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19 MAY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB

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Written by NDI EDITOR

May 19 2022

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19 MAY 2022 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS | UPSC CDS CAPF AFCAT NDA SSB
1. ETHANOL BLENDING
The Union Cabinet approved amendments to the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018, to advance the date by which fuel companies have to increase the percentage of ethanol in petrol to 20%, from 2030 to 2025.

About:

  • The policy to introduce 20% ethanol in petrol will take effect from April 1, 2023.
  • India achieved 9.45% ethanol blending as on March 13, 2022. The Centre projects that this will reach 10% by the end of financial year 2022.

Benefits

  • Immense Benefits could accrue to the country by 20% ethanol blending by 2025, such as saving ₹30,000 crore of foreign exchange per year, increased energy security, lowered carbon emissions, better air quality, self-reliance, better use of damaged foodgrains, increased farmers’ incomes and investment opportunities.
  • The new policy would allow more feed stock for producing biofuel and foster the development of indigenous technologies.

Challenges

  • A 20% blend could require some changes and may even drive up the prices of vehicles.
  • A greater percentage of blending could also mean more land being diverted for water-intensive crops such as sugar cane, which the government currently subsidises.
Source : The Hindu

2. TRIPLE TEST FOR OBC QUOTA IN LOCAL BODY ELECTIONS
The Supreme Court (SC) directed the implementation of reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBC) in local body polls to be held in Madhya Pradesh.

About:

  • It said the Backward Classes Commission had submitted a revised report that satisfied the triple test for reservation for OBCs and gave a break-up of the reservation local body-wise.
  • The SC in its March 4, 2021 judgment in Vilas Krishnarao Gawli judgment had provided for the triple test benchmark for states in quantifying OBC quota in local body elections.
  • The three tests are:
    • To set up a dedicated Commission to conduct contemporaneous rigorous empirical inquiry into the nature and implications of the backwardness qua local bodies, within the State;
    • To specify the proportion of reservation required to be provisioned local body wise in light of recommendations of the Commission, so as not to fall foul of over breadth;
    • In any case such reservation shall not exceed aggregate of 50% of the total seats reserved in favour of SCs/STs/OBCs taken together.
Source : The Hindu
 
3. NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANIZATION (NATO)
Finland and Sweden submitted a joint application to join NATO as Russia's invasion of Ukraine forces a dramatic reappraisal of security in Europe.

About:

  • The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European states, the United States, and Canada.
  • The organization, headquartered in Brussels, implements the North Atlantic Treaty, which was signed on 4 April 1949.
  • The reversal of the Nordic countries' long-standing policy of non-alignment came amidst the Ukraine-Russia conflict. The membership push could represent the most significant expansion of NATO in decades, doubling its border with Russia.
  • But the applications face resistance from NATO member Turkey, which accuses the Nordic neighbours of harbouring anti-Turkish extremists.
Source : The Hindu

4. MULTI-AGENCY CENTRE (MAC)
The Union Home Ministry has sanctioned ₹138.48 crore to the Intelligence Bureau (IB) for a “technical upgrade”.

About:

  • The funds are meant to upgrade the multi-agency centre (MAC), a common counter-terrorism grid under the IB conceptualised in 2001 after the Kargil war.
  • The idea behind the MAC was to create an institutional memory on terrorism and act as a platform to analyse the information on terror-related activities.
  • The MAC had the main server in Delhi which is linked to the subsidiary multi-agency centre (SMAC) under the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIBs) in all States, which further disseminates information to the intelligence branch or wing of the respective State police forces.
  • Plans are now afoot to link it to the district office of the Superintendent of Police which has been pending for more than a decade now. If MAC is linked to the district SP’s office, relevant information on terror can be fed in the system leading to the expansion of terror database.
  • As many as 28 organisations including the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), armed forces and State police are part of the platform and various security agencies share real time intelligence inputs on MAC.
Source : The Hindu

5. CLIMATE CHANGE
The past seven years were the warmest on record, and 2021 did not see record-breaking temperatures because of a La Niña event at the start and end of the year, according to a report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).

About:

  • La Nina is a cooling of surface temperatures in the Central Pacific. While this had a temporary cooling effect, it did not reverse the overall trend of rising temperatures. The average global temperature in 2021 was about 1.11 (± 0.13) degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level.
  • Four key climate change indicators — greenhouse gas concentrations, sea-level rise, ocean heat and ocean acidification — set new records in 2021, according to the report.
  • Extreme weather led to economic damage estimated at hundreds of billions of dollars and triggered shocks for food, water security and displacement that worsened in 2022.
  • The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics.
  • It was established in 1950 and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. 
Source : The Hindu
 
6. DISINVESTMENT OF PSEs
In a bid to speed up the disinvestment process of public sector enterprises (PSEs), the Cabinet empowered PSE boards to take a call on selling stakes in joint ventures and subsidiaries, as well as deciding on closure of units.

