Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

What is in news : Karnataka Chief Minister unveiled the 'Karnataka Electric Bike Taxi scheme-2021' recently

Objectives :

• Reduce the travel time
• Creating self-employment
• Also boost  eco-friendly environment, fuel conservation, strengthen public transport and encourage establishment of related industries
• Enhancing ease of living

What is in the scheme

• Operators can provide the service for a distance of 10 km, and charge a flat fare in two slabs, first up to 5 km and the second from five to ten kilometres. Pillion riders or passengers shall be offered the most direct and shortest route. The distance of the journey travelled by the hirer shall be measured on the basis of an odometer fitted on the bike. The fare shall be collected on the basis of distance and not on the basis of journey time
• Operators must provide helmets to the pillion rider booking the service and the rider must wear a jacket with reflective colour marked as ‘electric bike taxi’. Riders must have valid DLs and the service provider must check the antecedents of riders.
• Minors below the age of 15 will not be allowed to use e-bike taxi service. The pillion rider can carry only a normal size backpack or handheld briefcase of reasonable weight while riding.
• The scheme has also made it mandatory to carry a first-aid box in the vehicles.

NOTE: The approval of the State transport authority is required for private players to operate more than 100 e-bikes.

Other details :

• The vehicles registered under this scheme will be in the transport category for which the government has given several exemptions like permit, tax.
• Financial benefits will be given for the electric vehicles manufacturers

What is in news : Karnataka government has appointed a separate cadre of ‘scene of crime officers’, a first in the country.

Who are they :

• Specialised in forensic science as well in identification, collection and preservation of evidence at the scene of the crime
• Will identify, record and collect evidence at the crime scene
• Assist investigation officers by providing crucial evidence material

How will they work :

• Ranked equivalent to police sub-inspector
• Part of the Directorate of Forensic Science Laboratories
• Will undergo training at National Forensic Sciences University in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, and Central Forensic Science Laboratory in Hyderabad.

Additional details

• All districts will have one SoC unit with four to five SoC officials
• Also  a dedicated ‘Forensic mobile lab’ for SoC officers will be deployed, so they can arrive at the crime scene as soon as possible with all the equipment needed.

What  : It speaks about Appointment of a Commission to investigate the conditions of backward classes

What is in news : The Union Cabinet has approved the Eleventh Extension of the term of the Commission constituted under Article 340 of the Constitution to examine the issue of Sub-categorization within Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the Central List by 6 months beyond 31st July 2021 and upto 31st January 2022.

Benefit: Enable the “Commission” to submit a comprehensive report on the issue of sub-categorization of OBCs, after consultation with various stake holders.

MAHITI FOR MAINS - UAPA ACT

What it says : Act provides for declaring an association or a body of individuals “unlawful” if they indulged in any activity that envisages secession or questions or disclaims the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Modus Operandi-

• A remand order can be for 30 days instead of the usual 15,
• Maximum period of judicial custody before the filing of a chargesheet is extendable from the usual 90 days to 180 days

Present issues :

• Vague Definition of Terrorist Act: The definition of a “terrorist act” under the UAPA substantially differs from the definition promoted by the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms while Countering Terrorism. UAPA, on the other hand, offers an overbroad and ambiguous definition of a “terrorist act” which includes the death of, or injuries to, any person, damage to any property, etc.
• Denial of Bail: The major problem with the UAPA lies in its Section 43(D)(5), which makes it difficult for any accused person to obtain bail. In case, if police have filed the chargesheet that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against such person is prima facie true, bail cannot be granted. Further, a Supreme Court judgment on this has clarified that the court considering bail should not examine the evidence too deeply, but must go by the prosecution version based on broad probabilities. Thus, UAPA virtually denies bail, which is a safeguard and guarantee of the constitutional right to liberty.
• Pendency of Trails: Given the state of justice delivery system in India, the rate of pendency at the level of trial is at an average of 95.5%.
• State Overreach: It also includes any act that is “likely to threaten” or “likely to strike terror in people”, giving unbridled power to the government to brand any ordinary citizen or activist a terrorist without the actual commission of these acts. It gives the state authority vague powers to detain and arrest individuals who it believes to be indulged in terrorist activities.
• Undermining Federalism: Some experts feel that it is against the federal structure since it neglects the authority of state police in terrorism cases, given that ‘Police’ is a state subject under 7th schedule of Indian Constitution.

