Comprehensive Current affairs 11 October 2020

 EC revises norms concerning star campaigners for elections.

With a view to ensuring the conduct of free, fair, peaceful, transparent, ethical and safe elections during COVID-19, the Election Commission has revised the norms concerning star campaigners for all ongoing and future elections during the period of pandemic COVID-19.

•In the revised norms, the Commission said the maximum limit on the number of star campaigners for recognized National and State political parties will be 30 in place of 40 and for unrecognized registered political parties it will be 15 in place of 20.

•It said, the period of submission of the list of star campaigners is extended from 7 days to 10 days from the date of notification.Political parties, which have already submitted list of star campaigners will resubmit a revised list within the stipulated period.

•It said, request for permission for the campaigning by star campaigners are to be submitted to the district election authorities at least 48 hours before the start of campaign so that all necessary safety measures are put in place well in time.

 •The Election Commission has asked the Chief Electoral Officer of all the States and Union Territories to give wide publicity through media and inform all National, State and other registered political parties. These revised norms will come into effect immediately.

Modi hails investment opportunities in India.

Indian PM Modi has hailed the trinity reforms in the field of labour, education and agriculture and asserted that India undertook structural reforms amidst the global pandemic to usher in revolutionary changes in the country.

•Addressing the Invest India Conference in Canada through video conferencing on Modi said the reforms introduced by the government have resulted in substantial improvement in the country's ranking in terms of ease of doing business.

•Highlighting the key markers of the huge surge in FDI in the country during 2019, he said the country has decriminalized many provisions in the Companies Act.

•Modi said the country emerged as a Pharmacy center of the world during the pandemic and extended assistance to over 150 countries around the world by ensuring supplies of life saving drugs.

•Underlining the change in mindset and perception of every one regarding the country, he said, India has all the necessary vitals which make it a lucrative investment destination.

• Modi said, the vibrant democracy, stability of government, transparency in business and availability of large market in the country ensures predictable return for all the Investors.

Crime in India report 2019 saw the increase in crime rate.

According to the annual Crime in India 2019 report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the crimes in SC, ST category saw an increase of 25.7% as compared to 2018.

Highlights of the Report:

 • Crime against Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) saw an increase of over 7% and 26% respectively in year 2019 compared to 2018.

• Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of crimes against SCs in 2019, followed Rajasthan and Bihar.

Rape Cases:

• In the number of cases of rape of women belonging to SCs, Rajasthan topped the list with 554 cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of cases against STs as it recorded followed by Rajasthan and Odisha.

Cognizable Crimes:

• A total of cognizable crimes comprising Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Special and Local Laws (SLL) crimes showed an increase of 1.6% in registration of cases over 2018.

• An increase of 7.3% cases of crime against women were registered in 2019 compared to 2018.

Cybercrimes Increased by 63.5% in 2019.

• In 2019, 60.4% of cybercrime cases registered were for the motive of fraud, followed by Sexual Exploitation and causing disrepute with 4.2%.CHRI Statement:

• The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), a police reforms advocacy group, said few cases were being registered for specific discriminatory action against SCs and STs.

Crimes against SCs and STs Include categories:

• Atrocities committed by non-SC/ST members under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act), 1989.

• Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955.

 Modi meets Afghan peace negotiator .

Afghanistan's top peace negotiator Abdullah Abdullah today met PM Modi. Ongoing peace initiative to bring back stability in the war-ravaged Afghanistan was discussed by the leaders.

•External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson said Modi reaffirmed India's long term commitment to further deepen ties with Afghanistan.Mr Abdullah is in Delhi on a five-day visit as part of the efforts to build a regional consensus and support for the Afghan peace process.

• Despite of not accepting Taliban as the political stakeholder of Afghanistan India is now believed to support a national peace and reconciliation process which is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled.

•On September 12, an Indian delegation attended the inaugural ceremony of the intra-Afghan negotiations in Doha while External Affairs Minister of India Jaishankar joined it through video conference.

5Turkey's reopening of Northern Cyprus beach sparks controversy.

Turkey's decision to reopen parts of Varosha, a seaside resort in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north of Cyprus, has raised concerns both locally and internationally, days before an election in Northern Cyprus.

•President Nicos Anastasiades of Cyprus' Greek-majority south called the opening a "flagrant violation of international law and the resolutions of the UN Security Council." Cyprus' close ally Greece has also warned that the issue will be raised with the European Union.

