Comprehensive Current affairs 24 October 2020

Government Allows OCI & PIO card holders to visit India.

The government has decided to permit all OCI and PIO card holders and all other foreign nationals intending to visit India for any purpose, except on a Tourist Visa to enter by air or water routes through authorized airports and seaport immigration check posts.

This includes flights operated under Vande Bharat Mission, Air Transport Bubble arrangements or by any non-scheduled commercial flights as allowed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

All such travellers will, however, have to strictly adhere to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare regarding quarantine and other COVID-19 matters.

Under this graded relaxation, Government of India has also decided to restore with immediate effect all existing visas (except electronic visa, Tourist Visa and Medical Visa).

Foreign nationals intending to visit India for medical treatment can apply for a Medical Visa including for their medical attendants.

 

Culture ministry launches life in miniature project.

Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel virtually launched Life in Miniature project today.The project is a collaboration between the National Museum, New Delhi, Ministry of Culture, and Google Arts and Culture.

From today, several hundred miniature paintings from the National Museum can be viewed online on Google Arts and Culture by people around the world.

The project uses technologies like machine learning, augmented reality and digitization with high-definition robotic cameras, to showcase these special works of art in a magical new way.

IRDAI unveils standard term life insurance cover.

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has come up with a standard individual term life Insurance Product.

• These features as well as standard terms and conditions are expected to help customers make an informed choice and reduce mis-selling.

Standard Individual Term Life Insurance Product:

• The product, Saral Jeevan Bima to be offered by all life insurance companies will be a non-linked, non-participating individual pure risk premium life insurance plan.

• It will pay the sum assured in lump sum to the nominee in case of the life assured’s death during the policy term.

• The regulator mandated all life insurers to offer the standard product by January 1, 2021.

• Insurers have to file the product with the regulator latest by December 1.

• The plan will be for those in the 18-65 years age group.

• The policy term will be 5-40 years, while the sum assured will be a minimum of ₹5 lakh and a maximum of ₹25 lakh.

 

• Insurers have the option of offering sum assured beyond ₹25 lakh with all other terms and conditions remaining the same.

• The product shall be offered to individuals without restrictions on gender, place of residence, travel, occupation or educational qualifications.

• On the death benefit, for regular and limited premium payment policies, it will be the highest of 10 times of annualised premium; 105% of all the premiums paid as on the date of death; or the absolute amount assured to be paid on death.

• In case of single premium policies, it will be higher of 125% of single premium, or absolute amount assured to be paid on death.

• There will be no maturity benefit. Neither will there be any surrender value nor can any loan be taken against the product.

• The pricing (premium) by insurers will be as per the File and Use (F&U) process. There shall be no exclusions, except suicide.

Background:

• The last few years there has been an increased customer preference towards pure term life Insurance Products Resulting in Insurers launching many term products with varying terms and conditions.

IRDAI:

• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is an autonomous, statutory body tasked with regulating and promoting the insurance and re-insurance industries in India.

• It was constituted by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, an Act of Parliament passed by the Government of India.

• The agency’s headquarters are in Hyderabad, Telangana, where it moved from Delhi in 2001.

 

• IRDAI is a 10-member body including the chairman, five full-time and four part-time members appointed by the government of India.

Functions of the IRDAI:

• Issuing, renewing, modifying, withdrawing, suspending or cancelling registrations.

• Protecting policyholder interests

• Specifying qualifications, the code of conduct and training for intermediaries and agents.

• Specifying the code of conduct for surveyors and loss assessors

• Promoting efficiency in the conduct of insurance businesses.

• Promoting and regulating professional organisations connected with the insurance and re-insurance industry

• Levying fees and other charges

• Inspecting and investigating insurers, intermediaries and other relevant organisations.

• Regulating rates, advantages, terms and conditions which may be offered by insurers not covered by the Tariff Advisory Committee under section 64U of the Insurance Act, 1938.

• Specifying how books should be kept

• Regulating company investment of funds.

• Regulating a margin of solvency

•Adjudicating disputes between insurers and intermediaries or insurance intermediaries.

• Supervising the Tariff Advisory Committee.

• Specifying the percentage of premium income to finance schemes for promoting and Regulating Professional Organisations.

 

 

Digital Media Regulation.

The Centre has recently announced new guidelines for digital news platforms.

Highlights:

• The government has put emphasis on compliance to the 26% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap under the government approval route in digital media.

• The 26% FDI through the government approval route in the digital media sector was brought in 2019. FDI in print media is capped at 26%, and that in TV news is 49%.

• The majority of the directors on the company’s board, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company would have to be an Indian citizen.

• All foreign employees working for more than 60 days would need security clearance. If the government denies or withdraw security clearance, the digital media company will ensure that the concerned person resigns or his/her services are terminated.

• The government has given a year to digital media news entities to align their shareholding with these requirements. The guidelines will be applicable to the following categories of entities registered or located in India:

• Digital media entities which streams/uploads news and current affairs on websites, apps or other platforms.

• The News agency which gathers, writes and distributes/transmits news, directly or indirectly, to digital media entities and/or news aggregators.

• The News aggregator, an entity which uses software of web applications to aggregate news content from various sources, such as news websites, blogs, podcasts, video blogs, user submitted links, etc in One Location.

 

 

 

Advantages:

• The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will be considering in the near future to extend the following benefits, presently available to traditional media (print and TV), to digital media entities also:

• Press Information Bureau (PIB) accreditation for its reporters, cameramen, videographers enabling them with better first-hand information and access including participation in official press conferences and such other Interactions.

• Persons with PIB accreditation can also avail Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) benefits and Concessional rail fare.

• Eligibility for digital advertisements through the Bureau of Outreach and Communication.

• Similar to self-regulating bodies in print and electronic media, entities in digital media can form self-regulating bodies for furthering their interests and interaction with the Government.

Srilankan parliament passes 20th amendment.

The controversial 20th Amendment to Sri Lanka’s Constitution that envisages expansive powers and greater immunity for the Executive President was passed in Parliament with a two-thirds majority, following a two-day debate.

The 20th Amendment was the Rajapaksa administration’s first big test in the legislature, since it triggered concern and resistance from not just the political opposition, but also the influential Buddhist clergy that Sri Lanka’s southern polity venerates.

The 20th Amendment rolls back Sri Lanka’s 19th Amendment, a 2015 legislation passed with wide support from the Rajapaksa camp — then in Opposition — that sought to clip presidential powers, while strengthening Parliament. The new legislation in turn reduces the Prime Minister’s role to a ceremonial one.

 

 

In the two-day debate, opposition MPs broadly argued that the Amendment threatened to take the country on a path of authoritarianism, giving the President unbridled powers, while government MPs emphasised the need for centralised power for better governance.

The 20th Amendment’s passage comes at a time when the country is facing a new wave of COVID-19, with the number of cases rapidly increasing — after Sri Lanka contained the pandemic in the early months — to 6,028 cases and 14 deaths as of Thursday evening.

EU,France urged to impose sanctions against Pakistan.

Members of European Parliament urged France and EU to impose sanctions against unabated terrorist activities in Pakistan.

Members of EU, RyszardCzarnecki, FulvioMartusciello and Gianna Garcia raised the demand in a letter to the French government and the European Union.

This move came ahead of the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of Pakistan's invasion of Jammu and Kashmir.

In the letter, the Parliament members stated that since its creation Pakistan has inflicted untold horrors on the world.The letter also mentioned the incident of genocide by the Pakistani military in Bangladesh, erstwhile East Pakistan.

The members also pointed out that Pakistan was re-admitted to the Financial Action Task Force Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing grey list for its continued failure to comply with obligations to prevent terrorism financing.

CPI-IW base year revised by labour and employment ministry.

The Labour and Employment Ministry on Thursday revised the base year of the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) from 2001 to 2016 to reflect the changing consumption pattern, giving more weightage to spending on health, education, recreation and other miscellaneous expenses, while reducing the weight of food and beverages.

 

Apart from measuring inflation in retail prices, the CPI-IW is used to regulate the dearness allowance (DA) of government staff and industrial workers, as well as to revise minimum wages in scheduled employments, a Ministry statement said.

Labour and Employment Secretary Apurva Chandra said that in the future, the Bureau would work towards revising the index every five years. The reduction in weight to spending on food and beverages indicated an increase in disposable income.

Mr.Gangwar said the new series, representing the latest consumption pattern, would be in the interest of workers. The number of centres, markets and the sample size for working class family income and expenditure survey were all increased.

The Minister also released the first index, with 2016 as the base year. The index for September, calculated for 88 centres as opposed to the previous 78 centres, was 118.

The sample size was increased from 41,040 families to 48,384, and the number of selected markets for collecting retail price data from 289 to 317. The weight to food and beverage was reduced from 46.2% to 39%, while spending on housing increased from 15.2% to 17%.

RBI to conduct purchase of government securities under OMO’s.

On a review of the current liquidity and financial conditions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today said that it has decided to conduct purchase of Government securities under Open Market Operations (OMOs) for an aggregate amount of Rs. 20,000 crores on 29th of this month.

OMOs in general sense refer to the sale or purchase of government securities by the RBI to commercial banks with a view to adjust liquidity conditions in the economy.

The State Development Loans (SDLs) are defined as securities issued by the states to manage their own finances.

In a press release issued today, the central bank said that SDLs will be bought through a multi-security auction.

 

DRDO test fires final trial of Nag Anti-tankk missile.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Thursday carried out the final user trial of the third generation anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), Nag, at the Pokhran firing range.

“The missile was integrated with the actual warhead and a tank target was kept at a designated range. This was launched from NAG Missile Carrier, NAMICA. The missile hit the target accurately defeating the armour,” the DRDO said in a statement.

The test was carried out at 6.45 a.m. “With this final user trial, NAG will enter into production phase,” DRDO stated. Nag had been developed to engage highly fortified enemy tanks in day and night conditions.

The missile has “fire and forget” and “top attack” capabilities with passive homing guidance to defeat all Main Battle Tanks (MBT) equipped with composite and reactive armour, the DRDO said.

Bioremediation Mechanism.

Recently, the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Chennai has developed an eco-friendly crude oil bioremediation mechanism technology using consortia (group of two or more species) of marine microbes wheat bran (WB) immobilized on agro-residue Bacterial Cells.

About Eco-friendly Crude Oil Bioremediation Mechanism Technology:

• Bioremediation can be defined as any process that uses microorganisms or their enzymes to remove and or neutralize contaminants within the environment to their original condition.

