Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Bhubaneswar becomes 0.5 degree C hotter due to urbanisation

News

• Urbanization of cities in the last decade can sharply increase the local temperature has been well documented by a recent study undertaken by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar.

Findings

• Blame it on increased urbanisation, the local surface temperature in large cities in Odisha Cuttack and Bhubaneswar has increased by as much as 40-50% during the period 2001-2010.
• While temperature has increased by about 0.9 degree C due to regional warming, which is a global phenomenon, urbanisation or changes in land use and land cover alone has contributed 40-50% of that increase in these cities.
• In other words, there has been a 0.5 degree C increase in absolute local temperature in large cities in the State during the period 2001 to 2010 solely due to urbanisation.
• In the case of smaller cities and town in the State of Odisha, the change in local warming caused by urbanisation or changes in land use and land cover has been about 25%.
• The team used 30 years of surface temperature measurements taken from over 22 sites over the state of Odisha coupled with Earth Observation data and model output to explore the effect of land use land cover and its changes.
• When compared with rural areas, the local warming in cities in Odisha is double due to urbanization.
• The 0.5 degree C increase in local temperature in Bhubaneswar can be traced back to rapid urbanisation of the city in about 15 years.
• The rapid increase in urbanisation was at the cost of dense vegetation and crop fields. While dense vegetation reduced by 89%, crop fields shrunk by 83%.
• The study shows that across the State of Odisha, changes in cropping pattern and urbanisation have together had a clear effect on long term temperature changes.
• For instance, the cropping pattern has seen a clear shift from Kharif crops (July-October) to Rabi crops (October-March). Compared with 2004, Kharif crop cultivation area in 2010 had reduced by 28,000 sq. km, whereas there has been an increase of 38,000 sq. km in Rabi crop cultivation area during the same period.
• The northeast part of the State has witnessed the greatest change in land use and land cover during the period 2001-2010. During the period 1991-2000, the western part of the State saw the most change in land use and land cover causing more warming in that region.
• During the period 2001-2010, the trend shifted to northeast as changes in land use and land cover were more pronounced in that part of the State causing more warming in northeast Odisha.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

India’s NSG membership not on Kazakhstan meeting agenda, says China

News

• China clarified that India’s membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) was not on the agenda of the plenary of the grouping that concluded in Nur-Sultan, formerly known as Astana, in Kazakhstan.

Beyond News

• The Chinese foreign ministry also signalled that an early decision on New Delhi’s entry into the 48-nation club that controls the global follows of nuclear material is unlikely.
• India and Pakistan, though nuclear weapon powers, have not signed the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty).
• India’s NSG entry has become a point of friction between New Delhi and Beijing, as China, an all-weather ally of Pakistan, is the only major power that is objecting to New Delhi’s membership to the grouping.

No H1B Visa caps in retaliation for data localisation: U.S. State Department

News

• The U.S. State Department has said that it is not considering capping the number of H1B visas for countries that adopt laws that restrict data being taken out of their borders (data localisation).

Beyond News

• The Trump Administration’s ‘Buy American Hire American Executive Order’ called for a broad review of U.S. worker visa programmes, including the H-1B programme.
• The H1B visa allows temporary employment of foreign workers in U.S.-based firms, in occupations that “require the theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or higher in the specific specialty, or its equivalent.
• The H1B, while a temporary visa, is a pathway to permanent residency (a Green Card) in the U.S.
• There is a congressionally-mandated cap of 65,000 H1B visas under the general category and a further 20,000 for advanced degree holders. However, there are no country-wise caps for H1B. Some H1Bs – such as those for academic, research jobs and non-profit organisation positions, are cap exempt.
• The Trump administration has taken several steps to tighten the screws on the H1B programme, since the President signed the ‘Buy American and Hire American’ order in April 2017.
• Some of these changes have focussed on combating fraud (such as through site visits) and ensuring that the probability of higher qualified workers getting visas is increased (such as by reversing the order in which general and masters degree H1B lotteries are conducted each year).
• Other changes have made the H1B programme less attractive. For instance, an attempt to prevent H1B spouses from getting work-permits (an ‘H4 EAD’) is in the works and could severely alter family dynamics and the ability of foreign worker families in the U.S. to support themselves.

