CURRENT AFFAIRS 21-08-2020

INDIA-ISRAEL CULTURAL AGREEMENT

What is in news?

India and Israel signed a cultural agreement that outlines a three-year programme of cooperation to further strengthen their strategic bilateral relations.

About:

• The programme of cooperation between the two countries for the years 2020-23 is based on the cultural agreement signed between them on May 18, 1993, a little more than a year after they established full-fledged diplomatic relations.

• The major areas of cooperation identified to promote cultural ties include the exchange of culture and art experts, encouraging cooperation in the protection of cultural heritage and archaeology and organising literary fests and book fairs.

• It also includes student exchanges through scholarships, encouraging the participation of films and film-makers in each other's international film festivals, devising youth exchange programmes and encouraging sports-related interaction among youth.

TEESTA  RIVER

What is in news?

Bangladesh is discussing an almost $1 billion loan from China for a comprehensive management and restoration project on the Teesta river.

About:

• Teesta River, is a 315 km long river that rises in the eastern Himalayas, flows through the Indian states of Sikkim and West Bengal through Bangladesh and enters the Bay of Bengal.

• It forms the border between Sikkim and West Bengal. In India, it flows through Darjeeling district and the cities of Rangpo, Jalpaiguri and Mekhliganj. It joins the Jamuna River at Fulchhari in Bangladesh.

Facts to remember :

• India and Bangladesh have been engaged in a long-standing dispute over water-sharing in the Teesta. More importantly, Bangladesh’s discussions with China come at a time when India is particularly wary about China following the standoff in Ladakh.

SWACHH  SURVEKSHAN  2020

What is in news?

Awards for Swachh Survekshan 2020, the fifth edition of the annual cleanliness urban survey conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India were announced.

About:

• Swachh Survekshan 2020 surveyed a total of 4242 cities, 62 Cantonment Boards and 97 Ganga Towns.

• Indore won the title of the Cleanest City of India and Surat and Navi Mumbai won the second and third position respectively (in the > 1 lakh population category). Indore has created Record by Winning Title of Cleanest City Fourth Time in A Row.

• Chhattisgarh won the title of the Cleanest State of India in the > 100 ULB category while Jharkhand was adjudged the Cleanest State of India in the <100 ULB category.

• Among the towns along the banks of river Ganga, Varanasi has been awarded the cleanest town award.

• New Delhi has been awarded as the cleanest capital city in the country.

• Jalandhar Cantonment Board was conferred the cleanest cantonment board in the country.

• Ahmedabad in Gujarat was awarded for being the cleanest city with over 40 lakh population.

• A total of 6 cities (Indore, Ambikapur, Navi Mumbai, Surat, Rajkot and Mysuru) have been rated as 5-star cities, 86 cities as 3-Star and 64 cities as 1-Star, as per MoHUA’s Star Rating Protocol for Garbage Free Cities.

1G AND  2G  BIOETHANOL  PLANTS

What is in news?

The government has set targets of 10 per cent bioethanol blending of petrol by 2022 and to raise it to 20 per cent by 2030 under the ethanol blending programme to curb carbon emissions and reduce India’s dependence on imported crude oil.

About:

• 1G and 2G bioethanol plants are set to play a key role in making bio-ethanol available for blending but face challenges in attracting investments from the private sector.

• 1G bioethanol plants utilise sugarcane juice and molasses, by-products in the production of sugar, as raw material, while 2G plants utilise surplus biomass and agricultural waste to produce bioethanol.

• The three state-run OMCs Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. are currently in the process of setting up 2G bio-ethanol plants.

HURDLES  TO  NAGA  PEACE

What is in news?

Fresh hurdles have emerged in the road to peace in Nagaland.

About:

• After a framework agreement was signed in 2015 between the Centre and the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagalim, or the NSCN (I-M), the largest of the extremist groups in the peace process, there have been more than 100 rounds of talks.

• The latest involves the demand by the NSCN (I-M) to remove Nagaland Governor R.N. Ravi as the Centre’s interlocutor for the 23-year-old peace process and his alleged tweaking of the original framework agreement.

What is the ‘framework agreement’?

• On August 3, 2015, the Centre signed a framework agreement with the NSCN (I-M) to resolve the Naga issue, but both sides maintained secrecy about its contents.

