Comprehensive Current affairs 30 September 2020

 Centre relaxes rules for beneficiaries of family pension.

Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh has said that rules have been relaxed for divorced daughters to receive Family Pension. He said, now a daughter will be entitled to receive the Family Pension even if the divorce had not finally taken place, but the divorce petition had been filed by her during the lifetime of her deceased parent employee or pensioner.

He said, the earlier rule provided for payment of Family Pension to a divorced daughter only if the divorce had taken place during the lifetime of deceased parent pensioner or his spouse.

According to him, the new circular will not only bring ease in the life of pension receiving individuals but also ensure respectable and equitable rights for the divorced daughters in the society.

 The Minister said, one of the most noteworthy initiatives taken by the Pension Department is with regard to the Digital Life Certificate. Keeping in view the difficulty faced by the senior citizens who have gone and settled abroad with their children after retirement, Dr Singh said, circular has been brought out on Consolidated Instructions on Life Certificate and commencement of Family Pension for those living abroad.

He said, the concerned Bank Branch abroad and the Indian Embassy, Consulate and High Commission have been instructed to provide Life Certificate and commencement of Family Pension there itself.

Mr Singh said, at the same time, all Pension Disbursing Banks have been instructed to provide doorstep Life Certificate to those pensioners who are unable to visit the bank.

Chendamangalam Saree.

Recently, the Care 4 Chendamangalam (C4C) is an initiative supporting the 2018 Kerala flood-affected Weavers.

Highlights:

Chendamangalam Saree:

▶ It is recognisable by its puliyilakara border, a thin black line that runs side by side with the sari’s selvedge.

▶ It has extra-weft chuttikara and stripes and checks of varying width. It is widely believed that weaving in Chedamangalam was introduced by the Paliam family.

▶It is called the Paliath Achans, the family was hereditary to the prime minister post to the Maharaja of Cochin, having been associated with Chendamangalam from the 16th century onwards.

▶The other GI Tagged Products from Kerala: Kasaragod Sarees, Pokkali Rice, Nilambur Teak, Wayanad Robusta Coffee, Tirur Betel Leaf, etc.

 Kerala Kasavu Sarees:

▶ The term kasavu refers to the zari (gold thread) used in the border of the Kerala saree. The identity of the saree comes from the geographical cluster they are associated with.

▶ Geographical Clusters: The Indian government has identified three clusters in Kerala -Balaramapuram, Chendamangalam and Kuthampully - that have been given a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

Over one lakh activities taken under NYKS scheme.

A total of over one lakh activities have been taken up so far by Nehru Yuva Kendra Sanghathan, NYKS during PoshanMaah. More than 51 lakh youth and villagers took part in these activities.

▶Youth Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, the youth volunteers are continuously engaged in nation building activities like education, health and sanitation, environment, awareness on social issues, women empowerment and civic education among others. He said, NYKS is one of the largest youth organisations in the world.

▶Mr Rijiju said, the Ministry has undertaken several activities during PoshanMaah started from 1st September this year. PoshanMaah aims to create mobilization across the country for improving Nutrition indicators.

HIV/AIDS Patients in India

As per the latest HIV estimates report (2019) of the Government, India is estimated to have around 23.49 lakh people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) in 2019. The HIV epidemic has an overall decreasing trend in the country with the estimated annual new HIV infections declining by 37% between 2010 and 2019.

Causes of HIV Infection in India:

• Engagement in High-Risk Behaviours:

 ✓ Unprotected Sexual Behaviours

✓ Unsafe injecting drug use behaviour

National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO):

NACO is a division of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that provides leadership to HIV/AIDS control programme in India through 35 HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Societies.

• In 1986, following the detection of the first AIDS case in the country, the National AIDS Committee was constituted in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

• As the epidemic spread, the need was felt for a nationwide programme and an organization to steer the programme. In 1992 India’s first National AIDS Control Programme (1992-1999) was launched, and National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) was constituted to implement the programme.

• NACO envisions an India where every person living with HIV has access to quality care and is treated with dignity.

• Effective prevention, care and support for HIV/AIDS is possible in an environment where human rights are respected and where those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS live a life without stigma and discrimination.

• NACO works to contain the spread of HIV in India by building an all- encompassing response reaching out to Diverse Populations.

WB approves loan for water & Sanitation facilities in Bangladesh.

