(Current Affairs) National Events | September : 2017

National Events

99% of demonetised notes returned, says RBI report

  • The Reserve Bank of India’s annual report has finally revealed that as much as Rs. 15.28 lakh crore of the high-value currency that was demonetised in November 2016 returned to the central bank.

  • “Subject to future corrections, based on the verification process when completed, the estimated value of SBNs [specified bank notes] received as on June 30, 2017, is Rs. 15.28 trillion,” the RBI said in its report.

  • The central bank was under intense scrutiny since January — after the window for depositing the withdrawn Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 banknotes had closed — for details on the extent of currency that was returned to the banking system in the wake of the government’s decision to withdraw high-value banknotes as a means to combat counterfeiting, black money and the financing of terrorist activities.

  • The latest RBI data showed that 98.96% of the withdrawn currency — at the time of demonetisation the value of old Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes in circulation was Rs. 15.44 lakh crore — was deposited with the banks.
    Separately, the data showed that the share of newly introduced Rs. 2,000 banknotes in the total value of currency in circulation was 50.2% at end-March 2017.

  • The final deposit figures could still rise since on June 20, 2017, the government allowed District Central Cooperative Banks to deposit the withdrawn notes that had been accepted by them from customers between November 10-14.

  • The central bank also said it was in discussion with the government whether to accept the demonetised notes held by citizens and financial institutions in Nepal.

  • Data in the annual report showed that only 89 million pieces of Rs. 1,000 were not deposited.

  • As of March 2016, there were 6,326 million pieces of Rs. 1,000 banknotes in circulation. In 2016-2017, another 925 million pieces of Rs. 1,000 notes were supplied into the system by the currency printing presses.

  • Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the confiscation of money was never the objective of the demonetisation exercise.
    Technology reaches Ganesh idols

Hyderabad police are using technology for better monitoring of the festivities

  • As the widely celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi is on, idols of the elephant-headed god in different forms have sprung up in every nook and corner of Hyderabad.

  • This is the trend every year but this time, most of the Vigneshwara idols have one thing in common — the Quick Response (QR) code. And they were also geo-tagged.

  • Usage of technology is not new to Hyderabad police but they are using the QR code and geo-tag for better monitoring of the festivities.

  • With every Ganesh idol getting a QR code, it has become much easier for the police officials to find out the exact number of idols installed. Specific location of the idols and verification by policemen of the local police station concerned are being effectively monitored by the superior officers.

  • They are feeding details of the pandal organisers, their contact numbers and other details and linking them to the QR code. For even closer supervision, police patrolling parties like Blue Colts were asked to to visit each pandal and geo-tag the idol.

  • These details are being fed into their mobile phones and the entire data is made available to the top officials for better management. Geo-tagging details of idols are superimposed on the geo-spatial maps. “This helps in identifying clusters of idols in specific localities, deploying additional forces and keeping tabs on their movement,” the DCP explained.

Frontline to see more soldiers

  • The number of soldiers available for active combat with the Army is set to dramatically go up by over 57,000 in the wake of the Union cabinet accepting a slew of military reforms.

  • The recommendations were made by a committee headed by Lieutenant General (Retd.) D.B. Shekatkar for enhancing combat capability and rebalancing defence expenditure of the Armed Forces to increase the teeth-to-tail ratio.

  • “This committee had submitted around 99 recommendations. The Government, in consultation with the Indian Army, has been going through them, and the first batch of 65 recommendations were accepted. All these have to be operationalised by the end of 2019,” Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said.

  • Defence sources said that all these recommendations are related to the Army and the remaining 34 recommendations pertaining to the Navy, Air Force and Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) are likely to be taken up soon.

  • The first phase of the reforms involves redeployment and restructuring of approximately 57,000 posts of officers/Junior Commissioned Officers (JCO)/ Other Ranks (OR) and civilians.

  • The various areas of reform include optimisation of signal establishments, restructuring of repair echelons including base workshops, redeployment of ordnance depots, better utilisation of supply and transport echelons and animal transport units, closure of military farms and Army postal establishments in peace locations, and improving efficiency of the National Cadet Corps (NCC).

  • Of these, the order for the closure of 39 military farms was issued in the beginning of August and would be completed in three months.

Govt considering the creation of a secure communications ecosystem for defence

  • The Centre is considering the creation of a secure communications ecosystem for its officials, especially those working in the defence sector.

  • One of the proposals is mandating the use of mobile phones manufactured by Indian companies for official communication. The government will also be providing a secure email service to its officials.

  • The Army now uses secure landline phones to communicate.

Indian Space Research Organisation has opened the door to domestic entities

  • The Indian Space Research Organisation has opened the door to domestic entities that can give it up to 18 spacecraft a year starting mid to late 2018.

  • The Bengaluru-based ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), which has so far produced about 90 Indian spacecraft, invited single or combined industries to apply for this opportunity.

  • ISAC would sign a three-year contract with the finalists, train, handhold and supervise their teams in making its range of satellites at its facility.

  • The Indian Space Research Organisation Scurrently makes four categories of spacecraft — communication, remote sensing, navigation and scientific missions — and in three sizes of 1,000 kg to 4,000 kg.

  • The first lot of spacecraft from this exercise was expected in about six months from the signing of the contracts. This is also roughly the normal time taken to assemble a satellite.

  • The contract mentions milestone payments, assigning of new spacecraft upon delivery; and a possible renewal of contract after three years.

