Daily Current Affairs : 22/1/2019

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP)
2. Zoological Survey of India
3. Climate ‘time bomb’ for groundwater is ticking
4. World Economy Outlook
5. Kartarpur corridor
6. Electronic Voting Machine

1 . National Social Assistance Programme

Context : Ahead of the 2019 election, the Rural Development Ministry has proposed that the monthly pensions of the elderly poor, disabled and widows be increased from the current Rs. 200 to Rs. 800. For those above the age of 80, the proposal is to increase the pension from Rs. 500 to Rs. 1,200 a month.

What is National Social Assistance Programme

• The National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) represents a significant step towards the fulfillment of the Directive Principles in Article 41 and 42 of the Constitution recognizing the concurrent responsibility of the Central and the State Governments in the matter. In particular, Article 41 of the Constitution of India directs the State to provide public assistance to its citizens in case of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement and in other cases of undeserved want within the limit of its economic capacity and development.

Objective of NSAP

• National Social Assistance Programme is a social security and welfare programme to provide support to aged persons, widows, disabled persons and bereaved families on death of primary bread winner,
  belonging to below poverty line households.

Components of NSAP

The NSAP at its inception in 1995 had three components namely

• National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS,
• National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) and
• National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS). The National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS) was subsequently transferred on 1st April, 2001 from the Ministry of Rural development to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Eligibility and scale of assistance

For getting benefits under NSAP the applicant must belong to a Below Poverty Line (BPL) family according to the criteria prescribed by the Govt. of India. The other eligibility criteria and the scale of central assistance under the sub – schemes of NSAP are as follows. Besides the central assistance, states / UT contribute an equal amount as their share:

• Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS) : The eligible age for IGNOAPS is 60 years. The pension is Rs.200 p.m. for persons between 60 years and 79 years. For persons who are 80 years and above the pension is Rs.500/ – per month.
• Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS) : The eligible age is 40 years and the pension is Rs.300 per month. After attaining the age of 80 years, the beneficiary will get Rs.500/ – per month.
• Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS) : The eligible age for the pension er is 18 years and above and the disability level has to be 80%. The amount is Rs.300 per month and after attaining the age of 80 years, the beneficiary will get Rs 500/ – per month . Dwarfs will also be a n eligible category for this pension.
• National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) : Rs. 20000/ – will be given as a lumpsum assistance to the bereaved household in the event of death of the bread – winner. It is clarified that any event of death (natural or otherwise) would make the family eligible for assistance. A woman in the family, who is a home maker, is also considered as a ‘bread – winner’ for this purpose. The death of bread – winner should have occurred whilst he/ she is more than 18 years of age and less than 60 years of age. The assistance would be given to every case of death of breadwinner in a family.
• Annapurna Scheme : 10 kgs of food grains (wheat or rice) is given per month per beneficiary. The scheme aims at providing food security to meet the requirements of those eligible old aged persons who have remained uncovered under the IGNOAPS

2 . Zoological Survey of India

Context : An updated list of Indian amphibians was released on the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) website last week, with 19 species being treated as critically endangered and 33 species as endangered.

About Zoological Survey of India

• The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) was established on 1st July, 1916 to promote survey, exploration and research leading to the advancement in our knowledge of various aspects of exceptionally rich life of the erstwhile ´British Indian Empire´.
• The survey has its genesis in the establishment of the Zoological Section of the Indian Museum at Calcutta in 1875. By gradually strengthening its staff and expanding its research programme, the Survey has met the challenge of the past and is on its way to meet the demands of the future.

Activities

• Study of the fauna of states
• Fauna of conservation areas
• Fauna of important ecosystems
• Status survey of endangered species
• Fauna of India and
• Ecological Studies & Environmental impact assessments.

3 . Climate ‘time bomb’ for groundwater is ticking

Context : Future generations face an environmental “time bomb” as the world’s groundwater systems take decades to respond to the present day impact of climate change, scientists warned on Monday.

How is Groundwater Replenished

• Groundwater is the largest useable source of freshwater on the planet and more than two billion people rely on it to drink or irrigate crops.
• It is slowly replenished through rainfall — a process known as recharge — and discharges into lakes, rivers or oceans to maintain an overall balance between water in and water out.
• The process through which rainwater is filtered through bedrock and accumulated underground can take centuries and varies greatly by region.

About the issue

• Groundwater reserves are already under pressure as the global population explodes and crop production rises in lockstep.
• But the extreme weather events such as drought and record rainfall — both made worse by our heating planet — could have another long-lasting impact on how quickly reserves replenish

Details of the research

• Only half of all groundwater supplies are likely to fully replenish or re-balance within the next 100 years — potentially leading to shortages in drier areas.
• This could be described as an environmental time bomb because any climate change impacts on recharge occurring now, will only fully impact the baseflow to rivers and wetlands a long time later,

4 . World Economy Outlook

Context : The International Monetary Fund on Monday cut its world economic growth forecasts for 2019 and 2020, due to weakness in Europe and some emerging markets, and said failure to resolve trade tensions could further destabilise a slowing global economy. 

About World Economy Outlook

• The World Economic Outlook (WEO) is a survey conducted and published by the International Monetary Fund.
• It is published biannually and partly updated two times a year.
• It portrays the world economy in the near and medium context, with projections for up to four years into the future. WEO forecasts include key macroeconomic indicators, such as GDP, inflation, current account and fiscal balance of more than 180 countries around the globe. It also deals with major economic policy issues.

