Daily Current Affairs 31 August 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) Annual butterfly migration in south India.

The annual butterfly migration in south India generally begins in October-November, with the onset of the northeast monsoon. The butterflies in order to escape the rainfall migrate from the plains to the Ghats.
In April-June, just before the advent of the southwest monsoon, the butterflies migrate from the Ghats to the plains.
As against the normal pattern, the annual migration of butterflies from the hill ranges of the Eastern Ghats towards the Western Ghats has occurred earlier this year. This marks an early migration after a gap of eight years.
Changes in rainfall patterns and a considerable increase in the number of sunny days could be among the major reasons for the early migration event.
The major butterfly species involved in early migration involves the Blue Tiger, Dark Blue Tiger, Common Crow, and the Double-branded. Species like Lime Swallowtail, Lemon Pansy, Common Leopard, Blue Pansy, Common Emigrant, and Lemon Emigrants have also been migrating but in lower numbers.

Source: The Hindu

2) The issue of Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation.

Implemented in 2016, the GST regime had promised the States a 14% increase in tax revenue. The GST system also had provisions for the makeup for the shortfall in tax revenue caused due to the transition to the GST system.
Compensation payment has been an issue since August 2019 with GST collections showing poor growth. In the current fiscal, the compensation requirement of States has been estimated at Rs. 3 lakh crore, of which only Rs. 65,000 crore would be funded from the revenues garnered by a levy of cess.
In the recently held 41st GST Council, acknowledging the likely GST revenue gap and GST compensation paid to the states in the current financial year, the center had offered states two options for borrowing to meet the shortfall.

Details:

Kerala has rejected the two options for Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation mooted by the Centre and has asked the Centre to take a loan and provide compensation to the States.
Kerala has stated that it would take the lead to arrive at a consensus on the issue by holding discussions with other States.

Concerns raised by Kerala:

Kerala has argued that the proposals would lead to a financial loss for the State.
The Centre has tried to distinguish between the shortfalls due to GST implementation itself and that caused by the impact of COVID-19. The center’s claim has been that only the former i.e, shortfall due to GST implementation can be claimed under the compensation law. This Kerala claim goes against the provisions of the constitutionally backed GST regime and the spirit of co-operative federalism. States have argued that such a distinction is not constitutionally valid.
Kerala has been arguing that the views of the States in the GST Council were ignored.
As per the Constitutional provisions, only 3% of the State’s income can be availed as loan and even if the fiscal limit ceiling is enhanced by 0.5% via a constitutional amendment, it will still not be adequate for some states like Kerala as it will not be enough to cover the GST compensation given the huge shortfall.
Kerala’s argument has been that it would be much better if the center raised the loan given that the interest on loans raised by the states would be 1-2% higher as compared to the loans raised by the central government.

Collective economic interest:

Given that additional borrowing by the Centre influences yields on Central Government securities (G-secs) and has other macro-economic repercussions, while yields on State securities do not directly influence other yields and do not have the same repercussions, it would be economically prudent to restrict any avoidable borrowing at the Central level when it could be done at the State level.
Given that States can borrow without hurting the economy, it would be best to have the states to borrow to make up for the shortfall.

‘Act of God’ argument:

The Centre’s argument has been that going by the wording of the Constitutional provisions of the GST system, the spirit of the law is not to compensate States for all types of revenue losses, but rather for that loss arising from GST implementation

Special window provisions:

The center under the special window borrowing would endeavor to keep the cost of borrowing for the states as low as possible.
As per the proposed option, the interest on the borrowing under the special window will be paid from the cess as and when it arises until the end of the transition period. The State will not be required to service the debt or to repay it from any other source.
The borrowing under the special window will also not be treated as a debt of the State for any norms which may be prescribed by the Finance Commission etc. This would not disadvantage the states for any enhanced borrowing activities.

Source: The Hindu

3) Onam

President of India’s Greetings on the eve of Onam

About:

Onam is the biggest and the most important festival of the state of Kerala.

Time and Duration:

It is a harvest festival, celebrated at the beginning of the month of Chingam, the first month of Malayalam Calendar (Kollavarsham). This corresponds with the month of August-September according to Gregorian Calendar.
Carnival of Onam lasts from four to ten days. The first day, Atham and tenth day, Thiru Onam are most important of all.

Background

According to a popular legend, the festival is celebrated to welcome King Mahabali, whose spirit is said to visit Kerala at the time of Onam.

