.

NEWS BULLETIN―44 Week-4, Nov 2019

―This module will function under the Union Ministry of
NATIONAL Information and Broadcasting (MIB).
 The International Institute for Management Development The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways
have released the World Talent Ranking 2019. (MoRTH) has recently released a report titled, “Road Accidents
in India 2018”.
―The key highlights of the report are as under:
 There were total of 1,51,417 road accident deaths in India
during 2018. This was 2.4 percent more than the 2017
figures
 48 percent of these deaths involved individuals between the
―According to the ranking: age of 18 and 35 years.
 India has been ranked 59 out of 63 countries. In 2018, India  Approximately, 53 accidents and 17 deaths take place every
was ranked at 53 hour in India.
 India performed worst among all the BRICS countries.  Conditions of roads, human errors and conditions of
 India’s poor performance in the ranking is due to the low vehicles were the three main causes of road accidents.
quality of life and low expenditure on education.  The highest number of accidents took place in the State of
 The Ranking ranked Switzerland at the first place. Tamil Nadu during 2018.
 Switzerland was followed by Denmark, Sweden, Austria,  Many States have not enacted the Motor Vehicles
Luxembourg and Norway in that order. Amendment Act.
 In Asian Countries, Singapore and Hong Kong received the  Many states have reduced the fines under the Motor
best ranking at 15 Vehicles Amendment Act.
―IMD World Talent Ranking is prepared and released by  6.4 percent of all the road accidents were due to over-
International Institute for Management Development speeding.
(IMD), Switzerland.  Driving on the wrong side of the road led to 5.4 percent of
―The ranking is based on the following three categories of all the accidental deaths.
parameters:  Use of Mobile phones accounted for 2.4 percent of the total
 Investment and Development accidental deaths.
 Appeal  Drunken driving accounted for 2.8 percent of the total
 Readiness. accidental deaths.
The Central  The Government of
Government of India has India will sell FASTags
taken a decision to (RFID based stickers for
establish a FACT Check vehicles for toll payments)
Module. for free.
―Fact is an acronym for ―The free FASTags will
Find, Assess, Create and be available from
Target. November 22 to December
―This module will 1 at National Highway
identify the incidences of fake news on social media and digital Authority of India
platforms and take corrective measures. (NHAI) toll booths.
―In the beginning, the module will work in limiting online and ―The Government has announced that it will bear the security
digital platform. deposit of Rs 150 for each FASTag for encouraging more
―With time, the government will extend this to the electronic adoption.
media. ―Government has earlier taken a decision to only accept toll
―The module will conduct 24X7 monitoring of online news payments electronically at all toll lanes on the National
sources (including publicly available social media posts) Highways from December 1.
―It will assess the risk related to the scale at which the false ―Currently, around 1.4 lakh kilometre National Highways in
news is circulating and decide if corrective actions are needed India have 536 toll plazas on them.
or not. ―Last fiscal the toll collections by NHAI almost touched Rs
―The module will create and release content for re-balancing 25,000 crore.
the government’s position and for promoting the official
position of the government.  The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and UN
―This move has been taken for protecting the government and Women have started an awareness campaign for ending violence
its agencies from incidents of false news. against women in India.

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―Under the campaign, awareness will be created regarding 112 ―The department will predominantly focus on trade and
single emergency helpline. investments.
―112 is an internationally recognised emergency number being
 The Supreme Court has expressed its displeasure with the
used in several countries of the world.
Kerala Government because the later has not framed a law
―The Indian 112 service is accessible though voice call, SMS,
exclusively for the management of the Sabarimala hill shrine.
email, special App, 112 website of different states and special
―The Supreme Court has issued directions asking the State
panic button on mobile phones.
Government to frame the concerned law by January 2020.
―This awareness campaign is a part of the #OrangeTheWorld
―Earlier the Kerala Government had given an undertaking in
global campaign.
the Court that it would frame the concerned legislation.
