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IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-02

Phase 2 of Exercise MALABAR 2020 in Western Indian Ocean

Source: PIB INDIA

News

• The second phase of Exercise Malabar 2020 will be conducted in the Northern Arabian Sea from 17 to 20 November 2020.

Exercise Malabar 2020

• Taking forward the synergy achieved in the recently concluded Phase 1 of Exercise Malabar 2020, which was conducted in the Bay of Bengal from 03 to 06 November 2020, this phase will involve coordinated operations of increasing complexity between the navies of Australia, India, Japan and the United States.
• Phase 2 of Exercise MALABAR 2020 will witness joint operations, centered around the Vikramaditya Carrier Battle Group of the Indian Navy and Nimitz Carrier Strike Group of the US Navy.
• The two carriers, along with other ships, submarine and aircraft of the participating navies, would be engaged in high intensity naval operations over four days.
• These exercises include cross-deck flying operations and advanced air defence exercises by MIG 29K fighters of VikramadityaandF-18 fighters and E2C Hawkeye from Nimitz.In addition, advanced surface and anti-submarine warfare exercises, seamanship evolutions and weapon firings will also be undertaken to further enhance inter-operability and synergy between the four friendly navies.
• In addition to Vikramaditya and its fighter and helicopter air-wings, indigenous destroyers Kolkata and Chennai, stealth frigate Talwar, Fleet Support Ship Deepak and integral helicopters will also participate in the exercise.
• Indigenously built submarineKhanderiand P8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft of the Indian Navy will also showcase their capabilities during the exercise.
• The Royal Australian Navy will be represented by frigate Ballarat along with its integral helicopter. JMSDFwill also participate in the exercise.

The Malabar series of exercises, which began as an annual bilateral naval exercise between India and the US in 1992, has seen increasing scope and complexity over the years.

The 24th edition of MALABAR, which is being presently undertaken, highlights enhanced convergence of views amongst the four vibrant democracies on maritime issues, and showcases their commitment to an open, inclusive Indo-Pacific and a rules-based international order.

DIPAM signs an agreement with World Bank for advisory services on Asset Monetization

Source: PIB INDIA

News

• Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has signed an agreement with World Bank.
• Under the agreement, World Bank is to provide advisory services to DIPAM for asset monetization.

Asset monetization

• DIPAM is mandated with facilitating monetization of non-core assets of government CPSEs under strategic disinvestment or closure and enemy property of value of INR 100 crores and above.
• DIPAM has a framework for monetizing non-core assets.
• The World Bank advisory project, approved by the Finance Minister, is aimed at analyzing public asset monetization in India and benchmarking its institutional and business models against international best practices as well as supporting development of operational guidelines and capacity building for their implementation.
• It is expected that this project would facilitate and accelerate the non-core asset monetization process and help unlock the value of these un-used/ marginally used assets which has the potential to substantially augment financial resources for further investments and growth.

India among 6 countries with highest tally of infants who didn’t get measles vaccine: report

Source: Indian Express

News

• India was among six countries with the highest number of infants who had not received the vaccine against measles while the contagious viral disease surged worldwide in 2019 reaching the highest number of reported cases in 23 years last year, according the World Health Organisation and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Measles-containing-vaccine

• A total of 1.2 million children did not receive the first dose of measles-containing-vaccine (MCV1) in 2019 in India, accounting for nearly half of the world’s total along with the remaining five countries Nigeria (3.3 million), Ethiopia (1.5 million), Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (1.4 million), Pakistan (1.4 million), and Philippines (0.7 million).
• The report, states that cases across the world increased to 8,69,770 in 2019, the highest number reported since 1996 with a rise in all WHO regions.
• Global measles deaths climbed nearly 50 per cent since 2016, claiming an estimated 2,07,500 lives in 2019 alone.
• Comparing 2019 data with the historic low in reported measles cases in 2016, the report cite a failure to vaccinate children on time with two doses of MCV1 and MCV2 as the main driver of these increases in cases and deaths.
• To control measles and prevent outbreaks and deaths, vaccination coverage rates with the required MCV1 and MCV2 must reach 95 per cent and be maintained at national and subnational levels.

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-03

Union Labour Ministry Notifies Draft Rules under the Code on Social Security 2020

Source: PIB INDIA

News

• Union Ministry of Labour and Employment has notified the draft rules under the Code on Social Security, 2020 inviting objections and suggestions, if any, from the stakeholders..

