UPSC Portal
Current Affairs 4th Nov 19
Why civic nationalism must trump rabid ethnic nationalism (Business Standard) Mains Paper 2: International Prelims level: Civic nationalism Mains level: Evolution of Nationalism Context
With minority rights being increasingly under threat in recent period, it is time to reflect on shift from ethnic nationalism to civic nationalism.
Neither the colourless vagueness of cosmopolitanism, nor the fierce self-idolatry of nation-worship, is the goal of human history - Rabindranath Tagore. How has the idea of ‘nationalism’ evolved in the West?
Among democratic states one of the earliest cases of making pluralism and liberal constitutional values the basis of nationalism is that of the U.S.
After the destruction of the indigenous population, the United States essentially became a nation of immigrants.
Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg address starts with referring to the -“nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal”
In a 2009 speech, Barack Obama said - “One of the great strengths of the United States is…we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation, (but) a nation of citizens who are bound by ideals and a set of values”
The ideals and values here is presumably that as enshrined in the Constitution.
Despite its many historical (and often racially motivated) lapses, this is a major example in history of “constitutional patriotism”.
It stands in contrast to patriotism based on “blood and soil” which had popular appeal in Germany.
This has been associated with a great deal of persecution, violence and devastation, in history.
Worryingly, it is this “ethnic nationalism” that appeals to today’s populists.
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The dangers of ethnic nationalism Suppression
People’s identities are necessarily multi-layered but ethnic nationalism privileges one of these layers.
This is usually based on the narrow particularities of religion, language or culture, which makes it easy to mobilise certain groups.
It promotes primitive defensive-aggressive urge to fight against “enemy” groups.
The ethnic nationalist leaders too are skilled at encouraging it.
In comparison, the liberal or folk-syncretic traditions are sometimes too fragile to resist this attitude. Anti-globalisation
Ethnic-nationalist populists are opposed to globalisation.
This is because they are against global rules restraining national sovereignty and they want to “take back control”.
But in so doing they over-centralise the powers of the national leader.
They, thereby, dissipate the forces of decentralisation and autonomy of local communities within the country.
Today’s world economy is one of integrated global value chains and continuous swapping of parts, components, and tasks across borders.
Clearly, a retreat from relatively free trade will be extremely harmful for the national interests of most countries.
Notably, trade makes for cheaper producer inputs on which India’s production base is heavily dependent. How does this work in the present scenario?
The internal minority groups are often victims of suspicion by the majoritarian ethnic nationalists.
They are suspected to be the proverbial fifth column aiding an enemy state.
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This is mostly the case in India, China, Russia, Indonesia, Poland, Hungary and so on.
Even without the enemy state, the inevitable divisions of a heterogeneous society worry the leaders of the homogenising mission.
Because, ethnic nationalism is almost always associated with suppressing the “little people” and their localised cultures for the larger cause of national integration. E.g., peasants into Frenchmen, the marginal groups like Dalits and Adivasis in India into the larger Hindu society, Han-Sinification of Tibetans and Uighurs in China, etc.
In the name of national integration and fighting enemies both outside and within, the minority rights are undermined.
The procedures of democracy (“due process”) are also sidelined.
Those who promote ethnic nationalism accuse liberals of appeasing the minorities, and try to suppress dissent as “anti-national”.
This remains the case with blacks and Hispanics in the US, immigrants in Europe, Kurds in Turkey, Muslims in India, etc. What ideals is Civic nationalism based on?
Democracy - Civic nationalism emphasises on the procedural aspects of democracy.
It stresses on the liberal constitutional values and tries to use the pre-commitment of a foundational document for its cause.
Through this, it binds the hands of subsequent generations if they display majoritarian tendencies curbing basic civil rights.
E.g. during the Civil Rights movement Martin Luther King was referring to the Constitution
He thus appealed to Americans, “to be true to what you said on paper”.
Unlike the centralisation tendency exhibited in ethnic-nationalism, civic nationalism emphasises on local autonomy.
Civic nationalists accept some restrictions on national sovereignty to agree on multilateral rules on global public goods.
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This is also the case in global environmental damage or international spread of crime, and restrictions on cross-border tax-dodging.
Notably, this ultimately helps the national interest. Way ahead
It is possible and necessary to build healthy alternatives to the kinds of radical ethnic nationalism that is seen around now.
