DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 26th December 2024

Syllabus:

• Prelims & Mains – POLITY

Context: Government announced new gubernatorial appointments, including former Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla as Governor of Manipur and former Army Chief V K Singh as Governor of Mizoram. Among the other appointments by President are: Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan as Governor of Bihar; Mizoram Governor Dr Hari Babu Kambhampati as Governor of Odisha; and Bihar Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar as Governor of Kerala.

Background: –

• The choice of Bhalla as Manipur Governor is significant as the Centre has been struggling to control the ethnic violence in the state for over one-and-a-half years. Bhalla was Union Home Secretary when the violence began on May 3, 2023.

Key takeaways

• Article 153 of the Constitution says “There shall be a Governor for each State.” A few years after the commencement of the Constitution, an amendment in 1956 laid down that “nothing in this article shall prevent the appointment of the same person as Governor for two or more States”.
• Article 155 says that the “Governor of a State shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal”.
• Under Article 156, “the Governor shall hold office during the pleasure of the President”, but his normal term of office will be five years. If the President withdraws her pleasure before the completion of five years, the Governor has to step down. Since the President acts on the aid and advice of the Prime Minister and the Union Council of Ministers, in effect, the Governor is appointed and removed by the central government.
• Articles 157 and 158 lay down the qualifications of the Governor and the conditions of his office.
• The Governor must be a citizen of India and should have completed the age of 35 years. The Governor should not be a member of Parliament or a state legislature, and must not hold any other office of profit.

Powers and Functions

• Executive Powers : Article 154 – The executive power of the State shall be vested in the Governor and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with this Constitution.
  • The Governor appoints the Chief Minister and other ministers based on their majority in the Legislative Assembly (Article 164).
  • Key Appointments: Appoints the Advocate General (Article 165), State Election Commissioner (Article 243K), and members of the State Public Service Commission.
• Legislative Powers
  • Summoning and Dissolution: Summons, prorogues, and dissolves the state legislature (Article 174).
  • Addresses the legislative assembly at the beginning of its first session (Article 176).
  • Assent to Bills: Can give or withhold assent to bills, or reserve them for the President’s consideration (Article 200).
  • Ordinances: Can promulgate ordinances during recess of the legislature (Article 213).
• Judicial Powers
  • Can grant pardons, reprieves, respites, or remissions of punishment, or suspend, remit, or commute sentences in cases involving state laws (Article 161).
• Discretionary Powers
  • Article 163: The Governor acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers except in matters where they are required to exercise their discretion.
  • Examples of discretionary powers:
    • Reserving a bill for the President’s consideration.
    • Recommending President’s Rule (Article 356) in case of a breakdown of constitutional machinery.
    • Appointing a Chief Minister when no party has a clear majority.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus:

• Prelims & Mains – CURRENT EVENT

Context: A Union environment ministry expert panel has expressed serious concerns about the redesign of the 1,200 MW Teesta-III Chungthang Dam in Sikkim, which was washed away after a glacial lake outburst in October 2023, and deferred its nod for restarting the project with a new dam.

Background: –

• The expert appraisal committee (EAC) appraising hydroelectric and river-valley-sector projects said it had concerns regarding the dam’s design and stability and its ability to withstand potential natural disasters in the future.

Key takeaways

• Government enterprise Sikkim Urja Limited has sought an amendment to the project’s old environmental clearance as it has proposed to redesign the project dam. It wants to replace the washed-away, concrete-faced rockfill dam with a concrete gravity dam.
• On the intervening night of October 3 and October 4, an ice avalanche hit the South Lhonak Lake, located at an altitude of 5,200 metres, breaching the glacial lake. The avalanche created giant waves, leading to a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF), and triggered a flash flood downstream in Teesta.
• The force of the floodwaters breached the Chungthang dam, exacerbating the floods, killing 40 people across four districts of Sikkim. Across Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong, and Namchi districts, about 100 villages were affected and 76 people were reported missing.
• The Teesta-III project is in Mangan district and utilises a drop of about 800m in the Teesta River between Chungthang and Sankalang villages. The flash floods triggered by the GLOF event had overtopped the project dam and flooded the underground powerhouse, bringing power generation to a halt. 
• Following the GLOF event, the Centre and Sikkim government are collaborating on reducing levels of potentially risky glacial lakes in the upper reaches of Mangan district. The Centre has approved a Rs 150 crore National GLOF Risk Mitigation Programme and 189 lakes have been identified as high-risk glacial lakes, to mitigate the risks they pose.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus:

