IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-02

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Indo-Chinese educational tie-ups need nod from Home, foreign Ministries

News

• Indian educational institutions that plan to collaborate with Chinese counterparts must now get clearance from the Ministries of Home and External Affairs before signing any agreements or undertaking student and faculty exchange programmes.
• The new guidelines would also apply to existing tie-ups, the University Grants Commission made clear.

Clearance

• In a letter to the vice chancellors of all universities, UGC secretary notified them of a directive from the Human Resource Development Ministry.
• In addition to other clearances, prior approval of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of External Affairs must be taken by all the academic institutions and universities before signing of MoUs, educational exchange programme, agreements, joint declaration of intent or letter of intent with Chinese institutions or universities.
• Those universities including private universities which have already entered into MoUs must seek clearance from the Home ministry for operating the MoU. Until the clearance is obtained, no further activities should be performed under the MoU, warned the letter.
• A number of Indian universities already have faculty and student exchange programmes, apart from Chinese language centres run in collaboration with universities in China.
• India and China signed an umbrella agreement for educational cooperation in 2006, under which government scholarships are awarded to 25 students, by both sides, in recognised institutions of higher learning in each other’s country.
• During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Beijing in May 2015, both countries signed an expanded Education Exchange Programme agreement which provides for enhanced cooperation in the field of vocational education and higher learning.
• Chinese students were also granted scholarships to study Hindi in India.
• This cooperation has also resulted in an increase in the number of Indian students in China, with more than 18 lakh Indian students enrolled at various Chinese universities in 2016-17.

In a first, US lawmakers take a step against India on Kashmir

News

• The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has added an appeal to end what it calls a “humanitarian crisis” in Kashmir in its report ahead of the annual Foreign Appropriations Act for 2020.
• The amendment was proposed by Senator Chris Van Hollen, who visited Delhi this week as a part of a congressional delegation that discussed the Kashmir situation as well as India-US bilateral relations, trade ties and defence purchases with key officials.

India’s first e-waste clinic to be set up in Bhopal

News

• The Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) have joined hands to set up the country’s first e-waste clinic here, that would enable segregation, processing and disposal of waste from both household and commercial units.

E-waste clinic

• After inspecting the garbage and plastic recovery centres in Bhanpur, CPCB officials discussed the clinic with BMC officials.
• A three-month pilot project, the clinic, if successful, would be replicated elsewhere in the country.
• Electronic waste will be collected door-to-door or could be deposited directly at the clinic in exchange for a fee. The CPCB will provide technical support at the unit.
• Door-to-door collection will happen in two ways. Either separate carts for the collection of e-waste will be designed, or separate bins will be attached to existing ones meant for solid and wet waste.
• The clinic is being conceived in compliance with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
• In the absence of a safe disposal mechanism, electronic waste at present is being disposed of along with other waste.

Pakistan’s parliament blocks bill allowing non-Muslims to become country’s PM, President

News

• Pakistan’s parliament has blocked a bill seeking an amendment in the Constitution to allow non-Muslims to become Prime Minister and President of the country.

Article 41 and 91

• A Christian lawmaker from the Pakistan Peoples Party, wanted to move a bill to amend article 41 and 91 of the Constitution to allow non-Muslims to become Prime Minister and President of Pakistan.
• Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad opposed the proposed legislation.
• The minister said that Pakistan is an Islamic Republic where only a Muslim can become the President and Prime Minister.

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-03

Drone cameras threaten Nilgiris wildlife

News

• With more and more amateur photographers descending on the Nilgiris and the rest of the Western Ghats to capture footage of stunning vistas and exotic wildlife, conservationists are concerned that enthusiasts using drone cameras may be posing a significant threat to the endangered species of birds, especially raptors, many of which are known to attack the equipment and sustain injuries in the process.

Threat of extinction

• In April this year, a river tern, was killed after being hit by a drone in Bhadra Tiger Reserve in Chikmagalur, Karnataka.
• In the Nilgiris, a group of tourists were arrested in Mudumalai last year for flying a drone close to the nesting sites of the endangered White rumped vulture.
• Falcons are known to attack drones on sight.
• When birds attack these cameras, the rotor blades of the equipment can cause massive life-threatening injuries to them, and even stop them from effectively hunting for food, resulting in a slow, agonizing death.
• Conservationists believe that while a blanket ban on drones is impossible to enforce, the forest department should identify areas where vultures and other raptor species are known to nest, and set up effective policing to prevent unauthorized use of the cameras.
• Most nesting sites are already in heavily protected areas like the Mudumalai and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserves, a few sites are located in less secure forest areas in the Nilgiris Forest Division.
• Forest department officials said there is a ban on using drones in reserve forests, unless the written permission is obtained from the Chief Wildlife Warden.
• Last year, officials in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve fined tourists for using drone cameras within the reserve.

RBI increases lending limit of MFIs to ₹1.25 lakh

News

• The Reserve Bank of India has raised the lending cap for microfinance institutions to ₹1.25 lakh, against the earlier limit of ₹1 lakh, to improve credit availability in rural and semi-urban areas.

Lending limit

• It has also been decided to increase the household income limit for borrowers of non-banking financial companies-micro finance institutions (NBFC-MFIs) from the current level of ₹1 lakh for rural areas and ₹1.60 lakh for urban/semi urban areas to ₹1.25 lakh and ₹2 lakh, respectively.
• Taking into consideration the important role played by MFIs in delivering credit to those in the bottom of the economic pyramid and enable them to play their assigned role in a growing economy.
• The income and loan limits to classify an exposure as an eligible asset were last revised in 2015.

RBI cuts repo rate by 25 bps

News

• The Reserve Bank of India reduced the repo rate by 25 bps to 5.15% to boost growth while keeping the policy stance accommodative.
• The MPC decided to continue with an accommodative stance as long as it is necessary to revive growth while ensuring inflation remains within the target range.
• The RBI revised GDP growth for FY20 to 6.1% from 6.9% predicted in the last policy.

Highlights of RBI’s monetary policy statement

• Repo rate or short-term lending rate reduced by 25 bps to 5.15%.
• It is fifth rate cut in 2019.
• GDP growth forecast lowered for current fiscal to 6.1% from 6.9%.
• RBI continues with its accommodative monetary stance to revive economic growth.
• Government stimulus measures to help strengthen private consumption and spur investments.
• Continuing slowdown warrants intensified efforts to restore growth momentum.
• Retains retail inflation projection for second half of year at 3.5-3.7%.
• RBI notes monetary transmission has been staggered and incomplete.
• Foreign exchange reserves stood at $434.6 bn on Oct 1, up $21.7 bn over March-end 2019.
• All members of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted for rate cut.
• Next monetary policy review meet scheduled during December 3-5, 2019.

Lucknow-Delhi Tejas Express, India’s ‘first private train’ flagged off

News

• Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, flagged the country’s first private semi-high speed train, Tejas Express from Lucknow.
• The corporate train will run from Lucknow to Delhi six days a week.

Tejas Express

• Tejas, which is India’s first private train run by IRCTC, will have one executive class air conditioned chair car with 56 and nine air-conditioned chair car coaches with a capacity of 78 passengers in each coach.
• Tejas Express contains all the modern facilities with the state-of-art interior, personalised reading lights, AC coaches, mobile charging points, CCTV cameras, bio-toilets, LED TV, automatic doors and many more.

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