CURRENT AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2019 OCTOBER 2020 - IAS ...

CURRENT AFFAIRS DECEMBER 2019

ORGANIC AND ORGANISED

OCTOBER 2020

© Winnishers Educational Services Pvt Ltd

A LETTER FROM MY HEART

Dear IAS Aspirant Friends,

It gives me immense pleasure to present to you the 360º Current

Affairs Magazine for the month of October 2020. The dedicated

team that compiles and edits Current Affairs at IAS WINNISHERS

has made sincere efforts to provide to you the most relevant and

important news from the point of view of Interview, Mains and

especially the soon approaching Prelims.

Our mission is to facilitate the current affairs knowledge that is

ORGANIC and ORGANISED.

Due to the ongoing unfortunate situation, we fully empathize with

your anxiety related to the exam. This exam requires complete

focus and dedication, and it becomes all the more relevant in times

like the one we are facing now. This compilation gives you the right

direction and aids you in your preparation for the exam.

Wishing You Success

Vinay Kumar R

Founder & CEO, IAS WINNISHERS

© Winnishers Educational Services Pvt Ltd 1

Copyright © by Winnishers Educational Services Pvt Ltd

All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of Winnishers Educational Services Pvt Ltd.

Contents

1. POLITY& CONSTITUTION ......................................................................................................................................... 6

1.1.JAIL PERIOD OR GRAVITY OF CRIME ALONE CAN’T DECIDE EARLY RELEASE DENIAL ................................................. 6

1.2.SPECIAL COURT TO TRY CASES ‘AGAINST’ LEGISLATORS .......................................................................................... 6

1.3.WOMAN HAS RIGHT OF RESIDENCE IN ‘SHARED HOUSEHOLD’ OF IN-LAWS ............................................................ 7

1.4.MOVE TO DELETE ‘INELIGIBLE’ NAMES FROM ASSAM NRC: WHO, AND WHY .......................................................... 8

1.5.LEVELLED AGAINST JUDGES BY THE ANDHRA PRADESH CHIEF MINISTER ................................................................. 9

1.6.GOVT INCREASES POLL EXPENDITURE LIMIT BY 10% ............................................................................................. 10

1.7.DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT COUNCILS (DDC) ........................................................................................................... 11

1.8.POSTAL BALLOTS .................................................................................................................................................. 13

1.9.FARM ACTS, FEDERALISM AND CONSTITUTIONALITY ............................................................................................ 13

1.10.BILL OF EXCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................................................... 15

1.11.PARLIAMENT PASSES BILATERAL NETTING OF QUALIFIED FINANCIAL CONTRACTS BILL ....................................... 17

1.12.NO SOFTWARE FOR JUSTICE ............................................................................................................................... 18

1.13.NOW, OUTSIDERS CAN BUY LAND IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR .............................................................................. 19

1.14.NITI AAYOG RELEASES DRAFT ACT, RULES FOR STATES ON LAND TITLING ........................................................... 20

2. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ................................................................................................................................. 22

2.1.POLAR SILK ROAD ................................................................................................................................................. 22

2.2.THE COMMITMENT TO REDUCING INEQUALITY INDEX ......................................................................................... 24

2.3.CHINA, PAKISTAN RE-ELECTED TO UNHRC ............................................................................................................ 25

2.4.GLOBAL TUBERCULOSIS REPORT 2020 .................................................................................................................. 27

2.5.NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT ......................................................................................................................... 28

2.6.COLLECTIVE SECURITY TREATY ORGANISATION .................................................................................................... 30

2.7.THE FUTURE OF JOBS REPORT 2020...................................................................................................................... 33

2.8.INDIA, US HOLD 2+2 MINISTERIAL DIALOGUE ....................................................................................................... 35

2.9.UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY – 75TH SESSION ............................................................................................................. 37

2.10.SECOND QUAD MINISTERIAL MEETING ............................................................................................................... 38

2.11.G-20 DEBT SERVICE SUSPENSION INITIATIVE ....................................................................................................... 40

2.12.INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION OUTLOOK 2020..................................................................................................... 40

2.13.INDIA CHAIRS ILO’S EXECUTIVE BODY AFTER 35 YEARS ....................................................................................... 42

2.14.HUMAN MOBILITY, SHARED OPPORTUNITIES ..................................................................................................... 43

2.15.INDIA EXTENDS USD 1 BILLION LINE OF CREDIT FOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN CENTRAL ASIA ........................ 44

3. ECONOMY ............................................................................................................................................................. 46

AGRICULTURE AND ALLIED SECTORS ...................................................................................................................... 46

3.1.NEW FARM ACTS: FEARS, MISCONCEPTIONS AND FEW FACTS .............................................................................. 46

3.2.FERTILISER SUBSIDY ............................................................................................................................................. 47


3.3.FARMPAL TECHNOLOGY ....................................................................................................................................... 49

3.4.GOVT APPROVES MANDATORY PACKAGING OF FOOD GRAINS IN JUTE BAGS........................................................ 50

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................................................ 51

3.5.VISION 2020 AND INDIAN ECONOMY ................................................................................................................... 51

3.6.SWAMIH INVESTMENT FUND ............................................................................................................................... 53

3.7.INDIA TO BECOME 3RD LARGEST ECONOMY BY 2050 ............................................................................................. 54

3.8.WITHOUT AN EXPORTS PUSH, INDIA SIMPLY CAN’T GROW FAST .......................................................................... 55

3.9.RBI TO ISSUE FRESH CREDIT DEFAULT SWAPS NORMS .......................................................................................... 56

3.10.RURAL GROWTH NOT ENOUGH TO LIFT OVERALL ECONOMY.............................................................................. 57

3.11.NEW SERIES OF RETAIL INFLATION FOR INDUSTRIAL WORKERS .......................................................................... 57

3.12.AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR SCHEME .......................................................................................................................... 59

3.13.URBAN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WAS ON THE DECLINE IN 2019 .......................................................................... 60

FISCAL AND MONETARY POLICY ............................................................................................................................. 60

3.14.FACELESS APPEALS SYSTEM ................................................................................................................................ 60

3.15.REAL TIME GROSS SETTLEMENT (RTGS) .............................................................................................................. 62

3.16.NEW MEMBERS MAY LEND SLIGHT DOVISH TILT TO MPC ................................................................................... 62

3.17.COMPENSATION CESS TO STAY TILL STATES’ DUES ARE MET ............................................................................... 63

3.18.CBDT REITERATES TOLERANCE RANGE UNDER TRANSFER PRICING RULES ........................................................... 64

3.19.COVID TO ERODE 3 YEARS OF FISCAL CONSOLIDATION GAINS OF STATES ........................................................... 65

3.20.LIC, GIC, NEW INDIA ASSURANCE IDENTIFIED AS D-SIIS ....................................................................................... 66

TRADE AND MARKETS ........................................................................................................................................... 67

3.21.AUCTION THEORY .............................................................................................................................................. 67

3.22.INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES CENTRES AUTHORITY............................................................................... 69

3.23.ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT FUND ...................................................................................................................... 70

3.24.SOCIAL STOCK EXCHANGE .................................................................................................................................. 71

3.25.RELAX CURRENT ACCOUNT CURBS FOR BORROWERS: CII ................................................................................... 72

INDUSTRY, INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES SECTOR ............................................................................................ 74

3.26.MSMES MAY ADD $300 BILLION TO INDIA’S GDP BY 2025 .................................................................................. 74

3.27.MSME PRERANA ................................................................................................................................................ 75

3.28.MSME EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL ............................................................................................................... 75

3.29.ONE-THIRD OF FUNDING BY AIIB HAS GONE TO INDIA ........................................................................................ 76

4. ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY .................................................................................................................................. 77

4.1.SIGNIFICANCE OF CHINA’S CLIMATE CHANGE COMMITMENT TO INDIA ................................................................ 77

4.2.ENVIRONMENT MINISTER MOOTS PPP MODEL FOR BETTER UPKEEP OF ZOOS...................................................... 78

4.3.WWF AUSTRALIA DRONES TO DROP SEEDS FOR KOLA GUM TREES ....................................................................... 78

4.4.THE JOURNEY OF NGT FOR 10 YEARS .................................................................................................................... 78

4.5.NITROUS OXIDE EMISSIONS DERAILING PARIS CLIMATE ACCORD TEMPERATURE.................................................. 79

4.6.ACTION PLAN FOR CONSERVATION OF OCEANIC DOLPHINS.................................................................................. 80

4.7.TWO NEW PLANT SPECIES DISCOVERED IN WESTERN GHATS................................................................................ 80

4.8.BLUE FLAG CERTIFICATION ................................................................................................................................... 81

4.9.RATIFICATION OF STOCKHOLM CONVENTION....................................................................................................... 82

4.10.IMD OPERATIONALIZES ADVANCED HIGH RESOLUTION AIR QUALITY EARLY WARNING SYSTEM FOR DELHI AND

INDIA ......................................................................................................................................................................... 83

4.11.GREATER ONE HORNED RHINOCEROS ................................................................................................................ 83

4.12.NEGATIVE SIDE OF TOKEN TREE PLANTING ......................................................................................................... 85


4.13.HYDERABAD DELUGE.......................................................................................................................................... 85

4.14.DELHI AIR POLLUTION IN OCTOBER .................................................................................................................... 86

4.15.INDUS SUTURE ZONE TECTONIC FAULT LINE MOVING NORTHWARDS................................................................. 88

4.16.ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA LISTS 62 SPECIES OF SKINKS ............................................................................... 88

4.17.PROTECTING ELEPHANT PATHWAYS ................................................................................................................... 90

4.18.ASIAN KING VULTURE SIGHTED IN SIGUR PLATEAU ............................................................................................. 90

4.19.CPCB FLAGS UNSAFE DISPOSAL OF CATTLE ......................................................................................................... 91

4.20.TELANGANA'S KALESHWARAM WATER IRRIGATION PROJECT ............................................................................. 91

4.21.RADHANAGARI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY ................................................................................................................ 92

4.22.JAPAN PM SUGA SETS 2050 DEADLINE FOR CARBON NEUTRALITY ...................................................................... 93

4.23.WHY ENERGY MNCs WANT NATURAL GAS TO COME UNDER GST ....................................................................... 94

4.24.UNBRIDLED PROMOTION OF ECOTOURISM FRAUGHT WITH DANGER TO WILDLIFE ............................................ 94

4.25.CORAL REEF TALLER THAN EIFFEL TOWER FOUND IN AUSTRALIA ........................................................................ 95

4.26.INDIA'S AIR QUALITY DATA FOR COMPARING ANNUAL POLLUTION IS PATCHY .................................................... 95

4.27.ONLY 366 NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALES REMAIN: NOAA .............................................................................. 96

4.28.DESPITE DROP IN EMISSIONS, INDIA STILL WORLD’S LARGEST SO2 PRODUCER ................................................... 96

5. SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY ....................................................................................................................................... 97

SPACE RELATED ..................................................................................................................................................... 97

5.1.SUPERHABITABLE PLANETS .................................................................................................................................. 97

5.2.ASTEROID 2020 RK2 ............................................................................................................................................. 98

5.3.WHY MARS IS THE BRIGHTEST THIS MONTH? ....................................................................................................... 98

5.4.NEW SHEPARD: JEFF BEZOS' ROCKET TESTS NASA MOON LANDING TECHNOLOGY................................................ 99

5.5.SpaceX LAUNCHES ITS 13TH STARLINK MISSION ................................................................................................. 100

5.6.SPACE DEBRIS .................................................................................................................................................... 102

5.7.DECLINING STAR FORMATION IN MILKY WAY ..................................................................................................... 102

5.8.NOKIA TO BUILD MOBILE NETWORK ON MOON ................................................................................................. 103

5.9.NASA'S OSIRIS-REX SET TO COLLECT SAMPLES FROM ASTEROID BENNU ............................................................. 103

5.10.WATER IN NEW REGIONS ON MOON ................................................................................................................ 104

5.11.SATELLITE SYSTEM TO COMBAT SPACE COLLISIONS .......................................................................................... 106

OTHER NEWS ...................................................................................................................................................... 107

5.12.INSIGHTS INTO LEDs EMITTING HIGH-QUALITY WHITE LIGHT ............................................................................ 107

5.13.SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL .................................................................................................................................... 107

5.14.WATER PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY ................................................................................................................ 109

5.15.INDIA’S FASTEST HPC-AI SUPERCOMPUTER ‘PARAM SIDDHI' ............................................................................. 110

5.16.VISA-LESS VR TRIP WITH QUAQUA’S EXPERIENTIAL DOME ................................................................................ 111

5.17.SUPERCONDUCTORS ........................................................................................................................................ 111

5.18.MAGNETIC NANOFIBERS THAT KILLS SKIN CANCER CELLS WITH HEAT ............................................................... 112

5.19.VACCINE TO REDUCE YIELD LOSS DUE TO DISEASES IN RICE .............................................................................. 113

6. SECURITY ............................................................................................................................................................. 115

6.1.ICGS KANAKLATA BARUA .................................................................................................................................... 115

6.2.DEFENCE ACQUISITION PROCEDURE................................................................................................................... 115

6.3.NIRBHAY MISSILE ............................................................................................................................................... 115

6.4.RUDRAM-1 ......................................................................................................................................................... 116

6.6.CYBERTHREATS IN EDUCATION........................................................................................................................... 116

6.7.INDIAN NAVAL SHIP (INS) KAVARATTI ................................................................................................................. 116


6.8.INDIA-US DEFENCE DEAL .................................................................................................................................... 117

7. SOCIAL ISSUES ..................................................................................................................................................... 118

7.1.AFFORDABILITY OF NUTRITIOUS DIETS IN RURAL INDIA REPORT ......................................................................... 118

7.2.GLOBAL EDUCATION MONITORING (GEM) REPORT ............................................................................................ 118

7.3.WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY ............................................................................................................................ 119

7.4.SAVIOUR SIBLING ............................................................................................................................................... 120

7.5.WORLD FOOD DAY ............................................................................................................................................. 121

7.6.PAEDIATRIC RENAL SWAP TRANSPLANT ............................................................................................................. 122

7.7.CBSE INTRODUCES FACIAL RECOGNITION SYSTEM FOR ACCESSING DIGITAL DOCUMENTS .................................. 123

7.8.URBAN PLANNING EDUCATION SYSTEM : ........................................................................................................... 124

7.9.BHAGYALAKSHMI SCHEME ................................................................................................................................. 124

7.10.THE ECONOMICS OF INDIA’S HIGH PREVALENCE OF CHILD BRIDES .................................................................... 126

7.11.ASER REPORT ................................................................................................................................................... 128

7.12.POVERTY AND SHARED PROSPERITY REPORT .................................................................................................... 129

7.13.WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY .......................................................................................................................... 129

7.14.GLOBAL ESTIMATE OF CHILDREN IN MONETARY POVERTY ................................................................................ 130

8. SCHEMES ............................................................................................................................................................. 132

8.1.AMBEDKAR SOCIAL INNOVATION INCUBATION MISSION .................................................................................... 132

8.2.PRODUCTION LINKED INCENTIVE SCHEME .......................................................................................................... 132

8.3. WOMEN SCIENTISTS SCHEME ............................................................................................................................ 134

8.4.KAMDHENU DEEPAWALI ABHIYAN ..................................................................................................................... 135

8.5.LEAVE TRAVEL CONCESSION(LTC) CASH VOUCHER SCHEME ................................................................................ 136

8.6.KALA SANSKRITI VIKAS YOJANA .......................................................................................................................... 137

8.7.INDIRA RASOI YOJANA ....................................................................................................................................... 138

8.8.STARS PROJECT .................................................................................................................................................. 138

8.9.BIRAC-BIOTECHNOLOGY IGNITION GRANT SCHEME ............................................................................................ 139

8.10.AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR ...................................................................................................................................... 140

8.11.MID-DAY MEAL PROGRAMME .......................................................................................................................... 141

8.12. KISAN SURYODAYA YOJANA ............................................................................................................................. 141

8.13.KUMHAR SASHAKTIKARAN YOJANA .................................................................................................................. 142

8.14.JAL JEEVAN MISSION ........................................................................................................................................ 142

8.15.SERB – POWER SCHEME ................................................................................................................................... 143

8.16.PRODUCTION LINKED INCENTIVE SCHEME ........................................................................................................ 144

9. MISCELLLANEOUS/FACTS .................................................................................................................................... 146

9.1.CHITRA MANTAPA .............................................................................................................................................. 146

9.2.RAIN RAVAGES PORTIONS OF 500-YEAR-OLD GOLCONDA FORT .......................................................................... 147

9.3.NOBEL PRIZE ...................................................................................................................................................... 148

9.4.PM MODI RELEASES Rs 100 COIN IN HONOUR OF VIJAYA RAJE ........................................................................... 151

9.5.BHANU ATHAIYA ................................................................................................................................................ 151

9.6.KERALA BECOMES FIRST STATE TO HAVE 100% DIGITALLY-EQUIPPED PUBLIC SECTOR SCHOOLS ......................... 152

9.7.AYURVEDA FOR COVID-19 : MAIN THEME OF 5TH AYURVEDA DAY .................................................................... 152

9.8.INDIA RANKS 94/107 IN GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX ................................................................................................ 153

9.9.MULTI-MODAL LOGISTIC PARK OF THE COUNTRY IN ASSAM ............................................................................... 155

9.10.UNION MINISTER LAUNCHES ‘E-DHARTI GEO PORTAL’ ...................................................................................... 156


9.11.GIANT CAT DRAWING AT A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE IN PERU ............................................................... 157

9.12.IISC ONLY INDIAN INSTITUTE IN TOP 100 OF THE SUBJECT RANKING 2021 ........................................................ 159

9.13.DIGITAL SEVA SETU PROGRAMME FOR RURAL AREAS ....................................................................................... 159

9.14.CM WRITES TO PM ON ARCHAEOLOGY ADMISSION .......................................................................................... 159

9.15.MANGDECHHU HYDROELECTRIC POWER PROJECT ........................................................................................... 160


1. POLITY & CONSTITUTION

1.1.JAIL PERIOD OR GRAVITY OF CRIME ALONE CAN’T DECIDE EARLY RELEASE DENIAL

Relevance: GS 2 - Judiciary and its functions.

Why in news? The length of a prison sentence or the gravity of the crime cannot be the sole basis for denying a convict premature release from jail, the Supreme Court has held in a judgment.

A three-judge Bench of Justices N.V. Ramana, Surya Kant and Hrishikesh Roy

said the proclivity to commit a crime upon release “must be based on antecedents as well as the conduct of the prisoner while in jail, and not merely on his age or apprehensions of the victims and witnesses”.

In a judgment on September 30, Justice Kant wrote:"Society has a right to lead a peaceful and fearless life, without free-roaming criminals creating havoc in the lives of ordinary peace-loving citizens. But equally strong is the foundation of reformative theory which propounds that a civilised society cannot be achieved only through punitive attitudes and vindictiveness".

The court said reformative justice should not merely focus on public harmony, but should foster brotherhood and mutual acceptability. First-time offenders should especially be given a second chance at life. “First -time offenders ought to be liberally accorded a chance to repent their past and look forward to a bright future”, the court observed.

1.2.SPECIAL COURT TO TRY CASES ‘AGAINST’ LEGISLATORS

Relevance : GS 2 - Judiciary and it's functions

Why in news?

Hearing a 2016 petition filed by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, with the larger objective of checking criminalisation of politics, the top court had in 2017 given the go-ahead for setting up 12 special courts to try “criminal cases/offences involving political persons” that are pending.

The court also used the expression “elected representatives” in its various orders.

The December 14, 2017 order by a bench of Justices RanjanGogoi (he retired as CJI in November 2019) and NavinSinha, which approved the government scheme to set up these courts, said that once the special courts are set up, “the High Court(s), acting through the various trial courts, will trace out from the case records the particular case(s) pending in files of the respective judicial officers under the jurisdiction of the High Court(s) which are required to be dealt with by the special courts under the scheme”.

On August 21, 2018, the SC was informed that two special courts — one sessions court and one magisterial court — have been set up in Delhi. The top court


subsequently asked the Registrar General of Delhi High Court to “file an affidavit

indicating further details in this regard, including number of cases that have been transferred to the…two courts, and whether any further cases are in the process of transfer”.

What cases will be dealt by the special courts? The nature of cases being considered by the special courts is also reflected in SC’s September 16, 2020 order, which says that “this matter of paramount public importance pertaining to inordinately delayed inquiries/investigation and/or criminal trials, pending against legislators under various enactments, first came up for hearing on 14.09.2016, when notice was issued”. What else plea had in it? In his plea, Upadhyay had sought a direction to the Centre “to provide adequate

infrastructure to setup special courts to decide criminal cases related to people’s representatives, public servants and members of judiciary within one year, and to debar the convicted persons from Legislature, Executive and Judiciary for life uniformly in spirit of Article 14 read with Article 15 and 16 of the Constitution”.

1.3.WOMAN HAS RIGHT OF RESIDENCE IN ‘SHARED HOUSEHOLD’ OF IN-LAWS

Relevance : GS 2 - Judiciary and it's functions The ruling came on a plea by a Delhi resident against an order of the Delhi High Court setting aside a trial court decision allowing his plea to evict his daughter-in-law from the first floor of his property in New Friends Colony.

The progress of any society depends on its ability to protect and promote the rights of its women”, the Supreme Court said while ruling that a woman is entitled to claim right to residence in a “shared household” where she has been living with her husband even if the said premises belongs to his relatives.

A three-judge Bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and M R Shah

overruled a 2006 judgement of the court and said “In event, the shared household belongs to any relative of the husband with whom in a domestic relationship the woman has lived, the conditions mentioned in Section 2(s) (of The Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act, 2005) are satisfied and the said house will become a shared household”.

In case, the shared household of a woman is a tenanted/allotted/licensed accommodation where tenancy/ allotment/license is in the name of husband, father-in-law or any other relative, the Act, 2005 does not operate against the landlord/lessor/licensor in initiating an appropriate proceedings for eviction of the tenant/allottee/licensee qua the shared household. However, in case the proceedings are due to any collusion between the two, the woman, who is living in the shared household has right to resist the proceedings on all grounds which the tenant/lessee/licensee could have taken in the proceedings

Ruling in favour of the women, the SC dwelt on the rights of women and the circumstances meaning to the passing of the 2005 Act which it described “is a milestone for protection of women in this country”.


What are the challenges for women facing domestically violence?

The domestic violence in this country is rampant and several women encounter violence in some form or the other or almost every day, however, it is the least reported form of cruel behavior

A woman resigns her fate to the never ending cycle of enduring violence and discrimination as a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a partner or a single woman in her lifetime. This non-retaliation by women coupled with the absence of laws addressing women’s issues, ignorance of the existing laws enacted for women and societal attitude makes the women vulnerable.

The reason why most cases of domestic violence are never reported is due to the social stigma of the society and the attitude of the women themselves, where women are expected to be subservient, not just to their male counterparts but also to the male’s relatives

Court said that till 2005, “the remedies available to a victim of domestic violence

were limited. The women either had to go to the civil court for a decree of divorce or initiate prosecution in the criminal court for the offence punishable under Section 498-A of the IPC.In both the proceedings, no emergency relief/reliefs is/are available to the victim. Also, the relationships outside the marriage were not recognized.

1.4.MOVE TO DELETE ‘INELIGIBLE’ NAMES FROM ASSAM NRC: WHO, AND WHY

Relevance :GS 2 - Government policies and intervention in various sectors and

issues arising from their implementation

Why in news? The process of deleting names of people who had been erroneously included in the NRC has started, but no estimate of the total numbers is immediately available, according to the state coordinator of the register Whose names will be deleted?

In a letter dated October 13 to all Deputy Commissioners and District Registrars

of Citizen Registration, Hitesh DevSarma, the state coordinator of the NRC, said that “some names of ineligible persons” — persons ‘declared as foreigners’ (DF) by Foreigners Tribunals, persons marked as ‘Doubtful Voters’ (DV) by election officials, or persons whose cases are ‘pending at Foreigners Tribunals’ (PFTs), and their descendants — had “found entry to the NRC”.

Foreigners Tribunals (FTs) are quasi judicial bodies meant to give opinion on whether a person is an “illegal foreigner” as per The Foreigners Act, 1946. They send notices to people who are referred to them by the Border Police, or who have been marked as ‘D’ (doubtful) voters by the local election office.

As per the laws governing the preparation of the NRC, persons falling in the above categories cannot be included in the NRC.


1.5.LEVELLED AGAINST JUDGES BY THE ANDHRA PRADESH CHIEF MINISTER

Relevance: GS 2 - Structure Organisation and functions of Judiciary.

Why in news?

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has stirred a hornet’s nest by writing to the Chief Justice of India complaining about Supreme Court judge Justice N.V. Ramana for allegedly influencing posting of cases in the State High Court and alleging that some High Court judges are hostile to his Governments and are deliberately striking down his regime’s decisions and orders.

In effect, he has accused many judges of misconduct, corruption and political bias. Such an open conflict between the judiciary and a Chief Minister is without precedent. Questions arise about what can be done about this serious complaint.

How are allegations of misconduct against judges dealt with?

The Constitution protects the independence of judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court by making them removable only through a long process of impeachment. However, not all forms of misconduct will warrant impeachment. There could be other kinds of impropriety too. There are times when serious complaints of this sort are received, and the Chief Justice of India (CJI) is called upon to examine them.

Since 1997, judges have adopted an ‘in-house procedure’ for inquiring into such charges.

When was the procedure adopted?

1. After Justice J.S. Verma took over as Chief Justice of India (CJI) in 1997, he circulated among judges a document called ‘Restatement of Values of Judicial life’. This was a set of principles containing the essential elements of ideal behaviour for judges. The Full Court passed a resolution that an ‘in-house procedure’ would be adopted for action against judges for acts of commission or omission that go against these values. A five-judge committee was constituted to come up with a procedure. Its report was adopted on December 15, 1999. It was made public in 2014.

How does the in-house procedure work?

1. When a complaint is received against a High Court judge, the CJI should decide if it is considered frivolous or if it is “directly related to the merits of a substantive decision in a judicial matter”, or it does not involve any serious misconduct or impropriety. If it is serious, the CJI should get the judge’s response. He may close the matter if he is satisfied with the response.

2. If a deeper probe is considered necessary, both the complaint and the judge’s response, along with the Chief Justice’s comments, are recorded for further action. The same procedure holds good if the CJI receives a complaint directly.

3. After considering the High Court’s Chief Justice, the judge involved and the complaint, the CJI, if deemed necessary, forms a three-member committee.

2. The committee should have two Chief Justices from other High Courts and one High Court judge. The inquiry it holds is of the nature of a fact-finding mission and is not a formal judicial inquiry involving examination of witnesses.


3. The judge concerned is entitled to appear before it.If the case is against a High

Court’s Chief Justice, the same procedure is followed, but the probe committee comprises a Supreme Court judge and two Chief Justices.If a Supreme Court judge faces such a charge, the in-house panel will comprise three Supreme Court judges.

4. The in-house procedure does not give any separate provision to deal with complaints against the Chief Justice of India. But in practice, a panel of three other Supreme Court justices is formed.

What happens after the probe is done?

If the committee finds substance in the charges, it can give two kinds of recommendations. One, that the misconduct is serious enough to require removal from office, or that it is not serious enough to warrant removal.

In the former case, the judge concerned will be urged to resign or seek voluntary

retirement.

If the judge is unwilling to quit, the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned would be asked to withdraw judicial work from him.

The President and the Prime Minister will be informed of the situation. This is expected to clear the way for Parliament to begin the process of impeachment.

If the misconduct does not warrant removal, the judge would be advised accordingly.

How will the CM’s complaint be handled?

The complaint by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister will have to be examined by the CJI from the perspective of whether it can be rejected as baseless, or it requires a deeper investigation.

1.6.GOVT INCREASES POLL EXPENDITURE LIMIT BY 10%

Relevance: GS 2 - Government policies and intervention in various sectors and


Why in news? The Centre increased the campaign expenditure limit by 10% for all future elections

The notification came more than a month after the Election Commission (EC) proposed the hike, given the constraints posed by the COVID-19 Pandemic. The last hike in the expenditure ceiling was before the 2014 LokSabha elections.

Candidates contesting elections in Bihar will be the first to benefit from the development as the expenditure ceiling for the state polls is now Rs 30.8 lakh, from Rs 28 lakh.

Why increase in limit now?

The EC, in its proposal to the Law Ministry, had argued that campaigning during

a pandemic would be challenging for candidates. In order to follow the Commission’s restrictions on rallies and meetings, candidates will end up with more small gatherings to avoid crowding, which will lead to added expenditure.


The current expenditure limit for state and Parliament elections differs from state

to state. In case of LokSabha elections, a candidate can spend between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 70 lakh, depending on the state they are contesting from. For all states, except Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Sikkim, a candidate can spend a maximum of Rs 70 lakh on canvassing. So candidates contesting the next LokSabha elections from these states will have their expenditure limit increased to Rs 77 lakh.

1.7.DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT COUNCILS (DDC)

Relevance :GS 2 - Functions and responsibilities of union and state legislature

Why in news? The Centre on October 17 amended the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989, to facilitate the setting up of District Development Councils (DDC), the members of which will be directly elected by voters in the Union Territory. What are DDCs and how will they be represented?

The District Development Councils (DDCs) are set to become a new unit of governance in Jammu and Kashmir. A legislation to this effect was brought in by the Ministry of Home Affairs on October 16 through an amendment to the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayati Raj Act, 1989. This structure will include a DDC and a District Planning Committee (DPC).

The J&K administration has also amended the J&K Panchayati Raj Rules, 1996, to provide for establishment of elected District Development Councils in J&K.

This system effectively replaces the District Planning and Development Boards in all districts, and will prepare and approve district plans and capital expenditure.

Their key feature, however

The DDCs will have elected representatives from each district.

Their number has been specified at 14 elected members per district representing its rural areas, alongside the Members of Legislative Assembly chairpersons of all Block Development Councils within the district.

The term of the DDC will be five years, and the electoral process will allow for reservations for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women.

The Additional District Development Commissioner (or the Additional DC) of the district shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the District Development Council.

The council, as stated in the Act, will hold at least four “general meetings” in a year, one in each quarter

What will be the process here onward?

The 14 constituencies for electing representatives to the DDC will have to be delimited. These constituencies will be carved out of the rural areas of the district, and elected members will subsequently elect a chairperson and a vice-chairperson of the DDC from among themselves.


Within the third tier, where do the DDCs fit in?

The DDCs replace the District Planning and Development Boards (DDBs) that were headed by a cabinet minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.

For Jammu and Srinagar districts, as winter and summer capitals, the DDBs were headed by the Chief Minister. However, for Leh and Kargil districts, the Autonomous Hill Development Councils performed the functions designated for the DDBs.

The Councils will oversee the functions of the HalqaPanchayats and the Block Development Councils in tandem with the line departments of the Union Territory.

Composition: For every district there will be District Planning Committee comprising, Members of Parliament representing the areaMembers of the State Legislature representing the areas within the District, chairperson of the District Development Council of the District,

chairpersons of the town area committees/municipal committees of the district; president of the municipal council/municipal corporation, if any; the district development commissioner; additional district development commissioner, among others. The MP will function as the chairperson of this committee. What was the earlier function of DDBs, and their composition?

The DDBs functioned as planning bodies, charting and formulating the district’s developmental plans. They functioned as working groups for the formulation of periodic and annual plans for the districts.

All the funds provided by the government or any other agency, meant for the development of the district, would flow through the District Planning and Development Board as per the district plans.

The body used to meet once a year to deliberate and approve the district

plans or oversee implementation of centrally sponsored schemes.

Until 1998 the Deputy Commissioner of the district would head this committee, thereafter, elected members took charge of the body.

What is the Centre’s objective behind this new structure?

The J&K administration in a statement said that the move to have an elected third tier of the Panchayati Raj institution marks the implementation of the entire 73rd Amendment Act in J&K.

The idea is that systems that had been made defunct by earlier J&K governments such as the panchayati raj system are being revived under the Centre’s rule in the state through the Lieutenant Governor’s administration.

In the absence of elected representatives in the UT, senior government officials argue that DDCs will effectively become representative bodies for development at the grassroots in the 20 districts of the UT.


1.8.POSTAL BALLOTS

Why in news? The Election Commission has announced that it will allow those above the age of 65 as well as those under home or institutional quarantine to vote using postal ballots during the Bihar elections. What is postal voting? A restricted set of voters can exercise postal voting. Through this facility, a voter can cast her vote remotely by recording her preference on the ballot paper and sending it back to the election officer before counting. Who can avail this facility?

Members of the armedforces like the Army, Navy and Air Force, members of the armed police force of a state (serving outside the state), government employees posted outside India and their spouses are entitled to vote only by post. In other words, they can’t vote in person.

Voters under preventive detention can also vote only by post.

Special voters such as the President of India, Vice President, Governors, Union Cabinet ministers, Speaker of the House and government officers on poll duty have the option to vote by post. But they have to apply through a prescribed form to avail this facility.

How are votes recroded by post?

The Returning Officer is supposed to print ballot papers within 24 hours of the last date of nomination withdrawal and dispatch them within a day. This is done so that the ballot papers reach the concerned voter well before the polling date and she has enough time to send it back before the counting day. Postal ballot papers for members of the Armed Forces are sent through their record offices. For members of the armed police force of a state (serving outside the state), government employees posted outside India and their spouses, the ballot paper can be sent through post or electronically. For remaining categories ballot papers can be delivered personally or through post.

After receiving it, the voter can mark her preference with a tick mark or cross mark against the candidate’s name. They also have to fill up a duly attested declaration to the effect that they have marked the ballot paper.

The ballot paper and the declaration are then placed in a sealed cover and sent back to the Returning Officer before the time fixed for the commencement of counting of votes.

1.9.FARM ACTS, FEDERALISM AND CONSTITUTIONALITY


issues arising from their implementation Why in news? The President Gave Assent to the controversial farm Bills passed by Parliament.


What are the broad arguments for and against the laws?

The Government Claims these Acts will transform Indian agriculture and attract private investment. The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, provides for contract farming, under which farmers will produce crops as per contracts with corporate investors for a mutually agreed remuneration

The protesting farmers fear that powerful investors would bind them to unfavourable contracts drafted by big corporate law firms, with liability clauses that would be beyond the understanding of poor farmers in most cases.

According to the government, The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 liberates farmers by giving them the freedom to sell anywhere.

What is the question over the constitutionality of these laws?

As per Union of India v H.S.Dhillon (1972), constitutionality of parliamentary laws can be challenged only on two grounds — that the subject is in the State List, or that it violates fundamental rights. The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, and The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 do not mention, in the Statement of Objects & Reasons, the constitutional provisions under which Parliament has the power to legislate on the subjects covered. Where does the question of federalism come in?

Federalism essentially means both the Centre and states have the freedom to operate in their allotted spheres of power, in coordination with each other.

The Seventh Schedule of the Constitution contains three lists that distribute power between the Centre and states.

There are 97 subjects in the Union List, on which Parliament has exclusive power to legislate (Article 246); the State List has 66 items on which states alone can legislate; the Concurrent List has 47 subjects on which both the Centre and states can legislate, but in case of a conflict, the law made by Parliament prevails (Article

254).

Parliament can legislate on an item in the State List under certain specific circumstances laid down in the Constitution.

In State of West Bengal v Union of India (1962), the Supreme Court held that the Indian Constitution is not federal. But in S R Bommai v Union of India (1994), a nine-judge Bench held federalism was part of the basic structure of the Constitution. “Neither the relative importance of the legislative entries in Schedule VII, Lists I and II of the Constitution, nor the fiscal control by the Union per se are decisive to conclude the Constitution is unitary. The respective legislative powers are traceable to Articles 245 to 254… The State qua the Constitution is federal in structure and independent in its exercise of legislative and executive power"

Where is agriculture in the scheme of legislative powers?

Terms relating to agriculture occur at 15 places in the Seventh Schedule.

Entries 82, 86, 87, and 88 in the Union List mention taxes and duties on income and assets, specifically excluding those in respect of agriculture.


In the State List, eight entries contain terms relating to agriculture:

Entry 14 (agricultural education and research, pests, plant diseases); 18 (rights in or over land, land tenures, rents, transfer agricultural land, agricultural loans, etc.); 28 (markets and fairs); 30 (agricultural indebtedness); 45 (land revenue, land records, etc.); 46 (taxes on agricultural income); 47 (succession of agricultural land); and 48 (estate duty in respect of agricultural land).

In the Concurrent List, Entry 6 mentions transfer of property other than agricultural land; 7 is about various contracts not relating to agricultural land; and 41 deals with evacuee property, including agricultural land.

It is clear that the Union List and Concurrent List put matters relating to agriculture outside Parliament’s jurisdiction, and give state legislatures exclusive power. No entry in respect of agriculture in the State List is subject to any entry in

the Union or Concurrent Lists. What is the government’s stated view on agricultural markets?

The committees headed by Ashok Dalwai and Ramesh Chand recommended that ‘agricultural market’ be entered in the Concurrent List.

It is implicit in the recommendations that “foodstuffs” under Entry 33 of the Concurrent List do not empower Parliament to enact laws on agricultural markets.

On May 5, 2015, the government told Lok Sabha that the National Commission of Farmers (Swaminathan Commission) had recommended ‘agricultural market’ be added to the Concurrent List. On March 27, 2018, the government yet again told Lok Sabha that it has no intention of inserting ‘agricultural market’ in the Concurrent List.

1.10.BILL OF EXCLUSIONS



Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill raises constitutional, medico-legal, regulatory concerns. It needs a thorough review Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan introduced the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020 (Bill) in the Lok Sabha on September 14. Its aim is to regulate ART banks and clinics, allow safe and ethical practice of ARTs and protect women and children from exploitation. The Bill was introduced to supplement the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 (SRB), which awaits consideration by the Rajya Sabha after review by two parliamentary committees. Fifteen years in the making, the ART Bill is unsatisfactory and fails to respond to the needs of the 27 million infertile Indian couples. Criticism of Bill The first concern is who can access ART. The Bill allows for a married heterosexual

couple and a woman above the age of marriage to use ARTs. It excludes single men, cohabiting heterosexual couples and LGBTQI individuals and couples from accessing


ARTs. This violates Article 14 of the Constitution and the right to privacy jurisprudence

of Puttaswamy, where the Supreme Court held that “the sanctity of marriage, the liberty of procreation, the choice of a family life and the dignity of being” concerned all individuals irrespective of their social status and were aspects of privacy.

In Navtej Johar, Justice Chandrachud exhorted the state to take positive steps for equal protection for same-sex couples. Unlike the SRB, there is no prohibition on foreign citizens accessing ARTs. Foreigners can access ART but not Indian citizens in loving relationships. This is an illogical result which fails to reflect the true spirit of the Constitution.

