Current affairs Dec 11

Worlds’ First, Satellite-based Narrowband-IoT Network

Why in News?

• BSNL announced the launch of a satellite-based internet of things (IoT) device service that can be used across India where mobile towers are not present, including the seas within the country’s jurisdiction.
• It is the world’s first satellite-based narrowband-IoT network.
• The service has been launched in partnership with US-based firm Skylo, which has developed the device for use in India.

What is it?

• The square-shaped device can be carried by users across any part of the country and connect with their smartphones for two-way communication.
• The solution is in line with BSNL’s vision to leverage technology to provide affordable and innovative telecom services and products across customer segments.
• The coverage will be so vast that it will not leave any dark patch within the boundary of India, from Kashmir and Ladakh to Kanyakumari, and from Gujarat to the North East, including the Indian seas.
• The technology has already been tested successfully in various segments, including Indian Railways, fishing vessels and for enabling connected vehicles across India.

PIB

Joint Venture Protective Carbine (JVPC)

Why in News?

• Defence Research and Development Organsiation (DRDO) designed 5.56×30 mm Protective Carbine has successfully undergone the final phase of User trials.
• Joint Venture Protective Carbine, JVPC has successfully met the stringent performance criteria of reliability and accuracy in addition to quality trials conducted by DGQA.

What is it?

• JVPC is a Gas Operated Semi Bull-pup automatic weapon having more than 700 rpm rate of fire.
• The effective range of the carbine is more than 100 m and weighs about 3.0 kg with key features like high reliability, low recoil, retractable Butt, ergonomic design, single hand firing capability, and multiple Picatinny rails etc.
• These features make it a very potent weapon for Counter Insurgency /Counter Terrorism operations by security agencies.
• The carbine has been designed as per Indian Army’s GSQR, by Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), a Pune based laboratory of DRDO.
• The Weapon is manufactured at Small Arms Factory, Kanpur while the Ammunition is manufactured at ammunition Factory, Kirkee Pune.

PIB

 ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) Plus

Why in News?

• Raksha mantri attended the 14th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus organized online at Hanoi, Vietnam, that marked the 10th anniversary of ADMM Plus.

About ADMM

• ADMM Plus, which includes the 10 members of Asean and its eight dialogue partners Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the US, was formed in 2010 to strengthen security and defence cooperation for peace and development in the region.
• This annual meeting was chaired this year by Vietnam.

Defence Ministers Speech

• Called on members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and its dialogue partners to exercise self-restraint and avoid actions that complicate the situation.
• Took a swipe at Pakistan, without naming the country, for allowing its soil to be used for terrorism directed against India.
• Describing terrorism as a major scourge for the region and the world, he said “structures that support and sustain terrorism continue to exist, including in India’s neighbourhood” and called for strengthening international mechanisms to jointly fight terror.
• Emphasised India’s call for an open and inclusive Indo-Pacific based on respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations, peaceful resolutions of disputes through dialogue and adherence to international laws.
• Reiterated India’s support to freedom of navigation and over-flight for all in international waters in line with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
• Field training and table-top exercises help members of the grouping understand each other and maintain peace.
• Threats to the rules-based order, maritime security, cyber-related crimes and terrorism…remain the challenges that we need to address as a forum.
• ADMM Plus needs to continue its efforts to address threats such as bioterrorism, transnational trafficking and pandemic diseases and members of the grouping should build capacity to address shared security challenges that are increasingly trans-boundary in nature.

HT

5th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS)

Why in News?

• The 5th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS), organised by the National Mission for Clean Ganga and Center for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga)began.
• Began with the theme of comprehensive analysis and holistic management of local rivers and water bodies with focus on Arth Ganga – river conservation synchronised development.
• NamamiGange is one of the largest, holistic and successful river conservation programs in the country which is laying down a model framework for river rejuvenation.

About Summit

• Summit is aimed at discussing and disseminating the needs for the modalities of embracing Arth Ganga and the vision of the Prime Minister in sectors that closely interweave with river conservation.
• As part of Gyan Ganga initiative, engaging with scientists and researchers at the national and international level, to gain from their knowledge and experience.
• The Summit will try to discuss and address issues of Agriculture, Human Habitation, both urban and rural, on banks of rivers, Tourism, Energy and Flood Management.
• The summit IWIS which is organised by the National Mission for Clean Ganga and Center for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies will bring together various stakeholders to discuss, debate and develop model solutions to some of the biggest water related issues in the country.

PIB

Israel, Morocco Agree To Normalise Relations

Why in News?

