Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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India steps up climate action plans

News

• At the Global Climate Action Summit, mayors and government functionaries of Indian cities have announced to scale up their actions to combat climate change and to protect people from hazardous climate impacts.

Beyond News

• High-level forum on India Climate Actions, convened by U.S.-based Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), officials, mayors and organisation leaders detailed their plans ranging from heat action to cool roofs and building codes.
• Soon all 17 states prone to extreme heat will have plans in place to protect communities from deadly temperatures, said the U.S.-based Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) quoting the Indian official.
• Currently, 30 cities and 11 states in India have such plans, which enable vulnerable groups to take life-saving precautions.
• On cool roofs, Telangana Principal Secretary said Hyderabad intends to convert 1,000 buildings to cool roofs as part of the city’s Heat Action Plan.
• Cool roofs will be used on all low income government housing, as well as on schools and hospitals, to lower indoor temperatures without using electricity.
• Buildings currently account for 30 per cent of India’s electricity consumption.
• Combustion of fossil fuels is a major contributor to air pollution in India.
• Similarly, Telangana will increase its number of electric buses from 40 now to 2,000 by 2019.
• As part of the state’s soon-to-be-released Electric Vehicle Policy, all new three-wheel rickshaws must be electric, as no new diesel three-wheelers will be allowed.
• The NRDC and SEWA also launched a new residential energy project to facilitate access to solar-powered lights, cleaner cookstoves and more efficient appliances. Starting in two pilot villages, the program plans to scale quickly to 10 locations.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Cabinet clears ordinance to make instant triple talaq a criminal offence

News

• The Union Cabinet cleared an ordinance to make instant triple talaq a criminal offence.

Beyond News

• However, the amended triple talaq bill provides for additional safeguards, including a provision for bail to an accused before the start of the trial.
• While the proposed law will remain “non-bailable” – the police cannot grant bail at the police station – the accused can approach a magistrate for bail even before trial.
• The Muslim Women Protection of Rights on Marriage Bill makes instant triple talaq illegal and imposes a jail term of up to three years.
• The government adopted the ordinance route after the Opposition failed to come to an agreement with the government in the last two of the monsoon session of Parliament that concluded.

Nepal’s decision on BIMSTEC drill does not signal pro-China stance: official source

News

• Nepal’s decision not to participate in the India-proposed military exercise of the Bay of Bengal group of countries, instead of a snub to New Delhi, signals that a new set of rules need to be evolved that will meld the collective interests of India, Nepal and China, official sources say.

Beyond News

• A diplomatic source from Nepal, told that there are certain decisions, such as conduct of bilateral military exercises, which are less complex, are easier to take.
• But the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) military drill could have been construed as having an anti-China slant.
• Nepalese officials acknowledge that the Chinese side proposed the “two-plus one” mechanism during their Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s visit to Beijing in June.
• Analysts say that under this mechanism China and India can achieve consensus on specific thorny issues and through consultations with the third country involved, arrive at a mutually acceptable trilateral decision.
• The Nepalese official pointed out that there were other compulsions which forced Kathmandu’s hand on the BIMSTEC military-exercise decision.
• Besides, the timing was also not conducive for a military exercise, as Nepal has been engaged in delicate negotiations with China, such as arriving at an important free trade deal.
• Nepalese officials say that Kathmandu’s deep reliance on New Delhi is inevitable and irreversible. For instance, Kathmandu avidly needs New Delhi’s support for energy exports in the region, including
• A Memrandum of Understanding (MoU) for this export has already been signed.
• Separately, the daily reported that Bangladesh cabinet has already approved a MoU, signed last year during the Bangladeshi Prime Minister’s visit to India. Following the approval, Bangladesh will be allowed to import power from the Upper Karnali hydropower project, which is being developed in Nepal by an Indian company, through an Indian transit corridor.

India, U.S. closing in on package deal to remove trade irritants

News

• Indian farmers and U.S. manufacturers of medical devices could be among the main winners in a trade package under negotiation, as Washington and New Delhi look to remove long-standing irritants to ties, sources familiar with the talks said.

