DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

23^rd February 2022

. No.	Topic Name	Prelims/Mains
1.	ABOUT THE PERMANENT INDUS COMMISSION	Prelims & Mains
2.	ABOUT THE CRZ NORMS	Prelims & Mains
3.	DETAILS OF THE KRISHNA WATER DISPUTE	Prelims & Mains
4.	ABOUT THE UGC’S ‘ACADEMIC BANK OF CREDIT’ SCHEME	Prelims & Mains
5.	ABOUT THE DODA BRAND PRODUCT	Prelims Specific Topic

 

1 – ABOUT THE PERMANENT INDUS COMMISSION: 

GS II

Topic – India & Its Neighbourhood

• Context:
• From March 1-3, a 10-member Indian delegation will visit Pakistan for the Permanent Indus Commission’s annual meeting.
• According to the Indus Water Treaty, a meeting must be held at least once a year, on March 31.
• Significance:
• Three female officers will be part of the Indian delegation, which will advise the Indian Commissioner on various subjects during the meeting, in a first since the two countries signed the Indus Water Treaty.
• Areas of focus:
• Pakistan’s objections to Indian hydroelectric projects in the Chenab basin in Jammu and Kashmir, including Pakal Dul (1,000 MW), Lower Kalnai (48 MW), and Kiru (624 MW), as well as a few other hydroelectric projects in Ladakh, are expected to be discussed.
• About the Indus Water Treaty:
• The Indus Water Treaty is a treaty that governs the flow of water in the Indus River
• It is a World Bank-brokered Water-Distribution Treaty signed in Karachi in 1960 between India (President Jawaharlal Nehru) and Pakistan (President Ayub Khan).
• What is the water share of the Indus between India and Pakistan:
• The Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960 between India and Pakistan, allocates to India all of the waters of the eastern rivers — the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi — totaling roughly 33 MAF (million acre-feet) yearly for unrestricted usage.
• The waters of the western rivers, such as the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab, amount to roughly 135 MAF each year, and are mostly used by Pakistan.
• Permanent Commission on the Indus:
• The Permanent Indus Panel is a bilateral commission made up of Indian and Pakistani officials tasked with implementing and managing the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty’s goals.
• According to the treaty, the Commission must meet at least once a year, alternately in India and Pakistan.
• The Commission’s responsibilities include:
• Any problem pertaining to river development should be investigated and reported to the two governments.
• to settle conflicts regarding water distribution
• to schedule technical visits to project locations and crucial river head work
• once every five years, to conduct a general inspection of the Rivers in order to ascertain the facts
• must take the necessary procedures to put the treaty’s terms into effect
• Source – The Hindu

2 – ABOUT THE CRZ NORMS:

GS III

Conservation and Pollution related issues:

• Context:
• Following an allegation of illegal construction and violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) guidelines, the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) concluded an inspection of Union Minister Narayan Rane’s residence in Juhu.
• What exactly is the problem:
• The bungalow of the Union Minister was built illegally within 50 meters of the sea, in contravention of the CRZ restrictions.
• What are the CRZ guidelines:
• The first Coastal Regulation Zone notification was issued in February 1991 under section 3 of India’s Environment Protection Act, 1986.
• In 2018-19, new Rules were released with the goal of removing certain development limitations, streamlining the permission procedure, and encouraging tourism in coastal areas.
• Objectives:
• They limit some types of operations within a specific distance from the coast, such as big constructions, the establishment of new businesses, the storage or dumping of hazardous materials, mining, reclamation, and bunding.
• What are the constraints:
• The restrictions are based on factors like the area’s population, ecological sensitivity, distance from the shore, and whether or not the area has been classified as a natural park or wildlife zone.
• All islands adjacent to the mainland coast, as well as all backwater islands on the mainland, are subject to a 20-meter no-development zone under the most recent Rules.
• Two distinct categories have been established for the so-called CRZ-III (Rural) areas.
• The no-development zone in densely populated rural areas (CRZ-IIIA), which have a population density of 2,161 per sq km according to the 2011 Census, is 50 meters from the high-tide level, rather than the 200 meters previously stipulated.
• A no-development zone extends up to 200 meters from the high-tide line in the CRZ-IIIB category (rural regions with population density below 2,161 per sq km).
• Implementation:
• While the Union Environment Ministry creates the CRZ Rules, state governments must ensure that they are implemented through their Coastal Zone Management Authorities.

