Daily Current Affairs 5 June 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) State of India’s Environment 2020 report 

• India had one in five of all internal displacements caused by disasters across the world in 2019, mostly caused by floods, cyclones, and drought, according to the State of India’s Environment In Figures 2020 report released on Thursday. Also, 19 major extreme weather events claimed 1,357 lives last year. 
• There were more than 50 lakh internal displacements in India last year, the highest in the world. This refers to the number of movements, not people, as individuals can be displaced several times, said research and advocacy organization Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), which published the report.
• Flooding caused by the southwest monsoon led to 26 lakh displacements, while Cyclone Fani alone led to 18 lakh displacements, followed by cyclones Vayu and Bulbul. On the other hand, drought conditions in 19 States led to another 63,000 displacements. 
• Apart from such forced migrations, many move for work. With migrant workers in the news due to the impact of the COVID­19 pandemic and lockdown, the report also broke down the 2011 census data on migrant populations. There were over 45 crore migrants in the country at the time, with the vast majority migrating within their own State. In 2011, over 1.7 crore new migrants had moved for employment purposes, mostly from rural to urban areas.
• The compilation also offers a snapshot of data on forests, water, waste, air, land, wildlife, and other natural resources. It notes that there were 747 more tigers in 2018 than in 2014. However, the net area meant for tiger conservation shrunk by 179 sq.km. Forest cover has shrunk in 38% of districts, while five out of 21 river basins are now in a state of absolute water scarcity. 

Source: The Hindu

2) Bad loans to rise sharply

• With debt servicing capacity of borrowers coming under strain as the country enters a period of possible economic recession, bad loans of Indian banks are expected rise sharply this fiscal, which could lead to yet another year of loss for public sector banks (PSBs), rating agency ICRA said in a report
• ICRA estimated gross non-performing assets to rise to 11.3­11.6% by March 2021 from an estimated level of 8.6% for March 2020, with fresh gross slippage of 5­-5.5% of standard advances in FY21.  The agency said uncertainty on the asset quality of banks remains high with almost 30­40% of the loan book across various banks under the repayment moratorium. 
• While the lockdown has impacted the debt servicing ability of borrowers, the extent of revival in economic activities as the restrictions are eased will drive the final impact on the asset quality of banks,” ICRA said, adding even if 10­20% of these borrowers were to default, the slippage rate for banks could rise to 3­8% of advances. It added that credit provisions will continue to exceed operating profits for PSBs during FY21, translating to the sixth consecutive year of loss.
• PSBs will need estimated capital infusion of ₹45,000 crores to ₹82,500 crores against an earlier estimated ₹10,000 crore to ₹20,000 crores even under a scenario of low credit growth of 3­4% for FY21, ICRA said. The Centre had expected PSBs to raise capital from the markets and hence possibly did not budget for any capital infusion for FY21. “The RBI moratorium was extended... till August 31, 2020; we expect the asset quality stress to reflect only in Q3 and Q4 of FY21 results,” said Anil Gupta, sector head, Financial Sector Ratings, ICRA Ratings.  

Source: The Hindu

3) Gavi, the international vaccine alliance.

• India has today pledged 15 Million US Dollars to Gavi, the international vaccine alliance.
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi was addressing the virtual Global Vaccine Summit hosted by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in which over 50 ​countries - business leaders, UN agencies, civil society, government ministers, Heads of State and country leaders participated.

About GAVI

• GAVI, officially Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (previously the GAVI Alliance, and before that the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) is a public-private global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunization in poor countries.
• GAVI brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry in both industrialized and developing countries, research and technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and other private philanthropists. GAVI has observer status at the World Health Assembly.
• GAVI has been praised for being innovative, effective, and less bureaucratic than multilateral government institutions like the WHO. GAVI programs can often produce quantified, politically-appealing, easy-to-explain results within an election cycle, which is appealing to parties locked in an election cycle. GAVI has been criticized for giving private donors more unilateral power to decide on global health goals, prioritizing new, expensive vaccines while putting less money and effort into expanding coverage of old, cheap ones, harming local healthcare systems, spending too much on subsidies to large, profitable pharmaceutical companies without reducing the prices of some vaccines, and its conflicts of interest in having vaccine manufacturers on its governance board. GAVI has taken steps to address some of these concerns.
• GAVI's approach to public health has been described as business-oriented and technology-focused, using market-oriented measures, and seeking quantifiable results. This model termed the "Gates approach" or US-type approach, GAVI is taken to exemplify. It contrasts with the approach typified by the Alma Ata Declaration, which focusses on the effects of political, social, and cultural systems on health.

