February 5, 2020 Abhyaas Newsboard · • Each letter has to be recognised as a character in some recognisable format such as ASCII or Unicode. • The letter has various components

February 5, 2020

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Abhyaas Newsboard...For the quintessential test prep student

1. Classical Language

At the recently concluded 93rd edition of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, a resolution was passeddemanding the declaration of Marathi as a ‘Classical’ language.More On This...Currently, Six languages enjoy the ‘Classical’ status: Tamil (declared in 2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008),Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).Guidelines for declaring a language as ‘Classical’ are:• High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years.• A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers.• The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community.• The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the

classical language and its later forms or its offshoots.

2. Bharati Script

Researchers from IIT Madras have already developed a unified script for nine Indian languages, named the BharatiScript.Now, going a step further, developed a method for reading documents in Bharati script using a multi-lingual opticalcharacter recognition (OCR) scheme.More On This...Optical Character Recognition (OCR) scheme:• It involves first separating (or segmenting) the document into text and non-text.• The text is then segmented into paragraphs, sentences words and letters.• Each letter has to be recognised as a character in some recognisable format such as ASCII or Unicode.• The letter has various components such as the basic consonant, consonant modifiers, vowels etc.Bharati script is an alternative for the languages of India developed by a team at the Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) in Madras lead by Dr. Srinivasa Chakravarthy. The scripts that have been integrated include Devnagari, Bengali,Gurmukhi, Gujarati, Oriya, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Tamil.

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3. Padma Awards

Padma Awards – one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, PadmaVibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. They were instituted in the year 1954. The Awards are given in variousdisciplines/ fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry,medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. This year President has approved conferment of 141Padma Awards.More On This...• Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service;( it is a second degree honour).This

year a total of 7 people were awarded the Padma Vibhushan, which included George Fernandes,Arun Jaitley,SirAnerood Jugnauth,Sushma Swaraj(Public affairs),M. C. Mary Kom(Sports),Chhannulal Mishra(Art),SriVishveshateertha Swamiji Sri,Pejavara Adhokhaja Matha Udupi (Others-Spiritualism)

• Padma Bhushan is awarded for distinguished service of high order. (it is a third degree honour).This year atotal of 16 people were awarded the Padma Bhushan, which includes P. V Sindhu, Manohar Parrikar, AnandMahindra among many others.

• Padma Shri is awarded for distinguished service in any field. (it is a fourth degree honour).This year a total of118 people were awarded the Padma Shri, which includes Jai Prakash Agarwal, Jitu Rai, Kangana Ranautamong many others.

The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. The award is normally not conferredposthumously. However, in highly deserving cases, the Government could consider giving an award posthumously ifthe demise of the person proposed to be honoured has been recent, say within a period of one year preceding theRepublic Day on which it is proposed to announce the award.

4. Indian History Congress

Recently, the 80th session of the Indian History Congress (IHC) was held at Kannur, Kerala.It called upon political and administrative authorities to pursue the constitutional duty of promoting compositeculture, which is vital to promoting the territorial unity of India. More On This...• Founded in 1935, the Indian History Congress (IHC) is the largest association of professional historians in South

Asia• It has about 35000 members of which over 2000 delegates participate in its session every year.• It has been holding its sessions very regularly from its inception and publishing its proceedings every year since

1935.



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• Its main objective is to promote secular and scientific writing of history.• The BISM organised an All India Congress in 1935 to celebrate its silver jubilee in Pune. As an outcome, the

Indian History Congress (IHC) was thus born with about 50 delegates.• The Bharata Itihasa Samshodhaka Mandala (BISM) was founded by Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade in 1910 in

Pune with the support of K C Mehendale.

5. Curative petition

Curative petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court by two convicts in the Nirbhaya case. The petitions comejust days after a Delhi sessions court scheduled the execution of the four convicts at Tihar Jail on January 22.More On This...Curative Petition is the last judicial resort available for redressal of grievances in court which is normally decided byjudges in-chamber. It is only in rare cases that such petitions are given an open-court hearing.• The concept of curative petition was first evolved by the Supreme Court of India in the matter of Rupa Ashok

Hurra vs. Ashok Hurra and Anr. (2002) where the question was whether an aggrieved person is entitled to anyrelief against the final judgement/order of the Supreme Court, after dismissal of a review petition.

