Daily Current Affairs 9 May 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are 

1) 80 km long road curtailing Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage time

• Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh at a special event inaugurated the road link from Dharchula (Uttarakhand) to Lipulekh (China Border). Shri Rajnath Singh also flagged off a convoy of vehicles from Pithoragarh to Gunji through video conferencing.
• Kailash-Manasarovar has been sacred and revered by Hindus, Buddhists, and Jains the completion of this road link, the yatra could be completed in one week compared to 2-3 weeks it took earlier. The road originates from Ghatiabagarh and terminates at Lipulekh Pass, the gateway to Kailash-Mansarovar. In this 80 kilometer road, the altitude rises from 6,000 to 17,060 feet. With the completion of this project, the arduous trek through treacherous high-altitude terrain can now be avoided by the pilgrims of Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra. At present, the travel to Kailash-Mansarovar takes around two to three weeks through Sikkim or Nepal routes. Lipulekh route had a trek of 90 Km through high altitude terrain and the elderly yartris faced a lot of difficulties.
• The other two roadways via Sikkim and Nepal are along. They entailed approximately 20 percent of land journeys on Indian roads and 80 percent of land journeys in China. With the opening of Ghatiabgarh-Lipulekh road, this ratio has been reversed. Now Pilgrims to Manasarovar will traverse 84 percent land journeys on Indian Roads and only 16 percent land Journeys in China. This is truly historic, commented on the Raksha Mantri.

Source: PIB

2) Government of India & AIIB sign agreement for $500 million COVID-19 support for India

• The Government of India and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) signed a US$ 500 million “COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Preparedness Project” to help India to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen its public health preparedness. This is the first-ever health sector support from the Bank to India.
• This new support will cover all States and Union Territories across India and address the needs of infected people, at-risk populations, medical and emergency personnel and service providers, medical and testing facilities, and national and animal health agencies.
• The project will enable the Government of India to slow and limit as much as possible the spread of COVID-19 in India by providing immediate support to enhance disease detection capacities by scaling up procurement of PPE, oxygen delivery systems, and medicines, build resilient health systems to provide core public health, prevention, and patient management functions to manage COVID-19 and future disease outbreaks, support research on COVID-19 by Indian and other global institutions working in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research, address significant negative externalities expected in the event of a widespread COVID-19 outbreak and strengthen public structures for the coordination and management of the project.
• The primary project beneficiaries will be infected people, at-risk populations, medical and emergency personnel, service providers at medical and testing facilities (both public and private), and public and animal health agencies engaged in India’s COVID-19 response.
• The project is being financed by the World Bank and AIIB in the amount of $1.5 billion, of which $1.0 billion will be provided by the World Bank and $500 million will be provided by AIIB.
• The project will be implemented by the National Health Mission (NHM), the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

• The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank that aims to support the building of infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific region. The bank currently has 80 members as well as 22 prospective members from around the world. The bank started operation after the agreement entered into force on 25 December 2015, after ratifications were received from 10 member states holding a total number of 50% of the initial subscriptions of the Authorized Capital Stock.
• The United Nations has addressed the launch of AIIB as having the potential for "scaling up financing for sustainable development" and to improve global economic governance. The starting capital of the bank was $100 billion, equivalent to ​2⁄3 of the capital of the Asian Development Bank and about half that of the World Bank.
• The bank was proposed by China in 2013 and the initiative was launched at a ceremony in Beijing in October 2014. It received the highest credit ratings from the three biggest rating agencies in the world and is seen as a potential rival to the World Bank and IMF

Source: PIB

3) Labour Laws Diluted

• Amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown, an increasing number of states that include Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Gujarat has pushed through changes to their labor laws by way of ordinances or executive orders.
• Since labor is a concurrent subject under the Constitution of India, states can frame their own laws but need the approval of the Central government.

Key Points

• The Uttar Pradesh government has approved an Ordinance exempting businesses from the purview of all the labor laws except few for the next three years.
• The labor laws related to settling industrial disputes, occupational safety, health and working conditions of workers, and those related to trade unions, contract workers, and migrant laborers will become defunct.
• However, laws related to bonded labor, deployment of women and children, and timely payment of salaries will not be relaxed.
• The changes in the labor laws will apply to both the existing businesses and the new factories being set up in the state.
• Similarly, the Madhya Pradesh government has also suspended many labor laws for the next 1000 days. Few important amendments are:
• Employers can increase working hours in factories from 8 to 12 hours and are also allowed up to 72 hours a week in overtime, subject to the will of employees.
• The factory registration now will be done in a day, instead of 30 days. And the license should be renewed after 10 years, instead of a year. There is also the provision of penalty on officials not complying with the deadline.
• Industrial Units will be exempted from the majority of the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
• Organizations will be able to keep workers in service at their convenience.
• The Labour Department or the labor court will not interfere in the action taken by industries.
• Contractors employing less than 50 workers will be able to work without registration under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970.
• Major relaxations to new industrial units are:
• Exempted from provisions on ‘right of workers’, which includes obtaining details of their health and safety at work, to get a better work environment which includes drinking water, ventilation, crèches, weekly holidays and interval of rest, etc.
• Exempted from the requirement of keeping registers and inspections and can change shifts at their convenience.
• Employers are exempt from penalties in case of violation of labor laws.

