DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS 

26 MARCH 2022 – CA

No.	Topic Name	Prelims/Mains
1.	UNSC RESOLUTION 47 ON JAMMU AND KASHMIR	Prelims & Mains
2.	ABOUT ARTICLE 371 OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION	Prelims & Mains
3.	WORLD AIR QUALITY REPORT	Prelims & Mains
4.	RESERVE BANK INNOVATION HUB	Prelims Specific

 

1 – UNSC RESOLUTION 47 ON JAMMU AND KASHMIR: 

GS II

Topic – International Affairs

• Context:
• There has been substantial discussion about whether India took the incorrect approach to the United Nations. In 2019, Home Minister Amit Shah stated that the outcome would have been different if Nehru had taken the case to the UN under Article 51 of the UN Charter instead of Article 35.
• 35th Article:
• Article 35 only states that any UN member may bring a dispute before the Security Council or the General Assembly.
• 51st Article:
• It states that if a UN member is assaulted, they have the “inherent right of individual or collective self-defence” “until the Security Council has taken actions necessary to maintain international peace and security.”
• Do you know what Resolution 47 is all about:
• The United Nations Security Council’s Resolution 47 focuses on India’s complaint to the Security Council in January 1948 over the dispute over the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
• Following an invasion by plainclothes Pakistan Army personnel and tribesmen in October 1947, the Maharaja of Kashmir, Hari Singh, sought help from India and signed the Instrument of Accession.
• India addressed the UN Security Council after the first war in Kashmir (1947-1948) to bring the crisis in Kashmir to the attention of Security Council members.
• Who were the members of the UNSC in charge of the situation:
• The investigating council was expanded by the UN Security Council to six members, including permanent members of the UNSC.
• Non-permanent members included Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Syria, and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, in addition to the five permanent members of China, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Russia.
• 51st Article:
• India’s position was that it was willing to organise a plebiscite, which is a direct vote in which a whole electorate votes on a specific proposition, in order to learn what the people wanted and accept the results of the poll.
• Pakistan denied involvement in the battle and accused India of being the aggressor.
• “With a view to facilitating…the restoration of peace and order and the holding of a plebiscite, by the two Governments acting in co-operation with one another and with the Commission, and further instructs the Commission to keep the Council informed of the action taken under the resolution,” the UNSC stated in Resolution 39 (1948).
• It also called for an end to the violence and the establishment of conditions for a “free and impartial plebiscite” on whether Jammu and Kashmir should join India or Pakistan.
• What did the United Nations Security Council tell Pakistan to do:
• The United Nations Security Council ordered Pakistan to return its tribesmen and nationals who had invaded “the State for the intention of fighting,” as well as to prohibit further invasions and “furnishing of material aid to those fighting in the State.”
• Pakistan was also ordered to assist in the maintenance of peace and order.
• What did the United Nations Security Council order India to do:
• The United Nations Security Council issued a more detailed set of directives to India.
• It stated that after the Pakistani army and tribesmen had withdrawn from the State and the fighting had stopped, India would submit to the Commission a plan for withdrawing forces from Jammu and Kashmir and reducing them to the minimum strength required for civil law and order maintenance over a period of time.
• India was given instructions to inform the Commission of the stages at which actions had been taken to decrease the military presence to the bare minimum and to organise the remaining troops after consulting with the Commission.
• Among other things, India was told to agree that the State troops and police would be held in regions agreed upon with the Plebiscite Administrator until the Plebiscite Administration felt it was appropriate to exert direction and supervision over them.
• It also instructed India to recruit local law enforcement professionals and to protect minorities’ rights.
• What was India’s and Pakistan’s reaction to UN Security Council Resolution 47:
• Resolution 47 was vetoed by both countries.
• Why was India turned down:
• India claimed that the resolution overlooked Pakistan’s military invasion and that putting both countries on an equal diplomatic footing was a dismissive of Pakistan’s aggressiveness and the fact that Hari Singh, the Maharaja of Kashmir, had signed the Instrument of Accession.
• India also objected to a stipulation in the Resolution that prevented India from maintaining a military presence that it considered was necessary for its defence.
• The instruction in the Resolution to create a coalition government would place Sheikh Abdullah, the Princely State of Jammu & Kashmir’s Prime Minister, in a difficult situation.
• India also feared that the Plebiscite Administrator’s powers jeopardised the state’s sovereignty. India also demanded that Pakistan be excluded from the plebiscite’s activities.
• Why was Pakistan turned down:
• Pakistan, on the other side, has expressed opposition to even the smallest presence of Indian military in Kashmir, as permitted by the resolution. It also wanted the Muslim Conference, which was the largest party in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, to have equal participation in the state administration.
• Final result:
• Despite their disagreements over Resolution 47’s contents, India and Pakistan welcomed the UN Commission and pledged to cooperate with it.
• Source – The Indian Express

