Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 04 February 2020

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The Supreme Court has directed the states, which are yet come out with notifications for establishing Gram Nyayalayas, to do so within four weeks. The apex court also asked the high courts to expedite the process of consultation with state governments on this issue.
A bench headed by Justice N V Ramana also took into account the fact that several states have issued notifications for establishing Gram Nyayalayas but all of them were not functioning except in Kerala, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
The bench noted that states like Gujarat, Haryana, Telangana, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha have not yet filed their affidavits on this issue despite the apex court's last year direction.
The apex court had in September last year agreed to hear a plea seeking a direction to the Centre and all states for taking steps to set up Gram Nyayalayas under the supervision and monitoring of the top court.
An Act passed by Parliament in 2008 provided for setting up of Gram Nyayalayas at the grassroots level for providing access to justice to citizens at the doorstep.

Women and Child Development Minister SmritiZubinIrani today said that one crore 28 lakh beneficiaries received 5,280 crore rupees in their bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer. She said, efficiency in the .................................................................................................

IMF Managing Director KristalinaGeorgieva has asserted that Indian economy is not in a recession.
She told a group of foreign journalists in Washington yesterday that the Indian economy indeed experienced an abrupt slowdown last year adding that the IMF had to revise growth projections, downwards.
Georgieva said IMF is expecting 5.8 percent growth rate in 2020 and then an upward trajectory to 6.5 percent in 2021. The IMF MD said that India undertook some important reforms which would be beneficial for the country over the longer term.
She added that they do have some short-term impact. She said that there is not a lot of fiscal space in India, but IMF also recognises that the policies of the government on that side, on the fiscal side have been prudent.

The credit profile of Indian companies has deteriorated in the nine months of the fiscal hurt by a sharp slowdown in GDP growth. India Ratings (Ind-Ra) an arm of rating agency Fitch has downgraded 188 issuer ratings .......................................................

The United Arab Emirates today announced the discovery of a new natural gas field containing 80 trillion standard cubic feet of gas in the cross-border area of the Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
A press statement by the Government of Dubai stated that the discovery of the Jebel Ali gas field will contribute to achieving gas self-sufficiency for the nation and support the next phase of its major development projects in line with the nation’s strategic development plan for the coming 50 years.
Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan today witnessed a strategic cooperation agreement between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), a top energy company of the UAE and the Dubai Supply Authority (DUSUP) to continue to explore and develop shallow gas in the cross-border area of the Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, as part of the joint venture called the Jebel Ali field.
This new gas field, spanning an area of 5,000 square kilometres in the cross-border area of the two emirates, represents one of the largest natural gas discoveries in the UAE.
The discovery strengthens the UAE’s position among countries with the world’s largest natural gas reserves. This discovery will help UAE in transiting the gulf nation from a net importer of gas to a potential net exporter of gas in coming times.

China’s central bank has lowered the interest rates on reverse repurchase agreements today to boost economic activities. The cut came as Chinese financial markets reopened after an extended Lunar New Year holiday. ...................................................

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras researchers have developed an Artificial Intelligence technology to convert brain signals of speech impaired humans into language.
The other major application...........................................

Wrestler VineshPhogat, Shuttler P.V. Sindhu and Boxer M.C. Mary Kom will compete for the inaugural BBC Indian sportswoman of the year award after being nominated for the honour.
Sprinter Dutee Chand and para-badminton player Manasi Joshi are the other nominees for the award, the winner of which will be announced on the 8th of next month. The winner will be decided on the basis of public voting, which will be open till the 18th of this month on six BBC vernacular websites.
Head of BBC Indian languages RupaJha informed that the nominees were picked up by a panel of 40 eminent sports journalists.