Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Bihar heatwave claims 45 lives, over 100 hospitalised

News

• The extreme heatwave in Bihar has claimed 45 lives in the past 24 hours and over 100 have been hospitalised.

Beyond News

• These districts and Patna recorded the highest temperature of 45.8 degree Celsius after five decades.
• The government has also announced a compensation of ₹4 lakh to the kin of those who died due to the heatwave and encephalitis in Bihar.

Rainfall deficiency hits 43%; monsoon progress likely in the next 2-3 days: IMD

News

• Monsoon is expected to advance further up north as Cyclone Vayu loses intensity paving the way for the wind system to move towards the Arabian Sea, the weatherman said on Sunday.

Beyond News

• The overall monsoon deficiency in the country has reached 43% due to its sluggish pace.
• IMD’s central division which covers Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Goa has recorded 59 per cent of rainfall deficiency while east and northeast India has recorded 47% deficiency.
• Rainfall deficiency in meteorological subdivisions west and east Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh was 75, 70 and 72%, respectively. Deficiency in Vidarbha is 87%.
• According to the Central Water Commission, the water level in reservoirs of south Indian states and Maharashtra is lesser than the average of last ten years.
• Several parts of the country are reeling under intense heatwave, especially the east Indian states of Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

G20 agrees to tackle ocean plastic waste

News

• Group of 20 environment ministers agreed to adopt a new implementation framework for actions to tackle the issue of marine plastic waste on a global scale, the Japanese government said after hosting the two-day ministerial meeting.

Beyond News

• Environment and energy ministers of the Group of 20 major economies met this weekend in Karuizawa, northwest of Tokyo, ahead of the G20 summit in Osaka, western Japan.
• One of the top issues was ocean plastic waste as images of plastic debris-strewn beaches and dead animals with stomachs full of plastic have sparked outrage, with many countries banning plastic bags outright.
• The new framework is aimed at facilitating further concrete action on marine waste, though on a voluntary basis, after the G20 Hamburg Summit in Germany adopted the “G20 action plan on marine litter” in 2017.
• Under the new framework, G20 members will promote a comprehensive life-cycle approach to prevent and reduce plastic litter discharge to the oceans through various measures and international cooperation.
• They will also share best practices, promote innovation and boost scientific monitoring and analytical methodologies.
• Japan plans to host the first meeting under the new framework this autumn when officials of environment ministers in the G20 countries are due to meet for the G20 Resource Efficiency Dialogue.

No trade action against India as of now: USTR

News

• The office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) said it had no announcement of a trade action at the moment but continued to raise market access concerns with India, reacting to media reports last week that the U.S. was considering launching a 301 probe against India.

Beyond News

• A 301 probe can be wide in scope and can result in the U.S. imposing tariffs or taking other trade action against its trading partners if the parties do not come to a settlement.
• The USTR’s comments came on a day India said it would take retaliatory action against the U.S.’s tariffs on steel and aluminium (from 2018), by imposing tariffs on 29 goods from June 16. The tariffs will cause the U.S. a tax burden of $220-$290 million.

World’s highest operating weather stations installed on Everest

News

• The National Geographic Society has announced the successful installation of the world’s highest operating weather stations on Mount Everest to provide researchers, climbers, and the public with near real-time information about mountain conditions.
• The multi-disciplinary team installed the world’s two highest operating automated weather stations at Balcony area (8,430 m) and South Col (7,945 m), as well as three other weather stations on Mount Everest.

Rs. 499 crore for maintenance of waterbodies

News

• The Tamil Nadu State government has granted administrative sanction for taking up ‘kudimaramathu’ work (maintenance of water bodies) of 1,829 water bodies across the State, at a total cost of Rs. 499.68 crore during 2019-2020.

Beyond News

• While 277 works would be taken up in the Chennai region, 543 works would be taken up in Tiruchi.
• In the Madurai region, a total of 681 works would be taken up and in Coimbatore region, 328 would be undertaken.
• Under this scheme, strengthening of tank bunds, desilting of supply channels, repair and reconstruction of sluices, weirs, repair and renewal of shutters and rehabilitation of canals among others would be taken up.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Trade deficit widens to $15.36 bn in May

News

• India’s trade deficit widened in May 2019 to $15.36 billion, with imports growing faster that exports during the period, official data released showed.

Beyond News

• Exports grew 3.93% in May to $30 billion compared with $28.86 billion worth of exports in the same month last year.
• The industries that saw a major growth in exports include electronic goods (50.97%), organic and inorganic chemicals (20.64%), and readymade goods of all textiles (14.15%).
• MSME sectors are still facing the problem of liquidity besides various other challenges, including uncertainties owing to tariff war, volatility in commodities/currencies, rapid rise in trade restrictive measures and constraints on the domestic front.
• Imports into India grew 4.31% in May 2019 to $45.35 billion, up from $43.48 billion worth of imports in May of last year.
• The segments that saw strong growth in exports include pulses (84.2%) and gold (37.4%).

PM announces task force for reforms in agri-economy

News

• Prime Minister announced the setting up of a high-level task force for undertaking structural reforms in agriculture, including strengthening logistics, produce marketing, food processing as well as changes to the Essential Commodities Act.

Beyond News

• Prime Minister pitched for foundational reforms in the agri-economy, leading to a complete transformation of the agriculture sector in India. While a few chief ministers will be part of the committee, more details are to be announced later.
• Additionally, with parts of India experiencing drought situation, some States asked for changes in the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) guidelines. They will work with MHA and Agriculture ministry to make changes.

Islamic State unit in Kashmir linked to Pakistan: NIA

News

• The Islamic State in Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK) has a Pakistani connection, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has said in its chargesheet filed recently in a Jammu court.
• The agency, however, does not substantiate how it reached the conclusion about the Pakistani identity of the handler of the four ISJK “terrorists” arrested last year.

Beyond News

• The NIA filed a chargesheet against four active cadre of the Islamic State in Jammu and Kashmir(ISJK) Tahir Ahmad Khan, Haris Mushtaq Khan, Asif Suhail Nadaf and Asif Majid.
• The four were arrested by a Delhi Police team in Srinagar on November 25 last year. The action followed the arrest and interrogation of two men affiliated to the ISJK in the national capital on September 6.
• Various security agencies have so far offered differing perspectives on the presence of Islamic State in J&K.
• Now the 28-page charge sheet sets the debate at rest and provides the first official confirmation of the presence of the outfit in Kashmir Valley. According to the NIA the locals acted as over-ground workers and knowingly or unknowingly provided logistics to the ISJK cadres.
• Most ISJK members were previously associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen and Hizb-ul Mujahideen.
• In 2014, pamphlets appeared in Pakistan’s Peshawar where IS introduced itself as DeI. The pamphlet made an appeal to locals to support its jihad for making Pakistan an Islamic state.
• NIA said its investigation unearthed a larger conspiracy of these terrorist elements propagating pan-Islamic ideology of IS by recruiting and radicalising Kashmiri youth towards jihad and targeting security forces.
• Last year as many as 10 ISJK militants were killed in the Valley. The police insist that ISJKs cadre strength was in single digits in Kashmir and was limited to unfurling of black flags at the funerals of militants.

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