international · border between india and china. it is the demarcation that separates...

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LAC:

It refers to the Line of Actual Control. LAC is the effective

border between India and China. It is the demarcation that

separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled

territory. The LAC is 4,057-km long and it is divided into 3

sectors which are the eastern sector which spans Arunachal

Pradesh and Sikkim, the middle sector in Uttarakhand and

Himachal Pradesh and the western sector in Ladakh and Kashmir.

Recently there were reports of the movement of hundreds of army vehicles parked just 25 to 30 KM

away from Indian side of the LAC over the past few weeks. The troop movement of Chinese military

comes at a time when both the countries are in a stand-off along the Line of Actual Control at

Pangong Tso and the Galwan river valley. Additionally, the Chinese PLA troops completed the

construction of a 3 km long road on the north bank of Pangong Tso lake from Finger 5 to Finger 8. At

present, as tensions continue between India and China along the LAC the Indian and Chinese armies

are in talks to address the issue of LAC and sort the differences over the border area in eastern

Ladakh.

The reason for the continuous disputes between china and India are that for India, the LAC is 3,488

km long, however for China, it is just 2,000 km long. The major disagreements between India and

China are over the LAC in the Western sectors (Ladakh). There is no clarification on the LAC

boundary.

China and India have signed 4 agreements on this boundary issue. These agreements were signed in

September 1993, November 1996, April 2005 and October 2013. Indian & Chinese bilateral talks on

border disputes are held on the basis of these four agreements. However, these agreements are

considered to be flawed and are unable to resolve the boundary issue between the countries.

LAC & LOC: The LAC is the Line of Actual Control between India and China where as LOC is the Line of

Control between India & Pakistan. The LAC is not located in the map of both the countries and there

is no agreements regarding this where as the LOC is located on the map of both the countries and is

backed by the Shimla Agreement.

THAAD:

It refers to Terminal High Altitude Area Defense. THAAD is a

transportable, ground-based missile defense system. This anti-ballistic

missile defence system is designed to shoot down short, medium and

intermediate ballistic missiles in the terminal phase of their approach

to a target and it is alarmed about incoming missiles by space-based

satellites with infrared sensors. The THAAD system consists of five

major components namely interceptors, launchers, radar, a fire control

unit and support equipment. It has been designed and manufactured

by the US company Lockheed Martin.

International


Recently, China has been objecting to the presence of the US THAAD missile defence system in South

Korea. According to China's foreign ministry, the THAAD system will harm peace and stability in the

region, despite its ability to detect and shoot down North Korean missiles.

However, THAAD is not only deployed in South Korea but also in UAE, Guam, Israel and Romania.

THAAD missile defense system is operated by the US army stationed in its army base in Osan, South

Korea.

India & Australia:

Recently, an India-Australia Bilateral Virtual Summit was held

between PM Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott

Morrison. This is the first ever virtual bilateral summit to be held

by India.

During their meet both the leaders signed several agreements

and the COVID-19 measures being implemented in their respective countries was also discussed.

The agreements signed by both India and Australia are:-

1. Framework Arrangement on Cyber Enabled critical Technology

2. MoU on cooperation in processing of Critical and Strategic minerals

3. MoU on cooperation in mining and processing of strategic minerals.

4. Implementing arrangement related to cooperation in Defence

5. MoU on the field of Governance Reforms and Public Administration

6. MoU on understanding water resource management

7. MoU on cooperation of training and vocational education

The Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) signed by both the countries will allow them to

have access to each other’s military bases. They agreed to broaden defence cooperation by

enhancing the scope and complexity of their military exercises and engagement activities. They also

agreed to boost cooperation in the maritime domain.

India and Australia held their first bilateral naval exercise in 2015. The exercise was called AUSINDEX.

Both the countries also hold bilateral army exercises called AUSTRAHIND.

India has already signed similar agreements with the US, France and Singapore.

USA:

It refers to the United States of America. USA is a country consisting of

50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and

various possessions. The 50 states covers a vast swath of North America,

with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence

into the Pacific Ocean. The capital of US is Washington, D.C. The currency


used in USA is United States dollar - USD also abbreviated US$. The current President of US is Donald

Trump.

Recently, the US President Trump signed an executive order regarding liability protections for social

media companies such as Twitter and Facebook for content posted on these platforms. This order

will scrap some of the legal protections accorded for social-media platform.

Under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, tech companies currently enjoy broad

immunity from civil lawsuits stemming from what users post because they are treated as

“platforms” rather than “publishers”. However, as per the executive order, online platforms are

engaging in “selective censorship” and that Twitter’s labeling of Trump’s Tweets shows “political

bias”.

The move is seen as a retaliation by Trump against social media giants after Twitter factchecked him

for the first time over a false assertion that mail-in voting leads to widespread voter fraud. Trump

said the fact checks were editorial decisions by Twitter and amounted to political activism.

This executive order aims to narrow their protections from liability over the content posted on their

services. Trump’s executive order is designed to pressure regulators, including the Federal

Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, to come up with new rules that

would curtail that immunity.

CDA: It refers to Communication Decency Act. Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act

(CDA) of 1996 is a piece of Internet legislation in the United States. It provides immunity from

liability for providers and users of an "interactive computer service" who publish information

provided by third-party users.

An Executive Order: An executive order is a written directive issued by the President and is one of

the most common presidential documents. Such orders are not legislations and don’t require the

approval of the Congress, which also means that the Congress cannot overturn them. According to

the American Bar Association, Congress may pass legislation that makes it difficult or impossible to

carry out an executive order, such as removing funding. However, ultimately, only a sitting US

president can overturn an executive order by issuing another one to that effect

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MSP:

It refers to Minimum Support Prices. The Union Government recently

gave nod to historical decisions aimed at helping the farmers by

announcing the MSP of 14 crops for the Kharif season 2020-21 based on

the recommendation of CACP. The Government has hiked the MSP for

14 Kharif crops upto 83% to ensure better returns for their farm

produce

The Cabinet has also approved extension of repayment date for short term loans for agriculture and

allied activities till the end of August this year. This move will help all farmers whose loan repayment

due dates were between 1st March and 31st of August.

