11th June

BS – VI norms

Context: International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) has released India’s first Type Approval Certificate (TAC) for Bharat Stage – VI (BS – VI) norms for the two wheeler segment.

Last year, ICAT issued the approval for BS –VI norms to M/s Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles for the Heavy Commercial Vehicle segment which was also the first in its segment in India.

Background:'

Bharat Stage norms are the automotive emission norms which the automotive manufacturers have to comply to sell their vehicles in India. These norms are applicable to all two wheelers, three wheelers, fourwheelers and construction equipment vehicles.

To curb growing menace of air pollution through the vehicles emission, the Government of India has decided to leapfrog from the exiting BS – IV norms to the BS- VI, thereby skipping the BS – V norms, and to implement the BS – VI norms with effect from 1st April 2020. Only those vehicles will be sold and registered in India from 1st April 2020 onwards, which comply to these norms. The norms are stringent and at par with global standards.

About ICAT:

ICAT is the premier testing and certification agency authorized by Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for providing testing and certification services to the vehicle and component manufacturers in India and abroad.

Difference between BS-IV and the new BS-VI:

• The major difference in standards between the existing BS-IV and the new BS-VI auto fuel norms is the presence of sulphur.
• The newly introduced fuel is estimated to reduce the amount of sulphur released by 80%, from 50 parts per million to 10 ppm.
• As per the analysts, the emission of NOx (nitrogen oxides) from diesel cars is also expected to reduce by nearly 70% and 25% from cars with petrol engines.

Why is it important to upgrade these norms?

Upgrading to stricter fuel standards helps tackle air pollution. Global automakers are betting big on India as vehicle penetration is still low here, when compared to developed countries. At the same time, cities such as Delhi are already being listed among those with the poorest air quality in the world. The national capital’s recent odd-even car experiment and judicial activism against the registration of big diesel cars shows that governments can no longer afford to relax on this front.

With other developing countries such as China having already upgraded to the equivalent of Euro V emission norms a while ago, India has been lagging behind. The experience of countries such as China and Malaysia shows that poor air quality can be bad for business. Therefore, these reforms can put India ahead in the race for investments too.

Why lakhs are protesting on the streets in Hong Kong

Context: Huge protests in Hong Kong.

 Reasons behind:

The protesters were marching against proposed changes in the law that would allow suspects accused of crimes such as murder and rape to be extradited to mainland China to face trial.

Once the law is changed, Hong Kong will also hand over to China individuals accused of crimes in Taiwan and Macau. Macau, like Hong Kong, is a Chinese special administrative region with significant autonomy.

 China’s response:

The government has said that the proposed amendments would “plug loopholes” that allow the city to be used by criminals. It has assured that courts in Hong Kong would make the final decision on extradition, that only certain categories of suspects would be liable, and that individuals accused of political and religious offences would not be extradited.

 The protesters in Hong Kong are concerned mainly because:

China may use the changed law to target political opponents in Hong Kong.

Extradited suspects are likely to face torture. Also, they say, the change in the law will deal another blow to Hong Kong’s already crumbling autonomy.

 International response:

Human Rights Watch and the International Chamber of Commerce have warned against changing the law. A body of the US Congress has said it would make Hong Kong vulnerable to Chinese “political coercion”, and the UK and Canada have expressed concern over the potential impact on their citizens in Hong Kong. The EU has sent a diplomatic note.

Relationship of Hong Kong with respect to China:

The former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997, and is semi-autonomous under the “one country, two systems” principle. It has its own laws and courts, and allows its residents a range of civil liberties. Hong Kong does not have an extradition agreement with Beijing.

What is the three-language formula?

Why is it in the news now?

A 50-year-old controversy got a new lease of life recently when a paragraph in the Draft New Education Policy 2019 referred to the mandatory teaching of Hindi in States where Hindi is not spoken. This was a reiteration of the Central government’s three-language formula, but it set off a storm in Tamil Nadu, which stoutly opposes any attempt to impose Hindi and adheres to a two-language formula. The Union government sought to neutralize the hostile reaction by dropping the controversial reference to Hindi.

 What is the formula?

It is commonly understood that the three languages referred to are Hindi, English and the regional language of the respective States.

Origin:

Though the teaching of Hindi across the country was part of a long-standing system, it was crystallized into a policy in an official document only in the National Policy on Education, 1968. This document said regional languages were already in use as the media of education in the primary and secondary stages.

