Comprehensive Current affairs 24 November 2020

RuPay card Phase-II.

Indian P.M Modi along with his Bhutanese counterpart Lotay Tshering launched RuPay card Phase-II that will allow Bhutanese card holders to access the RuPay network in India.

The prime ministers of the two countries had jointly launched Phase-I of the project during Mr. Modi’s state visit to Bhutan in August last year.

The implementation of Phase-I of RuPay cards in Bhutan has enabled visitors from India to access ATMs and Point of Sale (PoS) terminals across Bhutan.

Phase-II will now allow Bhutanese card holders to access RuPay network in India.

The RuPay card is an Indian debit and credit card payment network, with acceptance at ATMs, POS devices and e-commerce websites.

 

 

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan.

Recently, information related to the Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) was given by the Ministry for Human Resource Development (MHRD).

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is a flagship program of the Ministry for Human Resource Development (MHRD).

It aims to link the Higher Education Institutions with a set of at least (5) villages, so that these institutions can contribute to the economic and social betterment of these village communities using their knowledge base.

Main Objectives:

To engage the faculty and students of Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in identifying development issues in rural areas and finding sustainable solutions for the same.

Identify & select existing innovative technologies, enable customisation of technologies, or devise implementation methods for innovative solutions, as required by the people.

To allow HEIs to contribute to devising systems for smooth implementation of various Government programmes.

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0

It is the upgraded version of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 1.0. It was launched in 2018.

The scheme is extended to all educational institutes; however under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan 2.0 participating institutes are selected based on the fulfillment of certain criteria.

15th G20 Summit .

Indian Prime Minister virtually attended the 15th G20 Summit chaired by Saudi Arabia.

The theme of this Summit is “Realising the opportunities of 21st Century for all”.

 

 

The Prime Minister congratulated the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its leadership for its successful Presidency of the G20 this year and for organising the second G20 Summit in 2020 through a virtual format despite the challenges and obstacles posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Indian Prime Minister urged the leaders to take decisive action, not limited to economic recovery, jobs and trade, but to focus on preserving planet.

The Prime Minister also called for a new Global Index for the post-Covid World that comprises four key elements:

1. Creation of a vast talent pool;

2. Ensuring that technology reaches all segments of the society;

3. Transparency in systems of governance; and

4. Dealing with the planet with a spirit of trusteeship.

The agenda of the Summit is spread out over two days with two sessions focused on overcoming the pandemic, economic recovery and restoring jobs, and building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future.

Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation .

Petronet LNG signed a pact with Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) for setting up compressed biogas (CBG) plants under SATAT initiative.

This will give a big fillip to the clean energy initiative in India.

SATAT was launched by MoPNG in 2018.

Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) is an effort that would benefit both vehicle-users as well as farmers and entrepreneurs. Compressed Bio-Gas plants are proposed to be set up mainly through independent entrepreneurs.

 

 

The programme will be funded under Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) component of Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G) to benefit households in identified villages through Gram Panchayats.

The initiative will help in efficient municipal solid waste management and in tackling the problem of polluted urban air due to farm stubble-burning and carbon emissions.

Use of CBG will also help bring down dependency on crude oil imports and in enhancing farmers’ income, rural employment and entrepreneurship.

Bio-gas is produced naturally through a process of anaerobic decomposition from waste /bio-mass sources like agriculture residue, cattle dung, sugarcane press mud, municipal solid waste, sewage treatment plant waste, etc.

After purification, it is compressed and called CBG, which has pure methane content of over 95%.

CBG is exactly similar to the commercially available natural gas in its composition and energy potential. It can be used as an alternative, renewable automotive fuel.

Given the abundance of biomass in the country, Compressed Bio-Gas has the potential to replace CNG in automotive, industrial and commercial uses in the coming years.

Compressed Bio-Gas networks can be integrated with city gas distribution (CGD) networks to boost supplies to domestic and retail users.

The National Policy on Biofuels 2018 also emphasises active promotion of advanced bio-fuels, including CBG.

Earlier, the Government of India had launched the GOBAR-DHAN (Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources) scheme to convert cattle dung and solid waste in farms to CBG and compost.

 

 

 

 

Sentinel-6 satellite.

The Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite, designed to monitor oceans, was launched from the Vandenberg Air Force base in California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on November 21.

This is a part of the next mission dedicated to measuring changes in the global sea level. Other satellites that have been launched since 1992 to track changes in the oceans on a global scale include the TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason-1 and OSTN/Jason-2, among others.

The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite has been named after Dr. Michael Freilich, who was the Director of NASA’s Earth Science Division from 2006-2019 and passed away in August this year.