• Israel and Morocco agreed to normalize relations in a deal brokered with U.S. help, making Morocco the fourth Arab country to set aside hostilities with Israel in the past four months.
• The others were the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan.
• As part of the agreement, U.S. President changed longstanding U.S. policy and recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara.

Dispute

• The Western Sahara is a desert region where a decades-old territorial dispute has pitted Morocco against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, a breakaway movement that seeks to establish an independent state in the territory.

Palestine Viewpoint

• Palestinians have been critical of the normalization deals, saying Arab countries have set back the cause of peace by abandoning a longstanding demand that Israel give up land for a Palestinian state before it can receive recognition.

Full diplomatic relations

• Under the agreement, Morocco will establish full diplomatic relations and resume official contacts with Israel, grant overflights and also direct flights to and from Israel for all Israelis.
• US will open a consulate in Western Sahara as part of Morocco’s deal with Israel.

THE HINDU

Global Carbon Project

Why in News?

• New preliminary figures show, a locked-down pandemic-struck world cut its carbon dioxide emissions this year by 7%, the biggest drop ever.
• The Global Carbon Project, an authoritative group of dozens of international scientists who track emissions, calculated that the world will have put 37 billion US tons (34 billion metric tons) of carbon dioxide in the air in 2020.
• That’s down from 40.1 billion US tons (36.4 billion metric tons) in 2019.

Why this Drop?

• Scientists say this drop is chiefly because people are staying home, travelling less by car and plane, and that emissions are expected to jump back up after the pandemic ends. Ground transportation makes up about one-fifth of emissions of carbon dioxide.
• Emissions dropped 12% in the United States and 11% in Europe, but only 1.7% in China. That’s because China had an earlier lockdown with less of a second wave.
• Also China’s emissions are more industrial based than other countries and its industry was less affected than transportation.

THE HINDU

Raja Chari

Why in News?

• An Indian-American is among the 18 astronauts selected by NASA for its manned mission to the Moon and beyond.
• NASA named the 18 astronauts — half of them women — who will train for its Artemis moon-landing programme.
• The selected astronauts will help NASA prepare for the coming Artemis missions, which begin next year working with the agency’s commercial partners as they develop human landing systems; assisting in the development of training; defining hardware requirements; and consulting on technical development.
• They also will engage the public and industry on NASA’s exploration plans.
• The other members on the list include Christina Koch and Jessica Meir — the two astronauts who performed the world’s first all-female spacewalk.

What is the Artemis program?

• With the Artemis program, NASA wishes to demonstrate new technologies, capabilities and business approaches that will ultimately be needed for the future exploration of Mars.
• The program is divided into three parts, the first called Artemis I is most likely to be launched next year and involves an uncrewed flight to test the SLS and Orion spacecraft.
• Artemis II will be the first crewed flight test and is targetted for 2023.
• Artemis III will land astronauts on the Moon’s South Pole in 2024.

THE HINDU

‘Hotspots’ Of Climate Change

Why in News?

• About three in four of India’s districts are hotspots of extreme climate events such as cyclones, floods, drought, heat and cold waves, according to a study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).

What Study Found?

• India saw 250 extreme climate events between 1970 and 2005, and since then 310 extreme weather events.
• The study also found a shift in the pattern of extreme climate events such as flood-prone areas becoming drought-prone and vice-versa in over 40% of districts.
• The current trend of catastrophic climate events results from a mere 0.6 °C temperature rise in the last 100 years.
• India is already the fifth most vulnerable country globally in terms of extreme climate events and it is all set to become the world’s flood capital.
• Six of India’s eight most flood-prone districts in the last decade — Barpeta, Darrang, Dhemaji, Goalpara, Golaghat, Sivasagar — are in Assam.
• The last 50 years also recorded a 12-fold surge in the number of associated cyclonic events such as extreme rainfall, floods, and thunderstorms.
• The yearly average of drought-affected districts increased 13 times after 2005.
• Nearly 68% of Indian districts have been facing droughts and drought-like situations.
• Drought-affected district hotspots of India in the last decade were Ahmednagar, Anantapur, Aurangabad, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Chikkaballapur, Chittoor, Gulbarga, and Hassan.
• While the intensity of damage in terms of loss of life has reduced significantly, drought increases uncertainties related to agriculture and rural livelihoods.

THE HINDU

ADB’s FY21 GDP Forecast

Why in News?

