Daily Current Affairs 9 October 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGC)

ECLG scheme is a loan facility for which a 100% guarantee would be provided by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) to Banks/NBFCs/Financial Institutions for lending to MSMEs.
It will be extended in the form of additional working capital loan or term loan facility to MSMEs/Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana borrowers/Self-employed/ Professions who have taken loans for business purposes.
This facility will be available to those who have already borrowed (till 29th Feb 2020) but have not been able to repay and their outstanding (yet to be paid) loan is less than Rs. 50 crore and their Turnover (annual sales) are less than 250 crores. The maximum the businessmen can borrow is up to 20% of the outstanding loan. (For example, if some business had borrowed Rs. 60 crore and the amount that is yet to be repaid is Rs. 40 crores then they can borrow Rs. 8 crores (20% of Rs. 40 crores). The scheme will apply from May 23rd, 2020 to 31st Oct 2020 or until Rs. 3 lakh crore has been sanctioned.
The scheme is a specific response to the unprecedented crisis resulting from Covid-19, which has impacted the small business the most and thereby enabling MSMEs to meet their operational liabilities and restart their business. The main objective of the scheme is to provide an incentive to Banks/NBFCs/FIs to increase access to and enable the availability of additional funding facilities to MSME/business borrowers.
The total loan that will be given through this scheme by Banks/NBFCs/FIs would be up to Rs. 3 lakh crore. The government will pay Rs. 41,600 crore to NCGTC to provide guarantee on loans worth maximum Rs. 3 lakh crore (as all the loans will not be the default, so Rs. 41,600 crores may be sufficient to provide a guarantee for Rs. 3 lakh crore loan). NCGTC will not charge anything from lending institutions to provide a guarantee.
It is a pre-approved loan (you will be asked to take a loan and if u don’t want you can opt-out) and hence no processing charges and no collateral will be required from the borrowers. It is a 100% credit guarantee scheme which means the total amount of loans given under the scheme will be guaranteed by NCGTC.
The interest rate charged by banks/NBFCs/FIs will be capped under the scheme.
National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) is a company registered under Company’s Act 2013 under which there are various Trusts which manage guarantee funds. NCGTC is a Govt company under the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.

Few Terms:

Term Loan: A loan that is repaid in regular payments over a set period. It's basically a long-term loan that can last between one year to 10 years or maybe more than that.
Working Capital Loan: A loan that is taken to finance a company's day to day operations. These loans are not used to buy long-term assets or investments.

2) Contraction in GDP of India in 2020-21: World Bank

Recently, the World Bank released its South Asia Economic Focus report which estimated that India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) can contract by 9.6% in 2020-21.
This estimate is way below the earlier forecast of 3.2% contraction, made in June.

Contraction of Indian Economy in 2020-21

The contraction is due to the impact of the national lockdown against the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the income shock experienced by households and small urban service firms.
The manufacturing and exporting industries are likely to be depressed, and the construction sector is also likely to experience a protracted slowdown.
This is due to a limited pipeline of public sector infrastructure projects and reliance on these industries on migrant workers who have not yet returned to cities where they worked.
Significant disruptions to jobs are likely to boost the poverty rate, with 2020 rates back to levels in 2016.
The biennial Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report was recently released by the World Bank which stated that Covid-19 can add around 27-40 million new poor in Sub-Saharan Africa and around 49-57 million in the South Asia region, causing over 1.4% of the world’s population to fall into extreme poverty.
The demand slowdown could lead to rising loan non-repayment and risk aversion impacting the financial markets.
Other concerns include health care system capacity constraints, rising food prices, sharp drops in earnings of informal workers, impact on the MSMEs, etc.

South Asian Scenario:

The entire South Asia region may face its worst-ever recession.
The regional GDP is estimated to contract by 7.7% in 2020, which stayed above 6% annually in the past five years.
This recession will be different from previous ones as earlier downturns were mainly due to falling investment and exports but this pandemic-induced recession is due to a decline in private consumption.
Private consumption, which has been traditionally the backbone of demand in South Asia and a core indicator of economic welfare, will decline by more than 10%. This will spike poverty rates.
A decline in remittances is also expected to accelerate the loss of livelihoods for the poorest in some countries.
Other South Asian Countries: Countries like the Maldives, Sri Lanka are going to see a contraction in their economies while Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan will witness slow growth in 2020-21.
The collapse of South Asian economies during Covid-19 has been the worst of all for small businesses and informal workers who suffer sudden job losses and vanishing wages.

