Current Affairs 12 October 2020 – IAS Current Affairs

Current Affairs 12 October 2020 2020 focuses on Prelims-Mains perspective. Major events are :

1. SVAMITVA Scheme
2. Child Trafficking In India
3. Climate Change Driving Butterflies
4. Prelims Facts 
   • Skal International Asia Area (SIAA)
   • South Asia Economic Focus Report: World Bank

SVAMITVA Scheme

Why in News ?

Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas (SVAMITVA Scheme) a central scheme of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. 

SVAMITVA Scheme

• SVAMITVA is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
• The scheme aims to provide the ‘record of rights’ to village household owners in rural areas and issue Property Cards.
• Under SVAMITVA, the Union government aims to distribute 1.32 lakh property cards in 763 villages in six states namely Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Karnataka.
• As part of the pilot project of SVAMITVA, 101 villages in Maharashtra will be measured which includes 26 villages from Pune division, 25 in Nashik, 26 in Nagpur and 24 in Aurangabad division.

Implementation

• The Scheme is being implemented across the country in a phased manner over a period of four years (2020-2024) and would eventually cover around 6.62 lakh villages of the country.
• About 1 lakh villages in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Karnataka, and few border villages of Punjab & Rajasthan, along with establishment of Continuous Operating System (CORS) stations’ network across Punjab & Rajasthan, are being covered in the Pilot phase (2020-21).

How the scheme benefits ?

• The technology helps in increasing the accuracy of measurement and reducing the time required.
• Generally, measuring a village gaothan requires 15-30 days.
• After this, enquiries about ownership and preparation of the property documents and supplying them to the owner takes several months.
• On average, the entire process takes about a year.
• In the new process, the property documents and maps can be provided to the owner within a month.
• The scheme will pave the way for using property as a financial asset by villagers for taking loans and other financial benefits.
• The process relies on modern technology and will bring speed as well as transparency to the process of measurement of land in rural areas.

Source : PIB

Topic

Prelims : About the Scheme

GS II : Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation

Child Trafficking In India

Why in News ?

Child Trafficking In India sharp surge in Lockdown. The economic distress began to sink in, a more sinister movement of children gathered pace of those being taken away from their homes for illegal labour, trafficking and forced marriages.

Key Facts

• Between March and August the national childline for distress calls set up by the Ministry for Women and Child Development, tracked 1.92 lakh interventions on the ground.
  • During the same period last year, the number was 1.70 lakh.
• Between April and August, officials tracked over 10,000 cases of child marriage.
• Once trafficked, the victims fall prey to many forms of unfair treatment such as forced prostitution, forced labour, forced begging, forced marriages, etc
• The interventions include at least 32,700 cases of trafficking, child marriage, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, begging and cyber crime.

Constitutional & legislative provisions related to Trafficking in India

• Trafficking in Human Beings or Persons is prohibited under the Constitution of India under Article 23 (1).
• The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 : legislation for prevention of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.
• Criminal Law (amendment) Act 2013 : has come into force wherein Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code has been substituted with Section 370 and 370A IPC which provide for comprehensive measures to counter the menace of human trafficking including trafficking of children for exploitation in any form.
• Protection of Children from Sexual offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 : which has come into effect from 14th November, 2012 is a special law to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation with precise definition of abuse.
• Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 : To prohibit the engagement of children in certain employments and to regulate the conditions of work of children in certain other employments.
• Sections 372 and 373 : Dealing with selling and buying of girls for the purpose of prostitution.
• Anti Trafficking Cell (ATC) : Anti-Trafficking Nodal Cell was set up in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) (CS Division in 2006

India implemented International Conventions on Trafficking

• UN Convention : India has ratified the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organised Crime (UNCTOC) which has as one of its Protocols Prevention, Suppression and Punishment of Trafficking in Persons, particularly Women and Children.
• SAARC Convention: India has ratified the SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution.

Source : Indian Express

Topic

GS III : Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organized crime with terrorism

Climate Change Driving Butterflies

Why in News ?

Climate Change Driving Butterflies in Himalayan Region. Rising average temperatures in the Himalayan region have driven several dozen species of butterfly and moth to habitats higher up the mountains, a new study commissioned by the government has found.

