Comprehensive Current affairs 6 December 2020

Global Teacher Prize 2020.

A primary school teacher from Maharashtra won $1 million annual Global Teacher Prize 2020.

He was awarded in recognition of his efforts to promote girls' education and trigger a quick-response (QR) coded textbook revolution in India.

This annual prize was founded by the Varkey Foundation (global charitable foundation) in 2014 to recognise an exceptional teacher who has made outstanding contribution to the profession.

ADIP Camp.

The Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment inaugurated an ADIP camp to provide Aids & Assistive devices to 1398 Divyangjan of Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu virtually.

• The camp was organized by Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO), Kanpur.

Scheme of Assistance to Disabled Persons (ADIP Scheme):

• The ADIP Scheme is in operation since 1981.

Objective:

✓ To assist the needy disabled persons in procuring durable, sophisticated and scientifically manufactured, modern, standard aids and appliances.

✓ Assistive Devices are given to o Persons with disabilities (PwDs) to improve their independent functioning and to arrest the extent of disability and occurrence of Secondary Disability.

Other Features:

• The scheme envisages conduct of corrective surgeries, wherever required, before providing an Assistive Device.

Initiatives for Disabled People in India:

1. Educational Upliftment:

✓ Under Rights of Person with Disabilities Act, 2016:

✓ Every disabled child between 6 to 18 years have right to free education.

✓ Persons with disabilities are provided reservation of seats in government higher educational institutions (at least 5%) and government jobs (at least 4%).

✓ National Fellowship for Students with Disabilities (RGMF).

✓ Under the Scheme, 200 Fellowships per year are granted to students with disability.

2. Economic Empowerment:

✓ National Action Plan for skill training of Divyangjan (financial assistance is provided for skill training for persons with disabilities)

✓ National Handicapped and Financial Development Corporation (set up in 1997 to assist the disabled persons by providing concessional loan for Economic and Educational Empowerment.)

3. Social empowerment and rehabilitation:

✓ Accessible India Campaign (launched in 2015 to make a barrier-free and conducive environment for Divyangjans (i.e., disabled-friendly buildings))

✓ DeenDayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS) (promote Voluntary Action for Persons with Disabilities)

✓ Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/fitting of Aids and Appliances (ADIP) (assist the needy disabled persons in procuring durable, sophisticated and scientifically manufactured, modern, standard aids and appliances)

✓ Schemes of the National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy.

Karnataka Learning Management System.

It was launched by Karnataka Government.

It is implemented in two ways: LMS-based digital learning and establishing 2500 ICT enabled classes covering government first grade colleges, polytechnics and engineering colleges.

It encourages digital learning and would improve the quality and Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education.

This would benefit students and teachers to make an impact on their learning and teaching, respectively, hence improving quality of higher education.

National Maritime Domain Awareness (NDMA) Centre.

Recently, the Navy’s Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC), the nodal agency for maritime data fusion set up after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. It will soon become a National Maritime Domain Awareness (NDMA) Centre.

Highlights:

• The Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) is extremely challenging since India is located in one of the busiest maritime traffic regions of the world.

• The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is the commercial highway for large traffic and critical for the prosperity of many nations. Hence, threats such as maritime terrorism, piracy, trafficking, illegal fishing etc. are required to be kept subdued at all times.

• It is defined by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as the effective understanding of anything associated with the maritime domain that could impact the security, safety, economy, or environment.

• The maritime domain is defined as all areas and things of, on, under, relating to, adjacent to, or bordering on a sea, ocean, or other navigable waterway, including all maritime-related activities,

• India joined the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) as Observer. The Commission is an important regional institution in Western/African Indian Ocean.

• The Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean region (IFC-IOR) was set up within the premises of the IMAC to coordinate with regional countries on maritime security and act as a regional repository of maritime data.

• It will be a multi-agency centre and provide information to various stakeholders, from the fisheries department to local policing authorities on development or movements across the coast. This will make sure that any risk, especially transnational can be prevented.

About Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC):

• It is the main center of the Indian Navy for coastal surveillance and monitoring. It is located in Gurugram (Haryana) and became operational in 2014.

