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[DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS, 25 MARCH 2023]

DEMAND FOR GRANTS

1. Context 

The Odisha government has proposed to amend the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 to ease the land acquisition process for various industrial and infrastructure projects.
With the amendment to the Central legislation, the Odisha government aims to do away with the mandatory provision of social impact assessment (SIA) study before the land acquisition, which it says is a time-consuming process.

2. About Demand for Grants 

  • It is a well-established principle among modern democracies that no money can be withdrawn from the exchequer of the country without the authority of law.
  • Put simply, this means that any withdrawal or disbursement from the Consolidated Fund of India can only be done by passing a bill in the Lok Sabha.

3. Grants in Parliament

Article 113 of the Constitution requires that any proposal or estimate seeking the withdrawal of money from the Consolidated Fund of India should be presented to the Lok Sabha in the form of a demand for grants.
 
4. Demand for Grants proposed by Ministry
  • Therefore, every ministry prepares a demand for grants for the expenditure to be incurred in the next financial year.
  • These demands are collectively presented in the Lok Sabha as part of the Union Budget.

5. Demand for Grants includes

  • The demand for grants includes both charged and voted expenditures.
  • Charged expenditures are considered liabilities of the government of India such as payment of interest and are not put to vote in the Lok Sabha.
  • The other category of expenditure is voted expenditure which includes revenue and capital expenditure to be incurred on a government scheme in the next financial year.
  • Usually, there is a demand for which for each ministry, but large ministries like Finance and Defence have more than one demand for grants.

6. Preparing Demand for Grants

Each demand for a grant is prepared in two ways:
  • First, it clearly distinguishes the charged expenditure and the voted expenditure.
  • It also classifies expenditure as capital expenditure and revenue expenditure
  • While capital expenditure results in the creation of some kind of assets for the government, revenue expenditures are operational.
In addition to giving the break-up charged and voted expenditure and revenue and capital expenditure, a demand for grants is a gross estimate of the total expenditure to be incurred.
 
Demand for grants also gives the following:
  • Break-up of expenditure under different heads of account and 
  • Lists out the recoveries to be made from the scheme
  • The net amount of expenditure, after deducting the recoveries is also shown.
Note that each demand for grants also includes:
  • The total provisions required for a service or scheme, basically both revenue and capital expenditure 
  • Any assistance to be given to states and UTs
  • Loans and advances related to that service or scheme
 
 7. Powers of Lok Sabha in Demand for Grants
  • Article 113 (iii) prescribes that no demand for grants can be presented in the Lok Sabha without the President of India's prior approval.
  • Under Articles 117 and 274 of the Indian Constitution, a Presidential recommendation is also required for tabling a Money Bill in the Lok Sabha.
  • The Finance Bill, accompanying the annual financial statement which is called the Union Budget, also carries a certificate issued by the President.

For Prelims & Mains

For Prelims: Lok Sabha, Demand for Grants, President of India, Odisha, Article 113 (iii), 117 and 274, Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013,
For Mains:
1. What is the Demand for Grants? Discuss the constitutional provisions dealing with the Demand for Grants. (250 Words)

Previous year questions

1. Which of the following are the methods of Parliamentary control over public finance in India? (UPSC 2012)

  1. Placing Annual financial statement before the Parliament
  2. Withdrawal of money from the consolidated fund of India only after passing the appropriation bill.
  3. Provisions of supplementary grants and vote on account
  4. A periodic or at least a mid-year review of programs of the Government against macroeconomics forecasts and expenditures by a Parliamentary budget office.
  5. Introducing finance bill in the Parliament

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1,2,3 and 5 only

(b) 1,2 and 4 only

(c) 3,4 and 5 only

(d) 1,2,3,4, and 5

1. Answer: (a) 

2. The authorization for the withdrawal of funds from the Consolidated fund of India must come from (UPSC 2011)

(a) The president of India

(b) The parliament of India

(c) The prime minister of India

(d) The union finance minister

2. Answer: (b) 

Source: The Financial Express

SMART CITY MISSION

 

1. Context

Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Puri announced that 80 Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs), an integral component of the Smart Cities Mission, have already been set up, while the remaining 20 would be completed by August 15, 2023
 
2. What is Smart City Mission?
  • The Smart Cities Mission aims at developing 100 cities, which were shortlisted, into self-sustainable urban settlements.
  • The mission was launched on June 25, 2015, and was projected as one aimed at transforming the process of urban development in the country.
  • Among its strategic components is ‘area-based development, which includes city improvement (retrofitting), city renewal (redevelopment), and city extension (greenfield development), plus a pan-city initiative in which ‘smart solutions’ are applied covering larger parts of the city.