The rebound of Economy in 2021-22

India’s growth is estimated to rebound to 5.4% in 2021-22.
However, this will be reflecting base effects and are based on the assumption that Covid-related restrictions will be completely lifted by 2022.
Base Effect: It is the distortion in a monthly inflation figure that results from abnormally high or low levels of inflation in the year-ago month.
South Asia’s growth is projected to rebound to 4.5% in 2021.
However, due to population growth, per-capita income in the region will remain 6% below 2019 estimates.
The expected rebound will not offset the lasting economic damage caused by the pandemic.
However, the pandemic could spur innovations that improve South Asia’s future participation in global value chains.
The Supply Chain Resilience Initiative is a step in this direction that would reduce the dependence on imports from a handful of countries.
The comparative advantage that South Asia and India have in tech services and niche tourism will likely be in higher demand as the global economy becomes more digital.

Other Related News

India’s eight-core industrial sectors contracted by 8.5% in August 2020 compared to August 2019, marking the sixth month in a row of shrinking output.
According to the recent National Statistical Office (NSO) data, India’s GDP growth contracted by 23.9% in the first (April-June) quarter of 2020 compared to the same period (April-June) in 2019.

Way Forward

The World Bank urged governments to design universal social protection as well as policies that support greater productivity, skills development, and human capital.
Amid a sudden and steep economic impact from the pandemic, South Asian governments proactively stabilized the economy through monetary easing, fiscal stimulus, and supportive financial regulation, but the situation is fragile. The governments need to address the deep-seated vulnerabilities of their informal sectors through smart policies and allocate their scarce resources wisely.

Source: Indian Express

3) Arctic Amplification

A team of scientists has identified iodic acid (HIO3) as a novel driver of new aerosol particle formation in the Arctic which is responsible for Arctic Amplification or Arctic Warming. The presence of Iodic acid in the region had not been observed previously.
These aerosol particles influence the formation of clouds. As these clouds reflect solar radiation (known as Aerosol Radiative Forcing) but also retain heat on the Earth's surface, they have an influence on the warming of the Arctic.

About:

Over the past 30 years, the Arctic has warmed at roughly twice the rate as the entire globe, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification.
This means that global warming and climate change are impacting the Arctic more than the rest of the world.
Global temperatures from 2000–2009 were on average about 0.6°C higher than they were from 1951–1980. The Arctic, however, was about 2°C warmer.
Scientists first started to see evidence of changes in the Arctic climate in the 1980s. Since then, the changes have become much more pronounced.

Reasons:

Change in Albedo:

Albedo is a measure of how much light that hits a surface is reflected without being absorbed.
When bright and reflective ice (with more albedo) melts, it gives way to a darker ocean (lowering albedo); this amplifies the warming trend because the ocean surface absorbs more heat from the Sun than the surface of snow and ice.

Changing Ocean currents:

Ocean currents normally bring in warmer water from the Pacific, and colder water exits out of the Arctic into the Atlantic.
But those currents may be changing because more melting ice is injecting the Arctic Ocean with freshwater. The missing ice also exposes the surface waters to more wind. This mixes up colder freshwater at the surface and warmer saltwater below, raising surface temperatures and further melting ice.

Changing Weather

Ocean currents drive the powerful polar jet stream, which moves hot and cold air masses around the Northern Hemisphere. This is a product of the temperature differences between the Arctic and the tropics.
But as the Arctic warms, the jet stream now undulates wildly north and south. This has been injecting the Arctic with warm air.
Thunderstorms are also much more likely to occur in the tropics than the higher latitudes. The storms transport heat from the surface to higher levels of the atmosphere, where global wind patterns sweep it toward higher latitudes.
The abundance of thunderstorms in the tropics creates a near-constant flow of heat away from the tropics towards the Arctic

Impact in the Arctic:

The floating sea ice cover of the Arctic Ocean is shrinking, especially during summer.
Snow cover over land in the Arctic has decreased, notably in spring.
Also, frozen ground in the Arctic, known as permafrost, is warming and in many areas thawing.

Comparison with Antarctica:

There is no Antarctic amplification. Antarctic warming has been similar to the global average, although some parts are warming much faster.
Reason: Antarctica is surrounded by the vast Southern Ocean, which is soaking up much of the atmosphere’s excess heat.

