National Current Affairs – UPSC/KAS Exams- 21st February 2019

Green Crackers

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In News:  Four months after it banned polluting firecrackers, the Supreme Court on Wednesday realised that the concept of non-polluting ‘green crackers’ remains a non-starter, while its ban has affected the livelihood of four lakh workers and resulted in the closure of 974 firecracker units in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, alone.

More on the Topic:

• The court refused to accept submissions that the finalisation of the formula for green crackers and passing it on to manufacturers would take another three months by Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI).

Background:

• On October 31, the Supreme Court had, on an application from Tamil Nadu, clarified that only green crackers could be made henceforth across the country. This meant that no polluting crackers could be made after the factories sent out the existing stock.
• The mandatory manufacture and sale of green crackers was implemented in the National Capital Region with immediate effect from last year itself.
• Through the ban, the court attempted to strike a balance between the interests of the firecracker industry and the right to public health by allowing licensed traders to make and sell “green” and reduced-emission or “improved” crackers, while banning those that were loud and toxic to man, animal and the environment.
• The court held that only green or improved crackers would be used during religious festivals and other occasions, including weddings.

About Green Crackers:

• As the name suggests, green crackers are said to be less harmful as compared to the conventional firecrackers. Green crackers do not contain harmful chemicals. It means that less pollution emission resulting in reduced air pollution.
• The idea of green firecrackers is carried forward by a network of CSIR labs.The Central Electro Chemical Research Institute, Tamil Nadu, the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Telangana, the National Botanical Research Institute, Uttar Pradesh and the National Chemical Laboratory in Maharashtra have moved forward with the idea. All the part of the CSIR network.
• The crackers have been named as Safe Water Releaser (SWAS), Safe Thermite Cracker (STAR) and Safe Minimal Aluminium (SAFAL).
• According to the researchers, the crackers have the unique property of releasing water vapour and/or air as a dust suppressant and diluent for gaseous emissions that match with the performance in sound with traditional conventional crackers. These crackers are now under the testing stage at the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation.
• The results of the crackers have already been shown to some manufacturers and they have been successfully demonstrated in Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu, one of the hubs for fireworks industries in the country.

Source: The Hindu

Recapitalisation of Banks

Topic: Economy

In News: The government has approved the disbursal of a recapitalisation package of Rs. 48,239 crore for 12 public sector banks.

More on the Topic:

• This package had a fourfold objective:
• Bringing the better-performing banks currently in the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) category out of it.
• Helping those that have recently come out of PCA to stay out of it
• Equipping non-PCA banks to meet regulatory requirements,
• Helping the remaining PCA banks to meet their requirements as well.

Why this Recapitalisation:

• Indiscriminate lending earlier by banks led to a high level of NPAs and these NPAs were kept under the hidden by the banks.
• Recently they have come to surface because of the Asset Quality Review conducted by the Reserve Bank of India which shows them in a bad light.
• Thus this step to recapitalize will increase the lending capacity of the banks.
• The government’s capitalisation package for public sector banks will provide a strong booster dose of relief for the capital starved public sector banks.

How it will strengthen the Capital market?

• The step is important for the slowing economy as private investments remain poor affecting corporate India.
• Recapitalisation will help to lend more freely and help revive private investment which is critical for revitalising the growth momentum.
• It intends to clean up banks’ books and get them to lend more, will run over the current fiscal and the next.
• It will be accompanied with further reforms to make lenders more accountable.

Source: The Hindu

Tejas

Topic:Science and Technology

In News: Mark I (MkI) Tejas, the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) designed and developed in India, on Wednesday overcame its last hurdle by finally bagging what is called the FOC certification.

More on the Topic:

• The FOC or final operational clearance, coming on the first day of Aero India 2019, certifies that the world’s lightest fighter plane is “ready for battle.”
• The HAL Tejas is an Indian single-engine, multirole light fighter designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy. It came from the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, which began in the 1980s to replace India’s ageing MiG-21 fighters. In 2003, the LCA was officially named “Tejas”.
• The Tejas is the second supersonic fighter developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) after the HAL HF-24 Marut. As of 2016 the Tejas Mark 1 is in production for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the naval version is undergoing flight tests for Indian Navy (IN).