• In the marine ecosystem, deep sea hydrocarbon clastic (ability to degrade hydrocarbon) microbial consortium plays an important role in breaking down oil in the event of a spill.

• This microbial community serves as energetic primary degraders of a complex mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons into various aldehydes, ketones and acidic metabolites.

 

• These hydrocarbon degrading bacteria don’t depend on hydrocarbons for survival, but have a metabolic mechanism where they use petroleum products as carbon and energy source and thus, help cleaning up oil spills.

• The complete breakdown and degradation of crude oil is achievable using wheat bran marine bacterial consortia (which are low-cost non-toxic agro-residues) in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Advantages:

• They are more effective in their immobilised state than the free bacteria cells in degrading the oil spills.

• They could remove 84% of the oils within 10 days. The free bacterial cells degraded a maximum of 60% of the crude oil at optimised conditions.

• They are more versatile and resistant to adverse conditions. They have efficacy in treating accidental bulk discharge of oil in marine environments through non-toxic clean-up Technology.

Microbes to Fight Oil Spillage in Oceans

The scientists of National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) have developed an eco-friendly crude oil bioremediation mechanism technology.

• The technology uses a consortium of marine microbes wheat bran (WB) immobilized on agro-residue bacterial cells.

Bioremediation:

• Bioremediation can be defined as any process that uses microorganisms or their enzymes to remove and or neutralize contaminants within the environment (i.e., within soil and water) to their Original Condition.

 

 

 

Oil Spills:

• An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity.

• It is a form of Pollution.

• Oil Spills can occur on land also.

Recent Oil Spill Events:

• Deepwater Horizon drilling accident was the largest accidental oil spill disaster in history that took place on April 20, 2010, releasing 779 million litres of crude oil into the Gulf of

Mexico.

• The Ennore oil spill occurred outside the Kamarajar Port in Ennore near Chennai in Tamil Nadu on 28 January 2017, when an outbound empty tanker BW Maple collided with an inbound loaded oil tanker Dawn Kanchipuram releasing at 9.9 million gallons (37,000 m3) of oils into the Bay of Bengal.

• The recent MV Wakashio spill off Mauritius — about 1,000 tonnes of oil spilled into a sanctuary for rare wildlife after the Japanese ship struck a coral reef on 25 July 2020.

Consequences:

• The costs of oil spills are considerable in both economic and ecological terms

• Affect commercial and Subsistence Fishing.

• Oil on ocean surfaces is harmful to many forms of aquatic life because it prevents sufficient amounts of sunlight from penetrating the surface, and it also reduces the level of dissolved oxygen. Crude oil ruins the insulating and waterproofing properties of feathers and fur, and thus oil-coated birds and marine mammals may die from hypothermia.

• Ingested oil can be toxic to affected animals and there is a high risk of biomagnification.

 

• Damage to shore-based coastal ecosystems such as saltwater marshes and mangroves.

• Affect tourism and commerce associated with beaches.

Remedial Suggestions:

• Floating booms can be placed around the source of the spill or at entrances to channels and harbours.

• Use various sorbents (e.g., straw, volcanic ash, and shavings of polyester-derived plastic) that absorb the oil from the water.

• The floating oil is set to fire by igniting it safely. It is the most proficient method of oil clean-up, as it can efficiently remove 98% of the total spilt oil.

• Using dispersal chemicals which are spread over the spilt oil to initiate the disintegration of oil.

• Other methods employed are hot water washing or washing with high -pressure water; manual labour; and Bioremediation and Natural Recovery. 

 

Comprehensive Current affairs 24 October 2020

Government Allows OCI & PIO card holders to visit India.

The government has decided to permit all OCI and PIO card holders and all other foreign nationals intending to visit India for any purpose, except on a Tourist Visa to enter by air or water routes through authorized airports and seaport immigration check posts.

This includes flights operated under Vande Bharat Mission, Air Transport Bubble arrangements or by any non-scheduled commercial flights as allowed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

All such travellers will, however, have to strictly adhere to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare regarding quarantine and other COVID-19 matters.

Under this graded relaxation, Government of India has also decided to restore with immediate effect all existing visas (except electronic visa, Tourist Visa and Medical Visa).

Foreign nationals intending to visit India for medical treatment can apply for a Medical Visa including for their medical attendants.

 

Culture ministry launches life in miniature project.

Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel virtually launched Life in Miniature project today.The project is a collaboration between the National Museum, New Delhi, Ministry of Culture, and Google Arts and Culture.

From today, several hundred miniature paintings from the National Museum can be viewed online on Google Arts and Culture by people around the world.

The project uses technologies like machine learning, augmented reality and digitization with high-definition robotic cameras, to showcase these special works of art in a magical new way.

IRDAI unveils standard term life insurance cover.

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has come up with a standard individual term life Insurance Product.

• These features as well as standard terms and conditions are expected to help customers make an informed choice and reduce mis-selling.

Standard Individual Term Life Insurance Product:

• The product, Saral Jeevan Bima to be offered by all life insurance companies will be a non-linked, non-participating individual pure risk premium life insurance plan.

• It will pay the sum assured in lump sum to the nominee in case of the life assured’s death during the policy term.

• The regulator mandated all life insurers to offer the standard product by January 1, 2021.

• Insurers have to file the product with the regulator latest by December 1.

• The plan will be for those in the 18-65 years age group.

• The policy term will be 5-40 years, while the sum assured will be a minimum of ₹5 lakh and a maximum of ₹25 lakh.

 

• Insurers have the option of offering sum assured beyond ₹25 lakh with all other terms and conditions remaining the same.

• The product shall be offered to individuals without restrictions on gender, place of residence, travel, occupation or educational qualifications.

• On the death benefit, for regular and limited premium payment policies, it will be the highest of 10 times of annualised premium; 105% of all the premiums paid as on the date of death; or the absolute amount assured to be paid on death.

• In case of single premium policies, it will be higher of 125% of single premium, or absolute amount assured to be paid on death.

• There will be no maturity benefit. Neither will there be any surrender value nor can any loan be taken against the product.

• The pricing (premium) by insurers will be as per the File and Use (F&U) process. There shall be no exclusions, except suicide.

Background:

• The last few years there has been an increased customer preference towards pure term life Insurance Products Resulting in Insurers launching many term products with varying terms and conditions.

IRDAI:

• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is an autonomous, statutory body tasked with regulating and promoting the insurance and re-insurance industries in India.

• It was constituted by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, an Act of Parliament passed by the Government of India.

• The agency’s headquarters are in Hyderabad, Telangana, where it moved from Delhi in 2001.

 

• IRDAI is a 10-member body including the chairman, five full-time and four part-time members appointed by the government of India.

Functions of the IRDAI:

• Issuing, renewing, modifying, withdrawing, suspending or cancelling registrations.

• Protecting policyholder interests

• Specifying qualifications, the code of conduct and training for intermediaries and agents.

• Specifying the code of conduct for surveyors and loss assessors

• Promoting efficiency in the conduct of insurance businesses.

• Promoting and regulating professional organisations connected with the insurance and re-insurance industry

• Levying fees and other charges

• Inspecting and investigating insurers, intermediaries and other relevant organisations.

• Regulating rates, advantages, terms and conditions which may be offered by insurers not covered by the Tariff Advisory Committee under section 64U of the Insurance Act, 1938.

• Specifying how books should be kept

• Regulating company investment of funds.

• Regulating a margin of solvency

•Adjudicating disputes between insurers and intermediaries or insurance intermediaries.

• Supervising the Tariff Advisory Committee.

• Specifying the percentage of premium income to finance schemes for promoting and Regulating Professional Organisations.

 

 

Digital Media Regulation.

The Centre has recently announced new guidelines for digital news platforms.

Highlights:

• The government has put emphasis on compliance to the 26% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap under the government approval route in digital media.

• The 26% FDI through the government approval route in the digital media sector was brought in 2019. FDI in print media is capped at 26%, and that in TV news is 49%.

• The majority of the directors on the company’s board, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company would have to be an Indian citizen.

• All foreign employees working for more than 60 days would need security clearance. If the government denies or withdraw security clearance, the digital media company will ensure that the concerned person resigns or his/her services are terminated.

• The government has given a year to digital media news entities to align their shareholding with these requirements. The guidelines will be applicable to the following categories of entities registered or located in India:

• Digital media entities which streams/uploads news and current affairs on websites, apps or other platforms.

• The News agency which gathers, writes and distributes/transmits news, directly or indirectly, to digital media entities and/or news aggregators.

• The News aggregator, an entity which uses software of web applications to aggregate news content from various sources, such as news websites, blogs, podcasts, video blogs, user submitted links, etc in One Location.

 

 

 

Advantages:

• The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will be considering in the near future to extend the following benefits, presently available to traditional media (print and TV), to digital media entities also:

• Press Information Bureau (PIB) accreditation for its reporters, cameramen, videographers enabling them with better first-hand information and access including participation in official press conferences and such other Interactions.

• Persons with PIB accreditation can also avail Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) benefits and Concessional rail fare.

• Eligibility for digital advertisements through the Bureau of Outreach and Communication.

• Similar to self-regulating bodies in print and electronic media, entities in digital media can form self-regulating bodies for furthering their interests and interaction with the Government.

Srilankan parliament passes 20th amendment.

The controversial 20th Amendment to Sri Lanka’s Constitution that envisages expansive powers and greater immunity for the Executive President was passed in Parliament with a two-thirds majority, following a two-day debate.

The 20th Amendment was the Rajapaksa administration’s first big test in the legislature, since it triggered concern and resistance from not just the political opposition, but also the influential Buddhist clergy that Sri Lanka’s southern polity venerates.

The 20th Amendment rolls back Sri Lanka’s 19th Amendment, a 2015 legislation passed with wide support from the Rajapaksa camp — then in Opposition — that sought to clip presidential powers, while strengthening Parliament. The new legislation in turn reduces the Prime Minister’s role to a ceremonial one.

 

 

In the two-day debate, opposition MPs broadly argued that the Amendment threatened to take the country on a path of authoritarianism, giving the President unbridled powers, while government MPs emphasised the need for centralised power for better governance.

The 20th Amendment’s passage comes at a time when the country is facing a new wave of COVID-19, with the number of cases rapidly increasing — after Sri Lanka contained the pandemic in the early months — to 6,028 cases and 14 deaths as of Thursday evening.

EU,France urged to impose sanctions against Pakistan.

