National Current Affairs – UPSC/IAS Exams- 16th November 2019

by Mentors4ias · November 16, 2019

Chandrayan 3

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced their intention to send a second mission to soft-land on the Moon planned for November 2020 dubbed as Chandrayaan 3 mission.

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Chandrayaan 3 will not feature an orbiter of its own. For the new mission, engineers and scientists at Indian space agency will only design and build an entirely new lander and rover.
Since Chandrayaan 2 mission already has a functional orbiter that is currently in orbit around Moon, Chandrayaan 3 will not feature an orbiter of its own.
The lander and rover will be accompanied by an additional ‘detachable module’ that packs engine and fuel needed for journey and this module will tentatively be called ‘Propulsion Module’.

Back ground:

The Chandrayaan 3 mission will also feature fewer orbital manoeuvers than Chandrayaan 2, which had a total of 6 orbit raises around Earth and the Moon.
The Indian Space Agency’s first and recent attempt went awry on 7 September 2019 and resulted in a partial failure of Chandrayaan 2 mission after communication was lost with mission’s lander (Vikram) and rover (Pragyan) which crash-landed on Moon while attempting a soft-landing.
However, the Chandrayaan 2 mission is still survived by the Orbiter which has captured highest resolution visuals ever taken of Moon by its High-Resolution Camera (OHRC) from an altitude of ~100 km.

Read more At: https://nammakpsc.com/wp/chandrayaan-2/

Source: Hindu

Joint India-China Capacity Building Programme for Afghan Diplomats

Topic: International Relations

In News: The 2nd Joint India-China Capacity Building Programme for Afghan Diplomats is being held at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) of the Ministry of External Affairs of India

Important Recommendations:

The intensive two-week course would include training modules on various topics covering India’s foreign policy, key international issues, multilateral diplomacy and diplomatic skills.
The participants would get an exposure to modern India’s economic and technological developments. They would also undertake study tours to experience the rich cultural heritage of India.
Background: The 1st Joint India-China Capacity Building Programme for Afghan diplomats was held at FSI in October 2018 as part of an understanding reached between Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India and Xi Jinping, President of China at the Wuhan Informal Summit. 10 Afghan diplomats participated in the training programme in 2018.
India is committed to partner with Afghanistan in its efforts to emerge as a united, peaceful, secure, stable, inclusive and economically vibrant nation.

Source: Hindu

BHIM UPI

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: As a first step towards internationalization, a global pilot demo of BHIM UPI QR-based payments began recently with a live transaction at merchant terminal at the Singapore FinTech Festival 2019.

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The project is being jointly developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Singapore’s Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS). This QR code-based system would allow anyone with a BHIM app to scan Singapore Quick Response Code (SGQR) at NETS terminals in Singapore for payments.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was also inked between Trade Promotion Council of India (TPCI) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for working towards access of TPCI dashboard to Business sans Borders (BSB).

About Business sans Borders (BSB):

It is a hub for connecting trade platforms of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and is currently running a pilot with SMEs in Southeast Asia and India.
It is a project conceived by Monetary Authority of Singapore and Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).
Once BSB is fully rolled out, it will allow millions of SMEs across region to reach a wider market domestically and internationally and access ancillary services such as credit facilities, logistics, insurance, as well as legal and professional services.
Currently, The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), is already connected to BSB through a platform provided by Mastercard GlobalLinker. CAIT have about 70 million traders in India as its members.

About BHIM :

Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) is a UPI based payment interface developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
It allows real time fund transfer.

About UPI:

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing & merchant payments into one hood.
It also caters to the “Peer to Peer” collect request which can be scheduled and paid as per requirement and convenience.
Each Bank provides its own UPI App for Android, Windows and iOS mobile platform(s).

Source: Hindu

IUCN Regional Conservation Forum

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In News: International Union for Conservation of Nature organized the 7^th Regional Conservation Forum in Islamabad, Pakistan. Secretary of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change represented India at the forum.

Highlights of the discussion in the forum:

Rapid melting of Himalayan Glacier to cause food and water shortage to 800 million people in South Asia and South-East Asia including China.
36% Glaciers in the regions of Himalayas and Hindukush are to vanish by 2100.
The Himalayan and the Mekong basin are at greater risks. Failing to take timely actions will affect millions of people in the region
The Shrinking Glaciers are the biggest challenge to the policy makers. This is because they contribute to the seasonal run off. This is very common in the climatically drier western regions. It increases the risks of outburst floods adding to the expansion of unstable proglacial lakes.
The increasing Global Warming is decimating the glaciers of Hindu Kush Himalaya region. In the coming years, it is predicted that if current situation continues, the entire food production base in the region might get vanished.
The rate of Global Warming is greater than in any other part of the world.
10 inches of ice melted in the Himalayan region between 1975 and 2000. However, this increased twice by 2016. Between 2000 and 2016, the ice melting in the region increased to 20 inches.

