DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS -24 JULY 2019-10 IMPORTANT TOPICS FROM THE HINDU

IMPORTANT TOPICS FOR TODAY 

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BY SUMIT BHARDWAJ                               24 JULY 2019

1.UN climate envoy meets Javadekar                          (GS-3)

• CONTEXT:The United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Change, Luis Alfonso de Alba, met Union Environment and Forests Minister Prakash Javadekar and discussed India’s initiatives to meet its climate commitments.
• Ahead of the United Nations Climate Summit in New York in September, Mr. de Alba, appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as his climate envoy, is visiting several countries and urging leaders and businessmen to do more to ensure that global warming does not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius.
• This implies countries enhancing their nationally determined contributions by 2020, in line with reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45% over the next decade, and to net zero emissions by 2050
• Mr. Javadekar, in a series of tweets said, India was already taking a “leadership position” on achieving its Nationally Determined Contribution (or climate goals)
• “India had created 80,000 MW of renewable power and set a target of achieving 175,000 MW by 2022; reduced energy intensity by 21%, was increasing forest cover and that the distribution of 70 million gas cylinders under the Ujjwala scheme had helped save trees, reduce pollution and improve health,”ACCORDING TO MR.PRAKASH JAVEDKAR.
• The UN also announced a ‘Clean Air Initiative’ that calls on governments to achieve air quality that is safe for citizens and to align climate change and air pollution policies by 2030.
• A Special Envoy of the Secretary-General (SESG) is a senior United Nations official appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to deal with a set of specific issue.
• The “Clean Air Initiative” calls on national and subnational governments to commit to achieving air quality that is safe for citizens, and to align climate change and air pollution policies by 2030
• Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana was launched by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on 1 May 2016 to distribute 50 million LPG connections to women of BPL families. A budgetary allocation of  800 billion was made for the scheme.
• The world is in a race to limit climate change. To meet the urgent need to address climate change and achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, UN Secretary-General António Guterres is convening a Summit in September 2019 to raise ambition and increase climate action. The race is on. It is a race we can win.
• 
  

SOURCE:Climate Emergency Institute

2.Kashmir mediation: Trump has violated diplomatic protocols                                (GS-2)

• SOME IMPORTANT ASPECTS IN THE EDITORIAL:
• WHATS THE MATTER ALL ABOUT?
• Mr. Trump claimed on Monday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi request U.S. President Donald Trump to “mediate or arbitrate” on the Kashmir issue.
• Addressing Parliament, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said India remains committed to its policy of discussing all outstanding issues with Pakistan only bilaterally, and assured the House that Mr. Modi did not raise this with Mr. Trump at their recent meeting in Osaka during the G-20 summit.
• India has always opposed any suggestion of third-party mediation on Jammu and Kashmir; both the 1972 Shimla Agreement and the 1999 Lahore declaration included India’s and Pakistan’s commitment to resolving issues between them
• Shimla Agreement:The Simla Agreement, or Shimla Agreement, was signed between India and Pakistan on 2 July 1972 in Shimla, the capital city of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.It followed from the Bangladesh Liberation war in 1971 that led to the independence of Bangladesh, which was earlier known as East Pakistan and was part of the territory of Pakistan. India entered the war as an ally of Bangladesh which transformed the war into an Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The agreement was ratified by the Parliaments of both the nations in same year.
• The agreement was the result of resolve of both the countries to "put an end to the conflict and confrontation that have hitherto marred their relations". It conceived the steps to be taken for further normalisation of mutual relations and it also laid down the principles that should govern their future relations.
• Lahore declaration :The Lahore Declaration was a bilateral agreement and governance treaty between India and Pakistan. The treaty was signed on 21 February 1999, at the conclusion of a historic summit in Lahore, and ratified by the parliaments of both countries the same year.
• Under the terms of the treaty, a mutual understanding was reached towards the development of atomic arsenals and to avoid accidental and unauthorised operational use of nuclear weapons. The Lahore Declaration brought added responsibility to both nations' leadership towards avoiding nuclear race, as well as both non-conventional and conventional conflicts. This event was significant in the history of Pakistan and it provided both countries an environment of mutual confidence. In a much-covered televised press conference in both countries, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee signed the treaty. It was the second nuclear control treaty signed by both countries and pledged to continue the use of the first treaty, NNAA, was signed in 1988. The Lahore treaty was quickly ratified by the parliaments of India and Pakistan and came into force the same year

3.A bridge across the India-Pakistan abyss   

     (GS-1,2)

