Daily Current Affairs 17th April 2020 iasshiksha.com/daily-current-affair/daily-current-affairs-17th-april-2020/
Today’s Important Topic’s For UPSC Preparation 1. MINISTRY ISSUES SOP FOR SOWING OF KHARIF CROPS. 2. GOLDEN TEMPLE SEES A BIG DIP IN OFFERINGS. 3. CHINA MAY HAVE CONDUCTED N-TEST: U.S. 4. INSURERS CAPITAL, LIQUIDITY MAY BE ADVERSELY IMPACTED, SAYS IRDAI. 5. NEW NORMAL: MORE AIRPORT TIME, NO FRILLS AND HIGHER FARE.
MINISTRY ISSUES SOP FOR SOWING OF KHARIF CROPS Kharif Crops: The word “Kharif” is Arabic for autumn since the season coincides with the beginning of autumn or winter. Kharif crops, which are also known as monsoon crops, are the crops which are grown during the monsoon or rainy season (June to October). Their seeds are sown at the beginning of the monsoon season and the crops are harvested at the end of the monsoon season. Kharif crops depend on the rainfall patterns. The timing and quantity of rainwater are the two important factors that decide the output of Kharif crops. The main Kharif crops grown in India include paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, cotton, sugarcane, groundnut, pulses etc. The sowing time may vary in the different states of India as it depends on the arrival of monsoon. Southern states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu the seeds are usually sown towards the end of May. Northern states like Punjab, Haryana the seeds are sown in the month of June.
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Why in News? The Union Agriculture Ministry laid down the standard operating procedure (SOP) to guide farmers on safety precautions that need to be strictly followed during planting of kharif crops amid the threat of COVID-19 pandemic. Transplanting of paddy and vegetables are labour-intensive activities. Hence, it is important to strictly follow guidelines on social distancing, sanitizing and wearing masks, the SOP released by the ministry during the national video conference on kharif crops Workers should wash their hands, legs and face with soap when coming out of the field for meal or rest, it added. For preparing land for sowing of kharif crops, the ministry said, farmers should minimise labour and use tractor. Farmers should use seed-cum-fertiliser drills and reduce the number of workers in the field. As per the SOP, social distancing and sanitization norms should be followed during field preparation, sowing and fertiliser application. Maintain social distance of atleast 1-2 metre during farm operations. Workers should be assigned separate duties with regard to farm activities.
Sanitisation Important:
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All farm equipment from seed drill, plough to tractor should be sanitized before use. Those working in the farm field should wear masks or cover their face with three layers of chunnis, gamchha or towel. Each worker should have a separate utensil and clean it with soap after use. For operations like weeding and spraying of fertilisers and pesticides, the Ministry asked farmers to Burn or bury in soil empty packets of pesticides. Sun dry empty bags of seeds, fertilisers for two days for re-use. SOP also advised that farmers take bath and wash clothes with soap and sundry after the day’s work.
GOLDEN TEMPLE SEES A BIG DIP IN OFFERINGS Golden Temple: The Golden Temple, also known as Harmandir Sahib, meaning “abode of God” or Darbar Sahib, meaning “exalted court”. It is a Gurdwaralocated in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, India. It is the holiest Gurdwara and the most important pilgrimage site of Sikhism. The foundation of which was laid by the Muslim saint, Mian Mir, an admirer and friend of Guru Arjun, the fifth guru of Sikhism. The temple is built on a 67-ft square of marble and is a two storied structure. The top structure of the temple is covered with pure gold leaf, hence, the popular name, Golden Temple. Inside the temple lies the holy book of the Sikhs – the Granth Sahib. The Granth Sahib is kept in the temple during the day and in the Akal Takht or Eternal Throne in the night. The spiritual focus is the tank, the Amrit Sarovar, which surrounds the glistening central shrine. Amritsar takes its name from this Amrit Sarovar which was excavated in 1577 by the fourth Sikh guru, Guru Ram Das. The ‘Guru Ka Langar‘ located near the eastern entrance offers food to all visitors. In the early 1980s, the temple became a center of conflict between the Indian government led by Indira Gandhi, some Sikh groups and a militant movement led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwaleseeking to create a new nation named Khalistan. In 1984, Indira Gandhi sent in the Indian Army as part of Operation Blue Star, leading to deaths of over 1,000 militants, soldiers and civilians, as well as causing much damage to the temple and the destruction of Akal Takht. Akal Takht, the chief center of religious authority of Sikhism. The temple complex has been nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its application is pending on the tentative list of UNESCO.
