29 December 2022

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

 1 – Eklavya Model Residential Schools: GS II – Topic Government Schemes and Interventions

Context:

• The two-day training session for teachers of tribal students at Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) was launched on Wednesday by Arjun Munda, the minister of tribal affairs. According to a statement from the ministry, the initiative is meant to be “a stepping stone in developing awareness about the potential of computer science in students of EMRS.”

About:

• The goal of the EMRS programme is to build model residential schools for India’s Scheduled Tribes (ST). It started between 1997 and 1998.
• The Eklavya Model Residential School in Shinde (Nashik) was created by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to promote top-notch education among the nearby tribal villages.
• The EMR School follows the CBSE curriculum.
• Eklavya Model Residential Schools are being established with an emphasis on the holistic development of indigenous children as well as academic instruction in order to offer tribal students with a high-quality education.
• There are currently 384 active schools around the country that were constructed to the same standards as Navodaya Vidyalaya with a focus on distinctive, cutting-edge facilities for safeguarding regional art and culture in addition to providing education in sports and skill development.

 Coverage:

• The 2010 EMRS Guidelines now in effect require that a minimum of one EMRS be established in each Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) or Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) with a 50% ST population.
• The budget for 2018–19 states that by 2022, there would be an Eklavya Model Residential School in every block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal members.

What purposes does the EMRS serve?

• Holistic development of each student enrolled in each EMRS in terms of their socially relevant physical, mental, and academic skills.
• Give kids the tools they need to change the world, first in their schools, homes, villages, and finally in a global context.
• Put a distinct emphasis on the educational support that should be made available to students in Standards XI and XII in comparison to those in Standards VI through X in order to suit their specific needs.
• Support the annual operating costs in a way that ensures that the staff is fairly compensated and that the facilities are maintained.
• Encourage the creation of infrastructure that satisfies the needs of students’ physical, natural, and cultural environments.

Source  The Hindu

 2 – West Bank: GS II – Topic International Relations:

Context:

• On Wednesday, Benjamin Netanyahu’s incoming hard-line government vowed to annex the occupied territory and legalise dozens of illegally built outposts as one of its key objectives in a coalition deal with its ultranationalist backers.

Inhabitations in the West Bank:

• Nearly 1.5 times the size of Goa, the West Bank is a landlocked area in West Asia. It also encompasses a substantial chunk of the western Dead Sea.
• Jordan seized control of it following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, but Israel regained control of it during the 1967 Six-Day War, and it has been Israel’s territory ever since.
• The West Bank is home to 130 authorised Israeli settlements and over 26 lakh Palestinians.

Global Position on West Bank Settlements:

• The majority of countries view the West Bank settlements as illegal and on occupied territory.
• The UN General Assembly, UN Security Council, and International Court of Justice have all declared that the West Bank settlements are in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
• The Fourth Geneva Convention states that an occupying power “shall not deport or transfer elements of its own civilian population into the zone it occupies” (1949).

How to Proceed:

• The Oslo Accords of the 1990s stated that the status of the settlements would be decided through negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. But the negotiation process has all but disappeared for some time. The world must work together to find a peaceful solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Source  The Hindu

 3 – Decriminalization: GS II –  Topic Election-related issues

Context:

• The rising number of elected officials with criminal histories serving in state legislatures and the Parliament worries every law-abiding and right-minded person. The frightening trend of criminalising politics has been chipping away at the underpinnings of our democratic system, along with the emergence of huge corruption. To stop this risky trend, the judiciary and all political parties must step in.

Root causes of political criminization include:

• Success rate of politicians: Political parties allocate tickets to candidates based on how likely they are to win. A candidate with open criminal charges has a 15.5 percent chance of winning the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, compared to 4.7 percent for a candidate with a clean record.
• Use of Money and Muscle: An election’s success is greatly influenced by the quantity of funding it receives. Large sums of money frequently ensure the political triumph of candidates with prior offences.
• In comparison to the Lok Sabha elections in 2009, when only 30% of the 542 MPs were scrutinised, 185 (34%) of the 2014 winners had filed criminal charges against themselves.
• Red tape and corruption in the government and bureaucracy lead to connections being formed between officials from various agencies, politicians, law enforcement personnel, criminals, and corporations. All of these ultimately assist those with criminal past in entering politics.
• Growing voter turnout and weak rule of law Bank Politics: Weak rule of law is a contributing factor to the public’s eroding trust in the government and police.
• Due to societal differences caused by caste, religion, and other reasons as well as the inability of authorities to act fast in the face of social tensions, people’s faith in democratic institutions has eroded.
• Strongmen prosper as a result, and they are able to govern the residents of their own neighbourhood.
• Lack of intra-party democracy: Because there is no intra-party democracy in India, the top leadership chooses which candidates will run in elections. As a result, the party’s grassroots activists and organisational structure are able to protect lawbreakers from being looked into.
• Poor Conviction Rate: In India, there have been very few MPs and MLAs who have been convicted of crimes. Despite the lengthy trials and low conviction rate, the political party nevertheless supports candidates who have a criminal history.
• Election commission without teeth: When candidates submit their nomination papers, the election commission asks them for details about their property, court cases that are pending, their educational background, and their election expenses.
• However, the electoral commission lacks the authority to hold the candidates accountable because they regularly give incorrect information.