Rationale Behind the Changes in Labour Laws

• States have begun easing labor laws to attract investment and encourage industrial activity.
• To protect the existing employees, and to provide employment to workers who have migrated back to their respective states.
• Bring about transparency in the administrative procedures and convert the challenges of a distressed economy into opportunities.
• To increase the revenue of states which have fallen due to closure of industrial units during Covid-19 lockdown.
• Labour reform has been a demand for Industries for a long time. The changes became necessary as investors were stuck in a web of laws and red-tapism.

Issues Involved

• The labor law changes will allow more factories to operate without following safety and health norms and give a free hand to new companies to “keep laborers in service as per their convenience”.
• Denying the rights of workers is a violation of human and fundamental rights.
• It may create insecurity among the workers.
• The changes may lead to desperate conditions for workers.

4) Luhman 16: Binary Brown Dwarf System

• Recently, a group of astrophysicists has found that the closest known brown dwarf, Luhman 16A which shows signs of cloud bands similar to those seen on Jupiter and Saturn.
• They used the technique of polarimetry to determine the properties of atmospheric clouds outside of the solar system.

Polarimetry

• The concept of polarimetry technique was put forth by Indian astrophysicist Sujan Sengupta, that the light emitted by a cloudy brown dwarf, or reflected off an extrasolar planet, will be polarised.
• Polarimetry is the study of polarization. Polarization is a property of light that represents the direction that the light wave oscillates.
• When light is reflected off of particles it can favor a certain angle of polarization. By measuring the preferred polarization of light from a distant system, astronomers can deduce the presence of clouds.
• However, in the case of Luhman 16A, the researchers have found the actual structure of the clouds (not only their presence).
• The polarimetry technique isn't limited to brown dwarfs. It can also be applied to exoplanets orbiting distant stars, or even stars. However, light from brown dwarfs is ideal for the study.

Luhman 16

• Luhman 16A is part of a binary system (Luhman 16) containing a second brown dwarf, Luhman 16B. This pair of brown dwarfs Luhman 16A and Luhman 16B orbit each other.
• It is situated at a distance of about 6.5 light-years from the Sun and the third closest system to the Sun after Alpha Centauri and Barnard’s star.
• Despite the fact that Luhman 16A and 16B have similar masses and temperatures and presumably formed at the same time, they show markedly different weather.
• Luhman 16B shows no sign of stationary cloud bands, instead of showing evidence of more irregular, patchy clouds.
• Luhman 16B, therefore, has noticeable brightness variations as a result of its cloudy features, unlike Luhman 16A which has less brightness variation due to a band of clouds.
• Understanding the cloud system over a brown dwarf can shed light on the pressure, temperature, and climate on the surface of the celestial body.

Brown Dwarfs

• Brown dwarfs are also called failed stars because their masses are heavier than planets but lighter than stars.
• Due to their small masses, they are unable to sustain the fusion of their hydrogen to produce energy.
• It is believed that some of the more massive brown dwarfs fuse deuterium or lithium and glow faintly.

Binary Stars System

• Binary stars are two stars orbiting a common center of mass.
• The brighter star is officially classified as the primary star, while the dimmer of the two is the secondary star. In cases where the stars are of equal brightness, the designation given by the discoverer is respected.
• They are very important in astrophysics because calculations of their orbits allow the masses of their component stars to be directly determined, which in turn allows other stellar parameters, such as radius and density, to be indirectly estimated.

Source: The Hindu

5) NGT on Vizag gas leak

• The National Green Tribunal's order on Friday in the Visakhapatnam gas tragedy found LG Polymers prima facie liable under the 19th century English law principle of “strict liability”, which was made redundant in India by the Supreme Court in 1986. Lawyers say the term “absolute liability” should have been used instead.
• Even though the NGT directed the company to deposit an initial amount of ₹50 crores and formed a fact­finding committee, its use of the term “strict liability” has been questioned. For, under the “strict liability principle”, a party is not liable and need not pay compensation if a hazardous substance escapes his premises by accident or by an “act of God’” among other circumstances
• So, under the absolute liability principle, the apex court held that a company in a hazardous industry cannot claim any exemption. It has to mandatorily pay compensation, whether or not the disaster was caused by its negligence. The court said a hazardous enterprise has an “absolute non­delegable duty to the community”
• If any harm results on account of such activity, the enterprise must be absolutely liable to compensate for such harm irrespective of the fact that the enterprise had taken all reasonable care and that the harm occurred without any negligence on its part
• “The court found that strict liability, evolved in an 1868 English case called Rylands versus Fletcher, provided companies with several exemptions from assuming liability. Absolute liability, on the other hand, provided them with no defense or exemptions. The principle of absolute liability is part of Article 21 (right to life) ... The courts, to make the legal position clear, should use the term ‘absolute liability’ in orders and judgments

