{"id":54602,"date":"2020-02-12T21:00:48","date_gmt":"2020-02-12T15:30:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/?p=54602"},"modified":"2020-02-27T09:34:47","modified_gmt":"2020-02-27T04:04:47","slug":"9-pm-current-affairs-brief-february-11th-2020-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/9-pm-current-affairs-brief-february-11th-2020-2\/","title":{"rendered":"9 PM Current Affairs Brief \u2013 February 12th, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/this-word-means-thanatotheristes-reaper-of-death-6263368\/\"><strong>Explained:\nWhat is the Thanatotheristes, reaper of death?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> Scientists at the University of Calgary and Royal Tyrrell Museum have found\nthat a dinosaur fossil, found in Alberta in Canada in 2010, belongs to a new\nspecies of tyrannosaur<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The scientists named the genus and species Thanatotheristes degrootorum<\/li><li>The fossil is 79 million year old and is the oldest tyrannosaur known from\nnorthern North America.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/international\/who-names-deadly-virus-from-china-as-covid-19\/article30797838.ece\"><strong>WHO names the new Corona Virus: \u201cCOVID-19\u201d<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> WHO has announced that &#8220;COVID-19&#8221; will be the official\nname of the deadly Coronavirus from China. &#8220;Co&#8221; stands for\n&#8220;corona&#8221;, &#8220;vi&#8221; for &#8220;virus&#8221; and &#8220;d&#8221; for\n&#8220;disease&#8221;, while &#8220;19&#8221; was for the year, as the outbreak was\nfirst identified on December 31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Coronavirus:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>These are viruses belonging to a family known as <strong>Coronaviridae<\/strong>.\n They are <strong>zoonotic,<\/strong> meaning they are transmitted between animals and\n people<\/li><li>They cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe\n diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute\n Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).<\/li><li>&nbsp;COVID-19 is a <strong>new strain of coronavirus<\/strong> that has\n not been previously identified in humans. It has been designated\n SARS-CoV-2 by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/newsonair.com\/News?title=Byproducts-of-burning-coal-in-Europe-in-late-18th-century-made-their-way-to-Dasuopu-glacier%3a-Study&amp;id=381192\">Humans\naltered Himalayan glacier long before people arrived: Study<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News<\/strong>: According to a study published in the journal PNAS, the byproducts\nof burning coal in Europe in the late 18th century made their way to the\nDasuopu glacier. It is the highest-altitude site in the world where scientists\nhave obtained a climate record from an ice core.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dasuopu\nglacier<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Location: Mt. Shishapangma, Central\nHimalayas, Tibet<\/li><li>Altitude: 7,200 meters or\n23,600 feet above sea level<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"423\" height=\"272\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Picture1-15.png?resize=423%2C272&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Location of Dasuopu glacier, Lhasa and Xining meteorology station. The shaded part is Tibetan Plateau.\" class=\"wp-image-54606\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Chindu Bhagavatam<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It is a theatre art form\npopular in north Telangana. Chindu is derived from the artistes\u2019 caste Chindu\nMadiga, a sub-caste of Madiga among SCs.<\/li><li>The art form dates back to\nsecond century BC. <\/li><li>Chindu Bhagavatam is also\ncalled Chindu Yakshaganam as it is similar to Yakshaganam, a traditional\ntheatre form particular to Karnataka State.<\/li><li>Most of the stories narrated in\nthe art form are from \u2018Bhagavatam\u2019.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/all-medical-devices-to-be-treated-as-drugs-from-april-1-govt\/articleshow\/74091230.cms\">Medical\ndevices now under Drugs and Cosmetics Act<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> Ministry of health and\nfamily welfare said in a notification, that from 1<sup>st<\/sup> April 2020, all\nmedical devices sold in the country would be treated as drugs and would be\nregulated under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940. The decision was taken\nafter consultation with the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Significance:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Regulation of prices under the Drugs\nPrice Control Order (DPCO)<\/li><li>Will make companies, in case of\nviolations, liable to be penalised in a court of law<\/li><li>Companies have to seek approval\nfrom the drug controller to manufacture, import and sell any medical device in the country.