Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 15th October 2022

International Migration Outlook 2022:

International Migration Outlook 2022, a report on international migration patterns was released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Highlights of the Report:

• After a record decrease in 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis, permanent-type migration to OECD countries bounced back by 22% in 2021.
• Family migration increased by 40% in 2021 and remained the largest category of inflows, accounting for more than four in ten new permanent immigrants to the OECD.
• Migration in free mobility areas was less affected by the pandemic, but still fell by 17% in 2020.
• In 2020, there were 4.4 million international students enrolled in the OECD, accounting for 10% of all tertiary students. The most important receiving countries are the United States (22%), the United Kingdom (13%) and Australia (10%).
• The United States remained the largest recipient of permanent immigrants in 2021 (834 000), 43% more than in 2020, and 19% less than in 2019. In the EU, the upturn in permanent-type migration (+15%) was less pronounced.
• Students from China (22%) and India (10%) account for the largest share of foreign students in OECD countries. About a third of the world’s population aged 20-29 live in these two countries.
• A look at the stay rates of Indians and Chinese students who had obtained their education permit in 2015 shows that in nearly every OECD country, including Canada, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Japan, Indians have significantly higher retention rates than the Chinese.
• Indian students tend to have a higher stay rate than the overall international student population.

OECD:

• The OECD is an intergovernmental economic organisation, founded to stimulate economic progress and world trade.
• Most OECD members are high-income economies with a very high Human Development Index (HDI) and are regarded as developed countries.
• Founded: 1961.
• Headquarters: Paris, France.
• Total Members: 38.
• India is not a member, but a key economic partner.

Right To Information:

According to a report, the backlog of appeals or complaints under the Right to Information (RTI) Act is steadily increasing in Information Commissions every year.

Findings of the Report:

• At present, nearly 3.15 lakh complaints or appeals pending with 26 information commissions across India.
• The number of appeals and complaints pending in 2019 was 2,18,347 which increased to 3,14,323 in 2022.
• The highest number of pending cases were in Maharashtra followed by Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, etc.
• Two out of 29 information commissions across the country are completely defunct, four of them headless at the moment, and only 5% of the positions are occupied by women.
• Jharkhand and Tripura have been completely defuncted for 29 months and 15 months respectively. Manipur, Telangana, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh are without chiefs.
• The commissions did not impose penalties in 95% of the cases where penalties were potentially imposable.
• The report also flags concerns regarding tardy disposal rates in several commissions and the lack of transparency in their functioning.
• Only 11 information commissions out of 29 provide e-filing facility for RTI applications or appeals, but only five are functional.

Living Planet Report 2022:

According to Living Planet Report 2022, Wildlife populations decline by 69% in 50 years.

• The highest decline (94 per cent) was in the Latin America and the Caribbean region.
• Africa recorded a 66 per cent fall in its wildlife populations from 1970-2018 and the Asia Pacific 55 per cent.
• Freshwater species populations globally reduced by 83 per cent. Habitat loss and barriers to migration routes were responsible for about half of the threats to monitored migratory fish species.
• It identified six key threats to biodiversity — agriculture, hunting, logging, pollution, invasive species and climate change — to highlight ‘threat hotspots’ for terrestrial vertebrates.
• Mangroves continue to be lost to aquaculture, agriculture and coastal development at a rate of 0.13 per cent per year.
• Around 137 square kilometres of the Sundarbans mangrove forest in India and Bangladesh has been eroded since 1985.

Living Planet Report:

• It is published biennially by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
• It is a comprehensive study of trends in global biodiversity and the health of the planet.
• The Living Planet Report 2022 is the 14th edition of the report.

Conference On Interaction And Confidence Building Measures In Asia (CICA):

Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi recently rejected the Pakistan PM Sharif’s statement on the Kashmir issue at the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) held in Astana.

• The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) is a multi-national forum for strengthening cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia.
• It was founded by the first President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev, on 5 October 1992, at the 47th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
• India is one of the founding members of Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).
• To be a member of CICA, a state must have at least a part of its territory in Asia.
• The CICA Summit is convened every four years.
• The Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs is required to be held every two years.
• The CICA Secretariat is administrative body of CICA which is located in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV):

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is developing a rocket named Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) to replace the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

• NGLV will feature semi-cryogenic propulsion (refined kerosene as fuel with liquid oxygen (LOX) as oxidiser) for the booster stages which is cheaper and efficient.
• According to ISRO the NGLV should be a cost-efficient, three-stage, reusable heavy-lift vehicle with a payload capability of 10 tonnes to Geostationary Transfer Orbit.
• NGLV will feature a simple, robust design which allows bulk manufacturing, modularity in systems, sub-systems and stages and minimal turnaround time.
• Potential uses will be in the areas of launching communication satellites, deep space missions, future human spaceflight and cargo missions.

PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle):

• It is an indigenously-developed expendable launch system of the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization). It was developed in the 1980s.
• It comes in the category of medium-lift launchers with a reach up to various orbits, including the Geo Synchronous Transfer Orbit, Lower Earth Orbit, and Polar Sun Synchronous Orbit.
• All the operations of PSLV are controlled from the Satish Dhawan Space Center, Sriharikota, east coast, India.
• It has a four-stage system comprising a combination of solid and liquid-fuelled rocket stages.
• The first stage at the very bottom is solid fuelled having six strap-on solid rocket boosters wrapped around it.
• Second stage is liquid fuelled whereas the third stage has a solid fuelled rocket motor.
• At the fourth stage, the launcher uses a liquid propellant to boost in the outer space.

PowerEX-2022:

CERT-In and Power-CSIRTs jointly conduct Cyber Security Exercise “PowerEX-2022”.

• Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) in collaboration with Power-CSIRTs (Computer Security Incident Response Teams in Power sector), successfully designed & conducted the Cyber Security Exercise “PowerEX”.
• The theme of the exercise was “Defending Cyber induced disruption in IT & OT infrastructure”.
• The Objective of the exercise was to “Recognize, Analyse & Respond to Cyber Incident in IT & OT Systems”.

CERT-In:

• The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is an office within the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• It is the nodal agency to deal with cyber security in India and strengthen security-related defence of the Indian internet domain.

LEADS 2022 Survey Report:

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles recently launched Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) 2022 survey report.

• The LEADS is an indigenous data-driven index to assess logistics infrastructure, services, and human resources across all 36 States and UTs.
• The index is an indicator of the efficiency of logistical services necessary for promoting exports and economic growth.
• The index aims at enhancing the focus on improving logistics performance across states which is essential for improving the country’s trade and reducing transaction cost.
• Unlike the previous versions of LEADS which were based on ranking systems for all states, LEADS 2022 has adopted a classification-based grading, states have been now classified under four categories viz coastal states, hinterland/landlocked states, north-eastern states, and Union Territories.
• Three performance categories namely,
  • Achievers: States/UTs achieving 90% or more percentage,
  • Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Gujarat are among the 15 States and UTs categorised as achievers.
  • Fast Movers: States/UTs achieving percentage scores between 80% to 90%,
    Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Puducherry, Sikkim and Tripura are the other States categorised as fast movers.
  • Aspirers: States/UTs achieving percentage scores below 80% have been made.
  • The 15 States and UTs ranked in the aspirers category include Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Mizoram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Ladakh, Nagaland, Jammu and Kashmir, and Arunachal Pradesh.
  • The LEADS 2022 survey report would assist PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (PMGS-NMP) and National Logistics Policy (NLP).