Heritage Tag For Two Telangana Irrigation Projects

International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) has accepted Telangana government’s nomination of two irrigation projects in the ICID Register of Heritage Irrigation Structures:

• Sadarmatt Anicut across river Godavari in Nirmal district.
• Pedda Cheruvu in Kamareddy district.

India was represented by Indian National Committee on Surface Water at the meeting.

Sadarmatt Anicut

• It is one of the oldest known anicut and was constructed over the Godavari river for the purpose of irrigating crops of the Kaddam and Khanapur mandals that lie in the Adilabad district.
• The anicut, which is the English word for Telugu’s ana-katta, means a rainfall bund.
• It was built during the rule of the Nizam of Hyderabad by Nawab Ikbal-ud-Dowla also known as Vicar-ul-Umrah Bahadur in 1891-92.

Pedda Cheruvu

• The Pedda Cheruvu (big tank in Telugu) located on the outskirts of this district headquarters of Kamareddy District.
• It was built in 1897 during the rule of Mir Mahboob Ali Khan, the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad State.
• Womenfolk play Bathukamma during the Navaratri on its bund and immerse them in its waters.
• This tank has also been taken up under the second round of Mission Kakatiya and will be developed as a mini-tank bund.

International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID)

• The International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), established in 1950 is a leading scientific, technical, international not-for-profit, non-governmental organization.
• ICID is a professional network of experts from across the world in the field of irrigation, drainage, and flood management.
• The main mission is to promote ‘Sustainable agriculture water management’ to achieve ‘Water secure world free of poverty and hunger through sustainable rural development’.
• ICID is a knowledge sharing platform dedicated to issues that cover the entire spectrum of agricultural water management practices ranging from rain-fed agriculture to supplemental irrigation, land drainage, deficit irrigation to full irrigation, etc.
• India is the founding member of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID).

Indian National Committee on Surface Water

• Indian National Committee on Surface Water is constituted under the Ministry of Water Resources.
• INCSW gives advice to Central/State Governments and their agencies on matters related to Surface Water.

Bathukamma

• The annual floral festival is celebrated in Telangana and some parts of Andhra Pradesh during Navratra festival.
• It is celebrated for nine days during which Goddess Gauri, who is also known as Bathukamma is worshipped.
• During the festival, a small wooden platform is decorated in a circular arrangement with layers in order to make a conical arrangement of flowers. 

Widening CAD & Indian Economy

Recently India’s current account deficit (CAD) widened to a four-quarter high at 2.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the April-June period from 1.9% in the January-March quarter of 2017-18.

• The current account measures the flow of goods, services and investments into and out of the country.
• Current account balance measures the external strength or weakness of an economy. It largely consists of the country’s trade balance in goods and services with the rest of the world, and private transfer receipts, primarily representing remittances in the case of India.
• A current account surplus implies that the country is a net lender to the rest of the world, while a deficit indicates it is a net borrower.

Why is CAD Rising?

• High crude prices above the $75-a-barrel mark because of tensions in the Gulf region, US sanctions on Iran and the instability in key oil exporting nation Venezuela.
  • Moreover, being a net importer of fuel, India’s trade deficit is going up.
• A weakening rupee has made imports costlier.
• The China-US trade war may further hamper export growth.
• Rising investment demand will lead to more imports.

Concerns

• CAD is financed through a mix of Foreign direct investment (FDI), portfolio flows, foreign reserve management and because of rising global volatility, its financing is a worry.
• Although the FDI flows rose in recent years, a strong dollar, tighter global financial conditions have put more pressure on portfolio investments.
• Based on India’s historical cash flows, capital inflow curbs, International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that the global markets may not be able to finance a CAD above 3% of GDP.
• Higher CAD will further put the rupee under pressure and may raise the cost of overseas borrowing. Depleting forex reserves could raise CAD further.

Global Mobility Summit-MOVE

Prime Minister recently inaugurated Global Mobility Summit 'MOVE', an initiative to attract investments in electric vehicles manufacturing and encourage people to use public transport.

• India aims to create a robust and affordable electric mobility ecosystem comprising production facilities and a large network of charging points.
• It will achieve three key strategic goals- cutting down carbon emissions, creating new job opportunities and reduce use of crude oil, about 80% of the requirement of which is met through imports.

