JANUARY 2021 CA KAMARAJ IAS ACADEMY P a g e | 1

JANUARY 1 – 31, 2021 CURRENT AFFAIRS 5.World’s largest Vaccination Programme 6. AstroSat helps to spot UV Radiation INDEX

A. POLITY, GOVERNANCE AND F. Swami Vivekananda’s thought is as relevant INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS to India’s future as it was in its past 1. Science Policy Draft 2. Disclosure of interest under RTI G. PRELIMS TIT BITS 3. Iran steps up Uranium Enrichment 1. Prabuddha Bharata 4. India @ UNSC 5. H1B Visas 2. India’s First Leather Park 6. Gulf leaders deal 7. Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 3.National Marine Turtle Action Plan (2021- 8. India to get UN Tag of International 2026) Disaster Response for NDFR 4.Ratle Hydro Electric (He) Project 9. World Food Price Index 10. India’s Vaccine Diplomacy 5. Exercise Kavach 11. Russia’s exit from Open Skies Treaty 6. National Girl Child Week

B. ECONOMY 7. Wipro – MP’s Knowledge Partner 1. Project for Affordable Housing 8. Ayushman CAPF Health Scheme 2. RBI’s 4 tier structure for NBFC 3. RCS-UDAN Scheme 9. Ek Paudha Suposhit Beti Ke Naam 4. UNCTAD: India’s FDI 10. India’s First Indigenous 9mm Machine 5. K-Shaped Economic Recovery Pistol: 6. GST Collection hit record high 11.Exercise Sea Vigil 7. Toycathon 2021. 12. India-Japan MOC C. ENVIRONMENT 13.Ex Desert Knight-21 1. Modified Scheme for Ethanol Distillation 14. India And Uzbekistan MOU 2. Green house gas emissions and regional 15.India And UAE MOU impact 3. Community fishing banned in Assam’s 16. National Youth Day Ramsar Site 4. Best Performers among Protected Area 17. ‘Prarambh’ Startup India International Summit 5. India’s e-waste Collection 6. Why forest fires are common in 18. Cherry Blossom Mao Festival Himachal Pradesh 19. World Braille Day D. SOCIAL ISSUES 20. India And ADB 1. Corruption Perception Index 2.Special Marriage Act 21. Mukundapur Meteoroid 3. India Innovation Index 22. Parakaram Diwas

E. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 23. Mahavir Chakra 1. ISRO to adopt 100 ATL’s 24. Padma Awards 2. Why lightning kills so many Indians th 3. FSSAI and Transfat 25. Joe Biden As 46 US President 4. Bird Flu

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26.India Justice Report 2020 27. Henley Passport Index 28. Satyameva Jayate Programme 29. Bharat Parv 30. Pradhan Mantri Kausal Vikas Yojana 3.0 31. Kala Utsav 2020 32. Smart Classes For Rural Schools 33. Oldest Cave Art 34. Drone Swarm 35. International Domain Name – Nixi 36. India’s Rice Exports To Vietnam 37. Hygiene Hypothesis 38. Axiom Mission 1 39. 1st PPP Research Reactor For Production Of Nuclear Medicines

40. Indian Star Tortoise

41. Spintronics

42. PM 2.5 And Increased Anaemia Risk

43. Ayu Samvad Campaign

44. Treaty On Prohibition Of Nuclear

Weapons

45. Quantum Computing Applications Lab

46. INSACOG

47. Pulse Polio 2021

48. Startup Council

49. Vulnerable Hourbara Bird

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A. POLITY, GOVERNANCE AND Technology Archive of Research INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (INDSTA). 2. It also proposes to establish education 1. Science policy draft research centres (ERCs) and collaborative What’s in News? research centres (CRCs) to provide research inputs to policymakers and bring The draft of the 5th National Science Technology stakeholders together. and Innovation Policy has been released recently 3. Research and Innovation Excellence by the Department of Science and Technology Frameworks (RIEF) will be developed to (DST) improve the quality of research and to Draft Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, promote engagements with the relevant 2020: stakeholders. 4. It also aims to create an accountable ‘One Nation, One Subscription’ policy: research ecosystem, promoting 1. The government has proposed to buy bulk translational as well as foundational subscriptions of all important scientific research in the country in alignment with journals across the world, and provide global standards. everyone in India free access to them. STI Development Bank: 2. ‘One Nation, One Subscription’ is proposed as part of a new Open Science The policy also envisages the formation of an STI Framework that will ensure free access to Development Bank for direct investments on scientific data for all. various long and medium-term projects in select strategic areas, commercial ventures, start-ups, Science, Technology and Innovation Observatory: technology diffusion and licensing. 1. The draft policy has proposed to set up a Funds: Science, Technology and Innovation Observatory that will serve as the central 1. Each state will earmark a percentage of the repository of all kinds of data generated state allocation for STI-related activities from scientific research in the country. under a separate budget head. 2. From this Observatory, all data and 2. Foreign Multi National Companies information related to publicly-funded (MNCs) will collaborate with domestic research would be made freely accessible private and public sector entities on to everyone under “FAIR (Fair, projects aligned to national needs and Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) priorities. terms 3. It also proposes that hybrid funding 3. The draft policy also proposes “proactive models with enhanced participation from steps” to improve the quality of Indian public and private sectors will be created journals, and “concentrated efforts” to through the Advanced Missions in prevent the publication of fake journals. Innovative Research Ecosystem 4. Further, libraries of all publicly-funded (ADMIRE) initiative institutions are proposed to be made Gender Initiatives: accessible to the general public, “subject only to reasonable security protocols”. 1. For age-related cut-offs in matters relating to selection, promotion, awards or grants, Research: the “academic age” and not the biological 1. A dedicated portal to provide access to the age would be considered. outputs of publicly-funded research will be 2. It proposes that at least 30 per cent created through the Indian Science and representation be ensured for women in all

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decision-making bodies, as well as achieve the highest level of global “spousal benefits” be provided to partners recognitions and awards in the coming of scientists belonging to the LGBTQ+ decade. community. 5. The new policy, STIP, revolves around the 3. Among the proposals in the policy is core principles of being decentralized, removal of bars on married couples being evidence-informed, bottom-up, experts- employed in the same department or driven, and inclusive. laboratory. 6. Also, it aims to bring in the concept of 4. As of now, married couples are not posted ‘dynamic policy’ with a robust policy in the same department, leading to cases of governance mechanism incorporating loss of employment or forced transfers features such as implementation strategy, when colleagues decide to get married. periodic review, policy evaluation, 5. Child-care benefits are proposed to be feedback, and adaptation, and most made gender-neutral, and flexible work importantly, a timely exit strategy for timings and adequate parental leave are to various policy instruments. be offered to cater to maternity, childbirth 2. Disclosure of interest under RTI necessary to and child care. establish applicant’s bonafide 6. All publicly-funded research institutions and universities will be asked to provide What’s in News? day-care centre for children of employees, and also have a provision for elderly care The Delhi High Court, in a ruling, has observed that the disclosure of interest regarding the Objectives and Vision of the New Policy: information being sought by an applicant under the Right to Information (RTI) Law would be 1. The STIP will be guided by its broad necessary to establish their bonafides. vision of achieving technological self- reliance and position India among the top News Summary: three scientific superpowers in the decade to come 1. Delhi High Court is of the opinion that 2. It aims to foster, develop, and nurture a whenever information is sought under the robust system for evidence and RTI Act, disclosure of an interest in the stakeholder-driven STI planning, information sought would be necessary to information, evaluation, and policy establish the bonafides of the applicant. research in India. 2. It held that an RTI applicant seeking 3. The objective of the policy is to identify information should disclose his/her interest and address strengths and weaknesses of in it to prevent a "roving and fishing the Indian STI ecosystem to catalyse enquiry". socio-economic development of the 3. Roving and Fishing Enquiry – It is asked country and also make the Indian STI with the intention of harassing the ecosystem globally competitive. authority or someone else (or) it may be 4. To attract, nurture, strengthen and retain asked in the sense where one person in not critical human capital through a ‘people certain of what he is looking for but just centric’ science, technology and enquiring to gain any relevant information innovation (STI) ecosystem, to double the which he may use to expose someone or number of Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) for utilisation of a undisclosed intention . researchers, Gross Domestic Expenditure 4. The non-disclosure of the interest could on R&D (GERD) and private sector result in injustice to several other affected contribution to the GERD every 5 years persons whose information is sought. and to build individual and institutional 5. The court made the observation while excellence in STI with the aspiration to dealing with a petition seeking information

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with regard to appointments made for the substantially financed by the Central Multi-tasking Staff of the Presidential Government or a State Government also Estate, Rashtrapati Bhawan. falls within the definition of public authority. RTI Act: 5. The financing of the body or the NGO by 1. Right to Information (RTI) is an Act of the the Government may be direct or indirect. Parliament of India to provide for setting 3. Iran steps up uranium enrichment out the practical regime of right to information for citizens and replaces the What’s in News? erstwhile Freedom of information Act, Iran began enriching uranium up to 20% at an 2002. underground facility and seized a South Korean- 2. This law was passed by Parliament of flagged oil tanker in the crucial Strait of Hormuz, India on 15 June 2005 and came fully into further escalating tensions in West Asia between force on 12 October 2005. Tehran and the West. 3. Under the provisions of the Act, any citizen of India may request information Uranium Enrichment: from a “public authority” (a body of Government or “instrumentality of State”) i. Uranium is the most common fuel used in which is required to reply expeditiously or nuclear reactors, and is required for within thirty days. nuclear electricity generation as well as to 4. The Act also requires every public make nuclear weapons. authority to computerize their records for ii. On the other hand, naturally occurring wide dissemination and to proactively uranium, which is predominantly certain categories of information so that composed of a stabler isotope, uranium- the citizens need minimum recourse to 238, is not fissionable, meaning its nucleus request for information formally. cannot be split in a way that can sustain a 5. The basic object of the Right to chain reaction. Information Act is to empower the iii. To be used in nuclear reactors, natural citizens, promote transparency and uranium has to be ‘enriched’ with accountability in the working of the uranium-235 that can sustain fission chain Government, Contain corruption, and reactions. make our democracy work for the people iv. Naturally occurring uranium has less than in real sense. 1% of the uranium-235 isotope. v. Even a small amount of enrichment, in the What is a Public Authority? range of 3% to 5%, called “low enrichment”, is sufficient to run nuclear A "public authority" is : power reactors which allow only 1. any authority or body or Institution of controlled fission reactions. selfgovernment established or constituted vi. For making nuclear weapons, however, by or under the Constitution; “highly enriched” uranium — with more 2. or by any other law made by the than 90% uranium-235 — is needed. Parliament or a State Legislature; vii. More enrichment means more uranium- 3. or by notification issued or order made by 235 nuclei are available to be split, which the Central Government or a State in turn means greater heat and energy can Government. be generated. 4. The bodies owned, controlled or viii. Mined uranium has less than 1 percent of substantially financed by the Central the uranium-235 isotope used in fission Government or a State Government and reactions, and centrifuges increase that non-Government organizations isotope’s concentration.

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ix. Uranium enriched to 5 percent is used in enrichment, as well as the size of its nuclear power plants, and at 20 percent it stockpile of enriched uranium. can be used in research reactors or for x. Iran agreed to eventually implement a medical purposes. protocol that would allow inspectors from x. High-enriched uranium, at some 90 the International Atomic Energy Agency percent, is used in nuclear weapons. (IAEA), the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, unfettered access to its nuclear Iran’s Nuclear Agreement: facilities and potentially to undeclared i. The Iran nuclear agreement, formally sites. known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of xi. A body known as the Joint Commission, Action (JCPOA), is a landmark accord which includes representatives of all the reached between Iran and several world negotiating parties, monitors powers, including the United States, in implementation of the agreement and July 2015. resolves disputes that may arise. ii. Under its terms, Iran agreed to dismantle xii. A majority vote by its members can gain much of its nuclear program and open its IAEA inspectors access to suspicious, facilities to more extensive international undeclared sites. The body also oversees inspections in exchange for billions of the transfer of nuclear-related or dual-use dollars’ worth of sanctions relief. materials. iii. The JCPOA, which went into effect in xiii. In 2018, the United States withdrew from January 2016, imposes restrictions on the JCPOA and reimposed economic Iran’s civilian nuclear enrichment sanctions on Iran it had lifted earlier. program. xiv. When the sanctions were tightened in May iv. At the heart of negotiations with Iran were 2019, Iran stopped abiding by some the five permanent members of the UN commitments in the deal. Security Council (China, France, Russia, What’s Now? the United Kingdom, and the United States) and Germany—collectively known i. Iran began enriching uranium to levels as the P5+1. The European Union also unseen since its 2015 nuclear deal with took part. world powers. v. Iran had previously agreed to forgo the ii. It also seized a South Korean-flagged development of nuclear weapons as a tanker near the crucial Strait of Hormuz, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation double-barreled challenge to the West that Treaty, which has been in force since further raised Mideast tensions. 1970. iii. Both decisions appeared aimed at vi. However, after the overthrow of the increasing Tehran’s leverage in the waning Pahlavi dynasty in 1979, Iranian leaders days in office for President Donald Trump, secretly pursued this technology. whose unilateral withdrawal from the vii. Under the 2015 deal, Iran agreed not to atomic accord in 2018 began a series of produce either the highly enriched uranium escalating incidents. or the plutonium that could be used in a iv. Increasing enrichment at its underground nuclear weapon. Fordo facility puts Tehran a technical step viii. It also took steps to ensure that its Fordow, away from weapons-grade levels of 90%, Natanz, and Arak facilities pursued only while also pressuring President-elect Joe civilian work, including medical and Biden to quickly negotiate. industrial research. v. Iran’s seizure of the MT Hankuk Chemi ix. The accord limits the numbers and types of comes as a South Korean diplomat was centrifuges Iran can operate, the level of its due to travel to the Islamic Republic to

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discuss the release of billions of dollars in  India made it clear that it intends to use its Iranian assets frozen in Seoul. time at UNSC “to bring human-centric and inclusive solutions to matters of international peace and security”  In 2021, India, Norway, Kenya, Ireland and Mexico join non-permanent members Estonia, Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam and the five permanent members China, France, Russia, UK and the US in the Council.  India will be UNSC President in August 2021 and will preside over the Council again for a month in 2022.  The presidency of the Council is held by each of the members in turn for one month, following the English alphabetical order of the Member States names. UNSC membership, resolution procedures:  The Security Council is one of the UN’s six

main organs, and is aimed at maintaining international peace and security.  It held its first session on 17 January 1946 in Westminster, London.  The UNSC has 15 member and five of them — US, UK, Russia, China and France — are permanent members, who have veto rights.  The ten elected or non-permanent members have a tenure of two years. At present, the non-permanent members are Estonia, India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Niger, Norway, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam.  Non-permanent members of the Security Council, however, do not have veto rights.  The council responds to crises around the world on a case-by-case basis and takes action based on options that do not involve armed force. 4. INDIA @ UNSC  For instance, economic and trade sanctions, arms embargoes, travel bans and financial or  India will sit in the 15-nation United Nations commodity restrictions. Security Council (UNSC) for the 2021-22  However, Chapter VII of the UN charter term as a non-permanent member - the eighth allows the council to authorise the use of force time that the country has had a seat on the “to maintain or restore international peace and powerful horseshoe table.( 1950-51, 1967-68, security”. 1972-73, 1977-78, 1984-85 and 1991-92.) Responsibilities, criticism of UN Security Council:

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 The UNSC brokers peace by helping parties o India could also use the UNSC tenure reach an agreement through mediation, to deepen collaboration with its appointing special envoys, dispatching a UN European partners like France and Mission or requesting the UN Secretary- Germany in the security arena, and General to settle the dispute. find common ground with “Global  It can also vote to extend, amend or end Britain” that is carving out a new mission mandates. international path for itself after  The Security Council oversees the work of UN breaking away from the European peace operations through periodic reports from Union the Secretary-General and council sessions.  Fifth, Delhi needs to revitalise its engagement  It alone can make decisions regarding these with its traditional partners in the “global operations, which Member States are obligated south” by articulating their peace and security to enforce. concerns in the UNSC.  However, the council has been criticised for o Africa is the other priority. losing relevance and credibility. o Nearly half of UNSC meetings, 60 per cent of its documents, and 70 per cent India’s Tenure and deviations from Earlier of its resolutions are about peace and Tenures: security in Africa.  As it enters the United Nations Security o The continent has three seats in the Council for the third time since the end of the UNSC (Kenya, Niger and Tunisia) and Cold War, India finds a very different dynamic there is regular consultation between than the one it encountered during the earlier the UNSC and the Peace and Security stints in 1991-92 and 2011-12. Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU).  India, too, has changed over the last decade. o The UNSC tenure is a good moment  The range of Indian interests has expanded for Delhi to intensify India’s and so has the circle of India’s international engagement on peace and security partners. issues in Africa at bilateral, regional  India shifted from the reactive to the proactive. and global levels.  As India looks for a productive tenure at the  India’s overall objective during this tenure in UNSC, five objectives present themselves. the UN Security Council will be the  One is about making the UNSC “effective”. achievement of O.R.M.S: a New Orientation The UNSC is becoming less effective today for a Reformed Multilateral System. thanks to the deep divisions among the major  India will follow the Five-S approach of powers. a) Samman (Respect)

 Two, making the UNSC more “representative” b) Samvad (Dialogue) has been one of India’s demands since the end c) Sahyog (Cooperation) of the Cold War. China has no interest in d) Shanti (Peace) letting two other Asian powers — India and e) To create conditions for universal Japan — join the UNSC as permanent Samriddhi (Prosperity) members.  Three, Delhi has no choice but to deal with 5. H-1B visas and the new wage-based rules China’s growing hostility to India. What’s in News?  Four, the engagement with peace and security issues at the UNSC will allow India to The US administration has once again amended strengthen its new coalitions such as the Quad the H-1B visa norms by changing the rules to give — which brings together Australia, India, priority to higher wages and skills for selection of Japan and the US. deserving candidates.

