💥Join UPSC 2027,2028 Mentorship (August Batch) + XFactor Notes & Microthemes PDF
Talk to Mentor

Civilsdaily

Login

Distribution: weekly

  • 25 years of Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA)

    The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has celebrated the 25th year of the inauguration of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996 (PESA)’ as a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

    What is PESA?

    • The PESA is a law enacted by the govt. for ensuring self-governance through traditional Gram Sabhas for people living in the Scheduled Areas of India.
    • Scheduled Areas are areas identified by the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of India.

    What are Scheduled Areas?

    • “Scheduled Areas” mean the Scheduled Areas as referred to in Clause (1) of Article 244 of the Constitution.
    • They are found in ten states of India which have predominant population of tribal communities.
    • At present, Scheduled Areas have been declared in the States of AP (including Telangana), Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, MP, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan.

    Powers granted to Gram Sabha/Panchayats

    • Land acquisition: To be consulted on matters of land acquisition and resettlement.
    • Mining licencing: Grant prospecting license for mining lease for minor minerals and concessions for such activities.
    • Water Bodies: Planning and management of minor water bodies.
    • Regulation of Liquor: The power to enforce prohibition or to regulate or restrict the sale and consumption of any intoxicant.
    • Minor Forest Produces: The ownership of MFPs
    • Land reforms: The power to prevent alienation of land and to restore any unlawfully alienated land of a scheduled tribe.
    • Village Markets: The power to manage village markets.
    • Money Lending: The power to exercise control over money lending to scheduled tribes.

    Role of Governor in Implementation of PESA

    (1) Report as sought by the President:

    • As per para 3 of the Fifth Schedule, the Governor therein is required to make a report to the President regarding the administration of the Scheduled Areas.
    • The Attorney General had advised the Home Ministry that the role of the governor in sending this report is discretionary.

    (2) Applicability of certain laws:

    • An even more significant role of the Governor in scheduled areas arises out of the powers inherent in sub-para (1) of Para 5 of the Fifth Schedule.
    • Governor may direct that any particular Act of Parliament or of the Legislature of the State shall not apply to a Scheduled Area or any part thereof in the State or shall apply to a Scheduled Area.

    (3) Modification of laws:

    • The regulation-making powers of the Area is bound neither by the advice of the Tribes Advisory Council or the assent of the President.
    • The provision lays down the responsibility on the Governor to ensure that laws that are contrary to the interests of Scheduled Areas may be suitably modified.

    Why was PESA enacted?

    • Filling the constitutional vacuum: These Areas were not covered by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment or Panchayati Raj Act of the Indian Constitution as provided in Part IX of the Constitution.
    • Self-governance: PESA sought to enable the Panchayats at appropriate levels and Gram Sabhas to implement a system of self-governance.
    • Customary regulation: It includes a number of issues such as customary resources, minor forest produce, minor minerals, minor water bodies, selection of beneficiaries, sanction of projects, and control over local institutions.

    Significance of PESA

    • Tribal autonomy: PESA was seen as a panacea for many of these vulnerabilities where the tribal communities in such Scheduled Areas were to decide by themselves the pace and priorities of their development.
    • Tribal way of development: PESA was viewed as a positive development for tribal communities in Scheduled Areas that had earlier suffered tremendously from engagement with modern development processes.
    • Sustainable access to forests: The loss of access to forest, land, and other community resources had increased their vulnerability.
    • Easing of tribal distress: Rampant land acquisition and displacement due to development projects had led to large-scale distress in tribal communities living in Scheduled Areas.

    Issues with PESA

    • Dilution of the role of Tribal Advisory Councils: PESA mandates Tribal Advisory Councils to oversee tribal affairs and also gives extrajudicial, extra-constitutional powers to the Governors.
    • Politicization: The councils, with the CM as their chairperson, have evolved into a non-assertive institution amid the machinations of upper-class politics.
    • Non-involvement: The Governors, in order to have friendly relations with the Chief Ministers, have desisted from getting involved in tribal matters.
    • Lack of coordination at Centre: Two different ministries, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, have an overlapping influence and they function almost without any coordination.
    • Lack of operationalization: In most of the state the enabling rules are not in place more than eight years after the adoption of the Act suggests the reluctance to operationalize the PESA mandate.
    • Ignoring the spirit of PESA: The state legislations have omitted some of the fundamental principles without which the spirit of PESA can never be realised.
    • Ambiguous definitions: No legal definition of the terms like minor water bodies, minor minerals etc. exist in the statute books.