Beyond News

• Having skirmished for months over tit-for-tat tariffs on steel and some agricultural products, the two sides began talks in June that also cover India’s concerns over U.S. steel tariffs and U.S. problems with Indian tariffs on imported IT equipment.
• Neither the office of the Ministry of Commerce or the United States Trade Representative responded to a request for comment.
• The source said the two sides expected to close the deal in the next few weeks.
• S. President Donald Trump, who dislikes multilateral trade agreements,said earlier this month that India had approached the United States to “start doing a trade deal,” without giving any details.
• Having already waded into bigger fights with China and the European Union, Mr. Trump has previously called out India for unfair trade practices. At an estimated $126 billion, U.S. goods and services trade with India last year was less than a fifth of its trade with China.
• One of the most prominent trade issues to erupt during Mr. Trump’s presidency has involved India’s treatment of medical devices imported from the United States. Last year, U.S. exports of medical devices and equipment to India totalled $863 million.
• One of the main areas where India is likely to benefit will be agricultural trade, with Washington expected to grant concessions making it easier for exporters of products like rice, mangoes, table grapes and lychees the sources said.
• Currently, the United States imports just a small fraction of the $5.5 billion of rice shipped annually from India, the world’s top rice exporter. New Delhi wants to sell basmati rice but U.S. agencies have in the past flagged concerns over the presence of chemical residues in the rice.
• New Delhi is also discussing how to meet stringent U.S. standards to sell bovine meat. India is the world’s biggest buffalo meat exporter but has failed to make much headway in the U.S. market because of Washington’s insistence that a country be free from foot-and-mouth disease.
• The two sides are exploring ways to open the U.S. market for certain grades of bovine meat from India, according to the Indian government negotiator and the other sources familiar with the talks.
• For its part, the United States wants to sell more almonds to India, the world’s top buyer, cherries and eventually dairy products.
• The United States has also been urging India to lower the input costs of components for IT that would allow U.S. companies to manufacture in India as part of Mr. Modi’s Make-in-India campaign. These affect firms such as Apple Inc and Qualcomm Inc who have plans to set up operations in the country.
• The United States has complained that India’s tariffs are among the highest in the world, and cover a range of IT equipment, including circuit boards, screens and memory chips.

Doctors call for vigil against H1N1

News

• With sporadic cases of H1N1 (Influenza) being reported from across Kerala, doctors have sought for greater caution against the acute respiratory infection.

Beyond News

• The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has asked its members to be wary of the presence of the influenza, saying around a dozen cases had been reported from Kerala in the past few days. The patients are undergoing treatment at various hospitals, including the Government Medical College Hospital.
• According to the data available with the Health Department, 53 confirmed cases of H1N1 (Influenza) have been reported so far in September, around 30 of them in the past 10 days alone. A senior doctor attached to the community medicine department of the Government Medical College, told that the incidence had been expected after the floods.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) says travellers visiting countries in the opposite hemisphere during the influenza season are at special risk, particular if they do not have some degree of immunity through recent infection or regular vaccination. The elderly, people with pre-existing chronic diseases and young children are most susceptible to complications.
• Secretary, IMA Kerala chapter, however, said there was no alarming situation as of now though there was need to be alert against any possible outbreak. Avoiding crowded enclosed spaces and close contact with people suffering from acute respiratory infections is the best precaution, says WHO.
• Frequent hand-washing, especially after direct contact with ill persons or their environment, may reduce the risk of acquiring illness, it adds.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

NASA planet hunting probe shares first image

News

• NASA’s latest planet hunting probe has beamed back its first science image, which captures a wealth of stars and other cosmic objects in the southern sky.

Beyond News

• The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) sent back part of the data from its initial science orbit.
• The images were captured using all four of the spacecraft’s wide-field cameras during a 30-minute period on August 7.
• In a sea of stars brimming with new worlds, TESS is casting a wide net and will haul in a bounty of promising planets for further study.
• This first light science image shows the capabilities of TESS’ cameras, and shows that the mission will realise its incredible potential in search for another Earth.

U.S., China step up trade war, slap tit-for-tat tariffs

News

• The trade rivalry between the U.S. and China escalated to an unprecedented level, with both countries announcing new tariffs on imports from each other.

Beyond News

• The U.S. has announced 10% tariff on $200 billion of imports from China, whose retaliatory tariffs between 5% and 10% will apply on $60 billion of imports from the U.S. The new tariffs on both sides will go into effect on September 24.
• With the new announcements, U.S. tariffs will apply to $250 billion of Chinese goods and Chinese tariffs will apply to $110 billion of U.S. goods.
• The rate of the new tariffs will be raised to 25% by the end of 2018, the U.S. administration has said.
• Around 5,000 American items are expected to face the new measures, including aircraft, soya bean oil, smoked beef, coffee and flour, according to a provisional list released last month.
• With President Donald Trump threatening to impose tariffs on all Chinese imports and Beijing appearing ready to retaliate, the two largest economies might be hurtling towards a prolonged trade war that could impact the world economy.

See-through, scale-free fish discovered

News

• Scientists have discovered three new species of “hardcore” fish living in one of the deepest parts of the ocean, the see-through, scale-free creatures perfectly adapted to conditions that would instantly kill most life on Earth.

Beyond News

• An international team of researchers used state-of the art underwater cameras to find the new fish at the bottom of the Atacama Trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean at a depth of 24,600 feet and were surprised at their abundance in such an inhospitable environment.
• Temporarily named the pink, blue and purple Atacama snailfish, the previously unknown creatures are 20-25 centimetres (8-10 inches) long, translucent and have no scales.
• They appear to be uniquely adapted to conditions four-and-a-half miles beneath the ocean surface, where the days are permanently pitch black and water temperatures barely top two degrees Celsius.
• At such depths, the pressure is so great that larger animals would be crushed under their own mass.
• Researchers believe the fish may have evolved to live on the sea floor to avoid larger prey.
• In fact, being made almost entirely of a gel-like substance, the fish would die without the crushing pressure holding them together.
• The Atacama Trench runs almost 6,000 kilometres along the west coast of South America and bottoms out at 8,000 metres.

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