Comprehensive Current affairs 10 October 2020

 Apex court claims indefinite occupation of public places for protests as unacceptable.

Indian Supreme Court found the indefinite “occupation” of a public road by the Shaheen Bagh protesters unacceptable.

•The court felt that the protest, considered an iconic dissent mounted by mothers, children and senior citizens of Shaheen Bagh against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, became inconvenient to commuters.

•The court suggested that the outcry may have even gone out of hand for the women protesters. It referred to reports about how women were ensconced inside a tent while a “huge periphery” of “male protesters, volunteers and bystanders”, who wanted the blockade to continue, milled around.

•The court noted that Shaheen Bagh seemed typical of the many digitally-fuelled “leaderless” events of dissent seen in modern times. Technology and social media could both empower and weaken mass movements.

The court held it was entirely the responsibility of the administration to prevent encroachments in public spaces. They should do so without waiting for courts to pass suitable orders.

 Data Governance Quality Index (DGQI)

Department of Fertilizers ranked 2nd amongst the 16 Economic Ministries/Departments and ranked 3rd amongst the 65 Ministries/Departments in the Survey Report on Data Governance Quality Index.

DGQI:

• The DGQI exercise was undertaken by the Development Monitoring & Evaluation Office (DMEO), NITI Aayog. The exercise is a ‘Self-assessment-based review of data preparedness levels’ to produce a DGQI scorecard.

• The survey was initiated with an objective to assess the data preparedness of Ministries or

Departments on a standardized framework.

• The survey was also meant to drive healthy competition among them and promote cooperative peer learning from best practices.

• For the survey, an online questionnaire was prepared under six major themes of DGQI:

✓ Data Generation

✓ Data Quality

✓ Use of Technology

✓ Data Analysis, Use and Dissemination

✓ Data Security

✓ HR Capacity and Case Studies

✓ The Ministries and Departments were classified into Six Categories namely,

Administrative, Economic, Strategic, Infrastructure, Social and Scientific.

Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO):

• DMEO was constituted in 2015 by merging the erstwhile Program Evaluation Office (PEO) and the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO).

• It is an attached office under NITI Aayog, aimed at fulfilling the organization’s monitoring and evaluation (M&E) mandate and building the M&E ecosystem in India.

 • DMEO has been mandated to actively monitor and evaluate the implementation of the Government of India programmes and initiatives so as to strengthen their implementation and scope of delivery on an ongoing basis.

• Additionally, DMEO undertakes evaluation of selected programmes/schemes, suo-moto or on the request of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) or programme implementing Ministries/Departments of the Government of India.

ICGS Kanaklata Barua commissioned.

A Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) named ICGS Kanaklata Barua was commissioned by the Indian Coast Guard Recently.

Highlights:

• The vessel was constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd.

• These FPVs are medium-range surface vessels and can reach a speed of 34 knots.

• It is the fifth and last in a series of FPVs. Other FPVs are ICGS Priyadarshini (named after Indira Gandhi), ICGS Annie Besant, ICGS Kamala Devi (after Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay), and ICGS Amrit Kaur.

• FPVs are useful for Patrolling, Maritime Surveillance, Anti-smuggling, Anti-poaching Operations, Search and Rescue Missions.

Kanaklata Barua:

• Kanaklata Barua was a teenage freedom fighter from Assam.

• She led the Mukti Bahini, a procession of freedom fighters to unfurl the Tricolour at Gohpur police station during the Quit India Movement in 1942.

• An altercation with police led to firing and killing of Kanaklata Barua.

Cabinet approves Indo-Japanese MoU on cybersecurity .

The GoI has given its approval to major reforms in the marketing of Natural Gas in the country. The Cabinet, under the chairmanship of PM Modi approved the reforms to push the usage of Natural Gas.

•Briefing the media in New Delhi, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister said that the government will initiate standardised e-bidding for bringing transparency in the price of Natural Gas in the country.

•Railway Minister informed that the Cabinet has also given its approval for the revised estimate cost for East West Corridor of the Kolkata Metro Rail Project.

 •Minister for Railways said that the project, with an estimated cost of nearly 8 thousand 575 crore rupees, will be open for the public by December 2021. He said the total Route length of the East-West Metro Corridor in Kolkata will be 16.6 kilometre and will have 12 stations.

•The cabinet also gave its approval for signing a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in the field of cyber-security between India and Japan.

•The MoC will enhance cooperation in areas of mutual interest, which includes capacity building in the area of cyberspace, protection of critical infrastructure, cooperation in emerging technologies, sharing information on cyber security threats and malicious cyber activities.Another MoU was signed between Zoological Survey of India and its Canadian Counterpart on bar coding of faunal Genomes.

