Current Affairs 20th May 2017

Current Affairs 20th May 2017 - Important Points

• Anant Geete inaugurates Test Track Facility developed by - Global Automotive Research Centre
• Indian Army gets M777 howitzers 30 years after - Bofors scandal
• Indian scientist Shrinivas Kulkarni wins - Dan David Prize 2017
• Bhindawas bird sanctuary to be developed as - Tourist resort
• Chitale Committee recommends several measures for Desiltation of - Ganga
•  NGT bans open defecation, waste dumping on - Yamuna floodplains
• Number of migrant children travelling alone hits record high: UNICEF
• Framework for South China Sea code of conduct agreed - China and ASEAN
• Pan-India implementation of Maternity Benefit Program approved by - Union Government

Current Affairs 20th May 2017 - Details

Anant Geete inaugurates Test Track Facility developed by - Global Automotive Research Centre

Anant G. Geete, Union Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises Minister formally inaugurated the Test Track Facility at Oragadam, Chennai on 18th May 2017.  

Global Automotive Research Centre (GARC) developed test track facility with the estimated cost of Rs 193.25 crore. The facility has been notified to issue certificates under CMVR 1989.

Important Details

• The Global Automotive Research Centre is working under the National Automotive Testing & R&D Infra Project (NATRiP).
• The NATRiP is the largest and one of the most significant initiatives of the Indian Government in the automotive sector.
• The Project focuses at creating core global competencies in automotive sector in India and facilitate seamless integration of Indian 
• Automotive industry with the world as also to position India majorly on the global automotive map.
• The GARC has full-fledged homologation test facilities including the Test Tracks to certify all categories of vehicles, systems and components.
• It is surrounded by major automobile manufacturers like Hyundai, Nissan, Ford, BMW,Daimler, Renault, Mitsubishi and many component manufacturers.
• GARC has been notified by the Government of India as one of the authorized test agency for Type Approval and Homologation Testing under Rule No.126 of CMVR.
• GARC-Chennai with an overall investment of Rs. 963 crore is one such and largest endeavour under NATRiP banner.
• It is one of the six facilities being developed under NATRiP under Department of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises, Government of India.
• GARC is notified under the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 to issue test certificates for homologation.

Indian Army gets M777 howitzers 30 years after - Bofors scandal

After a 30-year wait for new artillery guns since the Bofors scandal, the Indian Army received the first two M-777 A-2 (Indian) ultra-light howitzers (ULH) from BAE systems of the US on 18th May 2017.

Important Highlights

• This is a part of an order for 145 long-range guns which will be mostly deployed on borders. 
• The M-777 A-2 ultra-light howitzers (ULH) having a maximum range of 30 km were being taken to Pokhran firing range in Rajasthan for test firing.
• $750-million deal for 145 artillery guns signed by India and US. 
• Three more guns will be received in the second stage in September 2018 for training.
• Thereafter, induction will commence from March 2019 onwards at the rate of five guns every month till complete consignment is received by mid-2021.
• While 25 guns will come in a fly-away condition, the rest will be assembled in India by the BAE Systems in partnership with Mahindra Defence.
•  The 155 mm, 39-calibre guns will fire Indian ammunitions.
• The Indian Army is in urgent need of ULH so it had proceeded through a government-to-government deal with the US in November 2016 for the supply of the 145 howitzers for a cost of nearly Rs 5000 crore. India had last procured howitzers in the mid-1980s from Swedish defence major Bofors.

Do you know?

Swedish Bofors was the last modern artillery gun that was inducted into the Army in last 1980s and beginning of 1990s, when late Rajiv Gandhi led Congress was in power in the country. 

Indian scientist Shrinivas Kulkarni wins - Dan David Prize 2017

Indian scientist Shrinivas Kulkarni won the prestigious Dan David prize 2017 for his contribution in the field of astronomy on 18th May 2017. He was awarded in the 'Future' category which is dedicated to astronomy this year. Kulkarni will share the award with Andrej Udalski of the University of Warsaw and Neil Gehrels of NASA for their discoveries on time-domain astrophysics. He is a professor of astrophysics and planetary science at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He is a pioneer and leading figure in time-domain astrophysics across the electromagnetic spectrum who built and conducted the Palomar .Transient Factory, a large-area survey of the night sky in search of variable and transient phenomena.

