Daily Current Affairs 29 January 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) African cheetahs

The Supreme Court lifted its seven-year stay on a proposal to introduce African cheetahs from Namibia into the Indian habitat on an experimental basis.

Objective

The plan was to revive the Indian cheetah population

Background

In May 2012, the top court had stalled the plan to initiate the foreign cheetahs into the Palpur Kuno sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, fearing that they may come into conflict with a parallel and a muchdelayed project to reintroduce lions into the same sanctuary.
The court was also worried whether the African cheetahs would find the sanctuary a favorable clime as far as an abundance of prey is concerned.

Committee formation

However, a Bench led by Chief Justice Sharad A. Bobde was nudged by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to take the plunge and go ahead with its plans to bring the African cat to India. But the Bench made sure that the right precautions are taken. It set up a three-member committee, comprising former Director of Wildlife Institute of India Ranjit Singh, DG of Wildlife Institute of India Dhananjay Mohan, and DIG, Wildlife, Ministry of Environment and Forests, to ‘guide’ the NTCA.
Chief Justice Bobde, speaking for the Bench, directed the committee to file a progress report every four months.
The court made it clear that a proper survey should be done to identify the best possible habitat for the cheetahs. Every effort should be taken to ensure that they adapt to the Indian conditions. The committee would help, advise and monitor the NTCA on these issues. The action of the introduction of the animal would be left to the NTCA’s discretion.

About Cheetah habitat

The cheetah does not breed well in captivity and requires vast stretches of grassland, and access to adequate prey to thrive. There are eight to nine identified sites in India but the best one is in the Kuno Palpur sanctuary
The purported gains from introducing the cheetah would include tourism, improvement of grasslands and global recognition for successfully reviving the animal in India. The hearing came on an application filed by the NTCA

2) E-commerce giants need to set up a system for collecting plastic waste

Ecommerce giants Amazon and Flipkart need to fulfill their extended producer responsibility under the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 and need to establish a system for collecting back the plastic waste generated due to the packaging of their products, the Central Pollution Control Board told the NGT

About the Act

The apex pollution monitoring body told the National Green Tribunal that as per provisions 9(2) of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, “Primary responsibility for collection of used multilayered plastic sachet or pouches or packaging is of producers, importers and brand owners who introduce the products in the market.
The submission came in response to a plea filed by a 16yearold boy who has approached the Tribunal to stop ecommerce giants Amazon and Flipkart from excessive plastic use in their packaging.

E-commerce giants take on it

Responding to the proceedings, Amazon India said it has been “relentlessly” working to reduce single-use plastic in its supply chain and is committed to eliminating its usage in their buildings in the country by June 2020.
Flipkart said it has been “constantly striving to find ecofriendly alternatives for plastic packaging which is resilient and keeps the product safe during transit”.

3) Bhuvan Panchayat V 3.0 Web portal

The Union Minister of State (I/C) Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region, MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh launched the Bhuvan Panchayat V 3.0 web portal in Bengaluru
The Web Geoportal is an easy to use Geo portal developed for database visualization, data analytics, generation of automatic reports, model-based products and services for the benefit of Gram Panchayat members and other stakeholders. The targeted audience for this portal is Public, PRIs and different stakeholders belonging to the gram panchayats.

SISDP Project

ISRO launched the SISDP project to assist Gram Panchayats at the grassroots level with basic planning inputs derived from satellite data for preparing developmental plans, its implementation and monitoring the activities. SISDP phase I Project was successfully concluded in the year 2016-17.
Based on the rich experience gained and encouraging feedback received from various stakeholders on SIS-DP-I Project “SISDP-Update” was initiated with enhanced objectives of providing value-added geospatial products and services to aid Gram Panchayat development planning process of MoPR. For the first time, the thematic database on a 1:10,000 scale for the entire country is available with high integrated High-Resolution satellite data for planning.