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) upgraded its forecast for the Indian economy, projecting 8% contraction in 2020-21 as compared to 9% estimated earlier, on the back of a faster-than-expected recovery.
• The economy contracted by 23.9% in the June quarter on account of the impact of the COVID-19s pandemic.
• India was recovering more rapidly than expected, the ADB said the earlier South Asia forecast of 6.8% contraction was upgraded to (-)6.1% in line with an improved projection for India.

South Asia to rebound

• Growth will return in 2021-22, at 7.2% in South Asia.
• Earlier this month, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das had said the economy was recuperating faster than anticipated and that the growth rate was likely to turn positive in the second half of the current financial year.
• Inflation was expected to ease in the coming months, and maintained the 4% projection for 2021-22.
• Supply chain disruptions had taken food inflation to an average of 9.1% in the first 7 months of 2020-21, pushing headline inflation to 6.9% in the same period.
• As a result, the ADB raised India’s inflation projection for the current fiscal to 5.8%, from 4.5%.

THE HINDU

Novel Species of Muraingrass Identified

Why in News?

• A new species of Indian Muraingrasses known for their ecological and economic importance, such as fodder, have been spotted by scientists in Goa in the Western Ghats, one of the four global biodiversity hotspots of India.
• The species has adapted to survive harsh conditions, low nutrient availability, and blossoms every monsoon.
• Globally 85 species are known from Ischaemum, of which 61 species are exclusively found in India.
• The Western Ghats have 40 species with the highest concentration of the genus.

What is it?

• Discovered a novel species named Ischaemumjanarthanamiifrom plateaus of Western Ghats of Goa.
• The species was named Ischaemumjanarthanamii in honour of Prof. M. K. Janarthanam, Professor of Botany, Goa University, for his contribution to the Indian grass taxonomy and documentation of the floristic diversity of Goa state.
• The first collection of this new species was made in the 2017 monsoon.
• The population was kept under observation for the next two years to confirm the consistency of its characters.
• Morphological and molecular data of the species were used to confirm the novelty of the species.
• Ischaemumjanarthanamii grows on low altitude lateritic plateaus in the outskirts of Bhagwan Mahavir National Park, Goa.
• The vegetation is exposed to extreme climatic conditions like desiccation in drier months and soils with low nutrient availability.
• However, withstanding these, the species has adapted to survive harsh conditions and blossom every monsoon.

PIB

Aerosols in Indo-Gangetic Plain

Why in News?

• Scientists have found that aerosols like black carbon and dust, which makes the Indo-Gangetic Plain one of the most polluted regions of the world, have led to increased incidents of high rainfall events in the foothills of the Himalayan Region.

About Indo-Gangetic Plain

• The Indo-Gangetic Plain is located South and upwind of the Himalayan foothills.
• The region is associated with high aerosol loading, much of which is black carbon and dust, and studies.
• Thus provides an opportunity for studying how aerosol affects extreme rainfall events,
• Particularly when air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain technically called orographic forcing.

Study Highlighted

• Highlighted the crucial role of the aerosol direct radiative effect on high precipitation events over the Himalayan region.
• Showed that particulate emissions can alter the physical and dynamical properties of cloud systems and, in turn, amplify rainfall events over orographic regions downwind of highly polluted urban areas.
• The study used 17 years (2001–2017) of rainfall rate,
  • • Aerosol measurements called aerosol optical depth (AOD),
    • Meteorological reanalysis fields such as pressure, temperature, and moisture content at different altitudes are used
    • To compute the thermodynamic variable “moist static energy” and outgoing long-wave radiation from Indian region to investigate high precipitation events on the foothills of the Himalayas.
• The team found clear associations between high precipitation events, high aerosol loading, and high moist static energy (MSE) values (Moist static energy of an air mass includes the potential energy due to its height above the ground and the latent heat due to its moisture content).
• The findings also highlight the crucial role of the radiative effect of aerosol on high precipitation events over the Himalayan region.
• Thus, aerosols, including chemistry, are essential to consider when forecasting high precipitation (HP) events over the Himalayan region in regional modelling.

PIB

Origin of Pterosaurs

Why in News?

• Scientists may have solved one of paleontology’s enduring mysteries — the evolutionary origins of the flying reptiles called pterosaurs that ruled the skies at the same time that dinosaurs dominated the land.
• Researchers recently said a poorly understood Triassic Period reptile group called lagerpetids, known from a few partial skeletons from the United States, Argentina, Brazil and Madagascar, appears to have been the evolutionary precursor to pterosaurs.

