Current Affairs 19 February 2022

CONTENTS

1. Death penalty
2. India-UAE Virtual Summit
3. Krishna Water dispute
4. Mullaperiyar dam dispute

Death Penalty

Context:

A special court awarded the death penalty to 38 convicts and sentenced 11 others to life imprisonment until death, for the 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts in which 56 persons were killed and over 200 injured.

• Special court termed it ‘rarest of rare’ case.

Relevance:

GS-II: Polity and Constitution (Judiciary, Important Judgements)

Dimensions of the Article:

1. What is Death Penalty/Capital Punishment?
2. Capital Punishment in India
3. Bachan Singh vs. State of Punjab (1980) judgement on Capital Punishment
4. How capital punishment goes against the Principle of Natural justice?
5. Bringing up Collective conscience of society
6. What is Collective Conscience of Society?
7. J.S. Verma Committee and A P Shah Committee

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India-UAE Virtual Summit

Context:

India and UAE signed the historic Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) aimed at boosting the merchandise trade between the two countries to US$ 100 billion over next five years. The deal was signed during the virtual summit meeting between Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi and H.E. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

Relevance:

GS-III: Indian Economy (International trade), GS-II: International Relations (Foreign Policies and Agreements Affecting India’s Interests)

Dimensions of the Article:

1. Highlights of Virtual Summit:
2. About India’s CEPA agreements
3. India-UAE Relations
4. Recent Developments in India-UAE relation

Krishna Water Dispute

Context:

The Supreme Court asked if the States of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka could amicably settle their quarrel over the allocation of the Krishna river water.

Relevance:

GS-II: Polity and Constitution (Inter-State relations, Functions & responsibilities of the Union and the States, Issues and challenges of federal structure), GS-I: Geography (Water sources)

Dimensions of the Article:

1. About Krishna River
2. Major Inter-State River Disputes in India
3. Active River Water Dispute Tribunals in India
4. Constitutional and legal provisions related to water disputes
5. Issues with Interstate Water Dispute Tribunals

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Mullaperiyar Dam Dispute

Context:

After a statement by Kerala governor that the state will go ahead with the plan — and discussions with Tamil Nadu — to build a new dam in Mullaperiyar for the “safety of people”, the Tamil Nadu government issued a statement, strongly condemning the Kerala stand and calling it “contrary to the Supreme Court’s May 2014 order”.

• The Supreme Court on May 7, 2014 allowed Tamil Nadu to raise the water level in the controversial Mullaperiyar dam to 142 feet (43.28 m). The court quashed the Kerala Irrigation Water Conservation Act 2006 that restricted raising the water level in the dam above 136 feet (41.45 m) on safety grounds.

Relevance:

GS-II: Polity and Constitution (Interstate water disputes), GS-I: Geography (Water Sources), GS-III: Disaster management

Dimensions of the Article:

1. About Mullaperiyar Dam
2. About the Dispute regarding Mullaperiyar river
3. Recent developments regarding Mullaperiyar dam risk
4. Background on Dams in India
5. Ageing dams in India: Highlights of the UN Report
6. Issues with Ageing Dams in India
7. Way Forward

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