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\nInformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Drugs\nTechnical Advisory Board<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It is highest statutory\ndecision-making body on technical matters related to drugs in the country. It\nwas constituted as per the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.<\/li><li>It is part of Central Drugs\nStandard Control Organization (CDSCO) in the Ministry of Health and Family\nWelfare.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Central\nDrugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It is the national regulatory\nbody for Indian pharmaceuticals and medical device. Currently, the government\nregulates 37 notified medical devices under the law.<\/li><li>It functions under the Drugs\nand Cosmetics Act, 1940. CDSCO comes under Directorate General of Health\nServices, Ministry of Health &amp; Family Welfare.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/tamil-nadu\/cauvery-delta-to-be-declared-a-protected-agriculture-zone\/article30778695.ece\">Tamil\nNadu CM declares Cauvery Delta as Protected Special Agriculture Zone<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>News: Tamil Nadu government has announced to\nmake the Cauvery Delta region a Protected Special Agriculture Zone (PSAZ)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Facts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cauvery Delta<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Location:&nbsp;It lies in the\neastern part of Tamil Nadu. It is bounded by the Bay of Bengal on the east and\nthe Palk straight on the south<\/li><li>It has a total geographic land\narea of 14.47 lakh ha. <\/li><li>Rice is the principal crop in\nthe area.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"578\" height=\"319\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Picture2-13.png?resize=578%2C319&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54607\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Protected\nSpecial Agriculture Zone: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It will include&nbsp;Thanjavur,\nTiruvarur, Nagapattinam districts and delta regions of Trichy, Ariyalur,\nCuddalore and Pudukkottai<\/li><li>It cannot be used for any\nnon-agricultural activities.<\/li><li>It recognises farmer concerns\nabout hydrocarbon exploration and accords primacy to food security.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Background:<\/strong> In 2019, Centre had awarded oil and gas exploration contracts in\nthe Cauvery basin. Tamil Nadu has witnessed protests over the projects amid the\nongoing water crisis in the state<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\nInformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Cauvery River originates in\nKarnataka&#8217;s Kodagu district, flows into Tamil Nadu, and reaches the Bay of\nBengal at Poompuhar.<\/li><li>Parts of three Indian states &#8211;\nTamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka &#8211; and the Union Territory of Pondicherry lie\nin the Cauvery basin.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/5-nation-exercise-to-focus-on-heritage-structures-protection\/article30784957.ece\"><strong>BIMSTEC\nDisaster Management Exercise<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>National\nDisaster Response Force(NDRF) will host the second Bay of Bengal Initiative for\nMulti-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation Disaster Management\nExercise(BIMSTEC- DMEx) in Odisha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the\nexercise:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The aim of the exercise is to test\nthe existing emergency procedures for notification, preparedness and emergency\nresponse, during a major natural disaster.<\/li><li><strong>Theme:<\/strong>A cultural\nheritage site that suffers severe damage in the earthquake and flooding or\nstorm.<\/li><li>The countries namely India,\nBangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Nepal are participating while the other\ntwo member countries Bhutan and Thailand are not participating in the exercise.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nBIMSTEC:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Bay of Bengal Initiative for\nMulti-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international\norganization founded in 1997.It is headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh.<\/li><li>It comprises seven Member states\nnamely Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, and Nepal.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About NDRF:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The National Disaster Response\nForce(NDRF) is a specialised force constituted for the purpose of specialist\nresponse to a threatening disaster situation or disaster under the Disaster\nManagement Act, 2005.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.downtoearth.org.in\/news\/climate-change\/indian-economy-will-be-hit-hard-by-rising-heat-global-report-69238\"><strong>Indian\neconomy will be hit hard by rising heat: Global report<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>McKinsey\nGlobal Institutehas released a report titled \u201cClimate risk and\nresponse: Physical hazards and socioeconomic impacts\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the\nreport:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The report analyses the physical\nrisks and socio-economic impacts of climate change across the world in the next\nthree decades under a business-as-usual scenario.