UPSC Daily Current Affairs : 29-July-2020
Topic Covered :
India Report- Digital Education June 2020
Detailed report of Tiger Census
China says disengagement at most localities along LAC is ‘complete’
‘Notification on 74% FDI in defence soon’
3 bn animals affected by Australia bushfires: WWF
Govt. notifies 100% FDI in Air India for NRIs
INDIA REPORT- DIGITAL EDUCATION JUNE 2020
Why in news?
Union Minister for HRD today virtually launched India Report on Digital Education, 2020.
Highlights:
He said that the report elaborates on the innovative methods adopted by Ministry of HRD, Education Departments of States and Union Territories for ensuring accessible and inclusive education to children at home and reducing learning gaps.
School Education is envisaged as a comprehensive and convergent programme committed to universalize digital education across the wide spectrum of schools from pre-nursery to higher secondary classes.
The quality digital education has acquired a new urgency in the present context of globalization.
Some of the major digital initiatives by State Governments are
SMILE (Social Media Interface for Learning Engagement) in Rajasthan,
Project Home Classes in Jammu,
Padhai Tunhar duvaar (Education at your doorstep) in Chhattisgarh,
Unnayan Initiatives in Bihar through portal and mobile application,
Mission Buniyaad in NCT of Delhi,
Kerala’s own educational TV channel (Hi-Tech school programme),
E-scholar portal as well as free online courses for teachers in Meghalaya.
Telangana has online certificate programs for teachers on ‘Management of mental well-being during COVID’.
States are also pioneering Whatsapp as a medium for education and to encourage teachers, parents, and students to stay connected.
To grapple with the challenges of providing remote learning, NIOS & Swayam Prabha contents are disseminated focusing on children who are not connected to the internet and have limited access to radio & TV.
Source : PIB ( https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1641850 )
DETAILED REPORT OF TIGER CENSUS
Why in news?
Union Environment Minister releases detailed report of Tiger Census on the eve of Global Tiger Day
Highlights:
Despite several constraints such as less land mass, India has eight percent of bio-diversity because our country has a culture of saving and preserving the nature, trees and its wild life.
India has 70 percent of world’s tiger population.
India is tirelessly working with all 13 tiger range countries towards nurturing the tiger.
LIDAR based survey technology will be used for the first time. Lidar is a method for measuring distances by illuminating the target with laser light and measuring the reflection with a sensor.
The detailed report of the 4th All India Tiger Estimation is unique in the following ways;
Abundance index of co-predators and other species has been carried out which hitherto was restricted only to occupancy
Sex ratio of tigers in all camera trap sites has been carried out for the first time.
Anthropogenic effects on tiger population have been elaborated in a detailed manner.
Tiger abundance within pockets in tiger reserves has been demonstrated for the first time.
With reserves crowded, animals are venturing out
Source : PIB (https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1641850 )
China says disengagement at most localities along LAC is ‘complete’
Why in news?
China on Tuesday said border troops had “disengaged in most localities” along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), but defence sources said disengagement had only been “partial” at one of the locations that Beijing appeared to be referring to.
Highlights:
China also acknowledged for the first time that issues were yet to be resolved at Pangong Lake, which is likely to be taken up at the fifth round of Corps Commander-level talks set for later this week.
Disengagement has been completed from stand-off sites at Patrolling Point (PP) 14 at Galwan Valley and PP 15 in the Gogra-Hot Springs area. It is, however, only partially completed at PP17A, another patrolling point in the Gogra-Hot Springs area, and also incomplete at Pangong Lake.
This was the first time that the Chinese media had specifically referred to issues in the Gogra-Hot Springs and Pangong Lake areas along the LAC.
Previously, they had only spoken of differences in the Galwan Valley, where a clash on June 15 that claimed the lives of 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese soldiers, marked the worst violence on the border since 1967.
Source : Hindu ( https://www.thehindu.com/news/morning-digest-july-29-2020/article32215955.ece )
‘NOTIFICATION ON 74% FDI IN DEFENCE SOON’
Why in news?
The government is going to come out with a decision on 74% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in defence and a notification is likely in the next few days, according to V.L. Kantha Rao, Additional Secretary, Department of Defence Production.
Highlights:
Separately, the Defence Ministry said the second draft of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2020, now renamed as the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020, was put out in public domain on Tuesday for comments from stakeholders and public.
In May, the government announced a series of measures to promote domestic defence manufacturing.
These include a negative import list, separate budgetary allocation for domestic procurements, indigenisation of spares and components and raising the FDI cap through automatic route from 49% to 74%.
Mr. Rao said Indian manufacturers did well when it came to exports. “Government companies did $100 mn exports last year; the private sector 10 times, over a $1 billion, last year,” he said.
However, when it came to overall defence manufacturing, the major share was with the public sector, which accounted for about $8 billion. The private sector did around $2 billion.
The increase in exports by the private sector comes as several major defence companies like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Thales and Dassault Aviation are increasingly sourcing components from India for their global supply chains.
For instance, all C-130 transport aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin have components sourced from their joint venture with Tata group in Hyderabad.
Source : Hindu ( https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/74-fdi-in-defence-notification-likely-in-few-days/article32214175.ece )
3 BN ANIMALS AFFECTED BY AUSTRALIA BUSHFIRES: WWF
Why in news?
Nearly 3 billion koalas, kangaroos and other native Australian animals were killed or displaced by bushfires in 2019 and 2020, a study by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said on Tuesday, triple the group’s earlier estimates.
Highlights:
Some 143 million mammals, 2.46 billion reptiles, 180 million birds and 51 million frogs were impacted by the country’s worst bushfires in decades, the WWF said.
The fires destroyed more than 11 million hectares (37 million acres) across the Australian southeast, equal to about half the area of the United Kingdom.
“This ranks as one of the worst wildlife disasters in modern history,” said WWF-Australia Chief Executive Officer Dermot O’Gorman in a statement.
The total number included animals which were displaced because of destroyed habitats and now faced lack of food and shelter.
Source : Financial Express ( https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/science/nearly-3-billion-animals-killed-or-displaced-in-australia-bushfires-wwf-study/2037707/ )
GOVT. NOTIFIES 100% FDI IN AIR INDIA FOR NRIS
Why in news?
In a move that is likely to have an impact on the sale of the national carrier, the government has notified amendments to Foreign Exchange Management rules and allowed NRIs 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in Air India.
Highlights:
The gazette notification follows a Cabinet nod for the same in March this year.
The amendment removes the exception which permitted Overseas Citizens of India 100% FDI in air transport, but not Air India.
This category of citizens has been replaced with NRIs, now allowed to commit 100% FDI in air transport, including Air India, through automatic route.
Source : Hindu ( https://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/govt-notifies-100-fdi-in-air-india-for-nris/article32215469.ece )