Current Affairs – 7.October.2019

Indo Mongolian Joint Exercise Nomadic Elephant- XIV

Context : 14^th edition of Indo – Mongolian joint military training, Exercise Nomadic Elephant–XIV commenced .

The Mongolian Army is being represented by officers and troops of the elite 084 Air Borne Special Task Battalion while Indian Army is being represented by a battalion of the RAJPUTANA RIFLES Regiment.

Objective : The joint exercise will enhance defence co-operation and military relations between the two nations. It is an ideal platform for the armies of both the nations to share their experiences & best practices and gain mutually during the joint training.

Whats in the Execise :

To evolving various tactical drills in counter-terror environment like Convoy Protection Drill, Room Intervention Drills, Ambush/ Counter Ambush Drills, while jointly conducting counter terrorist operations under UN mandate.
The joint training will also lay emphasis on conducting operations by a cohesive subunit, comprising of troops from both the armies, in an adverse operational conditions thus enhancing the interoperability between the two armies.
The training planned by both the contingents will go a long way in capacity building for conducting joint operations by the two armies.
Both the Armies will also share their valuable experiences in countering such situations as also refine drills and procedures for joint operations.

National e-Assessment for income tax payers

Context : Income Tax Department will usher in a paradigm shift in its working by introducing “National e-Assessment Centre (NeAC)” to impart greater efficiency, transparency and accountability in the assessment process.

Objectives :

Better taxpayer service.
Reduction of taxpayer grievances in line with Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Digital India’
promotion of Ease of Doing Business.

Benefits of e-Assessment:

NeAC eliminates human interface between Assessing Officer and Assessee
New System optimises the utilisation of resources through economies of scale
NeAC introduces team based assessment with dynamic jurisdiction
Ease of compliance for taxpayers
Brings transparency and efficiency, thus improves quality of assessment and monitoring
Functional specialisation as only one agency dealing with faceless assessment
Expeditious disposal of cases
Standardisation and quality management

About National e-Assessment Centre (NeAC) :

NeAC will be an independent office that will look after the work of e-Assessment scheme which is recently notified for faceless e-assessment for income tax payers. There are 8 Regional e-Assessment Centres (ReAC) set up at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata Ahmedabad, Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad which would comprise Assessment unit, Review unit, Technical unit and Verification units. Each ReAC will be headed by Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (CCIT). Cases for the specified work shall be assigned by the NeAC to different units by way of automated allocation systems. In view of the dynamic and all India jurisdiction of all officers of NeAC and ReAC, this kind of connective and collaborative effort of officers is likely to lead to better quality of assessments.

e-Dantseva website and mobile application

Context : e-Dantseva website and mobile app is the first ever national digital platform on oral health information and knowledge dissemination, in India.

Aims : To sensitize the public about the significance of maintaining optimum oral health and equips them with the tools and knowledge to do so, including awareness on the nearest oral health service facility.

About e-Dantseva portal :

e-DantSeva contains information about the National Oral Health Program.
Detailed list of all the dental facility and colleges, Information, Education and Communication (IEC) material .
A unique feature called the ‘Symptom Checker’, which provides information on symptoms of dental/oral health problems, ways to prevent these, the treatment modes.
Also directs the user to find their nearest available dental facility (public and private sectors both).
The website also provides GPRS route/images/satellite images of the facility for easier access to the general population.

“Ganga Aamantran Abhiyan”

Context : The ‘Ganga Aamantran Abhiyan’ is a pioneering and historic exploratory open-water rafting and kayaking expedition on the Ganga River . Starting at Devprayag and culminating at Ganga Sagar, the expedition will cover the entire streatch of over 2500 kms of the Ganga River.

Objective : To spread the message of River Rejuvenation and Water Conservation on a massive scale by undertaking social campaign through an sporting activity. The expedition will also draw attention to the ecological challenges being faced by Ganga.

Whats to be done :

A nine-member team of swimmer and rafters from the three Services of the Indian Armed Forces, joined by 3 members from NDRF, 2 members each from WII and CSIR-IITR , will perform .
The team, during the expedition will take up public awareness campaign on the locations at which they will stop.
They will organise mass cleaning drives, interact with students of the village/city and will further the message of river conservation.

various awareness exercises along the expedition :

Bal Ganga Mela, painting and slogan competition on the theme of water conservation and Ganga rejuvenation
Interaction with colleges & universities by NMCG officials
Educating students/youth on water footprint, wetlands and biodiversity conservation
Test the water campaign by IITR, water testing kits
Celebrating festivals during the expedition
Exclusive tie-up with Rotary International for public outreach within community and schools
Public outreach by WII, IITR, GIZ, Ganga Praharis, IAF, Army, Ganga Vichar Manch during the expedition.

source : Pib

Geotail

Context: An instrument on Chandrayaan-2, CLASS, designed to detect signatures of elements in the Moon’s soil, had detected charged particles during the mission. This happened in September, during the orbiter’s passage through the “geotail”.

What is Geotail?

A region in space that allows the best observations. The region exists as a result of the interactions between the Sun and Earth.

How is it formed?

The Sun emits the solar wind, which is a continuous stream of charged particles.
These particles are embedded in the extended magnetic field of the Sun. Since the Earth has a magnetic field, it obstructs the solar wind plasma.
This interaction results in the formation of a magnetic envelope around Earth.
On the Earth side facing the Sun, the envelope is compressed into a region that is approximately three to four times the Earth radius.
On the opposite side, the envelope is stretched into a long tail, which extends beyond the orbit of the Moon.
It is this tail that is called the geotail.
Once every 29 days, the Moon traverses the geotail for about six days.

Sources: Indian Express.

Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR)

In News

The Navy’s IFC-IOR is a single point centre linking all coastal radar chain networks along the 7500km Indian coastline and in some neighbouring countries
The FC-IOR was inaugurated in December 2018 at Gurugramand has now started functioning as an information sharing hub of maritime data and “cuing incident responses” to maritime security situations through a collaborative approach
The IFC tracks and monitors 75,000-1.5 lakh shipping vessels in real timeround the clock
The IFC actively interacts with maritime community and has already built linkages with 18 countries and 15 multinational and maritime security centres
India has asked neighbours to draw upon it and consider it as their own facilityrather than duplicating it. This statement is important in the context of reports that Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are considering setting up similar fusion centres.