3. Key Focus areas of the Smart City Mission

  • Key focus areas of the scheme include the construction of walkways, pedestrian crossings, cycling tracks, efficient waste-management systems, integrated traffic management, and assessment.
  • The scheme also assesses various indices to track urban development such as the Ease of Living Index, Municipal Performance Index, City GDP framework, Climate-smart Cities assessment framework, etc.

4. Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC)

  • The Smart Cities Mission includes setting up ICCCs for each such city as a vital step.
  • These ICCCs are designed to enable authorities to monitor the status of various amenities in real time.
  • Initially aimed at controlling and monitoring water and power supply, sanitation, traffic movement, integrated building management, city connectivity and Internet infrastructure, these centres have since evolved to monitor various other parameters.
  • The ICCCs are now also linked to the CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Networks and Systems) network under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
  • The ICCC acts of a smart city acts as a “nerve centre” for operations management.
  • It processes a complex and large pool of data sets at an aggregated level. For example, it is now the go-to source for integrated traffic management monitoring.
  • The ICCC is the nodal point of availability of all online data and information relating to smart services included in a smart city, such as LED street lighting, CCTV surveillance cameras, air quality sensors, smart parking system, WiFi, electricity and water supply and billing, GIS, e-hospitals, property tax management, estate management, engineering systems, asset management systems, and other services.
  • During the pandemic, they also served as war rooms for Covid-19 management.

5. How did the ICCCs help in the management of Covid-19?

  • During the pandemic, they also served as war rooms for Covid-19 management.
  • During the peak of the first wave, when countries were struggling to figure out ways of combating the virus, the government used the ICCCs as war rooms for managing the outbreak, with real-time surveillance and monitoring of districts across the country.
  • Converted into war rooms, the smart cities ICCCs used the central data dashboard and provided information about the status of Covid-positive cases in various administrative zones of these cities, officials aware of the exercise said.
  • The war rooms were also used for tracking people under quarantine and suspected Covid 19 cases.

6. Current Status of Smart Cities Mission

  • The ambitious project, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, had an initial deadline of 2021 for the first lot of 20 smart cities out of the 100 selected.
  • Although the project was announced in 2015, the cities were selected over a period of two years between 2016 and 2018, each with a deadline of completion within five years from the time of their selection.
  • On the recommendation of NITI Aayog, the timeline was extended last year until 2023 due to delays caused by the pandemic.
  • According to current Ministry data, the SCM has so far covered over 140 public-private partnerships, 340 smart roads, 78 vibrant public places, 118 smart water projects and over 63 solar projects.

7. What's next?

  • The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has begun work to finalise its recommendation for providing ICCCs as a service to states and smaller cities.
  • The Ministry aims to finalise an ICCC model and implement a pilot project across Six major states- Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Previous year Question

1. Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding Smart India Hackathon 2017? (UPSC 2017)
1. It is a centrally sponsored scheme for developing every city of our country into Smart Cities in a decade.
2. It is an initiative to identify new digital technology innovations for solving the many problems faced by our country.
3. It is a programme aimed at making all the financial transactions in our country completely digital in a decade.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
A. 1 and 3 only
B. 2 only
C. 3 only
D. 2 and 3 only
Answer: B
 
For Prelims & Mains
 
For Prelims: Smart Cities Mission, Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs), Greenfield development, Ease of Living Index, Municipal Performance Index, City GDP framework, Climate-smart Cities assessment framework, CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Networks and Systems), and NITI Aayog.
For Mains: 1. What are Smart Cities? Examine their relevance in the urban development of India.(250 Words)
 Source: The Indian Express

