CURRENT AFFAIRS 

1 DECEMBER 2019

 NATIONAL:
1.CITIZENSHIP (AMENDMENT) BILL(GS-2)

• CONTEXT:NE to be shielded from citizenship law impact
• Union Home Minister Amit Shah has assured civil society and political representatives from the northeastern States that tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura, and States protected by the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system — Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland — would be shielded from the impact of the proposed Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB), 2019.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill:

• It seeks to allow illegal migrants from certain minority communities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan eligible for Indian citizenshipby amending the Citizenship Act of 1955.
• It seeks to grant citizenship to people from minority communities — Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians —after 6 years of stay in India even if they do not possess any proper document. The current requirement is 12 years of stay.
• The Bill provides that the registration of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders may be cancelled if they violate any law.
• The Bill, however, does not extend to illegal Muslim migrants. It also does not talk about other minority communities in the three neighbouring countries, such as Jews, Bahais etc.

However, the bill is being criticised for the following reasons:

• It violates the basic tenets of the Constitution. Illegal immigrants are distinguished on the basis of religion.
• It is perceived to be a demographic threat to indigenous communities.
• The Bill makes illegal migrants eligible for citizenship on the basis of religion. This may violate Article 14 of the Constitution which guarantees the right to equality.
• It attempts to naturalise the citizenship of illegal immigrants in the region.
• The Bill allows cancellation of OCI registration for violation of any law. This is a wide ground that may cover a range of violations, including minor offences.

Need for Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016:

• There are thousands of Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis who have entered India after facing religious persecution in countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan without any valid document.
• These refugees have been facing difficulty in getting Long Term Visa (LTV) or Citizenship.
• The existing Citizenship law does not allow anyone granting Indian nationality if he or she can not show proof of documents on country of birth and therefore they have to stay at least 12 years in India.
• Those Hindus who are persecuted due to religion has no other place to go except India.

Concerns, issues and consequences of these changes:

• Introduced religion as a new principle into the citizenship law: By marking out Muslims as a residual category, it reiterates the narrative of partition, without incorporating the principles of inclusion which were present in both the constitution of India and the Citizenship Act of 1955 at its inception.
• While religious persecution is a reasonable principle for differentiation, it cannot be articulated in a manner that dilutes the republican and secular foundations of citizenship in India, and goes against constitutional morality.

 

Special concerns of NE indigenous people:

• The Bill has not been sitting well with the Assamese as it contradicts the Assam Accord of 1985, which clearly states that illegal migrants heading in from Bangladesh after March 25, 1971, would be deported.
• Mizoram fears Buddhist Chakmas and Hindu Hajongs from Bangladesh may take advantage of the Act.
• Meghalaya and Nagaland are apprehensive of migrants of Bengali stock.
• Groups in Arunachal Pradesh fear the new rules may benefit Chakmas and Tibetans.
• Manipur wants the Inner-line Permit System to stop outsiders from entering the state.

2.Golconda Fort(GS-1)

• CONTEXT: Pipeline work spells doom for moat at Golconda Fort
• A large part of the 500­yearold Golconda Fort’s moat has been pulverised by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) for laying a pipeline. The moat wall between Ahana Burj and Mamola Burj of the Naya Qila area of the fortress has been turned into rubble using drills and earthmovers
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Golconda Fort:

• Golconda Fort, also known as Golkonda (lit. "round hill") is a fortified citadel and an early capital city of the Qutb Shahi dynasty (c.1512–1687), located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Because of the vicinity of diamond mines, especially Kollur Mine, Golconda flourished as a trade centre of large diamonds, known as the Golconda Diamonds.
•  The region has produced some of the world's most famous diamonds, including the colorless Koh-i-Noor (now owned by the United Kingdom), the blue Hope (United States), the pink Daria-i-Noor (Iran), the white Regent (France), the Dresden Green (Germany), and the colorless Orlov (Russia), Nizam and Jacob (India), as well as the now lost diamonds Florentine Yellow, Akbar Shah and Great Mogul.

3.Integral Coach Factory (ICF),Vande Bharat Express(GS-2,3)

• CONTEXT:Probe sought into ‘sabotage’ of Vande Bharat Express
• In a twist to the ongoing controversy over halting production of Train18 coaches at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) here, a top railway official has written to Railway Board Chairman V.K. Yadav demanding an enquiry into the ‘sabotage’ of the Vande Bharat Express project

Integral Coach Factory (ICF):

• Integral Coach Factory (ICF) is a manufacturer of rail coaches located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It was established in 1952, is owned and operated by the Indian Railways. It is located in the neighbourhood of Perambur. The ICF is one of the three rake production units of the Indian Railways, the other two being the Modern Coach Factory at Raebareli and the Rail Coach Factory at Kapurthala.
• The coach factory primarily manufactures rolling stock for Indian Railways but also exports railway coaches to other countries. ICF set a new record produce 2503 coaches in the fiscal year 2017-2018. It became the world's largest railway coach manufacturer, rolling out 3,262 coaches in the fiscal year 2018-2019, up from 1,437 coaches in 2009-2010,expecting to produce 4,000 units in the fiscal year 2019–2020 .
• A premier production unit of the Indian railways, the ICF manufactures a range of coaches, including Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) ones, in addition to self-propelled train sets (SPTs) such as electrical multiple units (EMU)

Vande Bharat Express:

• It is India’s first indigenously built engineless semi-high speed train. Earlier, it was known by the name Train 18.
• It runs between Delhi and Varanasi at a maximum speed of 160 kmph.
• It has been built by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, in a record time of 20 months.
• The train is a 100% ‘Make in India’ project and is claimed to be built at half the cost of a similar train set that is imported.
• It is energy-efficient as its coaches will be fitted with LED lights. Coaches will have automatic doors and retractable footsteps.
• It will be inter-connected with fully sealed gangways along with a GPS-based Passenger Information System. It is provided with Bio toilets.