The ART Bill does not do what it says on the label. It does little to protect the egg donor. Harvesting of eggs is an invasive process which, if performed incorrectly, can result in death. The Bill requires an egg donor’s written consent but does not provide for her counselling or the ability to withdraw her consent before or during the procedure (unlike for commissioning parties).She receives no compensation or

reimbursement of expenses for loss of salary, time and effort.

Failing to pay for bodily services constitutes unfree labour, which is prohibited by Article 23 of the Constitution.

The commissioning parties only need to obtain an insurance policy in her name for medical complications or death; no amount or duration is specified.The egg donor’s interests are subordinated in a Bill proposed in her name.

The Bill restricts egg donation to a married woman with a child (at least three years old). Even here, egg donation as an altruistic act is possible only once a woman has fulfilled her duties to the patriarchal institution of marriage.

Children born from ART do not have the right to know their parentage, which is crucial to their best interests and protected under previous drafts.

Core ART processes are left undefined; several of these are defined in the SRB but not the Bill. Definitions of commissioning “couple”, “infertility”, “ART clinics” and “banks” need to be synchronised between the Bills. A single woman cannot commission surrogacy but can access ART.

Way forward: The Bill requires clinics and banks to maintain a grievance cell but these will be one-sided. Clinics must instead have ethics committees. Mandated counselling services should also be independent of the clinic. Features of the Bill:

It would lead to the creation of a national board to lay down and implement a code of conduct for people working at IVF clinics.

Determines the minimum standards of physical infrastructure, laboratory, diagnostic equipment and expert manpower to be employed by ART clinics and banks.

The bill intends to make genetic testing of the embryo mandatory before implantation for the benefit of the child born through ART.

It also seeks to streamline the cryo-preservation processes for sperm, oocytes and embryo.

It also proposes to constitute a national registry and registration authority to

maintain a central database and assist the national board in its functioning.


The bill proposes stringent punishment for those “practising sex selection, sale of

human embryos or gametes and running agencies/rackets/organisations for such unlawful practices.

What is ART? Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), as commonly understood, comprises procedures such as in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), intra-uterine insemination (IUI), oocyte and sperm donation, cryopreservation and includes surrogacy as well.

1.11.PARLIAMENT PASSES BILATERAL NETTING OF QUALIFIED FINANCIAL CONTRACTS BILL

Relevance: GS 2 - Parliament and state legislature structure organisation and functions

Why in news? Parliament passed a bill that seeks to provide a legal framework for bilateral netting of qualified financial contracts, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asserting that the bill is critical for financial stability in the country.. The legislation allows for enforcement of netting for qualified financial contracts.

It is just the bilateral contracts which do not have any firm legal basis. Value of bilateral derivative contracts is estimated by the Clearing Corporation of India to be Rs. 56,33,257 crore as of March 2018

Bilateral contracts constitute 40 per cent of total financial contracts, while multilateral contracts constitute 60 per cent.

Advantages of legislation :

Legislation once passed will enable banks to increase credit limits for counter parties and clients and “corporate bond market will get energised” with “buoyant bond market.”

Money locked up in banks is not available while economy is starved for funds.

This will enhance liquidity and economy will get lubrication.

It will facilitate financial reforms and will prove a milestone in bringing in the much-needed liquidity.

It will lead to a vibrant, dynamic bond market in the country, which is the need of the hour in the country.

It is a significant step towards ensuring financial system to expand in India.

Bilateral netting would also help reduce hedging costs and liquidity needs for banks, primary dealers and other market-makers, thereby encouraging participation in the over-the-counter derivatives market.

It would also help develop the corporate default swaps market, which, in turn, would provide support to the development of the corporate bond market.

It would also improve investor confidence and to expand the scope of credit default

swaps.


Applicability:

The provisions of the Bill will apply to QFCs between two qualified financial market participants, where at least one party is an entity regulated by the specified authorities (RBI, SEBI, IRDAI, PFRDA or the IFSCA). What is bilateral netting?

Bilateral netting is when two parties combine all their swaps into one master swap, creating one net payment, instead of many, between the parties.

Bilateral netting reduces accounting activity, complexity, and fees associated with more trades and payments.

In the event of a bankruptcy, bilateral netting assures that the bankrupt company can't only take payments while opting not to payout on out-of-the-money swaps.

Netting refers to offsetting of all claims arising from dealings between two parties to determine a net amount payable or receivable from one party to another.

Qualified financial contracts (QFC):

QFC means any bilateral contract notified as a QFC by the relevant authority.

The authority can be Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) or International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA).

Qualified financial market participant: The relevant authority may, by notification, designate an entity regulated by it as a qualified financial market participant to deal in QFCs. This would include entities such as non-banking finance companies (NBFCs), insurance companies and pension funds.

1.12.NO SOFTWARE FOR JUSTICE

Relevance: GS 2 - Judiciary and it's functions

Virtual courts cannot fully replace a process that demands direct human

interaction Why in news? The Parliamentary Standing Committee on personnel, public grievances, law and justice, in its recent report, recommended holding virtual courts even after the Pandemic ends. Why preference of virtual to courts ?

The parliamentary panel strongly pitched for virtual courts because digital justice is cheaper and faster besides addressing locational and economic handicaps

Ensures safety of vulnerable witnesses providing testimony

Expedites processes and procedures and are an improvement over traditional

courts as they are most affordable, citizen-friendly and offer greater access to justice.


While the government popularly believes digitisation is the answer to all the

problems of governance, and these are often excitedly referred to as “game changers”, issues related to digital technology solutions need careful analysis and an overhauling of both laws and existing systems before they are introduced.

It is hoped that virtual courts will reduce the pendency of cases by reducing the time taken on small financial issues like insurance, traffic claims and challans that clog the system.

Reducing pendency through virtual courts will reduce travel costs, although lawyers are unlikely to reduce their fees.

Cases pending in the judiciary :

Justice delayed is justice denied” is a notoriously abused maxim in our court system considering there are 3.1 crore cases pending in the lower courts (83 lakh pending for over 10 years), 44 lakh in the high courts (32 lakh pending for

over 10 years), and 60,000 cases pending in the Supreme Court (the figures are as of 2019). Prisons are over capacity by 114 per cent, of which two-thirds are undertrials, who have had no justice at all.

What are the challenges in the way and how to address them?

Essentially, technologies alone do not improve the system, people do. Adoption of new and evolving technologies requires careful preparation to ensure that “justice delivery services” created by software engineers is matched by local court systems and the level of training given to those who handle them in India’s courts.

Currently, judges have had to speak from landline phones or without video, and lawyers have been compelled to argue cases from inside their cars if the network in their homes is faulty. There are audio failures, and lack of connectivity in rural areas. Unless connectivity is established, it cannot be presumed and compelled.

Criticism:

Seminal and crucial matters that need direct human interaction should never be replaced by virtual courts. The dispensation of justice is a human endeavour made up of laws, ethics, morality, wisdom and compassion. The absence of any one of these five ingredients, short-changed by restrictive virtual situations, would render the exercise of justice only partially satisfactory or even downright unjust

1.13.NOW, OUTSIDERS CAN BUY LAND IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR

Relevance :GS 2 - Government policies and intervention in various sectors and


Why in news? Centre notifies Jammu and Kashmir land laws, omits ‘permanent resident’ as criteria.


People as well as investors outside Jammu and Kashmir can now purchase land

in the Union Territory (UT) as the Centre notified new land laws for the region, ending the exclusive rights of locals over the land granted under now abrogated article 370.

Under the newly introduced J&K Development Act, the term “being permanent resident of the State” as a criteria has been “omitted”, paving the way for investors outside J&K to invest in the UT.

The Centre is likely to notify separate land laws for the UT of Ladakh soon.

Under the ‘transfer of land for the purpose of promotion of healthcare or education’, the government may now allow transfer of land “in favour of a person or an institution for the purpose of promotion of healthcare or senior secondary or higher or specialized education in J&K”.

According to amendments made to “The Jammu & Kashmir Land Revenue Act, Samvat, 1996”, only agriculturists of J&K can purchase agricultural land. “No

sale, gift, exchange, or mortgage of the land shall be valid in favour of a person who is not an agriculturist,” it reads.

The Restriction on Conversion of Agricultural Land and Process for Permission of Non-Agriculture clause, however, puts conditions on the use of agricultural land. “No land used for agriculture purposes shall be used for any non-agricultural purposes except with the permission of the district collector”, it reads.

Under a new provision, an Army officer not below the rank of Corps Commander can declare an area as “Strategic Area” within a local area, only for direct operational and training requirements of the armed forces.

The introduction of the UT of J&K Reorganisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Third Order, 2020 by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has resulted in the repeal of at least 11 land laws in vogue in J&K earlier, including the J&K Big Landed Estates Abolition Act that had resulted in famous ‘Land to tiller’ rights.

1.14.NITI AAYOG RELEASES DRAFT ACT, RULES FOR STATES ON LAND TITLING


issues arising from their implementation Why in news? The NITI Aayog on 29 th October released the draft model Act and rules for states for regulation on conclusive land titling, providing for a state government to order establishment of title registration for all or any type of immovable properties.

The move towards a land titling framework is aimed at reducing land-related litigations and improved land acquisition for infrastructure projects.

In a conclusive titling system, the government provides guaranteed titles for the land, and compensation in case of any ownership disputes.

The draft Act — as released by the government think tank — provides that any person aggrieved by an entry in the Record of Titles may file an objection before

the Title Registration Officer within three years from the date of such notification, following which the Title Registration Officer make an entry in Register of Titles


and in the Register of Disputes and refer the case to the Land Dispute Resolution

Officer.

A party aggrieved with an order of Land Dispute Resolution Officer may file an appeal before the Land Titling Appellate Tribunal within 30 days of passing of such an order, according the draft by NITI Aayog.

A special bench of the high court shall be designated to deal with appeals against the orders passed by the Land Titling Appellate Tribunal, with the Act providing for a 30-day window to appeal before the High Court, the draft.


2. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

2.1.POLAR SILK ROAD

Relevance: GS 2 - Effects of Policies and politics of Developed and Developing countries on India's interests, Indian diaspora

Why in News? China has outlined its ambitions to extend Belt and Road Initiative to the Arctic by developing shipping lanes opened up by global warming.

China is an important stakeholder in Arctic affairs. Geographically, China is a ‘Near-Arctic State’, one of the continental States that are closest to the Arctic Circle. Despite being a non-Arctic state, China is increasingly active in the polar region. China’s Arctic policy: Specifically, China will mainly focus its attention on four aspects. First,

China will participate in the development of Arctic shipping routes which are composed of the Northeast Passage, Northwest Passage, and the Central Passage.

Noting that “the Arctic shipping routes are likely to become important transport

routes for international trade” as a result of global warming, China plans to build a “Polar Silk Road” by developing the Arctic shipping routes.

To that end, China will encourage “its enterprises to participate in the infrastructure construction for these routes and conduct commercial trial voyages.”

Second,

China aims to participate “in the exploration for and exploitation of oil, gas, mineral and other non-living resources” in the Arctic. However, the white paper also places a particular emphasis on nontraditional energy sources.

The Arctic region boasts an abundance of geothermal, wind, and other clean energy resources. China will work with the Arctic States to strengthen clean energy cooperation.


Third,

China will start to utilize fisheries and other living resources and participate in conservation, since “the Arctic has the potential to become a new fishing ground in the future.”

In recent years, Chinese fishermen have been sailing farther and farther abroad in search of fertile fishing grounds; including, unfortunately, illegal fishing.

Fourth,

China will develop Arctic tourism, which the paper described as “an emerging industry.”

China will support and encourage “its enterprises to cooperate with Arctic States in developing tourism in the region” and conduct “training for and regulates Chinese tourism agencies and professionals involved in Arctic tourism.”

Background:

China is an important stakeholder in Arctic affairs. Geographically, China is a ‘Near-Arctic State’, one of the continental States that are closest to the Arctic Circle.

The natural conditions of the Arctic and their changes have a direct impact on China’s climate system and ecological environment, and, in turn, on its economic interests in agriculture, forestry, fishery, marine industry and other sectors.

Despite being a non-Arctic state, China is increasingly active in the polar region. In 2013, it became an observer member of the Arctic Council — a high-level intergovernmental forum which especially addresses Arctic issues.

The country has a major stake in the Russian Yamal liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, which is expected to supply China with 4 million tons of LNG per year.

Concerns:

Some people doubt China’s participation in Arctic affairs and worry China will plunder resources and damage the environment.


Although Beijing maintained that China’s Arctic policy is based on the principle of

“respect, cooperation, win-win results and sustainability,” some analysts have raised concerns over China’s increasing prominence in the region.

2.2.THE COMMITMENT TO REDUCING INEQUALITY INDEX

Relevance: GS 2 - Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their

structure, mandate.

Why in news? India has been ranked 129 out of 158 countries in the Third Edition of Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) Index released by Oxfam. According to the report, India has

spent only 4 percent of its budget on health during the Pandemic, which is the Fourth Lowest in the world. The report Fighting Inequality in the time of COVID-19: Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) Index has been prepared by Oxfam and Development Finance International (DFI). The 2020 CRI index has been topped by Norway. South Sudan is the lowest ranking country in the index at 158th position. Highlights of CRI Index 2020:

Nigeria, Bahrain and India are among the World’s worst performing countries in tackling inequality during the pandemic.

With 4% of Budget on Health, India has been ranked at 155 (4th from the Bottom) on the health spending index.

The report measures Government Policies and Actions in 3 key areas

which are directly related to reducing inequality

1. Public Services (Health, Education

and Social Protection), 2. Taxation, 3. Workers’ Rights.

Only 26 of 158 countries spent the recommended 15 percent of their budgets on health to fight COVID-19. India in CRI Index 2020:

India’s Ranking is 141 in Public Services Ranking (score of 0.16), 19 in Progressive

Tax Ranking (score of 0.75), 151 in Workers’ Rights Ranking (score of 0.35).


According to the report, 1 % of Indian population holds 77% of total national

wealth, and 67 million Indians comprising the poorest half of the population saw only 1% increase in wealth.

Each year 63 Million Indians are pushed into poverty because of healthcare costs, and only half of the population have access to essential health care services.

The report also noted that only 10 % of the workforce in India is formal, and has safe working conditions and social security.

70% of health spending is taken care of people themselves, which is one of the highest levels in the world.

India has been ranked at 26 (out of 30 countries) in Regional CRI Ranking (East Asia and the Pacific), and 6 in Sub-regional CRI Ranking (out of 8 countries).

Oxford Committee for Famine Relief: Oxfam is a confederation of 20 independent charitable organizations focusing on the

alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. It is a major non profit group with an extensive collection of operations. Founded 1942 Founded at Oxford, England Type International NGO Headquarters Nairobi, Kenya Director Winnie Byanyima Focus :

Poverty eradication

disaster relief

advocacy

policy research

pro-migration CRI index: The CRI ranks 158 governments across the world. IT ranks the government on the basis of government’s commitment to reduce inequality among the people and nation. The

index also tracks the government’s spending on public services. It study and analyses the actions taken by governments in the areas including education, health and social protection.

2.3.CHINA, PAKISTAN RE-ELECTED TO UNHRC

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

Why in News? The UN General Assembly elected Pakistan, China, Russia and 12 other countries to serve as members of the UN Human Rights Council for three-year terms starting from January 1, 2021.


China was re-elected to the UNHRC after it defeated Saudi Arabia in the elections

to win a seat by the smallest margin. Pakistan and Nepal have also been re-elected to the UN Human Rights Council.

Highlights:

This year's elections to the Human Rights Council saw 16 candidates from four regional groups - African, Asia-Pacific, Eastern European, Latin American and Caribbean and Western European - competing for a seat at the Geneva-based body.

Countries needed to get the required majority of 97 votes to be elected to the council. China received 139 votes in the UN General Assembly voting and will be serving at the council along with Nepal, Pakistan and Uzbekistan.

China managed to secure a win despite its treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority and opposition of several countries and human rights groups. However,

its number of votes have gone down, in comparison to its 180 votes in 2016. They were also the lowest among all countries that got elected.

Though Saudi Arabia has also been criticized for its human rights record, its defeat was a surprise as it had received 152 votes in the 2016 elections when it was last elected.

Russia, which was defeated in 2016 by two votes, received 159 votes in favor this time and will join the Eastern European group along with Ukraine, which was re-elected for a second term with 166 votes.

Countries protest against China's treatment of Uighur Muslims:

4. Thirty nine countries led by Germany had issued strong criticism against China last week at the United Nations expressing concern regarding the human rights situation in Xinjiang and the recent developments in Hong Kong.

5. China has reportedly been held responsible for closing, demolishing many major shrines, mosques and other holy structures across Xinjiang region in recent years. China has also been accused of keeping millions of Uighur Muslims in concentration camps, where they are systematic persecution.

6. As per a report by Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), around 8,500 mosques across Xinjiang have been completely demolished since 2017and over

millions of Uighurs have been arrested and put in concentration camps which Beijing calls “re-education camps”.

Concerns: Countries with Dubious Record: With a number of countries with questionable rights records being elected, the current system of entry to UNHRC is in serious need of reform. The election of states such as China and Russia “damages the reputation of the HRC, its standing within the international human rights committee and beyond”. Non-competitive Elections: Problem of election without opposition. For example, the Eastern European group had two available seats but only two countries

were nominated to fill those positions, meaning there was no competition for the spots.


Except for the Asia-Pacific contest, the election of 15 members to the 47-member Human

Rights Council was decided in advance because all the other regional groups had unopposed states. The Other View: Electing nations with dubious human rights records has some positives. There is a silver lining to repressive countries being elected to the council – their position as the supposed guardian of human rights makes it far more difficult for them to hide their own human rights abuses.

2.4.GLOBAL TUBERCULOSIS REPORT 2020


structure, mandate.

Why in news? According to the Global Tuberculosis Report 2020 released by World Health Organization (WHO), there has been a 25 to 30 % drop in Tuberculosis (TB) case notification across three high-burden countries – India, Indonesia and Philippines between January-June 2020. WHO has collected data from 200 countries for the report, the reduction in case notifications may lead to dramatic increase in additional TB deaths. Highlights:

According to the report, the pandemic is reversing the progress made in Global Burden of TB.

Due to the pandemic, the global TB deaths may increase by 0.2 – 0.4 million in 2020, the global number of TB deaths may increase by two lakhs to four lakhs in 2020.

Tuberculosis in India:

According to the report, India has the highest burden of drug-resistant TB.

India (27%), China (14%) and Russian Federation (8%) had the largest share of Tuberculosis in the world.

The rate of TB incidence in India is 193 per 1 Lakh population, the total number of cases is estimated at 26, 40, 000.

In India, an estimated 26.4 Lakh cases emerged in 2019, 24 lakh cases were reported to the Indian Government, and 2.4 Lakh cases were unreported.

Globally, an estimated 29 Lakh TB cases went unreported to national TB programmes in 2019.

The economic impact of pandemic is expected to worsen two key determinants of TB incidence – Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and undernutrition.

TB cases to increase by 10 Lakh:

WHO’s modelling suggested that the number of people developing TB will increase by 10 Lakh per year during 2020-25 period.


India TB Report 2020

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched the annual Tuberculosis (TB) Report 2020.

Eliminating TB by 2025: India is committed to eliminating tuberculosis from the country by 2025, five years ahead of the global target by the World Health Organisation (WHO) i.e. 2030.

National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme: To align with the ambitious goal, the programme has been renamed from the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) to National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP).

Initiatives by India:

The Nikshay Ecosystem: It is the National TB information system which is a one-stop solution to manage information of patients and monitor program activity and

performance throughout the country.

NikshayPoshanYojana (NPY): This scheme is aimed at providing financial support to TB patients for their nutrition.

TB HaregaDeshJeetega Campaign: Launched In September 2019 it is showcasing the highest level of commitment for the elimination of TB.

The Saksham Project: It is a project of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) that has been providing psycho-socialcounselling to DR-TB patients.

2.5.NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT

Relevance: GS 2 - Effects of Policies and politics of Developed and Developing

countries on India's interests, Indian diaspora

Why in news? A three decades-old unresolved ethno territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh flared up once again. The conflict is between two relatively small countries and is territorial in nature.

However, several regional and global players particularly Russia, Europe, Turkey and Iran are also involved to secure their strategic, security and economic interests in the region.

As the strategic importance of the region is derived from energy exports, the stability of the region is very important for regional growth and oil importing countries like India.


Genesis of the Conflict:

Centre of Conflict: Nagorno-Karabakh, the centre of the conflict, is located within Azerbaijan but is populated, mostly, by those of Armenian ethnicity (and mostly Christian compared to the Shia Muslim majority Azerbaijan). Background of the Conflict:

The conflict can be traced back to the pre-Soviet era when the region was at the meeting point of Ottoman, Russian and the Persian empires.

Once Azerbaijan and Armenia became Soviet Republics in 1921, Russia (erstwhile Sovient Union) gave Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan but offered autonomy to the contested region.

In the 1980s, when the Soviet power was receding, separatist currents picked up in Nagorno-Karabakh. In 1988, the national assembly voted to dissolve the

region’s autonomous status and join Armenia.

However, Azerbaijan suppressed such calls, which led to a military conflict. Flash Point of Conflict: The self-declaration of independence by Nagorno-Karabakh in September 1991 in the backdrop of an imminent collapse of the USSR resulted in a war between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh — supported by Armenia. Ceasefire: This clash lasted till a ceasefire agreement was reached in 1994, mediated largely by Russia. Since then, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group co-chaired by the USA, Russia and France have engaged Azerbaijan and Armenia extensively to resolve the conflict. By that time, Armenia had taken control of Nagorno-Karabakh and handed it to Armenian rebels. Present Day Condition: The rebels have declared independence, but have not won recognition from any country. The region is still treated as a part of Azerbaijan by the international community, and

Azerbaijan wants to take it back. Strategic Significance of The Region: The energy-rich Azerbaijan has built several gas and oil pipelines across the Caucasus (the region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea) to Turkey and Europe. Some of these pipelines pass close to the conflict zone (within 16 km of the border). In an open war between the two countries, the pipelines could be targeted, which would impact energy supplies and may even lead to higher oil prices globally. Role of Regional Players: Turkey:

The conflict between the two former Soviet republics has wider geopolitical implications as Turkey, which shares a border with Armenia, is backing

Azerbaijan.

Given the deep cultural ties between the two countries, Turkey is staunchly backing Azerbaijan.


Further, this fits well into Turkey’s aggressive foreign policy, which seeks to

expand Turkish interests to the former Ottoman territories. Russia:

Russia enjoys good ties with both Azerbaijan and Armenia and supplies weapons to both.

Armenia is more dependent on Russia than the energy-rich Azerbaijan and Russia also has a military base in Armenia.

Therefore, Russia is trying to strike a balance between the two, by mediating a ceasefire between the warring sides, but it has yet to convene a meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani political or military leaderships.

Israel:

The conflict marks a strange coupling of Turkey and Israel, which are hostile to

one another both diplomatically and in terms of security.

Yet both states, dominated by their Sunni and Jewish communities respectively, support and arm Azerbaijan.

Also, Israel’s major military and security firms seek to benefit from Azerbaijan’s eagerness to be armed.

Role of India: Interests & Challenges Asymmetry in Relations

With Armenia, India has a friendship and cooperation treaty (signed in 1995), which, incidentally, would prohibit India from providing military or any other assistance to Azerbaijan.

In the case of Azerbaijan, ONGC/OVL has made investments in an oilfield project in Azerbaijan and GAIL is exploring the possibilities of cooperation in LNG.

Azerbaijan also falls on the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) route, connecting India with Russia through Central Asia.

It can also connect India with Turkey and beyond through the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars passenger and freight rail link.

Armenia extends its unequivocal support to India on Kashmir issue whereas Azerbaijan not only opposess but also promotes Pakistan’s narrative on this issue.

India does not have a publicly articulated policy for the South Caucasus — unlike “Neighbourhood First”, “Act East” or “Central Asia Connect”.The region has remained on the periphery of its foreign policy radar.

2.6.COLLECTIVE SECURITY TREATY ORGANISATION

Relevance: GS 2 - Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Why in news? The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is a Russia-led military alliance of seven former Soviet states that was created in 2002.

The CSTO’s purpose is to ensure the collective defence of any member that faces external aggression.


It has been described by political scientists as the Eurasian counterpart of NATO,

which has 29 member states, while the CSTO has just six.

The organization supports arms sales and manufacturing as well as military training and exercises.

Headquarters :Moscow , Russia. MEMBER NATIONS

Current CSTO members are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Federation and Tajikistan.

Afghanistan and Serbia hold observer status in the CSTO.

The Collective Security Treaty was signed by Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan on May 15, 1992.

In 1993, Azerbaijan, Belarus and Georgia joined the Treaty.

The Treaty came into force on April 20, 1994 for five-year period.

Six member-states (except Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan) signed a protocol renewing the Treaty for another five-year period in 1999.

It consists of Permanent and Plenipotentiary representatives.

Uzbekistan again became a CSTO member in 2006 but then withdrew its membership in 2012.

What does csto membership provide?

While CSTO membership means that member states are barred from joining other military alliances, limiting, for example, their relationship with NATO.

Members receive discounts, subsidies, and other incentives to buy Russian arms, facilitating military cooperation.

Most importantly, membership presumes certain key security assurances – the most significant of which is deterring military aggression by third countries.

In the CSTO, aggression against one signatory is perceived as aggression against all.

It however remains unclear whether this feature works in practice. Structure of the CSTO

The Collective Security Council (CSC) is the highest body of the CSTO and comprises the heads of member states.

The Council’s Chairman is the head of the country that holds the rotating chairmanship.

The Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs is the executive and advisory body of the CSTO.


They coordinate member states’ activities in foreign policy.

The Council of Ministers of Defense coordinate member states in military policy, capability, and cooperation.

The Committee of Secretaries coordinate member states in ensuring national security.

The Permanent Council coordinates member states in implementing decisions made by CSTO bodies in periods between CSC sessions.

The Secretariat is a permanent working body of the CSTO that provides organizational, informational, analytical, and consultative support to the various CSTO bodies.

The Joint Staff is another permanent working body which prepares proposals on military activities.

Governing council

The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) was established on May 14, 2002.

The Charter of the Organization was adopted on October 7, 2002.

The CSTO received the status of observer at the United Nations General Assembly on December 2, 2004.

The Collective Security Council (CSC) is the highest body of the Organization.

The Council is composed of the Heads of the Member States.

The Chairman of the Council is the head of the country holding the Chairmanship of the Organization.

Deliberations

The Council discusses the fundamental issues of the Organization’s activities and makes decisions aimed at the realization of its goals and objectives.

The council also ensures the coordination and joint activities of the Member States to achieve these goals.

The subsidiary bodies of the CSTO

Interstate Commission for Military Economic Cooperation discusses and drafts recommendations aimed at ensuring multilateral military-economic cooperation in a number of areas.

The Interstate Commission for Military-Economic Cooperation meetings are held at least twice a year.

To manage the day-to-day activities of the Commission an Interstate Commission for Military-Economic Cooperation Secretary is appointed from the staff of the CSTO Secretariat.

The working groups of the CSTO

The Working Group on Afghanistan

The Military Committee

Working Group on Information Policy and Security.

Under the aegis of the Organization the following operations are conducted:

“CANAL’’ operation : Anti-drug regional operation

“NELEGAL” operation : To counter the illegal migration and human trafficking


“PROXY” operation : To counter the crimes in the cyberspace

“NAYOMNIK” operation : To prevent the possible involvement of the citizens of CSTO member states in the terrorist activities and to eliminate the resources of the international terrorist organizations .

Collective rapid reaction forces

The CSTO Collective Rapid Reaction Forces were formed on February 4 2009, to address the security threats and challenges of the CSTO member states.

On October 6, 2007 the agreement on the CSTO peacekeeping activity was signed.

The CSTO Collective Air Forces was formed on December 23, 2014 to increase the efficiency of the transportation and CSTO collective security system.

The delegations were headed by the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Defense and the Secretary of Security Council.

2.7.THE FUTURE OF JOBS REPORT 2020


structure, mandate.

Why in news? According to the Third Edition of “The Future of Jobs Report 2020” released by the World Economic Forum (WEF), COVID-19 and Technological Advances will disrupt around 85 Million Jobs by 2025. The WEF report is based on the Future of Jobs Survey, which is based on projections of senior Business Leaders from 300 Global firms who together employ over a million workers. Highlights:

In the next five years, automation and new division of labour between humans and machines will create disruption of jobs.

Redundant work roles will decline from 15.4 percent of the workforce to 9 per cent.

The pandemic induced economic crisis has accelerated the disruption of jobs.

The report also points out that 43 per cent of Businesses are set to reduce their workforce due to technology integration 41 percent will expand their use of contractors for task-specialised work 34 percent plan to expand their workforce due to technology integration.

The report also highlights that 50 percent of the workers require re-skilling to remain in their jobs for the next five years.


97 Million New Jobs in New Labour Market:

The report found that 97 Million New Jobs may emerge in the New Labour Market consisting of division of labour between humans, machines and algorithms.

The acceleration of technology is set to increase the Global Inequality, and low-income workers, young people, women and low-skilled workers will be most affected.

Suggestions of the Report:

The report suggested governments provide displaced workers with access to social safety nets, improve education and offer incentives for businesses to invest in jobs of the future.

It urged the private sector to set benchmarks, training programmes and targets to ensure that workers are not left behind.

Antivirals, Spaceflights, hyperloops among 20 markets to transform Economy:

WEF released a white paper on ‘20 markets of tomorrow’ which will transform the Economies in an inclusive and sustainable way during the Jobs Reset Summit 2020.

‘20 Markets of Tomorrow’ includes antivirals, spaceflights, skills capital, water rights and quality credits, genes and DNA sequences, precision medicines and orphan drugs, ed-tech and reskilling services, artificial intelligence, satellite services, greenhouse gas allowances, reforestation services, and hydrogen.

Besides the list, electric vehicles, plastics recycling, care, data, digital financial services, hyperloop-based transport services, new antibiotics, unemployment insurance have been included in the list.

India named among countries with Solid Technological Systems for a

transformation:

India has been named among the countries that present solid technological systems for such a transformation.


However, India needs development in social and institutional fabric to deliver in

these markets.

Czech Republic, Israel, Italy, Japan, Spain, Hungary, Poland and BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) have been named among the countries with the potential for such transformations.

2.8.INDIA, US HOLD 2+2 MINISTERIAL DIALOGUE

Relevance: GS 2 - Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements

involving India and/or affecting India’s interests

Why in news? India hosted the third India-United States (US) 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi

where India side was represented by RakshaMantri (Defence Minister) Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister Dr. SubrahmanyamJaishankar and the US side was represented by Secretary of State Michael Richard Pompeo also known as Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Thomas Esper. The agenda for this covered all bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest. Notably Mike Pompeo and Mark Esper arrived in New Delhi on October 26, 2020 for a two-day visit to attend the dialogue and also to hold bilateral talks with their Indian counterparts and to meet National Security Adviser AjitDoval and Prime Minister NarendraModi. A joint statement has been launched covering the following key information of 3rd India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue: India, U.S sign five agreements including ‘Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement’: During the dialogue India-US inked five agreements which are as follows: Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA):

India signed the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) for geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) information with the United States (US) for sharing of high-

end military technology, classified satellite data and critical information.

The MoU was signed between the Ministry of Defence, Government of India and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), Department of Defense of United Sates of America.

This MoU will help India to get real-time access to American geospatial intelligence that will enhance the accuracy of automated systems and weapons like missiles and armed drones.

Notably, India and the US have already signed three key foundational agreements on this line viz. General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) in 2002, the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 and Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) in 2018.

MoU on Technical Cooperation in Earth Observations and Earth Sciences:

The MoU for Technical Cooperation in Earth Observation and Earth Sciences was signed between the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Indian


Ministry of Earth Sciences for developing a better understanding of regional and global

weather origins in the Indian Ocean and advancing common research goals in meteorology, oceanography, and management of living marine resources. Agreement to extend duration of Global Center for Nuclear Energy Partnership signed:

Both nations agreed for the extension of the MoU between the US Government and the Government of India concerning cooperation with India’s Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP).

The GCNEP is a research and development institute in Haryana under the aegis of the Department of Atomic Energy. India and the US share robust cooperation in the areas of defence, space and nuclear.

MoU on electronic exchange of customs data related to postal shipments:

Department of Posts, Government of India (India Post) and United States Postal Service (USPS) have inked Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Electronic Exchange of Customs data related to postal shipments.

This MoU enables Exchange of Electronic Advance Data (EAD) transmitting and receiving of electronic data of international postal items prior to their physical arrival at the destination resulting in customs clearance of postal items in advance.Click here to read more.

LoI regarding cooperation in traditional Indian medicines: A Letter of Intent (LoI) was also signed between the Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine,National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Indian Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences, Ministry of AYUSH for cooperation in the field of Ayurveda and Cancer Research. ISRO-NASA satellite NISAR scheduled to be launched by 2022:

Under the ongoing collaboration between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite is scheduled to be launched by

2022.

Both sides are also forward to sharing Space Situational Awareness information to create a safe, stable, and sustainable space environment.

They also expressed the intent to continue the U.S.-India Space Dialogue as well as discussions on areas of potential space defense cooperation.

India, US vow to deepen cooperation in jointly combating COVID-19:

India and the US vowed to deepen collaboration in combating COVID-19 by strengthening cooperation in the development of vaccines, diagnostics, ventilators and other essential medical equipment.

India appreciated the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for the 200 ventilators provided to the Indian Red Cross Society, while the US side hailed India’s export of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), essential medicines,

and therapeutics to America.


Defence Minister Rajnath Singh holds talks with his US counterpart:

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his US counterpart Mark T Esper held extensive talks in New Delhi covering various aspects of fast expanding defence and strategic ties, including ways to further deepen military-to-military cooperation between the two countries. The next meet will be hosted by the US in 2021.

2.9.UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY – 75TH SESSION

Relevance: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their

structure, mandate.

Why in News? The 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 75) was held virtually for the first time amid COVID -19 from September 15 to September 30, 2020. It was hosted by the United States of America (USA) from New York and under the Presidency of Volkan Bozkir of Turkey. During the session, a special event was organized on September 21, 2020 marking the 75th anniversary of UN. The event was held under the theme “The Future We Want, the UN We Need: Reaffirming our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism” while the theme of the session was “The future we want, the United Nations we need, reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism – confronting the COVID-19 through effective multilateral action”. The

It should be noted that for this session the world leaders submitted pre-recorded video statements which were played in the General Assembly Hall during the general debate held from Sept 22-29 at the beginning of each session of the General Assembly.

From India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the high-level meeting to mark the 75th anniversary of the UN on September 22 and the General Debate on

September 26 through the pre-recorded video statements. These statements were presented by Permanent Representative of India to the UN,TS Tirumurti.

Key Highlights from PM Modi Address:

India is elected as a non-permanent member for the UN Security Council (UNSC) for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2021. India’s overall objective during its tenure will be the achievement of N.O.R.M.S – a New Orientation for a Reformed Multilateral System.

India is a founding signatory of the UN Charter.

India’s vaccine production and delivery capacity will be used to help all humanity in fighting this crisis.

UNGA adopted forward-looking declaration to mark 75th anniversary of United Nations


A “Declaration on the Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations”

was adopted at the high level meeting for strengthening mechanism to combat terrorism, reformed multilateralism, inclusive development and better preparedness to deal with challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a part of declaration the 193 member nations commit to leave no one behind, protect the planet, promote peace and prevent conflicts, abide by international law and ensure justice, place women and girls at the centre, build trust, improve digital cooperation, upgrade the UN, ensure sustainable financing, boost partnerships, listen to and work with youth.

India endorsed US’ Joint Statement On Universal Declaration Of Human Rights

A joint statement issued by US on “Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)” stating its ‘re-dedication’. This move is endorsed by India along with Bahrain, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Japan,

Jordan, the Maldives, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

2.10.SECOND QUAD MINISTERIAL MEETING

Relevance: Bilateral, Regional and global groupings and agreements involving

India and/or affecting India's interests

Why in news? EAM S. Jaishankar participated in the Second QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) held between India, Australia, Japan& United States of America (USA) in Tokyo, Japan. EAM Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Japan’s Toshimitsu Motegi attended the QUAD meeting. Highlights: The first meeting of Foreign Ministers of Four Countries under the QUAD framework took place in New York in September, 2019.

Post-COVID-19 Scenario:

The Foreign Ministers (FM) discussed the post COVID-19 International order.

The Ministers called for coordinated response to face challenges arising due to pandemic such as Financial Problems, sharing best practices to combat COVID-19, increasing access to affordable vaccines, medicines and medical equipment.

Key points of QUAD Meeting:

The Ministers also supported the vision of maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.

They exchanged views about issues related to connectivity, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and regional issues of mutual interest.

The discussions were held regarding maritime safety and security, health security, and counter terrorism.

The Members of the QUAD Framework reaffirmed their support to ASEAN (Association of SouthEast Asian Nations).


The sides agreed to enhance coordination to counter the growing assertiveness of

China. “East-West” connectivity:

The Ministers discussed the building of “East-West” connectivity from India to ASEAN countries.

It is being built to counter the “North-South” connectivity of China. Bilateral Meetings: EAM S. Jaishankar held one-to-one bilateral talks with the Foreign Ministers of Japan, Australia & USA during his visit to Tokyo. 13th India-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue:

They reviewed the progress made in Strategic and Global Partnerships, maritime

security, trade and investment, manufacturing, skill development, health and wellness, Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative (IPOI) and UN Reforms.

They emphasized a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region for diverse, and strong supply chains.

Cybersecurity Agreement:

The Two sides welcomed the finalization of the Text of Cybersecurity agreement.

The Agreement promotes cooperation in capacity building, research and development and security.

It provides for sharing strategies and best practices to promote the integrity of supply chain of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products.

It also promotes resilience in areas of Critical Information Infrastructure, 5G, Internet of Things (IoT) & Artificial Intelligence (AI).

EAM Jaishankar holds talk with Australian FM Maris Payne:

Both Ministers discussed key regional security challenges.

The two countries agreed to work together in Indo-Pacific region, which is seeing increasing military assertiveness by China.

They reviewed the progress made in bilateral ties after the virtual summit between

Prime Ministers of two countries in June, 2020. Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA):

During the virtual summit in June, 2020, India and Australia elevated the ties to comprehensive strategic partnership and signed the landmark Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA).

MLSA allows armed forces of both countries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies.

EAM Jaishankar holds talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo:

The talks were focused on important bilateral and regional issues.