Members of European Parliament urged France and EU to impose sanctions against unabated terrorist activities in Pakistan.

Members of EU, RyszardCzarnecki, FulvioMartusciello and Gianna Garcia raised the demand in a letter to the French government and the European Union.

This move came ahead of the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of Pakistan's invasion of Jammu and Kashmir.

In the letter, the Parliament members stated that since its creation Pakistan has inflicted untold horrors on the world.The letter also mentioned the incident of genocide by the Pakistani military in Bangladesh, erstwhile East Pakistan.

The members also pointed out that Pakistan was re-admitted to the Financial Action Task Force Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing grey list for its continued failure to comply with obligations to prevent terrorism financing.

CPI-IW base year revised by labour and employment ministry.

The Labour and Employment Ministry on Thursday revised the base year of the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) from 2001 to 2016 to reflect the changing consumption pattern, giving more weightage to spending on health, education, recreation and other miscellaneous expenses, while reducing the weight of food and beverages.

 

Apart from measuring inflation in retail prices, the CPI-IW is used to regulate the dearness allowance (DA) of government staff and industrial workers, as well as to revise minimum wages in scheduled employments, a Ministry statement said.

Labour and Employment Secretary Apurva Chandra said that in the future, the Bureau would work towards revising the index every five years. The reduction in weight to spending on food and beverages indicated an increase in disposable income.

Mr.Gangwar said the new series, representing the latest consumption pattern, would be in the interest of workers. The number of centres, markets and the sample size for working class family income and expenditure survey were all increased.

The Minister also released the first index, with 2016 as the base year. The index for September, calculated for 88 centres as opposed to the previous 78 centres, was 118.

The sample size was increased from 41,040 families to 48,384, and the number of selected markets for collecting retail price data from 289 to 317. The weight to food and beverage was reduced from 46.2% to 39%, while spending on housing increased from 15.2% to 17%.

RBI to conduct purchase of government securities under OMO’s.

On a review of the current liquidity and financial conditions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today said that it has decided to conduct purchase of Government securities under Open Market Operations (OMOs) for an aggregate amount of Rs. 20,000 crores on 29th of this month.

OMOs in general sense refer to the sale or purchase of government securities by the RBI to commercial banks with a view to adjust liquidity conditions in the economy.

The State Development Loans (SDLs) are defined as securities issued by the states to manage their own finances.

In a press release issued today, the central bank said that SDLs will be bought through a multi-security auction.

 

DRDO test fires final trial of Nag Anti-tankk missile.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Thursday carried out the final user trial of the third generation anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), Nag, at the Pokhran firing range.

“The missile was integrated with the actual warhead and a tank target was kept at a designated range. This was launched from NAG Missile Carrier, NAMICA. The missile hit the target accurately defeating the armour,” the DRDO said in a statement.

The test was carried out at 6.45 a.m. “With this final user trial, NAG will enter into production phase,” DRDO stated. Nag had been developed to engage highly fortified enemy tanks in day and night conditions.

The missile has “fire and forget” and “top attack” capabilities with passive homing guidance to defeat all Main Battle Tanks (MBT) equipped with composite and reactive armour, the DRDO said.

Bioremediation Mechanism.

Recently, the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Chennai has developed an eco-friendly crude oil bioremediation mechanism technology using consortia (group of two or more species) of marine microbes wheat bran (WB) immobilized on agro-residue Bacterial Cells.

About Eco-friendly Crude Oil Bioremediation Mechanism Technology:

• Bioremediation can be defined as any process that uses microorganisms or their enzymes to remove and or neutralize contaminants within the environment to their original condition.

• In the marine ecosystem, deep sea hydrocarbon clastic (ability to degrade hydrocarbon) microbial consortium plays an important role in breaking down oil in the event of a spill.

• This microbial community serves as energetic primary degraders of a complex mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons into various aldehydes, ketones and acidic metabolites.

 

• These hydrocarbon degrading bacteria don’t depend on hydrocarbons for survival, but have a metabolic mechanism where they use petroleum products as carbon and energy source and thus, help cleaning up oil spills.

• The complete breakdown and degradation of crude oil is achievable using wheat bran marine bacterial consortia (which are low-cost non-toxic agro-residues) in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Advantages:

• They are more effective in their immobilised state than the free bacteria cells in degrading the oil spills.

• They could remove 84% of the oils within 10 days. The free bacterial cells degraded a maximum of 60% of the crude oil at optimised conditions.

• They are more versatile and resistant to adverse conditions. They have efficacy in treating accidental bulk discharge of oil in marine environments through non-toxic clean-up Technology.

Microbes to Fight Oil Spillage in Oceans

The scientists of National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) have developed an eco-friendly crude oil bioremediation mechanism technology.

• The technology uses a consortium of marine microbes wheat bran (WB) immobilized on agro-residue bacterial cells.

Bioremediation:

• Bioremediation can be defined as any process that uses microorganisms or their enzymes to remove and or neutralize contaminants within the environment (i.e., within soil and water) to their Original Condition.

 

 

 

Oil Spills:

• An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity.

• It is a form of Pollution.

• Oil Spills can occur on land also.

Recent Oil Spill Events:

• Deepwater Horizon drilling accident was the largest accidental oil spill disaster in history that took place on April 20, 2010, releasing 779 million litres of crude oil into the Gulf of

Mexico.

• The Ennore oil spill occurred outside the Kamarajar Port in Ennore near Chennai in Tamil Nadu on 28 January 2017, when an outbound empty tanker BW Maple collided with an inbound loaded oil tanker Dawn Kanchipuram releasing at 9.9 million gallons (37,000 m3) of oils into the Bay of Bengal.

• The recent MV Wakashio spill off Mauritius — about 1,000 tonnes of oil spilled into a sanctuary for rare wildlife after the Japanese ship struck a coral reef on 25 July 2020.

Consequences:

• The costs of oil spills are considerable in both economic and ecological terms

• Affect commercial and Subsistence Fishing.

• Oil on ocean surfaces is harmful to many forms of aquatic life because it prevents sufficient amounts of sunlight from penetrating the surface, and it also reduces the level of dissolved oxygen. Crude oil ruins the insulating and waterproofing properties of feathers and fur, and thus oil-coated birds and marine mammals may die from hypothermia.

• Ingested oil can be toxic to affected animals and there is a high risk of biomagnification.

 

• Damage to shore-based coastal ecosystems such as saltwater marshes and mangroves.

• Affect tourism and commerce associated with beaches.

Remedial Suggestions:

• Floating booms can be placed around the source of the spill or at entrances to channels and harbours.

• Use various sorbents (e.g., straw, volcanic ash, and shavings of polyester-derived plastic) that absorb the oil from the water.

• The floating oil is set to fire by igniting it safely. It is the most proficient method of oil clean-up, as it can efficiently remove 98% of the total spilt oil.

• Using dispersal chemicals which are spread over the spilt oil to initiate the disintegration of oil.

• Other methods employed are hot water washing or washing with high -pressure water; manual labour; and Bioremediation and Natural Recovery. 

 

Comprehensive Current affairs 24 October 2020

Government Allows OCI & PIO card holders to visit India.

The government has decided to permit all OCI and PIO card holders and all other foreign nationals intending to visit India for any purpose, except on a Tourist Visa to enter by air or water routes through authorized airports and seaport immigration check posts.

This includes flights operated under Vande Bharat Mission, Air Transport Bubble arrangements or by any non-scheduled commercial flights as allowed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

All such travellers will, however, have to strictly adhere to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare regarding quarantine and other COVID-19 matters.

Under this graded relaxation, Government of India has also decided to restore with immediate effect all existing visas (except electronic visa, Tourist Visa and Medical Visa).

Foreign nationals intending to visit India for medical treatment can apply for a Medical Visa including for their medical attendants.

 

Culture ministry launches life in miniature project.

Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel virtually launched Life in Miniature project today.The project is a collaboration between the National Museum, New Delhi, Ministry of Culture, and Google Arts and Culture.

From today, several hundred miniature paintings from the National Museum can be viewed online on Google Arts and Culture by people around the world.

The project uses technologies like machine learning, augmented reality and digitization with high-definition robotic cameras, to showcase these special works of art in a magical new way.

IRDAI unveils standard term life insurance cover.

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has come up with a standard individual term life Insurance Product.

• These features as well as standard terms and conditions are expected to help customers make an informed choice and reduce mis-selling.

Standard Individual Term Life Insurance Product:

• The product, Saral Jeevan Bima to be offered by all life insurance companies will be a non-linked, non-participating individual pure risk premium life insurance plan.

• It will pay the sum assured in lump sum to the nominee in case of the life assured’s death during the policy term.

• The regulator mandated all life insurers to offer the standard product by January 1, 2021.

• Insurers have to file the product with the regulator latest by December 1.

• The plan will be for those in the 18-65 years age group.

• The policy term will be 5-40 years, while the sum assured will be a minimum of ₹5 lakh and a maximum of ₹25 lakh.

 

• Insurers have the option of offering sum assured beyond ₹25 lakh with all other terms and conditions remaining the same.

• The product shall be offered to individuals without restrictions on gender, place of residence, travel, occupation or educational qualifications.

• On the death benefit, for regular and limited premium payment policies, it will be the highest of 10 times of annualised premium; 105% of all the premiums paid as on the date of death; or the absolute amount assured to be paid on death.

• In case of single premium policies, it will be higher of 125% of single premium, or absolute amount assured to be paid on death.

• There will be no maturity benefit. Neither will there be any surrender value nor can any loan be taken against the product.

• The pricing (premium) by insurers will be as per the File and Use (F&U) process. There shall be no exclusions, except suicide.

Background:

• The last few years there has been an increased customer preference towards pure term life Insurance Products Resulting in Insurers launching many term products with varying terms and conditions.

IRDAI:

• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is an autonomous, statutory body tasked with regulating and promoting the insurance and re-insurance industries in India.

• It was constituted by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, an Act of Parliament passed by the Government of India.

• The agency’s headquarters are in Hyderabad, Telangana, where it moved from Delhi in 2001.

 

• IRDAI is a 10-member body including the chairman, five full-time and four part-time members appointed by the government of India.

Functions of the IRDAI:

• Issuing, renewing, modifying, withdrawing, suspending or cancelling registrations.

• Protecting policyholder interests

• Specifying qualifications, the code of conduct and training for intermediaries and agents.

• Specifying the code of conduct for surveyors and loss assessors

• Promoting efficiency in the conduct of insurance businesses.

