DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

09^th November 2021

S. No.	Topic Name	Prelims/Mains
1.	Police Reforms	Prelims & Mains
2.	Who is a Fugitive Economic Offender	Prelims & Mains
3.	About  Gati Shakti Mission	Prelims & Mains
4.	About the COP 26 Meeting	Prelims & Mains
5.	Hybodont Shark	Prelims Specific
6.	Vishnuonyx	Prelims Specific

 

1. Police Reforms: 

GS II

Topic – Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

• Why Police Reforms are necessary:
• Between between 1^stApril and 30^th November, 2015, 25,357 cases were registered under police category which included 111 deaths in police custody, 330 cases of custodial torture and 24,916 in others.
• This data again lays emphasis on the need to make police accountableand carry out police reforms.
• Police Reforms (Meaning):
• Police reformsaim to transform the values, culture, policies and practices of police organizations.
• It envisages police to perform their duties with respect for democratic values, human rights and the rule of law.
• It also aims to improve how the police interact with other parts of the security sector,such as the courts and departments of corrections, or executive, parliamentary or independent authorities with management or oversight responsibilities.
• Police come under the state list of schedule 7 of the Indian constitution
• Committees/Commissions on Police Reforms:
• Issues Concerning Police Forces:
• Colonial Legacy:The Police Act of 1861 was legislated by the British right after the revolt of 1857 to bring in efficient administration of police in the country and to prevent any future revolts.
• This meant that the police were to always comply with those in power.
• Accountability to the Political Executives vs Operational Freedom:The Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC-2007) has noted that political control has been abused in the past by the political executive to unduly influence police personnel, and have them serve personal or political interests
• Psychological Pressure:While improvements in pay scale and promotions are necessary aspects of police reforms, little has been spoken about reforms needed at the psychological level.
• In the Indian police force, the lower ranks of police personnel are often verbally abusedby their superiors or they work in inhuman conditions.
• This non-harmonious work environmentultimately affects their relationship with the public.
• Public Perception:The Second ARC has noted that police-public relations is in an unsatisfactory State because people view the police as corrupt, inefficient, politically partisan and unresponsive.
• Further, citizens in general fear going to a police station or dealing with the lower ranks of the police force.
• Overburdened Force:While the sanctioned police strength was 181 police per lakh persons in 2016, the actual strength was 137 police.
• This is way too low when compared with the United Nations’ recommended standard of 222 police per lakh persons.
• Further, a high percentage of vacancies within the police forces exacerbates an existing problem of overburdened police personnel.
• Constabulary Related Issues:The constabulary constitutes 86% of the State police forces and has wide-ranging responsibilities.
• Infrastructural Issues:Modern policing requires strong communication support, state-of the-art or modern weapons, and a high degree of mobility.
• However, CAGaudit reports of year 2015-16, have found shortages in weaponry with state police forces.
• For example, Rajasthan and West Bengal had shortages of 75% and 71% respectively in required weaponry with the state police.
• Also, the Bureau of Police Research and Development has also noted a 30.5% deficiency in stock of required vehicles with the state forces.
• Suggestions:
• Modernisation of Police Forces:The Modernisation of Police Forces (MPF) scheme was initiated in 1969-70 and has undergone several revisions over the years.
• However, there is a need to fully utilize the finances sanctioned by the government.
• MPF scheme envisages:
• Procurement of modern weapons
• Mobility of police forces
• Logistics support, upgradation of police wireless, etc
• A National satellite network
• Need For Political Will:The Supreme Court in the landmark Prakash Singh case (2006) gave seven directives where considerable work in police reforms is still needed.
• However, due to the lack of political will these directives were not implemented in letter and spirit in many states.
• Revamping Criminal Justice System: Along with Police reforms, there is a need to reform the criminal justice system too. In this context, the recommendations of the Menon and Malimath Committees can be implemented.
• Some of the key recommendations are as follows:
• Creation of a fund to compensate victims who turn hostile from the pressure of culprits.
• Setting up separate authority at the national level to deal with crimes threatening the country’s security.
• A complete revamp of the entire criminal procedure system.
• Source – https://indianexpress.com/article/india/on-lakhimpur-kheri-deaths-sc-tells-up-unsure-of-your-probe-let-ex-judge-of-another-hc-monitor-7613875/

2. Fugitive Economic Offender

GS III

Topic – Money Laundering Related Issues

• Who is a Fugitive economic offender:
• A person can be named an offender under the law if there is an arrest warrant against him or her for involvement in economic offences involving at least Rs. 100 crore or more and has fled from India to escape legal action.
• What’s the process of extradition:
• The investigating agencies have to file an application in a Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act containing details of the properties to be confiscated, and any information about the person’s whereabouts
• Then, the Special Court issue a notice to the person to appear at a specified place and date within six weeks from the issue of notice & proceedings shall be terminated if the person appears.
• If the person does not appear, the person would be declared as a Fugitive Economic Offender based on the evidence filed by the investigating agencie
• According to the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, the person who is declared as a Fugitive Economic Offender can challenge the proclamation in the High Court within 30 days of such declaration
• Prelims Hot-Link: 
• Who is a fugitive economic offender?
• Composition and powers of ED.
• Establishment and powers of CBI.
• What is PMLA?
• Overview of Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.
• Source – https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/aryan-khan-bail-stan-swamy-case-7613797/

