14-Sep-2023-Daily-Current-Affairs

1.GS2 (INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE)-THEHINDU-SPECIAL SESSION

Special Session to debate Parliament’s 75-year journey, take up Bills

On the first day of the session, the two Houses will hold a discussion on Parliament’s 75-year journey, starting from the Constituent Assembly that first met on December 9, 1946.

New Bills

1. Three Bills will be taken up in this special session
2. Post Office Bill, 2023 to “consolidate and amend the law relating to Post Office in India”; The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, to “regulate the appointment, conditions of service and term of office of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners”
3. The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2023 to “repeal certain enactments and to amend an enactment

In addition to the legislation on Election Commissioners and the Post Office, the Lok Sabha will take up two additional Bills: The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023.

2.GS3 (ENVIRONMENT)-THE HINDU-GLOBAL STOCKTAKE REPORT

 Analysing the Global Stocktake ReportBackground

• The United Nations climate secretariat made public a ‘synthesis report’ on the results of three meetings held so far to discuss progress achieved by countries in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement of 2015.

Why is it called the ‘global stocktake’ report?

• The synthesis report ties into a larger exercise called the ‘global stock take,’ which is expected to take place once in five years
• In 2015, they also agreed to periodically review, or take stock of efforts, made by individual countries in containing greenhouse gases and transitioning their fossil-fuel-dependent energy systems to renewable sources.
• While the latest NDC were submitted in 2020, a stock take also aims to push countries to set higher targets before the next NDCs are publicized in 2025.

What does the report say?

• The 45-page report lays out 17 ‘key findings’ that overall suggest that the world is not on track to achieve Paris Agreement targets, though there was still a “rapidly narrowing” window for countries to get their act together.
• The United Nations Emissions Gap Report, also released last year, reported that 23 billion tons of CO2 were required to be cut to keep emissions in line with Paris agreements

What are the ‘key findings?

1. Governments need to support ways to transition their economies away from fossil fuel businesses
2. Renewable energy has to be scaled up and all ‘unabated fossil fuels’ (for example, coal plants without carbon capture and storage mechanisms) were to be rapidly eliminated.
3. Deforestation and land degradation have to be halted and reversed and agricultural practices critical to reducing emissions and conserving and enhancing carbon sinks have to be
4. Transparent reporting on adaptation could facilitate and enhance understanding, implementation and international cooperation.
5. To manage risks comprehensively and provide support to impacted
6. Financial flows needed to be made consistent with climate-resilient development to meet urgent and increasing needs.

3.GS3 (INTERNAL SECURITY)-THE HINDU-AIRCRAFTS FROM SPAIN

IAF chief takes delivery of first C-295 transport aircraft in Spain

• Marking a major revamp in its transport fleet, the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Wednesday received the first C-295MW transport aircraft from Airbus.
• As per the contract, 16 aircraft will come in fly-away condition from Seville while 40 will be manufactured by Airbus jointly with Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL). Work is underway to set up the Final Assembly Line (FAL) at Vadodara in Gujarat and the first aircraft manufactured in India will be delivered in September 2026

Production of components for the aircraft to be made in India has already started in the Main Constituent Assembly (MCA) facility in Hyderabad and these parts will be shipped to Vadovara FAL, which is expected to be operational by November 2024

4.GS3 (INTERNAL SECURITY)-THE HINDU-UN CYBERCRIME CONVENTION

Transfer of personal data under U.N. treaty will be according to native laws

• As United Nations member states negotiate a treaty to counter cybercrimes, India has made suggestions at the international forum that the transfer of “personal data” under the convention will be done in accordance with the country’s domestic laws and not other applicable international
• The Digital Personal Data Protection Act enacted by the Parliament in August says that personal data can be processed “in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India or security of the state” for “fulfilling any obligation under the law”
• The Union Home Ministry recently reviewed the draft of the U.N. Cyber Crime Convention to discuss the necessary changes in the existing systems if this convention is signed and ratified by India.
• The convention, which has been at the negotiating table for the past three years, is expected to be ratified at the N. General Assembly in 2024.

India also agreed to the clause that state parties may transfer personal data to a third country or an international organisation only with the prior written authorisation of the original transferring state party, subject to effective and appropriate safeguards.

