TNPSC Current Affairs May 08, 2020

www.tnpsc.academy – TNPSC Current Affairs May 08, 2020 (08/05/2020)

Topic: International Historical Diary of Events

Pearl harbour attack

President Donald Trump has said the coronavirus outbreak has hit the US harder than the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War II or the 9/11 terror attacks, pointing the finger at China.

Why? Since emerging in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December, the coronavirus has infected 1.2 million Americans and killed more than 73,000.

What happened in Pearl Harbour?

The December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbour was among the most significant moments of the War — it signalled the official entry of the US into the hostilities, which eventually led to the dropping of nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Topic: Political Systems in India

Parliamentary standing committees

Vice President of India and Chairman of Rajya Sabha Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu recently held a meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla and discussed the issue of feasibility of various Committees of Parliament holding their meetings at the earliest in the prevailing situation and in the context of restrictions on travel across the country.

They also discussed pros and cons of Parliamentary Committees holding meetings by video conferencing.

What are the types of committees?

‘Standing’ committees: Their existence is uninterrupted and usually reconstituted on an annual basis. Some standing committees are departmentally related.

‘Select’ committees formed for a specific purpose, for instance, to deliberate on a particular bill. Once the Bill is disposed of, that select committee ceases to exist.

Finance committees are considered to be particularly powerful. The three financial committees are the Public Accounts Committee, the Estimates Committee and the Committee on Public Undertakings.

Significance: Committee reports are usually exhaustive and provide authentic information on matters related to governance. Bills that are referred to committees are returned to the House with significant value addition. However, Parliament is not bound by the recommendations of committees.

Topic: India and its Foreign Relations, Latest Diary of Events

India Russia to sign MoU on Coking Coal

Indian Petroleum Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan and Russian Energy Minister alexander Novak held a meeting through video conference. The ministers reviewed ongoing projects.

The ministers emphasized on the cooperation in coking sector. They also held talks about signing a Memorandum of Understanding on Coking coal. The Russian minister briefed about the OPEC+ agreement that was recently signed.

Topic: Profile of States, Latest Diary of Events

What is “The Resistance Front” in news frequently?

“The Resistance Front” is the new name of terror group in Kashmir. The group is made of existing terror groups such as Jais-e-Mohammad, Hizbul Mujahidin, LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba) and Al-Badr.

The Resistance Front has claimed responsibility for the attack in Kupwara district along the Line of Control on April 5, 2020, where 5 army personnel were killed.

Key facts:

According to the Indian Army, The Resistance Front (TRF) is like the old wine in new bottle! The new terror group is being supported by Pakistan. This is being done to get deniability of action under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Pakistan has been under constant pressure from the FATF to cut its financial support to the terrorist organizations.

Topic: Latest Diary of Events

May 8: World Thalassemia Day

Every year, World Thalassemia Day is observed on May 8. It aims to create awareness about Thalassemia and avoid the disease from transmitting to other people. It is also observed to provide better quality of life to people suffering from Thalassemia.

The World Thalassemia Day is observed under the theme of “The dawning of a new era for Thalassemia: Time for a global effort to make novel therapies accessible and affordable to patients”.

The World Thalassemia Day is being observed since 1994. It is organized by the Thalassemia International Federation.

Topic: Latest Diary of Events, Profile of States

Royal Bengal Tigers in Sundarbans increase to 96

The Bengal Forest Ministry announced that the number of Royal Bengal Tigers in the Sundarbans has increased to 96 according to the census conducted for the year 2019-20.

Key facts:

In 2017-18, the total count of Royal Bengal Tigers in Sundarbans was 87. It increased to 88 in the 2018-19 census. With the numbers reaching 96, there has been a big leap. The tigers are healthy according to the video footages of the forest department.