Daily Current Affairs 12 August 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

 Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) AI­-based technologies to help tackle COVID­-19

• As a part of Israel­-India cooperation to fight the ongoing COVID­-19 pandemic, (AIIMS), Delhi has received state­of­the­art AI-­based technologies and high­end equipment from the Embassy of Israel
• The technologies include an
• AI video­oriented, voice­operated autonomous personal AI assistant robot, an app that can be installed on any mobile phone of the COVID­19 staff which makes the work of the hospital staff inside the COVID­19 departments much more effective and easier
• It also includes innovative products designed to give clinicians constant contact-free access to patient’s vitals like heart rate and the respiratory rate which improves patient safety with contact-free, continuous patient monitoring, a 12­hour disinfection product called CPD that stays active and continuous to protect the surface against new attacks of contamination.
• It also has a non­invasive remote­patient monitoring system which aids as a preliminary screening tool of respiratory indicators of suspected COVID­19 patients and recovering patients and AI­-based software for ultrasound use and designed specially to fight COVID­19

Other cooperation of Israel with India in Covid-19

• Recently, an Israeli team arrived in India with a multi-pronged mission, codenamed Operation Breathing Space to work with Indian authorities on the Covid-19 response.
• India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel’s defense ministry research and development team are working together to develop four different kinds of rapid testing kits for Covid-19 which can give the result within 30 seconds.
• The tests include an audio test, a breath test, thermal testing, and a polyamine test.
• In the audio test, a patient’s voice would be recorded and evaluated through artificial intelligence and machine learning.
• In the breath test, the patient will blow into a tube that will detect the virus using terra-hertz (high frequency) waves.
• Thermal testing will enable the identification of the virus in a saliva sample.
• Poly amino acids test seeks to isolate proteins related to Covid-19.
• The kits will be jointly developed after trials on Indian Covid-19 patients. The tests have already been tried on a small sample of Israeli patients.
• The Israeli team has brought robotic equipment, and wrist monitors that will help doctors and nurses monitor a patient without increasing risks of infection to themselves.
• The team has also brought 83 advanced respirators to help patients with severe symptoms.
• The success of rapid tests will help India’s overworked health-care professionals, who are experiencing fatigue. It will also help to address the public impatience over the Covid-19 test.
• The quicker test will help authorities to take quicker prevention measures, which will reduce the spread of the virus among people.

Source: The Hindu

2) KRISHI MEGH

• To protect the precious data of the government's premier research body Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched (on 11th Aug 2020) a data recovery center ‘KRISHI MEGH' (National Agricultural Research & Education System -Cloud Infrastructure and Services) set up in Hyderabad. Currently, the main data center of the ICAR is at the Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (IASRI) in Delhi. ICAR's current center is in a seismic zone and hence there is always a threat of losing the data. A data recovery center in a safe place will always be better to save our precious agriculture-related data.
• The data recovery center (Krishi Megh) has been set up at the National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM), Hyderabad. Krishi Megh will integrate the ICAR-Data Centre at ICAR-IASRI, New Delhi with the Disaster Recovery Centre at the ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad. Krishi Megh has been set up under the National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP), funded by both the Government of India and the World Bank. 
• [NAHEP was designed for strengthening the national agricultural education system in India with the overall objective to provide more relevant and high-quality education to the agricultural university students that are in tune with the New Education Policy 2020.]
• NAARM, Hyderabad has been chosen for Krishi Megh as it lies in a different seismic zone with regard to the Data Centre at ICAR-IASRI in New Delhi. Hyderabad is also suitable as skilled IT manpower is available along with other suitable climatic conditions such as low humidity level which is controllable in the data center environment.

Important features of KRISHI MEGH

• The data recovery center (Krishi Megh) at NAARM is synchronized with the data center at IASRI. It has been built to mitigate the risk, enhance the quality, availability, and accessibility of e-governance, research, extension, and education in the field of agriculture in India.
• Krishi Megh is equipped with the latest artificial intelligence and deep learning software for building and deploying deep learning-based applications through image analysis, disease identification in livestock, etc.
• Krishi Megh is a new chapter in 'Digital India', enabling the farmers, researchers, students, and policymakers to be more equipped with the updated and latest information regarding agriculture and research.
• Krishi Megh is a step forward towards the digital agriculture of 'New India'.