The two sides agreed to work together to advance peace and security in Indo-Pacific region.

They also discussed the overall ties regarding the security scenario around India.


2.11.G-20 DEBT SERVICE SUSPENSION INITIATIVE


Why in news? The officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) called for the extension of G20 Debt Service Suspension initiative till the end of 2021. Debt Service Suspension Initiative:

The DSSI means that for a limited period of time, the debt service payment from poorest countries are suspended upon the request from the countries. This will help these countries to address immediate liquidity needs. The poorest countries are the low-income and low middle-income countries.

60% of eligible countries have made requests. This amounts to 5.3 billion USD. India is a low middle-income country. Therefore, India is eligible to claim the suspension.

India-Myanmar: Recently, under the DSSI of G-20, India agreed to provide relief to Myanmar. In simple terms, Myanmar can repay loans bought from India under G-20 initiative after 2020 or which ever time is being fixed. This decision was taken during the 19th round of Foreign Office Consultations that was held between India and Myanmar on October 1, 2020. How long will the debt service suspension last? The suspension is to be provided till 2020 as of now. The IMF and World Bank have agreed to extend their support to DSSI. Need for extension: According to the IMF officials, the debt crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic will keep increasing if the required changes are not made to international debt architecture. If suspended, the money can be used to ease financial constraints being brought in by COVID-19. This will free up scarce money that can be used to mitigate economic and

human impacts of the pandemic. On these terms, the IMF insists on extending the debt service suspension of G-20. Officials believe that more transparency should be brought in government borrowing. Role of IMF and World Bank in DSSI: These two international financial organisations are providing technical support to the DSSI.

2.12.INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION OUTLOOK 2020

Why in news? The secretary-general at OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and

Development) Jose Angel Gurria Trevino unveiled the 44th edition of “International Migration Outlook 2020” in which India emerged as the second largest source country


both in terms of the “total” inflow of new migrants to OECD countries during 2018 and

also as regards the number of Indians acquiring citizenship of these countries. Highlights :

China grabbed the top spot while Romania stood at 3rd place.

India succeeded Romania to emerge as the second-largest source country. Migration from India to OECD countries increased sharply by 10% and now it reached 3.3 lakhs. It represents 5% of the overall migration to OECD countries.


Due to ongoing pandemic issuances of

new visas in OECD countries saw the largest drop by 46% in the first half of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019. In the second quarter, it declined to 72%.

The top 4 countries where Indians choose to become citizens are the United States (US), Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom (UK).

The total inflow of new migrants to OECD countries stood at 66 lakh, a marginal increase of 3.8% over the previous year.

During 2018, about 4.3 lakh Chinese migrated to OECD countries, accounting for

nearly 6.5% of the total migration inflows.

2.13.INDIA CHAIRS ILO’S EXECUTIVE BODY AFTER 35 YEARS


Why in News? India has become chairman of the governing body of the International Labour Organization (ILO) after a gap of 35 years, and will play a key role in deciding its policies and agenda.

The development comes within five months of ILO expressing “deep concern" over India’s labour law amendments and sweeping exemptions being promised by states.

The governing body (GB) is the apex executive body of the ILO that decides policies, programmes, agenda, budget and elects the director-general of the

global body. Union labour secretary Apurva Chandra will be the chairman of the body till June 2021.

Chandra will be presiding over ILO governing body in November and apprise the global body, with 187 nation members, of the “transformational initiatives taken by Government in removing the rigidities of labour market besides making its intention clear about universalization of social security", the union government said.

The move will give comfort to the central government, which was under the ILO scanner over its labour reform policies that workers and trade unions believe is anti-worker, and aims at only ease of doing business.

Background: The Governing Body of the International Labour Organization is the apex executive body.

It decides on policies, agenda, programmes and elects the Director-General. Currently, there are 187 members associated with ILO.


India-ILO:

India is one of the founding members of ILO. It was created in 1919 under Treaty of Versailles and became a specialized agency in 1946. Reports created by ILO: The organization creates two major reports. They are as follows

World employment and Social Outlook

Global Wage Report ILO Conventions ratified by India: India has ratified six out of eight ILO conventions. They are as follows,

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention

Forced Labour Convention

Equal Remuneration Convention

Minimum Age Convention

Discrimination Convention

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention India has not ratified the following conventions:

Freedom of Association and Protection of the right to organize Convention

Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining Convention India has not ratified the above two conventions because these conventions impose certain restrictions in government servants. Also, the ratification of these conventions involve granting of certain rights prohibited under statutory rules such as right to openly criticize government, right to strike, right to freely join foreign organizations, etc.

2.14.HUMAN MOBILITY, SHARED OPPORTUNITIES


structure, mandate.

Why in News? “Human Mobility, Shared Opportunities: A Review of the 2009 Human Development Report and the Way Ahead” was released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) stating how governments can shape migration to benefit development and boost recovery.

The report accessed how future policy responses could facilitate safe, orderly, and regular migration.

This report marked 30 years of its annual Human Development Reports. Highlights:

The forced migration has doubled over the last 10 years to around 79 million people therefore to fight with its cause is essential for development.

Efforts need to be redoubled to focus on progress over the next ten years to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Agenda 2030.


Governments are required to focus on expanding legal pathways, reducing

transaction costs on remittances, guaranteeing migrants’ rights, especially for women, fostering integration and social cohesion, and mobilizing diasporas.

Notably, in 2015 migrants generated 9% of global gross domestic Product (GDP) although they make up for only 3.5% of the world’s population.

In accordance with the Research by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), a percentage increase in the migrant share of the population in high income

countries boosts per capita income by 2%. If immigrants increased the workforces of wealthy countries by 3%, that would boost world GDP by US$356 billion by 2025.

2.15.INDIA EXTENDS USD 1 BILLION LINE OF CREDIT FOR DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN CENTRAL ASIA

Relevance: GS 2 - Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements

involving India and/or affecting India’s interests

Why in news? India announced extending USD 1 billion line of credit for "priority" developmental projects in central Asian countries while vowing to further expand cooperation with the resource-rich region including confronting the common challenges of terrorism and

extremism. The announcement was made by India during the Second Meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue held virtually in October, 2020. The virtual Meeting was chaired by External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar. Representatives: The Central Asian countries were represented by Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan, Mukhtar Tleuberdi, Foreign Minister of Tajikistan, Sirodjiddin Muhriddin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, Rashid Meredov, Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan, Abdulaziz Kamilov, First Deputy Foreign Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic, Nuran Niyazaliev. The Acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan attended the meeting as a special invitee.


Highlights:

India has provided the Line of Credit for priority Developmental Projects in fields such as connectivity, energy, Information Technology (IT), Healthcare, education, Agriculture etc.

India has offered to provide grant assistance for implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDP) for furthering socio-economic development in countries of the Central Asian Region.

The Ministers emphasized on giving new energy to trade and commerce partnerships to overcome the lack of overland connectivity barrier.

During the meeting, an establishment of working groups was made by India Central Asia Business Council Comprising Apex Chambers of participating countries to work on identified priority areas.

They emphasized the need for cooperation between Sanitary and Epidemiological Services of India and Central Asian Countries to fight against Pandemic.

The Ministers highlighted the importance of efforts to expand trade and economic cooperation by promoting direct ties between businesses of India and Central Asian Countries.

Importance of Chabahar Port, Iran: Foreign Ministers of Central Asian Countries appreciated India’s efforts to modernize Chabahar Port in Iran as it will be an important link in trade and transport communication between Central and South Asia. 1st India-Central Asia Dialogue:

The inaugural meeting of India-Central Asia Dialogue was jointly organized by India and Uzbekistan on 13th January, 2019 in Samarkand (Uzbekistan). It was seen as a platform for strengthening cooperation between India and Central Asian

Countries.


3. ECONOMY

AGRICULTURE AND ALLIED SECTORS

3.1.NEW FARM ACTS: FEARS, MISCONCEPTIONS AND FEW FACTS

Relevance: GS-3: Storage, Transport and Marketing of Agricultural Produce and

Issues and Related Constraints.

Why are the farmers opposed to these laws that have been proclaimed as game-changers unshackling them from archaic controls? Farmers’ apprehensions seem to be mostly about

Continuation of MSP via open-ended procurement,

Gradual dismantling of the Public Distribution System (PDS),

Loss of price discovery mechanism established by the APMC mandis,

Distrust of corporates. Distrust in policy is the result of cumulative actions or inactions of governments.

Farmers in states (Punjab, Haryana) that produce large surpluses of wheat and rice have reasons to be apprehensive if they ‘believe’ that procurement may come down. The fear of a reduction in the scope and size of PDS comes from the Shanta Kumar committee report and the much talked about shift to Direct Benefit Transfer (via PM-KISAN).

What are the implications?

The states may lose some revenue, paid mostly out of food subsidy budget. The fact is that none of the above three Acts have a direct bearing on the ‘dismantling or dilution’ of the PDS. If at all, the National Food Security Act is the one, though cash payments are possible even within this framework.

It is in the interest of the government to ensure the continuance of APMCs in a farmer-friendly ‘avatar’ to ensure price discovery. The proposed market intelligence arrangement is at best a non-starter, and is no substitute for the

imperfect, but useful Agmark net. Farmers’ distrust of corporates is not without reason; though, the new law tries to offer some solutions.

Major misconceptions doing the rounds are: o The EC Act amendments are meant to phase out MSP and procurement, o ‘APMC bypass’ Act is to help only multinationals and large traders, o The contract farming act is only to help monopolies who have a history of

reneging on contracts, o Contract farming will pave the way for the introduction of GM crops.

Are these reforms good?

The amendments to EC Act provide predictability and helps processors and exporters to make purchase decisions without fear of ad hoc imposition of stock limits (the recent ban on onion exports destroyed credibility).

EC Act amendments do not remove MSP, they allow processors and value-add players to buy quantities up to their capacities. It is nobody’s case that MNCs will rush to the market and corner all stocks.


If APMCs close down, the price reference point for farmers will go away. This is a

genuine fear.

The Contract Farming Act is an ‘enabling’ Act. Contract farming (e.g., poultry, seeds) takes place even now under the Indian Contract Act. The fear of corporates ‘taking over’ farmers’ land is unfounded since the new Act specifically prohibits alienation of land. The Act does not give any freedom to use prohibited technologies either. So much for fear of ‘GM through the backdoor’.

How much will it affect the MSP? The total value of output (2018-19; at current prices) of agriculture is Rs 36.7 lakh crore, of which, cereals contribute 15%, pulses 3%, oilseeds 4%, and fibres 2%, totalling 24%. MSP is available for 23 crops (nine cereals, five pulses, seven oilseeds and two fibres). The other 74% of agricultural output, including milk (23%) and fruits and vegetables (16%) do not have any MSP. Even if it is argued that these new laws are intended to do

away with MSP, the impact will be only on the marketed part of this 24%.

Way forward: Apart from the assurance that MSP will continue and APMCs will not be closed down, the following could have been done:

Insertion of a proviso in section 5 of the Contract Farming Act stating that the price in Section 5(1) shall not be lower than MSP for such crops where MSP has been notified.

Insertion of a proviso in Section 8 of the ‘mandi bypass Act’ that the order for recovery of the amount to be paid to the farmer shall not be less than the MSP for such crops where MSP has been notified.

The government could have asked FCI and procurement agencies to continue paying APMC cess on procurement as before.

3.2.FERTILISER SUBSIDY

Relevance: GS-3: Issues related to Direct and Indirect Farm Subsidies and

Minimum Support Prices;

Why in news? The Centre is working on a plan to restrict the number of fertiliser bags that individual farmers can buy during any cropping season. What is fertiliser subsidy?

Farmers buy fertilisers at MRPs (maximum retail price) below their normal supply-and-demand-based market rates or what it costs to produce/import them.

The MRP of neem-coated urea, for instance, is fixed by the government at Rs 5,922.22 per tonne, whereas its average cost-plus price payable to domestic manufacturers and importers comes to around Rs 17,000 and Rs 23,000 per tonne, respectively. The difference, which varies according to plant-wise production cost and import price, is footed by the Centre as subsidy.

The MRPs of non-urea fertilisers are decontrolled or fixed by the companies. The Centre, however, pays a flat per-tonne subsidy on these nutrients to ensure they are priced at “reasonable levels”.


Decontrolled fertilisers, thus, retail way above urea, while they also attract lower

subsidy.

How is the subsidy paid and who gets it?

The subsidy goes to fertiliser companies, although its ultimate beneficiary is the farmer who pays MRPs less than the market-determined rates. Companies, until recently, were paid after their bagged material had been dispatched and received at a district’s railhead point or approved godown.

From March 2018, a new so-called direct benefit transfer (DBT) system was introduced, wherein subsidy payment to the companies would happen only after actual sales to farmers by retailers.

Each retailer — there are over 2.3 lakh of them across India — now has a point-of-sale (PoS) machine linked to the Department of Fertilisers’e-Urvarak DBT portal.

Anybody buying subsidisedfertilisers is required to furnish his/her Aadhaar unique identity or Kisan Credit Card number.

The quantities of the individual fertilisers purchased, along with the buyer’s name and biometric authentication, have to be captured on the PoS device.

Only upon the sale getting registered on the e-Urvarak platform can a company claim subsidy, with these being processed on a weekly basis and payments remitted electronically to its bank account.

What was the new payment system’s underlying purpose?

The main motive is to curb diversion. This is natural with any under-priced product, more so in urea, whose basic MRP (excluding taxes and neem-coating cost) has been raised by hardly 11% from Rs 4,830 to Rs 5,360 per tonne since April 2010. The same period — from when all other fertilisers were decontrolled — has seen the per-tonne MRP of DAP rise from Rs 9,350 to Rs 24,000, while similarly going up for MOP (Rs 4,455 to Rs 17,500) and ‘10:26:26’ (Rs 7,197 to Rs 23,500).

Being super-subsidised, urea is always prone to diversion for non-agricultural use — as a binder by plywood/particle board makers, cheap protein source by animal feed manufacturers or adulterant by milk vendors — apart from being smuggled to

Nepal and Bangladesh.

The scope for leakage was more in the earlier system, right from the point of dispatch till the retailer end. With DBT, pilferage happens only at the retailer level, as there is no subsidy payment till sales are made through POS machines and subject to the buyers’ biometric authentication.

What is the next step being proposed?

At present, the Centre is following a “no denial” policy. Anybody, non-farmers included, can purchase any quantity of fertilisers through the PoS machines.

That obviously allows for bulk buying by unintended beneficiaries, who are not genuine or deserving farmers. While there is a limit of 100 bags that an individual can purchase at one time, it does not stop anyone from buying any number of times.

One plan under discussion is to cap the total number of subsidisedfertiliser bags that any person can buy during an entire kharif or rabi cropping season. This, it is


expected, would end even retail-level diversion and purchases by large buyers

masquerading as farmers.

What is the fertiliser requirement of a typical farmer? It depends on the crop. A farmer growing irrigated wheat or paddy may use about three 45-kg bags of urea, one 50-kg bag of DAP and half-a-bag (25 kg) of MOP per acre. A total of 100 bags would easily cover the seasonal requirement of a 20-acre farmer.

How much subsidy does a farmer really get per acre?

For three bags urea, one bag DAP and half-a-bag MOP per acre, the farmer would spend a total of Rs 2,437 at existing MRPs. The corresponding subsidy value – at an average of Rs 13,000 per tonne (Rs 585/bag) for urea, Rs 511.55/bag for DAP and Rs 303.5/bag for MOP – will add up to Rs 2,418.3 per acre.

But then, farmers are also taxed on other inputs. Take diesel, where the incidence of excise and value added tax is Rs 42.19 on a litre retailing at Rs 70.46 in Delhi. On 30 litres of average per-acre consumption for paddy or wheat, that will be nearly Rs 1,266. So, for every Re 1 spent on fertiliser subsidy, more than half is recovered as diesel tax.

In addition, farmers pay goods and service tax (GST) on inputs, ranging from 12% on tractors, agricultural implements, pumps and drip/sprinkler irrigation systems to 18% on crop protection chemicals. Fertiliser itself is taxed at 5%. And since there’s no GST on farm produce, they cannot claim any input tax credit on their sales, unlike other businessmen.

What’s the way forward? The time has come to seriously consider paying farmers a flat per-acre cash subsidy that they can use to purchase any fertiliser. The amount could vary, depending on the number of crops grown and whether the land is irrigated or not. This is, perhaps, the only sustainable solution to prevent diversion and also encourage judicious application of fertilisers, with the right nutrient (macro and micro) combination based on proper soil testing and crop-specific requirements.

3.3.FARMPAL TECHNOLOGY

Relevance: GS-3: e-technology in the aid of farmers Context: The solution to dominating traders and buyers in the mandi ecosystem or in the market lies in connecting farmers to their markets and cutting off the middlemen.

Farmpal Technology:

FarmpalTechnologies’s technology-driven integrated supply chain approach has established a connection with over 1,000 farmers, of which 400 farmers actively supply their crops toit. It offers a sale price that is at a 15-30% premium over what the farmers receive in mandis, where they sell to middlemen

according to the prevailing market price.

Farmpal pays the farmers through online bank transfers or in a few special cases cash on delivery.


This Pune-based technologies mission is to organise the post-harvest supply

chain so farmers have better access to alternate markets, improved incomes by receiving a fair price for their produce and more broadly, reduce inefficiencies across the supply chain so all stakeholders are benefited.

With this mission, Sethi and Karan Hon, started building on the idea of Farmpal in 2017 (commenced operations in 2018). It connects farmers directly with end-consumers (local kiranas, hawkers, supermarkets, hotels and restaurants) in the urban areas.

The company uses technology as an enabler to manage the end-to-end supply chain including all logistics. A mobile app at the front-end connects with the farmers and our customers. This is backed by a powerful ERP solution at the back-end that helps to streamline inventory management, order cycles, supply-demand forecasts and analytics for all other functional areas.

It has tech roadmap use of Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence to better

predict demand and map supply, which will further help to forecast demand requirements of farmers, and keep working on matching demand supply patterns to minimise wastage and on the operations side – IoT, RFID technologies, route planning solutions, advanced analytics are some of the innovations planned down the line.

3.4.GOVT APPROVES MANDATORY PACKAGING OF FOOD GRAINS IN JUTE BAGS

Relevance: GS-3: Storage, Transport and Marketing of Agricultural Produce and

Issues and Related Constraints; Context: To help the jute industry, the government decided to extend the norms for mandatory packaging of 100 per cent food grains and 20 per cent sugar in diversified jute bags. The decision on the extension of norms for mandatory packaging in jute materials was taken at the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

About:

Information and Broadcasting Minister while briefing media after the Cabinet meeting, said the CCEA decision will benefit farmers and workers located in the eastern and north-eastern regions of the country, particularly in West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Meghalaya and Tripura.

Union Textiles Minister said that the decision will benefit 3.7 lakh workers and 40 lakh farmers, especially in West Bengal. Government purchases over Rs 7,500 crore worth jute bags to sustain core demand of the sector.

The decision also mandates that initially 10 per cent of the indents of jute bags for packing food grains would be placed through a reverse auction on the GeM portal.

This will gradually usher in a regime of price discovery adding the government has expanded the scope of mandatory packaging norms under the Jute Packaging Material (JPM) Act, 1987.

In case of any shortage or disruption in the supply of jute packaging material or in

other contingency/exigency, the Ministry of Textiles may, in consultation with the user Ministries concerned, relax these provisions further, up to a maximum of 30 per cent of the production of foodgrains over and above the provisions.


Under the Jute Packaging Materials (Compulsory Use in Packing

Commodities) Act, 1987, the government is required to consider and provide for the compulsory use of jute packaging material in the supply and distribution of certain commodities in the interest of production of raw jute and jute packaging material and of persons engaged in the production thereof.

Therefore, the reservation norms in the present proposal would further the interest of domestic production of raw jute and jute packaging material in the country, thereby, making India self-reliant in consonance with Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

Recently, the Jute Corporation of India has entered into MoU with National Seeds Corporation for distribution of 10,000 quintals of certified seeds on commercial basis also.

The intervention of technology up-gradation and distribution of certified seeds would increase the productivity and quality of jute crops and also boost the

income of the farmers.

With a view to support the diversification of jute sector, the National Jute Board has collaborated with the National Institute of Design and a Jute Design Cell has been opened in Gandhinagar.

Further, the promotion of Jute Geo Textiles and Agro-Textiles has been taken up with the state governments, particularly those in the north-eastern region and also with departments such as Ministry of Road Transport and Ministry of Water Resources.

Jute ICARE

The ‘Jute ICARE’ interventions have resulted in enhancing the quality and productivity of raw jute and increasing income of jute farmers by Rs 10,000

per hectare.

Under the Jute ICARE, the government has been supporting about two lakh jute farmers by disseminating improved agronomic practices such as line sowing using seed drills, weed management by using wheel-hoeing and nail-weeders, distribution of quality certified seeds and also providing microbial assisted retting.

ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

3.5.VISION 2020 AND INDIAN ECONOMY

Relevance: GS-3: Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of

Resources, Growth, Development and Employment. Why in news? The nation remembers its 11th President, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam in many forms – missile man, space scientist, nuclearization leader and people’s President. But one common trait which runs through all his roles was his unflinching optimism and devotion to being productive for the nation. The year 2020 marks a landmark year – it is the milestone of the Vision 2020, which he laid down two decades ago as a pathway to an economically developed India with societal inclusion.


VISION-2020

The cornerstone of this vision relied on three principal factors – o We need to realize and unleash our potential as a nation, o We need to build an economy based on technological leadership and finally, o We need a balanced growth model where rural and urban can not only co-

exist but thrive together.

In 1975, ISRO needed beryllium diaphragms for a new device. Today, we can find these diaphragms in high-quality audio speakers. But few nations had the ability to make them 40 years ago. Dr. Kalam and his scientific team approached a US-based firm that agreed to sell them to India. Just when the deal was about to go through, the US government blocked the sale as the material was being used in their strategic missiles.

Denied a critical product, India started learning more about it; and discovered something startling. The US diaphragms were made from beryllium rods produced

in Japan — and the Japanese makers had outsourced the beryllium from India which was among the top four producers of this rare element. The team was dismayed to learn that a product whose raw material we possessed almost exclusively was denied to us. A committee of top research labs was then constituted to make our own beryllium diaphragm. In four months, we triumphed.

In this real-life run of a story similar to “The Alchemist”, the message is clear. There are many “raw berylliums” hidden in our nation. Often they are ignored, sometimes even discredited. Dr. Kalam saw this latent potential foremost in the youth of the nation – whom he believedwe need to trust and invest more. He talked about revamping our education system, via rebuilding legacy institutions like Nalanda and creating a World Knowledge Platform in India to transform the nation into a “vishwa guru”.

We need to build a spirit of technological nationalism. This is a broader and inclusive nationalism we need. Technology provides developing economies the ability to leapfrog certain stages of development. Our mobile phone revolution, for instance, leapfrogged the landline stage, growing from a million mobile connections in 1999 to over 760 million smartphones by 2021.

India with its market can also build collaborations across nations based on technological abilities. A shining example is the BrahMos Cruise Missile co-

developed by India and Russia. While India brought its knowledge in developing the targeting mechanism, Russia contributed to the propulsion system. It gave both nations the capability to develop and produce perhaps the best cruise missile system in the world with a business volume of over $7 billion.

Today, India has the world-class ability in IT, communication, pharmaceuticals and space. The stage of environmental degradation associated with manufacturing. Make in India, Make it Green, and Invent in India.

There is also a need to make our spending on research and development more result-oriented. It concerns me that no Indian citizenship holder has won the Nobel Prize in any of the sciences, despite India’s National Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) in science and technology to over Rs 1 lakh crore annually.

The third aspect is about making the rewards of development reach across rural-

urban, across genders, and across economic groups. One key opportunity which has arisen out of the current pandemic crisis is our chance to transform our habitation-economy model. The pain of the exodus of migrant workers must


compel us to discover a new India where there are opportunities for income in

villages and smaller towns – and where the only path to growth is not via the painful process of migration.

Dr. Kalam devoted a decade of his life pursuing the model of PURA or Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas – where he promoted a model of connectivities in village clusters to spur economic development and urban class services of healthcare and education in India’s 600,000 villages. The post-pandemic India has a chance to not just go back to older times, but also to create novel pathways. What road shall we choose?

India has tremendous potential to innovate and rise to the occasion. In March 2020, at the beginning of COVID-19, India was reeling in its medical system. Hospitals had no PPEs, markets had no sanitizers or masks. India was then importing nearly 100% of its PPEs. It was thought to be the basket case that would collapse under the pandemic. But not only did India endured through one

of the longest lockdowns across the world it silently revamped its entire medical supply industry.

By June India was making 200,000 kits a day and by the end of July 2020, India opened up to export PPE and other protective supplies to the rest of the world. Pune-based Serum India is planning to produce 100 million doses of COVID vaccine as soon as the clinical trials are positive.

One of the firm thoughts of Dr. Kalamwasthat forward-looking societies need to be careful about selecting who their adversaries are. Powerful nations like India will eventually win over their select opponents. So it is on us today, whether we choose to contest poverty, illiteracy, or disease – but we designate our own fellow citizens as our adversaries based on their difference of political leaning, faith, or region. A nation is as great as the challenger it chooses to confront.

3.6.SWAMIH INVESTMENT FUND

Relevance: GS-3: Inclusive Growth and issues arising from it.

Why in news?

A government-backed alternate investment fund AIF-SWAMIH (Special Window for Affordable and Mid Income Housing) has sanctioned as much as Rs 12,079 crore to help complete 123 stuck housing projects. The fund, set up extends last-mile funding, will enable the completion of 81,308 houses.

About the fund:

Cabinet has cleared a proposal to set up a ‘Special Window’ in the form of AIF to provide priority debt financing for the completion of stalled housing projects in November-2019.

SWAMIH Investment Fund I has been formed to complete construction of stalled, brownfield, RERA registered residential developments that are in the affordable housing / mid-income category, are networth positive and requires last mile

funding to complete construction. It has a target corpus of INR 12,500cr with a greenshoe option of INR 12,500cr.


The Sponsor of the Fund is the Secretary, Department of Economic

Affairs,Min of Finance, on behalf of the Government of India.

The Investment Manager of the Fund is SBICAP Ventures Ltd., an asset management company that is a wholly owned subsidiary of SBI Capital Markets Ltd which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of the State Bank of India.

Greenshoe option:

A greenshoe option is an over-allotment option. In the context of an initial public offering (IPO), it is a provision in an underwriting agreement that grants the underwriter the right to sell investors more shares than initially planned by the issuer if the demand or a security issue proves higher than expected.

3.7.INDIA TO BECOME 3RD LARGEST ECONOMY BY 2050


Resources, Growth, Development and Employment.

Why in news?

Indian economy is expected to become the third-largest in the world by 2050 after China and the US and is likely to retain the spot in 2100 as well, according to a Lancet study.

Findings of the report

The report translated forecasts of the working-age population into scenarios for total GDP with 2017 as the base year. Huge declines in the number of workers were forecasted in China and India even as the latter was expected to still have the largest working-age population in the world by 2100, the report added. Nigeria, China and the US were expected to be other top countries by the working-age population.

The working-age population defined by the International Labour Organization is 15 years or older.

While economic pecking order by 2030 was expected to be the US followed by China, Japan and India, by 2100, the US was again likely to become the biggest economy followed by China and India. Japan, however, was forecasted to remain at fourth position in 2100 from 2050. Other leading countries in the top 10 economies were expected to be Germany, the UK, France, Brazil, Turkey, Canada by 2050.

India had retained its rank as the third-largest economy globally in purchasing power parity (PPP) for 2017 reference year, by the World Bank. India had a 6.7 per cent ($8,051 billion) share of $119,547 billion of global GDP in PPP terms vis-à-vis China’s 16.4 per cent share and 16.3 per cent share of the US.

On other hand, ranked as per nominal GDP, India became the fifth largest economy, as per data from IMF, in February this year leapfrogging France and the UK, said World Economic Forum.


3.8.WITHOUT AN EXPORTS PUSH, INDIA SIMPLY CAN’T GROW FAST

Relevance: GS-3: Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development and Employment.

Context: The government’s Atmanirbhar Policy, envisaging a boost for local production to cater to the home market sounds workable, no emerging economy has been able to sustain strong and rapid growth without exports contributing meaningfully.

Why is export crucial to any economy?

While there is a lot of export pessimism in India, as the study shows, the 6%-plus GDP growth after 1991 was associated with real annual exports growth of 11%; prior to this, India was clocking an anaemic 3.5%, with exports growing at 4.5%.

It is not consumption but exports that have driven India’s growth. In the boom years of 2003-08, India’s real export growth averaged 17.8% for five successive years whereas domestic consumption (public and private) averaged just 7.2%. As such, the surge in private investment witnessed at the time—gross fixed capital formation grew at 16.2% a year for five years—was largely responding to the buoyancy of external demand. If India’s exports have fared poorly after 2014, it is because of the sharp appreciation (export becomes costlier) of the rupee as well as big supply shocks like demonetisation and GST.

Given how global demand is much bigger than local demand for any country that which an inward-looking policy cannot work since the local demand is too small to sustain any serious substitution strategy or attract investors.

Given the economy is in tatters and the debt-fuelled household consumption boom of the past few years is no longer possible—the government is also broke, and India Inc isn’t investing—this means an export-driven strategy is the only choice India has.

What India needs to do?

As the former CEA points out, India is producing and exporting about $60-$140 bn, or 2-5% of GDP, less of low-skilled products annually than it should be doing. With wages in China having risen due to its prosperity, it has vacated about $140 bn of unskilled-labour-intensive sectors including apparel, clothing leather and footwear; a table in the report shows India has gained very little of this market.

Covid-19 and China flexing its military muscle have given India another chance, with most countries looking to de-risk. But, at a time when global trade/manufacturing is mainly organised around tightly-knit supply chains, not only does India need to attract big producers—the reduction in corporate taxes and the labour law changes will help—but also it can’t simultaneously have high import duties as almost all exports the world over have high import content.

In the last 5-6 years, however, India has raised tariffs in 3,200 of 5,300 product categories. Not only does this approach need to be revisited, but there also needs to be a focus on negotiating trade agreements with large foreign economies to ensure India is not at a disadvantage vis-a-vis competing countries. Only an FTA with Europe can remove the 10% import duty on Indian clothing that


exporters from Bangladesh and Vietnam do not have to face; but this will require

India to open up other markets like the automobile one.

Another issue that comes up is related to increased protectionism in the world, especially post-Covid. While that is certainly true, the point is that India can at least try to grab the markets China is vacating; indeed, its small market share right now means it can expand exports quite significantly before it becomes the kind of threat that a China is today. Indeed, it is only when India is globally competitive that it can be domestically competitive.

The good news here is that apart from PLI schemes like the ones for mobile phone manufacturing and exports, RBI has finally been intervening in the markets to keep the rupee weak; on a trade-weighted basis, the rupee has depreciated in the first half of the year.

3.9.RBI TO ISSUE FRESH CREDIT DEFAULT SWAPS NORMS


Why in news?

The RBI will soon issue fresh guidelines on credit default swaps (CDS), a financial derivative instrument to hedge risks in bond investments.

The development of CDS is considered critical for deepening India’s bond markets and the government believes that the enactment of the Bilateral Netting of Qualified Financial Contracts law this month should pave the way for an active CDS market.

The government is working with financial sector regulators, SEBI, RBI, IRDA and PFRDA to build a robust and vibrant bond market.

The traded volumes in our bond markets in 2019-20 were not much at ₹19-₹20 lakh crore, while 98% of debt issuances were made through private placements.

Stressing that fair valuation of bonds is a challenge when trading is limited, that to facilitate the development of the CDS market, the central bank would issue

revised guidelines soon and more steps are in the offing to boost the bond market, especially as it would play a key role in funding infrastructure.

Enhancing the bond markets is very important for the requirement of infrastructure financing, particularly the projects lined up in the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP).

Credit Default Swap (CDS)

A credit default swap (CDS) is a financial derivative or contract that allows an investor to "swap" or offset his or her credit risk with that of another investor.

For example, if a lender is worried that a borrower is going to default on a loan, the lender could use a CDS to offset or swap that risk. To swap the risk of default, the lender buys a CDS from another investor who agrees to reimburse the lender in the case the borrower defaults. Most CDS will require an

ongoing premium payment to maintain the contract, which is like an insurance policy.


A credit default swap is the most common form of credit derivative and may

involve municipal bonds, emerging market bonds, mortgage-backed securities or corporate bonds.

3.10.RURAL GROWTH NOT ENOUGH TO LIFT OVERALL ECONOMY


Context: Even as the agriculture sector remains fairly immune to the disruptions led by the coronavirus pandemic, the sectoral growth may not offset the loss of the overall economy. The rural demand will perk-up somewhat, but will not be able to offset the shortfall in urban demand as the share of agriculture in India’s GVA is smaller.

Agri GVA comprised around 14.6 per cent to 17.8 per cent during FY13-FY20, and is expected to be 17.3 per cent in the current fiscal, estimated by a report. While other sectors were brought to a near-standstill, it was earlier believed that the rural demand could drive the economic recovery.

While the above data signifies agriculture’s role in the overall economy, it is also evident that the conditions differ across states. There are a few states, such as Punjab and West Bengal, where agriculture forms the larger chunk of the GSDP. However, even having a higher share of agriculture in GSVA is not considered to be a plus point because of agriculture’s lower potential of growth and productivity, compared to the industrial or services sector. Although, it is also expected that in the post-pandemic period, those states stand to benefit and witness higher rural spend where the share of agriculture in GSVA is higher.

Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and West Bengal are the six states that contributed 32.7 per cent to real GVA in FY20. These states are poised for higher rural spend in FY21.

Meanwhile, since the largest chunk of the rural population consists of daily wage earners and not farmers, looking into the rural wages is as vital as the agricultural income to understand the rural demand.

The report underlined that the rural wages have been under pressure and fell

substantially both in nominal and real terms during FY16-FY20. Thus, FY21 may not result in significantly higher income either for farmers or wage earners than in the previous years, it added.

3.11.NEW SERIES OF RETAIL INFLATION FOR INDUSTRIAL WORKERS



Why in news? The government launched a new series for Consumer Price Index — Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) changing the base year to 2016 from 2001, but said it will not have any immediate impact on the dearness allowance (DA) paid to government employees.


What is CPI-IW?

The CPI-IW is primarily used to regulate the Dearness Allowance (DA) of government employees and the workers in the industrial sectors. It is also used in the determination and revision of minimum wages in scheduled employments.

The CPI-IW (2016=100) series replaces the CPI-IW (2001=100) series. The new series is more representative in character and reflects the latest consumption pattern of the industrial workers.

The group level weights under new series have changed in comparison to earlier series of 2001. Food & beverages will get 39.17% weight in the new series in comparison to 46.2% in the 2001 series. On the other hand, weight on housing will go up to 16.87% from 15.27% in the earlier series.

The linking factor of new series 2016=100 to old series of CPI-IW (2001=100) is 2.88. The CPI-IW for the month of September, 2020, under the new series stood at 118; while under the 2001 base, the CPI-IW for August, 2020 was 338. Hence,

there will be no immediate change in the DA as using the linking factor; the CPI-IW for August would have come at 117.4.

Labour Bureau, a unit of the labour ministry, has been compiling and releasing CPI-IW numbers since its inception in 1946. The base year for inflation gauges is typically changed from time to time to capture the complex churnings in the economy.

In the new series, the number of selected markets for collection of retail price data has also been increased to 317 markets under the 2016 series as against 289 markets covered in the 2001 series. The number of centres covered has also been increased to 88 from 78 earlier. The coverage of workers has also been increased from 41,040 in 2001 series to 48,384 in the new series.

What is Dearness Allowance (DA)?

DA is an allowance that every government employee gets and is calculated as a proportion of the basic salary. Increases in the allowance are usually announced every six months with effect from January 1 for the January-June period and from July 1 for the June-December period.

The announcement of the hike in DA and the payout is usually done in March (for January-June) and September (for July-December).

The DA is calculated based on a percentage of the basic salary and is part of the other allowances that a government or a government-owned company’s employee gets. The DA is calculated based on the All-India Consumer Price Index (AICPI) for the past 12 months.

The DA portion of salary or pension is frequently merged with the basic amount when it crosses a threshold. This has the effect of the DA being calculated at a higher proportion of the basic salary or pension.


3.12.AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR SCHEME


Context: Agricultural cooperatives will soon be able to access a ₹10,000-crore fund for the creation of health infrastructure. With COVID-19 putting a spotlight on the shortage of health facilities in rural areas, the National Cooperative Development Corporation, an autonomous institution under the Agriculture Ministry, rolled out the AyushmanSahakar scheme to extend term loans worth ₹10,000 crore to co-ops for the next five years.

Why this move?

Over the last three months, the spread of the pandemic has shifted from cities

towards rural areas, potentially threatening the agriculture sector which has been the one bright spot in the economy so far. At the end of June, 80% of the districts with more than 1,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were urban, while only 20% were rural. By the end of September, the ratio had morphed. Of districts with over 1,000 cases, 53% are now rural.

There is a huge need for medical and nursing education in rural areas. But the problem is a lack of infrastructure. Co-ops find it difficult to access credit for such projects as banks may not give them loans for non-agricultural purposes adding that employment generation in rural areas is one of the secondary benefits of the scheme.

About:

The primary motivation is access to healthcare for farmers in rural areas. That driving spirit gets amplified because of COVID-19. The pandemic has re-emphasised the gaps in healthcare in the country.

Any Cooperative Society with suitable provision in its byelaws to undertake healthcare related activities would be able to access the NCDC fund.

NCDC assistance will flow either through the State Governments/ UT Administrations or directly to the eligible cooperatives. Subsidy/ grant from other sources can be dovetailed.

In line with National Digital Heath Mission launched by Prime Minister on 15th August, 2020, NCDC’s AyushmanSahakar would bring transformation in rural areas. By virtue of their strong presence in rural areas, cooperatives utilizing the scheme would bring revolution in comprehensive health care services.

There are already 52 hospitals being run by cooperatives across the country, with cumulative bed strength of more than 5,000. The NCDC’s loans can be used to set up primary health centres but could also support medical education, diagnostic services, pharmaceutical businesses, blood banks, telemedicine or even wellness centres. Both allopathic and AYUSH-related projects can apply.

Apart from working capital and margin money to meet operational requirements, the scheme will also provide interest subvention of 1% to women majority cooperatives.


3.13.URBAN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE WAS ON THE DECLINE IN 2019


Why in news? The urban unemployment rate fell by two percentage points year-on-year to 7.9% in October-December 2019, according to the official data. In fact, the rate was steadily falling sequentially in the year through December last year.

