IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs Analysis

IAS UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 20th September 2019

(PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS)

INS Khanderi

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Security

In News

INS Khanderi fully-automated submarine and the second of the six Scorpene Class submarines, will be commissioned on September 28, 2019
It is built by State-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd, India’s biggest warship builder, under a transfer of technology agreement with French naval defence and energy group DCNS
The submarine ‘KHANDERI’ is named after the wide snouted Saw fish, a deadly sea predator of the great Indian Ocean.
Six Scorpene class submarines are being built under Project 75 which can undertake various types of missions i.e Anti-Surface warfare, Anti-Submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, area surveillance etc.
The first of the six scorpene class submarine named INS Kalvari was commissioned into the Indian Navy on September 2018.
The constructions of third Scorpene KARANJ, was started in 2018, and is currently undergoing the rigorous phase of sea trials.
The other three submarines VELA, VAGIR and VAGSHEER, are in various stages of development. The last of the submarines will be delivered by 2022.

NEAT Scheme

Part of: GS Prelims and Mains GS-II – Education

In News

Ministry of HRD has announced a new PPP Scheme, National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT) for using technology for better learning outcomes in Higher Education
The objective is to use Artificial Intelligence to make learning more personalized and customised as per the requirements of the learner.
MHRD would create and maintain a National NEAT platform that would provide one-stop access to these technological solutions.
AICTE would be the implementing agency for NEAT programme.
EdTech companieswould be responsible for developing solutions and managing registration of learners through the NEAT portal.
EdTech companies would also have to offer free coupons to the extent of 25% of their total registrations. MHRD would distribute these free coupons to the most socially/economically backward students

Right to access internet

Part of: GS Prelims and Mains GS-II -Governance

In News

The Kerala High Court held that the right to have access to the Internet is part of the fundamental right to education as well as the right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution.
HC made the observation while ordering the Principal of Sree Narayanaguru College, Kozhikode, to re-admit a student who had been expelled from the college hostel for using her mobile phone beyond the restricted hours
The following observations were made by the court
- The Human Rights Council of the United Nationshas found that the right of access to Internet is a fundamental freedom and a tool to ensure right to education.
- Mobile phones, once a luxury, have now become “part and parcel of the day to day life and even to a stage that it is unavoidable to survive with dignity and freedom”
- Enforcement of discipline by hostel authorities shall not beby blocking the ways and means of the students to acquire knowledge.

Do You know?

In S.Puttaswamy Vs Union of India case, nine judge Supreme Court bench upheld that the right to privacy is protected as a fundamental constitutional right under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India
In 2016, the United Nations Human Rights Council released a non-binding resolutioncondemning intentional disruption of internet access by governments.
The resolution reaffirmed that “the same rights people have offline must also be protected online”

NIRVIK scheme

Part of: GS Prelims and Mains GS-III – Indian Economy

In News

Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC)has introduced ‘NIRVIK’ scheme to ease the lending process and enhance loan availability for exporters.
Export credit insurance (ECI) protects an exporter of products and services against the risk of non-payment by a foreign buyer
The ECI significantly reduces the payment risks associated with doing international business by giving the exporter conditional assurance that payment will be made if the foreign buyer is unable to pay
At present ECGC provides a cover of 60% of the loss to banks.
The new NIRVIK scheme will provide 90% coverage of the principal and interest of the loan for pre- and post-shipment credit, and half of this will be provided in 30 days
The existing premium rate would also be lowered under the new scheme
The scheme is thus expected to bring down the cost of credit due to capital relief, less provision requirement and liquidity due to quick settlement of claims.
ECGC is a fully government-owned company that was established in 1957 to promote exports by providing credit insurance services.

(MAINS FOCUS)

HEALTH

TOPIC: General Studies 2:

Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

The ban on e-cigarettes

Context:

The Union Cabinet had approved an ordinance banning production, import, distribution and sale of electronic cigarettes.
Any production, import, export, sale (including online), distribution or advertisement, and storage of e-cigarettes is a cognisable offence punishable with imprisonment or fine, or both.

e-cigarettes:

An electronic cigarette (or e-cig) is a battery-powered vaporizer that mimics tobacco smoking. It works by heating up a nicotine liquid, called “juice.”

