Current Affairs 20 August 2022 – IAS Current Affairs

Current Affairs 20 August 2022 focuses on Prelims-Mains perspective. Major events are :

Har Ghar Jal

Source: Indian Express
GS II: Policies and Developmental Studies

What is discussed under Har Ghar Jal?

1. Jal Jeevan Mission?
2. Har Ghar Jal?

Why in News?

• Prime Minister congratulated the Goa government for becoming the first state to be Har Ghar Jal certified.
• All two lakh 63 thousand rural households of Goa and over 85 thousand of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu have access to safe drinking water through tap connection.
• Recently, Goa and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (D&NH and D&D) became the first ‘Har Ghar Jal’ certified State and UT in the country, respectively.

Jal Jeevan Mission?

Key facts

• The mission was launched on August 15, 2019.
• It was implemented by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

  

• By 2024, it is the goal of the Jal Jeevan Mission to give every home in rural India access to clean and sufficient drinking water via individual household tap connections. 
• It anticipate the supply of 55 litres of water per person per day to every rural household through Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC).
• The programme will also incorporate source sustainability measures as requirements, such as:
  • Water saving
  • Rainwater collection
  • Recharge and reuse through grey water management
• The Jal Jeevan Mission will be based on a community approach to water.
• It will include extensive Information, education and communication as a key component of the mission.

About the Mission

• The goal of the mission is to support, empower, and enable:
  • States and UTs in developing a participatory rural water supply strategy that will provide long-term potable drinking water security to every rural household and public institution.
  • States/UTs for building water supply infrastructure such that by 2024, every rural family will have a functional tap connection (FHTC) and water will deliver on a regular basis in sufficient quantities and at the required quality.
  • States and UTs should prepare a drinking water security plan.
  • GPs and rural communities are responsible for developing, implementing, running, owning, and maintaining their own village water supply systems.
  • States and UTs should promote the utility strategy in order to create strong institutions that focus on service delivery and the financial viability of the sector.
  • Building stakeholder capacity and educating the public about the value of water in enhancing quality of life.

Implementation

• The village water supply systems are planning, putting into place, managing, running, and maintaining by Paani Samiti.
• These have between 10 and 15 participants, at least 50% of whom are women, as well as participants from self-help groups, certified social and health workers, anganwadi instructors, etc.
• The committees combine all of the village’s resources to create a one-time action plan.
• Before putting the proposal into action, a Gram Sabha must approve it.

Har Ghar Jal?

• It is a scheme initiated by the Government of India in 2019 with the aim to provide tap water to every rural household by 2024.
• Since its initiation, the scheme has significantly improved household clean tap water availability in India.
• Since the launch of mission, more than 5.38 Crore rural households have been provided tap water connection.

Ocean Biological Diversity Pact

Source: The Hindu
GS II: International Relation; GS III: Environment and Conservation

What is discussed under Ocean Biological Diversity Pact?

1. What are the key objectives of Ocean Biological Diversity Pact?
2. High seas
3. ‘Blue Economy’ Policy of India
4. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

Why in News?

A pact to protect marine biodiversity in the seas and oceans extending beyond the territorial waters of countries’  is being discussed in New York by delegates from India and other UN members.

Key Facts

• The pact comes after the UN General Assembly passed a resolution in May.
• It might be the last in a series of steps started in 2018 to establish a legally enforceable agreement on an international level in accordance with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
• The high seas comprise nearly 45% of the Earth’s surface.
• The Indian delegation includes officials from the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Centre for Marine Fisheries and Research Institute and the Ministry of External Affairs.

What Are the Key Objectives of Ocean Biological Diversity Pact?

• Deciding on rights of explorers

  

  • Determining the rights of companies that conduct high seas biological resource exploitation is a crucial component of the pact.
  • To determine if the companies have complete control over any discovery or exploitation in these areas.
  • To evaluate whether the companies share their profits—including royalties and intellectual property—with a UN-approved organisation.
•  Regulation for exotic items
  • The primary targets of seafloor mining operations have been gas hydrates, precious metals, and other fossil fuel resources.
  • With advancements in biotechnology and genetic engineering, several companies see potential in exotic microbes and other organisms that live in the deep ocean and can explore for medications, vaccines, and a range of commercial purposes.
  • Many of these species are not identified yet.

What Are High Seas?

• High seas are the ocean surface and the water column beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
  • Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): The area of the sea that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) specifies as having particular rights for a country.
• It is outside the jurisdiction of any nation.
• States may engage in activities in these regions, including transit, maritime science, and underwater exploration, so long as they are peaceful.
• High seas consist of two-thirds of the oceans on the Earth.
• It provides 90% of the planet’s habitat for life and a fishery harvest worth up to USD 16 billion annually.
• They are excellent locations for finding significant mineral resources, powerful medications, and oil and gas reserves.

‘Blue Economy’ Policy of India

• It has a 4000 crore rupee budget that is spread out over five years. 
• Studies on the sustainable utilisation of deep-sea bioresources will receive the majority of attention.
• This will develop a manned submersible vehicle and work on “bio-prospecting of deep-sea flora and fauna including microbes.”

What is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea?

