DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS
1 – Promulgation of Ordinances: GS II – Parliament-related issues:
Context:
- The national government has introduced an Ordinance to reverse a unanimous ruling by the SC’s Constitution Bench [which handed the Delhi government control over services in the NCT].
The ordinance’s details:
- It granted control over services to the Delhi Lieutenant Governor.
- A National Capital Civil Service Authority was created as a result.
- The chief minister and two senior IAS officials shall make up the authority.
- The majority vote would be used to decide issues, which could result in a situation where the elected CM’s opinion is invalidated.
Ordinance:
- Meaning In order to address unusual or urgent conditions, the Executive (the President in the case of the Union and the Governor in the case of the State) enacts laws.
- unusual or urgent conditionsThe President [Article 213 – Governor] of India is given the authority to publish ordinances while Parliament is in recess under Article 123 of the Indian Constitution.
- Paragraph 123The President may issue ordinances whenever he is convinced that it is important for him to act immediately, barring times when both Houses of Parliament are in session.
- Actual decision-making power behind the OrdinanceIn accordance with Article 74, the President follows the Council of Ministers’ recommendations. As a result, the Ordinance is actually brought by the government.
- Effect A parliamentary act’s force and impact are the same for an ordinance. However, the government must submit an Ordinance for ratification to Parliament.
- Life An Ordinance will expire six weeks after the reassembly of Parliament if the government is unable to have it approved by the Parliament. An ordinance’s maximum lifespan is equal to 6 months (recess) plus 6 weeks.
- The Ordinance may expire sooner if the President withdraws it or if it is rejected by both Houses, which would indicate that the administration no longer has a majority.
Criticism:
- Lawmaking being a legislative activity, the ability to enact an ordinance is offered to address urgent issues.
- To avoid the legislature, the governments instead take the Ordinance method.
- The extension of an Ordinance’s life by repromulgation enables the executive to further wrest legislative authority.
SC rulings on the subject:
- In the RC Cooper Case from 1970, the President’s choice to publish an Ordinance might be contested if it is just intended to circumvent the Parliament.
- In D C Wadhwa v. State of Bihar in 1986, the court stated that it would be an improper use of power for the government to disregard the legislature and reissue an ordinance.
- Reiterated that the Governor’s ability to issue an ordinance is one that falls under the category of an emergency power in Krishna Kumar Singh v. State of Bihar 2017. It would be unlawful to re-promulgate the Ordinance repeatedly without submitting it to the legislature.
Source The Hindu
2 – G 7: GS II – International Relations:
Context:
- The G7 leaders’ 49th annual summit, which was recently held in Hiroshima, Japan, came to an end.
Summit highlights include:
- G7 nations declared that they will create economic resilience for themselves through a policy of decoupling, not decoupling, but rather diversifying and deepening relationships.
- However, the G7 gave nothing in the way of stepped-up action while acknowledging the need for effective climate action.
What do the terms decoupling and derisking mean?
- to steer business away from sectors thought to be riskier in terms of potential profits.To lessen market correlation, it is employed in place of an economic boycott.
- should possess robust, efficient supply chains that will not allow any country to be forced.
Why did the G7 countries employ “de-risking”?
- In order to explain their position on China’s economy.
Derisking in relation to China :
- It can be viewed as a reduction in the economic dependency on China, either as a market for completed goods or as a source of raw materials, in order to lower the possibility of trade hazards and supply chain disruptions.
Effective climate action at the G7:
Need:
- The window of opportunity for taking decisive action was closing more quickly than ever.
- Over the next five years, the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold was probably going to be momentarily crossed (WMO).
- 2023 is on course to surpass 2016 as the warmest year ever.
- As a result of global warming, the likelihood that heat waves would occur in India and its neighbours has grown by 30 times.
Milestones for effective climate action are as follows:
Peaking globally by 2025:
- Insisting that their own GHG emissions had already peaked, the G7 urged the world’s five largest economies—China, Brazil, South Africa, and Russia—to ensure that each of their own emissions peaks by 2025.
- By 2050, the world must be entirely carbon neutral in order to achieve the 1.5 degree Celsius goal. All significant economies were tasked by the G7 to provide thorough plans for achieving the goal.
- By 2025, “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” will be eliminated.
Obstacles to achieving the milestones:
- The Paris Agreement does not require the 2025 peak year. India has projected that its emissions will increase during the following ten years. The largest emitter in the world, China, wouldn’t reach its peak until the end of this decade.
