Comprehensive Current affairs 1 November 2020 2020

 CPCB flags pollution control at railway stations.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has “insisted” that the Ministry of Railways devise a modern environmental management plan to control air, water and noise pollution at major railway stations.

According to sources in the railways, the CPCB had called for the formation of a joint committee comprising Railway and State government/local body officials to ensure basic civic amenities and improve environment conditions at Class-I stations. The move follows a high-level meeting convened by the CPCB involving top officials of the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Housing & Urban Development.

The Railways in turn requested the CPCB to assign due weightage to different components/parameters in the template for environment performance based on rating of railway stations that are currently under review by the CPCB.

 However, the central agency insisted on developing a modern environmental plan to address issues relating to air, water and noise pollution in each of the 720 stations taken up for assessment across the country.

A separate template on environment assessment and management would be prepared for all metro stations, the sources said.The CPCB has now advised that the Ministry of Railways shall be responsible for the implementation of various pollution controlling measures.

Modi is going to launch seaplane service from statue of unity in Gujarat.

Indian PM Modi will launch the seaplane service connecting Statue of Unity in Kevadia with Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad today. Modi inaugurated a cruise service near the Statue of Unity.

• The 40-minute cruise will cover six kilometres. The prime minister also inaugurated EktaMall, an emporium spread over 35,000 square feet, where handicrafts from all over the country will be up for sale.

• A Nutrition Park and a Safari Park are among the several other attractions that he threw open yesterday. The Safari Park is spread over 375 acre and has 1100 species of birds from India and abroad and about 100 animals.

• Modi also launched an application whereby information about Kevadia will be available in six languages. Key areas of the developed region have been lit by LED lights.

• Modi arrived in Ahmedabad yesterday morning. Immediately thereafter, he headed towards Keshubhai Patel’s residence in Gandhinagar to pay tribute to the leader, who passed away on Thursday. Mr Modi also paid tribute to singer-actor duo Mahesh-Naresh Kanodiya in Gandhinagar and met their family members.

Kisan Suryodaya Yojana

Prime Minister of India Modi has recently launched the ‘Kisan Suryodaya Yojana’ aimed at providing day-time Electricity to farmers in Gujarat for Irrigation and farming purposes. He also launched a 2.3 km-long ropeway project on Mount Girnar in Junagadh city, a major pilgrimage site.

About Kisan Suryodaya Yojana:

• The Rs. 3,500 crore will be spent over the next three years for providing solar power to farmers for irrigation during daytime (5 AM to 9 PM). About 3,500 circuit kilometers (CKM) of new transmission lines will be laid.

• The 10 districts including Dahod, Gir-Somnath and Tapi have been selected under the Scheme for 2020-21. The remaining districts will be covered in a phase-wise manner by 2022-23.

• It would help in the expansion of micro irrigation in the state. Micro irrigation is defined as the frequent application of small quantities of water directly above and below the soil surface; usually as discrete drops, continuous drops or tiny streams through emitters placed along a water delivery line.

• It would complement irrigation projects of the State- Sujalam Sufalam and SAUNI (Saurashtra-Narmada Avtaran Irrigation) yojana.

• It would complement central government initiatives like neem coating urea, Soil Health Cards, KUSUM Yojana, etc.

• India has now reached 5th position in the world in the last few years in solar power and is advancing fast. Further, it has given the world the plan of ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’.

• The PM emphasised that farmers should save water and adopt the mantra ‘per drop, more crop’.

• The objective of "per drop, more crop", Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) was also launched in 2015.

• It is a centrally sponsored scheme being implemented to expand cultivated areas with assured irrigation, reduce wastage of water and improve water use efficiency and ensure "Har Khet Ko Paani".

 • It was conceived by amalgamating ongoing schemes viz.

• Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) of the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (now Ministry of Jal Shakti).

• Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) of Ministry of Rural

Development.

• On Farm Water Management (OFWM) of Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC).

• The scheme is implemented by the Ministries of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Jal Shakti and Rural Development.

About Ropeway Project:

• The 2.3 km- long ropeway project is being touted as the longest temple ropeway in Asia.

• Mount Girnar has Gorakhnath peak, Guru Dattatreya peak and a Jain Temple.

• It is the fourth ropeway in Gujarat along with Banaskantha, Pavagadh and Satpura.

• It will give a boost to adventure activities as well as tourism in the state.

• Sites like Shivarajpur beach which has got blue flag certification and Statue of Unity, provides a lot of employment opportunities to the locals.

IPU general council to be held next month.

The 206th Session of the Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU will be held from 1st to 4th November this year. It will be an Extraordinary Virtual Session, which is being organised in place of a full-fledged in-person Statutory Assembly of IPU due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

The agenda of the Virtual Session includes the election of the new President of IPU through remote electronic secret ballot since the outgoing President of IPU Ms. Gabriela Cuevas Barron (MP, Mexico) had completed her term on 19th of this month. An Indian Parliamentary Delegation led by LokSabha Speaker Om Birla and consisting of LokSabha MP Poonamben Maadam and RajyaSabha MP Swapan Dasgupta will participate in the above mentioned Virtual Session and will cast their votes.

There are four candidates in the fray for the election of IPU President. They are Duarte Pacheco from Portugal, Muhammad Sanjrani from Pakistan, Akmal Saidov from Uzbekistan and Salma Ataullah jan from Canada.

Protests erupt against French president in muslim countries.

Thousands of Muslims, from Pakistan to Lebanon to the Palestinian territories, poured out of prayer services to join anti-France protests on Friday, as the French President’s vow to protect the right to caricature Prophet Muhammed continues to roil the Muslim world.

Demonstrations in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad turned violent as some 2,000 people who tried to march toward the French Embassy were pushed back by police firing tear gas and beating protesters with batons.