Significance:

The Hindu Kush Himalayan region is the origin of 10 major river basins. IT provides livelihoods to over 240 million people directly and around 1.9 billion people indirectly. Around 3 billion people are dependent on the food produced in the basin.
The Himalayan Glaciers are considered the third pole of the world mainly because of the sheer volume of the ice they hold.

Source: Hindu

Prison Reforms need of the hour

Topic: Social Issues

In News: Despite the Supreme Court and other institutions regularly raising the issue of prison reforms and decongestion in jails, it is evident that the measures taken have been piecemeal in most States.

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The major challenges for prison system in India are:
Overcrowding of Civil Jails : While overall occupancy rates in jails have come down from 140% in 2007 to 115% in 2017, only a few States have, in this period, gone about building more jails or increasing capacity in prisons in line with the changes in inmate population.
Lack of Personnel: The vacant posts in the jail administration constitute another major challenge for prisons across the country.
Healthcare for Prisoners: People believe that prisoners are sent to prison as punishment, and not for punishment. This implies that the loss of an individual’s right to liberty is enforced by containment in a closed environment. Thus keeping the individual in the custody of the state, should not, however, have a deleterious effect on him.
Role of Judiciary in Protecting the Rights of Prisoners: Judiciary in every country has an obligation and a Constitutional role to protect Human Rights of citizens. As per the mandate of the Constitution of India, this function is assigned to the superior judiciary namely the Supreme Court of India and High courts.
The Problems of Under-trials: Criminal Law of India is a replica of colonial times. It is hostile to the poor and the weaker sections of society.
Taking Prisoners’ Rights Seriously: In the case of Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar, a shocking state of affairs in regard to the administration of justice came forward. An alarmingly large number of men and women, including children are behind prison bars for years awaiting trial in the court of law.

What can be done?

Prioritize the proper functioning of prison oversight mechanisms.
Advocate for early access to counsel and improve legal aid practices.
Partner with law schools to develop legal aid clinics that provide free legal support to prisoners.
Work with governments for early repatriation of foreign national prisoners.
Ensure timely release and rehabilitation of vulnerable groups in prison.
Build capacity of criminal justice functionaries related to prisons.
Undertake research on various aspects of criminal justice system particularly using right to information.

Law Commission’s View in this regard:

In its report in May 2017, the Law Commission highlighted the inconsistencies in the bail system as one of the key reasons for overcrowding in prisons.
Expediting the trial process for such prisoners is the most important endeavor. There are ways to decongest prisons by granting relief to under trials.
The Commission recommended that those detained for offences that come with a punishment of up to seven years of imprisonment should be released on completing one-third of that period and for those charged with offences that attract a longer jail term, after they complete half of that period.
For those who have spent the whole period as undertrials, the period undergone should be considered for remission.
It also recommended that the police should avoid needless arrests, while magistrates should refrain from mechanical remand orders.

Source: Hindu

Nadu Nedu programme

Topic: Government Schemes

In News: To transform government schools into vibrant and competitive institutions, ‘Nadu-Nedu’ programme has been launched in Andhra Pradesh.

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The programme aims to transform all government schools with required infrastructure and up- gradation of skills besides setting up English labs.
It also seeks to provide basic amenities such as clean water, furniture, compound wall, toilets etc.
Teachers would be imparted training to effectively implement the decision to introduce English medium from Classes 1 to 6 in government schools from the next academic year.
The parent committees and locals would be involved to make it an inclusive system.

Source: Hindu

Shishu Suraksha” App

Topic: e- Governance

In News: “Shishu Suraksha”, the mobile application, is the brainchild of Assam State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (ASCPCR).

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The e-complaint box will enable users from all over the state to lodge complaints about the violation of child rights.
The purpose of the e-box is to empower citizens to take moral responsibility of protecting our future generations.
The app can be used by anyone in Assam, coming across any incident of children’s rights violation, to lodge a complaint which will be directly registered at ASCPCR.
As soon as the complaint is lodged, the Commission will receive a message. It will then deal with the issue by being in touch with the appropriate authority.

Source: Hindu