Daily Current Affairs 25 December 2019

Current Affairs of Today Are

1) Atal Bhujal Yojana

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for the implementation of the Atal Bhujal Yojana (ATAL JAL), a Central Sector Scheme with a total outlay of Rs.6000 crore to be implemented over 5 years (2020-21 to 2024-25).

Aim

The scheme aims to improve groundwater management through community participation in identified priority areas in seven States, viz. Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. Implementation of the scheme is expected to benefit nearly 8350 Gram Panchayats in 78 districts in these States. ATAL JAL will promote panchayat led groundwater management and behavioral change with a primary focus on demand-side management

ATAL JAL has two major components

• Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building Component for strengthening institutional arrangements for sustainable groundwater management in the States including improving monitoring networks, capacity building, strengthening of Water User Associations, etc.
• Incentive Component for incentivizing the States for achievements in improved groundwater management practices namely, data dissemination, preparation of water security plans, implementation of management interventions through the convergence of ongoing schemes, adopting demand-side management practices, etc.

ATAL JAL will result in

• Institutional strengthening for improving groundwater monitoring networks and capacity building of stakeholders at different levels which will enhance groundwater data storage, exchange, analysis, and dissemination.
• Improved and realistic water budgeting based on an improved database and preparation of community-led Water Security Plans at Panchayat level
• Implementation of Water Security Plans through the convergence of various ongoing/new schemes of the Government of India and State Governments to facilitate judicious and effective utilization of funds for sustainable groundwater management.
• Efficient use of available groundwater resources with emphasis on demand-side measures such as micro-irrigation, crop diversification, electricity feeder separation, etc.

Impact

• Source sustainability for Jal Jeevan Mission in the project area with the active participation of local communities.
• Will contribute towards the goal of doubling the farmers' income.
• Will promote participatory groundwater management.
• Improved water use efficiency on a mass scale and improved cropping pattern;
• Promotion of efficient and equitable use of groundwater resources and behavioral change at the community level

Background

Groundwater contributes to nearly 65% of the total irrigated area of the country and nearly 85% of the rural drinking water supply. The limited groundwater resources in the country are under threat due to the increasing demands of growing population, urbanization and industrialization. Intensive, and unregulated groundwater pumping in many areas has caused the rapid and widespread decline in groundwater levels as well as a reduction in the sustainability of groundwater abstraction structures. The problem of reduction in groundwater availability is further compounded by deteriorating groundwater quality in some parts of the country. The increasing stress on groundwater due to overexploitation, contamination and associated environmental impacts threaten to endanger the food security of the nation unless necessary preventive/remedial measures are taken on priority.

The Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti has taken a pioneering initiative for ensuring long term sustainability of groundwater resources in the country through the Atal Bhujal Yojana (ATAL JAL) by adopting a mix of 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' approaches in identified groundwater stressed blocks in seven states, representing a range of geomorphic, climatic and hydrogeologic and cultural settings. ATAL JAL has been designed with the principal objective of strengthening the institutional framework for participatory groundwater management and bringing about behavioral changes at the community level for sustainable groundwater resource management. The scheme envisages undertaking this through various interventions, including awareness programs, capacity building, the convergence of ongoing/new schemes and improved agricultural practices, etc.

2)  Chief of Defence Staff in the rank of four-star General

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved to create the post of Chief of Defence Staff in the rank of a four-star General with salary and perquisites equivalent to a Service Chief. The Chief of Defence Staff will also head the Department of Military Affairs (DMA), to be created within the Ministry of Defence and function as its Secretary.

The following areas will be dealt with by the Department of Military Affairs headed by CDS

• The Armed Forces of the Union, namely, the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force.
• Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence comprising Army Headquarters, Naval Headquarters, Air Headquarters, and Defence Staff Headquarters.
• The Territorial Army.
• Works relating to the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.
• Procurement exclusive to the Services except capital acquisitions, as per prevalent rules and procedures.

Apart from the above, the mandate of the Department of Military Affairs will include the following areas

• Promoting jointness in procurement, training, and staffing for the Services through joint planning and integration of their requirements.
• Facilitation of restructuring of Military Commands for optimal utilization of resources by bringing about jointness in operations, including through the establishment of joint/theatre commands.
• Promoting the use of indigenous equipment by the Services.

