MONTHLY NEWS DIARY (FOR UPSC - PRELIMS & MAINS) MARCH-2020 - (MND) - SOSIN CLASSES
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+91-99899 66744 / 90000 66690
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MONTHLY NEWS DIARY
(MnD)
(FOR UPSC – PRELIMS & MAINS)
MARCH-2020
Dear Student,
Warm Greetings.
➢ MnD aims to provide news analysis of monthly events in sync with the
UPSC pattern.
➢ It is targeted at UPSC – Prelims & Mains
➢ The articles are provided in the form of Question and Answers
• To have a bank of mains questions.
• Providing precise information that can he carries 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
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INDEX
ESSAY PAPER
EDITORIAL
1. US – Taliban Peace Deal.……………………………………………………………………….……….……..…..………05
2. Bailout proposal for Yes Bank.………………………………………………………………..……….…….………….05
3. Indo-US Nuclear deal ……………………………………………………………………………………….…………….…06
4. Domestic Violence & Childhood Trauma…………………………………………………………….……….….…07
5. Trumps Unilateralism………………………………………………………………………………….……………...….…07
6. China’s high-tech battle against COVID-19….…………………………………………………………….……...08
7. US-Taliban Agreement..……………..……………….…………………………………………………....……….……..09
8. Trends in Sex selective abortion & Infanticide.……………..………………….……………………….…..….10
9. Oils rout….……………….……………………………………………………………………………………….…….....…....11
10. HRD Parliamentary Committee’s report on Education Sector ...……….………….…..….…….…..…12
11. Economic uncertainty ……………………………………………………………………………….….…………...….….12
12. Motor Vehicles Act …………………………………………………………………………………….…….……….....….13
13. Consequences faced by India due to COVID-19....………………………………..…………..…………...….13
14. USA's Indo-Pacific Strategy..………………………….…………………………………..…………………..……..….14
15. Regularize the stay of Sri Lankan Refugees …..……..………………………………………….........…….….14
16. In the face of SARS-CoV-2 …………………………………………………………………………..….…………..…....15
17. A Case for more Policewomen …………………………………………………………………..………..……………15
18. Nomination of ex-CJI to RS……………………………………………………………..……….…….……………....…16
19. Challenges being faced by the state universities……………..……………………………………………..….17
20. SC's recent verdict on Nirbhaya's Case...................................................................................17
21. Schemes to boost domestic manufacturing of electronic goods………………..…………….…………18
22. Perils of an all-out lockdown…..……………………………………………………………….………………..…..….19
23. Concept of Nation and Nation State………………………..………………………………………..………….…..19
24. Measures taken by the Government of India in view of the COVID-19 outbreak……………….20
25. Keqiang Index ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………21
26. Up-scaling food rationing .......................................................................................................21
27. Relaxation of FRBM Rules in Kerala………………………………………………………………………..………….22
28. Apathy to Action………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....…23
GS 1
Snippets
➢ Indian History and Culture
1. Sites and monuments under States ASI list………………………………………………….…………….…..….24
2. ‘Sanskrit speaking’ villages………………………………………………………………………….………....………...24
3. “Ganpatrao Mhatre’s” art…………………………………………………………………………….…………...………24
4. “World’s Oldest Pyramid”………………………………………………………………………….….………..………...24
5. Final Dossier………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………….….25
➢ Geography
6. Rain over West & Northern India……………………………………………………………………..…..…………...25
7. La-Nina, 2020………………………………………………………………………………………….………….…..………….25
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GS2
➢ Governance
1. Recent Reforms taken by the Ministry of Rural Development…………………………..…………25
2. COVID-19 .………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……….25
3. To reduce risk of increasing SARS-CoV-2 into India………………………………………….….……...26
4. Government to make Social Media more accountable……………………………………..….……..26
5. ‘NCLAT Bench’s’ roles in Chennai…………………………………………………..……….…………...……..26
6. ‘Economic Task Force’ ……………………………………………………………………………………..….…..…26
➢ Constitution
7. Role of Standing Panels in Parliament…………………………..…………..…….……….…….….……….27
➢ Polity
8. ‘The Freedom in the World 2020 Report’..………………………………………………….………....…..28
9. Parliamentary Panels take on Government Vacancies………………………..…………….…….…..28
10. Election Commission………………………….............................................................................28
11. Cinematograph Amendment Bill 2019 ……………………………………………………………….….…...29
12. Appropriation Bill………………………………………………………………………………….……………………..29
13. Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020...........................................30
14. New Definition to MSME’s……………………………………………………………………..…………..……….30
15. ‘Institution of National Importance’ Tag……………………….................................................30
