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Daily News Analysis

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11 January 2023
Topics To be Covered:
✓ Conflict between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
✓ Use of the term ‘Union’ in the Constitution
✓ Defence Acquisition Council
✓ National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)
✓ Paigah Tombs Complex
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Topics
Conflict between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh
Context:
Assets and liabilities were not evenly divided between the two states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana after their
separation more than 8 years ago, with each state interpreting the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014
differently.
What assets are to be divided?
❖ The issue involves 245 institutions with a total fixed asset value of ₹ 1.42 lakh crore, headquarter assets under
Schedule IX of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014.

AP government's claims Stand of Telangana

❖ The AP Government is firm on the ❖
implementation of the
recommendations given by the
expert committee headed by Sheela ❖
Bhide for bifurcation of 89 out of
the 91 Schedule IX institutions.
❖ The AP Government has been of the ❖
view that the recommendations of
the expert committee be accepted in ❖
toto.
The Telangana government has contended that the expert
committee’s recommendations were against the interests of
Telangana.
As per Telangana's interpretation, assets and liabilities of any
commercial or industrial undertaking of Andhra Pradesh will be
transferred to the state where it is located.
This applies regardless of where the undertaking's
headquarters is located.
The transfer of assets and liabilities occur on the "appointed day"
or the day of state separation

Role of the Centre:

❖ The Act empowers the Union Government to intervene as and when needed.
❖ Several meetings of the dispute resolution committee were held to resolve the disagreement.
❖ The committee was headed by the Union Home Secretary and had the participation of the Chief Secretaries of
the two states.
❖ The meetings were unable to break the impasse, some sub-committee meetings under joint secretary of the
Home Ministry also held but no resolution reached.
Recommendations of the Expert Committee:
❖ The committee has made recommendations with respect to the division of 89 out of the 91 Schedule IX
institutions.
❖ Its recommendations on the division of assets that are not a part of the headquarters assets attracted criticism
from the Telangana government which said it is against the spirit of the Reorganisation Act.
❖ The division of several institutions which have huge land parcels in their possession have become the key bone
of contention between the two States.
News Source: The Hindu
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Use of the term ‘Union’ in the Constitution

Context:
❖ The Tamil Nadu government’s recent decision to shun the usage of the term ‘Central government’ in its official
communications and replace it with ‘Union government’ is a major step towards regaining the consciousness
of our Constitution.
What does Constitution say about the term "Union"?
❖ Article 1: “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States".
❖ The Constituent Assembly did not use the term ‘Centre’ or ‘Central government’ in all of its 395 Articles in
22 Parts and eight Schedules in the original Constitution.
❖ Constitution provides for the ‘Union’ and the ‘States’ with the executive powers of the Union wielded by the
President acting on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.
❖ The real question is whether the use of the term ‘Central government is constitutional as the Constitution
itself does not approve of centralising power’.
The Intent of Constituent Assembly:
❖ On December 13, 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru introduced the aims and objects of the Assembly by resolving that
India shall be a Union of territories willing to join the “Independent Sovereign Republic".
❖ Due to the partition and the violence of 1947 in Kashmir, the Constituent Assembly resolved in favour of a
strong Centre.
❖ The possibility of the secession of States from the Union weighed on the minds of the drafters of the
Constitution and ensured that the Indian Union is “indestructible”.
❖ In the Constituent Assembly, B.R Ambedkar observed that the word ‘Union’ was advisedly used in order to
negative the right of secession of States by emphasising, after all, that “India shall be a Union of States''.

Views of Dr Ambedkar Views of other members of the

Constituent Assembly

❖ He justified the usage of ‘Union of States’: ❖ The members of the Constituent

❖ To make it clear that though India was to be a federation, it was Assembly were very cautious of not
not the result of an agreement and that therefore, no State has using the word ‘Centre’ or ‘Central
the right to secede from it. government’ in the Constitution as
❖ The Union is not a league of States, united in a loose they intended to keep away the
relationship; nor are the States the agencies of the Union, tendency of centralising of powers in
deriving powers from it. one unit.
❖ Both the Union and the States are created by the Constitution, ❖ The ‘Union government’ or the
both derive their respective authority from the Constitution. ‘Government of India’ has a unifying
❖ The one is not subordinate to the other in its own field. The effect as the message sought to be
authority of one is coordinated with that of the other”. given is that the government is of all.

News Source: The Hindu

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Defence Acquisition Council

Context:
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for three capital acquisition
proposals amounting to ₹4,276 crore.
About Defence Acquisition Council:
❖ The Defence Acquisition Council is the highest decision-making body in the Defence Ministry for deciding
on new policies and capital acquisitions for the three services (Army, Navy and Air Force) and the Indian
Coast Guard.
❖ The Minister of Defence is the Chairman of the Council.
❖ It was formed, after the Group of Ministers recommendations on 'Reforming the National Security System',
in 2001, post-Kargil War (1999).
About the Capital Acquisition Proposals:
❖ These include the helicopter launched Nag (HELINA) anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM), very short- range
air defence systems (VSHORAD), BrahMos cruise missile launchers, and fire control systems (FCS) for naval
ships.
❖ All three are indigenous design and development projects.
❖ The DAC accorded AoN for the procurement of HELINA ATGMs, launchers and associated support
equipment which will be integrated into the advanced light helicopter (ALH).

