Upsc2020

This is easy work:
1 complaining
2 pretending
3 blaming
4 judging
5 resenting
6 ignoring
7 lying
8 waiting
9 controlling
10 bulling

This is hard work:
1 inspiring
2 learning
3 teaching
4 trusting
5 empowering
6 building
7 connecting
8 growing
9 helping
10 influencing

Challenges:

Prone to corruption: Every state has its own rules for Public Distribution System (PDS). If ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ is implemented, it will further boost corruption in an already corrupted Public Distribution System.

The scheme will increase the woes of the common man and, the middlemen and corrupt PDS shop owners will exploit them.

Tamil Nadu has opposed the proposal of the Centre, saying it would result in undesirable consequences and is against federalism.

National Statistics Day:

In recognition of the notable contributions made by Late Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in the fields of statistics, statistical system and economic planning, Government of India in 2007, has designated 29th June as the “Statistics Day” in the category of Special Days to be celebrated every year at the National level.

The objective of celebration of this Day is to create public awareness about the importance of statistics in socio-economic planning and policy formulation, to acknowledge the contribution of Prof. Mahalanobis, and to pay homage to him.

Theme: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) keeping in view India’s commitment towards achieving these goals.

Other contributions:

PC Mahalanobis became 1st Indian statistician to receive world recognition and is called as Father of Indian Statistics.

The Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) at Kolkata, set up by Prof. Mahalanobis in 1931, and was declared an autonomous “Institute of National Importance” through an act of Parliament in 1959.

ISI celebrates 29th June as the “Worker Day”.

In 1936 he introduced statistical measure called Mahalanobis distance, widely used in cluster analysis and classification techniques for which he is widely known

Context: The National Green Tribunal has sought a report from the authorities on the current status on disposal and management of fly ash. The report has been sought, following a plea alleging unscientific handling of fly ash generated by a unit of NTPC.

What is Fly Ash?

Fly ash is a major source of PM 2.5 (fine, respirable pollution particles) in summer. It becomes air borne, and gets transported to a radius of 10 to 20 kms.

It can settle on water and other surfaces.
Fly ash contains heavy metalsfrom coal, a large amount of PM 2.5 and black carbon (BC).
Proper disposal of fly ash is still not happening in many places.

Tamil yeoman:

Context: Tamil yeoman (Cirrochroa thais) butterfly species endemic to Western Ghats has been declared the state butterfly of Tamil Nadu.
Key facts:

Uniformly orange in colour with a dark brown outer ring, Tamil Yeoman is among the 32 butterfly species found in the Western Ghats.

This butterfly species moves in groups in large numbers, but only in a few places. Also known as Tamil Maravan, which means warrior, these butterflies are found mainly in the hilly areas.

For the first time Tamil Nadu has declared its state butterfly and only fifth in the country to do so. Maharashtra was the first to declare Blue Mormon as its state butterfly, followed by Uttarakhand (Common peacock), Karnataka (Southern bird wings) and Kerala (Malabar banded peacock).

Shodhgangotri:

Under this initiative, research scholars / research supervisors in universities could deposit an electronic version of approved synopsis submitted by research scholars to the universities for registering themselves under the Ph.D. programme

PUNCH mission

Context: NASA has selected an US based Indian researcher to lead its PUNCH mission which will image the Sun.

About PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere):

It is focused on understanding the transition of particles from the Sun’s outer corona to the solar wind that fills interplanetary space.

It will consist of a constellation of four microsatellites that through continuous 3D deep-field imaging, will observe the corona and heliosphere as elements of a single, connected system

Strum Ataka:

India has signed a deal with Russia for acquiring Strum Ataka anti-tank missile for its fleet of Mi-35 attack choppers of Indian Air Force (IAF).

Demilitarized Zone:

Context: US President Donald Trump recently met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Demilitarized Zone.

What is it? The DMZ, which runs across the Korean Peninsula, is 248 kilometres long and the 4 kilometres wide. Created as a buffer at the close of the 1950-53 Korean War, it’s jointly overseen by the American-led UN Command and North Korea

North East Venture Fund (NEVF)

What to study?

For prelims and mains: Objectives, funding and significance of NEVF.

About North East Venture Fund (NEVF):

Set up by North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Limited (NEDFi) in association with Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (M-DoNER).

It is the first dedicated venture capital fund for the North Eastern Region.

Objective: to contribute to the entrepreneurship development of the NER and achieve attractive risk-adjusted returns through long term capital appreciation by way of investments in privately negotiated equity/ equity related investments.

