Daily UPSC Current Affairs 01 Sep 2021

By Sudheer Kumar K|Updated : September 1st, 2021

The Daily Current Affairs Series covers events of national and international importance sourced from various national newspapers - The Hindu, PIB, The Indian Express, Down to Earth, Livemint, etc.

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Daily Current Affairs: 01 SEP 2021

Ramon Magsaysay award

(Topic- GS Paper I–Art and Culture, Source-The Hindu)

Why in the news?

  • Recently, a Bangladeshi vaccine scientist and a microfinance pioneer from Pakistan were among the five recipients of the Ramon Magsaysay Award 2021.

About Ramon Magsaysay Award

  • The Award was established in 1957.
  • The award is regarded as the Asian version of the Nobel Prize.
  • It is named after Ramon Magsaysay, the third president of the Republic of the Philippines.
  • Till 2009 awards have traditionally been given in five categories: government service; public service; community leadership; journalism, literature, and creative communication arts; and peace and international understanding.
  • However, post 2009; the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation annually selects the awardees for the field of Emergent Leadership. Awardees are presented with a certificate, a medallion with an embossed image of Ramon Magsaysay and a cash prize.

(Topic- GS Paper II– IR, Source-The Hindu)

Why in the news?

  • China's has recently sent its first shipments on a newly-launched railway line from the Myanmar border to the key commercial hub of Chengdu in western China under the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC).

About China transport corridor

  • The transport corridor involves a sea-road-rail link.
  • Goods from Singapore reached Yangon Port, arriving by ship through the Andaman Sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean, and were then transported by road to Lincang on the Chinese side of the Myanmar-China border in Yunnan province.
  • The new railway line that runs from the border town of Lincang to Chengdu, a key trade hub in western China, completes the corridor.
  • China also has plans to develop another port in Kyaukphyu in the Rakhine State, including a proposed railway line from Yunnan directly to the port, but the progress there has been stalled by unrest in Myanmar.

Significance

  • This passage connects the logistics lines of Singapore, Myanmar and China, and is currently the most convenient land and sea channel linking the Indian Ocean with southwest China.
  • The one-way journey saves 20 to 22 days.
  • Transportation time on the railway line from the Myanmar border to Chengdu takes three days.

About Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar Economic Corridor

  • It is a multi-modal transport corridor to connect India (Kolkata) and China (Kunming) via Bangladesh (Dhaka) and Myanmar (Mandalay).
  • The idea was given a shape in the form of the BCIM forum in 1999 in the first 'Kunming Initiative.
  • The corridor is intended to advance multi-modal connectivity, promote investment and trade and facilitates people-to-people contacts through a combination of road, rail, water and air linkages in the region.
  • The multi-modal corridor will be the first expressway between India and China and will pass hrough Myanmar and Bangladesh.

About China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC)

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  • It is a branch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the Indian Ocean.
  • The CMEC to the Bay of Bengal is the replica of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
  • The CMEC will run from Yunnan Province of China to Mandalay in Central Myanmar.
  • From there it will head towards Yangon, before terminating at the Kyaukpyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the Bay of Bengal.

Historical Background

  • The East India Company and the British Raj were eager to develop connectivity into Yunnan through Burma to promote trade between India and western China.
  • In the late 19th century, the Indian Railways surveyed the route for a railway line from the Arakan coast (Myanmar) to Yunnan (China), but could not implement it.
  • Thus, China will be implementing the vision of the East India Company.

In a first, nine SC judges take oath in one stroke

(Topic- GS Paper II–Governance, Source-The Hindu)

Why in the news?

  • Recently, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) read out the oath of allegiance to the Constitution to nine new judges of the Supreme Court, reducing the vacancies in the court to just one.

Historic Event

  • It was the first time as many as nine judges were sworn into the Supreme Court in a single stroke.
  • Three of them are women judges and one of them, Justice B.V. Nagarathna, is slated to be CJI in 2027.

Related Information

Appointment of Judges

  • The judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President.
  • The CJI is appointed by the President after consultation with such judges of the Supreme Court and high courts as he deems necessary.
  • The other judges are appointed by the President after consultation with the CJI and such other judges of the Supreme Court and the high court’s as he deems necessary.
  • The consultation with the chief justice is obligatory in the case of the appointment of a judge other than the Chief justice.