• It is a joint initiative of Indian Navy, Coast Guard and Bharat Electronics Ltd. and functions under the National Security Adviser (NSA).

• It is the nodal center of the National Command Control Communications and Intelligence Network (NC3I Network).

• It tracks vessels on the high seas and gets data from the coastal radars, white shipping agreements, Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) transponders fitted on merchant ships, air and traffic management systems and global shipping databases. Its functions in line with the principles listed under 'Security and Growth of All in the Region (SAGAR)'.

About White Shipping Agreement:

• It refers to an exchange of relevant advance information on the identity and movement of commercial non-military merchant vessels.

• Ships are classified into white (commercial ships), grey (military vessels), and black (illegal vessels).

• Automatic Identification System is an automated tracking system installed on all commercial vessels of specific tonnage.

• All fishing vessels more than 20m long were mandated to have AIS transponders installed, while efforts are on to have such a system on under 20m fishing vessels as well.

• It conducted a coastal security workshop for BIMSTEC countries. During the MT New Diamond (vessel) fire incident off the coast of Sri Lanka, IFC-IOR played a key role in the early Mobilization of resources that resulted in a Quick Reaction.

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan Scheme.

A review meeting regarding the progress of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan Scheme (UBA) was recently held Via Videoconferencing.

Highlights:

• Efforts should be made to maximise the number of Higher Educational Institutions under the scheme in order to benefit More Villages.

• UBA should be used in sensitizing the school teachers regarding National Education Policy, 2020.

• Need for a portal was highlighted which will serve as an interactive platform for different institutions wherein they can share success stories and motivate each other.

• Carry out a state-wise study and set targets regarding the parameters under UBA such as improvement in Literacy, Healthcare etc.

About Unnat Bharat Abhiyan:

 • It is a flagship program of the Ministry of Education. It was launched in 2014.

• It aims to link the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) 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.

• It covers two major domains for holistic development of villages – human development and material (economic) development - in an integrated way.

• Its objective is to engage the faculty and students of 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 is the upgraded version of UBA 1.0. It was launched in 2018.

• UBA 1.0 or UBA Phase-1 was the Invitation Mode in which Participating Institutions were invited to be a part of UBA.

• Whereas UBA 2.0 is the Challenge Mode of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan programme where all HEIs are required to willingly adopt at least 5 villages. Currently, UBA 2.0 Mode is going on.

India votes to reclassify cannabis.

India has voted with the majority at the United Nations to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from the list of most dangerous substances from Schedule IV of 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

Convention allows for control over trafficking in narcotics, marijuana, cocaine and coca leaf.

India had signed and ratified the convention.

 Now, the decision by UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) will lead to changes in the way cannabis is regulated internationally.

Under India's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, the production, manufacture, possession, sale, purchase, transport, and use of cannabis is a punishable offence.

Muni bond.

The Muni Bonds are issued by the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) listed on the BSE.

It raising Rs 200 crore for Uttar Pradesh's capital. It’s the ninth city in the country to raise capital through municipal bonds.

Chief Minister informed that it will be the next to issue a municipal issue and it will be followed by Pragyaraj, Varanasi, Agra and Kanpur.

LMC’s bond issuance, launched on November 13, offered coupon of 8.5 per cent and had tenure of 10 years.

The issuance had garnered 4.5 times subscription.

2020 SO.

NASA has confirmed that the Near-Earth Object called 2020 SO is the rocket booster that helped lift the space agency’s Surveyor spacecraft toward the Moon in 1966.

The Surveyor-2 spacecraft was supposed to make a soft landing on the Moon’s surface in September 1966, during which time one of the three thrusters failed to ignite as a result of which the spacecraft started spinning and crashed on the surface.

The aim of the mission was to reconnoiter the lunar surface ahead of the Apollo missions that led to the first lunar landing in 1969.

While the spacecraft crashed into the Moon’s surface, the rocket booster disappeared into an unknown orbit around the Sun.

Fluorosis.

