Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) today successfully flight-tested its state-of-the-art Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missiles (QRSAM) against live aerial targets from Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur.

Two missiles, developed by DRDO, were tested against two live targets meeting complete mission objectives of engaging the targets. QRSAM, with many state of the art technologies, engaged the targets at different ranges and altitudes.

Shri Amit Shah introduces Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, 2019 President issues Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order 2019 Jammu & Kashmir Reservation (2nd Amendment) Bill, 2019 introduced in Rajya Sabha All of the above passed in Rajya Sabha unanimously Posted On: 05 AUG 2019 7:20PM by PIB Delhi Union Minister for Home Affairs, Shri Amit Shah, introduced two bills and two resolutions regarding Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) today. These are as follows:

Constitution (Application to Jammu & Kashmir) Order, 2019 {Ref. Article 370(1) of Constitution of India} – issued by President of India to supersede the 1954 order related to Article 370. Resolution for Repeal of Article 370 of the Constitution of India {Ref. Article 370 (3)} Jammu & Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, 2019 {Ref. Article 3 of Constitution of India} Jammu & Kashmir Reservation (2nd Amendment) Bill, 2019

Announcing a path breaking decision by the Government, Shri Shah said that the Government is moving a resolution which would repeal the provisions under Article 370 of the Constitution of India,which granted a special status to the state of J&K. The provisions of Article 370 would cease to exist from the date President of India issues a notification in this regard, after the recommendation of the Parliament. Consequently, the Constitution of India would get applicable to J&K, on par with other states/UTs of the country, the Minister added.

Responding to apprehensions on the resolution and the future of J&K,Shri Shah said,“I would just say that the bill that the Government is bringing is historic. Article 370 has prevented J&K to merge with India rather than being a basis of its merger. The politics of vote bank has looted the youth of the state for over 70 years. I would call on the opposition members to debate and discuss on why the benefits of development were not allowed to reach the common people of J&K till now. Politics of religion must be avoided at all costs. Article 370 is equally harmful for people of all religions”, the Minister said.

Further, the Minister termed the provisions of Article 370 as discriminatory on the basis of gender, class, caste and place of origin. The youth is being taken for a ride by the political elite. This provision was temporary in the first place and it has to go in the larger interest of the people of J&K, he added.

Under article 370(3), there is a provision that President, on recommendation of the Parliament, has the power to amend or cease the implementation of article 370,through a public notification. This has already happened on a number of occasions in the past. The Home Minister pointed out to the opposition that everyone knows how the article 370 is hampering the development of the people of the state.

Shri Shah said that post the repeal of the Article 370, doors to private investment in J&K would be opened, which would in turn increase the potential for development there. Increased investments would lead to increased job creation and further betterment of socio-economic infrastructure in the state. Opening of buying of lands would bring in investments from private individuals and multinational companies and give a boost to the local economy, as opposed to the apprehensions raised by those opposing this historic step, he added.

Home Minister remembered the martyrdom of civilians and soldiers who have lost their lives during 1989-2018. He said that had article 370 would not been there, these people wouldn't have lost their lives. Refugees who came from Pakistan after partition did not get citizenship till now. They cannot become councillors in the state. This has been a historical injustice to these people. As opposed to this, in rest of India two Prime Ministers were elected from those refugees.

Shri Shah said because of article 370, democracy never took root in J&K, corruption flourished, widespread poverty took root and no socio-economic infrastructure could come up. It is the root cause of terrorism. Further, 73rdand 74thAmendments to the Constitution could not be applied to J&K due to article 370. Panchayat and Nagar Palika elections could not be held. Who is responsible for taking away democratic rights of the people of J&K which were available to other citizens of India? It was Article 370.Panchayat elections recently held were conducted successfully and peacefully. The people want democracy and not bloodshed., the Minister said.

Talking about economic backwardness in J&K, Shri Shah said article 370 impedes people from outside the state to do business there. Absence of economic competition has prevented development and corruption flourished.Land prices are at a rock bottom because no one can buy land there. No industry, including tourism, is allowed to flourish there. People remain poor in perpetuity despite presence of abundant economic opportunities for the local populace. Rampant corruption is present, thus preventing external investment in the state.

Home Minister said, “I want to tell the Kashmiri youth that article 370 holds no benefits for them. It would only benefit a few elite people who want to keep the youth poor for ever and corner all benefits for themselves. Despite so much funds being provided by the Centre, where are the educational and health facilities? Those who support article 370 must know that this article prevents professionals from outside the state to settle down in the state and hence no one wants to go there. Now, the moment this resolution is passed and article 370 is removed, each child would get right of education and each patient would get free health care under Ayushman Bharat.”