New draft rules

• The draft rules provide for operationalization of provisions in the Code on Social Security, 2020 relating to Employees’ Provident Fund, Employees’ State Insurance Corporation, Gratuity, Maternity Benefit, Social Security and Cess in respect of Building and Other Construction Workers, Social Security for Unorganised Workers, Gig Workers and Platform Workers.
• The draft rules also provide for Aadhaar based registration including self-registration by unorganised workers, gig workers and platform workers on the portal of the Central Government.
• The rules further provide for Aadhaar based registration of Building and Other Construction Workers on the specified portal of the Central Government and the State Government or the State Welfare Board.
• Provision has also been made in the rules regarding gratuity to an employee who is on fixed term employment.
• The rules also provide for single electronic registration of an establishment including cancellation of the registration in case of closure of business activities.
• Provision has also been made regarding manner and conditions for exiting of an establishment from EPFO and ESIC coverage.
• For the purpose of self- assessment, the employer shall calculate the cost of construction as per the rates specified by the State Public Works Department or Central Public Works Department or on the basis of return or documents submitted to the Real Estate Regulatory Authority.
• The rate of Interest for delayed payment of such cess has been reduced from 2 per cent every month or part of a month to 1 per cent.
• The rules have also provided for the manner of payment of contribution by the aggregators through self-assessment.

Leonid meteor shower

Source: Financial Express

News:

• The Leonid meteor showers are currently making their yearly appearance, and will reach their peak in India on November 17 and 18.

Leonid meteor showers

• The Leonids emerge from the comet Tempel-Tuttle, which requires 33 years to revolve once around the Sun.
• These meteors are bright and among the fastest moving– travelling at speeds of 71 km per second. During this year’s showers, peaks of around 10 to 15 meteors are expected to be seen every hour.
• Leonid showers include fireballs– bright and large meteors than can last longer than average meteors, and “earthgazers”– meteors which appear close to the horizon with colourful and long tails.
• Meteor showers are named after the constellation they appear to be coming from. The Leonids originate from the constellation Leo the Lion– the groups of stars which form a lion’s mane.

Meteor shower

• On its journey around the Sun, the Earth passes through large swathes of cosmic debris.
• The debris is essentially the remnants of comets great frigid chunks of matter that leave behind dirty trails of rocks and ice that linger long after the comets themselves have passed.
• As the Earth wades through this cloud of comet waste, the bits of debris create what appears from the ground to be a fireworks display in the sky known as a meteor shower.
• According to NASA, over 30 meteor showers occur annually and are observable from the Earth. For instance, the Perseid meteor shower occurs every year in August and was first observed over 2,000 years ago.

Spotlight on Walker, Dnyanganga poses conservation challenge

Source: Indian Express

Conservation of tiger

• With growing number of tigers, India faces the challenge of accommodating them, what with conservationists claiming that the country can accommodate a few thousand more big cats.
• One of the ways to do it is build corridors to connect many island-like forests that currently don’t have tigers due to lack of connectivity to source populations in existing tiger-bearing areas.

Conservation challenge

• Maharashtra’s Forest department is faced with a test case scenario in a lesser-known sanctuary that had its first tiger arrival in last year the radio-collared “Walker”, who traversed a world-record 3,000 km from Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in Yavatmal district to Dnyanganga Wildlife Sanctuary in Buldana district between June 2019 and March 2020 to finally settle down in the latter.
• The department is weighing many options to take the story of Walker, aged about three years, forward in terms of making it the centrepiece of a conservation initiative that would be the first of its kind in the country.
• TWLS T1C1 (Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary cub C1 born to tigress T1) was named Walker by forest officials who tracked him through his epic journey.
• Having settled down in Dyanganga, Walker seems to be just doing fine  killing wild boats and blue bulls and leading a solitary life in the 205 sq km sanctuary.
• Two forest areas which can provide a larger area for any future tiger population to move about in are the 74 sq km Katepurna Sanctuary in Akola district and 18 sq km Karanja Sohol Sanctuary in Washim district.
• For a tiger, the top priorities are having his own space and sufficient food. He became stable only after getting space and food.
• Long-term conservation we need to ensure proper channels for the tigers to move in and out of Dnyanganga.
• New suggested a 10-km elevated corridor between Botha and Warvan villages to replace the existing stretch of 50 km Khamgaon-Buldana road cutting through the sanctuary to ensure safety for Walker and his possible future progeny.