Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 23rd July 2021

What is in news : Recently, a celebrity from bombay has approached the Delhi High Court with a plea saying that his videos, photographs and articles etc. be removed from the internet citing his "Right to be Forgotten".

What is Right to be forgotten: It is the right to have private information about a person be removed from Internet searches and other directories under some circumstances. It is in sync with persons right to privacy

Is it recognized in India:

• Yes
• The Personal Data Protection Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 11, 2019 and it aims to set out provisions meant for the protection of the personal data of individuals.
• Clause 20 under Chapter V of this draft bill titled “Rights of Data Principal'' mentions the “Right to be Forgotten.”
• It states that the “data principal (the person to whom the data is related) shall have the right to restrict or prevent the continuing disclosure of his personal data by a data fiduciary”.

Universal recognition :

• The Center for Internet and Society notes that the “right to be forgotten” gained prominence when the matter was referred to the Court of Justice of European Union (CJEC) in 2014
• In the European Union (EU), the right to be forgotten empowers individuals to ask organisations to delete their personal data. It is provided by the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a law passed by the 28-member bloc in 2018.

What is in news :  The cabinet of the state of Meghalaya has approved the Meghalaya Youth Policy 2021.

ABOUT THE POLICY

• Aims to create a field for the youths of the state in achieving their full potential and becoming skilled, engaged, responsible, creative, and empowered members of the state as well as the country.
• 31% of the population of the state falls in the 15-29 years age category and this policy was much needed to channelize the youths towards a productive future.
• Aims to address major concerns on nine identified key areas that are Education, Counselling & Mentoring, Health & Wellbeing, Sports, Employment Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Engagement & Leadership, Cultural & creative industries and Inclusion and Environmental Consciousness.
• Success and implementation of this policy are based on various performance indicators which includes human resource development, infrastructure creation and up gradation, awareness campaigns and various other parameters.
• Policy covers the lifecycle of youth and includes early childhood interventions which are implemented through various policies such as Meghalaya School Improvement Plan (MSIP), Early Childhood Education Mission, FIT India, setup of academies of excellence in the area of arts and culture and sports infrastructure up-gradation.

What is in news : The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved raising the foreign investment limit in privatisation-bound PSU refiners.

Why this move : Aid the sale of the government’s stake in BPCL.

MAHITI FOR PRELIMS

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

• Process whereby residents of one country (the home country) acquire ownership of assets for the purpose of controlling the production, distribution and other activities of a firm in another country (the host country).
• Comprise capital provided (either directly or through other related enterprises) by a foreign direct investor to an enterprise.
• Has three components,
  • Equity capital is the foreign direct investor’s purchase of shares of an enterprise in a country other than its own.
  • Reinvested earnings comprise the direct investors’ share (in proportion to direct equity participation) of earnings not distributed as dividends by affiliates, or earnings not remitted to the direct investor. Such retained profits by affiliates are reinvested.
  • Intra-company loans or intra-company debt transactions refer to short- or long-term borrowing and lending of funds between direct investors (or enterprises) and affiliate enterprises.
• Routes through which India gets FDI:
  • Automatic Route: In this, the foreign entity does not require the prior approval of the government or the RBI.
  • Government route: In this, the foreign entity has to take the approval of the government.
  • The Foreign Investment Facilitation Portal (FIFP) facilitates the single window clearance of applications which are through approval route.

What  : Government is implementing Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Padhati (BPKP) as a sub scheme of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) since 2020-21 for the promotion of traditional indigenous practices.

About the scheme:

• Emphasizes on exclusion of all synthetic chemical inputs
• Promotes on-farm biomass recycling with major stress on biomass mulching; use of cow dung-urine formulations; plant-based preparations and time to time working of soil for aeration.

About Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana:

• An elaborated component of Soil Health Management (SHM) of major project National Mission of Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA).
• Organic farming is promoted through the adoption of the organic village by cluster approach and PGS certification.
• Fifty or more farmers will form a cluster having 50-acre land to take up the organic farming under the scheme.
• The produce will be pesticide residue free and will contribute to improving the health of the consumer.

What is in news : Central government informed the Rajya Sabha that there were no Great Indian Bustards (GIB) in Kutch Bustard Sanctuary (KBS)

About Great Indian Bustards:

• Largest among the four bustard species found in India(the other three being MacQueen’s bustard, lesser florican and the Bengal florican)
• Historic range included much of the Indian sub-continent (Now shrunken to just 10 per cent of it)
• Heaviest birds with flight
• Prefer grasslands as their habitats.
• Spend most of their time on the ground with occasional flights to go from one part of their habitat to the other.
• Flagship bird species of grassland
• Protection accorded
  • Birdlife International: uplisted from Endangered to Critically Endangered (2011)
  • Protection under CITES: Appendix I
  • IUCN status: Critically Endangered
  • Protection under Wildlife (Protection) Act: Schedule I
• On the brink of extinction: The GIB population in India had fallen to just 150.