  • Right now, the manpower of ISAC/ISRO is not adequate for meeting both the increased load of making more satellites; and also for the R&D that we need for future satellites.

  • The present bid to outsource our AIT will help us re-deploy our human resources effectively and focus on R&D.It would also aid self-reliance by way of an independent Indian satellite industry.

  • Although the goal is to get vendors to realise satellites “end to end”, ISAC would retain important and scientific missions.

  • In the $ 339-billion global space industry, satellite manufacturing accounts for 8% or $13.9 billion ( data as per the Satellite Industry Association's 2017 report).

  • This segment is led by established players from the United States and Europe who supply satellites to their government and commercial users.ISAC’s EoI is seen as a first step towards the making of an Indian space industry.

Good monsoon raises dam water

  • Heavy rains in catchment areas in the past week have added 68 TMC of water in over 3,200 dams across Maharashtra.

  • The State Water Resources Department said 3,247 dams in the State had 1,048.76 TMC of water as on August 21, and it rose to 1,116.87 TMC by August 28.

  • Marathwada region, which largely grows food grains, was the biggest beneficiary of last week’s showers.

  • The region boasts 955 reservoirs and dams and the collective water stock was 137.39 TMC on August 21. It rose to 154.62 TMC by August 28, recording an increase of 17.23 TMC.

  • The average water stock on August 21 was 54.52% of the total storage capacity of 1,709.21 TMC of all the dams in Maharashtra. The report said, “On the same date last year, the total water storage was 61.97%.

  • The picture changed in the last seven days and the water stock as of Monday was 59.21% as against 62.88% the previous year.”

All about Article 35A of the Constitution

  • Article 35A is a provision incorporated in the Constitution giving the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature a carte blanche to decide who all are ‘permanent residents’ of the State.

  • It confers on them special rights and privileges in public sector jobs, acquisition of property in the State, scholarships and other public aid and welfare.

  • The provision mandates that no act of the legislature coming under it can be challenged for violating the Constitution or any other law of the land.

  • Article 35A was incorporated into the Constitution in 1954 by an order of the then President Rajendra Prasad on the advice of the Jawaharlal Nehru Cabinet.

  • The controversial Constitution Order of 1954 followed the 1952 Delhi Agreement entered into between Nehru and the then Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Sheikh Abdullah, which extended Indian citizenship to the ‘State subjects’ of Jammu and Kashmir.

  • The Presidential Order was issued under Article 370 (1) (d) of the Constitution. This provision allows the President to make certain “exceptions and modifications” to the Constitution for the benefit of ‘State subjects’ of Jammu and Kashmir.

  • So Article 35A was added to the Constitution as a testimony of the special consideration the Indian government accorded to the ‘permanent residents’ of Jammu and Kashmir.

  • The parliamentary route of lawmaking was bypassed when the President incorporated Article 35A into the Constitution. Article 368 (i) of the Constitution empowers only Parliament to amend the Constitution.

  • A five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in its March 1961 judgment in Puranlal Lakhanpal vs. The President of India discusses the President’s powers under Article 370 to ‘modify’ the Constitution.

  • Though the court observes that the President may modify an existing provision in the Constitution under Article 370, the judgment is silent as to whether the President can, without the Parliament’s knowledge, introduce a new Article. This question remains open.

  • A writ petition filed by NGO We the Citizens challenges the validity of both Article 35A and Article 370.

  • It argues that four representatives from Kashmir were part of the Constituent Assembly involved in the drafting of the Constitution and the State of Jammu and Kashmir was never accorded any special status in the Constitution.

  • Article 370 was only a ‘temporary provision’ to help bring normality in Jammu and Kashmir and strengthen democracy in that State, it contends. The Constitution-makers did not intend Article 370 to be a tool to bring permanent amendments, like Article 35A, in the Constitution.

  • Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal has called for a debate in the Supreme Court on the sensitive subject.

  • Recently, a Supreme Court Bench, led by Justice Dipak Misra, tagged the Khanna petition with the We the Citizens case, which has been referred to a three-judge Bench.

  • The court has indicated that the validity of Articles 35A and 370 may ultimately be decided by a Constitution Bench.

Microsoft will come to the aid of farmers in Karnataka for prize prediction

  • If all goes according to plan, software giant Microsoft will come to the aid of farmers in Karnataka who constantly struggle with an unpredictable market.

  • The Agriculture Department has signed MoU with Microsoft India to develop an unique ‘farm price forecasting model’ using the latest IT tools in a bid to help farmers, administrators and other stakeholders understand the market behaviour in advance.

  • The proposed initiative is said to be the first-of-its-kind in the country, as it is a ‘multi-variate’ one that takes into consideration various factors beyond the conventional supply-demand equation.

  • It will examine a slew of related factors, including weather, rainfall and external factors, that impact market behaviour.

  • On the other hand, the forecast would help the government prepare in advance for market intervention if there is an indication of price crash, he pointed out. The model is expected to be in place for the next kharif crop.

  • Microsoft has already taken up a 100-day study on the price pattern of onion and toor dal. Depending upon the outcome, the price forecasting model would be applied to other crops later, Dr. Prakash said.

  • The initiative appears to have caught the attention of the Centre, which has sought suggestions from the KAPC on the importance of price forecasting for its initiative to double farmers’ incomes. Microsoft would also develop a software for providing sowing advisory services to farmers.