Celebrations:

Elaborate feasts, folk songs, elegant dances, energetic games, elephants, boats, and flowers all are a part of the dynamic festival called Onam.
The most impressive part is the grand feast called Onasadya, prepared on Thiruonam. It is a nine-course meal consisting of 11 to 13 essential dishes.
Another key feature is Vallamkali, the Snake Boat Race, held on the river Pampa.
There is also a tradition to play games, collectively called Onakalikal, on Onam. Men go in for rigorous sports like Talappanthukali (played with ball), Ambeyyal (Archery), Kutukutu, and combats called Kayyankali and Attakalam.
Women indulge in cultural activities.
They make intricately designed flower mats called, Pookalam in the front courtyard of house to welcome King Mahabali.
Kaikotti kali and Thumbi Thullal are two graceful dances performed by women on Onam.

Source: PIB

4) RORO service of South Western Railway

Shri B S Yediyurappa, Chief Minister of Karnataka and Shri Suresh C. Angadi, Minister of State of Railways flagged off first-ever RORO service of South Western Railway from Nelamangla (near Bengaluru) to Bale (near Solapur).
Roll On Roll Off (RORO)is a concept of carrying road vehicles loaded with various commodities, on open flat railway wagons
RORO services are a combination of best features of road and rail transports in the sense that they offer door to door service with minimal handling transported by fat and direct rail link. Road transport has the advantage of door to door delivery of goods. However, increasing traffic on roads is leading to congestion and delays to passenger vehicles. This will cause unsafe travel conditions. Also, delays at interstate check posts due to inspection of various documents, etc. contribute to increased travel time.
On the other hand, Railways provide hassle-free and environmentally friendly transport to medium to the large quantum of freight. Rail transport is the most fuel-efficient of all means of transport and is much safer than the road.

Advantages of RO-RO

Roll-on-Roll-off is a multimodal delivery model with the following advantages

Faster movement of goods and essentials, reducing Time taken by trucks to reach destinations due to traffic congestion in between cities
Reduces congestion on the roads
Saves precious fuel
Reduces carbon footprint
Relief to the crew of truck as it avoids long-distance driving
No hassles of check posts/toll gates etc
Seamless Inter-operability between roadways & railways-Inter-modal transport on existing track
Ensuring an uninterrupted supply of essential commodities
Free time for loading/ unloading is 3 hours
Ro-RO will be a reckoning force in "vocal for local" –
Will boost our local MSME units by encouraging piecemeal /decentralized loading through trucks.
RO-RO will help government initiatives like "operation green" to stabilize prices of TOP(tomato, potato, and Onion)
Provides a link between agriculture producing regions and agro consumption centers
Ensures farmers get the right market and right price for their produce
Connects and Balances the commodity deficient and surplus markets

RO-ROtrain services were first introduced in Indian Railways on Konkan Railways in 1999, and are running successfully since then.

In lockdown announced to control the spread of Covid-19 in the country, the RO-RO model came to the rescue for many transporters.

Sectors Benefited

Agricultural

APMC vegetable market one of the biggest onion market in South India
More than 500 shops are about 9 Kms from Nelamangala
Serves Coconut growers from Tumkur, Dobbaspet, Tiptur, etc
Pineapples growers from Bengaluru Rural Areas
Sapota cultivators from Bengaluru Rural Area
Sabudana manufacturers from Salem
Spice(dry chili & others) Cultivators from Karnataka Rural regions
Perishable vegetables from Nelamangala and neighboring areas

Industries

M/s.Unibic, Denzo, Kirloskar, Jindal, Kemwell, Powerica &many PharmaIndustries are located within 15 km from Nelamangala

