07 Sep 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

Quote for the day Set 5 11

CNA 07 Sep 2022:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. Bangladesh PM favours early solution for Teesta, other issues
POLITY
1. SC asks Punjab, Haryana CMs to meet on SYL canal dispute
C. GS 3 Related
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
ECONOMY
1. For Vizhinjam, business as usual is not an option
F. Prelims Facts
G. Tidbits
1. SC asks Centre, States to allay EWS quota concerns
2. β€˜Limited change’ in cities under clean air scheme
3. India gets its first nasal COVID vaccine
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
FIP Magazine

Category: POLITY

1. SC asks Punjab, Haryana CMs to meet on SYL canal dispute

Syllabus:Β Issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure – Inter-state Relations

Mains: Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal dispute

Context

The Supreme Court sought an assurance from the Chief Minister of Punjab that he will meet his Haryana counterpart to discuss the construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal which has been delayed for over 20 years.

Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal

Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal

Image Source: www.thehansindia.com

  • Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal once complete will help in sharing the waters of the rivers Ravi and Beas between the states of Punjab and Haryana.
  • The construction of the SYL Canal was launched in April 1982 by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in Kapoori village in the Patiala district of Punjab.
  • The construction of the SYL Canal included the construction of a stretch of 214 km, out of which 122 km was to cross Punjab and 92 km in Haryana.
  • However, the construction of Punjab’s portion of the canal has been controversial which has delayed the completion of the SYL Canal.

The timeline of the dispute

Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal dispute

Image source: Indian Express

  • 1960: Indus Water Treaty signed between India and Pakistan allowed India β€œfree and unrestricted use” of Ravi, Beas and Sutlej.Β 
  • 1966: The reorganisation of Punjab and the formation of Haryana as a new state brought about the problems of sharing of river water between the two states.
  • As Haryana required a share of the waters of the Sutlej and its tributary Beas, construction of the SYL canal linking the Sutlej with the Yamuna was proposed.Β 
  • However, Punjab refused to share the water breaching the Riparian principle which states that β€œthe water of a river belongs only to the State and country or States and countries through which the river in question flows”.
  • 1981: Both Punjab and Haryana agreed to the reallocation of river water.
  • 1982: The launch of the construction of the SYL Canal.
    • Akali Dal started a protest in the name of Kapoori Morcha against the construction of the SYL Canal.
  • 1985: The then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the chief of Akali Dal signed an agreement to set up a new tribunal.
  • 1987: The Eradi Tribunal suggested an increase in the share of waters to both states.
  • 1980s: Witnessed violent militant attacks against the construction of the SYL Canal.
  • 1996: Haryana reached out to the Supreme Court in order to expedite the construction process of the SYL Canal.
  • 2002 and 2004: The apex court issued directions to the then governments in Punjab to undertake construction work in its territory.Β 
  • 2004: The Punjab government unilaterally enacted the controversial Punjab Termination of Water Agreements Act of 2004.Β 
  • 2016: The Punjab Termination of Water Agreements Act was struck down by a constitution bench.
  • 2020: The Supreme Court orders the governments of the two states to discuss and settle the SYL canal issue at the highest political level which is to be mediated by the Union government.
    • However, the Ministry of Jal Shakti which is playing the role of an arbitrator on behalf of the Union government had complained that Punjab has not joined the negotiating table.
  • 2022: The Supreme Court has directed the Chief Minister of Punjab to meet with his Haryana counterpart and discuss the construction of the SYL Canal.
    • The court said the canal was meant to address water shortage and β€œWater is a natural resource and living beings must learn to share it, whether it be individuals, States or countries”.
    • The court also has held that in the larger interest of the country, the two states have to sit down and work it out and it cannot be left as a festering wound.

Nut graf: Considering that the issue of construction of the SYL canal is a matter of security and affects the entire nation as other forces start to take over if the states fail to resolve the issue, the Supreme Court has directed the Punjab government to discuss the construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal with the Haryana government at the earliest.

F. Prelims Facts

Nothing here for today!!!

G. Tidbits

1. SC asks Centre, States to allay EWS quota concerns

  • A Constitution Bench consisting of five judges, led by the Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit is examining the validity of the 103rd Constitutional Amendment, which provides the 10% reservation to economically weaker sections (EWS) of society in government jobs and educational institutions.
  • The Supreme Court bench asked the governments at the Centre and the States to address a list of concerns raised in the court over the granting of reservation on a purely economic basis and whether it is a violation of the Basic Structure of the Constitution to exclude the SCs, the STs and other most impoverished Socially and Educationally Backward Classes in the country from its ambit.Β 
  • Economic reservation was introduced by amending Articles 15 and 16 of the constitution and adding clauses that empower the State governments to grant reservation based on economic backwardness.

EWS Quota concerns
For an in-depth understanding of the Reservation System in India, watch below:

2. β€˜Limited change’ in cities under clean air scheme

  • An analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has pointed out that there is β€œbarely any difference” in trends in particulate matter pollution (PM2.5) between the group of cities under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and those outside its purview.
  • The NCAP introduced in 2019 aims to cut down the pollution levels by 20%-30% with respect to PM2.5 and PM10 particles by 2024, using 2017 pollution levels as a base.
  • The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) which coordinates the programme, considers only PM10 levels for disbursing funds and the PM2.5 particles which are smaller and more dangerous aren’t monitored as robustly in all cities due to the lack of equipment.
  • CSE in its national analysis of PM2.5 levels in cities for which data is available reported that only 14 of 43 (NCAP) cities registered a 10% or more reduction in their PM2.5 level between 2019 and 2021.
  • Cities in states like Punjab, Rajasthan and Maharashtra are said to have registered a significant increase in PM2.5 levels between 2019 and 2021 whereas cities like Chennai, Varanasi and Pune have reported better improvement among NCAP cities.

