Daily Current Affairs : 1st January

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. National Infrastructure Pipeline
2. Forest Fires
3. Department of Military Affairs
4. Indian History Congress
5. Facts for Prelims

1 . National Infrastructure Pipeline

Context : Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has outlined plans to invest more than ₹102 lakh crore on infrastructure projects by 2024-25, with the Centre, States and the private sector to share the capital expenditure in a 39:39:22 formula.

Background

• On Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced plans to invest ₹100 lakh crore on modern infrastructure. This is the expenditure needed to achieve a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25, according to an official statement.
• A task force of senior bureaucrats chaired by Economic Affairs Secretary Atanu Chakraborty then identified ₹102 lakh crore projects in 18 States as part of a National Infrastructure Pipeline. 

Details of the plan

• The investment is phased over a six-year period, including the current financial year. The plan calls for a ₹13.6 lakh crore investment in 2019-20
• The funds would come from budgetary and extra-budgetary resources, as well as funds raised from the market and internal accruals of the relevant state-owned companies
• Almost a quarter of the capital expenditure is going to the energy sector, with ₹24.5 lakh crore expected to be invested in power, renewable energy, atomic energy and petroleum and natural gas.
• The other major focus areas are roads (19%) and railways (13%), urban (16%) and rural (8%) infrastructure, and irrigation (8%). Social infrastructure, including health and education, will get 3% of the capital expenditure, with digital communication and industrial expenditure each getting the same amount as well. Agriculture and food processing infrastructure will get one per cent of the planned capital expenditure.

2 . Forest Fires

Context : About 21.40% of forest cover in India is prone to fires, with forests in the north-eastern region and central India being the most vulnerable, the 2019 report by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) has said.

About the Study

• The finding has emerged from a study carried out by the FSI along forest fire points identified across the country from 2004 to 2017.
• The forest fire points (FFP) identified during the 13 years add up to 2,77,758. They were analysed using a moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) by overlaying the points coverage over the grid coverage of 5 km x 5 km.

Key Observations

• Extremely fire prone areas account for 3.89% of total forest cover, very highly fire prone areas account for 6.01% and highly fire prone areas for 11.50%. Together, the three categories come to 21.40 % of forest cover.
• The total number of alerts issued for each state based on MODIS data from November 2018 to June 2019 were 29,547 and interestingly, Mizoram, a small State, recorded the highest number of fire alerts (2,795). The seven States of the north-eastern region accounted for 10,210 fire alerts, which make up about one-third of alerts in the country.
• While the overall green cover has increased in the country, the forest cover in the north-east — particularly in Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland — has decreased, the fires could be one of the causes.
• Central Indian States also recorded a high number of forest fire alerts, with Madhya Pradesh accounting for 2,723 alerts; Maharashtra 2,516; Odisha 2,213 and Chattisgarh 1,008 alerts between November 2018 to June 2019. The reasons for fires here are manmade, particularly in cases where people visit forests and leave burning bidis, cigarette stubs or other inflammable materials. In cases of natural reasons, the scientist pointed to thunderstorms as the most likely cause.
• The FSI report states that uncontrolled forest fires can lead to significant loss of cover. “Studies suggest that climate change influences forest fire frequency and intensity, resulting in forests becoming increasingly inflammable

Reasons for Forest fires in North East

• One of the major reasons for forest fires in the north-east is slash-and-burn cultivation, commonly called jhoom or jhum cultivation. The fires happen between the months of January and March. The north-east has tropical evergreen forests and, unlike the dry deciduous forests of central India, these are not likely to catch fire easily

3 . Department of Military Affairs (DMA) 

Context : A Department of Military Affairs (DMA) has been created in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and it will be headed by the incoming Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Bipin Rawat

About Department of Military Affairs

• The DMA will be the fifth department in the MoD. The existing ones are the Department of Defence, the Department of Defence Production, the Department of Defence Research and Development and the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare.
• As per the guidelines, the DMA would deal with the armed forces; the integrated headquarters of the MoD, comprising the Army, Naval and Air and defence staff headquarters; the Territorial Army; and works relating to the three Services and procurement exclusive to them except capital acquisitions.
• The broad mandate of the CDS includes bringing about a jointness in “operations, logistics, transport, training, support services, communications, repairs and maintenance of the three Services, within three years of the first CDS assuming office.”
• The DMA’s mandate includes promoting jointness in procurement, training and staffing for the Services; facilitating restructuring of the military commands for optimal utilisation of resources by bringing about a jointness in operations, including through the establishment of joint/theatre commands and promoting use of indigenous equipment.
• The rank badges and accoutrements of the CDS woulf reflect jointness, integration and synergy. The CDS will have a new Peak cap, shoulder rank badges, belt buckle and a new car flag.

4 . Indian History Congress

Context : 80th session of the Indian History Congress (IHC) was held at Kannur, Kerala.

Background

• The inception of the Indian History Congress (IHC) can be traced to the efforts of scholars working on India’s ancient past as well as modern history, in a bid to counter the colonial claims, while also drawing from Western analytical methods.
• The Bharata Itihasa Samshodhaka Mandala (BISM) was one such effort that owed its origins to the stalwart Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade. He founded this institution in 1910 in Pune with the support of K C Mehendale.
• Another major institution was the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute founded in 1917 by R G Bhandarkar.
• The first All India Oriental Conference in November 1919 in Pune under the Bhandarkar Institute’s auspices focused exclusively on ancient Indian history.
• The BISM organised an All India Congress in 1935 to celebrate its silver jubilee. The event organised in the assembly hall of Parasurambhau College, Pune, was a resounding success.
• The Indian History Congress (IHC) was thus born with about 50 delegates. In his presidential address, the eminent scholar from Allahabad, Shafaat Ahmad Khan outlined the IHC’s role.
• It was to be an academy that regulated the standard of works of history produced in India and would promote impartial and substantive history. This commitment to a fair and scientific history, devoid of bias and politics, has remained the hallmark of the Congress.

About Indian History Congress

• Founded in 1935, the Indian History Congress(IHC) is the largest association of professional historians in South Asia.
• It has about 35000 members of which over 2000 delegates participate in its session every year. It has been holding its sessions very regularly from its inception and publishing its proceedings every year since 1935.
• Its main objective is to promote secular and scientific writing of history.

5 . Facts for Prelims

Supreme Court Judgement on Community Resources

• The Government has no right to transfer “invaluable” community resources like village water ponds to a few powerful people and industrialists for commercialisation of the property, when many areas of the country perennially face water crisis and access to drinking water is woefully inadequate, the Supreme Court has held.
• As per the Judgement “Protection of such village commons is essential to safeguard the fundamental right guaranteed by Article 21 of our Constitution. These common areas are the lifeline of village communities, and often sustain various chores and provide resources necessary for life
• The judgment came on a plea by activist-lawyer Jitendra Singh against the transfer of village ponds’ sites of Saini Village in the National Capital Region to some private industrialists by the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority.