Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 26th July 2021

What is in news : The Karnataka government will soon issue a notification giving effect to a 10% reservation in the state's civil services and educational institutions for people from the economically-weaker sections (EWS), or upper castes.

EWS QUOTA

• The 103rd amendment act provide for reservation in appointments to posts under the state and in admissions to educational institutions to “economically weaker sections of citizens [EWS]”. This reservation, can extend up to 10% of the total seats available.
• 103rd amendment act provides for reservation of jobs in central government jobs as well as government educational institutions. It is also applicable on admissions to private higher educational institutions.
• It applies to citizens belonging to the economically weaker sections of any sect of society.
• This reservation is “in addition to the existing reservations and subject to a maximum of 10% of the total seats in each category”.
• It mandates Article 46 of the Constitution of India, a Directive Principle that urges the government to protect the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of society.
• Amended articles of the constitution:
  • Article 15 (6) is added to provide reservations to economically weaker sections for admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions, whether aided or unaided by the State, other than the minority educational institutions referred to in clause (1) of Article 30. The amendment aims to provide reservation to those who do not fall in 15 (5) and 15(4) (effectively, SCs, STs and OBCs).
  • Article 16 (6) is added to provide reservations to people from economically weaker sections in government posts. An explanation states that “economic weakness” shall be decided on the basis of “family income” and other “indicators of economic disadvantage.”

POLITY & GOVERNANCE

What is in news : The Delhi High Court has said that the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) cannot insist on the physical or virtual presence of both the spouses for processing Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card applications for one of them.

About Overseas Citizenship of India

• Who is called an Overseas Citizen of India: An Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) is a person who is technically a citizen of another country having an Indian origin. They were citizens of India on 26th January 1950 or thereafter except who is or had been a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh or such other country.
• OCI card: Launched in 2005, the OCI card provides Overseas Citizenship of India to live and work in India for an indefinite period of time but does not provide the right to vote, hold constitutional offices or buy agricultural properties.
• The registered Overseas Citizens of India are not entitled to several rights that are conferred on a citizen of India.
  • Right to equality of opportunity under article 16 of the Constitution with regard to public employment.
  • Right for election as President and Vice-President under article 58 and article 66 respectively.
  • They are not entitled to the rights under article 124 and article 217 of the Constitution.
  • Right to register as a voter under section 16 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950(43 of 1950).
  • Rights with regard to the eligibility for being a member of the State Council/Legislative Assembly/Legislative Council.
  • For an appointment to the posts of Public Services and Union Affairs of any State.
• A person must meet the following eligibility criteria before applying for the OCI scheme:
  • He/She is a citizen of another country having an Indian origin. He/She was a citizen of India on or before the commencement of the constitution; or
  • He/She is a citizen of another country, but was eligible for the citizenship of India at the time of the commencement of the constitution; or
  • He/She is a citizen of another country and belonging to a territory that became a part of India after the 15th August 1947; or
  • He/She is a child/grandchild/great grandchild of such a citizen; or
  • He/She is a minor child, whose parents are both Indian citizens or one parent is a citizen of India and
  • is a spouse of foreign origin of an Indian citizen or of an OCI cardholder

What is Fake news : Fake news is disinformation that has no basis in reality, but is presented as fact.

Info :

• Being designed to manipulate both the intellect and emotions of a person, it can evoke strong emotional reactions in its reader, which could sometimes result in violence.
• India’s diversity is its strength, but also the source for numerous conflicts that have persisted over the decades. These conflicts, being rooted in historical claims around politics, culture and religion, will intensify if the historical assumptions and data behind related fake news are not contextually analysed.
• While the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) curriculum has elements of historical thinking, State boards are primarily focused on the memorisation of content.
• Fake news and Constitution :The Constitution of India provides a long-term solution under Article 51A (h), which says, “It shall be the duty of every citizen to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.”
  • While the National Education Policy, 2020, captures the needs of the nation, it misses out on historical thinking.(Historical thinking is the set of thinking skills required for learning history. It consists of concepts like points of view, evidence, validity and reliability of the source, contextualisation, and corroboration, apart from other skills.)

ECONOMY

What is in news : 161 Income tax day was recently celebrated

Income Tax Day

• Income tax was introduced in India by Sir James Wilson on July 24, 1860, to compensate the British government for the losses incurred during the First War of Independence in the year 1857.
• The income tax department decided to mark July 24 in 2010 as the day for the annual celebration to mark 150 years of this levy from that year onwards.

Income Tax In India

• Income tax is a type of tax charged by the central government on the income earned during a financial year by businesses and individuals.
• Taxes are sources of revenue for the government.
• The government utilizes this revenue for developing infrastructure, education, providing healthcare, subsidies to the agriculture/farmer sector, and other government welfare schemes.
• Taxes can be categorized into two types, direct taxes and indirect forms of taxes. Tax levied directly on the income earned is called a direct tax, for example, Income tax is a direct tax.
• The tax calculation is based on the income slab rates applicable during that financial year.

