IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-01

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Final NRC status of all Assam applicants published

News

• The National Register of Citizens (NRC) authority published the individual status of all the 3.3 crore people of Assam who had applied for inclusion in the updated citizens’ registry when the exercise began five years ago.

Individual status

• The list which has the names of those who have been accepted as citizens, those who have been rejected and those whose appeals are pending was uploaded on the official NRC site less than a fortnight after 07 lakh people were excludedfrom the final NRC released.
• One, however, has to key in the ARN, or application receipt number, to view his or her citizenship status or that of the members of his or her family. Each applicant was provided a unique ARN generated after application for the NRC updating exercise.
• About 30 organisations representing various indigenous organisations, including the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), have demanded that the indigenous people excluded from the final NRC be included without forcing them to approach Foreigners’ Tribunals (FTs) to establish their citizenship.
• Rights groups and tribal organisations in Assam have claimed that at least 2 lakh indigenous people have been excluded from the NRC allegedly for lack of proper documents.
• Among the NRC-excluded are Koch-Rajbongshi, Karbi, Reang and Bodo tribes. Many non-tribal Assamese people have also found themselves on the rejection list.

Country should come together to promote Hindi, says Amit Shah

News

• Home Minister Amit Shah said the country should come together to promote Hindi and that it need not be at the cost of other languages. He said when the country geared for the next general election in 2024, Hindi would have achieved a monumental status.

Language of the whole country

• India is a country of different languages and every language has its own importance but it is very important to have a language of the whole country which should become the identity of India in the world.
• Home Minister appealed to the citizens to increase the use of the mother tongue and Hindi, equating it to realising the dream of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel of one language for the country.
• Home Minister claimed that the members of the Constituent Assembly, while framing the Constitution, had agreed to make Hindi the official language of India. As per the Official Languages Act, 1963, Hindi and English are languages to be used in correspondence between ministries and State governments.

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-02

Government announces Rs 50,000 crore export incentive scheme

News

• Finance Minister announced a new scheme Remission of Duties or Taxes on Export Product (RoDTEP) to incentivise exporters at an estimated cost of ₹50,000 crore to the exchequer.

Aim:  Quick and automated refunds of ITC.

Remission of Duties

• The announcement comes in the backdrop of India’s merchandise exports declining by 6.05% to $26.13 billion in August compared to the year-ago month.
• There will be a fully automated electronic refund route for input tax credits (ITC) in GST. This will be implemented by the month-end.
• RoDTEP will replace the existing incentive schemes and “will more than adequately incentivise exporters than the existing schemes put together“.
• In another development the Finance Minister also announced revised priority sector lending (PSL) norms for exporters which will release an additional funding of ₹36,000 crore to ₹68,000 crore to them.
• PSL norms for export credit have been examined and enabling guidelines are under consideration of the Reserve Bank of India.
• This will release an additional ₹36,000 crore to ₹68,000 crore as export credit under priority sector.
• Export finance will be actively monitored by an inter-ministerial working group in the Department of Commerce.
• Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) will expand the scope of export credit insurance scheme.
• The initiative is expected to cost ₹1,700 crore annually and will enable reduction in overall cost of export credit including interest rates, especially to MSMEs.
• Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Utilisation Mission would be set to help exporters optimally utilise the concessional tariffs under trade pacts which India has signed with several countries.
• Annual mega shopping festivals will be organised in the country at four places focusing on sectors like handicraft, yoga, tourism, textiles and leather.

Aadhaar verification to be mandatory for new dealers from Jan 2020

News

• In order to check malpractices in GST, the GST Network decided to make Aadhaar authentication or physical verification mandatory for new dealers from January 2020.

Aadhaar authentication

• Earlier it was optional..
• Those who don’t want Aadhaar authentication, physical verification will be carried out, which will be completed in three days.
• As refunding is a big issue, the GSTN decided on complete online refunding from September 24 this year from a single source, either by the Central GST or State GST.
• The GSTN also decided the much simplified new return system may be launched on January 1, 2020.

U.N. meeting on desertification ends with vow to curb land degradation

News

• A two-week long United Nations-led Conference to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) ended with a commitment to achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030.
• Such neutrality is defined by the U.N. as ensuring that enough land is available across the world to ensure a sustainable future.

Achieve land degradation neutrality

• The Delhi Declaration, a consensus document, agreed upon by more than 100 countries “welcomed” the proposed adoption of a “voluntary” land degradation neutrality target by India, which has committed to restoring at least 26 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.
• Almost 122 nations, including India, have made voluntary commitments in previous years to ensure that a certain percentage of their degraded land was restored.
• India had agreed, again on a voluntary basis, to restore 20 million hectares by 2020. Nearly 96 million hectares of land is deemed ‘degraded’ in India.
• On August 14th, 2018, India claimed it had brought an area of 9.8 million hectares under restoration since 2011.
• Of the 9.8 million hectares, 94.4% was contributed by government agencies, while NGOs and private companies contributed 3.6% and 2% respectively.
• The UNCCD is the only legally binding international agreement on land issues. Its 196 parties aim, through partnerships, to implement the Convention and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Govt announces steps to boost housing, facilitate homebuyers

News

• The government announced a ₹10,000 crore special window to provide last-mile funding for completion of ongoing housing projects, which are not NPAs or facing bankruptcy proceedings under NCLT.

