Daily Current Affairs 5 August 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Today Are

1)  H­-1B visa holders restricted from federal jobs

• President Donald Trump has signed an executive order preventing federal agencies from contracting or subcontracting foreign workers mainly those on H-­1B visas.
• The move comes over a month after the Trump administration on June 23 suspended the H­1B visas, along with other types of foreign work visas, until the end of 2020 to protect American workers in a crucial election year. The new restrictions took effect from June 24. 
• Mr. Trump’s order follows an announcement by the Federally-­owned Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) that it would outsource 20% of its technology jobs to companies based in foreign countries
• TVA’s action could cause more than 200 highly­skilled American tech workers in Tennessee to lose their jobs to low­wage, foreign workers hired on temporary work visas.
• Outsourcing hundreds of workers is especially detrimental in the middle of a pandemic, which has already cost millions of Americans their jobs, the White House said in a statement. 

H-1B Visa

• It is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ graduate-level foreign workers in specialty occupations. Specialty occupations require:
• Theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields such as IT, finance, accounting, architecture, engineering, mathematics, science, medicine, etc.
• Any professional level job that usually requires a bachelor’s degree or higher can come under the H-1B visa for specialty occupations.
• The US H1-B visa is designed to be used for staff in specialty occupations. H-1B has an option for green card applications.
• H-1B visa holders can bring their spouse and children under 21 years of age to the US under the H4 Visa category as dependents.
• An H4 Visa holder is allowed to remain in the US as long as the H-1B visa holder remains in legal status.
• While an H4 visa holder is not eligible to work in the US, they may attend school, obtain a driver's license, and open a bank account while in the US.

Source: The Hindu

2)  United Nation’s policy brief on the pandemic’s impact on education

• Almost 24 million children are at risk of not returning to school next year due to the economic fallout of COVID­-19, according to the United Nation’s policy brief on the pandemic’s impact on education. The educational financing gap is also likely to increase by one third
• More than 1.6 billion learners across the world have been affected by the disruption of the education system, but the pandemic has also served to exacerbate existing disparities, with vulnerable populations in low-income countries taking a harder and longer hit. For example, during the second quarter of 2020, 86% of children at the primary level have been effectively out of school in poor countries, compared to just 20% in highly developed countries.
• UNESCO estimates that 23.8 million additional children and youth [from preprimary to tertiary] may drop out or not have access to school next year due to the pandemic’s economic impact alone. The number of children not returning to their education after school closures are likely to be even greater
• Girls and young women are likely to be disproportionately affected as school closures make them more vulnerable to child marriage, early pregnancy, and gender-­based violence. 
• Even for those who do not drop out of school, learning losses could be severe, especially in the foundational years. “Simulations on developing countries participating in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) suggest that without remediation, a
• loss of learning by one­-third [equivalent to a three-month school closure] during Grade 3 might result in 72% of students falling so far behind that by Grade 10 they will have dropped out or will not be able to learn anything in school

Source: The Hindu

3) Sahakar Cooptube NCDC Channel

• Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar launched the Sahakar Cooptube NCDC Channel, a new initiative by National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).
• The initiatives are steps towards One Nation One Market with the objective of India to become a food factory of the world. The gamut of exhaustive reforms and measures are intended to strengthen all activities and services in agriculture, horticulture, and allied sectors through the creation and development of agriculture infrastructure, micro food enterprises, value chains, and logistics for fishery and animal husbandry, medicinal and herbal plants, beekeeping and Operation Green. Significant legislative amendments have been made to create a conducive environment for agriculture.
• A key strategy in the ecosystem is to facilitate the involvement of youth in cooperatives. The formation of new cooperatives is a prerequisite for bringing new life and dedication to the realm of the cooperative movement. The guidance videos in different languages covering 18 States would also strengthen and deepen the major initiatives of our Government to promote and form 10,000 FPOs. NCDC has a major role in the formation of FPOs in cooperative mode. More states would be added to the collection of guidance videos on NCDC Sahakar Cooptube Channel in due course of time.
• NCDC as an apex level statutory institution under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare has achieved tremendous success with cumulative financial assistance to cooperatives to the tune of Rs.1,54,000 crore. Beginning with meager disbursement of Rs.2.36 crores in 1963, NCDC disbursed around Rs.28,000 crore during 2019-20. NCDC has made unprecedented progress in the last six years. It has achieved 83% of the cumulative financial assistance calculated since 1963, during these last six years alone. 
• Cooperatives in India have come a long way and have proven their success in improving the condition of farmers and economic development. Largely as an association of small and marginal farmers and rural poor, the cooperatives have acquired a huge network of over 8.50 lakh organizations and 290 million members. They have substantially contributed in raising the income of their members and achieving rural prosperity. Cooperatives lend strength to farmers to minimize risks in the agriculture and allied sector and act as a shield against exploitation. 