Lagerpetids

• Lagerpetids, first appearing about 237 million years ago, were generally small and may have been bipedal insect-eaters. They could not fly.
• Pterosaurs became Earth’s first flying vertebrates, with birds and then bats appearing much later.
• The oldest-known pterosaurs appear in the fossil record about 220 million years ago, with anatomies fully developed for flight including wings formed by a membrane extending from the ankles to an exceptionally elongated fourth finger.
• Studying previously discovered and newly unearthed fossils, the researchers identified at least 33 skeletal traits suggesting an evolutionary link between lagerpetids and pterosaurs.
• These included the shape of the inner ear, braincase and teeth, as well as similarities in hand, leg, ankle and pelvic bones.
• Lagerpetids also appear to be closely related to dinosaurs.
• The oldest-known dinosaur dates to about 233 million years ago.
• Pterosaurs disappeared 66 million years ago in the asteroid collision that also doomed the dinosaurs.
• While starting relatively small, pterosaurs eventually achieved huge dimensions, with wingspans reaching 35 feet (10.7 meters).

THE HINDU

ABTO (Association of Buddhist Tour Operators) International Convention

Why in News?

• The Union Minister of State (IC) for Tourism & Culture virtually inaugurated the ABTO (Association of Buddhist Tour Operators) International Convention in New Delhi.
• ABTO Convention a three-day event is being held in partnership with Ministry of Tourism from 10-12 Dec 2020 in Bodhgaya, Bihar.

Government special efforts to promote Buddhist tourism in the country

• Over the last six years Government has taken several measures in this regard, like Swadesh Darshan Scheme and PRASHAD Yojana.
• Ministry has sanctioned more than Rs 350 cr for the development of Buddhist Sites under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme and more than Rs.900 crore have been sanctioned under the PRASHAD Scheme.
• Signages in Sinhali language at Sanchi monument in Madhya Pradesh and Signages in Chinese language at Sravasti and Sarnath have also been installed.
• Minister have decided that wherever footfall of foreign tourists from a particular country is more than one lakh; signages in their languages will be placed for their convenience and comfort.
• Tourism Ministry is making efforts to register accommodation units in the country in the Ministry’s portal National Integrated Database of Hospitality Industry (NIDHI).

PIB

Maharashtra Shakti Criminal Law (Maharashtra Amendment) Act 2020

Why in News?

• The Maharashtra Cabinet approved the draft Shakti criminal law Bills, which contains provisions of stern punishment, including death penalty, for serious crimes such as rape, acid attack and child abuse.
• The Bills – Maharashtra Shakti Criminal Law (Maharashtra Amendment) Act, 2020 and the Special Court and Machinery for Implementation of Maharashtra Shakti Criminal Law, 2020 – will be tabled during the two-day Winter Session of the legislature.

 Key Provisions of Bill

• Drafted on the lines of the Disha Act framed by Andhra Pradesh, they seek to amend relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Criminal Procedural Code (CrPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
• The draft Bills provide for completing investigation and trial within a stipulated time frame.
• Special police teams and separate courts will be set up for investigation and trial of cases against women and children.
• The perpetrators, if found guilty, will be imprisoned for not less than 10 years.
• This may extend to the remainder of their natural lives or with death sentences in cases that have characteristics of being heinous in nature.
• Sum of Rs 10 lakh will be given to an acid attack victim for plastic surgery and facial reconstruction. The amount will be collected as fine from the convict.
• The government has also proposed amendments in the Criminal Procedure Code to ensure speedy investigation and trial. It has proposed to bring down the investigation period to 15 working days from two months and trial period to 30 working days from two months. The appeal period has been proposed to be reduced to 45 days from six months.
• As per the National Crime Records Bureau report for 2019, Maharashtra has reported the third highest number of crimes against women, only behind Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
• It accounted for 9.2 per cent of the total crimes against women registered across the country.

IE

Beresheet 2 project

Why in News?

• SpaceIL, the nonprofit Israeli initiative whose spacecraft crashed as it tried to land on the moon last year, announced that it is launching another lunar mission with its Israeli government partners.

About Project

• The Beresheet 2 project will aim to send three spacecraft — an orbiter and two landers — to the moon.
• It is expected to be launched into space in four years.
• The first Beresheet, or “Genesis,” spacecraft, built by SpaceIL and state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, had aimed to match a feat only achieved by the U.S., Russia and China. But moments before touchdown, it crashed.
• In addition to Israel Aerospace Industries, the country’s Science Ministry and national space agency will be partners in the project.