• Prelims & Mains – CURRENT EVENT

Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the Ken-Betwa river-linking project in Madhya Pradesh’s Khajuraho, aimed at solving the water woes of the Bundelkhand region, spread across parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Background:

• The Ken-Betwa Link Project is the first project under India’s National Perspective Plan for interlinking rivers, which was prepared in 1980. This plan has 16 projects under its peninsular component, including the KBLP. Apart from this, 14 links are proposed under the Himalayan rivers development plan.

Key takeaways

• The Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP) is a major river interlinking project in India with a project outlay of ₹45,000 crore.
• Objective: The project aims to transfer water from the Ken River to the Betwa River, both tributaries of the Yamuna. This will provide irrigation to 10.62 lakh hectares (8.11 lakh hectares in Madhya Pradesh and 2.51 lakh hectares in Uttar Pradesh), supply drinking water to about 62 lakh people, and generate 103 MW of hydropower and 27 MW of solar power.
• Components: The project includes the construction of the Daudhan Dam, a 77-meter-high, 2.13-kilometer-long dam within the Panna Tiger Reserve, and a 221-kilometer canal linking the Ken and Betwa Rivers.
• The Ken-Betwa Link Project has two phases. 
  • Phase-I will involve building the Daudhan Dam complex and its subsidiary units such as the Low Level Tunnel, High Level Tunnel, Ken-Betwa Link Canal and power houses. 
    • Daudhan dam is 2,031 m long, out of which 1,233 metre will be earthen and the rest 798 m will be of concrete. According to the Jal Shakti Ministry, the dam will submerge about 9,000 hectares of land, affecting 10 villages.
  • Phase-II will involve three components — Lower Orr Dam, Bina Complex Project and Kotha Barrage.

What are the project’s likely environmental and social impacts?

• The Supreme Court’s Central Empowered Committee (CEC) had questioned the project on multiple counts while examining its wildlife clearance. The CEC had raised questions on the economic viability of the project, advocating for first exhausting other irrigation options in the upper Ken basin.
• The submergence of around 98 sq km of Panna national park and felling of about two to three million trees has been one of the most controversial aspects of the project. The Daudhan dam is situated inside the national park.
• The Union environment ministry approved its construction inside the core of the Panna tiger reserve, despite no precedent of such heavy infrastructure projects deep within national parks and tiger reserves.
• Downstream of the national park, the Daudham dam is also likely to affect the Gharial population in the Ken Gharial sanctuary along with vulture nesting sites, the CEC had noted.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus:

• Prelims – CURRENT EVENT

Context: Months after announcing that the Free Movement Regime (FMR) along the Myanmar border has been entirely suspended, the Union Home Ministry has brought in fresh protocol to regulate the movement of people living within 10 kilometres on either side of the largely unfenced international border.

Background: –

• Home Minister Amit Shah had announced in February that the FMR had been scrapped to ensure internal security and to maintain the demographic structure of the northeast. However, the new guidelines indicate that the regime has not been done away with but stricter regulations, such as reducing the range of free movement to 10 km from the earlier 16 km, have been introduced.
• The Assam Rifles is the primary border guarding force along the 1,643-km-long border with Myanmar along the States of Arunachal Pradesh (520 km), Nagaland (215 km), Manipur (398 km) and Mizoram (510 km).

Key takeaways

• The Free Movement Regime (FMR) is a bilateral agreement between India and Myanmar that allows people living along the border to move freely within 16 (now reduced to 10) kilometers on either side without needing a visa.

what is the genesis of the FMR?

