CURRENT AFFAIRS 2-3 NOVEMBER 2019

CURRENT AFFAIRS 

2-3 NOVEMBER 2019

1.SAWASDEE PM MODI,16th ASEAN-India Summit, the 14th East Asia Summit and the third summit meeting of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership(gs-2,3)

• Context: India has taken stern action against terrorism and divisive forces: PM Modi
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, India has taken stern action against terrorism and divisive forces. Addressing the Indian community in Bangkok on the SAWASDEE PM MODI event on Friday evening, the Prime Minister said that abrogation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir has been welcomed globally. 
• He said that India is growing very fast and the image of the NRIs is a matter of pride for all the countrymen. He appreciated the role of the Indian diaspora in making the country strong. 
• He informed that India will give post-doctoral scholarship to 1000 youths from ASEAN countries and also the OCI cardholders will be included in the New Pension Scheme. The Prime Minister said that 8 crore families got free LPG connection and 50 crore people have been covered under Ayushman Bharat scheme. Mr. Modi assured that all poor people will get houses by 2022 when the country will celebrate 75th years of Independence. 
• The Prime Minister reached the Thailand capital for a three-day visit on Friday. He will attend the 16th ASEAN-India Summit, the 14th East Asia Summit and the third summit meeting of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership as part of his visit. Besides this, the Prime Minister will also participate in the annual East Asia summit.

16th ASEAN-India Summit:

• The 35th Asean Summits and related summits will commence from 2nd November in Thailand's Capital Bangkok. Besides, PM Narendra Modi, it will be attended by many leaders from 10 ASEAN member countries and those from China, South Korea, Japan, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the United Nations.  

ASEAN:

• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a regional intergovernmental organization comprising ten countries in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration among its members and other countries in Asia.

• ASEAN also regularly engages other countries in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. A major partner of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, ASEAN maintains a global network of alliances and dialogue partners and is considered by many as a global powerhouse,the central union for cooperation in Asia-Pacific, and a prominent and influential organization. It is involved in numerous international affairs, and hosts diplomatic missions throughout the world.The ASEAN Secretariat is located at Jakarta, Indonesia.

East Asia Summit :

• The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a regional forum held annually by leaders of, initially, 16 countries in the East Asian, Southeast Asian, and South Asian regions, based on the ASEAN Plus Six mechanism. Membership expanded to 18 countries including Russia and the United States at the Sixth EAS in 2011. Since its establishment, ASEAN has held the central role and leadership in the forum. EAS meetings are held after the annual ASEAN leaders' meetings, and plays an important role in the regional architecture of Asia-Pacific. The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 December 2005

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership:

• The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and its six FTA partners (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand).
• RCEP negotiations were formally launched in November 2012 at the ASEAN Summit in Cambodia.
• In 2017, prospective RCEP member states accounted for a population of 3.4 billion people with a total Gross Domestic Product (GDP, PPP) of $49.5 trillion, approximately 39 percent of the world's GDP, with the combined GDPs of China and India making up more than half that amount.
• RCEP will be the world's largest economic bloc, covering nearly half of the global economy.[3] According to estimates by PwC, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP, PPP) of RCEP member states is likely to amount to nearly $250 trillion by 2050, or a quarter of a quadrillion dollars, with the combined GDPs of China and India making up more than 75% of the amount. RCEP's share of the global economy could account for half of the estimated $0.5 quadrillion global (GDP, PPP) by 2050.

2.Shanghai Cooperation Organization Joint Exercise on Urban Earthquake Search and Rescue -SCOJtEx-2019,SCO(GS-2,3)CONTEXT:Home minister Amit Shah to inaugurate SCO joint exercise on Search, RescueALSORajnath urges SCO to fight terror

• Home Minister Amit Shah will inaugurate the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Joint Exercise on Urban Earthquake Search and Rescue -SCOJtEx-2019 in New Delhi on Monday. 
• National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is hosting the event which will continue till November 7. The aim of the exercise is to rehearse the disaster response mechanism, share knowledge, experience and technology for mutual coordination. 
• This stimulation exercise will also provide an opportunity to enhance the coordination and co-operation involving multi-agency operations in an earthquake scenario. 
• The main focus of Joint Exercise on Urban will be to test the region’s preparedness and resilience towards effective activation of Inter-governmental interaction for immediate response. All the eight-member countries of SCO namely China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will participate in this exercise.

