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ORANGE COLOUR: Important for Prelims.
RED COLOUR: Important for Mains.
BLACK COLOUR: Must Read !
BLUE COLOUR : Important Links/Survey.
PINK COLOUR: Reports/Themes/Summits.
Page Contents:
3rd Nov Current Affairs News Analysis | Prelims & Mains 2021
Today's Must Read Articles :NFAI and FFSI : Online Film Course
HEADLINES:
NFAI and FFSI Conducts Online Film Appreciation Course in Marathi
WHY IN NEWS:
Course to be held online from November 1 to November 7
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 1 : Films
ISSUE:
FILM APPRECIATION COURSE
- The course is to be held online for the first time from November 1 to November 7, owing to the current situation of COVID Pandemic.
- Cinema is an effective medium for communication between time and space.
- Man understands visual language before he understands the language of words.
- A child learns to mimic through visual perception.
- This unique film course in Marathi focuses on the importance of knowledge of film language and grammar.
NATIONAL FILM ARCHIVE OF INDIA (NFAI)
- The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has set up National Film Archive of India (NFAI) in 1964 .
- The primary objective was of acquiring and preserving Indian cinematic heritage.
- This includes preservation of film and non-film material including but not limited to celluloid, stills, glass slides, posters, lobby cards, scripts and song booklets.
- NFAI is the national custodian for preservation of audio visual heritage.
- NFAI often collaborates with national and international institutes to promote Indian cinema .
OBJECTIVES
Its three principal objectives are: to trace, acquire and preserve for posterity the heritage of Indian cinema;
- To classify films.
- To document data and undertake research relating to films.
- To act as a centre for the dissemination of film culture.
HEADQUARTERS
- Pune , Maharashtra.
ORGANIZATION
- NFAI has three regional offices at Bangalore, Calcutta and Thiruvananthapuram.
- NFAI’s activities relating to dissemination of film culture are manifold.
- Its Distribution Library organises joint screening programmes on weekly, fortnightly and monthly basis in six important centres.
- Another important programme is the film teaching scheme comprising long and short term Film Appreciation courses conducted in collaboration with the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) .
- The NFAI’s archive keeps a stock of films, video cassettes, DVDs, books, posters, stills, press clippings, slides, audio CDs, and disc records of Indian cinema dating back to the 1910s
IASbhai WINDUP:
Although technology has changed rapidly over the last 20 years, the language of film has not changed, we also need to be literate in this medium.
SOURCES: PIB | 3rd Nov Current Affairs News Analysis
Sports Authority of India (SAI)
HEADLINES:
Union Sports Minister Shri Kiren Rijiju inaugurates SAI Regional Centre in Zirakpur, says aim is to build more world-class training facilities across India
WHY IN NEWS:
During the event,Shri Rijiju congratulated the coaches and athletes who would be training at the new centre.
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Sports
ISSUE:
- Punjab today which will now act as one of the main SAI centres for the northern belt of India.
- The aim of building world-class sporting facilities in India.
SPORTS AUTHORITY OF INDIA
- The Sports Authority of India (SAI) is a successor organization of the IXth Asian Games held in New Delhi in 1982.
- It was set up as a Society registered of Societies Act, 1860 on 25th January 1984.
- It us under aegis of Department of Sports, Govt. of India with the objective of promotion of Sports and Games .
OBJECTIVE
- Talent Scouting at micro level & Nurturing talent towards excellence
- Training & International Exposure
- Support Training with Scientific & Sports Equipment and scientific personnel
- Monitor and enhance Performance with a scientific evaluation system
- Sports Infrastructure Development & Maintenance
- Maintenance and up gradation of 4 stadia complexes and a shooting range in Delhi.
IASbhai WINDUP:
To produce coaches and physical educationists of high caliber in different disciplines we need world class infrastructure too .
SOURCES: PIB | 3rd Nov Current Affairs News Analysis
Star Campaigner
HEADLINES:
SC stays EC order revoking ‘Star Campaigner’ status of Nath
WHY IN NEWS:
Who gives you the power to determine who is the leader of the party, asks CJI
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 2 : RPA : Election Commission
ISSUE:
- On October 30, the EC found Mr. Nath guilty of violating the model code of conduct in place for the byelections.
- The EC revoked his name on the basis of a complaint .
