DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS + SUMMARY 12 MARCH 2022
INSIGHTS DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS + PIB SUMMARY 12 MARCH 2022
Table of Contents:
GS Paper 2:
1. One Nation, One Election.
2. Char Dham.
3. Lokpal fails to give prosecution sanctions to anyone in nearly three years.
4. Model Tenancy Act.
5. Why the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 alone are not sufficient?
6. Iran Nuclear Deal.
7. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
Facts for Prelims:
Rashtriya Raksha University.
One Nation, One Election:
GS Paper 2:
Topics Covered: Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.
Context:
Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra has said that the Election Commission is ready to hold simultaneous elections or ‘One Nation, One Election.
- Earlier this year, on National Voters’ Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his address had raised the topics of ‘One Nation, One Election’ and ‘One Nation, One Voters’ list’, and had said that the continuous cycle of election results is affecting development works.
What is ‘One Nation, One Election?
It refers to holding elections to Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies, Panchayats and Urban local bodies simultaneously, once in five years.
But, what are the challenges posed by frequent elections?
- Massive expenditure.
- Policy paralysis that results from the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct during election time.
- Impact on delivery of essential services.
- The burden on crucial manpower that is deployed during election time.
- Puts pressure on political parties, especially smaller ones, as elections are becoming increasingly expensive.
Benefits of Simultaneous Elections:
- Governance and consistency: The ruling parties will be able to focus on legislation and governance rather than having to be in campaign mode forever.
- Reduced Expenditure of Money and Administration.
- Continuity in policies and programmes.
- The efficiency of Governance: Populist measures by governments will reduce.
- The impact of black money on the voters will be reduced as all elections are held at a time.
Impact on Regional parties:
There is always a tendency for voters to vote for the same party in power in the state and at the Centre, in case the Lok Sabha polls and the state elections are held together.
For simultaneous elections to be implemented, Changes to be made in Constitution and Legislations:
- Article 83 which deals with the duration of the Houses of Parliament need an amendment.
- Article 85 (on the dissolution of Lok Sabha by the president).
- Article 172 (relating to the duration of state legislatures).
The Representation of People Act, 1951 Act would have to be amended to build in provisions for the stability of tenure for both parliament and assemblies. This should include the following crucial elements:
- Restructuring the powers and functions of the ECI to facilitate procedures required for simultaneous elections
- A definition of simultaneous election can be added to section 2 of the 1951 act.
InstaLinks:
Prelims Link:
- What is the Model Code of Conduct?
- Powers of the Election Commission to conduct elections.
- Overview of the Representation of People Act, 1951 Act.
- Overview of Articles- 83, 85 and 172.
Mains Link:
Discuss the merits and demerits of the concept of “One nation, One election” for Indian polity.
Sources: The Hindu.
March 12, 2022
Char Dham:
GS Paper 2:
Topics Covered: Indian culture – salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
Context:
The Supreme Court has urged its former Justice AK Sikri to take over as the Chairman of the high-powered committee constituted by it to “consider the cumulative and independent impact of the Char Dham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojana (Char Dham Highway Development Project) on the entire Himalayan valley”.
What’s the issue?
In February 2022, Veteran environmentalist Ravi Chopra has resigned as chairman of the Supreme Court’s High Powered Committee (HPC) on the Char Dham project, saying that his “belief that the HPC could protect this fragile (Himalayan) ecology has been shattered”.
- In his resignation letter to the secretary-general of the Supreme Court on January 27, Chopra referred to the apex court’s December 2021 order that accepted the wider road configuration to meet defence needs, instead of what the HPC had recommended and the SC accepted in its earlier order in September 2020.
What has the Court said so far in this matter?
- In 2018, the project was challenged by an NGO for its potential impact on the Himalayan ecology due to felling trees, cutting hills and dumping excavated material.
- In 2019, the SC formed the HPC Chopra to examine the issues, and in September 2020, accepted his recommendation on road width etc.
- In November 2020, the Ministry of Defence sought wider roads to meet the requirement of the Army.
- In December 2021, the SC modified its September 2020 order on the ground that the court could not “interrogate the policy choice of the establishment which is entrusted by law with the defence of the nation”.