MeitY:

It refers to the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology. It

is an executive agency of the Union Government of the Republic of

India. It is responsible for IT policy, strategy and development of

the electronics industry. The current Union Minister of Electronics

& Information Technology is Ravi Shankar Prasad and the Minister

of State Electronics & Information Technology, Communications

and Human Resource Development is Shri Sanjay Dhotre

Recently, the Union Minister for Electronics and IT, Law and Justice and Communications Ravi

Shankar Prasad launched National “Artificial Intelligence Portal” of India called www.ai.gov.in. and a

National Program for the youth, “Responsible AI for Youth”. Both the online portal and the program

were launched on the occasion of the first anniversary of the second tenure of Prime Minister

Narendra Modi-led government.

National “Artificial Intelligence Portal” of India: This portal has been jointly developed by Ministry of

Electronics and IT along with NASSCOM from the IT industry. It will be jointly run by the National e-

Governance Division of Ministry of Electronics and IT along with National Association of Software

and Service Companies (NASSCOM) from the IT industry.

The main objective of the portal is to aid the development of solutions based on Artificial

Intelligence (AI). It will be responsible for sharing of resources like articles, investment funds in AI,

startups, companies and educational institutions related to AI, and hence will act as a one stop

digital platform for AI related developments in India.

National Program for the youth, “Responsible AI for Youth”: This Program has been created and

launched by the National e-Governance Division, Ministry of Electronics & IT in collaboration with

Intel India, with support from Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSE&L), Ministry of

Human Resource Development. DoSE&L will help reach-out to State Education Departments to

nominate teachers as per eligibility criteria.

National


The program not only aims to give the young students of the nation a platform and empower them

with appropriate new age tech mind-set, relevant AI skill-sets and access to required AI tool-sets to

make them digitally ready for the future but also empower the youth to become AI ready and help

reduce the skill gap, while enabling youth to create meaningful social impact solutions.

The Program is designed to reach out to students from Government schools pan India and provide

them with an opportunity to become part of the skilled workforce in an inclusive manner.

Ministry of Rural Development:

The Ministry of Rural Development is a branch of the Government of

India (GoI). This ministry was founded in June 2011. It is entrusted with

the task of accelerating the socio-economic development of rural

India. Its focus is on health, education, drinking water, housing and

roads. The ministry has two departments i.e., Department of Rural

Development and Department of Land Resources. The current Union

Minister for Rural Development is Narendra singh Tomar and for the State is Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti.

Recently, the Union Minister of Rural Development, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and

Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar chairs the 21st meeting of Central Employment

Guarantee Council (CEGC).

During the meet, GoI highlighted the work done under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005, by providing employment to rural people.

All time high amount was allocated to MGNREGA during the COVID-19 times. The GoI allocated

around Rs 61,500 and an additional amount of Rs 40,000 was also allocated under Atma Nirbhar

Bharat Abhiyan.

CEGC: It refers to the Central Employment Guarantee Council. CEGC was constituted under Section

10 of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREG Act), 2005. The

tenure of CEGC members is 1 year. The CEGC is chaired by the Rural Development Minister and

comprises both official and non-official members. The Council is responsible for monitoring,

redressal mechanism, and to advise the government about the implementation strategy of the

scheme. CEGC prepares Annual Reports on the implementation of MGNREGA for submission to

Parliament.

#iCommit:

It is an initiative launched by Minister of State (IC) (Power, New &

Renewable Energy) Raj Kumar Singh. The initiative was launched on

the occasion of World Environment Day for building an energy resilient

future.

The initiative is a clarion call to all stakeholders and individuals to

continue moving towards energy efficiency, renewable energy, and

sustainability to create a robust and resilient energy system in the future.


The initiative is driven by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EFFSL) under the administration of

Ministry of Power. Under the initiative, the task of EEFSL is uniting a diverse set of players such as

governments, corporates, think tanks, multilateral and bilateral organizations, governments, etc.

The initiative will also promote key undertakings of Government of India which are National Electric

Mobility Mission 2020, FAME 1 and FAME 2, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, Saubhagya

Scheme, Ujwala DISCOM Assurance Yojna (UDAY), Pradhan mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan

Mahaabhiya (PM-KUSUM), Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LED for All (UJALA), Atal JyotiYojna (AJAY) etc.

PCIM&H:

It refers to the Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine &

Homoeopathy. PCIM&H is an autonomous body under the aegis of

Ministry of AYUSH established since 2010.

Recently, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri

Narendra Modi has given its approval to re-establish Pharmacopoeia

Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) as Subordinate Office under Ministry of

AYUSH.

The commission has been set up by merging into it two Central Laboratories- Pharmacopoeia

Laboratory for Indian Medicine (PLIM) and Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia Laboratory (HPL) located

at Ghaziabad. The two central laboratories were established at Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh in 1975.

The main objective of this merger is to optimise the use of resources of the 3 organizations for

enhancing the standardization outcomes of Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy drugs

towards their effective regulation and quality control.

The merger will accord legal status to the merged structure of PCIM&H and its laboratory by virtue

of making amendments in the Drugs & Cosmetics Rules, 1945.

The decision in this regard has been taken after consulting the Director General Health Services,

Drugs Controller General and Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani Drugs Technical Advisory Board

(ASUDTAB).

ASUDTAB: It refers to the Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani Drugs Technical Advisory Board. ASUDTAB

advises the central and state governments in regulatory matters of Accelerated Shelf Life Testing

(ASLT) drugs.

Indian policy News


KCC:

It refers to Kisan Credit Card. The Government of India (GoI,) recently

launched Kisan Credit Card (KCC) campaign to help farmers. Under

this campaign, the KCC are to be provided to 1.5 crore dairy farmers

who come under the category of milk unions and milk producing

companies within the next two months under a special drive. The

government has taken this action for dairy farmers under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Package for farmers

in India.