World Bank projects global extreme poverty to rise first time in 20 years.

Global extreme poverty is expected to rise for the first time in 20 years because of the disruption caused by COVID-19, exacerbating the impact of conflict and climate change, which were already slowing down poverty reduction, the World Bank said on Tuesday.

The pandemic may push another 88 million to 115 million into extreme poverty or having to live on less than $1.50 per day, resulting in a total of 150 million such individuals, the Bank said in its biennial Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report.

Some 9.1% to 9.4% of the world will be affected by extreme poverty in 2020, the Bank said, compared to 7.9% in the counterfactual scenario where the pandemic had not raged across the world.

Many of the newly poor individuals will be from countries that already have high poverty rates while many in middle income countries (MICs) will slip below the poverty line, as per the report. Some 82% of the total will be in MICs.

Sub-Saharan Africa, with 27-40 million new poor, and South Asia, with 49-57 million new poor, will be badly hit as per the Bank’s projections.

First ever brand name and logo for Indian cotton launched.

Indian Minister for Textiles launched the first ever Brand and Logo for Indian Cotton on Second World Cotton Day through video conferencing.

•Now India’s premium cotton would be known as ‘Kasturi Cotton’ in the world cotton trade. The Kasturi Cotton brand will represent Whiteness, Brightness, Softness, Purity, Luster, Uniqueness and Indianness. this is said to be a much awaited moment as the Indian Cotton has been endowed with a Brand and Logo.

  Cotton is one of the principal commercial crops of the India and it provides livelihood to about six million cotton farmers. India is also the second largest cotton producer and the largest consumer of cotton in the world.

•It produces about six million tonnes of cotton every year which is about 23 per cent of the world cotton. India produces about 51 per cent of the total organic cotton production of the world, which demonstrates India’s effort towards sustainability.

•Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) has also made ever highest Minimum Support Price (MSP) operation of cotton and during the new cotton season, the procurement under MSP may also be increased.

Possibility of reforms for natural gas marketing in the country.

GoI has been approved the major reforms in marketing of Natural Gas in the country. The Cabinet has approved the reforms to push usage of Natural Gas.

The government is also going to initiate standardised e-bidding for bringing transparency in the price of Natural Gas in the country and the Cabinet has also given its approval for the revised estimate cost for East West Corridor of the Kolkata Metro Rail Project. the project that would incur an estimated cost of nearly 8 thousand 575 crore rupees is going to be opened for the public in December 2021.

The total Route length of the East-West Metro Corridor in Kolkata will be 16.6 kilometre and will have 12 stations and the project will ease traffic congestion, enhance urban connectivity and provide a cleaner mobility solution to lakhs of daily commuters in Kolkata.

Nanofiber Yarns.

A Team of Researchers at IIT Madras is ready with a prototype of suture thread made of Nanofiber Yarns.

Sutures with Nanofiber Yarns:

• It is bio-absorbable.

• It can deliver a higher load of antibiotics and/or therapeutics at the site itself.

• The suture material uses nanofibers woven as yarn using certain specific techniques, and the strength can be varied depending on the target tissue (skin, muscle, cartilage).

• Each strand has a good tensile strength, besides degrading rapidly and mimics the collagen fibrils of body tissues.

 • Several innovations globally in suture material have advanced infection control and achieved in some cases, better recovery among patients, even as other options such as staples, glues and strips have become available.

• Arti Sunil Richard, Research Scholar, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras, also worked on the project that won the ‘SITARE-Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (GYTI) Award 2020’

• The way the nanofibers mimicked the collagen fibril sparked the idea in a lab that primarily works on scaffold-based tissue engineering to create thread like structures by twisting nanofibers together using custom-made machinery.

• Several experiments were done to prove its compatibility, mechanical strength, stem cell interaction, immune responses, and antibacterial property, and they were compatible with prescribed norms in surgical procedure.

• The team also loaded the fibers to deliver drugs at site and it might be more suitable for internal sutures and on soft tissues.

• The bio absorbability aspect makes sure that the Sutures do not have to be Removed.

• Initial funding has been received for the project, and the team is looking for further Funding to Deliver surgery-ready Nanofiber yarn at Reasonable Costs.

Nanofiber Yarns:

• Nanofiber yarns are thread-like structures formed by twisting together hundreds of nanofibers.

• Nano-size fiber production by electrospinning has been a common application method recently.

