14 March 2023

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

 1 – Net Zero Waste: GS III – Topic Environment-related issues

 Context:

• All newly constructed housing societies and business complexes across the country will soon be obliged to guarantee net zero waste and have their liquid output treated as part of the government’s push to overhaul and modernise the sewage disposal system.
• In order to turn waste streams (sludge) into usable resources and avoid dumping any solid waste in landfills, waste streams (sludge) must be reduced, reused, and recovered.

Background:

• The directive is a part of the Manhole to Machine-hole scheme, which aims to completely eradicate manual scavenging. It was created as a result of the convergence of projects like Swachch Bharat, NAMASTE, and AMRUT.
• Now, just 28% of India’s daily urban wastewater production—or 72,368 million litres—is processed.
• According to a research published in 2021 titled “Circular Economics in Municipal Solid and Liquid Waste,” institutionalising the sale of cleansed sewage could boost earnings by almost $3,285 billion annually.
• The UN Goal 6.3 aims to greatly enhance recycling and safe reuse by 2030 while lowering the global production of untreated sewage.

What does the term “net zero waste” mean?

• sludge) into usable resources by minimising, reusing, and recovering waste streams in order to avoid disposing of any solid waste.
• The installation of net zero waste and the treatment of liquid output are part of the government’s initiative to modernise and restructure the sewage disposal system.

The Ministry takes into account:

• Reducing the tax on mechanised cleaning equipment, geo-tagging all septic tanks and manholes for accurate tracking, and included septic tank design in building ordinances are all examples of this.

Source  The  Hindu

2 – Saudi Arabia Iran Deal: GS III – Topic International Relations

 Context:

• The deal reached between Saudi Arabia and Iran on Friday will have a big impact on the entire world if it is successful. The Journal of the American Medical Association published the study’s findings.

What are the main outcomes of the discussions?

• Both countries’ embassies will reopen, one in Riyadh and the other in Tehran.
• They pledged to uphold national sovereignty and abstain from interfering in the internal affairs of other nations.

What is the root of the Saudi Arabian-Iranian conflict?

Dimension of Religion:

• In 2016, protesters broke into Saudi diplomatic missions, prompting Saudi Arabia to cut off relations with Iran. A famous Shiite cleric was assassinated by Saudi Arabia a few days before.
• Saudi Arabia has traditionally positioned itself as the world’s leading Sunni nation, in contrast to Iran, which regards itself as the protector of Islam’s Shia minority.

Attacks against Saudi Arabia include:

• Since the US withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement, Iran has been held accountable for a series of attacks, including one that struck the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry in 2019.
• Despite assertions to the contrary from Western governments and academics, Iran has denied culpability for the strike.
• Two powerful neighbours, Saudi Arabia and Iran, are at war with one another for control of the area.
• Political instability surged throughout the Arab world after the Arab Spring of 2011 as protests proliferated there.
• It’s a good idea to have a backup plan in case something goes wrong.
• Also, the US and Israel have a big role in increasing the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
• Proxy Wars: Although Iran and Saudi Arabia are not at war with one another directly, they are both parties to a variety of proxy wars in which one side backs the militias of the other.
• For instance, Yemeni Houthi rebels. These organisations might become more powerful, which might cause more disturbance in the region. Saudi Arabia accuses Iran of supporting them.
• Islamic world leader: Historically, Saudi Arabia, a monarchy and the birthplace of Islam, considered itself to be in charge of the Muslim world.
• This was called into question by the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, which created a new type of state—a sort of revolutionary theocracy—in the region and expressly sought to export this model beyond its own borders.

What would the effects be on a global scale?

• The accord may have an impact on US-led efforts to isolate Iran economically through sanctions because it may allow Saudi investment within Iran.
• In its eight-year civil conflict with Iran-backed Houthi rebels, Yemen’s internationally recognised government has received help from Saudi Arabia. They have, nevertheless, been meeting in secret with the Houthis in Oman to attempt to find a way to end the conflict.
• The kingdom would be counting on Iran to stop Houthi drone and missile strikes on the country and to back Saudi negotiations with the Houthis.
• The agreement will worry a number of Israeli legislators who have advocated for Iran’s complete isolation from the outside world. Israel regarded the accord as a “serious and dangerous” step.

