Goaltide Daily Current Affairs 2021
Current Affair 1:
Tussle between Centre and West Bengal over Chief Secretary of State
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News: In an unprecedented move, the central government Friday recalled West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay, hours after a row broke out between the Narendra Modi government and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over a review meeting on Cyclone Yaas. |
First see the question that appeared in UPSC in 2019:
A question in 2019 UPSC Prelims paper: Answer is d.
Appointment:
The Chief Secretary is chosen by the Chief Minister. As the appointment of Chief Secretary is an executive action of the Chief Minister, it is taken in the name of the Governor of the State.
Position:
Chief Secretaries are members of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) who are the administrative head of state governments. Chief Secretary of the state also acts as the ex-officio Chairman of the State Civil Service Board, which recommends transfer/postings of officers of All India Services and State Civil Services in the state.
Tenure: The office of Chief Secretary has been excluded from the operation of the tenure system. There is no fixed tenure for this post.
Now,
What do the rules on central deputation say?
According to Rule 6 (1) of the Indian Administrative Service (Cadre) Rules, 1954. “A cadre officer may, with the concurrence of the State Governments concerned and the Central Government, be deputed for service under the Central Government or another State Government or under a company, association or body of individuals, whether incorporated or not, which is wholly or substantially owned or controlled by the Central Government or by another State Government.”
It adds, “Provided that in case of any disagreement, the matter shall be decided by the Central Government and the State Government or State Governments concerned shall give effect to the decision of the Central Government.”
It basically means:
This basically means, for an officer to be placed on central deputation, the consent of both the Centre and the State is required – the state’s No Objection Certificate (NOC) is required for any officer to be sent to the Centre. But if there is a disagreement of any kind, then as per the rules, the Centre’s will have to prevail/
What happens if officer does not comply with deputation orders?
While the rules state that the Centre’s will must prevail in matters of deputation in case there is a dispute with state governments, rules do not specify what happens in case the officer does not comply or the state government refuses to relieve the officer.
According to the All-India Service (AIS) Rules, the Centre cannot take any disciplinary action against IAS, IPS or IFS officers posted in their state cadres.
According to Rule 7 of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, the “authority to institute proceedings and to impose penalty” will be the state government if the officer is “serving in connection with the affairs of a State, or is deputed for service under any company, association or body of individuals, whether incorporated or not, which is wholly or substantially owned or controlled by the Government of a State, or in a local authority set up by an Act of the Legislature of that State.”
Furthermore, government guidelines clearly state that in case of a disciplinary matter, the competent authority to suspend an IAS officer is the government in connection with whose affairs the officer is serving.
Current Affair 2:
Tea Production in India and world
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Topic has been picked form the article which talks about poor health conditions of Tea growers in Assam. |
Tea Cultivation:
Tea grows best in misty, rainy regions at altitudes of 2,000 to 7,000 feet in the tropics and lower elevations in temperate regions. The best tea is produced in regions that have dry days and cool nights. Slow growth under some stress brings out the best flavour in tea but yields are lower under these conditions.
Tea bushes are pruned to about one meter in height so they can be easily plucked. If left unattended they would grow into 12-meter-high trees. The bushes produce a white flower and a hazelnut-size fruit with three compartments, each with a seed.
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The most suitable condition of growing tea is average temperature between 12.5-13 degrees Celsius or more, and in winter time, the temperature do not stay –15 degrees Celsius or less for a long hour, 1500mm rains will be needed annually (especially between April to October, 1000mm rains will be needed), Ph 4.5 to 5 and less acid soil with excellent drainage. Additional to the above requirement, fewer days of low temperature and brightly sunny days make extra fine tea. |
India Tea scenario:
Nearly 55% of tea produced in India is from Assam, with the state supplying 80% of the country’s exports of the commodity.
Other important data:
TEA BOARD ORGANISATION AND FUNCTIONS
Organisation of the Board: The present Tea Board is functioning as a statutory body of the Central Government under the Ministry of Commerce.
The Board is constituted of 31 members (including Chairman) drawn from Members of Parliament, tea producers, tea traders, tea brokers, consumers, and representatives of Governments from the principal tea producing states, and trade unions. The Board is reconstituted every three years.
The present Tea Board set up under section 4 of the Tea Act 1953 was constituted on 1st April 1954.
