Daily Current Affairs 30 June 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) Mobile soil testing lab by NFL

• To give a further boost to the Soil Testing facility in the country for promoting appropriate use of fertilizers, NFL has launched five Mobile Soil Testing Labs for testing the soil samples at the doorstep of farmers free of cost.
• These Mobile Labs, loaded with the latest soil testing equipment, shall be used for macro and micro nutrient analysis of soil. In addition to this, these Mobile Labs are also equipped with an Audio-Video system to educate farmers on various agricultural topics.
• Other than the Mobile Soil Testing Labs, the company is also serving the farming community through six Static Soil Testing Labs located in different parts of the country. All these Labs tested around 25,000 soil samples free of cost in the year 2019-20

Source: PIB

2) Custodial Violence

• The recent death of a father-son duo from Tamil Nadu, allegedly due to custodial violence, has sparked anger across India.
• Custodial violence primarily refers to violence in police and judicial custody. It includes death, rape, and torture.

Key Points

• Data Related to Violence in Custody:
• According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, between 2001 and 2018, only 26 policemen were convicted of custodial violence despite 1,727 such deaths being recorded in India.
• Only 4.3% of the 70 deaths in 2018 were attributed to injuries during custody due to physical assault by police.
• Except in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha, no policeman was convicted for such deaths across the country.
• Apart from custodial deaths, more than 2,000 human rights violation cases were also recorded against the police between 2000 and 2018. And only 344 policemen were convicted in those cases.
• Reasons for Low Conviction: Most of the custodial deaths were attributed to reasons other than custodial torture, which included suicide and death in hospitals during treatment.
• Reasons Behind Custodial Violence:
• Absence of Strong Legislation: India does not have anti-torture legislation and is yet to criminalize custodial violence, while action against culpable officials remains illusory.
• The Indian state either denies the existence of torture in the country or defends its resistance to enact a law by claiming there are sufficient provisions in the domestic legal framework to prohibit and penalize torture.
• These claims however remain superficial and without any such protections.
• Institutional Challenges: The entire prison system is inherently opaque giving less room to transparency.
• Prison access is not provided without prior permission such as depositing “Rs. 1 lakh in the name of the superintendent of the concerned jail” before entry.
• Excessive scrutiny is done of all recorded or documented material in the prison.
• India also fails in bringing the much desired Prison Reforms and prisons continue to be affected by poor conditions, overcrowding, acute manpower shortages, and minimal safety against harm in prisons.
• Excessive Force: The use of excessive force including torture to target marginalized communities and control people participating in movements or propagating ideologies that the state perceives as opposed to its stature.
• Not Adhering to International Standard: Although India has signed the United Nations Convention against Torture in 1997 its ratification still remains.
• While Signing only indicates the country’s intention to meet the obligations set out in the treaty, Ratification, on the other hand, entails bringing in-laws and mechanisms to fulfill the commitments.
• Constitutional and Legal Provisions:
• Protection from torture is a fundamental right enshrined under Article 21 (Right to Life) of the Indian constitution.
• The right to counsel is also a fundamental right under Article 22(1) of the Indian constitution.
• Section 41 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) was amended in 2009 to include safeguards under 41A, 41B, 41C, and 41D so that arrests and detentions for interrogation have reasonable grounds and documented procedures, arrests are made transparent to family, friends, and public, and there is protection through legal representation.

