Daily Current Affairs: 12th November 2021

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics covered

1. India’s Five fold plan to achieve Net zero emission
2. Privilege motion
3. Kartarpur Corridor
4. Facts for Prelims

1.India’s Five fold plan to achieve Net zero emission

Context: India has demanded a trillion dollars over the next decade from developed countries to adapt to, and mitigate, the challenges arising from global warming, and has kept this as a condition for delivering on climate commitments made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a senior official who is part of ongoing climate agreement negotiations in Glasgow told The Hindu.

About India’s Five fold Plan to achieve Net Zero Emission

• At the 26th Conference of Parties (CoP26), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a five-fold strategy — termed as the panchamrita — to achieve this feat. These five points include: 
  • India will get its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatt (GW) by 2030
  • India will meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030
  • India will reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now onwards till 2030
  • By 2030, India will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by less than 45 per cent
  • So, by the year 2070, India will achieve the target of Net Zero
• India’s five-fold plan (see box) aims at reducing the carbon intensity of its economy and eventually achieving net zero by 2070.
• Net zero is when a country’s carbon emissions are offset by taking out equivalent carbon from the atmosphere, so that emissions in balance are zero. However, achieving net zero by a specific date means specifying a year, also called a peaking year, following which emissions will begin to fall.

India’s NDCs

• NDCs are voluntary targets that countries set for themselves, which describe the quantum and kind of emission cuts they will undertake over a fixed period to contribute to preventing runaway global warming.
• India’s last NDC was submitted following the 2015 Paris deal. Before COP26 began on November 1, nations were expected to provide updated NDCs. India, however, did not furnish one. He added that developing countries, as a group, had demanded $1 trillion annually. Mr. Gupta did not, however, clarify the members of this group, or if India had formally communicated these demands, or if they had emerged as part of the negotiations.

2 . Privilege Motion

Context : Congress chief whip in the Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh on Thursday moved a privilege motion against Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy over the appointment of former MP Tarun Vijay as the Chairperson of the National Monuments Authority, a post for which, Mr. Ramesh said, Mr. Vijay was not qualified.

About Privilege Motion

• Parliamentary privileges are certain rights and immunities enjoyed by members of Parliament, individually and collectively, so that they can “effectively discharge their functions”.
• When any of these rights and immunities are disregarded, the offence is called a breach of privilege and is punishable under law of Parliament. A notice is moved in the form of a motion by any member of either House against those being held guilty of breach of privilege.
• Each House also claims the right to punish as contempt actions which, while not breach of any specific privilege, are offences against its authority and dignity.

Where do these rules find mention?

• The rules governing privilege motion are mentioned as Rule 222 in Chapter 20 of the Lok Sabha Rule Book and as Rule 187 in Chapter 16 of the Rajya Sabha Rule Book.
• According to the rules, an MP may raise a question of breach of privilege with the Speaker or the Chairperson, notices for which have to be sent to them before 10am.
• The breach of privilege could be of another MP, a committee or of the House. However, the rules mandate the notice should be regarding an incident which has occurred recently and that it needs the intervention of the House.

What is the authority of the Speaker/ Chairperson vis-à-vis privilege motion?

• The first level of scrutiny that a privilege motion has to go through is that of the Speaker, in case the motion is moved in the Lok Sabha, and that of the Chairperson when a motion is moved in the Rajya Sabha. The Speaker/Chairperson may decide on the privilege motion at their own discretion or they may refer it to a parliamentary committee. If the Speaker/Chairperson admits the motion, then the concerned member is given an opportunity to explain themselves by making a short statement.

What if the Speaker/Chairperson refers the motion to a parliamentary committee?

• In the Lok Sabha, the Speaker nominates a committee of privileges which consists of 15 members proportionate to the strengths of various political parties in the Lower House of Parliament.
• They prepare a report which is then presented before the House for its consideration. The Speaker may allow a half-an-hour debate on the report before she/he passed the final orders.
• The Speaker can also direct that the report be tabled before the House and a resolution may be unanimously passed on the breach of privilege. Currently, Congress MP PC Chacko is the chairperson of the privilege committee.
• The process is similar in the Upper House, except that the privilege committee consists of 10 members and is headed by the deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha.

Have privilege motions been passed in Parliament earlier?

A number of privilege motions have been passed in Parliament earlier, with most of them being rejected and very few demanding penal action.

• The most significant privilege motion was passed against Indira Gandhi in 1978. The then Home Minister Charan Singh had moved a resolution of breach of privilege against her on the basis of observations made by Justice Shah Commission, which investigated the excesses during the Emergency. Mrs Gandhi, who had just won the Lok Sabha elections from Chikmagalur, was expelled from the House.
• In another case, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy was expelled from Rajya Sabha in 1976 for bringing disgrace to Parliament through his interviews to foreign publications.
• In 1961, editor of ‘Blitz’ RK Karanjia was indicted with gross breach of privilege after the publication put out an article that publicly castigated Congress veteran JB Kripalani. Karanjia was reprimanded in Lok Sabha and the gallery pass of his correspondent was annulled.

