Current Affairs Question - November 2020

Explanation :

Context: Review petition of over 1,000 tribals from Mysore District, Karnataka for recognition of their claims over forest land under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, has been rejected by the local authorities.

Forest Rights Act

• The Act passed in 2006 grants legal recognition to the rights of traditional forest dwelling communities.
• It recognize and vest the forest rights and occupation in Forest land in forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribes (FDST) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD)who have been residing in such forests for generations.
• The Act also establishes the responsibilities and authority for sustainable use, conservation of biodiversity and maintenance of ecological balance of FDST and OTFD.

Rights under the Act

• Title Rights – i.e. ownership – to land that is being farmed by tribals or forest dwellers as on 13 December 2005, subject to a maximum of 4 hectares; ownership is only for land that is actually being cultivated by the concerned family as on that date, meaning that no new lands are granted.
• Use Rights – to minor forest produce (also including ownership), to grazing areas, to pastoralist routes, etc.
• Relief and Development Rights – to rehabilitation in case of illegal eviction or forced displacement; and to basic amenities, subject to restrictions for forest protection.
• Forest Management Rights – to protect forests and wildlife.

Eligibility Criteria

According to Section 2(c) of Forest Rights Act (FRA), to qualify as Forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribe (FDST) and be eligible for recognition of rights under FRA, three conditions must be satisfied by the applicant/s, who could be “members or community”:

• (i)Must be a Scheduled Tribe in the area where the right is claimed; and
• (ii)Primarily resided in forest or forests land prior to 13-12-2005; and
• (iii) Depend on the forest or forests land for bona fide livelihood needs.

And to qualify as Other Traditional Forest Dweller (OTFD) and be eligible for recognition of rights under FRA, two conditions need to be fulfilled:

• (i)Primarily resided in forest or forests land for three generations (75 years) prior to 13-12-2005.

Explanation :

• The non-OPEC countries which export crude oil are termed as OPEC+ countries.
• OPEC+ was born in 2017 with a deal to coordinate oil production among the countries in a bid to stabilize prices. Since then, the group has reached deals for members to voluntarily cut and ramp-up production in response to changes in global oil prices.
• Member countries include Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, South Sudan and Sudan.

Explanation :

• Article 161 deals with the Pardoning Power of the Governor.
• The Governor can grant pardons, reprieves, respites and remissions of punishments or suspend, remit and commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the state extends.

Difference between pardoning powers of the President and the Governor

• The Governor cannot Pardon a Death Sentence but the President can Pardon a Death Sentence.
• The Governor can only suspend, remit or commute a death sentence.
• The Governor cannot grant pardon, reprieve, respite, suspension, remission or commutation in respect to punishment or sentence by a court-martial. But the President can do so.

Explanation :

• Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved funding to the tune of Rs. 1,810.56 crore for the 210 megawatt (MW) Luhri Hydropower Project located on River Satluj in Shimla and Kullu districts of Himachal Pradesh.
• It is being implemented by Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL) on Build-Own-Operate-Maintain (BOOM) basis with active support from Government of India and the State Government.

Explanation :

Context: National Productivity Council (NPC) has been granted accreditation conforming to ISO 17020:2012 by National Accreditation Board for Certification Body (NABCB), Quality Council of India (QCI).

About National Productivity Council of India (NPC)

• Established in the year 1958, it is an autonomous organization under Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.
• Besides undertaking research in the area of productivity, NPC has been providing consultancy and training services in areas of Industrial Engineering, Agri-Business, Economic Services, Quality Management, Human Resources Management, Information Technology, Technology Management, Energy Management, Environmental Management, etc., to the Government and Public & Private sector organizations.
• NPC is a constituent of the Tokyo-based Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an Inter-Governmental Body of which the Government of India is a founding member.

Objectives

• To promote innovation - led productivity in a sustained manner in all spheres of national economy through holistic and inclusive approach by addressing the triple bottom line – Economic, Environmental and Social.
• To propagate productivity consciousness and culture amongst Govt., Business and Society.
• To demonstrate value addition through generation and application of advanced productivity tools and techniques for multiplier effect.
• To act as a total solution provider for Industry, Services, and Agriculture sectors for augmenting productivity through Training, Consultancy and Research wherever needed through alliances and partnerships.
• To act as a catalyst in institution building and developing platforms for collaborative networking to strengthen the productivity movement.
• To recognize productivity champions through awards, affiliations, certifications, accreditations, etc.
• To enhance international outreach for sharing the gains of productivity on mutual basis.
• To devise national productivity standards across all sectors and self-assessment web based measurement tools for productivity diagnosis.

Explanation :

Context: The La Nina weather phenomenon is back in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean after nearly a decade’s absence, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in its latest Global Seasonal update released on October 29, 2020.

El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)

• El Nino and La Nina are opposite phases of what is known as the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle.
• The ENSO cycle is a scientific term that describes the fluctuations in temperature between the ocean and atmosphere in the east-central Equatorial Pacific (approximately between the International Date Line and 120 degrees West).
• La Nina is sometimes referred to as the cold phase of ENSO and El Nino as the warm phase of ENSO.
• These deviations from normal surface temperatures can have large-scale impacts not only on ocean processes, but also on global weather and climate.
• El Nino and La Nina episodes typically last nine to 12 months, but some prolonged events may last for years.
• While their frequency can be quite irregular, El Nino and La Nina events occur on average every two to seven years.
• Typically, El Nino occurs more frequently than La Nina.

El Nino

• El Nino means ‘The Little Boy’, or ‘Christ Child’ in Spanish. El Nino was originally recognized by fishermen off the coast of South America in the 1600s, with the appearance of unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean.
• The name was chosen based on the time of year (around December) during which these warm waters events tended to occur.
• It refers to the large-scale ocean-atmosphere climate interaction linked to a periodic warming in sea surface temperatures across the central and east-central Equatorial Pacific.
• Typical El Nino effects are likely to develop over North America during the upcoming winter season.
• Those include warmer-than-average temperatures over western and central Canada, and over the western and northern United States. Wetter-than-average conditions are likely over portions of the U.S. Gulf Coast and Florida, while drier-than-average conditions can be expected in the Ohio Valley and the Pacific Northwest.
• The presence of El Nino can significantly influence weather patterns, ocean conditions, and marine fisheries across large portions of the globe for an extended period of time.

La Nina

• La Nina means ‘The Little Girl’ in Spanish. La Nina is also sometimes called ‘El Viejo’, ‘anti-El Nino’, or simply ‘a cold event’.
• La Nina episodes represent periods of below-average sea surface temperatures across the east-central Equatorial Pacific.
• The effect of La Nina impacts on global climate tend to be opposite those of El Nino.
• In the Tropics, ocean temperature variations in La Nina also tend to be opposite to those of El Nino.
• During a La Nina year, winter temperatures are warmer than normal in the Southeast and cooler than normal in the Northwest.