Mains Question: “The Future of Rail Opportunities for energy” report, released by the International Energy Agency, has painted a bright future for Indian railways. Discuss the report and the efforts made by the government in recent years to modernize Indian railways.

4.PSLV(GS-2,3)

• CONTEXT:PSLV gearing up for its 50th flight
• In nearly three decades, it has launched more than 45 Indian 
• payloads 

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is preparing for the 50th flight of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), popularly called the agency’s workhorse. The lift­off?? of the PSLV­C48 mission is scheduled for December 11. To date, 49 PSLV missions have lifted off?? from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. They include the initial three developmental flights — the designated PSLV D1, D2 and D3 — and 46 operational flights. The total count includes two failed missions and the PSLV variants, such as PSLV­XL and PSLV­CA, said officials of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), ISRO’s lead agency for launch vehicles. By all rights, the PSLV­C47 mission that flew on November 27 this year should have been logged as the 50th flight, had the ISRO stuck to the natural progression of numbers. After the PSLV­C12 flight on April 20, 2009, the agency nimbly leap­frogged to the C14 mission. The ISRO lore goes that the number 13 was bypassed owing to its association with ill luck!

PSLV:

POLAR SATELLITE LAUNCH VEHICLE:BY ISRO

About the Launch Vehicle

• Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is the third generation launch vehicle of India. It is the first Indian launch vehicle to be equipped with liquid stages. After its first successful launch in October 1994, PSLV emerged as the reliable and versatile workhorse launch vehicle of India with 39 consecutively successful missions by June 2017. During 1994-2017 period, the vehicle has launched 48 Indian satellites and 209 satellites for customers from abroad.
• Besides, the vehicle successfully launched two spacecraft – Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 and Mars Orbiter Spacecraft in 2013 – that later traveled to Moon and Mars respectively

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Payload to SSPO: 1,750 kg

PSLV earned its title 'the Workhorse of ISRO' through consistently delivering various satellites to Low Earth Orbits, particularly the IRS series of satellites. It can take up to 1,750 kg of payload to Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbits of 600 km altitude.

Payload to Sub GTO: 1,425 kg

Due to its unmatched reliability, PSLV has also been used to launch various satellites into Geosynchronous and Geostationary orbits, like satellites from the IRNSS constellation.

Fourth Stage: PS4

The PS4 is the uppermost stage of PSLV, comprising of two Earth storable liquid engines.

Engine : 2 x PS-4

Fuel : MMH + MON

Max. Thrust : 7.6 x 2 kN

Third Stage: PS3

The third stage of PSLV is a solid rocket motor that provides the upper stages high thrust after the atmospheric phase of the launch.

Fuel : HTPB

Max. Thrust : 240 kN

Second Stage: PS2

PSLV uses an Earth storable liquid rocket engine for its second stage, know as the Vikas engine, developed by Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre.

Engine : Vikas

Fuel : UDMH + N2O4

Max. Thrust : 799 kN

First Stage: PS1

PSLV uses the S139 solid rocket motor that is augmented by 6 solid strap-on boosters.

Engine : S139

Fuel : HTPB

Max. Thrust : 4800 kN

Strap-on Motors

PSLV uses 6 solid rocket strap-on motors to augment the thrust provided by the first stage in its PSLV-G and PSLV-XL variants. However, strap-ons are not used in the core alone version (PSLV-CA).

Fuel : HTPB

Max. Thrust : 719 kN

5.The Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI)(gs-2,3)

• Context: Antibiotic prescription rate high in private sector
• The private sector clocked high levels of antibiotic prescription rates (412 per 1,000 persons per year), according to a new study by researchers at the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI). The highest rate was seen among children aged 0–4 years (636 per 1,000 persons) and the lowest in the age group 10–19 years (280 per 1,000 persons). The study is the first ever estimate of outpatient antibiotic prescription rates and patterns in the private sector and has been published this month in PLOS One titled — “Outpatient antibiotic prescription rate and pattern in the private sector in India”.

The Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI):

• The Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) is a public private initiative that has collaboratively evolved through consultations with multiple constituencies including Indian and international academia, state and central governments, multi & bi-lateral agencies and civil society groups. PHFI is a response to redress the limited institutional capacity in India for strengthening training, research and policy development in the area of Public Health.
• Structured as an independent foundation, PHFI adopts a broad, integrative approach to public health, tailoring its endeavours to Indian conditions and bearing relevance to countries facing similar challenges and concerns. The PHFI focuses on broad dimensions of public health that encompass promotive, preventive and therapeutic services, many of which are frequently lost sight of in policy planning as well as in popular understanding. The Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, launched PHFI on March 28, 2006 at New Delhi. PHFI recognizes the fact that meeting the shortfall of health professionals is imperative to a sustained and holistic response to the public health concerns in the country which in turn requires health care to be addressed not only from the scientific perspective of what works, but also from the social perspective of, who needs it the most.

6.India State of Forest Report (ISFR)(gs-2,3)

• Context:Report on forests soon’Exercise to ascertain increase or decrease in cover: Minister
• The Environment Ministry is likely to release an update on the state of forests in India in December, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Saturday. The India State of Forest Report (ISFR) is a biennial exercise to estimate the forest cover, the density of forest vegetation, tree cover across States, and the progress of plantation outside regions officially designated ‘forest.’

