Current affairs notes on August 9-12

 1.78th anniversary of Quit India movement was observed on August 8th, 2020. After the failure of the Cripps Mission, Gandhiji gave the call “Do or Die”’. Aruna Asaf Alipopularly known as the ‘Grand Old Lady’ of the Independence Movement is known for hoisting the Indian flag at the Gowalia Tank Maidan in Mumbai during the Quit India Movement. Female leaders like Usha Mehta has helped set up an underground radio station which led to the awakening about the movement. The immediate cause for the movement was the collapse of Cripps Mission. The British assumption of unconditional support from India to British in World War II was not taken well by the Indian National Congress.

2.Pradeep Kumar Joshi has been appointed as the chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The Chairman and other members of a Public Service Commission shall be appointed by the President, and in the case of a State Commission, by the Governor of the State. Article-316– Appointment and term of office of members. Term of six years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains, in the case of the Union Commission, the age of sixty-five years, and in the case of a State Commission or a Joint Commission, the age of sixty-two years, whichever is earlier.

3.In a first of its kind in the country, the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) recently organized the e-lok Adalat to facilitate mediation between the parties, who are willing to get their matters settled amicably, in all the District Courts Complexes of Delhi. Lok Adalat is one of the alternative dispute redressal mechanisms, it is a forum where disputes/cases pending in the court of law or at pre-litigation stage are settled/ compromised amicably. Article 39A of the Constitution provides for free legal aid to the deprived and weaker sections of the society and to promote justice on the base of equal opportunity.

4.India has refused a request by Pakistan to hold a meeting on issues around the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) at the Attari checkpost near the India-Pakistan border. It is a Water-Distribution Treaty, signed in Karachi on 1960, between India (Pm Jawaharlal Nehru) and Pakistan (President Ayub Khan), brokered by the World Bank . Under the treaty, India has control over water flowing in the eastern rivers– Beas, Ravi and Sutlej. Pakistan has control over the western rivers– Indus, Chenab and Jhelum.

5.Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently launched the financing facility of Rs 1 lakh crore under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund. It is a new pan India Central Sector Scheme. The scheme shall provide a medium – long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subvention and financial support. The duration will be 10 years.

6.Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently inaugurated the Chennai-Andaman and Nicobar Island Submarine Cable System, which will provide better connectivity to the archipelago. The project envisages better connectivity from Chennai to Port Blair and seven other Islands — Swaraj Deep (Havelock), Long Island, Rangat, Hutbay (Little Andaman), Kamorta, Car Nicobar and Campbell Bay (Great Nicobar). Submarine Communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. Prime Minister has declared that the Andaman and Nicobar islands will be developed as a "maritime and startup hub".

7.World Biofuel Day is observed every year on 10th August to raise awareness about the importance of non-fossil fuels as an alternative to conventional fossil fuels. The theme for 2020 World Biofuel Day in India is ‘Biofuels Towards Atmanirbhar Bharat’. Biofuels are any hydrocarbon fuel that is produced from an organic matter (living or once living material) in a short period of time (days, weeks, or even months) is considered a biofuel.  National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 declared.

8.Suraksya is the National Portal on human elephant conflict. It is for collection of real time information & also for managing the conflicts on a real time basis.

9.Nitin sethi won the ‘Asian College of Journalism’s Award for Investigative Journalism’.

10.World Tribal Day or International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is observed on 9th August every year. Theme 2020: “Covid-19 and the indigenous peoples’ resilience”. In india the largest number of tribal communities (62) are found in Odisha. According to the 2011 census, tribals make up 8.6% of India's population. The Gond comprise the largest tribal group of India. No Tribe identified in Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Puducherry. Article 338-A of the Constitution of India, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes has been set-up. 5th and 6th Schedule- Administration and control of Scheduled and Tribal Areas.

11.According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India’s Balance of Payments (BoP) in 2020-21 is going to be very strong. Balance of Payment (BoP) of a country can be defined as a systematic statement of all economic transactions of a country with the rest of the world during a specific period usually one year. It indicates whether the country has a surplus or a deficit on trade. When exports exceed imports, there is a trade surplus and when imports exceed exports there is a trade deficit.

12.Election Commission (EC) officials are exploring the potential of using blockchain technology to enable remote voting. Blockchain is a system in which the database of recordings (a ‘chain’) appears on multiple computers at the same time even as it is updated with any new digital information (‘a block’). The government of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have put the land records on the blockchain technology owing to its easy traceability feature.

13.The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up a committee headed by K.V. Kamath on restructuring of loans impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Committee will formulate sector-specific resolution plans for all accounts with total loan exposure of Rs.1,500 crore and above.

14.Russia became the first country to officially register a Covid-19 vaccine and declare it ready for use. The vaccine has been called Sputnik V, named after the first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik-I launched by the Soviet Union. India’s Covaxin has been approved for human clinical trials. Another Indian vaccine ZyCoV-D has entered phase I/II of clinical trials.

15.Recently, Mt. Sinabung, an active volcano on Indonesia’s Sumatra island has erupted. The Ring of Fire, also referred to as the Circum-Pacific Belt, is a path along the Pacific Ocean characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes. 75% of Earth’s volcanoes i.e. more than 450 volcanoes are located along the Ring of Fire.