Further addressing the Kashmiri youth, Home Minister said, “We want to embrace the youth of J&K and give them flourishing opportunities of employment. Even the separate bill for reservation for economically backward classes would not be required if the resolution is passed in both houses as the provision will get automatically applied to J&K, as in rest of India”.

Talking about terrorism, Shri Shah said that the youth has been misguided to pursue jihad on Pakistan's nefarious designs. Thousands of civilians have died. Why? It has been a stated policy of Pakistan to support article 370 and keep the youth away from getting into the mainstream of development and brain wash them into jihad. All the political parties with separatist ideology have vested interests to continue article 370. Their children do not get killed in the blood shed caused due to terrorism, hence support the article.

Rebutting the apprehension that removing article 370 would destroy Kashmiri culture, Shri Shah said that all states have preserved their culture and language after becoming a part of the Union of India. How does article 370 protect JK on this aspect, he asked. It is only and only a political propaganda that has blinded the youth of Kashmir into believing it for 70 years.“I assure the youth of JK that give this government 5 year and it will become the most progressive region in the country”, the Minister said.

Daughters of the state marrying outside the state lose their rights to property. It is so discriminatory to the women and their children. SC and ST people have been discriminated against and have been deprived of reservation to political offices. Despite knowing this a few people have been perpetuating this article only for their political gains, the Minister said.

Shri Shah assured the House that if the Union Territory model works well, our government would also consider giving J&K the status of state again. No constitutional amendment would be required.

J&K would become a true part of India in letter and spirit once article 370 is removed. The path to solution to all the problems of Kashmir goes through the repealing of article 370. This step would stand strong and would pass the test of legal scrutiny. Article 370was a temporary and transient provision, it had to go. It only required political will, which only the present government had. “I give a heartfelt appeal to all political parties to rise above political considerations to join hand with the government to remove article 370. The country wants this united as one”, the Minister concluded, after which all the resolutions and bills relating to J&K were passed.

Shri Amit Shah also introduced the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, 2019 making Jammu & Kashmir a Union territory with a Legislative Assembly,along with Union Territory status to Ladakh without a Legislative Assembly. Further, the Jammu & Kashmir Reservation (2nd Amendment) Bill, 2019 to amend the Jammu & Kashmir Reservation Act 2004 was also introduced. This bill seeks to extend the 10% quota to economically weaker sections of society in J&K in jobs and educational institutions. Both the bills were passed by Rajya Sabha unanimously.

Union Human Resource Development Minister, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ inaugurated theTechEx - technology exhibition at IIT Delhi today. TechEx was organized to demonstrate products and prototypes developed under the two flagship schemes of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) namely IMPacting Research, INnovation and Technology (IMPRINT) and UchhatarAvishkar Yojana (UAY). The Minister also released TechEx Volume containing abstracts of all the IMPRINT and UAY projects.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi gives a special emphasis on research and has given a slogan Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan and Jai Anusandhan. He said that research is need of the hour and through research we can shift to a new paradigm of development. He further said that the National Research Foundation (NRF) will provide a new direction to research in India.

He appealed to the researchers that the subject of research should relate to social concerns of the region so that benefits reach down the line to the last person. Today, behind the development of developed countries, there is a special contribution of the research done in the universities there and our educational institutions have to play the similar role in building a new India and he was confident that India will become World leader in every field by the efforts of these institutions.

The Minister said that the TechEx is a unique effort, which offers an excellent platform to the researchers to showcase their work and inspire them to do their best in their respective domains. He informed that as many as 50 models/prototypes under IMPRINT and 26 under UAY were showcased during the exhibition in addition to 142 posters. He further informed that some prominent among the exhibits were non-invasive and low-cost rapid TB diagnostics, artificial pancreas for closed loop blood glucose control of type-I diabetic patients, affordable cancer diagnosis/treatment, electric vehicle charger, remote healthcare delivery system for non-communicable diseases, low cost environment friendly fire detection and suppression system, air quality monitoring network system and detection of pesticides and insecticides in fruits and vegetables. He added that many of these products/prototypes are at the verge of commercial production. Praising theTechEx program, organized by Human Resource Development Ministry, Shri. Nishank said that there should be more such programs which should increase the interest of people towards research in the country.

IMPRINT scheme was launched in November, 2015 with a view to providing solutions to the most relevant engineering challenges by translating knowledge into viable technology (products or processes) in 10 selected technology domains, namely health care, energy, sustainable habitat, nano-technology hardware, water resources and river systems, advanced materials, Information and Communication Technology, manufacturing, security and defence, and environmental science and climate change. 142 projects at a total cost of Rs.313.30 cr. were approved under the IMPRINT-I. These projects are funded jointly by MHRD and the participating Ministry in the ratio of 50:50.

