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The Supreme Court, in a special hearing, extended Enforcement Directorate (ED) Director Sanjay Kumar Mishra’s tenure till September 15 to serve “public and national interest”.
However, just four days before the deadline, the Centre moved an urgent application in the Supreme Court, saying Mr. Mishra’s presence in the saddle was crucial for the country to effectively sail through the ongoing evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The government asked the court to allow Mr. Mishra, who is currently on his third extension and fifth year as ED chief, to continue till October 15. The country’s international image was at stake, the Centre pleaded.
Stressing that the court would not have entertained the government’s request in “ordinary circumstances”, especially after declaring Mr. Mishra’s continuation as ED Director “illegal”, the Special Bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai allowed him to carry on at the ED’s helm till mid-September.
The Bench, including Justices Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol, made it clear that it would allow no further requests from the government for his extension.
The hearing began at 3.30 p.m. with a sharp question from Justice Gavai to the government, represented by Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta.
States
G-20, 39 MNCs come together for circular economy coalition (Page no. 5)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
Embracing a circular economy model enables transition from the linear “take-make-waste” paradigm and embrace a more sustainable and regenerative approach, said Union Minister Bhupender Yadav at the launch of Resource Efficiency Circular Economy Industry Coalition (RECEIC) on the sidelines of the fourth G-20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) and Environment and Climate Ministers’ meeting in Chennai.
As many as 39 multinational corporations (MNCs) from sectors such as steel, FMCG and electronics came together to pledge to adopt resource efficiency and circular economy principles to address environmental challenges rising from waste, including plastics, microplastics, e-waste, and chemical waste.
The launch of RECEIC, which involved signing of the foundational charter and unveiling of the logo by Mr. Yadav, was attended by Ministers of seven countries such as Mauritius, Denmark, Italy, Canada, the UAE, France, and the European Union.
Naresh Pal Gangwar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), told the media on Wednesday that the coalition would be led by industries and the government would only play a supporting role.
Speaking about India’s efforts to mitigating the burden of plastic waste, Mr. Gangwar said about 41 lakh tonnes of plastic waste were generated in the country in 2021-22, of which 30 lakh tonnes were allocated to 2,000-odd registered recyclers and plastic waste processing units.
Under Extended Producers’ Responsibility (EPR) guidelines established through the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2022, 2.6 million tonnes worth of EPR certificates had been generated by plastic waste processors and around 1.51 million tonnes of those certificated had been purchased by PIBOs (Producers, Importers and Brand owners) against 2022-23 obligations, Mr. Gangwar said.
Editorial
Weighing in on the National Research Foundation Bill (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
The scientific community in India is abuzz with curiosity and excitement after the Union Cabinet’s approval of the National Research Foundation (NRF) Bill 2023 in June this year to “strengthen the research eco-system in the country”.
The Bill is to be introduced in Parliament. Once passed, it is to establish an apex body to spearhead research and development, foster a culture of innovation, and nurture a research ecosystem across all universities and colleges in the country.
Simultaneously, the Bill seeks to repeal the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) Act 2008, under which the SERB was established as a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to carry out almost the same or similar functions which the NRF proposes to do.
The idea of establishing the NRF as an independent foundation to promote and fund research was mooted by the Kasturirangan Committee in 2019 and adopted in the National Education Policy (NEP 2020).
Importantly, both documents mentioned, in no uncertain terms, that the institutions currently funding research, such as the DST, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), and the University Grants Commission (UGC), as well as various other private and philanthropic organisations, would continue to fund research according to their priorities and needs independently.
The list of existing institutions funding research did not separately mention the SERB but there was no indication in the policy document that it would be abolished or subsumed into the NRF.
Therefore, the scientific community had assumed that it shall, as a statutory body of the DST, continue to support and fund research as before.
The hornets’ nests in the Forest Amendment Bill (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The Lok Sabha passed the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, on July 26, with no substantive changes from the original version introduced in March. It ignores strong public objections that highlighted a number of concerns.
The Bill commences with a promising Preamble, expressing a commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2070, creating a carbon sink, increasing forest cover, and improving the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities.
However, the operative part of the Bill shows little connect with the Preamble. Instead, it excludes entire categories of forest from the ambit of the law and, ironically, even facilitates the destruction of forests.
The Forest Conservation Act of 1980, which this Bill aims to amend, admittedly and justifiably adopted a rather protectionist stance which made forest clearances time consuming and costly to obtain.
While current development needs and priorities must be recognised, this Bill deviates in a significant manner from the spirit of the original law.
Three points that emerge from the Bill have caused considerable consternation among environmental experts: the narrowed definition of forests under its scope; the exclusion of significant tracts of forest areas; and the granting of sanction to additional activities that were regulated earlier.
The Bill will significantly restrict the application of the landmark Godavarman judgment of 1996 which had extended the scope of the 1980 Act to the dictionary meaning of ‘forest’ — that is, areas with trees rather than just areas legally notified as forest.
