Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 18 MARCH 2019

::NATIONAL::

NGT asks states to submit action plan

•  The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed six States to submit by April 30 action plans for bringing air quality standards within the prescribed norms, failing which they would be liable to pay environment compensation of Rs. 1 crore each.
•  The tribunal warned that if action plans are not executed within the specified timeline, the defaulting States will be liable to pay environmental compensation and may also be required to furnish performance guarantee for execution of plans in extended timeline as per recommendations received from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
•  Concerned over the threat posed to limited natural resources due to their overuse, the tribunal has directed assessment of carrying capacity of 102 cities, including Delhi, where the air quality does not meet the national ambient air quality standards.
•  It had said that it is undisputed that air pollution is a matter of serious concern and large number of deaths take place every year in the country on account of air pollution.
•  The NGT had said that Delhi is over-polluted and figures quite high in the ranking of most polluted cities and there is no study about the capacity of the city with respect to the extent of population which can be accommodated and number of vehicles which can be handled by its roads.

Rural Sanitation survey finds only fewer toilets with twin pitch system

•  Under the twin-pit system, two pits are dug with honeycombed walls and earthen floors which allow liquid to percolate into the surrounding soil. When one pit is filled and closed off, waste flow is transferred to the second pit, allowing waste in the first pit to be converted into manure after a year or two.
•  The Hindu’s analysis of raw data from the National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey 2018-19, shows that just 26.6% of rural households use the recommended twin-pit system to dispose of excreta from their toilets.
•  The twin pit has been promoted by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and the World Health Organisation as an in-situ sanitation system, which claims to bypass thorny issues as owners will be dealing with manure, not excreta.
•  Jharkhand, which is second on the list, with almost 58% of its toilets connected to twin pits, was declared open defecation free (ODF) only late last year. “Our focus was on quality construction and twin-pit technology,” said State sanitation secretary AradhanaPatnaik.
•  Uttar Pradesh, which tops the list with 64% of toilets with twin pits, had made the technology mandatory for anyone who wanted to avail the government’s Rs. 12,000 subsidy to build toilets.
•  A 2018 survey of 30 cities and towns in Uttar Pradesh by the Centre for Science and Environment found that 87% of toilet waste is dumped into water bodies and farm lands.

::ECONOMY::

New hydro policy will help meet renewable energy targets : Experts

•  While the government’s decision to re-classify large hydroelectric projects as renewable energy will certainly help the sector, the move will also go a long way in meeting the targets set by it for the sector, according to analysts.
•  Earlier this month, the Union Cabinet approved a new hydroelectricity policy that, among other things, included large hydro projects within the ambit of renewable energy.
•  Prior to the policy, only small hydro projects of a capacity of less than 25 MW were treated as renewable energy. Large hydro projects were treated as a separate source of energy.
•  India’s renewable energy sector had an installed capacity of 75,055.92 MW as of February 2019, according to data with the Central Electricity Authority. This made up about 21.4% of the overall energy mix, with the rest coming from thermal, nuclear and large hydro sources.
•  The policy has meant a drastic change in the renewable energy mix as well. Whereas earlier, wind energy contributed nearly 50% of all renewable energy capacity, it will now make up only 29.3%.
•  Other commentators pointed out that another benefit from the policy could be the effect on the stock prices of State-run hydroelectric companies such as NHPC and SJVN at a point when the government is looking to sell its stake in these companies.

Economy,prime reason for migration in India Bengal delta region

•  Economic reasons are the precipitating factor for migration in the Indian Bengal Delta that comprises the Sunderbans reveals an international study titled Deltas, Vulnerability and Climate Change: Migration and Adaptation (DECMA).
•  The study also points out that there is huge gender disparity when it comes to those migrating from the region.
•  The study which covers 51 blocks of districts of South and North 24 Parganas reveals that 64% people migrate because of economic reasons, unsustainable agriculture, lack of economic opportunities and debt; 28 % of the migration from the region is for social reasons and about 7% for environmental reasons like cyclones and flooding.
•  Professor TuhinGhosh, the India country head for DECMA says people surveyed during the study could not relate to reduced agricultural productivity, increased salinity and change in rainfall pattern as environmental reason for their migration.
•  Only in cases of extreme events like flooding and cyclones resulting in loss of livelihood, did the locals say their migration was due to environmental reasons, he points out.
•  The DECMA report also finds that most migrants both in case of men and women are young, in the age group of 20-30 years.
•  ProfessorGhosh, who is associated with the School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University says that in the Sunderbans there are villages where most of the men have migrated for work and the responsibility of the family and agriculture falls on the women.
•  According to experts behind the study, one of the reasons for migration is failed adaptation in the areas which are under stress due to climate change.