TRIBENI KUMBO MAHOTSAV

 
 
1. About Kumb Mela
Kumbh Mela is considered a major pilgrimage and festival in Hinduism. Prominent Kumbha Melas are organised in Haridwar, Prayagraj, Nashik, and Ujjain. Now a suburban town in West Bengal  Tribeni is gearing up to organise its Kumbh Mela
Located in Hooghly, Triveni Sangam has a rich history of reverence in Hinduism as the place is the confluence of three mythological rivers
One will find multiple Ganga ghats, Shiva temples and ancient buildings with architectural terracotta in Tribeni
2. History of the Festival
  • Kumbh Mela in Tribeni has a 700-year old history. The mela had to be discontinued after an invasion
  • Kumbh Mela is just the beginning as the local administration led by Neogi is planning for the revival of lost glory of Tribeni which still holds immense significance in Hinduism
  • People from all over West Bengal and even Bengali diaspora living abroad visit Tribeni for a number of religious rituals
  • Tribeni in Bengal is a holy place for the Hindus, the sanctity of which has been recognized for many centuries and had been mentioned in Dhoyi’s Pavanadutam, a Sanskrit piece of the last quarter of the 12th century
  • The Muslims took it over during early phases of their conquest of Bengal, also referred to as Turkish conquest in the thirteenth century
  • The place retains its holiness for multiple centuries, primarily due to the rivers it hosted, corroborated by records of the bathers at different timelines, who thronged during the festival of Makar to Magh Sankranti
  • Tribeni was also marked in history as an important business place like Tamralipta port
Source:pib

ALL INDIA JUDICIAL SERVICE

 
 
1. Context
Kiren Rijiju, The Union Minister for Law & Finance has given a reply regarding All India Judicial Services for the Question asked in the Lok sabha
 
2. Introduction
  • Article 312 of the Constitution provides for the establishment of All India Judicial Service (AIJS), which shall not include any post inferior to that of a District Judge
  • The constitutional provision enables creation of the AIJS at District Judge level
  • In Government's view, a properly framed All India Judicial Service is important to strengthen overall justice delivery system
  • This will give an opportunity for induction of suitably qualified fresh legal talent selected through a proper all-India merit selection system as well as address the issue of social inclusion by enabling suitable representation to marginalized and deprived sections of society
3. Proposal
  • A comprehensive proposal was formulated for the constitution of an All India Judicial Service (AIJS) and the same was approved by the Committee of Secretaries in November, 2012
  • Besides attracting some of the best talent in the country, it may also facilitate inclusion of competent persons from marginalized sections and women in the judiciary
  • The proposal was included as an agenda item in the Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of the High Courts held in April, 2013 and it was decided that the issue needs further deliberation and consideration
  • The views of the State Governments and High Courts were sought on the proposal
  • There was divergence of opinion among the State Governments and among the High Courts on the constitution of All India Judicial Service
  • While some State Governments and High Courts favoured the proposal, some were not in favour of creation of All India Judicial Service while some others wanted changes in the proposal formulated by the Central Government
  • The matter regarding creation of a Judicial Service Commission to help the recruitment to the post of district judges and review of selection process of judges/ judicial officers at all level was also included in the agenda for the Chief Justices Conference, which was held on 03rd and 04th April, 2015
  • The proposal for constitution of All India Judicial Service with views from the High Courts and State Governments received thereon was also included in the agenda for the Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts held on 05thApril, 2015
4. Way Forward
The proposal of setting up of an All India Judicial Service was again discussed on points of eligibility, age, selection criteria, qualification, reservations etc.
In a meeting chaired by Minister of Law and Justice on 16th January 2017 in the presence of Minister of State for Law and Justice, Attorney General for India, Solicitor General of India, Secretaries of Department of Justice, Department of Legal Affairs and Legislative Department
Setting up AIJS was also deliberated in a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee in March, 2017 and the Parliamentary Committee on the Welfare of SCs/STs on 22.02.2021
In view of the existing divergence of opinion amongst the major stakeholders, at present, there is no consensus on the proposal for setting up an All India Judicial Service
 
Source: pib

ABEL PRIZE

 

1. Context

Luis Caffarelli, 74, has won the 2023 Abel Prize for his seminal contributions to regularity theory for nonlinear partial differential equations including free-boundary problems and the Monge-Ampère equation”.

