Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE
Topics Covered
- Changes in the Water Act
- Child Safety
- Monument of National Importance
- Nazool Land
- Facts for Prelims
1 . Changes in the Water Act
Context: The Lok Sabha recently passed the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act, 2024.
What is the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974
- The Act was the first piece of legislation in independent India that identified the need to have an institutional structure to address contamination of water bodies.
- It led to the creation, in 1974, of the Central Pollution Control Boards (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCB) that were charged with monitoring and preventing public water resources from getting contaminated by sewage and industrial effluents.
- This Act made it mandatory for industrial units to get permission from their respective State boards before setting up factories and submitting themselves to checks on whether their manufacturing and other processes were complying with prescribed norms.
- It was enacted with a view to maintaining and restoring wholesomeness of our water bodies. One of the mandates of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is to collect, collate and disseminate technical and statistical data relating to water pollution.
- While the CPCB is empowered to conduct checks and provide guidance on technical standards to be adhered to, the SPCB files cases and is expected to enforce compliance.
- Violating the provisions of the Water Act can mean industries being shut down; monetary fines as well as imprisonment of up to six years. Yet, there have been no instances of companies or people in India having been imprisoned due to environmental violations.
What are the amendments?
- Water is a State subject, and the Centre cannot directly pass legislative laws influencing water management. However, the Centre can create legislation, if two or more States demand it, and this can be made applicable by States over their territories if they adopt the legislation in their Assemblies. The amended version of the Act, passed by both Houses of Parliament, will currently apply to Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan and the Union territories. The original Act, passed in 1974, is applicable in 25 States
- it removes the provisions of imprisonment for several violations, deemed “minor”, and replaces them with fines, to the tune of ₹10,000 extending up to ₹15 lakh.
- As per the original Act, the SPCB’s permission is needed for establishing any industry or treatment plant, which could discharge sewage into a water body, sewer, or land. In the amendment, the Bill specifies that the Centre in consultation with the CPCB, may exempt certain categories of industrial plants from obtaining such consent. However, operating or establishing an industrial unit without SPCB consent can still land one in jail for six years along with a fine.
- The Bill also adds that the Centre may issue guidelines for the grant, refusal, or cancellation of consent granted by the SPCB. It also penalises tampering with monitoring devices used in determining whether any industry or treatment plant can be set up. The penalty will be between ₹10,000 and ₹15 lakh.
- It also empowers the Centre to frame rules to select the chairpersons of SPCBs and frame guidelines that States can follow on matters for establishing industries and new operating processes.
What has been the response?
- Explaining the rationale behind the amendments, Environment Minister, said outdated rules and regulations caused a “trust deficit.
- The imprisonment provisions for minor violations, which are simple infringements and did not lead to any injury to humans or damage to the environment, often caused “harassment” to businesses and citizens and was not in consonance with the spirit of ease of living and ease of doing business.
- In discussions on the Act in the Lok Sabha, Members of Opposition parties raised concerns that the amendments weakened the laws that protected rivers and water bodies from industrial pollution. They argued that the fear of imprisonment acted as an effective deterrent to industrial units that were lax with complying with strict regulations.
2 . Child Safety
Context: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg provided a public apology to parents whose children were victims of online predators during a Congressional hearing, that could be described as hostile to not just Meta, but other tech majors including X, TikTok, Snapchat, and Discord.
What are the issues with children’s safety online?
- Tech majors are increasingly finding themselves in the midst of a maelstrom of protests across the world, not just over privacy concerns, but also with the security of users online. Across the world, parents and activists are aggressively advancing the agenda of having the tech companies take responsibility, or provide platforms that are ‘safe by design’ for children and young users.
- A UNICEF report of last year, ‘The Metaverse, Extended Reality and Children’, attempted an analysis of how virtual environments may evolve and how they are likely to influence children and young adults.
- These technologies do offer many potential benefits for children, such as in the areas of education and health.
Are the risks significant?
- The report points out that the potential risks to children are significant.
- These include safety concerns such as exposure to graphic sexual content, bullying, sexual harassment and abuse, which in immersive virtual environments can feel more ‘real’ than on current platforms.
- Further, vast amounts of data, including about non-verbal behaviour are collected, potentially allowing a handful of large tech companies to facilitate hyper-personalised profiling, advertising and increased surveillance, impacting children’s privacy, security, other rights and freedom.
- While the complete immersion in an alternate reality which Metaverse promises is still not here, there are multiple virtual environments and games that are not fully immersive, and yet indicative of dangers in coping with that world.
- there were reports in the media about how children were using Artificial Intelligence to generate indecent child abuse images.
- Then there is the mental health aspect, with children facing the prospect of trauma, soliciting and abuse online, which can leave deep psychological scars that impact lives in the real world too.
- Innocuous and innocent sharing of images online can also be twisted by depraved predators. End-to-end encryption is essential to protect the information that children share online.
What about the reach of generative AI?
- The Davos World Economic Forum in a paper explained that generative AI brings potential opportunities, such as homework assistance, easy-to-understand explanations of difficult concepts, and personalised learning experiences that can adapt to a child’s learning style and speed.
- For children with disabilities, a world opens up as they can interface and co-create with digital systems in new ways through text, speech or images.
- However, generative AI could also be used by bad actors or inadvertently cause harm or society-wide disruptions at the cost of children’s prospects and well-being.
- Generative AI has been shown to instantly create text-based disinformation indistinguishable from, and more persuasive than, human-generated content. AI-generated images are sometimes indistinguishable from reality. Children are vulnerable to the risks of mis/disinformation as their cognitive capacities are still developing.
- There is also a debate about how interacting with chatbots that have a human-like tone will impact young minds.
