UPSC Daily Current Affairs- 21st February 2023 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar

Why in News?

Recently the Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and DoNER, presented the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar  (UBKYP) 2019, 2020 and 2021 to 102 artists in New Delhi.

• The award is presented by Sangeet Natak Akademi to artists in the field of dance, music, and drama.
• It is presented annually to artists below the age of 40.

About Ustad Bismillah Khan:

• He was a famous Shehnai musician.
• He was one of the few musicians in the country to receive Bharat Ratna.
• It was Ustad ‘Bismillah” Khan who also played at the first Republic Day celebration in 1950.
• Bismillah Khan was the first Indian to be invited to perform at the prestigious Lincoln Centre Hall in the United States of America.

About Sangeet Natak Akademi:

• Sangeet Natak Akademi is India’s national academy of music, dance and drama.
• It was created by a resolution of the Ministry of Education, with Dr P.V. Rajamannar as its first Chairman.
• It is an Autonomous Body of the Ministry of Culture and is fully funded by the Government for the implementation of its schemes and programmes.

Source: PIB

Why in News?

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister chaired the National Conference on Agriculture for Zaid (Summer) Campaign-2023 in New Delhi.

About National Conference on Agriculture for Zaid (Summer) Campaign:

• The objective of the Zaid conference is to review and assess the crop performance during the preceding crop seasons and fix crop-wise targets for the summer season in consultation with State Governments.

What are Zaid crops?

• Zaid or summer crops are grown in the short season between Kharif and Rabi crops, between March and July.
• These crops are mostly grown on irrigated lands and therefore, the farmers do not wait for the monsoon.
• Zaid crops require warm soil and high temperatures (cooling at night) to grow.
• They require warm, dry weather as a vital growth period and longer day length for flowering.
• Most of the vegetables and hybrid cereals are grown in the zaid season.
• Major crops: Paddy, corn; pumpkin, cucumber, tomato; almonds, peanuts, cashews; Gram, lentils, etc.
• Cultivation areas in India: Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu.
• Zaid crop is significant for farmers as it gives fast cash to the farmers and is also known as a gap-filler between two chief crops, Kharif and Rabi.

Source: The Hindu

GS-II

Significance of Tribal Culture in Sustainable Development

Why in News?

Recently the Prime Minister remarked that the world can learn a lot about sustainable development from Adivasi culture and it can be a solution to global problems like climate change and global warming.

• India comprises 6% tribal population, has access to an enormous indigenous knowledge which through recognition, adoption, and mainstreaming has the potential to provide sustainable solutions to concerns related to
  • falling agricultural productivity and soil quality,
  • biodiversity loss,
  • water scarcity, pollution, and
  • Climate Change challenges.
• Sustainable Development refers to a way of achieving economic growth and development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

About Constitutional Provisions:

• The Constitution of India does not endeavour to define the term ‘tribe’, however, the term Scheduled Tribe’ was inserted in the Constitution through Article 342 (i).
• It lays down that ‘the President may, by public notification, specify the tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within the tribes or tribal communities or parts which shall, for the purposes of this Constitution, be deemed to be Scheduled Tribes.
• The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution provides for the setting up a Tribes’ Advisory Council in each of the States having Scheduled Areas.

About Tribal Cultures:

• Communal living: Many tribal communities in India have a strong emphasis on communal living and sharing resources.
  • They live in close-knit communities and often make decisions collectively.
• Self-Sufficiency: Tribe is a synonym for a self-reliant community, a tribe is a relatively closed society and its openness is inversely related to the extent of its self-sufficient pursuits.
• Connection with nature: Tribals have a strong connection with nature, with traditional beliefs and practices that revolve around the forests and animals.
• Folk arts and crafts: Tribals are known for their unique art forms, including pottery, weaving, and jewellery making.
  • These crafts often have spiritual or cultural significance and are passed down through generations.
• Spiritual beliefs: Tribals often have their own unique spiritual beliefs, which may involve the worship of ancestors, nature spirits, or deities.