Global Mobility Summit 'MOVE'

• NITI Aayog, in collaboration with various ministries and industry partners, has organized ‘MOVE: Global Mobility Summit’ in New Delhi.
• The Summit, is the first of its kind, with participants from across the world including leaders from the government, industry, research organizations, academia, think tanks and civil society.
• Stakeholders from across the sectors of mobility and transportation have gathered to co-create a public interest framework to revolutionize transport.
• The summit deliberated on five themes:
  • Maximising asset utilisation and services
  • Comprehensive electrification and alternative fuels
  • Reinventing public transport
  • Goods transport and logistics
  • Data analytics and mobility

Aim of Summit

• The main aim through the summit is to revolutionise the way people travel in India, to de-congest cities along with making mobility more connected, shared and seamless.
• Affordability of public transit which is crucial for low-income users and of freight for the industry.
• Better mobility is aimed to reduce the burden of travel and transportation, and can boost economic growth. It is already a major employer and can create the next generation of jobs
• Further it is aimed to cut the crude oil import and hence reduce India’s huge import bill based on it.
• Accessibility and inclusivity which are crucial for remote and differently-abled users across geographies, with the philosophy of leaving no-one behind.
• It is aimed to provide safe, energy-efficient and low-emission systems which are necessary for India to meet its international commitments on climate change.

Features of Summit

• The Summit will help drive the government’s goals for vehicle electrification, renewable energy integration and job growth and also speed up India’s transition to a clean energy economy.
• The vision for the future of mobility in India is outlined by the 7 C’s- Common mobility, Connected mobility, Convenient mobility, Congestion-free mobility, Charged mobility, Clean Mobility powered by Clean Energy and Cutting-edge.

Way Forward

• Entrepreneurs should see mobility as a sector with immense opportunity for innovation and growth. It is a sector where innovation can help solve problems for public good.
• ‘Mobility Revolution’ is an enabler of growth and development. When India transforms mobility, it benefits one fifth of mankind. It also becomes a scaled success story, for others to replicate.

Government Plans to Geo-Tag Firms to Check Frauds

As per the newly proposed norms, Companies will have to geotag their registered offices in the annual statutory filings of documents with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

What is geo-tagging?

• Geo-tagging means providing data on the exact location of the office. It will allow the online return filing system to alert government officials wherever it detects far too many companies registered in the same premises.

Why geo-tagging?

• The move is a part of government actions against shell companies.
• The coordinates of the registered premises will act as a key input for mining data in the Ministry Of Commerce and Industry’s IT infrastructure, called MCA21, to identify companies with a common address, common contact numbers, common directors and sudden and unexpected changes in revenue, etc.
• It will also help the government to identify companies who give vacant plots as their registered office address. A technique often employed by shell companies.
• With this move, the ministry seeks to prevent abuse of the corporate structure by companies that inflate costs by issuing fake invoices and laundering unaccounted wealth in the form of loans or equity through bogus transactions.
• The move is in line with the recommendation of Justice M.B. Shah panel, which had recommended proactive mining of the Registrar of Companies (RoC) database to weed out shell companies. The SIT found that these shell companies were being used to launder black money.

Concerns

• India has a booming start-up culture sometimes start-ups also work in clusters. Multiple firms having a common address does not always mean fraud.
  Having a common address is a practice among professional services companies such as law firms and audit firms to work from a large, common infrastructure.

What is a shell company?

• An incorporated company with no significant operations, established for the sole purpose of holding or transferring funds, often for money laundering purposes. Shell companies have only a name, address, and bank accounts and are made to look like real businesses by maintaining fake financial records.
• A shell company is per se not illegal as long as it is not used for an illegal act, such as manipulation of share prices, evading taxes, or financial fraud.
• The term “shell company” is not defined under the Companies Act, 2013.

Important Facts for Prelims (10th September 2018)

INS Karanj readies for Trials

• Mazagon Dock limited is preparing for sea trials of submarine INS Karanj.
• ‘Karanj’ is the third in a series of six Scorpene submarines being built at the state-run Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders in collaboration with DCNS, France under Project-75.

Project-75

• ‘Project-75 ’ is a programme by the Indian Navy that entails building six Scorpene Class attack submarines.
• The first submarine ‘INS Kalvari’ under this project was commissioned into the Navy on December 14, 2017.
• The second ‘Khanderi’ will be commissioned by the end of the year 2018.
• The fourth Scorpene ‘Vela’ is yet to be launched.