• Generally, in this system, fibers are produced directly as a non-woven surface of fiber-web and this limits potential end-uses of these high Performance Fibers.

Inauguration of Atal Tunnel, Rohtang.

Atal Tunnel is going to be the longest highway tunnel in the World. The 9.02 Km long tunnel connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley throughout the year.

Earlier the valley was cut off for about 6 months each year owing to Heavy Snowfall.

• The Tunnel is built with ultra-modern specifications in the Pir Panjal range of Himalayas at an altitude of 3000 Mtrs (10,000 Feet) from the Mean Sea Level (MSL).

• The tunnel reduces the road distance by 46 Kms between Manali and Leh and the time by about 4 to 5 hours.

• The South Portal (SP) of Atal Tunnel is located at a distance of 25 Km from Manali at an altitude of 3060 Mtrs, while the North Portal (NP) of the tunnel is located near village Teling, Sissu, in Lahaul Valley at an altitude of 3071 Mtrs.

• It is horse shoe shaped, single tube double lane tunnel with a roadway of 8 Mtrs. It has an overhead clearance of 5.525 Mtrs.

• It is 10.5-metre wide and has a 3.6 x 2.25 Mtrs fire proof emergency egress tunnel built into the main tunnel itself.

• Atal Tunnel has been designed for traffic density of 3000 cars per day and 1500 trucks per day with max speed of 80 km/hr.

• It has the state-of-the-art electromechanical system including semi transverse ventilation system, SCADA controlled firefighting, illumination and monitoring system.

Background:

• The historic decision to construct a strategic tunnel below the Rohtang Pass was taken on June 03, 2000 when Vajpayee was the Prime Minister.

• The foundation stone for the Access Road to the South Portal of the tunnel was laid on May 26, 2002.

• The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) worked relentlessly to overcome major geological, terrain and weather challenges that included the most difficult stretch of the 587-metre Seri Nalah Fault Zone. The breakthrough from both ends was achieved on October 15, 2017.

• The Union Cabinet met on 24th December 2019 and decided to name the Rohtang Tunnel as Atal Tunnel to honour the contribution made by the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Key Safety Features of the Tunnel:

✓ Tunnel entry barriers at both portals.

✓ Telephone connections at every 150 Mtrs for emergency communication.

✓ Fire hydrant mechanisms at every 60 Mtrs.

✓ Auto incident detection system with CCTV cameras at every 250 Mtrs.

✓ Air quality monitoring at every 1 Km.

✓ Evacuation Lighting / Exit signs at every 25 Mtrs.

✓ Broadcasting System throughout the tunnel.

 

✓ Fire rated Dampers at every 50 Mtrs.

✓ Cameras at every 60 Mtrs.

Focus on UPSC mains.

China Seeks BRI Push to Bangladesh.

President Xi Jinping said he stands ready with Bangladesh leaders to better align the two countries’ strategies and jointly promote the construction of his multi-billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

• The Belt and Road Initiative, also known as the One Belt, One Road (OBOR) project was launched by the President Xi Jinping in 2013.

• The project intends to link Asia with Europe and Africa through an overland “belt” and a maritime silk “road”.

But it is more than that as it Involves:

✓ The export of Chinese capital, labour, technology.

✓ The use of the Yuan and

✓ The development of new ports, industrial hubs, special economic zones and military facilities, under Beijing’s auspices.

Why has China launched it?

• Bridging the Infrastructure Gap in Asia: According to China, the Belt and Road

Initiative will bridge the ‘infrastructure gap’ and thus accelerate economic growth across the Asia Pacific area and Central and Eastern Europe.

• Economic Motives of China: OBOR is aimed at boosting domestic growth in China which has slipped in recent years. In 2016 china grew by 6.7%which is the lowest since 1990. OBOR also provides china a market to sells its product especially Steel.

• Global Leadership: But some feel that BRI is more out of political motivation rather than real demand for infrastructure. It is a masterstroke by China to establish itself as a world-leading economy and to spread its power, particularly in the South Asian region at the expense of the US.

Why India has not Joined BRI?

• The primary objection is that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (part of BRI) passes through Gilgit-Baltistan region which India claims it's own hence India thinks that it ignores her “sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

 • BRI would lead to Chinese neo-colonialism causing unsustainable debt burden for communities and an adverse impact on the environment in the partner countries.

• Then, there is a lack of transparency in China’s agenda. Some experts believe that BRI is not just an economic project but one that China is promoting for political control.

• Besides Pakistan, where China initiated over $60 billion as part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), China has stepped up its huge infrastructure investments in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives rising concerns of its growing influence in India’s Immediate Neighbourhood.

