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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 30 September 2020

::NATIONAL::

Centre to hold talks with states in order to curb pollution as winter approaches

With winter approaching and concerns over an imminent rise in pollution across Delhi and other cities in the Gangetic plain, Union Environment Minister PrakashJavadekar has said that he will be convening a “virtual conference” of Environment Ministers of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and officials in the State departments as well as from city corporations.
“We had asked States to prepare short, medium and long-term plans for curbing pollution in 2016 and this meeting will be a review. It will be a free discussion,” he said at a conference on Tuesday.
So far, the Minister said, there have been several meetings this year already with the States as well one that included the Prime Minister’s Office to discuss issues around curbing pollution.
From October, teams of officials from the Central Pollution Control Board will be conducting spot checks in the Delhi-National Capital Region to catch and fine offenders who may be burning plastic waste, littering or be constructing structures without adhering to protocol.
On Saturday, Delhi Chief Minister wrote to Mr.Javadekar, saying that alternative technologies ought to be tried to disincentivise stubble burning.

Defence ministry launches startup challenge -4

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC 4) during the iDEX event, featuring the initiatives aimed at expanding the horizons of Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) ecosystem in New Delhi today. Mr Singh also launched the iDEX4Fauji initiative and Product Management Approach (PMA) guidelines during the event.
iDEX4Fauji is a first of its kind initiative, launched to support innovations identified by members of the Indian Armed Forces and will bolster frugal innovation ideas from soldiers and field formations.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Singh said, the iDEX initiative stands out as one of the most effective and well-executed defence Startupecosystem created in the country. He said, it would be a decisive step towards achieving self-reliance in the spirit of the AtmaNirbhar Bharat campaign.

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::ECONOMY::

Demand for credit from priority segments drop

Despite efforts by the government to boost credit supply by offering many a scheme to MSMEs and other priority sectors, the same has plunged to a low 1.9% in the June quarter from 10.2% a year ago, according to a report.
To help small business tide over the impact of the pandemic, the government has offered credit-driven boost to the economy.
Citing the Reserve Bank’s quarterly statistics on deposits and credit for the June quarter, Care Ratings on Tuesday said in absolute terms, overall bank deposits stood at ₹141.3 lakh crore in June 2020, up 11.5% from ₹126.7 lakh crore in June 2019.
Outstanding credit stood at ₹103.3 lakh crore, up 6.4% but lower than 11.7% in the same period in June 2019. But on a sequential basis, credit growth has seen a negative 1.1% during the reporting period, which was also a negative 1% in the March 2020 quarter.
Though overall contraction in credit demand has continued in the June quarter at minus 1.1% from minus 1% in June 2019, in absolute terms, incremental credit declined by a higher ₹1.2 lakh crore in June 2020 from ₹1 lakh crore in June 2019.
This is owing to decline in overall sectoral growth — agriculture and allied credit declined by 0.4% incrementally, industrial credit by 1%, services sector declined by 2.6% and personal loan segment declined by 2.5% growth, the report said.

NTPC invites bid for procurement of biomass pellets

India's largest power producer, NTPC Limited has invited bids for procurement of biomass pellets for its various thermal plants as part of its endeavour to reduce burning of crop residue on farmlands that cause air pollution.
The power producer has envisaged consumption of five million tonnes of pellets in the current year at its 17 power plants including NTPC Korba, (Chhattisgarh), NTPC Farakka, (West Bengal), NTPC Dadri (Uttar Pradesh), NTPC Kudgi (Karnataka) and NTPC Rihand (Uttar Pradesh).
In a statement, NTPC Limited said, it had first undertaken this unique initiative on pilot basis in 2017 for biomass co-firing by replacing some of the coal with pellet based fuel at NTPC Dadri, Uttar Pradesh.
Post successful implementation, NTPC now plans to replicate the model in 17 of its state of the art plants.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

EU raises concern over exit of amnesty international from India

Expressing “concerns” about the government’s investigation into Amnesty International (AI), the European Union said it hopes the global human rights agency can continue its work in India.
However, the government defended its actions, and said AI is in “clear contravention” of Indian law.
The action against AI including freezing their funds, followed a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry, and is part of the government’s scrutiny of more than 20 international NGOs including Greenpeace, Compassion International, and Ford Foundation, over the past few years.
However, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued a broad defence of actions by various agencies against AI for the past decade, calling it a “bipartisan and purely legal approach towards Amnesty”, which has now suspended its India operations, claiming a “witch-hunt” by the government.
“India, by settled law, does not allow interference in domestic political debates by entities funded by foreign donations,” the MHA added, in a reference to AI’s reports on alleged human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir, and its reference to Delhi Police investigations into the February riots where 53 people were killed.

Afghan negotiator team suggest increased cooperation with Pakistan

The chief of Afghanistan’s peace negotiating team said Tuesday on a visit to Pakistan that the time has come for the two neighbouring countries to shun the suspicion, “stale rhetoric” and tired conspiracy theories that have dogged past relations.
Abdullah Abdullah is in Pakistan on a bridge-building mission meant to mend deep-rooted mistrust between the two countries. It was his first visit in 12 years.
Mr. Abdullah told the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad that the two neighbours are on the threshold of a new relationship characterised by “mutual respect, sincere cooperation and shared prosperity”.

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::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation releases “Health in India” report

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has released the “Health in India” report. The main objective of the report was to gather quantitative data on India’s health sector. The report have highlighted on the health of religious communities across country.
The report has been prepared on the basis of information provided by the NSS Schedule 25.0 (Household Consumption: Health). The data was collected through a sample survey of around 1.13 households that include 5.55 lakh people.
Report states that, women were more susceptible to suffering than men. Around 6.1% of males were suffering from ailments in rural area while percentage of women in rural area was 7.6%. On the other hand,In urban areas, 8.2% of males and 10% of females were sick of ailments.
The relation between health and religion is highly important in the manner that many religious practices helps to reduce the impacts of some of the diseases. The religious practices works as a guard against blood pressure. These practices also helps to strengthen the immune system.

::SPORTS::

Nadal and Serene enters second round of French open

In Tennis, Rafael Nadal started his quest for a record-extending 13th French Open with a straightforward 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 first-round win against Belarusian EgorGerasimov last night.
In another first round match of Men's Singles, A. Bublic defeated G. Monfils 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.In Women's Singles, Serena Williams, G. Muguruza and Amanda Anisimova progressed to the second round.

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