Daily News Prescription - 18 November 2020

GS1: Geography

• Explained: How severe is hurricane Iota that made landfall in Central America? (PIB) The Atlantic Hurricane season runs from June to November and covers the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, while the Eastern Pacific Hurricane season runs from May 15 to November 30.

GS1: Social Issues

• NHRC notes a drop in women workers (TH) A meeting of the NHRC’s core group on women, attended by representatives of the Women and Child Development and Skill Development Ministries, NGOs, lawyers and civil society members, on Tuesday discussed the reasons for the low participation of women in the labour force.

GS2: Polity

• What mechanism do you have against fake news, SC asks govt. (TH)  The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to explain its “mechanism” against fake news and bigotry on air, and to create one if it did not already exist.
• Changing the discourse on victim jurisprudence (TH) Crime prevention is an oft-cited but least studied aspect of our criminal justice system. Examination of crime-prevention from the victim’s perspective is even rarer.
• Constitutional fault lines (TH) Only recently, the Supreme Court, had examined the inordinate delay by constitutional authorities — the President and the Governor — in taking decisions on mercy petitions. The Supreme Court, in the case of Shatrugan Chouhan v. Union of India, laid down the principle of “presumption of dehumanising effect of such delay”.
• Explained: How has the Supreme Court interpreted Article 32 over the years? (IE) Article 32 affirms the right to move the Supreme Court if a fundamental right is violated. How does this provision of the Constitution define this right, and how has the SC interpreted it over the years?

GS2: International Relations

• Confront sponsors of terror, says Modi (TH) Addressing the 12th BRICS summit, he asserted that there was a need to confront the countries that supported and sponsored terror. “We have to ensure that terrorists and those who support and sponsor terrorists should be held guilty and this problem is addressed in a collective manner”, he stated.

GS3: Economy

• Cities need a reset as pandemic exposed frailties’(TH) COVID-19 has provided an opportunity to develop more sustainable and resilient cities

GS3: Science & Technology

• Explained: What is mRNA vaccine? (IE) The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines use the same technology, based on messenger RNA, or mRNA. Such vaccines make use of the messenger RNA molecules that tell the body's cells what proteins to build.

PIB Corner

• "Union Minister of Education launches Lilavati Award-2020: AICTE's Innovative education program to empower women (PIB)"  Governmenthas launched several welfare schemes for the overall development of girl child and women such as Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, CBSE Udaan Scheme, and many more. With Lilavati Award-2020, AICTE has once again championed the cause of women empowerment and paved a way towards equality in education and innovation, he added.

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