Current Affairs Oct 9 – GES Reporter

Rudram 1

India successfully test-fired Rudram 1, the tactical anti-radiation missile that the Indian Air Force can launch from its Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets to take down enemy radars and surveillance systems.
The missile has a launch speech of up to 2 Mach, twice the speed of sound.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation developed the new generation weapon.
It was tested at the interim test range Balasore, off the coast of Odisha in the Bay of Bengal.
Its range depends on the height at which the fighter jet is flying.
It can be launched from a height ranging from 500 metres to 15 km and can hit radiation emitting targets within a range of 250 km.
The tactical, air-to-surface anti-radiation missile is equipped with a passive homing head that tracks sources of radiation of a wide range of frequencies.
It can lock into a target not only before launch but also after it has been launched.
The missile is comparable to the tactical air-to-surface missile AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile
that was inducted by the US Navy only in 2017 and
can engage relocatable Integrated Air Defence targets and other targets equipped with shutdown capability.
This means that if the enemy shuts down the radar after the missile is launched, it will still hit the target.
It is India’s first indigenous anti-radiation missile developed by DRDO for Indian Air Force

Earthshot Prize

Britain’s Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, launched a new 50-million pound Earthshot Prize, aimed at funding the most innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.
Five prizes worth 1 million pounds each will be awarded each year for the next 10 years, providing at least 50 solutions to the world’s greatest environmental problems by 2030.
The new prize aims to turn the current pessimism surrounding environmental issues into optimism that we can rise to the biggest challenges of our time.
The Earthshot Prize has been pegged as the biggest initiative to date from both Prince William and the Royal Foundation and was first introduced in December last year, with nominations now set to open from November 1.
Taking inspiration from former US President John F. Kennedy’s Moonshot. which united millions of people around an organising goal to put man on the moon and catalysed the development of new technology in the 1960s,
the Earthshot Prize is centred around five “Earthshots”, simple but ambitious goals for our planet, which if achieved by 2030 will improve life for us all, for generations to come.

The five Earthshots unveiled this week include protect and restore nature; clean our air; revive our oceans; build a waste-free world; and fix our climate.
By bringing these five critical issues together, the Earthshot Prize organisers say they are recognising the interconnectivity between environmental challenges and the urgent need to tackle them together.
Prizes could be awarded to a wide range of individuals, teams or collaborations – scientists, activists, economists, community projects, leaders, governments, banks, businesses, cities, and countries – anyone whose workable solutions make a substantial contribution to achieving the Earthshots.
The five-stage prize process to select a winner for each Earthshot has been designed in partnership with the Centre for Public Impact and a range of international experts.
The first awards ceremony will take place in London in autumn 2021.

Nobel Peace Prize 2020

The World Food Programme won the Nobel Peace Prize 2020.
The World Food Programme, a United Nations body, is the world’s largest humanitarian organisation addressing hunger and promoting food security.
In 2019, WFP provided assistance to close to 100 million people in 88 countries.
The World Food Programme has been awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict.
The award was also a call to the international community to fund the UN agency adequately and to ensure people were not starving.
One hundred Nobel peace prizes have been awarded since 1901, to individuals and 24 organisations. While the other Nobel prize laureates are announced in Stockholm, the peace prize is awarded in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
The prize comes with a 10m kronor (£870,000) cash award and a gold medal to be handed out at a ceremony in Oslo on 10 December, the anniversary of the prize founder, Alfred Nobel’s death.
The Nobel Peace Prize 2019 was awarded to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali “for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea”.

Facts about the Rome-based UN’s World Food Programme

Beginnings

Created in 1962 on the request of US President Dwight Eisenhower as an experiment to provide food aid through the UN system, WFP had only existed a few months when an earthquake struck northern Iran.
Others soon needed its help: a typhoon made landfall in Thailand; war refugees needed feeding in Algeria.
In 1963 WFP’s first school meals project was born. In 1965, the agency became a fully-fledged UN programme.
By 2019, it would come to assist 97 million people in 88 countries.
WFP says that on any given day it has 5,600 trucks, 30 ships and nearly 100 planes on the move. It distributes over 15 billion rations of food yearly.

Mission

WFP focuses on emergency assistance as well as rehabilitation and development aid. Two-thirds of its work is in conflict-affected countries, where people are three times more likely to be undernourished than elsewhere.
It works closely with the other two Rome-based UN agencies:

the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which helps countries draw up policy and change legislation to support sustainable agriculture, and
the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which finances projects in poor rural areas.
WFP is funded entirely by voluntary donations, most of which comes from governments.

What’s happening in Kyrgyzstan?

