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11th, 12th, 13th June 2020 Current affairs Vignan IAS

RBI has released draft Frameworks for ‘Sale of Loan Exposures’ and ‘Securitisation of Standard Assets’ About: These draft guidelines are applicable to all Scheduled Commercial Banks (excluding Regional Rural Banks); All India Financial Institutions (NABARD, NHB, EXIM Bank, and SIDBI); and, all Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) including Housing Finance Companies (HFCs). The guidelines attempt to align the regulatory framework with the Basel guidelines on securitisation that have come into force effective January 1, 2018. The revisions also take into account the recommendations of the Committee on Development of Housing Finance Securitisation Market in India (Chair: Dr. Harsh Vardhan) and the Task Force on the Development of Secondary Market for Corporate Loans (Chair: Shri T.N. Manoharan), which were set up by the RBI in May, 2019.  Important Info : Salient features of draft guidelines: Only transactions that result in multiple tranches of securities being issued reflecting different credit risks will be treated as securitisation transactions.Two capital measurement approaches have been proposed: Securitisation External Ratings Based Approach (SEC-ERBA) and Securitisation Standardised Approach (SEC-SA).A special case of securitisation, called Simple, Transparent and Comparable (STC) securitisations, has been prescribed with clearly defined criteria and preferential capital treatment.The definition of securitisation has been modified to allow single asset securitisations. Securitisation of exposures purchased from other lenders has been allowed.Standard Assets would be allowed to be sold by lenders through assignment, novation or a loan participation contract . The Stressed Assets, however, would be allowed to be sold only through assignment or novation.Requirement of Minimum Retention Requirement (MRR) for sale of loans has been done away with.  Source : The Hindu (Economy) Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the COVID Emergency Credit Facility covers all companies and not just Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) About: The Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) is the biggest fiscal component of the Rs 20-lakh crore Self-Reliant India Mission package announced by Finance Minister last month. Under the scheme, 100 per cent guarantee coverage will be provided by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) for additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore to eligible companies and borrowers, in the form of a guaranteed emergency credit line (GECL) facility. For this purpose, a corpus of Rs 41,600 crore was provided by the government, spread over the current and next three financial years. The scheme will be applicable to all loans sanctioned under GECL facility during the period from the date of announcement of the scheme to October 31 or till an amount of Rs 3 lakh crore is sanctioned under GECL, whichever is earlier. The main objective of the scheme is to provide an incentive to member lending institutions to increase access and enable availability of additional funding facility to borrowers, in view of the economic distress caused by the COVID-19 crisis.  Source : All India Radio (Economy) Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) have recorded at least 14 earthquakes of low or medium intensity since April, 2020 About: As per the 2002 map by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), India is divided into four seismic zones – viz. Zone II, III, IV and V – based on seismicity, earthquakes occurred in the past and tectonic setup of the region. Delhi falls in Zone IV, which makes it vulnerable to earthquakes. Delhi does not lie on a plate boundary. It is located on a single plate, and the seismic activity is generated by internal deformities. Important Info : Seismic Zones: Zone II: This is seismically the least active region. It covers parts of India that are not included in Zone III, IV and V.Zone III: Comprises Kerala, Goa, Lakshadweep islands, remaining parts of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and West Bengal, Parts of Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.Zone IV: It covers parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, Sikkim, Northern parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, parts of Gujarat and small portions of Maharashtra near the west coast and Rajasthan.Zone V: This is seismically the most active region. Parts of the Himalayan boundary in North and Northeast India fall in this zone. Kutch area in the West also falls here. Remaining parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttranchal, part of North Bihar and Andaman and the Nicobar Islands are included. Source : Indian Express (Disaster Management) A new study suggests that one of the ways of effective social distancing strategies to keep the Covid-19 curve flat include the idea of social bubbles About: A social bubble is a close-set of people i.e. like family, with whom we interact on a regular basis. During the current lockdown, a social bubble is limited to the members of a household with whom one interacts on a daily basis. However, as things normalise and conditions in general improve, this bubble can grow larger. It can then include close friends and relatives and neighbours. This in a later stage can expand further and include any person with whom we may need to get in contact with in our daily lives. The idea is that if people decide to expand their bubble gradually and make sure that they meet and contact only those who come inside their existing bubble, the risk of the spread of COVID-19 can be limited. It also reduces the psychological and financial harm of lockdowns. Research published by the London School of Economics and Political Science says that the concept of social bubbles proved effective for New Zealand since it allowed people who were isolated, vulnerable or struggling to receive the care and support they needed.  