PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS - 28- OCTOBER-2017
GS2 Topic : Indian Judiciary
Why
finalisation of the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for appointment of judges to
the Supreme Court and the high courts is delayed – asks SC
Background:
Constitution Bench’s historic
decision, in October 2015, to strike down the government’s National Judicial
Appointments Commission (NJAC) law. The NJAC law had given politicians an equal
say in judicial appointments to constitutional courts.
In December 2015, Apex Court
directed the centre to iron out the do’s and don’ts of judicial appointments to
the Supreme Court and the high courts
Issues:
§ Delay in the appointment of
regular Chief Justices in high courts despite the recommendation of the Supreme
Court.
§ Six of the 24 high courts have
been without regular Chief Justices for months.
§ Some High Courts like Andhra
Pradesh and Karnataka have acting Chief justice for more than a year now while
such arrangement should not have continued for more than a month.
§ No further delay in
finalisation of MoP in larger public interest
Source: the hindu
GS3 Topic: Indian Economy and issues
relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and
employment.
International Conference on
Green Initiatives & Railway Electrification
Indian Railways shall lead the
world by achieving 100 % electrification with “an incentive cum penalty”
framework scheme to transform Indian Railways truly into a world class, safe
and modern transporter
Context:
Transport sector is the biggest
consumer of energy, especially railway as the single largest consumer with
share of about 2% of National energy consumption. Rail being the most energy
efficient mode of transport is further working to change the energy mix towards
greener sources
Electrification is a powerful
measure to achieve cost effectiveness.
It improves mobility by use of
high power energy efficient Locomotives, facilitate shift of traffic from road
to rail and also to reduce carbon footprints. In addition electrification will
also reduce traction energy bill substantially
Main objective:
§ Bring green power project
developers and other stakeholders on a common platform for making Indian
Railways (IR) an efficient and Greener mode of transport
§ Green initiatives including use
of renewable energy, shift towards electric traction, development of new
locomotive technology, high speed rail traction system and development in
generation of Solar/Wind power as well as use of energy in efficient ways.
Action Plan:
§ Electrification of Railway
Tracks
§ Harnessing Renewable Energy on
Indian Railways to reduce energy cost and carbon footprints
§ Production of Energy Efficient
High Horsepower Locomotives
§ Head On Generation (HOG) –
electrical loads of passenger coaches would be fed directly from electric power
drawn by locomotive from grid.
About IREE:
Institution of
Railways Electrical Engineer (IREE) registered at Nasik in 1995 is a
professional body of Railway Electrical Engineers. It is a technical body under
the auspices of Ministry of Railways sharing knowledge and experience of
various Railway engineers and others connected with Electrical Engineering.
Indian Railway’s First set of
Solar Power Plant of 5MW capacity launched:
§ Indian Railway’s first set of
solar plants with total capacity of 5 megawatt peak (MWp) was launched on roof
tops of Hazrat Nizamuddin, New Delhi, Anand Vihar and Delhi railway stations.
§ This project was launched under
ambitious National Solar Mission in which Indian Railways plans to commission
1000 MWp solar plants across its network.
§ The first set of solar plant
will generate 76.5 lakh units of solar power cumulatively per year and will
meet about 30% of energy requirement of these stations.
§ The project was awarded in 2016
to the developer under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.The developer
will maintain it for 25 years and Railways will only pay energy consumed at Rs
4.14 per unit.
Source: pib, economic times
GS2 Topic: e-governance-
applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential
Phase 1 of Bharat Net project
to be completed by December
Bharat Net project, which aims
to deploy high-speed optical fibre cables across rural areas, will be completed
by December this year, thus providing internet access to 100,000 gram
panchayats,
Context:
‘i-Bharat 2017’ conference held
in the New Delhi, based on the theme of ‘ICT Elucidations for Unserved and
Unsolved’, organised by industry body FICCI in association with the ministry of
electronics and information technology.
Challenges:
§ India being the highest
consumer of mobile data throws up as many challenges as opportunities.
§ Public and private sector need
to join hands in achieving the objective of doubling the reach of telecom fibre
network in the country by 2020.
§ Issues such as cyber security,
data protection & privacy, regulation of data and, importantly, data
monetisation need to be addressed.
§ How India will leverage its
Aadhaar and Election Commission data base.
§ How the country will tackle the
privacy debate after the Supreme Court ruling on privacy being a fundamental
right
Source: indian express
GS2 Topic: Government Policies and Schemes
Seven shortlisted companies
given ‘Letters of Intent’ for 14 monuments under ‘Adopt a Heritage Scheme’ of
Ministry of Tourism
These companies will be the
future ‘Monument Mitras’ who would associate pride with their CSR activities.
Adopted Monuments are :
§ Jantar Mantar, Delhi.
§ Sun Temple, Konark
§ Raja Rani Temple, Bhubaneshwar
§ Ratnagiri Monuments, Jajpur,
Odisha
§ Hampi, Karnataka
§ Leh Palace, Jammu & Kashmir
§ Qutub Minar, Delhi
§ Ajanta Caves, Maharashtra
§ Mattancherry Palace Museum,
Kochi
§ Safdarjung Tomb, Delhi
§ Gangotri Temple Area and Trail
to Gaumukh
§ Mt. StokKangri, Laddakh, Jammu
and Kashmir
§ Agrasen ki Baoli, Delhi
§ Purana Quila, Delhi.
