CURRENT AFFAIRS 28 SEPTEMBER 2019

CURRENT AFFAIRS 

28 SEPTEMBER 2019

BY SUMIT BHARDWAJ

1.At UN General Assembly, Narendra Modi calls for unity against terror(gs-2,3)

context: In an address to the 74th session of the UN General Assembly that combined elements of a campaign speech and a call to action, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday showcased his government’s developmental and environmental record, and set out its agenda. He called for unanimity in combating terrorism and said the UN needed to adopt a new direction.

To view the video click on the link below

pm-narendra-modi-address-to-unga

2.10-year sanitation plan to focus on waste management

(gs-2,3)

Context:With Prime Minister Narendra Modi set to declare that India is completely open defecation free (ODF) on October 2, the Centre has launched a 10-year strategy to maintain these gains and shift focus to solid and liquid waste management in rural areas of the country.

The ten year strategy framework presented by Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Friday also indicates that the Centre’s share of financing the ODF Plus programme will be lower than in the last five years.

Waste Management:

According to the Environment Protection Act, 1990, waste is defined as: “any substance which constitutes a scrap material, or an effluent or other unwanted surplus substance arising from application of any process”.

Classification of waste

Biodegradable waste: These can be degraded through microbial activity. E.g: food residue, human excreta, etc.

Non-Biodegradable waste: Petroleum, plastic, glasses, etc.

Bio medical: Needle, syringe, body parts, etc.

E-waste: Computer parts, batteries, CFL bulbs, etc.

Sources of Waste

Domestic waste: polythene, bottles, food, cotton, etc.

Industrial waste

  a) Food processing: Organic wastes, pathogens, etc.

  b) Paper: Chlorine, sulphur dioxide, methyl mercaptan, etc.

  c)  Textile: From boiling and processing of fibre

  d)  Petroleum: Inorganic sulphur, hydrocarbons, organic acids, etc.

  e)  Chemical: Phosphorus, fluorine, silica, etc.

   f)   Metal: Copper, lead, chromium, cadmium.

   g)  Cement: Particulate matter, dust.

   h)  Nuclear reactor: Radioactive waste.

    i)  Agricultural waste: Fertilizer, crop residue, pesticide (like DDT), fumigants.

Radioactive waste: X-Ray machines, nuclear plants, laboratories etc.

Municipal waste: Waste produced by public offices, parks, shops etc.

Waste generation in India

• With rapid urbanization, industrialization and an explosion in population in India, solid waste management will be a key challenge for state governments and local municipal bodies in the 21st century.
• Presently in India, about 960 million tonnes of solid waste is being generated annually as by-products during industrial, mining, municipal, agricultural and other processes. Of this 350 million tonnes are organic wastes from agricultural sources; 290 million tonnes are inorganic waste of industrial and mining sectors and 4.5 million tonnes are hazardous in nature.
• However, it’s not the amount of waste generated that’s as much of an issue as the fact that more than 45 million tonnes, or 3 million trucks worth, of garbage is untreated and disposed of by municipal authorities everyday in an unhygienic manner leading to health issues and environmental degradation.
• Only 68% of the garbage generated in the country is collected, of which 28% is treated by the municipal authorities. Thus, the poor collection and treatment of waste leads to dumped garbage on streets clearly showing up the poor and inefficient system available to tackle waste management in urban areas. If this issue is not tackled efficiently and better policies and practices for waste management are not adopted, the total waste generation is projected to be 165 million tonnes by 2031 and 436 million tonnes by 2050.

1. It is interesting to know that untapped waste has a potential to generate from 32,890 TPD of combustible waste, 439 MW of power which is enough to meet the power demand of a union territory like Pondicherry. This includes refuse-derived fuel (produced by shredding and dehydrating garbage) and 72 MW of electricity from bio-gas, as well as 5.4 million metric tonnes of compost annually that could support farming. Plastics, paper and glass constitute 17% of the recyclable waste and this is important because plastic waste, composed of high-calorific-value material, is a crucial fuel for solid waste-to-energy plants.
2. The amount of waste that is generated, if collected and treated well, can be effectively used to generate energy.

