Daily Current Affairs : 03 September 2020

1. NCRB Report

Recently, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has released its annual report on suicides and accidental deaths.

Key Highlights of the Report

Suicides

• The report highlighted that the cases of suicide and the number of accidental deaths registered an increase across the country in 2019 as compared to 2018.

• The maximum cases of mass/family suicides were reported from Tamil Nadu (16), followed by Andhra Pradesh (14), Kerala (11) and Punjab (9) and Rajasthan (7).

• The suicide rate in cities (13.9%) was higher compared to the all-India average.

• The numbers of suicides in 53 megacities showed an increasing trend during 2016 to 2019, with a 4.6% increase from 2018.

Suicide numbers for Males and Females

• The total number of male suicides includes daily wage earners (maximum), followed by self-employed persons and the unemployed.

  • Half of the total female suicides were comprised of housewives.

• The ‘family problems (other than marriage related problems)’ (32.4%); ‘marriage related problems’ (5.5%); and ‘illness’ (17.1%) accounted for 55% of the total suicides.

Suicides Numbers in Different Sectors

• The suicides by unemployed persons amounting to 14% were in Kerala, followed by 10.8% in Maharashtra, 9.8% in Tamil Nadu, 9.2% in Karnataka and 6.1% in Odisha.

• The majority of suicides by those in business activities were in Maharashtra (14.2%), Tamil Nadu (11.7%), Karnataka (9.7%), West Bengal (8.2%) and Madhya Pradesh (7.8%).

• The majority of victims engaged in farming sector were reported in Maharashtra (38.2%), Karnataka (19.4%), Andhra Pradesh (10.0%), Madhya Pradesh (5.3%) and Chhattisgarh & Telangana (4.9% each).

States with decrease in suicide

• The highest percentage decrease was in Lakshadweep (100%), Himachal Pradesh (21.1%), Chandigarh (18.1%), Arunachal Pradesh (15.2%) and Jammu & Kashmir (13.9%).

Accidental deaths

• The Accidental deaths in the country increased by 2.3% in 2019 as compared to 2018.

• The maximum casualties of 30.9% were reported in the 30-45 years age group, followed by 26% in the 18-30 years’ age group.

• The highest rate was reported from Puducherry (72.8), followed by Chhattisgarh (68.6), Maharashtra (57.4), Haryana (54.3), Goa (51.5) and Madhya Pradesh (51.4).

• The Accidental deaths caused due to the forces of nature comprised of 35.3% due to lightning, 15.6% by heat/sun stroke and 11.6% deaths in floods.

• The dangerous/careless driving or overtaking contributed to 25.7% road accidents, claiming 42,557 lives and leaving more than 1 lakh people injured.

• Chandigarh reported the highest percentage increase (71.1%) in total accidental deaths, followed by Bihar (19.6%), Jharkhand (16.8%), Himachal Pradesh (13.6%) and Kerala (11.8%).

• The decline was noticed in Nagaland (26.7%), Dadar & Nagar Haveli (23.9%), Arunachal Pradesh (18.9%) and Lakshadweep (16.7%).

National Crime Records Bureau

• On the recommendations of the National Police Commission, 1977, the Ministry of Home Affairs constituted a Task Force in 1985 to work out the modalities for setting up of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
• The NCRB was constituted in 1986 after accepting the recommendations of the task force.
• The publications of NCRB include, ‘Crime in India’, ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India’, ‘Prison Statistics India’ and ‘Finger Print in India’.
• NCRB organised CCTNS Hackathon & Cyber Challenge 2020 in collaboration with Cyber Peace Foundation.

Source: The Hindu

2. GDP Contraction

Recently, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has released the data for the first quarter (April, May, June) of the current financial year which provided that the GDP contracted by 24% per cent in Q1.

Reasons for GDP Contraction

• Decline in Private Consumption: The biggest engine driving the Indian economy is private consumption and it has fallen by 27%.

• Fall in Investments by Businesses: The second biggest engine driving the Indian economy is investments by businesses which has fallen even harder and half of what it was last year same quarter.