• A few days ago, the NSCN (I-M) released the contents of the framework agreement.

• The outfit said Mr. Ravi had “craftily deleted the word ‘new’ from the original” line that referred to “shared sovereignty” between India and the Naga homeland and provided for an “enduring inclusive new relationship of peaceful co-existence”.

• The NSCN (I-M) claimed “new” was a politically sensitive word that defined the meaning of peaceful co-existence of the two entities (sovereign powers) and strongly indicated a settlement outside the purview of the Constitution of India.

ONLINE  PHARMACY

What is in news?

Recently, India’s online pharmacy market saw two significant merger and acquisition deals — Reliance Retail picking up majority stake in Chennai-based e-pharmacy Netmeds, and PharmEasy moving to merge with smaller rival Medlife.

Draft e-pharmacy regulations:

• The government had floated draft regulations for e-pharmacies but these guidelines never saw light of the day. Regulations for online pharmacy players have been in the works since 2016 but are yet to come out.

• Draft rules for e-pharmacies sought to define the online sale of medicines, what an e-prescription means and what type of licences online firms would need to get from regulators to operate.

• The draft had proposed to allow e-pharmacies to get a central licence to operate from the country’s apex drug regulator, which could be used to allow it to operate across the country.

• It also proposed to define e-pharmacies in a way that would allow them to distribute, sell and stock medicines.

• The proposed regulations prevent them from selling habit-forming drugs like cough syrups specified in Schedule X of the Indian drug regulations.

TRIFOOD

What is in news?

Union Tribal Affairs Minister e-launched the tertiary processing centres of ‘Trifood Project’ of TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal Affairs in in Raigad, Maharashtra and Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh.

About:

• Being implemented by TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal Affairs in association with Ministry of Food Processing (MoFPI), TRIFOOD aims to enhance the income of tribals through better utilization of and value addition to the MFPs collected by the tribal forest gatherers.

• To achieve this, as a start, two Minor Forest Produce (MFP) processing units will be set up.

• The unit in Raigad, Maharashtra that will be used for value addition to mahua, amla, custard apple and jamun and will produce mahua drink, amla juice, candy, jamun juice and custard apple pulp.

• The multi-commodity processing centre in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh will be used for the processing of commodities like mahua, amla, honey, cashew, tamarind, ginger, garlic and other fruits and vegetables.

ATAL  BIMIT  VYAKTI KALYNA  YOJNA

What is in news?

The Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) relaxed norms to pay 50 per cent of average wages of three months as unemployment benefit between March 24 and December 31 this year in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

About:

• The ESIC took the decision in its 182nd meeting held yesterday under the Chairmanship of Union Labour and Employment Minister.

• ESIC is implementing the Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyna Yojna under which unemployment benefit is paid to the workers covered under Employees' State Insurance (ESI) Scheme.

• The ESIC has decided to extend the scheme for one more year upto 30th June next year. It has been decided to relax the existing conditions and the amount of relief for workers who have lost employment during the Covid-19 pandemic period.

• The eligibility criteria for availing the relief has also been relaxed.

• The payment of relief has been enhanced to 50 per cent of average of wages from earlier 25 percent of average wages payable upto maximum 90 days of unemployment.

• Instead of the relief becoming payable 90 days after unemployment, it shall become due for payment after 30 days.

NATIONAL   RECRUITMENT   AGENCY  (NRA)

What is in news?

The Union Cabinet has given its approval for creation of National Recruitment Agency (NRA), paving the way for a reform in the recruitment process for central government jobs.

About:

• A multi-agency body called the National Recruitment Agency (NRA) will conduct a Common Eligibility Test (CET) to screen/shortlist candidates for the Group B and C (non-technical) posts.

• NRA will have representatives of Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Finance/Department of Financial Services, the SSC, RRB & IBPS.

• NRA shall conduct a separate CET each for the three levels of graduate, higher secondary (12th pass) and the matriculate (10th pass) candidates for those non-technical posts to which recruitment is presently carried out by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the Railway Recruitment Boards (RRBs) and by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS).

• The Government has sanctioned a sum of Rs. 1517.57 crore for the National Recruitment Agency (NRA). The expenditure will be undertaken over a period of three years.