This is possible even without giving up on the nationalist cultural pride or the bonding of local communities consistent with larger humanitarian principles.
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Air Independent Propulsion submarines (Indian Express) Mains Paper 3: Defense and Security Prelims level : Air Independent Propulsion Mains level : Significance of the Air Independent Propulsion submarines Context
It has been witnessing operation of land-based prototype of DRDO India Air Independent Propulsion system at Naval Materials Research Laboratory in Ambernath.
The DRDO on Wednesday tested a land-based prototype of an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) submarine.
The prototype operation at the Naval Materials Research Laboratory in Ambernath, Maharashtra, is considered to give a boost to the DRDO’s plan to build AIP systems for Indian naval submarines.
The land-based prototype was engineered to the form-and-fit of a submarine. Air-independent propulsion
Air-independent propulsion (AIP) is any marine propulsion technology that allows a non-nuclear submarine to operate without access to atmospheric oxygen (by surfacing or using a snorkel).
AIP can augment or replace the diesel-electric propulsion system of non-nuclear vessels. What is the Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) technology used in submarines?
Submarines are essentially of two types: conventional and nuclear.
Conventional submarines use a diesel-electric engine, and must surface daily for oxygen for fuel combustion. If fitted with an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system, the sub needs to take in oxygen only once a week.
Many naval powers, including India, have acquired nuclear-powered submarines for deep-sea operations, conventional diesel-electric variants are considered useful for coastal defence.
The latter are optimised for stealth, and their weapons and sensors provide for effective operations close to the shore.
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Because diesel-electric submarines require to come to the surface frequently to charge their batteries, their underwater endurance time is less.
‘Air-independent’ propulsion technology helps to make the diesel generator less dependent on surface air.
In a fuel cell AIP, an electrolytic fuel cell releases energy by combining hydrogen and oxygen, with only water as the waste product.
The cells are highly efficient, and do not have moving parts, thus ensuring that the submarine has a low acoustic signature.
Older submarines can be adapted to the AIP system by retrofitting.
A fuel cell-based AIP, like the one developed by DRDO, is known to deliver better performance compared to other technologies.
According to the Defence Ministry press release, the AIP system enhances the submerged endurance of diesel-electric submarines several times, thus having a multiplier effect on its lethality.
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Current Affairs 4th Nov 19 Let’s clear the air (Indian Express) Mains Paper 2: Health Prelims level : Pollution Mains level : Impact of air pollution on health
Context
Delhi’s Air Quality Index crosses 500, the national capital has officially entered the public health emergency category.
Schools have been shut, children are complaining of breathing problems.
This forms the basis of the need for amending the 1981 Air Act and making it more compatible with contemporary India. Impact of air pollution
Air pollution in India is not simply an environmental problem, but a major public health concern.
It impacts all those breathing in the polluted air — children, the elderly, women and men alike.
Recently, the Centre for Science and Environment reported that air pollution kills an average 8.5 out of every 10,000 children in India before they turn five.
Similarly, the WHO in 2016 reported that pollution has led to the deaths of over 1 lakh children in India.
Overall, several internationally acclaimed studies have affirmed that life expectancy in India has declined anywhere between two to three years. Statistics of air pollution worldwide comparing with India
According to Greenpeace, 22 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities are in India and Delhi has yet again bagged the position of the world’s most polluted capital.
These are grim figures, especially when compared to India’s neighbours: Five in China, two in Pakistan and one in Bangladesh.
In 2018, India was placed in the bottom five countries on the Environmental Performance Index, ranking 177th out of 180 countries, along with Bangladesh,
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Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nepal.
The Indian government needs to identify the tangible benefits that concrete legislation on air pollution has brought across the world. In the United States, the Clean Air Act has proven that public health and economic progress can go together.
The aggregate national emissions of the six common pollutants in the USA dropped an average of 73 per cent from 1970 to 2017.
Through one piece of legislation, the US has challenged multiple sources of pollution, airborne or motor vehicle-led. Similarly, after declaring a war on pollution, Chinese cities reduced particulate concentration by 32 per cent in 2018.
In a country with a human power and technical know-how like India, achieving a better feat is not impossible. Condition of air quality in Delhi
The toxic air and the lax liability system, young children’s health and quality of life are being significantly affected.
