Category: The Hindu

MYUPSC.COM is dedicated to preparation of UPSC Civil Services and State PSC Prelims and Mains Examination 2020. we are providing here the best quality study material and Test Series for UPSC IAS Prelims and Mains Exam 2020. you can get India yearbook 2020 and State wise Current Affairs and General Knowledge Yearbook 2020. The site intends to provide free study notes, knowledge or information related to IAS/PCS exams that can help to crack these Examinations. The Study Portal has also published its Ebooks/ PDF on various aspects & dimensions of General Studies of World, India and all the Indian states. The vision of the Study Portal is to consolidate all the relevant information related to India, Indian States regarding its History, Geography, Polity, Art-Culture, Heritage, Economy, Environment & Biodiversity and Current Affairs etc. Daily Current Affairs 6 March 2020

UPSC Prelims 2020 Complete Study Material with Practice Test

What is BHOG of FSSAI?

What is BHOG?

BHOG is Blissful Hygiene Offering to God. These are certificates issued by FSSAI. The BHOG certificates ensure quality of food offered to devotees and deities as well. It was launched as a precautionary measure to maintain hygiene of foods at the temples.

About the Project

The project was initiated by FSSAI. The project apart from maintaining the quality of foods at temples, also gives training for food handlers on basic food safety. It incudes Gurudwaras, Temples, Mosques. The project has also made it mandatory for the Prasad stalls and vendors that sell Prasad in and around temple premises to obtain BHOG certificate.

Eat Right Campaign

The certificate also includes principles of Eat Right Campaign. The Eat Right Campaign is based on two broad pillars namely “Eat Healthy” and “Eat Right”.

Black Carbon Levels in Himalayan Glaciers and Biomethanation

The increase in carbon concentration in the region is mainly because of agricultural burning and forest fire. The concentration of black carbon was found to be minimum in August and maximum in May. Daily Current Affairs 6 March 2020

What is Black Carbon?

Black Carbon are fine particles of carbon that are formed due to incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass. These particles are capable of absorbing energy from the sun (light) a million times more than that of carbon dioxide. However, black carbon are short lived unlike carbon dioxide.

They increase current level of global warming mainly due to their light absorbing characteristics.

Biomethanation

The Government of India has taken the technology of Biomethanation as a solution for stubble burning. Quality manure and biogas are obtained from bio-methanation process. Six Biomethanation plants are to be constructed in Punjab that will convert paddy straw into bio-gas.

Biomethanation is a process by which organic materials are microbiologically converted into biogas in anaerobic conditions. Anaerobic condition is an environment without oxygen.

Environment & Ecology: UPSC Prelims Exam 2020 Free PDf

Important Topics For UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam 2020

• Lok Sabha passed Direct Tax Vivad Se Viswas Bill, 2020

Though the bill deals with tax payments, it is in no way connected with the Income-Tax Act, 1961. However, it aims to bring the appeals filed by the Income Tax Department under the act. And for the taxpayers, the bill says that if the tax payment is made after March 31, 2020, the tax payer has to pay 110% of the disputed tax. And if the tax is paid before the date, the tax payer has to pay full amount of the disputed tax and there will be no penalty applied.

Concerns

The bill raised concerns that it treats honest and dishonest people in equal way. Also, it attracted comments for its Hindi name in a country which is diversified culturally to great extent. However, the English version of the bill is “No Dispute, But Only Trust”

• GoI clears Genome India Project

The Department of Biotechnology operating under Ministry of Science and Technology has cleared Genome India Project. More than 20 leading institutions including IISc Bengaluru are to participate in the project.

Highlights

The project will at its first phase take samples of 10,000 persons to develop a reference Genome. The Centre of Brain Research operating under IISc will act as a nodal point of the project. The Project was inspired by Human Genome Project.

Human Genome Project

The Human Genome Project was launched in 1990 and ended in 2003. It was an international project funded by the US Government.

The project aimed to map human genome and assemble them together to obtain a complete sequence of chromosomes. It mapped the nucleotides in the genome.

What is Genome?

Genome is the sequence of DNA. It contains all the hereditary information of an individual. Genome is not the same as gene or DNA. Genes are made of DNA. The Genome is simply sum of all DNAs of an individual.

• Delhi announced as next Google Cloud Region after Mumbai

On March 5, 2020, Google announced that it will open its next cloud region of India at Delhi by 2021. This is the second cloud region of Google after Mumbai that was launched in 2017. Google owns 22 cloud regions in Asia Pacific.

Along with Delhi Cloud Region, Google will also open its data centers in Toronto (Canada), Melbourne (Australia) and Doha (Qatar).

What is Google Cloud Region?

The Google Cloud Services are now available in South America, North America, Asia, Europe and Australia. They are regions that stores data. These data storage regions help several companies to store and secure their data.

How is it helpful for India?

India has strict data localization laws. This is because by this, GoI believes that consumer data can be protected in a better way. This way it helps in national security, sovereignty and economic development. The Google Cloud Region hence helps companies to store data locally.

• Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana signs MoU with Amazon to e-market

On March 5, 2020, Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) has signed MoU with Amazon to e-market products made by self help groups in India.

Highlights

The MoU has been signed as a part of Women’s Day celebration. Every year March 8 is celebrated as International Women’s Day. The women entrepreneurs in E-Commerce platform have been growing substantially. The MoU will help to empower these women entrepreneurs.

The Agreement is a key initiative for the second edition of Shehri Samridhi Utsav to be organized between March 28, 2020 and April 12, 2020.

Shehri Samridhi Utsav

It is an initiative of Ministry of Housing and Urban affairs. It is a rally that aims at increasing the outreach of DAY-NULM. It also organizes job melas and fairs for products made by women SHGs.

DAY-NULM

It is a flagship programme of Ministry of Housing and Urban affairs. The programme aims to reduce poverty. It also aims to reduce vulnerability of urban poor by enabling their self-employment opportunities and also increase their skilled wage employment opportunities.

• Corona Virus: OPEC to cut oil production largely since 2008 financial crisis

On March 5, 2020, the world’s largest oil production nations of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) have planned to cut production. This is the deepest oil production cuts since 2008 financial crisis. Daily Current Affairs 6 March 2020

Highlights

The major member of OPEC, Saudi Arabia has planned to cut production by 1.5 million barrel a day from April 2020. This is equivalent to holding back 3.6% of global oil supplies. The cuts are being made to avoid oil prices from collapsing.

OPEC has taken this decision predicting decline in demand of oil due to Corona Virus and its impact all over the world. When the demand decreases and supply is maintained at the same level, prices will reduce as the availability of oil will increase. Therefore, OPEC is cutting the supply.

Russia Factor

Russia has been hesitant towards making deeper cuts. Being a major contributor of OPEC, Russia’s move might backfire other OPEC countries. This is because, the oil exports of Russia will tend to increase as Russia oil will become cheaper. Therefore, other countries of OPEC are forcing Russia to join deeper oil production cuts. Daily Current Affairs 6 March 2020

• International Conference on Nano-Science and Nano Technology held in Kolkata

On March 5, 2020, the Department of Science of Technology operating under Ministry of Science and Technology organized an International Conference on Nano-Science and Nano Technology (ICONSAT) at Kolkata. The Conference is to be held between March 5, 2020 and March 7, 2020.

Highlights

The Conference highlighted the current need of India in the field of Nano-Science. It includes 5Ms namely Material, Mechanical, Manufacturing, Manpower and Machines. The Conference was attended by more than 450 scientists from all over the world.

Current Scenario

India started its journey of nanotechnology with the launch of “Nano Science and Technology Initiative” (NSTI) in 2001 for a span of 5 years. In 2007, it was renamed as “Nano Mission”. Nano Mission had wider objectives and larger funding of 250 million USD. This effort paid off well with Indian researchers publishing more than 23,000 papers in the field in next 5 years. In 2013, India ranked third in research paper publication in the field after China and USA.

Also, the contribution of private firms on Nano Technology has also been minimal. India currently works towards producing 10,000 researchers in the field in the next 10 years as of 2017.

UN Security Council

• United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN).
• It is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending that the General Assembly accept new members to the United Nations, and approving any changes to its charter.
• Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations and international sanctions as well as the authorization of military actions through resolutions.
• It is the only body of the United Nations with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states.
• Like the UN as a whole, the Security Council was created following World War II to address the failings of a previous international organization, the League of Nations, in maintaining world peace.
• The great powers that were the victors of World War II –Russia, United Kingdom, France, People’s Republic of China, and the United States – serve as the body’s five permanent members.
• These can veto any substantive resolution, including those on the admission of new member states or nominees for the office of Secretary-General.
• In addition, the council has 10 non-permanent members, elected on a regional basis to serve a term of two years.
• The body’s presidency rotates monthly among its members.
• Resolutions of the Security Council are typically enforced by UN peacekeepers, military forces voluntarily provided by member states and funded independently of the main UN budget.
• Recently China assumed presidency of UN Security Council for March 2020. Daily Current Affairs 6 March 2020

Hard ground swamp deer

• Hard ground swamp deer is also known as Barasingha or Rucervus duvaucelii, the state animal of Madhya Pradesh.
• It is seeing a revival in the Kanha National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) after having been perilously close to extinction for a long time.
• The species now numbers 800, after five decades of persistent conservation work.
• In 1967, the numbers of swamp deer decreased to 66 due to rampant hunting, habitat loss and diseases.
• The number was estimated at around 551 in 1953.
• The deer was brought back from the verge of extinction with the help of a successful breeding programme and conservation practices at the KNPTR.

• Swam deer are already extinct in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
• It is now found only in south- western Nepal and central and northeastern India.
• There are three subspecies of swamp deer found in the Indian Subcontinent.

