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.


• Geologically, the base resides in the Al-Ḥammād sector of the Syrian Desert, composed mostly of a rock and gravel steppe.

Context: The Supreme Court declined urgent hearing on a plea seeking to declare the Citizenship Amendment Act as constitutional and said that there was already a “presumption of constitutionality” to a law passed by Parliament.

• The term ‘presumption of constitutionality’ is a legal principle that is used by courts during statutory interpretation — the process by which courts interpret and apply a law passed by the legislature, such as Parliament.


• It is the legal principle that the judiciary should presume statutes enacted by the legislature to be constitutional unless the law is clearly unconstitutional or a fundamental right is implicated.


• The presumption is not absolute, however, and does not stand when there is a gross violation of the Constitution. There are limitations to the doctrine.

Context: The naval version of indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), made its first successful landing on the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.

• The LCA programme intends to further expand and advance India's indigenous aerospace capabilities.

• After completing extensive trials on the Shore Based Test Facility, LCA Navy did an arrested landing on INS Vikramaditya.


• LCA Navy is developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization, DRDO.


• With the successful landing of Light Combat Aircraft, LCA on aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, India has entered into the club of selected nations having the capability to design a fighter jet which can land on an aircraft carrier.


• LCA is the smallest and lightest Multi-Role Supersonic Fighter Aircraft of its class.

Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Interactive Light & Sound Show of Rabindra Setu (Howrah Bridge) in Kolkata.

• Howrah Bridge is a bridge with a suspended span over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India.

• Commissioned in 1943.


• Renamed in 1965 as Rabindra Setu after the great Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore, who was the first Indian and Asian Nobel laureate.


• It is an engineering marvel as it does not have nuts and bolts, but was formed by riveting the whole structure.


• The Howrah Bridge is currently the sixth-longest cantilever bridge of its type in the world.

Context: The Supreme Court declared that the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression and the right to carry on trade or business using the Internet are constitutionally protected. This came in the backdrop of the five-month-long Internet shutdown in Kashmir.

• The Information Technology Act, 2000, the Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), 1973 and the Telegraph Act, 1885 are the three laws that deal with the suspension of Internet services.

• While India’s longest Internet suspension continues, the verdict has laid down a framework of how the Internet can be suspended, and what rights and legal recourses a citizen has when it is suspended.


• Although the court stopped short of ruling that access to the Internet is a fundamental right, it said that the Internet as a medium is used to exercise other fundamental rights.


• The court recognized that the 2017 Rules are the only procedure to be followed to suspend Internet services in the occurrence of a “public emergency” or for it to be “in the interest of public safety”.


• In 2017, the central government notified the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Service) Rules under the Telegraph Act to govern suspension of the Internet. These Rules derive their powers from Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act.


• The verdict reiterated that the competent authority to issue an order under the Suspension Rules, in ordinary circumstances, would be the Secretary to the Ministry of Home Affairs.


• The Rules also say that in case the confirmation does not come from a competent authority, the orders shall cease to exist within a period of 24 hours.

Context: Union Government released the State Energy Efficiency Index 2019.

• It is developed by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in association with Alliance for an Energy-Efficient Economy (AEEE).


• The first such Index was launched on August, 2018.

• The index tracks the progress of Energy Efficiency Initiatives in 36 States and Union Territories based on 97 significant indicators.


• The index this year incorporates qualitative, quantitative and outcome-based indicators to assess energy efficiency initiatives, programs and outcomes in five distinct sectors – buildings, industry, municipalities, transport, agriculture, and DISCOMs.


• New indicators for this year include adoption of Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) 2017, energy efficiency in MSME clusters, etc.


• For rational comparison, States/UTs are categorized as ‘Front Runner’, ‘Achiever’, ‘Contender’ and ‘Aspirant’ based on aggregated Total Primary Energy Supply (TPES) required to meet the state’s actual energy demand (electricity, coal, oil, gas, etc.) across sectors.


