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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 25 September 2020

::NATIONAL::

CAG report finds 40% toilets in govt. schools non-existent and unused

Public sector units claimed to have constructed 1.4 lakh toilets in government schools as part of a Right to Education project, but almost 40% of those surveyed by the Comptroller and Auditor-General were found to be non-existent, partially constructed, or unused.
In an audit report presented in Parliament on Wednesday, the CAG said over 70% did not have running water facilities in the toilets, while 75% were not being maintained hygienically.
The SwachhVidyalayaAbhiyan was launched by the Human Resource Development Ministry in September 2014 to meet the Right to Education Act’s mandate that all schools must have separate toilets for boys and girls.
Lack of dedicated funds, poor maintenance and poor water availability in toilets were identified as major challenges, and central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) were roped in to bridge the gap over a one-year period.
Out of that sample, CPSEs identified but did not construct 83. Another 200 toilets were reported to be constructed, but were non-existent, while 86 toilets were only partially constructed.
Out of the 1,967 coeducational schools surveyed, 99 schools had no functional toilets while 436 had only one functional toilet, meaning that the objective of providing separate toilets for boys and girls was not fulfilled in 27% of the schools, said the CAG.

PradhanMantriSahajBijliHarGharYojana completes three years since inception

PradhanMantriSahajBijliHarGharYojana -“Saubhagya” has completed three years since its inception. Prime Minister NarendraModi had launched this scheme on the 25th of September, 2017 to ensure electrification of all willing households in the country in rural as well as urban areas.
The scheme was launched with an aim to achieve universal household electrification by providing last mile connectivity and electricity connections to all households in rural areas and all poor households in urban areas across the country.
The scheme was started with an outlay of 16,320 crore rupees. Out of the total amount, the outlay for the rural households is over 14 thousand crore rupees while for the urban households the outlay is 2,295 crore rupees.

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::ECONOMY::

RBI releases document to enhance cybersecurity of urban co-operative banks (UCBs)

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come out with a document to enhance cybersecurity of urban co-operative banks (UCBs).The ‘Technology Vision for Cyber Security for Urban Co-operatve Banks (UCBs) 2020-2023’ has been formalised based on inputs from various stakeholders.
It plans to achieve its objective through a five-pillared strategic approach GUARD, viz. Governance Oversight, Utile Technology Investment, Appropriate Regulation and Supervision, Robust Collaboration and Developing necessary IT, cybersecurity skill sets.
With concerted efforts and involvement of all stake holders, the vision document, with its 12 specific action points, aspires to involve more board oversight over cybersecurity; enable UCBs to better manage and secure IT assets; implement an offsite supervisory mechanism framework for UCBs on cybersecurity-related controls; develop a forum for UCBs so that they can share best practices and discuss practical issues and challenges; and implement a framework for providing awareness/training for all UCBs, the RBI said.
“The cybersecurity landscape will continue to evolve with wider adoption of digital banking channels, thus necessitating the UCBs to manage the associated risks effectively. Active collaboration within UCBs and stakeholders would be necessary for sharing and co-ordinating various measures taken on cyber security aspects,” it said.

SEBI issues guidelines for investment advisers

Markets regulator SEBI has come out with detailed guidelines for investment advisers (IA) asking them to ensure segregation of advisory and distribution activities at the client level.
Besides, SEBI has fixed a cap on fee that IA can charge from clients.Under the rules, an individual IA will apply for registration as non-individual investment adviser on onboarding 150 clients and IA will have to enter into an investment advisory agreement with its clients.
In a circular on Wednesday, the regulator said investment advisers will have to ensure compliance with regard to client-level segregation of advisory and distribution activities.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Australian think tank report finds around 400 detention camps in Chinese Xinjiang province

China is running hundreds of detention centres in northwest Xinjiang across a network that is much bigger than previously thought, according to research presented on Thursday by an Australian think tank.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) said it had identified more than 380 “suspected detention facilities” in the region, where China is believed to have held more than one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking residents.
The number of facilities is around 40% greater than previous estimates, the research said, and has been growing despite China's claims that many Uighurs have been released.
Using satellite imagery, eyewitness accounts, media reports and official construction tender documents, the institute said “at least 61 detention sites have seen new construction and expansion work between July 2019 and July 2020”.
Beijing on Thursday again denied the existence of detention sites. The government says they are vocational training centres used to counter extremism.
U.S. lawmakers recently voted to ban imports from Xinjiang, citing the alleged use of systematic forced labour.
Beijing recently published a white paper defending its policies in Xinjiang, where it says training programmes, work schemes and better education mean life has improved.

India-Pakistan trade charges at SAARC and CICA meetings

India and Pakistan crossed swords over terrorism and Jammu and Kashmir at the Foreign Minister’s meetings of the 8-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the 27-nation Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
Speaking at the South Asian meeting, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar called on all SAARC members to “collectively resolve to defeat the scourge of terrorism, including the forces that nurture, support and encourage an environment of terror and conflict, which impede the objective of SAARC to realise its full potential for collective collaboration and prosperity across South Asia”, without a direct reference to Pakistan.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah MehmoodQureshi, who also attended the meet along with the Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, used the SAARC platform to make a detailed statement on the resolution of “long-standing disputes”, a veiled reference to Jammu and Kashmir and New Delhi’s 2019 move to withdraw Article 370.

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::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Union government approves setting up of plastic parks

The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers has approved to set up ten plastic parks in the country under the Plastic Park scheme. The Scheme was launched in 2019.
The plastic Park scheme has been launched with an aim to increase the competitiveness and value addition in the plastic processing industry. This will be achieved through research and development in the field.
The scheme would boost the plastic trade. Currently, India’s share in the Global market of plastics is very low. The Global trade of plastics is 1 trillion USD while India’s share is just 1%.
Major challenge with the plastic industries in India is its Recycling. Only 60% of plastic waste gets recycled in India. This further causes pollution which is also threatening aquatic resources at a larger scale.
The plastic parks will be set up in Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand.

::SPORTS::

Former Australian batsmen Dean Jones passes away

Dean Jones, the former Australian batsman, passed away in Mumbai on Thursday. Jones, 59, suffered a massive heart attack at the hotel where he was staying as part of the IPL’s commentary panel.
Jones, who was part of the Star Sports Select Dugout, is understood to have attended a crew meeting after breakfast and then collapsed.

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