Current Affairs Summary-July 2016
The Bill amends the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, which prohibits the employment of children younger than 14 in 83 hazardous occupations and processes.
The amendment: Extends this ban on employment of children under 14 across all sectors,
Prohibits the employment of adolescents aged 14-18 years in hazardous occupations and
Introduces more stringent jail term and fines for offenders: a jail term of six months to two years and a fine upto Rs 50,000
The bill brings down the list of hazardous occupations from the earlier 83 to just three: mining, inflammable substances, and hazardous processes under the Factories Act, and the centre will decide which processes are hazardous.
The Bill has a provision of creating Rehabilitation Fund has also been made for the rehabilitation of children.
Children under 14 years will be allowed to work in family businesses, outside of school hours and during holidays, and in entertainment and sports. This can be blatantly misused by many and lead to “victimization of children” in their poverty.
Pardoning power of President and Governor:
The President’s powers to pardon in Article 72 are different from those granted to the Governor in Article 161. The President enjoys extensive powers under Article 72 as compared to what is available to the State Governor.
In case where the convict is sentenced to death penalty, only the President can exercise the right to pardon him/her. The governor does not have the right to pardon death sentences, she can only suspend, commute or provide remission in case of death sentences.
The President has the right to pardon punishments of sentences given under Court Martial, whereas the governor does not have this power.
Both the President and Governor have concurrent powers in cases of suspension, commutation and remission of a death sentence.
Madhya Pradesh recently became the first State in the country to set up a ‘Happiness Department’, on the lines of the neighbouring country Bhutan.
A panel of experts will be formed in the newly-constituted department which will give suggestions to ensure happiness in the lives of the people.
About Gross National happiness of Bhutan
The Gross National Happiness (GNH) index was proposed by Bhutan in 1971 to champion a novel approach to measure prosperity by measuring spiritual, physical, social and environmental well-being of its citizens and environment.
The four pillars of GNH are:
ü Sustainable and equitable socio-economic development,
ü Conservation of the environment,
ü Preservation and promotion of culture,
ü Good governance.
The Centre for Bhutan Studies identifies nine indicators which were used in the survey:
ü Standard of Living,
ü Health of the population
ü Education
ü Ecosystem vitality and diversity
ü Cultural vitality and diversity
ü Time use and balance
ü Good governance
ü Community vitality
ü Emotional well-being
Recently SC ruled that every death caused by armed forces in a disturbed area involving either a common person or an insurgent must be thoroughly enquired into so as to find out whether the killing was extra-judicial or not. Thus there is no absolute immunity for armed forces personnel who commit a crime even in a disturbed area. Presently AFSPA is enforced in the 6 states of North East and J&K. Tripura recently decided to lift this act. Critics argue that this act has failed in its objective of restoring normalcy in disturbed areas although being in existence for about 50 years. AFSPA was enacted in the year 1958
Some of these extra-ordinary powers include:
- Fire upon anyone after giving warning who is acting against law & order in the disturbed area.
- Arrest anyone without warrant.
- Stop and search any vehicle or vessel.
- Armed forces personnel have legal immunity for their actions.
Committee to Review the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act formed in 2004, in its report, recommended the repeal of the AFSPA, calling it a symbol of oppression.
NHRC cannot investigate a case if complaint was made more than one year after the incident. The act does not extend to the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Hence NHRC cannot investigate incidents of human rights violation there. NHRC powers with respect to investigating cases of human rights violation by armed forces are limited. NHRC do not have any kind of contempt powers thus it cannot penalize authorities who do not implement its recommendations in a time bound manner. NHRC is a statutory body established in 1993 and consists of a Chairman and 4 members. Chairman should be a retired Chief Justice of India. Members should be either sitting or retired judges of the Supreme Court or a serving or retired Chief Justice of a High Court and 2 persons having practical knowledge in the field of human rights.
ADVERTISING STANDARDS COUNCIL OF INDIA (ASCI)
A self-regulatory voluntary organization of the advertising industry in India, founded in 1985. The three main constituents of the industry viz. advertisers, advertising agencies and media came together to form this independent NGO. The aim of ASCI is to maintain and enhance the public’s confidence in advertising. Their mandate is that all advertising material must be truthful, legal and honest, decent and not objectify women, safe for consumers esp children and fair to their competitors. The review will include violation of the Food Safety Standards Act 2006 and regulations related to advertisements making misleading, unsubstantiated or false claims.
