UPSC News Diary For Today 13 June 2022

”UPSC News Diary For Today” is every day published in the evening between 6-7 PM and contains all current affairs articles from the day on a single platform. ”UPSC News Diary For Today” covers various topics from UPSC Syllabus and is very helpful and time managing for UPSC Aspirants. The framing of this daily current affairs compilation article is easy to read and understandable also.

In the ”UPSC News Diary For Today” article, we focus on both UPSC Preliminary and Mains exam-oriented current affairs & prepare a gist of daily important news articles from leading National Newspapers, PIB, and other various official sources.

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)

In News

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is celebrating Elimination of Child Labour Week in the honour of World Day Against Child Labour in the 75 places as part of the “75th anniversary celebrations of India’s independence – “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” in different districts starting from 12^th June to 20^thJune, 2022.

Know About NCPCR

• The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has been constituted by the Government of India, as a statutory body under section 3 of the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005.
• It deals with the protection of child rights and related matters.
• Under section 13(1) of the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005, NCPCR has provided certain functions to ensure that the rights of children are protected especially the most vulnerable and marginalized.
• In addition, the Commission has also been mandated to monitor the implementation of the Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Act, 2015, Right of Children to Free & Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 and Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

 Blazar AO 0235+164

In News

An international collaboration of astronomers has discovered a binary supermassive black hole in a system which will be a strong candidate for future detection of gravitational waves (GWs).

Know About Blazars

• Blazars which are supermassive black holes (SMBH) feeding on gas in the heart of a very distant galaxy are among the most luminous and energetic objects in the Universe.
• When the jet, composed of ionized matter traveling at nearly the speed of light, is pointed towards an observer, it is called a blazar.

What is the latest discovery?

• The blazar AO 0235+164 is unique as it is gravitationally lensed by intervening galaxies (phenomenon by which light shining from far away to be bent and pulled by the gravity of an object between its source and the observer).
• A group of astronomers from Argentina, Spain, Italy, USA and India has discovered a binary super massive black hole system in the gravitationally lensed blazar AO 0235+164 using extensive optical photometric observations carried out around the globe during last 4 decades (1982 – 2019).
• The team detected five sets of double-peaked flaring activities during time ranges —  January 1982 – October 1984, March 1989 – July 1993, April 1996 – March 2001, June 2006 – June 2009 and May 2014 – May 2017.
• It was predicted that the next such flaring event will occur between November 2022 and May 2025.
• To confirm the next periodic pattern, a global optical photometric monitoring campaign has been initiated under WEBT (Whole Earth Blazar Telescope) consortium.

Key Achievement

The blazar AO 0235+164 is the first binary SMBH gravitationally lensed system, which will be a strong candidate of its kind for future detection of gravitational waves (GWs) using the pulsar timing array and future space-based GW detectors.

NeSDA 2021

In News

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh will release the second edition of the National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment 2021 on 13^th June 2022.

Know About NeSDA

• Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG) had constituted the National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment (NeSDA) in 2019 as part of its mandate to boost the e-government endeavours and drive digital government excellence.
• The biennial study assesses States, Union Territories (UTs), and focus Central Ministries on the effectiveness of e-Governance service delivery.
• NeSDA helps the respective governments improve their delivery of citizen-centric services and shares best practices across the country for all States, UTs and Central Ministries to emulate.

Key Points About NeSDA

• The NeSDA 2021 report has been prepared covering the assessment of States, UTs, and focus Central Ministries on their effectiveness in delivering online services to citizens. The report also provides suggestions for governments to further enhance their e-Governance service delivery systems.
• NeSDA 2021 covers services across seven sectors – Finance, Labour & Employment, Education, Local Governance & Utility Services, Social Welfare, Environment and Tourism sectors.
• The assessment covered 56 mandatory services for each States & UTs and 27 services for the focus Central Ministries.

WTO Ministerial Conference 2022

Relevance for UPSC Exam

12^th WTO Ministerial Conference: 12^th WTO Ministerial Conference 2022 is being organized in Geneva. WTO Ministerial Conference is important for UPSC Exam as it will come under International Relations of UPSC Mains GS Paper 2 syllabus.

12th WTO Ministerial Conference in News

• The 12th ministerial conference (MC) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is being held in Geneva.
• India said it will pitch for “fair, just and transparent discussions and outcome” at 12th WTO Ministerial Conference, amid persisting differences between the developing and the developed countries on a broad range of contentious issues.

