Current Affair Analysis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMKMWBqy_EA - Inflation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GE0R0ay-p4 – Taliban Rule

PM - Japan Sabarmati
RERA
Carees Dispute River
Current
Fire
Crackers
Jal Jeevan
Mission
Inflation
Video
Taliban
Rule Video Affairs and
Analysis
Impact of
Sports
COVID –19​
PM CARES For Children
Context:
A total of 845 COVID-19 orphans have so far been identified and approved for receiving benefits
under the PM CARES Fund.
 
About the scheme:
Launched in May 2021.
The scheme has been launched for support & empowerment of Covid affected children.
Eligibility: All children who have lost both parents or surviving parent or legal guardian/adoptive parents
due to Covid 19 will be supported under the scheme.
 
Features of the scheme:
1.Fixed Deposit in the name of the child: A corpus of Rs 10 lakh for each child when he or she reaches
18 years of age.
2.School Education: For children under 10 years: Admission will be given in the nearest Kendriya
Vidyalaya or in a private school as a day scholar.
3.School Education: for children between 11-18 years: The child will be given admission in any Central
Government residential school such as Sainik School, Navodaya Vidyalaya etc.
4.Support for Higher Education: The child will be assisted in obtaining an education loan for
Professional courses / Higher Education in India as per the existing Education Loan norms.
5.Health Insurance: All children will be enrolled as a beneficiary under Ayushman Bharat Scheme (PM-
JAY) with a health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakhs.
PM CARES For Children
PM CARES For Children
Need for these measures:
•As India battles a raging second wave, cases of children losing their parents to Covid-19 are also
mounting.
•Also the apprehension of child trafficking in the garb of adoption has increased.
•Child Marriages have also increased in the Covid-19 induced lockdown.
Dispute over Senkaku Islands in Japan:
Context:
New Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said that he received a “strong” message from President
Joe Biden about the United States’ commitment to defending the disputed East China Sea islets, known
as the Senkaku Islands in Japan.
 
Background:
As per the U.S.-Japan security treaty, the U.S. has obligations to defend Japan, which cover the
uninhabited island.
Dispute over Senkaku Islands in Japan:
About Senkaku Islands:
The Senkaku Islands are located in the East China Sea between Japan, the People’s Republic of China,
and the Republic of China (Taiwan). The archipelago contains five uninhabited islands and three barren
rocks, ranging in size from 800 m2 to 4.32 km2.
 
What are the grounds for Japan’s territorial sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands?
The Senkaku Islands were not included in the territory which Japan renounced under Article 2 of the San
Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951 that legally defined the territory of Japan after World War II.
•Under Article 3 of the treaty, the islands were placed under the administration of the United States as
part of the Nansei Shoto Islands. The Senkaku Islands are included in the areas whose administrative
rights were reverted to Japan in accordance with the Agreement between Japan and the United States
of America Concerning the Ryukyu Islands and the Daito Islands that entered into force in 1972.
Dispute over Senkaku Islands in Japan:
What is China’s claim?
China says that the islands have been part of its territory since ancient times, serving as important fishing
grounds administered by the province of Taiwan.
•Taiwan was ceded to Japan in the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895, after the Sino-Japanese war.
•When Taiwan was returned in the Treaty of San Francisco, China says the islands should have been
returned too.
 
What next?
The Senkaku/Diaoyu issue highlights the more robust attitude China has been taking to its territorial
claims in both the East China Sea, the South China Sea and also on the Indian side.
 
Other border disputes of China:
•It has island and maritime border disputes with Taiwan, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and
Vietnam in the South China Sea and its extension.
•The disputes include islands, reefs, banks and other features in the South China Sea including Spratly
Islands (with Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan), Paracel Islands (Vietnam), Scarborough
Shoal (Philippines), and Gulf of Tonkin (Vietnam).
Gujarat HC order on Sabarmati river conservation
Context:
Gujarat High Court had taken suo motu cognizance of the slow death of Sabarmati river due to effluent
discharge. In this regard, it has delivered a judgement recently.
 
