DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS (AUGUST 23, 2022)
THE POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. THE CONTROVERSY AROUND THE DELHI EXCISE POLICY
THE CONTEXT: The New Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, launched November in 2021, which sought to ensure optimum revenue for the State government, confront the sale of spurious or bootlegged liquor and transform consumer experience, ran into protests and widespread allegations of “procedural lapses”. This has forced the government to scrap it with effect from August 1, 2022.
THE EXPLANATION:
• On July 22, Delhi Lieutenant Governor recommended a CBI probe into the new policy, which culminated in raids on the premises of the Delhi Government’s Deputy Chief Minister, who holds the excise portfolio. His role is under the scanner for allegedly providing “undue financial favours” to private liquor licensees, a charge denied by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leadership.
What were some of the changes mooted in the new policy?
• The new policy marked the exit of the State government from liquor retail in the city. It sought to provide more choice to alcohol consumers by offering more variety of brands — both popular and niche ones — through opening more liquor vendors. It sought to provide a “better environment”, especially for female citizens, while shopping for liquor through dedicated alcohol vends.
• In addition to reducing the number of dry days in Delhi from over 20 to just three, it also sought to reduce the age of alcohol consumption in Delhi from 25 to 18 — but did not proceed with the step as it would have required a legislative amendment. The new policy also sought to ensure equitable distribution of alcohol vends in the city by ensuring two liquor shops in each municipal ward to bridge the gap between “overserved” and “underserved” areas.
• Under the new policy, the number of liquor vends in Delhi would have increased from around 630 to 850 — all privately owned and operated. One person could hold more than one liquor retail licence and the “heavily regulated” excise regime under the previous policy was simplified for ease of doing business in the overall trade. Another change in the policy was making wholesale licensees (L1) independent of manufacturers; the revamped policy allowed independent entities to set up wholesale stores and get franchisee from various manufacturers. The revamped policy was implemented on November 17, 2021 and remained in force till July 31, 2022.
How much revenue does Delhi earn from excise?
• According to official figures, a little over ₹4,000 crore was generated in excise revenue in 2019-20. Between November 2021 and July 2022, it earned approximately ₹5,400 crore, but the controversy led to a fall in sales and revenue. With both retail and wholesale licensees abandoning their licences or choosing not to renew them, the Delhi government admitted it had been suffering a loss of over ₹193 crore on a monthly basis.
2. ‘KERALA SAVARI’, INDIA’S FIRST ONLINE TAXI SERVICE
THE CONTEXT: Recently, Kerala has soft launched ‘Kerala Savari’, the country’s first online taxi service owned by a State government, to ensure fair and decent service to passengers along with fair remuneration to auto-taxi workers.
THE EXPLANATION:
• Operated by the Motor Workers Welfare Board under the aegis of the Labour Department, the Kerala Savari ensures safe travel for the public at ‘government approved fares’ without any ‘surge pricing’. The ‘Kerala Savari’ app would be made available to the public on online platforms shortly as it is under the scrutiny of Google now.
Why has the State government decided to launch this initiative?
• The alleged unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights by private app-based cab aggregators have come as a major concern for governments. Recently, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) had issued notices to cab aggregators Ola and Uber for unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights. Passengers often complain about the deficiency in services including charging exorbitant fares during peak hours, unprofessional behaviour from the part of drivers, lack of proper response from customer support, and undue levy of cancellation charges despite the cab driver refusing to accept the ride booked by the passenger etc.
• It is against this backdrop that the Kerala government has decided to come up with an app-based platform to offer auto-taxi service for the public. As private companies are purely focusing on profit making, the government-controlled online taxi service is a service-oriented scheme — a win-win situation for both passengers and taxi-auto drivers and owners.
What are the main attractions of ‘Kerala Savari’?
• Private cab aggregators used to make a killing with surge pricing during peak hours or in the event of rains. The passengers were often forced to pay through their nose during these critical times. But there will be no fluctuation in fares on Kerala Savari irrespective of day or night or rain.
• When private app-based taxi companies increase the charges for services up to two to three times during emergencies, neither passengers nor workers benefit from it. But Kerala Savari only charges an 8% service charge in addition to the rate set by the government, whereas the private cab aggregators charge up to 20 to 30% service charge. The taxi owner will get the approved fare on ‘Kerala Savari,’ while cab owners working for private online companies would often get a fare which is below the government-approved rate.
THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
3. ADB, INDIA SIGN $96.3 MILLION LOAN TO IMPROVE WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION SERVICES IN HIMACHAL PRADESH
THE CONTEXT: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $96.3-million loan agreement to provide safe drinking water and improve water supply and sanitation services in the state of Himachal Pradesh.
THE EXPLANATION:
• According to the sources, the agreement stated that the project is aligned with the objectives of the Government of India’s Jal Jeevan Mission which aims to provide piped water to all rural households by 2024 and it will upgrade water supply infrastructure and strengthen institutional capacity to ensure safe, sustainable, and inclusive rural water supply and sanitation services.
• “ADB’s involvement in the project will provide water management best practices, strengthen institutional capacity, and guide tariff reform,” .“These interventions will address the government’s aim of providing uninterrupted pressurised water supply to households, inclusive sanitation services, strengthening operation and maintenance for sustainable service delivery, and building capacity of relevant staff.”
• More than 90% of the state’s rural population have access to drinking water, but the water supply infrastructure needs revamping, to result in efficient and improved service quality. The ADB project will connect 75,800 households to the service, providing uninterrupted water supply to about 3,70,000 residents across 10 districts. To improve water supply and sanitation services, the project aims to construct 48 groundwater wells, 80 surface water intake facilities, 109 water treatment plants, 117 pumping stations, and 3,000 km of water distribution pipelines. A pilot fecal sludge management and sanitation programme will also be implemented in Sirmaur District, benefiting 250,000 residents.
• The project will strengthen the capacity of the Jal Shakti Vibhag of the Government of Himachal Pradesh and gram panchayat (local government) village water and sanitation committees. It will support the state governments water tariff policy reforms and introduce an asset management system at the state-level and district asset management plans. Key project stakeholders and community-based organisations will be trained on water management, including livelihood skills training for women self-help groups.
VALUE ADDITION:
About ADB:
• It is a regional development bank.
• established on 19 December 1966.
• headquartered — Manila, Philippines.
• official United Nations Observer.
Who can be its members?
• The bank admits the members of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP, formerly the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East or ECAFE) and non-regional developed countries.
• ADB now has 68 members, 49 from within Asia.
Voting rights:
It is modeled closely on the World Bank, and has a similar weighted voting system where votes are distributed in proportion with members’ capital subscriptions.
As of 31 December 2019, ADB’s five largest shareholders are Japan and the United States (each with 15.6% of total shares), the People’s Republic of China (6.4%), India (6.3%), and Australia (5.8%).
Roles and functions:
• Dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.
• This is carried out through investments – in the form of loans, grants and information sharing – in infrastructure, health care services, financial and public administration systems, helping nations prepare for the impact of climate change or better manage their natural resources, as well as other areas.
THE HEALTH ISSUES
4. ‘TOMATO FLU’ DETECTED AMONG CHILDREN IN INDIA, SAYS LANCET
THE CONTEXT: A new infection dubbed tomato flu, or tomato fever, has been detected in India mostly among children younger than five, according to a report in the Lancet Respiratory Journal. The “non-life-threatening” virus was first identified in Kollam district of Kerala.
THE EXPLANATION:
• According to the report, as of July 26, more than 82 children younger than five had been reported with the infection by government hospitals in Kerala. It further said that this endemic viral illness triggered an alert in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
• Also, additionally, 26 children (aged one to nine) were reported with the infection in Odisha. “To date, apart from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha, no other region in India has been affected by the virus.
• However, precautionary measures are being taken by the Kerala Health Department to monitor the spread of the viral infection and prevent its spread in other parts of India”.
What is Tomato Flu?
About:
• Tomato fever is a rare contagious disease of viral nature in humans whose origins are not yet known.
• However, medical experts have opined that it might be an aftereffect of dengue or chikungunya.
• It gets its name from the tomato-shaped red rashes that it causes on the body of infected individuals.
• The flu is said to affect children below five years of age.
Symptoms:
Major symptoms include:
• Rashes
• Diarrhoea
• Dehydration
In certain cases, discolouration of hands and knees has also been observed.
Treatment:
• This flu is a self-limiting one and so far, there is no specific drug for its cure.
• Symptoms vanish over time on their own with medicinal support.
• Utensils, clothes and other items used by the infected persons must be sanitised to prevent the flu from spreading.
