U.S., India may not sign security pact at 2+2 meet

Why in news?

2+2 dialogue between India and the USA is scheduled to be held on the 6th of September.

What is 2+2 Dialogue?

• It is a dialogue mechanism that would include defence and foreign ministers of the two countries.
• It is similar to India-Japan 2+2 dialogue format between foreign and defence secretaries and ministers of the two countries.

Conditions in Rohingya camps are disastrous, says UN official

Why in news?

A year since nearly a million Rohingya refugees poured into Bangladesh, the situation is yet to stabilize, and the impending cyclone season could spell disaster for the humanitarian effort, a senior United Nations official based in Cox’s Bazaar has warned.

Details

• There seems to be a humanitarian crisis in the Rohingya camps, the impending cyclone season could result in serious problems for the humanitarian efforts.
• The senior humanitarian coordinator for the Rohingya Refugee Response, made an appeal for more international funding. It was stated that this year’s UN joint response plan (JRP) has received only 34% of the funds needed, in contrast to about 85% last year.

What is the Rohingya Refugee Crisis?

• The Rohingya refugee crisis refers to the mass migration of Rohingyas (Rohingya Muslim people) from Myanmar (Burma) to Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
• Rohingyas are indigenous to Rakhine state (also known as Arakan) in Myanmar settled since the 15th
• Collectively they fall under the Muslim Indo-Aryans, a mixture of pre-colonial and colonial immigrations.
• However, according to Myanmar government, they are illegal immigrants migrated to Rakhine following Burmese independence and Bangladesh liberation war.
• They are victims of an organized genocide and are one of the world’s most persecuted minorities.
• The crisis received international attention followed to Rakhine state riot in 2012, Rohingya crisis in 2015 and 2016-17 military crackdown.
• At present 40000 Rohingyas have their second home in India.
• The Myanmar government never allowed a citizenship status to Rohingyas. Hence the majority of them do not have any legal documentations, making them stateless.
• Until recently, they have been able to register as temporary residents with identification cards known as white cards which began issuing in the 1990s.
• These cards gave some basic rights to Rohingyas such as the right to vote. But they were never recognized as a proof of citizenship.
• These cards get cancelled in 2015 which effectively put an end to their right to vote.
• In 2014, UN held a census, which was the first in Myanmar in 30 years. Initially, the Muslim minority were allowed to register as Rohingya. But after Buddhist threatened to boycott the census, the government issued a statement that Rohingyas can register only if they are identified as Bengalis.

Audits to track construction workers’ benefits

Why in news?

Social audit pilot projects to check if construction worker welfare boards are registering workers and giving them benefits, and also to weed out non-workers registered illegally are scheduled this week in Rajasthan and Delhi.

About project

• The construction industry is India’s second largest employer, with estimates suggesting that there are between five and seven crore workers in the sector, of whom less than half are registered.
• In addition to the Social audit pilot projects, the Labour Ministry has also issued the draft framework for the social audit on implementation of the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 (BOCW), in accordance with the Supreme Court’s orders.
• The BOCW social audits aim to cover all districts every two years, with civil society organisations leading the process.
• The project is being coordinated by National Campaign Committee for Central Legislation on Construction Labour (NCC-CL) in Delhi.
• The social audit teams visit construction sites as well as the areas where workers live, to check how many of them are registered with the welfare boards.
• They check if the children of the workers have the scholarships they are entitled to, how long the people have to wait for availing benefits like pension, maternity benefit etc.
• The social audit team will also find workers who have not registered and try to find the reasons that prevented them from doing so.
• The team would also check for illegal registrations.

Background

• The Supreme Court of India on March 19 delivered its Judgement in National Campaign Committee for Central Legislation on Construction Labour (NCC-CL) v. Union of India and Ors.
• The petition demanded the implementation of the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation and Employment) Act, 1996 (BOCW Act), as well as the Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Cess Act, 1996.
• These two Acts were designed to levy a cess on construction projects for the benefit of the workers.
• The proceeds of the cess would be held by a Welfare Board constituted in each state or Union Territory.
• The Welfare Board would have to disburse 95% of the funds for the benefit of the construction workers, the remainder to be utilised for their own administrative expenses.
• The Supreme Court also issued general directions to the concerned parties for implementing the Acts, such as constituting and appointing the authorities created under the statutes.
• The Court also directed the Ministry of Labour and Employment to actively consider extending the benefits of existing social labour legislation to the construction workers.
• Further, it directed the Ministry to consider whether construction projects of the government should also be brought under the Act.

NGT steps in to conserve Ghats

Why in news?

The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) panel, which permitted the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF and CC) to re-publish the draft notification on Eco-Sensitive Zones, which expired on August 26, ordered that the matter may be finalised within six months.