Transport

Major Transport Hub- within 15 km from Nelmangala

Expected Commodities

Agricultural Produce, Industrial Goods, Chemicals, etc.,

Source: PIB

5) Premature retirement

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has issued a notification on review, consolidation, and reiteration of the guidelines on premature retirement of government servants, clarifying that it is distinct from “compulsory retirement” and is not a penalty.
The objective of Fundamental Rule (FR) 560)1(l) and Rule 48 of CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, is to strengthen the administrative machinery by developing responsible and efficient administration at all levels and to achieve efficiency, economy, and speed in the disposal of government functions
At any time after a government servant has completed 30 years’ qualifying service, the official being prematurely retired will be entitled to a pension.
As provided, the appropriate authority can retire an official in the public interest, by giving a notice of not less than three months in writing or three months’ pay and allowances in lieu of such notice.
The rule will apply to officials who are in Group ‘A’ or Group ‘B’ service or posted in a substantive, quasi-permanent, or temporary capacity and had entered government service before attaining the age of 35 years; and who have attained the age of 50 years. In any other case, the officials should have attained the age of 55 years.
The authority can retire a government servant in the Group ‘C’ service or post, who is not governed by any pension rules, after the official has completed 30 years of service, by giving a notice of not less than three months or three months’ pay and allowances
There will be a quarterly performance review. A register of those who are due to attain the age of 50/55 years, or to complete 30 years of service, has to be maintained. The register will be scrutinized at the beginning of every quarter by a senior officer in the ministry, department, or cadre.
Non-adherence to the timelines, as mentioned in the notification, due to certain administrative exigencies will not take away the powers of the authority to prematurely retire an official. There is also no bar on the government reviewing any such case again where it was decided earlier to retain the official.
The Secretary concerned of the Cadre Controlling Authority (CCA) will constitute Review Committees of two members at an appropriate level. The Representation Committee will comprise a Secretary-level official nominated by the Cabinet Secretary; and Additional Secretary/Joint Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, and one member nominated by the CCA.
The broad criteria to be followed by the Review Committee while making the recommendations include the issues of doubtful integrity, ineffectiveness, and fitness/competence to continue in the post held.

Source: The Hindu

6) Identification of Minorities

Recently, the Supreme Court has sought the Central government's response on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging provisions of the National Commission for Minority Education Institution (NCMEI) Act, 2004.

Petitioner’s Argument:

The NCMEI Act identifies minorities at the national level and not at the State level, thereby depriving deserving minorities in the states of their Constitutional rights.
The Centre’s notification (under section 2(f) of NCMEI Act) which identifies Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, and Jains as minorities at the national level is against the judgment of TMA Pai Foundation case, 2002.
These minorities at the national level have a significant population in many states. E.g.
Muslims are in majority in Lakshadweep (96.58%) & Kashmir (96%).
Christians are in majority in Nagaland (88.10%), Mizoram (87.16%), and Meghalaya (74.59%).
The Supreme Court in the TMA Pai Foundation case held that the unit of determining religious and linguistic minorities would be 'State'. It also authorized the state government to regulate minority educational institutions.
The rational basis of declaring certain religions as a minority by the Central government as they have less population in the States is contravened when benefits of schemes for minorities are acquired by those religious minorities in states where they are in majority and those religious communities who are actually minorities are not given equal status.
Those who follow Hinduism, Judaism, and Bahaism are minorities in regions like Ladakh, Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Kashmir, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab, and Manipur.
However, they cannot establish & administer educational institutions of their choice because of the non-identification of 'minority' at the State level, thus jeopardizing their basic rights guaranteed under Article 29 and 30.

Changes Demanded:

Direct and declare that Section 2(f) of the NCMEI Act 2004 is arbitrary, irrational, and violative of the Constitution and hence void.
Direct the Centre to lay down guidelines for identification of minority at State level.

Constitutional and Legal Provisions Related to Minorities

The term "Minority" is not defined in the Indian Constitution. However, the Constitution recognizes 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 the use of the word ‘section of citizens’ in the Article includes minorities as well as the majority.
Article 30: 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 with respect to 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.

National Commission for Minority Education Institution (NCMEI) Act, 2004:

It gives the minority status to the educational institutions on the basis of six religious communities notified by the government under the NCMEI Act, 2004-- Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains.

Source: Indian Express

7) Foundation Day of AREAS

On the 6th Foundation Day (27th August 2020) of the Association of Renewable Energy Agencies of States (AREAS), the government has launched a website and telephone directory for AREAS.
Agenda Behind AREAS: State Nodal Agencies (SNAs) for Renewable Energy (RE) interact and learn from each other’s experiences and also share their best practices and knowledge regarding technologies and schemes/programs.
Members: The Union Minister for New & Renewable Energy (NRE) is the Patron of the Association and Secretary, MNRE is the ex-officio President of the Association. All SNAs are members of the Association.
Formation: It got registered under the Society Registration Act, 1860 on 27th August 2014.

Renewable Energy Initiatives in India

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is the nodal Ministry of the Government of India for all matters relating to new and renewable energy.
New and Renewable Energy sources include solar energy, geothermal energy, wind power, hydropower, biomass, etc.
In September 2019, at the United Nations Climate Action Summit, India announced increasing the renewable energy target to 450 GW by 2030 from 175 GW by 2022.
In its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), India has pledged to increase the share of non-fossil fuels-based electricity to 40% by 2030.
The Green Energy Corridor Project aims at synchronizing electricity produced from renewable sources, such as solar and wind, with conventional power stations in the grid.
Recently, Indian Railways has contacted solar power developers to meet the net-zero carbon emission target by 2030.