• India State of Forest Report (ISFR) is a biennial publication of Forest Survey of India (FSI) an organization under the Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change Government of India
• A quarter of India’s geographical area (24.49 per cent) is under forest and tree cover, according to data shared in Parliament by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. These assessments are done by the Forest Survey of India, whose findings are published in the India State of Forest Report (ISFR). The last report was published in 2017.
• A quarter of India’s geographical area (24.49 per cent) is under forest and tree cover, according to data shared in Parliament by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. These assessments are done by the Forest Survey of India, whose findings are published in the India State of Forest Report (ISFR). The last report was published in 2017.
• At 97 per cent, the Union Territory of Lakshadweep is on top – its geographical area is only 30 square km. Among the six states with the highest forest and tree cover, four are in the Northeast – Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Meghalaya.
• Goa and Kerala are two other states with more than 50 per cent of their geographical area under forest and tree cover.
• In terms of geographical area, the highest tree and forest cover is in Madhya Pradesh, with 85,487 sq km.

7.Financial Action Task Force (FATF)(gs-2,3)

• Context:India, Japan call upon Pakistan to act on terror “Comply with commitments to FATF’
• At the inaugural 2+2 dialogue on Saturday, India and Japan underlined the need for all countries to ensure that “all territory under their control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries in any manner”, and called upon Pakistan to comply with commitments to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The dialogue was attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar from India and Foreign Affairs Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and Defence Minister Kono Taro from Japan

Financial Action Task Force (FATF):

• The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will hold its Plenary meeting in Orlando, Florida from 16th-21st June wherein it could take up a proposal to downgrade Pakistan to the blacklist on terrorist financing from its current greylisted status.
• The FATF is an inter-governmental body that works to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
• A country is put on the grey list when it fails to curb terrorism financing and money laundering.
• Putting a country on the blacklist means shutting all doors to international finance for that country.

Pakistan’s status

• Pakistan has been under the FATF’s scanner since June, 2018, when it was put on the greylist for terror financing and money laundering risks, after an assessment of its financial system and law enforcement mechanisms.
• In June 2018, Pakistan gave a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and the Asia Pacific Group (APG) to strengthen its anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime.
• Based on this commitment, Pakistan and the FATF agreed on the monitoring of 27 indicators under a 10-point action plan, with deadlines.
• Successful implementation of the action plan and its physical verification by the APG will move Pakistan out of the greylist; failure by Pakistan will result in its blacklisting by September 2019.
• FATF wants to see effective implementation of targeted financial sanctions against all terrorists designated under UN Security Council Resolutions 1267 and 1373.
• The Joint Group of the APG has recently informed Pakistan that the country’s compliance on 18 of the 27 indicators is unsatisfactory, though the FATF has agreed that there have been improvements in the AML/CFT regime and the integrated database for currency declaration arrangements.
• At least three votes (out of 36) would be needed to block a move to blacklist Pakistan. Pakistan may make a diplomatic push to thwart blacklisting.

Impact of being blacklisted

• Pakistan’s $6 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) could be threatened.
• Pakistan faces an estimated annual loss of $10 billion if it stays in the greylist; if blacklisted, its already fragile economy will dealt with a powerful blow.

India’s Role

• India is a voting member of the FATF and APG, and co-chair of the Joint Group.
• India was not part of the group that moved the resolution to greylist Pakistan in 2018 in Paris. The movers were the US, UK, France, and Germany and China did not oppose.
• As of now, India is pushing for Pakistan to be blacklisted.
• There is also an opinion that by keeping Pakistan in the grey list one can continue to pressure the country as well as scrutinise its actions.

International:

1.Open-pit, open-cast or open cut mining(gs-3)

• Context:Climate protesters occupy German coal mines

• Thousands of activists on Saturday occupied several opencast coal mines in eastern Germany, seeking to put pressure on the government to phase out the fossil fuel — a divisive issue in the country’s rust belt. Wearing masks and dressed in white, hundreds of campaigners stormed into the Jaenschwalde Ost mine while another 450 sat down on a railroad connected to the site. Similar action hit the Welzow­Sued mine, also in the Lausitz basin

Open-pit, open-cast or open cut mining:

• Open-pit, open-cast or open cut mining is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow.
• This form of mining differs from extractive methods that require tunnelling into the earth, such as long wall mining. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially useful ore or rocks are found near the surface. It is applied to ore or rocks found at the surface because the overburden is relatively thin or the material of interest is structurally unsuitable for tunnelling (as would be the case for sand, cinder, and gravel). In contrast, minerals that have been found underground but are difficult to retrieve due to hard rock, can be reached using a form of underground mining.

