Daily Prelims Notes 3 August 2024

August 3, 2024
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes

3 August 2024

Table Of Contents

1. Centre reissues draft notification on Eco sensitive areas in Western Ghats

Sub: Env

Sec: Env legislation

Context:

In response to the Wayanad landslide, the Union government has reissued a draft notification for the sixth time in a decade, classifying parts of the Western Ghats in six states (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu) as ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs).

Details:

Restrictions will be imposed on economic activities such as quarrying, mining, and large infrastructure development in these areas.
Despite six iterations, the draft is not yet law due to objections from the affected states: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
Kerala opposes the draft, fearing it will impact agricultural plantations, and hydroelectricity plans, and lead to migration issues.

Ecologist Madhav Gadgil’s Recommendations:

A committee led by ecologist Madhav Gadgil recommended in 2011 that the entire Western Ghats region be declared ecologically sensitive.
The Gadgil panel suggested creating three broad zones with varying restrictions on economic activity.
- Creation of three broad zones — ESA 1, ESA 2 and ESA 3 — with the first two inviting the strictest restrictions on economic activity.
States opposed these recommendations, leading to a second committee led by former ISRO Chairman K. Kasturirangan, which halved the protected regions’ area.

New Committee and Future Steps:

A new committee has been formed to address state concerns and discrepancies in the draft notification.
This committee is examining issues raised by states and has yet to submit its report.
The committee’s mandate is to balance conservation aspects with the region’s developmental aspirations.

Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs)

ESAs are regions recognized for their environmental significance, where human activities are regulated to protect biodiversity, ecosystems, and natural habitats. These areas are often home to endemic species of plants and animals and are crucial for maintaining ecological balance.
The Environment (Protection) Act of 1986 allows the Central Government to restrict industrial activities in these sensitive areas to safeguard their ecological integrity. Although the term “Eco-Sensitive Zones” is not explicitly mentioned in the Act, provisions exist to prohibit or regulate activities based on biodiversity and environmental considerations.

Source: TH

2. Legal challenges to the Great Nicobar infrastructure project

Sub: Env

Sec: Env legislation

Great Nicobar Island Project (GNI):

GNI Project is a mega project to be implemented at the southern end of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The project includes an international container transhipment terminal, a greenfield international airport, township development, and a 450 MVA gas and solar-based power plant over an extent of 16,610 hectares on the island.

Purpose:

Economic Reasons:
- As per the NITI Aayog report, the proposed port will allow Great Nicobar to participate in the regional and global maritime economy by becoming a major player in cargo transhipment.
- It is equidistant from Colombo to the southwest and Port Klang (Malaysia) and Singapore to the southeast and positioned close to the East-West international shipping corridor, through which a very large part of the world’s shipping trade passes.
Strategic Reasons:
- The proposal to develop Great Nicobar was first floated in the 1970s, and its importance for national security and consolidation of the Indian Ocean Region has been repeatedly underlined.
- Increasing Chinese assertion in the Indian Ocean has added great urgency to this imperative in recent years.

Legal Challenges and Environmental Concerns:

The project has faced legal challenges in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the Calcutta High Court.
In 2022, environmental activist Ashish Kothari and Conservation Action Trust (CAT) challenged the environmental and Coastal Regulation Zone clearances for the GNI project, citing irreversible damage to biodiversity and inadequate environmental impact studies.
Issues also included the impact on Shompen and Nicobarese tribal communities and non-compliance with statutory clearances.
CAT alleged a conflict of interest as the Secretary of Environment and Forests was also the Managing Director of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation Limited (ANIIDCO), the project’s implementing agency.

National Green Tribunal’s Actions

The NGT formed a high-powered committee (HPC) to revisit the project’s green clearance, concluding that the transhipment port does not fall in the prohibited Island Coastal Regulation Zone-IA (ICRZ-IA).
The NGT’s special bench did not interfere with the forest clearance, citing the need for development and national security but noted deficiencies in coral conservation and baseline data.

Source: IE

3. Cabinet approves 8 high-speed road corridors worth Rs 50655 crore

Subject: Geo

Sec: Eco geo

Context:

The Cabinet approved eight National High-Speed Road Corridor Projects of 936 km length at a total cost of Rs 50,655 crore. The projects are expected to improve logistics efficiency, reduce congestion, and enhance connectivity across the country. Implementing these projects will generate an estimated 44.2 million person days of direct and indirect employment, the government said in a statement.

More on News:

The corridor approach has led to the identification of a network of 50,000 km of High-Speed Highway Corridors through a scientific transport study based on GSTN and toll data to support India’s transformation into a $30 trillion economy by 2047.

The four-lane projects:

Kharagpur – Moregram National High-Speed Corridor

The 231 km 4-lane access-controlled corridor developed in Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) mode — two or more contractors — at Rs 10,247 crore cost supplements the existing 2-lane National Highway (NH) to increase capacity by 5 times between Kharagpur and Moregram.
The corridor aims to provide efficient connectivity between states like West Bengal, Odisha, Andra Pradesh, and Northeast India.
The 4-lane project is expected to reduce freight travel time from 9-10 hours to 3-5 hours, lowering logistics costs.