    Related question in CS Mains:

    Q. What are the two major legal initiatives by the State since Independence addressing discrimination against Scheduled Tribes (STs)? (2017, 150W)

    —

    Also try answering this PYQ:

    In the areas covered under the Panchayat (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, what is the role/power of Gram Sabha?

    1. Gram Sabha has the power to prevent alienation of land in the Scheduled Areas.
    2. Gram Sabha has the ownership of minor forest produce.
    3. Recommendation of Gram Sabha is required for granting prospecting license or mining lease for any mineral in the Scheduled Areas.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) Only 1

    (b) 1 and 2 only

    (c) 2 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”4luspsapn4″ question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here:[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • HC presses Centre on Uniform Civil Code

    Stating that the Uniform Civil Code “is a necessity and mandatorily required today,” the Allahabad High Court has called upon the Central Government to forthwith initiate the process for its implementation.

    What is a Uniform Civil Code?

    • A Uniform Civil Code is one that would provide for one law for the entire country, applicable to all religious communities in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc.
    • Article 44, one of the directive principles of the Constitution lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for the citizens throughout the territory of India.
    • These, as defined in Article 37, are not justiciable (not enforceable by any court) but the principles laid down therein are fundamental in governance.

    Why need UCC?

    • UCC would provide equal status to all citizens
    • It would promote gender parity in Indian society.
    • UCC would accommodate the aspirations of the young population who imbibe liberal ideology.
    • Its implementation would thus support the national integration.

    Issues with UCC

    • There are practical difficulties due to religious and cultural diversity in India.
    • The UCC is often perceived by the minorities as an encroachment on religious freedom.
    • It is often regarded as interference of the state in personal matters of the minorities.
    • Experts often argue that the time is not ripe for Indian society to embrace such UCC.

    Greater role for State

    • Fundamental rights are enforceable in a court of law.
    • While Article 44 uses the words “state shall endeavour”, other Articles in the ‘Directive Principles’ chapter use words such as “in particular strive”; “shall in particular direct its policy”; “shall be obligation of the state” etc.
    • Article 43 mentions “state shall endeavour by suitable legislation” while the phrase “by suitable legislation” is absent in Article 44.
    • All this implies that the duty of the state is greater in other directive principles than in Article 44.

    What are more important — fundamental rights or directive principles?

    • There is no doubt that fundamental rights are more important.
    • The Supreme Court held in Minerva Mills (1980): Indian Constitution is founded on the bed-rock of the balance between Parts III (Fundamental Rights) and IV (Directive Principles).
    • To give absolute primacy to one over the other is to disturb the harmony of the Constitution.
    • Article 31C inserted by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, however, lays down that if a law is made to implement any directive principle, it cannot be challenged on the ground of being violative of the FRs under Articles 14 and 19.

    Does India not already have a uniform code in civil matters?

    • Indian laws do follow a uniform code in most civil matters – Indian Contract Act, Civil Procedure Code, Sale of Goods Act, Transfer of Property Act, Partnership Act, Evidence Act etc.
    • States, however, have made hundreds of amendments and therefore in certain matters, there is diversity even under these secular civil laws.
    • Recently, several states refused to be governed by the uniform Motor Vehicles Act, 2019.

    What about personal laws?

    • If the framers of the Constitution had intended to have a Uniform Civil Code, they would have given exclusive jurisdiction to Parliament in respect of personal laws, by including this subject in the Union List.
    • But “personal laws” are mentioned in the Concurrent List.
    • Last year, the Law Commission concluded that a Uniform Civil Code is neither feasible nor desirable.

    Is there one common personal law for any religious community governing all its members?

    • All Hindus of the country are not governed by one law, nor are all Muslims or all Christians.
    • Not only British legal traditions, even those of the Portuguese and the French remain operative in some parts.
    • In Jammu and Kashmir until August 5, 2019, local Hindu law statutes differed from central enactments.
    • The Shariat Act of 1937 was extended to J&K a few years ago but has now been repealed.