About SISDP

Space-based Information Support for Decentralised Planning at Panchayat level (SIS-DP) is a national initiative of preparing basic spatial layers useful in the planning process at grassroots levels as per the 73rd, 74th constitutional amendment of local self-governance. NRSC is the lead center to execute the project in collaboration with various State Remote Sensing Centres. For the first time an all India mosaic of high-resolution ortho products and DEM from Cartosat-1 and Resources at data was prepared and basic thematic layers at 1:10K scale viz. LU/LC, drainage, settlements, transportation network, slope, and aspect were prepared and relevant collateral data useful in planning exercise was also integrated. Under Phase II, this project shall be implemented shortly with an enhanced scope of updating geodatabase with latest high-resolution remote sensing data and spatial data analytics to generate simple & ready to use geospatial products and services at Gram panchayats. The geodatabase, products, and services prepared under this project are expected to be disseminated through Bhuvan geoportal.

4) 10 more wetlands from India get the Ramsar site tag.

In a major recognition towards the Government of India’s effort towards conservation, restoration, and rejuvenation of its wetlands, Ramsar has declared 10 more wetland sites from India as sites of international importance. The Ramsar Convention signed on February 2, 1971, is one of the oldest inter-governmental accord signed by member countries to preserve the ecological character of their wetlands of international importance.

Objective

The aim of the Ramsar list is to develop and maintain an international network of wetlands which are important for the conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining human life through the maintenance of their ecosystem components, processes, and benefits. Wetlands declared as Ramsar sites are protected under strict guidelines of the convention.

Why Wetlands are important?

Wetlands are a critical part of our natural environment. They protect our shores from wave action, reduce the impacts of floods, absorb pollutants and improve water quality. They provide habitat for animals and plants and many contain a wide diversity of life, supporting plants and animals that are found nowhere else.

5 benefits of wetlands

Wildlife Nursery. ...
Flood Control. ...
Pollution Filter. ...
Storm Buffer. ...
Wind Buffer. ...
Fertile Farm Land. ...
Recreation and Tourism. ...
Carbon Sink.

5) Indian Railways commissions first Waste to Energy Plant in Bhubaneswar

Indian Railways has commissioned the country’s first governmental Waste to Energy Plant, having a capacity of 500 Kg waste per day, in Mancheswar Carriage Repair Workshop at Bhubaneswar in East Coast Railway.

About plant

This Waste to Energy Plant, a patented technology called POLYCRACK, is first-of-its-kind in Indian Railways and fourth in India. It is the world’s first patented heterogeneous catalytic process that converts multiple feedstocks into hydrocarbon liquid fuels, gas, carbon and water. Polytrack Plant can be fed with all types of Plastic, Petroleum sludge, Un-segregated MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) with moisture up to 50%, E-Waste, Automobile fluff, Organic waste including bamboo, garden waste, etc., and Jatropha fruit and palm bunch. Waste generated from Mancheswar Carriage Repair Workshop, Coaching Depot, and Bhubaneswar Railway Station will be feeder material for this plant.
The process is a closed-loop system and does not emit any hazardous pollutants into the atmosphere. The combustible, non-condensed gases are re-used for providing energy to the entire system and thus, the only emission comes from the combustion of gaseous fuels. The emissions from the combustion are found to be much less than prescribed environmental norms. This process will produce energy in the form of Light Diesel Oil which is used to light furnaces.

FEATURES OF POLYCRACK TECHNOLOGY -

Polycrack has the following advantages over the conventional approach of treating solid waste:-

