Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 30th June 2021

What is in news : The Centre has extended the tenure of NITI Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant by one year till June 2022.

About NITI

Planning Commission was replaced by a new institution – NITI (National institution for transforming India) AAYYOG on January 1, 2015 with emphasis on ‘Bottom –Up’ approach to envisage the vision of Maximum Governance, Minimum Government, echoing the spirit of ‘Cooperative Federalism’.

Structure of NITI

• Chairperson: Prime Minister
• Vice-Chairperson: To be appointed by Prime-Minister
• Governing Council: Chief Ministers of all states and Lt. Governors of Union Territories.
• Regional Council: To address specific regional issues, Comprising Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors Chaired by Prime Minister or his nominee.
• Adhoc Membership: 2 member in ex-officio capacity from leading Research institutions on rotational basis.
• Ex-Officio membership: Maximum four from Union council of ministers to be nominated by Prime minister.
• Chief Executive Officer: Appointed by Prime-minister for a fixed tenure, in rank of Secretary to Government of India.
• Special Invitees: Experts, Specialists with domain knowledge nominated by Prime-minister.

NITI Aayog Hubs

• Team India Hub acts as interface between States and Centre.
• Knowledge and Innovation Hub builds the think-tank acumen of NITI Aayog.
• The Aayog planned to come out with three documents — 3-year action agenda, 7-year medium-term strategy paper and 15-year vision document

What is in News: The central government has extended the term of K.K. Venugopal as Attorney General (AG) for one more year.

Details :

• This is the second time the Centre has extended his tenure.
• Venugopal was appointed the 15th AG of India in 2017.
• He succeeded Mukul Rohatgi who was AG from 2014-2017.

About:

• AG is the highest law officer in the country  is a part of the Union Executive.
• Article 76 of the Constitution provides for the office of AG of India.
• Appointment and Eligibility:
  • AG is appointed by the President on the advice of the government.
  • S/he must be a person who is qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court, i.e. s/he must be a citizen of India and must have been a judge of some high court for five years or an advocate of some high court for ten years or an eminent jurist, in the opinion of the President.
• Term of the Office: Not fixed by the Constitution.
• Removal: Procedures and grounds for the removal of AG are not stated in the Constitution. S/he holds office during the pleasure of the President (may be removed by the President at any time).
• Duties and Functions:
  • To give advice to the Government of India (GoI) upon such legal matters, which are referred to her/him by the President.
  • To perform such other duties of a legal character that are assigned to her/him by the President.
  • To appear on behalf of the GoI in all cases in the Supreme Court or in any case in any High Court in which the GoI is concerned.
  • To represent the GoI in any reference made by the President to the Supreme Court under Article 143 (Power of the President to consult the Supreme Court) of the Constitution.
  • To discharge the functions conferred on her/him by the Constitution or any other law.
• Rights and Limitations:
  • S/he has the right to speak and to take part in the proceedings of both the Houses of Parliament or their joint sitting and any committee of the Parliament of which s/he may be named a member, but without a right to vote.
  • S/he enjoys all the privileges and immunities that are available to a member of Parliament.
  • S/he does not fall in the category of government servants. S/he is not debarred from private legal practice.
  • However, s/he should not advise or hold a brief against the GoI.
  • Solicitor General of India and Additional Solicitor General of India assist the AG in fulfillment of the official responsibilities.
  • Corresponding Office in the States: Advocate General (Article 165).

What is in news : The Supreme Court directed all states and Union Territories to implement the One Nation, One Ration Card (ONORC) system, which allows for inter- and intra-state portability, by July 31.

What is ONORC

• The ONORC scheme is aimed at enabling migrant workers and their family members to buy subsidised ration from any fair price shop anywhere in the country under the National Food Security Act, 2013.
• To promote this reform in the archaic Public Distribution System (PDS), the government has provided incentives to states. The Centre had even set the implementation of ONORC as a precondition for additional borrowing by states during the Covid-19 pandemic last year. At least 17 states, which implemented the ONORC reform, were allowed to borrow an additional Rs 37,600 crores in 2020-21.
• ONORC is based on technology that involves details of beneficiaries’ ration card, Aadhaar number, and electronic Points of Sale (ePoS). The system identifies a beneficiary through biometric authentication on ePoS devices at fair price shops. The system runs with the support of two portals —Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IM-PDS) (impds.nic.in) and Annavitran (annavitran.nic.in), which host all the relevant data.
• When a ration card holder goes to a fair price shop, he or she identifies himself or herself through biometric authentication on ePoS, which is matched real time with details on the Annavitaran portal. Once the ration card details are verified, the dealer hands out the beneficiary’s entitlements. While the Annavitaran portal maintains a record of intra-state transactions — inter-district and intra-district — the IM-PDS portal records the inter-state transactions.
• Till date, 32 states and Union Territories have joined the ONORC, covering about 69 crore NFSA beneficiaries. Four states are yet to join the scheme — Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and West Bengal.

