Daily Current Affairs 16 September 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

 Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) The USA broke trade rules: WTO

• In 2018, the US increased import duties on products like Steel and Aluminium coming from China (mainly/only) which violated two principles of WTO. The first is "MFN" and the second is "Binding and enforceable commitments". This was because the US increased duties against China only and these duties were above the committed level. And at that time US cited the reason as its "National Security" is at stake and also "China was forcing US companies to transfer technology and intellectual properties to Chinese companies"
• But, as per todays news the US has lost the case. But the US can appeal against the "WTO's Appellate Body". But WTO appellate body has fewer members right now and is not meeting the Quorum (minimum requirement of members) and new members/judges appointment has been blocked by the US. And in such a situation (When WTO's appellate body is not able to function) the US doesn't need to obey the rulings of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body which has been reported in the news today.

The WTO has five most important principles of trade:

• Trade without discrimination
• Most Favoured Nation (MFN)   (A member country should have same import duties on a particular product coming from all other member countries); [this rule has an exception called "Security Clause" which says that a member country can take any action (against another country) if it considers necessary for the protection of its (national) security interests]
• National Treatment (A member country (say A) should not discriminate against the products of other member countries, once the product of other member countries have entered into the territory of the member country A)
• Free Trade (Every country should try to reduce import duties progressively with time. WTO does not force any particular duty. Different member countries can keep different duties as per their own level of development/competitiveness)
• Binding and Enforceable commitments (Once a member country has committed in the WTO that its import duty on any good is this much (say 40%)... then it cannot increase beyond that 
• Transparency (If there is any trade rules change, then the country should inform WTO and WTO can review laws of member countries)
• Single Undertaking (If a country becomes a member of WTO, then it needs to obey all the agreements and cannot selectively choose)
  

Source: Indian Express

2) Study on Cultivation of GM Crops

• Bt cotton is the only genetically modified (GM) crop that has been approved for commercial cultivation in 2002 by the Government of India. Long term studies were conducted by ICAR on the impact of Bt cotton which did not show any adverse effect on soil, microflora, and animal health. However, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests, in its report on ‘Genetically modified crops and its impact on the environment’, submitted to parliament on August 25, 2017, recommended that GM crops should be introduced in the country only after critical scientific evaluation of its benefit and safety, and also recommended the restructuring of the regulatory framework for an unbiased assessment of GM crops.
• In 2002 approval for the commercial release of Bt cotton hybrids/ varieties resistant to cotton bollworm was given.
• Bt Brinjal resistant to brinjal shoot fly developed by M/S Mahyco in collaboration with University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad; Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, and ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable Research, Varanasi was approved by GEAC in 2009 but due to 10 years moratorium imposed on GM crops by the Technical Expert Committee (TEC) appointed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, no further action on commercialization has been taken. Recently the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), MoEF&CC, Govt. of India has again allowed biosafety research field trials of two new transgenic varieties of indigenously developed Bt Brinjal in eight states during 2020-23 only after taking no-objection certificate (NOC) from states concerned and confirmation of the availability of isolated stretch of land for this purpose. These indigenous transgenic varieties of brinjal hybrids – namely Janak and  BSS-793, containing Bt Cry1Fa1 gene (Event 142) – have been developed by the National Institute for Plant Biotechnology, (NIPB, erstwhile National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology, New Delhi), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
• GM mustard Dhara Mustard Hybrid 11 (DMH 11) developed by Delhi University is pending for commercial release as GEAC has advised generating complete safety assessment data on environmental bio-safety, especially effects on beneficial insect species. No such request is pending in the matter.
• ICAR always promotes the science-based innovative technology including research on GM crops. ‘Network Project on Transgenic in Crops’ (presently Network Project on Functional Genomics and Genetic Modification in Crops) was launched by ICAR in 2005 for the development of GM crops in case of pigeonpea, chickpea, sorghum, potato, brinjal, tomato, and banana for different traits and the material is in different stages of development.
• The Government of India has very strict guidelines to test and evaluate the agronomic value of GM crops to protect the interests of the farmers. These guidelines address all concerns about the safety of GM seeds. The regulatory system for GM crops as operative in the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology (Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation; RCGM) and Ministry of Environment and Forests (Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee; GEAC) has guidelines to consider the GM crops on case-by-case basis towards testing.

