Current Affairs 17 June 2021 – IAS Current Affairs

Current Affairs 17 June 2021 focuses on Prelims-Mains perspective. Major events are :

1. 8th ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus
2. E-waste Dumpsites and Child Health Hazards
3. Policy To Declassify War Histories
4. Inland Vessels Bill 2021
5. Ordnance Factory Board Corporatisation

8th ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus

Source : PIB
GS II : Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate

Why in News ?

Rajnath Singh called for an open and inclusive order in Indo-Pacific based upon respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations while addressing the 8th ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) Plus.

Key Facts

• India has strengthened its cooperative engagements in the Indo-Pacific based on converging visions and values for promotion of peace, stability and prosperity in the region.
• Premised upon the centrality of ASEAN, India supports utilisation of ASEAN-led mechanisms as important platforms for implementation of our shared vision for the Indo-Pacific.
• India’s views stressed that the emerging challenges to international peace and security cannot be addressed with outdated systems designed to deal with trials of the past.
• India’s support to freedom of navigation, over-flight and unimpeded commerce for all in international waters in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
• Act East Policy
  • The key elements of the policy aim to promote economic cooperation, cultural ties and develop strategic relationships with countries in the Indo-Pacific region through continuous engagement at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels.
• Terrorism and radicalisation
  • Gravest threats to world peace and security and called for collective cooperation to fully disrupt terror organisations and their networks
  • Identify the perpetrators and hold them accountable and ensure that strong measures are taken against those who support and finance terrorism and provide sanctuary to terrorists.
  • As a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), India remains committed to combat financing of terrorism.
• Cyber Threats
  • Called for a multi-stakeholder approach guided by democratic values with a governance structure that is open and inclusive and a secure, open and stable internet with due respect to sovereignty of countries, that would drive the future of cyberspace.
• Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations
  • India remains one of the first to respond in times of distress in the immediate as well as extended neighbourhood.
  • As a founding member of the Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting (HACGAM), India seeks to enhance capacity building through collaboration in the areas of Maritime Search & Rescue.

E-waste Dumpsites and Child Health Hazards

Source : Down To Earth
GS III : Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Why in News ?

Kids as young as five years, more than 12.9 million women work at e-waste dumpsites in low- and middle-income countries every year. Over 18 million kids at e-waste dumpsites face threat of health hazards : WHO.

• Children and Digital Dumpsites Report shows the risk.

Key Facts 

• More than 18 million children and adolescents working at e-waste dumpsites in low- and middel-income countries are potentially at the risk of severe health hazards.
• Children and Digital Dumpsites underlined the risk children working in the informal processing faced due to discarded electronic devices or e-waste.

What is the reason ?

• The e-waste from high-income countries is dumped in the middle- or low-income countries for processing

  

  every year.

• This e-waste is dismantled and recycled by children.
• It contains over 1,000 precious metals and other substances like gold, copper, mercury and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
• The processing is done in low-income countries, which do not have proper safeguarding regulation and which makes the process even more dangerous.
• They are preferred at these dumpsites because of their small and dexterous hands.

E-waste Dumpsites and Child Health Hazards

• Processing e-waste exposes workers/pregnant women as well as their children to these toxins which can lead to premature births and stillbirth.
• The hazardous impact of working at such sites is also experienced by families and communities.
• Children are particularly more exposed to the toxic chemicals used and released during the processing of e-waste.
• Children are more prone to improper lung function, deoxyribonucleic acid damage and increased risk of chronic diseases.

Policy To Declassify War Histories

Source : Indian Express
GS III : National Security and Challenges

Why in News ?

The Union Defence Minister has approved a policy on archiving, declassification, compilation and publication of war and operations histories by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Key Facts

• It will help set the record straight on India’s military history approved a new policy to declassify war histories and records of other military operations in a time-bound manner.

  

• It give the country an accurate account of events, provide authentic material for research and counter unfounded rumours.
• The policy on archiving, declassification and compilation of war and operations histories mandates the setting up of a committee headed by a joint secretary in the defence ministry and consisting of representatives of the armed forces, external affairs ministry, home ministry and prominent military historians (if required).
• The committee will take a view on earlier wars and operations
• The development is significant as the military has faced uncomfortable questions about several events including the sinking of an Indian warship in the 1971 Indo-Pak war, the 1999 Kargil war and contentious war accounts authored by veterans.

About the Policy

• The policy envisages that each organisation under the Ministry of Defence such as Services, Integrated Defence Staff, Assam Rifles and Indian Coast Guard, will transfer the records, including war diaries, letters of proceedings & operational record books, etc., to the History Division of Ministry of Defence (MoD) for proper upkeep, archival and writing the histories
• The responsibility for declassification of records rests with the respective organisations as specified in the Public Record Act 1993 and Public Record Rules 1997 as amended from time to time.
• Records should ordinarily be declassified in 25 years.
• Records older than 25 years should be appraised by archival experts and transferred to the National Archives of India once the war/operations histories have been compiled.
• History Division will be responsible for coordination with various departments while compiling, seeking approval and publishing of war/operations histories.
• The committee should be formed within two years of completion of war/operations.
• Collection of records and compilation should be completed in three years and disseminated to all concerned.