• Promoting and regulating professional organisations connected with the insurance and re-insurance industry

• Levying fees and other charges

• Inspecting and investigating insurers, intermediaries and other relevant organisations.

• Regulating rates, advantages, terms and conditions which may be offered by insurers not covered by the Tariff Advisory Committee under section 64U of the Insurance Act, 1938.

• Specifying how books should be kept

• Regulating company investment of funds.

• Regulating a margin of solvency

•Adjudicating disputes between insurers and intermediaries or insurance intermediaries.

• Supervising the Tariff Advisory Committee.

• Specifying the percentage of premium income to finance schemes for promoting and Regulating Professional Organisations.

 

 

Digital Media Regulation.

The Centre has recently announced new guidelines for digital news platforms.

Highlights:

• The government has put emphasis on compliance to the 26% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap under the government approval route in digital media.

• The 26% FDI through the government approval route in the digital media sector was brought in 2019. FDI in print media is capped at 26%, and that in TV news is 49%.

• The majority of the directors on the company’s board, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company would have to be an Indian citizen.

• All foreign employees working for more than 60 days would need security clearance. If the government denies or withdraw security clearance, the digital media company will ensure that the concerned person resigns or his/her services are terminated.

• The government has given a year to digital media news entities to align their shareholding with these requirements. The guidelines will be applicable to the following categories of entities registered or located in India:

• Digital media entities which streams/uploads news and current affairs on websites, apps or other platforms.

• The News agency which gathers, writes and distributes/transmits news, directly or indirectly, to digital media entities and/or news aggregators.

• The News aggregator, an entity which uses software of web applications to aggregate news content from various sources, such as news websites, blogs, podcasts, video blogs, user submitted links, etc in One Location.

 

 

 

Advantages:

• The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will be considering in the near future to extend the following benefits, presently available to traditional media (print and TV), to digital media entities also:

• Press Information Bureau (PIB) accreditation for its reporters, cameramen, videographers enabling them with better first-hand information and access including participation in official press conferences and such other Interactions.

• Persons with PIB accreditation can also avail Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) benefits and Concessional rail fare.

• Eligibility for digital advertisements through the Bureau of Outreach and Communication.

• Similar to self-regulating bodies in print and electronic media, entities in digital media can form self-regulating bodies for furthering their interests and interaction with the Government.

Srilankan parliament passes 20th amendment.

The controversial 20th Amendment to Sri Lanka’s Constitution that envisages expansive powers and greater immunity for the Executive President was passed in Parliament with a two-thirds majority, following a two-day debate.

The 20th Amendment was the Rajapaksa administration’s first big test in the legislature, since it triggered concern and resistance from not just the political opposition, but also the influential Buddhist clergy that Sri Lanka’s southern polity venerates.

The 20th Amendment rolls back Sri Lanka’s 19th Amendment, a 2015 legislation passed with wide support from the Rajapaksa camp — then in Opposition — that sought to clip presidential powers, while strengthening Parliament. The new legislation in turn reduces the Prime Minister’s role to a ceremonial one.

 

 

In the two-day debate, opposition MPs broadly argued that the Amendment threatened to take the country on a path of authoritarianism, giving the President unbridled powers, while government MPs emphasised the need for centralised power for better governance.

The 20th Amendment’s passage comes at a time when the country is facing a new wave of COVID-19, with the number of cases rapidly increasing — after Sri Lanka contained the pandemic in the early months — to 6,028 cases and 14 deaths as of Thursday evening.

EU,France urged to impose sanctions against Pakistan.

Members of European Parliament urged France and EU to impose sanctions against unabated terrorist activities in Pakistan.

Members of EU, RyszardCzarnecki, FulvioMartusciello and Gianna Garcia raised the demand in a letter to the French government and the European Union.

This move came ahead of the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of Pakistan's invasion of Jammu and Kashmir.

In the letter, the Parliament members stated that since its creation Pakistan has inflicted untold horrors on the world.The letter also mentioned the incident of genocide by the Pakistani military in Bangladesh, erstwhile East Pakistan.

The members also pointed out that Pakistan was re-admitted to the Financial Action Task Force Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing grey list for its continued failure to comply with obligations to prevent terrorism financing.

CPI-IW base year revised by labour and employment ministry.

The Labour and Employment Ministry on Thursday revised the base year of the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) from 2001 to 2016 to reflect the changing consumption pattern, giving more weightage to spending on health, education, recreation and other miscellaneous expenses, while reducing the weight of food and beverages.

 

Apart from measuring inflation in retail prices, the CPI-IW is used to regulate the dearness allowance (DA) of government staff and industrial workers, as well as to revise minimum wages in scheduled employments, a Ministry statement said.

Labour and Employment Secretary Apurva Chandra said that in the future, the Bureau would work towards revising the index every five years. The reduction in weight to spending on food and beverages indicated an increase in disposable income.

Mr.Gangwar said the new series, representing the latest consumption pattern, would be in the interest of workers. The number of centres, markets and the sample size for working class family income and expenditure survey were all increased.

The Minister also released the first index, with 2016 as the base year. The index for September, calculated for 88 centres as opposed to the previous 78 centres, was 118.

The sample size was increased from 41,040 families to 48,384, and the number of selected markets for collecting retail price data from 289 to 317. The weight to food and beverage was reduced from 46.2% to 39%, while spending on housing increased from 15.2% to 17%.

RBI to conduct purchase of government securities under OMO’s.

On a review of the current liquidity and financial conditions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today said that it has decided to conduct purchase of Government securities under Open Market Operations (OMOs) for an aggregate amount of Rs. 20,000 crores on 29th of this month.

OMOs in general sense refer to the sale or purchase of government securities by the RBI to commercial banks with a view to adjust liquidity conditions in the economy.

The State Development Loans (SDLs) are defined as securities issued by the states to manage their own finances.

In a press release issued today, the central bank said that SDLs will be bought through a multi-security auction.

 

DRDO test fires final trial of Nag Anti-tankk missile.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Thursday carried out the final user trial of the third generation anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), Nag, at the Pokhran firing range.

“The missile was integrated with the actual warhead and a tank target was kept at a designated range. This was launched from NAG Missile Carrier, NAMICA. The missile hit the target accurately defeating the armour,” the DRDO said in a statement.

The test was carried out at 6.45 a.m. “With this final user trial, NAG will enter into production phase,” DRDO stated. Nag had been developed to engage highly fortified enemy tanks in day and night conditions.

The missile has “fire and forget” and “top attack” capabilities with passive homing guidance to defeat all Main Battle Tanks (MBT) equipped with composite and reactive armour, the DRDO said.

Bioremediation Mechanism.

Recently, the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Chennai has developed an eco-friendly crude oil bioremediation mechanism technology using consortia (group of two or more species) of marine microbes wheat bran (WB) immobilized on agro-residue Bacterial Cells.

About Eco-friendly Crude Oil Bioremediation Mechanism Technology:

• Bioremediation can be defined as any process that uses microorganisms or their enzymes to remove and or neutralize contaminants within the environment to their original condition.

• In the marine ecosystem, deep sea hydrocarbon clastic (ability to degrade hydrocarbon) microbial consortium plays an important role in breaking down oil in the event of a spill.

• This microbial community serves as energetic primary degraders of a complex mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons into various aldehydes, ketones and acidic metabolites.

 

• These hydrocarbon degrading bacteria don’t depend on hydrocarbons for survival, but have a metabolic mechanism where they use petroleum products as carbon and energy source and thus, help cleaning up oil spills.

• The complete breakdown and degradation of crude oil is achievable using wheat bran marine bacterial consortia (which are low-cost non-toxic agro-residues) in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Advantages:

• They are more effective in their immobilised state than the free bacteria cells in degrading the oil spills.

• They could remove 84% of the oils within 10 days. The free bacterial cells degraded a maximum of 60% of the crude oil at optimised conditions.

• They are more versatile and resistant to adverse conditions. They have efficacy in treating accidental bulk discharge of oil in marine environments through non-toxic clean-up Technology.

Microbes to Fight Oil Spillage in Oceans

The scientists of National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) have developed an eco-friendly crude oil bioremediation mechanism technology.

• The technology uses a consortium of marine microbes wheat bran (WB) immobilized on agro-residue bacterial cells.

Bioremediation:

• Bioremediation can be defined as any process that uses microorganisms or their enzymes to remove and or neutralize contaminants within the environment (i.e., within soil and water) to their Original Condition.

 

 

 

Oil Spills:

• An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity.

• It is a form of Pollution.

• Oil Spills can occur on land also.

Recent Oil Spill Events:

• Deepwater Horizon drilling accident was the largest accidental oil spill disaster in history that took place on April 20, 2010, releasing 779 million litres of crude oil into the Gulf of

Mexico.

• The Ennore oil spill occurred outside the Kamarajar Port in Ennore near Chennai in Tamil Nadu on 28 January 2017, when an outbound empty tanker BW Maple collided with an inbound loaded oil tanker Dawn Kanchipuram releasing at 9.9 million gallons (37,000 m3) of oils into the Bay of Bengal.

• The recent MV Wakashio spill off Mauritius — about 1,000 tonnes of oil spilled into a sanctuary for rare wildlife after the Japanese ship struck a coral reef on 25 July 2020.

Consequences:

• The costs of oil spills are considerable in both economic and ecological terms

• Affect commercial and Subsistence Fishing.

• Oil on ocean surfaces is harmful to many forms of aquatic life because it prevents sufficient amounts of sunlight from penetrating the surface, and it also reduces the level of dissolved oxygen. Crude oil ruins the insulating and waterproofing properties of feathers and fur, and thus oil-coated birds and marine mammals may die from hypothermia.

• Ingested oil can be toxic to affected animals and there is a high risk of biomagnification.

 

• Damage to shore-based coastal ecosystems such as saltwater marshes and mangroves.

• Affect tourism and commerce associated with beaches.

Remedial Suggestions:

• Floating booms can be placed around the source of the spill or at entrances to channels and harbours.

• Use various sorbents (e.g., straw, volcanic ash, and shavings of polyester-derived plastic) that absorb the oil from the water.

• The floating oil is set to fire by igniting it safely. It is the most proficient method of oil clean-up, as it can efficiently remove 98% of the total spilt oil.

• Using dispersal chemicals which are spread over the spilt oil to initiate the disintegration of oil.

• Other methods employed are hot water washing or washing with high -pressure water; manual labour; and Bioremediation and Natural Recovery. 