The Chief of Defence Staff, apart from being the head of the Department of Military Affairs, will also be the Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. He will act as the Principal Military Adviser to Raksha Mantri on all tri-Services matters. The three Chiefs will continue to advise RM on matters exclusively concerning their respective Services. CDS will not exercise any military command, including over the three Service Chiefs, to be able to provide impartial advice to the political leadership.

As the Permanent Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee, CDS will perform the following functions

• CDS will administer tri-services organizations. Tri-service agencies/organizations/commands related to Cyber and Space will be under the command of the CDS.
• CDS will be a member of the Defence Acquisition Council chaired by the Raksha Mantri and Defence Planning Committee chaired by the NSA.
• Function as the Military Adviser to the Nuclear Command Authority.
• Bring about jointness in operation, logistics, transport, training, support services, communications, repairs, and maintenance, etc of the three Services, within three years of the first CDS assuming office.
• Ensure optimal utilization of infrastructure and rationalize it through jointness among the services.
• Implement a Five-Year Defence Capital Acquisition Plan (DCAP), and Two-Year roll-on Annual Acquisition Plans (AAP), as a follow up of Integrated Capability Development Plan (ICDP).
• Assign inter-Services prioritization to capital acquisition proposals based on the anticipated budget.

• Bring about reforms in the functioning of three Services aimed at augmenting combat capabilities of the Armed Forces by reducing wasteful expenditure.

Background

This follows the announcement made by the Prime Minister on 15th August 2019, in his address to the nation, inter alia, "India should not have a fragmented approach. Our entire military power will have to work in unison and move forward.  All three (Services) should move simultaneously at the same pace. There should be good coordination and it should be relevant to the hope and aspirations of our people. It should be in line with the changing war and security environment with the world.   After the formation of this post (CDS), all three forces will get effective leadership at the top level."

3) India and Saudi Arabia for cooperation in the field of Renewable Energy

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was apprised of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy of the Government of India and the Ministry of Energy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for cooperation in the field of Renewable Energy. This was signed on 29th October 2019 in Riyadh.

Objectives

The MoU aims at setting up a framework for cooperation between the two parties in the field of renewable energy in the following areas:-

• Upgrading the level of technologies and their applications in the field of renewable energy.
• Contributing to the field of renewable energy to raise its efficiency in the national energy combination in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Developing Renewable energy projects in Solar, Wind, Biogas, Geothermal and other fields of renewable energy.
• Development and localization of the value chain in the field of renewable energy.
• Developing and boosting uses of solar energy small applications for buildings, homes, and others.

4) NITI Aayog to Launch SDG India Index & Dashboard 2019–20

• NITI Aayog will launch the second edition of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) India Index, which documents the progress made by India’s States and Union Territories towards implementing the 2030 SDG targets, on 30 December 2019 at NITI Aayog, New Delhi.

About NITI Aayog SDG India Index

• The SDG India Index and Dashboard 2019–20 have been developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), the United Nations in India, and the Global Green Growth Institute.
• NITI Aayog has the mandate of overseeing the adoption and monitoring of SDGs in the country, at the national and sub-national level. The SDG India Index, whose first edition was launched in December 2018, was the first tool developed by any large country to monitor the progress towards achieving SDGs at the sub-national level.
• The SDG India Index and Dashboard 2019 tracks the progress of and ranks all States and UTs on 100 indicators drawn from MoSPI’s National Indicator Framework, comprising 306 indicators. It indicates where the country and its States and UTs currently are on SDG implementation, and charts the distance to be traveled to reach the SDG targets. The Index covers 16 out of 17 SDGs and a qualitative assessment on Goal 17. This marks an improvement over the 2018 Index, which covered only 13 goals.

5) Strategic Tunnel under Rohtang Pass to be renamed after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee

• The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to honor the contribution of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee by naming the Strategic Tunnel under Rohtang Pass after him on December 25, 2019, which happens to be his birthday. The historic decision to construct a strategic tunnel below the Rohtang Pass was taken on June 03, 2000, when late Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister. The foundation stone for the Access Road to the South Portal of the tunnel was laid on May 26, 2002.
• The 8.8-kilometer-long tunnel is the world's longest tunnel above an altitude of 3,000 meters. It will reduce the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 kilometers and save crores of rupees in transport costs. It is a 10.5-meter wide single tube bi-lane tunnel with a fireproof emergency egress tunnel built into the main tunnel itself.
• The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) worked relentlessly to overcome major geological, terrain and weather challenges that included the most difficult stretch of the 587-meter Seri Nalah Fault Zone. The breakthrough from both ends was achieved on October 15, 2017.
• The tunnel is now nearing completion and is a step in the direction of providing all-weather connectivity to remote border areas of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh which otherwise remained cut off from the rest of the country for about six months during winters.

