DAILY NEWS DIARY 04.06.2020 DAILY NEWS DIARY 25.07 · 2020. 7. 25. · usher in a change in a regressive mindset, which mirrors society, a lot more must be done on gender sensitisation

DAILY NEWS DIARY 04.06.2020 DAILY NEWS DIARY 25.07.2020

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02.06.2020

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DAILY NEWS DIARY of

25.07.2020

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Dear Student,

Warm Greetings.

DnD aims to provide every day news analysis in

sync with the UPSC pattern.

It is targeted at UPSC – Prelims & Mains.

Daily articles are provided in the form of

Question and Answers

To have a bank of mains questions.

And interesting to read.

Providing precise information that can

be carried 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

INDEX

Essay Paper

Editorial

1. How the Permanent Commission grant has been sanctioned to women and the Gender barrier aspect attached to it.…..…….03

GS 2

International Relations

1. The new edge of US-China Dynamic………………………...............05

GS 3

Economic Development

1. Summary of the RBI’s Financial Stability Report………………..…06

Snippets

GS3


1. RBI signs $400 mn currency swap facility for Sri Lanka…………08

Security

2. India – Israel’s new liberalised foreign direct investment

(FDI) regime in defencemanufacturing……………………………..09

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Essay Paper

Editorial

Q – Discuss how the Permanent Commission grant has been

sanctioned for women in the army and the Gender barrier

aspect attached to it?

INTRO = A glass ceiling was shattered when the Ministry of

Defence issued a formal letter granting permanent commission

to women officers in the Indian Army. The uphill battle to break

a gender stereotype and provide equal opportunities for women

in the Army had to be fought right up to the highest level, in the

Supreme Court. Even so, the MoD’s Government Sanction Letter

specifying the grant of permanent commission to Short Service

Commission (SSC) women officers in all the 10 streams in which

they presently serve is a cause for celebration. It will go a long

way in ending a prejudice associated with the Army.

Challenges –

True, the fight was far from easy. It was long and protracted, as

the government initially glossed over a Delhi High Court ruling in

the litigants’ favour 10 years ago. Then in the Supreme Court,

just what the litigants were up against became clear from the

views of the government. A written note to the Court pointed at

“physiological limitations” of women officers, saying that these

were great challenges for women officers to meet the exigencies

of service.

The Winning Point –

In February, the Supreme Court read the government the riot

act, asking it to abide by its own policy on granting permanent

commission to women in the SSC and giving them command

postings in all services other than combat.

The misogyny was called out in a 54-page judgment. The Supreme

Court noted that women officers of the Indian Army had brought

laurels to the force. The Army is often seen as the preserve of men,

but enough women have fought heroic battles to bust that myth, from

Rani of Jhansi in the past to Squadron Leader Minty Agarwal of the

Indian Air Force, who last year “was part of the team that guided Wing

Commander Abhinandan Varthaman during the Balakot airstrike

carried out by the IAF”.

Way Forward -

1) The irony is that of the 40,825 officers serving in the Army, a mere

1,653 are women, as the top court noted. The overall percentage of

women at all levels of the armed forces needs to be increased. To

usher in a change in a regressive mindset, which mirrors society, a

lot more must be done on gender sensitisation.

2) Elsewhere in the world, in countries such as the United States and

Israel, women are allowed in active combat. Thus a gender barrier

may have fallen, but the war against inequity is far from over. The

same procedure for male SSC officers would be followed for women

to give permanent commission.

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GS 2

International Relations

Q – Discuss the new edge of US-China Dynamic and how India is

caught in between?

BACKGROUND = Although the US-China trade war had begun two

years ago, with both sides imposing punitive tariffs on imports

from each other, Washington and Beijing had continuing

negotiations on resolving the dispute. The two sides had

announced a phase one of the trade deal earlier this year. But

recent months have seen the rapid expansion of the scope and

intensity of the conflict. The Trump Administration charged China

with spreading the COVID-19 virus that has infected more than

four million Americans and killed nearly 1,50,000. Beijing

retaliated by alleging that the Trump Administration was blaming

China for its own failures in dealing with the pandemic. It also

floated the theory that the US Army might have been the original

source of the deadly virus.

Recently –

1) Beijing has retaliated swiftly against Washington’s decision to

close down the Chinese consulate in Houston by ordering the

closure of the US consulate in Chengdu in southwestern China.

2) China had also rejected the Trump Administration’s charge that its

Houston consulate was engaged in espionage and theft of

industrial secrets.

3) And also the Trump Administration accused Chinese hackers of

trying to steal US research on anti-COVID vaccines. In recent

weeks, the US stepped up its global campaign against China’s

telecom giant Huawei and pressed its allies and partners to reject

its technology in rolling out the 5G mobile networks.

Extending Tensions –

Beyond the bilateral issues of diplomatic representation, trade,

technology and the coronavirus, the conflict between the two great

powers has inevitably begun to envelop other countries, especially

those in Asia –

1) U.S rejected Beijing’s territorial claims in the disputed waters of the

South China Sea as unlawful.