About HELINA:
❖ HELINA (Helicopter based NAG) is a third generation fire and forget class anti-tank guided missile
(ATGM) system mounted on the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH).
❖ The system has all-weather day and night capability and can defeat battle tanks with conventional armour
as well as explosive reactive armour.
❖ The HELINA missile can engage targets both in direct hit mode as well as top attack mode.
❖ HELINA Weapon Systems is being inducted into the Indian Army (IA).
❖ A variant of the HELINA Weapon System called DHRUVASTRA is being inducted into the Indian Air
Force (IAF).

About Very-Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) Missile:

❖ It is a Man Portable Air Defence System (MANPAD) designed and developed indigenously by DRDO’s
Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and Indian
Industry Partners.
❖ The missile, meant for neutralizing low-altitude aerial threats at short ranges is propelled by a dual-thrust
solid motor.
❖ The design of the missile including the launcher has been highly optimized to ensure easy portability.

News Source: The Hindu

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National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)

Context:
❖ NCAP tracker has released its analysis to mark four years of the launch of the NCAP by the Centre.
❖ The NCAP tracker is a joint project of the Carbon Copy portal and Maharashtra-based Respirer Living
Sciences.
Key Findings:
❖ It has been found that some of the top polluted non-
attainment cities in 2019 have marginally improved
their PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels but continue to breach
CPCB’s standards.
❖ Delhi continued to be the top polluted city in the
country in 2022 with an annual average of PM 2.5
concentration 99.7 micrograms per cubic metre
(ug/m3) of air,
❖ The country’s current annual average safe limits
for PM 2.5 and PM 10 are 40 ug/m3 and 60 ug/m3.
❖ The top ten most polluted for PM 2.5:
❖ Delhi, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Patna, Muzzafarpur,
Noida, Meerut, Gobindgarh, Gaya and Jodhpur.
❖ The top ten most polluted cities based on PM 10:
❖ Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Delhi, Noida, Patna, Meerut,
Image Source: The Indian Express
Muzzafarpur, Durgapur, Jodhpur and Aurangabad.
❖ Cleanest City: Jointly held by Srinagar in Kashmir and Kohima in Nagaland.
About National Clean Air Programme (NCAP):
❖ The program was launched in 2019 in 102 Non-Attainment cities which had failed to meet the National
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) during the periods of 2011-2015.
❖ Since the establishment of the NCAP, 131 cities have been added to the list of non-attainment cities, due to
their failure to meet the NAAQS under the National Air Quality Monitoring Program (NAMP).
❖ In 2019, the NCAP set a target of reducing ultra-fine particulate matter levels in non-attainment cities by 20-
30 percent by 2022.
❖ This target was moved forward by the Union government in September 2022, to a 40 percent reduction of
pollution levels by 2026.
❖ Funds for the program are disbursed by the Central Pollution Control Board and are based on PM10
particle levels, not PM2.5, which is not monitored as consistently due to lack of equipment
❖ Cities are required to quantify improvement starting 2020-21, which requires 15% and more reduction in the
annual average PM10 concentration and a concurrent increase in “good air” days to at least 200.
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❖ Anything fewer will be considered ‘low’ and the funding, provided by the Centre via the Environment
Ministry, consequently reduced.
❖ As of 2022, some of the top polluted cities from 2019 have seen a marginal improvement in both PM2.5 and
PM10 levels.
News Source: The Hindu, The Indian Express
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Paigah Tombs Complex

Context:
The United States government will extend financial support of $250,000 towards the conservation and restoration
of six of the Paigah tombs.
About Paigah Tombs complex:
❖ The Paigah tombs or
Maqhbara Shams al-Umara is
a necropolis belonging to the
nobility of the Paigah family
who served the Nizam of
Hyderabad in various capacities
in 18th century.
❖ The Paigahs were among the
most influential and powerful
families of Hyderabad in the
18th century.
❖ The tombs are the resting place
of several generations of
Image Source: The Hindu
Paigah nobles.
❖ This is the fifth project supported by the US Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) and funded
by the US Consulate in Hyderabad.
❖ Implemented by: The Aga Khan Trust for Culture will implement the project.
Features:
❖ The complex of tombs is made of lime and mortar as well as marble, remains one of the major attractions
in Hyderabad for their architectural flamboyance and craftsmanship.
❖ The tombs are the finest examples of the enthralling Indo-Islamic architecture, which is a blend of both
features of Asaf Jahi and Rajputana style.
❖ It is constructed using the stucco work and has incredible lattice screens, minarets, and detailing.
News Source: The Hindu
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