 UNICEF, Save the Children and ―The Supreme Court directions have asked the Government to
Every Breath Counts have recently take consideration of the report of the Justice Chandrasekhara
released a study titled - 'Fighting Menon Commission while framing the legislation.
for Breath in India' ―Justice Chandrasekhara Menon Commission was constituted
―According to this study: for looking into the January 1999 stampede at the Sabarimala
 In 2018, Pneumonia killed hill shrine.
more than 14 children under the ―The Supreme Court said that the government has submitted
age of five years every hour in Travancore-Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions
India. (Amendment) Bill, 2019 before it for administration of temples
 In 2018, more than 1.27 lakh under five children died due falling under Travancore Devasom Board, but Sabarimala
to pneumonia in India. requires a separate legislation.
 In 2018, five countries were responsible for more than 50 ―The Court further said that the proposed one administration
percent of the Global child deaths due to Pneumonia. for thousand temple is unmanageable.
 The highest number of pneumonia deaths globally occurred ―The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court hearing the
in Nigeria (1,62,000). challenge to the September 28, 2018 judgement of the Supreme
 Nigeria was followed by India and Pakistan with 1,27,000 Court had earlier referred the case to a larger Constitutional
and 58,000 deaths respectively. Bench (seven judge bench).
 Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia were next in ―On September 28, 2018 the Court judgement removed the age
line with 40,000 and 32,000 deaths respectively. restrictions on the entry of women into the Sabarimala hill
 Air Pollution was responsible for almost 50 percent of the Shrine.
deaths. Indoor air pollution accounted for 22 percent while ―The Court referred the case to a large bench saying that the
outdoor air pollution was responsible for another 27 decision to remove age restrictions can have implications on the
percent. affairs of other religions and as such it will need to be examined
in details.
STATES
India and the Asian
ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Development Bank (ADB) The World Trade
has entered into an USD 91 Organization panel has rejected
million agreement for several claims made by India
improving the water security in against the steel duties imposed by
the state of Karnataka. the United States.
―This funding is in form of ―In 2012 India filed its first
two loans for Integrated and Sustainable Water Resources complaint at the WTO against USA
Management Investment Programme. ―The Complaint stated that the steel tariffs imposed by USA
―The first loan will be used for upgradation of the irrigation were in violation of the international trade rules.
network. ―In 2014, WTO ruled in favour of India saying that the steel
―The second loan will be used for improving the water tariffs imposed by USA were in violation.
governance. ―USA did not comply with the ruling and India took USA to
―Under this program the 442 kilometres of the main WTO again claiming that USA was not complying with
distributaries of Vijayanagara Channel irrigation network will international trade rules in 14 different areas.
be modernized. ―The Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO has rejected
―Under this program, the government will establish 30 water several of these claims.
user cooperative societies. ―The US duties on steel caused Indian steel export to the US to
―The programme is expected to improve the efficiency of 84 drop by 49 percent in 2018.
percent of the Karnataka’s total water use and save 1,700 million ―Indian steel exports to US dropped from USD 372 million in
cubic metres of water. 2012 to USD 221 million in 2018.
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has
The Haryana Government has established a new
cleared a loan of USD 500 million in the three Mumbai Urban
department called Department of Foreign Cooperation.
Transport Projects.
―The new department has been established for:
―The three projects will focus on reducing the trespass deaths.
Promoting the welfare of Non-Resident Indians (NRI) in
Haryana.
Promoting Investments
Promoting youth employment
―The department will work with the Ministry of External
Affairs (MEA) for improving the international cooperation with
the foreign countries.
―In addition, the AIIB is expected to make an investment of
approximately USD 100 million in India in the current fiscal in
Wind and Solar energy projects.
―AIIB till now has invested around USD 2.9 billion (30 percent
of its total worldwide investments) in India.
―Under the AIIB’s strategy:
 AIIB will invest around USD 4.5 billion in India in the
current fiscal.
 AIIB will invest around USD 5 billion in India in the next
fiscal.
 AIIB wants to reach the target of investing USD 10 billion
annually in India by 2025.
