India enters technical recession

• India’s economy recovered faster than expected in the second quarter as a pick-up in manufacturing helped GDP clock a lower contraction of 7.5 per cent and held out hopes for further improvement on consumer demand bouncing back.

• The gross domestic product (GDP) had contracted by a record 23.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2020-21 fiscal (April 2020 to March 2021) as the coronavirus lockdown pummelled economic activity.

• The second straight quarter of contraction pushed India to its first technical recession.

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das had stated that the recovery from the lockdown has been stronger than expected and the economy could show growth in the fourth quarter.

• For comparison, China — which was struck by the pandemic first and was also the first to recover from lockdown — saw its economy grow by 4.9 per cent in July-September this year, faster than the 3.2 per cent growth in April-June 2020.

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Mizoram Speaker disqualifies MLA Lalduhawma under anti-defection law

• Independent MLA Lalduhawma, who got the dubious distinction of becoming the first Lok Sabha MP to be disqualified under the anti-defection law in 1988, was disqualified as a member of the Mizoram assembly for defecting to the Zoram People’s Movement (ZPM).

• Announcing his disqualification, Speaker Lalrinliana Sailo said that Lalduhawma has ceased to be a member of the state legislature for violating the anti-defection law by defecting to a political party after getting elected as an Independent in the 2018 assembly polls. A former IPS officer, he was once in charge of former PM Indira Gandhi’s security. He won the Lok Sabha election in 1984 uncontested as a Congress candidate.

• In 2018, he won the elections from two seats — Aizawl West-I, and Serchhip where he defeated incumbent chief minister Lal Thanhawla of the Congress. Later, he vacated the Aizawl West-I seat to retain Serchhip.

• In September, 12 MNF legislators had filed petitions seeking disqualification of Lalduhawma. Following the petition, the state assembly on October 8 issued a show-cause notice to Lalduhoma to clarify as to why he should not be disqualified.

• In his reply, Lalduhawma said that he did not defect to any other party as he continuously maintained allegiance to the ZPM and had to contest the Assembly polls as an Independent because the ZPM had not obtained registration at that time.

• Lalduhawma, who lost his Lok Sabha membership after he resigned from the Congress, also became the first MLA of the state to lose his membership for defection.

Anti-defection law

• The Tenth Schedule, which is known as the anti-defection law, was inserted in the Constitution in 1985 by the 52nd Amendment Act.

• It lays down the process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection by the presiding officer of a legislature based on a petition by any other member of the House.

• A legislator is deemed to have defected if he/she either voluntarily gives up the membership of his/her party or disobeys the directives of the party leadership on a vote. 

• This implies that a legislator defying (abstaining or voting against) the party whip on any issue can lose his / her membership of the House. The law applies to both Parliament and Assemblies.

• A person shall be disqualified for being a member of the Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council of a state if he/she is so disqualified under the Tenth Schedule.

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TCS founder and IT sector visionary F.C. Kohli dies

• Faqir Chand Kohli, considered as the father of Indian IT industry, passed away on November 26. He was 96. Kohli, who sowed the seeds of the $190-billion IT industry, was the founding chief executive of sector leader TCS.

• Kohli’s career with the Tata Group began when he joined Tata Electric (now Tata Power) in 1951. He was made general manager of TCS in 1969, director-in-charge in 1974 and eventually the chief executive. After an illustrious career, Kohli retired from TCS in 1999 although he remained with it in a consulting capacity. 

• He was awarded the third-highest civilian award Padma Bhushan in 2002. 

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Pradhan lays foundation stone of CBG plant in Bagalkot

• Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan laid the foundation stone for the Leafiniti Bioenergy’s compressed biogas (CBG) plant in Bagalkot district of Karnataka. This plant will utilise 200 TPD (tonnes per day) TPD of press mud and will be commissioned at the estimated cost of about Rs 42 crore. This will generate about 10.2 TPD of CBG and also bio-manure.

• Pradhan said that SATAT, a flagship programme of the ministry, will establish an ecosystem for the production of CBG from various waste and biomass sources in the country leading to multiple benefits.

What is compressed biogas (CBG)?

• Biogas is produced naturally (through a process of anaerobic decomposition) from waste/biomass sources like agriculture residue, cattle dung, sugarcane press mud, municipal solid waste, sewage treatment plant waste, etc. 