Currently, breathing in Delhi’s air is similar to smoking 22 cigarettes in a day. One can only imagine the impact on the lungs of our children.
There is a deafening silence at the helm of policymaking because it has not become an electoral priority for political leaders.
Besides a few underfunded programmes, the government shows no willingness to bring a bill or law compelling central and state governments to ensure that its citizens are breathing clean air. Steps needed to be taken by the government
It is essential to retrace our steps back to the Air Act of 1981 that governs our pollution control system.
There is unanimous consensus amongst many court rulings, Parliament Committee reports, media investigations, and several environmentalists that under the 1981 Air Act, the Pollution Control Boards are presently unable to fulfil their mandate as watchdogs against polluting industries.
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A new bill will plug many loopholes in the 1981 Act and would align the functions and priorities of the Pollution Boards towards reducing the adverse impact of pollution on human health in India.
Accountability and deterrence are essential in making sure industries comply with emission standards. While the boards cannot levy penalties, in the new law they should be empowered to encash environmental compensations from polluting industries to make up for the cost of mitigating the damage the violating industry has caused.
This possibility of paying compensation would be a strong reinforcement for industries to adopt cleaner technologies and comply with standards.
In a federal set-up, the Centre and states must work in synergy to ensure that targets set for the country and states are fulfilled.
Therefore, the new law must push Central and state boards to convene joint sittings with
a
multi-sectoral
participation
from
ministries
such
as
housing,
urban
development, agriculture and road transport.
Air pollution is not, and has never been, a problem with a single solution.
It is caused by emissions from vehicles, industries and agriculture, construction dust, and other factors related to household consumption and municipal planning. Way ahead
Therefore, the new law on air pollution must give an additional mandate to either a senior minister, such as the minister of environment, forest and climate or the prime minister’s office needs to be involved directly.
Greater public transparency is essential to the success of winning the war on air pollution. There is no better watchdog than active citizens, which is why the pollution targets must be made public every year for their perusal and to be evaluated at the end of the year.
To
incentivise
the
industries
to
better
themselves
through
environmental
compensations, the industries and their respective state boards must be ranked in order of their efficiency and programme delivery.
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Conclusion
Breathing clean air is the fundamental right of every Indian citizen. Human health must become a priority when it comes to legislating on air pollution.
As 2019 nears its end, and the season of smog begins, there is an urgent need for India to be a pollution free nation.
Pollution control boards must be empowered sufficiently to ensure that pollution does not take more lives or hinders the overall progress of India.
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Region-specific models will help double farm incomes (The Hindu) Mains Paper 3: Economy Prelims level : Zero Budget Natural Farming Mains level : Agricultural models Context
Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a clarion call on February 28, 2016 for the doubling of farmers’ income. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget on July 5 this year mentioned that Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) can help improve farmers’ income and needs promotion.
Modi then requested farmers to reduce consumption of chemical fertilisers in his August 15 speech and also endorsed ZBNF in his address at UNCCD on September 9. Background
Costs of agricultural chemicals have sky-rocketed, but their price realisation has not.
This has led to farmers losing control of production, which in turn resulted their net incomes reducing.
Farmers are not thriving, but other actors in the agriculture ecosystem are doing fairly well.
There is a subtle connection between improving farmers’ incomes and natural farming approaches like ZBNF.
They reduce the cost of cultivation, improve ecosystems and empower farmers. India has 15 agro-climatic zones, but agriculture is quite diverse.
About 50 per cent of Indian agriculture is rain-fed. Changing focus
The focus on doubling farmers’ incomes reflects a paradigm shift in our thinking, as food production — not incomes — has always been the priority.
But the sudden political interest calls for evolving optimal model(s) for a particular region and for particular type of farmers.
The model’s components may include crops, livestock, poultry horticulture, agro-
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forestry, fisheries etc.
To plan and invest can deliver the intent, rather than simply stating that agricultural growth rates need to improve.
Consumers desire chemical residue-free and healthy food, and farmers enhanced incomes.
The welfare of 12 crore farmers, food, nutrition and the ecological security of the nation is at stake.
But apparently, the intelligentsia are not getting the message from consumers, farmers and political intent. Three-pronged approach
At the heart of the strategy to double farmers’ income lies a three-pronged tatwa (principle):
increase the yields to increase income;
reduce the cost of production so those savings add to the income; and
help farmers receive remunerative prices. Following tool-kit to help evolve the models
Define a region for developing model(s).
