Daily Current Affairs 31 July 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Assembly

• Recently, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) celebrated the start of Assembly of the ITER Tokamak at Saint-Paul-Lez-Durance, France.

Significance of the Event:

• The Celebration was hosted virtually by the French President and all ITER member countries participated either in person or electronically through remote mode.
• India also participated in the celebrations and considered the global participation of scientists to project as a perfect illustration of the age-old Indian belief - Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
• Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is a Sanskrit phrase which means ‘The World is One Family’.

India’s Contribution:

• India also mentioned its fair share in terms of its in-kind contributions, viz., the cryostat, cryogenic and cryo-distribution systems, auxiliary heating devices, multi-megawatt power supplies, etc.
• ITER cryostat is manufactured by India (Larsen and Tourbo). The cryostat is a chamber that can maintain very low temperatures.
• It is the largest stainless steel high-vacuum pressure chamber ever built (16,000 m3) providing the high vacuum, ultra-cool environment for the ITER vacuum vessel, and the superconducting magnets.
• The target for the first plasma is 2025. At extreme temperatures, electrons are separated from nuclei and gas becomes a plasma—an ionized state of matter similar to a gas.
• European Union (EU) is responsible for the largest portion of construction costs (45.6%); the remainder is shared equally by China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, the USA including India (9.1% each).

International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor

• Establishment:
• International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is a collaboration of 35 nations launched in 1985.
• It is located in France.
• Aim:
• It aims to build the world's largest tokamak to prove the feasibility of fusion as a large-scale and carbon-free source of energy.
• A tokamak is an experimental machine designed to harness the energy of fusion. Inside a tokamak, the energy produced through the fusion of atoms is absorbed as heat in the walls of the vessel. Like a conventional power plant, a fusion power plant uses this heat to produce steam and then electricity by way of turbines and generators.
• Applicable Principle:
• The project is based on fusion which is also an energy source for the Sun and stars.
• Every fusion reaction in the Sun, in which two hydrogen atoms fuse into one helium atom, releases two neutrinos.
• Significance:
• ITER will be the first fusion device to maintain fusion for long periods and also to test the integrated technologies, materials, and physics regimes necessary for the commercial production of fusion-based electricity.
• Participation:
• The ITER members include China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United States.
• According to the ITER Agreement (2006), the above mentioned seven members will share the cost of project construction, operation, and decommissioning.
• They also share the experimental results and any intellectual property generated by the fabrication, construction, and operation phases.

Nuclear Reactions

• Description:
• A nuclear reaction is a process in which two nuclei, or a nucleus and an external subatomic particle, collide to produce one or more new nuclides.
• Thus, a nuclear reaction must cause a transformation of at least one nuclide to another.
• Types:
• Nuclear Fission:
• The nucleus of an atom splits into two daughter nuclei.
• This decay can be natural spontaneous splitting by radioactive decay, or can actually be simulated in a lab by achieving necessary conditions (bombarding with neutrons, alpha particles, etc.).
• The resulting fragments tend to have a combined mass which is less than the original. The missing mass is usually converted into nuclear energy.
• Currently, all commercial nuclear reactors are based on nuclear fission.
• Nuclear Fusion:
• Nuclear Fusion is defined as the combining of two lighter nuclei into a heavier one.
• Such nuclear fusion reactions are the source of energy in the Sun and other stars.
• It takes considerable energy to force the nuclei to fuse. The conditions needed for this process are extreme – millions of degrees of temperature and millions of pascals of pressure.
• The hydrogen bomb is based on a thermonuclear fusion reaction. However, a nuclear bomb based on the fission of uranium or plutonium is placed at the core of the hydrogen bomb to provide initial energy.

Source: PIB

2) CHRI Report on Slavery

Recently, the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) and Walk Free (an international anti-slavery organization) released a report on slavery on the occasion of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons (30th July).

The Report:

• It assessed the progress made by Commonwealth countries on the promises made in 2018 to end modern slavery by 2030 and achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (Target 8.7) of ending forced labor, human trafficking, and child labor.
• Commonwealth countries account for about 40% of people living in conditions of modern slavery in the world.
• It is estimated that 1 in every 150 people in the Commonwealth countries lives in conditions of modern slavery.
• It found that Commonwealth countries have made little progress towards their commitment to eradicate modern slavery and have been lacking in actions to eradicate modern slavery by 2030.
• One-third of the Commonwealth countries had criminalized forced marriage, while 23 had not criminalized commercial sexual exploitation of children.
• All Commonwealth countries report gaps in victim assistance programs.

