Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 16 December 2022

::NATIONAL::

The New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2022

• The New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2022 passed by the Parliament recently.

About International Arbitration

• It is a means of settling international commercial and business disputes through arbitrators where parties opt for a private
• dispute resolution procedure instead of going to court.
• Availing international arbitration can be optional, but it could also be made compulsory by inserting a ‘mandatory arbitration clause.
• Arbitration awards are more widely and readily enforceable due to Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign
• Arbitral Awards 1958 (New York Convention) and through Bilateral Investment treaties.

Key features of the bill:

• Manner of conduct of arbitration and other forms of alternative dispute resolution will be specified by Central government.
• Allows government to provide for removing any difficulties in implementation up to five years from date of commencement of the Act.
• Arbitration is a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
• Advantage of ADR: Lower costs, greater flexibility of process, higher confidentiality, greater likelihood of settlement, choice of forum,choice of solutions etc.

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Agni-V Missile 

• India has successfully conducted night trials of nuclear-capable ballistic missile Agni V.

About:

• It is a surface-to-surface Nuclear Capable Ballistic missile.It can carry both nuclear and traditional weapons.
• Agni-V, with a range of over 5,000 km, is India’s longest-range ballistic missile and can reach most parts of China, making it the mainstay of India’s triad to deliver nuclear weapons.
• It is a 17-meter long missile with two-meter diameter.
• It has been indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• Agni-V is the most advanced missile in the Agni series featuring many new technologies, including the very high accuracy Ring Laser Gyro based Inertial Navigation System (RINS) and Micro Navigation System (MINS) which improves the accuracy of the missile.
• With the Agni-V, India joins an elite club of countries like US, Russia, the UK, France and China, which boast Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) capabilities.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Arctic Report Card 2022

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released the Arctic Report Card 2022 recently.

About:

• Since 2006 the report annually by this American scientific and regulatory agency.
• The Arctic Report Card is a timely and peer-reviewed source for clear, reliable and concise environmental information on the current state of different components of the Arctic environmental system relative to historical records.

Key highlights of report:

• Arctic continues to warm more than twice as fast as rest of globe.
• 2022 sea ice extent is well below long-term average. It is also impactingalbedo of region, thereby inducing the melting.
• Mean sea surface temperatures continue to show warming trendsleading to a boom in phytoplankton-driven production of organic matterin oceans.
• Persistent summer sea ice due to cooler surface waters and north windsat Chukchi Sea.
• Increasing maritime ship traffic in Arctic.
• Precipitation has increased across all seasons since 1950’s.
• Variability in Tundra greenness possibly due to wildfires and extremeweather events.

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Youth Co:Lab

• On December 15th 2022 the 5th edition of Youth Co:Labhas been launched.

About:

• Youth Co:Lab is an initiative launched in 2019 by UNDP India in partnership with Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog.
• Youth Co:Lab was co-created in 2017 by UNDP and the Citi Foundation, Youth Co:Lab.
• It is a multi-dimensional and multi-level response to tackle the challenges young people face by positioning youth at the forefront in finding solutions to global challenges tackling Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• It aims to establish a common agenda for Asia-Pacific countries to invest in and empower youth to accelerate implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through leadership, social innovation, and entrepreneurship.
• The Youth Co:Lab initiative, till date, has been implemented in 28 countries and territories, reaching over 200,000 participants, benefitting more than 11,000 young social entrepreneurs and supporting over 1,240 social enterprises.
• Through Youth Co: Lab, 30 early-stage start-ups would be supported by the springboard programme, and the best would be provided a seed grant for scaling up their start-up.

::Economy::

OPS vs. NPS debate

• Recently, decision taken by several state governments to revert to old pension scheme (OPS) from the new pension scheme (NPS)has highlighted need to think about a suitable pensions system in India.

About:

• Under OPS, pension to government employees at Centre and states was fixed at 50% of last drawn basic pay and Employees werenot required to contribute to their pensions.
• NPS is a contributory pension scheme under which both employees and the Government make contributions.
• Inadequacy in India’s pension architecture
• At least 85% of current workers are not members of any pension scheme.
• Of all elderly, around 57% receive no income support.
• System for old age income support entailed 11.5% of public expenditure, and state governments bear more than 60%.
• Important considerations for introducing pension reform: absence of a country-wide social security system, ageing population,low per-capita income and social change on account of breakdown of traditional family support system.

::SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY::

Forabot

• The researchers at North Carolina State University, USA have developed and demonstrated a robot capable of sorting, manipulating and identifying microscopic marine fossils.

About:

• It is a robot capable of sorting, manipulating and identifying microscopic marine fossils thatwill make easier to study oceans and climate.
• Forabot has an accuracy rate of 79 per cent for identifying forams, which is better than most trained humans. 
• Forams or Foraminifera are very simple micro-organisms that secrete a tiny shell.
• They existed in oceans for more than 100 million years.
• Currently, Forabot is capable of identifying six different types of foram and processing 27 forams per hour. 
• The robot’s AI uses images to identify the type of foram and sorts it accordingly. It has the potential to be a valuable piece of research equipment, allowing student ‘foram pickers’ to spend their time learning more advanced skills.

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