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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 08 August 2020

::NATIONAL::

PM to inaugurate submarine optical fibre connecting Chennai to Port blair

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and dedicate the submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connecting Chennai and Port Blair to the nation on Monday through video conferencing. The submarine cable will also connect Port Blair to Swaraj Dweep, Little Andaman, Car Nicobar, Kamorta, Great Nicobar, Long Island and Rangat.
This connectivity will enable delivery of faster and more reliable mobile and landline telecom services to Andaman and Nicobar Islands, at par with other parts of India. At present Andaman and Nicobar Islands have very weak telecom systems, that hamper communications with mainland and within the islands.
Foundation stone for this project was laid by the Prime Minister on 30th December 2018 at Port Blair. Provision of reliable, robust, and high-speed telecom and Broadband facilities in these Islands will be a landmark achievement from the viewpoint of islanders as well as for strategic and governance reasons.
In a statement, Prime Minister's office said, enhanced telecom and Broadband connectivity will boost tourism and employment generation in the Islands. Better connectivity will also facilitate delivery of e-Governance services such as telemedicine and tele-education.
Small enterprises will benefit from opportunities in e-commerce, while educational institutions will utilize the enhanced availability of bandwidth for e-learning and knowledge sharing.
Due to satellite linkage there is only a fixed bandwidth of 3.2 GBPS available in the islands which will be hiked by more than 100 times. A 400 GBPS bandwidth would now be available initially with the commencement of the project.

NGT orders OIL top disburse compensation for well blowout damage

Following recommendations made by a NGT-appointed committee, the National Green Tribunal has directed Oil India Limited to disburse compensation ranging from ₹2.5 lakh to ₹25 lakh to those affected by the oil well blowout in Assam’s Tinsukia district in May this year.

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::ECONOMY::

RBI to set up panel for stressed loans resolution norms

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday constituted the proposed expert committee under the chairmanship of veteran banker K.V. Kamath to make recommendations on norms for the resolution of COVID-19 related stressed loans.
The other members of the committee include Diwakar Gupta (effective September 1, 2020, after completion of his term as vice-president, ADB), T.N. Manoharan (effective August 14, 2020, after the completion of his term as chairman, Canara Bank), Ashvin Parekh, strategy advisor, and Sunil Mehta, CEO of Indian Banks’ Association, as the member-secretary.
The committee will submit its recommendations on the financial parameters to the RBI, which in turn, will notify the same along with modifications, if any, in 30 days.
The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) will function as the secretariat to the committee and the committee will be fully empowered to consult or invite any person it deems fit. The committee may devise its own procedures for its internal functioning, the RBI said in a circular.

Country first Kisan special train flagged off from Maharashtra

Fulfilling its budget announcement, the railways today began the Kisan Rail service to transport perishables at affordable cost. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar flagged off the First Kisan Rail train from Maharashtra's Devlali station to Danapur in Bihar.
As per this initiative, the Kisan Rail will run through public-private-partnership mode to provide a seamless supply chain of perishable goods. The train will cover a distance of 1,519 kilometers in almost 32 hours on a single trip and will halt at 14 stations, including Nashik Road, Manmad, Itarsi, Satna, Prayagraj and Buxar.
Calling Kisan Rail a game changer in ensuring faster transportation of agriculture produce across the nation, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Tomar said the initiative will benefit both the farmers and consumers. Addressing the event through video conferencing, Mr. Tomar praised the railways for ensuring unhindered supply of foodgrains during the coronavirus induced lockdown.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Rajapaksa registers landslide victory in presidential elections

In Sri Lanka, the party led by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and its allies have secured two-thirds seats at the general elections held on Wednesday.
Sri Lanka People’s party (SLPP) has won 145 seats in the 225-member parliament, while the allies have managed to clinch more than five seats.
Mr. Rajapaksa is likely to be sworn in as Prime Minister at the weekend after results are notified. He had taken over reins of caretaker government after his younger brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa had emerged victorious at last November Presidential elections.
He received a record number of over five lakh preferential votes in his electoral district breaking the earlier record of former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremsinghe who has lost the elections this time.
President Gotabaya has expressed confidence of establishing a strong parliament to implement his policies. PM Rajapaksa today assured that Sri Lanka will not stand disappointed following the outcome of the election and thanked the people for their overwhelming support.

Afghanistan begins three-day ‘Loya Jirga’ to decide on freeing of Taliban fighters

As Afghanistan began a three-day ‘Loya Jirga’ to decide on freeing about 400 Taliban fighters convicted for “serious crimes” including murder and abductions, India said it would support the Ashraf Ghani government on the issue, and that the government has been briefed on plans for intra-Afghan negotiations.
The ‘Loya Jirga’, or grand assembly of more than 3,000 representatives from around the country, has been convened after Mr. Ghani refused to release the men, an announcement that threatened to derail intra-Afghan talks, tentatively scheduled for August 10 in Doha. The Jirga was called after some heavy lifting from the U.S. pushing the Ghani government for a compromise.

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::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

‘TRAFFIC’ study finds high leopard poaching in India

A recent study by TRAFFIC India on the seizure and mortality of ‘common leopards’ (Panthera pardus fusca) revealed that of the total of 747 leopard deaths between 2015-2019 in India, 596 were linked to illegal wildlife trade and activities related to poaching.
TRAFFIC is a leading wildlife trade monitoring network across the world and the paper has been authored by Saket Badola, head of the TRAFFIC India office, and Astha Gautam.
The paper titled ‘‘SPOTTED’ in Illegal Wildlife Trade: A Peek into Ongoing Poaching and Illegal Trade of Leopards in India’ also said that the highest numbers of poaching incidents were reported from the States of Uttarakhand and Maharashtra.

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::SPORTS::

ICC retains India as host of 2021 WC T20

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has retained India as the host of the 2021 T20 World Cup and reassigned the deferred 2020 edition to Australia in 2022. While finalising these decisions on Friday, the ICC Board also postponed the Women’s ODI World Cup from early 2021 to 2022.
Doubts over India hosting the 2021 event arose on July 20 when the ICC, while postponing the 2020 T20 World Cup to 2022 because of the pandemic, didn’t specify the venues for the 2021 and 2022 editions. Australia was scheduled to stage the 2020 competition in October-November.

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