December 15, 2021 Current Affairs

Sakshi Education

NATIONAL
SC dismisses Mahagovt's plea to direct Centre to share Raw Caste Census Data of SECC 2011

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by the Maharashtra government seeking a direction to the Central government to disclose raw data pertaining to the 2011 Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC). In light of the submission that the data was not accurate or usable, the Bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and CT Ravi Kumar held the decision.
The Maharashtra government had invoked the extraordinary jurisdiction of the Supreme Court after deciding to conduct a Socio-Economic and Caste Census across the State through the Maharashtra State Commission for Backward Classes (MSCBC).
The State Legislative Assembly had this year passed a resolution in the House to approach the Centre for 2011 census data in order to compile empirical data on the OBC population in the State. The 2011 census data has not been released till date by the Centre, citing errors.
The Centre had issued a notification on January 7, 2020 prescribing information to be collected for the upcoming 2021 census which includes information relating to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, but does not refer to any other category of caste. The exclusion of information regarding any other caste for the upcoming census is a "conscious policy decision" taken by the government, the Centre had said.
In an affidavit filed recently, the Centre thus urged the top court to not issue any directions to the Census Department to include enumeration of socio-economic data pertaining to Backward Classes, since it would tantamount to interfering with a policy decision as framed under Section 8 of the SC-ST Act.

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More than 18,000 crore rupees of revenue would be generated by production of ethanol: Piyush Goyal

Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said during the current sugar season of 2021-22 it is expected that more than 18,000 crore rupees of revenue would be generated by production of ethanol.
Production of ethanol is ensuring revenue generation and timely payment of cane due of farmers.
In the last three Ethanol Supply Years (ESY) from 2018-19 to 2020-21 a revenue of 29,500 crore rupees has been generated by sugar mills and distilleries from the sale of ethanol to Oil Marketing Companies (OMC).
The limit of blending of ethanol in petrol will be enhanced to 20 percent and this will reduce the import of crude petroleum.

INTERNATIONAL

India, Iran and Uzbekistan hold discussion on Chabahar port

India, Iran and Uzbekistan have stressed on the important role played by Chabahar Port during humanitarian crises as well as in enhancing regional connectivity. The second Trilateral Working Group Meeting between three countries on the joint use of Chabahar Port was held virtually yesterday.
During the meeting, India, Iran and Uzbekistan also took note of the increase in transit traffic between Central Asia and South Asia through the ShahidBehesti Terminal at Chabahar Port in Iran and discussed further development of the transportation corridor.
Upon the invitation of the Iranian side, Indian side agreed to send a high-level delegation to Chabahar next year. It was decided to hold the third session of the trilateral working group meeting in India.

Malta becomes the first country in European Union to legalise cannabis

Malta has become the first country in European Union to legalise cannabis at home and for personal use.
Under the new law, Malta has allowed people aged 18 and above to have up to seven grams of cannabis.
They would also be allowed to grow up to four plants at home.
The legislation also allows various non-profit organisations comprising of up to 500 people to grow the drug for their members.
The law further provides easier penalties for people found with larger amounts of the drug.
Adults in possession of 7 to 28 grams of cannabis for their personal use would have to face a tribunal rather than court. They could also be fined with a maximum of100 euro.
Minors who will be caught with cannabis will be referred to a tribunal. It might lead to a care plan or treatment.

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Tunisian President Kais Saied announces constitutional referendum, elections next year

Tunisian President Kais Saied has announced that parliament will remain suspended until fresh elections are held a year from now. In a national TV address, Mr. Saied also laid out plans for a referendum on the constitution next year.
Ever since he froze parliament and dismissed the then prime minister back in July, Tunisian President Kais Saied has continued to cement his hold on power while stressing that his actions have been necessary to shake a corrupt political status quo and reinvigorate the failing economy.
Mr. Saied's plan for a public consultation process to begin next month on constitutional reform will either please or further alarm each side in equal measure.
In case his message wasn't clear enough, the president has set the date for a referendum on the constitution to take place next 25 July - exactly a year on from the day he staged his dramatic seizure of full executive power.

Ethiopia rejects plan by UN to hold session to discuss human rights situation in the country

Ethiopia has rejected a plan by the UN's top human rights body to hold a special session on Friday to discuss the human rights situation in the country.
Ethiopia's foreign ministry said that it was perplexed and saddened by the UN Human Rights Council's decision to hold the session at the request of the European Union.
The Ethiopian government called on member states of the UN rights body to reject and vote against the special session.
What should have been a priority for the council, instead, was the urgent task of carrying out an investigation into the violations of human rights and atrocities committed by the TPLF [Tigray People's Liberation Front] terrorist group in Afar and Amhara regional states, the government said in a statement.
The UN rights council said the session will discuss the grave human rights situation in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia announced at the end of November that it had set up a task force to deal with human rights violations during the conflict in the north of the country between its military and TPLF rebels. It said that was in line with the recommendations of a joint report by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the UN human rights office.

ENVIRONMENT

Climate Crisis: UN recognizes new Arctic temperature record of 38 degrees

The UN officially recognized the 38 degrees Celsius measured in Siberia last year as a new record high for the Arctic, sounding alarm bells over climate change.
The sweltering heat, equivalent to 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, was seen on June 20, 2020, in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk, marking the highest temperature ever recorded above the Arctic Circle, the World Meteorological Organization said.
This is the first time the WMO has added record heat in the Arctic to its archive of extreme weather reports, and it comes amid an unprecedented wave of record temperature spikes globally, the UN agency said.
This new Arctic record is one of a series of observations reported to the WMO Archive of Weather and Climate Extremes that sound the alarm bells about the changing climate, agency chief PetteriTaalas said in a statement.
Verkhoyansk lies about 115 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle and temperatures have been measured there since 1885.
The average temperatures across Arctic Siberia reached up to 10 *C above normal for much of the summer last year, it said, adding that this had fuelled fires and massive sea-ice loss. The heatwave also played a significant role in 2020 being designated one of the three warmest years on record globally.
Last year also saw a new record high of 18.3C for the Antarctic continent, Taalas said. The WMO is still seeking to verify the 54.4C recorded in both 2020 and 2021 in the world's hottest place, Death Valley in California.
The lowest temperature ever measured above the Arctic Circle was -69.6C and recorded on December 22, 1991, on Greenland, WMO said.

Science & Technology

India’s first Green Hydrogen Microgrid Projects to be set up in Andhra Pradesh

India’s first Green Hydrogen Microgrid Projects to be set up at Simhadri near Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. National Thermal Power Corporation Limited, NTPC said, the projects will be a precursor to large-scale hydrogen energy storage projects and would be useful for studying and deploying multiple microgrids in various off-grid and strategic locations of the country.
NTPC added the hydrogen produced during sunshine hours will be stored at high pressure and electrified using a 50 Kilo Watt Solid Oxide Fuel Cell.
The system will work in standalone mode from 5 PM in the evening to 7 AM in the morning. This unique project for India, will open doors for decarbonising the far-off regions of the country like Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.

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Published date : 15 Dec 2021 06:03PM