India in RCEP dialogue
India has been extended an invitation to join talks on the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) next month, but is still on the fence about participation, say sources.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22683-india-in-rcep-dialogue.html
#RCEP #India #Malaysia #ASEAN #FTAs

India in Democracy Index 2019
India slipped 10 places to 51st position in the 2019 Democracy Index’s global ranking, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit, which cited “erosion of civil liberties” in the country as the primary cause for the downtrend.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22682-india-in-democracy-index-2019.html
#India #DemocracyIndex2019 #EIU #globalranking #Xinjiang

A new virus : Wuhan virus
The Union Health Ministry has sounded an alert at international airports for thermal screening of passengers arriving from China for the novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) — also known as the Wuhan virus — the WHO is convening an Emergency Committee to discuss steps to contain its spread.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22681-a-new-virus-wuhan-virus.html
#Wuhanvirus #WHO #SARS #MERS #CoV #UHM

India needs investment to meet UN's SDG
India needs a whopping $2.64 trillion investment to meet the UN's sustainable development goals (SDGs), offering the private sector an investment opportunity of over $1.12 trillion by 2030, according to a report.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22680-india-needs-investment-to-meet-un-s-sdg.html
#UN #SDG #investment #India #infrastructure

Daman as headquarters of the merged UT
The Centre on 22 January 2020 designated Daman as the headquarters of the merged Union Territories of Daman & Diu, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22679-daman-as-headquarters-of-the-merged-ut.html
#Daman #GST #UTs #Headquarters #VAT #NagarHaveli

India Strategy on Blockchain
A Niti Aayogdiscussion paper has made a case for using blockchain technology to resolve business and governance process inefficiencies.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22775-india-strategy-on-blockchain.html
#Blockchain #IndiaStrategy #WEF #NitiAayogdiscussionpaper


SAMPRITI-IX begin
A 14-day joint military training exercise by Indian and Bangladesh armies was flagged off on 3 February 2020 in Umroi in Meghalaya.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22774-sampriti-ix-begin.html
#SAMPRITIIX #CPX #FTX #Indianarmies #Bangladesh #MdShafiulAzam

World Cancer Report
The UN health agency on 4 February 2020 warned cancer cases would rise by 81 percent in low- and middle-income countries by 2040 because of a lack of investment in prevention and care.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22773-world-cancer-report.html
#WorldCancer #CancerReport #WorldCancerReport #WHO


Coronavirus a state calamity
After Kerala declared a health emergency following three positive cases of the new coronavirus, other states could also have a reason to worry.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22772-coronavirus-a-state-calamity.html
#Coronavirus #statecalamity #Kerala #WHO #MERS


NASA’s Spitzer space telescope
On 30 January 2020, NASA’s Spitzer space telescope signed off and went silent. But even during its final week of operation, the spacecraft was making one-of-a-kind observations.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22771-nasa-s-spitzer-space-telescope.html
#NASAsSpitzer #spacetelescope #HubbleSpaceTelescope #solarsystem

DRDO indigenous tech
The DRDO installations at the DefExpo 2020 in Lucknow have proven to be among the largest crowd-pullers. The Anti-Satellite (ASAT) missile — successfully tested last year, making India the fourth country to successfully attack satellites — is attracting a lot of attention.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22810-drdo-indigenous-tech.html
#DRDO #DefExpo2020 #satellites #ROV #IEDs #ASAT

Coronavirus conundrum
Keen to avoid stigmatising the city of Wuhan, the World Health Organization is treading carefully on naming the new virus. The UN health agency's official temporary name for the disease, which it has designated as a global health emergency, is "2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease".
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22809-coronavirus-conundrum.html
#Coronavirus #ICTV #MERS #SARS #WHO #nCoV

India's fiscal gap
At around 7.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), the revenue-to-expenditure gap in India is one of the highest among major emerging markets. According to estimates by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), total government expenditure was equivalent to around 27.1 per cent of GDP while total government revenue was around 19.6 percent of GDP in the last calendar year.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22808-india-s-fiscal-gap.html
#India #GDP #IMF #SriLanka #ASEAN

