Daily Current Affairs 20th April 2020

Daily Current Affairs 20th April 2020 iasshiksha.com/daily-current-affair/daily-current-affairs-20th-april-2020/

Today’s Important Topic’s For UPSC Preparation 1. E-COMMERCE FIRMS CAN’T SUPPLY NON-ESSENTIAL GOODS, SAYS GOVT. 2. ISLAMOPHOBIA IS RISING IN INDIA: OIC. 3. KARZAI WELCOMES INDIA’S INVOLVEMENT IN TALKS. 4. HOW REVERSE REPO RATE BECAME BENCHMARK INTEREST RATE IN THE ECONOMY. 5. WHAT ARE MK 54 TORPEDOES, AGM-84L HARPOON MISSILES US HAS CLEARED FOR SALE TO INDIA.

E-COMMERCE FIRMS CAN’T SUPPLY NON-ESSENTIAL GOODS, SAYS GOVT The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Sunday clarified that supply of non-essential goods by e-commerce companies will remain prohibited during the lockdown.

The Ministry also issued guidelines for the movement of migrant labourers living in relief camps to their workplace, within the boundaries of a State, in areas where the lockdown will be relaxed from April 20.

The Ministry asserted that there will be no inter-State movement of labourers.

They will be registered, screened and those who are asymptomatic would be transported to their places of work by ensuring social distancing measures.

The relaxations will not apply to hotspots or containment zones, and public transport will remain prohibited till May 3.

On April 15, the MHA had revised its guidelines issued under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, to allow the States to decide on the additional public activities to be allowed from April 20 in non-hotspot zones.

It said the additional facilities would have to be based on strict compliance with the existing guidelines on lockdown measures.

As per the April 15 order, “e-commerce companies” and vehicles used by their operators had been allowed but it was not specified if it was applicable to items others than essentials.

The MHA wrote to the States to exclude the e-commerce category from the revised guidelines.

In another letter, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla clarified that e-commerce firms would continue to operate for home delivery of essential goods, as earlier.

Commerce and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted that he was grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the clarification that “e-commerce companies can only supply essential goods during the lockdown”.

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This will create a level playing field for small retailers.

The Confederation of All India Traders issued a statement claiming credit for the exclusion of e-commerce companies.

ISLAMOPHOBIA IS RISING IN INDIA: OIC Organisation of Islamic Cooperation: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is the second largest intergovernmental organization after the United Nations which has membership of 57 states spread over four continents.

It is an organisation of the collective voice of the Muslim world.

The main motive of the organisation is to the safeguard and protects the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world.

The Organization was established upon a decision of the historical summit which took place in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco on 12th Rajab 1389 Hijra (25 September 1969) as a result of criminal arson of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.

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Members of OIC: There are total 57 members from which some were became member before 1990 and some were after 1990.

Members before 1990:Afghanistan; Algeria; Chad; Egypt; Guinea; Indonesia; Iran; Jordan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Libya; Malaysia; Mali; Mauritania; Morocco; Niger; Pakistan; Palestine; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Sudan; Somalia; Tunisia; Turkey; Yemen; Bahrain; Oman; Qatar; Syria; United Arab Emirates; Sierra Leone; Bangladesh; Gabon; Gambia; Guinea-Bissau; Uganda; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Comoros; Iraq; Maldives; Djibouti; Benin; Brunei and Nigeria.

Members after 1990: Azerbaijan; Albania; Kyrgyzstan; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan; Mozambique; Kazakhstan; Uzbekistan; Suriname; Togo; Guyana; and Cote d’Ivoire.

In 1993, Zimbabwe withdrew its membership. Bosnia and Herzegovina (1994); Central African Republic (1997); North Cyprus (1979); Thailand (1998) and Russia (2005) are the observer states.

Purpose of OIC: To enhance and consolidate the bonds of fraternity and solidarity among the Member States;

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To safeguard and protect the common interests and support the legitimate causes of the Member States and coordinate and unify the efforts of the Member States in view of the challenges faced by the Islamic world in particular and the international community in general.

Respect the right of self-determination and non-interference in the domestic affairs and to respect sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of each Member State; Ensure active participation of the Member States in the global political, economic and social decision-making processes to secure their common interests; Reaffirm its support for the rights of peoples as stipulated in the UN Charter and international law; To strengthen intra-Islamic economic and trade cooperation; in order to achieve economic integration leading to the establishment of an Islamic Common Market; To exert efforts to achieve sustainable and comprehensive human development and economic well-being in Member States; To protect and defend the true image of Islam, to combat defamation of Islam and encourage dialogue among civilizations and religions; To enhance and develop science and technology and encourage research and cooperation among Member States.

India and OIC: India is not a member of the OIC, but was invited to the recently concluded Abu Dhabi meeting as the guest of honour.

In 1969, the invite to then union minister was withdrawn at Pakistan’s insistence.

Dsepite the fact that, India accounts for 12% of the world’s Muslim But inclusion of Infia in the OIC has been blocked by Pakistan.

However, it is also important to note that the past record of the OIC with respect to India is most OIC has been consistently criticising India for human rights violations in Kashmir as alleged by Pakistan.

Concerns/Argument about not Joining: The OIC statements mean less these days because a number of OIC countries privately dissociate themselves from the grouping, considering it more of an irritant India is a secular country, regardless of all the religions here, India does not prefer religion above nationality. Thus, the government must carefully consider its engagement with OIC. Thus, if India decides to engage with OIC it should be on the basis of our national interest not on account of religion There are issues with respect to OIC’s stands on Kashmir in the past.

OIC stand on Kashmir

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In past decades, India had to spend lots of diplomatic capital to counter OIC’s stands at many international organizations. By attending it, India is validating the same organization.

Issues raised by India at OIC: At OIC Council of Foreign Ministers, External Affairs Minister(EAM) of India stressed that the anti-terror fight was not a clash between civilisations.

EAM said the fight against terrorism and extremism was described as a fight between ideas.

She presented India’s pluralism and diversity as a source of strength and said Indian Muslims are a “microcosm” of India’s larger diverse “They speak Tamil and Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi, Bangla and Bhojpuri or any of the numerous languages of India.

India indirectly target Pakistan for terrorism.

India’s Stand: Rejecting a resolution by the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) on Jammu and Kashmir that referred to “Indian terrorism” and “mass blindings”, the External Affairs Ministry said its stand on the matter is “well known”.

The resolution on Jammu and Kashmir, another on the “India-Pakistan Peace Process” that praised Pakistan for its “efforts”, and a statement on “Muslim minorities” worldwide that called upon the Indian government to rebuild the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, came as an embarrassment for the government just a day after External Affairs Minister had addressed the gathering.

“We reaffirm that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India,” the Ministry said in a statement after the conclusion of the Council of Foreign Ministers in Abu Dhabi.

Experts opine that the other resolutions “don’t reflect or need a consensus” of the entire 57-nation group. “They are essentially national positions of individual countries, and often go unopposed”.

Why in News?

Calling on the Indian government to take steps to protect Muslim minorities who are being “negatively profiled,” facing “discrimination and violence” amidst the COVID-19 crisis, the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has criticised what it called “growing Islamophobia” in India.

We urge the Indian Govt to take urgent steps to stop the growing tide of Islamophobia in India and protect the rights of its persecuted Muslim minority as per its obligations under international Human Rights law,” said a tweet issued by OIC’s Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (OIC-IPHRC).

PM’s Call for Unity: 5/13

The statement came on the same day Prime Minister Narendra Modi had clearly said that “unity and brotherhood” must be the response to the coronavirus, which does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed, language or borders before striking.

The Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment on the statement.

Last week it had reacted sharply to two similar statements on religious “stigmatisation” of minorities in India by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

In one statement, the U.S. Commission criticised India, Pakistan and Cambodia for “failure to protect vulnerable religious communities” and “increased stigmatisation”.

Patient Segregation: The USCIRF reacted to reports, which the government denied, that COVID-19 patients were religiously segregated at a hospital in Ahmedabad.

