17 JULY 2021 CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF NDA SSB

1. ARTICLE 311(2)(C)

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha has dismissed 11 Jammu and Kashmir government employees for alleged terror links under provisions of Article 311(2)(c) of the Constitution. The employees include two sons of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin.

Constitutional provision:

Article 311 of the Constitution deals with ‘Dismissal, removal or reduction in rank of persons employed in civil capacities under the Union or a State’.
Under Article 311(2), no civil servant can be “dismissed or removed or reduced in rank except after an inquiry in which he has been informed of the charges and given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in respect of those charges’’.
Subsection (c) of the provision, however, says this clause shall not apply “where the President or the Governor, as the case may be, is satisfied that in the interest of the security of the State it is not expedient to hold such inquiry”.
The safeguard of an inquiry also does not apply in cases of conviction on a criminal charge [311(2)(a)], or “where the authority…is satisfied that for some reason, to be recorded by that authority in writing, it is not reasonably practicable to hold such inquiry”. [311(2)(b)]

Source : Indian Express

2. FIT FOR 55

The European Commission unveiled its 'Fit for 55' package of revised climate and energy laws on 14 July - aiming to align key EU policies with the new 55-percent net-emissions reduction by 2030.

Key features:

Cars with internal combustion engines will disappear from European showrooms by 2035.
Steel producers and cement makers will pay for every ton of carbon dioxide their factories emit.
Cargo ships may not be able to dock in ports like Rotterdam, Netherlands, or Hamburg, Germany, unless they run on cleaner fuels. Commercial airliners will be required to fill up with synthetic fuel produced with green energy.
The European Union’s plan to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by more than half by the end of the decade will touch almost every industry in the trade bloc, with profound consequences for jobs and the bloc’s economy.

Source : Indian Express

3. DOPPLER RADAR

The India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) only Doppler radar in Mumbai, which surveys weather patterns and forecast, stopped working again , when the city was witnessing rainfall.

How does a Doppler radar work?

In radars, a beam of energy– called radio waves– is emitted from an antenna. When this beam strikes an object in the atmosphere, the energy scatters in all directions, with some reflecting directly back to the radar.
The larger the object deflecting the beam, the greater is the amount of energy that the radar receives in return.
Observing the time required for the beam to be transmitted and returned to the radar allows weather forecasting departments to “see” raindrops in the atmosphere, and measure their distance from the radar.
What makes a Doppler radar special is that it can provide information on both the position of targets as well as their movement. It does this by tracking the ‘phase’ of transmitted radio wave pulses; phase meaning the shape, position, and form of those pulses.

Source : Indian Express

4. INDIAN PROJECTS IN AFGHANISTAN

As the Taliban push ahead with military offensives across Afghanistan, preparing to take over after the exit of US and NATO forces, India faces a situation in which it may have no role to play in that country, and in the worst case scenario, not even a diplomatic presence.

About:

The 42MW Salma Dam in Herat province was inaugurated in 2016 and is known as the Afghan-India Friendship Dam.
The other high-profile project was the 218-km Zaranj-Delaram highway built by the Border Roads Organisation. Zaranj is located close to Afghanistan’s border with Iran.
The Afghan Parliament in Kabul was built by India at $90 million. It was opened in 2015. A block in the building is named after former PM AB Vajpayee.
In 2016, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the restored Stor Palace in Kabul, originally built in the late 19th century, and which was the setting for the 1919 Rawalpindi Agreement by which Afghanistan became an independent country.
At the Geneva Conference in November, India announced that it had concluded with Afghanistan an agreement for the construction of the Shatoot Dam in Kabul district, which would provide safe drinking water to 2 million residents.
Last year, India pledged $1 million for another Aga Khan heritage project, the restoration of the Bala Hissar Fort south of Kabul, whose origins go back to the 6th century. Bala Hissar went on to become a significant Mughal fort, parts of it were rebuilt by Jahangir, and it was used as a residence by Shah Jahan.

Source : Indian Express

5. HUBBLE TELESCOPE

NASA plans to fix a glitch that has stopped the Hubble space telescope from being used for science work for more than a month. The malfunction has been described as the most serious problem in a decade to face the legendary observatory, which is currently running in “safe mode”.

About:

The Hubble, launched in 1990, is considered by many to be the most important scientific tool ever to be built, having churned out more than 15 lakh observations that have been used to publish around 18,000 research papers.
Named after the astronomer Edwin Hubble, the observatory is the first major optical telescope to be placed in space and has made groundbreaking discoveries in the field of astronomy since its launch.
According to NASA’s official website, the launch and deployment of Hubble in April 1990 is said to be the “most significant advance in astronomy since Galileo’s telescope.”
It is larger than a school bus in size, has a 7.9 feet mirror, and captures stunning images of deep space playing a major role in helping astronomers understand the universe by observing the most distant stars, galaxies and planets.

Source : Indian Express

6. EWS RESERVATION IN ANDHRA PRADESH

The Andhra Pradesh government has issued orders for implementation of 10 per cent EWS reservation in all government recruitments henceforth.

