Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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23 foreigners staying illegally in Hyderabad identified

News

• In an operation taken up to check for foreigners overstaying or staying without valid documents in Hyderabad, 23 people were identified for not having some documents, staying illegally, and other violations.

Beyond News

• The joint operation was taken up by different units of Hyderabad police and Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in different parts of the city.
• Among the 23 identified, some of them including children, were from Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
• Visa, passport and other relevant documents of foreigners were checked during this operation which was conducted. A total of around 74 people were questioned.
• They can leave after producing papers and taking exit visa, failing which they will be detained and deported.
• The joint verification process was conducted by around 21 teams from Hyderabad police, Special Branch, Task Force and FRRO. Intelligence department officials also participated. This exercise was taken up a week after the police collected biometrics from around 65 foreigners as part of a drive to check for those overstaying.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Aadhaar can take you places, but not to Nepal

News

• Following a complaint seeking compensation from an airline for refusing to accept Aadhaar card as a valid document for travel to Nepal, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission held that Aadhaar cannot be construed as “any other ID issued by the Government of India” for travel to the country.

Beyond News

• The observations came after contentions put forth by the complainant that the Aadhaar card falls within the category of “any other” ID issued by the government that is required for identification purposes at the time of issuance of boarding passes.
• This argument is erroneous. As Aadhaar number is a 12-digit random number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India to the residents of India after satisfying the verification process laid down by the Authority and [it] can in no manner be construed to be ‘any other ID issued by the Government of India’ in the specific context of it being an acceptable travel document to travel to Nepal, the Bench held.
• Taking note of the fact that the Bureau of Immigration “specifically proscribes” the use of Aadhaar as a valid travel document to Nepal and Bhutan, the NCDRC dismissed the complaint while imposing cost on the complainant for moving a “frivolous” complaint.

Rajya Sabha passes resolution to set up Farmers’ Commission

News

• Rajya Sabha members supports a resolution that seeks to set up a National Farmers’ Commission with constitutional status, to deal with farmers’ issues.

Beyond News

• The resolution has been moved,seeks hike in funds provided to the farmers as Kisan Samman Nidhi from ₹6,000 to ₹10,000 per year and Bharat Ratna for farmers for their contribution to the society.
• India is primarily an agrarian based economy with more than 55% population engaged in farming. Besides there are 15 per cent people who are engaged in allied sectors. Thus there are 70% population dependent on farm sector.

Pakistan grants consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav

News

• Islamabad declared that Kulbhushan Jadhav will be granted the right to get in touch with diplomats and officials from India.

Beyond News

• India emphatically said that Pakistan should obeythe ICJ verdict. Pakistan can immediately grant consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav acting upon the multiple pending requests on the matter from India.
• The ICJ had pointed out in the verdictthat Pakistan violated the Vienna Convention by not granting consular access to the former Indian navy official who was given a death sentence by a Pakistani military court in 2017.
• India made several submissions to Pakistan for allowing Indian officials to visit Jadhav in custody but they did not get any positive response from Islamabad.
• The ICJ, in its 42-page verdict, instructed Pakistan not to carry out the death sentence awarded to Jadhav and urged Islamabad to review and reconsider the sentence.
• Islamic Republic of Pakistan deprived the Republic of India of the right to communicate with and have access to Mr. Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav, to visit him in detention and to arrange for his legal representation, and thereby breached the obligations incumbent upon it under Article 36, paragraph 1 (a) and (c), of the Vienna Convention, said the ICJ.
• Pakistan has maintained that Jadhav did not carry his authentic Indian passport while entering its territory and alleged that he carried a fake travel document that depicted his name as ‘Hussain Mubarak Patel’ and that he was responsible for acts of sabotage inside Pakistan.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Sharp decline in vulture population, from 40 million to 19,000

News

• There has been a sharp decline in the population of vultures in the country which has come down from 40 million to 19,000 in a span of over three decades, the Environment Ministry told the Parliament.