The present Amendment restricts the Forest Conservation Act to only legally notified forests and forests recorded in government records on or after October 25, 1980.
This change could potentially impact around 28% of India’s forest cover, encompassing almost 2,00,000 square kilometres. While these forests include fruit orchards and plantations, they also encompass forests of exceptional quality and conservation value.
An instance is the category of Unclassed Forests in Nagaland that have so far not been officially recorded or deemed forests despite centuries of protection and use by autonomous clans.
Explainer
The anatomy of the Yamuna floodplains (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Disaster Management)
Battered by heavy rains, the Yamuna looks slow, sluggish and swollen. Last week, the water levels hit a 60-year-high, gushing through elite neighbourhoods built close to the floodplains.
Waters advanced towards the Taj Mahal for the first time in half a century. More than 25,500 people were evacuated and ferried to rescue camps in a brown stream of waste; many of them lived in make-shift low-lying slum dwellings next to the river.
The late environmentalist Anupam Mishra once called Yamuna, Delhi’s “real town planner”: it meandered through Delhi ensuring the city was never short of water and never ravaged by famine or flood. Delhi was “well-planned along the course of the river Yamuna, but it isn’t so anymore.
Causes, experts argue, can be traced to haphazard construction activities, rapid urbanisation, lack of proper housing and lax regulations — all of which have besieged the floodplains.
We talk about rivers in isolation, but floodplains are inseparable from the river channel,” says Venkatesh Dutta, a professor at the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University.
The river system includes both water and land. Yamuna is a lifeline to five States, and its floodplains are a charging point.
Yamuna courses east of Delhi, entering the city from Palla village and exiting at the Okhla barrage. The floodplains are two km wide on each side.
The floodplain along Yamuna’s 22 km run in Delhi, designated as the O zone by the Delhi Development Authority, has an area of approximately 9,700 hectares — the size of 1,500 new Parliament buildings.
News
Cinematograph Bill aimed at curbing piracy passed by RS (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The Rajya Sabha passed the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2023 that introduces stringent anti-piracy provisions, expanding the scope of the law from censorship to cover copyright also.
The Bill proposes a jail term of up to three years and a fine up to 5% of a film’s production cost for persons who “use any audiovisual recording device in a place licensed to exhibit films with the intention of making or transmitting, an infringing copy of” a film, or trying to do so.
The Bill seeks to amend the Cinematograph Act, 1952, which authorises the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to require cuts in films and clear them for exhibition in cinemas and on television.
The government will not have revisional powers [over the CBFC’s decisions] even after this Bill.
The Bill introduces three age ratings for films requiring adult supervision. Such films now get a U/A rating, but this has been split into U/A 7+, U/A 13+ and U/A 16+.
Films rated for adults have largely been prohibited on television, following a 2004 Bombay High Court order. Broadcasters often cut films voluntarily, and re-apply with the CBFC for a U/A rating. The Bill formalises this practice.
World
Russia will try to avert a food crisis: Putin at summit (Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Russian President Vladimir Putin told leaders and officials from most African countries that his nation is making full efforts to avert a global food crisis despite concerns that its withdrawal from a deal allowing grain shipments from Ukraine will cause shortages and price spikes.
He spoke at the opening session of a two-day Russia-Africa summit attended by a sharply lower number of African heads of state and government compared with a previous summit in 2019.
Our country will continue supporting needy states and regions, in particular, with its humanitarian deliveries. We seek to actively participate in building a fairer system of distribution of resources. We are taking maximum efforts to avert a global food crisis.
I have already said that our country can replace Ukrainian grain, both on a commercial basis and as grant aid to the neediest African countries, more so since we expect another record harvest this year.
Promising Russian food exports to Africa is key to Mr. Putin’s stated goal of using the summit to bolster ties with a continent of 1.3 billion people that is increasingly assertive on the global stage.
Mr. Putin also announced other moves to deepen relations with Africa, including increased enrolment of African students in Russian universities, the opening of Russian state news media bureaus in many African countries and a proposed “information space in Russia and Africa, within which unbiased information about events taking place in the world will be broadcast to Russian and African audiences.”
Business
Govt. may extend PLI scheme to chemicals, petrochemicals (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Large global investors like BASF, Adnoc, Rosneft and Aramco are looking for joint venture partners to invest in India, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hinted, and said the government is open to introducing a production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for investments in the chemicals and petrochemicals sectors.
Urging industry to reduce its reliance on imports of chemicals that can be made in India, Ms. Sitharaman also emphasised the need to step up their adoption of newer technologies, with an eye on sustainability and circularity, for any benefits to accrue from potential partnerships with global players.
Unless you’re able to bring in that element when becoming a partner with these global big investors, India is not going to benefit.
We do not want to be a pessimist or a naysayer, but we really cannot have joint ventures, even with a global player, when our standards in terms of sustainability are not really up to the global mark or the commitment India has given as NDC--nationally determined commitments.