29 December 2023

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – Involvement of the NGT in the issue of illegal mining in Haryana: GS III – Environmental Conservation related issues:

Context:

• Since the state of Haryana has not addressed the issue of illicit mining in Gurgaon’s Rithoj village, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has lately initiated harsh measures against the state.

Illegal Mining: What Is It?

• The act of extracting minerals, ores, or other valuable resources from land or water bodies without the required licences, permissions, or regulatory clearances from government authorities is known as illegal mining.
• Infractions of labour, safety, and environmental laws may also be involved.

Indian Laws Concerning Mining:

• The Indian Constitution requires the state government to own the minerals that are located within its borders, as stated in List II (State List), entry number 23.
• The central government is required to own the minerals located within India’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) by virtue of their entry at serial No. 54 of List I (Central List).
• The Mines & Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Act of 1957 was created in response to this.
• While the Ministry of Mines under the Union Government is in charge of policy and legislation pertaining to big minerals, the State Governments have full authority to create policies and laws pertaining to minor minerals.

The National Green Tribunal: What is it?

• Foundation: The National Green Tribunal Act of 2010 allowed for the creation of the NGT in October of that same year.
• Its main goal is to make it easier for cases involving the preservation of natural resources, forest conservation, and environmental protection to be resolved quickly and effectively.
• The National Green Tribunal currently has its main seat in New Delhi, with four additional locations authorised for the Tribunal’s sittings: Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata, and Chennai.

Organisation:

• The Chairperson of the Tribunal, who presides over the Principal Bench, is joined by a minimum of 10 judicial members and a maximum of 20 expert members.
• The Central Government appoints the Chairperson after consulting with the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
• The federal government will establish a Selection Committee in order to choose the Judicial and Expert Members.
• Legal Mandatory: The Tribunal’s jurisdiction include the enforcement of environmental rights, the provision of relief and compensation for harm inflicted upon persons and property, and the resolution of issues pertaining to environmental conservation and protection.
• It is guided by natural justice principles and functions without reference to the procedural standards outlined in the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

Source The Hindu

2 – Notice of Birth Registration by the Supreme Court: GS II – Judiciary-related issues:

Context:

• In response to a petition requesting the complete and effective realisation of the intent of the Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969, the Supreme Court has sent notice to the Union government.
• The petition emphasises the importance of birth registration in creating individual legal identities and its recognition as a fundamental right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international accords.

What are the main rules pertaining to birth registration in India?

• Registrar Appointments: As mandated by Section 7 of the RBD Act, 1969, registrars are designated for certain local districts to supervise the registration of births that occur within their jurisdiction.
• These registrars may be people connected to different organisations like as government-run hospitals, Panchayats, towns, or other local administrations that the state government has authorised.
• Institutional Responsibilities: As per the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, it is the duty of institutions, including hospitals, health centres, maternity homes, and assisted living facilities, to notify the registrar of births that take place on their property.
• Citizens’ Obligations: Citizens must notify the registrar of births within 21 days of the occurrence taking place within their jurisdiction.
• The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act, 2023 cleared the path for the adoption of digital birth certificates, which will serve as a single document for a variety of purposes, including voter registration, driving licence applications, government employment, passports or Aadhaar, and admission to schools.
• States would be required to exchange information with the Union Home Ministry’s Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India (RGI) and register births and deaths on the Civil Registration System (CRS) site.
• What was the Supreme Court’s previous position on birth registration?
• The authorities are said to have disregarded court instructions to establish a centralised database for civil registration records, which has prevented transparency and study due to insufficient data availability.

Source The Hindu

3 – Project Gemini is Unveiled by Google: GS III – Science and Technology:

Context:

• Project Gemini is an artificial intelligence (AI) model that Google unveiled with the goal of mimicking human behaviour.

About:

• It is anticipated that this advancement would intensify the current AI arms race and spark discussions over the advantages and disadvantages of the technology.
• Gemini seeks to improve the efficiency and intuitiveness of Google’s AI-powered chatbot Bard in activities, especially those that require preparation.
• The AI branch of Google DeepMind, which created Gemini, highlights the model’s aptitude for solving mathematical and physical puzzles and suggests possible advances in science.
• There are worries about how AI might affect the loss of jobs, the spread of false information, and even cause harmful behaviour.

Source The Hindu

4 – “Miyawaki” plantation method to be used by South Eastern Coalfields Ltd: GS III – Environmental Conservation related issues:

Context:

• The “Miyawaki” plantation method will be used by South Eastern Coalfields Ltd.