How to Stop Politics from Becoming Criminalized:

• Changes should be made to Section 125A of the Representation of Peoples Act to require a minimum term of two years in prison for anyone found to have falsified or omitted information on Form 26 in contravention of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.
• The Law Commission’s 244th Report recommends that trials against sitting MPs and MLAs be finished in a year.
• Every person who is currently being investigated for a crime that carries a sentence of more than five years will be disqualified, with the necessary safeguards in place.
• Under section 125A, providing a false affidavit carries a sentence of two years in jail. If this is found to be true, disqualification should be an option.
• The 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission proposed changing Section 8 of the Representation of People Act, 1951 to prohibit candidates who are accused of serious crimes or corruption from standing, with the need that charges be brought six months before the election.
• Political parties will find it less desirable to work with gangsters if campaign money becomes more open.

Significant Supreme Court Decisions:

• The Supreme Court ruled in the case Union of India v. Association for Democratic Reforms and Anr in 2002 that any candidate for public office must reveal both their financial situation and their educational background.
• The Supreme Court ruled in the 2005 case of Ramesh Dalal v. Union of India that any sitting member of Parliament or state legislative assembly who is convicted of a crime and sentenced to two years or more in jail by a court of law is ineligible to compete for office.
• The Supreme Court determined that Section 8(4) of the Representation of People Act, 1951, which allowed convicted MLAs and MPs to continue office while an appeal against their convictions was resolved, was unconstitutional in the 2013 Lily Thomas v. Union of India case.
• MLAs and MPs would thus be promptly removed from office if proven responsible and sentenced to a term of two years or more. The MLAs and MPs will be allowed to stay, the union administration informed the supreme court in 2017 if the appellate court sustained the conviction.

Moving ahead:

• The criminalization of politics and corruption has an effect on the basis of democracy. Candidates for public office who have criminal records should be given special consideration, as should the political parties that back them.
• More transparency is required in the way political party campaigns are funded. Political parties must be held more accountable and transparent by implementing the Right to Information Act.
• The Parliament ought to pass legislation to counter the growing criminalization of politics. Courts dealing with sitting politicians would also be necessary for the legalisation of politics.
• To remove individuals with criminal histories from the Parliament and state legislatures, it is important to put the Law Commission, Supreme Court, and Election Commission’s recommendations into practise.

Source  The Hindu

 4 – City Finance Ranking: Prelims Specific Topic

Context:

• The rules for a new municipal ranking system based on finances were unveiled by the Union government on Wednesday. The new technique would assess urban organisations based on 15 important factors, such as resource mobilisation, spending efficacy, and fiscal control. Cities’ aesthetic allure will be evaluated independently in a ranking.

What are the rankings for city finance?

• The goal of the City Finance Rankings is to evaluate, recognise, and honour urban local governments based on 15 metrics that address three financial criteria: resource mobilisation, expenditure performance, and fiscal governance frameworks.
• At the national level and within each state or state cluster, the best three performing cities in each of these areas will be honoured.
• The goal of this ranking is to evaluate the ULBs’ present financial situation and point out any areas where they may do better.
• Cities will thus be encouraged to think about changing municipal funding.
• It will also give important policymakers information on the financial soundness of ULBs while highlighting the accomplishments of local governments at the local and state levels.

About City Beauty Competition:

• The goal of the “City Beauty Competition” is to promote and aid ULB initiatives aimed at revitalising Indian cities and wards and constructing lovely, welcoming public areas.

The five primary pillars listed below will be used to rank the wards and public areas of the cities:

• Accessibility
• Amenities
• Activities
• Aesthetics
• Ecology
• The goal of the competition is to identify the most stunning wards and public spaces in the city.
• The best-performing wards will be recognised locally and statewide.
• At the state level, attention would be given to the most scenic public places in cities, including as waterfronts, green areas, tourist and heritage attractions, as well as market and commercial sectors. After that, they will be included on a shortlist for a national honour.
• Due to competition amongst Indian cities and wards, ULBs would be driven to improve their fundamental infrastructure and construct visually pleasing, inclusive, and sustainable cities.
• A fair jury of professionals from several disciplines, including as urban planning, engineering, design, cultural studies, environmentalists, etc., will evaluate the wards and cities.

Source The Hindu