Beyond News

• There are three species of critically endangered resident Gyps vultures white-backed vulture, long-billed vulture and slender-billed vulture whose population as per the latest figures is 6,000, 12,000 and 1,000, respectively.
• There has been a sharp decline in the vulture population. The crash in population was first noticed in the mid-90s and by 2007, there was a 99% decline in the population of the three resident Gyps species of vultures.
• Nationwide vulture surveys are being carried out by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) every four years sponsored by the Ministry of Environment and Forest Departments of various States since 1990.
• The surveys are carried out mainly for the three species of critically endangered resident Gyps vultures. These three species were very common in the country with an estimated population of 40 million in early eighties. Based on the latest survey carried out in 2015 and the results published in 2017, there were about 6,000 White-backed vultures, 12,000 Long-billed vultures and 1,000 Slender-billed vultures.
• The major cause of mortality of vultures was found to be the veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ‘Diclofenac’, given to cattle in pain and inflammation.
• Diclofenac was found to be extremely toxic to vultures and causes renal failure. The Government of India banned the veterinary use of the drug in 2006 which was gazetted in 2008, but the misuse of multi-dose vials of human formulation of the drug in treating cattle was still causing mortality in vultures.
• According to the figures, between 2016 and 2019, the government released a total of ₹12.53 crore for vulture conservation to five States – Punjab, Haryana, Kerala, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
• The maximum amount of ₹580 lakh was given to Uttarakhand, the Ministry told the House.
• The Ministry has sanctioned a project to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Uttar Pradesh titled ‘Assessing the Safety to Vulture (Gyps) of Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) in Veterinary Use in India’
• The total project cost is ₹2.71 crore for a period of three years. The project is being implemented by IVRI in collaboration with BNHS. An amount of ₹30 lakh has been released to IVRI as part of the instalment during 2018-19.
• It said that for protection and conservation of vultures in the country, the government has also upgraded the status of White-backed, Long-billed and Slender-billed vultures from Schedule IV to Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
• To conserve the remnant population of vultures and facilitate their reintroduction into the wild from breeding centres, attempts are being made to create Vulture Safe Zones in the areas where there are vulture populations.
• There are eight identified vulture safe zones in India which include Pinjore in Haryana, Rajabhatkhawa in West Bengal, around Majuli Island in Assam, Bukswaha in Bundelkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Dudhwa National Park and Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh, Hazaribagh in Jharkhand, Central Gujarat and Saurashtra in Gujarat.
• The Ministry said it has also taken initiatives to strengthen mass education and awareness for vulture conservation in the country.

World Bank backs out of Amaravati project

News

• The Andhra Pradeshgovernment suffered a major setback in the development of Amaravati with the World Bank (WB) purportedly backing out of Amaravati Sustainable Infrastructure and Institutional Development Project (ASIIDP) to which it had committed to lend $300 million, a few days before the bank’s inspection panel is scheduled to submit its report.

Beyond News

• The total project cost is $715 million. The project status is shown as “dropped” on the bank’s website.
• The withdrawal of its commitment by the World Bank to ASIIDP came at a time when an expert committee formed by the government is in the process of reviewing major projects, including those awarded in the capital city.
• The scope of study by the State committee covers all estimates, contracts awarded and projects/works at various stages, including those of the CRDA. The committee has been mandated to recommend a mechanism for reverse tendering, wherever possible.
• The ASIIDP project is intended to provide select urban infrastructure in designated locations in Amaravati for supporting initial development of its institutional and governance structure.
• The project components are integrated urban infrastructure and services, climate resilience infrastructure, citizen benefit sharing, institutional and fiscal development and project management and implementation support.
• Complaints by farmers against the irregularities in ‘land pooling’ which the TDP government claimed to be one of the few such models in vogue, at public hearings conducted by WB team in 2016-17 apparently threw a spanner in the project.

Singur reservoir level falls to a new low

News

• Cracks have developed on the upper layer of the Singur reservoir with no inflow and moisture in the atmosphere resulting in its near drying up.
• The water level was 0.353 tmcft against the total capacity of 29.19 tmcft. This day, last year, the storage level was 8.12 tmcft. The reservoir gets filled only if there are sufficient rains in the catchment area, mostly spread across Telangana.

Beyond News

• Karnataka is also experiencing low rain fall thereby adversely impacting flows into Singur.
• The erstwhile Medak district was once famously referred to as Metuku Seema(grain land) reflecting the bountiful harvests. Today, it’s a different picture. Moreover, Singur reservoir used to cater to the drinking water needs of a major part of the district in addition keeping the ground water levels intact even during summer months.
• The near dry state of the reservoir is because the district has registered below normal rain in June and July. While six mandals have registered scanty rains, the remaining 20 registered deficit rainfall.
• While the normal rain fall should be 252.4 mm, actual rainfall registered was only 124.4 mm between June 1 and June 18, according to district officials. Out of the 48 days, there were rains only for 12 days indicating the stress being faced by the district.

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