Daily Current Affairs 17 January 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) Heads of Government Council meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

• Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will be invited to participate in the Heads of Government Council meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that will be hosted in India this year, the Ministry of External Affairs said 
• The invite move came hours after the UN Security Council discussed the situation in Kashmir
• As per the established practice and procedure within SCO, all eight members of the SCO, four observer states, and other international dialogue partners will be invited to attend the meeting
• Since becoming a full­time member of the SCO in 2017, both India and Pakistan have participated in multiple meetings of SCO and the Regional Anti­Terrorist Structure (RATS) despite hostilities and tension in Kashmir.
• The Heads of Government Council meeting is attended by the Prime Minister­level leaders of the member states that deliberate on the regional body’s economic and other pressing issues. The meeting also firms up SCO’s annual budget. 

2) ISRO's GSAT-30 Communication Satellite Launched Aboard Ariane Rocket

• India's "high power" communication satellite GSAT-30, aimed at providing high-quality television, telecommunications and broadcasting services, was successfully launched onboard Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana in the early hours of Friday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said.
• The 3,357-kg satellite, which was deployed from the lower passenger position of Ariane-5 launch vehicle (VA 251) into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), is configured on ISRO's enhanced I-3K Bus structure to provide communication services from Geostationary orbit in C and Ku bands.
• The satellite derives its heritage from ISRO's earlier INSAT/GSAT satellite series and is equipped with 12 C and 12 Ku band transponders.
• GSAT-30 is to serve as a replacement to the "aging" INSAT-4A spacecraft services with enhanced coverage, ISRO has said, adding the satellite provides Indian mainland and islands coverage in Ku-band and extended coverage in C-band covering Gulf countries, a large number of Asian countries and Australia.
• With a mission life of 15 years, GSAT-30 is an operational communication satellite for DTH, television uplink and VSAT services.
• The Bengaluru-headquartered ISRO has said the communication payload of GSAT-30 is specifically designed and optimized to maximize the number of transponders on the spacecraft bus.
• According to the space agency, the spacecraft would be extensively used for supporting VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) network, television uplinking and teleport services, digital satellite newsgathering (DSNG), DTH television services, cellular backhaul connectivity, and many such applications.
• One Ku-band beacon downlink signal is transmitted for ground-tracking purpose, it added.
• For its initial flight of 2020, Arianespace on its website said, it would orbit EUTELSAT KONNECT, a telecommunication satellite for the operator Eutelsat, along with GSAT-30, using an Ariane 5 launch vehicle from the Guiana Space Centre.
• EUTELSAT KONNECT - which was produced by Thales Alenia Space for Eutelsat - was riding in the upper position of Ariane 5's payload arrangement, and was released first in the flight sequence at 27 minutes following liftoff.
• Since the launch of India's APPLE experimental satellite on Ariane Flight L03 in 1981, Arianespace has orbited 24 satellites, including GSAT-30, for the Indian space agency.

3) Home Minister Amit Shah presides over signing of Historic Agreement to end the Bru-Reang Refugee Crisis

Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah presided over the signing of an agreement between the Government of India, Governments of Tripura and Mizoram and Bru-Reang representatives in New Delhi today, to end the 23-year old Bru-Reang refugee crisis. Present on the occasion were Chief Minister of Mizoram, Shri Zoramthanga, CM of Tripura, Shri Biplab Kumar Deb, Chairman, NEDA, Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chairman, TIPRA, Shri Pradyot Kishore Debbarma, representatives of Bru tribes, along with senior officers.

Under the Agreement

• Under the new agreement, he informed, around 34,000 Bru refugees will be settled in Tripura and would be given aid from the Centre to help with their rehabilitation and all-round development, through a package of around Rs 600 crores. These people would get all the rights that normal residents of the States get and they would now be able to enjoy the benefits of social welfare schemes of Centre and State governments. The settlement has been reached after detailed discussions held by Union government with the State governments of Mizoram and Tripura and the representatives of Bru tribes and it was decided that the Bru refugees
• The Home Minister informed that under the new arrangement, each of the displaced families would be given 40x30 sq.ft. residential plots, in addition to the aid under the earlier agreement of a fixed deposit of Rs. 4 lakhs, Rs. 5,000 cash aid per month for 2 years, free ration for 2 years and Rs. 1.5 lakhs aid to build their house. The government of Tripura would provide the land under this agreement.

