Bhutan PM says China must maintain status quo on Doklam                                             

Drugs of 18 pharma firms found substandard since 2018                                                   

PM calls meet on ‘one nation, one poll’                                                                                 

G20 agrees to tackle ocean plastic waste                                                                              

Online payment of bills: Four-fold surge in rural and semi-urban India                           

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought: 17 June                                             

Bhutan PM says China must maintain status quo on Doklam

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - India and its neighbourhood relations

Context :

• Bhutan’s Prime Minister has said that China should maintain status quo in the Doklam region. He said that no side should do anything near the tri-junction point between India, China and Bhutan unilaterally.

More about the news:

• The Bhutanese leader has said that as long as the status quo was maintained, there will be peace and tranquillity in the region.

• He said that the boundary talks with 25 completed rounds of talks between the two sides had made good progress.

• The comments point to alignment in the views of India and Bhutan on the military standoff between India and China in 2017.

• The comments also show that attempts by China to draw Bhutan closer into its sphere of influence have not worked.

Doklam Issue :

• Doklam, or Donglang in Chinese, is an area spread over less than a 100 sq km comprising a plateau and a valley at the trijunction between India, Bhutan and China. It is surrounded by the Chumbi Valley of Tibet, Bhutan’s Ha Valley and Sikkim.

• The standoff between India and China at the Doklam plateau which lies at a tri-junction between India, China, and Bhutan has gained much attention.

• It has turned into the biggest military stand-off between the two armies in years.

• It started when India (Indian Army) objected a road construction by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China in the Doklam plateau which China claims to be a part of its Dangalang region. However, India and Bhutan recognise it as Doklam, a Bhutan territory.

• Later, China accused Indian troops of entering its territory and India accused the Chinese of destroying its bunkers (People’s Liberation Army bulldozed an old bunker of the Indian army stationed in Doklam).

• Although a military standoff was averted, diplomatic negotiations have not yielded many results to cool-off the passions across the border.

• The disputed region is very close to India’s Siliguri Corridor which connects the seven north eastern states to the Indian mainland.

                                                                                                                                                        Source :- The Hindu

Drugs of 18 pharma firms found substandard since 2018

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Issues related to Health.

Context :

• The Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) has found 25 batches of drugs of 18 pharmaceutical companies to be of substandard quality since January 2018.

More about the news:

PM calls meet on ‘one nation, one poll’

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Salient features of the Representation of People's Act.

Context :

• Prime Minister has called a meeting of all parties represented in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha to discuss the issue of ‘one nation,one election’.

One Nation One Poll :

• One Nation,One Election is the method of holding single elections for both Lok Sabha and States instead of separate and continuous elections.

Simultaneous Elections in India :

• First General Elections to the House of People (Lok Sabha) and all State Legislative Assemblies were held simultaneously in 1951-52.

• That practice continued in three subsequent General Elections held in the years 1957, 1962 and 1967. However, due to the premature dissolution of some Legislative Assemblies in 1968 and 1969, the cycle got disrupted.

• In 1970, the Lok Sabha was itself dissolved prematurely and fresh elections were held in 1971. Thus, the First, Second and Third Lok Sabha enjoyed full five year terms.

• The term of the Fifth Lok Sabha was extended till 1977 under Article 352. After that, the Eighth, Tenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Lok Sabha could complete their full five year terms. The Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, Eleventh, Twelfth and Thirteenth Lok Sabha was dissolved prematurely.

• As a result of premature dissolutions and extension of terms of both the Lok Sabha and various State Legislative Assemblies, for the last forty eight years there have been separate elections to Lok Sabha and States Legislative Assemblies, and the cycle of simultaneous elections has been disturbed.

Pro’s of One Nation and One Poll:

• Firstly, it would reduce the massive expenditure incurred for conduct of separate elections every year.

• Simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies also help ruling parties focus on governance instead of being constantly in election mode.

• Elections lead to imposition of Model Code of Conduct in the poll bound State/area.

• Imposition of the Code puts on hold for many months at a stretch, the entire development programmes and activities of the Union and State governments. Most of the time, in the poll bound State it even affects normal day-to-day governance. This often leads to policy paralysis and governance deficit.

