17th Oct Current Affairs News Analysis | Prelims & Mains 2020

Dear Aspirants

IASbhai Current Affairs News Analysis | Prelims & Mains 2020-21 is an initiative to dilute major articles from leading Newspapers in India which are most relevant to UPSC preparation –‘THE HINDU, LIVEMINT , INDIAN EXPRESS’ and help millions of readers who find difficulty in answer writing and making notes everyday. Hence we choose articles on daily basis and analyse them with respect to UPSC PRELIMS 2021.

You don’t need to be better than anyone else, you just need to be better than you used to be.– Wayne Dyer

HIGHLIGHT INFO:

ORANGE COLOUR: Important for Prelims.

RED COLOUR: Important for Mains.

BLACK COLOUR: Must Read !

BLUE COLOUR : Important Links/Survey.

PINK COLOUR: Reports/Themes/Summits.

Page Contents:

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

Today's Must Read Articles :

KALA SANSKRITI VIKAS YOJANA

WORLD FOOD DAY 2020

NEW START TREATY

COLLECTIVE SECURITY TREATY

CHAKMA TRIBE

SHEAT BLIGHT DISEASE

Y20 GLOBAL SUMMIT

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

HEADLINES:

India Hosts Virtual Summit of Ministers of Justice of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

WHY IN NEWS:

Law Minister urges SCO Member States to promote exchange of ideas, best practices and experiences in identified areas through the platform

MINISTRY? :-Ministry Of Law & Justice

SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 2 : International Grouping

ISSUE:

India Highlights Its Reforms for Improving Access to Justice and Improving Business Friendliness

SEVENTH SESSION OF THE MINISTERS OF JUSTICE(SCO)

The Seventh Session of the Ministers of Justice of the SCO Member States deliberated on areas of cooperation;

Emphasized the high relevance of mutual exchange of legal information on counteraction to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic .
It also acknowledged the need for cooperation in ADR mechanism area, among others.

THE SALIENT FEATURES OF THE JOINT STATEMENT

To strengthen the work on implementation of the Agreement on Cooperation between the Ministries of Justice of the SCO Member States.
To continue the work on implementation of the Action Plans of the working groups of experts on forensic activities and legal services .
To study the best practices in alternative dispute resolution.

To continue discussing the parties’ positions on the issues of mutual legal assistance .

Actively develop cooperation with the ministries of justice of the SCO observer and dialogue partner states.
Continue efforts to develop an online platform for the exchange of legal information, taking into account national laws.

SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANISATION (SCO)

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation.

The creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai (China) by the Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyz Republic, the Russia,Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.
It was preceded by the Shanghai Five mechanism.

CHARTER

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Charter was signed during the St.Petersburg SCO Heads of State meeting in June 2002.
Then entered came into force on 19 September 2003.
This is the fundamental statutory document which outlines the organisation’s goals and principles.

SCO’S GOALS

Strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the member states

Promoting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, the economy, research, technology and culture.

Also in education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, and other areas.
Making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region.
Moving towards the establishment of a democratic, fair and rational new international political and economic order.

DECISION MAKING

The Heads of State Council (HSC) is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO.

It meets once a year and adopts decisions and guidelines on all important matters of the organisation.

The SCO’s official languages are Russian and Chinese.

HEADQUARTERS

The SCO Secretariat based in Beijing .

The Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) based in Tashkent.

The SCO Secretary-General and the Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO RATS are appointed by the Council of Heads of State for a term of three years.

MEMBER NATIONS

The SCO comprises eight member states, namely : India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyz Republic,Pakistan, Russian, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

OBSERVERS

SCO counts four observer states, namely : Belarus, Iran , Mongolia and Afghanistan . (BIMA 😉 )

IASbhai WINDUP:

25 Lakh Virtual Hearings Took Place in Various Courts of India During COVID19.

SOURCES:PIB | 17th Oct Current Affairs News Analysis

ASEAN PhD Fellowship Programme (APFP)

HEADLINES:

Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank addresses the students of the 1st Batch of ASEAN PhD Fellowship Programme

WHY IN NEWS:

ASEAN Coordinators from Respective IITs, Directors of the IITs and the selected students also graced the occasion.