THE VERDICT
RPA 1951 and STAR CAMPAIGNERS
- Section 77(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 read with Guidelines for Star Campaigners issued by the Election Commission.
- The Election Commission from time to time, makes selection/revocation of ‘star campaigners’ the sole prerogative of the political party.
STAR CAMPAIGNERS
- They can be described as persons who are nominated by parties to campaign in a given set of Constituencies.
- These persons are, in almost all cases, prominent and popular faces within the Party.
- However, there are no specific definitions according to law or the Election Commission of India.
BENEFITS
- The expenditure incurred on campaigning by such campaigners is exempt from being added to the election expenditure of a candidate.
- Recently, the Election Commission has revised norms for star campaigners for polls during the pandemic.
REVISED NORMS
- Maximum number of star campaigners reduced from 40 to 30 for a recognised party.
- For unrecognised registered parties, the number of star campaigners has been reduced from 20 to 15.
- Besides, they now require permission from the district election official 48 hours prior to campaigning.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- Keeping in mind the right to freedom of speech and expression and concept of democratic elections.
- The revocation of his name from the ‘star campaigner’ list impeded “the principle of free and fair and level playing field in elections.
SOURCES: THE HINDU | 3rd Nov Current Affairs News Analysis
Customs duty
HEADLINES:
‘Customs duty: Need judicious use, has to be phased out slowly’
WHY IN NEWS:
This marks a departure from the earlier stance as the government has progressively raised import duties for a number of manufactured products including television, mobiles and household appliances over the last six years.
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3: Economy : Taxation
ISSUE:
WHAT IS A DUTY ?
- Duty rates are a percentage determined by the total value of the goods paid for in another country.
- Duties provide a form of commerce protection for jobs, the economy, environment, and other interests by controlling the influx and outflow of merchandise.
- A duty may also be someone’s moral or fiduciary responsibility.
HIKE IN CUSTOM DUTY
- High, arbitrary Customs duty rates breed inefficiencies and there is a need to have “judicious use” of Customs duty.
- Having arbitrary high Customs duty breeds inefficiencies and the consumers as well domestic manufacturing suffer.
- After 2004, India saw rapid reduction in AHS Weighted Average (%) across all product categories.
- During 2004-2017, India’s share in global manufacturing increased by 1.5 percentage points, while China gained a 18 per cent share.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- What is required is a reasonable amount of Customs duty for a level playing field, and it has to also be phased out slowly once a sector has developed.
- State Bank of India also stated that the country needs to focus more on increasing productivity and less on import tariffs in its quest for Atmanirbhar Bharat.
SOURCES: THE IE | 3rd Nov Current Affairs News Analysis
India-Australia Relations
HEADLINES:
‘Strategic Partnership will aid smooth work in the event of regional crisis’
WHY IN NEWS:
Artificial Intelligence, 5G, rare earth products, ground station tracking facilities to support Gaganyaan are among the areas covered
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 2 : IR
ISSUE:
KEY POINTS
- Malabar will demonstrate the ability of our Navies to work through exercises, warfare serials and the like with the Navies of India, Australia, the U.S. and Japan.
- That is important because, were there to be a regional crisis, like a natural or humanitarian disaster, the ability to work smoothly with partners is critical.
COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
- As part of the CSP, there were agreements in relation to critical technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, quantum computing, and 5G technology.
- India-Australia recognise the opportunities they present to people, to businesses and to the broader economy.
- The fact that they should be guarded by international standards to ensure they do not present risks, to security or prosperity.
- It provides a programme of ₹66 crore over four years for an Australia-India cyber and critical technology partnership.
- This is to support research by institutions in both Australia and between institutions in Australia and India.
MANUFACTURING SECTOR
- Australia potentially sees an opportunity for us to provide elements into India’s efforts to improve its manufacturing, defence and electric vehicle and energy mission projects.
- Given the investments made by India under its national quantum mission and the aspiration here to build more infrastructure and experimental facilities.
- That includes one of the best relationships we have with India, which is the Australian India Strategic Research Fund, which has been going for over 20 years.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- Australia and India have been cooperating together as countries since 1987 and there is a strong engagement between ISRO and Australian agencies.
SOURCES: THE HINDU | 3rd Nov Current Affairs News Analysis
Gilgit-Baltistan to be a full province
HEADLINES:
Gilgit-Baltistan to be a full province: Pak.