The overall urbanunemployment rate was 9.9% in the October-December period of 2018 and 8.4% in the July-September period of 2019, according to the quarterly periodic labour force survey (PLFS) released by the MoSPI.

The unemployment rate or the percentage of unemployed persons in the labour

force among urban women saw a modest increase to 9.8% in October-December 2019 compared with 9.7% in July-September 2019, but declined sharply from 12.3% a year earlier.

Among urban men, the rate of unemployment eased to 7.3% in the October-December 2019 from 8% during the July-September period of 2019 and 9.2% in the year-ago period.

Urban unemployment in the age group of 15-29 years was 19.2% in October-December 2019 compared to 20.6% in the July-September period and 23.7% in the year-ago period.

The findings of the survey, conducted among 45,555 households, also found that worker population ratio (WPR), defined as the percentage of workers in the population, for women rose to 15% in October-December 2019 compared with 13.5% a year earlier. Male counterparts for whom the WPR for the October-December 2019 was at 52.6% up from 51.2% in the October-December period of 2018.

Overall, in the urban areas, the WPR stood at 34.2% in the October-December 2019 compared with 33.7% in the July-September period of 2019 and 32.7% in the October-December period of 2018.

FISCAL AND MONETARY POLICY

3.14.FACELESS APPEALS SYSTEM


Resources, Growth, Development and Employment. Why in news? Faceless Appeal Scheme, 2020 under the Income Tax Act, 1961 to provide for e-appeal and for the online hearing and disposal of appeals related to income-tax disputes by the Commissioner (Appeals). This scheme shall become effective from 25.09.2020 and shall apply to all the pending appeals and any further new appeals filed under the Income Tax Act.


Under the Faceless Appeals system introduced by the government, appeals will be

randomly allotted to any officer across the country and the identity of the officer deciding the appeal will remain unknown. Further, decisions will be team-based.

Till now, all tax-related matters in a city are dealt by Income Tax department of that city, IT officers of that city play main role. Now on, using technology, scrutiny will be done by a randomly chosen IT officer anywhere in the country.

Working of the Scheme

Under the scheme, an automated allocation system will facilitate random allocation of cases using artificial intelligence and other suitable technology. An automated examination tool will facilitate examination of draft orders using technology. Hence, the use of artificial intelligence will eliminate discretion in the examination and selection of cases.

The proceedings in tax appeals will be through an ‘e-appeal’ facilityunder the registered account of the appellant in a specifically designated web portal for e-appeals.

The filing of an e-appeal will be through the registered account of the appellant. The National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC) will intimate the admission or rejection of an appeal to the appellant. The parties can file submissions through their registered accounts.

The NFAC will be the central authority vested with the powers to facilitate the e-appeal proceedings and also dispose of the appeal. Similarly, Regional Faceless Appeal Centres vested with powers to facilitate and dispose of the appeal. The four regional centres are in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

All the communications between the appeal unit and the parties to an appeal will be through the NFAC. The regional Commissioners of Income Tax (Appeal unit) will act as the appeal units.

The requirement to appear personally or through an authorised representative is no longer applicable. However, the parties can place a request for an oral hearing before the appeal unit subject to the approval of the Chief Commissioner.

The features of Faceless Appeals System:

Appeals to be randomly allotted to any officer in the country.

The identification of the officers deciding appeal will remain unknown.

The tax payer will not be required to visit the income tax office or the officer.

The appellate decision will be team-based and reviewed.

Exceptions to Faceless Appeal

The exceptions to the Faceless Appeal include, serious frauds, major tax evasion, sensitive and search matters. The system also excludes international taxation and Black Money Act &Benami Property.


3.15.REAL TIME GROSS SETTLEMENT (RTGS)


Why in news? RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das announced that Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) payment system will be available round the clock from December 2020 to make online fund transfer smooth.

RTGS:

RTGS is a safe and secure system for funds transfer.

This payment system has no amount cap.

The funds settlement takes place in the books of the Reserve Bank of India. So, the payments are final and irrevocable.

As of now, RTGS is not a 24x7 system. The RTGS service window for customer transactions is available to banks from 7am to 6pm on a working day, for settlement at the RBI end. However, the timings that the banks follow may vary from bank to bank.

The RTGS system is primarily meant for large value transactions. The minimum amount to be remitted through RTGS is Rs 2,00,000 with no upper or maximum ceiling.

NEFT is an electronic fund transfer system in which the transactions received up to a particular time are processed in batches. Contrary to this, in RTGS, the transactions are processed continuously on a transaction by transaction basis throughout the RTGS business hours.

3.16.NEW MEMBERS MAY LEND SLIGHT DOVISH TILT TO MPC


Why in news? With the appointment of economists AshimaGoyal, Jayanth R Varma and ShashankaBhide to the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the rate-setting, six-member panel may acquire a slight dovish tilt, given their earlier criticism of hawkish policies that tend to over-emphasise the importance of high inflation.

Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)

The government had set up the MPC in 2016, shifting the interest rate-setting power from the RBI governor to the panel. Its mandate is to keep annual inflation at 4% until March 31, 2021, with an upper tolerance of 6% and a lower band of 2%. The MPC had last met from August 4 to 6, which was its 24th meeting.

External members make up for a half of the six-member MPC, headed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, and it must have a quorum of four.


The ex-officio members of the MPC are the Reserve Bank of India governor, deputy

governor (in-charge of monetary policy) and one more officer from the central bank who is appointed by its board.

According to the RBI Act, the external members can hold office for a period of four years and they are not eligible for a re-appointment.

Hawkish and Dovish policy:

A hawk, also known as an inflation hawk, is a policymaker or advisor who is predominantly concerned with interest rates as they relate to fiscal policy. A hawk generally favors relatively high interest rates in order to keep inflation in check. In other words, hawks are less concerned with economic growth than they are with recessionary pressure brought to bear by high inflation rates.

A dove is an economic policy advisor who promotes monetary policies that usually

involve low-interest rates. Doves tend to support low-interest rates and an expansionary monetary policy because they value indicators like low unemployment over keeping inflation low. If an economist suggests that inflation has few negative effects or calls for quantitative easing, then he or she is often called a dove or labeled as dovish.

3.17.COMPENSATION CESS TO STAY TILL STATES’ DUES ARE MET



Why in news? The levy of compensation cess on Goods and Services Tax (GST) may have to be extended for quite a few years, perhaps till as late as 2025-26, to pay off States’ GST dues, Chairperson of the Fifteenth Finance Commission.

The Commission, whose report on the devolution of funds between the Centre and States for the five-year period of 2021-22 till 2025-2026 will be submitted to the

government soon, will factor in unpaid compensation dues while working out States’ revenue flow calculations for the years beyond 2022.

On the issue of GST compensation, the last word has not been said. Both the States and the Centre are recalibrating the contours of a consensus within the GST Council. It is for the Council to take such decisions.

Cess shortfalls cannot be met from the Consolidated Fund of India. So it has to be raised through some borrowing arrangement like the present one. The only issue is the sequence of the borrowing. To some extent, it doesn’t make much of a difference. What investors see is the general government debt, not the differentiated debt between the Centre and the States. So this entire thing would be a shuffling of accounts.

GST compensation cess is levied on goods such as cars, aerated drinks and tobacco products, over and above the highest GST rate of 28%, and was to be

levied for the first five years of the GST regime to compensate States. The GST Council has decided to extend the levy beyond that period to meet shortfalls in accruals this year.


Finance Commission's one of the overriding priorities is that the Union and the States

must be treated in an equal way. A sensible course would be to introduce some flexibility both on the debt trajectory and the fiscal deficit, both for the Centre and the States, ensuring that the new fiscal compact represents the partnership between the Union and States for the future.

3.18.CBDT REITERATES TOLERANCE RANGE UNDER TRANSFER PRICING RULES


Resources, Growth, Development and Employment. Why in news?

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) reiterated tolerance range of 1-3% under transfer pricing rulesfor the current financial year even though experts said it was expected that the tax department would provide concession given the Covid-19 pandemic.

India’s transfer pricing rules, which apply to the transaction among subsidiaries of multinational companies, set an acceptable tolerance range for the variation between arm’s length price and the transaction price, failing which the department adjusts the pricing leading to tax implication.

CBDT kept tolerance range of 1% for wholesale trading and 3% for all other transactions undertaken during the financial year ending March 31, 2020.

According to the notification, the transaction considered ‘wholesale trading’ would be those where the purchase cost of finished goods is at least 80% of the total cost of such trades. Further, the average monthly closing inventory of such goods must be 10% or less of sales on such trading activities.

Transfer Pricing:

In taxation and accounting, transfer pricing refers to the rules and methods for pricing transactions within and between enterprises under common ownership or control.

“Transfer Price” refers to the price agreed between two parties for transfer of goods or services and technology.

Transfer Pricing refers to the price agreed between related parties for transfer of goods, services and technology. It also refers to price agreed between unrelated parties for transfers which are controlled by a common entity.

Price in the case of a transaction between unrelated parties is determined by market forces. However, between related parties (i.e. associated enterprises), price may be determined by internal factors.


There is a general belief that multi-national corporations have employed creative

transfer pricing approaches for transfer of goods, services, funds, intangibles, etc to minimize their global tax outflows. Thus, the effect of transfer pricing is that lower profit or excessive loss in high tax rate countries and higher profit or minimal loss in low tax rate countries. The result is revenue loss to the country and also a drain on foreign exchange services.

Considering the increase in the volume of cross-border transactions, in order to ensure no shifting of profits from India and to get its fair share of tax, India introduced Transfer Pricing regulations for the first time in the year 2001 and amending from time to time.

3.19.COVID TO ERODE 3 YEARS OF FISCAL CONSOLIDATION GAINS OF STATES



Context: The additional outgo to combat the impact of COVID-19 will significantly erode the fiscal consolidation achieved by the State governments in the past three years, the RBI said in a report.

RBI Report:

In its study of the State budgets of 2020-21, the RBI has dwelled on ‘COVID-19 and its Spatial Dimensions in India’ and said that Gross Fiscal Deficit (GFD) of the States would spiral during the current fiscal.

States have budgeted their consolidated GFD at 2.8% of GDP in 2020-21; however, the COVID-19 pandemic may alter budget estimates significantly, eroding the gains of consolidation secured in the preceding three years — the average GFD for States that presented their budgets before the outbreak of COVID-19 is 2.4% of GSDP, while the average for budgets presented post-lockdown is 4.6%.

Observing that the quality of spending and the credibility of State budgets will assume critical importance, it said, “The next few years are going to be challenging

for the States. They have played an important role in the frontline of the defense against the pandemic. Going forward, they need to remain empowered to provide growth impulses to the Indian economy and build resilience against future pandemics as well.

Sustaining the recovery from the pandemic will reshape State finances, entailing boosting investment in health care systems and other social safety nets in line with the States’ demographic and co-morbidity profiles

States’ responses by delaying or cutting down expenditures, even wages and salaries, also need to be taken into account in the assessment of the pandemic’s effects on State finances.


3.20.LIC, GIC, NEW INDIA ASSURANCE IDENTIFIED AS D-SIIS


Why in news? The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), General Insurance Corporation of India and The New India Assurance Co have been identified as Domestic Systemically Important Insurers (D-SIIs) for 2020-21 by insurance regulator IRDAI.

What is Domestic Systemically Important Insurers ?

D-SIIs refer to insurers of such size, market importance and domestic and global inter connectedness whose distress or failure would cause a significant

dislocation in the domestic financial system. Thus, the continued functioning of D-SIIs is critical for the uninterrupted availability of insurance services to the national economy.

D-SIIs are perceived as insurers that are ‘too big or too important to fail’. This perception and the perceived expectation of government support may amplify risk taking, reduce market discipline, create competitive distortions, and increase the possibility of distress in future. These considerations require that D-SIIs should be subjected to additional regulatory measures to deal with the systemic risks and moral hazard issues.

The D-SIIs will be subjected to enhanced regulatory supervision, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).

IRDAI has developed a methodology for identification and supervision of D-SIIs. The parameters include the size of operations in terms of total revenue, including premium underwritten and the value of assets under management; and global activities across more than one jurisdiction. Also it would identify D-SIIs on an annual basis and disclose the names of such insurers for public information.

The insurance sector had grown exponentially in the last 15 years and a few of the insurers have a sizeable market share and interconnected with other financial institutions as well. The failure of D-SIIs has the potential to cause significant disruption to the essential services they provide to the policyholders and, in turn, to the overall economic activity of the country. The constitution of the committee came in the backdrop of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) asking all member countries to have a regulatory framework to deal with Domestic-SIIs.

What is International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS)?

Established in 1994, the IAIS is a voluntary membership organization of insurance supervisors and regulators from more than 200 jurisdictions, constituting 97% of the world's insurance premiums. It is the international standard-setting body responsible for developing and assisting in the implementation of principles, standards and other supporting material for the supervision of the insurance sector.

The IAIS mission is to promote effective and globally consistent supervision of the insurance industry in order to develop and maintain fair, safe and stable


insurance markets for the benefit and protection of policyholders and to

contribute to global financial stability.

Headquarters - Basel, Switzerland.

The IAIS' activities are supported by its Secretariat and headed by a Secretary General. The IAIS is hosted by the Bank for International Settlements(BIS).

TRADE AND MARKETS

3.21.AUCTION THEORY

Why in news? Professors at Stanford University, Paul R. Milgrom and Robert B. Wilson have been

awarded with 2020 Nobel prize for Economics.

What is Auction theory?

Auction theory is a branch of economics that deals with, as the name suggests, auctions. Auctions are important to economists because they are the most widely used and also the most efficient mechanism to allocate scarce resources.

The allocation of scarce resources, in turn, matters to economists because there is a limited supply of resources on earth when compared to unlimited human needs, and hence they need to be allocated only to the most urgent needs of society.

How is it relevant? Auctions, for a good reason, have been the most common tool for thousands of years used by societies to allocate scarce resources. When potential buyers compete to purchase goods in an auction, it helps sellers discover those buyers who value the goods the most. Further, selling goods to the highest bidder also helps the seller maximise his or her revenues. So, both buyers and sellers benefit from auctions.

Three key variables need to be understood while designing an auction:

The rules of the auction. Imagine participating in an auction. Your bidding behaviour is likely to differ if the rules stipulate open bids as against closed/sealed bids. The same applies to single bids versus multiple bids, or whether bids are made one after another or everyone bids at the same time.

The commodity or service being put up for auction. In essence, the question is how each bidder values an item. This is not always easy to ascertain. In terms of telecom spectrum, it might be easier to peg the right value for each bidder because most bidders are likely to put the spectrum to the same use. This is called the “common” value of an object. But this may not be the case with some other commodities, say a painting. In most auctions, bidders allocate both “common” as well as “private” values to the object being auctioned and this affects their eventual bids.

The third variable is uncertainty. For instance, which bidder has what information about the object, or even the value another bidder associates with the object.


What are the economists’ contributions?

To understand Dr. Milgrom and Dr. Wilson’s contributions, it is important to take note of the criticisms levelled against auctions. The most common one is that auctions can lead buyers to overpay for resources whose value is uncertain to them. This criticism, popularly known as the ‘winner’s curse’, is based on a study that showed how buyers who overpaid for U.S. oil leases in the 1970s earned low returns. They found that rational bidders may decide to underpay for resources in order to avoid the ‘winner’s curse’, and argued that sellers can get better bids for their goods if they share more information about it with potential buyers. Dr. Milgrom added further nuance to this analysis by arguing that individual bidders may still submit vastly different bids due to their unique circumstances. A company that can sell oil at a higher price or process it at a lower cost, for instance, may be willing to pay more for crude oil.

Economists traditionally working on auction theory believed that all auctions are

the same when it comes to the revenues that they managed to bring in for sellers. The auction format, in other words, did not matter. This is known as the ‘revenue equivalence theorem’. But Dr. Milgrom showed that the auction format can actually have a huge impact on the revenues earned by sellers.

In particular, Dr. Milgrom showed how Dutch auctions, in which the auctioneer lowers the price of the product until a buyer bids for it, can help sellers earn more revenues than English auctions. In the case of English auctions, the price rises based on higher bids submitted by competing buyers. But as soon as some of the bidders drop out of the auction as the price rises, the remaining bidders become more cautious about bidding higher prices.

Dr. Milgrom and Dr. Wilson, however, are most popular for their contribution towards devising new, real-world auction formats. The combinatorial auctions designed by the duo, for instance, have been used to sell complex goods such as spectrum as bundles, instead of as individual units. Earlier, governments sold spectrum rights on a piecemeal basis, which made it unappealing to companies which demanded spectra in a bundle. This led to private speculators earning billions in the secondary market by reselling spectrum, while the government was starved of revenues that it could have easily earned with better auction design.

How do these contributions matter?

Their contributions have helped governments and private companies design their auctions better. This has, in turn, helped in the better allocation of scarce resources and offered more incentives for sellers to produce complex goods.

In fact, Auctionomics, has been helping companies and governments design auctions, thus adding to other innovative auction formats adopted over the centuries by sellers trying to maximise revenues.

Lastly, not all economists necessarily agree with the popular use of Dr. Milgrom and Dr. Wilson’s work on the ‘winner’s curse’ to take a dim view of auctions. They argue that while enthusiastic bidding may lower the returns earned by companies, it will not necessarily lead to higher prices for consumers, as is commonly believed. This is because in any competitive market, pricing of consumer goods is based on what the market will bear, rather than on sunk costs. Further,

persistent overbidding is unlikely as financial losses weed out inefficient speculators over time.


Some terminologies:

Absentee Bidder: A person who may not attend the sale but submits, in advance, a written or oral bid that is the top price he/she will pay for a given property. Auction: A method of selling property in a public forum through open and competitive bidding. Also referred to as: public auction, auction sale or sale. Auctioneer: The person whom the seller engages to direct, conduct, or be responsible for a sale by auction. This person may or may not actually "call" or "cry" the auction. Bid: A prospective buyer's indication or offer of a price he/she will pay to purchase property at auction. Commission: The fee charged to the seller by the auctioneer for providing services–usually a percentage of the gross selling price of the property established by contract (the listing agreement) prior to the auction. Hammer Price: Price established by the last bidder and acknowledged by the auctioneer before dropping the hammer or gavel to indicate a sale is completed.

3.22.INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES CENTRES AUTHORITY



Context: The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) prescribed the regulatory framework for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) in IFSC.

IFSCA has permitted global participants i.e. REITs and InvITs incorporated in FATF compliant jurisdictions to list on the stock exchanges in GIFT IFSC, Gujarat. Additionally, InvITs have been permitted to raise funds through private placements also.

The REITs and InvITs registered in International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) have been permitted to invest in real estate assets and infrastructure projects respectively in IFSC, India and other foreign jurisdictions, which is in line with the framework provided in the global financial centres.

Additionally, it said, the REITs and InvITs that are already listed in any of the

permissible jurisdictions other than IFSC (currently US, Japan, South Korea, UK excluding British Overseas Territories, France, Germany, Canada and India) or India have been permitted to list and trade on the recognized stock exchanges in IFSC, subject to compliance with their respective laws of home jurisdiction.

The listing of REITs and InvITs in IFSC shall be in accordance with the requirements of the stock exchanges in IFSC, the entities in IFSC can participate and benefit from the growth of real estate and infrastructure sector in international jurisdictions.

The IFSCA was established on April 27,2020 with head office in Gandhinagar with an objective to develop the financial products and services in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City International Financial Services Centre (GIFT IFSC). It has been set up to have a unified authority for regulating all financial activities at the IFSCs in the country.


3.23.ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT FUND

Relevance: GS-3: Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial

policy and their effects on industrial growth.

Why in news?

Markets regulator SEBI has amended norms pertaining to Alternative investment funds (AIFs), including defining relevant professional qualifications.

AIF’s Alternative Investment Fund comprises pooled investment funds which invest in venture capital, private equity, hedge funds, managed futures, etc. In simpler terms,

an AIF refers to an investment which differs from conventional investment avenues such as stocks, debt securities, etc.

AIF can be established in the form of a company or a corporate body or a trust or a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP).

They are basically established or incorporated for the purpose of pooling in capital from Indian and foreign investors in India.

New Rules:

Under the new norms, qualification and experience criteria of the investment team may be fulfilled individually or collectively by personnel of key investment team of the manager.

The move comes after the board of SEBI approved amendments in this regard. In the notification, the regulator said key investment team of the manager of AIF needs to have adequate experience, with at least one key personnel having at least five years of experience in advising or managing pools of capital or asset or wealth or in the business of buying, selling and dealing of securities.

Besides, such key investment teams need to have at least one key personnel with professional qualification in finance, accountancy, business management, commerce, economics, capital market or banking from a recognised institution.

SEBI said the manager will be responsible for investment decisions of the AIF, provided that such manager constitutes an investment committee to approve the investment decisions. This is subject to the members of investment committee being equally responsible as the manager for investment decisions of the AIF.

The manager and members of the committee will jointly and severally ensure that the investments of the AIF are in compliance with the provisions of these regulations. SEBI also said external members whose names are not disclosed in the placement memorandum of agreement made with the investor at the time of on-boarding will be appointed to the investment committee only with the consent of at least 75 per cent of the investors by value of their investment in the AIF.


3.24.SOCIAL STOCK EXCHANGE


Context: The Securities and Exchange Board of India’s initiative to create a Social Stock Exchange (SSE) will boost social and & environmental impact investing in India by creating a new platform to fund social-sector organizations, enabling direct listing through a new class of securities, and establish a standardized framework for measuring and reporting social impact for both donors and investors.

Globally, Responsible, Sustainable and Impact investments grew 17% annually to US$30.7 trillion in 2018, up from US$22.9 trillion in 2016.

This is a big step forward in making India part of the emerging Impact Revolution.

Taking it a step further will increase market efficacy by

Aligning with global laws and definitions.

Setting-up ecosystem and policy levers;

Defining ‘impact’ so that all actors (corporate, social and environment) are on a singular continuum.

Ensuring that measurement and reporting standards are adaptable to global innovations underway, such as Harvard Business School’s Impact Weighted Financial Accounts.

India has an opportunity not just to build its Impact Sector into another IT/ITES-like growth and employment engine but to make the country a prominent actor in the Impact Revolution. This will require four key actions

The working group must define a social enterprise. Current SSE definitions and constituent forms can still be aligned to globally aligned definitions, standards and frameworks. The working group’s disinclination to define a social enterprise, due to its complexity is inconsistent with global norms.

On ecosystem levers, we must imagine how SSE can play a market-making role and enable other legislation around legally defined social enterprises. These legislations will be possible and fiscal measures targeted due to the existence of legally defined social enterprises.

SSE has an opportunity to replicate this global continuum and should evolve Section 8 company in line with global definitions of Social Business and/or Social Enterprise. Globally, the continuum of social sector organizations is evolving as follows:

o Non-Profit Organizations or Charities or Non-Governmental Organizations. o Social Enterprises or Social Businesses with restrictions on dividend

distribution. o Profit-with-Purpose companies, with mission-locks (e.g., via AoA/MoA) but

unrestricted on capitals, revenues, profits or dividends, often under Companies Acts of their countries

We need to make reporting standards and measurement adaptable to global innovation. Corporate impact measurement and reporting is on the rise:

o 75.4% of Fortune 500 companies publish an annual Sustainability Report,

Corporate Responsibility Report or an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report.


o 15.8% have a Chief Sustainability Officer, 59.8% have a Senior VP or VP-

level person looking at sustainability. o 2% now have a Chief Impact Officer and 1.4% publish an annual Impact

Report.

With the widespread adoption of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) standards by corporations, which are fast moving to Impact, the difference in reporting standards vis-à-vis social enterprises will get blurred over time.

Fortune 500 Impact Reports are an evolution on the ESG framework.

Impact-Weighted Accounts will yet be the next evolution, allowing both social enterprises and corporations to report their impact-weighted profits and EPS and thus their impact-weighted market capitalization.

SEBI must ensure that Indian social enterprises should not have to create two impact reports, one for an Indian audience and another for a global audience.

India has an opportunity to become a prominent actor in the Impact Revolution.4 The SSE must seize the opportunity to make India a key player in the global Impact Economy by enabling its constituents to collaborate and compete seamlessly with their global counterparts.

3.25.RELAX CURRENT ACCOUNT CURBS FOR BORROWERS: CII


Resources, Growth, Development and Employment. Why in news? The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has written to the RBI seeking changes to the central bank’s recent circular on current accounts. The rules, in their current form, may not only lead to a manifold increase in operational workflows, inefficiencies, delays, and costs for delivery of products, but also threaten the survival of smaller banks.

What was RBI circular about?

The RBI in its August 6 circular mandated that no bank should open new current accounts for customers who had availed of cash credit (CC) or

overdraft (OD) from the banking system.

The RBI also said that for borrowers for whom the exposure was ₹50 crore or more, banks would be required to put in place an escrow mechanism, among other restrictions. The CII has pitched that the thresholds limits be increased from ₹50 crore to ₹100 crore, given the impact on MSMEs and to ensure minimal impact on the banking sector.

Similarly, decrease the banking exposure limit from 10% to 5% for clients availing CC/OD, or make limits consistent with Tier 1 Capital base to 15% of the bank’s capital to provide for a wider lender consortium.

Certain categories of borrowers such as MFs, insurance companies, exchange brokers and NBFCs should be excluded from credit worthiness in terms of external ratings, given their high level of risk management and governance standards.

The industry body has also sought time till April 1, 2021 to implement this circular given client readiness, operational challenges and to allow for a measured and smooth transition.


The banks may move to fee-based model to offset costs of development and

servicing. This will further make the corporate sector uncompetitive and increase the inefficiencies in the banking system, the cost of which would be borne by the corporate sector.

The current arrangement avoided over-dependency of clients on a single bank and multiple accounts were used for different functions / verticals within the business for smooth day-to-day operations.

Clients have their own liquidity and risk management frameworks to manage operational funds / investments through more than one bank. Having all CA balances concentrated in a single bank will lead to high risk and a lack of backup options under a business, operational or system failure of the lead bank.

The industry body has recommended that the circular be restricted to corporates rated lower than BBB by local credit rating agencies.

As the intent of the circular is to mitigate intentional defaults, this approach will ensure

that good corporates with a track record are not inconvenienced due to this guideline.

What is Confederation of Indian Industry?

The CII works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the development of India, partnering industry, Government and civil society, through advisory and consultative processes. It been working on shaping India's development journey, it will continue to proactively transform Indian industry's engagement in national development.

CII is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry-led and industry-managed organization, with about 9100 members from the private as well as public sectors, including SMEs and MNCs, and an indirect membership of over 300,000 enterprises from 288 national and regional sectoral industry bodies.

CII charts change by working closely with Government on policy issues, interfacing with thought leaders, and enhancing efficiency, competitiveness and business opportunities for industry through a range of specialized services and strategic global linkages. It also provides a platform for consensus-building and networking on key issues.

CII also assists industry to identify and execute corporate citizenship programmes. Partnerships with civil society organizations carry forward corporate initiatives for

integrated and inclusive development across diverse domains including affirmative action, livelihoods, diversity management, skill development, empowerment of women, and sustainable development, to name a few.

With 68 offices, including 10 Centres of Excellence, in India, and 9 overseas offices in Australia, China, Egypt, Germany, Indonesia, Singapore, UAE, UK, and USA, as well as institutional partnerships with 394 counterpart organizations in 133 countries, CII serves as a reference point for Indian industry and the international business community.


INDUSTRY, INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES SECTOR

3.26.MSMES MAY ADD $300 BILLION TO INDIA’S GDP BY 2025

Relevance: GS-3: Inclusive Growth and issues arising from it.

How MSME’s add $300Bn to India’s GDP?

Actualize demand networks. This opportunity lies in the demand generation-market access-platforms and channels and trade linkages in and outside India. Today, as many as 98 per cent of the MSMEs are outside the ambit of the market access platforms. Tens of privately-owned platforms in India have begun to offer market access but reaching the corners of India will take long.

The private sector platforms need to work together to maximize the reach, speedily enough to cover as many as these entrepreneurs. The transaction volumes from these platforms would give a necessary push to the desired scale necessary for the small enterprises. A massive implementation roll out of the digital access to these SMEs is the first step.

While this partnership potential lies between the platforms and private players, the government needs to be a catalyst in ensuring the coverage of MSMEs in the nooks and corners of India. It could also take the role of further taking the scope of these platforms into a giant web of platforms with international trade partners, thus amplifying the scale of partnerships across the boundaries, globally.

While initially, the scale of business would be largely transactional in nature, it creates a basic condition and multiplier impact in forming the partnerships of higher-order such as co-creation of products or shaping the new collective future together, etc.,

There is also a potential in thinking hyper-local. The MSMEs and state governments must form partnerships to leverage the local strengths of the clusters. The potential to build partnerships to unleash even the grassroot innovations and resident legacy business and cultural strengths of geographies is massive and untapped.

The potential to build partnerships to unleash even the grassroot innovations and resident legacy business and cultural strengths of geographies is massive and untapped. The partnership potential cannot be an exercise in numbers on paper. If MSMEs were to survive and grow faster, the intrinsic motivators to help each other and sharing a reward must co-exist and perhaps overpower the extrinsic motivation to win a reward alone.

Extrinsic, intrinsic motivators of competition, partnerships

Psychologists have named the extrinsic motivation – a reward to the one who wins at the cost of someone else – as the key driver of competition. In contrast, the partnership thrives on the premise that one share the reward or loss of the outcome of the partnership, partly driven by ‘intrinsic’ motivation, to help each other, even if it means, the potential loss in the gains or rewards.

If one characterizes the current situation, one discovers the underlying absence of extrinsic motivators. The promise of reward is blurred at best and invisible at worst. Further, there is a more pronounced absence of the intrinsic motivators for


enterprises to forge partnerships when resources are thin, capital is scarce,

survival is at stake and entrepreneurs are wired to win against the competition. As a result, economic activities have dipped, and so ha have partnerships.

3.27.MSME PRERANA



Why in news? Finance Minister launched ‘MSME Prerana’, an online business mentoringprogramme for MSMEs by state-run Indian Bank.

The programme, to be made available in local languages, is aimed at empowering entrepreneurs through skill development and capacity building workshops.

The initiative is in collaboration with Poornatha& Co, a firm that designs entrepreneurial development programs in vernacular languages using online web-based interactive sessions and case studies.

On successful completion, all participants would get a certificate, issued jointly by Indian Bank, Poornatha& Co and MADE (Michigan Academy for Developing Entrepreneurs), USA.

The first two programs will be in Tamil for the Coimbatore clusters of Indian Bank. It will then be scaled up across the country in Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali and Gujarati. Spread over 12 sessions, the program enables MSME entrepreneurs to acquire expertise in handling finance and managerial skills, capacity to handle crises in business, understand the dynamics of credit rating and risk management.

Why this initiative? The barriers MSMEs face include language, confusion about what the bank looks for when they approach for loans, how to manage cash flows, which government schemes are available and suitable for them and how to register themselves for these schemes. MSME Prerana efforts to bridge the gap in the skill sets. This business mentoring program gives inputs in simple terms (no jargon) and in the local vernacular.

3.28.MSME EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL

The MSME Export Promotion Council, a nonprofit organization has been constituted under the close guidance and support of the Ministry of MSME.

The Council has been given the license and incorporated as a Section 8 company by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The Council will be working in close association with the Ministry to assist the MSME units in their Export efforts.

The Council is committed to work for the development of SMEs from manufacturing, service sectors and allied industrial / business sectors and shall

be integrating Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Banks, Financial Institutions, Policy makers, Young & Women entrepreneurs and Start–Ups to establish and enhance contacts for better business growth and expansion.


The Council shall not only be a voice of the MSME sector of India, but it also aims

to handhold the MSMEs and help them explore business opportunities across the globe with the broader aim to project India as the top exporter in the World.

The Council shall have under its banner not just MSMEs across India, but it shall have the support of all the State Small Industries Development Corporations (SSIDCS), with the aim to reach at the grass root level and the remotest MSME unit.

3.29.ONE-THIRD OF FUNDING BY AIIB HAS GONE TO INDIA



Why in news? Out of the $20 billion in loans issued by the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), about $6 billion has gone to India, the bank’s second-largest shareholder after China.

How has the AIIB been involved in infrastructure projects in India so far?

As far as India is concerned, the pipeline of projects is very, very strong. It has supported around $5 billion worth of projects in India.

The bank will complete 5 years in January 2021, and may add another $ 1 billion in India by then, and maybe it will be $6 billion in total.

The bank has just started, building up the team and policies. Out of the total $20 billion of projects approved, $6 billion has come to India, which is almost one-third.

Unique projects, including the Chennai Metro Corridors Four and Five and Chennai Peripheral Ring Road, and the Grand Anicut scheme to modernize the canal system in the Cauvery delta region which we are preparing with the government of Tamil Nadu, which will help save almost 20% of water leakages.

The Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System is a high-speed rail that will reduce travel time from three to four hours to within one hour. This is being co-

financed with the Asian Development Bank. Four urban transport projects in Mumbai, including the multimodal transport corridor with a metro and train, plus road transport and a service road for two-wheelers, which is a futuristic project.


4. ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY

4.1.SIGNIFICANCE OF CHINA’S CLIMATE CHANGE COMMITMENT TO INDIA

China’s President has promised that it would become carbon net-zero by the year 2060. Net-zero is a state in which a country’s emissions are compensated by absorptions and removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

Second, the Chinese President announced a small but important change in China’s already committed target for letting its emissions “peak”, from “by 2030” to “before 2030”. That means China would not allow its greenhouse gas emissions to grow beyond that point.

This year, the UNFCCC conference is not happening because of the pandemic.

China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. It accounts for almost

30% of global emissions, more than the combined emissions in the United States, the European Union and India, the three next biggest emitters.

Getting China to commit itself to a net-zero target, even if it is 10 years later than what everyone has in mind, is a big breakthrough, especially since countries have been reluctant to pledge themselves to such long term commitments.

India has resisted pressure to make a long-term commitment, citing the fact that developed countries had utterly failed in keeping their past promises, and never delivered on the commitments they made earlier. India has also been arguing that the climate change actions it has been taking are, in relative terms, far more robust than those of the developed countries.

Until now, China had been making more or less similar arguments as India. The two countries have historically played together at the climate change negotiations, even though vast differences have emerged in their emissions and development status in the last couple of decades.

Therefore, China’s decision is a big shot in the arm for the success of Paris Agreement. According to Climate Action Tracker, a global group that offers scientific analysis on actions being taken by countries, the Chinese goal, if realised, would lower global warming projections for 2100 by about 0.2° to 0.3°C, the most impactful single action ever taken by any country.

Implications on India

The Chinese announcement is naturally expected to increase pressure on India to follow suit, and agree to some long-term commitment even if it was not exactly 2050 net-zero goal. That is something that India is unlikely to do.

Earlier this year, India was in the process of formulating a long-term climate policy for itself, but that effort seems to have been shelved as of now.

Another side-effect of the Chinese decision could be an increased divergence in the positions of India and China at the climate negotiations. China might now have fewer grounds to align itself with India as a developing country.


4.2.ENVIRONMENT MINISTER MOOTS PPP MODEL FOR BETTER UPKEEP OF ZOOS

Environment Minister said on October 5th that the government will come up with a plan to improve and expand zoos in the country through public-private partnership.

Speaking at an online event ‘Wildlife Week 2020’, he said that funds will be allocated for the plan and it will be announced in the budget session next year.

During the online event, Mr. Javadekar also released a report based on the total economic valuation of the Delhi National Zoological Park. The report was prepared by by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and the Central Zoo Authority (CZA).

The total economic value of ecosystem services provided by Delhi’s National

Zoological Park for 2019-2020 stood at ₹422.76 crore, according to the report.

As of 2018, there are 40 species of endangered animals under Schedule I and II categories; 35 species of animals under Schedule III and IV categories; and 29 species of exotic animals as specified under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

4.3.WWF AUSTRALIA DRONES TO DROP SEEDS FOR KOLA GUM TREES

Specialised drones are being tested in a programme to boost koala numbers on Australia's east coast, dropping seeds of gum trees as part of a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) scheme to revive the bushlands drawn into wildfires last year.

Gum tree leaves are koala's main food source, and restoring bushland and forest habitat razed in the 2019-2020 fires is key to their long-term survival in New South Wales state.

The bush fires killed or displaced 3 billion mammals, birds and reptiles, the WWF estimates, and destroyed or damaged up to 7 billion trees across 37 million acres of Australia's southeast, equal to half the area of the United Kingdom.

In June, a parliamentary inquiry found that koalas in New South Wales state could become extinct by 2050 unless immediate action is taken to protect them

and their habitat.

4.4.THE JOURNEY OF NGT FOR 10 YEARS

October 18th 2020 marked the 10th anniversary of the National Green Tribunal. Evolution of NGT

Parliament had passed laws related to the establishment of a National Environment Tribunal (1995) and a National Environment Appellate Authority (1997).

The Authority was intended to act primarily as a forum for challenges to environmental clearances while the Tribunal could award limited amounts of

compensation in cases of environmental damage to life or property.


Justice P.N. Bhagwati, had suggested to the Government of India in 1986, that

since cases involving issues of environmental pollution, ecological destructions and conflicts over national resources are increasingly coming up for adjudication and these cases involve assessment and evolution of scientific and technical data, it might be desirable to set up Environmental Courts on the regional basis with one professional Judge and two experts drawn from the Ecological Sciences Research Group.

These observations were recalled in 1999 by the Supreme Court in the landmark case of A.P. Pollution Control Board vs Prof. M.V. Nayudu (Retd.) which added its own emphasis on the need for a court, Thus NGT was established in 2010 by an Act of the Parliament.

Since its inception, the NGT has, apart from creating a new breed of legal practitioners, protected vast acres of forest land, halted polluting construction activities in metros and smaller towns. It has penalised errant officials who have

turned a blind eye towards enforcing the laws, and held large corporate entities to account. It has protected the rights of tribal communities and ensured the enforcement of the “polluter pays” principle in letter and spirit.

In its next decade, the NGT must continue to remain a proactive ‘inconvenience’ to all those who, while pontificating grandiloquently on the need for environmental protection, take actions that make economic growth ecologically unsustainable.

4.5.NITROUS OXIDE EMISSIONS DERAILING PARIS CLIMATE ACCORD TEMPERATURE

Rising nitrous oxide emissions may negate current global attempts to keep temperatures from rising 1.5 degrees Celsius by the turn of the century, and agriculture practices in India, Brazil, China and the United States play a significant role in this, says a study that appeared in the journal Nature

The growing use of nitrogen fertilizers in the production of food worldwide is increasing concentrations of nitrous oxide in the atmosphere — a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide — which remains in the atmosphere longer than a human lifetime.