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The old lottery system of work visa selection will “proffered wage equals or exceeds” the not be followed now. prevailing level in that area of employment.  The proffered wage is the the wage that the H1B Visas: employer intends to pay the beneficiary.  In 1952, after the US started expanding its  This will be done for both the 65,000 regular presence in the science, technology, visas and the 20,000 advanced degree engineering and mathematics disciplines, it exemption visas. felt the need to hire quality workers who could  This regime will also take into account the help the country achieve innovation in these skill set that the respective worker brings to areas at reasonable costs. the country and cross check it whether such  This need to hire workers paved way for the skill set is available at the same cost among introduction of the H-1 work visa system. the US workers.  This work visa system was further subdivided Issue with H1B Visa: into H-1B, H-2B, L1, O1, and E1 visas, depending on the qualification required and  The H-1B visa, the most sought after among the area for which workers were sought. Indian IT professionals.  Of these, the H-1B visa remains the most  The technology companies depend on it to hire popular due to the relatively better wage tens of thousands of employees each year from chance it offers. countries like India and China.  The H-1B work visa system has since  To the contrary, it harms the United States, undergone many changes and revisions to including by preventing certain family allow or disallow certain categories of skilled members of United States citizens and lawful workers in the US, depending on the economic permanent residents from joining their situation of the country. families  Of late, however, it has also been often been  It also harms industries in the United States criticised for sending low-cost workers to the that utilise talent from around the world. US at the expense of domestic workers. Green Card: Popularity of H1B Visas: A Green Card, known officially as a Permanent  The arrival of internet and low-cost computers Resident Card, is a document issued to in homes and universities of developing immigrants to the US as evidence that the bearer nations such as India, China, and Pakistan saw has been granted the privilege of residing a large number of students graduating in permanently. disciplines related to computer science, 6. Gulf Leaders Sign Deal to End 3-Year Doha technology, engineering and mathematics Boycott (STEM).  Lack of jobs in their home countries, on the What’s in News ? other hand, meant that the STEM graduates Diplomatic relations have been restored between were willing to work in the US at relatively Qatar and four Arab states that imposed an low costs, which proved to be a win-win embargo against it for three years situation for both the employer and the employee, thereby making the H-1B work The Qatar Blockade: visas the most popular. 1. In June 2017, Qatar’s powerful New wage-based H-1B work visa regime: neighbouring Arab nations of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain  The new wage-based work visa regime will and Egypt moved to sever diplomatic and now give priority in selection of visas to economic ties with Qatar by shutting off applications of those employers where the

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shipping routes and air space, over Doha’s 4. Qatar’s support for the Palestinian Hamas alleged support for terrorism across the in Gaza, Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, region and its ties with Iran. and Islamist groups in Syria are also major 2. Qatar, however, denies supporting Islamic areas of contention. extremism and has widely condemned the 5. Qatar has denied backing al-Qaeda and isolation as a clear attack on its Islamic State. sovereignty. Breakthrough in Crisis: 3. The neighbours then issued a 13-point list of demands for Doha to comply with in 1. The breakthrough came in late 2020, the order to restore erstwhile relations. result of sustained Kuwaiti and Oman 4. Some demands include Qatar closing mediation efforts and intensified US down news outlets such as Al-Jazeera, pressure on the Gulf coalition. sever ties with radical Islamist groups like 2. Now gulf leaders have signed a “solidarity Muslim Brotherhood, scale down ties with and stability” deal to restore diplomatic Shia-majority Iran and remove Turkish relations between Qatar and four Arab troops stationed in the country. states. 5. Qatar called the embargo a violation of 3. An agreement has been reached to open international laws and instead, airspace and land and sea borders between strengthened ties with Iran and Turkey. Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The dispute at the ICJ: 7. Pravasi Bharatiya Divas : 1. Alleging that its rights of free passage 1. Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated once under the 1944 Convention on Civil in every two years to strengthen the Aviation were violated, Qatar approached engagement of the overseas Indian the International Civil Aviation Authority community with the Government of India (ICAO), the UN aviation body created by and reconnect them with their roots. that Convention. 2. The 16th PBD Convention is being held 2. At the ICAO, Saudi Arabia and its allies Virtually on 9 January, 2021 in New argued that only the ICJ should have the Delhi. authority to settle the dispute, since it went 3. The theme of 16th PBD Convention 2021 beyond aviation matters. is "Contributing to Aatmanirbhar Bharat". 3. In 2018, the ICAO ruled against the Saudi 4. January 9 was chosen as the day to coalition, holding that it did have celebrate this occasion since it was on this jurisdiction to hear the case. day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi, 4. The four countries then took the case to the returned to India from South Africa ICJ, backed the ICAO finding 15-1. 5. President of Suriname Chandrikapersad 5. The ICAO is now expected to deliver its Santokhi was the Chief Guest for 16th verdict on the air blockade this year Convention Qatar in the Middle East: Diaspora Engagement: 1. Over the last four decades, Qatar has gone National Pension Scheme for NRIs: from being one of the poorest Gulf states to one of the wealthiest 1. The National Pension Scheme is a 2. Qatar shares a huge gas field with Iran, government-sponsored pension which is an incentive for it to retain good programme in India. relations with the Shiite regime in Tehran. 2. It is a voluntary, post-retirement 3. This is a strong irritant for Sunni Saudi investment fund initiated by the Central Arabia, which seeks to control the Government. geopolitics of the Middle East.

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3. NRIs between the age of 18-60 years may Awards in the presence of President of open an NPS Account, after having India complied with KYC norms Bharat Ko Janiye (BKJ) Quiz: 4. It is important to note here that Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) and Persons of 1. Bharat Ko Janiye Quiz was launched in Indian Origins (PIOs) aren’t included in 2015-16 in order to strengthen the the definition of NRI and are thus not engagement with young overseas Indians eligible to open an NPS Account. and encourage them to know more about 5. The source of contributions made in the their country of origin. NPS Account shall be an NRO Account or 2. This year, the 3rd edition of Bharat Ko an NRE Account. Janiye Quiz 2020-21 has been held virtually from 30 September to 28 (An NRE account is a bank account opened in December 2020. India in the name of an NRI, to park his foreign 3. 15 winners of the Bharat ko Janiye Quiz earnings; whereas, an NRO account is a bank will be announced during the Pravasi account opened in India in the name of an NRI, to Bharatiya Divas (PBD) convention online manage the income earned by him in India) and will be invited for an India Tour COVID-19 Initiatives for NRIs: (Bharat Ko Janiye Darshan) after Covid. 1. Vande Bharat Mission is the biggest 8. India to get UN tag of international disaster evacuation exercise to bring back Indian response force for NDRF citizens stranded abroad amidst the What’s in News? COVID-19 induced travel restrictions, more than 45 lakh Indians were rescued. India could soon be a part of the United Nations 2. 'Skilled Workers Arrival Database for (UN) mandated international disaster rescue Employment Support' (SWADES) for operations as NDRF, is expected to obtain a returning immigrants from Gulf and other globally recognised standardisation later in 2021 area. 3. Global Pravasi Rishta portal for better News Highlights: connectivity and communication with the 1. The authorisation will be done by the Pravasi Bhartiyas. Switzerland-headquartered INSARAG (or Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award: the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group) which is a network of 1. The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award is more than 90 countries and organisations the highest honour conferred on a Non- under the UN umbrella to deal with urban Resident Indian, Person of Indian Origin; search and rescue related issues. or an organisation or institution established 2. The UN agency INSARAG standardises and run by Non-Resident Indians or disaster response teams across the world Persons of Indian Origin, who have made 3. In Chile and China, the UN has certified significant contribution in better their provincial teams so that state teams understanding of India abroad, support can also travel across the world for disaster India's causes and concerns in a tangible response operations way, community work abroad, welfare of 4. This could lead to a cascading effect where local Indian community, philanthropic and NDRF can become a national accreditation charitable work, etc. agency for state disaster response forces 2. During the PBD convention, select and that also could be UN-supported eminent Indian diaspora members are 5. This will add to the profile of India being a awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman great disaster response oriented country

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where the protocols and standard operating and even some cases of retrieval or procedures are of world standard radiological materials. 6. It will be a matter of great prestige for 2. NDRF teams have also responded to road India that its force is known as an and train accidents, and also boat capsizes. international response force 3. The NDRF has received global appreciation for aiding Japan in 2011, NDRF: when it was struck by an earthquake, 1. The National Disaster Management tsunami and a nuclear emergency. Authority (NDMA) was constituted to lay 4. It was also praised for its efforts in the down the policies, plans and guidelines for 2015 Nepal earthquake. disaster management. 9. World food price index rises for seventh 2. The National Disaster Management straight month in Dec Authority is chaired by the Prime Minister. 3. The Disaster Management Act, 2005 has What’s in News? statutory provisions for constitution of According to FAO, World food prices rose for a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) seventh consecutive month in December, with all for the purpose of specialized response to the major categories, barring sugar, posting gains natural and man-made disasters. last month. 4. The National Disaster Response Force was raised in 2006 to undertake specific tasks UN FAO FOOD PRICE INDEX: of relief and rescue during natural and manmade disasters or life threatening The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) is a measure of situations. the monthly change in international prices of a 5. It has 12 operational battalions (three each basket of food commodities. from the BSF and CRPF and two each It consists of the average of five commodity group from CISF, ITBP and SSB) comprising price indices weighted by the average export more than 15,000 personnel based across shares of each of the groups over 2014-2016. the country at present while four more battalions are taking shape. The Sub-indices are – 6. Battalions are also trained and equipped 1. FAO Cereal Price Index for response during chemical, biological, 2. FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index radiological and nuclear (CBRN) 3. FAO Dairy Price Index emergencies. 4. FAO Meat Price Index 7. NDRF functions under the purview of the 5. FAO Sugar Price Index Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and is headed by a Director General. Report Highlights: 8. Recently, the first batch of over 100 1. World food prices rose for a seventh women disaster combatants and rescuers consecutive month in December has been inducted into NDRF (for 2. For the whole of 2020, the benchmark contingency duties on the banks of the index averaged 97.9 points, a three-year Ganga river in Uttar Pradesh's Garh high and a 3.1% increase from 2019. Mukteshwar town). 3. The cereal price index posted a more NDRF operations: modest 1.1% rise in December from the month before. 1. The agency has conducted relief, rescue, 4. Export prices for wheat, maize, sorghum evacuation operations during all the major and rice all rose in December, moving natural or man-made disasters in the higher in part due to concerns over country, including floods, cyclones, growing conditions and crop prospects in earthquakes, landslides, structure collapses

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North and South America as well as conditions that may result in adverse Russia production shocks 5. In case of Vegetable oil, Supply tightness 10. Vaccine diplomacy: India’s edge over in major palm oil producing countries had China pushed prices up 6. Sharp hike in export duties in Indonesia is What’s in News? also one of the reason 7. The FAO Sugar Price Index rose 3.3 India will give millions of doses of COVID-19 percent month-on-month amid growing vaccine to South Asian countries like Bhutan, expectations of a global production Maldives , Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, shortfall in the upcoming marketing season Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius as unfavorable weather conditions drove in the next few weeks. weaker crop prospects in the European Vaccine Diplomacy: Union, the Russian Federation and Thailand. Vaccine diplomacy is “the branch of global health 8. The FAO Dairy Price Index increased 0.9 diplomacy that relies on the use or delivery of percent to near an 18-month high, driven vaccines,” whereas vaccine science diplomacy is largely by firmer butter and cheese prices “a unique hybrid of elements of global health and surging retail sales in Europe during a diplomacy and science diplomacy.” seasonal low period for milk production in “Vaccine Maitri”: the region. 9. The FAO Meat Price Index rose 0.9 1. India will officially begin its vaccine percent from October, but it is still 13.7 diplomacy by supplying Made-in-India percent below its value a year ago. Covid-19 vaccines to its neighbouring and 10. Prices of bovine, ovine and pig meats all key partner countries. increased, while those of poultry meat 2. Bhutan and Maldives will be the first to declined. get the vaccines, followed by Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar and Seychelles. COVID-19, La Niña and food insecurity: 3. Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Mauritius will 1. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, also get doses once they give necessary particularly in terms of income losses, is regulatory approvals. an important driver of the levels of global 4. This is portrayed by India as yet another food insecurity. testament to its Neighbourhood First 2. The pandemic is exacerbating and policy — the government is going to brand intensifying already fragile conditions it “Vaccine Maitri”. caused by conflicts, pests and weather 5. Pakistan has not been named as a shocks, including recent hurricanes in neighbouring country which will get the Central America and floods in Africa. vaccine though Islamabad is exploring 3. Forty-five countries, 34 of them in Africa, options to get it through a global alliance continue to be in need of external or bilateral arrangements. assistance for food, according to the 6. India had earlier supplied quarterly “Crop Prospects and Food Hydroxychloroquine, Remdesivir and Situation report:, also published by FAO Paracetamol tablets, as well as diagnostic 4. The report notes that the presence of La kits, ventilators, masks, gloves and other Niña heightens the risk of above-average medical supplies to a large number of rainfall in Southern Africa and East Asia, countries during the pandemic. while parts of Near East Asia and East 7. India has also provided training to several Africa are expecting reduced rains, neighbouring countries to enhance and strengthen their clinical capabilities, under

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the Partnerships for Accelerating Clinical Russia announced that it was leaving the Open Trials (PACT) programme. Skies Treaty (OST), an accord between over 30 8. Beyond its immediate neighbourhood, countries that allows participants to fly unarmed India is also planning to supply vaccines to reconnaissance flights over any part of their other countries like Brazil, Morocco, Saudi fellow member states. Arabia and South Africa. Open Skies Treaty: Impact of the Move:  First proposed in 1955 by former US President 1. It will help India to earn long term Dwight Eisenhower as a means to deescalate goodwill from its immediate neighbours tensions during the Cold War, the landmark and those countries that derive the benefit treaty was eventually signed in 1992 between from India. NATO members and former Warsaw Pact 2. India stands to enhance its status as a countries following the demise of the Soviet responsible nation. Union. 3. The affluent Western world, notably the  It went into effect in 2002 and had 35 US and Europe, are focussed almost signatories, including key players US and exclusively on their own problems, there Russia, along with one non-ratifying member appears to be relatively little interest, or (Kyrgyzstan). intent, in helping developing countries,  The OST aims at building confidence among which in any case would find American members through mutual openness, thus and European products unaffordable, India reducing the chances of accidental war. fills up the gap here.  Under the treaty, a member state can “spy” on 4. China earlier this month also offered its any part of the host nation, with the latter’s vaccines to Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka consent. and Bangladesh as it held a multilateral  A country can undertake aerial imaging over dialogue with the four countries and the host state after giving notice 72 hours Pakistan on anti-epidemic prevention, but before, and sharing its exact flight path 24 so far hasn’t agreed orders, so India is hours before. getting an edge over the same here.  The information gathered, such as on troop Way Forward: movements, military exercises and missile deployments, has to be shared with all member 1. It would be unwise to make this yet states. another contest between India and China.  Only approved imaging equipment is 2. Vaccines are a global common good, and permitted on the surveillance flights, and the demand for anti-COVID 19 officials from the host state can also stay on immunisation across the world is massive. board throughout the planned journey. 3. It is the responsibility of all countries with the capability to manufacture the vaccine US withdrawal from the Open Skies Treaty: to make it available internationally, and  US for over a decade accused Russia of non- equitably to all. compliance with OST protocols, blaming 4. This is in every country’s interest, as Moscow of obstructing surveillance flights on building a global immunity to COVID19 is its territory, while misusing its own missions crucial to restoring the movement of for gathering key tactical data. people and goods across nations, to life as  In May 2020, the Trump administration it was pre-pandemic. announced its intention of withdrawing from 11. Russia’s exit means for Open Skies Treaty the OST, accusing Russia of “flagrantly and continuously violating the Treaty in various What’s in News? ways for years”, and left it in November 2020.

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Russia’s withdrawal after the US: which both powers agreed to destroy two categories of lethal missile systems from their

 A contentious issue regarding Russia’s own stocks as a means to decelerate the compliance with the OST was its alleged nuclear arms race. reluctance to allow flights over Kaliningrad, its exclave in Eastern Europe that sits between B. ECONOMY NATO allies Lithuania and Poland. 1. PM unveils project for affordable housing  Russia defended its position by saying that the restrictions were permissible under treaty What’s in News? rules, and gave the example of the US Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation imposing similar limits on flights over Alaska. of six Light House Projects, as part of the Global  After the US left the OST, Russia sought Housing Technology Challenge-India (GHTC- assurances from NATO allies who continued India) initiative, in Indore, Rajkot, Chennai, to remain on the treaty that they would not Ranchi, Agartala and Lucknow. transfer data collected by their flights over Russia to Washington. GHTC-India initiative: i. MoHUA has initiated the Global Housing Technology Challenge - India (GHTC- India) ii. This aims to identify and mainstream a basket of innovative construction technologies from across the globe for housing construction sector that are sustainable, eco-friendly and disaster- resilient. iii. The GHTCIndia platform aspires to provide an eco-system for the adoption of innovative technologies in the housing construction sector in a holistic manner. iv. Lighthouse projects are envisaged that will

be built using these innovative Significance of the Open Skies Treaty: technologies and further support will be provided to upcoming domestic  The OST was signed in 1992, much before the technologies to foster an environment of advent of advanced satellite imaging research and development. technology which is currently the preferred v. Conceptualised through extensive mode for intelligence gathering. consultations with various stakeholders,  Surveillance aircraft provide key information GHTC-India leverages the scale and that still cannot be gathered by satellite successes of the Pradhan Mantri Awas sensors, such as thermal imaging data. Yojana (Urban) and its Technology Sub- What Happens Now? Mission.  The failure of the Open Skies Treaty follows Light House Projects: the demise of another significant arms control i. LHPs are model housing projects with accord, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear houses built with shortlisted alternate Forces (INF) Treaty, after both the US and technology suitable to the geo-climatic and Russia left it in 2019. hazard conditions of the region.  The INF Treaty was signed between the United States and the Soviet Union in 1987, in

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ii. This will demonstrate and deliver ready to iii. Five incubation centres, set up under the live houses with speed, economy and with Affordable Sustainable Housing better quality of construction in a Accelerators-India initiative, were sustainable manner. launched for identifying innovative iii. The period of construction is maximum 12 materials, processes and technology for months from the date of handing over of resource efficient, disaster resilient and sites to the construction agency after all sustainable construction. statutory approvals. iv. A certificate course named “Navaritih” on iv. Approvals will be accorded through a fast innovative construction technologies was track process by the concerned State also introduced. Government. 2. RBI proposes 4 tier structure for tighter News Highlights: regulation of NBFC’s i. About 1,000 houses at each location are to What’s in News? be constructed in a year, using six distinct The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed a technologies from a basket of 54 such tighter regulatory framework for non-banking technologies shortlisted under the GHTC- financial companies (NBFCs) by creating a four- India, 2019. tier structure with a progressive increase in ii. In Indore, prefabricated sandwich panel intensity of regulation. system technology would be used, while in Rajkot, through tunnelling, monolithic News Highlights: concrete construction system from France was being employed. 1. In its discussion paper on revised iii. Precast concrete technology from the U.S. regulatory framework for NBFCs, the RBI and Finland would be used for the has said the regulatory and supervisory construction of affordable houses in framework of NBFCs should be based on a Chennai, and in Ranchi, the project would four-layered structure: Base Layer, Middle be implemented through the 3-D Layer, Upper Layer and a possible Top technology from Germany Layer. iv. In Agartala, the steel-frame technology 2. It has also proposed classification of non- would be used for constructing earthquake performing assets (NPAs) of base layer resistant houses and pre-constructed wall NBFCs from 180 days to 90 days overdue. technology from Canada would be used in 3. NBFCs in lower layer will be known as Lucknow. NBFC-Base Layer (NBFC-BL). v. Other governments schemes would also be 4. NBFCs in middle layer will be known as linked to these projects to provide facilities NBFC-Middle Layer (NBFC-ML). such as water supply, electricity and LPG 5. An NBFC in the Upper Layer will be connection to the beneficiaries. known as NBFC-Upper Layer (NBFC-UL) and will invite a new regulatory Other Initiatives: superstructure. 6. There is also a Top Layer, ideally i. During the COVID-19 outbreak, another supposed to be empty. major initiative -- the Central rental 7. Once an NBFC is identified as NBFC-UL, housing complex project -- was conceived, it will be subject to enhanced regulatory with the objective of addressing the issues requirement at least for four years from its faced by migrant labourers. last appearance in the category, even ii. The project was being implemented in where it does not meet the parametric coordination with industrialists and other criteria in the subsequent year. investors.

