Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

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Kerala scraps plantation tax

News:

• Kerala Chief Minister told the State Assembly that the government has decided to scrap plantation tax in view of the crisis in the plantation sector.

Beyond News:

• Kerala is the only State in the country that still persists with the Plantation Tax.
• The decision to give up the tax was taken based on the recommendations of a committee of secretaries and the Justice Krishnan Nair Commission appointed by the last government to study and report on the crisis in the plantation sector.
• The Chief Minister said the government has also decided to freeze collection of Agricultural Income Tax (AIT) from the plantation sector.
• The lines (row homes) in which plantation workers are housed would be exempted from building tax. Instructions have been issued to the local government institutions concerned on this.
• The seigniorage (fees) being levied on felled rubber trees would also go.

Trump backs down, signs order to end family separations at U.S. border

News:

• S. President Donald Trump backed down on an immigration policy that sparked outrageat home and abroad, signing an executive order to end the separation of children from their parents when immigrant families are caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

Beyond News

• The order requires that immigrant families be detained together when they are caught entering the country illegally, although it was not immediately clear for how long.
• It also moves parents with children to the front of the line for immigration proceedings. The order does not end a “zero tolerance” policy that calls for criminal prosecution of immigrants crossing the border illegally.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

India’s first river interlinking project caught in U.P.-M.P. tussle

News

• Disagreements over water-sharing and difficulty in acquiring non-forest land impede the ₹18,000-crore Ken Betwa river interlink project.

Beyond News

• The project, which involves deforesting a portion of the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, was accorded clearance by the National Wildlife Board on the condition that the land lost would be made good by acquiring contiguous, revenue land. This is to ensure that wildlife corridors in the region aren’t hit.
• Another hurdle is a dispute over how Uttar Pradeshand Madhya Pradesh the two beneficiaries will share water in the Rabi season.
• These “major” issues made it quite unlikely that the project will get under way this year.
• Conceived as a two-part project, this is India’s first river interlinking project. It is perceived as a model plan for similar interstate river transfer missions.
• Phase 1 involves building a 77 m-tall and a 2 km-wide dam, the Dhaudhan dam, and a 230 km canal to transfer extra water from the Ken river for irrigating 3.64 lakh hectares in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
• Originally, this phase envisaged irrigating 6,35,661 ha annually (3,69,881 ha in M.P. and 2,65,780 ha in U.P.). In addition, the project was to provide 49 million cubic metres (MCM) of water for en route drinking water supply.

World’s first manta ray nursery found

News

• Scientists have discovered the world’s first known natural manta ray nursery, which could allow them to observe the juvenile marine creatures in their habitat and learn more about them.

Beyond News

• Located in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Texas at U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, the juvenile manta ray habitat is the first-of-its-kind to be described in a scientific study.
• The juvenile life stage for oceanic mantas has been a bit of a black box for us, since scientists are so rarely able to observe them.
• Identifying this area as a nursery highlights its importance for conservation and management, but it also gives us the opportunity to focus on the juveniles and learn about them.
• This discovery is a major advancement in our understanding of the species.

South Central Railway introduces ‘Train Captain’ service in Venkatadri Express

News

• Venkatadri Express which started from Kacheguda towards Chittoor became the first train across South Central Railway (SCR) to have a ‘Train Captain’.

Beyond News

• The next ‘captain’ in the zone to coordinate on board services will be on Telangana Express starting from Hyderabad to New Delhi.
• At least one train in each of the six divisions of the zone will be having the new concept of a ‘Train Captain’ who will be overall in charge of the train as decided by the Railway Board recently.
• It is a step towards enhanced customer connect.
• The ‘Captain’ will be sporting a badge and his name and mobile number will be made available for the passengers so that he can be directly contacted for any train related issue like a deficiency of service or any complaint during the course of the journey.
• The captaincy is being handed over to the senior-most among the travelling ticket examiner (TTE) in the train from the starting point.
• The ‘Captain’ is expected to supervise the work of all these personnel and the staff members of various wings have been instructed to follow his orders during the course of journey to attend to complaints from the passengers.

Rajasthan, Haryana get notice over deforestation in Aravallis

News

• The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued notices to the Centre and the State governments of Rajasthan and Haryana over deforestation in the Aravallis, which has “led to air pollution in the Capital”.

Beyond News

• The NHRC has observed that the gravity of the issue demands proactive and effective measures by the authorities to stop deforestation and degradation of the Aravallis.
• Issuing notices to the chief secretaries of the State governments and to the Union Ministry of Environment, the NHRC sought information on the steps that are being taken by authorities on the issue. The authorities have been asked to respond within six weeks.
• The statement noted that the Aravallis act as a green cover to check the extent of the desert from western Rajasthan to eastern parts.
• It said that experts have opined that if the degradation of the Aravallis continues then it may cause advancement in desertification and increased intensity of dust storms, which will affect the health of the people due to air pollution.

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