About the Chardham project:
- The project involves developing and widening nearly 900-km of national highways connecting the holy Hindu pilgrimage sites of; Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri at an estimated cost of Rs.12,000 crores.
- The highway will be called Char Dham Mahamarg(Char Dham Highway) and the highway construction project will be called Char Dham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojana(Char Dham Highway Development Project).
What Are The Environmental Concerns That Were Flagged?
- Large-scale construction works in hilly terrain is a recipe for disaster as it leads to a heightened risk of landslides given the felling of trees and loosening of rocks.
- The project was being executed bypassing mandatory environment clearances and environment impact assessment (EIA) procedures.
- Over 25,000 trees have reportedly been felled to make way for the project as a grave worry for the ecologically sensitive zone.
- Since wider carriageways would require more excavation and blast, the purpose of having an all-weather highway may be compromised since the topography would become that much more sensitive to slippage and landslides.
Developments so far wrt the Chardham Project:
- The foundation stone for the Char Dham road project was laid by PM Narendra Modi in December 2016.
- But the project was challenged on environmental grounds in courts with petitioners alleging irregularities vis-a-vis environmental clearances for the project and that it was being pursued in violation of existing norms.
- The National Green Tribunal (NGT) cleared the project in September 2018, but its order was challenged for being passed by a bench different from the one that had heard the matter. Supreme Court stayed the NGT order in October 2018.
- In September 2020, it passed an order on a writ petition stating that highways for the Char Dham project should not exceed 5.5m in width as prescribed in a 2018 circular of the Union Road Transport Ministry. But the Defence Ministry had in December that year sought a modification in the order to allow the width to be 10m.
- The top court then asked its high-powered committee (HPC) to look into the contentions raised by the Centre on the width of the highways.
InstaLinks:
Prelims Link:
- Overview of the project.
- Important National Parks and wildlife sanctuaries in the region.
- Important rivers flow through these places.
- Difference between National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
Mains Link:
Discuss the significance of the Chardham Project.
Sources: Indian Express.
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD):
GS Paper 2:
Topics Covered: Important International institutions.
Context:
The government of Madhya Pradesh in partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) proposed two inexpensive and ingenious ideas to encourage women to cook balanced meals.
These are:
The ‘7 days 7 plots’ programme:
Here, women from the village are taught how to grow different vegetables in their own gardens, seven to be exact, one for each day of the week.
By the end of the week, the first plot is ready to be harvested again. This way, families get to eat fresh, affordable vegetables that they can consume for longer and in greater quantity, as against buying from the market, and so reduce sickness.
This scheme is an adjunct to the Tejaswini Rural Women Empowerment Programme implemented by the UN-affiliated IFAD in MP.
Tiranga Thali:
To encourage a more balanced meal, the project introduced the concept of the “Tiranga Thali”, where each plate contains ingredients of the three colours from the Indian flag. Saffron — all pulses like yellow split peas, pigeon peas, and split red lentils representing proteins; white — rice, milk and roti representing carbohydrates; and green — leafy vegetables representing vitamins and minerals.
About IFAD:
- It is a specialized United Nations agency created in 1977 engaged in providing grants and loans with low interest for allied projects.
- The IFAD works with rural people allowing them to enhance their food security, improve nutrition and raise their incomes.
- It also helps people to expand their businesses.
- The organization is an outcome of the World Food Conference of 1974.
- It is headquartered in Rome and headed by a President.
- It has 177 member countries.
- IFAD brings out the Rural Development Report every year.
The objectives of the IFAD are three-fold:
- To increase the productive capacity of poor people.
- To increase benefits for them from market participation.
- To strengthen the environmental sustainability & climate resilience of their economic activities.
Insta Curious:
How do the roles and functions of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) differ from IFAD?
InstaLinks:
Prelims Link:
- About IFAD.
- Objectives.
- Reports.
Mains Link:
Discuss the roles and functions of IFAD.
Sources: The Hindu.
Facts for Prelims:
Rashtriya Raksha University:
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently dedicated to the nation the building of Rashtriya Raksha University near Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
- Rashtriya Raksha University- an institution of National Importance is established by the Indian Parliament Act.
- The University aims to become an academic-research-training ecosystem for national security and police.