Current Affairs 30 August 2022

Contents:

1. Data Point on Chargesheeting Rate
2. IAF to induct first LCH squadron in October
3. The ‘Iconic Atal Bridge’ inaugurated in Gujarat
4. New edible coating to prolong the shelf life of fruits and vegetables

Data Point on Chargesheeting Rate:

Context:

As per the latest data, the cases chargesheeted by the police under “Offences against state” in 2021, 49% had taken more than a year to file a chargesheet.

Relevance:

GS-2: Governance

Dimensions of the Article:

1. Key Points
2. What is FIR and Chargesheet?
3. What happens after an FIR is filed?
4. What Is Charge Sheet?
5. Is There Any Time Bar For Filing Charge-Sheet?

Key Points:

• The highest such share among major cognisable IPC crimes.
• Thefts, burglary, frauds and bank related crimes recorded relatively poorer chargesheeting rate in 2021.
• On the other hand, cases related to hurt, riots, assault on women and murder had relatevily better chargesheeting rates.
• Among States, in general, the north-eastern states had the lowest rates while the Southern States were better off.

What is FIR and Chargesheet?

• An FIR is the document that has been prepared by the police after verifying the facts of the complaint.
• The FIR may contain details of the crime and the alleged criminal.
• The term first information report (FIR) is not defined in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, or in any other law, but in police regulations or rules, information recorded under Section 154 of CrPC is known as First Information Report (FIR).
  • Section 154 (“Information in cognizable cases”) says that “every information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence, if given orally to an officer in charge of a police station, shall be reduced to writing by him or under his direction, and be read over to the informant; and every such information, whether given in writing or reduced to writing as aforesaid, shall be signed by the person giving it, and the substance thereof shall be entered in a book to be kept by such officer in such form as the State Government may prescribe”.
  • Also, “a copy of the information as recorded…shall be given forthwith, free of cost, to the informant”.

What happens after an FIR is filed?

• The police will investigate the case and will collect evidence in the form of statements of witnesses or other scientific materials. They can arrest the alleged persons as per law.
• If there is sufficient evidence to corroborate the allegations of the complainant, then a chargesheet will be filed. Or else, a Final Report mentioning that no evidence was found will be filed in court.
• If it is found that no offence has been committed, a cancellation report will be filed. If no trace of the accused persons is found, an ‘untraced’ report will be filed.

What Is Charge Sheet?

Charge sheet refers to a formal police record showing the names of each person brought into custody, the nature of the accusations, and the identity of the accusers. It is also known as four-part charging instrument containing:

1. Information about the accused and the witnesses;
2. the charges and specifications;
3. the preferring of charges and their referral to a summary;
4. For the trial record.

A charge sheet is distinct from the First Information Report (FIR), which is the core document that describes a crime that has been committed. It usually refers to one or more FIRs and charges an individual or organization for (some or all of) the crimes specified in those FIR(s). Once the charge sheet has been submitted to a court of law, prosecution proceedings against the accused begin in the judicial system.

Is There Any Time Bar For Filing Charge-Sheet?

• The time limit to file charge sheet is related to arrest of the accused in the case. The charge sheet is to be filed within 60 days from the date of arrest of the accused in cases triable by lower courts and 90 days in cases triable by Court of Sessions.

-Source: The Hindu

IAF to induct first LCH squadron in October

Context:

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to formally raise its first unit of indigenous Light Combat Helicopters (LCHs) in Jodhpur in the first week of October coinciding with Air Force Day on October 8.

Relevance:

GS-3: Science and Technology

Dimensions of the Article:

1. Details
2. About Light Combat Aircraft(LCA):

Details:

• Ten LCHs will be inducted in the first batch completing one unit, a defence official said on Monday.
• The Army had already raised its first LCH squadron on June 1, 2022 in Bengaluru.
• The IAF operates the older Russian Mi-25 and Mi-35 attack helicopters, of which one squadron has been phased out following the induction of 22 Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters.
• The existing Mi-35 squadron is in the process of being sent for overhaul which will extend its life by many years.
• The Army plans to acquire 95 LCHs of which seven units, each having 10 helicopters, are planned to be deployed for combat role in the mountains.
• The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had approved procurement of 15 Limited Series Production (LSP) variants of the LCH at the cost of ₹3,887 crore along with infrastructure sanctions worth ₹377 crore.  
• Of the 15 helicopters, 10 are for the IAF and five for the Army.
• The LCH is designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
• The LCH LSP is an indigenously designed, developed and manufactured state-of-the-art modern combat helicopter containing approximately 45% indigenous content by value which will progressively increase to more than 55% for Series Production Version.

