National Current Affairs – UPSC/IAS Exams- 17th May 2019

Chinese probe reveals secrets of the moon

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: The Chinese spacecraft Chang’e-4 has shared important information which will help to solve the riddle behind the Moon’s formation, unveiling the most detailed survey yet of the far side of Earth’s satellite.

More on the Topic:

• Recently, the Chinese spacecraft Chang’e-4 named after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology became the first ever craft to touch down on the far side of the lunar surface.
• The moon is believed to have gone through a phase during its formation when it was partially or entirely composed of molten rock.
• As it cooled, denser minerals sank to the bottom of the magma-ocean, while lighter materials gathered near the surface to form its mantle.
• The team landed its probe in the Von Karmen Crater in the Aitken Basin at the Moon’s south pole home to one of the largest impact craters known in the solar system.
• They detected materials such as olivine and low-calcium pyroxene that are rare elsewhere on the surface.
• Authors of the study, which was published in the journal Nature , suggest that these materials were ejected from the Moon’s upper mantle when it was struck by a meteor.

About the far side of the Moon:

• The far side of the Moon is the hemisphere of the Moon that always faces away from Earth.
• The far side’s terrain is rugged with a multitude of impact craters and relatively few flat lunar maria. It has one of the largest craters in the Solar System, the South Pole–Aitken basin.
• Unlike the near side of the moon that always faces the Earth and offers many flat areas to touch down on, the far side is mountainous and rugged.
• The United States, Russia and China have all landed probes on the near side of the moon, though neither NASA’s Apollo missions nor the Soviet Union’s probes have ever returned samples of the lunar mantle.

Source: The Hindu

RBI mandates risk officers for NBFCs

Topic: Economy

In News: The RBI has asked all shadow banks with a size of over Rs. 5,000 crore to appoint chief risk officers (CROs) with clearly specified roles and responsibilities.

More on the Topic:

• The CRO shall be a senior official in the hierarchy of an NBFC [non-banking finance company] and shall possess adequate professional qualification/ experience in the area of risk management.
• CRO should be appointed for a fixed tenure with the approval of the board.
• Removal or transfer will need the board’s approval and has to be reported to the regulator.
• The CRO shall have direct reporting lines to the MD & CEO/ Risk Management Committee (RMC) of the Board.
• In case the CRO reports to the MD & CEO, the RMC/ Board shall meet the CRO without the presence of the MD & CEO, at least on a quarterly basis.

About Non-Banking Financial Companies:

• A Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 engaged in the business of loans and advances, acquisition of shares/stocks/bonds/debentures/securities issued by Government or local authority or other marketable securities of a like nature, leasing, hire-purchase, insurance business, chit business but does not include any institution whose principal business is that of agriculture activity, industrial activity, purchase or sale of any goods (other than securities) or providing any services and sale/purchase/construction of immovable property.

NBFCs are doing functions similar to banks. What is the difference between banks & NBFCs?

• NBFCs lend and make investments, and hence their activities are akin to that of banks; however, there are a few differences as given below:
• NBFC cannot accept demand deposits;
• NBFCs do not form part of the payment and settlement system and cannot issue cheques drawn on itself.
• Deposit insurance facility of Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation is not available to depositors of NBFCs, unlike in case of banks.
• Unlike Banks which are regulated by the RBI, the NBFCs are regulated by multiple regulators; Insurance Companies- IRDA, Merchant Banks- SEBI, Micro Finance Institutions- State Government, RBI and NABARD.
• The norm of Public Sector Lending does not apply to NBFCs.
• The Cash Reserve Requirement also does not apply to NBFCs.

Model Mains Question: Analyze the importance of NBFCs in Indian Economy.

Source: The Hindu

India gives 2 attack copters to Afghanistan

Topic: International Relations

In News: India handed over two Mi-24 attack helicopters to Afghanistan.

