Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Indian appointed as World Bank’s first woman MD

News

• The World Bank Group announced its first female Managing Director – an Indian national.
• Anshula Kant, an MD at the State Bank of India (SBI) and formerly CFO of SBI, was appointed MD and CFO of the World Bank Group, the multilateral development bank said in a statement on Friday.

Warming threatens Greenland’s archaeological sites, says study

News

• In Greenland,climate change isn’t just a danger to ecosystems but also a threat to history, as global warming is affecting archaeological remains, according to a study.

Findings

• There are more than 1,80,000 archaeological sites across the Arctic, some dating back thousands of years, and previously these were protected by the characteristics of the soil.
• Because the degradation rate is controlled by the soil temperature and moisture content, rising air temperatures and changes in precipitation during the frost-free season may lead to a loss of organic key elements such as archaeological wood, bone and ancient DNA.
• In addition to organic elements, such as hair, feathers, shells and traces of flesh, some of the sites contain the ruins of Viking settlements.
• Projections used in the study, which are based on different warming scenarios, predict that average temperature could increase by up to 2.6 degrees Celsius, leading to “higher soil temperatures, a longer thaw season, and increased microbial activity within the organic layers”.
• Results show that 30 to 70% of the archaeological fraction of organic carbon (OC) could disappear within the next 80 years. This means that these remains, some of which provide a glimpse into the lives of the first inhabitants of Greenland from around 2,500 BC, are at risk.
• When findings were compared with previous surveys, they found evidence of ongoing degradation.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

India lifted 271 million people out of poverty in 10 years: UN

News

• India lifted 271 million people out of poverty between 2006 and 2016, recording the fastest reductions in the multidimensional poverty index values during the period with strong improvements in areas such as “assets, cooking fuel, sanitation and nutrition,” a report by the United Nations
• The 2019 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) released.

Findings

• The report said that in the 101 countries studied 31 low income, 68 middle income and 2 high income 1.3 billion people are “multidimensionally poor”, which means that poverty is defined not simply by income, but by a number of indicators, including poor health, poor quality of work and the threat of violence.
• The report identifies 10 countries, with a combined population of around 2 billion people, to illustrate the level of poverty reduction, and all of them have shown statistically significant progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 1, namely ending poverty “in all its forms, everywhere”.
• The 10 countries are Bangladesh, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru and Vietnam.
• The report said that within these 10 countries, data shows that 270 million people moved out of multidimensional poverty from one survey to the next.
• This progress was largely driven by South Asia. In India, there were 271 million fewer people in poverty in 2016 than in 2006, while in Bangladesh the number dropped by 19 million between 2004 and 2014.
• The report noted that of the 10 selected countries for which changes over time were analysed, India and Cambodia reduced their MPI values the fastest and they did not leave the poorest groups behind.
• India’s MPI value reduced from 0.283 in 2005-06 to 0.123 in 2015-16.
• Noting the examples of pro-poor reduction, where the poorest regions improved the fastest, Jharkhand in India reduced the incidence of multidimensional poverty from 74.9% in 2005-06 to 46.5% in 2015-16
• Ethiopia, India and Peru significantly reduced deprivations in all 10 indicators, namely nutrition, sanitation, child mortality, drinking water, years of schooling, electricity, school attendance, housing, cooking fuel and assets.
• In 2005-2006, the population in India living in multidimensional poverty stood at about 640 million people (55.1%) and this reduced to 369 million people (27.9%) living in poverty in 2015-16. India saw significant reductions in number of people who are multidimensionally poor and deprived in each of the 10 indicators over this time period.
• India reduced deprivation in nutrition from 44.3% in 2005-06 to 21.2% in 2015-16, child mortality dropped from 4.5% to 2.2%, people deprived of cooking fuel reduced from 52.9% to 26.2%, deprivation in sanitation from 50.4% to 24.6%, those deprived of drinking water reduced from 16.6% to 6.2 %.
• Further more people gained access to electricity as deprivation was reduced from 29.1% to 8.6%, housing from 44.9% to 23.6% and assets deprivation from 37.6% to 9.5%.
• In all 10 countries rural areas are poorer than urban areas. In Cambodia, Haiti, India and Peru poverty reduction in rural areas outpaced that in urban areas demonstrating pro-poor development and in Bangladesh and Democratic Republic of the Congo poverty fell at the same speed in rural and urban areas.
• Child poverty fell markedly faster than adult poverty in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Haiti, India and Peru. But children fell further behind in Ethiopia, and their progress together with that of adults stalled in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Pakistan.
• Globally, of the 1.3 billion people who are multidimensional poor, more than two-thirds of them 886 million now live in middle-income countries. A further 440 million live in low-income countries.