MINISTRY? :- Ministry of Education

SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Education

ISSUE:

APFP is the largest capacity development programme undertaken by the Government of India for foreign beneficiaries – Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’

ASEAN PHD FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME (APFP)

ASEAN PhD Fellowship programme provides ASEAN participants space for pursuing higher education in India.
The ASEAN Phd fellowship programme caters extensively to realise the goal set within the socio-cultural pillar.

AIM

APFP will open many doors to synergies in the field of technology and research for the academicians, researchers and the scientists from India and ASEAN.

The students of the ASEAN member states have got the opportunity to study in the IITs.

Under the APFP, 1000 fellowships will be provided exclusively to the ASEAN citizens.

FUNDING

It is funded by Government of India.
APFP is also the largest capacity development programme undertaken by the Government of India for foreign beneficiaries.

SIGNIFICANCE

It will further strengthen our ties in culture, commerce and connectivity.

The researches and inventions by them will be used for the betterment of humankind across the globe.

The ASEAN PhD fellows will be recognized as the alumni of the respective IITs from where they will be completing their PhDs.
It also provides opportunity for promotion of education and cultural exchanges between India and ASEAN countries.

BACKGROUND

ASEAN PhD Fellowship Programme was announced on 25th January 2018, the eve of India’s Republic Day.

Also, Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) initiative of the Ministry will encourage research collaboration of top ranked Indian Institutions and globally ranked Foreign Institutions.

IASbhai WINDUP:

This is an excellent initiative to fill void in education cooperation between India and ASEAN.
This will encourage the ASEAN students to learn in some of India’s finest institutions and learn from the best minds.

This will also bring in the much needed cultural diversity in our academic institutions and is in line with India’s Look East policy.

It will be India’s contribution to the education and upskilling of ASEAN’s IT capacity, and to the closer collaboration between India and ASEAN and to our common digital transformation in IR 4.0.

SOURCES: PIB | 17th Oct Current Affairs News Analysis

Microbes to fight oil spillage

HEADLINES:

Microbes to fight oil spillage in oceans: Indian scientists devise new technology

WHY IN NEWS:

Cleaning up of the oil spillage from the oceans without damaging the marine ecosystem is becoming an increasingly challenging task.

SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Ecology : Oil Spill

ISSUE:

The study found degradation of crude oil was achievable using low-cost non-toxic agro-residues

GRAVE ECOLOGICAL CONCERN

A surge in oil extraction through offshore drilling that has resulted in spillage of oil — accidentally or due to negligence.
Industrial effluent discharge, waste burn-out and other manmade disasters polluting the marine environment are among other concerns.

RECENT FINDINGS

The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) has developed an eco-friendly crude oil bioremediation mechanism technology using consortia of marine microbes wheat bran (WB) immobilized on agro-residue bacterial cells.

BIOREMEDIATION

Bioremediation can be defined as any process that uses microorganisms or their enzymes to remove and or neutralize contaminants within the environment (i.e., within soil and water) to their original condition.

During the study, nine different hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria extracted from the ocean sediment and collected from a depth of 2,100 metres, were used.
It was found that complete breakdown and degradation of crude oil was achievable .

This was by using wheat bran marine bacterial consortia (which are low-cost non-toxic agro-residues) immobilised on low-cost nontoxic agro-residues bacterial cells in an environmentally sustainable manner.

In marine ecosystem, hydrocarbonoclastic deep sea microbial consortium (two or more group of bacteria) plays an important role in breaking down oil in the event of a spill.
The microbial community serves as energetic primary degraders of complex mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons into various aldehydes, ketones and acidic metabolites.

PETROLEUM PRODUCT

Petroleum is a mixture of natural gas, condensate, and crude oil (viscous liquid mixture) consisting mainly of thousands of hydrocarbon compounds.
The present world crude oil production exceeds three billion tonnes a year, about half of which is transported through the sea routes.

IASbhai WINDUP:

The NIOT study found that immobilised bacterial cells had better oil degrading capacity than the free bacterial cells.

They could remove 84 per cent of the oils within 10 days.

