INSIGHTS DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS + PIB SUMMARY- 17 July 2021 – PuuchoIAS


 

InstaLinks help you think beyond the issue but relevant to the issue from UPSC prelims and Mains exam point of view. These linkages provided in this ‘hint’ format help you frame possible questions in your mind that might arise(or an examiner might imagine) from each current event. InstaLinks also connect every issue to their static or theoretical background. This helps you study a topic holistically and add new dimensions to every current event to help you think analytically. 

current affairs, current events, current gk, insights ias current affairs, upsc ias current affairs

 

Table of Contents:

GS Paper 2:

1. Adjournment motion.

2. Jurisdiction of Krishna & Godavari River Management Boards.

3. National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).

 

GS Paper 3:

1. UDAN scheme.

2. Hubble telescope.

3. India’s Self Reliance for Renewable Energy Manufacturing.

4. Environment Ministry’s memorandum stayed.

 

Facts for Prelims:

1. Kisan Sarathi.

2. UMANG.

3. School Innovation Ambassador Training Program.


GS Paper  :  2


 

Topics Covered: Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

Adjournment motion:


Context:

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has decided to move an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha against the government on the three controversial farm laws, over which it walked out of the NDA government.

  • The motion requires the signatures of 50 MPs to be admitted.

 

Background:

The laws — the “Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020, the “Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020 and the “Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020” were cleared by Parliament last year and have seen sustained protests from farmers groups at the doorstep of Delhi.

  • While the Central government has held several rounds of talks, these have been unsuccessful at breaking the logjam, as the government has firmly refused to take back the Acts.

 

About Adjournment Motion:

Adjournment motion is introduced only in the Lok Sabha to draw the attention of the House to a definite matter of urgent public importance.

  • It involves an element of censure against the government, therefore Rajya Sabha is not permitted to make use of this device.
  • It is regarded as an extraordinary device as it interrupts the normal business of the House. It needs the support of 50 members to be admitted.
  • The discussion on this motion should last for not less than two hours and thirty minutes.

 

However, right to move a motion for an adjournment of the business of the House is subject to the following restrictions. i.e. It should:

  1. Raise a matter which is definite, factual, urgent and of public importance.
  2. Not cover more than one matter.
  3. Be restricted to a specific matter of recent occurrence.
  4. Not raise a question of privilege.
  5. Not revive discussion on a matter that has been discussed in the same session.
  6. Not deal with any matter that is under adjudication of court.
  7. Not raise any question that can be raised on a distinct motion.

 

Insta Curious: 

Do you know the Differences between MOTIONS, RESOLUTIONS AND SHORT DURATION DISCUSSIONS? Reference: 

 

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

  1. What is an adjournment motion?
  2. Conditions for its passage.
  3. Exceptions.
  4. Where it can be introduced?

Mains Link:

Discuss the significance of Adjournment Motion in Lok Sabha.

Sources: the Hindu.

 

Topics Covered: Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.

Jurisdiction of Krishna & Godavari River Management Boards:


Context:

Government Issues two Gazette Notifications for Jurisdiction of Krishna & Godavari River Management Boards.

  • The notifications provide the required authority and power to the two Boards in terms of administration, regulation, operation and maintenance of listed projects in Godavari and Krishna rivers in the two States.

 

Background:

The Constitution of the Godavari and Krishna River Management Boards and the constitution of an Apex Council for the supervision of the functioning of these Boards, is laid down in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act 2014 (APRA).

  • The two River Management Boards were constituted by the central government under the provisions of this act.

 

Inter-State River Water Disputes:

Article 262 of the Constitution provides for the adjudication of inter-state water disputes.

  • Under this, Parliament may by law provide for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint with respect to the use, distribution and control of waters of any inter-state river and river valley.
  • Parliament may also provide that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court is to exercise jurisdiction in respect of any such dispute or complaint.

 

The Parliament has enacted the two laws:

  1. The River Boards Act (1956):

It provides for the establishment of river boards by the Central government for the regulation and development of inter-state river and river valleys.

  • A River Board is established on the request of state governments concerned to advise them.

 

  1. The Inter-State Water Disputes Act (1956):

It empowers the Central government to set up an ad hoc tribunal for the adjudication of a dispute between two or more states in relation to the waters of an inter-state river or river valley.

  • The decision of the tribunal is final and binding on the parties to the dispute.
  • Neither the Supreme Court nor any other court is to have jurisdiction in respect of any water dispute which may be referred to such a tribunal under this Act.

 

Insta Curious: 

About International Transboundary Waters:

Do you know about the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes? 

Click here

 

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

  1. Tributaries of Krishna.
  2. Tributaries of Godavari.
  3. East vs West flowing rivers of India.
  4. Interstate river water disputes- key provisions.
  5. Krishna and Godavari River Management Boards- formation, functions and orders.