About:

  • The process for undertaking the strategic disinvestment transactions, closures to be followed by the PSEs should be open, based on the principles of competitive bidding and consistent with the guiding principles.
  • The principles for strategic disinvestment would be laid down by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management while norms for closures would be laid down by the Department of Public Enterprises.
  • In line with the spirit of the new PSE policy, 2021, to minimise presence of Government PSEs and for functional requirement, further delegation had been provided. This would enable firms to close loss-making and inefficient ventures at the right time.
Source : The Hindu
 
7. INDIAN NAVY'S P8I AIRCRAFT
Rajnath Singh, Hon’ble Raksha Mantri, during his visit to Mumbai undertook a sortie on the Indian Navy P8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance Anti-Submarine Warfare aircraft.

About:

  • During the mission, long range surveillance, electronic warfare, imagery intelligence, ASW missions and Search & Rescue capabilities employing the state-of-the-art mission suite and sensors were demonstrated.
  • The induction of P8I aircraft commencing 2013, have significantly enhanced Indian Navy's persistent surveillance operations in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
  • The P-8I’s state-of-the-art sensors such as multi-mode radars, electronic intelligence system, sonobuoys, electro-optic, infrared camera and advanced weapons provide the Indian Navy with a very potent platform with significant capability to deter and destroy.
  • These aircraft have been utilised along the International Border, the Line of Control and the Line of Actual Control to keep an eye on adversaries’ movement.
Source : PIB
 
8. ARTICLE 142
In ordering the release of Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convict A G Perarivalan on May 18, the Supreme Court invoked the extraordinary power conferred on the court under Article 142 of the Constitution.

About Article 142 of Constitution:

  • Title: Enforcement of decrees, orders of Supreme Court and orders as to discovery, etc.
  • Provisions: This article has 2 provisions –
    • 142(1): The Supreme Court may pass an order for doing complete justice.
    • 142(2): It confers three different powers on the Supreme Court. They are:
      • Securing the attendance of persons before it.
      • Discovery and production of documents and
      • Investigation and punishment of contempt of itself.

About A-142(1): Doing Complete Justice

  • The objective of Article 142(1) is that the Supreme Court must not be dependent on the executive for the enforcement of its decrees and orders.
  • Such dependence would otherwise violate the principles of independence of the judiciary and separation of powers, both of which are part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
  • In Supreme Court Bar Association v. Union of India (1998), it was decided that this article
    • Cannot be used to over-ride the existing law, but only to supplement the law and
    • Can be invoked for procedure purposes only.
Source : Indian Express
 
9. RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION (RFID)
After a high-level security review for the forthcoming Amarnath Yatra, the government has decided to track all pilgrims using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags.

About:

  • Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a wireless tracking system that consists of tags and readers.
  • Radio waves are used to communicate information/identity of objects or people to nearby readers – devices that can be hand-held or built into fixed positions like poles or buildings.
  • The tags can carry encrypted information, serial numbers and short descriptions. There are also high-memory tags like the ones designed for use in the aviation industry.

Types of RFID tags

  • Active RFIDs use their own power source, mostly batteries.
  • Passive RFIDs, on the other hand, are activated through the reader using the electromagnetic energy it transmits.
  • Active tags have a longer read range, around 300 ft, compared to passive tags.
Source : Indian Express

10. SELA TUNNEL PROJECT
The strategically-significant Sela Tunnel project in Arunachal Pradesh is nearing completion.

About:

  • Location: Located in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, the tunnel project will provide an alternate axis to the Sela pass, which is at 13,700 feet. It will be on the BCT Road – the Balipara, Charduar and Tawang axis, which is more than 300 km long.
  • Components:
    • The project, being executed by the Border Roads Organisation, includes two tunnels and a link road.
    • While Tunnel 1 will be 980 metres long single-tube, Tunnel 2 will be 1,555 metres with one bi-lane tube for traffic and one escape tube for emergencies running alongside.
    • The link road between the two tunnels will be 1,200 metres. Tunnel 2 will be one of the longest tunnels to have been constructed above an altitude of over 13,000 feet.
  • Significance: Upon completion, which is likely by the end of this year, the Sela Tunnel above 13,000-ft will boost all-weather connectivity to the Line of Actual Control with China.
Source : Indian Express
 
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Written by NDI EDITOR

National Defence Institute's Editor

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