Suggestions

• India should ratify the UN Convention Against Torture: It will mandate a systematic review of colonial rules, methods, practices, and arrangements for the custody and treatment of persons subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment.
• It will also mean that exclusive mechanisms of redress and compensation will be set up for the victim besides institutions such as the Board of Visitors.
• Police Reforms: Guidelines should also be formulated on educating and training officials involved in the cases involving deprivation of liberty because torture cannot be effectively prevented till the senior police wisely anticipate the gravity of such issues and clear reorientation is devised from present practices.
• Access to Prison: Unrestricted and regular access to independent and qualified persons to places of detention for inspection should also be allowed.
• CCTV cameras should be installed in police stations including in the interrogation rooms.
• Surprise inspections by Non-Official Visitors (NOVs) should also be made mandatory which would act as a preventive measure against custodial torture which has also been suggested by Supreme Court in its landmark judgment in the DK Basu Case in 2015.
• Implementation of Law Commission of India’s 273rd Report: The report recommends that those accused of committing custodial torture – be it policemen, military and paramilitary personnel – should be criminally prosecuted instead of facing mere administrative action establishing an effective deterrent.

Source: The Hindu

3) Kholongchhu Hydropower Project

Recently, India and Bhutan have signed a concession agreement on the 600 MW Kholongchhu Hydropower Project.

It will be the first-ever Joint Venture (JV) project between India and Bhutan.

The JV partners are Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN), and the Druk Green Power Corporation (DGPC) from India and Bhutan respectively.

Key Points

Description:

• The Kholongchhu project is one of four additional projects agreed in 2008, as a part of India’s commitment to helping Bhutan to create a total 10,000 MW of installed capacity by 2020.
• The 600 MW run-of-the-river project is located on the lower course of the Kholongchhu river in eastern Bhutan’s Trashiyangtse district.
• The project is expected to be completed in the second half of 2025.
• The project will be constructed as a 50:50 joint venture.

Significance:

• Concession Period: The Government of India will provide, as a grant, the equity share of the Bhutanese DGPC in the JV Company. Once the project is commissioned, the JV partners will run it for 30 years, called the concession period, after which the full ownership will transfer to the Bhutan government, which will receive power from the project as a royalty.
• Bilateral Cooperation: The tapping of hydropower in Bhutan would pave a way for successful bilateral cooperation and mutual engagement between India and Bhutan.
• Strategic Interest: Being a member of BIMSTEC, Bhutan holds geostrategic importance for India. The shared sense of support and help in terms of such development projects between the two countries can help India in executing its Act East-Look East Policy.
• Energy Trade: The project would act as a milestone in the generation of energy and related trade.
• The project would aid in a clean and stabilizing power source for India and also contribute to its renewable energy targets.
• Employment Opportunities: Commencement of construction activities of the project will create economic and employment opportunities in Bhutan.
• India needs to focus on the youth of Bhutan, as it is the youth only, which would take the people-to-people contact forward in the future.
• Economic Growth: The plant would drive economic growth and hence socio-economic development would be facilitated in Bhutan.

Concerns:

• Power Tariffs: The project which started in 2014 was on halt since December 2016 over India’s new power tariff guidelines on Cross Border Trade of Electricity - CBTE, until the government amended its guidelines after negotiations with the Bhutan government.
• Power tariff revision which includes the increase in the operations and maintenance charges may become a bone of contention.
• Risk of the JV-model: Another issue is regarding the risk of the JV-model for the project as Bhutan had expressed concern over a greater financial risk due to project delays.
• The delays had an impact on Bhutan’s growth, as well as its exports and revenues. For example, the World Bank has attributed the decline in the country’s growth rate directly to delays in hydropower construction and the dip in electricity generation.
• However, India has maintained that it prefers the more commercial model as it not only shares the risk but also makes Indian PSUs show greater accountability on time and cost, as they become investors rather than contractors.

India Bhutan Hydropower Projects

• So far, the Government of India has constructed three Hydroelectric Projects (HEPs) in Bhutan totaling 1416 MW (336 MW Chukha HEP, 60 MW Kurichhu HEP and 1020 MW Tala HEP), which are operational and exporting surplus power to India.
• India has recently completed 720 MW Mangdechhu Hydroelectric Power Project and both sides are in process of expediting the completion of other ongoing projects including the 1200MW Punatsangchhu-1 & 1020MW Punatsangchhu-2.

