Current Affairs 29 October 2022

Current Affairs 29 October 2022

Content   UAPA ASEAN SEBI COP27 Police TB PIB

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Constitutional Provisions

UAPA

Context-UAPA gave an impetus to fight against terror: Modi

About the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act:

Passed in 1967, the law aims at effective prevention of unlawful activities associations in India.

The Act assigns absolute power to the central government, by way of which if the Centre deems an activity as unlawful then it may, by way of an Official Gazette, declare it so.

• It has death penalty and life imprisonment as highest punishments.

Key points:

Under UAPA, both Indian and foreign nationals can be charged.

• It will be applicable to the offenders in the same manner, even if crime is committed on a foreign land, outside India.
• Under the UAPA, the investigating agency can file a charge sheet in maximum 180 days after the arrests and the duration can be extended further after intimating the court.

As per amendments of 2019:

• The Act empowers the Director General of National Investigation Agency (NIA) to grant approval of seizure or attachment of property when the case is investigated by the said agency.
• The Act empowers the officers of the NIA, of the rank of Inspector or above, to investigate cases of terrorism in addition to those conducted by the DSP or ACP or above rank officer in the state.
• It also included the provision of designating an individual as a terrorist.

International Relations

 ASEAN

Context-Myanmar junta warns ASEAN against peace plan ‘pressure’

• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a regional organization which was established to promote political and social stability amid rising tensions among the Asia-Pacific’s post-colonial states.

ASEAN Secretariat – Indonesia, Jakarta.

Who are the Member Nations?

• Indonesia
• Malaysia
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Thailand
• Brunei
• Vietnam
• Laos
• Myanmar
• Cambodia

Fundamental Principles of ASEAN

• The ASEAN fundamental principles, as contained in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) of 1976
  • Mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial integrity, and national identity of all nations.
  • The right of every State to lead its national existence free from external interference, subversion or coercion.
  • Non-interference in the internal affairs of one another.
  • Settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful manner.
  • Renunciation of the threat or use of force.
  • Effective cooperation among themselves.

Forums are led by ASEAN?

• ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)
•  ASEAN Plus Three
•  East Asia Summit (EAS)
• ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM)-Plus Meeting

GS 3

SEBI

Context-SEBI suspends share transfer agent’s licence for ‘violations’

• SEBI is a statutory body established on April 12, 1992 in accordance with the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992.

Powers and Functions of SEBI?

• SEBI is a quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial body which can draft regulations, conduct inquiries, pass rulings and impose penalties.
• It functions to fulfil the requirements of three categories –
• Issuers – By providing a marketplace in which the issuers can increase their finance.
• Investors – By ensuring safety and supply of precise and accurate information.
• Intermediaries – By enabling a competitive professional market for intermediaries.
• By Securities Laws (Amendment) Act, 2014, SEBI is now able to regulate any money pooling scheme worth Rs. 100 cr. or more and attach assets in cases of non-compliance.
• SEBI Chairman has the authority to order “search and seizure operations”. SEBI board can also seek information, such as telephone call data records, from any persons or entities in respect to any securities transaction being investigated by it.
• SEBI perform the function of registration and regulation of the working of venture capital funds and collective investment schemes including mutual funds.

• It also works for promoting and regulating self-regulatory organizations and prohibiting fraudulent and unfair trade practices relating to securities markets.

Environment

COP27

Context-At COP27, move the needle on climate action

From 6 to 18 November, Heads of State, ministers and negotiators, along with climate activists, mayors, civil society representatives and CEOs will meet in the Egyptian coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh for the largest annual gathering on climate action.

The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – COP27 – will build on the outcomes of COP26 to deliver action on an array of issues critical to tackling the climate emergency – from urgently reducing greenhouse gas emissions, building resilience and adapting to the inevitable impacts of climate change, to delivering on the commitments to finance climate action in developing countries. 

Faced with a growing energy crisis, record greenhouse gas concentrations, and increasing extreme weather events, COP27 seeks renewed solidarity between countries, to deliver on the landmark Paris Agreement, for people and the planet. 

What is COP

‘COP’ is the formal meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Parties.

COP stands for the ‘Conference of the Parties’ – the governing body of an international convention. COP refers to all of the parties involved – including world leaders and heads of state – as well as to the decision-making process of reviewing and putting the rules of the convention into effect.

The United Nations Climate Change Conferences are yearly conferences held in the framework of the UNFCCC, or COP, to assess progress in dealing with climate change.

Why does COP matter?

COP21 in Paris in 2015 secured the crucial Paris Agreement, which was an unprecedented unification of the world’s nations agreeing to limit the amount of carbon emissions and combat climate change. In November 2016, the Paris Agreement entered into force – with signatory countries committed to low carbon strategies, this marked the beginning of the process of reducing global emissions.

This means changing how we do business – everything from agriculture, to manufacturing and the way we consume will need to change – in order to make progress and ensure the world’s emissions remain under the two degree limit.

Internal Security

Police

Context-‘One nation, one police uniform’ is ideal: Modi

Police is a State subject

Problems with the Police System

The problems associated with the system and functioning of the police in India are manifold. Some of the important ones are discussed below.