Details about the Forecast

• The IMF cut its estimate for global growth this year to 3.5 percent, from the 3.7 percent it had predicted in October and down from 2018’s 3.7 percent. 
• Growth of China was reported of 6.6 percent in 2018, the weakest since 1990. Demand for Chinese exports weakened last year and the IMF expects China’s growth to decelerate again this year — to 6.2 percent.
• India’s GDP is forecast to expand 7.5% in FY20 and 7.7% in FY21 

5 . Kartarpur corridor

Context : Indian and Pakistani officials are expected to meet next month to discuss a “draft agreement” on the Kartarpur corridor in Punjab, sources confirmed. The meeting follows the Pakistan government’s announcement that it had shared the draft of the agreement, to be signed by the two governments, for “facilitation of (Indian) Sikh Yatrees to visit the Gurudwara, Darbar Sahib Kartarpur, Narowal, Pakistan”.

About the Corridor

• Guru Nanak Dev ji had assembled the Sikh community at Kartarpur and lived there for 18 years till 1539. The Gurudwara Darbar Sahib is built where Guru Nanak Dev Ji took his last breath. 
• To mark Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s 550^th birth anniversary in 2019, the Government of India decided on 22^nd Nov 2018 to build the Kartarpur road Corridor upto the international border between India and Pakistan as an integrated development project.
• The Corridor will let Sikh pilgrims visit the iconic Gurudwara Darbar Sahib at  Kartarpur  on the banks of river Ravi in Pakistan.

How the corridor will be built

• India and Pakistan had announced on 15^th Nov 2018 that they will build Corridors on their respective sides to let Sikh pilgrims visit the holy shrine without visa and to help them walk across and come back without having to secure a visa. 
• The Indian side of Corridor starts from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district and extends upto International border between India and Pakistan.
• The project corridor is to be developed by National Highways Authority of India and will be  funded by Government of India.
• The project corridor is 4 lane with service road and all other appropriate amenities for pilgrims intending to visit Gurudwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur in Pakistan. 

Importance

• This corridor will be a historical landmark between India and Pakistan and will also boost tourism as more pilgrims would visit the holy shrine throughout the year between two countries

Issues to be addressed

• Among the issues that need to be finalised are the exact point of crossing over for the pilgrims, the identity cards required, as well as security procedures and guarantees needed by both sides.
• In a previous draft, Pakistan had proposed a 14-point agreement, which included visa free travel for the pilgrims who would be processed at checkpoints on both the Indian and Pakistani side. The agreement included setting up a database of all pilgrims visiting, with a suggested cap of 500 pilgrims per day.
• Earlier, the MEA had said there should be no restriction on the number of pilgrims or visiting hours. However, given security protocols, the Ministry of Home Affairs concluded that a cap would be necessary. The draft agreement from Pakistan also proposes to keep the corridor open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day.

6 . Electronic Voting Machine

Facts about the EVM

• 1977 – CEC- S L Shakdar talked about introducing an Electronic machine
• 1980-81 EVMs developed and demonstrated by ECIL and BEL.
• 1982-83 EVMs used in 50 polling stations of Parur LA in Kerala. Used in 11 Assembly Constituencies:8 states, 1UT
• 1984 – Usage of EVMs suspended: SC ruling-EVMs cannot be used till RP Act is amended
• 1988- RP Act amended: enabling use EVMs wef 15.03.1989

Security Features

• Standalone Machine Population
• No Radio Frequency transmission or reception possible- No wireless communication possible
• One Time Programmable (OTP) chip
• Dynamic Coding of Key Press
• Real Time Clock for time and date stamping key press

EVM Models

• Pre 2006: M1
• 2006-2010: M2
• From 2013: M3

Is Hacking of EVM Possible

• Hacking’ is unauthorised access to or control over computer network security systems for some illicit purpose
• As per ECI the word ‘Hacking’ is not applicable for following reasons:

1. The EVM is a stand alone machine and is not connected to any network through wire or wirelessly
2. The SW programme in the OTP Microcontroller can neither be read nor modified

Alternative ways

• Electronic Voter Identification – 14 countries using some form of Electronic/biometric based voter identification : Brazil, Venezuela, USA, Switzerland, Romania, Belgium, Lithuania, Mongolia, Bhutan, Kyrgystan, Uganda, Namibia, Kenya, Jamaica.
• Electronic Voting (Fully /Partially) – 18 countries using electronic voting in some form through EVMs (Direct Recording Machines), some with Paper Trail. : India, Namibia, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, Mexico, USA, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Venezuela.
• Electronic Counting -13 countries are using e-technology for counting of votes : Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Belgium, Australia, South Korea, Philippines, Mongolia, Bhutan, Namibia.
• Other countries using EVMs (DRMs): Namibia, Nepal, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, Switzerland, Canada, Mexico, USA, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Venezuela

EVM CHALLENGE- 2017

• Commission organized an EVM Challenge on 3rd June 2017:
• All National and State Political Parties were invited to participate in the Challenge.
• Parties allowed to pick EVMs/VVPATs of their choice from the 5 poll-gone States (UP, Punjab, UK, Goa, Manipur), which were securely held in the Strongrooms under 24*7 armed security)
• Parties given opportunity to demonstrate EVM manipulation/tampering in the votes recorded in the EVMs/VVPATs of their choice, as variously alleged earlier.
• No Political Party participated in the Challenge.