Daily Current Affairs 14 September 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

 Current Affairs OF Today Are

1) India’s Position-Shift on Taliban

Recently, India has signaled a shift in its position on engaging with the Taliban by participating in the commencement ceremony of Intra-Afghan talks between the Afghanistan government and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar.

India’s Position Shift:

• The Indian presence at the Intra-Afghan peace talks indicates that it has changed its position given the ground reality in Afghanistan and the changing power structure in Afghanistan.
• USA's withdrawal has given Pakistan a major role to play in Afghanistan directly or indirectly through its proxies.
• However, some experts thought that India chose to attend the ceremony because the Afghan government was also at the table.
• India still does not recognize the Taliban.

India’s Stand:

• India believes any peace process must be Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, and Afghan-controlled. i.e.
• It has to respect the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan and promote human rights and democracy.
• It also needs to preserve the progress made in the establishment of the democratic Islamic Republic in Afghanistan.
• The interests of minorities, women, and vulnerable sections of society must be preserved and the issue of violence across the country and its neighborhood has to be effectively addressed.
• Indian interests, which include the Indian Embassy and Indian companies and workers in Afghanistan, should also be protected.
• India supports an "independent and sovereign" Afghanistan. The use of words “independent and sovereign” make it clear that Pakistan and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) should not control the levers in Afghanistan.

Background:

• The USA signed a deal with the Taliban that paved the way towards a full withdrawal of USA troops from Afghanistan and also represent a step towards ending the 18-year-war in Afghanistan.
• The peace deal was expected to kick-off two processes- a phased withdrawal of US troops and an ‘intra-Afghan’ dialogue.
• The deal is a fundamental step to deliver a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire and the future political roadmap for the Afghanistan peace process.

India’s Interests in Afghanistan:

• India has a major stake in the stability of Afghanistan. India has invested considerable resources in Afghanistan's development. E.g. the Afghan Parliament, the Zaranj-Delaram Highway, Afghanistan-India Friendship Dam (Salma Dam) among others.
• Afghanistan is the gateway to Central Asia.

Issues Involved:

• India is concerned about the Taliban’s links with Pakistan’s ISI and efforts by the latter to use the Haqqani network to target India’s interests in Afghanistan.
• India’s Afghanistan policy continues to be assessed vis-a-vis Pakistan, which opposes any security role for India in Afghanistan and sees India’s presence there as detrimental to its interests.
• Taliban also has a link with Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) and Laskar-e-Toiba (LeT) who are behind various terrorist activities against India.
• India still does not recognize the Taliban. However, if it considers the option of entering into direct talks with the Taliban, it would constitute a major departure from its consistent policy of dealing only with recognized governments.

Source: Indian Express

2) Singapore Convention on Mediation

• Recently, the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation has come into force.
• The convention will provide a more effective way of enforcing mediated settlements of corporate disputes involving businesses in India and other signatories.

About:

• The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on 20th December 2018 and it was opened for signature on 7th August 2019 in Singapore.
• It is also known as the Singapore Convention on Mediation and also the first UN treaty to be named after Singapore.
• Singapore had worked with the UN Commission on International Trade Law, other UN member states, and non-governmental organizations for the Convention.
• India approved the signing of the Convention in July 2019.
• As of 1st September 2020, the Convention has 53 signatories, including China and the USA as well.

Significance:

• The Convention has been designed to become an essential instrument in the facilitation of international trade and in the promotion of mediation as an alternative and effective method of resolving trade disputes.
• It will ensure that a settlement reached by parties becomes binding and enforceable by a simplified and streamlined procedure.
• Businesses seeking enforcement of a mediated settlement agreement across borders can do so by applying directly to the courts of countries that have signed and ratified the treaty, instead of having to enforce the settlement agreement as a contract by each country’s domestic process.
• The harmonized and simplified enforcement framework will save time and legal costs, which are of crucial importance in uncertain times posed by pandemics like Covid-19.
• Businesses in India and around the world will now have greater certainty in resolving cross-border disputes through mediation, as it provides a more effective means for mediated outcomes to be enforced.

Importance for India:

• It will boost India’s ‘ease of doing business’ credentials by enabling swift mediated settlements of corporate disputes.
• It will also increase the confidence of the investors and shall provide a positive signal to foreign investors about India's commitment to adhere to international practice on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

Source: The Hindu

3) USA-Maldives Framework on Defense and Security Relationship

• Recently, a Framework on Defense and Security Relationship has been signed between the USA and the Maldives.
• The move is seen as consistent with the growing alignment of the USA and Indian interests in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and Indo-Pacific.
• The Framework intends to deepen engagement and cooperation in support of maintaining peace and security in the Indian Ocean.
• It marks an important step forward in the defense partnership between the USA and the Maldives, where both of them agreed to reiterate their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific that promotes the security and prosperity of all nations in the region.
• The Framework outlines a range of bilateral activities, including senior-level dialogues, engagements, etc. in areas such as maritime domain awareness, natural disasters, and humanitarian relief operations.

