Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 27th Oct 2021

What is in news : IIT-Delhi announced the launch of M.Tech in Machine Intelligence & Data Science (MINDS) to be offered by the School of Artificial Intelligence (ScAI)

Details :

• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has established an independent 'School of Artificial Intelligence (ScAI)' on its campus, which aims to cement IIT Delhi’s leadership position in India and considerably improve its global standing.
• MINDS
  • Is slated to be a flagship educational programme for the school and is expected to begin in July 2022.
  • Is planned as an industry-sponsored programme.
• The students will be expected to work on industry-relevant AI problems, since they will be co-advised by an IIT-Delhi professor and a researcher from the sponsoring company.
• All students with an undergraduate degree in science or engineering will be eligible for the MINDS programme
• ScAI currently lists around 40 faculty members, including adjunct faculty members from industry research centres like Microsoft Research, Google AI, and IBM Research.

What is in news : The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has urged the central and state governments to increase the minimum legal age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21

Details :

• It is to ensure young adolescents are protected from getting addicted to them.
• This needs a amendment in Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act

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COTPA 2003

• The Act prohibits smoking of tobacco in public places, except in special smoking zones in hotels, restaurants and airports and open spaces.
• Advertisement of tobacco products including cigarettes is prohibited.
• Tobacco products cannot be sold to person below the age of 18 years, and in places within 100 yards radius from the outer boundary of an institution of education, which includes school colleges and institutions of higher learning established or recognized by an appropriate authority.
• Tobacco products must be sold, supplied or distributed in a package which shall contain an appropriate pictorial warning, its nicotine and tar contents.
• The owner/manager/in-charge of a public place must display a board containing the warning “No Smoking Area – Smoking here is an offence ” in appropriate manner at the entrance and inside the premises.
• The Act also gives power to any police officer, not below the rank of a sub-inspector or any officer of State Food or Drug Administration or any other officer, holding the equivalent rank being not below the rank of Sub-Inspector of Police for search and seizure of premises where tobacco products are produced, stored or sold, if he suspects that the provision of the Act has been violated.

NCPCR

• Set up in March 2007 under the Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005.
• It works under the administrative control of the Ministry of Women & Child Development.
• Definition: The Child is defined as a person in the 0 to 18 years age group.
• The Commission’s Mandate is to ensure that all Laws, Policies, Programmes, and Administrative Mechanisms are in consonance with the Child Rights perspective as enshrined in the Constitution of India and also the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• Under the RTE Act, 2009, the NCPCR can:
  • inquire into complaints about violation of the law.
  • summon an individual and demand evidence.
  • seek a magisterial enquiry.
  • file a writ petition in the High Court or Supreme Court.
  • approach the government concerned for prosecution of the offender.
  • recommend interim relief to those affected.
• Composition: This commission has a chairperson and six members of which at least two should be women. All of them are appointed by Central Government for three years. The maximum age to serve in commission is 65 years for Chairman and 60 years for members.

ECONOMY

What is in news : The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry reviewed the progress on Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) initiative of DPIIT.

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Open Network for Digital Commerce

• Open Network for Digital Commerce christened ONDC is globally first-of-its-kind initiative that aims to democratise Digital Commerce, moving it from a platform-centric model to an open-network.
• As UPI is to the digital payment domain, ONDC is to e-commerce in India.
• ONDC
  • Will enable, buyers and sellers to be digitally visible and transact through an open network, no matter what platform/application they use.
  • Will empower merchants and consumers by breaking silos to form a single network to drive innovation and scale, transforming all businesses from retail goods, food to mobility.
  • Aims at promoting open networks developed on open-sourced methodology, using open specifications and open network protocols independent of any specific platform.
  • Is expected to digitize the entire value chain, standardize operations, promote inclusion of suppliers, derive efficiencies in logistics and enhance value for consumers.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

What is in news : The technology Cashew Multiple Rooting for Senile plantation was developed by local farmer of Kerala is gaining popularity

Details : 

• A woman farmer from Kannur district of Kerala has come up with an innovative practice to develop support roots in cashew trees to protect her senile cashew garden from devastating borer attacks and frequent cyclonic storms.
• Mrs. Aniyamma Baby from Kerala has developed an innovative Cashew Multiple Rooting Propagation Method. This method generates multiple roots in a grownup cashew tree, thus improving production per unit area. It also helps eco-friendly management of stem and root borers, restores productivity, provides strong anchorage against wind damage/cyclonic storms, and extension of the plantation life without the necessity of replanting.
• In 2004, while harvesting of cashew, Aniyamma observed one cashew branch, which was in constant contact with the soil, was generating adventitious roots (not tap root). She noticed that the new plant emerging from this root has fast growth compared to a normal cashew plant. Next year heavy infestation of stem borer (insect larva, or arthropod, that bores into plant stems) destroyed the mother plant, but the newly developed plant was healthy and not affected by stem borer infestation. By observing the rooting and development of new plants from mother plant, she thought of developing new plants by wrapping sac filled with potting mixture on the nodes of lower parallel branches. She guided the new root to the ground with the help of hollow areca nut stem, as well as adding weight to the branches close to the ground and covering them with soil for rooting. Both of her experiments were successful, and she has been using these two methods in her old senile cashew plantations for the last 7 years to support her family with continual supply of high cashew produce.
• National Innovation Foundation, an autonomous organisation of the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, has taken up the innovative technology for the necessary support and incubation activities.
• The technology (Cashew Multiple Rooting for Senile plantation) has been further verified by ICAR- Directorate of Cashew Research, Puttur (Mottethadka, Darbe Dist. - Puttur, Karnataka) & Kerala Agriculture University (Vellanikkara, Dist. - Thrissur, Kerala) in 2020. It has been found that to be unique and provides anchorage against wind damage/cyclonic storms, and restores cashew trees from severe attack of cashew stem and root borers in a very eco-friendly and cost-effective way. The technology offers new hope to the cashew growers having senile cashew gardens to realize additional yield,
• The two different methods used by the innovator include--- Cylindrical Shape Method, in which a sac filled with potting mixture (soil and cow dung) is tied on the lower branches of cashew growing parallel to the ground. The new roots that are former are guided through a hollow areca nut stem filled with soil and cow dung to the ground. Over a year, these roots develop and add to the root network of cashew, which acts as an additional channel for nutrient and water uptake to the plant and improves the yield.

