Daily Current Affairs : 5/1/2019

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC Civil Services Exam

Topics Covered

1. Lokpal Act 2013
2. Climate Change Performance Index 2019
3. Mother of all bombs
4. Yutu 2
5. Data Protection Bill
6. Women’s Reservation bill
7. Electronic Voting Machine 
8. Water conservation Fee notification stayed

1 . Lokpal Act

Context : The government informed the Supreme Court on Friday that a search committee had been constituted in September 2018 for zeroing in on eligible candidates for the Lokpal, and it will frame its own rules of functioning.

About Lokpal Act of 2013

• The Bill as passed by Parliament creates a Lokpal at the centre which shall consist of a chairperson and up to eight members. Half of these members should have higher judicial experience and the other half should have experience in public administration, finance, insurance and banking laws, anti corruption and vigilance.
• It also provides that half the members of Lokpal shall be from amongst scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward castes, minority communities and women.
• The chairman and members of Lokpal shall be appointed by a selection committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Speaker of Lok Sabha, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, the Chief Justice of India or a sitting supreme court judge as nominated by the CJI and an eminent jurist to be nominated by the President based on the recommendations of the other members of the selection committee.
• The Bill specifies that the office of Lokpal shall investigate and prosecute cases of corruption.
• The jurisdiction of Lokpal extends to the Prime Minister, Ministers, current and former Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assemblies, government employees and employees of companies funded or controlled by the central or state government. Lokpal shall also have jurisdiction over institutions receiving foreign donations in excess of ten lakh rupees per year or such higher limit as specified.
• The Bill excludes, any allegation of corruption against a Member of Parliament in respect of anything said or a vote given in Parliament, from the jurisdiction of Lokpal.
• It specifies a time limit of 60 days for completion of inquiry and 6 months for completion of investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation. This period of 6 months can be extended by the Lokpal on a written request from CBI.
• Lokpal is also required to hear the explanation of the public servant before ordering an investigation. This however would not interfere with any search and seizure required to be undertaken by any agency.
• The bill also specifies that any inquiry against the Prime Minister has to be held in-camera and approved by two third of the full bench of the Lokpal.
• The Bill gives Lokpal the power of superintendence over CBI with respect to cases referred by it to CBI. It also specifies that CBI officers investigating cases referred by the Lokpal can only be transferred with the approval of the Lokpal.
• It proposes establishment of a Directorate of prosecution within CBI to be headed by Director who is an officer not below the rank of joint secretary for conduction prosecution of cases under the Lokpal Bill.
• The director of prosecution shall be appointed by the government on the recommendation of the Central Vigilance Commission.
• The CBI with the consent of Lokpal is empowered to appoint a panel of advocates, other than government advocates for conducting cases referred by Lokpal.
• The central government is entrusted with the responsibility of making funds available to CBI for conducting investigation into Lokpal referred matters. All expenses of Lokpal shall be charged to the Consolidated Fund of India.
• The legislation provides an imprisonment of up to seven years for public servants on grounds of corruption. Criminal misconduct and habitually abetting corruption has a higher penalty and would result in imprisonment up to ten years.
• Making false and frivolous complaints to Lokpal would result in a fine of up to one lakh rupees and imprisonment of up to one year.
• In addition a person who is convicted for having made a false complaint shall be liable to compensate the public servant against whom the false complaint was made. However complaints made in good faith, that is with due care, caution and a sense of responsibility will be excluded from penalty.

Why it was not implemented till now

• Though passed in 2014, the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act of 2013 was not implemented all these years because there was no Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the 16th Lok Sabha.
• The 2013 statute includes the LoP as a member of the selection committee. The Act intends the LoP to be the part of the selection committee of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Speaker, which has to first appoint an eminent jurist among their ranks.
• However, on April 27 last year, the Supreme Court, clarified that the Lokpal appointment process need not be stalled merely due to the absence of the LoP

2 . Climate Change Performance Index 2019

Context : Morocco has been named the second best performing country after Sweden in the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI).

About Climate Change Performance Index

• To implement the Paris Agreement, countries must raise their ambitions and enact concrete measures to make their individual contributions to the global goal. Since its first release in 2005, the Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) has tracked countries’ efforts to combat climate change.  
• On the basis of standardised criteria, the index evaluates and compares the climate protection performance of 56 countries and the European Union, which are together responsible for more than 90% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.  
• The CCPI has been an important tool in contributing to a clearer understanding of national and international climate policy. As we approach the year 2020, when countries need to submit their amended national climate targets (revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the CCPI aims to inform the process of raising climate ambition.
• The CCPI is annually published by Germanwatch, the NewClimate Institute and the Climate Action Network.
• The Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI) is an instrument designed to enhance transparency in international climate politics. Its aim is to put political and social pressure on those countries that have, until now, failed to take ambitious action on climate protection, and to highlight those countries with best practice climate policies.

