Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 11th March 2021

The National Employability Through Apprenticeship Program (NETAP):

The National Employability Through Apprenticeship Program (NETAP) has released its latest edition of the Apprenticeship Outlook Report for 2021 (January-June 2021).

• Apprenticeship is a Skill Training program wherein a person is engaged by a company as an apprentice and gains classroom (theory) learning for a short period, followed by on-the-job (practical) training.

About the National Employability through Apprenticeship Program:

• It was set up in 2014 as a 100% employer-funded Public-Private Partnership (PPP).
• The program was launched by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and TeamLease Skills University (Gujarat).
• It is in accordance with the National Employability Enhancement Mission of the AICTE.
• NETAP was structured to overcome the challenges of the Apprenticeship Act, 1961.
• NETAP proposed to appoint 2 lac apprentices every year for the next 10 years. At peak capacity, it will be the world’s largest apprenticeship program.
• It will help the unemployed youth to build skills through Learning by doing and Learning while earning along with providing them with access to practical skills.

Key Findings of the Apprenticeship Outlook Report:

• India’s Apprenticeship Ecosystem: Some 41% of the employers in India are keen on hiring apprentices while 58% of enterprises want to increase the quantum of their apprenticeship hiring this year.
• Leading Cities: Chennai has emerged as the most apprentice-friendly city.
• Among non-metro cities, Ahmedabad and Nagpur are the most promising cities for an apprenticeship.
• Leading Sectors: Manufacturing, automobiles and ancillaries, and retail are the leading sectors.
• Positive Trend for Hiring Women Apprentices: Overall the preference for women apprentices has increased by 10% from the previous half-year.
• This trend was more visible in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Kolkata.

“King Bhumibol World Soil Day – 2020 Award” Of FAO:

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) received the prestigious “King Bhumibol World Soil Day – 2020 Award” of FAO.

• The international recognition was announced by the FAO, Rome on the eve of World Soil Day – 2020 in view of the ICAR’s excellent contributions in “Soil Health Awareness” on the theme “Stop soil erosion, save our future” during the last year.
• Launched in 2018, the King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award acknowledges individuals or institutions that raise public awareness of soils by organizing successful and influential World Soil Day celebrations.
• The award, sponsored by the Kingdom of Thailand, is named after King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand for his lifelong commitment to raising awareness of the importance of sustainable soil management and rehabilitation for food security, poverty alleviation, and more.
• Formers winners of the King Bhumibol World Soil Day Award include Practical Action in Bangladesh in 2018 and the Costa Rican Soil Science Society (AACS) in 2019.

INS Karanj:

Indian Navy’s third stealth Scorpene-class Submarine INS Karanj has been commissioned at the Naval Dockyard Mumbai through a formal commissioning ceremony.

• Six Scorpene class submarines are being built in India by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) Mumbai, under collaboration with M/s Naval Group, France.
• INS Karanj would form part of the Western Naval Command’s Submarine fleet.
• The Scorpene Submarines are one of the most advanced conventional submarines in the world.
• These platforms are equipped with the latest technologies in the world. More deadly and stealthier than their predecessors, these submarines are equipped with potent weapons and sensors to neutralize any threat above or below the sea surface.

The Country’s Biggest Floating Solar Power Plant:

The country’s biggest floating solar power plant till date, by generation capacity, which is being developed by the NTPC in the reservoir of its thermal plant at Ramagundam in Peddapalli district, Telangana, is set to be commissioned by May-June next.

• Work on this 100 megawatt floating solar power plant at Ramagundam is in the final stages of completion.
• This will be one of the renewable (solar) energy plants being developed by the NTPC with an installed capacity of 447 MW in the southern region and the entire capacity will be commissioned by March 2023.
• Except for the 230 MW, ground-mounted solar power plant at Ettayapuram in Tamil Nadu, the remaining 217 MW capacity was to be commissioned by May-June this year.