Emissions from synthetic fertilizer dominates releases in China, India and the U.S., while emissions from the application of livestock manure as fertilizer dominates releases in Africa and South America, the study found.

Although N2O mitigation is difficult because nitrogen is the key limiting nutrient in agricultural production, this study demonstrates that effective mitigation actions have reduced emissions in some regions — such as Europe — through technological improvements in industry and improved efficiency of nitrogen use in agriculture.

India has managed to slow nitrogen emissions growth since 2015 in part due to the neem-coating of urea policy that reduced atmospheric loss of the element as well as soil contamination. However, more needs to be done and there are lessons from Europe.

Agricultural soils contributed to over 70% of N2O emissions from India in 2010,

followed by waste water (12%), and residential and commercial activities (6%).


Since 2002, N2O has replaced methane as the second largest greenhouse gas

from Indian agriculture.

Chemical fertilizers (over 82% of it is urea) account for over 77% of all agricultural N2O emissions in India, while manure, compost and so on make up the rest. Most of the fertilizers consumed (over 70%) go into the production of cereals, especially rice and wheat, which account for the bulk of N2O emissions from India.

4.6.ACTION PLAN FOR CONSERVATION OF OCEANIC DOLPHINS

Relevance : GS 3 - Conservation Efforts

Why in news?

Maharashtra has chalked out an action plan for the conservation of oceanic dolphins along its 720 km coastline in line with the Centre’s proposed Project Dolphin programme.

On the occasion of the 74th Independence Day on August 15, Prime Minister NarendaModi had launched the Project Lion and Project Dolphin endangered species conservation programmes in a bid to replicate the success of Project Tiger.

The Maharashtra government’s mangrove cell submitted a proposal on the implementation strategies and a synopsis of previous research on oceanic dolphins to the principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF-wildlife), coinciding with the Wildlife Week, which is being celebrated from October 2 to 8.

According to the mangrove cell authorities, four dolphin species – Indian Ocean humpback dolphin, spinner dolphin, pan-tropical spotted dolphin, and striped dolphin – have been found in Maharashtra’s coastal waters.

4.7.TWO NEW PLANT SPECIES DISCOVERED IN WESTERN GHATS

Scientists from the Agharkar Research Institute in Pune have recently discovered two new species of pipeworts in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra and Karnataka, the Department of Science and

Technology (DST) said

The species reported from Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra has been named Eriocaulonparvicephalum (due to its minute inflorescence size), and the other reported from Kumta, Karnataka is called Eriocaulonkaraavalense(named after Karaavali, Coastal Karnataka region).


4.8.BLUE FLAG CERTIFICATION

Why in news? Eight beaches in India have been awarded the coveted ‘Blue Flag’ certification by an eminent international jury, which comprises members of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The beaches selected for the certification are: Kappad (Kerala), Shivrajpur (Gujarat), Ghoghla (Diu), Kasarkod and Padubidri (Karnataka), Rushikonda (Andhra Pradesh), Golden (Odisha) and Radhanagar (Andaman & Nicobar Islands).

Blue Flag Certification

It is an international recognition conferred on beaches that meet certain criteria of cleanliness and environmental propriety.

A ‘Blue Flag’ beach provides hygienic and clean bathing water, basic infrastructure to tourists and sustainable development in the area.

Chandrabagha beach located on the Konark coast of Odisha is the first beach in the country to receive ‘Blue Flag Certification’.

The certification is accorded by the Denmark-based Foundation for Environment Education, with 33 stringent criteria under four major heads for the beaches, that is

1. Environmental Education and Information 2. Bathing Water Quality 3. Environment Management and Conservation 4. Safety and Services

It is awarded annually to beaches and marinas in FEE member countries.

The Blue Flag programme was started in France in 1985 and in areas out of Europe in 2001. The programme promotes sustainable development in freshwater and marine areas through four main criteria: water quality, environmental management, environmental education and safety.

Activities permitted in the CRZ of the beaches, including islands, subject to maintaining a minimum distance of 10 meters from the High Tide Line (HTL)

(a) Portable toilet blocks, change rooms and shower panels; (b) Grey water treatment plant; (c) Solid waste management plant; (d) Solar power plant; (e) Purified drinking water facility; (f) Beach access pathways; (g) Landscaping lighting; (h) Seating benches and sit-out umbrellas; (i) Outdoor play / fitness equipment; (j) CCTV surveillance and control room; (k) First aid station; (l) Cloak room facility;

(m) Safety watch towers and beach safety equipment; (n) Beach layout, environment information boards and other signages;


(o) Fencing, preferably vegetative;

(p) Parking facilities; (q) Entry gate, tourist facilitation centre; and (r) Other associated facilities or infrastructure, as per requirements of Blue Flag Certification.

KASARGOD, PADUBIDRI BEACHES ACCORDED ‘BLUE FLAG' TAG

Two beaches in the State are among the eight in the country that have bagged the coveted eco-label ‘Blue Flag’ from the international agency Foundation for Environment Education, Denmark. The two are Kasarkod beach near Honnavar in Uttara Kannada and Padubidri beach near Udupi.

According to the Ministry, a ‘Blue Flag’ beach is an eco-tourism model to provide tourists clean and hygienic bathing water, facilities/amenities, safe and healthy

environment and sustainable development of the area.

Kasarkod and Padubidri beaches have grey water treatment plants, solid waste management plants, disabled-friendly equipment to enable them to enter seawater, seating arrangements, clean drinking water, washroom, changing room, bathing facility, disabled-friendly and general toilets, parking facilities, solar power plant, solar lighting, and the like.

4.9.RATIFICATION OF STOCKHOLM CONVENTION

Why in news? The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved ratification of the Stockholm Convention by banning seven hazardous chemicals that are harmful for health and environment.

The Stockholm Convention is a global treaty to protect human health and environment from POPs, which are identified chemical substances that persist in the environment, bio-accumulate in living organisms, adversely affect human health/environment and have the property of long-range environmental transport (LRET).

India had ratified the Stockholm Convention on January 13, 2006, as per Article

25 (4), which enabled it to keep itself in a default “opt-out” position such that amendments in various Annexes of the convention cannot be enforced on it unless an instrument of ratification/acceptance/approval or accession is explicitly deposited with the UN depositary.

Considering its commitment towards providing safe environment and addressing human health risks, the Ministry of Environment had notified the ‘Regulation of Persistent Organic Pollutants Rules’ on March 5, 2018, under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

The regulation prohibited the manufacture, trade, use, import and export of chlordecone, hexabromobiphenyl, hexabromodiphenyl ether and heptabromodiphenylether (commercial octa-BDE), tetrabromodiphenyl ether and pentabromodiphenyl ether (commercial penta-BDE), pentachlorobenzene,

hexabromocyclododecane, and hexachlorobutadiene, which were already listed as POPs under the Stockholm Convention.


4.10.IMD OPERATIONALIZES ADVANCED HIGH RESOLUTION AIR QUALITY EARLY

WARNING SYSTEM FOR DELHI AND INDIA

Ministry of Earth Sciences is constantly striving to improve Air Quality Early Warning System by incorporating various changes in Air Quality Forecast Models such as improved emission inventories, Land Use and Land Cover and improved assimilation of various observational data.

A very high resolution city scale model ENFUSER (ENvironmental information FUsionSERvice) for Delhi also has been operationalized to identify the air pollution hotspots and pollution upto street level.

The Air Quality forecast model System for Integrated modelling of Atmospheric composition (SILAM) for India has been further improved by implementing global emission inventories CAMS-GLOB v2.1 for coarse and mineral-fine anthropogenic

particulate matter at 10km resolution.

Now AQ early warning system also provides air quality forecast for Lucknow, Kanpur and Varanasi at 2 km resolution. The AQ forecast is also available for some other cities at 10km resolution.

4.11.GREATER ONE HORNED RHINOCEROS

Union Minister PrakashJavadekar said India is home to the largest number of Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros in the world with population in the range of 3000 animals in Assam, West Bengal and UP.

He said the Ministry has launched a National Conservation Strategy for Indian One-Horned Rhino. He added that the conservation initiatives for rhino has also enriched the grassland management which help in reducing the negative impacts of climate change through carbon sequestration.

The National Rhino Conservation Strategy for India was launched last year to conserve the greater one-horned rhinoceros.

One horned rhino was close to extinction with a population of less than 200 in the beginning of the 20th century. It is the only large mammal species in Asia to be down-listed from endangered to

vulnerable in the International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN Red list in 2008.

Greater One Horned Rhino

The greater one-horned rhinoceros is the largest of the three Asian rhinos and,

together with African white rhinos, is the largest of all rhino species.

It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN

https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/iucn-red-list/


Red List.

The greater one-horned rhino is identified by a single black horn about 8-25 inches long and a grey-brown hide with skin folds, which gives it an armour-plated appearance.

They primarily graze, with a diet consisting almost entirely of grasses as well as leaves, branches of shrubs and trees, fruit, and aquatic plants.

Important conservation areas- o Kaziranga National Park o Jaldapara National Park o Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary

o Orang National Park o Gorumara National Park o Dudhwa National Park o Manas National Park o Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary

Special Rhino Protection Force (SRPF)

In 2015, the process of setting up a Protection Force dedicated to controlling Rhino Poaching was established by the government.

By 2018, a team of 82 members was appointed by the Assam Government.

The SRPF went under intense training at the Forest Guard School along with weapons training at the 9th Assam Police Battalion, both, in Assam.

Kaziranga National Park, also being a tiger reserve, the SRPF is also a tiger protecting force.

The Assam government would be paying the salaries of the SRPF members, and the amount would be reimbursed by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), which recommended setting up of the special force.

Rhino Reintroduction

Recently the State Government of Uttarakhand (State Wildlife Board) has decided to re-introduce Rhinoceros in Corbett Tiger Reserve to increase the diversity of fauna in both the protected areas of the state.

Around 10 rhinos will be brought in CTR in the first phase and subsequently, 10 more would be added.

The geographical terrain and environmental conditions in CTR are suitable for rhinos.

The ideal sites chosen in Corbett are valley habitats bounded on either side by the lower Himalayas (north), Shivalik Hills (south) or the Ramganga Reservoir (east), which would also act as natural barriers to rhino movement outside these areas, thereby minimizing conflict with people.

https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/iucn-red-list/


4.12.NEGATIVE SIDE OF TOKEN TREE PLANTING

Almost every national event calendar day — be it Independence Day or Gandhi Jayanti — is marked by a tree plantation drive. Corporate CSR campaigns, school events, and neighbourhood initiatives aren’t far behind. They commonly feature a greening initiative in a bid to ‘give back’ to nature or ‘restore’ it. While the intentions are good, what we need are concrete, well-thought-out rehabilitation plans and not celebrity-endorsed token initiatives. Examples of token tree planting

In October 2020, Isha Foundation launched a week-long sapling plantation drive across Tamil Nadu (as part of its Cauvery Calling initiative launched in 2019) to mark the 151st birth anniversary of Gandhi. The agroforestry initiative by the

organisation — that aims to plant 242 crore trees and ‘and revitalize Cauvery’ — has received flak since its launch for reasons aplenty. The Foundation has remained mum about the varieties of trees it aims to plant, the funds the programme requires, and, most importantly, why a large-scale plantation drive is what the river and its dependent farmers need.

The research and advisory agency Fiinovation’s‘Ecotopia’ pledges to plant a million trees across the country by the end of 2020. The drive will use the process of phytoremediation to ‘remediate air, soil and water contaminated with toxins’.

Internationally, The Trillion Tree Campaign has been in the news since its launch at the 2020 World Economic Forum in Davos. It aims to plant one trillion trees worldwide by the end of the decade.

Disadvantages of token tree planting

The opportunity costs of using land for trees instead of other economically beneficial activities are ignored.

People-centered natural climate solutions is preferable against blind tree planting.

4.13.HYDERABAD DELUGE

3rd week of October saw extremely heavy rainfall led to massive floods that killed over 70 people in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Hyderabad recorded its rainiest day in 117 years, flooding over 20,000 houses. In Pune, Sangli and Solapur, nearly 20,000 people were evacuated.

This was caused by a weather that formed in the Bay of Bengal, hit the east coast and moved westward, weakening on the way.

On October 9, a low pressure system developed in the North Andaman Sea. During its landward journey, it intensified multiple times — first to form a well-marked low pressure area, then a depression, and later a deep depression while at sea. Low pressure area, depression and deep depression are part of a classification based on wind speed.


The 24-hour rainfall ending 8.30 am on October 14 recorded at Hyderabad city

was 191.8 mm. This is the heaviest spell Hyderabad has ever experienced in October. The previous record was 117.1 mm on October 6, 1903.

Normally, cyclones lose steam upon making their landfall. This particular system, however, clocked a long east-west track cutting across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, north-interior Karnataka and Maharashtra.

Floods and deluges, like any other disaster, disproportionately affect the poor. Disaster management agencies have managed to

limit the impact of the disaster as many of those marooned in submerged areas and flooded houses were rescued. But the extent of the damage and the turmoil show a lack of preparation and disaster mitigation, a problem that plagues most urban centres in the country.

Much of the damage was due to the overflowing of lakes — in particular, the HussainSagar Lake in the middle of the city and the breaching of storm water drains. Construction over lake beds and encroachments of drainage channels have been identified as problems that have exacerbated flooding and inundation in the city in the past

But the little that has been done to unblock existing storm drains over the last decade has not been enough to handle the requirements of the city, which still depends upon an antiquated sewerage and drainage system.

Possible solutions

Hyderabad urgently needs to expand and remodel its drainage system. Besides lakes and canals, wetlands and watersheds play a vital role in absorbing excess

rainfall, but regrettably, rapid urbanisation in the twin cities has resulted in the loss of a large portion of the wetlands.

In the long term, the effects of flooding due to deluges can only be mitigated if urban planners take into account the hydro-geology of cities and ensure that construction, development and land occupation do not take place in a way that reduces the area of wetlands.

4.14.DELHI AIR POLLUTION IN OCTOBER

Every year in October, Delhi’s air quality starts to dip and a war of words between different governments erupts.

Air pollution in Delhi and the whole of the Indo Gangetic Plains is a complex

phenomenon that is dependent on a variety of factors. The first and foremost is the input of pollutants, followed by weather and local conditions.


October usually marks the withdrawal of monsoons in Northwest India. During

monsoons, the prevalent direction of wind is easterly. These winds, which travel from over the Bay of Bengal, carry moisture and bring rains to this part of the country. Once monsoon withdraws, the predominant direction of winds changes to north westerly.

During summers, too, the direction of wind is north westerly and storms carrying dust from Rajasthan and sometimes Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Along with the change in wind direction, the dip in temperatures is also behind the increased pollution levels. As temperature dips, the inversion height -- which is the layer beyond which pollutants cannot disperse into the upper layer of the atmosphere – is lowered. The concentration of pollutants in the air increases when this happens.

Also, high-speed winds are very effective at dispersing pollutants, but winters bring a dip in wind speed over all as compared to in summers. The combination of

these meteorological factors makes the region prone to pollution. When factors such as farm fires and dust storms are added to the already high base pollution levels in the city, air quality dips further.

Farm fires

Farm fires have been an easy way to get rid of paddy stubble quickly and at low cost for several years. With the use of combine harvesters, the practice became more common as the harvester leaves behind tall stalks, which have to be removed before replanting.

Over the past 11 years, the practice has thrived despite efforts made by the Centre and state governments primarily because the alternatives, like the happy seeder machine which helps mulch the residue, are seen as unavailable, and money and time consuming by smaller farmers.

Last year, during peak stubble burning incidents, its contribution rose to 40%.

The stubble burning season is around 45 days long. Air in Delhi, however, remains polluted till February.

Other major reasons

Dust and vehicular pollution are the two biggest causes of dipping air quality in

Delhi in winters.

Vehicular pollution is the second biggest cause of pollution in winters. According to the IIT Kanpur study, 20 % of PM 2.5 in winters comes from vehicular pollution.

Remedial measures

Over the years, governments have taken several steps to address pollution from vehicles. The introduction of BS VI (cleaner) fuel, push for electric vehicles, Odd-Even as an emergency measure, and construction of the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways are all part of the effort to reduce vehicular pollution.


4.15.INDUS SUTURE ZONE TECTONIC FAULT LINE MOVING NORTHWARDS

A recent survey has found that a tectonic fault line that runs through Ladakh, all along the Indus river, is not inactive as was previously thought and is, in fact, moving northward. The study by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, found that the fault line, the Indus Suture Zone (ISZ), is not "locked" and is tectonically active.

The fault line runs all along the Indus river, from China through India and Pakistan

While the frontal and central parts of the Himalayas — the Shivaliks, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Sikkim — are still known to be active and moving, the current understanding about the Ladakh region is that it was locked. The survey has found that this is actually not the case and that the

plate is still tectonically active.

Fault lines weaken the rock formation in the region through which it runs, making the area vulnerable to excessive erosion and landslides. What makes the Ladakh region vulnerable is that unlike other areas in the Himalayas and the rest of the country, there is very little vegetation here and very few trees that can root the soil down. So, in the case of a flash flood or a cloud burst, this can have a widespread.

In August 2010, Ladakh experienced a devastating flood that affected 71 towns and villages, including Leh, killing 255 persons.

4.16.ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA LISTS 62 SPECIES OF SKINKS

A recent publication by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) reveals that India is home to 62 species of skinks and says about 57% of all the skinks found in India (33 species) are endemic.

The publication, Skinks of India, was released earlier this month by Union Minister of State, Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change

Skinks are highly alert, agile and fast moving and actively forage for a variety of insects and small invertebrates. The reduced limbs of certain skink species or the

complete lack of them make their slithering movements resemble those of snakes, leading people to have incorrect notion that they are venomous. This results in several of these harmless creatures being killed.

The book also gives a phylogenetic and bio-geographical analysis of distribution of these species in all the 11 bio-geographic zones of India and a detailed account on the historical studies on this group of lizards from the British era to the present.

The Western Ghats are home to 24 species of which 18 are endemic to the region. The Deccan Peninsular region is home to 19 species of which

13 are endemic. There are records of 14 skink species from the northeast of which


two species are endemic.

Important skink species found in India belong to genus Sepsophis, Barkudia, Kaestlea and Ristella


4.17.PROTECTING ELEPHANT PATHWAYS

With the Supreme Court having delivered its landmark verdict upholding the 2011 Madras High Court order notifying the Sigur elephant corridor in The Nilgiris, the future of wildlife using the landscape, particularly elephants, is secure. Importance of Elephant corridors

The elephants are a keystone species because their nomadic behaviour is immensely important to the environment. Herds of roaming elephants are landscape architects, facilitate seed dispersal, provide nutrition to plants and animals, are part of the forest food chain, and they have an umbrella effect.

Elephant corridors allow them to continue their nomadic mode of survival, despite shrinking forest cover, by facilitating travel between distinct forest habitats. The

corridors are often narrow and linear patches that establish connectivity across habitats. Also, elephants are genetically programmed by nature to never inbreed within their birth family and thus need to move around between gene pools to reproduce.

In today’s world where habitat fragmentation has become increasingly common, these corridors play a crucial role in sustaining wildlife by reducing the impact of habitat isolation. In their absence, elephants would be unable to move freely. It would eventually lead to the local extinction of elephants

Significance of sigur elephant corridor

According to Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), the Brahmagiri-Nilgiris-Eastern Ghats population has about 6,300-6,500 elephants, distributed over 12,000 sq km of habitat. A number of the Protected Areas, including Bandipur, Nagarahole, Mudumalai, Wayanad, BiligiriranganSwamy Temple, Kaveri and Brahmagiri, fall within the area.

The Sigur plateau connects the Western and Eastern Ghats. The WTI’s book, Right of Passage-Elephant Corridors of India published first in 2006 lists four corridors in the Sigur plateau.

What are elephant corridors?

Elephant corridors are narrow strips of land that connect two large habitats. In a 2017 study, Delhi-based non-profit, Wildlife Trust of India , in collaboration with “Project Elephant” and UK-based non-profit “Elephant Family”, has identified 101 elephant corridors in India.

Out of these 101 corridors, 28 have been identified in South India, 25 in Central India, 23 in North-Eastern India, 14 in northern West Bengal and 11 in North-Western India. While 70 per cent of the 101 corridors are regularly used, 25 per cent are used occasionally and 6 per cent rarely.

4.18.ASIAN KING VULTURE SIGHTED IN SIGUR PLATEAU

The sighting of a pair of critically endangered Asian king vultures(also known as Red headed Vulture) and a juvenile in the Sigur plateau is a cause for optimism that the species may be re-establishing itself in the region, experts say.


The population of the Asian king vulture, like

most vulture species in India, has crashed over the last five decades.

The Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR), encompassing both the Sigur plateau and the Moyar valley, is believed to be home to 12-14 individuals. Since research began around a decade ago, not a single nesting site of the species has been found in the MTR.

As the population of these vultures is so low, a single poisoning event could wipe out the entire species. Hence, we need to think of establishing captive breeding centres for vultures and their eventual release.

4.19.CPCB FLAGS UNSAFE DISPOSAL OF CATTLE

About 30% of India’s dead cattle and 40% of goats weren’t flayed and nearly nine million bovine hides were “lost annually due to non-recovery,” according to a note by the Central Pollution Control Board proposing guidelines on proper disposal of deceased livestock.

The draft guidelines require carcasses of livestock to be disposed off in incinerators and municipal authorities must ensure that such facilities are set up and made available.

Carcasses, especially those that result from the animal slaughter, are an ‘environmental hazard’ and are partly to blame for ‘bird-hit’ hazards at airports, according to an introductory note in the draft.

While the hide was mostly removed for leather, the carcasses were frequently left to “putrefy in the open” and attracted “vultures and dogs polluting the environment and creating environmental hazards. This open dumping attracted birds which can cause air accidents,” the note said.

Flaying of cattle could yield more commercial opportunities, for instance, ‘meat-meal, bone-meat and technical fat’. The process, however, would require setting up more ‘carcass utilisation plants’ where the parts of the animal could be used to make tallow, nutritional supplements and fertilizer.

The other methods of disposal were incineration and ‘deep burial’. The guidelines, which are open for public comment until mid-November, said these latter techniques, which are now the dominant method of disposal, must be put to use only in case utilisation plants couldn't be set up.

4.20.TELANGANA'S KALESHWARAM WATER IRRIGATION PROJECT

Kaleshwaram Multipurpose Lift Irrigation Project is the world’s largest irrigation and drinking water system. The project will provide water for drinking and irrigation purpose to about 45 lakh acres in 20 of the 31 districts in Telangana, apart from Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

This project is unique because Telangana will harness water at the confluence of two rivers with Godavari by constructing a barrage at Medigadda in JayshankarBhoopalpally district and reverse pump the water into the main


Godavari river and divert it through lifts and pumps into a huge and complex

system of reservoirs, water tunnels, pipelines and canals.

The project has set many records with the world’s longest water tunnels, aqua ducts, underground surge pools, and biggest pumps. By the time the water reaches KondapochammaSagar, the last reservoir in the system about 227 kms away in Gajwel district, the Godavari water would have been lifted to a height of 618 metres from its source at Medigadda.

The project had to be built at such a size and scale because while the Godavari flows at 100 metres below Mean Sea Level, Telangana is located at 300 to 650 metres above MSL. Except for pumping water using gigantic pumps with mindboggling capacities, there is no other option, according to officials.

Kaleshwaram will transform Telangana into an agricultural powerhouse. The project will enable farmers in Telangana to reap multiple crops with a year-round supply of water wherein earlier they were dependent on rains resulting in frequent

crop failures.

Mission Bhagiratha, the Rs 43,000-crore project to supply drinking water to every household in villages, draws a large quantity of water from the KLIS and some quantity from projects on River Krishna. There is a burgeoning fresh water fishing industry in the state as the numerous water bodies created under the project are also being used to grow fish and locals are given rights to fish and sell.

KLIS covers several districts which used to face rainfall deficit and the groundwater is fluoride-contaminated. Apart from providing water for irrigation to 45 lakh acres, a main component of the project is supply of drinking water to several towns and villages and also to twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.

Recent NGT Order

On October 12, the Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal, New Delhi, ruled that the Environmental Clearance given to the project in December 2017 was void as the Telangana government subsequently changed the design of the project to increase its capacity.

The NGT observed that by increasing its capacity to pump 3 TMC water from 2 TMC, which was originally planned, major changes were made in the project due to which large tracts of forest land and other land was taken over and massive infrastructure was built causing adverse impact on the environment.

The Telangana Government’s argument that the expansion of the project to extract 3 TMC instead of 2 TMC did not involve any infrastructural changes and therefore a fresh EC was not required, was not accepted by the NGT.

Irrigation Secretary Rajat Kumar said the state government will abide by the NGT directions and obtain the necessary clearances.

4.21.RADHANAGARI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

MoEFCC has notified 250.66 sq km around Maharashtra’s Radhanagri Wildlife Sanctuary , which is home to elephants and tigers, as an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) The zone is meant to act as a buffer and a “shock absorber” for protected areas.


New mining projects, stone quarrying, major hydroelectric projects, setting up of

brick kilns and other red industries, which are highly polluting, are prohibited in the ESZ.

All new and existing mining (minor and major minerals), stone quarrying and crushing units shall be prohibited with immediate effect except for meeting domestic needs of local residents, including digging up land for construction or repair work of houses within eco-sensitive zone.

All new and existing mining (minor and major minerals), stone quarrying and crushing units shall be prohibited with immediate effect except for meeting domestic needs of local residents, including digging up land for construction or repair work of houses within eco-sensitive zone.

The National Wildlife Action Plan 2002-2016 had identified them as “vital ecological corridor links” and stressed that they must be protected to prevent isolation of fragments of biodiversity.

Areas around Radhanagri Wildlife Sanctuary located towards the southern hills of the Sahyadri range of Western Ghats were being considered by the mining lobby. Activists said there were at least two bauxite ore mining projects underway in the area, while one was in the “exploratory” stage.

Agro-forestry, use of eco-friendly transport, cottage industries, and organic farming will also be promoted by the state government.

In December 2018, the SC directed the MoEFCC to declare ESZs around 21 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries without buffer zones.

4.22.JAPAN PM SUGA SETS 2050 DEADLINE FOR CARBON NEUTRALITY

Japan's Prime Minister YoshihideSuga on Monday set a 2050 deadline for the world's third-largest economy to become carbon neutral, significantly firming up the country's climate change commitments.

Tokyo had previously only aimed to achieve carbon neutrality some time in the latter half of the century, a goal criticised by climate activists as vague and unambitious.

Suga did give a precise timeline for how Japan, a country still heavily reliant on coal, will achieve the goal but said technology would be essential.

“The key is innovation,” Suga said, citing examples including next-generation solar batteries.

He said Japan would also push the use of renewable energy and nuclear power, stressing that safety would be a priority — a key point in a country that suffered the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Japan, which is a signatory to the Paris agreement, was the sixth-biggest contributor to global greenhouse emissions in 2018, according to the International Energy Agency.

Tokyo has been struggling to cut carbon emissions after shutting down its nuclear reactors following the 2011 meltdown in Fukushima sparked by a devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Reliance on fossil fuels like coal increased in Japan after the Fukushima disaster, as public anger over the accident pushed all of the country's nuclear reactors offline temporarily.


4.23.WHY ENERGY MNCs WANT NATURAL GAS TO COME UNDER GST

Global energy majors are bullish on the growth of natural gas usage in India and have called on the government to bring natural gas under the GST regime at the India energy Forum.

Currently petrol, diesel, aviation turbine fuel, natural gas and crude oil fall outside India’s Goods and Services Tax regime.

Experts have argued that bringing natural gas under the GST would lead to a reduction in the cascading impact of taxes on industries such as power and steel, which used natural gas as an input.

The inclusion of natural gas under the GST regime would do away with the central excise duty and different value added taxes imposed by states. This would lead to an increase in the adoption of natural gas in line with the government’s stated

goal to increase the share of natural gas in the country’s energy basket from 6.3% to 15%.

4.24.UNBRIDLED PROMOTION OF ECOTOURISM FRAUGHT WITH DANGER TO WILDLIFE

The Forest Department’s volte-face on creating a new tourism zone with safari facilities at the Nugu Wildlife Sanctuary has brought into focus the negative fallout of unbridled promotion of ecotourism around Bandipur.

The authorities wanted to create a tourism zone at Nugu but the proposal was “put on hold” as both legal and wildlife-related issues were raised.

One of the ostensible objectives for the new zone was to reduce pressure on the Bandipur core area and get tourists towards Nugu, which is in the buffer zone. But it was argued that instead of reducing pressure the proposed move would open the floodgates and even Nugu would be saturated with tourists.

Two national highways [NH 766 and NH 67] cut through the Bandipur tiger reserve and, hence, it is accessible from Mysuru, Ooty, and Wayanad, three

popular tourist destinations.

Given Bandipur’s popularity, the vehicle density on the two highways cutting through the tiger reserve is already an area of concern. It has led to road kills forcing the district administration to notify a ban on night traffic through the forest.

The department had identified 14 properties constructed in violation of eco-sensitive zone guidelines and wanted their closure.

Some of the properties are in the wildlife corridor area and could impede their movement, according to activists keen to get the homestays shut down. But the matter is now before the court.


4.25.CORAL REEF TALLER THAN EIFFEL TOWER FOUND IN AUSTRALIA

Australian scientists found a detached coral reef on the Great Barrier Reef that exceeds the height of the Empire State Building and the Eiffel Tower which is nearly 500 metres tall and 1.5 kilometres wide.

Using the underwater robot known as SuBastian, the scientists filmed their exploration of the new reef, collecting marine samples on the way, which will be archived and placed in the Queensland Museum and the Museum of Tropical Queensland.

Although the northern section of the Great Barrier Reef suffered from bleaching in 2016, Beaman said this detached reef didn't display any evidence of damage.

The Great Barrier Reef runs 2,300 km down Australia's northeast coast spanning an area half the size of Texas. It was world heritage listed in 1981 by UNESCO as

the most extensive and spectacular coral reef ecosystem on the planet.

4.26.INDIA'S AIR QUALITY DATA FOR COMPARING ANNUAL POLLUTION IS PATCHY

The NAMP (National Air Quality Monitoring Programme) has been running since 1984. However, the publicly reported data on the CPCB website is only available since 2016 till October 2019.

India has a network of 793 NAAQS stations covering 344 cities/towns in 29 States and six Union Territories. Under NAMP, four pollutants — Sulphur dioxide (So2), Nitrogen dioxide (No2), suspended particulate matter (SPM), and respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) have been identified as key pollutants for regular monitoring.

The monitoring is being carried out by State Pollution Control Boards and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur, and overseen by Pollution Control Committees, the CPCB, and now by the Union Environment Ministry under the NCAP.

The base data available for monitoring trends in air pollution from 2016-2019 is irregular in most of the States in which the 102 cities that have been targeted for

improving air quality are situated.

Only 15 States have PM(Particulate Matter)2.5 monitoring systems for any year. Only West Bengal has an above average number of readings available at 110 each for five monitors. Delhi ranks as the most polluted in PM2.5 average across all three years, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Out of the 23 States listed in the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) only three States/Union Territories — Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab — accounted for above-average readings for all three years for PM10 monitoring.

The NCAP envisages reducing air pollution levels by 20%-30% in 102 cities by 2024, based on 2017 levels of PM2.5 and PM10. Until 2018, the standard way cities measured pollution was the manual method in which readings from monitoring stations were compiled twice a week, for 52 weeks.

Ideally, all of the cities ought to have 104 readings, from every monitor, every year,

but this was rarely the case, and this data discrepancy would affect accurate comparison of year-wise changes in pollution levels. There is also a wide variation


in the number of monitors in cities. After 2018, cities have begun moving to

automated systems that continuously track and report pollution levels.

4.27.ONLY 366 NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALES REMAIN: NOAA

The population of North Atlantic right whales, an endangered species that has been the focus of conservation efforts for decades, has dipped to less than 370, said officials of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The whales have struggled with poor reproduction and high mortality over the last decade, especially the past few years. They are vulnerable to ship collisions and entanglement in fishing gear.

4.28.DESPITE DROP IN EMISSIONS, INDIA STILL WORLD’S LARGEST SO2 PRODUCER

For the first time in four years India’s sulphur dioxide emissions recorded a significant decline of approximately 6% in 2019 compared to 2018, the steepest drop in four years, according to a report from Greenpeace India and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air .

However, India continues to occupy the top spot among emitters for the fifth consecutive year.

As per the report, the biggest emission hotspots in India, are thermal power stations (or clusters of power stations) at Singrauli, Neyveli, Sipat, Mundra, Korba, Bonda, Tamnar, Talcher, Jharsuguda, Kutch, Surat, Chennai, Ramagundam, Chandrapur, Visakhapatnam and Koradi.

Renewable energy capacity has been increasing in India’s power sector, delivering more than two-thirds of the subcontinent’s new capacity additions during the FY 2019-20. But most coal plants in India are lacking in flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) technology, which is necessary to scrub emissions clean off sulphur.

In 2015, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) introduced SO2 emission limits for coal power stations. But power plants missed the initial deadline of December 2017 for the installation of FGD units. Though the deadline was extended till 2022, as of June 2020 most of the power plants are operating without compliance.


5. SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

SPACE RELATED

5.1.SUPERHABITABLE PLANETS

Scientists have discovered two-dozen planets that are habitable and perhaps support suitable conditions for the thriving of life forms (at least 24 Superhabitable planets which may support life better than the Earth).

Researchers have looked for the planets which are older, slightly warmer and wetter than the Earth. In the process, scientists went through observing over 4,500 exoplanets and were able to find out 24 planets based on certain parameters that

gave evidences of a conducive environment for life-supporting conditions although no life has yet been confirmed on those planets.

Moreover, all these planets are 100 light-years away from the Earth located outside the Solar System.

The scope of life on any planet significantly depends upon the star it orbits. Earth which is 4.5 billion years old, orbits around the Sun that has relatively shorter lifespan of less than 10 billion years while complex life appeared on the Earth only after 4 billion years.

The research also suggests that there may be the origin of better life on those planets which are 5 to 8 billion years old and are revolving changing stars with longer lifespan than the Sun at a lower speed.

Scientists further classified these stars into 1. G-stars which have lifespan less than that of 10 billion years. 2. K-stars that are comparatively cooler, dwarf stars with lifespan of 20 to 70

billion years.

Appearance of complex life may not take place in conducive manner on those planets which are revolving around a G-star as their star may run out of fuel before any substantial form of complex life develops on them. On the contrary, those planets orbiting K-stars may have favourable outcomes pertaining to the appearance of intricate life processes due to longer lifespan of its star.

The research concluded that the planet which is 10 percent larger than the Earth will be having greater area of habitable land with larger mass and would be able to easily retain its interior heating through radioactive decay. This would, eventually make the gravitational force on the planet much stronger and hence it will be able to retain its atmosphere substantially.

Surface temperature also play a crucial role in indicating any life-supporting evidences as it would decide the formation of water, moisture and clouds.

Planets having comparatively 5 degree-Celsius higher temperature than the Earth might be suitable for better conditions of life as overall higher temperature with greater moisture can lead to emanation of diverse forms of life as it is also corroborated by Earth’s biodiversity.

Researchers have further claimed such a discovery would help in accentuating future observation through NASA’s James Web Telescope, LUVIOR Space telescope and PLATO space telescope.


5.2.ASTEROID 2020 RK2

NASA’s asteroid monitoring center claimed that an all-new asteroid equal to the size of an airline Boeing 747 has moved past the Earth on October 7.

The asteroid is named as 2020 RK2 and crossed the Earth’s orbit at a distance of 2,380,800 miles away from the Earth.

In addition, astronomers had also predicted that 2020 RK2 is highly unlikely to be visible to astronomy enthusiasts and sky-observers due to its slow speed.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has reportedly said that the Asteroid was from Andromeda constellation which is 10.3 billion light years away. Along with that, the asteroid is classified into category of Apollo asteroid.

NASA scientists had also advised the public not to panic as this gigantic asteroid will only enter the Earth’s orbit but will not collide with the planet.

These asteroids are mostly found between Mars and Jupiter and often come inside the planet’s orbit due to their attractive gravitational force.

As per NASA other planet’s gravity may pull these celestial bodies towards themselves while making them hurl the distance in vast space and avoiding their collision with the planets.

5.3.WHY MARS IS THE BRIGHTEST THIS MONTH?

Due to an event referred to as “opposition”, which takes place every two years and two months, Mars will outshine Jupiter, becoming the third brightest object (moon and Venus are first and second, respectively) in the night sky during the month of October.

This year, while Mars’ closest approach to Earth was on October 6, the opposition will happen on October 13, which will give the planet its “biggest, apparent size of the 2020s”, according to NASA.

Mars’s next close approach will happen on December 8, 2022. Even so, the closest approach does not mean that Mars will appear to be the same size as that of the moon.

Opposition is the event when the sun, Earth and an outer planet (Mars in this case) are lined up, with the Earth in the middle. The time of opposition is the point when the outer planet is typically also at its closest distance to the Earth for a given year, and because it is close, the planet appears brighter in the sky.

An opposition can occur anywhere along Mars’ orbit, but when it happens when the planet is also closest to the sun, it is also particularly close to the Earth.

When does opposition happen?

Earth and Mars orbit the sun at different distances (Mars is farther apart from the sun than Earth and therefore takes longer to complete one lap around the sun).

In fact, opposition can happen only for planets that are farther away from the sun than the Earth.

In case of Mars, roughly every two years, the Earth passes between sun and Mars,

this is when the three are arranged in a straight line.


In case of opposition, however, Mars and sun are on directly opposite sides of the

Earth. In other words, the Earth, sun and Mars all lie in a straight line, with the Earth in the middle.

But why is it called opposition?

As per NASA, from an individual’s perspective on the Earth, Mars rises in the east and after staying up all night, it sets in the west just as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

Because from the perspective on Earth, the sun and Mars appear to be on the opposite sides of the sky, Mars is said to be in “opposition”. Essentially, opposition is a reference to “opposing the sun” in the sky.

Opposition is the best time to view Mars. During this time, Mars will appear as a bright star to the unaided eye and when viewed from a telescope, “it will grow dramatically in size”, as per NASA. Using a telescope shows more of the planet’s

details such as dark and light regions, the solar ice caps and Mars’ surface.

But the clarity of these details depends on the turbulence of the atmosphere and local weather conditions.

5.4.NEW SHEPARD: JEFF BEZOS' ROCKET TESTS NASA MOON LANDING

TECHNOLOGY

The New Shepard booster, developed by Blue Origin, can land vertically on the ground after returning from space.

The rocket carries sensors, a computer and software designed to help space vehicles perform precision landings on other planetary bodies.