• Frequent elections lead to disruption of normal public life and impact the functioning of essential services. Holding of political rallies disrupts road traffic and also leads to noise pollution. Such disruptions would be limited to a certain predetermined period of time if elections are held simultaneously.

• Elections are also polarizing events which perpetuate caste, religion and communal issues because candidates are often forced to talk politically’ for the sake of electoral benefits.

• Lastly, simultaneous elections would free crucial manpower which is often deployed for prolonged periods on election duties. For example, the 2014 Lok Sabha elections (held with four Assembly elections) was spread over nine phases and 1,077 in -situ companies and 1,349 mobile companies of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) were deployed.

Cons of One Nation One Poll :

• Operational feasibility: Simultaneous elections are almost nearly impossible to implement, as it would mean arbitrarily curtailing or extending the term of existing legislatures to bring their election dates in line with the due date for the rest of the country. Such a measure would undermine democracy and federalism.

• The Law Commission in its recent report has suggested an alternative: Categorise States based on proximity to the next general election, and have one round of State Assembly polls with the next Lok Sabha election, and another round for the remaining States 30 months later. But this is still no guarantee that mid-term polls would not be needed.

• The deployment of security forces and officials in 700,000 polling stations located in widely varying geographic and climatic conditions, all at the same time is going to be extremely difficult. It is precisely these problems that begun to cause elections to be held in multiple phases and on different dates even in the same state.

• Critics also say that forcing simultaneous elections is against democracy because trying to force an artificial cycle of elections and restricting the choice for voters is not correct.

• Impact on voter behavior: Some political parties argue that it may influence voter behavior in a manner that voters would end up voting on national issues even for State elections and this may lead to larger national parties winning both State and Lok Sabha elections thereby marginalizing regional parties.

• State and national elections are often fought on different sets of issues — and in simultaneous elections, voters may end up privileging one set over the other in ways they might not have done otherwise.

• Having to face the electorate more than once every 5 years enhances the accountability of politicians and keeps them on their toes. Finally, a lot of jobs are also created during the elections, which boosts the economy at the grassroots level.

Constitutional and Statutory Provisions :

• Article 83, which deals with the duration of Houses of Parliament, along with Article 85 (dissolution of Lok Sabha by the President),

• Article 172 (duration of state legislatures),

• Article 174 (dissolution of state assemblies) and

• Article 356 (President’s Rule), to facilitate simultaneous polls.

EC recommendations :

• Simultaneous elections may be restored through an amendment of the Constitution, Representation of the People Act, 1951 and Rules of Procedure of Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. A definition may be added to section 2 of the 1951 Act.

• The no-confidence motion may be replaced with a constructive vote of no-confidence through amendments in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies rules of business.

• Anti-Defection law may be suitably diluted to prevent stalemate in case of a hung Assembly or Parliament

• Statutory limit of six months for issuance of notification of general elections may be extended for securing flexibility as a one-time measure.

International scenario:

• Evidence from countries like Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Germany, the US and Europe supports the idea that elections that are held simultaneously produce greater alignment between national and regional election outcome.

Conclusion :

• ‘One Nation One Poll’ is a good idea for Indian polity but its feasibility needs to be thoroughly examined by involving all the stakeholders in debate and discussion. Also, the desired goal of having only one election every five years cannot be achieved overnight in the prevailing circumstances. It has to be achieved in stages.

• Constitutional amendment can provide for extending or curtailing the term of one or more Legislative Assemblies, say for/by six months or so, wherever it is necessary to achieve the said goal. But it will require unprecedented political will and support. The latest Law Commission report should therefore be considered a good place to start the national debate on Simultaneous Elections.

                                                                                                                                                    Source :- The Hindu

G20 agrees to tackle ocean plastic waste

GS PAPER - 03 ENVIRONMENT  - Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Context :

• At the recent G20 Ministerial Meeting on Energy Transitions and Global Environment for Sustainable Growth, held in Japan, G20 economies has adopted a new implementation framework for actions to combat marine plastic pollution.

New Framework to combat Marine pollution :

• The new framework is aimed at facilitating further concrete action on marine waste, on a voluntary basis.

• G20 members are tasked with promoting a comprehensive approach to prevent and reduce plastic waste discharge to the oceans through various measures and international cooperation.

• Further, the member countries will share best practices, promote innovation and boost scientific monitoring and analytical methodologies.

