UPSC IAS Prelims 2021: Monthly Current Affairs & GK Topics for Preparation | October 2020

Economics

The scheme was launched as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package announced in May 2020 to mitigate the distress caused by coronavirus-induced lockdown, by providing credit to different sectors, especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

Objective: To provide fully guaranteed and collateral free additional credit to MSMEs, business enterprises, MUDRA borrowers and individual loans for business purposes to the extent of 20% of their credit outstanding as on 29th February, 2020. Read more

1- To enhance liquidity, RBI will provide banks with on-tap funds up to Rs 1 trillion under TLTRO. 

2- The liquidity availed by banks under this scheme has to be deployed in corporate bonds, commercial papers and non-convertible debentures (NCDs) issued by entities in specific sectors over and above the outstanding level of their investments in such instruments as on 30 September.

3- The TLTROs will be available for a period of up to three years at a floating rate, linked to the policy. The total amount available under this scheme can be enhanced based on a review of the response of the scheme. Read more

GST or Integrated Goods and Services Tax is one of the three components of Good and Services Tax. It is levied on all the inter-state transfer of goods and services and is governed by the IGST Act. 

Numerically, IGST= CGST+SGST

Example: Consider a businessman from Maharashtra sold goods to a man from Gujarat worth Rs. 1,00,000. The GST rate is 18% comprised of 18% IGST. In such a case, the dealer has to charge Rs. 18,000 as IGST. This IGST will go directly to the Centre. Read more

It is a free market system where organizations hire independent workers or freelancers on a contractual basis for short-term engagements. Freelancers, independent contractual workers, temporary workers, project-based workers, etc. are some examples of gig workers. 

With the introduction of Code on Social Security, 2020, platform workers are eligible for certain benefits like maternity leaves, life and disability cover, old age protection, provident fund, employment injury benefits, and more. 

Science & Technology

On October 3, India conducted a successful trial of the nuclear-capable Shaurya missile from a defence facility in Odisha. It is a land version of the submarine-launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) K-15 Sagarika. Earlier, BrahMos surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile was tested from the  Integrated Test Range in Odisha.  

1- It is a canister launched hypersonic surface-to-surface tactical missile and is developed by the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) for IAF (Indian Armed Forces). Due to the canister-based system, the missile can be stored without maintenance for long periods.  

SMART stands for the Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo. The successful flight of SMART from Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha was conducted by the DRDO. The test followed the successful test-firing of a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile 'Shaurya' which is indigenously developed.

SMART System

For anti-submarine warfare operations (ASW) which is far beyond torpedo range, SMART is a missile assisted release of lightweight anti-Submarine Torpedo System. Torpedos are self-propelled weapons that travel underwater to hit a target and are limited by their range. DRDO undertook a project to build capacity to launch torpedos assisted by missiles in the mid-2010. The first known flight test of the system was conducted on 4 October 2020 (Monday). Read more

In October, the New Shepard rocket system successfully completed its seventh test launch after it took off from a test facility in Texas. The rocket system was developed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s space company called Blue Origin to carry space tourists on short 'sub-orbital' trips. The Shepard rocket system was developed to carry space tourists over 100 km above the Earth so that they can experience microgravity. Read more

India successfully test-fired SANT (Stand-off Anti-tank) missile off the coast of Odisha. The missile is being developed by Imarat (DRDO's research centre) in collaboration with the IAF. The missile is reported to be the upgraded version of India's Helina (Helicopter Launched Nag) missile. SANT missile has a range between 15 to 20 km. Read more

NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) have finalized an agreement to collaborate on the Artemis Gateway to engage international partners in a sustainable lunar exploration and to demonstrate the expertise needed for future missions to Mars.

On October 27, 2020, the agreement was signed and reflects NASA's initial commitment to launch international crew members to the lunar vicinity as part of NASA's Artemis missions.

Under this agreement, ESA will provide habitation and refuelling modules, as well as improved lunar communications, to the Gateway. The refuelling module will also include staff observation windows. In addition to providing hardware, ESA will be responsible for the functionality of the Gateway components it provides. ESA also provided two additional European Service Modules (ESMs) for NASA's Orion spacecraft. These ESMs will launch and power Orion in space for future Artemis operations and provide air and water to its crew members. Read Details

Polity & International News

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD) also known as Quad, is an Inter-governmental security forum. 

2- It comprises of 4 countries-- India, the United States, Japan, and Australia. The member countries of the Quad organize summits, exchanges information, and military drills.

During their second ministerial meeting in Tokyo, External Affairs Minister of India S Jaishankar along with his counterparts from the US, Japan and Australia discussed the post-COVID-19 international order and sought responses over the various challenges caused by the unprecedented pandemic.

1- Amid the unprecedented pandemic, the Indian delegation presented a package of 3,000 vials of the antiviral Remdesivir to help Myanmar in its fight against COVID-19.

2- Mayanmar has been prioritised by India in sharing the vaccines for COVID-19, whenever available. 

3- The operationalization of Sittwe Port in the first quarter of 2021 is promised. This will connect India's Kolkata to Sittwe in Myanmar and Myanmar's Kaladan river to India's north-east region. 

4- The progress on India-assisted infrastructural projects (India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway and the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project) were discussed.  

SVAMITVA stands for Survey of villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas. 

About SVAMITVA Scheme

It was launched on 24 April 2020 on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day. It is an initiative of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and is a central sector scheme.

Purpose of the Scheme

The main purpose is to provide rural people with the right to document their residential properties. This has been done so that they can use their property for economic purposes. And also enable them to use their property as a financial asset for taking loans and other financial benefits from the Bank.

Implementation of the scheme

For surveying the land parcels in the rural inhabited areas a modern technology is used that is Drone technology under the scheme. 

In a phase-wise manner, the survey shall be done across the country over a period of four years (2020-2024).

It is proposed as a Central Sector scheme with a projected outlay of around Rs. 79.65 crores for the pilot phase. That is from FY 2020-2021. Read More

The cabinet has approved $500 million STARS program to improve the quality and governance of school education in six Indian states through Samagra Shiksha.

Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States Program (STARS) will help in improving assessment systems, facilitating school-to-work transition, strengthening classroom instruction and remediation, decentralizing management and strengthening the governance. It will also support India's goal 'Education for All'. For this vision, the World Bank has earlier assisted with more than $3 billion. Read details

Every year the Global Hunger Index is jointly published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe. In 2006, it was first produced and every October, it is published. The 2020th edition is the 15th edition of the Global Hunger Index. The objective is to comprehensively measure and track hunger at the global, regional, and country levels.  

In the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2020, India has been ranked at 94 out of 107 countries. India has a level of hunger that is serious with a score of 27.2. Read more

Coastal security exercise Sagar Kavach is a two-day half-yearly exercise for coastal security and was conducted by the Navy and the Coast Guard and was closely monitored from the Joint Operations Centre, Kochi. Sagar Kavach aims to check the Coastal Security Mechanism and validate Standard Operating Procedures. Details

Environment & Ecology

On October 20, 2020, the National Green Tribunal (NGT), India's court for environmental issues, held that the environmental clearance granted to the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project (KLIP) in Telangana violates the legal requirements. The decision came after a petition filed by a farmer from Siddipet district, whose land was affected by the KLIP. It is Originally known as the Pranahita-Chevella project in Andhra Pradesh. Read Details

Aenigmachanna Gollum’ remained hidden for a hundred million years, looks like a dragon and swims like an eel. The fish was discovered in the watery underground rocks and has been named 'Gollum', after the character from the 'Lord of the Rings' fantasy novel. 

As per the researchers, the Aenigmachanna is a Gondwanan lineage who has survived the separation of India and Africa around 120 million years ago. It belongs to a family of fish called dragon snakeheads. Read details

Miscellaneous

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Atal Tunnel in Himachal Pradesh's Rohtang. It will connect Solang Valley near Manali to Sissu in Lahaul and Spiti district. It is named after the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It is a 9.02 Km long tunnel. It connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley throughout the year. Before that, the valley was cut off for around 6 months every year because of heavy snowfall.

It is built with ultra-modern specifications in the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas at an altitude of 3000 Mtrs (10,000 Feet) from the Mean Sea Level (MSL). Read Details

Nobel Prize for Physics: Three Laureates share the Nobel Prize 2020 in Physics for their discoveries about the Black Hole. One half of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2020 is presented to Roger Penrose and the other half is jointly presented to Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez.

Read details

Nobel Prize for Medicine: The Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology 2020 was awarded jointly to Two Americans and a British scientist on 5 October, 2020 for the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus. Let us read in detail about the three scientists and their discovery. Read more

Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Nobel Prize 2020 in Chemistry has been jointly awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for the development of a method for Genome Editing. Read more

Nobel Prize in Literature: Nobel Prize 2020 in Literature has been awarded to 77 years old American poet Louise Glück for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal. Read more

Nobel Peace Prize: Nobel Peace Prize 2020 has been presented to the World Food Programme (WFP) for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict. 

Nobel Prize in Economics: The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2020 has been awarded to Paul R. Milgrom and Robert B. Wilson for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats. Read more

National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released India's first Time Use Survey for the period January to December 2019. The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) has been conducting socio-economic surveys employing scientific methods since 1950.

The survey covered 82,897 rural and 55,902 urban households. The information was collected from each member of the household of age 6 years and above on the use of time. 

Pamban Bridge connects the town of Mandapam in mainland India with Pamban and Rameshwaram. In 1914, it started its operations. As we know that it was India's first sea bridge and was the longest sea bridge in India until the opening of the Bandra-Worli Sea Link in 2010. 

The new bridge will be constructed with the help of modern techniques. The beauty of this bridge is that its middle part gets lifted up to let ships pass through during travel. This technology is known as 'Scherzer' rolling lift technology. Read Details