The aim behind this scheme for dairy farmers is to provide adequate credit facility and additional

liquidity of worth Rs 5 lakh crore to farmers that are suffering from COVID-19 economic crisis.

KCC Scheme: The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme was launched in 1998. It was launched with the

aim of providing short-term formal credit to farmers.

IBC:

It refers to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. The

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was

introduced in Rajya Sabha by the Minister of Finance, Ms.

Nirmala Sitharaman, on 24 July 2019. The Bill amends the

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The Insolvency and

Bankruptcy Code, has been amended thrice. Insolvency is a

situation where individuals or companies are unable to repay

their outstanding debt.

Recently, the Union Government promulgated an ordinance to amend Insolvency and Bankruptcy

Code (IBC) for six months, which could be extended up to a year. The amendments to IBC were

promulgated by President Ramnath Kovind through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Ordinance,

2020. The new rules come into effect immediately, as of 5th June 2020.

Under its new rule, the Government of India (GoI) has effectively suspended fresh bankruptcy

proceedings against persons impacted because of COVID-19 for at least six months, up to a

maximum of one year. It means that the lenders will not be able to drag borrowers into insolvency

for any debt default for 6 months beginning March 25 where as the burrowers too will not be able to

declare bankruptcy in this period.

GoI suspended IBC Sections 7, 9 and 10, to provide relief to borrowers from being dragged into

insolvency amid the struggle with the impact of the lockdown.

Section 7 of the IBC allows a financial creditor to initiate corporate insolvency resolution process

against a corporate debtor.

Section 9 provides for application of insolvency by an operational creditor, while Section 10 is for

initiation of insolvency resolution proceedings by a corporate applicant.

Section 10 is for initiation of insolvency resolution proceedings by a corporate applicant.


The move is expected to allow companies to get their business back on track without the fear of

being dragged into insolvency.

TULIP:

It is an abbreviation for The Urban Learning Internship

Programme. TULIP is an online portal which is the first of its

kind initiative jointly launched by the Ministry of Human

Resource Development (MoHRD), the Ministry of Housing &

Urban Affairs, and All India Council for Technical Education

(AICTE).

TULIP has been launched with an aim to provide internship opportunities to fresh graduates in all

Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Smart Cities across the country. Under the programme, they will get

opportunities to work with 4,400 urban local bodies and 100 smart cities in India. Any graduate who

have completed B. Tech, B. Arch, B. Plan, BSc are eligible for this programme.

TULIP platforms will not only provide an opportunity for youth to generate new ideas to reform

Urban local bodies through modern techniques and innovative methods but also help to create a

potential talent pool in diverse fields like financing, urban planning, environmental planning,

sanitation and infrastructure, environmental engineering etc.

TULIP was announced by Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget 2020-21 under the

theme ‘Aspirational India’.

Trojan Asteroid:

These are Jupiter trojans, commonly called Trojan asteroids or

simply Trojans . They are a large group of asteroids that share the

planet Jupiter's orbit around the Sun. Relative to Jupiter, each

Trojan librates around one of Jupiter's two stable Lagrange points:

L4, lying 60° ahead of the planet in its orbit, and L5, 60° behind.

Recently, astronomers at the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy (UH IfA) have spotted a

new asteroid with a comet-like tail moving in the same orbit as Jupiter. It is described as something

between an asteroid and a comet. The object has been called an active asteroid.

They are usually known as Trojan asteroids. However, it is the first one of its kind to be seen with a

comet-like-tail. The object has been called an active asteroid because these objects appear to be

asteroids at first, but later develop activity, such as tails, like that of comets.

The object was first discovered in June 2019 and given the name 2019 LD2. It was discovered using

the university's Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), which was funded by NASA

and developed to search space for objects that may pose threats to the Earth. It was discovered

Science and Technology


moving in the same orbit travelled by Jupiter around the sun. These asteroids follow the same orbit

like that of a planet. But it remains 60 degrees ahead of or behind along the orbit.

The Jupiter Trojan asteroids orbit the Sun in two huge swarms, one swarm orbiting ahead of the

planet (where 2019 LD2 was found) and one swarm orbiting behind it.

As per the researchers, the Trojan asteroids have been captured into these orbits by Jupiter's strong

gravity. 2019 LD2 is the first-of-its-kind as because most Jupiter Trojans were captured billions of

years ago.

Ultra Swachh:

It is a disinfection unit named Ultra Swachh to disinfect a

wide range of materials, including Personal Protective

Equipment (PPEs), electronics items, fabrics, etc. It has been

developed by Defence Research and Development

Organisation (DRDO).

DRDO's Delhi based Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied

Sciences (INMAS) developed this product with industry partner M/s Gel Craft Healthcare Private Ltd,

Ghaziabad in compliance with International Standards of Industrial, Occupational, Personal and

Environmental Safety.

The Ultra Swachh comes in two variants namely Ozonated Space and Trinetra Technology. Trinetra

technology is the combination of Ozonated space and radical dispenser. Treatment is optimised with

automation for quick disinfection cycle. The system uses an advanced oxidative process comprising

of Ozonated Space Technology and uses the advanced oxidative process for disinfection process.

The system is double layered with specialised Ozone sealant technology assuring trapping of ozone

for the necessary disinfection cycle. It also has catalytic converter to ensure environment friendly

exhaust i.e. only oxygen and water.

SpaceX:

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., trading as SpaceX, is an

American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation

services company. It was founded on 6 May 2002 by Elon Musk

with the goal of reducing space transportation costs to enable

the colonization of Mars. It is headquartered in Hawthorne,

California. The SpaceX founder & CEO is Elon Musk. The current

SpaceX president & COO is Gwynne Shotwell.

