Suicide

SC–> Intention to abet suicide cannot be assumed, it has to evident
IPC 107—Abetment definition –Instigating a person or intentionally aid a person.
IPC 108—  Describes who is an abettor. Abetment is defined as including instigating, engaging in a conspiracy or assisting in committing the offence.
IPC- 307– Abetment of suicide– Makes abetment of suicide a punishable offence and prescribes either a jail term of up to ten years or a fine or both

• A cognizable offence is one in which a police officer can make an arrest without a warrant from a court. 
• A non-bailable offence means bail is granted to the accused at the discretion of the court, and not as a matter of right.
• A non-compoundable offence is one in which the case cannot be withdrawn by the complainant even when the complainant and the accused have reached a compromise. 

Leopard capture+ Translocation inc by 3x

Karnataka–> policy + guidelines to mitigate human-leopard conflict has too little effect.

357 leopards captured across 23 of the 30 districts in the State during 2009-16, a majority (79%) occurred in Mysuru, Udupi, Hassan, Tumakuru, Ramanagaram, Ballari, Koppal, and Mandya district.

1. protected areas (59.7%)
2. reserved/State/minor forests (29.8%)
3. Bandipur Tiger Reserve (22.5% ,> Nagarahole Tiger Reserve (20.6%) > Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary (15%).

Vulnerable – IUCN
Schedule-1 of WPA-1972
Appendix I— CITES

1. Sanjay Gandhi National Park– The Borivali National Park
2. Jawai Dam Sanctuary– Ajmer-Ahmedabad route in Pali district in Rajasthan
3. Bera Village- rajasthan
4. Kabini Wildlife Sanctuary– wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka
5. Jim Corbett National Park
6. Bandhavgarh National Park
7. Bandipur NP
8. Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary- Chikmangluru KA
9. Tadoba Andhari Tiger Project is the largest and  oldest national park of Maharashtra

76% of rural Indians cant afford nutritious diet– Journal by Food Policy

Rural Indians cannot afford nutritious diet if

1. they sets aside just a 1/3 o their income for non-food expenses = ~3/4= 76%
2. spent all their income on food = 63.3%= >52 crore Indians

Unlike Economic Survey–> Thalinomics which provided rosier picture of the meal cost, the study uses the wages of unskilled workers who make up a larger proportion of the population than industrial workers and includes items as dairy fruit and dark green leafy vegetables that is material as per India’s official dietary guidelines.

Witch hunting in Assam

Assam’s Karbi Anglong district have arrested 9 persons, for killing a man and a woman after branding them as witches and cremating them together.

Data presented in the State Assembly said witch-hunting claimed the lives of 107 people from 2011 to 2019.

• Assam police -2001–> Project Prahari to counsel certain communities against practising witch-hunting.
• Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention and Protection) Act was passed.

Smriti Irani in UNGA

Several laws protected Women +Children
Activists unhappy–> caste based discrimination not raised

1600kg of Gold seized till sept20 since 30%inc in gold price in India

SLowdown due to Pandemic COVID-19 does not give STate the power to call “Public emergency”

5 lakhs enrolled in school

Kerala school–> schools+ 54 virtual schools + Public Education Rejevunation compaign

Delhi CM –> Fermented liquid to stop crop/ stubble burning–> sprayed >800 hectares -> <20lakhs

EPCA–> incentives to stop stubble burning unviable
EPCA= Environment Protection (prevention & control) Authority

NCRB –> Annual crime report-2019

National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has released the annual Crime in India 2019 report.

• It reports an increase in crimes against Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the year 2019 as compared to the year 2018.

Zombie fires in Tundra

Fire regimes in the Arctic are changing rapidly, with ‘zombie fires’ becoming more frequent in addition to fires occurring in the once-frozen tundra.

Zombie Fire: It is a fire from a previous growing season that can smoulder under the ground which is made up of carbon-rich peat. When the weather warms, the fire can reignite. These are also known as holdover fires.

• The tundra is drying up and vegetation there like moss, grass, dwarf shrubs, etc are starting to catch fire.
• The tundra is a cold region of treeless level or rolling ground found mostly north of the Arctic Circle or above the timberline on mountains.