• The top performing states in the State EE Index 2019 –


• Haryana


• Kerala


• Karnataka

- These are in the ‘Achiever’ category. There isn’t any ‘front runner’ state.

Context: Union Minister for Home Affairs dedicated National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal to the Nation.

• National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in) was launched on pilot basis in August, 2019

• It enables filing of all cyber crimes with specific focus on crimes against


• Women


• Children (particularly child pornography, child sex abuse material)


• Online content pertaining to rapes/gang rapes, etc.


• This portal will improve coordination amongst the law enforcement agencies of different States, districts and police stations for dealing with cybercrimes in a coordinated and effective manner.


• So far, more than 700 police districts and more than 3,900 police stations have been connected with this Portal.

Context: Country's largest public sector bank, State Bank of India (SBI) has announced 'residential builder finance with buyer guarantee' (RBBG) scheme to give a push to residential sales and improve homebuyers' confidence.

• The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 establishes Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) in each state for regulation of the real estate sector and also acts as an adjudicating body for speedy dispute resolution.

• Under this scheme, the SBI will issue a guarantee for completion of select residential projects to customers who have availed home loans from it. The scheme will focus on affordable housing projects priced up to 2.50 crore rupees in 10 cities initially.


• Under RBBG, the guarantee would be given by the bank till the project gets the occupation certificate (OC).


• The guarantee will be available for RERA registered projects and a project will be considered stuck after it crosses the RERA deadline.

Context: As protests continue across the country over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the latest crime data on violent protests suggest that until at least 2018 compared with 2017, public concerns were more about economic issues than about politics.

• No of offences were registered by UP under the Act : 2,388


• No of offences were registered by Tamil Nadu under the Act : 2,230


• No of offences were registered by Haryana under the Act : 415

• According to the 2018 crime report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), while riot cases due to communal, political, agrarian and student issues declined over 2017, riots arising out of industrial and water disputes rose sharply.


• According to the NCRB report, industrial riots rose from 178 in 2017 to 440 in 2018.


• Water dispute riots rose from 432 in 2017 to 838 in 2018.


• On the other hand, political riots fell by almost 25% in 2018 over 2017.


• Communal riots fell by almost 30% in the same period.


• Caste conflicts too declined by almost 20%.


• Student conflicts marginally fell by about 10%, while agrarian riots recorded a decline of over 35%.


• Offences under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act have seen a decline of over 10%. A total of 7,910 cases were registered under this Act in 2017. This declined to 7,127 in 2018. In 2018, UP topped the charts for offenses under the Act.


• In 2018, 76,851 cases were registered under the category “Offences against Public Tranquillity”. This was a decline from 2017 which saw 78,051 such cases. Almost 90% of all such offenses were associated with rioting while the rest were under “Unlawful Assembly” (Section 144).

Context: The RBI has amended the Know Your Customer (KYC) norms allowing banks and other lending institutions regulated by it to use the Video-based Customer Identification Process (V-CIP), a move that will help them, onboard customers, remotely.

• RBI has decided to permit video-based Customer Identification Process (VCIP) as a consent-based alternate method of establishing the customer's identity, for customer onboarding with a view to leveraging the digital channels for Customer Identification Process (CIP) by regulated entities (REs).

• Last year, the government had notified amendment to the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005. As per the circular, the reporting entity should capture a clear image of PAN card to be displayed by the customer during the process.


• The regulated entities will have to ensure that the video recording is stored in a safe and secure manner and bears the date and time stamp.


• It further said that the official of the reporting entity should ensure that the photograph and the identification details in Aadhaar/PAN should match with the details provided by the customer. It also said that Live location of the customer (Geotagging) shall be captured to ensure that customer is physically present in India.

Context: The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post-facto approval on the MOC signed in November, 2019 between Department of Health & Family Welfare (DOHFW), Government of India and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) on cooperation in the field of Health.