2) Washington was squarely on the Indian side in the unfolding military

conflict between Delhi and Beijing in eastern Ladakh.

However, welcome Washington’s uninhibited support against

Beijing generates deep concerns about being drawn into the

escalating US-China conflict. The NDA government understands the

gravity of the conflict on India’s China frontier and the import of the

current inflection point in US-China relations. Getting the India-US

relationship right is more critical now than ever before.

GS 3


Q – Discuss the summary of the RBI’s Financial Stability Report?

BACKGROUND =The Reserve Bank of India has released the 20th issue

of the Financial Stability Report (FSR). The FSR reflects the collective

assessment of the Sub-Committee of the Financial Stability and

Development Council (FSDC) on risks to financial stability and the

resilience of the financial system. And Includes –

1) Stress tests indicated that gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio

of scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) could worsen to as high as

14.7% by the end of the current financial year, from 8.5% in March

2020.

2) Which assumes hypothetically that GDP would suffer a contraction of

8.9% in 2020-21, In the baseline case, the GDP is assumed to contract

4.4%.

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https://indianexpress.com/about/coronavirus/

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/pandemic-explained-who-novel-coronavirus-covid19-what-is-a-pandemic-6309727/

https://indianexpress.com/article/world/china-coronavirus-tracker-region-wise-cases-and-deaths/

https://indianexpress.com/about/huawei/

https://indianexpress.com/about/coronavirus/



3) Observing that the capital to risk-weighted assets ratio (CRAR) of

SCBs edged down to 14.8% in March, from 15% in September

2019, the RBI projected that this ratio could slide to “13.3% in

March 2021 under the baseline scenario and to 11.8% under the

very severe stress scenario”.

4) Bank credit which had considerably weakened during the first half

of 2019-20, slid down further to 5.9% by March 2020 and

remained muted up to early June 2020. This moderation was

broad-based across all bank groups

5) In terms of inter-sectoral exposures, asset management

companies/mutual funds, followed by insurance companies, were

the biggest fund providers in the system, while non-banking

financial companies (NBFCs) were the biggest receivers, followed

by housing finance companies (HFCs).

The central bank said the near-term economic prospects appear

severely impacted by lockdown induced disruptions to both supply

and demand side factors, diminished consumer confidence and

risk aversion. On the assessment of systemic risk, the RBI said in its

report that the Indian financial system remained stable,

notwithstanding the significant downside risks to economic

prospects.

Snippets

GS 3


RBI signs $400 mn currency swap facility for Sri Lanka

The Reserve Bank of India has agreed to a $400 million currency swap

facility for Sri Lanka till November 2022

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka had sought the swap facility to help

bolster the pandemic hit island nation’s foreign exchange reserves.

The RBI’s action comes in the wake of a recent bilateral ‘technical

discussion’ on rescheduling Colombo’s outstanding debt to India. Sri

Lanka owes $960 million to India.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha said the neighbours

could explore possible collaborations in textiles, IT and agribusiness,

sectors that India was ‘strong in’. Assuring that Sri Lanka would

“facilitate, protect and promote a liberal ecosystem for Indian

investors in developing industrial zones, automotive components,

pharma, textiles and engineering.

Srilankan Exports - difficulties in market access, often created due to

non-tariff barriers in receiving countries, was an impediment, and

urged FICCI to collaborate with the Sri Lankan Mission in New Delhi to

help boost the export of Sri Lankan spices and concentrates to the

Indian market.

For Prelims –

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A currency swap is a transaction in which two parties exchange an

equivalent amount of money with each other but in

different currencies. The parties are essentially loaning each other

money and will repay the amounts at a specified date

and exchange rate

Security

India – Israel’s new liberalised foreign direct investment (FDI)

regime in defence manufacturing.

The Indian Armed Forces are undertaking a series of emergency

defence purchases, including from Israel, amid ongoing tensions

with China on the border. In May, the government increased the

limit for FDI in defence through the automatic route from 49% to

74%.

The Army has already taken a decision to order another batch of

12 launchers and around 250 missiles of Spike Anti-Tank Guided

Missiles (ATGM) and additional Heron Undermanned Aerial

Vehicles (UAV), among others, from Israel through the emergency

procurement route.

How about this today!?

The new START TREATY recently in news, is to cap the nuclear warheads of which 2 nations in the current world? a. Russia – USA b. USA – Iran c. China – USA d. Iran – China

Hey from yesterday….

The algae on the surface of the water prevents?

a. Access of bacteria in water

b. Access of sunlight in water

b. Growth of fungi

c. Growth of salt attracting bacteria Answer: b

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DAILY NEWS DIARY 04.06.2020 DAILY NEWS DIARY 25.07 · 2020. 7. 25. · usher in a change in a regressive mindset, which mirrors society, a lot more must be done on gender sensitisation