Source: The Hindu

4) World Environment Day

• World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated on 5 June every year and is the United Nations' principal vehicle for encouraging awareness and action for the protection of our environment. First held in 1974, it has been a flagship campaign for raising awareness on emerging from environmental issues to marine pollution, human overpopulation, and global warming, to sustainable consumption and wildlife crime. World Environment Day has grown to become a global platform for public outreach, with participation from over 143 countries annually. Each year, WED has provided a new theme that major corporations, NGOs, communities, governments, and all celebrities worldwide adopt to advocate environmental causes.
• The theme for 2020 is "Time for Nature", and will be hosted in Colombia in partnership with Germany.
• Colombia is one of the largest “Megadiverse” nations in the world to hold 10% of the planet’s biodiversity. Since it is part of the Amazon rain forest, Colombia ranks first in bird and orchid species diversity and second in plants, butterflies, freshwater fish, and amphibians.

5) Indian Navy Environment Conservation Roadmap (INECR)

• The ‘Indian Navy Environment Conservation Roadmap’ (INECR) has been the guiding document and key enabler for progressively achieving this vision of the Indian Navy to add a Green Footprint to its Blue Water operations.
• World Environment Day has grown to become a global platform for raising awareness on environmental issues such as marine pollution, global warming, and sustainable consumption. Indian Navy conducted World Environment Day this year adhering to the lockdown measures in force. Educational awareness programs, lectures, and webinars were conducted over electronic media in Naval stations in lieu of the otherwise regular outdoor activities.
• With the aim of reducing pollution from engine exhausts, the Indian Navy collaborated with IOCL to revise the fuel specifications. The new specification surpasses international norms and includes reduced sulfur content which in the long run will reduce emissions levels as well as maintenance requirements onboard. Whilst recognizing the significance of biodiversity, which incidentally is the theme for World Environment Day-2020, ample emphasis is being accorded within the Navy in protecting ocean ecology. Indian Navy has voluntarily implemented all six schedules of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) regulations. All Naval ships have been fitted with MARPOL compliant pollution control equipment such as Oily Water Separators (OWS) and Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) for treating waste generated onboard. Further, to ensure the upkeep of harbor waters, accelerated bioremediation technology has also been developed through Naval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL), Mumbai.
•  In efforts to reduce carbon footprint, measures have been brought in force for a steady increase in the utilisation of e-vehicles such as e-cycles, e-trolley, and e-scooters. As a long term strategy, it is being planned to gradually reduce the usage of fossil-fuel-based vehicles during working hours through the use of e-vehicles or bicycles. To promote the same, units observe ‘No Vehicle Days’ regularly and the concept of a ‘Vehicle Free Base’ is also being introduced in some Naval establishments.           
• An ongoing area of focus within the Navy is the reduction of overall power consumption through a progressive induction of energy-efficient equipment. Substantial efforts have yielded a near-complete transition from conventional lighting to more energy-efficient solid-state lighting. Other notable energy-saving measures incorporated across Indian Navy establishments include use of capacitor banks to maintain high power factor, use of transparent acrylic sheet roofs to harness natural light, SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) based electricity metering for effective monitoring, use of occupancy sensors, sky-pipes and turbo-ventilators in workshop floors, to name a few.
• In line with emerging trends and Govt of India policy, efforts have also been made in the Navy to enhance the share of renewable energy. 24 MW of Solar Photo Voltaic projects is at various stages of implementation in the Navy’s shore establishments. In addition, individual units have also installed solar-powered appliances that have progressively replaced conventional equipment.
• All Naval units have adopted aggressive waste handling processes for collection, segregation, and subsequent handling as per GoI Green norms. An Integrated Solid Waste Management Facility (ISWMF) is being setup at Naval station, Karwar, which includes a centralized waste segregation plant, Organic Waste Converter (OWC) for wet waste and a facility to handle dry/ unsegregated domestic waste. Green Initiatives of the Navy have also been augmented by afforestation and plantation drives. In the past year, over 16,500 trees have been planted which would mitigate an estimated 330 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide.
• Community participation has played a major role in the implementation of these initiatives. Successful institution of green measures in the Navy has been possible through a self-conscious Naval community, well-aware of the necessity of environmental remediation and energy conservation. To foster a sense of responsibility towards the environment, various mass participation events such as mass ‘shramdan’, coastal clanship drives, etc are organized regularly. Further, a trophy introduced to recognize the unit adopting the best green practices for the year has proved useful in encouraging units to embrace Green initiatives.