• Leishmaniasis is a disease caused by parasites of the Leishmania type. It is spread by the bite of certain types of sandflies.


• The disease can manifest in three ways:

1. Cutaneous,
2. Mucocutaneous
3. Visceral.


• Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is also known as kala-azar, black fever, and Dumdum fever. The parasite is spread to humans by bites from infected female sand flies. It attacks the immune system, and is almost always fatal if not treated.


• To reduce maternal, neonatal and child morbidity and mortality, improve key nutrition outcomes, by improving the reach, coverage, and quality of essential primary health, immunization and nutrition services.


• To increase the basket of choice and quality for family planning methods, especially for reversible methods, and increase access amongst younger women.


• To reduce the burden of selected infectious diseases


• TB


• Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL)


• Lymphatic Filariasis (LF)


• To strengthen health systems, including aspects such as budget utilization, management and skills of human resources for:


• Health


• Digital Health


• Strengthening supply chains and monitoring systems.

Context: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given in-principle approval for the sale of equity held by four Central Public Sector Enterprises and two-state PSUs in Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL), Odisha.

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the strategic disinvestment of equity shareholding of Minerals & Metals Trading Corporation (MMTC), National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), MECON, Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) and two Odisha state government PSUs in Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL) to a strategic buyer.


• The buyer is to be identified through a two-stage auction procedure.


• NINL is a joint venture company, in which four central public sector enterprises MMTC, NMDC, Bhel and MECON, and two Odisha state government PSUs - IPICOL and OMC - are shareholders.


• The proposed strategic disinvestment of NINL would unlock resources to be used to finance the social sector and developmental programs of the government.

Context: The Government has approved the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) of 5,559 crore rupees to Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited to build Natural Gas Pipeline Grid covering 8 North-Eastern states.

• Indradhanush Gas Grid Limited (IGGL), a joint venture company of five CPSEs (IOCL, ONGC, GAIL, OIL, and NRL) has been incorporated on 10.08.2018 to develop and operate Natural gas pipeline grid in North-East region.

• The 1,656-km pipeline will connect Guwahati in Assam to major cities in the region such as Itanagar, Dimapur, Kohima, Imphal, Aizawl and Agartala.


• The project is critical towards implementing the government's Hydrocarbon Vision 2030 for the North-East. The Gas Pipeline Grid would be developed in all the eight states of North-Eastern region.

Context: The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) notified the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Liquidation Process) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 on 6th January 2020.

• It amends the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Liquidation Process) Regulations, 2016.


• The amendment clarifies that a person, who is not eligible under the Code to submit a resolution plan for insolvency resolution of the corporate debtor, shall not be a party to a compromise or arrangement of the corporate debtor under section 230 of the Companies Act, 2013.


• It also clarifies that a secured creditor cannot sell or transfer an asset, which is subject to a security interest, to any person, who is not eligible under the Code to submit a resolution plan for insolvency resolution of the corporate debtor.


• The amendment provides that a secured creditor, who proceeds to realise its security interest, shall contribute its share of the insolvency resolution process cost, liquidation process cost and workmen’s dues, within 90 days of the liquidation commencement date.


• It shall also pay an excess of realized value of the asset, which is subject to the security interest, over the number of its claims admitted, within 180 days of the liquidation commencement date.


• Where the secured creditor fails to pay such amounts to the Liquidator within 90 days or 180 days, as the case may be, the asset shall become part of Liquidation Estate.

Context: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced a five-year multiple-entry visa scheme for all nationalities, in a move that is geared towards promoting tourism in the country.

• In July 2019, the Emirate of Dubai said it would accept the Indian rupee (INR) for transactions at duty-free stores.

• Prior to this, tourists could get single or multiple-entry visas for a duration of 30 or 90 days. In the new five-year multiple-entry system, visa holders may be allowed to stay for six months at a stretch. The details of the scheme are yet to be announced.