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key\ntakeaways from the report:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Countries and regions with lower\nper capita GDP levels are the most vulnerable and will be hit the worst with\nthe economic shocks of climate change in coming decades.<\/li><li>Around 90% of the excess heat due\nto global warming is actually stored in the oceans which will affect the\nlivelihoods of around 650-800 million people in the fisheries industry.<\/li><li>However,climate change may also\nprovide an economic boost to some colder, richer countries.Tourism in areas of\nnorthern Europe and agriculture in Canada may see some benefits of rising\ntemperatures.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Report on\nIndia:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Extreme heat will significantly lower\nthe outdoor working capacity of India\u2019s labour workforce in the next three\ndecades putting at risk the country\u2019s economic growth.<\/li><li>By 2030,rising heat and humidity\nlevels will expose between 160 million and 200 million Indians to a higher risk\nof lethal heat which could put between 2.5 and 4.5% of the GDP at risk\nannually.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindubusinessline.com\/news\/industry-facilitation-centre-opens-at-mnre-land-allocation-portal-coming\/article30794295.ece\"><strong>Industry\nand Investors\u2019 Facilitation Centre<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The\nGovernment has opened a Renewable Energy(RE) Industry and Investors\u2019\nFacilitation Centre under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the\nCentre:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Centre will be headed by a\nJoint Secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy(MNRE).<\/li><li>It will be a single window system\nto provide information on policies and programmes of the government and also\nresolve the issues of the renewable energy (RE) investors and industry in the\ncountry.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.financialexpress.com\/industry\/banking-finance\/rbi-issues-notification-on-crr-leeway-for-new-retail-msme-loans\/1863465\/\"><strong>RBI\nissues notification on CRR leeway for new retail, MSME loans<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>RBI\nhas exempted banks from maintaining cash reserve ratio(CRR) for loans to retail\nand micro, small and medium enterprises for five years if these loans are\nextended between January 31 and July 31,2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About CRR:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Cash Reserve Ratio refers to a\ncertain percentage of total deposits the commercial banks are required to\nmaintain in the form of cash reserve with the central bank.<\/li><li>The cash reserve is either stored\nin the bank\u2019s vault or is sent to the RBI. Banks do not get any interest on the\nmoney that is with the RBI under the CRR requirements.<\/li><li>The CRR in India is decided by\nRBI\u2019s Monetary Policy Committee in the periodic Monetary and Credit Policy.At\npresent, CRR is 4% of net demand and time liabilities.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Significance\nof CRR:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Since a part of the bank\u2019s deposits\nis with the Reserve Bank of India,it ensures the security of the amount.It\nmakes it readily available when customers want their deposits back.<\/li><li>CRR also helps in keeping inflation\nunder control.At the time of high inflation in the economy,the RBI increases\nthe CRR so that banks need to keep more money in reserves so that they have\nless money to lend further.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/city\/aurangabad\/traditional-theatre-chindu-yakshaganam-performed-in-the-city\/articleshow\/68064711.cms\"><strong>Chindu\nYakshaganam<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The\ntraditional theatre Chindu Yakshaganam is being performed in the state of\nTelangana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nChindu Yakshaganam:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Chindu Yakshaganam also called\nChindu Bhagavatam is a traditional theatre art form performed in Telangana.The\nart is mainly performed by the Chindu Madiga community,<\/li><li>The artform is very similar to\nYakshaganam, a traditional theatre form particular to Karnataka.<\/li><li>It combines dance, music, dialogue,\ncostume, make-up, and stage techniques with a unique style and form.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-how-wide-is-the-gender-gap-in-science-6263308\/\"><strong>International\nDay of Women and Girls in Science<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The\nInternational Day of Women and Girls in Science is being observed by the United\nNations on February 11,2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the\nDay:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The International Day of Women and\nGirls in Science was started in 2015.It is mainly implemented by UNESCO along\nwith UN Women and several other organisations.