Way Forward

• Both India and Bhutan have emphasized the importance of “hydropower development” as one of the most important areas of mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation.
• Kholongchhu is a continuation of bilateral cooperation which epitomizes the core of the friendship for a greater good.
• However, the delay in the implementation of the project has led to cost escalation and missed opportunities in terms of immediate benefits to the community. Therefore, all the details of a project should be thoroughly worked out before the construction commences.

Source: Indian Express

4) STARS Programme: World Bank

• Recently, the World Bank has approved the Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States (STARS) Programme.
• It will improve the quality and governance of school education in six Indian states of Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan through the Samagra Shiksha.

Key Points

• Expected Beneficiaries: Around 250 million students (between the age of 6 and 17) in 1.5 million schools and over 10 million teachers will benefit from this USD 500 million programs.
• In-Line with Previous Assistance: It will strengthen public school education and support the country’s goal of providing ‘Education for All’, for which the Bank had provided total assistance of more than USD 3 billion before this plan as well.
• Objectives: STARS will help improve learning assessment systems, strengthen classroom instruction and remediation, facilitate school-to-work transition, and strengthen governance and decentralized management.
• STARS will support India’s renewed focus on addressing the learning outcome challenge and help students better prepare for the jobs of the future, through a series of reform initiatives, which include:
• Providing Customised Solutions:
• Focusing more directly on the delivery of education services at the state, district, and sub-district levels by providing customized local-level solutions towards school improvement.
• Addressing Specific Demands:
• Addressing demands from stakeholders, especially parents, for greater accountability and inclusion by producing better data to assess the quality of learning.
• Giving special attention to students from vulnerable sections, with over 52% (as a weighted average) of children in the government-run schools in the six project states belonging to vulnerable sections, such as Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and minority communities.
• Delivering a curriculum that keeps pace with the rapidly evolving needs of the job market.
• Equipping Teachers:
• Equipping teachers to manage this transformation by recognizing that teachers are central to achieving better learning outcomes.
• More Investments:
• Investing more in developing India’s human capital needs by strengthening foundational learning for children in classes 1 to 3 and preparing them with the cognitive, socio-behavioral, and language skills to meet future labor market needs.
• SDGs: It is in line with the Sustainable Development Goal for education (SDG 4) and will help produce better data on learning levels by improving the National Achievement Survey (NAS).
• PISA: STARS will assist India in participating in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).
• PISA is a worldwide study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in member and non-member nations.
• It measures 15-year-olds' ability to use their reading, mathematics, and science knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges.

Success Stories

• India has successfully achieved gender parity in enrolment in primary education but that is not the case in secondary education. Under STARS, each state is expected to not only stabilize this downward trend but also improve the completion rate for secondary education.
• India has significantly improved access to education across the country.
• Between 2004-05 and 2018-19, the number of children going to school increased from 219 million to 248 million.
• However, the learning outcomes of students across all age groups continue to remain below par.

Challenges

• Fails to Address Capacity Issues:
• Major vacancies across the education system remain unaddressed.
• Without capable and motivated faculty, teacher education and training cannot be expected to improve.
• Ignoring Decentralisation:
• The World Bank ignores that decentralizing decision-making requires the devolution of funds and real decision-making power.
• It requires not just investment in the capacity of the front-line bureaucracy but also in increasing their discretionary powers while fostering social accountability.
• Excessive use of Information and Communications Technology:
• Technology does not address most of the systemic or governance challenges but it simply by-passes them.
• Its usefulness depends on whether preconditions for effective use of ICT-systems have been put in place otherwise it only worsens the problems.
• Over-reliance on measurement by standardized assessments:
• The program spends money on testing infrastructure for standardized assessments which is a waste of time and resources.
• Schools in India need improvement so the money should be invested in improving the capability of the system to improve learning.
• Outsourcing:
• Outsourcing to non-state partners not just takes away discretion from state actors but also takes away the sense of accountability and ownership towards their job.
• New private initiatives do not have institutional memories, nor do they have a grasp of socio-cultural realities that play an important part in the delivery process.
• State structures rely on past experience (institutional memory) to meet new challenges and build additional memories with every new reform they undertake.

