Daily News Analysis 10th October 2018

Daily News Analysis (Prelims + Mains) – 10th October 2018

General Study – II

Topic:

Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.

Context: R.R. Gopal, Editor of Tamil magazine Nakkheeran, was arrested under Section 124 of the IPC.

IPC Section 124: “Assaulting President/Governor with intent to compel or restrain the exercise of any lawful power.

Court Observation:

Freedom of press will be jeopardised” and the fourth pillar of democracy destroyed
The freedom of press must be safeguarded and if remand is done on the available papers, no one will be free.

General Study – II

Topic:

Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.

Recently Election Commission on the one hand announced the bye elections to fill the three casual vacancies in Lok Sabha from Karnataka while the bye elections to fill five vacancies in Lok Sabha from Andhra Pradesh have not been announced.
Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 mandates the Election Commission to fill the casual vacancies in the Houses of Parliament and State Legislatures through bye elections within six months from the date of occurrence of the vacancy, provided that the remainder of the term of a member in relation to a vacancy is one year or more.
The term of sixteenth Lok Sabha is upto 3^rd June 2019. As the vacancies from Karnataka have occurred more than one year before the expiration of the term of House, bye elections are required to be held under Section 151A of R. P. Act 1951 to fill these vacancies within six months from the date of occurrence of vacancies that is 18^th& 21^st May, 2018.

In the case of vacancies from Andhra Pradesh, there is no need to hold bye elections as the remaining term of the Lok Sabha is less than one year from the date of occurrence of vacancies that is 20^th June 2018.

Representation of the People Act

In Constitution Article 324 to 329 of Part XV deals with the electoral system in our country. Constitution allows Parliament to make provisions in all matters relating to elections to the Parliament and State Legislatures.
In exercise of this power, the Parliament has enacted laws like Representation of the People Act 1950 (RPA Act 1950), Representation of the People Act 1951 (RPA Act 1951) and Delimitation Commission Act of 1952.

Representation of Peoples Act 1950 (RPA Act 1950)

It provides the following:

Qualification of voters.
Preparation of electoral rolls.
Delimitation of constituencies.
Allocation of seats in the Parliament and state legislatures.

Representation of Peoples Act 1951 (RPA Act 1951)

Representation of Peoples Act 1951 is an act enacted by the Indian provincial parliament before first general elections.

The People’s Representation act provides for the actual conduct of elections in India. The act also deals with details like qualification and disqualification of members of both houses of Parliament (ie Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) and the state legislatures (ie. State Legislative Assembly and State Legislative Council).

Highlights of RPA Act 1951

Actual conduct of elections.
Administrative machinery for conducting elections.
Election offences.
Election disputes.
By-elections.
Registration of political parties.

The act is of special significance to the smooth functioning of Indian democracy, as it checks the entry of persons with criminal background into the representative bodies. Representation of People’s Act 1951 was amended many times, the major amendment being made in 1966.

How is RPA, 1951 different from the provisions related to elections in Constitution of India?

Part XV of Indian Constitution is ELECTIONS, which includes Articles 324 to 329. This part of the Constitution provides for Election Commission (Art.324), universal suffrage (Art.325) and adult suffrage (Art.326).

Article 327 enables Parliament to enact provisions for elections and

Article 328 provides that states can enact provisions for house or houses of the state legislature, if the Centre has not provided for the same.

Under Article 329, courts are barred from questioning the Delimitation Act brought by the Parliament and it also mentions that disputes related to elections can be called in question only by an election petition in a manner provided by and to the authority decided by the appropriate legislature.

