IMPORTANT TOPICS FOR 23 JULY 2019

IMPORTANT TOPICS FOR TODAY 

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BY SUMIT BHARDWAJ                               23 JULY 2019

1.Kashmir mediation: MEA denies Trump’s remark, says no such request made                      (GS-2)

• CONTEXT: In a sharp rebuttal to U.S. President Donald Trump's comments, the government denied that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had requested Mr. Trump to mediate between India and Pakistan
• According to Mr. Trump, the request had been made by Mr. Modi during their meeting in Osaka on the sidelines of the G-20 summit two weeks ago
• SOME IMPORTANT POINTS IN THE NEWS ARTICLE:
• Shimla agreement of 1972:
• The Simla Agreement, or Shimla Agreement, was signed between India and Pakistan on 2 July 1972 in Shimla, the capital city of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It followed from the Bangladesh Liberation war in 1971 that led to the independence of Bangladesh, which was earlier known as East Pakistan and was part of the territory of Pakistan. India entered the war as an ally of Bangladesh which transformed the war into an Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The agreement was ratified by the Parliaments of both the nations in same year.
• The agreement was the result of resolve of both the countries to "put an end to the conflict and confrontation that have hitherto marred their relations". It conceived the steps to be taken for further normalisation of mutual relations and it also laid down the principles that should govern their future relations
• Lahore declaration of 1999:
• The Lahore Declaration was a bilateral agreement and governance treaty between India and Pakistan. The treaty was signed on 21 February 1999, at the conclusion of a historic summit in Lahore, and ratified by the parliaments of both countries the same year.
• Under the terms of the treaty, a mutual understanding was reached towards the development of atomic arsenals and to avoid accidental and unauthorised operational use of nuclear weapons. The Lahore Declaration brought added responsibility to both nations' leadership towards avoiding nuclear race, as well as both non-conventional and conventional conflicts. This event was significant in the history of Pakistan and it provided both countries an environment of mutual confidence. In a much-covered televised press conference in both countries, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee signed the treaty. It was the second nuclear control treaty signed by both countries and pledged to continue the use of the first treaty, NNAA, was signed in 1988. The Lahore treaty was quickly ratified by the parliaments of India and Pakistan and came into force the same year.
• The Lahore Declaration signalled a major breakthrough in overcoming the historically strained bilateral relations between the two nations in the aftermath of the publicly performed atomic tests carried out by both nations in May 1998. Widely popular in the public circles in Pakistan and hailed by the international community, the relations would soon lose impetus with the outbreak of the controversial Kargil debacle in May 1999.

2.Cryptocurrency panel for ban on private digital currencies, jail time of up to 10 years

(GS-2,3)

• CONTEXT: ‘Banning of Cryptocurrency & Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019’, which mandates a fine and imprisonment of up to 10 years for offences.
• The government had constituted an Inter-Ministerial Committee on November 2, 2017, under the Chairmanship of Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg and comprising senior officials of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, SEBI and the RBI.
• The draft law says that anybody who mines, generates, holds, sells, deals in, transfers, disposes of or issues cryptocurrencies with will face a fine and/or jail time of between 1 and 10 years. The fine has been set at the either three times the loss or harm caused by a person, or three times the gain made by the person, whichever is higher.
• Cryptocurrency:A cryptocurrency (or crypto currency) is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses strong cryptography to secure financial transactions, control the creation of additional units, and verify the transfer of assets. Cryptocurrencies use decentralized control as opposed to centralized digital currency and central banking systems.
• The decentralized control of each cryptocurrency works through distributed ledger technology, typically a blockchain, that serves as a public financial transaction database.
• Bitcoin, first released as open-source software in 2009, is generally considered the first decentralized cryptocurrency.Since the release of bitcoin, over 4,000 altcoins (alternative variants of bitcoin, or other cryptocurrencies) have been created.

3.Chandrayaan-2 goes up successfully, places satellite in orbit         (GS-3)

• It achieves an orbit 6,000 km more than what was targeted
• India’s second lunar journey and its first-ever mission to be spearheaded by two women got a boost after the ambitious Chandrayaan-2 mission, headed to the moon’s South Pole, achieved an orbit 6,000 km more than what was targeted
• Chandrayaan-2 :
• Chandrayaan-2 is India's second lunar exploration mission after Chandrayaan-1. Developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation, the mission was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 22 July 2019 at 2.43 PM IST to the Moon by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III.

