Daily Current Affairs (CNC)- May 7-10 , 2018

 

NEWS

RETURN OF CHILD TO PLACE OF HABITUAL RESIDENCE MAY NOT BE IN BEST INTEREST

  • A committee set up by the Centre to prepare a report on the issue of inter-country parental child abduction has questioned one of the basic principles of the Hague Convention by arguing that the return of the child to his or her habitual residence may not necessarily be in the best interest of the child.
  • There is immense pressure on India from the U.S. to accede to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which is a multi-national treaty that seeks to protect children wrongfully removed by one of the parents from the custody of the other parent. At the heart of this treaty is the criterion of “habitual residence” of the child, which is used to determine whether the child was wrongfully removed by a parent as well as to seek the return of the child.
  • It adds that returning a child to the place of habitual residence may result in sending the child to an inharmonious set-up as well as overlook the fact that a mother is the primary caregiver of the child.
  • The panel has also emphasised the importance of the “Indian family system” in ensuring the best interest of the child, seemingly to question the logic behind returning the child to a place of habitual residence outside India.
  • “With the older generation of womenfolk being home-makers, the households have great caregivers in terms of grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, etc., on either sides. A child, even if he may have stayed in some other country, would never be completely uprooted from the country of his parents’ origin, who have families back home in India,” reads the report.
  • The Justice Rajesh Bindal Committee was set up last year to suggest a model legislation to safeguard the interest of the child as well those of the parents when an NRI (Non Resident Indian) marriage goes sour and one of the parents flees from one country to another with the child.
  • Once the Central government decides to set-up the Authority and frames a law on the issue, it is expected to take a decision on whether it should accede to the Hague Convention.
  • In 2016, the government had decided not to be a signatory to the treaty on the ground that it can be detrimental to the interest of the women fleeing an abusive marriage.

Relevance : Prelims, GS 1, 2

 

ARANMULA’S SNAKEBOATS WILL WALTZ ALONG THIS YEAR

  • The famous Aranmula snakeboat regatta in Kerala will not be a competitive race in the Pampa river waters at this year’s Onam festival, and will instead return to its roots as a spectacle of colour and song.
  • The Aranmula Vallamkali has strong moorings in the traditions of the centuries-old Sree Parthasarathy temple at Aranmula, regarded as one of the 101 Vaishnava Tirupatis.
  • The Vallamkali marks the anniversary of the idol installation at the Aranmula temple, with the participation of about 50 units called Palliyoda Karayogams in and around Aranmula, which have their own snakeboats (Palliyodams).
  • The oarsmen consider it a holy mission to take part, and the boats are treated as those of the deity. The race was not part of Aranmula Vallamkali earlier, and the high-crested boats that take part are distinct from those used in races elsewhere in Kerala.
  • They are meant to be paddled, in tune with the rhythmic Vanchippattu, which are verses in praise of Lord Krishna.

Relevance : Prelims

 

.WATER ICE HIDDEN ON THE MOON

  • Scientists have found a mineral in a lunar meteorite that points to the presence of abundant hidden reserves of water ice under the surface of the moon, which could be potentially useful for future human exploration.
  • They found the mineral, called moganite, in a lunar meteorite discovered in a desert in northwest Africa.
  • Moganite, a crystal of silicon dioxide, is known to form on the earth in specific circumstances in sedimentary settings from alkaline fluids. It has never before been detected in samples of lunar rock.
  • Researchers believe the mineral formed on the surface of the moon in the area called Procellarum Terrane, as water originally present in lunar dirt evaporated due to exposure to strong sunlight. In the subsurface, water remains as ice.

Relevance : Prelims

 

INDIA GETS $200 MILLION LOAN FOR NUTRITION MISSION

  • India signed an agreement with the World Bank for a $200 million loan for implementing the National Nutrition Mission across 315 districts of the country.
  • The mission aims at reaching 10 crore beneficiaries, mainly children upto the age of six years, pregnant women and lactating mothers and adolescent girls.
  • The programme will be implemented in three phases between 2017 and 2020 across all districts of the country.
  • The mission targets a 2% reduction in both under-nutrition and low birth weight per annum.
  • It also aims to bring down anaemia among young children, women and adolescent girls by 3% per year until 2020.
  • The government will also strive to reduce the prevalence of stunting from the current level of 38.4% to 25% by 2022.
  • The National Nutrition Mission has an approved budget of ₹9,046.17 crore. The total contribution of the Centre will be ₹2,849.54 crore and nearly ₹1,700 crore will be contributed by the States. The remaining will be funded through the government’s tie-up with multilateral agencies such as the World Bank.