India Specific Outcome:

• India had fared the worst in terms of coordination. It has no national coordinating body or National Action Plan in place to deal with modern-day slavery.
• India accounted for one-third of all child brides in the world.
• India, like all other Commonwealth countries in Asia, had not ratified the International Labour Organisation’s 2011 Domestic Workers Convention or the 2014 Forced Labour Protocol.
• The 2014 Forced Labour Protocol obligates state parties to provide protection and appropriate remedies, including compensation, to victims of forced labor, and to sanction the perpetrators of forced labor.
• It also obligates state parties to develop a national policy and plan of action for the effective and sustained suppression of forced or compulsory labor.

Steps Taken by India

• Constitutional Provisions:
• Article 21 deals with the Right to Life and Personal Liberty.
• Article 23 of the Constitution prohibits forced labor.
• Article 24 prohibits the employment of children (below the age of fourteen years) in factories, etc.
• Article 39 directs the State to secure the health and strength of workers, men, and women, and to see the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength.
• Article 42 directs the State to make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief.
• Legal Provision:
• Various sections in Indian Penal Code (IPC) such as 366A, 366B, 370 and 374.
• Section 370 and 370A of Indian Penal Code (IPC) provide comprehensive measures to counter the menace of human trafficking including trafficking of children for exploitation in any form including physical exploitation or any form of sexual exploitation, slavery, servitude, or the forced removal of organs.
• The Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 and also the Immoral Traffic Act, Prevention of Child Labour Act 1956, the Bonded Labour (Abolition) Act 1976, among others aims to eradicate various forms of slavery.
• Other Initiatives:
• India has ratified the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organised Crime (UNCTOC) which among others has a Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children.
• India has ratified the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution.
• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Bangladesh has been signed on bilateral Cooperation for the Prevention of Human Trafficking in Women and Children, Rescue, Recovery, Repatriation, and Re-integration of Victims of Trafficking was signed in June 2015.
• Anti-Trafficking Nodal Cell was set up in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in 2006 to act as a focal point for communicating various decisions and follow up on action taken by the State Governments to combat the crime of Human Trafficking.
• Judicial Conferences: To train and sensitize the trial court judicial officers, Judicial conferences on human trafficking are held at the High court level. The aim is to sensitize the judicial officers about the various issues concerning human trafficking and to ensure a speedy court process.
• To enhance the capacity building of law enforcement agencies and generate awareness among them, various Training of Trainers (TOT) workshops on ‘Combating Trafficking in Human Beings’ for Police officers and for Prosecutors at Regional level, State level, and District level have been organized by the government throughout the country.
• Ministry of Home Affairs under a Comprehensive Scheme ‘Strengthening Law Enforcement Response in India against Trafficking in Persons through Training and Capacity Building, has released funds for the establishment of Anti Human Trafficking Units for 270 districts of the country.
• The primary role of an Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) is law enforcement and liaising with other concerned agencies for care & rehabilitation of victims.
• MHA conducts coordination meetings with the Nodal Officers of Anti Human Trafficking Units nominated in all States/UTs periodically.

Modern Slavery

• Modern slavery refers to situations of exploitation that a person cannot escape because of threats, violence, coercion, and abuse of power or deception. They may be held in debt bondage on fishing boats, against their will as domestic servants, or trapped in brothels.

Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI)

• It is an independent, non-partisan, international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New Delhi, working for the practical realization of human rights across the Commonwealth.
• The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 54 independent and equal sovereign states.
• It is one of the world’s oldest political associations of states. Its roots go back to the British Empire when some countries were ruled directly or indirectly by Britain. Some of these countries became self-governing while retaining Britain’s monarch as Head of State. They formed the British Commonwealth of Nations.
• In 1949, the Commonwealth came into being. Since then, independent countries from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Pacific have joined the Commonwealth.
• Membership is based on free and equal voluntary cooperation. Rwanda and Mozambique - have no historical ties to the British Empire.

Source: TH

3) National Education Policy, 2020

Recently, the Union Cabinet has approved the new National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 intending to introduce several changes in the Indian education system - from the school to college level.

• The NEP 2020 aims at making “India a global knowledge superpower”.
• The Cabinet has also approved the renaming of the Ministry of Human Resource Development to the Ministry of Education.
• The NEP cleared by the Cabinet is only the third major revamp of the framework of education in India since independence.
• The two earlier education policies were brought in 1968 and 1986.

