IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-01

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Delhi: Soon, child care rooms in all offices

News

• Delhi Development Authority (DDA) modified the building bylaws, making it compulsory for all office spaces in the city both private and government buildings to have a child care room.
• The agency has also made it compulsory for all new buildings to have points for charging electric vehicles.

Child care room

• The land owning agency also approved a proposal to include provisions for charging electric vehicles at all new parking lots.
• Based on the occupancy pattern and the total parking provisions in the premises of various building types, charging infrastructure must be provided for electric vehicles.
• The DDA has also made changes in rules to allow stockists and wholesale dealers of medicine and drugs to operate in residential areas as part of mixed use regulations under master plan 2021.

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-02

Constitution (Amendment) Bill gets passed in Rajya Sabha

News

• The Constitution (Amendment) Bill got passed in the Upper House of the Parliament with opposition questioning the government’s agenda of not continuing the reservation provision to the Anglo Indian community.
• The contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was cleared by the Rajya Sabha with a 125-99 margin.

Karnataka govt to HC: Kids of illegal immigrants above 6 yrs to stay in child welfare homes

News

• Children of illegal immigrants arrested in Karnataka will be housed in child welfare homes in the state if they are above the age of six as per the Juvenile Justice Act while those below the age of six will stay with their parents at the detention centre, the Karnataka government informed the High Court here on.

Illegal immigrants

• The High Court has told the state government that the deportation process must begin as soon as an FIR is registered.
• The court has also indicated that alleged illegal immigrants must be housed in detention centres established as per international convention, and not in prisons.
• On October 25, the Bengaluru Police arrested 60 alleged illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, including 40 women and children, as part of a crackdown.
• In the absence of a detention centre, 58 of those arrested were sent to Kolkata on November 22 as part of an informal arrangement with Bangladesh.

European Union hikes its 2030 climate targets; what about 2020, BASIC countries ask

News

• With the proceedings in the meeting rooms bringing little reason for hope, the Madrid climate talks was energized by news from Brussels where the European Union announced its intention to increase its climate targets and make an additional ten per cent reduction in its emissions by 2030 from 1990 levels.

Climate targets

• The announcement by EU, a 28-country bloc, which together is the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, came on a day when a group of about 200 climate activists and protestors, increasingly impatient with the reluctance of countries to increase their climate actions, barged inside the conference venue and inside the main negotiating hall where UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was among those present and listening to ministers making their country statements.
• The dramatic protests resulted in many activists being barred from entering the conference venue for the remaining time.
• EU would bring in a climate law by March next year to commit itself to a net-zero emission status by 2050, and a comprehensive plan by middle of next year on increasing its emission reduction targets from the current 40 per cent of its 1990 levels by 2030 to at least 50 or even 55 per cent.
• The EU is the first major emitter to respond to the growing chorus demanding countries to increase the ambition of their climate actions in light of several scientific reports that show that the world was not doing enough to prevent extreme impacts of climate change.
• The issue of unfulfilled pre-2020 climate actions has been repeatedly raised by India and other developing countries, and it was reiterated in the statement of the BASIC countries — the grouping of Brazil, South Africa, India and China — after their ministers met on Tuesday.

Children of all ages are at risk due to drop in physical activity: Study

News

• Children of all ages around the world are at higher heath risk due to decline in physical activity, a study found.

Higher heath risk

• According to the researchers, physical activity fell steadily from the age of four or five, in both boys and girls everywhere. Daily activity recorded a fall by three to four minutes each year overall although it remained higher during weekends and on holidays.
• World Health Organisation (WHO) defines physical activity as any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure, including activities undertaken while working, playing, carrying out household chores, travelling, and engaging in recreational pursuits.
• Physical activity is not the same as exercise but a subcategory in it that is planned, structured and repetitive, as per WHO.
• For children between five and 17 years of age, WHO recommends at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity daily.
• This should include “activities that strengthen muscle and bone, at least three times per week.” Among the recommended physical activities are walking, cycling, quality physical education, sports and recreational activities.

Technical Education Bill: Gujarat govt quota to be cut down, colleges to take in foreign students

News

• The Gujarat Professional Technical Educational Colleges or Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fees) bill, which proposes to reduce the number of government reserved seats for professional courses and open direct admissions to foreign nationals as well as students from other states to study in Gujarat, was passed in the Assembly by majority.

Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fees

• The amendments are in view of the huge number of seats in professional colleges going vacant, even as the government has raised the number of seats in the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota.
• The bill was introduced in view of the change in the situation of demand and supply of professional courses in the state.
• According to the amended bill, government reserved seats for MBA, MCA, Engineering, Architecture and Pharmacy in unaided colleges or institutions have been reduced from 75% in the principal Act to 50%.
• As per the amendment of the clause (h) of section 2, which talks about management seats, the number of management seats have been increased from 25% to 50%, including 15% of Non-Resident Indian seats, and seats for the Foreign National Students and students from any state, including Gujarat.
• The bill also authorises that if any unaided college or institution requests to fill all or any portion of the management seats by the admission committee, such management seats shall be considered as government seats. Also if any government seat or NRI seat remains vacant, then such seat shall be filled as management seat.
• The increased seat share under the management quota directly facilitates the admission of foreign national students. As per the amended bill, a new definition of Foreign National Student has been inserted in the section 2 of the principal Act.
• The bill also introduces a new body called the GTERS or the Gujarat Technical Education and Research Society.
• The bill also proposes the necessary provision to empower the state government to conduct an inquiry and to impose penalty to any professional educational college or institution, including private university, on receipt of any complaint from any person related to fees irregularities. The penalty amount has been revised from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 50 lakh.