With a historic 3:2 majority judgment SC has set aside Triple Talaq

  • A historic 3:2 majority judgment, delivered by a multi-faith Constitution Bench, set aside instant talaq as a “manifestly arbitrary” practice not protected by Article 25 (freedom of religion) of the Constitution.

  • On the five-judge Bench, Justices Kurian Joseph and Rohinton Fali Nariman gave separate judgments against the validity of instant talaq.

  • Justice U.U. Lalit supported Justice Nariman’s view that instant talaq given by a Muslim man “capriciously and whimsically,” without an attempt at reconciliation, was “manifestly arbitrary and violative of Article 14 (right to equality).”

  • The triumvirate of Justices Kurian, Nariman and Lalit overwhelmed the minority verdict pronounced by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar and endorsed by Justice S. Abdul Nazeer, the juniormost judge on the Bench.

  • Chief Justice J.S. Khehar held that talaq-e-biddat , as a personal law practice, was an integral part of Article 25 (freedom of religion). Ninety per cent of Muslims in India follow the practice. It was constitutionally protected as a fundamental right, he said.

  • The Chief Justice reasoned that talaq-e-biddat was in vogue for over 1,400 years, and this made instant talaq a “matter of religious faith,” which cannot be tested on the touchstone of Article 14.

  • He held that personal laws like instant talaq were an 'exception' to the Constitution's avowed aim to protect gender equality.

  • But Justice Nariman countered that Section 2 of the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act of 1937 has already recognised triple talaq as a statutory right and not a fundamental right.

  • Instant talaq was no longer a personal law to remain free from the rigours of the fundamental rights as it comes under the ambit of Article 13 of the Constitution, he said.

  • Article 13 mandates that any law, framed before or after the Constitution, should not be violative of the fundamental rights.

  • Objecting to the Chief Justice's line of reasoning, Justice Kurian, in his separate verdict, held that “merely because a practice ( talaq-e-biddat ) has continued for long (over 1,400 years), that by itself cannot make it valid”.

  • The Chief Justice had reasoned that instant talaq cannot be invalidated just because the Koran does not expressly provide for or approve of it. Talaq-e-biddat , though bad in theology, was considered good in law, he held.

  • Justice Kurian also referred to Section 2 of the Shariat Act, observing that the statute had put an end to the “unholy, oppressive and discriminatory customs and usages in the Muslim community. After Shariat Act, no practice against the tenet of Islam is permissible.”

RERA will start issuing show cause notice, to unregistered promoters

  • The Real Estate Regulatory Authority will start issuing show cause notice, to real estate project promoters and agents who have failed to register with the authority.

  • Local bodies such as the Chennai Corporation will start sharing information on planning permission applications and building approval data with the Authority shortly.

  • In an effort to improve services by RERA, a group of experienced persons who retired from service recently have been roped in by the Authority.

  • Just 16 projects and 18 agents have been approved by RERA so far. According to officials, many real estate agents and developers whose projects cover more than 500 sq.m or eight dwelling units in the Chennai Metropolitan Area have not registered with the Authority.

  • The applications received by RERA will be approved or rejected in 30 days. Any application not processed within the stipulated date will deemed to be approved.

  • The deadline for submitting application to RERA was July 31. Another 58 applications for registering projects are likely to be approved shortly.

  • The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 is aimed at regulating transactions between buyers and promoters of residential as well as commercial projects.

Railway board takes a casuality for Utkal express derailment

  • The Railway Ministry’s decision to send Railway Board Member (Engineering) Aditya Mittal on leave after finding lapses in the maintenance procedures that led to the derailment of the Puri-Haridwar Utkal Express has come as a surprise to the Board.

  • Some top officials find the action a “bit too harsh”. It was one of the rare instances when action has been taken against a Railway Board Member, who is a Secretary-level officer, for a train accident.

  • Mr. Mittal is a 1978-batch Indian Railway Services of Engineers officer, who will retire this month. “I respect the view of the government,” he said.

  • A former Railway Board Chairman said the move might prove to be counter-productive and affect decision-making.

  • Railway Ministry sent three top officials on leave, suspended four local-level officials and transferred another official after prima facie finding lapses in the maintenance work near the Khatauli railway station.

  • The divisional engineer and senior divisional engineer of the railway section were suspended, while the central track engineer of Northern Railway was transferred.

  • Railway Ministry officials said it was in 1997 that the government had taken action against senior-level officials for a rail accident.

  • Back then, the general managers of the Central and South Eastern Railways were removed from their posts only to be rehabilitated in some other division as general managers in a few days.

  • The move came after human negligence caused a major rail accident in Haryana and another in Madhya Pradesh.

  • In October 1971, Railway Board Chairman B.C. Ganguli was removed from his post following differences with Railway Minister K. Hanumanthaiah. In 1980, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi signed an order to sack the entire Railway Board for non-performance.

Solar eclipse to be visible across whole U.S.

  • A solar eclipse is set to take place, which will be visible across all of continental United States. It will begin at the Oregon coast (at 9.36 p.m. IST on Sunday) and end at the South Carolina coast.

  • About 16% of the U.S. territory will witness a total eclipse, which will last longest at Carbondale, Illinois, for 2 minutes and 41.6 seconds.

  • Since this eclipse has the special feature of lasting for so long over the mainland, scientists across the world are trying to use it to verify their theories on the Sun.

  • This can help them model “space weather” and predict solar storms that can affect the operation of satellites and even electric power grids on Earth.