Key Facts about 12th WTO Ministerial Conference 2022

• Background: MC12 was originally scheduled to take place in June 2020 in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • In April 2021, members agreed that WTO Ministerial Conference 12 would take place in Geneva from 30 November to 3 December.
  • However, an outbreak of a new highly transmissible strain of the COVID-19 virus and resulting travel restrictions led to a General Council decision on 26 November 2021 to postpone MC12 indefinitely.
• About: WTO Ministerial Conference 12 is being held on 12-15 June 2022 at WTO headquarters in Geneva.
  • 12^th WTO Ministerial conference would take place after a gap of four and half years. The last ministerial conference was held in Buenos Aires in December 2017.
• MC 12 Host: The 12^th Ministerial Conference will be co-hosted by Kazakhstan and chaired by Mr Timur Suleimenov, Deputy Chief of Staff of Kazakhstan’s President.
• Important Agendas: The key areas of discussions and negotiations will include the 164-member WTO’s response to-
  • Pandemic,
  • Fishery subsidies,
  • Agriculture issues, including public stockholding for food security,
  • Reforms at the multilateral body and
  • A moratorium on custom duties on electronic transmission.

WTO Ministerial Conference and the Doha Development Agenda

WTO Ministerial Conferences

• About: WTO Ministerial Conference is the topmost decision-making body under the governance structure set up by the “Agreement establishing the WTO”.
  • The WTO Ministerial Conference usually meets every two years.
• Participation: WTO Ministerial Conference brings together all members of the WTO, all of which are countries or customs unions.
• Scope of Decision Making: The Ministerial Conference can take decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements.

List of WTO Ministerial Conferences

WTO and India: India Invokes Peace Clause of WTO for Third Time

The organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

Relevance for UPSC Exam

• GS Paper 2: International Relations– Various International Organizations, their mandate and functioning.

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in News

• Recently, General Secretariat of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) “condemned and denounced” the comments on Prophet Muhammed made by two erstwhile national spokespersons of the BJP.
• In Response, the Ministry of External Affairs stated that India rejected the OIC Secretariat’s “unwarranted” and “narrow-minded” comments.
• India said that the views expressed by the two individuals did not reflect the views of the Indian government and that relevant authorities had already initiated strong actions against them.

Key Facts about Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

• About: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was established at a 1969 summit in Rabat (Morocco).
• Mandate: OIC endeavours to-
  • Establish solidarity among member states, support restoration of complete sovereignty and territorial integrity of any member state under occupation;
  • Protect, defend and combat defamation of Islam, prevent growing dissention in Muslim societies and
  • Work to ensure that member states take a united stand on the international stage such as the UN General Assembly, Human Rights Council.
• OIC Charter: First OIC Charter was adopted in 1972. Since then, the OIC charter has been revised multiple times in line with emerging conditions in the developing world. The present OIC charter was adopted in March 2008 at Dakar in Senegal.
  • It enshrines that all members be guided and inspired by the noble Islamic teachings and values alongside committing themselves to the purposes and principles of the UN charter.
  • Member states are expected to uphold and promote good governance, democracy, human rights, fundamental freedom and the rule of law — settling disputes through peaceful means and refraining from the use of threat or force.
• OIC Programme of Action (PoA): the OIC carves out a 10-year Programme of Action (PoA). Last instituted for the decade ending 2025, the PoA calls for measures to combat all aspects of terrorism globally.
  • It also talks of implementing social schemes to eliminate two-thirds of extreme poverty and spurring industrialisation, investment, trade and overall economic and social growth among member states.
• OIC Membership: UN members with a Muslim majority can join the organisation. The membership is to be ratified with full consensus at the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers.
  • The same provisions apply for acquiring an observer status.
  • All decision-making in the forum requires a quorum defined by the presence of two-thirds of the member states and complete consensus.
  • In case a consensus cannot be reached, decisions shall be made by a two-thirds majority of members present and voting.
• OIC Financing: The OIC is financed by the member states proportionate to their national incomes.
• Suspension of Membership: Should a member fail to meet their obligations such that the amount of arrears equals or exceeds the amount of contributions due from it for the preceding two years, their voting rights are suspended.
  • The member is only allowed to vote if the Council of Foreign Ministers is satisfied that the failure is due to conditions beyond the member’s control.

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)- COP15 of UNCCD

How does the OIC function?

• OIC Summit: It is composed of Kings and heads of state. OIC Summit is the supreme authority of the organisation.
  • OIC Summit is convened every two years.
  • Mandate: OIC Summit deliberates, takes policy decisions, provides guidance on issues relevant to the organisation and considers issues of concern to the member states.
• Council of Foreign Ministers: it is the chief decision-making body and meets annually to decide on how to implement the OIC’s general policies.
  • In addition, it also appoints, for a period of five years, the Secretary General, who is the chief administrative officer of the grouping.
• Secretary General of OIC: S/he, appointed by Council of Foreign Ministers, follows up on-
  • Implementation of the decisions,
  • Directs attention to competent organs’ specific issues of concern,
  • Creates a channel for coordination among the varied organs and
  • Submits annual reports on the work undertaken.
• Information Sharing: The OIC also has standing committees for cooperation on information and cultural affairs, economic and commercial matters, scientific and technological initiatives and for Jerusalem.

