Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 22 September 2020

::NATIONAL::

Centre sees unchecked digital media as a serious security threat

An unchecked digital media is capable of spreading “venomous hatred,” terror and violence, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Monday.
It can tarnish reputations of institutions and individuals. In fact, the digital media has already done all of this, the government told the court. The court should first train its attention on digital media, it said.
“It is the need of the hour that the court start first with ‘web-based digital media’ which includes ‘web magazines’ and ‘web-based news channels’ and ‘web-based newspapers’. They not only have a very wide reach but are completely uncontrolled,” the government’s 89-page affidavit said.
A three-judge Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud had asked the government for suggestions to improve the self-regulatory mechanism for electronic media. The government replied, asking the court to instead focus on digital media rather than mainstream ones.
The court’s move had come in the aftermath of an injunction ordered on Sudarshan TV’s ‘BindasBol’ programme. This show had accused Muslims of “infiltrating” the civil services with the help of funding from terror-linked organisations abroad.
On Monday, Justice Chandrachud said the court was “very concerned about the balance between free speech in the media and the right of dignity of a community.”
The judge asked the lawyers to lead arguments on whether the court could order a blanket injunction of a programme or should restrict itself to only those portions which hurt a community.

CEC underscores commitment of world election bodies

Chief Election Commissioner, Sunil Arora, on Monday underscored the commitment of Election Management Bodies (EMBs) across the world, for the conduct of timely, free, fair and participatory elections to foster democracy in the world.
Speaking at the conclusion of the International Webinar on "Issues, Challenges and Protocols for Conducting Elections during COVID-19: Sharing Country Experiences", Arora highlighted the common threads that emerged from the event.
Among the countries that made presentations were Fiji, Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Taiwan, South Africa, Bangladesh and Malawi. The international organizations participating were International IDEA, A-WEB and IFES.

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::ECONOMY::

Government announces increase in MSP for Rabi crops

Union Government has announced increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for all mandated Rabi crops. The decision was taken in the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs held yesterday under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister NarendraModi.
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, in his statement made in the LokSabha informed that the MSP of six Rabi crops including Wheat, Chana, Masoor, Mustard, Jowar and Safflower has been hiked in the range of 50 to 300 rupees.
He informed that the MSP of wheat has been increased by 50 rupees and now stands at one thousand 975 rupees per quintal whereas the MSP for Masoor has been hiked by 300 rupees. MSP for Mustard and Chana has been increased by 225 rupees. Increase in Jowar's MSP is by 75 rupees while for Safflower the hike is by 112 rupees per quintal.
Mr.Tomar informed that the government paid nearly seven lakh crore rupees to the farmers as part of MSP payment in the last six years which is almost double the amount that was paid from 2009 to 2014 under the UPA Government's tenure.
The Minister said, the hike which is in consonance with the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission's report reflects the current government’s commitment towards Minimum Support Price and procurement of agri products in the country.
Government has also increased the procurement centres for wheat by 1.5 times and for pulses and oilseeds by three times during the COVID pandemic. Agriculture Ministry has informed that 15 per cent more procurement of wheat has been done during these testing times along with disbursal of nearly 75 thousand crore rupees to the farmers.

IRDAI allows insurance companies to use video KYC identification

Insurance regulator IRDAI has permitted life, general and health insurers to undertake video-based identification process (VBIP) of customers.
An optional, electronic way of identification as part of the know-your-customer (KYC) process, VBIP is to facilitate insurers or their authorised personnel to collect information, including necessary KYC documents.
This is for carrying out client due diligence and to ascertain veracity of information furnished by the customer/ beneficiary.
Stating that the VBIP process has to be seamless, secure and real-time, the regulator said customer consent was a must for the audio-visual interaction.
All accounts opened or any service provided based on VBIP will be “activated only after being subject to proper verification by the insurer to ensure that the integrity of process is maintained and is beyond doubt,” the IRDAI said in a circular.
The process of audio-visual interaction should be secured and encrypted end-to-end, the regulator added.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India and Maldives launches direct cargo ferry service

