Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 5th March 2022

NEWS

Chief minister presented Karnataka Budget 2022

HIGHLIGHTS

•  The total revenue receipts amount to Rs 2,61,977 while the public debt stood at Rs 72,089 crore
• Karnataka will not see a rise in taxes for the next fiscal
• Petroleum product prices untouched    
• Announced Rs 1,000 crore for the Mahadayi project
• Allotted Rs 43,188 crore for women empowerment
• Announced Rs 33,700 crore for agriculture and related activities and Rs 20,601 crore for the water resources ministry.
• Government would provide Rs 5,000 each for 30,000 pilgrims going on the Kashi pilgrimage
• Reserved Rs 6,000 crore for Bengaluru infrastructure development.
• Budget allotted Rs 43,188 crore for women empowerment
• Reintroduction of Yeshaswini health insurance scheme for farmers
• Laid out Rs. 1000 crore for the Mekedatu balancing reservoir project
• Distribution of an additional one kg of ragi or jowar along with five kg rice through PDS
• Proposed ₹2,000 monthly hardship allowance for pourakarmikas
• Increase in monthly honorarium for midday meal workers and ASHA volunteers by ₹1,000 each, and for anganwadi workers by ₹1,500 for those who have rendered above 20 years of service.
• Promised an increase in pension to 1.32 lakh beneficiaries of unmarried and divorced women, gender minorities from ₹600 to ₹800, and increased pension for women of acid victims from ₹3,000 to ₹10,000.
• Adopted what it called “3 Es Manthra” --- employment, education and empowerment --- for the uplift of weaker sections
• Proposed aid of ₹50,000 for purchase of electric three-wheeler goods vehicle costing ₹1.50 lakh for SC/ST youth. The Budget d
• Decided to allocate ₹1,100 crore for providing jobs for youth, women and weaker sections under the Rural Livelihood Mission
•  Proposed the Vinaya Samarasya Yojane for eradicating untouchability and decided to give funds for restoration and development of SC/ST mutts and institutions.
• Prioritised the preservation of cattle resources and has implemented the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Act, adding that the number of 'Goshalas' will be increased from 31 to 100 for effective implementation of the act, with Rs 50 crore set aside for the purpose
• Seven engineering colleges would be developed as the Karnataka Institute of Technology (KIT) on the lines of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). The government will collaborate with foreign universities in this regard
• Government will also introduce the 'Punyakoti Dattu Yojane,' which would encourage public and commercial organisations to adopt cows in goshalas for Rs 11,000 per year.
• Diesel subsidy of Rs 250 per acre, subject to a maximum of 5 acres, would be paid through Direct Benefit Transfer under a new scheme called "Raitha Shakti" for which Rs 500 crore has been included in the budget to stimulate the use of farm machinery and cut fuel expenditure for the first time in the state.
• A total of Rs 500 crore has been set up in the budget for the construction of infrastructure in the state's government schools, with priority given to selected aspirational taluks
• Intends to create 438 "Namma Clinics" across the state's major cities, as well as in all of Bengaluru's wards. These clinics will offer services such as non-communicable illness screening and referral to specialists for more advanced treatment
• To help women graduates of SC/ST start businesses, entrepreneurship training will be provided at the prestigious IIM Bengaluru
• At a cost of Rs 89 crore, twenty government schools in the city would be transformed into 'Bengaluru Public Schools'
• Rs.3000 crores for Yettinahole project which which will provide permanent solution to drinking water scarcity of people of Chikkaballapur, Kolar and Bengaluru Rural districts was allocated
• To provide quality heart treatment in North Karnataka a regional centre of Jayadeva Institute will be set in Hubballi at a cost of Rs 250 crore
• Kidwai regional centre will be set up in Belagavi at a cost of Rs 50 crore and 10 Infusion Centres will be set up at selected medical colleges to ensure quality cancer treatment across the state
• Seven Taluk Hospitals will be upgraded to 100 bed hospitals and 4 super speciality hospitals will be set up in Bengaluru
• A birds and butterfly sanctuary will be established at Belagavi district’s Hidkal dam area for conversation of birds and butterflies and to create awareness
• A green hydrogen policy in collaboration with the Union Government’s ‘National Green Hydrogen Mission’ is on the cards, along with the possibility of a green hydrogen pilot project through the PPP model
• Announced the possibility of installing a 5,000 MW capacity hybrid renewable energy park in eight identified districts, while a 2,000 MW capacity Underground Storage Centre in the Sharavathi basin at an estimated cost of ₹5,391 crore has been proposed
• About 10,000 solar-based irrigation pump sets will be established through Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd. at a cost of ₹227 crore
• Proposed to brand toor dal grown in Kalaburagi and Yadgir districts as “Bhima Pulse”. Toor dal grown in these districts has distinct geographical indication
• To popularise honey produced by Kodagu and Jamboti in Belagavi and to increase production, ₹5 crore has been provided in the Budget. The funds would be used for improving marketing facility and branding.
• On the lines of Nanjundappa high power committee for removing regional balances, another effort is being made for the development of taluks which are performing below the State average in various development indicators
• According to the State Budget, such taluks will be identified as aspirational taluks and emphasis will be given for their comprehensive development. Such taluks would get higher priority under programmes of various departments.
• In a major decision, the State Government has decided to merge multiple residential schools and one such school in each district will be upgraded to PU college. After the merger of the schools, they will be renamed as APJ Abdul Kalam Residential School. For this purpose ₹25 crore has been earmarked. The Budget also states that CBSE accreditation will be obtained for these schools.
• As climate change and conservation are firmly in focus the world over, the Karnataka Government has announced an “eco budget” of ₹ 100 crore to “compensate the negative effect created on the forest system due to natural and human interventions over past five years”.

