IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-02

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Delhi tenants to get free electricity up to 200 units

News

• Tenants in the Capital will now get free electricity up to 200 units under a new Delhi government scheme which will allow them to install prepaid meters, Chief Minister announced.

Tenants

• Tenants, who constitute over half of the city’s population of over 2 crore according to government estimates, will also be entitled to get prepaid power meters installed at rented properties which will supply electricity at subsidised rates under the “Mukhyamantri Kirayedar Power Meter Yojana”.
• Under the scheme, tenants will be able to avail the benefits of free electricity up to 200 units as well as the subsidy for consumers using 200-400 units per month. The meters will be installed only on domestic consumer properties.
• Tenants, so far, were not able to get a separate power meter because they were required to take a no-objection certificate [NoC] from the homeowner to get an independent connection. Tenants will now get a meter using just two documents: rent agreement/receipt or any identity card.
• While those incurring bills for consumption up to 200 units are exempted from paying the bill, if the consumption is between 201 to 400 units, half the subsidy is being given.
• The intent of the scheme is to provide benefits to this other category of multiple tenants living in separate dwelling units at the same property, such as those belonging to the lower middle class, especially at unauthorised colonies in Delhi.

Social media platforms to follow ‘code of ethics’ in all future elections: EC

News

• Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp have agreed to follow the “voluntary code of ethics” in all future elections, including the upcoming Maharashtra and Haryana assembly polls.

Voluntary code of ethics

• The code, which was derived to act against paid advertisements that violate norms set by the Election Commission, came into force in the last Lok Sabha polls.
• Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) on behalf of its members has agreed to observe the voluntary code of ethics during all future elections, including the ongoing general elections to the Haryana and Maharashtra legislative assemblies and various by-elections being held simultaneously.
• During the last Lok Sabha polls, social media platforms took action on 909 violative cases reported by the EC.
• According to the code, no political campaign will be allowed to be run on social media platforms in the last 48 hours before polling ends. This period is referred to as “silence period” to allow voters take a considered decision without the heat and dust of campaign on whom to vote.
• The code also facilitates transparency in paid political advertisements.

This was the for the first time internet-based companies voluntarily adopted the norms for online poll campaign.

OIC asks India to rescind its action in Kashmir

News

• The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) asked India to “rescind” its actions in Kashmir and abide by the relevant UN Security Council resolutions following New Delhi’s decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s special status.

Organization of Islamic Cooperation

• The Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Contact Group on Kashmir discussed the Indian government’s decision to revoke Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and the state’s bifurcation into two Union Territories during a meeting on the sidelines of the 74th session of UN General Assembly.
• In a draft communique that was released later, the group voiced concern over the human rights situation in Kashmir.
• They also discussed the communication restrictions put in place in Kashmir.
• The group demanded that India “rescind” its actions in Kashmir and reiterate its commitment to abide by the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
• It also said India should allow access to Jammu and Kashmir to human rights organisations and international media to ascertain and report on the situation there.
• India asserts that the abrogation of Article 370 is its “internal matter”.

PM Modi hosts Caribbean leaders, announces $14 million grant to CARICOM

News

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the leaders of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) during the first-ever India-CARICOM leaders’ summit, with a focus on fighting climate change and increasing India’s participation with the grouping.

$14 million grant

• Prime Minister announced a $14 million grant for community development projects in the CARICOM and another $150 million line of credit for solar, renewable energy and climate- change related projects.
• The CARICOM grouping has 15 members-states and five associate members.
• CARICOM countries came together in 1973 to form an economic and political community that works jointly to shape policies for the region and encourages economic growth and trade.
• Leaders and representatives attended the meeting on the sidelines of the 74th UN General Assembly Session.
• Indian Prime Minister invited them to join the International Solar Alliance, a grouping of over 122 countries initiated by India, and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.
• Prime Minister also announced the setting up of a regional centre for excellence in information technology in Georgetown, Guyana, and a vocational training centre in Belize by upgrading the existing India-funded centres in these countries.
• CARICOM leaders welcomed the Indian initiatives to strengthen cooperation and reassured full support from their respective governments. During the meeting, it was decided to set up a joint task force to expeditiously look into areas of cooperation.

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-03

Slash emissions or watch cities vanish under rising seas: UN climate report

News

• Scientists behind a landmark study of the links between oceans, glaciers, ice caps and the climate delivered a stark warning to the world: slash emissions or watch cities vanish under rising seas, rivers run dry and marine life collapse.

Carbon emissions

• UN-backed panel of experts found that radical action may yet avert some of the worst possible outcomes of global warming.
• The study was clear that allowing carbon emissions to continue their upward path would upset the balance of the great geophysical systems governing oceans and the frozen regions of the Earth so profoundly that nobody would escape untouched.
• The study documented the implications of warming oceans, fast-melting ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica and shrinking glaciers for more than 1.3 billion people living in low-lying or high mountain regions.
• The report projects that sea levels could rise by one metre (3.3 ft) by 2100 ten times the rate in the 20th century if emissions keep climbing. Looking further forward, the rise could exceed five metres by 2300.
• In the Himalayas, glaciers feeding 10 rivers, including the Ganges and the Yangtze, could shrink dramatically if emissions do not fall, hitting water supplies across a swathe of Asia.
• Carbon emissions, which hit a record high last year, are projected to inflict a devastating toll on oceans, which have so far buffered almost all the manmade warming generated by burning coal, oil and gas.
• As the oceans get hotter, what are known as “marine heatwaves” are becoming more intense, turning coral reefs boneyard white including much of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. As more carbon dioxide dissolves in the water, the oceans are also becoming more acidic, damaging ecosystems.
• The rising temperatures are in turn starving the upper layers of the water of oxygen, suffocating marine life, creating growing dead zones, and disrupting the circulation of ocean currents, which then unleashes more disruptive weather on land.

State power demand down over 4% year-on-year in August

News

• Tamil Nadu’s power demand declined by over 4% to 8,983 million units in August 2019, when compared to 9,378 million units in the same month last year.

Power demand

• Experts attribute the decline to the broader weakness in economy. Tamil Nadu has the highest number of industries and one of the key hubs for automobile and auto-components manufacturing, which has been hit by slow down in demand.
• According to India Ratings, growth in power demand from States such as Haryana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, which are the main manufacturing hubs, has been lower than all-India power demand growth of 6.7% in April-July 2019.
• Gujarat has seen a demand decline of 10.2% in August 2019, while Maharashtra has seen a decline of 5.1%.
• All-India power demand declined 1% in August 2019 on a year-on-year basis.
• The slowdown in power demand also pushed short-term power prices, which declined to ₹3.32 per unit in August 2019 from ₹3.38 per unit in July 2019 on Indian Energy Exchange.

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