Comprehensive Current affairs 20 July 2020

Modi interacts with IBM CEO Arvind Krishna via Video Conferencing.

  

Indian PM congratulated Arvind Krishna for becoming the global head of IBM earlier this year. He mentioned the strong connect of IBM with India and its huge presence in the country, with over one lakh people working across 20 cities in the company.

Talking about the impact of COVID on business culture, Modi said that ‘work from home’ is being adopted in a big way and the government is constantly working towards providing infrastructure, connectivity and regulatory environment to ensure that this technological shift is smooth. He also discussed the technologies associated and challenges involved in the recent decision of IBM to make 75% of its employees to work from home.

Modi appreciated the role played by IBM, in association with CBSE, towards the launch of AI curriculum in 200 schools in India. He said that the government is working towards introducing students to concepts such as AI, machine learning etc at an early stage, to further the tech temperament in the country. IBM CEO said that teaching about technology and data should be in the category of basic skills like algebra, needs to be taught with passion and should be introduced early.

He also highlighted that this is a great time to invest in India. He said that the country is welcoming and supporting investments taking place in the tech sector. He noted that while the world is witnessing slowdown, FDI inflow in India is increasing. He said that the country is moving forward with the vision of a self-sufficient India so that a globally competent and disruption resilient local supply chain can be developed. IBM CEO briefed PM about IBM’s huge investment plans in India. He expressed confidence in the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

Other areas of discussion included the issues of data security, cyber attacks, concerns around privacy, and health benefits of Yoga.

Consumer Protection Act, 2019 comes into force.

The Consumer Protection Act,2019 comes in to force from today i.e. 20thJuly 2020. While briefing the media about the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 through video conference here today, Indian

 

Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan said that this new Act will empower consumers and help them in protecting their rights through its various notified Rules and provisions like Consumer Protection Councils, Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions, Mediation, Product Liability and punishment for manufacture or sale of products containing adulterant / spurious goods.

The Act includes establishment of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers. The CCPA will be empowered to conduct investigations into violations of consumer rights and institute complaints / prosecution, order recall of unsafe goods and services, order discontinuance of unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements, impose penalties on manufacturers/endorsers/publishers of misleading advertisements.Shri Paswan further said that the rules for prevention of unfair trade practice by e-commerce platforms will also be covered under this Act. The gazette notification for establishment of the Central Consumer Protection Authority and rules for prevention of unfair trade practice in e-commerce are under publication.

Under this act every e-commerce entity is required to provide information relating to return, refund, exchange, warranty and guarantee, delivery and shipment, modes of payment, grievance redressal mechanism, payment methods, security of payment methods, charge-back options, etc. Including country of origin which are necessary for enabling the consumer to make an informed decision at the pre-purchase stage on its platform.

E-commerce platforms have to acknowledge the receipt of any consumer complaint within forty-eight hours and redress the complaint within one month from the date of receipt under this Act.

The New Act introduces the concept of product liability and brings within its scope, the product manufacturer, product service provider and product seller, for any claim for compensation.

Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanism of Mediation has been provided in the new Act. This will simplify the adjudication process. A complaint will be referred by a Consumer Commission for mediation, wherever scope for early settlement exists and parties agree for it. Mediation will be held in the Mediation Cells to be established under the aegis of the Consumer Commissions. There will be no appeal against settlement through mediation.

Earlier Consumer Protection Act, 1986a single point access to justice was given, which is also time consuming. The new act has been introduced after many amendments to provide protection to buyers not only from traditional sellers but also from the new e-commerce retailers/platformsplatforms and will prove a significant tool in protecting consumer rights in the country.

Induction of Rafale in Indian Air Force.

The first batch of five Indian Air Force (IAF) Rafale is likely to arrive in India by end July 2020. The aircraft will be inducted at Air Force Station Ambala on 29 July subject to weather. No media coverage is planned on arrival. The final induction ceremony will take place in second half of August 20 wherein full media coverage would be planned.

IAF aircrew and ground crew have undergone comprehensive training on the aircraft, including its highly advanced weapons systems and are fully operational now. Post arrival, efforts will focus on operationalisation of the aircraft at the earliest.

 

Indian MoD signs contract with BEML for procurement of 1,512 Mine Plough for T-90 tanks.

