Current Affairs of Today are
1) Carbon Brief Report on India's Carbon Emission
- Carbon dioxide emissions are poised to grow at their slowest a 2% rise from last year since 2001
- The rise in C02 emissions from India sees wild swings from 7.7% in 2014 to 3.5% the next year and then back to 7.8% in 2018. This is the first time that emissions are expected to grow below 3% from the previous year.
- Analysis, based on data from various Ministries responsible for electricity, coal, oil, gas and foreign trade, shows that emissions increased by 2% in the first eight months of the year, a lower rate than any annual increase since 2001
- Coal generation trends are unlikely to change given the lack of demand and the contribution of renewables
- Slower growth in coal-based power generation will also benefit the country’s air quality efforts, as essentially all coal-fired power plants lack pollution controls commonly required in, say, the EU and China
Rise in renewables
Wind generation rose by 17% in the first six months of 2019 compared to the same period a year earlier, with solar up 30% and hydro increasing by 22%.
International Energy Emissions Agency
- India’s per capita emissions were about 40% of the global average and contributed 7% to the global carbon dioxide burden, according to a report by the International Energy Emissions Agency published last year
- The U.S., the largest emitter, contributed 14%
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
India has promised to reduce the emission intensity of its economy by 2030, compared to 2005 levels. It has also committed to having 40% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030.
Source The Hindu
2) Acute respiratory infections (ARI)
Acute respiratory infections (ARI) accounted for 69.47% of morbidity last year which was the highest in the communicable disease category, leading to 27.21% mortality.
National Health Profile-2019
According to National Health Profile-2019 Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal reported a large number of patients and fatalities due to ARI
World Health Organisation on ARI
According to the World Health Organisation, acute respiratory infection is a serious ailment that prevents normal breathing function and kills an estimated 2.6 million children annually every year worldwide. Indians face the double burden of heavy air pollution in addition to the high rate of ARI which hits children the hardest
Effects on Children on breathing Polluted air
- Children seem to be most vulnerable to the harmful effects of air pollution
- Breathing in polluted air, particles, and pollutants penetrate and inflame the linings of your bronchial tubes and lungs. This leads to respiratory illness such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema, heart disease, asthma, wheezing, coughing and difficulty in breathing
Effects on pregnant women and the baby
The current level of air pollution poses a high risk to pregnant women and the baby. The fetus receives oxygen from the mother, and if she is breathing polluted air, it can increase the health risk of unborn babies. Pregnant women in the first trimester need to be more careful as risk increases and pollution can cause a medical condition called intrauterine inflammation. Prenatal exposure to pollutants increases the risk of preterm delivery and low birth weight, factors that can lead to developmental disabilities later on
3) DRDO’s Igniter Complex at HEMRL, Pune
High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) is a premier laboratory of DRDO and primarily engages in developing Rocket and Gun Propellants, Pyrotechnic Devices, High Explosive Systems and synthesis of high energy molecules.
About Igniter Complex
HEMRL has created a state of the art facility for design, processing, and evaluation of ignition systems. The facility consists of process, assembly & storage buildings and a design center. Remotely controlled sophisticated types of equipment such as Sieve Shaker, Planetary Mixer, Granulating Machine, Pelleting Machine, etc are installed in the process buildings. Design, modeling and simulation laboratory; assembly and testing center is also part of the Igniter Complex. The noteworthy developments of the group in recent past are the development of cap based ignition system and a multipoint simultaneous ignition system.
About HEMRL Ignition System
Ignition is a crucial and highly critical phenomenon in the ignition chain of Rocket motor. HEMRL has developed various fuel /oxidizer based igniter compositions using organic binders. The laboratory has developed several ignition systems to ensure reliable initiation of rocket motors of various tactical as well as strategic missiles.
HEMRL Ignition System Development
The ignition system for Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Nag, Pinaka, Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LRSAM), etc. have been designed and developed in HEMRL. Technology for AKASH, Nag missiles and Pinaka Mk-I Rocket has been transferred to Ordnance Factory, Dehu Road, Pune, and private industries.
4) The United States notified the United Nations of its formal withdrawal from the Paris Agreement
The United States notified the United Nations of its formal withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, the 2015 global agreement for countries to cut emissions and reverse global warming.
The U.S. to begin that process. The withdrawal will take a year until just after the 2020 U.S. Presidential elections.
Why did this happen?
