Daily Prelims Notes 20 November 2020

November 20, 2020
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Table Of Contents

1. EIA

Subject : Environment

Context :The draft EIA notification, 2020, weakens the role of the State Expert Appraisal Committee (SEAC) and gives more authenticity to approved consultants, the SEAC-Tamil Nadu submitted to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Concept :

EIA is an important process for evaluating the likely environmental impact of a proposed project. It is a process whereby people’s views are taken into consideration for granting final approval to any developmental project or activity. It is basically, a decision-making tool to decide whether the project should be approved or not.

The EIA process involves:

Screening: this stage decides which projects need a full or partial assessment study.
Scoping: this stage decides which impacts are necessary to be assessed. This is done based on legal requirements, international conventions, expert knowledge and public engagement. This stage also finds out alternate solutions.
Assessment & evaluation of impacts and development of alternatives: this stage predicts and identifies the environmental impacts of the proposed project and also elaborates on the alternatives.
EIA Report: in this reporting stage, an environmental management plan (EMP) and also a non-technical summary of the project’s impact is prepared for the general public. This report is also called the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
Decision making: the decision on whether the project is to be given approval or not and if it is to be given, under what conditions.
Monitoring, compliance, enforcement and environmental auditing: monitoring whether the predicted impacts and the mitigation efforts happen as per the EMP.

key points of dispute with the proposed draft :

It shortens the period of public consultation hearings to a maximum of 40 days.
It reduces from 30 to 20 days the time provided for the public to submit their responses during a public hearing for any application seeking environmental clearance.
It also allows the declaration of some areas as “economically sensitive areas” without a public hearing or environmental clearance, and several “red” and “orange”-classified toxic industries could now operate as close as 0-5 km from a Protected Area in “callous disregard” for forests.
The increased validity of the environment clearances for mining projects (50 years versus 30 years currently) and river valley projects (15 years versus 10 years currently) raises the risk of irreversible environmental, social and health consequences on account of the project remaining unnoticed for long.

2. DOHA DECLARATION TRIPS

Subject : International Relations

Context : Global public health voices have urged members of the World Trade Organisation to keep the spirit of Doha Declaration.

The proposal called for a waiver of certain intellectual property provisions during the pandemic on medical products developed to tackle Covid-19.

Concept :

The IP waiver would allow all countries to choose to neither grant nor enforce patents and other IP-related to Covid-19 drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and other technologies for the duration of the pandemic, until global herd immunity is achieved,” said by MSF( Doctors without Borders).
In 2001, at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health had affirmed governments’ rights to take all necessary measures to eliminate patents and other IP barriers, in the interest of public health, they pointed out.
At the last WTO meeting of the TRIPS Council in mid-October, Kenya and Eswatini joined India and South Africa in officially co-sponsoring the waiver.
Opposing the waiver are countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Norway, Switzerland and the European Union.

Doha Declaration

Doha Declaration had recognised the gravity of public health issues in developing and least-developed countries and reiterated the rights of WTO member states to make use of the flexibilities in the TRIPS Agreement to promote access to medicines for all.

TRIPS Council :

It monitors implementation of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the TRIPS Agreement).
It provides a forum in which WTO Members can consult on intellectual property matters, and carries out the specific responsibilities assigned to the Council in the TRIPS Agreement.

TRIPS Agreement:

sets the minimum standards of protection for copyrights and related rights, trademarks, geographical indications (GIs), industrial designs, patents, integrated circuit layout designs, and undisclosed information.
establishes minimum standards for the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRs) through civil actions for infringement, actions at the border,
and at least in regard to copyright piracy and trademark counterfeiting, in criminal actions.

3. DARKNET

Subject : Science & tech

Context : CBI arrests UP engineer for Sexual abuse of 50 minors and selling chilld porn on darkweb.

Concept :

Internet consists of three layers:

The first layer is public(Surface Web ), consisting of sites that one uses frequently such as Facebook, Twitter, Amazon and LinkedIn. This layer makes up only 4% of the entire internet.
The second layer, the deep web, is a network where data is stored in inaccessible databases (i.e. cannot be accessed through traditional search engines like Google). It is used to provide access to a specific group of people.
The data is generally sensitive and private (government private data, bank data, cloud data etc), so kept out of reach.
The third layer is the darknet which is also known as a part of the ‘Deep Web’. It is a network built over the internet which is encrypted.
It is basically a layer of the Internet accessible only by using special software like Tor (The Onion Router), or I2P, which stands for Invisible Internet Project.
Anything present on the dark web will not be pulled up in internet searches, thereby offering a high degree of anonymity.

Additional Information:

The Kerala Police has set up a ‘state-of-the-art lab’ to intervene and crack down on the rising criminal activities over the Darknet, also known as the underworld of the Internet.
Spearheading the programme is Cyberdome, the State police department’s premier facility dedicated to prevent cybercrime and mitigate security threats to the State’s critical information infrastructure.

4. SPECIAL MARRAIGE ACT

Subject : Polity

Context : The Delhi High Court (HC) on Thursday issued notice to the Union government on a petition seeking a direction to recognise same-sex unions under the Hindu Marriage Act (HMA) and the Special Marriage Act (SMA).

