Current Affairs - 2019-20

Notes:
Chandrayaan was launched on October 22nd 2008 and successfully reached the lunar surface on November 14, 2008. The ISRO lost communication with Chandrayaan-1 on August 29, 2009, almost a year after it was launched on October 22, 2008. It operated for 312 days.
In 2017 NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have found India’s first lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1 which was considered lost, is still orbiting the moon.

Notes:
India and the United States established a Joint Working Group on Counter-terrorism as early as February 2000. It had its ninth meeting recently. Our two countries signed a Counter-terrorism Cooperation Initiative in July 2010. There are other institutional mechanisms, such as the Working Group on Aviation Security, Working Group on Information and Communication Technology and the Defence Policy Group, which provide avenues for our cooperation. India’s membership of FATF has strengthened our ability to work with each other on the financial aspects of terrorism.
 

Notes:
The four largest newspaper markets in the world are:

1. China, with 107 million copies sold daily
2. India, with 99 million copies sold daily
3. Japan, with 68 million copies sold daily
4. The United States, with nearly 51 million copies sold daily

The Asia-Pacific region is the largest newspaper market, accounting for over 30% of the market in 2018. The growth of print and digital media in India and China is a key factor in the growth of the Asia-Pacific market. The global print newspapers and magazines market size was estimated at USD 123.93 billion in 2021. Revenue is projected to reach US$165.80bn in 2023.

Notes:
Cervus elaphus hanglu, also known as Hangul or Kashmir red deer, is a subspecies of Central Asian red deer. It is native to India and is found in dense riverine forests in the high valleys and mountains of the Kashmir Valley and northern Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh.
The Hangul is a critically endangered animal. It is listed as critically endangered in the IUCN Red Data Book and is under Appendix – I in CITES listings. The Wildlife Department of Jammu and Kashmir Government launched “Project Hangul” in 1970 to save the Hangul.
The Hangul has a brown coat color with speckled hairs. It has a light rump patch, but not including the tail. The buttocks are greyish white on the inner side, and the upper side of the tail is black.
The Hangul population has seen a marginal increase in Kashmir. In 2019, there were 237 Hanguls, in 2021 there were 261, and in 2023 there were 289. However, the basic demographic ratio of male: female and female: fawn are skewed.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) had constituted an 8-member task force under CBDT member Arvind Modi in November 2017 to review the Income-tax Act of 1961 and to draft a new Direct Tax Law in consonance with the economic needs of the country. Recently, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has invited suggestions and feedback from stakeholders and general public in the format provided on the departmental website. It stated that the format can be downloaded from the website and suggestions may be sent through e-mail at [email protected], latest by 2nd of next month. The task force will also study the direct tax system in other countries and also keep in mind international best practices. The committee will submit its report in May 2018.

Notes:
The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) won the international competition to adopt the Wax Deoiling Technology at Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) in Assam. The Wax Deoiling Plant is based on indigenously developed technology and in line with the Make in India initiative. The Wax Deoiling Technology is used to produce waxes from petroleum streams. Paraffin wax is used for making candles, polishes, medicines, food packaging, paints, leather etc, while Microcrystalline Wax is mainly used in cosmetic industry.

Notes:
On 20 July 2015, the United Nation Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2231 (2015) endorsing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The full implementation of Resolution 2231 (2015) provides for the termination of the provisions of previous Security Council resolutions on the Iranian nuclear issue and establishes specific restrictions that apply to all States without exception.

Notes:
“Walopi” (Warning Loco Pilots) and “Chemvist” (Check My Vigilance State) are the two technologies, which have been patented by IIT-Kharagpur Professor Aurobinda Routray and his team in the Electrical Engineering department. These technologies will now be developed for Indian Railways. A globally conducted survey reveals that driver drowsiness is a major problem identified as a cause of accidents. To curb the menace in India, the research team of IIT Kharagpur has developed the two technologies. Both the technologies are based on what is globally called PERCLOS (percentage of eyelid closure over the pupil over time), and reflects slow eyelid closures (“droops”) rather than blinks. “Chemvist” uses Electrooculography (EOG) signals, which essentially give the voltage difference between the cornea and retina of the eye. Drivers will have to wear a specially-designed headband to play a “video game” on a screen. The headband will detect if the driver is fatigued or will be alert for the next few hours. “Walopi” on the other hand, checks the on-board level of alertness. It uses a camera with face-detection technology, which assesses if the driver is falling asleep.

Notes:
The Sela Pass is a high-altitude mountain pass located on the border between the Tawang and West Kameng Districts of Arunachal Pradesh. It is highly prone to landslides or snow cover during winters. To facilitate easy mobilisation of army and vehicles on this route, government announced the construction of tunnel under the Sela Pass.

Notes:
The Economic Survey 2017-18 notes that India could face a “Late Converger Stall” when it comes to economic growth. The survey identified four major factors impeding India’s growth to developed economy viz. climate change-induced agricultural stress; hyper-globalization which reduces India’s exporting opportunities; difficulties of transferring resources from low productivity to higher productivity sectors; & upgrading human capital as per the demands of a technology-intensive workplace.