{"id":54623,"date":"2020-02-20T21:00:25","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T15:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/?p=54623"},"modified":"2020-02-27T09:49:59","modified_gmt":"2020-02-27T04:19:59","slug":"9-pm-current-affairs-brief-february-20th-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/9-pm-current-affairs-brief-february-20th-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"9 PM Current Affairs Brief \u2013 February 20th, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.deccanherald.com\/national\/union-cabinet-approves-creation-of-22nd-law-commission-806180.html\"><strong>Union Cabinet\napproves creation of 22nd Law Commission<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The Union Cabinet has approved the creation of the 22nd Law Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nLaw commission:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Law Commission of India is a\nnon-statutory body constituted by the Government of India every three years\nsince 1955. <\/li><li>The 21st Law Commission of India\nwas established in 2015 and its tenure was upto 31st August,2018.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Composition\nof 22nd Law Commission:<\/strong>The commission will consist of\nthe following members:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>a full-time Chairperson;<\/li><li>four full-time Members (including\nMember-Secretary)<\/li><li>Secretary, Department of Legal\nAffairs as ex-officio Member;<\/li><li>Secretary, Legislative Department\nas ex officio Member; and<\/li><li>not more than five part-time\nMembers.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Functions\nof the commission:<\/strong>The Law Commission of India shall:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Identify laws which can be\nimmediately repealed<\/li><li>Examine the existing laws in the\nlight of Directive Principles of State Policy(DPSP) and suggest ways of\nimprovement <\/li><li>To respond to requests made by\nother countries in framing their legal system<\/li><li>To make measures that shall help\nto serve the poor legally <\/li><li>To convey to the Government its\nviews on any subject relating to law and judicial administration when asked\nfor.<\/li><li>To revise laws so as to simplify\nthem and remove anomalies, ambiguities and inequities.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.newsonair.com\/News?title=Cabinet-approves-constitution-of-empowered-Technology-Group&amp;id=381618\"><strong>Cabinet\napproves constitution of empowered Technology Group<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The Union Cabinet has approved the Constitution of an empowered\nTechnology Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nthe Technology group:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Composition:<\/strong>The 12-Member Technology Group will be chaired by the Principal\nScientific Adviser to the Government of India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pillars:<\/strong>The three pillars of the work of the Technology Group include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Policy Support;<\/li><li>Procurement Support; and<\/li><li>Support on Research and\nDevelopment proposals. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Functions\nof the group:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Render timely policy advice on\nlatest technologies;<\/li><li>Mapping of technology and\ntechnology products;<\/li><li>Commercialisation of dual use\ntechnologies developed in national laboratories and government R&amp;D\norganisations;<\/li><li>Developing an indigenisation road\nmap for selected key technologies; and<\/li><li>Selection of appropriate R&amp;D\nprograms leading to technology development.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.livemint.com\/news\/india\/pm-led-panel-names-president-s-secretary-sanjay-kothari-as-next-cvc-ex-ias-officer-bimal-julka-to-be-cic-11582126894517.html\"><strong>Chief Vigilance\nCommissioner(CVC)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The Prime Minister led panel has appointed Sanjay Kothari as the next\nChief Vigilance Commissioner(CVC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nCVC:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Central Vigilance Commission\nis the apex vigilance institution set up by the Government in 1964 on the\nrecommendations Shri K. Santhanam committee,<\/li><li>It was accorded the status of\nindependent statutory authority through the Central Vigilance Commission\nAct,2003.<\/li><li>It is an independent body which is\nonly responsible to the Parliament.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Composition:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It is a multi-member Commission\nconsisting of a Central Vigilance Commissioner(Chairperson) and not more than 2\nVigilance Commissioners(Member).<\/li><li>They are appointed by the\nPresident on the recommendations of a Committee consisting of the Prime\nMinister (Chairperson), the Minister of Home Affairs (Member) and the Leader of\nthe Opposition in the House of the People (Member).<\/li><li>The term of office is 4 years or\n65 years whichever is earlier.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Removal:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The CVC or vigilance commissioners\ncan be removed from the office by the President on the grounds of proved\nmisbehavior or incapacity but only after the Supreme Court has held an inquiry\ninto his case and recommended action against him.