Current Affairs - 2019-20

Notes:
The first planet in our solar system to be visited by a spacecraft was Venus, and the correct answer is [B] Venus.
The Soviet spacecraft Venera 1 was the first human-made object to attempt to reach Venus in 1961, although it failed to make a successful flyby of the planet. However, Venera 7, also launched by the Soviet Union, became the first spacecraft to successfully land on Venus in 1970, providing valuable data about the planet’s surface and atmosphere.
Since then, numerous missions have been sent to Venus by various space agencies, including NASA, the Soviet Union, and more recently, the European Space Agency (ESA). These missions have greatly expanded our understanding of Venus and its extreme environment, which includes scorching temperatures, a thick and toxic atmosphere, and high surface pressures.

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Also known as Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor, it is convention number 182 and is most widely-ratified international labor convention, it has set a global target of eliminating the WFCL by 2016

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Recently, China launched the world’s longest secure telecommunications network, a 712-km quantum communication line. It is part of a 2,000-km quantum communication line connecting Beijing and Shanghai. Quantum communication lines are highly secure and it is almost impossible to wiretap, intercept or crack the information transmitted through them.

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Non-Tariff Trade Barriers (NTBs) are trade barriers that restrict imports or exports of goods or services through mechanisms other than the simple imposition of tariffs. These barriers include- Import quotas, subsidies, customs delays, technical barriers, or other systems for preventing or impeding trade like import licensing, pre shipment inspections and rules for valuation of goods at customs. The term “neo-protectionism” has been recently making news due to emerging wave of neo-protectionism in USA. Recently, Indiana state has just cancelled a $ 15 million software contract awarded to Tata Constancy Services and shifted it to a local company to keep jobs in the state. Various curbs on outsourcing activities and visas for Indians are being considered in 9 other states. Imports quotas imposed on Chinese textile exports. The USA continues to subsidise its farmers, depressing the price of commodities for Third World exporter. This sudden change in American attitudes to trade may lead to trade restriction in world trade and impose serious threat to Indian economy.

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The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2017 was awarded to Richard H. Thaler “for his contributions to behavioural economics”. The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics, is an award for outstanding contributions to the field of economics, and generally regarded as the most prestigious award for that field. The prize was established in 1968. Although it is not one of the prizes that Alfred Nobel established in his will in 1895, it is referred to along with the other Nobel Prizes by the Nobel Foundation.

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Narendra Modi Government reinstalled plaque with the name and quote of Veer Savarkar at Cellular Jail in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The plaque was first installed in 2004 in the Atal Behari Vajpayee government. It was removed soon after UPA government came to power at the Centre.

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Recently, the Ministry of Power has directed NTPC Ltd to source up to 10 per cent of its thermal fuel requirements from straw pellets, especially buying those generated in Punjab and Haryana during the winter season. The move is aimed at luring farmers away from stubble burning. As per recent reports from NASA, crop stubble burning is the major reason behind smog pollution in Delhi.

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Project DARPAN (Digital Advancement of Rural Post Office for A New India) is an initiative by Ministry of Communication. It aims to improve the quality of services to rural poor, and achieve “financial inclusion” of un-banked rural population. The project will increase the rural reach of the Department of Posts and enable Branch Offices (BOs) to increase traffic of all financial remittances, savings accounts, Rural Postal Life Insurance, and Cash Certificates; improve mail operations processes by allowing for automated booking and delivery of accountable article; increase revenue using retail post business; provide third party applications; and make disbursements for social security schemes such as MGNREGS.

Notes:
The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury. It was agreed at the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on mercury in Geneva, in 2013. Till now India was not a party to the convention, but recently the union cabinet approved the ratification of Minamata Convention on Mercury and thereby enabling India to become a Party of the Convention.