Fluorosis is a crippling disease resulted from deposition of fluorides in the hard and soft tissues of body.

It is a public health problem caused by excess intake of fluoride through drinking water/food products/industrial pollutants over a long period.

Ingestion of excess fluoride, most commonly in drinking-water affects the teeth and bones.

Emergency Use Authorisation.

Various pharmaceutical companies have applied for emergency use authorisation for their COVID-19 vaccines.

Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA):

• EUA is a mechanism to grant interim regulatory approvals where sufficient evidence is available to suggest a medical product is safe and effective.

• Generally, to ensure medicines, vaccines, diagnostic tests and medical devices are safe to be administered, there is a long-drawn regulatory approval process.

• However, during public health emergencies such as COVID pandemic, countries have developed a fast-tracked regulatory approval process to approve vaccines and medicines for public use, this is called EUA.

• However, final approval is granted only after completion of the trials and analysis of full data.

EUA in the US:

• In the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) grants a EUA.

• EUA can be considered only after sufficient efficacy data from phase 3 trials had been generated.

• A EUA cannot be granted solely based on data from phase 1 or phase 2 trials, although these too need to show the product is safe.

 • Here, EUA has been granted for Tamiflu to treat H1N1.

EUA in India:

• In India, the regulatory authority is the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation

(CDSCO). India’s drug regulations do not have provisions for a EUA, and the process for receiving one is not clearly defined or consistent.

• In the recent past, CDSCO has been granting emergency or restricted emergency approvals to Covid-19 drugs such as remdesivir, favipiravir and itolizumab.

• Any company seeking to launch a vaccine approved elsewhere would have to conduct local trials to prove it is safe and effective on the Indian population.

• The fastest approval for any vaccine until now — the mumps vaccine in the 1960s — took about four-and-a-half years after it was developed.

Comprehensive Current affairs 5 December 2020

 Government announces list of 10 best performing police stations in India.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) released a list of the top 10 police stations in India for the year 2020.

The Government of India selects best performing Police Stations across the country every year, to incentivize more effective functioning of police stations and bring healthy competition among them.

The list was in accordance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s directions while addressing the 2015 Directors General of Police (DGP) Conference in Kutch, Gujarat.

India’s top 10 police stations for the year 2020:

1. Nongpok Sekmai (Thoubal, Manipur)

2. AWPS-Suramangalam (Salem, Tamil Nadu)

3. Kharsang (Changlang, Arunachal Pradesh)

4. Jhilmili (Surajpur, Chhattisgarh)

5. Sanguem (South Goa, Goa)

6. Kalighat (North and Middle Andaman, Andaman and Nicobar Islands)

7. Pakyong (East district, Sikkim)

8. Kanth (Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh)

9. Khanvel (Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Dadra and Nagar Haveli)

10. Jammikunta Town (Karimnagar, Telangana)

Nisarg Gram campus.

Invoking recollections of Mahatma Gandhi’s famous Nature Cure campaign of 1946 at the “Nisarg Upchar” Ashram in Uruli Kanchan village near Pune, the upcoming new campus of National Institute of Naturopathy (NIN), Pune will be called “Nisarg Gram”.

Located at a distance of 15 Km from NIN’s present premises at Bapu Bhavan, the new Institution will be future-ready, with many novelties and innovations incorporated in the project per se and the curriculum of the Naturopathy courses.

NIN, Pune, an Autonomous Body under the Ministry of AYUSH is the inheritor of a unique Gandhian heritage.

It has been developed out of a Nature Cure institution of which the Mahatma was one of the founders.

The institution was called All India Nature Cure Foundation and was set up under Gandhi Ji’s leadership in 1945 at the same premises where the NIN presently functions.

It was subsequently taken over by the Central Government and structured into the present National Institute of Naturopathy.

As NIN is in the process of setting up an additional and larger campus at Nisarg Gram, the Ministry of AYUSH is taking all possible efforts to ensure that this campus is empowered to carry forward NIN’s unique legacy into the future.

To start with, the new institute’s curricula will be prepared in the light of National Education Policy, 2020.