President Trump made the decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement because of the unfair economic burden imposed on American workers, businesses, and taxpayers by U.S. pledges made under the Agreement
The U.S. would have to, by 2025, cut its emissions to 26%28% below the 2005 levels as part of its contribution to the Paris goal of keeping global temperature increases in this century to within 2 degrees Celsius relative to preindustrial temperature averages.
5) Cabinet approves MoUs signed between India and the German Agency in the field of Occupational Diseases, Re-habilitation, and vocational training.
Benefits
The MoUs with the DGUV, a specialized agency in Germany working for Occupational Safety and Health(OSH) and social protection, will help broadly in:-
- Exchanging information and promoting activities in the area of rehabilitation related to medical, occupational and social rehabilitation of Insured Persons with disabilities, and
- Prevention, detection, and treatment of occupational diseases:
Major Impact
Exchange of information and collaboration will enable capacity building and social re-habilitation of Insured Persons with disabilities, besides prevention, detection, and treatment of occupational diseases.
6) Cabinet approves MoU signed between India and Guinea in the field of Renewable Energy.
Objective
The objective of the MoU is:
- To establish the basis for a cooperative institutional relationship
- To encourage and promote bilateral technical cooperation in the field of renewable energy based on mutual benefit, equality, and reciprocity between the Parties.
- Areas of cooperation include Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Bio-energy, and Waste to energy, Small Hydro Storage and Capacity Build.
7) Cabinet approves MoU between India and Switzerland on Technical Cooperation in the field of Climate Change and Environment
Major impact
Environmental degradation falls on the socially and economically disadvantaged, more heavily than the better of sections of the society. Any effort at thwarting environmental degradation would lead to environmental equity in the sense of availability of sound environmental resources to all sections of the society.
Benefits
The MoU will enable establishment and promotion of closer and long-term cooperation between the two countries in the field of environmental protection and management of natural resources based on equity, reciprocity and mutual benefits, taking into account the applicable laws and legal provisions in each country. It will enhance public accountability by way of the exchange of information and technology between the two countries. Further, It is expected to bring in the latest technologies and best practices suited for bringing about better environment protection, better conservation, better management of climate change and wildlife protection/conservation.
Salient features
- Capacity-building on Climate Change and Sustainable Water management;
- Sustainable Forest Management;
- Sustainable development of mountainous regions;
- Environmentally sustainable and resilient urban development;
- Addressing issues of Air, land and water pollution;
- Focussing on Clean and Renewable Energy; and
- Climate change risk management.
8) Cabinet approves MoU between India and Brazil on Cooperation in the field of Health & Medicine
based on Benefits
The bilateral MoU between India and Brazil will encourage cooperation between the two countries through joint initiatives, technology development in the health sector and development of research in the health sector. It will facilitate in improving the public health status of people of both the countries. It will strengthen bilateral ties between India and Brazil.
9) Ban on certain RO systems
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has given a “last opportunity” to the Union Environment Ministry to issue notifications on the prohibition on the use of RO (reverse osmosis) systems, which result in wastage of almost 80% of the water
What is RO System?
Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane to remove ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles from drinking water. In reverse osmosis, an applied pressure is used to overcome osmotic pressure, a colligative property, that is driven by chemical potential differences of the solvent, a thermodynamic parameter. Reverse osmosis can remove many types of dissolved and suspended chemical species as well as biological ones (principally bacteria) from water, and is used in both industrial processes and the production of potable water. The result is that the solute is retained on the pressurized side of the membrane and the pure solvent is allowed to pass to the other side. To be "selective", this membrane should not allow large molecules or ions through the pores (holes) but should allow smaller components of the solution (such as solvent molecules, i.e., water, H2O) to pass freely.
When to be the RO system be permitted?
Wherever RO is to be permitted, condition of recovery of water to the extent of more than 60% is required
What to do with rejected water?
Further provision must be laid down for recovery of water up to 75% and use of such RO reject water for purposes such as utensil washing, flushing, gardening, cleaning of vehicles and mopping
10) H-1B denial for Indian firms rise
Denial rates for H-1B petitions have increased from just 6% in 2015 to 24% in the third quarter of the current fiscal, a study has shown.
The denial rate for Apple remained the same at 2%.
During the same period, the denial rate jumped from 4% to 41% for Tech Mahindra, from 6% to 34% for Tata Consultancy Services, from 7% to 53% for Wipro and from just 2% to 45% for Infosys, the study showed.
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