UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 30-06-2020 | Prelim Bits

Malabar Rebellion of 1921

It is also called as the Mappila or Moplah Rebellion by the British.
It broke out in the southern taluks of Malabar in August 1921.
By the time the government troops captured Haji in January 1922, the rebellion had fizzled out.
It largely took the shape of guerrilla-type attacks on janmis (feudal landlords, who were mostly upper caste Hindus) and the police and troops.
Mappilas had been among the victims of oppressive agrarian relations protected by the British.
The Khilafat movement launched in 1919 provided a fresh stimulus to the grievances of Mappilas.

Kunhamed Haji

He was one of the three most important rebel leaders and considered as the face of the Mappila rebellion.
He was familiar with the commemoration of shaheeds (martyrs) who fought against the tyranny of landlords and their helpers, mostly upper caste Hindus in the region.
During the rebellion, he led many attacks on individuals, including Muslims, who had been loyal to the British.

PM- Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises

Union Ministry for Food Processing Industries has launched the PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM FME) scheme as a part of “Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan”.
It is centrally sponsored scheme.
The expenditure would to be shared in 60:40 ratio between Central and State Governments, in 90:10 ratio with North Eastern and Himalayan States, 60:40 ratio with UTs with legislature and 100% by Centre for other UTs.
It is to be implemented over a period of five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
The Scheme adopts One District One Product (ODOP) approach to reap benefit of scale in terms of procurement of inputs, availing common services and marketing of products.
The States would identify food product for a district keeping in view the existing clusters and availability of raw material.

Operation Greens

Operation Greens Scheme is being implemented by MoFPI, for TOP (Tomato-Onion-Potato) crops.
Now the scheme has been extended to other notified horticulture crops for providing subsidy for their transportation and storage from surplus production area to major consumption centres.
The objective of intervention is to protect the growers of fruits and vegetables from making distress sale due to lockdown and reduce the post -harvest losses.

RBI Recommendations on ATMs

An RTI petition reveals that RBI committee on ATM transactions made a few eyebrow-raising recommendations last year.
The panel headed by VG Kannan, then CEO of Indian Banks' Association, had submitted the report last October, but the central bank hasn't released the report yet.
The report recommended a population-based approach for fixing ATM interchange fee and customer charges, the report covered them all.
The panel suggested charging ATM withdrawals above Rs 5,000 in order to discourage high cash withdrawals.

Kholongchhu Hydroelectric Project (KHEL)

India and Bhutan have signed a concession agreement on the 600 MW Kholongchhu Hydroelectric Project (KHEL) for work to start on it.
The hydroelectric project will be the first-ever Joint Venture project to be implemented in Bhutan under an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) signed in 2014.
The joint venture partners of the project are India's Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL) and Druk Green Power Corporation Limited (DGPC).
Other hydroelectric power projects in Bhutan build with India’s involvement are

United Nations Convention against Torture (UNCAT)

The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (known as UNCAT) is an international human rights treaty, under the review of the United Nations.
It aims to prevent torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment around the world.
The Convention requires states to take effective measures to prevent torture in any territory under their jurisdiction, and forbids states to transport people to any country where there is reason to believe they will be tortured.
The Convention was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1984 and came into force on 26 June 1987.
26 June is now recognized as the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, in honour of the Convention.
India has signed the convention and yet to ratify it.

Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI)

It is an independent, non-partisan & non-profit international non-governmental organisation which works towards the practical realisation of human rights in the countries of the Commonwealth.
CHRI's objectives are

To promote awareness and adherence to the Commonwealth's Harare Declaration (which set out the Commonwealth's core principles and values)
To the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
To other internationally recognised human rights instruments,
To advocate for the domestic institutions supporting human rights in the Commonwealth member states.

The organisation specialises in transparency and accountability issues, with a focus on access to justice and access to information.

Gold Nanoparticles

National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) and Goa University (GU) has successfully synthesized gold nanoparticles.
They used psychrotolerant Antarctic bacteria through a non-toxic, low-cost, and eco-friendly way for the synthesis.
The study revealed genotoxic effect of GNPs on a sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB).
It displayed enough anti-bacterial properties by inhibiting the growth of SRB and its sulphide production by damaging the genetic information of the DNA of the bacterial cell.
Genotoxicity describes the property of a chemical agent that is capable of damaging the genetic information of DNA and thus causing mutation of the cell, which can lead to cancer.
These GNPs can be used as a composite therapeutic agent clinical trials, especially in anti-cancer, anti-viral, anti-diabetic, and cholesterol-lowering drugs.

Source: The Hindu, PIB

UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 30-06-2020