What is in news : World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF) found a few tigers inhabiting the Barnadi Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam.

Details:

Location:

• Barnadi Wildlife Sanctuary (BWS) is located in northern Assam’s Baksa and Udalguri districts bordering Bhutan.
• The Sanctuary is bordered by the Barnadi river and Nalapara river to the west and east respectively.

Legal Status:

• It was affirmed as the WS in 1980 by the Government of Assam.
• Barnadi was established specifically to protect the Pygmy Hog (Sus salvanius) and Hispid Hare (Caprolagus hispidus).

Biodiversity:

• This is important for threatened species such as the Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus), Tiger (Panthera tigris) and Gaur Bos frontalis.
• About 60% of the BWS is reported to be grassland, most of it is now grassy woodland.
• The main Forest types are Tropical Moist Deciduous along the northern edge of the Sanctuary, and mixed scrub and grassland in the southern part with few trees.

Vegetation:

• The vegetation has been drastically modified by human activity.
• Most of the natural vegetation has been cleared and replaced by commercial plantations of Bombax ceiba, Tectona grandis and Eucalyptus and by thatch grasses (mostly Saccharum, with some Phragmites and Themeda).

Other Protected Areas in Assam:

• Dibru-Saikhowa National Park,
• Manas National Park,
• Nameri National Park,
• Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park.
• Kaziranga National Park.

What is in news : Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR),  recently released the Glacial Lake Atlas of Ganga Basin

Details :

• The present glacial lake atlas is based on the inventoried glacial lakes in part of Ganga River basin from its origin to foothills of Himalayas covering a catchment area of 2,47,109 sq. km. The study portion of Ganga River basin covers part of India and transboundary region.
• The Atlas is available on Bhuvan portal of NRSC, ISRO , India WRIS Portal and NHP web site of DoWR, RD & GR
• In the present study, glacial lakes with water spread area greater than 0.25 ha have been mapped using Resourcesat-2 (RS-2) Linear Imaging Self Scanning Sensor-IV (LISS-IV) satellite data using visual interpretation techniques.
• The expected utility of the atlas is:
  • The atlas provides a comprehensive and systematic glacial lake database for Ganga River basin with size > 0.25 ha
  • In the context of climate change impact analysis, the atlas can be used as reference data for carrying out change analysis, both with respect to historical and future time periods
  • The atlas also provides authentic database for regular or periodic monitoring changes in spatial extent (expansion/shrinkage), and formation of new lakes
  • The atlas can also be used in conjunction with glacier information for their retreat and climate impact studies.
  • The information on glacial lakes like their type, hydrological, topographical, and associated glaciers are useful in identifying the potential critical glacial lakes and consequent GLOF risk.
  • Central and State Disaster Management Authorities can make use of the atlas for disaster mitigation planning and related program.

What is in news : Atmanirbhar Krishi APP Launched by the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser.

Details :

• The Atmanirbhar Krishi app was created to equip farmers with actionable agricultural insights and early weather alerts. Data related to soil type, soil health, moisture, weather, and water tablewere aggregated and analysed to generate personalized insights related to crop selection, fertilizers requirements, and water needs for each farmer at the farm-holding level.
• The app was envisioned in 5 stages:
  • Data aggregation
  • Building centralized insights
  • Enable local expertise (KVK) supported interactions and insights
  • Deriving Machine Learning inferences
  • Continuous improvement
• Salient features of the app:
  • The data has been made comprehensible for farmers by simplifying the language. The app is also available in 12 languages.
  • The Android and Windows versions of the app are available on Google Play Store and are free of cost for farmers, start-ups, KVKs, SHGs, or NGOs to use.
  • Considering the connectivity issues in the remote areas of the country, the app has been designed to work on minimal bandwidth.
  • The app does not collect any inputs from the farmer. It relies on the geo-location of the farm to provide relevant data (see figure). Data relevant to another location can be collected by entering the PINCODE of that area.