Accordingly, the Parliament under Article 327 enacted certain provisions, among others, namely:

The Representation of People Act 1950,which provides for allocation of seats and delimitation of constituencies of the Parliament and state legislature, officers related to conduct of elections, preparation of electoral rolls and manner of filling seats in the Council of States allotted to Union Territories.
The Representation of People Act, 1951, which provides for the conduct of elections of the Houses of Parliament and to the House or Houses of the Legislature of each State, the qualifications and disqualifications for membership of those Houses, the corrupt practices and other offences at or in connection with such elections and the decision of doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with such elections.
Delimitation Commission Act of 1952, which provides for the readjustment of seats, delimitation and reservation of territorial constituencies and other related matters.
The Presidential and Vice-Presidential Election Act 1952, which provides for the conduct of Presidential and Vice- Presidential election and mechanism for the settlement of any dispute arising out of such elections.

Topic

Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

India–West Africa conclave

Minister of State for Commerce attends India–West Africa conclave in Nigeria.

The Conclave is a two-day event with focus on business deliberations, Business to Government (B2G) and Business to Business (B2B) engagements.

India has offered to establish Mahatma Gandhi Convention Centre in more than 20 counties of Africa, of which, Centres in 9 countries are being taken up in the immediate future.

West Africa region is now seen as the next investment frontier, with many economies of the region, like Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Benin, recording continuing high economic growth.

There is significant scope for investment across the region in financial services, energy and power, mining, manufacturing, consumer and retail, transport, heath care and agro processing.

Despite the enormous potential, West Africa gets only 5 % of FDI that flows to the continent. Therefore, promoting sustainable and inclusive financing is a prerequisite for spurring economic transformation of the region.

India-Nigeria Relations

Relations between Nigeria and India have traditionally been warm and friendly. India established its diplomatic mission in Nigeria in 1958 and that was two years before Nigeria gained its independent in 1960.

Both countries have been in the forefront of the international struggle against colonialism and apartheid and have closely collaborated in various international fora.

Both share common perspectives on international political, social and development issues as manifested in various meetings at the United Nations, World Trade organization, etc.

The two countries strongly oppose all forms of terrorism.

Both sides have tried to keep the momentum of periodic bilateral visits with a view to strengthen the relations between the two countries.

COMMERCIAL & ECONOMIC RELATIONS:

Bilateral Trade:

India is the largest trading partner of Nigeria and Nigeria is India’s largest trading partner in Africa.

Indian owned/operated companies are the 2^nd largest employer in Nigeria after the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

India’s imports from Nigeria form a large part of crude and petroleum products. India is the largest importer of Nigeria petroleum products.

In recent years, Nigeria has been one of the main sources of crude for India.

Oil Trade:

In recent years Nigeria has become one of the main sources of crude for India. India imports around 8% to 12% of its crude requirements from Nigeria.

Economic Activities & Projects:

Over a hundred companies are currently operating in Nigeria that are owned and/or operated by Indian or Persons of Indian origin.

Nigeria’s pharmaceuticals, steel and power transmission sectors are dominated by Indian companies.

Nigeria-based ethnic Indians are economically active in areas relating to consumer goods manufacturing and retailing, construction and air-services

Air Services:

There are no direct air services between India and Nigeria. Air travel between India and Nigeria involve transit travel at Dubai, Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Cairo, Doha, Frankfurt or London.

CULTURAL RELATIONS

ITEC/SCAAP:

200 slots under Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme were allocated to Nigeria for 2015-16, out of which 176 slots were utilized.

Culture:

Indian films are popular in Kano, Kaduna and other Northern States and local channels regularly telecast Indian films. Indian cultural troupes visit Nigeria from time to time.

ICCR Chair:

Lagos Business School (LBS) has a rotating chair arrangement with Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)

INDIAN COMMUNITY:

NRI/PIO Community:

The Indian community in Nigeria is estimated to be about 35,000 persons – about 25,000 Indian nationals and about 10,000 Persons of Indian origin holding other nationalities.

A generation of Nigerians today in their forties to sixties have been taught by Indian teachers, treated by Indian doctors and have grown watching Indian movies and Indians and India in Nigeria enjoy goodwill and respect in Nigeria.

There is a CBSE affiliated Indian Language School in Lagos with 2,500 students. It also has two temples in Lagos and a number of cultural and ethnic associations, most prominent of which is Indian Cultural Association.