The World Bank (WB) has approved a 200 million dollar loan for Bangladesh to improve access to safe water and sanitation services in the rural areas of the country. The Bangladesh Rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene project will help 6 lakh people to have access to clean water through piped water schemes in rural areas.

 The WB said that the project will help prevent diseases and protect from pandemics like COVID 19 by providing better access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities at homes and in public places.

World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan Mercy Tembon said that the project will provide clean water and sanitation services that will reduce diarrheal diseases, improve nutrition, health and reduce stunting among children under five.

The project will also help in setting up more than 2500 handwashing stations in public places with overhead tanks for running water and sanitation facilities. To ensure quality and sustainability of piped water scheme and fecal sludge management, the project will also train local entrepreneurs.

The 30 year concessional credit has a five year grace period. It comes from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA). Bangladesh currently has the largest ongoing IDA program totaling over USD 13.5 billion.

Swiss rejects bid to reduce immigration from European Union.

The Swiss have rejected a bid to dramatically reduce immigration from the European Union, but have embraced offering paid paternity leave for the first time, projections from several votes in the country Sunday showed.

Shortly after polls closed at noon (1000 GMT), projections from gfs.bern polling institute indicated that 63% of Swiss voters had balked at the initiative to tear up an agreement permitting the free movement of people between Switzerland and the surrounding EU.

The initiative, backed by the populist right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) — Switzerland’s largest party — had been opposed by the government, Parliament, unions, employer organisations and all other political parties out of fear it would jeopardise overall relations with the bloc.

Public support for the initiative had also been seen slipping in recent opinion polls, but the suspense remained high since SVP has eked out surprise victories in the past in its war against tightening relations with the EU.

 Most people vote in advance in the popular polls and referendum held in Switzerland every few months as part of the country’s famous direct democratic system, usually making it possible to quickly surmise which way the vote is headed.

SVP’s initiative called for Switzerland to revise its Constitution to ensure it can autonomously handle immigration policy.

Srilanka seeks fresh currency swap agreement from India.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa sought an additional currency swap facility and deferment of debt payments from India during an online bilateral summit with Prime Minister NarendraModi on Saturday, Indian officials said.

•Sri Lanka owes about $960 million to India and earlier this year India agreed to a $400 million currency swap facility for Sri Lanka until November 2022.

•Sri Lanka, located off the southern tip of India, has become an arena of competing influence between India and China, which has built ports, power stations and highways as part of President Xi Jinping's signature "Belt and Road Initiative", designed to boost trade and transport links across Asia.

•But the terms of some of these projects have drawn domestic criticism in Sri Lanka and opened the way for countries such as India, the United States and Japan to rebuild ties in the Indian Ocean country that lies near key shipping lanes.

•Rajapaksa, who won a general election last year after promising to pull the country out of its deepest economic slump, has to service mounting external debt amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

Virtual meet on tourism and rural development held.

On the occasion of the World Tourism Day, Petroleum Minister addressed a virtual meet on the theme of Tourism and rural development, along with Tourism and Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel.

 ▶Minister commended the Ministry of Tourism for its novel initiative Dekho Apna Desh that promotes and encourages local heritage and tourist sites. He spoke about India's rich culture, history and ancient architectural marvels which offer immense scope for the growth of tourism industry.

▶Talking about Internet’s role in making the world a global village, Mr Pradhan called for effective use of technology to further strengthen India's position as a global tourist hotspot.

▶Minister said that tourism industry offers unprecedented potential for employment generation and empowerment of our youth, also in the rural areas.

▶He said that every district of our country has a historic story to share or a legend to narrate, and as India celebrates 75 years of independence in 2022, we must work on creating more tourism sites around the heroism of our freedom fighters.

Spike disease threatening India’s sandalwood forests.

India’s sandalwood trees, the country’s pride particularly of Karnataka are facing a serious threat with the return of the destructive Sandalwood Spike Disease (SSD).

The infection has resurfaced in the aromatic tree’s natural habitats in Karnataka and Kerala.

According to a study by scientists R. Sundararaj and R. Raja Rishi of the Bengaluru-based Institute of Wood Science & Technology (IWST), the natural population of sandalwood in Marayoor of Kerala and various reserve forests in Karnataka, including MM Hills, are heavily infected with SSD for which there is no cure as of now.