Source: PIB

4) MoD signs tripartite MoU with IIT Kanpur and Deptt of ARPG to conduct a predictive analysis of public grievances

• A Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed today between Department of Defence (DoD) Ministry of Defence (MoD), Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG) and Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK)
• The MoU envisages IIT Kanpur to develop Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) Techniques to conduct an exploratory and predictive analysis of Public Grievances received on the web-based Centralized Public Grievances Redress & Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) pertaining to the MoD. The DARPG, the nodal department of Government of India in respect of policy initiatives on Public Grievances and custodian of data on web-based CPGRAMS portal will provide the data dump on the Public Grievances pertaining to MoD to IIT Kanpur to facilitate their analysis.
• The project is expected to help the MoD to identify the cause and nature of grievances and bring about systemic changes and policy interventions wherever required.

Source: PIB

5) Habeas Corpus Cases in Jammu & Kashmir

• After the abrogation of the special status (under Article 370 of the Constitution) of the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir in August 2019, the Jammu & Kashmir High Court was confronted with an unprecedented number (250 plus) of habeas corpus petitions.
• The habeas corpus petitions were filed to challenge the detentions under the J&K Public Safety Act (PSA), 1978.

Background:

• After the abrogation of the special status, thousands of people were detained from across the Kashmir valley under the preventive detention law. Of these, several hundred were detained under the PSA.
• The other preventive detention laws under which people were booked are the National Security Act (NSA) 1980 and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967.

Status of Habeas Corpus Petitions Against PSA:

• The records of cases dealt by the High Court show that 61% of the cases under the habeas corpus were dragged on over 3-4 hearings, which were later either dismissed or settled.
• However, in 17 cases, the court quashed the detention orders, due to lack of procedure followed by the government while invoking the PSA.

J&K Public Safety Act (PSA), 1978

• Definition: It is a kind of preventive detention law, under which a person is taken into custody to prevent him or her from acting in any manner that is prejudicial to the security of the state or the maintenance of public order.
• Period of Detention: Up to 2 years.
• Enforcement: Detention order is passed either by Divisional Commissioner or the District Magistrate.
• Challenging the Detention: The only way the administrative preventive detention order can be challenged is through a habeas corpus petition filed by relatives of the detained person.
• The High Court and the Supreme Court have jurisdiction to hear such petitions and pass a final order seeking quashing of the PSA.
• However, if the order is quashed, there is no bar on the government passing another detention order under the PSA and detaining the person again.
• There can be no prosecution or any legal proceeding against the official who has passed the order.

Habeas Corpus:

• It is a Latin term which literally means ‘to have the body of’. Under this the court issues an order to a person who has detained another person, to produce the body of the latter before it. The court then examines the cause and legality of the detention.
• This writ is a bulwark of individual liberty against arbitrary detention.
• The writ of habeas corpus can be issued against both public authorities as well as private individuals.
• The writ, on the other hand, is not issued where the:
• detention is lawful,
• the proceeding is for contempt of a legislature or a court,
• detention is by a competent court, and
• detention is outside the jurisdiction of the court.

Public Safety Act

• Preventive Detention Law: Under Jammu & Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978, a person is taken into custody to prevent him or her from acting in any manner that is prejudicial to the security of the state or the maintenance of public order.
• Period of Detention: Up to 2 years.
• Enforcement: Detention order is passed either by Divisional Commissioner or the District Magistrate.
• Challenging the Detention: The only way the administrative preventive detention order can be challenged is through a habeas corpus petition filed by relatives of the detained person.
• The High Court and the Supreme Court have jurisdiction to hear such petitions and pass a final order seeking quashing of the PSA.
• However, if the order is quashed, there is no bar on the government passing another detention order under the PSA and detaining the person again.
• There can be no prosecution or any legal proceeding against the official who has passed the order.

Source: Indian Express

6) The contraction in Manufacturing: PMI

According to the recent IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), India’s manufacturing sector activity contracted at a faster pace in July 2020 than in June 2020.

