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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 29 December 2022

::NATIONAL::

National Capital Region Transport Corporation

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has today released recommendations on ’Spectrum Requirements of National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) for Train Control System for RRTS Corridors’.
Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had sought TRAI to furnish its:

1.   Recommendations on administrative assignment of spectrum to NCRTC and the quantum, pricing/ charging thereof and any other terms and conditions, for separate spectrum requirements of NCRTC in 700 MHz band;
2.   Any other recommendations deemed fit for the purpose, including assignment of the same spectrum for other RRTS / Metro rail network pan-India.
The salient features of these Recommendations are as follows:
1.   5 MHz (paired) spectrum in 700 MHz band be assigned to NCRTC for use in RRTS corridors along the railway tracks. The frequency spectrum to be assigned to NCRTC, shall be adjacent to the frequency spectrum assigned to Indian Railways in 700 MHz band.
2.   The frequency spectrum assigned to NCRTC may also be assigned to other RRTS/ Metro rail networks, which are geographically separated and not likely to cause any interference to one another.
3.   To ascertain the feasibility of assigning the same frequency spectrum (assigned to NCRTC and other RRTS/ Metro rail network) to the telecom service providers on non-interference basis, a field trial may be conducted involving the Ministry of Railways and the telecom service providers, under the supervision of DoT.
4.   To ascertain feasibility of RAN sharing, a field trial of RAN sharing through MOCN may be conducted by the Ministry of Railways involving IR and NCRTC, under the supervision of DoT.
5.   A separate category of Permission/ License for Captive Non-Public Network for Railway Networks (CNPN-R) may be created. However, the permission/ licensing regime for CNPN-R may be kept very simple and light touch.

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Immediately notify UP civic polls without OBC quota, orders Allahabad high court

While setting aside UP government’s notification reserving seats for OBCs in upcoming Urban Local Body (ULBs) Elections, HC directed that State government to notify elections immediately without reservation for OBC.

About:

This direction is guided by provisions of Article 243-U of Constitution which mandates that election to constitute a municipality shall be completed before expiry of its duration.
HC held that until “triple test conditions” as mandated by Supreme Court in K.
Krishnamurthy v. Union of India (2010) is fulfilled, no reservation for Backward Class shall be provided in ULBs polls.

Triple test conditions are:

Setting up a dedicated commission by State government to gather data on backwardness of OBCs in every local body,
Specifying the proportion of reservation in light of commission’s proposals
Ensuring that such reservation does not exceed 50% of total seats reserved for SC/ST/OBC together.
Constitution of India provides for reservation for SCs and STs in local bodies as per their population.
State governments are allowed to make decisions on reservation for OBCs.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

G20 Digital Innovation Alliance

As part of India’s G20 presidency, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday launched the “Stay Safe Online” campaign and the “G20 Digital Innovation Alliance” (G20-DIA).

About:

To identify, recognize, and enable the adoption of innovative and impactful digital technologies developed by start-ups, from G20 nations as well as the invited non-member nations,
It can address the needs of humanity in the six critically important sectors i.e Agri-tech, Health-tech, Ed-tech, Fin-tech, Secured Digital Infrastructure, and Circular Economy.
Startup products in these six sectors enabled through Digital Public Goods Infrastructure can create a global population-scale impact and reduce the digital divide and enable sustainable, and inclusive techno-socio-economic development.
This summit which will be held in Bangalore on the sidelines of the Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) meeting will be a multi-day program where top nominated startups from each of the theme areas from all of the G20 countries and the non-member invited countries will showcase their solutions to the global community of investors, mentors, corporates, and other government stakeholders.
This will create cutting-edge digital solutions in the six themes that bridge the digital divide between different segments of humanity and advance the world economy.

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UK-Like pension schemefor gig workers

India’s pension fund regulator has recommended the federal government introduce a UK-like pension scheme for the country’s gig workers, a move aimed at bringing about 90 per cent of the overall workforce into the pension fold.
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), which manages over $102 billion in assets, has proposed that workers at food and cab aggregators be automatically enrolled into the National Pension Scheme (NPS).

About:

The PFRDA regulates the NPS, India’s voluntary retirement savings scheme that was started in 2004 and now has 16.7 million subscribers, including from the government and private sectors as well as from parts of the unorganised sector.
The PFRDA has recommended that employers deduct a part of their payouts to gig workers’ and contribute that to the NPS scheme.
India’s informal or unorganised sector employs about 90% of the country’s workforce, depriving them of social security benefits.
The number of gig workers, a large chunk of whom are delivery and sales personnel, is expected to reach 9.9 million in 2022-23, up about 45% from 2019-20, according to a report by think-tank NITI Aayog released in June.
The PFRDA’s recommendation to bring these workers into the pension fold replicates UK’s pension system that mandates every employer, even those with just one employee, enrol their staff into a pension scheme and contribute towards it.

::Economy::

International Organization of Securities Commissions

Sebi proposed a framework for index providers, aimed at improving transparency and accountability in governance and administration of the financial benchmarks or indices in the domestic securities market.

Key highlights:

In the stock market, an index is essentially a method of measuring a change in value of a group of securities forming part of such an index.
It performs several functions such as assisting the investors in understanding the health of the market and also enabling them to study the market sentiment, enabling performance measurement and benchmarking.
The proposed regulation shall be applicable to index providers (both domestic and foreign) if the users of the index/products based on index are located in India, the markets regulator said.
Under the framework, the index providers offering indices for use in India will be required to register with Sebi for obtaining authorization for introduction of indices in the country.
The markets regulator said the index provider shall be a legal entity incorporated under Companies Act in the country of origin and should have a minimum net worth of Rs 25 crore.
The index provider will have to constitute an oversight committee for reviewing existing index design. The committee will also review any proposed changes to benchmark methodology.
The regulations said the index provider must have policies and procedures to manage conflicts of interest and to protect the integrity and independence of various functions performed in connection with determination of indices.
In case an index provider is engaged in any other activity, the activity of index provider in general and the benchmark determination process in particular must be completely ring-fenced to prevent sharing or leakage of any sensitive information.
Index provider must document and make available publicly, the methodology for index calculation.

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::SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY::

Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer

The ESA has announced that the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) mission will be celebrated at an event in Toulouse, France, on 20 January next year.

About:

Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) will be Europe’s first dedicated robotic mission to Jupiter. Juice is due to reach the planet in July 2031 after performing an incredible flight path through the Solar System.
The mission will enter into orbit around Jupiter and perform numerous flybys of its large icy moons: Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
After four years of moon flybys, Juice will then enter into orbit around Ganymede, the largest moon in the Solar System — becoming the first spacecraft ever to reach orbit around the moon of another planet.
The icy moons of Jupiter are interesting as they are all believed to host oceans of liquid water beneath their frozen surfaces. Europa, in particular, is regarded as one of the most likely abodes in the Solar System for extra-terrestrial life.
Juice will be equipped with ten scientific instruments including ice-penetrating radar to study the internal oceans. This use of radar is a practical first step in mapping the sub-surface oceans, paving the way for more exotic future missions involving submersible vehicles — some of which have already been put forward.

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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 29 December 2022