TOPIC: GS 3 Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.
Scrapping policy
What is the news?
Much awaited vehicle scrapping policy announced by transport ministry , coming after the move for green tax on ageing and polluting automobiles , promises benefitted , a cleaner environment and thousands of jobs .
According to Ministry data, India has 51 lakh Light Motor Vehicles that are more than 20 years old and 34 lakh over 15 years old. Around 17 lakh Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicles are older than 15 years without valid fitness certificates, according to the data.
Provisions
- Vehicles belonging to the government and public sector to be scrapped by April 1 2022, another year thereafter to identify junk heavy commercial vehicles through mandatory fitness checks , and finally other vehicles by 2024
- It is constructive road map , to put in place a credible system of automated fitness checking centres with the help from states to assess whether commercial and private vehicles are road worthy after 15 to 20 years respectively as policy envisages
- Enforcement will be the key to get them scrapped once they are found to be unfit for use and to stop them from moving to small towns
- The fitness centres will have tracks and equipment suitable to test the various fitness criteria like emission norms, braking and other parameters, without resorting to any human intervention
- The Centre is promoting a model Inspection and Certification centre worth Rs 17 Crore in all states. It has sanctioned 26 such model centres
- MMRPL, a joint venture between Mahindra and state-owned MSTC Limited is one of the first auto scrapping centres in India, operating out of Greater Noida.
- Known as Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility (RVSF), the facilities under the new policy are to be set up by any legal entity, as long as they follow the relevant health, safety and labour laws, and applicable environmental laws.
Challenges
- Heavy commercial vehicles , which contribute disproportionately to pollution -1.7 million lack the fitness certificates that pose the biggest challenges
- Many of these replaces replaced quickly in the absence financial arrangements for small operators who have opposed the new measures
- India’s automobile ecosystem is complex , with dominant , legacy motors spanning fossil fuel driven vehicles and nascent EV segments .
- Failure to prioritize fuel efficiency and mandate even higher standards and enhance taxes on fuel guzzlers will only repeat the mistakes of vehicle exchange programmes abroad where full environmental benefits could not be realized
Way forward
Vehicle scrapping and replacement is seen internationally as route to rejuvenate COVID -19 affected economies by privileging green technologies , notably electric vehicles ( EV) and also an initiative to achieve net zero emission by mid-century under Paris agreement commitments
Mains question
Scrapping policy can work if incentives are confines to fuel- efficient vehicle replacements. Discuss
Source
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/india-vehicle-scrapping-policy-nitin-gadkari-7233975/
TOPIC : GS 3 Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development and Employment
How to treat unpaid work ?
What is the news?
Women everywhere carry a disproportionately higher burden of unpaid work , namely , unpaid domestic services as well unpaid care of children and disables for their respective households level and collectively at national level
- This work is repetitive , boring and frequently drudgery – 24 hours job without remuneration , promotions or retirement benefits
- It restricts opportunities for women in the economy and in life
- It is imposed on them by patriarchal norms , which are the roots of all pervasive gender inequalities
- There is unequal distribution of unpaid work between women and men is unfair and unjust band it deprives women of equal opportunities as men
What government can do?
- It can recognize this unpaid work in national database by sound time –use survey and use the data in national policies
- They could relieve women’s burden of unpaid work by improving technology with better fuel for cooking and better infrastructure water at door step , shifting some unpaid work to mainstream economy with child care , care of disabled and care of chronically sick
- Making basic services with health and transportation accessible to women , also redistribute the work between men and women by providing different incentives to men and women by providing different disincentives to men( mandatory training of men and in household , childcare etc)
- These measures will give free time to women and open up new opportunities to them.
Unpaid work and economy
- Inclusion of household produced goods and services for GDP measure , it is final value of goods and services produced In the country
- At macro level, unpaid work subsidizes the private sector by providing it a generation of workers and take care of wear and tear of labour who are family members
- Unpaid work also subsidies the government by taking care of old , sick and the disabled
- Unpaid work is a privately produced public good which is critical for sustenance of mainstream economy
- Need for integration with mainstream economy and policies then to improve productivity of unpaid workers , reduce the burden and tap their potential in development as the household could be also be the important economic sector
Way forward
It is not surprising that many economist call economics “ a wrongly conceived discipline”that is narrow ,partial and curtail . There is urgent need to expand the purview of economics not only for gender justice but mainly for moving towards realistic economy
Mains question
There is a need to treat unpaid work. Analyze
Source :https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/how-to-treat-unpaid-work/article34125020.ece
TOPIC: GS 2 Appointment to various Constitutional Posts, Powers, Functions and Responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.