•Varosha was abandoned in 1974 when Turkey invaded Cyprus, dividing the island along ethnic lines. For years before that, Varosha had been Cyprus' premier resort with a mile-long stretch of beach. Now, it looks like a ghost town with trees growing out of abandoned buildings facing the sea.

•While some Turkish Cypriots hailed the move, Greek Cypriots carried out protests against the reopening of the region across the UN buffer zone.

 •With Turkish Cypriot troops manning the site, the beach has now been reopened just three days before Turkish Cypriots elect a new leader who will represent them in peace talks facilitated by the United Nations.

•Some say that the move may be an attempt by Turkey to sway the upcoming elections in the favor of nationalist leader and Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersin Tatar, who announced the reopening after consulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.He is set to challenge incumbent President Mustafa Akinci, who has criticized this move.

GoI starts procurement of Kharif crops at MSP.

Government has started procurement of Kharif Crops at Minimum Support Price (MSP) in full swing.

•So far, approval has been accorded for procurement of over 20 lakh 37 thousand metric tonne of paddy benefitting nearly 1 lakh 70 thousand farmers across the country.

•The procurement this year has been reported to be 33 per cent higher than the corresponding time span last year. Government has disbursed around 3 thousand 850 crore rupees to the farmers in lieu of the procurements.

•Based on the proposal from the States, approval has also been accorded for procurement of 30 lakh 70 thousand metric tonnes of Pulses and Oilseeds for Kharif Marketing Season 2020 from the States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

•Government through its Nodal Agencies has also procured over 376 metric tonne of Moong having MSP value of 2 crore 71 lakh rupees benefitting farmers in Tamil Nadu and Haryana.

•Approval for procurement of Kharif Crops is also being accorded to various other States and Union Territories on receipt of their proposal for agricultural produces as per the Price Support Scheme.

 Indo-French satellites to trace illegal oil spillage by ships.

The constellation of maritime surveillance satellites for the Indian Ocean Region, to be jointly launched by India and France, will be able to trace illegal spillage of oil by ships, a senior French space agency CENS official said on Sunday.

In August last year, CNES and ISRO committed to developing and building a constellation of satellites carrying telecommunications and radar and optical remote-sensing instruments, constituting the first space-based system in the world capable of tracking ships continuously.

•After a successful design phase led by a joint team of ISRO-CNES, the satellite is now set to enter its development phases in the coming months, the official said.

BrahMos surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile.

India test-fired an extended-range BrahMos surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile that can hit targets 400km away.

BrahMos Test:

• The range has been increased from the existing 290km.

• The extended-range variant was tested from the Integrated Test Range at Balasore in Odisha.

• The test has cleared the decks for India to induct a second class of supersonic, long-range tactical cruise missiles, propelled by a liquid-fuelled booster capable of Hitting targets over 500km away.

• The missile featured an indigenous booster and air-frame section along with many other ‘Made in India’ sub-systems.

• The missile was tested for the second time.

• The missile cruised at a top speed of Mach 2.8 (nearly three times the speed of sound).

• The configuration of the existing missile – the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile —has been tweaked to enhance its range.

 •According to experts, the next class of Indian cruise missiles will be based on solid-fuelled ducted ramjet (SFDR) technology, which can be used for air-to-air missiles as well as long-range supersonic cruise missiles. The technology has been tested by the DRDO twice — on May 30,2018, and February 8, 2019.

Significance of the Test:

• The significance of the BrahMos test from a mobile launcher was that the cruise missile reached 75% indigenisation with India now having the capability to design the airframe as well as an indigenous liquid-fuelled booster.

• BrahMos missiles are already deployed in the Ladakh theatre along with a limited number of 1,000km range Nirbhay subsonic cruise missiles to counter the missiles and rockets deployed by the Chinese army in Tibet and Xinjiang.

• The two armies are locked in a tense standoff in the Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

• The successful launch has paved the way for the serial production of the indigenous booster and other indigenous components of the Powerful Weapon System.

BrahMos Missile:

• The missile is an Indo-Russian joint venture.

• The first supersonic cruise missile system known to be in service.

• The BrahMos is a multi-stage missile having a solid propellant in the first stage and the ramjet liquid propellant in the second stage.

• It has land, air and naval variants.