Tri-services military exercise between India, Russia takes off

News

• THE second edition of Indra, a tri-services exercise between India and Russia, which will be simultaneously held at Babina, Pune and Goa, was inaugurated at Babina.
• Among other joint operations, the Indo-Russia troops will get lessons in prevention of arms smuggling through the sea route and anti-piracy measures during the exercise.

Indra, a tri-services exercise

• Company-sized mechanised contingents, fighters, helicopters, transport aircraft and ships of respective Army, Air Force and Navy of the two countries will participate in this 10-day exercise. Indra will consist of a five-day training phase with a training curriculum.
• The Army part of the exercise will be held at Babina near Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, the Air Force part in Pune and the Navy part at Goa and in the Arabian Sea.
• Indra initially began as a bilateral naval exercise between the Indian and Russian Federation navies in 2003, and the first joint tri-services exercise was conducted in 2017.
• Navy component will be held in two phases the harbour phase will be held at Goa till December 15 and the sea phase, for the remaining four days, in the Arabian Sea. The Indian Navy will be represented by INS Aditya, a Fleet Support Ship and INS Tarkash, a frontline Guided Missile Frigate.
• Russian Federation Navy (RuFN) Ships Yaroslav Mudry, Viktor Konetsky and Elyna arrived at Goa to be part of the exercise.
• The Indian Army will also be fielding a Ghatak Platoon of commandos and the Air Force will press into action its frontline fighter jets Sukhoi-30 MKI, Jaguar fighter jets and Mi-17 helicopters, and an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS).

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-03

Only 19% of area created for irrigation purposes utilised in Gujarat: CAG report

News

• Pointing out the “sub-optimal utilisation” of irrigation potential created in Gujarat, the country’s top most audit watch dog the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said in a report tabled in the state legislature that a maximum of 19 per cent of 18.88 lakh hectares of Culturable Command Area (CCA) created for irrigation purposes is being used in any cropping season.

Irrigation purposes

• The water resources department administers 19 major, 70 medium and 836 minor irrigation projects with a total CCA of 18.88 lakh hectares. CCA created by this department which falls under the Narmada Water Resources, Water Supply and Kalpsar department of the Gujarat government is an area which can be irrigated from a scheme and is fit for cultivation.
• The utilisation of CCA in 2012-13 was only 3.48 lakh hectares for Rabi season, 2.12 lakh hectares for Kharif and 0.63 lakh hectares for hot season (summer crop).
• The utilisation of CCA in 2016-17 was 3.64 lakh hectares for Rabi season, 2.8 lakh hectares for Kharif season and 1.66 lakh hectares for hot season,” stated the auditor in its report on Economic Sector for the year ended March 31, 2018.
• The auditor also picked holes in the Extension, Renovation and Modernisation (ERM) works of the existing canal systems taken up by the department where it has spent Rs 2,122 crore between 2012-18.
• The CAG test-checked 12 irrigation projects constructed between 1954 and 2005 by the department that is not only responsible for construction, operation and maintenance of major and minor irrigation projects in Gujarat, but is also in charge of optimal utilisation of water resources.
• Gap between the irrigation potential created in Gujarat and that utilised could not be bridged due to works not completed in time, absence of project-wise plans, lack of Detailed Project Reports or DPRs, improper planning of works, among others.

Industrial production contracts for third straight month in October, inflation spikes to 5.54% in November

News

• Contracting for the third consecutive month, factory output for October declined by 3.8 per cent, with all three sectoral constituents manufacturing, mining and electricity recording negative growth, data released by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed.
• Riding on the back of higher food prices, retail inflation rose to over three-year high of 5.54 per cent in November.

Inflation spikes

• Factory output, measured in terms of Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had expanded by 8.4 per cent in October 2018.
• The manufacturing sector, which carries a weight of 77.63 per cent in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), contracted for the third month in a row by 2.1 per cent in October compared to a 8.2 per cent growth last year, while mining sector output, with a weight of 14.37 per cent in the index, contracted 8 per cent as against 7.3 per cent growth in the corresponding period last fiscal.
• Power sector growth declined by 12.2 per cent in October this year, as compared to a 10.8 per cent rise last year. Capital goods production, which is a barometer of investment, declined by 21.9 per cent in October compared to 16.9 per cent rise in the year-ago month.
• The consumer durables and consumer non-durables have recorded growth of (-) 18 per cent and (-) 1.1 per cent, respectively. In terms of industries, 18 out of 23 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown negative growth during October 2019 as compared to the same month last year.
• Retail inflation touches 3-year high of 5.54% in November
• Meanwhile, data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) showed retail inflation touching a three-year high of 5.54 per cent in November. The inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 4.62 per cent in October, and 2.33 per cent in November 2018.

Lotus on passports part of security features, other national symbols will be used too: MEA

News

• • A day after Opposition members raised the issue of lotus motifs being printed on new passports in the Lok Sabha, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that the move was part of the enhanced security features to identify fake passports.
  • It also said that other national symbols will be used on a rotational basis.

Register new cars only after disposing old ones: Panel on traffic management in Delhi

News

• A Parliamentary panel on traffic management in Delhi suggested that registration of new vehicles, belonging to those who have previously owned vehicles, be allowed only if the old vehicle is either scrapped or disposed of.

Buy new vehicle

• Also suggested that people be allowed to buy a new vehicle only if they can show they have proper space to park their car.
• Similar rules are also in place in urban areas of other states such as Himachal Pradesh.  As per vehicle registration figures, over 1,400 vehicles are registered in the capital each day.
• The panel also recommended that insurance premiums of vehicles be linked with traffic rule violations to ensure deterrence. Those with higher rule violations must be charged a higher premium, the panel suggested.

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