Pollutants:

• Open-pit mining involves the process of disrupting the ground, which leads to the creation of air pollutants. The main source of air pollutants comes from the transportation of minerals, but there are various other factors including drilling, blasting and the loading and unloading of overburden.These type of pollutants cause significant damage to public health and safety in addition to damaging the air quality. The inhalation of these pollutants can cause issues to the lungs and ultimately increase mortality. Furthermore, the pollutants affect flora and fauna in the areas surrounding open-pit mines.
• Open-pit gold mining is one of the highest potential mining threats on the environment as it affects the air and water chemistry. The exposed dust may be toxic or radioactive, making it a health concern for the workers and the surrounding communities

CURRENT AFFAIRS 

26-30 NOVEMBER 2019

 NATIONAL:

1.Cartosat-3(gs-3)

Context:ISRO successfully launches India’s latest earth observation satellite Cartosat-3

Cartosat-3:

• Cartosat-3 is a third-generation advanced earth observation satellite carried by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C47.
• PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) is an indigenously-developed expendable launch system of the ISRO.
• Resolution: It has the 'sharpest eye' of civil remote sensing satellites in the world.
• One of Cartosat-3’s cameras offers a ground resolution of 25 cm - it can pick up an object of a minimum of 25 cm size from a height of around 500 km.
• Currently, a satellite owned by US private company- WorldView-3, has the best ground resolution of 31 cm.
• Weight: At 1,625 kg, Cartosat-3 is unusually heavy and more than double the mass of the previous eight in its class.
• Orbit: PSLV will place Cartosat 3 in an orbit of 509 km.
• Inclination: It has been placed at 97.5 degrees to the equator of the earth.
• It has many new technologies such as a highly agile or flexible camera; high-speed data transmission, advanced computer system, etc.

Applications

• Data from most of the Cartosat satellites are exclusively used by the armed forces.
• However, an existing policy allows only government and government authorised agencies to access ISRO's high-resolution imageries below a resolution of 1 metre.
• Cartosat-3’s optical imaging will also help to detect precise cartographic or mapping activities.
• The imageries are also used for urban and rural infrastructure planning, coastal land use and regulation, utility management such as monitoring road networks, water grids or distribution, creation of land use maps, disaster management, etc.

Cartosat Satellites

• The Cartosat satellites are earth observation satellites, used mainly for large-scale mapping of the Earth through high-resolution cameras.
• It also helps to detect changes in natural geographical or man-made features. As their cameras can `look back and forth' in an angle to generate continuous spot images.
• The Earth-observation satellites also include the Resourcesat and RISAT series, the Oceansat series.
• The Resourcesat and RISAT series of satellites, for example, provide images and data that are needed for land and water resources applications.
• The Oceansat series and the SARAL satellite, meanwhile, produce data on the oceans.
• The satellites like INSAT 3D, INSAT-VRR or Megha Tropiques study the atmosphere.

2.Fit India Week(gs-2)

• Context:Fit India Week in Nov-Dec should be made mandatory across all schools: Sports Minister
• The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has taken the initiative of observing Fitness Week in the second, third and fourth week of November, as part of the Fit India Movement.
• Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that celebrating fitness week at this time of the year is a very good step. He said, it is being organized across all Kendriya Vidyalayas and he will encourage private schools to do the same.
• He said, Fit India Week in the month of November and December should be made mandatory across all schools as fitness is a very important part of a student’s life.
• The objective of the Fitness Week is to bring about a behavioural change in school children from spending Passive Screen Time to Active Field Time - by moving them away from computer screens to open fields. 22000 CBSE schools across the country and three abroad are participating in the movement

Fit India movement:

What is Fit India Movement?

• Envisioned by the Prime Minister, the nation-wide Fit India Movement aims to motivate every Indian to incorporate simple, easy ways of staying fit in their everyday life.
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• Significance: The initiative is the need of the hour and it will lead the country towards a healthy future.

National Sports Day:

• It is celebrated on 29 August, on the birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand.
• On this Day, President confers the National Sports Awards, National Adventure Awards, Arjuna Award, Khel Ratna, Dronacharya Award and Dhyanchand Award to recognise the exceptional achievements of Indian sportspersons.

3.Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act(gs-2)

• Context:Strict action will be taken against those involved in child pornography: Govt
• 
  
• Government today said that strict action will be taken against those who are involved in child pornography. Intervening in the issue during zero hour in Rajya Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said that special penal provisions have been made in the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to take stringent action against the culprit. She said, 50 cases were registered against the offenders. She informed that child helpline no 1098 is available wherein people can lodge the complaint.

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act:

• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was introduced in Rajya Sabha by the Minister of Women and Child Development, Ms. Smriti Zubin Irani on July 18, 2019. The Bill amends the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.  The Act seeks to protect children from offences such as sexual assault, sexual harassment, and pornography.
• Penetrative sexual assault: Under the Act, a person commits “penetrative sexual assault” if he: (i) penetrates his penis into the vagina, mouth, urethra or anus of a child, or (ii) makes a child do the same, or (iii) inserts any other object into the child’s body, or (iv) applies his mouth to a child’s body parts.  The punishment for such offence is imprisonment between seven years to life, and a fine.  The Bill increases the minimum punishment from seven years to ten years.  It further adds that if a person commits penetrative sexual assault on a child below the age of 16 years, he will be punishable with imprisonment between 20 years to life, with a fine. 
• Aggravated penetrative sexual assault: The Act defines certain actions as “aggravated penetrative sexual assault”.  These include cases when a police officer, a member of the armed forces, or a public servant commits penetrative sexual assault on a child.  It also covers cases where the offender is a relative of the child, or if the assault injures the sexual organs of the child or the child becomes pregnant, among others.  The Bill adds two more grounds to the definition of aggravated penetrative sexual assault.  These include: (i) assault resulting in death of child, and (ii) assault committed during a natural calamity, or in any similar situations of violence.  Currently, the punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault is imprisonment between 10 years to life, and a fine.  The Bill increases the minimum punishment from ten years to 20 years, and the maximum punishment to death penalty.
• Aggravated sexual assault: Under the Act, “sexual assault” includes actions where a person touches the vagina, penis, anus or breast of a child with sexual intent without penetration.  “Aggravated sexual assault” includes cases where the offender is a relative of the child, or if the assault injures the sexual organs of the child, among others.  The Bill adds two more offences to the definition of aggravated sexual assault.  These include: (i) assault committed during a natural calamity, and (ii) administrating or help in administering any hormone or any chemical substance, to a child for the purpose of attaining early sexual maturity.
• Pornographic purposes: Under the Act, a person is guilty of using a child for pornographic purposes if he uses a child in any form of media for the purpose of sexual gratification. The Act also penalises persons who use children for pornographic purposes resulting in sexual assault.  The Bill defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a child including photograph, video, digital or computer generated image indistinguishable from an actual child.  In addition, the Bill enhances the punishments for certain offences as shown in Table 1.

