The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 12th September 2022

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis for UPSC

Residents of Nyukmadong village say BRO destroyed more than 80% of sacred forest with impunity.
“The WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) declared the patch as a community reserve forest because of its rich biodiversity. The red-listed Indian red panda is found in this area.
Community representatives said the deforestation (for the road) affected their traditional holy sites, locally called phu,” Mr. Dey said.

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 14th September 2022

Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS), is a lake and the dam that creates it.

Location: The dam is located below the confluence of river Kaveri with its tributaries Hemavati and Lakshmana Tirtha, in the district of Mandya in Karnataka.
History: the project was conceptualised by Bharat Ratna awardee, Chief Engineer of Mysore M. Visvesvaraya. The construction began in 1911 and it began operations in 1938.

Usage:

The water from the Dam is used for irrigation in Mysore and Mandya, and is the main source of drinking water for Mysore, Mandya and Bengaluru city.
The water released from this dam flows into the state of Tamil Nadu and is stored in Mettur dam in the Salem district.

The Kabini or Kabani, or Kapila River is one of the major tributaries of the River Cauvery.
It originates in Pakramthalam hills, Kerala by means of the confluence of the Panamaram River and the Mananthavady River.
It flows eastward to join the Kaveri River at Tirumakudalu Narasipura in Mysore district of Karnataka.

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)

About:
- It was enacted to provide for more effective prevention of certain unlawful activities of individuals and associations, and for dealing with terrorist activities.
- It was amended in the years 2004, 2008, 2013, and 2019 to add certain provisions relating to various facets of terrorism.
Key provisions:
- Both Indian and foreign nationals can be charged.
- It is applicable even if the offence is committed outside india.
- A charge sheet can be filed in maximum 180 days after the arrests.
- The investigation has to be completed within 90 days and if not, the accused is eligible for default bail.
- A Special Court under the UAPA conducts trials.
2019 Amendment under UAPA Act, 1967:
- Union government may designate an individual or an organisation as a terrorist organisation if it:
  - commits or participates in acts of terrorism,
  - prepares for terrorism,
  - promotes terrorism, or
  - is otherwise involved in terrorism.
- Approval of Director- General for seizure of property if the investigation is conducted by an officer of the National Investigation Agency (NIA)
- Officers of the rank of Inspector or above in NIA can investigate cases.
- International Convention for Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (2005) is added under the schedule under which terrorist act is committed.
Federalism: Police is a state subject under VIIth Schedule. Giving NIA authority to investigate and attach property is viewed as encroachment over the state’s jurisdiction.
Denial of Bail: Under Section 43D(5), bail cannot be granted to a suspect if the court is of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the charges are prima facie true.
Burden of Proof: Accused has to show that the case is false which is opposite of other criminal offences where the burden is on the State.

Over the last six months, the targeting of Kashmiri Pandits and other Hindus in the Valley by militants has once again brought forward the question of their right of return as well as the safety of minorities living in the Valley.
We need civil society engagement in Kashmir This alone can create confidence, restore trust and strengthen inter-community bonds

In the 1970s and 1980s, the state provided a lot of support to apple production in Himachal Pradesh: it set up nurseries and gave plants to farmers on a large-scale, offered a transport subsidy on cartons, provided heavy concession on tools, and offered special monetary help for the poor and Dalits to plant apple orchards, among other initiatives.
Land reforms were widely implemented since the inception of the State; hardly anyone was left landless. Even before statehood was granted, land was distributed through Nau Taur (breaking new land).
Any land tilled was eventually transferred to those tilling them, through successive land settlements. Laws in the State restrict the transfer of land in favour of a person who is not an agriculturist of Himachal Pradesh.
There are two major reasons for the current crisis. The first is the increasing cost of production. The input cost of fertilizers, insecticides, and fungicides has risen in the last decade by 300%, as per some estimates. The cost of apple cartons and trays and packaging has also seen a dramatic rise.
The second and immediate trigger for the agitation was the increase in the Goods and Services Tax on cartons from 12% to 18%.