6) Run Through Files mechanism

Haryana government has introduced a “Run Through Files” mechanism, which would be personally monitored by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to ensure that important government matters don’t get delayed owing to conflicting hierarchical and departmental priorities

About the mechanism

• A file shall be marked as Run Through Files only by the Chief Minister in the CFMS. Every file marked as RTF has to be cleared on priority greater than that is currently being accorded to the files marked top priority. At whichever level any contribution other than mere signing on the file is made, the same will also be uploaded on the CFMS portal. A system generated SMS and email will automatically be sent on each downward or upward movement of the file
• The movement of these files and time taken in clearing the file shall be personally reviewed by the Chief Minister and only he will be able to mark and close the file as ‘Run Through File'

7) Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved a proposal to promulgate an Ordinance and to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
• The Amendment will remove certain ambiguities in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 and ensure smooth implementation of the Code. 
• Under the Amendments, the liability of a corporate debtor for an offense committed before the commencement of the corporate insolvency resolution process shall cease, and the corporate debtor shall not be prosecuted for such an offense from the date the resolution plan has been approved by the Adjudicating Authority if the resolution plan results in the change in the management or control of the corporate debtor to a person who was not
• A promoter or in the management or control of the corporate debtor or a related party of such a person; or
•  A person about whom the relevant investigating authority has, based on material in its possession, the reason to believe that he had abetted or conspired for the commission of the offense, and has submitted or filed a report or a complaint to the relevant statutory authority or Court.
• Subject to relevant provisions the corporate debtor shall, as required, extend all assistance and co-operation to any authority investigating an offense committed before the commencement of the corporate insolvency resolution process.

8) Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2019

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given ex-post facto approval for official amendments to the Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2019 moved and passed by the Lok Sabha on December 9th, 2019.

Advantages

• It shall deter the potential perpetrators from indulging in illegal arms and ammunition trade and its manufacturing, streamline licensing provisions, better address the present-day security needs and effectively deal with the incidents and proliferation and trade of illicit arms and ammunition.  At the same time, it will facilitate law-abiding license holders of arms by increasing the duration of arms licenses.
• The approved amendments to the Arms Act are a step forward in providing license in electronic form longer validity period of licenses and stricter regulatory mechanism to check illegal possession arms by proposing stricter punishment provisions.

9) India's First CNG Bus which can run 1000 Kms in one fill

• In a major step towards making India a gas-based economy and making CNG as the eco-friendly option for long-distance transport in the country, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel, today unveiled India's first long-distance CNG bus fitted with composite CNG cylinders, which can travel around 1000 km in a single fill. The project has been executed by Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) and has been achieved through the pioneering design of Type IV Composite Cylinders in buses, replacing traditional very heavy Type-I Carbon Steel cylinders.
• The introduction of long-range CNG buses fitted with lightweight composite cylinders can revolutionize the fight against air pollution across the nation. Even after shifting the entire public transport fleet in the national capital to CNG as per the mandate of the Supreme Court of India, inter-state buses coming from other cities to Delhi continued to run on diesel. Delhi Transport Corporation had stopped all its inter-state routes in 2001 due to the unavailability of CNG in the neighboring states. CNG buses are on Indian Roads for more than two decades now but due to onboard storage issues these buses are having a range of 200-250 KM per fill only, thus the application of CNG buses in short distance or Intra City Transport only.
• Mahindra & Mahindra, & Agility Fuel Solutions of USA have partnered with IGL for this project, involving introducing the new concept of lightweight Type IV composite cylinders in buses. These cylinders are 70% lighter than the Type - I (all steel) cylinders that are being used in India currently. The main advantage of these Cylinders is that due to its lighter weight, the number of cylinders can be increased in the vehicle thus creating more storage capacity on-board. The buses which used to carry only 80-100 Kg of CNG with steel cylinders can carry 225-275 Kg of CNG with new composite cylinders. More storage of CNG means more KM range of buses. Buses fitted with Type IV Composite Cylinders have a running range of approx. 800- 1000 KM per fill of CNG.