Daily Current Affairs : 06-Feb-2020
Major Topics Covered :
GLOBAL MISERY INDEX (GMI)
IOC SIGNS PACT TO BUY RUSSIAN CRUDE OIL
SHRI RAM JANMBHOOMI TEERTH KSHETRA TRUST FOR CONSTRUCTION OF RAM TEMPLE
MAJOR PORT IN MAHARASHTRA
KARIMNAGAR GRANITE INDUSTRY
DROPOUT RATES HIGHEST IN ASSAM
KUMBHABISHEGAM
INTERNATIONAL SEAFOOD SHOW IN KOCHI
INDIA BECOMES SECOND LARGEST STEEL PRODUCER OF CRUDE STEEL
SOIL HEALTH CARD SCHEME
GLOBAL MISERY INDEX (GMI)
Why in news?
The Congress party claimed that the Indian economy should be measured in terms of the Global Misery Index (GMI).
Highlights:
American economist Steve Hanke of Johns Hopkins University, an applied economist has popularised the GMI concept. He has ranked India a measly 44 out of 95 countries on GMI.
The benchmark index measures people’s “misery score” instead of the conventional gross domestic product (GDP).
It is based on the three parameters namely unemployment rate, inflation rate and lending rate.
To calculate misery index, the annualised growth of GDP is subtracted from the sum total of these three rates.
That gives a score which really defines how miserable people living in a particular geography are.
Source: The Hindu
IOC SIGNS PACT TO BUY RUSSIAN CRUDE OIL
Why in news?
Indian Oil Corp has signed a deal with Russia's Rosneft for the annual purchase of 2 million metric tonnes of crude oil, the Oil Ministry said in a statement.
Highlights:
Both leaders also witnessed the signing of the first-ever Term Contract between IOCL and Rosneft for importing 2 Million Metric Tonnes of Urals grade crude oil during the year 2020 to India.
Sourcing of Russian crude oil through long term contracts is a part of India’s strategy for diversifying the country’s crude oil supplies from non-OPEC countries, and a part of the five-year roadmap for bilateral cooperation in the hydrocarbons sector that was signed during Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s visit to Vladivostok last September, 2019.
The crude oil, being sourced under the contract, will be loaded in Suezmax vessels at Novorossiysk port of Russia and will come to India, bypassing Straits of Hormuz.
This is the first ever annual oil purchase deal between India and Russia.
Source: PIB
SHRI RAM JANMBHOOMI TEERTH KSHETRA TRUST FOR CONSTRUCTION OF RAM TEMPLE
Why in news?
Centre Government has issued gazette notification over setting up of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for the construction of Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.
Highlights:
The trust will have office in Delhi's Greater Kailash.
Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will have 15 trustees, out of which one trustee will always be from Dalit community.
This trust will be completely free to take every decision related to the temple and 67 acres of land will be transferred to the trust.
In the notification, Home Ministry also said, the Uttar Pradesh government had already issued the allotment letter of a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for construction of a mosque, as directed by the Supreme Court.
Source: PIB
MAJOR PORT IN MAHARASHTRA
Why in news?
The government on 5th February, 2020, approved setting up a new major port at Vadhavan near Dahanu in Maharashtra at a cost of Rs. 65,544.54 crore.
Highlights:
Vadhavan port will be developed on landlord model, it said, adding that a special purpose vehicle (SPV) will also be formed with Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) as the lead partner with equity participation equal to or more than 50% to implement the project.
The SPV, the statement said, will develop the port infrastructure, including reclamation, construction of breakwater, besides establishing connectivity to the hinterland, and all the business activities will be undertaken under public private partnership (PPP) by private developers.
The position of JN Port, the biggest container port in India, is 28th in the world with traffic of 5.1 million TEUs (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units).
Even after the completion of 4th terminal at JN Port with a capacity increase up to 10 million TEUs by 2023, it will stand as the 17th largest container port in the world.
With the development of Vadhavan port, India will break into the countries with top
10 container ports in the world.
Major Ports & Minor Ports Classification of Indian ports into major and minor is on the basis of administrative significance.The ports administered by Union Shipping Ministry are called major ports whereas; those managed by other relevant departments are called minor ports.Large numbers of ports in India are under Major Port Trust (MPT) Act, 1963 need to be corporatized for better development and cargo handling facility.
Source: The Hindu
KARIMNAGAR GRANITE INDUSTRY
Why in news?
The dreaded coronavirus outbreak in China has cast its impact in farwaway Karimnagar, and how. Granite industry in the erstwhile Karimnagar district in Telangana, is witnessing a decline in exports of the local stone, especially to China.
Highlights:
Due to the virus outbreak which is spreading rapidly in China and other countries, Chinese buyers have stopped visiting Karimnagar district to purchase the locally available and popular Tan brown and Maple Red varieties.
For the last fortnight or so, no buyer from China has visited the district.
The district has around 70 granite quarries and another 200 odd polishing units.
Source: The Hindu
DROPOUT RATES HIGHEST IN ASSAM
Why in news?
The dropout rate in schools is the highest in Assam, at both primary and secondary levels, state-wise figures tabled in Lok Sabha show.