Quotas not a fundamental right
In a major judgement, the Supreme Court has said on 9 February 2020 that there is "no fundamental right which inheres in an individual to claim reservation in promotions", and also no court can order a state government to provide for reservation to SC/STs.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22819-quotas-not-a-fundamental-right.html
#Quotas #fundamental #SC/STs #Article335

India ranks 17th in coronavirus import
Of the countries most at risk of importing coronavirus cases, India ranks 17th, researchers have found on the basis of a mathematical model for the expected global spread of the virus that originated in China's Wuhan area in December 2019.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22818-india-ranks-17th-in-coronavirus-import.html
#India #coronavirus #MERS #WAN #SARS #IGIA

SPICe form in new avatar
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs is replacing the existing SPICe (Simplified Proforma for Incorporating Company Electronically) form with a new web form called SPICe+.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22817-spice-form-in-new-avatar.html
#SPICe #avatar #EPFO #MCA21 #ESIC #WorldBank

Iran unveils ballistic missile
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards unveiled on 9 February 2020 a short-range ballistic missile that they said can be powered by a “new generation” of engines designed to put satellites into orbit.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22816-iran-unveils-ballistic-missile.html
#Iran #ballistic #missile #Revolutionary #Salmanengines

WHO Named 2019-nCoV
The UN health agency on February 11 announced that "COVID-19" will be the official name of the deadly virus disease from China, saying the disease represented a "very grave threat" for the world but there was a "realistic chance" of stopping it.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22842-who-named-2019-ncov.html
#WHO #CoV #COVID #NCP #WHO #MERS #SARS

India is ineligible for GSP benefits: USTR
The United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) office has classified India as a developed economy, ineligible for benefits given by Washington DC to developing countries.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22841-india-is-ineligible-for-gsp-benefits-ustr.html
#India #GSP #USTR #GNI #America #PiyushGoyal

Andhra's proposal under PM-KISAN rejected
The Centre has rejected Andhra Pradesh government’s proposal to release the payment under PM-KISAN scheme as a lumpsum amount instead of installments, Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar informed Parliament on 11 February 2020.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22840-andhra-s-proposal-under-pm-kisan-rejected.html
#Andhra #PMKISAN #NarendraSinghTomar #SMFs

Section 3 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act notified
To ensure that all medical devices meet certain standards of quality and efficacy, the Union Health Ministry on 11 February 2020 notified medical equipment used on humans or animals as "drugs" under Section 3 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, with effect from April 1, 2020.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/22839-section-3-of-the-drugs-and-cosmetics-act-notified.html
#Section3 #CosmeticsAct #Drugs #CDSCO #DTAB #MaliniAisola

SARS-CoV-2 a product of natural evolution
A new study suggests that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that emerged from China's Wuhan city is a product of natural evolution. The study was published in the journal - Nature Medicine.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/23135-sars-cov-2-a-product-of-natural-evolution.html
#SARSCoV2 #MERS #COVID19 #SARS #RBD #WHO


Guidelines for regulating payment aggregators
The Reserve Bank of India on 17 March 2020 released guidelines for regulating payment aggregators and payment gateways, nearly six months after it first proposed regulating these entities in a discussion paper.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/23134-guidelines-for-regulating-payment-aggregators.html
#RBI #NaveenSurya #PCI #CompaniesAct


Coronavirus response fund increased
The World Bank has announced increasing to $14 billion the amount of fast-track financing to assist companies and countries in their efforts to respond to the rapid spread of COVID-19, adding $2 billion to the initial package.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/23133-coronavirus-response-fund-increased.html
#Coronavirus #COVID19 #IFC #WorldBank


MTPA Bill cleared
The Lok Sabha 17 March 2020 passed a Bill to extend the upper limit for permitting abortions from the present 20 weeks to 24 weeks for “special categories of women”, including rape survivors, victims of incest, differently-abled and minors.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/23132-mtpa-bill-cleared.html
#MTPA #Amendment #NitinGadkari #LokSabha


Aircraft (Amendment) Bill 2020
A Bill to improve India’s aviation safety ratings and provide statutory status to regulatory institutions like the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), got the Lok Sabha’s nod on 17 March 2020.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/study-material/news-for-aspirants/23131-aircraft-amendment-bill-2020.html
#Aircraft #Amendment #AAIB #DGCA #BCAS #HardeepPuri