NEWS

Andhra Pradesh government announced that ₹5 lakh per acre financial package would be given to the farmers who parted with their lands for the Polavaram irrigation project prior to the enactment of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013.

RIGHT TO FAIR COMPENSATION ACT, 2013

• Promulgated in 2013
• Replaced the Land Acquisition Act, 1894
• Regulates the land acquisition and lays down the procedure and rules for granting compensation, rehabilitation, and resettlement to the affected persons in India
• Has provisions to provide fair compensation to those whose land is taken away, brings transparency to the process of acquisition of land to set up factories or buildings, infrastructural projects and assures rehabilitation of those affected
• Establishes regulations for land acquisition as a part of India’s massive industrialization drive driven by public-private partnerships

Scope of the Act

• Aims to establish the law on land acquisition, as well as the rehabilitation and resettlement of those directly affected by the land acquisition in India.
• Includes all land acquisition whether it is done by the Central Government of India, or any State Government of India

Is applicable when

• Government acquires land for its own use, hold, and control, including land for Public sector undertakings.
• Government acquires land with the ultimate purpose to transfer it for the use of private companies for stated public purposes. The purpose of LARR 2011 includes public-private-partnership projects but excludes land acquired for state or national highway projects.
• Government acquires land for immediate and declared use by private companies for public purposes.
• Do not apply to acquisitions under 16 existing legislations including the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005, the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, the Railways Act, 1989, etc.

POLAVARAM IRRIGATION PROJECT

• Multi-purpose irrigation project
• Dam across the Godavari River is under construction located in West Godavari District and East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh state and its reservoir spreads in parts of Chhattisgarh and Orissa States also.
• Multipurpose major terminal reservoir project on river Godavari for development of Irrigation, Hydropower and drinking water facilities to East Godavari, Vishakhapatnam, West Godavari and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh.
• Accorded national status in 2014 in the Andhra Pradesh Bifurcation Act and its design was changed.

 NEWS

A Member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has been opposing the RBI’s accommodative policy stance

MONETARY POLICY

• The primary objective of the RBI’s monetary policy is to maintain price stability while keeping in mind the objective of growth. Price stability is a necessary precondition to sustainable growth.
• In May 2016, the RBI Act was amended to provide a legislative mandate to the central bank to operate the country’s monetary policy framework. The framework, according to the RBI website, “aims at setting the policy (repo) rate based on an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation; and modulation of liquidity conditions to anchor money market rates at or around the repo rate.
• Repo rate changes transmit through the money market to the entire the financial system, which, in turn, influences aggregate demand – a key determinant of inflation and growth

THE COMMITTEE

CONSTITUTION

• Under Section 45ZB of the amended RBI Act, 1934
• Central government is empowered to constitute a six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)
• First such MPC was constituted on September 29, 2016

AIM

• Determine the policy interest rate required to achieve the inflation target
• Decision of the Monetary Policy Committee shall be binding on the Bank

Members of MPC

Section 45ZB says the MPC shall consist of the RBI Governor as its ex officio chairperson, the Deputy Governor in charge of monetary policy, an officer of the Bank to be nominated by the Central Board, and three persons to be appointed by the central government

NEWS

A team of scientists from the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) have discovered a new gin berry species from the Kanyakumari Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. The species is  Glycosmis albicarpa

