GS Analyst
Daily Current Affairs

The Punjab Assembly has passed a bill to dissolve the state Vigilance Commission, saying that the body was not serving any useful purpose except being a burden on the exchequer.

Background

• The Punjab State Vigilance Commission Act, 2020 has been passed by the previous government to curb corruption among the state's public servants.
• In on-going session of the Punjab assembly, the act got repealed and state vigilance commission has been abolished.
• The Assembly also passed the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and the Common Lands (Regulations) Amendment Bill, 2022. 

The State Vigilance Commission:

• It is a statutory Body made under an act passed by the respective state governments.
• The principal objective of the State Vigilance is to curb the evil of corruption amongst Public Servants and to prevent leakage of Government revenue by taking action against unscrupulous Government Servants who indulge in mal-practices and corruption.
• The State Vigilance commission also helps various other Government Departments by suggesting ways and means to combat corruption and to prevent leakage of Government Revenue.

The various functions of the State Vigilance Bureau are:-

• Investigation of Criminal Cases of corruption/cheating/ fraud referred to it by the Government for investigation.
• Apprehending corrupt Govt. Servants red-handed by means of raids.
• Carrying out vigilance enquiries referred to it by the Vigilance Department.
• Generating inspection/source reports regarding corruption/ leakage of Govt. revenue for the usage of the Govt. or for suo-moto action.
• Giving No Objection Certificates from vigilance angle to various persons/Govt. officials. NOC is required for the following purpose :-
  • Promotion Cases
  • Cases of Superannuation
  • Passport for Govt. Employees
  • Cases of Deputation
  • Any other cases in which, such clearance is made mandatory by the State Government.
• To carry out special checking of various works/projects undertaken on behalf of the Government to ensure uniform quality and standard of the works being so undertaken.
• Any other function assigned to it from the Government from time to time.

Is it worth to abolish the State vigilance commission?

• No, it is one of the acts which can lead to increase in departmental corruption.
• Lack of monitoring can lead to misuse of funds and government resources for personal benefits.

The Central Vigilance Commission

• In 1964, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) was set up by the Government on the recommendations of Santhanam Committee, to advise and guide Central Government agencies in the field of vigilance.
• The Supreme Court in the judgement of Vineet Narain & Others vs. Union of India (1997) gave directions regarding the superior role of
• This multi-member Commission consists of a Central Vigilance Commissioner (Chairperson) and not more than two Vigilance Commissioners (Member).
• Appointment: The Central Vigilance Commissioner and the Vigilance Commissioners are appointed by the President on the recommendations of a Committee consisting of the Prime Minister (Chairperson), the Minister of Home Affairs (Member) and the Leader of the Opposition in the House of the People (Member).
• The term of office: The Central Vigilance Commissioner and the Vigilance Commissioners is four years from the date on which they enter their office or till they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

Other Bodies with similar roles

• Crime Investigation Bureau (CBI)
• Enforcement Directorate(ED) 
• National Investigating Agency (NIA)

The Veteran actor Asha Parekh was honoured with the Dada Saheb Phalke award, the highest recognition in the field of Indian cinema.

• The First award was presented in
• The first recipient of the award was actress Devika Rani.
• The award was introduced by the Government of India to commemorate Dadasaheb Phalke's contribution to Indian cinema.
• Phalke (1870–1944), who is popularly known as and often regarded as "the father of Indian cinema", was an Indian filmmaker who directed India's first full-length feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1913).

The 68^th National Film Awards

• The award was presented by President Droupadi Murmu during the 68th National Film Awards ceremony, held at Vigyan Bhawan in Mumbai.
• Asha Parekh at 79 got this honour signifying the ‘indomitable female power’.

Dada Saheb Phalke Award

• The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in the field of cinema.
• It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• The recipient is honoured for their outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema and is selected by a committee consisting of eminent personalities from the Indian film industry.
• The award comprises a Swarna Kamal(Golden Lotus) medallion, a shawl, and a cash prize of Rs.1,000,000.

