9 PM Current Affairs Brief – March 17th, 2020

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National Career Services (NCS) scheme

News:The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour in its report has highlighted the under-utilisation of funds by the Union Labour and Employment Ministry. The under-utilization of funds was most in case of National Career service (NCS) Scheme. 

Facts:

About NCS Scheme

• It is one of the mission mode projects under the umbrella of the E-Governance Plan.
• Launched: 2015
• Aim: To bridge the gap between those who need jobs and those who want to hire them, between people seeking career guidance and training and those who can provide the counselling and training.
• Implementing Agency: Directorate General of Employment, Ministry of Labour & Employment.
• It comprises an ICT-based portal, a countrywide set-up of career centres, a multilingual call centre, and a network of career counsellors.

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Uttar Pradesh passes ordinance to recover damages to property during protests, strikes

News:’Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damages to Public and Private Property Ordinance, 2020′ has been passed by the Uttar Pradesh governor

Facts:

• With the ordinance, a person participating in a protest, political rally, strike, or shutdown has to give compensation in case of damage to public or private property caused by him or her. 
• It also provides for the setting up of a claim tribunal. The tribunal will have rights to attach the property of the accused.

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan

News:Union Minister for Human Resource Development(HRD) has said that the

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan has transformed the living conditions in villages.

Facts:

About Unnat Bharat Abhiyan:

• • Launched in 2014 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD).Its upgraded version Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 was launched in 2018.

• Aim:To link the Higher Education Institutions with a set of at least 5 villages so that these institutions can contribute to the economic and social betterment of these village communities using their knowledge base.

• IIT Delhi has been designated to function as the National Coordinating Institute for this programme.

Objectives:

• To engage the faculty and students of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in identifying development issues in rural areas and finding sustainable solutions for the same.
• Identify & select existing innovative technologies, enable customisation of technologies, or devise implementation methods for innovative solutions as required by the people.
• To allow HEIs to contribute to devising systems for smooth implementation of various Government programmes.

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam(GERD)

News:Ethiopia is building one of the largest dams in the world named Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam(GERD).

Facts:

About the Dam:

• The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam(GERD) which was formerly known as the Millennium Dam is located in Ethiopia, on the Blue Nile River about 40km east of Sudan.
• The dam will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa when completed as well as the seventh largest in the world.

Additional information:

About Nile River:

• The Nile River flows from south to north through eastern Africa.It begins in the rivers that flow into Lake Victoria and empties into the Mediterranean Sea.
• The river runs through countries namely Egypt, Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, and South Sudan. 
• Its three main tributaries are the White Nile, the Blue Nile, and the Atbara.

OneHealth concept

News:Recently,the concept of ‘One Health’ is gaining importance as most of the contagious diseases affecting humans are zoonotic (animal to man origin) in nature.

Facts:

About One Health Concept:

• One Health is a collaborative, multisectoral approach working at the local, national, and global levels with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants and their shared environment.

Significance of the model:

• It can facilitate an interdisciplinary approach in disease control so as to control emerging and existing zoonotic diseases.

Additional information:

About Zoonotic diseases:

• The diseases which spillover from animals to humans are referred to as zoonotic diseases
• They represent more than 60% of emerging infectious diseases worldwide.

What is community transmission?

News: Recently, the government has said that there has been no community transmission of COVID-19 in India as the coronavirus pandemic spreads around the world.

Facts:

About Community Transmission:

• Community transmission happens when a patient who is not exposed to anyone known to be infected and has not travelled to countries in which the virus is circulating tests positive for infection. 
• Under this, contact tracing is inadequate in containing the disease.This is because a person irrespective of whether she or he has been exposed to an already infected person or have travelled to affected countries remains vulnerable.

Additional information:

About Contract Tracing:

• Contact tracing means when a case of infection is detected each individual with whom the patient has come in contact is closely monitored.If necessary, these individuals can be kept in isolation to prevent the infection from spreading further.

Krishna Raja Sagar(KRS) Dam

News:The water level in the Krishna Raja Sagar(KRS) Dam in Karnataka is coming down due to increase in the evaporation rate and the decrease in the inflows as a result of summer.

Facts:

About Krishna Raja Sagar Dam:

• The Krishna Raja Sagar Dam was built across river Cauvery in 1932.It is named for the then ruler of the Mysore Kingdom, Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV.
• The dam is the main source of drinking water for the Mysore city and almost the whole of Bangalore.
• Further,the water is also used as an important source of water in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Additional information:

About Cauvery River:

• The Cauvery River originates in Karnataka’s Kodagu district flows into Tamil Nadu and reaches the Bay of Bengal at Poompuhar. 
• The parts of three Indian states namely Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka and the Union Territory of Puducherry lie in the Cauvery basin.

What is Google subsidiary Verily?

News:Recently, the Google Subsidiary Verily has launched a pilot of a COVID-19 screening and testing website as a part of Project Baseline.

Facts:

About Verily:

• The company was launched in 2015 and is a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet.
• It aims to make the world’s health data useful so that people enjoy longer and healthier lives.
• It develops tools and devices to collect, organize and activate health data, and creates interventions to prevent and manage disease.

Project Baseline:

• Project Baseline was launched by Verily in 2017.It aims to bridge the gap between research and care.

World Consumer Rights Day

News: World Consumer Rights Day has been celebrated on the 15th March, 2020.

Facts:

About World Consumer Rights Day:

• Aim: To spread awareness on a global level to protect the rights of consumers and to ensure that the consumers are not subjected to market abuse or social injustice that may undermine their rights.

• Theme: The Sustainable Consumer

• Organized by: Consumers International.

Additional information:

About Consumer International:

• Consumers International was founded in 1960.It is a membership based organisation for consumer groups around the world.
• Its aim is to defend, promote, develop and pursue consumer rights as the international basis of consumer protection.
• It is headquartered in London,United Kingdom.

Boko Haram

News: Recently,Boko Haram has killed six Nigerian soldiers in an ambush attack.

Facts:

About Boko Haram:

• Boko Haram is a violent Islamist insurgent group founded in 2002 in Northeast Nigeria which has spread to neighbouring West African nations of Niger, Chad and Cameroon.
• It was initially founded to oppose Western education which now wants an Islamic state governed by Sharia or Islamic Law.
• It has been designated as a terrorist group by the United States(US) since 2013.
• In 2015, Boko Haram had pledged its allegiance to Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).