Way Forward

• The administration must be equipped with adequate physical, financial, and human resources because an overburdened bureaucracy with vacancies and without basic equipment cannot be expected to be effective.
• Administrative or governance reforms must give greater discretion to the front-line bureaucracy to address local issues and innovate if required.
• Outsourcing, an over-reliance on measurement by standardized assessments, and excessive use of ICT will not get people closer to an Atmanirbhar Bharat. For that, the education system needs to enable itself to develop the capability to reform itself.

Source: The Hindu

5) PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme

Recently, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has launched the PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM FME) scheme as a part of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’.

• The Scheme is expected to generate a total investment of Rs. 35,000 crore and 9 lakh skilled and semi-skilled employment.

Key Points

• Features:
• One District One Product (ODOP) Approach:
• The States would identify food products for districts keeping in view the existing clusters and availability of raw material.
• The ODOP could be perishable produce based or cereal-based or a food item widely produced in an area. E.g. mango, potato, pickle, millet-based products, fisheries, poultry, etc.
• Other Focus Areas:
• Waste to wealth products, minor forest products, and Aspirational Districts.
• Capacity building and research: Academic and research institutions under MoFPI along with State Level Technical Institutions would be provided support for training of units, product development, appropriate packaging, and machinery for micro-units.
• Financial Support:
• Existing individual micro food processing units desirous of upgrading their units can avail credit-linked capital subsidy at 35% of the eligible project cost with a maximum ceiling of Rs.10 lakh per unit.
• Support would be provided through credit-linked grants at 35% for the development of common infrastructure including common processing facility, lab, warehouse, etc. through FPOs/SHGs/cooperatives or state-owned agencies or private enterprise.
• A seed capital (initial funding) of Rs. 40,000- per Self Help Group (SHG) member would be provided for working capital and purchase of small tools.
• Duration: It will be implemented over five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
• Funding Details:
• It is a centrally sponsored scheme with an outlay of Rs. 10,000 crore.
• The expenditure under the scheme would be shared in 60:40 ratio between Central and State Governments, in 90:10 ratio with North Eastern and the Himalayan States, 60:40 ratio with UTs with the legislature, and 100% by Centre for other UTs.
• Need:
• The unorganized food processing sector comprising nearly 25 lakh units contributes to 74% of employment in the food processing sector.
• Nearly 66% of these units are located in rural areas and about 80% of them are family-based enterprises supporting the livelihood of rural households and minimizing their migration to urban areas. These units largely fall within the category of micro-enterprises.
• The unorganized food processing sector faces several challenges that limit their performance and growth. The challenges include lack of access to modern technology & equipment, training, access institutional credit, lack of basic awareness on quality control of products; and lack of branding & marketing skills, etc.

Source: PIB

6) Covaxin Approved for Human Clinical Trials

• The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has granted approval to Bharat Biotech to conduct human clinical trials for ‘Covaxin’, making it the first indigenous Covid-19 vaccine candidate to receive this approval.
• Covaxin has been developed by the company Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). It is an inactivated vaccine manufactured in the company’s Bio-Safety Level 3 (BSL-3) High Containment facility located in Hyderabad (Telangana).
• The permission was granted after the company submitted results from pre-clinical studies of the vaccine that demonstrated its safety and immune response. Phase I and II clinical trials will start across India in July 2020.

