Daily Current Affairs for 10th August 2021

GS PAPER II

United Nations Security Council (UNSC)

Why in News

For the first time, India has been chaired the ongoing debate over the maritime security at United Nation Security Council.

Key Point

• The debate, titled, ‘Enhancing Maritime Security: A Case for International Cooperation’, had heads of state or government in attendance, including Russian President, President of Kenya and Premier of Vietnam.
• The UNSC adopted a ‘Presidential Statement of India’ which reaffirmed that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) establishes the legal framework for maritime activities.
• Prime Minister of India outlined a five-principle framework for the debate:
• First was removing barriers to maritime trade: In this context, PM highlighted SAGAR (‘Security and Growth for all in the Region’), a 2015 Indian framework for regional maritime security.
• Second, maritime disputes “should be resolved peacefully and in accordance with international law,” adding that this was “extremely important for promoting mutual trust and confidence, and ensuring global peace and stability”.
• The third principle as the countries jointly tackle maritime threats from non­state actors and natural disasters.
• Fourth, the maritime environment and marine resources needed to be, conserved, highlighting pollution from plastic waste and oil spills.
• Fifth, India called for responsible maritime connectivity, saying a structure was required to boost maritime.

India and UNSC

• India, for the first time, got the presidency of United Nation Security Council for the month of August.

India at United Nation Security Council

• India was among the original members of the United Nations that signed the Declaration by United Nations at Washington, D.C. on 1^st January 1942.
• As a founding member of the United Nations, India strongly supports the purposes and principles of the UN and has made significant contributions in implementing the goals of the Charter, and the evolution of the UN’s specialised programmes and agencies.
• India has been a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for eight terms with the most recent being the 2021–22 term.
• India began its two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the UNSC on January 1^st 2021.
• India is a member of G4, group of nations who back each other in seeking a permanent seat on the Security Council and advocate in favour of the reformation of the UNSC.
• India is a charter member of the United Nations and participates in all of its specialised agencies and organizations.

United Nation Security Council

• The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN).
• Five other principal organs are: The General Assembly, the Trusteeship Council, the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat.
• It was established under the UN Charter in 1945 with its headquartered at New York.
• Its principal objective is to maintain international peace and security.
• The UNSC consist 15 members in which 5 of them are permanent.
• The five permanent members are: The United States, the Russian Federation, France, China and the United Kingdom.
• The ten elected or non-permanent members have a tenure of two years.
• At present, the non-permanent members are Estonia, India, Ireland, Kenya, Mexico, Niger, Norway, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia and Vietnam and they have no rights of veto.

GS PAPER II

Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Bill, 2021

Why in News

The Parliament recently passed the ‘Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Bill, 2021’ to abolish various tribunals.

Highlights of the bill

• Abolition of Appellate Tribunals:
• There are few tribunals which are sought to be abolished by the Bill and their functions are to be transferred to the existing judicial bodies:
• The Cinematograph Act, 1952,
• The Trade Marks Act, 1999,
• The Copyright Act, 1957,
• The Customs Act, 1962,
• The Patents Act, 1970,
• The Airports Authority of India Act, 1994,
• The Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002,
• The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.
• Many tribunals add to another additional layer of litigation. In 2017, seven tribunals were abolished or merged based on functional similarity.
• Amendments to the Finance Act, 2017:
• The Finance Act, 2017 merged tribunals based on domain.
• It also empowered the central government to notify rules on:
• Composition of search-cum-selection committees,
• Qualifications of tribunal members, and
• Their terms and conditions of service such as their removal and salaries.
• The Bill removes these provisions from the Finance Act, 2017. Provisions on the composition of selection committees, and term of office have been included in the Bill.
• Qualification of members, and other terms and conditions of service will be notified by the central government.
• Search-cum-selection committees:
• The Chairperson and Members of the Tribunals will be appointed by the central government on the recommendation of a Search-cum-Selection Committee.
• The Committee will consist of:
• Chief Justice of India, or a Supreme Court Judge nominated by him, as the Chairperson with casting vote,
• Two Secretaries nominated by the central government,
• The sitting or outgoing Chairperson, or a retired Supreme Court Judge, or a retired Chief Justice of a High Court, and
• The Secretary of the Ministry under which the Tribunal is constituted with no voting right.
• State administrative tribunals:
• It will have separate search-cum-selection committees.
• These Committees will consist of:
• Chief Justice of the High Court of the concerned state, as the Chairman with a casting vote,
• Chief Secretary of the state government and the Chairman of the Public Service Commission of the concerned state,
• The sitting or outgoing Chairperson, or a retired High Court Judge, and
• The Secretary or Principal Secretary of the state’s general administrative department with no voting right.
• Eligibility and term of office:
• The Bill provides for a four-year term of office subject to the upper age limit of 70 years for the Chairperson, and 67 years for members.
• Further, it specifies a minimum age requirement of 50 years for appointment of a chairperson or a member.

