4 MAY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

1. TRADE DEFICIT IN INDIA

India exported merchandise estimated at $38.19 billion in April 2022, a 24.2% increase from a year earlier but 9.5% lower than the record $42.2 billion shipped out in March, official estimates released.

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The trade deficit, however, expanded to $20.07 billion from $18.5 billion in March, as imports grew at a faster 26.6% pace to $58.26 billion. Sequentially, goods imports declined 4.1% last month from March’s level.
Gold imports fell by a sharp 73% year-on-year to just $1.7 billion, even as coal imports more than doubled to over $4.7 billion from $2 billion a year earlier.
Petroleum imports comprising crude and products surged 81.2% to exceed $19.5 billion, and made up a third of the total imports in the month.
India’s goods exports hit a record $420 billion in 2021-22, while imports also hit an all-time high of about $612 billion, leading to a $192 billion deficit in the last financial year.
Although the non-oil trade deficit remained stable in April, there was a shift in its composition, with a plunge in gold imports being offset by a rise in non-oil, non-gold imports such as coal and chemicals, an unsavoury yet expected fallout of the higher commodity prices engendered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Among India’s top 10 export commodities, gems and jewellery exports dipped by a marginal 2.1% in April, while rice exports fell 14.24%.

Source : The Hindu

2. WORLD PRESS FREEDOM INDEX

India has fallen eight places from 142 to 150 in the 2022 World Press Freedom Index of 180 countries.

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India’s ranking, as per the report, fell on the back of increased “violence against journalists” and a “politically partisan media”, which has landed press freedom in a state of “crisis” in the world’s largest democracy.
The ranking of India's neighbours, except that of Nepal, have also slid down, with the index placing Pakistan at 157th position, Sri Lanka 146th, Bangladesh 162nd and Maynmar at 176th position, the report released by Reporters Without Borders said.
According to the RSF 2022 World Press Freedom Index, Nepal has climbed up by 30 points in the global ranking at 76th position.
This year, Norway (1st) Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd) Estonia (4th) and Finland (5th) grabbed the top positions, while North Korea remained at the bottom of the list of the 180 countries and territories ranked by the Reporters Without Borders.
About the global scenario, the RSF said the 20th World Press Freedom Index reveals a two-fold increase in "polarisation" amplified by information chaos, that is, media polarisation fuelling divisions within countries, as well as polarisation between countries at the international level.

Source : Times of India

3. INDIA-DENMARK RELATIONS

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held delegation-level talks with Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen of Denmark.

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Both leaders reviewed the progress of the Green Strategic Partnership which was the first of its kind arrangement between India and Denmark. During the India-Denmark Virtual Summit in October 2020, the two sides gave their relationship the status of a Green Strategic Partnership.
Prime Ministers of two sides participated in India-Denmark Business Forum with top business leaders from the two countries at the Confederation of Danish Industry.
Earlier nine agreements were inked between the two countries in various sectors.

List of agreements signed/announced during the visit of Prime Minister to Denmark

Declaration of Intent (DoI) on Migration and Mobility
Letter of Intent (LoI) between Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, GOI and Ministry of Business, Industry and Financial Affairs of Denmark on Centre of Excellence in Green Shipping
Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) between the Ministry of Culture, GoI and Ministry of Culture of Denmark for the years 2022-2026
Letter of Intent (LoI) of between Ministry of Jal Shakti and Ministry of Environment of Denmark
MoU on Cooperation in the field of Skill Development, Vocational Education and Entrepreneurship
Joint Declaration of Intent (JDI) on Cooperation in the fields of Animal Husbandry and Dairying
Launch of Energy Policy Dialogue at Ministerial level
India to join as mission partner to ICARS (International Centre for Anti-Microbial Resistance Solution)
Letter of Intent between Invest India and Technical University of Denmark to facilitate start-up collaboration

2nd India-Nordic Summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will participate in the 2nd India-Nordic Summit along with Prime Ministers of Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Sweden and Norway.
The summit will be hosted by Denmark.
The Summit will focus on subjects like post-pandemic economic recovery, climate change, innovation and technology, renewable energy, the evolving global security scenario and India-Nordic cooperation in the Arctic region.
Nordic countries are important partners for India in sustainability, renewable energy, digitisation and innovation. The visit will help in expanding India's multifaceted cooperation with the Nordic region.

Source : All India Radio

4. LOKPAL

The Lokpal of India will finally move into its new permanent office at the World Trade Centre in Nauroji Nagar of south Delhi.

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The office has been purchased for ₹254.88 crore, according to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the administrative Ministry for the Lokpal.
On March 19, 2019, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh was appointed India’s first Lokpal along with eight other members.
The appointment itself was made five years after the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act was passed in 2013 to investigate cases of corruption against certain categories of public servants.
The Lokpal can inquire into allegations of corruption against anyone who is or has been Prime Minister, or a Minister in the Union government, or a Member of Parliament, as well as officials of the Union government under Groups A, B, C and D.
The body also covers complaints against chairpersons, members, officers and directors of any board or autonomous body either established by an Act of Parliament and any society or trust or body that receives foreign contribution above ₹10 lakh.