Recently, marking the beginning of a new era in the United States (US) space programme, NASA

astronauts Robrt Behnken and Douglas Hurley docked the SpaceX capsule with the International

Space Station (ISS). The two NASA astronauts made history on Saturday as they became the first

Americans to launch on a US rocket from American soil to the space station in nearly a decade.


The SpaceX’s Falcon 9 with Crew Dragon capsule – Endeavour designed and built by Elon Musk’s

SpaceX lifted off on May 30 at 3:22 p.m (1.50 am Sunday in India) from Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy

Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida. It is the same launch pad, which was used during the Apollo

mission to the moon a half-century ago. With this, SpaceX has become the first private company to

fly astronauts into orbit.

SAI:

It is the acronym for sports Authority of India. SAI is the apex national

sports body of India. It was founded by Ministry of Youth Affairs and

Sports of Government of India (GoI) on 25 January 1984 as a Society

under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It was set up with a twin

objective of broad-basing of sports and to achieve excellence at the

national and international level. It is headquartered in New Delhi. The current Director General of

SAI is Sandip Pradhan.

Recently, Sports Authority of India (SAI) in collaboration with National Sports Federations (NSF)

launched India’s first ever sports e-pathshala named as Khelo India e-Pathshala. The programme was

inaugurated by the Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports, Kiren Rijiju and Union Minister of

Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda via a webinar which featured the participation of young archers, archery

coaches as well as experts from across the nation.

Coaching of total 21 sports will be given via this e-sports learning platform. The 21 games includes

athletics, archery, football, gymnastics, hockey, judo, kayaking & canoeing, kabaddi, para games,

rowing, shooting, taekwondo, boxing, cycling, fencing, table tennis, Volleyball, weightlifting,

wrestling and wushu.

This initiative aims to provide an online coaching and education programme by eminent athletes and

senior coaches for the grassroot level athletes across India via Khelo India e-pathshala.

Sports News

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The AFC Women's Asian Cup:

The AFC Women's Asian Cup formerly known as the AFC Women's

Championship is a quadrennial competition in women's football for

national teams which belong to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

It is the premier women's football competition in the AFC region for

national teams. The competition is also known as the Asian Women's

Football Championship and the Asian Women's Championship. It was founded in 1975. Nineteen

tournaments have been held till now. The current champions are Japan women's national football

team. The competition also serves as a qualifying tournament for the FIFA Women's World Cup.

Recently, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has granted All India Football Federation (AIFF) the

rights to host the AFC Women''s Asian Cup 2022 finals. The decision was taken at the AFC Women''s

Football Committee. India will be hosting the event for the second time. India for the first time had

hosted the event in 1979. The event will serve as the final qualification tournament for the 2023 FIFA

Women's World Cup.

AIFF: It refers to All India Football Federation. AIFF is the governing body of association football in

India. It was formed on 23 June 1937. The federation was one of founding members of the Asian

Football Confederation, the overseer of football in Asia. It sanctions and runs all competitive football

tournaments and leagues at a national level, namely the Indian Super League, I-League and Super

Cup. It indirectly manages local football competitions through the state associations and is also

responsible for managing the India national football team, as well as the women's team and the

various youth national sides. The federation is currently based in Dwarka, Delhi. The current

President of Aiff is Praful Patel.

AFC:

It refers to Asian Football Confederation. AFC is one of the 6

continental confederations within FIFA. It is the governing body of

association football in Asia and Australia. The AFC was officially

formed on 8 May 1954 in Manila, Philippines, on the sidelines of the

second Asian Games.

Recently, All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced that the Indian Super League (ISL) league

stage winners ATK-Mohun Bagan, FC Goa, Bengaluru FC will represent India in AFC Club

competitions. The football competitions are to be held in 2021.

Goa FC has qualified for the group stages of the AFC Champions League as the winner of the league

phase in Indian Super League.

ATK-Mohun Bagan secured a spot in the group stage of the AFC Cup on the virtue of being winners

of the I-League.

The AFC Cup play-off slot goes to Bengaluru FC who finished third in the ISL league phase in 2019-20.


MSMEs:

It refers to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. The Union

Cabinet, recently, gave nod to historical decisions aimed at

helping the MSMEs. The Cabinet has further revised the

definition of MSMEs, a decision which will lead to inclusion of

many industrial units under it's ambit.

As per the Cabinet's decision, those enterprises with

investment up to Rs 50 crore and turnover of up to Rs 250 crore will be able to avail the benefits of

the MSME sector. All export turnovers of such enterprises will also remain exempted from the total

turnover.

The Cabinet has also approved distressed MSME fund of 20 thousand crore for extending helping

hand to the enterprises in distress. This decision seeks to benefit over two lakh units in the country.

MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari highlighted the decision of creation of Fund of Funds with initial outlay

of 50 thousand crore rupees. The amount will be infused in the MSME sector through equity route.

CHAMPIONS:

It stands for Creation and Harmonious Application of Modern Processes

for Increasing the Output and National Strength. It is a technology-based

solution recently launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New

Delhi to empower MSMEs. The technology-based CHAMPIONS platform

is based on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the

entire ICT architecture for this platform is developed by the National Informatics Center (NIC) at no

cost. This platform is aimed to provide one stop solution to all the Micro, Small and Medium

Enterprises in the country.

CHAMPIONS platform will address grievance redressal to resolve the issues of MSMEs including

those of finance, raw materials, labour, regulatory permissions etc particularly within the COVID

created a difficult situation. It will also help businesses to capture new opportunities including

manufacturing of medical equipment and accessories like PPEs, masks, etc and provide them in

National and International markets. Furthermore, this ICT based system will help encourage and

identify sparks which means the portal will help identify national and international champions that

are able to withstand the current situation.

The system is enabled by Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Analytics and Machine Learning for

providing quick solutions to the participating members. As part of the system a network of control

rooms is created in a Hub & Spoke Model. The Hub is situated in New Delhi in the Secretary MSME’s

office while the spokes are situated in the States in various offices and institutions of MSME

Ministry.