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday called upon member-countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to strengthen and implement all existing international laws and mechanisms “without exceptions or double standards” to combat terrorism.
• He urged them to invest and set up collaborations in India under the “Make in India” initiative.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization :
What is SCO?

• SCO is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation.
• It’s a Eurasian political, economic and military organisation aiming to maintain peace, security and stability in the region.
• It was created in 2001.
• The SCO Charter was signed in 2002, and entered into force in 2003.
• It is a statutory document which outlines the organisation's goals and principles, as well as its structure and core activities.
• The SCO's official languages are Russian and Chinese.

Genesis

• Prior to the creation of SCO in 2001, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan were members of the Shanghai Five.
• Shanghai Five (1996) emerged from a series of border demarcation and demilitarization talks which the four former Soviet republics held with China to ensure stability along the borders.
• Following the accession of Uzbekistan to the organisation in 2001, the Shanghai Five was renamed the SCO.
• India and Pakistan became members in 2017.

Membership

• Kazakhstan
• China
• Kyrgyzstan
• Russia
• Tajikistan
• Uzbekistan
• India
• Pakistan

Observer states

• Afghanistan
• Belarus
• Iran
• Mongolia

Dialogue Partner

• Azerbaijan
• Armenia
• Cambodia
• Nepal
• Turkey
• Sri Lanka

Objectives

• Strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the member states.
• Promoting effective cooperation in -politics, trade & economy, research & technology and culture.
• Enhancing ties in education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, etc.
• Maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region.
• Establishment of a democratic, fair and rational new international political & economic order.

3.Nirbhaya Fund(GS-2)

• CONTEXT:Govt announces setting up anti-human trafficking units in all districts with help of Nirbhaya Fund
• The Government has announced setting up anti-human trafficking units in all districts with the help of Nirbhaya Fund. In a tweet, Women and Child Development Minister, Smriti Irani said that women help desks will also be set up in all police stations across the country using this fund. 
• She said, this initiative will strengthen women safety and instil a greater sense of security among them. Mrs. Irani expressed her gratitude to Home Minister Amit Shah for speedy intervention and ensuring efficacy in fructifying these initiatives. She said, the step will go a long way in addressing women and children safety in the country. 
• The empowered committee (EC) under Nirbhaya framework has recommended setting up anti-human trafficking units and women help desks at a cost of 100 crores rupees each to be fully funded by the centre. Nirbhaya Fund was announced by the Centre in 2013 to support the initiatives of the government and the NGOs working towards the safety of women. 

Nirbhaya Fund:

• The Rs 1,000 crore Nirbhaya Fund was announced in Union Budget 2013 by the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
• The corpus was to be utilised for upholding safety and dignity of women.
• Ministry of Women and Child Development apart from several other concerned ministries were authorised to work out details of structure, scope and application of this fund.
• The Fund is administered by Department of Economic Affairs of the finance ministry.

Issues with Nirbhaya Fund:

• The government has been accused of keeping Nirbhaya Fund unutilised. With rise in cases of sexual harassment and crimes against women there is a crying need for implementation of such funds.

4.International Civil Aviation Organisation(GS-2)CONTEXT:Can’t intervene in Pakistan denial of airspace: International Civil Aviation Organisation

• The United Nations aviation watchdog, International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), is “not empowered to intervene” in the affairs of a country and will examine inputs from both India and Pakistan before it takes a decision to pursue the issue of denial of overflight to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aircraft during his recent visit to Saudi Arabia, its spokesperson said.
• The response is significant because Mr. Modi will fly to Brazil for the BRICS summit on November 13 and 14, when the government’s decision to apply for overflight permission again will come under scrutiny.

