Daily Current Affairs for 23rd October 2020

  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Current Affairs October 2020
  4. »
  5. Daily Current Affairs for 23rd October 2020

Army chief commissions INS Kavaratti at Visakhapatnam

Paper:

Mains: General Studies-III: Technology, Economic Development, Bio diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management

Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Mukund Naravane commissioned INS Kavaratti, the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), at a ceremony held at the Naval Dockyard.

Key details

  • INS Kavaratti, the last of the four indigenously built Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) stealth corvettes built under Project 28 (Kamorta class), by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, was formally inducted into the Indian Navy at the Naval Dockyard in Eastern Naval Command.
  • The ship, named after the capital of the Lakshadweep group of islands, has been constructed using high-grade DMR 249A steel produced in India.
  • It joins three other ships of the same class INS Kamorta, INS Kadmatt and INS Kiltan, at the ENC. Experts say that the induction of the ASW corvettes will be a game changer in the eastern seaboard, especially with the Chinese submarines trying to make sorties in the Indian Ocean.
  • Having completed sea trials of all her equipment, Kavaratti has been commissioned as a fully combat-ready platform providing a boost to the ASW capability of the Indian Navy.

INS Kavaratti

  • The ship spans 109 metres in length, 14 metres in breadth with a displacement of 3300 tonnes and is regarded as one of the most potent Anti-Submarine Warships to have been constructed in India.
  • With the superstructure built using composite material, the ship is propelled by four diesel engines.
  • The ship has enhanced stealth features resulting in reduced Radar Cross Section (RCS) achieved by X form of superstructure along with optimally sloped surfaces. The ship’s advanced stealth features make her less susceptible to detection by the enemy.
  • The ship has high indigenous content with the state-of-the-art equipment and systems to fight in Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) warfare conditions.
  • Also, the weapons and sensors suite onboard is pre-dominantly indigenous.
  • Some of the major equipment/ systems developed indigenously include Combat Management System, Torpedo Tube Launchers and Infra-Red Signature Suppression System and etc.

Other Advance automation systems

  • Other advanced automation systems include
  • Total Atmospheric Control System (TACS),
  • Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS),
  • Integrated Bridge System (IBS),
  • Battle Damage Control System (BDCS) and
  • Personnel Locator System (PLS).
  • The ship is manned by a team comprising twelve officers and 134 sailors with Commander Sandeep Singh at the helm as her first Commanding Officer. The ship would be an integral part of the Eastern Fleet under the Eastern Naval Command.
  • The ship is the reincarnation of the erstwhile Arnala Class missile corvette of the same name (INS Kavaratti – P 80), a ship that outlived her life span and played a stellar role in Liberation of Bangladesh in 1971.

Project 28

  • The Kamorta-class corvettes or Project 28 are a class of anti-submarine warfare corvettes currently in service with the Indian Navy.
  • Project 28 was approved in 2003, with construction of the lead ship, INS Kamorta commencing on 12 August 2005.
  • All of the four corvettes, INS Kamorta, INS Kadmatt, INS Kiltan and INS Kavaratti were commissioned in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2020 respectively.
  • The platform and major internal systems of this class of corvettes are indigenously designed and built.

Project 75

  • The govt in 2019 cleared the P75I plan under the strategic partnership model, which envisages the construction of six conventional submarines with better sensors and weapons and the Air Independent Propulsion System (AIP).
  • The P75I project is part of a 30-year submarine building plan that ends in 2030.
  • As part of this plan, India was to build 24 submarines18 conventional submarines and six nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) — as an effective deterrent against China and Pakistan.
  • Of the 14 conventional submarines India currently possesses, including the Scorpene, only half are operational at any given point of time.
  • India also has two nuclear-powered submarines — INS Arihant (SSBN, a ballistic missile submarine) and INS Chakra (SSN, a nuclear-powered one) leased from Russia.

2+2 talks will focus on regional issues

Why in news?

India and the U.S. will discuss “salient regional” issues when U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Defence Secretary travel to India next week for the “2+2 Ministerial dialogue”.

Key details

  • The Third India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue will entail a comprehensive discussion on cross-cutting bilateral issues of mutual interest.
  • In addition, both sides will also exchange views on salient regional and global issues.
  • India and U.S. have a comprehensive global strategic partnership which includes political, security and defence, economic, commercial, technology and people-to-people contacts.

The 2+2 Foreign and Defence Minister’s mechanism

  • Two plus two dialogue’ is an expression used to indicate that two appointed ministers from each country, the ministers of defence and external affairs in this case, will meet up to discuss the two countries’ strategic and security interests.
  • The goal is to establish a diplomatic, yet fruitful, conversation between the two countries’ respective heads of defence and external affairs.
  • The 2+2 Foreign and Defence Minister’s mechanism, which was announced by U.S. President Trump and PM Modi during their first meeting in 2017, was held in Delhi in September 2018 and in Washington DC in December 2019.
  • It replaced the “India-U.S. Strategic and Commercial dialogue”, involving the Foreign and Commerce Ministers, announced by then U.S. President Barack Obama and PM Modi in 2015.

Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership

  • The Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership was initiated in 2013 when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had visited the US and met President Barack Obama.
  • The two leaders had then claimed that the India-US relationship has developed a “comprehensive global strategic partnership”.
  • PM Modi and the US President vowed to strengthen India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, anchored in mutual trust, shared interests, goodwill and robust engagement of their citizens.

CPI­IW base year revised to 2016

Paper:

Mains: General Studies-III: Technology, Economic Development, Bio diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management

Why in news?

The Union government on Thursday revised the base year for computing Consumer Price Index (Industrial Workers) CPI-IW from the present 2001 to 2016 after a gap of 15 years.

Key details

  • The Labour and Employment Ministry revised the base year of the Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) to reflect the changing consumption pattern, giving more weightage to spending on health, education, recreation and other miscellaneous expenses, while reducing the weight of food and beverages.
  • The new series would not have an impact on the dearness allowance (DA) given to government employees for now.

Other Changes Introduced

  • The new series, representing the latest consumption pattern, would be in the interest of workers.
  • The number of centres, markets and the sample size for working class family income and expenditure survey were all increased.
  • The Minister also released the first index, with 2016 as the base year. The index for September, calculated for 88 centres as opposed to the previous 78 centres, was 118.
  • The sample size was increased from 41,040 families to 48,384, and the number of selected markets for collecting retail price data from 289 to 317.
  • The weight to food and beverage was reduced from 46.2% to 39%, while spending on housing increased from 15.2% to 17%.

What is Consumer Price Index (CPI)?

  • The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure that examines the weighted average of prices of a basket of consumer goods and services, such as transportation, food, and medical care.
  • The CPI measures the average change in prices over time that consumers pay for a basket of goods and services, commonly known as inflation.
  • It is calculated by taking price changes for each item in the predetermined basket of goods and averaging them.
  • Changes in the CPI are used to assess price changes associated with the cost of living.
  • The CPI is one of the most frequently used statistics for identifying periods of inflation or deflation.

Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW),

  • The Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW), includes selected services and is measured on the basis of retail prices.
  • The CPI-IW is used primarily for measuring the Dearness Allowance (DA) payable to workers in the organised sector including PSUs, banks and insurance companies, besides government employees.
  • The CPI-IW will give more weight to non-food items than the 2001 index. The weighting for food and beverages components is set to decline from 46 per cent to 39 per cent in the new series.

Who maintains Consumer Price Index in India?

  • In India, there are four consumer price index numbers, which are calculated, and these are as follows:
  • CPI for Industrial Workers (IW)
  • CPI for Agricultural Labourers (AL)
  • CPI for Rural Labourers (RL) and
  • CPI for Urban Non-Manual Employees (UNME).
  • While the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation collects CPI (UNME) data and compiles it, the remaining three are collected by the Labour Bureau in the Ministry of Labour.

Base years

In India, the base years of the current series of CPI(IW), CPI(AL) and CPI(RL), are 1982, 1986-87 and 1984-85, respectively.


Testimony of sexual assault victim enough for conviction

Why in news?

The sole and trustworthy evidence of a woman, who is a victim of a sexual offence, is enough to find her assailant guilty, the Supreme Court has held.

Key details

  • “A woman, who is the victim of sexual assault, is not an accomplice to the crime but is a victim of another person’s lust and, therefore, her evidence need not be tested with the same amount of suspicion as that of an accomplice,” a three-judge Bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan observed.
  • The court was confirming the punishment awarded to a man found guilty under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old child in Tamil Nadu.
  • The rapist degrades the very soul of the helpless female, Justice Shah quoted from a past verdict.

POCSO ACT

The POCSO Act, 2012 is a comprehensive law to provide for the protection of children

from the offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography, while safeguarding the

interests of the child at every stage of the judicial process by incorporating child-friendly

mechanisms for reporting, recording of evidence, investigation and speedy trial of offences

through designated Special Courts.

Features

Child–  The Act defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age, and defines

different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative assault, as well as

sexual harassment and pornography, and deems a sexual assault to be “aggravated” under certain

circumstances, such as when the abused child is mentally ill or when the abuse is committed by a

person in a position of trust or authority vis-à-vis the child, like a family member, police officer,

teacher, or doctor.

Trafficking– People who traffick children for sexual purposes are also punishable under

the provisions relating to abetment in the Act.

The said Act prescribes stringent punishment graded as per the gravity of the offence, with a maximum term of rigorous imprisonment for life, and fine.

Medical Examination– The Act makes provisions for the medical examination of the child in a manner designed to cause as little distress as possible.

The examination is to be carried out in the presence of the parent or other person whom the child trusts, and in the case of a female child, by a female doctor.

Special Courts- The act provides for Special Courts that conduct the trial in-camera and without

revealing the identity of the child, in a child-friendly manner.