2 – ABOUT ARTICLE 371 OF THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION:

GS II

Topic – Indian Constitution

• Context:
• Pema Khandu, the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, plans to lead an all-party delegation to New Delhi soon to lobby for the amendment of Article 371 (H), which contains special provisions for the state, to bring it in line with the special provisions for Nagaland enshrined in Article 371 (A) of the constitution.
• Other requirements:
• Article 371(H) should be amended to include provisions for the protection of religious or social practises of the state’s tribes, customary law and procedure of the state’s tribes, administration of civil and criminal justice involving decisions based on the tribes’ customary laws, and provisos to protect local ownership and transfer of land and its resources.
• To maintain tribal rights and customary laws, this is important.
• What is the purpose of Article 371:
• Part XXI of the Constitution, titled ‘Temporary, Transitional, and Special Provisions,’ contains Articles 369 through 392.
• 11 states, including six in the Northeast, are covered by “special provisions” in Article 371 of the Constitution.
• Articles 370 and 371 were included in the Constitution when it was first adopted on January 26, 1950; Articles 371A through 371J were added afterwards.
• Overview:
• Article 371, Maharashtra and Gujarat: Under the state government, the governor has “special responsibility” to establish “separate development boards” for “Vidarbha, Marathwada, and the rest of Maharashtra,” as well as Saurashtra and Kutch in Gujarat; ensure “equitable allocation of funds for developmental expenditure over the said areas,” and “equitable arrangement providing adequate facilities for technical education and vocational training, and adequate opportunities for employment.”
• Nagaland: After a 16-point agreement between the Centre and the Naga People’s Convention in 1960, which led to the establishment of Nagaland in 1963, Article 371A (13th Amendment Act, 1962) was included.
• Without the approval of the state Assembly, Parliament cannot legislate on Naga religion or social practises, Naga customary law and process, civil and criminal justice administration including Naga customary law judgements, or property ownership and transfer.
• Assam’s Article 371B (22nd Amendment Act, 1969) states that the President may establish and operate a committee of the Assembly made up of members elected from the state’s tribal districts.
• Manipur, Article 371C (27th Amendment Act, 1971): The President may establish a committee of elected members from the Hill areas in the Assembly, and give “particular responsibility” to the Governor to ensure that it functions properly.
• Andhra Pradesh and Telangana: Article 371D (32nd Amendment Act, 1973; replaced by The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014),
• “Equitable chances and facilities” in “public employment and education” must be provided to citizens from all sections of the state, according to the president. He has the power to order the state administration to divide “any class or classes of posts in the State’s civil service, or any class or classes of civil posts under the State” into distinct local cadres for different sections of the state. He wields similar authority over educational institution admissions.
• Article 371E: Allows Andhra Pradesh to establish a university through a statute passed by the legislature. This is not, however, a “special provision” in the sense of the other provisions in this section.
• Sikkim’s representative in the House of the People is elected by the members of the Legislative Assembly of Sikkim (36th Amendment Act, 1975). To protect the rights and interests of different sectors of Sikkim’s population, Parliament may establish a number of seats in the Assembly that can only be filled by candidates from those groups.
• Mizoram’s Article 371G (53rd Amendment Act, 1986) states that Parliament cannot legislate on “Mizo religious or social practises, Mizo customary law and procedure, administration of civil and criminal justice involving Mizo customary law decisions, ownership and transfer of land… unless the Assembly… so decides.”
• Arunachal Pradesh’s Governor has a unique responsibility for law and order, and “he shall, after consulting the Council of Ministers, use his individual judgement as to the action to be taken,” according to Article 371H (55th Amendment Act, 1986).
• Karnataka’s Article 371J (98th Amendment Act, 2012) establishes a separate development board for the Hyderabad-Karnataka region. There will be “equitable allocation of funding for developmental expenditures over the stated region,” as well as “equitable opportunities and facilities” in government jobs and education for people from this region. In Hyderabad-Karnataka, a percentage of seats in educational institutions and state government employment could be allocated for residents of the region.
• Article 371I relates with Goa, although there are no provisions that may be considered’special.’
• Significance:
• All of these clauses take into account the unique conditions of various states and establish a variety of specific safeguards deemed necessary for them.
• Article 371I, which deals with Goa, stands out among the Articles from 371 to 371J in that it has no provisions that can be considered “unique.” Article 371E, which also applies to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, isn’t really “unique.”
• Source – The Hindu