    Various customary laws

    • Muslims of Kashmir were governed by a customary law, which in many ways was at variance with Muslim Personal Law in the rest of the country and was, in fact, closer to Hindu law.
    • Even on registration of marriage among Muslims, laws differ from place to place. It was compulsory in J&K (1981 Act), and is optional in Bengal, Bihar (both under 1876 Act), Assam (1935 Act) and Odisha (1949 Act).
    • In the Northeast, there are more than 200 tribes with their own varied customary laws.
    • The Constitution itself protects local customs in Nagaland. Similar protections are enjoyed by Meghalaya and Mizoram.
    • Even reformed Hindu law, in spite of codification, protects customary practices.

    How does the idea of a Uniform Civil Code relate to the fundamental right to religion?

    • Article 25 lays down an individual’s fundamental right to religion;
    • Article 26(b) upholds the right of each religious denomination or any section thereof to “manage its own affairs in matters of religion”;
    • Article 29 defines the right to conserve distinctive culture.
    • An individual’s freedom of religion under Article 25 is subject to “public order, health, morality” and other provisions relating to FRs, but a group’s freedom under Article 26 has not been subjected to other fundamental rights
    • In the Constituent Assembly, there was division on the issue of putting UCC in the fundamental rights chapter. The matter was settled by a vote.
    • By a 5:4 majority, the fundamental rights sub-committee headed by Sardar Patel held that the provision was outside the scope of FRs and therefore the UCC was made less important than freedom of religion.

    Minority opinion in the Constituent Assembly

    • Some members sought to immunize Muslim Personal Law from state regulation.
    • Mohammed Ismail, who thrice tried unsuccessfully to get Muslim Personal Law exempted from Article 44, said a secular state should not interfere with the personal law of people.
    • B Pocker Saheb said he had received representations against a common civil code from various organisations, including Hindu organisations.
    • Hussain Imam questioned whether there could ever be uniformity of personal laws in a diverse country like India.
    • B R Ambedkar said “no government can use its provisions in a way that would force the Muslims to revolt”.
    • Alladi Krishnaswami, who was in favour of a UCC, conceded that it would be unwise to enact UCC ignoring strong opposition from any community.
    • Gender justice was never discussed in these debates.

    How did the debate on a common code for Hindus play out?

    • In June 1948, Rajendra Prasad, President of the Constituent Assembly, warned Nehru that to introduce “basic changes” in personal law was to impose “progressive ideas” of a “microscopic minority” on the Hindu community as a whole.
    • Others opposed to reforms in Hindu law included Sardar Patel, Pattabhi Sitaramayya, M A Ayyangar, M M Malaviya and Kailash Nath Katju.
    • When the debate on the Hindu Code Bill took place in December 1949, 23 of 28 speakers opposed it.
    • On September 15, 1951, President Prasad threatened to use his powers of returning the Bill to Parliament or vetoing it. Ambedkar eventually had to resign.
    • Nehru agreed to the trifurcation of the Code into separate Acts and diluted several provisions.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • More a private sector primer than health-care pathway

    Context

    NITI Aayog recently published a road map document entitled “Health Insurance for India’s Missing Middle”.

    About missing middle and provision in the NITI Aayog report

    • The Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), aims to extend hospitalisation cover of up to ₹5 lakh per family per annum to a poor and vulnerable population of nearly 50 crore people.
    • Left out segment: Covering the left out segment of the population, commonly termed the ‘missing middle’ sandwiched between the poor and the affluent, has been discussed by the Government recently.
    • Towards this, NITI Aayog recently published a road map document entitled “Health Insurance for India’s Missing Middle”.
    • Primary role for private commercial health insurer: The report proposes voluntary, contributory health insurance dispensed mainly by private commercial health insurers as the prime instrument for extending health insurance to the ‘missing middle’.

