Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 17th March 2022

NEWS

A report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India revealed that the BBMP roads in Bengaluru are more hazardous for users, with an average of 19-20 hazards per km, than the State and national highways.

WHAT HAS REPORT POINTED

• Hazards per km as 8.87 on State highways, 8.43 on major district roads, and 7.39 on national highways
• Joint inspections of sampled road stretches revealed that the BBMP roads were more hazardous than any other major roads in the State
• Road managing agencies had also failed in timely identification and rectification of blackspots, where repeated and fatal accidents occur
• Target set in the Karnataka State Road Safety Policy, 2015, was not realised as fatal accidents accounted for 30% of the road accidents in 2020 compared to 17.32% in 2015
• Number of fatalities declined by 22.24%, from 10,856 in 2015 to 9,760 in 2020 owing to COVID-19 induced lockdown in the State
• The Government brought out the Karnataka State Road Safety Policy in 2015 and the Karnataka State Road Safety Authority Act, 2017, with the objective of reducing road accidents and mortality by 25% and 30%, respectively, by 2020, through coordinated effort among various agencies of the Government. Rules required for carrying out the functions of KSRSA were not framed till October 2021 for implementing the provisions of the Act.
• The number of persons injured declined from 56,971 in 2015 to 39,492 in 2020
• Driving licenses and fitness certificates to vehicles were issued without following due process as huge vacancies existed in the cadre of inspector of motor vehicles
• The health department did not prepare any action plan for establishment of trauma care centres (TCCs) in 22 districts
• The accident victims did not receive timely medical care in 90,000 instances.

POLITY & GOVERNANCE

NEWS

While hearing a criminal appeal against the Bihar Government recently, Chief Justice of India admonished a counsel for submitting a ‘sealed cover report’ to the court.

SEALED COVER JURISPRUDENCE

WHAT

• Practice used by the Supreme Court and sometimes lower courts, of asking for or accepting information from government agencies in sealed envelopes that can only be accessed by judges
• While a specific law does not define the doctrine of sealed cover, the Supreme Court derives its power to use it from Rule 7 of order XIII of the Supreme Court Rules and Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act of 1872
• Under the said rule that if the Chief Justice or court directs certain information to be kept under sealed cover or considers it of confidential nature, no party would be allowed access to the contents of such information, except if the Chief Justice himself orders that the opposite party be allowed to access it
• Mentions that information can be kept confidential if its publication is not considered to be in the interest of the public
• As for the Evidence Act, official unpublished documents relating to state affairs are protected and a public officer cannot be compelled to disclose such documents
• Other instances where information may be sought in secrecy or confidence are when its publication impedes an ongoing investigation, such as details which are part of a police case diary

WHAT IS THE CRITICISM AND WHAT DO THE COURTS SAY?

• Critics of this practice contend that it is not favourable to the principles of transparency and accountability of the Indian justice system, as it stands against the idea of an open court, where decisions can be subjected to public scrutiny.
• It is also said to enlarge the scope for arbitrariness in court decisions, as judges are supposed to lay down reasoning for their decisions, but this cannot be done when they are based upon information submitted confidentially.
• What is further contested is whether the state should be granted such a privilege to submit information in secrecy, when existing provisions like in-camera hearings already provide sufficient protection to sensitive information.
• Besides, it is argued that not providing access to such documents to the accused parties obstructs their passage to a fair trial and adjudication. In the 2019 judgment in the case of P. Gopalakrishnan vs The State of Kerala, the Supreme Court had said that disclosure of documents to the accused is constitutionally mandated, even if the investigation is ongoing and said documents may lead to a breakthrough in the investigation.

NEWS

The Supreme Court upheld the Centre’s one rank, one pension (OROP) scheme for the armed forces

THE SCHEME

 CURRENT SYSTEM OF PENSION

• Depends on the last salary drawn
• Fifty percent of the last salary drawn is typically the pension over and above which you get the other allowances

ISSUES IN CURRENT SYSTEM

• Due to the present model of pension, a lieutenant general who retired in 1995 will get a pension that is 10% lower than a colonel who retired after 2006
• Similarly, a jawan who retired in 1995 will get a pension which is 80% less than his counterpart who retired on or after 1 January 2006

