Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE
Topics Covered
- Green Tax
- Fifth round of seroprevalence survey
- Law Commission
- Report on Ageing Dams
- Scientific Social Responsibility
- Padma Awards
- Facts for Prelims
1 . Green Tax
Context : The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has approved a proposal to levy a ‘green tax’ on old vehicles.
About Green Tax
- Green tax will be charged as a penalty on old vehicles for polluting the environment
- It will be much steeper if you reside in one of the more polluted cities in India.
- Personal vehicles will be charged a tax at the time of renewal of Registration Certification after 15 years.
- The levy may differ depending on fuel (petrol/diesel) and type of vehicle.
- The proposal will now go to the States for consultation before it is formally notified. It includes 10-25% of road tax on transport vehicles older than eight years at the time of renewal of fitness certificate.
- The proposal on green tax also includes steeper penalty of up to 50% of road tax for older vehicles registered in some of the highly polluted cities in the country
- The policy will come into effect from April 1, 2022.
2 . Fifth round of seroprevalence survey
Context : The outcome of the fifth round of seroprevalence survey has indicated that Delhi population could be heading towards attaining herd immunity against COVID-19 infection
About Seroprevalence Survey
About Herd Immunity
- Herd immunity implies that in any set of people in a community, after becoming affected by the virus, a lot many of them become immune to it on account of antibodies developed in response to it. And, hence, such people become a protective layer between the infected person and the unaffected people, thereby breaking the chain of viral transmission.
Findings of the fifth edition
- Survey has indicated that Delhi population could be heading towards attaining herd immunity
- The survey has found that in one district, 50-60% of the sample population have developed antibodies
- Experts say herd immunity is said to have been developed in a population segment if 50-60% of those are found to have the presence of antibodies in a seroprevalence survey.
Previous Surveys
- The first seroprevalence survey, done from June 27 to July 10 by the Delhi government in association with the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), had used 21,387 samples and found that around 23% of the people surveyed had an exposure to the novel coronavirus.
- The exercise in August showed 29.1% people had antibodies. Also, 79 of the 257 people who had tested positive and then recovered, and were part of the survey done in the first week of August, however, did not have the antibodies, according to a report released later.
- In the survey in September and October, the figures stood at 25.1% and 25.5%.
3 . Law Commission
Context : The Supreme Court asked the Home and Law Ministries to explain the nearly three-year-long lapse in making appointments to the Law Commission. The posts of Chairperson and Members have been vacant ever since the 21st Law Commission. The government approved the constitution of the 22nd Law Commission on February 19 last. However, it has not appointed the Chairperson and Members till date.
Background
- Since the third decade of the nineteenth century, Law Commissions were constituted by the Government from time to time and were empowered to recommend legislative reforms with a view to clarify, consolidate and codify particular branches of law where the Government felt the necessity for it.
- The first such Commission was established in 1834 under the Charter Act of 1833 under the Chairmanship of Lord Macaulay which recommended codification of the Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code and a few other matters.
- Thereafter, the second, third and fourth Law Commissions were constituted in 1853, 1861 and 1879 respectively which, during a span of fifty years contributed a great deal to enrich the Indian Statute Book with a large variety of legislations on the pattern of the then prevailing English Laws adapted to Indian conditions.
- The Indian Code of Civil Procedure, the Indian Contract Act, the Indian Evidence Act, the Transfer of Property Act. etc. are products of the labour of the first four Law Commissions.
Post Independence
- Though the Constitution stipulated the continuation of pre-Constitution Laws (Article 372) till they are amended or repealed, there had been demands in Parliament and outside for establishing a Central Law Commission to recommend revision and updating of the inherited laws to serve the changing needs of the country.
- The Government of India reacted favourably and established the First Law Commission of Independent India in 1955 with the then Attorney-General of India, Mr. M. C. Setalvad, as its Chairman.
- Since then twenty one more Law Commissions have been appointed, each with a three-year term and with different terms of reference.
About Law Commission
- Law Commission of India is an executive body established by an order of the Government of India. Its major function is to work for legal reform.
- Its membership primarily comprises legal experts, who are entrusted a mandate by the Government.
- The Commission is established for a fixed tenure and works as an advisory body to the Ministry of Law and Justice
- The Reports of the Law Commission are considered by the Ministry of Law in consultation with the concerned administrative Ministries and are submitted to Parliament from time to time. They are cited in Courts, in academic and public discourses and are acted upon by concerned Government Departments depending on the Government’s recommendations.
- Former Supreme Court judge Balbir Singh Chauhan was appointed Chairman of the 21st Law Commission. The 21st commission, under Justice B.S. Chauhan (retd), had submitted reports and working papers on key issues such as simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies and a uniform civil code
4 . Report on Ageing Dams
Context : Over a thousand large dams in India will be roughly 50-years-old in 2025 and such aging structures across the world pose a growing threat, according to a United Nations (UN) report which notes that by 2050, most people on Earth will live downstream of tens of thousands of dams built in the 20th century.
About the Report
- The report, titled ‘Ageing water infrastructure: An emerging global risk’ and compiled by United Nations University’s Canadian-based Institute for Water, Environment and Health
- The analysis includes dam decommissioning or ageing case studies from the U.S., France, Canada, India, Japan, and Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Key Observations about India
- In India, there are over 1,115 large dams that will be roughly 50-years-old in 2025, more than 4,250 large dams in the country will be over 50-years-old in 2050 and 64 large dams will be more than 150-years-old in 2050.
- The report said that approximately 3.5 million people are at risk if India’s Mullaperiyar dam in Kerala, built over 100 years ago, “were to fail”.