Economic News


Mudra Shishu loan:

Mudra Shishu loan is a scheme for small businesses. The Central

government, recently, announced the launch of ‘Mudra Shishu

loan’ for small businesses and cottage industries so that

shopkeepers do not suffer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The move is expected to bring much-needed relief to small

borrowers by helping small businesses, who won’t be able to make regular payments for the loans

they have taken for the next few months. The businesses are already on the verge of shut down due

to a lack of revenue and demand.

Under Mudra Shishu loan, a 1500 crore interest subvention for small business and cottage industries

has been announced. Under this scheme, one lakh beneficiaries can avail interest benefit of 2% for a

year and small borrowers under the Mudra Shishu loans up to ₹50,000 will also be benefited.

Earlier, the Mudra Shishu loan was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman along with a

slew of other measures aimed at reviving the Indian economy amid the crisis during the

announcement of the Centre’s 20 lakh crore Atmanirbhar Bharat economic package.

MoHUA:

It refers to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. MoHUA is a

federal ministry of Government of India with executive authority

over the formulation and administration of the rules and regulations

and laws relating to the housing and urban development in India. It

was founded in 1952. The current Minister responsible for MoHUA

is Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (Independent Charge)

Recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs recently launched a Special Micro-Credit Facility

Scheme - PM SVANidhi for providing affordable loans to street vendors. PM SVANidhi is an acronym

for PM Street Vendor's Atma Nirbhar Nidhi.

Under this scheme, the vendors can avail a working capital loan of up to Rs. 10,000, which is

repayable in monthly installments in the tenure of one year. On timely and early repayment of the

loan, an interest subsidy at the rate of 7% per annum will be credited to the bank accounts of

beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer on six monthly basis.

Over 50 lakh street vendors including hawkers, thelewalas, rehriwala, theliphadwala etc. in different

areas or contexts are likely to benefit from this scheme. The duration of the scheme is till March

2022.

It is for the first time in India’s history that street vendors from peri- urban and rural areas have

become beneficiaries of an urban livelihood programme. It is also for the first time that MFIs, NBFCs,

SHG Banks have been allowed in a scheme for the urban poor due to their ground level presence.

The scheme was announced by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 14 May to enable street

vendors to resume their livelihoods, which have been hit hard due to the national lockdown.


Union Cabinet:

Recently, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri

Narendra Modi gave its approval for setting up of an “Empowered

Group of Secretaries (EGoS) and Project Development Cells (PDCs) in

Ministries and Departments of Government of India for attracting

investments in India.

This new mechanism seeks to reinforce India’s vision of becoming a

five trillion economy by 2024-25. It will make India a more investment-friendly destination and give

fillip to domestic industries. It also aims to bring about synergies between Ministries and

Departments and among the Central and State Governments in investment and related incentive

policies.

EGoS: It is an acronym for Empowered Group of Secretaries. The EGoS comprises of

1. Cabinet Secretary (Chairperson)

2. CEO, NitiAayog (Member)

3. Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and 4. Internal Trade (Member Convenor)

5. Secretary, Department of Commerce (Member)

6. Secretary, Department of Revenue (Member)

7. Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (Member)

8. Secretary of Department concerned (to be co-opted).

The main objectives of EGoS are to provide investment support to global investors by bringing

synergies and ensure timely clearances from different departments and Ministries.

PDC: It is an acronym for Project Development Cell. PDC is also approved for the development of

investible projects in coordination between the Central Government and State Governments and

thereby grow the pipeline of investible projects in India and in turn increase FDI inflows.

Under the guidance of the Secretary, an officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary of each

relevant central line Ministry, who will be in-charge of the PDC will be tasked to conceptualize,

implement, and disseminate details with respect to investable projects.

The main Objectives of PDC are to create projects with all approvals, land available for allocation and

with the complete Detailed Project Reports for adoption/investment by investors and to identify

issues that need to be resolved in order to attract and finalise the investments and put forth these

before the Empowered Group.


Bihar:

Bihar is a state in East India, bordering Nepal. Bihar celebrates its

foundation day as Bihar Diwas. It was formed on 22nd March

1912. The capital of Bihar is Patna. The current Governor and the

Chief Minister of Bihar are Phagu Chauhan and Nitish Kumar

respectively.

Recently, Centre approved Annual action plan for Bihar under Jal Jeevan mission (JJM). As per the

plan approved by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, the State has provided 100% coverage of all households

with functional tap water connections by 2020-21. Centre has allocated Rs. 1832.66 crore for

implementation of JJM in Bihar during 2020-21.

This move has been initiated by the state due to the abundance of groundwater and surface water in

Bihar. It is planning to provide tap connections to the remaining 1 crore 50 lakh households in 2020-

21. A proper plan is in place for 100% coverage of all 38 districts during 2020-21 has been prepared

by the State government.

JJM: It refers to Jal Jeevan Mission. JJM is a central government initiative under the Ministry of Jal

Shakti. This mission aims to ensure access of piped water for every household in India. The Union

Cabinet on 13 August 2019 had approved the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) to provide Functional

Household Tap Connection (FHTC) to every rural household by 2024. JJM has been launched in

partnership with States, to enable every household in villages to have a FHTC within the premises by

2024.

As a mission target, all states are presenting their implementation plans to the National level

Committee headed by Secretary, Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Govt. of India for

approval.

Kerala:

It is a state on the southwestern Malabar Coast of India. It was formed

on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States

Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the

erstwhile states of Travancore-Cochin and Madras. It is bordered by

Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and

south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. Its capital is Thiruvananthapuram. The current

Governor and Chief Minister of Kerala are Arif Mohammad Khan and Pinarayi Vijayan respectively.