―India is the largest borrower of AIIB funds. The ongoing
AIIB projects in India include:
 Rural water supply system in Karnataka (USD 400 million).
 Power distribution and transmission system in Assam (USD
1 billion)
 Chennai Metro Project (USD 800 million)
From April 2019 to September 2019,
the earnings of Indian Railway
Catering and Tourism Corporation
from ticketing services increased by 80.8
percent.
―This revenue information was released
after IRCTC’s entry into stock market on
October 14, 2019.
―This is the first time that IRCTC has
released information regarding its revenue.
―IRCTC is a subsidiary of the Indian Railways.
―IRCTC has been accorded the Miniratna status by the
Government of India.
 The Finance Ministers of Delhi, West Bengal, Kerala,
Punjab and Rajasthan have issued a joint statement expressing
alarm over the delayed GST compensation payments.
―These states are claiming that delayed compensation for the
August-September period is leading the acute fiscal pressures
in their states.
―The five states said that the Centre owed them over Rs 7,535
crore in compensation (Kerala Rs 1,600 crore, Punjab Rs 2,100
crore, Delhi Rs 2,335 crore and West Bengal Rs 1,500 crore)
―The Central Government was supposed to make the GST
compensation payment for August and September in October.
These payments are still pending.
―According to these Finance Ministers, the Central
Government has as of now not provided any explanation for the
delay of more than one month which is creating acute fiscal
pressures in the state.
―These Finance Ministers said that almost sixty percent of their
revenue comes from GST.
―Compared to 2018, the GST revenue growth has been
negative in September and October 2019 due to various reasons
(including slowing of the economy).
―Under the GST Act, the States Government are guaranteed
average monthly revenue of approximately Rs 55,900 crore. The
actual collections are not reaching these values.
DEFENCE & SECURITY
Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO)
has announced that it will work on
increasing the range of ASTRA
missiles. ―ASTRA is an
indigenously developed air-to-air
missile with an operating range of 110
kilometres. DRDO is
planning to increase
this range to 160
Kilometres.
―DRDO is also
planning to add
technologies like solid
fuel ramjet, dual pulse
Astra Missile – Air to Air Missile
solid rocket motor etc.
to the missile.
―The Indian Air Force (IAF) currently uses ASTRA missiles
with Sukhoi Su-30 aircrafts.
―DRDO is planning to integrate this missile with other aircrafts
like Dassault, MiG-29, HAL Tejas etc.
―India is one of the handful of countries with its own Ballistic
Missile Defence (BMD) Programme.
―Prithvi and Ashwin are two missiles developed under India’s
BMD programme.
―India’s BMD programme was introduced due to the missile
threats from China and Pakistan.
Naval exercise Za’ir-Al-Bahr 2019 (Roar of the Sea) was
conducted from November 15 to November 21, 2019.
―Za’ir-Al-Bahr are bilateral naval defence exercises held by
the Indian and Qatar Naval forces.
―This was the first edition of these exercises.
―The Indian contingent to the exercise included:
 Missile Stealth Frigate INS Trikand
 Patrol Aircraft P8-I
 Rafale aircraft
―The Qatar contingent to the exercise included:
 Anti-Ship Missile equipped Barzan Class Fast Attack craft
 Rafale aircraft
―These exercises included:
 Air Defence exercises
 Surface action exercises
 Interdiction operations
 Maritime surveillance
 Anti-terrorism operations
―These exercises are held for increasing the interoperability
between the naval forces of both the countries.
 The central government has banned a Meghalaya-based
insurgent group ‘Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council’
(HNLC).
―HNLC was banned due to its activities of violence and other
insurgencies.
―HNLC has openly declared that its objective is the secession
of certain regions (largely inhabited by Khasi and Jaintia tribals)
of Meghalaya from Indian Union.
―The activities of the HNLC have also been notified as being
detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of India.
―The banning and notification were done under the sub-section
(1) of section 3 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act
(UAPA), 1967.
