Important Definitions-Feb

Brexit Deal 

 Britain has officially left the European Union (EU) and has become the first country to leave the 28-member bloc.

The UK stopped being a member of the European Union (EU) after 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020.

What is the European Union?

The EU is an economic and political union involving 28 European countries. It allows free trade, which means goods can move between member countries without any checks or extra charges. The EU also allows free movement of people, to live and work in whichever country they choose.

The UK joined in 1973 (when it was known as the European Economic Community) and it will be the first member state to withdraw.

What happens after Brexit day?

After the UK formally leaves the EU, there is still a lot to talk about and months of negotiation will follow.

While the UK has agreed the terms of its EU departure, both sides still need to decide what their future relationship will look like.

During the 11-month transition period, the UK will continue to follow all of the EU’s rules and its trading relationship will remain the same.

 Aside from trade, many other aspects of the future UK-EU relationship will also need to be decided. For example:

1. Law enforcement, data sharing and security.
2. Aviation standards and safety.
3. Access to fishing waters.
4. Supplies of electricity and gas.
5. Licensing and regulation of medicines.

What caused Brexit to happen?

So far, there seem to be three theories for what drove so many people to vote Brexit:

1. Immigrants: Faced with rising immigration locals worried about their jobs and the erosion of the English way of life wanted their government to clamp down on immigration. This was a revolt against unrestricted immigration from poorer Eastern European states, Syrian refugees residing in the EU and millions of Turks about to join the EU.
2. Elites: Faced with decades of economic malaise, stagnant real wages and economic destitution in former industrial heartlands ever since the rise of “Thaterchism” and the embrace of Neoliberal policies by Tony Blair’s New Labour the non-Londoners have decided to revolt against the elite. This isn’t just about being against the EU as it stands, and its free market and free movement of peoples.
3. Bureaucracy: Faced with Brussel’s asphyxiating amount of red tape the English people decide to “take back control” of their country’s bureaucracy.

The three theories are obviously intertwined at times and contradictory at others, that’s why it matters who is going to be negotiating the post-Brexit relationship between the UK and the EU.

What is the Brexit deal?

The transition period and other aspects of the UK’s departure were agreed in a separate deal called the withdrawal agreement.

Most of that was negotiated by Theresa May’s government. But after Mr Johnson replaced her in July 2019, he removed the most controversial part – the backstop.

• The backstop was designed to ensure there would be no border posts or barriers between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after Brexit. If needed, it would have kept the UK in a close trading relationship with the EU.
• Under Mr Johnson’s deal, a customs border will effectively be created between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Some goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain will be subject to checks and will have to pay EU import taxes (known as tariffs).
• These would be refunded if goods remain in Northern Ireland (ie are not moved to the Republic of Ireland)

What is Anticipatory bail?

A constitution bench of the Supreme Court has ruled that an anticipatory bail cannot be limited to a fixed time period and can continue till the end of the trial.

 Background:

The judgment came in a reference made by a three-judge bench in the case of Sushila Aggarwal v. State of NCT of Delhi regarding the scope of Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) which provides for grant of anticipatory bail.

Observations made by the Court:

1. If there are any special circumstances necessitating a limit on the tenure of anticipatory bail, it is open for the court to do so. Nothing in Section 438 CrPC compels or obliges courts to impose conditions limiting relief in terms of time.
2. When Parliament has not thought it appropriate to curtail the rights of the citizens, it would be not appropriate for the SC to curtail powers granted to courts with regard to anticipatory bail.
3. Anticipatory bail application could be moved by a person even before filing of FIR.
4. The court, while granting anticipatory bail, should examine seriousness and gravity of the offence to impose any condition on the petitioner, if necessary.

What is Anticipatory Bail?

The provision of anticipatory bail under Section 438 was introduced when CrPC was amended in 1973.
Section 438 is a procedural provision concerned with personal liberty of each individual, who is entitled to the benefit of the presumption of innocence.

As opposed to ordinary bail, which is granted to a person who is under arrest, in anticipatory bail, a person is directed to be released on bail even before arrest made.

Who can apply?

438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, lays down the law on anticipatory bail.

Sub-section (1) of the provision reads: “When any person has reason to believe that he may be arrested on an accusation of having committed a non-bailable offence, he may apply to the High Court or the Court of Session for a direction under this section; and that Court may, if it thinks fit, direct that in the event of such arrest, he shall be released on bail.”

The provision empowers only the Sessions Court and High Court to grant anticipatory bail.

Insurance cover on bank FDs, deposits increased to ₹5 lakh

 In Budget 2020, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has proposed to increase the limit of insurance cover in case of bank failure on deposits to  ₹5 lakh from  ₹1 lakh. The proposal come in the wake of crisis at Mumbai-based urban cooperative bank, PMC Bank.

What is deposit insurance? How is it regulated in India?

Deposit insurance is providing insurance protection to the depositor’s money by receiving a premium.

• The government has set up Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) under RBI to protect depositors if a bank fails.
• Every insured bank pays premium amounting to 0.001% of its deposits to DICGC every year.

What happens to depositors’ money when a bank fails?

• When a bank is liquidated, depositors are entitled to receive an insurance amount of ₹1 lakh per individual from the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (DICGC).
• The ₹1 lakh insurance limit includes both principal and interest dues across your savings bank accounts, current accounts, fixed deposits and recurring deposits held with the bank. 

What is the procedure for depositors to claim the money from a failed bank?

The DICGC does not deal directly with depositors.

1. The RBI (or the Registrar), on directing that a bank be liquidated, appoints an official liquidator to oversee the winding up process.
2. Under the DICGC Act, the liquidator is supposed to hand over a list of all the insured depositors (with their dues) to the DICGC within three months of taking charge.
3. The DICGC is supposed to pay these dues within two months of receiving this list.

In FY19, it took an average 1,425 days for the DICGC to receive and settle the first claims on a de-registered bank.

Who are insured by the DICGC?

The corporation covers all commercial and co-operative banks, except in Meghalaya, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Besides, Only primary cooperative societies are not insured by the DICGC.

The DICGC does not include the following types of deposits:

1. Deposits of foreign governments.
2. Deposits of central/state governments.
3. Inter-bank deposits.
4. Deposits of the state land development banks with the state co-operative bank.
5. Any amount due on account of any deposit received outside India.
6. Any amount specifically exempted by the DICGC with previous approval of RBI.

What is Dividend Distribution Tax?

Dividend Distribution Tax shifted to individuals instead of companies, says FM.

What is it?

It is a tax levied on dividends that a company pays to its shareholders out of its profits.

How is it applied?

The Dividend Distribution Tax, or DDT, is taxable at source, and is deducted at the time of the company distributing dividends.

• The dividend is the part of profits that the company shares with its shareholders.
• The law provides for the Dividend Distribution Tax to be levied at the hands of the company, and not at the hands of the receiving shareholder.
• However, an additional tax is imposed on the shareholder, who receives over Rs. 10 lakh in dividend income in a financial year.

Is Dividend Distribution Tax applicable to private companies?

Under Section 115-O, the Income Tax Act, any domestic firm which is declaring or distributing dividend has to pay DDT at the rate of 15 per cent on the gross amount of dividend.

Is Dividend Distribution Tax fair?

Market participants, especially brokers, have been calling for long to scrap the DDT. The tax makes markets unattractive as it leads to significant taxation of corporate earnings, they argue.

Other than Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT), the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) and Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG) tax are other major taxes levied on market instruments.

World Wetlands Day 2019

World Wetlands Day is celebrated on February 2 each year to mark the Day the Convention on Wetlands was adopted in the Iranian City of Ramsar in 1971.

India is a party to the Convention since 1982 and committed to the Ramsar approach of wise use of wetlands.

The theme for 2020 is ‘Wetlands and Biodiversity’.

Status of wetlands in India:

The bad news is that India’s cities have lost 25 ha of wetland for every one sq. km’s increase of built-up area in the last four decades.

The good news is that 10 more wetland sites around India have been added to the Ramsar Convention, rendering them sites of ‘national importance’.

Wetlands in India:

The country has over 757,000 wetlands with a total wetland area of 15.3 million ha, accounting for nearly 4.7% of the total geographical area of the country.

India has 37 Ramsar sites now, covering an area of 1.07 million ha. The latest additions include Maharashtra’s first Ramsar site, the Nandur Madhmeshwar bird sanctuary; three more from Punjab (in Keshopur-Miani, Beas Conservation Reserve and Nangal); and six more from Uttar Pradesh (in Nawabganj, Parvati Agra, Saman, Samaspur, Sandi and Sarsai Nawar).

Bodo Language

Bodo language is one of the key thrust areas in the Bodo Accord which was signed recently.

Bodo language- Key facts:

1. Estimated to have 1.5 million speakers (Census 2011), Bodo is listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
2. It is spoken in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and West Bengal.
3. While Bodo is officially written in the Devanagri script, the language has a history of having been written in at least three different scripts — until in 1974, the Government recognised Devanagari as its official script. In the first decade of the 20th century, Bodos started writing in the Assamese/Bangla script. Then they also used Roman Script.
4. In the pre-13th century era, it was called Deodhai.

Promises in the accord regarding Bodo language:

1. It was only in 2003, under the then Bodo Accord, that the language was listed in the Eighth Schedule. And it was the first tribal language to be included in the Eight Schedule.
2. In Assam, it has enjoyed the status of official associate language in undivided Goalpara district since 1986.
3. Now the 2020 Accord makes Bodo the associate official language throughout Assam.
4. The new Accord also promises to establish a separate directorate for Bodo medium schools, provincialise schools and colleges in the BTAD (Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District) and establish a Cultural Complex-cum-Centre of Excellence in Kokrajhar for protection and promotion of the language.

