Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE
Topics Covered
- 7th Schedule
- Nationally determined commitments
- India-Uzbekistan
- Not all Indian droughts are caused by El Nino
- Plasmodium ovale
- Voluntary Disclosure Scheme
- Digital Voter id card
- Israel – Morocco deal and Impact on Western Sahara
- Not in favour of imposing family planning, govt. tells SC
- Facts for Prelims
1 . 7th Schedule
Context : Fifteenth Finance Commission chairman N.K. Singh has called for a fresh look at the Constitution’s Seventh Schedule, which forms the basis for allocating subjects to the Centre and States, and hinted at the need to fill an ‘institutional vacuum’ created by the abolition of the Planning Commission.
About 7th Schedule
- The seventh schedule under Article 246 of the constitution deals with the division of powers between the union and the states.
- It contains three lists Union List, State List and Concurrent List. The union list details the subjects on which Parliament may make laws while the state list details those under the purview of state legislatures.
- The concurrent list on the other hand has subjects in which both Parliament and state legislatures have jurisdiction. However the Constitution provides federal supremacy to Parliament on concurrent list items in case of a conflict.
- The constitutional provisions in India on the subject of distribution of legislative powers between the Union and the States are defined under several articles; the most important in this regard being specifically under articles 245 & 246 of the Constitution of India. The Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India defines and specifies allocation of powers and functions between Union & States. It contains three lists; i.e. 1) Union List, 2) State List and 3) Concurrent List.
2 . Nationally Determined Contribution
Context : Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said that India was the only major G20 country that was on track towards keeping to its nationally determined commitments to halt runaway global warming. It had achieved 21% of its emissions intensity reduction target as a proportion of its GDP in line with its pledge to a 33-35% reduction by 2030
About Nationally Determined Commitments
- Countries across the globe adopted an historic international climate agreement at the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris in December 2015.
- In anticipation of this moment, countries publicly outlined what post-2020 climate actions they intended to take under the new international agreement, known as their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs).
- The climate actions communicated in these INDCs largely determine whether the world achieves the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement: to hold the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C, to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C, and to achieve net zero emissions in the second half of this century.
India’s NDC
- In its INDC, India has pledged to improve the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 below 2005 levels.
- It has also pledged to increase the share of non-fossil fuels-based electricity to 40 per cent by 2030.
- It has agreed to enhance its forest cover which will absorb 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2, the main gas responsible for global warming) by 2030.
- India has accepted the huge impact that climate change is exerting and will exert on different sectors of its economy and has agreed to enhance investments to adapt in vulnerable sectors like agriculture, water resources, coastal regions, health and disaster management.
- India has also reiterated its need for international finance and technology support to meet its climate goals. In this regard, it has said it would require at least US $ 2.5 trillion (at 2014-15 prices) to meet its climate change actions between now and 2030.
3 . India-Uzbekistan
Context : India and Uzbekistan organized a virtual summit.
Details of the Summit
- India and Uzbekistan plan to cooperate on connectivity projects in Afghanistan and will participate in a trilateral dialogue with Iran
- Both addressed the need to fight terrorism and shared the “same vision” on the future of the Afghanistan peace process
- India- Uzbekistan security partnership is also becoming a strong pillar of bilateral relations. Last year, the first joint military exercise between armed forces took place. Joint efforts are also increasing in the areas of space and atomic energy
- India also confirmed the approval of a $448- million Line of Credit for four developmental projects in Uzbekistan in the areas of “road construction, sewerage treatment and information technology” and specific projects under the Line of Credit were being identified at present
- The two sides signed a Dollar Credit Line Agreement between the Export-Import Bank of India and the Uzbekistan Government and several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) including in the areas of renewable energy and information technology on the sidelines of the meeting.
Map Marking
- Uzbekistan is a country in Central Asia. It is surrounded by five landlocked countries: Kazakhstan to the north; Kyrgyzstan to the northeast; Tajikistan to the southeast; Afghanistan to the south and Turkmenistan to the south-west.
