Current Affairs 3rd August 2019
Important Current Affairs
Current Affairs 3rd August 2019
Institutes of Eminence Scheme
Context: The UGC, in its Recent meeting, has considered the reports of the Empowered Expert Committee (EEC) appointed by Government under the Chairmanship of Shri N Gopalaswami recommending (15) Public institutions and (15) Private institutions for considering to give status of Institutions of Eminence.
Background:
Since the scheme has only provided for (10) Public and (10) Private Institutions, the UGC has examined the list of (15) Public and (15) Private Institutions using transparent and verifiable criteria.
What is Institutions of Eminence scheme?
- The institutes of eminence scheme under the Union human resource development (HRD) ministry aims to project Indian institutes to global recognition.
- The selected institutes will enjoy complete academic and administrative autonomy.
- The government will run 10 of these and they will receive special funding.
- The selection shall be made through challenge method mode by the Empowered Expert Committee constituted for the purpose.
- Eligibility: Only higher education institutions currently placed in the top 500 of global rankings or top 50 of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) are eligible to apply for the eminence tag.
- The private Institutions of Eminence can also come up as greenfield ventures-provided the sponsoring organisation submits a convincing perspective plan for 15 years.
Implications:
Institutions with the eminence tag would be allowed greater autonomy without having to report to the University Grants Commission (UGC); they would be able to admit foreign students and recruit faculty from abroad, and follow a flexible course and fee structure to enable them to vault to the ranks of the top global institutions.
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2019
Context: Parliament passes the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2019.
Key features of the Bill:
The Bill amends the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
Who may commit terrorism: Under the Act, the central government may designate an organisation as a terrorist organisation if it: (i) commits or participates in acts of terrorism, (ii) prepares for terrorism, (iii) promotes terrorism, or (iv) is otherwise involved in terrorism. The Bill additionally empowers the government to designate individuals as terrorists on the same grounds.
Approval for seizure of property by NIA: If the investigation is conducted by an officer of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the approval of the Director General of NIA would be required for seizure of properties that may be connected with terrorism.
Investigation by NIA: Under the Act, investigation of cases may be conducted by officers of the rank of Deputy Superintendent or Assistant Commissioner of Police or above. The Bill additionally empowers the officers of the NIA, of the rank of Inspector or above, to investigate cases.
Insertion to schedule of treaties: The Act defines terrorist acts to include acts committed within the scope of any of the treaties listed in a schedule to the Act. The Schedule lists nine treaties, including the Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings (1997), and the Convention against Taking of Hostages (1979). The Bill adds another treaty to the list. This is the International Convention for Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (2005).
Why is it being opposed?
- This is a potentially dangerous amendment which will empower officials of Union Ministry to brand any person ‘a terrorist‘, without following due process. The name of such a person will be included in the ‘Fourth Schedule’ proposed to be added in the parent Act. The only statutory remedy available to such a person is to make an application before the Central Government for de-notification, which will be considered by a Review Committee constituted by the Government itself.
- The amendment does not provide any legal consequence in case an individual is designated a terrorist. The inclusion of one’s name in the Fourth Schedule as a terrorist per se will not lead to any conviction, imprisonment, fine, disqualifications or any sort of civil penalties. So this is simply a power for the government to brand any one as a terrorist.
- An official designation as a terrorist will be akin to ‘civil death’ for a person, with social boycott, expulsion from job, hounding by media, and perhaps attack from self-proclaimed vigilante groups following.
Background:
The UAPA – an upgrade on the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act TADA, which was allowed to lapse in 1995 and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) was repealed in 2004 — was originally passed in 1967 under the then Congress government led by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Eventually amendments were brought in under the successive United Progressive Alliance (UPA) governments in 2004, 2008 and 2013.
US officially withdraws from INF treaty
The US has officially withdrawn from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) treaty with Russia. The withdrawal has ended a Cold war-era missile treaty with Russia. This could start an arms race between the US and Russia, the world’s top two nuclear powers.
Reason:
The US accused Russia of violating the INF treaty's agreement in recent years. The withdrawal announcement was made by the US President Donald Trump. Both the countries signed a deal to put a way to improve relations toward the end of the Cold War.
During the Obama administration in 2014, Russia was accused of violating the agreement by testing a cruise missile in direct violation of the accord. In turn, Russia also said that the US has violated the agreement too. The US has denied the accusation.
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF):
INF treaty is a Nuclear disarmament type of agreement. It was signed on December 1987 in Washington D.C. The agreements was signed by the U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet General Secretary with an Unlimited duration.The agreement prohibits both the countries from fielding ground-launched cruise missiles that could fly between 310 and 3,400 miles. The treaty has been extremely successful in the destruction of a total of 2,692 missiles.
Indian journalist Ravish Kumar was awarded the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award
NDTV journalist Ravish Kumar was awarded the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award. The award recognizes the greatness of spirit and transformative leadership in Asia. It is the highest honour given to Asian individuals and organisations. The award is often referred to as the Asian version of the Nobel Prize.
Ravish Kumar was honoured for his dedicated commitment to a professional, ethical journalism of the highest standard. It also recognised his moral courage in standing up for truth, integrity, and independence.
Other Awardees:
Along with Ravish Kumar, four other winners were also honoured. The awardees are:
♦ Ko Swe Win from Myanmar
♦ Angkhana Neelapaijit from Thailand
♦ Raymundo Pujante Cayabyab from Philippines
♦ Kim Jong-Ki from South Korea
Ramon Magsaysay Award:
The Ramon Magsaysay Award was established in April 1957. It is awarded every year. The was instituted to continue the former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity, courage in servicing the people, community leadership. It was instituted by the New York based Rockefeller Brothers Fund along with the Philippine government.
Researchers says that the Shape of Milky way galaxy is not flat but warped
Researchers from University of Warsaw released the most detailed three-dimensional map of the Milky Way. It has revealed that the Milkyway galaxy is not a flat disc but has a warped shape like a fascinator hat or a vinyl record that has been left in the sun.
Evidence that it is not flat:
The study said that the stars 60,000 light-years away from the Milky Way’s center are as far as4,500 light-years above or below the galactic plane and it gives a high possibility to conclude that the milky way galaxy is not flat in shape.
Both the new study and an earlier one published in February are based on the distribution across the galaxy of stars known as Cepheids. The key to creating the maps is the phenomenon of dimming and brightening of the stars. Cepheids are celestial bodies whose brightness varies in a regular cycle over time.
The study suggested that about 26,000 light-years from the centre of the galaxy the bending away from the plane of the galaxy has begun and it becomes steeper from about 32,000 light-years. By calculating the ages of the stars and plotting their 3D positions in the Milky Way’s disc explains the formation of the Milky Way’s spiral arms up to 175 million years ago.