Effects Worldwide:

Higher temperatures will cause a Sea-Level Rise globally that in turn has impacts like the destruction of ecosystems, displacement, loss of life and property, etc.
Arctic permafrost thaw is also releasing the potent greenhouse gas methane causing profound global warming effects.
Arctic wildfire, called Zombie Fire intensity is also increasing each year as thawing ground dries out.

Other Related Information:

The Arctic Council is the leading intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation, coordination, and interaction among the Arctic States, Arctic indigenous communities, and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic issues, in particular on issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic.
Recently, the Indian Prime Minister at Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), mentioned India’s willingness to play a significant role in the Arctic Council.

Way Forward

The only way to deal with Arctic amplification is by halting global warming as a whole. The Paris Agreement provides a clear vision of limiting global warming. Cutting fossil fuel emissions, conservation of forests and afforestation and carbon sequestration are some of the ways to bring down the global temperature levels.

4) Fluoride & Iron Removal technology of CMERI

The Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) has transferred its High Flow Rate Fluoride & Iron Removal technology to Capricans Aqua Private Limited, West Bengal.

Technology:

It is a Community Level Water Purification System which has a Flow-Rate capacity of 10,000 Ltr/hr.
It uses commonly available raw materials such as sand, gravel, and adsorbent materials.
It comprises a three-stage purification process that purifies water within permissible limits (1.5 parts per million (ppm) & 0.3 parts per million for Fluoride and Iron respectively).
The technology uses a combination of Oxidation, gravity settling (settling down of heavier impurities under gravity), and the Chemisorption process in an Affordable Package.
Chemisorption is a kind of adsorption which involves a chemical reaction between the surface and the adsorbate. New chemical bonds are generated at the adsorbent surface.
The integrated backwashing technology will help in improving the shelf-life of the filtration media in a resource rationalized manner.
Backwashing refers to pumping water backward through the filter media, for the preventive maintenance so that the filter media can be reused.

Significance:

The number of Fluoride affected individuals are continuously increasing in a contaminated habitat in the last 50 years.
This has been happening in consonance with the disproportional depletion of the Water Table, which has led to the multiplication of the level of concentration of Fluoride in the particular region.
The deployment of this Community Level system at affected places can help to turn the tide against the menace of Iron and Fluorosis across the Nation.
Cost-Effective solution for serving the most vulnerable sections of the Nation.
Besides, the technology is also a major thrust towards the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign.
The proliferation of this technology will also help in catalyzing Employment Generation opportunities.

Iron in water:

Iron is the most common contaminant of drinking water, followed by salinity, arsenic, fluoride, and heavy metal.
Rajasthan had the highest number of rural habitations affected by contamination overall, at 16,833 in 2019.
Combined arsenic and iron pollution affect West Bengal and Assam the worst.
Reason: Corrosion of pipes is a common reason why iron is found in drinking water.
Impacts: As little as 0.3 mg/L concentration of iron can make the water appear brown.
The overload of iron may cause severe health problems such as liver cancer, diabetes, cirrhosis of the liver, diseases related to the heart and central nervous system, infertility, etc.

Fluoride in water

Daily Current Affairs 9 October 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020 Daily News Teller

High levels of Fluoride were reported in 230 districts of 20 States of India (2016-17).
Reasons: Naturally occurring fluoride in water along with the result of industrial processes.
Owing to inaccessibility to Affordable Fluoride Removal Solutions the Fluorosis affected statistics has also witnessed an upward trajectory.
Impact: There are two main types of fluorosis, namely dental and skeletal fluorosis.
Dental fluorosis is caused by continuous exposure to high concentrations of fluoride during tooth development.
Skeletal fluorosis is developed by the disturbance of calcium metabolism in the formation of bones of the body.
It results in the softening and weakening of bones resulting in deformities leading to crippling.
The National Programme for Prevention and Control of Fluorosis:
NPPCF is a health initiative launched in the 11th Five Year Plan, initiated in 2008-09.
Objectives:

To collect, assess, and use the baseline survey data of fluorosis of the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
Comprehensive management of fluorosis in the selected areas.
Capacity building for prevention, diagnosis, and management of fluorosis cases.

Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute

CMERI is a public engineering research and development institution in Durgapur, West Bengal.
It is a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

CSIR is the largest research and development (R&D) organization in India. CSIR has a pan-India presence and has a dynamic network of 38 national laboratories, 39 outreach centers, 3 Innovation Complexes, and 5 units.
Established: September 1942
Located: New Delhi
CSIR is funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology and it operates as an autonomous body through the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
CSIR covers a wide spectrum of streams and provides significant technological intervention in many areas of societal efforts which include the environment, health, drinking water, food, housing, energy, farm, and non-farm sectors.