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::INTERNATIONAL::

India appreciates France’s decision to sanction JeM chief

•  India has welcomed the decision taken by France to sanction Jaish-e-Mohammed Chief MasoodAzhar.
•  In a tweet, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, Azhar who is a Pakistan-based and his outfit is UN proscribed terrorist organisationwho is responsible for the Pulwama terrorist attack.
•  Earlier, France has decided to freeze all assets of Pakistan based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed, JeM chief MasoodAzhar, in the application of the country's Monetary and Financial Code.
•  The French government's Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, said, France has always been and always will be by India's side in the fight against terrorism.
•  It said France has decided to sanction MasoodAzhar at the national level by freezing his assets in the application of the Monetary and Financial Code.
•  A joint statement issued by the French interior ministry, finance ministry and foreign ministry said that France would raise the issue with its European partners with a view to including MasoodAzhar on the European Union list of persons, groups and entities involved in terrorist acts.

Cyclone Idai strikes southern African states

•  Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi have been hit by a vicious cyclone that has killed nearly 150 people, left hundreds more missing and stranded tens of thousands. According to the UN and government officials, Cyclone Idai has affected more than 1.5 million people in the three southern African countries.
•  In Zimbabwe, 39 people have died from the floods so far. According to the government, the deaths are mainly in Zimbabwe's Chimanimani, a mountainous area along the eastern border with Mozambique that is popular with tourists.
•  The United Nations said more than 100 people are missing. Ministry of Information said the Zimbabwean national army is leading the rescue efforts. UN agencies and the Red Cross are also helping with rescue efforts.
•  In Mozambique, at least 48 people have been killed in the worst-hit central Sofala province. Dozens of others are missing after the storm brought strong winds, heavy rains and flash flooding destroying bridges and sweeping away homes.
•  Even before the cyclone made landfall on Friday, heavy rains earlier in the week had already claimed 66 lives and forced 17,000 people from their homes in Mozambique. They also affected neighbouring Malawi, where 56 people have died.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

High toxicity in air leading to push migration in Mangolia

•  In the world’s coldest capital, many burn coal and plastic just to survive temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees but warmth comes at a price: deadly pollution makes Ulaanbaatar’s air too toxic for children to breathe, leaving parents little choice but to evacuate them to the countryside.
•  This exodus is a stark warning of the future for urban areas in much of Asia, where scenes of citizens in anti-pollution masks against a backdrop of brown skies are becoming routine, rather than apocalyptic.
•  Ulaanbaatar is one of the most polluted cities on the planet, alongside New Delhi, Dhaka, Kabul, and Beijing. It regularly exceeds WHO recommendations for air quality even as experts warn of disastrous consequences, particularly for children, including stunted development, chronic illness, and in some cases death.
•  Erdene-Bat Naranchimeg watched helplessly as her daughter Amina battled illness virtually from birth, her immune system handicapped by the smog-choked air in Mongolia’s capital
•  This is not a unique case in a city where winter temperatures plunge towards uninhabitable, particularly in the districts that rural workers moved to in search of a better life.
•  The situation was so bad that doctors told Ms. Naranchimeg the only solution was to send her little girl to the clean air of the countryside. Now aged five, Amina is thriving. She lives with her grandparents in Bornuur Sum, 135 km away from the capital.

::SPORTS::

India finishes as runner ups in Asian youth athletics

•  In Asian Youth Athletics Championships in Hong Kong, boys medley relay team won a gold medal for India on the final day to help Indian youth team finish second in the overall medals tally with a total of 26 medals including eight gold, nine silver and nine bronze medals.
•  China topped the overall medals tally with 31 medals that included 12 gold, 11 silver and eight bronze medals and Japan finished third with 20 medals that included 6 Gold, 8 Silver and 6 bronze.

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