School Education:

• Universalization of education from preschool to secondary level with 100% Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030.
• To bring 2 crores out of school children back into the mainstream through an open schooling system.
• The current 10+2 system to be replaced by a new 5+3+3+4 curricular structure corresponding to ages 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, and 14-18 years respectively.
• It will bring the uncovered age group of 3-6 years under the school curriculum, which has been recognized globally as the crucial stage for the development of mental faculties of a child.
• It will also have 12 years of schooling with three years of Anganwadi/ pre-schooling.
• Class 10 and 12 board examinations to be made easier, to test core competencies rather than memorized facts, with all students allowed to take the exam twice.
• School governance is set to change, with a new accreditation framework and an independent authority to regulate both public and private schools.
• Emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, no rigid separation between academic streams, extracurricular, vocational streams in schools.
• Vocational Education to start from Class 6 with Internships.
• Teaching up to at least Grade 5 to be in mother tongue/regional language. No language will be imposed on any student.
• Assessment reforms with 360-degree Holistic Progress Card, tracking Student Progress for achieving Learning Outcomes
• A new and comprehensive National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE) 2021, will be formulated by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) in consultation with the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
• By 2030, the minimum degree qualification for teaching will be a 4-year integrated B.Ed. degree.

Higher Education:

• Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education to be raised to 50% by 2035. Also, 3.5 crore seats to be added in higher education.
• The current Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education is 26.3%.
• Holistic Undergraduate education with a flexible curriculum can be of 3 or 4 years with multiple exit options and appropriate certification within this period.
• M.Phil courses will be discontinued and all the courses at undergraduate, postgraduate and Ph.D. level will now be interdisciplinary.
• Academic Bank of Credits to be established to facilitate Transfer of Credits.
• Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERUs), at par with IITs, IIMs, to be set up as models of best multidisciplinary education of global standards in the country.
• The National Research Foundation will be created as an apex body for fostering a strong research culture and building research capacity across higher education.
• Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) will be set up as a single umbrella body for the entire higher education, excluding medical and legal education. Public and private higher education institutions will be governed by the same set of norms for regulation, accreditation, and academic standards. Also, HECI will be having four independent verticals namely,
• National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC) for regulation,
• General Education Council (GEC) for standard-setting,
• Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC) for funding,
• National Accreditation Council (NAC) for accreditation.
• Affiliation of colleges is to be phased out in 15 years and a stage-wise mechanism to be established for granting graded autonomy to colleges.
• Over some time, every college is expected to develop into either an autonomous degree-granting College or a constituent college of a university.

Other Changes:

• An autonomous body, the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), will be created to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration.
• National Assessment Centre- 'PARAKH' has been created to assess the students.
• It also paves the way for foreign universities to set up campuses in India.
• It emphasizes setting up of Gender Inclusion Fund, Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions, and groups.
• National Institute for Pali, Persian, and Prakrit, Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation to be set up.
• It also aims to increase the public investment in the Education sector to reach 6% of GDP at the earliest.
• Currently, India spends around 4.6 % of its total GDP on education.

Way Forward

• A New Education Policy aims to facilitate an inclusive, participatory, and holistic approach, which takes into consideration field experiences, empirical research, stakeholder feedback, as well as lessons learned from best practices.
• It is a progressive shift towards a more scientific approach to education. The prescribed structure will help to cater to the ability of the child – stages of cognitive development as well as social and physical awareness. If implemented in its true vision, the new structure can bring India at par with the leading countries of the world.

Source: TH

4) AIIB and India

• Jin Liqun has been re-elected as the President of the China-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for a second five-year term.
• The President stated that the bank would remain an “apolitical institution” and continue to back projects in India.
• The management will look at the proposed projects from the economic and financial point of view and not with a political view.

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

• The AIIB is a multilateral development bank with a mission to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia.
• Headquartered in Beijing (China), it began operations in January 2016 and has now grown to 103 approved members worldwide.

India and AIIB:

• India was among the AIIB’s 57 founding members in 2016.
• It is also its second-largest shareholder (with 7.62% voting shares) after China (26.06%).
• It has received USD 4.35 billion from the Bank.
• This is the highest of any country, with the bank so far approving loans of USD 19.6 billion to support 87 projects in 24 countries.
• Turkey is second with USD 1.95 billion.
• AIIB has approved financing projects in India in a host of sectors like energy, transport, and water including the Bangalore metro rail project (USD 335 million), Gujarat rural roads project (USD 329 million), and Phase 3 of the Mumbai urban transport project (USD 500 million).
• In a recent virtual meeting, India said that it expects AIIB to introduce new financing instruments, provide financing for social infrastructure, and to integrate development of climate-resilient and sustainable energy access infrastructure into AIIB’s recovery response to the Covid-19 crisis.
• This implies that India is unlikely to alter its engagement with the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), despite a host of offensive measures announced recently to reduce its trade and investment links with China.