Source: PIB

5) Concerns Related to ART Bill, 2020

Recently, the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020 has been introduced in the Lok Sabha.

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART):

ART is used to treat infertility. It includes fertility treatments that handle both a woman's egg and a man's sperm. It works by removing eggs from a woman's body and mixing them with sperm to make embryos. The embryos are then put back in the woman's body.
In Vitro fertilization (IVF) is the most common and effective type of ART.
ART procedures sometimes use donor eggs, donor sperm, or previously frozen embryos. It may also involve a surrogate carrier.

Aim of the Bill

To regulate ART banks and clinics, allow the safe and ethical practice of ARTs and protect women and children from exploitation.

Supplementary Status:

It was introduced to supplement the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, (SRB) 2019, which aims to prohibit commercial surrogacy in India.
The Bill designates surrogacy boards under the SRB to function as advisory bodies for ART.

Discrimination in Accessibility:

The Bill allows for a married heterosexual couple and a woman above the age of marriage to use ARTs and excludes single men, cohabiting heterosexual couples, and LGBTQ+ individuals and couples from accessing ARTs.
LGBTQ+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (or sometimes questioning), and others. The "plus" represents other sexual identities including pansexual, intersex, and asexual.
The Bill seems to violate Article 14 of the Constitution and the Right to Privacy jurisprudence of Puttaswamy, 2017, where the Supreme Court held that “the sanctity of marriage, the liberty of procreation, the choice of family life and the dignity of being” concerned all individuals irrespective of their social status and were aspects of privacy.
In Navtej Singh Johar vs Union Of India (2018), States were advised to take positive steps for equal protection for same-sex couples.
Unlike the SRB, there is no prohibition on foreign citizens accessing the ARTs but not all of the Indian citizens which is an illogical result that fails to reflect the true spirit of the Constitution.
The Bill restricts egg donation to a married woman with a child (at least three years old). Even here, egg donation as an altruistic act is possible only once a woman has fulfilled her duties to the patriarchal institution of marriage.

Less or No Protection for Donors:

The Bill does little to protect the egg donor. Harvesting of eggs is an invasive process that, if performed incorrectly, can result in death.
The Bill requires an egg donor’s written consent but does not provide for her counseling or the ability to withdraw her consent before or during the procedure.
A woman receives no compensation or reimbursement of expenses for loss of salary, time, and effort. Failing to pay for bodily services constitutes unfree labor, which is prohibited by Article 23 of the Constitution.
The commissioning parties only need to obtain an insurance policy in her name for medical complications or death with no amount or duration specified.

Ambiguity in Disorders:

The Bill requires pre-implantation genetic testing and where the embryo suffers from “pre-existing, heritable, life-threatening or genetic diseases”, it can be donated for research with the commissioning parties’ permission.
These disorders are not specified and the Bill risks promoting an impermissible program of eugenics.
Eugenics is the practice or advocacy of improving the human species by selectively mating people with specific desirable hereditary traits.

Hides Information:

Children born from ART do not have the right to know their parentage, which is crucial to their best interests and was protected under previous drafts.

Imbalance Between ART and SRB:

Although the Bill and the SRB regulate ARTs and surrogacy, respectively, there is considerable overlap between both sectors and they do not work in tandem.
Core ART processes are left undefined and few of them are defined in the SRB but not in the Bill.
The same offending behaviors under both Bills are punished differently and sometimes with greater punishments under the SRB.
Offenses under the Bill are bailable but not under the SRB.
Finally, records have to be maintained for 10 years under the Bill but for 25 years under the SRB.

Duplicacy:

Both Bills set up multiple bodies for registration which will result in duplication or worse, lack of regulation. For example, a surrogacy clinic is not required to report surrogacy to the National Registry.
The National Registry will be established under the Bill and will act as a central database with details of all ART clinics and banks in the country.

Possible Gamete Shortage:

Gamete shortage is likely to happen as there is no clarity on if gametes could be gifted between known friends and relatives now, which was not allowed earlier.
Gametes are an organism's reproductive cells. They are also referred to as sex cells. Female gametes are called ova or egg cells, and male gametes are called sperm.

Poorly Drafted:

Further, Bill’s prohibition on the sale, transfer, or use of gametes and embryos is poorly worded and will confuse foreign and domestic parents relying on donated gametes.