Presently, there is no option but to cut down and remove the infected tree to prevent the spread of the disease, caused by phytoplasma — bacterial parasites of plant tissues — which are transmitted by insect vectors.

With between 1 and 5% of sandalwood trees lost every year due to the disease, scientists warn that it could wipe out the entire natural population if measures are not taken to prevent its spread. Also, they fear that any delay in arresting the trend may result in the disease spreading to cultivated sandalwood trees.

The present rapid spread of the infection is largely due to restrictions on green felling in forests, which has allowed vectors to spread the disease to healthy trees, says the IWST study.

In an effort to combat the killer disease, the IWST will join hands with the Pune-based National Centre for Cell Sciences for a three-year study, initiated by the Union Ministry of Ayush with a financial allocation of ₹50 lakh.

East Bengal becomes new team in ISL.

The East Bengal club was, on Sunday, officially inducted into the Indian Super League as the 11th team.

▶Football Sports Development Limited’s chairperson Nita Ambani, who made the announcement, welcomed East Bengal for the 2020-2021 season.

▶The club, which was recently acquired by Shree Cements, will be joining its archrivalMohunBagan, which merged with reigning ISL champion ATK earlier this year.

Focus on mains:

Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020

Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020 was recently passed in the Lok Sabha which seeks to make significant changes to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA).

Proposed Amendments- the Bill:

▶It seeks to prohibit ‘public servants’ from receiving any foreign funding.

▶It proposes to reduce the use of foreign funds to meet administrative costs by NGOs from the existing 50 per cent to 20 per cent.

▶ It seeks to “prohibit any transfer of foreign contribution to any association/person”.

▶ It proposes to make Aadhaar cards a mandatory identification document for all office-bearers, directors and other key functionaries of NGOs or associations eligible to receive Foreign Donations.

Controversial Provisions:

▶ To allow for the central government to hold a summary inquiry to direct bodies with FCRA approval to “not utilise the unutilised foreign contribution or receive the remaining portion of foreign contribution”.

▶To limit the use of foreign funds for administrative purposes. This would impact research and Advocacy Organisations which use the funding to meet their administrative costs.

Main Criticisms:

▶The Bill will enhance government power and restrict foreign-funded civil society work in India.

▶ It can be used as a means to “target those who speak against the Government”.

▶ It will curtail the ease of doing business for Civil Society Organisations.

Why these Amendments are Necessary?

▶The need to strengthen the Act has arisen due to several organisations “mis utilising or misappropriating” the funds leading to the government cancelling 19,000 such registrations in the past few years.

▶ The annual inflow of foreign contribution has almost doubled between the years 2010 and

2019, but many recipients of foreign contribution have not utilised the same for thepurpose for which they were registered or granted prior permission under the said Act.

▶Criminal investigations also had to be initiated against dozens of such non-governmental organisations which indulged in outright misappropriation or mis-utilisation of foreign contribution.

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)

Over 2100 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) were recently filed by banks with the United States Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

• It identify at least USD 2 trillion in transactions between 1999 and 2017 flagged as possible evidence of money laundering or other criminal activity by compliance officers of banks and financial institutions.

About FinCEN:

▶ It was set up in 1990.

▶ It serves as the leading global regulator in the battle against money laundering.

▶ It collects and analyzes information about financial transactions in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, terrorist financing, and other Financial crimes.

About Suspicious Activity Report (SAR):

▶ It is a document filed by banks and financial institutions to report suspicious activity to the USA FinCEN.

▶ These are meant to red flag, within 30 days of the transaction’s occurrence: criminal funds or any form of dirty money; insider trading; potential money laundering; terror financing; any transaction that raises suspicion.

▶ These are used to detect crime but cannot be used as direct evidence to prove legal cases.

▶ There are details of banking transactions that give a clear indication of round-tripping, money laundering or dealings with shell-like entities.

• It shares SARs with law-enforcement authorities including FBI, US Immigration and Customs.

Advantages:

▶The FinCEN Files highlight the dangers correspondent banking pose.

▶The term correspondent bank refers to a financial institution that provides services to another one—usually in another country.

▶It acts as an intermediary or agent, facilitating wire transfers, conducting business transactions, accepting deposits, and gathering documents on behalf of another bank.

▶ Individuals and companies being probed by Indian agencies in different cases are part of the SAR flagged to FinCEN.

