Current Affairs 30 April 2022 | Legacy IAS Academy

CONTENTS

1. Rules for resignation and reinstatement of an IAS officer
2. China’s Global Security Initiative
3. Heat Wave
4. Atal New India Challenge 2.0

Context:

A distinguished Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and 2010 UPSC CSE topper has been reinstated after resigning in protest of the “unabated” killings in Kashmir in 2019.

Relevance:

GS II- Civil Service

Dimensions of the Article:

1. What rules apply when an IAS officer chooses to resign?
2. To whom must the resignation of an IAS officer be submitted?
3. What happens after the resignation is submitted?
4. Under what circumstances is a resignation accepted or rejected?
5. Is an officer allowed to withdraw a resignation that has already been submitted?

What rules apply when an IAS officer chooses to resign?

• A resignation is a formal intimation in writing by an officer of his/her intention or a proposal to leave the IAS, either immediately or at a specified date in the future.
• Guidelines of the Department of Personnel, the cadre controlling department for the IAS, say that a resignation has to be clear and unconditional.
• The resignation of an officer of any of the three All-India Services — IAS, the IPS and IFoS — is governed by Rules 5(1) and 5(1)(A) of the All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958.
• There are similar rules for resignation of officers belonging to the other central services as well.
• Resignation from service is entirely different from accepting the government’s Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS).

To whom must the resignation of an IAS officer be submitted?

• An officer serving in a cadre (state) must submit his/her resignation to the chief secretary of the state.
• An officer who is on central deputation is required to submit his/her resignation to the secretary of the concerned Ministry or Department.
• The Ministry/Department then forwards the officer’s resignation to the concerned state cadre, along with its comments or recommendations.

What happens after the resignation is submitted?

• The state checks to see if any dues are outstanding against the officer, as well as the vigilance status of the officer or whether any cases of corruption etc. are pending against him/her.
• In case there is such a case, the resignation is normally rejected.
• Before forwarding the resignation to the central government, the concerned state is supposed to send information on the issues of dues and vigilance status, along with its recommendation.
• The resignation of the officer is considered by the competent authority, i.e., the central government, only after the recommendation of the concerned cadre has been received.
• The competent authorities are: Minister of State at the DoPT in respect of the IAS, the MHA in respect of the IPS, and the MoEFCC in respect of the Forest Service.
• Being the minister in charge of the DoPT, the Prime Minister himself takes decisions currently in respect of the IAS.

Under what circumstances is a resignation accepted or rejected?

• A circular issued by the DoPT on February 15, 1988 regarding resignation says that it is not in the interest of the government to retain an officer who is unwilling to serve.
• The general rule, therefore, is that the resignation of an officer should be accepted — except in certain circumstances.
• The references are made regarding the merit of the disciplinary case pending against the Government servant and whether it would be in the public interest to accept the resignation.
• In some cases, resignations have been rejected because disciplinary cases were pending against officers.
• In such cases, concurrence of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is obtained.
• The government also checks whether the concerned officer had executed any time-bond to serve the government.

Is an officer allowed to withdraw a resignation that has already been submitted?

• Rule 5(1A)(i) of the amended DCRB Rules says the central government may permit an officer to withdraw his/her resignation “in the public interest”.
• An amendment in the Rules in 2011 states the member is allowed to resume duty as a result of permission to withdraw the resignation is not more than 90 days”.
• The request for withdrawal of resignation shall NOT be accepted where a member of the Service resigns to be associated with any active politics/ political parties.
• And under what circumstances is the withdrawal of an officer’s resignation accepted?
• The 2011 guidelines say that if a resigned officer resignation sends an intimation in writing withdrawing it before its acceptance by the competent authority, the resignation will be deemed to have been automatically withdrawn.
• The officer under discussion had resigned on January 9, 2019, but his resignation was not processed.

Source: Indian Express

Context:

Recently, a new Global Security Initiative (GSI) was put forward by Chinese President. However, China did not provide much clarity or details about the proposed global security initiative.