Commonwealth

The Maldives re-joined the Commonwealth, more than three years after the Indian Ocean island nation quit amid mounting criticism of its human rights.

In 2016, the Maldives pulled out of the Commonwealth.

Maldives has been formally reinstated into the Commonwealth as its 54th member state.

About Commonwealth of Nations:

1. The Commonwealth of Nations, at one time known as British Commonwealth, is an organisation of fifty three states that were principally below the colonial rule of British Government. They came into existence with the proclamation of sovereignty of the state from the colonial rule of British Empire and were later given self-governance.
2. It proclaims that the Commonwealth nations are “free and equal.” The insignia of this Commonwealth Association is Queen Elizabeth II who is considered the Supreme of the Commonwealth nations.
3. The member states of the commonwealth are not legally liable or bound to each other. They are rather united by language, history, culture, likeness of the democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
4. Their values are listed down within the Commonwealth Charter and the hands of harmony towards the member states are extended by the Commonwealth Games held every four years.
5. Former British mandates that did not become members of the Commonwealth are Egypt, Transjordan, Iraq, British Palestine, Sudan, British Somaliland, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

Key facts:

Former name — British Commonwealth.

Composition: intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states that are mostly former territories of the British Empire.

It operates by intergovernmental consensus of the member states.

Established in 1949 by the London Declaration.

Structure: Head of the Commonwealth — Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of the Commonwealth. The position is symbolic.

Locust attacks

During the past few weeks, major locust attacks have been observed in several countries in western and southern Asia and in eastern Africa.

 Which countries are affected?

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has currently identified three hotspots of threatening locust activity, where the situation has been called “extremely alarming” — the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea area, and southwest Asia.

1. The Horn of Africa has been called the worst-affected area, where the FAO has said there is “an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods”.
2. Locust swarms from Ethiopia and Somalia have travelled south to Kenya and 14 other countries in the continent.
3. In the Red Sea area, locusts have struck in Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Yemen.
4. In southwest Asia, locusts swarms have caused damage in Iran, India, and Pakistan.
5. Pakistan and Somalia have recently declared locust emergencies.

What are locusts?

Locusts are a group of short-horned grasshoppers that multiply in numbers as they migrate long distances in destructive swarms (up to 150km in one day).

Four species of locusts are found in India: Desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria), Migratory locust (Locusta migratoria), Bombay Locust (Nomadacris succincta) and Tree locust (Anacridium sp.).

How do they inflict damage?

• The swarms devour leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, bark and growing points, and also destroy plants by their sheer weight as they descend on them in massive numbers.
• The desert locust is regarded as the most destructive pest in India as well as internationally, with a small swarm covering one square kilometre being able to consume the same amount of food in one day as 35,000 people.

REIT and InvIT

 The proposal in the Union Budget to tax dividend in the hands of unit holders/ investors would hurt future InvITs and REITs, say real estate and infrastructure industry officials and analysts.

Why and how?

• Such a decision is contrary to the government’s move to encourage InvITs and REITs to provide tax stability to long-term infrastructure investors.
• Uncertainty in the tax regime would hurt the sentiment of foreign investors who are already wary of the stability of tax regime in India, they added.
• The resultant tax burden on the part of investors will put at risk plans for raising about $100 billion with regard to INVITs and REITs.

What are Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvIT)?

It is like a mutual fund, which enables direct investment of small amounts of money from possible individual/institutional investors in infrastructure to earn a small portion of the income as return.

1. InvITs can be treated as the modified version of REITs designed to suit the specific circumstances of the infrastructure sector.
2. They are similar to REIT but invest in infrastructure projects such as roads or highways which take some time to generate steady cash flows.

What are Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT)?

A REIT is roughly like a mutual fund that invests in real estate although the similarity doesn’t go much further.

1. The basic deal on REITs is that you own a share of property, and so an appropriate share of the income from it will come to you, after deducting an appropriate share of expenses.
2. Essentially, it’s like a group of people pooling their money together and buying real estate except that it’s on a large scale and is regulated.

Why need InvITs and REITs?

1. Infrastructure and real estate are the two most critical sectors in any developing economy.
2. A well-developed infrastructural set-up propels the overall development of a country.
3. It also facilitates a steady inflow of private and foreign investments, and thereby augments the capital base available for the growth of key sectors in an economy, as well as its own growth, in a sustained manner.
4. Given the importance of these two sectors in the country, and the paucity of public funds available to stimulate their growth, it is imperative that additional channels of financing are put in place.

Cooperative banks under RBI

Union Cabinet has approved to bring regulation of cooperative banks under Reserve Bank of India. In order to achieve this, the Cabinet approved amendments to Banking regulation act.

The amendments will apply to all urban co-operative banks and multi-state cooperative banks.

As per the changes:

1. Cooperative banks will be audited according to RBI’s norms.
2. RBI can supersede the board, in consultation with the state government, if any cooperative bank is under stress.
3. Appointments of chief executives will also require permission from the banking regulator, as is the case for commercial banks.

Why this was necessary?

This was felt necessary in the wake of the recent Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank crisis.

Cooperative banks have 8.6 lakh account holders, with a total deposit of about ₹5 lakh crore.

Besides, Urban cooperative banks reported nearly 1,000 cases of fraud worth more than ₹220 crore in past five fiscal years.

How cooperative banks are regulated?

Cooperative banks are currently under the dual control of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies and RBI. While the role of registrar of cooperative societies includes incorporation, registration, management, audit, supersession of board and liquidation, RBI is responsible for regulatory functions such maintaining cash reserve and capital adequacy, among others.

What are co-operative banks?

Co-operative banks are financial entities established on a co-operative basis and belonging to their members. This means that the customers of a co-operative bank are also its owners.

Select Committee recommendations on Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill

15 major changes have been suggested in a report presented by the Select Committee on Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill.

The bill prohibits commercial surrogacy and allow only altruistic surrogacy.

Background:

The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha in August 2019, but had to be referred for re-assessment to the select committee in November 2019, as several Rajya Sabha members found certain clauses contentious such as allowing only altruistic surrogacy with a near relative as a surrogate.

Key Recommendations:

1. Keep an option for compensating the surrogate mother beyond medical expenses and insurance coverage that includes taking care of her nutritional food requirements, maternity wear, etc. that is vital for the well being and upkeep of the surrogate mother.
2. The controversial clause of “close relative” has been done away with and instead the committee has recommended the term to be replaced with a “willing woman”.
3. Who can opt?Single women, including a widow and divorcee, between the ages of 35 and 45 years, should be able to opt for surrogacy.
4. Increase insurance cover for the surrogate mother from the 16 months proposed in the Bill to 36 months.
5. In order to protect the interests of the child born through surrogacy, the order regarding the parentage and custody of the child, issued by a Magistrate, shall be the birth affidavit for the surrogate child.

Need for regulation:

India has emerged as a surrogacy hub for couples from other countries and there have been reports concerning unethical practices, exploitation of surrogate mothers, abandonment of children born out of surrogacy, and rackets involving intermediaries importing human embryos and gametes. The 228th report of the Law Commission of India has recommended prohibiting commercial surrogacy and allowing altruistic surrogacy by enacting suitable legislation.

Supreme Court panel recommends several prison reforms

 Supreme Court panel recommends several prison reforms.

Key recommendations:

1. Every new prisoner should be allowed a free phone call a day to his family members to see him through his first week in jail.
2. Modern cooking facilities, canteens to buy essential items and trial through video-conferencing should be made available.
3. Speedy trial remains one of the best ways to remedy the unwarranted phenomenon of over-crowding.
4. There should be at least one lawyer for every 30 prisoners, which is not the case at present.
5. Special fast-track courts should be set up to deal exclusively with petty offences which have been pending for more than five years.

Background:

The court had in September 2018 appointed the Justice Roy Committee to examine the various problems plaguing prisons, from overcrowding to lack of legal advice to convicts to issues of remission and parole.

The decision was in reaction to a letter written by former Chief Justice of India R.C. Lahoti highlighting the overcrowding of prisons, unnatural deaths of prisoners, gross inadequacy of staff and the lack of trained staff.

Need for reforms:

1. NHRC figures show that prisoners cut off from family and friends had a 50% more chance of committing suicide than those outside. The average suicide rate in prisons is over 50% more than in normal conditions.
2. Indian prisons face three long-standing structural constraints: overcrowding, understaffing and underfunding. The inevitable outcome is sub-human living conditions, poor hygiene, and violent clashes between the inmates and jail authorities.
3. In the absence of adequate prison staff, overcrowding of prisons leads to rampant violence and other criminal activities inside the jails.

Way ahead:

Indian jails have often been dubbed as a university for grooming criminals due to pathetic and inhumane conditions. In the absence of a robust Whistleblower Protection Act and structural changes to address the issues of overcrowding and understaffing, India’s prisons will continue to be heaven for politically connected criminals and hell for socio-economically disadvantaged undertrials, some regular media uproars notwithstanding.

Fundamental rights of prisoners cannot be placed in the back-burner and the Centre and the states need to be more pro-active in sensitising staff about the need to treat prisoners as humanely as possible.

Facts for Prelims:

‘Prisons/persons detained therein’ is a State subject under Entry 4 of List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India.

Vadhavan port and landlord model

The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to set up a major port at Vadhavan near Dahanu in Maharashtra with a total cost of ₹65,545 crore.

Key facts:

1. This will be 13^th major port in India.
2. With the development of this port, India will become one of the countries in the top-10 container ports in the world.
3. A special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be formed with Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) as the lead partner, with equity participation equal to or more than 50% to implement the project.
4. The port will be developed on the landlord model.

How many major ports are there in India currently?