Operation Blue Star: 3/12
Operation Blue Starwas the codename of an Indian military action carried out between 1 and 8 June 1984 to remove militant religious leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his followers from the buildings of the Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) complex in Amritsar, Punjab. The decision to launch the attack rested with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Akal Takht being repaired by the Indian Government after the attack. It was later pulled down and rebuilt by the Sikh community.
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A clean-up operation codenamed Operation Woodrosewas also initiated throughout Punjab. The military action in the temple complex was criticized by Sikhs worldwide, who interpreted it as an assault on the Sikh religion. Five months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinatedin an act of revenge by her two Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh. Public outcry over Gandhi’s death led to the killings of more than 3,000 Sikhs in the ensuing 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Operation Woodrose: Operation Woodrosewas a military operation carried out by the Indira Gandhiled Indian government in the months after Operation Blue Star to “prevent the outbreak of widespread public protest” in the state of Punjab. The government arrested all prominent members of the largest Sikh political party, the Akali Dal, and banned the All India Sikh Students Federation, a large students’ union. In addition, the Indian Army conducted operations in the countryside during which thousands of Sikhs, overwhelmingly young men, were detained for interrogation and subsequently tortured. Despite its purported success in controlling the armed insurgency in the Punjab region, the operation was criticized by human-rights groups for the suspension of civil liberties and habeas corpus, resulting in the disappearances of thousands of Sikh men.
Why in News?
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Amid the ongoing curfew in the wake of COVID-19, the offerings at Golden Temple have fallen drastically, forcing the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to appeal to people to donate generously. SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal has urged people to donate in whatever possible way they can so that ‘langar’ (community kitchen), at the Golden Temple and other gurdwaras continues to be served uninterruptedly.
CHINA MAY HAVE CONDUCTED N-TEST: U.S. China may have secretly set off low-level underground nuclear test explosions despite claiming to observe an international pact banning such blasts, the U.S. State Department said in a report that could fuel U.S.-Chinese tensions. The finding, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, may worsen ties already strained by U.S. charges that the global COVID-19 pandemic resulted from Beijing’s mishandling of a 2019 outbreak of the coronavirus in the city of Wuhan. S. concerns about Beijing’s possible breaches of a “zero yield” standard for test blasts have been prompted by activities at China’s Lop Nur nuclear test site throughout 2019, the State Department report said.
Zero Yield: Zero yield refers to a nuclear test in which there is no explosive chain reaction of the type ignited by the detonation of a nuclear warhead. China’s possible preparation to operate its Lop Nur test site year-round, its use of explosive containment chambers, extensive excavation activities at Lop Nur and a lack of transparency on its nuclear testing activities… raise concerns regarding its adherence to the zero yield standard. The 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) allows activities designed to ensure the safety of nuclear weapons.
CTBT: The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test–Ban Treaty(CTBT) is a multilateral treaty that bans all nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, in all environments. The Treaty was negotiated at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. It opened for signature on 24 September 1996. 182 countries have signed the Treaty – the last country to do so was Trinidad and Tobago on 8 October 2009 which also ratified the Treaty on 26 May 2010. 154 countries have ratified the Treaty – most recently Ghana on 14 June 2011.
Why is the CTBT so important? The CTBT is the last barrier on the way to develop nuclear weapons. 6/12
It curbs the development of new nuclear weapons and the improvement of existing nuclear weapon designs. When the Treaty enters into force it provides a legally binding norm against nuclear testing. The Treaty also helps prevent human suffering and environmental damages caused by nuclear testing.
Why has the Treaty not entered into force yet? The Treaty’s entry into force depends on 44 specific States that must have signed and ratified the Treaty. These States had nuclear facilities at the time the Treaty was negotiated and adopted. As of August 2011, 35 of these States have ratified the Treaty. Nine States still need to do so: China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Pakistan and the United States. India, North Korea and Pakistan have not yet signed the Treaty. All 44 States are listed in the Treaty’s Annex 2.
Chinese Compliance: China has always adopted a responsible attitude, earnestly fulfilling the international obligations and promises it has assumed. The pace and manner by which the Chinese government is modernising its stockpile is worrying, destabilizing, and illustrates why China should be brought into the global arms control framework.