Navigating the storm
15th Finance commission
Recommendations accepted by Centre
- Giving States a 41% share of the divisible pool of taxes and revenue deficit grants of nearly 2.95-lakh Crore for 17 States over the next five years.
- To make grants towards urban and rural local bodies conditional upon States setting up their own finance commissions and publishing online the accounts of local bodies.
- 60% of these grants will be further linked to these bodies’ providing sanitation and water services.
- There is an ‘in-principle’ nod to the panel’s suggestion to set up a non-lapsable dedicated fund to support defence and internal security modernisation — a response to the Centre’s belated request to examine if such a fund can be considered for funding defence capex beyond normal Budget allocations
- It is up to the Centre now to ensure that States do not feel short-changed from the new fiscal States would monitor how the modalities here evolve, even as they have reason to fret about the Centre’s non-committal response to the Commission’s recommendations of sector-specific and other grants for them adding up to about 1.8-lakh Crore framework, given their frayed ties over GST compensation dues.
Mains question
Explain the functions of Finance commission? List out the recommendation of 15thfinance commission
Source : https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1693868
PRELIMS PUNCHERS
- IAEA
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organisation on 29 July 1957. Though established independently of the United Nations through its own international treaty, the IAEA Statute, the IAEA reports to both the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council.
The IAEA’s mission is guided by the interests and needs of Member States, strategic plans and the vision embodied in the IAEA Statute . Three main pillars – or areas of work – underpin the IAEA’s mission: Safety and Security; Science and Technology; and Safeguards and Verification.
Source : https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/iran-deal-could-be-rescued-by-the-iaea/article34125712.ece
- Mudumalai Tiger Reserve
The Mudumalai National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary also a declared tiger reserve, lies on the northwestern side of the Nilgiri Hills (Blue Mountains), in Nilgiri District, about 150 kilometres north-west of Coimbatore city in Tamil Nadu, India. It shares its boundaries with the states of Karnataka and Kerala. The sanctuary is divided into five ranges – Masinagudi, Thepakadu, Mudumalai, Kargudi and Nellakota.
The protected area is home to several endangered and vulnerable species including Indian elephant, Bengal tiger, gaur and Indian leopard. There are at least 266 species of birds in the sanctuary, including critically endangered Indian white-rumped vulture and long-billed vulture.
The Western Ghats Nilgiris Sub-Cluster of 6,000 square kilometres, including all of Mudumalai National Park, is under consideration by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for selection as a World Heritage Site.
- Philippines
It is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Situated in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of about 7,641 islands that are broadly categorized under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both within the urban area of Metro Manila. Bounded by the South China Sea to the west, the Philippine Sea to the east, and the Celebes Sea to the southwest, the Philippines shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, Japan to the northeast, Palau to the east, Indonesia to the south, Malaysia and Brunei to the southwest, Vietnam to the west, and China to the northwest.
The Philippines’ position as an island country on the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator makes the country prone to earthquakes and typhoons. The country has a variety of natural resources and a globally significant level of biodiversity
- Campbell Bay National park
Campbell Bay National Park is a national park in India, located on the island of Great Nicobar, the largest of the Nicobar Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean some 190 km to the north of Sumatra. It was gazette as a national park of India in 1992, and forms part of the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve. The park has an approximate area of some 426 km², and is separated from the smaller Galathea National Park by a 12-km wide forest buffer zone.
Prelims questions
Qn 1.Consider the following statement with regard to Philippine
- It is an archipelagic country in South west Asia.
- It borders with Taiwan , China , Myanmar, Malaysia and Brunei
Select the correct statement using code given below.
(a). 1only (b) 2 only
(c). Both (d). None of the above
Answer : D
It is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Situated in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of about 7,641 islands that are broadly categorized under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both within the urban area of Metro Manila. Bounded by the South China Sea to the west, the Philippine Sea to the east, and the Celebes Sea to the southwest, the Philippines shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, Japan to the northeast, Palau to the east, Indonesia to the south, Malaysia and Brunei to the southwest, Vietnam to the west, and China to the northwest.
The Philippines’ position as an island country on the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator makes the country prone to earthquakes and typhoons. The country has a variety of natural resources and a globally significant level of biodiversity
Qn 2.Campbell national park situated in
- Andaman island
- Great Nicobar island
- Lakshadweep island
- Elephanta island
Answer: B
- Campbell Bay National park
Campbell Bay National Park is a national park in India, located on the island of Great Nicobar, the largest of the Nicobar Islands in the eastern Indian Ocean some 190 km to the north of Sumatra. It was gazette as a national park of India in 1992, and forms part of the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve. The park has an approximate area of some 426 km², and is separated from the smaller Galathea National Park by a 12-km wide forest buffer zone