  • The “great American solar eclipse” is keeping scientists at the Centre for Excellence in Space Sciences India (CESSI) in the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER), Kolkata, busy even before begins.

  • Using computer simulations, they have predicted the shape that the outer layer of the Sun — its corona — will take during the total eclipse.

  • If their prediction is correct, their model of the Sun will be validated and they can then fine-tune it to make predictions of space weather, for one, which is CESSI’s eventual mandate.

  • Space weather impacts modern day technologies such as satellite operations, telecommunications, GPS navigational networks and electric power grids.

  • So, astronomical events such as an eclipse, which offers a chance of diagnosing the coronal magnetic field, are an opportunity for solar physicists to test their theoretical ideas and models to be able to refine them.

National Human Rights Commission wants centre's reply over Rohingya's

  • The National Human Rights Commission issued a notice to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs over the planned deportation of about 40,000 Rohingya immigrants from Myanmar, asking for a detailed report within four weeks.

  • Taking cognisance of media reportsabout the government’s plan to deport the Rohingyas by setting up “detention centres”, the NHRC observed that the “refugees are no doubt foreign nationals but they are human beings.”

  • “Before taking a big step, the Government of India has to look into every aspect of the situation, keeping in focus the fact that the members of the Rohingya community, who have crossed into India and are residing here for long, have a fear of persecution once they are pushed back to their native country,” it said in a statement.

  • While stopping short of commenting on the plan, the NHRC highlighted the Supreme Court’s decisions that say the Right to Life and Personal Liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution apply to all, irrespective of their citizenship.

  • It observed that its intervention in the matter was appropriate given the potential implication on the human rights of the Rohingyas.

  • The NHRC said that though India was not a signatory to the 1951 Convention on Refugees and the 1967 Protocol, it was a signatory to many United Nations and world conventions on human rights.

Prickly pear cactus to be used to provide renewable energy

  • The prickly pear cactus is such a powerful symbol in Mexico that they put it smack in the middle of the national flag.

  • It was considered sacred by the ancient Aztecs, and modern-day Mexicans eat it, drink it, and even use it in medicines and shampoos.

  • Now scientists have come up with a new use for the bright green plant: producing renewable energy.

  • Instantly recognisable with its jumble of spiny discs — its bright red fruit protruding like fat fingers from each one — the prickly pear cactus is farmed on a massive scale in Mexico.

  • Its soft inner flesh plays a starring role in a plethora of favourite national dishes: tacos, soups, salads, jams and even candies.

  • The cactus’s thick outer layer, with all those spines, has always been a waste product — until researchers developed a biogas generator to turn it into electricity.

  • The pilot project was launched in May at Milpa Alta’s sprawling cactus market. The area produces 2,00,000 tonnes a year of prickly pear cactus — up to 10 tonnes of which ends up as waste on the floor of the cactus market each day.

  • Oil-producing Mexico has emerged as a green energy leader in recent years.

  • It won praise in 2015 when it became the first emerging country to announce its emissions reduction targets for the United Nations climate accord, ambitiously vowing to halve them by 2050.

  • To get there, it is seeking to generate half its energy from renewable sources. Last year, green energy made up 15.4% of its energy mix — though just 0.1% was from biogas.

PM Modi and US President reviewed the progress of initiatives

  • President Donald Trump and Prime Minister reviewed the progress of a series of bilateral initiatives kicked off during the latter’s visit to the U.S. capital in the last week of June.

  • The appraisal came during a call from Mr. Trump on the occasion of India’s 70th independence.

  • Crude and natural gas shipments to India from the U.S. are a new thrust area of bilateral cooperation, and the first shipment of American crude for India will leave from Texas this week.

  • The Trump administration has been ratcheting up pressure on China to weigh down more heavily on North Korea to stop its nuclear plans.

  • The administration has also announced this week a review of Chinese practices that are harmful to American high-tech industries.

  • The White House said Mr. Trump called Mr. Modi to “congratulate the 1.2 billion citizens of India, who will celebrate 70 years of freedom and independence on August 15”.

  • The Summit is taking place in Hyderabad. “President Trump further welcomed the first ever shipment of American crude oil to India, which will occur from Texas this month, pledging that the U.S. would continue to be a reliable, long-term supplier of energy,” the statement said.

SC puts guidelines to guard against anticipatory bail misuse

  • The accused in criminal cases take anticipatory bail from the Supreme Court or High Courts and use it to get regular bail from trial courts, taking advantage of the procedural labyrinth in criminal law.

  • The Supreme Court has asked the directors of judicial academies and criminal courts across the country to guard against such wily acts by persons trying to get the better of the law.

  • A Bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Naveen Sinha recently came across the phenomenon of accused approaching multiple forums to get bail in the case of a woman accused of abetment to suicide.

  • Usually, the modus operandi is that the accused would approach the Supreme Court or the High Court concerned or even the sessions court for interim pre-arrest bail.

  • Once this is procured, they surrender before the local trial court and use the interim order for protection against arrest from the higher court to flex their muscles before the trial judge to get regular bail.

  • The fallout is that in future, even if the higher court cancels or decides not to renew the interim bail, the accused would remain on bail on the strength of the trial court’s regular bail.

Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus has been a problem for eastern UP for long

  • Dozens of seriously-ill children at Gorakhpur’s Baba Raghav Das Medical College Hospital were starved of oxygen from the ventilators that were keeping them alive. News reports say this happened because the hospital didn’t pay its oxygen vendor.