Geo-Political Challenges Posed by BRI to India:

• China in Kashmir: China is gradually emerging the real third force in Kashmir. Since 1950s, China is in occupation of Aksai chin; In 1963, Pakistan ceded Trans-KarakoramTract to china; China’s first trans-border infrastructure project in Kashmir — the Karakoram Highway — dates back to the late 1960s and now it’s presence is increasing further with CPEC.

• China in South Asia: BRI will massively strengthen China’s commercial, economic, Political and Security influence in South Asia which could Marginalize India’s regional Primacy.

Way Ahead for India:

• Improve Infrastructure in Frontier Regions: Whether it is in Kashmir, Arunachal, the Andamans or the neighbourhood, India’s neglect of its frontier regions has weakened its regional position. Thus India need to improve infrastructure in frontier regions.

• Improve Internal Connectivity: India should remember that China’s BRI did not start out as an external initiative. It was built on the existing internal “Go West” strategy launched two decades ago, that has focused on unifying China’s domestic market and connecting its developed east coast with the interior provinces.

• Improve Connectivity with Neighbours: India should modernize connectivity across its land and maritime frontiers with its neighbours in the Subcontinent, South East Asia and the Gulf by completing projects in these regions.

• India can work with nations like Japan in developing regional connectivity. Japan has already outlined a Belt and Road initiative of its own, called the Partnership for Quality Infrastructure under which Japan has put up nearly $150 billion to support infrastructure projects all across the Indo-Pacific and Eurasia.

• India should also improve it's access to Europe by expediting projects like INSTC and others.

• On Participation in BRI: India must focus on debating the specific terms of individual projects rather than having to say “Yes” or “No” to the BRI as a whole.

 Inadequate Compensatory Afforestation.

Recently, a study on compensatory afforestation in lieu of forest diversion for development of projects in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district, only 10% of saplings said to be planted were actually found on the site and their survival rate was as low as 3.6%.

Data Analysis:

• It has been carried out by Himdhara Environment Research and Action Collective. It is based on government data and ground research and was conducted between 2012 and

2016.

• The Total area demarcated for compensatory afforestation was 1,930 ha in lieu of 984 ha of forest land diverted for non-forest activities, including roads, hydro-projects, transmission lines, etc.

• The Total diverted forest land in Kinnaur had 11,598 standing trees, belonging to 21 species.

• The Majority of the trees felled were coniferous, dominated by cedar (3,612 felled) and near-threatened chilgoza pines (2,743).

• Between 2002 and 2014, of the Rs.162.82 crore collected under Catchment Area Treatment (CAT) plan funds of Kinnaur’s projects, only 36% had been spent till 31st March

2014.

• CAT plan funds are budgeted as mitigation measures for hydroelectric power projects.

• More than 90% of the diversion of forest in Kinnaur takes place for the development of hydropower projects and transmission lines.

• Himachal Pradesh has the highest installed capacity of hydropower projects of 10,000 MW

in the country and located in Sutlej basin, Kinnaur is the state’s hydropower hub with 53 planned Hydropower Projects.

About Compensatory Afforestation:

• According to Compensatory Afforestation Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) rules, for every hectare of forest land diverted, double the area of ‘degraded’ lands are used as sites for ‘compensatory afforestation’.

• Every time forest land is diverted for non-forest purposes such as mining or industry, the user agency pays for planting forests over an equal area of non-forest land, or when such land is not available, twice the area of degraded forest land.

 • As per the rules, 90% of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) money is to be given to the states while 10% is to be retained by the Centre.

• The funds are used for CAT, assisted natural generation, forest management, wildlife protection and management, relocation of villages from protected areas, managing human-wildlife conflicts, training and awareness generation, supply of wood saving devices and allied activities.

Challenges:

• One of the reasons why the forest department is unable to fulfil the target is because there’s simply no land available for the compensatory afforestation.

• A large part of Kinnaur is rocky and a cold desert where nothing grows.

• Around 10% of the district is already forested and the rest is either used for agriculture or are grasslands.

• Many of the plots carved out for afforestation are actually grasslands which are used by the villagers for grazing cattle.

• In many instances, the villagers uproot the saplings because they do not want the grassland converted to a forest.

• This lack of land for afforestation means that once a forest has been felled, it is often lost permanently. The authorities only look at identifying plots of land where afforestation can take place just because it is mandated which makes the concept faulty.

• Socio-economic needs are not considered and there is also no monitoring of the afforestation as well.

• About Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority.