• The missile is capable of carrying a conventional as well as nuclear warhead of 300 kilograms.

• It operates on ‘Fire and Forget Principle’ by adopting varieties of flights on its way to the target.

 • It approaches the enemy target with a top speed of Mach 2.8, which is about three times faster than the US subsonic Tomahawk Cruise Missile System.

• The missile derives its name from the names of two rivers, namely the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.

• India is also working on a hypersonic missile, BrahMos-II (K), capable of taking out hardened targets such as underground bunkers and weapon storage facilities at seven times the speed of sound (Mach 7) or 8,575 kmph.

Methane is responsible for a quarter of global warming occurred since the 1850s. Resarch .

Raising livestock, increase in coal mining, landfills, and oil and gas production were the specific activities linked to the greatest increases, according Global Carbon Project.

• Wetlands contributed the most of the emissions, at 30 per cent, while oil, gas and coal activities accounted for 20 per cent of the emissions. Agriculture made up 24 per cent of the emissions, while landfills were responsible for 11 per cent.

• Tropical regions in three continents Africa, Asia and South America were responsible for 64 per cent of the entire planet’s emissions, while temperate regions and the Arctic contributed to 32 per cent and four per cent respectively.

• Water-logged soil once it begins to thaw creates conditions ideal for methane production.

• Emissions increased nine per cent compared to the last decade.

• While methane emissions briefly stabilized between 2000 and 2006, concentrations of the gas in the atmosphere now exceed 1,875 parts per billion or about 2.5 times that from the 1850s.

Global Carbon Project:

• The GCP is a Global Research Project of Future Earth and a research partner of the World Climate Research Programme.

 • Established in 2001, its projects include global budgets for three dominant greenhouse gases CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide and complementary efforts in urban, regional, cumulative, and Negative Emissions.

• The main object of the group has been to fully understand the carbon cycle.

• It collaborates with many groups to gather, analyze, and publish data on greenhouse gas emissions in an open and transparent fashion, making datasets available on its website and through its Publications.

• It releases the Global Carbon Atlas (established in 2013) a tool for visualising data related to the Global Carbon Cycle.

Joshua Cheptegei sets 10000m world record.

Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei smashed the men’s 10,000m world record on Wednesday at the Valencia World Record Day, crossing the line in a stunning 26 minutes 11.02 seconds to take six seconds off a 15-year-old record.

Cheptegei, 24, broke the previous mark of 26:17:53, set by Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele, at a special event in a near-empty Turia stadium here as only 400 people including sponsors, journalists and staff were allowed in.

Focus on UPSC Mains:

Eco Disaster Unfolding on Kamchatka Beach.

According to a report, an ‘Ecological Disaster’ of sorts is unfolding on a black volcanic beach of the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East.

What is the Matter?

• Three weeks ago, surfers on the Khalaktyrsky beach outside Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the largest town in Kamchatka, had reported of burning eyes, throat ache, headache, fever and a fear of losing eyesight on emerging from the water.

 • Then, sea animals begin to die in large numbers, their bodies littering the beach.

• These included octopuses, seals, sea urchins, stars, crabs and fish.

• Examination of the sea water by the administration has shown that levels of phenols and oil compounds have spiked.

• The river displayed a yellow colour.

• There is a training camp of the Russian military upstream. Another theory being speculated is that ships carrying oil in the vicinity had leaked it into the sea water.

• Kamchatka is a UNESCO world heritage site.

Temperatures in Antarctic Peninsula Highest in 30 years:

• Temperatures in 2020 on the Antarctic Peninsula, the northernmost tip of the Antarctic continent, have been the highest in nearly three decades, a study by researchers from the University of Santiago de Chile has found.

• Temperatures reached between two and three degrees Celsius on the peninsula between January and August, according to a report on science and environment website.

• That is “more than two degrees Celsius over typical values”, according to researchers.

• This was an alarming development since it could indicate that the ocean in the area was once again warming, According to Scientists.

• The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA’s Terra satellite has photographed the enormous amount of Andes mountain sediment deposited by the Amazon river into the Atlantic Ocean.

• Most of the sediment that the Amazon carried to the Atlantic came from three rivers flowing in the western part of the basin, namely the Maranon, the Ucayali and Mamoré.

 • Some 1.3 million tonnes of rock, soil and clay are deposited by the Amazon into the Atlantic every year.

