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The financial burden of wages to the beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) should also be shouldered by the State governments, in order to make them more proactive in controlling corruption.
Speaking on the sidelines of a press conference in Delhi, Mr. Singh said the MGNREGS should not be treated as a regular employment scheme, as it is only meant to be a fallback mechanism for those who could not find employment anywhere else.
Asked about the ongoing dharna by MGNREGS workers at the Jantar Mantar, demanding withdrawal of the mobile phone app-based attendance capturing system, the Minister reiterated that the government cannot compromise on transparency.
Academics and activists working under the umbrella body of the NREGA Sangarsh Morcha expressed alarm over the Ministry’s latest order, which makes Aadhaar-based payment of wages mandatory.
According to the Ministry’s own data, this will exclude 57% of the active workers.
Editorial
Deep sea fish conservation must not go adrift (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Conservation)
The Supreme Court of India has given permission to fishermen using purse seine fishing gear to fish beyond territorial waters (12 nautical miles) and within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) (200 nautical miles) of Tamil Nadu, but observing certain restrictions.
The Court’s interim order of January 24, 2023, against the banning of purse seine fishing by the Tamil Nadu Government in February 2022, seems to be more concerned about regulating fishing with administrative and transparency measures than about the conservation measures and obligations which a coastal state owes in its EEZ under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
However, conservation measures (as suggested in various regional conventions) and judgments of various tribunals (embodying conservation measures based on best science or relevant scientific evidence to control overfishing and protect endangered marine living resources from extinction) should have informed the order.
Purse seiners tend to overfish, unlike traditional fishermen using traditional fish gear, thus endangering the livelihood of the traditional fisher.
The top court should seek guidance from the obligations arising from the multilateral and regional conventions which are meant to bring in sustainable fishing practices over a certain period of time, thereby allowing a common resource such as fish to be naturally replenished.
Under Articles 56.1(a) and 56.1(b)(iii) of UNCLOS, coastal states have sovereign rights to ensure that the living and non-living resources of the EEZ are used, conserved and managed, and not subject to overexploitation.
Access to the zone by foreign fleets is also solely within the coastal state’s discretion and subject to its laws and regulations. In order to prevent overexploitation, coastal States must determine the total allowable catch (TAC) in the EEZ (Articles 61(1) and (2) of UNCLOS) in light of the best scientific evidence available.
The guidance from the Convention for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna 1993 (SBT) could have also been sourced by the top court to enable recovery of depleted fishing stocks.
The crux of the SBT is TAC and distribution of allocations among the parties to the SBT, which are very relevant from the angle of conservation of general fishery.
TAC and the catch quotas are aimed at putting sustainable use into practice among fishermen and maintaining maximum sustainable yield (MSY).
News
Modi opens Aadi Mahotsav, says the world has a lot to learn from tribes (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 1, Art and Culture)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the TRIFED’s Aadi Mahotsav tribal festival in New Delhi, and said that the coming together of the diverse tribal cultures of India at such an event was “giving new heights to unity in diversity”.
Inaugurating the nearly two-week-long showcase and exhibition of tribal artefacts, handicrafts, handlooms and other products at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium, the Prime Minister first paid floral tributes to a statue of tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda along with Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda, before taking a walk through the stalls set up by over 1,000 tribal artisans and craftspeople, from all over the country.
Addressing the event, Mr. Modi said the welfare of the Adivasis was personal for him. India goes to some of the world’s biggest stages and presents the Adivasi culture as its own proudly — as a solution to global problems such as climate change and global warming.
When people talk about sustainable development, we can proudly say that the world has a lot to learn from the Adivasis.
Mr. Modi spoke of how his government’s policies had benefited tribal communities, mentioning the setting up of over 3,000 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras, 80 lakh self-help groups, the increase in budget for tribal welfare, the boost to Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRSs), and a rise in the number of forest produce that the government was purchasing at the minimum support price.
The government is walking to reach those who were thought to be unreachable and living in the remotest parts of the country. For those who thought they were on the margins, this government is bringing them into the mainstream.
Providing education to Adivasi children, wherever they may be in the country, is my priority,” the PM said before citing the Budget announcement of hiring nearly 40,000 staffers for EMRSs across the country.
