DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS 28 DECEMBER
Defense
Army respects rights of adversaries: Rawat
Comment of Army Chief:
- Indian armed forces have the utmost respect for human rights.
- Human Rights Cell in the Army headquarters was being upgraded to the level of a Directorate.
- The armed forces not only ensure protection of human rights of our own people, but also of adversaries and deal with the prisoners of war as per the Geneva Conventions.
- Human rights cell would also have police personnel to address complaints and facilitate related enquiries.
- To ensure protection of human rights during counter-insurgency operations, a court of inquiry was held after every operation and all related records maintained.
About Geneva Convention:
- The Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols are international treaties that are at the core of international humanitarian law.
- They contains the most important rules regulating the conduct of armed conflicts and seeks to specifically protect civilians, health and aid workers.
- The rights of interned persons are specifically enumerated, providing protections for those charged with crimes during wartime.
- It requires humane treatment for all persons in enemy hands without any discrimination.
- It specifically prohibits murder, mutilation, torture, the taking of hostages, unfair trial, and cruel, humiliating and degrading treatment.
- It requires that the wounded, sick and shipwrecked be collected and cared for.
Reference: https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/army-respects-rights-of-adversaries-rawat/article30416704.ece
SECURITY
Personal queries directly linked to establishing citizenship: SC
Supreme Court Judgment in 2005:
- Questions about a person’s place and date of birth, his parents’ names and their place of birth are meant to ascertain citizenship.
- In order to establish one’s citizenship, normally he may be required to give evidence of (i) his date of birth (ii) place of birth (iii) name of his parents (iv) their place of birth and citizenship.
- These facts figured specially in the context of establishing citizenship because they “would necessarily be within the personal knowledge of the person concerned and not of the authorities of the State”.
- In case of doubts about a person’s citizenship, the burden of proving that these facts were true was on the person concerned.
Background of the Judgment:
The 2005 judgment came just over a year after the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules of 2003 was notified in December 2003.
About the Citizenship rules:
- Rule 4(3) of the Citizenship Rules states that personal details collected for the ‘Population Register’ would be used in the preparation of the National Register of Indian Citizens.
- The Citizenship Rules define ‘Population Register’ as a “register containing details of persons usually residing in a village or rural area or town or ward or demarcated area.
- The particulars collected of every family and individual in the Population Register will be verified and scrutinized by the Local Registrar.
SOCIETY
Explained: Why this winter is extra cold
Usual and Difference:
- Second half of December and the first half of January, temperatures routinely drop to 2-4°C at some point of the day in many places in north and northwest India.
- This winter, in many parts of the region, maximum temperatures on some days have been nearly 10°C below normal.
- In Delhi, the average maximum temperature for December has been less than 20°C until December 27. This has happened only four times in the last 118 years.
About Cold day definitions:
Cold day: when the maximum temperature during the day is at least 4.5°C below normal.
Severe Cold day: If the maximum temperature is at least 6.5°C below normal.
Reasons behind severe cold:
- CLIMATE CHANGE: The unusually cold December this year could just be another instance of extreme climates becoming more and more frequent, a result of climate change.
- WESTERN DISTURBANCES: Frequent western disturbances varying from moderate to intense have mainly contributed to the severe cold over all of north India this year.
- The flow of northwesterly winds over northwest India, that too over much lower levels, further fuelled the chill factor.
- This December also witnessed haze, fog and rainfall after the passing of each western disturbance, triggering cold weather conditions over north India.
- LOW CLOUDS: This extended cold spell has been triggered due to low stratus clouds that are blanketed over a large geographical area. As these clouds are formed at a height of 300 meters to 400 meters from the surface, they largely block the day’s sunlight, resulting in cold days.
Reference: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/why-this-winter-is-extra-cold-6188129/
POLITY
Explained: How to measure governance in Indian states
Good Governance Index:
- It is prepared by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances ; Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
- GGI is a uniform tool that will help in assessing the status of governance and the impact of interventions undertaken by governments across all states and UTs.
About Good Governance:
- Good governance can be referred as an effective and efficient process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented) keeping the amelioration of citizens as the topmost priority.
- Resource allocation, creation of formal establishments, setting up rules and regulations etc., are part of achieving this goal.
Objectives of GGI:
- Provide quantifiable data to compare the state of governance in all states and UTs.
- Enable states and UTs to formulate and implement suitable strategies for improving governance.
- Shift to result oriented approaches and administration.
Measuring Performance of States:
- GGI will consider 10 sectors: agriculture and allied sectors, commerce and industries, human resource development, public health, public infrastructure and utilities, economic governance, social welfare and development, judicial & public security, environment, and citizen-centric governance.
