Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

NEWS

The Karnataka Appellate Tribunal (KAT) should try to adjudicate cases filed before it as quickly as possible, especially in matters pertaining to notices against illegal constructions, the High Court of Karnataka has said.

ABOUT

Karnataka Appellate Tribunal (K.A.T)

• Was established under the K.A.T Acts of 1976.
• Hears appeals against the orders of the competent authorities under the Karnataka Land Revenue Act 1964, Karnataka Co-operative Societies Act 1959, Karnataka Sales Tax Act 1957, Karnataka Entertainment Tax Act 1958 & Karnataka Entry Tax Act.
• Common Appellate Authority for the Revenue Department, Department of Co-operation & the Commercial Taxes Department
• Attached to the Revenue Department.
• Consists of the Chairman and 8 Benches
• Chairman is a  Senior I.A.S. officer
• Each Bench has one Judicial Member and one administrative Member
• There are two Revenue Benches, two Co-operation Benches & Four Commercial Tax Benches.

NEWS

The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed by Lok Sabha

WHAT IS THE AMENDMENT

• Amends the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985
• Seeks to rectify a drafting “anomaly” created by a 2014 amendment to the parent legislation.
• Says Section 2 clause (viiia) corresponds to clause (viiib) in Section 27, since 2014, when the provision was first brought in
• Section 27A of the NDPS Act, 1985, prescribes the punishment for financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders.

2014 AMENDMENT

• In 2014, a substantial amendment was made to the NDPS Act to allow for better medical access to narcotic drugs.
• Defined amendment defined “essential drugs”; under Section 9, it allowed the manufacture, possession, transport, import inter-State, export inter-State, sale, purchase, consumption and use of essential narcotic drugs.
• Section 27A reads: “Whoever indulges in any of the aforementioned activities, shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term of ten years to twenty years and shall also be liable to fine of one lakh rupees to two lakh rupees”

WHAT WAS THE DRAFTING “ANOMALY”?

• While defining “essential drugs” in 2014, the legislation re-numbered Section 2
• The catalogue of offences, originally listed under Section 2(viii)a, was now under Section 2(viii)b. In the amendment, Section 2(viii)a defined essential narcotic drugs. However, the drafters missed amending the enabling provision in Section 27A to change Section 2(viii)a to Section 2(viii)b.

NEWS

Wholesale price inflation spikes in India to a record as food, fuel surge

ABOUT

Wholesale price inflation is measured by Wholesale price Index

WPI

• Measures the changes in the prices of goods sold and traded in bulk by wholesale businesses to other businesses.
• Published by the Office of Economic Adviser, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Most widely used inflation indicator in India.
• Major criticism for this index is that the general public does not buy products at wholesale price.
• The base year of All-India - 2011-12

NEWS

The Reserve Bank of India announced a Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) Framework for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), to strengthen applicable supervisory tools.

DETAILS

• In line with the PCA framework for banks
• To help improve their financial condition and governance issues.
• Will apply to all deposit-taking NBFCs, all non-deposit taking NBFCs in the middle, upper and top layers, including investment and credit firms, core investment firms, infrastructure debt funds, infrastructure finance firms and microfinance institutions.
• Excluded NBFCs not accepting or not intending to accept public funds, primary dealers and housing finance firms, along with government-owned ones
• Objective - enable supervisory intervention at the appropriate time and require the supervised entity to initiate and implement remedial measures in a timely manner, so as to restore its financial health​

ABOUT PCA

• Framework under which banks with weak financial metrics
• Introduced by RBI in 2002
• Structured early-intervention mechanism for banks that become undercapitalised due to poor asset quality, or vulnerable due to loss of profitability.
• Aims to check the problem of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) in the Indian banking sector.
• Invoked when certain risk thresholds are breached. There are three risk thresholds which are based on certain levels of asset quality, profitability, capital and the like.
• There are two type of restrictions, mandatory and discretionary.

WHAT

• Popularised by Subhash Palekar, is the most recent entry into this group
• A type of Organic farming
• Organic farming became an umbrella term that represented a variety of non-chemical and less-chemical oriented methods of farming
• Soil has all the nutrients plants need. To make these nutrients available to plants, we need the intermediation of microorganisms.
• For this, system recommends the “four wheels of ZBNF”: Bijamrit, Jivamrit, Mulching and Waaphasa.
• Bijamrit is the microbial coating of seeds with formulations of cow urine and cow dung.
• Jivamrit is the enhancement of soil microbes using an inoculum of cow dung, cow urine, and jaggery.
• Mulching is the covering of soil with crops or crop residues.
• Waaphasa is the building up of soil humus to increase soil aeration.
• ZBNF includes three methods of insect and pest management: Agniastra, Brahmastra and Neemastra (all different preparations using cow urine, cow dung, tobacco, fruits, green chilli, garlic and neem).