Tribal Lifestyle and Sustainable development:

• Respect for the natural environment: Tribal traditional practices, such as using natural materials for housing, food, and medicine, and living in harmony with the cycles of nature.
• Community-based decision-making: Collective decision-making considers the needs of the community as a whole and ensures that decisions are made in a sustainable and equitable manner.
• Promotion of biodiversity: Tribals have developed practices to protect and promote diversity which includes traditional methods of agriculture, such as intercropping and seed-saving, as well as the protection of sacred sites that are important for the preservation of biodiversity.
• Conservation of natural resources: Sustainable practices involve limiting the use of resources to ensure their long-term availability, such as rotational farming or allowing forests to regenerate before harvesting timber.
• Emphasis on intergenerational knowledge sharing: Passing down knowledge to the next generation includes traditional knowledge of the natural environment and sustainable practices for managing resources.
• Protection of water resources: Tribal communities rely on water resources and have developed practices that can help to ensure that water is available for future generations, and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
• Regenerative agriculture: tribal communities have been practicing regenerative agriculture for centuries, which involves practices like crop rotation, intercropping, and regenerating soils with organic matter.
  • These practices help to sequester carbon in the soil, which can help to mitigate climate change.
• Use of renewable energy: They have traditionally used renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and hydropower which can be expanded and modernized to provide clean energy for more people.

Challenges faced by tribals in performing their lifestyle

• Discrimination: Tribal communities often face discrimination and prejudice from the dominant society, including limited access to education, healthcare, and other basic services.
• Land rights: Tribal communities have been displaced from their traditional lands due to industrialization, and mining which has resulted in the loss of cultural identity, and social and economic marginalization.
• Climate change and environmental degradation: Climate Change, such as changes in rainfall patterns, increased frequency of natural disasters, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, pollution, and loss of habitat, has negatively impacted their traditional livelihoods and ways of life.
• Socioeconomic marginalization: Many tribal communities have limited access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities, which can result in poverty and social exclusion.
• Lack of political representation: Tribal communities often lack political representation and may not have a voice in decision-making processes that affect their lives.
• Health challenges: Tribal communities often face challenges in accessing quality healthcare, which can result in higher rates of disease, malnutrition, and other health issues.
• Cultural assimilation: Many tribal communities face pressure to assimilate into the dominant culture, which can lead to the loss of traditional knowledge, language, and cultural practices.

Government initiatives to conserve tribal culture:

• National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC), an apex Organization under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs in 2001 was brought into existence with the sole aim of economic upliftment of the Scheduled Tribes by way of extending concessional financial assistance to the target group under its various schemes.
• TRIFED’s Initiatives For Tribal Population:
  • The Government plans to establish 50,000 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras, 3000 Haat Bazaars, etc.
  • Central Sector Scheme: Institutional Support for Development & Marketing of Tribal Products / Produce.
  • Tribes India Outlets: The outlets will showcase tribal products from all over the country and the outlets will have a specific geographical indication (GI) and Vandhan corners.
• Support to Tribal Research Institutes (TRIs) and Tribal Festivals, Research Information, and Mass Education
• Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana: It is a market-linked tribal entrepreneurship development program for forming clusters of tribal Self Help Groups (SHGs) and strengthening them into Tribal Producer Companies.
• Scholarships for pre-matric, post-matric, and overseas education
• Support to National Scheduled Tribes Finance and Development Corporation
• Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs): The scheme covers activities like housing, land distribution, land development, agricultural development, animal husbandry, construction of link roads, etc.
• Vocational Training in Tribal Area: The aim of the Scheme is to develop the skills of the ST youth for a variety of jobs as well as self-employment and to improve their socio-economic condition by enhancing their income.
• Centrally Sponsored Scheme: The mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through (MSP) and Development of a Value Chain for MFP’ as a measure of social safety for MFP gatherers.

Way Ahead

As India celebrates its 75th year of Independence with ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahostav’, Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas would be a thoughtful gift for our tribal community and a recall to Ram Rajya — where the likes of Guha are given due respect, their cultural diversity is respected, and their contributions celebrated.

Tribal lifestyles can offer solutions to climate change and global warming through sustainable practices that protect and preserve the natural environment. Overall, tribal lifestyles can provide valuable lessons for sustainable development, particularly in areas with high levels of biodiversity or where development threatens the natural environment.

Source: The Hindu

Allocation of Election Symbols by Election Commission of India (ECI)

Why in News?

ECI has recognised Eknath Shinde group as official “Shiv Sena”, allowing them to use the official “Bow & Arrow” symbol and “Shiv Sena” name.

Sadiq Ali case

• The ECI has applied the tests mentioned in the 1971 Supreme Court judgment in Sadiq Ali v. Election Commission of India.
• In the Sadiq Ali case, it was held that in matters of disputes among groups of a political party, the test of majority support among the members of the ‘organizational and legislature wings’ of the party was the critical test to decide the dispute.
• It includes the Test of aims and objects of the Party Constitution, Test of Party Constitution and Test of Majority.

The 1968 Order

• On the question of a split in a political party outside the legislature, Para 15 of the Symbols Order, 1968, states that the decision of the Commission shall be binding on all such rival sections or groups.
• This applies to disputes in recognised national and state parties (like the Shiv Sena).
• For splits in registered but unrecognized parties, the ECI usually advises the warring factions to resolve their differences internally or to approach the court.
• The first case to be decided under the 1968 Order was the first split in the Indian National Congress in 1969.