  • But the story of why the babies were in the hospital in the first place is equally worrying — it’s one of medical researchers not looking beyond the obvious while investigating the three-decade old scourge at Gorakhpur.

  • Even though this recurring epidemic has killed over 5,000 people since 2010, its primary cause wasn’t identified until early this year.

  • Now, researchers have learnt that a majority of the children being admitted to BRD have scrub typhus — a mite-borne disease endemic in Uttar Pradesh.

  • Because they weren’t treated during early stages of the disease, the scrub typhus triggered brain inflammation, which can be very hard to cure.

  • This means that some of the children at the hospital didn’t have much of a chance anyway — a fact the Yogi Adityanath government is citing as a defence of its incompetence.

  • Today, researchers suspect that Japanese encephalitis wasn’t the only cause even then. Scrub typhus was hiding in the encephalitis burden during the seventies as well.

  • Why did it take so long to pinpoint scrub typhus? First, because we were too focused on the usual suspects to look beyond them.

  • The scientists should have studied the symptoms of each patient in detail, logging data such as the length of fever before encephalitis, and involvement of organs other than the brain, like the liver and the spleen.

  • These symptoms would have revealed that the epidemic wasn’t due to typical viruses, but the scrub-typhus bacterium that is not known to trigger encephalitis outbreaks.

  • Once Japanese Encephalitis vaccinations began in 2007, incidence of this disease at the hospital fell to less than 20%, but encephalitis cases kept coming. It was obvious to researchers that something other than Japanese encephalitis was at work.

  • Yet, even today, the Yogi Adityanath government is talking of poor sanitation as the reason behind the pestilence at the hospital (enteroviruses spread through contaminated water).

  • And while pushing Japanese encephalitis vaccination campaigns is crucial, as the government is doing, this won’t make a dent in the hospital’s burden.

  • The government can’t ignore the science for a number of reasons. First, it’s going to take a miraculous effort by the government to weed out scrub typhus in the State.

  • Most patients who develop fever, the first sign of scrub typhus, go to private healthcare practitioners and not government hospitals. So, these private practitioners, many of whom aren’t medically qualified, must be targeted in training programmes.

  • Unless they suspect scrub typhus in children and treat it before it advances to encephalitis, children will keep coming to BRD. The hospital will be able to do precious little then.

Indian Navy would join PLA Navy in a maiden maritime search and rescue exercise

  • Despite growing tensions with China, Indian Navy would join the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy in a maiden maritime search and rescue exercise to be chaired by Bangladesh at the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) in November this year.

  • Bangladesh, the current Chair, is scheduling a maiden International Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise (IMMSAREX) in November in the Bay of Bengal to be attended by ships and aircraft of the members and observers of the IONS.

  • The IONS is a regional forum of Indian Ocean littoral states, represented by their Navy chiefs, launched by India in February 2008. It presently has 23 members and nine observers.

  • The exercise comes at a time of intensifying competition among regional navies for dominance in the Indian Ocean — navies of China and Japan, presently observers, in addition to member states like India, France, Iran and the U.K.

  • In addition, Bangladesh is also scheduling an “extraordinary conclave of Chiefs,” a meeting of chiefs of Navy before it hands over the Chair to Iran next year.

  • India has considerably expanded its engagement with countries to further its own interests as well as to check the rapid expansion of Chinese naval forays in the Indian Ocean.

  • Other countries in the region are also engaged in rapid expansion of their military capabilities.

Prasoon Joshi appointed as new CBFC chief:

  • The government appointed lyricist and screenwriter Prasoon Joshi as chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification, replacing film producer Pahlaj Nihalani.

  • “The Central Government is pleased to appoint Sh. Prasoon Joshi as Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification in an honorary capacity from 11th August, 2017 for a period of three years or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” a PIB release.

  • The decision ends Mr. Nihalani’s two and a half years as the head of the CBFC or censor board. Mr. Nihalani’s controversial decisions include demanding multiple cuts in Madhur Bhandarkar's film Indu Sarkar on the Emergency and his refusal to clear Lipstick Under My Burqa, a film exploring female sexuality.

  • Director Alankrita Shrivastava challenged the decision at an appeals tribunal leading to the release of the film. He had also objected to the word 'intercourse' in the Shah Rukh Khan film When Harry MetSejal and asked for words like "cow" and "Hindu India" to be bleeped in a documentary on Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen.

  • Mr. Nihalani was appointed in 2015 and his term was to end in January 2018.

Water Metro in Kochi

  • The Rs. 819-crore Water Metro project proposed in the Greater Kochi area has achieved a milestone, with an expert panel of the Ministry of Environment clearing its terms of reference.

  • A total of 78 modern ferries will link the city with islands in the neighbourhood in the project that will be realised by 2021.

  • Though specifications have not been finalised, each ferry will most likely have an air-conditioned space (where fare will be higher) and non-AC area. The general consultant appointed by us is in the process of readying specifications and procurement documents for inviting global tenders for the ferries.

  • As per the KMRL estimate, the Water Metro is expected to have a daily ridership of 40,000 by 2019, 54,000 by 2025 and 86,000 by 2035.

  • The project was discussed during the latest meeting of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change’s expert appraisal committee (EAC) for infrastructure projects.

  • Terms of references are guidelines for conducting environmental impact assessment (EIA) studies of projects, based on which the Union Environment Ministry grants or rejects clearances for projects.