Source: PIB

3) U.K. hands over 3 Indian antiquities 

• Antique bronze idols of Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana, which were reportedly stolen from Nagapattinam in the 1970s, are set to return home due to efforts taken by art enthusiasts, officers of Idol Wing CID, and the High Commission of India (HCI), London.
• In August 2019, the HCI, London, was informed by members of the India Pride Project that four antique idols — Rama, Sita, Lakshmana, and Hanuman, stolen from a temple built during the Vijayanagara period in Tamil Nadu and smuggled out of India, maybe in the U.K. It was conveyed to HCI that the idol of Rama was suspected to be in the possession of an individual collector in London. Once the idol was verified by comparison with relevant records, the matter was taken up with the Art and Antique Unit of the London Metropolitan Police as well as the Idol Wing of Tamil Nadu police
• The Idol Wing of Tamil Nadu police sent a report confirming that the theft took place in 1978 at Rajagopalasamy Temple in Anandamanglam, then in Mayuram taluk.
• The Art and Antiques Unit of the London Metropolitan Police, who investigated the matter based on information and documents provided to them, contacted the present owner of the statue and conveyed the Mission’s request to return the statue as it appeared, prima facie, to be a stolen idol from a temple in India. The art collector turned out to be a good faith purchaser, who had carried out due diligence checks including through a check of the Art Loss Register Certificates. The Met Police further found that the vendor involved was now deceased due to which there were no grounds to open an investigation in the U.K.

Source: The Hindu

4) Parliamentary Committee Report on Startups

Recently, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance tabled a report related to startups in Parliament. The Government of India has initiated a Startup India Scheme in 2016.

Recommendations:

• Indian start-ups need to reduce their dependence on China and the USA so that India becomes self-reliant by having several large domestic growth funds powered by domestic capital.
• E.g Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) Fund-of-Funds vehicle should be expanded and fully operationalized to play an investment role.
• A fund-of-funds also is known as a multi-manager investment—is a pooled investment fund that invests in other types of funds.
• Foreign development finance institutions may also be encouraged to participate with local asset management companies to set up fund-of-funds structures.
• The companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) should be allowed to invest in start-ups without being classified as Non-banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to expand capital sources for start-ups.
• Abo­lition of Long Term Capital Gains (LTCG) tax on Collective Investment Vehicles (CIVs) for at least the next two years to encourage investment in start-ups and to drive a sharp post-pandemic revival.
• At present, LTCG earned by foreign investors in private companies attracts taxation at a rate of 10%, in comparison to the domestic venture capital investments which are taxed at 20% (for LTCG) with an enhanced surcharge of 37%.
• After two years, the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) may be applied to CIVs so that revenue neutrality is maintained.
• A CIV is any entity that allows investors to pool their money and invest the pooled funds, rather than buying securities directly as individuals. It is usually managed by a fund management company that is paid a fee for doing so.
• Examples of CIV: angel funds, alternate investment funds, and investment LLP.

Startup India Scheme

• It is a flagship initiative of the Government of India, intended to catalyze startup culture and build a strong and inclusive ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship in India.
• Since the launch of the initiative in 2016, Startup India has rolled out several programs to support entrepreneurs, and transforming India into a country of job creators instead of job seekers.
• A startup is an enterprise that is initiated by its founders around an idea or a problem with a potential for significant business opportunity and impact.

Securities Transaction Tax

• It is a tax levied at the time of purchase and sale of securities listed on stock exchanges in India.
• Both purchasers and sellers both need to pay 0.1% of share value as STT.

Capital Gain Tax

• Any profit or gain that arises from the sale of a ‘capital asset’ is a capital gain. This gain or profit comes under the category of ‘income’.
• Land, building, house property, vehicles, patents, trademarks, leasehold rights, machinery, and jewelry are a few examples of capital assets.
• Hence, the capital gain tax will be required to be paid for that amount in the year in which the transfer of the capital asset takes place. This is called the capital gains tax, which can be both short-term or long-term.
• Long-term Capital Gains Tax: It is a levy on the profits from the sale of assets held for more than a year.
• Short-term Capital Gains Tax: It applies to assets held for a year or less and is taxed as ordinary income.

Small Industries Development Bank of India

• Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) was set up in 1990. It is a statutory body established under an Act of Parliament.
• It acts as the principal financial institution for promotion, financing, and development of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector as well as for coordination of functions of institutions engaged in similar activities.

Source: Indian Express

5) Living Planet Report: WWF

• According to the Living Planet Report, 2020 released by the World Wide Fund for Nature, the population of vertebrate species has largely declined in the past half-century.
• Vertebrates: Vertebrates are animals that have backbones or vertebral columns. They are also characterized by a muscular system consisting primarily of bilaterally paired masses and a central nervous system partly enclosed within the backbone.

World Wildlife Fund for Nature

• It is the world’s leading conservation organization and works in more than 100 countries.
• It was established in 1961 and is headquartered at Gland, Switzerland.
• Its mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth.
• WWF collaborates at every level with people around the world to develop and deliver innovative solutions that protect communities, wildlife, and the places in which they live.