About the mission:

The mission, called the Jason Continuity of Service (Jason-CS) mission, is designed to measure the height of the ocean, which is a key component in understanding how the Earth’s climate is changing. The spacecraft consists of two satellites, one of them launched on Saturday, and the other, called Sentinel-6B, to be launched in 2025.

It has been developed jointly by the European Space Agency (ESA), NASA, European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (Eumetsat), the USA’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the EU, with contributions from France’s National Centre for Space Studies (CNES).

Key functions:

According to NASA, the satellite will ensure the continuity of sea-level observations into the fourth decade and will provide measurements of global sea-level rise.

It essentially, the satellite will send pulses to the Earth’s surface and measure how long they take to return to it, which will help scientists measure the sea surface height. It will also measure water vapour along this path and find its position using GPS and ground-based lasers.

 

Data from satellites such as Sentinel-6 help scientists foresee the effects of the changing oceans on the climate.

Tamil Nadu banned online games.

Tamil Nadu Governor promulgated an ordinance that banned online gaming in the state, with a fine up to Rs 5,000 and imprisonment of up to six months.

Reason behind this ban:

In the ordinance banning the game, the Governor said that due to online gaming, innocent people, mainly youngsters, are being cheated, and some people have committed suicide. The state has thus decided to ban online gaming to “avoid such incidents of suicide and protect the innocent people from the evils of online gaming”.

Any form of wagering or betting in cyberspace by using computers or any other communication device, common gaming houses, and any electronic transfer of funds to distribute winnings or prize money has also been banned.

This effectively means that players in the state will not be able to purchase any add-on for the games they play, go to gaming arcades or participate in online gaming tournaments. Some multiplayer games such as Counter-Strike host weekly tournaments with a buy-in of up to Rs 10,000.

While there has been some debate on whether online games are a matter of pure luck or skill, the arrival of money has further complicated matters. Most adversaries of online games and gambling have said that since there are no regulations, most players end up spending a lot of money for buy-in in these games.

Critics have also said that since these games are also played by kids of all ages, the lack of money to buy these add-on puts different kinds of peer pressure leading to unpleasant circumstances.

 

 

Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL).

Recently, India’s first convergence project to generate green energy for rural and agriculture consumption is set to come up in Goa.

About Energy Efficiency Services Ltd:

• Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Ministry of Power, and Goa government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the same.

• It is a joint venture of National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) Limited, Power Finance Corporation, Rural Electrification Corporation and POWERGRID, It was set up under the Ministry of Power to facilitate implementation of energy efficiencyprojects.

• It is a Super Energy Service Company (ESCO) that seeks to unlock the energy efficiency market in India, estimated at Rs. 74,000 crore that can potentially result in energy savings of up to 20% of current consumption, by way of innovative business and implementation models.

• It also acts as the resource centre for capacity building of State DISCOMs, financial institutions, etc.

• It focuses on energy solutions that lie at the confluence of renewable energy, electric mobility and climate change.

• It seeks to connect seemingly independent sectors like Solar Energy, Energy Storage and LED lights to provide solutions, which can enable in decarbonisation and affordable energy access.

• It is offering convergent interventions, which solve multiple gap areas in the energy ecosystem.

• Its climate financing interventions currently include Gram UJALA, Decentralised Solar and Gram Panchayat Street Lights programmes.

India’s first Green Energy Convergence Project.

 

 

The Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) is set to roll out of India’s first Energy Convergence Project in Goa.

Green Energy Convergence Project:

• Under the project, EESL and the Department of New and Renewable Energy (DNRE) in Goa will carry out feasibility studies and implementation of decentralized solar energy projects.

• The project aims to connect seemingly independent sectors like Solar Energy, Energy

Storage and LED lights to provide solutions, which can enable in decarbonisation and affordable energy access.

• It will include the installation of 100 Megawatt decentralized ground-mounted solar power projects on government land to be used for agricultural pumping.

• It seeks to replace 6,300 agricultural pumps and distribute 16 lakh LED bulbs for rural Domestic Households.

Benefits of the Project:

• The projects will accelerate the usage of renewable energy sources, especially for Agricultural and Rural Power Consumption in the State.

• They will also contribute to the reduction of peak energy demand through the deployment

of energy-efficient pumping and lighting thus contributing to overall sustainability.

EESL:

• A joint venture of NTPC Limited, Power Finance Corporation, Rural Electrification Corporation and POWERGRID, the EESL was set up under Ministry of Power to facilitate the implementation of energy efficiency projects.

• EESL is a Super Energy Service Company (ESCO) that seeks to unlock energy efficiency market in India, that can potentially result in energy savings of up to 20 per cent of current consumption.

