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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 07 November 2020

::NATIONAL::

Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenationis organising the 2ndNational Water Awards (NWAs) 2019 Distribution Ceremony through virtual platform.
The awards are given to motivate the individuals/organizations who are doing commendable work in the field of water resources conservation and management.
Also, it strives to create awareness among the people about importance of water and motivate them to adopt the best water usage practices.

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The award winners in different categories will be given a citation, trophy and cash prize.
The NWAs focuses on the good work and efforts made by individual and organisations across the country, and the government’s vision for the path to a ‘JalSamridh Bharat’.
The event provides a good opportunity to start-ups as well as leading organisations to engage and deliberate with senior policymakers on how to further accelerate the ‘Jal Shakti Abhiyan’ in India.
The event also provides an occasion for all people and organisations to further cement a strong partnership and people engagement in water resources conservation and management activities.

Recently, Bombay High Court rejected Arnab Goswami's habeas corpus petition forimmediate release.
Habeas Corpus essentially means "you must have the body". This petition filed under Article 32 prays before thecourt to direct a particular individual or authority who has detained a person to produce the detenu before the court.
This petition leads the court to determine validity of such detention.
Habeas corpus writ is a bulwark of individual liberty against arbitrary detention.
It can be issued against both public authorities as well as private individuals.

Latest data shows only 78% funds for scheme i.e., Rs 38,921 crore out of Rs 50,000 crore used.
Garib Kalyan RojgarAbhiyaan (GKRA) launched on 20th June, 2020.
It is a 125-day Abhiyan with a mission toaddress the issues of returnee migrant workers and similarly affected rural population by Covid-19 pandemic.
25 work areas have been identified for employment in villages, for development of various works like ruralhousing for the poor, Plantations, provision of drinking water through Jal Jeevan mission, Panchayat Bhavans etc

United Nations Industrial Development Organisations (UNIDO) has been closely working with India to implement UN’s activities in harmony with national policy priorities and development strategies.
The UNIDO Regional Office in New Delhi acts as a focal point to promote UNIDO’s mandate of inclusive and sustainable industrial development in India.
As UNIDO Representative has said that Regional Cluster concept of economic development is playing an important role in Indian success story.
India is doing pretty well in the energy environment sector with lot of innovation.

Gov-Tech-Thon 2020, 36 hours, pan-India virtual hackathon organized by IEEE, National Informatics Centre (NIC)and Oracle, under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, witnessed a successful conclusion on 1st November, 2020.
The virtual hackathon received registrations from over 1300 aspirants forming 390 teams. The hackathon webpage witnessed over 15,000 visitors in 2 weeks.
The five challenges seeking innovative solutions from Gov Tech-Thon 2020 were
Suggest alternate crops or crop rotation for farmers during different seasons using artificial intelligence technology, considering the terrain and local challenges to increase the productivity.
Seed supply chain is a complex ecosystem involving various stakeholders. Address the issues of poor seed quality effectivelybytracing the seeds using BlockChain technology.
A mobile / web-based application for scanning, resizing and uploading documents (as required) in a single flow.
A tool for monitoring online exams from homes / institutions through a combination of remote-supervision software and web cam. System should ensure necessary authentication, control, fraud detection and compliance, using appropriate technology like AI / ML etc.
A self-learning tool for automating Vehicle Fitness Test procedures transparently.

The forthcoming decades pose multiple challenges of global food security, bio-energy supply, drastic climatic change, water shortages and sustained economic growth.
Unarguably, the demand for food will continue to grow. Food production must more than double itself in the next 40 years.Japan has been one of the early pioneers in vertical farming.

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Vertical farming is the practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers.
It often incorporates controlled-environment agriculture, which aims to optimize plant growth, and soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics.

Advantages:

Vertical farming uses significantly less water and pesticides than traditional agricultural methods.
Being indoors, the crops aren't subject to seasons and hence give high productivity year-round. Lettuces, tomatoes and green crops can be produced through this practice.

Disadvantages:

The initial cost for establishing the verticalfarming system is too high.
To findings Pollination would be very difficult and costly.
Need to involve higher labour costs due to involve skilledworkforce will be unavailable initially.
Uninterrupted power supply required for vertical farming technology.