• The country’s Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship will be implementing the decision.


• Travellers from Africa, some South American countries, Arab states outside the Gulf, and European states from outside the European Union and the former Soviet Union previously needed visas.

Context: As outrage continues over the deaths of babies in J K Lon Hospital in Kota, Rajasthan, and in the civil hospital in Rajkot, Gujarat, the fact remains that India has the most child deaths in the world. In 2017, UNICEF estimated 8,02,000 babies had died in India.

• The infant mortality rate (IMR) in the country currently stands at 33 per 1,000 live births. This means babies numbering in the region of 8,50,000 die every year in India, or an average daily toll to 2,350.


• In 2017, states such as:


• Arunachal Pradesh 42


• Madhya Pradesh 47


• Assam 44


• Uttar Pradesh 41


• Meghalaya 39


• Odisha 41


• Chhattisgarh 38


• Gujarat 30


• Rajasthan 38


• According to the National Family Health Survey-4, only 78.9% of births in India happen in a facility. This means 21.1% or about 54 lakh births in a year still happen outside of a facility where hygiene levels can be low, sometimes without the help of a trained health worker.


• Special newborn care units (SNCUs) have been established at district hospitals and sub-district hospitals with an annual delivery load more than 3,000 to provide care for sick newborns.

Context: The RBI has decided to impose restrictions for deterioration of monetary position on urban cooperative banks (UCBs) , in line with the prompt corrective action (PCA) framework that is imposed on commercial banks.

• Under this revised Supervisory Action Framework (SAF), urban cooperative banks will face restrictions for worsening of three parameters:


• when net non-performing assets more than 6% of net advances.


• when they incur losses for 2 consecutive financial years or have accumulated losses on their balance sheets.


• if capital adequacy ratio falls below 9%.


• For breach of such risk thresholds, urban cooperative banks will need to submit an action decide to correct things like reducing net NPAs must be less than 6%, for restoring the profitability and wiping out the accumulated losses, and increasing capital adequacy ratio to 9% or more than 9% within 12 next months.


• The RBI may additionally seek a board-approved proposal for merging the UCB with another bank or converting itself into a credit society if CAR falls below 9%.


• It can impose restrictions on declaration or payment of donation & dividend. Some other curbs like restricting fresh loans and advances carrying risk-weights over 100% on incurring cost beyond a specified limit and on balance sheet expansion.


• The move comes within the wake of the recent crisis at the PMC Bank.

Context: California’s new privacy law — the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) — is first-of-its-kind data legislation, which went into effect on January 1.

• Several of those rights also are in India’s Personal Data Protection Bill.


• These include the proper to access a replica of your data, and therefore the right to deletion. India’s bill goes further in some regards, including the proper to correction.


• However, India’s bill is more focused on users’ rights over collections, while California’s act is concentrated more on the third-party sharing and selling of a user’s data.

• The law gives Californians new controls over how companies use their data. These controls include the proper to access the info , the proper to invite its deletion, and therefore the right to stop its sale to 3rd parties.


• The law only applies to businesses with gross annual revenues of quite $25 million; people who buy, receive or sell the private information of fifty,000 or more consumers in California; or people who derive quite half their annual revenue from selling consumers’ personal information.


• The law applies to businesses collecting information of Californians; not just to businesses that operate within the state.


• Unintentional non-compliance will lead to fines of $2,500 per violation; intentional noncompliance will attract a penalty of $7,500 per violation.


• Because of the global nature of the Internet, these changes will affect users worldwide. Even Indian companies that have customers in California would need to suits the law.

Context: Responding to President Donald Trump’s threat to attack sites that were “important to Iran and Iranian culture”, Iran’s Foreign Minister said that Trump threatens to commit again new breaches of JUS COGENS.

• JUS COGENS or ius cogens, meaning “compelling law” in Latin, are rules in law of nations that are peremptory or authoritative, and from which states cannot deviate.