The investment under this schemer ranges from Rs. 25 lakh to Rs.10 crore per venture, which is long term in nature with investment horizon of 4-5 years

Aadhaar Seva Kendra’ (ASKs):

Context: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has operationalized 1st ‘Aadhaar Seva Kendra’ (ASKs) in Delhi and Vijayawada.

ASKs seek to provide more touch points to public for availing Aadhaar enrolment and updation services.

About UIDAI: Established as an attached office of the erstwhile Planning Commission, UIDAI is now a statutory authority under the provisions of Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 under the aegis of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY

Garuda VI:

What is it? It is a bilateral air exercise between Indian Air Force and French air force. The latest edition is being held in France.

It is aimed at enhancing interoperability level of French and Indian crews in air defence and ground attack missions.

Jagannath Rath Yatra:

Popularly known as the ‘Festival of Chariots’, Rath Yatra festival in honour of Puri’s Lord Jagannath is grand celebration.

The festival is dedicated to Lord Jagannath, his sister Goddess Subhadra and elder brother Balabhadra.

All the three deities of the temple – Jagannath, Subhadra and Balabhadra – travel in three different chariots during this festival. The chariots are called Nandighosha, Taladhwaja, and Devadalanarespectively.

New chariots for all the three deities are constructed every year using wood even if the architect of the chariots remain similar. Four wooden horses are attached to each chariot

Consolidated Fund
All revenues received by government, the loans raised by it, and receipts from recoveries of loans granted by it, form the consolidated fund. All expenditure of government is incurred from the consolidated fund.

Contingency Fund
This is the fund into which the government dips its hands in emergencies, to meet urgent, unforeseen expenditures and can't wait for authorization by Parliament. The contingency fund is an imprest placed at the disposal of the President for such financial exigencies.

Corporate Tax
This is the tax paid by corporates or firms on the incomes they earn.

Customs Duties
These are levies charged when goods are imported into, or exported from, the country, and they are paid by the importer or exporter. Usually, these are also passed on to the consumer.

Direct Taxes
These are the taxes that are levied on the income and resources of individuals or organizations. Normally they are levied on wealth or income through income tax, corporate tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, etc.

Disposable Income
Income minus income tax.

Excise Duties
These are levies paid by manufacturers on items manufactured within the country. Usually, these are passed on to the consumer.

Fiscal Deficit
This is the gap between the government's total spending and the sum of its revenue receipts and non-debt capital receipts. It represents the total amount of borrowed funds required by the government to completely meet its expenditure.

Fiscal Policy
Fiscal policy is a change in government spending or taxing designed to influence economic activity. By fine-tuning the level and pattern of budgetary surpluses and how they are financed, governments can control the level of aggregate demand in the economy.

Income Tax
This is the tax levied on individual income from various sources like salaries, investments, interest, etc.

Indirect Taxes
These are the taxes paid by consumers when they buy goods and services. They include sales tax, excise and customs duties.

Inflation
A sustained increase in the general price level. The inflation rate is the percentage rate of change in the price level.

MAT
This is the Minimum Alternative Tax, a minimum tax that a company must pay, even if it is under zero tax limits.

Monetary Policy
This comprises actions taken by the central bank (the RBI) to change the supply of money and the interest rate, and thereby affect economic activity. Governments hope that by regulating the level of money or liquidity in the economy, they will achieve policy objectives like controlling inflation, improving the balance of payments, raising the growth of the Gross National Product, or maintaining a certain level of employment.

National Debt
It is the total outstanding borrowings of the central government exchequer. It is the debt owed by the government as a result of earlier borrowing to finance budget deficits. That part of the debt not held by the central bank (RBI) is the publicly held national debt.

Non-Plan Expenditure
Non-Plan expenditure covers all expenditure of government not included in the Plan. It includes both development and non-development expenditure.

Peak Rate
This is the highest rate of customs duty applicable on an item.

Plan Outlay
Plan outlay is the amount for expenditure on projects, schemes and programmes announced in the Plan. The money for the Plan Outlay is raised through budgetary support and internal and extra-budgetary resources. The budgetary support is also shown as plan expenditure in government accounts.

Plan Expenditure
Money given from the government's account for the central Plan is called Plan expenditure. This is developmental in nature and is spent on schemes detailed in the Plan.

Primary Deficit
The primary deficit is the fiscal deficit minus interest payments. It tells us how much of the government's borrowings are going towards meeting expenses other than interest payments.

Tiger Reserve in news: Rajaji Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand

GS Prelims Environment and Conservation; Protected areas

Why in news?