International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO):

• The International Civil Aviation Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It changes the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth. Its headquarters is located in the Quartier International of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
• The ICAO Council adopts standards and recommended practices concerning air navigation, its infrastructure, flight inspection, prevention of unlawful interference, and facilitation of border-crossing procedures for international civil aviation. ICAO defines the protocols for air accident investigation that are followed by transport safety authorities in countries signatory to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.
• The Air Navigation Commission (ANC) is the technical body within ICAO. The Commission is composed of 19 Commissioners, nominated by the ICAO's contracting states and appointed by the ICAO Council.Commissioners serve as independent experts, who although nominated by their states, do not serve as state or political representatives. International Standards And Recommended Practices are developed under the direction of the ANC through the formal process of ICAO Panels. Once approved by the Commission, standards are sent to the Council, the political body of ICAO, for consultation and coordination with the Member States before final adoption.

5.Code on Wages, 2019(GS-2)CONTEXT:Unions upset over draft wage rules

• The draft rules that would govern wages, including norms for minimum wages and fixing floor-level wages, were published by the Union Labour and Employment Ministry on Friday, leading some workers’ unions to raise concerns about the potentially low floor wages.
• As part of its labour law reform agenda, the Narendra Modi government had in July introduced the Code on Wages, 2019 in Parliament, which passed it in August. The code, which subsumed four laws regarding payment of wages, equal pay, payment of bonus and minimum wages, got the President’s assent on August 8. The rules drafted under the code were published by the Ministry on Friday and opened up for public comments for one month.

The Code on Wages Bill :

• The Code on Wages Bill was earlier introduced in Lok Sabha in 2017 and was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee which submitted its report in December 2018. However, owing to the dissolution of 16th Lok Sabha, the Bill lapsed.

Constitutional Provisions

• The Article 43 of the Constitution of India states that the state shall endeavor to secure by suitable legislation or economic organization or in any other way to all workers a living wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and full enjoyment of pleasure and social and cultural opportunities.
• Under the Constitution of India, Labour is a subject in the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule where both the Central & State Governments are competent to enact legislation.

Need

• To streamline the definition of wages as present labour laws consist of 12 different definition of wages which is the major cause of litigation and inefficiency in the implementation of labour laws.
• The definition has been simplified and is expected to reduce litigation and will entail at a lesser cost of compliance for an employer.
• An establishment will also be benefited as the number of registers, returns, forms, etc., not only can be electronically filed and maintained, but it is envisaged that through rules, not more than one template will be prescribed.

Highlights of the Bill

• The bill aims to transform the old and obsolete labour laws into more accountable and transparent ones and seeks to pave the way for the introduction of minimum wages and labour reforms in the country.
• It regulates the wages and bonus payments in all employments where any industry, trade, business, or manufacturing is being carried out.
• The bill subsumes the following four labour laws:
• The Payment of Wages Act, 1936
• The Minimum Wages Act, 1948
• The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965
• The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.
• It universalizes the provisions of minimum wages and timely payment of wages to all employees irrespective of the sector and wage ceiling and seeks to ensure "Right to Sustenance" for every worker and intends to increase the legislative protection of minimum wage.
• It has been ensured in the bill that employees getting monthly salary shall get the salary by 7th of next month, those working on a weekly basis shall get the salary on the last day of the week and daily wagers should get it on the same day.
• The provisions of the bill will apply to all the employees.
• At present, the provisions of both the Minimum Wages Act and Payment of Wages Act apply on workers below a particular wage ceiling working in Scheduled Employments only.
• Many unorganized sector workers like agricultural workers, painters, persons working in restaurants and dhabas, chowkidars, etc. who were out of the ambit of minimum wages will get legislative protection of minimum wages after the bill becomes an Act.
• The Central Government is empowered to fix the floor wages by taking into account the living standards of workers. It may set different floor wages for different geographical areas.
• The minimum wages decided by the central or state governments must be higher than the floor wage.