• The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention, was adopted on 16th November 1982.
• It establishes guidelines for all uses of the oceans’ resources and establishes a thorough framework of law and order throughout the world’s oceans and seas.
• The convention provides the framework for further development of specific areas of the law of the sea.
• It defines a distance of 12 nautical miles (approx. 22 km) from the baseline as the Territorial Sea limit and a distance of 200 nautical miles distance as the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) limit.
• It has created three new institutions on the international scene:
  1. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
  2. International Seabed Authority
  3. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf

The need for a separate Ocean Diversity Pact over existing UNCLOS

• Unexpected governance gaps are present under UNCLOS.
• It lacks the precise requirements necessary to guarantee that its responsibility to safeguard the maritime environment and its resources is accomplishing in an effective manner.

Devas-Antrix Deal Recent

Source : Indian Express
GS II : International Relation

What is discussed under Devas Antrix Deal Recent?

1. What is Devas-Antrix Deal?
2. National Company Law Tribunal in India Order

Why in News ?

A US court has allowed foreign investors in Devas Multimedia Pvt. Ltd to seize more than $87,000 from a bankrupt US satellite firm as part of efforts to recover $1.2 billion in compensation from the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) over the cancellation of a 2005 satellite deal.

Key Facts

• The investors are attempting to seize the assets linked to Antrix Corp in the US to enforce a $1.2-billion compensation award made in favour of Devas by the International Chamber of Commerce on September 14, 2015 for the cancellation of the satellite deal by India in 2011.

What is Devas-Antrix Deal?

• 2005 Antrix-Devas deal ISRO was supposed to lease two communication satellites for 12 years at a cost of Rs 167 crore to Devas.
• The start-up was to provide multimedia services to mobile platforms in India using the space band or S-band transponders on ISRO’s GSAT 6 and 6A satellites, built at a cost of Rs 766 crore by ISRO.
• The UPA government annulled the deal in February 2011 amid the 2G crisis.
• It cited the requirement of the S-band spectrum for security purposes of the country.
• The cancellation of the deal and subsequent developments have resulted in a legal battle between Devas’s foreign investors and Indian authorities linked to the state-run Antrix Corp and ISRO.

About the Deal

• A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in July 2003 by Forge (a US consultancy) and Antrix for the use of satellite spectrum for the expansion of communication systems in India.
  • However, later on, a start-up was envisioned, and Devas Multimedia was floated.
• The MoU was to provide multimedia services to mobile users using the leased S-band satellite spectrum.
• Deal signed in 2005
  • ISRO would lease to Devas two communication satellites (GSAT-6 and 6A) for 12 years and Devas provide multimedia services to mobile platforms in India.
• Why the Deal Cancelled?
  • Corruption claims that the Devas deal entailed the transfer of communication spectrum worth about Rs 2 lakh crore  as part of the 2G scandal.
  • Officials from Devas, ISRO, and Antrix connected to the deal were named in a charge sheet issued by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for “being party to a criminal conspiracy.”

National Company Law Tribunal in India Order

• Ordered the liquidation of Devas on May 25, 2021, citing fraudulence in its creation.
• The NCLT order was upheld by the Supreme Court of India on January 17, 2022.
• The ED filed an application in a Bengaluru special court in June this year to declare the US-based Devas founder and CEO Ramachandran Viswanathan a “fugitive economic offender”.

INSV TARINI Ocean Sailing Expedition To Mauritius

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

What is discussed under INSV TARINI Ocean Sailing Expedition To Mauritius?

1. Key Facts
2. About INSV Tarini
3. Navika Sagar Parikrama

Why in News ?

Flagged off a sailing expedition from Goa to Port Louis, Mauritius. The expedition is being undertaken by a crew of six including three women officers), onboard INSV Tarini.

Key Facts

• Covering a distance of almost 2500nm (apprpx 45000 km) one way over a period of 20 – 21 days is expected to face extreme weather and rough

  

  sea conditions of monsoons.

• In addition to sailing in these conditions the crew will also be undertaking boat upkeep, machinery routines and preparing their meals.
• The passage would be nonstop once they leave the Indian shores.
• The Indian Navy has six ocean going Indian Naval Sailing Vessels (INSVs) : 
  1. Mhadei
  2. Tarini
  3. Bulbul
  4. Hariyal
  5. Kadalpura
  6. Neelkanth
• These yachts regularly undertake expeditionary sailing with a small crew of naval personnel.
• The crew for the sea sorties are selected from volunteers with adequate sea sailing experience.

Ocean Sailing Expeditions

• Ocean sailing is an extremely tough adventure sport.
• These Ocean Sailing expeditions help in inculcating spirit of adventure, enhancing risk taking abilities whilst honing essential seamanship skills including navigation, communication, technical operation of engines and onboard machinery, operation of Inmarsat equipment, logistics planning etc.
• It also enhances Indian Navy’s ability to project its benign presence across the globe by participating in sailing expeditions like Sagar Parikrama and Cape Town to Rio de Janeiro races, IONS and Bay of Bengal sailing expeditions.
• In the present expedition, the selected crew is a gender neutral consisting of three men and three women officers each.

About INSV Tarini

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