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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 24 September 2020

::NATIONAL::

Loksabha adjourned sine de, speaker announces culmination of session

LokSabha was adjourned sine die after passing the Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020 yesterday. Speaker Om Birla announced the culmination of the 4th session of the 17th LokSabha.
He thanked every member of the house for following the COVID-19 related protocol in letter and spirit. Mr. Birla highlighted that the productivity of LokSabha in the 10 day session has been recorded to be the highest till date at 167 per cent. He said, the session was held for 60 hours whereas the allocated time was 37 hours.
Mr. Birla informed that replies to 2 thousand 300 unstarred questions were also provided in this session by the lower house whereas 370 questions were raised during the Zero Hour. He added that under rule 377, members raised 181 questions to which replies will be sent by the ministries concerned within next one month.
Both the houses of parliament were adjourned sine die yesterday, leading to the culmination of the Monsoon session. The session was scheduled to go on till 1st October but it was curtailed due to COVID concerns. The 4th session of 17th LokSabha and the 252nd session of the RajyaSabha were marked by several novel features induced by the outbreak of coronavirus.
Both the House had to function from different locations, including chambers of both the houses and galleries. The parliament also functioned on Saturday and Sunday of the last week without taking the usual break.

Centre raises limits for usage of SDRF funds by states

Prime Minister NarendraModi has announced that the limit of using the State Disaster Response Fund for COVID specific infrastructure has been increased from 35 per cent to 50 per cent. He said, the decision will help States have more finances at their disposal to fight the virus.
Interacting with Chief Ministers of six states and one Union Territory through video conference, Mr Modi said, there is a need to further strengthen health infrastructure to tackle COVID. More than 63 per cent of the active cases of the country are concentrated in six States and a Union Territory.

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::ECONOMY::

CAG points out shortfall in transfer to reserve funds by centre

The Centre retained in the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI) more than ₹1.1 lakh crore out of the almost ₹2.75 lakh crore collected in 2018-19 through various cesses, instead of transferring the receipts to the specified Reserve Funds that Parliament had approved for such levies, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India observed in a report.
Moreover, ₹1,24,399crore collected as cess on crude oil over the last decade had not been transferred to the designated Reserve Fund — the Oil Industry Development Board — and had been retained in the Centre’s coffers, the CAG reckoned.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Compensation Cess, which has become a bone of contention between the States and the Centre, was also ‘short-credited’ to the relevant reserve fund to the extent of ₹40,806 crore in 2018-19.
As much as ₹10,157 crore of the Road and Infrastructure Cess collected during the year was neither transferred to the related Reserve Fund nor utilised for the purpose for which the cess was collected. Separately, the CAG said that a journal entry after the close of the year was used to transfer ₹10,250 crore from the Central Road Fund, recording the same as a non-tax receipt in violation of accounting procedures.
Similarly, ₹2,123 crore of Universal Service levy and ₹79 crore collected as National Mineral Trust levy was not transferred to the relevant funds.

Railway moots 100% electrification by 2023

Railways has planned for 100 per cent electrification of its broad gauge routes by 2023. This was stated by the Railway Minister PiyushGoyal in a written reply in the RajyaSabha today.
The Minister informed that around 63 per cent broad gauge lines have already been electrified out of a total 63,631 route kilometers as on 1st of April this year.He said, a total of 23,765 route kilometre lines are yet to be electrified in the country.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

G4 countries pushes for UNSC reforms

Foreign Ministers of the G4 countries - India, Brazil, Japan, and Germany have highlighted the urgency of reforming the United Nations and updating its main decision-making bodies, in order to better reflect contemporary realities.
They expressed disappointment at attempts to derail this process and committed to addressing the issue in a meaningful way and with increased urgency at this 75th anniversary of the UN.
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, and his counterparts from Brazil, Japan and Germany met virtually during the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly yesterday.
In a Joint Press Statement, the G4 Ministers said, only reforms in UN Security Council can save it from becoming obsolete. Broader membership of the Security Council will allow it to preserve its credibility and create the political backing needed for the peaceful resolution of today’s international crises.
The G4 Ministers expressed their concern at the lack of any meaningful movement forward in the Intergovernmental Negotiations on Security Council reform.
The G4 Ministers reiterated their support for each other’s candidatures as aspiring new permanent members in a reformed Security Council. They expressed their determination to seek concrete outcomes during the 75th session of the General Assembly.

China reiterates commitment of carbon neutrality by 2060 at UN session

The U.S. is guilty of “obstructing” the global fight against emissions, China said on Wednesday, as Beijing seized the climate agenda by vowing to go carbon neutral by 2060, a target welcomed by environmentalists despite its patchy detail.
The goals, which include a pledge to reach peak emissions in 2030, are the most concrete ones yet announced by China, which is the world's biggest polluter and accounts for a quarter of the planet's greenhouse gas emissions. They also open a new divergence in relations with the U.S., which are already pinched by squabbles over trade, tech, defence and human rights.
Speaking to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday renewed his support for the Paris climate accord and called for a ‘green focus’ as the world recovers from the COVID-19 crisis.

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::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Environment ministry claims India home to largest number of one-horned rhinos

Union Minister PrakashJavadekar today said India is home to the largest number of Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros in the world with population in the range of 3000 animals in Assam, West Bengal and UP.
In his message on the occasion of World Rhino Day, Mr Javadekar said Environment Ministry has launched a National Conservation Strategy for Indian One-Horned Rhino. He added that the conservation initiatives for rhino has also enriched the grassland management which help in reducing the negative impacts of climate change through carbon sequestration.
The National Rhino Conservation Strategy for India was launched last year to conserve the greater one-horned rhinoceros. This is a first of its kind for the species in India which aims to work for the conservation of the species under five objectives.

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::SPORTS::

Djokovic wins Italian Open tennis tournament

In tennis, world number one Novak Djokovic won a record 36th Masters title by beating Diego Schwartzman in the Italian Open at Rome last night.
The Serb, playing in his first tournament since being disqualified from this month's US Open, won 7-5, 6-3 in the final to ensure he goes into next week's French Open on a high.

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