Supreme Court takes note of rise in child rape cases

News

• The Supreme Court  registered a suo motu PIL on the rise in child rape cases and a corresponding lack of infrastructure and delay in the probe and trial of these cases.

Beyond News

• A Bench said the Supreme Court had prepared a list of child rape cases in the past six months, from January to June 2019, and found that out of the 24,000 cases lodged in this period, only 900 had completed trial and disposed of.
• The court appointed senior advocate V. Giri as amicus curiae and listed the case. The court said it wanted suggestions on the setting up of special courts, prosecutors and exclusive investigation of these cases to render victims speedy justice.
• The Bench directed the apex court registry to register the case as a writ petition titled “In-re Alarming Rise in The Number of Reported Child Rape Incidents”.
• Chief Justice asked the registry to file a report on two aspects such as the total number of rape cases involving child registered across India since January 1 and the stage of investigation and the time taken to file a charge sheet as also the status of trials. Details were collected from all the States and high courts.
• Referring to the data on sexual crimes against children, the court’s report said that from January 1 to June 30, 24,212 FIRs have been filed across India. Of these, 11,981 are still being probed by the police and in 12,231 cases, the police have filed charge sheets.

India again abstains at U.N. vote on LGBTQ Independent Expert, draws criticism

News

• India abstained at the vote for extending the mandate of an important U.N. official who reports on violence and discrimination against sexual minorities.

Beyond News

• India’s abstention at the resolution for term-renewal of the Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva drew widespread criticism from activists especially since it came after the Supreme Court struck down Section 377 and decriminalised the LGBTQ community.
• The resolution received support from most of the member countries at the Human Rights Council but India, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameron, Congo, Hungary, Togo and Senegal abstained during the final voting. Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, China, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Qatar, Somalia opposed the resolution.
• India had also abstained during the 2016 vote on appointment of the Independent Expert. The current Independent Expert is Victor Madrigal Borlioz of Costa Rica.
• The Resolution numbered L10 Rev 1 granted an extension of three years to the Independent Expert to carry on reporting on incidents of violence against the LGBTQ community all over the world.
• The Resolution will help integrating the work of the crucial official into the larger body of global work by the United Nations. The text of the resolution specifically asked the U.N. for providing financial support to the official in implementing the mandate.
• It also urged member countries of the U.N. to support the Independent Expert in carrying out the mandate of protection of the vulnerable sexual minorities. Accordingly the Expert will submit an annual report to the U.N. General Assembly and the UNHRC.

India, Russia discuss space cooperation

News

• India and Russia explored the “possibilities for production of space systems in India” during the discussions between National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and the visiting Director General of Russia’s space agency ROSCOSMOS and former Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.

Beyond News

• Cooperation in futuristic technologies, including new space systems, rocket engines, propellants and propulsion systems, spacecraft and launch vehicle technology were also discussed.
• The discussions covered all aspects of India-Russia space cooperation.
• Both sides will take a strategic approach to elevate bilateral cooperation to the next level keeping in mind the privileged partnership and India’s priorities such as Make in India programme.
• There has been an increase in exchanges between the two space agencies as India rushes to finalise the details of the Gaganyaan Mission, which will carry Indian astronaut to space in 2022, to coincide with the country’s 75th anniversary of Independence.
• Russia has promised all assistance for India’s human space flight mission Gaganyaan, In addition, the Russian side stated that they would like to see India participate in the International Space Station, and offered its full support for this purpose.

Trade talks held with team of U.S. officials

News

• Commerce Ministry officials met trade officials from the U.S. and discussed ways to improve trade relations been the two countries.

Beyond News

• A delegation led by Assistant United States Trade Representative (AUSTR) Christopher Wilson visited India to explore potential for enhanced bilateral trade and economic engagement with India under the new Government.
• The meeting aimed at providing new impetus to bilateral trade and commercial ties, in line with the mandate given by Indian Prime Minister and the U.S. President Donald Trump during their meeting at Osaka, Japan on June 28, 2019.
• Both sides discussed the broad contours of bilateral trade and commercial ties and agreed to continue their discussions for achieving mutually beneficial outcomes aimed at further growing the economic relationship and addressing mutual trade concerns.
• The U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) estimated that U.S.-India bilateral trade will grow from $143 billion to $238 billion by 2025. This growth will occur if trade grows by 7.5% each year, as has been the trend for the last seven years.
• The AUSTR also called on the Commerce Secretary and Commerce & Industry Minister during the visit.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Chandrayaan-2 lander Vikram tested over ‘craters’ created at Challakere Science City

News

• To simulate the lunar surface at the Bengaluru test facility, professional crushers broke down the rocks brought from around Salem in Tamil Nadu to the micro grain sizes sought by the ISRO-led team.