About:

• To increase the amount of forest cover in Chhattisgarh, South Eastern Coalfileds Ltd (SECL) will plant utilising the Miyawaki method for the first time in its operational territories. Gevra is the country’s largest coal mine.
• Japan invented the Miyawaki plantation system in the 1970s. With this plantation method, natural trees, shrubs and groundcover plants are planted in each square metre. This technique produces a thick canopy layer of towering trees and is perfect for tiny areas of land.
• The species selected for the Miyawaki plantation are usually low-maintenance plants that can withstand severe weather and droughts while growing quickly in their current environment to produce dense pockets of greenery.

Source The Hindu

5 – Section 6A and the Citizenship Act of 1955: GS II – Government Policies and Interventions:

Context:

• Section 6A of the Citizenship Act, 1955 has been the subject of several petitions that have been brought before a Constitution Bench chaired by the Chief Justice of India.
• The Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) is not the subject of the Constitution Bench’s analysis; rather, it is restricted to evaluating the legality of Section 6A.

What does the Citizenship Act of 1955’s Section 6A mean?

• Following the Assam Accord of 1985, Section 6A was passed as part of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 1985.
• The Assam Accord was a tripartite agreement that aimed to stop the flood of undocumented migrants from Bangladesh between the leaders of the Assam Movement, the State Government of Assam, and the Central Government.
• The Assam Accord, which was concluded in 1985, added Section 6A—exclusive to Assam—to the Citizenship Act of 1955.
• The issue of mass migration that existed prior to the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 is addressed in this provision. Interestingly, it requires the identification and expulsion of foreigners who entered Assam after March 25, 1971, the day Bangladesh was established.
• Section 6A was introduced in response to the unique historical and demographic issues that Assam was facing at this crucial juncture

Recommendations and provisions:

• Assam was granted a unique provision under Section 6A, which declared that anyone of Indian descent who arrived in Bangladesh before to January 1, 1966, were considered Indian citizens on that day.
• Indian-origin individuals who arrived in Assam between January 1, 1966, and March 25, 1971, and were found to be foreigners, had to register and, after ten years of residency, were granted citizenship, subject to specific requirements.
• Anyone entering Assam after March 25, 1971, was required by law to be identified and removed.

Problems:

Validity under the Constitution:

Article 6:

• The petitioners contend that Article 6 of the Constitution is violated by Section 6A.
• Citizenship issues pertaining to migration from Pakistan to India during the split are covered under Article 6 of the Indian Constitution.
• According to the article, anyone who immigrated to India before July 19, 1949, and whose parents or ancestors were born there immediately became an Indian citizen.
• This calls into question the provision’s constitutionality and legality.

Article 14:

• Opponents claim that Section 6A might be in violation of the Constitution’s Article 14, which protects the right to equality.
• Because it excludes Assam from consideration for certain citizenship requirements, the rule is seen as discriminatory.
• The only state to which the clause applies is Assam, and this selective application raises questions about fairness and equality in relation to other governments dealing with comparable migratory difficulties.

Impact of Demographics:

• Some petitioners argue that the citizenship issuance under Section 6A is to blame for the flood of undocumented migrants entering Assam from Bangladesh.
• The unintended consequence of promoting illegal immigration and its subsequent impact on the demographic mix of the state are the main causes for concern.
• The petitioners contend that the Assamese migrant population’s citizenship is being granted in violation of Section 6A, so “cementing an illegality.”
• They contend that by recognising these people as citizens, the provision has had a multiplier effect, resulting in an ongoing flood.

Cultural Influence:

• The petitioners contend that Assamese culture was negatively impacted by a drastic shift in the country’s demographics brought about by the incentives provided to cross-border migrants between 1966 and 1971.

Citizenship: What Is It?

About:

• A person’s legal standing and relationship with a state, which comes with certain rights and obligations, is known as citizenship.

Articles of the Constitution:

• Part II of the Indian Constitution covers citizenship in its entirety in Articles 5 through 11. These include naturalisation, birth, descent, registration, and renunciation and termination as ways to obtain or lose citizenship.
• According to the Constitution, citizenship is included in the Union List and falls solely under the purview of Parliament.

Citizenship Act:

• To govern Indian citizenship issues, the Parliament passed the Citizenship Act, 1955.
• Since it was first passed, the Citizenship Act of 1955 has undergone six amendments. The years 1986, 1992, 2003, 2005, 2015, and 2019 saw the revisions made.

Source The Hindu