22 Sep 2020: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

22 Sep 2020 CNA:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. Parliament passes Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Bill
2. Amid Oppn. concerns, Lok Sabha passes FCRA Bill
C. GS 3 Related
ECONOMY
1. SBI raises ₹ 7000 crore through Basel-III bonds
SECURITY
1. Unchecked digital media a threat: Centre
ENVIRONMENT
1. Bacteria behind deaths of 330 Botswana elephants
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. With China as backdrop, New Delhi’s Moscow watch
2. India and the Abraham Accords
ECONOMY
1. Dilution without adequate deliberation
F. Prelims Facts
G. Tidbits
1. UN faces crisis without reforms: Modi
2. ‘Privatise select PSU banks’
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

2. Amid Oppn. concerns, Lok Sabha passes FCRA Bill

Context:

  • The Lok Sabha passed the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020.
  • The government had proposed amendments to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2011 in order to make it more stringent.

This topic has been covered in the 21st September 2020 Comprehensive News Analysis.

Concerns:

  • Opponents of the bill opine that the legislation may be used to target political opponents and religious minorities.
  • Charges have been raised that the bill would hit the funds being received by educational institutions run by the Christian community.
  • It is opined that by limiting administrative expenses drawn from foreign donations to 20% as against the current 50%, several NGOs might have to close down resulting in many people becoming jobless.
  • Concerns have been raised against the provision that gives the Ministry of Home Affairs powers to suspend FCRA certificates for more than 180 days.

Category: SECURITY

1. Unchecked digital media a threat: Centre

Context:

Government’s suggestions to the Supreme Court to improve the self-regulatory mechanism for digital media.

Details:

  • A three-judge Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud had asked the government for suggestions to improve the self-regulatory mechanism for electronic media.
  • The government replied, asking the court to focus on digital media rather than mainstream ones.
  • The Centre asserted that unchecked digital media is capable of spreading venomous hatred, terror and violence. It opined that it could tarnish the reputations of institutions and individuals.

Also read: Affidavit by News Broadcasters Association on the same issue covered in the 21st September 2020 Comprehensive News Analysis.
Category: ENVIRONMENT

1. Bacteria behind deaths of 330 Botswana elephants

Context:

Toxins in water, produced by cyanobacteria (cyanobacterial neurotoxins) killed more than 300 elephants in Botswana this year.

Cyanobacteria
  • Cyanobacteria are a group of photosynthetic bacteria, some of which are nitrogen-fixing.
  • Cyanobacteria are microscopic organisms common in water and sometimes found in soil.
  • They live in a wide variety of moist soils and water either freely or in a symbiotic relationship with plants or lichen-forming fungi.
  • Cyanobacteria get their name from the bluish pigment phycocyanin, which they use to capture light for photosynthesis.
  • They also contain ‘chlorophyll a’, the same photosynthetic pigment that plants use.
    • ‘Chlorophyll a’ is a specific form of chlorophyll used in oxygenic photosynthesis.
    • It absorbs most energy from wavelengths of violet-blue and orange-red light.
    • It also reflects green-yellow light, and as such contributes to the observed green color of most plants.

Concerns:

  • While not all cyanobacteria produce toxins, some cyanobacterial blooms can harm people and animals.
  • Additionally, scientists assert that toxic ones are occurring more frequently as a result of climate change driving up global temperatures.
  • Scientists are concerned about their potential impact as climate change leads to warmer water temperatures, which many cyanobacteria prefer.
  • According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Southern Africa’s temperatures are rising at twice the global average.

2. ‘Privatise select PSU banks’

What’s in News?

In a paper titled ‘Indian Banks: A Time to Reform?’, Dr. Rajan and former RBI Deputy Governor Viral Acharya said that the reforms are necessary to ensure the growth of banking activity without the periodic boom-bust cycles.

Suggestions:

  • Former RBI Governor has suggested that the government should privatise select public sector banks, set up a bad bank to deal with NPAs and dilute the Department of Financial Services’ role.
  • Re-privatisation of select PSBs can be undertaken, bringing in private investors who have both financial expertise as well as technological expertise.
  • Corporate houses must be kept from acquiring significant stakes, given their natural conflicts of interest.
  • Private and national asset management ‘bad banks’ should be encouraged in parallel to the online platform for distressed loan sales.
  • On bad loans, they said out-of-court restructuring frameworks can be designed for time-bound negotiations between creditors of a stressed firm, failing which the National Company Law Tribunal filing should apply.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Consider the following statements with respect to Cyanobacteria:
  1. Cyanobacteria are a group of photosynthetic bacteria.
  2. They contain phycocyanin which they use to capture light for photosynthesis.
  3. They contain ‘chlorophyll a’, the photosynthetic pigment that plants use.

Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 1 and 2 only
  3. 1, 2 and 3
  4. 1 and 3 only
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation:

  • Cyanobacteria are a group of photosynthetic bacteria, some of which are nitrogen-fixing.
  • Cyanobacteria are microscopic organisms common in water and sometimes found in soil.
  • Cyanobacteria get their name from the bluish pigment phycocyanin, which they use to capture light for photosynthesis.
  • They also contain ‘chlorophyll a’, the same photosynthetic pigment that plants use.
Q2. West Bank is bordered by:
  1. Mediterranean Sea
  2. Dead Sea
  3. Israel
  4. Jordan
  5. Lebanon

Choose the correct option:

  1. 2, 3 and 4 only
  2. 2, 3 and 5 only
  3. 1, 3 and 4 only
  4. 1, 3, 4 and 5 only
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: a

Explanation:

Dead Sea, Jordan and Israel border the West Bank area.

Q3. Consider the following statements:
  1. Basel III is an internationally agreed set of measures developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in response to the financial crisis of 2007-09.
  2. Basel III regulations are designed to enhance the quality and quantity of capital held by banks.
  3. The Secretariat of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision is located at the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

Which of the given statement/s is/are INCORRECT?

  1. 3 only
  2. 1 and 2 only
  3. 1 only
  4. None of the above
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation:

  • Basel III is an internationally agreed set of measures developed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in response to the financial crisis of 2007-09.
  • Basel III regulations are designed to enhance the quality and quantity of capital held by banks.
  • The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) hosts the Secretariat of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.
Q4. Consider the following statements with respect to Neutrinos:
  1. Neutrinos occur in five different flavours and carry positive electrical charge.
  2. They interact with gravity.
  3. They are extremely difficult to detect because they have very little interaction with matter.

Which of the given statement/s is/are INCORRECT?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. 2 and 3 only
  4. None of the above.
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: a

Explanation:

  • Neutrinos are elusive subatomic particles created in a wide variety of nuclear processes. Their name, which means “little neutral one,” refers to the fact that they carry no electrical charge. Neutrinos occur in three different types, or flavours.
  • Of the four fundamental forces in the universe, neutrinos only interact with two — gravity and the weak force, which is responsible for the radioactive decay of atoms.
  • Neutrinos are extremely difficult to detect because they have very little (weak) interaction with matter.

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

  1. Israeli foray into the Gulf has the potential to disrupt the existing politico-economic architecture India has carefully built with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. Analyse. (15 Marks, 250 Words) (GS 2 – International Relations).
  2. Discuss the impact of the ongoing border clashes between India and China on India-Russia ties. (15 Marks, 250 Words) (GS 2 – International Relations).

Read the previous CNA here.

22 Sep 2020 CNA:- Download PDF Here

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