CURRENT AFFAIRS :  16-11-2020

Table of Content :

1.Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) System 

2.Contempt of Court and Role of Attorney General

3.Lonar Lake declared as a Ramsar site 

4.East Asia Summit

5.Leonid Meteor Shower

6.Tristan da Cunha

1.Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) System

Recently, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully test fires the Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) System.

About Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM)

• It is a Short Range Surface to Air Missile system designed to protect moving armoured columns from aerial attacks.

• It is a missile developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in association with Bharat Electronics Limited and Bharat Dynamics Limited.

• The entire weapon system is configured on highly mobile platforms and is capable of providing air defence on the move.

• It has been designed for induction into the Army and has a range of 25 to 30 km.

• It consists of a fully automated command and control system, two radars i.e. Active Array Battery Surveillance Radar, Active Array Battery Multifunction Radar and one launcher.

• It uses a single stage solid propelled missile and has a mid-course inertial navigation system with two-way data link and terminal active seeker developed indigenously by DRDO.

Source: The Indian Express

2.Contempt of Court and Role of Attorney General

Recently, the Attorney General K K Venugopal gave his consent for the initiation of criminal contempt proceedings against stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra for his tweets following the Supreme Court’s decision to grant interim bail to television anchor Arnab Goswami.

Constitutional Provisions & Statutory Basis for Contempt of Court

• The adoption of Constitution of India made Contempt of Court as one of the restrictions on freedom of speech and expression.

• Article 129 of the Constitution of India conferred on the Supreme Court the power to punish contempt of itself.

• Under Article 215, the High Courts have been conferred with the power to punish contempt of itself.

• The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, gives statutory backing to the Contempt of Court.

Types of Contempt of Court

• The Contempt of Court Act 1971 has provided that the contempt of court can either be civil contempt or criminal contempt.

• The Act defines civil contempt as wilful disobedience to any judgment, decree, direction, order, writ or other process of a court or wilful breach of an undertaking given to a court.

• The criminal contempt is defined under the 1971 Act as the publication (whether by words, spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representations, or otherwise) of any matter or the doing of any other act whatsoever which:

• • scandalises or tends to scandalise, or lowers or tends to lower the authority of, any court; or

  • prejudices, or interferes or tends to interfere with, the due course of any judicial proceeding; or

  • interferes or tends to interfere with, or obstructs or tends to obstruct, the administration of justice in any other manner.

What is not a Contempt of Court?

• The fair and accurate reporting of judicial proceedings will not amount to contempt of court.

• The fair criticism on the merits of a judicial order after a case is heard and disposed of is also not a contempt of court.

Role of Attorney General’s consent for Contempt of Court proceedings

• The Section 15 (Cognizance of criminal contempt in other cases) of The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 reads:

• • In the case of a criminal contempt, other than a contempt referred to in Section 14 (Procedure where contempt is in the face of the Supreme Court or a High Court), the Supreme Court or the High Court may take action on its own motion or on a motion made by:

    • the Advocate-General, or

    • any other person, with the consent in writing of the Advocate-General

Punishment for Contempt of Court

• The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 prescribes punishment for contempt of court with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, or with both.

Attorney General of India

 

Attorney General of India is appointed by the President of India under Article 76(1) of the Constitution.

 

He/She holds office during the pleasure of the President.

 

Article 76 and 78 deals with the Attorney General of India.

 

The Attorney General of India is the highest law officer of the country and he/she is responsible to assist the government in all its legal matters.

 

Qualifications of Attorney General of India

 

He/She must be a person qualified to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court.

 

He/She should be a citizen of India and a judge of some high court for five years or an advocate of some high court for ten years or should be an eminent jurist.

 

Source: The Indian Express

3.Lonar Lake declared as a Ramsar site

Recently, the meteor lake at Lonar in Buldhana district has been declared a Ramsar site by International Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

• The inclusion of Lonar Lake takes the total number of Ramsar sites in India to 41.

About Lonar Lake

• It is situated in the Deccan Plateau’s volcanic basalt rock which was created by the impact of a meteor 35,000 to 50,000 years ago.

• The oval-shaped crater, which has a circumference of about five miles at the top, is both saline and alkaline, containing special microorganisms like anaerobes, Cyanobacteria and phytoplankton.

• The perennial streams and springs feed into the lake.

• It is home to a horde of algae and plankton species that thrive in its unusual ecosystem and give the water its vibrant color.

• Because of its basaltic surface, scientists now use Lonar Lake to study craters and impact structures on other, more difficult to reach places like the Moon and Mars.

• It was identified as a unique geographical site by a British officer CJE Alexander in 1823 and declared a notified National Geo-heritage Monument in 1979.

• It was created by an asteroid collision with earth impact during the Pleistocene Epoch.

Why Lonar Lake has been declared as a Ramsar Site?

• The lake is part of Lonar Wildlife Sanctuary.

• The Lonar Lake is the second Ramsar site in the state of Maharashtra after Nandur Madhmeshwar Bird Sanctuary in Nashik district.

• The lake is home to large number of species including 160 bird, 46 reptile and 12 mammal species.

• The Ramsar status has been achieved due to sustained efforts by a team led by Field Director Srinivas Reddy of Melghat Tiger Reserve that commands and controls the Lonar sanctuary.

Significance of Ramsar Site status to Lonar Lake

• The Lonar will benefit in terms of international publicity and prestige and financial aid through the convention’s grant.