Nicotine juice (or e-juice) comes in various flavors and nicotine levels.
e-liquid is composed of five ingredients: vegetable glycerin (a material used in all types of food and personal care products, like toothpaste) and propylene glycol (a solvent most commonly used in fog machines.)
propylene glycol is the ingredient that produces thicker clouds of vapor.
E-cigarettes, do not burn tobacco leaves. Instead these battery-operated devices produce aerosol by heating a solution containing among other things, nicotine.

Proponents of e-cigs argue that the practice is healthier than traditional cigarettes because users are only inhaling water vapor and nicotine.

Why ban?

The Centre claims the decision to ban e-cigarettes was taken as they were a health risk to the youth.
Seven deaths have been recorded in the U.S. — the largest consumer of e-cigarettes in the world — where, New York recently banned the sale of flavoured e-cigarettes.
the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and possibly cardiovascular disease and other diseases also associated with smoking.
some compounds in the aerosol are toxic substances that have known deleterious effects, and might just be less harmful than cigarettes, not harmless.

WHO’s stand:

WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) outlines, these devices can only be believed to succeed if smokers have moved on to an alternative nicotine source, and then stopped using that too
There is evidence now that vaping, dangled as a cool, fun, activity, lures youngsters, and ironically, serves to introduce them to smoking

Conclusion:

The Centre’s move to ban these products shows a welcome intolerance of anything that impacts negatively on the health and wellness of the people of the country
The government, already on the right path, must go all out to ensure that its ban is implemented earnestly in letter and spirit, unlike the patchy execution of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act.

POLITY

TOPIC: General Studies 2:

Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.

Hindi as a national language

Home Minister Amit Shah recently asserted that the nationwide adoption of Hindi is the only way India can be united.

Why?

It is important to have a language of the whole country which should become the identity of India globally. Hindi can unite the country since it is the most spoken language.
There is a huge influence of English on the citizens of India.

History:

The attempt to impose Hindi on the entire country by the Congress in 1965 had led to parts of the country literally burning, with instances of self-immolation in erstwhile Madras State.
People of southern India saw this as an attempted cultural cleansing no less.

Southern people’s perspective:

The people of southern India hold strongly to the idea that they are Dravidian language speakers.
Hindi belongs to the group of Indo-European languages and is no less foreign in their reckoning than English is to them.
Giving a reason that Hindi is spoken by the largest number is no more than crass majoritarianism.
Uttar Pradesh is perceived as an area of backwardness with mob lynching erupting on the watch of a complicit state.

Recent study:

Study shows ‘knowledge of English’ and ‘Internet access’ turned out to be the most significant. Gender, caste and knowledge of Hindi did not matter.

Crux:

The ruler Ashoka of the Maurya dynasty trying to unify the peoples of his far-flung kingdom through ideals not through linguistic nationalism.(Asoka’s edicts in different languages is the proof)
It is a fallacy to imagine that we need a common language to feel connected. Indians already feel connected due to a shared history of several millennia.

Constitutionality:

According to Article-343, Hindi (in Devanagari script) is the official language of the Union.
Under Article-351, it is the duty of the Union to encourage the spread of the Hindi language so that it may serve as a medium of communication.

Conclusion:

For Hindi to be adopted by the people of southern India today they must hold a similar view of the society of their northern cousins. there may have been some of this during the national movement, as its pre-eminent leaders came from the north, there is little to commend the region to them today.

Connecting the dots:

People of India can be unified through ideals not through linguistic nationalism . justify?

(TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE)

Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section)

Note:

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Q.1) Kalvari, Khanderi and Karanj often seen in the news is related to which of the following area?

New varieties of plant species discovered in Western Ghats
Aircraft Carriers
Submarines built by India
None of the above

Q.2) Supreme Court in K.S.Puttaswamy Vs Union of India case upheld which of the following principle?

Doctrine of Basic Structure
Transgender Identity
Right to Privacy as part of Article 21
None of the above

Q.3) Consider the following statements about National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT)

It is a PPP scheme by Ministry of Human Resource Development for better learning outcomes in primary Education
The objective of the scheme is to use Artificial Intelligence to make learning more personalized and customised as per the requirements of the learner.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2

Q.4) Consider the following statements about NIRVIK scheme

It is a scheme to ease the lending process and enhance loan availability for exporters.
The scheme is being implemented by Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India, which is Special Purpose vehicle created by Ministry of Commerce and Confederation of Indian Industry(CII)

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?