Current Affairs
Oct. 28, 2020
WAIVER OF INTEREST ON INTEREST SCHEME
The Reserve Bank of India has asked all lending institutions to credit the interest waiver on loans upto two crore rupees for the six months moratorium period beginning March 1, 2020.
About:
- The government announced the scheme for grant of ex-gratia payment of difference between compound interest and simple interest for six months to borrowers in specified loan accounts.
- Under the scheme, the lending institutions have been mandated to grant ex-gratia payment to certain categories of borrowers through crediting the difference between simple interest and compound interest for the period between March 1- August 31, 2020.
- The lending institutions shall credit the difference between compound interest and simple interest with regard to the eligible borrowers in respective accounts for the said period irrespective of whether the borrower availed the moratorium on repayment of loan or not.
- The government has asked banks to credit the amount to borrowers by 5th of November.
- Post payment, lenders can claim the amount from the central government.
- The scheme will cover education, housing, automobile loans, MSME loans, personal loans to professionals, credit card dues, consumer durable loans and consumption loans.
Source : All India Radio
Economy
Current Affairs
Oct. 28, 2020
FENI BRIDGE
Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that the 1.8 kilometre long Feni bridge connecting Sabrum in India with Ramgarh in Bangladesh will be completed by December this year.
About:
- Name: Feni Bridge is known as Maitree Setu in Chattogram.
- Location: The bridge is being built over the Feni River and will connect Tripura with Chittagong port of Bangladesh.
- Timeline: The foundation of the bridge was laid in 2015 jointly by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The project is scheduled to be completed by April next year.
- Agencies Involved: The bridge is being constructed by the National Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd of Ministry of Road and Transport highways, Government of India.
Important Info :
Significance:
- It is being developed as a corridor for trade and commerce between India's North-East and Bangladesh.
- It will provide direct road connectivity between South Tripura and Chittagong allowing India to use Chittagong as a “port of call" and promoting trade, tourism and people-to-people ties.
- The bridge will facilitate carrying of heavy machines and goods to and from the north-eastern states and the rest of India via Bangladesh through Chattogram.
Source : All India Radio
International
Current Affairs
Oct. 28, 2020
K.R. NARAYANAN
President Ram Nath Kovind paid homage to former President K.R. Narayanan on his birth anniversary.
About:
- Kocheril Raman Narayanan (27 October 1920 – 9 November 2005) was an Indian diplomat, academic and politician who served as the 10th President of India (1997–2002) and 9th Vice President of India (1992–1997).
- He began his career in India as a member of the Indian Foreign Service in the Nehru administration.
- He entered politics at Indira Gandhi's request and won three successive general elections to the Lok Sabha and served as a Minister of State in Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's cabinet.
- Elected as Vice President in 1992, Narayanan went on to become President in 1997. He was the first person from the Dalit community to hold either post.
- Narayanan is regarded as an independent and assertive President. He described himself as a "working President" who worked "within the four corners of the Constitution"; something midway between an "executive President" who has direct power and a "rubber-stamp President" who endorses government decisions without question or deliberation.
Source : The Hindu
Polity & Governance
Current Affairs
Oct. 28, 2020
SKILL INDIA MISSION
Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in collaboration with their unified regulator— National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) unveiled guidelines for the Awarding Bodies (AB) and Assessment Agencies (AA) over a digital conference.
About:
- The guidelines and operation manuals have been developed for the recognition and regulation of these two entities, key elements of skilling ecosystem.
- The guidelines aim at establishing quality, improved outcomes and standardizing the processes under Skill India Mission.
Important Info :
- Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) was formed on November 9, 2014 by the Government of India to focus on enhancing employability of skills.
- Under its flagship programme, Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 2016-2020, the Ministry has trained more than 92 lakh candidates so far.
- The National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) was notified by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) on 5th December 2018. The NCVET acts as an overarching skills regulator which regulates the functioning of entities engaged in vocational education and training.