 

Comprehensive Current affairs 24 October 2020

Government Allows OCI & PIO card holders to visit India.

The government has decided to permit all OCI and PIO card holders and all other foreign nationals intending to visit India for any purpose, except on a Tourist Visa to enter by air or water routes through authorized airports and seaport immigration check posts.

This includes flights operated under Vande Bharat Mission, Air Transport Bubble arrangements or by any non-scheduled commercial flights as allowed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

All such travellers will, however, have to strictly adhere to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare regarding quarantine and other COVID-19 matters.

Under this graded relaxation, Government of India has also decided to restore with immediate effect all existing visas (except electronic visa, Tourist Visa and Medical Visa).

Foreign nationals intending to visit India for medical treatment can apply for a Medical Visa including for their medical attendants.

 

Culture ministry launches life in miniature project.

Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel virtually launched Life in Miniature project today.The project is a collaboration between the National Museum, New Delhi, Ministry of Culture, and Google Arts and Culture.

From today, several hundred miniature paintings from the National Museum can be viewed online on Google Arts and Culture by people around the world.

The project uses technologies like machine learning, augmented reality and digitization with high-definition robotic cameras, to showcase these special works of art in a magical new way.

IRDAI unveils standard term life insurance cover.

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has come up with a standard individual term life Insurance Product.

• These features as well as standard terms and conditions are expected to help customers make an informed choice and reduce mis-selling.

Standard Individual Term Life Insurance Product:

• The product, Saral Jeevan Bima to be offered by all life insurance companies will be a non-linked, non-participating individual pure risk premium life insurance plan.

• It will pay the sum assured in lump sum to the nominee in case of the life assured’s death during the policy term.

• The regulator mandated all life insurers to offer the standard product by January 1, 2021.

• Insurers have to file the product with the regulator latest by December 1.

• The plan will be for those in the 18-65 years age group.

• The policy term will be 5-40 years, while the sum assured will be a minimum of ₹5 lakh and a maximum of ₹25 lakh.

 

• Insurers have the option of offering sum assured beyond ₹25 lakh with all other terms and conditions remaining the same.

• The product shall be offered to individuals without restrictions on gender, place of residence, travel, occupation or educational qualifications.

• On the death benefit, for regular and limited premium payment policies, it will be the highest of 10 times of annualised premium; 105% of all the premiums paid as on the date of death; or the absolute amount assured to be paid on death.

• In case of single premium policies, it will be higher of 125% of single premium, or absolute amount assured to be paid on death.

• There will be no maturity benefit. Neither will there be any surrender value nor can any loan be taken against the product.

• The pricing (premium) by insurers will be as per the File and Use (F&U) process. There shall be no exclusions, except suicide.

Background:

• The last few years there has been an increased customer preference towards pure term life Insurance Products Resulting in Insurers launching many term products with varying terms and conditions.

IRDAI:

• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is an autonomous, statutory body tasked with regulating and promoting the insurance and re-insurance industries in India.

• It was constituted by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, an Act of Parliament passed by the Government of India.

• The agency’s headquarters are in Hyderabad, Telangana, where it moved from Delhi in 2001.

 

• IRDAI is a 10-member body including the chairman, five full-time and four part-time members appointed by the government of India.

Functions of the IRDAI:

• Issuing, renewing, modifying, withdrawing, suspending or cancelling registrations.

• Protecting policyholder interests

• Specifying qualifications, the code of conduct and training for intermediaries and agents.

• Specifying the code of conduct for surveyors and loss assessors

• Promoting efficiency in the conduct of insurance businesses.

• Promoting and regulating professional organisations connected with the insurance and re-insurance industry

• Levying fees and other charges

• Inspecting and investigating insurers, intermediaries and other relevant organisations.

• Regulating rates, advantages, terms and conditions which may be offered by insurers not covered by the Tariff Advisory Committee under section 64U of the Insurance Act, 1938.

• Specifying how books should be kept

• Regulating company investment of funds.

• Regulating a margin of solvency

•Adjudicating disputes between insurers and intermediaries or insurance intermediaries.

• Supervising the Tariff Advisory Committee.

• Specifying the percentage of premium income to finance schemes for promoting and Regulating Professional Organisations.

 

 

Digital Media Regulation.

The Centre has recently announced new guidelines for digital news platforms.

Highlights:

• The government has put emphasis on compliance to the 26% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap under the government approval route in digital media.

• The 26% FDI through the government approval route in the digital media sector was brought in 2019. FDI in print media is capped at 26%, and that in TV news is 49%.

• The majority of the directors on the company’s board, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company would have to be an Indian citizen.

• All foreign employees working for more than 60 days would need security clearance. If the government denies or withdraw security clearance, the digital media company will ensure that the concerned person resigns or his/her services are terminated.

• The government has given a year to digital media news entities to align their shareholding with these requirements. The guidelines will be applicable to the following categories of entities registered or located in India:

• Digital media entities which streams/uploads news and current affairs on websites, apps or other platforms.

• The News agency which gathers, writes and distributes/transmits news, directly or indirectly, to digital media entities and/or news aggregators.

• The News aggregator, an entity which uses software of web applications to aggregate news content from various sources, such as news websites, blogs, podcasts, video blogs, user submitted links, etc in One Location.

 

 

 

Advantages:

• The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will be considering in the near future to extend the following benefits, presently available to traditional media (print and TV), to digital media entities also:

• Press Information Bureau (PIB) accreditation for its reporters, cameramen, videographers enabling them with better first-hand information and access including participation in official press conferences and such other Interactions.

• Persons with PIB accreditation can also avail Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) benefits and Concessional rail fare.

• Eligibility for digital advertisements through the Bureau of Outreach and Communication.

• Similar to self-regulating bodies in print and electronic media, entities in digital media can form self-regulating bodies for furthering their interests and interaction with the Government.

Srilankan parliament passes 20th amendment.

The controversial 20th Amendment to Sri Lanka’s Constitution that envisages expansive powers and greater immunity for the Executive President was passed in Parliament with a two-thirds majority, following a two-day debate.

The 20th Amendment was the Rajapaksa administration’s first big test in the legislature, since it triggered concern and resistance from not just the political opposition, but also the influential Buddhist clergy that Sri Lanka’s southern polity venerates.

The 20th Amendment rolls back Sri Lanka’s 19th Amendment, a 2015 legislation passed with wide support from the Rajapaksa camp — then in Opposition — that sought to clip presidential powers, while strengthening Parliament. The new legislation in turn reduces the Prime Minister’s role to a ceremonial one.

 

 

In the two-day debate, opposition MPs broadly argued that the Amendment threatened to take the country on a path of authoritarianism, giving the President unbridled powers, while government MPs emphasised the need for centralised power for better governance.

The 20th Amendment’s passage comes at a time when the country is facing a new wave of COVID-19, with the number of cases rapidly increasing — after Sri Lanka contained the pandemic in the early months — to 6,028 cases and 14 deaths as of Thursday evening.

EU,France urged to impose sanctions against Pakistan.

Members of European Parliament urged France and EU to impose sanctions against unabated terrorist activities in Pakistan.

Members of EU, RyszardCzarnecki, FulvioMartusciello and Gianna Garcia raised the demand in a letter to the French government and the European Union.

This move came ahead of the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of Pakistan's invasion of Jammu and Kashmir.

In the letter, the Parliament members stated that since its creation Pakistan has inflicted untold horrors on the world.The letter also mentioned the incident of genocide by the Pakistani military in Bangladesh, erstwhile East Pakistan.

The members also pointed out that Pakistan was re-admitted to the Financial Action Task Force Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing grey list for its continued failure to comply with obligations to prevent terrorism financing.

CPI-IW base year revised by labour and employment ministry.

The Labour and Employment Ministry on Thursday revised the base year of the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) from 2001 to 2016 to reflect the changing consumption pattern, giving more weightage to spending on health, education, recreation and other miscellaneous expenses, while reducing the weight of food and beverages.

 

Apart from measuring inflation in retail prices, the CPI-IW is used to regulate the dearness allowance (DA) of government staff and industrial workers, as well as to revise minimum wages in scheduled employments, a Ministry statement said.

Labour and Employment Secretary Apurva Chandra said that in the future, the Bureau would work towards revising the index every five years. The reduction in weight to spending on food and beverages indicated an increase in disposable income.

Mr.Gangwar said the new series, representing the latest consumption pattern, would be in the interest of workers. The number of centres, markets and the sample size for working class family income and expenditure survey were all increased.

The Minister also released the first index, with 2016 as the base year. The index for September, calculated for 88 centres as opposed to the previous 78 centres, was 118.

The sample size was increased from 41,040 families to 48,384, and the number of selected markets for collecting retail price data from 289 to 317. The weight to food and beverage was reduced from 46.2% to 39%, while spending on housing increased from 15.2% to 17%.

RBI to conduct purchase of government securities under OMO’s.

On a review of the current liquidity and financial conditions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today said that it has decided to conduct purchase of Government securities under Open Market Operations (OMOs) for an aggregate amount of Rs. 20,000 crores on 29th of this month.

OMOs in general sense refer to the sale or purchase of government securities by the RBI to commercial banks with a view to adjust liquidity conditions in the economy.

The State Development Loans (SDLs) are defined as securities issued by the states to manage their own finances.

In a press release issued today, the central bank said that SDLs will be bought through a multi-security auction.

 

DRDO test fires final trial of Nag Anti-tankk missile.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Thursday carried out the final user trial of the third generation anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), Nag, at the Pokhran firing range.

“The missile was integrated with the actual warhead and a tank target was kept at a designated range. This was launched from NAG Missile Carrier, NAMICA. The missile hit the target accurately defeating the armour,” the DRDO said in a statement.

The test was carried out at 6.45 a.m. “With this final user trial, NAG will enter into production phase,” DRDO stated. Nag had been developed to engage highly fortified enemy tanks in day and night conditions.

The missile has “fire and forget” and “top attack” capabilities with passive homing guidance to defeat all Main Battle Tanks (MBT) equipped with composite and reactive armour, the DRDO said.

Bioremediation Mechanism.

Recently, the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Chennai has developed an eco-friendly crude oil bioremediation mechanism technology using consortia (group of two or more species) of marine microbes wheat bran (WB) immobilized on agro-residue Bacterial Cells.

About Eco-friendly Crude Oil Bioremediation Mechanism Technology:

• Bioremediation can be defined as any process that uses microorganisms or their enzymes to remove and or neutralize contaminants within the environment to their original condition.