Tribunals

• The 42nd Amendment of the Indian Constitution in 1976 introduced Part XIV-A which included Article 323A and 323B providing for constitution of tribunals dealing with administrative matters and other issues.
• According to the provisions, tribunals are to be organized and established in such a manner that they do not violate the integrity of the judicial system given in the Constitution which forms the basic structure of the Constitution.
• The primary objective behind introducing Article 323A and 323B was to exclude the jurisdiction of the High Courts under Article 226 and 227, except the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 136 and for originating an efficacious alternative institutional mechanism or authority for specific judicial cases.
• The purpose of establishing tribunals to reduce the pendency and lower the burden of cases from High court.
• Therefore, tribunals are organised as a part of civil and criminal court system under the supremacy of the Supreme Court of India.
• An administrative tribunal is neither an exclusively judicial body nor an absolute administrative body but is somewhere between the two. That’s why an administrative tribunal is also called ‘quasi-judicial’ body.

GS PAPER II

Ujjwala Yojana 2.0

Why in news

The Union Government recently launched ‘Ujjwala Yojana 2.0’ to provide additional 10 million LPG connections to the beneficiaries by 2021-22.

Key Points

• In Ujjwala Yojana 2.0, beneficiaries need not pay anything for the first refill, as well as the hotplate.
• The enrolment process will be easier as it won’t require minimum documentation.
• Migrants will not have to submit ration cards or address proof; a self-declaration will suffice for “family declaration”, and as an address proof

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)

• 
• The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched on 1^st May, 2016, by Prime Minister from Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, with the aim to make available cooking fuel such as LPG to rural households.
• Under Ujjwala 1.0, the target was to provide LPG connections to 50 million women from the below poverty line (BPL) households, by March 2020.
• In August 2018, women from seven other categories were brought under the purview of the scheme:
• SC/ST,
• Those under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY),
• Beneficiaries of the Antyoday Anna Yojana (AAY),
• Forest dwellers,
• Most backward classes,
• Tea gardens and
• Islands.
• As of July 30, 2021, the number of connections provided under the scheme stand at 79,995,022.

GS PAPER III

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Why in News

Recently, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Sixth Assessment Report, “Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis”.

Global Scenario

• According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Indian Ocean is warming at a higher rate than other oceans, that would lead to a rise in sea levels, leading to frequent and severe coastal flooding in low-level areas.
• The current overall global warming trends are likely to lead to an increase in annual mean precipitation over India, with more severe rain expected over southern India in the coming decades.
• With a 7,517 km coastline, India would face significant threats from the rising seas.
• Across the port cities of Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Surat and Visakhapatnam, 28.6 million people would be exposed to coastal flooding if sea levels rise by 50 cm.
• Monsoon extremes are likely to increase over India and South Asia, while the frequency of short intense rainy days is expected to rise.
• Models also indicate a lengthening of the monsoon over India by the end of the 21^st century, with the South Asian monsoon precipitation projected to increase.
• According to the report, the planet was irrevocably headed towards warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre­industrial times in the next two decades.
• Keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius of pre­industrial levels by the turn of century and endeavouring to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius was at the heart of the 2015 Paris Agreement. Unless extremely deep emission cuts are undertaken by all countries immediately, these goals are unlikely to be met.
• The report recommended that countries strive to achieve net zero emissions, no additional greenhouse gases are emitted, by 2050.

