DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: Nov. 18, 2021

MOHUA to launch awareness campaign on Safemitra Suraksha Challenge;

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Why in the news?

As part of the ‘World toilet Day’ celebrations, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development is launching a week long awareness campaign on Safari Mitra Suraksha Challenge (SSC) from November 14th to 20th November 2021 to run up to the ‘Swachh Amrit Diwas.

Objectives:

•  To prevent 'hazardous cleaning' of sewers and septic tanks and promote their mechanized cleaning.

Key highlights:

• A total of 246 cities are participating in SSC which is being conducted across the country. The state capitals, urban local bodies and smart cities will be eligible to participate.
• It is one of the government efforts to combat manual scavenging.
• Cities will be awarded in three sub-categories .

1. with a population of more than 10 lakhs.
2. 3-10 lakhs and upto 3 lakhs. 

• MoHUA has also designed standard uniform designs for different categories of sanitation workers across urban India. 

1. These include Swachhata Commandos (sanitation workers engaged in underground cleaning of sewers and septic tanks), 
2. Safaimitras (engaged in road sweeping and waste collection) 
3.  Swachhata Supervisors/ Operators.  

Key Activities under the Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge (SSC)

• 1. Creating citizen awareness against 'hazardous cleaning' of septic tanks, 
• 2. Infrastructure creation for mechanized cleaning and capacity building of the workforce, 
• 3. A dedicated helpline number(14420) to register complaints and   provide real-time solutions on sewer overflow,
•  4. The actual on-ground assessment of participating cities.Based on this assessment, cities will be awarded, 
• 5. Organizing Loan Melas.

Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge:

• It was launched on November 19, 2020 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• The challenge aims to ensure that no life of septic tank or sewer cleaner is lost during cleaning.
• The Government of India has legislated The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Rehabilitation Act, 2013 to protect manual sewer cleaners.

Manual Scavenging:

• Manual scavenging is the practice of cleaning or handling human excreta from sewers. 
• They are the most disadvantaged and poorest communities in India.
• The Supreme Court of India, in 2014, made it mandatory to provide Rs 10 lakhs as compensation to the families of those who have died during sewerage works.
•  ‘The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (Amendment) Bill, 2020’ as a part of the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry’s National Action Plan.
• The Central Government is currently demolishing insanitary latrines. 
• The insanitary latrines are being converted into sanitary latrines. Also, it provides a rehabilitation package to the manual scavengers. 

Celebration of First Audit Diwas:

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Why in the news?

The Prime Minister unveiled the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India to mark the First Audit Diwas (16th November, 2021)

Key highlights:

• This is the First edition of the Audit Diwas is celebrated to mark the historic origins of the institution of CAG and the contribution made by it to the governance, transparency and accountability.
• Shri Girish Chandra Murmu assumed office as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on 8th August 2020.

What is CAG?

• 
  
  • Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)
  • CAG is the Constitutional Authority in India.
  •  It was established in accordance with Article 148 of the Constitution of India. 
  • The Constitution of India provides for an independent office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). 
  • He is the head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department.
  • The CAG is the statutory auditor of Government-owned corporations.
  • The accountability of the executive to the Parliament in the sphere of financial administration is secured through audit reports of the CAG.
  • The CAG has been ranked at 9th place in the order of precedence. 
  • It enjoys the same status as the sitting judge of the Supreme Court.
  • Appointment: Appointed by the President of India by a warrant under his hand and seal.
  • Tenure: A period of six years or upto the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
  • Not eligible for further office, either under the Government of India or of any state, after he ceases to hold his office.
• Salary and other service : conditions are determined by the Parliament.
• The administrative expenses of the office of the CAG, including all salaries, allowances and pensions of persons serving in that office are charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India.

Constitutional provisions:

• Art. 148:  broadly speaks of the CAG, his appointment, oath and conditions of service
• Art. 149:  broadly speaks of the Duties and Powers of the CAG
• Art. 150:  The accounts of the Union and of the States shall be kept in such form as the President may, on the advice of the CAG, prescribe.
• Art. 151:  Audit Reports: The reports of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India relating to the accounts of the Union shall be submitted to the president, who shall cause them to be laid before each House of Parliament.

Duties:

• He audits all expenditure from the Contingency Fund of India and the Public Account of India as well as the Contingency Fund and Public Account of each state.
• He audits all trading, manufacturing, profit and loss accounts, balance sheets and other subsidiary accounts kept by any department of the Central Government and the state governments.
• He audits all transactions of the Central and state governments related to debt, sinking funds, deposits, advances, suspense accounts and remittance business.
• He advises the President with regard to the prescription of the form in which the accounts of the Centre and states shall be kept.
• He acts as a guide, friend and philosopher of the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament.

