The National Perspective Plan (NPP) was prepared by the then Ministry of Irrigation (now Ministry of Jal Shakti) in August 1980 for water resources development through inter basin transfer of water, for transferring water from water surplus basins to water-deficit basins. Under the NPP, the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has identified 30 links (16 under Peninsular Component & 14 under Himalayan Component) for preparation of Feasibility Reports (FRs). Under the Peninsular Component, the Godavari(Inchampalli)-Krishna(Nagarjunasagar) link and Godavari(Inchampalli)-Krishna(Pulichintalla) link projects envisage to provide benefits to Telangana State. NWDA have prepared the FRs of these two links.
Subsequently, alternate studies for diversion of unutilised waters of Indravati sub-basin to Krishna, Pennar and Cauvery basins have been carried out and accordingly draft Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Godavari-Cauvery link project consisting of three links viz; Godavari (Inchampalli/Janampet) – Krishna (Nagarjunasagar), Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) – Pennar (Somasila), Pennar (Somasila)-Cauvery (Grand Anicut) link projects has been completed and circulated to party States in March 2019 for comments. As per the draft DPR, this link project will benefit about 9.38 lakh ha of area, out of which 1.84 lakh ha lies in Telangana.
The stage of implementation of a project would be reached after its DPR is prepared with the consensus of concerned States and the requisite statutory clearances are obtained.
An enabling allocation of Rs.100 lakhs for inter-linking of river programme has been made in the budget of each of the last three years including current year. No fund has been utilized as no inter-linking of rivers project has reached the stage of execution.
The World Bank has approved Atal BhujalYojana (ABHY), a Rs.6,000 Crore Central Sector Scheme, for sustainable management of ground water resources with community participation. The funding pattern is 50:50 between Government of India and World Bank.
The scheme envisages active participation of the communities in various activities such as formation of Water User Associations, monitoring and disseminating ground water data, water budgeting, preparation and implementation of Gram-Panchayat wise water security plans and Information, Education & Communication (IEC) activities related to sustainable ground water management.
The identified over-exploited and water stressed areas for the implementation of the scheme fall in the States of Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The States have been selected according to a number of criteria, including degree of groundwater exploitation and degradation, established legal and regulatory instruments, institutional readiness, and experience in implementing initiatives related to groundwater management.
As per directions of the Supreme Court in its judgement dated 07.05.2014, the Ministry of Jal Shakti has constituted a three member Supervisory Committee with representative from Central Water Commission (CWC) (Chairman of the committee) and one representative each from Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The mandate of the committee as laid down by the Supreme Court, are : -
(i) The committee shall supervise the restoration of FRL in the Mullaperiyar Dam to the elevation of 142 ft. (ii) The Committee shall inspect the dam periodically, more particularly immediately before the monsoon and during the monsoon and keep close watch on its safety and recommend measures which are necessary. Such measures shall be carried out by Tamil Nadu.
(iii) The Committee shall be free to take appropriate steps and issue necessary directions to the two States-Tamil Nadu and Kerala-or any of them if so required for the safety of the Mullaperiyar Dam in an emergent situation. Such directions shall be obeyed by all concerned.
(iv) The Committee shall permit Tamil Nadu to carry out further precautionary measures that may become necessary upon its periodic inspection of the dam in accordance with the guidelines of the Central Water Commission and Dam Safety Organisation.
So far 12 meetings of the Supervisory Committee have been held. Further, in compliance with the direction of the Supreme Court in its Judgement dated 11.01.2018 in the Writ Petition (Civil) No. 878 between Russel Joy versus Union of India & Others, Sub-Committee of National Executive Committee (NEC) of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) under the Chairmanship of Secretary (WR, RD & GR) has been formed to monitor the measures for ensuring high level of preparedness to face any disaster in relation to Mullaperiyar Dam. The Committee has held four meetings so far and have issued necessary directions to Government of Tamil Nadu and Kerala for safe operations of Mullaperiyar reservoir and other dam safety related matters.
As per findings of the Empowered Committee constituted by the Supreme Court under the Chairmanship of Justice Dr. A.S. Anand, former Chief Justice of India, the dam is hydrologically, structurally and seismically safe. Terms of reference (TOR) for the construction of the new Mullaperiyar Dam to replace the existing old Mullaperiyar Dam in Idukki District of Kerala has been granted on 14.11.2018 by Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MOEF & CC) for preparation of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report/Environmental Management Plan as per the provisions of the EIA Notification, 2006 and its subsequent amendment. While granting ToR, a condition has been mentioned as “the mutual agreement between Government of Kerala and Tamil Nadu should be submitted before the issue of Environmental Clearance.”
The Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Ken-Betwa link project (KBLP) (Phase-I, Phase-II and Comprehensive) has been completed. The techno-economic clearance and various statutory clearances of the KBLP Phase-I have been accorded (except Stage-II Forest clearance and clearance from Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court).
