NATIONAL AFFAIRS

OCTOBER 7th:

Karnataka’s efforts in popularizing millets yield results

• Karnataka’s efforts in popularising millets, which was the staple a couple of generations ago, appears to have yielded results if the indicators of a nationwide study by the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB) to assess urban nutrition is anything to go by.
• Karnataka is the third highest consumer of millet among 16 States studied, with Maharashtra and Gujarat occupying the first two slots. However, the picture is not very rosy in terms of consumption of other food items.
• Except for intake of pulses and legumes and roots and tubers, where Karnataka’s consumption pattern matches with the Indian Council of Medical Research’s (ICMR) recommended daily intake (RDI), it is far behind the RDI in terms of consumption of green leafy vegetables, milk and milk products and fats and oils.
• For years millets were dismissed as the food of the poor. Now, that attitude is slowly shifting and one of the reasons for this is the growing urban demand for organic and nutritious food.
• The demand is high in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka. It is the lowest in Bihar, Kerala and Assam.
• Karnataka in also the only State to have included millets such as jowar and ragi in its Public Distribution System since July 2015 in accordance with recommendations in the National Food Security Act, 2013.

Indians consume far less than recommended nutritious food

• A nation-wide study, carried out by the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau (NNMB) to assess urban nutrition, shows not only a great diversity in food consumption in 16 States in the country, but also that Indians consume far less than the recommended quantum of several micro-nutrients and vital vitamins.
• Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported the highest intake of flesh foods, including meat and fish, while Odisha has the highest consumption of green leafy vegetables (GLV). On an average, while the recommended dietary intake of GLV is 40g/Cu/day, the consumption in the country is 24g/Cu/day.
• Madhya Pradesh has the lowest intake of flesh foods, and Kerala consumes the least green leafy vegetables.
• If Madhya Pradesh has a sweet tooth with the highest intake of sugar and jaggery, Odisha and Assam have the highest intake of salt. Rajasthan is high on the intake of fats and oils as well as milk and milk products.
• The study, led by AvulaLaxmaiah, scientist (Director Grade) from the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), the country’s premier nutrition research institute, was released recently.
• The researchers used the method of a 24-hour dietary recall to collect food and nutrient information from 1.72 lakh people in 16 States.
• While the average intake of cereals and millets was found to be 320g/Cu/day, which is lower than the recommended dietary intake (RDI), the intake of pulses and legumes was about 42g/Cu/day.
• This is on par with the suggested level of the Indian Council of Medical Research, said Dr. Laxmaiah.

For PPF, KVP Aadhaar is mandatory

• The government has made linking Aadhaar mandatory for the Public Provident Fund, the National Savings Certificate and the KisanVikasPatra schemes.
• In four notifications, the government said subscribers had till December 31 to link their Aadhaar to the schemes.
• Every depositor who has not given his Aadhaar number at the time of application shall submit it to the Post Office Savings Bank or accounts office concerned on or before December 31, the notifications said.
• Provided that where Aadhaar number has not been assigned, the depositor shall submit proof of application of enrolment for Aadhaar.
• The government has already made it mandatory to link Aadhaar to PAN by December 31 and to SIM connections by February 2018. Some 135 schemes, including free cooking gas, kerosene and fertilizer subsidy, targeted public distribution system and MGNREGA, are reportedly to be linked to the biometric identification.

Section 354(5) of Crpc revisited

• The court clarified that it was not questioning the constitutionality of the death penalty, which has been well-settled by the apex court, including in Deena versus Union of India and earlier in the Bachan Singh case reported in 1980.
• The court said Section 354 (5) — which mandates death by hanging — of the Code of Criminal Procedure has already been upheld.
• However, the provision of hanging to death may be re-considered as “the Constitution of India is an organic and compassionate document which recognises the sanctity of flexibility of law as situations change with the flux of time.”
• The fundamental right to life and dignity enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution also means the right to die with dignity, the court said.
• The order comes on a writ petition filed by Delhi High Court lawyer RishiMalhotra, who sought the court’s intervention to reduce the suffering of condemned prisoners at the time of death.
• Mr. Malhotra said a convict should not be compelled to suffer at the time of termination of his or her life.

Neelakurinji set to cast its spell

• With another gregarious blooming of Neelakurinji ( Strobilantheskunthiana ) expected in July next year, managers of the Eravikulam National Park (ENP) are drawing up plans to meet the rush of visitors.
• The mass flowering of the shrub, found in the shola forests of the Western Ghats, was a crowd-puller in 2006 as over five lakh visitors visited the park during the season.
• The park saw around 5,000 visitors a day, much above the visitor capacity of the region.
• The species flowers once in 12 years and the unusually long cycle adds to its charm.Kunthina is usually found at an altitude of 1,600 metres. Munnar and Eravikulam offer the best view of the mass flowering, though the species can be seen up to the Nilgiri hills.
• In 2006, around 70 sq. km. was draped in the purple-blue flowers. Mass flowering was witnessed at Kambakkallu, Kadavari, and Eravikulam.
• In the grasslands of Eravikulam, the plants reach a height of around 50 cm. They may grow up to a metre before the flowers bloom. The flowers are expected to bloom en masse in July next year.
• The hills and valley of Rajamala will be in a floral wrap during the peak season. The visual treat may continue till September, said a park manager.

