PERIYAR IAS CURRENT AFFAIRS 6-NOVEMBER-2017
Topic: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms,
Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.
UNESCO award for Srirangam temple
The Sri Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam has bagged an award of
merit from Unesco for protecting and conserving cultural heritage, thus
becoming the first temple
from Tamil Nadu to grab the prestigious honour from the UN body.
Key facts:
§ Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple is the only religious centre in the
whole of South India to bag the award in 2017.
§ The famous Christ Church
in Mumbai and Royal Bombay Opera
House are the other historic Indian monuments that received the
Award of Merit this year, in addition to the temple.
§ The temple was lauded by the international body for undertaking
renovation and beautification work worth over Rs 20 crore without harming its
centuries-old heritage.
About the award:
Launched in 2000, Unesco Asia-Pacific awards for cultural heritage conservation
programmeis aimed at acknowledging the efforts taken to restore and
conserve historical structures without affecting their heritage value in the
region comprising 48 countries.
§ The awards are classified under four categories — Award of
Excellence, Awards of Distinction, Awards of Merit and Award for New Design in
Heritage Context.
§ They are being given to encourage the efforts of all stakeholders
and the public in conserving and promoting monuments and religious institutes
with rich heritage in the Asia-Pacific region.
Sources: the hindu.
Paper 2:
Topic: Separation of powers between various organs dispute
redressal mechanisms and institutions.
Cauvery Tribunal Gets Six Months Extension
Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation has extended the term of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal by six months upto May 02, 2018.
Why was CWDT constituted?
Cauvery is an inter‐State basin having its origin in Karnataka and flowing through
Tamil Nadu and Puduchery before outfalling in Bay of Bengal. The
sharing of waters of the Cauvery has been the source of a serious conflict
between the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The genesis of this conflict
rests in two agreements in 1892 and 1924 between the erstwhile Madras Presidency
and Kingdom of Mysore.
§ In this regard, Government of India in June 1990 constituted the
Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) to adjudicate the water dispute
regarding inter‐state river Cauvery and the river valley thereof among the States
of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry.
Constitutional provisions on inter-state river water
sharing:
River waters use / harnessing is included in states jurisdiction (entry 17 of state list, Schedule 7 of Indian Constitution). However, union government
can make laws on regulation and development of inter-State rivers and river
valleys when expedient in the public interest.
§ Whenever the riparian states are not able to reach amicable
agreements on their own in sharing of an interstate river waters, section 4 of The Interstate River Water Disputes Act, 1956
(IRWD Act) provides dispute resolution process in the form of Tribunal.
§ In case the constitutional rights of states are ingressed upon by
the tribunal award in any manner, central government, for extending purview of
its enactment to implement the tribunal order, is obliged to take the consent of all riparian states under
Article 252 of the constitutionbefore publishing the tribunal
awards in the official gazette.
Powers of the tribunal:
Ambit: As per the Act, the
tribunal shall not only adjudicate but also investigate the matters referred to
it by the central government and forward a report setting out the facts with
its decisions.
Verdict: When the tribunal final
verdict issued based on the deliberations on the draft verdict is accepted by
the central government and notified in the official gazette, the verdict
becomes law and binding on the states for implementation. When pronounced in the
ambit of IRWD Act, the tribunal’s verdict after its publication in the official
gazette is equivalent to Supreme Court verdict as per section 6 of IRWD Act.
About IRWD Act:
The Interstate River Water Disputes Act, 1956 (IRWD Act) is an Act
of the Parliament of India enacted under Article 262 of Constitution on the eve of reorganization of states on linguistic basis
to resolve the water disputes that would arise in the use, control and
distribution of an interstate river or river valley.
§ Article 262 of the Indian Constitution provides a role for
the Central government in adjudicating conflicts surrounding inter-state rivers that arise among the state/regional governments.
§ Recently, a permanent water dispute tribunal with its members from
sitting judges of Supreme Court or High courts, is proposed to resolve the
growing number of interstate river water disputes expeditiously.
Way ahead:
Over the years, the Cauvery water dispute has influenced the
politics of the region with political parties stirring emotions of people as
the river has a deep cultural, economic and religious significance for them.
This has now led to a situation where public opinion has become more rigid,
making it difficult for political outfits to find a common ground.
Facts for Prelims:
Cauvery river originates in Talakaveri in Kodagu district of
Karnataka. It flows 800 km in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and reaches the Bay of
Bengal through Poompuhar in Tamil Nadu. The Cauvery basin covers about 81155 sq
km area. Out of this 43,856 sq km is in Tamil Nadu, 34,273 sq km in Karnataka,
2866 sq km in Kerala and 160 sq km in Puducherry.
Sources: pib.
Topic: Separation of powers between various organs dispute
redressal mechanisms and institutions.
Centre plans to set up more commercial courts
The Union government has proposed to establish commercial courts in districts to further
improve the ease of doing business parameters.
Background:
Legal remedy to commercial disputes and enforcement of
business contracts are parameters of the World Bank ranking. In terms of ease of enforcing contracts, India jumped from 172
to 164. Though the jump in the ranking sounds small, it is substantial given
the diversities of laws in our country and the complex demography.
India’s performance has been varied within the legal framework. For example, the World Bank’s ranking marked “court system and
proceedings in India” 4.5 out of a total of 5, but in management of cases, it
was 1.5 out of 6. India also fared well in alternative dispute redress
mechanism and scored 2.5 out of a total of 3 marks.
About commercial courts:
On January 1, 2016, the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and
Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts Bill, 2015 received Presidential
assent.