Nasa wants to try the technology on Earth before it's sent to the Moon. 13th October test launch was the seventh for Blue Origin's New Shepard vehicle, which is designed to carry space tourists on short "sub-orbital" trips.

It will eventually take passengers up to around 100km (62 miles) above the Earth, allowing them to experience microgravity. They will be carried up in a crew capsule mounted on top of New Shepard.

This pressurised capsule features the largest windows ever sent into space, according to the company. After reaching space, the capsule separates from the booster and both vehicles fall to Earth.

Using New Shepard to simulate landing on the Moon is an exciting precursor to what the Artemis programme will bring to America.

The first of the Splice sensor systems is designed to perform "terrain relative navigation", in which cameras gather real-time information about the surroundings. The images are then compared with pre-loaded maps to determine the vehicle's precise location.

The second sensor system is called a Navigation Doppler Lidar. It is also designed to help vehicles land precisely, but instead sends laser beams to the surface of the planetary body and detects the reflected signal to determine the vehicle's velocity and altitude.

Under its Artemis programme, Nasa plans to send a man and a woman to the lunar South Pole.


5.5.SpaceX LAUNCHES ITS 13TH STARLINK MISSION

Elon Musk-founded aerospace company, SpaceX, successfully launched its 13th Starlink mission after aborting the mission four times due to bad weather.

Aboard the Falcon 9 rocket, the latest Starlink mission carried 60 satellites that will join over 700 already in the orbit.

What is Starlink?

Starlink is a network of satellites that provide internet. Each satellite is compactly designed, weighs about 260kg, and is equipped with four-phased array antennas, single solar array, ion propulsion system, navigation sensors, and debris tracking system.

The satellite network operates at 550km above the Earth’s surface in low Earth

orbit (LEO), unlike conventional internet satellites that are positioned much higher, at over 35,000km.

SpaceX’sfirst Starlink mission was launched on May 24, 2019, which carried 60 satellites. The company has approval to launch 12,000 Starlink satellites, and it has requested the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to approve launch of another 30,000 satellites.

How does it work?

When an internet signal is sent from the Earth, one of the Starlink satellites receives it and then communicates with other satellites in the network.

Once signal reaches the most ideally located satellite, it is relayed to a ground receiver.

Starlink satellites communicate with each other using laser light, and at any given time, a Starlink satellite is connected to four other satellites in the mega-constellation.

The phased array antennas allow satellites to transfer huge amount of data in a short period of time.

The in-built navigation sensors provide altitude information to the satellites for precision internet data transfer.

As the Starlink satellites orbit in LEO, they are much closer to the ground receivers, which significantly reduces latency during data transfer process.

On the down-side, more number of satellites are required to have an extensive coverage, as they are positioned much closer to Earth, and can only cover a limited area.

The ion thrusters, help the satellites move to orbit, manoeuvre in space, and de-orbit at the end of their life. And the inputs from the debris tracking system helps them perform manoeuvres to avoid collisions with space debris and other spacecraft.

How will it be useful?

The network of LEO satellites will deliver high speed, low latency internet in remote areas where connectivity is limited or completely unavailable,

including on aeroplanes and ships.

So, people living in areas where traditional internet is inaccessible, will be able to benefit the most from Starlink internet service, depending on its availability.


Once these satellites reach their target position, they will be able to roll out a fairly

wide public beta in northern US & hopefully southern Canada.

Starlinkinternet private beta testing speeds are over 100 Mbps.

Companies like Amazon, Telesat, and OneWeb are also considering to operate LEO-based internet service.

Amazon’s Project Kuiper has been approved by the FCC, with a constellation of 3,236 satellites in the LEO.

Latin American Space Mission

For the first time in the history of Latin American Space travels, a crew made up only Latin Americans will be going onboard.

The first Latcosmos mission has been promoted by the Ecuadorian agency EXA, which will provide the funds for the first space trip. The crew which will participate is being commanded by Commander Ronnie Nader, Exa Ecuador, and Adolfo Chaves, TEC Costa Rica; Alberto Ramírez, UNAM Mexico and Margot Solberg, US.

Mission specialist astronaut, commander Ronnie Nader, Ecuadorian Civil Space Agency (EXA)/FAE, is the first person in history to achieve the two most significant milestones in astronautics for a country. He is the first astronaut and the father of its first satellites and at the same time is the only

Ecuadorian representative to the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) General Assembly. He is also the first and only Ecuadorian citizen to be elected as a member of the International Academy of Astronautics, and member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Irazú Project (the first Central American satellite)

Irazú is the first Costa Rican satellite to be launched into space. The nano satellite was launched into space on 2 April 2018, onboard a Falcon 9 rocket headed for the International Space Station.

It is expected to orbit the earth for six months with the function of monitoring carbon, humidity, and temperature levels in Costa Rican forests.

Latcosmos Mission

Latcosmos is an initiative from EXA adopted by the International Astronautical Federation’s Latin American and Caribbean Regional group committee, and as such, is a supra-national and private program.

The mission emerged three years ago as an initiative of the Regional Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (Grulac) of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). And the target areas of the interests include: Satellite in the classroom, Latin American experiments in space, and Latin Americans in space.

The purpose of the LATCOSMOS human spaceflight program is: 1. To demonstrate successful cooperation and teamwork between Latin

Americans in human spaceflight. 2. To gather more advanced bio-metrical and biomedical data from these

experiences than those demonstrated during the DAEDALUS, POSEIDON and ARPIA programs from EXA.

3. To learn how to develop and operate experiments and technology for human space flight.


The capital funding comes from EXA, after that the missions are self sustainable

from the financial point of view.

5.6.SPACE DEBRIS

Earth’s orbit is gradually getting littered by the accumulation of space debris due to dead and defunct satellites and various other objects of spacecrafts and rockets.

Human activities related to Space exploration has now produced so much wreckage and debris in the vicinity of Erath’s orbit that it has seemingly outnumbered the other space objects.

Over the period of time since the first space exploration programme back in 1957, more and more vague and useless objects have surrounded the Earth’s orbit, called near Earth Space.

Moreover, the debris lying in the space has increased the risk of its collision by manifold as they may shatter and crash into each other further producing much more waste and debris.

ESA statistics suggests that there are around 130 million pieces of anthropogenic space debris whose size is even smaller than a millimetre. The consequences of these debris have been hazardous that in last few years.

Two large satellites were about to collide with each other, due to which the International Space Station had to perform emergency manoeuvres. Apart from this, the ISS had to perform these manoeuvres two different times to avoid any damage due to collision.

It has been found that the biggest contributor of the debris is the explosion of fuel and batteries which are attached to spacecrafts and rockets. Such sort of problems related to Space Junk arose in the 1960s itself but was not attentively heeded upon back then. It is only now, that Spacefaring Nations have become aware about the mess in the space and are compelled to follow mitigation guidelines.

Furthermore, certain mitigation steps that have been developed by researchers are that of using Reusable Rocket technology during the initial phases itself and also the building of spacecrafts that can withstand the harsh environment of space without getting disintegrated into pieces.

Subsequently, ESA has also commissioned a project to attempt to collect space debris which has been planned to be launched in 2025.

In addition, technology related to automated collision avoidance manoeuvres is also being developed to make the tracking and controlling of every disintegrated object and equipment of the satellite human-free.

5.7.DECLINING STAR FORMATION IN MILKY WAY

In a vital discovery which may help understand the mystery behind declining star formation activity in the Milky Way, a team of astronomers from the Pune-based National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA-TIFR) and Raman Research Institute (RRI) in Bengaluru have used the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio

Telescope (GMRT) to measure the atomic hydrogen content of galaxies seen as they were eight billion years ago when the universe was young.


Galaxies in the universe are made up mostly of gas and stars, with gas being

converted into stars during the life of a galaxy.

Astronomers have long known that galaxies formed stars at a higher rate when the universe was young than they do today.

The star formation activity in galaxies peaked about 8-10 billion years ago and has been declining steadily till today.

It is observed that the cause of this decline was unknown as there had been no information regarding the amount of atomic hydrogen gas, the primary fuel for star formation in galaxies in these early times.

The researchers have, for the first time, measured the atomic hydrogen gas content of star forming galaxies about 8 billion years ago, using the upgraded GMRT. Given the intense star formation in these early galaxies, their atomic gas would be consumed by star formation in just one or two billion years. And, if the galaxies could not acquire more gas, their star formation activity would decline, and finally cease.

Detecting the 21 cm signal from the most distant galaxies in the universe was the main science goal of the GMRT, when it was designed and built by a team led by the late pioneering astrophysicist GovindSwarup in the 1980s and 1990s.

5.8.NOKIA TO BUILD MOBILE NETWORK ON MOON

Finland's Nokia has been selected by NASA to build the first cellular network on the moon.

The lunar network will be part of the U.S. space agency's efforts to return humans to the moon by 2024 and build long-term settlements there under its Artemis programme.

Nokia said the first wireless broadband communications system in space would

be built on the lunar surface in late 2022, before humans make it back there.

The Finnish company will partner with Texas-based private space craft design firm Intuitive Machines to deliver the network equipment to the moon on their lunar lander.

After delivery, the network will configure itself and establish the first LTE (Long-Term Evolution) communications system on the moon.

The network will provide critical communication capabilities for many different data-transmission applications, including vital command and control functions, remote control of lunar rovers, real-time navigation and streaming of high definition video.

5.9.NASA'S OSIRIS-REX SET TO COLLECT SAMPLES FROM ASTEROID BENNU

After almost two years circling an ancient asteroid hundreds of millions of miles away, a NASA spacecraft will attempt to descend to the treacherous, boulder-packed surface and snatch a handful of rubble.

The drama unfolds as the U.S. takes its first crack at collecting asteroid samples for return to Earth, a feat accomplished so far only by Japan.

Brimming with names inspired by Egyptian mythology, the Osiris-Rex mission is looking to bring back at least 60 grams worth of asteroid Bennu, the biggest

otherworldly haul from beyond the moon.


The van-sized spacecraft is aiming for the relatively flat middle of a tennis court-

sized crater named Nightingale - a spot comparable to a few parking places here on Earth. Boulders as big as buildings loom over the targeted touchdown zone.

Once it drops out of its 0.75 kilometer-high orbit around Bennu, the spacecraft will take a deliberate four hours to make it all the way down, to just above the surface.

Then the action cranks up when Osiris-Rex’s 3.4-meter arm reaches out and touches Bennu. Contact should last five to 10 seconds, just long enough to shoot out pressurized nitrogen gas and suck up the churned dirt and gravel.

Programmed in advance, the spacecraft will operate autonomously during the unprecedented touch-and-go maneuver.

If the first attempt doesn’t work, Osiris-Rex can try again. Any collected samples won’t reach Earth until 2023.

While NASA has brought back comet dust and solar wind particles, it’s never attempted to sample one of the nearly 1 million known asteroids lurking in our solar system until now.

Japan, meanwhile, expects to get samples from asteroid Ryugu in December 2020, in the milligrams at most, 10 years after bringing back specks from asteroid Itokawa.

Bennu is an asteroid picker’s paradise. The big, black, roundish, carbon-rich space rock, taller than New York’s Empire State Building was around when our solar system was forming 4.5 billion years ago.

Scientists consider it a time capsule full of pristine building blocks that could help explain how life formed on Earth and possibly elsewhere.

When Osiris-Rex blasted off in 2016 on the more than $800 million mission, scientists envisioned sandy stretches at Bennu.

Nightingale Crater, the prime target, appears to have the biggest abundance of fine grains, but boulders still abound, including one dubbed Mount Doom.

Osiris-Rex has three bottles of nitrogen gas, which means it can touch down three times - no more.

The spacecraft automatically will back away if it encounters unexpected hazards like big rocks that could cause it to tip over. And there’s a chance it will touch down safely, but fail to collect enough rubble.

In either case, the spacecraft would return to orbit around Bennu and try again in

January at another location.

5.10.WATER IN NEW REGIONS ON MOON

The Moon has water at places where none had been detected before, and has potentially more water than previously believed in regions where it was already understood to exist.

In two separate studies in Nature Astronomy, scientists have reported findings with potentially huge implications for sustaining humans on the Moon in the future.

One study reports the detection of water on the Moon’s sunlit surface for the first time. The other estimates that the Moon’s dark, shadowy regions, which

potentially contain ice, are more widespread than thought.


Apart from being a marker of potential life, water is a precious resource in deep

space. For astronauts landing on the Moon, water is necessary not only to sustain life but also for purposes such as generating rocket fuel.

NASA’s Artemis programme plans to send the first woman and the next man to the Moon in 2024, and hopes to establish a “sustainable human presence” there by the end of the decade. If space explorers can use the Moon’s resources, it means they need to carry less water from Earth.

Previous Moon studies, NASA’s Cassini and Deep Impact comet mission, and NASA’s ground-based Infrared Telescope Facility, including the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-1 mission, have provided evidence for the existence of water.

In 2009, the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) instrument aboard Chandrayaan-1 found water molecules in the polar regions. A paper

in Nature Geoscience in August 2013 analysed M3 data to report the detection of magmatic water (water originating from the deep interiors) on the Moon’s surface.

The new discovery, it has confirmed H20 molecules, discovered in Clavius Crater in the Moon’s southern hemisphere. And it is the first time water has been detected on the sunlit side, showing it is not restricted to the shadowy regions.

About SOFIA

SOFIA, which is a modified Boeing 747SP jetliner that flies at altitudes up to 45,000 feet, has an infrared camera that picked up the wavelength unique to water molecules.

SOFIA’s mission is to look at dark and distant objects. The Moon, on the other hand, is so close and bright that it fills the SOFIA guide camera’s entire field of view.

In August 2018, just to check whether SOFIA could reliably track the Moon, scientists tried a test observation. It was from this test that came the detection of water.

How could the water have formed?

Space rocks carrying small amounts of water could have bombarded the Moon.

Alternatively, the Sun’s solar wind could have carried hydrogen, which then reacted with minerals in the lunar soil to create hydroxyl, which later

transformed into water.

The sunlit surface retaining the water presents a puzzle, since the Moon does not have a thick atmosphere. One possibility is that the water gets trapped into tiny bead-like structures that were created in the soil by impacts from space rocks. Alternatively, the water could be hidden between grains of lunar soil and sheltered from the sunlight, NASA said.

On the sunlit side, it is not yet known whether the water SOFIA found is easily

accessible. On the other hand, the hidden, shadowy pockets on the lunar surface called “cold traps” are spread across a combined 40,000 sq. km, the other study has reported. That is roughly the size of Kerala.


The cold traps have gone without sunlight for potentially billions of years. If they do

contain ice, it means water is going to be more accessible than previously assumed. What next?

SOFIA will look for water in additional sunlit locations to learn more about how the water is produced, stored, and moved across the Moon.

Meanwhile, NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) will carry out a mission to create the first water resource maps of the Moon.

5.11.SATELLITE SYSTEM TO COMBAT SPACE COLLISIONS

Canada's NorthStar Earth & Space and Thales Alenia Space will begin work on a

commercial satellite system to combat the threat of collisions in space.

NorthStar, a Canadian information service company, has contracted Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between France's Thales and Italy's Leonardo, to build the first three satellites of its “Skylark” constellation.

Montreal-based NorthStar said the constellation would be the first commercial service to monitor objects like satellites in space from space, where they can be tracked more precisely than from Earth.

The final assembly of the satellites, which are expected to launch in 2022. A full system of 12 satellites is expected in 2024.

While the United States and other governments already collect such data, demand for near real-time information that is commercially available is growing rapidly as experts forecast a “new space” economy worth over $1 trillion a year.

Data from the constellation could be used by groups from insurance companies to

commercial satellite operators.

The 2009 collision between a spacecraft operated by U.S. communications group Iridium Satellite LLC and a Russian Cosmos-2251 military satellite sent at least 600 pieces of debris off into space and raised fears that other satellites could be struck and damaged.

More recently, some researchers suggested in May that countries should levy an “orbit congestion charge” on

satellite operators to tackle the growing concentration of space junk like debris, although others doubted the practicalities of such a fee.

NorthStar Earth & Space satellite constellation is the first dedicated to space situational awareness services.


OTHER NEWS

5.12.INSIGHTS INTO LEDs EMITTING HIGH-QUALITY WHITE LIGHT

Colour quality is a key challenge faced in producing white Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) as a general light source.

Scientists in their search for methods to produce high-quality white light have unearthed crucial reaction insights that can help design white LEDs.

Scientists at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), an autonomous research institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), found that though nanocrystals of inorganic chemicals caesium lead halide show the promise of white light emission, a very odd behaviour of the nanocrystals prevented them from keeping that promise.

The capability of white light emission rests in the fact that the emission from these crystals can be easily tuned over the entire visible spectrum by varying their halide compositions.

However, they failed to emit white light due to an interparticle mixing between the nanocrystals that resulted in a single emission.

White light needs the presence of red, green and blue spectra of light. So, once the crystals give a single emission, they miss the chance of creation of white light.

The Halide ions of the crystals migrate from one particle to another even at room temperature and form an alloy of nanocrystals, which yield a single emission.

The understanding of this reaction kinetics will help in developing strategies to prevent interparticle mixing, and to create LED that produce good quality white light.

5.13.SOLID OXIDE FUEL CELL

What is it? A solid oxide fuel cell (or SOFC) is an electrochemical conversion device that produces electricity directly from oxidizing a fuel. Fuel cells are characterized by their electrolyte material; the SOFC has a solid oxide or ceramic electrolyte. Advantages: • High combined heat and power efficiency • Long-term stability • Fuel flexibility, low emissions • Relatively low cost. The largest disadvantage is the high operating temperature which results in longer start-up times and mechanical and chemical compatibility issues. Structure :

A solid oxide fuel cell is made up of four layers, three of which are ceramics (hence the name).


A single cell consisting of these four layers stacked together is typically only a few

millimeters thick.

Hundreds of these cells are then connected in series to form what most people refer to as an "SOFC stack".

Recent Advances :

Electrolysis is the core technology of power-to-X (PtX) solutions, where X can be hydrogen, syngas, or synthetic fuels.

When electrolysis is combined with renewable electricity, the production of fuels and chemicals can be decoupled from fossil resources, paving the way for an energy system based on 100% renewable energy.

Solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) technology is attractive because of unrivaled conversion efficiencies—a result of favorable thermodynamics and kinetics at

higher operating temperatures.

SOECs can be used for direct electrochemical conversion of steam (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), or both into hydrogen (H2), carbon monoxide (CO), or syngas (H2+CO), respectively.

SOECs can be thermally integrated with a range of chemical syntheses, enabling recycling of captured CO2 and H2O into synthetic natural gas or gasoline, methanol, or ammonia, resulting in further efficiency improvements compared with low-temperature electrolysis technologies.

SOEC technology has undergone tremendous development and improvements over the past 10 to 15 years.

The initial electrochemical performance of state-of-the-art SOEC single cells has more than doubled, while long-term durability has been improved by a factor of ∼100.

Similar improvements in performance and durability have been achieved on the stack level.


Furthermore, SOEC technology is based on scalable production methods and

abundant raw materials such as nickel, zirconia, and steel, not precious metals.

Performance and durability improvements as well as increased scale-up efforts have led to a hundredfold gas production capacity increase within the past decade and to commissioning of the first industrially relevant SOEC plants.

5.14.WATER PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY

Why in news? CSIR-CMERI comes up with High Flow Rate Water Purification Technology for Fluoride and Iron Removal. Need of the technology :

Iron is the most abundant trace element in human body, responsible for accomplishment of vital biological functions such as gastrointestinal processes and the regulation of body temperature.

But when iron level in water is beyond 0.3 ppm (as per WHO guideline), it shows several adverse effects including liver disease, irregular heart rhythm and neuronal disorder, etc.

Restricted dose of fluoride ( less than 1.5 ppm, as per WHO guideline) in drinking water is required for proper strengthening of teeth and bones in human body. But intake of excess fluoride can affect human health profusely by causing dental and skeletal fluorosis initially, which leads to a crippling malady in the long run.

CSIR-CMERI for the very first time has come up with a dual solution (excess F- and Fe3+ mitigation from ground water).

Structure :

Three FRP (Fibre Reinforced Plastic) made vessels of specific dimensions has been set up here in series with each other, which are:

i) Chamber-I (oxidation chamber) ii) Chamber-II (Iron removing filter)


iii) Chamber-III (Fluoride removing filter).

The oxidation chamber : contains manganese oxide enriched ores within the permissible limit, which act as an oxidising agent (screens out metal contaminants like Fe2+). It is for rapid removal of precipitated iron.

The Iron removal filter : contains naturally abundant low cost adsorbent materials such as gravels and treated sand of specific diameter, which is for removal of the left over iron from the contaminated water.

The Fluoride removal filter : contains several low cost adsorbent materials viz. activated alumina, ferrite impregnated activated alumina (FIA, a patented product from CMERI) and zinc impregnated activated charcoal (patented product from CMERI) in sequential manner to mitigate the residual fluoride from groundwater.

Uniqueness of the present plant:

An initiative towards solving dual contaminants problem in ground water (F- as well as Fe3+)

An integrated adsorbent based water purification system for effective removal of fluoride as well as iron in an efficient manner from contaminated water bodies.

High flow rate (10,000 litres/h) integrated purification system.

Sustainability towards healthy livelihood generation.

Selective backwash without dismantling any part of the plant.

The developed plant is successfully able to mitigate iron from an initial concentration of ~9 ppm to less than 0.3 ppm (safe limit of Fe as per WHO guideline) and fluoride from initial ~12 ppm to <1.5 ppm (safe limit of F- as per WHO guideline).

5.15.INDIA’S FASTEST HPC-AI SUPERCOMPUTER ‘PARAM SIDDHI'

Why in news? The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) will commission India’s largest HPC-AI (High Performance Computing – ArtificialIntelligence) supercomputer, ‘PARAM Siddhi – AI’.This initiative will put India among the top countries in global AI supercomputing research and innovation.

PARAM Siddhi - AI, a large-scale HPC-AI scalable infrastructure will be established under NSM at C-DAC, with support from NitiAayog, Ministry of Electronics and IT, Department of Science and Technology, and the central government. It will use NVIDIA Next Generation technology, C-DAC software stack and Cloud platform.

The supercomputer will have 210 AI Petaflops (6.5 Petaflops Peak DP)

It will play a pivotal role in developing a vibrant ecosystem for research and innovation in science and engineering.

This infrastructure will accelerate experiments and outcomes for India specific grand challenge problems in Health Care, Education, Energy, Cyber Security, Space, Automotive and Agriculture. It will catalyze partnerships with the Academia, Industry, MSMEs and Start-ups.

The turnkey NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD architecture is central to helping C-DAC deploy its supercomputer in record time.


With this new AI supercomputer, C-DAC will be able to unleash AI innovation at

incredible scale to help India address some of its most important challenges now, and in the future.

5.16.VISA-LESS VR TRIP WITH QUAQUA’S EXPERIENTIAL DOME

This is the latest VR project (which does not require a head-set) of QuaQua, a Hyderabad-based end-to-end virtual travel platform focussed on providing people with 360-degree experiences so they are more clear on a holiday destination.

The optics and timings for this three-year installation are apt, but the ideation has been since pre-coronavirus times.

Mixed Reality, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are in nascent stages in India.

They came up with the first permanent installation of a dome in the Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport at New Delhi.

As per airport rules, sanitation, mask-wearing and physical distancing rules are strict.

The dome, which is sanitised hourly, can hold up to 16 people, but physical distancing measures allows a maximum of four people in, after a travel experience is chosen.

Experiences include a day/night walk-through of Venice, Italy, and of Luxor Temple, Egypt.

The content, based on feedback, is refreshed every month and a half.

They have child-friendly animated content such as outer space or underwater titles for really immersive experiences.

5.17.SUPERCONDUCTORS

• Superconductors are a special class of materials that pose zero-resistance electron

transmission under a specific threshold temperature typical to the material concerned.

• This threshold temperature is called the ‘critical temperature’ or Tc in short. Zero electrical resistance : • A room-temperature superconductor can operate at temperatures above 0 ◦C. • Even though this is not strictly ‘room temperature’, it is the temperature in which ice

forms and is the most easily attainable temperature.


The Meissner effect:

• It is when a magnetic field is pushed out of a superconductor when it becomes superconducting.

• If you were to put a superconductor in the field of a big magnet and you looked just inside the superconductor, you would see that the magnetic field was much smaller than it was outside. The deeper in you looked, the closer it would be to zero.

• One example of the Meissner effect is a magnet levitating above a superconducting plate cooled by liquid nitrogen.

Neutron Scattering Experiments on Zirconium Vanadium Hydride : • International team of researchers with

scientists from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology), the University of Zurich, Polish Academy of Sciences, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), conducted neutron scattering experiments on Zirconium Vanadium Hydride (ZVH) at atmospheric pressure and at temperatures ranging between 5 K - 250 K at ORNL.

• This led to the first observations of extremely small hydrogen-hydrogen atomic distances in the metal hydride ~ 1.6 Angstroms. Its predicted value was 2.1 angstrom.

• The hydrogen contained in metals affects their electronic properties and they have been found to start superconducting at very high pressures. A closely spaced (< 2.1 Angstroms) interatomic arrangement of hydrogen is very promising.

5.18.MAGNETIC NANOFIBERS THAT KILLS SKIN CANCER CELLS WITH HEAT

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) have developed a non-invasive bandage made with magnetic nanofibers to treat skin cancer by administering heat to the tumour cells.

Skin cancer, the most common kind of cancer, is caused mainly due to excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun. Common treatments for skin cancer include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.

But these treatments and other conventional therapies have limitations.

A promising alternative that has emerged to treat skin cancer is magnetic

hyperthermia, in which magnetic nanoparticles are used to heat the tumours by using an external alternating current magnetic field (AMF).

But it is difficult to achieve uniform heating of the affected tissues using such magnetic nanoparticles because of uncontrolled aggregation. Besides, they can accumulate in the human body and induce toxicity.

A team of researchers from the Centre for BioSystems Science and Engineering (BSSE) and the Department of Molecular Reproduction, Development and

Genetics (MRDG) at IISc. have developed the bandage with a unique blend of magnetic nanoparticles fabricated using a method called electrospinning.


It comprises nanoparticles made from an oxide of iron, Fe3O4, and a biodegradable

polymer called polycaprolactone (PCL) pasted on a surgical tape. The magnetic material generates heat when it is subjected to a high-frequency oscillating magnetic field.

In order to investigate whether the heat generated and dissipated by the magnetic bandage can treat skin cancer, the researchers did two experiments: 1. One in vitro - on human cancer cell lines. 2. Other in vivo - on mice with artificially-induced skin cancer.

In both experiments, the heat generated by applying AMF to the nanofibrous magnetic bandage killed the cancer cells successfully.

Moreover, in the in vivo experiment, the healthy tissue remained intact with no signs of burns, inflammation, or thickening.

The elevated temperature at the treatment site enables heat to penetrate the tumour cells, rupturing the compact random vasculatures (network of blood vessels) of the

tumours.

Although this novel treatment has been shown to be effective against skin cancer in lab experiments, it is still at a nascent stage of development as a clinical therapy.

Further studies are required to test the efficacy on a larger scale in rabbits, dogs, and monkeys, before employing it for pre-clinical and clinical applications.

5.19.VACCINE TO REDUCE YIELD LOSS DUE TO DISEASES IN RICE

A recipient of DST-Inspire Faculty Fellowship, instituted by the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, working in Centre for Plant Molecular Biology (CPMB), Osmania University, Hyderabad along with her research group is working to identify and develop few molecules which are derived from either the Xoo bacterium or from the infected rice cell walls.

The team is developing new disease control strategies which they can use as vaccines that activate the rice immune system and provide resistance to rice plants from subsequent infections by pathogens.

Xoo infection:

Xanthomonas oryzaepv. oryzae, or commonly known as Xoo infection, causes a serious bacterial leaf blight disease in rice.

It causes huge yield losses to rice cultivation throughout the world.

Treatment of rice with cellulase, a cell wall degrading enzyme secreted by Xoo induces rice immune responses and protects rice from subsequent infections by Xoo.

The Study:

The team carried out biochemical and functional studies on plant cell wall degrading enzymes secreted by Xoo, which has provided key insights into the mechanisms by which the Xoo pathogen interacts with rice plant and cause disease.

So far, improving the resistance of rice plants by introducing Resistance “R” genes

has been the best way to control this disease which involves breeding or gene manipulation techniques that are laborious and time-consuming.


Pre-treatment of rice plants with this protein provides resistance to rice against

subsequent Xoo infection

Also, the introduced of “R” genes provide only race-specific resistance that will prevent infections by only specific strains of Xoo.

But the elicitor molecule that will be identified in this work will have the potential to induce a broad-spectrum resistance, which will be effective not only against Xoo but also against other pathogens.

This study will reveal novel elicitors of rice defence responses and provide new knowledge about the basic aspects of plant-pathogen interactions that might lead to new ways of reducing yield losses for a crop that at least half of the world’s population depends on.


6. SECURITY

6.1.ICGS KANAKLATA BARUA

A Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) named ICGS Kanaklata Barua was commissioned in the Indian Coast Guard in Kolkata. It is named after a teenage freedom fighter who was shot dead in Assam during the Quit India Movement. What is the ship?

It is the fifth and last in a series of FPVs built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd. The other four are ICGS Priyadarshini (named after Indira Gandhi), ICGS Annie Besant, ICGS Kamala Devi (after Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay), and ICGS Amrit Kaur.

These FPVs are upgraded versions of the inshore patrol vessels with a modified form of the hull and can achieve a speed of 34 knots. Such vessels have also been delivered to Indian Navy by GRSE. In the Coast Guard these FPVs and their earlier versions belong to the Rajashree class of patrol vessels.

These FPVs are suited for patrolling, maritime surveillance, anti-smuggling, anti-poaching operations and also for fishery protection, and rescue and search missions. These FPVs are medium-range surface vessels with a length of around 50 m, and a displacement of over 300 tonnes.

6.2.DEFENCE ACQUISITION PROCEDURE

The Defence Ministry came up with its latest Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 (DAP 2020) which comes into effect from October 1, 2020. Changing a 15-year old policy, the government has decided to remove the clause for offsets if the equipment is being bought either through deals or agreements between two countries, or through a single-vendor deal. What are defence offsets? In simplest terms, the offset is an obligation by an international player to boost India’s domestic defence industry if India is buying defence equipment from it. Since defence contracts are costly, the government wants part of that money either to benefit the Indian industry, or to allow the country to gain in terms of technology.

6.3.NIRBHAY MISSILE

Nirbhay is the India’s first indigenously designed and developed long-range state-of-the-art cruise missile, which can be deployed from multiple platforms.

The sophisticated missile took off in a programmed manner and all critical operations like launch phase, booster deployment, engine start, wing deployment and other parameters were demonstrated through autonomous way point navigation.

After the initial blast-off with a solid-propellant booster rocket engine to gain speed and altitude, Nirbhay is designed to deploy its smallish wings and tail fins in the second-stage and fly like an unmanned aircraft.


6.4.RUDRAM-1

The Defence Research and Development Organisation conducted a successful test of the New Generation Anti-Radiation Missile (NGRAM) also called the Rudram-1 at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Balasore.

The missile has been designed to be launched from various fighter aircraft currently in the inventory of the Indian Air Force.

The New Generation Anti-Radiation Missile (Rudram-1) which is India’s first indigenous anti-radiation missile developed by DRDO for Indian Air Force.

Equipped with state of art radiation tracking and guidance system, the missile system has undergone preliminary tests in the past with the help of an operational fighter squadron of the Indian Air Force.

6.6.CYBERTHREATS IN EDUCATION

The pandemic has transformed the traditional classroom model to a digital screen, a single pane for the entire education system. With classrooms operating virtually, students and teachers are exposing themselves to more cyber risks than they realise. Educational institutions have long been a target for malicious actors and this has been validated by recent research that names education and manufacturing as the most targeted sectors since the pandemic.

Lack of awareness and weak policies governing the space make the education sector alarmingly vulnerable to cyber threats. Shortage of resources and technology investment further deepens the problem. There is a pressing need to maintain control over how the influx of data is used, stored, and shared inside and outside of the virtual class. As students and teachers operate from less controlled environments outside of school, the need to educate them on basics such as phishing and cyberbullying, and inculcating overall cybersecurity hygiene is imperative.

Government initiatives like CSC help students understand the implications of security in the digital world through interactive workshops and trainings that help

them make responsible and informed decisions in cyberspace. However, there is a lot more to be done and only by prioritising these conversations at the grassroots can we go beyond the tip of the iceberg.

Online scams are successful because they ride on emotional vulnerabilities and behavioural limitations. Parents and teachers need to empower students with information and strategies to defend themselves online. Cybersafety must be discussed often, and with due seriousness.

6.7.INDIAN NAVAL SHIP (INS) KAVARATTI

Chief of Army Staff General M MNaravane commissioned the Anti-Submarine Warfare stealth corvette, INS Kavaratti, into the Indian Navy.


INS Kavaratti is the last in the series of four Anti-Submarine Warfare Corvettes

built for the Navy by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkata, a leading shipyard, under Project 28 (Kamorta class).

The timeline of the P28 class of ships built by GRSE was synchronised to factor in the unique indigenisation efforts, according to a release. INS Kavaratti and INS Kiltan are the first two major warships in the country to have the unique feature of superstructure made of Carbon Fiber Composite Material.

6.8.INDIA-US DEFENCE DEAL

India and the U.S. inked a landmark defence agreement that will allow sharing of high-end military technology, classified satellite data and critical information between the two

countries.

The signing of the long-negotiated Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) during the third edition of the 2+2 dialogue between the two strategic partners also signals further boosting of bilateral defence and military ties and it comes in the backdrop of India’s tense border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.

In a major move in 2016, the U.S. had designated India a “Major Defence

Partner” intending to elevate defence trade and technology sharing to a level commensurate with that of its closest allies and partners.

The two countries inked the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 that allows their militaries use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies as well as provide for deeper cooperation.

India and the U.S. signed another pact called COMCASA (Communications

Compatibility and Security Agreement) in 2018 that provides for interoperability between the two militaries and provides for sale of high end technology from the U.S. to India.

About BECA, officials said the agreement will give India access to classified geo-spatial data as well as critical information having significant military applications from the U.S.


7. SOCIAL ISSUES

7.1.AFFORDABILITY OF NUTRITIOUS DIETS IN RURAL INDIA REPORT

Relevance - GS 2 - Issues related to Health and Education

Findings :

According to the report, 76% of rural Indians can’t afford a nutritious diet. The study uses the latest available food price and wage information (of unskilled workers) from the National Sample Survey’s 2011 dataset.

It considers items such as dairy, fruit and dark green leafy vegetables that are essential as per India’s official dietary guidelines.

Three out of four rural Indians cannot afford a nutritious diet.

Even if they spent all their income on food, 63.3% of the rural population of more than 52 crore Indians would not be able to afford that nutritious meal.

Facts :

The National Institute for Nutrition’s guidelines for a nutritionally adequate diet call for adult women to eat 330 gm of cereals and 75 gm of pulses a day, along with 300 gm of dairy, 100 gm of fruit, and 300 gm of vegetables, which should include at least 100 gm of dark green leafy vegetables.

Currently, food costs are measured through consumer price indices (CPIs) which weight foods by expenditure shares. “In poor countries such as India, CPIs are heavily weighted towards nutrient-sparse starchy staples, meaning that trends in the food CPI can be misleading from a nutritional standpoint.

7.2.GLOBAL EDUCATION MONITORING (GEM) REPORT

Why in news? The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an education crisis, fuelled by deep and multiple forms of inequality having gender roots and implications, the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) report by UNESCO. Findings :

Increase in gender-based violence during the period families spent at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, potential rise in teenage pregnancies or early marriages, possibility of a section of girls dropping out of schools or colleges, girls being at a disadvantage due to shift to online learning and increased responsibilities of household chores, are among the several implications.

It raised concerns about the potential increase in early pregnancy likely to be a result of increased early marriages, a consequence of households being plunged deeper into poverty due to the pandemic.

One estimate is that COVID-19 could cause 13 million more child marriages over the next 10 years. There have been attempts, based on previous knowledge of the links between poverty and school attendance, to project the potential effect of COVID-19 on dropout.


UNESCO suggests that 3.5 % of adolescent girls of lower secondary school age and

4.1 % of young women of upper secondary school age in sub-Saharan Africa are at risk of not returning to school.

The shift to online distance learning could disadvantage girls. In low and middle income countries, women are 8 % less likely than men to have a mobile phone and 20 % less likely to use the internet on it.

School closures have led to increased child care and chore responsibilities at home, which are likely to disadvantage girls more.

7.3.WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY

For this World Mental Health Day ,October 10, 2020, the World Health Organisation

(WHO) has again advised countries to increase investments in treatment and rehabilitation of patients.

The pandemic has increased isolation and loss of income which are well known triggers of mental health conditions. The disease itself has been reported to lead to neurological and mental complications such as delirium, agitation and stroke.

On October 5, WHO released the findings of a survey carried out in 130 countries which showed that the pandemic had disrupted or halted mental health services in 93 % of the countries.

Though the problem is huge, sufficient funding is not available. Early this year, WHO had also pointed out that countries were spending less than 2 per cent of their health budget on mental health.

Only around 1 % of the international aid available for health is earmarked for mental health. The Big Event for Mental Health being launched by WHO today is calling for increased investments.

The global economic cost of mental illness is expected to be more than $16 trillion over the next 20 years, which is more than the cost of any other non-communicable disease.

India’s healthcare budget in 2018 was Rs 52,800 crore, of which Rs 50 crore was for mental health and that was reduced to Rs 40 crore the following year. India is barely spending 0.5 % of the health budget on this sector.

Top mental illnesses :

The top mental illnesses were depressive disorder (45.7 million) and anxiety disorder (44.9 million).

The contribution of mental disorders to the total DALYs in India increased from 2.5 per cent in 1990 to 4.7 per cent in 2017.

Depressive disorder and anxiety disorder contributed the most to the total mental disorders DALYs.

Measures undertaken : To deal with these, India has the Mental Health Policy 2014 and the Mental Healthcare Act 2017. The Mental Health Care Act 2017 came into force from July 7, 2018 to meet the requirements of United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which India ratified in 2007.


7.4.SAVIOUR SIBLING

Why in news? Doctors at Nova IVF Fertility in Ahmedabad achieved a rare feat in the world of medicine by successfully creating India’s first ‘Savior Sibling’, baby Kavya, to save her 6-year-old brother who was diagnosed with thalassemia major, an inherited blood disorder and the most severe form of beta thalassemia. Details :

Baby Kavya was conceived through IVF to be HLA-matched, suitable to transplant bone marrow to her brother who was suffering from thalassemia major.