Source  The  Hindu

 3 – Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan: GS II – Topic Government Policies:

 Context:

• A bio-mining plant worth 53 crore rupees will soon be located in the Vellalore waste yard, according to civic authority Deputy Commissioner M. Sharmila.
• The Swachh Bharat Mission plant would treat six lakh cubic metres of legacy trash, she said.

About:

• The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) was established by the Indian government in 2014 with the objective of eliminating open defecation and improving solid waste management throughout the country.
• The initial phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission finished in October 2019.
• The implementation of Phase 2 runs from 2020-2021 through 2024-2025.
• By 2 October 2019, the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth, India was to be “open-defecation free” (ODF) thanks to the mission’s goal of building enough restrooms.

The initial objectives of the mission were as follows:

• Scavenging by hand must stop.
• fostering a change in behaviour and raising awareness of cleaning methods.
• Enhancing the capacity of the neighbourhood.
• The mission’s second phase aims to preserve the absence of open defecation, improve the management of solid and liquid waste, and improve the working conditions for sanitation workers.
• The government provides funding through the programme for the building of restrooms, waste disposal systems, and awareness campaigns to promote a shift in mindset.
• The effort is being funded by the federal and state governments of India.
• The mission is divided between an urban and a rural component.
• In rural areas, “SBM – Gramin” is supervised and funded by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• In urban regions, “SBM – urban” is the responsibility of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Present circumstances:

• According to the dashboards maintained by ministries, more over 100 million individual household level toilets have been erected in rural areas, compared to 6 million in urban areas.
• Over 6 million public restrooms have also been constructed in metropolitan areas.
• Over 11 crore online Integrated Management Information Systems (IMIS) have been developed in the country.
• About 2 lakh Community Sanitary Complexes (CSCs) have been constructed as a result of the programme.
• More than 4,200 cities and 600,000 villages across the nation have proclaimed an end to open defecation (ODF).
• More than 87 thousand wards in urban areas now have 100% door-to-door solid waste collection, and around 65 thousand words have 100% waste source segregation.
• According to UNICEF, the number of people without access to a toilet has dropped from 550 million to 50 million.
• 96% of Indians who have access to a toilet use it, according to the World Bank.

Source The  Hindu

 4 – SCO: GS II – Topic International Relations

 Context:

• Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud asserts that the judiciary will make necessary modifications to its procedures without waiting for a new pandemic to break out.
• During his remarks at the 18th conference of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Courts of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states, Chief Justice Chandrachud emphasised the steps the Indian judicial system had made in reaction to the pandemic’s emergence.
• He asserted that since the outbreak, video conferences had been used by India’s district courts to hear 16.5 million cases, high courts 7.58 million cases, and the Supreme Court 3,79,954 cases.

 About:

• The SCO is a long-standing, multinational, intergovernmental organisation.
• The objective of this Eurasian political, economic, and military institution is to maintain peace, security, and stability in the region.
• It was established in 2001.
• The SCO Charter was signed in 2002 and went into force in 2003.

Genesis:

• Prior to the creation of the SCO in 2001, the Shanghai Five, which comprised Tajikistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Russia, existed.
• The Shanghai Five (1996) was the outcome of numerous border delineation and demilitarisation talks between China and the four former Soviet republics in order to maintain peace along the borders.
• The Shanghai Five became known as the SCO after Uzbekistan joined the group in 2001.
• India and Pakistan joined in 2017.
• According to rumours, Iran will become a full member of the SCO on September 17, 2021.

Objectives:

• fostering a sense of cooperation and neighbourliness among the member states.
• promoting effective cooperation in the areas of trade, the economy, research, and culture.
• developing ties in industries like tourism, energy, transportation, and environmental protection.
• maintain and uphold the peace, security, and stability of the region.
• the establishment of a new, democratic, equitable, and rational world political and economic order.

 Membership:

• Iran, China, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan are the other countries mentioned.

Source The  Hindu