▶ Like, transactions of Indian entities named in scams such as the 2G scam, the Agusta Westland scandal, and etc. cases have all been listed with the FinCEN.

About Indian Scenario:

▶The Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND) performs the same functions as FinCEN in the USA.

▶Under the Finance Ministry, this was set up in 2004 as the nodal agency for receiving, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions.

▶The agency is authorized to obtain are Cash transaction reports (CTRs), Suspicious transaction reports (STRs) and Cross border wire transfer reports

▶ These reports are obtained from private and public sector banks every month.

▶ This happens under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).

 ▶ It is mandatory for banks in India to furnish a monthly CTR to the FIU on:

▶ All transactions over Rs. 10 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency or a series of integrally connected transactions that add up to more than Rs. 10 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency.

▶The STRs and CTRs are analysed by FIU. Suspicious or doubtful transactions are shared with agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Tax Authority for the purpose of launching probes to check possible instances of money laundering, tax evasion and terror financing.

▶ FIU’s 2017-2018 annual report reveals that it had received a record number of 14 lakh STRs following demonetization which was three times the number of STRs filed in the Previous Year.

Way Ahead:

▶The clear Message for Agencies in India is that their cases of financial fraud and corruption are being flagged by the FinCEN.

▶There is a need to have Regular Information exchange between financial regulators to track and nullify the efforts for money Laundering.

▶ It has in many cases of Indian Entities and Individuals Mentioned their Financial History of alleged Irregularities.

Comprehensive Current affairs 29 September 2020

Centre to bring in mother tongue as medium of instruction.

The Union Ministry of Education has informed the Supreme Court that it is fully backing a push for “mother tongue” as medium of instruction in schools. The use of “home language” for learning will bridge the gap between the intelligentsia and the masses, it said.

The Ministry said an order was issued on September 10 to academic authorities, including the CBSE, the NCERT and the NCTE, to initiate the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), which was approved by the Union Cabinet in July 2020, to promote “mutlingualism” and use of “home language” as a mode of instruction.

The Centre’s affidavit came in response to the Supreme Court’s inclination to examine whether imposing English on a multitude of schoolchildren, whose language of instruction is their mother tongue, will amount to depriving them of an effective education guaranteed to them under Article 21A (fundamental right to education) of the Constitution.

 The case in question is an appeal filed by the Andhra Pradesh government against the State High Court decision to strike down its order to make English a compulsory medium of instruction.

A group of Telugu scholars and prominent personalities led by former Deputy Speaker of Andhra Pradesh, Mandali Buddha Prasad, represented by advocate Vipin Nair, have opposed the move by the Jagan Reddy government. They said the government move will see Telugu join the pantheon of 197 regional and ethnic languages which have become extinct.

According to the 2011 census, there are 1,369 rationalised ‘mother tongues’ spoken by more than 10,000 people. While there are 22 national languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, there are only six classical languages recognised in India.

Home ministry allows re-entry of Tibetans with return visas.

The Union Home Ministry has allowed Tibetan migrants in foreign countries to return to India through any of the 107 immigration check posts.

•The restriction by MHA, prohibiting international travel to and from the immigration check posts was issued on March 23 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The restrictions have been gradually relaxed.

•The MHA, in the latest order, said: “It has been decided to permit Tibetan migrants who have their residence in India and holding certificate of Identity issued by the Ministry of External Affairs and Return Visa to enter India.”

•The MHA order said the return is subject to the condition that such Tibetan migrants should have been registered with the Foreigners Regional Registration Office.

India pushed for reforms in United Nations.

Indian P.M Modi has said that reforms in the United Nations is the need of the hour. Addressing the 75th United Nations General Assembly session last evening Modi said, India is proud of the fact that it is one of the Founding Members of the United Nations.

He said, people of India have been waiting for a long time for the UN reform process to get completed. He expressed Indian people's concern whether this reform-process will ever reach its logical conclusion.

Modi asked where the United Nations is in the joint fight against the Corona virus pandemic. He sought to know where its effective response was. He said, there were several stellar achievements of UN over the last 75 years, but there were also several instances that point to the need for a serious introspection of the work of the United Nations.

He said, India has lost the maximum number of soldiers in the course of maintaining peace. He said, every Indian aspires for India’s expanded role in the United Nations. He stressed that India has always worked for the interests of humankind and not been driven by its own interests.

