A link to see the moon landing at 1.10 am tonight https://www.isro.gov.in/gslv-mk-iii-m1-chandrayaan-2-mission/watch-live-landing-of-vikram-lander-moon-sep-07-2019-0110-hrs

Artemis Program by NASA

Prelims – Technology

1. The Artemis I Mission of NASA will land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024.

2. It is using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever before.

3. It will collaborate with its commercial and international partners and establish sustainable exploration by 2028.

4. The learning on and around the Moon will be used to take astronauts to Mars.

Source: scitechdaily.com and nasa.gov

Credit Rating lowered.

Prelims – Economy

1. Rating agency Moody’s has lowered India’s outlook from stable to negative.

2. It is due to risks to economic growth, prospects of a more entrenched slowdown, weak job creation, and a credit squeeze being faced by Non-Banking Finance Companies. 

3. Credit rating agencies rate instruments such as bonds, debentures, commercial papers, deposits, and other debt offerings of companies or governments to help investors make informed decisions.

4. From a company’s or a government’s perspective, a better rating helps raise funds at a cheaper rate.

5. India has not issued a bond or raised money directly in the international market so far, so to a large extent, a downgrade has limited impact.

6. The impact is felt mostly by private firms or state-owned companies that raise foreign currency funds.

Source: The Indian Express

Chandrayaan-2 finds Argon-40 in Moon

Prelims – Technology

1. Chandrayaan-2 currently orbiting the Moon has detected Argon-40 in the lunar exosphere.

2. It has been able to do that with the help of its Chandra’s Atmospheric Composition Explorer-2 (CHACE-2) payload.

3. Argon-40 also known as 40Ar is an isotope of the noble gas Argon. It is the third most abundant gas in the Earth’s Atmosphere.

Source: The Indian Express

Anaemia Among Men

Prelims-Miscellaneous

1. A recent study found that 23.2 percent of men India in the age group 15-54 had some form of anaemia.

2. The prevalence was lowest in the age group 50-54, at 7.8%. It was higher for younger age groups.

3. Among the states, the highest prevalence of any anemia was in Bihar and lowest in Manipur.

4. The WHO defines anemia as a condition in which the number of red blood cells or their oxygen-carrying capacity is insufficient to meet physiological needs.

5. Anaemia in men can cause fatigue, lethargy, creates difficulty in concentrating, thereby reducing the quality of life and decreasing economic productivity.

6. Factors such as consuming smokeless tobacco, being underweight, level of urbanisation and household wealth are associated with a higher probability of developing the disease among men.

Source: The Indian Express

Reducing the Use of Pesticides

Prelims – Environment

1. Punjab is often blamed for excessive and indiscriminate use of pesticides and fertilisers in its agriculture.

2. In turn, this has led to such toxic residues leaching into the soil and underground water as well as the crops themselves. 

3. In recent times Punjab has been able to cut down its pesticide use quite significantly. 

4. Farmers were sensitised by the state government about the overuse of pesticides that it was polluting the environment and affecting the health of their children.

5. It was also a drain on their monetary resources. Besides, the soil and the underground water was also getting poisoned.

6. The government is now planning about resource conservation and changes in agronomic practices like conserving water.

Source: The Indian Express

National Strategy for Financial Inclusion

Mains-GS3-Economic Development, Prelims-Economy

1. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released the ‘National Strategy for Financial Inclusion for India 2019-2024’.

2. The financial inclusion is increasingly is a key driver of growth and poverty alleviation the world over.

Financial Inclusion

1. Financial inclusion has been defined as the process of ensuring access to financial services, timely and adequate credit for vulnerable groups such as weaker sections and low-income groups at an affordable cost.

2. Access to formal finance can boost job creation, reduce vulnerability to economic shocks and increase investments in human capital.



3. It is increasingly being recognized as a key driver of economic growth and poverty alleviation the world over.

4. Seven of the seventeen United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of 2030 view financial inclusion as a key enabler for achieving sustainable development worldwide.

5. An inclusive financial system supports stability, integrity and equitable growth. Therefore, financial exclusion needs to be eliminated.

6. Causes of financial exclusion,

A.lack of surplus income
B.Not suitable to customer's requirements
C.lack of trust in the system
D.high transaction costs



7. Financial exclusion leaves the disadvantaged and low- income segments of society with no choice other than informal options. It makes them vulnerable to financial distress, debt, and poverty.

About the strategy

1. The strategy aims to provide access to formal financial services in an affordable manner, deepening financial inclusion and promoting financial literacy and consumer protection.

2. It sets forth the vision and key objectives of the financial inclusion policies in India to help expand and sustain the financial inclusion process at the national level.

3. The strategy seeks to address the inherent barriers of access to a gamut of financial products and services.

4. The strategy has been prepared by the Reserve Bank of India under the aegis of the Financial Inclusion Advisory Committee. It is based on the inputs from Government of India, other Financial Sector Regulators such as SEBI, IRDAI, and PFRDA.

5. Recommendations

a) Financial entities such as banks etc. should provide banking access to every village within a 5 km radius of 500 households in hilly areas by March 2020.

b) Public credit registry is a database of credit information of borrowers. It should be made operational by March 2022 so that authorized financial entities can leverage.

c) The digital infrastructure in the country needs to be expanded through better networking of bank branches, BC outlets, Micro ATM, PoS terminals

d) The banks should undertake periodic review of their existing products and adopt a customer-centric approach while designing and developing financial products.

e) There should be a convergence of objectives of the National Rural Livelihood and Urban Livelihood Missions to deepen Financial inclusion through an integrated approach.

f) A robust customer grievance redressal mechanism at different levels helps banks in timely redressal of grievances.

UPSC PRELIMS Countdown finished KEEP CALM AND STUDY

The Civil Services (Prel.) Examination-2020, scheduled to be held on 31/05/2020, stands deferred. Decision on the fresh date of the Examination will be made available on 20/05/2020 after assessing the situation.

CAPF (ACs) Exam-2020, scheduled to be notified on 22.04.2020, stands deferred till further notice.

https://upsc.gov.in

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