DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS -31 JULY 2019- 10 MOST IMPORTANT TOPICS FROM THE HINDU

IMPORTANT TOPICS FOR TODAY 

                       http://dailycurrentaffairs-sumit.blogspot.com
                                                
BY SUMIT BHARDWAJ                           31 JULY 2019

1.ABOUT CAFÉ COFEE DAY:

• WHY IT IS IN THE NEWS?
• IT IS IN THE NEWS BECAUSE V.G. Siddhartha, founder of the iconic Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) chain, went missing from a bridge across Netravati river in Mangaluru on Monday evening, sending shock waves in business and political circles
• Cafe Coffee Day Global limited Company is a Chikkamagaluru-based business which grows coffee in its own estates of 20,000 acres. It is the largest producer of arabica beans in Asia exporting to various countries including USA, Europe and Japan.
• V. G. Siddhartha started the café chain in 1993 when he incorporated Coffee Day Global which is the parent of the Coffee Day chain.The first CCD outlet was set up on July 11, 1996, at Brigade Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka. It rapidly expanded across various cities in India adding more stores with more than 1000 cafés open across the nation by 2011.
• In 2010, it was announced that a consortium led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts would invest 10 billion (US$140 million) in Coffee Day Resorts, owned by the company.The same year, the logo was changed to the current logo, which the company stated was to showcase the chain as a place to talk. This was done with major changes in the layout of the stores, including the addition of lounges and a total revamp of the interiors

2.The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage)        GS-2

• CONTEXT: The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019, better known as the Triple Talaq Bill, was passed in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
• MUSLIM WOMEN (PROTECTION OF RIGHTS ON MARRIAGE), BILL 2019:
• Key provisions of the Bill:
• The Bill makes all declaration of talaq, including in written or electronic form, to be void (i.e. not enforceable in law) and illegal.
• Definition: It defines talaq as talaq-e-biddat or any other similar form of talaq pronounced by a Muslim man resulting in instant and irrevocable divorce.  Talaq-e-biddat refers to the practice under Muslim personal laws where pronouncement of the word ‘talaq’ thrice in one sitting by a Muslim man to his wife results in an instant and irrevocable divorce.
• Offence and penalty: The Bill makes declaration of talaq a cognizable offence, attracting up to three years’ imprisonment with a fine.  (A cognizable offence is one for which a police officer may arrest an accused person without warrant.) 
• The offence will be cognizable only if information relating to the offence is given by: (i) the married woman (against whom talaq has been declared), or (ii) any person related to her by blood or marriage.
• The Bill provides that the Magistrate may grant bail to the accused. The bail may be granted only after hearing the woman (against whom talaq has been pronounced), and if the Magistrate is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for granting bail.
• The offence may be compounded by the Magistrate upon the request of the woman(against whom talaq has been declared). Compounding refers to the procedure where the two sides agree to stop legal proceedings, and settle the dispute.  The terms and conditions of the compounding of the offence will be determined by the Magistrate.
• Allowance: A Muslim woman against whom talaq has been declared, is entitled to seek subsistence allowance from her husband for herself and for her dependent children. The amount of the allowance will be determined by the Magistrate.
• Custody: A Muslim woman against whom such talaq has been declared, is entitled to seek custody of her minor children. The manner of custody will be determined by the Magistrate.
• Significance:
• Time has come to put an end to the suffering of Muslim women who have been at the receiving end of instant talaq for several years. More than 20 Islamic countries have already banned the practice.

3.Govt. did not try out GST system before rollout: CAG                           GS-2