This survey has turned up thousands of stellar explosions and has changed the knowledge about the transient sky. With this, Kulkarni joins other prominent Indian laureates of the Dan David prize including author Amitav Ghosh, music conductor Zubin Mehta and renowned chemist CNR Rao.

More about Dan David Prize

• The USD of 1 million prize is a joint international enterprise endowed by the Dan David Foundation headquartered at Tel Aviv University, Israel.
• Three Dan David prizes are given every year to people in the categories of Past, Present and Future around the world who have made outstanding contributions to humanity in the sciences.
• The recipients in the 'Past' category are generally drawn from the field of paleontology, history, archaeology,biography, etc.
• The  recipients in the 'Present' category are drawn from arts, economics, media, policy etc.
• The recipients in the 'Future' category are picked from one of the exact or natural sciences.

Bhindawas bird sanctuary to be developed as - Tourist resort

Manohar Lal Khattar,Haryana CM said that the Bhindawas Bird Sanctuary in Jhajjar would be developed as a beautiful tourist destination on 19th May 2017. The announcement was made after Manohar Lal visited the lake, Prakritik Chetna Kendra, and the watch-tower set up in the Bhindawas Bird Sanctuary in Jhajjar. He was accompanied by Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Om Parkash Dhankar during his visit to the sanctuary.

Key Highlights

• He said that the facilities like arrangements for night stay of tourists and dispensary for birds and the wildlife would be provided at this place.
• He said that an assistant would soon be appointed in the dispensary.
• Apart from this,Sultanpur Bird Century doctors, Gurugram, would be made available online.
• Hospital assistance would also be taken for the wildlife set up by the Jain community in Delhi.
• The CM also said that the youth of the area would be trained to offer their services as guides for the tourists visiting the sanctuary. 
• The district administration would provide them three-month special training after which they would be awarded training certificates.

Chitale Committee recommends several measures for Desiltation of - Ganga

Chitale committee constituted to prepare guidelines for desiltation of river Ganga from Bhimgauda (Uttarakhand) to Farakka (West Bengal), submitted its report to Ministry of Water Resources on 19th May 2017. It also recommended the preparation of annual reports of Sand registry describing the previous de-silting/dredging activity and a technical institute may be trusted to conduct the sediment budget, morphological and flood routing studies that would examine and confirm the necessity of the de-silting of the reach under consideration.

More about the Chitale committee

The Ministry of Water Resources River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation constituted a committee to prepare guidelines for desiltation of  river Ganga from Bhimgauda (Uttarakhand) to Farakka (West Bengal) in July 2016. It was asked to establish a difference between desilting and sand mining. Madhav Chitale (Expert Member, NGRBA) was appointed as Chairman of the committee. Other committee members included Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources,Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenationand Dr Mukesh Sinha, Director, Central Water and Power Research Station, Pune.

Key Highlights

• The report says erosion, sediment transportation and siltation are very complex phenomena.
• It is impossible to apply a “one-size-fits-all? approach to sediment management and control because the issues involved are frequently vary region wise.
• Local factors such as river control structures, soil, topography, and water conservation measures, tree cover, and riparian land-use or land disturbance can have a large impact on sediment loads in rivers.
• River control structures, soil conservation measures and sediment control programmes can cause downstream sediment loads to reduce, while factors such as land disturbance or agricultural practices can cause increased sediment loads.

 NGT bans open defecation, waste dumping on - Yamuna floodplains

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned open defecation and dumping of waste on the floodplains of the Yamuna on 19th May 2017. The tribunal also announced an environment compensation of Rs 5000 for violating the diktat.

Important Highlights

• NGT bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar announced the ban while hearing a plea on monitoring the implementation of the  'Maili se Nirmal Yamuna Revitalisation Project 2017'.
• In addition to this, the bench also constituted a committee headed by Delhi Jal Board CEO to oversee the work execution pertaining to the cleaning of the river and asked it to submit reports at regular intervals.
• The bench also directed the Delhi government and the municipal corporations to immediately take action against industries which operate in residential areas and are a major source of pollution to the river.
• Earlier on 1st May 2017, the apex green panel had ordered inspection of the STPs at Delhi Gate and Okhla with a view to ensuring that wastewater was cleaned before it reaches the Yamuna. It had sought a report with regard to the functioning of these plants.
• The tribunal was informed that a total of 14 STP projects are to be constructed to clean wastewater. Of these, seven are to be built by the Delhi Jal Board with its own funds.