Need for such Histories

• The requirement of having war histories written with a clear-cut policy on declassification of war records was recommended by the Kargil Review Committee headed by K Subrahmanyam.
• Also the N N Vohra Committee in order to analyse lessons learnt and prevent future mistakes.
• Post Kargil War GoM recommendations on national security also mentioned the desirability of authoritative war history

Inland Vessels Bill 2021

Source : The Hindu
GS III : Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc

Why in News ?

The Cabinet also approved the introduction of the Inland Vessel Bill 2021 in Parliament to ensure safe transportation and trade through inland waters.

Key Facts

• The Union Cabinet gave the nod to the Inland Vessels Bill, 2021, which will replace the Inland Vessels Act, 1917.
• The Cabinet has approved the Inland vessel bill which will streamline and regulate inland vessels. 
• A total of 4,000 kilometres of inland waterways are operational.
• To ensure the safety, security, of vessels running on waterways, besides seeing that their registration is done smoothly.

Features in the bill

• The bill provides unified law for the entire country, instead of separate rules framed by the States.
• The certificate of registration granted under the proposed law will be deemed to be valid in all States and  Union Territories
  • There will be no need to seek separate per- missions from the States.
• The legislation would help divide inland water into three different zones, ease induction of trained manpower from the Army, Navy and Coast Guard, facilitate insurance of vessels and prevent pollution of water.
• Central data base for recording the details of vessel, vessel registration, crew on an electronic portal.
• All non­ mechanically propelled vessels will also have to be enrolled at district, taluk or panchayat or village level.

How Inland Water Transport (IWT) in India helpful ?

• India has an extensive network of inland waterways in the form of rivers, canals, backwaters and creeks.

  

• Freight transportation by waterways is highly underutilized in the country as compared to developed countries.
  • Both coastal shipping and inland waterways playing a limited role.
• Waterways are found to be cost effective as well as an environmentally friendly means of transporting freight.
• It has the potential to supplement the over-burdened railways and congested roadways. 
• National Waterways Act, 2016 has declared 111 inland waterways as ‘National Waterways’ (NWs) in the country to promote shipping and navigation on them. .
  • The total length of NWs is 20,275 kms spread across 24 States in the country.

Ordnance Factory Board Corporatisation

Source : Eonomic Times
GS III : Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; citizens charters, transparency & accountability and institutional and other measures

Why in News ?

An overhaul of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has been cleared set to be split into seven companies to improve productivity and create specialisations in weapons manufacturing.

Key Facts

• The long pending plan which was mooted almost two decades ago was cleared by the Union Cabinet.
• It will lead to greater accountability and efficiency of the 41 factories that operate under the OFB banner.
• It aims as part of a package to make India self reliant in defence hardware production.

  

• The board will now be split into seven entities owned by the government.
• All combined will produce ammunition and explosives, vehicles, weapons and equipment, troop comfort items, opto-electronics gear, parachutes and ancillary products. 
• Move would provide these companies with autonomy as well as help improve accountability and efficiency.
• An empowered group of ministers (EGoM) constituted under the defence minister Rajnath Singh last year will oversee the board’s corporatisation and also take decisions on related matters.

Need for Ordnance Factory Board Corporatisation

• Currently manufacture tanks, armoured personnel carriers, mine protected vehicles, bombs, rockets, artillery guns, anti-aircraft guns, parachutes, small arms, clothing and leather equipment for soldiers.
• There have been complaints from the defence forces that the quality of products manufactured by the OFB were substandard.
• The Indian army in an internal assessment had flagged concerns about faulty ammunition and armaments supplied by the OFB causing casualties and causing wastage of public finances.
• The Comptroller and Auditor General had repeatedly raised questions about the quality of products supplied by the OFB and its overall performance in its reports.

How this transformation helps ?

• The restructuring will transform the ordnance factories into productive and profitable assets.
• Also deepen product specialisation, boost performance and improve quality, cost efficiency and accountability.
• This major move towards will helps to achieving self-reliance in defence manufacturing.
• As a result of this these companies will become professionally managed entities and will increase their share in the domestic market as well as tap new export opportunities.
• Help overcome various shortcomings in the existing OFB set-up by eliminating inefficient supply chains and provide these companies incentive to become competitive.
• As a result it will boost their autonomy too.

Challenges Ahead

• Worker’s Issue : The decision last year met stiff resistance from workers’ unions. Three groups of workers had given a joint strike notice last August against the government’s plans to corporatise the board. 
  • There would be no change in the service conditions of the OFB employees and the government was committed to safeguarding their interests.
  • The pension liabilities of the retirees and existing employees will continue to be borne by the government.
• Leads to lesser government control over the corporation also there is a fear of job loss.

Indian Arms Trade balance

• India emerged as the second-largest importer of arms transferred between 2016-20, with a share of 9.5% of global arms imports.
• Russia has been the worst hit by India’s decreased share, although it still ranks as the subcontinent’s largest arms supplier.
• India’s goal seems to have been to cut its dependence on other countries for defence systems.
• To promote indigenous defence manufacturing and export, with the target of increasing the sector’s turnover to US$ 25 billion, including US$ 5 billion from exports, by 2025.
• India to continue to keep its defence imports in check, it must invest in domestic capacity building, innovation, and joint collaborations.

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