DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS
04 MAY 2022
| S. No. | Topic Name | Prelims/Mains |
| 1. | About the India Denmark Business Forum Meeting | Prelims & Mains |
| 2. | About the Prison Reforms in India | Prelims & Mains |
| 3. | About the Solid Waste Management in India | Prelims & Mains |
| 4. | Details of the UGC Guidelines to tackle mental issues among children | Prelims & Mains |
| 5. | Details of the Registrar General of India | Prelims Specific Topic |
1 – About the India Denmark Business Forum Meeting:
GS II
International Relations
- Context:
- Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi attended the India-Denmark Business Forum at the Confederation of Danish Industry alongside Prime Minister of Denmark, H.E. Ms. Mette Frederiksen, and H.R.H. Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark.
-
About the Meeting:
- The Prime Minister stressed the complementary skillsets of the two economies and asked Danish businesses to take advantage of India’s vast prospects in areas such as green technologies, cold chains, waste to wealth, shipping and ports, among others. He emphasised India’s business-friendly stance and urged both sides’ corporate community to seek collaborative potential.
- Prime Minister Frederiksen emphasised the importance of the business community in bridging the gap between the two nations.
-
Businesses from both countries took part in the event in categories such as:
- Green technology, innovation, and digitization are three words that come to mind while thinking about green technology.
- Renewable Energy and Energy Independence
- Agriculture, Water, and the Environment
- Infrastructure, transportation, and services are all important.
- Source: The Hindu
2 – About the Prison Reforms in India:
GS II
Indian Judiciary
- Context:
- Prime Minister Modi recently raised the issue of overcrowding of India Prisons and need for reforms in Indian Prisons.
-
Status of Indian Prisons:
- Overcrowding, understaffing, and underfunding, as well as violent confrontations, are three long-standing structural restrictions in Indian jails.
- The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) published Prison Statistics India 2016 in 2019, which shows the plight of Indian prisoners.
- India’s under-trial population remains among the largest in the world, with more than half of all undertrials being held for less than six months in 2016.
- According to the study, there were 4,33,033 inmates in prison at the end of 2016, with 68 percent of them awaiting trial.
- This shows that the high number of undertrials in the overall jail population may be due to wrongful arrests and inadequate legal representation during remand hearings.
-
Issues with Indian Prisons:
-
People in Preventive Detention :
In Jammu and Kashmir, the number of people detained under administrative (or “prevention”) detention legislation is on the rise.
- With 431 inmates in 2016, compared to 90 in 2015, there was a 300 percent rise.
- Authorities utilise administrative, or ‘preventive,’ custody to detain people without charge or trial, circumventing normal criminal justice procedures.
-
Unawareness of C.R.P.C. Section 436A :
Under Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, there is a disparity between the number of convicts eligible for release and those who are actually released.
- Only 929 of the 1,557 undertrials eligible for parole under Section 436A were freed in 2016.
- Furthermore, according to Amnesty India’s study, prison staff are often unaware of this section and hesitant to enforce it.
- Unnatural Deaths in Prison: Between 2015 and 2016, the number of “unnatural” deaths in jails more than doubled, from 115 to 231.
- Suicide rates among inmates also climbed by 28%, from 77 suicides in 2015 to 102 suicides in 2016.
- According to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), a person is 1.5 times more likely to commit suicide in prison than they are outside. This could be a sign of the seriousness of mental health issues in Indian prisons.
- There aren’t enough mental health professionals: In 2016, there was only one mental health expert for every 21,650 inmates, with psychologists/psychiatrists available in only six states and one union territory.
- In addition, the NCRB reported that 6,013 people with mental illnesses were in prison in 2016.
- According to the Prison Act of 1894 and the Prisoner Act of 1900, each jail should have a welfare officer and a law officer, but these officials have yet to be hired. This explains why prisons have received such a low political and budgetary priority in the previous century.
- Reforms in Prisons Recommendation
- The Justice Amitava Roy (retd.) Committee, which was established by the Supreme Court, has made the following suggestions for jail reform.
-
In the event of overcrowding:
-
Speedy Trial:
One of the most effective approaches to address the unjustified problem of overcrowding is to use a speedy trial.
-
Attorney-to-Prisoner Ratio:
There should be one counsel for every 30 inmates, which is now not the case.
-
Courts of Appeal:
Petty offences that have been pending for more than five years should be dealt with in special fast-track courts.
- In addition, accused persons charged with minor offences and granted bail but unable to secure surety should be released on a Personal Recognizance (PR) Bond.
-
Avoid Adjournment:
In cases when witnesses are present, an adjournment should not be allowed, and the concept of plea bargaining, in which the accused concedes guilt in exchange for a lighter punishment, should be advocated.
-
For Detainees:
- To help him get through his first week in jail, every new prisoner should be permitted one free phone call every day to his family members.
-
Legal Assistance:
Providing competent legal assistance to inmates, as well as taking steps to provide vocational training and education to inmates.
-
Use of ICT:
For the trial, video conferencing was used.
- Alternatives: Instead of sending offenders to jail, the courts may be allowed to exercise their “discretionary powers” and award punishments such as “fine and admonition.”
- Furthermore, in worthy circumstances, judges may be persuaded to release convicts on probation before or after trial.
- Filling Vacancies: The Supreme Court should issue orders directing authorities to begin the recruitment process for permanent positions within three months and to finish it within a year.
- For food, there are modern cooking facilities and canteens where needed products can be purchased.
- The Indian Law Commission proposed in 2017 that undertrials who have served a third of their maximum sentence for crimes punishable by up to seven years in jail be released on bail.