• It works as a national advisory council under the chairmanship of the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for monitoring, technical assistance and evaluation of compensatory Afforestation Activities.

• Objectives of CAMPA: To promote afforestation and regeneration activities as a way of compensating for forest land diverted to non-forest uses.

Way Ahead:

• There is a need to understand the adverse effects of deforestation and address it in a timely manner with adequate resources and sufficient monitoring and guidance.

• The state should encourage people’s participation allowing more connections between the people and the forests leading to better care and protection of the new Saplings and the Existing Trees.

 • Rapidly running out of space for compensatory afforestation, the Forest Department should carry out Plantations in other Districts in lieu of Forest Land Diverted in KINNAUR.

Comprehensive Current affairs 9 October 2020

Centre decides to fix jurisdiction of river boards.

The Centre will determine the jurisdictions of the Krishna and Godavari river management boards (KRMB and GRMB), Union Water Resources Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said on Tuesday.

He was speaking after convening an apex council meeting involving the Centre, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, the second since 2016. The meeting is primarily to resolve the conflict between the two States over executing irrigation projects and sharing water from the Krishna and Godavari rivers.

The key points on the agenda at Thursday’s meeting which was convened via videoconference are: jurisdiction of the KRMB and GRMB, submission of Detailed Project Reports (DPR) of new projects by the two governments for appraisal and sanction by the apex council, establishing a mechanism to determine the share of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the Krishna and Godavari waters, and shifting the headquarters of the Krishna River Management Board to Andhra Pradesh.

 The headquarters of the KRMB would be located in Andhra Pradesh, headded.With regards to sharing of river waters, the Telangana Chief Minister agreed to withdraw the case filed in Supreme Court, to allow the Centre to refer water sharing issues to the Krishna Godavari tribunal.

Regarding the sharing of Godavari waters, both the States were asked to send in their requests to the Centre so that it could refer them to the tribunal, a statement from the Water Resources Ministry said.

NCERT signs MoU to convert educational materials to sign language

A historic Memorandum of Understanding was signed today between Indian Sign Language Research and Training Center and NCERT to make education materials accessible for Deaf children in their preferred format of communication, Indian Sign Language.

•This MoU was signed in the virtual presence of Indian Social Justice and Empowerment Minister and Education Minister.

•The signing of this MoU is said to be a historic step as availability of NCERT textbooks in Indian Sign Language will ensure that Hearing Impaired children can also now access educational resources in Indian Sign Language.

•It will be a useful and much needed resource for Hearing Impaired students, teachers, teacher educators and parents. This MoU is a step towards achieving common goal of fulfilling needs of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and New Education Policy, 2020.

Saansad Aadarsh Gram Yojana.

As the number of gram panchayats identified by Members of Parliament under the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) remains “far below” the target, the Centre has directed State Govts.to ensure “diligent” Implementation of the scheme.

 Saansad Aadarsh Gram Yojana:

• Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) is a village development project launched by Govt. of India in October 2014, under which each Member of Parliament will take the responsibility of developing physical and institutional infrastructure in three villages by 2019.

• The goal is to develop three Adarsh Grams by March 2019, of which one would be achieved by 2016. Thereafter, five such Adarsh Grams (one per year) will be selected and developed by 2024.

Identification of Gram Panchayat:

• A Gram Panchayat would be the basic unit. It will have a population of 3000-5000 in plain areas and 1000-3000 in hilly, tribal and difficult areas. In districts where this unit size is not available, Gram Panchayats approximating the desirable population size may be chosen.

• The MP would be free to identify a suitable Gram Panchayat for being developed as Adarsh Gram, other than his/her own village or that of his/her spouse.

• The MP will identify one Gram Panchayat to be taken up immediately, and two others to be taken up a little later. Lok Sabha MP has to choose a Gram Panchayat from within his/her constituency and Rajya Sabha MP a Gram Panchayat from the rural area of a

district of his/her choice in the State from which he/she is elected.

• Nominated MPs may choose a Gram Panchayat from the rural area of any district in the country. In the case of urban constituencies, (where there are no Gram Panchayats), the MP will identify a Gram Panchayat from a nearby rural constituency.

• The Gram Panchayats once selected by members of Parliament (whose tenures have ended on account of resignation or otherwise) would be continued as such under SAGY irrespective of whether activities have already been initiated in the GP under SAGY or not.

• The Newly Elected MPs will have the option to select the GP of their choice and two more subsequently by 2019.

 • Primarily, the goal is to develop three Adarsh Grams by March 2019, of which one would be achieved by 2016. Thereafter, five such Adarsh Grams (one per year) will be selected and developed by 2024.

