Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 07June 2020

Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 07June 2020

::NATIONAL::

WHO report says India still at COVID risk

  • COVID-19 has not “exploded” in India, but the risk of it happening remains as the country moves towards exiting the lockdown that was imposed in March to contain the disease, according to a top WHO expert.
  • WHO Health Emergencies Programme executive director Michael Ryan on Friday said the doubling time of cases in India was about three weeks at this stage. So the direction of travel of the epidemic was not exponential but it was still growing, he said.
  • “In South Asia, not just in India but in Bangladesh and in Pakistan, other countries in South Asia, with large dense populations, the disease has not exploded. But there is always the risk of that happening,” Mr. Ryan said in Geneva.
  • WHO Chief Scientist SoumyaSwaminathan said the over 2,00,000 current novel coronavirus cases in India, a country of over 1.3 billion people, “look big but for a country of this size, it’s still modest.” She stressed that it was important for India to keep track of the growth rate and the doubling time of the cases and make sure that the number did not get worse.
  • She said India is a heterogeneous and huge country with very densely populated cities and a much lower density in some rural areas and varying health systems in different States, and these factors posed challenges to the control of COVID-19.

WCD ministry forms task force to examine issues with respect to MMR

  • Government has constituted a task force to examine issues related to age of motherhood, lowering Maternal Mortality Rate and improvement of nutritional levels. 
  • The task force will be headed by Jaya Jaitly and it will submit its report by 31st July of next month. The task force set up by the Women and Child Development Ministry will suggest suitable legislations and amendments in existing laws and also chalk out a detailed roll-out plan with timelines to implement these recommendations.
  • The task Force will examine the issues related to Infant Mortality Rate, Maternal Mortality Rate, Total Fertility Rate, Sex Ratio at Birth, Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and any other issues pertaining to health and nutrition. 

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::ECONOMY::

RBI data shows shrinking bank credit as businesses aim for recovery

  • Business activity failed to pick up even as the country has started to gradually exit from the lockdown as was evident from bank loans contracting for the fourth straight week, latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed.
  • In the current financial year, so far, the contraction in bank credit has been ₹1.48 lakh crore while deposits have shown growth of ₹2.63 lakh crore.
  • Loan demand remained weak despite the RBI reducing interest rates sharply since the lockdown was imposed. At end March, the RBI reduced the repo rate by 75 basis points (bps), and then again by 40 bps on May 22.
  • The repo rate now stands at 4%. The central bank has hinted that more rate cuts could be coming as RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das emphasised on the need for going ‘full throttle’ to revive consumption and investment.
  • Bankers expect credit demand to pick up in the coming days as more borrowers avail themselves of the Centre’s full credit guarantee scheme through which ₹3 lakh crore will be extended, mainly to micro, small and medium enterprises.
  • They also said while loans have been sanctioned under the scheme from the beginning of this month, borrowers are yet to avail of the full disbursement as they wait for more economic activity to resume along with more unlocking.

OPEC and its allies agrees to cut production by 10 % 

  • Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allied nations have agreed to extend a production cut of nearly 10 million barrels of oil a day through the end of July, hoping to boost energy prices hard hit by the Coronavirus pandemic.
  • Ministers of the cartel and outside nations like Russia met via video conference to adopt the measure, aimed at cutting out the excess production depressing prices as global aviation remains largely grounded due to the pandemic. It represents some 10 per cent of the world's overall supply.
  • Algerian Oil Minister Mohamed Arkab, the current OPEC president, warned attendees that the global oil inventory would soar to 1.5 billion barrels by the mid-point of this year.
  • The decision came in a unanimous vote, Energy Minister Suhail al-Mazrouei of the United Arab Emirates wrote on Twitter.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India-China holds high level military delegation talks to address border issues

  • High level talks between the Indian and Chinese military officials are in progress at Moldo- Chushul border post on Chinese side. AIR correspondent reports, Lieutenant General level Army officers of India and China are holding discussions to address the current situation in the border areas.
  • Ahead of the talks, Indian Army in a statement said, Indian and Chinese officials continue to remain engaged through the established military and diplomatic channels to address the current situation in the India-China border areas. This comes a day after the foreign ministry officials of both nations on Friday reviews overall scenario of bilateral relations.
  • Joint Secretary (East Asia) in Ministry of External Affairs Naveen Srivastava  held talks with Wu Jianghao, Director General in the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs through video conference yesterday. 
  • In this context, they recalled the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries that peaceful, stable and balanced relations between India and China will be a positive factor for stability in the current global situation.
  • Both sides also agreed that in accordance with the guidance provided by the leadership, the two sides should handle their differences through peaceful discussion, bearing in mind the importance of respecting each other's sensitivities, concerns and aspirations and not allow them to become disputes.

Afghanistan welcomes UN analytical support team

  • Afghanistan has welcomed the United Nations Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team concerning the Taliban and other associated individuals and entities constituting threats to peace, stabity and security of Afghanistan.
  • In a statement , Afghanistan's Foreign Affairs Ministry said it rejects allegations made by Pakistan with regard to Tehrik e Taliban Pakistan, TTP and use of Afghanistan territories by a third party to destablise Pakistan. It said TTP and its splinter groups have the blood of Afghan people in their hands.
  • Afghanistan said as a victim of terrorism, the country has striven to play more than its part in the region's collective fight against this common enemy. 
  • The statement said Afghanistan has never allowed and will never tolerate any acts by a third party to use the country to destablise another country.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Study finds high prevalence of diabetes amongst women in south India

  • Researchers have identified a bunch of districts in India that have the maximum prevalence for diabetes among women. At least 50 of the 640 districts studied have high prevalence of diabetes  greater than one in 10  among women aged 35-49 years.
  • Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha have districts with the highest prevalence. The results were published in the Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders.
  • Previous studies of the incidence of diabetes in men and women in India have thrown up mixed results with some finding greater evidence of the disease in women, in North India, and others reporting men in South India as more susceptible. 
  • However, a skewed gender ratio as well unequal access to medical care has led to the disease being under-reported in women, says a 2014 article in the Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism.
  • Previous work had found that diabetes-related mortality is higher among women in India. According to Ms.Puri, the prevalence of diabetes among women in India didn’t substantially differ from that of men.
  • The authors also point to the higher levels of diabetes in the southern and eastern parts of India as being linked to diets of “rice-meat-and-fish” and a higher intake of “sweets and snacks” that were rich in trans-fats. These however weren't explanatory, the authors note. “Being a cross-sectional survey, we found correlations not causation,” Ms.Puri added.

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::SPORTS::

Former Indian footballer dies of COVID

  • Former Indian footballer HamzaKoya has died of COVID-19 in Kerala, taking the death toll due to COVID-19 in the State to 15. The 61 year old HamzaKoya succumbed to COVID-19 today morning.
  • He was a  former football player who had represented Maharashtra at the Santhosh Trophy and also  an India team member in Nehru trophy. The deceased is a native of Parapanagadi, who had returned from Mumbai recently and passed away in Manjeri Medical College in Malappuram today.

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