In addition, it said, “At the secondary stage, State governments should adopt and vigorously implement the three-language formula, which includes the study of a modern Indian language, preferably one of the southern languages, apart from Hindi and English in the Hindi-speaking States.”

In the ‘non-Hindi speaking States’, Hindi should be studied along with the regional language and English. It added: “Suitable courses in Hindi and/or English should also be available in universities and colleges with a view to improving the proficiency of students in these languages up to the prescribed university standards.”

 What did NEP 1968 say on promotion of Hindi as the link language?

On promotion of Hindi, the NPE 1968 said every effort should be made to promote the language and that “in developing Hindi as the link language, due care should be taken to ensure that it will serve, as provided for in Article 351 of the Constitution, as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India. The establishment, in non-Hindi States, of colleges and other institutions of higher education which use Hindi, as the medium of education should be encouraged”.

 Why is there opposition to the teaching of Hindi which crystallised into a policy in an official document in 1968?

The origin of the linguistic row, however, goes back to the debate on official language. In the Constituent Assembly, Hindi was voted as the official language by a single vote. However, it added that English would continue to be used as an associate official language for 15 years. The Official Languages Act came into effect on the expiry of this 15-year period in 1965. This was the background in which the anti-Hindi agitation took place. However, as early as in 1959, Jawaharlal Nehru had given an assurance in Parliament that English would continue to be in use as long as non-Hindi speaking people wanted it.

 What needs to be done?   

There are numerous attractive ways to promote a language to the desired extent. So, instead of prescribing a set of languages, Draft NEP 2019 should give the freedom to choose “any three languages of 8th Schedule of the Constitution or official languages of the Union of India” as offered in the scheme of studies by the Boards of Secondary Education. This is a win-win solution for all.

All States can now constitute Foreigners Tribunals

Context: The MHA (Ministry of home affairs) has amended the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964,

 Changes proposed as per the amendment:

It has empowered district magistrates in all States and Union Territories to set up tribunals to decide whether a person staying illegally in India is a foreigner or not.

The amended Foreigners (Tribunal) Order, 2019 also empowers individuals to approach the Tribunals. 

The amended order also allows District Magistrates to refer individuals who haven’t filed claims against their exclusion from NRC to the Tribunals to decide if they are foreigners or not.

 Current Practice:

So far, the powers to constitute tribunals were vested only with the Centre. The 1964 order on Constitution of Tribunals said: “The Central Government may by order, refer the question as to whether a person is not a foreigner within meaning of the Foreigners Act, 1946 (31 of 1946) to a Tribunal to be constituted for the purpose, for its opinion.”

Facts for Prelims:

What is reciprocal trade agreements?

Countries use bilateral/regional trade agreements to increase market access and expand trade in foreign markets. These agreements are called reciprocal trade agreements (RTAs) because members grant special advantages to each other.

RTAs include many types of agreements, such as preferential arrangements, free trade agreements, customs unions, and common markets, in which members agree to open their markets to each other’s exports by lowering trade barriers.

Need: They have become an increasingly prominent feature of the multilateral trading system in recent years, in part, because of stalled global negotiations taking place under the auspices of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Many observers believe that RTAs deepen market integration and complement efforts by the WTO to liberalize international markets. While acknowledging that RTAs can open up markets, other observers contend that these agreements also distort trade and discriminate against nonmember countries.

Why in news? Commerce Minister emphasizes on reciprocal market access for Indian goods.

Cyclone Vayu:

Cyclone Vayu – it is still to develop into a cyclone and is only a deep depression as of now – is currently positioned around 250 km northwest of Aminidivi island in Lakshadweep and about 750 km southwest of Mumbai.

Cyclones are sustained by very strong low-pressure areas at their core. Winds in surrounding areas are forced to rush towards these low-pressure areas.

Arabian Sea cyclones:

Though cyclones are common in the June, very few of them originate in the Arabian Sea. Most of them are found in the Bay of Bengal. In the last 120 years for which records are available, just about 14% of all cyclonic storms, and 23% of severe cyclones, around India have occurred in the Arabian Sea. Arabian Sea cyclones are also relatively weak compared to those emerging in the Bay of Bengal.

This, along with the fact that the Gujarat coastline, which is where most of the cyclones emerging in the Arabian Sea are headed, is not very densely populated, ensures that the damage potential of the cyclones on the western coast is comparatively low.

El Salvador recognises forests as living entities:

• El Salvador has, in a historic move, recognised forests as living entities. Its citizens, will now be required to preserve forests. 
• El Salvador has lost about 85 per cent of its native forests since the 1960s, while Earth has lost about 80 per cent of its native forests.

