CURRENT AFFAIRS
30 JUNE 2020
TOP HEADLINES:
A) TikTok among the 59 apps which are banned by the Centre.
On 29 June, 2020, the government of India banned banned 59 Chinese apps including the most popular Chinese apps as well such as TikTok, Shareit, Mi Video Call, Club Factory and Cam Scanner etc. The government gave reasons to ban these apps as they are a threat to the national security and sovereignty of India. Instructions have been given by the the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity), to apple and google to remove these apps from their respective stores. Moreover, the telecom operators and Internet Service Providers will be ordered to block the usage and access of these applications on their respective networks.
B) CA aspirants can opt out of July exams: Supreme Court.
On June 29,2020, the Supreme Court by relieving lakhs of aspirants of Chartered Accountants (CA) pronounced that the students can opt out of their July examinations without running the risk of being marked as having failed in the papers they missed due to global covid19 situation. A Bench led by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar by allowing the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) for conducting the exams in July-August, held that the students should have an option to change their exam centers “till the end.”
INTERNATIONAL NEWS:
A) India, China Commanders to hold talks.
In the continuing tension over border between India and China, the commanding corps of both the countries have decided to meet for a third time on Tuesday. The meeting is scheduled to be held around 10.30 a.m. at Chushul on the Indian side. The earlier meetings were held on the Chinese side at Moldo, opposite Chushul. The Indian side will be presented by Lt. Gen. General Officer Commanding, Harinder Singh of the Leh-based 14 Corps, and the Chinese side by Liu Lin, Maj. Gen. Commander of the South Xinjiang Military District. In their last meeting on June 22, both the armies entered into “mutual consensus” to disengage along the LAC.
B) 4 Rafales to land in India by July-end.
Between the ongoing dispute between India and China on the border, 4 rafales have been scheduled to arrive in India by the end of July. The 4 aircraft are scheduled to depart on July 27 from France and fly to India with a stopover in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the Al Dhafra air base. The arrival of first batch was scheduled in May but due to the global pandemic of novel coronavirus, it was delayed and shifted to July.
C) India, Bhutan sign pact for first joint hydel project.
A major step has been took by India and Bhutan for the construction of the 600 MW Kholongchhu project which is their first hydropower joint venture project in the less developed eastern region of Bhutan i.e. Trashiyangtse. The agreement for the project was signed via video-conference of External Affairs Minister of India, S. Jaishankar in Delhi, and Foreign Minister of Bhutan, Tandi Dorji and Economic Affairs Minister of India, Loknath Sharma in Thimphu. This is the first time an India-Bhutan hydropower project will be constructed as a 50:50 joint venture and not as a government-to-government agreement. The Foreign Ministers of both the countries called the agreement a “milestone” in the partnership of India and Bhutan. As a part of India’s commitment to help Bhutan, The Kholongchhu project is one of four additional projects agreed to in 2008, create a total 10,000 MW of installed capacity by 2020.
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) Unlock 2 rules unveiled.
On 29 June, fresh guidelines for unlock 2 have been declared by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). These guidelines will not affect the existing strict restrictions in the contaminated Zones till 31 July, 2020. Schools, colleges, gymnasiums, auditoriums, bars, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, assembly halls, metro and rail services and other similar places will remain closed across the country. Also PM Modi will address the nation on June30 at 4pm. Some hours before the issuing of these guidelines, the government of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu announced to extend the lockdown till 31 July without any relaxations. Earlier, Manipur and West Bengal also announced the same. The timings for night curfew shall be from 10.00 p.m. to 5.00 a.m. The training of Central and State Government can commence from 15 July.
B) Government plans incentives to lift auto exports.
India is aiming at doubling the rate of exports of vehicles and components in the next five years by drawing up an incentive scheme for the automotive sector. After receiving feedback from auto industry groups, the Department of Heavy Industries (DHI) is suggested to give incentives over five years in order to increase local production and for procurement for export as well. The companies need to fulfill some necessary conditions such as the incentives would be based on the value of sales of vehicles or components. Further only those companies will be eligible who generate minimum revenue and profit threshold and mark their presence in at least 10 countries.
This news is really helpful😀