    Issues with the provision in the NITI Aayog report

    • Narrow coverage: Government subsidies, if any at all, will be reserved for the very poor within the ‘missing middle’ and only at a later stage of development of voluntary contributory insurance.
    • This is a major swerve from the vision espoused by the high-level expert group on UHC a decade ago, which was sceptical about such a health insurance model.
    • No country has ever achieved UHC by relying predominantly on private sources of financing health care.
    • Contributory insurance not best way: Evidence shows that in developing countries such as India, with a gargantuan informal sector, contributory health insurance is not the best way forward and can be replete with problems.
    • Issues with low premium model: For hospitalisation insurance, the report proposes a model similar to the Arogya Sanjeevani scheme, albeit with lower projected premiums of around ₹4,000-₹6,000 per family per annum.
    • This model is a little different from commercial private insurance, except for somewhat lower premiums.
    • Low premiums are achieved by reducing administrative costs of insurers through an array of measures, including private use of government infrastructure.
    • This model is vulnerable to nearly every vice that characterises conventional private insurance.
    • Insufficient measures to deal with adverse selection: The report suggests enrolment in groups as a means to counter adverse selection.
    • The prevailing per capita expenditure on hospital care is used to reflect affordability of hospital insurance, and thereby, a possible willingness to pay for insurance.
    • Both these notions are likely to be far-fetched in practice, and the model is likely to be characterised by widespread adverse selection notwithstanding.
    • OPD insurance on a subscription basis: The report proposes an OPD insurance with an insured sum of ₹5,000 per family per annum, and again uses average per capita OPD spending to justify the ability to pay.
    • However, the OPD insurance is envisaged on a subscription basis, which means that insured families would need to pay nearly the entire insured sum in advance to obtain the benefits.
    • Clearly, this route is unlikely to result in any significant reduction of out-of-pocket expenditure on OPD care.
    • Role of government:The NITI report defies the universally accepted logic that UHC invariably entails a strong and overarching role for the Government in health care, particularly in developing countries.

    Consider the question “What are the challenges in achieving universal health coverage? What are the issues with private sources  financing health care to achieve UHC?”

    Conclusion

    The National Health Policy 2017 envisaged increasing public health spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2025. Let us not contradict ourselves so early and at this crucial juncture of an unprecedented pandemic.

  • Cryptocurrencies

    With cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin gaining popularity among citizens, the Centre has been compelled to take a stance on the legal status of cryptocurrencies.

    Background

    • The Union Government is said to be considering a proposal to tax cryptocurrency transactions in the country.
    • The move would bring cryptocurrency trading, which has till date happened outside the ambit of the law, into the formal economy.

    Defying RBI ban

    • RBI has been vehemently opposed to the idea of legalizing cryptocurrencies.
    • It had banned financial institutions such as banks from facilitating transactions involving cryptocurrencies back in 2018.
    • The RBI’s order was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2020, and this led to a tremendous surge in cryptocurrency transactions through exchanges.

    Why did RBI propose a ban?

    • Financial stability: The RBI has characterized private cryptocurrencies as a threat to financial stability.
    • Threat to the sovereignty of Rupee: It perceives cryptocurrencies rise as a threat to the sovereignty of the rupee.
    • Beyond regulatory scope: The widespread acceptance of cryptocurrencies could interfere with the ability of the RBI to conduct monetary policy effectively.
    • Digital currency in the pipeline: It should be noted that RBI and other central banks are also looking to come up with digital versions of their own currencies.
    • Competition of currencies: The rupee or central bank digital currencies may not be able to outcompete cryptocurrencies just because they are digital.

    Legislative opinion on Cryptocurrencies

    • Not in favour of ban: This week, a Parliamentary Standing Committee recommended that cryptocurrencies be regulated rather than banned.
    • Making a legal framework: The Government is also expected to table a bill that clarifies its position on cryptocurrencies in Parliament next year.
    • Taxing cryptocurrencies: There is a proposal to classify cryptocurrency exchanges as e-commerce platforms and tax them under the GST framework comes.

    Why has the Government chosen to regulate rather than ban cryptocurrencies?