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BASE LAYER: 1. The NBFC sector has seen tremendous growth in recent years. 1. If the framework is visualised as a 2. In last five years alone, size of balance pyramid, the bottom of the pyramid, where sheet of NBFCs (including HFCs) has least regulatory intervention is warranted. more than doubled from Rs 20.72 lakh 2. It can consist of NBFCs, currently crore (2015) to Rs 49.22 lakh crore (2020). classified as non-systemically important 3. In view of the recent stress in the sector, it NBFCs (NBFC-ND), NBFCP2P (Non- has become imperative to re-examine the Banking Financial Company – Peer to suitability of this regulatory approach, Peer) lending platforms, NBFCAA especially when failure of an extremely (NBFC- Account Aggregator), NOFHC large NBFC can precipitate systemic risks. (Non-Operative Financial Holding 4. The regulatory framework for NBFCs Company i.e. Non deposit taking) and needs to be reoriented to keep pace with Type I NBFCs. changing realities in the financial sector. MIDDLE LAYER: Regulation of NBFC’s by RBI: 1. As one moves up, the next layer can 1. The Department of Non-Banking consist of NBFCs currently classified as Supervision (DNBS) is entrusted with the systemically important NBFCs (NBFC- responsibility of regulation and ND-SI), deposit taking NBFCs (NBFC-D), supervision of Non-Banking Financial housing finance companies, IFCs, IDFs, Companies (NBFCs) under the Reserve SPDs and core investment companies. Bank of India Act, 1934. 2. The regulatory regime for this layer will be 2. The Regulatory and Supervisory stricter compared to the base layer. Framework of the Reserve Bank provides 3. Adverse regulatory arbitrage vis-à-vis for, among other things, registration of banks can be addressed for NBFCs falling NBFCs, prudential regulation of various in this layer in order to reduce systemic categories of NBFC, issue of directions on risk spill-overs, where required. acceptance of deposits by NBFCs and UPPER LAYER: surveillance of the sector through off-site and on-site supervision. 1. This layer will be populated by NBFCs 3. Deposit taking NBFCs and Systemically which have large potential of systemic Important Non-Deposit Accepting spill-over of risks and have the ability to Companies are subjected to a greater impact financial stability. degree of regulation and supervision. 2. There is no parallel for this layer at 4. The focus of regulation and supervision is present, as this will be a new layer for three fold, viz., a) depositor protection, b) regulation. consumer protection and c) financial 3. The regulatory framework for NBFCs stability. falling in this layer will be bank-like, albeit 5. The Reserve Bank has also been with suitable and appropriate empowered under the RBI Act 1934 to modifications. take punitive action which includes TOP LAYER: cancellation of Certificate of Registration, issue of prohibitory orders from accepting If certain NBFCs lying in the upper layer are seen deposits, filing criminal cases or winding to pose extreme risks as per supervisory up petitions under provisions of judgement, they can be put to higher and bespoke Companies Act in extreme cases. regulatory/ supervisory requirements. Need for the Move:

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3. Direct daily flight operations between general public. Hence airfare on certain number of Kalaburagi to Tirupati flagged off under seats in an aircraft are capped. UDAN (iii) Viability Gap Funding (VGF): VGF support What’s in News? is a monetary assistance that is provided by MoCA to the airline operator to enable them to Direct daily flight operations have commenced successfully run the routes. between Kalaburagi (Karnataka) to Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) under the RCS-UDAN scheme. VGF support is market determined, though a competitive bidding mechanism where the airline RCS-UDAN Scheme: operators bid for the route in the form of VGF per The Ministry of Civil Aviation launched the seat. 'Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) UDAN---- The VGF per seat is capped. Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik' on 21 October 2016 with the twin objectives of: Separate table of VGF cap per seat is provided for different types of aircraft. i. Promoting Balanced Regional Growth; and (iv) Minimum performance level: The airline ii. Making Flying Affordable For Masses operators are required to conform to certain With the launch of UDAN, the Aviation Sector is specification for operating routes under the set to get a big boost and tap huge market of Scheme. Some of them are: Providing 50% of the middle class flyers living in Tier-2 and Tier-3 RCS Flight Capacity as RCS seats, with minimum cities of 9 and maximum of 40 RCS seats in an aircraft. UDAN is a first-of-its-kind scheme globally to The number of RCS flights to be operated in a stimulate regional connectivity through a market- week shall be minimum of 3; and a maximum of based mechanism 7. The UDAN Scheme is a key component of the For operation in Priority Area(s) the maximum National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP), 2016 number of RCS flight allowed in a week is relaxed to 14. The first component is to develop new airports and enhance the existing regional airports to The operator is obligated to operate at least 70 % increase the number of operational airports for the total scheduled flight in a period of one year. scheduled civilian flights. (v) Exclusivity of operation: The airline operators The second component is to add several hundred are provided exclusivity to operate the RCS route financially-viable, capped-airfare, new regional for the period of three years. flight routes to connect more than 100 under- (vi) Tenure of the Scheme: The scheme to be served and un-served airports in smaller towns by applicable for a period of 10 year, subjected to using "Viability Gap Funding" (VGF) where periodic review. needed. VGF support for the RCS route is available for a Salient features of the Scheme are as under:- period of three years only. (i) Demand driven: The Scheme is market driven (vii) Type of aircraft / helicopter: The Scheme where airline operators assess demand on routes allows operation through various type of aircrafts and bid for it through a transparent bidding including sea planes and helicopters. mechanism.

(ii)Affordability: One of the objectives of the Scheme is to make air travel affordable for the

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4. UNCTAD: India’s FDI rose by 13 per cent in 10. Cross-border M&A sales of US assets to 2020 foreign investors fell by 41 per cent, mostly in the primary sector. What’s in News? 11. On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Recently, An ‘investment trends monitor’ was investment in Europe dried up as well. issued by the United Nations Conference on Trade 12. In the United Kingdom, FDI fell to zero, and Development (UNCTAD). and declines were recorded in other major recipients. Highlights of the Report: 13. Although overall FDI flows in developing (a)Global Projections: economies appear relatively resilient, greenfield announcements fell by 46 per 1. Global foreign direct investment (FDI) cent and international project finance by 7 collapsed in 2020 by 42% to an estimated per cent. USD 859 billion from USD 1.5 trillion in 14. The UK and Italy saw an over 100% crash 2019. each in FDI inflows, followed by Russia 2. Such a low level was last seen in the 1990s (96% drop), Germany (61%), Brazil and is more than 30 per cent below the (50%), the US (49%), Australia (46%) and investment trough that followed the 2008- France (39%). 2009 global financial crisis 15. Developing economies drew as much as 3. The decline in FDI inflows was 72% of global FDI in 2020 – their highest concentrated in developed countries, share on record. Asian nations did where fund flows fell by 69 per cent to an particularly well, attracting $476 billion in estimated USD 229 billion. FDI last year. 4. China was the world’s largest FDI 16. Despite projections for the global economy recipient, with flows to the Asian giant to recover in 2021, the UNCTAD expects rising by 4 per cent to USD 163 billion. FDI flows to remain weak due to 5. FDI in South Asia rose by 10 per cent to uncertainty over the evolution of the USD 65 billion. COVID-19 pandemic. 6. East Asia was the largest host region, accounting for one-third of global FDI in (b) India Specific Findings: 2020. 1. However, FDI in India rose by 13 per cent, 7. Flows to North America declined by 46 boosted by investments in the digital per cent to USD 166 billion, with cross- sector. border mergers and acquisitions dropping 2. The total foreign investments for 2020 by 43 per cent. touching USD 57 billion. 8. Announced greenfield investment projects 3. Acquisitions in India’s digital economy fell by 29% and project finance deals was the largest contributor to this rise. tumbled by 2 per cent. 4. Cross-border merger and acquisition (Greenfield investment is a kind of FDI, in (M&A) sales grew 83 per cent to USD 27 which the parent company creates a billion, the report said, citing social subsidiary in the host country and builds networking giant Facebook’s acquisition its operations from the ground up.) of 9.9 per cent stake in Reliance Jio 9. The United States recorded a 49 per cent platforms, via a new entity, Jaadhu drop in FDI, falling to an estimated USD Holdings LLC. Infrastructure. 134 billion. The decline took place in 5. Similarly deals in the energy sector wholesale trade, financial services and propped up M&A values in India. manufacturing. 6. India and Turkey are attracting record numbers of deals in information consulting and digital sectors, including e-commerce

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platforms, data processing services and Report (formerly known as the digital payments. Information Economy Report) and The Technology and Innovation Report. (c) Future Concerns: 5. K-shaped economic recovery 1. Sharply lower greenfield project announcements (-35 per cent in 2020) K-Shaped Recovery: suggest a turnaround in industrial sectors. 1. A K-shaped recovery occurs when, 2. Similarly, the 2020 decline in cross-border following a recession, different parts of the M&As (-10 per cent) was cushioned by economy recover at different rates, times, higher values in the last part of the year. or magnitudes. 3. Looking at M&A announcements, strong 2. A K-shaped recovery leads to changes in deal activity in technology and the structure of the economy or the broader pharmaceutical industries is expected to society as economic outcomes and push M&A-driven FDI flows higher. relations are fundamentally changed before 4. For developing countries, the trends in and after the recession. greenfield and project finance 3. A K-shaped recovery exposes pre-existing announcements are a major concern. divisions and disparities in wealth, and can UNCTAD: exacerbate them 4. This type of recovery is called K-shaped 1. UNCTAD is a permanent because the path of different parts of the intergovernmental body established by the economy when charted together may United Nations General Assembly in 1964. diverge, resembling the two arms of the 2. It’s headquarters is located in Geneva, Roman letter "K." Switzerland, and offices in New York and Addis Ababa. Macro implications of a K-shaped recovery: 3. It reports to the UN General Assembly and 1. With the top 10 per cent of India’s United Nations Economic and Social households responsible for 25-30 per cent Council. of total consumption, one could argue 4. The conference ordinarily meets once in consumption would get a boost as this four years. pent-up demand expresses itself. 5. The primary objective of UNCTAD is to a. Upper-income households have formulate policies relating to all aspects of benefitted from higher savings for development including trade, aid, two quarters. transport, finance and technology. b. What we are currently witnessing 6. The objectives of UNCTAD are, is a sugar rush from those savings (a) to reduce and eventually eliminate being spent. the trade gap between the c. This is, however, a one-time effect. developed and developing d. To the extent that households at the Countries, and bottom have experienced a (b) and to accelerate the rate of permanent loss of income in the economic growth of the developing forms of jobs and wage cuts, this world. will be a recurring drag on demand, 7. India has hosted the second UNCTAD if the labour market does not heal conference in New Delhi in 1968. faster 8. Some reports published by UNCTAD are - 2. COVID has triggered an effective income UNCTAD produces a number of topical transfer from the poor to the rich, this will reports, including: The Trade and be demand-impeding because the poor Development Report, The Trade and have a higher marginal propensity to Environment Review, Digital Economy

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consume (ie they tend to spend (instead of 1. The Z-shaped recovery is the most- saving) a much higher proportion of their optimistic scenario in which the economy income). quickly rises like a phoenix after a crash. It 3. If COVID-19 reduces competition or more than makes up for lost ground (think increases the inequality of incomes and revenge-buying after the lockdowns are opportunities, it could impinge on trend lifted) before settling back to the normal growth in developing economies by trend-line, thus forming a Z-shaped chart. hurting productivity and tightening 2. A V-shaped recovery in which the political economy constraints. economy quickly recoups lost ground and 4. It is said that the prospects of a K-shaped gets back to the normal growth trend-line. recovery from COVID are increasing both 3. A U-shaped recovery — resembling a in India and across the world. bathtub — is a scenario in which the economy, after falling, struggles and muddles around a low growth rate for some time, before rising gradually to usual levels. 4. A W-shaped recovery is a dangerous creature — growth falls and rises, but falls again before recovering yet again, thus forming a W-like chart. 5. The L-shaped recovery is the worst-case scenario, in which growth after falling, stagnates at low levels and does not recover for a long, long time. Other Shapes of Economic Recovery:

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6. The J-shaped recovery, a somewhat between GST, income tax and customs unrealistic scenario, in which growth rises started last year) sharply from the lows much higher than 6. Expansion of e-invoicing the trend-line and stays there. E-invoicing: 7. The Swoosh shaped recovery, similar to the Nike logo — in between the V-shape 1. ‘e-Invoicing’ or ‘electronic invoicing’ is a and the U-shape. Here, after falling, system in which B2B invoices are growth starts recovering quickly but then, authenticated electronically by GSTN for slowed down by obstacles, moves further use on the common GST portal. gradually back to the trend-line. 2. Under the electronic invoicing system, an 8. The Inverted square root shaped recovery, identification number will be issued while there could a rebound from the against every invoice by the Invoice bottom, the growth slows and settles a step Registration Portal (IRP) to be managed down. by the GST Network(GSTN). 3. It has been made applicable from 1st 6. GST collections hit record high in December October 2020 to all businesses whose What’s in News? aggregate turnover has exceeded Rs.500 crore limit in any of the preceding The Finance Ministry has said that GST revenues financial years from 2017-18 to 2019-20. during December 2020 have been the highest 4. The taxpayers having an aggregate since the introduction of GST and it is the first turnover exceeding Rs.100 crore should time that it has crossed Rs1.15 lakh cr. implement e-Invoicing from 1st January Reasons for Increase in GST Revenue: 2021. 1. It is mainly because of higher demand, 7. Government launches hackathon for toys partly due to Diwali, improved compliance What’s in News? and higher prices of some goods 2. In September, Aadhaar based GST The Government has recently launched a registration was introduced which made it hackathon for students, teachers and start-ups to simpler for the honest taxpayer, and at the design and develop toys and games “based on same time check the fraudulent elements Indian culture and ethos, local folklore and heroes, who used to get registrations and then they and Indian value systems.” used to indulge in fraud. Toycathon 2021: 3. In December, the GSTR-2B was brought in which basically shows the entire input Who has launched this? tax credit that one is eligible for and it shows the invoice price, the supplier. Ministry of Education, Ministry of Women and (Input credit means at the time of paying Child Development (MWCD), Ministry of tax on output, you can reduce the tax you Textile, Ministry of Commerce and Industries, have already paid on inputs) Ministry of MSME, Ministry of I&B and All India 4. The tax filing has become much simpler Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have now because the taxpayer does not have to jointly launched Toycathon-2021 calculate how much input tax credit he is What are the themes of the hackathaon? getting from each invoice. 5. Increased investigations with the help of The Toycathon is based on nine themes viz. Income Tax Department to catch tax Indian Culture, History, Knowledge of India and evaders also contributed to increase in Ethos; Learning, Education and Schooling; Social GST collections (Triangulation of data and human values; Occupations & specific fields; Environment; Divyang ; Fitness and sport; Out of

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given much attention mostly because of its  The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs possible environmental and long-term (CCEA), headed by Prime Minister approved economical advantages over fossil fuel. a modified scheme for extending interest ix. Ethanol can be combined with petrol in subvention to augment ethanol production any concentration up to pure ethanol capacity. (E100).  The government would bear interest x. Anhydrous ethanol, that is, ethanol without subvention for five years, including one-year water, can be blended with petrol in moratorium against the loan availed by project varying quantities to reduce the proponents from banks, at the rate of 6 per consumption of petroleum fuels, as well as cent per annum or 50 per cent of the rate of to reduce air pollution. interest charged by banks, whichever is lower. xi. Ethanol is increasingly used as an  The interest subvention would be available for oxygenate additive for standard petrol, as a setting up new as well as an expansion of replacement for Methyl tert-butyl ether existing molasses or grain-based distilleries (MTBE) , the latter chemical being and for units that will produce ethanol from responsible for considerable groundwater other feedstocks such as sugar beet, sweet and soil contamination. sorghum and cereals. xii. Ethanol can also be used to power fuel  Previously, Rs 4,687 crore interest subvention cells and to produce bio diesel. scheme was approved and now Rs 4,573 crore xiii. Ethanol, an alcohol fuel, provides high has been sanctioned. quality, high octane for exceptional engine  Currently, India has a molasses-based ethanol performance and reduced emissions. production capacity of 426 crore litres. xiv. Because the ethanol molecule contains  This capacity used for supply to both the oxygen, it allows the engine to combust liquor industry as well as for the blending or the fuel more completely, resulting in doping in petrol. fewer emissions.  Interest subvention would be available to only

xv. Since ethanol is produced from plants that those distilleries that will supply at least 75 harness the power of the sun, ethanol is per cent of ethanol produced from the added also considered a renewable fuel. distillation capacity to oil marketing xvi. Ethanol-blended fuel keeps the fuel system companies for blending with petrol clean for optimal performance because it  About five crore sugarcane farmers and their does not leave gummy deposits. families and five lakh workers associated with xvii. Ethanol helps prevent wintertime problems sugar mills and other ancillary activities would by acting as a gas-line antifreeze. be benefitted with this intervention. Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme: Way Forward:  Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme was  Sugarcane and ethanol are produced mainly in launched in 2003. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka.  It seeks to achieve blending of Ethanol with  Sugar production is likely to remain surplus in motor sprit with a view to reducing pollution, the country in coming years due to the conserve foreign exchange and increase value introduction of improved varieties of addition in the sugar industry enabling them to sugarcane. clear cane price arrears of farmers.  Diversion of excess sugarcane and sugar to  The government has set targets of 10% ethanol ethanol is a correct way forward to deal with blending of petrol by 2022, 15% blending by surplus stocks. 2026 & 20% blending by 2030.  Diversion of excess sugar would help in Modified Scheme To Enhance Ethanol Distillation stabilizing the domestic ex-mill sugar prices Capacity:

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and will also help sugar mills to get relieved industrial levels in western and eastern from storage problems. North America, the Mediterranean,  It will improve their cash flows and facilitate Southeast Asia, and the Amazon. them in the clearance of cane price dues of Reasons for Amplification: farmers; and will facilitate mills to function in the coming years. 1. Biomass burning and land-use changes  To increase the production of fuel-grade have more regional impacts that amplify ethanol, the government is also encouraging greenhouse gas-driven warming. distilleries to produce ethanol from maize and 2. A 30% increase of extreme fire weather rice available. risk over the Amazon and western North America during the 20th century caused by 2. Greenhouse gas emissions have regional biomass burning. impacts on wildfire outbreaks: study 3. Land use changes, according to the What’s in News? research, also amplified the risk of extreme fire weather in western Australia and the In a research, published in the journal Nature Amazon. Communications, analysed the climate under various combinations of human influences since Aerosols: 1920,isolating individual effects and their impacts 1. Aerosols are minute particles suspended in on extreme fire weather risk. the atmosphere. 2. When these particles are sufficiently large, we notice their presence as they scatter and Study Highlights: absorb sunlight. 1. While previous studies found that human 3. Their scattering of sunlight can reduce activities and their products like visibility (haze) and redden sunrises and greenhouse gas emissions, and air sunsets. pollution raise the risk of extreme fire 4. Aerosols can be natural or anthropogenic. weather, the specific influence of these 5. Industrial aerosols block some of the solar factors has been unclear. radiation from reaching the ground and 2. In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists have tend to have a cooling effect on the assessed the influence of human activities climate. on extreme fire weather risk, and found 6. However, in Southeast Asia, where that greenhouse gas emissions and air aerosols emissions are expected to pollution have distinct regional impacts on continue, there may be a weakening of the wildfire outbreaks. annual monsoon, drier conditions and an 3. Heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions increase in extreme fire weather risk. are the dominant contributors to Way forward: temperature increases around the globe. 4. By 2080, greenhouse gas emissions are 1. The current understanding of fire risk at a expected to raise the risk of extreme regional scale helps in mitigation and wildfire by at least 50% in western North planning purposes. America, equatorial Africa, Southeast Asia 2. In the broader scope of things, it's and Australia important for climate policy, like if we 5. At the same time it would double in the want to know how global actions will Mediterranean, southern Africa, eastern affect the climate North America and the Amazon. 3. It is also important for understanding the 6. In 2005, emissions raised the risk of potential impacts to people, such as with extreme fire weather by 20% from pre- urban planning and fire management.