The curricula will be rationalized to bring about qualitative, pedagogical understanding of Naturopathy and allied disciplines at the UG and PG level.

Intellectual Property cooperation.

Memorandum of Understanding signed between India and US on Intellectual Property cooperation.

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry signed the MoU with US Patent and Trademark Office, Department of Commerce of the US.

Earlier the cabinet gave the approval for signing the MoU with USPTO in the field of IP Cooperation.

The MoU aims at increasing IP co-operation between the two countries.

It will facilitate exchange and dissemination of best practices, experiences and knowledge on IP among the public, and between and among the industry, universities, research and development organizations, and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.

Green Charcoal.

Recently, Green Charcoal Hackathon was launched, by Ministry of power, with the objective to clean the air bye laminating farm fire, producing renewable energy out of the agro residue etc.

• Green Charcoal is a type of bio-fuel that can be made locally and inexpensively.

• To make this, agricultural waste materials appropriate to the season and the region are carbonized (conversion of an organic substance into carbon or a carbon-containing residue) in a kiln.

• It burns cleanly, reducing exposure to the smoke that causes respiratory infections.

5). Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

NMR spectroscopy is an analytical chemistry technique used in quality control by determining purity of a sample.

It allows the molecular structure of a material to be analysed by observing and measuring the interaction of nuclear spins when placed in a powerful magnetic field.

The advantages of NMR are that sample measurements are non-destructive and there is less sample preparation required. Fields of application include bio, foods, and chemistry, as well as new fields such as battery films.

 CSE has used the technique to expose adulteration in honey.

Gender Advancement through Transforming Institutions (GATI) Initiative

One of the focuses of the new Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, currently being drafted by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) is to increase the participation of Women in Science.

GATI:

• The DST is incorporating a system of grading institutes depending on the enrolment of women and the advancement of the careers of women faculty and scientists.

• It will be called GATI (Gender Advancement through Transforming Institutions).

• The concept borrows from a programme started by the UK in 2005 called the Athena SWAN (Scientific Women’s Academic Network), which is now being adopted by many countries.

• The DST will soon launch a pilot, which the British Council has helped it develop.

Why Need such Initiative?

• India is ranked 108 out of 149 countries in the 2018 Global Gender Gap report.

• According to DST figures, in 2015-16, the share of women involved in scientific research and development was 14.71% — after it had actually increased from 13% in 2000-2001 to 29% in 2014-15.

• The DST has also found that women are either not promoted, or very often drop out mid- career to attend to their Families.

What is Athena SWAN?

• The Athena SWAN Charter is an evaluation and accreditation programme in the UK enhancing gender equity in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine

(STEMM).

 • Participating research organisations and academic institutions are required to analyse data on gender equity and develop action plans for improvement.

• Signatories commit to addressing various issues such as –

✓ Unequal gender representation;

✓ Tackling the gender pay gap;

✓ Removing the obstacles faced by women in career development and progression;

✓ Discriminatory treatment often experienced by trans people;

✓ Gender balance of committees and zero tolerance for bullying and sexual harassment.

Way Ahead:

• To get as many institutions as possible to sign up, the DST will need to manoeuvre around government red tape as most universities, barring the IITs and NITs, are run and funded by the government as well.

• This means that these institutions don’t have direct control over institutional policies, recruitment and promotions.

• The DST has tied up with the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), under the UGC, aiming to push gender equity through them.

Honey Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) Programme.

The Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has recently inaugurated the Honey Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) Programme of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED).

Highlights:

• The Producer Organisation (PO) is a legal entity formed by primary producers, viz. farmers, milk producers, fishermen, weavers, rural artisans, craftsmen, etc. FPO is one type of PO where the members are farmers.

• Apiculture or beekeeping is the care and management of honey bees for the production of honey and wax. In this method, bees are bred commercially in apiaries, an area where a lot of beehives can be placed.

• It has been launched under the Formation and Promotion of FPOs. It is a new Central Sector Scheme for the promotion of 10,000 new FPOs.

• The National Level Project Management Advisory and Fund Sanctioning Committee (N-

PMAFSC) had allocated FPO clusters for 2020-21 to all implementing agencies.