- Along with Liechtenstein, it is one of two doubly landlocked countries
4 . Not all Indian droughts are caused by El Nino
Context : The study that appears in journal Science says that there are other reasons for Droughts in India other than El Nino
Details of the Study
- According to the study nearly six out of 10 droughts, in non-El Nino years, that occurred during the Indian summer-monsoon season in the past century may have been driven by atmospheric disturbances from the North Atlantic region. In an El Niño year, abnormally warm equatorial Pacific waters pull moisture-laden clouds away from the subcontinent, but the IISc study shows that in non-El Nino years, these droughts are a consequence of a sudden and steep drop in rainfall in late August.
- In an El Nino year, the rainfall deficit departure from a long-term average will set in early around mid-June and progressively worsen. However, a non-El Nino-year drought will see rainfall and will similarly weaken in mid-June. But from mid-July to mid-August, usually the rainiest period of the monsoon, the monsoon will appear to recover. However, around August third week, there was a sudden steep decline in rainfall, resulting in drought conditions.
- Rossby wave : Researchers note that winds in the upper atmosphere are interacting with a deep cyclonic circulation above the abnormally cold North Atlantic waters. The resulting wave of air currents, called a Rossby wave, curved down from the North Atlantic squeezed in by the Tibetan plateau and hit the subcontinent around mid-August, suppressing rainfall and throwing off the monsoon that was trying to recover from the June slump. The wave’s usual course is to go from west to east, but not towards the equator. Thus beyond looking at the Pacific Ocean it is important to consider other influences on the Indian monsoon from outside the tropics.
5 . Plasmodium ovale
Context : A not very common type of malaria, Plasmodium ovale, has been identified in a jawan in Kerala. The soldier is believed to have contracted it during his posting in Sudan, from where he returned nearly a year ago, and where Plasmodium ovale is endemic.
Types of malaria
- Malaria is caused by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito, if the mosquito itself is infected with a malarial parasite.
- There are five kinds of malarial parasites — Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax (the commonest ones), Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium knowlesi.
- If someone has contracted the Plasmodium ovale type of malaria means that the person has been infected by that particular parasite.
Malaria in India
- In India, out of 1.57 lakh malaria cases in the high-burden states of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Meghalaya and Madhya Pradesh in 2019, 1.1 lakh cases (70%) were cases of falciparum malaria, according to a statement by the Health Ministry on December 2.
- In 2018, the National Vector-borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) estimated that approximately 5 lakh people suffered from malaria (63% were of Plasmodium falciparum); researchers writing in the Malaria Journal of BMC felt the numbers could be an underestimate.
- The recent World Malaria Report 2020 said cases in India dropped from about 20 million in 2000 to about 5.6 million in 2019.
Plasmodium ovale
- P ovale rarely causes severe illness. P ovale is very similar to P vivax, which is not a killer form.
- Symptoms include fever for 48 hours , headache and nausea, and the treatment modality is the same as it is for a person infected with P vivax. P ovale is no more dangerous than getting a viral infection
- It is termed ovale as about 20% of the parasitised cells are oval in shape.
- Parasite may remain in the spleen or liver of the body for a long time, even years, after the mosquito bite, and the person could become symptomatic later.
- P ovale malaria is endemic to tropical Western Africa. P ovale is relatively unusual outside of Africa and, where found, comprises less than 1% of the isolates. It has also been detected in the Philippines, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, but is still relatively rate in these areas.
6 . Voluntary Disclosure Scheme
Context : On November 22, the Supreme Court upheld an Allahabad High Court order granting immunity from investigation and prosecution if one declared illegal acquisition or possession of exotic wildlife species between June and December. This was under a new amnesty scheme announced by the Centre. The High Court had said that whoever declares the stock of exotic species and submits to registration under the amnesty scheme, “shall have immunity from any inquiry into the source of licit acquisition or possession of the voluntarily declared stock of exotic species”.
What is the government’s voluntary disclosure scheme?
- The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has come out with an advisory on a one-time voluntary disclosure scheme that allows owners of exotic live species that have been acquired illegally, or without documents, to declare their stock to the government between June and December 2020.
- With this scheme, the government aims to address the challenge of zoonotic diseases, develop an inventory of exotic live species for better compliance under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and regulate their import. In its current form, however, the amnesty scheme is just an advisory, not a law.