Mains Link:

Write a note on Inter-State Water Disputes Act (1956).

Sources: PIB.

 

Topics Covered: Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.

National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG):


Context:

The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in its 36th Executive Committee has approved new projects for rejuvenation of six rivers in Uttarakhand.

  • The projects shall cover the six polluted river stretches in the Kumaon region.

 

About the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG):

It was registered as a society on 12th August 2011 under the Societies Registration Act 1860.

It acted as the implementation arm of National Ganga River Basin Authority(NGRBA) which was constituted under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act (EPA),1986.

  • Please note, NGRBA was dissolved with effect from the 7th October 2016, consequent to the constitution of the National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga (referred as National Ganga Council).

 

Insta Curious: 

Some facts related to Ganges:

    1. Ganga is the third largest river in the world by discharge.
    2. The mouth of River Ganga forms the world’s largest delta, known as Sunderbans, and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997

 

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

  1. Composition of NGC.
  2. About NGRBA.
  3. What is NMCG?
  4. Components of Namami Gange Programme.
  5. World Bank group.

Mains Link:

Discuss the roles and functions of NMCG.

Sources: PIB.


GS Paper  :  3


 

Topics Covered: Infrastructure- airways.

UDAN scheme:


Context:

The government has announced new flights under the UDAN scheme to connect small cities with the metros.

  • The flights utilises less used airports in the country and seeks to offer affordable flights to the people of the country.

 

Background:

The Centre plans to operationalise 100 unserved and underserved airports and start at least 1,000 air routes under a regional connectivity scheme called UDAN scheme (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik).

 

About UDAN Scheme:

  • The scheme is aimed at enhancing connectivity to remote and regional areas of the country and making air travel affordable.
  • It is a key component of Centre’s National Civil Aviation Policy led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and launched in June 2016.
  • Under the scheme, nearly half of the seats in Udan flights are offered at subsidised fares, and the participating carriers are provided a certain amount of viability gap funding (VGF) – an amount shared between the Centre and the concerned states.
  • The scheme will be jointly funded by the central government and state governments.
  • The scheme will run for 10 years and can be extended thereafter.

 

UDAN 4.0:

  • The 4th round of UDAN was launched in December 2019 with a special focus on North-Eastern Regions, Hilly States, and Islands.
  • The airports that had already been developed by Airports Authority of India (AAI) are given higher priority for the award of VGF (Viability Gap Funding) under the Scheme.
  • Under UDAN 4, the operation of helicopters and seaplanes is also been incorporated.

 

Insta Curious: 

The 5/20 norm was brought in 2004. But, the 2016 National Civil Aviation Policy replaced it with 0/20. Why? Reference: 

 

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

  1. When was UDAN scheme launched?
  2. Implementation and funding of the scheme.
  3. Overview of the National Civil Aviation Policy.
  4. Under the scheme, who provides Viability Gap Funding (VGF) to subsidise the airfare?
  5. Role of state governments under the scheme.

Mains Link:

Discuss the performance of UDAN scheme.

Sources: the Hindu.

 

Topics Covered: Awareness in space.

Hubble telescope:


Context:

NASA was able to successfully switch to a backup computer on the Hubble observatory following weeks of computer problems.

 

Background:

On June 13, Hubble shut down after a payload computer from the 1980s that handles the telescope’s science instruments suffered a glitch.

 

About the Hubble Space Telescope:

  1. The Hubble Space Telescope is a large telescope in space. NASA launched Hubble in 1990.
  2. It was built by the United States space agency NASA, with contributions from the European Space Agency.
  3. Hubble is the only telescope designed to be serviced in space by astronauts.
  4. Expanding the frontiers of the visible Universe, the Hubble Space Telescope looks deep into space with cameras that can see across the entire optical spectrum from infrared to ultraviolet.
  5. The Hubble Space Telescope makes one orbit around Earth every 95 minutes.

 

Achievements:

  1. It has helped in discovering the moons around Pluto.
  2. Evidence regarding the existence of black holes has emerged based on the observations through Hubble.
  3. The birth of stars through turbulent clouds of gas and dust have also been observed.
  4. The hubble telescope made observations of six galaxies merging together.
  5. On Februry 11, 2021, the Hubble made observations of small concentrations of black holes.

 

Insta Curious: 

Do you know the basic working of Optical Telescopes, Long wavelength Telescopes and Short Wavelength Telescopes? Click here

 

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

  1. About the Hubble Space Telescope.
  2. About James Webb Telescope.
  3. What is a black hole?

Mains Link:

Write a note on the achievements of Hubble Telescope.

Sources: the Hindu.

 

Topics Covered: Infrastructure- Energy.