ENVIRONMENT & GEOGRAPHY

What is in news : The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the continuation of National AYUSH Mission (NAM) as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme from 01-04-2021 to 31-03-2026

NOTE: AYUSH stands for Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy systems of medicine.

AYUSH MISSION

• Centrally sponsored scheme

• Launched in 2014
• By the Department of Ayush, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Objective –

• Promote the AYUSH systems of medicine through cost-effective services
• Boosting its educational systems
• Quality control of AYUSH drugs
• Ensuring the sustainable availability of AYUSH raw materials.

The vision of the Ayush Mission are:

• Providing cost-effective and equitable AYUSH healthcare all over India by enhancing access to the services.
• Strengthening and revitalising the AYUSH systems enabling them to become prominent medical streams in the country in the healthcare sector.
• Improving educational institutions that can impart knowledge in AYUSH streams.
• Promoting quality control of AYUSH drugs by developing quality standards and ensuring the availability of AYUSH raw materials.

The expected outcomes of the mission are as follows:

• Better access to AYUSH healthcare services through increased healthcare facilities offering AYUSH services and better availability of medicines and trained manpower,
• Improvement in AYUSH education through a well-equipped enhanced number of AYUSH Educational institutions, 
• To focus on reducing communicable/non-communicable diseases through targeted public health programmes using AYUSH systems of Healthcare.

RE-WILDING OF TIGERS

What : Introduction of  orphaned or abandoned tiger cubs to wild

Who says about this : National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under Section 38(O) of The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 specifies 3 ways about this

What are the ways :

• Reunite the abandoned cubs with their mother.
• Shift the cub to a suitable zoo if mother is not available
• Reintroduction of the cub into the wild after a certain time when it appears that the cub is capable of surviving in the wild independently(Rewindling)

What else the rules say :

• Tiger cub should be reared in an in situ enclosure for a minimum of two years
• Each cub should have a successful record of at least 50 ‘kills’
• Within the enclosure, the persons responsible for handling cubs must approach them by putting a tiger mask along with work day clothes of a tiger stripe pattern smeared with tiger urine and faeces.
• Should be in prime health, and of dispersing age (three/four years) There should be no abnormality/incapacitation

What does experts say : The chance of success is less than 1 per cent if we look at all the failures of reintroductions. Tigers have killer humans in the past

What is in news : The recent attempt of Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) to reintroduce into the wild an abandoned nine-month-old cub named Mangala after rearing it in ‘captivity' for two years has once again brought the controversial concept of ‘re-wilding’ of abandoned or injured animals under the lens

What is in news : Union government directs States to expeditiously implement Forest Rights Act.

ABOUT

• Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 recognizes the rights of the forest dwelling tribal communities and other traditional forest dwellers to forest resources, on which these communities were dependent for a variety of needs, including livelihood, habitation and other socio-cultural needs.
• The Act further enjoins upon the Gram Sabha and rights holders the responsibility of conservation and protection of bio-diversity, wildlife, forests, adjoining catchment areas, water sources and other ecologically sensitive areas as well as to stop any destructive practices affecting these resources or cultural and natural heritage of the tribals. The Gram Sabha is also a highly empowered body under the Act, enabling the tribal population to have a decisive say in the determination of local policies and schemes impacting them.

Objective:

• To undo the historical injustice occurred to the forest dwelling communities
• To ensure land tenure, livelihood and food security of the forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers
• To strengthen the conservation regime of the forests by including the responsibilities and authority on Forest Rights holders for sustainable use, conservation of biodiversity and maintenance of ecological balance.