Sector Specific Initiatives:

Solar Energy:

International Solar Alliance
One Sun, One World, One Grid (OSOWOG)
National Solar Mission (a part of National Action Plan on Climate Change)
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyaan (PM KUSUM)
Atal Jyoti Yojana
Surya Mitra Skill Development Programme
Solar Park Scheme and Grid Connected Solar Rooftop Scheme
Rewa Solar Power Plant

Wind Energy:

National Wind Resource Assessment program
National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy 2018
National Institute of Wind Energy, Tamil Nadu

Waste to Energy:

Program on Energy from Urban, Industrial, Agricultural Wastes/Residues and Municipal Solid Waste

BioEnergy:

Biomass power & cogeneration programme
Biogas Power Generation (Off-grid) and Thermal energy application Programme (BPGTP)

Source: PIB

8) Taliban Delegation in Pakistan

Daily Current Affairs 31 August 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020 Daily News Teller

Recently, a Taliban delegation visited Pakistan to discuss the way forward in the Afghan peace process.
The Taliban delegation was led by their political chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.

Pakistan Stand:

It had played a facilitating role in the Afghan issue, which led to a peace agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban.
The next step it seeks is intra-Afghan peace dialogue, to which Afghanistan has also agreed.
It has reiterated its commitment to further deepen the ties with Afghanistan and enhance cooperation in all fields.

Issues Involved:

The Taliban visited Pakistan in the backdrop of stalled intra-Afghan peace dialogue over the issue of prisoners' release.
The Taliban also want to speed up the intra-Afghan peace dialogue.
Earlier, to resolve the issue the Afghanistan government had convened Loya Jirga (grand assembly), which also approved the release of prisoners and further the peace process.

Background:

The USA signed a deal with the Taliban that paved the way towards a full withdrawal of USA troops from Afghanistan and also represent a step towards ending the 18-year-war in Afghanistan.
The peace deal was expected to kick-off two processes- a phased withdrawal of US troops and an ‘intra-Afghan’ dialogue.
The deal is a fundamental step to deliver a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire and the future political roadmap for the Afghanistan peace process.

India’s Interests in Afghanistan:

India has a major stake in the stability of Afghanistan. India has invested considerable resources in Afghanistan's development. E.g. the Afghan Parliament, the Zaranj-Delaram Highway, Afghanistan-India Friendship Dam (Salma Dam) among others.
India favors the continuation of the current Afghanistan government in power, which it considers a strategic asset vis-à-vis Pakistan.
An increased political and military role for the Taliban and the expansion of its territorial control should be of great concern to India since the Taliban is widely believed to be a protégé of Pakistan.
Afghanistan is the gateway to Central Asia.
Withdrawal of US troops could result in the breeding of the fertile ground for various anti-India terrorist outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba or Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Way Forward

India should support any genuine peace process in Afghanistan. However, the peace process in Afghanistan appears to be one-sided and pushed by the U.S.A. and Pakistan.
India should not recognize or publicly engage the Taliban until it recognizes the Afghanistan government.

Source: The Hindu

9) Protests Against Farm Ordinances

Recently, the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution and rejected the Centre’s recent farm ordinances and the proposed Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020.

Reforms Brought by Centre:

The ordinances include:
Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, 2020
Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, 2020
Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020.
These ordinances were a part of the third tranche of the economic package announced under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan to counter the Covid-19 pandemic.
They are expected to allow free movement of agricultural produce between states and let the farmers decide to whom they want to sell their crops.
The Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2020 centralizes the power sector through establishment of Electricity Contract Enforcement Authority.
Recognition of franchisees and sublicensees under the Bill might open the sector to private players.

Criticism:

Source of Income for State Governments: One of the Ordinance prohibits state governments from levying any market fee, cess or levy on farmers, traders, and electronic trading platforms for any trade under the Ordinance. State governments would lose incomes from Agricultural Produce Market Committee-controlled trading.
Usurping State Powers: These ordinances are targeted at usurping state powers, and overriding state laws and market committees.

Punjab’s Stand:

Entry 14 of List II of the Constitution comprises agriculture as the subject of the states. Therefore the three ordinances passed by the Centre are against the Constitution of India.
These ordinances are a direct encroachment upon the functions of the states and against the spirit of cooperative federalism enshrined in the Constitution.
Cooperative federalism is defined as administrative cooperation between the Centre & states and among states.