She was born to save the older brother through a novel technique in assisted reproductive therapy called preimplantation genetic testing for monogenic diseases

(PGT-M) with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matching. What is SaviourSibling ?

A savior baby or savior sibling is a child who is born to provide an organ or cell transplant to a sibling that is affected with a fatal disease, such as cancer or Fanconi anemia, that can best be treated by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

The savior sibling is conceived through in vitro fertilization.

Fertilized zygotes are tested for genetic compatibility (human leukocyte antigen (HLA) typing), using preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), and only zygotes that are compatible with the existing child are implanted.

Zygotes are also tested to make sure they are free of the original genetic disease. Thalassemia:

It is a disorder where the haemoglobin count is low in blood and such persons require frequent blood transfusions.

The disorder results in excessive destruction of red blood cells, which leads to anemia.

Human Leukocyte Antigens(HLA) :

HLA are proteins or markers on most cells in the body.

The immune system uses HLA to recognize which cells belong in your body and which do not.

Ethical Consideration : The main ethical argument against is the possible exploitation of the child, e.g. potential adverse psychological effects on a child born not for itself but to save another,and the possible future emotional reaction of the savior sibling upon discovering that they were born solely to save the life of the recipient, rather than being 'wanted' for reasons other than transplantation.


7.5.WORLD FOOD DAY

Relevance - GS 1 – Poverty and Developmental issues

World Food Day is an international day celebrated every year around the world on 16 October in honor of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945.

The day is celebrated widely by many other organizations concerned with food security, including the World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

The theme for this year's World Food Day 2020 is “Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together. Our actions are our future.”

This World Food Day,the food agencies of the United Nations (UN) — pledge to

work together to end hunger, eradicate food insecurity and achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2.

Indian scenario : Malnutrition and Anaemia :

Even as malnutrition in India has notably declined over the past decade, the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey 2016-18 revealed that over 40 million children are chronically malnourished, and more than half of Indian women aged 15-49 years are anaemic.

Initiatives such as the Integrated Child Development Services which provides cooked meals and take-home rations to 100 million children under the age of six, as well as to pregnant and lactating mothers and the mid-day meal programme, are however stellar examples of how the government is working to fix these challenges.

India is dealing innovatively with climate change : Through the development of drought and flood tolerant seed varieties, weather-based agricultural advisories, promotion of millets, and small-scale irrigation.

Challenges :

Climate-related shocks made it difficult for farmers to deal with pest and locust attacks, as well as floods and cyclones.

Intensified food production systems with excessive use of chemicals and unsustainable farming practices cause soil degradation, fast depletion of groundwater table and rapid loss of agro-biodiversity.

These challenges multiply with an increase in fragmentation of landholdings.

In India, more than 86% farmers have less than two hectares of land contributing around 60% of the total food grain production and over half the country’s fruits and vegetables.

Supporting India :

During the COVID-19-precipitated lockdown, the FAO, IFAD and the WFP worked in close coordination to support the Government of India’s Empowered Group 5 on facilitating supply chain and logistics management, so necessary items such as food and medicines were available.


The agencies provided daily updates on the real-time situation on the ground,

collating challenges/red flags, dynamic anecdotal data and good practices from their sources in the field.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) :

It is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security.

Its Latin motto, fiat panis, translates to "let there be bread".

It was founded in October 1945,headquartered in Rome, Italy and maintains regional and field offices around the world, operating in over 130 countries.

7.6.PAEDIATRIC RENAL SWAP TRANSPLANT

Relevance - GS 2 – Issues related to Health

Why in news? KEM Hospital in Mumbai has become the first public hospital in the country to carry out a paediatric renal swap transplant. Details:

The patients are 15-year-old boys who suffer from a congenital abnormality of the urinary tract that led to kidney failure.

As the boys couldn't find a suitable kidney donor within their families, a swap transplant was the only option. The mother of one of the boys and the father of the other donated kidneys for the swap transplants.

Starting dialysis at such an early age could have affected their growth. The transplants are hence unique.

Kidney Swap / Pool transplant / Paired exchange :

Paired kidney exchange or kidney swap is a transplantation option for patients with a living donor who is not compatible for transplant.

It gives the freedom to all the patient an exchange of organs between two families, who cannot take the organ to their own family member because of non-matching blood group.

The donor may be a blood relative or friend who wants to donate, but they do not match the recipient.

Transplantation is still possible through paired kidney exchange, which connects pairs of compatible recipients and donors.

Paired kidney exchange can be between two pairs of people or more.


7.7.CBSE INTRODUCES FACIAL RECOGNITION SYSTEM FOR ACCESSING DIGITAL

DOCUMENTS

Relevance : GS 2 - Issues related to Education

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced ‘facial recognition system‘ which will enable students to download their digital academic documents of classes 10, 12.

According to CBSE, “This computer application matches human face from a digital image already stored in the database. The computer and the human interact to map facial features.”

Live image of the student will be matched with the photograph on the CBSE admit card already stored in the repository, and once successful, the certificate will be

emailed to the student, as per board.

The application is now available on ParniamManjusha and Digi locker for all 2020 records.

CBSE has already pushed 12 crore digital academic documents in Digi locker which can be opened by a student to access mark sheets, pass and migration certificates.

The latest facility of face matching will immensely help foreign students and those who are unable to open Digi locker account for any reason such as Aadhaar card or wrong mobile numbers.

CBSE Academic Repository : The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has launched ParinamManjusha - a Digital repository of academic records of CBSE affiliated students. Utility of the repository :

Students : Students can get digital mark sheet, pass certificate and migration certificate of CBSE examinations through DigiLocker.

ParinamManjusha has also been integrated with e-sanad software of Ministry of External Affairs to provide hassle free access of attested certificates and marksheets of students of CBSE affiliated schools to universities and prospective

employers.

Employers and educational institutions : can use this repository to verify academic records of CBSE students online after due registration.

CBSE and its regional offices : can store, access and update academic records of students in a central repository.

About DigiLocker :

DigiLocker is a key initiative under Digital India, the Indian Government’s flagship program aimed at transforming India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.

Targeted at the idea of paperless governance, DigiLocker is a platform for issuance and verification of documents & certificates in a digital way, thus eliminating the

use of physical documents.

Indian citizens who sign up for a DigiLocker account get a dedicated cloud storage space that is linked to their Aadhaar (UIDAI) number.


The following are the key stakeholders in the DigiLocker system:

Issuer: Entity issuing e-documents to individuals in a standard format and making them electronically available e.g. CBSE, Registrar Office, Income Tax department, etc.

Requester: Entity requesting secure access to a particular e-document stored within a repository (e.g. University, Passport Office, Regional Transport Office, etc.)

Resident: An individual who uses the Digital Locker service based on Aadhaar number.

Benefits to Agencies :

Reduced Administrative Overhead: Aimed at the concept of paperless governance. It reduces the administrative overhead by

minimizing the use of paper and curtailing the verification process.

Digital Transformation: Provides trusted issued documents. Issued Documents available via DigiLocker are fetched in real-time directly from the issuing agency.

Secure Document Gateway: Acts as a secure document exchange platform like payment gateway between trusted issuer and trusted Requester/Verifier with the consent of the citizen.

Real Time Verification: Provides a verification module enabling government agencies to verify data directly from issuers after obtaining user consent.

7.8.URBAN PLANNING EDUCATION SYSTEM :

The 14-member advisory committee, headed by NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar, will review the urban planning education system in India and examine the availability, demand and supply of qualified urban planners in the country.

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and secretaries of three ministries—Housing and Urban Affairs, Higher Education and Panchayati Raj—are among the members of the committee.

An order said the committee will “review the current urban planning education system in India in terms of multi-disciplinarity, curriculum and related issues at graduate and post graduate levels in the context of the challenges posed by rapid urbanization".

7.9.BHAGYALAKSHMI SCHEME

The prime goal of this scheme of the Karnataka government is to promote the birth of girl children in below poverty line (BPL) families and to raise the status of the girl child in the family in particular and society in general. Financial assistance is


provided to the girl child through her mother/father or natural guardian subject to the

fulfillment of certain conditions. This is a welfare measure linked to the conditional cash transfer in the name of the girl child, has changed the attitude towards the girl child among the poor sections of society and reduced gender disparity in school attendance. Eligibility :

The following criteria should be fulfilled to avail the benefits under this scheme:

All girl children born to below poverty line (BPL) families after 31 March 2006 are eligible to take benefits under this scheme.

The birth Enrolment should be done up to one year of the birth of the child on the submission of the birth certificate.

This scheme is for only two girl children of the BPL family.

The girl should not be a child labour.

Immunization should have been done as per the health department programme.In order to be eligible for the maturity amount, it is compulsory that the beneficiary completes 8th standard and she should not have been married off before she reaches the age of 18.

Benefits :

The child gets health insurance cover up to a maximum of Rs. 25,000 a year.

The annual scholarship of Rs. 300 to Rs. 1,000 up to tenth standard is given to girl

To Promote the birth of girl child in economically weaker families and to raise their status within the family and society.

To provide Financial assistance to the girl child through her mother/father/natural guardian subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions

Report findings :

Evaluation of the implementation of the scheme during 2010–11 and 2015–16 by the Karnataka Evaluation Authority with the support of Hyderabad–Karnataka Centre for Advanced Learning, Kalaburagi, found that “85.5% respondents believe there is a changed attitude towards the girl child in society” and that “they are no

more considered as burden”.

The report said 88% of children aged between six and 17 were attending school; there was “almost no gender disparity” in school attendance in the six to 14 age group. But there is a marginal difference in the 15 to 17 age group (73% of girls attending school as against 75% of boys). “Some portion of this success can be attributed to the scheme,” it said.

Evaluation of the implementation of scheme in eight districts — Bengaluru Urban, Chitradurga, Dharwad, Vijayapura, Bidar, Raichur, Dakshina Kannada, and Chamarajanagar — found reduction in the visibility of child labour in commercial activities to a significant extent.

District child rights cells, Labour Department, and child rights activists also contributed to this factor, it said.

Critique :

With 18 years of age and minimum eighth standard education, the scheme looks somewhat marriage oriented.


Although the scheme has increased the value of the girl child marginally within

the poor family, it has failed to curb female foeticide as it is prevalent across the class and caste categories.

Among the minorities and certain tribal communities, there is reservation on religious lines on the issue of sterilisation.

The report recommended that scheme beneficiaries should be given priority under various skill development as well as self-employment schemes.

The very process of allocation of BPL status needs to be relooked as the presence of bogus beneficiaries are blocking the potential of genuine beneficiaries.

Increase in age limit

Considering a majority of parents (76.7%) use the Bhagyalakshmi scheme money for marriage purpose when the girl child attains the age of 18, the State Cabinet seems to have increased the age limit to 21 for withdrawal of the full amount

under the scheme.

The remodelled scheme allows for withdrawal of a portion of the total amount of Rs1.27 lakh to be withdrawn at the age of 18 for pursuing education and the remaining at 21 years.

After shifting the execution of the scheme from LIC to India Post, the government would depositRs3,000 each in the name of the child for 15 years under the SukanyaSamriddhi scheme account. Currently, there are 30.5 lakh beneficiaries.

OPTIONAL CUT: Earlier, the government used to pay a premium ofRs 19,350 for the first child andRs18,350 for the second, to the LIC. The LIC refused to implement the scheme owing to low premiums.

7.10.THE ECONOMICS OF INDIA’S HIGH PREVALENCE OF CHILD BRIDES

Relevance - GS 1 – Social Empowerment

The government is considering raising the minimum legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21, to reduce the prevalence of child brides (below 18) in India. This is, of course, well intentioned.

The benefits of later marriage for women are well established. It is associated with higher nutrition levels for women and their children, lower maternal mortality, improved educational outcomes and greater financial independence.

Present Scenario :

According to Unicef, 650 million women alive today were married before they turned 18. India is home to 223 million or one in three of these child brides. Just under half that number, 102 million were married before they turned 15.

Uttar Pradesh has the largest number of child brides, at 36 million, followed by Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. The problem, however, is not the law.

Even though there is a minimum age for marriage for men, India doesn’t have the same extent of this problem with child grooms.


Only 4% of Indian boys/men were married before age 18. And 20% were married

before the minimum legal age of 21, compared to the 27% of girls/women married before the age of 18.

Raising the legal age of marriage displays a lack of understanding of the reasons for the low age of marriage for women in India, which have little to do with the law.

The Real problem :

The real problem begins with a very high son-preference.

South Asian countries exhibit the highest levels of son preference in the world, though there is much variation within India.

A consequence of high son-preference is that in trying to produce sons, couples sometimes produce daughters. To afford the sons they want, some of these couples dispose of their unwanted daughters.

India and Female foeticide :

India has one of the highest levels of female foeticide, where female foetuses are aborted through sex selection technology. This is banned in India, of course, but still prevalent.

India’s sex ratio at birth is 899 girls to 1,000 boys. Female foeticide is the most dire step taken by families.

For most people, female foeticide or infanticide is very undesirable and emotionally costly.

Couples trying to have a son over multiple attempts may end up with more than their preferred number of daughters.

If the family is rich and has the ability to raise multiple girls in order to produce a boy, their problem disappears. However, for poorer families, one solution is to marry these daughters off prematurely, thus creating a supply of child, even prepubescent brides.

Families in states like Haryana “import" and “buy" brides from poorer states.

Another consequence is that in highly-endogamous sections of Indian society, where families prefer to find brides within their own caste group, marriage-aged men must look for younger female cohorts within their community.

Increasing the age of marriage has unintended consequences :

Raising the cost of disposing unwanted daughters through marriage, and punishing families for violating the rule, could push families with a strong male preference towards sex selection and female foeticide, or trafficking and other worse ways of disposing unwanted daughters.

Raising the female marriage age in such countries with high son preference and high poverty may have the unintended consequence of increasing the prevalence of female infanticide and sex-selective abortion.

Way forward :

To increase marriage age, not just de jure but de facto, requires India to evolve economically and culturally.

As Indians have become more prosperous, and as extreme poverty levels have

declined, we see a decline in child brides.


In 1970, almost 75% women were married before they turned 18, which has now

decreased to 27%. Economic growth will save Indian girls from child marriage.

Combined with educational and cultural awareness against a sex preference, which no doubt will take longer, economic success is the only lasting solution.

7.11.ASER REPORT

GS 2 – Issues related to Education

Details :

Reportage has indicated so far is confirmed by the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2020, a phone survey of 60,000-odd students across rural India.

Only about one-third of the surveyed children had access to online learning; only

11 % had access to live online classes. That the burden of digital inequality has fallen on children shows up in the data.

As many as 24.3 % of the children said they had not received any learning material from the school in the week the survey was held because they had no smartphone — almost 75 % of interaction with schools was over WhatsApp.

A surge in the use of smartphones (as compared to 2018) has not been accompanied by greater access, which itself shows that technological solutions on their own cannot be enough to address this unforeseen crisis.

Both private and public schools have done well in is in reaching textbooks and worksheets to 80 % of students.

The ASER report offers a snapshot of the churn in the education system, and also how inherited disadvantages continue to affect quality of learning.

For instance, children with parents educated till Class X had a markedly better access to learning in these months than the children of parents with fewer years spent in school.

Possibilities :

For the private schools, it is a prod to rethink an online-only mode of learning.

For government schools, the growth in footfall is an opportunity to improve the

quality of teaching and retain students — it is possible, as has been shown by government schools in Karnataka and Kerala, among others, during lockdown.

The experience of southern states in the past decades proves that investment in a public school system multiplies opportunities manifold.

The AAP government in Delhi has shown that it makes for good politics.

Till a vaccine is found, a resumption of classes is still a far way off. In the interim, all stakeholders have to come together to minimise both loss of learning and the emotional turmoil that comes from being left behind.

Expanding availability of textbooks to all, including those who dropped out or are waiting to be formally admitted, will help parents and siblings aid learning. Bridging the divide on educational aids, now including smartphones, will enable transmission of learning materials, and personal tutorial sessions. Beyond these basics, however, the education system could creatively use opportunities during

the current year to broaden learning.

Students could use the safety of the open countryside to learn, under guidance from teachers, a host of topics by doing things themselves. This is particularly


feasible for lower classes, where observational learning creates a strong

foundation.

Educational video, which has helped thousands, can advance learning even beyond the pandemic, using talented teacher-communicators.

States such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala have already hosted curriculum-based video lessons on the Internet, after beaming them on television. It will take out-of-the-box thinking during the pandemic to come up with interventions that are a substitute for traditional methods and prevent 2020 becoming a zero year, as parents everywhere remain wary of sending children to school.

7.12.POVERTY AND SHARED PROSPERITY REPORT

Why in news? The World Bank’s biennial Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report: Reversals of Fortune was released October 7, 2020. Details :

India, along with Nigeria, is considered to have the largest number of the poor in the world. India tops the global list in terms of absolute number of poor, going by the last national survey of 2012-13. The country accounted for 139 million of the total 689 million people living in poverty in 2017.

It is, thus, imperative that if the world has to meet its United Nations-mandated Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) I to eradicate poverty by 2030, India has to achieve this goal first.

With just 10 years left to achieve the SDG I, it is an immediate crisis for the world.

The absence of poverty data in India means there is no objective and updated estimation of global poverty level, or the progress in its reduction.

“The decision (to scrap the 75th round of survey by NSO) leaves an important gap in understanding poverty in the country (India), South Asia and the world in recent years,” the World Bank’s latest report on poverty said.

7.13.WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY

For this World Mental Health Day ,October 10, 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has again advised countries to increase investments in treatment and rehabilitation of patients.

The pandemic has increased isolation and loss of income which are well known triggers of mental health conditions. The disease itself has been reported to lead to neurological and mental complications such as delirium, agitation and stroke.

On October 5, WHO released the findings of a survey carried out in 130 countries which showed that the pandemic had disrupted or halted mental health services in 93 % of the countries.

Though the problem is huge, sufficient funding is not available. Early this year, WHO had also pointed out that countries were spending less than 2 per cent of their health budget on mental health.


Only around 1 % of the international aid available for health is earmarked for

mental health. The Big Event for Mental Health being launched by WHO today is calling for increased investments.

The global economic cost of mental illness is expected to be more than $16 trillion over the next 20 years, which is more than the cost of any other non-communicable disease.

India’s healthcare budget in 2018 was Rs 52,800 crore, of which Rs 50 crore was for mental health and that was reduced to Rs 40 crore the following year. India is barely spending 0.5 % of the health budget on this sector.

Top mental illnesses :

The top mental illnesses were depressive disorder (45.7 million) and anxiety disorder (44.9 million).

The contribution of mental disorders to the total DALYs in India increased from

2.5 per cent in 1990 to 4.7 per cent in 2017.

Depressive disorder and anxiety disorder contributed the most to the total mental disorders DALYs.

Measures undertaken : To deal with these, India has the Mental Health Policy 2014 and the Mental Healthcare Act 2017. The Mental Health Care Act 2017 came into force from July 7, 2018 to meet the requirements of United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which India ratified in 2007.

7.14.GLOBAL ESTIMATE OF CHILDREN IN MONETARY POVERTY

An estimated one in six children ( 356 million) globally were living in extreme poverty before the COVID-19 pandemic began, and this is set to worsen significantly, according to a new World Bank Group and UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) analysis.

Sub-Saharan Africa, with its limited social safety nets, accounts for two-thirds of children living in households that struggle to survive on an average of USD1.90 a day or less per person – the international measure for extreme poverty, while South Asia accounts for nearly a fifth of these children.

Number of children living in extreme poverty decreased moderately, by 29 million, between 2013 and 2017. However, UNICEF and the World Bank Group warn that any progress made in recent years, has been "slow-paced, unequally distributed, and at risk" due to the economic impact of the pandemic.

Worsening condition :

Extreme poverty deprives hundreds of millions of children of the opportunity to reach their potential, in terms of physical and cognitive development, and threatens their ability to get good jobs in adulthood.

Child poverty is more prevalent in fragile and conflict-affected countries, where

more than 40 % of children live in extremely poor households, compared to nearly 15 % of children in other countries.


More than 70 % of children in extreme poverty live in a household where the head

of the house works in the fields or pastures.

World Bank and UNICEF data suggest that most countries have responded to the crisis by expanding social protection programmes, particularly cash transfers, which provide a platform for longer-term investments in human capital.

However, many of the responses are short-term and not adequate to respond to the size and expected long-term nature of the recovery, says the report.

Suggestive Measures: It is more important than ever for governments to scale up and adjust their social protection systems and programmes to prepare for future shocks, including innovations for financial sustainability; strengthening legal and institutional frameworks; protecting human capital; expanding child and family benefits for the long term; as well as investing in family-friendly policies, such as paid parental leave and quality child care for all.


8. SCHEMES

8.1.AMBEDKAR SOCIAL INNOVATION INCUBATION MISSION

Why in News? An initiative was launched by the government to promote innovation and entrepreneurship amongst SC students in higher education campuses. The programme named Ambedkar Social Innovation Incubation Mission (ASIIM) was launched by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. About ASIIM

The ASIIM aims to promote innovation and entrepreneurship among SC students in the higher education campuses.

There is a need to identify innovative ideas and provide focussed support to young entrepreneurs who are engaged in working on innovative and technology-oriented business ideas either in educational campuses or Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) to help them set up successful commercial enterprises.

In accordance with that the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment said it has decided to launch (ASIIM) through the Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes (VCFSC).

Apart from promoting innovation and entrepreneurship amongst SC students, the ministry said the main objectives of ASIIM also include promoting entrepreneurship among the SC Youth with special preference to Divyangs, supporting (1,000) innovative ideas till 2024 through a synergetic work with the Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) set up by Department of Science and Technology among others.

Under this initiative, 1,000 initiatives of SC youth would be identified through a systematic and transparent process in convergence with the technology business incubators and would fund them up to ₹30 lakh in a three year period as equity.

The purpose is to encourage the innovative students to take to innovation and entrepreneurship without seeking jobs.

Successful ventures would further qualify for venture funding of up to Rs 5

Crore from the Venture Capital Fund for SCs. Venture Capital Fund for SCs (VCF-SC) was launched in 2014-15 with a view to

develop entrepreneurship amongst the SC/Divyang youth and to enable them to become 'job-givers'.

8.2.PRODUCTION LINKED INCENTIVE SCHEME

Why in news? The India government approved ten mobile manufacturing companies for its Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) scheme to boost large-scale electronics manufacturing in the country as a part of the its Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. Along with that, it has also given its nod for six other eligible applicants under the

scheme.


About the scheme

Under the National Policy on Electronics 2019, introduced to position India as a global hub for electronics system design and manufacturing, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has introduced a Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing (Scheme) with effect from April 1, 2020.

The scheme provides for an incentive of 4-6 per cent on incremental sales (as compared to the base year, i.e., 2019-20) of mobile phones and specified electronic components (such as semiconductors, diodes, printed circuit boards, etc) manufactured in India, to eligible companies, for a period of five years in the following three categories:

(a) mobile phones manufactured and sold by domestic companies; (b) mobile phones manufactured and sold by other companies (invoice value of Rs 15,000

and above); and (c) specified electronic components. Eligibility

The scheme is available to all companies registered in India which meet the threshold requirement of a specified incremental investment (between ₹100 crore and Rs 1,000 crore) in the next four years as well as incremental sales of manufactured goods.

However, it is notable that a maximum of five domestic and five global mobile manufacturing companies and 10 electronic component manufacturers will be selected from the applications received by the Government.

In case more applications are received, then companies having the highest consolidated global manufacturing revenues will be considered. Accordingly, the scheme is designed to select only the few top companies as the Government has limited funds to disburse.

NOTE The international mobile phone manufacturing companies that are approved

under mobile phone segment are Samsung, Foxconn Hon Hai, Rising Star, Wistron and Pegatron.

Out of these, 3 companies namely Foxconn Hon Hai, Wistron and Pegatron are contract manufacturers for Apple iPhones. Apple (37%) and Samsung (22%) together account for nearly 60% of global sales revenue of mobile phones and this scheme is expected to increase their manufacturing base manifold in the country.

Under domestic phone manufacturing segment, the government approved Lava, Bhagwati (Micromax), Padget Electronics, UTL Neolyncs and Optiemus Electronics.

Potential concerns

The quantum of incentives is to be calculated by a simple formula — that is, net incremental sales x rate of incentive (4-6 per cent).

This implies that the incentive is a factor of the incremental production rate, that is, greater the production, the higher the incentives. However, the fine print

reveals that the incentives cannot be claimed beyond the financial outlay proposed by the Government, which is ₹40,951 crore.


If the total quantum of incentives exceeds the annual financial outlay, the

incentives will be disbursed to all companies on the basis of their net incremental sales.

Therefore, an over-performing company may not be reap the benefits under the scheme in absolute terms.

Subsidies granted by the Indian Government have been a matter of international disputes and are therefore to be examined closely. For instance, in 2019, India lost a case before the World Trade Organisation (WTO) where several incentive schemes such as MEIS, EPCG, and SEZ were challenged on the ground that such export linked schemes violate international trade agreements between member countries.

8.3. WOMEN SCIENTISTS SCHEME

Context:

Dust can reduce the effect of nuclear weapons and this has been proved by scientist Dr Meera Chadha from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, New Delhi.

For the first time, it has been shown through mathematical modelling, that the deadly effects of nuclear weapons can be partially mitigated or reduced with the help of dust particles.

Women Scientist Scheme (WOS A) fellowship of the Department of Science & Technology (DST) provides opportunities to women scientists and technologists who had a break in their career but desired to return to the mainstream. Dr Meera Chadha from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, New Delhi, availed this opportunity.

About the Scheme Department of Science and Technology (DST) launched "Women Scientists Scheme (WOS)" during 2002-03. This initiative primarily aimed at providing opportunities to women scientists and technologists between the age group of 27-57 years who had a break in their career but desired to return to mainstream. Category of Fellowships: Under this scheme, women scientists are being encouraged to pursue research in frontier areas of science and engineering, on problems of societal relevance and to take up S&T-based internship followed by self-employment. Following three categories of fellowships, with research grants, are available for Indian citizen:

Women Scientist Scheme-A(WOS-A): Research in Basic/Applied Science Women Scientist Scheme-B (WOS-B): S&T interventions for Societal Benefit Women Scientist Scheme-C (WOS-C): Internship in Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) for the Self-Employment. Eligibility: The scheme is meant to encourage women in S&T domain, preferably those having a

break in career and not having regular employment, to explore possibility of re-entry into the profession.


Qualifications:

Minimum Post Graduate degree, equivalent to M.Sc. in Basic or Applied Sciences or B.Tech.or MBBS or other equivalent professional qualifications. M.Tech/M.Pharm/M.VSc or equivalent qualifications Ph.D. in Basic or Applied Sciences Age: The minimum age to apply in WOS-A & WOS-B is 27 years and maximum age is 57 years. Age relaxation of 5 years would be given to candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC and physically challenged category. Attested copies of supporting documents in this regard must be enclosed. Support: This scheme will provide a research grant for a well-defined project proposal (under

WOS-A and WOS-B) for a period of maximum three years. This grant will cover the fellowship of the applicant and cost of small equipments, contingencies, travel, consumables, etc. Institutional overhead charges will be extra.

8.4.KAMDHENU DEEPAWALI ABHIYAN

Context: Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog begins nationwide campaign to celebrate “Kamdhenu Deepawali Abhiyan” - Promoting extensive use of cow-dung/ Panchgavya products this Diwali Festival. About the initiative

Encouraged by the response to Gaumaya Ganesha Campaign which encouraged usage of eco-friendly material in manufacture of idols for the Ganesha Festival ,Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA) has started a nationwide campaign to celebrate “Kamdhenu Deepawali Abhiyan” this year on the occasion of Deepawali festival.

Through this campaign, the RKA is promoting extensive use of cow-dung/ Panchgavya products during this Diwali Festival. Manufacture of Cow dung based Diyas, Candles, Dhoop, Agarbatti, Shubh-Labh, Swastik, Samrani, Hardboard, Wall-piece, Paper-weight, Havan samagri, Idols of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi for this year’s Diwali festival has started.

It generated a considerable interest in various stakeholders like dairy farmers / unemployed youth / women and young entrepreneurs / Gaushalas/ Gopalaks / Self Help Groups etc.

About Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog

Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA) has been constituted by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for the conservation, protection and development of cows and their progeny and for giving direction to the cattle development programmes.

RKA is high powered permanent body to formulate policy and to provide direction to the implementation of schemes related to cattle so as to give more emphasis on

livelihood generation.


Need for Cow centric Economy

Livestock economy sustains nearly 73 million households in rural areas. Even though, the country is largest producer of milk, the average milk yield in India is only 50% of the world average.

The low productivity is largely due to deterioration in genetic stock, poor nutrition and unscientific management. The trend needs to be reversed and popular perception about cow and cow based agriculture and cow based industry need to be corrected immediately for social and economic rejuvenation of society particularly poor in rural areas.

RKA is trying to its best to implement the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for 'Atma Nirbhar Bharat'.

RKA has been consistently endeavoring to increase the use of various cow- panchgavya products to raise the income of farmers, gaupalaks, youth, women, self-help groups and other stakeholders.

8.5.LEAVE TRAVEL CONCESSION(LTC) CASH VOUCHER SCHEME

Why in news? LTC cash voucher and festival advance scheme are the measures announced by the government projected to create “additional demand” of Rs 1 lakh crore in the economy. About the scheme

Given the current pandemic, employees may refrain from traveling and thus lose the benefit of LTC that they would have enjoyed during a normal period. Employees however would be reimbursed cash equivalent of the LTC fare and the leave encashment if they opt for this scheme, instead of the regular LTC, subject to certain conditions.

The specified quantum to be spent is three times the deemed LTC fare for each person travelling, plus the amount of leave encashment.

As per the scheme, an employee needs to spend a specified quantum of money via the digital mode, on goods / services that are liable to Goods and Service Tax (GST) of 12 per cent or more, from a GST-registered vendor, on or before March 31, 2021.

The GST invoice needs to be submitted to the employer for verification to claim the benefit.

The scheme also provides that in case the central government employee spends a lower amount, the total amount payable would be proportionately reduced.

Employees who opt for the scheme and spend the required amount, will be reimbursed the full leave encashment value net of requisite tax and deemed LTC fare (based on number of persons travelling).

The deemed LTC fare will be eligible for tax concession as per existing income tax provisions. Thus there are several conditions that the employee needs to ensure are met to avail this benefit.

While presenting the scheme, the finance minister indicated that the scheme would be available for state government as well as for the private sector, where employees are currently entitled to LTC, and would be subject to the guidelines of

the Central Government scheme.


However in the memorandum issued there is reference only to Central

Government employees; hence a specific clarification extending the scheme to all will clear doubts.

Special Festival Advance Scheme The government has restored festival advance, which was abolished in line with

recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission, for one time till March 31, 2021. Under this, all central government employees will get interest-free advance of Rs 10,000 that the government will recover in 10 instalments.

It will be given in the form of a pre-loaded Rupay card of the advance value and the government expects to disburse Rs 4,000 crore under the scheme.

The government believes that these schemes, if availed by employees, would result in an additional demand generation of Rs 23,000 crore, which could go up to Rs 36,000 crore if the schemes are extended to state government employees also.

8.6.KALA SANSKRITI VIKAS YOJANA

Why in news? Guidelines issued for holding cultural events or activities in Virtual or Online mode under Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana. Details

The Covid outbreak has had a substantial impact on the Performing Arts & Cultural sector with in-person exhibitions, events, and performances either cancelled or postponed.

But, there were intensive efforts by the Artists & the institutions of the Ministry of Culture to provide alternative or additional services through digital platforms with proper documentation of the events.

It is to be noted that Ministry of Culture (Performing Arts Bureau) implements many schemes under its Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana (KSVY), where the grants are sanctioned or approved for holding programs/activities involving large audience.

The artists/organizations which have already been sanctioned grant under KSVY schemes are encouraged to conduct many components of the schemes like virtual workshops on art & craft, lecture-cum-demonstrations, webinars, online programs/festivals etc. through virtual mode on social media handles such as Facebook, YouTube etc.

The submission of hard copies of documents relating to activities covered under the scheme or scheme components will be dispensed with for the time being & soft copies of the same will be admissible for release of grant.

The organizations who are conducting events on virtual mode may be given exemption from submission of proof of event such as Newspaper cutting but must submit link or recordings of the virtual events / activities with details of the event.

The outreach of the program in terms of measure of the digital audience must also be indicated.


8.7.INDIRA RASOI YOJANA

Why in news? Over 50 lakh people have benefited from a new kitchen scheme, named after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, launched in Rajasthan for providing nutritious food to the poor and needy twice a day at concessional rates.

About the scheme Rajasthan government launched its ambitious Indira Rasoi scheme on the 76th

birth anniversary of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. With 358 kitchens in 213 city wards, the Rajasthan government is providing food

from 8 am till 1 pm and from 5 pm till 8 pm on a daily basis. It would fulfil the State government’s promise of “no one sleeps hungry”. The scheme had ensured supply of healthy and nutritious food during the

pandemic. Since August 20, food has been distributed to 1.33 lakh persons per day

benefiting 50.30 lakh persons across the State. Though each plate is priced at ₹20, the State government provides a subsidy of ₹12 per meal.

Eachplate serves 100 grams ofpulses and vegetables each,250 grams of chapati and pickles.

8.8.STARS PROJECT

Why in news? The Union Cabinet approved the implementation of the Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) project with a total project cost of Rs 5718 crore with World Bank support amounting to approximately Rs. 3700 crore. Details

The STARS project would be implemented as a centrally sponsored scheme under the education ministry’s department of school education and literacy

and would involve setting up of a National Assessment Centre, PARAKH as an independent and autonomous institution.

The STARS project also includes a Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC). It will help the government respond to situations leading to loss of learning such as school closures/infrastructure damage, inadequate facilities and use technology for facilitating remote learning etc.

The CERC component would facilitate the rapid re-categorization of financing and the utilization of streamlined financing request procedures.

The project covers 6 States namely Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Odisha. The identified states will be supported for various interventions for improving the quality of education.

Besides this project, it is also envisaged to implement a similar ADB funded project in 5 states namely Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and

Assam. All states will partner with one other state for sharing their experiences and best practice.


The STARS project seeks to support the states in developing, implementing,

evaluating and improving interventions with direct linkages to improved education outcomes and school to work transition strategies for improved labour market outcomes.

The overall focus and components of the STARS project are aligned with the objectives of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 of Quality Based Learning Outcomes.

The project also aims to strengthen the Union Education ministry’s national data systems and strengthening of learning assessment systems.

At the State level, the project envisages: strengthening early childhood education and foundational learning, improving learning assessment systems, strengthening classroom instruction and remediation through teacher development and school leadership and strengthening vocational education.

The STARS project also aims to focus on initiatives of PM e-Vidya, Foundational

Literacy and Numeracy Mission and National Curricular and Pedagogical Framework for Early Childhood Care and Education as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

8.9.BIRAC-BIOTECHNOLOGY IGNITION GRANT SCHEME

Why in News? Innovation needs risk capital interms of resources and psychological security for researchers. Itneeds an environment where it is safe to fail. The government has been building a comprehensiveframework to this end. It is incentivising research and development with several schemes. Key features of BIG scheme are as follows: The Biotechnology Ignition Grant (BIG) scheme is for potential entrepreneurs from Academia, start-ups or an Incubatee (Researchers, PhDs, Medical degree holders, Biomedical Engg. Graduates) who have an exciting idea which may be in the nascent and planning stage and there is an unmet need for mentorship and initial funding. The Biotechnology Ignition Grant would help to support and nurture these high risk early starters and their concepts. The main aim of BIG Scheme is: a. To establish and validate proof of concept b. To enable creation of spin-offs. Eligibility: Company Applicant

Biotechnology start-ups / entrepreneurs with an exciting idea which may be in the nascent and planning stage can apply under this scheme.

The registered company should have a functional R&D laboratory. If it does not have a functional Lab then the Company must be an Incubatee located in an Incubator.

A Company is defined as one which is registered under the lndian Companies Act 1956 and in which more than 51 % of the ownership is held by lndian Citizens (not OCI or PIO).


Individual Applicant

The Individual applicant must be Researchers, PhDs, Medical degree holders, Biomedical Engg. Graduates etc. Students, Academician and Scientists (Research Institute/University/Public, Not for profit Organization, Private funded) can apply. The Individual applicant or team needs to Incubate in an Incubator.

An Incubator is defined as facility designed for housing R&D driven start-up companies or individual incubatees active in Life sciences.

It will provide the incubation space, equipments, mentoring and other required services to startup companies/individuals for their initial growth.

An Incubatee is defined as an individual or a company located in the Incubator and availing services of the Incubator.

The applicant has to be an Indian (not OCI or PIO). If the applicant is a professor, student or a researcher working/studying in an institute, then the

research/innovation under the BIG scheme cannot be carried out in the institute laboratory.

The applicant needs to be either incubated at the Incubator of their own Institute or any other Incubator. It is recommended to have a Scientific Advisor for the project however it is not mandatory.

NOTE: India has joined the group of top 50 countries in the global innovation index for the first time, moving up four places to the 48th rank and keeping the top position among the nations in central and southern Asia.

8.10.AYUSHMAN SAHAKAR

Why in News? Inspired by the successfully-run cooperative hospitals in Kerala, the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) has come up with a scheme, Ayushman Sahakar, to involve co-operatives in creating healthcare infrastructure. It is an endeavour to scale up healthcare infrastructure in rural areas. The scheme assists cooperatives which run around 52 hospitals across the country having cumulative bed strength of more than 5,000. About the scheme

Under this, the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) would extend term loans of Rs 10,000 crore to cooperatives for creating healthcare infrastructure in rural India.

NCDC is the apex autonomous development finance institution under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

What it covers?

Ayushman Sahakar specifically covers establishment, modernization, expansion, repairs, renovation of hospitals and healthcare and education infrastructure.

NCDC would support not just bedded facilities under this scheme but also cover

all aspects of healthcare that come under the World Health Organization classification, including Indian systems of medicine.


It will be covering Ayush, homoeopathy, drug manufacturing, drug testing,

wellness centres, Ayurveda massage centres, and drug stores. It would also support education initiatives such as medical and dental colleges

and those offering nursing and paramedical education. The only thing is that they should be a cooperative.

NOTE

Acooperative has to be three years old for getting NCDC finance, for this start-up scheme. So, this is a great scheme for start-ups. Besides, if these start-ups are founded by women or those with disabilities, they would get an interest subvention of 2 per cent.

