UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 29-10-2020

Amendment Related to Land in Jammu and Kashmir

• Recently Union government has notified ‘Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Third Order, 2020.
• It states that any Indian citizen can now buy land in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) without being a domicile.
• The introduction of the UT of J&K Reorganisation (Adaptation of Central Laws) Third Order, 2020 has resulted in the repeal of at least 11 land laws in J&K, including the J&K Big Landed Estates Abolition Act that had resulted in famous ‘Land to tiller’ rights.
• The features of the latest order are as follows

1. No domicile or permanent resident certificate is required to purchase non-agricultural land in the UT.
2. People as well as investors outside J&K can now purchase land in the UT, ending the exclusive rights of locals over the land granted under Article 370 (now abrogated).
3. The Centre also notified the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, which paves the way for the acquisition of land in J&K by all Indian citizens.
4. The amendment has Abolished the Big Land Estate Abolition Act, 1950 – this provided for redistribution of land which paved the way for rural prosperity and ended landlordism in J&K.
5. Empowers the Centre to declare any area in J&K as ‘strategic’ and intended for the direct operational and training requirement of the armed forces.
6. However, this can be only done by an army officer of or above the rank of a corps commander.
7. Spouses of a J&K domicile shall also be deemed as a domicile, earlier, spouses of domiciles were not considered domiciles.
8. Children of central government officials posted for over ten years in J&K will also continue to be considered domiciles.

The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2020

• Union government has amended the Patents Rules.
• The rules were amended following a Delhi High Court order on the matter in April 2018.
• It streamlines the procedures to submit statements regarding the working of a patented invention on a commercial scale, giving additional flexibilities to the patentee.
• As per the new rules, a patentee gets flexibility to file a single Form-27 in respect of single or multiple related patents.
• Where a patent is granted to two or more persons, such persons may file a joint Form-27.
• Moreover, patentees would now be required to provide ‘approximate revenue/value accrue’ while authorised agents would be able to submit Form-27 on behalf of patentees.
• The time available to patentees for filing Form-27 has also been extended to six months, against the current three months, from the expiry of the financial year.
• There are also important changes with reference to Rule 21 on filing of priority documents.
• If the priority document is available in WIPO’s (World Intellectual Property Organisation) digital library, the applicant would not be required to submit the same in the Indian Patent Office.

Second Meeting of India-Central Asia Dialogue

• India-Central Asia Dialogue is a ministerial-level dialogue between India and the Central Asian countries namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
• All five nations became independent states after the collapse of the USSR in 1991, post-Cold war.
• All the countries participating in the dialogue are also members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
• The dialogue focuses on a number of issues including ways to improve connectivity and stabilise war-ravaged Afghanistan.
• The group will enable India to expand its footprints in the resource-rich region amid an ongoing standoff with China and to fight terror effectively, including in Afghanistan.
• Recently, India virtually hosted the second meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue.
• The first meeting of the dialogue was held in Samarkand, the Republic of Uzbekistan in January 2019.
• In the first dialogue, India proposed setting up of ‘India-Central Asia Development Group’ to take forward development partnership between India and Central Asian countries.

Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA)

• India and the United States signed the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA).
• BECA will help India get real-time access to American geospatial intelligence that will enhance the accuracy of automated systems and weapons like missiles and armed drones.
• Through the sharing of information on maps and satellite images, it will help India access topographical and aeronautical data, and advanced products that will aid in navigation and targeting.
• This could be key to Air Force-to-Air Force cooperation between India and the US.
• BECA will provide Indian military systems with a high-quality GPS to navigate missiles with real-time intelligence to precisely target the adversary.
• BECA, along with the two agreements signed earlier LEMOA and COMCASA completes a troika of “foundational pacts” for deep military cooperation between the two countries.

Earth Observation Satellite EOS-01

• Earth observation satellites are the satellites equipped with remote sensing technology.
• Earth observation is the gathering of information about Earth's physical, chemical and biological systems.
• Many earth observation satellites have been employed on sun-synchronous orbit.
• EOS-01 is an earth observation satellite and is intended for applications in agriculture, forestry and disaster management support.
• India has scheduled the launch of earth observation satellite EOS-01 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
• ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C49) will launch the satellites, it will be PSLV's 51st Mission.
• Other earth observation satellites launched by ISRO are as follows

1. RESOURCESAT- 2, 2A,
2. CARTOSAT-1, 2, 2A, 2B,
3. RISAT-1 and 2,
4. OCEANSAT-2,
5. Megha-Tropiques,
6. SARAL and SCATSAT-1,
7. INSAT-3DR, 3D.

Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana

• Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana (KSY) was launched in 2018, to strengthen and improve the living of potters in the country by making them self-reliant (Atma Nirbhar).
• It provides potters with modern equipment and training to reconnect them with the society and revive their art.
• KVIC has created proper marketing channels including tie-up with the Indian Railway for selling the products of potters.
• Proper training and distribution of advanced equipment under the scheme has eliminated drudgery from the process of pottery making and also resulted in increasing the production by 3-4 times.
• Recently, electric pottery wheels to 100 potter families in Maharashtra were distributed under the KSY of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).

Source: PIB, Indian Express, the Hindu