Source: PIB

3) Loya Jirga: Grand Assembly of Afghanistan

• Indian and Afghan officials in Delhi and Kabul discussed the outcome of the Loya Jirga, or grand assembly, in Afghanistan that advised the release of 400 Taliban militants convicted of serious crimes.
• According to officials, the two sides discussed the likelihood of intra­Afghan negotiations in Doha, Qatar, which have been put off to next week, as well as the hopes for a permanent ceasefire, in a briefing two days after the Jirga’s decision. The intra­Afghan talks could now
• take place on August 16­17 in Doha, once President Ghani’s government releases all the men, bringing the total number of Taliban fighters released to about 5,500. 
• The officials said the release was conditional, and contingent on a reduction in the level of violence by the Taliban as well as a “humanitarian ceasefire” for civilians to be transported during the coronavirus pandemic without fear of the Taliban.

Loya Jirga

• It is a mass national gathering that brings together representatives from the various ethnic, religious, and tribal communities in Afghanistan.
• It is a highly respected centuries-old consultative body that has been convened at times of national crisis or to settle national issues.
• According to the Afghan Constitution, a Loya Jirga is considered the highest expression of the Afghan people. It is not an official decision-making body and its decisions are not legally binding.
• However, the Loya Jirga's decision is seen as final, with the president and parliament expected to respect the ruling.

Background:

• The prisoner exchanges are part of the agreements signed by the USA and Taliban and the USA and Afghanistan government in February 2020.
• However, these were delayed for several months, and the intra-Afghan talks that were scheduled on 10th March had to be put off. Few argue that the current Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani is deliberately delaying peace talks with the Taliban to retain power because it is speculated that negotiations could seek a neutral interim government that may cost Mr.Ghani his post.
• The USA announced to withdraw its forces and reduced its strength to about 8000, after pushing for the Afghanistan government to release the Taliban prisoners, and for the Taliban to release Afghan soldiers and civilians in its custody.
• Over the past few weeks, the USA government has been keen to speed up the Taliban-Afghan reconciliation process, with an eye on the November 2020 Presidential elections.

India’s Interests in Afghanistan:

• India has a major stake in the stability of Afghanistan. India has invested considerable resources in Afghanistan's development. E.g. the Afghan Parliament, the Zaranj-Delaram Highway, Afghanistan-India Friendship Dam (Salma Dam) among others.
• India favors the continuation of the current Afghanistan government in power, which it considers a strategic asset vis-à-vis Pakistan.
• An increased political and military role for the Taliban and the expansion of its territorial control should be of great concern to India since the Taliban is widely believed to be a protégé of Pakistan.
• Afghanistan is the gateway to Central Asia.
• Withdrawal of US troops could result in the breeding of the fertile ground for various anti-India terrorist outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba or Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Source: The Hindu

4) Daughters have an equal right to inherit property, says SC

• The Supreme Court held that daughters have an equal birthright with sons to inherit joint Hindu family property. 
• The court decided that the amended Hindu Succession Act, which gives daughters equal rights to ancestral property, will have a retrospective effect
• Substituted Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 confers the status of ‘coparcener’ to a daughter born before or after the amendment in the same manner as a son. Coparcener is a person who has a birthright to parental property.
• Since the right to coparcenary of a daughter is by birth, it is not necessary that the father should be alive as on September 9, 2005. The court has thus overruled an earlier 2015 decision.
• The court, in its 121-­page judgment, said the statutory fiction of partition created by proviso to Section 6 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 as originally enacted did not bring about the actual partition or disruption of the coparcenary.
• It also clarified that an unregistered oral partition, without any contemporaneous public document, cannot be accepted as the statutory recognized mode of partition.

Source: The Hindu

5) Student Entrepreneurship Programme 2.0

• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, in collaboration with Dell Technologies today launched Student Entrepreneurship Programme 2.0 (SEP 2.0) for young innovators of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs).
• SEP 2.0 will allow student innovators to work closely with Dell volunteers. They will receive mentor support; prototyping and testing support; end-user feedback; intellectual property registration and patenting of ideas, processes, and products; manufacturing support; as well as the launch support of the product in the market.
• SEP 1.0 began in January 2019. Through a 10-month-long rigorous program, the top 6 teams of ATL Marathon—a nationwide contest where students identify community challenges and create grassroots innovations and solutions within their ATLs—got a chance to transform their innovative prototypes into fully functioning products, which are now available in the market.
• As many as 1500 innovations were submitted in the last season of the ATL Marathon. After two rigorous rounds, 50 teams were selected for the Student Innovator Programme. More than 75% of the winning teams were from tier-2 cities and/or rural areas, and more than 60% from government schools. Around 46% of the winning team students were girls. The teams were then mentored by Atal Incubation Centres for months via the Student Innovator Programme 2.0. Consequently, the top eight teams were felicitated by President of India Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhawan on 14 November 2019. The top 8 will now take their prototypes to the product through SEP 2.0.