- Source : The Indian Express
3 – About the Solid Waste Management in India:
GS II
Environmental Conservation related issues
- Context:
- The Landfill Sites in Delhi have grown to a huge size in the recent past.
-
Current Status:
- The majority of megacity dumpsites have grown far past their capacity and permitted height limit of 20 metres. In India, it is believed that over 10,000 hectares of urban land are enslaved in these dumpsites.
- In Indian cities, per capita trash generation ranges from 200 to 600 grammes each day.
- Only around 75-80 percent of municipal waste is collected, and only about 22-28 percent is processed and treated.
- The effect
- The expansion of open rubbish dumps with no ventilation results in methane emissions, which absorb the sun’s heat, warm the atmosphere, and contribute to global warming.
- Leachate, a black liquid that seeps out of garbage as it decomposes over a 25- to 30-year period, contaminates soil and groundwater.
- Other effects of dumping rubbish in the open include foul odours from waste decomposing in airless heaps and smoke from flames that erupt on a regular basis.
- The older landfills lacked bottom liners and sideliners, allowing leachate to leak into the ground and pollute groundwater and land.
- Because the dumpsites are open and publicly accessible, they have become a site for public dumping, exacerbating the problem.
-
India’s legal system
-
2016 Solid Waste Management Regulations:
- These laws, which supersede the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules of 2000, now apply to urban agglomerations, census towns, notified industrial townships, and other locations outside of municipal jurisdiction.
- They emphasise waste separation at the source, the manufacturer’s obligation for sanitary and packaging waste disposal, and user fees for bulk generator collection, disposal, and processing.
- It has also been recommended that biodegradable trash be processed, treated, and disposed of within the premises as much as possible by composting or bio-methanation, with the remainder garbage being handed to the waste collectors or agency as ordered by the local authorities.
- The guidelines encourage the use of compost, the conversion of waste into energy, and the adjustment of landfill location and capacity parameters.
- The government has also established a Central Monitoring Committee, chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Food and Climate Change, to oversee the overall implementation of the rules.
- All open dumpsites and current operating dumpsites in India must use bio-remediation and bio-mining, according to the Rules for the Safe Treatment of Legacy Waste.
- Aside from that, Article 51 A (g) of the Indian Constitution makes it a fundamental duty of every Indian citizen to safeguard and improve the natural environment, including forests, lakes, rivers, and animals, as well as to have compassion for all living things.
-
Steps Ahead:
-
Setting explicit technical standards:
It is critical that bio-mining and bio-remediation be made mandatory in regions where they can be used. Municipalities should not be allowed to decide whether or not there are geographical limits that prevent the adoption of the aforementioned strategies.
- Biomining and bioremediation are superior and straightforward processes that are both cost-effective and environmentally acceptable. The nicest thing is that the property that was previously used as a landfill is now totally available for other uses.
-
Capping Scientifically:
If capping is necessary, it should be done scientifically with underground pits with a good bottom and sideliners, as well as suitable pipe and gas extraction systems to prevent leachate and gases from escaping.
-
Decentralization of waste management:
Decentralization of waste management is critical. Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh, and Vellore, Tamil Nadu, are two excellent examples of this, where trash is collected decentralizedly, composted naturally, and then planted.
- Source: The Hindu
4 – Details of the UGC Guidelines to tackle mental issues among children:
GS II
Education related issues
- Context:
- The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued draught guidelines mandating the establishment of dedicated mental health counselling cells at colleges and universities to assist students in dealing with academic and peer pressure, stress, and depression.
- These cells will also be required to keep separate records of kids who appear to be “more vulnerable and stress-prone” under the rules, which are set to be released for public comment on Wednesday.
- The dropout rate can also be checked this way.
-
About the Guidelines:
- According to the recommendations headed “Promotion of Physical Fitness, Sports, Students’ Health, Welfare, Psychological and Emotional Well Being,” “subsequent interventions can be devised accordingly.
- Every higher educational institution must have a Students Services Centre (SSC) that is responsible for dealing with and managing stress and emotional adjustment issues.
- Within the relevant provisions of laws, it shall have standardised, systematic procedures to give requisite support to students, particularly those from rural backgrounds, female students, students from diverse cultural backgrounds, and students with special needs, the guidelines state.
- The rules’ major goal is to promote physical fitness and athletic activities among students, as well as instil a good attitude and foster a supportive student network.
- These are necessary for students’ mental health to be strengthened in order to protect themselves from various types of stress, pressure, and behavioural disorders.
- Source: The Indian Express
5 – Details of the Registrar General of India:
Prelims Specific Topic
- Context:
- Death registration show 6% rise in the pandemic year, according to the figures released by the Registrar General of India.
-
About:
- Until the 1951 Census, the Census Organization was formed on an ad hoc basis for each census.
- In 1949, the Government of India formed an organisation inside the Ministry of Home Affairs, headed by the Registrar General and ex-Officio Census Commissioner, India, to develop a systematic collection of information on population size, growth, and other topics.
- Later on, this office was tasked with enforcing the Registration of Births and Deaths Act of 1969 throughout the country.
- It organises, performs, and analyses India’s demographic surveys, such as the Census of India and the Linguistic Survey of India.
- India’s census offers data on the country’s population’s size, distribution, socioeconomic, demographic, and other aspects.
- As of 2011, India’s decennial census had been held 15 times.
- The first comprehensive census was taken in 1881, after being conducted every ten years from 1872 under British Viceroy Lord Mayo.
- It was conducted after 1949 by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, which is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India.
- Source: The Hindu
UPSC Civil Services Daily Current Affairs 4th May 2022
Our Courses
Watch Our Videos on YouTube