Results of 2019

• These are the overall results of the Climate Change Performance Index 2019. The ranking results are defined by a country’s aggregated performance regarding 14 indicators within the four categories “GHG Emissions”, “Renewable Energy” and “Energy Use”, as well as on “Climate Policy”, in a globally unique policy section of the index.
• The CCPI 2019 results illustrate the main regional differences in climate protection and performance within the 56 evaluated countries and the EU. No country
  performed well enough to reach the ranking very good in this year’s index, meaning that no country has yet made it to one of the top three places in the
  rankings.
• In this year’s index, Sweden leads the ranking, followed by Morocco and Lithuania. The bottom five in this year’s CCPI are Saudi Arabia, the United States, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Korea and Chinese Taipei, scoring low or very low across almost all categories.
• As per CCPI India is ranked 11th

3 . Mother of all bombs

Context : China has developed a massive bomb, said to be the country’s answer to the US-built ‘Mother of All Bombs’, the most powerful non-nuclear weapon, official media reported on Friday.

Background

• Last year, while waging war against militants in Afghanistan, the US military dropped a GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) weapon, more commonly known as the “Mother of All Bombs,” on the Islamic State.

Details of the bomb

• China’s defence industry giant NORINCO for the first time showcased the aerial bomb, the country’s largest non-nuclear bomb,
• Power – Massive blast can easily and completely wipe out fortified ground targets such as reinforced buildings, bastions and defence shelters. It can also be used to clear a landing zone for troops on helicopters to rappel down, in case the area is covered by obstacles such as forests
• Comparison – Chinese bomb is smaller and lighter than the US one, enabling it to be deployed on the H-6K bomber. The US bomb is so large that it has to be carried by a larger transport aircraft rather than a bomber
• A NORINCO representative clarified that the bomb shown in the video is not a thermobaric weapon

Father of all Bombs

• To match the U.S. weapon, Russia developed the “Father of All Bombs” which is both bigger and thermobaric

What is Thermobaric Weapon

• A thermobaric weapon is a type of explosive that uses oxygen from the surrounding air to generate a high-temperature explosion, and in practice the blast wave typically produced by such a weapon is of a significantly longer duration than that produced by a conventional condensed explosive. The fuel-air bomb is one of the best-known types of thermobaric weapon

4 . Yutu 2

Context : China has named the lunar rover, successfully deployed on Thursday to carry out a string of experiments on the unexplored far side of the moon, as ‘Yutu 2’. The rover’s touchdown is part of China Chang’e-4 lunar probe

About Yutu 2

• The rover has been programmed to launch ground penetration radar that would help map the moon’s inner structures. It would also analyse soil and rock samples for minerals, apart from activating a radio telescope to search for possible signals from deep space.
• It follows the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System — China’s homegrown Global Positioning System 
• Analysts say that China’s lunar probe is part of its ‘Made in China-2025’ project, which focuses on advanced technology, including space applications

5 . Data Protection Bill

Context : Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad told the Rajya Sabha on Friday that the government had finalised the data protection law and it would soon be introduced in Parliament.

What is Data Protection

• Data protection refers to policies and procedures seeking to minimise intrusion into the privacy of an individual caused by collection and usage of their personal data. 
• In India, usage of personal data or information of citizens is regulated by the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011, under Section 43A of the Information Technology Act, 2000
• The Rules define personal information of an individual as any information which may be used to identify them.  They hold the body corporate (who is using the data) liable for compensating the individual, in case of any negligence in maintaining security standards while dealing with the data.

About Draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018

• The Bill regulates the processing of personal data of individuals (data principals) by government and private entities (data fiduciaries) incorporated in India and abroad.  Processing is allowed if the individual gives consent, or in a medical emergency, or by the State for providing benefits. 
• The data principal has several rights with respect to their data, such as seeking correction or seeking access to their data which is stored with the fiduciary.  
• The fiduciary has certain obligations towards the individual while processing their data, such as notifying them of the nature and purposes of data processing. 
• The Bill allows exemptions for certain kinds of data processing, such as processing in the interest of national security, for legal proceedings, or for journalistic purposes. 
• The Bill requires that a serving copy of personal data be stored within the territory of India.  Certain critical personal data must be stored solely within the country. 
• A national-level Data Protection Authority (DPA) is set up under the Bill to supervise and regulate data fiduciaries.