The Environmental clearance and Forest land diversion clearances for Lower Orr dam (part of phase-II) have been recommended by Environment Appraisal Committee (EAC) and Forest Appraisal Committee (FAC) of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF& CC) respectively. Stage-I forest clearance has been accorded by MoEF& CC for Lower Orr dam project.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) clearance for Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) plan of Project Affected Families (PAFs) of Lower Orr dam has also been accorded. Environmental clearance and Stage-I&II forest clearances for Bina complex projects have been accorded by MoEF& CC. Comprehensive DPR of KBLP has been prepared and sent to Governments of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and Central Water Commission (CWC) in October, 2018.
As per the comprehensive DPR, the total annual irrigation under the KBLP is 9.04 lakh ha comprising of 6.53 lakh ha in Madhya Pradesh and 2.51 lakh ha in Uttar Pradesh.Out of the 6017 ha of forest area coming under submergence of Daudhan dam of KBLP, 4206 ha of area lies within the core tiger habitat of Panna Tiger Reserve.
The interlinking of rivers (ILR) programme has been taken up on high priority. The Government is pursuing the ILR program in a consultative manner. A “Special Committee on Interlinking of Rivers” has been constituted in September, 2014 for the implementation of ILR programme. Sixteen meetings of the Special Committee have been held so far. Further, a Task Force for Interlinking of Rivers has been constituted by MoWR, RD & GR in April, 2015 and eleven meetings of the Task Force have been held so far. Efforts have been made for building consensus among the concerned States and also setting out road maps for implementation of the projects.In respect of KBLP, meetings have been convened by Central Government at the level of Chief Ministers as well as at the level of Chief Secretaries of the party States to expedite the implementation of the project.
The National Water Development Agency (NWDA) received 47 intra-State link proposals from nine States. NWDA prepared Pre-feasibility reports of 37 links and sent to the concerned States. The remaining links have been found not feasible or withdrawn by concerned States. The DPRs of intra-State links viz. (i) BurhiGandak-Noon-Baya-Ganga link of Bihar, (ii) Kosi-Mechi link of Bihar, (iii) Ponnaiyar-Palar Link of Tamil Nadu, (iv) Wainganga (Gosikhurd)-Nalganga (PurnaTapi) Link of Maharashtra have been completed and sent to the concerned State Governments. Out of the above four intra-State links, the techno-economic clearance for Kosi-Mechi intra-State link project has been accorded by Ministry of Jal Shakti. The Environmental clearance for the project has also been accorded by MoEF& CC.
About Subramaniya Bharathiyar: He was a poet, freedom fighter and social reformer from Tamil Nadu. He was known as Mahakavi Bharathiyar and the laudatory epithet Mahakavi means a great poet.
His songs on nationalism and freedom of India helped to rally the masses to support the Indian Independence Movement in Tamil Nadu.
“Kannan Pattu” “Nilavum Vanminum Katrum” “Panchali Sabatam” “Kuyil Pattu”are examples of Bharathi’s great poetic output. He published the sensational “Sudesa Geethangal” in 1908. In 1949, he became the first poet whose works were nationalised by the state government.
Bharthi as a social reformer: He was also against caste system. He declared that there were only two castes-men and women and nothing more than that. Above all, he himself had removed his sacred thread.
He condemned certain Shastras that denigrated women. He believed in the equality of humankind and criticised many preachers for mixing their personal prejudices while teaching the Gita and the Vedas.
Key features of the scheme: It allows for purchase of high-rated pooled assets from financially-sound non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and housing finance companies (HFCs) by public sector banks (PSBs).
The scheme would cover NBFCs and HFCs that might have slipped into “SMA-0” category during the one-year period prior to August 1, 2018, and asset pools rated “BBB+” or higher.
The window for one-time partial credit guarantee offered by the government would remain open till June 30, 2020 or till such date by which Rs 1 lakh crore worth of assets get purchased by the banks, whichever is earlier. The Finance Minister would have the power to extend the validity of the scheme by up to three months by taking into account its progress.
Significance: The proposed Government Guarantee support and resultant pool buyouts will help address NBFCs/HFCs resolve their temporary liquidity or cash flow mismatch issues. This will also enable them to continue contributing to credit creation and providing last mile lending to borrowers, thereby spurring economic growth.
Objectives: To amalgamate a clutch of existing laws and proposes several new initiatives including universal social security for unorganized sector workers and, insurance and health benefits for gig workers.
To Corporatize of existing organizations like EPFO and ESIC headed by people other than the labour minister.
Key features of the code: The Code will merge eight exiting labour laws includingEmployees’ Compensation Act, 1923; Employees‘ State Insurance Act, 1948, Employees‘ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952; Maternity Benefit Act, 1961. The bill seeks to establish a social security fund and tap the corporate social responsibility fund to offer unorganized sector workers medical, pension, death and disability benefits via the employee’s state insurance corporation.
Exemption: It will empower the central government to exempt select establishments from all or any of the provisions of the code and makes Aadhaar mandatory for availing benefits under various social security schemes.
