14 December 2022

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – HEAT WAVE: GS I – Geography-related topic

 What precisely is a heat wave?

• A heatwave is declared when the hottest temperature in a region reaches at least 40 degrees Celsius in the plains and at least 30 degrees Celsius in hilly areas.
• A heatwave is defined by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) as a temperature difference of 4.5 to 6 degrees Celsius.
• A severe heatwave is proclaimed when the maximum temperature recorded in an area differs from normal by more than 6.4 degrees Celsius.
• In addition, the IMD declares a heatwave or severe heatwave when temperatures reach 45 or 47 degrees Celsius on any particular day.

Reasons:

• The overall maximum temperature has risen due to a lack of pre-monsoon rainfall. Maharashtra has a 63 percent rainfall shortfall from March 1 to April 26.

Some of the reasons why India is experiencing more heat waves in general are as follows:

• Paved and concrete surfaces, as well as a lack of tree cover, have a magnified effect in urban areas.
• Because of the effects of urban heat islands, ambient temperatures can feel 3 to 4 degrees warmer than they are.
• More heat waves were predicted since global temperatures had risen by an average of 0.8 degrees in the last 100 years. The nighttime temperature is also rising.
• Higher daily peak temperatures and longer, more intense heat waves are becoming more common as a result of climate change around the world.
• High-intensity UV rays in medium-high heat wave zones.
• Due to a mix of significant heat stress and a predominantly rural population, India is vulnerable to heat waves.

How might India deal with future heat waves?

• Using appropriate weather data to identify heat hotspots and encouraging the prompt formulation and implementation of local Heat Action Plans with strategic inter-agency collaboration and a response that prioritises the most vulnerable areas.
• Existing occupational health standards, labour legislation, and sectoral requirements for worker safety in relation to climate change are all being examined.
• Policy intervention and cooperation across three sectors are critical: health, water, and power.
• Traditional methods of adaptation, such as staying at home and dressing comfortably, should be encouraged.
• Shaded windows, subsurface water storage tanks, and insulating housing materials have all become more popular in recent years.
• A vital reaction that the government may take to protect vulnerable people is to implement local Heat Action Plans ahead of time, as well as good inter-agency communication.

The Core Heatwave Zone (CHZ) encompasses the areas most vulnerable to heat waves:

• Rajasthan, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, West Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Maharashtra’s Vidarbha, Gangetic West Bengal, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana are among the states that make up the Indian state of India.

Source The Hindu

 2 – HEPATITIS B: GS II – Health related topic

Facts about Hepatitis B:

• Hepatitis B, often known as HBV, is a liver infection caused by the Hepatitis B virus.
• Blood, sperm, and other bodily fluids are the most common ways for the virus to spread.

Prevention:

• Vaccination can aid in the prevention or defence of the disease.

Symptoms:

• The most common Hepatitis B symptoms include jaundice, fever, lethargy that lasts weeks or months, vomiting, loss of appetite, and joint or gut discomfort.
• Despite the fact that the virus is acute and only lasts a brief time, it can become serious and lead to life-threatening complications such as organ scarring, liver failure, and even malignancy.

What is an adenovirus, and how may it infect children with Hepatitis B?

• Adenovirus symptoms include cold or flu-like symptoms, fever, sore throat, acute bronchitis, pneumonia, conjunctivitis, acute stomach inflammation, diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea, and stomach pain.
• Adenovirus can be transmitted from one person to another through close contact, coughing, sneezing, or even touching an adenovirus-containing substance and then contacting the mouth, nose, or eyes.
• The type 41 adenovirus is suspected to be the cause of hepatitis B in children.
• Adenoviruses come in over 50 distinct types, but type 41 is the one that causes diarrhoea, vomiting, fever, and respiratory problems.

Source The Hindu

 3 – SECTION 144 OF CRPC: Prelims Specific Topic

What is it, exactly?

• A district magistrate, a sub-divisional magistrate, or any other administrative magistrate empowered by the state government to provide orders to prevent and remedy impending danger or nuisance is authorised by this colonial-era statute, which has been preserved in the Code.
• The officer’s written order could be directed at a single person or group of persons at a specific place, or it could be issued to the entire public.
• The magistrate may issue the order in an emergency without notifying the person who is the subject of the order.

The powers provided by the provision are as follows:

• A magistrate can utilise this clause to order a person to desist from executing a specific act or to make a decision about a specific item in his or her possession or under his or her control.
• Restrictions on movement, the carrying of weapons, and unauthorised gatherings are common examples.
• Section 144 normally considers any gathering of three or more individuals to be prohibited.

Duration:

• Orders made under Section 144 remain in effect for two months unless the state government deems it necessary to extend them. The injunction, in any case, cannot last longer than six months.

Criticisms:

• Because the section is so broad, it allows the magistrate to exercise unjustifiable ultimate power.
• The first step in disputing the order, according to the Act, is to file a revision application with the same officer who issued it in the first place.
• Individuals who have been wronged claim that the state has repeatedly violated their rights before the High Court intervened.
• Issuing prohibitory orders across a large area is not suitable because security situations differ from place to place and cannot be dealt with in the same way.

Supreme Court rulings include:

• In the 1961 case of ‘Babulal Parate vs State of Maharashtra and Others,’ the Supreme Court refused to strike down the law, finding that it is “not true to infer that the remedy of a person aggrieved by an order under the section was illusory.”
• In 1967, the court rejected a challenge to the rule, saying, “No democracy can exist if ‘public order’ is freely allowed to be disturbed by a sector of the people.”
• A magistrate’s power under Section 144 “is not an ordinary power emanating from administration but a power exercised in a judicial way and capable of additional judicial examination,” the court stated in 1970 (‘Madhu Limaye vs Sub-Divisional Magistrate’).
• The court, on the other side, upheld the law’s constitutionality, claiming that Section 144’s restrictions are protected by Article 19(2) of the Constitution’s “reasonable restrictions” to basic rights.

A prerequisite for:

• At such gatherings, Hindu religious leaders have frequently made fiery remarks against Muslims, including one in Haridwar in December of last year.

Source The Hindu

 4 – INDIA POST PAYMENT BANK: Prelims Specific Topic

 IPPB:

• The Prime Minister established IPPB in 2018, with the Indian government holding 100% of the firm.
• It is an Indian postal payments bank that employs over 4 lakh postmen and operates through a network of post offices. It is under the control of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
• The bank’s mission is to be India’s most accessible, affordable, and trusted financial institution. The IPPB’s major purpose is to remove barriers to the last mile for the unbanked and underbanked.
• IPPB is committed to developing a cashless economy and supporting India’s Digital India initiative.

Source The Hindu