Shipping Minister MansukhMandaviya and Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation of Maldives, Ms AishathNahula today jointly e- launched a direct cargo ferry service between India and Maldives.
During its maiden voyage, a vessel with a capacity of 200 TEU and 3000 MT of break bulk cargo will sail from Tuticorin to Kochi today, from where it will proceed to Kulhudhuffushi port in North Maldives and then to Male port.
It is scheduled to reach Kulhudhuffushi on Saturday and Male on 29th of this month. This ferry service being operated by the Shipping Corporation of India will run twice a month and will provide a cost effective direct and alternate means of transportation of goods between India and Maldives.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Mandaviya noted that this service is another milestone in the comprehensive bilateral relations between India and Maldives.
He mentioned that this direct cargo service will further cement the close ties between India and Maldives by enhancing people-to-people contact and boosting bilateral trade.
Maldivian Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation Ms AishathNahula expressed deep appreciation for the launch of the service as reflective of the close ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

PM claims UN facing crisis without reforms

In his message to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter and the adoption of a Commemorative Declaration, Prime Minister NarendraModi praised the UN but said the institution faced a “crisis of confidence” without major reforms.
The Prime Minister delivered his address on Monday via a recorded video. The UN has adopted the format due to the pandemic to avoid the customary gathering of world leaders in New York for its annual General Assembly debate.
“The Declaration also acknowledges the need for reform of the United Nations itself. We cannot fight today’s challenges with outdated structures. Without comprehensive reforms, the UN faces a crisis of confidence” Mr.Modi said.
“For today’s interconnected world, we need a reformed multilateralism that reflects today’s realities, gives voice to all stake holders, addresses contemporary challenges and focuses on human welfare.”
The Prime Minister also said the “world was a better place” because of the U.N. He recognised those who had worked for peace under the U.N flag including U.N peacekeepers and noted India’s contribution to peacekeeping.
Yet, the U.N.’s original mission remained incomplete, hesaid.Mr. Modi will again address the General Assembly on Saturday as part of the general debate.
The speech is particularly significant this year as India will begin an elected, non-permanent, two-year term on the United Nations Security Council starting January 2021.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Scientists develop method to determine warming of Indian Ocean

Scientists have developed a novel method to determine how fast the Indian Ocean is warming by analysing the sound from seabed earthquakes, an advance that may lead to a relatively low-cost technique to monitor water temperatures in all of the oceans.
According to the researchers, including those from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the US, as much as 95 per cent of the extra heat trapped on the Earth by greenhouse gases like carbondioxide is held in the world's oceans, making it important to monitor the temperature of ocean waters.
The researchers explained that when an earthquake happens under the ocean, most of its energy travels through the earth, but a portion of that energy is transmitted into the water as sound. They said these sound waves propagate outward from the quake's epicenter just like seismic waves that travel through the ground, but added that the sound moves at a much slower speed.
The study noted that the ground waves arrive at a seismic monitoring station first, followed by the sound waves,which will appear as a secondary signal of the same event. This effect, according to the researchers, is similar to how one often sees the flash from lightning seconds before hearing its thunder.
In the study, the scientists used a seismometer that has been in the same location in the central Indian Ocean since 2004. They said this helps them look back at the data it collected each time an earthquake occurred in Sumatra, for example, and determine the temperature of the ocean at that same time.
Based on the data analysed so far, the researchers confirmed that the Indian Ocean has been warming, as other data collected through other methods have indicated. But they added that the ocean might be warming even faster than previously estimated. "The ocean plays a key role in the rate that the climate is changing," Wu said.

::SPORTS::

Georgia Hall wins Portland’s classic

England’s Georgia Hall won the Portland Classic with a par at the second playoff hole, denying South African Ashleigh Buhai a first US LPGA title.
Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn and American Yealimi Noh shared third place.

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