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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 29 August 2020

::NATIONAL::

Centre notifies functions of Jammu & Kashmir LG & council of ministers

The Union Home Ministry on Friday notified new rules for administration in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) that specify the functions of the Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) and the Council of Ministers.
The rules notified by Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla say that proposals or matters which affect or are likely to affect peace and tranquillity or the interest of any minority community, the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and the Backward Classes “shall essentially be submitted to the Lieutenant Governor through the Chief Secretary, under intimation to the Chief Minister, before issuing any orders”.
The erstwhile State has been under Central rule since June 2018 and the elected Assembly was dissolved in November the same year. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while introducing the legislation in Parliament last year, said J&K’s Statehood would be restored soon.
J&K has been without a Chief Minister since June 2018. According to the requirements of the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019, fresh elections will be held after the delimitation exercise is completed next year.
The rules say all communications received from the Centre, including those from the Prime Minister and other Ministers, other than those of a routine or unimportant character, shall, as soon as possible after their receipt, be submitted by the Secretary to the Chief Secretary, the Minister in charge, the Chief Minister and the L-G for information.

Government brings in Chunauti contest for promoting small town start ups

Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad has launched “Chunauti”- Next Generation Startup Challenge Contest to further boost startups and software products with special focus on Tier-II towns of the country.
The government has earmarked a budget of over 95 crore rupees over a period of three years for this programme. It aims at identifying around three hundred startups working in identified areas and providing them seed funds of upto 25 lakh rupees and other facilities.
Under this challenge the Ministry of Electronics and IT will invite startups in the areas of work including Edu Tech, Agri Tech and FinTech solutions for masses, Supply Chain and Logistic management, Infrastructure, Medical Healthcare as well as jobs and skilling.

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::ECONOMY::

India ranks 72nd interms of global average monthly wages

India has been ranked a lowly 72nd among 106 countries in terms of the average wage per month, while Switzerland topped the chart, according to a global ranking of average wages prepared by Picodi.com.
With an average monthly wage of Rs 32,800 (USD 437), India has been ranked a lowly 72nd among 106 countries surveyed by Picodi.com, an international e-commerce platform which provides discount coupons.
Switzerland, where the average wage converted into rupees amounts to Rs 4,49,000 (USD 5,989), topped the ranking, while in Cuba the average wage is the lowest at Rs 2,700 (USD 36), it said.
When it comes to Asian countries, India ended up in the second part of the ranking (10th out of 16). It was outrun by countries such as South Korea (Rs 1,72,900), China (Rs 72,100), Malaysia (Rs 62,700), or Thailand (Rs 46,400).
The ultimate leaders among Asian countries were Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong - the only countries with average wages higher than Rs 2,00,000, the report said.

UNSecretary General criticises India’s coal subsidies

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday criticised India for subsidising fossil fuels and promoting coal auctions. Mr.Guterres was delivering the 19th Darbari Seth Lecture, organised by the Delhi-based The Energy Resources Institute (TERI).
The UN Secretary-General, however, commended several of India’s commitments to clean energy, including the initiative on the International Solar Alliance, plans for a World Solar Bank that would mobilise ₹70 trillion of investments in solar projects over the coming decade and, commitment to installing 500,000 MW of renewable energy by 2030.
Mr Guterres’ criticism of coal auctions at the event, which was presided over by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, is significant in the backdrop of Prime Minister NarendraModi’s launching of the auction of 41 coal blocks for commercial mining earlier this year as part of India’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India co-sponsors UNSC resolution on women peacekeepers

India has co-sponsored a security council resolution that calls for full, effective and meaningful participation of women personnel in peacekeeping operations. In a tweet, India's Permanent Mission to the UN said that India is proud to co-sponsor the resolution which was put forth by Indonesia.
The mission said UN Security Council Resolution on ‘women in peacekeeping' calls for full, effective and meaningful participation of women in peacekeeping operations.
India is one of the largest troop contributors to UN peacekeeping operations. The mission said India has set for itself during its tenure in the Security Council beginning 2021 that India will continue to push for greater involvement of women in all areas.
In June, India was elected non-permanent member of the Security Council for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2021.
India has a long tradition of being associated with UN Peacekeeping since its inception. The country made history in 2007 when she deployed the first all-women Police Unit in the UN Mission in Liberia.India is the fifth largest contributor of uniformed personnel to the UN Peacekeeping Forces.

Protests erupts in Dhaka over suppression of Uighur muslims in China

A massive protest was held outside Dhaka Press Club on Friday against the Chinese brutality and suppression against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang Autonomous Region.
A forum of Bangladesh Freedom Fighters organised the protest in memory of August 28 Uyghur Repression Day claiming that Muslim community in many countries are upset with the inhuman treatment of Uyghur Muslims by the Communist Party of China.
The Chinese government has reportedly detained more than a million Muslims in reeducationcamps.Human rights organisations, UN officials, and foreign governments are urging China to stop the crackdown. However, Chinese officials maintain that what they call vocational training centres do not infringe on Uyghurs' human rights.
Human rights activists allege that most people in the camps have never been charged with crimes and have no legal avenues to challenge their detentions.

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::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

CSE report finds India recycling only 1% of its construction & demolition wastes

The Centre for Science and Environment recently released a report on construction waste, according to which, India recycles only 1% of its demolition and construction waste.
India generates around 150 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste every year. However, the official recycling capacity is just about 1% which is 6,500 tonnes per day.
Around 53 cities were to set up recycling facilities in order to recover material from Construction and Demolition waste by 2017. However, only 13 cities have established till 2020. This scenario has to change as the demand for building materials such as iron ore, minerals, sand, aluminium and timber are growing at faster rates.
The Sustainable Urbanisation Programme of Government of India says that bricks, concrete, metal wastes from construction bodies are choking water bodies, public places and green areas. The National clean Air Programme says that the toxic dust particles are polluting the air while the cities have to reduce Particulate Matter pollution by 20%-30% by 2024.
The Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016 framed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change applies to everyone generating construction waste.

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::SPORTS::

India reaches semi finals of online chess Olympiad

India reached the semifinals of the online Chess Olympiad in controversial circumstances on Friday. It had won the first of the two matches against Armenia, which didn’t play the second and withdrew from the competition.
The Armenians protested with FIDE claiming that they lost one game because of loss of internet connection on Chess.com’s end.

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