Table 1: Punishment for offences for using child for pornographic purposes

Offence	POCSO Act, 2012	2019 Bill
Use of child for pornographic purposes	·    Maximum: 5 years	·    Minimum: 5 years
Use of child for pornographic purposes resulting in penetrative sexual assault	·    Minimum: 10 years ·    Maximum: life imprisonment	·    Minimum: 10 years (in case of child below 16 years: 20 years) ·    Maximum: life imprisonment
Use of child for pornographic purposes resulting in aggravated penetrative sexual assault	·    Life imprisonment	·    Minimum: 20 years ·    Maximum:  life imprisonment, or death.
Use of child for pornographic purposes resulting in sexual assault	·    Minimum: Six years ·    Maximum: Eight years	·    Minimum: Three years ·    Maximum: Five years
Use of child for pornographic purposes resulting in aggravated sexual assault	·    Minimum: Eight years ·    Maximum: 10 years	·    Minimum: Five years  ·    Maximum: Seven years

• Storage of pornographic material: The Act penalises storage of pornographic material for commercial purposes with a punishment of up to three years, or a fine, or both.  The Bill amends this to provide that the punishment can be imprisonment between three to five years, or a fine, or both.  In addition, the Bill adds two other offences for storage of pornographic material involving children.  These include: (i) failing to destroy, or delete, or report pornographic material involving a child, and (ii) transmitting, displaying, distributing such material except for the purpose of reporting it.

4.Defence Acquisition Council(gs-2)

• Context:DAC approves capital procurement for Services amounting to over Rs 22,800 crore
• To boost the 'Make in India' initiative, the DAC accorded approval for indigenous design, development and manufacturing of 'Thermal Imaging Night Sights' for Assault Rifles. These sights will be manufactured by the Indian private industry and used by troops deployed on the frontline.
• As a follow up of the successful indigenous Airborne Early Warning and Control programme, the DAC revalidated the Acceptance of Necessity for the procurement of additional Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) India aircraft.

Defence Acquisition Council:

• An overarching structure, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), under the Defence Minister was constituted for overall guidance of the defence procurement planning process.

The composition of the DAC is as follows:

• Defence Minister: Chairman
• Minister of State for Defence: Member
• Chief of Army Staff: Member
• Chief of Naval Staff: Member
• Chief of Air Staff: Member
• Defence Secretary: Member
• Secretary Defence Research & Development: Member
• Secretary Defence Production: Member
• Chief of Integrated Staff Committees HQ IDS: Member
• Director General (Acquisition): Member
• Dy. Chief of Integrated Defence: Staff Member Secretary
• The objective of the Defence Acquisition Council is to ensure expeditious procurement of the approved requirements of the Armed Forces in terms of capabilities sought, and time frame prescribed, by optimally utilizing the allocated budgetary resources.

The functions of the DAC include:

• in-principle approval of 15 Year Long-Term Integrated Perspective Plan for Defence Forces;
• accord of Acceptance of Necessity to acquisition proposals;
• categorization of the acquisition proposals relating to ‘Buy’, ‘Buy & Make’ and ‘Make’;
• issues relating to Single vendor clearance;
• decision regarding ‘offset’ provisions in respect of acquisition proposals above Rs. 300 crores;
• decisions regarding Transfer of Technology under ‘Buy & Make’ category of acquisition proposals; and
• Field Trial evaluation.

5.Indian Computer Emergency Response Team(gs-2,3)

• Context:Won't compromise on data sovereignty: Govt
• The government today asserted that India will not compromise on data sovereignty and it is committed to ensure safety and security of messaging on platforms like WhatsApp.
• Replying to calling attention motion in the Rajya Sabha today on reported use of spyware Pegasus to compromise phone data of some persons through WhatsApp, Electronics and IT Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad informed that not a single FIR has been lodged and so far, his ministry has received no complaint in this matter. He said, there are adequate provisions in IT act to ensure safety and security of messaging on various platforms
• On the snooping issue, the Minister informed that CERT-IN had sent a notice to Israel based company NSO on 26th November of this month seeking details about the malware and its impact on Indian users.

Indian Computer Emergency Response Team(CERT-IN ):

• The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is an office within the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. It is the nodal agency to deal with cyber security threats like hacking and phishing. It strengthens security-related defence of the Indian Internet domain. In March 2014, CERT-In reported a critical flaw in Android Jelly bean's VPN implementation.
• In December 2013, CERT-In reported there was a rise in the cyber attacks on Government organisations like banking and finance, oil and gas and emergency services. It issued a list of security guidelines to all critical departments.
• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in May, 2016 between Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and Ministry of Cabinet Office, UK. Earlier CERT-In signed MoUs with counterpart/similar organizations in about seven countries - Korea, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and Uzbekistan. Ministry of External Affairs has also signed MoU with Cyber Security as one of the areas of cooperation with Shanghai Cooperation Organization. With the MoUs, participating countries can exchange technical information on Cyber attacks, response to cyber security incidents and find solutions to counter the cyber attacks. They can also exchange information on prevalent cyber security policies and best practices. The MoUs helps to strengthen cyber space of signing countries, capacity building and improving relationship between them.