Scorpene Class Submarines

• The submarines in the P75 Scorpene Class are powered by conventional diesel-electric propulsion system.
• Scorpene is one of the most sophisticated submarines, capable of undertaking multifarious missions including anti-surface ship warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, and area surveillance.
• However, few submarines are expected to be equipped with air-independent propulsion (AIP) technology, which is developed by DRDO to provide long-range and extended endurance capabilities under sea.

Mazagon Docks Shipbuilders

• MDL is one of the leading shipbuilding yard and only submarine builder in India.
• It was incorporated as a Public Limited Company in 1934.
• It was nationalised in 1960 and is now a Public Sector Undertaking of the Government of India.
• It manufactures warships and submarines for the Indian Navy and offshore platforms and associated support vessels for offshore oil drilling. It also builds tankers, cargo bulk carriers, passenger ships and ferries.

Pondicherry Shark

• Recently it was spotted in the East Godavari River Estuarine Ecosystem.
• It is a small shark with size not longer than about 3 feet.
• It is protected under Schedule-I of Wildlife (Protection) Act,1972.
• It is listed as critically endangered in IUCN Red list.
• It was once found throughout Indo-Pacific coastal waters and is known to enter fresh water.
• Zoologists have been trying to trace it in the other parts of the country since 1979.

eCourts Mission Mode Project

• Establishment of Wide Area Network (WAN) connecting all District and Subordinate court complexes has become one of the important components of eCourts Mission Mode Project Phase-II.
• The eCourts Mission Mode Project (Phase I 2010-15; Phase II 2015-19) is a national e-Governance project for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) enablement of district and subordinate courts of the country.
• The objectives of the project is to provide designated services to litigants, lawyers and Judiciary through universal computerisation of district and subordinate courts, as well as the upgradation of ICT infrastructure of the Supreme Court and the High Courts.

Sukanya Samriddhi Account

• The government recently amended the rules for Sukanya Samriddhi account to lower the amount required for opening the account under the scheme.
• A minimum of ₹250 (earlier Rs. 1000) and maximum of ₹1.5 lakh can be invested in a financial year in one account.
• The minimum annual deposit requirement, or the minimum amount required to be deposited in Sukanya Samriddhi account every year, has also been lowered to Rs 250, from Rs 1,000 earlier.
• (SSA) is a social welfare scheme launched in 2014 to promote the welfare of girl child and facilitate the interests of a girl child such as her education and marriage.
• Parents (legal guardians) can open only one account in the name of one girl child and maximum two accounts in the name of two different girl children.
• The account can be opened up to the age of 10 years only from the date of birth of the girl child, whereas investment can be made till the child attains the age of 15 years.
• The interest rate on Sukanya Samriddhi account is revised every quarter, like other small savings instrument such as public provident fund (PPF), and Senior Citizen Savings Scheme (SCSS).
• Sukanya Samriddhi account will mature on completion of 21 years from the date of opening of account.
• Partial withdrawal will be allowed on the account holder attaining the age of 18 to meet educational or marriage expenses. Withdrawal will be limited to 50% of the balance standing at the end of the preceding financial year.
• Normal premature closure will be allowed for the purpose of the account holder’s marriage, if she has attained the age of 18.
• Contribution to SSA qualifies for tax deduction under Section 80C.

Leptospirosis

• Kerala is going through an outbreak of infectious diseases in the aftermath of the floods, and the State is battling a disease called leptospirosis, commonly known as ‘rat fever’.
• Leptospirosis outbreaks have frequently been reported in Kerala since the 1980s and are linked to flooding.
• It is a zoonotic, or animal-borne, disease, caused by the bacteria of the genus Leptospira.
• It is most commonly spread through water contaminated by urine from infected animals, but contaminated food or soil can also act as vehicles for the disease.
• Symptoms of the disease include fever, body pain, pain in leg muscles, yellowish hue in the eyes, variation in the amount and colour of urine.
• Like dengue, it can manifest itself as mild flu and progress to a severe form that can cause kidney damage, liver failure, respiratory distress, meningitis, and even death.
• The Health Ministry has a protocol called the ‘Programme for Prevention and Control of Leptospirosis’ since 2015.