• In the marine ecosystem, deep sea hydrocarbon clastic (ability to degrade hydrocarbon) microbial consortium plays an important role in breaking down oil in the event of a spill.

• This microbial community serves as energetic primary degraders of a complex mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons into various aldehydes, ketones and acidic metabolites.

 

• These hydrocarbon degrading bacteria don’t depend on hydrocarbons for survival, but have a metabolic mechanism where they use petroleum products as carbon and energy source and thus, help cleaning up oil spills.

• The complete breakdown and degradation of crude oil is achievable using wheat bran marine bacterial consortia (which are low-cost non-toxic agro-residues) in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Advantages:

• They are more effective in their immobilised state than the free bacteria cells in degrading the oil spills.

• They could remove 84% of the oils within 10 days. The free bacterial cells degraded a maximum of 60% of the crude oil at optimised conditions.

• They are more versatile and resistant to adverse conditions. They have efficacy in treating accidental bulk discharge of oil in marine environments through non-toxic clean-up Technology.

Microbes to Fight Oil Spillage in Oceans

The scientists of National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) have developed an eco-friendly crude oil bioremediation mechanism technology.

• The technology uses a consortium of marine microbes wheat bran (WB) immobilized on agro-residue bacterial cells.

Bioremediation:

• Bioremediation can be defined as any process that uses microorganisms or their enzymes to remove and or neutralize contaminants within the environment (i.e., within soil and water) to their Original Condition.

 

 

 

Oil Spills:

• An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity.

• It is a form of Pollution.

• Oil Spills can occur on land also.

Recent Oil Spill Events:

• Deepwater Horizon drilling accident was the largest accidental oil spill disaster in history that took place on April 20, 2010, releasing 779 million litres of crude oil into the Gulf of

Mexico.

• The Ennore oil spill occurred outside the Kamarajar Port in Ennore near Chennai in Tamil Nadu on 28 January 2017, when an outbound empty tanker BW Maple collided with an inbound loaded oil tanker Dawn Kanchipuram releasing at 9.9 million gallons (37,000 m3) of oils into the Bay of Bengal.

• The recent MV Wakashio spill off Mauritius — about 1,000 tonnes of oil spilled into a sanctuary for rare wildlife after the Japanese ship struck a coral reef on 25 July 2020.

Consequences:

• The costs of oil spills are considerable in both economic and ecological terms

• Affect commercial and Subsistence Fishing.

• Oil on ocean surfaces is harmful to many forms of aquatic life because it prevents sufficient amounts of sunlight from penetrating the surface, and it also reduces the level of dissolved oxygen. Crude oil ruins the insulating and waterproofing properties of feathers and fur, and thus oil-coated birds and marine mammals may die from hypothermia.

• Ingested oil can be toxic to affected animals and there is a high risk of biomagnification.

 

• Damage to shore-based coastal ecosystems such as saltwater marshes and mangroves.

• Affect tourism and commerce associated with beaches.

Remedial Suggestions:

• Floating booms can be placed around the source of the spill or at entrances to channels and harbours.

• Use various sorbents (e.g., straw, volcanic ash, and shavings of polyester-derived plastic) that absorb the oil from the water.

• The floating oil is set to fire by igniting it safely. It is the most proficient method of oil clean-up, as it can efficiently remove 98% of the total spilt oil.

• Using dispersal chemicals which are spread over the spilt oil to initiate the disintegration of oil.

• Other methods employed are hot water washing or washing with high -pressure water; manual labour; and Bioremediation and Natural Recovery. 

 

Comprehensive Current affairs 24 October 2020

Government Allows OCI & PIO card holders to visit India.

The government has decided to permit all OCI and PIO card holders and all other foreign nationals intending to visit India for any purpose, except on a Tourist Visa to enter by air or water routes through authorized airports and seaport immigration check posts.

This includes flights operated under Vande Bharat Mission, Air Transport Bubble arrangements or by any non-scheduled commercial flights as allowed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

All such travellers will, however, have to strictly adhere to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare regarding quarantine and other COVID-19 matters.

Under this graded relaxation, Government of India has also decided to restore with immediate effect all existing visas (except electronic visa, Tourist Visa and Medical Visa).

Foreign nationals intending to visit India for medical treatment can apply for a Medical Visa including for their medical attendants.

 

Culture ministry launches life in miniature project.

Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel virtually launched Life in Miniature project today.The project is a collaboration between the National Museum, New Delhi, Ministry of Culture, and Google Arts and Culture.

From today, several hundred miniature paintings from the National Museum can be viewed online on Google Arts and Culture by people around the world.

The project uses technologies like machine learning, augmented reality and digitization with high-definition robotic cameras, to showcase these special works of art in a magical new way.

IRDAI unveils standard term life insurance cover.

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has come up with a standard individual term life Insurance Product.

• These features as well as standard terms and conditions are expected to help customers make an informed choice and reduce mis-selling.

Standard Individual Term Life Insurance Product:

• The product, Saral Jeevan Bima to be offered by all life insurance companies will be a non-linked, non-participating individual pure risk premium life insurance plan.

• It will pay the sum assured in lump sum to the nominee in case of the life assured’s death during the policy term.

• The regulator mandated all life insurers to offer the standard product by January 1, 2021.

• Insurers have to file the product with the regulator latest by December 1.

• The plan will be for those in the 18-65 years age group.

• The policy term will be 5-40 years, while the sum assured will be a minimum of ₹5 lakh and a maximum of ₹25 lakh.

 

• Insurers have the option of offering sum assured beyond ₹25 lakh with all other terms and conditions remaining the same.

• The product shall be offered to individuals without restrictions on gender, place of residence, travel, occupation or educational qualifications.

• On the death benefit, for regular and limited premium payment policies, it will be the highest of 10 times of annualised premium; 105% of all the premiums paid as on the date of death; or the absolute amount assured to be paid on death.

• In case of single premium policies, it will be higher of 125% of single premium, or absolute amount assured to be paid on death.

• There will be no maturity benefit. Neither will there be any surrender value nor can any loan be taken against the product.

• The pricing (premium) by insurers will be as per the File and Use (F&U) process. There shall be no exclusions, except suicide.

Background:

• The last few years there has been an increased customer preference towards pure term life Insurance Products Resulting in Insurers launching many term products with varying terms and conditions.

IRDAI:

• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is an autonomous, statutory body tasked with regulating and promoting the insurance and re-insurance industries in India.

• It was constituted by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, an Act of Parliament passed by the Government of India.

• The agency’s headquarters are in Hyderabad, Telangana, where it moved from Delhi in 2001.

 

• IRDAI is a 10-member body including the chairman, five full-time and four part-time members appointed by the government of India.

Functions of the IRDAI:

• Issuing, renewing, modifying, withdrawing, suspending or cancelling registrations.

• Protecting policyholder interests

• Specifying qualifications, the code of conduct and training for intermediaries and agents.

• Specifying the code of conduct for surveyors and loss assessors

• Promoting efficiency in the conduct of insurance businesses.

• Promoting and regulating professional organisations connected with the insurance and re-insurance industry

• Levying fees and other charges

• Inspecting and investigating insurers, intermediaries and other relevant organisations.

• Regulating rates, advantages, terms and conditions which may be offered by insurers not covered by the Tariff Advisory Committee under section 64U of the Insurance Act, 1938.

• Specifying how books should be kept

• Regulating company investment of funds.

• Regulating a margin of solvency

•Adjudicating disputes between insurers and intermediaries or insurance intermediaries.

• Supervising the Tariff Advisory Committee.

• Specifying the percentage of premium income to finance schemes for promoting and Regulating Professional Organisations.

 

 

Digital Media Regulation.

The Centre has recently announced new guidelines for digital news platforms.

Highlights:

• The government has put emphasis on compliance to the 26% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap under the government approval route in digital media.

• The 26% FDI through the government approval route in the digital media sector was brought in 2019. FDI in print media is capped at 26%, and that in TV news is 49%.

• The majority of the directors on the company’s board, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company would have to be an Indian citizen.

• All foreign employees working for more than 60 days would need security clearance. If the government denies or withdraw security clearance, the digital media company will ensure that the concerned person resigns or his/her services are terminated.

• The government has given a year to digital media news entities to align their shareholding with these requirements. The guidelines will be applicable to the following categories of entities registered or located in India:

• Digital media entities which streams/uploads news and current affairs on websites, apps or other platforms.

• The News agency which gathers, writes and distributes/transmits news, directly or indirectly, to digital media entities and/or news aggregators.

• The News aggregator, an entity which uses software of web applications to aggregate news content from various sources, such as news websites, blogs, podcasts, video blogs, user submitted links, etc in One Location.

 

 

 

Advantages:

• The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will be considering in the near future to extend the following benefits, presently available to traditional media (print and TV), to digital media entities also:

• Press Information Bureau (PIB) accreditation for its reporters, cameramen, videographers enabling them with better first-hand information and access including participation in official press conferences and such other Interactions.

• Persons with PIB accreditation can also avail Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) benefits and Concessional rail fare.

• Eligibility for digital advertisements through the Bureau of Outreach and Communication.

• Similar to self-regulating bodies in print and electronic media, entities in digital media can form self-regulating bodies for furthering their interests and interaction with the Government.

Srilankan parliament passes 20th amendment.

The controversial 20th Amendment to Sri Lanka’s Constitution that envisages expansive powers and greater immunity for the Executive President was passed in Parliament with a two-thirds majority, following a two-day debate.

The 20th Amendment was the Rajapaksa administration’s first big test in the legislature, since it triggered concern and resistance from not just the political opposition, but also the influential Buddhist clergy that Sri Lanka’s southern polity venerates.

The 20th Amendment rolls back Sri Lanka’s 19th Amendment, a 2015 legislation passed with wide support from the Rajapaksa camp — then in Opposition — that sought to clip presidential powers, while strengthening Parliament. The new legislation in turn reduces the Prime Minister’s role to a ceremonial one.

 

 

In the two-day debate, opposition MPs broadly argued that the Amendment threatened to take the country on a path of authoritarianism, giving the President unbridled powers, while government MPs emphasised the need for centralised power for better governance.

The 20th Amendment’s passage comes at a time when the country is facing a new wave of COVID-19, with the number of cases rapidly increasing — after Sri Lanka contained the pandemic in the early months — to 6,028 cases and 14 deaths as of Thursday evening.

EU,France urged to impose sanctions against Pakistan.

