Regulations for Drones

Why in news?

The government has announced the Drone Regulations 1.0. These regulations will enable the safe, commercial usage of drones starting December 1, 2018. They are intended to enable visual line-of-sight daytime-only and a maximum of 400 ft altitude operations.

About drone regulation 1.0

• All RPAS except nano and those owned by NTRO, ARC and Central Intelligence Agencies are to be registered and issued with Unique Identification Number (UIN).
• Unmanned Aircraft Operator Permit (UAOP) shall be required for RPA operators except for nano RPAS operating below 50 ft., micro RPAS operating below 200 ft., and those owned by NTRO, ARC and Central Intelligence Agencies.
• The mandatory equipment required for operation of RPAS except nano category are (a) GNSS (GPS), (b) Return-To-Home (RTH), (c) Anti-collision light, (d) ID-Plate, (e) Flight controller with flight data logging capability, and (f) RF ID and SIM/ No-Permission No Take off (NPNT).
• For flying in controlled Airspace, filing of flight plan and obtaining Air Defence Clearance (ADC) /Flight Information Centre (FIC) number shall be necessary. Minimum manufacturing standards and training requirements of Remote Pilots of small and above categories of RPAS have been specified in the regulation.
• The regulation defines “No Drone Zones” around airports; near international border, Vijay Chowk in Delhi; State Secretariat Complex in State Capitals, strategic locations/vital and military installations; etc.
• Operations of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) to be enabled through Digital Sky Platform. The RPAS operations will be based on NPNT (No Permission, No Take off).
• As per the regulation, there are 5 categories of RPAS categorized by weight, namely nano, micro, small, medium and large.

• There will be different colour zones visible to the applicant while applying in the digital sky platform, viz, Red Zone: flying not permitted, Yellow Zone (controlled airspace): permission required before flying, andGreen Zone (uncontrolled airspace): automatic permission.

Female genital mutilation

Why in news?

SC stresses adverse impact of female genital mutilation.

Supreme Court

• Female genital mutilation leaves permanent emotional and mental scars in a young girl.
• Constitution does not allow a person to cause injury to another.
• For the sake of favour of husbands, girls should not go through this practice.
• Anything essential in religion is not above the constitutional morality.

About female genital mutilation

• It is the ritual cutting or removal of some or all of the external female genitalia.
• This practice found mainly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
• In India, this practice found among the Dawoodi Bohra community.
• The practice is rooted in gender inequality, attempts to control women’s sexuality, and ideas about purity, modesty and beauty.
• It is usually initiated and carried out by women, who see it as a source of honour, and who fear that failing to have their daughters and granddaughters cut will expose the girls to social exclusion.
• Health effects depend on the procedure. They can include recurrent infections, difficulty urinating and passing menstrual flow, chronic pain, the development of cysts, an inability to get pregnant, complications during childbirth, and fatal bleeding.

G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting

Why in news?

2-day G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting held in Salta, Argentina from August 23-24, 2018

About G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting

• It was chaired by Andrés Ibarra, Argentine Minister of Modernization, and Lino Barañao, Argentine Minister of Science, Technology and Innovative Production.
• It is a part of Sherpa Track for the 2018 G20 Leader’s Summit, which is to be hosted by Argentina at the end of 2018.
• The theme for the 2018 meeting was : ‘Building consensus for fair and sustainable development’ .
• The agenda of the meeting was on 3 issues: the future of work, infrastructure for development, and a sustainable food future.
• The G20 countries agreed on the G20 common goal of promoting universal and affordable access to the internet by all people by 2025.
• They agreed on 9 proposals to reduce digital gender divide including building capacity to improve data collection, addressing cyber violence and continuing sharing policies and actions through initiatives such as #eskills4girls and EQUALS.

Background

The G20 is made up of 19 countries and the European Union. The 19 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) opened its first regional centre in Chilika

Why in news?

Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) opens its first regional centre near Chilika Lake.

• The branch would be engaged in the following activities
• Identifying the air route of the foreign birds flocking the Chilika lake during winter, Sample collection
• Training related to bird census
• Publishing bird migration atlas books
• Examining various diseases among the birds and
• To review the condition of the Nalabana bird sanctuary along with counting the birds.
• These activities would be carried out with the CDA and the Forest Department.

India’s first biofuel flight from Dehradun to Delhi

Why in news?

On August 27, 2018, SpiceJet would fly India’s first biofuel-powered flight from Dehradun to Delhi on its Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft from Dehradun’s Jolly Grant airport.

Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft

• It has used a blend of the aviation turbine fuel and biofuel to power the flight.
• The flight had 20 people, including officials from aviation regulator DGCA and SpiceJet and was around 25 minutes.
• It would encourage sustainable and alternative fuels for the transportation & aviation sector under National Biofuels Policy.
• With this test, India will be among the first developing nations to adopt the sustainable alternative jet fuel.

About Biofuel

• The fuel has been developed by Indian Institute of Petroleum, based in the capital of Uttarakhand.
• It‘s a mix of the oil extracted from the seeds of Jatropha plant.
• Five hundred farmer families in Chhattisgarh are involved in the production of the partially-refined biofuel.
• It was made partially from renewable resources such as agricultural residues, non-edible oils and bio-degradable industrial and municipal wastes.

