National Current Affairs – UPSC/KAS Exams- 29th November 2018
Lancet urges response to heatwave exposure surge
Topic: Environment and Ecology
IN NEWS: The Lancet Countdown 2018 report recommends that the Indian policy makers must take a series of initiatives to mitigate the increased risks to health, and the loss of labour hours due to a surge in exposure to heatwave events in the country over the 2012-2016 period.
More on the Topic:
- Heatwaves are associated with increased rates of heat stress and heat stroke, worsening heart failure and acute kidney injury from dehydration. Children, the elderly and those with pre-existing morbidities are particularly vulnerable.
- From 2014-2017, the average length of heatwaves in India ranged from 3-4 days compared to the global average of 0.8-1.8 days, and Indians were exposed to almost 60 million heatwave exposure events in 2016, a jump of about 40 million from 2012, the report showed.
Way Forward
- Identify “heat hot-spots” through appropriate tracking of meteorological data and promote “timely development and implementation of local Heat Action Plans with strategic inter-agency co-ordination.
- Develop a strategy of response which targets the most vulnerable groups.
- There is a need for reviewing existing occupational health standards, labour laws and sectoral regulations for worker safety in relation to climatic conditions.
Source:The Hindu
Nilgiri Elephant Corridor
Topic: Environment and Ecology
IN NEWS: The Elephant corridor is in news related to encroachment of the corridor by private players.
More on the Topic:
- The elephant corridor in the Nilgiris is 22.6 km long and 1.5 km wide. It is the vital link for about 900 elephants to move between the Eastern and the Western Ghats.
- The stretch between the slopes of the Kalhatti and Masinagudi, which forms part of the buffer zone of the MTR, is a part of a 7,200-plus hectare stretch used by elephants to migrate between the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka, MTR and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu, and Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary and Silent Valley National Park in Kerala.
Source:The Hindu
Char Dham pilgrimage
Topic: Art and Culture
In news: Government’s ambitious plan to connect the Char Dham pilgrimage spots in Uttarakhand by all-weather highways was put under a question mark. The Supreme Court (SC) has sought the Centre’s response on why it should not stay the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) clearance to the project.
More on the Topic:
- The proposed four-lane expressway to Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Bardinath in the hill state has been among the flagship projects of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
- But the idea of the 900-kilometre road network in the sensitive mountains of Uttarakhand drew scepticism from environmental activists who fear the highways and the tourists they would bring in will be at the cost of the ecological balance.
Chardham project:
- The project involves developing and widening 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 as Char Dham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojana (Char Dham Highway Development Project).
- The roads will be widened from 12m to 24m and the project will involve construction of tunnels, bypasses, bridges, subways and viaducts.
Source: The Hindu
Saubhagya Scheme
Topic: Government Policies
In news: 8 States have achieved 100% saturation in household electrification under Saubhagya namely Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Bihar, J&K, Mizoram, Sikkim, Telangana and West Bengal. Thus total 15 States in the country now have 100 % household electrification.
More on the Topic
- Saubhagya – ‘Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana’ was launched in September, 2017 with the objective to provide access to electricity to all the remaining households in the country.
- The electricity connection to households include release of electricity connections by drawing a service cable from the nearest pole to the household premise, installation of energy meter, wiring for a single light point with LED bulb and a mobile charging point.
- In case the electricity pole is not available nearby from household for drawing service cable, the erection of additional pole along with conductor and associated accessories shall also be covered under the scheme.
Award Scheme under Saubhagya:
- For creating healthy competition amongst various DISCOMs/Power Departments of States, an award scheme has been instituted with awards of more than Rs 300crore to be won by States/Discoms.
- The first DISCOM/Power Departments to complete 100% household electrification will be felicitated with cash award of Rs. 50 Lakh for the employees and Rs.100 crore grant to be spent for distribution infrastructure.
- For the purpose of award, States have been divided into 3 categories and award would be given in each of these categories.
- The States completing 100% household electrification by 31st Dec. 2018 will also receive additional grant of 15% of the project cost (5% for special category States) sanctioned under Saubhagya.
Source: PIB
IN – RN exercise KONKAN-18
Topic: International Relations
In news: Naval cooperation between India and the United Kingdom is based on the long term strategic relationship between both countries. Both Navies have, over the years, undertaken bilateral activities such as training exchanges and technical cooperation. The Bilateral KONKAN exercise provides a platform for the two Navies to periodically exercise at sea and in harbour, so as to build interoperability and share best practices.
More on the Topic:
- The Royal Navy will be represented by HMS Dragon, a Type 45 Class Destroyer equipped with an integral Wildcat helicopter. The Indian Navy will field INS Kolkata, the first ship of latest Kolkata class destroyers, equipped with integral Seaking and an IN submarine. In addition, IN maritime patrol aircraft, Dornier will also participate in the exercise.
Source: The Hindu
UPSC
Topic: Polity and Governance
In news: Shri Arvind Saxena has been sworn in as the Chairman, Union Public Service Commission.
More on the Topic:
- The Union Public Service Commission is India’s premier central recruiting agency. It is responsible for appointments to and examinations for All India services and group A & group B of Central services.While Department of Personnel and Training is the central personnel agency in India.
- The agency’s charter is granted by Part XIV of the Constitution of India, titled as Services Under the Union and the States.
- The commission is mandated by the Constitution for appointments to the services of the Union and All India Services. It is also required to be consulted by the Government in matters relating to the appointment, transfer, promotion and disciplinary matters.
- The commission reports directly to the President and can advise the Government through him. Although, such advice is not binding on the Government.
- Being a constitutional authority, UPSC is amongst the few institutions which function with both autonomy and freedom, along with the country’s higher judiciary and lately the Election Commission.
Source: PIB
Inclusive Wealth Report 2018
Topic: Environment and Ecology
In news: Inclusive wealth index, as part of the Inclusive Wealth Report 2018 has been released by the UN Environment and partners.
More on the Topic:
- The Inclusive wealth (IW) in 135 countries was higher in 2014 compared to the level in 1990 and the global growth rate of IW was 44% over the indicated period, which implies an average growth rate of 1.8% per year. However, during the same period the global GDP growth per year was 3.4%, which is close to twofold of the annual growth rate of growth in IW.
- The biennial report finds The Republic of Korea, Singapore and Malta as the nations that have had the most economic growth. The report also revealed that carbon damage is relatively larger in high-income countries.
About the Report:
- The Inclusive Wealth Report (IWR) is a biennial effort led by the UN Environment to evaluate the capacities and performance of the nations around the world to measure sustainability of economy and wellbeing of their people.
- The inclusive wealth index is a tool assessing a nation’s ability to look after its wealth in a way that is sustainable and safeguards its future generations.
- While GDP measures the size of a country’s economy, inclusive wealth index focuses on stocks of manufactured, human and natural capital.
Source: The Hindu