Members of European Parliament urged France and EU to impose sanctions against unabated terrorist activities in Pakistan.

Members of EU, RyszardCzarnecki, FulvioMartusciello and Gianna Garcia raised the demand in a letter to the French government and the European Union.

This move came ahead of the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of Pakistan's invasion of Jammu and Kashmir.

In the letter, the Parliament members stated that since its creation Pakistan has inflicted untold horrors on the world.The letter also mentioned the incident of genocide by the Pakistani military in Bangladesh, erstwhile East Pakistan.

The members also pointed out that Pakistan was re-admitted to the Financial Action Task Force Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing grey list for its continued failure to comply with obligations to prevent terrorism financing.

CPI-IW base year revised by labour and employment ministry.

The Labour and Employment Ministry on Thursday revised the base year of the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) from 2001 to 2016 to reflect the changing consumption pattern, giving more weightage to spending on health, education, recreation and other miscellaneous expenses, while reducing the weight of food and beverages.

 

Apart from measuring inflation in retail prices, the CPI-IW is used to regulate the dearness allowance (DA) of government staff and industrial workers, as well as to revise minimum wages in scheduled employments, a Ministry statement said.

Labour and Employment Secretary Apurva Chandra said that in the future, the Bureau would work towards revising the index every five years. The reduction in weight to spending on food and beverages indicated an increase in disposable income.

Mr.Gangwar said the new series, representing the latest consumption pattern, would be in the interest of workers. The number of centres, markets and the sample size for working class family income and expenditure survey were all increased.

The Minister also released the first index, with 2016 as the base year. The index for September, calculated for 88 centres as opposed to the previous 78 centres, was 118.

The sample size was increased from 41,040 families to 48,384, and the number of selected markets for collecting retail price data from 289 to 317. The weight to food and beverage was reduced from 46.2% to 39%, while spending on housing increased from 15.2% to 17%.

RBI to conduct purchase of government securities under OMO’s.

On a review of the current liquidity and financial conditions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today said that it has decided to conduct purchase of Government securities under Open Market Operations (OMOs) for an aggregate amount of Rs. 20,000 crores on 29th of this month.

OMOs in general sense refer to the sale or purchase of government securities by the RBI to commercial banks with a view to adjust liquidity conditions in the economy.

The State Development Loans (SDLs) are defined as securities issued by the states to manage their own finances.

In a press release issued today, the central bank said that SDLs will be bought through a multi-security auction.

 

DRDO test fires final trial of Nag Anti-tankk missile.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Thursday carried out the final user trial of the third generation anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), Nag, at the Pokhran firing range.

“The missile was integrated with the actual warhead and a tank target was kept at a designated range. This was launched from NAG Missile Carrier, NAMICA. The missile hit the target accurately defeating the armour,” the DRDO said in a statement.

The test was carried out at 6.45 a.m. “With this final user trial, NAG will enter into production phase,” DRDO stated. Nag had been developed to engage highly fortified enemy tanks in day and night conditions.

The missile has “fire and forget” and “top attack” capabilities with passive homing guidance to defeat all Main Battle Tanks (MBT) equipped with composite and reactive armour, the DRDO said.

Bioremediation Mechanism.

Recently, the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Chennai has developed an eco-friendly crude oil bioremediation mechanism technology using consortia (group of two or more species) of marine microbes wheat bran (WB) immobilized on agro-residue Bacterial Cells.

About Eco-friendly Crude Oil Bioremediation Mechanism Technology:

• Bioremediation can be defined as any process that uses microorganisms or their enzymes to remove and or neutralize contaminants within the environment to their original condition.

• In the marine ecosystem, deep sea hydrocarbon clastic (ability to degrade hydrocarbon) microbial consortium plays an important role in breaking down oil in the event of a spill.

• This microbial community serves as energetic primary degraders of a complex mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons into various aldehydes, ketones and acidic metabolites.

 

• These hydrocarbon degrading bacteria don’t depend on hydrocarbons for survival, but have a metabolic mechanism where they use petroleum products as carbon and energy source and thus, help cleaning up oil spills.

• The complete breakdown and degradation of crude oil is achievable using wheat bran marine bacterial consortia (which are low-cost non-toxic agro-residues) in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Advantages:

• They are more effective in their immobilised state than the free bacteria cells in degrading the oil spills.

• They could remove 84% of the oils within 10 days. The free bacterial cells degraded a maximum of 60% of the crude oil at optimised conditions.

• They are more versatile and resistant to adverse conditions. They have efficacy in treating accidental bulk discharge of oil in marine environments through non-toxic clean-up Technology.

Microbes to Fight Oil Spillage in Oceans

The scientists of National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) have developed an eco-friendly crude oil bioremediation mechanism technology.

• The technology uses a consortium of marine microbes wheat bran (WB) immobilized on agro-residue bacterial cells.

Bioremediation:

• Bioremediation can be defined as any process that uses microorganisms or their enzymes to remove and or neutralize contaminants within the environment (i.e., within soil and water) to their Original Condition.

 

 

 

Oil Spills:

• An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity.

• It is a form of Pollution.

• Oil Spills can occur on land also.

Recent Oil Spill Events:

• Deepwater Horizon drilling accident was the largest accidental oil spill disaster in history that took place on April 20, 2010, releasing 779 million litres of crude oil into the Gulf of

Mexico.

• The Ennore oil spill occurred outside the Kamarajar Port in Ennore near Chennai in Tamil Nadu on 28 January 2017, when an outbound empty tanker BW Maple collided with an inbound loaded oil tanker Dawn Kanchipuram releasing at 9.9 million gallons (37,000 m3) of oils into the Bay of Bengal.

• The recent MV Wakashio spill off Mauritius — about 1,000 tonnes of oil spilled into a sanctuary for rare wildlife after the Japanese ship struck a coral reef on 25 July 2020.

Consequences:

• The costs of oil spills are considerable in both economic and ecological terms

• Affect commercial and Subsistence Fishing.

• Oil on ocean surfaces is harmful to many forms of aquatic life because it prevents sufficient amounts of sunlight from penetrating the surface, and it also reduces the level of dissolved oxygen. Crude oil ruins the insulating and waterproofing properties of feathers and fur, and thus oil-coated birds and marine mammals may die from hypothermia.

• Ingested oil can be toxic to affected animals and there is a high risk of biomagnification.

 

• Damage to shore-based coastal ecosystems such as saltwater marshes and mangroves.

• Affect tourism and commerce associated with beaches.

Remedial Suggestions:

• Floating booms can be placed around the source of the spill or at entrances to channels and harbours.

• Use various sorbents (e.g., straw, volcanic ash, and shavings of polyester-derived plastic) that absorb the oil from the water.

• The floating oil is set to fire by igniting it safely. It is the most proficient method of oil clean-up, as it can efficiently remove 98% of the total spilt oil.

• Using dispersal chemicals which are spread over the spilt oil to initiate the disintegration of oil.

• Other methods employed are hot water washing or washing with high -pressure water; manual labour; and Bioremediation and Natural Recovery.

 

 

Comprehensive Current affairs 24 October 2020

Government Allows OCI & PIO card holders to visit India.

The government has decided to permit all OCI and PIO card holders and all other foreign nationals intending to visit India for any purpose, except on a Tourist Visa to enter by air or water routes through authorized airports and seaport immigration check posts.

This includes flights operated under Vande Bharat Mission, Air Transport Bubble arrangements or by any non-scheduled commercial flights as allowed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

All such travellers will, however, have to strictly adhere to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare regarding quarantine and other COVID-19 matters.

Under this graded relaxation, Government of India has also decided to restore with immediate effect all existing visas (except electronic visa, Tourist Visa and Medical Visa).

Foreign nationals intending to visit India for medical treatment can apply for a Medical Visa including for their medical attendants.

 

Culture ministry launches life in miniature project.

Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel virtually launched Life in Miniature project today.The project is a collaboration between the National Museum, New Delhi, Ministry of Culture, and Google Arts and Culture.

From today, several hundred miniature paintings from the National Museum can be viewed online on Google Arts and Culture by people around the world.

The project uses technologies like machine learning, augmented reality and digitization with high-definition robotic cameras, to showcase these special works of art in a magical new way.

IRDAI unveils standard term life insurance cover.

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has come up with a standard individual term life Insurance Product.

• These features as well as standard terms and conditions are expected to help customers make an informed choice and reduce mis-selling.

Standard Individual Term Life Insurance Product:

• The product, Saral Jeevan Bima to be offered by all life insurance companies will be a non-linked, non-participating individual pure risk premium life insurance plan.

• It will pay the sum assured in lump sum to the nominee in case of the life assured’s death during the policy term.

• The regulator mandated all life insurers to offer the standard product by January 1, 2021.

• Insurers have to file the product with the regulator latest by December 1.

• The plan will be for those in the 18-65 years age group.

• The policy term will be 5-40 years, while the sum assured will be a minimum of ₹5 lakh and a maximum of ₹25 lakh.

 

• Insurers have the option of offering sum assured beyond ₹25 lakh with all other terms and conditions remaining the same.

• The product shall be offered to individuals without restrictions on gender, place of residence, travel, occupation or educational qualifications.

• On the death benefit, for regular and limited premium payment policies, it will be the highest of 10 times of annualised premium; 105% of all the premiums paid as on the date of death; or the absolute amount assured to be paid on death.

• In case of single premium policies, it will be higher of 125% of single premium, or absolute amount assured to be paid on death.

• There will be no maturity benefit. Neither will there be any surrender value nor can any loan be taken against the product.

• The pricing (premium) by insurers will be as per the File and Use (F&U) process. There shall be no exclusions, except suicide.

Background:

• The last few years there has been an increased customer preference towards pure term life Insurance Products Resulting in Insurers launching many term products with varying terms and conditions.

IRDAI:

• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is an autonomous, statutory body tasked with regulating and promoting the insurance and re-insurance industries in India.

• It was constituted by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, an Act of Parliament passed by the Government of India.

• The agency’s headquarters are in Hyderabad, Telangana, where it moved from Delhi in 2001.

 

• IRDAI is a 10-member body including the chairman, five full-time and four part-time members appointed by the government of India.

Functions of the IRDAI:

• Issuing, renewing, modifying, withdrawing, suspending or cancelling registrations.

• Protecting policyholder interests

• Specifying qualifications, the code of conduct and training for intermediaries and agents.

• Specifying the code of conduct for surveyors and loss assessors

• Promoting efficiency in the conduct of insurance businesses.