Recently, the Kerala government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayanhas announced its ambitious

broadband project ‘Kerala Fibre Optic Network (K-FON)’ project. The main aim of K-FON project is to

provide free high-speed Internet to all the citizens below poverty live in Kerala and those who

cannot afford will be provided high speed Internet at a subsidized rate. Rs 1500 crore K-FON project

which is being implemented by Kerala State IT Infrastructure Limited and Kerala State Electricity

Board will kickstart from December 2020.

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Kerala has become the first state to declare the internet as a fundamental right of the citizen, by

providing free high speed broadband to the poor people.

Telangana Formation Day:

Telangana State Formation Day is celebrated on the formation of

Telangana state in India on 2 June every year since 2014.

Telangana state officially came into existence under the Andhra

Pradesh Reorganisation Act of Parliament in 2014. Kalvakuntla

Chandrashekar Rao was elected as the first chief minister of

Telangana, following elections in which the Telangana Rashtra

Samithi party secured a majority and E S L Narasimhan became the first Governor of the State.

Hyderabad is the capital city of Telangana. Telangana mainly means the place where the Telugu

language is spoken.

Recently, Telangana State Formation Day 2020 was celebrated not so grandly due to COVID-19

Pandemic. This year marked the sixth anniversary of the Telangana Formation Day.

Telangana: It is a state in India situated on the centre-south stretch of the Indian peninsula on the

high Deccan Plateau. It was founded on 2 June 2014. Its Capital city is Hyderabad. Its official

language is Telegu.The current Governor and Chief Minister of Telangana are Tamilisai

Soundararajan and K. Chandrashekar Rao respectively.

Chhattisgarh:

Chhattisgarh is a heavily forested state in central India known for its

temples and waterfalls. It is one of the fastest-developing states in

India. The state was formed on 1st November 2000 by partitioning

ten Chhattisgarhi and six Gondi-speaking southeastern districts of

Madhya Pradesh. The capital city of Chattisgarh is Raipur. The

current Chief Minister and Governor of Chhattisgarh are Bhupesh Baghel and Anusuiya Uikey

respectively.

Recently, the Government of Chhattisgarh launched Spandan Campaignfor police. The campaign

aimed to contain fratricide and suicide involving police personnel.

Under this campaign, the authorities will be conducting interactive programmes and arranging

counseling sessions, music and yoga therapies for the police personnels. The campaign has also

made medical treatment and counseling of depressed officers mandatory. Senior police officers have

been instructed to visit police lines, police stations and armed forces companies to interact with the

personnel to know about problems being faced by them. A mobile application is also being prepared

for monitoring the problems of police personnel.

The decision to launch the campaign was taken after the state reported over 50 cases of suicide by

police personnel and a number of incidents of policemen attacking their colleagues in the last 2

years.


Pradip Kumar Tripathi:

He is an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1987

batch of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) cadre. He has recently taken

over the charge as the Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Govt. of

India. His appointment in the Ministry of Steel was approved by

the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) in April 2020.

He took over as Secretary upon the superannuation of present

incumbent Binoy Kumar. Prior to this, Shri Tripathi had been posted as Special Secretary and

Establishment officer in Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

Binoy Kumar: He is a 1983 batch officer. He had taken over as Secretary, Ministry of Steel on 1

September 2018. He retired on 30 May 2020.

Ministry of Steel: The Ministry of Steel is an executive branch agency of the Government of India

(GoI). It was founded in 2017. It is responsible for formulating all policies regarding steel production,

distribution and pricing in India. Currently, the ministry is headed by a minister of cabinet rank,

Dharmendra Pradhan and is assisted by a Minister of State, Faggan Singh Kulaste.

Syama Prasad Mookerjee (1901 – 1953):

He was an Indian politician, barrister and academician. He

served as the Minister for Industry and Supply in PM Jawaharlal

Nehru’s cabinet. He served as the Minister for Industry and

Supply in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet. He quit

the Union Government because of differences of opinion with

the Nehru-led government. He founded Bharatiya Jan Sangh

(BJS) in 1951 with the help of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is a predecessor to the

Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP). He was also the President of Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha from 1943

to 1946. He fought for Kashmir greatly contributing to National Integration. He passed away in 1953

in the custody of Jammu & Kashmir Police.

Recently, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its approval to

rename Kolkata Port as Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port. The decision was made by the Board of

Trustees of Kolkata Port Trust in its Meeting held on 25 February 2020. The mission was launched on

February 21, 2016 to commemorate 4th anniversary of the legend.

Kolkata Port Trust: Kolkata Port Trust is situated on the left bank of the Hooghly River, about 203

kilometres from the sea. It is the first Major Port as well as the only riverine port of the country. The

port was commissioned in 1870. It came to be governed by a Trust in 1870 on appointment of the

Commissioners for Improvement of the Port of Calcutta as per Act V of 1870. It features at Serial

Number 1 in The First Schedule, Part I—Major Ports of the Indian Ports Act, 1908 and is governed by

the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963. Kolkata Port has been India's gateway to trade, commerce, and

economic development.

The other ports renamed by the Central Government are as follows:

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Nhava Sheva Port Trust was renamed as Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust by the Government in the year

1989.

The Tuticorin Port Trust was renamed as O. Chidambaranar Port Trust in the year 2011.

The Ennore Port Limited has been re-named as Kamarajar Port Limited in the honour of K Kamarajar,

eminent freedom fighter and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Kandla Port was re-named as Deendayal Port in 2017 .

Krishnendu Majumdar:

He is an Emmy-winning TV producer who has become the first

person of colour to be named as BAFTA Chairman in its 73 year-

long history. He will succeed Pippa Harris and he also becomes the

youngest person to hold the role in 35 years. Harris will now

continue as deputy chairperson.

Majumdar born in South Wales to Bengali parents who arrived in the UK from India in the 1960s has

been closely working with BAFTA for 14 years. He also served as the chair of the Learning and New

Talent Committee (2006-2010), the chair of the Television Committee (2015-2019) and a member of

the board of trustees for 9years.