Relevance: Prelims, GS 2

 

SEPARATE NIA UNIT ALL SET TO PROBE FUNDING PATTERN OF  MAOISTS

  • Following reports of Maoist leaders having amassed huge assets in property and cash, the Centre said a separate unit will be created in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for investigating “important” cases of Left Wing Extremism.
  • The government has also set up a multi-disciplinary group to initiate action to choke funding sources of Maoists and to seize assets of their leaders.The group comprises officers from various central agencies and the State police departments. It is headed by an additional secretary and has representatives from the Intelligence Bureau, Enforcement Directorate, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, NIA and the CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) and the CBI, as also State intelligence departments and CID.
  • The move follows information about a large part of extortion money allegedly collected by Maoists getting diverted towards personal wealth of their leaders.
  • Maoists are forcing children to join their squads, but their double standards are exposed by the kind of education and other facilities they provide to their children and families.
  • The LWE movement in the country is financed through a large network of dubious activities, which include illegal levy collected from private contractors including those involved in execution of government works and schemes, mining contractors, transporters and owners of small and medium industries.

Relevance : GS 3

 

AUSTRALIA TO SAVE KOALA POPULATION

  • Australia unveiled a $34 million plan to help bring its koala population back from the brink, following a rapid decline in the furry marsupial’s fortunes.
  • Habitat loss, dog attacks, car strikes, climate change and disease have taken their toll on one of Australia’s most recognisable animals.
  • The State lists the species as “vulnerable”, while in other parts of the country they are effectively extinct.

Relevance : Prelims

 

COMMISSION APPROVES MODERN ANIMAL-FREE TESTING FOR DRUGS

  • In a step that would spare animals from suffering due to drug experiments, the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) has approved modern, animal-free tests for drug manufacturers.
  • The IPC has replaced the pyrogen test carried out on rabbits and the abnormal toxicity test carried out on guinea pigs and mice with tests that can be done in test tubes.
  • The pyrogen test is carried out to check impurity or substance that can cause adverse side-effects. For the test, the drug is injected into a rabbit and the animal is closely observed for feverish symptoms.
  • The abnormal toxicity test is carried out to check potential hazardous biological contamination in vaccine formulations. This batch test is done before the product is approved for marketing. In this, mice or guinea pigs are injected with the vaccine. The scientists observe if there is death of any animal.

Relevance : Prelims

 

REGULATOR WANTS GM LABEL ON FOOD PRODUCTS

  • Seeking to introduce GMO labelling for the first time in India, the food regulator has proposed all packaged food products containing genetically modified (GM) ingredients must clearly state it on their labels.
  • Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) also suggests mandatory declaration by food manufacturers about nutritional information such as calories, total fat, trans fat, sugar and salt per serve on the front of the pack.
  • Since the country has no provision for GM labelling in its regulatory mechanism, consumers are clueless whether packaged food items they buy have genetically engineered (GE) ingredients.
  • The FSSAI had last month made labels mandatory for products containing 5% or more GM ingredients.
  • Pitching for a colour code, the draft proposes high fat, sugar and salt will be coloured ‘red’ in case the value of energy from sugar is more than 10% of the total energy provided the product. It has similar provisions for transfat and sodium content.

Relevance : Prelims

 

$200M WB LOAN TO HELP INDIA IN NUTRITION TARGET

  • India has signed an agreement with the World Bank for a $200-million loan for the National Nutrition Mission ( NNM) to achieve its goal of reducing stunting in children aged 0-6 years from 38 % to 25% by 2022.
  • NNM or Poshan Abhiyaan was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 8 in Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan.
  • One of the key focus areas of the mission is focus on improving the coverage and quality of ICDS nutrition services to pregnant and lactating women and children under three years of age.
  • The project will additionally ensure convergence of all nutrition-related schemes.

Relevance : Prelims, GS 2

 

INDIA IN TOP 6 TO CREATE MOST GREEN ENERGY JOBS

  • With the countries across the globe gradually switching to clean energy in sync with their commitments under the Paris Agreement on climate change, jobs in the renewable energy sector globally crossed the 10 million mark in 2017.
  • All the countries together had created over half-a-million new jobs in the sector last year—a 5.3% increase from 2016.
  • Though most countries are making efforts to move towards a low-carbon economy, six of them – China, Brazil, the United States, India, Germany and Japan – have created the lion’s share of jobs globally in the renewable energy sector at over 70%.
  • The findings are part of the report of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) – a global inter-governmental organisation – which released its annual review on jobs in renewable energy (RE) sector.
  • The figures show that the solar photovoltaic (PV) industry remains the largest employer of all RE technologies.
  • India has set a target of installing 175 GW of renewable power by 2022. This includes 100 GW from solar power, 60 GW from wind power, 10 GW from biomass power and 5 GW from small hydro power.
  • India’s cumulative solar installations stand at 19.6 GW as on December, 2017.