• These norms can't be offset by a separate treaty between parties meaning to do so since they hold fundamental values. Today, the principle of jus cogens accepted by most of the states and international organizations, which dates back to Roman times.


• The jus cogens rules are sanctioned by the Vienna Conventions on the Law of Treaties of 1969 and 1986. According to Conventions of (1969 & 1986), a treaty is void if it breaches jus cogens rules.


• Besides treaties, unilateral declarations even have to abide by these norms.


• So far, an exhaustive list of jus cogens rules doesn't exist. However, the prohibition of slavery, genocide, racism, torture, and therefore the right to self-determination is recognized norms. The prohibition against apartheid is additionally recognized under jus cogens rule, from which derogation is not allowed, since apartheid is against the essential principles of the United Nations.

Context: Kolkata Police started the third edition of its 'Sukanya' project at 100 city-based schools and colleges situated in Kolkata Police jurisdiction.

• Sukanya is an initiative of the Kolkata Police's Community Policing Wing to provide self-defense training to girl students of city-based schools, colleges and universities.


• Girl students of VIII, IX, XI, and girls studying in the first year at educational institutions in this area will be part of it.


• The initiative is funded by Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Department of the state government.

Context: Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar will confer the first ‘Antarrashtriya Yoga Diwas Media Samman’ to 30 media houses on January 7, 2020.

• The International Day of Yoga is being celebrated annually on June 21st each year, since 2015.


• The idea of International Day of Yoga was first proposed by Sh. Narendra Modi (Prime Minister of India), during his address at the United Nations General Assembly on 27 September 2014.

• The 1st Antarashtriya Yoga Diwas Media Samman (AYDMS) had instituted by the Ministry of information and Broadcasting (I&B) in June 2019 to mark the contribution of media in spreading the message of Yoga.


• Samman : Comprise of a special medal/plaque/trophy and a citation.


• 30 Sammans under 3 categories will be conferred.


• 11 Sammans to be conferred under the category of : Best Media Coverage of Yoga (Newspapers).


• 8 Sammans to be conferred under the category of : Best Media Coverage of Yoga (Television).


• 11 Sammans to be conferred under the category of : Best Media Coverage of Yoga (Radio).

Context: Neutral pronoun 'they' has been voted word of the last decade by US language experts.

• "They" are employed in English by a growing number of non-binary individuals, people that don't identify as either male or female. They prefer the plural neutral pronoun to bypass using the pronouns "he" or "she".


• Selection of "they" is an indication that how a personal expression of gender identity has become an increasing part of our shared discourse.


• The recognition to name "they" as word of the year comes after US dictionary Merriam-Webster in December. Word "they" named as word of the year in 2015 by the American Dialect Society.


• Linguists, lexicographers, etymologists, grammarians, historians, researchers, writers, editors, students, and scholars are included in the American Dialect Society which is 131-year-old.

Context: Gautam Gambhir, former cricketer and BJP MP from East Delhi, Friday inaugurated the first smog tower in Delhi, a prototype air purifier at Lajpat Nagar in Delhi.

• In November, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre and therefore the Delhi government to organize an idea to put in ‘smog towers’ across the capital to manage pollution .


• China, which has been battling pollution (Air) for years, has two smog towers — in its capital Beijing and within the northern city of Xi’an.

• Smog towers are structured / designed to work as large-scale air purifiers. They are usually fitted with multiple layers of air filters, which clean the air of pollutants because it passes through them.


• The filters installed within the tower will use carbon nanofibres as a significant component and it will be fitted along its peripheries. The tower will target on reducing (PM) particulate matter load.


• The smog tower installed at Lajpat Nagar is capable of treating 6 lakh cubic metres of air per day and can collect over 75 percent of particulate matters (PM) 2.5 and 10. After the cleaning, the tower releases clean air.

