{"id":9801,"date":"2017-10-14T15:21:04","date_gmt":"2017-10-14T09:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=9801"},"modified":"2017-10-06T16:22:34","modified_gmt":"2017-10-06T10:52:34","slug":"answers-mains-marathon-upsc-mains-current-affairs-questions-october-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/answers-mains-marathon-upsc-mains-current-affairs-questions-october-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Answers: Mains Marathon \u2013 UPSC Mains Current Affairs Questions \u2013 October 13"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/mains-marathon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Archives<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Q.1)Recently, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the SardarSarovar Dam in Gujarat. In this context, throw some light on the project? What is Narmada BachaoAndolan? Is it correct to say that the costs of the project outweigh it\u2019s benefits? GS-3<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What is SardarSarovar Project?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The SardarSarovar project was a vision of the first deputy prime minister of India, SardarVallabhbhai Patel. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The foundation stone of the project was laid out by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on April 5, 1961<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The project took form in 1979 as part of a development scheme to increase irrigation and produce hydroelectricity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The SardarSarovar Project is an inter-state project with a terminal dam on river Narmada at Kevadia in Gujarat. It is meant to benefit the 4 states Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. It is a multipurpose project with irrigation, power and drinking water benefits, which was accorded environmental clearance in 1987.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>What is Narmada BachaoAndolan?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Narmada BachaoAndolan (NBA) is a social movement consisting of adivasis, farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against the number of large dams being built across the Narmada River, which flows through the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, all over India. SardarSarovar Dam in Gujarat is one of the biggest dams on the river and was one of the first focal points of the movement. It is one of the many dams under the Narmada Dam Project. The main aim of the project is to provide irrigation and electricity to people in these states.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their mode of campaign includes court actions, hunger strikes, rallies, and garnering support from notable film and art personalities. Narmada BachaoAndolan, with its leading spokespersons MedhaPatkar and Baba Amte, who have received the Right Livelihood Award\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cost-benefit \u00a0Analysis<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Costs:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social and environmental impacts have gone far beyond what was estimated at the outset when the project was cleared in the late 1980s. Rehabilitation of even the submergence-affected population is about 80% incomplete<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sea water from the Bay of Khambhat has intruded up to 40 kilometres eastwards into the Narmada\u201d affecting \u201c10,000 hectares of agricultural land.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The SSP received an environmental clearance in 1987 with requirements for detailed surveys and studies. A rehabilitation plan was to be completed \u201cahead of reservoir filling\u201d. But even today, the families residing in the proposed submergence area are not assured of their rightful rehabilitation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thousands of families along the Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh are at risk of getting displaced with the closing of gates of SardarSarovar Dam and resultant rise in the water level in its catchment area<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Narmada BachaoAndolan group claims that 40,000 families in 192 villages in Madhya Pradesh would be displaced when the reservoir is filled to its optimum capacity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Large dams have forced the displacement of millions of India\u2019s small farmers and landless peasants from across the country, forcing them into urban slums and breaking apart families Downstream habitat change and impacting biodiversity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Narmada estuary has become increasingly saline because of the decrease in fresh water flow <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Siltation is one of the biggest challenges faced by dams worldwide, and giant dams such as the SardarSarovar cannot be easily desilted. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Benefits:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The basic justification offered for the SSP by the Gujarat government from the time of the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal in the 1970s was that there is no alternative to SSP waters for the drought-prone areas of Kutch, Saurashtra and north Gujarat.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It will provide drinking water to 4 crore people and help irrigate 2.2 million hectares of land.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The irrigation benefits will help in doubling the farmers income by 2022.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Narmada canal will also irrigate lands in the desert districts of Barmer and Jalore of Rajasthan.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Project has successfully brought water to the dry Kutch district, where the armed forces are guarding the nation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Provide flood protection to riverine reaches<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wild life sanctuaries viz. &#8220;Shoolpaneshewar wild life sanctuary&#8221;, Wild Ass Sanctuary, Great Indian Bustard Sanctuary, NalSarovar Bird Sanctuary and many others will be benefited.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Benefits of fisheries development and recreational facilities<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Q.2) What are geostationary Satellites? What are the uses of Geostationary satellites? GS-3<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Geostationary satellites:<\/strong> these satellites orbit very high above the earth at an altitude of 35,800 km and take the same time to orbit the earth as the earth takes to revolve once. From earth, therefore, the satellite appears to stay still always above the same region all the time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These satellites give \u2018real-time\u2019 images and hence, a series of photographs from these satellites can be displayed in a sequence to show cloud movement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Uses:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Radiation measurement from earth surface<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fishermen can find out valuable information about the temperature of the sea from measurements of these satellites.