Contributions of the Awardee: Asha Parekh

• Debuted in Maa (1952) as a child artist, Asha Parekh is an Indian actress who works primarily in Hindi cinema where she is fondly called ‘The Hit Girl’.
• In addition to acting, she has also directed various television series in the early ages of satellite television in India.
• She was also honoured with the Padma Shri (1992) by the Government of India.
• She was awarded for the year 2020, in 2022 due to COVID-19 pandem

In a move to tighten the incentive disbursal system under the government’s flagship incentive schemes for electric vehicles, the Heavy Industries Ministry is moving from a paper-based subsidy claims mechanism to a new digital platform.

About the Initiative

• The Heavy Industries Ministry has decided to move from a paper-based subsidy claims mechanism to a new digital platform.
• The digital platform will track the value addition achieved by a vehicle manufacturer using domestically produced inputs from equipment manufacturers.
• Under this new platform, an IT-enabled system based on Application Programming Interface or API, would be leveraged to ensure that data pertaining to the net value addition achieved during the manufacturing process.
• The data will automatically feed into the Ministry’s portal from the vehicle manufacturers’ enterprise resource planning (ERP)
• This enables traceability of equipment and inputs with their complete digital footprint.

What is the current process for availing Subsidies?

• Currently, companies file their application in the physical format to claim incentives under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles in India (FAME) scheme and other flagship schemes such as the Productivity-Linked Incentive (PLI).
• This (digital system) will not just bring in transparency but also is the next level in ease of doing business and will save a lot of hassle for companies that have to file it in physical form as on date.

Significance of the Initiative

• Easy to track claims: This is significant since the government’s revenue intelligence agency had flagged a discrepancy in the process related to claims made by some two-wheeler manufacturers who allegedly violated localisation norms while availing of subsidies under the electric vehicle promotion scheme.
• Better management: The vehicle manufacturers will be benefitted as they can manage their subsidies/ PLIs online.

Chandigarh was adjudged winner along with Navi Mumbai in the 10 lakhs plus population category of the Indian Swachhta League (ISL).

About the ‘Indian Swachhta League’:

• The Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs initiated the Swachh Amrit Mahotsav, which started with the Indian Swachhata League.
• The Indian Swachhata League is India's first inter-city competition led by youth toward building Garbage Free Cities.
• Citizens across India were invited to search for their cities on MyGov and register to join their city teams in the Swachhata activities that have been planned.
• More than 1,850 teams have been participated in the league.
• SBM-Urban 2.0 is a maiden edition of the ‘Indian Swachhata League’ which has mobilized more than 5,00,000 youth, citizen volunteers, and celebrity icons across the country to join the first ever Indian Swachhata League and to work together towards the mission’s goal of making cities clean, green, and garbage-free.

The competition:

• Once the event is completed, every city team will submit an official entry regarding their activities, along with photos and videos.
• City teams will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
• Scale of participation
• Innovativeness of the activities
• Impact of the activities

Significance:

• The contests underlined the magnitude of the effort made by the Municipal Corporation and its sanitation workers in ensuring cleanliness, taking the help of youth to increase public awareness on avoiding dumping of garbage, and sending the message of clean water sources.

Related Initiatives

• Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: It was announced by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on Indian Independence Day & launched on 2 Oct 2014, Gandhi Jayanti.
• Waste to Wealth Model: The government has adopted new rules that provide for ways and means to minimize plastic waste generation, adoption of extended producer responsibility for collection of waste and sustainable plastic waste management, recycling and utilization of plastic waste in road construction, energy, and oil generation.

To be developed by Adani Group, the port will be built on unused land with no need to demolish, or remodel existing structures, making it the state's 1st greenfield port in close to 50 years.

Details:

• Tajpur will be the second-biggest port in West Bengal, after the Kolkata Port — now known as the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Port (SMP).
• Tajpur Port is located near Tajpur in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district, some 200 km from Kolkata.
• It will enable a large ‘Capesize’, which is the largest class of cargo vessels. Previously the shallow draft has constrained larger ships to call on ports in the state.
• It will be Bengal’s first greenfield port in close to half a century.
• A greenfield project is one in which construction happens on unused land, where there is no need to remodel or demolish an existing structure.

