Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 10th July 2021

What is in news : Call for reboot of RERA has surfaced in Karnataka

RERA

• Full form -  Real Estate Regulatory Authority of Karnataka
•  Established under Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act of Union

RERA ACT

• Passed in 2016
• Came into effect  from 1st May, 2017
• Seeks to protect home-buyers as well as help boost investments in the real estate sector by bringing efficiency and transparency in the sale/purchase of real estate
• Establishes Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) in each state for regulation of the real estate sector and also acts as an adjudicating body for speedy dispute resolution
• Other provisions of act
  • Establishment of Real Estate Appellate Tribunal- Decisions of RERAs can be appealed in these tribunals.
  • Projects with plot size of minimum 500 sq.mt or eight apartments need to be registered with Regulatory Authorities
  • Defines Carpet Area as net usable floor area of flat.
  • Defines liabilities of parties involved, money usage and punishment for violation

What is in news : National Institute of Urban Affairs conducted a live online webinar on Inclusive Cities to commemorate  Launch of the Inclusive Cities Center

About Inclusive Cities Centre :

• Set up by National Institute of Urban Affairs
• Aims to develop tools and frameworks for institutional strengthening of city authorities to promote inclusivity
• Knowledge repository is also proposed for sharing learnings from global good practices
• Facilitate cities in evidence-based planning and investments to improve quality of life and productivity for all focussing on most vulnerable
• Will implement activities to address challenges related to spatial, social, economic and digital inclusion in cities

NIUA

• Established in 1976
• Supporting the Government of India in policy formulation, research, and capacity building for the successful implementation of urban development projects

What is in news : India Industrial Land Bank is gaining popularity

What is IILB : One-stop repository of all industrial infrastructure-related information – connectivity, infra, natural resources & terrain, plot-level information on vacant plots, line of activity, and contact details

MAHITI FOR MAINS

• What  is Land banking- It is the practice of aggregating parcels or blocks of land at current market rates or lower, for future sale or development.
• Who is a land aggregator: A entity which aggregates land by tracking the geographical and topological locations, which are primed for investment, based on social infrastructure and demographic factors.
• Who engage in land bank : Governments, Enitites, NGO's, Individuals
• Why is it needed :
  • Quickly turn non-agricultural land into usable parcels
  • Benefit government to identity places where development projects can be taken up

ENVIRONMENT & GEOGRAPHY

What is in news : The National Research Centre on Yak (NRCY) at Dirang in West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh, has tied up with the National Insurance Company Ltd. for insuring High-altitude Yak.

Why this move : Shield the yak owners against the risks posed by weather calamities due to climate change, diseases, in-transit mishaps, surgical operations and strikes or riots

Himalayan Yak

• Endemic to the Tibetan Plateau and the adjacent high-altitude regions
• Tolerate temperatures as low as -40 degrees Celsius
• IUCN Red list status: Vulnerable
• Listed under Appendix I of CITES
• Indian WildLife (Protection) Act of 1972: Schedule II

By : UN department of Economic and Social Affairs

Highlights

• Impacts of COVID-19 on SDG implementation
• Global poverty rate is estimated to be 7% in 2030, missing the target of eradicating poverty.
• Covid-19 has halted or reversed progress in health. It has reduced life expectancy.
• 9% of children in grades 1-8 have come below minimum reading proficiency levels in 2020.
• There has been  loss of 255 million full-time jobs.
• Global material footprint has increased by 70% between 2000 and 2017.
• Global average temperature was at 1.2 Degree Celsius in 2020.
• Dead zones have increased from 400 in 2008 to 700 in 2019

• To help address the digital divide in online education, the Department of Primary and Secondary Education, Karnataka has decided to establish mobile banks with the assistance of voluntary organisations. Smartphones and other devices collected at these banks will be distributed to students.
• According to Qatar Airways and International Air Transport Association (IATA) Qatar Airways will the first airline in Middle East to join IATA Turbulence Aware platform.
• Indian golfer, Udayan Mane, has qualified for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 which is scheduled to be organised in July & August 2021

EXPLAINED

• IATA is a trade association of world’s airlines
• Founded in 1945
• Sets out technical standards for airlines and organises tariff conferences which serves as a forum for fixing price
• Comprises of 290 airlines as of 2016 representing 117 countries
• Headquartered in Canada with executive office in Geneva, Switzerland.

• Dead zones are hypoxic areas in the world's oceans and large lakes
• Hypoxia occurs when dissolved oxygen concentration falls to or below 2ml of O₂/liter
• When a body of water experiences hypoxic conditions, aquatic flora and fauna begin to change behavior in order to reach sections of water with higher oxygen levels