What can be done to keep children safe online?
- The primary responsibility is that of the tech companies who will have to incorporate safety by design.
- The proceedings of the Congressional hearings have made it obvious that these companies are fully cognisant of the extent to which their apps and systems impact children negatively.
- Drawing on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF offers guidance that lists nine requirements for child-centred AI, including support for children’s development and well-being, and protecting children’s data and privacy.
- UNICEF recommends that tech companies apply the highest existing data protection standards to children’s data in the metaverse and virtual environments.
- In addition, governments have the burden of assessing and adjusting regulatory frameworks periodically to ensure that such technologies do not violate children’s rights, and use their might to address harmful content and behaviour inimical to children online.
- Ultimately, everyone must start from the assumption that all the rules that exist in the real world to protect children, should also prevail online.
3 . Monument of National Importance
Context: Heritage enthusiasts in Uttar Pradesh lament condition of monuments in State capital even as the High Court directs the administration to remove encroachments from protected sites; officials say legal action is being taken to clear encroachers.
What is Monument of National Importance
- A monument or a site is declared to be of National Importance by the Archaeological Survey of India provided it meets the following requirements:
- The monument or archaeological site is not less than 100 years old.
- It has special historical, archaeological or artistic interest, making it worthy of declaration as of national importance.
- It qualifies under specified provisions of definition of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
- The interested public do not have major objections to such declaration.
- The authenticity and integrity of the ancient monument or archaeological site and remains have not been damaged.
- It is free from major encumbrances.
- The central government maintains national monuments, while the state government maintains state monuments.
About National Monument Authority?
- National Monuments Authority (NMA) under the Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India has been setup as per provisions of The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains AMASR (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010 which was enacted in March 2010.
Functions and powers of National Monument Authority
- Make recommendations to the Central Government for grading and classifying protected monuments and protected areas declared as of national importance under sections 3 and 4, before the commencement of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010.
- Make recommendations to the Central Government for grading and classifying protected monuments and protected areas which may be declared after the commencement of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010, as of national importance under section 4;
- Oversee the working of the competent authorities;
- To suggest measures for implementation of the provisions of this Act;
- To consider the impact of large-scale development projects, including public projects and projects essential to the public which may be proposed in the regulated areas and make recommendations in respect thereof to the competent authority;
- To make recommend actions to the competent authority for grant of permission.
4 . Nazool Land
Context : Violence erupted in the city of Haldwani in Uttarakhand’s Nainital district on Thursday (February 8), after the administration conducted a demolition drive at the site of a mosque and madrasa allegedly on Nazool land, killing five and injuring many more.
What is Nazool land?
- Nazool land is owned by the government but most often not directly administered as state property. The state generally allots such land to any entity on lease for a fixed period, generally between 15 and 99 years.
- In case the lease term is expiring, one can approach the authority to renew the lease by submitting a written application to the Revenue Department of the local development authority. The government is free to either renew the lease or cancel it — taking back Nazool land.
- In almost all major cities of India, Nazool land has been allotted to different entities for a variety of different purposes.
How did Nazool land emerge?
- During British rule, kings and kingdoms which opposed the British frequently revolted against them, leading to several battles between them and the British Army. Upon defeating these kings in battle, the British would often take their land away from them.
- After India got Independence, the British vacated these lands. But with kings and royals often lacking proper documentation to prove prior ownership, these lands were marked as Nazool land — to be owned by the respective state governments.
How does the government use Nazool land?
- The government generally uses Nazool land for public purposes like building schools, hospitals, Gram Panchayat buildings, etc. Several cities in India have also seen large tracts of land denoted as Nazool land used for housing societies, generally on lease.
- Very often, the state does not directly administer Nazool land, but rather leases it to different entities.
How is Nazool land governed?
- While several states have brought in government orders for the purpose of framing rules for Nazool land, The Nazool Lands (Transfer) Rules, 1956 is the law mostly used for Nazool land adjudication
5 . Facts for Prelims
WINDS
- The Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare have initiated the weather information network and data system (WINDS) to generate long-term, hyperlocal weather data.
- The system will promote the data for wider applications in agriculture and other sectors, it will help in creating a national-level data base, and it will assist in establishing the protocols required to access the country-wide data by the various public and private concerns.
- Under this programme, more than 200,000 ground stations (AWS- Automatic Weather Stations and ARG-Automatic Rain Gauges) will be installed, which can help in enhancing weather data utilisation and thus in improving weather predictions and decision making.
Precision Approach Radar (PAR)
- Chief of Naval Staff Admiral inaugurated a Precision Approach Radar (PAR) at INS Utkrosh in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- It will enable highly accurate horizontal and vertical guidance to land an aircraft safely in low visibility conditions, such as heavy rain and fog.
- It is a type of radar guidance system designed to provide lateral and vertical guidance to an aircraft pilot for landing, until the landing threshold is reached.
High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS)
- Scientists at the CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) successfully tested an unmanned aerial vehicle, called High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS), at Challakere, Karnataka.
- HAPs are like drones, except that they are expected to be in the stratosphere, well above where commercial planes fly, and can be powered enough by solar cells and a battery-system to be able to hover for days on end.
- A fully working HAPS can be used for a variety of applications, from surveillance to beaming 5G waves.
Brumation
- It is a period of dormancy or slowed activity in reptiles, much like hibernation in mammals.
- It typically occurs during colder months, when temperatures drop and food becomes scarce.
- Reptiles enter a state of brumation to conserve energy and survive these adverse environmental conditions.
- During brumation, reptiles may retreat to underground burrows, rock crevices or other sheltered areas where temperatures are relatively more stable. Their metabolism slows significantly, allowing them to go weeks or even months without eating.