―Previously HNLC was banned on November 16, 2000, but
this ban was later on lifted.
Pakistan has conducted successful test launch of Shaheen-
1 surface-to-surface ballistic missile.
―The test was done for testing the operational readiness of
Pakistani Army Strategic Forces Command
―The test was conducted after India’s first night trial of Agni-
II surface-to-surface medium range nuclear-capable missile
―Shaheen (also known as Hatf IV) is a land based supersonic
Short-Range Ballistic Missile (SRBM).
―Shaheen 1 was designed and developed by joint venture of
Pakistan’s National Engineering and Scientific Commission
(NESCOM) and National Defence Complex (NDC).
―Shaheen 1 has an operating range of 650 kilometres SPORTS
―Shaheen 1 uses two-stage solid fuel rocket motor.
―Shaheen 1 is capable of carrying both conventional and  Harmeet Desai has won
nuclear warheads. men’s singles title at
―Shaheen 1 is based on China’s M9 missiles. International Table
―The first successful test of Shaheen missile was done in April Tennis Federation (ITTF)
1999. Challenge Indonesia Open
The Government of India has made an announcement in the 2019 Table Tennis
Lok Sabha that the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) tournament at Batam,
project will start before December 31, 2020. Indonesia. Harmeet Desai
―NATGRID is a counter terrorism Programme. ―Harmeet won the
―NATGRID will connect the databases of the core security and championship by defeating Amalraj Anthony by 11-9, 9-11, 11-
enforcement agencies in India. 9, 11-9, 10-12, 11-9 score.
―The establishment of NATGRID was proposed in the
 Indian boxer L Sarita Devi has
aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks of 2008.
―Implementation of the NATGRID is in four phases. been elected unopposed to
―The first two phases of NATGRID were approved in 2011 but International Boxing Association’s
their implementation was delayed. (AIBA) first-ever Athletes
―NATGRID is being opposed due to risks related to privacy Commission.
and leakage of confidential personal information. ―Sarita is one of the six boxers from
across the world to be elected to the
POLICY AND GOVT. INITIATIVES Commission.
―Sarita is the sole candidate who
 The Government of India has announced a number of
was contesting from Asia. L. Sarita Devi
exemptions for foreigners who are seeking medical treatment in
India. ―Athletics committee of the AIBA
―These exemptions have been announced after the recent is being set up as a part of the reforms recommended by the
implementation of the liberalised Medical Visa Policy. International Olympic Committee (IOC).
―The Key Highlights of these new exemptions are: ―In May 2019 IOC banned AIBA from conducting boxing in
Foreigners seeking medical treatment are no longer required to the 2020 Olympic Games.
convert their visa to medical visa. ―The ban was imposed due to the alleged financial, ethics and
This exemption will be applicable to foreigners adopting indoor administrative mismanagement and irregularities.
treatment up to 180 days (6 months) and seeking admission to a ―Sarita is from Manipur. She is working as a DSP with
hospital due to sickness. Manipur Police.
The foreigners requiring OPD consultation can take treatment or ―She became professional boxer in 2000.
consultation without converting their visa. ―She has won five Gold Medals in her career.
Pakistan nationals have been kept out of the purview of these ―The Government of India awarded Sarita with Arjuna Award
exemptions.
in 2009.
The treatment of diseases requiring organ transplant has also
―Sarita was involved in a controversy when she refused to
been kept out of the purview of these exemptions.
accept her bronze medal at the prize distribution ceremony.
 The Government of India has taken a decision of expanding ―Sarita later accepted the medal. AIBA imposed a one-year ban
the 3S programme-Smart Safety Surveillance of World Health on her as a consequence.
Organisation (WHO) in the country.
―This expansion will ensure: INTERNATIONAL NEWS
 That the vaccines under the universal immunization
programme are safe  International Energy Agency (IEA), Paris has recently
 Optimize post-marketing surveillance of priority drugs released its report titled “World Energy Outlook”.