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INSURERS CAPITAL, LIQUIDITY MAY BE ADVERSELY IMPACTED, SAYS IRDAI IRDAI: Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) is a statutory body set up by the IRDA Act, 1999. It is an autonomous and apex body which has the responsibility to regulate and control the Insurance sector in India. Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA) was established after the recommendations of Malhotra Committee report of 1994. The committee had recommended for the establishment of an independent authority for the regulation of Insurance sector in India. Thus Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Act, 1991 was enacted and the IRDA received the status of a statutory body in 2000 by the Indian Parliament. IRDA was set up as an autonomous body headquartered at New Delhi. The headquarters of IRDA was later on shifted to Hyderabad, Telangana in 2001. The Government of India appoints the Chairman and other members of the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA). However, the insurance regulatory Development Authority Act, 1999 amended the insurance act 1938, Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956 and the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act, 1972 and the Insurance sector were now opened for the private sector participation.
Functions: The functions of the IRDAI are defined in Section 14 of the IRDAI Act, 1999, and include: Issuing, renewing, modifying, withdrawing, suspending or cancelling registrations Protecting policyholder interests Specifying qualifications, the code of conduct and training for intermediaries and agents Specifying the code of conduct for surveyors and loss assessors Promoting efficiency in the conduct of insurance businesses Promoting and regulating professional organisations connected with the insurance and re-insurance industry Levying fees and other charges Inspecting and investigating insurers, intermediaries and other relevant organisations Regulating rates, advantages, terms and conditions which may be offered by insurers not covered by the Tariff Advisory Committee under section 64U of the Insurance Act, 1938.
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Why in News? The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) wants insurance companies to critically examine their capital availability and solvency margin for the current financial year (2020-21). Advising their boards to undertake such an exercise, the regulator said they needed to devise strategies for ensuring that the insurers had adequate capital and resources available with them. Indian insurers need to prepare strategies and action plans for business continuity to ensure enhanced protection to policyholders. It is critical in these difficult times for all the Indian insurers to ensure that at all times they protect the interests of policyholders and provide necessary financial security to them.
NEW NORMAL: MORE AIRPORT TIME, NO FRILLS AND HIGHER FARE Airports Authority of India:AAI Ministry: Ministry of Civil Aviation 9/12
The Airports Authority of Indiaor AAI is a statutory body (created through the Airports Authority of India Act, 1994) working under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing civil aviation infrastructure in India. It provides Communication Navigation Surveillance / Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) services over Indian airspaceand adjoining oceanic areas. It also manages a total of 126 Airports, including 11 International Airports, 11 Customs Airports, 89 Domestic Airports and 26 Civil enclaves at Military Airfields. AAI is implementing a Satellite Based Navigation System, called GAGAN (GPS Aided Geo Satellite Navigation) to provide SBAS services over the Indian subcontinent, capable of regional expansion to South East Asia.
DGCA: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation(DGCA) is the statutory body formed under the Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020. This directorate investigates aviation accidents and incidents. It is headquartered along Sri Aurobindo Marg, opposite Safdarjung Airport, in New Delhi. The Government of India is planning to replace the organisation with a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), modelled on the lines of the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Functions: 1. Registration of civil aircraft 2. Certification of airports 10/12
3. Licensing of pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, air traffic controllers and flight engineers, and conducting examinations and checks for that purpose. 4. Checks on the proficiency of flight crew and other operational personnel such as flight dispatchers and cabin crew. 5. Approving training programmes of operators for carriage of dangerous goods, issuing authorizations for carriage of dangerous goods, etc. 6. Safety Oversight of all entities approved/ certified/ licensed under the Aircraft Rules 1937.
Why in News? The Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the safety regulator DGCA and the aviation security watchdog Bureau of Civil Aviation Security are finalising guidelines for airports and airlines. Passengers taking a flight must prepare to spend more time at the airport, temperature checks, fewer frills on board and possibly higher air fares, as airlines, airports and the government work to ensure physical distancing. Once you board the flight, the middle row seat is likely to be left empty, in accordance with the DGCA guidelines, or possibly four out of six seats in a row could be left empty.
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WORD OF THE DAY Habeas Carpus: A writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court, especially to secure the person’s release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention.
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