Wages

• According to the bill, wages include salary, allowance, or any other component expressed in monetary terms. This does not include bonus payable to employees or any traveling allowance, among others.
• MInimum Wage: International Labour Organisation defines it as “the minimum amount of remuneration that an employer is required to pay wage earners for the work performed during a given period, which cannot be reduced by collective agreement or an individual contract”. Or, the minimum wage includes the bare needs of life like food, shelter, and clothing.
• Living Wage: It is the wage needed to provide the minimum income necessary to pay for basic needs based on the cost of living in a specific community. In addition to bare needs, a ‘living wage’ includes education, health, insurance, etc.
• Fair Wage: A ‘fair wage’ is a mean between ‘living wage’ and ‘minimum wage’.
• It simplifies the methodology to fix minimum wage by doing away with the “type of employment” as one criterion. The minimum wage fixation would primarily be based on geography and skills.
• In order to ensure transparency and accountability, the bill seeks to reform the inspection regime by introducing web based random computerised inspection scheme, jurisdiction-free inspections, calling of information electronically, the composition of fines, etc.
• To streamline the claims of workers, the limitation period for filing claims for minimum wages, bonus, equal remuneration has been raised to 3 years.
• It prohibits gender discrimination in matters related to wages and recruitment of employees for the same work or work of similar nature.

Impact

• It seeks to reduce compliance costs for employers.
• It is expected to reduce litigation as it streamlines the definition of wages.
• It will substantially reduce the number of minimum wages in the country from the existing more than 2000 rates of minimum wages.
• This would ensure that every worker gets a minimum wage which will also be accompanied by an increase in the purchasing power of the worker thereby giving a fillip to growth in the economy.

6.Political map of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh(GS-1,2)CONTEXT:New Indian map shows UTs of J&K, Ladakh

• The Survey of India has redrawn the map of India to depict the newly formed Union Territories (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh. Areas such as Gilgit, Gilgit Wazarat, Chilhas and the Tribal Territory of 1947 that have been occupied by Pakistan are included in the Ladakh UT.
• Other areas in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) such as Mirpur and Muzaffarabad have been included in the J&K UT.
• The President of India issued a notification on Saturday to define the districts in the two UTs that came into being on October 31 as per the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019. “The new UT of Ladakh consists of two districts of Kargil and Leh. The rest of the former State of Jammu and Kashmir is in the new UT of J&K,” the Home Ministry said.
• In 1947, J&K had 14 districts: Kathua, Jammu, Udhampur, Reasi, Anantnag, Baramulla, Poonch, Mirpur, Muzaffarabad, Leh and Ladakh, Gilgit, Gilgit Wazarat, Chilhas and Tribal Territory. By 2019, they were reorganised into 28 districts. The new districts were Kupwara, Bandipur, Ganderbal, Srinagar, Budgam, Pulwama, Shupian, Kulgam, Rajouri, Ramban, Doda, Kishtivar, Samba and Kargil.

7.Green Urban Mobility Scheme(GS-2,3)

• CONTEXT:Germany to invest €1 billion for green urban mobility in India
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday pledged to invest €1 billion over the next five years on environmentally-friendly urban mobility in India.
• Ms. Merkel, whose visit to the country coincided with one of the worst spells of air pollution in Delhi/NCR, also emphasised on the need to replace diesel-run public transport with electric vehicles

Green Urban Mobility Scheme:

• On 16th March 2017, the government of India took another step toward to make India clean and gree by launching a  “Green Urban Mobility Scheme” in 103 cities for transportation to promote the use of hybrid/electric vehicles and non-fossil fuels among others for public transport. The scheme was
• inaugurated by Minister of Urban Development Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu. Government is formulating the scheme to make the cities green and more eco-friendly.

