CHHATTISGARH
Chhattisgarh CJ lauds efforts of Lok Adalats in state
Chhattisgarh high court Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha commended the joint efforts of everyone involved in the success of the Lok Adalats in Chhattisgarh. Justice Sinha, who was a senior judge in Allahabad high court before his appointment as Chief Justice of Chhattisgarh HC in March this year, also said that results were better than those expected in Uttar Pradesh.
The Chief Justice addressed the officers via videoconferencing about the upcoming National Lok Adalat. The conference was attended by all district judges, family court judges, judicial officers of districts, collectors, superintendents of police, officers of banks, insurance companies, president of Bar Association and municipal commissioners among others.
INTERNATIONAL
Myanmar military imported weapons worth USD 1 billion since 2021 coup’
Myanmar’s military has imported at least USD 1 billion worth of weapons and related material from Russia, China and other countries since its February 2021 coup, some of which it has used to carry out atrocities against civilians, according to a UN report released on Wednesday. The weapons continue to flow to the military despite overwhelming evidence of its responsibility for the atrocities, including some that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, said Tom Andrews, the UN independent investigator on human rights in Myanmar.
Myanmar is mired in strife because of a political crisis unleashed when the military took power. Its takeover prompted widespread peaceful protests that security forces suppressed with deadly force, triggering armed resistance throughout the country that the army has been unable to quell. Andrews said at least 22,000 political prisoners have been detained since the coup, at least 3.500 civilians have been killed and 1.5 million people have been forcibly displaced.
NATIONAL
Indian Railways to become Net Zero Carbon Emitter by 2030
Indian Railways has set a target of becoming a ‘net-zero carbon emitter’ by 2030, said Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. The Railways plans to achieve this ambitious target in two steps: A complete transition to electric trains by December 2023 and powering the trains and stations primarily through non-renewable sources by 2030.
By 2030, the total energy requirement of the Railways is expected to increase to 8,200 MW, or 8.2 GW. A small portion of the projected energy requirement — 700 MW or 8.5 per cent of the total energy demand — will still be sourced from non-renewable sources because of the current power purchase agreements with coal plants, says the official. The lion’s share — 91.5 per cent — will be met through renewable sources.
For this, the Railways will need to create a renewable energy installed capacity of 30,000 MW as solar and wind energy is not available round the clock and the generation varies region to region. Till August 2022, the installed renewable energy capacity of the Indian Railways was only 245 MW.
Ground water with arsenic harmful for farm products: Study
Groundwater should not be used for farming purposes to prevent arsenic (As) exposure for farm products, especially in the case of rice, a team of researchers has said citing the case of West Bengal where arsenic has been found in high content in groundwater. Large-scale arsenic (As) poisoning, mainly through food chain contamination, is deemed to be a lethal problem in the rice-growing areas of the Bengal Delta Plain (BDP) and other parts of the world.
The study paper by scholars and researchers from the School of Environmental Studies, the National Institute of Biological Genomics and Australia’s University Of Newcastle pointed out that since groundwater is more prone to arsenic exposure, farm products produced by using that water also become prone to the same exposure.
To prevent this, the report has suggested stressing on rainy season farming so that rainwater can be used. This remedy is extremely important considering that West Bengal is among those states which have extremely high arsenic concentration in groundwater. Historically as many as 83 blocks scattered over seven districts in West Bengal have arsenic levels in groundwater higher than the permissible limits.
The report, published in science magazine “Environmental Science & Pollution Research”, suggests if rice is cooked using arsenic-free water equivalent to three times of the quantity of rice being cooked, the level of arsenic exposure in that cooked rice comes down substantially.
CGPCS Notes brings Prelims and Mains programs for CGPCS Prelims and CGPCS Mains Exam preparation. Various Programs initiated by CGPCS Notes are as follows:-