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3. Community fishing banned at Assam to flow via the Mora Bharalu channel Ramsar site through Guwahati 13. Expansion of the city, encroachment upon What’s in News? the natural channels through Guwahati and The Kamrup (Metropolitan) district administration from the hills around, and a municipal has prohibited community fishing at Deepor Beel, waste dump at Boragaon almost on the a wetland on the south-western edge of Guwahati edge of the wetland were the other factors and Assam’s only Ramsar site. 14. Assam had 3,513 wetlands and a majority of them had water with low turbidity Deepor Beel: News Highlights: 1. It is located to the south-west of Guwahati city, in Kamrup district of Assam 1. The Kamrup (Metropolitan) district 2. The name Deepor Beel is stated to be administration has prohibited community derivative of the Sanskrit word dipa which fishing at Deepor Beel, a wetland on the means elephant, and bil means wetland or south-western edge of Guwahati and large aquatic body in Assamese language, Assam’s only Ramsar site. inhabited by elephants 2. The prohibition order under Section 144 of 3. It is one of the large and important riverine the Cr.PC underlines the possibility of wetlands in the Brahmaputra valley of community fishing on January 3 and will lower Assam, India. remain beyond the mid-January Magh or 4. Deepor Beel is an open lake basin Bhogali Bihu that is preceded by mass connected with a set of inflow and out fishing in many parts of the State. flow channels 3. The order was necessary to prevent 5. Deepor Beel has both biological and fishing, excavation and construction in and environmental importance besides being around the wetland that has been shrinking the only major storm water storage basin over the years. for Guwahati city. 4. Two laws are in place but neither the 6. It is considered as one of the staging sites Assam Hill Land and Ecological Sites for migratory birds in India; and some of (Protection and Management) Act of 2006 the large congregations of aquatic birds in and the Guwahati Waterbodies Assam during winter. (Preservation and Conservation) Act of 7. Because of the richness of avian fauna it 2008 has made much impact. enjoyed, Deepor Beel has been selected as 5. Both Acts express concern about the one of the Important Bird Area (IBA) sites shrinking size of waterbodies; the 2008 by Birdlife International. one says this has been caused by 8. Deepor Beel was designated a Ramsar site encroachment and has aggravated the in 2002 for sustaining a range of aquatic problem of artificial floods. life forms besides 219 species of birds. 6. In 2019 NGT has directed the Assam 9. According to hydrological experts, the area government to declare “Deepor Beel”, of the wetland was about 6,000 hectares in including an adjacent sanctuary, as an eco- the late 1980s. sensitive zone 10. Satellite imagery has revealed that its area 4. Survey: Tirthan sanctuary, Great has shrunk by at least 35% since 1991. Himalayan National Park best performers 11. Deepor Beel officially has an area of 4,014 among protected areas hectares or 15.5 square miles. 12. One of the reasons the wetland is in a What’s in News? precarious state is that it is losing Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate connectivity with small rivers like Change released Management Effectiveness Kalmoni, Khonajan and Basistha that used

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Evaluation (MEE) of 146 national parks and Conservation Reserves and Community wildlife sanctuaries in the country. Reserves under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Management Effectiveness Evaluation (MEE): 3. Under this Act, India has 903 formally Protected area (PA) management effectiveness designated Protected Areas with a total evaluation (MEE) is defined as the assessment of coverage 1,65,012.6 square km. how well National Parks &Wild life Sanctuaries 4. Among these are 101 National Parks, 553 (NP&WLS) are being managed—primarily, Wildlife Sanctuaries, 86 Conservation whether they are protecting their values and Reserves and 163 Community Reserves. achieving the goals and objectives agreed upon. 5. For the survey, 146 National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries across 29 states and Broadly speaking, MEE can: Union territories were evaluated. 1. Enable and support an adaptive approach 6. 70% of the global tiger population, 70% of to management asiatic lions and more than 60% of 2. Assist in effective resource allocation leopards population in India is a certificate 3. Promote accountability and transparency of India's thriving biodiversity. 4. Help involve the community and build Survey Highlights: constituencies 5. Promote the values of NP&WLS. 1. India has a network of 903 Protected Areas covering about 5 per cent of its total Need for MEE geographic area of the country. 1. In both developed and developing 2. Tirthan Wildlife Sanctuary and Great countries it has been seen that declaration Himalayan National Park in Himachal of NP&WLS does not always result in Pradesh have performed the best among adequate protection , Evaluation is the surveyed protected areas. therefore necessary because NP&WLS 3. The Turtle Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar face many threats. Pradesh was the worst performer in the 2. Funding bodies, policy makers and survey. conservation lobbyists may use the results 4. 70% of the global tiger population, 70% of to highlight problems and to set priorities, Asiatic lions and more than 60% of or management agencies may use them to leopard population in India promote better management policies and 5. The results of present assessment are practices encouraging with overall mean MEE score 3. Local communities and other stakeholders, of 62.01% which is higher than the global including civil society, need to establish mean of 56%. how far their interests are being taken into 6. The mean MEE score percentage recorded account. maximum for Meghalaya (79.16%) and minimum for Uttar Pradesh State MEE in India : (43.16%). 1. Management Effectiveness Evaluation of 7. With this round of evaluation, the Ministry Protected Areas has emerged as a key tool of Environment, Forest and Climate that is increasingly being used by Change(MoEFCC) successfully completed governments and international bodies to one full cycle of evaluating all terrestrial understand strengths and weaknesses of National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries of the protected area management systems. the country from 2006 to 2019. 2. India has systematically designated its Other Initiatives: Protected Areas in four legal categories — National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries,

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1. A new framework for MEE of Marine serious environmental risks to our soil, Protected Areas has been also jointly water, air, and wildlife. prepared by WII and MoEF&CC 4. According to Global e-Waste Monitor, 2. Management Effectiveness Evaluation of 2020, India is the third largest generator of Indian Zoos (MEE-ZOO) framework e-waste globally after China and USA which proposes guidelines, criteria and E-Waste Management Rules: indicators for evaluation of zoos of the country through Management 1. The Government has implemented E- Effectiveness Evaluation Process (MEE- Waste Management Rules, 2016 which ZOO) in a manner which is discrete, was amended in 2018. holistic and independent was also launched 2. Extended Producer Responsibility ( EPR ), 3. The assessment criteria and indicators look put the onus on the producer for the beyond the traditional concepts, include management of the final stages of the life issues of animal welfare, husbandry and of its product, in an eco-friendly way, by sustainability of resources and finance. creating certain norms in tandem with 4. The MEE-ZOO exercise is moving State Pollution Control Boards. towards developing highest standards in 3. It has been made mandatory' for leading Zoos across India and adhering to core multinational companies to set up values of accountability, transparency, electronics manufacturing facilities and innovation, use of technology, R&D centres for hardware and software. collaboration and integrity to achieve the 4. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and mandate of conservation of endangered Climate Change released the draft Uniform species. Framework for Extended Producer 5. It is also said that from this year onwards Responsibility (Under Plastic Waste 10 best National Parks, 5 coastal and Management Rules 2016) in 2020 Marine parks and top five Zoos in the 5. India first introduced EPR to manage country will be ranked and awarded every electronic-waste in 2012. year. 6. It extended EPR to plastic manufacturers after the Plastic Waste Management Rules 5. India collected just 3% e-waste generated in 2016 (PWMR) were notified in 2016. 2018, 10% in 2019: CPCB report 7. The PWMR made producers and importers What’s in News? of plastic as well as brand owners that use plastic for packaging accountable for As per a recent report by Central Pollution Control managing the end waste. Board, India collected just 10 per cent of the 8. The mechanism through which they would electronic waste (e-waste) estimated to have been do so is spelled out in the draft EPR rules generated in the country 2018-19 and 3.5 per cent issued in June 2020 of that in the generated in 2017-18. 9. India’s first e-waste clinic was set-up in E-Waste: Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. 1. E-waste is electronic products that are News Highlights: unwanted, not working, and nearing or at 1. As per the recent Report, India generated the end of their “useful life.” 708,445 tonne e-waste in 2017-18 and 2. E-waste is particularly dangerous due to 771,215 tonne the following fiscal. toxic chemicals that naturally leach from 2. In 2019-20, the figure rose 32 per cent to the metals inside when buried. 1,014,961 tonne. 3. Most electronics contain some form of 3. The figures have taken into account the 21 toxic materials, including beryllium, types of electrical and electronic cadmium, mercury, and lead, which pose

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equipments listed in the E-Waste Forest cover of Himachal Pradesh: Management Rules, 2016.

4. These include discarded computer  Although two-thirds of the total geographical area of Himachal Pradesh is legally classified monitors, mobile phones, chargers, as forest area, much of this area is motherboards, headphones, television sets, among other appliances. permanently under snow, glaciers, cold desert 5. The actual collection, however, was lower or alpine meadows and is above the tree line. in both the years than the estimated targets  This leaves an effective forest cover of around . 28 percent of the total area which amounts to 6. The pollution board said 1,630 producers 15,434 square kilometres. were extended EPR authorisation as on  Chir Pine, Deodar, Oak, Kail, Fir and Spruce November,2020. are some of the common trees found here. 7. Also, 312 dismantlers or recyclers were Forest Prone to Fires: authorised in the same period with a capacity of processing 782,080.2 tonne of  Except for periods of precipitation in monsoon e-waste every year. and winter, the forests remain vulnerable to 8. These units processd 69,413 tonnes of e- wildfires. waste in 2017-18 and 164,663 tonnes in  Forest fires are a recurrent annual 2018-19. phenomenon in the state, and most commonly 9. In September last year, CPCB issued occur in Chir Pine forests. show-cause notices to 186 producers for  The dry summer season from March to June not meeting collection targets for 2018-19. coincides with the shedding of highly- 10. The report also states that the volume of e- combustible needles by Chir Pine trees. waste that a dismantler or recycler was  Once the fallen dry needles catch fire, it can handling increased over time but the shed spread quickly over the entire forest due to the area of these units remained the same. action of the wind. However, due to their thick 11. The rule mandates that dismantlers have a bark, the Chir Pine trees are themselves space of 300 square metre for a capacity of relatively unharmed by these fires, and can 1 tonne of e-waste per day. the same for spring back to life during the monsoon season. recyclers is 500 square metre.  During the post-monsoon season and in 12. In one instance, CPCB noted that capacity winters, forest fires are also reported in higher of one dismantlers increased eight times areas, including parts of Shimla, Kullu, without any increase in corresponding Chamba, Kangra and Mandi districts, where shed area. they usually occur in grasslands. 13. The board recognised the role of state pollution control boards and pollution Causes of the Fire: control committees in mitigating this gap  Natural causes such as lightning or rubbing of and asked them to revise the capacity of dry bamboos with each other can sometimes such units following CPCB guidelines. result in fires. 14. The major is that majority of the e-waste is  Forest officials are of the opinion that almost been collected by unorganised sector all forest fires can be attributed to human which is highly unregulated and leads to factors. issues not only in environment but also in  Someone dropping a burning matchstick, studying the impacts. torchwood or a bidi/cigarette, can cause a 6. Why forest fires are common in Himachal massive fire. Pradesh  A spark can also be produced when dry pine needles or leaves fall on an electric pole. Himachal Pradesh frequently witnesses forest fires during dry weather conditions. Fuels of such massive fires:

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 The dry leaf litter on the forest ground acts as methods to prevent fires (fire lines are strips in a ready fuel. Fallen tree leaves, dry grass, the forest kept clear of vegetation to prevent weeds, low brushwood, deadwood on the the fire from spreading). forest floor, logs and stumps etc form the  Once a fire starts, early detection and quick surface fuels. action by fire-fighting squads is crucial.  Below the loose litter, decaying materials such  For such activities, the state forest department as humus, wood, shrubs, roots, much and peat has a fire protection and fire control unit. can also support the combustion.  In 1999, the state government notified forest  Above the surface level, dry standing trees, fire rules which restrict or regulate certain mosses, lichens, dry epiphytic or parasitic activities in and around forest areas such as plants, and fallen branches trapped in the lighting a fire, burning agricultural stubble or understorey can spread the fire to the upper undergrowth (ghasnis) and stacking foliage and the tree crowns. inflammable forest produce such as dried leaves and firewood. Damages due to forests fire: D. SOCIAL ISSUES  Forest fires can cause a lot of damage to the regeneration in the forests and their 1. India’s rank slips to 86th in corruption productivity. perception index 2020  Moisture-loving trees such as Oaks and What’s in News? Deodars may give way to other species and exotic weeds. India’s rank has slipped six places to 86th among  Forests help maintain aquifers and continuous 180 countries in a corruption perception index flow of streams and springs, and provide (CPI) in 2020 released by Transparency firewood, fodder and non-timber produce to International (TI). the local communities – all these capacities Corruption Perception Index: may get adversely affected in case of a fire.  Forest fires may destroy organic matter in the 1. The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is soil and expose the top layer to erosion. an index published annually by Berlin-  They may also impact the wildlife by burning based Transparency International since eggs, killing young animals and driving the 1995 which ranks countries "by their adult animals away from their safe haven. perceived levels of public sector  Sometimes, a forest fire may get out of control corruption, as determined by expert and extend to human settlements, thus posing assessments and opinion surveys." danger to human life and property. 2. The organization generally defines  From 2016-17 to 2019-20, the annual loss to corruption as "the misuse of public power the state due to forest fires has ranged from Rs for private benefit." 1.7 crore to Rs 3.5 crore. 3. A country's score can range from zero to  Around 1,200 to 2,500 forest fires were 100, with zero indicating high levels of reported each year during this period affecting corruption and 100 indicating low levels. thousands of hectares. 4. The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of Prevent and control forest fires: public sector corruption according to experts and business people.  Forecasting fire-prone days using 5. The Index has been criticized on the basis meteorological data, clearing camping sites of of its methodology. dried biomass, early burning of dry litter on 6. According to political scientist Dan the forest floor, growing strips of fire-hardy Hough, three flaws in the Index include: plant species within the forest, and creating fire lines in the forests are some of the

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7. Corruption is too complex a concept to be 4. According to Chair of Transparency captured by a single score. International, “COVID-19 is not just a 8. By measuring perceptions of corruption, as health and economic crisis. It is a opposed to corruption itself, the Index may corruption crisis. And one that we are simply be reinforcing existing stereotypes currently failing to manage” and cliches. Recommendations in the Report: 9. The Index only measures public sector corruption, ignoring the private sector. The past year highlighted integrity challenges among even the highest-scoring countries, proving Highlights of the Report: that no country is free of corruption. 1. India’s rank is 86 out of 180 nations with a To reduce corruption and better respond to future score of 40. crises, Transparency International recommends 2. India was ranked at 80th position out of that all governments: 180 countries in 2019. 3. This year, New Zealand and Denmark 1. Strengthen oversight institutions to ensure were ranked at first position with scores of resources reach those most in need. Anti- 88. corruption authorities and oversight 4. Somalia and South Sudan were ranked institutions must have sufficient funds, lowest at 179th position with scores of 12. resources and independence to perform 5. While most countries have made little to their duties. no progress in tackling corruption in 2. Ensure open and transparent contracting to almost a decade, more than two-thirds of combat wrongdoing, identify conflicts of countries score below 50. interest and ensure fair pricing. 6. In Asia, key economies such as India (40), 3. Defend democracy and promote civic Indonesia (37) and Bangladesh (26) space to create the enabling conditions to experienced slow progress in anti- hold governments accountable. corruption efforts, with several 4. Publish relevant data and guarantee government commitments to reform not access to information to ensure the public yet materialising effectively. receives easy, accessible, timely and meaningful information. COVID-19 Vs. Corruption: 2. 30-day notice period not mandatory under 1. Corruption undermines an equitable Special Marriage Act: Allahabad High Court response to COVID-19 and other crises, highlighting the importance of What’s in News? transparency and anti-corruption measures in emergency situations. In a judgment removing hindrances to inter-faith 2. Reports show corruption is prevalent marriages, the Allahabad High Court has ruled across the COVID-19 response, from that couples seeking to solemnise their marriage bribery for COVID-19 tests, treatment and under the Special Marriage Act, 1954 can choose other health services, to public not to publish the mandatory 30-day notice of procurement of medical supplies and their intention to marry. overall emergency preparedness. Special Marriages Act: 3. The analysis reveals that countries that perform well on the index invest more in 1. Special Marriages Act, 1954 (SMA) is the health care, are better able to provide legislation that is used to register inter- universal coverage and are less likely to religious and inter-caste marriages in violate democratic norms or the rule of law India. when responding to a crisis. 2. It allows two individuals to solemnise their marriage through a civil contract.