1. The western swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii) found in Nepal,
2. Southern swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii branderi) found in central and
3. North India and eastern swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelii ranjitsinhi) found in the Kaziranga and Dudhwa National Parks.

Kanha National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR)

• KNPTR is on the Maikal range of the Satpura hills.
• It is spread over an area of 940 square kilometres between Mandla and Balaghat districts of Madhya Pradesh.
• The swamp deer is endemic to KNPTR.

United for Biodiversity

• The European Commission (EC) launched the ‘United for Biodiversity’ coalition made up of zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, national parks, and natural history and science museums from around the world, on World Wildlife Day 2020.
• The coalition offered the opportunity for all such institutions to “join forces and boost public awareness about the nature crisis, ahead of COP-15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming, China in October 2020.
• The coalition adopted a common pledge, citing the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Global Assessment finding that one million species were already at risk of extinction, and appeals to visitors to each of their institutions to “raise their voice for nature.”
• IPBES, formed by the United Nations Environment Programme, welcomed the formation of the coalition. Daily Current Affairs 6 March 2020

Convention on Biological Diversity

• The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty.
• The Convention has three main goals including:
  1. The conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity).
  2. The sustainable use of its components.
  3. The fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from genetic resources.
• It is often seen as the key document regarding sustainable development.
• The Convention was opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and entered into force on 29 December 1993.
• CBD has two supplementary agreements – Cartagena Protocol and Nagoya Protocol.
• The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity (2003), is an international treaty governing the movements of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology from one country to another.
• The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS) provides a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of one of the three objectives of the CBD: the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.

Mac- Binding

• Internet connectivity in Kashmir has been restored after seven month, it will be made available “with mac-binding”.
• Every device has a Media Access Control (MAC) address, a hardware identification number that is unique to it. While accessing the Internet, every device is assigned an IP address.
• Mac-binding essentially means binding together the MAC and IP addresses, so that all requests from that IP address are served only by the computer having that particular MAC address.
• In effect, it means that if the IP address or the MAC address changes, the device can no longer access the Internet.
• Also, monitoring authorities can trace the specific system from which a particular online activity was carried out. Daily Current Affairs 6 March 2020

QS World Rankings

• QS World University Rankings is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).
• It is previously known as Times Higher Education–QS World University Rankings, the publisher had collaborated with Times Higher Education (THE) magazine to publish its international league tables from 2004 to 2009 before both started to announce their own versions.
• The QS system now comprises the global overall and subject rankings (which name the world’s top universities for the study of 48 different subjects and five composite faculty areas), alongside five independent regional tables (Asia, Latin America, Emerging Europe and Central Asia, the Arab Region, and BRICS).
• According to newly released QS World Rankings five institutions from India have been ranked among the top 100 this year, while in 2019 there were three, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi and IIT Madras.
• This year IIT Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) is at 86th, IIT Madras (IITM) at 88 and IIT Kanpur (IITK) at 96.
• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mumbai and Delhi are among the top 50 engineering colleges across the globe, according to subject-wise QS World Ranking.
• In arts and humanities, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been ranked at the 162nd position while the Delhi University has been ranked at 231 spot. Daily Current Affairs 6 March 2020

Virtual Currency

• Recently Supreme Court set aside a ban by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on banks and financial institutions from dealing with virtual currency holders and exchanges.
• The court held that the ban did not pass the “proportionality” test.
• The test of proportionality of any action by the government, the court held, must pass the test of Article 19(1)(g), which states that all citizens of the country will have the right to practice any profession, or carry on any occupation or trade and business.
• In a circular in 2018, the RBI had banned banks from dealing with virtual currency exchanges and individual holders on the grounds that these currencies had no underlying fiat and that it was necessary in the larger public interest to stop banks from providing any services related to these.
• There is no globally accepted definition of what exactly is virtual currency.
• Some agencies have called it a method of exchange of value; others have labelled it a goods item, product or commodity.
• The underlying technology of virtual currencies are called blockchain, defined bitcoins as “a new electronic cash system that’s fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party”.
• This essentially meant there would be no central regulator for virtual currencies as they would be placed in a globally visible ledger, accessible to all the users of the technology.
• All users of such virtual currencies would be able to see and keep track of the transactions taking place.

Virtual Currencies Vs Crypto Currencies

• Virtual currency is the larger umbrella term for all forms of non-fiat currency being traded online.
• Virtual currencies are mostly created, distributed and accepted in local virtual networks.
• Cryptocurrencies, on the other hand, have an extra layer of security, in the form of encryption algorithms.
• Cryptographic methods are used to make the currency as well as the network on which they are being traded, secure.
• Most cryptocurrencies now operate on the block chain or distributed ledger technology, which allows everyone on the network to keep track of the transactions occurring globally.
• Organizations across the globe have called for caution while dealing with virtual currencies, while also warning that a blanket ban of any sort could push the entire system underground, which in turn would mean no regulation. Daily Current Affairs 6 March 2020

Source: AIR News, Down to Earth, Business Standard, Indian Express