It proposes to offer gratuity to fixed term employees after one year of service on a pro-rata basis as against the current practice of five years. Insurance, PF, life cover for unorganized sector employees:Central Government shall formulate and notify, from time to time, suitable welfare schemes for unorganised workers on matter relating to life and disability cover; health and maternity benefits; old age protection; and any other benefit as may be determined by the central government.
About the Infrastructure Investment Trust: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will set up the Infrastructure Investment Trust(s) (InvIT) as per InvIT Guidelines issued by SEBI.
Under InvIT, highway projects will be bundled to form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to be offered to investors. The SPV would then be traded on the stock exchanges, and returns will be linked to the InvIT’s performance in the capital market.
Significance and expected outcomes: This will enable the NHAI to monetize completed national highways that have a toll collection track record of at least one year and the NHAI reserves the right to levy toll on the identified highway.
Why InvIT? InvIT as an instrument provides greater flexibility to investors and is expected to create specialized O&M concessionaires, attract patient capital for around 30 years to the highways market.
Need: NHAI has received a total of Rs 36,691 crore as budgetary support and has been authorised to raise Rs 75,000 crores from the market in the current financial year. Given the magnitude of the Bharatmala, the government’s flagship highway development program, NHAI would need adequate funds to complete the projects within the prescribed timelines.
What is Bharatmala project? It is the second largest highways construction project in the country since NHDP, under which almost 50,000 km of highway roads were targeted across the country. Bharatmala will look to improve connectivity particularly on economic corridors, border areas and far flung areas with an aim of quicker movement of cargo and boosting exports.
About NHAI: The National Highways Authority of India was constituted by an act of Parliament, the National Highways Authority of India Act,1988. It is responsible for the development, maintenance and management of National Highways entrusted to it and for matters connected or incidental thereto. The Authority was operationalised in Feb, 1995.
This is PSLV’s 50th successful mission and the 75 thlaunch vehicle mission from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota.
What is RISAT-2BR1? It is a radar imaging earth observation satellite. It provides services in the field of agriculture, forestry and disaster management. Its mission life is 5 years.
Other satellites on board: The nine customer satellites were from Israel, Italy, Japan and the USA. These satellites were launched under a commercial arrangement with New Space India Limited (NSIL).
Background: The RISAT, which was first deployed in orbit on April 20, 2009 as the RISAT-2, uses synthetic aperture radars (SAR) to provide Indian forces with all-weather surveillance and observation, which are crucial to notice any potential threat or malicious activity around the nation’s borders. Following the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, the launch of RISAT-2 was prioritised over RISAT- 1, as its C-band SAR radar was not yet ready and RISAT -2 carried an Israeli-built X-band radar.
RISAT-1 What is PSLV? Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle is an indigenously-developed expendable launch system of the ISRO. It comes in the category of medium-lift launchers with a reach up to various orbits, including the Geo Synchronous Transfer Orbit, Lower Earth Orbit, and Polar Sun Synchronous Orbit.
Difference between PSLV and GSLV: India has two operational launchers- Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). GSLV was developed to launch the heavier INSAT class of geosynchronous satellites into orbit.
Different orbits: There are three main types of Earth orbits- high Earth orbit, medium Earth orbit and low Earth orbit. Which orbit a particular satellite is placed in depends on its function.
When satellites are about 36,000 km from the Earth’s surface, they enter what is called the high Earth orbit.Here, it orbits in sync with the Earth’s rotation, crating the impression that the satellite is stationary over a single longitude. Such a satellite is said to be geosynchronous.
Just as the geosynchronous satellites have a sweet spot over the equator that allows them to stay over one spot on Earth, polar-orbiting satellites have a sweet spot that allows them to stay in one time. This orbit is a Sun-synchronous orbit,which means that whenever and wherever the satellite crosses the equator, the local solar time on the ground is always the same.
What is NAVIC? Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide position information in the Indian region and 1500 km around the Indian mainland.
Services provided: IRNSS would provide two types of services, namely Standard Positioning Services available to all users and Restricted Services provided to authorised users.
Its applications include: Terrestrial, Aerial and Marine Navigation. Disaster Management. Vehicle tracking and fleet management. Integration with mobile phones. Precise Timing. Mapping and Geodetic data capture. Terrestrial navigation aid for hikers and travellers. Visual and voice navigation for drivers.
How many satellites does NAVIC consist of? It is a regional system and so its constellation will consist of seven satellites. Three of these will be geostationary over the Indian Ocean, i.e., they will appear to be stationary in the sky over the region, and four will be geosynchronous – appearing at the same point in the sky at the same time every day.
This configuration ensures each satellite is being tracked by at least one of fourteen ground stations at any given point of time, with a high chance of most of them being visible from any point in India.
Why it is necessary to have indigenous global navigation system? Having a global navigation system bolsters the ability of a nation to serve as a net security provider, especially through the guarantee of such assurance policies. It can also play a significant role in relief efforts post disasters such as the tsunami in the Indian Ocean region in 2004 and the Pakistan-India earthquake in 2005.