More on the topic:

• These helicopters are a replacement for the four attack helicopters gifted by India to Afghanistan in 2015. The Mi-24 helicopters shall boost the capability of the Afghan Air Force (AAF) and enhance the effectiveness of the Afghan National Defence and Security Force in combating the scourge of terrorism

More on India-Afghan Relations:

• India and Afghanistan have a strong relationship based on historical and cultural links. The relationship is not limited to the governments in New Delhi and Kabul, and has its foundations in the historical contacts and exchanges between the people.
• India is committed to “Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan controlled” peace process. India’s engagement with Afghanistan is multi-dimensional.
• The bilateral trade at for the year 2016-17 was USD 800 million approx and has immense potential to be expanded further.
• The inauguration of the Dedicated Air Cargo Corridor in June 2017 between Kabul-Delhi and Kandahar-Delhi has provided a fresh impetus to bilateral trade.
• India has remained Afghanistan s biggest regional donor, providing about $3 billion in assistance since 2002.
• India helped build Delaram-Zaranj highway connecting the Delaram district in Afghanistan to the border of Iran. It will provide Afghanistan with another outlet to a seaport in Chabahar in Iran and also facilitate its bilateral trade with India.
• India has constructed Afghan-India Friendship Dam (earlier known as Salma Dam) in Heart province.
• As a goodwill gesture, India constructed new parliament building in Afghanistan
• India also established Agriculture University ANASTU in Kandahar in 2014.
• India has constructed over 2,500 miles of roads in Afghanistan.
• India has built over 200 public and private schools, sponsors over a 1000 scholarships, hosts over 16,000 Afghan students
• Many Indian companies are involved in several reconstruction projects in Afghanistan.
• India is running several programmes for training and capacity building for civil servants and police force in Afghanistan.

Source: The Hindu

Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA)

Topic: International Relations

In News: U.S. Chief of Naval Operations has conveyed that the foundational agreement, Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), which India signed last year would enable exchange of information on terrorism threats.

More on the Topic:

• The Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) is one of the four foundational agreements that a country needs to sign to become a major defence partner of the United States. The agreement comes into effect immediately and has a lifespan of 10 years.
• The other three agreements are General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMoA) and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA).
• COMCASA provides the legal framework for the US to part with its sensitive communication equipment and codes to enable transfer of realtime operational information. This equipment is largely used for ground-to-air communication to enable best battle situation awareness.
• It ensures that the militaries of the US and India can boost their “interoperability” as well as share operational intelligence in real-time in the years ahead.
• For instance, if a US warship or aircraft detects a Chinese submarine in the Indian Ocean, it can convey to India through warships or aircraft equipped with COMCASA-protected equipment in real-time.
• COMCASA allows the US to transfer high-tech avionics, encrypted communication and electronic systems as well as ensure secrecy of its C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) systems.

Source: Livemint

Waste dumping proposal defeated

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In News: A proposal by India to prevent developed countries from dumping their electronic and plastic waste onto developing countries, was defeated at the recently concluded meeting of the Basel Convention in Geneva.

More on the Topic:

• India and Nigeria were the only countries that had strongly opposed the guidelines, pushed by the European Union, to dilute safeguards against the trans-boundary movement of e-waste.
• India’s laws currently don’t allow electronic and plastic waste to be imported into the country.
• Plastic and electronic waste recyclers in Special Economic Zones were permitted to import waste for recycling.
• However, they will not be allowed to do so after August 31 this year. Despite these restrictions, countries continued to ship different kinds of plastics and e-waste to Indian ports.

About the Basel Convention:

• The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, usually known as the Basel Convention, is an international treaty that was designed to reduce the movements of hazardous waste between nations, and specifically to prevent transfer of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries (LDCs).
• It does not, however, address the movement of radioactive waste. The Convention is also intended to minimize the amount and toxicity of wastes generated, to ensure their environmentally sound management as closely as possible to the source of generation, and to assist LDCs in environmentally sound management of the hazardous and other wastes they generate.

Source: The Hindu

Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window

Topic: e-Governance

In News: The CBIC  said that it will conduct annual performance appraisal of over 46,000 Group B and C officers online, a move aimed at better human resource management.

More on the Topic:

• The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) had started online writing of annual performance appraisal report (APARs) in SPARROW (Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window) for Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers in Customs and Central Excise in 2016-17.
• The Directorate General of Human Resource Management (DGHRM), the HR arm of CBIC, is the implementing agency for this project which is being implemented in over 400 formations of CBIC across the country.
• SPARROW-CBIC is one of its kind in terms of scale/ number of employees covered as far as central government departments are concerned. It brings a complete change in APAR management of such a large number of Group B & C officers/ staff of CBIC.
• This project leverages modern technology for enhancing the overall efficiency and morale of the huge workforce working in Central GST and Customs formations of CBIC.
• The project is an important milestone in the journey towards digitisation and paper less working.

Source: The Hindu