Questions Of the Day :-

‘Clearing-House Mechanism’ is associated with
a) Convention on Biological Diversity
b) CITES
c) International Solar Alliance
d) Brasilia Declaration

2)Which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. Masala Bonds are rupee-denominated borrowings issued by Indian entities in
overseas markets.

2. A Panda bond is a Chinese renminbi-denominated bond from a non-Chinese issuer,
sold in the People’s Republic of China.

Select the correct code:

a) 1 Only
b) 2 Only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2

3)Government announces minimum support prices (MSPs) for

1. Copra
2. Groundnut
3. Jute
4. Wheat

Select the correct code:
a) 1, 2 and 3
b) 2, 3 and 4
c) 1, 3 and 4
d) All of the above

Crops covered unde MSP:-

Government announces minimum support prices (MSPs) for 22 mandated crops and fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane.

The mandated crops are 14 crops of the kharif season, 6 rabi crops and two other commercial crops.

In addition, the MSPs of toria and de-husked coconut are fixed on the basis of the MSPs of rapeseed/mustard and copra, respectively. The list of crops are as follows.

Cereals (7) – paddy, wheat, barley, jowar, bajra, maize and ragi

Pulses (5) – gram, arhar/tur, moong, urad and lentil

Oilseeds (8) – groundnut, rapeseed/mustard, toria, soyabean, sunflower seed, sesamum, safflower seed and nigerseed

Raw cotton

Raw jute

Copra

De-husked coconut

Sugarcane (Fair and remunerative price)

Virginia flu cured (VFC) tobacco

India, first in the world to start antibody tests for Corona Virus:-

India is all set to begin antibody tests to confirm if a person was previously infected with the virus. This will help understand the epidemiology of virus.

The test looks for antibodies in the blood.

2)The “Mo Jeeban Programme” was launched by the Odisha Government to contain the spread of COVID-19.

3)RBI cuts rates, allows loan moratorium:- The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has opened up the liquidity floodgates for bank seven as it reduced the key interest rate sharply by 75 bps and allowed equated monthly instalments (EMIs) to be deferred by three months in a move to fight the economic impact of the country wide lockdown to check the spread of novel coronavirus.

Remember the Concept :–

When RBI was to contain Inflation ,it increases Repo Rate, Reverse Repo rate and Sells Govt. securities under OMO. (It technically pulls money from the Market to itself)

When RBI wants to Increase Growth or Spur Growth, it reduces Repo Rate, Reverse Repo rate and Buys Govt. Securities in OMO. (It pushes money into the System.)

4)Ossification test:- 

The primary test for age determination is the ossification test.

Human bones are remodelled and new layer of bone material is laid by a process called ossification (or osteogenesis).

Based upon this phenomenon, ossification test is carried out.

5)Sabarimala temple festival deferred:– For the first time in its history, the 10-day annual festival atthe Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, has been deferred.

The Travancore Devaswom Board haspostponed the festivalfollowing the nationwidelockdown. The history of the festival traces back to the installation of the holy maston the temple premises in1965.

Editorial of the Day :- 

Shift to upscaling food rationing now 

Central theme:- To ensure that all people have access to adequate food in the midstof this unprecedented health andeconomic crisis with potentiallyhigh levels of mortality, we must immediately expand our food security system.

Author gives case study of UK :- In the United Kingdom in the 1940s, rationing or a policy of “fairshares” was introduced in a period of war and scarcity.

Starting in 1939, each and every person was issued a ration book, with a weekly entitlement that could be collected at a local grocery store. Rationing encompassed many commodities, starting with butter, bacon and sugar, and later augmented by eggs, biscuits, tinned food, meat, cereals, etc.

What is the Plan Suggested by Author:-

First, for all rural households, free rations of rice and wheat at double the normal entitlement must be distributed.

The current entitlement is about half the quantity of daily cereal intake recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research:

Second, The provision of rations must be universal: this is not the time to demarcate households by type of ration card or whether they have aration card or by any form of biometrics.

The system of identification of priority households is not error proof, and no household wrongly excluded should be outside the ambit of rationing today.

Third, for all rural households, additional rations of cooking oil, sugar, salt and lentils should be provided on a regular basis.

Fourth, if milk, eggs and vegetables (or one or more of them) can be supplied, we can not only ensure basic food security at the time of a major health crisis, but actually address our burden of malnutrition.

In the end author concludes :- 

All the measures proposed must continue for at least three months, and be reviewed afterwards.

6)Virus cases spike on U.S. aircraft carrier: The number of coronavirus cases on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier inthe Pacific Ocean has spikedto at least 23, with authorities moving to isolate the entire crew in port, U.S. media reported.

7)World is now in recession: IMF

The COVID-19 pandemic has driven the global economy into a downturn that will require massive funding tohelp developing nations,IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva .

A recession is widespread economic decline that lasts for at least six months.

A depression is a more severe decline that lasts for several years.

For example, a recession lasts for 18 months, while the most recent depression lasted for a decade. (Great depression og 1929.)