Current Affairs 18th & 19th July 2019

Current Affairs 18th & 19th July 2019

Important Current Affairs

Current Affairs 18th & 19th July 2019

HRD Minister releases UGC guide to the student induction programme.

Union Minister of Human Resource Development Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ released UGC Guide to Student Induction Programme – “Deeksharambh” in New Delhi.
The Deeksharambh, a guide to Student Induction Programme is to help new students adjust and feel comfortable in the new environment.
The institution help them build bonds with other students and faculty members.
The programme engages with the new students as soon as they come into the institution.
The mentoring is one of the components of Student Induction Programme and 
Their main aim is to develop an everlasting bonding between the teacher and student.
Student Induction Programme to empower the aspirant learners to face the Competitive world with confidence, open new horizons of life leading to character building based on Universal Human Values such as Truth, Righteous conduct, Love, Non-violence, Peace 
Student Induction Programme (SIP) in Higher Education Institutions and its stakeholders to conduct Awareness Programmes and training programme for teachers in different regions of the country.

UN observed the Nelson Mandela International Day on 18 July

The United Nationsobserved the Nelson Mandela International Day, also popularly known as Mandela Day, on 18 July every year. The United Nations instituted the day to mark the birthday of South Africa’s former president, Nelson Mandela, which falls on 18 July. It was established in the year on 2009. 
The day is also observed to pay tribute to Mandela for his values, legacy and contribution to society. It acknowledges the his contribution to the struggle for democracy internationally and the promotion of a culture of peace throughout the world. 

Theme 2019:
Nelson Mandela Foundation has launched a new strategy titled "Mandela Day: The Next Chapter, to mark the tenth anniversary of the initiative" as the theme 2019. The theme focuses on five areas such as education and literacy, food and nutrition, shelter, sanitation and active citizenship.

Nelson Mandela:
Rolihlahla Mandela was born in the Eastern Cape on 18 July 1918. His primary school teachers gave him the name 'Nelson.' His involvement in politics began in the year 1942. He joined the African National Congress in 1944. He helped to form the ANC Youth League (ANCYL). He was accused of treason in South Africa and was arrested on 5 December 1956.
Nelson Mandela was elected as first democratically elected President Of South Africa on May 10, 1994. He stepped down after his one term as President. He passed away in Johannesburg on 5 December 2013. He was deeply concerned with issues related to the racism. His government did a lot of work to bring South Africa into a new era.

Palau became the 76th country to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA)

Palau, an archipelago of more than 500 islands in Oceania, has become 76th signatory country to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA). The agreement was opened for signature during COP22 at Marrakech, Morocco on 15 November 2016.

ISA member countries:
Countries which have signed agreement until now include India, United Kingdom (UK), Japan, France, Australia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), amongst others. 

About International Solar Alliance (ISA):
ISA is a group of 122 solar resource-rich nations. It was jointly launched by India and France on November 2015. It is headquartered at campus of National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) in Haryana, India. 
The  organisation aims to deploy more than 1,000 gigawatts of solar energy and mobilise over $1,000 billion into solar power by 2030 as per United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
It is expected that the inclusion of United Nation members to ISA will put solar energy in global agenda with universal appeal for developing and deploying solar energy.

International Justice Day observed on 17th July

World Day for International Justice is known as International Criminal Justice Day or International Justice Day is observed annually on 17th July to recognize the emerging system of international criminal justice.

World Day for International Justice
17th July is celebrated as World Day for International Justice.
This day is the anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute in 1998.
The help of this treaty International Criminal Court (ICC) established. 
The Review Conference of the Rome Statute held in Kampala (Uganda) and the Assembly of the State Parties decided to celebrate 17 July as the International Criminal Justice Day on 17 July.

Necessity of the Day 
The day is celebrated because it needs to make people aware and united to support the justice 
Their main aim is to promote the rights of the victims. 
This day attracts people around the world to pay attention to serious issues. 
It also to protect people from several crimes also warn those people who affect peace and security.

Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana

About Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojna:

The Employee’s State Insurance (ESI) has approved this scheme for Insured Persons (IP) covered under the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948.

