22th & 23rd November UPSC Prelims Current Affairs : Prelims Sure shot

Himayat Mission

Why in news

• 42 projects under Himayat Mission sanctioned in J&K.

Himayat Mission:

• Initiative of Union Ministry of Rural Development.
• Implemented by Jammu & Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) with Entrepreneurship

• Development Institute of India (EDI) Ahmedabad, as coordinating /monitoring agency.
• It aims at providing entrepreneurial skills for sustainable livelihood to 10,000 youth of J&K and facilitates access to finance and support services to at least 50% of them over a period of 3.5 Years.
• The project aims to generate sustainable livelihood opportunities through self-employment for the youth of Jammu and Kashmir by the crosscutting approaches of holistic entrepreneurship development programs.
• The candidate’s education qualification should be 8th or above, within the age group of 18-35 years and must be a permanent resident of the state of J&K.

Note – Himayat is under implementation in the State (Jammu and Kashmir) since 2011.

• The Programme was recommended by C. Rangarajan Committee report in 2011.

 

Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0

Why in news

• Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare reviewed the preparedness within States for roll out of Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0 in States from 2^nd December 2019. 

Mission Indradhanush:

• It targets children less than 2 years of age and pregnant women for immunization.
• It provides vaccination against 12 Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (VPD)e. diphtheria, Whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, hepatitis B, meningitis and pneumonia, Hemophilus influenza type B infections, Japanese encephalitis (JE), rotavirus vaccine, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) and measles-rubella (MR).

Intensified Mission Indradhanush:

• It aimed to achieve 90% full immunization coverage with focus towards districts and urban areas with persistently low levels.
• IMI was built on Mission Indradhanush, using additional strategies to reach populations at high risk, by involving sectors other than health.
• It was an effort to shift routine immunization into a Jan Andolan, or a “peoples’ movement”.

Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0:

• Now the government is poised to launch Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 2.0 between December 2019 – March 2020.
• The program will be delivered in 272 districts of 27 states and 652 blocks of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar among hard-to-reach and tribal populations.
• Several ministries, including the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Panchayati Raj, Ministry of Urban Development etc will come together to support the government in ensuring the benefits of vaccines reach the last mile.
• TheIntensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0 will target the districts which have immunisation coverage of 70% or below.

The salient features of IMI 2.0 are:

• Immunization activity will be in four rounds over 7 working days excluding the RI days, Sundays and holidays.
• Enhanced focus on left outs, dropouts, and resistant families and hard to reach areas.
• Focus on urban, underserved population and tribal areas.
• Enhance political, administrative and financial commitment, through advocacy.

 

National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)

Why in news

• Realtors’ body demands amendment to NCLT Act.

National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT):

• The National Company Law Tribunal NCLT is a quasi-judicial body, exercising equitable jurisdiction, which was earlier being exercised by the High Court or the Central Government.
• The Tribunal has powers to regulate its own procedures.

• The Central Government has constituted National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under section 408 of the Companies Act, 2013.
• The establishment of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) consolidates the corporate jurisdiction of the following authorities:
• Company Law Board
• Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR).
• The Appellate Authority for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction
• Jurisdiction and powers relating to winding up restructuring and other such provisions, vested in the High Courts.
• Eleven Benches are there with Principal Bench at New Delhi.
• These Benches will be headed by the President and 16 Judicial Members and 09 Technical Members at different locations.

Powers of NCLT:

• The NCLT has been empowered to exercise the following powers:
• Most of the powers of the Company Law Board under the Companies Act, 1956.
• All the powers of BIFR for revival and rehabilitation of sick industrial companies;
• Power of High Court in the matters of mergers, demergers, amalgamations, winding up, etc.;
• Power to order repayment of deposits accepted by Non-Banking Financial Companies as provided in section 45QA of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934;
• Power to wind up companies;
• Power to Review its own orders.

National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT):

• It was constituted under Section 410 of the Companies Act, 2013 for hearing appeals against the orders of National Company Law Tribunal.
• NCLAT is also the Appellate Tribunal for hearing appeals against the orders passed by NCLT(s) under Section 61 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC).
• NCLAT is also the Appellate Tribunal for hearing appeals against the orders passed by Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India under Section 202 and Section 211 of IBC.
• NCLAT is also the Appellate Tribunal to hear and dispose of appeals against any direction issued or decision made or order passed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA):

• It is established under Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA) 2016.
• It seeks to protect home-buyers as well as help boost investments in the real estate sector by bringing efficiency and transparency in the sale/purchase of real estate.