Develop a region-specific inventory of recommended varieties of field crops, horticulture and forestry, livestock, poultry and fish species.
Develop off-farm skills and crafts prevalent in said region for improving off-farm income.
Document best-practices if any, where one or more components listed above are integrated and improve upon them.
Develop crop planning and demand forecasting systems.
Take stock of existing schemes and budgets. Development is delivered through different line departments across the country.
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The journeys of empowered teams and their work need to be taken to farmers from the very beginning.
Create support services and infrastructure required for these interventions, which must be on farmer-centric entrepreneurship mode to retain investments in the local economy.
Formalising land leasing will help in access to agricultural credit and insurance.
Setting outcome indicators is a must, and monitoring must be continuous to course correct.
Involve bankers, as agricultural credit plays an important role.
Build sufficient funding and oversight mechanisms. Way forward
Another important task ahead is deciding the extent of agricultural research for developing models and moving agriculture to the concurrent list to give it muchneeded direction.
Crunching numbers is important to know how near/far we are to the destination, but unless the journey is planned well, we may never reach the goal.
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Pegasus misadventure: On WhatsApp snooping scandal (The Hindu) Mains Paper 3: Security Prelims level : Israeli spyware pegasus Mains level : Spyware threat in social media networks Context
The Government’s reaction to messaging platform WhatsApp’s revelation that Indian journalists and human rights activists were among some 1,400 people globally spied upon using a surveillance technology developed by Israel-based NSO Group is inadequate and, more unfortunately, far from reassuring.
Disclosure by Facebook-owned WhatsApp, which is suing the Israeli company in a California federal court for the hack, is a chilling reminder that nothing is private in the digital world, given the right tools.
In this case, a malicious code, named Pegasus, exploited a bug in the call function of WhatsApp to make its way into the phones of those select users, where it would potentially have had access to every bit of information. Reasons why this question is important
This was not done with money in mind.
As the NSO says on its website, “NSO products are used exclusively by government intelligence and law enforcement agencies to fight crime and terror.” The NSO, by its own admission, sells its service only to government agencies.
Those targeted include civil rights activists, lawyers, and journalists. Notably, some of them have legally represented activists arrested in the case related to the violence in Bhima Koregaon in 2018.
Lawyer Nihalsing Rathod, academic Anand Teltumbde, Dalit activist Vivek Sundara, and human rights lawyer Jagdish Meshram are some of those who have been targeted by Pegasus. Who would have wanted to snoop on them?
It is extremely important for the Government to clear the air on this issue in no uncertain terms especially when WhatsApp had given information to CERT-IN, a government agency, in May, even if without any mention of Pegasus or the extent of
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breach.
It is all right to ask WhatsApp, as the Government has done, as to why the breach happened and what it is doing to safeguard the privacy of its users in India, estimated to be around 400 million.
Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and the Ministry of Home Affairs have expressed concern about privacy breaches while at the same time hinting that this issue is being politicised and an attempt is being made to malign the Government. Conclusion
This is hardly a trivial issue, as it concerns the digital well-being of citizens, the very thing this Government says it wants to promote.
In a country where data protection and privacy laws are still in a nascent stage, incidents such as this highlight the big dangers to privacy and freedom in an increasingly digital society.
It is thus imperative that the Government sends a strong message on privacy, something that the Supreme Court in 2017 declared to be intrinsic to life and liberty and therefore an inherent part of the fundamental rights.
The first thing it could do is to answer categorically if any of the governmental agencies used NSO’s services.
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Current Affairs MCQ for UPSC Exams - 03 November 2019
Q1. With respect to the creation and administration of union territories, which of the following statements are true ? 1) During the discussion on reorganisation of states in 1956, the States Reorganisation Commission recommended creation of a different category for these territories since they neither fit the model of a state, nor do they follow a uniform pattern when it comes to
governance.
2) According to Article 240, the Governors of parent states has the power to make regulations for certain UTs. The regulations could be for peace, progress and good government
of
the
UT.