• It also acts as the resource centre for capacity building of State DISCOMs, ERCs, SDAs, upcoming ESCOs, Financial Institutions, Etc.

Nagorno-Karabakh Issue.

After six weeks of fierce fighting, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to end military operations in and around Nagorno-Karabakh in a ceasefire brokered by Russian President

Vladimir Putin.

About :

• Some 2,000 people, including combatants and civilians, are estimated to have been killed in the war.

• Armenian leader Nikol Pashinyan has described the decision to accept truce as “painful”, while Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, backed by Turkey, has claimed victory.

• Russia, which has enforced the ceasefire, seems to have reinforced its influence in the South Caucasus.

Geographical Location:

• Armenia and Azerbaijan are part of Transcaucasia or South Caucasia (geographical region in the vicinity of the southern Caucasus Mountains on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia consisting of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan).

What led to the War?

• In 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed, the newly independent Armenia and Azerbaijan went to war over Nagorno-Karabakh, which had been an autonomous region within Azerbaijan during the Soviet years.

• Armenians have made historical claims over the enclave, which is largely populated by ethnic Armenians.

 

 

• By the time the all-out war came to an end in 1994, Armenia had captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts from Azeri forces, which amounted to some 13% of Azerbaijan’s territory.

• In September, Azerbaijan President Aliyev launched the offensive vowing to take back Nagorno-Karabakh and other Armenian-occupied districts.

• In six weeks of fighting, Azeri forces, backed by Turkey-supplied armed drones and other equipment, cut through Armenian defences and retook territories, including some 40% of Nagorno-Karabakh itself.

How the Ceasefire was Achieved?

• Russia, which has a security agreement with Armenia, remained neutral in the early days of the war when Turkey threw its weight behind Azerbaijan.

• Russia brokered a ceasefire two weeks into the conflict, but it didn’t hold. When Azerbaijan defeated Armenian troops and captured territories, Armenian Prime Minister sought Russian help.

• But Mr. Putin said the security guarantee is for Armenia, not for the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. But Russia was apparently concerned about the rapid change in the status quo and the more assertive security role Turkey was playing in its backyard.

• By the third week of October, Russia established small military outposts along the Armenian border, apparently to prevent the conflict spilling into mainland Armenia and also to send a message to Baku.

• In the same week, Russia conducted a massive air strike in Syria’s Idlib against Turkish-backed militants, killing dozens of them, which is seen as Moscow’s warning against Turkey.

• Mr. Putin accepted Azerbaijan’s victory (as the ceasefire allows Azeri troops to control the territories they have seized) but prevented a total defeat of Armenia.

• Under pressure from a decisive Moscow, both sides agreed to cease the operations.

 

What are the Terms of the Ceasefire?

• According to the ceasefire, Armenia agreed to withdraw its troops from much of the territories around Nagorno-Karabakh.

• The core of the enclave with ethnic Armenians and Stepanakert as its capital would remain outside the control of Azerbaijan.

• Azerbaijan will build a road linking the newly captured territories to Nakhchivan, an autonomous republic of Azerbaijan which had been geographically separated from the mainland. As the broker of the truce, Russia would send some 2,000 peacekeepers to the region, which would patrol between the Azeri troops and Nagorno-Karabakh, including the Lachin corridor, which connects the enclave with Armenia.

• In sum, Azerbaijan gained territories, but not the whole of Nagorno-Karabakh.

• Armenia lost territories it controlled since the 1990s but avoided a total defeat as much of Nagorno-Karabakh would remain independent of Azeri control.

• And Russia gained a bigger foothold in the region with its troops being deployed within Azerbaijan.

Post Impacts of the Ceasefire:

• Russia could enforce the ceasefire and keep Turkey and western countries out of the final talks shows that Moscow remains a dominant power in the South Caucasus.

• Moscow had also wanted to send peacekeepers to the region (the Lavrov Plan), but both Armenia and Azerbaijan were not open to the idea earlier. Now, Russia can do that.

• But the war also showed that the Russian dominance in the region could be challenged.

Turkey backed Azerbaijan throughout the war against Moscow’s wishes and made sure that the Azeri side prevailed. Recently Turkish Parliament approved sending troops to theregion to join an observation post despite the ceasefire mandating only Russians to deploy peacekeepers.

 

• If Turkey continues to play an assertive role in the region through its ally Azerbaijan, a reluctant Moscow would face a new rival in its backyard.

Is the conflict over?

• The war’s not over. It has altered the balance of power in favour of Azerbaijan. It stopped short of taking the entire Nagorno-Karabakh for now, but it doesn’t mean that it won’t go for it again.

• The status of Nagorno-Karabakh remains unsettled, which means the conflict has only beenPostponed, not Resolved.