3 . Kartarpur Corridor

Context : A group of pilgrims from India will visit several Sikh religious shrines in Pakistan next week, as per Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The pilgrims, however, will not be using the Kartarpur Corridor for the visit, it has been learned.

About the News

• “In view of the significance of Gurupurab and sentiments associated with it, it has been decided that a Jatha of around 1,500 pilgrims will visit Pakistan from November 17-26, 2021 via the Attari-Wagah ICP,
• The pilgrims are scheduled to visit Gurdwara Shri Darbar Sahib, Gurudwara Shri Panja Sahib, Gurdwara Shri Dehra Sahib, Gurdwara Shri Nankana Sahib, Gurdwara Shri Kartarpur Sahib and Gurdwara Shri Sachha Sauda. Pakistan had earlier denied permission for visit of Sikh pilgrims from India twice in June this year

Background

• Guru Nanak Dev ji had assembled the Sikh community at Kartarpur and lived there for 18 years till 1539. The Gurudwara Darbar Sahib is built where Guru Nanak Dev Ji took his last breath. 
• To mark Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s 550^th birth anniversary in 2019, the Government of India decided on 22^nd Nov 2018 to build the Kartarpur road Corridor upto the international border between India and Pakistan as an integrated development project.
• The Corridor will let Sikh pilgrims visit the iconic Gurudwara Darbar Sahib at  Kartarpur  on the banks of river Ravi in Pakistan.

Construction of the Corridor

• India and Pakistan had announced on 15^th Nov 2018 that they will build Corridors on their respective sides to let Sikh pilgrims visit the holy shrine without visa and to help them walk across and come back without having to secure a visa. 
• The Indian side of Corridor starts from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district and extends upto International border between India and Pakistan.
• The project corridor is to be developed by National Highways Authority of India and will be  funded by Government of India.
• The project corridor is 4 lane with service road and all other appropriate amenities for pilgrims intending to visit Gurudwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur in Pakistan. 
• India has signed an Agreement with Pakistan on the modalities for operationalisation of the Kartarpur Sahib Corridor at Zero Point, International Boundary, Dera Baba Nanak

Details of the Agreement between India and Pakistan

• Indian pilgrims of all faiths and persons of Indian origin can use the corridor;
• The travel will be Visa Free;
• Pilgrims need to carry only a valid passport;
• Persons of Indian Origin need to carry OCI card along with the passport of their country;
• The Corridor is open from dawn to dusk. Pilgrims travelling in the morning will have to return on the same day;
• The Corridor will be operational throughout the year, except on notified days, to be informed in advance;
• Pilgrims will have a choice to visit as individuals or in groups, and also to travel on foot;
• India will send the list of pilgrims to Pakistan 10 days ahead of travel date. Confirmation will be sent to pilgrims 4 days before the travel date;
• The Pakistan side has assured India to make sufficient provision for ‘Langar’ and distribution of ‘Prasad’;

Importance

• This corridor will be a historical landmark between India and Pakistan and will also boost tourism as more pilgrims would visit the holy shrine throughout the year between two countries

4 . Facts for Prelims

Frederik Willem de Klerk

• Frederik Willem de Klerk OMG DMS was a South African politician and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as state president from 1989 to 1994 and as deputy president from 1994 to 1996
•  As South Africa’s last head of state from the era of white-minority rule, he and his government dismantled the apartheid system and introduced universal sufferage

Remote voting

• Remote voting refers to a mechanism that allows electors to vote from locations other than polling stations assigned to their registered constituencies ? either within the country or even abroad ? as the Election Commission focusses on the importance of “inclusiveness” in elections. With lakhs of voters unable to exercise their franchise on account of geographical barrier due to different reasons, remote voting aims to bridge that gap.

Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

• The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a regional economic forum established in 1989 to leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific. APEC’s 21 members aim to create greater prosperity for the people of the region by promoting balanced, inclusive, sustainable, innovative and secure growth and by accelerating regional economic integration.
• APEC ensures that goods, services, investment and people move easily across borders. Members facilitate this trade through faster customs procedures at borders; more favorable business climates behind the border; and aligning regulations and standards across the region. For example, APEC’s initiatives to synchronize regulatory systems is a key step to integrating the Asia-Pacific economy. A product can be more easily exported with just one set of common standards across all economies.
• India is not a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC).
• APEC membership includes: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; People’s Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; the Philippines; the Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; the United States of America; Vietnam.

Current Account Deficit

• Current Account Deficit or CAD is the shortfall between the money flowing in on exports, and the money flowing out on imports. Current Account Deficit (or Surplus) measures the gap between the money received into and sent out of the country on the trade of goods and services and also the transfer of money from domestically-owned factors of production abroad.