What are Deep Sea Ports?

• A deep-sea port is usually made up for the usage of very large and heavily loaded ships.
• The depth of water helps get them access to the deep-water ports.
• The deep-sea port is compatible with the large heavy loaded ships which may require the water to be 30 feet deep or even more.

Development of the port:

• Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), which is India’s largest port operator and a wholly owned subsidiary of Adani Ports will be taking on this development project.
• The development of the port would entail an investment of Rs 25,000 crore.

Port-led development:

• The magnitude of investment is quite significant and has the potential to facilitate a lot of coastal development.
• It could facilitate development on the eastern freight development corridor, which goes through Amritsar (in Punjab) to Dankuni (in West Bengal).
• “It could facilitate a lot of exports- there is an abundance of coal, iron ore, and other minerals in that belt.
• When a port comes across, there will also be an improvement in the road infrastructure.

Viability of similar projects in the Future:

• Despite having a coastline due to technical issues more deep-water ports are not possible.
• Due to the heavy siltation of the Hooghly River, it is difficult to have more such ports on the coastline.

Significance:

• The Tajpur deep sea port will act as a maritime gateway for not only the state but the entire eastern region.
• With this project, India’s eastern region is set to become a hub of trade and investment.
• It is expected to ensure smoother access to neighboring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan, shipping sector.
• It will bring massive employment opportunities and a wave of progress to Bengal.

The Village council members in the northeastern India are signing the MoUs with the forest department but due to illiteracy, they may not understand what they are getting into.

Details:

• India’s North East has seen a mushrooming of ‘community reserves’ in the last 11 years.
• A community reserve is usually formed by the local village council and the forest department signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU).
• Provisions of the Wild Life (Protection) Act apply to an area once it becomes a community reserve.

What are Community Reserves?

• The State Government may designate any community land or private land as a Community Reserve if the members of that community or individuals involved agree to offer such areas for the protection of fauna and flora, as well as their traditions, cultures, and practices.
• The designation of such an area aims to improve the socioeconomic conditions of the people who live in such areas while also conserving wildlife.

Issues associated:

• The village council members who agree to sign the MoU are mostly illiterate and do not understand the finer details.
• Most of the community members are not aware of this policy in its entirety.
• Communities were unaware that provisions of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act become functional in an area once it became a community reserve.
• After a forest has been made into a community reserve, people cannot hunt there, nor can they use it for agricultural practices, or engage in jhum cultivation.
• It is also unclear whether traditional owners of community forests qualify for compensation in such a case as they do not necessarily have the claim papers.

Provisions related to Conservation

• Community reserves fall under protected areas, along with marine protected areas, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and conservation reserves, according to the Wild Life (Protection) Act (WLPA), 1972.
• Conservation reserves and community reserves are protected areas of India that typically act as buffer zones between established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and reserved and protected forests of India, according to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate change (MoEFCC).
• A Community Reserve Management Committee oversees the Reserve.
• Where a community or an individual has volunteered to conserve wildlife and its habitat, the State Government may declare the area as community land by notification.
• There shall be no change in land use pattern within the Community Reserve unless authorized by a resolution passed by the Management Committee and approved by the State Government.

Examples of Community Conserved Areas in India

• Gond tribals in Mendha (Lekha) village, Maharashtra, have been protecting 1800ha of reserved and protected forest for more than two decades. This is an offshoot of the struggle for tribal self-government.
• The villagers of Jardhargaon village in Uttaranchal have been responsible for the regeneration and protection of 600-700ha of Reserved Forests and grasslands.
• Protection of sea turtle eggs, hatchlings, and nesting sites by the Kolavipalam fisherfolk community in Kerala.
• Villagers in Kokkare Bellur village, Karnataka, have traditionally conserved Painted Stork and Spot-billed Pelican nesting sites.
• Ronmei tribe in Tokpa Kabui village, Manipur, have regenerated 600ha of village forest in the Loktak Lake catchment. The hunting ban on the endangered Sangai deer (Brow antlered deer) in this area is self-imposed.