8.11.MID-DAY MEAL PROGRAMME

Why in news? Government has decided to supply fortified rice in schools covered under the mid-day meal programme as part of its effort to fight malnutrition, The rice will be fortified with three micronutrients — vitamin B12, iron and folic acid. Significance

Formative years of child are extremely important. Therefore, all children who are attending ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) centres and all children who are attending schools and are covered under the mid-day meal programme, they should get fortified rice.

So it was decided that across the country all ICDS centres and all mid-day meal programmes will be supplied with fortified rice. These fortified rice will carry three micronutrients — B12, iron and folic acid.

This would supplement the government’s effort towards fighting the menace of malnutrition,.

Generally, the Centre distributes around 550 lakh tonnes of foodgrains annually under the NFSA and some other welfare schemes,

The Centre is providing higher quantity of foodgrains to poorest of the poor which is about 10 crore people. Despite these interventions, India’s ranking on the global hunger index leaves much to be desired.

This is because of variety of factors and focus has to be on overall balanced diet and not only carbohydrates and protein.

Food law provides that India must move first towards food security and then nutritional security and health security.

8.12. KISAN SURYODAYA YOJANA

Why in news?

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated 3 key projects in Gujarat through video conferencing.

Shri Modi launched the Kisan Suryodaya Yojana for providing 16 hours of power supply to farmers. He also inaugurated the Paediatric Heart Hospital attached


with U.N Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre and a Mobile

Application for tele-cardiology at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad. The Prime Minister also inaugurated the Ropeway at Girnar on the occasion.

Details

Kisan Suryoday Yojana, where Rs 3,500 crore will be spent over the next three years for providing solar power to farmers for irrigation during daytime, has an objective of providing 16 hours of power supply to farmers in the state every day.

Under this scheme, farmers will be able to avail power supply from 5 AM to 9 PM. After Sujalam Sufalam and SAUNI yojana (both irrigation projects), now Kisan

Suryoday Yojana will be a milestone for the farmers of Gujarat. Under the Kisan Suryodaya Yojana farmers will get 3 phase power supply from 5

AM to 9 PM and will bring a new dawn in their lives. The Prime Minister also lauded the efforts of the Gujarat government for doing this

work by preparing a completely new capacity of transmission, without affecting the other existing systems.

Under this scheme, about 3500 circuit kilometers of new transmission lines will be laid in the next 2-3 years and will be implemented in more than a thousand villages in the coming days and most of these villages are in tribal dominated areas.

It will change the lives of lakhs of farmers, when the entire Gujarat gets the power supply through this scheme.

8.13.KUMHAR SASHAKTIKARAN YOJANA

MINISTRY OF MICRO,SMALL& MEDIUM ENTERPRISES Why in news?

Union Minister for MSME and RTH Shri Nitin Gadkari distributed electric potter wheels, through Video Conference, to 100 potter families in Nanded and Parbhani districts of Maharashtra as a major step ptowards empowerment with KumharSashaktikaranYojana of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).

More than 18,000 electric chaaks have so far been distributed across the country benefiting nearly 80,000 people of the community.

The average income of potters under KumharSashaktikaranYojana has gone up from nearly Rs 3000 per month to nearly Rs 10,000 per month.

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has launched its flagship “KumharSashaktikaran Yojana” in Pokhran in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan.

8.14.JAL JEEVAN MISSION

Why in news?

Mid-term review of implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Rajasthan.


Objective

Ministry of Jal Shakti has been working with the States/ UTs to implement Union Government’s flagship programme Jal Jeevan Mission, which envisages provision of 55 litres of potable water per person per day through tap water connection to every rural home by 2024. The mission aims to improve the lives of rural people especially women and girls by re ducing their drudgery. Funds are provided by Government of India based on the output in terms of household tap connections provided and the utilization of available central and matching State share. Details & Highlights

The mid-term review highlighted the need for analysing the existing Piped Water

Supply (PWS) schemes in 44,641 habitations, where not a single connection has been provided. It was also urged to examine schemes in 20,172 villages, where not a single tap connection has been provided.

Rajasthan State has planned to provide safe drinking water to remaining 1,545 Fluoride affected habitations having population of 8.74 lakh by December, 2020.

The State was urged to pay undivided attention for universal coverage of water scarce areas, aspirational districts, SC/ ST dominated villages, villages under Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojna (SAGY).

As Jal Jeevan Mission is a decentralized, demand-driven, community-managed programme, the local village community/ Gram Panchayats or user groups have to play key role in planning, implementation, management, operation and maintenance of water supply systems in villages to ensure long-term sustainability.

The State was requested to undertake IEC campaign along with community mobilization in all villages to make Jal Jeevan Mission, truly a people’s movement.

Women self-help groups and voluntary organisations are to be engaged to mobilize the rural community for creation of in-village water supply infrastructure as well as for their operation and maintenance.

State was requested to ensure all the anganwadi centres, ashramshalas and schools are provided piped water supply as part of the special 100-day campaign has been launched on 2 October, 2020, so that potable water is available in these institutions for drinking, hand washing, for use in toilets and for cooking of mid-day meals.

This campaign offers a golden opportunity to provide safe water in these public institutions, so that children have access to safe water, which will improve their health and well-being.

8.15.SERB – POWER SCHEME

Why in News? Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan launched the SERB - POWER schemes that aim to encourage emerging as well as eminent women researchers to undertake

R&D activities in frontier areas of science and engineering.


Details

The schemes will promote women researchers in regular service in academic and research institutions to take up R&D at the highest level through two categories of research support: SERB - POWER Fellowship and SERB - POWER Research Grants.

SERB-Power Fellowship offers a personal fellowship and a research grant to top performing women researchers for a period of three years, while the SERB - Power Research Grants ensure funding to undertake highly impactful research across all disciplines of Science & Technology. The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) is a body under the Department of Science and Technology.

Globally, just 30 per cent of the world's researchers are women while 18.6 per cent of India's full-time R&D personnel are women.

The new Science Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP) 2020 will also emphasise

on encouraging women scientists, SERB - Power Fellowship will be given to women researchers in the age group of

35-55 years. The fellowship will be of Rs 15,000 per month in addition to regular income, while

the research grant will be of Rs 10 lakh per annum for a period of three years. Under the SERB - Power Research Grants, women researchers will be funded under two categories.

The first category includes women scientists from IITs, IISERs, IISc, NITs, central universities, and national labs of the Central government institutions. They will be eligible for funding up to Rs 60 lakhs for three years.

Level two will comprise scientists and researchers from state universities/ colleges and private academics. They will be eligible for funding up to 30 lakhs for three years.

8.16.PRODUCTION LINKED INCENTIVE SCHEME

Why in news? Govt revises PLI scheme guidelines to boost local production of bulk drugs, medical devices. Overview

The Department of Pharmaceuticals revised guidelines of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for promoting domestic manufacturing of bulk drugs and medical devices keeping in view the suggestions and comments received from the industry.

Accordingly ''minimum threshold'' investment requirement has been replaced by ''committed investment'' taking into account availability of technology choices which varies from product to product.

The PLI schemes were approved by the Cabinet on March 20,2020, and detailed guidelines for the implementation of the schemes were issued by the Department of Pharmaceuticals on July 27, 2020.

Post issuance of the detailed guidelines, the department received several

suggestions and inputs from the pharmaceutical and medical device industry seeking certain amendments in the schemes to enable effective participation of the industry.


Revised guidelines

The main changes in the revised guidelines for PLI scheme for promotion of domestic manufacturing of critical Key Starting Materials, Drug Intermediates and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients in India are replacement of the criteria of ''minimum threshold'' investment with ''committed investment'' by the selected applicant.

The change has been made to encourage efficient use of productive capital as the amount of investment required to achieve a particular level of production depends upon choice of technology and it also varies from product to product.

The provision which restricts the sales of eligible products to domestic sales only for the purpose of eligibility of receiving incentives has been deleted, bringing the scheme in line with other PLI schemes and encouraging market diversification.

A change has also been made in the minimum annual production capacity for 10 products and the last date for receiving applications under the scheme is now

extended by a week to November 30, 2020 . For the PLI scheme for promoting domestic manufacturing of Medical Devices

there is replacement of the criteria of ''minimum threshold'' investment with ''committed investment'' by the selected applicant.

There is also change in the eligibility criteria of minimum sales threshold in line with projected demand, technology trend and market development, for the purpose of availing incentive under the scheme.

The tenure of the scheme has been extended by one year keeping in view the capital expenditure expected to be done by the selected applicants in FY 2021-22.

Accordingly, the sales for the purpose of availing incentives will be accounted for 5 years starting from FY 2022-2023 instead of FY 2021-2022.


9. MISCELLLANEOUS/FACTS ART AND CULTURE

9.1.CHITRA MANTAPA

News: ChitraMantapa: Reminiscence of Mysore paintings

The ‘ChitraMantapa’ hall with wall and ceiling paintings is an ancient concept.

The term can be applied to the historical cave paintings in India, including the early Buddhist-painted rock-cut chaityas and viharas at Ajanta (2nd century BCE- 5th Century CE).

The Ajanta paintings mainly depict the life and Jataka stories of the Buddha.

In the post-Ajanta period, paintings continued to be favoured by many dynasties.

In the Karnataka region, the BadamiChalukyas carried on with the tradition of painting in cave temples. However, only fragments of paintings are now found in Cave 3 in Badami.

In the post-BadamiChalukya era, the Rashtrakutas, the later Chalukyas and the Hoysalas concentrated on prolific temple activities and sculptures, and hence, there was minimal space for paintings.

The Vijayanagara kings revived the ChitraMantapa tradition. The Maharangamantapa (1509 CE) in

Hampi ’ s Virupaksha temple has

paintings on the ceiling that may be dated to ca. 1520-25 CE.

In the post-Vijayanagara period, the Mysore Wodeyars continued to patronise the art. The kings built a lot of temples, donated for KalyanaMantapas and renewed grants to many religious institutions. The ShwetavarahaSwamy and ShriPrasanna Krishna temples, situated within the Mysore palace premises, have murals depicting Ramayana and Bhagavatha narratives on the inner walls of the hall.

About ChitraMantapa in Mysore

The ChitraMantapa at the ShriPrasannaVenkataramana temple in Mysore has significant wall and ceiling paintings. The temple is situated in Sri Krishna VilasaAgrahara, near Jaganmohana palace.

It was built by SubbarayaDasa, a Madhwa saint in 1836 CE, with grants given by King KrishnarajaWodeyar III. Another grant dated to 1842 CE mentions the construction of a ChitraMantapa. It is a small hall, having paintings of Wodeyar portraits and KshetraDarshana narratives. The latter were the result of

SubbarayaDasa’s religious trips to various places in North and South India.


At the entrance, a painting of Trivikrama is depicted. The images of Kama and Rati

on NavanariKunjara (elephant) and PanchaNariTuraga (horse) respectively are painted on either side of the main image.

There are depictions of the wedding of Rama and Sita, coronation of Rama, UgraNarasimha, VataPatraShayi Krishna and Lakshmi Narasimha on the upper register of the frame. The Bhagavata narratives of Krishna with Rukmini and Satyabhama, YamalarjunaVijaya, GopikaVastrapaharana and a hunting scene are found here.

There are 12 portraits of the Mysore kings who ruled before KrishnarajaWodeyar III.

The panel depicts HampiVirupaksha, VyasarayaraPatha and Nava Vrindavana.

The Chamundeshwari-Chamundi hill is also depicted. A large picture of Nanjanagudu temple and the PanchaRathas there are portrayed to show the annual fair.

The ChitraMantapa ceiling paintings provide more detailed visual descriptions of the KshetraDarshana of SubbarayaDasa. Depictions of Udupi, Kolhapur and PandarapurVithala are present.

The uniqueness of these paintings is their uniform style and colour as well as the composition of the theme. Even amidst the influence of colonial art, they retained the local technique and composition. The paintings serve as the precursor to the traditional Mysore school.

9.2.RAIN RAVAGES PORTIONS OF 500-YEAR-OLD GOLCONDA FORT

Relentless rain in Hyderabad caused immense damage to the 500-year-old Golconda Fort.

A team of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials inspected the damaged portions of the fort which have been cordoned off to prevent further damage.

The Golconda Fort was built and modified by successive generations by QutbShahiswho ruled for 160 years from the fort. It is considered an impregnable fortress with multiple rock curtains and has never been conquered, except by treachery.

About Golconda Fort

Golconda Fort, also known as Golkonda (Telugu: "shepherds' hill"), is a fortified citadel and an early capital city of the QutbShahi dynasty (c. 1512–1687), located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India.

Because of the vicinity of diamond mines, especially Kollur Mine, Golconda

flourished as a trade centre of large diamonds, known as the Golconda Diamonds.

The region has produced some of the world's most famous diamonds, including the colourlessKoh-i-Noor(now owned by the United Kingdom), the blue Hope


(United States), the pink Daria-i-Noor (Iran), the white Regent (France), the

Dresden Green (Germany), and the colourlessOrlov (Russia), Nizam and Jacob (India), as well as the now lost diamonds Florentine Yellow, Akbar Shah and Great Mogul.

Golconda was originally known as Mankal.Golconda Fort was first built by the

Kakatiyasas part of their western defenses along the lines of the Kondapalli Fort.

Golconda Fort is listed as an archaeological treasure on the official "List of Monuments" prepared by the Archaeological Survey of India under The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act.

Several dynasties ruled Golconda over years: 1. Kakatiya Kings 2. MusunuriNayakas 3. Bahamani Sultans 4. QutbShahi dynasty

5. Mughal Empire

The Golconda fort, and other QutbShahi dynasty Monuments of Hyderabad (the Charminar, and the QutbShahi Tombs) were submitted by the Permanent Delegation of India to UNESCO in 2010 for consideration as World Heritage Sites. They are currently included on India's "tentative list".

There are hundreds of Hindu temples built under the patronage of Kakatiya kings like Ganapati Deva, Rudrama Devi and Prataparudra of Kakatiya dynasty. E.g.

Thousand Pillar Temple or RudreshwaraSwamy Temple, Telangana. It is a star-shaped, triple shrine (Trikutalayam) dedicated to Vishnu, Shiva and Surya.

9.3.NOBEL PRIZE

News :The discovery of Hepatitis C virus that helped three scientists win the Medicine Nobel

This year’ s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine rewards an effort that

eventually made blood transfusion safer for everyone. American scientists Harvey Alter and Charles Rice, and Michael Houghton of the UK, have been recognised for their contributions to the discovery of a new virus that was the cause of a vast

majority of chronic hepatitis cases, or cases of serious liver inflammation, in patients who required blood transfusion. This virus was eventually called Hepatitis C virus.


Since the discovery and identification of the virus in the 1970s and 1980s, a cure

has been found for the disease, and effective anti-viral drugs are now available. Tests have been developed to identify blood that has this virus, so that infected blood is not given to any patient.

Still, according to the World Health Organization, about 71 million people (6 -11 million of them in India) have chronic infection with the Hepatitis C virus, which also happens to be major cause of liver cancer.

News: Two women share chemistry Nobel in historic win for 'genetic scissors'

Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudnaare the first two women to share the prize, which honours their work on the technology of genome editing.

Gene editing has been widely applied across the world. It can directly change the DNA of a lifeform and has the potential of leading to beneficial

results.

One of the most convenient method of gene editing is called CRISPR/Cas9, which was discovered by the two Nobel laureates. The method enabled scientists to cut a sequence of DNA into two pieces, allowing nature to "repair" it. During the repair process, errors will be introduced to create a different sequence of DNA, thus resulting into an edited gene.

In simple words, CRISPR/Cas9 is

the "scissors" of genes.

The greatness of CRISPR/Cas9 lies in extreme precision. It also enabled humans to breed more plant variants and develop better cancer therapies.

In the future, the discovery of the two laureates may even eliminate some of the inherited diseases.

About The Technology

Editing, or modifying, gene sequences is nothing new. It has been happening for several decades now, particularly in the field of agriculture, where several crops have been genetically modified to provide particular traits.

But what CRISPR has done is make gene editing very easy and simple, and at the same time extremely efficient. And the possibilities are nearly endless.

In essence, the technology works in a simple way — it locates the specific area in

the genetic sequence which has been diagnosed to be the cause of the problem, cuts it out, and replaces it with a new and correct sequence that no longer causes the problem.

The technology replicates a natural defence mechanism in some bacteria that uses a similar method to protect itself from virus attacks.

An RNA molecule is programmed to locate the particular problematic sequence

on the DNA strand, and a special protein called Cas9, which now is often


described in popular literature as ‘genetic scissor’ , is used to break and

remove the problematic sequence.

A DNA strand, when broken, has a natural tendency to repair itself. But the auto-repair mechanism can lead to the re-growth of a problematic sequence. Scientists intervene during this auto-repair process by supplying the desired sequence of genetic codes, which replaces the original sequence. It is like cutting a portion of a long zipper somewhere in between, and replacing that portion with a fresh segment.

News: American Poet Louise Gluck Awarded 2020 Nobel Prize In Literature.

The Nobel Prize for literature has been awarded to American poet Louise Glück

“for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual

existence universal.”

A professor at Yale University, Glück made her debut in 1968 with her collection

titled 'Firstborn'. She is seen as one of the most prominent poet and essayist in American contemporary literature.

In 2018 the award was postponed after sex abuse allegations rocked the Swedish Academy, the secretive body that chooses the winners, and sparked a mass exodus of members.

After the academy revamped itself in a bid to regain the trust of the Nobel Foundation, two laureates were named last year, with the 2018 prize going to Poland's Olga Tokarczuk and the 2019 award to Austria's Peter Handke.

Handke's prize caused a storm of protest: a strong supporter of the Serbs during the 1990s Balkan wars, he has been called an apologist for Serbian war crimes.

News: Economics Nobel goes to Paul R. Milgrom, Robert B. Wilson for their work on

auction theory. U.S. economists Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson won the Nobel Economics Prize for work on

commercial auctions, including for goods and services

difficult to sell in traditional ways such as radio frequencies, the Nobel Committee said.

The duo was honoured “for improvementstoauctiontheoryand inventionsofnewauctionformats”.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences noted that the discoveries byMr.Milgrom,72,andMr.Wilson, 83, “have benefitted sellers, buyers and taxpayers around theworld".

Mr. Wilson, a professor at Stanford in the


U.S., was spotlighted for developing a theory for auctions with a common value, “a

value which is uncertain beforehand but,intheend,isthesameforeveryone,”accordingtotheacademy.

Mr. Wilson’s work showed why rational bidders tend to bid under their own estimate of the worth due to worries over the “winner’s curse,” or winning the

auction but paying toomuch.

Mr.Milgrom,alsoatStanford,thencameupwithamoregeneraltheoryofauctions, byanalysingbiddingstrategiesindifferentauctionforms.

9.4.PM MODI RELEASES Rs 100 COIN IN HONOUR OF VIJAYA RAJE

Prime Minister NarendraModi released a commemorative coin of Rs 100 in honour of

RajmataVijayaRajeScindia, through a virtual ceremony. The special coin minted by the Ministry of Finance is being released in celebration of her birth centenary.

About VijayaRajeScindia

VijayaRajeScindia (12 October 1919 – 25 January 2001), born as LekhaDivyeshwari Devi and known popularly as the Rajmata of Gwalior, was a prominent Indian political personality.

In the days of the British Raj, as consort of the last ruling Maharaja of Gwalior, JivajiraoScindia, she ranked among the highest royal figures of the land.

In later life, she became a politician of considerable influence and was elected repeatedly to both houses of the Indian parliament. She was also an active member, for many decades, of the Jana Sangh and co-founder of BharatiyaJanata Party.

9.5.BHANU ATHAIYA

News: India's first Oscar winner Costume designer BhanuAthaiya passes away.

India's first Oscar winner Costume designer BhanuAthaiya died at her home in Mumbai after prolonged illness. She was 91.

Athaiya, who won an Oscar for her work in the 1983 epic film “Gandhi”.

Kolhapur-born Athaiya, who was active till just five years ago, began her career as a costume designer in Hindi cinema with Guru Dutt's 1956 superhit "C.I.D.". She went on to work in over 100 films.

She jointly won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design with John Mollo, for Richard Attenborough's “Gandhi”. The lavish biopic of Mahatma Gandhi swept the Oscars with eight awards.

In 2012, Athaiya returned her Oscar to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for safe keeping.

The veteran who defined the aesthetics of Hindi cinema through her prolific work, created some of Bollywood's best remembered looks, including Vyjayantihmala in "Aamrapaali", WaheedaRehman in "Guide" and ZeenatAman in "Satyam ShivamSundaram".


In a career of more than five decades, Athaiya won two National Awards -- for

Gulzar's mystery drama "Lekin" (1990) and the period film "Lagaan" directed by AshutoshGowariker (2001).

9.6.KERALA BECOMES FIRST STATE TO HAVE 100% DIGITALLY-EQUIPPED PUBLIC SECTOR SCHOOLS

All public sector schools in Kerala are now digitally enabled. With the pandemic having underscored the importance of incorporating digital technologies in education delivery, the state’s achievement is praiseworthy.

Government schools in Kerala are now equipped with hi-tech classrooms. The public education rejuvenation programme was one of the flagship schemes of the present dispensation. Around 45,000 high-tech classrooms were made available

for class 8 to 12 in 4,752 government- and government-aided high schools and higher secondary schools. Also, 11,275 primary schools have been equipped with modern digital laboratories.

The Kerala government’s investment in modernising public sector schools comes at a time when such investment isn’t prioritised by most governments. With financial assistance from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board, apart from MP/MLA funds, and even contributions from local bodies, Kerala should offer a cue for other states to follow. Such investment ensures that digital access doesn’t become a barrier to education—had students been trained in accessing education digitally before the pandemic, a major hurdle for rolling out online education could have been dealt with.

The Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education, a state government establishment to promote digital technology in education, provided free software for 2 lakh laptops given to the schools. Such digital impetus builds on the already high digital penetration in the state. The wide digital gap in the other states, with the exception of Himachal Pradesh, shows how much work needs to be done if rural India is to be truly and fundamentally digitally empowered.

9.7.AYURVEDA FOR COVID-19 : MAIN THEME OF 5TH AYURVEDA DAY

The Ayurveda Day is observed every year on the day of DhanwantriJayanti since 2016. This year it falls on November 13.

The potential role of Ayurveda in the management of the Covid-19 pandemic will be the focus of this year's 'Ayurveda Day', the Ayush Ministry announced.

The Ayurveda Day aims to focus on strengths of Ayurveda and its unique treatment principles, to work towards reducing the burden of disease and related mortality by utilising the potential of Ayurveda, to tap into the potential of Ayurveda to contribute towards the National Health Policy and National Health programmes, and to promote Ayurvedic principles of healing in society, the ministry said in a statement.

National Ayurveda Day logo


The logo for the National Ayurveda Day has the following elements :

The silhouette of lord Dhanwantari in the centre of the logo represents the lord of Medicine.

The five petals in logo symbolize PanchaMahabhuta and three circles beneath signify Vata, Pitta, Kapha, the fundamental principles of Ayurveda.

An oval leaf encircling the elements depicts the essence of healing through Nature based on these fundamental principles.

9.8.INDIA RANKS 94/107 IN GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX

India ranked 94 among 107 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2020 and continues to be in the “serious” hunger category, though it has made some progress,

particularly since the enactment of National Food Security Act.

Last year, India’s rank was 102 out of 117 countries.

The neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Myanmar and Pakistan too were in the “serious” category but ranked higher than India in this year’s index as has been the trend for several years.

While Bangladesh ranked 75, Myanmar and Pakistan were in the 78th and 88th position respectively. According to the report, Nepal and Sri Lanka were in 73rd

and 64th position and were in the “moderate” hunger category, the report said.

The data shows that India’s score has decreased consistently, a positive sign in this ranking, from 32.2 in 2010 to 31.1 in 2018 and last year the score was 30.3. In the 2020 report, India’s score stood at 27.2. Going by this pace of progress, it is likely to take some more years for India to be in the “moderate” category. Countries that have scores between 10 and 19.9 are categorised as moderate ones.

The GHI is calculated by using a three-step process and the indicators used are percentage of undernourished population, percentage of children under five years suffering from wasting and stunting, and child mortality.

The report said 14% of India’s population was undernourished and the country recorded a 37.4% stunting rate among children under five and a wasting rate of 17.3% . The under-five mortality rate stood at 3.7%. The data from 1991 through

2014 for Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan also showed that stunting was concentrated among children from households facing multiple forms of deprivation, including poor dietary diversity, low levels of maternal education and household poverty.

During this period, India saw a decline in under-five mortality, driven largely by a decrease in deaths from birth asphyxia or trauma, neonatal infections, pneumonia and diarrhoea.

The report said, “While the 2020 GHI does not yet reflect the impacts of Covid-19, it shows that the situation is already worrying in many contexts and is likely to worsen in the years to come.”


Global Scenario

Worldwide hunger is at a moderate level, according to the 2020 Global Hunger Index. Underlying this average are major challenges in particular regions, countries, and communities.

Africa South of the Sahara and South Asia have the highest hunger and undernutrition levels

among world regions, with 2020 GHI scores of 27.8 and 26.0, respectively—both considered serious.

According to 2020 GHI scores, 3 countries have alarming levels of hunger - Chad, Timor-Leste, and Madagascar. Hunger is also considered to be alarming in 8 countries - Burundi, Central African Republic, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen - based on provisional categorizations

The world is not on track to achieve the second Sustainable Development Goal - known as Zero Hunger for short - by 2030. At the current pace, approximately 37 countries will fail even to reach low hunger, as defined by the GHI Severity Scale, by 2030.

ABOUT THE GLOBAL HUNGER INDEX

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool designed to comprehensively measure and track hunger at global, regional, and national levels.

It is jointly published by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.

It was first produced in 2006. The 2020 edition marks the 15th edition of the GHI.

GHI scores are calculated each year to assess progress and setbacks in combating hunger. The GHI is designed to raise awareness and understanding of the struggle against hunger, provide a way to compare levels of hunger between countries and regions, and call attention to those areas of the world where hunger levels are highest and where the need for additional efforts to eliminate hunger is greatest.

How are the GHI scores calculated?

GHI scores are calculated using a three-step process that draws on available data from various sources to capture the multidimensional nature of hunger .

First, for each country, values are determined for four indicators: 1. undernourishment (share of the population with insufficient caloric intake). 2. child wasting (share of children under age five who have low weight for

their height, reflecting acute undernutrition). 3. child stunting (share of children under age five who have low height for

their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition).


4. child mortality (mortality rate of children under age five, partly reflecting

the fatal mix of inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environments).

Second, each of the four component indicators is given a standardized score on a 100-point scale based on the highest observed level for the indicator on a global scale in recent decades.

Third, standardized scores are aggregated to calculate the GHI score for each country, with each of the three dimensions (inadequate food supply; child mortality; and child undernutrition, which is composed equally of child stunting and child wasting) given equal weight.

Note: For the 2020 GHI, data on the proportion of undernourished are for 2017–2019; data on child stunting and wasting are for the latest year in the period 2015–2019 for which data are available; and data on child mortality

are for 2018. GHI scores were not calculated for countries for which data were not available and for certain high-income countries, countries with small populations, and non-independent territories; Based on the values of the four indicators, the GHI determines hunger on a 100-point scale where 0 is the best possible score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst. Each country’s GHI score is classified by severity, from low to extremely alarming.

9.9.MULTI-MODAL LOGISTIC PARK OF THE COUNTRY IN ASSAM

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways NitinGadkari will virtually lay the foundation stone for the first-ever multi-modal logistic park of the country in Assam

The 694crore rupees park at Bongaigaon district will provide direct connectivity to air, road, rail and waterways to the people of Assam.

It will be developed under the BharatmalaPariyojana of the Centre. The fund for the multimodal logistics park would be spent in 3 components - road and

railway connectivity as well as building and infrastructure work. About Multi-Modal Logistics Parks


Multi-Modal Logistics Parks (MMLPs) are a key policy initiative of the Government

of India to improve the country's logistics sector by lowering overall freight costs, reducing vehicular pollution and congestion, and cutting warehousing costs.

The government's Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) is developing multi-modal logistics parks at selected locations in the country under its Logistics Efficiency Enhancement Program (LEEP).

LEEP, which is spearheaded by the MoRTH and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), aims to enhance freight transport in India by reducing costs and time, and improving the tracking and traceability of consignments through infrastructural, procedural, and information technology interventions.

The government defines an MMLP as a freight-handling facility encompassing a minimum area of 100 acres (40.5 hectares), with various modes of transport access, and comprising mechanized warehouses, specialized storage solutions such as cold storage, facilities for mechanized material handling and inter-modal

transfer container terminals, and bulk and break-bulk cargo terminals.

In 2017, the Government of India launched a program to develop 35 multi-modal logistics parks across the country over the succeeding years and invited Asian Development Bank (ADB) to become a lead partner and provide the necessary

support.

ADB then conducted a pre-feasibility study to assess the suitability of MMLP locations and identify the requisite infrastructure, connectivity, and regulatory reforms in two selected locations: Bengaluru in Karnataka and Guwahati in

Assam.

9.10.UNION MINISTER LAUNCHES ‘E-DHARTI GEO PORTAL’

Union Housing and Urban Affairshas launched the ‘e-Dharti Geo Portal’ that will

integrate legacy drawings such as maps and lease plans in the management information system and make it geographic information system (GIS)-enabled.


According to the ministry, the land & development office (L&DO) has devised a

property certificate incorporating details and the outline map of the property which is available online on the portal.

It stated that the certificate to be offered includes property details like land type, property type, date of allotment, property status, sub-type, plot area, date of execution of lease deed, property address, details about present lessee and litigation status among others.

Property certificate

The property certificate, which will give all the relevant details about the property to the lessee as well as prospective purchaser, will be available by paying a

nominal fee of ₹1,000 and can be accessed by the public by visiting the L&DO website - www.ldo.gov.in.

This measure will benefit the general public, particularly the elderly.The move will

also help in avoiding unnecessary litigations.

Through the certificate, the lessee of the property will be able to get the basic details of his/her property along with the map showing its location.

This measure will also help a prospective purchaser to ascertain the details of the property as well as whether any suit or proceeding is pending in respect of the property.

9.11.GIANT CAT DRAWING AT A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE IN PERU

Peru’s famous Nazca Lines, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its depictions of larger-than-life animals, plants and imaginary beings, grabbed the spotlight on social media recently after the discovery of a hitherto unknown massive carving –– that of a resting cat on the slope of a steep hill. What are the Nazca Lines?

Considered among the top places to visit in Peru, the Nazca Lines are a group of geoglyphs, or large designs made on the ground by creators using elements of the landscape such as stones, gravel, dirt or lumber.

These are believed to be the greatest known archaeological enigma, owing to their size, continuity, nature and quality. The images on the ground are so big in size that the best way to get a full view of them is overflying them.

Located in the Peruvian coastal plain about 250 miles (400 kilometers) south of Lima, Peru. Created by the ancient Nazca culture in South America, and depicting various plants, animals, and shapes, the 2,000-year-old Nazca Lines can only be fully appreciated when viewed from the air given their massive size.

The Lines were first discovered in 1927, and were declared a World


Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994.

There are three basic types of Nazca Lines: straight lines, geometric designs and pictorial representations.

Nazca is a city and system of valleys on the southern coast of Peru. It is also the name of the largest existing town in the Nazca Province. The name is derived from the Nazca culture, which flourished in the area between 100 BCE and 800 CE. This culture was responsible for the Nazca Lines and the ceremonial city of Cahuachi.

How the Nazca Lines Were Created?

Anthropologists believe the Nazca culture, which began around 100 B.C. and flourished from A.D. 1 to 700, created the majority of the Nazca Lines. The Chavin and Paracas cultures, which predate the Nazca, may have also created some of the geoglyphs.

The Nazca Lines are located in the desert plains of the Rio Grande de Nasca river basin, an archaeological site that spans more than 75,000 hectares and is one of the driest places on Earth.

The desert floor is covered in a layer of iron oxide-coated pebbles of a deep rust color. The ancient peoples created their designs by removing the top 12 to 15 inches of rock, revealing the lighter-colored sand below. They likely began with small-scale models and carefully increased the models’ proportions to create the large designs.

Given the low amount of rain, wind and erosion in the desert, the geoglyphs have remained largely unscathed throughout the centuries.

Purpose of the Nazca Lines

More recent research suggested that the Nazca Lines’ purpose was related to water, a valuable commodity in the arid lands of the Peruvian coastal plain. The geoglyphs weren’t used as an irrigation system or a guide to find water, but rather as part of a ritual to the gods—an effort to bring much-needed rain.

Some scholars point to the animal depictions—some of which are symbols for rain, water or fertility and have been found at other ancient Peruvian sites and on pottery—as evidence of this theory.


9.12.IISC ONLY INDIAN INSTITUTE IN TOP 100 OF THE SUBJECT RANKING 2021

The Times Higher Education (THE) Ranking had released the world subject ranking 2021. A total of 1,512 universities ranked across 11 subject areas. Indian Institute of Science has got 96th position in the computer science stream

and 94th in engineering and technology, however, none of the other Indian varsity could make it to the top slots in any of the streams.

The US-based universities have dominated the ranking by securing top positions in nine subject areas. However, it has missed out on the first place for clinical and health, and computer science. In both these categories, the UK has grabbed the top slots.

9.13.DIGITAL SEVA SETU PROGRAMME FOR RURAL AREAS

Gujarat govt announces digital seva setu programme for rural areas. Under this programme, the citizens will be able to get benefit from various public welfare services at the Panchayat level.

The villages of Gujarat will be connected with a 100 MBPS optical fibre network under the Digital Seva Setu programme.

The Phase-1 of Digital Seva Setu will start from 8th October, which will cover 2,000 Village Panchayats.

About 20 types of pro-people services will be provided at the village panchayat level.Another eight thousand Village Panchayats will be covered by December 2020. Citizens in rural areas will be able to get the benefits of this programme by paying a nominal fee of Rs. 20.

The citizens can get various documents like duplicate ration card, income certificate, senior citizen certificate, caste certificate at their doorstep under this programme.

The government will also provide powers of affidavit to the Talati Mantri at the Village Panchayat level so that people in rural areas do not have to visit the notary offices in towns and cities.

9.14.CM WRITES TO PM ON ARCHAEOLOGY ADMISSION

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to direct the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to amend its guidelines to include the postgraduate degree in Tamil language as one of the minimum qualifications for admission to PG diploma in archaeology in Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology.

In his letter, a copy of which was released to the media, Mr. Palaniswami referred to an advertisement for admission to the PG diploma course in archaeology for

2020-2022 at the institute and pointed out: “There are about 48,000 inscriptions

in all the languages that have been published so far by various agencies in India,


including the Archaeological Survey of India, of which more than 28,000

inscriptions (which is over half) are in Tamil language alone.”

The minimum qualification criteria prescribed was a Master’s degree in, among

other relevant subjects, Indian classical languages such as Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit,

Arabic or Persian, he said. “Unfortunately, among the listed languages, only

Sanskrit has been declared as a classical language in 2005. Furthermore, Tamil, which was the first language in India officially recognised as a classical language

in 2004, has been completely ignored,” he underlined.

About Archaeological Survey of India

The Archaeological Survey of India is an Indian government agency attached to the Ministry of Culture that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural monuments in the country.

It was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham who also became its first Director-General.

The first systematic research into the subcontinent's history was conducted by the Asiatic Society, which was founded by the British Indologist William Jones on 15 January 1784.

Based in Calcutta, the society promoted the study of ancient Sanskrit and Persian texts and published an annual journal titled Asiatic Researches. Notable among its early members was Charles Wilkins who published the first English translation of the Bhagavad Gita in 1785 with the patronage of the then Governor-General of Bengal, Warren Hastings.

However, the most important of the society's achievements was the decipherment of the Brahmi script by James Prinsep in 1837. This successful decipherment inaugurated the study of Indian palaeography.

Under the provisions of the The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act (or AMASR Act) of 1958, the ASI administers more than 3650 ancient monuments, archaeological sites and remains of national importance. These can include everything from temples, mosques, churches, tombs, and cemeteries to palaces, forts, step-wells, and rock-cut caves. The Survey also maintains ancient mounds and other similar sites which represent the remains of ancient habitation

The ASI is headed by a Director General who is assisted by an Additional Director General, two Joint Directors General, and 17 Directors.

9.15.MANGDECHHU HYDROELECTRIC POWER PROJECT

The Mangdechhu Hydroelectric project which is a success story of India Bhutan cooperation in the Hydropower sector has recently won the prestigious Brunel Medal-2020.

On Oct 5, the Awards Committee of the UK based Institute of Civil Engineers

has conferred the medal which is in recognition of achievement in civil engineering

as well as acknowledgement of service and excellence.


With the coming on stream of the India-Bhutan Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Power

Project, the jointly created generation capacity by India in Bhutan has crossed 2000 MW.

What is Mangdechhu Hydroelectric project?

Inaugurated in August 2019, the 720MW project is a success story of India Bhutan cooperation in the Hydropower sector.

Indo-Bhutan joint project which is merely one year old has earned more revenue than the projected target of Rs/Nu 1200 crores. According to sources, “it has already earned a revenue of Rs./Nu. 1300 crores, with all the four units running at full capacity and generating 18.7 Million Units/day at 779 MW since Aug 2, 2020.

This is a river project and is located in the Trongsa district of Bhutan, the construction was started in 2012 and was completed in a record time of seven

years and the approximate cost was around Rs/Nu 5000 crores.

India has funded through a 70 per cent loan and a 30 per cent grant to Bhutan.

Constituted by the Indian and the Bhutanese Governments, this project has been developed by the Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Project Authority.

The electricity generated by the Project after meeting the energy

requirements of Bhutan, the surplus is exported to India. Hydropower projects in Bhutan

The hydropower projects are an example of win-win cooperation between India and Bhutan. These projects while generating export revenue for Bhutan are also cementing the economic integration between the two sides.

They are providing a reliable source of inexpensive and clean electricity to India too.

India has so far constructed four Hydroelectric Projects in Bhutan including the 60 MW Kurichhu HEP; 1020 MW Tala HEP; the 336 MW Chukha HEP; and the 720 MW Mangdechhu HEP.

Also, three Hydroelectric projects which are under construction include the 1200 MW Punatsangchhu-I, the 1020 MW Punatsangchhu-II and the 600 MW

Kholongchhu. About The Brunel Medal award

UK based Institute of Civil Engineersgivesthe Brunel Medalawardto recognise excellence in civil engineering. All teams, persons or organisations operating within the built environment. The Brunel medal was awarded to the Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Project Authority.

The Project provided employment opportunities to the community, particularly the Project Affected Families, and facilitated local communities to take up business activities. The Project also supported various schools and health facilities through upgradation of the existing infrastructures. Number of drinking water facilities/irrigation channels for providing water for irrigation were developed by the Project.