Appointment of Chief Justice from 1950 to 1973

  • The practice has been to appoint the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court as the chief justice of India.
  • This established convention was violated in 1973 when A N Ray was appointed as the Chief Justice of India by superseding three senior judges.
  • Again in 1977, M U Beg was appointed as the chief justice of India by superseding the then senior-most judge.
  • This discretion of the government was curtailed by the Supreme Court in the Second Judges Case (1993), in which the Supreme Court ruled that the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court should alone be appointed to the office of the Chief Justice of India.

Controversy over Consultation and Evolution of Collegium system

  • The Supreme Court has given different interpretations of the word 'consultation' in the above-mentioned provisions.
  • In the First Judges case (1982), the Court held that consultation does not mean concurrence and it only implies exchange of views.
  • In the Second Judges case (1993), the Court reversed its earlier ruling and changed the meaning of the word consultation to concurrence.
  • In the Third Judges case (1998), the Court opined that the consultation process to be adopted by the Chief Justice of India requires ‘consultation of plurality judges’.
  • The sole opinion of the CJI does not constitute the consultation process.
  • He should consult a collegium of four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court and even if two judges give an adverse opinion, he should not send the recommendation to the government.
  • The court held that the recommendation made by the chief justice of India without complying with the norms and requirements of the consultation process is not binding on the government.

Collegium System

  • The Collegium system was born through "three judge's case" and it is in practice since 1998.
  • It is used for appointments and transfers of judges in High courts and Supreme Courts.
  • There is no mention of the Collegium either in the original Constitution of India or in successive amendments.

National Judicial Appointments Commission

  • The 99th Constitutional Amendment Act of 2014 and the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act of 2014 have replaced the collegium system of appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts with a new body called the National Judicial Appointments Commission.
  • However, in 2015, the Supreme Court has declared both the 99th Constitutional Amendment as well as the NJAC Act as unconstitutional and void.
  • Consequently, the earlier collegium system became operative again.
  • This verdict was delivered by the Supreme Court in the Fourth Judges case (2015).
  • The court opined that the new system (i.e., NJAC) would affect the independence of the judiciary

Qualifications of Judges

  • A person to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court should have the following qualifications.
  • He should be a citizen of India.
  • He should have been a judge of a High Court (or high courts in succession) for five years; or
  • He should have been an advocate of a High Court (or High Courts in succession) for ten years; or
  • He should be a distinguished jurist in the opinion of the president.
  • The Constitution has not prescribed minimum age for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court.

UNSC resolution addresses ‘key concerns’ on Afghanistan: India

(Topic- GS Paper II–IR, Source-The Hindu)

Why in the news?

  • Recently, despite the abstention of two “P5” countries — Russia and China — from the India-led United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2593, the Government of India said it was a “matter of satisfaction” that the resolution addressed India’s “key concerns” on Afghanistan.
  • P5 refers to the five permanent members of the UNSC — China, France, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S.

About the UNSC resolution 2593

  • The resolution, which called on the Taliban to keep their commitments to preventing terror groups in Afghanistan and urged them to assist the safe evacuations of all Afghan nationals wishing to leave the country.
  • The resolution demands that Afghan territory should not be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter and train terrorists and plan or finance terrorist attacks.
  • It mentions individuals designated by Resolution 1267, (which includes the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad).

Reasons behind Russia and China abstained

  • According to Russia and China representatives, they wanted all the groups, especially the Islamic State and the Uighur East Turkestan Islamic Movement to be named specifically in the document, and listed a number of objections to the drafting of the resolution.
  • They accused the U.S., the U.K. and France, the sponsors of the resolution, of having rushed it through on a “tight schedule” while seeking to absolve the U.S. of responsibility, and distinguishing between “their and our terrorists”.

India elected to Council of Administration at 27th UPU Congress in Abidjan

(Topic- GS Paper II–International Organization, Source-The Hindu)

Why in the news?