• Politician – Police – Criminal Nexus

• Under the current system, the police forces come under the executive’s control. 
• This was noted in the Second ARC Report.
• Another related phenomenon has been the criminalisation of politics.
• Overburdened Police Force
  • Police forces in India (both central and state) are short-staffed. 
  • This results in unsatisfactory working conditions for the personnel with long working hours and an enormous workload.
  • Also, there is a lack of adequate representation of women in the police force. They form under 7% of the force which is way short when the number of women-related crimes is concerned.
  • All this affects adversely the efficiency and effectiveness of the force.
• Police Accountability
  • There are many grievances against the police such as unlawful arrests, unlawful searches, torture while in custody and even custodial rapes and deaths.
  • There are also allegations of corruption against the police personnel.
  • There is a need to fix police accountability internally and also through an external independent oversight system.
• Inadequate Resources
  • The police forces face a severe lack of resources when seen in the light of the enormous and varied responsibilities they undertake.
  • CAG audits have reported a shortage of weapons with several state police forces.
  • Police vehicles are also in short supply.
  • The infrastructure has also to be modernised to help the police personnel solve crimes faster, among other things.
• Constabulary related issues
  • The constables constitute 86% of the police forces.
  • However, the current system of recruitment is not enough to hire people capable of the tasks prescribed.
  • This could result in a lack of motivation on the job.
• Crime Investigation
  • Crime investigation requires skills and training, time and resources, and adequate forensic capabilities and infrastructure.  
  • However, the Law Commission and the Second Administrative Reforms Commission have noted that state police officers often neglect this responsibility because they are understaffed and overburdened with various kinds of tasks.
• Police-Public Relations
  • Police personnel, in the course of performing their duties, have to come in contact with the public.
  • There is a trust deficit among the public when it comes to the police who are often seen as corrupt, inefficient and politically partisan.

Commissions on Police Reforms

There have been various committees or commissions on police reforms. Some of the notable commissions and their recommendations are discussed below.

National Police Commission (NPC)

Ribeiro Committee

Padmanabhaiah Committee

Malimath Committee

2006 Supreme Court Directives on Police Reforms

In 1996, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by two former director generals of police, Prakash Singh and NK Singh requested the Supreme Court to give directions to the government to implement the police commission recommendations. In 2006, the SC gave seven directives regarding the same.

The 2006 SC directives are:

1. Constitute a state security commission to make sure that the state does not exercise undue influence on the police.
2. The DGP should be appointed a transparent and merit-based process and have a minimum tenure of two years.
3. Other police officers on operational duties should also be given a minimum two-year tenure.
4. The ‘law and order’ and ‘investigation’ functions of the police should be separated.
5. A Police Establishment Board should be set up to decide transfers, promotions, postings and other service-related matters of the police.
6. Set up police complaints authorities at the state and district levels to enquire into complaints of the public against police officers of and above the DSP rank for serious misconduct including custodial rape and death.
7. Establish a National Security Commission at the central level for preparing a panel for the selection and placement of Chiefs of the Central Police Organisations with a minimum tenure of 2 years.

Science And Technology

TB

Context-21.4 lakh TB cases notified in India in 2021: Health Ministry

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The bacteria usually attack the lungs, but they can also damage other parts of the body.

Three processes: Infection, Progression, Transmission

Symptoms of TB in the lungs may include

• A bad cough that lasts 3 weeks or longer
• Weight loss
• Loss of appetite
• Coughing up blood or mucus
• Weakness or fatigue
• Fever
• Night sweats

India

India not only accounts for a fifth of the world’s TB burden, it also has the largest number of people living with multidrug-resistant TB.

Indian patent law contains important provisions that help protect and promote public health goals — for example, by overcoming bids by big pharma to evergreen patents of old drugs, through compulsorily licensing for certain drugs, and by permitting pre- and post-grant opposition to patents to challenge unfair patenting practices by big pharma.

Reasons for the rising crisis

In addition to the failure of political machinery, the other major reasons for this are as follows:

• Adult and child under-nutrition
• Lack of active door-to-door detection
• Shortage of drugs
• Increasing Multi-Drug Resistant TB (MDR-TB) and Extensive Drug Resistant TB (XDR-TB)
• Total Drug Resistant TB acting as an assured death warrant
• Inadequate prescription by doctors and inadequate follow up of proper prescription by patients is aggravating the problem of antibiotic resistance
• Disease becoming expensive and difficult to treat
• Poor quality serological tests for diagnosis; poor quality diagnosis and treatment by medical practitioners

Remedies

Countering Delay in Diagnosis:

Private Sector: The private sector has a very crucial role to play in checking the rise of TB as it is the first place a patient from an urban area visits. We need to make them a partner in this fight.

Strengthening research: We urgently require rapid and cost-effective point-of-care devices that can be deployed for TB diagnosis in different settings across the country.

Technology: Technology has to be introduced and utilized in the most effective manner to ensure early access and monitoring.

Ending social stigma: TB is not a health issue alone. It is a broader societal challenge. Patients often hesitate to seek treatment or deny their condition altogether for fear of losing social standing. The consequence is that TB becomes a death sentence for many even though it is a fully curable illness. Women are disproportionately affected with estimates suggesting that 100,000 Indian women are asked to leave their homes every year after being diagnosed with TB.

PIB

PM’s ‘Panch-Pran’ to make India a developed country by 2047

5-POINT AGENDAFOR THE NEXT 25 YEARS

 THINK BIG Make a big resolution to become developed India by 2047 when we celebrate the 100th year of Independence. Don’t settle for anything less

‘NO’ TO SLAVERY- Slavery of hundreds of years forced us to keep our emotions tied up; developed distorted thinking in us. We must liberate ourselves from that mind-set

RICH LEGACY-We should feel proud of our heritage and legacy. It is this rich heritage and legacy that transcends tests of tide and time.

UNITY, SOLIDARITY -Ensure unity and solidarity. When there is harmony, unity becomes its strongest virtue. The Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat scheme is a unifying initiative

CITIZENS’ ROLE -Do your duty as a citizen. This virtue is going to be the vital life force if we want to achieve the dreams we have for the next 25 year