DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

07^th January 2022

No.	Topic Name	Prelims/Mains
1.	ABOUT THE SPECIAL PROTECTION GROUP	Prelims & Mains
2.	DETAILS OF THE SILVERLINE PROJECT	Prelims & Mains
3.	ABOUT THE CASTE CENSUS	Prelims & Mains
4.	ABOUT THE FIRST OPEN ROCK MUSEUM OF INDIA	Prelims Specific
5.	DETAILS OF THE KALADEO NATIONAL PARK	Prelims Specific

1 – ABOUT THE SPECIAL PROTECTION GROUP:

GS III

Topic – Internal Security related issues

• Background:
• Last year, the Special Protection Group (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was recently passed by Parliament. The 1988 SPG Act will be amended by the SPG Bill.
• The proposed revisions to the Special Protection Group (SPG) Bill are intended to lower the state’s financial burden of VIP protection.
• The diminution in SPG coverage will also help to dispel the perception that it is a status symbol.
• About SPG:
• In 1985, the SPG was formed to provide security for the Prime Minister, former Prime Ministers, and their immediate families.
• Personnel from the CRPF, Border Security Force, and other Central and State forces make up the SPG.
• Amendments:
• Reduced SPG Coverage: The Prime Minister, former Prime Ministers, and their immediate family members will be protected if they live with him in his official house.
• The Prime Minister, former Prime Ministers, and their immediate family members are currently covered by security.
• After the past Prime Ministers and their immediate families leave office, protection will be provided for only five years.
• However, the former Prime Minister’s immediate family must live with him in the designated property.
• Withdrawal: When a previous Prime Minister’s proximate security is revoked, proximate security is likewise revoked for members of his immediate family.
• Source – The Hindu – 07/01/22 – Page Number 9

2 – DETAILS OF THE SILVERLINE PROJECT:

GS III

Topic – Infrastructure related issues

• Background:
• The Kerala government’s proposed ‘Silver Line’ project has received in-principle permission from the Ministry of Railways.
• The Project’s Background:
• It entails the construction of semi-high-speed railways between Kerala’s two corners.
• It stretches over 532 kilometers.
• The corridor will be constructed separate from the existing Thiruvananthapuram-Thrissur route.
• Its goal is to link major cities and districts with semi-high-speed trains that will travel on their own lines.
• The nodal agency would be the Kerala Rail Development Corporation (K-Rail), a joint venture between the Ministry of Railways and the Kerala government that will carry out projects on a cost-sharing basis.
• Source – The Hindu – 07/01/22 – Page Number 5

3 – ABOUT THE CASTE CENSUS:

GS I

Topic – Population related issues 

• Context:
• The Bihar chief minister wants the central government to reconsider its unwillingness to conduct a caste-based census, believing that such information would enable his government to devise more targeted policies for the most vulnerable among the OBCs.
• The Government of India, on the other hand, has opted not to enumerate caste-wise populations in Censuses other than SCs and STs as a matter of policy.
• So far, how have caste details been gathered:
• While the census collects information on SC/STs, the enumerators do not collect information on other castes. Self-declaration to the enumerator is the most common way.
• Until now, backward classes commissions in several states have conducted their own population counts to determine the number of backward castes.
• What kind of caste data does the Census publish:
• Between 1951 and 2011, every census in independent India published data on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, but not on other castes.
• Prior to that, caste data was collected in every census till 1931.
• What is SECC 2011 all about:
• The 2011 Socio-Economic Caste Census was a large-scale effort to collect information on the socio-economic status of various populations.
• It consisted of two parts:
• a survey of rural and urban families and their ranking based on pre-determined factors, as well as a caste census.
• However, only the specifics of people’s economic situations in rural and urban homes were made public. The caste information has not yet been made public.
• SECC 2011 was organized by three different authorities but was overseen by the Indian government’s Department of Rural Development.
• The Department of Rural Development performed a census in rural areas (DoRD).
• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation is responsible for conducting censuses in urban areas (MoHUPA).
• The Registrar General of India (RGI) and the Census Commissioner of India are in charge of the Caste Census on behalf of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Census vs. SECC: What’s the difference:
• The Census depicts the Indian population, whereas the SECC is a tool for identifying state assistance recipients.
• Because the Census is governed by the Census Act of 1948, all data are considered private, whereas the SECC collects personal information that can be used by government departments to grant or deny benefits to households.
• Caste census advantages:
• The exact population of each caste would aid in tailoring the reservation strategy to guarantee that all of them are fairly represented.
• Related Concerns:
• It’s possible that it’ll give some people the shivers, leading to demands for greater or separate quotas.
• It has been said that simply labeling people as belonging to a caste helps to maintain the system.
• Source – The Hindu – 07/01/22 – Page Number 1

4 – ABOUT THE FIRST OPEN ROCK MUSEUM OF INDIA:

Prelims Specific Topic

• About:
• On the campus of the CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitender Singh inaugurated the first open rock museum on Thursday, displaying various types of rocks gathered from various states with ages ranging from 3.3 billion years to around 55 million years.
• About 46 rocks of various sizes have been tastefully presented in a garden with focus lights and descriptions explaining the economic and scientific significance of some of them, which are found as far as 175 kilometers below the earth’s surface. Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir, and other states provided the rocks.
• The Minister advised that students and enthusiasts be made aware of the unique rock museum. “As these are the landmarks of modern India,” he remarked, “it should be one of the most essential destinations to visit in this city of composite culture.”
• Source – The Hindu – 07/01/22 – Page Number 5

5 – DETAILS OF THE KALADEO NATIONAL PARK:

Prelims Specific Topic

• About:
• It is located in the Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, in the eastern section of the state.
• The park covers about 30 square kilometers and includes numerous artificial and seasonal ponds.
• Keoladeo is home to a variety of migratory birds who use it as a breeding and wintering habitat.
• It is a Ramsar site as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• The Siberian crane is a rare bird that was last seen in this area before the turn of the century.
• It is home to roughly 365 different bird species, including raptors and waterfowl.
• The terrain is home to jackals, sambars, nilgais, wild cats, hyenas, wild boar, porcupine, and mongoose.
• About the Ramsar Convention:
• The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands is an intergovernmental convention on wetlands.
• It establishes a framework for wetlands conservation and judicious utilization of their resources.
• In 1971, the Convention was signed in the Iranian city of Ramsar, and it went into effect in 1975.
• Since then, about 90% of UN member states from all geographic regions of the world have agreed to become “Contracting Parties.”
• All lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands, Peatlands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, mangroves and other coastal areas, coral reefs, and all human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs, and salt pans are included in the Convention’s definition of wetlands.

• Source – The Hindu – 07/01/22 – Page Number 1