Number of migrant children travelling alone hits record high: UNICEF

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced on 18th May 2017 that the number of children travelling alone has increased five times since 2010. In addition, the agency also warned that many young refugees and migrants are taking highly dangerous routes to reach their destinations.

At least 300000 unaccompanied and separated children were recorded in around 80 countries in the combined years of 2015 and 2016, up from 66000 in 2010 and 2011, as per the new UNICEF report titled A Child is a Child: Protecting children on the move from violence, abuse and exploitation.

Key highlights of the report

• The report depicts a global picture of refugee and migrant children, the motivations behind their journeys and the risks they face along the way.
• At least 300000 unaccompanied and separated children moving across borders were registered in 80 countries in 2015–16.
• 92 percent of children who arrived to Italy by sea in 2016 were unaccompanied. The figure is up from 75 percent in 2015.
• 100000 unaccompanied children were apprehended at the Mexico–United States border in 2015 and 2016.
• 75 percent of children who arrived in Italy reported experiences such as being held against their will or being forced to work without wage.
• The report also shows that children account for 28 percent of trafficking victims globally approximately.
• In Sub-Saharan Africa and Central America and the Caribbean have the highest share of children among detected trafficking victims at 64 and 62 percent respectively.
• To tackle this issue, UNICEF presented a six-point agenda which includes:
• Protection of child refugees and migrants, particularly unaccompanied children, from exploitation and violence.
• End the detention of children seeking refugee status or migration, by introducing a range of practical alternatives.
• Keep families together is the best way to protect children and give children legal status.
• Keep all refugee and migrant children learning and giving them access to health and other quality services.
• Promote measures to stop xenophobia, discrimination and marginalization in countries of transit and destination.

Framework for South China Sea code of conduct agreed - China and ASEAN

China and South-east Asian countries agreed to a draft framework for a long-mooted code of conduct (CoC) for the disputed the South China Sea on 18th May 2017. 

Key Highlights

• The agreement was reached with a hope that it could minimize the risk of clashes in one of the world's busiest waterways.
• China's foreign ministry said after a meeting between Chinese and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) officials in the southern city of Guiyang, the draft framework had been agreed upon, but he gave no details of its contents.
• The Ministry said senior officials have completed the Code of Conduct (COC) framework negotiations, ahead of the mid-2017 timeline which leaders of ASEAN and China had set.
• According to a joint press statement issued at the end of the one-day senior officials' meeting, this draft COC framework will be submitted to the foreign ministers for consideration. 
• China and the ASEAN had been hoping to agree on the framework this year, 15 years after committing to draft it.
• China claims over almost the entire South China Sea, through which about US$5 trillion goods passes annually. 
• The area is also claimed by other countries like Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines,, Brunei and Vietnam.
• Reports suggested that negotiators from China and ASEAN have met in Cambodia and Indonesia in last few months to try to reach the final draft.
•  Possibilities are there that the draft will be approved in the August meeting of South-east Asian foreign ministers in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

Pan-India implementation of Maternity Benefit Program approved by - Union Government

The Union Cabinet, presided by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave ex-post facto approval to Pan-India implementation of Maternity Benefit Program on 17th May 2017. The Program has been extended to all districts of the country with effect from 1st January 2017. The Maternity Benefit Program will give compensation for the wage loss in terms of cash incentives so that the women can take adequate rest before and after delivery and not to be deprived of proper nutrition. The total cost of the proposal for the period from 1st January 2017 to 31st March 2020 including Union and State Governments share is Rs. 12661 crore. The Government of India’s share during the period is around Rs. 7932 crore.

Goals of this Benefit Program

• To provide partial compensation for the wage loss in terms of cash incentives so that the woman can take proper rest before and after delivery of the first living child.
• The cash incentives provided would lead to improve health seeking behaviour amongst the Pregnant Women and Lactating Mother to reduce the effects of under-nutrition namely stunting, wasting and other related problems.
• All Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers are eligible for this scheme.
• The Pregnant Women and Lactating Mother will be given the benefit of Rs. 5000 in three instalments for the birth of the first live child by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development and the remaining cash incentive as per approved norms towards Maternity Benefit under existing programmes after institutional delivery so that on an average, a woman will get Rs. 6000.
• Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers who are eligible will be receiving a cash benefit of Rs. 5000 in three installments.