Currently, India has 12 major ports at Deendayal (erstwhile Kandla), Mumbai, JNPT, Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai, Kamarajar (earlier Ennore), VO Chidambaranar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata (including Haldia).

What is landlord model?

1. In the landlord port model, the publicly governed port authority acts as a regulatory body and as landlord while private companies carry out port operations—mainly cargo-handling activities.
2. Here, the port authority maintains ownership of the port while the infrastructure is leased to private firms that provide and maintain their own superstructure and install own equipment to handle cargo.
3. In return, the landlord port gets a share of the revenue from the private entity.
4. The role of the landlord port authority would be to carry out all public sector services and operations such as the award of bids for cargo terminals and dredging.

Need:

• Currently, most major port trusts in India carry out terminal operations as well, resulting in a hybrid model of port governance.
• The involvement of the port authorities in terminal operations leads to a conflict of interest and works against objectivity.
• The neutrality of the landlord port authority is a basic requirement for fair competition between port service providers, particularly the terminal operators.

Muktoshri- arsenic-resistant rice

 West Bengal government’s rice research centre has come up with a new variety of rice called Muktoshri that can be grown in arsenic prone areas. It was developed jointly by the Rice Research Station at Chinsurah, coming under West Bengal’s Agriculture Department and the National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow.

Background:

West Bengal has a high concentration of arsenic in groundwater, with 83 blocks across seven districts having higher arsenic levels than permissible limits.

Arsenic- Key facts:

Arsenic is naturally present at high levels in the groundwater of a number of countries. It is also present in rocks and soils.

Arsenic is highly toxic in its inorganic form.

 Permissible limit:

World Health Organization’s provisional guideline value for arsenic in drinking water is 0.01 mg/l (10 μg/l). The permissible limit of arsenic in India in the absence of an alternative source is 0.05 mg/l (50 μg/l).

 Harmful effects:

• Contaminated water used for drinking, food preparation and irrigation of food crops poses the greatest threat to public health from arsenic.
• Long-term exposure to arsenic from drinking-water and food can cause cancer and skin lesions.
• It has also been associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
• In utero and early childhood exposure has been linked to negative impacts on cognitive development and increased deaths in young adults.

What’s the difference between organic arsenic and inorganic arsenic?

Atoms of arsenic bond with other elements to form molecules — if carbon is one of these elements, then the arsenic compound is an organic compound. If there is no carbon present, then the arsenic compound is in an inorganic compound.

Inorganic arsenic is a known human carcinogen — it is this form of arsenic that is linked with increased risks of cancer and other health effects.

NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft

NASA has managed to fix its Voyager-2 probe remotely, almost 11.5 billion miles away from its location.

Background:

The probe has reportedly been acting in an unexpected manner as it failed to carry out a maneuver as planned on January 25. Moreover, the glitch in the probe was detected by the spacecraft’s fault detection software which was relayed to NASA.

Accomplishments so far:

Voyager 2 is the only probe ever to study Neptune and Uranus during planetary flybys.

It is the second man-made object to leave our planet.

Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited all four gas giant planets — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — and discovered 16 moons, as well as phenomena like Neptune’s mysteriously transient Great Dark Spot, the cracks in Europa’s ice shell, and ring features at every planet.

What is Interstellar space?

Scientists use the heliopause to mark where interstellar space begins, although depending on how you define our solar system it can stretch all the way to the Oort Cloud, which begins 1,000 times farther away from the sun than Earth’s orbit.

The Heliosphere:

The heliosphere is a bubble around the sun created by the outward flow of the solar wind from the sun and the opposing inward flow of the interstellar wind. That heliosphere is the region influenced by the dynamic properties of the sun that are carried in the solar wind–such as magnetic fields, energetic particles and solar wind plasma. The heliopause marks the end of the heliosphere and the beginning of interstellar space.

About Voyager mission:

• Launched in the 1970’s, and the probes sent by NASA were only meant to explore the outer planets – but they just kept on going.
• Voyager 1 departed Earth on 5 September 1977, a few days after Voyager 2 and left our solar system in 2013.
• The mission objective of the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM) is to extend the NASA exploration of the solar system beyond the neighborhood of the outer planets to the outer limits of the Sun’s sphere of influence, and possibly beyond.
• The Voyager spacecraft are the third and fourth human spacecraft to fly beyond all the planets in our solar system. Pioneers 10 and 11 preceded Voyager in outstripping the gravitational attraction of the Sun but on February 17, 1998, Voyager 1 passed Pioneer 10 to become the most distant human-made object in space.

Kerala’s ban on CFL and filament bulbs from November 2020

Kerala will impose a ban on the sale of compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) and incandescent (filament) bulbs starting November this year as part of sustainable energy policy.

This is in line with the government project of ‘Filament-free Kerala’ envisaged in 2018 as part of the state’s Urja Kerala mission.

What is filament-free Kerala project?

• It will be implemented by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) and the Energy Management Centre,
• Consumers in the state can place orders for LED bulbs on the KSEB website in exchange for existing filament bulbs.
• Nine-watt LED bulbs are being sold at reduced prices by the government to encourage usage. Last year, Peelikode in Kasaragod district became the first panchayat in the country to be completely filament-free.
• The project is also part of the long-term sustainable energy policy to reduce the dependence on conventional energy sources and instead maximise potential on renewable sources like solar and hydel power.

Key differences between LED and CFL:

• The major difference between the CFL and LED is that in CFL the emission of light is because of the ionisation of mercury vapour. The mercury vapour when ionise produces ultraviolet rays. These rays when collides with phosphorous coating tube generates visible light.
• Whereas in the LED it is because of the PN junction diode. When the forward current applies across the diode, the recombination of the charge carrier takes place. This charge carrier gives energy in the form of the heat and light.

Rationale behind the ban:

1. The CFL uses mercury vapour which is dangerous for the environment and living beings.
2. Also, it requires additional components like ballast, tungsten tube coated with barium, etc., which increases their cost.
3. The destruction of the LED is easier than the CFL because LED does not have any harmful metal which pollutes the environment.
4. The brightness of LED is more as compared to CFL because LED emits light only in one direction.

Why LED?

The LED is better than the CFL in every aspect. The LED saves up to 80 percent of the electricity bill even though their cost is very less. It is recyclable, and their brightness remains same even after using it for a long time.

India develops new vaccine to control classical swine fever

The Indian Institute of Veterinary Research (IVRI) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has developed a new vaccine to control classical swine fever.

About the vaccine and it’s significance:

It is a live attenuated CSF cell culture vaccine (indigenous strain).

The indigenously developed vaccine will help in saving rabbits as the currently used vaccine (lapinized CSF vaccine) is produced by sacrificing large numbers of rabbits.

Besides, the new vaccine gives immunity for two years as compared to 3 to 6 months protection under the currently used vaccines.

The new vaccine will be a part of the government’s One Health Initiative.

What is Classical Swine Fever (CSF)?

Hog Cholera or Classical swine fever (CSF) is a contagious viral disease of domestic and wild swine.

It happens due to the viruses that bring viral diarrhea in pigs and ailments in sheep.

The disease does not harm humans but all-important precautions are advised to follow.

Concerns for India:

• Classical Swine Fever (CSF) is one of the biggest pigs’ diseases in India. It causes a loss of about 400 crores of rupees per year in India. This has led to a decrease in the population of pigs in 2019.
• India currently requires 22 million doses of the CSF (Classical Swine Fever) vaccine every year. However, currently, only 1.2 million doses are being produced. The reason behind its less production is that only 50 doses can be prepared from the spleen of a rabbit.

Reverse osmosis (RO)

 The Union Environment Ministry has issued a notification to comply with the NGT order which prohibited the use of reverse osmosis (RO) purifiers in places where total dissolved solids (TDS) in the supplied water are below 500 mg per litre.

The NGT had ordered a ban on RO filters on the grounds that they wasted water and that, in the process of removing salts, they often deprived drinking water of essential salts, which could affect the nutritional intake of the people.

Background:

Current BIS regulations consider 500 mg/litre—1,200 mg/litre of total dissolved solids, which consist of salts and some organic matter, as acceptable.

Osmosis and RO:

Osmosis involves ‘a solvent (such as water) naturally moving from an area of low solute concentration, through a membrane, to an area of high solute concentration.

A reverse osmosis system applies an external pressure to reverse the natural flow of solvent and so seawater or brackish water is pressurised against one surface of the membrane, causing salt-depleted water to move across the membrane, releasing clean water from the low-pressure side’.

What are the problems with RO plants?

Deposition of brine (highly concentrated salt water) along the shores.

Affects fauna and flora: Hyper salinity along the shore affects plankton, which is the main food for several of these fish species. The high pressure motors needed to draw in the seawater end up sucking in small fish and life forms, thereby crushing and killing them — again a loss of marine resource.

Construction of the RO plants required troves of groundwater. Freshwater that was sucked out and is replaced by salt water, rendering it unfit for the residents around the desalination plants.

Cost and time: On an average, it costs about ₹900 crore to build a 100 MLD-plant and, as the Chennai experience has shown, about five years for a plant to be set up.

Energy needed: To remove the salt required, there has to be a source of electricity, either a power plant or a diesel or battery source. Estimates have put this at about 4 units of electricity per 1,000 litres of water. It is estimated that it cost ₹3 to produce 100 litres of potable water.

Is RO water healthy?

There are concerns that desalinated the RO water may be short of vital minerals such as calcium, magnesium, zinc, sodium, potassium and carbonates.

Most RO plants put the water through a ‘post-treatment’ process whereby salts are added to make TDS around 300 mg/l.

Are there technological alternatives?

