Daily Current Affairs – 30 – March – 2020

A measure of volatility via prism of markets

VIX helps predict the overall market volatility expectations over the next 30 days

What is India VIX?

• India VIX is an index that serves as a measure of market expectation of volatility in the near term.
• VIX index reflects the overall market volatility expectations over the next 30 days. 

What does a spike in VIX mean?

• A spike in the VIX value means the market is expecting higher volatility in the near future.

Why do we have a VIX index?

• The VIX index was first created by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and introduced in 1993 based on the prices of S&P 500 index.
• Since then, it has become a globally-recognised gauge of volatility in the U.S equity markets. 
• The India VIX was launched with a similar intent in 2010 and is based on the computation methodology of CBOE though amended to align with the Indian markets.
• The VIX value is among the important parameters that are taken into account for pricing of options contracts, which are one of the most popular derivative instruments.

How is the VIX index behaving currently?

• In the current calendar year, the India VIX index has jumped fivefold, from around 12 levels to the current 67 levels, which clearly hints that the market perceives that volatility will only increase in the coming days.
• The index is currently trading at record highs and on some days in the recent past, saw a surge of more than 20% in a single day. 
• Given the nature of the index, it is also known as ‘fear gauge’ or ‘fear index’.

Source : The Hindu

Air quality improves in over 90 cities

Topic  : GS 3 Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment 

With a nationwide lockdown in place, over 90 cities, including Delhi, recorded minimal air pollution in the last few days.  

Air quality in Indian cities

• The air quality in Ne Delhi is presently in the “good” category.
• In Kanpur, which has high pollution levels, it is in the “satisfactory” category.
• 92 other cities with CPCB monitoring centres have recorded minimal air pollution, with the air quality in the range of “good” to “satisfactory”.

The National Air Quality Index’ (AQI)  

• AQI, is a ‘One Number- One Colour-One Description’ for the common man to judge the air quality within his vicinity. 
• AQI will offer data on near real time basis regarding the quality of air based on the concentration of eight pollutants in the air.
• The eight pollutants are PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, CO, O3, NH3, and Pb for which short-term (up to 24-hourly averaging period) National Ambient Air Quality Standards are prescribed.
• There are six AQI categories, namely Good, Satisfactory, Moderately polluted, Poor, Very Poor, and Severe.
• An AQI between 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 satisfactory, 101-200 moderate, 201-300 poor, 301-400 very poor and 401-500 severe.
• Based on the measured ambient concentrations of the above mentioned pollutants, corresponding standards and likely health impact, are tabulated .

Upsc Corner

Model questions  [UPSC Prelims 2016]

In the cities of our country, which among the following atmospheric gases are normally considered in calculating the value of Air Quality Index?

1. Carbon dioxide 
2. Carbon monoxide 
3. Nitrogen dioxide 
4. Sulfur dioxide 
5. Methane 

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

(a) 1, 2 and 3 only

(b) 2, 3 and 4 only

(c) 1, 4 and 5 only

(d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Sources: The Hindu  The Hindu pib 

Here is an article which explains all you want to know about  Air quality Index The Hindu

Himalayan Ibex a distinct species 

Topic : GS 3 Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

A recent study by scientists of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has proved that Himalayan Ibex, distributed in the trans-Himalayan ranges of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh, is a distinct species from the Siberian Ibex.

Siberian Ibex

• Siberian Ibex is a species of wild goat and is distributed in diverse habitats, ranging from cold deserts, rocky outcrops, steep terrain, high-land flats and mountain ridges to low mountains and foothills.
• From Mongolia, its distribution extends towards Altai, Hangai, Gobi-Altai, the Hurukh mountain ranges as well as Sayan Mountains near Russia and scattered populations in the small mountains of Trans-Altai Gobi.
• In Asia, Ibex is distributed in the Montane habitats, ranging in elevations from 500 m to 6,700 m in countries like India, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Southern Siberia and China. 
• In India, the Ibex is distributed mainly in the trans-Himalayan ranges of the Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh up to the river Sutlej.
• According to the IUCN red list it is in Least concern.

Source : The Hindu

U.S. cancels Red Flag air exercise

The U.S. Air Force has cancelled Phase-I of its flagship multilateral air exercise, Red Flag, scheduled in Alaska from April 30. The Indian Air Force (IAF) was to take part in the exercise with its Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets, defence sources said. Red Flag-Alaska is a Pacific Air Forces-sponsored exercise meant to provide realistic training in a simulated combat environment over the Joint Pacific Alaska range complex, according to information on the U.S. Pacific Air Force website.

Source : The Hindu

Daily Current Affairs – 27 – March – 2020

₹1.7 lakh cr. lockdown package rolled out

Topic : GS 3 Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations.

The Union government on Thursday announced a ₹1.7 lakh crore package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and countrywide lockdown.