Impact of Waste Accumulation

• According to World Health Organization 22 types of diseases can be prevented or controlled by improving solid waste management in India. Hence, people in India as well as local municipal bodies should change their casual attitude towards waste management. A more collective, structured and institutional approach from all stakeholders will be required to address this menace. It can lead to:
• Surface water contamination: Wastes that end up in water bodies negatively change the chemical composition of the water. It affects all ecosystems existing in the water. It can also cause harm to animals that drink from such polluted water.
• Soil contamination: Hazardous chemicals can get into the soil (contaminants). It can harm plants when they take up the contamination through their roots. If human eat plants and animals that have been in contact with such polluted soils, there can be negative impact on their health.

Pollution: Bad waste management practices can result in land and air pollution and can cause respiratory problems and other adverse health effects as contaminants are absorbed from the lungs into other parts of the body. 

Leachate: A major problem arising from landfills is the discharge of leachate which is formed by water passing through the tip and thus becoming contaminated with various organic and inorganic pollutants. This subsequent movement of the leachate into the surrounding soil, ground water or surface water could lead to severe pollution problems. 

Health impact

Effect on terrestrial life: lead and mercury poisoning, respiratory disease, decrease in photosynthesis, etc.

Effects on aquatic life: coral bleaching, algal bloom and death of marine animals.

Methods for Waste Management

Waste management is a collective activity involving segregation, collection, transportation, re-processing, recycling and disposal of various types of wastes.

Different methods are:

• A. Landfill: 
• This method involves burying off the waste in the vacant locations around the cities. The dumping site should be covered with soil to prevent contamination. Suitable trees should be planted to hold the soil (of shallow roots).
• Advantage of Landfills: If designed carefully they can serve as economical and quite sanitized method for waste dumping.
• Disadvantage: Mostly unplanned dumping occur in suburbs and slums which causes serious environmental and health hazards. E.g: release of poisonous gases, secretion of toxic liquid, destruction of vegetation.
• B. Incineration:
• It is controlled high temperature oxidation (burning/thermal treatment) of primarily organic compounds that produce thermal energy, CO2 and water.
• Advantages: Useful to deal with large quantities of organic hazardous waste and produces electricity.
• Disadvantages: The installation is expensive (high cost of equipment and skilled operators) and Generates ash and toxic gases (HCL, CO, SO2).
• C. Other Thermal Methods 
• Pyrolysis: In this process the solid is converted in to liquid state and liquid is converted in to gas. These products of treatment can then be used for the production of energy.
• Gasification: The material to be treated is directly converted in to SynGas (synthetic gas) which has hydrogen and carbon dioxide as its components.
• D. Bioremediation
• Bioremediation is the use of living organisms, primarily microorganisms, to degrade environ-mental contaminants into less toxic forms. e.g.: Pseudonymous bacterium can decompose synthetic pesticide.
• Bioremediation techniques are more economical than traditional methods and pollutants can be treated on site, thus reducing exposure risks for personnel. 

Conclusion 

• Waste management can be done in two ways: one is through waste reduction, and two through recycling. Consistent waste reduction and recycling activities mean there will be less waste materials to be sent to landfills and incinerators. As such, the emission of greenhouse gas and other forms of pollutant will be reduced by a large percentage. Reusing and recycling of used items will also result in less production of new products.(source:th)

3.Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee(gs-2)

Context: Gen. Rawat gets baton of Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee

Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief Air Chief Marshal (ACM) BS Dhanoa, who retires on September 30, on Fiday handed over the baton of Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) to Army Chief Gen. Bipin Rawat, the Defence Ministry said in a statement. The ceremony was held in South Block.

Air Marshal RKS Bhadauria will take over as IAF Chief from ACM Dhanoa, after which Gen. Rawat will be the most senior Service Chief. In the present set-up, the most senior Chief functions as the Chairman COSC.

In a major decision aimed at military reforms and tri-Service integration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his last Independence Day address, announced the appointment of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) who will be above the three Chiefs.