Distribution of Legislative Subjects

Article 246 adopts a threefold distribution of legislative power between the Union and the states.
The subject-wise distribution of this power is given in the three lists of the Seventh Schedule of the constitution:

List-I- the Union List
List-II- the State List
List-III- the Concurrent List

Union List:

Parliament has exclusive powers to make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in the Union List.
It includes the matters of national importance and the matters which require uniformity of legislation nationwide.
This list includes 98 subjects like defense, banking, foreign affairs, currency, atomic energy, insurance, communication, inter-state trade and commerce, census, audit, and so on.

State List:

The state legislature has exclusive powers (not during an emergency) to make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in the State List.
It includes the matters of regional and local importance and the matters which permit diversity of interest.
This list includes 59 subjects like public order, police, public health and sanitation, agriculture, prisons, local government, fisheries, markets, theaters, gambling and so on.

Concurrent List:

Both, the Parliament and state legislature can make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in the Concurrent List.
It includes the matters on which uniformity of legislation throughout the country is desirable but not essential.
This list has at present 52 subjects like criminal law and procedure, civil procedure, marriage and divorce, population control and family planning, electricity, labor welfare, economic and social planning, drugs, newspapers, books and printing press, and others.

Other Features:

The power to make laws with respect to residuary subjects i.e. the matters which are not enumerated in any of the three lists is vested in the Parliament.
Parliament has the power to make laws with respect to any part of the territory of India not included in a state even though that matter is one which is enumerated in the State List.
This provision is related to the Union Territories or the Acquired Territories (if any).

Source: PIB

10) SC Decision on UGC Guidelines on Conduct of Examinations

The Supreme Court ruled that the states are empowered under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (DM Act) to override University Grants Commission (UGC) exam guidelines in order to protect human lives amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, it held that universities and other institutions of higher education will have to conduct the final-year exams and cannot promote students on the basis of internal assessment or other criteria.

Background:

The UGC had directed that final year examinations of Universities must be conducted by September-end in online or offline mode. However, the Maharashtra and Delhi governments employed the DM Act, 2005 to cancel the examinations due to Covid-19 to which the UGC objected.

Judgment

In case of a disaster, the priority of all authorities under the DM Act is to immediately combat the disaster and contain it to save human life. Saving the life of human beings is given paramount importance.
However, the powers of the States under the DM Act do not extend to promoting students on the sole basis of their internal assessment without taking exams.
In the future, if any State found it impossible to conduct the exams by the deadline given by UGC and wanted to postpone them, it could apply to the UGC, which would consider the request and decide at the earliest.
Also, the States and universities cannot dismiss UGC guidelines as being merely advisory. They were necessary for the determination of standards in institutions of higher education and were obligatory for universities.
The UGC (Minimum Standards of Instruction for the Grant of the Master’s Degree through Formal Education) Regulations, 2003, categorically requires universities to adopt the guidelines.
The court also rejected the argument that compelling attendance by holding a physical examination is a violation of the ‘Right to Life’ under Article 21.
It pointed out that the revised guidelines take into consideration the fact that the number of Covid cases is rising.
They were based on the recommendations of the R.C. Kuhad Expert Committee. They provided three modes of examination - pen and paper, online and blended (both physical and online). A “special chance” was also given to students unable to take the exams.
The R.C. Kuhad Expert Committee recommended that exams should be held for Terminal Semester Students while the Intermediate Semester Students should be graded based on internal assessment of the present and previous semester. It also suggested the constitution of a Covid-19 cell in every university.

University Grants Commission (UGC)

It came into existence on 28th December 1953 but became a statutory organization of the Government of India by the UGC Act, 1956, under the Ministry of Education.
The UGC`s mandate includes:
Promoting and coordinating university education.
Determining and maintaining standards of teaching, examination, and research in universities.
Framing regulations on minimum standards of education.
Monitoring developments in the field of collegiate and university education; disbursing grants to the universities and colleges.
Serving as a vital link between the Union and state governments and institutions of higher learning.
Advising the Central and State governments on the measures necessary for the improvement of the university.

Way Forward

The performance in examinations contributes to merit, lifelong credibility, wider global acceptability, and better future prospects to the student. However, the digital divide that exists in the country must be taken into account while going for the online conduct of examinations.
The Ministry of Education must proactively intervene in the appointments of final year students who have not been able to appear for the examination and come out with policies to defer the requirement of degree certificates for job appointments.

Source: The Hindu