• Promoting and regulating professional organisations connected with the insurance and re-insurance industry

• Levying fees and other charges

• Inspecting and investigating insurers, intermediaries and other relevant organisations.

• Regulating rates, advantages, terms and conditions which may be offered by insurers not covered by the Tariff Advisory Committee under section 64U of the Insurance Act, 1938.

• Specifying how books should be kept

• Regulating company investment of funds.

• Regulating a margin of solvency

•Adjudicating disputes between insurers and intermediaries or insurance intermediaries.

• Supervising the Tariff Advisory Committee.

• Specifying the percentage of premium income to finance schemes for promoting and Regulating Professional Organisations.

 

 

Digital Media Regulation.

The Centre has recently announced new guidelines for digital news platforms.

Highlights:

• The government has put emphasis on compliance to the 26% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap under the government approval route in digital media.

• The 26% FDI through the government approval route in the digital media sector was brought in 2019. FDI in print media is capped at 26%, and that in TV news is 49%.

• The majority of the directors on the company’s board, and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company would have to be an Indian citizen.

• All foreign employees working for more than 60 days would need security clearance. If the government denies or withdraw security clearance, the digital media company will ensure that the concerned person resigns or his/her services are terminated.

• The government has given a year to digital media news entities to align their shareholding with these requirements. The guidelines will be applicable to the following categories of entities registered or located in India:

• Digital media entities which streams/uploads news and current affairs on websites, apps or other platforms.

• The News agency which gathers, writes and distributes/transmits news, directly or indirectly, to digital media entities and/or news aggregators.

• The News aggregator, an entity which uses software of web applications to aggregate news content from various sources, such as news websites, blogs, podcasts, video blogs, user submitted links, etc in One Location.

 

 

 

Advantages:

• The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will be considering in the near future to extend the following benefits, presently available to traditional media (print and TV), to digital media entities also:

• Press Information Bureau (PIB) accreditation for its reporters, cameramen, videographers enabling them with better first-hand information and access including participation in official press conferences and such other Interactions.

• Persons with PIB accreditation can also avail Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) benefits and Concessional rail fare.

• Eligibility for digital advertisements through the Bureau of Outreach and Communication.

• Similar to self-regulating bodies in print and electronic media, entities in digital media can form self-regulating bodies for furthering their interests and interaction with the Government.

Srilankan parliament passes 20th amendment.

The controversial 20th Amendment to Sri Lanka’s Constitution that envisages expansive powers and greater immunity for the Executive President was passed in Parliament with a two-thirds majority, following a two-day debate.

The 20th Amendment was the Rajapaksa administration’s first big test in the legislature, since it triggered concern and resistance from not just the political opposition, but also the influential Buddhist clergy that Sri Lanka’s southern polity venerates.

The 20th Amendment rolls back Sri Lanka’s 19th Amendment, a 2015 legislation passed with wide support from the Rajapaksa camp — then in Opposition — that sought to clip presidential powers, while strengthening Parliament. The new legislation in turn reduces the Prime Minister’s role to a ceremonial one.

 

 

In the two-day debate, opposition MPs broadly argued that the Amendment threatened to take the country on a path of authoritarianism, giving the President unbridled powers, while government MPs emphasised the need for centralised power for better governance.

The 20th Amendment’s passage comes at a time when the country is facing a new wave of COVID-19, with the number of cases rapidly increasing — after Sri Lanka contained the pandemic in the early months — to 6,028 cases and 14 deaths as of Thursday evening.

EU,France urged to impose sanctions against Pakistan.

Members of European Parliament urged France and EU to impose sanctions against unabated terrorist activities in Pakistan.

Members of EU, RyszardCzarnecki, FulvioMartusciello and Gianna Garcia raised the demand in a letter to the French government and the European Union.

This move came ahead of the occasion of the 73rd anniversary of Pakistan's invasion of Jammu and Kashmir.

In the letter, the Parliament members stated that since its creation Pakistan has inflicted untold horrors on the world.The letter also mentioned the incident of genocide by the Pakistani military in Bangladesh, erstwhile East Pakistan.

The members also pointed out that Pakistan was re-admitted to the Financial Action Task Force Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing grey list for its continued failure to comply with obligations to prevent terrorism financing.

CPI-IW base year revised by labour and employment ministry.

The Labour and Employment Ministry on Thursday revised the base year of the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) from 2001 to 2016 to reflect the changing consumption pattern, giving more weightage to spending on health, education, recreation and other miscellaneous expenses, while reducing the weight of food and beverages.

 

Apart from measuring inflation in retail prices, the CPI-IW is used to regulate the dearness allowance (DA) of government staff and industrial workers, as well as to revise minimum wages in scheduled employments, a Ministry statement said.

Labour and Employment Secretary Apurva Chandra said that in the future, the Bureau would work towards revising the index every five years. The reduction in weight to spending on food and beverages indicated an increase in disposable income.

Mr.Gangwar said the new series, representing the latest consumption pattern, would be in the interest of workers. The number of centres, markets and the sample size for working class family income and expenditure survey were all increased.

The Minister also released the first index, with 2016 as the base year. The index for September, calculated for 88 centres as opposed to the previous 78 centres, was 118.

The sample size was increased from 41,040 families to 48,384, and the number of selected markets for collecting retail price data from 289 to 317. The weight to food and beverage was reduced from 46.2% to 39%, while spending on housing increased from 15.2% to 17%.

RBI to conduct purchase of government securities under OMO’s.

On a review of the current liquidity and financial conditions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today said that it has decided to conduct purchase of Government securities under Open Market Operations (OMOs) for an aggregate amount of Rs. 20,000 crores on 29th of this month.

OMOs in general sense refer to the sale or purchase of government securities by the RBI to commercial banks with a view to adjust liquidity conditions in the economy.

The State Development Loans (SDLs) are defined as securities issued by the states to manage their own finances.

In a press release issued today, the central bank said that SDLs will be bought through a multi-security auction.

 

DRDO test fires final trial of Nag Anti-tankk missile.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Thursday carried out the final user trial of the third generation anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), Nag, at the Pokhran firing range.

“The missile was integrated with the actual warhead and a tank target was kept at a designated range. This was launched from NAG Missile Carrier, NAMICA. The missile hit the target accurately defeating the armour,” the DRDO said in a statement.

The test was carried out at 6.45 a.m. “With this final user trial, NAG will enter into production phase,” DRDO stated. Nag had been developed to engage highly fortified enemy tanks in day and night conditions.

The missile has “fire and forget” and “top attack” capabilities with passive homing guidance to defeat all Main Battle Tanks (MBT) equipped with composite and reactive armour, the DRDO said.

Bioremediation Mechanism.

Recently, the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in Chennai has developed an eco-friendly crude oil bioremediation mechanism technology using consortia (group of two or more species) of marine microbes wheat bran (WB) immobilized on agro-residue Bacterial Cells.

About Eco-friendly Crude Oil Bioremediation Mechanism Technology:

• Bioremediation can be defined as any process that uses microorganisms or their enzymes to remove and or neutralize contaminants within the environment to their original condition.

• In the marine ecosystem, deep sea hydrocarbon clastic (ability to degrade hydrocarbon) microbial consortium plays an important role in breaking down oil in the event of a spill.

• This microbial community serves as energetic primary degraders of a complex mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons into various aldehydes, ketones and acidic metabolites.

 

• These hydrocarbon degrading bacteria don’t depend on hydrocarbons for survival, but have a metabolic mechanism where they use petroleum products as carbon and energy source and thus, help cleaning up oil spills.

• The complete breakdown and degradation of crude oil is achievable using wheat bran marine bacterial consortia (which are low-cost non-toxic agro-residues) in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Advantages:

• They are more effective in their immobilised state than the free bacteria cells in degrading the oil spills.

• They could remove 84% of the oils within 10 days. The free bacterial cells degraded a maximum of 60% of the crude oil at optimised conditions.

• They are more versatile and resistant to adverse conditions. They have efficacy in treating accidental bulk discharge of oil in marine environments through non-toxic clean-up Technology.

Microbes to Fight Oil Spillage in Oceans

The scientists of National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) have developed an eco-friendly crude oil bioremediation mechanism technology.

• The technology uses a consortium of marine microbes wheat bran (WB) immobilized on agro-residue bacterial cells.

Bioremediation:

• Bioremediation can be defined as any process that uses microorganisms or their enzymes to remove and or neutralize contaminants within the environment (i.e., within soil and water) to their Original Condition.

 

 

 

Oil Spills:

• An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity.

• It is a form of Pollution.

• Oil Spills can occur on land also.

Recent Oil Spill Events:

• Deepwater Horizon drilling accident was the largest accidental oil spill disaster in history that took place on April 20, 2010, releasing 779 million litres of crude oil into the Gulf of

Mexico.

• The Ennore oil spill occurred outside the Kamarajar Port in Ennore near Chennai in Tamil Nadu on 28 January 2017, when an outbound empty tanker BW Maple collided with an inbound loaded oil tanker Dawn Kanchipuram releasing at 9.9 million gallons (37,000 m3) of oils into the Bay of Bengal.

• The recent MV Wakashio spill off Mauritius — about 1,000 tonnes of oil spilled into a sanctuary for rare wildlife after the Japanese ship struck a coral reef on 25 July 2020.

Consequences:

• The costs of oil spills are considerable in both economic and ecological terms

• Affect commercial and Subsistence Fishing.

• Oil on ocean surfaces is harmful to many forms of aquatic life because it prevents sufficient amounts of sunlight from penetrating the surface, and it also reduces the level of dissolved oxygen. Crude oil ruins the insulating and waterproofing properties of feathers and fur, and thus oil-coated birds and marine mammals may die from hypothermia.

• Ingested oil can be toxic to affected animals and there is a high risk of biomagnification.

 

• Damage to shore-based coastal ecosystems such as saltwater marshes and mangroves.

• Affect tourism and commerce associated with beaches.

Remedial Suggestions:

• Floating booms can be placed around the source of the spill or at entrances to channels and harbours.

• Use various sorbents (e.g., straw, volcanic ash, and shavings of polyester-derived plastic) that absorb the oil from the water.

• The floating oil is set to fire by igniting it safely. It is the most proficient method of oil clean-up, as it can efficiently remove 98% of the total spilt oil.

• Using dispersal chemicals which are spread over the spilt oil to initiate the disintegration of oil.

• Other methods employed are hot water washing or washing with high -pressure water; manual labour; and Bioremediation and Natural Recovery.