29 September 2022

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – Groundwater in India: GS III – Environmental Conservation

Context:

• The Union government on Tuesday launched a mobile application called Jaldoot to monitor the underground water levels across the nation in light of the rapidly declining water table that threatens to plunge many regions into drought. Jaldoot was jointly developed by the Union Ministry of Rural Development and the Panchayati Raj Ministry.

About India’s Groundwater Extraction:

• According to the 2018 UNESCO World Water Development Report, India is the country that extracts the most groundwater globally.
• It is never quantified how much groundwater contributes to the GDP of a country.
• According to the CGWB, many areas of India are experiencing a growing groundwater shortage because to the 230 billion metre cubes of groundwater that are extracted each year for irrigating agricultural regions.
• In India, there has been an estimated loss of 122-199 billion metre cubes of groundwater.

Why groundwater is being extracted:

• Groundwater was overextracted as a result of the Green Revolution, which allowed for the cultivation of water-intensive crops in areas that were prone to drought and water scarcity.
• Rapid depletion results from routinely drawing groundwater without first waiting for its recharge.
• Additionally, high MSPs (Minimum Support Prices) for crops that require a lot of water.
• Industries Need: Water contamination, such as that caused by septic tanks, landfills, leaking underground gas tanks, and excessive fertiliser and pesticide use that harms and depletes groundwater supplies.
• Inadequate Regulation: Without any consequences, inadequate regulation of groundwater fosters the depletion of its resources.
• In India, there are no regulations governing the construction of irrigation wells, and no records of abandoned wells are kept.
• In India, a large number of wells are built each day and even more are decommissioned as they become ineffective.
• Federal Concern: Because water is a State matter, efforts on water management, such as water conservation and water harvesting, and providing enough drinkable water to inhabitants of the nation fall primarily under the purview of the States.
• However, the Central Government takes significant actions, such as sponsoring numerous initiatives.

The Central Government’s Measures to Prevent Groundwater Depletion:

• Jal Shakti Abhiyan: In order to enhance groundwater conditions of the water-stressed blocks of 256 districts in India, the Indian government started Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in 2019.
• Groundwater Artificial Recharge Master Plan for 2020: The Master Plan – 2020 was created by CGWB in collaboration with the state governments.
• To collect 185 billion cubic metres of water, it calls for building around 1.42 billion rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge structures across the nation (BCM).
• In order to encourage the use of rainwater collecting, the government has also started the Catch the Rain programme.
• National Water Policy (2012): The policy promotes rainwater collection, water conservation, and emphasises the need to increase water availability by utilising rainfall directly.
• It also encourages community involvement in scientifically planned projects for river, river bodies, and infrastructure preservation.
• Atal Bhujal Yojana: In the areas that have been identified as being overexploited and experiencing a water shortage, the Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY) scheme—which is co-funded by World Bank funding—is being implemented.
• Convergent Approach: The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana – Watershed Development Component are the main programmes the Central Government uses to fund the building of water harvesting and conservation projects.
• The CGWB has been involved with the Aquifer Mapping and Management Programme.
• The program’s goal is to identify aquifer types and characterise them so that aquifer- and area-specific groundwater management plans may be created with community input.
• Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT): The Mission’s development of fundamental urban infrastructure, including as water supply, sewerage & septage management, storm water drainage, green spaces & parks, and non-motorized urban transportation, is a priority in the AMRUT cities.

Source The Hindu

2 – Dada Saheb Phalke Award: GS I – Indian Culture

Context:

• Veteran Bollywood performer Asha Parekh will get the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2020, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said on Tuesday. The prize will be handed on September 30, 2022, at the 68th National Film Award event, which will be presiding over by President Droupadi Murmu.
• It is given for “Outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema” and is the highest film honour in the nation.
• The government initially presented the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1969, and Devika Rani, dubbed “the first lady of Indian cinema,” received it that year.

About him:

• Raja Harischandra, India’s first feature film, was directed by Dadasaheb Phalke (1913).
• He was an Indian screenwriter, producer, and director.
• He’s referred to as the “Father of Indian Cinema.”
• Dadasaheb Phalke Award was established by the Indian government in his honour for his lifelong contribution to Indian cinema.

Source The Hindu

3 – Election Symbols: GS II – Election-related issues

Context:

• Both factions of the party, led by Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde, are currently preparing documentary evidence and letters of support from the greatest number of party workers, leaders, and elected representatives, which would be submitted to the poll panel to prove majority. The election commission will now decide who will control the Shiv Sena and hold the right to use its electoral symbol, a bow and arrow.

How are political parties given their symbols?

According to the rules, to receive a symbol:

• When submitting nomination papers, a party or candidate must list three symbols from the EC’s list of free symbols.
• One of these is given to the party or candidate first on a first-come, first-served basis.
• The Election Commission determines the emblem to be used when a recognised political party splits.

Election Commission’s authority:

• The Elections Commission (EC) is authorised to identify political parties and assign emblems by the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
• It can resolve disagreements between competing organisations or factions of a recognised political party asserting claim to its name and emblem under Paragraph 15 of the Order.
• A dispute or merger-related problems can only be decided by the EC. In the case of Sadiq Ali and others v. ECI in 1971, the Supreme Court recognised the law’s constitutionality.

How many different kinds of symbols exist?

• Party emblems must be one of the following, as per the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) (Amendment) Order, 2017:
• 64 state parties and eight national parties have “reserved” symbols nationwide.
• Free: The Election Commission also maintains a pool of about 200 “free” symbols that are distributed to the thousands of regional parties that are not officially recognised but emerge before to elections.

What authority does the Electoral Commission have when a party splits over the election symbol?

• Symbols Order, 1968, Paragraph 15: “When the Commission is satisfied that there are rival sections or groups of a recognised political party, each of whom claims to be that party, the Commission may decide that one such rival section or group or none of such rival sections or groups is that recognised political party, and the decision of the Commission shall be binding on all such rival sectio
• Disputes involving recognised national and state parties are covered under this (like the LJP, in this case). The EC typically encourages the fighting factions to resolve their disputes internally or to approach the court for splits in registered but unrecognised parties.

Source The Hindu

 4 – Bharat Ratna: Prelims Specific Topic:

Context:

• The Center has requested that its several science departments and its health department reduce the amount of awards they hand out and increase the value of the few that are given.
• Additionally, it has requested that the departments establish the Vigyan Ratna, a Nobel-style science award that might rival the Bharat Ratna in prominence, in collaboration with the Principal Scientific Advisor.

About Bharat Ratna:

• India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, was created in 1954.
• Regardless of ethnicity, career, rank, or sex, it is bestowed in recognition of exceptional service in any area of human endeavour.
• The President of India may confer no more than three Bharat Ratna awards each year, on the Prime Minister’s recommendation.
• A medallion and a Sanad (certificate) signed by the president are given to the award recipient. The award is not financial in nature.
• According to Article 18(1) of the Indian Constitution, winners are not permitted to add Bharat Ratna as a prefix or suffix to their names.
• There is no official requirement that only Indian citizens may receive the Bharat Ratna.
• Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, also known as Mother Teresa, a naturalised Indian citizen, received this distinguished award in 1980. Nelson Mandela and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, both non-Indians, also received it in 1987. (1990).

Source The Hindu