Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 20 October 2018

::NATIONAL::

Stubble burning continues in northern plains despite penalties

Between September 27 and October 14, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) imposed Rs. 8,92,500 as fines or “environmental compensation cess” as it is officially called on farmers burning paddy stubble. However, they collected only Rs. 3,05,000, according to figures from the organisation.
The Centre and the States Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have in several meetings through the year declared a “zero tolerance” policy on the burning of stubble for farmers, which, according to various studies, contributes anywhere from 17% to 78% to the particulate matter-emission load in the city during winter.
To discourage farmers in Punjab and Haryana who are responsible for the bulk of such fires , the government has also disbursed Rs. 591 crore to these States to sell subsidised farm implements that can do away with stubble without having to burn them.
Officials in the PPCB, on the condition of anonymity, told that they were frequently “lenient” when they caught farmers in the act of burning stubble an offence that invites fines of at least Rs. 2,500 an acre.
Officials said satellite images alert them to fields set afire by farmers but actually confronting a guilty farmer is a complex process.
Despite a vigorous focus by governments on making mechanised farm implements combine harvesters-cum-straw management system, seed drillers, rotary harvesters available to farmers, it’s still inaccessible to many farmers with landholdings less than 5 acres or those not rich enough to invest in such machines.
Krunesh Garg, Member Secretary, PPCB, said that change would take “some time.” “We’re educating farmers that burning the soil also destroys soil nutrients, and increases their fertilizer requirement. We’ve run advertisements. Using farm equipment is only slightly costlier just Rs. 300 more per acre than burning the field and helps preserve the environment as well as their health.

Centre mulls formation of complaints panel for political parties

Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi has urged political parties to set up internal complaints committees, which is mandatory under law for all workplaces.
“I have requested the presidents/ in-charge of all recognised National and State political parties to constitute the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) as mandated under the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Act, 2013.
This is in view of the fact that political parties employ a large number of personnel, including women, in their offices. It is our prerogative to ensure that women enjoy a safe working environment,” Ms. Gandhi said in a tweet.
She also informed the women journalists’ group, Indian Women’s Press Corp (IWPC), in a letter that her Ministry would be looking into the institutional mechanism set up by each media organisation.
The National Commission for Women has also asked women who have levelled allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against M.J. Akbar on social media to lodge a formal complaint with it so that it can take appropriate action under law.
Meanwhile, the Editor’s Guild of India issued a statement urging Mr. Akbar, who resigned as the Minister of State for External Affairs, to withdraw his criminal defamation suit against journalist Priya Ramani.
“While Mr. Akbar is entitled to all legal instruments available to a citizen to seek vindication, it would be paradoxical for a veteran editor to employ the instrument of criminal defamation,” the Guild said. Mr. Akbar has earlier served as the president of the Guild.

::ECONOMY::

RBI opposes move to form Independent Payments Regulatory Board

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has opposed the move to have an independent Payments Regulatory Board (PRB) as envisaged by the draft proposal for amendments to the Payment & Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
In a dissenting note to the Inter-Ministerial Committee for finalisation of amendments, the RBI said, “There is no case of having a regulator for payment systems outside the RBI.” The Watal Committee, it said, had recommended the establishment of the PRB within the overall structure of the RBI. “Since banks are regulated by the RBI, a holistic regulation by RBI will be more effective and not result in increased compliance costs,” it said.
“There needs to be integrated operations and not co-ordination. Co-ordination is required across different but related functions, which is not the case for payment systems. This is also the basis for reiterating that the Governor of the RBI should be the chairman of the proposed PRB,’’ the note said.
Objectives for the PRB, the RBI said, were best avoided to be mandated by law. For, it felt that law might not provide the much-needed flexibility. “The views of the Ministry of Law could also be taken into account on jurisdictional conflict. Further, innovation is generally not mandated it evolves based on requirements,” it added.
Stating that it welcomed changes, the RBI, however said, “changes should not result in existing foundations being shaken and the potential creation of disturbances in an otherwise well-functioning structure as far as India is concerned.”