- “The dam, in a seismically active area, shows significant structural flaws and its management is a contentious issue between Kerala and Tamil Nadu States.
Key observation about the overall dam health
- According to the report most of the 58,700 large dams worldwide were constructed between 1930 and 1970 with a design life of 50 to 100 years.
- According to report at 50 years, a large concrete dam “would most probably begin to express signs of ageing.” Ageing signs include increasing cases of dam failures, progressively increasing costs of dam repair and maintenance, increasing reservoir sedimentation, and loss of a dam’s functionality and effectiveness, “strongly interconnected” manifestations
- By 2050, most people on Earth will live downstream of tens of thousands of large dams built in the 20th century, many of them already operating at or beyond their design life
- According to the report, the world is unlikely to witness another large dam-building revolution as in the mid-20th century, but dams constructed then will inevitably be showing their age.
- The report said that 32,716 large dams (55% of the world’s total) are found in just four Asian countries: China, India, Japan, and South Korea – a majority of which will reach the 50-year threshold relatively soon.
- More than 85% of U.S. dams operating beyond life expectancy
Decommissioning of Dams
- Rising frequency and severity of flooding and other extreme environmental events can overwhelm a dam’s design limits and accelerate a dam’s ageing process. Decisions about decommissioning, therefore, need to be taken in the context of a changing climate
- There are also strong concerns regarding the environmental and social impacts of dams, and large dams in particular, as well as emerging ideas and practices on the alternative types of water storage, nature-based solutions, and types of energy production beyond hydropower,
- Public safety, escalating maintenance costs, reservoir sedimentation, and restoration of a natural river ecosystem are among the reasons driving dam decommissioning, the report said, adding that overall, dam decommissioning should be seen as equally important as dam building in the overall planning process on water storage infrastructure developments.
5 . Scientific Social Responsibility Policy
Context : The Ministry of Science and Technology has drafted a policy on the lines of the mandatory corporate social responsibility model for the country’s scientific community, with a senior official saying this was necessitated by scientists’ “isolation” from societal needs. The “Scientific Social Responsibility” policy, under consultation for a year now, has been finalised and will soon be sent to the Union cabinet for approval.
About Scientific Social Responsibility policy
- As per the draft policy, every “knowledge worker” has to devote at least 10 person-days each year to SSR activity, which can include giving lectures in schools and colleges, sharing infrastructure, conducting skill development workshops, and coming up with solutions to local environmental or health issues.
- Beneficiaries can include students, school and college teachers, local bodies, communities, women’s groups, NGOs and MSMEs, among others.
- “While the knowledge worker would be given wide latitude in choosing the SSR activity, it should necessarily pertain to the transmission of scientific knowledge to society
- The policy envisages an SSR monitoring system in each institution to assess institutional projects and individual activity. Institutes are also to publish their SSR activity as part of their annual reports. Individual SSR work is to be given due weightage in “performance evaluation of the knowledge worker, such as the performance-based assessment system the output of university and college teachers”.
Importance
- The idea is to create linkages between science and society. Our institutes have certain resources at their disposal, both infrastructural as well as knowledge-based, and these resources can be used to develop new direct interfaces with society.
6 . Padma and Gallantry Awards
Context : Colonel B Santhosh Babu, Commanding Officer of 16 Bihar who was in Galwan and lost his life along with 19 others in the violent clash with China’s PLA in June last year has been posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra. Late singer and music composer S.P. Balasubramaniam, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiduddin Khan have been conferred India’s second highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan.
Padma awards
- Padma Awards were instituted in the year 1954. Except for brief interruptions during the years 1977 to 1980 and 1993 to 1997, these awards have been announced every year on Republic Day. The award is given in three categories, viz. Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, in the decreasing order of importance.
- Padma Vibhushan for “exceptional and distinguished service”. Padma Vibhushan is the second-highest civilian award in India.
- Padma Bhushan for “distinguished service of a high order”. Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in India .
- Padma Shri is awarded for “distinguished service”. Padma Shri is the fourth-highest civilian award in India.
Details of the Award
- The decoration comprises a sanad (Certificate) issued under the hand and seal of the President and a Medallion.
- The recipients are also given a replica of the medallion, which they can wear during any ceremonial/State functions etc., if they desire.
Arjuna Award
- The award given by the Government of India to recognize outstanding achievement in National sports.
Dada Saheb Phalke Awards
- The Dada Saheb Phalke Award is India’s highest award in cinema given annually by the Government of India for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema.
Wartime gallantry awards
- Param Vir Chakra — Highest military award, equivalent to the Victoria Cross (which was replaced once India gained its independence).
- Maha Vir Chakra – Maha Vir Chakra is the second highest military decoration in India and is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air.
- Vir Chakra – Third in precedence in the awards for wartime gallantry.
Peacetime gallantry awards
- Ashok Chakra Award – An Indian military decoration awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield. It is the peacetime equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra.
- Kirti Chakra – Second in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards.
- Shaurya Chakra – Third in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards.
7 . Facts for Prelims
Risa
- The traditional Tripuri female attire comprises three parts — risa, rignai and rikutu.
- Risa is a handwoven cloth used as a female upper garment, and also as headgear, a stole, or a present to express respect. As an upper garment, it is wrapped around the torso twice.
- Rignai is primarily worn as the lower garment and literally translates into ‘to wear’. It can be understood as an indigenous variety of the sari of mainland India.
- Rituku is mainly used as a wrap, or like a ‘chunri’ or a ‘pallu’ of the Indian saree. It is also used to cover the head of newly married Tripuri women.
- These garments were traditionally handwoven. Handloom remains an integral part of the Tripuri household, even with the advent of powerloom-manufactured garments.