Key Points

• Clinical trials in humans are classified into three phases: phase I, phase II, and phase III, and in certain countries formal regulatory approval is required to undertake any of these studies.
• The phase I clinical studies carry out initial testing of a vaccine in small numbers (e.g. 20) of healthy adults, to test the properties of a vaccine, its tolerability, and, if appropriate, clinical laboratory and pharmacological parameters. Phase I studies are primarily concerned with safety.
• Phase II studies involve larger numbers of subjects and are intended to provide preliminary information about a vaccine’s ability to produce its desired effect (usually immunogenicity) in the target population and its general safety.
• Extensive phase III trials are required to fully assess the protective efficacy and safety of a vaccine. The phase III clinical trial is the pivotal study on which the decision on whether to grant the license is based and sufficient data have to be obtained to demonstrate that a new product is safe and effective for the purpose intended.
• An application for market authorization may be submitted to the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) based on the data from phase III testing and if approved, the vaccine then becomes commercially available in that particular country.
• The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) under Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) of India.
• According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), out of 200 Covid-19 vaccine candidates, 15 have entered clinical trials.
• AstraZeneca is the world’s leading Covid-19 vaccine candidate and has reached the final stage in terms of development. It is being developed by researchers at the University of Oxford (UK).
• US Firm Moderna’s vaccine (MRNA-1273) will go into phase III clinical trials in July.

Source: The Hindu

7) Extension of Food Grain Scheme

Recently, many states have demanded the extension of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY).

Key Points

• Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana:
• PMGKAY is a part of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) to help the poor fight the battle against Covid-19.
• It was announced for three months (April, May, and June), covering 80 crore ration cardholders. It will come to an end on 30th June 2020.
• The scheme aimed at providing each person who is covered under the National Food Security Act with an additional 5 kg grains (wheat or rice) for free, in addition to the 5 kg of subsidized foodgrain already provided through the Public Distribution System (PDS).
• The beneficiaries are also entitled to 1 kg of pulse for free, according to regional preferences.
• Performance of the Scheme:
• According to the Union Ministry of Food and Public Distribution, a total of 116.02 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of food grains have been lifted under the scheme.
• In April, 93% of the food grains were distributed targeting 74.05 crore beneficiaries.
• In May, the distribution stood at 91% reaching 72.99 crore beneficiaries
• In June 2020, 71% of allocated food grains have been distributed to 56.81 crore beneficiaries so far.
• Sufficient Food Stock:
• According to the Central government, the Food Corporation of India has “sufficient stock of food grains”.
• It has a stock of 266.29 LMT rice and 550.31 LMT wheat as of June 28.
• This is excluding the ongoing purchase of wheat and paddy stocks that have not yet reached the godowns.
• Each month, only about 55 LMT of food grains is required for distribution to ration cardholders.
• Issues Involved:
• There is an excess of food stocks along with widespread hunger in the country.
• Around 200 million beneficiaries did not get their due in April 2020– in the distribution of additional food grains and pulses under the scheme.
• In April 2020 the government also allowed the conversion of surplus rice into ethanol for making alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• With the beginning of the monsoon, there is a danger of food grains getting rot.

Way Forward

• The food grain provided under the scheme must continue until the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is not reduced. The impact of Covid-19 pandemic is still continuing, many economic activities have not been able to start in their full capacity, and a large number of people are unemployed.
• India has large buffer stocks of food grains that are maintained precisely for meeting emergencies like Covid-19. What is required is a universal Public Distribution System (PDS) to ensure that nobody is excluded.

Source: The Hindu

8) Sanskritik Sadbhav Mandap: PMJVK

• Recently, the Minister of Minority Affairs has laid the foundation stone for ‘Sanskritik Sadbhav Mandap’ (multi-purpose community center) at Rampur in Uttar Pradesh.
• This community center will be utilized for various socio-economic-cultural activities, skill development training, coaching, different sports activities, and relief activities during disasters such as Covid-19.
• It is being constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK).