Reason–> 2020 Siberia recorded warmer winter + summer than normal

all of this year’s fires inside the Arctic Circle occurred on continuous permafrost, with over half of these burning on ancient carbon-rich peat soils.
Carbon sink turned into a carbon source
microbes have started to break down this organic carbon
land emissions of CO₂ and CH4.
Also there will be less absorption of carbon by water with rising temperature.

Labour Reforms

Parliament passed 3 Bills that complete the government’s codification of 29 labour laws into 4 codes–

1.  Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2020,
2. Code on Social Security Bill, 2020 and 
3. Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code Bill, 2020 have been introduced in Lok Sabha.

Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2020:

Definition of strike changed –> casual mass bunk of 50% deemed as strike

Requirement of Standing Orders from Govt for 100+ employees changed to 300+.
Will provide greater flexibility to employers to hire and fire workers without government permission.

Constitutional background

• Labour= Concurrent List where both the Central & State Governments are competent to enact legislation subject to certain matters being reserved for the Centre. 
• Article 23: Traffic in human beings and begar and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited
• Article 24: No child below the age of fourteen years shall be employed to work in factories, mines and other hazardous occupations.
• Article 39 (d): “The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing; that there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women. 
• Article 43A directs the state to take steps to ensure workers participation in management of industries.

Contraction in August Core Industry Output: IIP

CCCFERNS
8 industries account for 40.27% in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP)

Except for coal and fertilisers, production continued to decline in most core sectors in August.

Reason: The drop in August is due to factors like:

• Low demand in the economy.
• Unavailability of equipment for setting up newer production platforms.
• Seasonal and lockdown restrictions.

IIP compiled by NSO<– MoSPI
RESC Crude Natural Cement Fertilizer

Significance of IIP:

• IIP is the measure on the physical volume of production.
• It is used by government agencies including the Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of India, etc, for policy-making purposes.
• IIP remains extremely relevant for the calculation of the quarterly and advance Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimates.

MoSJW–>  ‘Ambedkar Social Innovation and Incubation Mission (ASIIM)’ under Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes (SCs) with a view to promoting innovation and enterprise among SC students studying in higher educational institutions

Major Objectives of the Mission:

• To promote entrepreneurship among the SC Youth with special preference to Divyangs.
• To support (1,000) innovative ideas till 2024 through a synergetic work with the Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) set up by the Department of Science and Technology.

India + Japan finalise the cybersecurity agreement–> promotte cooperation in 5G network + AI.

Guwahati High Court–> Assam jails cannot be used as detention centers. This deprives Human rights+ Dignity

If Assam Govt does not have premises–> hire pvt premises.

EPCA directs Delhi+ Punjab+ HAryana to implement air pollution controlling methods of GRAP= Graded response Action Plan

PM–> Jan Andolan for COVID 19 appropriate behaviour.

PM met with chairman of HCNR= High Council for National Reconciliation, Abdullah Aabdullah regarding Intra Afghan Dialogue.

MEA –> defends free press India after Chinese embassy sends letter to 250 journalists to not refer Taiwan as a Country in accordance with “One China principle”

Indo Lanka Accord 1987

• When war between Sri Lankan Tamils and the Sinhalese majority erupted in 1983, India took an active role.
• Indo-Sri Lankan Accord was signed in 1987 to provide a political solution to Sri Lanka’s conflict.
• It proposed the establishment of provincial council system and devolution of power for nine provinces in Sri Lanka (also known as The Thirteenth Amendment).
• India deployed Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka under Operation Pawan to disarm the different militant group.

GJM demands Gorkhaland

GJM wants Darjeeling + adjoining hilly districts in WB to be Gorkhaland.

GTA= Gorkhaland Territorial Administration= Tripartite agreement bw WB + Center+ GJM in 2011

Any stay on civil or criminal proceedings is valid for 6 months only.

GHI -2020

Prepared by the Concern Worldwide (an Irish agency) and the Welt Hunger Hilfe (a German organization).
•The report is based on 4 GHI indicators namely–> USWM–
undernourishment,
child stunting,
child wasting, and
child mortality.