6.National Coastal Mission(gs-2)

• Context:Govt envisages establishing National Coastal Mission to address impact of climate change: Javadekar
• Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar today said the government has envisaged establishing a National Coastal Mission under the National Action Plan on climate change. 
• Replying to questions in the Lok Sabha, Mr Javadekar said, the Mission aims addressing impact of climate change on coastal and maritime ecosystems, infrastructure and communities in coastal areas though mitigation measures. 
• The minister said, the government has launched Integrated Coastal Zone management project in 2010 to conserve, protect and manage the coastal and maritime ecosystems. 
• Mr Javadekar said the total expenditure under this project has been about 1400 crore rupees so far. The minister informed, the project has been implemented in identified coastal stretches in states of Gujarat, Odisha and West Bengal.

National Coastal Mission:

• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is embarking on a new National Coastal Mission.
• The Minister inaugurated the new building of the Centre and research infrastructure at Anna University campus in Chennai.
• The research undertaken by NCSCM will be used directly for arriving at policy decisions and for capacity building of coastal communities and other stakeholders.
• The focus of the Government in coastal states is sustainable livelihood, development of coastal communities through various R&D and policy initiatives. Six research divisions have been established at NCSCM that will combine geospatial sciences with cutting-edge research on conservation, pollution, climate change and community interface – both in mainland and islands of the country.
• The NCSCM’s core strength is the multi-disciplinary nature of coastal system research for the well-being of coastal communities and promoting sustainable development based on scientific principles.

Objectives of National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management include:

• The NCSCM, along with other Ministries and State/UT governments will also strive to scientifically map the cumulative vulnerability of coastal environment to climate change and consequent threats to ecology, lives and livelihoods; develop vulnerability-based environment and adaptive management plans for key sectors by (i) mainstreaming climate sensitivity and readiness into all coastal developmental projects and (ii) Promoting development taking into account the threats due to natural hazards in the coastal areas and sea-level rise; build resilience of coastal communities (fishermen, agriculturists etc) and develop infrastructure and settlements in urban and rural areas; conserve and protect coastal stretches, its unique environment and its marine area by enhancing mitigation (blue carbon ecosystems which include mangroves, seagrass meadows and salt marsh ecosystems) and build institutional capacity – both sector-wise and for community.

7.FASTag (gs-2,3)

• Context:FASTag deadline extended to December 15
• Union Government has extended the date for making FASTag mandatory for toll payments on National Highways to 15th of next month. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had earlier announced that from 1st of December, toll payments on highways would be accepted through FASTags only.
• The Ministry in a statement said that it has been found that many citizens have still not enabled their vehicles with FASTag due to various reasons.  It said, to provide some more time to citizens to buy and put FASTag on their vehicles, it has now been decided that charging of double User Fee from vehicles which enter FASTag lane without FASTag will start from 15th of December this year. The Ministry also said, NHAI FASTag will continue to be provided free of cost till 15th December.

FASTag :

• The tag is valid for five years and comes in seven different colours — violet, orange, yellow, green, pink, blue, black. Each colour is assigned to a particular category of vehicles.
• It was rolled out in April 2016,  and the Government made it mandatory from December 1, 2017 for all new cars and trucks to be fitted with a FASTag before they were sold.
• To encourage the use of FASTags, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) refunds 5% of the total monthly transactions.
• Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL) (a company incorporated by National Highways Authority of India) and National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) are implementing this program.
• FASTag is presently operational at both, national and state highways.

Benefits

• Ease of payment – No need to carry cash for the toll transactions, saves time.
• Near non-stop movement of vehicles leading to lower fuel cost.
• Other benefits are:
• Environmental benefit  : reduced air pollution, reduced use of paper.                               
• Social benefit : reduced toll payment hassles ,analytics for better highway management.
• Economic benefit : reduced effort in management at toll plaza, reduced effort in monitoring centrally.

8.Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) Act 2016(gs-2)

• Context:Hallmarking to be mandatory for gold jewellery from 2021
• Hallmarking for Gold jewellery and artefacts will be mandatory from 15th January 2021. Briefing reporters in New Delhi, Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said, notification in this regard will be issued by 15 of January next year, giving a period of one year for implementation. He said, Jewellers and Retailers will get one year time for clearing their old or existing stock. Mr Paswan said, more than 26 thousand jewellers have taken the Bureau of Indian Standards, BIS (Hallmarking) registration till now.

Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) Act 2016:

• The Bureau of Indian standards (BIS) Act 2016 establishes the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as the National Standards Body of India.

Bureau of Indian Standards Act

• BIS Act allows multiple types of simplified conformity assessment schemes including self-declaration of conformity.
• BIS act provides enabling provisions for making hallmarking of precious metal articles mandatory.
• The Act enables the Central Government to appoint any authority/agency, in addition to the BIS, to verify the conformity of products and services with the established standard and  issue certificate of conformity.
• There is a provision for repair or recall, of the products (bearing Standard Mark) that do not conform to the relevant Indian Standard.
• New areas identified in standardization are: 
• Alternate fuels
• E-mobility
• Medical Devices
• Smart Cities
• Digital Technologies (e.g. Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence, Block Chain etc.)
• New and Renewable energy.