Key Points

• Restructured: Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK) is a restructured and renamed form of the erstwhile Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MsDP).
• The scheme was restructured on the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment headed by Ramesh Bais, which submitted its report on ‘Implementation of Scheme of Multi-Sectoral Development Programme/Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram’ on 9th August 2018.
• Implementation Period: The restructured scheme is to be implemented during the remaining period of the 14th Finance Commission i.e. 31st March 2020.
• Funding: Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• Background:
• In the year 2008-09, the Government conceived the Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MsDP) as a centrally sponsored scheme.
• Initially, the MsDP scheme was launched in the 90 Minority Concentration Districts of the country.
• To sharpen the focus on the targeted communities, the scheme was restructured during 2013-14 and the unit of planning for implementation was changed to Minority Concentration Blocks (MCB), Minority Concentration Towns (MCT) and Clusters of Minority Concentration Villages (COV).
• Implementation Region: The PMJVK will continue to be implemented in MCBs, MCTs, and COVs. A new area for implementation of PMJVK has been included namely Minority Concentration District Headquarters (MCD Hq).
• The identified areas namely MCBs, MCTs, MCD Hqs, and COVs for implementation of PMJVK are collectively known as Minority Concentration Areas (MCA).
• Basis of Selection: Based on a substantial population of minority communities i.e. 25% of the minority population in the area and backwardness parameters (literacy rate, female literacy rate, work participation rate and female work participation rate) along with basic amenities indicators in the area concerned which are below the national average based on population data of Census 2011.
• As per the Census 2011, the percentage of minorities in the country is about 19.3% of the total population of the country.
• The population of Muslims are 14.2%, Christians 2.3%, Sikhs 1.7%, Buddhists 0.7%, Jain 0.4% and Parsis 0.006%.
• Minority Community: As far as PMJVK is concerned, the communities notified as minority communities under Section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 would be taken as Minority Communities.
• At present six communities namely Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis), and Jains have been notified as Minority Communities.
• Other schemes which aim at the inclusive growth of the minority communities:
• Seekho Aur Kamao.
• Usttad.
• Garib Nawaz Kaushal Vikas Yojana.
• Nai Manzil.
• Nai Roshni.
• Begum Hazrat Mahal Girls scholarships.

Minorities in India

• Constitutional Provisions: The term "Minority" is not defined in the Indian Constitution. However, the Constitution recognizes only religious and linguistic minorities.
• Article 29: It provides that any section of the citizens residing in any part of India having a distinct language, script, or culture of its own, shall have the right to conserve the same.
• It grants protection to both religious minorities as well as linguistic minorities.
• However, the Supreme Court held that the scope of this article is not necessarily restricted to minorities only, as use of the word ‘section of citizens’ in the Article that include minorities as well as the majority.
• Article 30: Under the article, all minorities shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
• The protection under Article 30 is confined only to minorities (religious or linguistic) and does not extend to any section of citizens (as under Article 29).
• Article 350-B: Originally, the Constitution of India did not make any provision concerning the Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities. However, the 7th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1956 inserted Article 350-B in the Constitution.
• It provides for a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities appointed by the President of India.
• It would be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities under the constitution.
• Parliamentary Provisions:
• National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992: The act defines a minority as “a community notified as such by the Central government”.
• Under this act, the government formed the National Commission for Minorities which consists of a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson, and five members. The five members including the Chairperson shall be from amongst the minority communities.

Minorities Rights Day in India

• The National Commission for Minorities observes the 18th December as Minorities Rights Day every year.
• The day marks the adoption of the “Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities” by the United Nations in 1992.
• The declaration states that States shall protect the existence of the National or Ethnic, Cultural, Religious, and Linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories and encourage conditions for the promotion of that identity.