• 
• IMAGE SOURCE: SpaceRef

4.Soaring to the moon       (GS-3)

• CONTEXT: EDITORIAL ON CHANRAYAAN 2
• SOME IMPORTANT ASPECTS IN THE EDITORIAL:
• Chandrayaan-1,
• Chandrayaan-2
• China landed a robotic spacecraft on the far side of the moon
• rover Pragyan in the moon’s South Polar region, attempted so far by none.
• Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III (GSLV Mark-III) to send up satellites weighing up to four tonnes
• The orbiter, the lander (Vikram) and the rover (Pragyan) together weigh 3.87 tonnes.
• Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft will be raised in five steps or manoeuvres in the coming 23 days before it reaches the final orbit of 150 x 1,41,000 km
• Chandrayaan-2 will attain the velocity to escape from the earth’s gravitational pull and start the long journey towards the moon.
• on August 20, the spacecraft will come under the influence of the moon’s gravitational pull, and in a series of steps the altitude of the orbit will be reduced in 13 days to reach the final circular orbit at a height of 100 km.
• next crucial step will be the decoupling of the lander (Vikram) and the rover (Pragyan) from the orbiter, followed by the soft-landing of the lander-rover in the early hours of September 7
• the Pragyan robotic vehicle will have 14 earth days, or one moon day, to explore.
• The presence of water on the moon was first indicated by the Moon Impact Probe and NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper on Chandrayaan-1 a decade ago.
• the success of Chandrayaan-2 will go a long way in testing the technologies for deep-space missions.

5.The judicial presumption of non-citizenship (GS-2)

• CONTEXT:IN THIS EDITORIAL THE AUTHOR IS IN THE VIEWPOINT THAT In further strengthening the Foreigners Tribunal, the judiciary has failed to fulfil its duty as the last protector of rights.
• IMPORTANT CONCEPTS IN THE EDITORIAL:
• NRC:
• he National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register containing names of all genuine Indian citizens. The register was first prepared after the 1951 Census of India. Census of India.The NRC is now being updated in Assam to include the names of those persons (or their descendants) who appear in the NRC, 1951, or in any of the Electoral Rolls[up to the midnight of 24th March, 1971 or in any one of the other admissible documents issued up to mid-night of 24th March, 1971, which would prove their presence in Assam or in any part of India on or before 24th March, 1971.
• The update process of NRC started in the year 2013, when the Supreme Court of India passed orders for its update. Since then, the Supreme Court (bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Rohintan Fali Nariman) have been monitoring it continuously. The entire project is headed by the State Coordinator of National Registration, Assam, Mr Prateek Hajela; under the strict monitoring of Supreme Court of India.
• Foreigners Tribunal:
• The Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 was issued by the Central Government under Section 3 of The Foreigners Act, 1946. It is applicable to the whole country. Major amendments in the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964 were undertaken in 2013. The last amendment was issued in May, 2019. All these orders are applicable to the whole country and are not specific to any state. Therefore, there is nothing new in this regard in the latest amendment of May 2019.
• The May 2019 amendment only lays down the modalities for the Tribunals to decide on appeals made by persons not satisfied with the outcome of claims and objections filed against the NRC.
• Since NRC work is going on only in Assam, therefore, the aforementioned Order, issued on 30th May, 2019 is applicable only to Assam as on date for all practical purposes.
• This Amendment Order also provides for reference by District Magistrate to the Tribunal for its opinion as to whether the Appellant is a “foreigner” or not within the meaning of the Foreigners Act, 1946.
• Since the Foreigners Tribunals under this order have been established only in Assam and in no other state of the country, this amendment in effect is going to be relevant only to Assam at present.
• ARTICLE 21:
• Article 21 reads as: “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to a procedure established by law.” ... This right has been held to be the heart of the Constitution, the most organic and progressive provision in our living constitution, the foundation of our laws

6.Plea seeks equal status for ‘Vande Mataram’(GS-2)

• A plea before the Delhi High Court has sought directions to the Centre to frame a policy to equally propagate the national anthem and the national song — ‘Vande Mataram’. BJP leader and lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, in his plea, has sought that ‘Vande Mataram’, written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, be given the same respect as the national anthem — ‘Jana Gana Mana’, penned by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

7.Odisha renews effort to revive gharial population     (GS-3)

