Daily Current Affairs : 25/1/2019

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2018
2. Fall Army worm
3. India – South Africa Relationship
4. Difference between Budget, Interim Budget and Vote on Account
5. Nitrogen Pollution

1 . Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2018

Context : The Supreme Court refused to stay the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2018, that nullified a judgment that diluted the stringent provisions of the law to protect Dalits. The government brought in the amendments, arguing that the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes still faced social stigma, poverty and humiliation.

Background

• The directions of Hon’ble Supreme Court in their judgment  dated 20.03.2018  in Criminal Appeal No.  416 of 2018(Dr. Subhash Kashinath Mahajan Vs the State of Maharashtra and Another) amount to amending the PoA Act and have diluted the provisions of the PoA Act.
• Supreme Court stated that for persons accused of committing an offence under the Act, approval of the Senior Superintendent of Police will be required before an arrest is made.  Further, the Deputy Superintendent of Police may conduct a preliminary enquiry to find out whether there is a prima facie case under the Act. 

Issues with the Judgement

• The directions of the Hon’ble Court to conduct a preliminary inquiry within seven days by the Dy. S.P. concerned to find out whether the allegations make out a case under the PoA Act and that arrest in appropriate cases may be made only after approval by the S.S.P., would delay registration of First Information Report (FIR) and will impede strict enforcement of the provision of the POA Act.
• It may also be difficult to get the preliminary inquiry conducted within seven days as sufficient number of Dy. S.P level officers are usually not in place. Typically, the Dy. S.P. are located at the district level and not at taluk/block level.
• Other repercussions of the said directions of the Hon’ble Court are that delay in registration of FIR would result in delay in payment of admissible relief amount to the victims of atrocities admissible only on registration of FIR.

Why a Stringent Law is necessary

• According to the data from the National Crime Records Bureau, there has been no decrease in the crimes.
• The number of cases registered under the Act during 2014 was 47,124; it was 44,839 in 2015 and 47,338 in 2016.
• During 2014, 28.8% of the cases ended in conviction, 71.2% in acquittal and 85.3% were pending.
• The next year, 25.8% of the cases ended in conviction, 74.2% in acquittal and 87.3% were pending.
• In 2016, there was 24.9% conviction, 75.1% acquittal and 89.3% pending.

About the Amendment

• The Bill states that the investigating officer will not require the approval of any authority for the arrest of an accused.  Further, it provides that a preliminary enquiry will not be required for the registration of a First Information Report against a person accused under the Act.
• The Act states that persons accused of committing an offence under the Act cannot apply for anticipatory bail.  The Bill seeks to clarify that this provision will apply despite any judgements or orders of a court that provide otherwise.

2 . Fall Army Worm

Context : After coping with successive droughts in the past few years, Sri Lanka’s maize farmers are now battling a tiny but powerful enemy the fall armyworm.

About Fall Army Worm

• In recent months, fall armyworm infestations were reported in different parts of India, including Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Gujarat.
• In Srilanka the fall army worm – from the moth species and known by the scientific name Spodoptera frugiperda – is said to have come from India, carried by strong winds across the Palk Strait
• It mainly
• affects the Maize crop. Maize is among the top seasonal crops produced in Sri Lanka, harvested in the island’s two seasons of cultivation — the ‘Maha’ and ‘Yala’, linked to the two monsoons.
• The fall army worm has acquired the local name sena (army) worm, as it comes in big groups and attacks crops, particularly maize.

3 . India – South Africa Relationship

Context : India and South Africa will update their Strategic Partnership by agreeing on a comprehensive “roadmap” on the way ahead, as well as relaxing visa restrictions

Historical Background

• India’s relations with South Africa date back several centuries. India was at the forefront of the international community in its support to the antiapartheid movement; it was the first country to sever trade relations with the apartheid Government (in 1946) and subsequently imposed a complete – diplomatic, commercial, cultural and sports – embargo on South Africa.
• India’s relations with South Africa were restored after a gap of over four decades with the opening of a Cultural Centre in Johannesburg in May 1993. Diplomatic and consular relations with South Africa were restored in November 1993 during the visit of the then South African Foreign Minister Pik Botha to India.

