Daily Current Affairs for 11th June 2022

Coking Coal Mission

Why in news

• The Ministry of Coal has finalized an Action Plan Document for the year 2022-23.
About coking coal mission
• The coking coal mission aims to bump up production by around three times from 45 million tones 2020-21 to 140 mt by 2029-30, the coal ministry said in its document for 2022-23. Which broadly focuses on areas like grey hydrogen, pricing, and quality?
• Coking refers to the ability of coal to be converted into coke. It is a pure form of carbon. It can be used in ordinary oxygen furnaces. Coking coal is used in the manufacture of steel by blast furnaces. Domestic coking coal is a coal producing high ash content (between 18% – 49%). It is not suitable for direct use in a Blast furnace. Hence, it is mixed with imported coking coal (9% ash).

Objective of Mission Coking Coal (MCC) –

• Preparation of action plan for increasing the production and utilization of domestic coking coal.
• Adoption of new technologies.
• Allocation of coking coal blocks for private sector development.
• Setting up of new coking coal washeries, increasing R&D activities and improving quality standards.
• It helps to boost production and strengthen domestic capabilities. This will make it possible to reduce imports and strengthen the concept of self-reliant India.
• About 50 metric tonnes of coking coal is imported by the country on an annual basis. The value of imported coking coal in the financial year 2020-21 was Rs 45,435 crore.
• The Ministry of Coal has finalized an Action Plan Document for the year 2022-23 which broadly focuses on the following areas:
• Grey Hydrogen
• Just Transition/ Energy Transition
• Restructuring Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation.(CMPFO)
• Coal evacuation
• Benchmarking of Machines & Quantifiable Parameters (Output per hr/per machine)
• Outsourcing of Coal India Ltd. (CIL) Mines
• Coal Trading Platform
• Regulatory Mechanism for coal
• Training
• Corporate Restructuring of Coal Sector (CPSEs)
• Quality Issues
• Lignite Gasification
• Coking Coal Strategy
• Coal Pricing Reforms
• Futuristic Agenda- comprises of :-
o Coal to Chemical
o CIL diversification
o Robust Media campaign
o Close monitoring of CSR activities
• This is for the second time that an Agenda document for the year has been brought out in the form of a compilation and provided to all senior functionaries who have been apportioned the responsibility of steering these focus areas through the year with regular monitoring and appraisals.
• Work on the following areas from previous year’s Agenda will be continued this year also :
• Coking Coal Strategy
• Coal Pricing Reforms
• Futuristic Agenda

Challenge faced by Coal sector in India

• Beyond well-known environmental and social issues, India’s coal sector faces considerable challenges of its own. These challenges derive from lack of accountability and transparency, weak planning and inter-agency coordination, and a monopolistic market structure.
• India’s coal mine productivity is much lower than the global standards. This is primarily because of limited use of modern mining methods and technologies and sub-scale mining operations.
• The coal sector, which is regulated at several levels with the Central government, state governments and various local agencies involved in supervising the industry, is also facing problems due to delays in getting clearances.
• The key challenge is fragmentation by number of companies and blocks, which if consolidated can help develop better common infrastructure and standardise equipment.
• The operating performance of the Indian coal sector is lower than its global peers.
• Emergence of renewable energy as a key substitute for coal. Specifically the massive growth of the Indian solar sector in the last few years.

Consumer Protection

Why in news

• The Central Consumer Protection authority (CCPA) under the Department of Consumer Affairs has notified ‘Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022’ with an objective to curb misleading advertisements and protect the consumers, who may be exploited or affected by such advertisements.

About CCPA

• The CCPA has been established under section 10 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 for regulating matters relating to violation of the rights of the consumers, unfair trade practices and false or misleading advertisements which are prejudicial to the interests of public and consumers and to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers as a class.

Aim of these guidelines

• The guidelines seek to ensure that consumers are not being fooled with unsubstantiated claims, exaggerated promises, misinformation and false claims. Such advertisements violate various rights of consumers such as right to be informed, right to choose and right to be safeguarded against potentially unsafe products and services.
• In exercise of the powers conferred by section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, to CCPA, the Guidelines were notified. Some of the important features are:
• The present guidelines define “bait advertisement”, “surrogate advertisement” and clearly provide what constitutes as “free claim advertisements”.
• Keeping in view the sensitivity and vulnerability of children and severe impact advertisements make on the younger minds, several preemptive provisions have been laid down on advertisements targeting children.
• Guidelines forbid advertisements from exaggerating the features of product or service in such a manner as to lead children to have unrealistic expectations of such product or service and claim any health or nutritional claims or benefits without being adequately and scientifically substantiated by a recognized body.
• Guidelines say that advertisements targeting children shall not feature any personalities from the field of sports, music or cinema for products which under any law requires a health warning for such advertisement or cannot be purchased by children.
• Guidelines stipulate that disclaimer shall not attempt to hide material information with respect to any claim made in such advertisement, the omission or absence of which is likely to make the advertisement deceptive or conceal its commercial intent and shall not attempt to correct a misleading claim made in an advertisement. Further, it provides that, a disclaimer shall be in the same language as the claim made in the advertisement and the font used in a disclaimer shall be the same as that used in the claim.
• Clear Guidelines are laid for duties of manufacturer, service provider, advertiser and advertising agency, due diligence to be carried out before endorsing and others.
• Guidelines aim to protect consumer’s interest through bringing in more transparency and clarity in the way advertisements are being published, so that consumers are able to make informed decisions based on facts rather than false narratives and exaggerations.