Relevance:

GS II- International Relations

Dimensions of the Article:

1. What is Global Security Initiative?
2. Key propositions made by China’s President
3. Reactions of Quad Members

What is Global Security Initiative?

The programme, which was conceived as a global public benefit, aims to enhance international peace and stability by promoting equity and justice among nations.

Chinas President defined his proposal in six areas:

1. Stay committed to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and work together to maintain world peace and security;
2. Stay committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, uphold non-interference in internal affairs, and respect the independent choices of development paths and social systems made by people in different countries;
3. Stay committed to abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, reject the Cold War mentality, oppose unilateralism, and say no to group politics and bloc confrontation;
4. Stay committed to taking the legitimate security concerns of all countries seriously, uphold the principle of indivisible security, build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture, and oppose the pursuit of one’s own security at the cost of others’ security;
5. Stay committed to peacefully resolving differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation, support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of crises, reject double standards, and oppose the wanton use of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction;
6. Stay committed to maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional domains, and work together on regional disputes and global challenges such as terrorism, climate change, cybersecurity, and biosecurity.

Key propositions made by China’s President:

• China opposes the indiscriminate application of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction, ostensibly referring to US penalties.
• He claimed that “certain nations” were “ready to engage in exclusive’small circles’ and’small groups,’ terminology that Chinese officials have previously used to describe the Quad and the AUKUS (Australia-United Kingdom-United States) security agreement.
• He was a staunch opponent of the ‘Indo-Pacific’ strategy for dividing the area and igniting a ‘new Cold War,’ as well as the use of military alliances to form a ‘Asian version of NATO.’
• China, he claims, respects the true spirit of multilateralism.

Reactions of Quad Members

• The Quad is Not a Military Alliance: The Quad’s members have dismissed the idea that it is an Asian NATO or a military alliance, pointing to the Quad’s broad-based collaboration, which includes vaccinations and technology.
• Chinese Unilateralism, Hegemony, and Double Standards: China’s criticism of unilateralism, hegemony, and double standards is mainly directed against the United States.
• The Impact of the Russia-Ukraine War: China’s new advances in the Pacific may be linked to the Belt and Road Initiative’s slowdown as a result of the Ukraine conflict.

Source: The Hindu

Context:

India is gripped in the wrath of a long spell of heatwaves that too in the early month of April.

Relevance:

GS  III- Environment (Climate change)

Dimensions of the Article:

1. About Heat Wave
2. Criteria for Heat Waves
3. Health Impacts

About Heat Wave

• A heat wave is a period of abnormally high temperatures, more than the normal maximum temperature that occurs during the summer season in the North-Western and South Central parts of India.
• Heat waves typically occur between March and June, and in some rare cases even extend till July.
• Higher daily peak temperatures and longer, more intense heat waves are becoming increasingly frequent globally due to climate change.

Criteria for Heat Waves

• The heat wave is considered when the maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 40°C for Plains and at least 30°C for Hilly regions.
• If the normal maximum temperature of a station is less than or equal to 40°C, then an increase of 5°C to 6°C from the normal temperature is considered to be heat wave condition.
• Further, an increase of 7°C or more from the normal temperature is considered as severe heat wave condition.
• If the normal maximum temperature of a station is more than 40°C, then an increase of 4°C to 5°C from the normal temperature is considered to be heat wave condition. Further, an increase of 6°C or more is considered as severe heat wave condition.
• Additionally, if the actual maximum temperature remains 45°C or more irrespective of normal maximum temperature, a heat wave is declared.

Health Impacts

• The health impacts of Heat Waves typically involve dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion and/or heat stroke.
• It also causes heat cramps, fatigue, weakness, dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps and sweating.
• The extreme temperatures and resultant atmospheric conditions adversely affect people living in these regions as they cause physiological stress, sometimes resulting in death.