WHY IN NEWS:
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 2 : IR
ISSUE:
- Pakistan has administered the area now known as Gilgit-Baltistan since shortly after the country’s birth in 1947.
- New Delhi asserts the mountainous territory bordering China and Afghanistan is an integral part of Kashmir.
‘ILLEGAL OCCUPATION’
- New Delhi condemned announcement, saying it would “bring material changes to a part of Indian territory”.
- Such attempts by Pakistan, intended to camouflage its illegal occupation exploitation and denial of freedom for over seven decades to the people of POK.
THE GILGIT-BALTISTAN ISSUE
BACKGROUND
- The Northern Areas is the other name of Gilgit-Baltistan that Pakistan has used for administrative reasons because it was a disputed territory.
- But that is likely to change as an assembly election on November 15.
- This will pave the way for fuller political rights for the roughly 1.2 million residents of the region.
- The political nature of Gilgit-Baltistan has been directionless from the beginning.
POST INDEPENDENCE SCENARIO
- Pakistan initially governed Gilgit-Baltistan directly from the central authority after it was separated from ‘Azad Jammu and Kashmir’ on April 28, 1949.
SOURCES : INDIAN DEFENCE REVIEW
- On March 2, 1963, Pakistan gave away 5,180 sq km of the region to China, despite local protests.
- Under Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the name of the region was changed to the Federally Administered Northern Areas.
- Seven decades after it took control of the region, Pakistan is moving to grant full statehood to Gilgit-Baltistan.
- This region appears as the northernmost part of the country in its official map.
ADMINISTRATION
- The scenic region was part of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and is claimed by India.
- Pakistan initially governed the region directly from the central authority after it was separated from ‘Azad Jammu and Kashmir’ on April 28, 1949.
- On March 2, 1963, Pakistan gave away 5,180 sq km of the region to China, despite local protests.
- Under Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the name of the region was changed to the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA).
- There were protests in the area at that time from people who demanded an executive form of government based on international resolutions.
- The local situation altered considerably with Pakistan signing an agreement with China for mega infrastructure and hydel power projects in September 2009.
- With the agreements arrived Chinese investments and heavy machinery, which found both support and opposition from the locals.
- The purpose of the court’s intervention was to determine the extent of political rights that could be enjoyed by the people of the ‘Northern Areas’.
DE FACTO STATUS
- This gave it a de facto status of a province of Pakistan.
- Nevertheless , the constitutional status of the region remained vague without explicit statehood.
- The Supreme Court allowed Islamabad to amend a 2018 administrative order to hold general elections in the region.
- The Gilgit-Baltistan Order of 2018 provided for administrative changes.
- These administrative changes included empowering the Prime Minister of Pakistan to legislate on an array of subjects.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- The ongoing stand-off with China at the Line of Actual Control in Eastern Ladakh has a Gilgit-Baltistan connection.
- DBO road provides China crucial access to Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan.
SOURCES: THE HINDU | 3rd Nov Current Affairs News Analysis
Election Day knowledge
HEADLINES:
US Election 2020: Here’s your essential Election Day knowledge
WHY IN NEWS:
Counting of votes has begun !
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 2 : Elections
ISSUE:
WHEN DO THE POLLS OPEN AND CLOSE?
- The earliest they open is 6 am, and the latest the close is 9 pm local time on November 3.
- However, early voting has been open since mid-September — and by Monday night India time, over 96 million Americans had already cast their votes, either in person or by returned mail ballots.
WHEN WILL THE VOTES BE COUNTED?
- Unlike India’s Election Commission, there is no federal body in the US that runs the election or tallies the results.
- Each state runs the election according to its own rules.
- Ahead of counting comes a stage called processing, which involves checking signatures, verifying documentation, and perhaps even scanning the ballots.
- Counting votes is a separate, and later, process.
- Each state has its own date for starting in-person or mail-in voting, deadline for receiving the mail-in ballots, processing the ballots, and tabulating votes.
IASbhai WINDUP:
HOW AND WHEN WILL WE KNOW THE WINNER?
- The count is not officially finalised for weeks — in 2016, it took until December.
- The projections are not usually contested, and the candidate projected to have lost concedes the election.
- This year, given the pandemic and the huge volumes of mail-in ballots, there is widespread apprehension that a clear winner will not emerge on November 3 or even the day after — unless any one candidate wins in a landslide.
SOURCES: THE IE | 3rd Nov Current Affairs News Analysis
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