Perumal Murugan, an award-winning Tamil writer had come under sustained attack from local caste-based groups for his fictional novel Mathorubhagan (translated into English as One Part Woman) for hurting their sentiments.He was forced to write an ‘unconditional apology’ at the instance of police, local officials and protestors. He later publicly announced to give up writing.The Madras HC has rejected the demand for banning the book or prosecuting the author.
Indian Criminal law prescribes a two-step safeguard on freedom of speech in case of banning a book:
- First is the application of mind by the government when it bans a book under S.95 and 96 of the CrPC
- Second is the judicial review of the government’s move by a writ petition.
- The trouble is the frequent manner of straightway approaching the court for a ban. This by-passing of the two-way safeguard is being increasingly entertained by the Courts.
The Colombian government and FARC rebels signed a ceasefire and disarmament agreement to end civil war. The deal establishes “a bilateral ceasefire and end to hostilities and the definitive laying down of arms”. The deal puts a definitive end to fighting in Latin America’s longest civil war. The Colombian conflict started in the 1960s as a rural uprising for land rights that spawned the communist FARC. The conflict has drawn in various leftist rebel groups, right-wing paramilitaries and drug gangs over the decades.
Armed conflict erupted in South Sudan’s capital Juba between government and opposition forces because of a long standing power struggle between the President and the VP representing the Dunka and Nier tribes. There are 2,500 Indian soldiers in the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). In 2011, South Sudan (Predominantly Christian) split from its northern neighbor, Sudan (Predominantly Muslim). The Union Government has started the operation ‘Sankat Mochan’ to evacuate Indian citizens stranded in South Sudan’s capital Juba. Operation Sankat Mochan was the first big evacuation effort in a year after Operation Rahat evacuated hundreds of citizens of India and other countries in July 2015 from Yemen.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, Netherlands, has ruled that China’s claims of historical rights over South China Sea (SCS) has no legal basis. The case was brought to the court in 2013 by the Philippines, centering on the Scarborough Shoal, but Beijing chose to boycott the proceedings.
The court at The Hague ruled that China’s claims to the waters within the so-called “nine-dash line”, with wide-ranging economic interests, was in breach of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The court slammed China for damaging parts of the ecosystem in the Spratly islands — a contested archipelago– on account of overfishing and development of artificial islands. The Court also said that China violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights. It said China has caused “severe harm to the coral reef environment” by building artificial islands.
China rejected an international ruling on the South China Sea as “null and void” and devoid of any “binding force”. China is contemplating to establish a military Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the South China Sea (SCS). The imposition of an ADIZ would require overflying planes to first notify China.
India has made it clear that it recognised that the tribunal had been set up within the jurisdiction of the UN’s Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that must be given the “utmost respect”.
The 11th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit took place in the Mongolian capital Ulaan Baatar. The ASEM is an informal inter-regional dialogue that addresses political, security, financial, economic, social and cultural issues.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid historic visit to four African nations- Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya. India signed a long-term agreement for purchase of pulses from Mozambique. The country is home to a bulk of India’s Africa-bound investment. Energy dialogue between two sides has been steadily growing since the India Africa Forum Summit.
‘Solar Mamas’, a group of rural women solar engineers from Africa who have been trained under Government of India-supported programmes to fabricate, install, use, repair and maintain solar lanterns and household solar lighting systems in their villages.
India’s outreach to Africa
India is making a renewed push to regain relevance in a rapidly evolving African strategic landscape.
India’s focus over the last few decades has largely been on capacity-building on the continent, providing more than $1 billion in technical assistance and training to personnel under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme.
India has committed $7.5 billion to African infrastructure, covering 137 projects in more than 40 countries.
It has also offered duty-free market access to Africa’s least developed countries. But India’s trade with Africa at around $72 billion remains far below potential. China trade with Africa is $200 billion. India has been slow to upgrade ties with Africa, and it must chart its own trajectory without competing with, or being inhibited by, China’s formidable presence in the continent. India’s democratic traditions make it a much more comfortable partner for the West compared to China in cooperating on Africa-related issues.