2. What is Abel Prize?

  • The prize was established by the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget) in 2002, marking the 200th anniversary of Niels Henrick Abel’s birth.
  • Notably, the prize was first proposed in 1899, when Norwegian mathematician Sophus Lie proposed establishing a prize named after Abel when he learned that Alfred Nobel’s plans for annual prizes would not include a prize in mathematics. This plan never materialized.
  • In 2001, as Abel’s 200th birth anniversary drew close, a working group was formed to develop a proposal for such a prize.
  • This group presented a proposal to the Norwegian prime minister, who soon announced the creation of the Abel prize.
  • The Abel Prize is awarded and administered by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters on behalf of the Norwegian government.
  • It is financed by the Norwegian government which also does not tax the prize money.
  • The recipients are chosen by the Abel Committee, which comprises expert mathematicians, all appointed by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, under the advice of the International Mathematical Union (IMU) and the European Mathematical Society (EMS).

3. History of Abel Prize

  • First awarded in 2003, the Abel prize recognizes pioneering scientific achievements in mathematics.
  • It is named after Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802-29), who in his short life made pioneering contributions in a multitude of fields.
  • It is often considered to be an equivalent of the Nobel prize which does not have a category for mathematics and has been modelled as such.
  • The prize includes a monetary award of 7.5 million kroner (roughly $ 720,000) and a glass plaque designed by Norwegian artist Henrik Haugan.
  • It is awarded by The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, on behalf of the Ministry of Education.

4. About Niels Henrick Abel

  • Niels Henrik Abel (1802-1829) was a Norwegian mathematician who left a big impact on a number of fields in his rather short life.
  • His most famous single result is the first complete proof demonstrating the impossibility of solving the general quintic equation in radicals.
  • This question was one of the outstanding open problems of his day and had been unresolved for over 250 years.
    He was also an innovator in the field of elliptic functions, and discoverer of what would later be known as Abelian functions.
  • He made all his discoveries while living in crippling poverty. He died of tuberculosis at the age of 26.

5. Who is Luis Caffarelli and why did he win the Abel prize?

  • Caffarelli was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, making him the first Abel laureate from South America.
  • Currently, he is a professor at the University of Texas, Austin.
  • He is married to fellow Argentinian mathematician Irene Martínez Gamba, who teaches at UT, Austin as well.
  • Cafarelli has been one of the leading figures in the study of partial differential equations for over five decades.
  • According to Abel's citation, “Partial differential equations arise naturally as laws of nature, whether to describe the flow of water or the growth of populations.
  • These equations have been a constant source of intense study since the days of Newton and Leibniz.”
  • The Abel citation states that Caffarelli has made “groundbreaking contributions” that have “radically changed our understanding of classes of nonlinear partial differential equations with wide applications.
  • The results are technically virtuous, covering many different areas of mathematics and its applications.
  • Notably, he has been recognized for “combining brilliant geometric insight with ingenious analytical tools and methods” in this field of mathematics.

For Prelims

For Prelims: Abel Prize, Niels Henrick Abel, Luis Caffarelli, International Mathematical Union (IMU), the European Mathematical Society (EMS), and Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget).
Source: The Indian Express

6G

1. Context

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unveiled a vision document for the rollout of 6G communications technology in India by 2030.
As part of its 6G mission, India will identify priority areas for research by involving all stakeholders including industry, academia and service providers spanning theoretical and simulation studies, proof-of-concept prototypes and demonstrations and early market interventions through startups, the vision document said.
 