What kind of exotic wildlife are covered?
- The advisory has defined exotic live species as animals named under the Appendices I, II and III of the CITES. It does not include species from the Schedules of the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972. So, a plain reading of the advisory excludes exotic birds from the amnesty scheme.
- CITES is an international agreement between governments to ensure that international trade in wild animals, birds and plants does not endanger them. India is a member.
- Appendices I, II and III of CITES list 5,950 species as protected against over-exploitation through international trade.
- Many of these animals, such as iguanas, lemurs, civets, albino monkeys, coral snakes, tortoises, are popular as exotic pets in India.
7 . Digital Voter id card
Context : The Election Commission (EC) is keen to make the Elector’s Photo Identity Card or EPIC available in electronic form. In other words, you could soon carry your Voter ID Card on your phone just like an electronic boarding pass that is downloadable ahead of a journey by air.
Current System
- Currently, the EPIC is only available in hard copy, and has to be produced in the original by the voter on election day.
- For those who cannot produce EPIC, can show an alternative photo ID document permitted by the EC. What is the proposal being considered by the poll panel?
What formalities would a voter need to complete to avail the soft copy of her Voter Identity Card?
- To avail this facility, an eligible voter will have to provide her mobile number or email address to the EC machinery at the time of applying for enrolment in the voters’ list.
- Once her name is included in the electoral roll, she will be intimated through an SMS or email. The new voter can then download the Voter Card through OTP (One Time Password) authentication,
- Existing voters may have to reverify their details with the EC (similar to the Bank KYC process) and provide their email or mobile phone number to get their cards in the electronic form.
What would the digital Voter Card look like?
- The digital voter card is not expected to look too different from its physical form. It will be available as a PDF file, and can be downloaded on one’s phone or computer.
- The soft copy may also have a QR code that will carry the voter’s enrolment details such as name and date of birth and address.
But why is the Commission considering such a proposal?
- An electronic card will help the EC save costs on printing and distributing hard copy of EPIC. The EC feels that voters too, will find it useful to have the PDF file of her voter card on her phone, which will do away with the necessity of first producing a voter’s slip on the day of voting.
When is the EC expected to introduce the digital voter cards?
- This is still just a proposal, and needs to be approved by the full Commission — that is, by Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora and Election Commissioners Sushil Chandra and Rajiv Kumar.
- According to sources, it may come up for consideration before the next set of Assembly elections next year. West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry will vote in early summer 2021.
8 . Israel – Morocco deal and Impact on Western Sahara
Context : Morocco has become the fourth Arab country to normalise ties with Israel in five months. In return for Morocco’s decision to establish formal ties with Israel, the U.S. has recognised Rabat’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, a disputed territory in northwestern Africa, which has been under Moroccan control for decades. Morocco has long been campaigning internationally, using economic pressure and diplomacy, for recognition of its claims to Western Sahara. It got what it wanted from the deal with Israel, a country with which it had developed covert ties for decades.
About the dispute
- Sahar is a large, arid and sparsely populated region that shares borders with Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania and has a long Atlantic coast was a Spanish colony.
- The region is home to the Sahrawi tribe.
- In the 1970s, when international and local pressure mounted on Spain to vacate its colonies in Africa, Libya and Algeria helped found a Sahrawi insurgency group against the Spanish rule in Western Sahara.
- The Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro, known as the Polisario Front, started guerilla warfare against Spanish colonialists.
- In 1975, as part of the Madrid Accords with Morocco and Mauritania, Spain decided to leave the territory, which was then called Spanish Sahara. According to the accords, Spain would leave before February 28, 1976 and until then, the Spanish Governor General would administer the territory, with help from two Moroccan and Mauritanian Deputy Governors. The Polisario Front and Algeria opposed the agreements.
- Both Morocco and Mauritania moved troops to Western Sahara to assert their claims. Polisario, backed by Algeria, continued the guerilla resistance, demanding their withdrawal.
- On February 27, 1976, a day before Spain ended its presence, the Polisario Front declared the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in Western Sahara. The SADR has been recognised by several African countries and is a member of the African Union.
Morocco’s claim
- Morocco and Mauritania had laid claims to Western Sahara even when it was a Spanish colony.