THE HINDU

Bengaluru Civic Body Bill

Why in News?

• The Karnataka Assembly passed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Bill 2020, which proposes a new governance structure for the city and provides for increasing its municipal limits.
• The bill proposes changes to certain provisions of the Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, 1976 that currently governs Bengaluru.

The new governance structure:

Two mayors, Increase in mayoral term

• The long-standing demand to increase the term of Mayor is provided in the new bill.
• The term of office of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor is increased from one year to a period of five years, from the date of his/her election and shall continue in office till his successor is elected.
• According to the bill, Bengaluru will have two mayors in five years, each getting a 30-month tenure.

Division into 15 zones

• Bengaluru will be divided into zones up to 15 and each one will have a committee.
• Each zone will have a committee that will be responsible for execution of works. Earlier, there were zonal commissioners.

Constituency Consultative Committee

• The constituency consultative committee will be headed by the local MLA and have members including those from resident welfare associations.

BBMP to collect entertainment tax

• The BBMP has given the power to levy a fee for advertisements and collect entertainment tax including property and professions tax.

IE

Karnataka’s New Anti-cow Slaughter Bill

Why in News?

• Karnataka govt passed the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill (2020) in the Assembly amid strong opposition from the opposition.
• The Bill envisages a ban on all forms of cattle slaughter and stringent punishment for offenders.

Is the Bill completely new by itself?

• The 2020 Bill is a revised version of a law passed by the BJP when it was in power in 2010.
• It was presented in a bid to ban all forms of cattle slaughter by recommending stringent punishment for violators.

How is ‘beef’ and ‘cattle’ defined in the latest Karnataka Bill?

• While ‘beef’ is defined as the flesh of cattle in any form, the word ‘cattle’ is defined as “cow, calf of a cow and bull, bullock, and he or she buffalo below the age of thirteen years”.
• The Bill also terms shelters established for the protection and preservation of cattle registered with the Department of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries as ‘gau shalas’.

Who has the power to conduct searches?

• Police officers ranked sub-inspector and above or a competent authority will have the power to search premises and seize cattle and materials used or intended to use to commit the offence.
• Such seizures, if any, will then be reported before the Sub-Divisional Magistrate without unreasonable delay.

What are the penalties?

• Terming cow slaughter as a cognizable offence, violators can attract three to seven years of imprisonment.
• While a penalty between Rs 50,000 and Rs 5 lakh can be levied for the first offence, second and subsequent offences can attract penalties ranging between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 10 lakh.

IE

 Northern Lights

Why in News?

• Northern Lights, also known as aurora borealis, are usually witnessed far up in the Polar Regions or the high latitude regions of Europe, like in Norway.
• But, recently they could be visible in regions that are more to the south, such as in the northern parts of Illinois and Pennsylvania in the US.
• This is happening due to a solar flare, which emerged from a Sunspot.
• The flare is accompanied by a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) — a large bubble of radiation and particles emitted by the Sun that explodes into space at high speed.
• The electromagnetic storm could be growing to major status, causing the Northern Lights to be visible in more number of areas than usual.

 What causes an aurora?

• Auroras occur when charged particles ejected from the Sun’s surface — called the solar wind — enter the Earth’s atmosphere.
• While flowing toward Earth, the fast-moving solar wind carries with it the Sun’s magnetic field, which disrupts the magnetosphere — the region of space around Earth in which the magnetic field of our planet is dominant.
• When the Sun’s magnetic field approaches Earth, the protective magnetic field radiating from our planet’s poles deflects the former, thus shielding life on Earth.
• However, as this happens, the protective fields couple together to form funnels, through which charged solar wind particles are able to stream down to the poles.
• At the north and south poles, the charged particles interact with different gases in the atmosphere, causing a display of light in the sky.
• This display, known as an aurora, is seen from the Earth’s high latitude regions (called the auroral oval), and is active all year round.
• In the northern part of our globe, the polar lights are called aurora borealis or Northern Lights, and are seen from the US (Alaska), Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
• In the south, they are called aurora australis or southern lights, and are visible from high latitudes in Antarctica, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand and Australia.

 Can solar flares or storms be dangerous?

• Solar flares can typically affect space-dependent operations like Global Positioning Systems (GPS), radio and satellite communications, besides hampering flight operations, power grids and space exploration programmes.

IE

Que-    Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways inaugurated the three lane 1.5 km long Koilwar Bridge over which river in Bihar recently

a) Ganga

b) Sone

c) Ghagra

d) Gandak

Ans-     (b)