India accords highest priority to Srilanka as part of neighbourhood first policy.

Narendra Modi announced a grant assistance of 15 million dollars to Sri Lanka for the promotion of Buddhist ties between India and Sri Lanka. Briefing the media this afternoon, Joint Secretary (Indian Ocean Region) in the External Affairs Ministry said the grant will assist in deepening people-to-people linkages between the two countries in the sphere of Buddhism.

•Modi and his Sri Lankan counterpart Rajapaksa held the first-ever India-Sri Lanka Virtual Bilateral Summit today. They agreed that the Indian side would facilitate the visit of a delegation of Buddhist pilgrims from Sri Lanka in the first inaugural flight to Sacred City of Kushinagar.

•Kushinagar Airport was designated as an international airport recently recognizing its importance as a Buddhist site. Both sides also agreed to explore opportunities in the areas of Ayurveda and Yoga.

•Both leaders were unanimous that the ancient cultural links between India and Sri Lanka are special and must be nurtured further. Mr Rajapaksa made a special mention of the Jaffna Cultural Centre which is an iconic project built with Indian assistance. The centre is almost ready and the Sri Lankan Prime Minister extended an invitation to Indian PM Modi to inaugurate the project.

 •Modi called upon the new government in Sri Lanka to work towards realizing the expectations of Tamils for equality, justice, peace and dignity within a united Sri Lanka by achieving reconciliation nurtured by implementation of the Constitutional provisions.

FM claims temporary retention of GST cess not diversion.

Indian Finance Ministry sources have countered CAG’s audit finding of Central government wrongly retaining ₹47,272 crore of GST compensation cess meant for States, saying temporary retention cannot be termed as a diversion.

•Days after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) flagged that the Centre, in first two years of the GST implementation, wrongly retained GST compensation cess that was meant to be used specifically to compensate States for loss of revenue, Ministry sources said compensation due for the year 2017-18 and 2018-19 was fully paid to States.

•Time taken in reconciliation of compensation receipts can’t be termed as diversion of GST cess fund when the dues to States were fully released by the Central government, they said.

•Sources said that in 2017-18, ₹62,611 crore was collected, out of which the government released full compensation dues of ₹41,146 crore to the States and Union Territories.

•In 2018-19, an amount of ₹95,081 crore was collected, out of which ₹69,275 crore was paid as full compensation. They said an amount of ₹47,271 crore collected in 2017-18 and 2018-19 had remained unutilised for reconciliation post full payment of GST compensation dues.

•For 2019-20, the Central government released ₹1,65,302crore as GST compensation against a cess collection of ₹95,444 crore which it could do with the unutilised cess of ₹47,271 crore

GoI claims COVID has not affected acreage of Kharif crops.

India said that there is no impact of COVID-19 on progress of area coverage under kharif crops. Their Agriculture Ministry said, over one thousand 116 lakh hectare areas have been sown during Kharif season as compared to around one thousand 66 lakh hectare area of corresponding period last year.

 The timely prepositioning of inputs by Government like seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, machinery and credit has made it possible for large coverage during pandemic lockdown conditions. The Ministry said, credit goes to farmers for timely action and adoption of technologies and taking benefit of government schemes.

Sowing of Rice has been reported on over 407 lakh hectare compared to 385 lakh hectare during the corresponding period of last year.

New study adds five species of amphibians to Madhya Pradesh’s inventory.

A study conducted by researchers from Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, on amphibians in the central Indian Panna Tiger Reserve has come up with a list of five species hitherto undocumented in this region.

•The researchers, apart from compiling an entire amphibian inventory of this region, have recorded a call library of eleven species and also have obtained molecular confirmation (through DNA) of the cryptic species – a term used to refer to species that appear the same but show up a difference when their DNA is examined.

•Of the five species that the group has added to the faunal list of Madhya Pradesh are the dwarf toad found in peninsular India; Odisha paddy frog, an inhabitant of eastern India; wrinkled cricket frog, earlier observed in Karnataka; Pierre’s cricket frog, seen in Nepal, Bhutan and Assam; and western burrowing frog, earlier seen in western India.

•“We used to locate breeding aggregation of frogs following their ‘chorus’. Then we sit quietly at least 1 metre away from the frog with our call recording devices and make effort to record their complete call,” says Dr Das. Sometimes they had to repeat the measurements as the frogs were very tricky to identify.