• CONTEXT:ACCORDING TO THE WRITER OF THE EDITORIAL It would be a travesty(a false, absurd, or distorted representation of something)to waste the opportunities made possible by the Kartarpur corridor plan
• SOME NOTEWORTHY AND IMPORTANT POINTS IN THIS LEAD ARTICLE:
• Kargil war (1999)
• Agra Summit (2001)
• Operation Parakram (2001-02)
• South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation(SAARC)
• 1974 Protocol on visits to Religious Shrines.
• Financial Action Task Force (FATF) 
• Kartarpur corridor:
•  Kartarpur gurudwara is the revered shrine across the border where Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism spent the last 18 years of his life.
• The corridor will connect the holy shrines of Dera Baba Nanak Sahib in Gurdaspur district of Punjab in India with Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur in Pakistan.
• The length of the corridor is about 4 km (2 km on either side of the international border).
• The Pakistan government has also decided to open the corridor.
• The corridor will commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
• Pilgrimages between India and Pakistan are governed by the 1974 Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines, which includes a list of shrines in Pakistan and India open for visitors from the other country, and for which visas are required.
• The Kartarpur Corridor, which will provide visa-free access to the shrine when it becomes ready on both sides, may need a separate treaty.
• Significance
• The Kartarpur Sahib corridor was first proposed in 1999 when Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee took a bus ride to Lahore.
• The Kartarpur corridor will be implemented as an integrated development project with Government of India funding. The development comes ahead of the 550th Prakash Purab or 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak in 2019.
• It will allow Indian devotees to visit Kartarpur shrine located 2 km inside Pakistan in Narowal district.
• Until now, most Indian devotees have had to contend with a darshan using binoculars installed at Dera Baba Nanak Sahib.
• India has also asked Pakistan to develop the corridor with suitable facilities in its territory from the International Border to facilitate easier access of Indian pilgrims.
• The forward movement on the Kartarpur corridor can be considered a big development since despite the India-Pakistan deadlock in talks, both New Delhi and Islamabad have been able to form a consensus on the issue.
• Additional Information
• Guru Nanak Dev Jayanti is observed on the full-moon day in the month of Katak to celebrate the birth of Guru Nanak Dev (1469-1539), who is the first of the 10 Sikh Gurus and the founder of Sikhism.
• He advocated the 'Nirguna' form of bhakti.
• He rejected sacrifices, ritual baths, image worship, austerities and the scriptures of both Hindus and Muslims.
• He organised his followers into a community. He set up rules for congregational worship (sangat) involving collective recitation.
• He appointed one of his disciples, Angad, to succeed him as the preceptor (guru), and this practice was followed for nearly 200 years.
• The fifth preceptor, Guru Arjan, compiled Baba Guru Nanak’s hymns along with those of his four successors and other religious poets like Baba Farid, Ravidas (also known as Raidas) and Kabir in the Adi Granth Sahib.
• These hymns, called 'Gurbani', are composed in many languages.
• In the late seventeenth century the tenth preceptor, Guru Gobind Singh, included the compositions of the ninth guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur, and this scripture was called the Guru Granth Sahib.
• Guru Gobind Singh also laid the foundation of the Khalsa Panth (army of the pure) and defined its five symbols: uncut hair, a dagger, a pair of shorts, a comb and a steel bangle. Under him, the community got consolidated as a socio-religious and military force.



4.Assam NRC final publication deadline extended to August 31 (GS-2)

• CONTEXT:The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended the deadline for publication of the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam from July 31 to August 31, 2019
• National Register of Citizens (NRC):
• The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register containing names of all genuine Indian citizens. The register was first prepared after the 1951 Census of India. Census of India. The NRC is now being updated in Assam to include the names of those persons (or their descendants) who appear in the NRC, 1951, or in any of the Electoral Rolls up to the midnight of 24th March, 1971 or in any one of the other admissible documents issued up to mid-night of 24th March, 1971, which would prove their presence in Assam or in any part of India on or before 24th March, 1971.
• The update process of NRC started in the year 2013, when the Supreme Court of India passed orders for its update. Since then, the Supreme Court (bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Rohintan Fali Nariman) have been monitoring it continuously. The entire project is headed by the State Coordinator of National Registration, Assam, Mr Prateek Hajela[ under the strict monitoring of Supreme Court of India.

5.Boris Johnson to become Britain’s next PM (GS-2)

• Former London Mayor Boris Johnson has been chosen by his party to become Britain's next prime minister. He will replace Theresa May, who was forced to resign amid a bitter feud in the U.K. -- and within both her and Johnson's Conservative Party -- over Britain's exit from the European Union. 