➢ Bio Diversity
16. Wildlife Trade Report Analysis…………………………………………………….……….…………….…..…..30
➢ Regional
17. Telangana pegs 2020-21 tax free budget…………………………………………………………..……..….31
➢ Social Justice
18. QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) World University Ranking…………………………………….….…..…..31
19. Initiatives by the Food Processing Ministry under SAMPADA Yojana…………………………...31
20. Association for Democratic Reforms………………………………………………………..…...…..…..……32
21. PM Ujjwala Yojana............................................................................................................32
22. World Happiness Report…………………………………………………………………………………..…….……32
➢ International Relations
23. India joining ‘Indian Ocean Commission’ as Observer..………………………………….….….…..…32
24. Free trade agreement………………………………………………………………………………...……............33
Snippets
➢ Governance
1. CAA clashes. ………………………………………………………………………………………….….......................34
2. New self-declaration forms for parties …………………………………………………..………............…..34
➢ Polity
3. State funding of polls..…………………………………………………………………………….…...…...…………..34
4. UN rights body to be Amicus Curiae………………………………………………………..……………………..34
5. Bills passed amid protest by opposition ………………………………………....................................34
6. Controversies raised about NPR ..……………………………………………………………..…………......……34
7. Insolvency and Bank ruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and the Mineral
Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020 …………………………………………………………………………………….…..35
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8. 'VIVAD SE VISHWAS' BILL …………………………………………………………………………….…...……........35
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www.sosinclasses.com +91 99899 66744 sosin@sosinclasses.com9. Population curbs and devanagari for official
languages.………..…………………….……..…..........35
10. Emergency SAARC Fund ……………….………………………………………………………….……………...……35
➢ Social Justice
11. World Bank Water Scheme. …………………………………………………………………………………….…....35
12. Dearness allowance……………………………………………………………………………….……………….………35
➢ International Relations
13. WTO Focus on Trade Benefit …………………………………………………………………………………..……..36
➢ Technology
14. 1st manned flight ………….……………………………………………………………………….………….…..……...36
➢ Security
15. Defense Ministry’s new deals …………………………………………………………………………………..…….36
GS 3
➢ Environment
1. Water crisis in Himalayan Region..………………………………………………………………….……………...36
2. CMS List.…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……….……37
3. Black Carbon and its effects on India….………………………………………………………………....…..…..37
4. Great Barrier Reef's Heat Stress..……………………………………………………………………….…......…..38
5. Green energy on the raise ……………………………………………………………..………………….….….…...38
6. Environment Impact Assessment Act ……………………………………………………………….……....…..39
➢ Economic Development
7. New Income Tax slabs. ……………………………………………………………………….…………….…...……...39
8. OECD states ‘Global Economy at its worst’.……………….………………………………..……..….……….39
9. Shield banking system from Covid-19 risks. …………………………………………….…….…..…..………40
10. Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS)……………………………………………………….….………..40
11. Global Trade Impacts of COVID-19. ……………………………………………….…………………..….……....40
12. Cabinet’s measures towards economy. ………………………………………………………………..………..41
13. Yes Bank under Moratorium. …………………………………………………………………...……….…....…….41
14. ADB’s GDP estimates…..…………………………………………………………………………………………..……..41
15. Capital to Risk (Weighted) Asset Ratio (CRAR). ……………………………………………....………........42
16. Shared Economy ……………….…………………………………………………………………………….….……..…..42
17. Thermal Coal Imports…………………………………………….…………………………………………….……..….42
18. Reconstruction scheme for YES bank.………………………………………………………………............... 43
19. Fall in Wholesale Price Index (WPI).………………………………………..………….…………..................43
➢ Technology
20. CSIR–IICT’s safe process of making API’s…………………………………………………………….……….….44
➢ Security
21. Global arms sales………………………………………………………………………………………..……….……..….44
➢ Disaster Management.
22. NDRF’s contingency plans in place……………………………………………………………………..…...…...45
Snippets
➢ Economic Development
1. Auto Sales .……………………………………………………………………………………………………….…….…..….45
2. Manufacturing Sector. ……………………………………………………………………………………….….……..…45
3. Unemployment Rate. ………………………………………………………………………………………………..…...45
4. FDI dip ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………..…...…45
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5. Tourism. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…...45
6. SC scraps RBI circular Allows Crypto Trading. ……………………………………………….………………...45
www.sosinclasses.com +91 99899 66744 sosin@sosinclasses.com7.
SBI’s Initial Public Offering (IPO). ……………………………………………………………………….....…….46
8.
EPFO’s (Employees Provident Fund Organisation ………………………………………..……….……..46
9.