Source: PIB

6) TULIP

• Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal `Nishank’,  Minister, Human Resource Development, Shri Hardeep S. Puri, MoS (I/C), Housing & Urban Affairs, and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) have jointly launched an online portal for `The Urban Learning Internship Program (TULIP)’ - A program for providing internship opportunities to fresh graduates in all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Smart Cities across the country
• TULIP is a program for providing fresh graduates experiential learning opportunities in the urban sector. It is the result of the visionary leadership of our Prime Minister who firmly believes in the power of the youth and their ability to not only bring positive change in our country but in the world. The Prime Minister has emphasized the important role the youth of India has to play in the future of our country.
• TULIP would help enhance the value-to-market of India’s graduates and help create a potential talent pool in diverse fields like urban planning, transport engineering, environment, municipal finance, etc. thus not only catalyzing the creation of prospective city managers but also talented private/ non-government sector professionals.  TULIP would benefit ULBs and smart cities immensely. It will lead to an infusion of fresh ideas and energy with the engagement of youth in the co-creation of solutions for solving India’s urban challenges. More importantly, it will further the Government’s endeavors to boost community partnership and government- academia-industry-civil society linkages.  Thus TULIP- “The Urban Learning Internship Program” would help fulfill twin goals of providing interns with the hands-on learning experience as well as infusing fresh energy and ideas in the functioning of India’s ULBs and Smart Cities.
• This launch is also an important stepping stone for the fulfillment of MHRD and AICTE’s goal of 1 crore successful internships by the year 2025. The digital platform powering TULIP enables discovery, engagement, aggregation, amplification, and transparency. The platform is customizable and provides immense flexibility to both ULBs/ Smart Cities and interns to enable convenient access. Security features have been thoroughly tested and the platform has been made scalable, federated, and transparent by design.

Source: PIB

7) Inner Line Permit and Citizenship Amendment Act

• Recently, the Supreme Court refused to stay the Adaptation of Laws (Amendment) Order, 2019, issued by the President to amend the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR), 1873.
• The court said it will have to hear what the government has to say on the matter.

Key Points

• The Presidential order was challenged in the Supreme Court by Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) and All Tai Ahom Students’ Union (ATASU).
• The petitioners claimed that the Presidential Order moved some of the districts of Assam away from the purview of BEFR just before the grant of assent to Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019.
• The districts included Kamrup, Darrang, Nowgong, Sibsagar, Lakhimpur, and Cachar.
• BEFR empowers some of the states to bring districts under the inner line area.
• Once the districts had come under ‘the inner line’ area, the CAA could not be implemented to the extent of granting citizenship to illegal immigrants in Assam in view of Section 6B (4) of the CAA.
• Section 6B (4) of the CAA restricts the implementation of CAA to the tribal areas as included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and the area covered under the “Inner Line” notified under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, l873”.
• The CAA relaxes eligibility criteria for certain categories of migrants from three countries (Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan) seeking Indian citizenship and exempts certain categories of areas, including those protected by the Inner Line system.
• The State government claims that ILP cannot be implemented in Assam since Assam is the gateway to northeast India.
• The implementation of ILP will increase the unemployment level. It will affect the tea sector and the oil sector.
• According to the petitioner, BEFR could have been the answer to tackle the problems of illegal immigrants that Assam and its citizens are facing today.

Inner Line Permit

• It is a concept based on the policy of exclusion drawn by colonial rulers in the form of the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act (BEFR), 1873.
• The BEFR prohibits an outsider’s — “British subject or foreign citizen” — entry into the area beyond the Inner Line without a pass and his purchase of land there.
• It protected the commercial interests of the British from the tribal communities.
• BEFR came as a response to the reckless expansion of British entrepreneurs into new lands that threatened British political relations with the hill tribes.
• After Independence, the Indian government replaced “British subjects” with “Citizen of India”.
• The Inner Line separates the tribal-populated hill areas in the Northeast from the plains. To enter and stay for any period in these areas, Indian citizens from other areas need an Inner Line Permit (ILP).
• The main aim of the ILP system is to prevent settlement of other Indian nationals in the States where the ILP regime is prevalent, in order to protect the indigenous/tribal population.
• The Adaptation of Laws (Amendment) Order, 2019 extended the ILP regime to Manipur – after Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram where the ILP regime is applicable.