•Among the achievements of the group is recording the advertisement calls of the western burrowing frog for the first time. This frog was identified for the first time in 2017 from populations in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka. “We have recorded 30 calls from three males which becomes the first acoustic data for this species,” says Dr. Das.

•Among the total of 15 species studied by the group, 12 are frogs and three are toads.

Glacier retreat in Himalayas.

A Recent Study by the Observer Research Foundation has found that the retreat of glaciers in the Himalayan Hindu Kush region is now affecting the surface water and groundwater availability in the region.

It has adversely affected springs – a lifeline for the Population in Hill areas.

Highlights:

• Studies by ISRO show that approximately 75 per cent of the Himalayan glaciers are retreating at an alarming rate.

• Climate warming is affecting hydrological regimes in the HKH region because of factors like changes in seasonal extremes, increased evapotranspiration, and changes in glacier volume.

• The study forecasts that in all three basins, there would be a decrease in snow and a rise in glacier melt by the middle of the century.

• Initially, there will be an increased amount of meltwater available, but this quantity will decline abruptly as the glacier storage is reduced.

• These retreats will increase the variability of water flows to downstream areas and endanger the sustainability of water use in the earth’s most crowded basins.

• The decline in groundwater due to anticipated decline of glacial meltwater is likely to affect the Ganges basin the most.

• There are 5 million springs in the Himalayas and they are showing a decline because of overuse by an increasing population, but also because of retreating glaciers and depleting ground water levels.

 Hindu Kush Himalayan Region:

• The Himalayas is not only the youngest mountain range, but also the Third Pole.

• The HKH region extends across 3,500 km over eight countries—Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.

• They are known as the Water Tower of Asia due to its reserve of frozen water.

• It has the biggest reserves of water in the form of ice and snow outside the polar regions, and is the source of 10 of the largest rivers in Asia.

• According to an estimate Hindu-Kush- Himalaya (HKH) has the maximum snow storage after the poles.

• Being a major source of water for the rivers, these glaciers are the lifeline for one-third of the Population across the Globe.

Concerns:

• The glaciers are melting and receding at an alarming rate in the Himalayas.

• As per a study, the Glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalayas might contain 27 percent less ice than Previously Suggested.

• If the Himalayan glaciers disappear our rivers will become Bone Dry.

• With no water for drinking and irrigation, life in any form would be impossible in the Indian peninsula.

• The region is expected to lose half of its present-day glacier area by 2060, a decade earlier than the previously expected deadline of 2070.

 Focus on UPSC mains.

International Coastal Clean-Up Day & BEAMS

On the eve of International Coastal Clean-Up Day, Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) announced that for the first time eight beaches of India are recommended for the Blue Flag Certification.

• Also launched India’s own eco-label BEAMS by e-hoisting the flag -

#IAMSAVINGMYBEACH simultaneously at these eight beaches.

• International Coastal Clean-Up Day is celebrated across 100 countries since 1986 on the third Saturday in September.

Blue Flag Beaches:

• Blue Flag beaches are considered the cleanest beaches of the world.

• The eight beaches are Shivrajpur in Gujarat, Ghoghla in Daman & Diu, Kasarkod and Padubidri beach in Karnataka, Kappad in Kerala,Rushikonda in Andhra Pradesh, Golden beach of Odisha and Radhanagar beach in Andaman and Nicobar.

• The recommendations are done by an independent National Jury composed of eminent Environmentalists & Scientists.

Blue Flag Certification:

• ‘Blue Flag’ is an international certification of environmental properties and cleanliness on beaches.

• A ‘Blue Flag’ beach provides hygienic and clean bathing water, basic infrastructure to tourists and sustainable development in the area.

• The ‘Blue Flag’ is a certification that can be obtained by a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator, and serves as an eco-label.

 

• The certification is awarded by the Denmark-based non-profit Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), which sets stringent environmental, educational, safety-related and access-related criteria that applicants must meet and maintain.

• It is awarded annually to beaches and marinas in FEE member countries.

• The Blue Flag Programme started in France in 1985.

• Spain has the largest number of 566 Blue Flag beaches while Greece and France have 515 and 395 such blue flag beaches respectively.