Significance for India

• India has not officially responded to the announcement of the framework yet.
• This announcement can be seen as a timely signal to China, particularly when Indian and Chinese soldiers are locked in a stand-off at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.
• The Chinese presence and influence in the IOR have been a constant source of worry for India.
• India has taken steps to strengthen its strategic presence in both the IOR and Indo-Pacific.
• The Quad, a grouping that brings together the USA, Japan, India, and Australia, with the apparent but unstated aim of containing China in the region, is also part of this process.
• Malabar Exercise to strengthen the shared objective of a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
• Track 1.5 dialogue between India, France, and Australia to identify security challenges and sustainability issues in the Indo Pacific.
• Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement between India and Japan which allows armed forces of both sides to coordinate closely in services and supplies.
• The framework has the potential to blunt the security aspects of cooperation between China and the Maldives, even if economic co-operation continues.
• In 2017, the Maldives signed up to China’s Belt and Road initiative. It is a part of the Maritime Silk Route.
• Given India-USA ties, India sees the pact as useful also because India’s own direct involvement in Maldivian security matters tends to be viewed with suspicion domestically.
• The framework can provide an indirect route to India if needed.

Source: Indian Express

4) Pesticides Management Bill, 2020

Experts have warned that few provisions in this bill will hurt farmers’ livelihood. Therefore, they have called for wider consultations on the bill and asked it to place it before a select committee.

Key issues/provisions highlighted by experts:

• It would not allow the manufacture and export of pesticides not registered for use in India even if these are approved in other countries.
• The bill will increase the import of formulations and will damage the export of agro-chemicals. This is against the demands presented by the Ashok Dalwai Committee, constituted in 2018 to promote domestic and indigenous industries and agricultural exports from India. The committee had recommended a reduction in import and dependence on imported formulations.
• The bill gives powers to Registration Committee (RC) to subjectively review the registration of a pesticide and then suspend, cancel or even ban its usage. This would be done without any scientific evaluation.
• It also provides for re-registration of pesticides already registered under the erstwhile 1968 Act. This will bring instability to the pesticide industry.

Background:

• The Pesticides Management Bill, 2020 was approved by the Union Cabinet in February this year.  It will replace the Insecticides Act, 1968.

Key provisions in the Bill:

• The Bill will regulate the business of pesticides and compensate farmers in case of losses from the use of agrochemicals.
• Pesticide Data: It will empower farmers by providing them with all the information about the strength and weaknesses of pesticides, the risk, and alternatives. All information will be available openly as data in digital format and in all languages.
• Compensation: The Bill has a unique feature in the form of a provision for compensations in case there is any loss because of the spurious or low quality of pesticides. If required, a central fund will be formed to take care of the compensations.
• Organic Pesticides: The Bill also intends to promote organic pesticides.
• Registration of Pesticide Manufacturers: All pesticide manufacturers have to be registered and bound by the new Act, once it is passed. The advertisements of pesticides will be regulated so there should be no confusion or no cheating by the manufacturers.

Source: Down to Earth

5) iRAD App

• iRAD stands for Integrated Road Accident Database Project.
• The primary purpose of IRAD is to enhance road safety.
• Developed by the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) and will be implemented by the National Informatics Centre.

How does it work?

• The IRAD mobile application will enable police personnel to enter details about a road accident, along with photos and videos, following which a unique ID will be created for the incident.
• Subsequently, an engineer from the Public Works Department or the local body will receive an alert on his mobile device.
• He or she will then visit the accident site, examine it, and feed the required details, such as the road design.
• Data thus collected will be analyzed by a team at IIT-M, which will then suggest if corrective measures in road design need to be taken.
• Road users will also be able to upload data on road accidents on a separate mobile application.

Source: PIB

6) Methane in Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin

Researchers from Agharkar Research Institute (ARI) have found that the methane hydrate deposits are located in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin are of biogenic origin.

Significance of KG basin:

• Even the lowest estimate of methane present in the methane hydrates in KG Basin is twice that of all fossil fuel reserves available worldwide.
• Researchers have also predicted the rate of biogenic methane generation in KG Basin hydrates to be 0.031 millimoles methane/gTOC/Day, resulting in total deposits of methane around 0.56 to 7.68trillion cubic feet (TCF).

What is Methane? How is it formed or produced?

