National Current Affairs – UPSC/KAS Exams- 03rd May 2019

Centre of Excellence for Waste to Wealth Technologies

Topic: Government Initiatives

In News:To commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India and Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) have come together to bring the best of science and technology to implement waste management in India.

More on the Topic:

• The waste to wealth mission project has been approved under the recently constituted Prime Minister’s Science Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC), which is an overarching body for assessment, creation and implementation of major scientific, technology and innovation interventions for India.
• The partnership will provide an effective platform for stakeholders to bring together integrated approaches for effective recycle, reuse and resource recovery of waste.
• The immediate objective is to implement technologies that are available with various national and international academias, industries, research laboratories and other agencies by way of setting up pilot projects on-site effectively and successfully, and demonstrating the proof of concept of the technology under Indian condition.
• This will be carried out by creating a strong collaborating network between IIT Delhi, and other national and international stakeholders through the aegis of the office of the PSA.
• The long-term goal is to create circular economic models for waste management, by leveraging big data analytics and frontier technologies to streamline waste in India.
• The overall outcomes would involve treating waste and generating different forms of energy, thereby making India a waste free nation, with zero greenhouse gas emission and no health hazard.
• Under the initiative, a waste to wealth programme management centre will also be set up at IIT Delhi.

About Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council

• Union Government has constituted new 21-member advisory panel on science, technology and innovation.
• It will be headed by Principal Scientific Advisor to government.
• The council will advise PM on science, technology, as well as innovation.
• It will also coordinate implementation of PMs scientific vision.
• It will actively aid in formulation and timely implementation of major science and technology missions and evolve interdisciplinary technology development programmes.
• It will also advise government on developing ‘Clusters of Excellence’ in science including city-based R&D clusters.
• It will work to bring together all science and technology partners from academia and institutes to industries near such centres or cities.

Source: The Hindu

Vahan Digital Portal

Topic: e-Governance

In News: The issuing of certificate of registration (RC) for all classes of motor vehicles has been blocked in the country for not integrating high security registration plate (HSRP) with the ‘Vahan’ database.

More on the Topic:

• The National Informatics Centre (NIC) blocked access to the Transport Mission Mode Project’s pan-India application ‘Vahan’ for vehicle registration on a directive of the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
• With this drastic step, RC cannot be issued for new motor vehicles in any State, except in Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. These three States are using their own software instead of ‘Vahan’ and, therefore, can issue RC to newly registered vehicles.
• April 1 was the date from when all classes of motor vehicles hitting the road and being registered had to be fitted with tamper-proof high security registration plate having many inbuilt security features.
• Automobile manufacturers had been entrusted by MoRTH with the task of issuing the “security licence plate, including the third registration mark”. At the local level, it is for the automobile dealer to place a mark of registration on such plates and affix them on all new vehicles.

About Vahan Digital Portal:

• Vahan intends to collate all the information available with road transport authorities for easy access by both citizens and regulators.
• Data available with over 90 per cent of all road transport authorities have been computerised for this purpose.
• Vahan contains about 21.68 crore vehicle records in its repository.
• Vahan allows access to all details related to vehicles such as registration number, chassis/engine number, body/fuel type, colour, manufacturer and model and provides various online services to citizens.
• Driving Licence and related data are automated through a separate application called ‘Sarathi’.
• It helps in centralisation of data through the creation of the State and National Registries under Vahan.
• It also helps address the needs of RTOs, police and motor insurers.
• It has been customised to suit the varied requirements of all States and Union Territories.
• Vahan has been designed to capture all the information mandated by the Central Motor Vehicle Act 1988 as well as State Motor Vehicle Rules.
• Banks, which may have given out loans for vehicle purchases, will also have access to the National/State Registry to track the status of vehicles under lien.

Model Mains Question: What are the challenges faced by e-governance. discuss with special reference to India.

Source: The Hindu

Vedanta Desikan

Topic: Culture

In News: Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu unveiled commemorative postage stamps on the 750th birth anniversary of ‘Vedanta Desikan’ the great religious philosopher.

