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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 26 August 2020

::NATIONAL::

NGT slams MoeF report on clean air programme

The National Green Tribunal has slammed the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) over its report on the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) which proposes 20-30% reduction of air pollution by 2024.
The NGT disapproved the submission of the MoEF that a committee, upon further deliberation, has concluded that 20-30% pollutant reduction under the NCAP seems realistic.It said the MoEF’s view was against the constitutional mandate under Article 21.
A Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice A.K. Goel said the MoEF’s stand that pollution could not be controlled except to the extent of certain percentage was directly hit by the constitutional and statutory mandate.
Right to Clean Air stood recognised as part of Right to Life and failure to address air pollution was denial of Right to Life, the Bench said.
The tribunal said the enforcement of ‘Sustainable Development’ principle and ‘Public Trust Doctrine’ required stern measures to be adopted to give effect to the mandate of international obligations for which the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and other laws had been enacted.

Arunachal Pradesh to seek 6th schedule status

The BharatiyaJanata Party government in Arunachal Pradesh has decided to appeal to the Centre for bringing the State under the purview of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution towards protecting the rights of its indigenous peoples.
The Sixth Schedule consists of provisions for the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.A resolution would be moved and discussed in the monsoon session of the Assembly from August 27 and would be submitted to the Centre, Home Minister Bamang Felix said.
“No government had sought Sixth Schedule status since Arunachal became a State more than three decades ago. From the suggestions from the Consultative Committee, community leaders and advocates, we have come to understand that we were living under the wrong expression of being protected by the Inner Line Permit,” Mr. Felix said.
The ILP, warranted by the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act of 1873, is an official travel document issued by the State government concerned to let in an Indian citizen into a protected area for a limited period.

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::ECONOMY::

RBI projects reduced growth rate for 2020-21

The Reserve Bank has projected India's growth rate at (-) 4.5 percent for 2020-21. In its annual report released today, RBI projected global growth rate between (-) 6.0 per cent and (-) 7.6 per cent. The report says that expected headline inflation will remain elevated in the current quarter, but likely to ease in the second half of the fiscal.
Stating that it is difficult to accurately assess the economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic as the dynamics are still evolving, RBI said it looks like the decline in economic activity reaches its trough in April-June quarter of 2020-21 and recovers thereafter, albeit at a gradual pace. It adds that the growth is likely to turn positive from January-March quarter 2020-21.
In its report, RBI has asked for wide-ranging reforms to regain losses due to COVID-19 crisis adding that it will take quite some time to mend and regain the pre-COVID-19 momentum. Noting that meeting the fiscal targets budgeted in 2020-21 has become even more challenging due to COVID-19, RBI has said that the government must have a clear exit strategy with credible consolidation milestones and timelines in reworking the path towards fiscal rectitude in the coming years.
The report also notes that government consumption spending has provided a measure of relief, with the central government's revenue expenditure, having risen by 33.7 per cent in the first quarter.

KVIC creates local employment via Honey mission programme

Khadi and Village Industries Commission, KVIC has taken a big leap towards AtmaNirbhar Bharat by creating local employment for migrant workers through its flagship Honey Mission programme.
Minister of State for MSME, Pratap Chandra Sarangi today distributed 700 bee boxes to 70 migrant workers of Saharanpur and Bulandshahr districts of Uttar Pradesh. They had returned to their hometown from Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat due to COVID-19 lockdown. KVIC has imparted them training on bee-keeping and provided the necessary tool kit and bee boxes for them to carry out bee-keeping activities.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Sarangi lauded the initiative saying it will contribute to increasing India’s honey production which is the core objective of Honey Mission. He said, creating employment for the migrant workers at their doorsteps will make them self-reliant.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India-Vietnam joint commission meeting held via video conferencing

The 17th meeting of the India-Vietnam Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation was held via video-conference today.
It was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh. During the meeting, both sides reviewed the recent developments in India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and discussed the future trajectory of their wide-ranging engagement.
They agreed to add new momentum to the economic and defence engagement between the two countries and to explore closer cooperation in emerging areas such as civil nuclear energy, space, marine sciences and new technologies.
The External Affairs Ministry said in a release that the co-chairs exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest, especially in the context of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. Dr Jaishankar underlined Prime Minister’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat for enhancing resilience through self-reliance and human-centric globalization as the basis for India’s economic revival.
Two MoUs were also signed on the margins of the Joint Commission Meeting. Both sides agreed to coordinate closely at multilateral forums, including at the UN Security Council, where both India and Vietnam will serve concurrently as non-permanent members in 2021. They also agreed to step up cooperation and coordination at important regional forums under the ASEAN framework.

India- Uzbekistan holds meeting on progress of ongoing projects

Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan today co-chaired the first India-Uzbekistan National Coordination Committee meeting virtually with Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Investments and Foreign Economic Relations SardorUmurzakov.
Ministry of External Affairs said, both sides comprehensively reviewed the ongoing and planned activities of bilateral economic and trade cooperation, including the status of negotiations for concluding a Bilateral Investment Treaty, Preferential Trade Agreement and mutual market access for agricultural produce of both countries.
They also reviewed implementation of identified projects under India’s Lines of Credit, cooperation between the State of Gujarat and the Andijan region of Uzbekistan, and the India-Uzbekistan Entrepreneurship Development Centre at Tashkent.

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::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

ASTROSAT discovers rare findings in outer space

ASTROSAT, the first multi wavelength satellite has detected extreme UV light from galaxy that 9.3 billion light years away from the Earth.
ASTROSAT is the first multi-wavelength space telescope of India. It was launched on September 28, 2015. With its success, ISRO is planning to launch ASTROSAT-2 as its successor. The five major instruments on board covers soft X-ray, hard X-ray, far UV, near UV, and visible light.
The first multi-wavelength satellite of India has five unique X-ray and UV telescopes. They detect extreme UV light from galaxies that are billion light years away from the earth. It is an IRS class satellite. IRS is Indian Remote Sensing Satellite.
The NASA Hubble Space Telescope is larger than the UV Imaging Telescope (UVIT). However, it did not detect UV emission from the galaxy as it is too faint. On the other hand, the UVIT was able to achieve the detection as the background noise in the UVIT detector is much less than that on the HST.

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::SPORTS::

England wins series against Pakistan, Anderson claims his 600th wicket

England paceman James Anderson cemented his place in cricket history by taking his 600th Test wicket when he dismissed Pakistan captain Azhar Ali in the rain-marred third and final Test, which ended in a draw on Tuesday. The tourists reached 187 for four in their second innings at the close on the short final day.
The host claimed the series 1-0.Anderson produced a rising delivery that moved away from first-innings century-maker Azhar on 31, with England skipper Joe Root holding a head-high catch at first slip.

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