25 Nov 2022: Daily Current Affairs for UPSC Exam

A tougher law to prevent cruelty to animals: Need and Concerns

For Prelims:

Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, Wildlife Protection Act, 1972

For Mains:

Prevention of Cruelty to Animal (Amendment) Bill-2022 and related issues

Source – Indian Express

In News –

The Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying have opened a draft Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Amendment) Bill, 2022, for public comment.

Background – 

• The draft is to amend the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act, 1960 by introducing the 61 amendments to the law.
• Supreme Court (in A Nagaraja case 2014) asked the Parliament to amend the PCA Act to provide an effective deterrent along with animal welfare organisations.
• A group of MPs cutting across party lines urged the then-animal husbandry minister to enhance the penalty under the 1960 Act in a letter sent to him in 2020.

The main changes proposed in the 1960 law

• The law is proposed to be made tighter, with more stringent punishments.
• Several offences have been made cognizable, which means offenders can be arrested without an arrest warrant.
• The draft Bill has proposed to include “Bestiality” as a crime under the new category of “Gruesome cruelty”.
• The proposed law also says that “in case of a community animal, the local government such as municipality or panchayats shall be responsible for taking care of the community animals in a manner developed by the State Government or by the Board”.
• The draft defines “community animal” as “any animal born in a community for which no ownership has been claimed by any individual or an organization, excluding wild animals as defined under the wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (53 of 1972).”

Need for strengthening the law:

• Instances of cruelty to animals in India increased.
• First-time offenders under the PCA Act are punished with a fine of Rs 10-50.
  • If it is found that this is not the offender’s first such crime in the past three years, the maximum punishment would be a fine between Rs 25 and Rs 100, a jail term of three months, or both.

Concerns

• Increasing the amount of punishment may not be enough to stop cruelty against animals.
• Some already marginalised groups, such as snake charmers and madaris, might be disproportionately affected.

SC on cruelty to the animal while recently hearing the Jallikattu case

• Prevention of cruelty is not an “absolute idea”
• The Constitution forbids cruelty to any living being, but there should be a balance. Should we have mercy, for instance, if a mosquito bites us?
• The Constitution recognises liberty, which is inherent in every living being, whether it be in any form of life.
• Animals have the same rights as human beings and should be treated as friends, and brothers.

Way Forward – 

• Behavioural changes
• The greater problems of disappearing animal habitats and climate change escalating man-animal conflict require action.

Question for Practice:

Q. Consider the following statements: (2014)

1. Animal Welfare Board of India is established under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
2. National Tiger Conservation Authority is a statutory body.
3. National Ganga River Basin Authority is chaired by the Prime Minister.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 2 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Ans: (b)

Why is it essential to contain domestic inflation?

Source – Indian Express

In News –

RBI Governor C Rangarajan explained why containing domestic inflation is critical to halting the rupee depreciation.

Inflation:

It is a rise in prices, which can be translated as the decline of purchasing power over time.

Depreciation:

It reduces the value of a country’s currency when compared with the currency of other countries (say $, measured by an exchange rate of the local currency wrt $).

Value of the currency and its depreciation

• The balance of payments’ current account (the export and import of goods and services) and capital account (the inflow and outflow of funds) are crucial factors in determining the value of the currency.
• Due to sufficient capital inflows from abroad, a currency can maintain its strength while having a large current account deficit.
• Therefore, the decision to invest or to keep deposits in the country, rather than commerce, is what causes the increase in the supply of foreign currency.
• The capital account – the outflow of funds and the lack of funds arriving from outside – is the primary cause of the rupee’s value decline (versus the dollar).
• That comes as a result of the US Fed significantly raising the interest rate in an effort to control US inflation. As a result, investors find the US to be more appealing.

Impact of depreciation of rupees:

• An undervalued currency is more attractive for exports and reduces the current account deficit.
• It intimidates imports because the imported goods become more expensive (due to the reduction in the value of the rupee) and which leads to rising inflation.
• The steady deterioration in the value of the rupee is not helping the economy because India imports more than exports.
• The value of the rupee will keep declining as long as inflation in India is higher than that in other nations.