Election Symbols:

• Political parties are allotted the symbols by the Election Commission of India under the Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968.
• A reserved symbol is one that is allocated to a registered political party while a free symbol is available to be allocated to non-recognized parties and independent candidates.
• Paragraph 4 of the order deals with the allotment of symbols.
• Paragraph 5 classifies the symbol into reserved and free symbols.
• Paragraph 8 of the Election Symbols Order deals with the choice and allotment of symbols to candidates of national and state parties.

Registration of Political Parties:

• According to the Election Commission, any party seeking registration has to apply to the Commission within a period of 30 days following the date of its formation as per guidelines prescribed by the Commission
• It is in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 324 of the Constitution of India and Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
• The registration of all political parties is governed by the provisions of Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

Source: Indian Express

GS-III

Malabar naval exercise

Why in News?

The Malabar naval exercise, the most visible manifestation of the expanding military interoperability among the Quad countries, will be conducted off Australia for the first time this August.

About Malabar naval exercise:

• It was started in 1992 as a bilateral naval exercise between India and US navy.
• The first Malabar Exercise in the Bay of Bengal took place in 2007.
• It was expanded into a trilateral format with the inclusion of Japan in 2015.
• In 2020, the Australian Navy joined the Malabar Exercise, making it a quadrilateral naval exercise.
• The aim of the Malabar Exercise of India, the US, Japan and Australia is to coordinate for a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
• It takes place annually in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans alternatively.
• This exercise includes a diverse range of activities such as fighter combat operations and maritime interdiction operations.

Other Joint Maritime Exercises of India

• IBSAMAR: It is a maritime exercise held by India, South Africa, and Brazil.
• SIMBEX: India and Singapore.
• SLINEX: India and Sri Lanka.

Source: Indian Express

Why in News?

Puducherry has launched the country’s first Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) framework as part of a pact under the Indo-Norway Integrated Ocean Initiative.

Aim: to balance growth alongside sustainable management of ocean resources and coastal environment preservation.

About Marine Spatial Planning:

• MSP is an ecosystem-based spatial planning process for analyzing current and anticipated ocean and coastal uses and identifying areas most suitable for various activities.
• It provides a public policy process for society to better determine how the ocean and coasts are sustainably used and protected – now and for future generations.
• The initiative, known as Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), will be implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) through the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) for India.

The IOC-UNESCO Marine Spatial Planning Programme:

• It helps countries implement ecosystem-based management by finding space for biodiversity, conservation and sustainable economic development in marine areas.
• IOC-UNESCO has developed several guides, including a 10-step guide on how to get a marine spatial plan started: “Step-by-step Approach for Marine Spatial Planning toward Ecosystem-based Management”.

Source:  The Hindu

Central Water Commission (CWC)

Why in News?

CWC entered into a Memorandum of Agreement for Development of International Centre of Excellence for Dams (ICED) under externally funded Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project Phase II and Phase III.

About CWC:

• Central Water Commission is an attached office of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
• The Commission is entrusted with the general responsibilities of initiating, coordinating and furthering in consultation of the State Governments concerned, schemes for control, conservation and utilization of water resources throughout the country, for purpose of Flood Control, Irrigation, Navigation, Drinking Water Supply and Water Power Development.
• It also undertakes the investigations, construction and execution of any such schemes as required.
• Central Water Commission CWC is headed by a chairman, with the status of Ex-Officio Secretary to the Government of India.
• The work of the Commission is divided among 3 wings namely, Designs and Research (D&R) Wing, River Management (RM) Wing and Water Planning and Projects (WP&P) Wing.
• A separate Human Resources Management Unit headed by a Chief Engineer, deals with Human Resources Management or Development, Financial Management, Training and Administrative matters of the CWC.
• National Water Academy located at Pune is responsible for training of Central and State in-service engineers and it functions directly under the guidance of Chairman.
• Headquarters: New Delhi.

DRIP Project:

• The objectives of DRIP are to improve the safety and operational performance of selected existing dams and associated appurtenances in a sustainable manner, and to strengthen the dam safety institutional setup of participating States / Implementing Agencies.
• It is an externally-aided project.
• 80% of the total project is provided by the World Bank as loan/credit and remaining 20% is borne by the States / Central Government (for CWC).
• Repair and rehabilitation of dam projects in the seven states of Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Uttarakhand.

Components

• Rehabilitation of selected dams and their appurtenances
• Institutional Strengthening
• Project Management

Source: PIB