Source: PIB

6) DAC approves procurement proposals worth Rs 8,722.38 crore, including 106 Basic Trainer Aircraft for IAF

• To strengthen the Armed Forces by relying on indigenous capability to take forward the initiative on ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) in its meeting held under the Chairmanship of Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh accorded approval for capital acquisitions of various platforms and equipment required by the Indian Armed Forces here today. Proposals for an approximate cost of Rs 8,722.38 crore were approved.
• With Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) having successfully developed Basic Trainer Aircraft (HTT-40) Prototypes and certification process underway, the DAC approved procurement of 106 Basic Trainer Aircraft from HAL to address the basic training requirements of the Indian Air Force (IAF). Post Certification 70 Basic Trainer Aircraft will be initially procured from HAL and balance 36 after the operationalization of the HTT-40 fleet in IAF.
• To improve the firepower of the Indian Navy, the DAC approved the procurement of an upgraded version of Super Rapid Gun Mount (SRGM) which is fitted as the main gun on board Navy and Indian Coast Guard (ICG) warships from Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL). The upgraded version of SRGM has enhanced capability to perform against fast maneuvering targets like missiles and Fast Attack Crafts and increase the maximum engagement range.
• In view of the availability of requisite capability for indigenous development of the ammunition, both in terms of ‘Manufacturing’ and ‘Technology’, the DAC approved procurement of 125 mm APFSDS (Armour Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot) ammunition for Indian Army as a ‘Design and Development Case’. The ammunition being procured will have a 70 percent indigenous content.
• The DAC also gave approvals that are likely to speed up the procurement of AK 203 and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle upgrades.

Source: PIB

7) Blockchain Technology in Voting

• Election Commission (EC) officials are exploring the potential of using blockchain technology to enable remote voting. The aim is to overcome the geographical hurdles in voting.
• Remote voting may take place in person somewhere other than an assigned polling station or at another time, or votes may be sent by post or cast by an appointed proxy.
• There have been demands from various political parties that the EC should ensure that migrant workers who miss out on voting, as they cannot afford going home during elections to exercise their franchise, should be allowed to vote for their constituency from the city they are working in.

Blockchain Technology:

• Blockchain is a system in which the database of recordings (a ‘chain’) appears on multiple computers at the same time even as it is updated with any new digital information (‘a block’).
• It offers a singular combination of permanent and tamper-evident record-keeping, real-time transaction transparency and audibility.
• The initial and primary use of blockchain technology was for monitoring cryptocurrency (e.g. bitcoin) transactions. However, other users and applications have emerged in the last few years.
• The government of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have put the land records on the blockchain technology owing to its easy traceability feature.

Blockchain Technology in Voting:

• Growing concern over election security, voter registration integrity, poll accessibility, and voter turnout has led governments to consider blockchain-based voting platforms as a means to increase faith and participation in essential democratic processes.
• Electronic voting has been used in varying forms since the 1970s with fundamental benefits over paper-based systems such as increased efficiency and reduced errors. At present, the feasibility of blockchain is being explored for effective e-voting.
• Even the EC had used a one-way electronic system for service electors (consisting of personnel belonging to the armed forces, central paramilitary forces, and central government officers deployed at Indian missions abroad) i.e. Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) in 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.
• Blockchain’s decentralized, transparent, immutable, and encrypted qualities could potentially help minimize election tampering and maximize poll accessibility.

Possible Working:

• A blockchain remote voting process would involve voter identification and authorization using a multi-layered IT-enabled system (with the help of biometrics and web cameras) at the venue.
• After a voter's identity is established by the system, a blockchain-enabled personalized e-ballot paper (Smart Contract) will be generated.
• When the vote is cast (Smart Contract executed), the ballot would be securely encrypted and a blockchain hashtag (#) will be generated. This hashtag notification would be sent to various stakeholders i.e. the candidates and political parties.

Limitations:

• Any new technology systems, including those based on blockchain technologies, are vulnerable to cyber-attacks and other security vulnerabilities.
• These could cause vote manipulation, paper trail erasure, or electoral chaos.
• Furthermore, a voter verification system that uses biometric software, such as facial recognition, could lead to false positives or negatives in voter identification, thus facilitating a fraud or disenfranchising citizens.
• Blockchain-based voting systems may also entail privacy risks and concerns.