Methodology

• The Report used the Living Planet Index to calculate the decline in vertebrate species.
• Living Planet Index (LPI): It is a measure of the state of the world’s biological diversity based on population trends of vertebrate species in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine habitats.
• It is released by the Institute of Zoology (Zoological Society of London)
• Founded in 1826, the Zoological Society of London is an international conservation charity working for wildlife conservation.
• LPI tracked almost 21,000 populations of more than 4,000 vertebrate species between 1970 and 2016.

Findings

• It shows an average 68% decline in global vertebrate species populations, between 1970 and 2016. In the Asia Pacific the decline stands at 45%.
• A 94% decline in the LPI for the tropical subregions of the Americas is the largest fall observed in any part of the world.
• Freshwater species populations have reduced by 84% on average since 1970.
• Freshwater species populations are being lost faster than terrestrial or marine species. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), almost 1/3rd of freshwater species are now threatened with extinction.
• Wildlife populations in freshwater habitats suffered a decline of 84%, equivalent to 4% per year, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Megafauna, or bigger species in terms of size, are more vulnerable because they were subjected to intense anthropogenic threats and overexploitation.
• For eg., Large fishes are also heavily impacted by dam construction that blocks their migratory routes to spawning and feeding grounds.
• Since 1970, our Ecological Footprint has exceeded the Earth’s rate of regeneration.
• Ecological Footprint measures the ecological assets that a given population requires to produce the natural resources it consumes (including plant-based food and fiber products, livestock and fish products, timber and other forest products, space for urban infrastructure) and to absorb its waste, especially carbon emissions.
• The human enterprise currently demands 1.56 times more than the amount that Earth can regenerate. It is like living off 1.56 Earths.

Threats to Biodiversity:

• Changes in Land and Sea Use, including Habitat Loss and Degradation: This refers to the modification of the environment where a species lives, by complete removal, fragmentation, or reduction in quality of key habitat.
• Species Overexploitation: Direct overexploitation refers to unsustainable hunting and poaching or harvesting. Indirect overexploitation occurs when non-target species are killed unintentionally.
• Pollution: Pollution can directly affect a species by making the environment unsuitable for its survival. It can also affect a species indirectly, by affecting food availability or reproductive performance.
• Invasive Species and Disease: Invasive species can compete with native species for space, food, and other resources, which can turn out to be a predator for native species, or spread diseases that were not previously present in the environment. Humans also transport new diseases from one area of the globe to another.
• Climate Change: As temperatures change, some species will need to adapt by shifting their range to track a suitable climate. The effects of climate change on species are often indirect. For eg, change in migratory patterns of birds.

Source: Down To Earth

6) Mekedatu Project

• The Karnataka government is likely to pressurize the Centre for approval of the construction of the Mekedatu Project on the Cauvery river.
• Mekedatu, meaning goat’s leap, is a deep gorge situated at the confluence of the rivers Cauvery and its tributary Arkavathi.
• Ontigondlu is the proposed reservoir site, situated at Ramanagara district in Karnataka about 100 km away from Bengaluru. It is the midst of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary.
• The Rs. 9,000 crore project aims to store and supply water for drinking purposes for the Bengaluru city. Around 400 megawatts (MW) of power are also proposed to be generated through the project.
• The project was first approved by the Karnataka state government in 2017.
• It received approval from the erstwhile Ministry of Water Resources for the detailed project report and is awaiting approval from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
• The approval from MoEFCC is crucial because 63% of the forest area of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary will be submerged.
• 5,051 hectares of forests would be submerged, including 3,181 hectares in the sanctuary and 1,870 hectares in the reserve forest.
• 4.75 thousand million cubic feet of water could be drawn from the reservoir to partially meet the drinking needs of Bengaluru.
• Tamil Nadu has approached the Supreme Court (SC) against the project even if Karnataka has held that it would not affect the flow of water to Tamil Nadu.
• In June 2020, during the Cauvery Water Management Authority’s meeting, Tamil Nadu reiterated its opposition to the project.

Reasons for Opposition by Tamil Nadu:

• Tamil Nadu is opposed to any project being proposed in the upper riparian unless it was approved by the Supreme Court.
• Karnataka has no right to construct any reservoir on an inter-state river without the consent of the lower riparian state i.e. Tamil Nadu in this case.
• The project is against the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) in which the SC held that no state can claim exclusive ownership or assert rights to deprive other states of the waters of inter-state rivers.
• The CWDT and the SC have found that the existing storage facilities available in the Cauvery basin were adequate for storing and distributing water so Karnataka’s proposal is ex-facie (on the face of it) untenable and should be rejected outright.
• It has also held that the reservoir is not just for drinking water alone, but to increase the extent of irrigation, which is in clear violation of the Cauvery Water Disputes Award.