• The Supreme Court in the said case held that in order to prevent abuse of its process and to cure gross miscar-riage of justice, it may reconsider its judgements in exercise of its inherent powers. For this purpose, the Courthas devised what has been termed as a “curative” petition.

Article- 137 of the Constitution subjects to the provisions of the guidelines made under Article 145, by which it isclear that the Supreme Court has the ability to review any judgment declared by it.

6. Private property is a human right: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has recently held that a citizen’s right to own private property is a human right and the statecannot take possession of it without following due procedure and authority of law.More On This...• The state cannot trespass into the private property of a citizen and then claim ownership of the land in the

name of ‘adverse possession’.• Grabbing private land and then claiming it as its own makes the state an encroacher.• In a welfare state, right to property is a human right.• A welfare state cannot be permitted to take the plea of adverse possession, which allows a trespasser i.e. a

person guilty of a tort, or even a crime, to gain legal title over such property for over 12 years. The State cannotbe permitted to perfect its title over the land by invoking the doctrine of adverse possession to grab theproperty of its own citizens.

‘Right to private property was previously a fundamental right’ under Article 31 of the Constitution. Property ceasedto be a fundamental right with the 44th Constitution Amendment in 1978. Nevertheless, Article 300A required thestate to follow due procedure and authority of law to deprive a person of his or her private property. The right toproperty is now considered to be not only a constitutional or statutory right, but also a human right.



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7. Centre-state disputes and Article 131

Kerala has become the first state to challenge the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) before the Supreme Courtunder Article 131 of the Constitution.Besides, Chhattisgarh government has also filed a suit in the Supreme Court under Article 131, challenging theNational Investigation Agency (NIA) Act on the ground that it encroaches upon the state’s powers to maintain law andorder.Under Article 131 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction to deal with any dispute between theCentre and a state; the Centre and a state on the one side and another state on the other side; and two or more states.More On This...• For a dispute to qualify as a dispute under Article 131, it has to necessarily be between states and the Centre,

and must involve a question of law or fact on which the existence of a legal right of the state or the Centredepends.

• In a 1978 judgment, State of Karnataka v Union of India, Justice P N Bhagwati had said that for the Supreme Courtto accept a suit under Article 131, the state need not show that its legal right is violated, but only that the disputeinvolves a legal question.

• Article 131 cannot be used to settle political differences between state and central governments headed bydifferent parties.

8. 71st Republic Day

India celebrated its 71st Republic Day on January 26, 2020.Guest of Honour: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.Bolsonaro is the third Brazilian President to be invited as Chief Guest for India’s Republic Day Parade.Before him, India hosted President Fernando Henrique Cardoso in 1996 and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2004,as chief guests for the Republic Day Parade.More On This...• The Constitution came into effect on January 26, 1950, a date specially chosen to coincide with the anniversary

of ‘Purna Swaraj Diwas’.• January 26, 1930 was marked as ‘Purna Swaraj Diwas’, or the day the nation would attain complete freedom from

its colonisers by the Congress.• The members of the drafting committee felt that the birth of the constitution should be observed on a day that

held some significance in their fight for independence.• When India was ultimately granted freedom by the British in 1947, but on August 15 and not January 26, the date

was instead assigned to celebrating India’s Republic Day.• This was the day the Indian Independence Act was consequently repealed and India was established as a demo-

cratic republic, no longer a dominion of the British Crown.



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9. President’s address to both Houses of Parliament

On first day of the Budget Session of Parliament, President Ram Nath Kovind will address a joint sitting of the twoHouses.More On This...• Article 87(1) says: “At the commencement of the first session after each general election to the House of the

People and at the commencement of the first session of each year the President shall address both Houses ofParliament assembled together and inform Parliament of the causes of its summons.”

• First Constitutional Amendment: Originally, the Constitution required the President to address both Houses ofParliament at the commencement of “every session”. This requirement was changed by the First Amendment tothe Constitution.