Street protests erupted in Kyrgyzstan earlier this week following Sunday’s parliamentary election.
The opposition blamed the votes were rigged as protesters captured several government buildings in the capital Bishkek, forcing the President, Sooronbay Jeenbekov, to flee and plunging the country into chaos.

What happened in the election?

Kyrgyzstan, often referred to as Central Asia’s only democracy, had seen violent anti-government protests in the past.
In 2005 and 2010, sitting presidents were forced out of office in ‘Tulip’ and ‘Melon’
The current protests began after early results of the October 4 parliamentary election were announced.
Political parties in Kyrgyzstan should win at least 7% of the popular vote to enter Parliament.
The results showed that only four parties managed to cross the threshold and of which, three were pro-government parties.
The newly formed Birimdik (Unity) party emerged the biggest winner with 24.5% of the vote, while the Mekenim (My Homeland) Kyrgyzstan party got 23.88% and the Kyrgyzstan party 8.76%.
The only opposition party that crossed the threshold was the nationalist Butun Kyrgyzstan, which won 7.13%.
The remaining 12 parties received only around one-third of the ballots.

What’s behind the protests?

The country’s main political party, the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK), which had the most number of seats in the outgoing Parliament, stayed out of the election due to infighting between its founder and former President Almazbek Atambayev and the incumbent Mr. Jeenbekov.
Atambayev was jailed last year and sentenced on corruption charges.
The former President’s sons had split with the SDPK and formed another party, the Social Democrats of Kyrgyzstan (SDK), a few months before the election.
When most parties failed to make it to Parliament in Sunday’s election, the opposition, including the SDK, came together and launched the protests, accusing the government of vote buying.
The protesters raided the prison where Mr. Atambayev was kept and freed him.
They formed a Coordination Council to lead the “revolution”.
The country’s Election Commission annulled the results, but the protesters continued.

Who is in charge now?

The protesters have captured key government buildings, including the Parliament house and the presidential office.
President Jeenbekov’s accused the opposition of plotting a coup against his government.
The Mekenchil party has nominated its leader Sadyr Japarov, who was also released from prison by the protesters, to the post of Prime Minister.
President Jeenbekov assumed office in November 2017.
Constitutionally, he has three more years left in office. But the protesters demand that Mr. Jeenbekov resign.

Why is Kyrgyzstan important?

This landlocked Central Asian country that shares a long border with China has been key to the strategic plans of both Russia and China.
Moscow sees the region as its backyard and plays hard politics to retain its influence.
For China, the country, located at the centre of Eurasia, is a vital link in its Belt and Road Initiative.
Last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping had visited Bishkek.
China has built road and rail networks with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. During the early stages of the Afghan war, the U.S. had used Kyrgyzstan for refuelling and other logistical purposes. The U.S. base was shut down in 2014 by Parliament.
Where do the protests leave Russia?
Kyrgyzstan is a member of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation and hosts a Russian air base. While Russia has cultivated strong ties with all political factions in Kyrgyzstan, radical political changes could throw up opportunities for its rivals. While it is to be seen whether President Jeenbekov, who is still legally in power, would be able to mobilise its authority, what’s evident is that the crisis poses an immediate foreign policy challenge to Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Belarus, another country in Russia’s backyard with a pro-Moscow President, is already witnessing political turmoil after August’s Presidential election. In the South Caucasus, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, both former Soviet Republics, over Nagorno-Karabakh, risks dragging Russia into a conflict it doesn’t want. All three combined, Moscow’s attempts to build stronger political and economic integration with the former Soviet region are suddenly facing critical challenges.
Constitutionally, he has three more years left in office. But the protesters demand that Mr. Jeenbekov resign.

Why is Kyrgyzstan important?

This landlocked Central Asian country that shares a long border with China has been key to the strategic plans of both Russia and China.
Moscow sees the region as its backyard and plays hard politics to retain its influence.
For China, the country, located at the centre of Eurasia, is a vital link in its Belt and Road Initiative.
Last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping had visited Bishkek.
China has built road and rail networks with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
During the early stages of the Afghan war, the U.S. had used Kyrgyzstan for refuelling and other logistical purposes. The U.S. base was shut down in 2014 by Parliament.

Where do the protests leave Russia?

Kyrgyzstan is a member of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation and hosts a Russian air base.
While it is to be seen whether President Jeenbekov, who is still legally in power, would be able to mobilise its authority, what’s evident is that the crisis poses an immediate foreign policy challenge to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Belarus, another country in Russia’s backyard with a pro-Moscow President, is already witnessing political turmoil after August’s Presidential election.
In the South Caucasus, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, both former Soviet Republics, over Nagorno-Karabakh, risks dragging Russia into a conflict it doesn’t want.
All three combined, Moscow’s attempts to build stronger political and economic integration with the former Soviet region are suddenly facing critical challenges.

