UPSC 2017: Comprehensive News Analysis - Sept 30

A. GS1 Related

B. GS2 Related

Context:

• Appointment of judges and transfer of high court judges.
• Transparency in the selection process

In news:

• The five-member Supreme Court collegium headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra has resolved to devise a procedure to streamline the process to select judges of constitutional courts.

December 16, 2015 judgment

• The SC had asked the government to frame a new memorandum of procedure for selection of judges
• Disagreement: The draft is stuck over a disagreement on the Centre’s insistence on including a “national security” clause to enable the government to reject a name recommended for appointment as judge of the SC or HCs on these grounds.
• Tussle between Judiciary and Government:

1. The collegium has been firm that the Centre must put in writing its objections, including on national security grounds, for rejecting a recommendation and insists that if the collegium reiterates its recommendation the appointment must go through.
2. But the Centre remains firm it will only show intelligence inputs on a person to the collegium and not put it in writing as this could jeopardise the future of a person whose appointment was stalled because of national security apprehensions

• The collegium headed by CJI Misra will soon give effect to the December 16, 2015 judgment of a five-judge bench mandating establishment of secretariats in the SC and each HC.
• The secretariat will collate data on the track record of persons being considered for appointment as judges and place it before the collegium.

In news:

• The government will launch the much-awaited direct benefit transfer (DBT) of fertiliser subsidy in Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Puducherry and Goa.
• Unlike other DBTs such as cash transfer for foodgrains or subsidised gas connection where the subsidy amount is directly transferred to beneficiary accounts, in this case the subsidy will go to the manufacturer or marketing firm.
• No- denial policy: The government will follow the no-denial policy, which means anyone can buy any quantity of fertiliser after giving details of his Aadhaar card at the retail outlet.
• Under this scheme, the retail fertiliser outlets equipped with PoS machines will be able to read buyers’ Aadhaar cards. As the farmer buys, the difference between market rate and the subsidised amount will be credited to the bank account of the manufacturer or the marketing company concerned.
• First phase of implementation: After assessing the success of its implementation and capturing the details of consumption, government will consider to launch phase-II, which will be transferring the subsidy to the accounts of farmers.
• Advantages:

1. Records of sales and purchase will bring transparency about the quantity of fertilisers that companies are selling to farmers.
2. Experts opinion: this move will reduce the total sale by 10-15% and thereby reduce the burden on the exchequer by about Rs 6,000 crore annually.

3. Reforms money can’t buy

Context:

• New National Wildlife Action Plan (2017-31).
• The action plan will be launched by environment minister Harsh Vardhan on the inaugural day of the Global Wildlife Programme (GWP)

In news:

• The Centre will announce its new National Wildlife Action Plan (2017-31) on October 2 to strengthen conservation measures.
• Use of technology, including e-surveillance through drones, and modalities to involve people living around national parks and sanctuaries in conservation efforts will be key to this 14-year roadmap.
• The action plan spells out how India will go about handling these issues in a time-bound manner in the next 14 years.
• It covers all the issues concerning conservation, ranging from rehabilitation of threatened species to integrating climate change in wildlife planning.
• The plan has a road map to deal with poaching and illegal trade of animals and animal parts, and management of tourism in wildlife areas.
• Setting up special courts for effective implementation of the Wildlife Protection Act to ensure the speedy trial of wildlife crimes, identification and validation of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (ITK) available in various parts of the country for dealing with human-wildlife conflicts, and use of mobile technology to develop ‘Digital Field Guides’ for easy identification of various wildlife goods and their derivatives are other key features of the plan.
• The plan cites as a model the Gujarat forest department’s initiative to appoint local youth as ‘Vanya Praani Mitra’ (friends of wild animals) in in high conflict zones.
• The four-day conference will give India an opportunity to get acquainted with best practices on the management of wildlife habitats and minimising human-wildlife conflict situations.

Global Wildlife Programme (GWP):

• The GWP, initiated in 2015, is a World-Bank led partnership of 19 countries to promote the conservation and sustainable development by combating trafficking in wildlife.

C. GS3 Related

D. GS4 Related

E. PRELIMS FACT

F. Practice Questions for UPSC Prelims Exam

G. UPSC Mains Practice Questions