Current Affairs - 2019-20

Notes:
The International Tiger Day (ITD) is observed every year on July 29 to raise awareness for tiger conservation. The day is also known as Global Tiger Day (GTD). The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has stated that only 3,890 tigers are left in the world. Of them, India has the highest number. Till July 2016, there were 2,500 tigers in the country.

Notes:
Cervus elaphus hanglu, also known as Hangul or Kashmir red deer, is a subspecies of Central Asian red deer. It is native to India and is found in dense riverine forests in the high valleys and mountains of the Kashmir Valley and northern Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh.
The Hangul is a critically endangered animal. It is listed as critically endangered in the IUCN Red Data Book and is under Appendix – I in CITES listings. The Wildlife Department of Jammu and Kashmir Government launched “Project Hangul” in 1970 to save the Hangul.
The Hangul has a brown coat color with speckled hairs. It has a light rump patch, but not including the tail. The buttocks are greyish white on the inner side, and the upper side of the tail is black.
The Hangul population has seen a marginal increase in Kashmir. In 2019, there were 237 Hanguls, in 2021 there were 261, and in 2023 there were 289. However, the basic demographic ratio of male: female and female: fawn are skewed.

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:
The Convention on Cybercrime is also known as the Budapest Convention. It is the first international treaty seeking to address Internet and computer crime by harmonizing national laws, improving investigative techniques, and increasing cooperation among nations. It is supplemented by a Protocol on Xenophobia and Racism committed through computer systems. The Convention was adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe at its 109th session in 2001 and came into effect in 2004.

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The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister recently approved the change in definitions of Micro, Small and Medium enterprises based on “investment in plant & machinery/equipment” to “annual turnover” basis. As per new definitions, a micro enterprise will be defined as a unit where the annual turnover does not exceed five crore rupees; a small enterprise will be defined as a unit where the annual turnover is more than five crore rupees but does not exceed Rs 75 crore; and a medium enterprise will be defined as a unit where the annual turnover is more than seventy-five crore rupees but does not exceed Rs 250 crore.

Notes:
Ministry of Communications has launched the Cool EMS Service. It is a one-way service that allows customers in India to import Japanese food for personal use. All the Food items will be carried by Japan Post in special cool boxes containing refrigerant to preserve the quality of the food items and then collected in India.

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Hatupur Diamond mineral block is located in Panna district of Madhya Pradesh. It was in news for being auctioned. As estimated, the Diamond mineral worth Rs 106 crore is available in the Hatupur block.

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The Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) 2017 has been released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in partnership with the World Bank Group. The BRAP includes 405 recommendations for reforms on regulatory processes, policies, practices and procedures spread across 12 reform areas, that is, labour regulation enablers; contract enforcement; registering property; inspection reform enablers; single window system; land availability and allotment; construction permit enablers; environmental registration enablers; obtaining utility permits; paying taxes; access to information and transparency enablers and sector specific reforms spanning the lifecycle of a typical business. BRAP 2017 includes two new sectors i.e. Healthcare and Hospitality.

Notes:
The official motto of the 2018 Commonwealth Games held at Gold Coast is Share the Dream. It was chosen to highlight the dreams and experience at the games that were shared by the participants of the games.