• CONTEXT: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), in its first ever audit of the Goods and Services Tax, has said the government had failed to try out the system before its rollout, leading to inadequate compliance mechanisms, and lower tax revenues. The report was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.
• The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG):
• The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India is an authority, established by Article 148 of the Constitution of India, which audits all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the state governments, including those of bodies and authorities substantially financed by the government. The CAG is also the external auditor of Government-owned corporations and conducts supplementary audit of government companies, i.e., any non-banking/ non-insurance company in which Union Government has an equity share of at least 51 per cent or subsidiary companies of existing government companies. The reports of the CAG are taken into consideration by the Public Accounts Committees (PACs) and Committees on Public Undertakings (COPUs), which are special committees in the Parliament of India and the state legislatures. The CAG is also the head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department, the affairs of which are managed by officers of Indian Audit and Accounts Service, and has over 58,000 employees across the country.
• The CAG is mentioned in the Constitution of India under Article 148 – 151.
• Goods and Services Tax:
• Goods and Services Tax (GST) is an indirect tax (or consumption tax) imposed in India on the supply of goods and services. It is a comprehensive multistage, destination based tax. Comprehensive because it has subsumed almost all the indirect taxes except few. Multi-Staged as it is imposed at every step in the production process, but is meant to be refunded to all parties in the various stages of production other than the final consumer. And destination based tax, as it is collected from point of consumption And not point of origin like previous taxes.
• Goods and services are divided into five different tax slabs for collection of tax - 0%, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. However, petroleum products, alcoholic drinks, and electricity are not taxed under GST and instead are taxed separately by the individual state governments, as per the previous tax regime.[citation needed] There is a special rate of 0.25% on rough precious and semi-precious stones and 3% on gold.[1] In addition a cess of 22% or other rates on top of 28% GST applies on few items like aerated drinks, luxury cars and tobacco products. Pre-GST, the statutory tax rate for most goods was about 26.5%, Post-GST, most goods are expected to be in the 18% tax range.
• The tax came into effect from July 1, 2017 through the implementation of One Hundred and First Amendment of the Constitution of India by the Indian government. The tax replaced existing multiple flowing taxes levied by the central and state governments.

4.Seven new destinations for pilgrimage scheme                                        GS-1

• CONTEXT:The Delhi Cabinet on Tuesday approved seven new destinations for the Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana; the Excise Policy for 2019-20; and the construction of 144 temporary courtrooms at three district courts here.
• These include round trips from Delhi to Rameshwaram-Madurai, Tirupati, Dwarkadhish-Nageswar, Jagannath Puri- Konark-Bhubaneshwar, Shirdi-Shani Shingnapur, Ujjain-Onkareshwar and Bodh Gaya-Sarnath. In addition, in the existing Ajmer-Pushkar tour, Haldi Ghati destination has been added.
• Rameshwaram:Rameswaram is a town on Pamban Island, in the southeast Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It’s known for Ramanathaswamy Temple, a Hindu pilgrimage site with ornate corridors, huge sculpted pillars and sacred water tanks. Devotees bathe in the waters of Agni Theertham, off the beach east of the temple. Gandamadana Parvatham is a hill with island views. A chakra (wheel) here is said to bear an imprint of Lord Rama’s feet
• Dwarkadhish:The Dwarkadhish temple, also known as the Jagat Mandir and occasionally spelled Dwarakadheesh, is a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Krishna, who is worshiped here by the name Dwarkadhish, or 'King of Dwarka'. The temple is located at Dwarka, Gujarat, India. 
• Jagannath Puri:The Shree Jagannath Temple of Puri is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Jagannath, a form of lord Maha Vishnu, located on the eastern coast of India, at Puri in the state of Odisha. The temple is an important pilgrimage destination
• Bodh Gaya:Bodh Gaya is a village in the northeast Indian state of Bihar. Considered one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites, it's dominated by the ancient brick Mahabodhi Temple Complex, built to mark the site where the Buddha attained enlightenment beneath a sacred Bodhi Tree. A direct descendant of the tree sits within the complex today, along with six other sacred sites, including a lotus pond.
• Haldi Ghati :Haldighati is a mountain pass between Khamnore and Bagicha village situated at Aravalli Range of Rajasthan in western India which connects Rajsamand and Pali districts. The pass is located at a distance of 40 kilometres from UdaipuR

