Must Read News Articles I 25th February 2020

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ASI planning barricade around famed stone chariot at Hampi.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is contemplat­ing installing a wooden bar­ricade around the stone cha­riot inside Vittala Temple complex at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hampi in Karnataka in a bid to pro­tect it from vandalism. 

Vittala Temple is not only among the most­visited pro­tected monuments at Ham­pi, but is also the most pho­tographed. Art historians say it reflects a high degree of craftsmanship of the tem­ple architecture that reached its zenith under the Vijayanagara rulers who reigned from 14th to 17th century CE.

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Dissenter not anti- national, says SC judge

SC Judge Deepak Gupta has said that a dissenter is not an anti­na­tional and holding a contrary view to that of the government does not make one anti­national, according to the Supreme Court judge Justice Deepak Gupta.

He said that society will not evolve unless its rules are questioned. Dissent must be encouraged. It is only through discussion that we can strive to run the country better. The govt has no right to stifle a protest unless it turns violent.

Shun Negativism, Don’t encourage Violence

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has urged the youth to shun negativism and not to encourage violence. He said that youth should academically study all issues, like CAA, ban on triple talaq, and others before forming an opinion. 

The unassailable keywords for the Judiciary

The article criticize the Justice Arun Mishra’s public praise of PM at a public forum and says that Indian judges must remind themselves constantly of the need to uphold an independent, strong and respected judiciary

Guns Gas and Technology

The article highlights that India and USA are collaborating on various fronts. They are collaborating on issues ranging from maritime security to international terrorism, and have recently signed a number of agreements, including the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of

Agreement (LEMOA) and the Communica­tions Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), to push the levels of strategic collaboration to wider fields. In the last few years, the U.S. has categorised India as a ‘Ma­ jor Defense Partner’ and granted it the ‘Stra­tegic Trade Authorisation­1’ status. 

It mentions that the synergies between the world’s two largest democracies are vast and the visit of Mr. Trump is bound to create new interfaces.

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Income Scheme to cover fewer farmers

One year after the launch of the Pradhan Mantri KisanSamman Nidhi, the Centre has revised the farmer in­come support scheme’s be­neficiary target down to just under 12 crore from 14crore.

In fact, empirical evi­dence suggests that satura­tion level will reach around 10 crore families. So far, al­most 8.5 crore farmers have benefited.

Whuan researchers call for expansive approach to testing SARS COV-2

A paper published in a re­cent issue of the peer ­re­viewed, open­access journal‘Emerging Microbes and In­fections’ has cautioned that SARS­CoV­2, the virus caus­ ing the COVID­19 outbreak, is being shed through multi­ple routes, so testing through oral swabs alone

might not be sufficient.

“We show that the current strategy for the detection of viral RNA in oral swabs used for 2019­nCoV diagnosis is not perfect. The virus may be present in anal swabs or blood of patients when oral swabs detection negative,” the researchers say, indicat­ing the possible gaps in cur­rent detection methods. 

The issues around data localisation

The Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill, 2019 has been introduced in the Parliament. The Bill has been referred to a joint parliamentary committee, which is currently engaged in a process of Public consultation.

The PDP Bill has attracted criticism on various grounds such as the exceptions created for the state, the limited checks imposed on state surveillance, and regard­ing various deficiencies in the structures and processes of the proposed Data Protection Authority.

The article argues that the contentious clauses on local data storage in the revised Personal Data Protection Bill need re-examination.

Most feared military equipment on offer

President Donald Trump is on an official visit to India. He has announced  that de­fence deals worth around $3 billion would be signed dur­ing his visit. He has also, of­fered a range of high­tech de­fence equipment to India.

Banks profitability remains fragile, says Das

RBI Governor has said that While the Indian banking sector may be slowly turning around on the back of im­provement in asset quality, its profitability remains fra­gile. Banks continue to face challenges like the present crisis in the telecom sector