About:

The order is in accordance with The Constitution (103rd) Amendment Act 2019 that provides for the creation of the special EWS quota to be implemented by the state.
The ruling YSR Congress Party government had started implementing EWS reservation in educational institutions soon after forming the government in June 2019.
The AP government has simplified the norms stipulated by the Centre for the implementation of 10 per cent reservation to the EWS in employment and education, without any sub-categorisation.
People who are not covered under the existing reservations for BCs, SCs, STs and whose gross annual family income is below Rs 8 lakh per annum, are eligible for EWS reservation in both employment and educational opportunities.

Important Info :

Why is the Andhra Pradesh government providing the reservation?

The AP government feels that there are many poor people in the upper sections of society who are not covered under any scheme and do not receive any benefits because they are in the general category.
The 10 per cent reservation for EWS is to cover such families.

Source : Indian Express

7. CARD PAYMENT NETWORK COMPANIES

The Reserve Bank of India has so far barred three foreign card payment network companies — Mastercard, American Express and Diners Club — from taking new customers on board over the issue of storing data in India.

What do the RBI guidelines stipulate?

By the RBI circular on Storage of Payment System Data dated April 6, 2018, all system providers were directed to ensure that within six months the entire data (full end-to-end transaction details, information collected or carried or processed as part of the message or payment instruction) relating to payment systems operated by them is stored in a system only in India.
They were also required to report compliance to the RBI and submit a board-approved system audit report conducted by a CERT-In empanelled auditor within the timelines specified.
However, credit and card firms with global operations have been resisting the move, citing costs, security risk, lack of clarity, timeline, and the possibility of data localisation demand from other countries.

Important Info :

What’s the role of card networks?

Firms such as Mastercard, Visa and National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) are Payment System Operators authorised to operate a card network in India under the Payment and Settlement Systems (PSS) Act, 2007.
Under the Act, the RBI is the authority for the regulation and supervision of payment systems in India. The RBI’s payment system enables payments to be effected between a payer and a beneficiary and involves the process of clearing, payment or settlement, or all of them.

Source : Indian Express

8. KANWAR YATRA

The Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of a report on the decision by the Uttar Pradesh government to allow Kanwar Yatra this year with certain restrictions, even as the Uttarakhand government had suspended the yatra amid fears of a possible Covid-19 outbreak.

About:

The Kanwar Yatra is a pilgrimage organised in the Hindu calendar month of Shravana (Saavan).
Saffron-clad Shiva devotees generally walk barefoot with pitchers of holy water from the Ganga or other holy rivers. Devotees carry the pitchers of holy water on their shoulders, balanced on decorated slings known as Kanwars.
In the Gangetic plains, the water is taken from pilgrimage sites such as Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand, Sultanganj in Bihar, and Prayagraj, Ayodhya or Varanasi from Uttar Pradesh.
The water is used by the pilgrims to worship Shiva lingas at shrines of importance, include the 12 Jyotirlingas, or at certain specific temples such as the Pura Mahadeva and Augharnath Temple in Meerut or even in the devotee’s own village or town.
This form of Shiva worship has special significance in the areas around the Ganga. An important festival with similarities to the Kanwar yatra in North India, called the Kavadi festival, is celebrated in Tamil Nadu, in which Lord Muruga is worshipped.

Source : Indian Express

9. RE-WILDING OF WILD ANIMALS

The recent attempt of Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) to reintroduce into the wild an abandoned nine-month-old cub named Mangala after rearing it in ‘captivity’ for two years has once again brought the controversial concept of ‘re-wilding’ of abandoned or injured animals under the lens.

About:

As per the Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines laid down by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under Section 38(O) of The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, there are three ways to deal with orphaned or abandoned tiger cubs.
The first is to make an effort to reunite the abandoned cubs with their mother.
Second, if a reunion of the cub with its mother is not possible, then shift the cub to a suitable zoo.
Third, reintroduction of the cub into the wild after a certain time when it appears that the cub is capable of surviving in the wild independently. This is what is known as ‘re-wilding’.
NTCA stresses that the tiger cub should be reared in an in situ enclosure for a minimum of two years, and during this time, each cub should have a successful record of at least 50 ‘kills’.

Source : Indian Express

10. AMAZON FORESTS

The Amazon forests in South America, which are the largest tropical forests in the world, have started emitting carbon dioxide (CO2) instead of absorbing carbon emissions.

About:

A significant amount of deforestation in eastern and southeastern Brazil has turned the forest into a source of CO2 that has the ability to warm the planet.
Not only the Amazon rainforests, some forests in Southeast Asia have also turned into carbon sources in the last few years as a result of formation of plantations and fires.

The Amazon basin

The Amazon basin is huge with an area covering over 6 million square kilometres, it is nearly twice the size of India.
The Amazon rainforests cover about 80 per cent of the basin and as per NASA’s Earth observatory, they are home to nearly a fifth of the world’s land species and is also home to about 30 million people including hundreds of indigenous groups and several isolated tribes.
Other than this, the basin produces about 20 per cent of the world’s flow of freshwater into the oceans. Over the last few years, the forest has been under threat due to deforestation and burning. In 2019, fires in the Amazon were visible from space.

Source : Indian Express

17 JULY 2021 CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF NDA SSB

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