Some Indians have been affected by criminal incidents especially kidnappings and armed robberies in various parts of Nigeria.

Consular Relations:

The people-to-people ties between Nigeria and India are vibrant and growing. 17365 Nigerians obtained Indian visas from HCI, Abuja and its office in Lagos during 2016.

The main reasons for visiting India are medical treatment and business. Number of Nigerian students going to Indian tertiary institutions is also on rise.

Many Indian football clubs have Nigerian professional players.

Recent Developments

India’s support to build Mahatma Gandhi International Convention Centre (MGICC)in Niamey in Niger at the cost of USD 35.5 million on grant basis. The foundation stone of the project has been laid recently.

Bilateral relations between India and Niger have expanded significantly since 2009. India has provided lines of credit worth USD 96.54 million for projects in transport, electrification, solar energy and potable drinking water.

India’s grant assistance for MGICC will further contribute towards enhancing of bilateral ties. Niger will host the African Union (AU) Summit in 2019 in this Convention Centre.

The establishment of the Centre is the land mark of Niger-India friendship and also a symbol of India’s firm commitment towards Africa.

Topic

Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

2nd World Conference on Access to Medical Products: Achieving the SDGs 2030

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare inaugurated the ‘2nd World Conference on Access to Medical Products: Achieving the SDGs 2030’.
Information Sharing Platform Gateway for South-East Asia Regulatory Network (SEARN) is launched at the event.
Its developed by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, which will promote regulatory and health collaboration among the countries of the South-East Asia Region.
The access to medical products and creating an enabling legal and trade environment for public health are critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda.
India is actively contributing and providing support for the South-East Asia Regulatory Network (SEARN) to guarantee access to high-quality medical products.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General, World Health Organization through his video address stated that WHO has embarked on the 13th Global Programme of Work (GPW13) for strategic direction in Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 (SDG) for health which is vital for the future of our world.

GPW 13 is structured around the “triple billion” goal for three interconnected strategic priorities of Healthy Lives, Universal Health Coverage and health emergencies.

Reliable access to effective, safe, quality-assured and affordable medical products are keys to making progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the SDGs.

The main objective of the 2nd World Conference 2018 is

to take forward the recommendations from the 1st World Conference 2017 and build on the work done for access to medical products in the context of SDGs (including trade agreements) in line with GPW 13 of WHO
foster new approaches in innovation landscape for medical products and health technologies for accelerating research and innovation and identify knowledge, information and policy options on the interface of international trade and health to achieve SDG 2030 goals.

General Study – III

Topic:

Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Context: Target 1.5

The IPCC’s special report on global warming of 1.5°C, prepared as a follow-up to the UN Paris Agreement on Climate Change, provides the scientific basis to act.
There is greater confidence in time-bound projections on the impacts of climate change on agriculture, health, water security and extreme weather.
Governments should achieve net zero CO2 addition to the atmosphere, balancing man-made emissions through removal of CO2.
The Paris Agreement aims to keep global temperature rise in this century well below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the increase even further, to 1.5°C
The IPCC makes it clear that the human and economic costs of a 2°C rise are far greater than for 1.5°C, and the need for action is urgent.

Effects:

Human activity has warmed the world by 1°C over the pre-industrial level and with another half-degree rise, many regions will have warmer extreme temperatures, raising the frequency, intensity and amount of rain or severity of drought
Risks to food security and water, heat exposure, drought and coastal submergence all increase significantly even for a 1.5°C rise
India, Pakistan and China are already suffering moderate effects of warming in areas such as water availability, food production and land degradation, and these will worsen
Closer to a 2°C increase, these impacts are expected to spread to sub-Saharan Africa, and West and East Asia.
The prognosis for India, of annual heatwaves by mid-century in a scenario of temperature increase in the 1.5°C to 2°C range, is particularly worrying.
A 2°C warmer world will lead to a 1 m higher rise in sea level than that caused by a warming of 1.5°C, inundating vast coastal areas and disrupting the lives of 10 million more people.
Corals face complete extinction at 2°C and 2 million km² of permafrost will melt over centuries, risking runaway climate change due to large-scale methane emissions.
A 2°C warmer world will devastate economies and ecosystems and push hundreds of millions of people back into poverty.

