Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

Editorials are covered separately. HINDU NOTES are available free date wise| CLICK HERE

Taj Mahal turning brown and green, says worried Supreme Court.

News:

• The Taj Mahal was yellow and now turning brown and green, a Supreme Court Bench of Justices found from photographs handed over to them by noted environmental lawyer M.C. Mehta in open court.

Beyond News:

• Mehta said that,the upkeep of the UNESCO World Heritage site was in a shambles. River Yamuna, which used to flow nearby, has dried up. Encroachments and industries have cropped up in the neighbourhood of the white marble mausoleum. CCTVs hardly work. The government merely views the Taj as a money-making venture.
• Looking at the photographs repeatedly, Justice wondered whether the Taj Mahal in its present discoloured form would end being the “eighth wonder of the world.” Justice asked the government whether it has or not the expertise to conserve the 17th century monument.
• It urged the government to get help from international conservation experts, if required, to restore the monument to its pristine glory.
• The court observed that foreign dignitaries are still given a tour of the Taj Mahal. This would surely mean that the government is interested in its preservation.
• Additional Solicitor General submitted that the maintenance is done by the Archaeological Survey of India. He said there were also expert bodies like the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), which has worked to preserve an ancient fort in Goa.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Supreme Court wants trials in child sexual abuse cases to be fast-tracked

News:

• Shocked by the high rate of pendency of child sexual assault cases, the Supreme Court directed High Courts to set up panels of its judges to regulate and monitor trials under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Beyond News:

• The Supreme Court, which had ordered a review of the backlog under POCSO, found that States such as Uttar Pradesh have over 30,000 cases pending despite the child protection law coming into existence as early as 2012.
• Many States have not yet even set up Special Courts to try POCSO cases as mandated by the law.
• In February, a three-judge Bench found the implementation of POCSO in a shambles and decided to review the issue. The Bench was hearing the case of rape of an eight-month-old child in the National Capital.
• Additional Solicitor General submitted that it warrants investigation to be completed in two months and courts to dispose of appeals in six months, ensuring speedy justice to victims. But the court said the POCSO statistics showed that children and victims in many States were still waiting in the corridors of courts for justice.
• The Bench, issued a series of directions which supplement the ordinance. These include: the State police chiefs should constitute special task forces to investigate cases, High Courts should ensure that they are tried and disposed of by the designated Special Courts under the Act; POCSO judges will give no adjournments and make every effort to fast-track trial, witnesses should be produced in court on the day of the hearing and high courts should make every effort to provide a child-friendly atmosphere in tune with the spirit of the Act.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Telecom Commission approves proposal by TRAI

News:

• Flyers on board an aircraft will be able to make calls and remain connected to the Internet while travelling through the Indian airspace in the next three to four months.

Beyond News:

• The Telecom Commission, which is the highest decision-making body in the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), gave its nod to a proposal by regulator TRAI.
• This will also be applicable to communication on ships.
• It was decided to accept the TRAI’s views except that the satellites used for providing services should be the Department of Space-approved satellites and the gateway should be in India.
• The government will not intervene with the pricing mechanisms used by the operators. Globally, the Internet services on board aircraft are available for a premium.
• The regulator had suggested that mobile communication on aircraft (MCA) systems be operated once the plane reached an altitude of 3,000 metres to avoid causing harmful interference to ground-based mobile networks.
• However, the flyer will be able to access Internet through onboard Wi-Fi when electronic devices are permitted to be used only in flight/airplane mode.

14 out of world’s 20 most polluted cities in India: WHO

News

• Delhi and Varanasi are among the 14 Indian cities that figured in a list of 20 most polluted cities in the world in terms of PM2.5 levels in 2016, data released by the WHO showed.

Beyond News

• The WHO data also said that nine out of 10 people in the world breathe air containing high levels of pollutants.
• Other Indian cities that registered very high levels of PM2.5 pollutants were Kanpur, Faridabad, Gaya, Patna, Agra, Muzaffarpur, Srinagar, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Patiala and Jodhpur followed by Ali Subah Al-Salem in Kuwait and a few cities in China and Mongolia.
• In terms of PM10 levels, 13 cities in India figured among the 20 most-polluted cities of the world in 2016.
• The World Health Organisation has called upon member-countries in its Southeast Asia region to aggressively address the double burden of household and ambient (outdoor) air pollution, saying the region, which comprises India, accounts for 34% or 2.4 million of the seven million premature deaths caused by household and ambient air pollution together globally every year.
• Of the 3.8 million deaths caused by household air pollution globally, the region accounts for 1.5 million or 40% deaths, and of the 4.2 million global deaths due to ambient air pollution, 1.3 million or 30% are reported from the region, it said.
• The PM2.5 includes pollutants like sulfate, nitrate and black carbon, which pose the greatest risk to human health.
• According to the report, more than 90% of air pollution-related deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (including India), mainly in Asia and Africa, followed by low- and middle-income countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region, Europe and the Americas.
• It said the WHO recognises air pollution is a critical risk factor for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), causing an estimated 24% of all adult deaths from heart disease, 25% from stroke, 43% from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 29% from lung cancer.

Major sources of air pollution from particulate matter include inefficient use of energy by households, industry, agriculture and transport sectors, and coal-fired power plants. In some regions, sand and desert dust, waste burning and deforestation are additional sources of air pollution.

CLICK HERE TO SEE DATE WISE CURRENT AFFAIRS.