Jul 21, 2021: Current affairs for UPSC/State PSC

97th constitutional amendment

The Supreme Court in a 2:1 majority verdict upheld the validity of the 97th constitutional amendment that deals with issues related to effective management of cooperative societies but struck down a part inserted by it which relates to the Constitution and working of cooperative societies.

Part IXB, introduced into the Constitution through the 97th Amendment of 2012, dictated the terms for running co-operative societies.

The 97th constitutional amendment, which dealt with issues related to effective management of co-operative societies in the country was passed by Parliament in December 2011.

The provisions in the Amendment were passed by Parliament without getting them ratified by State legislatures as required by the Constitution.

The court did not strike down the portions of Part IXB of the Amendment concerning "Multi State Cooperative Societies" due to the lack of ratification. The SC said - the Centre has power over Multi State Cooperative Societies which operative across States.

SC observed - Co-operative societies come under the "exclusive legislative power" of State legislatures.

What now survives ?

The 97th constitutional amendment introduced Part IXB in the Constitution, Part IXB dealing with cooperative societies will survive, but only with reference to multi-State societies.

It added the words "or cooperative societies" to Article 19(1)(c) of the Constitution to expand the fundamental right to form associations or unions to cover cooperative societies too.

It also added a "Directive Principle" through Article 43B

Polity

What is "Privilege motion" ?

All Members of Parliament (MPs) enjoy rights and immunities, individually and collectively, so that they can discharge their duties and functions effectively.

Any instance when these rights and immunities are disregarded or misuses by any member of Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha is an offence, called "breach of privilege", which is punishable under the Laws of Parliament.

A notice is moved in the form of a motion by any member of either House against those being held guilty of breach of privilege.

Any member of the House may, with the consent of the Speaker or the Chairperson, raise a question involving an incident that he or she considers a breach of privilege either of a member or of the House or of a committee.

Role of Presiding officer

The speaker of Lok Sabha and the Chairperson of Rajya Sabha can either take a decision on the privilege motion or can also refer it to the privileges committee of Parliament.

Most of the privilege motions passed in the Parliament in the past have been rejected.

History

In 1978, the then Home Minister Charan Singh had moved a resolution of breach of privilege against her on the basis of observations made by Justice Shah Commission, which investigated the excesses during the Emergency.

Indira Gandhi, who had just won the Lok Sabha elections from Chikmagalur, was expelled from the House.

Privilege Committee

Privilege Committee is a Standing Committee that examines the cases of breach of the privileges of the House and its members and recommends appropriate action.

The Lok Sabha has 15 members, while the Rajya Sabha committee has 10 members.

Polity

Sarang Helicopter Display in Russia

The Sarang Helicopter Display Team of the Indian Air Force (IAF) is all set to perform for the first time at the MAKS biennial international air show in Russia.

?This is the first occasion when the Sarang Team is performing its four helicopter aerobatics display in Russia with its Made in India "Dhruv" Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH).

These helicopters, manufactured by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) are in service with the three Services and the Coast Guard.

The Sarang team was formed in 2003 in Bangalore and its first international display was at the Asian Aerospace Air show in Singapore in 2004. Since then, Sarang has performed in the UAE, Germany, the U.K., Bahrain, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.

Apart from aerobatics displays, the Sarang team has also taken active part in several Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief missions such as Op Rahat in Uttarakhand (2013), Cyclone in Kerala (2017) and Op Karuna flood relief in Kerala (2018).

Defence

Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs)

A Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) is an agricultural extension center, usually associated with a local agricultural university.

These centers serve as the ultimate link between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and farmers, and aim to apply agricultural research in a practical, localized setting.

All KVKs fall under the jurisdiction of one of the 11 Agricultural Technology Application Research Institutes (ATARIs) throughout India.

As of May 2021, there were approximately 722 KVKs throughout India.

Gov. Schemes

What is nano urea ?

IFFCO has started commercial production of nano urea liquid and dispatched the first consignment to Uttar Pradesh for use of farmers.

It is a patented technology of IFFCO developed at its Nano Biotechnology Research Center, Gujarat.

Why is it important ?

The size of one nano urea particle is 30 nanometre and when compare to the conventional urea, it has about 10,000 times more surface area to volume size when compare to granular urea.

Due to the ultra-small size and surface properties, it gets absorbed by the plants when sprayed on their leaves.

Upon penetration, these nanoparticles reach plant parts where nitrogen is required and release nutrients in a controlled manner.

Nano urea increases crop productivity and can reduce the requirement of conventional Urea by 50 per cent.

Environment Impact

Nano urea liquid is environmental friendly, smart fertilizer with high nutrient use efficiency and a sustainable solution, it doesn't contaminate soil, air and water bodies.

Environment

Mega Food Park Scheme(MFPS)

Mega Food Park Scheme was launched in 2008-09 to give a major boost to the food processing sector by adding value and reducing food wastage at each stage of the supply chain with a particular focus on perishables.

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has been implementing Mega Food Park Scheme (MFPS) to create modern infrastructure for the food processing sector.

The Scheme is based on the Cluster approach and envisages creation of state of art support infrastructure in a well-defined agri/horticultural zone for setting up of modern food processing units in the industrial plots provided in the park with a well-established supply chain.

The central government provides financial assistance upto Rs. 50 Crore per Mega Food Park (MFP) project.

The MFP project is implemented by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which is a Body Corporate registered under the Companies Act, 2013.

Presently, 22 Mega Food Parks are operational.

Gov. Schemes

Digital fertility map

The digital fertility map has been prepared by the scientists of Bihar Agriculture University (BAU), Sabour, in Bhagalpur district after months of hard work.

Farmers can now easily decide which crops they should grow in particular areas for better gains.

But agricultural experts and farmers are worried over the growing digitisation of land records and their fertility details.

They apprehend the data could be exploited by private companies and big corporate houses for various purposes, such as land acquisition and predatory lending, leaving farmers in crisis.

Gov. Schemes

Africa Open DEAL initiative

Africa has become the first continent in the world to complete the collection of accurate, comprehensive and harmonised digital land use and land use change data under the Africa Open DEAL initiative.

DEAL stands for Data for the Environment, Agriculture and Land Initiative.

The data collection and analysis initiative is led by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the African Union Commission (AUC).

Collect Earth, a free and open source software developed by FAO, was used to collect data through Google Earth.

International Relations

What is space rice ?

China has harvested the first batch of Space rice from seeds that went to a 23-day lunar voyage with China's Chang'e-5 in November, 2020.

Rice seeds exposed to the environment in Space may mutate and produce higher yields once planted on Earth.

China has been taking seeds of rice and other crops to Space since 1987.

More than 200 Space plant varieties, including cotton and tomatoes, have been approved for planting.

Science & Tech