India is viewed as a more productive partner by many in Africa because Indian companies are much better integrated into African society and encourage technology transfers to their African partners.
Prime Minister spoke about shoring up maritime ties as part of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), and linking India’s own “Sagar-Mala” outreach for Indian Ocean islands with the South Africa-authored “Operation Phakisa”, that focusses on Africa’s combined strengths in blue economies and ocean governance.
The World Bank Group recently launched its bi-annual report ‘Connecting to Compete 2016: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy’. LPI is a measure that captures the relative ease and efficiency with which products can be moved into and within a country. India has improved its ranking, jumping 19 places from 54th in 2014 to 35th in 2016.
India’s first insurance policy covering public liability to an atomic power plant operator has been issued to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). The insurance policy of NPCIL has covered all atomic power plants. The total premium came around Rs. 100 crore for a risk cover of Rs. 1,500 crore. The insurance policy complies with Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act. The policy covers ‘right of recourse’ of NPCIL against equipment suppliers. It also covers liability towards public as a consequence of any nuclear accident in the plants. The policy was issued by the country’s largest non-life insurer – New India Assurance Company Ltd. India has ratified the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC) for Nuclear Damage Indian Nuclear Insurance Pool was launched by the state-owned General Insurance Corporation-Reinsurer (GIC-Re) and other Indian insurance companies in June, 2015. This pool offers an insurance product for NPCIL for covering the operator’s liability under the provisions of the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act 2010. It provides for Rs. 1,500 crore as maximum liability for nuclear damage. NPCIL is facing an equipment sourcing crunch for two of its under-construction indigenous reactor technology-based projects in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Representatives of equipment vendors have made references to the looming uncertainties over the Civil Liability Nuclear Damage Act (2010), with the liability issue being flagged as a concern. May pave the way for firms like GE, Westinghouse and Areva setting up nuclear plants in India.
The cabinet has approved a National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS). The Scheme has an outlay of Rs. 10,000 crore with a target of 50 lakh apprentices to be trained by 2019-20. Union Government will directly share, 25% of the total stipend payable and 50% of total expenditure for providing basic training-to an apprentice, with employers.
It will be implemented by Director General of Training (DGT) under the aegis of Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE). For MSME sector: This scheme will encourage third-party agencies to provide basic training when in-house training infrastructure is not available. The NAPS has been framed to meet objective of National Policy of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, 2015, which focuses on apprenticeship as one of the key components. NAPS is a part of Labour reforms: Govt. has already amended Factory act, Apprenticeship act and labour laws act in 2014. Apprenticeship (Amendment) Act: has dismantled the outdated system of trade-wise and unit-wise regulation of apprentices under a prescriptive regime. Now the minimum target of apprentices is 2.5% and maximum is 10%. Also penalties such as imprisonment and other liabilities have been removed.
An FCNR account is a term deposit account that can be maintained by NRIs and PIOs in foreign currency. Thus, FCNRs are not savings accounts but fixed deposit accounts. Any currency which is freely convertible. for ex: US dollar, Pound Sterling (GBP), Euro, Japanese Yen, Swiss Frank, Swedish Krona etc.
The Union Cabinet has given its in-principle approval for setting up a Major port at Enayam near Colachel in Tamil Nadu. On completion the port will become country’s 13th major port. To act as a major gateway container port for Indian cargo that is presently trans-shipped through Colombo, Singapore and Klang.
The major ports of India moving from east to west are: Haldia, Paradip, Vishakhapatnam, Ennore (private), Chennai, Tuticorin, Enayam, Kochi, Panambur Port (Mangalore), Marmagoa, Nhava Sheva- Maharashtra, Mumbai Port, Kandla Port- Gujarat.
Sagarmala project: The prime objective of the Sagarmala project is to promote port-led direct and indirect development Under this initiative, Government of India plans to invest Rs 70,000 crore (US$ 10.5 billion) in 12 major ports in the next five years. Government has allowed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of up to 100 per cent under the automatic route for port and harbour construction and maintenance projects. It has also facilitated a 10-year tax holiday to enterprises that develop, maintain and operate ports, inland waterways and inland ports.