Current Affair 3:
International Nitrogen Initiative
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News: The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the main focus of the eighth triennial conference of the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI) being held virtually from May 31-June 3, 2021. |
The International Nitrogen Initiative (INI) is an international program, set up in 2003 under sponsorship of the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) and from the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP). The key aims of the INI are to:
- optimize nitrogen’s beneficial role in sustainable food production, and
- minimize nitrogen’s negative effects on human health and the environment resulting from food and energy production.
INI in South Asia region.
The South Asian Nitrogen Centre, established in 2012, is one of the six centres of the INI. South Asia includes five ocean-faring countries, namely Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and three land-locked countries, Afghanistan, Bhutan and Nepal with high nitrogen risks and associated eutrophication from nutrient enrichment due to leakages from agriculture, aquaculture, sewage, industrial effluents, marine trade and transport.
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The Indian Nitrogen Assessment Report
Though agriculture remains the largest contributor to nitrogen emissions, the non-agricultural emissions of nitrogen oxides and nitrous oxide are growing rapidly, with sewage and fossil-fuel burning — for power, transport and industry — leading the trend.
Indian NOx emissions grew at 52% from 1991 to 2001 and 69% from 2001 to 2011.
Annual NOx emissions from coal, diesel and other fuel combustion sources are growing at 6.5% a year currently, the report says.
- As fertilizer, nitrogen is one of the main inputs for agriculture, but inefficiencies along the food chain mean about 80% of nitrogen is wasted, contributing to air and water pollution plus greenhouse gas emissions, thereby causing threats for human health, ecosystems and livelihoods.
- Agricultural soils contributed to over 70% of N2O emissions from India in 2010, followed by waste water (12%) and residential and commercial activities (6%). Since 2002, N2O has replaced methane as the second largest Greenhouse Gas (GHG) from Indian agriculture.
- Chemical fertilizers (over 82% of it is urea) account for over 77% of all agricultural N2O emissions in India, while manure, compost and so on make up the rest. Most of the fertilizers consumed (over 70%) go into the production of cereals, especially rice and wheat, which accounts for the bulk of N2O emissions from India.
- Cattle account for 80% of the ammonia production, though their annual growth rate is 1%, due to a stable population. India is globally the biggest source of ammonia emission, nearly double that of NOx emissions.
Current Affair 4:
Neglected Tropical Diseases
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News: World Health Assembly adopts decision to recognize 30 January as World NTD Day |
What are Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD)?
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) can be defined as a diverse group of communicable diseases that prevail in tropical and subtropical conditions. Populations living in poverty, without adequate sanitation and in close contact with infectious vectors and domestic animals and livestock are the worst affected.
Lacking a strong political voice, people affected by these tropical diseases have a low profile and status in public health priorities. Lack of reliable statistics and unpronounceable names of diseases have all hampered efforts to bring them out of the shadows.
According to the WHO, some of the major NTDs can be listed as follows: Just remember the names.
Status of India with respect to Neglected Tropical Diseases:
As shown in Table, today the nation of India experiences the world’s largest absolute burden of at least 11 major NTDs.
India & Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD)
- According to the World Health Organization report of 2017, India was able to eliminate Leprosy in 82% of the cities and districts
- The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare also mentioned that India has eradicated Infectious Trachoma along with the chronic disease Yaws from the country.
- The most common NTDs in India are Lymphatic Filariasis, Visceral Leishmaniasis, Rabies, Leptospirosis, Dengue and Soil-Transmitted Helminthic Infections (STH).
- As per WHO data, India ranks number 1 in the number of cases for many major NTDs in the world. We have seen above.
WHO’s new road map for 2021–2030. You can see complete road map here
Titled “Ending the neglect to attain the Sustainable Development Goals: a road map for neglected tropical diseases 2021−2030”, the road map sets global targets and milestones to prevent, control, eliminate or eradicate 20 diseases and disease groups as well as cross-cutting targets aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Current Affair 5:
OPV Sajag
Recently, the Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) Sajag got commissioned into the Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
About Sajag:
It is third out of five OPV indigenously designed and built by the Goa Shipyard Limited. It is built under the Make in India policy. Other four OPVs are Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Saksham, ICGS Sachet, ICGS Sujeet, and ICGS Sarthak.
It is fitted with advanced technology equipment, weapons and sensors capable of carrying a twin engine helicopter and four high speed boats.
OPVs are long-range surface ships capable of coastal and offshore patrolling, policing maritime zones, control & surveillance, anti-smuggling & anti-piracy operations with limited wartime roles.
It will help to manage greater responsibilities in the years to come and will strengthen ICGs concurrent multiple operations' capability towards ensuring safe, secure and clean seas as also responding promptly to maritime emergencies in neighbourhood.
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