5.TIPU SULTAN          GS-1

• CONTEXT: Yediyurappa govt. scraps Tipu Jayanti .
• Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 20 November 1750 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tipu Sahab or Tiger of Mysore , was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore and a pioneer of rocket artillery.He was the eldest son of Sultan Hyder Ali of Mysore. Tipu Sultan introduced a number of administrative innovations during his rule, including his coinage, a new Mauludi lunisolar calendar, and a new land revenue system which initiated the growth of the Mysore silk industry. He expanded the iron-cased Mysorean rockets and commissioned the military manual Fathul Mujahidin. He deployed the rockets against advances of British forces and their allies during the Anglo-Mysore Wars, including the Battle of Pollilur and Siege of Seringapatam. He also embarked on an ambitious economic development program that established Mysore as a major economic power, with some of the world's highest real wages and living standards in the late 18th century. 
• Napoleon Bonaparte, the French commander-in-chief, sought an alliance with Tipu Sultan. Both Tipu Sultan and his father used their French-trained army in alliance with the French in their struggle with the British, and in Mysore's struggles with other surrounding powers, against the Marathas, Sira, and rulers of Malabar, Kodagu, Bednore, Carnatic, and Travancore. Napoleon learned a lot about the Quran and Islam from Tipu Sultan. Tipu's father, Hyder Ali, rose to power capturing Mysore, and Tipu succeeded him as ruler of Mysore upon his father's death in 1782. He won important victories against the British in the Second Anglo-Mysore War and negotiated the 1784 Treaty of Mangalore with them after his father died from cancer in December 1782 during the Second Anglo-Mysore War.
• Tipu's conflicts with his neighbours included the Maratha–Mysore War which ended with the signing the Treaty of Gajendragad  The treaty required that Tipu Sultan pay 4.8 million rupees as a one time war cost to the Marathas, and an annual tribute of 1.2 million rupees in addition to returning all the territory captured by Hyder Ali.
• Tipu remained an implacable enemy of the British East India Company, sparking conflict with his attack on British-allied Travancore in 1789. In the Third Anglo-Mysore War, he was forced into the Treaty of Seringapatam, losing a number of previously conquered territories, including Malabar and Mangalore. He sent emissaries to foreign states, including the Ottoman Empire, Afghanistan, and France, in an attempt to rally opposition to the British.
• In the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, the imperial forces of the British East India Company were supported by the Nizam of Hyderabad and Marathas. They defeated Tipu, and he was killed on 4 May 1799 while defending his fort of Srirangapatna.
• Tipu has been a controversial figure and criticized for his repression of Hindus and Christians. Various sources describe the massacres, imprisonment, forced conversion, and circumcision] of Hindus (Kodavas of Coorg and Nairs of Malabar) and Christians (Catholics of Mangalore) and the destruction of churches and temples which are cited as evidence for his religious intolerance. Other sources mention the appointment of Hindu officers in his administration and his endowments to Hindu temples, which are cited as evidence for his religious tolerance.

6.Helping Vembanad breathe.

GS-1,3

A HOUSE BOAT IN VEMBANAD LAKE

• CONTEXT:Efforts to get the lake rid of plastic waste on..
• A group of fishermen have been conducting plastic collection drive every year since 2011 to get Vembanad Lake, a designated Ramsar site and one of the most polluted waterbodies in the world, rid of plastic waste.
• Vembanad LAKE:Vembanad (Vembanad Kayal or Vembanad Kol) is the longest lake in India, and the largest lake in the state of Kerala[ Sundarban with area 2114 sq. Km is the largest Ramasar site in India] Spanning several districts in the state of Kerala, it is known as Vembanadu Lake in Alappuzha, Punnamada Lake in Kuttanad and Kochi Lake in Kochi. Several groups of small islands including Vypin, Mulavukad, Vallarpadam, Willingdon Island are located in the Kochi Lake portion. Kochi Port is built around the Willingdon Island and the Vallarpadam island.
• The Nehru Trophy Boat Race is conducted in a portion of the lake. High levels of pollution have been noticed at certain hotspots of the Vembanad backwaters. The government of India has identified the Vembanad wetland under the National Wetlands Conservation Programme.
• 
  

7.Padding up for the next UNSC innings.. GS-2

• THE WRITER OF THE LEAD ARTICLE SAYS THAT India must give exceptional weightage to how all Security Council issues have an impact on the subcontinent.
• Despite the fact that India has served as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) more often than any country other than Japan from the Asia-Pacific Group, it is a matter of satisfaction and a tribute to Indian diplomacy that the Group unanimously decided this year to support India for an eighth second-year term. The elections are to take place in June next year. This means that India’s election is assured and its term will run in the calendar years 2021 and 2022.
• The dynamics of international politics are fast moving.
• IMPORTANT ASPECTS IN THE NEWS ARTICLE:
• UNSC:
• The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), charged with ensuring international peace and security,accepting new members to the United Nationsand approving any changes to its charter.Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations and international sanctions as well as the authorization of military actions through resolutions – it is the only body of the United Nations with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states. The council held its first session on 17 January 1946.
• Washington Consensus:
• The Washington Consensus is a set of 10 economic policy prescriptions considered to constitute the "standard" reform package promoted for crisis-wracked developing countries by Washington, D.C.-based institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and United States Department of the Treasury
• World Trade Organisation:
• The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that is concerned with the regulation of international trade between nations. The WTO officially commenced on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement, signed by 123 nations on 15 April 1994, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1948. It is the largest international economic organization in the world.
• The WTO deals with regulation of trade in goods, services and intellectual property between participating countries by providing a framework for negotiating trade agreements and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO agreements, which are signed by representatives of member governments:fol.9–10 and ratified by their parliaments.The WTO prohibits discrimination between trading partners, but provides exceptions for environmental protection, national security, and other important goals. Trade-related disputes are resolved by independent judges at the WTO through a dispute resolution process.
• UNESCO:
• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) based in Paris. Its declared purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration in education, sciences, and culture in order to increase universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with fundamental freedom proclaimed in the United Nations Charter. It is the successor of the League of Nations' International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.
• UNESCO has 193 member states and 11 associate members.[4] Most of its field offices are "cluster" offices covering three or more countries; national and regional offices also exist.
• Demosthenes was a Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide an insight into the politics and culture of ancient Greece during the 4th century BC