It also held an expert hearing on “Religious Freedom on South Asia”, organised by the “Hindus for Human Rights”, “Indian-American Muslim Council” and “International Christian Concern,” ahead of its annual USCIRF report release on April 28, where India has been categorised as a “tier 2 country of particular concern.”

Misguided Reports: MEA As if its peremptory commentary on religious freedom in India is not enough.

The USCIRF is now spreading misguided reports on the professional medical protocols followed to deal with spread of COVID-19 in India.

Meanwhile, on March 30, the United Nations’ Office of The Commissioner for Human Rights had issued a more general statement against the “exploitation” of coronavirus-related fears by groups and politicians to “scapegoat minorities” in various countries.

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KARZAI WELCOMES INDIA’S INVOLVEMENT IN TALKS Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has welcomed the American gesture to bring in India into the ongoing negotiation for sustained peace in the war-torn country.

The response followed hours after U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad discussed the state of the peace talks and the coronavirus crisis in South Asia with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.

I have said this since the process began.

I do hope India will join the peace process in support of a sovereign and united Afghanistan with a strong government, in keeping with the traditional friendship between India and Afghanistan,” Mr. Karzai, who met with Indian envoy to Afghanistan Vinay Kumar.

During his visit to Delhi in January, Mr. Karzai had also pitched for India’s support to the U.S.-Taliban and intra-Afghan process in meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

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Khalilzad made the move and said, I reached out to Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar yesterday to discuss the latest on the Afghan peace process.

He said that both sides discussed the issue of release of prisoners.

We also spent some time covering the immediate and longer-term impact of the coronavirus.

The development is significant as it came days after a six-nation talk on the Afghan scenario was held which had excluded India.

HOW REVERSE REPO RATE BECAME BENCHMARK INTEREST RATE IN THE ECONOMY The Indian economy’s slowdown during 2018 and 2019 is becoming much worse in 2020 with the spread of COVID-19 and the stalling of almost all economic activity.

Like most other central banks in the world, the Reserve Bank of India, too, has tried to cut interest rates to boost the economy.

However, unlike in the past, when the RBI used its repo rate as the main instrument to tweak the interest rates, today, it is the reverse repo rate that is effectively setting the benchmark.

What are Repo and Reverse Repo Rates?

The repo rate is the rate at which the RBI lends money to the banking system (or banks) for short durations.

The reverse repo rate is the rate at which banks can park their money with the RBI. With both kinds of repo, which is short for repurchase agreement, transactions happen via bonds — one party sells bonds to the other with the promise to buy them back (or repurchase them) at a later specified date.

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In a growing economy, commercial banks need funds to lend to businesses.

One source of funds for such lending is the money they receive from common people who maintain savings deposits with the banks. Repo is another option.

Under normal circumstances, that is when the economy is growing, the repo rate is the benchmark interest rate in the economy because it is the lowest rate of interest at which funds can be borrowed and, as such, it forms the floor rate for all other interest rates in the economy — for instance, the interest rate consumers would have to pay on a car loan or the interest rate they will earn from a fixed deposit etc.

What has changed now?

Over the last couple of years, India’s economic growth has decelerated sharply.

This has happened for a variety of reasons and has essentially manifested in lower consumer demand.

In response, businesses have held back from making fresh investments and, as such, do not ask for as many new loans.

Add to this, the pre-existing incidence of high non-performing assets (NPAs) within the banking system.

Thus, the banks’ demand for fresh funds from the RBI has also diminished. This whole cycle has acutely intensified with the ongoing lockdown.

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As such, the banking system is now flush with liquidity for two broad reasons: on the one hand, the RBI is cutting repo rates and other policy variables like the Cash Reserve Ratio to release additional and cheaper funds into the banking system so that banks could lend and yet, on the other, banks are not lending to businesses, partly because banks are too risk-averse to lend and partly because the overall demand from the businesses has also come down.

So, how has reverse repo become the benchmark rate?