Source : Indian Express (Health) A 3,000-years-old Mayan temple has been discovered in Mexico through laser mapping technique, making it the ancient civilisation's oldest and largest monument About: The temple site called Aquada Fenix, in Mexico, is 4,600 feet long and up to 50 feet high, making it larger than the Mayan pyramids and palaces of later periods. It was built between 800 BC and 1,000 BC. One of the most remarkable revelations from the find was the complete lack of stone sculptures related to rulers and elites, such as colossal heads and thrones, that are commonly seen in other Mayan temples. This suggests that the people who built it were more egalitarian than later generations of Mayans. Source : News18 (Geography) Gairsain in Chamoli district has been formally declared as the summer capital of Uttarakhand. A notification was issued after state governor gave her assent to the move About: The development came three months after Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had announced making Gairsain the summer capital, besides Dehradun, during the budget session of the assembly on March 4. Now, with the announcement of Gairsain as the summer capital, there is a lack of clarity on the status of Dehradun.  Important Info : Background: Gairsain is a town and Nagar Panchayat in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand. Gairsain is situated at the eastern edge of the Dudhatoli mountain range.Uttarakhand was carved out as a separate state from Uttar Pradesh in 2000.Statehood activists had long contended that Gairsain, a tehsil in Chamoli district, was best suited to be the capital of the mountainous state as it was a hilly region falling on the border of Kumaon and Garhwal regions. But it was Dehradun, located in the plains, that served as the temporary capital.The state Assembly is located in Dehradun, but sessions are held in Gairsain as well. Source : Indian Express (Polity & Governance) The Ramon Magsaysay awards have been cancelled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the only third time the annual awards were disrupted in six decades. The awards were also cancelled due to a financial crisis in 1970 and a disastrous earthquake that hit the Philippines in 1990 About: Ramon Magsaysay award is popularly known as Asia’s Nobel Prize. Criteria: It is given to individuals and organizations in Asia regardless of race, creed, sex, or nationality, who have achieved distinction in their respective fields. (There are some instances where the winners came from Non-Asian countries, but accomplished something in Asia). Name: It is named after Ramon Magsaysay, the third president (1953-57) of Philippines. Background: It was established in 1957 by New York based Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF), with the consent of Philippine government. The first Awards were given in 1958. Vinoba Bhave of India was one of the recipients. Awardees are presented with a certificate and a medal. Source : Times of India (Awards) Scientists from Raman Research Institute (RRI), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science &Technology have found out that spectrin, which are flexible rod-shaped molecules present in axons, act as ‘shock absorbers’ to protect axons from stretch-induced damage About: The study can help in understanding and treatment of concussion from head injuries as well as stretch-induced nerve injuries. Axons are long tubular extensions of nerve cells that transmit electrical signals across long distances and can be up to a meter long in the case of humans. At such lengths, they are subjected to large stretch deformations during limb or other bodily movements. Axons in the brain too undergo significant deformations, even during normal activities like jumping. Important Info : Axons vs Dendrite: An axon is one of two types of cytoplasmic protrusions from the cell body of a neuron; the other type is a dendrite.Axons are distinguished from dendrites by several features, includingshape (dendrites often taper while axons usually maintain a constant radius),length (dendrites are restricted to a small region around the cell body while axons can be much longer), andfunction (dendrites receive signals whereas axons transmit them). Source : DD News (Science & Technology) The Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) Complex was inaugurated at Visakhapatnam About: The DSRV Complex is designed to accommodate the newly inducted Submarine Rescue System with state of the art facilities to store the DSRV assets in a Rescue-Ready state. The DSRV system consists of a Submarine Rescue Vessel, a Remote Operations Vehicle, Side Scan Sonar and associated equipment. It also has Diver Decompression Chambers and hyperbaric medical equipment to decompress submariners after being rescued from a sunken submarine. The DSRV system can be rapidly mobilised by air or road to facilitate submarine rescue operations even at distant locations. The Indian Navy has inducted two such systems which will provide rescue cover to submarines on the West and East coast of India respectively. Currently, there are about 40 nations that operate submarines in the world out of which only a few have any form of submarine rescue capability.  