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1603638\"><strong>Cabinet approves\nRevamping of Crop Insurance Schemes<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Cabinet has approved Revamping of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana\n(PMFBY) and Restructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (RWBCIS) to\naddress the existing challenges in implementation of Crop Insurance Schemes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nPradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Launched in 2016 by the Ministry\nof Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.<\/li><li><strong>Aim: <\/strong>To providecomprehensive insurance cover against failure of the crop thus\nhelping in stabilising the income of the farmers.<\/li><li><strong>Coverage of crops: <\/strong>It covers a) food crops b)\noilseed crops and c) annual commercial\/horticultural crops.<\/li><li><strong>Premium: <\/strong>The prescribed premium is a) 2% for\nKharif crops b) 1.5% for rabi crops and c) 5% for commercial and horticultural\ncrops.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nRestructured Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme(RWBCIS):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Launched in 2016 by the Ministry\nof Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.<\/li><li><strong>Aim:<\/strong>To mitigate the hardship of the insured\nfarmers against the likelihood of financial loss on account of anticipated crop\nloss resulting from adverse weather conditions relating to rainfall,\ntemperature, wind among others.<\/li><li>It uses weather parameters as\nproxy for crop yields in compensating the cultivators for deemed crop losses. <\/li><li>Pay-out structures are developed\nto the extent of losses deemed to have been suffered using the weather\ntriggers.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nthe changes:<\/strong>The following changes are to be undertaken\nin the crop insurance schemes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The time period for an insurance\ncompany to work under the scheme is to be extended to 3 years. <\/li><li>The Central subsidy has been\nlimited to 30% for unirrigated areas\/crops and 25% for irrigated areas\/crops.<\/li><li>Enrolment under the Scheme to be\nmade voluntary for all farmers.<\/li><li>Central Share in Premium Subsidy\nto be increased to 90% for North Eastern States from the existing sharing\npattern of 50:50.<\/li><li>Technology solutions such as Smart\nSampling Technique and Crop cutting are to be adopted under insurance for\nPMFBY.<\/li><li>Flexibility to States\/UTs to\nimplement the Scheme with option to select any or many additional risk\ncovers\/features.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/news\/defence\/india-approves-plan-to-buy-us-naval-helicopters-government-source\/articleshow\/74210648.cms\"><strong>Cabinet clears\n$2.5 billion deal for 24 MH-60 Seahawk helicopters<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Union Cabinet has cleared the acquisition of 24 MH-60 Seahawk\nhelicopters for the Indian Navy from the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nSeahawk Helicopter:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Seahawks are a multi-mission\nmaritime helicopter developed by Lockheed Martin.<\/li><li>They are deployed by the US Navy\nas its primary anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface weapons system for open\nocean and littoral zones (near shore areas).<\/li><li>The helicopters are likely to be\nequipped with Hellfire air-to-surface missiles and Mark 54 anti-submarine\ntorpedoes.<\/li><li>They can perform a variety of\nfunctions including (a)anti-submarine warfare (b)anti-surface warfare,\n(c)surveillance (d)communications relay (e)combat search and rescue (f)naval\ngunfire support and (g)logistics support.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Torpedoes:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Torpedo is a cigar-shaped,\nself-propelled underwater missile launched from a submarine, surface vessel, or\nairplane.They are designed for exploding upon contact with the hulls of surface\nvessels and submarines.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outlookindia.com\/newsscroll\/cabinet-elevates-gujaratbased-space-agency-as-national-institute-under-meity\/1738626\"><strong>Cabinet\nelevates BISAG,Gujarat to national institute <\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Cabinethas approved the\nelevation of Bhaskaracharya Institute of Space Applications and Geoinformatics(BISAG),Gujarat\nas a National Institute under Ministry of Electronics &amp; Information\nTechnology(MEITY),Government of India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nBISAG:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Currently,BISAG is a state agency\nunder the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Gujarat.It is\nregistered as a Society and Trust with the Charity Commissioner of Ahmedabad.<\/li><li>Its Governing body is chaired by\nthe Chief Secretary,Government of Gujarat.<\/li><li>It was established to facilitate\nthe use of spatial and geo-spatial technologies for the planning and\ndevelopmental activities pertaining to Agriculture, Land, Water Resource,\neducation among others.<\/li><li>However, now it will be an\nAutonomous Scientific Society under the Ministry of Electronics &amp;\nInformation Technology(MEITY),Government of India.