Way Forward

• India is primed to lead globally on how it transitions to next-generation voting systems. However, pilot examples from the 2018 US midterm elections underline that there needs to be a bridge between security concerns and technological innovation. Thus, such a service should be provided by an extremely vetted technology provider and system.
• EC could try blockchain-based voting first as a mock exercise in some locations on a small scale and keep having stress tests to ensure it is durable. Then it can go onto the next level of having mock elections where people can take part using EVMs for their real vote and a mock vote.

Source: Indian Express

8) Strong Balance of Payments

• According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India’s Balance of Payments (BoP) in 2020-21 is going to be very strong.

Strong BoP: 

• The BoP is going to be strong on the back of significant improvement in exports and a fall in imports.
• The exports in July 2020 is at about 91% export level of July 2019 figures.
• Imports are still at about 70-71% level as of July 2019.

Trade Surplus in June 2020: 

• India’s trade has turned surplus for the first time in 18 years as imports dropped by 47.59% in June 2020 as compared to June 2019.
• The country posted a trade surplus of USD 0.79 billion in June 2020.

Domestic Manufacturing Being Boosted: 

• The government is taking steps to support and promote domestic manufacturing and industry.
• It has increased curbs on imports of products and parts, especially from China, as part of its ‘Atmanirbhar' Initiative.
• The government also reviewed all Free-Trade Agreements (FTA) done between 2009 and 2011 and found most of them to be asymmetrical.
• FTAs done earlier have permitted foreign goods to come easily into the country. But Indian goods have not been allowed reciprocal entry.
• E.g. European countries have opposed technical standards imposed by India on import of tires, even as they have restricted the export of tires from India.
• Change in Mode of Manufacturing: The government has also asked firms investing in the country to stop having an “assembly workshop” approach that has typically characterized Indian manufacturing.

Balance of Payment

• Balance of Payment (BoP) of a country can be defined as a systematic statement of all economic transactions of a country with the rest of the world during a specific period usually one year.
• It indicates whether the country has a surplus or a deficit on trade.
• When exports exceed imports, there is a trade surplus and when imports exceed exports there is a trade deficit.
• Reveals the financial and economic status of a country.
• Can be used as an indicator to determine whether the country’s currency value is appreciating or depreciating.
• Helps the Government to decide on fiscal and trade policies.
• Provides important information to analyze and understand the economic dealings of a country with other countries.
• For preparing BoP accounts, economic transactions between a country and the rest of the world are grouped under - Current account, Capital account, and Errors, and Omissions. It also shows changes in Foreign Exchange Reserves.
• Current Account: It shows export and import of visible (also called merchandise or goods - represent trade balance) and invisible (also called non-merchandise).
• Invisibles include services, transfers, and income.
• Capital Account: It shows a capital expenditure and income for a country.
• It gives a summary of the net flow of both private and public investment into an economy.
• External Commercial Borrowing (ECB), Foreign Direct Investment, Foreign Portfolio Investment, etc form a part of the capital account.
• Errors and Omissions: Sometimes the balance of payment does not balance. This imbalance is shown in the BoP as errors and omissions. It reflects the country’s inability to record all international transactions accurately.
• Changes in Foreign Exchange Reserves: Movements in the reserves comprise changes in the foreign currency assets held by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and also in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) balances.
• Overall the BoP account can be a surplus or a deficit. If there is a deficit then it can be bridged by taking money from the Foreign Exchange (Forex) Account.
• If the reserves in the forex account are falling short then this scenario is referred to as the BoP crisis.

Source: The Hindu

9) K.V. Kamath Committee on Restructuring of Loans

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up a committee headed by K.V. Kamath on the restructuring of loans impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Objective: 

• The Committee is tasked to recommend parameters for a one-time restructuring of corporate loans.
• The Committee will formulate sector-specific resolution plans for all accounts with total loan exposure of Rs.1,500 crore and above.

Deadline: 

• It will submit its recommendations to RBI in 30 days.

Background: 

• In the recent Monetary Policy Report, RBI has allowed banks to restructure loans to reduce the rising stress on incomes and balance sheets of large corporates, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as well as individuals.