UNSUBSTANTIATED CLAIMS

ZBNF is hardly zero budget. Many ingredients of formulations have to be purchased. These apart, wages of hired labour, imputed value of family labour, imputed rent over owned land, costs of maintaining cows and paid-out costs on electricity and pump sets are all costs that ZBNF proponents conveniently ignore.

No independent studies to validate the claims that ZBNF plots have a higher yield than non-ZBNF plots. According to reliable sources, preliminary observations of these field trials have recorded a yield shortfall of about 30% in ZBNF plots when compared with non-ZBNF plots.

Mr. Palekar’s claims stand agricultural science on its head. Indian soils are poor in organic matter content. About 59% of soils are low in available nitrogen; about 49% are low in available phosphorus; and about 48% are low or medium in available potassium. Indian soils are also varyingly deficient in micronutrients, such as zinc, iron, manganese, copper, molybdenum and boron.

Micronutrient deficiencies are not just yield-limiting in themselves; they also disallow the full expression of other nutrients in the soil leading to an overall decline in fertility. In some regions, soils are saline. In other regions, soils are acidic due to nutrient deficiencies or aluminium, manganese and iron toxicities. In certain other regions, soils are toxic due to heavy metal pollution from industrial and municipal wastes or excessive application of fertilizers and pesticides.

On their part, agricultural scientists do identify the improper/imbalanced application of fertilizers, that too with no focus on micronutrients, as a matter of concern. Hence, they recommend location-specific solutions to nurture soil health and sustain increases in soil fertility. They suggest soil test-based balanced fertilisation and integrated nutrient management methods combining organic manures (i.e., farm yard manure, compost, crop residues, biofertilizers, green manure) with chemical fertilizers. But ZBNF practitioners appear to insist on one blanket solution for all the problems of Indian soils

According to ZBNF, 98.5% of the nutrients that plants need is obtained from air, water and sunlight; only 1.5% is from the soil. All nutrients are present in adequate quantities in all types of soils. However, they are not in a usable form.

The Jivamrit prescription is essentially the application of 10 kg of cow dung and 10 litres of cow urine per acre per month. For a five-month season, this means 50 kg of cow dung and 50 litres of cow urine. Given nitrogen content of 0.5% in cow dung and 1% in cow urine, this translates to just about 750 g of nitrogen per acre per season. This is totally inadequate considering the nitrogen requirements of Indian soils.

SCIENTIFIC APPROACH NEEDED

• Undoubtedly, improvement of soil health should be a priority agenda in India’s agricultural policy. We need steps to check wind and water erosion of soils.
• Innovative technologies to minimise physical degradation of soils due to waterlogging, flooding and crusting.
• Improve the fertility of saline, acidic, alkaline and toxic soils by reclaiming them. We need location-specific interventions towards balanced fertilisation and integrated nutrient management.
• Should be open to increasing their use in other locations.
• A comprehensive approach requires a strong embrace of scientific temper and a firm rejection of anti-science postures.

NEWS

The Centre has approached the Supreme Court seeking modification of its order directing that all transmission cables in the habitat of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) be laid underground

REASON CITED

• Area falling in Rajasthan and Gujarat contains a large proportion of the country’s total solar and wind energy potential and the process will escalate the cost of renewable energy production and hurt India’s renewable energy cause
• Energy transition is essential for reducing emission and controlling climate change and India has made international commitments including under the agreement signed in Paris in 2015 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

WHAT WAS SC ORDER

In a bid to check the dwindling numbers of the endangered Great Indian Bustard and Lesser Florican, a Supreme Court bench had directed that overhead power lines be laid underground, wherever feasible, passing along the habitat of the birds in Rajasthan and Gujarat.