Aim: It aims to financially support those who lost their jobs or rendered jobless for whatsoever reasons due to changing employment pattern.

Its beneficiaries will be insured persons covered under Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 for period of two years continuously.

Key features:

Cash assistance: Under the scheme, relief will be payable in cash directly to bank account of insured persons in case of unemployment. This financial assistance will be given to insured persons even while they search for new engagement. Beneficiary insured workers will be paid money, from their own contribution towards ESI scheme, in cash through bank account transfer.

Under this scheme, workers will be able to draw 47% of their total contributions towards ESIC after remaining unemployed for at least three months from date of leaving their previous jobs. They can choose to receive the cash at one go or in instalments. It will be applicable to all factories and establishments employing at least 10 workers.

The eligibility conditions and other features of the scheme are as under:

1. The Insured Person should have been rendered unemployed during the period the relief is claimed.
2. The Insured Person should have been in insurable employment for a minimum period of two years.
3. The Insured Person should have contributed not less than 78 days during each of the preceding four contribution periods.
4. The contribution in respect of him should have been paid or payable by the employer.
5. The contingency of the unemployment should not have been as a result of any punishment for misconduct or superannuation or voluntary retirement.
6. In case the IP is working for more than one employers and is covered under the ESI scheme he will be considered unemployed only in case he is rendered unemployed with all employers.

About ESI:

ESI is self-financing social security and health insurance scheme for Indian workers.

It is autonomous corporation by statutory creation under Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India.

It is managed by Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) according to rules and regulations stipulated there in the ESI Act 1948.

Karnataka crisis: What was SC’s Kihoto Hollohan order of 1992, what is the role of Speaker?

Why in News: In the arguments in the Supreme Court in the case related to the political crisis in Karnataka, advocate has cited the landmark judgment in Kihoto Hollohan vs Zachillhu And Others (1992), in which the court upheld the sweeping discretion available to the Speaker in deciding cases of disqualification of MLAs.

 Kihoto Hollohan case

The law covering the disqualification of legislators and the powers of the Speaker in deciding such matters became part of the statute book in 1985 when the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution was adopted.

A constitutional challenge to the Tenth Schedule was settled by the apex court in Kihoto Hollohan.

The principal question before the Supreme Court in the case was whether the powerful role given to the Speaker violated the doctrine of Basic Structure — the judicial principle that certain basic features of the Constitution cannot be altered by amendments by Parliament, laid down in the landmark judgment in Kesavananda Bharati vs State Of Kerala (1973).

What is the extent of the Speaker’s powers?

Paragraph 6(1) of the Tenth Schedule describes the Speaker’s sweeping discretionary powers: “If any question arises as to whether a member of a House has become subject to disqualification under this Schedule, the question shall be referred for the decision of the Chairman or, as the case may be, the Speaker of such House and his decision shall be final.”

What did the Supreme Court rule in Hollohan?

1. The majority judgement:

The Speakers/Chairmen hold a pivotal position in the scheme of Parliamentary democracy and are guardians of the rights and privileges of the House. They are expected to and do take far reaching decisions in the Parliamentary democracy. Vestiture of power to adjudicate questions under the Tenth Schedule in them should not be considered exceptionable.

The Schedule’s provisions were “salutory and intended to strengthen the fabric of Indian Parliamentary democracy by curbing unprincipled and unethical political defections.”

1. Minority view:

The tenure of the Speaker, who is the authority in the Tenth Schedule to decide this dispute, is dependent on the continuous support of the majority in the House and, therefore, he does not satisfy the requirement of such an independent adjudicatory authority.

An independent adjudicatory machinery for resolving disputes relating to the competence of Members of the House is envisaged as an attribute of the democratic system which is a basic feature of our Constitution… [the Speaker’s] choice as the sole arbiter in the matter violates an essential attribute of the basic feature.

Incredible India Campaign:

Why in News: The Incredible India “Find the Incredible You” campaign released globally by the Ministry of Tourism during 2018-19 has been declared winner of the PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) Gold Award 2019 in the “Marketing – Primary Government Destination” category.

