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17th Nov Current Affairs News Analysis | Prelims & Mains 2021

Judge recuses himself from Jagan case
HEADLINES:
Judge recuses himself from Jagan case
WHY IN NEWS:
I have as a lawyer represented some of the parties: Lalit
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 2 : Judiciary
ISSUE:
WITHDRAWAL FROM THE CASE
- The judge, who leads a three-member Bench, withdrew from hearing the case.
- As a lawyer he represented some of the parties involved in the case.
SUPREME COURT JUDGES
QUALIFICATIONS OF JUDGES
A person to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court should have the following qualifications:
- He should be a citizen of India.
- He should have been a judge of a High Court (or high courts in succession) for five years
- He should have been an advocate of a High Court (or High Courts in succession) for ten years
- He should be a distinguished jurist in the opinion of the President.
TENURE OF JUDGES
The Constitution has not fixed the tenure of a judge of the Supreme Court. However, it makes the following three provisions in this regard:
- He holds office until he attains the age of 65 years.
- Any question regarding his age is to be determined by such authority and in such manner as provided by Parliament.
- He can resign his office by writing to the President.
- He can be removed from his office by the President on the recommendation of the Parliament.
REMOVAL CRITERIA
- Retirement on completion of 65 years.
- Resignation
- Impeachment
- Grounds for removal: proven misbehavior, incapacity
IASbhai WINDUP:
- Justice Lalit, one of the few senior advocates directly elevated as Supreme Court judge in the history of the court.
- The Bench then recorded a short order, requesting Chief Justice of India (CJI) S.A. Bobde to list the case before an appropriate Bench.
SOURCES: THE HINDU | 17th Nov Current Affairs News Analysis
Winter session: Parliament
HEADLINES:
Winter session of Parliament unlikely amid rising COVID cases
WHY IN NEWS:
CCPA hasn’t met so far; govt.
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 2 : Parliament
ISSUE:
WINTER SESSION
- The winter session of Parliament is held in mid-November to mid-December every year.
- It is unlikely to be held due to the high number of COVID-19 cases in Delhi.
- It is the shortest session of all.
- It takes up the matters that could not be considered upon earlier and makes up for the absence of legislative business during the second session of the Parliament.
EXCEPTIONS
- As per parliamentary records, there have only been three instances in the past of the winter session not being held — in 1975, 1979 and 1984.
- So far, the CCPA has not met and the government is mulling over combining the Budget session of Parliament, which usually begins on February 1, and the winter session.
IASbhai WINDUP:
COVID-19 AND PARLIMENTARIANS
- During the monsoon session of Parliament, nearly 40 MPs tested positive for the virus.
- The monsoon session that was called on September 14 was supposed to go on till October 1, with a total 18 sittings.
- It was cut short by eight days and concluded on September 24.
- The previous Budget session of Parliament too ended abruptly on March 23 for a similar reason.
SOURCES: THE HINDU | 17th Nov Current Affairs News Analysis
GAIL completes Kochi-Mangaluru pipeline
HEADLINES:
GAIL completes Kochi-Mangaluru pipeline
WHY IN NEWS:
‘Gas will reach Mangaluru through the 444-km pipeline this week’
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3: Energy : Natural Gas
ISSUE:
KOCHI-MANGALURU PIPELINE
- The 444-km-long natural gas pipeline was launched in 2009 at an estimated cost of ₹2,915 crore and was to be commissioned in 2014.
‘TESTING IS ON’
- The most difficult stretch across the Chandragiri river in Kasaragod district ; testing was completed.
- Within this week itself, gas will reach Mangaluru through the 444-km pipeline.
- The pipeline is charged up to Kannur now and has been live up to Koottanad in Palakkad district, 90 km north of Kochi, since June 2019.
- The first phase of the project was commissioned in August 2013 in the Kochi metropolitan area.
- The industrial supplies and domestic supplies from February 2016 are by Adani Gas.
BENEFICIARIES
- Koottanad is the main junction of the project. From here, the line bifurcates to Mangaluru and Bengaluru.
- With the commissioning of the pipeline, gas demand in Kerala will touch 80-90 million cubic metres per annum from 60 million cubic metres now.
- Apart from huge environmental gains, the State can gain monetarily as it can get up to ₹1,000 crore by way of taxes alone.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- Authorities were ready to complete the project in August, but a 540-metre stretch across the Chandragiri river became a nightmare for them.