What is in news : NITI AAYOG -TRIFED join hands for successful implementation of  Van Dhan Yojana in Tribal Clusters of Aspirational Districts of India

VAN DHAN YOJANA

• Aims at the economic development of tribals involved in the collection of Minor Food Produces (MFPs) by helping them in optimum utilization of natural resources and providing them with a sustainable livelihood.
• Van Dhan Vikas Kendras will be constituted which will provide skill up-gradation and capacity building training and setting up of primary processing and value addition facilities.

ASPIRATIONAL DISTRICTS

• The Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) was launched in January 2018 with the vision that renewed focus on interventions in the most backward districts of India.
• Anchored by NITI Aayog, the programme rests on the three pillars:
  • Convergence (of Central and State Schemes)
  • Collaboration (between Centre, State, District and Citizens)
  • Competition (among the districts through NITI Aayog’s Champions of Change dashboard)
• Aspirational Districts are those districts in India that are affected by poor socio-economic indicators.These are aspirational in the context, that improvement in these districts can lead to the overall improvement in human development in India.
• The objective of the program is to monitor the real-time progress of aspirational districts. ADP is based on 49 indicators from the 5 identified thematic areas, which focuses closely on improving people’s Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill Development, and Basic Infrastructure.
• With States as the main drivers, ADP seeks to focus on the strength of each district, identify low-hanging fruits for immediate improvement, measure progress, and rank districts.

What is in news : Nine tourists were killed after heavy boulders fell on their van following a landslip near Basteri in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh

What are Landslides: A landslide is described as a mass of rock, debris or earth moving down a slope. Landslides are a form of mass waste under the direct influence of gravity, that indicates any down-slope movement of rock and soil. The word landslide encompasses five forms of slope movement, topples, falls, spreads, slides and flows.

Causes for Landslides

• Slope movement occurs whenever down-slope forces exceed the strength of the earth’s materials that make up the slope.
• Landslides may be caused by snowmelt, rainfall, water level changes, groundwater changes, stream flooding, volcanic activity, earthquakes, intrusion by human activities, or any combination of these causes, in slopes that are on the verge of movement.
• The shaking of earthquakes and some other factor can also cause aquatic landslides.

Location : Palampet, Telangana

Built in : 13 century

By : Racherla Senapati Rudrayya, a general of Kakatiya king Ganapatideva

What is in news : The temple has been accorded 'World heritage tag' status

Details :

• Nomination for a World Heritage Site for the Ramappa and Kakatiya temples was made in 2014.
• Known for its exquisite craftsmanship and delicate relief work, is a savvy blend of technical know-how and materials of its time.
• Main temple is flanked by the collapsed structures of the Kateshwarayya and Kameshwarayya temples in Palampet
• Foundation is built with the “sandbox technique”, the flooring is granite and the pillars are basalt
• Lower part of the temple is red sandstone while the white gopuram is built with light bricks that reportedly float on water
• Earlier, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) cited nine shortcomings at the site after an initial visit in 2019, but on Sunday a majority veered round to India’s view about the site’s outstanding universal value.
• Norway was the only country which opposed the move citing ICOMOS’s conclusion.

What is a World Heritage Site : A World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by UNESCO for its special cultural or physical significance.

The list of World Heritage Sites is maintained by the international 'World Heritage Programme', administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.

What is in news : Kargil Vijay Diwas is observed on July 26 every year as a tribute to the gallantry and valour of the military personnel who fought Pakistani troops in Ladakh’s Kargil-Drass Sector, one of the most inhospitable terrains in the world.

About

• July 26 is celebrated as “Kargil Vijay Diwas” every year to mark the successful completion of “Operation Vijay” that ended the 3-month war along the Line of Control. Nearly 490 Indian army officers, soldiers and jawans were killed during the course of the battle.
• After nuclear tests of two rival countries of South Asia, India and Pakistan in 1998, Kargil was the first major conflict in 1999 which almost took the shape of bloody war with heavy losses of life and economy. This event, also known as Operation Vijay changed the course of South Asian geopolitics forever.
• Immediate geopolitical effects of Kargil war:
  • International community including China, nearly unanimously convicted that Pakistan was culpable.
  • India Confirms Its Worst Beliefs about Pakistan are true.
  • Pakistan realised that Kargil-like operations are not viable in the current international environment.
  • With a coup d’état, Pakistan came under military rule

• Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu won the silver medal in the women’s 49 Kg weightlifting event today, winning India’s first medal at the Tokyo Olympics.