Daily Current Affairs :  23-11-2020

Table of Contents

1. Indian Navy's Maritime Exercise
2. Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG)
3. 15th G20 Summit 2020
4. Kala-azar (Visceral leishmaniasis)
5. Amnesty Scheme on Exotic Birds and Animals
6. Bonda Tribe

1.Indian Navy's Maritime Exercise

Recently, the Indian Navy conducted the Trilateral Maritime Exercise (SITMEX-20) and is scheduled to host the bilateral maritime exercise (SIMBEX-20).

About SITMEX-20

• The second edition of SITMEX-20 exercise was held between the navies of India, Singapore and Thailand.

• The first edition of SITMEX, hosted by Indian Navy, was conducted off Port Blair in September 2019.

• The Indian Navy was represented by the Indian Navy Ships including indigenously built ASW corvette Kamorta and missile corvette Karmuk.

• The SITMEX series of exercises are conducted to enhance mutual inter-operability and imbibing best practices between IN, Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and Royal Thai Navy (RTN).

• The 2020 edition of the exercise is being hosted by RSN.

About SIMBEX-20

• The SIMBEX series of exercises between IN and Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) is being conducted annually since 1994.

• The exercise is aimed at enhancing mutual inter-operability and imbibing best practices from each other.

• The 2020 edition of SIMBEX will witness participation by Indian Navy ships including destroyer Rana with integral Chetak helicopter and indigenously built corvettes Kamorta and Karmuk.

• The RSN will be represented by the ‘Formidable’ Class frigates ‘Intrepid’ and ‘Steadfast’ with integral S70B helicopter and ‘Endurance’ Class Landing Ship Tank ‘Endeavour’ in the exercise.

• It exemplifies the high level of coordination and convergence of views between India and Singapore, particularly in the maritime domain, towards enhancing the overall maritime security in the region and highlights their commitment to a rules-based international order.

Source: The Hindu

2.Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG)

Recently, the Ministry of Electronics & IT organized an online conference to mark the occasion of 3 years of Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG) and 2000+ services milestone.

Key Highlights

• The key partners of UMANG are Employee Provident Fund Organization, Direct Benefit Transfer scheme departments, Employee State Insurance Corporation, Ministries of Health, Education, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Staff Selection Commission (SSC).

• UMANG’s international version was launched for selected countries that include USA, UK, Canada, Australia, UAE, Netherlands, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.

  • It will help Indian international students, NRIs and Indian tourists abroad, to avail Government of India services, anytime.

  • It will also help in taking India to the world through ‘Indian Culture’ services available on UMANG and create interest amongst foreign tourists to visit India.

About Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG)

• It is a Government of India all-in-one single, unified, secure, multi-channel, multi-lingual, multi-service mobile app.

• It is aimed at providing access to high impact services of various organizations of Centre and States.

• It was developed by National e-Governance Division (NeGD), Ministry of Electronics & IT.

• It attained four illustrious awards including ‘Best m-Government service’ award at the 6th World Government Summit held at Dubai, UAE in 2018.

Objectives of UMANG App

• To act as an enabler and facilitator in developing overall mobile based service delivery ecosystem in India.

• Provide easy access for individuals to various services via single Mobile Application, easy to remember short code and single Toll Free number.

• Provide easy discoverability of services, easy manageability and standardisation of service delivery.

• Provide for quick mobile enablement of e-Gov applications/services of Government departments through easy and fast integration, on-boarding, mobile front-end roll-out by bringing their services on this mobile application platform.

• Provide another value added services to departments via a common platform through integration with Telecom Service Provider and Payment gateway which will facilitate easy on-boarding of Government departments.

Source: PIB

3.15th G20 Summit 2020

Recently, the 15th G20 Summit 2020 chaired by Saudi Arabia was concluded.

• It was decided that the G20 Presidency will be held by Indonesia in 2022, India in 2023 and Brazil in 2024.

• The G20 Leaders’ Declaration was issued which called for coordinated global action, solidarity, and multilateral cooperation to overcome the current challenges and realize opportunities of the 21st century for all.