Key Findings

• The survey, funded by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and carried out by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), identified
  • At least 49 species of moth and 17 species of butterfly that have shown considerable new upward altitude records with a difference of more than 1,000 metres between their current and previously recorded mean habitat altitudes.
• Seven species in particular have started to inhabit altitudes more than 2,000 metres higher than the previous mean.
  • These include the moth species Trachea auriplena (Noctuidae), Actias windbrechlini (Saturniidae), and Diphtherocome fasciata (Noctuidae), with mean altitudinal differences of 2,800 m, 2,684 m and 2,280 m respectively.
• Indian Red Admiral butterfly was historically found at 3,900 m and now found at 4,853 m, an altitudinal increase of 950 m.
• The four-year study tracked 1,274 species of moth and 484 species of butterfly in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, North Bengal, and Arunachal Pradesh.
• It also identified 80 new species of butterfly and moth.
• The tracking of the insects’ movement was possible because the ZSI has historical records of many species since 1865.
  • Records from 1865 to 2015 were scanned and examined to make a comparative assessment.
• Species richness
  • Identified two species richness hotspots one in West Bengal’s Darjeeling hills, where more than 400 species records were documented
  • In Kumaon, Uttarakhand, where more than 600 species records were found.
  • In Himachal Pradesh, two high diversity areas were identified – Dharamshala and Shimla.
• Reason for Migrations
  • Change of climate is the major reason.
  • Increasing human habitation too, has contributed to the shift.
  • Receding ice caps and glaciers leading to a scarcity of water.
  • Poaching of Butterflies.
    • Red Apollo are highly prized by collectors and are often poached.
    • One butterfly sells for up to £100 on the international market.

Impact over Vegetation

• The increase in average temperature has also resulted in an altitudinal shift in vegetation trees, shrubs, and plants that once grew at lower altitudes in the Himalayas are now found only higher up in the mountains.

About Himalayas

• The Himalayas is the highest mountain range in the world, and has 9 out of 10 of the world’s highest peaks, including Mount Everest.
• Himalayas mean they experience a wide range of climates, from humid subtropical in the foothills to cold and dry desert conditions on the Tibetan side of the range.
• The monsoon can seriously impact transport and cause major landslides.
• The Himalayas are also believed to play an important part in the formation of Central Asian deserts, such as the Taklamakan and Gobi.
• The amount of yearly rainfall increases from west to east along the southern front of the range.
• The elusive and previously endangered snow leopard found in high altitude.
• The Himalayan musk deer is also found at high altitude and Hunted for its musk, it is now rare and endangered.
• Critically endangered Himalayan subspecies of the brown bear.
• Lower down the forests of the foothills several different primates, including the endangered Gee’s golden langur and the Kashmir gray langur.

Source : Indian Express

Topic

GS III : Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Prelims Facts 12 October 2020

Skal International Asia Area (SIAA)

Why in News?

UT of Jammu & Kashmir will host the 50th annual Skal International Asia Area (SIAA) congress in 2021.

About Skal International Asia Area (SIAA)

• Founded in 1934, Skal International is the only professional organization promoting global Tourism and friendship, uniting all sectors of the Tourism industry.
• It is the world’s largest global network of Tourism Professionals promoting Tourism, Business and Friendship worldwide.
• Its members are Directors and Executives of the Tourism sector who relate to each other to address issues of common interest, improving a business network and promoting destinations.
• It is an Affiliated Member of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
• Skal International holds an annual World Congress each year in a different country.

Source : PIB 

South Asia Economic Focus Report: World Bank

Why in News ?

The World Bank has recently released its biennial South Asia Economic Focus report. 

Key Facts

• The report includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
• Around 5.5 million students could drop out of schools across South Asia.
• 391 million students have been kept out of school in primary and secondary education due to lockdown.
• The projected learning loss for the region is 0.5 years of learning-adjusted years of schooling (LAYS) at present.
• Due to the closure of schools, not only the learning process has been obstructed but the children may have forgotten their previous learnings.
• Engaging children through remote learning programmes had been difficult, despite most governments’ best efforts to mitigate the impact of school closures.

Current Affairs 12 October 2020 : Our major Sources for the Current Affairs are The Hindu, Indian Express, PIB, Down To Earth etc. For more queries and mentor-ship please contact us.