2020 GHI scores do not reflect the impact of Covid-19 on hunger and undernutrition.

India is worst in child wasting+ stunting in the world.
India improved in child wasting + child mortality but not in child wasting this year.

Globally 690 mill people are undernourshed. COVID-19 could have affected the progress made on reducing hunger + poverty.

SDG 2 Progress: The world is not on track to achieve the second Sustainable Development Goal – known as Zero Hunger for short – by 2030.

94/107- 2020
102/117- 2019
95/116- 2010

India features behind Nepal (73), Pakistan (88), Bangladesh (75), Indonesia (70) among others.

only 13 countries fare worse than India including countries like Rwanda (97), Nigeria (98), Afghanistan (99), Liberia (102), Mozambique (103), Chad (107) among others.

Some Related Initiatives by India

• Eat Right India Movement: An outreach activity organised by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for citizens to nudge them towards eating right.
• POSHAN Abhiyaan: Launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2018, it targets to reduce stunting, undernutrition, anemia (among young children, women and adolescent girls).
• Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana: A centrally sponsored scheme executed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, is a maternity benefit programme being implemented in all districts of the country with effect from 1^st January, 2017.
• Food Fortification: Food Fortification or Food Enrichment is the addition of key vitamins and minerals such as iron, iodine, zinc, Vitamin A & D to staple foods such as rice, milk and salt to improve their nutritional content.
• National Food Security Act, 2013: The National Food Security Act, (NFSA) 2013 legally entitled up to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population to receive subsidized food grains under the Targeted Public Distribution System.
• Mission Indradhanush: It targets children under 2 years of age and pregnant women for immunization against 12 Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (VPD).
• Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme: Launched on 2^nd October, 1975, the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme offers a package of six services (Supplementary Nutrition, Pre-school non-formal education, Nutrition & health education, Immunization, Health check-up and Referral services) to children in the age group of 0-6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers.

New research sheds light on declining star formation in Milky Way

astronomers from the Pune-based National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA-TIFR) and Raman Research Institute (RRI) in Bengaluru have used the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) to measure the atomic hydrogen content of galaxies seen as they were eight billion years ago when the universe was young.

Significance of the discovery:

• The scientists have, for the first time, measured the atomic hydrogen gas content of star forming galaxies about 8 billion years ago.
• The observed decline in star formation activity could thus be explained by the exhaustion of the atomic hydrogen as Hydrogen is consumed while star formation and during fusion reaction.
• 21 cm signal: Unlike stars which emit light strongly at optical wavelengths, the atomic hydrogen signal lies in the radio wavelengths, at a wavelength of 21 cm, and can only be detected with radio telescopes.
  • Detecting the 21 cm signal from the most distant galaxies in the universe was the main science goal of the GMRT, when it was designed by a team led by the late pioneering astrophysicist Govind Swarup in the 1980s and 1990s.

Dr reddys get nod for Sputnik V trials

Pharma major Dr Reddy’s laboratories and Russia’s sovereign wealth fund RDIF have received approval from the DCGI= Drugs Controller General of India to conduct an adaptive phase 2/3 human clinical trials for the Sputnik V vaccine in India

Stuble burning– Justice Lokur + NCC students

A SC bench led by Chief Justice of India a book on Friday appointed Justice Lokur as a one-man committee to monitor & prevent instance of stubble burning by farmers in the 3 states.
Student forces will petrol highways in fields in the 3 state ensure that the no fires are started in the fields when Haryana council protested that these were Just schoolchildren, Chief Justice Bobde reacted “these does not involve their knowledge of fire why can’t the NCC go and see who is letting the fires?
The chief secretaries of the 3 states will provide facilities to the committee and provide the student volunteers with adequate transportation to add their vigil the supreme quotes on environment pollution prevention and control authority would consult with the committee on issues related to stubble burning.

Indian lab in vaccine test network

THSTI has been chosen by an international non-profit, Coalition for CEPI.

as one of the global network of laboratories for centralised assessment of COVID-19 vaccines.