Important initiatives for effective implementation of the BIS Act, 2016 are

• BIS (Hallmarking) Regulations, 2018 under the BIS act calls for Hallmarking of:
• Gold jewellery and gold artefacts
• Silver jewellery and silver artefacts
• Penal provisions for better and effective compliance have been made stringent under BIS (Hallmarking) Regulations, 2018.

Bureau of Indian Standards:

BIS is the National Standard Body of India for the harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods.

BIS has been providing traceability and tangibility benefits to the national economy in a number of ways by:

Providing safe reliable quality goods.

Minimizing health hazards to consumers.

Promoting exports and imports substitute.

Control over proliferation of varieties etc through standardization, certification and testing.

International:

1.World Heritage Committee(gs-2,3)

• Context: Saudi Arabia elected to UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee
• The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, member state of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), was elected to the World Heritage Committee for the first time, days after winning the membership in the UNESCO Executive Board

World Heritage Committee:

• The World Heritage Committee selects the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties. It comprises representatives from 21 state parties that are elected by the General Assembly of States Parties for a four-year term. These parties vote on decisions and proposals related to the World Heritage Convention and World Heritage List.
• According to the World Heritage Convention, a committee member's term of office is six years. However many State's Parties choose to voluntarily limit their term to four years, in order to give other States Parties an opportunity to serve. All members elected at the 15th General Assembly (2005) voluntarily chose to reduce their term of office from six to four years.
• Deliberations of the World Heritage Committee are aided by three advisory bodies, the IUCN, ICOMOS and ICCROM

2.EU Parliament declares climate emergency

(gs-2,3)

• The European Union’s legislature has declared a climate emergency, in a symbolic move aimed at increasing pressure on the incoming European Commission to take a stronger stance on climate change.
• The parliament voted 429/225 with 19 abstentions to call the increasing environmental challenges linked to climate change an emergency.
• The climate declaration was passed today in Strasbourg during a European Parliament debate on the upcoming United Nations' COP25 climate summit. The summit kicks off on 2nd December in Madrid.
• In a statement, EU lawmakers urged the European Commission to fully ensure all relevant legislative and budgetary proposals are fully aligned with the 1.5-degrees-Celsius target limit on global warming.
• The resolution calls on the EU to cut emissions by 55 per cent by 2030 to become climate neutral by 2050.

United Nations' COP25 climate summit:some facts

• The Climate Action Summit in September was the initiative of the UN Secretary-General to focus the attention of the international community on the climate emergency and to accelerate actions to reverse climate change.  The Climate Conference (held in Madrid after the meeting was moved from Chile due to unrest there),  COP25, is the actual Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC, which is tasked with making sure that the Convention, (and now the 2015 Paris Agreement, which strengthens the Convention), are being implemented.
• There is more evidence of the impacts of climate change, especially in extreme weather events, and these impacts are taking a greater toll.  The science shows that emissions are still going up, not down. 
• According to the 2019 WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have reached another new record high. This continuing long-term trend means that future generations will be confronted with increasingly severe impacts of climate change, including rising temperatures, more extreme weather, water stress, sea level rise and disruption to marine and land ecosystems.
• The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has warned, in its 2019 Emissions Gap Report, that greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 7.6 per cent per year from 2020 to 2030 are needed to meet the internationally agreed goal of a 1.5°C increase in temperatures over pre-industrial levels. Scientists agree that’s a tall order, and that the window of opportunity is growing smaller.

And what’s important about this COP?

• Because the UNFCCC had non-binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual countries, and no enforcement mechanism, various extensions to this treaty were negotiated during recent COPs, including most recently the Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, in which all countries agreed to step up efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures and boost climate action financing.
• COP25 is the final COP before we enter the defining year of 2020, when many nations must submit new climate action plans. Among the many elements that need to be ironed out is the financing of climate action worldwide.
• Currently, not enough is being done to meet the three climate goals: reducing emissions 45 per cent by 2030; achieving climate neutrality by 2050 (which means a net zero carbon footprint), and stabilizing global temperature rise at 1.5°C by the end of the century.
• Because the clock is ticking on climate change, the world cannot afford to waste more time, and a bold, decisive, ambitious way forward needs to be agreed.

3.Mitra Shakthi - VII(gs-2,3)

• Context:Lankan Army contingent leaves for India to participate in joint military exercise
• A Sri Lankan Army contingent left for India today to participate in the annual joint military exercise between the Indian Army and the Sri Lanka Army.
• The Exercise Mitra Shakthi - VII will commence on Sunday at Kumaon Regiment camp premises in Pune and aims to bolster existing bonds of understanding and close working relationship between the two forces.
• The Sri Lankan contingent consists of 11 officers and 109 other rankers of Gemunu Watch troops with equal participation of Indian Army Jawans from Kumaon Regiment.
• The two-week-long military exercise to be held for the seventh time is designed to enhance capacity among participants and promote interoperability, military cooperation, the conduct of joint tactical operations, sharing of experiences and explore possibilities for any potential security threats in future.

STATES:

1Assam govt to provide arsenic & fluoride free drinking water by March 2021

• The Assam government is to provide arsenic and fluoride free drinking water by March 2021 in the state. Replying to a question in the state assembly today, Assam Public Health Engineering Minister Rihon Daimary said that arsenic was found in the ground water in 24 district while fluoride found in 13 districts. 
• Mr. Daimary said that state government has sanctioned 50 lakh rupees per assembly constituencies to active the defunct water supply schemes in the state.

arsenic & fluoride free drinking water:click on the link below:

https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/en/poster8.pdf?ua=1


2.Odisha: 'Home-Stay Policy' near wildlife sanctuaries & eco-destinations

• The Odisha government has directed the Tourism and the Forest department to prepare a 'Home-Stay policy' near identified wildlife sanctuaries and eco-destinations. In a meeting of the Eco-Tourism Board yesterday, Chief Secretary AK Tripathy said, eco-tourism would be developed along professional lines through the creation of market demand and private sector linkages. 
• The meeting also decided to further develop the eco-sites with facilities like sports, trekking, wildlife watching, cycling, boating, jungle safari, photography, canopy walk and farm visits activities.   Fourty eco-tourist destinations have already been developed and made open to the visitors in different parts of the State.

