Table of Contents
The Hindu Editorial analysis 21st March 2018 – Free PDF & Video Description For UPSC, SSC, Bank and other Government Jobs Exams – Study IQ Education Daily Analysis By Veer Talyan
Presidential election, due in May 2018
Fragile peace accord-Ended longest civil wars
accord between the Colombian security forces and the RevolutionaryArmed Forces of Colombia (FARC) had won President Juan Manuel Santos the Nobel Peace Prize-2016
In all, the anti-accord parties have 50 seats in a House of 102- Senate Election
Ruling Social Party of National Unity won just 14 seats
RevolutionaryArmed Forces of Colombia (FARC)- finished with less than 1% of the vote
, but is assured representation in parliament thanks to the accord
The next couple of months will be crucial for the pro-accord forces
Separate Freedoms
Why did the court extend the deadline on linking Aadhaar to various services, but refuse to
grant one for welfare plans?
Last year- 9-judge bench of Supreme Court in K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India
Central government Said- fundamental right to privacy- Elitist concern
Government‟s duties in a welfare state
SC- Rejection of the government‟s arguments was a cause for much celebration.
Court showed us, at least in theory, that it was willing to treat every citizen with equal dignity,care and respect
“Refrain that the poor need no civil and political rights and are concerned only with economic well-being has been utilised through history to wreak the most egregious(प्रबल) violations of human rights,”
Privacy could never b
“Every individual in society irrespective of social class or economic status is entitled to the
intimacy and autonomy which privacy protects…
The pursuit of happiness is founded upon autonomy and dignity
What brought about a volte-face in the Supreme Court‟s thinking, in its interim order delivered on March 13, in the ongoing battle over the validity of the Aadhaar programme?
Here, the court extended the government-mandated deadline on linking Aadhaar different services, including one‟s banking and mobile phone accounts, until it delivers a final judgment.
But, markedly, it refused to grant a similar extension for notifications made under Section 7 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.
This law, the Aadhaar Act of 2016, describes enrolment with the UIDAI as voluntary.
But, in Section 7, it authorises both the Central and State governments to make Aadhaar
mandatory for anyone wishing to receive a subsidy, benefit or service, for which expenses
are borne from the Consolidated Fund of India
Although this clause, at the same time, demands that the government must accept alternate proofs of identity from persons without anAadhaar number
Programmes include schemes that affect access to public distribution system, to midday meals for children, to pensions for the elderly, to public health care, to food subsidies under the National Food Security Act, to maternity benefits, and to an array of other such necessities
Every day stories abound on denial to individuals of one benefit or another access to rations, to food, to health care- because of a failure in biometric authentication.
Does the court‟s order tell us that rights are not sacrosanct; that individuals seeking benefits
from the state exist purely at the government‟s mercy?
The court has every power to now amend its interim order.
Unless it does so, the social contract, undergirding the Constitution, faces the grave threat of being reduced to rubble.
Awash in water crises
WorldWater Day draws closer (March 22),
This year‟s WorldWater Development Report makes it clear that naturebased solutions which are also aligned with principles and aims of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development can offer answers to our most pressing water-related challenges.
Businesses-usual approaches to water security are no longer viable.
Nature-based solutions hold great promise in areas which also include sustainable food production, improved human settlements,access to drinking water supplies and sanitation, water-related disaster risk reduction, and helping to respond to the impact of climate change on water resources.
World‟s population is expected to increase from 7.6 billion (2017) to between 9.4 and 10.2 billion people (2050), with 2/3 of them living in cities
UN estimates- more than half of this anticipated growth will be in Africa (1.3 billion) and Asia (0.75 billion).
Therefore, those most in need of water will be in developing
Climate change is also impacting the global water cycle
Estimated 3.6 billion people now live in areas that could face water scarcity for at least a month in a year, with that number increasing to 4.8 and 5.7 billion by 2050
India faces major threats to its water security, with most water bodies near urban centres heavily polluted.
Inter State disputes over river resources are also becoming more intense and widespread.
Along with water scarcity, there is the issue of water quality.
Since the 1990s, water pollution has worsened in most rivers in Africa, Asia and Latin America, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
An estimated 80% of industrial and municipal wastewater is released without any prior treatment, with detrimental impacts on human health and ecosystems
Central Pollution Control Board report indicates that almost half of India‟s inter-State rivers are polluted.
It found that the untreated sewage and industrial waste was a major cause of pollution in 16 of 40 inter-State rivers in the country.
Nature-based solutions can address overall water scarcity
Environmentally-friendly agricultural systems
Watershed management is another nature-based solution
Constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment can also be a cost-effective
Unplanned urban development and unwieldy growth with no hydrological plan are causing many problems.
Heavy rain in catchment areas- heavy rain in catchment areas
Nature-based solutions are crucial to achieving our Sustainable Development Goals.
Adopting them will not only improve water management but also achieve water security.
Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis
Page-1- 39 Indians, abducted by IS in Iraq, are dead: Sushma
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj onTuesday informed Rajya Sabha that the 39 Indians, who had been abducted in Iraq in 2014, are dead.
Page-1- SC/STAct being used for blackmail, says top court
Issues guidelines against arbitrary arrests of employees
Anti-atrocities law, which protects Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from casteist slurs and discrimination, has become instrument to “blackmail” innocent citizens and public Servants,Supreme Court observed in a judgment
Issuing a slew of guidelines to protect public servants and private employees from arbitrary arrests under the Atrocities Act, the court directed that public servants can only be arrested with the written permission of their appointing authority
In the case of private employees, the Senior Superintendent of Police concerned should allow it
Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis
Page-1- More autonomy for JNU, Hyderabad university
HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar announces new scheme for quality institutions in the country
Jawaharlal Nehru University and University of Hyderabad are two Central institutions that will be granted highest autonomy as Category-1 institutions under the new scheme of higher autonomy for quality institutions.
Banaras Hindu University,Aligarh Muslim University and the English and Foreign Languages University,Telangana,are in Category-2, which too enjoys high autonomy
Announced Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javadeka
Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis
U.P. says no to new engineering colleges
62% vacant seats in existing institutions
India joins Europe‟s satellite data sharing pool- called Copernicus.
Can exchange earth observation information
Return get to access free data from Europe‟s six Sentinel satellites and those of other space agencies that are part of the programme, at their cost.
Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis
Centre wants„humane‟AFSPA
Minister, however, says there is no plan to withdraw the Act in Kashmir
Operationally effective and humane
Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis
Xi flags nationalism to begin his second term in office