Source : The Hindu
Economy
Current Affairs
Oct. 28, 2020
NRITYANJALI
The Films Division of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is organizing the concluding part of ‘Nrityanjali’, an online film festival on Indian classical dance and its maestros from October 28 to 30.
About:
- Nrityanjali is an online festival of documentary films on the life and work of some of the leading Indian classical dance exponents.
- The festival will be streamed on Films Division website and its YouTube channel. All films will be streamed live, simultaneously, for three days.
Important Info :
- Indian Classical Dance is an umbrella under which various performing arts whose theory and practice can be traced to the Sanskrit text, Natya-Shastra, the foundational treatise by Bharata Muni.
- Prominent traditional dance forms like Bharat Natyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Kathakali, Sattriya, Manipuri and Mohini Aattam, include music and recitation in the local language or Sanskrit and they represent a unity of core ideas in a diversity of styles, costumes and expression.
Source : PIB
Culture
Current Affairs
Oct. 28, 2020
INDIA-US 2+2 MINISTERIAL DIALOGUE
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held the third edition of the 2+2 talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.
Documents announced during the 3rd India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue:
- Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement between the Ministry of Defence, Government of India and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), Department of Defence of United States of America.
- MoU for Technical Cooperation in Earth Observations and Earth Sciences.
- Agreement for the Electronic Exchange of Customs Data between the Postal Operators.
- Arrangement extending the duration of the Memorandum of Understanding between India and the USA.
- Letter of Intent between the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences, New Delhi and the Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Cancer Institute, Government of the USA for cooperation in the field of Ayurveda and Cancer Research.
Important Info :
- USA is the top export destination for India (~17%) which is also reflected in exchange of goods through postal channel.
- In 2019, around 20% of outbound EMS and 30% of Letters & Small Packets transmitted by India Post were destined to USA whereas 60% of the Parcels received by India Post were originated from USA.
Source : The Hindu
International
Current Affairs
Oct. 28, 2020
INFANTRY DAY
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extended greetings on the occasion of Infantry Day.
About:
- Infantry Day is observed on October 27 to mark the landing of first Indian troops in Jammu and Kashmir in 1947 to push back Pakistan supported intruders.
- On October 26, 1947 the then Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, Hari Singh, signed the instrument of accession, making his state a part of Indian dominion, and thus paving the day for Indian troops to be deployed in the state to fight against Pakistani invaders.
Source : The Hindu
History
Current Affairs
Oct. 28, 2020
JAPAN TO ACHIEVE ZERO CARBON EMISSIONS BY 2050
Japan’s prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, has said the country will become carbon neutral by 2050, heralding a bolder approach to tackling the climate emergency by the world’s third-biggest economy.
About:
- Japan had come under pressure to strengthen its climate commitments after initially saying that it would achieve an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050 followed by carbon neutrality “as soon as possible” in the second half of the century.
- The policy shift brings Japan into line with the European Union, which set itself a similar target last year, while China recently announced it would become carbon-free by 2060.
- Japan’s current energy plan, set in 2018, calls for 22-24% of its energy to come from renewables, 20-22% from nuclear power and 56% from fossil fuels.
- Suga, who replaced Shinzo Abe in mid-September, did not provide details on how Japan would reduce carbon emissions to zero.
Source : Hindustan Times
Environment
Current Affairs
Oct. 28, 2020
NATURAL GAS AND GST
Global energy majors have called on the Government of India to bring natural gas under the GST regime at the India energy Forum being held this week.
About:
- Currently petrol, diesel, aviation turbine fuel, natural gas and crude oil fall outside India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.
- Government officials have also indicated that the government is considering bringing natural gas under the ambit of the GST regime.
Important Info :
Why is it important to bring natural gas under the GST regime?
- It would lead to a reduction in the cascading impact of taxes on industries such as power and steel, which used natural gas as an input.
- it would do away with the central excise duty and different value added taxes imposed by states.
- This would lead to an increase in the adoption of natural gas in line with the government’s stated goal to increase the share of natural gas in the country’s energy basket from 6.3% to 15%.
Source : Indian Express
Economy