Chinese Angle:

• In June 2020, AIIB approved USD 500 million for Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund and Health Systems Preparedness Project and another USD 750 million for Covid-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support, in a co-financing arrangement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
• USD 750 million loans were approved two days after the clash in Galwan Valley in Ladakh along the India-China border.
• It has supported several projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework, but is not formally linked to the plan.
• India has concerns over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor - a part of the BRI.

Way Forward

• India should continue to engage with AIIB as it will be able to access resources for the financing of national and cross-border infrastructure projects from the Bank.
• AIIB is also significant as the World Bank is continued to be dominated by the USA while Japan has more influence over the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
• Further, India needs to ensure that its own interests are served by its membership very explicitly. It should make sure that AIIB doesn’t end up becoming a tool of the Chinese geopolitical agenda.

Source: TH

5) Protesting is a Fundamental Right: UN

• Recently, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee has reaffirmed that protesting peacefully, online or in person, is a fundamental human right.
• This statement has come in the backdrop of increasing demonstrations over issues like political rights and racial justice.
• UN Human Rights Committee: It is tasked with monitoring how countries implement the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 1976, which under Article 21 guarantees the right to peaceful assembly.

Latest Interpretation of the Right to Peaceful Assembly:

• Fundamental Human Rights for People: To gather to celebrate or to air grievances in public and in private spaces, outdoors, indoors and online is a fundamental human right.
• Protesters: Everyone, including children, foreign nationals, women, migrant workers, asylum seekers, and refugees, can exercise the right of peaceful assembly.
• Protection: Protesters have the right to wear masks or hoods to cover their faces and that Governments should not collect personal data to harass or intimidate participants.
• Role of Journalists and Human Rights Observers: They have the right to monitor and document any assembly, including violent and unlawful ones.
• Government Obligations:
• Governments could not prohibit protests by making “generalized references to public order or public safety, or an unspecified risk of potential violence”.
• Governments cannot block internet networks or close down any website because of their roles in organizing or soliciting a peaceful assembly.
• Significance: The Committee’s interpretation will be important guidance for judges in national and regional courts around the world, as it now forms part of what is known as ‘soft law’.
• The interpretation is a form of legal advice (not mandatory) from the Committee that monitors the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 1976.

Indian Scenario:

• India is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
• The right to protest, to publicly question and force the government to answer, is a fundamental political right of the people that flows directly from a democratic reading of Article 19 of the Constitution of India.
• Article 19 (1) (a) states that all citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression.
• Article 19 (1) (b) states that all citizens shall have the right to assemble peaceably and without arms.
• However, the State can impose reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right of assembly on two grounds, namely, sovereignty and integrity of India and public order including the maintenance of traffic in the area concerned.
• Further, Indian courts have reiterated that the right to protest is a fundamental right (Ramlila Maidan Incident v. Home Secretary, Union Of India & Ors. case -2012).

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

• The ICCPR is a key international human rights treaty, providing a range of protections for civil and political rights.
• The ICCPR, together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, are considered the International Bill of Human Rights.
• The Bill influences the decisions and actions of Government, State, and Non-State actors to make economic, social, and cultural rights a top priority in the formation and implementation of national, regional, and international policy and law.
• The ICCPR obligates countries that have ratified the treaty to protect and preserve basic human rights, such as the right to life and human dignity; equality before the law; freedom of speech, assembly, and association; religious freedom and privacy; freedom from torture, ill-treatment, and arbitrary detention; gender equality; the right to a fair trial; right family life and family unity; and minority rights.
• The Covenant compels governments to take administrative, judicial, and legislative measures to protect the rights enshrined in the treaty and to provide an effective remedy.
• The Covenant was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1966 and came into force in 1976. 173 countries including India have ratified the Covenant.

Source: TH

6) India Report on Digital Education, 2020

• Recently, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has launched the India Report on Digital Education, 2020.
• Recently the MHRD has been renamed as the Ministry of Education.

The Report:

• It has been prepared by the digital education division of MHRD in consultation with the education departments of the states and union territories.
• It elaborates on the innovative methods adopted by the MHRD, for ensuring accessible and inclusive education to children at home and reducing learning gaps during the Covid-19 pandemic.