3. About Gati Shakti Mission:

GS III

Topic – Infrastructure related issues:

• Why in News:
• “PM GatiShakti – National Development Plan” for infrastructure development had been launched recently.
• It aims to boost multimodal connectivity and drive down logistics costs.
• About PM Gati-Shakti:
• It is a digital platform that connects 16 departments – including highways and highways, railways, shipping, petrol and gas, power, telephone, freight and aircraft.
• It aims to ensure the overall planning and implementation of infrastructure projects.
• Initiatives offered:
• The site will provide 200 layers of geographical data, including existing infrastructure such as roads, highways, railways, and toll plazas, as well as geographical information about forests, rivers and regional boundaries to assist in planning and obtaining permits.
• The site will also allow various government departments to track, in real time and in a single location, the progress of various projects, especially those that affect many sectors and regions.
• Significance:
• The aim is to ensure that “each department now has the visibility of each other’s activities to provide sensitive information while planning and performing tasks in a comprehensive manner.
• In this way, the various departments will be able to prioritize their projects through inter-sectoral collaboration”.
• It will also increase last-mile connections and reduce the cost of ordering with integrated planning and reduce startup traffic.
• Need for:
• Poor infrastructure planning includes newly constructed roads dug by the water department to lay pipes. This has adversely affected road infrastructure and national mobility.
• Also, the cost of asset management in India is about 13-14% of GDP as opposed to 7-8% of GDP in the developed economy. Higher management costs property costs within the economy, and makes it more expensive for retailers to ship goods to consumers.
• Prelims Hot-Link:
• About the Project.
• Key features.

Source – https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/how-indias-gati-shakti-plan-can-have-an-impact-beyond-its-borders-7613836/

4. About the COP 26 Meeting:

GS III

Topic – Conservation related issues:

• Why in News:
• The UK is hosting the UN COP 26 Conference on Climate Change from October 31 to November 12, 2021.
• This year marks the 26th Group Conference (thus called COP26) and will be held at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow.
• About the COP Conference:
• The COP comes under the United Nations Climate Change Framework Convention (UNFCCC) which was established in 1994.
• The UNFCCC was established to work “to stabilize the atmosphere’s greenhouse gases.”
• COP members have been meeting annually since 1995 (COP1 was held in 1995 in Berlin).
• It lists various member obligations that include:
• Develop ways to reduce climate change.
• Collaboration in preparing to address the impact of climate change.
• Promoting education, training and public awareness about climate change.
• According to the UNFCCC, COP26 will work for four purposes:
• Protect the global net-zero in the middle of the century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach.
• Practice to protect communities and natural areas.
• Fiscal consolidation: To achieve our first two goals, developed countries must live up to their promise to consolidate at least $ 100bn in climate finance by 2020.
• ‘Complete the Paris Legal Letter’: Leaders will work together to draft a detailed list of rules that will help fulfil the Paris Agreement.
• About the UNFCCC:
• The UNFCCC was adopted in 1992 at the Rio Earth Conference, which marked the beginning of the first joint international community effort to tackle climate change.
• Also known as the Rio Convention, the UNFCCC established a framework for stabilizing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
• The UNFCCC came into operation in 1994, and almost all nations of the world have already signed up.
• It is a parental agreement for the 2015 Paris Agreement. It is also the parent agreement of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
• Prelims Hot-Link:
• What is the UNFCCC?
• What is the Copenhagen conference?
• Who is organizing the Petersberg Climate Dialogue?
• What is a COP?
• Source – https://indianexpress.com/article/world/climate-change/cop26-india-climate-change-goals-finance-7613894/

5. Hybodont Shark:

Prelims Specific Topic

• In a rare discovery, teeth of new species of hybodont sharkof the Jurassic age have been reported for the first time from Jaisalmer by a team of the Geological Survey of India (GSI).
• Hybodonts, an extinct group of sharks, was a dominant group of fishes in both marine and fluvial environments during the Triassic and early Jurassic time.
• They became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous time 65 million years ago.
• Source – Down To Earth

6. Vishnuonyx:

Prelims Specific Topic

• Researchers from the Universities of Tübingen and Zaragoza have discovered the fossil of a previously unknown species, which they have named Vishnuonyx neptuni,meaning ‘Neptune’s Vishnu’.
• Between 12.5 million and 14 million years ago, Vishnuonyx, members of a genus of otters,lived in the major rivers of southern Asia.
• Fossils of these now extinct otters were first discovered in sediments found in the foothills of the Himalayas. Now, a newly found fossil indicates it had travelled as far as Germany.
• This is the first discovery of any member of the Vishnuonyx genus in Europe; it is also its most northern and western record till date.
• Source – The Hindu