• The FPOs will be developed by specialist Cluster Based Business Organizations (CBBOs) engaged by Implementing Agencies.

• NAFED and the Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP) has initiated the formation and promotion of FPOs of beekeepers and honey collectors in 5 states of India.

• These 5 locations are East Champaran (Bihar), Morena (Madhya Pradesh), Bharatpur

(Rajasthan), Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) and Sunderbans (West Bengal).

• The first Honey FPO has been registered in the state of Madhya Pradesh under the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM).

Advantages:

• The Skill Upgradation in scientific beekeeping.

• The Quality upgradation by quality control laboratories.

• The Better supply chain management by improving collection, storage, bottling and marketing centres.

 • The Promotion and Formation of FPOs is the first step for converting Krishi into Atmanirbhar Krishi. 

• The State of art infrastructural facilities for processing honey and allied beekeeping products like bee’s wax, propolis, royal jelly, bee venom, etc.

• About National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd.

• It is an apex organization of marketing cooperatives for agricultural produce in India.

• It was founded on 2nd October 1958 and is registered under the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002.

• NAFED is now one of the largest procurement as well as marketing agencies for agricultural products in India.

• Its objectives to organize, promote and develop marketing, processing and storage of agricultural, horticultural and forest produce.

• To distribute agricultural machinery, implements and other inputs, undertake inter-state, import and export trade, wholesale or retail as the case may be.

• To act and assist for technical advice in agricultural production for the promotion and the working of its members, partners, associates and cooperative marketing, processing and supply societies in India.

• National Bee Board

• The SFAC registered the NBB as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 in 2000 and it was reconstituted (with the secretary as chairman) in June 2006.

• Its aim to overall develop beekeeping by promoting scientific beekeeping in India to increase the productivity of crops through pollination and increase the honey production for increasing the income of the beekeepers/farmers.

• Presently NBB is implementing National Horticulture Mission (NHM) and Horticulture Mission for North East and Himalayan State (HMNEM).

India Climate Change Knowledge Portal.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has recently launched the ‘India

Climate Change Knowledge Portal’.

Highlights:

• Its objective is to help in disseminating knowledge among citizens about all the major steps the Government is taking at both national and international levels to address climate change issues.

• It will be a single point Information resource which provides information on the different climate initiatives taken by various Line Ministries enabling users to access updated status on these initiatives.

• The major components included in the knowledge portal are:

✓ India’s Climate Profile

✓ National Policy Framework

✓ India’s nationally determined contributions (NDC) Goals Adaptation Actions

✓ Mitigation Actions

✓ Bilateral and Multilateral Cooperation.

✓ International Climate Negotiations

✓ Reports & Publications

Some Other Initiatives to Fight Climate Change:

• National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) is a five-year action plan with a tentative target of 20-30% reduction in concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 by 2024, with 2017 as the base year.

• India has also shifted from Bharat Stage-IV (BS-IV) to Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI) emission norms from 1st April 2020 which was earlier to be adopted by 2024.

• It has distributed more than 360 million LED bulbs under the UJALA scheme, which has led to energy saving of about 47 billion units of electricity per year and reduction of 38 million tonnes of CO2 per year.

• International Solar Alliance is an Indian initiative conceived as a coalition of solar-resource-rich countries (which lie either completely or partly between the tropic of Cancer and the tropic of Capricorn) to address their special energy needs.

• The National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) was launched in 2008 which aims at creating awareness among the representatives of the public, different agencies of the government, scientists, industry and the communities on the threat posed by climate change and the steps to counter it.

comprehensive current affairs 4 December 2020

Emergency use authorisation۔

US drug maker Moderna said it was applying for emergency use authorisation for its Covid-19 vaccine. In India, Serum Institute of India, which is trialing a version of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, has informed that, it expects to seek emergency use authorisation within the next two weeks.

Vaccines require approval of a regulatory authority before they can be administered. However, in emergency situations like COVID-19, regulatory authorities have developed mechanisms to grant interim approvals to vaccines and medicines. Till the completion of final trials EUA allows medicine or vaccine to be used on public.