SALIENT FEATURES

• Implies uniform pension to personal based on rank and length of service, irrespective of the date of retirement.
• The implementation of the scheme was based on recommendation of the Koshiyari committee.
• Pension of past pensioners would be re-fixed on the basis of pension of retirees of calendar year 2013 and the benefit will be effective from 01.07.2014
• Pension will be re-fixed for all pensioners on the basis of the average of minimum and maximum pension of personnel retired in 2013 in the same rank and with same length of service.
• Pension for those drawing above average shall be protected.
• Arrears will be paid in four equal half yearly instalments. However, all the family pensioners including those in receipt of Special/Liberalized family pension and Gallantry award winners shall be paid arrears in one instalment.
• Pension would be re-fixed every 5 years

ARGUMENTS IN FAVOUR

• The defence personnel is made to retire at the age of 33 to 35 years due to the necessity of maintaining a younger army whereas the officer of civil side retires at the age of 60 years.
• It is the moral obligation of the state to look after the welfare of the soldiers who served the nation.
• A lowered pay status compared to the civilian counterparts with less period of service affects the morale of forces.
• The issues, veterans emphasize, are of justice, equity, honor, and national security.

THE CHALLENGES

• Financial hurdle as the estimated time cost of implementation is 8000-10000 crore rupees. This will increase on every further revision of salary.
• Expenditure on arrears would be around 10000 crore rupees.
• Lead to demands from other army personnel like CRPF, CISF etc.
• It is also an administrative challenge due to lack of records going back to many decades.

NEWS

Maharashtra has decided to withdraw from the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana (PMFBY) if changes to it are not carried out

WHAT IS PMFBY

• Introduced in the 2016-17 kharif season
• Central-state scheme
• Aims to cushion farmers against crop loss
• Central and state governments pay more than 95 per cent of the premium amount while the farmer bears 1.5-5 per cent of the premium
• Extensive usage of technology is used to settle the claims of farmers within a stipulated time period
• Farmers are required to fill loss reports online which are validated by insurance companies before the compensation amount is paid directly in their accounts.
• Prior to 2020, the scheme was mandatory for farmers who availed institutional finance, but that was changed and made voluntary for all farmers.

WHY IS IT CRITICIZED

• It is said that the scheme helps insurance companies more than the farmers. Farm leaders claim insurance companies have made windfall gains at the behest of the public exchequer and farmers.
• Delayed payouts and denial of claims are other common complaints against insurance companies.
• Companies point out the nature of the insurance allows for payment only when there is a loss. Also, over the last few years, they have said their payouts have been more than the premium collected, making the scheme non-viable for them.
• The insurance companies were also blamed for not conducting enough crop cutting experiments (CCE), which measure the total loss experienced by the farmers.

Which states have withdrawn from the scheme, and why?

• Gujarat, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Jharkhand have opted out of the scheme.
• The Lok Sabha’s Standing Committee on Agriculture had noted in its report of August 2021 that these states decided to opt out because of low claim ratio and financial constraints.

What changes has the Maharashtra government proposed?

• One of the major changes is a share in premium collected from insurance companies during a non-payout or normal year
• Called the Beed model, after the district where it was first experimented during kharif 2020, under this model, insurance companies provide cover to an extent of 110 per cent of the premium collected
• In case the compensation amount exceeds this, the state government will bridge the amount. In case the compensation amount is less than the premium collected, the company will refund 80 per cent of the funds to the state government and keep 20 per cent for its administrative expenses.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

NEWS

World’s most advanced technology-developed Green Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Toyota Mirai was recently launched

GREEN HYDROGEN

• Green hydrogen
  • Produced by electrolysis of water using renewable energy (like Solar, Wind) and has a lower carbon footprint.
  • Electricity splits water into hydrogen and oxygen.
  • By Products : Water, Water Vapor

HYDROGEN AS FUEL

• Hydrogen is an energy carrier, not an energy source and can deliver or store a tremendous amount of energy.
• Can be used in fuel cells to generate electricity, or power and heat.
• Most commonly used in petroleum refining and fertilizer production, while transportation and utilities are emerging markets.
• Hydrogen and fuel cells can provide energy for use in diverse applications, including distributed or combined-heat-and-power; backup power; systems for storing and enabling renewable energy; portable power etc.
• Due to their high efficiency and zero-or near zero-emissions operation, hydrogen and fuel cells have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emission in many applications.

INDIAN SCENARIO

• India consumes about six million tonnes of hydrogen every year for the production of ammonia and methanol in industrial sectors, including fertilisers and refineries.
• By 2030, the cost of green hydrogen is expected to compete with that of hydrocarbon fuels (coal, Crude Oil, natural gas).
• The price will decrease further as production and sales increase. It is also projected that India's hydrogen demand will increase five-fold by 2050, with 80% of it being green.
• India will become a net exporter of green hydrogen by 2030 due to its cheap renewable energy tariffs.