India’s Self Reliance for Renewable Energy Manufacturing:


Context:

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) had recently organised a conference on “Aatmairbhar Bharat – Self Reliance for Renewable Energy Manufacturing”.

 

How India emerged as a world leader in the Energy Transition?

  1. India had one of the fastest rates of growth of Renewable Energy capacity in the world.
  2. It had pledged in COP-21 in Paris that by 2030; 40% of its power generation capacity will be from non-fossil fuel sources.
  3. It has set a target of 450 GW of Renewable Energy capacity by 2030.
  4. It had achieved universal access by connecting every village and every hamlet under Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana Scheme and connecting every household under Saubhagya Scheme. It was the fastest and the largest expansion of access in the world.
  5. India has already touched 200 GW of demand even when the effects of COVID-19 were still there.
  6. India will also emerge as a leader in Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia.

 

Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana Scheme:

The erstwhile Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) scheme for village electrification and providing electricity distribution infrastructure in the rural areas has been subsumed in the DDUGJY scheme.

 

Objectives:

  1. To provide electrification to all villages.
  2. Feeder separation to ensure sufficient power to farmers and regular supply to other consumers.
  3. Improvement of Sub-transmission and distribution network to improve the quality and reliability of the supply.
  4. Metering to reduce the losses.

 

Nodal agency for implementation: Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC).

 

Saubhagya scheme:

  • Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (PM Saubhagya) was launched in September 2017 with a target to electrify all households by December 2018.
  • This target was moved forward to March 31, 2019, and eventually the Centre declared that all ‘willing’ homes have been provided with electricity connections.

 

Insta Curious: 

Do you know what Green Ammonia is? Read Here

 

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

  1. About the Saubhagya Scheme.
  2. About REC.
  3. About DDUGY.
  4. About Green Hydrogen.

Mains Link:

Discuss India’s achievements in Renewable Energy Sector.

Sources: PIB.

 

Topics Covered: Conservation related issues.

Environment Ministry’s memorandum stayed:


Context:

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has granted an interim stay on the operation of an office memorandum issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

  • The memorandum provided a procedure for the grant of post facto clearance to projects that have come up without environmental clearance under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification, 2006.

 

What’s the issue?

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification, 2006 mandated prior clearance, and there was no provision for the grant of post facto clearance under the EIA notification.

  • The memorandum provided a backdoor entry to violators.
  • By way of the memorandum, violators of the EIA notification could obtain clearance and regularise violations.
  • The ex-post facto clearance is also alien to the environmental jurisprudence.
  • It was also against the principles of natural justice, and the right of the people to participate in environmental decision-making.
  • It was also violative of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

 

About EIA:

  • The EIA was an important tool to ensure the optimal use of natural resources for sustainable development.
  • Its purpose was to identify, examine, assess and evaluate the likely and probable impact of a proposed project on the environment.
  • Under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, India notified its first EIA norms in 1994, setting in place a legal framework for regulating activities that access, utilise, and affect (pollute) natural resources.
  • Every development project has been required to go through the EIA process for obtaining prior environmental clearance ever since.
  • The 1994 EIA notification was replaced with a modified draft in 2006.

 

Insta Curious: 

Have you heard of the Espoo (EIA) Convention which sets out the obligations of Parties to assess the environmental impact of certain activities at an early stage of planning? Reference:

 

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

  1. EIA process.
  2. Environment (Protection) Act, 1986- Key provisions.
  3. About the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment.
  4. Article 253 of the Constitution.
  5. Who are UN Special Rapporteurs?
  6. Key provisions in the Draft EIA notification 2020.

Mains Link:

Explain the significance of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) process in the Indian context. Also highlight the concerns associated with it.

Sources: the Hindu.

 


Facts for Prelims:


Kisan Sarathi:

  • Digital Platform Kisan Sarathi launched to facilitate farmers to get ‘right information at right time’ in their desired language.
  • Farmers can avail personalised advisories on agriculture and allied areas directly from scientists through the digital platform.

 

UMANG app:

  • The UMANG mobile app (Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance) is a Government of India single, unified, secure, multi-channel, multi-platform, multi-lingual, multi-service mobile app, providing access to high impact services of various organizations (Central and State).
  • Launched in 2017.
  • As on date, UMANG provides about 1251 services from 257 Departments & 32 States and about 20,280 Utility Bill Payment services and many more services are there in the pipeline.

 

School Innovation Ambassador Training Program:

  • It is innovative and one of its kind training program for School Teachers.
  • Aim: Training 50,000 school teachers on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, IPR, Design Thinking, Product development, Idea generation etc.
  • The training will be delivered in online mode only.
  • Designed by Innovation Cell of the Ministry of Education and AICTE for School Teachers.

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