- As a way out, they reduced the diameter of the pipe to a fourth — from 24 inches to just 6 inches now.
SOURCES: THE HINDU | 17th Nov Current Affairs News Analysis
Indian students in U.S. dropped 4.4% last year
HEADLINES:
Indian students in U.S. dropped 4.4% last year
WHY IN NEWS:
- International enrolment fell 42% after pandemic: survey
- Key findings of Open Doors 2020 is an annual survey conducted by the International Institute of Education in partnership with the U.S. State Department.
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 1 : Migration
ISSUE:
ACADEMIC MIGRATION
SOURCES : THE HINDU
- COVID-19 is likely to pull those figures down even further.
- However, 90 per cent of institutions reported that students have deferred enrolment by a year.
- It means that many may be hoping to resume their plans to study in the U.S. next year.
CHINA HAS BIGGER SHARE
- Only China, with 35 per cent, holds a bigger share of the international population in American institutions.
- In fact, this is the sharpest decline since the 5 per cent fall in 2005-06.
- The 2020-21 drop is likely to be steeper still, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- A survey of fall enrolment at 700 institutions showed that 20 per cent of their international students are studying online this year.
- There is no data split available by country of origin for the 2020 enrolments.
ADMISSIONS DEFERRED
- The total number of international students — including those studying online — dipped 16 per cent.
- The number of new international students who are in the U.S. and able to attend physical classes has slumped 72 per cent.
- The institutions surveyed said 40,000 of their students had deferred fall admission to a future semester.
IASbhai WINDUP:
ONLINE WORRIES
- For those who have chosen to study online, the challenges can be overwhelming.
- For international students signing into real-time studies during U.S. working hours, there are challenges of adapting their academic hours while living in different time zones.
SOURCES: THE HINDU | 17th Nov Current Affairs News Analysis
Moderna says its vaccine is 94.5% effective
HEADLINES:
Moderna says its vaccine is 94.5% effective
WHY IN NEWS:
Early results encouraging, say researchers
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Health:Diseases
ISSUE:
- The vaccine will not be widely available for months, probably not until spring.
- Moderna is the second company to report preliminary data on an apparently successful vaccine.
- Pfizer, in collaboration with BioNTech, was the first, reporting a week ago that its vaccine was more than 90% effective.
LONGER SHELF LIFE
- Moderna also said its vaccine has a longer shelf life under refrigeration and at room temperature than previously reported.
- Moderna, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, developed its vaccine in collaboration with researchers from the Vaccine Research Center, part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
- The company announced on October 22 that it had completed enrolment of its 30,000-person study.
- 25,650 participants had already received two shots.
SEVERAL UNKNOWNS
- It will be important to determine whether the vaccines work equally well in older and younger people, experts say.
- Researchers also want to know if the vaccines prevent people from spreading the virus — an ideal result that could help quash the pandemic.
- An additional concern is that the vaccines must be stored and transported at low temperatures — minus 20 degree Celsius for Moderna.
- Moderna said researchers had found that its vaccine had a longer shelf life in the refrigerator than previously thought: 30 days, not seven.
- And it will last 12 hours at room temperature.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- Pfizer and Moderna each announced the findings in news releases, not in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
- The companies have not yet disclosed the detailed data that would allow outside experts to evaluate their claims.
SOURCES: THE HINDU & IE | 17th Nov Current Affairs News Analysis
Comply with FDI ceiling : I&B Ministry
HEADLINES:
Comply with FDI ceiling, govt.tells digital news firms
WHY IN NEWS:
- I&B Ministry seeks details of shareholders, directors
- Videostreaming platforms too are now under the jurisdiction of I&B Ministry.
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3 : Information : Communication : Digital Communication
ISSUE:
KEY POINTS
- The notification specifies imposing a 26% cap on FDI under government route for uploading/streaming of news and current affairs through digital media.
- This will be about the shareholding pattern along with the “names and addresses of its directors/shareholders”.
- These details have to be submitted within a month.
- The firms which have more than 26% of FDI have been instructed to take steps to bring down the figure before October 15, 2021.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- This serves no purpose.The government is just trying to get more and more levers with which to manipulate the digital media.
- The spate of notifications that you see are not isolated; it clearly indicates that they want to exert control and this will continue.-News Laundry.
SOURCES: THE HINDU | 17th Nov Current Affairs News Analysis
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