Enhanced Punishments:

The SRB and the Bill impose high sentences (8-12 years) and hefty fines.
The poor enforcement of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994 demonstrates that enhanced punishments do not secure compliance.

Way Forward

Clinics must have ethics committees and mandated counseling services should be independent of them.
Prior versions of the Bill regulated research using embryos, which must be brought back and definitions of commissioning “couple”, “infertility”, “ART clinics” and “banks” need to be synchronized between the Bill and the SRB.
All ART bodies should be bound by the directions of central and state governments in the national interest, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency, and morality.
All the constitutional, medico-legal, ethical, and regulatory concerns raised by the Bill must be thoroughly reviewed before affecting millions.

Source: Indian Express

6) Graded Response Action Plan

The Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA) has directed Delhi and neighboring States to implement air pollution control measures under very poor and severe category air quality of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) from 15th October 2020.

Graded Response Action Plan:

The action plan was formulated in 2016 and notified in 2017 for Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).
The plan was formulated after several meetings were held by Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) with state government representatives and experts.
These are institutionalized measures to be taken when air quality deteriorates, hence works only as an emergency measure.
GRAP includes the measures which will be taken by different government agencies to prevent worsening of Air Quality of Delhi-NCR and prevent PM10 and PM2.5 levels to go beyond the ‘moderate’ national Air Quality Index (AQI) category.
If air quality reaches the severe+ stage, GRAP talks about shutting down schools and implementing the odd-even road-space rationing scheme.
The plan requires action and coordination among 13 different agencies in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan (NCR areas).

Reasons for Winter Pollution in Delhi

Apart from the other pollution which is due to overpopulation, vehicular emissions, and industries, the following are the factors that make winter pollution severe:
Stubble Burning: It is a traditional practice in Punjab and Haryana to clean off the rice chaff to prepare the fields for winter sowing.
Shifting of Jet Stream: The southward shift of the subtropical jet stream happens to cause a westward wind pattern in the northern part of India and thus the spread of pollutants.
Stagnant Lower Level Winds: As the winter season sets in, dust particles and pollutants in the air become unable to move. Due to stagnant lower-level winds, pollutants get locked in the air and affect weather conditions, resulting in smog.

Environment Pollution Control Authority

It was notified in 1998 under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
EPCA is a Supreme Court mandated body tasked with taking various measures to tackle air pollution in the National Capital Region.

Way Forward

The economy is already under stress post-lockdown so the combined effort is to ensure that there is no further disruption.
Pollution will make Covid-19 “more dangerous” and therefore, there must be zero-tolerance for air pollution during this period, as it will come to “huge human health cost”.

Source: The Hindu

7) Bodoland poll gets Assam Cabinet nod

Assam Cabinet has decided to request the State Election Commission to schedule the Bodoland Territorial Council election in December.

Background:

The elections to 40 seats in the council were to have been held on April 4 but were deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The council has been under the Governor’s rule since its dissolution on April 27.

What are Autonomous District Councils?

As per the Sixth Schedule, the four states viz. Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram contain the Tribal Areas which are technically different from the Scheduled Areas.
Though these areas fall within the executive authority of the state, provision has been made for the creation of the District Councils and regional councils for the exercise of certain legislative and judicial powers.
Each district is an autonomous district and the Governor can modify/divide the boundaries of the said Tribal areas by notification.
The Governor may, by public notification:

Include any area.
exclude any area.
create a new autonomous district.
increase the area of any autonomous district.
diminish the area of any autonomous district.
alter the name of any autonomous district.
define the boundaries of any autonomous district.

Constitution of District Councils and Regional Councils:

There shall be a District Council for each autonomous district consisting of not more than thirty members, of whom not more than four persons shall be nominated by the Governor and the rest shall be elected on the basis of adult suffrage.
There shall be a separate Regional Council for each area constituted an autonomous region
Each District Council and each Regional Council shall be a body corporate by the name respectively of the District Council of (name of district) and the Regional Council of (name of region), shall have perpetual succession and a common seal and shall by the said name sue and be sued.

Source: The Hindu

8) Who is a star campaigner?

The Election Commission has revised norms for star campaigners for polls during the pandemic.

Changes proposed:

The maximum number of star campaigners reduced from 40 to 30 for a recognized party.
For unrecognized registered parties, the number of star campaigners has been reduced from 20 to 15.
Besides, they now require permission from the district election official 48 hours prior to campaigning.

Who are star campaigners?