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3. There are no religious formalities that need and privacy, including within its sphere to be carried out under the Act. freedom to choose for marriage without interference from state and non-state Some Sections of the Act: actors, of the persons concerned”. Section 4 - Conditions relating to solemnization of 3. The court also noted that despite the special marriages secular law for marriage, a majority of marriages in the country happen as per 1. neither party has a spouse living religious customs. 2. Both the parties should be capable of 4. It said that when marriages under personal giving consent; should be sane at the time law do not require a notice or invitation for of marriage objections, such a requirement is obsolete 3. the male has completed the age of twenty- in secular law and cannot be forced on a one years and the female the age of couple eighteen years 5. n case the parties do not make such a 4. the parties are not within the degrees of request for publication of notice in writing, prohibited relationship the Marriage Officer shall not publish any Section 5 - Notice of intended marriage.―When a such notice or entertain objections to the marriage is intended to be solemnized under this intended marriage and proceed with the Act, the parties to the marriage shall give notice solemnization of the marriage. thereof in writing in the form specified in the 6. However, in case the officer has any Second Schedule to the Marriage Officer of the doubt, he could ask for appropriate district in which at least one of the parties to the details/proof as per the facts of the case. marriage has resided for a period of not less than Judgements Referred: thirty days immediately preceding the date on which such notice is given. 1. 2017 Aadhaar case which recognised the right to privacy as a fundamental right, Section 7- Any person can object to the marriage 2. 2018 ruling which held that the right to within 30 days of the notice becoming public. The choose a partner is a fundamental right in marriage can only be solemnized after the 30 day the case involving Hadiya, a medical period lapses, and if no objections have been student who converted to Islam to marry a received by the Marriage Officer. Muslim, Section 8- The Marriage Officer must inquire into 3. 2018 ruling (Navtej Singh Johar vs. Union any objections received to the marriage under of India case) in which the court Section 7. The Officer can uphold the objection decriminalised homosexuality. and refuse to solemnize the marriage Impact of the Judgement: What’s now? 1. The ruling comes as a relief to inter-faith 1. In a judgment removing hindrances to couples who are being increasingly inter-faith marriages, the Allahabad High targeted by vigilante groups. Court has ruled that couples seeking to 2. The court noted the impact that similar solemnise their marriage under the Special provisions in anti-conversion laws could Marriage Act, 1954 can choose not to have. publish the mandatory 30-day notice of 3. At the same time, it may result in anti- their intention to marry. social conversions and increase cases of 2. The provision for mandatory publication marital cheating of notice, derived through “simplistic 3. Karnataka tops in innovation, shows NITI reading” of the particular law, “would Aayog index invade the fundamental rights of liberty

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What’s in News? 1. The exercise was initiated in 2019 and is on the lines of the Global Innovation Index Karnataka retained its leadership position in the (GII), which ranks countries annually. major States category in the second edition of 2. The framework of the index includes India Innovation Index released by NITI Aayog. globally considered parameters for Index Highlights: measuring innovation, such as the percentage of GDP spent on research and 1. Karnataka is placed first, followed by development, while keeping them specific Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu in the to the Indian economy. Second and Third Places. 3. In 2015, India ranked 81 among 141 2. Other States in the top 10 are Telangana, countries in the GII. By 2020 it ranked 48 Kerala, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, among 131 countries. Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. 4. The Innovation Index is divided in to three 3. Barring Maharashtra, all other States in the categories—major states, Union top five are in the south. Territories, and hill and North East states. 4. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar scored 5. The Index is calculated as the average of the lowest on the index, which put them at the scores of its two dimensions – Enablers the bottom in the “major States” category. and Performance. 5. Karnataka’s rank is attributable to its a. The Enablers are the factors that substantive number of venture capital underpin innovative capacities, deals, registered Geographical Indications grouped in five pillars: (1) Human and information and communications Capital, (2) Investment, (3) technology exports. Knowledge Workers, (4) Business 6. Its high Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Environment, and (5) Safety and inflow has also enhanced the innovation Legal Environment. capabilities of the State. b. The Performance dimension 7. Delhi topped among Union Territories it is captures benefits that a nation followed by Chandigarh. derives from the inputs, divided in 8. Lakshadweep and J&K occupy the last two two pillars: (6) Knowledge Output positions in the Group and (7) Knowledge Diffusion. 9. Having recorded the highest number of 6. The indicators that the survey uses trademark and patent applications, along includes the level and quality of education with the establishment of new startups and especially in research, number of PhD companies in the last fiscal, Delhi has students, enrolment in engineering and managed to deliver superior results in the technology, number of highly skilled domain of knowledge output. professionals, investment in R&D, FDI 10. Delhi’s performance is attributable to its inflows, internet subscribers, knowledge- conducive business environment, intensive employment, number of patents especially in terms of internet penetration, and trademark applications filed, business which is the highest in the country. environment, and safety and legal 11. Himachal Pradesh topped among North- environment, among others. Eastern and Hill States followed by 7. The objective of the India Innovation Uttarakhand and Manipur. Index is to scrutinize the innovation 12. The innovation scores also show a positive capacities and performance of Indian correlation with the Gross State Domestic states. Product (GSDP), meaning higher 8. The index intends to accomplish the economic growth leads to more innovation following three functions: and vice-versa. a. Rank all states and union territories India Innovation Index: based on their index score

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b. Identify opportunities and AIM has adopted a holistic approach challenges encompassing schools, universities, research c. Assist in modifying governmental institutions, industry, MSME, NGOs, Ministries, policies to foster innovation at district, state and national levels. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Some initiatives under Atal Innovation Mission: 1. ISRO to adopt 100 ATL 1) Atal Tinkering Labs - at school level What’s in News? 2) Atal Incubators – at Universities, Institutions, Industry level NITI Aayog announced that ISRO will be adopting 100 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) across 3) Atal Community Innovation Centres - serving the country. Unserved and Under-Served regions / communities of India What will be done? 4) Atal New India Challenges – Stimulating  Through this collaboration, the Indian Space Product and Service Innovations with National Research Organisation will facilitate coaching Impact and mentoring of students in advanced 21st century cutting-edge technologies, including 5) Applied Research and Innovation for Small those related to space. Enterprises (ARISE) - to stimulate MSME  The students will not only gain theoretical, but industry innovation also practical and application-based 6) Mentorship and Partnerships – collaborating knowledge of STEM and Space Education with Public, Private sector, NGOs, Academia, related concepts such as Institutions Electronics,Physics,Optics, Space Technology, Material sciences and many more. Atal Tinkering Labs:  Scientists and engineers from ISRO centres, in  With a vision to ‘Cultivate one Million close coordination with the Capacity Building children in India as Neoteric Innovators’, Atal Programme Office at the space agency's Innovation Mission, an initiative of the headquarters, would actively mentor the National Institution for Transforming India children, as well as interact with teachers in (NITI Aayog), Government Of India, these ATLs for encouraging experiments, established Atal Tinkering Laboratories brainstorming ideas and spreading awareness (ATLs) in schools across India. in space activities.  The objective of this scheme is to foster Atal Innovation Mission: curiosity, creativity and imagination in young minds and inculcate skills such as design mind Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is Government of - set, computational thinking, adaptive India’s flagship initiative to create and promote a learning, physical computing, rapid culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across calculations, measurements etc. the length and breadth of our country.  Young children will get a chance to work with AIM’s objective is to develop new programmes tools and equipment to understand what, how and policies for fostering innovation in different and why aspects of STEM (Science, sectors of the economy, provide platforms and Technology, Engineering and Math). collaboration opportunities for different  ATL is a work space where young minds can stakeholders, and create an umbrella structure to give shape to their ideas through hands on do- oversee the innovation & entrepreneurship it-yourself mode; and learn innovation skills. ecosystem of the country.  AIM will provide grant-in-aid that includes a one-time establishment cost of Rs. 10 lakh and

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operational expenses of Rs. 10 lakh for a lightning is direct promulgation of these maximum period of 5 years to each ATL. climatic extremities.”  Over seven thousand ATLs have already been 8. As per the report, interestingly, the established across the country enabling more Government of India and most states have than three million students between classes six not notified lightning as a disaster. to 12 acquire a problem solving and 9. There has always been a large number of innovative mindset. animal fatalities due to lightning. 10. Although the Ministry of Animal 2. Explained: Why lightning still kills so many Husbandry has an Animal Disaster Indians Management Plan, there hasn’t been any What’s in News? compliance pertaining to lightning fatalities. A report on lightning incidents in India has been published by Climate Resilient Observing So, how does lightning occur? Systems Promotion Council (CROPC) was 1. Lightning is the process of occurrence of a released recently natural ‘electrical discharge of very short Report Highlights: duration and high voltage between a cloud and the ground or within a cloud’, 1. The report has been prepared by Climate accompanied by a bright flash and sound, Resilient Observing Systems Promotion and sometimes thunderstorms. Council (CROPC), a non-profit 2. Lightning is an electrical discharge caused organisation that works closely with India by imbalances between storm clouds and Meteorological Department (IMD) along the ground, or within the clouds with Indian Institute of Tropical themselves. Meteorology (IITM), India Meteorological 3. During a storm, colliding particles of rain, Society (IMS) and World Vision India to ice, or snow inside storm clouds increase disseminate early lightning forecasts. the imbalance between storm clouds and 2. Uttar Pradesh (Highest), Madhya Pradesh , the ground, and often negatively charge Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand deaths the lower reaches of storm clouds. together accounted for more than 60 per 4. Objects on the ground, like steeples, trees, cent of the numbers, which are 33 per cent and the Earth itself, become positively of total fatalities from all natural disasters charged—creating an imbalance that during the time period. nature seeks to remedy by passing current 3. Although forecasts and warnings are made between the two charges. available through mobile text messages, it 5. Lightning is extremely hot—a flash can is not available in all regions. heat the air around it to temperatures five 4. A large number of deaths occur due to this times hotter than the sun’s surface. as not much awareness has been 6. This heat causes surrounding air to rapidly undertaken. expand and vibrate, which creates the 5. About 78 per cent deaths took place due to pealing thunder we hear a short time after people standing under isolated tall trees. seeing a lightning flash. 6. About 22 per cent of the people were 7. Inter cloud or intra cloud (IC) lightning struck in the open. which are visible and are harmless. 7. The report mentions that the rapid 8. It is cloud to ground (CG) lightning, which degradation of environment like global is harmful as the ‘high electric voltage and warming, deforestation, depletion of water electric current’ leads to electrocution. bodies, concretisations, rising pollution and aerosol levels have cumulatively How can deaths be minimised? pushed the environment to extremes. “And

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1. Every lightning strikes around a fixed 4. In a fatty acid chain, if there are only period and almost similar geographical single bonds between neighboring carbons locations in similar patterns. in the hydrocarbon chain, the fatty acid is 2. As per the report, Kalbaishakhi— said to be saturated. Norwesters, which are violent 5. Saturated fatty acids are saturated with thunderstorms with lightning—claims life hydrogen since single bonds increase the in eastern India; pre-monsoon lightning number of hydrogens on each carbon. deaths occur mostly in Bihar, Jharkhand, 6. Unsaturated fats are predominantly found Chhattisgarh and UP. in foods from plants, such as vegetable 3. So as per CROPC, early lightning warning oils, nuts, and seeds. to farmers, cattle grazers, children and 7. There are two types of “good” unsaturated people in open areas is key. fats: 1. Monounsaturated fats and 2. 4. Then a local lightning safety action plan, Polyunsaturated fats like installing Lightning Protection 8. Unsaturated fats, which are liquid at room Devices, is also need to prevent deaths. temperature, are considered beneficial fats because they can improve blood Mapping of Lighting: cholesterol levels, ease inflammation, 1. Mapping of lightning is a major stabilize heart rhythms, and play a number breakthrough in identifying the precise risk of other beneficial roles. in terms of lightning frequency, current 9. When the hydrocarbon chain contains a intensity, energy content, high temperature double bond, the fatty acid is said to be and other adverse impacts. unsaturated. 2. With continuous mapping for at least three 10. If there is only one double bond in the years, a climatology can be established. molecule, then it is known as a 3. This would yield a Lightning Risk Atlas monounsaturated fat; e.g. olive oil. map for India which will form the basis for 11. If there is more than one double bond, then a lightning risk management programme it is known as a polyunsaturated fat (Omega-3 fats are an important type of 3. FSSAI slashes limit for trans-fat levels in polyunsaturated fat) foods Trans Fatty Acids: What’s in News? 1. Trans fatty acids, more commonly called The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India trans fats, are made by heating liquid (FSSAI) has capped the amount of trans fatty vegetable oils in the presence of hydrogen acids (TFA) in oils and fats to 3% for 2021 and gas and a catalyst, a process called 2% by 2022 from the current permissible limit of hydrogenation. 5% through an amendment to the Food Safety and 2. Partially hydrogenating vegetable oils Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) makes them more stable and less likely to Regulations. become rancid. This process also converts Saturated Vs. Unsaturated Fatty Acids: the oil into a solid. 3. Partially hydrogenated oils can withstand 1. Saturated fat is mainly found in animal repeated heating without breaking down, foods, but a few plant foods are also high making them ideal for frying fast foods. in saturated fats, such as coconut 4. For these reasons, partially hydrogenated 2. Saturated fats are not essential to our body. oils became a mainstay in restaurants and 3. They accumulate in the bloodstream and the food industry – for frying, baked can narrow the vessel walls causing heart goods, and processed snack foods. disease and strokes. 5. Trans fats are also naturally found in beef fat and dairy fat in small amounts.

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Trans Fats and Health Concerns: Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations. 1. Trans fats can raise ''bad'' cholesterol and 4. The revised regulation applies to edible lower ''good'' cholesterol. refined oils, vanaspati (partially 2. Trans fats are associated with increased hydrogenated oils), margarine, bakery risk of heart attacks and death from shortenings and other mediums of cooking coronary heart disease. such as vegetable fat spreads and mixed fat 3. As per the World Health Organisation spreads. (WHO), approximately 5.4 lakh deaths take place each year globally because of 4. Bird Flu intake of industrially produced trans fatty What’s in News? acids. 4. WHO recommends total trans fat intake Bird flu has been reported among wild geese in limited to less than 1% of total energy Himachal Pradesh, crows in Rajasthan and intake. Madhya Pradesh and ducks in Kerala. 5. The WHO has also called for global elimination of trans fats by 2023. In Haryana, around one lakh poultry birds have died mysteriously in the last few days. Bird Flu: 1. It is a highly contagious viral disease caused by Influenza Type A viruses which generally affects poultry birds such as chickens and turkeys. 2. There are many strains of the virus – some of them are mild and may merely cause a low egg production or other mild symptoms among chickens, while others are severe and lethal. Spread of the Flu: 1. Wild aquatic birds such as ducks and geese are the natural reservoir of Influenza A FSSAI Regulation: viruses and the central players in the 1. In 2011 that India first passed a regulation ecology of these viruses. that set a TFA limit of 10% in oils and 2. Many birds carry the flu without fats, which was further reduced to 5% in developing sickness, and shed it in their 2015. droppings. 2. Earlier in 2019, FSSAI has mentioned that 3. From water birds, many of whom migrate the logo ‘trans-fat free’ can be used and travel long distances, the viruses are provided the food establishments uses thus further spread to poultry and trans-fat free fats oils, and do not have terrestrial birds. industrial trans-fat more than 0.2 gram per 4. Sometimes, the virus jumps over to 100 gram of the food. mammals such as pigs, horses, cats and 3. Now, FSSAI has capped the amount of dogs. trans fatty acids (TFA) in oils and fats to Affect on Humans: 3% for 2021 and 2% by 2022 from the current permissible limit of 5% through an 1. Bird flu outbreaks have been affecting amendment to the Food Safety and poultry around the globe for decades, and

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culling of infected birds has been a 3. Also, flu viruses are more prone to common measure to contain the spread. mutation because they have a segmented 2. But it was in 1997 when humans are first genome. known to have contracted bird flu 4. All known strains of flu – including the following an outbreak in a live bird market seasonal flu and the pandemic flu – have of Hong Kong. jumped from birds to humans in this way. 3. It was the H5N1 strain of the virus, and 6 Bird Flu in India: out of 18 infected humans died of the disease. 1. In India, no case of bird flu in humans has 4. It was contained, but re-emerged a few been detected so far years later in various other parts of the 2. The department of animal husbandry has globe and caused hundreds of human reported 25 episodes of H5N1 bird flu in deaths, particularly in Southeast Asia. poultry in 15 states from 2006 (when the 5. Movement of infected poultry and first outbreak occurred in Maharashtra and migratory birds, and an illegal bird trade Gujarat) till 2015. are believed to be the causes of the spread. 3. It has also been detected in crows. 6. Some mammals such as cats and lions 4. India consumes 30 crore poultry birds and were also infected. 900 crore eggs per month on average 7. Subsequently, several other strains of the virus such as H5N2 and H9N2 spread from Symptoms and Treatment of the Flu: animals to humans, thus becoming a global 1. Unlike in birds, where it generally infects public health concern. the gut, the avian influenza attacks the Spread of Flu in Humans: respiratory tract of humans and may cause severe respiratory illnesses such as 1. Generally, people coming in close contact pneumonia or Acute Respiratory Distress with infected alive or dead birds have Syndrome (ARDS). contracted the H5N1 bird flu, and it does 2. Its early symptoms include fever, cough, not usually spread from person to person sore throat, and sometimes abdominal pain 2. There is also no evidence, that the disease and diarrhoea. can be spread to people through properly 3. Antiviral drugs, especially oseltamivir, prepared and cooked poultry food. improve the prospects of survival in 3. The virus is sensitive to heat, and dies in humans. cooking temperatures (The virus dies 4. People working with poultry are required immediately if exposed to temperatures to use PPEs and follow hand hygiene. over 70 degrees Celsius). 5. In the US, the FDA approved a vaccine for the H5N1 virus in 2007. Danger of Flu: 6. Among poultry birds, vaccination 1. H5N1 is severe and deadly – around 6 out strategies advised by the World of 10 confirmed cases in humans have led Organisation for Animal Health can be to deaths (though the actual mortality rate used to prevent the flu, and the may be lower due to under-reporting of Organisation recommends eradicating the asymptomatic cases). highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) 2. If the virus mutates and becomes easily at its source to decrease the disease in transmissible from person to person, say avian species and further human by altering its shape to grab human cells infections. much more effectively, it can potentially 7. Culling of birds in a large scale is cause a pandemic. undertaken in India to prevent the spread of diseases among the poultry in India

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5. World’s largest vaccination programme 5. The platform also enables national and begins state administrators to view and sort data of beneficiaries as per their gender, age What’s in News ? and co-morbidity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the first 6. They can also view Adverse Event phase of the COVID-19 vaccination, the world’s Following Immunization (AEFI) (side largest vaccination programme on January 16, effects) reported from districts across 2021 at a total of 3006 session sites across all States and UTs. States/UTs. 7. The names of about one crore health workers have been pre-filled on the News Highlights: platform. 1. Around 100 beneficiaries will be 8. People can self register through COWIN vaccinated at each of the session sites. Mobile App (Not roll out for all as of now) 2. A dedicated 24x7 call centre — 1075 — 9. It will be available to the general public in has also been established for addressing the form of an online website as well as a the queries related to the pandemic, mobile application within a month. vaccine rollout and the CoWIN software 10. The data would be uploaded to COWIN 3. The vaccination drive, where the Software to keep a tab on patients who beneficiaries currently will not have a would need to be vaccinated and those choice between the two vaccines — who need to be administered the second Covishield and Covaxin — available in dose. India, has been planned in a phased 11. Yet it has to face certain challenges like manner, identifying priority groups a. Mere storage of data is no enough 4. Serum Institute of India (Covishield) and and real time tracking of working Bharat Biotech (Covaxin) are the during transit is not added respective manufacturers in India b. Considering the sensitivity of data, 5. Healthcare workers, both in the the security would be of prime government and private sectors including importance Integrated Child Development Services c. Network connectivity and ensuring (ICDS) workers, will receive the vaccine that there is no downtime with during this first phase. stable internet connection CO-WIN Platform: Fact sheet: 1. COVID-19 Vaccine Intelligence Network 1. It contains general information on the – it is the repurposed version of eVIN- vaccine platform, physical specifications, indigenously developed by UNDP and dosage, cold chain storage requirements, MoH&FW and specific guidelines on 2. Digitalisation of vaccine stocks and contraindications (a factor due to which offering real time monitoring of cold the vaccine is to be withheld to certain chains are it’s main functions categories of people) as well as adverse 3. The digital platform will assist programme events that may happen following managers across National, State, and vaccination. District levels while conducting 2. The fact sheet also details special vaccination sessions. precautions. 4. It will help them track beneficiary 3. The Centre has asked the states and coverage, beneficiary dropouts, sessions immunisation officers to disseminate the planned versus sessions held and vaccine fact sheet to all programme managers, cold utilization. chain handlers, and vaccinators before the rollout.