• It is a clean and economical fuel.
• On Earth, methane (CH4) is a naturally occurring gas. Most of the methane on Earth is produced in biological processes — some of it by microbes, and some occurring as underground natural gas that had been formed by earlier generations of microbial life.
• Many of these methane-producing microbes live in the digestive systems of animals, especially cows. However, methane can also be produced by abiotic processes (those that do not involve living organisms).
• It has been found to occur in formations such as rocks, springs, and aquifers, and studies have concluded that it was formed thereby chemical reactions between carbon and hydrogen atoms at low temperatures.
• Once it is released into the atmospheres of either Earth or Mars, methane is relatively short-lived.
• Methane concentrations on Earth are over 1,800 parts per million.

What is methane hydrate?

• Methane hydrate is formed when hydrogen-bonded water and methane gas come into contact at high pressures and low temperatures in oceans.
• It is estimated that one cubic meter of methane hydrate contains 160-180 cubic meters of methane.

Source: PIB

7) Hybrid Data Warfare by China

• The Chinese company Zhenhua Data Information Technology Co. Limited is monitoring over 10,000 Indian individuals and organizations in its global database of foreign targets.
• Method: Zhenhua monitors the digital footprint of its targets using Artificial Intelligence tools across social media platforms, maintains an information library, which includes content not just from news sources, forums, but also from papers, patents, bidding documents, even positions of recruitment.
• Database: The database of the company called Overseas Key Information Database (OKIDB) has entries from the USA, UK, Japan, Australia, Canada, Germany, and the UAE as well.
• Targets: Its targets include individuals and institutions in politics, government, judiciary, art and sports, business, technology, media, and civil society.
• Link to the Chinese Government and Intelligence: The Company counts the Chinese government, intelligentsia, and military among its clients.
• However, the Chinese government has denied having asked the company to collect or provide data, information, and intelligence stored within other countries’ territories for the Chinese government.
• Implication: This information can be used for strategic and intelligence services of China for hybrid warfare.
• Legal Aspects: The data monitoring by Zhenhua cannot be covered under the Information Technology Rules, 2011, under the IT Act, 2000, as it only covers personal data and not information available freely or accessible in the public domain.
• These rules also do not impose any conditions on the use of personal data for direct marketing etc.
• Though it emphasizes data collection by consent which is not done by Zhenhua, the law is impossible to enforce in a foreign jurisdiction.
• India is yet to have a data protection law for protecting the privacy of individuals and national security.
• India-China Relations: The recent Indo-China conflict due to clashes at the Line of Actual Control and later banning of Chinese apps by India has led to an exponential increase in tension between the two countries. In this scenario, the information assets of Zhenhua can give strategic leverage to China over India.

Hybrid Warfare

• About: It refers to using non-military tools to achieve dominance or damage, subvert, or influence. These tools include information pollution, perception management, and propaganda.
• Background :
• By China: In 1999, Unrestricted Warfare, a publication by China’s People’s Liberation Army, talked about hybrid warfare and the need for a shift in the arena of violence from military to political, economic, and technological.
• There have been many recent reports on China’s attempts to collect sensitive military, intelligence, or economic information in the USA and Europe through social media.
• Lebanon: Hybrid warfare was used in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon War by the Hezbollah group.
• It employed a host of different tactics like guerilla warfare, innovative use of technology, and effective information campaigning.
• Russia: It was also used by Russia against Ukraine in the 2014 annexation of Crimea.
• It involved a combination of activities, including disinformation, economic manipulation, use of proxies and insurgencies, diplomatic pressure, etc.
• Threats:
• Cyber Attacks: This may include attacks on critical infrastructure like power grids, business systems, and defense systems. These may be used to disrupt economic activities, undermine institutions, and discredit political leadership and the intelligentsia.
• Undermining Democracy: The foreign government may manipulate the data, spread propaganda and misinformation, and influence democratic systems like elections through the use of social media, websites, advertisements, etc.
• The 2016 election of the USA and the UK Brexit vote is suspected to have been influenced through such interference by Russia.
• Inciting Social Discord: The information may be used to plant disharmony and communal tensions within a society which is eventually a threat to the unity of the country.

Source: Indian Express

8) Monsoon Session of Parliament Begins

• Recently, the monsoon session of Parliament began after several months which was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
• However, the government has suspended Question Hour for the session and has also curtailed the Zero Hour.

Parliament Session:

• The President of India is empowered to summon each House of Parliament from time to time.
• The maximum gap between two sessions of Parliament cannot be more than six months. That means the Parliament should meet at least twice a year.
• A ‘session’ of Parliament is the period between the first sitting of a House and its prorogation.
• There are usually three sessions in a year, viz,
• Budget Session (February to May)
• Monsoon Session (July to September)
• Winter Session (November to December)
• The period between the prorogation of a House and its reassembly in a new session is called ‘recess’.

Meetings of Session:

• A session of Parliament consists of many meetings. Each meeting of a day consists of two sittings, that is, a morning sitting from 11 am to 1 pm and post-lunch sitting from 2 pm to 6 pm.