The High Court order:
•Industrial units found to have discharged pollutants into the Sabarmati river in Gujarat will not be
provided water and power.
•They will also be penalised, named and shamed.
•All such polluting units will also be banned from participating in any industrial fair, public-private
partnership events, etc.
 
Water as a public trust:
In our Constitution, water resources are held in public trust. Therefore, the court decided to use the
‘Public Trust Doctrine’ to apply stringent provisions against permitting municipal bodies or industries
from polluting rivers.
 
Gujarat HC order on Sabarmati river conservation
Challenges:
The Sabarmati, for 120 km of its 371 km course, is in its death throes. This is especially true for the stretch
of the river along the Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad.
•The excessive presence of pollutants in the river and the lack of natural flow has done irreparable
damage to the river.
•Effluents and sewage from industrial units are continuously being discharged into the Sabarmati river.
•Despite all this, industrial units have been provided legal permission to carry out these activities.
Need of the hour:
Rivers are our lifeline since we are completely dependent on them for our existence. The major reason
behind this alarming situation is our utter ignorance and carefree attitude towards our environment and
maintaining rivers and riversides.
•So, it is high time that we take some stringent actions in this regard.
•Each and every individual should understand that rivers belong to all of us.
•It is a joint responsibility of each and every individual to keep them clean.
 
About Sabarmati:
•The Sabarmati originates in the Dhebar lake situated in the southern part of the Aravalli range in the
Udaipur district of Rajasthan.
•It flows in a south-western direction, passing through Udaipur in Rajasthan and Sabarkantha, Mehsana,
Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad and Anand districts of Gujarat.
•After traveling about 371 km, it falls into the Gulf of Khambhat.
Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act of
2016
Context:
The Supreme Court has stepped in to protect homebuyers from exploitation by builders who delay transfer
of possession and often redraft delivery schedules.
 
Need for:
A petition was filed on the lack of a “uniform or model” form for agreements entered into among builders,
agents and buyers.
The petition said the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act of 2016 had hardly been
implemented.
•Often hard-earned savings of ordinary citizens who aspired to have their own homes were invested. But
many families became penniless waiting for a roof over their heads that the builders had promised them.
 
The petitioner drew court’s attention to Section 41 and 42 of the RERA:
•Section 41 mandated the establishment of a Central Advisory Council.
•Section 42 said the Council would ensure the implementation of the Act, drive major policy changes,
assure that consumer interests were not thwarted by builders and promoters and craft the faster growth
of the real estate sector.
 
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016:
It is aimed at bringing in transparency and redefining the engagement between various stakeholders.
Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act of
2016
Key provisions:
1.A requirement for developers to now register projects with RERA prior to any advertisement and sale.
2.Developers are also expected to have all sanction plans approved and regulatory clearances in place
prior to commencement of sale. Subsequent changes have to be approved by a majority of buyers and the
regulator.
3.The Act ambitiously stipulates an electronic system, maintained on the website of RERA, where
developers are expected to update on a quarterly basis the status of their projects, and submit regular
audits and architectural reports.
4.It requires developers to maintain separate escrow accounts in relation to each project and deposit 70%
of the collections in such an account to ensure that funds collected are utilised only for the specific project.
5.The Act also requires real estate brokers and agents to register themselves with the regulator.
6.The Act also attempts to establish an adjudicatory mechanism for the speedy redressal of disputes. RERA
and the Appellate Tribunal are expected to decide on complaints within an ambitious period of 60 days.
Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Act of
2016
Why does it matter?
•The Act has been described by the Centre as an attempt at cleaning up the real estate sector, ushering in
transparency, accountability and fair-play among stakeholders.
•This law will empower the consumer while boosting the credibility of developers.
•It is widely felt that the Act will shift housing demand at least in the immediate term towards the
organised players, better-equipped as they are to fulfil various stipulations. Most such players have
welcomed the Act, saying that it will bridge the trust deficit.
Prohibited chemicals in firecrackers:
Context:
The Supreme Court is all set to go into an affidavit filed by the environment ministry last October on the
use of so-called green and improved fireworks — hearing a case that could well decide whether this
Diwali will see fireworks.
 