Penalty For Violation

• Penalties for violating the Guidelines are also clearly outlined.
• CCPA can impose a penalty of upto 10 lakh rupees on manufacturers, advertisers and endorsers for any misleading advertisements. For subsequent contraventions, CCPA may impose a penalty of upto 50 lakh rupees.
• The Authority can prohibit the endorser of a misleading advertisement from making any endorsement for upto 1 year and for subsequent contravention, prohibition can extend upto 3 years.

IN-SPACe

Why in News

• Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today inaugurated the Headquarters of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
About IN-SPACe
• IN-SPACe is an independent nodal agency under Department of Space for allowing space activities and usage of DoS owned facilities by Non-government private entities(NGPEs) as well as to prioritise the launch manifest.

Roles and Responsibilities

• IN-SPACe is to be established as a single window nodal agency, with its own cadre, which will permit and oversee the following activities of NGPEs.
• Space activities including building of launch vehicles and satellites and providing space based services as per the definition of space activities.
• Sharing of space infrastructure and premises under the control of ISRO with due considerations to on-going activities.
• Establishment of temporary facilities within premises under ISRO control based on safety norms and feasibility assessment.
• Establishment of new space infrastructure and facilities, by NGPEs, in pursuance of space activities based on safety norms and other statutory guidelines and necessary clearances.
• Initiation of launch campaign and launch, based on readiness of launch vehicle and spacecraft systems, ground and user segment.
• Building, operation and control of spacecraft for registration as Indian Satellite by NGPEs and all the associated infrastructure for the same.
• Usage of spacecraft data and rolling out of space based services and all the associated infrastructure for the same.
• IN-SPACe will draw up an integrated launch manifest considering the requirements for ISRO, NSIL and NGPEs based on priorities and readiness level.
• IN-SPACe will work out a suitable mechanism for promotion & hand holding, sharing of technology and expertise to encourage participation of NGPEs in space activities.
• In order to carry out the space activities, capital-intensive, high technology facilities will be required by NGPEs. These facilities, spread across various ISRO Centres, shall be permitted for use by NGPEs.
• IN-SPACe will work out a suitable mechanism to offer sharing of technology, expertise and facilities on a free of cost basis wherever feasible or at a reasonable cost basis to promote NGPEs.
• IN-SPACe will act as an autonomous body, under DOS, as a single window nodal agency for enabling and regulating space activities and usage of ISRO facilities by NGPEs.
• IN-SPACe will also permit establishment of facilities, within ISRO premises, based on safety norms and feasibility assessment.
• The marketing, sharing and dissemination of remote sensing data shall be governed by Remote sensing policy. Each application requiring examination as per new policy will be examined and permitted by IN-SPACE factoring legal and security aspects.

Point to Remember: The decision of IN-SPACe shall be final and binding on all stakeholders including ISRO. NGPEs will not be required to seek separate permission from ISRO.

Objective of IN-SPACe

• IN-SPACe is expected to be a facilitator and regulator for the Private Space agencies and ISRO. Through this nodal agency, the Government aims at improving the overall space activities and taking the Indian Space program a step ahead.
Industrial output rose to high of 7.1% in April
Why in News: Industrial output rose to an eight-month high of 7.1% in April as per the data released by the government
Which Sectors have performed well?
• The manufacturing sector recorded growth of 6.3% in the first month of the current financial year.
• The power and mining sectors grew 11.8% and 7.8%, respectively.
What is the reason behind this?
• Low base bumps up number

• Base Effect: The base effect refers to the effect that the choice of a basis of comparison or reference can have on the result of the comparison between data points.
Index of Industrial Production:
• IIP is an indicator that measures the changes in the volume of production of industrial products during a given period.
• It is compiled and published monthly by the National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
• It is a composite indicator that measures the growth rate of industry groups classified under:
o Broad sectors, namely Mining, Manufacturing, and Electricity.
o Use-based sectors, namely Basic Goods, Capital Goods, and Intermediate Goods.
• Base Year for IIP is 2011-2012.
Other Key points highlighted by NSO:
• Output for primary goods, intermediate goods, infrastructure/ construction goods, and consumer non-durables sectors expanded 10.1%, 7.6%, 3.8% and 0.3%, respectively.
• The capital goods segment recorded a growth of 14.7%, while consumer durables output expanded 8.5%.

