Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

Context: Recently, Goa’s first Lokayukta Justice Prafulla Kumar Misra, who retired from the post of Goa Lokayukta, has highlighted the issues related to the state office and the proceedings.

About Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013

• Under the 2013 Act, the Lokpal should consist of a chairperson and such number of members, not exceeding eight, of whom 50% should be judicial members.
• The Act states that not less than 50% of the members of the Lokpal should be from among persons belonging to the SCs, the STs, OBCs, minorities and women.
• It mandates that all public officials should furnish the assets and liabilities of themselves as well as their respective dependents.
• Underthe Act, the Department of Personnel and Training needs to create a list of candidates who are interested to become the chairperson or members of the Lokpal.
• The list was then to be presented to the proposed eight-member search committee. The committee on receiving the list shortlists the names and place them before the selection panel, headed by the Prime Minister.
• The Lokpal has jurisdiction to 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.
• Also covered are chairpersons, members, officers and directors of any board, corporation, society, trust or autonomous body either established by an Act of Parliament or wholly or partly funded by the Centre.
• It cannot inquire into any corruption charge against the Prime Minister if the allegations are related to international relations, external and internal security, public order, atomic energy and space, unless a full Bench of the Lokpal, consisting of its chair and all members, considers the initiation of a probe, and at least two-thirds of the members approve it.
• Such a hearing should be held in camera, and if the complaint is dismissed, the records shall not be published or made available to anyone.
• It also covers any society or trust or body that receives foreign contribution above Rs10 lakh.

Explanation :

Context: Foodtech major Swiggy has signed an MoU with the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs or MoHUA to bring India’s street food vendors on to its online platform.

Explanation:

About PM SVANidhi Scheme

• It is a special micro-credit facility plan to provide affordable loan to more than 50 lakh street vendors, who had their businesses operational on or before 24 March 2020.
• The scheme is valid until March 2022.
• The scheme is applicable to vendors, hawkers, thelewalas, rehriwalas, theliphadwalas in different areas/contexts who supply goods and services.
• Street vendors belonging to the surrounding peri-urban/rural areas are also included.
• Small Industries Development Bank of India(SIDBI) is the technical partner for implementation of this scheme.
• It will manage the credit guarantee to the lending institutions through Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises.
• Under the scheme, vendors can avail working capital loan of up to ₹10,000, which is repayable in monthly instalments within one year.
• On timely/early repayment of the loan, an interest subsidy of 7% per annum will be credited to the bank accounts of beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) on six-months basis.
• There will be no penalty on early repayment of loan.

Explanation :

• The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016 was passed in 2016 and the related rules were notified in 2018.

Salient Features of CAFA

• It provides for the establishment of the National Compensatory Afforestation Fund under the Public Account of India, and a State Compensatory Afforestation Fund under the Public Account of each state.
• The payments into the funds include:
  • Compensatory afforestation
  • Net Present Value (NPV)
  • Any project specific payments
• The National Fund gets 10% of funds collected and the remaining 90% goes to respective State Fund.
• These funds would be brought under the focus of Parliament and State Legislatures by transferring them to non-lapsable interest bearing funds.
• The collected funds will be utilized for:
  • Afforestation
  • Regeneration of forest ecosystem
  • Wild life protection
  • Infrastructure development
  • Location of villages from protected areas
  • Managing human-wildlife conflicts
  • Training and awareness generation
  • Supply of wood saving devices and allied activities

Explanation :

In a major success amid the ongoing border crisis with China, India on 3rd October, 2020, successfully test-fired a new version of nuclear-capable Shaurya missile off the coast of Odisha.

About Shaurya Missile

• It is a land variant of short-range Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM) K-15 Sagarika.
• It belong to the K missile family — codenamed after late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam — which are launched from Arihant class of nuclear submarines.
• It is a two-stage rocket missile having a strike range of around 800 kilometres.
• When fired, the missile in the final phase of its course moves at hypersonic speeds before reaching a height of 40 km as it gets closer to its target.
• The missile is less vulnerable to anti-ballistic missile defence systems due to its high maneuverability.

K Family of Missiles

• The K family of missiles are primarily Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs) and are named after DrKalam.
• Because these missiles are to be launched from submarines, they are lighter, smaller and stealthier than their land-based counterparts, the Agni series of missiles.
• K family are primarily submarine-fired missiles to be fired from India’s Arihant class nuclear powered platforms.

Explanation :

To mark the occasion of 151 years of postcards in India, Maharashtra Circle of India Post has released picture postcards on Sawantwadi Toys on October 1, 2020.

The postcard is inspired by Prime Miniinsp'sspeech about the country's ability to become a "toy hub”.

About Samantwadi Toys

• Sawantwadi toys refer to hand made works of art made of wood in Sawantwadi a town in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra. Most of these toys are made in the village of Kolgaon in Sawantwaditaluka.
• These toys are made from the wood of the Indian Coral tree (Erythrinavariegata).
• Craftsmen who make these toys belong to the Chittari community who came to Sawantwadi from Karwar and Goa.

