Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 28 July 2022

::NATIONAL::

Chief Justice of India NV Ramana called the culture of promising freebies during elections “a very serious issue” and asked the central government to take a stand on curbing the situation.
The apex court was hearing a plea that sought to direct the Election Commission of India to not permit parties to promise or distribute irrational freebies from public funds.
The lawyer appearing for the ECI informed the court that rules relating to freebies and poll promises have been incorporated in the Model Code of Conduct, but any law to ban or penalise the practice would have to be made by the government.

About:

Election Freebies are the offerings/distributionof irrational freebies from political parties aspart of electoral promises.
Presently, freebies are difficult toregulate due to the absence ofregulations/laws.

Negative impact of Freebies:

Lead to greater risks including sub-national bankruptcy (fiscal crisis of local governmentthat undermine its service delivery).
Huge drain on the state exchequer.
Gives advantage to the political party inpower.

Steps taken by the Election Commission ofIndia to check the freebies:

In Subramaniam Balaji Vs State of TamilNadu (2013), SC observed the lack ofprovisions and directed ECI to frameguidelines to check freebies inconsultation with political parties.

About:

India has designated five (5) new wetlands of International importance, which include three wetlands (Karikili Bird Sanctuary, Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest & Pichavaram Mangrove) in Tamil Nadu, one (Pala wetland) in Mizoram and one wetland (Sakhya Sagar) in Madhya Pradesh, making a total of 54 Ramsar sites in the country.
Ramsar sites increased from 49 to 54 Ramsar sites.
India’s Ramsar Wetlands cover 11,000 square kilometers (about 10% of the country’s total wetland area) across 18 states.No other country in South Asia has as many sites, although this has a lot to do with India’s latitude and tropical diversity.

Two BSF personnel who were part of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), were among five people killed during a protest in an eastern town near the border with Uganda on July 26.
A total 175 Indian peacekeepers have so far died while serving with the United Nations. India has lost more peacekeepers than any other UN Member State.
United Nations Peacekeeping
Since 1948, UN Peacekeepers have undertaken 71 Field Missions. There are approximately 81,820 personnel serving on 13 peace operations led by UNDPO, in four continents currently. This represents a nine-fold increase since 1999.
A total of 119 countries have contributed military and police personnel to UN peacekeeping. Currently, 72,930 of those serving are troops and military observers, and about 8,890 are police personnel.
India’s contribution to UN Peacekeeping
To date, more than 2,53,000 Indians have served in 49 of the 71 UN Peacekeeping missions established around the world since 1948.
Currently, there are around 5,500 troops and police from India who have been deployed to UN Peacekeeping missions, the fifth highest amongst troop-contributing countries.
India has also provided, and continues to provide, eminent Force Commanders for UN Missions. India is the fifth largest troop contributor (TCC) with 5,323 personnel deployed in 8 out of 13 active UN Peacekeeping Missions, of which 166 are police personnel.

The guidelines were launched by the International Organisation for Migration(IOM), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and others.

About:

‘The Guiding Principles for Children on the Move in the Context of ClimateChange’ contain a set of nine principles (refer to the infographics) that addressthe unique vulnerabilities of children who have been uprooted due to climatechange.
The guidelines cover both internal as well as cross-border migrations.
They provide national and local governments, international organisations, andcivil society groups with a foundation to build policies that protect children’srights.

Key highlights:

One billion children livein 33 countries classifiedas being at extremelyhigh risk to the impactsof climate change.
Nearly 10 millionchildren were displaceddue to weather-relatedevents in 2020 alone.
Such children may be exposed to a variety of risks, such as abuse, trafficking,exploitation and other forms of maltreatment.
36% of all deaths among children (aged (0-14) are, in part, caused byenvironmental factors.

The Union Cabinet cleared a Rs 1.64-lakh crore package for revival of state-owned telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL).

Key highlights:

With the focus on fresh capital for upgrading the loss-making company’s network and allocating spectrum for it to offer 4G services, de-stressing its balance sheet and augmenting its fiber network.
The four-year revival strategy follows a 2019 booster, when the government had announced a Rs 70,000-crore package mainly to cover a voluntary retirement scheme for BSNL employees.
Of the total revival package announced Wednesday, Rs 43,964 crore will be a cash component, while the remaining Rs 1.2 lakh crore of non-cash component will be spread over four years.
The Centre will make administrative allocation of spectrum BSNL needs to offer 4G services. The allocation of spectrum in 900/1,800 MHz band at the cost of Rs 44,993 crore would be through equity infusion.
Further, to enhance the operator’s wireline offering, the Telecom Department has proposed the merger of Bharat Broadband Nigam Ltd (BBNL) with BSNL.

Contributions in the space sector:

Made significant contribution as Project Director to develop India’s first indigenous SatelliteLaunch Vehicle (SLV-III).
He was responsible for the evolution of ISRO’s Polar Satellite launch vehicle.
Known as the Missile man of India, he was responsible for the development of AGNI andPRITHVI Missiles.
He played a key role in the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in collaboration with Department of AtomicEnergy.

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