Source : All India Radio (Defence & Security) The World Accreditation Day (WAD) 2020 was celebrated on 9th June under the theme “Accreditation: Improving Food Safety About: The World Accreditation Day (WAD) is celebrated on 9th June every year to highlight as well as promote the role of accreditation in trade & economy. The theme for WAD 2020 is “Accreditation: Improving Food Safety”, as decided by the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC). National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) and National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL), the two accreditation boards of the Quality Council of India (QCI), organised a Webinar to commemorate the event. Important Info : Quality Council of India (QCI)? Quality Council of India (QCI) was set up in 1997 jointly by the Government of India and the Indian Industry represented by the three premier industry associations i.e. ASSOCHAM, CII and FICCI, to establish and operate national accreditation structure.The Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, is the nodal ministry for QCI. Source : Economic Times (Economy) World Day Against Child Labour (WDACL) is being observed on 12 June under the theme “COVID-19: Protect children from child labour, now more than ever”, focussing on the impact of coronavirus crisis on child labour About: Nodal agency: It is an International Labour Organization (ILO)-sanctioned holiday aiming to raise awareness and activism to prevent child labour. Date of observance: The Day is observed every year on June 12. Background: It was first launched in It was spurred by ratifications of ILO Convention No. 138 on the minimum age for employment and ILO Convention No. 182 on the worst forms of child labour. Important Info : Target 8.7 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals calls for an end to child labour in all its forms by 2025. Source : United Nations (Social Issues) The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings 2021 were released About: The top 10 universities of the world comprised mainly the top-notch Ivy League colleges from the US, the UK and even one from Switzerland. While Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) of the United States secured Rank 1, Stanford and Harvard universities secured the next two ranks in the list of the world’s best universities. UK's Oxford University took fifth place in the ranking. Indian scenario No Indian institute secured a position among the top 100 universities of the world. Like last year’s QS rankings, IIT Bombay, IISc Bengaluru, and IIT Delhi featured in the top 200 list, but all three saw a drop in their ranks this year. IIT Bombay dropped 20 spots -- from 152 to 172, IISC Bengaluru dropped just one spot from 184 to 185, and IIT Delhi dropped 11 spots from 182 to 193. The total number of Indian institutions in the top 1,000 global list has also fallen from 24 to 21. Important Info : Do you know? QS World University Rankings is published annually by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a British company specialising in the analysis of higher education institutions around the world.It measures the world’s top 1,000 universities on 6 factors:Academic reputation (40%)Employer reputation (10%)Faculty/Student Ratio (20%)Citations per faculty (20%)International Faculty Ratio (5%)International student ratio (5%) Source : The Hindu (Education) Indian Railways has created a new world benchmark by successfully running first Double-Stack Container Train in high-rise in Over Head Equipment (OHE) electrified territory on Western Railway About: The Operations successfully commenced on 10th June from Palanpur and Botad stations in Gujarat. With this remarkable development, Railways has become the first to run Double-Stack Container train with high reach pantograph in high rise Over Head Equipment territory, which has contact wire height of 7.57 metre This achievement is a first of its kind in the entire world and will also boost the ambitious mission of Green India. Source : All India Radio (Economy) Union Ministry of Environment has issued an advisory for import of exotic species. The move comes as the outbreak of COVID-19 has raised global concern about illegal wildlife trade and zoonotic diseases Key highlights of advisory: The advisory defines ‘Exotic Live Species’ as animal or plant species moved from their original range (location) to a new one. ‘Exotic live species’ shall be construed to mean only “the animals named under the Appendices I, II and III of the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora”. Species covered by the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 cannot be traded. People importing “exotic live species” will have to make a voluntary disclosure. For new ‘Exotic Live Species’, the importer should obtain a no-objection certificate from the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) of the State. For Existing Species, stocks “shall be declared by the owner/ holder to the Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) of the concerned State or UT”.  Important Info : Comment: It will create a process where all imports will be screened. As of now, the imports are being made through the Director General of Foreign Trade and State Forest departments are not kept in the loop.Several exotic species of birds, reptiles, small mammals, fishes and even some plants are imported. Blue and gold macaws are popular exotic pets. Source : The Hindu (Environment) In the reporting on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) stand-off, the Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie (DSDBO) road has often appeared. The Chinese build-up along the Galwan River valley region overlooks, and hence poses a direct threat to the DSDBO road About: Darbuk-Shyokh-Daulat Beg Oldie (DSDBO) is the 255-km long all-weather road built by India’s Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in eastern Ladakh. It runs almost parallel to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at Aksai Chin, the eastern ear of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir state that China occupied in the 1950s, leading to the 1962 war in which India came off worse. In October 2019, Defence Minister Singh inaugurated a 500-m-long Bailey Bridge on the road. The bridge is named after Colonel Chewang Rinchen, an Indian Army hero from Ladakh. Located at 14,650 ft, it is believed to be the world’s highest such bridge. Important Info : Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO)? DSDBO connects Leh to Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO), the northernmost corner of Indian territory in Ladakh. DBO itself is less than 10 km west of the LAC at Aksai Chin.DBO has the world’s highest airstrip. Source : Indian Express (Geography) International Albinism Awareness Day 2020 is being observed on June 13 under the theme "Made to Shine" to celebrate the achievements of persons with albinism worldwide About: What is it? Albinism is a congenital disorder characterized in humans by the complete or partial absence of pigmentation (melanin) in the skin, hair and eyes. It is non-contagious. Health impact: Albinism is associated with a number of vision defects, such as photophobia, nystagmus, and amblyopia. Lack of skin pigmentation increases vulnerability to the sun and bright light. As a result, almost all people with albinism are visually impaired and are prone to developing skin cancer. Cause: Albinism results from inheritance of recessive gene alleles. In almost all types of albinism, both parents must carry the gene for it to be passed on, even if they do not have albinism themselves. Prevalence: The condition is found in both sexes regardless of ethnicity and in all countries of the world. Treatment: There is no cure for the absence of melanin that is central to albinism. Source : United Nations (Health) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a Discussion Paper on ‘Governance in Commercial Banks in India’ for public comments About: The objective of the discussion paper is to align the current regulatory framework with global best practices while being mindful of the context of domestic financial system. Based on the feedback, fresh guidelines will be issued. The new norms will come into effect within six months after being placed the RBI’s website or April 1, 2021, whichever is later. The norms will be applicable to private, foreign and public sector banks. Some of the major highlights of the paper are as follows: Board members should not be a member of any other bank’s board or the RBI and should not be either a Member of Parliament or State Legislature or Municipality or other local bodies. Board of directors of a bank should not be less than six and not more than 15, with a majority being independent directors. The board shall meet at least six times a year and at least once every 60 days. A director on the board of an entity other than a bank may be considered for appointment as director on a bank’s board, if the person is not an owner of an NBFC or a full-time employee and that the NBFC does not enjoy a financial accommodation from the bank. Appointment, re-appointment and termination of wholetime directors (WTDs) and chief executive officers CEOs) should be with the previous approval of RBI. The upper age limit for CEO and WTDs of banks is suggested at 70 years. Banks will be free to set a lower age for such appointments. Source : The Hindu (Economy) About: The IFLOWS-Mumbai has been developed by the Union Ministry for Earth Sciences on the request of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). IFLOWS-Mumbai is a state of art Integrated Flood Warning system for Mumbai. It is expected to enhance Mumbai’s resilience by providing early warning for flooding specially during high rainfall events and cyclones. I-FLOWS comprises seven modules, namely Data Assimilation, Flood, Inundation, Vulnerability, Risk, Dissemination Module and Decision Support System. The system has provisions to capture the urban drainage within the city and predict the areas of flooding, which will be incorporated in the final system. Source : All India Radio Integrated Flood Warning System - IFLOWS was inaugurated in Mumbai by Union Minister for Earth Sciences and Maharashtra Chief Minister About: The IFLOWS-Mumbai has been developed by the Union Ministry for Earth Sciences on the request of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). IFLOWS-Mumbai is a state of art Integrated Flood Warning system for Mumbai. It is expected to enhance Mumbai’s resilience by providing early warning for flooding specially during high rainfall events and cyclones. I-FLOWS comprises seven modules, namely Data Assimilation, Flood, Inundation, Vulnerability, Risk, Dissemination Module and Decision Support System. The system has provisions to capture the urban drainage within the city and predict the areas of flooding, which will be incorporated in the final system. Source : All India Radio (Disaster Management) Union Agriculture Minister launched Sahakar Mitra: Scheme on Internship Programme (SIP) About: Objective: To help cooperative institutions access innovative ideas of young professionals while the interns will gain experience of working in the field to be self-reliant. Bodies involved: The scheme is an initiative by National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), the cooperative sector development finance organization. Eligibility under scheme: Professional graduates in disciplines such as Agriculture and allied areas, IT etc. will be eligible for internship. Professionals who are pursuing or have completed their MBA degrees in Agri-business, Cooperation, Finance, International Trade, Forestry, Rural Development, Project Management etc. will also be eligible. Stipend: Each intern will get financial support over a 4 months internship period. Source : PIB (Economy) The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) will classify railway stations under the red, orange and green categories based on the quantity of waste water generated and the disposal of untreated water into the municipal drain system About: Railway stations generating waste water equal to or more than 100 Kilo Litres per Day (KLD) would be categorised as Red. Railway stations generating waste water greater than 10 KLD but less than 100 KLD would come under the Orange category. Railway stations with less than 10 KLD waste water generation would be branded Green. CPCB, by invoking powers under the provisions of the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, had issued a direction to all State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) to categorise railway stations and send an action taken report. Source : The Hindu (Environment) Read the full article