Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 05 August 2020

::NATIONAL::

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu today urged the government and judiciary to ensure faster justice keeping in view the mounting pendency of court cases in Supreme Court and other courts.
Mr Naidu was addressing the virtual platinum jubilee meet of Dr BR Ambedkar College of Law, Andhra University on the occasion of its 76th Foundation Day.
Expressing concern over the growing pendency of court cases, he underscored the need to make delivery of justice faster and affordable. Mr. Naidu asked law students to use their legal knowledge to empower the marginalized sections.
He also told them to nurture professionalism and ethical conduct when it comes to discharging their duties. The Vice President stressed the need of avoiding ambiguity while drafting law. He said, laws should be simple and uncomplicated.
In another instance the supreme courtdirected the States to provide care, support and priority medical treatment for senior citizens, especially those living alone or quarantined, amid the pandemic.

Almost 24 million children are at risk of not returning to school next year due to the economic fallout of COVID-19, according to the United Nation’s policy brief on the pandemic’s impact on education, released on Tuesday. The educational financing gap is also likely to increase by one third, it said.
More than 1.6 billion learners across the world have been affected by the disruption of the education system, but the pandemic has also served to exacerbate existing disparities, with vulnerable populations in low-income countries taking a harder and longer hit.

There’s a widespread impression that the new Consumer Protection Act will only regulate the operations of the legacy e-commerce players Amazon and Flipkart.
However, that’s a misconception as the new law brings the entire B2C online sector strictly within its ambit, said a top official at the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
“The Consumer Protection Act has already kicked in, but many online service providers still want to believe they are outside its scope,” said the official on condition of anonymity. “All kinds of B2C online services, irrespective of their size and reach, all mobile app-based services and all businesses running on social media platforms, will come within the bill’s purview.
“There’s no need to resist or ignore a law that aims to clean up the online B2C sector in the country. Only unscrupulous players who exercise unfair trade practices or indulge in counterfeit merchandise need to worry. Otherwise, this is a win-win piece of regulation that will protect the rights of customers and dignity of the brands,” the official said.

The Women Entrepreneurship and Empowerment, WEE cohort initiative helps women ranging from college going students to middle-aged housewives to take up entrepreneurship as a viable, fulfilling career option.
It is India’s first of its kind initiative to strengthen women's ecosystem at IIT Delhi, supported and sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology.
Meghna Gandhi is one of the winners at the WEE cohort initiative. She is the Founder and Creative Director at Ribbon Candy which is a homegrown label that makes handmade apparel and accessories for girls.
She has worked with underprivileged women in Vadodara during the COVID 19 lockdown and had created natural textiles and COVID 19 related accessories.

Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said that a review of the India’s Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) group has the potential to double the bilateral trade. He also said that e-commerce, fintech, Artificial Intelligence and blockchain have the maximum potential for collaboration.
The Asean Agreed to India’s request for review of the FTA as the trade deficit with the 10-member grouping rose from around $5 billion in FY11 to $21.8 billion in FY19.
Ceferino S Rodolfo from Philippines Department of Trade and Industry said India and Philippines could work together in areas such as transport infrastructure, heavy industry, pharmaceuticals, online education among others. Besides, a bilateral FTA between India and the Philippines could also be explored.
In the aviation sector, the government is moving ahead with the privatisation of airports and this presents a huge opportunity for countries from the Indo-ASEAN-Oceanic (IAOR) region, said Puri, who is also MoS for Civil Aviation (Independent Charge).

Ahead of the crucial Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meetings in October, when Pakistan’s performance in acting against terror-financing infrastructure will be assessed, Indian agencies plan to highlight its inaction in the Pulwama, 26/11 Mumbai attack and Daniel Pearl murder cases.
Indian agencies are sharing details with key FATF members of the Pulwama attack in February 2019, in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel lost their lives and many were injured.
About a month ago, the National Investigation Agency arrested an alleged Jaish-e-Mohammad conduit for providing shelter and logistical support to those involved in the attack. The agency has so far arrested seven persons in the case.
Another case pertains to the 26/11 Mumbai attacks carried out by the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in 2008, in which six U.S. citizens were killed.

Two NASA astronauts returned to Earth on Sunday in a dramatic, retro-style splashdown, their capsule parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico to finish an unprecedented test flight by Elon Musk’s SpaceXcompany.
It was the first splashdown by U.S. astronauts in 45 years, with the first commercially built and operated spacecraft to carry people to and from orbit. The return clears the way for another SpaceX crew launch as early as next month and possible tourist flights next year.
Test pilots Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken returned to earth in their SpaceX Dragon capsule named Endeavour, less than a day after departing the International Space Station and two months after blasting off from Florida. The capsule parachuted into the calm gulf waters about 40 miles off the coast of Pensacola.
“Welcome back to planet Earth and thanks for flying SpaceX,” said Mission Control from SpaceX headquarters. After medical checkups, the astronauts were flown to Houston.

Australia’s T20 series against the West Indies, scheduled for October, was called off on Tuesday. Cricket Australia said the three-match series, which had been intended as a warm-up to the now-postponed T20 World Cup, could no longer serve that purpose.
The series will take place ahead of the rescheduled T20 World Cup, on dates yet to be decided in either 2021 or 2022. Australia is currently struggling with a second wave of coronavirus infections.