Ministry of Railways has decided to take up 21 port-rail connectivity projects, at an estimated cost of Rs 20,000 crore, under the under the port-connectivity enhancement objective of Sagarmala which is under Ministry of Shipping. Another six projects are being considered by the Indian Port Rail Corporation Limited (IPRCL).
In order to execute the last mile connectivity, of the Major Ports, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) – The Indian Port Rail Corporation (IPRC) is incorporated under the Companies Act 2013, under the administrative control of the Ministry of Shipping. 90% of equity of the company has been provided by the 11 Major Ports and 10% by the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited.
In U.P and Bihar, the government is setting up 50 global skill banks (training centres) to train potential immigrant workers in 110 job roles as per international standards. These training centres will impart skills across sectors such as medicine and healthcare, hospitality, IT, construction, automobile and retail trade where job opportunities exist or are likely to arise. Before they emigrate, youth trained in these skill banks would also be made familiar with the respective local culture, work ethic and language of the country they obtain a job in. To make India “the human resource capital” of the world. While people can sign up for training at these banks, it can also be demand-driven. For eg., if 100 masons are wanted in a Gulf country, these banks will train people accordingly and place them.
The Union Cabinet recently cleared the Model Shops and Establishment (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Bill, 2016. Provides for
- More Worker Welfare Measures
- Creating many more job opportunities for women and
- Providing favorable environment for doing business.
The law only covers Shops and Establishments Employing Ten or more Workers except Manufacturing Units. The law provides freedom to operate 365 days a year and opening/closing time of establishment. The law tries to boost the Employment Generation in general, especially for Women, as they will be permitted to work night shifts, with adequate safety and security provisions. It calls for better working conditions for employees such as drinking water, canteen, first-aid, lavatory and crèche facilities. The law also provides exemption to highly-skilled workers like those in IT and biotechnology from daily working hours (9 hours) and weekly working hours (48 hours).
The government plans to sell minority stakes in 51 listed as well as unlisted companies including RIL, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, L&T etc. and might exit in 3 years. Government holds minority stake in these companies through Specified Undertaking of UTI (SUUTI). Minority stake means a shareholding of less than 50% of a company’s equity capital which is not a controlling stake. SUUTI was formed in 2003 as an offshoot of erstwhile Unit Trust of India (UTI). SUUTI is looking at selling the investments either through an OFS, block deal, bulk deal or regular sale through stock exchanges.
Pg 20-July
In December 2014, the Cabinet had approved usage of non-food feedstocks besides molasses as source of ethanol to be used for blending in fuel. The policy is for using resources other than molasses for producing ethanol, since there is a shortage of molasses.
Ministries of renewable energy and science and technology will find a way to produce second-generation ethanol from biomass, bamboo, rice straw, wheat straw, and cotton straw etc. to power vehicles.
Based on promotion to second generation ethanol government is planning to take up ethanol blending in petrol to 22.5 percent and in diesel to 15 percent. Govt. is ready to purchase the entire quantity of 2nd generation ethanol produced by the industry.To augment supplies of ethanol to oil marketing companies (OMCs), the policy for procurement of ethanol has been modified to smoothen the entire ethanol supply chain and to provide remunerative price of ethanol.
The Union Cabinet has approved the Interest Subvention Scheme for farmers for the year 2016-17. The Central Government will provide interest subvention of 5% per annum to all farmers for short term crop loan upto one year for loan upto Rs. 3 lakhs borrowed by them during the year 2016-17. Farmers will thus have to effectively pay only 4% as interest.
Kerala has introduced a ‘fat tax’ of 14.5% on the consumption of junk food items like pizzas and burgers sold through branded restaurants.The tax is aimed at making people more conscious about food choices and curbing obesity. Kerala has most people suffering from obesity after Punjab, according to a National family health survey.
Following its historic first-ever flyby of Pluto, NASA’s New Horizons mission (To take pictures of Pluto) will now fly onward to an object deeper in the Kuiper Belt, known as 2014 MU69. 2014 MU69 is considered one of the early building blocks of the solar system. Kuiper belt is flat ring of icy small bodies that revolve around the Sun beyond the orbit of the planet Neptune. It comprises hundreds of millions of objects-presumed to be leftovers from the formation of the outer planets-whose orbits lie close to the plane of the solar system.