Background :

• In 2017, at G20 Hamburg Summit in Germany, the member countries had adopted the “G20 action plan on marine litter”. The plan seeks to promote and initiate measures and actions at local, national, and regional levels to prevent and reduce marine litter.

Need of international framework to combat Marine plastic pollution :

• The issue of plastic waste in our seas has gained prominence in recent years as pollution levels have soared and increasing evidence of the damage being done to wildlife is recorded.

• Beaches strewn with tonnes of plastic waste and rapidly rising numbers of dead animals found with stomachs full of plastic have sparked outrage across the world.

• According to estimates published by the UK government, every year more than 150 million tonnes of plastic waste pollute the world’s oceans.

• Around a million birds and more than 100,000 sea mammals die every year from eating and getting tangled in plastic waste.

• The growth in single-use consumer plastics has fuelled the surge in plastic pollution. It is estimated there are now 5.25 trillion pieces of ocean plastic debris, and a recent report estimates the quantity of plastic in the sea will treble by 2025.

                                                                                                                             Source :- The Hindu

Online payment of bills: Four-fold surge in rural and semi-urban India

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential

Context :

• An analysis of Common Service Centres (CSC) data from 2014 to 2019 has shown that there has been a four-fold increase in the electricity bill payments and insurance premium renewals, which have emerged as some of the fastest growing non-banking services across rural and semi-urban India.

Common Services Centre (CSC) programme :

• Common Services Centre (CSC) programme is an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY), Government of India.

• It was launched in 2006.

• CSCs are the access points for delivery of various electronic services to villages in India, thereby contributing to a digitally and financially inclusive society.

• CSC e-Governance Services India Limited is a Special Purpose Vehicle (CSC SPV) incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to monitor the implementation of the Common Services Centres Scheme.

CSC 2.0  :

• The Government launched the CSC 2.0 scheme in 2015 to expand the outreach of CSCs to all Gram Panchayats across the country.

• Under CSC 2.0 scheme, the aim was to set up at least one CSC in each of the 2.5 lakh GPs across the country by 2019.

•  In 2016, CSC- Wi-Fi Choupal was initiated. It seeks to boost internet connectivity at the last mile by utilizing BharatNet infrastructure. It engages Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) as Community Internet Service Providers.

• BharatNet project (previously known as National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN)) seeks to provide high speed broadband connectivity to all gram panchayats across India.

                                                                                                                                               Source :- Indian Express

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought: 17 June

GS PAPER - 03 ENVIRONMENT - Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Context :

• The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (WDCD) is observed on 17th June.

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 2019

          Theme : “Let’s Grow the Future Together”.

• In 2019, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) celebrates the 25th years of progress made by countries on sustainable land management.

• Also, UNCCD looks broad picture for the next 25 years to achieve land degradation neutrality.

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) :

• Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.

• The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found.

Desertification :

• Desertification is the degradation of land in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas. It is caused primarily by human activities and climatic variations.

• According to UNCCD, by 2045 some 135 million people may be displaced as a result of desertification.

Desertification and the Sustainable Development Goals:

• The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development declares that “we are determined to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations”.

• Specifically, Goal 15 states our resolve to halt and reverse land degradation.

India - Desertification :

• According to the State of India's Environment (SoE) 2019 - India has witnessed increase in the level of desertification in 26 of 29 states between 2003-05 and 2011-13.

• Twenty-one drought-prone districts, of the 78 in the country that were identified by the Indian Space Research Organisation, have more than half of their areas under desertification.

• Of these nine have also witnessed over two per cent increase in the area under desertification between 2003-05 and 2011-13, the report has claimed.

• More than 80 per cent of the country's degraded land lies in just nine states: Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana.

• India was the signatory to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Paris on June 17, 1994. While the country had committed to achieve land degradation neutrality by 2030, it witnessed an increase of 1.87 million hectares undergoing process of desertification between 2003-05 and 2011-13.

Main reasons that cause desertification in India are:

• Water erosion (10.98 per cent)

• Wind erosion (5.55 per cent)

• Human-made/settlements (0.69 per cent)

• Vegetation degradation (8.91 per cent)

• Salinity (1.12 per cent)

• Others (2.07 per cent)

                                                                                                                          Source :- Down To Earth

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