Manufacturing PMI:

• It stood at 46 in July 2020, down from 47.2 in June 2020.
• In PMI parlance, a score above 50 means growth, while a score below that denotes contraction.
• This is the fourth straight month of contraction for the Indian manufacturing sector. In April, the PMI had slipped into contraction mode, after remaining in growth territory for 32 consecutive months.
• The manufacturing PMI showed some recovery in May, and further in June 2020, but it once again slipped in July 2020.

Reason for Contraction:

• The demand conditions remained subdued with some businesses still closed amid lockdown extensions due to the emergence of new epicenters of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Export orders have also witnessed a decline.

Effect:

• The re-acceleration of declines in the manufacturing sector is undermining the trend towards economic stabilization seen over the past two months. The firms have reduced both staff numbers as well as purchasing activity.

Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)

• PMI is an indicator of business activity and the index is calculated separately for Manufacturing and Services. It is released every month by 'IHS Markit', which is a global information provider private firm.
• The PMI is derived from a series of qualitative questions. Executives from hundreds of firms are asked whether key indicators such as output, new orders, business expectations, and employment were stronger than the month before and are asked to rate them.  50 is the base level of the index and a figure above 50 denotes expansion in business activity and anything below 50 denotes contraction.
• The PMI is usually released at the start of the month for the previous month, much before most of the official data on industrial output, manufacturing and GDP growth becomes available. It is, therefore, considered a good leading indicator of economic activity. Economists consider the manufacturing growth measured by the PMI as a good indicator of industrial output, for which official statistics are released later. Central banks of many countries also use the index to help make decisions on interest rates.

Source: The Hindu

7) Time Capsules

• The Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has denied reports about placing of a time capsule under the ground at Ram Temple construction site in Ayodhya.
• The Time Capsule, also known as Kaal Patra, was supposed to contain the history of Ayodhya and Rama Janma Bhoomi Movement.

Key Points

• Time Capsule is a container of any size or shape, which accommodates documents, photos, and artifacts typical of the current era and is buried underground, for future generations to unearth.
• To ensure that the capsules do not decay they are built using special engineering techniques like steel or aluminum encasing, vacuuming, use of acid-free paper, etc.
• The time capsules mostly have a scheduled time for reopening and are supposed to be buried again after opening, with people of the future adding their own contributions to the time capsule.
• The International Time Capsule Society (ITCS), based in the USA and formed in 1990, is now defunct but continues estimating the number of time capsules in the world.
• As per its database, there are 10,000-15,000 times capsules worldwide.

Famous Time Capsules in the World

• Samuel Adams and Paul Revere Time Capsule: It is the oldest known time capsule from 1795 (USA).
• The “Century Safe": The world’s first planned time capsule was established at Philadelphia Centennial Exposition (USA) in 1876. It was opened and resealed in 1976.
• The Crypt of Civilization in Georgia: It was built around 1940 at Oglethorpe University in Brookhaven, Georgia, and is scheduled for opening in the year 8113 AD. It is a project to preserve all human knowledge and was the brainchild of Thornwell Jacobs, also known as the father of time capsules.
• The Voyager and Voyager II Spacecraft: They are currently circling on the edge of our solar system. These capsules were created by NASA to be seen by future generations.

Time Capsules In India

• Outside the Red Fort: This was placed underground in 1972 by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was dug out by the subsequent government in 1977. It raised controversy as it was said to glorify Gandhi Nehru's family in Indian History.
• At IIT Kanpur Campus: This time capsule was buried on 6th March 2010 containing details on IIT Kanpur in the form of documents, photographs, and films.
• At The Alexandra Girls’ English Institution, Mumbai: It was set up in the 19th century and is scheduled to be opened in 2062. It contains information on the school.
• At Jalandhar’s Lovely Public University: It was buried in January 2019 and contains 100 items that represent modern-day technology in India.

Significance

• Time Capsules are intended as a method of communication with future people.
• They are also supposed to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians in knowing about the past human civilization.

Criticism

• Most intentional time capsules are filled with a lopsided view of history. They are often politically motivated and glorify the people who planted them.
• They can not be regarded as facts and are not very reliable. The information in time capsules has to be verified with other sources of information.
• Many time capsules that have been unearthed were filled with junk telling little about the people of the time.

Source: Indian Express

8) Code on Social Security, 2019:

• The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour, in its report on Code on Social Security, 2019, has submitted its report to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
• The parliamentary committee, headed by senior BJD MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, had examined the code referred to it by the Lok Sabha last December.

