Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 06 February 2020

::NATIONAL::

Women should not just strive to equal men but go far ahead of them, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
This comes just a day after a written note of the government, represented by Mr. Mehta, in the Supreme Court, cast doubts about women officers matching up to men in physical prowess and their ability to take command posts in the Army.
The Bench said a will and a change of mindset on the part of the government would definitely see women officers rise to command posts in the Army. There were many services in addition to combat posts.
Besides, the note stated, the “composition of rank and file being male predominantly drawn from the rural background with prevailing societal norms, troops are not yet mentally schooled to accept women officers in command of units”.
Army units were a “unique all-male environment”. Presence of women officers would require “moderated behaviour”, the note said. Thus, the posting of women officers in all-male units had its own “peculiar dynamics”, it noted.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has pulled up 14 thermal power plants for not complying with a December 31, 2019 deadline to limit sulphur dioxide emissions.
These are 5 plants in Haryana, 3 in Punjab, 2 in ................................................

In the wake of the recent Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank crisis, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved amendments to the Banking Regulation Act to bring 1,540 cooperative banks under the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulation.
Cooperative banks have 8.6 lakh account holders, with a total deposit of about ₹5 lakh crore.
Qualifications would be laid down for appointments, including that of Chief Executive Officers. Prior permission from the RBI would be required for the appointment of key positions. The regulator would deal with issues such as loan waivers.
The RBI would also have powers to supersede the board of any cooperative bank in financial distress.
The proposed amendments, along with the government’s decision to increase the insurance cover on bank deposits from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh, have been brought to strengthen the financial stability of cooperative banks and boost public confidence in the banking system.
In the PMC Bank case, the RBI had to step in last year after massive irregularities in its loan accounts were detected. The regulator had to place a withdrawal limit for account holders, which led to a major public strife and protests by them.

More than 22 crore Soil Health Cards have been distributed to farmers till date. The Soil Health Card scheme was launched by the government in 2015 with a view to address the decline of soil nutrients.
Agriculture Ministry has said that in the .............................................

The United States President Donald Trump has been acquitted of all impeachment charges. The US Senate has acquitted President Trump on two articles of impeachment that are- abuse of power and obstruction to Congress.
The Republican-majority Senate voted 52-48 to acquit him of abuse of power and 53-47 to acquit him of obstruction of Congress. Democrats required two-thirds of votes in the 100-member House to impeach the president. The ruling Republican party has 53 seats while the Democrats have 47.
Republican Senator Mitt Romney, who was the party's presidential nominee in 2012, voted against the president on the first charge, but followed the party line on the second article of impeachment.
Rest of the members voted on party lines. Trump announced on Twitter that he will make a public statement on the matter today.

Syrian government troops have captured a key opposition town despite threats by Turkey's president to use force if they don't pull back by the end of the month.
The town, Saraqeb, sits at the intersection ..............................................

Prime Minister NarendraModi has said that his government has set a defence export target of 5 billion dollars in the next five years.
Mr Modi said, our mantra is Make in India, for India, for world. The eleventh edition of the mega defence event is being held in Lucknow with the theme "India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub". ..............................

In Women's Hockey, India drew curtains on the New Zealand tour on a bright note with striker NavneetKaur scoring a brace to guide the Indian team to a convincing 3-0 win over New Zealand.
In the last game of its five-match tour in Auckland today, Navneet scored in the 45th and 58th minutes, while Sharmila scored a field goal in the 54th minute.
India began the tour by thrashing New Zealand Development squad 4-0 before suffering close 1-2 and 0-1 defeats to the home senior team.