MHRD Initiatives:

• It has initiated many projects to assist teachers, scholars, and students in their pursuit of learning like DIKSHA platform, Swayam Prabha TV Channel, On-Air - Shiksha Vani, e-PathShala and telecast through TV channels.
• It also released guidelines on digital education called 'PRAGYATA'.

State Initiatives:

• States and Union Territories have provided digital education at the doorstep of the students. Some of them are:
• Social Media Interface for Learning Engagement (SMILE) in Rajasthan.
• Project Home Classes in Jammu.
• Padhai Tunhar Duvaar (Education at your doorstep) in Chhattisgarh.
• Unnayan Initiatives in Bihar.
• Mission Buniyaad in NCT of Delhi.
• Kerala’s own educational TV channel (KITE VICTERS).
• E-scholar portal as well as free online courses for teachers in Meghalaya.
• They used social media tools like WhatsApp Group, Online classes through YouTube channel and Google meet to connect to the students.
• Some of the states/UTs like Lakshadweep, Nagaland and Jammu & Kashmir have also distributed tablets, DVDs, and pen drives, equipped with e-contents to students.
• They have also distributed textbooks at children’s doorsteps to ensure inclusive learning in remote areas where internet connectivity and electricity are poor.
• Several states have also focussed on the mental well-being of the children e.g Delhi conducted happiness classes.
• MHRD has also launched the 'Manodarpan' initiative, which aims to provide psychosocial support to students, family members, and teachers for their mental health and well-being during the times of Covid-19.

Way Forward

• The report will serve the purpose of cross-learning, adapting, and adopting best practices across the country.
• While the education is moving towards blended learning through online and offline mode, it shall be the endeavor of all the stakeholders in the field of education to ensure that no student is left behind for want of affordability and accessibility of quality education.

Source: PIB

7) AIM-iCREST: NITI Aayog

• Recently, the Haryana government has employed aerial seeding techniques to improve green cover in the Aravalli area of the state.
• The project is being carried out on a pilot basis to regenerate the low vegetation density or denuded areas on inaccessible or difficult sites of Aravalli and Shivalik hills.
• AIM-iCREST is an Incubator Capabilities Enhancement program for a Robust Ecosystem focused on creating high performing Startups.
• It has been designed to act as growth support for AIM’s Atal and Established Incubators across the country.
• For the same, AIM has joined hands with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wadhwani Foundation - organizations that can lend credible support and expertise in the entrepreneurship and innovation space.
• The AIM’s incubators are set to be upscaled and provided requisite support to foster the incubation enterprise economy, which will help them to significantly enhance their performance.
• This will be complemented by providing training to entrepreneurs, through technology-driven processes and platforms.
• The focus will be on supporting start-up entrepreneurs in knowledge creation and dissemination as well as in developing robust and active networks.

AIM’s Atal and Established Incubators:

• Business incubators are institutions that support entrepreneurs in developing their businesses, especially in initial stages.
• Incubation is usually done by institutions that have experience in the business and technology world.
• Atal Incubation Centres:
• AIM intends to support the establishment of new incubation centers called Atal Incubation Centres (AICs) that would nurture innovative start-ups in their pursuit to become scalable and sustainable business enterprises.
• Established Incubation Centres:
• In recent years, academia, industry, investors, small and big entrepreneurs, government organizations, and non-governmental organizations have taken an initiative to set up incubation centers across the country.
• AIM envisages upgrading these Established Incubation Centres (EICs) to world-class standards.

Atal Innovation Mission

• AIM is the Government of India’s flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
• It’s objective is to develop new programs and policies for fostering innovation in different sectors of the economy, provide platform and collaboration opportunities for different stakeholders, create awareness and create an umbrella structure to oversee the innovation ecosystem of the country.
• Major Initiatives:
• Atal Tinkering Labs: Creating a problem-solving mindset across schools in India.
• Atal Incubation Centers: Fostering world-class startups and adding a new dimension to the incubator model.
• Atal New India Challenges: Fostering product innovations and aligning them to the needs of various sectors/ministries.
• Mentor India Campaign: A national mentor network in collaboration with the public sector, corporates, and institutions, to support all the initiatives of the mission.
• Atal Community Innovation Center: To stimulate community-centric innovation and ideas in the unserved /underserved regions of the country including Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
• Atal Research and Innovation for Small Enterprises (ARISE): To stimulate innovation and research in the MSME industry.

Source: PIB