Strict Liability

• The principle of strict liability evolved in the case of Rylands v Fletcher. In the year 1868, the principle of strict liability states that any person who keeps hazardous substances on his premises will be held responsible if such substances escape the premises and cause any damage. Going into the facts of the case, F had a mill on his land, and to power the mill, F built a reservoir on his land. Due to some accident, the water from the reservoir flooded the coal mines owned by R. Subsequently, R filed a suit against F. The Court held that the defendant built the reservoir at his risk, and in course of it if any accident happens then the defendant will be liable for the accident and escape of the material.
• Going by the principle laid in this case, it can be said that if a person brings on his land and keeps some dangerous thing, and such a thing is likely to cause some damage if it escapes then such person will be answerable for the damaged caused. The person from whose property such substance escaped will be held accountable even when he hasn’t been negligent in keeping the substance in his premises. The liability is imposed on him not because there is any negligence on his part, but the substance kept on his premises is hazardous and dangerous. Based on this judicial pronouncement, the concept of strict liability came into being. There are some essential conditions which should be fulfilled to categorize a liability under the head of strict liability.

Absolute Liability

• The rule of absolute liability, in simple words, can be defined as the rule of strict liability minus the exceptions. In India, the rule of absolute liability evolved in the case of MC Mehta v Union of India. This is one of the most landmark judgment which relates to the concept of absolute liability.
• The facts of the case are that some oleum gas leaked in a particular area in Delhi from the industry. Due to the leakage, many people were affected. The Apex Court then evolved the rule of absolute liability on the rule of strict liability and stated that the defendant would be liable for the damage caused without considering the exceptions to the strict liability rule.
• According to the rule of absolute liability, if any person is engaged in an inherently dangerous or hazardous activity, and if any harm is caused to any person due to an accident which occurred during carrying out such inherently dangerous and hazardous activity, then the person who is carrying out such activity will be held absolutely liable. The exception to the strict liability rule also wouldn’t be considered. The rule laid down in the case of MC Mehta v UOI was also followed by the Supreme Court while deciding the case of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy case. To ensure that victims of such accidents get quick relief through insurance, the Indian Legislature passed the Public Liability Insurance Act in the year 1991.

Read the full article on Strict vs Absolute Liability

Source: The Hindu

6) Modifications in PMRF Scheme

Recently, the Ministry of Human Resources and Development has carried out various amendments in the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship Scheme to boost research in the country.

Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF) Scheme

• In order to attract meritorious students into research, the Government of India, in 2018 launched Prime Minister’s Research Fellows (PMRF) Scheme, which offers direct admission to such students in the Ph.D. programs in various higher educational institutions in the country.
• The scheme is aimed at attracting the talent pool of the country to doctoral (Ph.D.) programs for carrying out research in cutting edge science and technology domains, with a focus on national priorities.
• The institutes which can offer PMRF include all the IITs, IISERs, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, and some of the top Central Universities/NITs that offer science and/or technology degrees.
• A fellowship of Rs.70,000/- per month for the first two years, Rs.75,000/- per month for the 3rd year, and Rs.80,000/- per month in the 4th and 5th year is provided under the scheme.
• Apart from this, a research grant of Rs. 2 lakh per year is provided to each of the Fellows for a period of 5 years to cover their academic contingency expenses and for foreign/national travel expenses.

Key Amendments

• Now, students from any recognized university can apply for the fellowship.
• Earlier the fellowship scheme was open only for students from Central Universities, IITs, IISc, NITs, IISERs, IIEST, and IIITs.
• The requirement of the GATE score has also been reduced from 750 to 600.
• As per new guidelines, there will be two channels of entries i.e direct entry and lateral entry.
• In the lateral entry, the students, who are pursuing a Ph.D. in PMRF granting institutions, and have completed 12 months or 24 months as per certain requirements, can also apply to become fellow under the scheme.
• National Institute of Technologies (NITs) which appear in the top 25 institutions in the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranking can also become PMRF Granting institution.
• To boost research a dedicated Division is being created in the MHRD with the name of "Research and Innovation Division".
• This division will be headed by a director who will be coordinating the research work of various institutions coming under MHRD.