NASA’s Juno spacecraft has successfully entered into the orbit of Jupiter and started orbiting it. It is second spacecraft to orbit Jupiter, after Galileo probe that had orbited from 1995–2003.Galileo probe in its mission had found evidence of subsurface saltwater on Jupiter’s moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
Ceres is a dwarf planet, the only one located in the inner circle of the solar system, rest all are located on the outer edges.It is the largest object in the asteroid belt.
Pictures from the NASA’s Dawn Mission show permanently shadowed regions on Ceres.
The permanently shadowed regions do not receive direct sunlight and are identified as extremely cold. They have been cold enough to trap water ice for billions of years.The pictures indicate that water could exist in these shadowed craters even today.
The goal of the Dawn Mission is to characterize the conditions and processes of the earliest history of the giant proplanet Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres.
In March, 2015, Dawn Spacecraft became first probe to orbit the two solar bodies. It explored the giant proplanet Vesta in 2011-2012. Now, it is studying Ceres.
YAWS FREE INDIA
Recently, India received the official citation from WHO and UNICEF for being YAWS-free. India is the first country to be officially acknowledged as being Yaws-free. India has achieved this important milestone of being Yaws-free much before the WHO global target year of 2020. Yaws is a chronic infection that affects mainly the skin, bone and cartilage. The disease occurs mainly in poor communities in warm, humid, tropical areas. It affects mainly children below 15 years of age. It is caused by the bacterium – Treponema pallidumm and transmitted by skin contact. Yaws occurs in overcrowded communities, with limited access to basic amenities, such as water and sanitation, as well as health care.
India’s biodiversity has improved with 445 new species been added to the list in 2015.
The figure includes 262 animal species and 183 plant species.
The list includes 4 species of reptiles, 6 species of amphibians, 26 species of fishes, etc.
The most discoveries were made in the Eastern Himalaya region, which accounts for 19% of the total discoveries followed by the Western Ghats (18%) and Andaman and Nicobar Islands (15%).
Notable Additions
Animals
- Rock gecko (Hemidactylus yajurvedi) found in Kanker Chhattishgarh
- New frog species (Fejervarya gomantaki) from the Western Ghats
- A shiny new species of fish (Barilius ardens), from the Western Ghats Plants
- A new species of ginger Zingiber bipinianum in the South Garo hills of Meghalaya
- A species of mushroom (Bondarzewia zonata) collected from north Sikkim at an altitude of 2,829
The Union government had last year launched Green Highways (Plantation, Transplantation, Beautification and Maintenance) Policy 2015. The policy aims to take care of the ecological needs, help the environment and local communities, and generate employment by planting trees along all the highways in the country.
Financing: 1% of the total project cost (TPC) of National Highways will be kept aside in a Green Highways Fund to be used for plantation and its maintenance.
Strict auditing: Release of money to the empanelled agencies only if they have achieved a survival rate of 90% in the previous year.
The implementation and progress of plantation will be monitored via images by ISRO and audit will involve modern IT tools
Contracts will be given to NGOs, private cos. and govt. organizations with proven track record. Government plans to link it to MNREGA as well. Plants along highway median strips and along the edges reduce the glare of oncoming vehicles that can sometimes cause accidents.
Ozone hole is a region of exceptionally depleted ozone in the stratosphere over the Antarctic that happens at the beginning of Southern Hemisphere spring (August–October). Atmospheric researchers have found that the ozone hole has shrunk by more than four million sq kms since 2000 which is the year when ozone depletion was at its peak.
KENDRAPADA SHEEP
A threatened breed of sheep found only in coastal Jagatsinghpur and Kendrapara districts of Odisha. It is also known as ‘Kuji Mendha’. Recently it was conferred ‘rare and singular species’ tag by the Union government. They have some rare genetic traits which lead to multiple birth syndromes in them.
A green corridor project is a project for evacuation of renewable energy from generation points to the load centres by creating intra-state and inter-state transmission infrastructure. The intra-state transmission component of the project is being implemented by the respective states and the Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) is implementing inter-state component.