BAFTA: It is an acronym for British Academy of Film and Television Arts. BAFTA is an independent

charity that supports, develops and promotes the art forms of the moving image (film, television and

games) in the United Kingdom (UK). In addition to its annual awards ceremonies, BAFTA has an

international programme of learning events and initiatives offering access to talent through

workshops, masterclasses, scholarships, lectures and mentoring schemes in the United Kingdom and

the United States. It started out as the British Film Academy. It was founded in 1947 by a group of

directors namely, David Lean, Laurence Olivier, Alexander Korda, Roger Manvell, Emeric Pressburger,

Michael Powell, Michael Balcon, Carol Reed, and other major figures of the British film industry.

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw:

She is the founder and the Executive Chairperson of Biocon. She has been

named the EY World Entrepreneur of the year 2020 one of its kind virtual

entrepreneurship award ceremony. She has been honoured with the award

for her contribution in improving universal access to affordable life-saving

medicine and transforming the world. Her company Biocon has in the last 15 years supplied more

than 2 billion affordable doses of insulins (biosimilar insulins).

She was selected among 46 other entrepreneurs from 41 countries.

She has become the second woman to win the award after Olivia Lum of Hyflux, Singapore. She is

also the third Indian to win the award after Uday Kotak of Kotak Mahindra in 2014 and Narayana

Murthy of Infosys in 2005.

Biocon: It is a bio-enzymes company. Biocon was founded 1978 by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. This

Indian biopharmaceutical company is headquartered in Bangalore, India. The Company


manufactures generic active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that are sold in the developed

markets of the United States and Europe. The company which began its journey with just two

employees and an investment of 500 USD, today, has become one of the strongest innovation driven

biotech companies in Asia with more than 11,000 people.

Biosimilar medicines: A biosimilar medicine is a biologic medical product which is highly similar to

another already approved biological medicine. Biosimilars are approved according to the same

standards of pharmaceutical quality, safety and efficacy that apply to all biological medicines.

Biosimilars also help to bring down the prices of medicines greatly.

Puri:

Is a city and a Municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern

India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is

situated on the Bay of Bengal, 60 kilometres south of the

state capital of Bhubaneswar. Puri is known by several names

since the ancient times, and was locally known as "Sri

Kshetra" and Sri Jagannatha Dhama after the 12th-century

Jagannatha Temple located in the city. Lord Jagannatha temple is also known as "Badadeula".It is

one of the original Char Dham pilgrimage sites for Hindus. The heirs of the Gajapati Dynasty of

Khurda perform the ritual duties of the temple.

5th June 2020: The famous Deba Snana Purnima ritual of Lord Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Lord

Balabhadra began in Odisha on 5th of June 2020 at the Jagannath temple in Odisha's Puri. Snana

Yatra is a ceremonial grand shower festival celebrated on the Purnima (full moon day) of the Hindu

month of Jyeshtha.

Every year, the 'Snana Jatra' ceremony are witnessed by people, drawn from across the state and

outside, at the 'Snana Mandap' (bathing altar) where the priests pour 108 pitchers of herbal and

aromatic water on them. The water used for bathing is taken from the golden well 'Suna Kua' inside

the temple. During the process of fetching water from the well, priests cover their mouths with a

piece of cloth so as to not contaminate the water with their breath.

The legend from the Skanda Purana says that King Indradyumna, who installed the wooden deities of

the Lords, bathed the deities before they were worshipped in the 12th-century shrine. The Lord's

bathing also indicates the arrival of monsoon in Odisha and it also marks the beginning of the annual

Rath Yatra in Puri. This year, due to Corona pandemic it is being celebrated without public gathering.

Art and Culture


Lieutenant General Manoj Pande:

Lieutenant General Manoj Pande AVSM, VSM, assumed charge

as the 15th Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman & Nicoar

Command (CLINICIAN) on 1 June 2020. He will replace Lieutenant

General Podali Shankar Rajeshwar PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC.

Lieutenant General Manoj Pande is an alumnus of National

Defence Academy, the General Officer was commissioned into

the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers) in December 1982.

He is a graduate of Staff College, Camberley (United Kingdom) and attended the Higher Command

Course at Army War College, Mhow and National Defence College (NDC) at Delhi.

During his 37 years of distinguished service, Pande has taken active part in Operation Vijay and

Operation Parakram.

He commanded an Engineer Regiment along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu & Kashmir, an

Engineer Brigade as part of the Strike Corps, an Infantry Brigade along LoC, a Mountain Division in

High Altitude Area of Western Ladakh and a Corps deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as

also in Counter Insurgency Operations area in the North East.

He dealt with subjects of Discipline, Ceremonial and Welfare, prior to assuming the present

appointment.

Major Suman Gawani:

She is an Indian Army officer who served as a women peacekeeper

with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) from

November 2018 to December 2019. She was awarded the

prestigious “United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the year

Award” on 29 May 2020. She received the award from the UN

Secretary General Mr Antonio Guterres during an online ceremony

being organised at the UN Headquarters, New York on the occasion

of International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers. This is the first time that an Indian

peacekeeper is being given the UN Military Gender Advocate award. She has been awarded for her

outstanding contribution to peacekeeping efforts in the UNMISS.

Major Suman will be receiving this award alongwith a Brazilian Naval Officer Commander Carla

Monteiro de Castro Araujo.

Major Suman encouraged participation in joint military patrols to maintain gender balance,

irrespective of the hardships under extreme field conditions. She visited various mission team sites

across South Sudan to integrate gender perspective into the planning and military activity in the

mission. She was also selected to attend a specialised training on Conflict Related Sexual Violence at

Nairobi. She participated in various UN forums to demonstrate how a gender perspective can help in

Defence


protecting civilians, especially from conflict related sexual violence. Apart from supporting the

UNMISS Force initiatives, she also trained the South Sudan government forces on Conflict Related

Sexual Violence related aspects. The officer also commanded the UN Peacekeepers Day Parade

organised at UNMISS.