Calcium Nitrate’ & ‘Boronated Calcium Nitrate

Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers launched indigenous variety of Calcium Nitrate’ & ‘Boronated Calcium Nitrate’ manufactured by Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals -GSFC India Ltd.
‘Calcium Nitrate’ & ‘Boronated Calcium Nitrate is being manufactured for the first time in India.
Till now, it was imported from other countries.
This indigenous variety of calcium nitrate and Boronated calcium nitrate will provide a quality product in cheaper rate to the farmer community in the country than imported ones.
Calcium nitrate is used as a water-soluble fertilizer in agriculture.
In addition, this product is also used in wastewater treatment and to increase the strength of cement concrete.

Time Period for Registration of Political Parties

Election Commission of India has given a relaxation and has reduced the notice period from 30 days to 7 days for the parties who have published their public notice on or before 07.10.2020.
In view of prevailing restrictions on account of Covid -19, there was dislocation and delay in moving applications for registration, which in turn led to delay in registration as a Political Party.
Registration of Political parties is governed by the provisions of Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
A party seeking registration under the said Section with the Commission has
to submit an application to the Commission within a period of 30 days following the date of its formation
as per guidelines prescribed by the Commission in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 324 of the Constitution of India and Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
As per existing guidelines, the applicant association is, inter-alia, asked to publish proposed Name of the party in two national daily newspapers and two local daily newspapers,
on two days for submitting objections, if any, with regard to the proposed registration of the party before the Commission within 30 days from such publication.

TRP system

Mumbai Police Commissioner said that police are looking into a scam about manipulation of TRPs (Television Rating Points) by rigging the devices used by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, which has the mandate to measure television audience in India.

What is TRP?

In simple terms, TRPs represent how many people, from which socio-economic categories, watched which channels for how much time during a particular period.
This could be for an hour, a day, or even a week; India follows the international standard of one minute.
The data is usually made public every week.
A consultation paper about television audience measurement and ratings in India floated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in 2018 defined its importance as:
“On the basis of audience measurement data, ratings are assigned to various programmes on television.
Television ratings in turn influence programmes produced for the viewers.
Better ratings would promote a programme while poor ratings will discourage a programme.
Incorrect ratings will lead to production of programmes which may not be really popular while good programmes may be left out.”

TRPs are the main currency for advertisers to decide which channel to advertise on by calculating the cost-per-rating-point (CPRP).

What is BARC?

It is an industry body jointly owned by advertisers, ad agencies, and broadcasting companies, represented by The Indian Society of Advertisers, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation and the Advertising Agencies Association of India.
Though it was created in 2010, the I&B Ministry notified the Policy Guidelines for Television Rating Agencies in India on January 10, 2014 and registered BARC in July 2015 under these guidelines, to carry out television ratings in India.

How is TRP calculated?

BARC has installed “BAR-O-meters” in over 45,000 empanelled households.
These households are classified into 12 categories under the New Consumer Classification System (NCCS), the so-called “new SEC” adopted by BARC in 2015,
based on the education level of the main wage earner and the ownership of consumer durables from a list of 11 items ranging from an electricity connection to a car.
While watching a show, members of the household register their presence by pressing their viewer ID button — every person in household has a separate ID —
thus capturing the duration for which the channel was watched and by whom, and providing data on viewership habits across age and socio-economic groups.
The panel chosen to capture TRPs must be representative of the country’s population, and the methodology must be economically viable for the industry.

How can TRP data be rigged?

If broadcasters can find the households where devices are installed, they can either bribe them to watch their channels, or ask cable operators or multi-system operators to ensure their channel is available as the “landing page” when the TV is switched on.
For TRPs, it does not matter what the entire country is watching.
but essentially what the 45,000-odd households supposed to represent TV viewership of the country have watched.
Broadcasters can target these households to fudge actual viewership data.

Cannabis Plant

What is the cannabis plant?

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cannabis is a generic term used to denote the several psychoactive preparations of the plant Cannabis sativa.
The major psychoactive constituent in cannabis is Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
The Mexican name ‘marijuana‘ is frequently used in referring to cannabis leaves or other crude plant material in many countries.
Most species of cannabis are dioecious plants that can be identified as either male or female.
The unpollinated female plants are called hashish. Cannabis oil (hashish oil) is a concentrate of cannabinoids — compounds which are structurally similar to THC — obtained by solvent extraction of the crude plant material or of the resin.
The WHO says that cannabis is by far the most widely cultivated, trafficked and abused illicit drug in the world.