  • India has recently been elected to the Council of Administration (CA) at 27th Universal Postal Union (UPU) Congress in Abidjan.
  • Abidjan is a city on the southern Atlantic coast of Côte d'Ivoire, in West Africa.

About Universal Postal Union

  • It is established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874 which is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system.
  • The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the
  • Congress
  • The Council of Administration (CA)
  • The Postal Operations Council (POC)
  • The International Bureau (IB).
  • Its headquarters are located in Bern, Switzerland.

Recent Development

  • The Union Cabinet gave its approval to the ratification of the Tenth Additional Protocol to the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) adopted by the 2nd Extraordinary Congress of the Union held at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2018.

Benefits of India’s ratification

  • It would fulfil the obligations arising from Article 25 of the Constitution of the UPU and its commitment as expected of a member country of the Union.
  • It will also enable the Department of Posts to bring out any administrative orders to implement the provisions of the UPU Convention in India.

Odisha's Kendrapara is now India's only district to have all 3 species of crocodilians

(Topic- GS Paper III–Environment, Source-The Hindu)

Why in the news?

  • Odisha’s Kendrapara became the only district in India to be home to all three species of crocodilians found in the country.
  • In Odisha, the species of crocodiles found at
  1. Gharials at Satakosiya in Mahanadi
  2. Muggers in Bhitar Kanika National park
  3. Saltwater crocodiles.

Crocodilian Species in India

Mugger or Marsh Crocodile

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Habitat

  • It is mainly restricted to the Indian subcontinent where it may be found in a number of freshwater habitat types including rivers, lakes and marshes.
  • However, it can even be found in coastal saltwater lagoons and estuaries.

Protection Status

  • IUCN List of Threatened Species: Vulnerable
  • CITES: Appendix I
  • These are listed in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
  • It is already extinct in Bhutan and Myanmar.

Estuarine or Saltwater Crocodile

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  • It is considered as the Earth’s largest living crocodile species.

Habitat

  • It is found in Odisha’s Bhitarkanika National Park, the Sundarbans in West Bengal and the Andamans and Nicobar Islands.
  • It is also found across Southeast Asia and northern Australia.

Protection Status

  • IUCN List of Threatened Species: Least Concern
  • CITES: Appendix I (except the populations of Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, which are included in Appendix II).
  • These are listed in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Gharial

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  • Gharials, sometimes called gavials, are a type of Asian crocodilian distinguished by their long, thin snouts which resemble a pot (ghara in Hindi).
  • Gharials are a type of Crocodilians that also includes crocodiles, alligators, caimans, etc.

Habitat

  • The gharials are mostly found in freshwaters of the Himalayan Rivers.

Primary habitat

  • The Chambal River in the northern slopes of the Vindhya Mountains (Madhya Pradesh) is known as the primary habitat of gharials.

Secondary habitats

  • The Himalayan Rivers like ghagra, Gandak River, Girwa River, Ramganga River and the Sone River are secondary habitats for gharials.

Protection Status

  • IUCN List of Threatened Species: Critically Endangered
  • CITES: Appendix I
  • These are listed in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Government initiative to protect Crocodiles

Indian Crocodile Conservation Project

  • The Crocodile Conservation Project was launched in 1975 in different States.
  • The Gharial and Saltwater crocodile conservation programme was first implemented in Odisha in early 1975 and subsequently, the Mugger conservation programme was initiated.

About World Crocodile Day

  • The day is celebrated on 17th June.
  • The day is a global awareness campaign to highlight the plight of endangered crocodiles and alligators around the world.

Latham’s Snipe bird

(Topic- GS Paper III–Environment, Source-Down to Earth)

Why in the news?

  • Recently, urban development continues to threaten Latham’s Snipe habitats.

About Latham’s Snipe

 

  • The bird is also known as Japanese Snipe and is scientifically called Gallinago hardwickii.
  • It is a medium-sized, long-billed, migratory snipe in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway
  • It flies non-stop from Japan to Australia twice a year at East Asian–Australasian Flyway.
  • The bird takes five days to cover the distance of thousands of kilometres of the ocean for their survival.

Conservation status

  • The bird is listed as the Least Concern species in IUCN Red List.
  • The bird is also listed as “rare” under South Australia’s National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972. 

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