• The President’s speech essentially highlights the government’s policy priorities and plans for the upcoming year.It is drafted by the Cabinet, and provides a broad framework of the government’s agenda and direction.

• After the President or Governor delivers the address, a debate takes place not only on the contents of the addressbut also the broad issues of governance in the country. This then paves the way for discussion on the Budget.

10. Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System

It is a new online tracking system for political parties launched recently by the Election Commission of India. It willallow them to track their registration applications submitted to the poll panel on a real-time basis. It will apply forparties registering from January 1, 2020More On This...• It will enable those applying for the party registration from January 1 to track the progress of their application

using the system. The users will get status updates through SMS and e-mail.• Registration of Political parties is governed by the provisions of Section 29A of the Representation of the People

Act, 1951.• A party seeking registration under the said Section with the Commission has to submit an application to the

Commission within a period of 30 days following the date of its formation as per guidelines prescribed by theElection Commission of India in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 324 of the Commission of India andSection 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

11. Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana



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Out of the total 790, only 252 Members of Parliament (MPs) have adopted gram panchayats under phase-4 of SaansadAdarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).Since the launch of the scheme, only 1,753 gram panchayats have been selected across four phases, way below theexpected figure.More On this...• Launched in 2014, it is a village development project under which each Member of Parliament will take the

responsibility of developing physical and institutional infrastructure in three villages by 2019.• The goal is to develop three Adarsh Grams or model villages by March 2019, of which one would be achieved by

2016. Thereafter, five such Adarsh Grams (one per year) will be selected and developed by 2024.• The Project was launched on the occasion of birth anniversary of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan.• The scheme will be implemented through a village development plan• The district Collector will be the nodal officer for implementing the SAGY.• SAGY gives focus to community participation. Social mobilization of village community can trigger a chain of

other development activities in the village.

12. Commission to Examine Sub Categorization of other Backward Classes

Cabinet approves Extension of term of the commission constituted under Article 340 of the constitution to examinethe issue of Sub-categorization within other Backward Classes in the Central ListMore On This...• Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees equality before the law.• That means un-equals cannot be treated equally. Measures are required to be taken for the upliftment of un-

equals to bring them on par with the advanced classes.• Sub- categorisation:• In view of this, the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) proposed the sub-categorisation of Other

Backward Classes (OBCs) back in 2015.• In October 2017, President Ram Nath Kovind, in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 340 of the Constitu-

tion, appointed a commission to examine the issue of sub-categorisation of OBCs, chaired by retired Justice G.Rohini, to ensure social justice in an efficient manner by prioritising the Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs).

• Sub categorization of the OBCs will ensure that the more backward among the OBC communities can alsoaccess the benefits of reservation for educational institutions and government jobs.

• At present, there is no sub-categorisation and 27% reservation is a monolithic entity.

13. Discrimination against women in various religions

The Supreme Court announced on January 30, 2020 that its nine-judge constitution bench will frame issues regardingdiscrimination against women in various religions and at different religious places including the Sabarimala Templein Kerala.The constitution bench will frame the issues while considering all cases of gender inequality at religious placesacross different religions on February 3, 2020. The issues will then be taken up for deliberation.More On This...• The Supreme Court bench will consider the following gender inequality cases:



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• Restriction in the entry of Muslim women into mosques• Female genital mutilation in the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community• Barring of Parsi women, married to non-Parsi men, from the holy fireplace at Agiary.• The nine-judge supreme court bench is expected to go through each of the issues in detail and try to come to

some common legal questions that can be taken up for hearing. The bench will also fix up a hearing schedule.• The Supreme Court announced on January 28, 2020 that its nine-judge constitution bench will wrap up hearing

all cases related to discrimination against women at religious places within 10 days.• The ruling was delivered by a three-judge bench comprising CJI S A Bobde and Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant.

The bench clarified that it cannot take more than 10 days and even if someone wants more time, it cannot begiven.

14. Tougher law against sexual harassment at work

The Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Home Minister Amit Shah, which was constituted to strengthen the legalframework to prevent sexual harassment at the workplace, has finalised its recommendations.More On This...• The GoM was constituted first in October 2018 in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement after many women

shared their ordeal on social media.• The Women and Child Development Ministry had steered the Sexual Harassment of Women and Workplace

(Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act in 2013, which was applicable to government offices, the privatesector, NGOs and the unorganised sector.