India

• According to the report, India will witness increased heatwaves and flooding, which will be the irreversible effects of climate change.
• In India, heat waves and humid heat stress will be more intense and frequent in the 21st century.
• Changes in monsoon precipitation are also expected, with both annual and summer monsoon precipitation projected to increase.
• For India, increase in heat waves is marked by other emissions like aerosol emissions. If there is a reduction in aerosols, India will witness for further increase in heat waves.

Tropical Cyclones

• Tropical cyclones are getting stronger and wetter, while Arctic Sea ice is dwindling in the summer and permafrost is thawing.
• India is currently the world’s third largest greenhouse gas emitter, but per capita emissions are much lower. The U.S. emitted nearly nine times more greenhouse gases per capita than India in 2018.
• Based on existing commitments by countries to curb their emission, the world is on track for global temperature warming by at least 2.7°C by 2100, predicts the report, calling it ‘Code red for humanity’.
• The latest scientific discussions on the Conference of Parties meeting in Glasgow later this year where countries are expected to announce plans and steps, they have taken to curb emissions.
• The report release follows a two-week long plenary session held virtually from July 26 to August 6, 2021, in which the report was scrutinized line­by­line for approval by government representatives in dialogue with report authors.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations.
• It is mandated to provide objective scientific information relevant to understanding human-induced climate change, its natural, political, and economic impacts and risks, and possible response options.
• It was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

GS PAPER III

Hindu Kush Himalayan

Why in news

According to a report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region will keep shrinking as extreme precipitation is projected to increase in major mountainous regions.

Key Points

• The Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), warned that extreme precipitation is projected to increase in major mountainous regions with potential cascading consequences of floods, landslides and lake outbursts in all scenarios.
• Snow-covered areas and snow volumes will decrease during the 21st century, snowline elevations will rise and glacier mass is likely to decline with greater mass loss in higher greenhouse gas emission scenarios.
• Rising temperatures and precipitation can increase the occurrence of glacial lake outburst floods and landslides over moraine-dammed lakes.
• According to the report, the freezing level height in mountain areas is projected to rise and will alter snow and ice conditions.

Hindu Kush Himalayan

• The Hindu Kush is one of the great watersheds of Central Asia, forming part of the vast Alpine zone that stretches across Eurasia from east to west.
• It runs northeast to southwest and divides the valley of the Amu Darya (the ancient Oxus River) to the north from the Indus River valley to the south.
• To the east the Hindu Kush buttresses the Pamir range near the point where the borders of China, Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, and Afghanistan meet, after which it runs southwest through Pakistan and into Afghanistan, finally merging into minor ranges in western Afghanistan.
• The highest peak is Mount Tirich Mir, which rises near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to 25,230 feet (7,690 metres).
• The Hindu Kush may be divided into three main sections:
• Eastern Hindu Kush, which runs from the Karambar Pass in the east to the Dorah Pass;
• Central Hindu Kush, which then continues to the Shebar Pass to the northwest of Kabul; and
• Western Hindu Kush, also known as the Baba Mountains which gradually descends to the Kermu Pass.

Way Forward

• The impact of climate crisis can be seen around the world and not acting now will destroy lives and livelihoods.
• The Indian government is sanguine about doing more than other countries in terms of comparable action to reduce CO2 emissions. But we have no measurable targets to reduce emissions.
• Our nationally determined contribution is to reduce not absolute emissions but the emission intensity of our economy.
• Despite warnings for so many years, the world did not listen. We need to act now.