CURRENT AFFAIRS 1 DECEMBER 2019

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

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