It contemplates setting up commercial courts at the district level
and commercial divisions and appellate divisions at the high court level. It
seeks to completely transform the manner in which commercial cases are heard
and tried in India.
Functions of various stakeholders: It stipulates various functions to be performed by three key
players, namely state governments, chief justices of high courts and
lawyers/litigants. All state governments have to ensure that adequate
infrastructure is provided for commercial courts and commercial divisions so
that modern methods like electronic filing and video conferencing can be
implemented without delay.
Chief justices have huge responsibility in implementing
this Act by setting up commercial
courts in various districts and by designating or setting up commercial
divisions in the high courts, which also need to issue practice directions to
implement the provisions of this Act.
What is a commercial dispute?
A commercial dispute is defined to include any dispute related to
transactions between merchants, bankers, financiers, traders, etc. Such
transactions deal with mercantile documents, partnership agreements,
intellectual property rights, insurance, etc.
Sources: the hindu.
Paper 3:
Topic: infrastructure- energy.
Postmen to collate data on homes still without electricity
The power ministry has engaged postmen for door-to-door survey to
expedite the Saubhagya scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for complete
household electrification by December 2018.
Key facts:
§ India Post through its network 1.73 lakh outlets has begun
collecting data on un-electrified households spread over three states of Odisha,
Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Similar initiatives are being launched in
Assam and Jharkhand.
§ The data for a total 1.75 lakh villages in the five states is
likely to be submitted in a month. The data is being uploaded online through a
web portal and a mobile application by the postmen called ‘Gram Dak Sewaks’ by
the postal department.
§ The web portal and the application have been created and are being
monitored by staterun Rural Electrification Corp.
Why postmen have been chosen for this task?
India Post is the only organisation, which has permanent link with
each and every household in the country. It has arrangements in place for
delivery of mails to each of about 5.94 lakh inhabited villages in the country
from the nearest post offices.
The data will help the Central government in speedy assessment of
project reports that will be submitted by states seeking grant under the
Saubhagya Scheme.
About Saubhagya Scheme:
The Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana -Saubhagya-
launched in September with over Rs 16,000 crore outlay for universal household
electrification, will cover a total of 300 lakh households–250 lakh households
in rural areas and 50 lakh in urban areas.
§ As per scheme, the states will have to submit detailed project
reports to the Centre. Projects would be sanctioned based on the detailed
project reports to be submitted by the states.
Sources: ET.
Topic: Security challenges and their management in border areas;
linkages of organized crime with terrorism.
For year-round border security, India plans tunnels on China
border
For year-round border security and ensure better connectivity
along the entire Line of Actual Control, India is planning to construct tunnels
on China border.
Benefits of tunnels:
§ Land acquisition and forest clearance are relatively easier for
tunnels.
§ Tunnels reduce the operational cost of vehicles and reduce the
need for deploying troops for security duties in sensitive areas.
§ They help avoid situations where military posts remain cut off for
six months due to snowfall or rain.
§ Furthermore, the Himalayan ranges with its fragile geology has a
history of earthquakes, landslides and avalanches.
Sources: ET.
Topic: Challenges to internal security through communication
networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security
challenges, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its prevention.
Global watchdog FATF puts Pakistan on notice
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global anti- money
laundering watchdog has put Pakistan on notice for terror financing.
§ FATF has sought from Pakistan, notwithstanding opposition from
China, a compliance report by February 2018 on action taken against terror
groups such as LeT and JuD.
§ FATF has asked Pakistan to do more to freeze assets of terror
outfits such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-ud-Dawa.
Background:
The decision was taken at the recently held Buenos Aires plenary
of the FATF, where India raised the issue of Pakistan’s support for terror
group at the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) meet. Terror
financing was a key theme at the FATF meet in the Argentine capital.
About FATF:
What is it?
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an inter-governmental
body established in 1989 on the initiative of the G7. It is a
“policy-making body” which works to generate the necessary political will to bring
about national legislative and regulatory reforms in various areas.
Objectives:
The objectives of the FATF are to set standards and promote
effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for
combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to
the integrity of the international financial system.
What it does?
The FATF monitors the progress of its members in implementing
necessary measures, reviews money laundering and terrorist financing techniques
and counter-measures, and promotes the adoption and implementation of
appropriate measures globally. In collaboration with other international
stakeholders, the FATF works to identify national-level vulnerabilities with
the aim of protecting the international financial system from misuse.
Sources: ET.
Facts for Prelims:
§ “Quadrilateral” grouping:
Context: India has accepted an
invitation to join the Japan-proposed, U.S.-endorsed plan for a “Quadrilateral”
grouping including Australia.
What is it for? The quadrilateral
arrangement, including US, Japan, Australia and India, aims to be a grouping of
countries all looking to balance China, using an international rules-based
order to counter China’s aggressive power play. The grouping also aims to
provide alternative debt financing for countries in the Indo-Pacific.
§ National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA):
Context: Corporate Affairs
Ministry (MCA) is taking steps to set up National Financial Reporting Authority
(NFRA).
What is it? It is an independent body
to test check financial statements, prescribe accounting standards and take
disciplinary action against errant professionals. The Companies Act 2013
provides for setting up a National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA).
§ Paradise papers:
What are they? They are a trove of 13.4
million corporate records, primarily from Bermuda firm Appleby, as well as from
Singapore-based Asiaciti Trust and corporate registries maintained by
governments in 19 secrecy jurisdictions, often referred to as “tax paradises”.
They reveal tracks of veiled offshore financial activities.
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