Special window

• The government will contribute ₹10,000 crore for the special window and roughly the same amount is expected from outside investors.
• This window will help in completion of affordable and middle income housing projects. The fund will be managed by professionals.
• The interest rate on housing building advance will be lowered and linked to the 10-year G-sec yields.
• External commercial borrowing (ECB) guidelines will also be relaxed to help housing developers obtain overseas funds.
• ECB guidelines will be relaxed to facilitate financing of homebuyers who are eligible under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, in consultation with the central bank.

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-03

Pakistan is hub of terrorism: India at U.N.

News

• Describing Pakistan as the “hub of terrorism”, India has strongly hit back at the country saying that Islamabad misused the UN forum to spread “baseless and deceitful” narratives about it, after Pakistan’s envoy to the UN Maleeha Lodhi raised the Kashmir issue during a General Assembly session.

Big leap for Naval variant of LCA Tejas

News

• The naval variant of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas made a successful short arrested landing on the Shore Based Test Facility (SBTF) in Goa.

Big leap

• This is a big step forward in the delayed project for the LCA to eventually operate from an aircraft carrier.
• The naval LCA made its maiden flight in April 2012 and two prototypes have been flying as part of the development. The first prototype (NP1) made a successful first flight from the SBTF in 2014.
• The SBTF, which replicates the flight deck of an aircraft carrier was specifically built to train naval pilots in the complex manoeuvres of landing on the short flight deck of an aircraft carrier before they move on to the actual carrier.
• The naval LCA is designed with stronger landing gears to absorb forces exerted by the ski jump ramp during take-off, to be airborne within 200m and land within 100m, as against 1,000m required for normal runways.
• Its special flight control law mode allows hands-free take-off, relieving the pilot workload, as the aircraft leaps from the ramp and automatically puts the aircraft in an ascending trajectory, sources had stated.
• The Navy currently operates Russian MiG-29K fighters from INS Vikramaditya.They will also fly from the first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) Vikrant once it enters service.

MGU plans QR code on answer scripts to check malpractices

News

• Mahatma Gandhi University will use QR code on its answer sheets to check exam-related malpractices and improve efficiency of the evaluation system.

QR code

• The move comes close on the heels of the implementation of the online delivery of question papers and choosing questions from an online question bank for various examinations.
• The QR code on the answer script will have all the information of a student including name, roll number, and subject name. It will help in processing vital information about each student in a professional and error-free manner.
• As per the initial plan, the answer scripts will be uploaded to a dedicated server at the data centre of the university. The barcoding and scanning of answer scripts will be done at select centres, ensuring secrecy and maintaining transparency.
• Teachers can access the answer scripts in the computers available at their own institutions using a special ID and password. The online evaluation process will curb malpractices and help the varsity announce results in record time.
• The authorities pointed out that having a soft copy of each answer script would cut the time for publication of results for which the students had applied for revaluation.
• The process has a green advantage too, as the authorities need not take photocopies of the answer scripts as part of the revaluation process.

Exports contract 6%, trade deficit widens marginally

News

• India’s exports contracted 6.05% in August to $26.13 billion, official data release showed. The trade deficit widened marginally to $13.45 billion.

Exports

• Exports in August 2019 were $26.13 billion, as compared to $27.81 billion in August 2018, exhibiting a negative growth of 6.05%.
• In rupee terms, exports were ₹1,85,881.11 crore in August 2019, as compared to ₹1,93,397.12 crore in August 2018, registering a negative growth of 3.89%.
• The sectors that saw notable contraction in their exports include rice (-23.95%), other cereals (-41.8%), oil meals (-44.4%), and oil seeds (-31.8%). Iron ore exports, notably, grew by a whopping 356.7%.
• The major commodity groups that saw a contraction in imports in August include coal, coke and briquettes (-23.75%), organic and inorganic chemicals (-14.95%), petroleum, crude and products (-8.9%), electrical and non-electrical machinery (-8.8%), and electronic goods (-4.12%).
• The contraction in both exports and imports has meant that the trade deficit has widened only marginally from the $13.43 billion in the previous month.

Army to get indigenous tank ammunition

News

• The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister approved indigenous development of ammunition for the Army’s T-72 and T-90 tanks worth approximately ₹2,000 crores, which would enhance the enemy armour penetration capability.

T-72 and T-90 tanks

• Maintaining focus on the ‘Make in India’ initiative, the DAC accorded approval for indigenous development and production of the main gun 125mm Armour Piercing Fin Stabilised Discarding-Sabot (APFSDS) ammunition for T-72/T-90 tanks by the Indian industry, which would substantially enhance the enemy armour penetration capability.
• The DAC also approved procurement of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) developed and Industry manufactured Mechanical Mine Layer (Self Propelled) to improve automated mine laying capability of the Indian Army.

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