Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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321 protected monuments, sites encroached upon, Rajya Sabha told

News

• Over 300 Centrally-protected monuments and sites, including World Heritage Sites, across the country are “under encroachment”, according to the government.

Beyond News

• Although no impact study has been done, proactive steps have been taken by the Archaeological Survey of India under the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 and Rules, 1959 to keep the historical monuments free from encroachments.
• Of the total 321 encroached-upon monuments and sites that listed, the highest number were in Uttar Pradesh (75), followed by Tamil Nadu (74), Karnataka (48), Maharashtra (46), Rajasthan (22), Delhi (11), Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Punjab (seven each), Assam, Bihar and Odisha (six each), Himachal Pradesh (three), Madhya Pradesh (two) and West Bengal (1).
• Among the monuments that have encroachments are Purana Qila in Delhi, Ellora Caves in Maharashtra, Sun Temple in Konark in Odisha and Brahma Temple in Pushkar, Rajasthan.
• Superintending archaeologists of the ASI were authorised to issue show cause notices to remove encroachments.
• In order to contain the encroachments and remove them, the superintending archaeologist in charge of the Circles have been vested with the powers of Estate Officers to issue eviction notices/orders to the encroachers under Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971.
• In addition to the regular watch and ward staff, private security personnel, State police guards and CISF have also been deployed for the safety and security of selected monuments.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Rajya Sabha nod for changes to airports regulator Bill

News

• The Rajya Sabha passed a Bill to amend the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008, whereby the Airports Authority would not determine tariff structures in the case of privatised airports as that was part of the bid offered at the time of the privatisation.

Beyond News

• In all, 16 airports would come under the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA), while the others would continue to be under the Civil Aviation Ministry.
• In 2006 the total number of passengers at Indian airports was about 1.5 million per annum. Therefore, a regulatory mechanism was needed for fixing tariffs. In 2009, only two major airports had traffic of 1.5 million passengers per annum. In 2011, the number went up to 16 and in 2016, there were 24 such airports.
• Today, the passenger throughput at the Airport Authority of India airports is in the vicinity of 344.69 million. So, the limited purpose of this amendment is to substitute the figure 1.5 million, which defined a major airport, which reflected 1.3% of passenger traffic at that point of time, with the figure 3.5 million which accurately reflects the state of traffic today.

Finally, Pakistan reopens its airspace after 6 months

 News

• In a massive relief for air travellers as well as the airline sector, Pakistan reopened its airspace for all flights after a gap of six months since the IAF’s strikes on Balakot.
• Hours after the announcement, an Air India flight from San Francisco, which was en route to Delhi, became the first Indian airline to fly over the neighbouring country and reach 90 minutes earlier.

Beyond News

• The curb meant airlines had to take a longer route to reach their destinations and burn more fuel, stop midway for refuelling as well as roster more pilots and cabin crew, as their duty hours are regulated.
• An increase in fuel expenses, which constitutes 40% of an airline’s operational costs, resulted in an increase in fares and in some cases cancellation of flights, leaving passengers with fewer options to choose from.
• The move will benefit Indian carriers as well as those airlines that enter or exit Pakistan from its eastern border with India, such as South East Asian airlines, as Pakistan had lifted its curbs for most other airlines.
• Until now, only two of the 11 routes between the two countries had been opened by Pakistan.
• According to government data, Air India was the worst hitamong all Indian carriers. It lost Rs. 490 crore until July 2 due to the sheer number of flights it operates to the U.S. and Europe.

20 million children worldwide missed out on life-saving vaccines last year

News

• Twenty million children worldwide more than 1 in 10 missed out on life-saving vaccines against diseases such as measles, diphtheria and tetanus in 2018, according to data from the WHO and the UNICEF.

Findings

• It showed that an additional 1.5 million deaths could be avoided if global immunisation coverage improved.
• Globally, since 2010, vaccination coverage with three doses of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) and one dose of the measles vaccine had stalled at 86 %.
• In 2018, an estimated 19.4 million infants worldwide were not reached with routine immunisation services such as three doses of DTP vaccine.
• Around 60% of these children live in 10 countries: Angola, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Vietnam.
• While vaccines were one of the most important tools for preventing outbreaks and keeping the world safe, far too many were left behind. Unacceptably, it was often those who were most at risk the poorest, the most marginalised and those touched by conflict or forced from their homes who were persistently missed, he noted.
• Most unvaccinated children lived in the poorest countries, and were disproportionately in fragile or conflict-affected nations.
• Stark disparities in vaccine access persisted across and within countries of all income levels. This had resulted in devastating measles outbreaks in many parts of the world, including countries that had high overall vaccination rates.
• In 2018, almost 3,50,000 measles cases were reported globally, more than doubling from 2017. 
• Meanwhile, for the first time, there is also data on the coverage of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine that protects girls against cervical cancer later in life. As of 2018, 90 countries home to 1 in 3 girls worldwide had introduced the HPV vaccine into their national programmes. Just 13 of these are lower-income countries. This leaves those most at risk of the devastating impacts of cervical cancer least likely to have access to the vaccine.