Pre-segregation of waste is not required to reform the waste. Waste, as collected, can be directly fed into Polycrack.
It has a high tolerance to moisture hence drying of waste is not required.
Waste is processed and reformed within 24 hours.
It is an enclosed unit hence the working environment is dust-free.
Excellent air quality surrounding the plant.
Biological decomposition is not allowed as the Waste is treated as it is received.
The footprint of the plant is small hence the area required for installing the plant is less when compared with the conventional method of processing.
All constituents are converted into valuable energy thereby making it Zero Discharge Process.
The gas generated in the process is re-used to provide energy to the system thereby making it self-reliant and also bring down the operating cost.
There is no atmospheric emission during the process unlike other conventional methods except for combustion gases which have pollutants less than the prescribed norms the world over.
Operates around 450 degrees, making it a low-temperature process when compared with other options.
A safe and efficient system with built-in safety features enables even an unskilled user to operate the machine with ease.
Low capital cost and low operating cost.
The fully automated system requires minimum manpower

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

This process has been awarded the Best innovation Gold Medal in 2007 by Lockheed Martin, Dept of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, FICCI; Best Innovation Gold Medal 2007; Best Innovation Gold Medal 2008; Best Innovation Gold Medal 2009; Nominated for Tech-Museum Awards 2008; Frost & Sullivan – Global Innovation and Leadership Award -2011 and IGCW-2011 – Best Green Chemistry Innovation Award.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF WASTE TO ENERGY PLANT

Total plant installation cost: Rs 1.79 crore
Date of commissioning: 22 Jan 2020
Estimated income from the byproducts: Rs 17.5 Lakhs per annum
Maintenance cost: Rs 10.4 Lakhs per annum
The capacity is: 500kg/ Batch

6) Tongo hands over the letter of engagement to NTPC as PMC for about 300 MW solar power projects in Togo

The Letter of Engagement of NTPC as PMC for development about 300 MW Solar Power Projects by Togo was handed over

About Togo

Togo is a country in West Africa and a Member of the International Solar Alliance (ISA). The country has set an ambitious plan to achieve universal electricity access by 2030 with a focus on capacity addition in Solar Power generation. The Country has taken various initiatives to achieve these targets. The Country has been requesting assistance from ISA for the development of solar capacity in the Country.

About ISA

ISA has been taking various initiatives to assist the member countries to develop Solar Projects. Presently there are 6 Programmes of ISA to develop Solar capacities in Member Countries which include Agricultural Pumps, Mini-grids, Rooftop Solar, Large Scale Grid-connected Projects, etc. The Programme on large scale Grid-connected Projects on Solar park model was approved in the 2nd Assembly held on 30th October 2019. Implementation of ISA Programmes are member-driven and ISA Secretariat facilitates the implementation.

About NTPC

NTPC Limited is a Power Major and a Public Sector Company of Government of India, owning an installed Power capacity of more than 58,000 MW which includes 870 MW of Solar Projects and 1062 MW under development. Apart from the development of own Solar projects, the Company has been the nodal agency for the development of more than 4000 MW of Solar Projects on the IPP Model.

Engagement of NTPC by Togo for PMC, based on the endorsement of ISA:

NTPC had submitted a proposal to ISA requesting endorsement of ISA to Member Countries to give Project Management Consultancy (PMC) to the member Countries for implementation of Solar Projects.
As per NTPC Proposal, in ISA member Countries where Solar Projects are implemented through competitive bidding, NTPC may act as a project Management Consultant (PMC). NTPC will carry out various activities for the selection of Solar Project developers (SPDs) on a competitive basis for setting up Projects on ownership basis and enter into Power Purchase Agreement with government-designated entities. The scope of PMC includes presentations to the concerned ministries and other stakeholders in ISA Countries for the structuring of Projects, assistance to bring out enabling policy and regulatory framework for competitive procurement of Solar Power, bid process management for a selection of Project developers on a competitive basis, structuring PPA, Roof/ Land leasing agreements, etc. The PMC charges of NTPC will be recovered from the selected SPDs. NTPC based on the feasibility may also develop Solar Projects by putting its own equity in Countries where Feed-in Tariff is in force.

7) National Population Register (NPR)

Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Pleas Against National Population Register.

Issues with NPR

Various petitions have been filed challenging the NPR.
The concern here is that data collected under NPR does not enjoy the same protection as the census data.
Also, the rules under which NPR data is collected don’t provide protection against misuse, unlike Aadhaar and census data.