Ayodhya Ring Road

The 68 km 4-lane access-controlled ring road developed in HAM mode at Rs 3,935 crore cost is expected to reduce congestion on NHs passing through Ayodhya.
Enabling faster movement of pilgrims to Rama Mandir.
The 4-lane project aims to provide connectivity to tourists arriving via Lucknow, Ayodhya airports, and major railway stations.

Pathalgaon and Gumla of Raipur-Ranchi National High-Speed Corridor

The Gumla Section of Raipur-Ranchi National High-speed Corridor, a 137 km 4-lane access-controlled section developed at Rs 4,473 crore cost is expected to enhance connectivity between mining areas in Gumla, Lohardaga, Raigarh, Korba, Dhanbad and industrial zones in Raipur, Durg, Korba, Bilaspur, Bokaro, Dhanbad.

Northern Guwahati Bypass and widening of existing Guwahati Bypass

The 121 km Guwahati Ring Road developed in Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) mode — public and private partnerships — at Rs 5,729 crore cost is focused on 3 sections;
56 km 4-lane access-controlled Northern Guwahati Bypass
8 km existing 4-lane bypass on NH 27 to 6 lanes
58 km existing bypass on NH 27
The 4-lane project is aimed at providing connectivity to long-distance traffic on NH 27 (East-West Corridor) to the Northeast region and is expected to ease congestion on major NHs around Guwahati, connecting cities like Siliguri, Silchar, Shillong, Jorhat,Tezpur, Jogigopha, Barpeta.

The six-lane projects

Gwalior National High-Speed Corridor:

The 88 km high-speed corridor developed as a 6-lane access-controlled highway on BOT mode at Rs 4,613 crore cost supplements the existing 4-lane NH to increase capacity by over 2 times between Agra and Gwalior.
The project is expected to enhance connectivity to tourist destinations in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and reduce distance by 7 per cent and travel time by 50 per cent.

Tharad – Deesa – Mehsana – Ahmedabad National High-Speed Corridor

The 214 km 6-lane corridor developed on BOT mode at Rs 10,534 crore cost will connect the Amritsar-Jamnagar and Delhi-Mumbai corridors in Gujarat and is expected to provide connectivity for freight from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthanto major ports in Maharastra.
The project is aimed to reduce distance by 20 per cent and travel time by 60 per cent between Tharad and Ahmedabad.

Kanpur Ring Road

The 47 km 6-lane access-controlled section developed on Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) mode — government funds while the private sector provides construction instruments — at Rs 3,298 crore cost will complete 6-lane NH ring around Kanpur, segregating long-distance traffic on key NHs from city traffic.
The project is expected to improve logistics efficiency for freight travelling between Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.

The eight-lane project:

Nashik Phata – Khed Corridor near Pune

The 30 km 8-lane elevated corridor from Nashik Phata to Khed developed on BOT mode at Rs 7,827 crore cost is aimed at providing high-speed connectivity for traffic between industrial centers of Chakan, Bhosari, among others on NH-60 between Pune and Nashik.
The project is expected to alleviate the serious congestion around Pimpri-Chinchwad.

Hybrid Annuity Model:

This Hybrid Annuity Model is a mixture of EPC and BOT.

EPC:

EPC stands for Engineering, Procurement, and Construction and refers to that method of infrastructure growth wherein government pays private companies or players to lay roads.
However, the private entity has no further responsibility in the toll collection, maintenance, or road’s ownership.

BOT:

Under the BOT (Build, Operate, Transfer) model of infrastructure construction, private entities play a prolonged and vital role.
They are responsible for building, maintaining and operating the roads and transferring the asset back to the government after 10-15 years.
In BOT, the private entity is responsible for constructing these roads and collecting toll revenue or annuity fees (BOT-Annuity) from the Indian government.

HAM:

HAM or Hybrid Annuity Model combines EPC And BOT-Annuity.
EPC constitutes 40%, and BOT-Annuity constitutes 60% of this model.
NHAI or the National Highway Authority of India gives up to 40% of the total project cost, in 5 tranches after the achievement of certain milestones, whereas a road developer will have to raise the remaining 60% of the project’s cost.
Around 20-25% of the project cost will be their sole equity investment, while the authorities will raise the remaining as debt.

4. India selects 2 crew members for Axiom-4 mission to International Space Station

Subject: Science and Tech

Sec: Space sector

Context:

Shubhanshu Shukla and Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captains in the IAF, will train in U.S.; experience gained during the mission will be beneficial for human space programme, says ISRO.

More on News:

A National Mission Assignment Board has recommended two Gaganyatris (astronauts) as prime and backup Mission Pilot for this mission.
Group Captain Shukla will be the prime mission pilot and Group Captain Nair will be the back up.
The Axiom-4 mission is the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station.
ISRO added that the assigned crew members will be finally approved to fly to the International Space Station by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel (MCOP).

