Comprehensive Current affairs 3 December 2020

Government constitutes national panel to drive Paris Agreement goals.

Through a gazette notification the Government of India has constituted the Apex Committee for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement (AIPA) November 27, 2020.

AIPA has been constituted with the purpose of “ensuring a coordinated response on climate change matters that protects the country’s interests and ensures that India is on track towards meeting its climate change obligations under the Paris Agreement including its submitted Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)”.

Key highlights:

NDCs are the accounts of the voluntary efforts to be made by countries that are a part of the Paris Agreement, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impacts of anthropogenic climate change.The three quantitative goals in the Indian NDCs are:

 

A 33-35 per cent reduction in the gross domestic product emissions intensity by 2030 from 2005 levels.

A 40 per cent share of non-fossil fuel-based electricity by 2030.

Creating a carbon sink of 2.5-3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide through afforestation programmes.

Apart from these, there are five other non-quantitive goals in the Indian NDCs.

The NDCs are to be implemented in the post-2020 period. India had submitted its NDCs in 2015. Now, the AIPA, with its 17 members, has the responsibility of formulating policies and programmes for implementing them.

The committee will have the secretary, Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) as the chairperson and the additional secretary, MoEFCC as the vice chairperson, according to the notification.

The AIPA also has the responsibility of regularly communicating and reporting the NDCs to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

It will also define the responsibilities of the government ministries that would be crucial in achieving the country’s climate change mitigation and adaptation goals and submit a report every six months.

The AIPA will also act as a national authority for the regulation of carbon markets in India under the Article 6.2, Article 6.4 and Article 6.8 of the Paris Agreement.

Election Commission proposes extending postal ballot facility for eligible overseas Indians.

The Election Commission has proposed to the government to extend the Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) facility, so far available to service voters, to eligible overseas Indian voters.

 The Commission said with the successful execution of ETPBS in case of service voters, it is now "confident" that the facility can also be extended to the overseas electors.

The poll panel has observed, the Commission is technically and administratively ready to extend this facility in general elections to legislative assemblies of Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Elections in these states are due sometime in April-June next year.

The Commission observed that Section 62 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 envisages right to vote for every citizen registered in the electoral roll who is not subject to disqualification for voting.

Bru Tribal.

The North Tripura have recently witnessed violent protests over the proposed resettlement of Bru tribal.

Highlights:

• They are also called as Reang. It is a community indigenous to Northeast India, living mostly in Tripura, Mizoram and Assam.

• They are recognised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, in Tripura. In Mizoram, they have been targeted by groups that do not consider them indigenous to the state.

• In 1997 ethnic clashes, nearly 37,000 Brus fled Mamit, Kolasib and Lunglei districts of Mizoram and were accommodated in relief camps in Tripura.

• Since then, 5,000 have returned to Mizoram in eight phases of repatriation, while 32,000 still live in six relief camps in North Tripura.

• They alleged that 650 Bengali families from around Kanchanpur and 81 Mizo families from Jampui Hill range, who fled due to “atrocities” by Brus, were yet to be resettled two decades on.

• They are in fear and uncertainty as they suffer an economic blockade due to these protests.

 • They haven’t received foodgrains as per their relief package this month and if the protest continues, their condition will deteriorate further.

• A quadrilateral agreement was signed by the Centre, the two state governments and Bru representatives to allow the remaining 32,000 to permanently settle in Tripura, in January 2020.

About 2020 Agreement:

• After the agreement was made in January 2020, the state has planned 12 resettlement spots across six districts with 300 families each.

• The Centre has announced a special development project with funding of Rs. 600 crore.

• Each resettled family will get an estimated 0.03 acres of land for building a home, Rs. 1.5 lakh as housing assistance, and Rs. 4 lakh as a one-time cash benefit for sustenance, a monthly allowance of Rs. 5,000 and free rations for two years from the date of resettlement.

• It led to protests from Bengali and Mizo groups in Tripura. They claim that settling thousands of migrants permanently in Kanchanpur sub-division of North Tripura district would lead to demographic imbalance, exert pressure on local resources and potentially lead to law and order problems.

UN agency faces corruption, fraud allegations at climate projects.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is facing several allegations of fraud and corruption linked to the multibillion-dollar Global Environment Facility.

Report identified financial misstatements worth millions of dollars across UNDP's portfolio of Global Environment Facility (GEF)-funded projects around the world.

GEF was set up in 1991 by World Bank, UNDP and UN Environment Program to help fight environmental challenges such as deforestation, species conservation and pollution.

UNDP works to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities and exclusion, and build resilience so countries can sustain progress.

 As UN's development agency, UNDP plays a critical role in helping countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Indian Energy Exchange.

Recently, traded volumes in electricity at IEX has grown by a strong 25% in 2020 in the first ten months.

IEX is the first and largest energy exchange in India providing a nationwide, automated trading platform for physical delivery of electricity, Renewable Energy Certificates and Energy Saving Certificates.

It is regulated by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission.

Other power exchange in India is Power Exchange India Ltd (PXIL).

Cryogenic propellant tank.

HAL has delivered the biggest cryogenic propellant tank (C32 LH2) ever fabricated by the company to ISRO much ahead of the contractual schedule at a programme recently.

The C32-LH2 tank is a developmental cryogenic propellant tank of aluminium alloy designed for improving the payload capability of GSLV MK-III launching vehicle, said a press release from HAL.

The total length of weld carried out in the tank was 115 metres at different stages to the quality requirement of 100% tests on radiography, die penetrant check and leak-proof.

HAL has mastered the skills and technologies required for fabricating welded propellant tank of aluminium ally to such stringent quality requirement, added the release.

Mount Ile Lewotolok.

It is a volcanic mountain of Indonesia,located on lembatia island, that has been erupting frequently since 2017.

 It is one of three currently erupting in Indonesia along with Merapi on Java island and Sinabung on Sumatra island.

They are among more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, which is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanoes and fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.