Source: The Hindu

Context:

Recently, Atal Innovation Mission launched the phase 1 of the 2nd edition of the Atal New India Challenge (ANIC 2.0).

Relevance:

GS II- Polity and Governance (Government Policies and Interventions

Dimensions of the Article:

1. About Atal New India Challenge
2. About Atal Innovation Mission

About Atal New India Challenge:

• Atal New India Challenge is a flagship program of Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog.
• The program aims to seek, select, support and nurture technology-based innovations that solve sectoral challenges of national importance and societal relevance.
• One of the primary goals of the ANIC program is to support innovations in areas critical to India’s development and growth – Education, Health, Water and Sanitation, Agriculture, Food Processing, Housing, Energy, Mobility, Space Application etc.
• The Atal New India Challenge aims to address the Commercialization Valley of Death – supporting innovators scale over the risks associated with access to resources for testing, piloting and market creation.
• ANIC solicits innovations from start-ups and MSMEs in the prototype stage and after a competitive process of selection supports them through to the commercialization stage over a course of 12 – 18 months with a funding of up to INR 1 crore along with other associated support from the AIM’s innovation ecosystem.

Working in collaboration with the different verticals of NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, ISRO and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the 1st phase of ANIC 2.0 will see 18 challenges being thrown open from 7 sectors.

1. Sector: E-mobility

• Challenge 1: Electric Vehicles – Innovations in indigenous Electric Vehicle and EV component technology
• Challenge 2 : EV charging Infrastructure – Solutions for easier and faster charging of EV batteries

1. Sector : Road Transportation (in partnership with Ministry of Road Transport and Highways)

• Challenge 1: Safe Transport – Innovations to improve rider / driver safety
• Challenge 2: Smart Mobility – Smart solutions to develop Intelligent Transport Systems
• Challenge 3: Sustainable Mobility – Sustainable innovations in mobility

1. Sector : Space Technology and Application (in partnership with Department of Space – Indian Space Research Organization)

• Challenge 1: GIS Solution – GIS solutions across sectors – agriculture, water, forestry, urban affairs, road transport etc.
• Challenge 2: Propulsion – Innovations in green propellants, electric propulsion, advanced air-breathing.
• Challenge 3: Navigation – NavIC based navigation solution in IoT applications
• Challenge 4: AI/ML Modelling – AI/ML models for space applications

1. Sector: Sanitation Technology (in partnership with Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment)

• Challenge 1: Preventing Human Intervention – Innovations to mechanize cleaning of septic tanks, drainages and manholes.
• Challenge 2: Protecting Humans Engaged in Sewage Cleaning – Protective gears, equipment and other solutions for ensuring the health and safety of humans engaged in sewage cleaning.

1. Sector: Medical Devices and Equipment

• Challenge 1: Portable point-of-care (POC) diagnostic or monitoring devices.
• Challenge 2: Low-cost Consumables & Implants.
• Challenge 3: Advanced Surgical and Non-Surgical Equipment.
• Challenge 4: Advanced Assistive and Rehabilitative Devices.

1. Sector: Waste Management

• Challenge 1: Municipal Solid Waste Management
• Challenge 2: E-waste Management

1. Sector: Agriculture

• Challenge 1: Climate Smart Agriculture

About Atal Innovation Mission

AIM is Government of India’s flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.

Major Initiatives:

• Atal Tinkering Labs: Creating problem solving mindset across schools in India.
• Atal Incubation Centers: Fostering world class startups and adding a new dimension to the incubator model.
• Atal New India Challenges: Fostering product innovations and aligning them to the needs of various sectors/ministries.
• Mentor India Campaign: A national mentor network in collaboration with the public sector, corporates and institutions, to support all the initiatives of the mission.
• Atal Community Innovation Centre: To stimulate community centric innovation and ideas in the unserved /underserved regions of the country including Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
• Atal Research and Innovation for Small Enterprises (ARISE): To stimulate innovation and research in the MSME industry.

Source: The Hindu