Relevance : Prelims, GS 3

 

INDIA GIVING RICE, WHEAT OUTPUT EXCESS SUPPORT, US TELLS WTO

  • India is supporting its rice and wheat farmers with payments that are far higher than the amounts allowed by the World Trade Organization (WTO), the US said in a statement published by the WTO.
  • India’s apparent market price support (MPS) for wheat appears to have been over 60% of the value of production in each of the last four years for which India has notified data. Its apparent MPS for rice appears to have been over 70%. Anything over 10% would break WTO rules, it added.
  • India has made reform of agricultural subsidies a major negotiating issue at the WTO in the past five years. It has won preliminary WTO backing for a system of public stockholding of farm produce for food security purposes, but the US and others have been wary of its plans, warning that payments which encourage production could lead to oversupply and potentially a spillover onto world markets.

Relevance : Prelims, GS 2, 3

 

NITI AAYOG TO COLLABORATE WITH IBM TO DEVELOP PRECISION AGRICULTURE USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

  • NITI Aayog and IBM signed an agreement to develop a crop yield prediction model using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide real time advisory to farmers in Aspirational Districts.
  • The partnership aims to work together towards use of technology to provide insights to farmers to improve crop productivity, soil yield, control agricultural inputs with the overarching goal of improving farmers’ incomes.
  • Highlighting the need of such collaborations, Shri Amitabh Kant said, “Bringing in future technologies like Artificial Intelligence into practical use will have tremendous benefits for the practice of agriculture in the country, improving efficiency in resource-use, crop yields and scientific farming. The ten Aspirational Districts chosen will be invigorated with cutting-edge technological support to leap-frog development of agri-based economies”.
  • The scope of this project is to introduce and make available climate-aware cognitive farming techniques and identifying systems of crop monitoring, early warning on pest/disease outbreak based on advanced AI innovations.
  • It also includes deployment of weather advisory, rich satellite and enhanced weather forecast information along with IT & mobile applications with a focus on improving the crop yield and cost savings through better farm management.
  • IBM will be using Artificial Intelligence to provide all the relevant data and platform for developing technological models for improving agricultural output and productivity for various crops and soil types, for the identified districts. NITI Aayog, on its part, will facilitate the inclusion of more stakeholders on the ground for effective last mile utilisation and extension, using the insights generated through these models.

Relevance : Prelims, GS 3

 

GIS TECHNOLOGY TO STRENGTHEN NAMAMI GANGE PROGRAMME

  • National Mission for Clean Ganga has brought on board Survey of India, the oldest scientific department in the country set up in 1767, to facilitate the Ganga rejuvenation task by using Geographic Information System (GIS) technology.
  • Through the project NMCG aims to strengthen planning and implementation at national/state/local levels.
  • The project includes use of Digital Elevation Model (DEM) technology which ensures accurate data collection, an important aspect for river basin management planning.
  • DEM technology enables identification of entire topography of an area making it easy for policy makers to analyse the available data thereby supporting the decision-making process.Critical hotspots are also easily identified through this technology.
  • The use of GIS technology for Namami Gange programme will also ensure decentralisation. The data collected and subsequent actions taken by the government can easily be shared with the local public through geo portals and mobile apps.
  • The technology will also enable people to send their feedback up to the national level thereby providing an interactive and transparent platform.
  • For effective discharge management, outlet of sewerage and other discharges from all units – industrial, commercial and all types of other institutions will be mapped from the source outlet to the public drainage network. In addition, the high resolution GIS enabled data will help in regulating the proposed protected and regulatory zones along the banks of river.
  • National Mission for Clean Ganga has approved a project to strengthen State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) of five main stem Ganga basin states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal so that they can frequently verify the quality of water in river Ganga and in case of any discrepancy appropriate action could be taken.
  • The identified laboratories for this purpose are to be equipped in terms of advanced instruments and equipments with well-trained scientific personnel to carry out the pollution assessment and water quality monitoring activities in respect of existing and emerging pollutants.

Relevance : Prelims, GS 3

 

IMPORTANT FACTS IN NEWS

Ladies Special train

The first ever Ladies Special train in the world was started between Churchgate and Borivali on 5th May, 1992.

Tholu Bommalata

‘Tholu Bommalata’  is the shadow puppet theatre tradition of Andhra Pradesh.

Gram Swaraj Abhiyan

The Gram Swaraj Abhiyan was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 14, the birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, to reach out to villages, most of which have a majority of Dalit and tribal homes

 

 IMPORTANT TERMS IN NEWS EXPLAINED

NWIC

  • National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC) has recently been created by Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
  • NWIC would be a repository of nation-wide water resources data and would work as a Subordinate Office under the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
  • NWIC is expected to provide a ‘Single Window’ source of updated data on water resources & allied themes; and provides value added products and services to all stake holders for its management and sustainable development.
  • NWIC aims to empower, inform and enrich every citizen with upto date and reliable water data (other than classified data) and information through web based India Water Resources Information System (India-WRIS) on a GIS platform in Public Domain.
  • Besides it will also collaborate with leading research institutes nationally as well as internationally to provide technical support to other central and state organizations dealing with water, emergency response for hydrological extremes.

 

Van Dhan Scheme

  • The Van Dhan Scheme is an initiative of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and TRIFED. It was launched on 14th April, 2018 and seeks to improve tribal incomes through value addition of tribal products.
  • At unit level, aggregation of produce would be done by SHGs having about 30 members each forming Van Dhan Vikas ‘Samuh’.
  • Under Van Dhan, 10 Self Help Groups of 30 Tribal gatherers is constituted.
  • The establishment of “Van Dhan Vikas Kendra” is for providing skill upgradation and capacity building training and setting up of primary processing and value addition facility.
  • They are then trained and provided with working capital to add value to the products, which they collect from the jungle.
  • Working under the leadership of Collector these groups can then market their products not only within the States but also outside the States.
  • Training and technical support is provided by TRIFED. It is proposed to develop 3,000 such centres in the country.

General Data Protection law

  • Come May 25, internet and tech companies that handle user data of any sort will have a new legal provision to comply with. The General Data Protection Regulation or the GDPR is a new law that will come into force in the European Union.
  • GDPR enshrines data protection and privacy rights for European users, and holds companies handling their data, wherever they may be, liable for violations.
  • The penalties run into hefty fines — highest being 20 million euros or 4% of annual turnover — whichever is greater.

NECTAR

  • NECTAR is an autonomous society, set up under Department of Science & Technology, Government of India with its headquarter at Shillong, Meghalaya.
  • It was set up in 2012 to assist the North-Eastern region of the country is ensuring applications of appropriate technologies for development.
  • In order to assist the north eastern region, NECTAR will be ensuring applications of appropriate technologies for development in the areas of biodiversity concerns, watershed management, telemedicine, horticulture, infrastructure planning & development, planning and monitoring, and tele-schooling using cutting edge MESHNET solutions, employment generation etc. through utilization of local products/resources and associated skill development.

National Bamboo Mission

  • National Bamboo Mission (NBM) started as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in 2006-07.
  • The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister approved Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National Bamboo Mission (NBM) under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) during remaining period of Fourteenth Finance Commission (2018-19 & 2019-20).
  • The Mission will focus on development of bamboo in limited States where it has social, commercial and economical advantage, particularly in the North Eastern region and States including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
  • The Mission will not only serve as a potential instrument for enhancing income of farmers but also contributing towards climate resilience and environmental benefit

Hot money

  • Hot money is the flow of funds (or capital) from one country to another in order to earn a short-term profit on interest rate differences and/or anticipated exchange rate shifts.
  • These speculative capital flows are called ‘hot money’ because they can move very quickly in and out of markets, potentially leading to market instability.

IRENA

  • The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organization to promote adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy.
  • It was founded in 2009.
  • The agency is headquartered in Abu Dhabi.
  • IRENA is an official United Nations observer

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species

  • The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals — more commonly abbreviated to just the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) or the Bonn Convention aims to conserve terrestrial, marine and avian migratory species throughout their range.
  • It is an international treaty, concluded under the aegis of the United Nations Environment Programme, concerned with the conservation of wildlife and habitats on a global scale.
  • The CMS is the only global and UN-based intergovernmental organization established exclusively for the conservation and management of terrestrial, aquatic and avian migratory species throughout their range.

Relevance : Prelims

 

Leave a Reply