Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 23 October 2020

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The government has decided to permit all OCI and PIO card holders and all other foreign nationals intending to visit India for any purpose, except on a Tourist Visa to enter by air or water routes through authorized airports and seaport immigration check posts.
This includes flights operated under Vande Bharat Mission, Air Transport Bubble arrangements or by any non-scheduled commercial flights as allowed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
All such travellers will, however, have to strictly adhere to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare regarding quarantine and other COVID-19 matters.
Under this graded relaxation, Government of India has also decided to restore with immediate effect all existing visas (except electronic visa, Tourist Visa and Medical Visa).
Foreign nationals intending to visit India for medical treatment can apply for a Medical Visa including for their medical attendants.

Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel virtually launched Life in Miniature project today.The project is a collaboration between the National Museum, New Delhi, Ministry of Culture, and Google Arts and Culture.
From today, several hundred miniature paintings from the National Museum can be viewed online on Google Arts and Culture by people around the world.
The project uses technologies like machine learning, augmented reality and digitization with high-definition robotic cameras, to showcase these special works of art in a magical new way.

The Labour and Employment Ministry on Thursday revised the base year of the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) from 2001 to 2016 to reflect the changing consumption pattern, giving more weightage to spending on health, education, recreation and other miscellaneous expenses, while reducing the weight of food and beverages.
Apart from measuring inflation in retail prices, the CPI-IW is used to regulate the dearness allowance (DA) of government staff and industrial workers, as well as to revise minimum wages in scheduled employments, a Ministry statement said.
Labour and Employment Secretary Apurva Chandra said that in the future, the Bureau would work towards revising the index every five years. The reduction in weight to spending on food and beverages indicated an increase in disposable income.
Mr.Gangwar said the new series, representing the latest consumption pattern, would be in the interest of workers. The number of centres, markets and the sample size for working class family income and expenditure survey were all increased.
The Minister also released the first index, with 2016 as the base year. The index for September, calculated for 88 centres as opposed to the previous 78 centres, was 118.
The sample size was increased from 41,040 families to 48,384, and the number of selected markets for collecting retail price data from 289 to 317. The weight to food and beverage was reduced from 46.2% to 39%, while spending on housing increased from 15.2% to 17%.

On a review of the current liquidity and financial conditions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today said that it has decided to conduct purchase of Government securities under Open Market Operations (OMOs) for an aggregate amount of Rs. 20,000 crores on 29th of this month.
OMOs in general sense refer to the sale or purchase of government securities by the RBI to commercial banks with a view to adjust liquidity conditions in the economy.
The State Development Loans (SDLs) are defined as securities issued by the states to manage their own finances.
In a press release issued today, the central bank said that SDLs will be bought through a multi-security auction.

The controversial 20th Amendment to Sri Lanka’s Constitution that envisages expansive powers and greater immunity for the Executive President was passed in Parliament with a two-thirds majority, following a two-day debate.
The 20th Amendment was the Rajapaksa administration’s first big test in the legislature, since it triggered concern and resistance from not just the political opposition, but also the influential Buddhist clergy that Sri Lanka’s southern polity venerates.
The 20th Amendment rolls back Sri Lanka’s 19th Amendment, a 2015 legislation passed with wide support from the Rajapaksa camp — then in Opposition — that sought to clip presidential powers, while strengthening Parliament. The new legislation in turn reduces the Prime Minister’s role to a ceremonial one.
In the two-day debate, opposition MPs broadly argued that the Amendment threatened to take the country on a path of authoritarianism, giving the President unbridled powers, while government MPs emphasised the need for centralised power for better governance.
The 20th Amendment’s passage comes at a time when the country is facing a new wave of COVID-19, with the number of cases rapidly increasing — after Sri Lanka contained the pandemic in the early months — to 6,028 cases and 14 deaths as of Thursday evening.

Members of European Parliament urged France and EU to impose sanctions against unabated terrorist activities in Pakistan.
Members of EU, RyszardCzarnecki, FulvioMartusciello and Gianna Garcia raised the demand in a letter to the French government and the European Union.
This move came ahead of the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of Pakistan's invasion of Jammu and Kashmir.
In the letter, the Parliament members stated that since its creation Pakistan has inflicted untold horrors on the world.The letter also mentioned the incident of genocide by the Pakistani military in Bangladesh, erstwhile East Pakistan.
The members also pointed out that Pakistan was re-admitted to the Financial Action Task Force Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing grey list for its continued failure to comply with obligations to prevent terrorism financing.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Thursday carried out the final user trial of the third generation anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), Nag, at the Pokhran firing range.
“The missile was integrated with the actual warhead and a tank target was kept at a designated range. This was launched from NAG Missile Carrier, NAMICA. The missile hit the target accurately defeating the armour,” the DRDO said in a statement.
The test was carried out at 6.45 a.m. “With this final user trial, NAG will enter into production phase,” DRDO stated. Nag had been developed to engage highly fortified enemy tanks in day and night conditions.
The missile has “fire and forget” and “top attack” capabilities with passive homing guidance to defeat all Main Battle Tanks (MBT) equipped with composite and reactive armour, the DRDO said.

In Badminton, former World Champion NozomiOkuhara clinched the Denmark Open title beating three-time world champion Carolina Marin in women's singles.
The Japanese star took 56 minutes to get the better of the Olympic gold medallist Spaniard in two games 21-19, 21-17, at Odense. With reigning world champion PV Sindhu of India opting to sit out the event, two of her biggest rivals made it through to the final.