• Source – The Hindu

3 – DETAILS OF THE KRISHNA WATER DISPUTE:

GS II

Government Policies and Interventions for the development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation:

• Context:
• The Karnataka government has petitioned the Supreme Court to form a bench to hear a case over the allotment of water from the Krishna River, which flows through Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
• Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has inquired as to whether the parties may resolve their differences through mediation.
• What exactly is the problem:
• On January 10, a bench consisting of Maharashtra’s Justice D Y Chandrachud and Karnataka’s Justice A S Bopanna recused themselves from the case stemming from the water tribunal’s judgment, stating, “We do not want to be the focus of invectives.”
• The judges, who recused themselves, were irritated by the tone and content of the emails and letters directed at them for serving on the bench to resolve the water dispute.
• In the courtroom, there is a disagreement on:
• Karnataka had asked the Supreme Court to vacate an order from November 16, 2011, prohibiting the Centre from publishing in the Official Gazette (under Section 6(1) of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act of 1956) the final order of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal II (KWDT) issued in December 2010, allocating river water to Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
• The publication of the tribunal order is a need before it may be carried out.
• Order has been changed:
• The second KWDT was established in 2004 when fresh complaints between the states surfaced.
• It issued a report in 2010 that made the following allocations of Krishna water with a 65 percent reliability and for surplus flows:
• Maharashtra has 81 TMC, Karnataka has 177 TMC, while Andhra Pradesh has 190 TMC.
• On November 29, 2013, the KWDT amended its final order and report to distribute surplus water to Karnataka, Maharashtra, and the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh while preserving the 2,130 TMC originally allocated to them.

• Source – The Hindu

4 – ABOUT THE UGC’S ‘ACADEMIC BANK OF CREDIT’ SCHEME:

GS II

Statutory and Non-Statutory Bodies:

• Context:
• This academic year, the Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) is expected to be deployed.
• However, this plan has numerous advantages and disadvantages, and there are still concerns that must be addressed before it can be adopted.
• Concerns and obstacles that come with it:
• ABC will have an impact on organized, systematic learning: Students may find it difficult to transfer from one university to another.
• In terms of the name and quality of education delivered, the university or college where a student studies makes a difference.
• Impact on institutions in remote locations: Only institutions that have been assessed by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) are eligible to join the Academic Bank of Credit. It may further marginalize institutions that are already marginalized.
• In reorganizing their policies to facilitate ABC, different states governed by different political parties may have competing objectives.
• Providing additional seats to ABC students in premier institutes with strong demand will result in increased expenditures for the universities.
• What exactly is the ABC (Academic Bank of Credit):
• The Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) was announced in July 2021, as part of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
• The University Grants Commission established it (UGC).
• Students will have several access and exit possibilities under the ABC.
• This allows students to leave a degree or course and obtain a certificate, then return to school after a set period of time and resume their studies from where they left off.
• It will also allow students to transfer between institutes while pursuing a single degree or drop out of a programme.
• Benefits:
• ABC will assist students with credit verification, credit accumulation, credit transfer and redemption, and student promotion.

• Source – The Press Information Bureau

5 – ABOUT THE DODA BRAND PRODUCT:

Prelims Specific Topic:

• Doda has designated lavender as a Doda brand product.
• Doda is a town and notified area committee in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district.
• Lavender can be promoted under the ‘One District, One Product’ initiative of the Government of India to attract Agri-StartUps, entrepreneurs, and farmers. Doda is the birthplace of India’s Purple Revolution (Aroma Mission), and lavender can be promoted under the ‘One District, One Product’ initiative of the Government of India to attract Agri-StarUps, entrepreneurs, and farmers.

• Source – The Press Information Bureau