Low-temperature thermal desalination (LTTD) technique works on the principle that water in the ocean 1,000 or 2,000 feet below is about 4º C to 8º C colder than surface water. So, salty surface water is collected in a tank and subject to high pressure (via an external power source). This pressured water vapourises and this is trapped in tubes or a chamber. Cold water plumbed from the ocean depths is passed over these tubes and the vapour condenses into fresh water and the resulting salt diverted away.

Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion: It will draw power from the vapour generated as a part of the desalination process. This vapour will run a turbine and thereby will be independent of an external power source. While great in theory, there is no guarantee it will work commercially. For one, this ocean-based plant requires a pipe that needs to travel 50 kilometres underground in the sea before it reaches the mainland.

Blue dot network

 The first meeting of the Blue Dot Network‘s embryonic steering committee was held recently in Washington, with Australia and Japan as partners.

What is the Blue dot network?

The U.S., Australia and Japan announced the network during the November 4, 2019, Indo-Pacific Business Forum in Bangkok. The initiative aligns with the G20’s Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment, particularly on governance, environmental standards and transparency.

• It is a new U.S.-led certification plan.
• A “blue dot” will be awarded to projects the initiative endorses. 
• The Network will not itself directly invest in projects.
• At present the project is led by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (boasting access to $60 billion in capital), in partnership with the government-owned Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs. 
• Once fully up and running, the new network will bring together governments, the private sector and other organizations behind a set of high-quality global infrastructure development standards.

 Significance:

It will act as a globally recognized seal of approval for major infrastructure projects, letting people know the projects are sustainable and not exploitative.

Here’s how the network will work:

• Any country or company can participate in the network, as long as it agrees to adhere to the network’s high standards of promoting quality, private sector-led investment. Projects that seek to be certified by the Blue Dot Network will complete an online application.
• Countries, companies and local communities will all benefit from the Blue Dot Network. When projects are certified by the Blue Dot Network, communities and investors can be confident about the high standards and sustainability of the infrastructure.

Special category status

Andhra Pradesh has revived its demand for Special Category Status (SCS).

Background:

It was the bifurcation promise and 15th Finance Commission report that stated that ‘grant of SCS lies in the hands of the Centre’. SCS was promised to Andhra Pradesh by the then Congress government at the Centre in 2014, at the time of bifurcation which resulted in the formation of Telangana. The then Opposition party BJP too agreed to it and even stated that SCS would be extended by five more years if it was voted to power.

What is Special Category Status?

There is no provision of SCS in the Constitution; the Central government extends financial assistance to states that are at a comparative disadvantage against others. The concept of SCS emerged in 1969 when the Gadgil formula (that determined Central assistance to states) was approved.

Some prominent guidelines for getting SCS status:

1. Must be economically backward with poor infrastructure.
2. The states must be located in hilly and challenging terrain.
3. They should have low population density and significant tribal population.
4. Should be strategically situated along the borders of neighboring countries.

Benefits states confer with special category status:

1. The central government bears 90 percent of the state expenditure on all centrally-sponsored schemes and external aid while rest 10 percent is given as loan to state at zero percent rate of interest.
2. Preferential treatment in getting central funds.
3. Concession on excise duty to attract industries to the state.
4. 30 percent of the Centre’s gross budget also goes to special category states.
5. These states can avail the benefit of debt-swapping and debt relief schemes.
6. States with special category status are exempted from customs duty, corporate tax, income tax and other taxes to attract investment.
7. Special category states have the facility that if they have unspent money in a financial year; it does not lapse and gets carry forward for the next financial year.

Other benefits:

Besides tax breaks and other benefits, the State with SCS will get 90% of all the expenditure on Centrally sponsored schemes as Central grant. The rest of the 10% will also be given as a loan at zero per cent interest. Usually, the ratio for general category States is 70% loan and 30% grant.

When was the first Special Category status bestowed?

First SCS was accorded in 1969 to Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Nagaland. Over the years, eight more states were added to the list — Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripura and, finally, in 2010, Uttarakhand. Until 2014-15, SCS meant these 11 states received a variety of benefits and sops.

Concerns associated:

Considering special status to any new State will result in demands from other States and dilute the benefits further. It is also not economically beneficial for States to seek special status as the benefits under the current dispensation are minimal. Therefore, States facing special problems will be better off seeking a special package.

National Deworming Day

 NDD is observed bi-annually on 10th February and 10th August in all states and UTs followed by mop-up activities.

About the National Deworming Day:

1. The National Deworming Day is a single fixed-day approach to treating intestinal worm infections in all children aged 1- 19 years.
2. It will mobilize health personnel, state governments and other stakeholders to prioritize investment in control of Soil Transmitted Helminth (STH) infections one of the most common infections.
3. All the children are provided deworming tablet in schools and anganwadis. Besides the deworming tablet, various health promotion activities related to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) are organised in schools and anganwadis.
4. The NDD program is a cost-effective program at scale that continues to reach crores of children and adolescents with deworming benefits through a safe medicine Albendazole.

Background:

India carries the highest burden of worm infestation and 64% of Indian population less than 14 years of age are at risk of Soil Transmitted Helminths (STH) or worms’ infestation (WHO). Soil Transmitted Helminths (STH) interfere with nutrients uptake in children; can lead to anaemia, malnourishment and impaired mental and physical development. The situation of undernutrition and anaemia which is linked to STH ranges from 40% to 70% in different population groups across the country (WHO). They also pose a serious threat to children’s education and productivity later in life.

About Intestinal parasitic worms:

They are large multicellular organisms, which when mature can generally be seen with the naked eye. They are also known as Helminths. They are often referred to as intestinal worms even though not all helminths reside in the intestines.

Why this is a cause for concern?

Parasitic worms in children interfere with nutrient uptake, and can contribute to anaemia, malnourishment, and impaired mental and physical development. Parasitic worms have also debilitating consequences on the health and education of children, and on their long-term earning potential.

Significance of NDD:

• Anganwadi and school-based mass deworming program is safe, cost-effective, and can reach crores of children quickly.
• Deworming has been shown to reduce absenteeism in schools; improve health, nutritional, and learning outcomes; and increase the likelihood of higher-wage jobs later in life.
• Deworming with the safe and beneficial Albendazole tablet is an evidence-based, globally-accepted, and effective solution to controlling worm infections.
• National Deworming Day has, thus, been designed to reach all children, regardless of socio-economic background.

What is CRR or cash reserve ratio?

 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has exempted banks from maintaining cash reserve ratio (CRR) for loans to retail and micro, small and medium enterprises for five years, if these loans are extended between January 31 and July 31, 2020.

Background:

At present, CRR is 4% of net demand and time liabilities. Banks do not earn any interest for maintaining CRR with the RBI.

What is CRR?

• It is a certain minimum amount of deposit that the commercial banks have to hold as reserves with the central bank.
• The percentage of cash required to be kept in reserves, vis-a-vis a bank’s total deposits, is called the Cash Reserve Ratio.
• The cash reserve is either stored in the bank’s vault or is sent to the RBI. Banks do not get any interest on the money that is with the RBI under the CRR requirements.

Cash reserve ratio is:

1. It is also referred to as the amount of funds which the banks have to keep with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
2. It’s a vice-versa process.
3. If a central bank increases CRR then the available amount with the banks decreases or comes down.
4. The CRR is used by RBI to wipe out excessive money from the system.

There are two primary purposes of the Cash Reserve Ratio:

1. Since a part of the bank’s deposits is with the Reserve Bank of India, it ensures the security of the amount. It makes it readily available when customers want their deposits back.
2. Also, CRR helps in keeping inflation under control. At the time of high inflation in the economy, RBI increases the CRR, so that banks need to keep more money in reserves so that they have less money to lend further.

How does Cash Reserve Ratio help in times of high inflation?

• At the time of high inflation, the government needs to ensure that excess money is not available in the economy.
• To that extent, RBI increases the Cash Reserve Ratio, and the amount of money that is available with the banks reduces. This curbs excess flow of money in the economy.
• When the government needs to pump funds into the system, it lowers the CRR rate, which in turn, helps the banks provide loans to a large number of businesses and industries for investment purposes. Lower CRR also boosts the growth rate of the economy.

Protected Special Agricultural Zone’ (PSAZ)

 Tamil Nadu CM declares Cauvery Delta as Protected Special Agriculture Zone. A law in this regard will be enacted soon. The protected zone will include Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam districts and delta regions of Trichy, Ariyalur, Cuddalore and Pudukkottai.

Significance:

PSAZ is aimed at protecting the Cauvery delta region for the future, fulfilling TN’s food requirements and ensuring the welfare of delta farmers. It has recognised farmer concerns about hydrocarbon exploration and accorded primacy to food security.

Need for:

The delta, which produces 33 lakh tonnes of grains in 28 lakh acres, has seen multiple protests for a decade over methane, hydrocarbon, oil and natural gas projects, which required acquisition of fertile lands and well drilling — proposals which triggered fears of groundwater contamination.

Challenges ahead:

Tamil Nadu now has to enact legislation to protect a vast region, largely in the coastal area, from industries that would affect farming.

The State has its challenges:

1. In 2017, a government notification delineated 45 villages covering about 23,000 hectares in Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts in the delta, as a Petroleum, Chemical and Petrochemical Investment Region, with an eye on over ₹90,000 crore in investments. The proposed PSAZ raises a question mark on this ambitious scheme.
2. The government may have to brave central pressure and litigation from companies which pumped in money for exploration.
3. The decision may also have implications for the State’s investment climate.

Hampi

 SC backs move of Karnataka government to demolish restaurants near Hampi site.

The court concluded that the constructions were in violation of the Mysore Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1961.

Background:

Previously, the Karnataka High Court had held that the Hampi World Heritage Area Management Authority was empowered to order the demolition of the illegal buildings.

About Hampi:

1. It is a UNESCO world heritage site.
2. It was a part of the Mauryan Empire back in the third century BC. 
3. Hampi was the capital city during the four different dynasties altogether in the Vijayanagar city that came into existence in the year 1336 AD.
4. The Vijayanagara Empire reached unfathomable heights under the guidance of King Krishnadeva Raya of the Tuluva Dynasty. 
5. ‘Kishkindha Kaand’ in Ramayana has special significance concerning Hampi.
6. It is located near the Tungabhadra river.
7. By 1500 CE, Hampi-Vijayanagara was the world’s second-largest medieval-era city after Beijing, and probably India’s richest at that time, attracting traders from Persia and Portugal.
8. It has been described by UNESCO as an “austere, grandiose site” of more than 1,600 surviving remains of the last great Hindu kingdom in South India.

Iran celebrates 1979 Islamic Revolution

 Iran celebrates 1979 Islamic Revolution.

About Islamic Revolution:

Also called Islamic Revolution, it was a popular uprising in Iran in 1978–79 that resulted in the toppling of the monarchy on February 11, 1979, and led to the establishment of an Islamic republic.

Reasons advanced for the revolution include:

1. A backlash against Western imperialism.
2. the 1953 Iranian coup d’état.
3. a rise in expectations created by the 1973 oil revenue windfall.
4. an overly ambitious economic program.
5. anger over a short, sharp economic contraction in 1977–78.
6. other shortcomings of the previous regime.

Outcomes:

Following the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the Islamic Republic was formed under Khomeini’s rule. The U.S. Embassy in Iran was taken over by a group of Muslim students and 52 U.S. diplomats and citizens were taken hostage on November 4, 1979. This event came to be known as the Iran Hostage Crisis.

Uniform Civil Code

 Last week, while hearing a matter relating to properties of a Goan, the Supreme Court described Goa as a “shining example” with a Uniform Civil Code, observed that the founders of the Constitution had “hoped and expected” a Uniform Civil Code for India but there has been no attempt at framing one.

What is uniform civil code?

A generic set of governing laws for every citizen without taking into consideration the religion.

What the constitution says?

Article 44 of the Constitution says that there should be a Uniform Civil Code. According to this article, “The State shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India”. Since the Directive Principles are only guidelines, it is not mandatory to use them.

India needs a Uniform Civil Code for the following reasons:

1. A secular republic needs a common law for all citizens rather than differentiated rules based on religious practices.
2. Another reason why a uniform civil code is needed is gender justice. The rights of women are usually limited under religious law, be it Hindu or Muslim. The practice of triple talaq is a classic example.
3. Many practices governed by religious tradition are at odds with the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Indian Constitution.
4. Courts have also often said in their judgements that the government should move towards a uniform civil code including the judgement in the Shah Bano case.

Does India not already have a uniform code in civil matters?

• Indian laws do follow a uniform code in most civil matters – Indian Contract Act, Civil Procedure Code, Sale of Goods Act, Transfer of Property Act, Partnership Act, Evidence Act etc. States, however, have made hundreds of amendments and therefore in certain matters, there is diversity even under these secular civil laws. Recently, several states refused to be governed by the uniform Motor Vehicles Act, 2019.
• If the framers of the Constitution had intended to have a Uniform Civil Code, they would have given exclusive jurisdiction to Parliament in respect of personal laws, by including this subject in the Union List. But “personal laws” are mentioned in the Concurrent List.
• Last year, the Law Commission concluded that a Uniform Civil Code is neither feasible nor desirable.

What is the National Security Act?

About National Security Act:

It is a stringent law that allows preventive detention for months, if authorities are satisfied that a person is a threat to national security or law and order. The person does not need to be charged during this period of detention. The goal is to prevent the individual from committing a crime. It was promulgated on September 23, 1980, during the Indira Gandhi government.

As per the National Security Act, the grounds for preventive detention of a person include:

1. acting in any manner prejudicial to the defence of India, the relations of India with foreign powers, or the security of India.
2. regulating the continued presence of any foreigner in India or with a view to making arrangements for his expulsion from India.
3. preventing them from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of the State or from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order or from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the community it is necessary so to do.

Duration:

Under the National Security Act, an individual can be detained without a charge for up to 12 months; the state government needs to be intimated that a person has been detained under the NSA. A person detained under the National Security Act can be held for 10 days without being told the charges against them. Appeal: The detained person can appeal before a high court advisory board but they are not allowed a lawyer during the trial.

Very Large Telescope

 Using the European Space Organisation’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have noticed the unprecedented dimming of Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star (over 20 times bigger than the Sun) in the constellation Orion. Along with the dimming, the star’s shape has been changing as well, as per recent photographs of the star taken using the VISIR instrument on the VLT.

What is happening to Betelgeuse and why is it significant?

Betelgeuse was born as a supermassive star millions of years ago and has been “dramatically” and “mysteriously” dimming for the last six months. According to a report in Sky and Telescope, among the brightest night time stars, Betelgeuse ranks 10th, but by the last week of December 2019, its brightness had dimmed so low, that the star was ranked as the 21st brightest, “a remarkable decline — and a historic low.”

• Astronomers do not think that Betelgeuse is dimming because it is going to explode. They have other hypotheses that may explain the reasons for Betelgeuse’s change in shape and dimming. The two scenarios they are working on are a cooling of the surface due to exceptional stellar activity or dust ejection towards earth.

About VLT:

It is the world’s most advanced optical instrument, consisting of four Unit Telescopes with main mirrors of 8.2m diameter and four movable 1.8m diameter Auxiliary Telescopes.

• The telescopes can work together, to form a giant ‘interferometer’, the ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer, allowing astronomers to see details up to 25 times finer than with the individual telescopes.
• Location: Atacama Desert, Northern Chile.
• The VLT consists of four individual telescopes. They are generally used separately but can be used together to achieve very high angular resolution.
• The four separate optical telescopes are known as Antu, Kueyen, Melipal, and Yepun, which are all words for astronomical objects in the Mapuche language. 

GISAT-1 — Geo Imaging Satellite

 Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing to launch GISAT-1, a new earth observation satellite, in the first week of March.

• It will be the first of two planned Indian EO spacecraft to be placed in a geostationary orbit of around 36,000 km.
• It will apparently be in a fixed spot looking over the Indian continent at all times.
• It will have high-resolution cameras which will help to monitor any changes in borders and the overall geographical condition of the country, etc.

Background:

Earth Observation Satellites of ISRO has been successfully able to establish many operational applications in the country. Both at Central and State level, there are large number of users who utilise space based inputs for various purposes. Some of the important missions of ISRO, in terms of IRS series of satellites, that has enabled unique applications of space based imaging are, Cartosat-1 & 2, Resourcesat-1 & 2, Oceansat-1 & 2, Risat-1, Megha-Tropiques, SARAL, Scatsat, INSAT series, and host of other satellites.

Railways’ corporate train model

 The Kashi Mahakal Express is the country’s third ‘corporate’ train after the two Tejas Express trains between Delhi-Lucknow and Mumbai-Ahmedabad started over the past few months.

What is Corporate train model?

This is a new model being actively pushed by Indian Railways- to ‘outsource’ the running of regular passengers trains to its PSU, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).

How does the model work?

In this model, the corporation takes all the decisions of running the service– fare, food, onboard facilities, housekeeping, complaints etc. Indian Railways is free from these encumbrances and gets to earn from IRCTC a pre-decided amount, being the owner of the network.

This amount has three components- haulage, lease and custody.

1. Haulage charge includes use of the fixed infrastructure like tracks, signalling, driver, station staff, traction and pretty much everything needed to physically move the rake.
2. Lease charges on the rake have to be paid as Indian Railways coaches are leased to its financing arm, the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC).
3. Custody charge has to be paid for keeping the rake safe and sound while it is in the custody of the PSU.

IRCTC has to pay Indian Railways a sum total of these three charges, roughly Rs 14 lakh for the Lucknow Tejas runs in a day (up and down) and then factor in a profit over and above this. This money is payable even if the occupancy is below expectation and the train is not doing good business.

Benefits and significance for customers and managers:

1. Being a corporate entity with a Board of Directors and investors, IRCTC insists that the coaches it gets from Railways are new and not in a run-down condition, as is seen in many trains. The quality of the coaches has a direct bearing on its business.
2. In this model, IRCTC also has full flexibility to decide the service parameters and even alter them without having to go to Railway ministry or its policies.
3. To that end, the business of running trains can be run with the independence needed to run a business with profit motive. This creates the environment for enhanced service quality and user experience for the passengers.
4. IRCTC gets the freedom to decide even the number of stoppages it wants to afford on a route, depending on the needs of its business model.

Battle of Çanakkale/Gallipoli

Speaking to MPs at a joint session of Pakistan’s Parliament, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his country’s deep love and affection for Pakistan, strongly backed its position on Kashmir.

• Erdogan went on to say that what happened in Turkey during World War I was now happening in Kashmir, that is the Battle of Çanakkale

What is the Battle of Çanakkale?

The Battle of Çanakkale, also known as the Gallipoli campaign or the Dardanelles campaign, is considered to be one of the bloodiest of World War I, during which the Ottoman army faced off against the Allied forces, leading to the slaughter of tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides.

It was an unsuccessful attempt by the Allied Powers to control the sea route from Europe to Russia during World War I. 

• The campaign began with a failed naval attack by British and French ships on the Dardanelles Straits in February-March 1915 and continued with a major land invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula on April 25, involving British and French troops as well as divisions of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC).
• Lack of sufficient intelligence and knowledge of the terrain, along with a fierce Turkish resistance, hampered the success of the invasion.