ABOUT

• Considered among the largest flying birds in the world
• State bird of Rajasthan
• India’s most critically endangered bird.
• Flagship grassland species, representing the health of the grassland ecology.
• Population is confined mostly to Rajasthan and Gujarat. Small populations occur in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
• Under constant threats due to collision/electrocution with power transmission lines, hunting (still prevalent in Pakistan), habitat loss and alteration as a result of widespread agricultural expansion, etc.
• Reasons for decline in Population:
  • Loss of Habitat due to increase in population, agriculture and infrastructure development etc.
  • GIBs are large in size and usually take low flights which often result in deaths due to collision with electricity transmission lines.
  • Stray dogs which are known to attack the bustard’s eggs and young ones.
  • Poaching outside the protected areas.
• Protected areas dedicated to GIB
  • Rajasthan: Desert National Park – Jaisalmer and Balmer
  • Gujarat: Naliya Sanctuary in Kutch
  • Madhya Pradesh: Karera Wildlife Sanctuary (The species disappeared from Madhya Pradesh in early 90s’)
  • Maharashtra: Nannaj Grasslands, Solapur
  • Andhra Pradesh: Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary
• Conservation Status
  • Listed under Critically Endangered Category of IUCN Red List.
  • Listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. It is also listed in Appendix I of CITES.
  • Identified for the species recovery program under Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats Scheme.

NEWS

Supreme Court of India permitted the Central Government for double lane widening of the roads for the Char Dham Project

DETAILS

• It was in the light of the security concerns
• An oversight committee has also been set up which will be headed by the former Justice A K Sikri for the direct reporting of the project.
• The oversight committee will receive all the support from the Ministry of Defence, Uttarakhand Government, Ministry of Road Transport and all the district magistrates.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

• Strategic 900-km-long
• In Uttarakhand
• Aim at providing all weather-connectivity to four holy towns in Uttarakhand- Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath
• Envisaged back in 2016
• PM described the project as a tribute to those who lost their lives in flash floods in Uttarakhand
• Even though Char Dham road project was primarily conceived to facilitate tourism and Char dham yatras, it always had a strategic angle as the highways will facilitate the seamless movement of troops to the areas that are closer to the China border.

NEWS

December 15 marks the death anniversary of the great “unifier of the nation”, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel

ABOUT

• Born in Nadiad, Gujarat.
• His father had fought in the Mutiny under the Rani of Jhansi and was subsequently taken prisoner by Malhar Rao Holkar.
• Patel subsequently organised peasants from Kheda, Borsad, and Bardoli in Gujarat in non-violent civil disobedience against the British Raj, becoming one of the most influential leaders in Gujarat.

Role in Indian National Movement

• In 1917 - elected as the Secretary of the Gujarat Sabha ( Gujarat wing of the Indian National Congress )
• In 1918 - led a massive "No Tax Campaign" that urged the farmers not to pay taxes after the British insisted on tax after the floods in Kaira.
• Efforts to bring together the farmers of his area brought him the title of 'Sardar'.
• Actively supported the non-cooperation Movement launched by Gandhi.
• Led the Salt Satyagraha movement across Gujarat when Gandhi was under imprisonment, upon request from the congress members.
• Freed in 1931 following Gandhi-Irwin Pact.
• In the 1942 Quit India Movement, Patel continued his unwavering support to Gandhi when several contemporary leaders criticized the latter’s decision.

Contributions to Post-independence India

• First Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.
• Played a very crucial role in post-independence India by successfully integrating around 562 princely states under the Indian Dominion.
• Was successful in integrating all of them barring Jammu and Kashmir, Junagarh and Hyderabad.
• Key force in establishing the Indian Administrative Service and the Indian Police Service.
• Dealt with the Pakistan’s efforts to invade Kashmir in September 1947.
• Organised multiple refugee camps in Punjab and Delhi, and later in West Bengal.

NEWS

India votes against UN draft resolution on climate change

ABOUT

• Sponsored by Ireland and Niger
• 12 UNSC members voting for it
• India and Russia voted against  and China abstaining.
• Niger-holds the UNSC presidency for December
• One of the objectives of the debate was to examine how terrorism and security risks could be linked to climate change
• India argued that Security Council interventions on climate change will undermine the UNFCCC process, and provide disproportionate influence to a handful of developed countries on climate change decision-making.

• Noted Kannada writer Rajeshwari Tejaswi, wife of renowned literateur late KP Poornachandra Tejaswi passed & The daughter-in-law of Rashtrakavi Kuvempu, Rajeshwari (84)
• Ladakh gets its first-ever FM radio station
• PM congratulates Harnaaz Sandhu on being crowned Miss Universe
• The Prime Minister has greeted the people on Gita Jayanti. The day symbolises the birth of Srimad Bhagavad-Gita, the sacred text of the Hindus.