Changes to IT Act to take effect soon

News

• The government will soon notify amendments to the Information Technology (IT) Act that seek to make it mandatory for online platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter to trace the originator of “unlawful” content.

Beyond News

• Last December, the government sought public comments on the draft amendments to the IT Act proposed with an aim to curb the spread of fake news.
• Besides tracing the origin of the message, the draft rules proposed the removal of “unlawful content” within 24 hours from the platform.
• The draft rules had drawn criticism from the Opposition as well as some experts over fears of “surveillance and censorship”. Additionally, platforms such as WhatsApp have been at loggerheads with the government over the issue of tracing the origin of a message.
• The government has pointed out that a number of lynchings occurred in 2018 mostly due to fake news being circulated on social media sites. It has further reasoned that social media had brought new challenges for the law enforcement agencies, including inducement for recruitment of terrorists, circulation of obscene content, spread of disharmony and incitement to violence.

Triple ‘talaq’ Bill introduced in Lok Sabha amid Opposition protest

News

• The government introduced The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019, also known as the triple ‘talaq’ Bill in the Lok Sabha,the first legislation of the government in its second term, amid protests by Opposition members, who claimed it was violative of the Constitution. 

Beyond News

• The Bill was introduced after the Opposition asked for a division of votes, with the treasury winning with 186 “ayes” to the 74 Opposition “no” votes. 
• There were 543 cases of triple ‘talaq’ reported in the country. Even after the Supreme Court judgement banning the practice, more than 200 cases were reported.
• The Bill had faced objections from Opposition parties from the beginning. They had claimed that jail term for a man for divorcing his wife was legally untenable.
• The new Bill is a copy of the ordinance in force. Bills that are introduced in the Rajya Sabha and are pending there do not lapse with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha.

Supreme Court halts road works through tiger reserves

News

• The Supreme Court ordered an immediate halt to the construction of a road that passes through a corridor between the Rajaji and Corbett Tiger Reserves.
• There appears to be numerous violations of the Forest Conservation Act, Court ordered said.

Beyond News

• A Vacation Bench issued notice to the Uttarakhand government, asking it to reply, within three weeks, to a report filed by the court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC).
• The road, which traverses a “critical” corridor between the Rajaji Tiger Reserve and the Corbett Tiger Reserve, is being built without the statutory approval of the National Board for Wildlife, the CEC said in its report.
• As per the 2014 data of All India Tiger Estimation, the area supports up to four tigers per 100 sq km.
• The CEC sought an immediate halt to the construction of roads, bridges and culverts in the Rajaji Tiger Reserve between Laldhang and Chillarkhal as it would “adversely impact the habitat and wildlife of the ecologically sensitive area”.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

₹12,305 crore disbursed so far to farmers under PM-KISAN scheme

News

• The Centre has disbursed ₹12,305 crore so far to beneficiaries under the PM-KISAN programme that aims at boosting the income of the farmers by providing them ₹6,000 per year in three equal instalments.

Beyond News

• The scheme provides a payment of ₹6,000 per year in three equal instalments of ₹2,000 to beneficiaries.
• Recently, the Centre decided to extend the benefit of this scheme to all 14.5 crore farmers, irrespective of the size of their landholding, costing ₹87,217.50 crore annually to the exchequer.
• The government has disbursed ₹6,590.51 crore for the first instalment and ₹5,714.77 crore for the second tranche, the data showed.
• The data uploaded by the States/UTs undergoes multi-level verification and validation by various agencies, including banks and then the amount is transferred to beneficiaries’ accounts.

Navy plans to build 6 submarines

News

• The Navy issued an ‘Expression of Interest’ for shortlisting potential strategic partners for the construction of six P-75 (I) submarines costing nearly ₹45,000 crore, the Defence Ministry said.

Beyond News

• This is the second project being undertaken under the latest Strategic Partnership (SP) Model, with the first being the procurement of 111 naval utility helicopters (NUH).
• This will provide a major boost to the indigenous design and construction capability of submarines in India, in addition to bringing in the latest submarine design and technologies as part of the project.
• As a major initiative towards ‘Make in India’, the government immediately on taking over has issued the Expression of Interest(s) for shortlisting of potential Indian Strategic Partners (SPs) for construction of six conventional submarines for P-75(I) project of the Indian Navy.
• The case was approved by the Defence Acquisition Council. The Expression of Interest (EoI) for shortlisting of Indian strategic partners has been uploaded on the Defence Ministry and Navy websites.
• The SPs in collaboration with OEMs have been mandated to set up dedicated manufacturing lines for these submarines in India with an aim to make India the global hub for submarine design and production.
• All six submarines under this project will be built in India by the selected Indian Strategic Partner in collaboration with the selected OEM. In addition, the Navy will have the option to manufacture six more submarines under the project.
• The project would not only aid in boosting the core submarine and the ship building industry but also greatly enhance the manufacturing, industrial sectors, especially the medium, small and micro enterprises, by development of an industrial eco-system for manufacture of associated spares, systems, and equipment related to submarines.
• The Indian companies would be shortlisted based on their capability for integration of systems, expertise in shipbuilding domain and the financial strength. The OEMs would be shortlisted primarily based on their submarine design meeting the Indian Navy’s Qualitative Requirements and qualifying the Transfer of Technology and Indigenous Content [IC] criteria.
• This will be an important step towards meeting broader national objectives, encouraging self-reliance and aligning the defence sector with the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the government.

India likely to raise terror, financial crimes at G20 summit in Osaka

News

• India is likely to raise issues of terrorism, energy security and climate change financing, and call for stricter international laws on economic fugitives when Prime Minister visits Osaka for the G20 summit of the world’s largest economies.

Beyond News

• This year’s summit under Japanese Presidency has the theme of “Human centred future society” and will take up digital economy, artificial intelligence, global health, ageing and marine plastic waste as subjects of deliberation.
• The Government of India is bracing for pressure on its data localisation guidelines at the G20 summit, given an outcry particularly from the United States and Japan on the Reserve Bank’s circular last year that stipulated that all “data relating to payment systems” must be “stored in a system only in India.”
• India has also faced bilateral backlash from the U.S. on the guidelines. While the State Department denied reports that it would link data localisation laws to curbing H1-B visas, U.S. officials have made it clear to New Delhi that they expect a change in the guidelines proposed by the RBI.

India’s first solar-powered cruise boat to be rolled out in December

News

• Close on the heels of launching India’s first solar-powered ferry in 2016, Kerala is gearing up for the launch of the country’s premier solar-powered cruise boat by December.

Beyond News

• The initiative comes from the State Water Transport Department (SWTD), whose solar ferry Aditya in the Vaikom-Thavanakadavu route has proved to be a success.
• The ₹3-crore cruise boat that can carry 100 passengers is under construction at a boatyard in Aroor and comes from the stable of the builders of Aditya.
• The hybrid vessel will be powered by a motor that can source energy from solar panels, battery, and generator. Its battery will have 80 KWh (kilowatt hour) power backup, as compared to 50 KWh backup in Aditya.
• Aditya incurs a rock-bottom energy expense of ₹200 a day, as compared to the approximately ₹8,000 needed for diesel-powered ferries.
• Solar vessels do not create air and noise pollution. The double-deck, double-engine catamaran-type vessel adheres to norms specified by the Indian Registry of Shipping (IRS).
• Considering the huge savings in energy expenses, the SWTD has also drawn up plans to introduce three sister vessels of Aditya by the end of the year.

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