Weekly Current Affairs (1st to 7th August 2022) - 2 - UPSC PDF Download

Government of India released postage stamp to mark birth anniversary of Pingali Venkayya

Key Highlights 

• The government of India released a special commemorative postage stamp to mark the 146th birth anniversary of Pingali Venkayya, the designer of India’s national flag. 
• The stamp was released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an event “Tiranga Utsav” organised by the Ministry of Culture at Indira Gandhi Stadium, in New Delhi.
• The event also displayed the original design of the national flag made by Pingali Venkayya. The current flag is the modified version of the first design of the flag.
• The Tiranga Utsav also witnessed the grand launch of the “Har Ghar Tiranga” anthem and video. 
• Venkayya, born on August 02, 1876, near Machilipatnam town in Andhra Pradesh, was a freedom fighter and a follower of Gandhian principles.

“Antarctica Bill” introduced in Lok Sabha

Context: The government has introduced the ‘Antarctic Bill’ in the Lok Sabha, which envisages regulating visits and activities to Antarctica as well potential disputes that may arise among those present on the continent. 

Key highlights: 

• The Bill is applicable to Indian citizens as well as foreign citizens.
• In October 2021, India extended its support for protecting the Antarctic environment and for cosponsoring the proposal of the European Union for designating East Antarctica and the Weddell Sea as marine protected area. 
• Earlier, a 100-km long body of ice in Antarctica, which has been experiencing rapid melting, was formally named as Glasgow after the Glasgow climate summit.
• Objective is to provide a harmonious policy framework for India’s Antarctic activities through a well-established legal mechanism, facilitate activities of the Indian Antarctic programme, including management of Antarctic tourism and sustainable development of fisheries.

India to host UNSC meet on Counterterrorism 

Key highlights

• India will host diplomats of the 15-nation UN Security Council in October for a special meeting on counterterrorism.
• India is halfway through the second year of its twoyear term as an elected non-permanent member of the UN Security Council
• India's tenure at the Council will end in December this year when the country will also preside as President of the powerful UN organ for the month. 
• India chairs the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee for 2022 and will in October host diplomats of the 15-nation Security Council, including US, China and Russia, for the counter-terrorism committee's special meeting. 
• Current members of the Security Council are Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana, India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico,Norway and the UAE, along with five permanent members China, France, Russia, the UK and the US.

Withdrawal of Personal Data Protection Bill

Context: The government of India has withdrawn the Personal Data Protection Bill from Parliament as it considers a “comprehensive legal framework” to regulate the online space to boost innovation in the country through a new bill.

Key highlights

• The Bill was also seen as being too “compliance intensive” by startups of the country
• The tech companies questioned a proposed provision in the Bill called Data Localisation
• Under data localisation, it would have been mandatory for companies to store a copy of certain sensitive personal data within India, and the export of undefined “critical” personal data from the country would be prohibited.
• The bill had faced major push back from a range of stakeholders including big tech companies such as Facebook and Google, and privacy and civil society activists.
• The delays in the Bill had been criticised by several stakeholders pointing out that it was a matter of grave concern that India did not have a basic framework to protect people’s privacy.

About

• The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, on December 11, 2019.
• Commonly referred to as the “Privacy Bill”, it intended to protect individual rights by regulating the collection, movement, and processing of data that is personal, or which can identify the individual.

Cabinet approved India’s new “Nationally Determined Contribution” 

Context: Union cabinet approved India’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). Key Highlights

• The cabinet has approved the “Nationally Determined Contribution” of country and soon to be submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). 
• Union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved India’s updated NDC. • As per this announcement, India will now reduce emissions intensity of its GDP by 45% by 2030 from 2005 levels. 
• India will also achieve 50% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030. 
• Updated NDC translates the ‘Panchamrit’ into enhanced climate targets. India had announced Panchamrit at COP26.
• India is one of the 193 parties signatory to the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change. Under the Agreement, parties have to keep updating their NDCs (which are commitments made in order to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change) every five years. 
• India’s first NDC, submitted to the UNFCCC in October 2015, had eight main goals. These also included reducing the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33% to 35% by 2030 (from levels in 2005) and creating an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent by increasing forest and tree cover by 2030. 
• The updated NDC also highlights the importance of changing lifestyles for the environment in tackling climate change (the ‘LiFE’, Lifestyle for Environment, movement, as mentioned by PM Narendra Modi during COP26 in Glasgow last year). One target is “to put forward and further propagate a healthy and sustainable way of living based on traditions and values of conservation and moderation, including through a mass movement for ‘LIFE’– ‘Lifestyle for Environment’ as a key to combating climate change”.

New Ramsar Sites in India

Context: Ten new Ramsar sites have been designated in India.

Key Highlights

• India adds 10 more wetlands designated as Ramsar sites to make a total 64 sites covering an area of 12,50,361 ha in the country.
• The 10 new sites include: Six (6) sites in Tamil Nadu and One (1) each in Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.
• Designation of these sites would help in conservation and management of wetlands and wise use of their resources.
• India is one of the Contracting Parties to Ramsar Convention, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971. India signed it on 1st Feb 1982. So far 64 wetlands covering an area of 12,50,361 ha have been designated as Ramsar Sites of International Importance from India, till date. 
• The newly recognised sites are:
  • Koonthankulam Bird Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu
  • Nanda Lake, Goa
  • Satkosia gorge, Odisha
  • Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve (GoMBR), Tamil Nadu
  • Vembannur Wetland Complex, Tamil Nadu
  • Vellode Bird Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu
  • Vedanthangal Bird Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu and
  • Udhayamarthandapuram Bird Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu
  • Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary, Karnataka and
  • Sirpur Wetland, Madhya Pradesh

China launched reusable spacecraft

Context: China recently, successfully launched a pilot reusable spacecraft with its Long March-2F carrier rocket.

Key Highlights

• China has launched a 'reusable' Long March 2F rocket to low-Earth orbit in what is being labelled as a secret mission".
• The unidentified spacecraft, was launched from China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. 
• As per Chinese officials, the spacecraft tests include “technical verification of reusable and on-orbit services as planned to provide technical support for the peaceful use of space”.
• It will return to a planned landing site after operating in the orbit for some time to provide technical validations for reuses. The Long March-2F rocket is well-equipped with escape and failure detection systems.
• China said it made a big step towards developing reusable space transportation technology as it launched a spacecraft which returned to Earth on the same day after flying to the edge of the atmosphere in July.