27-Sep-2023-Daily-Current-Affairs

SUPREME COURT ON VACANCY IN COURTS

(GS 1 (INDIAN GEOGRAPHY)-SOURCE-THE INDIAN EXPRESS)

 70 High Court Collegium recommendations are pending for over 10 months

• Judiciary is losing fresh talent like never before as prospective candidates shortlisted for judgeships in High Courts give up as months tick by without a decision from the government.
• Bench has lost good talent because of segregation
• attention to 70 names, recommended for judgeships by the High Court Collegiums, which have been pending with the government for over 10 months, since November 2022.
• The Collegium recommendation for the appointment of a Chief Justice to a very sensitive court is pending

Procedure for Judicial Appointments:

• Article 217 of the Constitution: It states that the Judge of a High Court shall be appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India (CJI), the Governor of the State.
• In the case of appointment of a Judge other than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of the High Court is consulted.
• Consultation Process: High Court judges are recommended by a Collegium comprising the CJI and two senior-most judges.
• The proposal, however, is initiated by the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned in consultation with two senior-most colleagues.
• The recommendation is sent to the Chief Minister, who advises the Governor to send the proposal to the Union Law Minister.

BALSAMS-A FLOWER

(GS 3 (ENVIRONMENT)–BIODIVERSITY-SOURCE-THE HINDU)

• Called Kasithumba and Onappovu locally, its small, pink flowers are a major attraction along the Devikulam stretch of the Kochi Dhanushkod National Highway.
• Balsams are also known as ‘touch me not’ because of the bursting of mature seeds and seed distribution.
• Largescale flowering of balsams indicates that microclimate is still active in the
• Munnar hill station.
• Idukki is known for the diversity of balsams
• Anamudi, the highest mountain in the Western Ghats, and the surrounding high ranges are known for the diversity of wild balsams,”
• There are more than 30 species of balsams in the Periyar Tiger Reserve
• The there are over
• 40 wild species in the Eravikulam National Park. normal life cycle of balsams is from June to December

 Periyar Tiger Reserve:

• It falls in the districts of Idukki and Pathanamthitta in Kerala (saddled in the southern region of Western Ghats).
• The major rivers through the reserve are Mullayar and Periyar.
• The sanctuary comprises tropical evergreen, semi evergreen, moist deciduous forests and grasslands.
• About 1966 species of flowering plants grow in the sanctuary.

 Eravikulam National Park:

• It is located in the High Ranges (Kannan Devan Hills) of the Southern Western Ghats in the Devikulam Taluk of Idukki District, Kerala.
• Three major types of plant communities found in the park are: Grasslands, Shrub Land and Shola Forests (mosaic of montane evergreen forests and grasslands).
• It houses the special Neelakurinji flowers (Strobilanthes kunthianam) that bloom once every 12 years and the next sighting is expected to be in 2030.
• The park holds the largest viable population of the endangered Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius).
• It is regionally important as a catchment area for both east (tributaries of River Pambar) and west (tributaries of River Periyar and Chalakkudy) flowing rivers.

 Protected Areas in Kerala:

INDO-PACIFIC REGION

(GS 2(INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS)-SOURCE -THE HINDU)

• The Indo-Pacific region is not merely a collection of nations but a “web of interdependencies
• The issue in that region is- Apart from challenges exclusively in the maritime domain, a wide range of security and humanitarian concerns exist on land while making a tacit reference to China’s land reclamation in South China Sea
• 13th Indo-Pacific Army Chiefs Conference (IPACC) that India is hosting for the first time along with the US and involves 30 countries with 20 Chiefs present
• The 47th Indo-Pacific Armies Management Seminar (IPAMS) and 9th Senior Enlisted Leaders Forum (SELF) are also being held alongside the IPACC.
• The IPACC has been a biennial convention since 1999, while IPAMS and SELF have been an annual event since 1978 and 2013, respectively.
• The 19th edition of India-US bilateral Army exercise Yudh Abhyas commenced on Monday

INDIA’S ADDRESS AT UNGA

(GS 2(INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE)-INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SOURCE-THE HINDU)

• Addressing the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA),
• more “equitable and democratic” world order emerging, one that was more reflective of diverse interests.
• While the rules-based order and U.N. Charter were invoked in deliberations, it was still a few nations that shaped the agenda and sought to set the norms
• respect for territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs cannot be exercises in cherry picking
• The international order is diverse. And we must cater for divergences, if not differences.
• “The days when a few nations set the agenda and expected others to fall in line or over
• Citing India’s membership of diverse country groupings — including the Quad (India, Australia, Japan and the U.S.), or expanded BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and I2U2 (India, Israel, the U.S. and the UAE), that India had moved from the non-aligned era to one of ‘Vishwa Mitra (a friend to the world)‘.
• This reflected India’s ability to work with a diverse set of nations and “harmonise” interests when necessary
• This willingness to work in an open-minded manner on specific domains is now a defining characteristic of the emerging multipolar order

INDIANS EAT MORE SALT THAN RECOMMENDATION

(GS 2 (GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE)-HEALTH -SOURCE-THE HINDU)

•  The estimated mean daily salt intake in India stands at 8.0 g (8.9 g/day for men and 7.1 g/day for women) against the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation of up to 5 g daily.
• Additionally the salt intake was significantly higher in men, those in rural areas and overweight and obese respondents, according to a recent survey by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
• We need to cut down on eating processed foods and those cooked outside home
• It found that less than half of the participants practised measures to control dietary salt intake and the most commonly adopted step to prevent salt overdose was avoiding meals outside of the home.
• Cardiovascular diseases account for an estimated 28.1 % of total deaths in India

ANGEL TAX

(GS 3 (INDIAN ECONOMY)-SOURCE-THE HINDU)

•  I-T notifies ‘Angel Tax’ rules for valuing investments in startups
• The Income Tax department has notified rules for valuation of equity and compulsorily convertible preferable shares issued by startups to resident and non-resident investors.
• Angel tax – which is income tax at the rate of 30.6 per cent – is levied when an unlisted company issue shares to an investor at a price higher than its fair market value.
• Earlier, it was imposed only on investments made by a resident investor. However, the Finance Act 2023 proposed to extend angel tax even to non-resident investors from April 1, 2024.
• Start-ups had raised concerns around the proposal given that it could have impacted foreign investments – a key source of their funding – and that it came at a time when a funding winter was setting in, making it already difficult for them to raise money.
• The amended rules are aimed at bridging the gap between the rules outlined in the Foreign Exchange Management Act and the Income Tax Act. So far, only investments by domestic investors or residents in closely held companies or unlisted firms were taxed over and above the fair market value.
• The Finance Ministry had exempted investors from 21 countries including the US, UK and France from the levy of angel tax for non-resident investment in unlisted Indian start-ups. However, the list excluded investment from countries like Singapore, Netherlands and Mauritius – which have traditionally been key geographies for start-ups to raise money.

HEAT TOLERANT WHEAT SEEDS

(GS 3 (INDIAN ECONOMY)-AGRICULTURE-SOURCE-THE HINDU)

•  Centre has asked States to promote heat resilient and high yielding varieties of wheat among farmers.
• Centre is targeting an increase in the coverage of area under heat-tolerant wheat varieties to 60% this season.
• 800 climate-resistant varieties are available in the country and States must place these seeds in the seed chain as part of a seed rolling plan.

PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING ACT

(GS 2 (INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE)-SOURCE-THE HINDU)

• Three-judge Bench is scheduled to begin hearing review petitions against a July 2022 verdict, which gave virtually unbridled powers to the Enforcement Directorate to arrest and summon individuals and raid private property under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
• The review petitions have alleged that the apex court’s July 27, 2022 judgment has deprived an accused person her basic rights, which includes even a copy of the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR).
• These conditions provided that a PMLA-designated trial court needs to give bail only if the accused proves she is not guilty of money laundering
• The Parliament enacted the Act as a result of international commitment to sternly deal with the menace of money laundering of proceeds of crime having transnational consequences and on the financial systems of the countries

What is the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002?

Background:

• The PMLA was enacted in response to India’s global commitment (Vienna Convention) to combat the menace of money laundering. These include:
• United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances 1988

About:

• It is a criminal law enacted to prevent money laundering and to provide for confiscation of property derived from, or involved in, money-laundering and related matters.
• It forms the core of the legal framework put in place by India to combat Money Laundering.
• The provisions of this act are applicable to all financial institutions, banks (Including RBI), mutual funds, insurance companies, and their financial intermediaries.

CHEETAH

(GS 3 (ENVIRONMENT)–BIODIVERSITY-SOURCE-THE HINDU)

• Wildlife experts associated with Project Cheetah are considering options of importing the next batch of big cats from countries other than South Africa and Namibia
• A major factor was some of the animals’ vulnerability to infections from their biological proclivity to generate ‘winter coats’ during the summer and monsoon months in India.
• A biological adaptation to winter, the covering in the wet and humid conditions of India proved to be detrimental as it facilitated fatal infections that may have killed at least two of the animals.
• The location for the future batches of animals would be the Gandhi Sagar Park in Madhya Pradesh.
• All the cheetahs relocated to India from South Africa and Namibia so far have been put at the Kuno National Park in the same State.
• We could also consider cheetahs from the Northern Hemisphere (Kenya, which partly lies in the Northern Hemisphere)