Saudi Slashes Oil Prices ……………………………………………………………………………………..…………46
10.
IMPS (Inward Immediate Payment Service) & NEFT National
Electronic Funds Transfer …………………………………………………..…….….…………..….……….……..46
11. USFD……………………………………………………………………………………...…..…………..…………….……..46
12. Retail Sales Of Automobiles …………………………………………………….…………………….……………..46
13. Rise Of Exports ………………………………………………………………………….………….……..….……........46
14. FPI sell shares at a record high …………..…………………………………….………..……..…..…………….46
15. RBI's OPO.…..……………………….…………………………………………………….……………….………………..47
16. G7 meeting……………………….………………………………….……………………………………….…………..…47
17. Crisil's GDP Forecast..........................................................................................................47
➢ Technology
18. New drug NLX-112…………………………………………………………………………………….…………..…..…47
19. Psyche Mission. …………………………………………………………………………………………….……….…....47
20. Telco package …………………………………………………………………………….………………….……….…...47
➢ Environment
21. SIF ISLAND. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……..47
22. EU’s Green Deal. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….…..……..47
23. Avian flu in kerala ………………………………………………………….………………………………….…..……..48
24. Bannerghatta national park…………………………………………………………………….……….….………..48
➢ Bio Diversity
25. White throated laughing thrush birds.…………………………………………………….…………….….…..48
26. Albino Orangutan .………………………………………………………………….…………….…………………48
27. The Araucaria..……………………………………………………………………………..…………….……………......48
28. Bovine TB.……………………………………………………………………………………..…………….………………..48
29. Malabar Large Spotted Civet.……………………………………………………..………….……..………..48
30. Sea Otters…………………………..………………………………………………………..………….………….….49
31. Palm Oil Yields in A.P…………………………………………………………………..……….……………..49
➢ Security
32. Tejas - Light Combat Supersonic Aircraft (LCA)………………………………..………………………49
➢ Sports
33. UEFA Postponed………………………………………………………………………………….…….….……..…..49
34. Olympics Games rescheduled..……………………………………………………..……………………………….49
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www.sosinclasses.com +91 99899 66744 sosin@sosinclasses.comMONTHLY NEWS DIARY MARCH-2020
ESSAY PAPER
Editorial
1. Critically analyze US – Taliban Peace Deal?
INTRO = Post 9/11, USA enter Afghanistan to eliminate Al-Qaeda and decimate Taliban. While
in contrast, Taliban’s growing influence has extended to controlling almost 50% of Afghan
territory, works against democratically elected afghan government, Advocates imposition of
strict Sharia Law and maintains close relationship with Pakistan.
With this information, lets now aim at understanding the US – Taliban Peace deal –
US Taliban
• To reduce troops from 13000 to • Not to use or allow usage of Afghan
8,600 territory to plan plots against US or
its allies
• Complete withdrawal of all foreign • Agree to permanent &
troops within 14 months Comprehensive ceasefire. Along
with accent to participate in Intra-
Afghan Peace talks
• Release 5000 Taliban fighters • Release 1000 Afghans
While, the concerns remaining with the trade deal being –
1) Strained Intra Afghan relations would make talks difficult
2) Concerns about India’s Investment (Strategic, Infrastructure, Military) in Afghanistan for its
development.
3) Greater tensions along Indo-Pak border with Taliban ruling over Afghan-Pak border.
4) Weak Afghan Government & Weak Afghan National Army (Ashraf Ghani Abdullah Abdullah).
5) Withdrawal of foreign troops would make International community less interested in Afghan.
Internal security and peace.
6) Would give leeway to greater strategic depth for Pakistan in Afghanistan.
2. Explain all about the bailout proposal for Yes Bank, its effects and several questions rose that
need addressing?
INTRO = The Reserve Bank of India announced a draft ‘Scheme of Reconstruction’ (Bailout
Proposal) that entails the State Bank of India (SBI) investing capital to acquire a 49% stake in
the restructured private lender.
And Given that Yes Bank’s stock tumbled 56% on the BSE on Friday, along with –
• Moratorium impact
1. On the domestic front, investor sentiment was hit after the country’s fourth largest private
sector lender Yes Bank was placed under moratorium and sensex plunges 2.3%.
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2. Shares of Yes Bank lost nearly 85%, before settling the day and plummeting to Rupee 16.02.
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3. RBI has superseded the board and appointed the chief financial officer and deputy managing
director of State Bank of India Prashant Kumar as an administrator of Yes Bank, to maintain
stability of financial and banking sector.