What’s the issue?
The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has informed the court that a lot of
research and development has gone into this field following the court’s October 2018 judgment. It urged
the court to consider the various proposals and formulations on green/improved crackers that the ministry
has come up with in its affidavit filed before the court in October 2020.
 
The judgment:
The court’s October 23, 2018 judgment banned the sale and production of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR and
regulated the use of firecrackers across the country.
•Barium-based firecrackers were specifically banned.
•Online sale of firecrackers has been completely banned.
The verdict had come in response to a plea seeking a ban on manufacturing and sale of firecrackers across
the country to curb air pollution.
Prohibited chemicals in firecrackers:
Recent observations made by the Supreme Court on the use of firecrackers:
•The Supreme Court said it cannot infringe the right to life of other citizens “under the guise of
employment of few” while considering a ban on firecrackers.
•Have to strike a balance between employment, unemployment and right to life.
 
How do firecrackers work?
Firecrackers use fuel and oxidisers to produce a combustion reaction, and the resulting explosion spreads
the material in a superheated state. The metal salts in the explosive mix get ‘excited’ and emit light.
 
What is the controversy?
Metals in the mix, which have a varying arrangement of electrons in shells outside their nucleus, produce
different wavelengths of light in this reaction, generating spectacular colours. But as many studies show,
the burning of firecrackers is an unusual and peak source of pollution, made up of particles and gases.
•One study in Milan, Italy, quantified the increase in the levels of several elements in the air in one hour as
120 times for Strontium, 22 times for Magnesium, 12 times for Barium, 11 times for Potassium and six
times for Copper.
•The Central Pollution Control Board conducted a study in Delhi in 2016, and found that the levels of
Aluminium, Barium, Potassium, Sulphur, Iron and Strontium rose sharply on Deepavali night, from low to
extremely high.
Prohibited chemicals in firecrackers:
Can green crackers make a difference?
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, through its National Environmental Engineering Research
Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nagpur, has come out with firecrackers that have “reduced emission light and
sound” and 30% less particulate matter using Potassium Nitrate as oxidant.
•These crackers are named Safe Water Releaser, which minimises Potassium Nitrate and Sulphur use, but
matches the sound intensity of conventional crackers, Safe Minimal Aluminium , where Aluminium use is
low and Safe Thermite Crackers with low Sulphur and Potassium Nitrate.
 
Need of the hour:
While deciding on a ban on firecrackers, it is imperative to take into account the fundamental right of
livelihood of firecracker manufacturers and the right to health of over 1.3 billion people of the country.
Prohibited chemicals in firecrackers:
Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM):
Context:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a newly designed Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) mobile application on
October 2, 2021, Gandhi Jayanti.
•The app would enable anyone to fund provision of tap water in rural parts of India.
 
About the Jal Jeevan Mission:
JJM envisages supply of 55 litres of water per person per day to every rural
household through Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC) by 2024.
It is under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
•It was launched in 2019.
 
The mission ensures:
1.Functionality of existing water supply systems and water connections.
2.Water quality monitoring and testing as well as sustainable agriculture.
3.Conjunctive use of conserved water.
4.Drinking water source augmentation.
5.Drinking water supply system, grey water treatment and its reuse.
Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM):
It also encompasses:
1.Prioritizing provision of FHTCs in quality affected areas, villages in drought prone and desert areas,
Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY) villages, etc.
2.Providing functional tap connection to Schools, Anganwadi centres, Gram Panchayat buildings, Health
centres, wellness centres and community buildings.
3.Technological interventions for removal of contaminants where water quality is an issue.
 
Implementation:
•The Mission is based on a community approach to water and includes extensive Information, Education
and Communication as a key component of the mission.
•JJM looks to create a jan andolan for water, thereby making it everyone’s priority.
•The fund sharing pattern between the Centre and states is 90:10 for Himalayan and North-Eastern States,
50:50 for other states, and 100% for Union Territories.
 
Performance of the scheme:
As on date, tap water supply has been provided in 772,000 (76 per cent) schools and 748,000 (67.5 per cent)
anganwadi centres.
Impact of Covid / Sports
To be discussed with students
Thank You