Context: The Chief of the Air Staff formally inducted the Flight Inspection system (FIS) Dornier 228 aircraft into No 41 Squadron, the ‘Otters.’

• The Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2015 had signed a contract to purchase 14 Dornier aircraft, which are flight inspection system planes, from state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

• The Dornier-228 aircraft could be a multi-purpose, fuel-efficient, rugged, lightweight twin-turboprop aircraft with a retractable tricycle undercarriage. The aircraft's cockpit is designed to accommodate two crew members and is fitted with duplicate controls.


• While the first aircraft was delivered in November 2019, the second is expected to be delivered in early 2020.


• Dornier 228 aircraft has been exported to Seychelles and Mauritius.


• The modified aircraft ( Dornier 228 ) are acquired to undertake in-house calibration of Navigational aids available after implementation of MAFI - Modernised Airfield Infrastructure at Indian AirForce bases.

Context: As of December 27, 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a US agency (a federal agency), has reported 2,561 cases across the country who have suffered EVALI, the mysterious respiratory illness linked to vaping and e-cigarettes.

• EVALI is that the name was given by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the damaging, newly identified lung disease linked to vaping.


• EVALI is an acronym that stands for e-cigarette or it's a vaping product use to associated with lung injury.


• The illness was first recognized in August 2019 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after health department officials across the country began to figure together to review cases of severe, sometimes it may be fatal, lung infections that arose suddenly in otherwise healthy individuals.


• It’s therefore unclear how the condition develops or why, in the most severe and life-threatening cases, it causes the lungs to stop functioning altogether.


• CDC urge everyone to avoid e-cigarette or vaping products that contain tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC (a high-inducing chemical derived from marijuana).

Context: The government is committed to making policies and programmes for the development and promotion of tourism and the year 2019 witnessed several steps in this direction.

• In the year 2019, India’s rank in Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum has moved to 34th position from 65th rank in 2013.

• Foreign Tourist Arrivals also registered a growth of 3.2 percent last year.


• The government is working to develop thematic circuits under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme and 77 projects amounting over Rs 6035 crore have been sanctioned till date under this scheme.


• An initiative called - 'Adopt a Heritage: Apni Dharohar, Apni Pehchaan' has been launched for developing tourist amenities at heritage and tourist sites and making them tourist-friendly.


• E-visa has been further liberalized and visa fee one - visa has been substantially reduced to increase tourism competitiveness of the country.


• The Government has also opened more than 120 mountain peaks for mountaineering and trekking for promoting adventure tourism in the country.

Context: Insurance regulator, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) issued guidelines on standard individual health insurance, asking insurers to cover basic health needs.

• Under the rules, IRDAI asked about general and health insurers to make a product which will look out of basic health needs of consumers with the maximum sum insured of Rs 5 lakh and a minimum of Rs 1 lakh.


• The product is going to be named as Arogya Sanjeevani Policy, succeeded by the name of the insurance firm. Any other name is not allowed in any of the documents.


• The standard product should have the essential mandatory covers, no add-ons or optional covers are allowed to be offered alongside the quality product and therefore the insurer may determine the price keeping in view the covers proposed to be offered subject to complying with guidelines.


• The standard product shall be offered on indemnity basis only and therefore the policy tenure shall be for a period of 1 year.

Context: Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), inaugurated the 1st Silk Processing Plant at Surendranagar in Gujarat which might increase the sale and availability of material (Raw) for Gujarati Patola Sarees locally.

• Patola, the trademark Saree of Gujarat, is considered to be very costly and worn only by the Royals or the Aristocrat.


• Reason being the raw material silk yarn is purchased from Karnataka or West Bengal, where silk processing units are situated, thus increasing the cost of the fabric manifolds.


• Now, cocoons will be brought from Karnataka and West Bengal and Silk yarn will be processed in house, thus reducing the cost of production and giving a major boost to the sale of famous Gujarati Patola Sarees.

Context: The Supreme Court has held during a recent judgment that the anti-child marriage law doesn't intend to punish a male aged between 18 and 21 years for marrying a “female adult.”

• The supreme court interpreted Section 9 of the Prohibition of kid Marriage Act, 2006, which says: “Whoever, being a male adult above 18 years older, contracts a child marriage shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment which is extended to two years or with the fine of up to one lakh rupees or with both.”


• The court said neither does the supply punish a boy under 21 for marrying a girl (Adult) nor a girl (Adult) for marrying a boy under 21 because decisions regarding marriage are usually taken by the members of the family/relatives of the bride and groom, and girls generally have little say in these type of matter.


• It said the 2006 Act also gives an option for prospective grooms who are between 18 and 21 years old to prefer / deni of marriage.

Context: Swarna Jayanti Fellowships for 2018-19 have been awarded to 14 Scientists associated with projects containing innovative research ideas and with the potential of making an impact on R&D in the respective disciplines.

• The Swarna Jayanti Fellowships scheme was instituted by Government of India to commemorate India's fiftieth year of independence.


• The awardees are supported by Department of Science & Technology, for fellowship and research.


• This will cover all the requirements for performing the research and include a fellowship of Rs 25,000/- per month as well as a research grant of 5 lakh Rupees for 5 years in addition to their salary.

Context: Pariksha pe Charcha has been rescheduled to 20th January this year in view of festivals of Pongal, Makar Sankranti, Lohri, Onam across the country.

• The programme was earlier scheduled for 16th of Jan 2020.

• Pariksha pe Charcha is a programme during which Honourable PM (Narendra Modi) interacts with the cross-section of scholars and teachers from India and abroad to beat exam stress.


• It is a singular interaction where students, teachers, parents and therefore the Prime Minister will close to debate issues associated with exams esp. stressfree examination.


• It was earlier held in 2018 and 2019.

Context: According to data from the Ministry of Environment, for the first time in the past three years, the number of tiger deaths in a year in the country has been less than 100.

• The last tiger census report, released in July 2019, had placed the total number of tigers in India at 2,967, up by a 3rd in comparison with the numbers reported in 2014.

• There were 84 cases of tiger deaths within the country and 11 cases of seizures (in which a tiger is presumed dead on the premise of body parts seized by authorities). Both put together, the number of tiger deaths in 2019 was 95.


• Madhya Pradesh, which has the highest number of tigers in the country (526, as per the last census), recorded the most number of cases (31) of tiger deaths. This was followed by Maharashtra, at which 18 death reported.


• The data for 2019 on tiger mortality also confirmed 22 cases of poaching and one case of tiger poisoning across the country.


• In 2018, the amount of tiger deaths recorded was 100. The number was 115 in 2017, and 122 in 2016.

Context: India and Pakistan exchanged the lists of civilian prisoners and fishermen of each country lodged in jails through diplomatic channels. This is keep with the provisions of the 2008 Agreement.

• Under the Agreement on consular access between the Government of Pakistan and India. 2008, the two countries to exchange “list of the nationals – civilian prisoners and fishermen – of the other country under its arrest/detention” on January 1 and July 1 each year.


• The exchange of lists comes despite continued military tension, which has, however, not dampened humanitarian moves by each side.


• India handed over lists of 267 Pakistan civilian prisoners and 99 fishermen to Pakistan who are in India’s custody. Similarly, Pakistan has shared lists of 55 civilian prisoners and 227 fishermen in its custody, who are Indians or believed-to-be Indians.

Context: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will establish a second launch port in Thoothukodi district in Tamil Nadu exclusively to launch small satellite launch vehicles (SSLVs).

• The Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV)is launch vehicle which is developed by the ISRO with payload capacity to deliver 500 kg to Low Earth orbit or 300 kg to Sun-synchronous orbit for launching small satellites, with the potential to support multiple orbital drop-offs.


• In December 2018, the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at Thumba completed the design for the vehicle. The maiden flight is expected in early 2020.


• After entering the operational phase, the vehicle's production and launch operations are going to be done by a consortium of Indian firms alongside New Space India Limited.

Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate 5 DRDO Young Scientists Laboratories to the state (India) on January 2, 2020.

• In 2014, the Prime Minister had suggested that at least five DRDO labs should be identified exclusively for innovation from young scientists up to the age of 35 years.


• This will give a boost to indigenous research capabilities in the defence sector.

Context: TRAI (i.e; Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) has made amendments to the new regulatory framework for cable and broadcasting services with a view to guard the buyer interests.

• TRAI has capped at 160 rupees the amount consumers will have to pay monthly for all free to air channels.

• Under it, cable TV users are going to be ready to access more channels at lower subion price. Consumers had earlier highlighted huge charges taken by Distribution Platform Operators (DPOs) in the form of Network Capacity Fee -NCF for a multi-TV home.


• In the homes where two or more than two TV connection is functioning within the name of 1 person, it'll charge maximum 40 percent of declared NCF for second and additional TV connections.


• TRAI has permitted DPOs to offer discounts on long term subions which is for 6 months or more.


• It has also reduced the maximum NCF charge to 130 rupees excluding taxes for 200 channels.


• It has also been decided that channels declared mandatory by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting won't be counted within the number of channels within the NCF.


• Only those channels which have an MRP of 12 rupees or less are going to be permitted to be a part of the bouquet offered by broadcasters.

Context: Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh account for a higher prevalence of mental disorders that manifest primarily during adulthood in depression and anxiety.

• According to the first comprehensive estimates of the disease burden attributable to mental health from 1990 prepared by the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative and published in The Lancet Psychiatry.

• The study finds that roughly one in seven Indians, or 197 million persons, suffered from mental disorders of variable severity in 2017.


• These include depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, idiopathic developmental intellectual disability, conduct disorders, and autism.


• In its State-wise analysis, the study divides completely different States into 3 classes on the idea of their socio-demographic index (SDI), i.e low, medium and high SDI States.


• The SDI could be a composite live of per-capita financial gain, mean education, and rate in ladies younger than twenty-five years and is calculated on a scale of 1.


• Prevalence of depressive disorders was highest in Tamil Nadu, Kerala (loss of 641 years), Goa and Telangana in the high SDI State group and Andhra Pradesh in the middle SDI State group.


• Similarly, anxiety disorders were found to be more common in Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, and Maharashtra in the high SDI State group and Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, and West Bengal in the middle SDI State group.

Context: The study offers the primary comprehensive population-level estimates of road injury deaths by kind of road users in every State.

• Road injury was the leading cause of death in India among 15 to 39-year-old men in 2017 and was the second leading cause for both sexes combined, according to the findings of the India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative published in The Lancet Public Health.


• Of the 2,19,000 road injury deaths in India in 2017, seventy-seven were of men, with the death rate 3 times higher as compared to girls.


• Motorcyclist and cyclist road injury death rates were 69% and 33% higher in India as compared to the global average.


• The study noted that if the estimated trends of road injury deaths up to 2017 were to continue, none of the States are likely to meet the SDG 2020 target of reducing such deaths by half from 2015 to 2020 or even by 2030.

Context: As Punjab continues to reel under wave (Cold) conditions, the government of state has decided to vary the timings for all schools.

• Cold wave is characterized by a rapid fall of temperature. It describes an unusual fall in temperature that is triggered by the transport of cold air masses into a specific area.


• The “wave” in the wave is clear within the upper-air flow (the jetstream), which is typically amplified into a robust ridge-trough pattern during a serious cold outbreak.


• Cold waves affect much larger areas than blizzards, ice storms, and other winter hazards.


• The core requirement of a chilly wave at the surface may be a strong high center that forms during winter in high latitudes.


• India’s “core cold wave” zone covers Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana.

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