HISTORY  & CULTURE

What is in news : Gujarat state authorities have started the process of clearing residential properties within the Sabarmati Ashram premises to develop a world class memorial as part of a project planned under Project Gandhi Ashram Memorial and Precinct Development.

Details :

• The plan for the project, estimated to cost Rs 1,200 crore, and proposes to consolidate the properties on both sides of the Ashram road, which is west Ahmedabad’s arterial road, and eventually close it as a thoroughfare
• The plan involves reversing the five-acre area of the Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust (SAPMT)-run Sabarmati Ashram to the 18-19 hectare area as was seen in an aerial photo taken in 1949 which is the base of the plan, “to bring back the lost glory”.
• For the implementation of the project, the Gujarat government has formed a Governing Council and Executive Council. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani is the chairman of the Governing Council. Chief Principal Secretary to the CM, K Kailashnathan, who chairs the executive council

SABARMATI ASHRAM

• Sabarmati Ashram, formerly known as 'Satyagraha Ashram", situated in Ahmedabad at the Kocharab Bungalow of Jivanlal Desai, a barrister. Later on it was shifted to the banks of Sabarmati river and then it came to be known as 'Sabarmati Ashram'. Gandhi stayed at the Ashram from 1915 to 1933 later on the Ashram was disbanded.
• "This is the right place for our activities to carry on the search for Truth and develop Fearlessness- for on one side, are the iron bolts of the foreigners, and on the other, thunderbolts of Mother Nature".- This is how Gandhiji described the site of Sabarmati Ashram when he first visited the place for assessing if it was suitable for carrying out his work.
• The Satyagraha Ashram, later renamed as Harijan Ashram, was started in all earnest with a two-fold purpose-one was to carry on the search for Truth, and the other was to create a non-violent group of workers, who would create a non-violent group of workers, who would organize and help to secure freedom for the country.
• The Satyagraha Ashram was founded on May 25, 1915 in Ahmedabad at Kochrab, when Gandhi returned from South Africa, with 25 inmates. The Ashram was shifted on the bank of river Sabarmati on 17 June, 1917. Devoted ashramites led a community life in search of Truth and Non-violence under his guidance.
• ASHRAM DARSHAN (A view of the ashram): While at Sabarmati, Gandhiji lived in a small cottage which is now known as 'Hridaya (Heart) Kunj'. It is a place of great historic value, where even today visitors find some of the things which Gandhiji used- a writing desk, a khadi kurta, a yarn spun by him and some of his letters.
• Other structures include : Nandini, Vinoba Kutir, Upasana Mandir, Gandhi Sangrahalaya

• Kisan Rail, operated by the South Western Railway (SWR), has helped the farmers of Kolar and Chickballapur transport 1,250 tonnes of mangoes to New Delhi. The first train was run on June 19, and since then the SWR has operated five trains.
• The flash flood on February 7 in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, that claimed at least 72 lives with at least 200 missing was due to a large mass of snow, ice and rock avalanche along with a hanging mass of rock crashing into the Raunthi Garh valley floor.This impact pulverised the combination of rock, snow and ice causing a rapid flow downstream of Raunthi Garh and into the Rishiganga valley leading to the deluge, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) said in a report. Observed change in the hydro-meteorological conditions between 4th and 6th February, 2021 (heavy snowfall followed by sudden warmer climate) possibly triggered this huge snow and rock avalanche/landslide causing sudden domino effect of flash flood in the downstream
• The Gujarat government has decided to provide uniforms to 14 lakh Anganwadi students, making it the first state to take such a decision.
• Odisha’s government sought modifications to the draft Indian Ports Bill 2021, which deals with management of minor ports.
• On 28th June 2021 an exclusive "Enforcing Contracts Portal" was inaugurated by Shri Barun Mitra, Secretary (Justice) at the Department of Justice, Delhi in the presence of senior officers of the Department of Justice. This will help improve rank of India in global ease of doing buisness index
• Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises  inaugurated NATRAX- the High Speed Track(HST) in Indore which is the longest such track in Asia. NATRAX, developed in an area of 1000 acres of land  , is a one stop solution for all sorts of high speed performance tests for widest categories of vehicles from 2 wheelers to heavy tractor trailers.

EXPLAINED

• As the ground warms, it loses moisture, which makes it easier to heat even more.
• As that trapped heat continues to warm, the system acts like a lid on a pot — earning the name “heat dome.”