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.newsonair.com\/News?title=UK-announces-new-points-based-visa-system&amp;id=381579\"><strong>UK announces\nnew points-based visa system<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The United Kingdom has announced the launch of the UK&#8217;s new\npoints-based visa system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nthe points based visa system:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The system is aimed at attracting\nthe brightest and the best from the world and cutting down the low-skilled\nworkers coming to the United Kingdom.<\/li><li>The system will come into force\nfrom January 1, 2021 at the end of the transition period after the UK&#8217;s exit\nfrom the European Union(EU).<\/li><li>It will apply equally to the EU\nand non-EU countries.Under this,points will be assigned for specific skills, qualifications\n,salaries and professions with visas only awarded to those who gain enough\npoints.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1603698\"><strong>North East\nSustainable Development Goals Conclave 2020<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>NITI Aayog is organising Sustainable Development Goals(SDG) Conclave\n2020: Partnerships, Cooperation and Development of North Eastern States in\nGuwahati,Assam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nthe Conclave:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It is being jointly organised by\nthe North Eastern Council, Assam government, Tata Trusts, United Nations\nDevelopment Programme (UNDP) and Research and Information System for Developing\nCountries(RIS).<\/li><li><strong>Aim:<\/strong>To take stock of the progress on the\nSustainable Development Goals(SDG) and discuss and deliberate on the way\nforward for the North Eastern region on those issues.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nNorth Eastern Council<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It was created under the\nNorth-Eastern Council Act of 1971.<\/li><li>&nbsp;Members: Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal\nPradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura and Sikkim.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/india-food-price-inflation-coronavirus-global-crude-prices-india-farmers-6275025\/\"><strong>Explained: India\u2019s\n\u2018imported\u2019 food inflation<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation\u2019s(FAO\u2019s) food\nprice index has touched 182.5 points in January 2020, the highest since\nDecember 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nFAO Food Price Index(FPI):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The FAO Food Price Index(FPI) is a\nmeasure of the change in international prices of a basket of major food\ncommodities with reference to a base period of 2002-04.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How FPI\nhas affected India:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The surge in global food prices is\nreflected in trends in India as well. Annual consumer food price index(CFPI)\ninflation which stood at 2.99% in August 2019 has reached 13.63% in\nJanuary,2020.<\/li><li>The inflation in the wholesale\nprice index for food articles has also increased from 7.8% in August 2019 to\n11.51% in January 2020.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Factors\nfor rise in food inflation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Domestic\nFactors:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Indian Agricultural production is\ndependent on monsoon.Hence,poor monsoonal rainfall during the first half\n(June-July) has impacted the sowing season which led to reduced\/delayed Kharif\nsowing.<\/li><li>The increase in the retail prices\nof onion was purely due to the failure of the domestic Kharif crop.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Global\nFactors:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>India imports two-thirds of its\nedible oil requirement and that is why higher international prices are\nautomatically transmitted to the domestic market such as in the case of Palm\noil.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\ninformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Imported\nInflation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Imported inflation is when the\ngeneral price level rises in a country because of the rise in prices of\nimported commodities.<\/li><li>The two key contributors to\nIndia\u2019s imports are: Crude Oil and Gold.The rise in the prices of these two\nproducts usually lead to rise in the import bill of the country.<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Union Cabinet approves creation of 22nd Law Commission News:The Union Cabinet has approved the creation of the 22nd Law Commission. Facts: About Law commission: The Law Commission of India is a non-statutory body constituted by the Government of India every three years since 1955. The 21st Law Commission of India was established in 2015 and&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/9-pm-current-affairs-brief-february-20th-2020\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">9 PM Current Affairs Brief \u2013 February 20th, 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-54623","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":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704940978},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54623","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=54623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54623\/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=54623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}