Political Relations

• Against the background of India’s consistent support to the anti-apartheid struggle, there has been a steady consolidation of our close and friendly ties with South Africa, bilaterally and through BRICS, IBSA and other Fora.
• A number of bilateral agreements have been concluded between the two countries since the assumption of diplomatic relations in 1993 in diverse areas ranging from economic and commercial cooperation, defence, culture, heath, human settlements, public administration, science and technology and education.
• India’s Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC) has been a useful medium of promoting cooperation in development of human resources.

Red Fort Declaration

• The year 2017 marks the 20 years of signing of the Red Fort Declaration for Strategic Partnership between India and South Africa.
• The Declaration was signed in March 1997 by the Prime Minister of India Shri Deva Gowda and President of South Africa Nelson Mandela in New Delhi.

IBSA & BRICS Initiative

• On June 6, 2003, the Foreign Ministers of India, Brazil and South Africa met in Brasilia and agreed to set up a Dialogue Forum for regular consultations.
• Subsequently, in 2006, this was upgraded to Summit level; five Summits have been held so far, the last in Pretoria in October 2011.
• South Africa was also admitted as a member of the BRICS grouping and attended the BRICS meeting held in April 2011 at Sanya

Commercial & Economic Relations

• There is substantial potential for trade growth between the two countries. Exports from India to South Africa include vehicles and components thereof, transport equipment, drugs and pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, footwear, dyes and intermediates, chemicals, textiles, rice, gems and jewellery, etc.
• Import from South Africa to India include gold, steam coal, copper ores & concentrates, phosphoric acid, manganese ore, aluminum ingots & other minerals.

ITEC / ICCR scholarships

• The ITEC programme has contributed to improving skills and enhancing knowledge of nearly 1000 South African nationals since 1993-94, in areas such as Rural Development, Agriculture, Information and Communication Technology, Poverty Alleviation, Mass Communication, Journalism, Entrepreneurship and other multi-skill development training aimed at increasing competiveness in the job market.

Indian Community

• The major part of the Indian origin community came to South Africa from 1860 onwards as farm labour to serve as field hands and mill operatives in the sugar and other agricultural plantations of Natal (which was then a British colony).
• Most of these initial migrants were from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh with some from eastern UP and Bihar. A second wave of Indians came after 1880. These were the “passenger Indians” – so-called because they paid their fares as passengers on board a steamship bound for South Africa.This was the community of traders who mainly hailed from Gujarat.
• The South African Indian origin community numbers around 1.5 million and constitutes about 3% of South Africa’s total population. About 80% of the Indian community lives in the province of KwaZulu Natal, about 15% in the Gauteng (previously Transvaal) area and the remaining 5% in Cape Town.
• South Africans of Indian origin are well-represented in Government, business, media, legal and other professions. The year 2010 marked the 150th anniversary of the first arrival of Indians in South Africa. 2014 marked 100 years of Gandhiji’s final departure to India from South Africa; he reached India on 9th Jan 1915; this date is now commemorated annually as Pravasi Bhartiya Divas.

4 . Difference between Budget, Interim Budget and Vote on Account

Context : AMID SPECULATION that the NDA government may present a regular budget instead of a vote-on-account, the main opposition Congress on Thursday said it will oppose in Parliament presentation of a full-fledged budget as it would be violative of parliamentary “conventions, procedures and traditions”. It argued that the government does not have the electoral mandate and legitimacy to present a sixth budget.

Budget

• The Union government’s Annual Financial Statement or the Statement of the Estimated Receipts and Expenditure for each financial year is popularly known as the Budget. Through Budget, the government prioritises its total spending, categorised under two broad heads: plan and non-plan.
• Under Article 112 of the Constitution, the budget, which is presented by means of the Financial Bill and Appropriation Bill, has to be passed by the House before it can come into effect on April 1, the start of financial year.

What’s an Interim Budget?

• An Interim Budget is not the same as a ‘Vote on Account’. While a ‘Vote on Account’ deals only with the expenditure side of the government’s budget, an Interim Budget is a complete set of accounts, including both expenditure and receipts.
• An Interim Budget gives the complete financial statement, very similar to a full Budget.
• While the law does not debar the Union government from introducing tax changes, normally during an election year, successive governments have avoided making any major changes in income tax laws during an Interim Budget.