5.GS3 (INTERNAL SECURITY) THE INDIAN EXPRESS NECHIPHU TUNNEL

For sickle cell patients, an elusive disability certificate

• A plan to get permanent disability certificates issued for Sickle-Cell Disease patients above the age of 5 years has been stuck in a quagmire between three Union Ministries for nearly three years. In a report tabled during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, a House panel urged the government to get a move on it.
• The Health Ministry is responsible for determining the criteria and rules for disability certificates, while the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry actually issues the certificates
• Sickle Cell Disease, a debilitating genetic blood disorder, is especially prevalent among tribal populations across India
• The Union government has been publicising its campaign to “eradicate” SCD in India by 2047
• When SCD was included in the list of disabilities under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, patients could only avail disability certificates with a one-year validity

6.GS2 (POLITY AND GOVERNANCE)-THE HINDU-AYUSHMAN BHAV CAMPAIGN

President virtually launches Ayushman Bhav campaign

• Launch of the campaign and the portal marked a significant leap towards achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and ensuring healthcare for all as it strives to further consolidate the accessibility and affordability of healthcare services particularly for the underserved
• Underscoring the philosophy of antyodaya, which means good health for all and leaving no one behind, the President praised the involvement and support of local governance in this endeavor and stated that gram panchayats who successfully achieved their goals would be declared as Ayushman Gram Panchayats.
• She added that the health services through the three components of Ayushman Bhav — Ayushman – Apke Dwar 0, Ayushman Melas at Health and Wellness Centres (HWC) and Community Health Clinics (CHC), and Ayushman Sabhas in every village and panchayat

— will substantially expedite the access of healthcare services at grassroots levels, thereby ensuring the building of a healthy nation.

7.GS2 (INTERNATIONAL RELATION)-THE HINDU-RUSSIA AND NORTH KOREA

Putin says Moscow to help North Korea’s satellite plan at summit with Kim

• Russian President Vladimir Putin promised help to North Korea build satellites and showed Kim Jong Un around Russia’s most modern space launch facility
• Russian media said Putin showed Kim around the building where Russia’s new space booster, the Angara, is assembled.

The United States has accused North Korea of providing arms to Russia, but it is unclear whether any deliveries have been made

8.GS3 (ECONOMY)-THE HINDU-CRBM

Centre will protect industry from EU’s carbon law, says Piyush Goyal

• The government will take all necessary steps to protect Indian industry from any adverse impact of the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) which mandates reporting of carbon emissions for certain exports to Europe from October 1
• The CBAM framework involves onerous reporting requirements for cement, iron and steel, aluminum, fertilizers, and electricity imports in the region, to start with, with additional import levies to be imposed on such carbon-intensive products from 2026

From October you will have to start reporting but taxes will not be payable until 2026

9.GS3 (SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY)-THE HINDU-ADITYA L1

AdityaL1 mission pursues the enigma of space weather

• The sun is a massive ball of fiery plasma. Energy is generated by nuclear fusion at its core, where temperatures are as high as 15 million degrees Celsius and the density more than 20 times that of iron
• Inside the sun, the temperature is high enough that atoms are broken up into negatively charged electrons and positively charged ions – the state of matter called plasma
• After the solar plasma radiates its energy away from the surface, it cools and sinks back down, much like cyclonic convection in the earth’s atmosphere. This twisting, churning motion of plasma within the sun creates vast electric currents and, as a by-product, powerful magnetic fields. This process, known as the solar dynamo, generates dark, earth-sized blotches on the sun’s surface known as sunspots, and magnetic loops that rise up like giant arches threading the star’s outer atmosphere, the

Severe space weather can give rise to geomagnetic storms that create beautiful aurorae on the one hand and cause power-grid failures in high-latitude regions, disrupt communications and GPS navigational networks, affect air traffic over polar routes, and jam radar signals on the other

• ISRO’s Aditya-L1 mission will explore how magnetic fields result in variations in the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, which plays a critical role in governing the Earth’s atmosphere and climate dynamics
• Aditya-L1 will also track the early motion of magnetic storms near the sun and monitor the local space environment in its vicinity at Lagrange point L1, the environment that eventually affects the earth

10.GS3 (SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY)-THE HINDU-CLONING

Sir Ian Wilmut, one of the creators of Dolly the sheep, the world’s first mammal to be cloned, has died

• Dolly’s creation prompted other scientists to clone animals including dogs, cats, horses and bulls. Dolly also raised questions about the potential cloning of humans and extinct species
• Dolly’s creation was part of a broader project by scientists to create genetically modified sheep that could produce therapeutic proteins in their

Wilmut, a trained embryologist, later focused on using cloning techniques to make stem cells that could be used in regenerative medicine.