United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the year Award: The United Nations Military Gender

Advocate of the Year Award was created in 2016. The award recognises the dedication and effort of

an individual peacekeeper in promoting the principles within the United Nations Security Council

Resolution 1325.

Union Cabinet:

The Union Council of Ministers exercises executive authority in

the Republic of India. It consists of senior ministers, called 'cabinet

ministers', junior ministers called 'ministers of state' and, rarely,

deputy ministers. Cabinet includes the Prime Minister and

approximately 19 ministers who are part of the executive

government. It is led by the Prime Minister. It is the supreme

decision-making body in India. Cabinet ministers are responsible for major government

departments. The members of the cabinet, including the prime minister, are either chosen from

parliament or elected thereto within six months of assuming office. The prime minister and ministers

of the rank of cabinet minister can only be the members of the Union Cabinet in accordance with

Article 75. The cabinet as a whole is responsible to the Lok Sabha.

Recently, the Union Cabinet approved historic amendment the Essential Commodities Act, 1955

liberalise the regulatory environment for the farmers. The amendment was made during the cabinet

meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash

Javadekar said that this is a visionary step towards transformation of agriculture and raising farmers’

income. This move was a step towards One Nation One Market initiative of the Government.

The amendment made through the ordinance has freed the farmers from the constraints of the

Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC). It means that the farmers have the freedom to

sell the product anywhere to anyone who makes a better payment. Under the amendment the

agricultural commodities such as pulses, cereals, onions oil seeds and potatoes have been

deregulated. The new framework will include enabling barrier-free inter-state trade as well as e-

trading of agricultural produce in the country.

Indian Polity


Gulf of Mannar:

The Gulf of Mannar is a large shallow bay forming part of the

Laccadive Sea in the Indian Ocean. It lies between the west coast

of Sri Lanka and the southeastern tip of India, in the Coromandel

Coast region. The chain of low islands and reefs known as

Ramsethu which is also called the Adam’s Bridge includes

Mannar Island that separates the Gulf of Mannar from Palk Bay,

which lies to the north between Sri Lanka and India. Gulf of Mannar is endowed with three distinct

Coastal ecosystems namely coral reef, seagrass bed and mangroves is considered one of the world's

richest region from a marine biodiversity perspective, is known for its unique biological wealth and is

a store house of marine diversity of global significance. According to the Marine Conservation

Society it is made up of about 21 islets lying off the coast of Tamil Nadu.

Recently, a rare bandtail scorpion fish was found camouflaged within the sea grass meadows off

Sethukarai coast in the Gulf of Mannar. It was found during an underwater exploratory survey of the

sea grass ecosystem in the region by the researchers at the Central Marine Fisheries Research

Institute (CMFRI). The specimen has been deposited in the National Marine Biodiversity Museum of

the CMFRI. This was the first time that the particular species was found alive in Indian waters.

SCORPAENOSPSIS NEGLECTA: It is the biological name of the rare bandtail scorpion fish. It is a rare

marine species well-known for its stinging venomous spines and for its ability to change colour and

blend with its surrounding environment to not only escape from predators but also while preying. It

is called scorpion fish because of its spines which contain neurotoxic venom and if the spines pierce

an individual, then the venom gets injected immediately which is extremely painful. Eating this fish

would lead to death.

Sethukarai: It is the famous pilgrimage centre in Tamil Nadu. It is connected to Indian mythology

where it is believed that Lord Ram constructed a bridge over the sea from Sethukarai to Sri Lanka

called Ram Setu. Ram Setu is also known as the Adam's Bridge worldwide.

CMFRI: It refers to the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute. CMFRI was established by the

Government of India (GOI) on 3 February 1947, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers

Welfare and later it joined the ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) family in 1967. During

the course of over 65 years the Institute has emerged as a leading tropical marine fisheries research

institute in the world. It is headquartered in Kochi, Kerala. The current Director of CMFRI is Dr. A.

Gopalakrishnan.

Nisarga:

Nisarga is a severe cyclonic storm to strike the Indian state of

Maharashtra in the month of June since 1891. It was also the first

cyclone to impact Mumbai since Cyclone Phyan of 2009. Nisarga,

the third depression and second named cyclone of the annual

cyclone season originated as a depression in the Arabian Sea and

Environment


moved generally northward. Recently, Nisarga made a landfall in Maharashtra with winds of 110

km/h (68 mph), Nisarga became the strongest storm to strike the state in the month of June since

1891. Before Nisarga, only two depressions had struck Maharashtra in the month of June, in 1948

and 1980 respectively.

Nisarga was the second cyclone to strike the Indian subcontinent within two weeks time, after

Cyclone Amphan, the first super cyclonic storm occurred in the Bay of Bengal in the 21st century, hit

the state of West Bengal in May 2020.

WED:

It refers to the World Environment Day. This day is observed

globally every year on the 5th of June. It was established by the UN

General Assembly in 1972 on the first day of the Stockholm

Conference on the Human Environment, resulting from discussions

on the integration of human interactions and the environment. Two

years later, in 1974 the first WED was held with the theme "Only

One Earth". It is the biggest annual event in the world run by the

United Nations to mark the environmental awareness among the people. The main aim of

celebrating this day is to raise awareness to protect nature and look at various environmental issues

that are growing day by day.

Recently, the World Environment Day 2020 was celebrated across the globe on the 5th of June amid

the COVID_19 Pandemic. This year Colombia hosted WED 2020 in collaboration with Germany. The

theme for World Environment Day 2020 is biodiversity– a concern that is both urgent and

existential.

In 2019, China hosted World Environment Day and the theme was "Beat Air Pollution".

In India, the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change held virtual celebrations of World

Environment Day 2020. The main focus as per this year's theme was on Nagar Van, Urban Forests.

Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar relaunched a scheme for creating urban forest in

200 corporations and cities because all these cities have gardens but not forest. The urban forest will

help in creating and enhancing the lung capacities of these cities.

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