Heritage Circuit and North East Circuit

Why in news?

The Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned two new projects under Heritage and North East Circuits of Swadesh Dashan Scheme for Rs. 164.95 Crores in Punjab and Tripura.

Heritage Circuit

• Under Heritage Circuit in the state of Punjab, the project covers sites of Anandpur Sahib – Fatehgarh Sahib – Chamkaur Sahib – Ferozpur – Amritsar – Khatkar Kalan – Kalanour – Patiala.
• The project includes development of Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, development of Tourist Infrastructure and Heritage Path at Anandpur Sahib, development of Tourist Infrastructure at Fatehgarh Sahib among others.
• The facilities being developed include Virtual Reality Shows (Jallianwala and Hussainiwala Border), beautification and landscaping, interpretation centres, façade development, wayside amenities, parking, CCTV and Wi-Fi facilities, Cafeterias, Open Air Theatre, drinking water facility etc.

 North East Circuit

• Under North East Circuit in Tripura, the sites of Surma Cherra- Unakoti- Jampui Hills- Gunabati-Bhunaneshwari- Matabari- Neermahal- Boxanagar- Chotta khola- Pilak- Avangchaarra are covered.
• The project envisaged infrastructural development of the sites with special emphasis on developing an Interpretation Centre, Tourist Visitor Centres, Cafeteria, Last Mile Connectivity, Illumination of sites and monuments, Wayside Amenities, Floating Jetties, Camping Grounds, Parking Facilities, Adventure Activities, Ghat Development at above sites.

About Swadesh Darshan Scheme

• The Tourism Ministry had launched ‘Swadesh Darshan’ scheme with an objective to develop theme-based tourist circuits in the country.
• These tourist circuits will be developed on the principles of high tourist value, competitiveness and sustainability in an integrated manner.
• The scheme is 100% centrally funded for the project components undertaken for public funding.
• A National Steering Committee (NSC) will be constituted with Minister in charge of M/O Tourism as Chairman, to steer the mission objectives and vision of the scheme.
• A Mission Directorate headed by the Member Secretary, NSC as a nodal officer will help in identification of projects in consultation with the States/ UTs governments and other stake holders.

Odisha to come up with single revenue code

Why in news?

The Odisha government has proposed to come up with a single revenue act by merging various revenue laws enacted at different point in times.

About single revenue code

In this regard, the state government has prepared the draft ‘Odisha Land and Revenue Code’ by taking into consideration the Odisha Survey and Settlement Act, 1958, the Odisha Special Survey and the Settlement Act 2012, the Odisha Government Land Settlement Act, 1962, the Odisha Prevention of Land Encroachment Act, 1972, the Odisha Land Reforms Act, 1960, the Odisha Consolidation of Holdings and Prevention of Fragmentation of Land Act 1972 and the Odisha Estates Abolition Act, 1951.

What is the Need for a uniform revenue code?

• There are many revenue Acts in vogue in Odisha governing the land revenue administration which were enacted years back and are unable to meet the changing needs.
• Existence of so many revenue Acts and Rules often create confusion among the field-level revenue functionaries in interpretation of such laws which ultimately leads to delay in disposal of cases and sufferings for the public.
• The main purpose is to end the numerous laws and introduction of a single code having simplified procedures and enabling provisions for speedy disposal of the revenue cases which will benefit the public.

Impact of climate change

Why in news?

The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) is considering a Rs. 79-crore proposal to study the impact of climate change on Kerala.

About project

• The project has been proposed by the National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR) under the Council of Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR).
• The Kerala project will analyse the trends in climatic elements, their spatial pattern and its relationship with extreme events such as El Nino, cyclones etc.
• The objective of the project is to develop a framework and decision support tool to assess the climate change impact on livelihood and developmental processes.
• The ambitious project, spread over a period of three years, will assess the impact of climate change on agriculture (including plantation crops and spices); fisheries (marine and inland); industries; health; transport — vehicular and inland water transports; tourism; biodiversity; forestry; and landslips.
• The experts will study the spatial and temporal changes in water resources (surface and groundwater — quantity and quality).
• Researchers will also assess the monsoonal variations and its impact, besides looking at the climate change scenario on the islets of Kerala.

China may scrap limit on number of children

Why in news?

China is planning to scrap the limit on the number of children couples can have. A draft civil code that would end decades of controversial family planning policies has been prepared.

Draft civil code

• The code would get rid of a policy that has been enforced through fines but was also notorious for cases of forced abortions and sterilisation in the world’s most populous country.
• The code omits any reference to “family planning” — the current policy which limits couples to having no more than two children.
• Other proposed changes include a one-month cooling off period before a divorce, during which either party can withdraw their application.

Background

• The Communist Party began enforcing a one-child policy in 1979 to slow population growth. The limit was raised to two children in 2016 as the nation scrambled to rejuvenate its greying population of some 1.4 billion.
• One child policy was adopted by China in 1979 out of the Malthusian fears that unchecked population growth would lead to economic and environmental catastrophe. It was also a response to concerns about food shortages.

What is Malthusian theory?

• Thomas Robert Malthus was the first economist to propose a systematic theory of population.
• He argued that if left unchecked, a population will outgrow its resources, leading to a host of problems.