Highlights:
The Ministry of Human Resource Development said the reasons for children dropping out include poverty or economic reasons, poor health, a child too young to be attending school and a child needed for help in domestic work.
The dropout rate in Assam at primary level was 10.1% in 2017-18, followed by Arunachal Pradesh (8.1), Mizoram (8), Uttar Pradesh (8) and Tamil Nadu (5.9). At secondary level, Assam’s dropout rate was 33.7%, followed by Bihar (32), Odisha (28.3), Tripura (27.2) and Karnataka (24.3).
Broken up between the genders, the dropout rate among boys in primary schools in Assam was 11.2%, followed by Arunachal Pradesh (10), Mizoram (8.6), Uttar Pradesh (7.2) and Odisha (6).
For girls at primary level, the highest five dropout rates were in Assam (8.9), Mizoram (7.4), Uttar Pradesh (7.1), Arunachal Pradesh (6.1) and Tamil Nadu (6).
At secondary level, the dropout rates for boys were 32.1% in Assam, followed by Bihar (30.3), Odisha (28.7), Tripura (27.1) and Karnataka (26.4).
Among girls in secondary school, the highest five dropout rates were in Assam (35.2%), followed by Bihar (33.7), Odisha (27.8), Tripura (27.3) and Madhya Pradesh (24.2).
Source: The Hindu
KUMBHABISHEGAM
Why in news?
Tens of thousands of people thronged Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu’s Cauvery delta to witness the kumbhabishegam (consecration) ceremony at the Sri Brahadeeswarar Temple on 5th February, 2020.
Highlights:
This enormously significant event was held after 23 years — and after the Madras High Court had settled an old argument over the ritual purification process only five days previously.
Sri Brahadeeswarar Temple and kumbhabishegam ceremony
The consecration ceremony that culminated with the maha poornahuthi or the main puja at 9.20 am on 5th February, 2020, had begun on Saturday evening.
Between then and 5th February, 2020, about a million devotees are estimated to have visited the temple.
The Sri Brihadisvara, is the most famous of the many temples in Thanjavur.
The temple, one of the world’s largest and grandest, was built between 1003 AD and 1010 AD by the great Chola emperor Raja Raja I (c. 985-1014 AD).
At the event, holy water brought from the yaga salai — the site of the yajna in the temple compound — was poured on the gold-plated kalasam that tops the 216-foot vimanam over the sanctum sanctorum. The other idols at the temple too, were sanctified with holy water from the yaga salai.
Brahadeeswarar Temple Rajarajesvaram or Peruvudaiyar Koyil, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu.It follows Dravidian architecture. It is called as Dhakshina Meru (Meru of south).Built by Raja Raja Chola I between 1003 and 1010 AD, the temple is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the “Great Living Chola Temples”, along with the Chola dynasty era Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple and Airavatesvara temple that are about 70 kilometresBuilt out of granite, the vimana tower above the sanctum is one of the tallest in South India.
Source: Indian Express
INTERNATIONAL SEAFOOD SHOW IN KOCHI
Why in news?
The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), under Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, in association with the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI), is organizing the 22nd edition of India International Seafood Show (IISS) 2020 in Kochi from 7-9 February 2020.
Highlights:
The theme of this year’s seafood show is “Blue Revolution- beyond Production to Value Addition”.
The biennial show returns to Kochi after 12 years and will provide a platform for Indian exporters and overseas importers of Indian marine products to interact.
The 21st edition of IISS was held in Goa in January 2018.
Source: PIB
INDIA BECOMES SECOND LARGEST STEEL PRODUCER OF CRUDE STEEL
Why in news?
As per World Steel Association data, India became the second largest steel producer of crude steel after China in 2018 and 2019, by replacing Japan.
Highlights:
India’s crude steel production in 2018 was at 109.3 MT, an increase of 7.7 per cent from 101.5 MT in 2017.
Steel being a deregulated sector, the Government does not set any annual targets for steel production.
Source: PIB
SOIL HEALTH CARD SCHEME
Why in news?
The Soil Health Card scheme launched by the Government during the financial year 2014-15 with a view to address the decline of soil nutrients, has started reaping fruit.
Highlights:
In the second phase of the scheme 11.69 crore Soil Health Cards have been distributed to farmers in the last two years.
A study conducted by the National Productivity Council (NPC) says the application of Soil Health Card recommendations has led to a decline of 8-10% in use of chemical fertilizers and also raised productivity by 5-6%.
Under the Central Government’s Soil Health Card Scheme Phase-I (Years 2015 to 2017) 10.74 crore cards were distributed, while under the Phase-II 11.69 crore cards have been give away during the period 2017-19.
For the setting up of Soil Health Laboratories under the scheme the states have been sanctioned 429 static labs, 102 new mobile labs, 8,752 mini labs, 1,562 village-level laboratories and strengthening of 800 existing labs.
The scheme provides for the analysis of soil composition by the State Governments once in every two years so that remedial steps can be taken to improve soil nutrients.
Farmers can track their soil samples and also obtain their Soil Health Card report.
Source: PIB