India’s drug regulations do not have provisions for an EUA, and process for receiving one is not clearly define dor consistent.

In India, regulatory authority concerned for this is Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation.

Jammu and Kashmir’s Roshni Act.

There are allegations related to irregularities in the implementation of Jammu and Kashmir States Land (vesting of ownership to the occupants) Act, also known as Roshini Act, which has now been declared null and void.

About the Act:

It envisaged the transfer of ownership rights of state land to its occupants, subject to the payment of a cost, as determined by the government.

Revenue generated was to be spent on commissioning hydroelectric power projects, hence the name Roshni.

 Fifth BRICS media forummeeting held.

It is a high-level dialogue among media organisations from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa that aims to establish an efficient coordination mechanism among BRICS media and advance innovation-driven media development.

Representatives called for the five nations to work together to jointly combat fake news in the pandemic era.

Solution proposed:

Rigorous fact-checking and investigation by well-trained teams of journalists.

Deployment of technologies like Artificial Intelligence, in fight against disinformation, especially large-scale online harms.

4). Iran’s Parliament ratifies strategic measure for the removal of sanctions bill.

It is aimed at revitalizing Iran’s nuclear activities.

This bill was passed after failure of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to fulfill Iran’s interests and in the wake of assassination of Iranian scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

JCPOA was signed in 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 group — U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China and Germany.

It was signed to stop Iran from producing its own nuclear weapons, and set up a framework to which Iran was allowed to enrich uranium.

IFSCA gets membership of International Association of Insurance Supervisors.

The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has got membership of International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).

With this membership IFSCA would have access to IAIS’s global network and would be able to exchange ideas and information with other global regulators.

 This membership would go a long way in connecting IFSC with global insurance institutions and would facilitate IFSCA in the joint development of global insurance business with other global centres.

It was established in 1994, the IAIS headquartered in Switzerland.

It is a voluntary membership organisation of insurance supervisors and regulators from more than 200 jurisdictions, constituting 97 per cent of the world’s insurance premiums.

Damaru Inspired Lattice.

IIT Kanpur researchers have demonstrated how with the use of a micro-structured hour-glass shaped meta structure in the lattice unit, one can get a wider variation of propagation and stop bands. The hour-glasses are developed in the Smart Materials Laboratory of IIT Kanpur using additive manufacturing.

Lattice based meta-structures have shown tremendous application in electro-magnetic and sonic wave absorption which could in principle create ‘invisibility’ of an object either in optical or in acoustic domain.

Existing lattice and crystal based phononic materials have however, practical limitations in terms of customizability and hence, they can be generally used in a narrow band of frequency.

Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT)

The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) has been selected as a ‘Milestone’ facilityby the U.S.-based Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

GMRT:

• The GMRT located near Pune is an array of thirty fully steerable parabolic radio telescopesof 45-metre diameter, observing at metre wavelengths.

• It is operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), a part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai.

 • It was conceived and built under the direction of Late Prof. Govind Swarup from 1984 to 1996.

• At the time it was built, it was the world’s largest interferometry array offering a baseline of up to 25 kilometres (16 mi).

• Astronomers from all over the world regularly use this telescope to observe many different astronomical objects such as HII regions (interstellar atomic hydrogen that is ionized), galaxies, pulsars, supernovae, and Sun and solar winds.

A significant Feat:

• IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organisation dedicated to advancing technology in all areas related to electrical and electronics engineering.

• The IEEE Milestones programme honours significant technical achievements which have a global or regional impact. This is only the third such IEEE ‘Milestone’ recognition for an Indian contribution.

• The previous two Indian IEEE Milestones were for the pioneering work done by Sir J.C.

Bose to demonstrate the generation and reception of radio waves in 1895 (recognised in 2012), and for the Nobel Prize-winning (in 1930) ‘scattering of light’ phenomenon observed by Sir C.V. Raman in 1928.

Brain Electrical Oscillation Signature Profiling (BEOSP).