Objectives of RERA:

• Enhance transparency and accountability in real estate and housing transactions.
• Boost domestic and foreign investment in the real estate sector.
• Provide uniform regulatory environment to ensure speedy adjudication of disputes.
• Promote orderly growth through efficient project execution and standardization.
• Offer single window system of clearance for real estate projects.
• Empower and protect the right of home buyers.

 

Olive Ridley Turtles

Why in news

• Olive Ridleys arrive in Odisha for mating season.

Olive Ridley Turtles:

• The Olive ridley turtles are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world.
• It inhabits warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
• These turtles, along with their cousin the Kemps ridley turtle, are best known for their unique mass nesting called Arribada, where thousands of females come together on the same beach to lay eggs.
• The coast of Odisha in India is the largest mass nesting site for the Olive-ridley turtles followed by the coasts of Mexico and Costa Rica.
• Rushikulya rookery is a major nesting site for the Olive Ridleys along the Indian coast.

Threats:

• Olive-ridleys face serious threats across their migratory route, habitat and nesting beaches, due to human activities such as turtle unfriendly fishing practices, development and exploitation of nesting beaches for ports, and tourist centres. 

Conservation Status:

• The Olive ridley turtle is recognized as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red list.
• International trade in these turtles and their products is banned under CITES Appendix I.

 

 

Cartosat-3 Mission

Why in news

• ISRO postpones launch of Cartosat-3 to Nov 27.

From the news:

• India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C47 will launch Cartosat-3 and 13 commercial nanosatellites intoSun Synchronous orbit. 

• PSLV-C47 is the 21^stflight of PSLV in ‘XL’ configuration (with 6 solid strap-on motors).
• PSLV-C47 would also carry 13 commercial nanosatellites from the US as part of commercial arrangement with New Space India Limited (NSIL), Department of Space.

Cartosat-3 Mission:

• Cartosat-3 is an earth imaging and mapping satellite developed by ISRO. 
• The Cartosat-3 is a “third generation agile advanced satellite” having high resolution imaging capability.
• The satellite would be placed in an orbit of 509 km at an inclination of 97.5 degree.
• It has the capability to produce high resolution aerial images in the world.
• The features of the satellite include:
• Panchromatic-Captures all visible colors of light
• Hyperspectral-Captures light from electromagnetic spectrum
• Multispectral-Captures light within specific ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum.

 

Avian Botulism

Why in news

• Avian botulism killed 18,000 birds at Sambhar says Government report.

Avian botulism:

• Avian botulism — a neuro-muscular illness caused by a toxin which is produced by a bacterial strain.
• Botulinum is a natural toxin produced by bacteria known as Clostridium botulin. 
• It produces the toxin when it starts reproducing.
• The illness, caused by Clostridium botulinum, affected the nervous system of birds, leading to flaccid paralysis in their legs and wings and neck touching the ground.
• The bacterium iscommonly found in the soil, river, and sea water.
• There are around eight types — A, B, C₁, C₂, D, E, F, and G — of botulinum toxin and they are distinguishable when diagnosed.
• But all types of toxins attack the neurons, which leads to muscle paralysis.
• Botulinum affects both humans and animals but the type of the toxin varies — botulinum C in birds and A, B and E in humans. 
• The toxin has been recognised as a major cause of mortality in wild birds since the 1900s.

Sambhar Lake:

• Location – Rajasthan
• Sambhar Lake is India’s largest inland saline water body and has been designated as a wetland ofinternational importance, attracting thousands of migratory birds during winter.

What happened at Sambhar?

• The avian botulism that caused the mass die-off at Sambhar was caused by the climate, according to the IVRI report.
• The good monsoon provided a favourable environment for the bacteria to spread, the bacteria needs anaerobic (absence of oxygen) conditions and does not grow in acidic conditions.
• The monsoon brought with it a large population of crustaceans (like shrimps, crabs, and prawns), invertebrates (snails) and plankton (like algae).
• These living organisms are capable of hosting the bacteria for a long period of time. According to reports, the bacterium is also found in the gills and digestive tracts of healthy fish.
• It reproduces through spores and these spores remain dormant for years. They are resistant to temperature changes and drying. 
• The IVRI reports that after the monsoon, when the water levels receded, there might have been an increase in salinity levels which could have led to the death of these living organisms.

