DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

02^nd January 2022

No.	Topic Name	Prelims/Mains
1.	About the Draft National Air Sports Policy	Prelims & Mains
2.	About the Census of India	Prelims & Mains
3.	About the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen)
4.	Details of the EWS Quota	Prelims & Mains
5.	About the Raspberry Pi	Prelims & Mains

1 – ABOUT THE DRAFT NATIONAL AIR SPORTS POLICY:

GS II

Topic – Government Policies & Interventions

• Context:
• Given India’s enormous geographical breadth, diverse topography, and favorable meteorological conditions, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has produced a draft National Air Sports Policy (NASP) to maximize the country’s potential for air sports.
• About the Draft National Air Sports Policy:
• Aerobatics, aeromodelling, ballooning, drones, gliding, hang gliding, paragliding, and skydiving are all included in the draft NASP 2022.
• According to the draft NASP, an Air Sports Federation of India (ASFI) will be constituted as the apex regulating body.
• The day-to-day operations will be handled by the associations for each air sport.
• The Paragliding Association of India, for example, will oversee sports under its jurisdiction.
• According to the proposed policy, air sports associations are responsible to ASFI for regulatory monitoring as well as guaranteeing safe, affordable, accessible, pleasurable, and sustainable conduct of their respective air sport.
• According to ASFI, India would be represented at the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) and other international venues connected to air sports.
• The FAI is the world’s regulating body for air sports, with headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.
• According to the proposed NASP, all competitions in India will be run according to the FAI’s criteria.
• Significance:
• The new effort, according to the ministry, will let Indians participate in and succeed in global air sporting competitions. Air sports will be encouraged to be included in the curriculum of schools, colleges, and universities.
• According to the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, domestic design, development, and manufacturing of air sports equipment will be encouraged.
• If an air sports association fails to enforce safety requirements, the ASFI may take disciplinary action against it, including financial penalties, suspension, or dismissal.
• Source – The Hindu – 02/01/22 – Page Number 9

2 – ABOUT THE CENSUS OF INDIA:

GS I

Topic – Population related issues

• Census:
• The census provides data on the country’s population’s size, distribution, socioeconomic, demographic, and other characteristics.
• In 1872, the Census was first conducted by British Viceroy Lord Mayo. It aided in the formulation of new policies and government programs aimed at improving the community’s shortcomings.
• In 1881, India undertook its first synchronized census. Since then, censuses have been conducted every ten years without fail.
• Who is in charge of census:
• The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, is in charge of conducting the decennial Census.
• Following information is collected in the census:
• Demographic status
• Literacy and educational details
• Household Amenities & Housing details
• Fertility, Mortality, and Urbanization details
• Language details
• Importance in History:
• The ‘Rig-Veda’ suggests that a population count was kept in India during 800-600 BC.
• The gathering of demographic data was prescribed in Arthashastr by ‘Kautilya’ in the 3rd Century BC as a gauge of state policy for taxes.
• The administrative report ‘Ain-e-Akbari’ offered extensive statistics on population, industry, wealth, and many other qualities during the reign of Mughal monarch Akbar.
• Source – The Hindu – 02/01/22 – Page Number 1

3 – ABOUT THE SWACHH BHARAT MISSION (GRAMEEN):

GS II

Topic – Government Policies & Interventions

• Background:
• The second phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural) was authorized by the Centre last year, with a federal and state budget of Rs 52,497 crore.
• Important details:
• Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the second phase will be deployed in mission mode.
• The second phase will concentrate on ODF Plus (Open Defecation Free Plus), which incorporates ODF sustainability as well as solid and liquid waste management (SLWM).
• The ODF Plus initiative will complement the recently created Jal Jeevan Mission and will intersect with MGNREGA, particularly for grey water management.
• The software will also make sure that no one is left behind and that everyone uses the restroom.
• For all components, the money sharing pattern between the Centre and States will be 90:10 for North-Eastern States and Himalayan States, as well as the UT of J&K; 60:40 for other States; and 100:0 for other Union Territories.
• SBM Grameen’s Background:
• On the 2nd of October, 2014, the initiative was launched to help speed efforts to attain universal sanitation coverage and to focus on sanitation.
• Objectives:
• It aims to enhance sanitation in rural regions by implementing Solid and Liquid Waste Management activities and making Gram Panchayats ODF (Open Defecation Free), clean, and sanitized.
• The mission’s performance and importance:
• The rural sanitation initiative began on October 2, 2014, when the country’s sanitation coverage was reported to be 38.7%.
• Since the mission’s inception, more than 10 crore individual toilets have been built, resulting in rural areas in all states declaring themselves ODF as of October 2, 2019.
• The goal is to make India clean and defecation-free (ODF).
• The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation is in charge of implementing the plan.
• Source – The Hindu – 02/01/22 – Page Number 5

4 – DETAILS OF THE EWS QUOTA:

GS II

Topic – Constitutional Amendments 

• The 103rd Constitutional Amendment extended the 10% reservation in direct government recruitment and admission to higher educational institutions to “economically inferior” parts of all castes and communities, including Christians and Muslims, who were previously ineligible under existing quotas.
• Economically Weaker Section (EWS) is defined in the proposed amendment bill as a person who:
• A household’s annual income is less than Rs 8 lakh.
• Land for agriculture that is less than 5 acres.
• A house with a floor area of less than 1000 square feet is considered a residential property.
• In a notified municipality, a residential plot of less than 100 yards is permitted.
• In an area where the municipality has not been notified, a residential plot of less than 200 yards is permitted.
• What would be required for the quota to be implemented:
• Articles 15 (prohibition of discrimination on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth) and 16 (equality of opportunity in public employment) of the Constitution will need to be amended.
• The amendment must be ratified by at least two-thirds of members present and voting in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, as well as by the legislatures of at least half of the states.
• Implications:
• The 10% allocation would be added to the existing reservation cap of 50% for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes, bringing the total reservation to 60%.
• The quota is aimed at the lower castes’ poor.
• This is in addition to the Constitution’s obligation of 50%, necessitating the necessity for a Constitutional Amendment Bill
• Indira Sawhney’s case before the Supreme Court:
• In the Indira Sawhney case of 1992, a nine-judge Supreme Court Constitution Bench particularly examined the question of “whether backward classes can be recognized entirely and exclusively with reference to the economic criterion.”
• In its ruling, the court proclaimed a 50% quota to be the rule unless unusual circumstances “inherent in the great diversity of this country and its people” occur.
• Even at that time, the court said that considerable caution should be used and that a unique case should be made.
• Source – The Hindu – 02/01/22 – Page Number 1

5 – ABOUT THE RASPBERRY PI:

Prelims Specific Topic

• The Raspberry Pi is a small, low-cost computer which is of the size of a credit card that connects to a computer monitor or television and utilizes a conventional keyboard and mouse.
• It’s a capable small device that allows individuals of all ages to learn about computers and programming languages like Scratch and Python.
• It can do everything a desktop computer does, including accessing the internet and watching high-definition video, as well as spreadsheets, word processing, and gaming.
• The Raspberry Pi can communicate with the outside world and has been used in a variety of digital maker projects, including music machines and parent detectors, as well as weather stations and tweeting birdhouses with infrared cameras.

• Source – The Hindu – 02/01/22 – Page Number 16