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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 27 July 2020

::NATIONAL::

Nation commemorates Kargil Vijay Diwas

In Ladakh, General Officer Commanding of Fire and Fury Corps Lt Gen Harinder Singh will lay wreath and pay homage to the martyrs, at Drass War Memorial in Kargil. AIR correspondent reports that Drass War memorial has been decorated for the celebrations of 21years of victory in 1999 Kargil War.
Due to Covid 19 Pandemic the celebrations this year are scaled down in magnanimity. Usually, the celebrations run for three days starting from 24th July, have been limited to a single day.
However, several events relating to Kargil Vijay Diwas annually have already been cancelled which includes the most popular Captain SourabhKalia cricket Cup, due to the pandemic in the region. This year only wreath lying ceremony will take place, at Drass War Memorial.
However, the celebrations are going to be special on its own. A Senior Army officer in northern region, Lt Gen YK Joshi, a Veer Chakra awardee, was a Commanding Officer in Operation Vijay in 1999. YK Joshi himself led several assault operations, to push the enemy back from Indian territory.
The very Commanding Officer who led the Operation Vijay today attending the 21st anniversary as Chief Guest itself is a special occasion and inspiring for the forces in Ladakh region.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today paid tributes to the martyred heroes of the Kargil war who sacrificed their lives to safeguard the sovereignty and integrity of the country on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas. In a tweet, Mr Naidu said, the grateful nation will always remember their patriotism and valour.

PM urges people to use Indian handloom and handicrafts

The Prime Minister emphasized that the correct and positive approach always goes a long way in transforming distressing times into opportunities, adversities into triggers of development and progress.
Mr Modi highlighted how the youth and women have come up with new experiments on the basis of their talent and skills in the present times of COVID-19. He said many self help groups in Bihar have begun making masks with Madhubani motifs which are very popular.

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::ECONOMY::

RBI cautions on bad loan formation in small bank category

With aggregate loan portfolios and gross bad loans declining in the large borrower category, the Reserve Bank of India on Friday indicated that both credit and NPA accretions were occurring in the small borrower category in the last two years.
Growth in large borrower stressed advances declined by 8.5% at the end of March 2020, bad loans in this category fell 7%. Large borrowers accounted for 51.3% of loans and 78.3% of gross bad loans for banks in March 2020.
While the top 100 borrowers accounted for 17.5% of gross advances but only 12.6% of gross bad loans.
“Both (loans & GNPA) these shares have declined since March 2018 implying that on an incremental basis, credit and NPA accretions are occurring in the small borrower category in the recent period,” the RBI noted in its financial stability report.
The regulator also noted that borrowers who were making delayed payments or SMA category loans and restructured advances also declined in the March quarter. Loans due zero to 30 days crashed 54.4%, while those due 30 to 60 days fell by 4.6%.
There was also a steep fall in loans due 60 to 90 days which saw a drop of 20.2% in the March quarter. Restructured standard advances in the large borrower category also dropped 31.7%.

World Bank to support conversion of Chambal ravines to arable land

The Centre, in collaboration with the World Bank, has decided to convert large area of ravines in Gwalior-Chambal belt of Madhya Pradesh into arable land, and a preliminary report for the same will be prepared in a month, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said on Sunday.
After preparation of the initial report, subsequent meetings will be held with the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh for further course of action, he said.
"More than 3 lakh hectares of rugged land is not cultivable and if this area is improved, then this will help in the integrated development of the Bihad area in Gwalior-Chambal region," the statement quoted Tomar as saying in the virtual meeting.
He further said the project will not only help in improving agricultural development and environment but will also create employment opportunities and lead to substantive development of the region.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Poland to withdraw from EU treaty on violence against women

Poland will take steps next week to withdraw from a European treaty on violence against women, which the right-wing Cabinet says violates parents’ rights by requiring schools to teach children about gender, the Justice Minister said on Saturday.
ZbigniewZiobro told a news conference his Ministry would submit a request to the Labour and Families Ministry on Monday to begin the process of withdrawing from the treaty, known as the Istanbul Convention.
Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party and its coalition partners closely align themselves with the Catholic Church and promote a conservative social agenda. Hostility to gay rights was one of the main issues promoted by President Andrej Duda during a successful re-election campaign this month.
“The aim is to legalise domestic violence,” Marta Lempart, one of the protest organisers said on Friday at a march in Warsaw. Some protesters carried banners saying “PiS is the women’s hell”.
PiS has long complained about the Istanbul Convention, which Poland ratified under a previous centrist government in 2015. The government says the treaty is disrespectful towards religion and requires teaching liberal social policies in schools, although in the past it has stopped short of a decision to quit.

Russia to get hypersonic nuclear weapons soon

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that the Russian Navy would be armed with hypersonic nuclear strike weapons and underwater nuclear drones, which the Defence Ministry said were in their final phase of testing.
The weapons, some of which have yet to be deployed, include the Poseidon underwater nuclear drone, designed to be carried by submarines, and the Tsirkon (Zircon) hypersonic cruise missile, which can be deployed on surface ships.
The combination of speed, manoeuvrability and altitude of hypersonic missiles, capable of travelling at more than five times the speed of sound, makes them difficult to track and intercept.

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::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) report puts India in third position

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations recently released Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) report. According to the report,India ranked third among top 10 countries where forest cover has increased in the last decade.
The Food and Agriculture Organization bring out the report once in every five years. The report assesses state of forests in the member countries, their conditions and management.
The FRA says that India accounts to 2% of total global forest area. During the decade, India accounted to 0.38% of annual gain in forest cover.This is around 266,000 hectares of forest cover every year.
The forest area managed by local, indigenous communities and tribal in India increased from zero in 1990 to about 25 million hectares in 2015. The naturally regenerating forest rate in India was disappointing.

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::SPORTS::

Sangakkara backs Ganguly for top ICC post

Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara has backed SouravGanguly for the ICC chairman’s post, saying the BCCI president’s “astute cricket brain” and vast experience as an administrator make him a “very suitable” candidate for the role.
Sangakkara said the former India captain has an international mindset which is necessary to remain unbiased in an important position.
“Quite a big fan of Dada not just because of his stature as a cricketer but I think he has a very astute cricket brain,” Sangakkara told India Today.

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