2. For regular users, 6G could be a huge opportunity.

  • At present, the total annual purchase of smartphones is greater than 16 crore smartphones for about 30 crore Indian households, the document said.
  • This means that every household today is buying smartphones at an average of one phone every 2 years.
  • A similar amount is being spent annually on two-wheelers, suggesting that an average Indian finds a personal smartphone as valuable and necessary, as a personal vehicle.
3. About 6G 
  • While, technically, 6G does not exist today, it has been conceived as a far superior technology promising internet speeds up to 100 times faster than 5G.
  • PM Modi formally launched 5G services in October 2022 and Said at the time that India should be ready to launch 6G services in the next 10 years.
  • As opposed to 5G, which at its peak can offer internet speeds up to 10 gigabits per second, 6G promises to offer ultra-low latency with speeds up to 1 terabit per second.
  • As per the vision document, 6G use cases will include remote-controlled factories, constantly communicating self-driven cars and smart wearables taking inputs directly from the human senses.
  • However, while 6G promises growth, it will simultaneously have to be balanced with sustainability since most 6G supporting communication devices will be battery-powered and can have a significant carbon footprint, the document said.

4. India's 6G roadmap

  • The 6G project will be implemented in two phases and the government has also appointed an apex council to oversee the project and focus on issues such as standardisation, identification of the spectrum for 6G usage, create an ecosystem for devices and systems and figure out finances for research and development among other things.
  • In phase one, support will be provided to explorative ideas, risky pathways and proof-of-concept tests.
  • Ideas and concepts that show promise and potential for acceptance by the global peer community will be adequately supported to develop them to completion, establish their use cases and benefits and create implementational IPs and testbeds leading to commercialisation as part of phase two.
  • The government will have to explore shared use of spectrum, particularly in the higher frequency bands for 6G.
  • A reassessment and rationalisation of congested spectrum bands and adoption of captive networks for Industry 4.0 and enterprise use cases will also have to be done.
  • Open up a few bands to generate demand (for example 450-470 MHz, 526-612 MHz, 31-31.3 GHz, etc.).
  • Expand and position a larger midband to meet the requirements of 5G+ and 6G technologies.
  • This requires initiating a new inter-ministerial process of repurposing several bands like that has been done earlier.
  • To fund research and innovation on 6G, the document recommended the creation of a corpus of Rs 10, 000 crore to facilitate various funding instruments such as grants, loans, VC funds, funds of funds, etc. for the next 10 years.
  • Two tiers of grants are proposed i.e. up to Rs 20 crore to service funding requirements ranging from small to medium and grants above Rs 20 crore for high-impact projects.
  • To decide on standardisation around 6G and related technologies, the document called for India to take on a greater role in various international bodies such as 3GPP, ITU, IEC and IEEE.

5. India's action plan

  • The government has set up a Bharat 6G project and appointed an apex council to oversee the project and focus on issues such as standardisation, identification of the spectrum for 6G usage, creating an ecosystem for devices and systems and figuring out finances for research and development among other things.
  • The apex council will facilitate and finance research and development, design and development of 6G technologies by Indian start-ups, companies, research bodies and universities.
  • It will aim to enable India to become a leading global supplier of intellectual property, products and solutions of affordable 6G telecom solutions and identify priority areas for 6G research based on India's competitive advantages.
  • A key focus of the council will be on new technologies such as Terahertz communication, radio interfaces, tactile internet and artificial intelligence for connected intelligence, new encoding methods and waveforms chipsets for 6G devices.

6. Other regions looking at the 6G rollout

  • South Korea has outlined a 6G research and development plan with Rs 1200 crore worth of investments in the first phase running till 2025, for attaining global leadership, developing key original technologies, making significant contributions to international standards and patents and building a strong foundation for 6G research and industry.
  • In Japan, the Integrated Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN) Forum has published its Vision 2030 white paper for 6G, which laid out key technology directions for infrastructure evolution in four dimensions: Cognitive capacity, responsiveness, scalability and energy efficiency.
  • Key developments in 6G have also been identified and are being pursued in China.
  • The country expects that the next generation 6G network will support connectivity plus sensing plus AI, with security implemented by design throughout the network.

For Prelims & Mains

For Prelims: 6G, 5G, IOWN, Japan South Korea, 
For Mains: 
1.  India is rolling out 6G technology, what are the hardles in implementing the 5G technology in the country and suggest the measures to tackle the problems in 5G technology? (250 Words)
 
Source: The Indian Express
 

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