  • The EAC further recommended a study on the “impact of dredging and dumping on marine ecology” and a management plan by any institute specialising in marine ecology.

  • It also sought a study on the impact of dredging on the shore line, how it affects marine life, aquatic birds, details of waste water management, and an environmental monitoring plan.

Supreme court sets dates for Ayodhya case hearing

  • With the Uttar Pradesh government pushing for an early hearing, the Supreme Court scheduled the hearing of 13 appeals in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute for December 5, the eve of the 25th anniversary of the demolition of the 15th century mosque by karsevaks on December 6, 1992.

  • A Special Bench of Justices Dipak Misra, Ashok Bhushan and S. Abdul Nazeer said the contesting parties, including the deity Ram Lalla, U.P. Central Sunni Waqf Board, NirmohiAkhara, the Uttar Pradesh government and the several legal heirs and representatives of the original parties, who have died over the years of litigation in various courts, can make their opening statements on December 5 and continue for two days in December before the court closes for Christmas vacation.

  • The court gave the Uttar Pradesh government the responsibility of translating the entire gamut of oral evidence in the case within the next 10 weeks.

  • The State government, represented by Additional Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, displayed visible eagerness to start the hearing in the Supreme Court. It said it needs just four weeks to translate the documentary evidence.

  • Documentary evidence in the case involves scripts, palimpsests and records dating back several centuries and written in various languages.

  • The Uttar Pradesh government insisted that the court hearing begin soon and the parties could, on their own, translate the documents they intend to rely on as and when they require them during the hearings.

  • This suggestion was strongly objected to by the Sunni Waqf Board represented by senior advocate Anoop Chaudhari and senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Rajeev Dhawan, appearing for some of the opposing parties.

  • Mr. Chaudhary said the “appeals were not yet ripe for hearing”. Mr. Sibal and Mr. Dhawan said the documents needed to be translated first and the translations had to be finalised before the hearings start. Mr. Dhawan said otherwise a party can translate a document and “add their own spin to it”.

  • The court said it would first hear the appeals on the original title suits and then hear a writ petition of BJP leader Subramanian Swamy that the right to worship at the Ram Mandir was his fundamental right.

Banking Regulation Bill passed by Rajya Sabha

  • It empowers the Reserve Bank of India to issue instructions to PSBs to act against major defaulters

  • The Rajya Sabha passed the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, which empowers the Reserve Bank of India to issue instructions to the banks to act against major defaulters.

  • The Bill, earlier passed by the Lok Sabha, will replace the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017.

  • Replying to a debate on the Bill, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said there was nothing wrong in banks giving out loans and trying to recover them. It was only on the strength of the banking finance that businesses expanded, jobs were created and the economy moved on.

  • Responding to demands for making the names of big defaulters public, Mr. Jaitley said it was being done in the case of wilful defaulters. Only in cases of normal commercial transactions were the names not made public.

  • On the concerns raised by Congress member Jairam Ramesh about rising non-performing assets (NPA), Mr. Jaitley said they stood at Rs. 6.41 lakh crore by March this year. They were growing because of accumulated interests. Along with the stressed assets, they amounted to over Rs. 8 lakh crore.

  • Some members wondered why the government was extending such powers to the RBI, to which the Finance Minister said the RBI was not merely a regulator.

  • It also performed other functions like public debt management.

  • Mr. Jaitley said after the insolvency law, which provides for a window of 180 days for debtors to settle the matter or face eviction and subsequent takeover of management by debt reconstruction companies, things had started improving. Debtors were now coming forward to settle unresolved issues with lenders.

  • Earlier, in his opening remarks, the Finance Minister identified Steel, Infrastructure, Power and Textiles as the sectors with the most NPAs. Public sector banks were hit the most as big industrial and infrastructure programmes were supported by them in the hope that there would be further expansion.

  • Due to the import of steel from China, domestic businesses had suffered. However, things were now looking up with the government introducing customs duty and minimum import price. The road sector had also started showing good results. Mr. Jaitley said the earlier rules for debt recovery were time-consuming. The new parallel mechanism was more effective.

A new set of future satellites called hyperspectral imaging satellites

  • A new set of future satellites called hyperspectral imaging satellites is set to add teeth to the way India is gleaned from about 600 km in space.

  • The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) says it plans to launch a full-fledged niche Earth observation (EO) satellite — called the Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite or HySIS — using a critical chip it has developed.

  • There is no specific time-frame yet for its launch, an ISRO spokesman said, adding that meanwhile, the new chip, technically called an “optical imaging detector array,” that they have created for it would be tested and perfected.

  • Hyperspectral or hyspex imaging is said to be an EO trend that is being experimented globally.

  • Adding a new dimension to plain-vanilla optical imagers, it can be used for a range of activities from monitoring the environment, crops, looking for oil and minerals all the way up to military surveillance — all of which need images that show a high level of differentiation of the object or scene.

  • About a decade ago, ISRO added another EO niche with microwave or radar imaging satellites RISAT-1 and 2 that could ‘see’ through clouds and the dark — an important feature useful for the military and security agencies.

  • ‘Hyspex’ imaging is said to enable distinct identification of objects, materials or processes on Earth by reading the spectrum for each pixel of a scene from space.

  • ISRO first tried it out in an 83-kg IMS-1 experimental satellite in May 2008. The same year, a hyperspectral camera was put on Chandrayaan-1 and used to map lunar mineral resources.