Source: The Hindu

Digital Bharat, Saksham Bharat

Topic: Science  and Technplogy

In News: Digital India Compendium on Digital Bharat, Saksham Bharat was released by Hon’ble Minister for Electronics &Information Technology and Law &Justice, Sh. Ravi Shankar Prasad.

More on the Topic:

• The objective of the document is to disseminate and propagate the success of Digital India among masses. The document is divided in two sections- Digital profile of India and Digital profile of States & UTs.
• Digital profile of India comprises an in-depth analysis, comparative study of implementation of Digital India Programme and transformation it has brought out in the lives of citizens.
• It has simplified the way citizens avail various Government services and has brought transparency and accountability. Digital profile of States/ UTs reflects the State/ UT wise implementation of various initiatives taken under Digital India Programme.
• The document emphasizes Digital India initiatives that aim to transform India into a knowledge-based economy and digitally empowered society by ensuring digital access, digital inclusion, digital empowerment and bridging the digital divide.

About Digital India:

• Digital India is a campaign launched by the [Government of India] to ensure the Government’s services are made available to citizens electronically by improved online infrastructure and by increasing Internet connectivity or by making the country digitally empowered in the field of technology.
• The initiative includes plans to connect rural areas with high-speed internet network
• Digital India consists of three core components: the development of secure and stable digital infrastructure, delivering government services digitally, and universal digital literacy.

Source:The Hindu

Report on India’s Trillion Dollar Digital Opportunity

Topic: Economy

In News: Report on India’s Trillion Dollar Digital Opportunity Released.India can create up to $1 trillion of economic value from the digital economy in 2025.

Findings of the report:

• India’s digital consumer base is the second largest in the world and growing at the second-fastest rate amongst major economies. India’s inclusive digital model is narrowing the digital divide within the country and bringing benefits of technology to all segments of people.
• Half the potential economic value of $1 trillion in 2025 could come from new digital ecosystems in diverse sectors, including financial services, agriculture, healthcare, logistics, jobs and skills market, e-governance and other areas.
• The report takes stock of the massive digitally-enabled change that is underway and lays out a vision and roadmap for the coming years. The fact-based report is a collaborative effort, with data and inputs from a wide range of government, business and civil society entities, undertaken over the past year.
• The report finds that India can create up to $1 trillion of economic value from the digital economy in 2025, with about half of the opportunity originating in new digital ecosystems that can spring up in diverse sectors of the economy. Currently, India’s digital economy generates about $200 billion of economic value add.
• India is the second-fastest digitizing economy amongst 17 leading economies of the world, according to the report’s Country Digital Index, that is based on 30 metrics to measure digital adoption in 17 mature and emerging digital economies, including Brazil, China, Indonesia, Russia, South Korea, Sweden, and the United States.
• Even within India, the digital divide is narrowing fast, as less affluent states leapfrog to catch up with more affluent ones on dimensions such as internet subscriber growth, density of internet infrastructure, and Common Service Centres.
• India’s digital economy of the future could generate productivity and output sufficient to support 55 million to 60 million workers in 2025.
• Digital technologies fundamentally change work and create demand for new types of skills and job roles which results in further augmentation of high productivity, highly skilled jobs.
• Aside from digital coders and solution providers, many types of work will become digitally-enabled and necessitate workers to be trained as users of digital technologies. For example, delivery personnel and drivers in the logistics and transportation sectors, healthcare workers, or advisory service agents in areas such as financing and agriculture, will all need retraining.

Source: Th Hindu

Guru Ravidas

Topic: Culture

In News: Sant Ravidas Jayanti was celebrated on February 19th. This year is said to be the 642nd birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas.

More on the Topic:

• Guru Ravidas was a North Indian mystic poet-sant of the bhakti movement during the 14th to 16th century CE.
• Venerated as a guru (teacher) in the region of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh the devotional songs of Ravidas made a lasting impact upon the bhakti movement. He was a poet-saint, social reformer and a spiritual figure.
• He is considered as the founder of 21st-century Ravidassia religion, by a group who previously were associated with Sikhism.
• Tradition and medieval era texts state Ravidas was one of the disciples of the Brahmin bhakti saint-poet Ramananda.
• Ravidas taught removal of social divisions of caste and gender, and promoted unity in the pursuit of personal spiritual freedoms.

Source: The Hindu