Kamchatka Peninsula:

• Kamchatka is 900 miles long and it is closer to Alaska than it is to Moscow.

• Kamchatka contains the highest concentration of active volcanoes in the world, as well as freezing winters that are braved by nomadic reindeer herders.

• The volcanoes have been incorporated into an extensive UNESCO World Heritage Site that is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including brown bears, sea otters and sea eagles.

• This peninsula has over 150 volcanoes and 29 out of them are active.

• It has a group of 19 volcanoes known as Volcanoes of Kamchatka which is UNESCO World Heritage Site.

• It has many volcanoes, geysers, hot springs and even a lake of acid.

• The region’s extensive network of rivers and proximity to the Sea of Okhotsk and Pacific Ocean allows it to play host to the largest variety of salmonid species on earth, including the Sockeye Salmon.

Lokpal and Lokayukta.

The Justice Prafulla Kumar Misra has recently retired from the post of Goa Lokayukta and has highlighted the issues related to the state office and the proceedings.

About Lokpal and Lokayukta:

• Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013: It provides the establishment of Lokpal for the Union and Lokayukta for States.

 • The "India Against Corruption Movement" led by Anna Hazare put pressure on the then government at the Centre and resulted in the passing of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2013, in both the Houses of Parliament.

• It received assent from the President on 1st January 2014 and came into force on 16th January 2014. The term Lokpal and Lokayukta were coined by Dr L. M. Singhvi.

• These institutions are statutory bodies without any constitutional status. They perform the function of an "ombudsman” and inquire into allegations of corruption against certain public functionaries and for related matters.

About Goa Lokayukta Act:

• Before the enactment of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 itself, many states had already set up the institution of Lokayuktas.

• It was sent to the Central government in 2003 and passed in the Assembly only in October 2011, after it was reintroduced.

• It is modelled upon Karnataka and Kerala’s Lokayukta Acts but with less strict provisions.

• It is intended to remove grievances of individual(s) against maladministration of government officials.

• A complaint under this Act can be filed either on the basis of an allegation or on the basis of the Grievance.

• During his tenure, the office of the Lokayukta received 191 cases, 133 of which were disposed of. Among the 58 pending cases are 21 in which he sent reports to the government, but the state government has not acted and Action Taken Reports are still awaited.

• His recommendations included initiation of disciplinary action, transfer, probe into mishandled funds, misuse of powers of ministers and bureaucrats, detailed investigation by the Anti- Corruption Bureau or a declaration that an elected functionary is unfit to hold office.

 Highlights:

• Officials stalled preliminary enquiry by avoiding registering an FIR and hence many cases went to Lokayukta because of that.

• He referred to the Supreme Court’s Lalita Kumari versus Government of Uttar Pradesh judgment (2013) where the court has clearly said that whenever anyone comes to the police station and makes a complaint of a cognisable offence the police officer is bound to register an FIR, under the Section 154 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

• His reports were indicative of the lack of governance, irrespective of any party of power of the day and highlighted bureaucratic apathy and apathy of politicians.

• The state act does not have the powers of the prosecution that the Karnataka and Kerala Acts have, nor does it have a provision for contempt of the Lokayukta’s orders.

• Lokayukta has an investigation wing in which police officers are supposed to be deputed however, it lacked an adequate number of qualified personnel.

Suggestions:

• Power of Prosecution:Under Section 17 of the Goa Lokayukta Act, the power to prosecute should be given to the Lokayukta.

• It is there in Karnataka and Kerala acts but not present in Goa Act, where it is under ‘initiation of Prosecution’ and says that if the Lokayukta notices that an offence has been committed, then (s)he may pass an order and the appropriate authority “shall” initiate prosecution against the public functionary.

• The initiation of prosecution should not be left to the discretion and the “shall” here means that the opinion of the Lokayukta is mandatory to be followed.

• About Power to Punish on Contempt: While making the rules, the Act should have been included with the power to punish on contempt of the orders of Lokayukta, which is still not available under the rules of the Act.

 • Increased Commitment: The Act requires a retired Chief Justice or a retired Supreme Court judge to be appointed as the Lokayukta. It means, whoever comes and joins would have taken the oath twice and joining the Lokayukta office will be the third oath, tripling the commitment.

• He must be true to the oath and continue to be committed to discharging the duty without fear or favour, affection or ill will.

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.