About  Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee and his roles:

The CCoSC is envisaged as a single-point military adviser to the government.

CCoSC is necessary for the following reasons:

For better coordination and co-operative practices among the three services.

To provide single point military advice to government.

Streamline long-term defence planning and procurement purpose.

Roles and functions:

He would look into joint issues of the services like training of troops, acquisition of weapon systems and joint operations of the services.

The officer would also be in-charge of the tri-services command at Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the strategic command of nuclear weapons along with the upcoming cyber and space command.(source:th)

4.Black buck (gs-3)

Context:Blackbuck poaching case: Salman Khan skips local court hearing

Black buck (Indian antelope)

Found in — India, Nepal and Pakistan (extinct in Bangladesh).

They are the sole extant member of the genus Antilope

State animal of Andra Pradesh, Haryana & PunjabUPSC, IAS, BLACKBUCK

The blackbuck is a diurnal antelope (active mainly during the day)

The blackbuck has been introduced in Argentina and the United States

Habitat — grassy plains and slightly forested areas. Due to their regular need of water, they prefer areas where water is perennially available.

It is found in Central- Western India (MP, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra and Odisha) and Southern India (Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu).

LEKKING:

Males often adopt lekking as a strategy on the part of males to garner females for mating,

Lekking – is an aggregation of male animals gathered to engage in competitive displays, lekking, to entice visiting females which are surveying prospective partners for copulation

Threats

• excessive hunting
• deforestation
• habitat degradation through conversion to agricultural use 
• Conservation efforts

• Bishnoi community of Rajasthan is known worldwide for their conservation efforts to blackbuck and Chinkara
• In India, hunting of blackbuck is prohibited under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972

CITES Appendix III (Nepal)

• Protected Areas
• 
  
• Velavadar Blackbuck Sanctuary — Gujarat
• 
  
• Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary
• 
  
• Nilgiri biosphere reserve
• 
  
• Corbett national park

Cultural important in Hinduism and Buddhism:

• Black buck is a vehicle of Chandrama (soma or chandra) (moon). This is a symbol of purity prosperity and peace. Its skin use in the time of taking secret thread  (bratabanda) as well as at the time of worshipping. In Buddhism, a pair of buck symbolizes Buddha when he turned to the Sarnath India. The horns and skin are also regarded as sacred object in Hinduism.

5. NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India)(gs-2)

Context:INX Media case: CBI to prosecute former NITI Aayog CEO Sindhushree Khullar

NITI Aayog :Administrative Skeltal

• Chairperson: Prime Minister
• Vice-Chairperson: To be appointed by Prime-Minister
• Governing Council: Chief Ministers of all states and Lt. Governors of Union Territories.
• Regional Council: To address specific regional issues, Comprising Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors Chaired by Prime Minister or his nominee.
• Adhoc Membership: 2 member in ex-officio capacity from leading Research institutions on rotational basis.
• Ex-Officio membership: Maximum four from Union council of ministers to be nominated by Prime minister.
• Chief Executive Officer: Appointed by Prime-minister for a fixed tenure, in rank of Secretary to Government of India.
• Special Invitees: Experts, Specialists with domain knowledge nominated by Prime-minister.

NITI Aayog Hubs

• Team India Hub acts as interface between States and Centre.
• Knowledge and Innovation Hub builds the think-tank acumen of NITI Aayog.
• The Aayog planned to come out with three documents — 3-year action agenda, 7-year medium-term strategy paper and 15-year vision document.

Importance

• The 65 year-old Planning Commission had become a redundant organization. It was relevant in a command economy structure, but not any longer.
• India is a diversified country and its states are in various phases of economic development along with their own strengths and weaknesses.
• In this context, a ‘one size fits all’ approach to economic planning is obsolete. It cannot make India competitive in today’s global economy.