Objectives:

• To promote the use of green public transports and cheer up growth of urban transport along low Carbon path for reduction in pollution

Key Features:

• In the beginning, the scheme would cover about 103 cities having more than 5 lakh population which would be implemented in the period of seven years, would involve setting up of footpaths, cycle tracks, public bike sharing, bus rapid transit (BRT) systems, intelligent transport system, non-fossil fuels for public transport and urban freight management and innovating financing for transport systems.
• The government is to encourage the non-motorized transportation in the urban cities with the intention of reducing carbon emission from the motorized transportation.
• This scheme will play a vital role, other than the metro rail systems on converting public mode of transportations in those selected urban cities of the nation, Around Rs.70, 000 crores would be required to implement the scheme.
• In the scheme 10% amount will be contributed by urban local bodies, 30% amount would be given by the Centre and states government and the remaining 60% amount would be raised as loan from multi-lateral agencies.
• Under this scheme, edition of Metro Acts and Standardisation and Indigenisation of Metro systems, new Metro Rail Policy aimed at increased private sector participation also include.
• In the scheme new policy initiatives to cheer up private investments in weather friendly and sustainable public transport method like Metro rail, Non-motorised Transport and other low carbon emitting systems in urban areas.

Proposed Reforms

• Setting up of and operationalizing UMTA.
• Preparation of Comprehensive Mobility Plans and integration of the same with Master Plan of the city/town and Adoption of Travel Demand Management measures (Parking policy, congestion pricing etc.) Implementation of Transit Oriented development.
• Adoption and implementation of an Encroachment policy aimed at ensuring availability of full right of way and policy for Urban Street Vendors.

8.INDIA – US Economic and Financial Partnership meeting

(GS-2,3)CONTEXT:India, US commit to further enhance cooperation in tackling money laundering

• INDIA – US Economic and Financial Partnership meeting (EFP) was held in New Delhi between the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of India and the Department of the Treasury, United States of America and a joint statement released.

INDIA – US Economic and Financial Partnership meeting

• INDIA – US EFP isworking together to attract more private sector capital to finance India’s infrastructure needs and further raise growth for both countries.
• India has set up the National Infrastructure and Investment Fund (NIIF) to catalyze private institutional investment in Indian infrastructure, for which the United States has provided technical support. 
• The United States helped the Indian city of Pune successfully launch municipal bonds in 2017 to finance local infrastructure needs to support the government’s Smart Cities initiative now it is looking forward to work together for preparing more cities to issue municipal bonds.
• Both countries recently signed an arrangement that enables automatic exchange of Country-by Country Reports for purposes of high level transfer pricing risk assessment.  
• India and the United States took note of the progress made in sharing financial account information between the two countries under the Inter-Governmental Agreement pursuant to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) of US.
• Both sides will continue to collaborate and share experiences for tackling offshore tax evasion.
• India and the United States will continue to enhance our cooperation in tackling money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). 

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act         

• The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a tax law that compels U.S. citizens at home and abroad to file annual reports on any foreign account holdings.
• FATCA was endorsed in 2010 to promote transparency in the global financial services sector.
• Offshore tax evasion
• A tax haven is generally an offshore country that offers foreign individuals and businesses little or no tax liability in a politically and economically static environment.
• Tax havens also share limited or no financial information with foreign tax authorities and do not typically require residency or business presence for individuals and businesses to benefit from their tax policies.

9.NAGA GROUPS (GS-1,2)CONTEXT:Naga groups pushing for separate flag: Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister

• Nagaland Deputy Chief Minister Y. Patton has said that the signing of the Naga peace accord will take a few more days and that the Naga groups, including the NSCN(IM), will keep negotiating for a separate constitution and flag.
• Mr. Patton, who also holding the Home portfolio, said Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and he were seeking an appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to get clarity on their future role.

NAGA GROUPS :

• The ethnic conflict in Nagaland, is an ongoing conflict fought between the ethnic Nagas and the governments of India and Myanmar.
• Nagaland inhabited by the Nagas is located at the tri-junction border of India on the West and South, north and Myanmar on the East.
• The Nagas are not a single tribe, but an ethnic community that comprises several tribes who live in the state of Nagaland and its neighbourhood.
• Nagas belong to Indo-Mongoloid Family.
• Nagas claimed sovereignty on the basis of prior sovereign existence and differences, which is today expressed in terms of “uniqueness”.
• In 2015, the Centre signed a framework agreement with the NSCN(I-M).
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi described this as a “historic agreement” towards settling the “oldest insurgency” in India.
• This set the stage for the ongoing peace talks. In 2017, six other Naga armed outfits under the banned of the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) joined the talks.
• Currently , Muivah remains the senior-most Naga rebel leader. Isak died in 2016. In the NSCN(-K), its leader Khaplang died in 2018.