    • Popularity amongst Public: The growing popularity of cryptocurrencies among citizens may have played a role in the Government opting for regulation over an outright ban.
    • Lack of evident threat: There is no clear evidence of the misuse of cryptocurrencies and their risks.
    • Boosting with policy: The Union govt may also not want to kill the nascent cryptocurrency industry which many believe can be a hub for financial innovation.
    • Revenue generation: Fiscal revenues can be adversely impacted by the increased tax evasion opportunities that crypto-currencies can facilitate.
    • Capitalizing the market: The govt wants to capitalise on the recent surge in the usage of cryptocurrencies to tax them and shore up its revenues.
    • Financial innovation: Blockchain technology has multiple uses beyond just facilitating cryptocurrency transactions.

    Issues with the ban

    • Brain-Drain: Ban of cryptocurrencies is most likely to result in an exodus of both talent and business from India, similar to what happened after the RBI’s 2018 ban.
    • Capital inflows will be restricted: If cryptos begin to get mined onshore, they will induce capital inflows.
    • Killing financial innovation: A ban will deprive India, its entrepreneurs and citizens of a transformative technology that is being rapidly adopted across the world.

    Other generic concerns:

    • Safety (cyber-attacks and fraud)
    • Financial integrity (money laundering and evasion of capital controls)
    • Energy usage (outsized energy needs to mine cryptos)

    Way forward

    • Thus it can be inferred that cryptocurrency is better classified as an asset rather than as a currency, in order to gain acceptance and avoid a ban.

    Conclusion

    • There is no doubt that the acceptance of cryptocurrencies by the Government is likely to be limited.
    • While cryptocurrencies may be accepted as speculative assets, it is highly unlikely that they will be accepted as full-fledged currencies competing against the rupee.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Shale and its potential in India

    Cairn Oil & Gas has announced that it is partnering US-based Halliburton to start shale exploration in the Lower Barmer Hill formation, Western Rajasthan.

    What is Shale oil?

    • Shale oil is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale rock fragments by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution.
    • These processes convert the organic matter within the rock (kerogen) into synthetic oil and gas.
    • The refined products can be used for the same purposes as those derived from crude oil.

     How does it differ from conventional crude oil?

    • The key difference between shale oil and conventional crude is that the former, also called ‘tight oil’, is found in smaller batches, and deeper than conventional crude deposits.
    • Its extraction requires creation of fractures in oil and gas rich shale to release hydrocarbons through a process called hydraulic fracking.

    What is fracking?

    • Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside.
    • Water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure which allows the gas to flow out to the head of the well.
    • The process can be carried out vertically or, more commonly, by drilling horizontally to the rock layer, which can create new pathways to release gas or used to extend existing channels.
    • The term fracking refers to how the rock is fractured apart by the high-pressure mixture.

    Shale production in the world

    • Russia and the US are among the largest shale oil producers in the world.
    • With a surge in shale oil production in the US, it has played a key role in turning the country from an importer of crude to a net exporter in 2019.

    Shale reserves in India

    • As per the US EIA 2015 report, India has got technically recoverable shale gas of 96 trillion cubic feet.
    • The recoverable reserves are identified in Cambay, Krishna – Godavari, Cauvery, Damodar Valley, Upper Assam, Pranahita – Godavari, Rajasthan and Vindhya Basins.
    • The ONGC has drilled the first exploratory shale gas well in Jambusar near Vadodara, Gujarat, in Cambay basin during October 2013.

    What are the prospects of shale oil exploration in India?

    • Currently, there is no large-scale commercial production of shale oil and gas in India.
    • Shale oil and gas exploration faces several challenges other than environmental concerns around massive water requirements for fracking and potential for ground water contamination.
    • State-owned ONGC had, in 2013, started exploration and, by the end of FY21, assessed shale oil and gas potential in 25 nomination blocks.
    • But it has reduced investments over the past few years after only getting limited success in shale exploration efforts.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Puri Heritage Corridor Project

    Odisha CM will lay the foundation stone of the much-awaited Puri Heritage Corridor.

    Puri Heritage Corridor Project

    • Conceived in 2016, the Puri Heritage Corridor Project was unveiled in December 2019 to transform the holy town of Puri into an international place of heritage.
    • The project includes redeveloping major portions of the holy town and in the vicinity of the temple for visitors and tourists.