3 – WORLD AIR QUALITY REPORT:

GS III

Topic – Environmental Conservation Related Issues

• The report offered an overview of the situation of worldwide air quality in 2021 in the 2021 World Air Quality Report.
• IQAir, a Swiss company that evaluates air quality using Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 concentrations, has released a new report.
• Findings of importance:
• Bangladesh was the world’s most polluted country in 2021. In 2021, Bangladesh’s average PM2.5 level was 76.9 micrograms per cubic metre, compared to the WHO’s recommended maximum allowable level of 5 micrograms per cubic metre.
• Bangladesh has been named the world’s most polluted country in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
• According to the data, no one country in the globe met the WHO’s air quality criteria in 2021.
• PM 2.5 readings were 10 times the permissible threshold in 93 cities throughout the world.
• Dhaka, with a PM 2.5 level of 78.1, was the second most polluted city in the world in 2021, barely behind New Delhi, which had a PM 2.5 level of 85.1.
• India’s performance:
• For the fourth year in a row, New Delhi has been named the world’s most polluted capital city.
• According to the research, India has 11 of the 15 most polluted cities in Central and South Asia in 2021.
• The ranking has labelled 35 Indian cities as having the worst air quality in 2021.
• This list was topped by Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, and was followed by Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
• Concerns about air pollution include:
• Air pollution is now considered the world’s most serious environmental health concern, responsible for seven million fatalities per year.
• Many ailments, ranging from asthma to cancer, lung diseases, and heart disease, are caused or aggravated by air pollution.
• The daily economic impact of air pollution is estimated to be $8 billion (USD), or 3 to 4% of global gross domestic product.
• What options do governments have:
• Reduce the amount of pollutants in the air.
• Pass legislation to encourage the use of clean-air cars for both personal and commercial use.
• Invest in energy sources that are renewable.
• Provide financial incentives to reduce the usage of internal combustion engines, such as trade-in programmes.
• Subsidies should be made available to encourage the usage of battery and human-powered transportation.
• Clean and renewable energy sources should be used to expand public transit and power.
• Source – The Down To Earth Magazine

4 – RESERVE BANK INNOVATION HUB:

Topic – Prelims Specific Topic

• Shaktikanta Das, governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), launched the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) in Bengaluru, which aims to stimulate and nurture financial innovation in a long-term way through an institutional setup.
• With a capital injection of Rs 100 crore, the RBI established hub as a wholly owned subsidiary.
• Gopalakrishnan is the Chairman of the new unit’s independent board.
• RBIH aspires to develop an environment that promotes low-income people’s access to financial services and products in the country.
• Source – The Hindu