India, Portugal to join hands in setting up maritime museum:

• India and Portugal will cooperate in the setting up of a national maritime heritage museum at Lothal in Gujarat.
• It is likely to come up on the lines of a similar museum at Lisbon, which is administered by the Portuguese Navy.
• The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Shipping through its Sagarmala programme, with the involvement of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the State government and other stakeholders.

Samadhi Buddha:

Context: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has gifted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a Samadhi Buddha statue.

The Samadhi Buddha is a famous statue situated at Mahamevnāwa Park in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. The Buddha is depicted in the position of the Dhyana Mudra, the posture of meditation associated with his first Enlightenment. This statue is 7 feet 3 inches in height and carved from dolomite marble.

Kashmir annual Kheer Bhawani mela:

Hundreds gather in Kashmir for annual Kheer Bhawani mela.

The Kheer Bhawani mela is one of the biggest religious functions of the Kashmiri Pandits.

It has become a symbol of communal harmony as Muslims in the locality make all the arrangements for the devotees, including setting up of stalls for flowers and other offerings.

Traffic Index 2018:

Context: Traffic Index 2018 is published by TomTom, an Amsterdam-based company.

• It offers traffic solutions, uses location technology to collect traffic information, and has been publishing city rankings for eight years.
• The index factors for peak hours, accidents, inclement weather, construction work and all other factors likely to cause disruptions.
• The latest index ranks 403 cities across 56 countries, including 13 new cities.

Definition: For this study, congestion has been defined in terms of the additional time taken to reach a destination as opposed to when the road would have been clear of traffic.

Key findings:

• The study has ranked Mumbai as the most traffic-congested city in the world for the second straight year, and Delhi at fourth place.
• Nearly 75% of the cities part of the 2018 index had increased or stable congestion levels between 2017 and 2018, with only 90 cities showing measurable decreases.
• Globally, Christmas Day resulted in the least traffic congestion.

End of Childhood Index:

The index is part of Changing Lives in Our Lifetime – Global Childhood Report, 2019 and was released by Save the Children, a non-profit, on May 28, 2019.

Countries are evaluated on eight parameters on the wellbeing of those up to 19 years of age — child mortality, malnutrition, lack of education, child labour, early marriage, adolescent birth, displacement by conflict and child homicide.

Performance of countries:

• India ranks 113 in 176 countries.However, India has improved significantly on child mortality from 39 deaths per 1000 live births in 2017.
• Singapore tops the list and eight European countries figure among the top 10.
• Globally, the rate of child marriage has reduced by 25 per cent in 2019. In South Asia, India has performed significantly well where child marriage is down 51 per cent since 2000 and 63 percent since 1990.
• Indian progress alone accounts for almost three quarters of decline in teen births worldwide.

National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)

In news:

• Centre launched a programme to reduce particulate matter (PM) pollution by 20-30% in at least 102 cities by 2024.

About NCAP

• National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) is scheme to provide the States and the Centre with a framework to combat air pollution.
• It is a five-year action plan with a tentative target of 20-30% reduction in concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 by 2024, with 2017 as the base year.
• It is a ₹300-crore programme.

Do you know?

As per World Health Organisation’s database on air pollution –

• In 2018, 14 of the world’s 15 most polluted cities were in India.
• Tier I and Tier II Indian cities are some of the most polluted places in the world.

A study in the journal Lancet ranked India as No.1 on premature mortality and deaths from air pollution.

States’ approval not needed for quota Bill

In news:

• Constitution 124th Amendment Bill, 2019 dealing with creating a 10% quota for the economically weaker sections (EWS) does not require ratification by Legislative Assemblies.
• As per the Article 368, an amendment to a fundamental right coming under Part III of the Constitution need not be sent to the States’ Legislative Assemblies for ratification.

New clauses to Article 15 and 16

• 124th CA Bill adds new clauses to Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution.
• The new clause (6) to Article 15 allows the government to carve reservation for the economically weaker sections of society in higher educational institutions, including private ones, whether they are aided or not by the State. Minority educational institutions are exempted.
• Likewise, the new clause (6) to Article 16 provides for quota for economically deprived sections in the initial appointment in government services.

Open to judicial review

• As per the experts, economic reservation law is open for judicial review.
• The Constitution does not provide for economic reservation.
• The Indira Sawhney judgment has capped the reservation limit to 50%. Now, the new Bill increases reservation to 60%.
• In the judgment, the Court had held that economic backwardness cannot be the sole criterion for reservation.