Performance of the Scheme:

• A study Commissioned by the Rural Development Ministry and conducted as part of the 5th common review mission observed that the SAGY has not made “any perceptible impact” and the villages selected under it cannot be called “model (adarsh) villages”.

• Major reasons found by the commission were – :

✓ Low selection of Panchayats

✓ Lack of Funds

✓ Limited Impact

✓ Poor Quality of Roads and Infrastructure.

India-Myanmar agree upon operationalization of Sittwe port.

India and Myanmar have agreed to work towards the operationalization of the Sittwe port in the Rakhine state in the first quarter of 2021. The announcement came post conclusion of the two-day visit of Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane and Foreign Secretary Harsh VardhanShringla to Myanmar.

The Indian delegation also presented 3000 vials of Remdesivir to the State Counsellor Aung San SuuKyi, as a symbol of cooperation between the countries to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both sides agreed to further strengthen their partnership in borderd security connectivity projects, capacity building, power and energy. They also agreed to deepen the economic and trade ties, further facilitate people to people and cultural exchanges and broad-base their defense exchanges across all the three services.

 They also discussed the progress in the ongoing Indian-assisted infrastructure projects such as the Trilateral Highway and the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project.

India announced a grant of two million US Dollars for the construction of the border haat bridge at Byanyu/Sarsichauk in Chin State that will provide increased economic connectivity between Mizoram and Myanmar.

India and U.S to work for stability of Indo-Pacific region.

External Affairs Minister of India Jaishankar met Secretary of State of the United States Mike Pompeo today ahead of his joint meeting with the Foreign Ministers of QUAD countries slated to be held later in the day.

•Jaishankar was on a two-day visit to Tokyo, Japan which began today. Jaishankar, in a tweet message, has said that he is pleased to see the progress of Indo-US partnership in many fields.

• Both the countries will work together for stability and prosperity in the Indo- Pacific. The Foreign Ministers of India, United States, Australia and Japan are likely to discuss the post-COVID-19 international order and the need for a coordinated response to the various challenges emerging from the pandemic.

•They will also discuss regional issues and collectively affirm the importance of maintaining a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.Jaishankar will be also meeting his Japanese and Australian counterpart for a bilateral consultation. The Ministers are expected to discuss bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest.

•AIR correspondent reports, the meeting of Foreign Ministers of India, United States, Australia and Japan holds high significance amid the global pandemic.This is the second time the four foreign ministers will be meeting after their first such meeting last year on the sidelines of the United Nations meet.

  •In addition to the Quad meeting, details are also being worked out for the India-US 22 dialogue.The crucial meet will also embolden one of the most powerful and decisive union of nations in the recent times.

Rating agency forecasts tough times for banks.

Fitch Ratings on Tuesday said Indian banks face a tough operating environment in the near term as stressed loans and write-offs increase due to the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Indian banks face a tough operating environment in the near term, as stressed loans and write-offs increase as a result of the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, but a swift economic recovery will be critical to limiting loan losses in what is likely to be a protracted period of weakness in the asset-quality cycle,” Fitch Ratings said.

Banks have been permitted by the Reserve Bank of India to undertake a one-time restructuring exercise of loans affected by the pandemic, which will provide relief in terms of bad loan recognition and provisioning, Fitch said.

“However, the exercise could leave the sector saddled with a high bad loan burden over the next few years if restructured loans do not perform according to agreed milestones,” it added. Fitch said the central bank’s data showed that Indian banks wrote off almost $85 billion over FY14-FY19.

Centre dedicated 42 CNG stations and 3 city gate stations.

India's Petroleum and Natural Gas dedicated 42 CNG stations and three City Gate Stations of Torrent Gas to the service of the community through video conference.

•Torrent Gas has the authorization to lay City Gas Distribution network in 32 Districts across 7 States and one Union Territory. These CNG stations are located across various states, including 14 in Uttar Pradesh, 8 in Maharashtra, 6 in Gujarat, 4 in Punjab and 5 each in Telangana and Rajasthan.

• GoI has visualized that consumers, as per their purchasing capacity and their choice of fuel, should be able to buy any type of fuel from the retail outlet- be it petrol, diesel, CNG, LNG or

electric charging. He also said that the Government wants to supply fuel through the mobile dispensers so that consumers can get the fuel at their doorstep, as per their convenience.

•India is going to become the largest energy consumer in the world in the coming years.

In the Solar energy sector, India has already become the role model. Mr Pradhan said that an investment of more than four lakh crore rupees is being made in the gas infrastructure which includes laying of pipelines, terminals and gas fields.