3. India gets its first nasal COVID vaccine

  • iNCOVACC which is India’s first nasal COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Bharat Biotech, has been approved for primary immunisation of those who are 18 years old and above in emergency situations.
  • iNCOVACC is expected to be a game changer in intra-nasal vaccine technology and delivery systems.
  • iNCOVACC is a ChAd36-SARS-CoV-S COVID-19 (Chimpanzee Adenovirus Vectored) recombinant vaccine and is stable between two and eight degrees Celsius which makes it easy for storage and distribution.
  • The vaccine offers dual advantages of enabling faster development of variant-specific vaccines and easy nasal delivery which facilitates mass immunisation to protect individuals from emerging variants thereby making it a crucial tool to counter future pandemics and endemics.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Consider the following statements with regards to Covid - 19 vaccines: (Level – Medium)
  1. Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 recombinant nasal vaccine has been approved by the Ministry of Health’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation for primary immunisation of those aged 12 years and above in emergency situations.
  2. Nasal vaccines aim to overcome potential difficulties with mass vaccination and reduce the cost by doing away with the need for needles and syringes.
  3. According to experts, there is very little evidence to back the effectiveness of nasal route of delivery so far and, apart from some flu vaccines, attempts to deliver vaccines like this have not been successful.

Choose the correct code:

  1. Only one statement is incorrect
  2. Only two statements are incorrect
  3. All three statements are incorrect
  4. None of the statements is incorrect
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: a

Explanation:

  • Statement 1 is not correct, Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 recombinant nasal vaccine has been approved by the Ministry of Health’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation for primary immunisation of those aged 18 years and above in emergency situations.
  • Statement 2 is correct, Nasal vaccines aim to overcome potential difficulties with mass vaccination and reduce the cost by doing away with the need for needles and syringes.
  • Statement 3 is correct, According to experts, there is very little evidence to back the effectiveness of this route of delivery so far and, save for some flu vaccines, attempts to deliver vaccines like this have not been successful.
Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to the Satluj Yamuna Link canal:Β 
(Level – Medium)
  1. Once completed, it will enable sharing of the waters of the rivers Ravi and Beas between Haryana and Punjab.
  2. In 1982, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi launched the construction of the SYL Canal.
  3. Water resources are under the State List, while the Parliament has the power to make laws regarding inter-state rivers under the Union List.

Choose the correct code:

  1. 1 & 2 only
  2. 2 & 3 only
  3. 1 & 3 only
  4. All of the above
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation:

  • Statement 1 is correct, Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal once complete will help in sharing the waters of the rivers Ravi and Beas between the states of Punjab and Haryana.
  • Statement 2 is correct, The construction of the SYL Canal was launched in April 1982 by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in Kapoori village in the Patiala district of Punjab.
  • Statement 3 is correct, Water resources are under the State List, while the Parliament has the power to make laws regarding inter-state rivers under the Union List.
Q3. Which of the following Supreme Court cases are related to Section 66A of the 
Information Technology Act, 2000? (Level – Easy)
  1. Lily Thomas case, 2013
  2. Shreya Singhal case, 2015
  3. Suresh Kumar Koushal case, 2013
  4. Justice K.S. Puttaswamy case, 2017
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: b

Explanation:

  • In the Shreya Singhal case, 2015, Supreme Court had declared Section 66A of the IT Act, which made the online posting of information considered β€œgrossly offensive” a crime punishable by jail, as being violative of Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and not saved under the ambit of reasonable restrictions defined in Article 19(2).
  • The Supreme Court had held that the expressions used in Section 66A were open-ended, undefined and therefore arbitrary.
Q4. Consider the following statements: (Level – Difficult)
  1. The cheetah is believed to have disappeared from the Indian landscape when the Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo of Koriya in the present day Chhattisgarh hunted and shot the last three recorded Asiatic cheetahs in India in 1947.
  2. The cheetah was declared extinct from India in 1952.
  3. Under the intercontinental cheetah translocation project at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, eight cheetahs are being brought from South Africa.

Choose the correct code:

  1. 1 & 2 only
  2. 2 & 3 only
  3. 1 & 3 only
  4. All of the above
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: a

Explanation:

  • Statement 1 is correct, Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo of Koria in the present day Chhattisgarh is widely believed to have killed the last three recorded cheetahs in India in 1947.
  • Statement 2 is correct, Cheetah was declared extinct from India in 1952.
  • Statement 3 is not correct, Under the intercontinental cheetah translocation project at the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, eight cheetahs are being brought from Namibia.
Q5. Which of the following statements are correct about the deposits of 
β€˜methane hydrate? (Level – Medium) PYQ (2019)
  1. Global warming might trigger the release of methane gas from these deposits.
  2. Large deposits of β€˜methane hydrate’ are found in Arctic Tundra and under the seafloor.
  3. Methane in the atmosphere oxidizes to carbon dioxide after a decade or two.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. 1 & 2 only
  2. 2 & 3 only
  3. 1 & 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation:

  • Statement 1 is correct, Global warming might cause the melting of ice triggering the release of methane gas from these deposits and has a significant impact on climate change.
  • Statement 2 is correct, Large deposits of ‘methane hydrate’ are found in Arctic Tundra and under the seafloor.
  • Statement 3 is correct, Methane in the atmosphere oxidizes to carbon dioxide after a decade or two.

CNA 07 Sep 2022:- Download PDF Here

Comments

Leave a Comment

Your Mobile number and Email id will not be published.

*

*