DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

29 MARCH 2022 – CA

No.	Topic Name	Prelims/Mains
1.	GHAR GHAR RATION YOJNA	Prelims & Mains
2.	DETAILS OF THE MALABAR REBELLION OF 1921	Prelims & Mains
3.	CORAL BLEACHING	Prelims & Mains
4.	NATIONAL DOLPHIN DAY	Prelims Specific

 

1 – GHAR GHAR RATION YOJNA:

GS II

Topic – Government Schemes and Interventions

• Context:
• The Punjab government just unveiled a new initiative.
• The following are some of the new Scheme’s highlights:
• It arranges for foodgrains to be delivered to beneficiaries’ homes.
• Every month, the government distributes 5 kg wheat to each individual beneficiary at a cost of Rs 2 per kilogramme.
• The National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013 would provide funding for the scheme, which will benefit 1.43 lakh people (comprising 36 lakh families).
• Beneficiaries:
• Beneficiaries of the state government’s Atta-Dal Scheme, which is a modified version of the federal Food Security Act, will receive rations delivered to their homes.
• The system will be optional, and anyone who does not wish to line outside of fair pricing stores or ration depots might choose to participate.
• The Atta-Dal plan in Punjab has 1.54 crore individual beneficiaries (in 43 lakh homes).
• The National Food Security Act of 2013 (NFSA):
• The goal is to ensure food and nutritional security in the human life cycle by ensuring that individuals have access to an adequate quantity of high-quality food at affordable rates so that they can live a dignified life.
• Features to look for:
• Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) coverage and entitlement: The TDPS covers 50% of the urban population and 75% of the rural population, with a consistent monthly entitlement of 5 kg per person. However, under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana, the poorest of the poor will continue to get 35 kg of food grains per home every month (AAY).
• Subsidized prices under the TPDS and their revision: Food grains under the TPDS will be offered at subsidised prices of Rs. 3/2/1 per kg for rice, wheat, and coarse grains for a period of three years from the date of the Act’s commencement.
• Identification of Eligible Homes: States/UTs will identify eligible households based on the TDPS defined for each State.
• Nutritional Support for Women and Children: Under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and Mid-Day Meal (MDM) programmes, children aged 6 months to 14 years, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers will be entitled to meals that meet nutritional guidelines. Higher nutritional standards have been set for malnourished children under the age of six.
• Maternity Bonus: Pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers would also be eligible for a Rs. 6,000 maternity benefit.
• Women’s Empowerment: The eldest woman of the household, aged 18 or older, is to be the head of the household for the purpose of issuing ration cards.
• Grievance Redressal Mechanism: At the district and state levels, there are grievance redressal mechanisms.
• Cost of transportation and handling of food grains, as well as Fair Price Shop (FPS) Dealers’ Margin: the state’s expenditure on transportation of food grains within the state, as well as its handling and FPS dealers’ margin, as determined by norms to be devised for this purpose, and assistance to states to meet the above expenditure will be provided by the Central Government.
• Openness and Accountability: Provisions have been made for the disclosure of PDS records, social audits, and the formation of Vigilance Committees in order to ensure transparency and accountability.
• Food Security Allowance: There is a provision for food security allowance to entitled recipients in the event of non-supply of entitled food grains or meals.
• If a public worker or authority fails to comply with the relief proposed by the District Grievance Redressal Officer, the State Food Commission will impose a penalty in accordance with the law.
• Source – The Hindu

2 – DETAILS OF THE MALABAR REBELLION OF 1921:

GS I

Topic – Modern Indian History

• Context:
• The Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR) has postponed a decision on whether the 1921 Malabar Rebellion martyrs, notably Variamkunnaathu Kunhahamad Haji and Ali Musliyar, should be removed from the list of India’s liberation fighters.
• What exactly is the problem:
• The panel believed that the Malabar revolt was a one-sided attack on Hindus. Because just two Britishers were murdered during the uprising, it was impossible to classify it as part of the liberation movement.
• The Malabar Rebellion leaders, predominantly Muslims, were recommended to be removed from the list by the panel. Some see this as a deliberate attempt to skew history.
• What was the Mapilla uprising all about:
• The Mapilla Rebellion (Moplah Disturbances) of 1921 was the conclusion of a series of riots by Moplahs (Muslims of Malabar) against the British and Hindu landlords in Malabar in the 19th and early 20th century (Northern Kerala).
• The revolt will be commemorated for the 100th time in 2021.
• The revolt’s causes and outcomes are as follows:
• The resistance to British colonialism and the feudal system eventually devolved into communal bloodshed between Hindus and Muslims.
• In August 1920, Gandhiji and Shaukat Ali, the head of India’s Khilafat movement, travelled to Calicut to promote the united message of non-cooperation and Khilafat to the people of Malabar.
• A Khilafat committee was formed in Malabar and the Mappilas in response to Gandhiji’s demand, led by their religious leader Mahadum Tangal of Ponnani, who pledged support for the non-cooperation movement.
• The majority of renters’ complaints included security of tenure, exorbitant rents, renewal fees, and other unfair landlord demands.
• The British administration retaliated by sending in Gurkha soldiers to crush the rebellion and implementing martial law.
• Tragedy of the Wagon:
• The waggon catastrophe, in which roughly 60 Mappila inmates were smothered to death in a closed railway goods waggon on their way to prison, was a notable episode of the British repression.
• Source – The Hindu

3 – CORAL BLEACHING:

GS III

Topic – Environmental Conservation related issues

• Context:
• Following the most widespread coral bleaching the natural world has ever seen, scientists have warned that the Great Barrier Reef will confront a critical time of heat stress in the coming weeks.
• The Great Barrier Reef is a coral reef located in Australia:
• The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which stretches over 2,300 kilometres and is nearly the size of Italy, is home to 3,000 coral reefs, 600 continental islands, 1,625 fish species, 133 shark and ray species, and 600 soft and hard coral species.
• It is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• What are coral reefs and how do they work:
• Coral reefs are key biodiversity hotspots in the ocean. Corals belong to the same phylum as jellyfish and anemones (Cnidaria). They are made up of individual polyps that band together to form reefs.
• Significance:
• Coral reefs host a diverse diversity of animals and help to keep the coastal environment healthy.
• Corals regulate the amount of CO2 in the water by converting it into a limestone shell. If this process does not occur, the amount of carbon dioxide in the ocean water will drastically increase, posing a threat to ecological niches.
• Threats:
• Climate change poses a threat to coral reefs.
• They go through a bleaching process when the sea surface temperature rises above a safe level.
• What exactly is bleaching:
• Bleaching occurs when corals eject zooxanthellae, a type of algae that resides in the tissues of the coral in a symbiotic connection. The zooxanthellae, which are endowed with chlorophyll and other colours, provide around 90% of the energy for the coral. They are responsible for the host coral’s yellow or reddish brown colour. In addition, zooxanthellae can coexist with jellyfish as endosymbionts.
• A coral does not die when it bleaches, but it comes close. Some corals may make it through the ordeal and recover once the sea surface temperature returns to normal.
• Source – The Hindu

4 – NATIONAL DOLPHIN DAY:

Prelims Specific Topic

• The 5th of October has been proclaimed as National Dolphin Day, which will be commemorated each year as a watershed moment in the conservation of dolphins.
• The National Board for Wildlife’s standing committee made the decision to proclaim a National Dolphin Day (NBWL).
• About the Irrawaddy Dolphins:
• Irrawaddy dolphins are a type of dolphin that lives in the Irrawaddy River.
• Found along the coasts of South and Southeast Asia, and in three rivers: the Irrawaddy (Myanmar), Mahakam (Indonesian Borneo), and Mekong (Thailand) (China).
• According to the IUCN Red List, they are ‘Endangered.’
• Bottlenose dolphins in the Indo-Pacific:
• It can be found in the waters off the coasts of India, northern Australia, South China, the Red Sea, and Africa’s eastern coast.
• Near Threatened according to the IUCN.
• Humpback dolphins in the Indian Ocean:
• The Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin can be found from South Africa to India in the Indian Ocean.
• The Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin is listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (Source: Wiki).
• Dolphins are a threatened cetacean species in India, protected by Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
• The Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora lists the Indian Humpback Dolphin (CITES).
• Source – The Hindu