UchhatarAvishkar Yojana (UAY) was announced on October 6, 2015 with a view to promoting innovation of a higher order that directly impacts the needs of the Industry and thereby improves the competitive edge of Indian manufacturing. A total of 142 projects, including 83 in Phase-I and 59 in Phase-II) have been approved under UAY at a total cost of Rs.388.86 cr. UAY projects are funded jointly by MHRD, participating Ministries and the Industry in the ratio of 50:25:25. The scheme focusses on a viable industry-academic collaboration where industry shares a part of the cost of research.

About TechEx: TechEx is a unique effort, which offers an excellent platform to the researchers to showcase their work and inspire them to do their best in their respective domains.

About IMPRINT India: The initiative, ‘IMPRINT India’, is a pan-IIT and IISc joint collaboration to develop a blueprint for research of immediate relevance to society requiring innovation, direct scientific research into identified areas, ensure higher funding support for research into these areas and measure outcomes of the research efforts with reference to the impact on the standard of living in rural/urban areas.

IMPRINT scheme was launched in November, 2015 with a view to providing solutions to the most relevant engineering challenges by translating knowledge into viable technology (products or processes) in 10 selected technology domains, namely health care, energy, sustainable habitat, nano-technology hardware, water resources and river systems, advanced materials, Information and Communication Technology, manufacturing, security and defence, and environmental science and climate change.

UchhatarAvishkar Yojana (UAY): It was announced on October 6, 2015 with a view to promoting innovation of a higher order that directly impacts the needs of the Industry and thereby improves the competitive edge of Indian manufacturing.

UAY projects are funded jointly by MHRD, participating Ministries and the Industry in the ratio of 50:25:25. The scheme focusses on a viable industry-academic collaboration where industry shares a part of the cost of research.

About QRSAM: It has been developed to replace the ‘Akash’ missile defence system, and has 360-degree coverage.

It uses solid fuel propellant and has a strike range of 25-30 km with capability of hitting multiple targets. It is capable of hitting the low flying objects.

This means that the dogs are either currently infected or have been infected sometime in their life and have overcome the disease. This finding points out that there is an increased risk of disease transfer from the dogs to tigers and leopards that live in the park.

Background: Last year, over 20 lions from the Gir forest succumbed to the viral infection and now a guideline has been prepared by the National Tiger Conservation Authority to prevent the spillover of the disease to wild animals.

What needs to be done? The easy way out is prevention. Managing any disease in a wildlife population is extremely difficult. Most dogs are free ranging and not owned by any particular person in the village.

The government should take the initiative to vaccinate the dogs around wildlife sanctuaries in the country. This would be a good time to vaccinate against rabies as well. It is an investment that requires time and effort but increasing herd immunity will reduce chances of disease spillover to wildlife.

What is Canine Distemper Virus? Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) is a viral disease that infects the gastrointestinal, respiratory, and central nervous systems.

Spread: Dogs who have not been vaccinated for Canine Distemper are the most at-risk. While the disease can also be contracted when improperly vaccinated or when a dog has high susceptibility to bacterial infection, these cases are rare. CDV can be spread through direct contact (licking, breathing air, etc.) or indirect contact (bedding, toys, food bowls, etc.), though it cannot live on surfaces for very long. Inhaling the virus is the primary method of exposure. There is no known cure for CDV.

Background: ISRO has set up a Directorate of Space Situational Awareness and Management aiming at protecting high valued space assets from space debris close approaches and collisions. To carryout systematically all activities related to SSAM, a control centre is being established at Bengaluru.

Key functions: The control centre would host a range of activities related to the protection of Indian space assets from inactive satellites, pieces of orbiting objects, near earth asteroids and adverse space weather conditions. It would also assimilate the tracking data of inactive satellites from indigenous observation facilities and generates useful information from bare observations through analysis.

Significance: Space Situational Awareness & Management (SSAM) has become an internationally significant area due to the rise of manmade space debris and the increased collision threat with operational spacecraft.

The revised norms are applicable only to public sector banks (PSBs). Key changes proposed: As per the Reserve Bank of India (‘Fit and Proper’ Criteria for Elected Directors on the Boards of PSBs) Directions, 2019, all the banks — SBI and nationalised banks — are required to constitute a Nomination and Remuneration Committee (NRC).

Centre’s nominee director shall not be part of the nomination and remuneration committee (NRC). The terms with regard to the NRC and the manner of the appointment of directors have been aligned with the practice in private banks, the recommendations made by the Banks Board Bureau, and with the provisions in the Companies Act.