How does the NDPS Act define cannabis?

According to the NDPS Act “cannabis plant” means any plant of the genus cannabis.
The legislation that was enacted in 1985 succeeded the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930.
It was introduced as lawmakers felt that the older legislation that entailed a maximum punishment of up to four years was not strict enough to check drug trafficking.
Under section 2 (iii), the Act defines cannabis (hemp). The sub-sections refer to parts of the plant that come under the purview of the Act.
‘Charas’ is the separated resin extracted from the cannabis plant.
The NDPS Act covers separated raisin, in whatever form, whether crude or purified, obtained from the cannabis plant and also includes concentrated preparation and resin known as hashish oil or liquid hashish.
Charas is also commonly called ‘hash’.
Section 2(iii)(b) of the NDPS Act defines ‘ganja’ as the flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant but it clearly excludes the seeds and leaves, when not accompanied by the tops, by whatever name they may be known or designated.
Street names for the drug include ‘weed’ and ‘marijuana’.
The Act also illegalises any mixture with or without any neutral material, of any of the two forms of cannabis – charas and ganja — or any drink prepared from it.

Are substances made from cannabis leaves also illegal under the NDPS Act?

As defined in the Act, the legislature left seeds and leaves of the cannabis plant out of the ambit of the NDPS Act.
The serrated leaves of the plant have negligible THC content.
THC is the psychoactive or intoxicating compound present in the cannabis plant that is mainly responsible for giving consumers the ‘high’.
‘Bhang’, which is commonly consumed during festivals like Holi, is a paste made out of the leaves of the cannabis plant, and is hence not outlawed.
Similarly, CBD oil — an acronym for cannabidiol derived from the cannabis plant, would not come under the NDPS Act.

Then why is the use of CBD oil still contentious in India?

The NDPS Act does not permit the recreational use of cannabis in India. While CBD oil manufactured with a licence under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 can be legally used, it is not very common.
Some Indian websites do sell CBD oil with a prescription and many even facilitate it.
Cannabis content is very low and it has very low THC and has no addictive properties.
More than anxiety and depression, it has been found useful in cancer treatment like in multiple myeloma.
For associated symptoms of cancer it has been found useful.

BRICS Bank approves funds for Delhi-Meerut rapid rail, Mumbai metro

New Development Bank, also known as BRICS Bank has approved infrastructure projects worth 741 million dollars in India.
Approved a loan of USD 500 million for the Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) Project and a loan of USD 241 million for Mumbai Metro Rail II (Line 6) Project.
The loan for Delhi NCR region would be used by Government of India for on-lending to the National Capital Region Transport Corporation Limited (NCRTC) for construction of a rapid rail corridor connecting the National Capital Territory of Delhi with the cities of Ghaziabad and Meerut located in the State of Uttar Pradesh.
The loan for Mumbai Metro will be used by the Government of India for on-lending to the Government of the State of Maharashtra for implementing a metro rail Line 6 with length of about 14.47 km in the city of Mumbai.
The Project will be implemented by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority.
The NDB was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS countries and other emerging economies and developing countries,
complementing the existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development.
According to the NDB’s General Strategy, sustainable infrastructure development is at the core of the Bank’s operational strategy for 2017-2021.

World Post Day 2020 – 9th October

The purpose of World Post Day is to bring awareness to the post’s role in the everyday lives of people and businesses, as well as its contribution to global social and economic development.
This day celebrated to mark the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) which was started in 1874 in Switzerland.

World Post Day 2020: History

The event was declared by the 1969 Universal Postal Congress in Tokyo as a means to mark the anniversary of the Universal Postal Union’s (UPU) creation in 1874.
Universal Postal Union (UPU) paved the way for efficient postal services and it became an agency of the United Nations in 1948.
This day was first celebrated in Japan in 1969.