• The 2013 act only imposed a fine of ¹ 50,000 on employers for non-compliance with respect to the constitutionof the ICC. This proved to be insufficient in ensuring that the employers constituted the ICC in a time-boundmanner. Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition And Redressal) Act, 2013 definessexual harassment.

It includes “any one or more” of the following “unwelcome acts or behaviour”committed directly or by implication:Physical contact and advances, Sexually coloured remarks, Showing pornography, A demand or request for sexualfavours, Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature.

15. National Population Register (NPR)

The central government issued a clarification on the document list of the National Population Register (NPR) onJanuary 15, 2020. The Home Ministry will soon be issuing a form carrying questions for the NPR registry.More On This...• The government clarified that no documents or biometric details will be asked while conducting the NPR exer-

cise. The exercise will be carried out in all states of India except Assam between April-September 2020 alongwith the house listing phase of the census exercise. Most of the states have already notified provisions relatedto the NPR exercise.

• The National Population Register is a list comprising names of all usual residents of the country. The usualresident is defined as a person who has resided in a local area for six months or more or a person who plans toreside in that area for the next six months or more.

• Every usual resident in the nation must register under the National Population Register.



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• As per the latest government clarification, no documentary proof or biometric details will be collected for NPRexercise.

The NPR exercise requires the demographic details of every usual resident including name, relationship to head ofhousehold, gender, date of birth, place of birth, nationality (as declared), father’s and mother’s name, marital status,spouse’s name (if married), occupation, educational qualification, present address of usual residence, duration ofstay at present address and permanent address.

16. ICJ ruling on Rohingya crisis

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has given its verdict on the Rohingya crisis.The ruling of the court is binding on Myanmar, and cannot be appealed. However, no means are available to the courtto enforce it.More On This...• The government of Myanmar should immediately take “all measures within its power” to prevent atrocities

against members of the minority Rohingya Muslim community.• This is to be done in accordance with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of

the Crime of Genocide.• Myanmar shall ensure that its military or any irregular armed units within its control, do not commit any of the

acts described above, or conspire to commit, direct, attempt to commit, or be complicit in genocide.• Myanmar shall take “effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence

related to allegations of acts” of genocide.• So far, only three cases of genocide worldwide have been recognised since World War II: Cambodia (the late

1970s), Rwanda (1994), and Srebrenica, Bosnia (1995).• Proving genocide has been difficult because of the high bar set by its ‘intent requirement’ — that is showing the

genocidal acts were carried out with the specific intent to eliminate a people on the basis of their ethnicity.

17. GSAT-30

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched ‘GSAT-30’ from French Guiana on January17, 2020..More On This...• GSAT 30 will serve as a replacement to INSAT-4A spacecraft services with enhanced coverage. The satellite was

launched along with the European Space Company’s telecommunication satellite- Eutelsat Konnect.• The GSAT-30 communication satellite will aim to provide high-quality telecommunications, television and broad-

casting services.• GSAT-30 is an operational communication satellite with a mission life of up to 15 years. It has been configured

to give a boost to communication services such as television uplink, DTH, digital satellite news and VSAT. Itweighs approximately 3357 kg.

• The satellite derives its heritage from ISRO’s previous INSAT/GSAT satellite series. It will replace INSAT-4Aspacecraft services with enhanced coverage.



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It will mainly provide Indian mainland and island coverage in Ku-band. It will also provide extended coverage inC-band, which will help television broadcasters to broadcast their programmes across India, Australia, Gulf nationsand a large number of Asian countries.

18. ISRO to set up second launch port in Thoothukodi district

Indian Space Research Organisation establish a second launch port in Thoothukodi district in Tamilnadu exclusivelyto launch small satellite launch vehicles.More On This...• ISRO Chairman K Sivan informed that this would come up in 2300 acres.• The line of GPS navigation system developed by America, the Indian navigation system called Navic with the

indigenous atomic clock, will be operational with mobile phone manufacturers coming forward to install theregional navigation device.