Key focus areas of 15th G20 Summit 2020

• The theme for the 15th G20 Summit was "Realising the Opportunities of the 21st Century for All”.

• The focus of the G20 Summit was on an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19.

• The three key agenda items to be addressed under this theme are:

  • Empowering People, by creating the conditions in which all people (especially women and youth) can live, work and thrive;

  • Safeguarding the Planet, by fostering collective efforts to protect our global commons; and

  • Shaping New Frontiers, by adopting long-term and bold strategies to share benefits of innovation and technological advancement.

Key Highlights of G20 Summit

COVID-19

• The EU leaders stressed the need for strong multilateral cooperation in the fight against the pandemic.

• The EU called on the G20 to provide, before the end of the year, USD 4.5 billion for mass procurement and delivery of COVID-19 tools.

• G20 leaders committed to sparing no effort to make sure that all people have affordable and equitable access to safe and effective COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines.

• It recommended an International Treaty on Pandemics which could help us respond more quickly and in a more coordinated manner when pandemics occur.

Debt Relief

• The G20 leaders were determined to support the most vulnerable and fragile countries, notably in Africa, in their fight against the pandemic.

• The G20 leaders are committed to allowing countries eligible under the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative to suspend official bilateral debt service payments until June 2021.

• The EU leaders stressed that additional steps might be needed and the summit endorsed the “Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the DSSI”, which is also endorsed by the Paris Club.

Climate change and green transition

• The EU leaders urged all G20 members to work towards the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.

• They stressed that the EU leads the way to climate neutrality by 2050 and welcomed that many G20 partners had taken the same commitments.

• They also promoted a recovery based on green, inclusive, sustainable, resilient and digital growth in line with the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals.

Global trade and taxation of the digital economy

• The G20 leaders recalled their support to the WTO reform process in the lead-up to the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference. 

• The leaders also agreed to strive to find a consensus-based solution for a globally fair, sustainable, and modern international tax system by mid-2021, built on the ongoing work of the OECD.

Key announcements made by India at G20 Summit 2020

• The Prime Minister termed the COVID-19 pandemic as an important turning point in history of humanity and the biggest challenge the world is facing since the World War II.

  • He called for decisive action by G20 which should not be limited to economic recovery, jobs and trade, but to focus on preserving Planet Earth.

• The PM called for a new Global Index for the Post-Corona World that comprises four key elements:

  • Creation of a vast Talent Pool;

  • Ensuring that Technology reaches all segments of society;

  • Transparency in systems of governance; and

  • Dealing with Mother Earth with a spirit of Trusteeship.

• The PM underscored the importance of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals aimed at ‘leaving no one behind’.

  • He said that India is following the same principle in the ‘Reform-Perform-Transform’ strategy to move forward and inclusive development efforts that are participative.

G20

 

It is the premier forum for international economic cooperation.

 

The G20 brings together the leaders of both developed and developing countries from every continent.

 

The G20 members represent around 80% of the world’s economic output, two-thirds of global population and three-quarters of international trade.

 

​​​​​​​​​​​​The G20 members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico,  ​Republic o​f Korea,​ Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, ​​​Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union (EU)​.

 

Source: PIB

4.Kala-azar (Visceral leishmaniasis)

Recently, in a paper published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases by a team from Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (ICMR) which tells the success story of how they eliminated the Kala-azar (Visceral leishmaniasis) from Vaishali, a district in Bihar where the disease is highly endemic.

Key Highlights

• The district's integrated control strategy helped reduce the number of cases from 664 in 2014 to 163 in 2016.

• The Vaishali district has a population of over 35 lakh and about 22% in the district get affected by VL each year.

• The integrated programme included mapping of the case distribution, early case detection and chemical-based vector control.

• The study highlighted that a strong supervision and monitoring system is required under which GIS-based mapping, case data management and spatial visualisation system will be used for the proper implementation of control strategies.

What is Kala-azar?

• Visceral leishmaniasis, also known as kala-azar, is characterized by irregular bouts of fever, substantial weight loss, swelling of the spleen and liver, and anaemia.