RBI increases exposure limit of banks for NBFC’s

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to increase the single-borrower exposure limit of banks for non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) which do not finance infrastructure, to 15% from the existing 10% of their capital funds.
The central bank has been taking several initiatives, including intermittent open market purchase of government securities, ever since the occurrence of a series of payment defaults by IL&FS and its arms which had culminated in the Centre disbanding the entire board of the infrastructure company and appointing a new one in its place under the leadership of Uday Kotak.
The Reserve Bank has also permitted banks to use government securities, equal to their incremental outstanding credit to NBFCs, over and above their outstanding credit to them as on October 19,to meet the liquidity coverage ratio requirement.
This would be in addition to the existing FALLCR of 13% of NDTL and limited to 0.5% of the bank’s NDTL (net demand and time liability), the RBI said. The additional window will be available up to December 31, 2018, the notification said.
On September 27, the RBI had said that banks could avail higher liquidity with effect from October 1 as it had enhanced the Facility to Avail Liquidity for Liquidity Coverage Ratio from the existing 11% to 13% of their deposits. Liquidity coverage ratio refers to highly liquid assets that financial institutions need to hold in order to meet short-term obligations.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India, Japan & U.S to conduct joint air exercises

India, Japan and the U.S. are set to elevate the bilateral ‘Cope India’ air exercise to a trilateral format. The three countries already conduct naval war games under the expanded Malabar naval exercise.
The U.S. had proposed a trilateral air exercise between India, Japan and the U.S. For this, the Cope India exercise will be elevated to a trilateral level in phases, two official sources independently confirmed on condition of anonymity.
The next edition is scheduled to be held in December for which the Final Planning Conference to finalise the modalities of the exercise is scheduled next week in Kalaikunda [West Bengal], a defence official said.
At the annual Defence Ministerial Meeting in August between Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and her Japanese counterpart Itsunori Onodera, it was agreed that Japan will send observers for the next round of Cope India exercises between India and U.S. to be hosted by the Indian Air Force.
The level of interoperability in the exercises, both bilateral and trilateral, is expected to go up with India recently signing the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement with the U.S.

Vice President addresses 12th ASEM summit

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that terrorism is a major threat to peace and stability, and called for an early conclusion of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, stressing peace is the prerequisite for progress and peace cannot be achieved without combating terrorism. He was addressing the plenary and retreat sessions of the 12th ASEM Summit, with the theme "Global Partners for Global Challenges", in Brussels, Belgium today.
During his interventions, the Vice President stated that India valued ASEM as a platform that brings together leadership of Asia and Europe to exchange views and address global challenges.
The Vice President drew attention of the leaders to the challenge that criminal misappropriation of public assets by economic offenders, was posing threats to the integrity of financial systems. He expressed the need for international cooperation to deny shelter to the economic offenders including by enhancing mechanisms for Automatic Exchange of Information.
The Vice President also emphasized the importance of connectivity for enhancing prosperity and referred to the various cross border initiatives on connectivity undertaken by India.
The Vice President elaborated on the various initiatives undertaken by the Government to promote inclusive governance, women's welfare, sustainable development and digitalization. He pointed out that the biggest driver to prevent climate change was the elimination of poverty through sustainable use of resources. He called on ASEM partners to join the International Solar Alliance, which symbolizes Asia-Europe cooperation, being an initiative launched by India and France.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Researchers develop skin gel that inhibits pesticide

Indian researchers have developed a gel which, when applied on the skin, can inhibit some pesticides from getting absorbed into the body, thus averting serious adverse effects and even death.
Organophosphate-based pesticides, which are commonly used by farmers in India, are toxic to the nervous system and heart, and can cause cognitive dysfunction.
When esters present in organophosphate-based pesticides enter the body they bind and inhibit an enzyme (acetylcholinesterase or AChE) critical for nerve and muscle function. This causes neurological disorders, suffocation, paralysis, and even death.
A team led by Dr. Praveen Kumar Vemula from the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (inStem), Bengaluru, an autonomous institute under the Department of Biotechnology, used a chemical reaction to convert the ester into acid by using a catalyst to make the pesticide inactive.
Since the majority of organophosphate-based pesticides are absorbed through the skin (the nasal/inhalation route constitutes about 10-15%) the researchers made a gel for topical application. The active ingredients of the gel are attached to chitosan (a substance found in the hard outer shells of crab and shrimp) so the gel does not penetrate the skin.
The gel does not act like a physical barrier but chemically deactivates the pesticides thereby limiting the inhibition of the enzyme.” The gel can be washed off using soap.

::SPORTS::

Akash malik claims first archery medal at youth Olympics

Akash Malik became India’s first archery silver-medallist at the Youth Olympic Games, providing a fitting finale to the country’s best-ever campaign at the marquee event here on Wednesday.
The 15-year-old son of a farmer lost a one-sided final to Trenton Cowles of the USA 6-0 as India ended with three gold, nine silver, and one bronze medal.
Seeded fifth after qualification, the Haryana archer was inconsistent in the summit clash against the 15th seed Cowles. In the three-setter, both the archers shot four perfect 10s, but Akash’s two wayward 6s in the first and third sets proved decisive. The summit clash was held under windy conditions following light rain.