• The Ramsar status to Lonar Lake would bring access to expert advice on national and site-related problems of Lonar wetlands.

• The Ramsar status enhances protection for rare and endemic species.

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

 

The Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental treaty adopted on 2 February 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar.

 

It is the first of the modern global intergovernmental treaties on the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.

 

All Parties to the Convention have the obligations to include in the List at least one site that meets the criteria established by the Conference of the Parties.

 

It is the intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. 

 

The Ramsar Convention has adopted a very inclusive definition of Wetlands:

 

"Wetlands are areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres".

 

Source: The Indian Express

4.East Asia Summit

Recently, the Union External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar talked about the growing interest in the region as an integrated and organic maritime space with 10-nation ASEAN at its centre while addressing the 15th East Asia Summit 2020.

Key Highlights of 15th East Asia Summit 2020

• The summit was chaired by Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc in his capacity as chair of the ASEAN and all the EAS member nations attended it.

• The summit underlined the need for greater international cooperation in the post-COVID-19 world to tackle the challenges cutting across national boundaries such as terrorism, climate change and pandemics.

• The summit re-affirmed the importance of the EAS as the leaders-led forum to exchange views on strategic issues.

• • It called for importance of adhering to international law, respecting territorial integrity and sovereignty and promoting rules-based global order.

• The summit adopted four statements on marine sustainability; epidemics prevention and response; women, peace and security; and steady growth of regional economy.

• The summit discussed ways to strengthen the EAS platform and to make it more responsive to emerging challenges on its 15th anniversary and adopted the Ha Noi Declaration.

About East Asia Summit

• It is a premier forum in the Asia-Pacific region dealing with issues relating to security and defence.

• It was established in 2005 to play a significant role in the strategic, geopolitical and economic evolution of East Asia.

• Its member states includes 10 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member states, India, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Australia, New Zealand, United States and Russia.

• At the 14th East Asia Summit, 2019, the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi proposed setting up of the Indo-Pacific Ocean’s Initiative (IPOI).

• • The IPOI aims to conserve and sustainably use the maritime domain and to make meaningful efforts to create a safe and secure maritime domain.

Source: The Hindu

5.Leonid Meteor Shower

According to Norway-based website timeanddate.com, the Leonid meteor showers are currently making their yearly appearance and will reach their peak in India on November 17 and 18.

What is Leonid Meteor Shower?

• The Leonids emerge from the comet Tempel-Tuttle, which requires 33 years to revolve once around the Sun.

• The Leonid Meteor is bright and among the fastest moving i.e. travelling at speeds of 71 km per second.

• The Leonid showers include "fireballs" i.e. bright and large meteors than can last longer than average meteors and "earthgazers" i.e. meteors which appear close to the horizon with colourful and long tails.

• The meteor showers are named after the constellation they appear to be coming from and the Leonids originate from the constellation Leo 'the Lion' i.e. the groups of stars which form a lion’s mane.

When a meteor is clearly visible?

• The meteors are best seen on a cloudless night, when the entire sky is visible and when the Moon is not extremely bright.

• The chances of a successful viewing are higher from locations far away from the lights of cities.

• The showers peak when the Earth passes through the densest part of the debris cloud.

What is a Meteor Shower?

 

The Earth passes through large swathes of cosmic debris on its journey around the Sun and the debris is essentially the remnants of comets i.e. great frigid chunks of matter that leave behind dirty trails of rocks and ice that linger long after the comets themselves have passed.

 

The Earth wades through the cloud of comet waste and the bits of debris create what appears from the ground to be a fireworks display in the sky which is known as a meteor shower.

 

 According to NASA, over 30 meteor showers occur annually and are observable from the Earth.

 

According to the International Meteor Organisation, the showers that are currently active are the Southern Taurids, the Northern Taurids and the Leonids.

 

Source: The Indian Express

6.Tristan da Cunha

Recently, the Tristan da Cunha was declared the largest fully protected marine reserves in the Tristan albatross at 687,000 square kilometres.

About Tristan da Cunha

• It is the isolated UK Overseas Territory which is home to the world’s most remote human settlement.

• • It is inhabited by less than 300 humans is a small chain of islands over 6,000 miles from London in the South Atlantic.

• The mountainous archipelago Tristan da Cunha is home to tens of millions of seabirds and several unique land birds that are comparable to the Galapagos island finches.

• The island group is also home to the World Heritage Site of Gough and Inaccessible Islands, which is one of the most important seabird islands in the world.

• The waters around Tristan da Cunha serve as a feeding ground for the critically endangered Tristan albatross and endangered yellow-nosed albatross.

What does protect marine reserve mean for Tristan da Cunha?

• After joining the UK’s Blue Belt Programme, it will become the largest no-take zone in the Atlantic and the fourth largest on the planet.

  • It implies that fishing, mining and any such activities will not be allowed.

  • The Blue Belt Programme provides over 27 million pounds over a period of five years for marine conservation around the UK Overseas Territories and international organisations.

• The Marine Protection Zone (MPZ) is almost three times the size of the UK and will safeguard the future of sevengill sharks, yellow-nosed albatrosses and rockhopper penguins.

  • The MPZs involve the management of certain natural areas for biodiversity conservation or species protection and are created by delineating zones with permitted and non-permitted areas within that zone.

• The Pew Bertarelli project would help Tristan da Cunha protect its waters with technology that uses real-time data to evaluate ocean conditions and human activity such as fishing.

Source: The Hindu

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