• Leishmaniasis is caused by the protozoan Leishmania parasites which are transmitted by the bite of infected female phlebotomine sandflies.

• There are 3 main forms of leishmaniases i.e. visceral (also known as kala-azar, which is and the most serious form of the disease), cutaneous (the most common), and mucocutaneous.

• Leishmaniasis is linked to environmental changes such as deforestation, building of dams, irrigation schemes, and urbanization.

India's position to fight Kala-azar

• Under the National Health Mission (NHM), National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme coordinates the kala-azar elimination programme in India.

• India has already missed the kala-azar elimination target thrice in the last decade.

  • The initial deadline set by the National Health Programme (now NHM) was 2010, which was pushed to 2015 in the 12th Financial Plan Document.

  • The deadline was later extended twice to 2017, and then to 2020.

  • The WHO target to eliminate Kala Azar was 2017.

• The target is to reduce the incidence of the disease to less than one case per 10,000 population at the sub-district level.

Source: The Hindu

5.Amnesty Scheme on Exotic Birds and Animals

Recently, the Supreme Court has upheld the Allahabad High Court order which said that no one can be prosecuted upon declaration of acquisition or possession of exotic wildlife species between June and December, under the Centre’s amnesty scheme.

About Amnesty Scheme on Exotic Birds and Animals

• It is aimed at developing an inventory of exotic live species within India, regulating their import and maintaining stock of imported exotic live species.

• It aims to maintain statutory records of stock, change in stock due to any death, transfer within India, and acquisition of further stock.

• The declarant of an exotic species should not act on the basis of any apprehension, such as seizure, summon, confiscation, enquiry in relation to such declared exotic species in domestic possession neither under Customs Act, 1962 nor any other law.

• The voluntary disclosure scheme aims at streamlining the process for import and possession of exotic live species in India by way of registration and creating a database at state and centre level.

Need for Amnesty Scheme on Exotic Birds and Animals

• The government had come out with the amnesty scheme in the direction to regulate possession and trade of exotic species, which had been kept out of the ambit of the Wildlife Protection Act.

Judicial viewpoint of Amnesty Scheme on Exotic Birds and Animals

• The Allahabad High Court held that it will not be open for Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), or any other agency, to investigate and prosecute anyone making such declarations during the six-month window.

  • It implies that whosoever declares the stock of exotic species and thereby submits himself to registration and further requirements of the scheme, shall have immunity from any inquiry into source of licit acquisition or possession of the voluntarily declared stock of exotic species.

• The High Court highlighted that the scheme so introduced by the Central Government shall be promoted by all the departments in wider public interest.

Source: Indian Express

6.Bonda Tribe

Recently, the Bonda tribe of Odisha saw the rise of 'distress migration' due to coronavirus pandemic and the lack of access has not prevented young Bondas from being forced leave their pristine hamlets for low-paid jobs in distant towns of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and other States.

About Bonda Tribe

• The Bonda tribe of Odisha is believed to be part of the first wave of migration out of Africa about 60,000 years ago.

• The Bonda tribes were the first forest settlers in India.

• The Anthropologists say that they are members of a group of Austroasiatic tribes, who at some time in the ancient past migrated and settled in an area around the wild Jeypore hills.

• The Bonda tribes are one of the 13 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) found in Odisha.

• Dialect of Bondas: The Bondas continue to speak in their language, Remo, which comes under the Austroasiatic language belonging to the Mundari group.

• Dressing style of Bondas: The women of Bonda tribes are semiclad and wear various types of rings and necklaces around their bodies, while the men carry lethal bows and arrows.

• It is a matriarchal society in which the women prefer to marry men who are younger by at least 5-10 years, so that the men can earn for them when they grow old.

• Development of Bondas: The Bonda Development Agency (BDA) was set up in 1977 by the Odisha government for the development of the community.

Tribes of Odisha

 

The PVTGs of the state have been identified as Bonda, Birhor, Chuktia, Bhunjia, Didayi, Dungaria, Kandha, Hill Kharia, Juang, Kutia Kondh, Lanjia Saora, Lodha, Mankirida, Paudi, Bhuyan and Saora.

 

Source: The Hindu

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