Measures:

The commitment to generate 100 GW of solar energy by 2022 should lead to a quick scale-up from the 24 GW installed, and cutting down of coal use.
Agriculture needs to be strengthened with policies that improve water conservation, and afforestation should help create a large carbon sink
To limit warming at 1.5°C, CO₂ emissions will have to be reduced by 45% by 2030 from 2010 levels and reach net-zero by 2050.Maximum work done by 2030.
The report emphasises the need to reduce coal consumption rapidly, though it allows for the use of natural gas with carbon capture and storage
Developed countries and rich developing countries must take the lead by rapidly de-carbonising their economies and reducing consumption.

Topic

Disaster and disaster management.

Report on Strengthening Forest Fire Management in India

Forest fire is one of the causes of emission of carbon dioxide that leads to global warming.

Its having distinct regional patterns, with 20 districts (not the same ones) account for 47% of fire distribution.

Forest fires are caused by a combination of natural and social factors.

The report has been prepared jointly by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and World Bank.

The report discusses policies on forest fire prevention and management and underscores the need to put more emphasis on better fire prevention practices and a well-equipped and trained workforce to fight fires.

It adds that there is an urgent need to fill vacancies for field staff, particularly in fire-prone areas, and to make adequate and reliable funding available, the report adds.

Some of the recommendations include

Developing a National Forest Fire Prevention Management Plan as an

open, consultative and a time-bound process, institute standard management practices, adapt technology to local conditions,
as well as scale, up the best practices and increase engagement with local communities to ensure that big fire is used in a responsible way and at the same time, give communities a greater say in decision-making process.

National FFPM Action Plan should delineate the roles and responsibilities of the MoEFCC, state forest departments, communities and disaster agencies.

Need to support forest fire management through improved data, and research to fill critical knowledge gaps.

A national forest fire information database, bringing together satellite-based remote sensing data, and field-reported data, will be instrumental for assessing longer-term trends across states and regions and for planning fire prevention and response.

In addition, defining a national research agenda for fire management and provision of funding opportunities for scientific research would help to establish formal cooperation between members of the research community and the forest department.

Topic for Prelims

MedWatch

Mobile Health app for citizens of India Launched by IAF on Air Force Day (October 8).
On the occasion of 86^th anniversary, the Indian Air Force has launched an innovative mobile health App named MedWatch in keeping with the Prime Minister’s vision of Digital India, Ayushman Bharat and Mission Indradhanush.
MedWatch is the first mobile health app in the three Armed Services. The app is conceived by the doctors of IAF and developed in house by Directorate of Information Technology (DIT) with ZERO financial outlay.
MedWatch will provide correct, Scientific and authentic health information to air warriors and all citizens of India.
The app is available on www.apps.mgov.gov.in and comprises of host of features like information on basic First Aid, Health topics and Nutritional Facts; reminders for timely Medical Review, Vaccination and utility tools like Health Record Card, BMI calculator, helpline numbers and web links.

Birth Centenary Celebrations of Shri Deenadayalu Naidu

Vice President Addressed Birth Centenary Celebrations of Shri Deenadayalu Naidu in Bengaluru.
V.P. Deenadayalu Naidu
V.P.Deenadayalu Naidu(1917–1998) was an Indian politician. He was elected mayor of Bangalore in 1955, served as the National Commissioner of the Bharat Scouts and Guides from November 1992 to November 1995.
As a student of St.Joseph’s College, Bengaluru, he was a student Leader leading the Freedom Movement and was imprisoned on three occasions along with other national leaders.
He was posthumously conferred the Chairman’s Award at the 19th Asia Pacific Regional Scout Conference, Hong Kong in 1998.