Daily Current Affairs 23 October 2019

Current Affairs of Today are

1) Most advanced Electronic Interlocking System installed on the Grand Chord route

Most advanced Electronic Interlocking System has been installed on the Grand Chord route.  The measure is expected to help Indian Railways speed up trains and to achieve it
s future objective of reducing the travel time between Delhi and Howrah to about 12 hours from the existing 17-19 hours.

What is the Grand Chord?

Grand Chord is part of the Howrah-Gaya-Delhi line and the Howrah-Allahabad-Mumbai line. It acts as a link between Sitarampur, (West Bengal) and Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction, Uttar Pradesh, and covers a stretch of 450 km falling in North Central Railway (NCR) Zone of Indian Railways, which maintains and operates 53% portion of this New Delhi-Howrah route.

Where did it happen?

At Tundla station in Uttar Pradesh by replacement of the 65-year old outdated Mechanical Signaling System with the most advanced and safer Electronic Interlocking System

About Tundla Jn Station

Tundla Jn. is an important station on this super-saturated route operating 160% of its designed capacity. Tundla also connects the mainline with Agra Cantt. Jn. This important Electronic Interlocking work at Tundla Jn. was having 613 route combinations which are only second to Kharagpur in South Eastern Railway with 800 routes.

The disadvantage of Mechanical Signaling

• Despite being extremely important from a train operation point of view, Tundla Jn. was still continuing with the mechanically interlocked signaling system of 1955 vintage. 
• This system required manual operation of levers for receipt and dispatch of trains from 05 different cabins. 
• Manual operation and coordination among cabins took approximately 05-07 minutes to handle each train at important Jn. the station thus limiting its handling capacity to a maximum 190-200 train daily. 
• Further Mechanical signaling also required an upgrade to match with global safety standards in train operation.

Advantage of Electronic Interlocking System

• Train handling time to be reduced from existing 05-07 minutes to 30-60 seconds through centralized power cabin enhancing handling capacity of Jn. to 250 per day from existing 200 maximum, thus less detention of trains outside Tundla and improved Punctuality of Trains.
• Train operation towards Agra will be immensely benefitted with two additional platforms and an extension of three existing platforms no. 3,4&5 to cater full-length trains on mainline.
• All UP-direction yard lines are now fit for passenger train movement thus efficient handling of more coaching train.
• Length of Yard lines increased to handle longer freight and passenger trains.
• Double exit facility provided to Medical Relief Train (ARME) for immediate movement in both sides during accidents etc.
• Centralized fail-safe operation through power cabin by just click of the mouse button replacing cumbersome, inefficient and manual operation spread across 05 cabins. Substantial saving on manpower requirements.

2) KVIC in Goa

• Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and Goa Government and have joined hands to generate employment opportunities in Goa.
• Distribution electric potter wheels to 160 families and new models Charkhas (spinning wheels) to 50 trained women.
• For the first time, electric potter wheels have been given to replace the traditional potter wheel which was highly labor-intensive and less efficient in terms of production.
• KVIC will create 10,000 new jobs in the current financial year in Goa. 

3) Government Employees of UT of Jammu & Kashmir and UT of Ladakh to get all 7th CPC Allowances from 31st October 2019

After the Parliament passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Bill, 2019, the government announced that all the financial facilities being given to the employees of other Union Territories (UT), as per the recommendations of 7th CPC, would soon be extended to the employees of UT of Jammu & Kashmir and UT of Ladakh

Union Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah has approved the proposal of payment of all 7th CPC allowances to the Government employees of UT of Jammu & Kashmir and UT of Ladakh, which shall come into existence from 31st October 2019.  Union Home Ministry has issued orders in this regard.  The move will benefit 4.5 lakh Government employees, who are working in the existing State of Jammu & Kashmir and will become the employees of UT of Jammu & Kashmir and UT of Ladakh from 31st October 2019.

4) Hunar Haat

• The government will provide employment and employment opportunities to lakhs of artisans, craftsmen, and traditional culinary experts through “Hunar Haat” in the next 5 years.
• “Hunar Haat” will be organized at North Central Zone Cultural Centre in Prayagraj (UP) from 01st to 10th November 2019 where more than 300 master artisans and culinary experts including a large number of women artisans from every corner of the country will participate. All the “Hunar Haat”, to be organized in 2019 and 2020 will be based on the theme of “Ek Bharat Shresth Bharat”.  
• “Hunar Haat” has proved to be an effective program to provide employment and employment opportunities to master artisans. More than 2 lakh 50 thousand master artisans, craftsmen, and culinary experts have been provided employment and employment opportunities in the last 3 years. These include a large number of women.
• Ministry of Minority Affairs has decided to organize about 100 “Hunar Haat” in the next five years across the country to provide market and employment and employment opportunities to master artisans and culinary experts.

5) The white bellbird, the world’s loudest bird

• Bellbirds have the loudest bird calls until now in the world  according to a study which found that their mating songs pack more decibels than the screams of howler monkeys and the bellows of bisons
• According to the study, published in the journal Current Biology, the male white bellbird’s mating call is about three times louder than screaming Piha the previously loudest bird singer
• The bellbird’s calls were so loud that they wondered how the females of the species listened to them at close range without permanent damage to their hearing

its Sexual Selection

Sexual selection happens when males compete for mates, driving the evolution of truly bizarre and exaggerated traits such as the peacock’s tail, and the now found loud singing abilities of the male bellbirds, the study noted. 

6) Turkey and Russia strike a deal on Syria

• Turkey and Russia agreed to remove the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia to beyond 30 km from the Turkish border, after which their troops will jointly patrol a narrower strip of land in a “safe zone” Ankara has long sought in north-eastern Syria.
• Russian military police and Syrian border guards will move in to facilitate the removal of YPG members and weapons to beyond the zone in a mission that should take about six days, according to the deal struck
• The YPG, the key component in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that have for years fought alongside the U.S. troops against Islamic State, will also leave the towns of Tel Rifaat and Manbij

7) Supreme Court to examine plea on FB, WhatsApp chat

The Supreme Court has decided to examine whether social media intermediaries, such as Facebook and WhatsApp, should facilitate the state to access encrypted and private conversations of citizens, purportedly to fight crime and terror.

The court is waiting for the Centre to notify the revised Information Technology Intermediaries Guidelines (Amendment) Rules by January 15. These Rules, said the government, were born out of the present-day need to guide in a stricter regime and more cooperation to combat the spread of pornography, sedition, hate, fake news, “anti­national activities and terror” online

8) Over 3,300 cases reported in stubble burning cases in Punjab

The key grain-producing State Punjab has many as 3,307 cases of stubble fire incidents that have been reported till October 21, as against 2,564 incidents in the corresponding period last year. The government data is based on the satellite aggregation during the ongoing Kharif season, between October 1 till October 21.

District Tarn Taran has seen the highest number of farm fire cases at 705, while Amritsar with 500 cases is at the second spot. Patiala district recorded as many as 431 cases to be at the third place on the list, according to the Punjab Pollution Control Board. 

Meanwhile, the State government has so far not issued any ‘challan’ to those farmers who have been defying the ban on stubble burning. The ban and action against people burning crop residue is regulated under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981

Other Current Affairs

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