• CONTEXT:Odisha has renewed its effort to revive the population of gharials, a “critically endangered” species of crocodile, in their natural habitat by releasing five reptiles into the Satkosia gorge of Mahanadi — the southernmost limit of gharials’ home range in India.
• SOME IMPORTANT GEOGRAPHIC CONCEPTS FROM THIS ARTICLE:
• Gorge:
• a narrow valley between hills or mountains, typically with steep rocky walls and a stream running through it.
• Satkosia Tiger Reserve:
• Satkosia Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve located in the Angul district of Odisha, India covering an area of 988.30 km².
• It is located where the Mahanadi River passes through a 22 km long gorge in the Eastern Ghats mountains.
• The tiger reserve is located in the Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests ecoregion. The major plant communities are mixed deciduous forests including Sal (Shorea robusta), and riverine forest.
• Satkosia Gorge Wildlife Sanctuary was created in 1976, with an area of 796 km².Saktosia Tiger Reserve was designated in 2007, and comprises the Satkosia Gorge Wildlife Sanctuary and the adjacent Baisipalli Wildlife Sanctuary
• Nandankanan Zoological Park:
• Nandankanan Zoological Park is a 437-hectare zoo and botanical garden in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. Established in 1960, it was opened to the public in 1979 and became the first zoo in India to join World Association of Zoos and Aquariums in 2009
• Mahanadi:
• The Mahanadi is a major river in East Central India. It drains an area of around 141,600 square kilometres and has a total course of 858 kilometres Mahanadi is also known for the Hirakud Dam. The river flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha

8.A misleading presentation of a labour Programme                                (GS-2)

• THE AUTHORS OF THE EDITORIAL HAVE A VIEWPOINT THAT The Economic Survey presents an unbalanced view of the technical interventions in MGNREGA
• IMPORTANT ASPECTS IN THE EDITORIAL:
•  impact of Aadhaar on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
• MGNREGA wages in many States are about 40% lower than the Ministry of Labour’s national minimum wage
•  Electronic funds transfer started as far back as in 2011 through the Electronic Fund Management System (eFMS), and became symbolic of the Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT)
• National Electronic Fund Management System (N-eFMS)
• Wage payments to MGNREGA workers happen in two stages. The first is the time taken by the blocks to generate the electronic Funds Transfer Orders (FTO) and send it digitally to the Central government. The second is the time taken by the Central government to process these FTOs and transfer wages to workers’ accounts. While it is true that delays in the first stage have reduced, those in the second stage continue to be unacceptably high. Only about 30% of the payments are credited on time; the Central government takes more than than 50 days (which is the second stage) to transfer wages to workers.
• ABOUT MGNREGA:
• National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (or, NREGA No 42, later renamed as the "Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act", MGNREGA), is an Indian labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the 'right to work'.
• It aims to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
• The act was first proposed in 1991 by P.V. Narasimha Rao.[3] It was finally accepted in the parliament and commenced implementation in 625 districts of India. Based on this pilot experience, NREGA was scoped up to cover all the districts of India from 1 April 2008. The statute is hailed by the government as "the largest and most ambitious social security and public works programme in the world".In its World Development Report 2014, the World Bank termed it a "stellar example of rural development".
• The MGNREGA was initiated with the objective of "enhancing livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year, to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work". Another aim of MGNREGA is to create durable assets (such as roads, canals, ponds and wells). Employment is to be provided within 5 km of an applicant's residence, and minimum wages are to be paid. If work is not provided within 15 days of applying, applicants are entitled to an unemployment allowance. Thus, employment under MGNREGA is a legal entitlement.
• MGNREGA is to be implemented mainly by gram panchayats (GPs). The involvement of contractors is banned. Labour-intensive tasks like creating infrastructure for water harvesting, drought relief and flood control are preferred

9.Human Rights Bill cleared amid protests

(GS-2)

• CONTEXT:he Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was cleared by a voice vote in the Rajya Sabha amid criticism from the Opposition that the legislation will ensure that only the government’s nominees are appointed to the National Human Rights Commission. The Bill was cleared by the Lok Sabha on Friday.
• ABOUT THE BILL:
• The Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2019 amends the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 to include the provision that apart from a former CJI, a former judge of the Supreme Court can be the Chairperson of the NHRC. Under the Act, only a person who had been the CJI could be made the NHRC chairperson.
• NHRC:The National Human Rights Commission of India is a Statutory public body constituted on 12 October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Ordinance of 28 September 1993. It was given a statutory basis by the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993

10.M.M. Naravane to be next Vice­Chief of Army.

• Lieutenant-General M.M. Naravane, currently General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Army Command, has been appointed the next Vice-Chief of the Army Staff in a series of changes in the Army’s top brass, defence sources said on Monday. He will take over from Lt. Gen. D. Anbu when he retires on August 31.

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