• Chandrayaan 3 mission to the moon comprising of a lander and a rover is approved by the Union Government.• ISRO is the space agency of the Government of India and has its headquarters in the city of BengaluruISRO built India’s first satellite, Aryabhata, which was launched by the Soviet Union on 19 April 1975. It was namedafter the mathematician Aryabhata. In 1980, Rohini became the first satellite to be placed in orbit by an Indian-madelaunch vehicle.

19. iBox

On January 29, 2020, ICICI (Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) Bank , an Indian financial institution,has launched first-of-its-kind 24×7 self-service delivery tool for customers called “iBox” at one of its branches inMumbai, Maharashtra. The bank has started it in over 50 branches in 17 cities.More On This...• Under this facility, customers will now be able to take their debit, credit card, check book and return check from

the branch close to their home or office. The iBox terminals are installed outside the premises of the bank’sbranches, which can be used even after the bank closes.

• This facility will be more beneficial for people who are not present at their home to receive these deliverables.Customers can also access it from their registered phone on even Sundays & holidays.

• When the customer’s package arrives at the iBox terminal, an SMS notification will be sent to them, whichcontains the GPS(Global Positioning System) location of the iBox, an OTP(one-time password) and a QR (QuickResponse) code. After this, the customer goes to the iBox and inserts his registered mobile number and OTP orQR code in it, after which the box opens and the customer can take his package.

Some of the cities that currently installed iBox terminals include Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru,Hyderabad, Pune, Navi Mumbai.



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20. Women, Business and the Law 2020

Women, Business and the Law 2020, the sixth edition in a series, has been released.Women, Business and the Law (WBL) is a World Bank Group project collecting unique data on the laws and regulationsthat restrict women’s economic opportunities.More On This...• The index analyzes laws and regulations affecting women’s economic inclusion in 190 economies.• It is composed by eight indicators structured around women’s interactions with the law as they begin, progress

through and end their careers, aligns different areas of the law with the economic decisions women make atvarious stages of their lives.

• indicators are Mobility, Workplace, Pay, Marriage, Parenthood, Entrepreneurship, Assets, and Pension.• The study tracked “how laws affect women at different stages in their working lives and focusing on those laws

applicable in the main business city”.• Only eight economies scored a perfect 100 — Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Latvia, Luxembourg,

and Sweden. Those countries have ensured equal legal standing to men and women on all the eight indicatorsof the index.

• India is placed 117th among 190 countries.• It scored 74.4 on a par with Benin and Gambia and way below least developed countries like Rwanda and

Lesotho.

21. World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2020

International Labour Organisation (ILO) has recently released ‘World Employment and Social Outlook Trends 2020’.The report highlights that global unemployment will rise by 2.5 million in 2020. The ILO report said that about 188million people are unemployed in the world.More On This...• According to the ILO report, the lack of productive, well-paying jobs means that more than 630 million workers,

one in five of all workers worldwide, live in extreme poverty. This report stated that global unemployment wasstable for the past nine years but as the global economic growth is slowing down and the number of workers isincreasing, new jobs are not being created in the market in that proportion.

• About 188 million people are unemployed and not getting any work according to their skills and abilities.• Around 267 million people (aged between 15-24) are not in employment, training or education.• According to the report, rising unemployment and deep inequality gap have made it difficult for people to live

better through jobs or work.It has also mentioned in the report that about 120 million people in the world have given up searching for jobs. Thegrowth of the labour force is slowing down in middle and high-income countries, which means that fewer jobs needto be created to stabilize unemployment rates.



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22. Global Talent Competitiveness Index

Global Talent Competitive Index (GTCI) for 2020 has been released.More On This...• GTCI, launched in 2013, is an annual benchmarking report that measures the ability of countries to compete for

talent.• It is released by INSEAD business school in partnership with Adecco Group and Google.• The report measures levels of Global Talent Competitiveness by looking at 70 variables such as ease of hiring,

gender earnings gap, and prevalence of training in firms.• India is placed at no. 72.• Although more could be done to improve the country’s educational system (68th in Formal Education), India’s

key strength relates to growing (44th) talent, due to its levels of lifelong learning (40th) and access to growthopportunities (39th).