Background

• In 1997, following ethnic tension, around 5,000 families comprising around 30,000 Bru-Reang tribals were forced to flee Mizoram and seek shelter in Tripura. These people were housed in temporary camps at Kanchanpur, in North Tripura.
• Since 2010, the Government of India has been making sustained efforts to permanently rehabilitate these refugees. The Union government has been assisting the two-State governments for taking care of the refugees. Till 2014, 1622 Bru-Reang families returned to Mizoram in different batches. 
• On 3rd July 2018, an agreement was signed between the Union government, the two-State governments and representatives of Bru-Reang refugees, as a result of which the aid given to these families was increased substantially. Subsequently, 328 families comprising of 1369 individuals returned to Mizoram under the agreement. There had been a sustained demand of most Bru-Reang families that they may be allowed to settle down in Tripura, considering their apprehensions about their security.

4) DESMI Waste Water Management Project Site in Delhi

Foreign Minister of Denmark, Mr. Jeppe Kofod, visited the Barapullah DESMI Project Site to understand the challenges in the area of wastewater management and to discuss the scope of Danish technologies and collaboration with research institutions which may be engaged in this area.

About Barapullah Drain

The Barapullah drain is one of the main water transport ways in New Delhi that collects water from various smaller water drains from all over the city. It is mainly used for wastewater and sewage transport. Because of the high population density, water scarcity and size of the wastewater flow, the Barapullah drain is an excellent location for research in the area of wastewater management.

Aim

The aim of the project is to trap the floating debris from the drain and convert it into value-added products. The purpose of this project is to prove the sustainability of the process with suitable gasification/carbonization technology to mitigate waste of mixed feedstock, collected from rivers or lakes besides reducing the damage to the local environment.

Key Features:

• Percentage of floating debris will reduce in Barapullah drain
• A sustainable source of energy can be produced on-site
• Benefitting local environment and community
• Local employment
• Clean Indian Rivers
• Project leads and Research befits to water, energy and waste sector of India
• Supporting local manufacturing Industry - Make in India

5) China, U.S. sign initial trade agreement

• China will boost purchases of U.S. goods and services by $200 billion over two years in exchange for the rolling back of some tariffs under an initial trade deal signed by the world’s two largest economies, defusing an 18­ month row that has hit global growth.
• Key world stock market indexes climbed to record highs after the deal was signed on Wednesday in Washington but later stalled on concerns over unresolved thorny issues.
• President Donald Trump hailed the agreement as a win for the U.S. economy and his administration’s trade policies.
• China has pledged to purchase at least an additional $200 billion worth of U.S. farm products and other goods and services over two years, above a baseline of $186 billion in purchases in 2017, the White House said. Commitments include $54 billion in additional energy purchases, $78 billion in additional manufacturing purchases, $32 billion more in farm products, and $38 billion in services.
• Chinese companies would buy $40 billion in U.S. agricultural products annually over the next two years “based on market conditions” which may dictate the timing of purchases in any given year.
• The Phase 1 deal canceled planned U.S. tariffs on Chinese­made cellphones, toys, and laptop computers and halved the tariff rate to 7.5% on about $120 billion worth of other Chinese goods, including flat­panel televisions, Bluetooth headphones, and footwear.
• But it will leave in place 25% tariffs on a $250­billion array of Chinese industrial goods and components used by U.S. manufacturers, and China’s retaliatory tariffs on $100 billion in U.S. goods.

6) World Bank and Government of India Sign $88 million loan agreement for the implementation of Assam Inland Water Transport Project

The Government of India, the Government of Assam and the World Bank signed a loan agreement of $88 million here today to help modernize Assam’s passenger ferry sector that runs on its rivers including the mighty Brahmaputra.

