Goaltide Daily Current Affairs 2021
Current Affair 1:
Why Does Yamuna Form Froth?
What is froth formation?
Remember how shaking soapy water causes air to be trapped in it, thus forming small layer of bubbles? This is the science behind froth formation on Yamuna as well.
Under normal circumstances, all rivers form a thin layer of foam. Rivers have dead and decaying plants like leaves and twigs as a part of their ecosystem. On decomposition, these may not may not just dissolve in water but break the surface tension in water – allowing air to enter and create bubbles. This in turn leads to a thin layer of foam – which is natural.
But all foam and froth are not natural.
What causes this harmful foam?
The foam on Yamuna River is anything but natural. According to experts, high level of phosphates in the Yamuna from untreated effluents like sewage, is the main reason for this frothing.
How harmful is this foam?
When presence of phosphates continues in the water – it leads to the growth of algae. This in turn, along with heavy froth, cuts off oxygen and sunlight from mixing with the water body.
This ends up killing off marine life that is essential to maintain the quality of water in Yamuna. While no specific study has been done to ascertain the impact of the froth on human health, doctors warn that it could cause skin irritation if one comes in direct contact.
However, the long-term effects are yet to be studied.
Current Affair 2:
What is Net-zero emission?
Net-zero is the point at which all the carbon dioxide still emitted by human activities, such as running fossil fuel power plants or driving gas-powered vehicles, is balanced by the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Since the world does not yet have technologies capable of removing carbon dioxide from air at any climate-relevant scale, that means relying on nature for carbon dioxide removal.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global carbon dioxide emissions will need to reach net-zero by at least mid-century for the world to have even a small chance of limiting warming to 1.5º C, an aim of the Paris Agreement to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
Current Affair 3:
India Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI)
Deepening bilateral defense cooperation is a strategic imperative for the United States and India, but for many years progress in this area was impeded by unique national bureaucratic structures, acquisition models, and budget processes. In 2012, the Department of Defense created a mechanism for overcoming or reducing these impediments. This effort has evolved into the India-U.S. Defense Technology and Trade Initiative or DTTI.
While DTTI is not a treaty or law, it elevates our shared commitment to defense trade, helps eliminate bureaucratic obstacles, accelerates timelines, promotes collaborative technology exchange, strengthens cooperative research, and enables co-production/co-development of defense systems for sustainment and modernization of our military forces.
The aim of the DTTI Group is to bring sustained leadership focus to the bilateral defence trade relationship and create opportunities for co-production and co-development of defence equipment.
Current Affair 4:
What Is the Doctrine of Proportionality?
Context:
It has been a sorry state of affairs for fundamental rights in the courts when the word national security is uttered by the government like in the Rafael, Bhima- Koregaon and Rohingya Refugee matters.
Supreme Court needs to find the correct opportunity to rectify the judicial alacrity to uphold provisions of law highly repugnant to fundamental rights when place against national security concerns and craft a balancing approach whereby fundamentals rights and the security of the state both can peacefully co-exist.
A constitutional imperative waits for the Supreme Court to look at the current controversy from a fresh perspective of the recently evolving jurisprudence of Doctrine of Proportionality and set a new long-lasting settling precedent.
Definition:
This doctrine emanates from the two key elements of a constitutional structure i.e., rule of law and democracy. Democracy entails rights and liberties, and on the other hand the rule of law empowers the state to sanction limitation on them to maintain the rule of law and order. But, however, according to a proportionality tool that is derived from this doctrine.
In the simplest of terms, this doctrine means that the ambit of limitation on any right must be proportional to the purpose/objective sought to be achieved through the limiting law. It ensures that the encroachment on any right is not disproportionate to the objective of the law.
Current Affair 5:
CBI vs States:
Recently, we have seen multiple states have proceeded to withdraw their consent to CBI investigation in connection with the ongoing cases in their jurisdiction. Amongst the several issues of constitutionality, credibility, and political interference faced by the CBI the issue of general consent is at the core of the crisis edging towards a slow death of the institution.
Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act 1946 requires the CBI to obtain the consent of the state government before conducting investigation in a particular state thereby limiting its jurisdiction.
What is the concept of “General Consent”?
In case of 'general consent' the CBI does not have to obtain the prior permission of the state government before investigation. When a state withdraws general consent, CBI officers lose the powers to conduct investigation in the concerned state. In order to register a new case, the agency has to seek specific consent from the State government. As a result, it stalls registration of new cases. And over the years, general consent has been used as a tool of political rivalry between the centre and state.
So, finally what happens? Judicial Intervention. And then we blame Judiciary violating the principles of Separation of Powers.
Withdrawal of general consent will not influence the functioning of the CBI beyond measure as the judiciary can always step up to provide a middle ground by directing CBI investigation in a state (as held in State of West Bengal v. Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights. This endangers the concept of separation of powers requiring judicial intervention over executive action on a regular basis.
Separation of Power:
The essence of federalism lies in the sharing of legal sovereignty between the centre and states, which is facilitated through the demarcation of the legislative and executive powers. This is the idea behind the three lists in the 7th schedule of the Indian Constitution – the union list, state list and the concurrent list. Entry 2 of the List II made 'Police' a state subject conferring exclusive domain to the state to make laws regarding the same. However, the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act which establishes the CBI continues to function as a central agency carrying out its functions as 'Police'. This was one of the contentions in Navendra Kumar v. Union of India which challenged the constitutionality of CBI.
What is the way forward?
This can be resolved on compartmentalizing the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders involved in the matter.
- Defining the circumstances where the cases will be transferred to the central agency for investigation thereby following a structure of complementary jurisdiction would resolve jurisdictional ambiguity surrounding the CBI.
- Following the European principle of subsidiarity, framing definite grounds on which state governments can restrict general consent or transfer cases to CBI for a higher-level investigation can aid in reducing the friction between the central and state governments.
- Most importantly, giving statutory recognition to CBI (CBI is not a statutory Body) will provide it with constitutional recognition independent of its existence from DSPE Act. A comprehensive system involving the co-operation of legislature, executive and judiciary can revamp and revive the lost glory of CBI.
