Hindu Notes from General Studies-02
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Nepal govt bans use of Indian currency notes above ₹100
News
- The Nepal government has banned the use of Indian currency notes of ₹2,000, ₹500 and ₹200 denominations, a move that could affect Indian tourists visiting the Himalayan nation where Indian currency is widely used.
Beyond News
- Indian currency is extensively used by Nepalese people and businesses for their savings and transactions.
- The government has asked the people to refrain from keeping or carrying Indian bank notes higher than ₹100 denomination as it has not legalised them, Nepal’s Minister for Information and Communications Gokul Prasad Baskota said.
- The decision will adversely affect Nepalese labourers working in India as well as Indian tourists visiting Nepal.
- India is Nepal’s largest trade partner and supplies the majority of its consumer goods.
- The Indian government introduced new banknotes of ₹2,000, ₹500 and ₹200 denominations after the demonetisation of old notes worth ₹500 and 1,000 in 2016.
- However, the move hit countries such as Nepal and Bhutan where Indian currency is widely used.
- People have been using the new Indian currency in Nepal for nearly two years now.
China to suspend extra tariffs on U.S. cars, spare auto parts
News
- China pressed on with its trade war truce with the United States, announcing that it will suspend extra tariffs added to U.S.-made cars and auto parts for three months from January 1.
Beyond News
- The move is another sign that the ceasefire has not been derailed by the recent arrest in Canada of a top Chinese telecom executive at the behest of the United States.
- Beijing raised tariffs on American-made cars and auto parts this summer by 25% in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods.
- Halting the punitive duties brings the tariffs back down from 40% to the 15% imposed on all foreign vehicles.
- S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping had agreed on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires on December 1 to a 90-day truce.
Hindu Notes from General Studies-03
Juno mission to cross halfway to Jupiter
News
- NASA’s Juno mission will next week mark the halfway point in data collection by completing the 16th science pass of Jupiter.
Beyond News
- The spacecraft will be 5,053 kilometres above Jupiter’s cloud tops and hurtling by at a healthy clip of 207,287 kilometres per hour.
- Launched on August 5, 2011, from Cape Canaveral, Juno is a NASA space probe orbitting Jupiter since July 4, 2016.
- Currently, Juno is in a highly-elliptical 53-day orbit around Jupiter. Each orbit includes a close passage over the planet’s cloud deck where it flies a ground track that extends from Jupiter’s north pole to its south pole.
- It will provide coverage of the planet every 11.25 degrees of longitude, providing a more detailed picture of what makes the whole of Jupiter tick.
- The depth of Jupiter’s zonal winds, the generation of its magnetic field, and the structure and evolution of its interior are areas that will be probed.
Indian Navy ship thwarts piracy bid off Somalia
News
- Indian Navy’s offshore patrol vessel Sunayna, which has been mission-deployed in the Gulf of Aden to carry out anti-piracy patrol, has seized another haul of arms and ammunition from a suspicious fishing vessel some 20 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia in the Horn of Africa.
Beyond News
- It captured five rifles including AK-47s and 471 live rounds of ammunition in a search operation. The Southern Naval Command-ship had, thwarting potential piracy bids.
- After seizure of the weapons to prevent their use by the fishing boat crew for piracy related activities, the vessel was let off.
- International effort to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the East Coast of Somalia involves participation of many countries such as India, China, Japan, United States, Russia and Pakistan and nations part of the European Union.
- Warships operating in this region for combating piracy are authorised by the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2383 (2017) to board vessels suspected of illegal activities
Soon, 57 lakes to be cleared of encroachments
News
- Survey of houses and commercial establishments constructed illegally along 57 lakes in the city will be completed in January, kick-starting a major demolition drive in various residential and commercial neighbourhoods. Chennai Corporation will then improve storage capacity and water quality in the 57 waterbodies.
Beyond News
- The work order for preparation of a detailed project report (DPR) has been issued by the Corporation to Tamil Nadu Water Investment Company (TWIC).
- The project report by TWIC will focus on reduction of pollution in the waterbodies. The number of plots developed illegally in the waterbodies will also be estimated.
- The DPR has already been prepared for another 37 lakes at a cost of ₹10.61 crore. But the report has not covered the details of encroachments.
- After ecorestoration, the civic body will permit local residents to maintain the waterbodies. Zonal officials have already removed garbage and silt from waterbodies which were used as a dumping yard for the municipalities and panchayats that were merged in 2011 with Chennai Corporation.
Hindu Notes from General Studies-04
Swiggy, Zomato, others delist 10,500 restaurants for not having licence
News
- As many as 10,500 restaurants have been delisted by e-commerce firms like Zomato and Swiggy for not having licence or registration under the food safety law.
Beyond News
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in July directed the firms to delist the the restaurants which don’t have registration under the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006.
- The implementation and enforcement of the FSS Act, 2006 Rules and Regulations made there under, primarily rests with State and UT (Union Territory) governments.
- Commissioner of Food Safety of all States and UTs have been requested to take necessary action to bring all such FBOs under the ambit of FSS Act through registration.
- Regular surveillance, monitoring, inspection and random sampling of food products were carried out by officials to check compliance of the standards and norms.
- In case where food samples were found to be non- conforming, penal action had been initiated.
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