  • When private consumption falls sharply, businesses stop investing and there is no way to force people to spend more and/or coerce businesses to invest more in the current scenario.

• Insufficient Government Expenditure: The government’s expenditure went up by 16% but this was nowhere near enough to compensate for the loss of demand (power) in other sectors (engines) of the economy.

• Impact of COVID-19: The contraction reflects the severe impact of the COVID-19 lockdown, which halted most economic activities, as well as the slowdown trend of the economy even pre-COVID-19.

Implications of GDP Contraction

• GDP to be worsened for the whole financial year: The GDP for the first quarter was more than what observers expected and it is believed that the full-year GDP could also worsen.

• Economic Sectors got affected: Except for agriculture sector, all other sector witnessed contraction such as construction (–50%), trade, hotels and other services (–47%), manufacturing (–39%), and mining (–23%).

• Loss of Jobs: The output and income fall in various sectors has led to to more and more people either losing jobs (decline in employment) or failing to get one (rise in unemployment).

Source: The Indian Express

3. Sleeping Sickness

Recently, Togo has become the first country in Africa to eliminate human African Trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness.

About Human African Trypanosomiasis or Sleeping Sickness

• It is a vector-borne parasitic disease.

• It is caused by infection with protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Trypanosoma.

• It is transmitted to humans by tsetse fly (Glossina genus) bites which have acquired their infection from human beings or from animals harbouring human pathogenic parasites.

• There are two types of sleeping sickness:

  • The first type occurs due to the Trypanosoma brucei gambiense parasite found in 24 countries in west and central Africa.

  • The second type is due to the Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense parasite found in 13 countries in eastern and southern Africa.

• According to the WHO, sleeping sickness is currently found in 36 sub-Saharan African countries.

Sleeping Sickness endemic countries

• The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) shared 70 per cent of the burden of sleeping sickness, followed by the Central African Republic (9.9 per cent) and Guinea (7.9 per cent).

• In 1995, 60 million people in Africa were at risk with an estimated 300,000 new cases per year and about 25,000 cases diagnosed and treated.

• The countries such as Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Nigeria, have reported sporadic cases in the last 10 years.

Togo

• It is a western African country.
• Togo is surrounded by Gulf of Guniea in the south, Ghana in the west, Benin in the east and Burkin Faso in the north.

Source: The Indian Express

4. Renati Chola Era

Recently, a rare inscription dating back to the Renati Chola era has been unearthed in a remote village of Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh.

What does the inscription say?

• The inscription was found engraved on a dolomite slab and shale.

• The inscription was written in archaic Telugu which was readable in 25 lines with the first side with eleven lines and the remaining on the other side.

• It was assigned to the 8th Century A.D., when the region was under the rule of Chola Maharaja of Renadu.

• The inscription seems to throw light on the record of a gift of six Marttus (a measuring unit) of land gifted to a person Sidyamayu (one of the Brahmins serving the temple at Pidukula village).

• It says the people who safeguard this inscription for future generations will acquire the status of conducting Aswamedha Yaga and those destroying it will incur sin equivalent to causing a death in Varanasi.

About Renati Chola Era

• The Renati Cholas (also called as Telugu Cholas of Renadu) ruled over Renadu region, the present day Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh.

• They used the Telegu language in their inscriptions belonging to 7th and 8th centuries AD.

• They were later forced to suzerainty of the Eastern Chalukyas.

• The Renati Chola Era territory extended over the whole of Kadapa district and the adjoining areas of Anantapur, Kurnool and Chittoor districts.

• Of the five places i.e. Mudivemu identified with Peddamudiyam, Chepali identified with Chippli, Birparu identified with Malepadu, Pudali identified with Chilamkuru were suggested to be the capital of Renati Cholas.

• The Renati Cholas claimed Karikala Chola as their ancestors.

• Recently, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) experts claim they have found the exact location of Renati Cholas’ capital and debunked decades-old theory that the capital was in Karnataka.

  • They claim the capital of Renati Cholas, who had ruled Renadu region in Rayalaseema and were the first to use Telugu in administration and inscriptions instead of Sanskrit.

