Current Affairs - 2019-20

Notes:
Indore ranked first, Bhopal occupied the second spot  and Visakhapatnam the third spot as per the Swachh Survekshan 2017. 

Notes:
Under Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR), banks set aside funds to cover bad loans. A higher provision coverage ratio means the bank is protecting itself better against its bad loans. It was recently in news when provision coverage ratio for most of the public sector banks went down and quantity of bad loans increased.

Notes:
A market economy is an economic system where decision regarding investment, production, and distribution are based on supply and demand basis. But China’s economic system is characterized by large number of state-owned companies, with subsidies, with dumping facilities in other states. Since China’s economic system is in contrast to that of economic integration, both EU and USA are reluctant to treat China as a “market economy” under World Trade Organisation rules.

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The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) won the international competition to adopt the Wax Deoiling Technology at Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) in Assam. The Wax Deoiling Plant is based on indigenously developed technology and in line with the Make in India initiative. The Wax Deoiling Technology is used to produce waxes from petroleum streams. Paraffin wax is used for making candles, polishes, medicines, food packaging, paints, leather etc, while Microcrystalline Wax is mainly used in cosmetic industry.

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The logic behind the e-Way bill is to track the tax evasion on movement of goods within the state and interstate worth Rs 50000 and above. The government has planned for all-India rollout of e-Way bill by February, 2017.

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The Global Cyber security Index (GCI) is released by International Telecommunication Union (ITU). It is a multi-stakeholder initiative to measure the commitment of countries to cyber security. Cyber security has a wide field of application that cuts across many industries and sectors. Each country’s level of development will therefore be analyzed within five categories: Legal Measures, Technical Measures, Organizational Measures, Capacity Building and Cooperation. India has been ranked 23rd out of 165 nations in the Global Cyber security Index (GCI) 2017.

Notes:
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has introduced a new star rating methodology called Indian Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (ISEER) for air conditioners. Keeping the performance of air conditioners during higher temperature in mind, ISEER will address the different climatic zones in India and higher temperature. ISEER measures energy efficiency of air conditioners based on a weighted average of the performance at outside temperatures between 24 and 43 degree C based on Indian weather data.

Notes:
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has launched the Blue Flag programme to certify clean beaches in India. The blue flag criteria have been set by Foundation for Environmental Education. It requires the beach should not be affected by industrial, waste-water, or sewage discharge and water must be clean. It also specifies that algae vegetation or natural debris should not be left on the beach, waste disposal bins must be available along the beach in adequate numbers and toilets along the beach should have controlled sewage disposal for beaches to be granted Blue Flag certification.

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The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) is a permanent organ of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which serves to promote cooperation of member states against the three evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism.

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Bandar Laddu, a sweet dish from Andhra Pradesh, has been recently registered in the Geographical Indication Registry in food category. Gowra Venkateswara Rao of Mallayya Sweets has been credited in earning the GI tag for the “Bandar Laddu”. The origin of the sweet could be traced from the Rajputs of Rajasthan, who had migrated to Machilipatnam from Bundelkhand in Rajasthan after the 1857 Sepoy mutiny.