Objectives

• To foster cooperative federalism through structured support initiatives and mechanisms with the States on a continuous basis, recognizing that strong States make a strong nation.
• To develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans at the village level and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government.
• To ensure, on areas that are specifically referred to it, that the interests of national security are incorporated in economic strategy and policy.
• To pay special attention to the sections of our society that may be at risk of not benefitting adequately from economic progress.
• To provide advice and encourage partnerships between key stakeholders and national and international like-minded Think Tanks, as well as educational and policy research institutions.
• To create a knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system through a collaborative community of national and international experts, practitioners and other partners.
• To offer a platform for resolution of inter-sectoral and inter-departmental issues in order to accelerate the implementation of the development agenda.
• To maintain a state-of-the-art Resource Centre, be a repository of research on good governance and best practices in sustainable and equitable development as well as help their dissemination to stake-holders.

Challenges

• To prove its mettle in policy formulation, the NITI Aayog needs to prioritize from the long list of 13 objectives with clear understanding of the difference in policy, planning and strategy.
• To build the trust, faith and confidence more than the planning commission, NITI Aayog needs freedom of various kinds with budgetary provisions not in terms of plan and non-plan expenditures but revenue and capital expenditure as the higher rate of increase in capital expenditure can remove infrastructural deficits at all levels of operation in the economy.

6.India, Nepal, Bhutan to count tigers in high altitude(gs-3)

Context:

With studies earlier this year reporting the presence of tigers in high altitude regions in India, experts from India, Nepal and Bhutan — under the aegis of their governments — will next year begin a detailed assessment on how entrenched tigers are, in these regions.

A study jointly conducted by experts from three countries had, in a report this month, established that there were potentially 52,671 square kilometres of tiger habitat in high altitudes — or Himalayan habitats — of India, Nepal and Bhutan. 38,915 square kilometres of this habitat lay in India

While India is home to the most number of tigers in the world, most of them are focussed in Central India and the Western Ghats. The latest tiger survey, made public earlier this year estimated 2,967 tigers all over India.

Camera traps laid in select districts of Uttarakhand, Sikkim, North Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh to detect the presence of tigers in higher altitudes found only three — two in Sikkim and one in Uttarakhand.The GTF is an intergovernmental body that coordinates activities on tiger conservation.

In previous years, tigers have been reported in Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal at elevations of 1765m, 3274 m and 2400 m respectively. Bhutan had recorded the presence of a tiger at 4,210 m.

As part of a “high altitude tiger master plan”, gathering background information on land attributes, ascertaining status of protection and engaging local communities in tiger conservation is critical. Potential high altitude tiger landscapes include the Valmiki-Chitwan-Annapurna (India-Nepal), Manas-Royal Manas-Jigme Dorji (India-Bhutan); Neora Valley-Torsa-Buxa-Phibsu (India-Bhutan); Askot-Pithoragarh-Nandhaur-Suklaphanta (India-Nepal); and Arunachal-Sikkim-bordering Bhutan (India-Bhutan).

Global Tiger Forum (GTF) :

The Global Tiger Forum (GTF) is the only inter- governmental international body established with members from willing countries to embark on a global campaign to protect the Tiger.

Utilizing co-operative policies, common approaches, technical expertise, scientific modules and other appropriate programmes and controls the GTF is focused on saving the remaining 5 sub-species of Tigers distributed over 13 Tiger Range countries of the world.

The GTF has a General Assembly meeting every 3 years and Standing committee meetings at least once a year.

A Chairperson, usually a Minister from one of the Tiger Range countries heads GTF for a fixed tenure of 3 Years. The Secretariat of GTF is headed by a Secretary General and is located in New Delhi, India.

7.Enforcement Directorate (ED)(gs-2)

Context: ED move against Pawar vindictive, says Rahul Gandhi and many more news related to ED

Enforcement Directorate :

• It is economic intelligence and law enforcement agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India.
• It functions under aegis of Department of Revenue, Union Ministry of Finance.
• Its prime objective is enforcement of two key Acts of Government of India namely:
• Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 (FEMA) and
• Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (PMLA)
• to check money laundering by curb black money and hawala trade cases.
• It is composed of officers from the Indian Revenue Service, Indian Police Service and the Indian Administrative Service.
• It was established in 1956 as ‘Enforcement Unit’ in Department of Economic Affairs.
• It is headquartered in New Delhi.