    About Jagannath Temple

    • The Jagannath Temple is an important Vaishnavite temple dedicated to Jagannath, a form of Sri Krishna in Puri in Odisha.
    • The present temple was rebuilt from the 10th century onwards, on the site of an earlier temple, and begun by Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva, the first king of the Eastern Ganga dynasty.
    • The Puri temple is famous for its annual Ratha Yatra, or chariot festival, in which the three principal deities are pulled on huge and elaborately decorated temple cars.

    Its architecture

    • With its sculptural richness and fluidity of the Oriya style of temple architecture, it is one of the most magnificent monuments of India.
    • The huge temple complex covers an area of over 400,000 square feet and is surrounded by a high fortified wall.
    • This 20 feet high wall is known as Meghanada Pacheri.
    • Another wall known as kurma bedha surrounds the main temple.

    The temple has four distinct sectional structures, namely:

    1. Deula, Vimana or Garba griha (Sanctum sanctorum) where the triad deities are lodged on the ratnavedi (Throne of Pearls). In Rekha Deula style;
    2. Mukhashala (Frontal porch);
    3. Nata mandir/Natamandapa, which is also known as the Jagamohan (Audience Hall/Dancing Hall), and
    4. Bhoga Mandapa (Offerings Hall)

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF)

    The Union Cabinet has approved the provisioning of mobile services in over 7,000 uncovered villages through the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).

    What do you mean by Universal Service?

    • In the modern world, universal service refers to having a phone and affordable phone service in every home.
    • It means, providing telecommunication service with access to a defined minimum service of specified quality to all users everywhere at an affordable price.
    • In 1837, the concept was rolled on by Rowland Hill, a British educator and tax reformer, which included uniform rates across the UK and prepayment by sender via postage stamps.

    What is USOF?

    • The Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) was formed by an Act of Parliament, was established in April 2002 under the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act 2003.
    • It aims to provide financial support for the provision of telecom services in commercially unviable rural and remote areas of the country.
    • It is an attached office of the Department of Telecom, and is headed by the administrator, who is appointed by the central government.

    Scope of the USOF

    • Initially, the USOF was established with the fundamental objective of providing access to ‘basic’ telecom services to people in rural and remote areas at affordable and reasonable prices.
    • Subsequently, the scope was widened.
    • Now it aims to provide subsidy support for enabling access to all types of telecom services, including mobile services, broadband connectivity and the creation of infrastructure in rural and remote areas.

    Funding of the USOF

    • The resources for the implementation of USO are raised by way of collecting a Universal Service Levy (USL), which is 5 percent of the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of Telecom Service Providers.

    Nature of the fund

    • USOF is a non-lapsable Fund.
    • The Levy amount is credited to the Consolidated Fund of India.
    • The fund is made available to USOF after due appropriation by the Parliament.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • Langtang Project: Nepal’s first hydropower from a glacial lake

     

    Langtang Microhydro Electricity Project, Nepal’s first hydropower from a glacial lake has become functional recently.

    Langtang Microhydro Electricity Project

    • The Project was built three years after the 2015 earthquake-avalanche that devastated the valley, with help from the Hong Kong-based Kadoorie Charitable Foundation.
    • It has a weir and spillway at the moraine, and the water is taken through a fibre glass-insulated penstock pipe to a powerhouse that generates 100kW of electricity.
    • It seeks to provide 24 hours of electricity to 120 households and tourist lodges in Kyanjin and Langtang.

    Uniqueness of the project

    • The project is the first-of-its-kind in Nepal to power a village and holds promise for other remote Himalayan valleys where the risk posed by expanding glacial lakes can be mitigated.
    • At the same time, it provides electricity to tourism-dependent families.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

  • [Yojana Archive] Himalayan Floods

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)

    October 2021

    Background

    • Over the last few decades, urbanization has led to a dramatic increase in the population living in the Himalayan Mountain belt.

    About the Himalayas

    • The Himalayas extend for about 2400 km from west to east with width varying between 200-400 km.
    • The two syntaxes of this mountain are drained by the rivers Indus (west) and the Brahmaputra (east).
    • The Ganga River system largely drains the central part of the Himalayas.

    Recent flood events

    1. 2010, floods of Leh
    2. 2013, Kedarnath floods
    3. 2021, Rishiganga floods

    The reports of the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC-2019) indicate an overall increase in the frequency of high-intensity rainfall events in the Himalayas.