The free bacterial cells degraded a maximum of 60 per cent of the crude oil at optimised conditions.
These findings evinced their efficacy in treating accidental bulk discharge of oil in marine environment through non-toxic clean-up technology.

SOURCES:DOWNTOEARTH | 17th Oct Current Affairs News Analysis

Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope

HEADLINES:

New research sheds light on declining star formation in Milky Way

WHY IN NEWS:

Astronomers use upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope to glean vital clues

SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Space

ISSUE:

The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope was used to search for a spectral line in atomic hydrogen.

GIANT METREWAVE RADIO TELESCOPE (GMRT)

Astronomers used Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) to measure the atomic hydrogen content of galaxies seen as they were eight billion years ago when the universe was young.

RESEARCHERS

Astronomers from the Pune-based National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA-TIFR)
Raman Research Institute (RRI) in Bengaluru .

KEY POINTS FROM RESEARCH

Galaxies are made up mostly of gas and stars, with gas being converted into stars during the life of a galaxy.
Understanding galaxies requires us to determine how the amounts of both gas and stars change with time.

Astronomers have long known that galaxies formed stars at a higher rate when the universe was young than they do today.

The star formation activity in galaxies peaked about 8-10 billion years ago and has been declining steadily till today.

IASbhai WINDUP:

The measurement of the atomic hydrogen mass of distant galaxies was done by using the upgraded GMRT to search for a spectral line in atomic hydrogen.

SOURCES:THE HINDU | 17th Oct Current Affairs News Analysis

Global Hunger Index 2020

HEADLINES:

India fares poorly in hunger index

WHY IN NEWS:

Country has the highest prevalence of ‘wasted children’; even Bangladesh and Pakistan score better

SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Reports

ISSUE:

India has the highest prevalence of wasted children under five years in the world, which reflects acute undernutrition, according to the Global Hunger Index 2020.

17th Oct Current Affairs News Analysis

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The situation has worsened in the 2015-19 period, when the prevalence of child wasting was 17.3%, in comparison to 2010-14, when it was 15.1%.
Overall, India ranks 94 out of 107 countries in the Index, lower than neighbours such as Bangladesh (75) and Pakistan (88). 2020 scores reflect data from 2015-19.

PUBLISHED BY

The Index, which was released on Friday, is a peer-reviewed report released annually by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe.

It uses four parameters to determine its scores.
India fares worst in child wasting (low weight for height, reflecting acute undernutrition) and child stunting (low height for age, reflecting chronic undernutrition), which together make up a third of the total score.
India has improved in both child mortality rates, which are now at 3.7%.

In terms of undernourishment, with about 14% of the total population which gets an insufficient caloric intake.

IASbhai WINDUP:

In the region of south, east and south-eastern Asia, the only countries which fare worse than India are Timor-Leste, Afghanistan and North Korea.

We will cover this report in depth tomorrow.

SOURCES:THE HINDU | 17th Oct Current Affairs News Analysis

Any stay : Valid only for 6 months

HEADLINES:

Any stay on proceedings is valid only for 6 months: SC

WHY IN NEWS:

‘An extension can be granted only for a good reason’

SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 2 : Judiciary

ISSUE:

Any stay on civil or criminal proceedings is valid for a period of six months, beyond which the trial will resume, the Supreme Court held in an order

THE VERDICT

“Whatever stay has been granted by any court, including the High Court, automatically expires within a period of six months,”

An extension of the stay has to be granted only for a “good reason.”

2013 JUDGMENT

The Bench was reiterating a 2013 judgment in the Asian Resurfacing of Road Agency Pvt. Ltd case.
“The speaking order must show that the case was of such exceptional nature that continuing the stay was more important than having the trial finalised,” .

IASbhai WINDUP:

CALL TO MAGISTRATES

We must remind the magistrates all over the country that in our pyramidical structure under the Constitution of India, the Supreme Court is at the apex, and the High Courts.

Though not subordinate administratively, High Courts are certainly subordinate judicially.

We expect that the magistrates all over the country will follow our order in letter and spirit,” – Supreme Court observed.

SOURCES:THE HINDU | 17th Oct Current Affairs News Analysis

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