Adopt a Heritage Scheme (Apni
Dharohar Apni Pehchan Project):
§ Scheme was launched on World
Tourism Day i.e. 27th September, 2017 by Ministry of Tourism in close
collaboration with Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)
which envisages developing monuments, heritage and tourist sites across India
and making them tourist friendly.
§ Ministry of Tourism invited
Private, Public Sector Companies and Corporate individuals to adopt the sites
and to take up the responsibility for making our heritage and tourism more
sustainable through conservation and development.
Significance:
The project primarily focuses
on development and maintenance of world-class tourist infrastructure and
amenities like Cleanliness, Public Conveniences, Ease of access, secure
environment, illumination and night viewing facilities for an overall inclusive
tourist experience that will result in more footfall from both domestic and foreign
tourists.
Source: pib
GS3 Topic: Indian Economy and issues
relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and
employment.
Public Finance Management
System (PFMS)
Mandatory use of Public Finance
Management System (PFMS) will help monitor the flow of
funds to beneficiaries of different government welfare schemes.
Advantages:
§ The actual status of
utilization of funds by the multiple implementing agencies of the Central and
the State Governments can be known.
§ There will not be much paper
work and it would go a long way in monitoring and tracking of any unnecessary
parking of funds by the implementing agencies
§ Minimizes the cases of delay
and pending payments to a large extent.
§ PFMS will progress towards a
Government wide Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMIS) – as a
comprehensive Payment, Receipt and Accounting System.
§ PFMS would not only help in
complete tracking of funds but would also ensure just in time transfer of
funds.
§ PFMS, with the capability of
providing real time information on resource availability, flows and actual
utilization has tremendous potential to improve programme/financial management,
reduce the float in the financial systems by enabling ‘just in time’ releases
and also the Government borrowings with direct impact on interest costs to the
Government.
Public Financial Management
System (PFMS):
Public Financial Management
System (PFMS) initially started as a Plan scheme named CPSMS of the Planning
Commission in 2008-09 as a pilot in four States of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar,
Punjab and Mizoram for four Flagship schemes e.g. MGNREGS, NRHM, SSA and PMGSY.
After the initial phase of establishing a network across Ministries /
Departments, it has been decided to undertake National rollout of CPSMS (PFMS)
to link the financial networks of Central, State Governments and the agencies
of State Governments. The scheme was included in 12th Plan initiative of
Planning Commission and Ministry of Finance.
Source: pib
GS3 Topic: Indian Economy and issues
relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and
employment.
SIDBI revamps portal for easy
credit access
Small Industries Development
Bank of India (SIDBI) has revamped its portal www.udyamimitra.in with
enhanced features to provide easy access to credit and hand-holding services
for micro small medium enterprises (MSME).
Key Features:
§ The portal brings transparency
and competition among lenders
§ It removes the need to approach
several banks individually
§ The portal is mobile-enabled
and provides a self-assessment module.
§ It sends various information on
registered MSMEs from time to time.
§ It also allows loan
applications to be perused and picked up by multiple lenders.
SIDBI:
Small Industries Development
Bank of India (SIDBI),
set up on April 2, 1990 under an Act of Indian Parliament, acts as the
Principal Financial Institution for the Promotion, Financing and Development of
the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector and for Co-ordination of
the functions of the institutions engaged in similar activities.
Source: the hindu
GS2 Topic: International Affairs
Spain sacks Catalan government
after independence declaration
Background:
Catalonia is one of Spain’s
most prosperous regions and already has a high degree of autonomy. But it has a
series of historic grievances, exacerbated during the 1939-1975 Franco
dictatorship, when its culture and politics were suppressed.
Catalonia held an Independent
referendum on Oct. 1, 2017 which was declared illegal by Madrid and marred by
heavy-handed national police tactics to stop it.
Highlights:
§ The Catalan parliament had
voted to make a unilateral declaration of independence.
§ Shortly afterwards the Spanish
Senate in Madrid approved the imposition of direct rule.
§ It sacked Carles Puigdemont as
head of the autonomous region, also fired its police chief and said central
government ministries would take over the Catalan administration.
§ A new regional election will be
held in Catalonia on Dec. 21
§ Several European countries,
including France and Germany, and the United States also rejected the
independence declaration and said they supported Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s
efforts to preserve Spain’s unity.
Source: the hindu
GS2 Topic: Bilateral, regional and
global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s
interests
India, France Decide To Boost
Co-Operation In Indo-Pacific Region
Defence Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman and her French counterpart Florence Parly held extensive talks
covering a range of issues, including the regional security situation, joint
development of defence platforms and expansion of military-to-military ties.
Context:
France is a major partner for
India in developing various key military platforms including the Scorpene
submarines. Parly attended foundation ceremony of an aerospace park being set
up under a joint venture by French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation and
Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Aerospace Ltd.
