Payouts to ryots from this month itself: Garg

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Context:

     ★ According to the Finance Ministry the government will start disbursing a substantial amount under the income support scheme for small farmers in the month of February itself as beneficiary data are already in place.

More about the news:

     ★ Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme, under which Rs.6,000 per year would be provided to farmers holding cultivable land of up to 2 hectare was recently announced in the interim budget.

     ★ The programme would take effect from 1st December 2018 and the first installment for the period upto 31st March 2019 would be paid during this year itself.

     ★ The annual expenditure of the programme is around Rs 75,000 crore.

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) Scheme:

     ★ This programme will provide the vulnerable landholding farmer families, having cultivable land upto 2 hectares a direct income support at the rate of Rs 6,000 per year.

     ★ This income support will be transferred directly into the bank accounts of beneficiary farmers, in three equal instalments of Rs. 2,000 each.

     ★ The programme will be funded 100 per cent by the Central government. It is expected that around 12 crore small and marginal farmer families are expected to benefit from this programme.

     ★ 12 crore beneficiaries have been identified with the help of Agriculture Census Data 2015-16

                                                                                                                 Source:- The Hindu

Odisha government announces KALIA scholarship for farmers' children

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes

Context:

     ★ Odisha Chief minister announced Kalia Chhatra Brutti, a students’ scholarship scheme with an aim to help children of Kalia beneficiaries pursuing higher education in professional courses.

Kalia Chhatra Brutti scheme:

     ★ Under this scheme, the children of farmers, who are the beneficiaries of the KALIA scheme will be provided scholarships for pursuing higher education in professional courses free of cost.

     ★ Children of farmers who have taken admission at Government Professional colleges on merit basis will be eligible for the scholarship scheme.

                                                                                                      Source:- Times Of India

Plan to ban water sachets in Araku Valley

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

Context:

     ★ Integrated Tribal Development Authority (ITDA) of Andhra Pradesh is planning to enforce a prohibition on the sale of plastic water sachets at tourist spots.

Plastic Ban:

     ★ According to officials, water sachets amount to around 40%-50% of the total plastic waste dumped at the tourist destinations.

     ★ These sachets are inadvertently consumed by stray cattle, putting their lives at risk, apart from environment pollution.

     ★ ITDA had also banned the use of plastic carry bags and polythene covers in Araku Valley since January 1st, 2019

     ★ In an attempt to create awareness about the environmental hazards associated with plastic, ITDA has been putting up boards, posters and carrying out educative campaigns in Araku.

                                                                                                               Source:- The Hindu

Centre’s crackdown hits Greenpeace

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Context:

     ★ Environmental group Greenpeace has been forced to shut two of its regional offices in India due to a block on its bank account after accusations of illegal donations.

Issue:

     ★ Greenpeace has been barred from receiving foreign donations since 2015 as part of a nationwide crackdown on charities.

     ★ The Indian government has cancelled the registrations of nearly 15,000 non-governmental groups under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.

     ★ Critics argue that the government has been using the foreign funding law as a tool to silence non-profit groups which have raised concerns about the social costs of India’s rapid economic development.

                                                                                                 Source:- The Hindu

A ‘pink revolution’ quietly takes shape in Maharashtra

GS PAPER - 03 AGRICULTURE - Economics of animal-rearing.

Context:

     ★ A ‘pink revolution’ is quietly taking shape in Maharashtra

Objective:

     ★ To breed imported pigs to address the problem of protein deficiency in a sizeable section of the population that has been deprived of access to affordable meat besides providing livelihood to farmers.

Highlights :

     ★ There is a plan to address this concern through supply of hygienic pork produced from imported breeds in clean environment and by launching an education campaign.

     ★ An ecosystem for supply of high quality pork is being created by a Mumbai based company supported by the Maharashtra government’s policy.

     ★ The company is planning to partner with farmers by supplying them pigs imported from Canada.

     ★ They would be bred under hygienic conditions for production of high quality meat.

     ★ The company plans to build a fully-equipped international-standard piggery which would support animal husbandry, food and medical industry.

Benefits:

     ★ It would create a comprehensive value chain for pork production, it would also supply high quality animals for medical and research industry (organ transplant and insulin).

     ★ Commercial pig farming in India for meat production is one of the best and profitable business ideas.

Challenges:

     ★ Indian pig breeds are not suitable for high quality pork production.

     ★ Indian pork is sold at about Rs.250 per kg compared with international quality processed pork which is sold at Rs.1, 200- 3,000 per kg.

                                                                                         Source:- The Hindu

‘Inkjet’ solar panels set to reshape green energy

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

Context:

     ★ Polish physicist and businesswoman Olga Malinkiewicz has developed a novel inkjet processing method for perovskites, a new generation of cheaper solar cells that makes it possible to produce solar panels under lower temperatures, thus sharply reducing costs.

Perovskite solar cells:

     ★ Perovskite solar cells have the potential to address the world energy poverty.

     ★ These are solar panels coated with the mineral and are light, flexible, efficient and inexpensive and come in varying hues and degrees of transparency.

     ★ These solar panels can easily be fixed to almost any surface be it laptop, car, drone, spacecraft or building to produce electricity, including in the shade or indoors.

