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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 31 August 2020

::NATIONAL::

Census and NPR may get delayed due to COVID

The first phase of the Census and the exercise to update the National Population Register (NPR), scheduled for this year but deferred due to the coronavirus outbreak, may be delayed by a year as there is no sign of slowdown of the pandemic.
The Indian census is one of the largest administrative and statistical exercises in the world, with the involvement of more than 30 lakh officials who would visit each household across the length and breadth of the country.
According to the earlier schedule, the census would have its reference date as March 1, 2021, and in the snow-bound areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, it would be October 1, 2020.
With a history of more than 130 years, this reliable, time tested exercise has been bringing out a veritable wealth of statistics every 10 years, including on the rich diversity of the people, and has become one of the tools to understand and study India.
The objective of the NPR is to create a comprehensive identity database of every usual resident in the country.The database would contain demographic as well as biometric particulars.
For the NPR, a usual resident is defined as a person who has resided in a local area for the past six months or more or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next six months.

States to work out on new industrial plans for labour welfare

States have started working on new industrial policies with detailed plans for labour welfare, particularly with regard to housing of migrant workers in industrial clusters, in line with an advisory from the Centre.
The Centre had in the first week of August written to all states, specifically asking them to include labour welfare measures in their investments and industrial policies, or at least have a plan in place, labour ministry officials told
The 18-point advisory detailed steps to provide “improved living conditions to workers coming back from states” by ensuring “decent working conditions, occupational safety and social security benefits”.
The government has asked "both the origin and destination states" of migrant workers to ensure the enrolment of eligible migrant workers in Ayushman Bharat scheme and insurance schemes provided by the Centre. It has also asked states to “encourage employers to follow all laws when dealing with the workers, particularly with regard to their wages, living conditions and safety”

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::ECONOMY::

Finance ministry asks PSB’s to monitor insolvency proceedings with respect to individual guarantors

The Finance Ministry has asked public sector banks to monitor cases where insolvency proceedings could be initiated against individuals who are guarantors of corporate debtors that have defaulted on loans.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) provides for a time-bound and market-linked resolution of stressed assets.
The Code also provides for initiation of insolvency proceedings against personal guarantors of corporate debtors, even though the provision has not been used much by lenders to recover dues.
In an advisory, the Department of Financial Services has asked Public Sector Banks (PSBs) to consider putting in place a mechanism for monitoring the cases which may require initiation of individual insolvency process before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) against personal guarantors to corporate debtors.
Recently, the NCLT's Mumbai bench allowed State Bank of India (SBI) to initiate insolvency proceedings against Anil Ambani as a personal guarantor to recover Rs. 1,200 crore dues from two companies promoted by him.

Country reports an all-time record acreage of Kharif (summer sown) crops this year

In what should spell good news for the rural economy, India has reported an all-time record acreage of Kharif (summer sown) crops this year despite the Covid-19 pandemic and flood situation in many states. The development indicates that the farm sector, which remained largely free of restrictions during lockdown, may continue to register growth despite a shrinking GDP.
India had reported its previous record for Kharif crop sown area in 2016 when the acreage was 1,075 lakh hectares. The country’s average sown area in the past five years has been 1,066 lakh hectares. The higher acreage can be attributed to a good monsoon rainfall and proactive measures, taken by farmers and governments during the lockdown period, to beat the impact of Covid-19 on agriculture.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Mustapha Adib to be designated as new Lebanese PM

Lebanon's ambassador to Germany Mustapha Adib is on course to become the country's next prime minister after securing major political backing.
Mr.Adib was named by four former prime ministers on the eve of binding consultations between the president and parliamentary blocs on their choice for the post.
The announcement came a day before French President Emmanuel Macron is due to arrive for a two day-visit, during which he is expected to press Lebanese officials to formulate a new political pact to lift the country out of its multiple crises.
The government, led by Hassan Diab, quit this month amid anger over an explosion in the capital Beirut.
Meanwhile Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said on Sunday that his powerful Iran-backed Shia movement is “open” to a French proposal for a new political pact for Lebanon.
His comments came a day before French President Emmanuel Macron was due in blast-hit Beirut for his second visit in less than four weeks to press for political reform and reconstruction in tandem with the start of political consultations to name a new Lebanese Premier.

Afghan president appoints council for national reconciliation

Afghanistan’s President has appointed a council for national reconciliation, which will have final say on whether the government will sign a peace deal with the Taliban after what are expected to be protracted and uncertain negotiations with the insurgents.
The negotiations were envisaged under a U.S.-Taliban peace agreement signed in February as intra-Afghan talks to decide the war-torn country’s future. However, their start has been hampered by a series of delays that have frustrated Washington.
Some had expected the negotiations to begin earlier this month. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued a decree late on Saturday establishing the 46-member council, led by his former rival in last year’s presidential election, Abdullah Abdullah, who is now in the government.

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::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

NASA finds asteroid pass by at a closer distance to earth

An asteroid with diameters between 22 and 49 metres will shoot pass Earth in a distance closer than Earth from the Moon on September 1, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
NASA estimates the asteroid's relative speed at around 8.16 kilometres per second.
The last time asteroid 2011 ES4 fly by the Earth was visible from ground for four days. This time, it will be closer to our planet than before with an estimated distance of 1.2 lakh kilometres, closer than that of the Moon, which is 3.84 lakh kilometres away from the Earth.
The asteroid, listed as a potentially hazardous asteroid, was first discovered in the spring of 2011 and passes by Earth by Earth every nine years.

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::SPORTS::

Djokovic wins master’s crown

Novak Djokovic tied Rafael Nadal’s record by earning his 35th title at a Masters 1000 tournament, overcoming a sluggish start to beat Milos Raonic 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the Western & Southern Open final on Saturday and improve to 23-0 this season.
Djokovic was listless in the first set.It took all of 30 minutes for Raonic, a Canadian ranked No. 30, to take that set. But Djokovic asserted himself in the second set, breaking to lead 3-2 with a backhand passing shot and raising his right fist.
In the third, Djokovic broke twice more, and eventually the 33-year-old from Serbia was raising his arms to mark his 80th career title and 61st on hard-courts.

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