4. The Association of National Exchanges Members of India (ANMI), the umbrella body of stock
brokers, wants the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to consider exempting at least the outstanding
capital market transactions wherein a Yes Bank account is involved, so that investors do not
default on existing payment obligations even as money is lying in their account due to the
moratorium.
5. The sudden moratorium has also put in peril many fund houses that have exposure towards the
troubled lender by way of debt instruments like bonds or non convertible debentures.
Ex - Nippon India Mutual Fund, Baroda Mutual Fund, Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund and etc.
6. ICRA and Moody’s downgrade Yes Bank Tier I and Tier II bonds as it failed to honor bond
payments, limits lending and deposit mobilization.
▪ Questions Raised
1. The fact that the lender ended up at the resolution stage, without ever being placed under the
central bank’s Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework?
Explanation = some have pointed to the fact that the lender’s stated operational metrics had
not breached the pre-set thresholds for triggering the PCA action, but this could still be a good
opportunity for the RBI to review its PCA guideposts and revise them to ensure that such a
slipping under the radar does not recur.
2. The choice of SBI as the investor?
Explanation = reflects the paucity of options the government has. With several other public
sector banks currently engaged in merging with weaker peers as part of the Centre’s plan, it has
fallen on the country’s largest bank to play the role of a white knight to a private rival. While
Yes Bank’s depositors are sure to heave a huge sigh of relief, India’s banking sector is still far
from out of the woods. Clearly, the RBI and Centre have their task cut out in ensuring that the
need for such bailouts is obviated.
3. Indo-US Nuclear deal considered a zombie deal fraught with serious concerns. Discuss?
INTRO = Given the dismal history of India’s nuclear establishment and a small fraction of 3%
electricity generated by nuclear power remaining stagnant for years, the recent joint statement
issued by Prime Minister Modi and President Trump encouraged the Nuclear Power
Corporation of India Limited and Westinghouse Electric Company to finalize the techno-
commercial offer for the construction of six nuclear reactors in India at the earliest date.
With expected benefits for India being given a push in the Atomic energy sector that is
struggling to regain its relevance with the rapid growth of renewable. US and Mr. Trump have
reasons to press for the sale too, centrally involving the revival of U.S. manufacturing.
Red flags in the deal are –
1. Electricity from American reactors would be more expensive than competing sources of energy,
with the 6 reactors being offered costing almost Rupees 6 Lakh Crore.
If India purchases these reactors, the economic burden will fall upon consumers and taxpayers.
The first year tariff for electricity would be about ₹25 per unit.
On the other hand, recent solar energy bids in India are around ₹3 per unit. Lazard, the Wall
Street firm, estimates that wind and solar energy costs have declined by around 70% to 90% in
just the last 10 years and may decline further in the future.
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3. Moreover, nuclear reactors can undergo serious accidents, as shown by the 2011 Fukushima
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disaster. Westinghouse has insisted on a prior assurance that India would not hold it
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responsible for the consequences of a nuclear disaster, which is effectively an admission that it
is unable to guarantee the safety of its reactors.
4. Nuclear power can also impose long-term costs. Large areas continue to be contaminated
with radioactive materials from the 1986 Chernobyl accident and thousands of square
kilometers remain closed off for human inhabitation, with also the cost of clean up being
in variously high and not a 100% effective.
Understanding these and also the existing problems with currently imported and mostly shut
down nuclear reactor plants, such as Kudankulam 1,2 & Tarapur 1, 2. The Prime Minister should
take a cue from his own State (where an earlier plan to install AP1000s in MithiVirdi, Gujarat
was cancelled because of strong local opposition) and make a similar announcement for the
rest of the country.
4. Lacunae’s in Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 and Policies on domestic violence that ignore the
effect of trauma on children. Discuss?
INTRO = According to WHO (World Health Organization), one in every three women face
domestic violence. In the case of which each successive government has tried to put in place
legal and judicial recourses for these women, but has left children unprotected and exposed.
Witnessing such widespread violence at home affects children seriously-
1. First, there are recorded physiological effects of trauma on the brain. CT scans show that
children who have been exposed to trauma develop smaller corpus callosum and smaller
hippocampus regions, which means that their learning, cognitive abilities and emotional
regulation are affected.
2. Second, inter-generational transmission of violence is a disturbing consequence of violence in
families. Which according to studies occur at 40%.
Thus the existing Lacunae’s in the system, with needed steps to be taken are –
The current policies have ignored the effect of trauma on children, which led to a habitual
suppression of childhood fear and deep insecurity to cope with the trauma.
India’s domestic policies include numerous reactive policies every time a new case of violence
comes to the fore, such as –
Announcing certain offences against women as criminal offences-
▪ setting up all women police stations
▪ Capital punishment for fatal rape cases, all focusing on Women (Mother) safety alone.