Termination of Session:

• A sitting of Parliament can be terminated by adjournment or adjournment sine die or prorogation or dissolution (in the case of the Lok Sabha).
• Adjournment: It suspends the work in a sitting for a specified time, which may be hours, days, or weeks.
• Adjournment sine dies: It means terminating a sitting of Parliament for an indefinite period.
• In other words, when the House is adjourned without naming a day for reassembly.
• The power of adjournment, as well as adjournment sine, die lies with the presiding officer (Speaker or Chairman) of the House.
• Prorogation: The President issues notification for the prorogation of the session after the business of a session is completed and the presiding officer declares the House adjourned sine die.
• The President can also prorogue the House while in session.
• Dissolution: Only the Lok Sabha is subject to dissolution. Rajya Sabha, being a permanent House, is not subject to dissolution.
• A dissolution ends the life of the existing House, and a new House is constituted after general elections are held.
• The President is empowered to dissolve the Lok Sabha.

Source: The Hindu

9) Indian Brain Templates: NIMHANS

• A team of neuroscientists from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) has developed Indian Brain Templates (IBT) and a brain atlas.
• NIMHANS is a medical institution located in Bangalore, Karnataka. It is the apex centre for mental health and neuroscience education in the country and operates autonomously.
• Brain Template: It is a gross representation from various brain images to understand brain functionality in diseased conditions.

Background:

• The Montreal Neurological Index (MNI) template that India currently uses is based on Caucasian brains, which are different from Asian brains.
• The MNI template was made by averaging 152 healthy brain scans from just a small slice of the city’s population in North America.
• Some countries have their own scale to measure the brain, whereas India is still dependent on the Caucasian brain template.

NIMHANS Indian Brain Templates and Brain Atlas:

• Neuroscientists studied over 500 brain scans of Indian patients to develop five sets of Indian Brain Templates (IBT) and a brain atlas.
• IBT provides a scale that will measure an Indian brain. When most brain scans are taken, they need to be compared to a standard brain template — a model or standard for making comparisons from a group of individual brain scans.
• Validation experiments and comparisons with existing international templates found that using the NIMHANS IBTs for Indian brains significantly improved the accuracy of alignment and thereby noticeably reducing distortions, errors or biases in final reports of brain structure and function.
• Brain Atlas has been developed for five age groups covering late childhood to late adulthood (six to 60 years).

Expected Benefits from IBT and Brain Atlas:

• These new population and age-specific Indian brain templates will allow more reliable tracking of brain development and ageing.
• The templates and atlas will provide more precise reference maps for areas of interest in individual patients with neurological disorders like strokes, brain tumours, and dementia.
• These will also help pool information more usefully in group studies of the human brain and psychological functions, aiding in understanding of psychiatric illnesses like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), autism, substance dependence, schizophrenia, and mood disorders.

Source: The Hindu

10) Hindi Diwas

Every year, 14th September is celebrated as Hindi Diwas in India.

National Hindi Day:

• Hindi, written in the Devanagari script, was adopted as the official language of the Republic of India on 14th September, 1949.
• Kaka Kalelkar, Maithili Sharan Gupta, Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, Seth Govindadas made important contributions to make Hindi the official language.
• Besides Hindi, English is the other official language (Article 343 of the Constitution).
• Hindi is also an eighth schedule language.
• Article 351 pertains to ‘Directive for development of the Hindi language’.

World Hindi Day: 

• It is observed on 10th January.
• The Day commemorates the anniversary of the first World Hindi Conference held in Nagpur on 10th January, 1975, which saw 122 delegates from 30 countries participating in it.
• It was first celebrated in 2006 by former Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh with an aim to promote Hindi language across the world.
• The World Hindi Secretariat building was inaugurated in Mauritius in 2018.

About the Hindi Language:

• Hindi got its name from the Persian word Hind, meaning 'land of the Indus River'. Turkish invaders in the early 11th century named the language of the region Hindi, 'language of the land of the Indus River'.
• The modern Devanagari script came into existence in the 11th century.
• Spoken in Countries outside India: Hindi is the fifth most spoken language among the total languages spoken in the world.
• It is spoken in Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, USA, UK, Germany, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, Uganda, Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad, Mauritius, and South Africa.

Government Initiatives to Promote Hindi:

• The Central Hindi Directorate was established in 1960 by the Government of India under the Ministry of Education.
• Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has established ‘Hindi Chairs’ in various foreign universities/institutions abroad.
• LILA-Rajbhasha (Learn Indian Languages through Artificial Intelligence) is a multimedia based intelligent self-tutoring application for learning Hindi.
• E-Saral Hindi Vakya Kosh and E-Maha Shabda Kosh Mobile App, both initiatives of the Department of Official Language, aim to harness information technology for the growth of Hindi.
• Rajbhasha Gaurav Puraskar and Rajbhasha Kirti Puraskar recognise contributions to Hindi.

Source: PIB