TheKudumbasree Missionto conserve indigenous seeds

• After empowering rural women folk in the State, the Kudumbasree Mission is gearing up to script another success story by conserving traditional rice seeds of Wayanad.
• “The project envisages to conserve and propagate seven vanishing indigenous rice seeds, including aromatic rice varieties such as Gandhakasala and Jeerakasala; short-term rice seed Palthondi; medicinal rice varieties such as Chenellu and Rakthashali; and long-term term rice seeds such as Veliyan and Adukkan in the district,” P. Sajitha, coordinator, Kudumbasree Mission, Wayanad, told The Hindu .
• The project has been executed through joint liability groups (JLGs) of the mission. The pilot project has been executed by the mission through the Kairaly JLG and five acres of fallow land at Kenichira under the Poothadigrama panchayat has been utilised for the purpose this season.
• “Bioslurry pellet method is an innovative method of rice cultivation developed by AjiKunnel, a progressive farmer at Ambalavayal in the district, and it will save both time and money as there is no need to prepare a nursery for paddy plants,” said K.P. Jayachandran, assistant coordinator, Kudumbasree Mission, Wayanad.
• The mission is planning to expand the project on 300 acres next year. “We will buy the seeds after harvest from the JLG group at a premium price and disburse it to 300 JLGs in the district next season to promote the seeds,” Mr. Jayachandran said.
• The Kudumbasree State Mission has allotted Rs. 1 lakh for the project and the Agriculture Department would provide an incentive of Rs. 50,000 for the JLG under the HarithaKeralam Mission, he said.

Reopening Gandhiji assassination case

• The Supreme Court appointed an amicus curiae to investigate if it is possible to reopen the Mahatma Gandhi assassination case.
• A Bench led by Justice S.A. Bobde appointed Amarendra Sharan as amicus curiae to go into the legal issues in considering an investigation to find out if there was a “larger conspiracy” behind the Mahatma’s assassination.
• Pankaj KumudchandraPhadnis has filed a petition seeking constitution of a Commission of Inquiry for the investigation. The Bombay High Court had rejected his plea by Mr. Phadnis.
• His petition has sought the expunging of remarks derogatory to Marathi people in general and Veer Savarkar in particular, by the J.L. Kapur Commission, which investigated the assassination.
• The Bombay High Court dismissed the petition on June 6 last year on the ground that the findings were recorded by a competent court and confirmed right up to the apex court and, secondly, the Kapur Commission had submitted its report and made the observations in 1969.

Trends in greenhouse gas emissions have gone up in 2016 in India

• Trends in global CO2 and total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions show that India’s emissions have gone up by 4.7% in 2016, according to the latest report by PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.
• For most major GHG emitters in the world, the emission figures have gone down, barring India and Indonesia.
• The Dutch strategic agency’s report shows that emissions in the U.S. saw a fall of 2%, the Russian Federation 2.1%, Brazil 6.1%, China 0.3%, and, within the European Union, the United Kingdom 6.4%. The report’s data is based on the Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR) produced by the European Union.
• In 2016, the five largest emitting countries and the European Union accounted for 68% of total global CO2 emissions and about 63% of total global GHG emissions. Most of the emissions consist of CO2, about 72%.
• But methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and fluorinated gases (F-gases) also make up substantial shares of 19%, 6% and 3%, respectively. Over the past two years, total global greenhouse gas emissions, excluding those from land use change and forestry, have shown a slowdown in growth, reaching 49.3 gigatonnes CO2 equivalent in 2016.
• Over the past three years, non-CO2 GHG emissions have continued to grow somewhat faster than CO2 emissions: by 1.5% (2014), 1.2% (2015) and 1.0% (2016). CO2 over the same period increased by a respective 0.8%, -0.2% and 0.3%.
• Globally, the combined share of non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions is about 28% in total GHG emissions, but it varies for the largest countries: 11% for Japan and 31% for India.
• China’s current share is estimated at 20%, that of the United States and the European Union at 23%, and Russia’s at 25%.
• Emissions do hurt the environment, but then the EDGAR database that this report draws upon only looks at emissions from 1990 onward when the whole world woke up to the problem of climate change. CO2 emissions have a 100-year residence period in the atmosphere. So, if you include the cumulative emissions data from before 1990, every developed nation will outnumber India.
• According to India’s own submission at the United Nations, its cumulative emission is 3 % of the global emission.

SC lifts veil on Collegium recommendations

• In a historic move to usher in transparency, the Supreme Court Collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, has resolved to go public with all its recommendations to the government on judicial appointments, transfers and elevations to the High Courts and the Supreme Court.
• The recommendations will be uploaded on the Supreme Court's official website.
• The Collegium will further “indicate” the reasons for which it has decided to recommend or reject names for appointment, transfer or elevation to the High Courts and the Supreme Court.
• As a start, the Supreme Court has already posted online detailed reasons for its October 3, 2017 recommendations for judicial appointments to the Madras HC and the Kerala HC. The details are now available online under the heading “Collegium Resolutions”.
• Shrouded in mystery
• The decision taken by Chief Justice Misra's Collegium to open up is unprecedented. During its entire existence of 24 years — ever since it was introduced in the Second Judges case judgment in 1993 — the Collegium's working has been shrouded in mystery.
• The secretive nature of the functioning of the Collegium continued through the tenures of 20 Chief Justices of India.