<\/li><li><strong>Aim:<\/strong>To\nrecognize and promote the critical role women and girls play in science and\ntechnology.<\/li><li><strong>Theme:<\/strong>Investment\nin Women and Girls in Science for Inclusive Green Growth.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Women<\/strong>\n<strong>and Girls in Science:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Research:<\/strong>The\nUNESCO paper on women in science paper has found that just 28.8% of researchers\nare women.In India,this drops to 13.9%.<\/li><li><strong>Nobel Prize:<\/strong>Between\n1901 and 2019,out of 334 Nobel Prizes only 20 have been won by 19 women.The\ndouble Laureate is Marie Curie.<\/li><li><strong>Abel Prize:<\/strong>In\n2019, the American mathematician Karen Uhlenbeck became the first woman to win\nthe Abel Prize following 16 male mathematicians.<\/li><li><strong>STEM:<\/strong>UNESCO data\nfrom 2014-16 show that only around 30% of female students select STEM (science,\ntechnology, engineering and mathematics)-related fields in higher education.<\/li><li><strong>India:<\/strong>A 2016-17\nNITI Aayog report found that only 9.3% of female students in undergraduate\ncourses were enrolled in engineering, compared to 15.6% across genders over the\nperiod of five years.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/technology\/four-indian-pilots-begin-astronaut-training-in-russia\/article30786910.ece\"><strong>Gagarin\nResearch and Test Cosmonaut Training Centre(GCTC)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Recently,four\nIndian pilots chosen as candidate-astronauts for Gaganyaan mission began their\ntraining at the Gagarin Research and Test Cosmonaut Training Centre(GCTC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the\nProgramme:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The programme includes basic or\ngeneric astronaut training followed by activities specific to the first Indian\nhuman space mission, Gaganyaan.<\/li><li>At the end of all training modules\nin India and Russia,one or two of the four will be named to circle the earth in\nthe first crewed Gaganyaan, which is planned around 2022.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About GCTC:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Gagarin Research and Test\nCosmonaut Training Centre(GCTC) is a training facility responsible for training\ncosmonauts for their space missions.It is located in Moscow,Russia.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nGaganyaan:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Gaganyaan is India\u2019s first Human\nSpace Flight Programme to be launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation\n(ISRO) by 2022.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.livemint.com\/news\/india\/us-approves-sale-of-integrated-air-defence-weapon-system-to-india-11581361614686.html\"><strong>US\napproves sale of Integrated Air Defence Weapon System to India<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The\nUS has approved the sale of an Integrated Air Defence Weapon System(IADWS) to\nIndia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nIntegrated Air Defence Weapon System(IADWS):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Integrated Air Defence Weapon\nSystem(IADWS) is also called the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile\nSystem(NASAMS-II).<\/li><li>It is an upgraded version of the\nNASAMS developed by the US firm Raytheon in partnership with Kongsberg Defence\n&amp; Aerospace of Norway.<\/li><li>It is armed with a combination of\nweapons such as Stinger surface-to-air missiles, AMRAAMS (advanced medium-range\nair-to-air missiles) backed by three-dimensional Sentinel radars,\nfire-distribution centres and command-and-control units.<\/li><li>It is part of the air defence\nnetwork guarding US capital city Washington DC and has also been deployed in\nseveral NATO countries.<\/li><li>In India,it will be deployed as a\npart of a multi-tiered air defence shield to fully secure the airspace of Delhi\nfrom Aerial threat.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nMulti-Layered Air Defence Shield for NCT of Delhi:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Indian Government has planned to\ncreate an ambitious multi-layered missile shield over Delhi to safeguard the\ncapital against aerial threats, ranging from drones to ballistic missiles.<\/li><li>The innermost layer of protection\nwill be through the NASAM-II.The indigenous Akash defence missile systems will\nform the layer over the NASAMS-II.<\/li><li>The second layer will be through\nthe highly automated and mobile S-400 systems.<\/li><li>Then will come the Barak-8\nmedium-range surface-to-air missile systems jointly developed by Israeli\nAerospace Industries and DRDO which have a 70-100 km interception range.<\/li><li>The outermost layer of shield will\nbe provided by the indigenous two-tier Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) System\nbeing developed by DRDO.