Purvanchal Expressway: UP

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Why in the news?

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Purvanchal Expressway.

• It aims at development of futuristic industrial cities in India which can compete with the best manufacturing and investment destinations in the world.

Key highlights:

• Purvanchal Expressway is a stretch of about 341-kms.
• It starts from Chandsarai village,  in Lucknow district and it ends at Haidaria village on National Highway 31 in Ghazipur, 18 km from the UP-Bihar border, in Ghazipur district.
• It is the longest expressway in India.

Features:

• It  comprises a 3.2 km long airstrip at Akhalkiri Karwat village near in Sultanpur district for emergency landing of aircrafts.
• It will have CNG stations, electric recharge stations for vehicles and will be connected with the defense corridor through the Agra and Bundelkhand expressways.
• An industrial corridor is basically a corridor consisting of multi-modal transport services that would pass through the states as main arteries.
•  It is currently a six-lane wide highway and can be expanded to eight-lane in the future.

Background:

• This project was announced by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in May 2015 as Lucknow-Azamgarh-Ballia Expressway.
•  Later, Yogi Adityanath government changed the routes to Lucknow-Azamgarh-Ghazipur. Foundation stone of the expressway was laid July 14, 2018 by Prime Minister Modi. 
• The total project value is Rs 22494 crore. 

About UPEIDA:

• UPEIDA stands for Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority. 
• It was established in 2007 by the Uttar Pradesh government, to develop expressway projects in the state.
• The Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) has been given the responsibility of completing these projects.

Benefits:

• Purvanchal Expressway is going to give a boost to the economic development of eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh, especially the districts of Lucknow, Barabanki, Amethi, Ayodhya, Sultanpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh.
• Once it is opened to the public, the travel time from Lucknow to Ghazipur will be reduced from 6 hours to 3.5 hours.
• It establishes a direct link between the NCR and eastern Uttar Pradesh till almost the Bihar border.
• This expressway will prove to be the backbone of Eastern UP.

Pakistan's Parliament passes bill giving Kulbhushan Jadhav right to appeal:

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Why in the news?

Recently, The Pakistan Parliament passed a bill that gives Kulbhushan Jadhav the right to appeal against his conviction. 

Key highlights:

• The International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Bill, 2020 was passed with a majority vote during a joint sitting of the Parliament on November 17, 2021.
• The law allowed Jadhav to challenge his conviction in the high court through a review process which was a requirement of the ICJ verdict.

Kulbhushan Jadhav Case:

• Kulbhushan Jadhav, a 50-year-old retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of espionage and terrorism in April 2017.
• He was arrested in 2016 by Pakistan on charges of spying and sentenced to death in 2017.
• India has rejected the charges leveled against the navy officer. Further, it said that he was kidnapped by Pakistani operatives from the Iranian port of Chabahar where he was running a business.
• India approached the ICJ against Pakistan for denial of consular access (Vienna Convention) to Jadhav and challenging the death sentence.
• The Hague-based ICJ ruled in July 2019 that Pakistan must undertake an "effective review and reconsideration" of the conviction and sentence of Jadhav and also to grant consular access to India without further delay.
• The right to appeal as per the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

About the International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Bill of 2020:

• The bill provides the right of appeal to death-row prisoner Kulbhushan Jadhav against the death sentence.
• The bill was passed after the International Court of Justice(ICJ) in its verdict had asked Pakistan to provide a credible review opportunity to Jadhav.

About ICJ:

• ICJ was established in 1945 by the United Nations charter.
• It is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.
• It is situated at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).
• It settles legal disputes between States and gives advisory opinions in accordance with international law, on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.
• Its official languages are English and French.

Structure:

• The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. 
• In order to ensure a measure of continuity, one third of the Court is elected every three years and Judges are eligible for re-election.

The Court has two functions:

• To settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted by States.
• To give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized UN organs and specialized agencies.

Vienna Convention:

• The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations is an international treaty that defines consular relations between independent states.
• Article 36 of the Vienna Convention states that foreign nationals who are arrested or detained in the host country must be given notice without delay of their right to have their embassy or consulate notified of that arrest.
• If the detained foreign national so requests, the police must fax that notice to the embassy or consulate, which can then verify the detained person.