• Fluid intake should be increased to counter dehydration.
THE ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE
5. A BREATH OF FRESH AIR FOR BIKERS
THE CONTEXT: An anti-pollution helmet developed by a Delhi based startup can help 2-wheeler riders breathe clean air. The helmet developed by Shellios Technolabs has a Bluetooth-enabled app that lets the rider know when the helmet requires cleaning.
THE EXPLANATION:
• The startup received seed funding from the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and was incubated at Science and Technology Entrepreneur Park (JSSATE-STEP) Noida.
• They had signed commercialization deals with leading Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) for the helmet. The product, at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) level 9 has been granted utility patent and is now being sold in all parts of the country priced at Rs. 4500/-. The end-users of the product include individual riders all over India and for the next version, Shellios ties up with top tier-2-wheeler OEM for the commercialization of the anti-pollution helmet.
• The helmet titled PUROS is integrated with air purifying accessories which include the patented innovations of the startup — a Brushless DC (BLDC) blower fan, High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter membrane, electronic circuit, and micro USB charging port integrated into the helmet. The purifying system set at the back of the helmet picks up all particulate matter coming from outside and cleans the air before it reaches the biker.
• Following all mandatory standards stipulated by the government, the 1.5 Kg helmet ensures exposure reduction by more than 80% as measured using a controlled environment.
Various initiatives to curb Delhi Air pollution
• SC appointed committee: one-man committee of Justice Madan B Lokur has been appointed to monitor stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh amid rising pollution in Delhi and its surrounding areas.
• Graded response action plan: In pursuant with Supreme Court’s order in the M. C. Mehta vs. Union of India (2016) regarding air quality in National Capital Region of Delhi, the Graded Response Action Plan was notified by MoEFCC in 2017. GRAP is a set of stratified actions that are taken once the pollution level reaches a certain specified limit. It works only as an emergency measure
• Government has opened the peripheral expressway around the capital to diverts non-Delhi destined traffic away.
• Construction & demolition (C&D) waste management rules: Govt. has notified construction & demolition waste management rules.
• As per the rules, all generators of C&D waste must segregate it into four categories– concrete, soil, steel and wood, plastics, bricks and mortar – and then either deposit it at collection centres setup by the local authority or hand it over to processing facilities.
• Over the years, the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) has developed a system to calculate the contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s pollution.
• CPCB monitoring: Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has deployed 50 teams for inspection in Delhi-NCR region. Inspection teams will visit the construction site and will levy fines in case of any violation of anti-pollution guidelines.
• Anti-Smog guns: Anti-smog gun is a device designed to reduce air pollution by spraying water into the atmosphere so that all the dust and polluted particles get clear from the environment. The gun is attached to a water tank built on a movable vehicle which can be taken to various parts of the city.
THE PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE
6. AUGUST 23: INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE REMEMBRANCE OF THE SLAVE TRADE AND ITS ABOLITION
THE CONTEXT: International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition is observed every year on 23 August with the aim of remembering the millions of victims of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Named by UNESCO, this day was first celebrated on 23 August 1998.
THE EXPLANATION:
• August 23 was proclaimed by UNESCO as International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. This on this day, in 1791, Santo Domingo witnessed an uprising setting in motion a chain of events the opened ways for the abolition of trans-Atlantic slave trade.
• With this commemoration, UNESCO aims to highlight the need of spreading awareness regarding history of the slave trade in order for people to acknowledge the impact of slavery on modern world.
Background
• This date was chosen by adopting the resolution 29 C/40 by the 29th session of General Conference of UNESCO.
• A Circular from Director-General dates July 29, 1998 invited Ministers of Culture to promote this day.
Significance of the day
August 23 is significant because, during the night of August 22-August 23 in 1791, an uprising started on the island of Saint Domingue (now Haiti). The uprising had set forth events leading to abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
How this day is celebrated?
UNESCO Member States celebrate this day by organizing events and inviting participation from young people, artists, educators and intellectuals.
Slave Trade
Slave Trade was the result of affair between imperialism and racism. During those times, racist ideology was a basis for unjust political, social and economic practices which ultimately helped imperial powers in building their economies. Practice of racism and prejudices continue to haunt modern world. Even today, people of colour face discrimination because of stigmatising attitudes and perceptions.
THE DATA POINT