    What makes Himalayas more prone to disasters?

    • Rise in atmospheric temperature further increases the available atmospheric energy and total precipitation.
    • This in combination with mountain fragility and the growing urban centers is a perfect condition for disasters

    Himalayas & Flood

    The Himalayan Mountain belt, tectonically, is divisible into from north and south in the following zones

    1. Indus Suture Zone (ISZ) of Ladakh
    2. Tethyan Himalaya
    3. Higher Himalayan Crystalline zone
    4. Lesser Himalaya
    5. Outer Siwalik

    (1) Indus Suture Zone (ISZ) of Ladakh

    • The ISZ lies in the rain shadow zone of the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM), where the scanty rainfall occurs mostly under the influence of westerlies.
    • The area is devoid of vegetation and due to extreme temperatures, physical weathering of rocks occurs that forms a thick debris mantle on hill slopes.
    • This debris mantle during excessive snow melting and rainstorm events, fail and block small and large streams that breach subsequently to create floods.

    (2) Tethyan Himalaya

    • This belt also behaves in a similar manner even though it lies at the northern fringe of ISM and receives a slightly higher amount of rainfall as compared to ISZ.

    (3) Higher Himalayan Crystalline zone

    • The higher Himalayan Crystalline zone receives full spectrum of ISM rainfall.
    • This zone is characterized by steep hill slopes and deep gorges with high gradient drainage systems.

    (4, 5) Lesser Himalaya and Outer Siwalik

    • The Lesser Himalaya and outer Siwalik Himalaya are gentler and also receive a high amount of ISM rainfall.

    Differential rainfall patterns

    • The headwaters of the rivers like Indus, the Ganga, and the rivers draining the central Himalayan ranges lie in rain deficient arid zones.
    • Here extreme rainfall events can potentially create glacial/moraine-dammed lake outbursts, and massive snowmelt, leading to a flood.
    • However, the headwater of the Brahmaputra, due to different orography and elevation receives less rainfall and downstream catchment receives higher rainfall.
    • These constraining characteristics between the two systems create floods that have discharges of different magnitude.

    Factors influencing

    In general, the large floods in the Himalayas are caused by:

    1. Climate change: Intense rainfall events, landslide dammed lake outbursts, glacial dammed Lake outbursts, cloud bursts
    2. Topography: The magnitude of flood is a function of overall geology, orography, catchment-wide distribution of lakes, landslide zone, and rainfall

    Example:

    • 2013 Kedarnath incident in the Garhwal Himalayas: Widespread rainfall in combination of a breach of a moraine-dammed lake in the Chaurabari glacial region was responsible.
    • Breach of Gohna Tal of Birahi Ganga in 1970: Landslide activity that generally occurs during monsoon or an earthquake may potentially dam small channels for a longer duration. These dams may breach and cause floods in the downstream regions.

    Causes of Floods in the Himalayas

    In general, the large floods in the Himalayas are caused by

    1. Intense rainfall events
    2. Landslide dammed lake outbursts (LLOFs)
    3. Glacial dammed Lake outbursts (GLOFs)
    4. Cloud bursts

    Flood Mapping

    Mapping of floods has four elements:

    1. Vertical rise in river level
    2. Rate of rising of flood
    3. Flow velocity
    4. Lateral inundation of flood plains
    • Flood mapping is normally done at river gauging stations which are equipped with state-of-the-art Internet of Things (IoT) and radars.
    • Radars can help in tacking the locations of intense rainfalls and the temporal evolution of the storm.
    • The lateral extent of flood inundation can be mapped using satellite images and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data.
    • The flood velocities are generally measured using current meters, acoustic Doppler current profilers, tracers, and floaters.
    • Sediment load of floodwaters can be measured by sediment monitoring gauges or sensors equipped with Laser In-Situ Scattering or by physically sampling during the time of the flood.

    Reducing Flood Vulnerability in the Himalayas

    • Proper understanding of the orography of the Himalayas, past flood events and the damage patterns can help in preparing the damage predictive models of the Himalayas.
    • The foremost way towards this is monitoring at various levels.
    • Landslide and glacial lake monitoring systems should be in place and be linked to flood management centres via IoT.
    •  The combination of data on flood levels, flood hydrographs, and lateral inundation can be used to manage the floods and minimise the destruction.
    • The inundation maps combined with maps of social infrastructure, should be analysed on GIS platforms and AI using long time series of datasets.
    • It will provide predictive models of flood events and damage patterns.

