Current Affairs 4th Oct 2024 for UPSC Prelims Exam

Swachh Bharat Mission

Context: Recently Swachh Bharat Mission has completed 10 years of its launch.

About Swachh Bharat Mission

• Launch: on October 2, 2014
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Jal Shakti
• Key Objectives:
  • Eliminate Open Defecation: Construction of toilets in rural and urban areas to ensure that every citizen has access to sanitation facilities.
  • Solid Waste Management: Implementing scientific waste management practices to handle municipal solid waste effectively.
  • Behavioural Change: Encouraging community participation through awareness campaigns and promoting cleanliness as a cultural norm.

Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0

• Launch: on October 1, 2021
• Key Objectives:
  • Achieving “garbage-free” cities by 2026.
  • Ensuring 100% source segregation, door-to-door collection of waste and scientific management of all waste fractions.
  • Remediation of legacy dumpsites to convert them into green zones.

Floods in Northern Bihar

Context: Northern Bihar experienced devastating floods this year due to extremely heavy rainfall. This recurrent flooding is due to both natural geography and man-made interventions.

Why is Northern Bihar prone to floods every year ?

• Flood Management Improvement Support System classifies Bihar as ‘India’s most flood-prone region’.
  • Approximately 76% of North Bihar’s population lives under the constant threat of severe floods.
• The reason for these frequent floods lies in the Geography of the region:
  • Location: Bihar is located immediately south of Nepal, from where many Himalayan rivers carry a lot of soils and sediment downstream.
  • Siltation: Sediment builds up in the riverbeds resulting in siltation causing overflow at the banks easily.
  • River Networks: Bihar has many rivers that are fed by snow and rain, making it more vulnerable to different types of flooding.
    • North Bihar is at risk of flood from 5 primary rivers during the monsoon season: Mahananda, Kosi, Bagmati, Burhi Gandak & Gandak
  • Encroachment on Drainage Channels: Building on or blocking drainage channels restricts the natural flow of water, worsening flooding.
  • Chaurs formation: When rivers change their course, they create saucer-shaped depressions called Chaurs, which can hold water and lead to permanent waterlogging.

UK- Mauritius Agreement on Chagos Archipelago

Context: The United Kingdom and Mauritius have reached a historic agreement to resolve the dispute over Chagos Archipelago.

About the agreement:

• UK has ceded claims over the islands of Chagos. Now, Mauritius is free to implement the programme of resettlement on the islands of Chagos other than Diego Garcia.
• The military base at Diego Garcia will remain operational on an initial lease of 99 years.
  • UK will still have sovereign rights over Diego Garcia.

Chagos Archipelago

• It comprises around 58
• Location: 500 km to the South of Maldives archipelago in the Indian ocean.
• Mauritius, which gained independence from Britain in 1968, has consistently maintained its claim over the Chagos Islands.
• In 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) dismissed the UK’s right to govern the Chagos Islands and called on its government to withdraw from the archipelago.

Significance of Chagos archipelago:

• Strategic location: Britain retained sovereignty over Chagos and signed a strategic agreement with the USA in 1966 for defence purposes.
  • Diego Garcia, the largest island in the archipelago became a full time operational military base in 1986.
• USA’s presence in the region: The archipelago maintains US presence in the Indian Ocean which is critical especially in the ongoing situation in West Asia.
• Global Choke Point: The island is also crucial for the USA as an outpost to monitor Malacca Strait, a global choke point vital to China.

Input Tax Credit Mechanism

Context: In a recent decision Supreme Court has allowed input tax credit (ITC) on construction expenses for buildings intended for leasing.

What is Input Tax Credit Mechanism (ITC) ?

• It is a mechanism designed to prevent the cascading effect of taxes (tax on tax).
• It allows a person to deduct the tax they have already paid on the purchase of goods or services from the total tax payable on their sales.
• Exceptions:
  • A business under composition scheme cannot avail of input tax credit.
  • ITC cannot be claimed for personal use or for goods that are exempt.

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