3) In case a UT has a Legislature in place, the President shall not have the authority to make any regulation with effect from the first day of the meeting of the Legislature. a) 1 & 2only b) 2 &3 only c) 1 & 3only d) all the above Q2. Consider the following pairs of languages and their corresponding states were they are declared as official languages : 1) Khasi : Meghalaya 2) Konkani : Goa 3) Urdu : Gujarat 4) English : Nagaland 5) Dogri : Bihar Which of the above pairs are correctly matched ? a) 1,2 & 3 only b) 1,3 & 4 only c) 2,4 & 5 only d) 2,3 & 5 only Q3. The Nirbhaya Fund was announced by the Centre in 2013 to support the initiatives of the government and the NGOs working towards the safety of women. Which of the following statements regarding the dame stands true ? 1) The Nirbhaya Fund Framework provides for a non-lapsable corpus fund for safety and security of women to be administered by the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) of the
Ministry
of
Finance
(MoF)
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of
the
Government
of
India.
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2) As per procedures established in the CrPC central governments/ UTs are responsible for registration and investigation of crimes as well as grant of financial assistance/ compensation
to
victims.
3) The top five States ranked in terms of utilisation of money across various schemes under the Nirbhaya Fund were Chandigarh , Mizoram, Uttarakhand , Andhra Pradesh and Nagaland. a) 1 & 2only b) 2 &3 only c) 1 & 3only d) all the above Q4. Consider the following statements : 1) A genome is a person’s complete set of deoxyribonucleic acids or DNA, including all genes
with
more
than
3
billion
DNA
base
pairs.
2) By sequencing the genome, researchers can discover the functions of genes and identify
mutations
responsible
for
cancer
and
rare
genetic
diseases.
3) Genome sequencing will also lead to precision medication, instead of clinicians giving drugs
based
on
collective
knowledge.
Which of the above statements stands true ? a) 1 & 2only b) 2 &3 only c) 1 & 3only d) all the above Q5. “Lingdum monastery” recently seen in news is located in which of the following Indian states ? a) Himachal Pradesh b) Arunachal Pradesh c) Sikkim d) Assam
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Current Affairs 4th Nov 19 Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 03 November 2019
::NATIONAL:: Govt. releases maps of Jammu and Ladakh UT’s
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is part of the newly created Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, while Gilgit-Baltistan is in the UT of Ladakh in the fresh maps released by the government on Saturday following the bifurcation.
In a notification, the Ministry of Home Affairs also released the new map of India depicting the two UTs with PoK 'capital' Muzaffarabad within the geographical boundary of the country.
As per the new map, PoK remains with Jammu and Kashmir UT and Gilgit-Baltistan with the UT of Ladakh, according to the maps.
In 1947, the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir had the following 14 districts Kathua,
Jammu,
Udhampur,
Reasi,
Anantnag,
Baramulla,
Poonch,
Mirpur,
Muzaffarabad, Leh and Ladakh, Gilgit, Gilgit Wazarat, Chilhas and Tribal Territory, a home ministry statement said.
By 2019, the government of erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir had reorganised the areas of these 14 districts into 28 districts. The names of the new districts were Kupwara, Bandipur, Ganderbal, Srinagar, Budgam, Pulwama, Shopian, Kulgam, Rajouri, Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar, Samba and Kargil. Centre to set up anti-human trafficking units under Nirbhaya Fund
The government will set up anti-human trafficking units in all districts with the help of the Nirbhaya Fund.
In a tweet, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said that women help desks will also be set up in all police stations across the country using this fund. She said, this initiative will strengthen women safety and instil a greater sense of security among them.
Mrs Irani expressed her gratitude to Home Minister Amit Shah for speedy intervention and ensuring efficacy in fructifying these initiatives. She said, the step will go a long way in addressing women and children safe in the country.
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The empowered committee (EC) under the Nirbhaya framework has recommended setting up anti-human trafficking units and women help desks at a cost of 100 crore rupees each to be fully funded by the centre.
Nirbhaya Fund was announced by the Centre in 2013 to support the initiatives of the government and the NGOs working towards the safety of women. ::ECONOMY:: OECD projects India’s growth rate at 6.6% in 2020-2024
India’s gross domestic product (GDP) could grow 6.6% in 2020-24, lower than its 2013-17
average
of
7.4%,
the
Organisation
for
Economic
Co-operation
and
Development (OECD) said on Saturday.
