HCS Yearly Topic Wise Current Affairs: National Affairs Part-V

HCS Last One Year Topic Wise Current Affairs: National Affairs Part-V

Haryana Civil Services Exam

CURRENT AFFAIRS YEARLY 2020

Last one-year Current Affairs For HCS Exam: National Affairs Part-V

1. Cabinet has approved renaming of Kolkata Port Trust as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Trust

• The Board of Trustees of Kolkata Port Trust in its Meeting held on 25th February 2020 passed a Resolution to re-name Kolkata Port as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata.
• On the occasion of the inaugural ceremony of Sesquicentenary Celebrations of Kolkata Port on 12th January 2020, keeping in view the sentiments of the people of West Bengal, it was announced that Kolkata Port will be re-named after Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
• The Kolkata Port is the first Major Port as well as the only riverine port of the country.
• It came to be governed by a Trust on 17th October 1870

2. The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi has made historic amendments to the Essential Commodities Act.

• Under the amendment, the regulatory environment has been liberalized for farmers.
• Under the amendment to Essential Commodities Act, 1955, agricultural commodities such as pulses, cereals, onions oil seeds, and potatoes have been deregulated. The amendment has been made through an ordinance.
• The ordinance will allow farmers to engage with aggregators, processors, exporters, and large retailers as well.
• The amendment will allow the clamping of stock limits only under very extreme circumstances. This includes famines and natural calamities.

3. PM Modi held a virtual bilateral summit with the Australian PM Scott Morrison.

• This is the first-ever virtual bilateral summit to be held by India.
• The leaders have discussed a broad framework on the relation of India and Australia. 
• The leaders have also signed several agreements. 
• The major agreement is the mutual sharing of military logistics facilities. 
• The agreement will help increase the bandwidth of operation of both the Australian and Indian forces in the Indo Pacific region.
• Australia has held a similar summit with Singapore.

4. India's very first solar-powered ferry, Aditya, is representing Asia in the Gustave Trouvé Awards event.

• The ferry in Kerala is among 12 such ferries that have been shortlisted for the Gustave Trouvé Award.
•  It is the sole entrant from Asia.
• It is also the country's largest solar-powered commercial mode of transport. 
• The 75-seater would conduct service on Vaikom-Cherthala -Thavanakkadavu route. 
• It is the country's largest ferry equipped with lithium battery storage. 
• Gustave Trouvé Awards is instituted in the memory of French Engineer Gustave Trouvé. He is a pioneer of Electric cars and boats. 

5. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched India’s 1st “online waste exchange platform” of Andhra Pradesh Environment Management Corporation(APEMC) on the occasion of World Environment Day to ensure 100% safe disposal of industrial toxic wastes. 

• The State Department of Environmental Management, APEMC, will take over the responsibility of the online platform.
• APEMC has been set up as a government company to handle the industrial waste & will work in coordination with Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board(APPCB) with a strong regulatory framework 

6. The Centre has set up a Task Force to examine matters pertaining to the age of motherhood, imperatives of lowering MMR, improvement of nutritional levels, and related issues.

• Jaya Jaitly has been named as the Chairperson of this task force.  
• The Task Force will be provided secretarial assistance by the NITI Aayog and will submit its report by July 31.

7. The Chhattisgarh government has launched the Spandan Campaign to contain incidents of suicide and fratricide involving police personnel, and instructions were issued to senior officers to strictly adhere to guidelines in this regard.

• All superintendents of police will start a parade at police lines in their districts every Friday, keeping in mind social distancing, and grievances of personnel will be redressed after the event.
•  The order made it mandatory for superintendents of police to facilitate counseling and medical treatment for depressed officers and staff by psychiatrists or psychologists in their district headquarters.

8. India and Nepal signed an MoU to improve the infrastructure of the Pashupatinath temple complex.

• The MoU was signed between the Federal Affairs Ministry of Nepal and the Indian Embassy. 
• Under the agreement, India has pledged to extend financial assistance of Rs 2.33 crores. The project is to be implemented by Kathmandu Metropolitan City. India is to assist in constructing a sanitation facility at the temple complex.
• India’s assistance comes amidst a raging border row between the two countries.
• The Pashupatinath temple is the largest temple complex in Nepal. It is located on the Bagmati river of Nepal. The temple is one of the UNESCO World Heritage site.

9. Gairsain in Chamoli district has been formally declared as the summer capital of Uttarakhand by the governor Babi Rani Maurya. 

• The Legislative Assembly of the state is located at Dehradun, the winter capital city. 
• The activists in Uttarakhand wanted Gairsain to be the capital of Uttarakhand state after it was carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 1998.
• The activists suggested Gairsain as the capital as it was falling on the border of Kumaon and Garhwal regions. The town is located in the Chamoli district and is 250 km from Dehradun.
• It comes under the administrative limits of the Garhwal division. The boundary of Kumaon starts at a distance of 15 km from Gairsain.

10. The Karnataka State Government announced that it will launch a “State Health Register” to collect data of all its citizens. 