Source: The Hindu

7) United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation

• The convention came into force on 12th September 2020.
• The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on 20th December 2018 and it was opened for signature on 7th August 2019 in Singapore.
• It is also known as the Singapore Convention on Mediation and also the first UN treaty to be named after Singapore.

Key Features of the Convention:

• Applicability: The Convention will apply to international commercial settlement agreements resulting from mediation.
• Non- applicability: It will not apply to international settlement agreements that are concluded in the course of judicial or arbitral proceedings and which are enforceable as a court judgment or arbitral award. It will also not apply to settlement agreements concluded for personal, family or household purposes by one of the parties (a consumer), as well as settlement agreements relating to family, inheritance or employment law.
• The courts of a contracting party will be expected to handle applications either to enforce an international settlement agreement which falls within the scope of the Convention or to allow a party to invoke the settlement agreement in order to prove that the matter has already been resolved, in accordance with its rules of procedure, and under the conditions laid down in the Convention.

Signatories:

• The Convention has 53 signatories, including India, China and the U.S.
• India approved the signing of the Convention in July 2019.

Benefits for India:

• Signing of the Convention will boost the confidence of the investors and shall provide a positive signal to foreign investors about India’s commitment to adhere to international practice on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
• Businesses in India and around the world will now have greater certainty in resolving cross-border disputes through mediation, as the Convention provides a more effective means for mediated outcomes to be enforced.

Source: The Hindu

8) NIMHANS develops new Indian Brain Templates, brain atlas

The neuroscientists from NIMHANS studied over 500 brain scans of Indian patients to develop five sets of Indian brain templates and a brain atlas for five age groups covering late childhood to late adulthood (six to 60 years).

Why this is significant?

• Currently, we are using Montreal Neurological Index (MNI) template. It is based on Caucasian brains and was made by averaging 152 healthy brain scans from just a small slice of the city’s population in North America. But Caucasian brains are different from Asian brains.
• But, India will now have a scale that will measure an Indian brain.

Benefits of Indian Brain Templates and atlas:

• They will provide more precise reference maps for areas of interest in individual patients with neurological disorders like strokes, brain tumours, and dementia.
• They will also help pool information more usefully in group studies of the human brain and psychological functions, aiding our understanding of psychiatric illnesses like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), autism, substance dependence, schizophrenia, and mood disorders.
• These new population- and age-specific Indian brain templates will allow more reliable tracking of brain development and ageing, similar to how paediatricians monitor a child’s height or weight, for example, using a growth chart.

Source: The Hindu

9) Enemy properties

Members of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister have asked the government to consider selling enemy properties valued at over₹1 lakh crore to take care of the current expenditure which will drive growth.

What are enemy properties?

• Properties that were left behind by the people who took citizenship of Pakistan and China.
• There are more than 9000 such properties left behind by Pakistani nationals and 126 by Chinese nationals.
• Of the total properties left behind by those who took Pakistani citizenship, 4,991 are located in Uttar Pradesh, the highest in the country. West Bengal has 2,735 such estates and Delhi 487.
• The highest number of properties left by Chinese nationals is in Meghalaya (57).West Bengal has 29 such properties and Assam seven.

Who oversees these properties?

• Under the Defence of India Rules framed under The Defence of India Act, 1962, the Government of India took over the properties and companies of those who took Pakistani nationality.
• These “enemy properties” were vested by the central government in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India. The same was done for property left behind by those who went to China after the 1962 Sino-Indian war.
• The Tashkent Declaration of January 10, 1966 included a clause that said India and Pakistan would discuss the return of the property and assets taken over by either side in connection with the conflict.
• However, the Government of Pakistan disposed of all such properties in their country in the year 1971 itself.

How did India deal with enemy property?

• The Enemy Property Act, enacted in 1968, provided for the continuous vesting of enemy property in the Custodian of Enemy Property for India. Some movable properties too, are categorised as enemy properties.

The Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2017:

The act amended The Enemy Property Act, 1968, and The Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971.

Salient features of the new act:

• Expanded the definition of the term enemy subject and enemy firm: To include
• The legal heir and successor of an enemy, whether a citizen of India or a citizen of a country which is not an enemy and
• The succeeding firm of an enemy firm, irrespective of the nationality of its members or partners.
• The enemy property continues to vest in the Custodian:
• Even if the enemy or enemy subject or enemy firm ceases to be an enemy due to death, extinction, winding up of business or change of nationality, or that the legal heir or successor is a citizen of India or a citizen of a country which is not an enemy.

Power to dispose these properties:

• The Custodian may dispose of enemy properties:
• With prior approval of the central government, the Custodian may dispose of enemy properties vested in him in accordance with the provisions of the Act, and the government may issue directions to the Custodian for this purpose.

Source: The Hindu