Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 14 August 2020

::NATIONAL::

CJI asks government to include more languages in governance

Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde has said that the government should consider amending the Official Languages Act of 1963 to include more vernacular languages in governance, and not just confine it to Hindi and English.
The court was hearing an appeal filed by the Union of India challenging the legality of a Delhi High Court judgment of June 30 to translate the draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification of 2020 into all 22 vernacular languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
The High Court had reasoned that the EIA concerned environmental restrictions on building, expansion and modernisation of major infrastructure projects across the country.
The EIA should reach the maximum number of people without discrimination to any part of the country, especially the non-Hindi speaking parts of India. It should reach and be understood by the rural population of the country. The High Court wanted to ensure maximum public participation, so that people studied the draft and responded with suggestions and objections.
“We do not object to the High Court judgment,” Chief Justice Bobde told Mr. Mehta. The apex court then gave Mr. Mehta permission to withdraw and return to the High Court with a review petition. The government could come back to it if the review plea failed.

NHRC expresses concern over inadequate number of forensic labs in the country

Members of the National Human Rights Commission have raised concerns over the inadequate number of forensic science laboratories in the country that delays evidence gathering, leading to cases pending in courts and undertrial prisoners remaining behind bars.
Speaking to The Hindu on Thursday, NHRC member JyotikaKalra said if forensic evidence was collected and preserved on time, particularly in sexual assault cases, the case could be resolved sooner. In addition, she highlighted the importance of ballistics.
At a recent webinar attended by Union and State government as well as police forces’ representatives, Ms.Kalra said the experts informed the officials that 70% of the weapons used in the country are “country-made” and do not comply with specifications that can be traced.

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::ECONOMY::

Government taskforce recommends compulsory purchase of bio-fertilisers

The government is likely to make purchase of bio-fertiliser compulsory for every bag of urea a farmer buys to promote organic nutrients and slash the use of chemical fertilisers.
A task force constituted for promoting balanced and sustainable use of chemical fertilisers has suggested bundling bio-fertiliser with urea bags. It has also asked government to promote drip-fertigation technique in which fertiliser is incorporated within the irrigation water by the drip system. It conserves 30-40% nutrients and cut down water use by 50%.
The official said urea should be brought under Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) policy for better subsidy management. Under the scheme, a fixed amount of subsidy decided on an annual basis is provided on each grade of subsidised fertilisers based on their nutrient content.
“Currently urea is sold at a fixed price decided by the government, irrespective of its cost. The price difference is being given to manufacturers as subsidy. This is promoting overuse of urea, whose overdose is harmful for soil fertility. Subsidy, subsequently, should be passed on directly in farmers’ bank accounts,” he said.

MoCA to release draft norms to regulate misleading ads

As a forerunner to the introduction of an advertising code in the country, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs will soon release a draft regulation aimed at checking misleading advertisements, for consultation and comments from stakeholders, including industry watchdog Advertising Standards Council of India, consumers and advertisers, said LeenaNandan, Secretary, Consumer Affairs.
“The regulation for misleading advertisements will be notified after the due process of consultations,” she told. The draft, which will be uploaded on the Ministry’s website, will be the first step towards this. The government will notify the regulations on misleading ads under the Consumer Protection Act while the Central Consumer Protection Authority will be the enforcing agency.”

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::INTERNATIONAL::

Israel shares AI based technologies and equipments with India

Israel has given state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence-based technologies and high-end equipment to AIIMS, Delhi as part of Israel-India cooperation to fight the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Israeli Ambassador to India Dr Ron Malka formally handed over the high-end equipment and technology solutions to Director of AIIMS, Dr RandeepGuleria in the presence of Chief Guest Sanjay Bhattacharya, Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs yesterday.
It also includes a 12-hour disinfection product called CPD that stays active to protect the surface against new attacks of contamination, a non-invasive remote patient monitoring system which aids as a preliminary screening tool of respiratory indicators of suspected COVID-19 patients and recovering patients and AI-based software for Ultrasound use and designed especially for fighting COVID-19.
Dr Guleria said India-Israel relations are strong. Earlier, India helped Israel with medicines and safety gear. Now Israel has sent equipment including robotic teleconsultation and telemonitoring equipment.

US announces historic peace deal between UAE and Israel

US President Donald Trump announced that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel have agreed to establish full diplomatic relations as part of a new peace deal. Under the agreement, Israel would suspend its plans to annex parts of the West Bank.
President Trump said, the UAE and Israel plan to exchange embassies and ambassadors and begin cooperation on a broad range of areas including tourism, education, healthcare, trade and security.
President Trump also tweeted a joint statement between the US, UAE and Israel which said, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan have agreed to the full normalisation of relations. The statement called the peace agreement, a historic diplomatic breakthrough that will advance peace in the Middle East region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a new era has opened between Israel and the Arab world. Speaking in Jerusalem, he said, they are establishing full and official peace, full diplomatic agreement, with embassies, investments, commerce, tourism, direct flights between Tel Aviv and Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
The UAE's ambassador to the United States, Yousef Al Otaiba, said the deal with Israel was a win for diplomacy and for the region. UAE will be the third Arab country to open relations with Israel, after Egypt and Jordan.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Indian ammunition factory develops indigenous grenade launcher

The city-based Ammunition Factory at Khadki has produced an indigenous 40 mm Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL) for the Border Security Force (BSF) following Prime Minister Modi’s call for an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India).
The first consignment of the 40 mm UBGL, designed and manufactured by the Ammunition Factory at Khadki with components sourced from Indian industries, has already been sent to the BSF on Tuesday, said the Ministry of Defence in a release on Wednesday.
This ammunition, which comes in four variants, is fired from a launcher fitted under the barrel of a 5.56 mm Rifle INSAS (INdian Small Arms System).
The advantages of the 40 mm UBGL ammunition vis-a-vis a traditional hand grenade is that it is light weight, with a range of 400 meters as compared with only 30 meters of the hand grenade.
This ammunition used to be imported by the Army and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) units. Thus, there was a perceived need to indigenise the design and manufacture of this ammunition, said the release.
“Inspired by the Prime Minister’s clarion call for an Atmanirbhar Bharat, the Ammunition Factory at Khadki wrote a new chapter on self-reliance by producing and sending the first consignment [of the 40 mm UBGL] to the BSF,” said the MoD’s statement.

::SPORTS::

Sports ministry set to launch Fit India Freedom Run from tomorrow

The Sports Ministry will organise the largest country-wide run, the Fit India Freedom Run from tomorrow till 2nd of October, which boasts of a unique concept. Sports Minister KirenRijiju will launch the mega-event today.
In keeping with the current pandemic situation and social distancing norms, the government has decided to encourage participants of the event to run at their own pace - anywhere and at any time of their convenience.
He said, the event is even more important at this time because staying fit is the key to building strong immunity, which is the need of the hour to fight Covid 19. Individuals and organizations can register for the event on the Fit India website. The event is being organised to mark the 74th Independence Day of India tomorrow and will continue till 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on 2nd of October.

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