Sewer deaths: Centre calls for quick response units

News

• Concerned by the incidents of workers dying while cleaning sewers and septic tanks, the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has asked all States and Union Territories to set up emergency response sanitation units (ERSU), which would include trained cleaners wearing protective gear.

Beyond News

• While manual scavenging is officially banned, under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, incidents of private individuals, local bodies and contractors forcing people to enter sewers and tanks to clear blockages continue to be reported.
• The official said the workers had not been given protective gear, training or backup support by their employers.
• To implement the provisions of PEMSRA Act, 2013 regarding hazardous cleaning of sewers/septic tanks, it is advised that States/Uts/ULBs [urban local bodies] should set up an ERSU, on the lines of the fire service station, in capital cities of each State/UT and in all major cities having a municipal corporation and/or water and sewerage board with population of more than one lakh.
• The district Magistrate or municipal commissioner would be designated as the Responsible Sanitation Authority, which would organise the staff for the ERSU, the letter said.
• Those trained, equipped and certified as sewer entry professionals would be the only ones allowed to enter sewers and septic tanks.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Assam flood: 2 rhinos drown in Kaziranga, human toll 19

News

• Four people lost their lives and two one-horned rhinos drowned in Kaziranga National Park (KNP) as Assamcontinued to reel under floods and rain-induced landslides. 

Beyond News

• The day also saw Union Jal Shakti Minister inspecting some of the worst-hit areas and the Centre releasing ₹251.52 crore as part-payment for relief and rescue operations in the State.
• Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) officials said this year’s floodhas spared only one of the State’s 33 districts, affecting 44.96 lakh people across 4,620 villages.
• More than 1.01 lakh people have taken refuge in 226 relief camps while 562 relief distribution centres have been established.
• More than 90% of KNP remained underwater, forcing animals to escape to the hills of Karbi Anglong district across the highway that runs along the southern edge of the park. 
• Smaller animals such as deer and wild boar usually suffer the most during floods, but two rhinos and an elephant drowned during the last 24 hours. Nine of the 30 animals that have died so far were hit by speeding vehicles while trying to cross the highway.
• Three other rhinos and four hog deer rescued from the flooded park are under treatment at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation at Kaziranga. A total of 30 animals were taken to the centre; 23 of them were released after treatment.
• Assam also continued to suffer from Acute Encephalitis Syndrome and Japanese Encephalitis. Health officials reported the death of 17 people due to these related diseases, taking the casualty count to 201 since January.

Defence Ministry suspends dealings with Swiss company

News

• The Defence Ministry has suspended business dealings with Pilatus of Switzerland for a year, over allegations of corruption in the supply of Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Beyond News

• Business dealings with the firm will remain suspended for a period of one year for violation of article 6.6 of the Pre Contract Integrity Pact (PCIP) and ongoing investigation by the CBI, Delhi Police, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax department into corrupt practices, unfair means and illegal activities by Pilatus Aircraft Limited.
• IAF operates 75 PC-7 MKII trainer aircraft procured under a $532 million deal with Pilatus in 2012.
• The Defence Ministry issued a show cause notice to the company in January 2017 following allegations of corruption, after which Pilatus admitted having engaged the services of Offsets India Solutions (OIS), owned by fugitive arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari, and paying it at least 1 million Swiss francs in 2010 in connection with the trainer deal.

Monitor biomedical waste management: NGT

News

• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed all States and Union Territories to furnish a report on the amount of biomedical waste generated and asked them to set up common treatment and disposal facilities, if not done yet.

Beyond News

• A Bench directed the District Magistrates across States to monitor compliance with the biomedical waste management rules twice a month.
• Stating that a District Environment Plan needs to be in place across the country, the green panel said the plan can be operated by district committees comprising representatives from the respective panchayats, local bodies, regional officers and State pollution control 
• It warned States that environmental compensation will be imposed if the orders are not complied with.
• It is made clear that, if even after two months the States and UTs are found to be non-compliant, the compensation will be liable to be recovered from the said States and UTs at the rate of ₹1 crore per month till the non-compliance continues, the Bench observed.

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