NEWS TIME - Sosin Classes

DAILY NEWS DIARY 04.06.2020 DAILY NEWS DIARY 12.09.2020

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NEWS TIME All the news you need and more…

DAILY NEWS DIARY of

02.06.2020

For Prelims & Mains

Dear Student,

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+91-90000 66690 / 99899 66744

H.NO. 1-10-196 (New No. 177), Street no. 1, Ashok Nagar X roads, Hyderabad, Telangana 500020.

DAILY NEWS DIARY of

12.09.2020

For Prelims & Mains

http://www.sosinclasses.com/

mailto:[email protected]




Warm Greetings.

DnD aims to provide every day news analysis in

sync with the UPSC pattern.

It is targeted at UPSC – Prelims & Mains.

Daily articles are provided in the form of

Question and Answers

To have a bank of mains questions.

And interesting to read.

Providing precise information that can

be carried straight to the exam, rather

than over dumping.

Enjoy reading.

THE HINDU - TH

INDIAN EXPRESS - IE

BUSINESS LINE - BL

ECONOMIC TIMES - ET

TIMES OF INDIA - TOI

INDEX

Essay Paper

Editorial 1. “Vaccine development is not about winning a race”………….…..03

GS 2

International Relation

1. The 5 point action plan...............................................................05

GS 3 Economic Development

1. Gold a safe-haven appeal amidst the pandemic........................06

Snippets

GS 2

Governance

1. launch of the Jammu and Kashmir Integrated Grievance

Redress and Monitoring System (JK-IGRAMS) …….….................08

International Relations

2. U.K’s first major post-Brexit trade agreement…………………..…...09

GS 3

Economic Development

1. ‘post-devolution revenue deficit grant’…………………………………..09

Environment

2. Net Present Value (NPV) Pay and how is it delaying

the exploration activity in the mines………………………………………10

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Essay Paper Editorial

Q- “Vaccine development is not about winning a race”. Discuss?

INTRO = The global pharma major AstraZeneca announced that it is

putting a halt to the ongoing clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccine,

after a volunteer developed inflammation in her spinal cord.

The Swedish-British company, which is developing the vaccine in

collaboration with Oxford University, has confirmed that the

volunteer from the UK, who developed the adverse reaction, was

administered the vaccine, not the placebo. It has said that an

independent panel will investigate what went wrong.

The pharma company’s Indian collaborator, the Pune-based Serum

Institute of India, has also put the vaccine’s trials on hold. It is too

early to say if these suspensions amount to a setback in the global

efforts to develop a preventive against the novel coronavirus. But

there are enough reasons to suggest that there is no need to jump to

pessimistic conclusions. The review should, instead, be seen as a part

of the rigorous scrutiny that vaccine candidates must go through.

Adverse events during vaccine tests are not rare —

In 2014, work on the Ebola vaccine was temporarily stopped because

some volunteers suffered arthritis. Unlike the first two phases of the

trials, in which healthy adults are administered the vaccine, Phase 3

trials involve a large number of participants some of whom could

have an underlying medical condition — Oxford AstraZeneca’s UK

trials reportedly include volunteers over 70 years of age, which

increases the risk of adverse events. The volunteer who fell ill after

being administered the vaccine candidate developed symptoms of

transverse myelitis — a rare neurological disorder that is treated with

steroids, though serious cases are known to leave lasting disabilities.

There is also the possibility that the volunteer’s illness has no direct

connection with the vaccine — in fact, in July, preliminary trials of the

Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine were temporarily stopped because a

volunteer developed neurological symptoms, later found unrelated to

the jab. The review process will tease out whether the latest adverse

reaction was coincident with the trial or caused by it.

Global Concerns

The pause in the Oxford-AstraZeneca trials comes at a time when

there is a virtual scramble to develop a vaccine against the novel

coronavirus. There are concerns in the US that the country’s

regulatory agencies could be pressured to approve a vaccine before

the presidential elections in November. US President Donald Trump

has repeatedly suggested that the country’s vaccination drive could

begin in late October.

The adverse event at the Oxford-AstraZeneca trials — and the vaccine

developers’ response — is a sobering reminder that vaccine

development is not about winning a race. Science must be followed

and due procedures should take their course.

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https://indianexpress.com/about/coronavirus/

https://indianexpress.com/about/coronavirus/



GS 2


Q – What is the 5 point action plan agreed upon at the Indo – China

foreign ministers meet?

The five-point course of action is to disengage and reduce tensions

along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), where Indian and Chinese

troops have been engaged in a four-and-a-half-month-long stand-off.

Whose timeline of events is as stated in the inofgraph –

The two Foreign Ministers agreed that the current situation in the

border areas is not in the interests of either side. They agreed,

therefore, that the border troops of both sides should continue their

dialogue, quickly disengage, maintain proper distance and ease

tensions.

The five-point plan is:

1) Following the consensus between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and

President Xi Jinping to “not allow differences to become disputes”

2) Disengaging quickly to ease tensions

3) Abiding by the existing India-China border protocols and avoiding

escalatory action

4) Continuing the dialogue between the Special Representatives,

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Mr. Wang

5) As well as the other mechanisms and working towards new

confidence-building measures (CBMs).

The immediate task is to ensure a comprehensive disengagement of

troops in all the friction areas. That is necessary to prevent any

untoward incident in the future.

However, neither the joint statement, nor the respective

notes issued specifically spoke of a return to the “status quo

ante” or positions prior to the stand-off in April.

GS 3


Q – How is Gold a safe-haven appeal amidst the pandemic?

