Connect to Current -Daily Current Capsules - 10th April 2019

Human Resource Development
NIRF Rankings-2019
President Kovind releases NIRF and ARIIA-2019

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about NIRF ranking)

What's the NEWS
• The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, released National Institutional Ranking Framework -2019 (NIRF) and presented the India Rankings awards to the top eight institutions in different categories
• The President also released the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) and presented the ARIIA awards to the top two institutions.

• IIT Madras ranked on top in overall category in NIRF-2019 while Miranda House College of Delhi University ranked number one in ARIIA.

Top 3 Engineering Institutions in India-2019

• Indian Institute of Technology, Madras
• Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
• Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay

Top 3 Universities in India-2019

• Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru
• Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
• Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi

Top 3 Colleges in India

• Miranda House, Delhi
• Hindu College, Delhi
• Presidency College, Chennai

Know! all about NIRF
• The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) was approved by the MHRD and launched by Honourable Minister of Human Resource Development on 29th September 2015.

• First, NIRF Ranking was issued on 4th April 2016. This framework outlines a methodology to rank institutions across the country.

• The methodology draws from the overall recommendations broad understanding arrived at by a Core Committee set up by MHRD, to identify the broad parameters for ranking various universities and institutions.

• The parameters broadly cover "Teaching, Learning and Resources," "Research and Professional Practices," "Graduation Outcomes," "Outreach and Inclusivity," and "Perception".

International Affairs
UK govt released ‘Online Harms White Paper' to regulate online content

What's the NEWS
• UK government has released a white paper on ‘online harms' and claimed that these new rules would be world's most aggressive actions to limit harmful online content.
Know! more about the regulations
• In this white paper, the UK government called for an internet regulator with the power to issue fine, to block access to websites if necessary, and to make individual executives legally liable for harmful content spread on their platforms.

• UK's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) have proposed an independent authority that will write a "code of practice" for tech companies.

• The government will establish a new statutory duty of care to make companies take more responsibility for the safety of their users and tackle harm caused by content or activity on their services. Compliance with this duty of care will be overseen and enforced by an independent regulator.

• As per Online Harms White Paper, Tackling illegal and harmful content and activity online is one part of the UK's wider mission to develop rules and norms for the internet, including protecting personal data, supporting competition in digital markets and promoting responsible digital design.

Government Schemes
About 85% of Ujjwala beneficiaries in four States still use earthen stoves

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Ujjwala scheme)

What's the NEWS

• A study from the Research Institute for Compassionate Economics study on the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojna (PMUY) makes the following observations:

 

 

Know! about the observations

• Most rural households with LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) connections still use chulhas with firewood or dung cakes which are the detriment of rural health.

• 85% of Ujjwala beneficiaries in rural Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan still use solid fuels for cooking, due to financial reasons as well as gender inequalities.

• In the four States surveyed, there was a substantial increase in LPG ownership due to the scheme, with 76% of households now owning an LPG connection.

• Overall only 27% of households exclusively used the gas stove and another 37% reported using both the chulha and the gas stove, while 36% used chulha exclusively.

• Whereas among those who received LPG connection through PMUY, almost 53% exclusively used the chulha, while 32% used both.

• The beneficiaries of PMUY are poorer, on average than households who got LPG on their own. Refilling the cylinder is a greater fraction of their monthly consumption, and they may be less likely to get a refill immediately after a cylinder becomes empty.

International Affairs
US has announced its intent to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its Quds Force, as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO)

Relevance IN - Prelims( about FTO conditions)

What's the NEWS

• President Trump Administration of US has announced its intent to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its Quds Force, as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO) in accordance with Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The designation is expected to take effect from April 15.

• The designation as FTO will impose sweeping economic and travel sanctions on the IRGC and on organisations, companies, and individuals that have links to it.

IRGC and Quds Force

• IRGC is an ideologically-driven branch of the armed forces of Iran set up in 1979 after Ayatollah Khomeini's Islamic Revolution to protect the newly established Islamic system from hostile foreign powers and internal dissensions. Quds Force or Qods Corps is an elite wing of the IRGC.

Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO)

• Under Section 219 of the United States Immigration and Nationality Act, the Secretary of State is authorised to designate an organization as a foreign terrorist organization. If the Secretary finds that

- The organization is a foreign organization.
- The organization engages in terrorist activity or terrorism.
- Threatens the security of United States nationals or the national security of the United States.

The designation of IRGC as an FTO highlights that IRGC is an outlaw regime that uses terrorism as a key tool of statecraft

 

Economic Developments
RBI issues norms for banks to set up Currency Chests

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Currency chests)

What's the NEWS

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued "Minimum Standards for a Currency Chest", the guidelines for banks to set up new currency chests.

Know! about Currency Chests

• The Currency Chests are part of banks wherein currency notes and coins are stored. The currency chests can be a strong room or a vault. When the cash is taken out of the vault, it becomes bank's cash and is used for the payments.

• The RBI has authorised few branches of selected banks to stock rupee notes and coins on its behalf. The vault of the Currency Chest which stores cash belongs to RBI.

• The responsibility for managing the currency in circulation is vested in the RBI.

Know! the guidelines

• The area of the strong room or vault of the new currency chest shall be of at least 1500 square feet.

• For the banks situated in hilly or inaccessible locations as defined by Government, the minimum area of the strong room shall be 600 square feet.

• The currency chests should have a processing capacity of 6,60,000 pieces of banknotes per day.

• For banks situated in the hilly and inaccessible places, the processing capacity shall be 2,10,000 pieces of banknotes per day.

• The currency chests shall be open to accept automation and adaptability to implement IT solutions

• The new chests shall maintain Chest Balance Limit (CBL) of Rs 10 billion, subject to ground realities and reasonable restrictions at the discretion of the Reserve Bank.

Committee on Currency Movement

• The RBI had in 2016 constituted a ‘Committee on Currency Movement' (CCM) chaired by DK Mohanty.

• The Committee recommended that the Reserve Bank should encourage banks to open large Currency Chests (CCs) with modern facilities and minimum Chest Balance Limit (CBL) of Rs 10 billion (Rs 1,000 crore).

• Accordingly, the RBI came out with these minimum standards for setting up currency chests.

• As per the RBI's Annual Report 2017-18, the currency management infrastructure consists of a network of 19 issue offices of the Reserve Bank, 3975 currency chests and 3654 small coin depots of commercial, co-operative and regional rural banks spread across the country.

Prelims Practise Questions

Consider the following statements
1. According to a recent study most rural households with LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) connections still use chulhas with firewood or dung cakes which are the detriment of rural health.

2. 85% of Ujjwala beneficiaries in rural Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha still use solid fuels for cooking

3. The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) was approved by the MHRD and launched on 29th September 2015.

4. United Kingdom has announced to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its Quds Force, as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO) in accordance with Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Find the correct statements from the options given below

a. 1 and 3
b. 2 and 3
c. 1 and 4
d. 3 and 4

Keep Learning Keep Evolving
Team CL IAS