Source: PIB

7) Vande Bharat Mission

• The ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ to evacuate Indian citizens is expected to cover Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Spain, and eastern Europe in the third week of May. The process of repatriation, which is focused on the Gulf and the South Asian regions, began and is expected to involve 64 flights, bringing back 15,000 nationals from different parts of the world through 14 Indian airports. 
• The Indian nationals stranded overseas due to the global coronavirus lockdown are expected to return under the Vande Bharat Mission.
• Further, the Indian Navy has also launched Operation “Samudra Setu” (sea bridge) to repatriate Indian citizens from overseas.

Key Points

• Vande Bharat Mission is the biggest evacuation exercise to bring back Indian citizens stranded abroad amidst the coronavirus-induced travel restrictions.
• It is also considered as the largest exercise to bring back Indian citizens since the evacuation of 177,000 from the Gulf region in the early 1990s at the start of hostilities between Iraq and Kuwait during the first Gulf War.
• The mission has given priority to Indian citizens with “compelling reasons to return" – like those whose employees have been terminated, those whose visas have expired and not expected to be renewed under the present circumstances, and those who have lost family members in recent times.
• Under the repatriation plan, the government will be facilitating the return of Indian nationals stranded abroad on compelling grounds in a phased manner.
• Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express will operate 64 flights to bring back stranded Indians from 12 countries.
• The entire cost of travel will be borne by the passengers under the mission.

Operation Samudra Setu

• The program named Samudra Setu by the Indian navy entails bringing back around two thousand Indians in two ships during the first phase of evacuation.
• INS Jalashwa and INS Magar are being operated as part of efforts to repatriate Indian nationals from foreign shores.

Source: The Hindu

8) AYUSH Sanjivani App

Recently, the government has launched the ‘AYUSH Sanjivani’ App.

Key Points

• It is developed by the Ministry of AYUSH and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY).
• It targets to reach out to 50 lakh people in the country.
• The app intends to generate data on usage of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-rigpa, and Homoeopathy) advocacies and measures among the population and its impact in the prevention of Covid-19.
• The data collected through this app will be analyzed to find out the usage of AYUSH interventions and its efficacy in maintaining health by enhancing immunity.

Source: PIB

9) Moody’s warns

• Rating agency Moody’s said that the negative outlook of India reflects increasing risks that economic growth will remain significantly lower than in the past while cautioning of a rating downgrade if fiscal metrics deteriorate further.
• This is in light of the deep shock triggered by the COVID­-19 outbreak, and partly reflects lower government and policy effectiveness at addressing longstanding economic and institutional weaknesses, leading to a gradual rise in the debt burden from the already high levels
• Moody’s said while the government’s measures to support the economy should help reduce the depth and duration of India’s growth slowdown, the prolonged financial stress among rural households, weak job creation and credit crunch among non­bank financial institutions (NBFIs) have increased the probability of a more entrenched weakening. The negative outlook indicates that an upgrade is unlikely in the near term, Moody’s said. It said a change in the rating outlook to stable can happen if there is a significant increase in the probability of fiscal metrics stabilizing and strengthening over time. 
• “A downgrade of India’s rating would likely occur if we expected its fiscal metrics to weaken materially. This would probably happen in the context of a prolonged or deep slowdown in growth, with only limited prospects that the government would be able to restore stronger output through economic and institutional reforms,” it said. 

Source: The Hindu

10) Black Panther in Netravali Sanctuary

A black panther was spotted in Goa’s Netravali Sanctuary.

While the area is a known habitat of tigers, this is for the first time a black panther has been captured on camera in the sanctuary.

Black Panther

• A black panther is the melanistic color variant of any Panthera, particularly of the leopard in Asia and Africa, and the jaguar in the Americas.
• Melanism is the increased development of the dark-colored pigment melanin in the skin or hair.
• It is as shy as a normal leopard and very difficult to detect. It is mostly found in densely forested areas of southern India.
• Areas where black panther has been spotted earlier:
• Periyar Tiger Reserve (Kerala)
• Bhadra Tiger Reserve, Dandeli-Anshi Tiger Reserve, and Kabini Wildlife Sanctuary (Karnataka)
• Achanakmar Tiger Reserve (Chhattisgarh)
• Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary (Goa)
• Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (Tamil Nadu)

Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary

• Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary is located in South Eastern Goa and constitutes one of the vital corridors of the Western Ghats.
• It is bounded by Cotigao wildlife sanctuary on the eastern side and Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary and Mollem National Park on the northern side.
• Netravali or Neturli is an important tributary of River Zuari, which originates in the sanctuary.
• It has two important waterfalls namely, Savari and Mainapi.
• Forests mostly consist of moist deciduous vegetation interspersed with evergreen and semi-evergreen habitat.
• Fauna: Leopard, Giant Squirrel, Mouse Deer, Nilgiri Wood Pigeon, and Ceylon Frogmouth.
• Other Protected Areas in Goa:
• Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary
• Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary
• Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary
• Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary
• Mollem National Park
• Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary

Source: Indian Express