Daily Current Capsules – 07th February 2020
Prelims Factoids
National Games mascot flame-throated bulbul(Goa state bird)
Relevance IN – Prelims ( about throated bulbul + about National games)
What’s the NEWS
The flame-throated bulbul, also called the Rubigula, was chosen as the
mascot of the 36th National Games to be held in Goa because it is the
state bird.
The 36th National Games will be held between October 20 and
November 4 this year, and 12,000 athletes from 36 states and union
territories are expected to participate in 37 disciplines across 24 venues
in Goa.
Know! about Throated bulbul
It is found only in the forests of the Western Ghats in southern India.
Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 - Schedule IV bird.
IUCN Status
Wildlife Protection Act 1972
Legal protection has been provided to wild animals against hunting and commercial exploitation under the provisions of the Wild Life
(Protection) Act, 1972.
Wildlife Protection Act 1972 was passed on August 21, 1972, but was
later implemented on September 9, 1972.
This act prohibits the capturing, killing, poisoning or trapping of wild
animals
OBJECTIVES
Prohibition of hunting
Protection and management of wildlife habitats
Establishment of protected areas
Regulation and control of trade in parts and products derived from
wildlife
Management of zoos
Penalties for any violation under this act can be carried out by agencies like:
The Police
The Central Bureau of Investigation
The forest department
The customs
There are six schedules which give varying degrees of protection.
Out of the six schedules , Schedule I and part II of Schedule II provide
absolute protection and offences under these are prescribed the highest
penalties.
The penalties for Schedule III and Schedule IV are less and these animals
are protected.
Schedule V includes the animals which may be hunted. These are
Common crow , Fruit bats, Mice & Rats only.
Schedule VI contains the plants, which are prohibited from cultivation
and planting.
Infrastructure Development
Ujh Multipurpose (National) Project, Jammu & Kashmir
Relevance IN – Prelims ( about Ujh Project and about Indus water treaty) +
Mains ( GS III infrastructure development + GS II bilateral relations)
What’s the NEWS
A meeting has been chaired to fast-track the implementation of Ujh
Multipurpose (National) Project, Jammu & Kashmir.
Know! more about the project
As per Government’s commitment to fast track utilization of India's
rights under Indus Waters Treaty, the project is planned to be constructed
in Kathua District of J&K on the River Ujh which is a major tributary of River Ravi.
This project will store around 781 Million Cubic meter of waters of river
Ujh (a tributary of river Ravi).
After construction of the project, utilization of waters of Eastern Rivers
allotted to India as per the Indus Water Treaty would be enhanced by
utilizing of the flow that presently goes across border unutilized.
Know! all about the Indus Water treaty
In the year 1960, India and Pakistan signed a water distribution agreement -- came to be known as Indus Waters Treaty -- which was
orchestrated by the World Bank.
This agreement took nine years of negotiations and divides the control
of six rivers between the two nations once signed.
Under this treaty, India got control over:
Beas
Ravi
Sutlej
While Pakistan got control over:
Indus
Chenab
Jhelum
The treaty allows India to use only 20 per cent of the total water carried
by the Indus river.
To utilise the waters of the Eastern rivers which have been allocated to
India for exclusive use, India has constructed the Bhakra Dam on Satluj, Pong and Pandoh Dam on Beas and Thein (Ranjitsagar) on Ravi.
These storage works, together with other works like Beas-Sutlej Link,
Madhopur-Beas Link, and Indira Gandhi Nahar Project have helped
India utilise nearly the entire share (95 per cent) of the eastern river
waters.
However, about two million acre-feet (MAF),of water annually from Ravi is reported to be still flowing unutilised to Pakistan.
To stop the flow of these waters, the Centre is currently taking three steps
- resumption of construction of Shahpurkandi project; construction of Ujh
multipurpose project; and a second Ravi-Beas link below Ujh.
State Specific
Janasevaka scheme
Relevance IN – Prelims ( about Janasevaka scheme)
What’s the NEWS
The Karnataka government launched the Janasevaka scheme in a few municipal corporation wards to ensure home delivery of various services
like ration cards, senior citizen identity and health cards.
Know! more about the scheme
"Janasevaka under the Sakala scheme is a programme to avail the benefits of government schemes at the doorstep.
Sakala aims to ensure in-time delivery of government services to citizens by practising innovative and efficient management systems through
capacity building in government and empowering citizens to exercise
their right to service.
People can apply from home by paying the fee online. This will make the
process hassle-free
Infrastructure Development
Country to get 13th major port at Vadhavan in Maharashtra
Relevance IN – Prelims ( about Vadhavan port) + Mains ( GS III infrastructure
development)
What’s the NEWS
The Union Cabinet approved the setting up of the country’s 13th major
port at Vadhavan in Maharashtra at a total cost of Rs 65,544.54 crore.
Know! more about it
The Vadhavan port will be developed on “landlord model” (where
infrastructure is leased to private firms or industries and chemical plants).
A special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be formed, with the government
planning to hold 51 per cent stake in the project.
The SPV will develop the port infrastructure including reclamation,
construction of breakwater, besides establishing connectivity to the
hinterland.
All the business activities would be undertaken under the private-public
partnership mode.
Currently, India has 12 major ports – Deendayal, Mumbai, Jawaharlal
Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Mormugao, New Mangalore, Cochin, Chennai,
Kamarajar, V O Chidambaranar, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Kolkata
(including Haldia).
The reason behind setting up another major port on the west coast is
because of the exhaustion of container cargo capacity of the JNPT, which
is 10 million TEUs (twenty foot equivalent unit). On the west coast, this
capacity is 18 million TEUs while the total requirement will increase to
25 million TEUs in 2030.
The new port will also cater to the spillover traffic from JNPT once its
planned capacity of 10 million TEUs is fully utilised.
The Vadhavan port has a natural draft of about 20 metres close to the
shore, making it possible for it to handle bigger vessels.
Development of this port will enable cargo container vessels of 16,000-
25,000 TEUs capacity, giving advantage of economies of scale and
reducing logistics cost.
Economic Development
Cabinet approves amendment to bring cooperative banks under regulatory control of RBI SCREEN GRAB
Relevance IN – Prelims ( about the regulatory mechanism of Cooperative
bank and the role of RBI after the cabinet decision) + Mains (GS III
economic development)
What’s the NEWS
Union Cabinet has decided to bring Cooperative banks under the
regulatory mechanism of Reserve Bank of India.
The move will ensure greater accountability and transparency in the
functioning of Cooperative Banks.
The administrative role will continue to be managed by Registrar of
Cooperative.
Know! more about it
Currently, cooperative banks are governed by dual control of cooperative
societies as well as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
While the role of cooperative society includes incorporation, registration,
management, recovery, audit, supersession of board of directors and
liquidation, central bank’s role is responsible for regulatory functions.
These amendments will apply to urban co-operative banks and multi-state
cooperative banks.
The government’s move towards amending the banking regulation law to
strengthen the cooperative banks comes months after Punjab Maharashtra
Bank (PMC) collapsed.
Such banks will also be audited as per RBI’s norms
The central bank can supersede the board, in consultation with the state
government, if any cooperative bank is under stress.
Following the amendments, the recruitment for the banks' management
will be based on certain qualifications and appointment of the chief
executive officer will also require prior permission from the banking
regulator, as in case of commercial banks.
To strengthen the cooperative banks, amendments to the Banking
Regulation Act are proposed for increasing professionalism, enabling
access to capital and improving governance and oversight for sound
banking through the RBI
Education/Information Technology
The cabinet also approved the IIIT Laws Amendment Bill 2020
Relevance IN – Prelims ( about the IIIT laws amendment bill) + Mains (
GS II Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services
relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
What’s the NEWS
Five IIITs in the PPP mode at Surat, Bhopal, Bhagalpur, Agartala
and Raichur will be declared as Institutions of National importance.
After this decision, the total number of IIITs which have been
declared the institutions' national importance has gone up to 25.
Know! more about it
The Five IIITs in PPP mode at Surat, Bhopal, Bhagalpur, Agartala and
Raichur will now be able to use the nomenclature of Bachelor of
Technology (BTech) or Master of Technology (MTech) or PhD degree.
The cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the
Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) Laws (Amendment)
Bill, 2020.
The bill will declare the remaining 5 IIITs-PPP along with the existing 15
IIITs in PPP mode as 'Institutions of National Importance' with powers to award degrees
The objective of the approval is for formalisation of IIITs at Surat,
Bhopal, Bhagalpur, Agartala and Raichur.
These IIITs are already functioning as societies registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860.
They will now be covered under the IIIT (PPP) Act, 2017, similar to the
other 15 IIITs established under the scheme in PPP mode
Institutions of National importance
Power to award degrees and use the categorisation of B.Tech, M.Tech or Ph.D. degree, which is issued by a University of National Importance.
The Institutes will also be able to attract enough students to develop a strong research base in the country in the field of information technology
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