Indian researchers have used carbon dating techniques on animal remains and pottery fragments to conclude that the Indus Valley settlements could be 8,000 years old—2,500 years older than previously believed. This could make the Indus Valley settlements even older than the Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilisations. According to the researchers, the civilisation was spread over a much larger part of India than previously believed. Researchers used a technique known as Optically Stimulated Luminescence. Optically-Stimulated Luminescence is a dating technique used to date the last time quartz or feldspar sediment was exposed to light. It measures doses from ionizing radiation.
Megalithic stone structures and iron implements dating back to pre-historic period have been found in the ridge spread over 1.5 km in Ri-Bhoi district, Meghalaya.
Radiocarbon dating of the megalithic structures and tools indicates that Khasis made Meghalaya their home way back in 1200 BC. This excavation at Lummawbuh is the first Neolithic site in Meghalaya. The Khasis are an indigenous tribe, majority of who live in the state of Meghalaya. What sets this tribe apart from other tribes is that the descendents are recognised from the mother and not from the father i.e it follows the matrilineal system of society. The Khasis have been granted the status of Scheduled Tribe. They practice shifting cultivation (JHUM) for their survival.
JNANPITH AWARD
President conferred the 2015 Jnanpith Award (51st Jnanpith Award) on Gujarati litterateur Raghuveer Chaudhary. Significance of the Jnanpith Award. The Jnanpith Award recognises litterateurs who write in any one of the 22 Indian languages listed in the Schedule Eight of the Indian Constitution. The nomination and award is decided by the Bhartiya Jnanpith foundation. The Eighth Schedule recognises 22 official languages other than Hindi.
Pakistan has decided to return to an international tribunal to settle a dispute with India over sharing waters of the Kishenganga and Ratle rivers. The Kishanganga Hydroelectric Plant is a dam, which is part of a run-of-the-river hydroelectric scheme that is designed to divert water from the Kishanganga River to a power plant in the Jhelum River basin. In 2010, Pakistan appealed to the Hague’s Permanent Court of Arbitration (CoA), complaining that the Kishanganga Hydroelectric Plant violates the Indus River Treaty by increasing the catchment of the Jhelum River and depriving Pakistan of its water rights.
India maintained that Run-of-the-river projects are permitted by the Indus treaty within defined limits.
The International Court of Arbitration gave its “final award” on 20 December 2013, wherein it allowed India to go ahead with the construction of the Kishanganga dam. The “final award” specifies that 9 m3/s of natural flow of water must be maintained in Kishanganga river at all times to maintain the environment downstream.
For management of sedimentation in the dam, India planned to use the modern drawdown flushing technique that requires waters to be brought below the Dead Storage Level. This technique was accepted by the neutral expert in the Baglihar dispute with Pakistan but has been disallowed by the Court of Arbitration.
About Indus Water Treaty – 1960
The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank (then the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development). The treaty was signed in Karachi on September 19, 1960 by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and President of Pakistan Ayub Khan.
According to this agreement, control over the three “eastern” rivers — the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej — was given to India and the three “western” rivers — the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum — to Pakistan.
INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION FOR MIGRATION (IMO)
The UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution approving an agreement to make the International Organisation for Migration part of the UN as a related organization.
PRADHAN MANTRI KAUSHAL VIKAS YOJANA
Why in news?
The Union Cabinet approved the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) with an outlay of Rs 12000 crore to impart skill training to one crore people over the next four years (2016-2020).
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
The objective of this Skill Certification Scheme is to enable a large number of Indian youth to take up industry-relevant skill training that will help them in securing a better livelihood.
Individuals with prior learning experience or skills will also be assessed and certified under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).
About Scheme
Skill training would be done based on the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) and industry led standards.
Under the scheme, a monetary reward is given to trainees on assessment and certification by third party assessment bodies.
The average monetary reward would be around Rs.8000 per trainee.
Eligible Beneficiaries
In line with the scheme objectives, the scheme is applicable to any candidate of Indian nationality who:
Undergoes a skill development training in an eligible sector by an eligible training provider.
is certified during the span of one year from the date of launch of the scheme by approved assessment agencies.
is availing of this monetary award for the first and only time during the operation of this Scheme.