National Butterfly Campaign .

Citizen campaign to drum up support for identifying a national butterfly has gained Momentum with close to half a lakh people joining the Movement from across the country.

• Spearheaded by butterfly researchers, scientists and enthusiasts, the National Butterfly Campaign has revived focus on the relevance of butterflies in enhancing biodiversity.

• Several countries, including Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia and Bhutan, have national butterflies.

• India is yet to designate a national butterfly despite being home to over 1,300 species belonging to six butterfly families.

• As part of identifying butterfly species that could make it to the coveted status, the National Butterfly Campaign Consortium prepared a long-list of 50 butterflies that was further trimmed to seven.

• A country-wide online poll that commenced on September 11 to identify the most-favoured butterfly species has currently generated 42,090 votes, with Maharashtra recording thehighest number — 16,210. Several people have also cast their votes in West Bengal (3,029) and Karnataka (2,435), while 786 from Kerala have also Joined the Campaign.

Key Contenders:

• Krishna Peacock (Papilio krishna), Indian Jezebel or Common Jezebel (Delias eucharis), Orange Oakleaf (Kallima inachus), Five-bar Swordtail (Graphium antiphates), Indian Nawab, Yellow

 Gorgon and Northern Junglequeen (Stichophthalma camadeva) are the Contenders for the Premier Position.

Virus researchers to receive nobel prize for medicine.

Two Americans and a Briton won the 2020 Nobel Prize for Medicine on Monday for identifying the Hepatitis C virus, in work spanning decades that has helped to limit the spread of the fatal disease and develop antiviral drugs to cure it.

•The discoveries by scientists Harvey J. Alter, Charles M. Rice and Briton Michael Houghton meant there was now a chance of eradicating the Hepatitis C virus.

•The three share the 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.1 million) award for discovering and proving that a blood -borne virus could cause Hepatitis C, which afflicts more than 70 million people and causes about 4,00,000 deaths each year.

•This virus, belonging to the Flavivirus family, was named Hepatitis C.Its identification made it possible to develop tests to screen bloodbank supplies and greatly reduce the spread of the disease, which can cause cirrhosis and liver cancer.

•The final piece of the jigsaw puzzle came when Dr. Rice, then at Washington University in St. Louis, was able to use genetic engineering to generate a version of the Hepatitis C virus and demonstrate that it alone could cause symptoms in a chimpanzee comparable to an infection in humans.

Focus on UPSC Mains:

Six states want 6k sq. km to be Taken Off Western Ghats Eco Zone.

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has expressed concern after six states asked the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change to whittle down the size of eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) under the ecologically fragile Western Ghats by 6,386.65 sq km.

 • In 2014, the then MoEF issued a draft notification declaring 56,825 sq km in the Western Ghats as ESZ.

Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZ):

• Areas around protected areas to prevent ecological damage caused due to developmental activities around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.

• MoEFCC can designate any area as ESZ.

• Environment Protection Act, 1986 does not mention the word Eco-sensitive Zones.

• Act says that central government can prohibit or restrict the location of industries & carrying on certain operations on basis of considerations like:

✓ Biological Diversity of an Area,

✓ Maximum allowable limits of concentration of pollutants for an area,

✓ Environmentally compatible land use, and

✓ Proximity to Protected Areas.

• This clause have been used by govt. to ESZ or Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFA) & No Development Zones.

• MoEFCC has approved guidelines laying down criteria for declaring ESAs, include:

✓ Species Based (Endemism, Rarity etc),

✓ Ecosystem Based (Sacred Groves, Frontier Forests etc.,) and

✓ Geomorphologic Feature based (Uninhabited Islands, Origins of Rivers etc).

Western Ghats:

• The Western Ghats are also known as Sahyadri.

 • Western Ghats run around 1.6 lakh sq. km, from Kanyakumari to Gujarat and spread across six states. 

• Western Ghats is a treasure trove of biodiversity and source of major rivers, including Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery.

• The hills of this area run parallel to the western coast of the Indian peninsula and span Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

• The area is an important biological landscape and hosts a variety of endemic species of Flora and Fauna.

• Alongside such biodiversity, the Ghats also support about 50 million people.

• The range runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain ‘Konkan’ along the Arabian Sea.

• The range starts near the Songadh town of Gujarat and ends at Marunthuvazh Malai, near the Southern Tip of India.

• The Western Ghats are older than the Himalayas.

• It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the world’s ten hottest biodiversity hotspots. At least 325 globally threatened species occur in the Western Ghats.