Key recommendations:

• The time limit for payment of gratuity to an employee after termination of employment should be reduced from the current five years of continuous service to just one year.
• The provision of gratuity should be extended to all kinds of employees, including contract laborers, seasonal workers, piece-rate workers, fixed-term employees, and daily/monthly wage workers.
• “Inter-state migrant workers” should be mentioned as a separate category in the Code.
• A welfare fund should be created exclusively for them. The fund should be financed proportionately by the sending states, the receiving states, the contractors, the principal employers, and the registered migrant workers.
• The funds so created should exclusively be used for workers/employees not covered under other welfare funds.
• Create a central online portal and database of registered establishments as well as migrant workers, including building and other construction staff.
• Registration: It should be made mandatory for all establishments, including agricultural, non-agricultural, contract as well as self-employed workers to register under one body, instead of multiple organizations. This body “should remain responsible for the provision of social security for all types of workers in the country”.
• An enabling mechanism should be included in the code itself for portability of Building and Construction Workers Welfare Fund among states so money due to beneficiaries can be paid in any state irrespective of where the cess has been collected.

Background:

• The Code on Social Security, 2019 was introduced in Lok Sabha in December last year but several concerns were raised over some of its key provisions which led to the Bill being sent to the Standing Committee.
• The Code replaces nine laws related to social security and is focused to amend and consolidate the laws relating to social security of the employees’ and related issues.

Facts:

• The Building and Construction Workers Welfare Fund are raised by levying a cess of 1 percent of the construction cost.
• It is part of the Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Act, 1996, which regulates employment and working conditions of construction workers and also provides for their safety and welfare measures.

Source: The Hindu

9) Center should repeal ordinances: farmers

All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) has announced a “Corporates Leave Farming” campaign across the country on August 9 against the Centre’s recent ordinances on agriculture and farmer issues.

What’s the issue?

• In June 2020, the Central government introduced three ordinances to bring in far-reaching agricultural ‘reforms’ in the country. They are:
• The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020.
• The Farmers’ Produce Trade And Commerce (Promotion And Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020.
• The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020.
• But, activists have expressed disappointment saying that the reforms package will not solve the problems of farmers, instead will exacerbate them.

General concerns:

• These are anti-farmer and will only result in reduced crop prices for farmers and undermine seed security even further.
• Food security will be eroded as government intervention is eliminated.
• These ordinances promote corporate control of the Indian food and farming systems.
• They will also encourage hoarding and black marketing, in addition to the exploitation of farmers.

The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020:

• Key provision: It allows for regulating the supply and stock limit of certain specified agricultural produce under extraordinary circumstances such as extraordinary price rise and natural calamity of grave nature, etc.
• Issues:
• The price range fluctuation allowed in this ordinance is narrow (100% increase in the retail price of horticultural produce and 50% increase in the retail price of non-perishable agricultural foodstuffs).
• This stock limit regulation will not be applicable for value chain participants of any agricultural produce if their stock limit remains within their installed capacity.
• It will also not apply to exporters if they can show demand for export.

The Farmers’ Produce Trade And Commerce (Promotion And Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020:

• Key provision: It seeks to effectively bypass the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) markets by providing for the freedom to trade in any area outside of private and APMC designated market yards.
• Issues:
• This leads to a situation where local farmers do not find adequate demand for their produce at MSP in the local market.
• Since most farmers are small or marginal landowners, they do not have the wherewithal to transport their produce to large distances.
• Hence, they are forced to sell them at a lower price than the MSP in the local market itself.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020:

• Key provision: It seeks to create a legal framework for contract farming in India.
• There are two broader concerns here:
• First, one principle concern with contract farming has been regarding the negotiating power of the two parties involved. It seems likely that individual farmers might not find themselves equipped or powerful enough to negotiate with corporates or big-pocket sponsors to ensure a fair price for their produce.
• Second, the ordinance says that the quality parameters can be mutually decided by the two parties in the agreement. But the quality aspect will become crucial when a few corporates will try to usher in uniformity which might end up adversely impacting the already skewed agro-ecological diversity in the country.

Conclusion:

• The three ordinances will have far-reaching and varying impacts depending on the social, political, economic, and cultural contexts of the respective states.
• But such bold and unilateral moves by the Centre fail to incorporate and give due consideration to the immense diversity in the country, not just between the states in terms of land ownership, cropping patterns, historical functioning of agricultural markets, etc. but also within them.
• Therefore, it is feared that the three ordinances rather than helping farmers, might end up being a source of distress for millions of small and marginal farmers in the country as having been observed in the past in cases of demonetization and COVID-19 related lock-downs.

Source: The Hindu