6.Will urge Centre to reinforce Ghaggar embankment: CM(PUNJAB)       (GS-1,3)

• CONTEXT:Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said he would meet the Central government Ministers and officials to press for reinforcement of the embankments of the Ghaggar river, which has breached and caused serious damage to standing crops and other assets in Sangrur and Patiala districts after the recent rain.
• Ghaggar river:
• The Ghaggar-Hakra River is an intermittent, endorheic river in India and Pakistan that flows only during the monsoon season. The river is known as Ghaggar before the Ottu barrage and as the Hakra downstream of the barrage.
• The basin is classified in two parts, Khadir and Bangar, the higher area that is not flooded in rainy season is called Bangar and the lower flood-prone area is called Khadar.
• Most sites of the Mature Harappan Civilisation (aka Indus Valley Civilisation) (2600-1900 BCE) are actually found along the (dried-out) bed of the Ghaggar-Hakkar, while the Late Harappan Civilisation was centered on the upper Ghaggar-Hakkar and the lower Indus.
• Recent geophysical research shows that during the time of the Harappan Civilisation the Ghaggar-Hakra system was a system of monsoon-fed rivers, not Himalayan-fed, and that the Indus Valley Civilisation declined when the monsoons that fed the rivers diminished at around some 4,000 years ago.[Subatlantic aridification subsequently reduced the Ghaggar-Hakra to the seasonal river it is today.
• Nineteenth and early 20th century scholars, but also some more recent authors, have suggested that the Ghaggar-Hakra might be the defunct remains of the mythological Sarasvati of the Rig Veda, fed by Himalayan-fed rivers which changed their course due to tectonics.
• Central Water Commission:
• Central Water Commission is a premier Technical Organization of India in the field of Water Resources and is presently functioning as an attached office of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India. The Commission is entrusted with the general responsibilities of initiating, coordinating and furthering in consultation of the State Governments concerned, schemes for control, conservation and utilization of water resources throughout the country, for purpose of Flood Control, Irrigation, Navigation, Drinking Water Supply and Water Power Development. It also undertakes the investigations, construction and execution of any such schemes as required.Central Water Commission CWC is headed by a Chairman, with the status of Ex-Officio Secretary to the Government of India. The work of the Commission is divided among 3 wings namely, Designs and Research (D&R) Wing, River Management (RM) Wing and Water Planning and Projects (WP&P) Wing. Each wing is placed under the charge of a full-time Member with the status of Ex-Officio Additional Secretary to the Government of India and comprising of number of Organizations responsible for the disposal of tasks and duties falling within their assigned scope of functions.

7.M.P. government to invoke NSA against milk adulterators           (GS-2)

• CONTEXT:Days after inter-State synthetic milk rackets were busted in two districts of Madhya Pradesh, State Public Health and Family Welfare Minister Tulsiram Silawat has said that the National Security Act, 1980, would be invoked against those involved in adulterating milk and dairy products and selling it.
• National Security Act, 1980:
• The National Security Act of 1980 is an act of the Indian Parliament promulgated on 23 September, 1980 whose purpose is "to provide for preventive detention in certain cases and for matters connected therewith".  The act extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. It Contains 18 sections. This act empowers the Central Government and State Governments to detain a person to prevent him/her from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of India, the relations of India with foreign countries, the maintenance of public order, or the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the community it is necessary so to do. The act also gives power to the governments to detain a foreigner in a view to regulate his presence or expel from the country. The act was passed in 1980 during the Indira Gandhi Government.

8.Review of rejected claims under Forest Rights Act patchy: activists               (GS-2,3)