Arbitration And Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2021:

The Parliament gave its nod to the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 with Rajya Sabha passing it. The Lok Sabha has already passed the bill last month.

• The legislation seeks to amend the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The Act contains provisions to deal with domestic and international arbitration and defines the law for conducting conciliation proceedings.
• The Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 provides for the following:
  • to grant an unconditional stay of enforcement of arbitral awards, where the underlying arbitration agreement, contracts, or arbitral award is induced by fraud or corruption;
  • to omit the Eighth Schedule of the Act which laid down the qualifications, experience, and norms for accreditation of arbitrators; and
  • to specify by regulations the qualifications, experience, and norms for accreditation of arbitrators and the said amendment is consequential in nature.

National Capital Territory Bill:

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

• It seeks to regularise unauthorized colonies that existed in the National Capital Territory of Delhi as of June 1, 2014 and had seen development up to 50% as of January 1, 2015.
• It amended the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second Act, 2011.
• The bill would give protection to unauthorized colonies from sealing till December 31, 2023.
• The 2011 Act was valid till December 31, 2020. The 2011 Act provided for the regularisation of the unauthorized colonies that existed in the national capital as of March 31, 2002, and where construction took place till June 1, 2014.
• A large number of people living in unauthorized colonies in Delhi are not receiving proper amenities and this Bill provided ownership rights to those living in these colonies.
• It would facilitate access to institutional credit and also improve the basic amenities.

Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Nidhi:

Union Cabinet has approved the creation of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Nidhi (PMSSN).

• It will be a single non-lapsable reserve fund for a share of Health from the proceeds of Health and Education Cess.
• The accruals into the PMSSN will be utilized for the flagship schemes of the Health Ministry including Ayushmann Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) and National Health Mission and Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) and also disaster preparedness, and responses during health emergencies.
• In any financial year, the expenditure on such schemes of the Health Ministry would be initially incurred from the PMSSN and thereafter, from Gross Budgetary Support (GBS).

International Lunar Research Station (ILRS):

China and Russia have agreed to build an International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), possibly on the moon’s surface, marking the start of a new era in space cooperation between the two countries.

• Russia is a part of the International Space Station which is a habitable artificial satellite – the single largest man-made structure in low earth orbit.

International Lunar Research Station (ILRS):

• The ILRS is a comprehensive scientific experiment base with the capability of long-term autonomous operation.
• The station would be built on the lunar surface and/or on the lunar orbit that would carry out scientific research activities such as the lunar exploration and utilization, lunar-based observation, basic scientific experiment, and technical verification.
• Russia and China will adhere to the principle of co-consultation, joint construction, and shared benefits.
• They will facilitate extensive cooperation in the ILRS, open to all interested countries and international partners.
• ILRS will strengthen scientific research exchanges, and promote humanity’s exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes.

IT Intermediary Guidelines And Digital Media Ethics Code Rules, 2021:

The Kerala High Court restrained the Centre from taking coercive action against Live Law Media Private Ltd., which owns a legal news portal, for not complying with Part III of the new IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

• The court issued notice to the Centre on a petition filed by the firm challenging the rules regulating digital news media, curated content (OTT platforms), and social media intermediaries.
• The petition said Part III of the rules imposed unconstitutional three-tier complaints and adjudication structure on publishers.
• The creation of a grievance redressal mechanism, through a governmental oversight body (an inter-departmental committee constituted under Rule 14) amounted to excessive regulation.
• Rule 4(2), which makes it mandatory for every social media intermediary to enable tracing of originators of information on its platform, purportedly in furtherance of Section 69 of the IT Act, violated Article 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression).
• It also deprived the intermediaries of their “safe-harbor protections” under Section 79 of the IT Act.
• The rules obligating messaging intermediaries to alter their infrastructure to “fingerprint” each message on a mass scale for every user to trace the first originator was violative of the fundamental right to privacy of Internet users.