• After purification, it is compressed and called CBG, which has high methane content. Further, CBG is similar to the commercially available natural gas in its composition and energy potential. 

• With similar calorific value and other properties similar to CNG, compressed biogas can be used as an alternative, renewable automotive fuel. 

• Given the abundance of biomass in the country, CBG has the potential to replace CNG in automotive, industrial and commercial uses in the coming years.

What is SATAT?

• Sustainable alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) was launched in October 2018. 

• The objective of SATAT is to boost production and availability of CBG as an alternative and affordable clean fuel for the transportation sector.

• Under the initiative, the government plans to roll out 5,000 CBG plants across India in a phased manner, with 250 plants by the year 2020, 1,000 plants by 2022 and 5,000 plants by 2025. These plants are expected to produce 15 million tonnes of CBG per annum, which is about 40 per cent of current CNG consumption of 44 million tonnes per annum in the country. 

• At an investment of Rs 2 lakh crore, this initiative is expected to generate direct employment for 75,000 people and produce 50 million tonnes of bio-manure for crops. 

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Rajnath holds virtual talks with Vietnamese defence minister

• India and Vietnam vowed to further expand their strategic cooperation as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Vietnamese counterpart General Ngo Xuan Lich held extensive talks focusing on the future trajectory of bilateral military ties.

• Following the talks in the virtual format, the defence ministry said the two sides signed an arrangement that will facilitate sharing of hydrographic data between the two countries and assist in production of navigational charts.

• Both sides agreed to further boost the overall defence and strategic cooperation. 

• India and Vietnam upgraded their relationship to the level of comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016 and the defence cooperation has been one of the most significant pillars of the fast expanding bilateral ties. India has oil exploration projects in the Vietnamese waters in the South China Sea.

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8 para athletes included in TOPS scheme

• The sports ministry has included eight para athletes, including four who have qualified for the Tokyo Paralympics, in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).

• The decision was taken by the Mission Olympic Cell at its meeting on November 26. The eight athletes are from athletics, shooting, badminton and table tennis.

Target Olympic Podium Scheme

• Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) was formulated in 2014 with the aim to identify, groom and prepare potential medal prospects for Olympics, with funding from National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) . 

• This was revamped in April 2018 to have a technical support team for managing the TOPS athletes and providing holistic support. 

• The scheme has been extending all requisite support to probable athletes identified for the Tokyo-2021,Paris-2024 and Los Angeles-2028 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

• Under the scheme, financial support is provided to selected athletes for training, participation in competitions, purchase of equipment, availing of the services of support persons, etc. 

• Besides, ‘Out of Pocket Allowance’ of Rs 50,000 per month is given to the selected athletes for meeting contingent and miscellaneous expenses. 

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Only BIS-certified helmets to be made, sold in India for two-wheelers

• The government said that only Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)-certified helmets would be manufactured and sold in India for two-wheelers.

• This would help in avoiding sale of low-quality two-wheeler helmets in the country, which would help in protecting persons involved in accidents from fatal injuries, the ministry of road transport and highways said.

• Following the directions of the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety, a committee was formulated to consider lighter helmets in India suiting the country’s climatic conditions and that for ensuring compliance among citizens to wear the helmets.

• In March 2018, the committee, after detailed analysis in its report, recommended lighter helmets in the country, and the ministry accepted the report.

• According to the recommendations of the committee, the BIS has revised specifications through which it is expected to make lighter helmets.

• The total number of two-wheelers being manufactured in India annually stands at about 1.7 crore.

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Vice President Naidu calls for mass movement to promote digital literacy

• Vice President M.Venkaiah Naidu virtually launched the Adi Shankara Digital Academy at Kaladi in Kerala, the birthplace of Adi Shankaracharya. 

• Naidu called for a mass movement to promote digital literacy and urged all stakeholders, including technological and educational institutions, to play a leading role in achieving the desired results.

• He said that online courses can help bridge the difference and enable students even in the remotest parts of the country to have access to quality education at an affordable cost.

• The Vice President said information was the main commodity in the present-day knowledge society, and added that whoever has quick access to information, has the advantage. He described ‘digitalisation’ as the medium to access such information.

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