About National Population Register (NPR)?

It is a Register of the usual residents of the country.
It is being prepared at the local (Village/sub-Town), sub-District, District, State and National level under provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.
It is mandatory for every usual resident of India to register in the NPR.
Objectives: To create a comprehensive identity database of every usual resident in the country.

Who is a usual resident?

A usual resident is defined for the purposes of NPR as a person who has resided in a local area for the past 6 months or more or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next 6 months or more.

What is the controversy around it?

It comes in the backdrop of the NRC excluding lakhs of people in Assam.
It intends to collect a much larger amount of personal data on residents of India.
There is yet no clarity on the mechanism for the protection of this vast amount of data.

Why does the government want so much data?

Every country must have a comprehensive identity database of its residents with relevant demographic details. It will help the government formulate its policies better and also aid national security.
It will ease the life of those residing in India by cutting red tape. Not only will it help target government beneficiaries in a better way, but also further cut down paperwork and red tape in a similar manner that Aadhaar has done.
With NPR data, residents will not have to furnish various proofs of age, address and other details in official work.
It would also eliminate duplication in voter lists, the government insists.

8) The abolition of the Legislative Council.

Andhra Pradesh Cabinet has approved a statutory resolution seeking the abolition of the Legislative Council.

Background:

The Vidhan Parishad of united Andhra Pradesh was created on July 1, 1958, and dissolved on May 31, 1985. It was resurrected after 22 years, on March 30, 2007.
Since the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, the Council has had 58 members.

Councils in other states:

Besides Andhra Pradesh, five other states have Vidhan Parishads Bihar (58 members), Karnataka (75), Maharashtra (78), Telangana (40), UP (100). Jammu and Kashmir had a Council until the state was bifurcated into the Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh.

What are the Legislative Councils, and why are they important?

India has a bicameral system i.e., two Houses of Parliament. At the state level, the equivalent of the Lok Sabha is the Vidhan Sabha or Legislative Assembly; that of the Rajya Sabha is the Vidhan Parishad or Legislative Council.

Why do we need a second house?

To act as a check on hasty actions by the popularly elected House.
To ensure that individuals who might not be cut out for the rough-and-tumble of direct elections too are able to contribute to the legislative process.
Having a second chamber would allow for more debate and sharing of work between the Houses.

Arguments against having a second house:

Rather than fulfilling the lofty objective of getting intellectuals into the legislature, the forum is likely to be used to accommodate party functionaries who fail to get elected.
It is also an unnecessary drain on the exchequer.
Unlike Rajya Sabha which has substantial powers to shape non-financial legislation, Legislative Councils lack the constitutional mandate to do so. Legislative Assemblies have the power to override suggestions/amendments made to legislation by the Council.
While Rajya Sabha MPs can vote in the election of the President and Vice-President, members of Legislative Councils can’t. MLCs also can’t vote in the elections of Rajya Sabha members.
As regards Money bills, only fourteen days’ delay can be caused by the Council, which is more or less a formality rather than a barrier in the way of Money Bill passed by the Assembly.

How is a legislative council created?

Under Article 169 of the constitution, Parliament may by law create or abolish the second chamber in a state if the Legislative Assembly of that state passes a resolution to that effect by a special majority.

Strength of the house:

As per article 171 clause (1) of the Indian Constitution, the total number of members in the legislative council of a state shall not exceed one-third of the total number of the members in the Legislative Assembly of that state and the total number of members in the legislative council of a state shall in no case be less than 40.

How are members of the Council elected?

1/3rd of members are elected by members of the Assembly.
1/3rd by electorates consisting of members of municipalities, district boards, and other local authorities in the state.
1/12th by an electorate consisting of teachers.
1/12th by registered graduates.
The remaining members are nominated by the Governor from among those who have distinguished themselves in literature, science, art, the cooperative movement, and social service.