Parameters and Sub-Parameters:
- Agriculture & Allied Sector
- Growth rate of agriculture and allied sector
- Growth rate of Food Grains Production
- Growth rate of Horticulture Produce
- Growth rate of Milk Production
- Growth rate of Meat Production
- Crop insurance
- Commerce and Industries
- Ease of Doing Business
- Growth Rate of Industries
- MSME establishments
- Human Resource Development
- Quality of Education
- Gender Parity Index
- Retention Rate at Elementary Level (Grade I to VIII)
- Enrolment ratio of SC and ST
- Skill trainings imparted
- Placement ratio including self-employment*
- Public Health
- Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)
- Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR)
- Total Fertility Rate (TFR)
- Immunization Achievement
- Availability of Doctors and Paramedical Staff at PHCs
- Operationalization of 24X7 Facility at PHCs
- Public Infrastructure & Utilities
- Access to Potable Water
- Towns declared Open Defecation Free (ODF)
- Village declared ODF
- Connectivity to Rural Habitations
- Access to Clean Cooking Fuel (LPG / PNG)
- Access to Power Supply
- Availability of 24X7 Power Supply
- Energy Availability against the Requirement
- Growth in Per Capita Power Consumption
- Economic Governance
- Growth in per Capita Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP)
- Fiscal Deficit as a percentage of GSDP
- State’s Own Tax Revenue Receipts to Total Revenue Receipts
- Debt (Total Outstanding Liabilities) to GSDP
- Social Welfare & Development
- Sex Ratio at Birth
- Health Insurance Coverage
- Rural Employment Guarantee
- Unemployment Rate
- Housing for All
- Economic Empowerment of Women
- Empowerment of SCs, OBCs and Minorities
- Disposal of SC-ST Atrocity Cases by Courts
- Judiciary & Public Security
- Conviction Rate
- Availability of Police Personnel
- Proportion of Women Police Personnel
- Disposal of Court Cases
- Disposal of cases by consumer courts
- Environment
- Availability of State-level Action Plan for Climate Change
- Change in Forest Cover
Composite Ranking:
|
# |
Big States |
Score |
NE & Hill |
Score |
UTs |
Score |
|
1 |
Tamil Nadu |
5.62 |
Himachal Pradesh |
5.22 |
Pondicherry |
4.69 |
|
2 |
Maharashtra |
5.40 |
Uttarakhand |
4.87 |
Chandigarh |
4.68 |
|
3 |
Karnataka |
5.10 |
Tripura |
4.50 |
Delhi |
4.39 |
|
4 |
Chhattisgarh |
5.05 |
Mizoram |
4.41 |
Daman & Diu |
4.33 |
|
5 |
Andhra Pradesh |
5.05 |
Sikkim |
4.21 |
A&N Islands |
4.12 |
|
6 |
Gujarat |
5.04 |
Assam |
4.07 |
D&N Haveli |
3.12 |
|
7 |
Haryana |
5.00 |
J & K |
4.04 |
Lakshadweep |
2.97 |
|
8 |
Kerala |
4.98 |
Manipur |
3.93 |
|
|
|
9 |
Madhya Pradesh |
4.85 |
Meghalaya |
3.81 |
|
|
|
10 |
West Bengal |
4.84 |
Nagaland |
3.55 |
|
|
|
11 |
Telangana |
4.83 |
Arunachal Pradesh |
3.03 |
|
|
|
12 |
Rajasthan |
4.80 |
|
|
|
|
|
13 |
Punjab |
4.57 |
|
|
|
|
|
14 |
Orissa |
4.44 |
|
|
|
|
|
15 |
Bihar |
4.40 |
|
|
|
|
|
16 |
Goa |
4.29 |
|
|
|
|
|
17 |
Uttar Pradesh |
4.25 |
|
|
|
|
|
18 |
Jharkhand |
4.23 |
|
|
|
|
Indicator Selection Principles:
ENVIRONMENT
Villagers in M.P. oppose removal of godman’s shrine
Villagers damaged an earthmover and a jeep in the Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary in Raisen district after authorities removed a shrine of a local godman encroaching upon the point of origin of the Betwa River.
Details:
- The Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, in Vindhya Range in central India.
- The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to declare the Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary a tiger reserve (the seventh for the State).
- The state received approval for the same from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) 11 years ago.
- The declaration of the sanctuary as a tiger reserve will help in better conservation of tigers in the area which is facing the problem of illegal mining and poaching.
- The forest of Ratapani is dry deciduous and moist deciduous type, with teak as the main tree species.
- Bhimbetka rock shelters are located within this tiger reserve. It has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
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