National Current Affairs – UPSC/KAS Exams- 10th November 2018

Government approves mechanism for sale of enemy shares

Topic: Governance

IN NEWS:The Union Cabinet has approved a mechanism for sale of enemy shares which at the current price is estimated at around Rs 3,000 crore. Sale proceeds are to be deposited as disinvestment proceeds in the government account maintained by the Ministry of Finance. The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management has been authorised to sell the shares.

What are enemy properties:

• When wars broke out between India and China in 1962, and India and Pakistan in 1965 and 1971, the central government took over properties of citizens of China and Pakistan in India under the Defence of India Acts. These Acts defined an ‘enemy’ as a country that committed an act of aggression against India, and its citizens.
• The properties of enemies in India were classified as enemy property. The properties included land, buildings, shares held in companies, gold and jewellery of the citizens of enemy countries. The responsibility of the administration of enemy properties was handed over to the Custodian of Enemy Property, an office under the central government.

Enemy properties Act:

• After the Indo-Pakistan War of 1965, the Enemy Property Act was enacted in 1968, which regulates such properties and lists the custodian’s powers.
• The government amended the Act in the wake of a claim laid by the heirs of Raja Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan, known as Raja of Mahmudabad, on his properties spread across Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
• The government has vested these properties in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India, an office instituted under the Central government.

Significance of the decision:

• The decision will lead to monetisation of movable enemy property lying dormant for decades and the proceeds will be used for development and social welfare programmes.

Source:PIB

NASA’s RALPH

Topic: Science and Technology

IN NEWS:NASA’s Ralph, one of the most well-travelled scientific instrument, is set to explore Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids aboard the Lucy spacecraft in 2021.

More on the topic:

• Ralph has made many discoveries since it first launched aboard the New Horizons spacecraft in 2006. Given a name and not an acronym, Ralph enables the study of the composition and atmospheres of celestial objects.
• In 2021, the Lucy spacecraft will carry a near-twin of Ralph, called L’Ralph (“Lucy Ralph”), to investigate Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids, which are remnants from the early days of the solar system, NASA said in a statement on Wednesday.
• The L’Ralph instrument suite will study this diverse group of bodies. Lucy will fly by six Trojans and one Main Belt asteroid, more than any other previous asteroid mission.

Significance:

• L’Ralph allows scientists to interpret data provided by the Sun’s reflected light that are the fingerprints of different elements and compounds. These data could provide clues about how organic molecules form in primitive bodies, a process that might also have led to the emergence of life on Earth.

Source:The Hindu

Pneumonia and diarrhoea

Topic: Health related Issues

In news: According to the ‘Pneumonia and Diarrhoea Progress Report’ released  by the International Vaccine Access Centre (IVAC), India continues to have the highest burden of pneumonia and diarrhoea child deaths in the world, with 158,176 pneumonia and 102,813 diarrhoea deaths in 2016.

More on the Topic:

• The report, which looked at progress in fighting pneumonia and diarrhoea in 15 countries with the greatest number of deaths from these illnesses, finds health systems are falling woefully short of ensuring that the most vulnerable children have access to prevention and treatment services.
• The 15 countries that the report looked at account for 70% of global pneumonia and diarrhoea deaths in children under five. Globally, pneumonia and diarrhoea led to nearly one of every four deaths in children under five years of age in 2016.
• The Pneumonia and Diarrhoea Progress Report, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, issued annually, finds that although countries are making progress in immunisation coverage, they seriously lag in efforts to treat childhood illnesses — especially among populations that are remote, impoverished or otherwise left behind.

Way forward:

• The disease can be effectively controlled by delivering 10 key interventions — breastfeeding, vaccination, access to care, use of antibiotics, oral rehydration solution (ORS) and zinc supplementation — to help protect against, prevent, and treat, pneumonia and diarrhoea.
• The measures are proven to help prevent death due to these illnesses and could help achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal target of reducing under-five mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births by 2030

About Pneumonia:

• Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung affecting primarily the small air sacs known as alveoli.Typically symptoms include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and trouble breathing.Severity is variable.

Source: The Hindu

Global Cooling Innovation Summit

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In news: Two-day Global Cooling Innovation Summitwill be inaugurated by Union Science & Technology Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan in New Delhi on 12th November 2018.

More on the topic?

• The Summit is a first-of-its-kind solutions-focused event that will bring together leaders from around the world to explore concrete means and pathways to address the climate threat that comes from the growing demand from room air conditioners. The event is jointly organized by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, along with Rocky Mountain Institute, Alliance for An Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE), Conservation X Labs and CEPT University.

About Global Cooling Prize:

• The summit will also see the launching of Global Cooling Prize— Mission Innovation challenge that aims to spur development of a residential cooling solution that has at least five times (5x) less climate impact than today’s standard.
• Global Cooling Prize is a competition with global reach and participation to achieve dramatic breakthroughs in cooling technologies.
• The objective of this competition would be to develop a cooling technology that requires radically less energy to operate, utilizes refrigerants with no ozone depletion potential and with low global warming potential, and has the potential to be cost-effective at scale.

Significance of the summit:

• This awards programme will call world-wide attention to the most promising ideas across the globe. This award will celebrate successes and facilitate endeavours of innovators through providing recognition, encouragement and support.
• The award will also be able to build a collaborative platform that can utilize the potential of researchers so that public research contributes towards fostering innovation and create impact which is of social and economic good.
• This recognition will not only recognise the eminent contributions to clean energy research development and demonstration, but would also motivate younger researchers to focus on innovations needed in clean energy domain to make world a better place to live.

Source:The Hindu

SIMBEX 18 – marks Silver Jubilee this Year

Topic: International Relations

In news:The 25th edition of SIMBEX, an acronym for “Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise” is being held off Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal. SIMBEX 2018 will be the largest edition since 1994 in terms of scale and complexity.

Source: The Hindu

Bionic mushrooms

Topic: Science and Technology

In news: US researchers have successfully tested the  idea of producing electricity from a mushroom covered in bacteria.

 More on the Topic:

• The scientists used 3D printing to attach clusters of energy-producing bugs to the cap of a button mushroom.
• The fungus provided the ideal environment to allow the cyanobacteria to generate a small amount of power. The authors say their fossil-free “bionic mushroom” could have great potential.

Significance:

• As researchers the world over search for alternative energy sources, there has been a sharp rise in interest in cyanobacteria.
• These organisms, widely found in the oceans and on land, are being investigated for their abilities to turn sunlight into electrical current.
• One big problem is that they do not survive long enough on artificial surfaces to be able to deliver on their power potential. That’s where the button mushroom comes in.
• This fertile fungus is already home to many other forms of bacterial life, providing an attractive array of nutrients, moisture and temperature.
• When scientists shone a light on this magical mushroom, it caused the cyanobacteria to generate a small amount of electricity.
• A big plus for the experiment was the fact that the bugs on the fungus lasted several days longer compared with cyanobacteria placed on other surfaces.
• The researchers believe that the idea could have potential as a renewable energy source.

Source: BBC