Native of : China

Properties :

• Intensely sweet
• Used as a non-caloric natural sweetener
• Mogrosides are cause of sweetness

Other details :

• Demand for monk fruit is gradually increasing in the international market
• Approved as a high-intensity sweetening agent in Japan
• Approved as non-caloric sweet taste extract, generally recognized as safe (GRAS) non-nutritive sweetener, flavour enhancer, and food ingredient in the USA
• What is in news : The ‘monk fruit’ from China, which is known for its properties as non-caloric natural sweetener, was Monday introduced for field trials in Himachal Pradesh by the Palampur-based Council of Scientific Research and Industrial Technology-Institute of Himalayan Bio-resource Technology (CSIR-IHBT) in Kullu.

Info:

• Seeds were obtained from China
• Fifty seedlings were planted in the fields of progressive farmer Manav Khullar from Raison village for field trials and CSIR-IHBT signed a ‘Material Transfer Agreement’ with Manav.
• The economic benefits of the new crop are estimated to be between Rs 3 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh per hectare.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

What is in the news : The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday successfully conducted the third long-duration hot test of the liquid propellant Vikas engine for the Gaganyaan programme.

About Gaganyaan

• Mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation
• Send a three-member crew to space for a period of five to seven days by 2022
• Announced in 2018
• There were 2 missions,first unmanned mission was scheduled to be sent in December 2020 and the second mission was scheduled for June 2021.
• However, the first unmanned mission has been delayed because of the disruption in ISRO’s work and operations on account of the coronavirus pandemic.
• Gaganyaan spacecraft will be placed in a low earth orbit (LEO) of 300-400 kilometres.
• Significance : First indigenous mission that will send Indian astronauts to space. If it succeeds, India will be the fourth country to have sent a human to space, the other three being the US, Russia and China.
• Spacecraft consists of a service module and a crew module, collectively known as the Orbital Module. The launch vehicle used for this mission will be the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV Mk III

What :

• Pilgrimage organised in the Hindu calendar month of Shravana (Saavan)
• Saffron-clad Shiva devotees generally walk barefoot with pitchers of holy water from the Ganga or other holy rivers.
• Devotees carry the pitchers of holy water on their shoulders, balanced on decorated slings known as Kanwars.
• The water is used by the pilgrims to worship Shiva lingas at shrines of importance
• States where yatra is taken : Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Bihar

Issues :

• There are groups called as kanwariyas
• In Uttar Pradesh clash between these groups is common
• Disruptive behaviour, substance abuse, and hooliganism by anti-social elements in religious garbs are usually common in name of religion

What is in news : Supreme court has asked UP government about allowing kanwar yatra despite COVID

• An expert committee has been set up to look into the amendments proposed to the Karnataka State Universities Act (KSU) to bring in a uniform act for all state-run varsities in the state.Senior academician Dr Vasudev Atre is the head of the committee.
• A new bill BJP-led government in Assam tabled in the Assembly on Monday seeks to prohibit the sale of beef in areas predominantly inhabited by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and other non-beef eating communities and within a 5 km radius of temples.
• Children born from all void or voidable marriages, irrespective of the personal laws applicable to their parents, are eligible for compassionate appointments in government service, said the High Court of Karnataka.
• The concept of observing July 15 as National Plastic Surgery Day in India has been adopted by the leaders of top bodies in the speciality across the globe as the World Plastic Surgery Day. It was introduced in 2011 to create awareness of plastic surgery.
• The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a subsidy scheme for shipping companies during global tenders for import of government cargo.
• The International Cricket Council on Wednesday said the next World Test Championship will have a ‘simpler’ equal points system to decide the finalists after the previous system came under criticism
• International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) constituted a expert committee chaired by Ms. Kaku Nakhate, President and Country Head (India), Bank of America to recommend approach towards development of Longevity Finance Hub and provide road map for the same.
• The European Commission’s plan, "Fit for 55," calls for its 27 member states to cut their output of greenhouse gases by 55% by 2030, compared with 1990 levels
• The UV-C air duct disinfection system was developed by CSIR-CSIO (Central Scientific Instruments Organisation). CSIR-CSIO mentioned in a release that the system is designed to fit into any existing air-ducts and the virucidal dosages using UV-C intensity and residence time can be optimised according to the existing space.

Communiqué - an official statement, especially from a government, a political group