IAS Current Affairs

Structure functions The G20 (Group of 20) is an international forum which includes 19 of the world’s largest economies and the European Union. It came in the aftermath of Asian financial crisis of 1999 and is a forum of governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies. Its purpose is to study, review, and promote high-level discussion of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability Aim is to discuss policy pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability The G20 operates without a permanent secretariat or staff. The group’s chair rotates annually among the members and is selected from a different regional grouping of countries. Objectives of G20 Policy coordination among its members in order to achieve global economic stability and sustainable growth; To promote financial regulations that reduce risks and prevent future financial crises; To create a new international financial architecture. Inclusive dec...

Background The three services are taking steps to improve ‘jointmanship’ and have agreed on the appointment of a Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee. This proposal has been forwarded to the Defence Ministry and it is being examined there. Need for permanent Chairman For better coordination and co-operative practices among the three services due to present challenges. Eg:- anti-piracy operations require the use of naval power supported by ground and air power To provide single point military advice to government. Lack of coordination among the three service chiefs is detrimental to the security of the nation in the event of a war.eg:- The minimal use of the Air Force against China in 1962 and Kargil incursions in 1999. The present system of military organization was adapted from the needs of the colonial power whose main aim was to subjugate the indigenous population but was not designed to handle external threats. Fighting war at multiple fronts requires j...

Rural electrification in India Rural electrification is considered to be the backbone of the rural economy. The electricity generation capacity in India is the fifth largest in the world. India is the sixth largest consumer of electricity and accounts for 3.4 percent of the global energy consumption. India has four crore un-electrified rural households. The year 2022, has been earmarked for achieving the target of “24x7 Power for All”. Achieving this target would mean electrifying more than 7 lakh households every month! According to Central Electricity Authority (CEA), as per the new definition, a village would be declared as electrified, if: Basic infrastructure such as Distribution Transformer and Distribution lines are provided in the inhabited locality as well as the Dalit Basti hamlet where it exists. Electricity is provided to public places like Schools, Panchayat Office, Health Centres, Dispensaries, Community centres etc. The number of households electrified ...

Incidents On Twitter, researchers discovered evidence of political parties using bots to boost their follower counts, or to retweet, like, or share content that supported their campaigns. Automated accounts allow you to reach more audiences, and if you can generate trends, you can generate truth. The recent Twitter purge of fake accounts, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi lost 300,000 followers and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi lost 17,000, speaks of how widespread bot activity is among India’s political candidates. Even during some state elections this year, WhatsApp reportedly housed rampant misinformation from multiple political actors. With over 200 million active users, WhatsApp is the most widely-used messaging app in India. Current mechanism Right now the only mechanism is Section 126 and EC instructions on paid news. The section 126 prohibits displaying any election matter by means, inter alia, of television or similar apparatus, during the period of 48 hours before...

The Global Nutrition Report came into existence following the first Nutrition for Growth Initiative Summit (N4G) in 2013. The Global Nutrition Report was devised as a mechanism for tracking the commitments made by 100 stakeholders spanning governments, aid donors, civil society, the UN and businesses.Need for IP at Universities Background The health, longevity and well-being of Indians have improved since Independence, and the high levels of economic growth over the past two-and-half-decades have made more funds available to spend on the social sector. However, India has the highest number of ‘stunted’ children in the world and nearly a third of all stunted children worldwide are to be found in India. Article 47 of the Constitution states that it is “duty of the state to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health”. According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), 842 million people are suffering from chronic hunger. The f...

Background of the scheme The Supreme Court has approved the Centre’s draft witness protection scheme and has asked all the states to implement it till Parliament comes out with a legislation. The court has also made some changes in the scheme. The issue of witness protection scheme came up during the public interest litigation (PIL) seeking protection for witnesses in rape cases involving Asaram Bapu, where 10 witnesses were already attacked. Need and significance of such a scheme Witnesses, being eyes and ears of justice, play an important role in bringing perpetrators of crime to justice. Scheme is the first attempt at the national-level to holistically provide for the protection of the witnesses, which will go a long way in eliminating secondary victimization. This scheme attempts at ensuring that witnesses receive appropriate and adequate protection. witnesses need to have the confidence to come forward to assist law enforcement and prosecutorial authorities It als...

About the ‘UN Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact’ The framework is an agreement between the UN chief, 36 organisational entities, the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) and the World Customs Organisation to better serve the needs of member states when it comes to tackling the scourge of international terrorism. The Coordination Committee of the United Nations will oversee the implementation of the framework and monitor its implementation. The committee will be chaired by UN Under-Secretary-General for counter-terrorism. During the first meeting of the framework’s Coordination Committee, the committee also discussed strategic priorities for the next two years, based on the sixth review of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, relevant Security Council resolutions and UN Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) assessments as well as the requests from member states for technical help. The committee also looked into the organisation of work a...

News Acting on India’s proposal, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has agreed to celebrate ‘International Year of Millets’ in 2023. In addition, the FAO Council also approved India’s membership to the Executive Board of the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) for 2020 and 2021. Important Facts Aim is to create awareness and inspire all stakeholders to work towards improving production and productivity of the climate-resilient and nutritious millets across the globe. Significance: The decision of FAO Committee on Agriculture to endorse India’s proposal in Rome signifies India’s prominence in agriculture diplomacy. According to the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), over 500 million people in more than 30 countries depend on sorghum as a staple food. However, in the past 50 years, these grains have largely been abandoned in favour of more popular crops like maize, wheat, rice and soybeans. Government steps to recognis...

Why in news? The Supreme Court issued notices to five states seeking their responses on a plea by Medha Patkar, challenging the validity of certain amendments made by them to a central law of 2013 on land acquisition. What is LAA act of 1894? Land Acquisition Act of 1894, had codified powers of eminent domain, where Landowners were placed at the state’s mercy. Under this Government was accorded vast discretion to expropriate land for supposed public use. Requirements of due process were scant, and the amount of money paid in return for land was often inadequate. What is LARR act of 2013? Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (LARR Act), replaced the LAA of 1894. This act provides number of safeguards for the process of acquisition manifestly fairer. It compels a social and environmental impact assessment as a precondition for any acquisition. It also acknowledges a need for a system of rehabilitation and resettlement for those whose livelihoods...

Background Dam safety is responsibility of dam owners which are generally state governments, central and state power generating PSUs, municipalities and private companies. In 1979 central government has created Dam Safety Organization in Central Water Commission (CWC) for assisting states in evaluating safety-related hazards in existing structures Subsequently, 17 states having significant numbers of dams had established their own Dam Safety Organizations and had taken up measures for ensuring dam safety in their respective jurisdictions. In 1987 central government had constituted National Committee on Dam Safety (NCDS) to act as a forum for exchange of views on techniques adopted for remedial measures to relieve distress in old dams. From the 8th five-year plan safety of dam came under planned activity. As a result, Dam Safety Assurance & Rehabilitation Project (DSARP), assisted by the World Bank, was implemented In 2005, DSARP was rechristened as Dam Rehabilitati...

Context Strategy for New India @75’ document The government think tank NitiAayog has unveiled the Strategy for New India @ 75. This comprehensive national strategy defines clear objectives for 2022-23. The strategy provides for a detailed exposition across forty-one crucial areas. Together with the progress already made, the strategy identifies binding constraints, and suggests the way forward for achieving the clearly stated objectives. The strategy was prepared through wide consultations with all three groups of stakeholders, viz., business persons, academics including scientists, and government officials. Basic economic data of India Investment rate as measured by gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) is 29 percent. Exports of goods and services combined is USD 478 billion in 2017-18 Agriculture employed nearly 49 per cent while contributing only 15 per cent of the GVA. The industrial sector registered a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 7.7 per cent be...

Background The Centre has prepared guidelines for setting up of crèches at workplaces. The guidelines prescribe trained personnel to man the facility as well as infrastructure requirements and safety norms.The guidelines are not mandatory but are a yardstick for NGOs and organisations for setting up of crèches. Maternity Benefit Amendment Act, 2017 The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017 has increased the duration of paid maternity leave available for women employees to 26 weeks from 12 weeks. However for those women who are expecting after having 2 children, the duration of the leave remains unaltered at 12 weeks. The paid maternity leave can be availed 8 weeks before the expected date of delivery. Before the amendment, it was 6 weeks. The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017 has extended the benefits applicable to the adoptive and commissioning mothers and provides that woman who adopts a child will be given 12 weeks of maternity leave from the date of adoption. T...