World Post Day 2020: Interesting facts

The first World Post Day was celebrated in 1969
The proposal was submitted by Anand Mohan Narula, a member of Indian delegation
The Universal Postal Union founded in 1874
The headquarters of the UPU is at Bern in Switzerland
The highest post office in world is at Hikkim in Himachal Pradesh
The first post office in India was established by the East India Company in 1774 in Kolkata
The post office charged two annas per 100 miles
The landmark General Post Office in Kolkata was built in 1864

Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan introduced the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020 (Bill) in the Lok Sabha on September 14.
Its aim is to regulate ART banks and clinics, allow safe and ethical practice of ARTs and protect women and children from exploitation.
The Bill was introduced to supplement the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 (SRB), which awaits consideration by the Rajya Sabha after review by two parliamentary committees.
Fifteen years in the making, the ART Bill is unsatisfactory and fails to respond to the needs of the 27 million infertile Indian couples.
The first concern is who can access ART.
The Bill allows for a married heterosexual couple and a woman above the age of marriage to use ARTs.
It excludes single men, cohabiting heterosexual couples and LGBTQI individuals and couples from accessing ARTs.
This violates Article 14 of the Constitution and the right to privacy jurisprudence of Puttaswamy, where the Supreme Court held that
“the sanctity of marriage, the liberty of procreation, the choice of a family life and the dignity of being” concerned all individuals irrespective of their social status and were aspects of privacy.
Unlike the SRB, there is no prohibition on foreign citizens accessing ARTs.
Foreigners can access ART but not Indian citizens in loving relationships.
This is an illogical result which fails to reflect the true spirit of the Constitution.
It does little to protect the egg donor.
Harvesting of eggs is an invasive process which, if performed incorrectly, can result in death.
The Bill requires an egg donor’s written consent but does not provide for her counselling or the ability to withdraw her consent before or during the procedure (unlike for commissioning parties).
She receives no compensation or reimbursement of expenses for loss of salary, time and effort.
Failing to pay for bodily services constitutes unfree labour, which is prohibited by Article 23 of the Constitution.
The commissioning parties only need to obtain an insurance policy in her name for medical complications or death; no amount or duration is specified.
The Bill restricts egg donation to a married woman with a child (at least three years old).
Children born from ART do not have the right to know their parentage, which is crucial to their best interests and protected under previous drafts.
Core ART processes are left undefined; several of these are defined in the SRB but not the Bill. Definitions of commissioning “couple”, “infertility”, “ART clinics” and “banks” need to be synchronised between the Bills.

A single woman cannot commission surrogacy but can access ART.
The Bill designates surrogacy boards under the SRB to function as advisory bodies for ART, which is desirable.
However, both Bills set up multiple bodies for registration which will result in duplication or worse, lack of regulation (e.g. surrogacy clinic is not required to report surrogacy to National Registry).
Also, the same offending behaviours under both Bills are punished differently + punishments under the SRB are greater.
Offences under the Bill are bailable but not under the SRB.
Finally, records have to be maintained for 10 years under the Bill but for 25 years under the SRB.
The same actions taken by a surrogacy clinic and ART clinic (likely to be the same entity) attract varied regulation.
Previous versions of the Bill required independence between ART banks and ART clinics. There is no such distinction now.
The Bill’s prohibition on the sale, transfer, or use of gametes and embryos is poorly worded and will confuse foreign and domestic parents relying on donated gametes.
The Bill raises several constitutional, medico-legal, ethical and regulatory concerns, affecting millions and must be thoroughly reviewed before passage.

Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)

A Supreme Court-appointed pollution monitoring body has directed Delhi and neighbouring States
to implement air pollution control measures under “very poor” and “severe” category air quality
of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) from October 15,
including a ban on the use of diesel generators, except for emergency activities.

The use of diesel generator sets will be banned (other than essential/emergency services) in Delhi and in vicinity towns — Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida in U.P. and Faridabad and Gurugram in Haryana.
In 2019, the States of U.P. and Haryana had informed EPCA that they will put in the required measures by winter 2020 so that electricity from the grid can be supplied without disruptions in these areas, which would then obviate the need for diesel generators.
If the weather pollution turns adverse, then “additional steps”, including a ban on construction activity and enhanced parking fees among others will have to be implemented, as mentioned under a different category of the GRAP.

World Economic Forum annual meeting 2021

The World Economic Forum (WEF) said it will hold its Annual Meeting 2021 in Lucerne-Burgenstock, Switzerland, from May 18 to 21, as against the traditional venue of ski resort town Davos in January-end.
The Annual Meeting 2021 in Lucerne-Burgenstock will be held around the theme of ‘The Great Reset’
The meeting will focus on the solutions required to address the world’s most pressing challenges.
Global leaders will come together to design a common recovery path, to shape ‘The Great Reset’ in the post-COVID-19 era and rebuild a more cohesive and sustainable society.
Earlier in June, the WEF had said it will adopt a new twin-summit format for its next annual meeting by bringing together leaders from across the globe for in-person as well as virtual dialogues with the theme of ‘The Great Reset’
The 50th WEF Annual Meeting, which was held from January 21-24, 2020, was one of the last high-profile gatherings this year before the coronavirus pandemic brought almost the entire world to a halt.