 

Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) index

Why in news

• Gujarat has one again topped a perception-based index of mobility of goods and efficiency of logistics chain, closely followed by Punjab and Andhra Pradesh.

More about the news

• Among the union territories, Chandigarh occupied the top position followed by Delhi and Pondicherry. Chandigarh has replaced Daman and Diu in the latest logistics performance index.
• As regards the hilly states, Tripura retained the top spot. It was followed by Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

LEADs index

• The LEADs index is a composite indicator to assess international trade logistics across States/UTs based on stakeholders’ survey conducted by Deloitte for Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• It is calculated based on nine parameters such as:
• Infrastructure
• Availability of logistics infrastructure
• Quality of logistics infrastructure
• Services
• Quality of logistics services provided by service providers
• Ease of arranging logistics at competitive rates
• Timeliness of cargo delivery
• Ease of track and trace
• Safety and security of cargo
• Operating & Regulatory Environment
• State facilitation and coordination
• Efficiency of regulatory processes
• LEADS are loosely based on World Bank’s biannual Logistics Performance Index (LPI).
• It aims to serve as an indicator of efficiency of logistical services necessary for promoting exports in particular and economic growth in general.

 

Prithvi-II missile 

Why in news

• Nuclear-capable Prithvi-II Missile successfully test fired off Odisha coast.

Prithvi-II Missile:

• It is surface-to-surface tactical missile with a strike range of 350 km.
• It is India’s first missile indigenously developed by DRDO under prestigious Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP). 
• It is capable of carrying 500 to 1,000 kg of warheads and is powered by liquid propulsion twin engines.

• The state-of-the-art missile uses an advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring orbit to hit its target.
• Prithvi was inducted into the Armour of the defence forces in 2003.

 

 

Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS)

Why in news

• To meet the funding needs of Startups, Government of India has established Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) under Start up India Programme.

Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS):

• Government of India (GoI) created access to a large capital of funds for startups in India, through the scheme “Fund of Funds for Startups” to create a nation of job creators than job seekers.
• Fund of Funds is a multi-manager investment fund that helps the startups by reducing the risk of investing in bonds, stocks and other types of securities.
• The fund of funds can be domestic or international.
• The scheme allows the startups to be registered with DPIIT for tax benefits, easier compliance, IPR fast-tracking and self-certification on labour laws.

Startup India:

• The GoI initiated Startup India to support and boost the startups for economic and innovative developments in India. 
• Under Startup India initiative, all applications can be submitted to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.
• The incentives provided to Startups under Startup India initiative are as follows:
• Relaxations in Public Procurement Norms.
• Faster exit under the Bankruptcy Code.
• Rebates on Patent & Trademark filing fees, support from facilitators and expedited examination of Patent application.
• Income Tax exemption under section 80 IAC.
• Funding support under the Fund of Funds for Startups.
• Guidance and facilitation support from Startup India Hub.

 

One Stop Centre (OSC) scheme

Why in news

• The Government of India is implementing One Stop Centre (OSC) scheme for setting up One Stop Centre since 1st April 2015 to support women affected by violence.

One Stop Centre (OSC) scheme

• It is a sub – scheme of Umbrella Scheme for National Mission for Empowerment of women including Indira Gandhi Mattritav Sahyaog Yojana.
• It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme
• It is popularly known as Sakhi.
• It comes under Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD)
• Under the scheme, One Stop Centres are being established across the country to provide integrated support and assistance under one roof to women affected by violence, both in private and public spaces in phased manner.
• The OSC will support all women including girls below 18 years of age affected by violence, irrespective of caste, class, religion, region, sexual orientation or marital status.
• The Scheme will be funded through Nirbhaya Fund. The Central Government will provide 100% financial

• assistance to the State Government /UT Administrations under the Scheme.
• The Centres will be integrated with a Women Helpline to facilitate access to following services:
• Emergency response and rescue services.
• Medical assistance.
• Assistance to women in lodging the FIR.
• Psycho- social support and counseling.
• Legal aid and counseling.
• Video conferencing facility.