• The roots of this regime go back to the late 19th century when both nations were part of the British Empire. The regulation allowed free movement across borders within British territories. After independence in 1947 (India) and 1948 (Myanmar), the two countries continued the arrangement under a revised bilateral agreement in 1967.
• However, India and Myanmar established the FMR in 2018 as part of New Delhi’s Act East Policy promoting cross-border movement of people up to 16 km without a visa.
• The FMR facilitates easier movement and interactions for people residing in the border areas of both nations, allowing them to meet relatives and carry out economic activities.

New rules

• For entry into India from Myanmar, individuals will have to report at the designated border crossing points and fill a form.
• The Assam Rifles will conduct the document inspection followed by a security and health check by the State police and health department officials, respectively.
• The Assam Rifles will upload all the forms on the Indo-Myanmar Border portal, record biometrics, and issue a border pass with a photograph of the applicant and a QR code. The pass will have to be deposited on return at the same crossing point before completion of seven days.
• The protocol stated that the police will do physical checks to verify the visit of Myanmar nationals as per the details provided in the border pass and anyone violating the conditions will face legal action.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus:

• Prelims & Mains – CURRENT EVENT

Context: Four years after the Union government launched the Svamitva scheme to digitise property records in rural areas, Prime Minister Modi will distribute 58 lakh property cards providing a “record of rights” to owners in over 50,000 villages across 12 States on Friday at a virtual event.

Background: –

• The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) is the Nodal Ministry for implementation of the scheme. In the States, the Revenue Department / Land Records Department will be the Nodal Department and shall carry out the scheme with support of State Panchayati Raj Department. Survey of India is the  technology partner for implementation.

Key takeaways

• The SVAMITVA Scheme (Survey of Villages Abadi and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) is a central sector scheme launched by the Government of India on April 24, 2020, aimed at empowering rural property owners by providing them with official documentation of their residential properties.

Objectives of the SVAMITVA Scheme:

• Financial Empowerment: Enable rural property owners to use their property as a financial asset for securing loans and other financial benefits.
• Accurate Land Records: Create precise land records for rural planning and reduce property disputes.
• Property Tax Assessment: Facilitate accurate determination of property tax, enhancing revenue for Gram Panchayats.
• Infrastructure Development: Establish survey infrastructure and GIS maps that can be utilized by various departments.
• Improved Planning: Support the preparation of better-quality Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDP) by utilizing GIS maps.

Key Features:

• Drone Technology: Utilizes drone surveying technology for the demarcation of rural inhabited areas, ensuring high accuracy in mapping.
• Property Cards: Issuance of property cards (also known as ‘Title Deeds’) to property owners, providing them with legal ownership documents.

Benefits to Rural Communities:

• Legal Recognition: Provides official recognition of property rights, reducing disputes and enhancing security.
• Economic Opportunities: Empowers property owners to leverage their assets for economic activities, including securing loans.
• Enhanced Governance: Assists local governments in effective planning and resource allocation through accurate land records.

Source: PIB

Q1.) Regarding the Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP), which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. The project involves the construction of the Daudhan Dam within the Panna Tiger Reserve.
2. It aims to provide irrigation to over 10 lakh hectares of land in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
3. The project has been universally accepted without any environmental concerns.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2, and 3

Q2.) The Free Movement Regime (FMR) between India and Myanmar was formalized in 2018 to facilitate cross-border movement. Recently, the Indian government has:

a) Expanded the FMR to allow movement up to 50 km on either side.
b) Completely suspended the FMR citing security concerns.
c) Reduced the permissible movement under FMR from 16 km to 10 km.
d) Introduced visa requirements for all cross-border movements under FMR.

Q3.) Which of the following is NOT an objective of the SVAMITVA Scheme launched by the Government of India?

a) Providing rural property owners with official documentation of their residential properties.
b) Facilitating the use of rural properties as financial assets for securing loans.
c) Enhancing revenue for Gram Panchayats through accurate property tax assessment.
d) Promoting urbanization by converting rural areas into urban municipalities.

Comment the answers to the above questions in the comment section below!!

ANSWERS FOR ’  Today’s – Daily Practice MCQs’ will be updated along with tomorrow’s Daily Current Affairs

Q.1) – b

Q.2) – b

Q.3) – b