Background

• The Bench issued the order based on a petition filed by the Goa Foundation
• The Principal Bench of the NGT, which noted that the ecology of the Western Ghats region was under serious stress, has highlighted the fact that Western Ghats region is one of the richest biodiversity areas which needed to be conserved.

Highlights of Gadgil Report

• In the year 2010, Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) was constituted by the Central Government, under the chairmanship of Madhav Gadgil.
• WGEEP issued recommendations for the preservation of the fragile western peninsular region.
• It Recommended that the entire stretch of the Western Ghats should be declared as Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA).
• It recommended the division of region into three zones – ESZ1, ESZ2, ESZ3 and gave a broad outline of certain restrictions for each zone.
• The committee recommended the division of region into zones at the block/taluk level.
• It recommended that no new polluting industries (red and orange) were to be permitted in ESZ1 and ESZ2 and gradual phasing out of such existing industries by 2016. Complete ban on mining in ESZ1 and regulation of mining in ESZ-2.
• It recommended that bottom to top approach be followed for conservation of Western Ghats.
• Western Ghats Ecological Authority was proposed to be set up as a statutory body and given powers under the Environment protection Act 1986.

Criticism of report

• The report was not prepared keeping in mind the ground realities. If the report is implemented, the development and the energy requirements in the states coming within the boundary of Western Ghats would be adversely affected.
• There is no need to set up a new body while there are many such bodies for the protection of environment.

Recommendation of Kasturirangan Panel

• Following severe resistance to the implementation of Gadgil Committee report, Kasturirangan Panel was set up in 2012 to advise the government on Gadgil Committee Report.
• It recommended to Divide the Western Ghats into Natural Landscape and Cultural Landscape
• It proposed the demarcation of ESZ be done at the village level.
• Only red category (heavy polluting) industries were restricted.
• Hydro power project would be given the green signal on a case to case basis, post assessment of its benefits and the possible damage it could cause.
• Gadgil report laid too much importance to the environment, Kasturirangan report was biased towards development.
• Kasturi Rangan report was criticized by many as that it provided loopholes for mining, which if allowed would turn detrimental to the environment, in long-term will affect development too.
• Kasturirangan report got the tag as anti-environmental soon after its release. But this report was tagged anti-development too by many who fear that their livelihood and interests will be affected.

Why is a Public Credit Registry important?

Why in news?

Recently, RBI Deputy Governor made a case for setting up a Public Credit Registry (PCR), incorporating unique identifiers: Aadhaar for individual borrowers and Corporate Identification Number for firms.

What is Public Credit Registry?

• A public credit registry is an information repository that collates all loan information of individuals and corporate borrowers.
• The move is based on the recommendations of a committee, headed by Y.M. Deosthalee.

Why do we need Public Credit Registry?

• Credit information is now available across multiple systems in bits and pieces and not in one window. Data on borrowings from banks, non-banking financial companies, corporate bonds or debentures from the market, external commercial borrowings (ECBs), foreign currency convertible bonds(FCCBs), masala bonds, and inter-corporate borrowings are not available in one data repository.
• PCR will help capture all relevant information about a borrower, across different borrowing products in one place.
• It can flag early warnings on asset quality by tracking performance on other credits.
• A credit repository helps banks distinguish between a bad and a good borrower and accordingly offer attractive interest rates to good borrowers and higher interest rates to bad borrowers.
• PCR will address issues such as information asymmetry, improve access to credit and strengthen the credit culture among consumers.
• It can also address the bad loan problem staring at banks, as corporate debtors will not be able to borrow across banks without disclosing existing debt.
• A PCR may also help raise India’s rank in the global ease of doing business index.
• Setting up the PCR will help improve India’s rankings in the World Bank’s ease of doing business index.

Mauritius tops India’s FDI charts again

• Mauritius remained the top source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into India in 2017-18 followed by Singapore, whereas total FDI stood at $37.36 billion in the financial year, a marginal rise over the $36.31 billion recorded in the previous fiscal, according to RBI data.
• FDI from Mauritius totalled $13.41 billion as against $13.38 billion in the previous year.
• Inflows from Singapore rose to $9.27 billion from $6.52 billion.
• FDI from the Netherlands declined marginally to $2.67 billion as against $3.23 billion a year earlier.

Sri Jagannatha Swamy temple

• The Sri Jagannatha Swamy temple, believed to be constructed in the 13th century is located in Andhra Pradesh.
• The temple, considered to be a replica of the famous Jagannath temple of Puri, Odisha, was constructed in accordance with the rules of the Pancha Ratra Agama Sastras.
• Prayers are offered to Lord Jagannatha Swamy, along with his siblings Subhadra and Balabhadra.
• Special pujas are performed to Sri Venugopala Swamy and goddess Mahalakshmi on the same premises.
• There are shrines dedicated to Lakshmi, along with Shiva, Ganesh, Hanuman and Navagrahas.