• CONTEXT:A day before the States are to file affidavits in the Supreme Court over the status of rejected claims under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, gram sabhas are yet to be organised in several districts of Madhya Pradesh, which resolved to reconsider 3.6 lakh rejected claims afresh, say activists.
• Forest Rights Act, 2006:
• What is it?
• In the colonial era, the British diverted abundant forest wealth of the nation to meet their economic needs. While procedure for settlement of rights was provided under statutes such as the Indian Forest Act, 1927, these were hardly followed. As a result, tribal and forest-dwelling communities, who had been living within the forests in harmony with the environment and the ecosystem, continued to live inside the forests in tenurial insecurity, a situation which continued even after independence as they were marginalised. The symbiotic relationship between forests and forest-dwelling communities found recognition in the National Forest Policy, 1988. The policy called for the need to associate tribal people in the protection, regeneration and development of forests. The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, was enacted to protect the marginalised socio-economic class of citizens and balance the right to environment with their right to life and livelihood.
• What did the order say?
• On February 13, the Supreme Court ordered the eviction of lakhs belonging to the Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) categories across 16 States, whose claim as forest-dwellers has been rejected under the Forest Rights Act. A Bench of Justices Arun Mishra, Navin Sinha and Indira Banerjee ordered the Chief Secretaries of many of these States to evict those whose claims were finally rejected. The court directed that the eviction be carried out by July 24, 2019.
• The Bench, in a 19-page order, cautioned the States that if the evictions were not carried out within the stipulated time, “the matter would be viewed seriously.” The Chief Secretaries of the States were asked to file affidavits by July 12, explaining why the rejected claimants had not been evicted. It ordered the Forest Survey of India (FSI) to make a satellite survey and place on record the “encroachment positions.”
• What is the problem?
• The February 13 order is based on affidavits filed by the States. The affidavits, however, do not make clear whether the due process of law was observed before the claims were rejected. The Centre argues that the rejection of claims is particularly high in the States hit by Left-Wing Extremism, where tribal population is high. The forest land claims of these tribes and forest-dwellers are mostly rejected by the States. Being poor and illiterate, living in remote areas, they do not know the appropriate procedure for filing claims. The gram sabhas, which initiate the verification of their claims, are low on awareness of how to deal with them. The rejection orders are not even communicated to these communities.

9.Making the water-guzzling thermal plants accountable       (GS-3)

• CONTEXT:ACCORDIND TO THE WRITERS OF THE ARTICLE…The advancing monsoon has brought relief to many parts of India, but its progress has been slower than average and the country is still in the midst of a rainfall deficit, with millions facing an acute water shortage.
• Water is essential for human survival, and for agriculture and industry. It is important that India — which has only 4% of the world’s renewable water resources but about 18% of the world’s population — consumes water more sensibly.
• In India’s pursuit of 100% electrification goal, the country’s installed power capacity will need to be doubled. Even with the growth of renewable energy (RE), coal has been projected to be the backbone of the electricity sector till 2030 and beyond. Managing the electricity needs of a country that’s already dealing with water scarcity will be a challenge.
• Thermal power plants (TPPs) consume significant amounts of water during the electricity generation process. Most of India’s TPPs are located in water-stressed areas, and water shortages have led to electricity-generation disruptions and significant revenue losses to the economy.
• The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) recently released the format for TPPs to report on their annual water consumption. The power plants were asked to specify both metered and un-metered usage, report on the source (like river, canal or sea), and state the percentage of deviation from the water norms, along with the reasons and the corrective measures undertaken.
• The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) :
• The Central Electricity Authority of India is a statutory organisation constituted under section 3 of Electricity Supply Act 1948, which has been superseded by section 70 of the Electricity Act 2003. The CEA advises the government on policy matters and formulates plans for the development of electricity systems
• Section 15 of the EP Act provides for a blanket penalty for contravention of any provisions of the Environment Protection Act or EP Rules: up to five years of imprisonment and/or up to RS 1 lakh fine along with additional daily fines for continuing offences.
• Section 15 of the EP Act :
• Section 15 in The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
• 15 Penalty for contravention of the provisions of the Act and the rules, orders and directions. —
• (1) Whoever fails to comply with or contravenes any of the provisions of this Act, or the rules made or orders or directions issued thereunder, shall, in respect of each such failure or contravention, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years or with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees, or with both, and in case the failure or contravention continues, with additional fine which may extend to five thousand rupees for every day during which such failure or contravention continues after the conviction for the first such failure or contravention.
• (2) If the failure or contravention referred to in sub-section (1) continues beyond a period of one year after the date of conviction, the offender shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years.

10.IMF cuts India’s growth forecast for 2019-20 to 7%                                (GS-3)

• CONTEXT:The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cut India’s growth forecast for 2019-20 to 7% from its forecast in April of 7.3% on poor demand conditions, it said on Tuesday.
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) :
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF), also known as the Fund, is an international organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 189 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world. Formed in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference primarily by the ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes, it came into formal existence in 1945 with 29 member countries and the goal of reconstructing the international payment system. It now plays a central role in the management of balance of payments difficulties and international financial crises.Countries contribute funds to a pool through a quota system from which countries experiencing balance of payments problems can borrow money. As of 2016, the fund had SDR477 billion (about $667 billion.

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