The Assam Inland Water Transport Project (AIWTP)

A majority of Assam’s more than 361 ferry routes cross the Brahmaputra or serve its islands, providing a crucial means of transport to thousands of commuters in both the urban and rural areas of the Brahmaputra Valley. The Assam Inland Water Transport Project (AIWTP) will help Assam improve the passenger ferry infrastructure and its services and strengthen the capacity of the institutions running the inland water transport. Technically better-designed terminals and energy-efficient vessels (both new and retrofitted) will make the ferry services more sustainable with least disruption to nature

About Project 

• The project will support the Government of Assam’s efforts to corporatize its own ferry activities. The Assam Shipping Company (ASC) will operate the government ferries and the Assam Ports Company (APC) will provide terminals and terminal services on a common-user basis to both public and private ferry operators.
• Inland Water Transport is also a more sustainable mode of transport. It provides low-carbon and low-cost options when compared to the cost of constructing and maintaining flood-resilient roads and bridges across the long stretches of the Brahmaputra river.

Modern Ferry Terminals

• The project will also help build modern ferry terminals. In doing so, the project will draw guidance from ‘working with nature’ principles that aim to design new infrastructure or rehabilitate existing infrastructure in a way that works with natural river processes.
• Today, a quarter of all ferry passengers in the state are women and girls. The ferry terminals have few facilities, with limited seating (if any), or toilets or drinking water and most waiting areas are mostly overcrowded. Traveling on the vessels can be uncomfortable and difficult, particularly for women, children, older people, and for the differently-abled. The project will improve facilities for people using the ferry services and give special attention to the safety and security of women and girls.
• The terminals will have better access, lighting, and signages while the new vessels will allow for individual seats and separate toilets. Moreover, a strengthened regulatory regime will ensure a reduction in overloading, adherence to time schedule and better crew standards.

7) 51st K9 VAJRA-T Gun from L&T Armoured System Complex in Gujarat

• Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh flagged off 51st K9 VAJRA-T Gun from Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Armoured System Complex at Hazira in Gujarat
• K9 VAJRA-T Gun as the best example of ‘Make in India’ in Defence. “I have been told that more than 75 percent of K9 Vajra has been manufactured in India. Over 5,000 people have got direct employment and more than 12,500 indirect employment through this complex. It is a matter of great pride,” he said. Raksha Mantri congratulated L&T for delivering 51 of the 100 orders it received for K9 Vajra ahead of schedule.

Defense corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu

Some of the reforms highlighted by Raksha Mantri include setting up of Defence corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu; simplification of industry licensing process; increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap; steps to promote defense exports; streamlining of Defence offsets policy; establishing Defence Investor Cell; providing Government-owned trial and testing facility to the private sector and schemes for startups and small & medium enterprises to promote innovation. He also mentioned that the Strategic Partnership (SP) model has been introduced in the Defence Production Policy under which the private sector will be able to manufacture fighter aircraft, helicopters, submarines, and armored vehicles and emerge as global giants. Shri Rajnath Singh commended L&T for ensuring their participation under the SP model. 

8) Henley Passport Index

The latest edition of the Henley Passport Index has been released.

About Henley Passport Index (HPI)

• It is a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom for their citizens.
• It started in 2006 as Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index (HVRI) and was modified and renamed in January 2018.

How are the countries ranked?

• The ranking is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which maintains the world’s largest and most accurate database of travel information and enhanced by the Henley & Partners Research Department.
• The Index lists the world’s passports “according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa”.
• The index includes 199 different passports and 227 different travel destinations.

Performance of various Countries

• Japan is at the top. It has been topping the Index for three straight years; according to the 2020 index, its citizens can access 191 destinations without having to obtain a visa in advance.
• Singapore, in second place (same as in 2019), has a visa-free/visa-on-arrival score of 190.
• Germany is No. 3 (same position as in 2019), with access to 189 destinations;
• The US and the UK have been falling consistently over successive Indices.

Performance of India

• The Indian passport is closer to the bottom, ranked 84th in the world.
• This translates into visa-free access to 58 destinations, including 33 which give Indians visas on arrival.
• Twenty of the 58 visa-free access destinations in the 2020 list are in Africa and 11 each in Asia and the Caribbean. Serbia is the only European country to which Indian passport holders can travel visa-free.