  • Very few space agencies have such a satellite; a German environmental satellite called EnMAP is due to be launched on an Indian booster in 2018.

SC asks the Centre to reply to petition challenging validity of Art 370

  • The Supreme Court asked the Centre to respond to a petition challenging the continuing validity of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution giving special autonomous status to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

  • A Bench of Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar, Justices A.K. Goel and D.Y. Chandrachud issued notice to the Centre on the petition filed by Vijayalakshmi Jha pointing out that Article 370 was a “temporary provision.”

  • The petition, represented by advocate Anil Kumar Jha, asked the court to clarify if Article 370 was supposed to have lapsed automatically with the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir on January 26, 1957.

  • It asked whether the J&K Constitution, which neither got the mandatory assent or approval of the President of India, was valid at all.

  • The petition pointed to clause (3) of Article 370, which said it was up to the President to declare whether the Article should cease to exist or continue to be operative.

  • For this, the President would have required the recommendation of the Constituent Assembly of J&K. However the institution had been dissolved.

  • Besides, the petition contended that the special autonomous status is violative of Article 1 of the Constitution which envisages that “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.”

  • It argued that the separate “Constitution of Jammu &Kashmir was never ratified by the President or the Parliament or satisfies Article 1 or the Preamble of the Constitution.”

  • The petition asked the court to quash the ‘Delhi Agreement’ entered into between Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah and Jawaharlal Nehru, representing J&K and the Indian government, respectively.The Centre has to file its reply in four weeks.

Supreme Court says centre and state should come together for drought-affected areas

  • “We can only feel sorry for the people of Haryana,” the Supreme Court noted in a judgment on how the State Food Commission, set up under the National Food Security Act in Haryana, sits jobless and without proper infrastructure.

  • The judgment by a Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and N.V. Ramana listed nine other States who came under its scanner for their damp response to the food security law meant to quell the hunger pangs of millions of poor families, women and children living below the poverty line.

  • The Supreme Court said the Centre cannot look the other way, passing the buck on to the States for not implementing the law. Referring to Article 256 of the Constitution, the judgment said the “Government of India cannot plead helplessness in requiring State Governments to implement parliamentary laws”.

  • In his separate view, Justice Ramana focused on the spirit of co-operative federalism unique to the Indian democracy. Stating that here, the “Union and the States are co-equals”.

  • He wrote that States cannot ignore the “plight of the common man”. It was time to start a “meaningful dialogue” between the Centre and the State governments to save people, especially living in the drought-affected areas from abject poverty.

  • But in the course of the judgment, Justice Lokur expressed skepticism about the motivation of the Centre and the States to implement the much-needed law, which has now been lying in the back burner for years.

  • “Mere schemes without any implementation are of no use. Similarly, one may ask what use is a law passed by Parliament if State Governments and Union Territories do not implement it at all, let alone implement it in letter and spirit,” Justice Lokur wrote.

  • In a series of directions, the court ordered the Secretary in the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution to meet with State Chief Secretaries by August 31 and brainstorm ways and means to implement the food security law.

  • The court directed the government to frame rules and designate independent officials for a grievance redressal mechanism under the Act within a year.

  • It directed the States to set up State Food Commissions and vigilance committees in every state by the end of the year and set up a social audit machinery.

  • The National Food Security Bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament and received the assent of the President on September 10, 2013.

  • Almost four years have gone by but the authorities and bodies mandated to be set up under the National Food Security Act, 2013 have not yet been made functional in some States.

  • The court expresses it its disappointment when the Haryana government blatantly said there is “hardly any work for the State Food Commission”.

Supreme Court ban on the use of material in firecrackers turned focus on material

  • SC ban on the use of antimony, lithium, mercury, arsenic and lead in the manufacture of firecrackers to prevent air pollution has turned the focus on what chemicals are used to produce spectacular visual effects and noise.

  • The Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers’ Association, which produces most of the fireworks in the country, says none of the specific products banned by the court are used.

  • A Supreme Court Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta had on July 31, in an order, directed that no firecrackers manufactured by the respondents shall contain the chemicals in any form, whatsoever.

  • The court entrusted the Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organisation (PESO) with the responsibility of ensuring compliance particularly in Sivakasi. Over 90% of cracker production is done in Sivakasi.

  • Incidentally, the court also noted it appeared that no standards have been laid down by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) with regard to air pollution caused by the bursting of firecrackers.

  • Aluminium powder, sulphur and potassium nitrate go into noise-making crackers, while barium nitrate (green) and strontium nitrate (red) emit light. Aluminium powder is used in sparklers.

  • Significantly, the Supreme Court, observed that there seems to be some doubt about strontium and its compound used in crackers, and has posted the case to August 23 to hear submissions about the use of strontium.

  • Procurement of raw materials for fireworks does not come under the purview of the Explosives Act. The PESO has been testing samples of crackers only for adherence to the sound limit of 125 decibels at a distance of four metres.

Leopards the victim of shrinking forests

  • Each time the rain ends in Assam, wild animals come out of their dens and into the direct line of fire of their worst enemy — man.

  • Every year, the State Forest Department rescues five or six elephants and leopards in and around Guwahati city, though no reliable data on leopard attacks on human beings or livestock can be found.

  • The leopard-man conflict is mainly confined to the hilly areas. In the past 10 years, more than 50 of these big cats have either been captured or killed in the city.