Reasons: 

• A large number of firms that otherwise maintain a good track record are facing the challenge as their debt burden is becoming disproportionate, relative to their cash flow generation abilities.
• This can potentially impact their long-term viability and pose significant financial stability risks if it becomes widespread. It may also lead to an increase in Non-Performing Assets.

Eligibility:

• Only those borrowers will be eligible for restructuring whose accounts were classified as standard and not in default for more than 30 days with any lending institution as on 1st March 2020.
• All other accounts will be considered for restructuring under the Prudential Framework issued by the RBI in 2019, or the relevant instructions as applicable to specific categories of lending institutions where the prudential framework is not applicable.
• The restructuring efforts may or may not include a moratorium on installment repayments. RBI has left the decision of moratorium on banks, with an eye on averting such loans from slipping into non-performing assets.

Source: The Hindu

10) Sunspots

• A massive Sunspot group ‘AR2770’, which was detected recently, has emitted minor space flares.
• These flares have not caused any major impact on the Earth. However, these have led to minor waves of ionization to ripple through the Earth’s upper atmosphere.

Sunspots:

• Sunspots (some as large as 50,000 km in diameter) are areas that appear dark on the surface of the Sun (photosphere). They appear dark because they are cooler than other parts of the Sun’s surface.
• However, the temperature of a sunspot is still very hot —around 6,500 degrees Fahrenheit.
• The photosphere is a visible surface of the Sun, from which is emitted most of the Sun’s light that reaches Earth directly.
• They are relatively cool because they form at areas where magnetic fields are particularly strong. These magnetic fields are so strong that they keep some of the heat within the Sun from reaching the surface.
• The magnetic field in such areas is about 2,500 times stronger than Earth’s.
• They typically consist of a dark region called the ‘umbra’, which is surrounded by a lighter region called the ‘penumbra’.
• In every solar cycle, the number of Sunspots increases and decreases.
• The current solar cycle, which began in 2008, is in its ‘solar minimum’ phase when the number of Sunspots and solar flares is at a routine low.

Solar Flares:

• The magnetic field lines near sunspots often tangle, cross, and reorganize. This can cause a sudden explosion of energy called a solar flare.
• The solar flare explosion’s energy can be equivalent to a trillion ‘Little boy’ atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
• Solar flares release a lot of radiation into space. Solar flares, when powerful enough, can disrupt satellite and radio transmission on the Earth, and more severe ones can cause ‘geomagnetic storms’ that can damage transformers in power grids.
• A geomagnetic storm is a major disturbance of Earth’s magnetosphere that occurs when there is a very efficient exchange of energy from the solar wind into the space surrounding Earth.
• The magnetosphere is a region around the Earth dominated by the Earth’s magnetic field.
• It protects the Earth from solar and cosmic radiation as well as erosion of the atmosphere by the solar wind - the constant flow of charged particles streaming off the Sun.
• Solar flares are sometimes accompanied by a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME).
• CMEs are huge bubbles of radiation and particles from the Sun’s Corona (outermost region of the Sun’s atmosphere). They explode into space at very high speed when the Sun’s magnetic field lines suddenly reorganize.
• They can trigger intense light in the sky on Earth, called auroras.
• Some of the energy and small particles travel down the magnetic field lines at the north and south poles into Earth’s atmosphere.
• There, the particles interact with gases in the atmosphere resulting in beautiful displays of light in the sky. Oxygen gives off the green and red light. Nitrogen glows blue and purple.
• The aurora in Earth’s northern atmosphere is called an aurora borealis or northern lights. Its southern counterpart is called an aurora australis or the southern lights.

Solar Cycle

• The Sun is a huge ball of electrically-charged hot gas. This charged gas moves, generating a powerful magnetic field. The Sun's magnetic field goes through a cycle, called the solar cycle.
• Every 11 years or so, the Sun's magnetic field completely flips. This means that the Sun's north and south poles switch places. Then it takes about another 11 years for the Sun’s north and south poles to flip back again.
• The solar cycle affects activity on the surface of the Sun, such as sunspots which are caused by the Sun's magnetic fields. As the magnetic fields change, so does the amount of activity on the Sun's surface.
• One way to track the solar cycle is by counting the number of sunspots. The beginning of a solar cycle is a solar minimum, or when the Sun has the least sunspots. Over time, solar activity—and the number of sunspots—increases.
• The middle of the solar cycle is the solar maximum, or when the Sun has the most sunspots. As the cycle ends, it fades back to the solar minimum and then a new cycle begins.

Source: Indian Express