About Light Combat Aircraft(LCA):

• LCA is a light, multirole jet/turboprop military aircraft.
• The mission can either be in a light strike or attack missions, reconnaissance, interdiction roles or trainer roles.
• LCA Tejas:
  • LCA Tejas is a single-engine multirole light combat aircraft.
  • It replaced the aging Mig 21 fighter planes.
  • It is the second supersonic fighter jet that was developed by HAL (the first one being HAL HF-24 Marut).
  • Bodies involved: Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), the autonomous society of DRDO is the design agency and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as the manufacturer
  • It is the lightest and smallest multirole supersonic fighter aircraft in its class.
  • It can attend the maximum speed of Mach 1.8. 
  • It is designed to carry a range of air-to-air, air-to-surface, precision-guided and standoff weaponry.
  • It is a single pilot aircraft that has a maximum takeoff weight of 13,300 kg. 
  • It has a general range of 850 km and a combat range of 500 km.

-Source: The Hindu

The ‘Iconic Atal Bridge’ inaugurated in Gujarat

Context:

PM Modi launches ‘Atal Bridge’ in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad on the Sabarmati river.

Relevance:

Facts for Prelims

Details:

• The Prime Minister of India to inaugurate the ‘Iconic Atal Bridge’ during his visit to Ahmedabad.
• The pedestrian-only ‘Atal Bridge’ is a foot-over bridge (FOB) on the Sabarmati river.
• The 300-metre bridge built between Ellis Bridge and Sardar Bridge connects the east and west side of Sabarmati Riverfront.
• The bridge has been built using 2,600 metric tonnes of steel pipes.
• The FOB connects the flower garden on the western-end of the riverfront and the upcoming arts and culture centre on the eastern-end. > Apart from pedestrians, cyclists can also use this bridge to cross the river while avoiding traffic. > It will allow people to view the riverfront from the middle of the waterbody.

New edible coating to prolong the shelf life of fruits and vegetables

Context:

A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) — Guwahati has developed an edible material that, coated on vegetables and fruits, substantially extended their shelf-life.

Relevance:

Facts for Prelims

Dimensions of the Article:

1. Details
2. Advantages
3. Significance

Details:

• New edible coating developed by the researchers was tested on potato, tomato, green chili, strawberry, Khasi Mandarin, apple, pineapple and kiwifruit and was found to keep these vegetables fresh for nearly two months.
• Composition:
  • The team used a mix of an extract of a marine microalga called Dunaliella tertiolecta and polysaccharides to produce it.
  • The microalga is known for its antioxidant properties and has various bioactive compounds such as carotenoids and proteins.
  • It is also used to produce algal oil, a non-animal source of omega-3 fatty acid and is considered a good source of biofuel. After the oil is extracted, the residue is usually discarded.
  • The researchers used extracts from this residue in formulating their film, in combination with chitosan, which is a carbohydrate. It also has antimicrobial and antifungal properties and can be made into an edible film.

Advantages:

• The films were made with varying algal extract contents and their properties were analysed and compared with controls.
• They displayed superior antioxidant activity, thermal stability, mechanical strength, total phenolic content and water vapour barrier property.
• They also had excellent UV-Vis light-blocking properties.
• They are nontoxic and could be safely used as edible food packaging materials.
• They are very stable to light, heat, and temperature up to 40oC, edible, and can be safely eaten as part of the product formulation and do not add unfavorable properties to it.
• They retain texture, colour, appearance, flavour and nutritional value.
• The material can be either directly coated on the vegetables and fruits or made into a vegetable storage pouch.
• In both cases, the shelf-life of the vegetables can be extended.
• It is a simple dip coating technique with no significant cost added to the post-harvest processing

Significance:

• According to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, between 4.6 and 15.9 per cent of fruits and vegetables go waste post-harvest, partly due to poor storage conditions.
• In fact, post-harvest loss in certain produce items like potato, onion, and tomato could even be as high as 19%, which results in high prices for this highly consumed commodity.

-Source: Down to Earth