UN Report on Taliban Regime: Focus of al-Qaeda Shifts to India

Editorial Analysis – Threat to Democracy

Relevance for UPSC Exam

• GS Paper 2: International Relations- Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests.

Threat to Democracy in News

• The bipartisan Congressional committee looking into the deadly January 6, 2021, attack by a mob on the very seat of the Houses of the U.S. Congress has released its report on the violence that took place after the US Presidential election 2020.

USA Violence after Presidential Election

• The January 6 assault came directly on the heels of one of the most vicious election campaigns, waged by Mr. Trump and his Republican acolytes.
  • It not only saw them denigrating minorities, women and the U.S.’s involvement in multilateral and regional organisations.
• Targeted misinformation campaign: It was against the poll results over the fact that ballot votes and runoff elections in some U.S. States impacted the final outcome of a win for President Joe Biden.

USA-India Defense Technology & Trade Initiative

Congressional committee Report on Presidential Election Violence

• Congressional committee has painted a clear picture of the attempt by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, even if that meant-
  • he might damage the U.S. government and purposefully instigate violence to cling on to power,
  • creating “a moment of maximum danger” for the foundations of American democracy.
• The chairman of the committee played multiple videos of Mr. Trump’s Attorney General, William Barr; and his daughter Ivanka Trump, among others, making statements on camera that pointed towards Mr. Trump’s role in fuelling the violence that day.
• The hearings made clear that Mr. Trump was responsible for several such critical acts of commission and omission, including ignoring intelligence reports that had been passed on to the White House beforehand that the protests could turn violent.
• The committee found that Mr. Trump refused to intervene, for example by deploying the National Guard, as the rioting got out of control and far-right groups such as the Proud Boys, unleashed organised violence after a rally near the Capitol.
  • The violence resulted in some deaths, defacement of public property and an unprecedented security threat to members of Congress in the building.

Way forward

• US Congress committee report is ultimately toothless, because it has no constitutional path that leads to debarring him from standing for election again in 2024.
• Trump looks well-placed to run for the White House and resume his antagonistic politics because-
  • He survived two impeachment attempts, and
  • Legal question mark hanging over the prospect of using the 14th Amendment to ban him from public office for his role in an insurrection against the U.S. government.

United States President: Check the complete List of the US Presidents

Deep Tech Startups

Introduction

• The startup India Platform which started in 2016, has been instrumental in encouraging startups and integrating them with the corporate and investment community. Over 26 states in India have a startup policy.
• Yet, in India’s population of 130 crores, only the top 25%(affluent and middle class) benefit from the fruits of technological progress.
• This is because most of the high-tech goods and services are designed in the developed world for reach people.
• India is behind developed countries because we lack deep-tech startups.

What is Deep-tech Startup?

• Deep-tech startups are those whose business models are based on high-tech innovation in engineering or significant scientific advances.
• The term deep tech is intended to set it aside from its opposite, “shallow tech”. Shallow tech is a relatively simple technological advance moving a business from a non-digital business model to a digital one.
• India had about 2,100 deep-tech startups as of 2020, as per industry body Nasscom.
• Deep tech startups constitute less than one per cent of the number of startups, far below what is a fast growing complex and large economy like India should have.

What India is Loosing?

The absence of deep tech startups harms India considerably by weakening her capability to meaningfully address complex socio-economic challenges that afflict our society in multiple sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, transportation, energy, etc.

Need For deep tech startups?

• Deep tech startups arise from research-based disruptive innovations from STEM labs of academic/research institutions and solve hard problems and challenges.
• Some examples are Recycling Sewage, affordable solutions for treating diseases, and creating an alternative to Lithium-Ion batteries and a low-cost satellite launching system.
• Few examples – Moderna, SpaceX, Apple, Intel, Microsoft, Tesla, etc.

Challenges before deep tech startups

There are three major challenges that a deep tech startup has vis-a-vis other startups(including tech-based startups) face:

• Need longer gestation for development(5-8 years)
• Require different types of inputs_They require more patient capital, specialised talent and expert knowledge in more than one domain.
• Follows a different development path-Breakthrough technology.

Conclusion

By linking development grants/seed investment programmes for deep tech startups with a robust customer discovery exercise, we can create in India a significant amount of robust and creative deep tech ecosystem.

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