Source : The Hindu

5. POLITICAL CAREER FOR RETIRED BUREAUCRATS

Legislators, not judges, have to determine whether a cooling-off period is required for government officials before they join politics and contest elections after retirement.

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This was stated by a Bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and A.S. Bopanna while replying to a writ petition seeking a direction to the legislature to frame a law imposing a cooling-off period for retired bureaucrats with political ambitions.
The petitioner said the need to give time to cool off after retirement was necessary owing to a high probability that civil servants, while in service, may do favours for certain parties with an eye on a political future or a high position.
The Bench categorically said that civil servants would be liable for stringent action in case of any such breach in ethical standards under the All India Services (Conduct) Rules of 1968.
It said that for civil servants, “courtesy, accountability and transparency, integrity, impartiality, neutrality, transparency and honesty are non-negotiable”.
However, the Bench stated that the court could not make a law to introduce a cooling-off period for civil servants. The question whether to make such a law or not was best left to the legislature.

Source : The Hindu

6. Lapsus$

On March 22, authentication platform Okta confirmed that hackers from the cyber-crime group Lapsus$ had tried intruding into its system three months earlier.

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Lapsus$ is said to be based in South America and is led by two teenagers, a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old.
The group is relatively new but has successfully breached major firms like Microsoft. It has also publicly taunted their victims, leaking their source code and internal documents.
Their hacking tactics include phone-based social engineering, SIM-swapping to facilitate account takeover, accessing personal email accounts of employees at target organisations etc.

Source : The Hindu

7. BODO SAHITYA SABHA

President Ram Nath Kovind, who is on a four-day visit to the North Eastern States, will attend the concluding session of the 61st Bodo Sahitya Sabha at Kachubari in Tamulpur district of Assam.

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It is a historic moment for the Bodo Sahitya Sabha as no President of India has ever attended any literary event of any language in the northeastern region.
Boro, also called Bodo, is the largest ethnolinguistic group in the Assam state of India.
They are spread across north-eastern India.
They are concentrated mainly in the Bodoland Territorial Region of Assam, though Bodos inhabit all other districts of Assam and Meghalaya.
Bodos are officially identified as "Boro, Borokachari" scheduled tribe under the Constitution of India. Bodos speak Bodo language, which is recognised as one of twenty-two Scheduled languages of India.

Source : All India Radio

8. MONETARY POLICY COMMITTEE (MPC)

The Central Board of Directors of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved nomination of Rajiv Ranjan as ex-officio member of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

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Background:
- The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 was amended by Finance Act (India), 2016 to constitute MPC.
- Under Section 45ZB of the amended RBI Act, 1934, the central government is empowered to constitute a six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to determine the policy interest rate required to achieve the inflation target.
- The first such MPC was constituted on September 29, 2016.
Functions: Section 45ZB lays down that “the Monetary Policy Committee shall determine the Policy Rate required to achieve the inflation target”, and that “the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee shall be binding on the Bank”.
Members:
- Section 45ZB says the MPC shall consist of the RBI Governor as its ex officio chairperson, the Deputy Governor in charge of monetary policy, an officer of the Bank to be nominated by the Central Board, and three persons to be appointed by the central government.
- The last category of appointments must be from “persons of ability, integrity and standing, having knowledge and experience in the field of economics or banking or finance or monetary policy”(Section 45ZC).

Source : All India Radio

9. NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE GRID (NATGRID)

Union Minister for Home and Cooperation Amit Shah inaugurated the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) campus in Bengaluru.

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The NATGRID CEO informed that the services of NATGRID solution will be available to 11 central agencies and police of all States and Union Territories.
It will link user agencies with data holders, giving them access to real-time information needed for intelligence services and investigations.
C-DAC Pune has been roped in as Technology Partner and IIT, Bhilai as Plan Management Consultant for the development of NATGRID solution.
The National Intelligence Grid or NATGRID is the integrated intelligence master database structure for counter-terrorism purpose connecting databases of various core security agencies under Government of India collecting comprehensive patterns procured from 21 different organizations that can be readily accessed by security agencies round the clock.
NATGRID came into existence after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Source : Hindustan Times

10. OPERATION SATARK

RPF launches Focused effort under “Operation Satark” from 5th April to 30th April, 2022.

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Railway Protection Force (RPF) is a security force under the ownership of Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways, Government of India.
It was formed in 1872 under the Railway Protection Force Act, 1957.
It is the lead security agency in the field of railway security having a pan India reach. It is entrusted with the security of railway property, passenger area and passengers.
Railway Protection Force has recently started “Operation Satark” with an objective of taking action against illicit liquor/FICN/illegal tobacco products/unaccounted gold and any other items being transported through railway network for the purpose of tax evasion and smuggling.

Source : PIB

4 MAY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

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