With an aim to boost ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Government, with the approval of Indian defence Minister,Acquisition Wing of Ministry of Defence (MoD), has today signed a Contract with Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) for procurement of 1,512 Mine Plough (MP) for Tank T-90 S/SK at an approximate cost of Rs 557 crore. The contract has Buy and Make (Indian) categorisation with a minimum of 50 per cent indigenous content in make portion of the contract.

These mine ploughs will be fitted on T-90 Tanks of Indian Armoured Corps which will facilitate individual mobility to Tanks while negotiating mine field. Mobility of Tank Fleet will enhance manifold, which in turn would extend the reach of Armoured Formation deep into enemy territory without becoming mine causality.

With the induction of these 1,512 mine ploughs, planned to be completed by 2027, the combat capability of the Army will be further enhanced.

Badal e-inaugurates Zoram Mega Food Park in Mizoram.

 

Union Minister of Food Processing Industries in the Government of India and Member Smt Harsimrat Kaur Badal today inaugurated the Zoram Mega Food Park Ltd at Kolasib in Mizoram through virtual conference. The Food Park built at a cost of Rs 75 crore and spread over 55 Acres of land will directly benefit over 25,000 farmers and will provide employment opportunities to over 5,000 people in the region. Describing the inauguration of the food park as a new dawn for the region, Mrs Badal said that it will go a long way in realizing the dream of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for an

Atmanirbhar Bharat. She informed that in the last six years, 88 projects including 7 in Mizoram initiated for the entire North-Eastern Region with an outlay of Rs1000 crore by her Ministry which will directly benefit 3 lakh farmers and will provide job opportunities to 50,000 youth from the region.

MoU between CBDT and MoMSME signed.

A formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed today between the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India (MoMSME) for sharing of data by CBDT to MoMSME. The MoU was signed by Smt. Anu J. Singh, Principal Director General of Income Tax (Systems), CBDT and Shri. Devendra Kumar Singh, Additional Secretary & Development Commissioner, MoMSME.

The MoU will facilitate seamless sharing of certain Income-tax Return (ITR) related information by the Income Tax Department to MoMSME.

The MoU comes into force from the date it was signed. Both the organisations will appoint Nodal Officer and Alternate Nodal Officers to facilitate the process of data exchange.

The MoU marks the beginning of a new era of cooperation and synergy between the CBDT and MoMSME.

 

 

 

Adevice for long-termmonitoring of cells & tissues and study drug delivery effects, tissue repair and regeneration.

Preservation of secondary cell lines, primary cells, and primarytissue explants outside the incubator environment for long hours and continuous monitoring of the growth and electrophysiology recording for controlled drug delivery is a major requirement.

The need for monitoring of growth patterns of cells over long hours on desired substrates and the functionality of an explant-tissue in a non-vivo environment in their laboratory triggered ateam from Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research(JNCASR) an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India to come up with a suitable device.

The JNCASR team of Prof. K.S. Narayan, K. Anilkrishna, C.S. Deepak, and P. Sumukh designed and fabricated a hand-held bench-top micro incubator technology and demonstrated the ability to introduce and deliver drug reagents (channel blockers) in a controlled manner and see their effects.

UPSC Gears up to Conduct Personaltiy Tests (Interviews) for the Civil Services Examination 2019 in the Backdrop of COVID-19 Pandemic.

 

The Union Public Service Commission was in the midst of conducting the Personality Tests (PTs)/Interviews for 2,304 candidates for the Civil Services Examination, 2019 (CSE-2019) when the Government of India decided to impose a lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19. The Commission also reviewed the position and decided to defer the remaining PT Boards for 623 candidates of the CSE-2019 from 23.03.2020 onwards.

With gradual lifting of the lockdown, the Commission has decided to hold the PTs for the remaining candidates from 20th to 30th of July, 2020 and all the candidates have been suitably informed in advance. In order to address the safety and health concerns of the candidates, expert advisers and staff of the Commission, suitable arrangements have been put in place.

Global methane emissions soar to record high.

Global emissions of methane have reached the highest levels on record. Increases are being driven primarily by growth of emissions from coal mining, oil and natural gas production, cattle and sheep ranching, and landfills.