Key outcomes and significance:

• The campaign was considered a great Ottoman victory.
• In Turkey, it is regarded as a defining moment in the history of the state, a final surge in the defence of the motherland as the Ottoman Empire retreated.
• The struggle formed the basis for the Turkish War of Independence and the declaration of the Republic of Turkey eight years later.
• The campaign is often considered to be the beginning of Australian and New Zealand national consciousness- April 25, anniversary of the Gallipoli landings, is observed as ANZAC Day, the day of national remembrance for the war dead.

Delimitation of Constituencies

the government has moved to start the delimitation of Assembly constituencies in J&K.

Background:

• Bifurcation of J&K into two UTs has led to redrawing of Assembly constituency boundaries. While, the UT of Ladakh will not have its own legislature, J&K will. This would be similar to Puducherry or Delhi.
• Such delimitation was also necessitated in 2014 when Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were bifurcated.

What is Delimitation?

Delimitation literally means the process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a state that has a legislative body.

How it will be done?

The new state assembly shall have 114 seats (currently 107), out of which only 90 will be open for elections, and the remaining 24 will be shadow seats reserved for the areas of the erstwhile state that have been occupied by Pakistan (PoJK).

For the delimitation exercise, the population figures of 2011 census shall be taken as the basis.

The J&K Representation of the People Act 1957 has now been invalidated and, instead, delimitation will be done as per the Representation of the People Act, 1950 (as amended from time to time) and provisions of Sections 59, 60 of Act 34 of 2019.

Who carries out the exercise?

1. Delimitation is undertaken by a highly powerful commission. They are formally known as Delimitation Commission or Boundary Commission.
2. These bodies are so powerful that its orders have the force of law and they cannot be challenged before any court.
3. Such commissions have been constituted at least four times in India — in 1952 under the Delimitation Commission Act, 1952; in 1963 under Delimitation Commission Act, 1962; in 1973 under Delimitation Act, 1972 and last in 2002 under Delimitation Act, 2002.
4. The commissions’ orders are enforced as per the date specified by the President of India. Copies of these orders are laid before the Lok Sabha or the concerned Legislative Assembly. No modifications are permitted.

the Delimitation Commission appointed by the Centre has to have

 three members: a serving or retired judge of the Supreme Court as the chairperson, and

                              the Chief Election Commissioner or Election Commissioner nominated by the CEC and 

                              the State Election Commissioner as ex-officio members.

SUTRA PIC

The government has unveiled a programme to research on ‘indigenous’ cows- SUTRA PIC.

About SUTRA PIC- Scientific Utilisation Through Research Augmentation-Prime Products from Indigenous Cows:

• It is led by the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
• It is supported by the Department of Biotechnology, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the Ministry for AYUSH (Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Homoeopathy) among others and the Indian Council of Medical Research as partners.

It has five themes:

1. Uniqueness of Indigenous Cows.
2. Prime-products from Indigenous Cows for Medicine and Health.
3. Prime-products from Indigenous Cows for Agricultural Applications.
4. Prime-products from Indigenous Cows for Food and Nutrition.
5. Prime-products from indigenous cows-based utility items.

Aims and objectives:

• Scientific research on the complete characterisation of milk and milk products derived from Indian indigenous cows.
• Scientific research on nutritional and therapeutic properties of curd and ghee prepared from indigenous breeds of cows by traditional methods.
• Development of standards for traditionally processed dairy products of Indian-origin cows, etc.

Law commission of India

 The Union Cabinet has approved the creation of the 22nd Law Commission, which advises the government on complex legal issues.

• The term of the previous law panel had ended in August last year.
• With the cabinet approval, the law ministry will now notify the new panel, which will have a term of three years.

Composition:

1. Apart from having a full-time chairperson, the commission will have four full-time members, including a member-secretary.
2. Law and Legislative Secretaries in the Law Ministry will be the ex-officio members of the commission.
3. It will also have not more than five part-time members.
4. A retired Supreme Court judge or Chief Justice ✍✍👀of a High Court will head the Commission.

Roles and functions:

1. The Law Commission shall, on a reference made to it by the Central Government or suo motu, undertake research in law and review of existing laws in India for making reforms and enacting new legislation.
2. It shall also undertake studies and research for bringing reforms in the justice delivery systems for elimination of delay in procedures, speedy disposal of cases, reduction in cost of litigation, etc.

About the law commission of India:

It is an executive body established by an order of the Government of India.

• Originally formed in 1955, the commission is reconstituted every three years and so far, 277 reports have been submitted to the government.
• The last Law Commission, under Justice B.S. Chauhan (retd.)👀, had submitted reports and working papers on key issues such as simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies and a uniform civil code.

Prior to independence, the First Law Commission was established in 1834 by the British Government under the Chairmanship of Lord Macaulay.

Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill

Cabinet clears Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill, aims to regulate IVF clinics.

Overview and key 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.

Background:

According to a registry maintained by the Indian Council of Medical Research, there are 1,269 ART clinics in India (as on November, 2019). The number swells up to 1,846 when ART clinics and ART banks are taken together. Maharashtra has the maximum number of ART clinics (266) followed by Tamil Nadu (164), Delhi (113), Karnataka (102), Uttar Pradesh (92) and Gujarat (80).

Need for a legislation in this regard:

The need to regulate the ART services is to protect the affected women and children from exploitation. Registration with the ICMR is a voluntary exercise at the moment because of which many clinics don’t take the trouble and prefer opacity while offering infertility treatment.

Significance:

The major benefit of the act would be regulation of the assisted reproductive technology services in the country. Consequently, infertile couples will be more ensured and confident of the ethical practices in ART clinics.

What is ART? Why it is in demand?

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.

Social stigma of being childless and lengthy adoption processes have increased the demand for ART in India. It is thus not surprising that the ART industry is expected to grow by a compounded annual growth rate of 10%.

UK’s points-based visa policy

UK has launched the new points-based immigration system, which intends to change the way migrants will come to the UK to work, study, visit or join their family.

• Effective from January 1, 2021, the new immigration system affects the EU citizens, who will now be treated at par with non-EU citizens.
• Non-EU citizens already follow a points-based system to migrate to the UK.

What’s a points-based policy?

The implementation of the points-based system does not change the status of those EU citizens already in the UK as per the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) and those whose status under EUSS is settled. The points-based immigration system will take effect from January 1, 2021 and will end free movement between the UK and EU, treating both EU and non-EU citizens equally. Under this system, points will be assigned for specific skills, qualifications, salaries or professions and visas will be awarded to those who will have enough points.

How it works?

1. Under this system, both EU and non-EU citizens will need to demonstrate that they have a job offer from an approved sponsor, that the job offer is at the required level and that they speak English.
2. Further, as per the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) recommendations, salary thresholds have been established.
3. Further, a total of 70 points are required to be eligible to apply, with some tradeable characteristics of the system.

The points will be allotted in the following manner:

Offer of job by approved sponsor (20), job at appropriate skill level (20), speaks English at required level (10), salary of £20,480 (minimum) – £23,039 (0), salary of £23,040 – £25,599 (10), salary of £25,600 or above (20), job in a shortage occupation (as designated by the MAC) (20), education qualification: PhD in subject relevant to the job (10) and education qualification: PhD in a STEM subject relevant to the job (20). Out of these characteristics, the first three are not tradeable, which means they are absolutely required to be eligible for visa under the points-based system.

What are the advantages of points systems?

The ability to qualify without an employer sponsor- workers entering under the Australian points system are less dependent on their employers and do not need permission to switch between jobs as they do in the UK; as a result, they are expected to have more bargaining power and to operate in a more competitive labour market.

Criticisms:

The most common criticism of points systems is that they often do not require a job offer and if workers do not have employment lined up, it is difficult to know whether they are actually employable. The system relies on the government’s perception of what skills are valuable, rather than on the views of the employers who are to recruit them.  Other criticisms include the fact that eligibility criteria can be unpredictable if candidate are ranked against each other and a specific number admitted. This is because the bar for admission will be higher in periods when more other people are applying.

Interim order on Mahadayi tribunal’s award

The Supreme Court has passed an interim order allowing an application by the State of Karnataka to notify the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal’s award.

What has the Court said?

The implementation of the award would be subject to the final judgment of the Supreme Court in the civil appeals filed by Karnataka, Goa, and Maharashtra, challenging the allocation of water from the Mahadayi river among them.

What was the tribunal award?

1. August 2018 tribunal award had allocated 13.42 TMC water from the Mahadayi river basin to Karnataka.
2. Maharashtra was allotted 1.33 TMC water while Goa was given 24 TMC in the final decision of the tribunal.

The Karnataka government had petitioned the tribunal seeking the release of 7.56 TMC of water for the Kalasa-Banduri Nala project.

What is Kalasa-Banduri Nala project?

Undertaken by the Government of Karnataka to improve drinking water supply to the Districts of Belagavi, Dharwad, and Gadag. It involves building across Kalasa and Banduri, two tributaries of the Mahadayi river to divert 7.56 TMC of water to the Malaprabha river.

About Mahadayi river?

• It is a west flowing river.
• Origin: Degaon village, Belgaum district.
• Called Mandovi in Goa.
• Travels 35 km in Karnataka; 82 km in Goa before joining the Arabian Sea.

What’s the dispute?

Goa raised objection to Kalasa-Banduri project planned in 1989. Goa filed a complaint seeking setting up of a tribunal in July 2002. Goa moved the Supreme Court in 2006 seeking the constitution of a tribunal. The Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal was set up in November 2010.

National Rail Transportation Institute (NRTI)

Context: Railway Board of India and the University of Birmingham have announced the launch of a joint masters programme in Railway Systems Engineering and Integration in the academic year 2020-2021 by the National Rail Transportation Institute (NRTI).