Indian Coral Tree

• Also known as tiger's claw, it is a species of Erythrina native to the tropical and subtropical regions of eastern Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, northern Australia, and the islands of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean east to Fiji.
• It is often used in agroforestry systems. It can be used for fodder as its foliage has a good nutritive value for most livestock.

Explanation :

• On 28th September, 2020, NITI Aayog and Embassy of the Netherlands signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to support the decarbonization and energy transition agenda for accommodating cleaner and more energy.
• It seek a strategic partnership to create a platform that enables a comprehensive collaboration among stakeholders and influencers, including policymakers, private enterprises, and sector experts.

Key Elements of SoI

• To lower the net carbon footprint in industrial and transport sectors.
• To realise the target potential of natural gas and promote bio-energy technologies.
• To adopt clean air technologies from monitoring to reducing actual particulates.
• To adopt next-generation technologies, such as hydrogen, carbon capture utilization, and storage forsectoral energy efficiency.
• To set up financial frameworks to deliver and adopt climate change finance.

Significance

• Both India and the Netherlands have set up sustainable energy targets and they face similar issues in realizing cleaner energy transition goals.
• So, India’s expertise in deploying high-tech solutions in a cost-effective manner in combination with the Dutch expertise in low carbon technologies will strengthen the Indo-Dutch collaboration.
• Further, SoIwill help both the countries to move towards becoming climate-resilient economies.

Explanation :

• On 27th September, 2020, the Ganga Avalokan Museum was inaugurated by Prime Minister.
• It has been dedicated to showcase the biodiversity, rejuvenation and culture in Ganga River.
• Located at Chandighat in Uttarakhand's Haridwar, the museum will also showcase the activities carried out for the rejuvenation of the river.

Explanation :

On 24th September, 2020, renowned Malayalam poet Akkitham Achuthan Namboothiri was conferred the 55th edition of the Jnanpith Award.

About Award

• Jnanpith Award is an Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature".
• Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian writers writing in Indian languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India and English, with no posthumous conferral.
• Until 1982 it was presented for a specific work; thereafter, it was given for a writer’s overall contribution to literature. Since then, the award has typically been given every year to one author, although in some years it has been jointly offered to two.
• The first recipient of the award was the Malayalam writer G. SankaraKurup who received the award in 1965 for his collection of poems, Odakkuzhal (The Bamboo Flute), published in 1950.

Explanation :

The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, which is wreaking havoc the world over, has hit the Kashmir Valley’s centuries-old culinary tradition of Trami.

About TramiTardition

• It is the Kashmir Valley’s centuries-old culinary tradition.
• It’s origin can be traced during the Sultan period, especially during eighth Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin, between 1418 and 1470.
• It involves eating together from one plate during weddings.
• In trami four guests join in simultaneously to have their portion of food from around a circular 2X2 feet decorated copper plate.Itsymbolised brotherhood and sharing.
• But due to COVID-19 the Kashmiris have learnt to adapt to the situation and have replaced the Trami tradition with individual copper utensils in the weddings.

Explanation :

• Cess is a form of tax charged/levied over and above the base tax liability of a taxpayer.
• A cess is usually imposed additionally when the state or the central government looks to raise funds for specific purposes.
• For example, the government levies an education cess to generate additional revenue for funding primary, secondary, and higher education.
• It is not a permanent source of revenue for the government, and it is discontinued when the purpose levying it is fulfilled.
• It can be levied on both indirect and direct taxes.
• In the case of the cess levied on direct taxes, it is added to the basic tax liability of the taxpayer and is paid as a part of the total tax paid by the taxpayers themselves.
• In the case of the cess levied on indirect taxes, such as service tax or sales tax, or GST in India’s case, it is paid by the producer of the goods and services.

Difference between Tax and Cess

• Cess is different from taxes such as income tax, GST, and excise duty, etc. as it is charged over and above the existing taxes.
• While all taxes go to the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI), cess may initially go to the CFI but has to be used for the purpose for which it was collected.
• If the cess collected in a particular year goes unspent, it cannot be allocated for other purposes. The amount gets carried over to the next year and can only be used for the cause it was meant for.

Types of Cess in India

• Education Cess: Education cess was introduced to finance and provide standard quality education to poor people.
• Health and Education Cess: Proposed in Budget 2018 to meet the education and health needs of rural and rural and Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.
• Swachh Bharat Cess: Introduced in 2015, a 0.5% Swachh Bharat cess was imposed to fund national campaign for clearing the roads, streets and the infrastructure of India.
• KrishiKalyanCess: This cess was aimed at developing the agricultural economy, and was collected at the rate of 0.5%.
• Infrastructure Cess: Announced in Union Budget 2016, this cess was charged on the production of vehicles.