• Chandrabhaga beach located on the Konark coast of Odisha is the first beach in the country to receive ‘Blue Flag Certification’.

BEAMS Programme:

• BEAMS is one of the several other projects of ICZM that the central government is undertaking for sustainable development of coastal regions, striving for the globally recognised and coveted eco-label” Blue Flag”

• To plan sustainable tourism and healthy coastal management, MoEF & CC has conceived an integrated coastal management scheme viz. BEAMS to reduce existing pollutants on beaches and to aspire & achieve such high International Standards in India.

• This program promotes beach recreation in absolute harmony with nature.

• Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM) has initiated the process for clean beaches in 13 pilot beaches (one pilot beach in every Coastal States/UTs) under this  programme and in line with Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan.

Objective:

• To promote sustainable development in coastal regions of India for the beach management authorities to strive to achieve high international standards in four categories of:

• Environmental Management including cleanliness, solid waste management in beaches

 ✓ Environment Education

✓ Safety & Security of Beachgoers

✓ Bathing Water Quality Standards

Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM):

• Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change launched the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) activities in India to protect and conserve the coastal and marine ecosystems and environment through a holistic coastal management.

• It aimed to promote sustainable development & management of coastal zones through its own wing SICOM.

• The concept of ICZM was introduced in 1992 during the Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro and most of the coastal countries in the World have been adopting ICZM principles for managing their coastal zones.

• Adoption of ICZM principles for managing and sustainably developing our coastal regions is helping India in keeping with its commitments to international agreements on ICZM.

Official Secrets Act

The Delhi police has arrested a strategic affairs analyst and two others – a 30- year-old Chinese woman and her Nepalese accomplice under the Official Secrets Act, 1923.

Official Secrets Act:

• OSA has its roots in the British colonial era and the original version was The Indian Official Secrets Act (Act XIV), 1889.

• Objective: To suppress the voice of a large number of newspapers in several languages, opposing the Raj’s policies and building political consciousness.

 • It was amended and made more stringent in the form of The Indian Official Secrets Act, 1904, during Lord Curzon’s tenure as Viceroy of India.

• The Indian Official Secrets Act was extended in 1923 to all matters of secrecy and confidentiality in governance in the country.

• The Act was retained after independence.

• The Act Deals with:

✓ It broadly Deals with Two Aspects:

✓ Spying or espionage covered under Section 3.

• Disclosure of other secret information of the government under Section 5.

• Secret information can be any official code, password, sketch, plan, model, article, note, document, or information.

• Under Section 5, both the person communicating the information and the person receiving the information can be punished.

• If guilty, a person may get up to 14 years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.

• OSA itself does not say what a secret document is. It is the government’s discretion to decide what falls under the ambit of a secret document to be charged under OSA.

• It has often been argued that the law is in direct conflict with the Right to Information Act, 2005.

Between the RTI Act and OSA, which has Primacy?

• Section 22 of the RTI Act provides for its primacy vis-a-vis provisions of other laws, including OSA.

• This gives the RTI Act an overriding effect, not with standing anything inconsistent with the provisions of OSA.

 • So, if there is any inconsistency in OSA with regard to Furnishing of information, it will be superseded by the RTI Act.

• However, under Sections 8 and 9 of the RTI Act, the Government can refuse information.

• If the government classifies a document as secret under OSA Clause 6, that document can be kept outside the ambit of the RTI Act, and the Government can invoke Sections 8 or 9.

Efforts to Change Provisions of OSA:

Law Commission, 1971:

✓ In 1971, the Law Commission became the first official body to make an observation regarding OSA.

✓ It observed that merely because a circular is marked secret or confidential, it should not attract the provisions of the Act if the publication thereof is in the interest of the public and no question of national emergency and interest of the State as such arises.

✓ The Law Commission, however, did not recommend any changes to the Act.

2. Second Administrative Reforms Commission, 2006:

✓ In 2006, the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) recommended that OSA be repealed.

✓ It needed to be replaced with a chapter in the National Security Act containing provisions relating to official secrets.

✓ It was cited that OSA was incongruous with the regime of transparency in a democratic society.

3. Recent Efforts:

✓ In 2015, the government had set up a committee to look into provisions of the OSA in light of the RTI Act.

 ✓ It submitted its report to the Cabinet Secretariat on June 16, 2017, recommending that OSA be made more transparent and in line with the RTI Act.