―The WHO introduced the 3S programme in India due to the ―The Key Highlights of the report are:
limited safety data on vaccines in India.  The global energy demand is
increasing at the rate of two
 The Union Cabinet has approved the following percent per annum.
disinvestments:  The demand for oil will keep
 Sale of 53.3% stake in Bharat Petroleum Corporation on increasing over the next
Limited (BPCL) decade.
 Sale of 63.8% stake in Shipping Corporation of India (SCI)  Almost 85 percent of the
 Sale of 30.8% stake in Container Corporation of India increase in oil demand over the
(CONCOR) next decade will come from
 Sale of 74.2% stake in Tehri Hydro Development USA.
Corporation India Limited (THDCIL)  The increase in oil demand is
 Sale of 100% stake in North Eastern Electric Power expected to slow down post
Corporation Limited (NEEPCO) 2025 with the world moving
―Government will not disinvest its stake in Numaligarh towards electric vehicles.
Refinery Limited operating under the BPCL.  Currently the world has 495 GW of installed solar capacity
―Government of India has set a disinvestment target of Rs 1.05  Installed solar power capacity in the world will touch 3,142
lakh crore for the current fiscal. GW by 2040.
―As on November 20, 2019, Government of India has collected ―IEA is an inter-governmental organization of OECD
Rs 17,354 crore from disinvestment in the current fiscal. (Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development). Pakistan has introduced World Health
Organisation’s (WHO’s) approved Typhoid Conjugate BASIC GK ASPECTS
Vaccine (TCV).
―Pakistan has become the first country globally to introduce Books and Authors
these vaccines. Pakistan will use these vaccines in Sindh Stand By Me―by Sudeep Nagarkar
province of the country. Roses Are Blood Red―by Novoneel Chakraborty
―Pakistan will run a four week campaign for immunisation of Spy―by Danielle Steel
10 million children between the age of nine months and fifteen Holding the Line―by Guy M. Snodgrass
years. The Andromeda Evolution―by Daniel H. Wilson Michael
―During 2017, 70 percent of typhoid related deaths in the Crichton
country were among children. Don't Be Evil―by Rana Foroohar
―The drug-resistant typhoid fever has become a norm in
Pakistan since November, 2016. Awards and Honours
―In 2018, WHO approved TCV and recommended its use in
infants and children aged six months or older in typhoid-  Sir David Attenborough will be
endemic countries. Compared to earlier vaccines, TCV provides conferred the Indira Gandhi Prize
better and longer protection with fewer dosages. for Peace, Disarmament and
Development for the year 2019.
ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY ―Attenborough has been selected
for the prize due to his contributions
 The Green Climate Fund of United Nations has cleared USD in making the wonders of the natural
43.4 million support to India for increasing the climate resilience world known to people.
of coastal communities in the states of Andhra Pradesh, ―Attenborough’s work has received
Maharashtra and Odisha. widespread recognition across the Sir David Attenborough
world
―Honours won by Attenborough include:
 Knighthood from the British Government.
 Royal Geographical Society Prize
 Micheal Faraday Prize
 UNESCO’s Kalinga Prize
 Descartes Prize
 Fellowship of the Royal Society
 Emmy Awards
―The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace is conferred annually by
―The remaining USD 86.6 million for the project will come the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust.
from the Government of India.
―The funds will help these states to fight the extreme impacts People in News
of climate change.
―The project activities will focus on:  The incumbent Prime Minister of
 Restoration and conservation of mangroves Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth has been
 Restoration and conservation of coral reefs sworn in for one more five-year term.
 Restoration and conservation of, seagrasses and ―Jugnauth’s Morisian Alliance won a
saltmarshes decisive victory in the November 7
 Training of communities (including local youth) for elections of the country by winning 42 of
working with scientists in monitoring ecosystem, health and the 70 seats.
coastal ecology. ―Jugnauth came into power in 2017 after
―The project will be supported through the United Nations his father stepped down.
Pravind Jugnauth
Development Programme (UNDP)  Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has
―The project will help India reach its goal under the Paris accepted India’s invitation to be the Chief
Agreement and under 2030 Sustainable Development Guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations
Agenda. on 26th January, 2020.