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana – Highlights

• Health workers : Insurance cover of Rs 50 Lakh per health worker fighting COVID-19 to be provided under Insurance Scheme
• Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana : 80 crore poor people will to get 5 kg wheat or rice and 1 kg of preferred pulses for free every month for the next three months
• Help to Poor: 20 crore women Jan Dhan account holders to get Rs 500 per month for next three months
• Increase in MNREGA wage to Rs 202 a day from Rs 182 to benefit 13.62 crore families
• An ex-gratia of Rs 1,000 to 3 crore poor senior citizen, poor widows and poor disabled
• Benefit to farmers: Government to front-load Rs 2,000 paid to farmers in first week of April under existing PM Kisan Yojana to benefit 8.7 crore farmers
• Central Government has given orders to State Governments to use Building and Construction Workers Welfare Fund to provide relief to Construction Workers
• For small companies with 100 employees or less, of whom 90% earn less than ₹15,000 a month, the Centre will bear the cost of both employer and employee contribution (a total of 24%) to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) for the next three months.
• Collateral free loans provided for women self-help groups under the National Rural Livelihood Mission are being doubled to ₹20 lakh, potentially benefiting seven crore households.

Source : The Hindu pib

G20 commits $5 trillion amid COVID-19 scare

Mains   : GS 2 Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate. 

Context

Leaders of the G20 group of nations held a video conference.  The virtual summit was led by King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud of Saudi Arabia which is the current president of the economic grouping.

Outcome of the meeting

• TheG20 countries committed  to inject more than $5 trillion into the global economy, and contribute to the World Health Organisation (WHO) led COVID-19 solidarity response fund
• The leaders agreed to have more interactions of G-20 Foreign Ministers, health officials and the respective Sherpas before the Riyadh Summit of the G-20 nations in November 2020.

G20

• The G20 (or G-20 or Group of Twenty) is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies. 
• It was founded in 1999 with the aim of studying, reviewing, and promoting high-level discussion of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability. 
• Purpose : Bring together systemically important industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy.
• Collectively, the G20 economies account for around 85% of the gross world product (GWP), 80% of world trade (or, if excluding EU intra-trade, 75%), and two-thirds of the world population.

Members 

• The members include 19 individual countries and along with the European Union (EU).
• Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States. Spain is a permanent guest invitee.

Meetings

The heads of the G20 nations met semi-annually at G20 summits between 2009 and 2010. Since the November 2011 Cannes summit, all G20 summits have been held annually.

Organisation

• The G20 operates without a permanent secretariat or staff.
• The group’s chair rotates annually among the members and is selected from a different regional grouping of countries. 
• Troika: The chair is part of a revolving three-member management group of past, present and future chairs, referred to as the “Troika”. The incumbent chair establishes a temporary secretariat for the duration of its term, which coordinates the group’s work and organizes its meetings.

UPSC corner

Consider the following statements

1. The Headquarters of G20 is located at Germany
2. All ASEAN members are members of G20 group

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

Sources: The Hindu The Hindu BusinessLine Wikipedia The Hindu

U.S. to consider favourably teleworking for H1-B workers

Topic  : GS 2  Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.

The United States administration has said that H-1B visa (skilled temporary) workers can expect to be treated with “very reasonable consideration,” for requests to telework as part of their companies’ current work policies, a senior official in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on a briefing call with reporters earlier this week.

The issue

• Generally, an amended or new H-1B petition needs to be filed prior to a worker starting work at a new site. 
• Once the amendment is filed, the worker can start working at the new location immediately, without having to wait for a final decision on the petition.
• The US government clarifies that due to COVID -19 pandemic rules will be relaxed for requests to telework and for extension of visa when there area no flights. . 

What are H1 B Visas?

• The H-1B visa program was launched in 1990, when President George H.W. Bush signed the “Immigration Act of 1990.” 
• It is intended to help American firms deal with labor shortages in rapidly growing fields that demand specialized skills, such as research, engineering and computer programming. 
• Each application or “petition” is submitted by a sponsoring company that foots the bill on behalf of a candidate it seeks to employ. The program has an annual cap of 65,000, and an additional 20,000 visas are granted to employees with master’s degrees from American universities.
•  If the number of applications exceeds the cap, the government conducts a “lottery” to decide who gets to stay. 
• Every year 6,800 visas are reserved for workers from Chile and Singapore in accordance with free trade agreements those countries have signed with the U.S.
• There are provisions in place to make sure employers are paying their workers the prevailing wage and not replacing American workers.

Who employs H-1B visa holders?

• The biggest employers are Indian companies such as Wipro Technologies, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and Tata Consultancy Services.
• The American companies include Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook and Qualcomm.
• Thousands of Silicon Valley startups.

Source : The Hindu The Hindu The Hindu Hindustan Times 

Standing with the needy

Topic : GS 2 Mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced a ₹1,70,000-crore relief package — Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) to alleviate the distress caused to vulnerable sections of the population during the 21-day lockdown period. 

Highlights

• It covers various sections of the vulnerable, ranging from farmers and women Jan Dhan account holders, to organised sector workers, to the most important of all — healthcare workers
• The  financial package appears to be to keep the funding within the budget as much as possible and retain control over the deficit. 

Issues remaining

• At some point soon, the government may have to break the fiscal deficit targets it set. 
• It will also need the financial bandwidth to support businesses in trouble. 
• In fact, ideally the government ought to have announced a relief package for the corporate sector and the middle class along with the PMGKY. It should now turn its focus towards businesses that are running out of cash and may soon default on even salaries and statutory commitments if relief is not given. There are enough ideas to borrow from others such as the U.S. which is in the process of finalising a $2 trillion package. Part II of the economic relief package should not be delayed beyond the next couple of days.

Source : The Hindu