• The country’s highest-ranked sub-pillar is employability, but the ability to match labour market demand andsupply stands in contrast to the country’s poor mid-level skills.

• Switzerland, the United States and Singapore lead the index.

23. Introduction of African Cheetah to suitable habitat in India

The Supreme Court allowed the introduction of African Cheetah to suitable habitat in India on January 28, 2020. Thetop court directed that the habitat should be chosen carefully after examining if the animal can adapt to Indianconditions.More On This...• The apex court was hearing a petition filed by National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which sought

permission to relocate African Cheetah from Namibia to India as a pilot project, as Indian cheetah is deemedextinct.

• The bench was headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde and comprised Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant. The topcourt, while modifying its previous order, stated that the African cheetahs can be introduced to the Kuno Na-tional Park in Madhya Pradesh or any other part of the country following a detailed study on all the aspects of itsrelocation.

• The Supreme Court said that the chosen habitat must suit the African cheetah’s habitat and in case of anydifficulty, a habitable location would be found.

• The apex court has sought a progress report from an expert panel on the reintroduction of African Cheetah inIndia after every four months.

The top court has constituted a three-member committee comprises former Wildlife India Director Ranjit Singh,Wildlife India DG Dhananjay Mohan and the Wildlife DIG in the Ministry of Environment and Forests to guide theNTCA to take a decision after conducting a detailed survey.



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24. Operation Venilla

Operation Vanilla: Indian Navy has launched ‘Operation Vanilla’ on January 28 to help flood-hit Madagascar. IndianNavy’s Airavat has been reached at Madagascar on January 30. Indian Navy’s large amphibious ship will provide allnecessary assistance to disaster-hit Madagascar.More On This...• Madagascar is a country located in the Indian Ocean which about 400 kilometers away from the coast of East

Africa. Madagascar is the world’s second-largest island country after Greenland. According to government agen-cies, India stands in solidarity with Madagascar during a national disaster. About Madagascar Disaster

• Madagascar affected by the cyclone Diane recently. About 92,000 people have been affected due to floods inthe country. President of Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina, has requested the international community to help thecountry with all possible measures. Heavy rainfall, floods, and landslides caused the loss of thousands of livesand the displacement of a large number of people

• Indian Navy Ship Airavat has reached Seychelles to provide all necessary help to Madagascar. The INS Airavat iscarrying five pallets each of victualing, naval stores and clothing. It is also carrying three pallets of medicines.

• Indian Navy will provide drinking water, emergency food, clothes, temporary shelters, evacuation related help,medical assistance, emergency transportation and communication assistance to the people of Madagascar.“Operation Vanilla” is a part of the Government of India’s scheme – ‘Security and Growth for all in the Region(SAGAR)’.

25. Ramsar sites in India

India has added 10 more wetlands to sites protected by the Ramsar Convention. With this, a total of 37 sites in thecountry have been recognised under the international treaty.They are Nandur Madhameshwar, a first for Maharashtra; Keshopur-Miani, Beas Conservation Reserve and Nangalin Punjab; and Nawabganj, Parvati Agra, Saman, Samaspur, Sandi and Sarsai Nawar in Uttar Pradesh. The otherRamsar sites are in Rajasthan, Kerala, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Jammuand Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Tripura.More On This...• It is an international treaty for the conservation and wise use of wetlands.• It is named after the Iranian city of Ramsar, on the Caspian Sea, where the treaty was signed on 2 February 1971.• Known officially as ‘the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat’

(or, more recently, just ‘the Convention on Wetlands’), it came into force in 1975.



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26. Australian Bushfires

Australia was recently ravaged by the worst wildfires seen in decades, with large swaths of the country devastatedsince the fire season began.All this has been exacerbated by persistent heat and drought, and many point to climate change as a factor makingnatural disasters go from bad to worse.More On This...• Each year there is a fire season during the Australian summer, with hot, dry weather making it easy for blazes to

start and spread.• Natural causes are to blame most of the time, like lightning strikes in drought-affected forests.• Dry lightning was responsible for starting a number of fires in Victoria’s East Gippsland region.• Humans can also be to blame. NSW police have charged at least 24 people with deliberately starting bushfires.• Australia is experiencing one of its worst droughts in decades- last spring was the driest on record.Meanwhile, a heatwave in December broke the record for highest nationwide average temperature, with some placessweltering under temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius Strong winds have also made the fires and smokespread more rapidly.