Steps to be taken to stabilise the rupee’s exchange rate

• Must reduce inflation rate – To keep the inflation rate within the parameters established by the inflation targeting system (4+/-2%), the RBI and the government must cooperate.
• Raising the rate of interest – It affects the value of the rupee while also aiding in the control of inflation.

Challenges for India –

• Poor outlook for exports is due to the global slowdown driven by the confluence of stubbornly high inflation, rising borrowing costs and geopolitical tensions.
• Rising risks of stagflation.

Who was T N Seshan, who changed the face of Indian elections?

In News –

The Supreme Court, mooting the idea of including the Chief Justice of India in the selection process for the Chief Election Commissioner, has said a person like former CEC, the late T N Seshan, “happens once in a while”.

T N Seshan’s contributions:

• His strict rules for campaigning included refraining from intimidating or bribing voters, distributing alcohol during elections, using government resources for political purposes, appealing to voters’ caste or communal sentiments, using places of worship for political purposes, and using loudspeakers without written authorization.
• Additionally, he closely monitored poll expense caps, implemented the Model Code of Conduct, and cracked down on many irregularities including wall graffiti.
• Under his careful supervision, voter IDs were issued to all eligible voters.
• He played a key role in exposing many of the unethical and dishonest tactics used by political parties in India during elections.
• His principles and views favoured transparent and accountable government.
• He strived for the advancement of society and refused to submit to crooked politicians.

For his steadfast efforts to restore order, fairness, and honesty to elections in India, the greatest democracy in the world, he was given the Ramon Magsaysay medal in 1996.

Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (Mitra)

In News –

Recently Maharashtra government decided to form Mitra on the lines of NITI Aayog

• In order to advance development and promote inclusive growth, the states of Rajasthan, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh have turned to the NITI Aayog for assistance in establishing their own public policy organisations.
• It could also act as a valuable laboratory for experimentation
• Building “State Capacity” is more efficient in terms of costs and 

Coal production in India

In News –

As of October 2022, the nation produced 448 million tonnes (MT) of coal, which is 18% more than it produced during the same time period in the previous year.

• The East India Company began mining coal in Raniganj Coalfield on the western bank of the Damodar River in 1774. 
• India now holds the fifth-largest global coal reserve. 
• After China, India is the second-largest coal producer in the world.
• India is the second-largest coal importer in the world, yet it sources most of its coal from the United States, Australia, South Africa, and Indonesia. 
• India is short on coking coal.

Illegal wildlife trade has implications for ecosystem function and resilience

In News –

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), “Illegal Wildlife Trafficking and Climate Change: Joining the Dots,” illegal wildlife trade (IWT), poses a serious risk to a number of plants, animals, and fungal species globally, affecting the functioning and processes of the ecosystem.

• “For ecosystem function and resilience, including the persistence of carbon stocks,” IWT had implications.
• Sheesham trees (Timber, least concern), which have some of the highest wood densities of any commercial trees and are therefore traded internationally, are crucial for the long-term sequestration and storage of carbon.

Ecosystem Engineers

• Through grazing and disturbance, African woodland elephants (Critically Endangered) lower above-ground carbon.
• Rhinoceros’ (Near Threatened) impact on the carbon cycle results from soil disturbance and compaction (bioturbation). These elements are probably important fire-control mechanisms in grassland ecosystems.
• Social insects with populations that they control, like termites and ants, make up the pangolins’ (Critically Endangered) diet. Notably, termites are essential decomposers, but their activity also generates around 1.3 percent of the world’s annual emissions from natural sources.

Appendix I of the CITES

In News –

Two Indian turtle species have been added to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species’ Appendix I, the Red-crowned Roofed Turtle (Batagur Kachuga) and the Leith’s Soft-shell Turtle (Nilssonia leithii) (CITES).

• During the 19th Conference of Parties (COP19), which is currently taking place in Panama City, the decision was made.
• The species is endangered as evidenced by the fact that it was transferred from Appendix II to Appendix I.
• The rising loss of habitat caused by pollution, unbridled urbanisation, water extraction and irrigation, etc. is a major threat to these turtles and other species.

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