The excess liquidity in the banking system has meant that during March and the first half of April, banks have been using only the reverse repo (to park funds with the RBI) instead of the repo (to borrow funds).

As of April 15, RBI had close to Rs 7 lakh crore of banks’ money parked with it.

In other words, the reverse repo rate has become the most influential rate in the economy.

What has the RBI done?

Recognising this, the central bank has cut the reverse repo rate more than the repo (see graph) twice in the spate of the last three weeks.

The idea is to make it less attractive for banks to do nothing with their funds because their doing so hurts the economy and starves the businesses that genuinely need funds.

Will the move to cut reverse repo work?

It all depends on the revival of consumer demand in India.

If the disruptions induced by the outbreak of novel coronavirus disease continue for a long time, consumer demand, which was already quite weak, is likely to stay muted and businesses would feel no need to borrow heavily to make fresh investments.

If consumer demand revives quickly, the demand for credit will build up as well.

From the banks’ perspective, it is also important for them to be confident about new loans not turning into NPAs, and adding to their already high levels of bad loans.

Until banks feel confident about the prospects of an economic turnaround, cuts in reverse repo rates may have little impact.

WHAT ARE MK 54 TORPEDOES, AGM-84L HARPOON MISSILES US HAS CLEARED FOR SALE TO INDIA The US Department of State approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to India of 16 MK 54 all round up lightweight torpedoes and related equipment at an estimated cost of $63 million.

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In addition, in another deal, the US approved the possible sale to India of ten AGM84L Harpoon Block II air-launched missiles and related equipment at an estimated cost of $92 million.

The principal contractor for the first deal is Raytheon Integrated Defense System based in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, while Boeing is the principal contractor for the equipment in the second deal.

India plans to use the equipment requested in both the deals on the Indian Navy’s Boeing P-8I maritime aircraft.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to strengthen the U.S.-Indian strategic relationship and to improve the security of a major defensive partner, which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in the IndoPacific and South Asia region.

The P-8I Aircraft: Boeing’s P-8s are designed for long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

The P-8s India version is called the P-8I, and helps the Indian Navy carry out important maritime operations.

According to Boeing, the aircraft can surpass 25,000 flight hours, and gives the Navy a significant edge in the strategically important Indian Ocean.

India currently has eight of these aircraft and is scheduled to receive four more by 2022.

One of these is expected to be delivered this year. In June 2019, the Ministry of Defence placed an order for ten more of these aircraft.

The aircraft has a length of 40 meters and can fly at a speed of 789 km/hour.

They are stationed at INS Rajali and a secondary station is being set up at INS Kochi.

What is the MK 54 lightweight torpedo?

The MK 54 lightweight torpedo was known as the Lightweight Hybrid Torpedo (LHT).

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It weighs around 608 pounds, while its warhead weighs around 96.8 pounds and is highly explosive.

These torpedoes are used by US surface ships, fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters and are their primary anti-submarine warfare weapon.

According to the US Director Operational Test and Evaluation, the primary use of this equipment is for offensive purposes when deployed by anti-submarine warfare aircraft and helicopters, and for defensive purposes when deployed by ships and against fast, deep-diving nuclear submarines and slow-moving, quiet, diesel-electric submarines.

What are AGM-84L Harpoon Block II air-launched missiles?

The Harpoon missile system will be integrated into the P-8I aircraft to conduct antisurface warfare missions in defense of critical sea lanes while enhancing interoperability with the United States and other allied forces.

India will use the enhanced capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defense.

The Harpoon was initially developed for the US Navy in 1983 and was later adapted for use on the B-52H bombers.

The Harpoon was first deployed in 1977 and is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system.

This missile is being used by Armed forces in over 30 countries across the world and Boeing has delivered over 7,000 Harpoon missiles to date.

Further, the Harpoon missile uses GPS-aided inertial navigation to hit the designated target.

Its warhead weighs over 500 pounds and is capable of delivering lethal firepower against targets, including land-based targets, coastal defence sites, surface-to-air missile sites, exposed aircraft and industrial or port facilities.

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