Significance:

• This initiative will benefit NRTI students by providing them access to world-class expertise and facilities in railway systems at the Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (BCRRE).
• BCRRE will also gain valuable insights into India’s transport sector and get involved in related research and development issues in India.

Background:

The initiative has been taken under the Centre of Excellence for Next-Generation Transportation Systems which was set up by an MoU between the NRTI and the University of Birmingham in 2019.

About National Rail Transport Institute:

It was set up as a deemed to be university and has been operational since 2018 and is India’s first to focus on transport-related education, multidisciplinary research and training.

It is situated in Vadodara, Gujrat.

 Functions:

1. It is specifically established to create a resource pool of best-in-class professionals for the railway and transportation sector through institutional partnerships for collaborating on developing curriculum, research projects and executive education programs.
2. It aims to develop interdisciplinary Centres of Excellence, bringing together academicians, scientists and engineers from various backgrounds and plans to leverage its academic and industry partnerships and collaborations.

Kiliki language

On International Mother Language Day (February 21), an official website of KiLiKi language🤣 has been launched.

About Kiliki language:

The new speech was invented for the terrifying warrior tribe called Kalakeya in the two-part Baahubali franchise.  It now has evolved into a language with script grammar and more than 3000 words for everyday communication. It is considered as the world’s easiest language. This fictional language was created by popular lyricist and screenwriter Madhan Karky.

About International Mother Language Day:

• Observed every year on 21st February since 2000 to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism.
• The idea to celebrate International Mother Language Day was the initiative of Bangladesh.
• It was approved at the UNESCO General Conference (1999) and has been observed throughout the world since 2000.
• The United Nations General Assembly had proclaimed 2008 as the International Year of Languages.
• The Ministry of Human Resource and Development along with educational institutions and language institutions is celebrating the day as the Matribhasha Diwas in the country.

First-ever Khelo India University Games

Context: The first-ever Khelo India University Games will take off in Odisha👀

What is it?

• It is an aspirational competition for India’s youngsters with the objective of helping them find the balance between sport and education.
• It is the largest ever competition held at the university level in India and will have about 3500 athletes from over 150 universities across the country taking part in it.
• There will be a total of 17 sports namely archery, athletics, boxing, fencing, judo, swimming, weightlifting, wrestling, badminton, basketball, football, hockey, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, rugby and kabaddi.

About Khelo India programme:

Introduced to revive the sports culture in India at the grass-root level by building a strong framework for all sports played in the country and establish India as a great sporting nation.

• It is implemented by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
• Under the scheme, the talented players identified in priority sports disciplines at various levels will be provided annual financial assistance of INR 5 lakh per annum for 8 years.
• It will be a Central Sector Scheme (Scheme implemented by the Central Government machinery and 100% funding by the union government).

Chatbot ASKDISHA

The Indian Railways Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) has powered voice-enabled ASKDISHA Chatbot to converse with customers in the Hindi language. The customers can now ask queries to ASKDISHA in Hindi by voice as well as text.

What is ASKDISHA Chatbot?

It is an Artificial Intelligence-based chatbot. It is a special computer programme designed to simulate conversation with users, especially over the internet. Initially launched in the English language in October 2018. Developed by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The aim is to resolve queries of railway passengers over the internet pertaining to various services offered.

Services provided:

Since its initial launch, passengers seeking help on the reservation of tickets, cancellation, enquiry of refund status, fare, PNR search, train running status, enquiry about retiring rooms and tourism products have been benefited.

SPICe+ web form

As part of the Government of India’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) initiatives, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs 👀has notified a new Web Form christened ‘SPICe+’ (pronounced ‘SPICe Plus’)👀 replacing the existing SPICe form.

What is it?

SPICe+ would be an integrated Web Form.

• It would offer 10 services by 3 Central Government Ministries & Departments (Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Labour & Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance) and One State Government (Maharashtra).
• It aims to save as many procedures, time and cost for Starting a Business in India and would be applicable for all new company incorporations.
• The new web form would facilitate onscreen filing and real-time data validation for the seamless incorporation of companies.

Saudi hosts G20 financial leaders

G20 meeting was held recently in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia).

• Saudi Arabia is the first Arab nation to hold the G20 presidency.
• Theme: “Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century for All”.

Focus areas:

1. Action plan to shield the world economy from the impact of Coronavirus Epidemic.
2. Discuss ways to achieve a fairer global taxation system for the digital era.
3. Discuss global economic outlook and possible policy responses to support growth and safeguard against downside risks.

What is G20?

An informal group of 19 countries and the European Union along with representatives of the IMF and the World Bank.

Represents about two-thirds of the world’s population, 85% of global gross domestic product, 80% of global investment and over 75% of global trade.

Genesis: Amid 2008 Financial Crisis the world saw the need for a new consensus-building at the highest political level. It was decided that the G20 leaders would begin meeting once annually.

Members:

The members of the G20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.

Elections to Rajya Sabha

The biennial elections for 55 Rajya Sabha seats will take place on March 26, 2020. The announcement was made by the Election Commission recently.

Rajya Sabha:

The Constitution provides that the Rajya Sabha shall consist of 250 members, of which 12 members shall be nominated by the President from amongst persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social service; and not more than 238 representatives of the States and of the Union Territories.

 How are the members elected?

Elections to the Rajya Sabha are indirect.

1. Members representing States are elected by elected members of legislative assemblies of the States in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.
2. Members representing Union Territories are chosen in such manner as Parliament may by law prescribe.

Related facts:

• The Rajya Sabha is not subject to dissolution; one-third of its members retire every second year.
• According to Section 154 of the Representation of the People Act 1951, a member chosen to fill a casual vacancy will serve for the remainder of his predecessor’s term of office.
• Members of a state’s Legislative Assembly vote in the Rajya Sabha elections in what is called proportional representation with the single transferable vote (STV) system. Each MLA’s vote is counted only once.

Cauvery Water Management Authority (CMA)

 Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have strongly objected to Karnataka’s bid to seek approval for the Mekedatu dam project👀✍ at the fifth Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) meeting in New Delhi. Following the objections, the CWMA dropped the discussion on Karnataka’s application.

What is Mekedatu Project?

A multi-purpose balancing reservoir project over Mekedatu, built at a cost of Rs 5,912, was aimed at solving the drinking water problems of Bengaluru and Ramnagar district. This project was also touted as one that could generate hydroelectricity to meet the power demand in the state.

Why does Tamil Nadu object?

1. The state contended that “the proposed reservoir would affect the natural flows of the river Cauvery.
2. It argued that Cauvery was already a deficit basin and the construction of the project, or any other project “would drastically affect the lower riparian State in getting their due share of waters.

About CWMA:

It has been created as per the Cauvery Management Scheme earlier framed by Centre and approved by Supreme Court.

Composition and Powers of CMA:

1. The authority will comprise a chairman, a secretary and eight members.
2. Out of the eight members, two will be full time, while two will be part time members from centre’s side.
3. Rest four will be part time members from states.

Functions:

• The main mandate of the CMA will be to secure implementation and compliance of the Supreme Court’s order in relation to “storage, apportionment, regulation and control of Cauvery waters”.
• CMA will also advise the states to take suitable measures to improve water use efficiency.
• It will do so by promoting use of micro-irrigation, change in cropping patterns, improved farm practices and development of command areas.
• The CMA will also prepare an annual report covering its activities during the preceding year.

Role of Central Government:

The central government will provide help in implementation of the modified award in case of any of the state /UT parties (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Puducherry) do not cooperate in implementing the decision or direction of the tribunal. Initially, centre will contribute Rs. 2 crore for the functioning of the authority.

H1N1 infection

 Five judges of the Supreme Court of India have been affected by Swine Flu which is caused by the H1N1 virus.

What is Swine flu (H1N1)?

Also called as pig influenza, swine flu, hog flu and pig flu. It is an infection caused by any one of several types of swine influenza viruses. Swine influenza virus is any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. Influenza A (H1N1) virus is the subtype of influenza A virus that is the most common cause of human influenza. It is an orthomyxovirus that contains the glycoproteins haemagglutinin and neuraminidase.

1. Haemagglutinin causes red blood cells to clump together and binds the virus to the infected cell.
2. Neuraminidase is a type of glycoside hydrolase enzyme which helps to move the virus particles through the infected cell and assist in budding from the host cells.

Spread and Effects:

1. H1N1 influenza (or swine flu) is a highly contagious acute respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs.
2. Swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans. However, sporadic human infections with swine flu have occurred.
3. Most commonly, these cases occur in people with direct exposure to pigs (e.g., children near pigs at a fair or workers in the swine industry).
4. However, there have been cases of human-to-human spread of swine flu.

Treatment consists of antivirals:

Typical treatment includes rest, pain relievers and fluids. In some cases antiviral medication and IV fluids may be required.

1000 springs initiative

Launched recently.

About 1000 springs initiative:
It is an online portal on GIS-based Spring Atlas with the hydrological and chemical properties of the springs mentioned.

Aim: 

• To improve access to safe and adequate water for the tribal communities living in difficult and inaccessible part of rural areas in the country.
• It is an integrated solution around natural springs.

Key features:
It includes the provision of infrastructure for piped water supply for drinking; provision of water for irrigation; community-led total sanitation initiatives; and provision for water for backyard nutrition gardens, generating sustainable livelihood opportunities for the tribal people.

Implementation:
Under this initiative, more than 70 young tribal youths from the rural belt of three districts of Odisha namely, Kalahandi, Khandamal and Gajapati have been trained as barefoot hydro geologists by combining traditional and scientific knowledge for identification and mapping of springs, and undertaking rejuvenation and protection measures in their habitations.