• They influence Indian monsoon weather patterns by intercepting the rain-laden monsoon winds that sweep in from the south-west during late summer.

Kasturirangan Committee:

• The Kasturirangan committee was headed by Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan, former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation.

• This committee’s report watered down the focus on preserving the environment and recommended that only 37% of the Western Ghats region be classified as an ESA.

• The report essentially split the Ghats into two landscapes – cultural and ecological, with the percentage of ecological landscape standing at 37%.

• The report removed the system of gradation recommended by the Gadgil commission.

• Instead, the former banked on an existing system of ‘red’, ‘orange’ and ‘green’ categorization of activities according to their polluting effects.

• Kasturirangan recommended that ‘red’ category industries (like mining and quarrying) be banned, ‘orange’ ones (like food processing, hotels and restaurants, automobile servicing) be regulated and ‘green’ (like processing of grains, apparel-making) be allowed to function as usual. With respect to activities like sand-mining and Quarrying, which fall in the ‘red’ category, the Kasturirangan report provided some relief: existing operations would be allowed to continue until their lease expired but that the lease would not be renewed.

• However, conservationists had issues with the dilutions of the Gadgil report. Because only 37% of the Western Ghats were to be regarded as an ESA, the threat posed to the region by developmental activities like hydropower projects remained because they could be setup in the remaining 63%, and still fragment and degrade the landscape.

• The Kasturirangan report was submitted to the environment ministry in 2013 and was quickly met with resistance from politicians as well as members of local communities.

Polygraph and Narcoanalysis tests

The Uttar Pradesh government has recently decided to conduct polygraph and narcoanalysis tests of the accused and all Involved Police Personnel as part of the investigation into the Alleged gangrape and murder of a 19-year old in Hathras last month.

About Polygraph or Lie Detector Test:

• It is a procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a person is asked and answers a series of Questions.

 • It is based on the assumption that physiological responses that are triggered when a person is lying are different from what they would be otherwise.

• A Numerical value is assigned to each response to conclude whether the person is telling the Truth, is Deceiving, or is Uncertain.

• It is similar to Polygraph was first done in the 19th century by the Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso, who used a machine to measure changes in the blood pressure of criminal suspects during interrogation.

About Narcoanalysis Test:

• It involves the injection of a drug, sodium pentothal, which induces a hypnotic or sedated state in which the subject’s imagination is neutralized, and they are expected to divulge information that is true.

• Its drug is also referred to as truth serum, was used in larger doses as anesthesia during surgery, and is said to have been used during World War II for intelligence operations.

•The investigating agencies have sought to employ these tests in the investigation,and are sometimes seen as being a softer alternative to torture or “third degree” to extract the truth from suspects. Brain Mapping Test or P-300 test is the activity of the brain of a suspect is measured during interrogation to find out whether he is concealing Any Information.

Limitations:

• None of these methods has been proven scientifically to have a 100% success rate, and remain contentious in the medical field as well.

• The consequences of such tests on individuals from weaker sections of society who are unaware of their fundamental rights and unable to afford legal advice can be adverse.

• It may involve future abuse, harassment, and surveillance, even leakage of the video material to the Press for a trial by the media.

 Important Constitutional Aspects:

• In the Selvi vs State of Karnataka & Anr case (2010), the Supreme Court ruled that no lie detector tests should be administered without the consent of the accused.

• Also, those who volunteer must have access to a lawyer and have the physical, emotional, and legal implications of the test explained to them by police and the lawyer.

• The results of the tests cannot be considered to be "confessions", but any information or material subsequently discovered with the help of such a voluntarily-taken test can be admitted as evidence

• The SC cited Article 20 (3) or Right against self-incrimination which states that no accused can be compelled to be a witness against himself.

• In the D.K. Basu vs. State of West Bengal case, 1997, the SC ruled that involuntary administration of the polygraph and narcos test will amount to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment in the context of Article 21 or the Right to Life and Liberty.

• It may also be violative of the Right to Privacy which is a part of the Right to Life.

• The Indian Evidence Act, 1871 does not admit the results of these tests as evidence.

• The National Human Rights Commission in 1999 adopted a set of guidelines relating to the administration of the Polygraph Test which included consent, recording of the test, etc.

Way Ahead:

• The government should encourage the use of scientific techniques in the otherwise long investigative procedures and trials but should also come up with strict rules for their use in a decent, and Consensual Manner.

• These methods cannot be used as incriminating evidence or confessions due to their limited Reliability and scientific proofs. They can be used as useful tools to solve Complicated Cases as Investigative Tools.