3.Sardar Patel Narmada Trek flagged off

• In Gujarat, the Sardar Patel Narmada Trek (SPNT), a national level trekking camp for NCC Senior and Junior Division Cadets, has been flagged off today at Statue of Unity-Kevadia in Narmada district.
• More than 1,000 cadets from Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal and Punjab are participating in this camp.
• The aim of organizing SPNT camp is to promote National Integration by gathering enthusiastic Nationalist youth from all faiths, castes and cultural identity at a place which is towered by the Iron Man of India.
• The trek will infuse the spirit and passion for adventure, preservation of forests, environment and would motivate them to learn about local culture and traditions of vibrant Gujarat in the young cadets.
• During the event, the NCC cadets will first trek from the Base Camp at NCC Academy Jeetnagar to Junaraj located 20 kilometres away in the Sundarpura.

ENVIRONMENT:

1.New snake species found in Arunachal

• Researchers have discovered a new species of non-venomous burrowing snake in Arunachal Pradesh, named Trachischium apteii. It was found under fallen logs inside a thickly forested area of the Tally Valley Wildlife Sanctuary near the town of Ziro in Arunachal Pradesh during a field expedition by researchers in July 2019.
• “Three specimens of the new species were found in field that helped diagnose the new species,” states the paper published by three researchers — Harshal Bhonsle, Gaurang Gowande and Zeeshan Mirza — in the international science journal Comptes Rendus Biologies.

2.United Nations Development Programme launches Accelerator Lab in India to work on tackling pollution

• Seeking to address some of the most pressing issues facing India, including air pollution, through innovation, the United Nations Development Programme on Thursday launched the country chapter of its Accelerator Lab here.
• The laboratory that will be housed in the UNDP India office has partnered with the Indian government’s Atal Innovation Mission to achieve its objectives.
• “India is an epicentre of innovation and we are pleased to launch an Accelerator Lab here too, where innovators will seek to bring in their energy together to come up with solutions for common problems facing the country,” United Nations Resident Coordinator in India Renata Lok-Dessallien said at the launch.

3.Amazon is burning every year, reminds Nat Geo Society’s Chief Scientist Jonathan Baillie

• Jonathan Baillie was 12 when he got his first National Geographic magazine. He opened it to see pictures of the English primatologist Jane Goodall with her customary company — chimpanzees. Till then, Jonathan never knew one could actually have a career by studying the natural world, especially chimpanzees. “I saw that there was a whole new world out there. And at that moment, I realised that was the type of career I wanted.”
• A few days later, when Jonathan’s parents took him to one of Goodall’s lectures, he handed her his pocket money — two dollars, to support her conservation efforts.
• “I ended up studying gorillas for years after I finished my PhD and followed the footsteps of my childhood idol.” Last November, when he got a chance to interview her, he “was more nervous than usual.

Amazon RAINFOREST:

• These are large tropical rainforest occupying the drainage basin of the Amazon River and its tributaries in northern South America and covering an area of 6,000,000 square km.
• Tropical forests are closed-canopy forests growing within 28 degrees north or south of the equator.
• They are very wet places, receiving more than 200 cm rainfall per year, either seasonally or throughout the year.
• Temperatures are uniformly high - between 20°C and 35°C.
• Such forests are found in Asia, Australia, Africa, South America, Central America, Mexico and on many of the Pacific Islands.
• Comprising about 40% of Brazil’s total area, it is bounded by the Guiana Highlands to the north, the Andes Mountains to the west, the Brazilian central plateau to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east.

4.Soon, more butterflies will flutter around at the Butterfly Park in Visakhapatnam zoo

• 
  

  The one-of-its-kind park is getting a makeover with new signage, host and nectar plants, roof mesh and water sprinklers
• 
  

  The one-of-its-kind Butterfly Park in Andhra Pradesh, dedicated for butterfly conservation, is getting a makeover. Located within the sprawling 625 acres of Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP), the Butterfly Park is home to 65, of the 118 species of butterflies found in the vast expanse of the zoo. Out of the 65, 11 species have bred successfully.

Indira Gandhi Zoological Park (IGZP):

• Indira Gandhi Zoological Park is located amidst Kambalakonda Reserve Forest in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It is the third largest zoo in the country.
• The zoological park is named after the former Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. It was declared open to the public on 19 May 1977.It covers an area of 625 acres (253 ha). It is situated in Visakhapatnam amidst the scenic Eastern Ghats of India. It is surrounded by the Eastern Ghats on three sides and Bay of Bengal on the fourth side. Nearly eighty species of animals numbering to about eight hundred are present in the zoo. The Zoo Park has different sections for primates, carnivores, lesser carnivores, small mammals, reptiles, ungulates and birds caged in their natural ambiance.

The zoo park is about 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) from the Visakhapatnam railway station on the National Highway 5 near Madhurawada. It has Entrance and Exit gates situated oppositely, with one towards National Highway 5 and the other towards Beach Road at Sagar Nagar. It is open to public on all days of the week except Monday.