• The campaign strategy was to shift the focus from the external experience of tourist destinations to the internal experience of travelers themselves.

PATA Gold Awards are given to tourism industry organizations and individuals making outstanding contribution towards the successful promotion of the travel industry throughout the Asia Pacific Region.

• Founded in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for profit association that is internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region.

Union Government to build India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) at Pottipuram in Theni District, Tamil Nadu

Union Minister of State (MoS) (Independent Charge) Development of North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh informed that the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) to set up at Pottipuram in Theni District, Tamil Nadu. 
Aim: 
The main aim of the project is to set up a 51000 ton Iron Calorimeter (ICAL) detector 
The detector is placed to observe naturally occurring atmospheric neutrinos at the end of an approximately 2 km long tunnel in a mountain.
It is the first neutrino detector in India.
This will decrease the noise from cosmic rays that is ever-present over-ground and will outnumber the rare neutrino interactions even in a detector as large as ICAL.
It will measure cosmic rays and neither release any radiation nor radioactive substance.

Supreme Court form panel to frame an emergency plan to save two Indian birds from extinction

The Supreme Court has formed a high powered committee to urgently frame and implement an emergency response plan for the protection of the two Indian birds, Great Indian Bustard and the Lesser Florican from extinction. The suddenn decline of the species has alarmed the nation.
The court sought responses from the Centre and state governments where these two species of birds are prominently found. This comes after a plea of wildlife activists. It said that over the last 50 years, the population of the Great Indian Bustard has recorded a decline of over 82% and the population of the Lesser Florican has been reduced by 80%.

Threats faced by the birds: 
The two endangered birds has been facing threats including mortality by collision with infrastructure, particularly powerlines and wind turbines, depletion of grasslands and hunting.

Great Indian bustard:
The great Indian bustard is a large ground bird with a height of about one metre. The species is critically endangered. The reason for its decline is hunting and loss of its habitat. The species is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 of India.

Lesser florican:
The lesser florican is endemic to India. The species is endangered. These bustards are found mainly in northwestern and central India during the summer but are found more widely distributed across India in winter. 

Ramanujan Machine

Why in news: Scientists from Technion — Israel Institute of Technology have developed a concept they have named the Ramanujan Machine, after the Indian mathematician.

What is it?

It is not really a machine but an algorithm, and performs a very unconventional function.

What it does?

The Ramanujan machine is more of a concept than an actual machine—it exists as a network of computers running algorithms dedicated to finding conjectures about fundamental constants in the form of continued fractions—these are defined as fractions of infinite length where the denominator is a certain quantity plus a fraction, where a latter fraction has a similar denominator, etc.)

The purpose of the machine is to come up with conjectures (in the form of mathematical formulas) that humans can analyze, and hopefully prove to be true mathematically.

Why Ramanujan?

The algorithm reflects the way Srinivasa Ramanujan worked during his brief life (1887-1920). With very little formal training, he engaged with the most celebrated mathematicians of the time, particularly during his stay in England (1914-19), where he eventually became a Fellow of the Royal Society and earned a research degree from Cambridge.

Throughout his life, Ramanujan came up with novel equations and identities —including equations leading to the value of pi — and it was usually left to formally trained mathematicians to prove these.

What’s the point?

Conjectures are a major step in the process of making new discoveries in any branch of science, particularly mathematics. Equations defining the fundamental mathematical constants, including pi, are invariably elegant. New conjectures in mathematics, however, have been scarce and sporadic, the researchers note in their paper, which is currently on a pre-print server. The idea is to enhance and accelerate the process of discovery.

How good is it?

The paper gives examples for previously unknown equations produced by the algorithm, including for values of the constants pi and e. The Ramanujan Machine proposed these conjecture formulas by matching numerical values, without providing proofs. It has to be remembered, however, that these are infinite series, and a human can only enter a finite number of terms to test the value of the series. The question is, therefore, whether the series will fail after a point. The researchers feel this is unlikely, because they tested hundreds of digits.

Until proven, it remains a conjecture. By the same token, until proven wrong, a conjecture remains one. It is quite possible that the algorithm will come up with conjectures that may take years to prove.