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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 16 September 2022

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The University Grant Commission (UGC)launched new research fellowship and research grants schemes on the occasion of Teachers Day.

About:

UGC is a statutory body established by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education in accordance to the UGC Act 1956 and is charged with maintenance of standards of higher education in India.
It provides recognition to universities in India, and disbursements of funds to such recognized universities and colleges.
The headquarters are in New Delhi.

Key highlights:

They are Savitribai Jyotirao Phule Fellowship for Single Girl Child, Dr Radhakrishnan UGC Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Superannuated Faculty Members Fellowship, Research Grant for In-Service Faculty Members and Dr D S Kothari Research Grant for Newly Recruited Faculty Members.

Chief Justice of India, U.U. Lalit, in its order on activist Teesta Setalvad on September 2, made an oral observation that under Section 437 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), a woman is entitled to favourable treatment.

About:

He was referring to a provision that says being a woman is a possible ground for granting bail, even when otherwise it cannot be considered.
Section 437 of the CrPC deals with bail in case of non-bailable offences.
It says a person shall not be released on bail if there is reasonable ground to believe that he has committed an offence punishable with death or life imprisonment; or, if he has been previously been convicted for an offence punishable with death, life imprisonment, or for a term of seven years or more; or been convicted on two or more occasions on other offences with a term between three and seven years.
However, it also contains exceptions in a proviso that says the court may grant bail even in these cases, “if such person is under the age of 16 or is a woman or is sick or infirm”.
There are several provisions in criminal law that give special consideration to women.
For instance, when a police officer requires the attendance of any person who he believes is acquainted with a case under investigation, the person has to appear before the officer (Section 160).

Norway is building world’s first open-access CCS infrastructure on Norway’s North Sea coast.

About:

It will allow any emitter that has captured his CO2 emissions to deliver that CO2 for safe handling, transport and storage.
CCS is a way of reducing carbon emissions, which could be key to helping to tackle global warming.
It’s a three-step process, involving:

1.   capturing CO2 produced by power generation or industrial activity;
2.   transporting it;
3.   then storing it deep underground.

President of Nepal Bidya Devi Bhandari conferred the Honorary Rank of General of the Nepal Army to Gen. Manoj Pande, chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army.

About:

The President at the Shital Niwas, the official residence of Bhandari, conferred the honorary rank -- a long tradition of exchange of visits by the army chiefs of Nepal and India and conferring the title of honorary General to both the army chiefs -- during a special ceremony in Kathmandu.
The tradition started in 1950. India also confers the honorary rank of “General of Indian Army” to the Nepal Army Chief.
Gen. Pande arrived in Kathmandu on a five-day official visit during which he will hold extensive talks with the country’s top civil and military leadership and bolster defence ties between the two neighbouring countries.

A 65-year-old farmer, Balwinder Singh, died by suicide outside the office of the Muktsar DC on August 29. He had been sitting on a dharna outside the administrative complex against kurki orders for his land based on a court case filed against him by the local moneylender for defaulting on loan payment.

About:

Kurki means attachment of a farmer’s land, already pledged to the money lending institution or individual, in case of a loan default. Apart from banks, private moneylenders, commission agents also get these decrees against farmers from time to time.
Kurki orders are executed under Section 60 of Civil Procedure Code, 1908. The land which is pledged by the farmer to the bank or money lender gets registered in their name. In some cases, the land is auctioned as well.

Nano-urea, a product developed by the Indian Farmers and Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) and heavily advertised by government as panacea to reduce farmer dependence on packaged urea is yet to be fully tested despite having been fast tracked for commercial application.

About:

Normally, three seasons of independent assessment by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is required for approving a new fertiliser, but in the case of nano urea this was reduced to two.
Moreover scientists are still unclear if the product can on its own cut farmers’ dependence on urea.
Nano urea is a patented and indigenously made liquid that contains nanoparticles of urea, the most crucial chemical fertiliser for farmers in India.