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General Guidelines: 1. Persons showing active symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection 1. The vaccination is only for people over the 2. Covid-19 patients who have been given age of 18 years. anti-SARS-Cov-2 monoclonal antibodies 2. The vaccines are not interchangeable: the or convalescent plasma second dose will have to be of the same 3. Acutely unwell and hospitalised patients vaccine that was administered as the first (with or without intensive care) due to any dose. illness 3. The vaccine should be given with “caution” to persons with a history of any Health Conditions that are not Contraindicated : bleeding or coagulation disorder — The following are the health conditions are not platelet disorder, clotting factor deficiency, contraindicated, meaning the vaccines can be or coagulopathy. given regardless: (Coagulation, also known as clotting, is the 1. Persons with a past history of Covid-19 process by which blood changes from a liquid infection can be administered with to a gel, forming a blood clot) vaccine. 4. Vaccinators have to store both vaccines at 2. Persons with a history of chronic diseases +2°C to +8°C; protect them from light; and comorbidities — cardiac, neurological, and discard the vaccine if found to be pulmonary, metabolic, and malignancies frozen. — are also included. 3. Persons with immunodeficiency or HIV, Specific guidelines on contraindications: and patients on immune suppression due to The vaccine cannot be administered to people who “any condition” can be administered with belong to any of three categories: the Covid-19 vaccine. 5. Persons with a history of an allergic Possible adverse reactions : reaction to a previous dose of a Covid-19 MILD ADVERSE EVENTS: vaccine (this would mean those who have taken a dose in a country where 1. For Covishield, the fact sheet says a few vaccination has already started); mild adverse events can happen following 6. People who show an immediate or delayed immunisation —injection site tenderness; onset of an allergic reaction to vaccines or injection site pain; headache; fatigue; injectable therapies, pharmaceutical myalgia (deep muscle pain); malaise (a products, and food items; feeling of overall discomfort); pyrexia (an 7. Pregnant and lactating women. Since they abnormal elevation of body temperature); have not been part of any clinical trial so chills; arthralgia (pain in the joint); and far, women who are “pregnant or not sure nausea. of their pregnancy” and “lactating women” 2. Common painkiller paracetamol may be should not receive the vaccine at this time. used “to provide symptomatic relief from 8. The fact sheet also deals with temporary post vaccination adverse reaction” for contraindications. above mentioned cases 3. For Covaxin, the following are the few Temporary contraindications: mild adverse events - injection site pain; For certain circumstances under the category of headache; fatigue; fever; body ache; temporary contraindications, vaccination is to be abdominal pain; nausea and vomiting; deferred for four-eight weeks after recovery. This dizziness-giddiness; tremor; sweating; covers three categories: cold; cough; and injection site swelling.

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RARE ADVERSE EVENTS: Ultraviolet (UV) big stars in the Milky Way’s massive intriguing globular cluster called NGC 1. Very rare events of demyelinating 2808 that is said to have at least five generations disorders” have been reported following of stars with the help of AstroSat. vaccination with Covishield a. The nerves in the body are covered ASTROSAT: with a protective layer called 1. AstroSat is the first dedicated Indian myelin — like a network of electric astronomy mission aimed at studying wires that helps transmit messages celestial sources in X-ray, optical and UV from the brain smoothly through spectral bands simultaneously. the body. 2. The payloads cover the energy bands of b. Conditions that damage myelin are Ultraviolet (Near and Far), limited optical called demyelinating disorders. and X-ray regime. 2. Covishield should be given with “caution” 3. One of the unique features of AstroSat to individuals with thrombocytopenia, a mission is that it enables the simultaneous medical condition characterised by multi-wavelength observations of various abnormally low levels of platelets. astronomical objects with a single satellite. 3. No serious adverse event has been listed 4. AstroSat was launched in 2015 into a 650 for Covaxin. km orbit. Election Commission Efforts: 5. The scientific objectives of AstroSat mission are: 1. The Election Commission (EC) has agreed a) To understand high energy processes to a request from the Ministry of Home in binary star systems containing Affairs (MHA) to share electoral roll data neutron stars and black holes; for identifying the age group targeted for b) Estimate magnetic fields of neutron the first phase of the Covid-19 vaccination stars; drive c) Study star birth regions and high 2. The EC’s electoral roll data has been energy processes in star systems lying sought to identify people above the age of beyond our galaxy; 50 in each polling station. d) Detect new briefly bright X-ray 3. The EC is now working on a format of sources in the sky; sharing to protect elector privacy e) Perform a limited deep field survey of 4. The EC is planning to provide booth-wise the Universe in the Ultraviolet region. information of voters above the age of 50 6. The following are the payloads of to the respective states, instead of handing AstroSat: over information of all states to one agency. 1. Ultra Violet Imaging Telescope (UVIT): 5. The Health Ministry has also suggested a) To image the sky simultaneously in pre-filling the software with beneficiary three wavelengths, one covering details by linking it with the electoral the far UV band (130 – 180 nm) database, in addition to other documents and the second sensitive in near that are authorized for registration. UV (200 – 300nm) and Visible 6. AstroSat helps spot UV stars in Milky Way’s (320 – 550 nm) bands. cosmic dinosaur b) The detector in each channel is a photon counting device. Multiple What’s in News? choices of filters are available in Astronomers from the Indian Institute of each channel. Astrophysics (IIA) have spotted rare hot c) Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bangalore and Inter

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University Centre for Astronomy 2. NGC 2808 cluster is said to have at least & Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune in five generations of stars. collaboration with Canadian Space 3. Old globular clusters — referred to as Agency (CSA) has developed this dinosaurs of the universe — present payload excellent laboratories where astronomers can understand how stars evolve through 2.Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT): various phases between their birth and a) It is a focusing X-ray telescope with an X- death ray CCD imaging camera. 4. With spectacular UV images of the cluster, b) This will work primarily in photon they distinguished the hot UV-bright stars counting mode, recording the position, from the relatively cooler red giant and time and energy of every detected photon main-sequence stars which appear dim in in the energy range these images. 5. The findings of this study have been 3. Large Area X-ray Proportional Counters accepted for publication in the journal (LAXPC): ‘The Astrophysical Journal’ a) This payload is non-imaging. 6. The scientists combined the UVIT data b) Its main purpose is to record variation of with observations made using other space total intensity of sources within its 1- missions such as the Hubble Space degree field of view, with high time Telescope and the Gaia telescope along resolution and moderate spectral resolution with ground-based optical observations. over a large spectral band 7. About 34 UV-bright stars were found to be members of the globular cluster. 4. Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride Imager (CZTI) 8. From the data, the properties of these stars a) It is a hard X-ray coded mask camera such as their surface temperatures, working in the band 10-100 keV. luminosities and radii were derived. b) It has better spectral resolution than the 9. One of the UV-bright stars was found to LAXPC and a coarse imaging capability be about 3,000 times brighter than the Sun by the coded mask. with a surface temperature of about 1,00,000-K (Kelvin). 5. Scanning Sky Monitor (SSM): 10. The properties of these stars were then For detection of new X-ray transients and used to place them on what astronomers monitoring of known X-ray sources in 2.5 – 10 call the HertzsprungRussel (HR) diagram keV region along with theoretical models to throw light on the characteristics of their parent (KeV - kilo-electronvolt / Gamma Rays) stars and to predict their future evolution. 6. In addition, there is a Charged Particle Monitor (The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram is a (CPM) to detect high-energy particles during the graphical tool that astronomers use to classify satellite orbital path and alert the instrumentation stars according to their luminosity, spectral News Highlights: type, colour, temperature and evolutionary stage). 1. Astronomers of Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) have been exploring 11. Most of the stars were found to have the massive globular cluster called 'NGC evolved from a solar stage called the 2808' within in our Milky Way Galaxy. horizontal branch stars with hardly any (IIA is an autonomous institute under the outer envelope. department of science and technology 12. They were bound to skip the last major (DST).) phase of life called the asymptotic giant

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phase and directly become dead remnants the third-highest among the 13 major or white dwarfs. economies in the last five years. (An asymptotic giant branch (AGB) star is  After the COVID-19 pandemic, India has a low or intermediate mass star at a late emerged as a country that is full of evolutionary phase in its life, during which possibilities in the race for development. it appears as a red giant in the  Those among the youth who are associated Hertzsprung–Russell diagram.) with Swami Vivekananda’s ideas are preparing India for a leadership role on the (White dwarfs are the hot, dense remnants of world stage. long-dead stars.It is also called a degenerate dwarf. A white dwarf is what stars like the Sun Swami Vivekananda’s Thoughts and Relevance: become after they have exhausted their nuclear fuel. Near the end of its nuclear burning stage,  “Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is this type of star expels most of its outer material, reached.” This mantra of Vivekananda’s is as creating a planetary nebula. Only the hot core of effective, relevant and inspiring today as it the star remains.) was in the days of colonialism.  Now, India is ready to be a global leader. With 13. Such UV-bright stars are speculated to be the power of yoga and the energy that comes the reason for the UV radiation coming from spirituality, the youth of the country are from old stellar systems such as elliptical impatient about giving direction to the world. galaxies which are devoid of young blue  Swami Vivekananda’s lessons still inspire the stars. youth: “Make a life’s aim and incorporate that 14. Hence, it is all the more important to idea into your life…. Think that thought over observe more such stars to understand their and over again. Dream it, Live it… that is the properties. secret to being successful.”  His mantra for the youth is evergreen: “Until you can trust yourself, you cannot trust Allah or God.” If we are not able to see God in other humans and ourselves, then where can we go to find divinity?  Vivekananda caught the world’s attention with his ideas when he represented Sanatan Dharma in Chicago in 1893. A speech like the one he made then could not be made today.  The themes in that speech included “Vishwabandhutva”, tolerance, cooperativeness, participation, religion, culture, nation, nationalism and the collective India-Indianness.

Swami Vivekananda On Hinduism: F. Swami Vivekananda’s thought is as relevant to India’s future as it was in its past  At the Parliament of World religions, Vivekananda said he is “from that Hindustan, India’s Youth: which gives shelter to persecuted people from  One of India’s most important resources is the all religions and countries”. youth.  He also said that Sanatan Dharma is the  Every fifth young person in the world is an mother of all religions. He was also proud that Indian. It is due to this segment of the the land of India and the Sanatani religion had population that India’s growth rate has been taught the world the lesson of tolerance and

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universal acceptance. It is the nature of the positive thinking. His ideas remain fresh and Indian soil to accept all religions as true. relevant.  We were the first laboratory and protector of

secularism.  He addressed the Parliament of World G. PRELIMS TIT BITS Religions as: “American brothers and sisters”. 1. PRABUDDHA BHARATA:  The eternal message of universal brotherhood was clear in his speech. The New York Herald Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the wrote: “Hearing him (Swami Vivekananda) 125th Anniversary celebrations of ‘Prabuddha seems that sending a Christian missionary to a Bharata’. The event is being organized by knowledgeable nation like India is foolish. Advaita Ashrama situated at Mayavati Ashram Even if he only passes through the stage, the in Uttarakhand. applause starts.” Prabuddha Bharata, a monthly journal of the  Swami Vivekananda took forward the efforts Ramakrishna order started by Swami made by other thinkers to reach the roots of Vivekananda in 1896. Indian culture.  This thinking makes him acceptable The journal ‘Prabuddha Bharata’ has been an worldwide and establishes him as the important medium for spreading the message spokesperson of Sanatan Dharma, a symbol of of India’s ancient spiritual wisdom. Hindustan and Hindustani culture. Its publication was started from Chennai Swami Vivekananda and Government Ideology: erstwhile Madras where it continued to be published for two years after which it was  His inclusive thinking is reflected in the published from Almora. Government’s slogan “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”. Later, in April 1899, the place of publication  Swami Vivekananda taught the world that it is of the Journal was shifted to Advaita Ashrama our duty to encourage all those doing good so and it has been continuously published from that they can make their dreams come true. there since then.  His vision also gave rise to the idea of Some of the greatest personalities have left Antyodaya. Until the upliftment of the last their imprint on the pages of ‘Prabuddha poor person in the country is ensured, Bharata’ through their writings on Indian development is meaningless, he said. culture, spirituality, philosophy, history,  He said, “The more we come to help and help psychology, art and other social issues. others, the more pure our heart becomes. Such people are like God.” Luminaries like Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Sister Nivedita, Sri Fresh and Relevant Ideas: Aurobindo, Former President Sarvepalli  Swami Vivekananda combined thinking of Radhakrishnan have contributed to the Journal different religions, communities and traditions. over the years.  His thoughts inspire liberation from inertia. This is the reason Swami Vivekananda has no opponent in this country. Everyone bows to 2. INDIA’S FIRST LEATHER PARK: his ideas. Uttar Pradesh government will establish the  In the 19th century, the spokesperson of first leather park of the country in Kanpur Sanatani religion, who was called the district. “Cyclonic Hindu” due to his views, is still standing firmly on the world stage with his

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The park is expected to provide employment TURTLES IN INDIA: to 50 thousand people directly and more than The Indian coastal waters supports five species of 1 lakh 50 thousand people indirectly. sea turtles found worldwide. These are the Olive The project will be established in 268 area of ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), Green (Chelonia land in Ramaipur village of Kanpur district mydas), Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), and is expected to attract an investment of Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) and more than 5850 crores. Loggerhead (Caretta caretta). These five species of sea turtles that occur in The leather park will also have an effluent Indian coastal waters are protected under Schedule treatment plant of 20 million litre per day I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 capacity so that it will not pollute the Ganga India is home to the largest known nesting river. population of olive ridley turtles. More than 150 tanneries are expected to work Except Loggerhead turtles, the remaining four here which will produce world class leather species (Leatherback, Hawksbill, Green and Olive items including shoes, jackets and other ridley turtles) nest along the Indian coastline and accessories of export quality. islands of India.

About 40,000 to 11,00,000 turtles nest every year The leather park will have all the facilities for on the beaches of India. Number of turtles nesting production as well as exhibition of leather varies between years and the success of sporadic products. It will also have fooding and lodging nests have been observed to decline due to arrangements for the investors who will come predations and habitat degradation. here from all over the world. India has identified all its important sea turtle 3.NATIONAL MARINE TURTLE ACTION nesting habitats as ‘Important Coastal and Marine PLAN (2021-2026) Biodiversity Areas’ of India and included in the The Ministry of Environment Forest and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) -1. Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has released

‘Marine Mega Fauna Stranding Guidelines’ and ‘National Marine Turtle Action Plan’. GOAL OF THE NATIONAL MARINE TURTLE PLAN:

1. Conserve Species, their habitat and reduce negative impacts on survival of marine turtles; 2. Improve the understanding of marine turtles and their habitats, through a coordinated mechanism;

3. Promote Awareness and Education on conservation of marineturtles and their habitats; 4. Enhance livelihoods of coastal communities through promoting sustainable ecotourism; 5. Increase national, regional and international cooperation on marine turtle conservation.

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4. RATLE HYDRO ELECTRIC (HE) The tri-services exercise aims to fine tune PROJECT: joint war-fighting capabilities and Standard Operating Procedures towards enhancing The Cabinet has given its approval for the operational synergy. investment of over 5200 crore rupees for 850 MW Ratle Hydro Electric (HE) Project located 6. NATIONAL GIRL CHILD WEEK: on river Chenab, in Kishtwar in the Union The National Girl Child Week is being Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. observed from today to 26th January. This will be a new Joint Venture Company National Girl Child Day is celebrated in India (JVC) of National Hydroelectric Power every year on 24th January to promote Corporation (NHPC) and Jammu and Kashmir awareness of issues faced by girl children in State Power Development Corporation Ltd India, such as education and nutrition. (JKSPDC) with equity contribution of 51 per cent and 49 per cent respectively. One of the main objective is raising awareness Government is also supporting the Jammu and on the issue of declining Child Sex Ratio Kashmir Union Territory by providing grant (CSR). of 776.44 crore rupees for Equity contribution of JKSPDC in the JVC to be set up for The initiative was started by the ministry of construction of Ratle HE Project. women and child development in 2008. The Ratle Hydro Electric Project shall be To mark National Girl Child Day, the commissioned within 60 months. government organises awareness campaigns under Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Save the girl The Power generated from the Project will child, Educate the girl child) scheme. help in providing balancing of Grid and will improve the power supply position. Punjab has announced January 2021 to be the "month of the girl child". The scheme The construction activities of the Project will Dheeiyan Di Lohri has also been launched. provide direct and indirect employment to around 4000 persons and will contribute 7. WIPRO – MP’S KNOWLEDGE immensely in the overall socio-economic PARTNER: development of Jammu and Kashmir. WIPRO group will act as the knowledge 5. EXERCISE KAVACH: partner of the Madhya Pradesh State Government. A large scale Joint Military exercise - Exercise Kavach involving assets of Indian A University will also be set up by WIPRO in Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and Madhya Pradesh. Indian Coast Guard was conducted under the The Wipro Group will also set up a Software aegis of the Andaman and Nicobar Command. Development Centre in Bhopal. The exercise involves synergised application Azim Premji Foundation has been allotted 50 of maritime surveillance assets, coordinated acres of land for the proposed university in air and maritime strikes, air defence, Bhopal. submarine and landing operations. 8. AYUSHMAN CAPF HEALTH SCHEME:

The joint force will execute multi-domain, The Ayushman CAPF health scheme was high-intensity offensive and defensive launched in Guwahati for about 28 lakh manoeuvres in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Central Armed Police Forces and their Bengal. families in all the states where Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana is operational.

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‘Ayushman CAPF’ is a convergence scheme including trigger components made by metal being implemented on Ayushman Bharat PM- 3D printing. JAY IT platform.

A joint initiative by the Ministry of Home The weapon has huge potential in Armed Affairs and the National Health Authority, forces as personal weapon for heavy weapon which will provide cashless healthcare detachments, commanders, tank and aircraft services to the serving CAPF personnel from crews, Closed Quarter Battle, counter all seven forces, viz. Assam Rifles, BSF, insurgency and counter terrorism operations. CISF, CRPF, ITBP, NSG and SSB, and their This is also likely to find huge employability dependents through Ayushman Bharat PM- with the central and state police organizations JAY IT platform as well as VIP protection duties and Policing. The pistol is likely to have production cost 9. EK PAUDHA SUPOSHIT BETI KE under rupees 50 thousand rupees each and has NAAM: potential for exports. A new scheme has been initiated in Sirohi 11. EXERCISE SEA VIGIL: district, Rajasthan to make people aware about importance of nourishment of pregnant women Exercise Sea Vigil is the two-day coastal and children. defence exercise. The scheme called Ek Paudha Suposhit Beti The conceptual and geographical expanse of Ke Naam or A plant on the name of well Sea Vigil included the entire coastline and nourished daughter' has been started under Exclusive Economic Zone, EEZ of the country Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme of the Union and contingencies from Peace to War-time Government. were exercised.

In addition, mitigation measures, on shore, in Under this Scheme on the birth of a girl child case of any breach in coastal security were a drumstick plant is being distributed by also validated. district administration this nutritional plant is taken care of by family members of girl child The exercise involved deployment of the This initiative motivate families to accept the entire coastal security apparatus and more birth of girl child as pride, at the same time it than 110 surface assets of Indian Navy and is also intended to make people aware about Coast Guard participated in the exercise. healthy food habits and environment protection. In addition, a large number of Marine Police

and Customs assets were also deployed. The 10. INDIA’S FIRST INDIGENOUS 9mm entire coastline was kept under surveillance by MACHINE PISTOL: the Indian Navy and Coast Guard aircraft and India’s first indigenous 9mm Machine Pistol helicopters were also pressed into service to has been jointly developed by Defence reinforce Special Operations personnel Research and Development Organisation, operating onboard offshore platforms. DRDO and Indian Army. 12. INDIA-JAPAN MOC The weapon has been developed in a record India and Japan today signed a Memorandum time of four months. of Cooperation, MoC a Basic Framework for 3D Printing process has been used in Partnership for Proper Operation of the designing and prototyping of various parts System Pertaining to Specified Skilled Worker (SSW) today.