A few hundred demonstrators in Lebanon’s capital Beirut flocked toward the Palais des Pins, the official residence of the French Ambassador to Lebanon, but found their way blocked by lines of police officers in riot gear. Waving black and white flags with Islamist insignia, the Sunni Islamist activists cried, “At your service, oh prophet of God.”

The sight of anti-France protests in Lebanon is an embarrassment for Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, who is trying to form a new government that would implement a French plan for reform.

Cries of “Death to France” rang out in Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul and several other provinces as thousands filled the streets. Demonstrators trampled on portraits of Macron and called on Afghan leaders to shut down the French Embassy, halt French imports and ban French citizens from visiting the country.

 

NITI Aayog claims India no more a closed economy, import barriers not perpetual.

Any tariff protection to promote local manufacturing in India will come with an in-built sunset clause, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar said on Friday, asserting that the country’s self-reliance mission must not be equated to it becoming a ‘protectionist’ and closed economy.

The government is set to extend the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for manufacturing pharmaceuticals, medical devices and electronics announced under the AtmaNirbhar Bharat package to six more sectors, he said.

Explaining the rationale for the PLI schemes that, he said, will soon become valid for ‘nine to 10’ sectors from four at present, Mr. Kumar said this is meant to incentivise investors already in the country to put up globally comparable capacities in scale and competitiveness.

He emphasised that India’s efforts towards self-reliance were not dissimilar to what other nations are doing to insulate themselves from global supply chain shocks and revive the economy.

Mr. Kumar also called for a more empathetic and humane approach to assess economic growth beyond GDP numbers and flagged concerns about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the onset of technologies like robotics, machine learning and artificial intelligence on job creation.

Ministry of Shipping brings in draft coastal shipping bill 2020.

Ministry of Shipping has issued the draft of Coastal Shipping Bill, 2020 for suggestions from stakeholders and general public. A need was felt to have a separate legislation on coastal shipping as the shipping sector grows and evolves in the country.

The global best practices have also been considered while drafting this Bill. The definition of coastal shipping and coastal waters has been expanded in the Bill.It is proposed to do away with the requirement of trading licence for Indian flag vessels for coastal trade.

The Bill seeks to create a competitive environment and reduce transportation costs, while encouraging Indian vessels to increase their share in coastal shipping.

 The Bill also proposes integration of coastal maritime transport with inland waterways.The draft bill is uploaded on the Shipping Ministry's website.Citizens can submit their suggestions and opinions regarding the draft bill to coastalshipping2020@gmail.com latest by 6th of November.

8). South Asian Flash Flood Guidance System.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has recently launched the South Asian Flash Flood Guidance System (FFGS).

• It is aimed at helping disaster management teams and governments make timely evacuation plans ahead of the actual event of flooding.

• A dedicated FFGS centre will be established in New Delhi, where weather modelling and analysis of rainfall data observations from member countries will be done.

• Flash Floods are sudden surges in water levels during or following an intense spell of rain.

• These are highly localised events of short duration with a very high peak and usually have less than six hours between the occurrence of the rainfall and peak flood.

• The flood situation worsens in the presence of choked drainage lines or encroachments obstructing the natural flow of water.

• Forecasting flash floods is very difficult as an event can occur within three to six hours and the water run-off quantity is very high.

• Frequency of extreme rainfall events has increased due to climate change and south Asia is highly prone to flash floods.

• Data suggest that across the world, about 5,000 people die Annually due to Flash Floods.

NewZealand votes for legalising Euthanasia.

New Zealanders have voted in favor of illegalizing the euthanasia for people with a terminal illness. The decision was taken in the aftermath of campaigners who were saying that people who are suffering extreme pain should be given a choice of how and when they want to bring their life to an end.

• The decision of legalizing the euthanasia appeared as a referendum question alongside a second referendum question of legalizing cannabis on October 17, 2020 general election ballot paper. The referendum question of legalizing cannabis did not succeed.

• Euthanasia is the practice of ending a life to relieve pain and suffering intentionally. Different countries defines euthanasia differently. In Britain, euthanasia is defined as an intervention undertaken with the intention of ending life, to relieve intractable suffering”.

• While in Netherlands and Belgium, euthanasia is described as “termination of life by a doctor at the request of a patient”. In Dutch law ‘euthanasia’ term is not included but there is a concept called “assisted suicide and termination of life on request”.

• Passive euthanasia is legal in India under strict guidelines since March 2018. In India, Patients’ consent is required through a living will. The patient must be either terminally ill or in a vegetative state.

• The supreme court of India legalized the passive euthanasia on 9 March 2018 as a part of the verdict in light of Aruna Shanbaug who had been in a Persistent Vegetative State (PVS) until her death in 2015.

Yellow dust from China could spread COVID: North Korea.

• North Korean authorities have urged its citizens to remain indoors to avoid contact with a mysterious cloud of yellow dust blowing in from China.

• They fear that a new type of coronavirus can be introduced into the Korean territory together with the particles of yellow dust.

What is Yellow Dust?

• Yellow dust is sand from deserts in China and Mongolia carried by high speed surface winds into both North and South Korea during specific Periods Every Year.

• The Sand Particles tend to mix with other toxic substances such as industrial pollutants, as a result of which the yellow dust is known to cause a number of respiratory ailments.

• Usually when the dust reaches unhealthy levels (crosses around 800 micrograms/cubic meter) in the atmosphere schools are shut and outdoor events cancelled in the affected areas.

Can Covid-19 be transmitted through dust clouds?

• As per the US Centres for Disease Control the virus can remain airborne for hours, but it is highly unlikely for the COVID-19 infection to spread through the Dust Clouds.