3. The Mental Healthcare Act 2017, needs to do more in terms of –
▪ linking the provision of professional mental health care services to families recovering from
domestic violence.
▪ needs more mental health practitioners.
▪ needs accredited system to train and track the quality of mental health trauma care providers.
▪ connecting such networks to peer supportive groups to help the families heal.
According to Dr. John Bowlby, a renowned psychiatrist known for his pioneering work in
developing attachment theory, the “internal working model” of a child is developed based on
familial patterns of showing love and resolving conflicts, based on the behavior of his/her
caregivers for the first 2 years of his life. Thus it is crucial as of, what we teach our children
about the ways of maintaining healthy relationships between partners and family. Falling from
eight year high of 55.3 to 54.5 in February. In the PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) Parlance a
print above 50 means expansion, while a score below that denotes contraction.
5. How is Trumps Unilateralism making India wary and prepared for more arbitrary duties?
INTRO = Mr. Trump has gone about gutting the international trading order with his beggar-thy-
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neighbor mercantilism and flagrant disregard for multilateral trade law. Given India’s post-1990
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globalising reforms, the government will find it hard to escape unscathed. While the
www.sosinclasses.com +91 99899 66744 sosin@sosinclasses.comMONTHLY NEWS DIARY MARCH-2020
government has already, fleetingly, been burnt by Mr. Trump’s slash-and-burn unilateralism
through –
1. In March 2018, ‘national security’ tariffs of 25% and 10% were imposed on $1.01 billion worth
of Indian steel and aluminum exports, respectively. This use of Section 232(b)-based ‘national
security’ authority was clearly at odds with WTO/GATT law, which requires that such action be
“taken in time of war or other emergency in international relations” and should touch upon the
member state’s “essential security interests.
2. The tariffs were followed by New Delhi’s eviction from the Generalized System of Preferences
(GSP) programme in June 2019 — in turn, affecting an additional $5.7 billion of exports.
3. In December 2019, Mr. Trump took his wrecking ball to Geneva, incapacitating the World Trade
Organization’s (WTO) dispute settlement function. This as a result has kicked India’s challenge
against the U.S.’s imposition of countervailing duties against Indian steel exports into the long
grass.
4. The U.S. Commerce Department recently publishing a new — and wildly WTO non-complaint —
regulation that treats an undervalued currency as a countervailable subsidy, more such
arbitrarily arrogated duties on Indian primary goods exports can be expected.
5. On February 10th, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) was stripping India of its ‘developing
country’ classification for ‘special and differentiated treatment’ purposes.
6. And finally to add fuel to the fire, A U.S.-European Union-Japan led effort is currently under
way to introduce stark new industrial subsidies and technology transfer disciplines that will
inevitably crimp India’s development policy space — even as the trio luxuriate in multi-billion-
dollar trade distorting agricultural subsidies.
As noted above, It matters not to Washington that these unilateral 301 duties violate the very
first two articles of WTO/GATT law. Thus, the government must brace for its consequences and
craft next moves wisely.
In addition to winnowing the bilateral trade deficit, Commerce Ministry mandarins would be
well-advised to thumb through the intellectual property, technology transfer, financial services
and agricultural biotechnology product approvals-related chapters of the U.S.-China Phase One
agreement.
6. China’s high-tech battle against COVID-19. Discuss?
INTRO = “I think the key learning from China is speed. The faster you can find the cases, isolate
the cases, and track their close contacts, the more successful you’re going to be.” China thus
from March 4 since when the outbreak has began, has taken key steps such as, Effectively
quarantining close to 60 million people which slowed down the spread outside of Hubei,
Ensured free treatment, testing and as well provided prescriptions to patients for 3 months
rather than 1 month to ensure supply of medicines.
Along with the above, the High-tech Apps for tracking and testing are –
1. New COVID-19 app that tells people whether they have been in close contact with anyone
confirmed infected, based on flight and train records and also by checking their national
identification numbers.
2. An app called Pingan Good Doctor, which has 300 million users and connects patients at home
with doctors and pharmacies, has noted a surge in the number of users this past month.
3. Alibaba’s Alipay app has rolled out a health QR code system, assigning colour codes to citizens
marking their risk level, drawing on their travel history and contacts. A green code means you
can travel freely, yellow requires seven days of quarantine, while red requires a 14-day
quarantine.
4. From the billions of dollars invested in AI, Beijing-based Face++ has come up with a
sophisticated temperature screening tool that can work in crowded places and screen
thousands of people. Two other prominent AI players, Baidu and Sense Time, are
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helping police identify people who aren’t wearing masks in public places and offices.
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