INTEREST SUBVENTION SCHEME FOR FARMERS
The Government has approved an interest subvention scheme for farmers under which farmers will get short-term crop loans of up to Rs 3 lakh with interest subvention of 5 per cent per annum.
Thus loans at a subsidized interest rate of 4 per cent will be available to farmers for this fiscal, provided they repay in time, or else a higher rate of 7 per cent will be charged.
The interest subvention scheme is for public and private sector banks, in addition to cooperative banks, regional rural banks and NABARD.
Apart from this, an interest subvention of 2 per cent in order to give relief to small and marginal farmers who would have to borrow at 9 per cent for the post harvest storage of their produce, has also been approved.
This would make the effective interest rate for loans for post harvest storage to be 7 per cent for loans up to six months.
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has announced come out with draft policy for 2nd generation ethanol. The Cabinet had approved usage of non-food feedstocks besides molasses as source of ethanol to be used for blending in fuel. The policy is for using resources other than molasses for producing ethanol, since there is a shortage of molasses. Ministries of renewable energy and science and technology will find a way to produce second-genration ethanol from biomass, bamboo, rice straw, wheat straw, and cotton straw etc. to power vehicles. Based on promotion to second generation ethanol govt is planning to take up ethanol blending in petrol to 22.5 percent and in diesel to 15 percent.
Govt. is ready to purchase the entire quantity of 2nd generation ethanol produced by the industry.
To augment supplies of ethanol to oil marketing companies (OMCs), the policy for procurement of ethanol has been modified to smoothen the entire ethanol supply chain and to provide remunerative price of ethanol
PATTISEEMA LIFT IRRIGATION PROJECT
Why in news?
Pattiseema lift irrigation project interlinking rivers Godavari & Krishna, in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh has been commissioned recently.
It is South India’s first River Integration Project.
Need
Rayalaseema has scarcity of water and rainfall and is one of the most heavily drought hit places of South India.
On the other hand, Godavari river is the most flooded river in the South India.
AP had earlier linked the Tungabhadra river with the Pennar through the Kurnool Cuddapah canal and the Krishna with Pennar.
NATRIP PROJECT
Why in news?
Government has approved a revised cost estimate of Rs 3,727.30 crores for the NATRIP.
What is NATRIP?
The project is required to fulfill India’s obligations as a signatory to UN Regulation on Harmonisation of Vehicle Specifications under WP-29 of 1998.
It aims to make Indian vehicles comply with global standards of safety in line with UN Brasilia resolution by reducing the high number of causalities and road accidents (i.e. 1.46 and 5.01 lakhs, respectively in the year 2015)
LUCA
Why in News?
A team of scientists led by William Martin from Heinrich Heine University, Dusseldorf have discovered the
ancestor of all things on earth and its name is LUCA.
About LUCA
LUCA stands for Last Universal Common Ancestor. It is the most recent organism from which all organisms now living on Earth have a common descent. Thus, it is the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) of all current life on Earth. As such, it should not be assumed to be the first living organism.
Highlights of the study
Two of three major life domains: Bacteria and Archae
share common genetic features with LUCA.
Scientists went through 6.1 million protein encoded genes
and identified 355 genes that trace to the last ancestor by
phylogenetic criteria.
LUCA is no less that 4 billion years old and was a single cell
organism.
The study suggests that LUCA lived in a “geochemically active environment”. i.e. it did not necessarily need oxygen and can feed off hydrogen, carbon dioxide and iron.
LUCA would have inhabited volcanically active places or areas where tectonic plates are moving apart, ocean basins, and hotspots.
The study also suggests autotrophic or self-nourishing origin of life. It also proves Charles Darwin propose theory of universal common descent through an evolutionary process.
SOLAR POWER TREE
Why in news?
Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences recently launched the ‘Solar Power Tree’.
It has been developed by the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI), a constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
What is Solar Power tree?
It is an innovative way to generate electricity using solar power in a limited space
It has a structure like a tree with branches made of steel to hold the photovoltaic panels
Advantages
It takes less land of only 4 sq ft for a 5 kW solar power tree as compared to 400 sq ft of land required in case of the conventional solar photovoltaic layout
It holds the panels at a higher height – thus gets more sun (by 1 hour) in a day in comparison to that of conventional layout on ground. This could also be rotated so that the photovoltaic panels get more sunlight. Thus, it is possible to harness 10-15 per cent more power.