                                                                                                                       Source:- The Hindu

Legitimacy of the basic structure [ Editorial / Opinion ]

GS PAPER - 02 POLITY - Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

Context;

     ★ It has now been more than 45 years since the Supreme Court ruled in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala that Parliament’s power to amend the Constitution was not unlimited, that the Constitution’s basic structure was infrangible.

     ★ There have already been grumblings over the rule’s legitimacy in certain quarters in response to challenges made to the recently introduced 103rd Constitutional Amendment, which provides for reservations based on economic criteria in government jobs and education.

Criticism Of Basic Structure:

    ★ The phrase “basic structure”, it’s argued, finds no mention anywhere in the Constitution.

     ★ The doctrine accords the judiciary a power to impose its philosophy over a democratically formed government, resulting in “tyranny of the unelected”.

Arguments in favour Of Basic Structure:

     ★ If a legislature were given the widest of powers to amend the Constitution, its authority was always subject to a set of inherent constitutional constraints.

     ★ Parliament, therefore, cannot make changes that had the effect of overthrowing or obliterating the Constitution itself.

     ★ How might we react if the legislature were to amend Article 1, for example, by dividing India into two. “Could a constitutional amendment, abolish Article 21,” removing the guarantee of a right to life?

     ★ Were an amendment to be introduced relinquishing control over India to a foreign power, would it not result in the creation of a constitution that is no longer the Constitution of India? Would not such an amendment strike at the root of the Constitution’s Preamble, which, in its original form, established India as a sovereign democratic republic?

     ★ On any reasonable analysis it ought to, therefore, be clear that the basic structure doctrine is not only grounded in the Constitution’s text and history, but that it also performs an important democratic role in ensuring that majoritarian governments do not destroy the Constitution’s essential character.

Conclusion:

     ★ If Parliament’s powers are considered infinite, the parliamentary executive can be removed, fundamental rights can be abrogated, and, in effect, what is a sovereign democratic republic can be converted into a totalitarian regime.

     ★ In Kesavananda Bharti case, Court observed that any amending body organized within the statutory scheme cannot by its very structure change the fundamental pillars supporting its Constitutional authority. An amendment can only alter the form of existing Constitution and not an altogether new and radical Constitution.

     ★ Article 368 grants Parliament the power to amend the Constitution, making it clear that on the exercise of that power “the Constitution shall stand amended”. Therefore, if what has to remain after an amendment is “the Constitution”, naturally a change made under Article 368 cannot create a new constitution.

     ★ Such an interpretation is also supported by the literal meaning of the word “amendment”, which is defined as “a minor change or addition designed to improve a text”. Hence, for an amendment to be valid, the constitution that remains standing after such a change must be the Constitution of India; it must continue to possess, in its essence, those features that were foundational to it even at its conception.

                                                                                                                             Source:- The Hindu

Special Workshop in Bengaluru under Know My India Programme

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation

Context:

     ★ The National Foundation for Communal Harmony (NFCH) is organizing a special workshop for 42 Youth in the age group of 15 to 22 years, who have been victims of communal violence in the past, under the Know My India Programme beginning in Bengaluru.

More about the programme:

     ★ The programme is being organized in collaboration with the Art of Living Foundation.

     ★  Its objectives is to help the children deal with the post-traumatic stress, provide them life tools to manage their emotions and eliminate disturbing impressions of the past events, to have them experience deep relaxation and peace, give them a broader and more inclusive view of the world and how each individual is connected with the others beyond social identities, the participants, through fun interactive processes, will be taught various body-breath mechanisms, and practical tools of wisdom.

     ★ The cornerstone is the powerful rhythmic breathing practice called Sudarshan Kriya, whose regular practice is known to significantly reduce stress hormones, improve clarity of mind and increase one’s happiness quotient.

Know my India programme:

     ★ It is a unique programme initiated by the NFCH to bring together financially assisted children of the Foundation from different States/Regions of the country to promote oneness, fraternity and national integration.

     ★ The programme is all about familiarization with the environment, family life, social customs, etc. of the people living in different parts of the country; developing understanding of the common historical and cultural heritage of the country.

                                                                                                                                  Source:- PIB

National Road Safety Week

GS PAPER - 02 GOVERNANCE - Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation

Context:

     ★ The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is all set to launch the 30th National Road Safety Week, with a host of initiatives planned for generating awareness and sensitizing people about safe road usage.

     ★ Theme:- Sadak Suraksha – Jeevan Raksha

More about the news:

     ★ Minister of Road Transport and Highways will flag off a motor car rally to commemorate the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

     ★ During the event MoRTH also launch the dashboard for Road Accident Data of India and its states.

     ★ The Society of Indian Automobile Industry will also declare 2019 as the Year of Road Safety on the occasion, to underline its commitment and support for promoting safety on Indian roads.

     ★ Amar Chitra Katha will release a set of comic books on road safety that it has published. This is aimed at creating awareness on the issue among children in an informal format that they can relate to.

     ★ In addition to the above, Retro Reflective Stickers on Sadak Suraksha Jeevan Raksha will be launched on the occasion. These will be put on vehicles to improve their conspicuity.

                                                                                                                              Source:- The Hindu

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