Hence, the child may have a parent or other trusted person present at the time of testifying and can call for assistance from an interpreter, special educator, or other professional while giving evidence; further, the child is not to be called repeatedly to testify in court and may testify through video-link rather than in a courtroom.


U.S. to nix business visas for H­1B speciality jobs

Why in news?

The State Department has proposed not to issue temporary business visas for H-1B speciality occupations which allowed several companies to send their technology professionals for a short stay to complete jobs on site in the U.S., a move which could affect hundreds of Indians.

Key details

  • The proposal, if finalised, will eliminate any misconception that the “B-1 in lieu of H policy” provides an alternative avenue for foreign professionals to enter the U.S. to perform skilled labour that allows, and potentially even encourages them and their employers to circumvent the restrictions and requirements relating to the H non-immigrant classification.
  • The move is likely to impact several Indian companies which send their technology professionals on B-1 visas for a short stay to complete jobs on site in the U.S.
  • The proposed changes and the resulting transparency would reduce the impact of foreign labour on the U.S. workforce of aliens performing activities in a specialty occupation without the procedural protections attendant to the H-1B classification.

US H-1B visa for specialty workers

  • The US H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ graduate level workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields such as in IT, finance, accounting, architecture, engineering, mathematics, science, medicine, etc.
  • Any professional level job that usually requires you to have a bachelors degree or higher can come under the H-1B visa for specialty occupations.
  • If you do not have a bachelors degree or higher, you may be able to show degree equivalence through work experience and/or other qualifications.

H4 Visa

  • H-1B is one of the few visas offered by the United States that allow family members to join the visa holder during their length of stay in the US.
  • To do so, the dependent family members (spouse and unmarried children under 21 years of age) will have to apply for the H4 visa.
  • H4 visa holders can go to school, open bank accounts, get a driver’s license and even receive a social security number. They can also legally work in the US after applying for an Employment Authorisation Document.

CPCB flags unsafe disposal of carcasses

Paper:

Mains: General Studies-III: Technology, Economic Development, Bio diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management

Why in news?

About 30% of India’s dead cattle and 40% of goats weren’t flayed and nearly nine million bovine hides were “lost annually due to non-recovery,” according to a note by the Central Pollution Control Board proposing guidelines on proper disposal of deceased livestock.

Key details

  • CPCB Issued guidelines for incineration, calls for better use of remains for fertilizers
  • The draft guidelines require carcasses of livestock to be disposed off in incinerators and municipal authorities must ensure that such facilities are set up and made available.
  • Carcasses, especially those that result from the animal slaughter, are an ‘environmental hazard’ and are partly to blame for ‘bird-hit’ hazards at airports.
  • There were nearly 25 million head of cattle including buffalo that died of natural causes. However there wasn’t any organised system of disposal and it had become a major environmental hazard.
  • While the hide was mostly removed for leather, the carcasses were frequently left to “putrefy in the open” and attracted vultures and dogs polluting the environment and creating environmental hazards. This open dumping attracted birds which can cause air accidents.

Proper disposal Methods

  • Flaying of cattle could yield more commercial opportunities, for instance, ‘meat-meal, bone-meat and technical fat’.
  • The process, however, requires setting up more ‘carcass utilisation plants’ where the parts of the animal could be used to make tallow, nutritional supplements and fertilizer.
  • The other methods of disposal are incineration and ‘deep burial’.
  • The guidelines, which are open for public comment until mid-November, said these latter techniques, which are now the dominant method of disposal, must be put to use only in case utilisation plants couldn’t be set up. State PCBs would have to ensure that carcasses were being disposed of properly, the Board said.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)

  • The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is statutory organisation
  • It was constituted in September, 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. Further, CPCB was entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
  • It serves as a field formation and also provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
  • Principal Functions of the CPCB, as spelt out in the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981,

(i) to promote cleanliness of streams and wells in different areas of the States by prevention, control and abatement of water pollution, and

(ii) to improve the quality of air and to prevent, control or abate air pollution in the country.

Functions of CPCB

  • Advise the Central Government on any matter concerning prevention and control of water and air pollution and improvement of the quality of air.
  • Plan and cause to be executed a nation-wide programme for the prevention, control or abatement of water and air pollution;
  • Provide technical assistance and guidance to the State Boards, carry out and sponsor investigation and research relating to problems of water and air pollution, and for their prevention, control or abatement;
  • Organise through mass media, a comprehensive mass awareness programme on the prevention, control or abatement of water and air pollution;
  • Collect, compile and publish technical and statistical data relating to water and air pollution and the measures devised for their effective prevention, control or abatement;
  • Disseminate information in respect of matters relating to water and air pollution and their prevention and control;
  • Lay down, modify or annul, in consultation with the State Governments concerned, the standards for stream or well, and lay down standards for the quality of air; and
  • Perform such other function as may be prescribed by the Government of India.

Current Affairs

Recent Posts