While reliance on consumption will continue, the large informal labour share indicates that there is room to strengthen the consumption base.
“Sustaining efforts to prop up the health of the banking sector is a vital challenge, while bridging the disparity in urban and rural infrastructure is important for spreading investment and economic opportunities while addressing urbanisation,” it said.
The organisation has predicted a regional GDP growth of 5.7% over 2020-24, down from 6.7% in 2013-17.
As per the report, China would need to bridge the gap between demand and supply of digital talent, while improving digital literacy and increasing access to digital devices are critical in India.
Trade tensions between the United States and China are continuing, and the broadening economic weakness in advanced economies adds substantial uncertainty to export prospects.
Stability in the labour market, and in certain cases inflows of income from overseas workers, will sustain domestic consumption. Realisation of infrastructure projects that are already in the pipeline should provide more lift to domestic demand. India to strengthen connectivity with ASEAN nations
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that ASEAN related Summits are key elements of India’s foreign policy, most notably the Act East Policy.
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In his departure statement before leaving for Bangkok, Mr Modi said, India is eager to improve connectivity with ASEAN nations. He said, there will be meetings with various world leaders to discuss important bilateral and global issues.
The Prime Minister said, the East Asia Summit gives an opportunity to present India's vision for the Indo-Pacific region. He said, at the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Summit, the leaders will take stock of the progress in RCEP negotiations.
Mr Modi said, during the summit, the leaders will consider all issues including whether India’s concerns and interests in trade in goods, services, and investments are being fully accommodated.
Mr Modi said, connecting with the Indian diaspora is something he always looks forward to. He said, today at 6 P.M. in Bangkok, he will interact with the Indian community-based in Thailand. He said, People of Indian Origin and Non-Resident Indians in Thailand have made significant contributions to Thailand. ::INTERNATIONAL:: UN chief warns Asian countries on its coal addiction
The Chief of the United Nations has warned Asia to quit its addiction to coal in a bid to tackle climate change.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said countries in the region were among the most vulnerable to global warming and should be on the front line of efforts to stop it. He cited a new study that found that Asian countries were at particular risk of climatedriven flooding.
Coal is a major source of power in many Asian countries. Speaking to reporters in the Thai capital Bangkok today, Mr. Guterres described climate change as the defining issue of our time.
The UN Chief referenced a study published on Tuesday, which found that climate change would put millions of more people at risk from coastal flooding by 2050 than previously thought. The majority of those implicated were in developing countries across Asia, the study said. Home ministry to inaugurate SCO joint exercise on search and rescue
Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Joint
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Exercise on Urban Earthquake Search and Rescue -SCOJtEx-2019 in New Delhi on Monday.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is hosting the event which will continue till November 7. The aim of the exercise is to rehearse the disaster response mechanism, share knowledge, experience and technology for mutual coordination.
This stimulation exercise will also provide an opportunity to enhance the coordination and co-operation involving multi-agency operations in an earthquake scenario.
The main focus of Joint Exercise on Urban will be to test the region’s preparedness and resilience towards effective activation of Inter-governmental interaction for immediate response.
All the eight-member countries of SCO namely China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will participate in this exercise. ::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY:: Scientists decode Big Bang explosion phenomenon
The universe began with the Big Bang, and now scientists have explained how the mysterious explosion may have taken place around 13.8 billion years ago.
The Big Bang theory states that all matter that exists today in the universe sprung forth from a single point in an epic explosion.
The research, published in the journal Science, details the mechanisms that could cause the explosion, which is key for the models that scientists use to understand the origin of the universe.
The team uncovered the criteria for creating a Big Bang-type explosion while exploring methods for hypersonic jet propulsion.
The finding may have applications in faster air and space travel, and improved power generation, including reactions that generate zero emissions as all of the products used in the combustion are converted into energy, the researchers said. ::SPORTS:: South Africa wins Rugby world cup
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South Africa galloped by England to win the Rugby World Cup in Japan.
The Springboks claimed the Cup for the first time since 2007. It was a rematch of the final game of 2007. Both teams scored only penalty kicks in the first half. South Africa led 12-6 at half time.
In the second half, the Springboks' Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe each pushed the ball across the line for the only two tries of the game. The final score was 32-12.
The Springboks became the second team after New Zealand to win three World Cup titles.
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