Source: Indian Express

8) Poaching Increased During Lockdown

• According to a report released by the TRAFFIC, there has been a significant increase in reported poaching of wild animals during the lockdown.
• The report was named as ‘Indian wildlife amidst Covid-19 crisis: An analysis of poaching and illegal wildlife trade trends’.
• The analysis was carried out by comparing media-reported instances of poaching during a six-week pre-lockdown period (February 10 to March 22) with those from six weeks during the lockdown (March 23 to May 3).

Key Points

• Incidences of poaching increased to more than double during the lockdown period. The increase in poaching incidents was for consumption and local trade.
• Poaching of ungulates (a group of large mammals with hooves), hunted mainly for their meat, saw the highest increase during the lockdown period.
• Poaching of small mammals such as hares, porcupines, pangolins, giant squirrels, civets, monkeys, and smaller wild cats also showed a marked increase.
• Among big cats, nine leopards were reported to have been killed, against four in the pre-lockdown period.
• Several protected Chinkaras (Gazella bennettii), was reported to have been poached in Rajasthan.
• Chinkara is a protected species under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• IUCN Status: Least Concern.
• Despite being linked to the Covid-19 crisis, Pangolins were targeted by poachers in various parts of the country.
• However, some species, like tortoises and big cats, which need transportation of trafficked parts have not been poached because there was no transportation available.
• Seizures of wild pet-birds also reduced due to lack of transportation and market.
• Issues Involved:
• If poaching of ungulates and small animals remains unchecked it will lead to depletion of a prey base for big cats like tigers and leopards.
• This in turn will lead to higher incidences of human-wildlife conflicts.
• It will lead to depletion of the ecosystems and undermine the significant successes that India has achieved in the field of wildlife conservation.

TRAFFIC

• TRAFFIC is a leading Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network and non-governmental organization working globally on trade in wild animals and plants in the context of both biodiversity conservation and sustainable development.
• It is a joint program of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), created in 1976.
• TRAFFIC focuses on leveraging resources, expertise, and awareness of the latest globally urgent species trade issues such as tiger parts, elephant ivory, and rhino horn.

World Wildlife Fund

• It is the world’s leading conservation organization and works in more than 100 countries.
• It was established in 1961 and is headquartered at Gland, Switzerland.
• Its mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth.
• WWF collaborates at every level with people around the world to develop and deliver innovative solutions that protect communities, wildlife, and the places in which they live.

Source: Indian Express

9) Rajasthan Tops in Covid-19 Management Index

• Rajasthan has topped the list of Covid-19 Management Index which was analyzed for 10 states by the Central government, including parameters such as active cases, recovered cases, and mortality rate.

Key Points

• The positive cases in the state are heading towards the 10,000-mark but the graph of active cases has been constantly declining.
• There were only 2,699 active cases in the state as of now. The mortality rate was 2.16%, which was quite less than the national average and the recovery rate was 67.59%.
• While the doubling time of Covid-19 infection in India is 12 days, it stands at 18 days in Rajasthan.
• Despite the return of migrants in huge numbers, the infection had not spread widely in the rural areas because of micro-planning at the village and subdivision levels.
• Healthcare initiatives such as immunization, family welfare, maternal and child health, and national health programs, ensured that the people’s needs are met, health infrastructure remains intact and the State’s health index is not adversely impacted.
• To raise awareness about the Covid-19, ‘Swasthya Mitras’ will be appointed in each revenue village.
• Swasthya Mitra is a native of the area and is trained to create awareness amongst the community for helping and guiding them by identifying the nature of the disease, the signs, and symptoms and accordingly guiding them to seek proper medical treatment without much delay.

Source: The Hindu

10) Central Employment Guarantee Council

Recently, the 21st meeting of the Central Employment Guarantee Council was held through video-conferencing.

Key Points

• The government highlighted the work done under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005, by providing employment to rural people.
• The government has allocated Rs. 61,500 crore for MGNREGA for the Financial Year 2020-21, which is an all-time high.
• An additional provision of Rs. 40,000 crore has been made for this program under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan to provide employment to the needy workers during the difficult period due to Covid-19.
• The government has also stressed on the irrigation and water conservation activities under the MGNREGA.
• Central Employment Guarantee Council:
• The Central Council has been constituted under Section 10 of the MGNREGA.
• It is chaired by the Minister of Rural Development.
• It is responsible for advising the Central Government on MGNREGA related matters, and for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the Act.
• It prepares Annual Reports on the implementation of MGNREGA for submission to Parliament.

Source: PIB