• The register is the first of its kind in the country.
• The register will hold the names of all the citizens of the state. The need to maintain such a register has been raised by COVID-19.
• The project is to be launched from the Chikkaballapur district in Karnataka.
• The register is to be created in the future with 50% partnership from private hospitals. The State Government is to undertake a survey including every person of the state. The current population of Karnataka is 6.5 crores.

11. The Jammu and Kashmir administration has issued a notification defining the rules for issuing domicile certificates in the Union territory

• According to the order, the domicile of a person is defined as
• “A person who has resided in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for a period of 15 years or has studied in the UT for a period of 15 years and appeared in Class 10 or 12 examinations in an educational institution of J&K” is considered to be a domicile of J&K.

12. Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has launched the 'Shram Siddhi' campaign in panchayats of Madhya Pradesh through video conferencing.

• The campaign guarantees jobs to all workers whether they have a job card or not.
• During his interaction with sarpanchs (village heads) across the state at the launch of the 'Sabko Milega Rojgar' (Everyone will get employment) campaign to distribute the MGNREGA job cards in the state.

13. The Chhattisgarh government observed May 25 as ‘Jhiram Shraddhanjali Diwas’ to pay tribute to Congress leaders who were killed in a Maoist attack in Bastar district on this day in 2013 as well as other victims of Naxal violence.

• May 25 will be observed in the memory of senior Congress leaders and security personnel killed in the Jhiram Valley Naxal attack on May 25, 2013.
• On May 25, 2013, Naxals had attacked a convoy of Congress leaders during the party’s rally in Jhiram valley, killing 29 people, including then state Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel, former leader of opposition Mahendra Karma and former Union minister Vidyacharan Shukla.

14. The northeastern state of Mizoram has accorded ‘industry’ status to sports. 

• The Cabinet has cleared the Sports and Youth Service department’s proposal to recognize sports as an ‘industry’ in the state.
• Mizoram is known for its love for sports — especially football which is played competitively through the Mizoram Premier League, the state’s highest football league. 
• At least 100 Mizo players are part of the Indian Super League, one of the top premier football leagues in India.

15. Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan is set to take charge as the chairman of the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board on 22 May.

• The Executive Board meeting of the WHO will be held on 22 May.
• The Executive Board is composed of 34 technically qualified members elected for three-year terms. 
• The chairman's post is held by rotation for one year among regional groups. 
• The main functions of the Board are to implement the decisions and policies of the Health Assembly and facilitate its work.
• Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan had participated in the 73rd World Health Assembly via video conferencing. 

16. India and Bangladesh have signed an agreement to operationalize five new ports of call and two new protocol routes.

• High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das and the Secretary, Ministry of Shipping Government of Bangladesh Mohammad Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury signed the addendum to the Protocol in Dhaka
• The number of Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) routes are being increased from 8 to 10.
• This includes the Sonamura- Daudkandi stretch of Gumti river and the operationalization of the Rajshahi-Dhulian-Rajshahi routes with the extension up to Aricha.
• The Sonamura-Daudkandi route will improve the connectivity of Tripura and adjoining states.
• The agreement also operationalizes five new ports of call between Indian and Bangladesh.
• Among the newly added ports of call, Dhulian, Maia, Kolaghat, Sonamura, and Jogigopha are on the Indian side while Rajshahi, Sultanganj, Chilmari, Daudkandi, and Bahadurabad are on the Bangladesh side.

17. The finance minister has announced the “PM eVidya Program” which would harness the available technology and launch multi-mode access to various courses by May 30.

• Apart from the eVidya programme, she also announced that new DTH channels would be launched under the Swayam Prabha. 
• ‘PM eVIDYA’ programme will consist of ‘Diksha’ involving e-content and QR coded energized textbooks for all grades and will be called as ‘one nation, one digital platform’.
• Besides this, one earmarked TV channel per class from 1 to 12, also named as ‘one class, one channel’, will also be rolled out.
• It will also envisage extensive use of radio, community radio, and podcasts, and special e-content for visually and hearing impaired.
• Under the ‘PM eVIDYA’ programme, the Finance Ministry said that the top 100 universities will be permitted to automatically start online courses by May 30, 2020.

18. Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government will now allocate an additional Rs 40,000 crore to MGNREGA to provide an employment boost.

• The earlier budget estimate for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was Rs 61,000 crore.
• The government’s new announcement will help generate nearly 300 crore person-days in total.

19. Recently, the Rajasthan government has levied 2% Krishak Kalyan charge on agricultural produce brought or bought, or sold in mandis.

• The 2% fees collected will be deposited in the Krishak Kalyan Kosh — dedicated to the welfare of farmers in the state.
• However, farmer outfits are apprehensive that people at agricultural mandis will pass on the burden of the increased cost to farmers, already reeling by the lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus.
• The Rajasthan government had announced the creation of the Krishak Kalyan Kosh for the purpose of ensuring a fair price for farmer’s produce and to strive towards “ease of doing farming” in 2019.

20. The Government of India has launched “Mission Sagar”, an outreach programme amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. 