  • The first inscription speaks of their capital Erikal in Kamalapuram region in Kadapa, while the other speaks about battle of Renati Cholas and Banas.

Source: The Hindu

5. Green Bee-Eater

Recently, the Green Bee-Eater was sighted in the Delhi-NCR region.

About Green Bee-Eater

• The Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis) is dainty (16-18 cm), bright green in plumage, slender-bodied, with blood-red eyes.

• Its slim lengthened black bill is slightly curved which is a characteristic of an insect-eater (insectivore).

• It will station itself on conspicuous perches like the top branch of a high tree, a shrub, or a stalk of grain or grass, electricity poles or wires and other vantage points.

• Green Bee-eaters are quite widespread and are resident (with slight seasonal movements locally) across the country.

• Its vast range stretches from Mauritania in West Africa, to sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the Middle East and India as far in the north as Nepal.

• They are very common in all kinds of habitats i.e. wetlands, scrublands and even in densely populated urban settlements.

• It is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Source: The Hindu

6. Green Term Ahead Market

Recently, the Union Minister of New & Renewable Energy has launched the Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) for Electricity.

About Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) for Electricity

• It is a pan-India Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM) in electricity.

• The introduction of GTAM platform would lessen the burden on Renewable Energy-rich States.

• The key features of GTAM include bilateral transaction (of RE) in nature with clear identification of corresponding buyers and sellers.

Significance of Green Term Ahead Market (GTAM)

• The GTAM platform will lead to an increase in the number of participants in the renewable energy sector.

• It will benefit buyers of renewable energy through competitive prices and transparent and flexible procurement.

• The GTAM contracts will allow additional avenues to the renewable energy generators for sale of energy.

• It would promote Renewable Energy (RE) merchant capacity addition and help in achieving RE capacity addition targets of the country.

Source: All India Radio

7. Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana

Recently, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has given its nod to 27 projects under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana for development of integrated cold chains and value addition infrastructure in the country.

About Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana

• It is a Central Sector Scheme approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in 2017.

• The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) is the implementing ministry of the scheme.

• It is a comprehensive package which aims to create modern infrastructure with efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlet.

• The primary objectives of the scheme are:

  • Creation of modern infrastructure for food processing mega food parks/ clusters and individual units

  • To create effective backward and forward linkages - linking farmers, processors and markets

  • To create robust supply chain infrastructure for perishables

• It is an umbrella scheme incorporating ongoing schemes of the Ministry like Mega Food Parks, Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure, Food Safety and Quality Assurance Infrastructure.

Source: All India Radio

8. India & Russia: Indra 2020 in Andaman Sea

• India and Russia are scheduled to hold Indra 2020 in the Andaman Sea, close to the Strait of Malacca instead of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
• The Strait of Malacca connects Indian Ocean to the South China Sea and is 900 km in length and is also a prominent trade route between East Asia and West Asia-Europe.
• IOR is under high operational alert by the Indian Navy due to the ongoing standoff with China in Ladakh.

Key Points

• The Indra series of exercises began in 2003 and was conducted as a bilateral naval exercise alternately between the two countries.
• However, the first joint Tri-Services Exercise was conducted in 2017.
• Indra 2020 will be the first bilateral naval exercise since all such engagements were suspended due to Covid-19 pandemic.
• Its timing coincides with Indian Defence Minister’s visit to Russia for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers Meet.
• Andaman Sea was also the location where frontline warships of the Indian Navy conducted a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with the USA Navy’s USS Nimitz carrier strike group in July this year.

China Factor:

• Recently, India has withdrawn from the Kavkaz-2020 multinational exercise in Russia due to the restrictions posed by the pandemic. However, the participation of Chinese troops in the same exercise is apparently the main reason.
• Indian Navy is keeping a close watch on the movement of Chinese Naval ships in the IOR because their presence in the IOR has gone up considerably over the years in the name of Anti-Piracy patrols.
• In 2017, China opened its first overseas military base in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.

• Given its strategic location, India has embarked on a major infrastructure expansion plan on the Andaman and Nicobar island chain.

JaiHind!

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