Now, no age bar to register for cadaver organ transplant (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
In a major tweak to the organ donation policy, the Union Health Ministry on Tuesday said the clause that people aged beyond 65 could not receive cadaver organ transplants had been removed.
The government has decided to do away with the ceiling. Now, people beyond 65 in need of an organ donation will also be eligible to get one.
The government has decided to do away with the clause in the National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) guidelines as it violates the right to life, the source added. “Now an individual of any age can register for organ transplant.”
Also, earlier, an organ recipient could register for a prospective transplant only in the domicile State. The States such as Gujarat had made it mandatory for registered patients to furnish a domicile certificate to be eligible for a transplant.
Last November, the Gujarat High Court quashed the discriminatory policy of the State government. In line with the judgment, the Indian government has decided to do away with the domicile policy and all States have been intimated about this decision. A patient irrespective of domicile State can register in any other State for a transplant. The patient will be allotted a unique ID by NOTTO on registering which will get carried forward even if the patient changes multiple hospitals in different States.
Apart from this, certain States such as Kerala and Maharashtra have been charging fees ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000 for registering organ transplant patients. “The Health Ministry has intimated States to stop charging registration fees from patients,” said the source.
The Health Ministry is charting a “One Nation, One Policy” for organ donation and transplantation. “We are introducing a chapter in the school curriculum regarding organ donation awareness for students,” the source said.
According to Health Ministry data, the number of organ transplants has increased by over three times from 4,990 in 2013 to 15,561 in 2022.
India accounts for 52% of world’s new leprosy patients, says Mandaviya (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
With a renewed focus on tackling leprosy, the Union Health Ministry has devised a strategic road map for achieving zero cases of the infection by 2030.
Despite India being declared “Leprosy Eliminated” in 2005, the country still accounts for over half (52%) of the world’s new leprosy patients, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a written message of the National Strategic Plan and Roadmap for Leprosy 2023-2027. Leprosy is a chronic bacterial infection, which affects skin, nerves, lungs and eyes.
Health officials have noted that earlier gains made in the leprosy programme were reversed during COVID-19 as a sudden decline in case detection numbers was noted. Early detection of the infection in the affected person can save them from physical disability.
With the COVID pandemic in 2020, case detection dropped by 43% in 2020-21 and by 34% in 2021-22 in comparison to the pre-COVID year 2019-20.
Annual case detection rate has halved from 8.13 cases per lakh population to 4.56 cases in 2020-21. In 2021-22, it has settled at 5.52 cases per lakh,” the plan document notes.
The Ministry noted that decline in detection has led to increase in patients with grade 2 disabilities. COVID-19 in India had its severe impact on leprosy case detection services, and resulted in hidden cases and a probable increase in grade 2 disabilities, which may delay attainment of the goal of zero leprosy, it has stated.
In 2021-22, a total of 75,394 new cases were detected in India. A total of 1,863 grade 2 disabilities detected amongst the new leprosy cases during 2021-22, indicating a G2D rate of 1.36 per million population and 2.47% G2D among new cases. In 2022-23, for data available till August 2022, this rate has gone a notch up to 1.71 per million population.
Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman Diu have either one or more districts (total 82 districts) which are yet to achieve leprosy elimination target and contributes to more than 90% cases in the country.
12 cheetahs from South Africa likely to reach India today (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Enviroment)
India is expected to welcome the first batch of 12 cheetahs from South Africa this weekend, after eight of these big cats were ferried from Namibia last September.
The cheetahs, five of them female, have taken off from Johannesburg aboard an Indian Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster aircraft.
They are expected to reach Gwalior on Friday and will then be taken to the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh by helicopters.
As those brought in from Namibia, these too will be in enclosures for months as part of an acclimatisation process. The cheetahs from Namibia have largely adapted to Indian conditions and are able to individually hunt prey.
While they are now being kept in larger enclosures, it will be a few more months before they are completely released into the wild, said S.P. Yadav, Director-General (Wild- life), a key official in charge of cheetah translocation.
The Namibian animals are healthy, except one named Sasha who, even as a cub, had liver problems. “However, it is moving along with the other animals, and we expect it to be healthy.
The agreement with the South African government is to send 10 to 12 cheetahs every year, potentially for the next decade. The ultimate objective is to have a sustainable self-perpetuating population.
A major goal, along with establishing a viable population, is to develop the region as a tourism hotspot to benefit the local economy.