Axiom-4 Mission:

NASA and Axiom Space, an american privately funded space infrastructure developer signed an order for the fourth private astronaut mission to the ISS, aiming to launch in August 2024 from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The mission aims to dock with the ISS for a fourteen-day duration.
Indian astronauts will receive training from NASA, international partners, and SpaceX, focusing on spacecraft systems and emergency preparedness, as part of India-US space cooperation goals.

International Space Station (ISS):

The ISS is a large, permanently crewed laboratory that orbits Earth, 400 kilometres above its surface. It is home to astronauts and cosmonauts,and serves as a unique science laboratory.
- Its research is expected to lead to advancements in many areas, including medicine, technology, science, and understanding the Earth and universe.
It’s a collaboration between15 countries and five space agencies namely NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (European Space Agency), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
An international crew ofseven people live and work while travelling at a speed of 66 km/sec, orbiting Earth about every 90 minutes. In 24 hours, the space station makes 16 orbits of Earth, travelling through 16 sunrises and sunsets.
- Peggy Whitson set the US record for spending the most total time living and working in space for 665 days.
The first parts of the ISS were sent and assembled in orbit in 1998. Since the year 2000, the ISS has had crews living continuously on board.

5. Potential fallout of Israel’s killing of senior Hamas, Hezbollah leaders

Subject: IR

Sec: Places in news

Context:

Ismail Haniyeh, head of the political bureau of Hamas and the Qatar-based public face of the group, was killed in Tehran where he was attending the inauguration of the new reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian.

More on News:

Targeted killings are seen as a huge victory for Israel, which had vowed revenge for the October 7 attacks, a catastrophic failure of its intelligence, operations, and response mechanisms.
Its Swords of Iron military offensive in Gaza had the twin objectives of destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages.
By killing Haniyeh and Deif, Israel can claim to have substantially achieved the target of neutralising Hamas.

A message for Iran

By targeting the leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas — both groups are part of the ‘Axis of Resistance’ sponsored by Iran — Israel has redrawn the red lines of the conflict in West Asia.. Tehran retaliated with a massive aerial attack against Israel that could, however, do only limited damage.
Israel then conducted an air strike against Iran — again, with no major casualties.
Israel took the message — Haniyeh was killed while he was inside a building in Tehran, but no Iranian military personnel were harmed in the highly targeted hit.
To expose the vulnerabilities of Iran’s intelligence and security establishment in much the same way as the Hamas attack had exposed and embarrassed the Israelis.
Iran’s security umbrella cannot protect the leaders of Hamas.

There are three scenarios on the possible Iranian response.

Iran could consider picking targets on Israeli soil and carry out a repeat of the aerial attacks of April.
It could coordinate with its partners in the ‘Axis of Resistance’ — the three Hs, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis — to conduct coordinated attacks on Israeli targets.
It might target Israeli officials in third countries, perhaps after waiting for some time.

Axis of resistance:

The term “Axis of Resistance” typically refers to a geopolitical and strategic alliance among certain countries and groups in the Middle East that share common goals and interests.
The axis often opposes what its members perceive as external interference, particularly from Western powers, and advocates for self-determination, sovereignty, and resistance against perceived occupation.
The alliance is characterised by a shared opposition to certain foreign policies, especially those of the United States and its allies in the region.
The key components of the Axis of Resistance include countries like Iran, Syria, and groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Group members
- Hezbollah
- Hamas
- Palestinian Islamic Jihad
- Houthis

6. 72% of Personal Income-Tax Payers Opted for New Tax Regime in 2023-24

Sub : Eco

Sec: Fiscal Policy

Shift to New Tax Regime:

72% of personal income-tax payers who filed their returns by the July 31 deadline for the financial year 2023-24 opted for the new tax regime.
This marks a significant shift towards the simpler tax system introduced by the government.
Increase in I-T Return Filings:
- The number of Income Tax (I-T) return filings rose by 7.5%, reaching a record high of almost 7.29 crore.
- Out of the total 7.28 crore I-T returns filed for Assessment Year 2024-25, 5.27 crore were under the new tax regime compared to 2.01 crore under the old tax regime.
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Statement:
- The CBDT termed the increase in taxpayers under the new tax regime as “heartening”.
Factors Influencing the Shift:
- The switchover has been expedited by significant changes in the new tax regime, originally introduced in 2020, and further enhanced in Budget 2023-24.
- Changes include making the new system the “default tax regime”.

Key Changes in Budget 2023-24:

Tax Rate Slabs:
- The number of tax rate slabs was reduced from six to five.
Tax-Free Income Limit:
- Raised from ₹2.5 lakh to ₹3 lakh.
Tax Rebate Limit:
- Increased from ₹5 lakh to ₹7 lakh annually.

Additional Changes in Budget 2024-25:

Standard Deduction:
- Raised from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000.
Tax Slabs Rejigged:
- Further adjustments to the tax slabs under the new regime.

Way forward:

These changes are likely to provide greater impetus for taxpayers to opt out of the old regime and adopt the new tax regime.