DETAILS

•  The species has distinct large white fruit
• Endemic to the southern Western Ghats
• Belongs to the Orange family Rutaceae
• Being utilised for their medicinal values and food
• Most commonly collected from the wild
• Berries have the unique characteristic of ‘gin aroma’ and gained in popularity as an edible fruit
• Larval host plant for butterflies like other species of Glycosmis
• Evergreen small tree, was found as undergrowth in the Tirunelveli semi-evergreen forests at the Panagudi forest section of the wildlife sanctuary as a single population that covers an area of approximately 2 sq. km.
• Though flowering, natural regeneration and seedling recruitment of this taxon is found to be fairly good within the locality, habitat modification causes a major threat to the survival of this species.

NEWS

Kavach, an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection System showcased on South Central Railway Friday, is earmarked for aggressive rollout on 2,000 km in 2022-23, according the Budget proposals

WHAT IS KAVACH?

• India’s very own automatic protection system
• In development since 2012
• Name  - Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), which got rechristened to Kavach or “armour”.

WHAT

• It is a set of electronic devices and Radio Frequency Identification devices
• Installed in locomotives, in the signalling system as well the tracks, that talk to each other using ultra high radio frequencies to control the brakes of trains and also alert drivers
• All based on the logic programmed into them
• By continuously refreshing the movement information of a train, it is able to send out triggers when a loco pilot jumps signal, called Signal Passed at Danger (SPAD), a grave offence in railway operations with respect to safety, and the key to accidents like collision
• Devices also continuously relay the signals ahead to the locomotive, making it useful for loco pilots in low visibility, especially during dense fog

NEWS

Government has approved the scheme - Modernisation Plan-IV for Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in continuation of the scheme “Modernisation Plan-III for CAPFs.

DETAILS

• The Modernisation Plan-IV will run from 01.02.2022 to 31.03.2026.
• Modernisation Plan-IV for CAPFs with a total financial outlay of Rs.1,523 crore is to be implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• It aims to equip the CAPFs with modern state-of-the-art weapons and equipment as per their operational requirement, keeping in view their deployment pattern in different theatres. Besides, upgraded IT solutions will also be provided to CAPFs.
• Implementation of the scheme will equip CAPFs to improve the overall operational efficiency/preparedness which will positively impact the internal security scenario in the country.

NEWS

The Kaliyattam festival is an annual Theyyam festival held in the temples in Kerala’s Malabar region

THEYYAM FESTIVAL

• Grand dance festival that is held in different parts of Kerala, including Kasargod
• Consists of thousand-year-old rituals, traditions, and customs
• People of these districts where this festival is celebrated consider Theyyam as a channel to a god and they thus seek blessings.
• There are around 456 different varieties of Theyyam
• Males perform Theyyam, with the exception of the Devakoothu Theyyam, which is the only Theyyam ritual done by women
• Can only be seen at the Thekkumbad Kulom temple
• In the North Malabar region of Kerala, Theyyam is performed.

NEWS

Government of India & International Telecommunication Union (ITU) signed the Host Country Agreement (HCA)

ABOUT THE AGREEMENT

• Signed in a virtual ceremony during the World Telecommunications Standardization Assembly-20 (WTSA-20) being held in Geneva, Switzerland
• Provides the legal and financial framework for the establishment and operations of the Area Office and innovation center of ITU in New Delhi, India

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

• ITU is the United Nations specialized agency responsible for information and communication technologies (ICTs). It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• It was established in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union, making it the oldest UN agency.
• ITU currently has a membership of 193 countries.

World Telecommunications Standardization Assembly (WTSA)

• WTSA is a four-yearly global conference of ITU dedicated to standardization of the Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs).
• WTSA defines general policy and adopts working methods and procedures for ITU-T.
• Article 18 of the ITU Constitution and Article 13 of the ITU Convention provides the  functions of the WTSA.
• India has proposed to host the next WTSA to be held in 2024.

• Former Army Chief Gen Sunith Francis Rodrigues passes away
• The Delhi government inaugurated the Delhi Teachers University, which will offer programmes such as BA-BEd and BSc-BEd. The programmes at the university have been designed to ensure that teacher-trainees in the university spend 30-50% of their time in schools and get hands-on learning experience from the very first month of their course.
• India on Friday abstained on a vote at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva as the Council decided to set up an international commission of enquiry into Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
• Shane Warne, one of cricket’s greatest spinners, passed away
• The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) is an international treaty that prohibits all use, transfer, production and stockpiling of cluster bombs.