BACKGROUND = Gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) witnessed an

inflow in August, for the fifth month in a row, amid major economies

staring at a recession due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. A net

sum of ₹908 crore was pumped into gold-linked ETFs last month,

lower than the net ₹921 crore in July. Nevertheless –

1) The inflows meant assets under management (AUM) of gold ETFs

climbed by over 4% to ₹13,503 crore at the end of August from

₹12,941 crore at July-end.

2) Gold prices came off their all-time high in August, after witnessing an

almost uninterrupted rally this year.

3) Probably providing a good entry point for investors to invest in the

yellow metal.

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With all major economies staring at a recession due to the spread

of the... pandemic, gold, with its safe-haven appeal, has emerged

as one of the best-performing asset classes and a preferred

investment destination among investors. Given the threat posed by

the pandemic to the global economy and markets, the segment

may continue to see traction with investors.

Snippets

Governance

Q – What does the launch of the Jammu and Kashmir Integrated

Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (JK-IGRAMS) mean?

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) Manoj Sinha launched

the Jammu and Kashmir Integrated Grievance Redress and

Monitoring System (JK-IGRAMS), in a bid to create an interface with

the public and focus on governance issues in the Union Territory.

It’s a step towards gaining peoples’ trust. JK-IGRAMS will be an

effective grievance redressal mechanism, which is the life and blood

of any good governance system. A common citizen wants a

sympathetic, courteous, responsive, and helpful administrative set-

up.

Several radical reforms are to be taken to put in place people-centric

good governance structure –

The system is being launched on a pilot basis in three districts —

Jammu, Srinagar, and Reasi — and will gradually be rolled out in the

remaining districts by October 2. It will replace the current portal that

was launched in 2018.

JK-IGRAMS will make the existing mechanism more robust and

efficient. If any laxity is found, we can talk to the concerned elders of

the district and the concerned officers.

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District Collectors and Deputy Commissioners will be the primary

nodes for receiving, disposing and monitoring grievances.

Implementation - It will be available round the clock with

applicant OTP authentication, acknowledgement to applicant at

each stage, feedback by complainant, and grievance submission

through call centre by making a phone call between 9:30 a.m. to

5:30 p.m. on all days except Sunday.


Q - What is U.K’s first major post-Brexit trade agreement?

Britain announced its first major post-Brexit trade agreement — a

deal with Japan — as its negotiations with the European Union

become increasingly fractious.

The Department for International Trade said the accord, which

largely replicates the current EU-Japan deal, will be worth £15.2

billion ($19.5 billion).

The government said U.K. businesses will benefit from tariff-free

trade on 99% of exports to Japan and that it will give British

businesses a gateway to the Asia-Pacific region.

Britain has taken back control of trade policy & will continue to

thrive as a trading nation outside the EU.

GS 3


Q – What is the ‘post-devolution revenue deficit grant’?

The government on September 10, 2020 released ₹6,195.08 crore

to 14 States as the sixth equated monthly instalment of the Post

Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant as recommended by the 15th

Finance Commission.

Post devolution revenue deficit grants: About a third of the total

revenue collected by the Centre is directly transferred to states as

their share in the divisible pool.

However, the Finance Commission also provides a mechanism for

compensation of any loss incurred by states, which is called post-

devolution revenue deficit grants. This Finance Commission Grant

forms the second largest chunk of Finance Commission transfers after

the assistance to local rural bodies.

A.P, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal are the 14 States.

Environment

Q – What is Net Present Value (NPV) Pay and how is it delaying the

exploration activity in the mines?

The Net Present Value (NPV), as it is called, is a monetary

approximation of the value that is lost when a piece of forest land has

been razed. This is on the basis of the services and ecological value

and there are prescribed formulae for calculating this amount which

depends on the location and nature of the forest and the type of

industrial enterprise that will replace a particular parcel of forest. The

SC mandates this must be paid by those who use forest land for non-

forestry purposes.

The Ministry of Mines has requested an expert advisory committee of the Environment Ministry to exempt it from the Supreme Court-mandated fees that prospectors pay when they dig exploratory boreholes in forests.

They argued that “... all areas of exploration are not converted into

mining. Only about 1% cases are converted to mining. Considering

these, payment of NPV is regarded as an avoidable expenditure. Even

payment of NPV at a rate of 2% or 5% is one of the major challenges

which leads to delay in the exploration activities”.

The Forest Advisory Committee, the Environment Ministry constituted panel, however recommended that the Ministry “may consider charging NPV on borehole basis instead of the present practice of charging 2 or 5% NPV of the total forest area in the lease area.”

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OPTIONALS NEW ONLINE COURSES

ANTHROPOLOGY by SOSIN

From: 23/09/2020

How about this today!?

Which of the following statements stand CORRECT to the

Index of Industrial Production (IIP)?

1. The Index is released by the Ministry of Statistics and

Programme Implementation

2. The IIP growth trend mirrors the Gross State Domestic

Product (GSDP) weighted workplace mobility trend.

3. The IIP in the post pandemic months is not being compared

with the IIP for months preceding the COVID-19 pandemic.

a. 1 alone b. 1, 2

c. 2, 3 d. 1, 3

Hey from yesterday….

To overcome the dilemma over deficit monetisation, which of the following steps are brooded by the RBI? 1. The possibility of monetising the debt

2. Higher borrowing in the current year

3. Ease liquidity through open market operations

a. 1,2 b. 2,3

c. 1,3 d. All of the above

Answer: b

UPSC - CSE

COMPREHENSIVE & FOUNDATION COURSE

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COURSE INCLUDES:

• NCERT

• Daily Tests & Writing Practice

• Optionals (ANTROPOLOGY / GEOGRAPHY)

• Nine Months Course

• Mentoring with Individual Focus

• SAVVY Sessions

• IAO Certification of Quality

From: 29.07.2020

• GS Foundation

• Prelims & Main • CSAT

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