Daily Current Affairs: 25 Aug 2021

Operation Devi Shakti

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

Why in the news?

India's complex mission to evacuate its citizens and Afghan partners from Kabul after its swift takeover by the Taliban last week has been named "Operation Devi Shakti”.

More in the news

India began the complex evacuation mission by airlifting 40 Indians from Kabul to Delhi on August 16, a day after the Taliban seized control of the Afghan capital city Kabul.

Other Civilian Rescue Missions:

Evacuation from the Gulf (1990-91)

India's evacuation of civilians from Kuwait during the 1990-91 Gulf war.
Until Vande Bharat Mission, it had been the world's largest evacuation exercise of civilians by air.
Around 1, 77,000 Indians were caught in the war which left millions homeless and many dead.

Vande Bharat Mission (VBM)

It is the biggest civilian evacuation exercise to bring back Indian citizens stranded abroad amidst the coronavirus-induced travel restrictions.
It has carried 32 lakh passengers approximately both inbound and outbound in its 10^th

Operation Samudra Setu

The program named Samudra Setu by the Indian navy entails bringing back around two thousand Indians in two ships during the first phase of evacuation.
INS Jalashwa and INS Magar are being operated as part of efforts to repatriate Indian nationals from foreign shores.

Operation Raahat

It was launched by the Indian Armed Forces, to evacuate 4,640 Indian citizens and 960 foreign nationals of 41 countries from Yemen during the 2015 Yemen Crisis.
The evacuation took place both by sea and in the air.

Operation Maitri

The rescue and relief operation was carried out by the government of India and Indian armed forces in the aftermath of the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.
The Indian Armed Forces evacuated around 5,188 persons, while nearly 785 foreign tourists were provided transit visas.

Operation Safe Homecoming

It was launched by the Indian government on 26th February 2011 to evacuate its citizens, fleeing from the Libyan Civil War.
The air-sea operation was conducted by the Indian Navy and Air India. Around 15,000 civilians were rescued in the operation.

Operation Sukoon

It was an operation carried out by the Indian Navy to evacuate Indian, Sri Lankan and Nepalese nationals, from the conflict zone during the 2006 Lebanon War.
It was one of the largest evacuations conducted by the Indian Navy in which a total of 2,280 people were evacuated.

Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) Scheme

(Topic- GS Paper II–Governance, Source-PIB)

Why in the news?

The Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS), a Union government initiative for skill development in rural areas, has brought high-speed internet to some of the remotest tribal hamlets deep inside the Nilambur jungle in Kerala.

About Jan Shikshan Sansthan(JSS) Scheme:

The scheme was formerly known as the Shramik Vidyapeeth scheme which was launched in 1967 and was renamed Jan Shikshan Sansthan in 2000.

Nodal Ministry

The scheme was transferred from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship in 2018.

Implementation

The scheme is implemented through NGOs with 100% grants from the Government of India.

Mandate

To provide vocational skills in non-formal mode to non-literate, neo-literates, persons with a rudimentary level of education up to 8th and school drop-outs up to 12th standard in the age group of 15-45 years.

Priority Group

The priority groups are women, SC, ST, minorities and other backward sections of the society.

The procedure of Arresting Cabinet Minister in India

(Topic- GS Paper II–Governance, Source-Indian Express)

Why in the news?

Recently, three FIRs have been registered against Union Minister and Rajya Sabha member Narayan Rane in connection with a speech at Raigad where he spoke against Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

About the Procedure to arrest a cabinet minister in India

If Parliament is not in session, a cabinet minister can be arrested by a law enforcement agency in case of a criminal case registered against him.
As per Section 22 A of the Rules of Procedures and Conduct of Business of the Rajya Sabha, the Police, Judge or Magistrate would, however, have to intimate the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha about the reason for the arrest, the place of detention or imprisonment in an appropriate form.

Procedure to be followed by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha in case of an arrest

The Chairman is expected to inform the Council if it is sitting about the arrest. If the council is not sitting, he/she is expected to publish it in the bulletin for the information of the members.

Privileges of the Rajya Sabha members vis-a-vis arrests

As per the main privileges of Parliament, in civil cases, they have freedom from arrest during the continuance of the House and 40 days before its commencement and 40 days after its conclusion, as per section 135 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
The privilege of freedom from arrest does not extend to criminal offences or cases of detention under preventive detention.

Can a person be arrested from the precincts of the House?

No arrest, whether of a member or a stranger, can be made within the precincts of the House without the prior permission of the Chairman/Speaker and that too in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Home Ministry in this regard.
Similarly, no legal process, civil or criminal, can be served within the precincts of the House without obtaining the prior permission of the Chairman/Speaker whether the House is in session or not.

Economic criterion not the sole basis for creamy layer

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

Why in the news?

The Supreme Court has recently held that economic criterion should not be the sole basis to identify sections of backward communities as 'creamy layer'.

Background

The court was hearing a petition challenging two notifications by the Haryana government sub-classifying backward classes solely on an economic basis while fixing the criteria for a creamy layer.
The notifications, issued under the Haryana Backward Classes (Reservation in Services and Admission in Educational Institutions) Act of 2016, said backwards community members who earn above ₹6 lakh annually would be treated as 'creamy layer'.

Court Observation

The basis of exclusion of 'creamy layer cannot be merely economic," a Bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao and Aniruddha Bose observed in their judgment while referring to the Supreme Court's Indra Sawhney verdict of 1992, which declared that 'creamy layer' in a backward community should be excluded from reservation so that the more deserving were able to come up.
The court had illustrated that ‘creamy layer’ would include “persons from backward classes who occupied posts in higher services like IAS, IPS and All India Services had reached a higher level of social advancement and economic status, and therefore, were not entitled to be treated as backward”.