Composition of NRC: The NRC will have a minimum of three non-executive directors from amongst the board of directors. Of this, not less than one-half shall be independent directors and should include at least one member from the risk management committee of the board.

Eligibility: As per the directions, the candidate who wants to become an elected director should at least be a graduate. He/She should be between 35-67 years old as on the cut-off date fixed for submission of nominations for election. The candidate should have special knowledge or practical experience in areas useful for banks.

An elected director shall hold office for three years and shall be eligible for re-election, provided that no director hold office for a period exceeding six years, whether served continuously or intermittently. What will also be under scrutiny is the ‘list of entities’ in which a prospective director has an interest – to ascertain if such a firm is in default or has been in default in the past decade.

The negative list says that: The candidate should not be a member of the board of any bank, the RBI, financial institution (FI), insurance company or a non-operative financial holding company (NOFHC).

The candidate should not be connected with hire-purchase, financing, money lending, investment, leasing and other para-banking activities. But “investors of such entities would not be disqualified for appointment as directors if they do not enjoy any managerial control in them”. No person is to be elected or re-elected to a bank board if the candidate has served as a director in the past on the board of any bank, the RBI or insurance company under any category for six years, whether continuously or intermittently.

The candidate should not be engaging in the business of stock broking. The candidate should not be a member of Parliament, state legislature, municipal corporation, municipality, or other local bodies — notified area council, city council, panchayat, gram sabha or zila parishad.

Other conditions are that candidate should not be a partner of a chartered accountant (CA) firm currently engaged as a statutory central auditor of any nationalised bank or State Bank of India; or when the firm is engaged as statutory branch auditor or concurrent auditor of the bank in which nomination is sought.

Key facts: The first phase involves sequencing the complete genomes of nearly 10,000 Indians from all corners of the country and capture the biological diversity of India.

In the next phase, about 10,000 “diseased individuals” would have their genomes sequenced. These vast troves of data sets would be compared using machine learning techniques to identify genes that can predict cancer risk, as well as other diseases that could be significantly influenced by genetic anomalies.

Significance: The data generated would be accessible to researchers anywhere for analysis. This would be through a proposed National Biological Data Centre envisaged in a policy called the ‘Biological Data Storage, Access and Sharing Policy’, which is still in early stages of discussion.

As the genetic landscape differs across the world, it is necessary that genetic data is shared in order to derive greater knowledge from information and serve the purpose of enabling better treatment outcomes. The GenomeIndia initiative will pave the way for identifying genes and genetic variations for common diseases, treating Mendelian disorders, enabling the transformation of the Precision Medicine landscape in India, and thus improving the healthcare of the general population in our country.

Need for genome sequencing: Ever since the human genome was first sequenced in 2003, it opened a fresh perspective on the link between disease and the unique genetic make-up of each individual.

Nearly 10,000 diseases — including cystic fibrosis, thalassemia — are known to be the result of a single gene malfunctioning. While genes may render some insensitive to certain drugs, genome sequencing has shown that cancer too can be understood from the viewpoint of genetics, rather than being seen as a disease of certain organs.

What are the uses of genome sequencing? A genome is an organism’s complete set of DNA, including all of its genes. Genomics is an interdisciplinary field of science focusing on the structure, function, evolution, mapping, and editing of genomes. Genomics also involves the sequencing and analysis of genomes through uses of high throughput DNA sequencing.

Advances in genomics have triggered a revolution in discovery-based research and systems biology to facilitate understanding of even the most complex biological systems such as the brain.

About National Population Register (NPR): It is a Register of usual residents of the country. It is being prepared at the local (Village/sub-Town), sub-District, District, State and National level under provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.

It is mandatory for every usual resident of India to register in the NPR. Definition: A usual resident is defined for the purposes of NPR as a person who has resided in a local area for the past 6 months or more or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next 6 months or more.

The NPR database would contain demographic as well as biometric details. As per the provisions of the NPR, a resident identity card (RIC) will be issued to individuals over the age of 18. This will be a chip-embedded smart card containing the demographic and biometric attributes of each individual. The UID number will also be printed on the card.

Objectives: The objective of the NPR is to create a comprehensive identity database of every usual resident in the country. The database would contain demographic as well as biometric particulars.

Context: French inventor crosses the English Channel on his hoverboard.

Key facts: The English Channel is a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It separates the island of Britain (part of the UK) from northern Franceand joins the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. It’s approximately 350 miles long, and at its narrowest in the Strait of Dover.