What is in news : Union Health Ministry has rushed a high level multi-disciplinary team to Uttar Pradesh where a case of Zika Virus Disease case has been reported.

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ZIKA VIRUS

• The Zika virus is predominantly transmitted by infected mosquitoes from the Aedes genus, mainly Aedes aegypti. The Aedes mosquitoes also spread dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.
• The virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in monkeys
• Transmission: Apart from the mosquitoes, an infected person can also spread the virus.
• Symptoms:
  • Fever, rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise, or headache
  • Lasts for about two to seven days
  • Most infected people do not develop any symptoms.
• Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause infants to be born with microcephaly (smaller than normal head size) and other congenital malformations, known as congenital Zika syndrome.
• It has no treatment or vaccine. Instead, the focus is on relieving symptoms and includes rest, rehydration and acetaminophen for fever and pain.

What is in news : Raksha Mantri chairs Ambassadors’ Round Table for DefExpo 2022

About DefExpo :

• Premier event in the international aerospace and defence calendar, has witnessed year-on-year growth, both in the quantity and quality of participation.
• The aim - Build upon the vision to achieve ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence and reach USD five billion defence exports target by 2024.
• The objective - make India a major destination of land, naval, air & homeland security systems and defence engineering.
• Keeping with future warfare in mind, the event aims to recognise the impact of disruptive technologies on conflicts and its consequent impact on the equipment and platforms required.
• Organised keeping with the COVID-19 protocols and aims to ensure maximum international and domestic participation.
• The events planned include Conclave, Hybrid events, live demonstrations & business seminars.

What is in news : The report ‘Mapping India’s Climate Vulnerability – A District-level Assessment’, which has been supported by the India Climate Collaborative and Edelgive Foundation was released by Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)

Details :

• first-of-its-kind Climate Vulnerability Index
• States of Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Bihar are the most vulnerable to extreme climate events such as floods, droughts and cyclones
• Analysed 640 districts in India and found that 463 of these are vulnerable to extreme floods, droughts and cyclones.
• Dhemaji and Nagaon in Assam, Khammam in Telangana, Gajapati in Odisha, Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh, Sangli in Maharashtra and Chennai in Tamil Nadu are among India’s most climate vulnerable districts.45 per cent of these districts have undergone “unsustainable landscape and infrastructure changes”.
• More than 80 per cent of Indians live in districts vulnerable to climate risks, that is, 17 of 20 people in the country are vulnerable to climate risks
• States in India’s northeast are more vulnerable to floods, while the ones in the south and central are most vulnerable to extreme droughts.
• Highly vulnerable states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Karnataka and Gujarat have improved their respective DDMPs and climate-proofed critical infrastructures in recent years.

CONCLUSION

Combating the rising frequency and scale of extreme climate events is fiscally draining for developing countries such as India. At COP-26, developed countries must regain trust by delivering the USD 100 billion promised since 2009 and commit to stepping up climate finance over the coming decade. Further, India must collaborate with other countries to create a Global Resilience Reserve Fund, which could act as insurance against climate shocks. This would ease the fiscal pressure on the most climate vulnerable countries, especially from the Global South. Finally, developing a Climate Risk Atlas for India would help policymakers to better identify and assess risks arising from extreme climate events

What is in news : Amid the military standoff with India in eastern Ladakh, China’s national legislature on October 23, 2021, adopted a new Land Border Law for the protection and exploitation of the land border areas

FEATURES

• China shall follow the principle of equality, mutual trust, and friendly consultation.
• It will conduct negotiations with neighbouring countries to manage land border-related affairs and resolve longstanding border issues and disputes.
• Support of the state for the construction of border towns, strengthening supporting capacity for the construction, and improving the functioning of border towns to be built as Modelled villages

Other details :

In the past years, China has been constructing a number of towns with proper infrastructure close to the border in Tibet that have a significant part in border defence. By the end of 2020, there have been more than 600-well-developed high-standard border villages with accessible roads. Around 130 border roads have been built or reconstructed.

China has also been working on strengthening border infrastructure that includes road, rail, and air networks. In June 2021, China launched its first fully electrified bullet train in Tibet connecting Lhasa and Nyingchi which is strategically located on the Tibetan border close to Arunachal Pradesh.

SNIPPPETS

• Karnataka govt to set up fair price shops for every 100 ration cardholders
• All state-run temples and religious institutions under the Muzrai department have been directed to conduct a ‘gau puja’ on the occasion of Deepavali/Bali Padyami on November 5.
• The sea phase of maiden Tri-Service exercise 'Konkan Shakti 2021' between the Armed Forces of India and United Kingdom (UK) is being held off the Konkan coast in the Arabian Sea.