27. Global Health Emergency

Coronavirus has been declared a Global Health Emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on January 30,2020. WHO said in a statement that Coronavirus is a significant threat to the world. The WHO statement highlightsthat people should not go to China.More On This...• Novel Coronavirus (COV) belongs to a family of viruses whose infection can cause problems ranging from cough

to breathlessness. This virus has never been seen before. The virus infection started in December 2019 inWuhan, China. According to WHO, fever, cough, shortness of breath is its common symptoms. There is novaccine has been made to stop the virus so far.

• According to the Ministry of Ayush, symptoms of Coronavirus are – Fever, Cold, Sneezing, Cough, and difficulty inbreathing.

• Haryana’s Hisar has registered the first suspected case of Coronavirus on February 04, 2020. The suspectedpatient has been admitted to an isolation ward of Hisar’s Civil Hospital. The suspected patient is a medicalstudent in China and recently returned from there.

The government of Kerala has declared ‘state calamity’ after three people found positive for the virus. The Coronavirushas killed about 500 people in China. Hong Kong has also reported the first death from Coronavirus on February 04,2020. On the other hand, the Government of India has constituted a High-Level Group of Ministers (GoM) to manageCoronavirus in India.



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28. World Archery lifted its ban on AAI

World Archery lifted its ban on the Archery Association of India (AAI) to boost Indian archers’ preparations for theTokyo OlympicsMore On This...World Archery has instructed to make changes in its constitution regarding athlete membership, resolve governanceissues and develop a strategic plan.• The move comes after the elections held in New Delhi on 18 January. Ban: On 5 August 2019, the World Archery

suspended the AAI for defying its guidelines by electing two parallel bodies.• The two factions of the AAI had held separate elections simultaneously in New Delhi and Chandigarh on 9 June

2019 to elect two presidents namely Munda and Rao.• Because of this, the Indian archers failed to compete at the South Asian Games in Nepal in December 2019. They

were allowed to participate at the Asian Championships in Bangkok as ‘neutral athletes’

29. Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2020

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated on 9th January every year to mark the contribution of Overseas Indiancommunity in the development of India. More On This...• 9th January was chosen as the day to celebrate this occasion since it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma

Gandhi returned to India from South Africa and eventually led India’s freedom struggle• PBD conventions are being held every year since 2003. These conventions provide a platform to the overseas

Indian community to engage with the government and people of the land of their ancestors for mutually benefi-cial activities.

• These conventions are also very useful in networking among the overseas Indian community residing in variousparts of the world and enable them to share their experiences in various fields

30. New and Emerging Strategic Technologies (NEST)

With India grappling with issues like the security implications of the introduction of 5G and artificial intelligence, theIndian foreign ministry has announced the setting up of a new division on New and Emerging Strategic Technologies(NEST).



February 5, 2020


www.lawprep.in

More On this...• The division will act as the nodal point in India’s foreign ministry for all matters connected to new and emerging

technologies including exchange of views with foreign governments and coordination with domestic ministriesand departments.

• It will also help assess foreign policy and international legal implications of emerging technology and technol-ogy-based resources.

• The desk will also be involved in negotiations to safeguard Indian interests at multilateral fora like the UnitedNations or the G20 where rules governing the use and access to such technologies could be decided.

• The new division is one of the many specialized desks created in recent years to deal with emerging challengesand scenarios.

Sources: Various leading Newspapers like The Hindu, The Indian Express and The Economic Times.

News Contributors

Ram Dheeraj Appasani NALSAR(Hyderabad)Anand Nayak Korra NALSAR(Hyderabad)

Newsboard Developed by - Achyuth Kadarla (Bonsagar Publications)



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February 5, 2020 Abhyaas Newsboard · • Each letter has to be recognised as a character in some recognisable format such as ASCII or Unicode. • The letter has various components