 

Between 2000 and 2017, levels of the potent greenhouse gas barreled up toward pathways that climate models suggest will lead to 3-4 degrees Celsius of warming before the end of this century. This is a dangerous temperature threshold at which scientists warn that natural disasters, including wildfires, droughts and floods, and social disruptions such as famines and mass migrations become almost commonplace. The findings are outlined in two papers published July 14 in Earth System Science Data and Environmental Research Letters by researchers with the Global Carbon Project, an initiative led by Stanford University scientist Rob Jackson.

Growing sources of methane

Globally, fossil fuel sources and cows are twin engines powering methane’s upward climb. “Emissions from cattle and other ruminants are almost as large as those from the fossil fuel industry for methane,” Jackson said. “People joke about burping cows without realizing how big the source really is.”

Throughout the study period, agriculture accounted for roughly two-thirds of all methane emissions related to human activities; fossil fuels contributed most of the remaining third. However, those two sources have contributed in roughly equal measure to the increases seen since the early 2000s.

Possible solutions

Tropical and temperate regions have seen the biggest jump in methane emissions. Boreal and polar systems have played a lesser role. Despite fears that melting in the Arctic may unlock a burst of methane from thawing permafrost, the researchers found no evidence for increasing methane emissions in the Arctic – at least through 2017.

According to Jackson and colleagues, curbing methane emissions will require reducing fossil fuel use and controlling fugitive emissions such as leaks from pipelines and wells, as well as changes to the way we feed cattle, grow rice and eat.

 

 

Why a separate anti-torture law?

Context:

The alleged torture of a father-son duo in Tamil Nadu has once again given rise to the demand for a separate law against torture.

It is therefore essential to examine whether the existing law is inadequateto deter incidents of custodial torture.

Torture definition:

Torture is not defined in the Indian Penal Code, but the definitions of ‘hurt’ and ‘grievous hurt’ are clearly laid down.

Indian courts have included psychic torture, environmental coercion, tiring interrogative prolixity, and overbearing and intimidatorymethods, among others, in the ambitof torture.

Voluntarily causing hurt and grievous hurt to extort confession are also provided in the Code with enhanced punishment.

Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, a judicial magistrate inquires into every custodial death.

Liability:

The National Human Rights Commission has laid down specific guidelines for conducting autopsy under the eyes of the camera.

The Supreme Court judgment in DK Basu v. State of West Bengal was a turning point in the evolving jurisprudence on custodial torture.

The Court’s decision in Nilabati Behera v. State of Orissa made sure that the state could no longer escape liability in public law and had to be compelled to pay compensation.

Similarly, the Court has held in many cases that policemen found guilty of custodial death should be given the death penalty.

Therefore, there is neither a dearthof precedents nor any deficiency in the existing law.

Vague, harsh and retributive:

However, a fresh draft of the Prevention of Torture Bill was released in 2017 for seeking suggestions from various stakeholders.

The Bill was not only vaguebut also very harsh for the police to discharge its responsibilities without fear of prosecution and persecution.

It was inconsistent with the existing provisions of law.

It included ‘severe or prolonged pain or suffering’ as a form of torture but that was left undefined.

The proposed quantum of punishment was too harsh.

Though the 262nd Law Commission Report recommended that the death penalty be abolished except in cases of ‘terrorism-related offences’, the Bill provided for the death penalty for custodial deaths.

In the Bill, the proposed registration of every complaint of torture as an FIR and blanket denial of anticipatory bail to an accused public servant was not reasonable.

The bail can be refused in appropriate cases, but excluding an investigating officer from availing such an opportunity shall be no less than putting him on the highest pedestal of mistrust.

Overall, the proposed Bill was not a reformative one. It was vague, harsh and retributive in nature.

CAT:

In 2017, the Central government admitted in the SC that it was considering the 273rd Report of the Law Commission that recommended ratificationof the U.N. Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment (CAT).

CAT was signed by India, but is yet to be ratified.

However, except for minor discrepancies, the prevalent law in India is adequateand well in tune with the provisions of CAT.

 

Root cause of the problem:

Retired Supreme Court Justice Deepak Gupta said that we first need to implement the law as we have it.

“The investigations, the prosecutions are not fair; these must be rectifiedfirst,”he said.

He exhortedthat the police need to be trained better. The temptation to use third-degree methods must be replaced with scientific skills.

Conclusion:

Thus, the need of the hour is to strike at the root cause of the problem and implement recommendations of various commissions to bring in necessary reforms.