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1602749\"><strong>\u201cHunar\nHaat\u201d to be organised at India Gate Lawn in New Delhi<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The\nnext Hunar Haat will be organised by the Ministry of Minority Affairs at India\nGate, New Delhi.It will be based on the theme of \u201cKaushal Ko Kaam\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About Hunar\nHaat:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Hunar Haat is an exhibition of\nhandicrafts and traditional products made by artisans from the minority\ncommunities.<\/li><li><strong>Organized by: <\/strong>Ministry\nof Minority Affairs under USTTAD (Upgrading the Skills &amp; Training in\nTraditional Arts\/Crafts for Development) scheme.<\/li><li><strong>Aim:<\/strong>To provide\nmarket exposure and employment opportunities to artisans, craftsmen and\ntraditional culinary experts.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nUSTAAD:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>USTAAD stands for Upgrading the\nSkills and Training in Traditional Arts\/Crafts for Development.<\/li><li>It was launched in 2015 by the\nUnion Ministry of Minority Affairs.<\/li><li><strong>Aim:<\/strong>To promote\nand preserve the rich heritage of the traditional arts &amp; crafts of the\nminority communities.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/andhra-pradesh\/scs-not-a-closed-chapter-says-jagan\/article30786462.ece\"><strong>Special\nCategory Status(SCS)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Andhra\nPradesh has again reiterated its demand for Special Category Status (SCS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nSpecial Category Status(SCS):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>A Special Category Status(SCS) is a\nclassification given by Centre to assist in the development of those states\nthat face geographical and socio-economic disadvantage.<\/li><li>However, there is no provision of\nspecial category status in the Constitution.The concept of SCS emerged in 1969\nwhen the Gadgil formula (that determined Central assistance to states) was\napproved.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Criteria\nfor special category status:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Hilly and difficult terrain<\/li><li>Low population density or sizeable\nshare of tribal population<\/li><li>Strategic location along borders\nwith neighbouring countries<\/li><li>Economic and infrastructural\nbackwardness<\/li><li>Non-viable nature of state finances<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Benefits\nstates confer with special category status:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The central government bears 90% of\nthe state expenditure on all centrally-sponsored schemes and external aid while\nrest 10% is given as loan to state at zero percent rate of interest.<\/li><li>Preferential treatment in getting\ncentral funds and Concession on excise duty to attract industries to the state.<\/li><li>30 percent of the Centre&#8217;s gross\nbudget also goes to special category states.<\/li><li>These states can avail the benefit\nof debt-swapping and debt relief schemes.<\/li><li>States with special category status\nare exempted from customs duty, corporate tax, income tax and other taxes to\nattract investment.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>States\nunder Special Category status:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Special Category Status(SCS)\nwas first accorded in 1969 to Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Nagaland.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Since then eight more states have\nbeen included (Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya,\nMizoram, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttarakhand).<\/li><li>However,the 14th Finance Commission\nhas effectively done away with the distinction of general and special category\nstatus for states except for the Northeastern and hill states.<\/li><li>Instead,it suggested that the\nresource gap of each state be filled through tax devolution urging the Centre\nto increase the states&#8217; share of tax revenues from 32% to 42% which has been\nimplemented since 2015.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Explained: What is the Thanatotheristes, reaper of death? News: Scientists at the University of Calgary and Royal Tyrrell Museum have found that a dinosaur fossil, found in Alberta in Canada in 2010, belongs to a new species of tyrannosaur Facts: The scientists named the genus and species Thanatotheristes degrootorum The fossil is 79 million year&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/9-pm-current-affairs-brief-february-11th-2020-2\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">9 PM Current Affairs Brief \u2013 February 12th, 2020<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":48116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-9-pm-brief","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/9-PM-Brief.png?fit=1000%2C500&ssl=1","views":{"total":153,"cached_at":1612333861},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}