More on the topic:

• Sri Vedanta Desikan (1268–1369) was a Sri Vaishnava guru/philosopher and one of the most brilliant stalwarts of Sri Vaishnavism in the post-Ramanuja period.
• He was a poet, devotee, philosopher and master-teacher (desikan). He was the disciple of Kidambi Appullar, also known as Aathreya Ramanujachariar, who himself was of a master-disciple lineage that began with Ramanuja.
• Swami Vedanta Desika is considered to be avatar (incarnation) of the divine bell of Venkateswara of Tirumalai by the Vadakalai sect of Sri Vaishnavite. Vedanta Desika belongs to Vishwamitra gotra.
• He composed many different works in languages such as Tamil, Sanskrit, Prakrit and Manipravala (a mixture of Sanskrit and Tamil) .
• His written masterpiece ‘Rahasya Traya Sara’, is a treatise on Prapatti (surrendering oneself to divine).
• His great work ‘Paduka Sahasram’ shows his poetic eloquence and his mathematical ingenuity. In two verses of this collection, he gave a solution to mathematical problem that was solved about 500 years later by mathematician, Leonard Euler.
• His works like ‘Silpartha-Saram’, a treatise on sculpture, and ‘Bhugola Nirnayam’, a research text on geography showed his knowledge of the arts and sciences.
• Desikan’s ‘Subhashita Neevi’ contains a fund of moral and ethical advice which are still relevant and practical.
• His authored ‘Aahaara Niyamam’ explains how different food items help in maintaining healthy mind and disease-free life.

Source: The Hindu

Religious freedom Report

Topic: Important Reports

In News: The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan, independent federal government commission has said that there is an “overall deterioration of religious freedom conditions in 2018” in India, in its 2019 report released recently.

More on the Topic:

• India continues to remain a Tier 2 country, according to the Commission, a list it has been unable to get off of since 2009.
• Tier 2 countries are those in which “violations engaged in or tolerated by the government during 2018 are serious and characterized by at least one of the elements of the ‘systematic, ongoing, and egregious” CPC (Country of Particular Concern) standard.
• CPCs are designated by the State Department and the latest list, from November 2018, contains 10 countries (including Burma, China, Pakistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia).
• In these countries the government has tolerated or engaged in “particularly severe religious freedom violations, meaning those are systematic, ongoing, and egregious.” Other Tier 2 countries for 2018 are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malaysia and Turkey.
• The Commission says in several countries where it found religious freedom declining, it also found an increased securitisation and politicisation of religion.
• In countries like India, it is increasingly difficult to separate religion and politics, a tactic that is sometimes intentional by those who seek to discriminate against and restrict the rights of certain religious communities.
• The report says conditions for minorities in India have deteriorated over the last decade, adding that a “multifaceted campaign by Hindu nationalist groups like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Sangh Parivar, and Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) to alienate non-Hindus or lower-caste Hindus is a significant contributor to the rise of religious violence and persecution.”
• It calls out the role of Hindutva/Hindu extremist groups, India’s anti-conversion laws, cow-protection lynch mobs, concerns that millions from Assam will be incorrectly left out of the National Register of Citizens and a lack of transparency on denying international NGOs registration and political targeting of NGOs.

Source: The Hindu

Charminar

Topic: Art and Culture

In News: A large chunk of lime-mortar plaster came crashing down from a minaret of the historic Charminar. The Archaeological Survey of India has taken over the conservation work of Charminar.

More on the Topic:

• The Charminar (“Four Minarets”), constructed in 1591, is a monument and mosque located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
• The landmark has become a global icon of Hyderabad, listed among the most recognized structures of India.
• Charminar has been a historical place with Mosque on the top floor for over 400 years and also known for its surrounding markets. It is one of the tourist attractions in Hyderabad. It is where many famous festivals are celebrated, such as Eid-ul-adha and Eid-ul-fitr
• The Charminar is situated on the east bank of Musi river. To the west lies the Laad Bazaar, and to the southwest lies the richly ornamented granite Makkah Masjid.
• It is listed as an archaeological and architectural treasure on the official “List of Monuments” prepared by the Archaeological Survey of India.
• The fifth ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah, built the Charminar in 1591 after shifting his capital from Golkonda to the newly formed city of Hyderabad.

Source: The Hindu

Beluga Whale

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In News: Recently it is believed that Russia has been using the whales for military intelligence by mounting spying devices on the whale.

More on the Topic:

• The beluga whale is the Arctic and sub-Arctic aquatic mammal.
• It is also known as the white whale, as it is the only marine mammal of this colour.
• It possesses a distinctive protuberance at the front of its head which houses an echolocation organ called the melon, which in this species is large and deformable.
• Its sense of hearing is highly developed and its echolocation allows it to move about and find breathing holes under sheet ice.

Source: The Hindu