Greater Nagalim: Demand from the Naga groups:

• The key demand of Naga groups has been a Greater Nagalim (sovereign statehood) i.e redrawing of boundaries to bring all Naga-inhabited areas in the Northeast under one administrative umbrella.
• It includes various parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Assam and Myanmar as well.
• The demand also includes the separate Naga Yezabo (Constitution) and Naga national flag.
• It is a very sensitive issue, and the ball now is in the court of Government of India.
• Now, there is a need of wanting a best solution at the earliest, but if the government wants the best for Nagas, they should give more time – not to create confusion or complications — but only if there are signs of a positive outcome.

Where does the territorial demand currently stand?

• In 2018, the official sources had said that the accord being finalised “does not change the boundary of states;
• Provides autonomous Naga territorial councils for Arunachal and Manipur;
• A common cultural body for Nagas across states;
• Specific institutions for state’s development, integration and rehabilitation of non-state Naga militia and the removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act”.
• The map of Greater Nagalim in the NSCN(IM) vision, on the other hand, covers a 1,20,000 sq km sprawl across the Northeast and Myanmar — the area of Nagaland state itself is only 16,527 sq km, a fraction of this vision.
• Amid the anxiety this has caused among citizens in neighbouring states, state governments have assured them that their respective states’ territorial integrity would not be compromised.
• Before the framework agreement, the Nagaland Assembly itself had endorsed the demand for “integration of all Naga-inhabited areas” as many as five times in December 1964, August 1970, September 1994, December 2003 and on July 27, 2015.

Way Forward to resolve the issue:

• The history of Indo-Naga conflict shows that various past agreements have broken down due to different interpretations of the provisions by the parties at their convenience.
• Nagas are culturally heterogeneous groups of different communities/tribes having a different set of problems from mainstream population.
• In order to achieve the long-lasting solution, their cultural, historical and territorial extent must be taken into consideration.
• Therefore, various recommendations described below can help to achieve long-lasting peace in the region.
• Providing autonomous Naga territorial councils for Arunachal and Manipur. Common cultural body for Nagas across states.
• Specific institutions for state’s development, integration and rehabilitation of non-state Naga militia. Removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
• A special status on the lines of Article 371-A will be explored for Naga areas outside Nagaland.
• A constitutional body to look into issues related to Nagas in their whole territorial spread.
• Therefore, any arrangement to be worked out should lead to social and political harmony, economic prosperity and protection of the life and property of all tribes and citizens of the states.

10.Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority(GS-3)CONTEXT:Health emergency declared in the Capital

• The Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority declared a public health emergency in the Capital as pollution levels entered the ‘severe plus’ category in the early hours of Friday.
• According to the official data provided by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the overall AQI score of Delhi was 504 at 3.30 a.m. on Friday after which alarm bells were sounded. The average AQI score of Delhi recorded at 4.30 p.m., which is the average of 32 monitoring stations in the past 24 hours, was 484, in the ‘severe’ category.

Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority:
About Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA):

• EPCA was constituted with the objective of ‘protecting and improving’ the quality of the environment and ‘controlling environmental pollution’ in the National Capital Region. The EPCA also assists the apex court in various environment-related matters in the region.
• EPCA is Supreme Court mandated body tasked with taking various measures to tackle air pollution in the National Capital Region. It was notified in 1998 by Environment Ministry under Environment Protection Act, 1986.

Composition:

• Besides the chairman, the EPCA has 14 members, some of whom are the environment secretary of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT), chairperson of the New Delhi Municipal Council, transport commissioner of the NCT, the commissioners of various municipal corporations of Delhi and professors at IIT Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Functions:

• To protect and improve quality of environment and prevent and control environmental pollution in National Capital Region.
• To enforce Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in NCR as per the pollution levels.

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