Source: PIB

9) Uganda Submitted REDD+ Results

Recently, Uganda has become the first African country to submit results for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

REDD+

• Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) is a mechanism developed by Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2005.
• Most of the key REDD+ decisions were completed by 2013, with the final pieces of the rulebook finished in 2015.
• The “Plus” in REDD+, lays out the various ways in which countries have defined the three activities: conservation, the sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stock.
• It aims to achieve climate change mitigation by incentivizing forest conservation.
• It has three phases — Readiness, Implementation, and Result-based actions.
• The readiness phase involves the development of national strategies or action plans, REDD+ mitigation actions, and capacity building.
• Implementation is about enacting REDD+ actions and national strategies that could involve further capacity building, technology development, and transfer.
• Results-based payments comprise the final REDD+ phase.
• It provides financial incentives to developing countries that prove they stopped deforestation during a certain period. This is done through rigorous UN-backed technical evaluations
• The Green Climate Fund (GCF) established at Conference Of Parties (COP)-17 to function as the financial mechanism for the UNFCCC, is currently financing REDD+ programs.
• Brazil was the first country to receive $96.5 million under the results-based payments.

Key Points

• Uganda's REDD+ Results: There is a 44% reduction in the country’s rate of deforestation annually between 2015 and 2017.
• The results submission by Uganda to the UNFCCC has paved the way for potential results-based payments to the country.
• It will help Uganda to receive funds through the Green Climate Fund’s forest conservation scheme.
• Significance for Africa: The submission of the results is a significant development on REDD+ for Africa. This will encourage other African countries to reduce carbon emissions by decreasing deforestation and forest degradation.
• India and REDD+:
• The Paris agreement on climate change called upon country Parties to take action to implement and support REDD+.
• India has communicated in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement, that it will capture 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of Carbon dioxide through additional forest and tree cover by 2030.
• In this regard, India has prepared its “National REDD+ Strategy”.
• Introduced in 2018 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the strategy seeks to address drivers of deforestation and forest degradation and also develop a roadmap for enhancement of forest carbon stocks and achieving sustainable management of forests through REDD+ actions.

Way Forward

• Achieving REDD+ results are challenging, as there are other development priorities — with agriculture, mining, energy, and forestry — driving deforestation.
• There is a need to support developing countries through all three REDD+ phases — readiness, implementation, and result-based actions — by providing tools and analysis of how to design, implement and measure the results of REDD+ action.
• This will in turn position countries like India and Africa as the forest champion of the next decade.

Source: Down To Earth

10) Uttrakhand Approves Land Transfer

Recently, the Uttarakhand State Wildlife Advisory Board has permitted proposals on the transfer of forest land in Gangotri National Park for the development of roads.

• The decision comes amid the row between India and China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.

Key Points

• Under these proposals, a total of 73.36 hectares of forest land at three different sites of Gangotri National Park will be required to be transferred for construction of separate roads, totaling 35.66 km in length.
• Gangotri National Park is a protected area and forest land chosen is near the international border with China.
• These routes are very important for national security because they will make the movement of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel near the China border far easier.
• Now, the proposals regarding the land transfer for these roads will be sent to the National Wildlife Board.

Gangotri National Park

• It was established in 1989 and is situated in Uttarkashi, Uttrakhand in the upper catchment of Bhagirathi River.
• Gaumukh at Gangotri glacier, the origin of river Ganga, is located inside the park.
• The park area forms a viable continuity between Govind National Park and Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary.
• Flora: The park is enveloped by dense coniferous forests that are mostly temperate. Chirping, deodar, fir, spruce, oak, and rhododendron are common vegetation.
• Fauna: Various rare and endangered species like bharal or blue sheep, black bear, brown bear, Himalayan monal, Himalayan snowcock, Himalayan tahr, musk deer and snow leopard are found in the park.

Indo-Tibetan Border Police

• One of the Central Reserve Police Forces (CRPF), was raised on 24th October 1962.
• ITBP is deployed on border guarding duties from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh covering 3488 km of Sino-India Border.
• ITBP is a specialized mountain force and most of the officers and men are professionally trained mountaineers and skiers.
• Being the first responder for natural disasters, ITBP has been carrying out numerous rescue and relief operations across the country.
• Headquarters: New Delhi.
• In November 2019, the Ministry of Home Affairs proposed to merge the Assam Rifles with the ITBP.

Source: Indian Express