Highlights:
§ Resolved to further ramp up the
overall defence and security ties.
§ Agreed to expand counter-terror
cooperation at maritime side
§ French side explored the
possibility of a follow on order of additional Rafale fighter jets by India.
§ Comprehensively reviewed
developments in defence equipment and industry cooperation between the two
countries.
Source: the hindu, ndtv
GS3 Topic: Science and Technology-
developments and their applications and effects in everyday life
Scientists link new virus to
kala-azar
Background:
Parasite Leishmania donovani is
believed to be responsible for the dreaded infection.
People get infected when bitten
by an insect called the sandfly, which harbours the disease-causing parasite.
Discovery:
Another parasite called
Leptomonas seymouri may also be present
It’s still early to pointedly
blame the virus but its discovery portends a new kind
of treatment regime and may aid
attempts to eradicating the disease.
Kala-azar:
§ Visceral leishmaniasis (VL),
also known as kala-azar, black fever, and Dumdum fever, is the most severe form
of leishmaniasis and, without proper diagnosis and treatment, is associated
with high fatality.
§ Caused by protozoan parasites
of the Leishmania genus. migrates to the internal organs such as the liver,
spleen (hence “visceral”), and bone marrow
§ Signs and symptoms include
fever, weight loss, fatigue, anemia, and substantial swelling of the liver and
spleen.
§ Kala-azar is endemic to the
Indian subcontinent in 119 districts in four countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan,
India and Nepal)
§ This disease is the
second-largest parasitic killer in the world
Source: the hindu
GS2 Topic: Important International
institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.
‘Decision on removal of fishing
subsidies certain in WTO’s Dec. meet’
Event:
WTO’s Ministerial Conference
meeting at Buenos Aires (Argentina)to be held in December 2017. Mukhisa Kituyi,
Secretary-General, UN Conference on Trade and Development
Reason:
§ Addressing government
incentives that drive unsustainable fisheries practices is not just an
environmental imperative.
§ Government subsidies in the
fisheries sector can have severe negative social and economic impacts for the
most vulnerable countries and communities.
§ Subsidies Weaken The
Sustainability Of Global Fisheries While Increasing Inequality Among Fishers
§ Harmful fishing subsidies
(globally) that contribute to overfishing are estimated to be as high as $35
billion.
Other issues:
§ Permanent solution to the issue
of public stockholding for food security purposes’ would be a part of the
outcomes
§ ‘No’ to e-commerce talks as
many developing countries are not ready to allow e-commerce to be negotiated.
They want to ensure that e-commerce is an enabler for development, without
going into rule-making at the WTO
UNCTAD:
United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was established in 1964. UNCTAD is the principal
organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment,
and development issues. The primary objective of UNCTAD is to formulate
policies relating to all aspects of development including trade, aid,
transport, finance and technology. The conference ordinarily meets once in four
years; the permanent secretariat is in Geneva.
Source: the hindu
GS3 Topic: Conservation,
environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment
Arctic sea ice waning faster
than predicted, says study
Findings:
§ Arctic sea ice, a key indicator
of climate change, could be dwindling faster than predicted.
§ Research undertaken by the
Cryosphere Climate Research Group, Canada found that satellite measurements
over the years have overestimated the thickness of Arctic sea ice by as much as
25% because of the presence of salty snow.
§ Salty snow formed when brine is
expelled upward from the ice surface does not allow radar waves from satellites
to penetrate, leading to skewed measurements.
Significance:
§ Dwindling ice cover hastens the
warming of oceans, and has an impact on weather phenomena like the El Nino that
influences the Asian monsoon.
§ The thinning ice would make it
difficult for animals like polar bears and seals and organisms like
phytoplankton to survive
Source: the hindu
Fact for Prelims:
§ National Institute of Solar
Energy (NISE)
set up under the administrative control of Ministry of New & Renewable
Energy (MNRE) at Gwalpahari Village, Distt. Gurgaon (Haryana).
§ Establishment of permanent
campus of six new IITs at Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Palakkad (Kerala), Dharwad
(Karnataka), Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir), Bhilai (Chhattisgarh) and Goa will have
a facility for housing 1,200 students from the academic year 2020-2021
§ The Infantry Day in observed
every year in India on 27 October to commemorate supreme sacrifices made by
Indian Army’s infantry against Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in 1947.
It was first infantry action by Indian Army after independence. Observance of
the day also commemorates infantry’s exceptional courage and dedicated service
to nation.
§ President of India launched the
Technocity project in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on October 27, 2017 and laid
the foundation stone for the first government building in Technocity.
§ Burundi on Friday became the
First ever nation to leave the International Criminal Court(ICC), the world’s
only permanent war crimes tribunal. International Criminal Court, set up in
July 2002, headquartered at Hague, Netherlands to prosecute those behind the
world’s worst atrocities.
§ Australian court disqualifies
Barnaby Joyce, deputy PM for dual citizenship. Critics have condemned the
outdated constitutional ban saying half the people are immigrants or have an
overseas-born parent. Critics argued for exemption from the ban because he had
not voluntarily acquired or retained citizenship of another country.
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