Court Held

The Supreme Court held that Haryana's notifications have violated the law declared in the Indra Sawhney judgment by identifying creamy layers only based on income.
"Despite Section 5(2) of the 2016 Act making it mandatory for identification and exclusion of 'creamy layer to be based on social, economic and other relevant factors, the State of Haryana has sought to determine 'creamy layer' from backward classes solely based on economic criterion and has committed a grave error in doing so," the court held, quashing both the notifications.
The Supreme Court directed the State to issue fresh notifications in three months.

T.N. launches ₹100 cr. urban employment scheme.

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

Why in the news?

The Tamil Nadu government will implement an urban employment scheme on the lines of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) at ₹100 crore to improve the livelihood of the urban poor.

About the Scheme

Till now it is a pilot scheme and the government would soon come out with guidelines for providing wages under the scheme.
In the Financial Year 2022, it will be implemented in two zones in the Greater Chennai Corporation.
It will be implemented in one zone each in other Municipal Corporations, one municipality each in under the seven Regional Directorate of Municipal Administration and one town panchayat each in 37 districts.
Under the scheme, workers will be used for activities such as desilting of water bodies and maintenance of public parks and other places.

Objectives

The objective of the programme was to employ urban poor, who had lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic as recommended by the committee headed by former RBI Governor C Rangarajan.

The reason behind this project

The urban population in Tamil Nadu was growing fast and it would reach 60% of the total population by 2036
According to estimate, a total of four crore people are now living in urban areas, accounting for 53% of the total population.

About MGNREGA

It guarantees 100 days of work a year to every rural household to enhance the livelihood security of people.
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 introduced the scheme. In 2010, NREGA renamed as MGNREGA
The Act currently covers all districts except for those that have a 100% urban population.
The Ministry of Rural Development (MRD) in association with the state governments monitors the implementation of the scheme.

Objectives of the MGNREGA Scheme

It aims at addressing the causes of chronic poverty through the works that are undertaken and ensuring sustainable development.
The Act was introduced to improve the purchasing power of the rural people, primarily semi or un-skilled work to people living below the poverty line in rural India.
It also aims to strengthen the process of decentralization and empowers Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) for the planning and implementation of these works.

Global Manufacturing Risk Index

(Topic- GS Paper II–Economics, Source-PIB)

Why in the news?

India has recently emerged as a global manufacturing hub and effectively surpassed the United States to become the world’s second most desired manufacturing destination.

About global Manufacturing Risk Index:

It is based on the most favourable locations for international manufacturing, Cushman & Wakefield's Manufacturing Risk Index report ranks countries based on a range of factors including:
Risk and cost factors
Political and economic risk
Market conditions and labour costs
Market Access
The index ranks 47 countries across Europe, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific.

Boosting India as a Manufacturing Destination

With the ambition to boost domestic manufacturing in the nation and turn India into a global manufacturing hub, earlier this year, the government introduced various financial incentives for companies to produce IT hardware.
Apart from this, the government of India is actively bringing reforms to boost the Indian economy and some of the efforts taken include:
Accounting as the lowest in Southeast Asia, India has reduced corporate tax from 30% to 25%.
The government introduced initiatives like 'Make in India' and 'Skill India' that have achieved a feat in creating job opportunities in the manufacturing sector.
Further, these initiatives have also enhanced skill development to create a large pool of -skilled human resources.
Rules regarding land acquisition have been subsequently relaxed over the years.
Income tax, GST, and other custom reliefs provided for favourable business conditions.

GM Soya Cake

(Topic- GS Paper III–Science and Technology, Source-PIB)

Why in the news?

The government of India has recently relaxed the rules for import of crushed and de-oiled GM soya cake (Non-living organism only).
This decision will positively impact farmers, poultry farmers, and fishermen.

Related Information

About GM Crops

Genetically modified crops are plants used in agriculture, the DNA of which has been modified using genetic engineering techniques.
The aim is to introduce a new trait to the plant which does not occur naturally in the species.
The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), India’s regulator for genetically modified seeds.

About the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)

It is the apex body constituted in the Ministry of Environment and Forests under ‘Rules for Manufacture, Use, Import, Export and Storage of Hazardous Microorganisms/Genetically Engineered Organisms or Cells 1989’, under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
It approves activities involving large scale use of hazardous microorganisms and recombinants in research and industrial production from the environmental angle.
It is also responsible for approval of proposals relating to the release of genetically engineered organisms and products into the environment including experimental field trials (Biosafety Research Level trial-I and II known as BRL-I and BRL-II).
The Rules of 1989 also define five competent authorities i.e. the Institutional Biosafety Committees (IBSC), Review Committee of Genetic Manipulation (RCGM), Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), State Biotechnology Coordination Committee (SBCC) and District Level Committee (DLC) for the handling of various aspects of the rules.

India could gain $11 trillion in 50 years with climate action: Deloitte report

(Topic- GS Paper III–Environment, Source-PIB)

Why in the news?

Deloitte Economics Institute has recently released a report, titled “India’s turning point: How climate action can drive our economic future”.

Key highlights

India can gain $11 trillion in economic value over the next 50 years by limiting rising global temperatures and realising its potential to ‘export decarbonisation’ to the world.
However, if India doesn’t act now to mitigate the effects of climate change, it could lose $35 trillion in economic potential which could be 12.7% of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2070.

Top Five Impacted Industries due to Climate Change:

These industries will be services (government and private), manufacturing, retail and tourism, construction, and transport which currently account for more than 80% of India’s GDP.
The report estimates that by 2070, these five industries alone would experience an annual loss in the value-added to GDP of more than $1.5 trillion per year.