Chelonoidis phantasticus

Why in News: A giant tortoise, found alive in 2019, has been confirmed to belong to a Galápagos species long believed extinct.
• What is Chelonoidis phantasticus?
• Chelonoidis phantasticus means “fantastic giant tortoise”.
• Commonly called the Fernandina Island Galápagos giant tortoise
• The species was believed to be extinct.
• TVS-2M fuel
• Why in News? Russia has supplied the first batches of more reliable and cost-efficient nuclear fuel over the existing one, the TVS-2M nuclear fuel, to India for Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP)
• Benefits of TVS-2M fuel

• More reliable and cost-efficient due to the rigidity of a fuel bundle makes it more efficient and more vibration-resistant.
• The new fuel has increased uranium capacity – one TVS-2M assembly contains 7.6% more fuel material as compared to the earlier fuel bundles.
• Special feature of the fuel is the new generation anti-debris filter protecting bundles from debris damage, which may be caused by small-sized objects in the reactor core.
• Operation in longer fuel cycles also enhances economic efficiency of a plant.
• About Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant
• Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (or Kudankulam NPP or KKNPP) is the largest nuclear power station in India, situated in Kudankulam in the Tirunelveli district of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
• Developed by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL).
• Russia and KNPP
• Russia is building the KNPP under an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) of 1988 and follow on agreements in 1998 and 2008.
• The first stage, consisting of power units No. 1 and No. 2, was commissioned in 2013 and 2017, respectively.
• Power units No. 3,4 and No. 5,6 are the second and third stages of KNPP which are currently under construction.
Ramsay Hunt syndrome
• Why in News? Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber Saturday (June 11) announced he was suffering from temporary facial paralysis called ‘Ramsay Hunt Syndrome’
What is Ramsay Hunt Syndrome?
• Ramsay Hunt Syndrome, or herpes zoster oticus, is a rare neurological disorder which usually leads to paralysis of the facial nerve and a rash that generally affects the ear or mouth.
• It sometimes causes ringing in the ears, or tinnitus, and hearing loss.
• This is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox in children and shingles in adults — the varicella zoster virus.
• It generally occurs when a shingles outbreak affects the facial nerve near your ear. Most commonly known to leave a painful shingles rash,
• The syndrome can also cause facial paralysis and hearing loss in more serious cases.
• The illness can occur in anyone who has had chickenpox, and is most common in older adults.
• Generally with chickenpox, the virus continues to live in your nerves. Years later, it may reactivate and affect your facial nerves, resulting in Ramsay Hunt Syndrome.
• What are the symptoms of Ramsay Hunt Syndrome?
• The most common symptoms are:
• A red, rainfall rash around the ear, facial weakness and paralysis.
• Ear pain, hearing loss, tinnitus, dry mouth and eyes, and difficulty closing one eye are also common symptoms of the condition.
• Is Ramsay Hunt Syndrome contagious?
• No, but reactivation of the virus can cause a bout of chickenpox in people who haven’t previously had the illness or been vaccinated for it.
• Can it be treated?
• The illness almost always goes away but in rare instances, facial paralysis and hearing loss can be permanent.
• People suffering from Ramsay Hunt are generally prescribed anti-viral medication and in more serious cases, steroids.
• Is there a Covid-19 connection?
• A study stated that there “may be a possible association between Covid-19 vaccine and shingles.”
• Another study claimed that vaccine related herpes zoster cases have been reported worldwide.
• The Sant Tukaram temple and its significance

Why in News?

The Prime Minister is going to inaugurate the Sant Tukaram Shila Mandir in the temple town of Dehu in Pune district.

The Shila Mandir

• The Bhakti saint Sant Tukaram had sat on this piece of rock for 13 continuous days when challenged about the authenticity of the Abhyangs.
• The saint had immersed his entire work in the Indrayani river; the work miraculously reappeared after 13 days, proving their authenticity.
• The very rock where Sant Tukaram Maharaj sat for 13 days is pious and a place of pilgrimage for the Warkari sect.
• On the Dehu Sansthan temple premises, the rock used to be covered by a silver cast with an image of Sant Tukaram, and devotees would pay obesiance.

The Warkari sect

• Sant Tukaram and his work are central to the Warkari sect spread across Maharashtra.
• His message about a casteless society and his denial of rituals had led to a social movement.
• Sant Tukaram is credited with starting the Wari pilgrimage.
o The Wari sees lakhs of devotees congregating in the temple towns of Dehu and Alandi to accompany the padukas of Sant Tukaram and Sant Dyaneshwar