Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 19th August 2021

What :

• Initiative of the Prime Minister’s Science, Technology & Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC)
• Enable R&D of key national missions and solve problems for the Indian and global industry
• One of several national science and technology clusters being established in the country, to ensure better synergy between academic institutions, national and state research laboratories, and other stakeholders
• Currently supported by IISc

What is in news : The Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) – on behalf of the Bengaluru S&T (BeST) cluster entered into an MoU to foster collaboration and support the activities of BeST

What is in news : Districts across Karnataka will see rise in summer temperature in the range of 0.5°C to 1.5°C in the coming years  according to climate change experts.

Details :

• Warming of summer temperature will be in the range of 0.5°C to 1.0°C, largely in the Western Ghat districts. Warming will be in the range of 1.0°C to 1.5°C in the northern districts of Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Bagalkot, Koppal, and some of central and eastern districts such as Chitradurga, Tumakuru, and Davangere
• In the long term, beyond the 2050s, they said the summer maximum temperature will be in the range of 1.0°C to 2.5°C in Karnataka. Warming will be between 1.0°C and 1.5°C in Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, and Shivamogga and in the range of 1.5°C to 2°C in Tumakuru, Mandya, Chitradurga, Davangere, Ballari, Gadag, and Koppal.
• Warming will be in the range of 2°C to 2.5°C for the northern districts of Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, and Raichur.
• During the short term, winter minimum temperature will be in the range of 0.5°C to 1.0°C for the southern and central districts and in the range of 1°C to to 1.5°C for the northern districts of Karnataka.
• Rise in temperature –
  • Would cause crop loss due to temperature and precipitation, and non-climatic factors such as changes in the soil moisture
  • For livestock, the impacts of climate change are primarily attributed to heat stress and this would cause reduction in fodder resources, water availability as well as sudden disease outbreaks.
  • Beside reduction in marine fish production, scientists said rise in sea level would lead to submergence of many foreshore facilities such as jetties, wharfs, harbours, and other fish landing facilities, islands along the coastline. The State has 94 islands and of these, 23 islands are inhabited mostly by fishing communities and farmers.
• WAY FORWARD: Experts underlined the need for immediate requirement to assess the vulnerability of these infrastructure and make necessary constructions at the earliest to provide sufficient number of foreshore facilities for the community.

POLITY & GOVERNANCE

What is in news : The Supreme Court Collegium, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) N.V. Ramana, has recommended to the government nine names for appointment as judges in the court

COLLEGIUM SYSTEM

• System of appointment and transfer of judges that has evolved through judgments of the SC, and not by an Act of Parliament or by a provision of the Constitution.
• Headed by the CJI and comprises four other senior most judges of the court.
• A HC collegium is led by its Chief Justice and four other senior most judges of that court
• Constitutional Provisions:
  • Article 124(2) - President consultation for appointment of judges of Supreme court & role of CJI & other judges
  • Article 217- President consultation for appointment of judges of High court & role of CJI of SC , HC , governor & other judges
• Role of Government:
  • The government’s role is limited to getting an inquiry conducted by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) if a lawyer is to be elevated as a judge in a High Court or the Supreme Court.
  • It can also raise objections and seek clarifications regarding the collegium’s choices, but if the collegium reiterates the same names, the government is bound, under Constitution Bench judgments, to appoint them as judges.
• Process for the appointment of Chief Justice of India:
  • It is the President of India, who appoints the CJI and the other judges in the Supreme Court.
  • It has been a practice that the exiting CJI would recommend his successor.
  • It is strictly a rule that the CJI would only be chosen on a seniority basis. This has happened after the controversy of 1970.
• Process of appointment of the High Court
  • The Chief Justice of the high court is appointed by the President in consultation with the Governor.
  • The collegium decides on the judge’s appointment and the proposal is sent to the chief minister, who would then advice the Governor and the proposal for appointment would be sent to the Law Minister in the Union Government.

SOCIAL ISSUES

What : Recently launched initiative which commemorated the completion of two crore treatment under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). It was organized to raise awareness about the program (AB-PMJAY) among poor households.

Details :

The following key initiatives were also launched on the occasion.

• Adhikar Patra: To be issued to the beneficiaries during their hospital admissions for treatment under PM-JAY scheme to make them aware about their rights so that they can claim free and cashless healthcare services upto Rs 5 lakhs under the scheme.
• Abhinandan Patra: A ‘thank you note’ to be issued to the beneficiaries during their discharge after the treatment under PM-JAY for availing the benefits of AB PM-JAY scheme. The Abhinandan Patra is also accompanied by a feedback form to be filled in by the beneficiary regarding the service they received under the scheme.
• Ayushman Mitra: Another key initiative launched which provides an opportunity to all citizens to contribute to the vision of Ayushman Bharat by helping eligible people to get their Ayushman Cards created and bring them under the ambit of the scheme.

AYUSHMAN BHARATH

• Launched as recommended by the National Health Policy 2017, to achieve the vision of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
• This initiative has been designed on the lines as to meet SDG and its underlining commitment, which is “leave no one behind”.
• Aim: to undertake path breaking interventions to holistically address health (covering prevention, promotion and ambulatory care), at primary, secondary and tertiary level.
• Includes the on-going centrally sponsored schemes – Senior Citizen Health Insurance Scheme (SCHIS) and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY).
• Ayushman Bharat adopts a continuum of care approach, comprising of two inter-related components, which are:
  • Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs).
  • Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).