About KBS

• Located near Lala village of Abdasa taluka of Kutch.
• One of the smallest bird sanctuaries of the country, but a thriving breeding ground for the endangered birds.
• Is a semi-desert area allows for the ‘ghorad’ (local name) to feed on cereal crops that grow in the region.
• Set up in 1992.

What :

Started in the year 2011

Aim - Well-planned and all-inclusive development of the fast-growing historical cities around the world, while keeping in mind to preserve the heritage and the culture.

What is in news :  In the state of Madhya Pradesh, the cities of Orchha and Gwalior have been selected by UNESCO under its ‘Historic Urban Landscape Project.’

Details:

• Six cities of South Asia, including Indian cities of Varanasi and Ajmer are already involved in this project. Gwalior and Orchha have been included as the 7th and 8th cities of South Asia.
• UNESCO will prepare the management and development of these cities.
• This project will help in boosting the tourism of the state of Madhya Pradesh. Along with this additional employment opportunities will be created.

About Orchha

• Location : Niwari district of MP’s Bundelkhand region
• Peculiar style of architecture used by the Bundela dynasty.
• Located on the banks of river Betwa
• Built by King Rudra Pratap Singh of Bundela dynasty in the 16th century.
• Celebrated for its rich and ancient architecture of Chaturbhuj Temple, Orchha Fort Complex, and Raja Mahal among others.
• Famous for its two elevated minarets – Saavan and Bhadon; and four palaces – Jahangir Palace, Rai Praveen Mahal, Raja Mahal, and Sheesh Mahal.
• Represents the concept of open bungalows, animal statues depicting the culture of Bundelkhand and stone work windows.
• Houses ‘Sri Ram Raja Mandir’, the only place in India where Lord Ram is worshipped as a King, not as a deity, with this dedicated temple in his name.

About Gwalior

• Was established in the 9th century and ruled by Gurjar Pratihar Rajvansh, Tomar, Baghel Kachvaho and Scindias.
• Known for its palaces and temples, including the intricately carved Sas Bahu Ka Mandir temple.
• The Gwalior Fort occupies a sandstone plateau overlooking the city and is accessed via a winding road lined with sacred Jain statues.
• Within the forts, high walls are the 15th-century Gujari Mahal Palace, now an archaeological museum

What : Gas pipeline between Russia and Germany

What is in news : The US, which had previously imposed sanctions to prevent the completion of a major new gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, has now signalled its approval for the project.

About :

• In 2015, Gazprom and 5 other European energy firms decided to build Nord Stream 2, valued at around $11 billion.
• The 1,200 km pipeline will run from Ust-Luga in Russia to Greifswald in Germany.
• It will carry 55 billion cubic meters of gas per year.
• The under-construction pipeline will run along with the already-completed Nord Stream 1 system, and the two together will supply an aggregate of 110 billion cubic meters of gas to Germany per year.

What is in news: 11th Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) meeting was recently held

About :

• Initiative by six countries – India and five ASEAN countries – Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam
• Aiming to facilitate closer connections between these 6 member countries which share the Ganga river and Mekong river basins.
• Established in 2000
• Four areas of cooperation are Culture, Education, Tourism, and Transportation
• Mandate-Facilitate closer contacts among people inhabiting these two (Ganga and Mekong) major civilizational river basins and enhancing cooperation in a cult.
• Ministerial Meetings would be held annually back-to-back with the  Annual Ministerial Meetings (AMMs)
• The chairmanship will be rotated in alphabetical order.

• The authorities of the state of Kerala have removed the upper age limit for transgender college students of the state who are seeking admission to numerous educational programs available in the State universities and its affiliated schools. Kerala was the first State in India to have announced transgender coverage in the year 2015.
• On July 23rd, National Broadcasting Day is observed across the country annually. On this day in the year 1927, the Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC) started radio broadcasting from the Bombay station.
• Rasmi Ranjan Das, a Joint secretary of the Finance Ministry has been appointed to the UN tax committee as a member for the term period 2021 to 2025. Rasmi Ranjan Das is Joint Secretary – (FT&TR-I), Central Board of Direct Taxes, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance. Formally known as the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters, UN tax committee helps the countries’ efforts to advance stronger and forward-looking tax policies which are adapted to suit the realities of a digitalised economy, globalised trade and investment and the ever worsening environmental degradation.
• Amsterdam, has unveiled the world’s first 3D-printed steel pedestrian bridge. This project has been opened on the Oudezijds Achterburgwal canal in the city of Amsterdam. The opening ceremony of this bridge was attended by the Queen of the Netherlands, Máxima.
• Indian Navy participated in a two-day bilateral Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with Royal Navy Carrier Strike Group (CSG)-21 led by HMS Queen Elizabeth in the Bay of Bengal from 21 to 22 Jul 21. The bilateral Maritime Exercise was designed to hone the ability of the two navies to operate together in the maritime domain.
• Assam Cabinet announced that Gaon Buras (village headman), village-level functionaries of the district administration, will henceforth be called ‘Gaon Pradhans’.The government has reasoned that a number of young men (and women) become Gaon Buras, and thus, the word ‘Bura’ (meaning old in Assamese) is no longer appropriate.