Concept :

Special Marriage Act, 1954

The Special Marriage Act, 1954 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to provide a special form of marriage for the people of India and all Indian nationals in foreign countries, irrespective of the religion or faith followed by either party.
Marriages solemnized under Special Marriage Act are not governed by personal laws.

Major objectives:

to provide a special form of marriage in certain cases,
to provide for registration of certain marriages and,
to provide for divorce.

Applicability

Any person, irrespective of religion.
Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, or Jews can also perform marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
Inter-religion marriages are performed under this Act.
This Act is applicable to the entire territory of India and extends to intending spouses who are both Indian nationals living abroad.
Indian national living abroad.

5. ANTI MICROBIAL RESISTANCE

Subject : Science & tech

Context : Misuse and overuse of antimicrobials has led to a steep rise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), impacting planetary health, global economies and stalling sustainable development.

Concept :

AMR is the resistance of a microorganism (bacteria, parasites, viruses or fungi) to an antimicrobial drug that was originally effective for treatment of infections caused by it is a public health crisis.
Within AMR, antibacterial (antibiotic) resistance is the biggest threat because common infections (respiratory, skin wound, etc) could become untreatable.
Isolated measures addressing antibiotic misuse in humans, animals or environment will not be able to contain AMR.
Effective regulation to enforce optimum use of antibiotics is one such approach, but will only be effective if it encompasses the One Health approach. One Health includes human, animal and environmental health.
It has been suggested by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2015 Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (GAP) as well as AMR National Action Plans (NAP) of countries.
Objective four of the NAP-AMR aims to ensure optimum use of antibiotics in all sectors. In the areas of poultry, aquaculture, livestock and environmental protection, clear regulations with respect to antibiotic use and effluent discharge are minimal or absent.
However, compliance is often poor and enforcement is patchy. To overcome the inefficiencies of traditional regulation and the pitfall of deregulation, a concept of ‘smart regulation’ was coined.
Smart regulation is defined as a form of regulatory pluralism that embraces more flexible, imaginative and innovative forms of social control than conventional regulation. Smart regulation is a useful way to regulate complex areas that involve multiple stakeholders with converging and diverging interests.
Smart regulation approach has been successfully used to tackle complex and multi-stakeholder issues like climate change in Australia and across a range of policy domains in the European Union.

One Health Approach

One Health is an approach to designing and implementing programmes, policies, legislation and research in which multiple sectors communicate and work together to achieve better public health outcomes.
The areas of work in which a One Health approach is particularly relevant include food safety, the control of zoonotic diseases (diseases that can spread between animals and humans, such as flu, rabies and Rift Valley Fever), and combating antibiotic resistance (when bacteria change after being exposed to antibiotics and become more difficult to treat).

6. WILLOW WABLER

Subject : Environment

Context : The willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus), one of the longest migrating small birds , has been sighted for the first time in the country in Thiruvanathapuram.

Concept :

It breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic region.
The bird weighs around 10 g and it has long wing feathers that help it fly long distances. Usually seen in European and the Palearctic regions, the birds migrate to sub-Saharan Africa during early winter.
Willow Warbler is often brighter, more yellowish (especially in autumn) with stronger pale eyebrow, pinkish legs, and tends not to habitually dip its tail. However, many birds seen are best left unidentified.
IUCN Status : Least Concern.

7. SAFAIMITRA SURAKSHA CHALLENGE

Subject : Current Events

Context : Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched the “Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge”.

Concept :

The challenge aims to ensure that no life of septic tank or sewer cleaner is lost during cleaning. The challenge stresses on the fact that safety and dignity of sanitation workers is the core of Swachh Bharat Mission.
The Challenge was launched on the occasion of World Toilet Day. The results of the challenge are to be announced on independence day. The challenge aims to promote mechanized cleaning.
The prizes to the participating cities are to be awarded in three sub categories as follows:
Cities with population more than 10 lakhs.
Cities with population 3-10 lakhs.
Cities with population less than 3 lakhs

Additional Information :

The Government of India has legislated The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Rehabilitation Act, 2013 to protect manual sewer cleaners. The act aims to prohibit manual entry into a sewer without protective gears. The Key Features of the Act are as follows
To prohibit construction or maintenance of insanitary toilets
To prohibit persons employed in hazardous cleaning
To prohibit employment of an individual as a manual scavenger.

Additional Facts :

The SARS-CoV-2 vaccine developed by teams at the University of Oxford has been shown to trigger a robust immune response in healthy adults aged 56 to 69 and those over 70.The findings published in the medical journal Lancet .
Vaccine maker Serum Institute of India’s CEO said the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine should be available for healthcare workers and elderly people by around February 2021 and by April for the general public, and will be priced at a maximum of ₹1,000 for two necessary doses for the public.
Expressing confidence that a COVID-19 vaccine will be ready in three or four months, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday said the government had drawn up a meticulous priority plan with healthcare workers and those above 65 years on top of the list.
President Xi Jinping hailed China as the pivot point for global free trade on APEC Meeting, vowing to keep its “super-sized” economy open for business and warning against protectionism as the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Data Protection Bill questioned representatives of Twitter on the “selective removal and suspension of accounts”.
The panel had asked Twitter to explain its policy regarding suspension of accounts and removing “offensive” tweets.