What are Springs?
Springs are natural sources of groundwater discharge and have been used extensively in the mountainous regions across the world.

Potential:
In the central and eastern Indian belt with more than 75% tribal population, it remains largely unrecognized and under-utilized.

Significance of this initiative:
The initiative will help in harnessing the potential of perennial springs’ water to address the natural scarcity of water in tribal areas.

National Science Day

28th February - National Science Day (NSD) in India. To commemorate discovery of the ‘Raman Effect’, which led to Sir C.V. Raman winning the Noble Prize.
The first National Science Day was celebrated on February 28, 1987.

Theme:-“Women in Science”.

What is Raman Effect?
A phenomenon in spectroscopy discovered by the eminent physicist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman in 1928.
Raman Effect is a change in the wavelength of light that occurs when a light beam is deflected by molecules.
• When a beam of light traverses a dust-free, transparent sample of a chemical compound, a small fraction of the light emerges in directions other than that of the incident (incoming) beam.
• Most of this scattered light is of unchanged wavelength. A small part, however, has wavelengths different from that of the incident light; its presence is a result of the Raman Effect.

Raman’s experiment:
The violet light of the solar spectrum is isolated with a violet filter and passed through the liquid sample. Most of the light emerging from the liquid sample is the same color as the incident violet beam: the so-called Rayleigh scattered light (the scattering of light by particles in a medium, without change in wavelength. It accounts, for example, for the blue colour of the sky, since blue light is scattered slightly more efficiently than red).

However, Raman, along with K S Krishnan was able to show that some of the scattered light was a different color, which they could isolate by using a green filter placed between the observer and the sample.

Kerala High Court bans all forms of agitations in schools, colleges

The Kerala High Court has ruled that strikes, rallies and gheraos that affect regular classes should not be held on the campuses of schools and colleges.

Observations made by the Court:
1. Those who are not participating in the strike have every right to attend their classes and no one should force them to participate in agitations that affect smooth conduct of classes.
2. Academic institutions are only meant for studies and they should not be venues for strikes and protests.
3. Nobody has the right to override a student’s right to study and action can be against those who indulge in strikes, rallies and gheraos that affect regular classes.
4. Campuses can have peaceful discussions and sharing of thoughts in a peaceful manner.
5. Students and others who force students to take part in the strike can be dealt with the law as it was the infringement of the basic right of the student.

Background:
The important verdict came in the wake of some private schools in Pathanamthitta moving the court with a plea to restrain student politics. 

Measures:
1. If such incidents take place in schools, the authorities concerned, including the district educational officer, can take action against erring students. They can even summon the police to restore the peace in the campus.
2. Similar measures should be taken on the college campuses as well. But, campuses can have peaceful discussions👀👀 and sharing of thoughts on any issue. This, however, should not be done by causing inconvenience to students or lead to a strike.

Assistance to Disabled persons for purchasing/fitting of aids/appliances (ADIP) scheme

PM will distribute assistive aids and devices to senior citizens (under the Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana-RVY) and the physically challenged (Under ADIP Scheme) at a mega distribution camp at Prayagraj.
The objective is to provide assistance through these aids and devices to the daily living and socio-economic development of the Divyangjan (physically challenged) and Senior Citizens.

About the ADIP Scheme– the Assistance to Disabled persons for purchasing/fitting of aids/appliances (ADIP) scheme:
Being implemented by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
Objective: to assist the needy disabled persons in procuring durable, sophisticated and scientifically manufactured, modern, standard aids and appliances that can promote their physical, social and psychological rehabilitation, by reducing the effects of disabilities and enhance their economic potential.
Implementation: The scheme is implemented through implementing agencies such as NGOs, National Institutes under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment and ALIMCO (a PSU that manufactures artificial limbs).

Eligibility:
A person satisfying all the following conditions are eligible:
1. Indian citizen of any age
2. Has 40% disability or more (must have the requisite certificate)
3. Monthly income, not more than Rs.20000.
4. In the case of dependents, income of parents/guardians should not exceed Rs.20000.
5. Must not have received assistance during the last 3 years for the same purpose from any source. However, for children below 12years of age, this limit would be one year.

What is Curative Petition?

About Curative Petition:

The concept was first evolved by the Supreme Court of India in Rupa Ashok Hurra vs. Ashok Hurra and another case (2002) on the question whether an aggrieved person is entitled to any relief against the final judgement/order of the Supreme Court, even after the dismissal of a review petition. The court used the Latin maxim “actus curiae neminem gravabit”, which means that an act of the court shall prejudice no one. It’s objectives are twofolds- avoid miscarriage of justice and to prevent abuse of process.

Related Constitutional provisions:

The concept of the curative petition is supported by Article 137 of the Indian Constitution.

• It provides that in the matter of laws and rules made under Article 145, the Supreme Court has the power to review any judgement pronounced (or order made) by it.
• Such a petition needs to be filed within 30 days from the date of judgement or order.

 Procedure:

1. A curative petition may be filed after a review plea against the final conviction is dismissed.
2. It can be entertained if the petitioner establishes that there was a violation of the principles of natural justice, and that he was not heard by the court before passing an order.
3. It must be rare rather than regular.
4. A curative petition must be first circulated to a Bench of the three senior-most judges, and the judges who passed the concerned judgment, if available.
5. Only when a majority of the judges conclude that the matter needs hearing should it be listed before the same Bench.
6. The Bench at any stage of consideration of the curative petition can ask a senior counsel to assist it as amicus curiae (Friend of the court).
7. A curative petition is usually decided by judges in the chamber unless a specific request for an open-court hearing is allowed.

Sedition cases in India

Latest data suggest that the sedition law remains as relevant as ever with sedition arrests increasing in recent years.

The data:

1. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), though, has only been collecting separate data on sedition cases since 2014. In 2014, there were 47 cases of sedition but that number increased to 70 in 2018 (the latest year with available data).
2. Compared to other offences, sedition remains a rare crime (it accounts for less than 0.01% of all IPC crimes).
3. But within India, some parts are emerging as sedition hotspots. Assam and Jharkhand, for instance, with 37 sedition cases each, account for 32% of all sedition cases between 2014-2018.
4. In 2018, there were 1,182 cases registered under UAPA. And almost all these cases (92%) were concentrated in five states (Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Jharkhand and Manipur).

What is Sedition?

Sedition, which falls under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, is defined as any action that brings or attempts to bring hatred or contempt towards the government of India and has been illegal in India since 1870. 

Kedarnath Singh vs State of Bihar:

Section 124A has been challenged in various courts in specific cases. The validity of the provision itself was upheld by a Constitution Bench in 1962, in Kedarnath Singh vs State of Bihar.

• That judgment went into the issue of whether the law on sedition is consistent with the fundamental right under Article 19 (1) (a) which guarantees each citizen’s freedom of speech and expression.
• The Supreme Court laid down that every citizen has a right to say or write about the government, by way of criticism or comment, as long as it does not “incite people to violence” against the government established by law or with the intention of creating public disorder.

Why sedition law should be repealed?

Sedition leads to a sort of unauthorised self-censorship, for it produces a chilling effect on free speech. It suppresses what every citizen ought to do in a democracy — raise questions, debate, disagree and challenge the government’s decisions. Sedition systematically destroys the soul of Gandhi’s philosophy that is, right to dissent.

Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK)

: 11th National Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Conference was recently inaugurated.

What are KVKs- “farm science center”:

A Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) is an agricultural extension center in India. Usually associated with a local agricultural university, these centers serve as the ultimate link between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and farmers, and aim to apply agricultural research in a practical, localized setting. All KVKs fall under the jurisdiction of one of the 11 Agricultural Technology Application Research Institutes (ATARIs) throughout India.

Activities:

KVKs provide several farm support activities like providing technology dissemination to farmers, training, awareness etc.

To achieve these, KVKs undertake:

1. Farm advisory service.
2. Training programme for different categories of people.
3. Training programme for the extension functionaries.
4. Front line demonstration.
5. On farm testing.

National Investigation Agency (NIA):

The Delhi High Court has sought response of the Centre and the AAP government on a PIL seeking National Investigation Agency (NIA) probe under the unlawful activities law UAPA into the violence in northeast Delhi over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

Background:

A petition filed has urged the court to direct the Centre to order the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to find out the “anti-national forces” behind the agitations and to probe the role of People’s Front of India (PFI) which is allegedly “funding, motivating and supporting the protests”.

About NIA:

It acts as the Central Counter Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency. It is empowered to deal with terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states. Established under the National Investigation Agency Act 2008. Governing Body: Ministry of Hime Affairs.

Jurisdiction:

1. A State Government may request the Central Government to hand over the investigation of a case to the NIA, provided the case has been registered for the offences as contained in the schedule to the NIA Act.
2. Central Government can also order NIA to take over investigation of any scheduled offense anywhere in the India.

Composition:

Officers of the NIA are drawn from the Indian Police Service and Indian Revenue Service.

Special NIA Courts:

Various Special Courts have been notified by the Central Government of India for trial of the cases registered at various police stations of NIA under Section 11 and 22 of the NIA Act 2008. Any question as to the jurisdiction of these courts is decided by the Central Government. These are presided over by a judge appointed by the Central Government on the recommendation of the Chief Justice of the High Court with jurisdiction in that region. Supreme Court of India has also been empowered to transfer the cases from one special court to any other special court within or outside the state if the same is in the interest of justice in light of the prevailing circumstances in any particular state. The NIA Special Courts are empowered with all powers of the court of sessions under Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for trial of any offense. An appeal from any judgement, sentence or order, not being an interlocutory order, of a Special Court lies to the High Court both on facts and on law. State Governments have also been empowered to appoint one or more such special courts in their states.