Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Editorials are covered separately. HINDU NOTES are available free date wise| CLICK HERE

Delhi-Gurugram-SNB rail corridor gets nod

News

• The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) Board approved the construction of the Delhi-Gurugram-SNB (Shahjahanpur-Neemrana-Behror Urban Complex) Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) corridor.

Beyond News

• The corridor, which constitutes the first installment of the larger Delhi-Gurugram-Alwar corridor, seeks to reduce the travel time between Sarai Kale Khan and the SNB Urban Complex which are 106 km apart to an estimated 70 minutes.
• One of the three RRTS corridors prioritised for implementation the Delhi-Gurugram-Alwar is planned to be completed in three stages.
• Out of the eight identified corridors to connect various NCR towns with high-speed rail commute under the Functional Plan on Transport for NCR-2032, three have been prioritised for implementation in Phase-1 by the Planning Commission appointed Task Force.
• In stage I, the Delhi Gurugram Rewari SNB Urban Complex will be constructed. In Stage II, it will be extended from SNB Urban Complex to Sotanala while in Stage III, the line will be further extended from the SNB Urban Complex to Alwar.
• It is planned to be constructed in about five years’ time excluding one year of pre-construction activities at a base construction cost of ₹24,975 crore, funded by Government of India (20%), concerned State governments (20%) and bilateral or multilateral funding agencies (60%).
• The corridor will converge with other RRTS corridors in Sarai Kale Khan and will be interoperable, facilitating commuters’ movement from one corridor to another without the need to change trains.

HC seeks fishermen’s help in Marina clean-up

News

• The Madras High Court sought the assistance of fishermen in its efforts to clean up the sprawling Marina beach in the city.

Beyond News

• It said, their role in the process was the most significant because they were the ones who were living close to the beach all through the year.
• A Division Bench decided to initiate the cleaning process on a public interest litigation petition filed by Fishermen Care, a non-governmental organisation represented, seeking better relief during the fishing ban period.
• They directed the petitioner’s counsel to submit a list of the members of the NGO who were willing to cooperate with the Corporation in cleaning the beach. They also suo motu included the Corporation Commissioner as a respondent to the case and sought an action plan from him.
• In so far as the PIL petition was concerned, it had sought for a direction to the Centre as well as the State government to pay relief amount at the rate of ₹500 per day to every fisherman during the annual fishing ban period of 61 days as against a lumpsum amount of ₹ 5,000 being paid for the entire ban period.

Centre exempts 3,115 sq km from Ecologically Sensitive Areas in Kerala

News

• The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has lifted the restrictions imposed on new projects and activities in 3,115 sq km of human settlements, plantations and agricultural land in Kerala that are included in the Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs) identified by the Kasturirangan committee on the conservation of the Western Ghats.

Beyond News

• The amendment to the direction issued under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act (EPA) effectively exempts the 3,115 sq km from the restrictions on granting environmental clearance for five categories of projects and activities which have maximum interventionist and damaging impacts on ecosystems.
• The report of the High Level Working Group, had recommended the demarcation of a total of 59,940 sq km as ESA in the six States bordering the Western Ghats, namely Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• The extent of ESA in Kerala was pegged at 13,108 sq km, an area spread over 123 villages.
• Following widespread protests and political turmoil, the Kerala government, on the basis of a ground-level verification, had proposed that the ESA be limited to 9,993 sq km, including 9,107 sq km of forests and 886 sq km of non-forest area.
• Approving the State government’s recommendation, the draft notification issued by the MoEFCC on March 10, 2014, had reduced the territorial extent of ESA in Kerala by 3,115 sq km.
• Taking this reduction into account, the MoEFCC had reworked the figures and notified a total of 56,825 sq km as ESA instead of the original 59,940 sq km. Subsequent notifications issued in 2015, 2017 and 2018 had also demarcated the same area as ESA.
• The amendment notified, states that the direction would be applicable only to 56,825 sq km of ESA as mentioned in the draft notification.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Hackers compromise UPI apps

News

• Late October, at least three bank customers in Kerala found their accounts wiped clean.
• They had one thing in common: all used a United Payments Interface (UPI) smartphone application for “account to account” electronic cash transfer. In total, they had lost ₹12 lakh in a “blink”.