  • During the 1960s and the 1970s, leopards and elephants were a common sight in cities such as Kahilipara, Kharrguli, Santipur, Lal Ganesh, Fatasil, Khanapara, Chandrapur, Hengerabari, Sunsali, Kamakhya and Ramsa in the State.

  • The demographic pattern of Guwahati has changed after the shifting of the capital from Shillong. Increasing human population and unplanned legal and illegal settlements have exerted great pressure on the hills in the city.

  • Guwahati, the gateway to Northeast India, is probably the only city in the country with huge protected areas within its limits — 2,632 hectares. There is an urgent need to protect the forest cover that shelters the big cat.

Bill to amend Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 sent to Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha

  • A Bill seeking to bring radical changes in the transport sector by amending the nearly 30-year-old Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, would be sent to a Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha.

  • Minister said this would save “people from corruption” during registration of new vehicles. At many places, people are charged Rs. 2,000 to get their vehicles registered, Mr. Gadkari said.

  • Addressing concerns that the proposed legislation impinges on the rights of State governments, Mr. Gadkari said the Centre did not want to privatise State transport authorities, and that it was up to the States to accept the Bill’s provisions.

  • It had been agreed that the Select Committee, which will be constituted soon, would submit its report on the first day of the Winter Session and passed in that session, the Minister added.

  • The Bill, which Mr. Gadkari termed “one of the biggest reforms in the sector”, aims to bring radical reforms in the transport sector.

Central government is mulling a revision in the formula to calculate minimum wages

  • The Central government is mulling a revision in the formula to calculate minimum wages that may increase income levels of workers across the country.

  • The Central Advisory Committee on Minimum Wages decided to constitute a committee to deliberate the proposed changes in the calculation of minimum wages for workers.

  • The laid down norms to fix the minimum wages is not commensurate for the present day workers. We have decided to constitute a committee to re-look at the norms for fixing minimum wages.

  • He said the committee would deliberate upon the following factors while recommending a new formula for minimum wages number of units per family, inclusion of dependant parents and “treatment of women and children at par with the male family member.”

  • The norms for fixing minimum wages today are based on recommendations of the Indian Labour Conference in 1957.

  • Under it, the minimum wage level for industries is fixed based on spending estimates for a working class family on 2,700 calories of food per person, 72 yards clothes, minimum housing rent and education and light and fuel.

  • A standard working class family consists of three consumption units for one earner with earnings of women, children and adolescents being disregarded.

  • RSS-affiliated BharatiyaMazdoorSangh recommended the government to increase the total units for calculating minimum wages for a family from three to six, its organisation secretary (north-central region) Pawan Kumar said.

  • However, employer representatives, part of the Central Advisory Board, highlighted the inability to pay higher wage levels in case the formula for minimum wages is revised, a source present in the meeting said.

Rising CO2 will drastically reduce the amount of protein in staple crops

  • Rising carbon dioxide levels from global warming will drastically reduce the amount of protein in staple crops like rice and wheat, leaving vulnerable populations at risk of growth stunting and early death, experts warned.

  • Researchers say they still don’t understand how or why carbon dioxide emissions sap protein and other nutrients from plants, but the mystery is one that could have devastating consequences across the globe.

  • An additional 150 million people globally may be at risk of protein deficiency by 2050 because of rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere said the report.

  • It relies on data from open field experiments in which plants were exposed to high concentrations of CO2.

  • Global dietary information from the United Nations was used to calculate the impact on people who live dangerously close to the edge when it comes to getting enough protein.

  • Without it, growth is stunted, diseases are more common and early mortality is far more likely.

  • Carbon dioxide is a byproduct of fossil-fuel burning that helps trap heat around the Earth.

  • Without stark action, these emissions are expected to climb in the decades to come, resulting in rising seas, hotter temperatures and more extreme weather events.

  • Protein was not the only nutrient to take a major hit. Other research has shown that rising CO2 will cut key minerals like iron and zinc in staple crops, leading to further nutritional deficiencies worldwide.

  • Researchers calculated that by 2050, higher CO2 concentrations will sap the protein contents of barley by 14.6%, rice by 7.6%, wheat by 7.8%, and potatoes by 6.4%.

  • The hardest hit areas are expected to be Sub-Saharan Africa, where millions already don’t get enough protein in their diets, and South Asia where rice and wheat are common staples.

  • India alone may lose 5.3% of protein from a standard diet, putting a predicted 53 million people at new risk of protein deficiency.

SC prohibited the use of five chemicals, labelled as toxic by CPCB in firecrackers

  • Ahead of the festive seasons of Dussehra and Deepavali, the Supreme Court prohibited the use of five chemicals, labelled as toxic by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in the manufacture of firecrackers.

  • A Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta recorded in its short order that, “that no firecrackers manufactured by the respondents shall contain antimony, lithium, mercury, arsenic and lead in any form whatsoever.

  • It is the responsibility of the Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organisation (PESO) to ensure compliance particularly in Sivakasi.”

  • The order came after the court heard the submissions from officials of the CPCB and Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organisation’s (PESO) Firework Research and Development Centre at Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu.

  • The court asked the CPCB to clarify on the use of strontium, another chemical branded toxic by the pollution body, in firecrackers. . Manufacturers however denied using these chemicals.

  • Even as the court gave the CPCB time till September 15 to provide detailed information on the environmental impact, especially air pollution, caused by firecrackers.

  • Private manufacturers, who are suffering a court ban on sale of firecrackers in the Delhi and NCR regions, tried to reason that firecrackers is not the only source of pollution.

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