Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 19 May 2022

::NATIONAL::

The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the order of a civil court in Varanasi directing a videographic survey of the Maa Shringar Gauri Sthal in the Kashi Vishwanath temple-Gyanvapi mosque complex.
The principal contention of the Committee of Management of AnjumanIntezamia Masjid, the organisation that has filed the appeal, is that the order of the Varanasi court — which was upheld by Allahabad High Court on April 21 — is “clearly interdicted” by The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.

About the Act:

It prohibits conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religiouscharacter of any place of worship as it existed on the 15th day of August, 1947.
It further provided that such cases already pending at the courts would stand abated.
Act bars conversion of a place of worship of any religious denomination into a place of worship of adifferent religious denomination.

The Supreme Court directed the implementation of reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) in local body elections to be held in Madhya Pradesh.

About:

It said the Backward Classes Commission had submitted a revised report which satisfied the triple test for reservation for OBCs and gave a break-up of the reservation to be provided local body-wise.
Permission was sought to implement the OBC quota for the elections. It said the delimitation exercise in the State had been completed even before the May 10 order. The application asserted that these crucial facts had not been placed before the court prior to the order.
The court noted in its order: “To reassure ourselves, we have gone through the two reports submitted by the dedicated commission concerning the determination of reservation to be provided for other backward classes in local bodies in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
The second report focuses on the local body wise reservation for the other backward classes by keeping in mind the maximum reservation limit of 50% enunciated by this court.
It directed the Election Commission of India (EC) to ensure that the election programme was issued for local bodies where the polls are already overdue without further loss of time and keeping in mind the feasibility of conducting elections.

The world’s largest ever gathering on forests has adopted a declaration identifying priority areas with potential to lead to a green, healthy and resilient future.
The Seoul Forest Declaration (SFD) concluded five days of discussions at the XV World Forestry Congress.
With a key focus on how forests can help combat the multiple crises humanity faces, including climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, hunger and poverty.

World Forestry Congress:

World Forestry Congress (WFC)serves as a forum for governments, civilsociety and private sector to exchange viewsand to formulate recommendations forimplementation at national, regional andglobal levels.
It has been held (generally every six years)under Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) since 1954.
Theme this year: Building a Green, Healthyand Resilient Future.

Key findings:

SFD focuses on identifying key areas, thatcan help combat multiple crises humanity

faces, including:

Responsibility for forests should beshared and integrated across institutions,sectors and stakeholders.Investment in forest and landscaperestoration globally needs to triple by2030 to meet internationally agreed targetson restoring degraded land.

Fostering Effective Energy Transition 2022 report was recently released which called for urgent action by both public and private sectors to ensure resilient energy transition.

Key findings of the report:

Energy transition not keeping pace with growing climate urgency withchallenges compounded by risks to energy security, sustainability and affordableaccess.
Lack of access to an affordable energy supply has emerged as a key threat to ajust transition.
Industrial activity generates more than 30% of anthropogenic emissionswith 5 heavy industries representing 80% of industrial emission.
Dual diversification (of supply source and supply mix) is key to strengtheningcountries’ energy security.

Scenario in India:

India has already achieved emission reduction of 28% over 2005 levels,against the target of 35% by 2030 committed in Nationallydetermined contributions.
Power Sector has achieved 100 GW of installed Renewable Energy Capacity.

The strategically-significant Sela Tunnel project in Arunachal Pradesh is nearing completion.

About:

Located in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, the tunnel project will provide an alternate axis to the Sela pass, which is at 13,700 feet.
It will be on the BCT Road – the Balipara, Charduar and Tawang axis, which is more than 300 km long. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 700 crore.
The project, being executed by the Border Roads Organisation, includes two tunnels and a link road.
While Tunnel 1 will be 980 metres long single-tube, Tunnel 2 will be 1,555 metres with one bi-lane tube for traffic and one escape tube for emergencies running alongside.
The link road between the two tunnels will be 1,200 metres.
Upon completion, which is likely by the end of this year, the Sela Tunnel above 13,000-ft will boost all-weather connectivity to the Line of Actual Control with China.

After a high-level security review for the forthcoming Amarnath Yatra, the government has decided to track all pilgrims using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. What are RFIDs and how do they work?

About:

Radio Frequency Identification. is a wireless tracking system that consists of tags and readers.
Radio waves are used to communicate information/identity of objects or people to nearby readers – devices that can be hand-held or built into fixed positions like poles or buildings.
The tags can carry encrypted information, serial numbers and short descriptions. There are also high-memory tags like the ones designed for use in the aviation industry.

Types of RFID tags:

Active RFIDs use their own power source, mostly batteries.
Passive RFIDs, on the other hand, are activated through the reader using the electromagnetic energy it transmits.