Current Affairs - 2019-20

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The world’s highest efficiency solar thermal cooling system was recently installed in Gurgaon. It is the World’s highest efficiency solar thermal cooling system.

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As of 2021, India is the second-highest producer of sugarcane in the world after Brazil. Among Indian states, the largest producer of sugarcane is Uttar Pradesh.

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In recent report of World Bank titled “South Asia Economic Focus – Globalisation Backlash”, it said eliminating tax evasion and corruption-the most talked objectives of junking old 500 and 1000 rupee notes. The report said that the demonetisation move will limit tax evasion and corruption, will help to curb black money, to eliminate counterfeit notes, increase transparency and promote the use of electronic payments in India.

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Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP) in Sikkim has been named a world heritage site by the World Heritage Committee (WHC) of UNESCO. This is a National Park and a Biosphere reserve located in Sikkim, India. It was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list on July 17, 2016, becoming the first "Mixed Heritage" site of India.

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The Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has launched of Pradhan Mantri Yuva Yojana (PMYY) to scale up an ecosystem of entrepreneurship for youngsters. PMYY is MSDE’s flagship scheme on entrepreneurship education and training. The scheme spans over five years (2016-17 to 2020-21) with a project cost of 499.94 crore rupees. It will provide entrepreneurship education and training to over 7 lakh students in 5 years through 3,050 institutes. It will provide easy access to information and mentor network, incubator, credit and accelerator and advocacy to create a pathway for the youth. The institutes under the PMYY include 2,200 institutes of higher learning (colleges, universities, and premier institutes), 500 ITIs, 300 schools and 50 entrepreneurship development centres through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).

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First statement is correct. The scheme aims to get foreign investment and turn India into an electronics manufacturing hub. Second statement is incorrect. The scheme provides subsidy for capital expenditure – 20% for investments in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and 25% in non-SEZs. Third statement is correct. One of the major objectives of the scheme is to attain net zero imports in electronics by 2020. Fourth statement is correct. It is an initiative under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) was launched in 2012. Its first phase will end in December, 2018.

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Recently, Government has planned to organise an international bird festival in this Dudhwa tiger reserve. The bird festival is being organized jointly by the state forest department and Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). This region is home to 450 bird species, including the endangered Bengal florican and vulnerable bird species like swamp partridge, also called swamp francolin, sarus crane and herons.

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India has declared 2010-20 as the “Decade of Innovation”. The Government has stressed the need to enunciate innovation in the diverse field and has taken several steps in order to fulfil the same.

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The Triffin dilemma, or Triffin paradox, is the idea that a national currency can create conflicts between short-term domestic and long-term international economic goals. The dilemma arises when a national currency also serves as an international reserve currency.
The dilemma was discovered in the 1960s by Belgian economist Robert Triffin. He argued that domestic and international policy goals don’t usually match. For example, if the United States stopped running balance of payments deficits, the international community would lose its largest source of reserves. This could cause a shortage of liquidity, which could lead to instability.
The dilemma points to the conflicts that can arise when a national currency plays a role as an international public good. The global reserve currency issuer issues the safest and most widely used global currency. Domestic monetary policy can have unintended consequences for both the domestic and global economies.

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Express Wi-Fi is an initiative of Facebook in India. It is live in India and it empowers local entrepreneurs to help provide quality Internet access to their neighbours and make a steady income with the help of internet service providers and local entrepreneurs to help expand connectivity to underserved locations around the world.