Current Affairs - 2019-20

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In Finland, 2,000 unemployed people are being provided with monetary compensation each month for a span of two years with very little or no preconditions.

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Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for merger of State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Patiala (SBP), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Travancore (SBT), and State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) with the parent, State Bank of India. This merger will create a banking giant, having 1/4 of market share in India’s banking sector (in terms of loans and deposits), with an asset base of about Rs 40 lakh crore from Rs 23 lakh crore.

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In 2015, Sikkim fully implemented organic farming statewide, becoming India's first "organic state", while in 2016, it restricted the usage of plastic water bottles (in government functions and meetings) and Styrofoam products, becoming India's “cleanest state”. No one here uses plastics, no one smokes in public places, no one urinates in the open, and no one litters. There is a penalty for every violation in Sikkim.

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The “green energy corridor” is aimed at synchronising electricity produced from renewable sources, such as solar and wind, with conventional power stations in the grid. Recently, German Government has committed developmental and technical assistance of €1 billion for the project.

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As per the Indian State Forest Report 2017, the correct order is Tropical Dry Deciduous (279506 sq km), Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest (144747 sq km), Tropical Semi Evergreen (98039 sq km), Himalayan Moist Temperate (29216 sq km) and Tropical Wet–Evergreen (20872 sq km).

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The scheme called “Transforming India by 2022”, aspires to rapidly transform backward districts that are lacking on key development indices in health, nutrition, education, agriculture, skill development, financial inclusion and basic infrastructure.

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In 2014, SAARC countries had agreed to set up a South Asia Economic Union (SAEU) on the lines of European Union by facilitating a common market and removing trade barriers.

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Eastern Himalaya has been declared a biodiversity hotspot by Conservation International. Our Scientists have recently claimed to have discovered a new species of Pika, a mammal belonging to the rabbit and hare family in the Eastern Himalayas in Sikkim. Pikas are members of the rabbit family and live in the mountains or in temperate regions. The common name "pika" is used for any member of the Ochotonidae family. Pikas do not hibernate unlike other mammalian species inhabiting such cold climates.

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President Vladimir Putin has recently signed a decree to withdraw Russia’s signature from the International Criminal Court treaty. Russia in 2000 signed the Rome treaty that established the Hague-based court but never ratified it. International Criminal Court is based in Hague, Netherlands, and is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal. Currently, there are 124 states which are party to Rome Statute and therefore members of the ICC. Both India and China are not its members.

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The three oil giants of the Indian downstream sector namely Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) have signed an agreement to set up the world’s largest refinery-cum-petrochemicals complex at Babulwadi, Taluka Rajpur in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. The project is a Greenfield project that aims to develop the world’s largest refinery cum petrochemical complex at the cost of Rs 3 lakh crore. The complex is designed to produce Euro-IV and above grade transportation fuels. This project is expected to be completed by 2022.