Beyond News

• The con men had “hijacked” the accounts of the victims through an elaborate and technically complicated phishing trick.
• They pulled off the con by downloading a UPI application on their smartphones. The victims told the police that the phishing messages appeared to be from their bank.
• The fraudsters then used the phone number and account details of the victims to complete the activation of the UPI app on their mobile. They then used the “hijacked app” to move money out of the accounts of their unsuspecting victims.
• The hackers also tricked the victims into parting with their bank ID password, one- time passcodes and credit and debit card numbers.
• The police said the hackers transferred the money from the compromised accounts to a few accounts they operated under fictitious names in rural Jharkhand.
• The Cyberdome has traced the mobile phone numbers used for the fraud.
• The police have written to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) about the fraud.
• They have also asked UPI services to use more anti-fraud protections such as two-way passcode authentication and analysis of customer payment behaviour to prevent rogue cash transfers.

Cabinet clears policy to double agri exports

News

• The Union Cabinet approved the Agriculture Export Policy, aimed at increasing India’s exports to $60 billion by 2022 from the current $37 billion.

Beyond News

• The objectives of the policy are, apart from doubling farmers’ income, to diversify the export basket and destinations, and to boost high- value and value-added exports, with a focus on perishables.
• The policy also aims to promote the export of “novel, indigenous, organic, ethnic, traditional and non-traditional” agricultural products, according to a release. The objective also is to provide an institutional mechanism for market access, tackling barriers, and dealing with sanitary and phytosanitary issues.
• In order to do this, the Centre will work with the State governments to create State clusters that can focus on particular crops, promote value-added exports, market “Brand India”, attract private investments in production and processing, establish a strong quality regimen, and improve research and development.
• Separately, the Cabinet also gave its ‘in-principle’ approval for the strategic sale of the government’s existing 52.63% total paid up equity shareholding in Rural Electrification Corporation to the Power Finance Corporation, along with the transfer of management control.

China to build 20,000 forest villages

News

• China will increase its green cover by building 20,000 national forest villages by 2020 in the country.

Beyond News

• Faced with a problem of severe pollution, China has spent over $100 billion on trees and its total forest cover area is almost 22%.
• China will continue to enhance the ecological environment in villages across the country, bring the green coverage rate in rural areas to 30% and build 20,000 national forest villages by 2020.

Aero India, aviation expo to be merged

News

• For the first time, the country’s civil aviation exhibition will be subsumed into the upcoming edition of Aero India to be held from February 20 to 24, 2019.

Beyond News

• So far, Aero India has been defence-oriented while a separate civil aviation exhibition is held in Hyderabad.
• The 12th edition of the Aero India at Bengaluru next year will feature theme-based activities. On Day 2, there will be a drone competition for start-ups and Day 4 will be women’s day. Indian origin U.S. astronaut Sunita Williams is scheduled to attend the show on Day 4. Other women achievers will also be present.
• The biennial Aero India began in 1996, and has emerged as the largest aerospace exhibition in Asia. It attracts all major aerospace manufacturers around the globe given India’s large armed forces looking at major modernisation and huge imports. Yelahanka Air Force station in Bengaluru has hosted all the 11 editions so far.
• The tag line of Aero India 2019 is “Runway for a billion opportunities.” The logo is inspired by the indigenous light combat aircraft Tejas.
• So far 158 Indian and 106 foreign companies have registered. In comparison, Aero India 2017 saw the participation of 213 companies from 22 countries and 234 Indian companies.

‘Developed nations reduced emissions’

News

• Developed nations reduced emissions by 13% in 26 years and since 2010 these have decreased by 4.4%, likely due in part to climate actions that more than offset the impact of economic and population growth, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said.

Beyond News

• The increasing levels of financial support provided by developed countries to developing countries could provide an incentive for a shift towards a low-emission and climate-resilient development pathway.
• The UNFCCC presented a report at the UN Climate Change Conference here that highlights both progress and gaps as developed countries implement climate actions to meet their targets in the period before 2020.

Findings

• The report finds that emission reduction measures by developed countries have increased and are paying off.
• This is an important foundation for accelerated climate action beyond 2020 under the Paris Accord.
• Financial support by developed countries reached $49.4 bn in 2016. This increased by 13% between 2013-14 and 2015-16 reporting periods.
• Additionally, technology transfer and capacity-building support is beginning to lay the foundation for developing countries’ climate action beyond 2020.
• The report also clearly establishes that some developed countries are ahead of their targets, while others are behind.
• The report is based on reporting that developed countries are obliged to undertake every two years.

CLICK HERE TO SEE DATE WISE CURRENT AFFAIRS