- In 1974, the International Court of Justice was asked by the UN General Assembly to look into the legal ties, if any, that existed between Western Sahara and Morocco and Mauritania at the time of its colonisation by Spain in the 19th century.
- The court found no evidence “of any ties of territorial sovereignty” between the Western Sahara and either Morocco or Mauritania, but stated that there were “indications” that some tribes in the territory were loyal to the Moroccan Sultan.
- In its conclusion, the court endorsed the General Assembly Resolution 1541 that affirmed that to ensure decolonisation, complete compliance with the principle of self-determination is required. But King Hassan II of Morocco hailed the court’s opinion as a vindication of Rabat’s claims and moved troops across the northern border to Western Sahara. Mauritania joined in later. It set the stage for a three-way fight with the Polisario Front resisting both countries.
Current status
- The three-way conflict lasted for almost four years. In August 1979, Mauritania signed a peace treaty with Polisario, bringing the country’s military involvement in Western Sahara to an end. When Mauritanian forces withdrew from the southern part of the desert that they had occupied, Morocco swiftly advanced troops.
- The war continued between Moroccan troops and the Polisario Front. In 1991, when a ceasefire was finally achieved, upon the promise of holding an independence referendum in Western Sahara, Morocco had taken control of about 80% of the territory. The war had forced almost 200,000 Sahrawis to flee the territory to neighbouring Algeria, where Polisario is running squalid refugee camps. The SADR is operating largely from the eastern flank of Western Sahara. Moroccan troops have built a huge sand wall called Berm, from the Atlantic coast to the mountains of Morocco, dividing the territories they control from that of Polisario. “It’s Africa’s last colony”, according to Polisario fighters.
Impact of the deal
- The normalisation deal between Morocco and Israel itself will not have any direct bearing on Western Sahara. But the concession the U.S. has given to Morocco — Washington’s recognition of Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara — could flare up the conflict. The independence referendum, promised in the 1991 ceasefire, is yet to take place.
- Last month, Morocco launched an offensive into the UN-controlled buffer zone between the two sides, and in return, Polisario said it would resume armed conflict.
- After the Trump administration’s recognition of Morocco’s claim, Polisario said it would keep fighting until Moroccan troops are forced to withdraw. The U.S. move would upset Algeria, the biggest backer of Polisario.
- Among the nations that condemned the U.S. decision is Russia, which said the recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara “is a violation of international law”.
9 . Not in favour of imposing family planning, govt. tells SC
Context : The Centre told the Supreme Court on Saturday that it was against coercing couples into having a “certain number of children” in a bid to curb population explosion.
About the case
- The government was responding to the court’s direction to a petition to introduce a population control law.
- According to the petition population explosion had been the bane of the country. Without implementing effective population control measures, Healthy India, Literate India, Prosperous India, Resourceful India, Strong India, Secured India, Sensitive India, Clean India and Corruption and Crime-Free India campaign won’t succeed
Centre’s Response
- According to the centre Family Welfare Programme in India is voluntary in nature, which enables couples to decide the size of their family and adopt the family planning methods best suited to them, according to their choice, without any compulsion,
- India was a signatory to the Programme of Action (POA) of the International Conference on Population and Development, 1994, which was unequivocally against coercion in family planning. In fact, international experience shows that any coercion to have a certain number of children is counterproductive and leads to demographic distortions
Current Population Growth Rate
- According to the government years from 2001 to 2011 witnessed the sharpest decline in decadal growth rate of Indian population in a 100 years. India had been witnessing a “constant decline” in the total fertility rate (TFR).
- According to the Census statistics, “2001-2011 was the first decade in the last 100 years which had not only added lesser population as compared to the previous one, but also registered the sharpest decline in the decadal growth rate from 21.54% in 1991-2001 to 17.64% in 2001-2011”.
- “The wanted fertility in India as per National Family Health Survey IV is only 1.8 as against the actual fertility of 2.2 prevailing at that time, indicating that couples on an average do not want more than two children
10 Facts for Prelims
Epigenetics
- Epigenetics is the biochemical changes dictating expressivity of a gene in a cell