- Only Germany has stated that it will achieve net-zero status by 2045 among the main emitters, including the US and EU.
- China would achieve net-zero status in 2060, while India has set its goal for 2070. a few more nations.
- The G7 nations did not set a timeline for the reduction of fossil fuel use.
Source The Hindu
3 – Making cities climate ready: GS III – Environmental Conservation:
Context:
- The World Bank has released a report called “Thriving: Making Cities Green, Resilient, and Inclusive in a Changing Climate” that offers recommendations to local and national authorities on how to build greener, more resilient, more inclusive cities.
- According to the research, the following cities’ green, resilient, and inclusive status:
Greenness:
- Cities in high- and upper-middle-income nations considerably increase the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.
- North American cities rank among the top emitters of greenhouse gases per capita.
Resilience:
- Cities in low- and lower-middle-income nations are most vulnerable to threats brought on by climate change.
- Cities in Bangladesh and India are more susceptible to cyclones, heat waves, and floods, which has serious economic repercussions.
Inclusiveness:
- Cities in low- and lower-middle-income countries are more vulnerable and less resilient because of a lack of inclusivity.
- Cities in lower-income nations frequently struggle with poor access to healthcare, education, and basic services like water and electricity.
Air contaminant:
- Compared to cities in high-income countries, low- and middle-income cities have greater levels of air pollution, notably PM2.5.
- High PM2.5 levels have been recorded in many cities, including Delhi, Kanpur, Patna, etc., especially during the winter.
Growth vertically and prosperity:
- Vertically expanding cities use less land, can accommodate more residents, and are more prosperous.
- Comparing New York City to cities with sprawling development, the former has a higher population density and economic activity.
Impact of Heat and Lack of Vegetation:
- Extreme heat events and urban heat island effects have a greater influence on cities with less vegetation, especially in upper-middle-income nations.In cities like Tokyo, where there aren’t many green spaces, heat waves are more intense because of the absence of vegetation and increased heat retention.
- According to the report’s recommendations, there are five sets of tools that cities can use to increase their greenness, resilience, and inclusiveness:
- Policies and actions to inform people, businesses, and local governments about the hazards of climate change, its mitigation, and adaptation options in a reliable and timely mannercreating a climate change information centre to offer information on climate threats unique to their city.
Incentives:
- It entails eliminating subsidies that support actions with detrimental environmental externalities, implementing the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), FAME I and II plan, or tax incentives or refunds for building energy-efficient technologies
Insurance:
- developing climate risk insurance programmes that protect people and businesses from financial harm caused by severe weather, promote investment in climate-resilient infrastructure, and facilitate speedy recovery.
Integration:
- Developing effective public transport systems that connect urban and rural areas; Policy interventions that support compact cities and improved integration between urban and rural areas.For instance, the Smart City Mission and the PURA Scheme (which offer urban services and chances for employment in rural areas)
Investments:
- government spending on inclusive, resilient, and environmentally friendly urban infrastructure. This covers strategies to attract private sector funding for sustainable development as well as solutions based on nature.allocating money to develop urban parks, renewable energy initiatives, and green buildings.
Conclusion:
- A multifaceted strategy is needed to tackle climate change’s problems and build sustainable cities. Prioritising green practises, fostering inclusivity in urban planning, and increasing resilience to climate impacts are all part of it. In order to combat climate change and provide a sustainable future for future generations, city-level action is essential.
Source The Hindu
4 – National e-vidhan application: GS II – Parliament-related issues:
Context:
- In New Delhi, a two-day national workshop on the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) is being organised by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.
About NeVA:
- The National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) is a workflow system that was set up on the NIC Cloud, MeghRaj, with the goal of facilitating efficient paperless management of legislative affairs and facilitating smooth operations of the State Assembly or Parliament.
- NeVA’s goal is to integrate all legislators onto a single platform, creating a centralised data repository, and do away with the requirement for written notices or written requests for data gathering.
Features:
- It is a member-focused, device-neutral application that gives members access to a wide range of information directly on their smartphones or tablets, including contact information, rules of procedure, a schedule of business, notices, legislation, questions and answers, committee reports, and more. Using the NeVA technology, Nagaland and Himachal Pradesh have paperless assemblies.
About e-Vidhan:
- The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (MoPA) is implementing it as a Mission Mode Project (MMP) under the Digital India Programme with technical assistance from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MietY). This programme is centrally sponsored. It seeks to digitalize and unite all of the nation’s legislatures on a single platform, generating a vast data repository in the process.
Source The Hindu