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Infrared sensors on satellites can monitor crop conditions, areas of deforestation and regions of drought.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Satellites can detect volcanic eruptions and the motion of ash clouds.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ice-mapping, snow storms in the Arctic and Antarctica and the mountain chains-Monitoring of Global Warming<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Observation of Auroras<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Water and air pollution can be pinpointed<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oil spills can be detected.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Q.3) \u00a0What are Wetlands? How are wetlands important for the ecosystem? How the new Wetlands (Conservation and Management Rules), 2017 is different from the previous one? GS-3<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate has rolled out new Wetlands Rules 2017.The new rules will dilute the rules of 2010 version. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>About Wetlands:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wetlands may support both aquatic and terrestrial species. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wetlands vary widely because of regional and local differences in soils, topography, climate, hydrology, water chemistry, vegetation and other factors, including human disturbance. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is to be noted that there are 115 wetlands officially identified by Central Government and of those 26 are identified as wetlands of international importance under Ramsar Convention. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>How are wetlands important for the ecosystem?<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wetlands important for primary products such as pastures, timber and fish and support recreational and tourist activities. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wetlands help reduce the impacts from storm damage and flooding, maintain good water quality in rivers, recharge groundwater, store carbon, help stabilise climatic conditions and control pests.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wetlands reduce the risk of flooding by slowing down the movement of floodwaters along rivers and releasing water over time. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wetlands support agricultural activities by providing a source of water for irrigation and livestock and for domestic consumption. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wetlands also support sustainable forestry.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><b>Wetlands(Conservation and Management Rules), 2017:<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to the new rule, the wetlands has a different definition.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is described as an area of marsh, fen, peatland or water; whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres, but does not include river channels, paddy fields, human-made water bodies\/tanks specifically constructed for drinking water purposes and structures specifically constructed for aquaculture, salt production, recreation and irrigation purposes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As per the new rules, the court said that 2, 01,503 wetlands in the country would continue to be protected by the government. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These wetlands had been identified using ISRO\u2019s satellite imagery, after which the apex court had asked the Centre to inventories, protect and notify them in consultation with state governments.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The new rules stipulate in setting up of State Wetlands Authority in each State\/UTs headed by State\u2019s environment minister and include range of government officials. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><b>How are the new Rules different from the 2010 rules?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1. The new rules differ from the 2010 rules in the following manner: <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The new Rules instead state that wetlands are limited to and do not include wetlands under forest and coastal regulation zones. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They apply to (a) wetlands categorised as \u201cwetlands of international importance\u201d under the Ramsar Convention and (b) wetlands as notified by the central government, state government and UT administration.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2. Restriction on activities in wetlands now no longer includes reclamation. <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Rules provide no timelines for phasing out solid waste and untreated waste from being dumped into wetlands. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3. Under \u2018Restrictions of activities in wetlands\u2019, the new Rules say conservation and management would be in accordance with the principle of \u2018wise use\u2019 as determined by the Wetlands Authority. <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This \u2018wise use\u2019 is nothing but the maintenance of ecological character, achieved through implementation of ecosystem approaches, within the context of sustainable development. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">4.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 2010 Rules said that any person aggrieved by the decision of the Authority (CWRA) may prefer an appeal to the National Green Tribunal within a period of sixty days from the date of such decision. This provision does not exist in the 2017 Rules.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Archives\u00a0 Q.1)Recently, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the SardarSarovar Dam in Gujarat. In this context, throw some light on the project? What is Narmada BachaoAndolan? Is it correct to say that the costs of the project outweigh it\u2019s benefits? GS-3 What is SardarSarovar Project? The SardarSarovar project was a vision of the first deputy&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/answers-mains-marathon-upsc-mains-current-affairs-questions-october-13\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Answers: Mains Marathon \u2013 UPSC Mains Current Affairs Questions \u2013 October 13<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":2292,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mains-marathon-answers","category-public","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/pen-paper-laptop.jpg?fit=1000%2C500&ssl=1","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1702616593},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}