Cooling food prices may have helped moderate retail inflation to a five-month low of 6.7% in July, but there could be a reversal in August’s inflation print thanks to concerns about the uneven progression of the monsoon through the country and other factors.
In recent weeks, the government has imposed curbs on external as well as internal trade of food items such as rice, atta (wheat flour), and tur dal, reflecting its recognition of their surging prices. Food items constitute a little over 45% of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the National Statistical Office is scheduled to release the August CPI on Monday.

The Union Health Ministry’s “adopt a TB-patient” (Ni-kshay Mitra) initiative — probably the only one-of-its-kind in the world — announced on Friday had 1,78,443 TB patients and 1,667 Ni-kshay Mitras (donors) enrolling till Sunday evening.
The programme was brought in to fill the critical “community” element into India’s fight towards eliminating TB by 2025 under the Pradhan Mantri TB-Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan.
The support provided to the patient under this initiative is in addition to the free diagnostics, free drugs and the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana provided by the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) to all the patients notified from both the public and the private sector.
The minimum period of commitment for providing the support to the TB patient will be one year. The Ministry said that the initiative would increase the active involvement of society in the fight against tuberculosis.

In the reply to a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act filed with New India Assurance Company, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on September 8 that ₹487 crore had been disbursed as insurance compensation under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) scheme to 974 health workers who died in the line of duty fighting the pandemic as on September 1.
Under the PMGKP scheme, ₹50 lakh is given to each health worker.
Insurance cover of Rs 50 Lakh per health worker fighting COVID-19 to be provided under Insurance Scheme – extended for one year effective April 2021
80 crore poor people will to get 5 kg wheat or rice and 1 kg of preferred pulses for free every month for the next three months – extended to November 2021 (initially, the package was extended to May & June 2021; originally, it was extended to November 2020)
20 crore women Jan Dhan account holders to get Rs 500 per month for next three months
Increase in MNREGA wage to Rs 202 a day from Rs 182 to benefit 13.62 crore families
An ex-gratia of Rs 1,000 to 3 crore poor senior citizen, poor widows and poor disabled
Government to front-load Rs 2,000 paid to farmers in first week of April 2020 under existing PM Kisan Yojana to benefit 8.7 crore farmers
Central Government has given orders to State Governments to use Building and Construction Workers Welfare Fund to provide relief to Construction Workers

From September 1, District Magistrates (DM) have been empowered to give adoption orders instead of courts. All cases pending before courts have to be now transferred.
The revised rules have parents, activists, lawyers and adoption agencies worried as cases already before courts for the past several months will have to be transferred and the process will have to start afresh.
The Central Adoption Resource Authority says there are nearly 1,000 adoption cases pending before various courts in the country.
Adoptions in India are governed by two laws — the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, 1956 (HAMA) and the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.
The Parliament passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021 in July last year in order to amend the Juvenile Justice Act (JJ Act), 2015.
The amendments to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Model Rules, 2016 say, “all the cases pertaining to adoption matters pending before the Court shall stand transferred to the District Magistrate from the date of commencement of these rules.”
Those applying under the JJ Act have to register on CARA’s portal after which a specialised adoption agency carries out a home study report. After it finds the candidate eligible for adoption, a child declared legally free for adoption is referred to the applicant. Under HAMA, a “dattaka hom” ceremony or an adoption deed or a court order is sufficient to obtain irrevocable adoption rights.

The Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme has rolled out in Rajasthan with the objective of providing economic support to the poor and needy families living in the cities through work to be provided on demand for 100 days in a year.
Those in the age group of 18 to 60 years residing within the limits of urban local bodies are eligible to demand and get employment in the identified segments.

Mains Practice Question:

Q) “India’s greatest national treasure is its people especially women and children but even after 75 years of independence, a majority of them do not get the required diet to meet their nutritional needs”. Explain (250 words)

“भारत का सबसे बड़ा राष्ट्रीय खजाना इसके लोग हैं, खासकर महिलाएं और बच्चे, लेकिन आजादी के 75 साल बाद भी, उनमें से अधिकांश को अपनी पोषण संबंधी जरूरतों को पूरा करने के लिए आवश्यक आहार नहीं मिलता है”। समझाएं (250 शब्द)

SSC CGL 2022