What is in news : The Union Cabinet has given its approval for ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer for phase down of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by India, adopted by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on October, 2016 at 28th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol held at Kigali, Rwanda.

What are its benefits :

(i) HFC phasedown is expected to prevent the greenhouse gas emissions, helping prevent climate change and would benefit the people.

(ii)The industry producing and consuming Hydrofluorocarbons will be phasing out Hydrofluorocarbons as per the agreed schedule under and transition to non-HFC and low global warming potential technologies.

About KIAGALI agreement :

• In the 28th meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, negotiators from 197 nations have signed a historic agreement to amend the Montreal Protocol in Kigali, a capital city of a tiny African country, Rwanda on 15th October 2016.
• As per the agreement, these countries are expected to reduce the manufacture and use of Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) by roughly 80-85%  from their respective baselines, till 2045.
• This phase down is expected to arrest the global average temperature rise up to 0.5o C by 2100.
• Kigali agreement is an amendment to Montreal Protocol.

Montreal Protocol

• The Montreal Protocol is a most effective international environmental treaty to phase out the Ozone Depleting Substances (ODSs) from the atmosphere.
• It came into force in 1989.
• It has 197 member parties to the protocol and become a first international treaty with complete ratification.
• It has undergone several amendments and Kigali amendment is the eighth amendment to this protocol.
• It has successfully curbed the 98% production of chlorofluorocarbons and other ODSs and significantly contributed to the repair of the ozone hole.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

What :

• Nuclear fusion is defined as the combining of several small nuclei into one large nucleus with the subsequent release of huge amounts of energy.
• The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifested as either the release or the absorption of energy.
• Nuclear fusion powers our sun and harnessing this fusion energy could provide an unlimited amount of renewable energy.
• An example of nuclear fusion is the process of four hydrogens coming together to form helium.

What is in news : Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California announced that an experiment carried out in its National Ignition Facility has made a breakthrough in nuclear fusion research

What is the experiment :  In the experiment, lasers were used to heat a small target or fuel pellets. These pellets containing deuterium and tritium fused and produced more energy. The team noted that they were able to achieve a yield of more than 1.3 megajoules.

Advantage of Fusion energy : Nuclear fusion energy is a good choice as the baseload energy in the future with many advantages, such as inexhaustibility of resources, inherent safety, no long-lived radioactive wastes, and almost no CO2 emissions

What :

• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) defines fortification as “deliberately increasing the content of essential micronutrients in a food so as to improve the nutritional quality of food and to provide public health benefit with minimal risk to health”.
• In other words, rice fortification is a process of adding micronutrients to regular rice.

How is India conducting Fortification :

• For rice fortification in India, ‘extrusion’ is considered to be the best technology.
• In extrusion technology
  • Dry rice flour is mixed with a premix of micronutrients
  • Water is added to this mixture
  • This mixture then goes into a twin-screw extruder with heating zones, which produces kernels similar in shape and size to rice.
  • These kernels are dried, cooled and packaged for use which have a shelf life of at least 12 months.

Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution guidelines on Kernel

The shape and size of the fortified rice kernel should “resemble the normal milled rice as closely as possible”

The length and breadth of the grain should be 5 mm and 2.2 mm respectively.

Why is rice fortification needed:

• High levels of malnutrition among women and children
• According to the Food Ministry, every second woman in the country is anaemic and every third child is stunted. India ranks 94 out of 107 countries on the Global Hunger Index (GHI), which puts it in the ‘serious hunger’ category.
• Fortification of food is considered to be one of the most suitable methods to combat malnutrition.
• Rice is one of India’s staple foods, consumed by about two-thirds of the population. Per capita rice consumption in India is 6.8 kg per month.
• Therefore, fortifying rice with micronutrients is an option to supplement the diet of the poor.

India’s capacity for fortification

• According to the Ministry, nearly 2,690 rice mills have installed blending units for production of fortified rice, and the current blending capacity stands at 13.67 lakh tonnes in 14 key states. FRK production has gone up from 7,250 tonnes to 60,000 tonnes within 2 years.
• Existing rice mills need to be upgraded to fortification facilities. The cost of the upgrade varies from mill to mill depending on the volume of fortified rice produced. According to the Ministry, an investment of around Rs15-20 lakh would be required to upgrade a rice mill of operating capacity 4-5 tonnes/hour.

How can a beneficiary identify that she is getting fortified rice and not regular rice: Fortified rice will be packed in jute bags with the logo (‘+F’) and the line “Fortified with Iron, Folic Acid, and Vitamin B12” mandatorily printed on the pack.

Has the government distributed fortified rice earlier:

• In 2019-20, the Ministry launched a centrally sponsored pilot scheme, ‘Fortification of Rice and its Distribution under PDS’, for three years with a total budget outlay of Rs 174.64 crore. The pilot scheme focuses on 15 districts in 15 states — Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, and Madhya Pradesh.
• According to the Ministry, six states, including Maharashtra and Gujarat, have started distributing fortified rice as part of the pilot scheme, with approximately 2.03 lakh tonnes distributed until June 2021. Four more states are expected to start by September.

Has any other country tried this: According to the Ministry, seven countries have mandated rice fortification — the United States, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, and the Solomon Islands.

SNIPPETS

• A new plant of the Brachystelma R.Br. species has been found in Tumakuru, and has been named after the district from where its type material was collected. ‘B. tumakurense’ comes from a tuber and belongs to the Apocynaceae family (a family of flowering plants).

• BhittiChitra - Mural / Wall painting