The Tungabhadra command area, consisting of around 10 lakh acres of land in Koppal, Ballari and Raichur districts, is popularly known as the “rice bowl of Karnataka”. It produces high-quality Sona Masuri rice that is in great demand across the country.

Why in news? Karnataka’s rice bowl stares at crisis as water level in TB dam sinks.

Context: Eminent journalist Ravish Kumar wins Magsaysay Award.

About Ramon Magsaysay Award: It is Asia’s highest honour and is often regarded as the region’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. It was established in 1957 by trustees of the New York City based Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Philippine government in the memory of Philippines’ third President Ramon Magsaysay.

It is awarded annually to individuals or organizations from Asia region for their altruistic and philanthropic service. It carries Medallion bearing the likeness of the late President Ramon Magsaysay, cash prize and a certificate.

It is a New mobile app launched to assist farmers. The application would be available for 150 districts in different parts of the country.

It will provide forecast relating to temperature, rainfall, humidity, and wind speed and direction, which play critical roles in agricultural operations and advisories to the farmers on how to take care of their crops and livestock. The information would be updated twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays

. The app would provide information in the form of images, maps and pictures to help the farmer to have a clearer picture of what is in store. It has been integrated with WhatsApp and Facebook as well to help farmers share advisories among themselves. It will also be integrated with YouTube in future.

It has been developed by experts from the India Meteorological Department and Indian Institute of Tropical meteorology and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.

Context: The Union Cabinet’s has decided to raise the strength of the Supreme Court from 31 to 34, including the Chief Justice of India. Significance: This will help in dealing with the large pendency — 59,331 cases on July 11.

What else is needed? A mere increase in the court’s strength may not be enough to liquidate the burgeoning docket. Another set of measures that would save the court’s time, including a reasonable restraint on the duration of oral arguments and a disciplined adherence to a schedule of hearings may be needed.

In this case, one of the principal objectives should be to preserve the apex court’s primary role as the ultimate arbiter of constitutional questions and statutory interpretation. All other questions involving a final decision on routine matters, especially civil cases that involve nothing more than the interests of the parties before it, ought to be considered by a mechanism that will not detract from the court’s primary role.

It may be worthwhile considering the 229th Report of the Law Commission, suggesting a new system under which there will be one Constitution Bench in Delhi, and four ‘Cassation Benches’ for different regions of the country. These will be final appellate courts for routine litigation. This arrangement may also increase access to justice to those living in far-flung areas of the country and who may otherwise have to come to Delhi and spend more time and money in pursuing appeals. It may also cut down on the time taken for disposal of cases.

Context: Ministry Of Earth Sciences Plans Rs 8000 Crore ‘Deep Ocean Mission’ To Boost India’s Sea Exploration Capabilities.

What will be mined from the deep ocean? One of the main aims of the mission is to explore and extract polymetallic nodules. These are small potato-like rounded accretions composed of minerals such as manganese, nickel, cobalt, copper and iron hydroxide. They lie scattered on the Indian Ocean floor at depths of about 6,000 m and the size can vary from a few millimetres to centimetres. These metals can be extracted and used in electronic devices, smartphones, batteries and even for solar panels.

How is it regulated? The International Seabed Authority (ISA), an autonomous international organisation established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, allots the ‘area’ for deep-sea mining. India was the first country to receive the status of a ‘Pioneer Investor ‘ in 1987 and was given an area of about 1.5 lakh sq km in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) for nodule exploration. In 2002, India signed a contract with the ISA and after complete resource analysis of the seabed 50% was surrendered and the country retained an area of 75,000 sq km.

Which are the other countries that are in the race to mine the deep sea? Apart from the CIOB, polymetallic nodules have been identified from the central Pacific Ocean. It is known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. China, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Russia and also some small islands such as the Cook Islands, Kiribati have joined the race for deep sea mining. Most of the countries have tested their technologies in shallow waters and are yet to start deep-sea extraction.

What will be the environmental impact? According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), these deep remote locations can be home to unique species that have adapted themselves to conditions such as poor oxygen and sunlight, high pressure and extremely low temperatures. Such mining expeditions can make them go extinct even before they are known to science. The deep sea’s biodiversity and ecology remain poorly understood, making it difficult to assess the environmental impact and frame adequate guidelines.

Environmentalists are also worried about the sediment plumes that will be generated as the suspended particles can rise to the surface harming the filter feeders in the upper ocean layers. Additional concerns have been raised about the noise and light pollution from the mining vehicles and oil spills from the operating vessels.

Is deep sea mining economically viable? The latest estimate from the ISA says it will be commercially viable only if about three million tonnes are mined per year. More studies are being carried out to understand how the technology can be scaled up and used efficiently.