NGT constituted a committee to provide it a factual report on alleged illegal construction of a road for use by commercial vehicles in the ecologically sensitive Rajaji Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand.

Petitioner has alleged that road is being built in the tiger reserve without statutory clearances and requisite safeguards. And the construction of the road may potentially damage the biological diversity and resources of the reserve.

About Pattachitra

Pattachitra is a general term for traditional, cloth-based scroll painting, based in the eastern Indian state, Odisha.

In the Sanskrit language, “Patta” literally means “cloth” and “Chitra” means “picture”. Most of these paintings depict stories of Hindu deities.

The Pattachitras are known for its intricate designs and was given the GI tag in 2008.

These paintings are made on a canvas, which is prepared by mashing an old cotton cloth and palm leaves. When the canvas dries up, it is hardened using a paste of tamarind, turmeric, chalk and granite powder. The colours used in these paintings are made from from coal, conch shells, turmeric, chalk powder, leaves of selected plants and soft stones.

DigitalNorthEast | The 'Vision Document for ‘Digital North East 2022’ aims to pull together all the disparate digital initiatives to restructure, refocus and fastrack implementation of strategies & policies tailor-made for North East India under the DigitalIndia Programme.👆

AADHAR PAY
These r lot of payment app in the market.These r the UPI app,SBI Pay, Paytm,Phonepe,Freecharge,mobile wallets etc. But, the Aadhar payment App is special. It will make our life very easy.Can u imagine such an app which don't require a mobile phone?
Yes,you can pay through the Aadhaar Payment App without phone.It is possible bcoz u the customer does not require the app.The merchant of a person,who want money,have to arrange a smartphone,app,etc.The Aadhaar Payment App uses ur fingerprints for the authentication.On the basis of this authentification,the money is paid from your Aadhaar linked account.

BENEFITS OF AADHAAR PAYMENT APP

1. Customers need not to have an android phone or any other techology to make payments.
2. No service tax or any other extra charge on the payments using aadhaar payments app.
3. There is no need to carry debit card or credit card.
4. No need to remember PINs,MPINs, and passwords.
5. Instant payments through Aadhaar bridge system this is similar to Aadhaar Enabled Payment system(AEPS).
6. Affordable payment solutin for merchants as well as customers.

CUSTOMERS REQUIREMENT

1. Your Aadhar number
2. A bank account linked with Aadhaar.
3. Clean fingers

MERCHANTS REQUIREMENT

On the other hand the merchant have to make more arrangements. These r the requirement for the person who want payment.

1. Smart phone
2. Reliable Internet connection
3. Aadhaar payment app
4. Fingerprint scanner
5. Bank account

LIMITATIONS OF AADHAAR PAYMENT APP

*Aadhaar payment app makes the payment very easy for the customer,but merchants have to bear extra cost of finger print scanner. however, it is one time expense and cheaper than existing POS machine.The price of fingerprint Scanner starts from Rs 2000

*U can't use this system of payment for person transfer as fingerprint scanner is necessary.

*The app works on internet,it makes this system worthless in no coverage area or weak coverage

*The unreliable internet connection can be an irritant. It can also turn into a headache.

AADHAAR PAYMENT APP Vs UPI APPS

The comparison of aadhaar payment app with the UPI apps are natural. both of these apps transfers money instantly. the mechanism of both these appsare also similar. however both these apps are better to each other according to the situation.
When it is the case of person to prson fund transfer,the UPI apps r better as this doesn't require fingerprint scanner. Smart phones are common and only payer requires this app.
On the other hand ,at merchamt shop,the Aadhaar payment app would be a bettr option as it is swift and does not reqire a smartphone or internet from the customers end. Aadhaar payment app has the potential to be more popular in rural area.

The Loksabha today passed Goods and Services Tax Bills rejecting amendments moved by the opposition. The Bills are related to Central GST,Integrted GST,UT GST and GST compensation.
The central GST deals with taxation relatrd to centre, integrated GST deals in taxation of interstate movement of goods and services while the Union Territory GST Bill covers taxation in UT.
THE compensation law has been prepared to give a legislative backing to the Centre's promise to compensate the states for 5 years for any revenue loss arising out of GST implementation.

In India Super Series Badminton:Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu enter the 2nd round of Women's Singles in New Delhi.

In Bangladesh, 10 militants holed up in two suspected hideouts under siege in Moulvibazar District

Several parts of Gujarat,Andra pradesh,Haryana and Punjab reel under intense heat conditions.

Supreme Court bans sale and registration of non BS-4 compliant vehicles from 1st April across the country.

Modi asks BJP MPs to use social media to spreadawareness on govts social welfare schemes