Beyond News

• At the Lunar Terrain Test Facility (LTTF), the team spread the soil trucked in from Salem up to a height of about 2 metres. Studios were hired to illuminate the facility exactly as sunlight would play on the lunar terrain.
• On the Moon, the metre-long rover, weighing 27 kg, must move for about 500 metres during its expected life of 14 Earth days (one lunar day). Rover tests began as early as in 2015. The ISRO team had to reckon with the weak lunar gravity, about 16.5% of Earth’s.
• The rover’s weight was artificially reduced using helium balloons.
• Previous missions by other countries have suggested that the southern part of the Moon is mineral rich with the promise of water, which was first confirmed by the Chandrayaan-1 mission.
• The Indian lander Vikram would be the first ever spacecraft to land at the lunar south pole.
• It has two site options, the craters Manzinus-C and Simpelius-N.
• The sites were picked after scouring through a few thousand lunar images from Chandrayaan-1 and other missions.
• For testing the lander, ISRO had a large test bed created at its new R&D campus at the Challakere Science City, some 400 km from Bengaluru. Vikram’s set of sensors, called the Hazard Detection and Avoidance (HDA) system, is a critical part of the mission.
• In the actual descent to the Moon, the lander hovers for a few seconds over a site and the sensors must assess whether the spot is flat enough for the lander’s legs: whether it has rocks that might topple the lander, and whether the lander can be steady to release the rover within it.
• If the spot is not safe, it must quickly rise and shift to a neighbouring spot and again assess if it is suitable to land on, all in seconds.
• Other tests were conducted to clear the working of the lander’s propulsion system, its actuator and legs, and the rover’s movement.
• The HDA system processes the inputs from various sensors, compares the data collected with the information already stored in the lander and provides the required inputs to the navigation and guidance system in real time to correct the trajectory at the end of rough braking to enable a safe and soft landing.

Environment Ministry initiates ₹33-crore project to save the great Indian bustard

News

• With just 130 great Indian bustards left in the country, the Centre has initiated a project worth ₹33.85 crore for their conservation and protection, the Environment Ministry told Lok Sabha.

Beyond News

• Indian bustard, one of the heaviest birds listed under critically endangered species, Union Minister of State for Environment said the ministry was providing funds to states and Union Territories for conservation and protection of 21 critically endangered species, including the great Indian bustard.
• The ministry, through its Centrally Sponsored Scheme-Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (CSS-IDWH), provides funds to states or Union Territories under the component ‘Species Recovery Programme’ for conservation and protection of 21 critically endangered species, including the great Indian bustard.
• The ministry has also initiated a project, titled ‘Habitat Improvement and Conservation Breeding of Great Indian Bustard-An Integrated Approach’, with a financial support of Rs 33.85 crore for five years from the ad hoc Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) for conservation, breeding of the Indian bustard with technical support from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
• The important objective of this programme is to build up captive population of great Indian bustard and to release the chicks in the wild for increasing the population. Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra are the important range states involved in this programme.
• In the last four years, the government has released over Rs 7.9 crore to Maharashtra and Rajasthan for conservation of great Indian bustard under the CSS-IDWH.
• According to government figures, Maharshtra got Rs 4.79 crore between 2015 and 2019, while Rajasthan received Rs 3.12 crore.

Water train from Vellore arrives in Chennai

News

• A train carrying 5 million litres of water arrived in Chennai, which has been grappling with an acute water crisis over the past few months.

Beyond News

• The train with 50 tank wagons (BTPN), carrying 50,000 litres of water in each of them from Jolarpettai in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore district, reached the filling station at the Integral Coach Factory Yard in Villivakkam.
• Around 100 inlet pipes installed near the railway tracks would be used to discharge 2.5 million litres of water in all the wagons to be sent to a treatment plant after passing through a conduit, an official of Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board said.
• After treatment it would be sent for distribution. This arrangement has been made for the next six months until the (advent of the) north-east monsoon.
• Chennai has been grappling with an acute water crisis over the past few months, facing a daily water deficit of at least 200 million litres. The four reservoirs supplying to the city have run dry.
• The Tamil Nadu government had earlier requested the railways to help them ferry the water to the city.

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