  • Back in news: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

    The Centre has told the Supreme Court that the CBI was an “autonomous body” and it had no “control” over the investigative agency.

    Background

    • The submission in the top court comes two days after the promulgation of an ordinance extending the tenures of the CBI Director and the Enforcement Directorate chief.
    • Attorney-General K was objecting to a suit filed by the West Bengal Government over the use of CBI.

    West Bengal vs. CBI

    • West Bengal has challenged the CBI’s jurisdiction to register FIRs and conduct investigations in the State in some cases.
    • The State had withdrawn its “general consent” to the CBI way back in 2018.

    About CBI

    • The Bureau of Investigation traces its origins to the Delhi Special Police Establishment, a Central Government Police force, which was set up in 1941 by the Government of India.
    • It then aimed to investigate bribery and corruption in transactions with the War and Supply Department of India.
    • It then had its headquarters in Lahore.
    • After the end of the war, there was a continued need for a central governmental agency to investigate bribery and corruption by central-government employees.
    • The DSPE acquired its popular current name, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), through a Home Ministry resolution dated in 1963.

    Mandate of the CBI

    • The CBI is the main investigating agency of the GoI.
    • It is not a statutory body; it derives its powers from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
    • Its important role is to prevent corruption and maintain integrity in administration.
    • It works under the supervision of the CVC (Central Vigilance Commission) in matters pertaining to the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
    • The CBI is also India’s official representative with the INTERPOL.

    Cases to investigate

    • Cases connected to infringement of economic and fiscal laws
    • Crimes of a serious nature that have national and international ramifications
    • Coordination with the activities of the various state police forces and anti-corruption agencies.
    • It can also take up any case of public importance and investigate it
    • Maintaining crime statistics and disseminating criminal information.

    Issues with CBI

    • Caged parrot: The Supreme Court has criticised the CBI by calling it a “caged parrot speaking in its master’s voice”.
    • Political interference: It has often been used by the government of the day to cover up wrongdoing, keep coalition allies in line and political opponents at bay.
    • Investigation delay: It has been accused of enormous delays in concluding investigations due to political inertia.
    • Loss of Credibility: CBI has been criticised for its mismanagement of several cases involving prominent politicians and mishandling of several sensitive cases like Bofors scandal, Bhopal gas tragedy.
    • Lack of Accountability: CBI is exempted from the provisions of the Right to Information Act, thus, lacking public accountability.
    • Acute shortage of personnel: A major cause of the shortfall is the government’s sheer mismanagement of CBI’s workforce.
    • Limited Powers: The powers and jurisdiction of members of the CBI for investigation are subject to the consent of the State Govt., thus limiting the extent of investigation by CBI.
    • Restricted Access: Prior approval of Central Government to conduct inquiry or investigation on the employees of the Central Government is a big obstacle in combating corruption at higher levels of bureaucracy.

    Way Forward

    • Need for autonomy:   As long as the government of the day has the power to transfer and post officials of its choice in the CBI, the investigating agency will not enjoy autonomy and will be unable to investigate cases freely.
    • A new CBI Act should be promulgated that ensures the autonomy of CBI while at the same time improving the quality of supervision.
    • Selection of director/ Officers: To ensure that the CBI is a robust, independent and credible investigation agency, there is an urgent need to work out a much more transparent mechanism for selection and induction of officers on deputation.
    • Lokpal scrutiny: The Lokpal Act already calls for a three-member committee made up of the PM, the leader of the opposition and the CJI to select the director.
    • Bifurcation of Cadre: CBI should be bifurcated into an Anti-Corruption Body and a National Crime Bureau.
    • Develop own cadre: One of the demands that have been before Supreme Court, and in line with international best practices, is for the CBI to develop its own dedicated cadre of officers.
    • Annual social audit should be carried out by ten reputed, knowledgeable persons with background of law, justice, public affairs and administration and the audit report should be placed before the parliament.

     

    UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)