 What’s a Vote on Account?

• When the Union government needs to withdraw any money from the Consolidated Fund of India to cover its expenditure (especially during the time when elections are underway and a caretaker government is in place), it has to seek approval from Parliament.
• Article 266 of the Constitution mandates that parliamentary approval is required to draw money from the Consolidated Fund of India.
• A special provision is, therefore, made for a ‘Vote on Account’ by which the government obtains the vote of Parliament for a sum sufficient to incur expenditure on various items for a part of the year.
• This enables the government to fund its expenses for a short period of time or until a full Budget is passed.
• Normally, the ‘Vote on Account’ is taken for two months for a sum equivalent to one sixth of the estimated expenditure for the entire year under various demands for grants. But it can be for a slightly longer period of time (3-4 months) as well.
• Most importantly, a ‘Vote on Account’ cannot alter direct taxes since they need to be passed through a Finance Bill. 

Why a Vote-On-Account and not an Interim Budget?

• A government which has less time left in the Parliament usually go for vote-on-account, because it is regarded improper for an outgoing government to impose on its successor changes that may or may not be acceptable to the incoming government.

For how long can a Vote-On-Account be in force?

• The vote-on-account is normally taken for two months only. But during election year or when it is anticipated that the main Demands and Appropriation Bill will take longer time than two months, the vote-on-account may be for a period extending two months.
• Typically this period does not exceed six months, as that is the maximum gap possible between two sittings of the Parliament. Normally a vote-on-account is in operation till the full Budget is passed.

5 . Nitrogen Pollution

Context : Eighteen research institutions in India are among a group of 50 institutions — called the South Asian Nitrogen Hub (SANH) — in the United Kingdom and South Asia that have secured £20 million (about Rs. 200 crore) from the U.K. government to assess and study the quantum and impact of “nitrogen pollution” in South Asia.

Importance of Nitrogen

• Nitrogen (N) is one of the building blocks of life: it is essential for all plants and animals to survive. Nitrogen (N2) makes up almost 80% of our atmosphere, but it is an unreactive form that is not accessible to us.
• Humans and most other species on earth require nitrogen in a “fixed,” reactive form. Reactive nitrogen is necessasry for the food production process.
• Until the discovery of the Haber-Bosch process in the early 1900s, we only had access to naturally occurring sources of reactive nitrogen (such as manure and guano) for food production.
• The Haber-Bosch process an industrial process through which we can fix reactive nitrogen has allowed food production to keep up with the growing human population, but at a cost to the environment.

Impact of excess Nitrogen in the Atmosphere

• In recent decades, dynamic demographic processes resulting in an increased intensity of agricultural food production have changed the natural flow of nitrogen (N₂).
• This modification of the nitrogen cycle has led to number of changes.
• As nitrate is the most mobile form of nitrogen in soil, it is the most dangerous polluter of waters, and causes many diseases, including methaemoglobinaemia. Nitrogen makes up the bulk of the atmosphere and is harmless by itself. However, reactive forms of nitrogen like nitrate, ammonia and nitrous oxide are harmful. Nitrous oxide, like carbon dioxide, is a greenhouse gas.
• While these compounds react to form fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) closely linked to cardiovascular and respiratory illness, the problem is compounded by their mixing with water bodies, threatening drinking water quality, freshwater ecosystems and coastal zones.
• They also increase algal blooms, which kill fish by reducing oxygen levels in water, and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.

South Asian Nitrogen Hub

• South Asian Nitrogen Hub is formed with the funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under its Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).
• The Hub is one of 12 GCRF hubs announced by the UKRI to address intractable challenges in sustainable development.
• Eighteen research institutions in India are among a group of 50 institutions — called the South Asian Nitrogen Hub (SANH) 
• This Hub will develop a more coherent picture of the nitrogen cycle. It will quantify nitrogen flows and impacts and explore how to improve nitrogen management in agriculture and reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers by making better use of manure, urine and natural nitrogen fixation processes.
• In particular hub will look at nitrogen in agriculture in eight countries – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives.