Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

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HC asks Kochi Corporation to remove waste on daily basis

News

• Concerned over the accumulation of waste on public and other vacant lands in the Kochi Corporation areas, the Kerala High Court has directed the Corporation Secretary to take steps to remove waste on a day-to-day basis and ensure that sufficient receptacles are provided for collecting waste, or make necessary arrangements to collect waste from houses.

Beyond News

• The court also directed the Corporation to install surveillance cameras in areas where waste is being thrown by people.
• The court pointed out that there were enough provisions in the Kerala Municipality Act, to “curb and prohibit the havoc, menace and nuisance of dumping waste.” Corporation authorities should wake up from their deep slumber and play their part in the implementation of the provisions of the Act, it said.
• The court directed the civic body to take adequate steps to implement the directives and the provisions of the Kerala Municipality Act, 1994, in six months.
• It also directed the Corporation to file an affidavit detailing the actions taken for the disposal of waste, the fine imposed and the prosecution registered against those who are dumping waste on public and other places. The court made it clear that if any violation of the court directions was noticed, any person residing within the limits of the Kochi Corporation could approach the court for initiating contempt of court case against the authorities.
• The court made it clear that the Corporation was at liberty to seek the assistance of people interested in social activities, and organisations for the purpose.

Onus on Pakistan to create conditions conducive for talks: India

News

• India said the onus was on Pakistan to create conducive conditions for talks by taking steps such as action against terrorists and dismantling terror infrastructure operating from its soil.

Beyond News

• During a media briefing, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson reiterated India’s stand that talks and terror cannot go together and said this was one of the reasons why the scheduled meeting in New York between the foreign ministers of India and Pakistan was cancelled.
• The onus is on Pakistan to take credible steps, to create conducive conditions, for such talks which of course means taking action against terrorists, taking action against terrorist infrastructure which operates from its soil.
• India-Pakistanties have nose-dived in view of a number of terror strikes by Pakistan-based groups. India retaliated by carrying out ‘surgical strikes’ in September 2016 across the Line of Control (LoC). India has been maintaining that terror and talks cannot go together.
• Accepting the proposal for the meeting in New York, India had, however, made it clear that it was not resumption of dialogue and the decision doesn’t change the country’s position on cross-border terrorism.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Rythu Bima benefits small, marginal farmers

News

• At a time when the agriculture sector continues to wade through crises and a majority of farmers struggle to find it remunerative, Rythu Bima, the group life insurance scheme being implemented in Telangana, is proving to be of immense help to small and marginal farmers of the lower strata of society in the event of insured pattadars’ death.

Beyond News

• When conceived, even the Agriculture Department officials were sceptical about its effectiveness considering the delays in settlement of claims, particularly in the backdrop of their experience with various crop insurance schemes.
• Unlike any other insurance scheme, except the health and vehicle insurance, including even the life insurance policies offered by the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the Rythu Bima scheme that is implemented in association with the LIC is proving to be very different as the claims are being settled in less than a week.
• An analysis of the claims settled till October 8 has thrown up interesting facts about the utility of the scheme. Out of the 1,602 claims settled till October 8, 90% (1,443) cases belonged to farmers having landholding of less than 5 acres, including 25% (401) farmers having less than one-acre land, and another 47% (748) with landholding between one-acre and 2.5 acres.
• The impact of losing the head of family in rural areas, particularly on families predominantly dependent on farming, is unimaginable and the support in the form of Rythu Bima benefit of ₹5 lakh is not only a big relief to the family in distress but also provides them some financial security.
• An analysis of the social strata of the farmers who were insured under the scheme and whose families received insurance benefit after their (insured farmers) death, shows that 86% (1,371) of them belonged to backward classes and downtrodden sections. Of them, 51% are BCs, 20% SC and 15% ST.
• After noting the experience of affected families, some one-lakh farmers, who initially ignored it, have enrolled s voluntarily.
• The government had enrolled 28 lakh farmers in the age group of 18-59 years and paid a premium of over ₹636 crore at rate of ₹2,271 per farmer.

Coal shortage begins to hit power generation

News

• Karnataka’s power sector is facing concerns after a severe shortage of coal. The Raichur Thermal Power Station (RTPS), described as the “workhorse of the State power grid”, shut down three units on Wednesday owing to coal shortage.

Beyond News

• The RTPS, which has a total installed capacity of 1,720 MW from its eight generating units, has also taken up another unit for annual maintenance.
• With this, generation has reduced by about 600 MW from this station alone, according to sources.
• Though the State-controlled Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) operates three thermal power stations, the RTPS is the worst-hit due to the coal shortage. There is no stock of coal in the RTPS stockyard, and the daily supply too has dropped.
• The RTPS, which requires about 28,000 tonnes of coal daily to operate all its eight units at the maximum capacity, is presently getting only around 18,000 tonnes.
• The RTPS sources coal from the Singareni coal mines in Telangana, the Mahanadi coal fields in Odisha, and the Western coal fields in Maharashtra.
• It is learnt that cyclone Titli hit coal production in Mahanadi and the Western coal fields, forcing the thermal station to depend only on Singareni for its requirements. At present, the Yermarus Thermal Power Station (YTPS) of Raichur district, a two-unit power station with an installed capacity of 1,600 MW (2×800), has a coal stock of 72,000 tonnes. Since only one of its two units is presently operating with a daily consumption of 6,000 tonnes of coal, there is no problem for another 10-12 days.
• Senior officials of the power sector point out that the increased generation from solar units, which is presently around 2,500 MW, had helped the State to compensate for the reduction in thermal power generation to an extent.

Army foils infiltration bid in J&K’s Uri sector

News

• The Army foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

Beyond News

• Alert troops noticed some suspicious movement along the LoC near Tourna in Boniyar area and challenged the infiltrators.
• The infiltrators opened firing at the security forces which was retaliated by the soldiers.
• There were unconfirmed reports about killing of some infiltrators but army officials said no bodies have been recovered yet.

A search operation is under way.

1 Bridge, Facebook initiative to empower rural people

News

• As part of a project to empower rural people mainly belonging to the marginalised sections, 1Bridge, a social enterprise promoting entrepreneurship, will join social networking site Facebook in launching an initiative in Andhra Pradesh.

Beyond News

• The two firms will sign the MoU in the presence of Chief Minister at the Vizag Fintech Festival on October 23. This will be tripartite agreement.
• AP Innovation Society CEO Winny Patro told that for the first time the FB and the 1Bridge would take up a big project for empowerment of the rural poor with the active support of the government.
• To bring prosperity in the rural areas,the two firms would impart training and facilitate networking by the prospective entrepreneurs to market their products/services by using various technologies.
• The 1Bridge recently organised a training programme in association with the AP IT Academy at Rushikonda to train 52 entrepreneurs including 50 women on how to work in rural areas. Under the initiative, tech products would be popularised following the model implemented in 1,500 villages in Karnataka where 1,000 entrepreneurs were involved.
• The First American Financial Corporation will sign an MoU with the State government and formally launch rural BPO work in Kadapa as a pilot project. Depending on its success, it would be implemented in all other districts.

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