A brain electrical oscillation signature profiling (BEOSP) test will be conducted on the convicts of the alleged rape and murder in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh.

BEOSP Test:

• BEOSP also known as brain fingerprinting is a neuro-psychological method ofinterrogation in which the accuser’s participation in the crime is investigated by studying their brain’s response.

• The BEOSP test is carried out via a process known as an electroencephalogram, conductedto study the electrical behaviour of the human brain.

• Under this test, the consent of the accused is first taken and they are then made to wear caps with dozens of electrodes attached to them.

• The accused are then shown visuals or played audio clips related to the crime to check if there is any triggering of neurons in their brains which then generate brainwaves.

• The test results are then studied to determine the participation of the accused in a crime.

What Differentiates a BEOSP Test from a Polygraph or a Lie Detector?

• The BEOSP procedure does not involve a question-answer session with the accused and is rather a neuro psychological study of their brain.

• In a polygraph test, the accused person’s physiological indicators are taken into account which includes blood pressure, pulse rate, respiration and skin conductivity.

• While a person might be able to control their pulse rate and BP even in times of distress, a BEOSP test

Can these Tests be Admitted as Evidence?

• Not as a standalone, a/c to the 2010 Supreme Court judgment in the Selvi v. State of Karnataka case.

• The bench observed that narco analysis, polygraph and brain mapping tests cannot be forced upon any individual without their consent and the test results cannot be admitted solely as evidence.

• However, any information or material discovered during the tests can be made part of the evidence, observed the Bench.

Virat Kohli becomes fastest. cricketer to score 12,000 ODI runs.

India captain Virat Kohli on Wednesday became the fastest cricketer to score 12,000 ODI runs, breaking a record held by legendary compatriot Sachin Tendulkar.

 Kohli reached the milestone during the third and final match against Australia here.

Kohli, who needed 23 runs for the landmark coming into the match, touched the figure in his 242nd innings when he took a single off Sean Abbott in the 13th over of the India innings.

In comparison, it took Tendulkar 300 games to get there.

The 32-year-old Indian captain was playing in his 251st ODI and averages close to 60 in the format with 43 hundreds and 59 half centuries. He made his debut in 2008.

Tendulkar scored 18426 runs from 463 ODIs between 1989 and 2012 at an average of 44.83 with the help of 49 hundreds and 96 half centuries.

Focus on mains

Tussle between Executive and Judiciary.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has “virtually taken over the executive functions of the State” the Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy Government told the Supreme Court recently.

What is the Separation of Power?

• The separation of power is part of governing of a state in which the components of state like legislative, executive and judiciary remain independent with each other so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. It is also a part ofindependent of judiciary.

• Separation of powers, therefore, refers to the division of government responsibilities into distinct branches to limit any one branch from exercising the core functions of another.

The intent is to prevent the concentration of power and provide for checks and balances.

• Although the Constitution of India does not provide strictly for the separation of powers, these articles provide a General Guideline:

 ✓ Article 50: This states that the State or the Government concerned will take appropriate steps to ensure that the judicial branch is separated from the functioning and working of the executive branch.

✓ Article 121 & 211: It, in a way, provides for the separation of the legislature and the judiciary. This article states that the conduct of justice or the way a judge discharges his duties of any Court cannot be discussed in the legislature (state or union).

✓ Article 122 & 212: This article is aimed at keeping the judiciary (the law interpreting body) and the legislature (the law-making body) separated. It does so by stripping the judiciary of any power to review and question the validity of proceedings that take in alegislature or the Parliament.

✓ Article 361: This article separates the judiciary and the executive. It states that the

President or any governor of any state is not answerable to any court in the country for actions and activities are taken in performance/exercise of the powers and duties of their office.

Functional Overlapping Amongst the Organs of Government:

• While separation of powers is key to the workings of Indian Government, no democraticsystem exists with an absolute separation of powers or an absolute lack of separation ofpowers.

• Every organ is, in a way, overlapped in its practical functioning with the other two organs of the Government. This overlapping enables the organs to act as a check on each other without too much interference.

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