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The MoC will help to promote the movement 14. INDIA AND UZBEKISTAN MOU of skilled workers from India to Japan. The Union Cabinet approved of signing of The MoC covers 14 categories of specified Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) skills under which skilled workers from India between India and Uzbekistan for cooperation who meet the skills requirement and Japanese in the field of Solar Energy. language tests would be eligible for employment in Japan on a contractual basis. The main area of work under the MoU is to identify research, demonstration and initiation The 14 specified industry fields include of pilot projects between the National Institute nursing care, building cleaning, material of Solar Energy (NISE) under the Ministry of processing, industrial machinery New and Renewable Energy, India and the manufacturing, electric and electronic International Solar Energy Institute, information, construction, shipbuilding and Uzbekistan. ship-related industry, automobile maintenance, aviation, lodging, agriculture, The reserach and cooperation will primarily fisheries, food and beverages manufacturing focus in the areas of Solar Photovoltaic, and food services industry. Storage Technologies and Transfer of Technologies. Based on mutual agreement, Japan would grant these workers the status of both parties would work for implementation Specified Skilled Worker. and deployment of pilot project in

International Solar Alliance (ISA) member It is also expected that Indian skilled workers countries. who go to Japan under this MoC will acquire new skills while working in Japan. 15. INDIA AND UAE MOU: A Joint Working Group comprising officials The Union Cabinet, has given its approval to from both the countries will be constituted in the Memorandum of Understanding on near future to work out operational details and scientific and technical cooperation between smooth implementation of this programme. National Centre of Meteorology of the United Arab Emirates and Ministry of Earth Sciences. 13. EX DESERT KNIGHT-21:

Indian Air Force and French Air and Space The MoU will enable sharing of knowledge, Force are conducted a bilateral Air exercise, data and operational products for Ex Desert Knight-21 in Jodhpur meteorological, seismological and oceanic services between both the countries. The French side will participate with Rafale, Airbus A-330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport, This MoU will facilitate exchange of scientific A-400M Tactical Transport aircraft and and technical information, deployment of approximately 175 personnel. The Indian Air Meteorological observation networks over Force aircraft participating in the exercise will ocean, mutual cooperation in the development include Rafale, Mirage 2000, Sukhoi-30 MKI of special capacities and research of Tsunami among other aircraft. models for faster and more reliable forecasts of Tsunamis. The exercise marks an important milestone in the series of engagements between the two Air Sharing the real-time seismic data and forces. It is unique as it includes fielding of cooperation in early warnings of sand and dust Rafale aircraft by both sides and is indicative storms are the other key elements of the MoU. of the growing interaction between the two The pact will pave the way for deployment of premier Air Forces. meteorological observation networks on

AP - 127, AF block, 6 th street, 11th Main Rd, Shanthi Colony, Anna Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600040 JANUARY 2021 CA KAMARAJ IAS ACADEMY P a g e | 50 mutual agreements over ocean waters, Startup India seed fund worth Rs 1,000 crore cooperation in the development of special was launched during the event. capacities of tsunami models researches for The Start-up India seed fund will enable their faster and more reliable forecasts startups to raise initial funding, which will propagating through the Oman Sea and the help them to start and grow new startups. Arabian Sea which affects the coastal areas of India and the UAE. The new seed fund for startups comes after the Ministry of Electronics and Information It further specifies sharing the real-time Technology had last year initiated a similar seismic data of some of the seismic stations fund to identify startups and give them situated in south and west of India and north financial help. of the UAE for monitoring the seismic activities which may generate tsunami in the 18. CHERRY BLOSSOM MAO Arabian Sea and the Sea of Oman. FESTIVAL: 16. NATIONAL YOUTH DAY: In Manipur, the Cherry Blossom Mao Festival was held at Senapati district marking the National Youth Day is celebrated on January beginning of pink season in the district. 12, every year in India to honor the birth The Mao area of Senapati district in Manipur anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. is known for Cherry Blossom, a plant which is In 1984 the Government of India declared this popularly known as Sakura in Japan. day as National Youth Day and since 1985 the The Manipur government started organizing event is celebrated in India every year. the festival every year from 2017 onward. National Youth Day / Yuva Diwas is also The festival which featured the picturesque celebrated to encourage the youth in the landscape of Mao town adorned with beautiful country to become a better person and achieve Cherry Blossom flowers was streamed live an honorable life contributing to the from 2 pm on various social media platforms development of the country. and the programs consisted of traditional dances and special ballet. 17. ‘PRARAMBH’ STARTUP INDIA

INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT: The two day ‘Prarambh’, Startup India International Summit begin, with members of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi- Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) countries participating in the inaugural event. The Summit is being organizing by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, M/o Commerce & Industry, as a follow up of the announcement made by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi at the 4th BIMSTEC Summit held in Kathmandu in August, 2018. 19. WORLD BRAILLE DAY: The Summit marked the fifth anniversary of the Startup India initiative launched on Braille is a tactile representation of alphabetic January 16, 2016. and numerical symbols using six dots to represent each letter and number, and even

AP - 127, AF block, 6 th street, 11th Main Rd, Shanthi Colony, Anna Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600040 JANUARY 2021 CA KAMARAJ IAS ACADEMY P a g e | 51 musical, mathematical and scientific symbols. reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3,60,000 Braille (named after its inventor in 19th tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. century France, Louis Braille) is used by blind (ii)India and the Asian Development Bank and partially sighted people to read the same (ADB) have signed a USD 10 million project books and periodicals as those printed in a readiness financing (PRF) to help finance visual font. piloting activities and design and capacity The world Braille Day is being observed on building for an ensuing project that aims to January 4 every year. expand horticulture production and farm household income in Himachal Pradesh. The day is marked as the birth anniversary of Louis Braille, the inventor of Braille - for the 21. MUKUNDAPUR METEOROID: vision impaired people. A rare carbon-rich meteorite that fell in a Louis Braille was born on 4th January 1809 in Rajasthan village in June 2017 may have come the town of Coupvray in northern France. from a near-earth asteroid, and can shed light on the origin of life and the formation of the The Convention on the Rights of Persons with universe. Disabilities, adopted in 2006, has advanced the rights and well-being of persons with Physicists researching the minerals of the disabilities. meteorite that fell in Mukundpura near Jaipur have found its closest analogue in The Convention considers Braille essential for carbonaceous material collected and brought education, freedom of expression and opinion, back to earth from the asteroid Ryugu on 5 access to information and social inclusion. December 2020 by the Hayabusa 2 mission of The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable the Japanese Space Agency JAXA. Development, adopted in 2015, further Carbon meteorites hold a mixture of water and pledges that no one will be left behind in the ice and provide the best clues on the origin aim to ensure that all human beings can enjoy and evolution of water and volatile compounds prosperous and fulfilling lives. in terrestrial planets. In November 2018, the UN General Assembly Through routine microscopic examination, X- decided to proclaim 4 January as World ray diffraction, mineral chemistry and Braille Day, recognizing that the full spectroscopic studies, the researchers found realization of human rights and fundamental that the Mukundpura meteorite had freedoms relies on an inclusive written experienced varying degrees of aqueous promotion. alteration (reaction of the original minerals 20. INDIA AND ADB with water) resulting in high amounts (~90%) of phyllosilicates (complex mixture of (i)India and Asian Development Bank (ADB) minerals including the micas, chlorite, talc, have signed a USD 231 million loan to and clay minerals) comprising both augment electricity generation capacity in the magnesium and iron. State of Assam through construction of a 120 MegaWatts hydroelectric power plant that will Most of this alteration seems to have occurred enhance availability of electricity for within the asteroidal parent body during the households. early evolutionary history of the Solar System. The proposed hydroelectric project is run-of- This implies that carbonaceous meteorite the-river project over Kopili river which will chondrites are useful for surface studies of help increase electricity supplied from clean asteroids, particularly for linking laboratory energy by 469 GigaWatt Hour by 2025 and spectra with the remotely acquired spectra

AP - 127, AF block, 6 th street, 11th Main Rd, Shanthi Colony, Anna Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600040 JANUARY 2021 CA KAMARAJ IAS ACADEMY P a g e | 52 from telescope and asteroid missions, and to The award seeks to recognize achievements in link meteorites to the near-earth asteroids. all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved. 22. PARAKARAM DIWAS The Padma Awards are conferred on the The Indian government decided to celebrate Netaji recommendations made by the Padma Awards Subhash Chandra Bose's birthday on January 23 Committee, which is constituted by the Prime as 'Parakram Diwas' (day of courage) every year. Minister every year. The nomination process According to a notification released by Ministry is open to the public. Even self-nomination of Culture, the government had decided to can be made. celebrate the 125th birth anniversary year starting The Government of India instituted two from January 23, 2021 in a “befitting manner at civilian awards-Bharat Ratna & Padma national and international level”. Vibhushan in 1954. 23. MAHAVIR CHAKRA The latter had three classes namely Pahela The Maha Vir Chakra is the second highest Varg, Dusra Varg and Tisra Varg. military decoration in India, after the Param These were subsequently renamed as Padma Vir Chakra, and is awarded for acts of Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the vide Presidential Notification issued on enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air. January 8, 1955. It may be awarded posthumously. Literally Bharat Ratna: Maha Veera Chakra means extraordinarily bravery award. Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the country. It is awarded in recognition of Colonel B. Santhosh Babu, Commanding exceptional service/performance of the highest Officer of 16 Bihar deployed in Galwan order in any field of human endeavour. It is during Operation Snow Leopard and lost his treated on a different footing from Padma life along with 19 others in the violent clash Award. The recommendations for Bharat with Chinese troops in June, has been Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the posthumously awarded Maha Vir Chakra President of India. No formal (MVC). recommendations for Bharat Ratna are Five other personnel deployed there have been necessary. The number of Bharat Ratna awarded Vir Chakra (VrC) — four of them Awards is restricted to a maximum of three in posthumously — the third highest war time a particular year. Government has conferred gallantry award. Bharat Ratna Award on 45 persons till date. 24. PADMA AWARDS 25. JOE BIDEN AS 46TH US PRESIDENT The Padma Awards are one of the highest Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was sworn in as civilian honours of India announced annually the 46th president of the United States. He on the eve of Republic Day. defeated incumbent President Donald Trump in 2020 Presidential Election. The Awards are given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and During the Obama Administration, Biden distinguished service), Padma Bhushan served as the 47th Vice-President from 2009 (distinguished service of higher order) and to 2017 and from 1973 to 2009, he represented Padma Shri (distinguished service). Delaware in the US Senate.

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Kamala Devi Harris, the first woman, African- Overall, only 29 per cent judges in HCs across American and Indian-American to become the country are women, but no state except U.S. Vice-President Sikkim has over 20 per cent women judges. 26. INDIA JUSTICE REPORT 2020 Four states — Bihar, Uttarakhand, Tripura and Meghalaya — have no woman judge in its India Justice Report 2020 was released high courts. recently. Despite the low figures, women’s This is the second annual survey on police, representation has marginally increased in prisons, judiciary and legal aid. police, prisons and the judiciary. The report was an initiative of Tata Trusts, Overall, Maharashtra retained the top spot on along with the Centre for Social Justice, delivery of justice to people among 18 large Common Cause, CHRI, DAKSH and TISS- and mid-sized states, followed by Tamil Nadu, Prayas and Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. Telangana, Punjab and Kerala. The report analysed expenditure, vacancies, An overwhelming two-thirds of all prisoners representation of women and members of SC, are undertrials awaiting a conviction. ST and Other Backward Classes, across 18 large and mid-sized states with a population of 27. HENLEY PASSPORT INDEX over 1 crore and eight smaller states. Japan tops the list of being the most powerful At 25.3 per cent, Bihar leads the list of 25 passport in the world for the year 2021, states for employing most women in its police according to the latest report by the Henley force followed by Himachal Pradesh (19.2%) Passport Index. and Tamil Nadu (18.5%). Japanese citizens can travel to as many as 191 Although it is the only state to have more than countries visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 20 per cent women in the police force, women 191 destinations around the world. account for only 6.1 per cent in the officer Singapore is in second place (with a score of category. 190) and South Korea ties with Germany in Tamil Nadu, has the highest percentage of third place (with a score of 189). women police officers (24.8%) , followed by India ranks 85th in the most powerful passport Mizoram (20.1%). report. On diversity, Karnataka is the only state to Pakistan (rank 107) and Nepal (rank 104) meet its quotas for SC, ST and OBC in both continue to be in the 'worst passports to hold' officer cadre and constabulary. category. Chhattisgarh being the only other state that Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan continue to be the meets the diversity requirements for countries with the worst passport. constabulary. 28. SATYAMEVA JAYATE The lack of representation of women as judges PROGRAMME in high courts is telling. The Kerala Government announced a digital Sikkim tops the list with 33.3 per cent women media literacy programme called ‘Satyameva – Sikkim High Court has just three judges, Jayate’ (Truth alone triumphs). Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai being its lone woman judge. The programme would be taught at schools and colleges, which would be encouraged to develop curriculum on digital media literacy

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Smartphone and internet penetration is much The new scheme will be more trainee- and higher in Kerala than any other state. learner-centric addressing the ambitions of aspirational Bharat. The Satyameva Jayate programme would cover five points — what is wrong PMKVY 2.0 has been instrumental in information; why they are spreading fast; what bolstering the skilling ecosystem and with precautions have to be adopted while using the PMKVY 3.0, skill development will usher in a content of social media; how those who spread new paradigm with focus on demand-driven fake news make profit; and what steps can be skill development, digital technology and initiated by citizens. Industry 4.0 skills. 29. BHARAT PARV: The Government’s growth agenda is guided by ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Vocal for Local’ Bharat Parv is a five-day festival organised by vision. Ministry of Tourism (India), Government of India to showcase the cuisine and culture of Keeping this in mind, PMKVY 3.0 is a different states of India. progressive step towards achieving the vision by establishing increased connect at state, The festival is held annually at the end of district and block level. January. PMKVY 2.0 broadened the skill development It is to generate a patriotic fervour, promote with inclusion of Recognition of Prior the rich cultural diversity of the country and to Learning (RPL) and focus on training. popularize the idea of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. With the advent of PMKVY 3.0, the focus is on bridging the demand-supply gap by The festival is being organised on a virtual promoting skill development in areas of new- platform www.bharatparv2021.com this year age and Industry 4.0 job roles from today till 31st of January. While the National Educational Policy puts 30. PRADHAN MANTRI KAUSAL VIKAS focus on vocational training for a holistic YOJANA 3.0 growth and increased employability, PMKVY The Ministry of Skill Development and 3.0 role will be a propagator of vocational Entrepreneurship (MSDE) launched Pradhan education at an early level for youth to Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 3.0, capitalize on industry-linked opportunities. in nearly 600 districts making 300+ skill 31. KALA UTSAV 2020 courses available to the youth, making skill development more demand-driven and Kala Utsav is an initiative of the Ministry of decentralised in its approach. Education (MoE) under Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, to promote arts in education Launched in 717 districts, 28 States/eight by nurturing and showcasing the artistic talent UTs, PMKVY 3.0 marks yet another step of school students at the secondary stage in towards ‘Atmnanirbhar Bharat’. the country. PMKVY 3.0 will be implemented in a more Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan decentralized structure with greater (RMSA) recognises the importance of responsibilities and support from States/UTs aesthetics and artistic experiences for and Districts. District Skill Committees secondary-level students, which play a major (DSCs), under the guidance of State Skill role in creating awareness of India’s rich Development Missions (SSDM), shall play a cultural heritage and its vibrant diversity. key role in addressing the skill gap and assessing demand at the district level.

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In the context of education of Arts (Music, 32. SMART CLASSES FOR RURAL Theatre, Dance, Visual Arts and Crafts), the SCHOOLS initiative is guided by the recommendations of When they reopen in the post-Covid world, the National Curriculum Framework 2005 around 600 schools run by the Central (NCF-2005). government in rural areas may equip The Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan themselves with the ability to hold “smart (RMSA) is a flagship scheme of Government classes” powered by high-speed broadband, of India, to enhance access to secondary tablets in the hands of students and interactive education and improve its quality. screens. Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan RailTel, the telecom PSU of Indian Railways, (RMSA) aims to increase the enrolment rate has pitched this ambitious proposal to the by providing a secondary school within Ministry of Education to impact around 3.5 reasonable distance of every home. lakh students who are enrolled in these schools, which are run by the Central It also aims to improve the quality of government predominantly for meritorious secondary education by making all secondary students in rural India. schools conform to prescribed norms, removing gender, socio-economic and The plan is to create end-to-end e-learning disability barriers, and providing universal solutions for the schools, riding on the solid access to secondary level education. Optical Fibre Cable network, which is the backbone of Indian Railways telecom The implementation of the scheme to generate operations. human capital and provide sufficient conditions for accelerating growth and They run along railway tracks, and so as far as development and equity as also quality of life reach is concerned, there is the capability to for everyone in India. impact rural schools anywhere in India, including the remotest locations which The scheme involves multidimensional otherwise may not get reliable Internet. research, technical consulting, implementation and funding support. RailTel, whose services power Indian Railways, has already provided such Objectives of RMSA: connectivity to 723 institutions of higher a) The scheme envisages achieving a learning under the Centre’s National gross enrolment ratio of 75% from Knowledge Network programme, with 52.26% in 2005-06 for classes IX-X broadband speed of up to 10 gigabytes per within 5 years of its implementation, by second. providing a secondary school within 33. OLDEST CAVE ART reasonable distance of any habitation. b) Improve the quality of education Archaeologists have discovered the world's imparted at secondary level by making oldest known animal cave painting in all secondary schools conform to Indonesia - a wild pig - believed to be drawn prescribed norms. 45,500 years ago. c) Remove gender, socio-economic and Painted using dark red ochre pigment, the life- disability barriers. sized picture of the Sulawesi warty pig d) Provide universal access to secondary appears to be part of a narrative scene. level education e) Enhance and universalize retention by The picture was found in the Leang 2020 Tedongnge cave in a remote valley on the island of Sulawesi.

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It provides the earliest evidence of human Academia, Defence Research and settlement of the region. Development Organisation (DRDO) and Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs).

