NOD FOR 83 LCA TEJAS MK-1A
Focus: GS-III Internal Security, Science and Technology, Prelims Why in news? The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister on 18th March 2020, accorded approval for the procurement of 83 indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk-1A from the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) by “finalising the contractual and other issues”. The proposal will now […]
CALL DATA BEING USED TO IMPROVE QUALITY’: SURVEILLANCE CONCERNS
Focus: GS-III Science and Technology, Prelims Why in news? Amid questions over possible surveillance and violation of privacy following bulk call data records being sought by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the government on 18th March 2020, asserted that the data was only being collected to analyse and improve the quality of telecom services and […]
SC STRIPS MANIPUR MINISTER OF HIS OFFICE
Focus: GS-II Governance, Prelims Why in news? In an extraordinary display of its constitutional powers, the Supreme Court on 18th March 2020, stripped Manipur Cabinet Minister, who is facing disqualification proceedings for defection, of his office and banned him from entering the Assembly with immediate effect. Article 142 The Supreme Court in the exercise of […]
NEW BILL HALVES TERMS OF PRESIDENTS, VPS OF LOCAL BODIES
Focus: GS-II Governance, Prelims Why in news? In an attempt to bring about major changes in the functioning of the rural local bodies in Karnataka, the government on 18th March 2020, tabled a new Bill to reduce the term of the offices of presidents and vice-presidents of gram panchayats, taluk panchayats, and zilla panchayats from […]
PANDEMIC COULD MAKE ANOTHER 25 MILLION JOBLESS
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy, Science and Technology, Prelims Why in news? The COVID-19 pandemic will significantly increase global unemployment, leaving up to 25 million more people out of work, and will dramatically slash workers’ incomes, the United Nations said on 18th March 2020. Views of The International Labour Organization The economic and labour crisis sparked […]
FDA URGES VIRTUAL PATIENT VISITS
Focus: GS-III Science and Technology, To be used as example in Science and Technology Mains Paper Why in news? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on March 18 2020, recommended switching to virtual patient visits instead of in-person monitoring for clinical studies, as signs emerge that the rapid spread of the coronavirus outbreak is disrupting […]
THE IMPORTANCE OF ‘CONTACT TRACING’ – CONTROLLING COVID-19 SPREAD -‘ONCE-IN-100-YEAR’ VIRULENCE
Focus: GS-III Disaster Management, Science and Technology, Prelims Why in news? Reported spreading of infection by Coronavirus infected people, to a large number of other people that they came into contact with, makes the issue of tracing contacts very crucial. Beginning from the second phase of the epidemic — local transmission — which Indian Council […]
RBI TO REGULATE PAYMENT AGGREGATORS
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy, Economic Development Why in news? The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 17th March 2020, said it will regulate in entirety the activities of payment aggregators (PAs) and provide baseline technology-related recommendations to payment gateways (PGs) in view of the important functions of these intermediaries in the online payments space as […]
COVID-19 WILL IMPACT GDP GROWTH BY 90 BPS: SBI REPORT
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy Why in news? The spread of COVID-19, the deadly pandemic, which has impacted several sectors especially transport, tourism and hotel industries, could impact the economic growth of the country by 90 basis points. Highlights On the demand side, inoperability analysis for three sectors, namely transport, tourism and hotels, shows significant impact […]
FPI SALES AT A RECORD HIGH AS VIRUS SPOOKS MARKETS
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy, Economic Development Why in news? Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), who have been the prime drivers of every bull run that the Indian capital market has seen till date, have been record sellers during the March 2020 month. Till 17th of March, FPIs equity sold and debt cumulatively is the highest ever […]