They can be described as persons who are nominated by parties to campaign in a given set of Constituencies. These persons are, in almost all cases, prominent and popular faces within the Party. However, there are no specific definitions according to law or the Election Commission of India.

Benefits:

The expenditure incurred on campaigning by such campaigners is exempt from being added to the election expenditure of a candidate. However, this only applies when a star campaigner limits herself to a general campaign for the political party she represents.

What if a star campaigner campaigns specifically for one candidate?

If a candidate or her election agent shares the stage with a star campaigner at a rally, then the entire expenditure on that rally, other than the travel expenses of the star campaigner, is added to the candidate’s expenses.
Even if the candidate is not present at the star campaigner’s rally, but there are posters with her photographs or her name on display, the entire expenditure will be added to the candidate’s account.
This applies even if the star campaigner mentions the candidate’s name during the event. When more than one candidate shares the stage, or there are posters with their photographs, then the expenses of such rally/meeting are equally divided between all such candidates.

Source: The Hindu

9) River Boards

The Centre recently said that it will determine the jurisdictions of the Krishna and Godavari river management boards (KRMB and GRMB).
It was announced during the meeting of the apex council involving the Centre, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
The meeting was held primarily to resolve the conflict between the two States over executing irrigation projects and sharing water from the Krishna and Godavari rivers.

Background:

The apex council has been constituted by the Central Government under the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act (APRA), 2014.
It supervises the functioning of the Godavari River Management Board and Krishna River Management Board.
It comprises the Union Jal Shakti Minister and the Chief Ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Outcomes of the meeting:

The two states would submit Detailed Project Reports (DPR) of new irrigation projects for appraisal and sanction by the apex council.
The apex council would work towards establishing a mechanism to determine the share of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the Krishna and Godavari waters. The center is expected to refer water sharing issues to the Krishna Godavari tribunal.
The headquarters of the KRMB would be located in Andhra Pradesh.
Telangana Chief Minister agreed to withdraw the case filed in Supreme Court, to allow the Centre to refer water sharing issues to the Krishna Godavari tribunal.

Inter-State River Water Disputes:

Article 262 of the Constitution provides for the adjudication of inter-state water disputes.
Under this, Parliament may by law provide for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint with respect to the use, distribution, and control of waters of any inter-state river and river valley.
Parliament may also provide that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court is to exercise jurisdiction in respect of any such dispute or complaint.
The Parliament has enacted the two laws:

The River Boards Act (1956).
The Inter-State Water Disputes Act (1956).

The River Boards Act:

It provides for the establishment of river boards by the Central government for the regulation and development of inter-state river and river valleys.
A River Board is established on the request of state governments concerned to advise them.

The Inter-State Water Disputes Act:

It empowers the Central government to set up an ad hoc tribunal for the adjudication of a dispute between two or more states in relation to the waters of an inter-state river or river valley.
The decision of the tribunal is final and binding on the parties to the dispute.
Neither the Supreme Court nor any other court is to have jurisdiction in respect of any water dispute which may be referred to as such a tribunal under this Act.

Source: The Hindu

10) Nobel Prize in Literature 2020

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2020 has been awarded to the USA poet Louise Glück "for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal."
Established by Alfred Nobel in 1895, the Nobel Prize in Literature is one of six awards that also span physics, chemistry, medicine or physiology, peace, and economic sciences.
For 2020, Nobel Prizes for Chemistry, Physics, and Medicine have already been announced.
The Nobel Prize comes with a medal and a prize sum of 10 million Swedish kronor.
Glück, born in 1943 in New York, lives in Massachusetts and is also a professor of English at Yale University.
Her poetry focuses on the painful reality of being human, dealing with themes such as death, childhood, and family life.
She is the fourth woman to win the prize for literature since 2010, and only the 16th since the Nobel prizes were first awarded in 1901.
The last American to win was Bob Dylan in 2016.
Glück won the Pulitzer Prize in 1993 for her collection The Wild Iris and the National Book Award in 2014.

Criticism of Last year's Winner:

The choice of Austrian novelist Peter Handke led to wide criticism.
Handke was a known supporter of the Serbs during the 1990s Yugoslav war and spoke at the funeral of former Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic, who was accused of genocide and other war crimes.
Last year also saw Polish author Olga Tokarczuk belatedly announced as the winner of the 2018 literature prize which had been suspended for a year after a sexual assault scandal and financial misconduct allegations rocked the Swedish Academy, which awards the annual Nobel Prize for Literature.

Source: Indian Express