It has a water sprinkler at the top for self-cleaning of panels.
Bioremediation related technologies
Bioventing – an in situ remediation technology that uses microorganisms to biodegrade organic constituents in the groundwater system.
Bioleaching – extraction of metals from their ores through the use of living organisms instead of using harmful chemical substances such as cyanide etc.,
Land farming – ex-situ waste treatment process that is performed in the upper soil zone or in biotreatment cells. Contaminated soils, sediments, or sludges are transported to the Landfarming site, incorporated into the soil surface and periodically turned over (tilled) to aerate the mixture
Composting – Aerobic bacteria and fungi decompose the organic matter into compost used as fertilizer.
Bio-augmentation – the addition of archaea or bacterial cultures required to speed up the rate of degradation of a contaminant.
Bio-stimulation – modification of the environment to stimulate existing bacteria capable of bioremediation.
KERALA BIRD ATLAS PROJECT
Kerala Bird Atlas is an ambitious citizen science project, to map
the distribution and abundance of birds of an entire Indian
state.
This is the first time in India that birds in an entire state are
being mapped. The only similar effort was in Mysore city few
years back.
The programme is being coordinated by the Hume Centre for
Ecology and Wildlife Biology, a conservation organization in
the district, in association with the Bird Count India and e-bird.
Kerala has the distinction of having six bird monitoring schemes, which includes recording common birds,
heronries, water birds, pelagic (sea) birds, and forest birds.
The project has begun in Wayanad district.
It is envisaged as a five-year activity. By repeating the process over a period of 25 years or so, it will be possible to scientifically document changes in distribution and abundance of our birds over a period of time.
This has huge implications on nature conservation as a whole as birds are perfect indicators of the changing ecological conditions.
The primary cause of ozone depletion is the presence of
chlorine-containing source gases primarily CFCs and related
halocarbons. In the presence of UV light, these gases
dissociate, releasing chlorine atoms, which then go on to
catalyze ozone destruction.
The Cl-catalyzed ozone depletion can take place in the gas
phase, but it is dramatically enhanced in the presence of
polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). These polar stratospheric clouds (PSC) form during winter, in the extreme cold.
Stratospheric chlorine is stored in reservoir compounds like chlorine nitrate and Hydro Chloric acid. During the Antarctic winter and spring, however, reactions on the surface of the polar stratospheric cloud particles convert these “reservoir” compounds into reactive free radicals (Cl and ClO).
The role of sunlight in ozone depletion is the reason why the Antarctic ozone depletion is greatest during spring. During winter, even though PSCs are at their most abundant, there is no light over the pole to drive chemical reactions.
The World Heritage Committee, a UNESCO body
notified three Indian sites as heritage sites at its 40th
session.
The sites include Chandigarh’s magnificent Capitol
Complex, Mt Khangchendzonga, and the
archaeological site at Nalanda Mahavihara (Nalanda
University) in Bihar.
This is also the first time that India got a mixed site notified as
heritage site. A mixed site is the one which exhibits qualities of
both natural and cultural significance.
It is also the first time that any country has got three sites
named as World Heritage Sites in a single session.
Khangchendzonga National Park (KNP), Sikkim (Kanchenjunga Biosphere Reserve)
It is the first and only mixed site in India to be notified as World Heritage Site.
The park covers 25 percent of Sikkim and exhibits one of the
wildest altitudinal ranges of any protected area in the world.
It boasts of a unique topography of snow clad mountains and
steep valleys. In fact, it is home to the world’s third highest
peak, Mt. Khangchendzonga.
It is inhabited by endemic, rare and threatened plant and
animal species. It is home to musk deer, snow leopard and
Himalayan tahr.
It has been notified as a mixed site due to its ecological
significance along with the religious and cultural practices of
Buddhism.
There are many glaciers including the Zemu glacier.
The park also has few Lepcha tribal settlements. Lepcha is an
indigenous tribal community of Sikkim. They number
between 30,000 and 50,000.