―India’s coastline is one of the regions which is expected to be ―Bolsonaro is the 38th president of Brazil.
worst affected by the global climate change. He took over the office of the President on
―Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal are expected to show climate January 1, 2019.
variability with a substantial increase in intensity and frequency
of extreme weather events in them.  Gotabaya Rajpaksa has won the Sri
―According to a report from the World Bank, an increase in Lankan presidential elections by winning Jair Bolsonaro
global mean surface temperatures of 2ºC will make India’s 52.25 percent of the votes.
monsoon highly unpredictable. ―Gotabaya Rajpaksa was the Defence
―The grant for India is part of the USD 1 billion support to 19 Chief of Sri Lanka during war.
new projects approved by the Green Climate Fund for helping ―Rajpaksa received more votes in areas
the developing countries in dealing with climate change. with Sinhalese majority and his main
―These 19 projects are expected to benefit more than 1.7 opponent Premadasa scored more votes in
million individuals directly (in form of livelihoods support) and regions dominated by Tamilians.
more than 10 million individuals directly (in form of improved ―Terrorism and related National Security
shoreline protection). concerns dominated the elections. Gotabaya Rajpaksa
reduced to 1 year of beyond depending on the threat perception.
Places/Events in News  Increasing access to
sanitation among
 The Kolkata poor.
Municipal ―The 2019 World Toilet
Corporation (KMC) Day was observed with the
in West Bengal has theme of “Leaving no One
become the first city to Behind”.
install first of its kind ―Few facts regarding the
high-end Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction open defecation:
(RT-PCR) Machines in India  More than 50 percent
―These machines will be used for conducting DNA testing of the global population does not have good sanitation
using blood for ascertaining the root cause of diseases. facilities.
―These machines will help in quick detection of diseases like  673 million individuals across the world still follow open
dengue, tuberculosis (TB) and swine flu. defecation practice.
―These machines will be used in a situation where the medical  Annually 2,97,000 children aged five or less dies due to
reports and blood tests are giving contradictory results. diarrhoea caused by unsafe drinking water, hand hygiene
―The government will provide this testing facility free of cost. and sanitation
 Developing countries lose around five percent of their GDP
Must Know due to sanitation-related diseases.
―United Nations took a decision to observe the World Toilet
ADB: Asian Development Bank Day through a resolution in the UN General Assembly in July,
AIIB: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank 2013.
BMD: Ballistic Missile Defence  The World Children’s Day (also known as Universal
BPCL: Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited Children’s Day) is observed annually on 20 th November.
BRICS: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
DNA: Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid
DRDO: Defence Research and Development Organisation
GCF: Green Climate Fund
IAF: Indian Air Force
IEA: International Energy Agency
IOC: International Olympic Committee
IRCTC: Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation
ITTF: International Table Tennis Federation
MEA: Ministry of External Affairs ―The World Children Day is observed with the objectives of:
 Improving Child welfare
MHA: Ministry of Home Affairs
 Promoting and celebrating rights of children
MIB: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting  Promoting togetherness and awareness among children.
MoRTH: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways ―World’s Children Day was first observed in 1954.
―The observation of this day was officially adopted by the
NHAI: National Highway Authority of India
United Nation’s General Assembly by a resolution on 14
NRI: Non Resident Indians December, 1954.
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and ―World Children’s Day is promoted and coordinated by United
Development Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
RFID: Radio Frequency IDentification
RT-PCR: Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction
SCI: Shipping Corporation of India
SRBM: Short Range Ballistic Missiles
TCV: Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine
THDCIL: Tehri Hydro Development Corporation of India
Limited
UAPA: Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act
UNDP: United Nations Development Programme

Days/Anniversaries
 World Toilet Day is observed every year across the globe on
November 19.
―The World Toilet Day is observed with the objectives:
 Bringing in behaviour change
 Implementing the policies dealing with open defecation