Key Issues and Analysis

• The data fiduciary needs to inform the DPA of a data breach if it is likely to harm the individual. There may be a conflict of interest while assessing whether a breach is to be reported, as the fiduciary is regulated and evaluated by the DPA on several parameters, including instances of data breaches. 
• The Bill allows exemptions for purposes such as journalism, research, or legal proceedings. It could be questioned if these meet the standards of necessity and proportionality required for infringements to an individual’s right to privacy.
• The State is not required to seek the individual’s consent while providing benefits or services.  It is unclear why this exemption is not limited only to welfare services of the State, as proposed in the Justice Srikrishna Committee Report. 
• The Bill mandates storage of a copy of personal data within India to expedite law enforcement’s access to data.  This purpose may not be served in some cases, such as when the fiduciary is registered as an entity in a foreign country. 
• It could be questioned why the DPA can exercise powers, such as arresting and detaining violators of the law in prison, without approval or order of a court.

6 . Women’s Reservation Bill

Context : Women members in the Rajya Sabha on Friday urged the government to ensure the passage of the women’s reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha. The Bill, which proposes a 33% reservation for women in Parliament and State legislatures, was passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2010 but has been stuck in the Lower House for nine years.

Background

• Commonly known as the Women’s Reservation Bill, it seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies. Introduced by the UPA-I government in May 2008, it also provides that one third of the total number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes shall be reserved for women of those groups.
• Similar Bills have been introduced thrice before in the late 90’s but lapsed with the dissolution of their respective Lok Sabhas.

Highlights of the Bill

• The Constitution (One Hundred and Eighth Amendment) Bill, 2008 seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies.  The allocation of reserved seats shall be determined by such authority as prescribed by Parliament.
• One third of the total number of seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes shall be reserved for women of those groups in the Lok Sabha and the legislative assemblies.
• Reserved seats may be allotted by rotation to different constituencies in the state or union territory.
• Reservation of seats for women shall cease to exist 15 years after the commencement of this Amendment Act.

Key Issues and Analysis

• There are divergent views on the reservation policy. Proponents stress the necessity of affirmative action to improve the condition of women. Some recent studies on panchayats have shown the positive effect of reservation on empowerment of women and on allocation of resources.
• Opponents argue that it would perpetuate the unequal status of women since they would not be perceived to be competing on merit. They also contend that this policy diverts attention from the larger issues of electoral reform such as criminalisation of politics and inner party democracy.
• Reservation of seats in Parliament restricts choice of voters to women candidates. Therefore, some experts have suggested alternate methods such as reservation in political parties and dual member constituencies.
• Rotation of reserved constituencies in every election may reduce the incentive for an MP to work for his constituency as he may be ineligible to seek re-election from that constituency.
• The report examining the 1996 women’s reservation Bill recommended that reservation be provided for women of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) once the Constitution was amended to allow for reservation for OBCs. It also recommended that reservation be extended to the Rajya Sabha and the Legislative Councils. Neither of these recommendations has been incorporated in the Bill.

7 . Electronic Voting Machine

Context : Former Chief Election Commissioner O.P. Rawat said that the electronic voting machines (EVMs) used in India were not Internet-enabled as in developed countries, making them tamper-proof just like calculators. The use of this obsolete technology in the machines was deliberate, he said.

Why India is using Obsolete Technology

• Indian EVMs are standalone unlike voting machines in some countries which are connected to a network. It is because tampering an EVM through the hardware port or through a Wi-Fi connection is not possible as there is no frequency receiver or wireless decoder in the EVM machine. 

Who Produces EVM

• The EVMs are produced indigenously by two PSUs – Bharat Electronics Ltd. and Electronics Corporation of India Ltd. – where the software programme for the chip is written and converted into machine code before being given to the microchip manufacturer

8 . NGT stays notification on groundwater

Context : A Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said, “It is clear that rather than laying down stricter norms for extraction of groundwater for commercial purposes and putting in place a robust institutional mechanism for surveillance and monitoring, extraction of groundwater has been liberalised adding to the crisis, unmindful of the ground situation and likely impact it will have on environment.”

Background

• Water conservation Fee