• THSTI=  Translational Health Science and Technology Institute –> is an autonomous institute of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
• CEPI= Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations
• Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) is an international non-profit foundation that takes donations to finance independent research projects to develop vaccines against emerging infectious diseases (EID).
• It is not a subsidiary of the World Health Organisation.
• While CEPI was conceived in 2015, it was formally launched in 2017 at the World Economic Forum (WEF)

Covaxin to use ViroVax’s adjuvant

Bharat Biotech has entered into a licensing agreement with Kansas-based ViroVax for use of adjuvant Alhydroxiquim-II in its COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin.

What is an adjuvant?

• An adjuvant is a pharmacological or immunological agent that improves the immune response of a vaccine.
• Adjuvants can be added to a vaccine to boost the immune response to produce more antibodies and longer-lasting immunity, thus minimizing the dose of antigen needed.
• Adjuvants may also be used to enhance the efficacy of a vaccine by helping to modify the immune response to particular types of immune system cells: for example, by activating T cells instead of antibody-secreting B cells depending on the purpose of the vaccine.
• Adjuvants are also used in the production of antibodies from immunized animals.
• Adjuvants also enhance the sustainability of the global vaccine supply on account of their antigen-sparing effect.

Women soldiers checks drug @ LOC

9 rifle women of the paramilitary force Assam rifles were deployed at the Sadhna pass= Naschatun Pass on Kupwar Tangdhar highway in July, the first women soldiers in combat functioning and the army as a part of the series of steps taken recently to contain smuggling of narcotics from across the LOC.

Celebrating Skinks as ZSI list 62 species in India

The harmeless insectivorous lizards are found across the country in every biogeographic zone
Allthough the are common reptiles and have a prominent role in maintaining ecosystems not much is known about their breeding habits and ecology because identification of the species can be confusing. ZSI reveals that India is home to 62 species of skinks and says that about 15% off all the skinks found in India (33 species) are endemic

ASSAM VS MIZORAM– @ BORDER CLASH

Violent clash took place between the people of the 2 States on the border between Kolasib district of Mizoram and Cachar district of Assam.
Troubles were created by Assam at 3 border points Thinglun in Mamit district and Saihapui ‘V’ and Vairengte, both in Kolasib. Center has been approached to resolve border issue, if any.

Centre to fix jurisdiction of river boards

AP vs Telangana–> over the execution of irrigation projects and the sharing of water from the Krishna and Godavari rivers.

• The Centre will determine the jurisdictions of the Krishna and Godavari river management boards (KRMB and GRMB).
• The two states would submit Detailed Project Reports (DPR) of new irrigation projects for appraisal and sanction by the apex council.
• Art 262–> adjudication of inter-state water disputes
  • River Boards Act (1956)
  • Inter-State Water Disputes Act 1956.

GST collection > 95k crore in sept

Centre sticks
to target for borrowing

2020-21–> Fiscal deficit–> 8.7lakh cr (expected=8lcr/ 109.3% of target deficit)
Revenue receipts= 18.3% of Budget targets.
expenditure=41%

Core sector output fell harder in August than July, contracting 8.5% compared to 2019-20.
The plan to raise ₹2.1 lakh crore from
disinvestment is waylaid, even as the Finance Minis-
try extended the deadline for bids to buy BPCL by
two months.

GST Council

GST compensation issue has been a bone of contention between the centre and state governments threatening to undermine both India’s fiscal federalism and Centre-State relations.

GST Council has 31 States and Union Territories represented.
20 said yes to centre’s proposal
11 said no to the proposal.

• Article 279A (1) of the amended Constitution, the GST Council had to be constituted by the President within 60 days of the commencement of Article 279A.
• Article 279A –> GST Council would be a joint forum of the Centre + States.
• Article 279A (4), the Council will make recommendations to the Union and the States on important issues related to GST,
  • like the goods and services that may be subjected or exempted from GST, model GST Laws, principles that govern Place of Supply, threshold limits, GST rates including the floor rates with bands, special rates for raising additional resources during natural calamities/disasters, special provisions for certain States and also any other matter relating to the goods and services tax, as the Council may decide.

Decision making process:

• Quoram– 1/2 of Total Membership of Council
• Majority for decision– >=3/4 of P&V
  • Centre’s vote weightage- 1/3
  • state’s vote weightage- 2/3
• 12 (out of 31) votes can veto a proposal in the GST council.