8.The Odisha model……  GS-2

• CONTEXT:Other States could take a cue from Odisha, which has empowered women politically and financially:
• The representation of women MPs in the 17th Lok Sabha has seen an improvement from 11% in 2014 to 14% in 2019, but it is still lower than the world average of 24.3%. In 2019, 715 women candidates contested the Lok Sabha election, while the number of men who contested stood at 7,334.
• Odisha may be seen as one of the underdeveloped States in the country and a laggard in terms of some human development indicators. However, other States could take a cue from the Odisha government’s model for women’s empowerment
• The Biju Janata Dal (BJD)-led State government was among the first to reserve 50% of seats in Panchayati Raj institutions for women. Further, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik nominated women for one-third of the seats in Lok Sabha election. Thus, seven candidates out of 21 fielded by the party for the 2019 election were women. The success rate among the women candidates was higher than for men, as five out of seven won the elections
• Odisha has six lakh self-help groups with seven million women under its flagship ‘Mission Shakti’ programme
• The self-help groups are linked to the Odisha Livelihoods Mission and Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society
• The Women and Child Development Department has been rechristened as the Women and Child Development and Mission Shakti Department.

9.Focussing on the critical years of a child’s life GS-2

• CONTEXT:The draft National Education Policy starts its opening sentence with a hitherto little-known fact: “The learning process for a child commences immediately at birth.” Many believe that children start learning only in school. It is true that language and numerical proficiency, and analytical skills, are attained in school, but the foundation for such a learning capacity is laid much earlier, and it happens without our knowledge. Higher cognitive functions attain their peak of growth between the ages of one and three — before school education begins.
• The centres for vision and hearing in the cerebrum develop between the second and fifth months of one’s life. In these areas, the formation of nerve connections peaks by the fourth month, and is followed by a gradual retraction or “blooming and pruning” until the end of the preschool period.
• ABOUT DRAFT NEP:
• Highlights of the draft:
• It proposes expansion of the RTE Act. It aims to cover the three years of preschool before Class 1.
• It wants early childhood education to be overseen and regulated by the Ministry of HRD as part of the school system.
• This will be in addition to the private pre-schools and anganwadis that currently cater to the 3-to-6 years age group.
• It suggests a new integrated curricular framework for 3 to 8-year olds with a flexible system based on play, activity and discovery, and beginning exposure to three languages from age 3 onwards.
• The NEP could result in an upheaval in the anganwadi system which has been overseen by the Ministry of WCD for more than four decades.
• ICDS: Integrated Child Development Services is a government programme in India which provides food, preschool education, primary healthcare, immunization, health check-up and referral services to children under 6 years of age and their mothers

10.China bets big on 5G, to spend $150 billion in next 6 years       GS-2,3

• CONTEXT:China is planning to spend $150 billion on 5G wireless technology in the next six years — a move to jump-start automated manufacturing and enable Beijing to emerge as a world leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
• Chinese companies Huawei Technologies and ZTE are in the cross-hairs of the Trump administration. In May, Washington logged Huawei in its trade backlist, citing security concerns, effectively blocking the company from sourcing hardware, software and services from U.S. suppliers.
• 5G:
• 5G is the fifth generation cellular network technology. The industry association 3GPP defines any system using "5G NR" software as "5G", a definition that came into general use by late 2018. Others may reserve the term for systems that meet the requirements of the ITU IMT-2020. 3GPP will submit their 5G NR to the ITU
• Artificial Intelligence (AI):
• In computer science, artificial intelligence (AI), sometimes called machine intelligence, is intelligence demonstrated by machines, in contrast to the natural intelligence displayed by humans. Colloquially, the term "artificial intelligence" is often used to describe machines (or computers) that mimic "cognitive" functions that humans associate with the human mind, such as "learning" and "problem solving.



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