One such project is the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Offensive Drone Operations which has been incubated with an Indian start-up. This project symbolises the beginning of the Indian Army's tryst with autonomy in weapon platforms and showcases the Army's commitment towards merging the cutting-edge of digital technologies with its human resource 34. DRONE SWARM India has been collaborating with the U.S. to Drones of the Indian Army carried out mock develop swarming drones since 2018 under the kamikaze attacks and first-aid delivery Defence Technology Trade Initiative exercises as the service showcased its latest 35. INTERNATIONAL DOMAIN NAME – assets during the Army Day parade NIXI Kamikaze Missions are drone formations The National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) employed to take down multiple targets announced that it will offer a free IDN simultaneously (Internationalized Domain Name) in any of their (Kamikaze attacks were a Japanese suicide preferred 22 official Indian language along with bombing tactic designed to destroy enemy every IN domain booked by the registrant. warships during World War II). Applicant will also get a free email in local language. The Indian Army said it carried out a live demonstration of “drone swarming capability” This offer has been created to stimulate using 75 indigenously designed and developed the adoption of भारत (IDN) domain name and drones, which executed an array of artificial proliferation of local language content. intelligence (AI) enabled simulated offensive missions and close support tasks National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) is a not for profit organization working since The drones being unleashed in a bunch is a 2003 for spreading the internet technology to tactic called swarm drone technology. Not the citizens of India through the following only are these drones light weighted and low activities: - cost but the high-tech artificial intelligence enables these to be crucial in future warfare. i) Internet Exchanges through which the internet data is exchanged amongst ISPs and Swarm drones can create havoc as it is part of between ISPs and CDNs. deception warfare with radars or air defence systems often unable to pick up the multiple ii) IN Registry, managing and operation of IN drones but see it as one big object. country code domain and भारत IDN domain The drone swarm is capable of attacking for India. targets from a range of 50 kilometers iii) IRINN, managing and operating Internet The Indian Army has undertaken a wide array protocol (IPv4/IPv6). of technology initiatives in coordination with Dreamers, Startups, MSMEs, Private Sector,

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36. INDIA’S RICE EXPORTS TO them to ward off diseases later in life, a VIETNAM phenomenon called ‘immune training’. Vietnam, the world’s third-biggest exporter of Conversely, people in richer countries have rice, has started buying the grain from rival better access to healthcare and vaccines, and India for the first time in decades after local things like clean drinking water, due to which prices jumped to their highest in nine years they remain safer from such infectious amid limited domestic supplies diseases. In December, the world's biggest rice importer But that, paradoxically, also means their China started buying Indian rice for the first immune system remains unexposed to such time in at least three decades due to tightening dangers. supplies from Thailand, Myanmar, and This hypothesis is also sometimes used to Vietnam explain the prevalence of auto-immune The purchases highlight tightening supplies in diseases, in which the immune system Asia, which could lift rice prices in 2021 and even sometimes ‘overreacts’ and starts attacking the force traditional buyers of rice from Thailand and body’s own cells, leading to disorders like Vietnam to switch to India - the world's biggest type-1 diabetes mellitus or multiple sclerosis. exporter of the grain Among countries with the highest rates of The global pandemic has also prompted Vietnam death per million of population are Belgium, and other countries to stockpile rice. Italy and Spain, where more than 1,200 deaths Vietnam announced last year it would stockpile have died per million have been recorded till 270,000 tonnes of rice to ensure food availability now. The US and the UK have more than amid coronavirus-driven supply chain disruptions 1,000 deaths per million of population. worldwide. In contrast, India has seen just about 110 In 2020 India exported a record 14 million tonnes deaths per million, less than half the world of rice average of about 233. Most other South Asian countries, as also in rest of Asia and Africa, 37. HYGIENE HYPOTHESIS have much lower death rates. Better hygiene and sanitation in the rich and It is not that there are no exceptions to this, as developed countries could, paradoxically, be countries such as Japan, Finland, Norway, one of the reasons for the high rates of Monaco or Australia have also recorded very coronavirus-related deaths there, a new study low death rates. But it is true that a majority by Indian scientists has indicated, lending of the deaths have occurred in the rich and credence to what is known as the ‘hygiene developed world. hypothesis’. 38. AXIOM MISSION 1 The study has tried to find possible explanations for the fact that lower-income Three men are paying a whopping $55 million countries, with higher population densities and each to fly aboard a SpaceX rocket for an much lower sanitation standards, seem to have eight-day visit to the International Space recorded much lesser coronavirus-related Station, organised by Houston-based deaths compared to richer, more developed, spaceflight firm Axiom. countries. The Axiom Mission 1 (AX 1) flight is being ‘Hygiene hypothesis’ says that because people arranged under a commercial agreement with in countries with low sanitation standards get NASA. exposed to communicable diseases at an early age and develop stronger immunity, helping

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While private citizens have travelled to space India produces all major isotopes in the before, the AX 1 mission will be the first to country under the aegis of BARC. use a commercially built spacecraft, the It also imports some of the isotopes to fulfil SpaceX Dragon 2, best known for flying its the growing demand of the country from first two crews to the ISS late 2020. Europe, Australia and other Asian countries. No, private civilians have travelled to the The planned PPP has an opportunity to space station before. Since 2001, Russia has completely transform India's stature in the been selling rides to the ISS to wealthy global nuclear medicine industry. businessmen around the world. They travelled onboard the Russian Soyuz aircraft along with 40. INDIAN STAR TORTOISE professional cosmonauts and NASA astronauts. WII is creating India’s first genetic database of Indian Star Tortoises. Until 2019, NASA did not permit ordinary citizens to be launched into space from A genetic database is, essentially, a repository of American soil. It finally reversed its stance, biological data — blood samples, tissue, faeces, stating that the missions would help spur anything that holds DNA. growth in the commercial space industry The genetic profile of each tortoise will then be ST maintained at WII 39. 1 PPP RESEARCH REACTOR FOR PRODUCTION OF NUCLEAR Star Tortoises, with their distinct star-like MEDICINES markings on the shell, are found in dry lowlands Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In India, they are evolved a design for the first PPP Research found in six states — Gujarat, Karnataka, Punjab, Reactor for production of Nuclear Medicines. Tamil Nadu, Kerala and parts of Odisha. They can survive up to 80 years in their own habitat. But The premier research organization of the while there are no population estimates. Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) is ready to share the technology of production of a According to the IUCN Red List, the Indian Star variety of nuclear medicines. Tortoise is a vulnerable species. In the proposed partnership, the private And in 2019, CITES (Convention on International entities will get exclusive rights to process and Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and market the isotopes produced in the research Flora) bumped it up from Appendix II, under reactor, in lieu of investing in the reactor and which it had been placed in 1975, to Appendix I, processing facilities. the list of most endangered species. Establishment of a Research Reactor in PPP The Indian Star Tortoise is smuggled across the mode for production of medical isotopes is a globe. Its demand is high in south Asia because of part of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat initiatives for the belief that it brings good fortune and for its DAE. perceived medicinal value The proposed reactor is expected to come 41. SPINTRONICS online within five years of the beginning of Scientists have produced electron gas with the construction. ultra-high mobility, which can speed up Globally, nuclear medicine is a USD 6 Billion transfer of quantum information and signal market and is expected to grow rapidly to from one part of a device to another and reach USD 30 Billion by 2030. increase data storage and memory. The need for attaining new functionalities in modern electronic devices has led to the

AP - 127, AF block, 6 th street, 11th Main Rd, Shanthi Colony, Anna Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600040 JANUARY 2021 CA KAMARAJ IAS ACADEMY P a g e | 59 manipulation of property of an electron called of Age in India’, published in the journal spin degree of freedom along with its charge. Environmental Epidemiology, has found that for every 10 micrograms per meter cube This has given rise to an altogether new field increase in PM2.5 levels exposure, there is a of spin-electronics or ‘spintronics’. decrease of 0.07 grams per dL in average It has been realized that a phenomenon called haemoglobin levels. the ‘Rashba effect’, which consists of splitting This is the first study to have been carried out of spin-bands in an electronic system, might in India, where an association between play a key role in spintronic devices. exposure to PM 2.5 and anaemia in children Scientists at Institute of Nano Science and under the age of 5 years in India has been Technology (INST), Mohali (Punjab), an examined and established autonomous institution of Department of Anaemia, measured via low-blood Science and Technology (DST), Government haemoglobin concentration, is characterised of India, have produced an ultra-high mobility by a decreased oxygen-carrying capacity of 2d-electron gas(2DEG) at the interface of two the blood. insulating oxide layers. Globally, India carries the largest burden of Due to the high mobility of the electron gas, anaemia, especially among women and electrons do not collide inside the medium for children. a long distance and hence do not lose the memory and information. There are numerous types of anaemia -- the most common kinds are dietary iron Hence, such a system can easily remember and deficiency, followed by chronic systemic transfer its memory for a long time and inflammation. distance. Exposure to air pollution, especially PM 2.5, In addition, since they collide less during their has been shown to induce systemic flow, their resistance is very low, and hence inflammation. they don’t dissipate energy as heat. So, such devices do not heat up easily and need less According to the India National Family and input energy to operate. Health Survey 2015–2016 (NFHS-4), 53.1 per cent of women in India with 15–49 years of As per, INST team, realization of large age and 58.5 per cent of children under five Rashba-effect at such oxide interfaces were anaemic. containing highly mobile electron gas may open up a new field of device physics, The introduction of the National Iron Plus especially in the field of quantum technology Initiative in 2011 sought to expand the applicable for next-generation data storage beneficiaries of the National Nutritional media and quantum computers. Anaemia Prophylaxis Program to children with 6–59 months of age and although 42. PM 2.5 AND INCREASED ANAEMIA anaemia decreased by about 11 per cent RISK between 2006 and 2016, it remains a major A study conducted by IIT-Delhi has found that issue. extended periods of exposure to PM 2.5 can 43. AYU SAMVAD CAMPAIGN lead to anaemia among children under the age of 5 years. “AYU SAMVAD”(My Health My Responsibility) is one of the largest public The study, titled ‘The Association Between awareness campaign program on AYURVEDA Ambient PM 2.5 Exposure and Anaemia and COVID 19 PANDEMIC, organized by All Outcomes Among Children Under Five Years India Institute of Ayurveda New Delhi, as

AP - 127, AF block, 6 th street, 11th Main Rd, Shanthi Colony, Anna Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600040 JANUARY 2021 CA KAMARAJ IAS ACADEMY P a g e | 60 envisioned & supported by Ministry of It also prohibits the deployment of nuclear AYUSH. weapons on national territory. More than 5 lac lectures will be organized TPNW makes it obligatory for states to across the nation by Ayurveda Physicians for “suppress” any of the prohibited activities in citizens of India. its territory, compensate and provide necessary assistance to persons affected by The main objective of the campaign is to nuclear testing in any way, and also take create awareness through Lecture series to remedial action to undo environmental damage make common people aware about the theme in areas under its jurisdiction which have been “Ayurveda for COVID 19 Pandemic”. affected by the use or testing of nuclear This campaign will be immensely beneficial in weapons. understanding the importance of Ayurveda & The provisions of the treaty aren’t binding on in the fight against COVID 19 & also for Post non-signatories. Covid Management. The International Campaign to Abolish This campaign will specifically focus on the Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) spearheaded the Role of Preventive, Promotive, Curative and efforts for the signing of a nuke ban treaty and Rehabilitation in Management of COVID 19 was awarded the Nobel Prize for peace in through Ayurveda. 2017. 44. TREATY ON PROHIBITION OF India’s nuclear ambitions: NUCLEAR WEAPONS  Currently, India possesses approximately The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear 150 nuclear weapons that it can launch Weapons (TPNW), or Nuke ban treaty, came from missiles and aircraft. It spent into force on 22 January 2021. approximately $2.3 billion in building and It is a legally binding instrument aimed at maintaining its nuclear weapons. total elimination of nuclear weapons, under  In the past too, India has refrained from the aegis of the United Nations. signing nuclear disarmament treaties such as the NPT and Comprehensive Nuclear The treaty, due to its very provisions, did not Ban Treaty (CTBT), primarily because it find much support from the P-5 countries of feels they are discriminatory — while non- the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) nuclear states aren’t allowed to have despite being party to the Nuclear Non- nuclear weapons, nuclear-weapon states Proliferation Treaty (NPT). have no obligation to give them up. This is since it prevents countries from  Also, the NPT only recognises a country as participating in any nuclear weapons-related a nuclear power if tests were conducted activities, including development, testing, before 1967. possession, stockpile, use, or threat of use of  India isn’t ready to sign the treaty as a nuclear weapons. non-nuclear weapons state. India had refused to be a party to the talks as  After the 1974 Pokhran nuclear test, India India doesn’t think the current treaty takes was denied nuclear technology by the into account the verification process West, with sanctions led by the US.  This isolation and domestic support for The treaty, lists numerous prohibitions on the possessing nuclear power led India to aim use of nuclear weapons, including for complete independence in the nuclear undertakings to not develop, test, produce, fuel cycle, which entails all processes in acquire, possess, stockpile, use or threaten to generating nuclear energy — exploration, use nuclear weapons. mining, fuel fabrication heavy water

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production, fuel reprocessing and waste  As of January 2020, the installed nuclear management. power capacity in India is 6,780 megawatt  In 1992, the Nuclear Suppliers Group (MW), which is about 1.84 per cent of the (NSG), a multilateral export control total installed capacity of 3,68,690 MW. regime, decided, as a matter of policy, to This is the current nuclear power capacity. stop all nuclear commerce with countries 45. QUANTUM COMPUTING that have not ratified all NPT safeguards. APPLICATIONS LAB  This basically made India an outcast, boosting the country’s confidence in self- The Ministry of Electronics and Information reliance and reiterating the philosophy of Technology (MeitY) has announced the expanding nuclear powers on its own with establishment of a Quantum Computing certain safeguards. Applications Lab in partnership with Amazon  In September 2008, the NSG exempted Web Services (AWS). India though it hadn’t ratified the NPT. The move will give select researchers,  While India wants to be part of the NSG, scientists access to Amazon’s Braket cloud- its unwillingness to sign the NPT has based quantum computing service. drawn opposition from several countries, but mainly from China, which has The area of quantum computing is at a very repeatedly blocked India’s attempts at nascent stage in the country. joining the group. The Lab is a great opportunity for our  In 2006, India signed a civil nuclear deal researchers, whether they are in educational with the US, which was the first implicit institutions, in research labs or in the startup recognition of India as a nuclear power. environment. The core of this agreement was the non- proliferation of nuclear weapons. The Lab will identify quantum computing  In 2017, India joined the Wassenaar problem statements for experimentation from Arrangement, to build up a strong case for among Central and State Governments, its entry into the NSG. Research Institutions, and Academia.  Like the NSG, Wassenaar is a group of The Quantum Computing Application Lab in elite countries that subscribe to arms collaboration with AWS is the first lab on export control. AWS that’s aligned to a government mission.  The agreement ensures greater transparency in the exchange of Quantum computing is an emerging field, conventional arms, dual-use goods, and which wants to take computing beyond what technologies. existing classical computers can achieve.  All UNSC members are part of the Quantum computers rely on the laws of agreement except China. quantum mechanics to compute and solve  Prior to this, India acceded to the Missile problems. Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2016 while in 2018, it was admitted to the The idea is that these computers could one day Australia Group. solve problems which traditional computers  Apart from the US, India has also signed a are unable to do. number of civil nuclear agreements with Other than Amazon, players like IBM, Google countries such as France, Russia and and Microsoft are conducting research on Japan, among others, even as it aims to quantum computing. increase its nuclear power generation capacity by over three times in 10 years.

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46. INSACOG causes paralysis, which is often permanent. There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented by The government has launched the Indian immunization.” SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia (INSACOG), comprising 10 labs. India launched the Pulse Polio immunisation programme in 1995, after a resolution for a global The overall aim of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 initiative of polio eradication was adopted by the Genomics Consortium is to monitor the World Health Assembly (WHA) in 1988. genomic variations in the SARS-CoV-2 on a regular basis through a multi-laboratory Children in the age group of 0-5 years are network. administered polio drops during national and sub- national immunisation rounds (in high-risk areas) This vital research consortium will also assist every year. in developing potential vaccines in the future. Under the Pulse Polio programme, all states and The consortium will ascertain the status of Union Territories have developed Rapid Response new variant of SARS-CoV-2 (SARS-CoV-2 Teams (RRT) to respond to any polio outbreak in VUI 202012/01) in the country, establish a the country. Emergency Preparedness and sentinel surveillance for early detection of Response Plans (EPRP) have also been developed genomic variants with public health by states, indicating steps to be undertaken in case implication, and determine the genomic of detection of a polio case. variants in the unusual events/trends (super- spreader events, high mortality/morbidity To prevent the virus from coming to India, the trend areas etc.). government has since March 2014 made the Oral Polio Vaccination (OPV) mandatory for those Coordinated by Department of Biotechnology travelling between India and polio-affected (DBT) along with MoH&FW, ICMR, and countries, such as Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan, CSIR, the strategy and roadmap of the Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Syria and Cameroon. National SARS CoV2 Genome Sequencing Consortium (INSACOG) has been prepared. 48. STARTUP COUNCIL 47. PULSE POLIO 2021 The Central Government has nominated the non- official members on the National Startup Advisory The countrywide Pulse Polio Programme for 2021 Council. was launched by the President of India. The Central Government notified the structure of Polio drops were administered to children on the the National Startup Advisory Council to advise eve of the Polio National Immunization Day, the Government on measures needed to build a which is observed on the 31st January 2021 strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and (Sunday), also popularly known as Polio Ravivar. startups in the country. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines Membership of the Council: polio or poliomyelitis as “a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children. The The Council is chaired by Minster for Commerce virus is transmitted by person-to-person, spread & Industry. mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less Joint Secretary, Department for Promotion of frequently, by a common vehicle (e.g. Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) will be the contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the Convener of the Council. intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and can cause paralysis. Initial symptoms Official Members- The nominees of the concerned of polio include fever, fatigue, headache, Ministries/ Departments/ Organisations, not below vomiting, stiffness in the neck, and pain in the the rank of Joint Secretary to the Government of limbs. In a small proportion of cases, the disease India, will be ex-officio members of the Council.

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Non Official Members of the Council- The North African houbara (Chlamydotis undulata) and the Asian houbara (Chlamydotis The Council will consist of the non-official macqueenii) are separate species. members, to be nominated by Central Government, from various categories like The Asian houbara is related to the critically founders of successful startups, veterans who have endangered great Indian bustard native to India. grown companies in India, representatives of After breeding in Central Asia during the spring, investors, incubators and accelerators etc. and Asian houbara bustards migrate south to spend the representatives of industry associations. winter in Pakistan, the Arabian peninsula and The term of the non-official members of the nearby Southwest Asia. Startup Advisory Council will be for a period of Some Asian houbara bustards live and breed in the two years. southern part of their ranges including parts of The Council will suggest measures to foster a Iran, Pakistan and Turkmenistan. culture of innovation amongst citizens and According to the International Fund for Houbara students in particular, promote innovation in all Conservation (IFHC), roughly 42,000 Asian sectors of economy across the country, including houbara bustards and over 22,000 of the North semi-urban and rural areas, support creative and African houbara bustards remain today. innovative ideas through incubation and research and development to transform them into valuable The main reasons for the decline in the species’ products, processes or solutions to improve population are poaching, unregulated hunting and productivity and efficiency and create an the degradation of its natural habitat. environment of absorption of innovation in industry. It will also suggest measures to facilitate public organizations to assimilate innovation with a view to improving public service delivery, promote creation, protection and commercialization of intellectual property rights, make it easier to start, operate, grow and exit businesses by reducing regulatory compliances and costs, promote ease of access to capital for startups, incentivize domestic capital for investments into startups, mobilize global capital for investments in Indian startups, keep control of startups with original promoters and provide access to global markets for Indian startups. 49. VULNERABLE HOURBARA BIRD Members of the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) royal family arrived in Pakistan’s Panjgur district in Balochistan to hunt the internationally protected and highly vulnerable houbara bustard under a license issued by Pakistan’s foreign ministry. The houbara bustard is a large terrestrial bird found in parts of Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

AP - 127, AF block, 6 th street, 11th Main Rd, Shanthi Colony, Anna Nagar, Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600040