SC asked the Centre + RBI about the steps taken to implement the K.V. Kamath Committee report.

Q2 records 107% surge in fresh involvement compared to 1st quarter.
Pvt investments are also recovering.

36garh> TN> Karnataka> Gujarat

SIAM= Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers

SIAM–> Commercial vehicle sales fall 20% in July September
Commercial vehicle sales which are usually seen as an indicator of economic activity well 20.13% to about 1.3 lakh units in the july-september 2020 quarter as compared with the pot 1.67 lakh units in same period last year.

OPO= Open Market Operation

ICRA

ICRA–> Healthy monsoon bring optimism for Kharif crops

Credit rating ghapla (April_19)

• A credit rating is an assessment of the creditworthiness of a borrower in general terms or with respect to a particular debt or financial obligation.
• A credit rating can be assigned to any entity that seeks to borrow money — an individual, corporation, state or provincial authority, or sovereign government.

• A credit rating agency (CRA) is a company that assigns credit ratings, which rate a debtor’s ability to pay back debt by making timely principal and interest payments and the likelihood of default.
• There are six credit rating agencies registered under SEBI namely, CRISIL, ICRA, CARE, SMERA, Fitch India and Brickwork Ratings.
• CRAs were set up to provide independent evidence and research-based opinion on the ability and willingness of the issuer to meet debt service obligations, quintessentially attaching a probability of default to a specific instrument.

WHY in news??
Recent IL&FS defaults crisis which had AAA rating ust before it started defaulting raised concerns about the credibility of Credit Rating agencies in India.

RBI has pinpointed the conflict of interest in the functioning of credit rating agencies and is concerned over the role of the little known club of ‘rating advisers’, which are unregulated entities acting as brokers between companies and rating agencies.

Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) panel has discussed ways to address challenges pertaining to the quality of credit ratings.

MAIns tadka

FM said the Centre would borrow from the market to pay the GST compensation shortfall of Rs 1.1 lakh crore to states, and then act as an intermediary to arrange back-to-back loans to state governments.

What will it do?

• The move may break the impasse between the Centre and States over the issue of borrowings to recompense the latter, despite 3 meetings of the GST Council. 
• It will offer a big breather to States, particularly those that have high fiscal deficits and would have had to pay higher rates if they approached the market.

Background-

1. Economic slowdown (since ~3yrs now)–> began to impact GST revenue collections in August 2019. 
2. Centre’s estimates–>, States’ GST revenue gap in 2020-21 =~ ₹3 lakh crore,
   while cess collections –> only projected to reach ₹65,000 crore, leaving a shortfall of ₹2.35 lakh crore.
3. States are likely to face this huge GST revenue shortfall as the economy may contract due to COVID-19

more mains

GST cess will stay finance panel chief

The levy of compensation cess on GST may have to be extended for quite a few years, perhaps have still as late as 2025 to pay off the State GST dues– Chairperson of the 15th Finance Commission NK Singh said

The Commission’s report on the division of funds between the Centre and the Stage for the 5-year period of 2021-22 till 2025-2026 will be submitted to the government soon.

Asserting that the centre as at no point BackTrack from the fact that the state will get compensation for the first 5 years Mr Singh share a lot of MS giving a bound the physical compact have been broken and there been a trust deficit in negotiations over GST compensation cess was somewhat exaggerated.

Indian+ Chinese officials meet

Communication between military commander increased
Comply with 5 point Shankar Bank Moscow Meeting (5p JWMA) of WBMCC = Working Mechanism of Consultation and Coordination
MEA (involved)–> complete disintegration of troops in LAC in accordance to existing bilateral agreements.

Standoff at Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie in eastern Ladakh.

SCO 4th September Moscow

India- Chinese Defence Ministerial meet
India pushed for status quo ante
India building DSDBO= , Darbuk-Shyok-Daulat Beg Oldie (DSDBO) road, through the Galwan Valley – close to China – connecting the region to an airstrip.

SCO
Peace+ Prosperity
Evolution of Global Security Architecture
Security situation in Afghanistan
Gulf countries is resolve differences
Against terrorism

Ajit Doval walks out of SCO meet of NSAs over ‘fictitious’ Pak map that violates norms