Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 28th July 2021

What is in news : Basavaraj Bommai was appointed as chief minister of Karnataka.

CHIEF MINISTER & CONSTITUTION

• Article 164 - Governer appoints CM
• Who is appointed - Leader of the party that has got the majority share of votes in the assembly elections
• If a acting CM resigns, another leader of the majority party maybe called to form the government as per governers discretion
• Term of the Chief Minister is not fixed and he holds office during the pleasure of the governor
• Cannot be dismissed by the governor as long as he enjoys the majority support in the legislative assembly.

What is in news : Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill has received President's assent

Details:

• The Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill, 2019 i.e. Andhra Pradesh Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2019 provides for death sentence for offences of rape and gangrape
• A Women & Children Offenders Registry is to be established, operated and maintained by the Andhra Pradesh Government in an electronic form. This registry will be made public and will be available to law enforcement agencies.
• The judgment will have to be pronounced in 21 working days from date of offence in cases of rape crimes with substantial conclusive evidence
• The Bill prescribes life imprisonment for sexual offences against children.
• In cases of harassment of women through email, social media, digital mode or any other form, the guilty shall be punishable with imprisonment
• Exclusive special courts in each district of the State to ensure speedy trial
• Constitution of special police teams and appointment of the special public prosecutor in special courts. There is no such provision in existing laws.
• Since it amends CrPC, it was reserved for presidential assent

Situation : Assam is facing a border dispute with Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, while Tripura and Mizoram too are facing similar issue for long.

Background :

• The origin of the disputes regarding the borders dates back to the pre-Independence era and even till 1972 when Meghalaya and Mizoram were carved out of Assam.
• Mizoram was first became a Union Territory and was made a full-fledged state in 1986.
• Nagaland, which has been witnessing insurgency since the Independence, was granted statehood in 1963.
• Arunachal Pradesh, which was known as North East Frontier Agency became a state in 1987, last among the 'seven sisters'.

What are the demands:

• Assam insists that the boundaries marked after Independence be maintained
• Nagaland and Mizoram stress on "historical boundaries"

Reasons for NE Border Disputes :

• The Northeast remained untouched during reorganisation of the states and the territories along linguistic lines, which, according to experts, made the situation more complex.
• The disputes became acute due to conflicting claims over their border by the states and the Centre's inability to convince the states to accept the boundaries.
• In the northeast, Negrito, Australoid, Mediterranean, Mongoloid, Nordic, and Brachycephal ethnic groups are found. There is a diversity of art and culture in them. Thus, the main reason for separatism and border dispute is to preserve identity
• Lack of developmental projects in these areas and this region is still not completely successful in connecting with the mainstream of society. Poverty and illiteracy prevail in these areas. In such a situation, protectionist concepts make them controversial.

Way forward:

• According to Article 3 of the Constitution of India, the Parliament of India has the power to change the name and boundaries of states. It exhibits an inclination towards the center of Indian federalism. In the past, many time's Parliament has made border changes in the Northeast intending to establish peace in the Northeast.
• Keeping in mind the strategic importance of the Northeast and the welfare of the citizens there, other problems including border disputes must be resolved

What is in news : Indian scientists discover materials that self-repair mechanical damages.

Piezoelectric crystals

• Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata, teaming up with IIT Kharagpur, have developed piezoelectric molecular crystals that repair themselves from mechanical damages without need for any external intervention.
• Piezoelectric crystals are a class of materials that generate electricity when it undergoes a mechanical impact.

Bipyrazole organic crystals

• The piezoelectric molecules developed by the scientists called bipyrazole organic crystals recombine following mechanical fracture without any external intervention, autonomously self-healing in milliseconds with crystallographic precision.
• In these molecular solids, due to the unique property of generating electrical charges on mechanical impact, the broken pieces acquire electrical charges at the crack junction, leading to attraction by damaged parts and precise autonomous repair.

What is in news : Indian Navy received 10th anti-submarine warfare aircraft P-8I from US-based aerospace company, Boeing.

About P-81 aircraft

• long-range, multisession maritime Patrol aircraft
• Integral part of Indian Navy’s fleet
• Surpassed 30,000 flight hours since its induction in 2013
• Delivered by Boeing for Indian Navy to replace ageing Tupolev Tu-142 aircraft of Indian navy
• Variant of P-8A Poseidon multi-mission maritime aircraft (MMA) and is operated by US Navy.

Significance of P81 aircraft

• Designed to protect vast coastline and territorial waters of India
• Has the capability to conduct anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (AsuW), maritime patrol, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

What is in news : The Harappan city of Dholavira, in present-day Gujarat, was on Tuesday named the 40th Indian site on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

DHOLAVIRA

• Location - Khadirbet in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District, in the state of Gujarat
• Known locally as Kotada timba
• Situated on Banks of River Luni
• One of the five largest Harappan sites
• Most prominent archaeological sites in India belonging to the IVC
• Excavated since 1990 by a team lead by R S Bisht of ASI
• Has some of the best preserved stone architecture
• A tantalizing signboard with Indus script was also discovered
• 3 citadels or principal divisions have been found which have been duly protected by fortifications

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

What is in news : The first-ever resolution on vision has been approved the United Nations general assembly.

What it relates to : Eye care

Details :

• The resolution named “Vision for Everyone” has been sponsored by Antigua, Bangladesh and Ireland, and co-sponsored by more than 100 countries.
• Member countries to institute a government approach towards eye care.
• Donors and financial institutions to provide financing for developing countries so that they can address the impact of loss of vision on social and economic development.

NEED

• Global eye care needs are going to increase substantially as by the year 2050 half of the global population is expected to be suffering from vision impairment.
• More than 90% of the 1.1 billion people globally who are suffering from loss of vision live in low or middle income group of countries.
• 55% of all blind people are girls and women.
• Better access to services related to eye care can increase the per capita household spending by around 88%.
• Better access to eye care related service is essential to achieve the goals of UN for the year 2030 of ending hunger and poverty, ensuring quality education and healthy living and reducing inequality.

• Pobbathi Maternity Home, VV Puram, has received an in-house oxygen generation plant, making it the first BBMP hospital to get the facility.The plant was sponsored by nonprofit Give India in association with Zerodha, a financial services company. It can produce 50 litres of oxygen per minute, which can be supplied to 20 beds a day.
• Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has announced of the launch of a new company that will be solely focused on software developing for robots. The company has been named Intrinsic.
• In the maritime Exercise Cutlass Express 2021, INS Talwar is participating. This naval exercise is being conducted from 26th July 2021 to 6th August 2021 along the Eastern Coast of Africa.The 2021 edition involves the participation of 12 East African countries, India, UK, US and various other international organisations such as United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), International Maritime Organisation (IMO), European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR), Interpol, EUCAP Somalia and Critical Maritime Routes Indian Ocean (CRIMARIO). The Indian Navy is participating in a trainer role.
• From 1st to 13th August India and Russia will hold the 12th edition of joint military exercise in Russia’s Volgograd.The exercise is named INDRA 2021.
• Buen Retiro Park and Paseo del Prado of Madrid, Spain have been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
• Priya Malik of India has won the gold medal in wrestling at the World Cadet Wrestling Championships which was being held in Hungary. She won the medal in the women’s 73 kg weight category.
• United States government has released an online hub for victims of ransomware attacks.