•  ‘Mission Sagar’ is inspired by the Prime Minister’s vision of SAGAR - Security and Growth for All in the Region.
• The mission aims at providing food items, Ayurvedic medicines related to COVID-19, HCQ tablets to Maldives, Madagascar, Seychelles, and Comoros.
• The Indian Naval Ship Kesari has been deployed under the mission. 
• The operation is being conducted under close cooperation of the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of External Affairs. The mission has been deployed under close consonance with India's vision “SAGAR” in the Indian Ocean.

21. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has started to include Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Muzaffarabad in its meteorological sub-division of Jammu & Kashmir.

• The daily region-wise forecasts are for the entire sub-division, and not for any specific areas within. 
• The first such forecast for Gilgit was uploaded on 6 May. 
• The IMD move not only reflects the changed status of Ladakh as a separate Union Territory but conveys a significant underlying message.
•  It comes within days of the Pakistan Supreme Court’s decision to allow the federal government to hold elections in Gilgit-Baltistan.
• India completely rejected such actions.
• There are 36 meteorological subdivisions in the country, broadly defined along state boundaries, but some large states have multiple sub-divisions while some smaller states are grouped together in the same sub-division.

22. The LG polymers plant located in Visakhapatnam witnessed a horrific gas tragedy on May 7, 2020.

• Toxic styrene gas leaked from one of the unit's chambers.
• The toxic fumes spread in nearby villages, which resulted in many people falling unconscious on the roads after they rushed out of their homes in panic. 
• The source of the leak was a styrene plant owned by South Korean electronics giant LG, located at RRV Puram near Gopalapatnam, about 15 kms from the coastal city.
• Styrene is a flammable liquid that is used in the manufacturing of polystyrene plastics, fiberglass, rubber, and latex.

23. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) was formed on 7 May 1960, with the primary goal of securing India’s borders and developing infrastructure in remote areas of India’s north and northeastern states. 

• On 7 May 2020 BRO celebrated its 60th Raising Day (foundation day).
• It is a leading road construction agency under the Ministry of Defence.
• Its primary role is to provide road connectivity in India’s border areas. It also creates up-grades and maintains infrastructure along borders to meet India’s overall tactical and strategic goals.

24. The Uttar Pradesh Government has passed an ordinance to suspend labour laws in the state for three years. 

• The ordinance is being passed to boost industrial investment and also help the migrants who have returned back to the state. Around 7 lakh migrant workers from all over the country have returned back to their state.
• The “Uttar Pradesh Temporary Exemption from Certain Labour Laws Ordinance, 2020” will allow the industries to freely employ large numbers of migrant workers. Also, the ordinance will help to bring back the economy back to track

25. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has participated in the Virtual Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit through Video Conferencing.

• The summit discussed and decided on the enhanced coordination of the member states in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
• Azerbaijan is the president of the grouping from 2019-2022 and the meet is being organized under the leadership of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. 
• The title of the summit is "We stand together against COVID-19".
• NAM represents the biggest grouping of countries outside the United Nations comprising 120 developing countries from Asia, Africa, and Latin America

26. Himachal Pradesh govt. will launch Mukhya Mantri Shahari Rojgar Guarantee Yojna guaranteeing at least 120 days’ employment to those living in urban areas.

• Adequate training will be given to them for their skill upgrade.
• A task force headed by Jal Shakti Minister Mahender Singh has also been set up to give suggestions for other remedial measures.
• The task force includes Education and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Bhardwaj, Industries Minister Bikram Singh, and Transport Minister Govind Thakur 

27. Kovilpatti kadalai mittai(a peanut candy)has been granted the Geographical Indication(GI) tag.

• The GI tag has been granted to the groundnut sweet by the Geographical Indications Registry recognizing the uniqueness of the ingredients used for its manufacture procured from the geographical area of Kovilpatti. 
• The ingredients include groundnuts grown in the native black soil of Kovilpatti, organic jaggery, and water sourced from the Thamirabarani river.

28. Kashmir saffron has been given a geographical indication tag, protecting the uniqueness of the farm produce. 

• It is  a spice and health rejuvenator and the pride of Jammu and Kashmir,
• The recognition was formally published in the latest GI Journal by the GI Registry.
• Other Kashmir product with GI tag - Pashmina, Hand-Knotted Carpet, Papier Mache, Walnut Wood Carving

29. The India Meteorological Department has released a new list containing 169 names of future tropical cyclones that would emerge in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. 

• IMD, one of the six Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres in the world, is mandated to issue advisories and name tropical cyclones in the north Indian Ocean region.
• The names of the cyclones in the list include Amphan, Nisarga (Bangladesh), Gati (India), and Nivar (Iran).
• IMD chief M Mohapatra

30. Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate hange, Prakash Javadekar has participated in the 1st virtual session of Petersberg Climate Dialogue 2020 along with 30 other countries' representatives & ministers.

• It has been hosted by Germany since 2010 to provide a forum for informal high-level political discussions, which focus on climate negotiations and the advancement of climate action.
• It was co-chaired by Germany and the United Kingdom(UK), the incoming Presidency of the 26th Conference of Parties (COP 26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• Prakash Javadekar also participated in an Indo-German bilateral meeting through video conference with Svenja Schulze, Minister, Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany.