THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. PM TO LAUNCH BUDDHIST CENTRE WORK

THE CONTEXT: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the construction of the ‘India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage’ during a daylong visit to Lumbini in Nepal. The visit will coincide with the celebrations to mark the Buddha Jayanti.

EXPLANATION:

• Lumbini is the place where Prince Siddhartha Gautama was born around 623 B.C.. He later attained enlightenment at Bodhgaya in Bihar district and came to be known as the Buddha.
• Modi participates in the shilanyas [foundation stone laying] ceremony for the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture & Heritage and offer prayers at the Mayadevi temple that is dedicated to the mother of the Buddha. He will also deliver an address at a Buddha Jayanti event organised by the Lumbini Development Trust of the government of Nepal.

Zero emission building

• An official press release has informed that the India International Centre for Buddhist Culture and Heritage will be undertaken by the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC), which is a ‘grantee body’ under the Ministry of Culture. The IBC was registered on November 2, 2012 and is aimed at propagating and preserving the teachings and heritage of the Buddha across the world, and especially in India’s immediate neighbourhood. The official statement from India said the Buddhist centre would be the first ‘net zero emission’ building in Nepal.
• Buddha Jayanti will also be celebrated by the IBC in Delhi on Monday where the event will be led by Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju. “IBC has been actively involved in engaging Buddhist organisations in Nepal and has a strong relationship with several senior Buddhist monks,” stated the official press release.
• Modi’s visit to Lumbini comes two days after Nepal began the local election process across the country that will ultimately lead to the general election towards the end of the year.

2. QUAD INITIATIVE FOR VACCINES RUNS INTO ROUGH WEATHER

THE CONTEXT: More than a year after the first Quad summit where the leaders of the U.S., India, Japan and Australia launched an ambitious initiative to produce one billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines for distribution in the Indo-Pacific region, the project is floundering, and officials concede that it is unlikely to meet its target by 2022-end for a number of reasons.

THE EXPLANATION:

• While the original plan to produce the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine at the Hyderabad-based Biological E’s facility for the Quad Vaccine Initiative ran into trouble over legal indemnity issues, and then ov- er safety concerns, the other vaccine being produced at the facility, Corbevax, has yet to receive the WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) needed for distribution.
• In addition, experts say there is now an “oversupply” of vaccines in Southeast Asian countries and other regions of the world, bringing down the demand for vaccines.
• Quad countries have delivered vaccines to countries such as Thailand and Cambodia under a separate commitment made in September 2021, but the original initiative for a billion India-made vaccine doses, developed and funded by the U.S. and distributed by Japan and Australia, appears to have hit a roadblock.

3. WHAT’S THE 21ST CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT AIMED TO CUT POWER OF SRI LANKAN PRESIDENTS

THE CONTEXT: Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that the 21st Amendment to the Constitution to curb the presidential powers will be discussed with the Attorney General’s Department.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The 21st Amendment is expected to annul the 20th Amendment, which gave unfettered powers to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa after abolishing the 19th Amendment, a provision that had made the Parliament powerful over the president.

What will the 21st Amendment entail?

• The amendment is likely to reduce the Presidency to a ceremonial position, retaining the powers of the President on all three armed forces while handing over almost all other key powers pertaining to governance, and cabinet ministers to the Prime Minister.
• There are two proposed amendments in the form of Private Member’s Bills – one by Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and another by Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MPs.
• Both Bills look at transferring powers of making key appointments from the President to the Constitutional Council. Both proposals agree that the Council should comprise of both MPs and citizens not affiliated to political parties.

Which amendments preceded the 21st Amendment?

• The enactment of the 19th Amendment in April 2015 was rushed by then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. It had removed the powers of the President to sack the Prime Minister at his discretion.
• Articles 46 (2) and 48 of the Sri Lankan constitution were amended ensuring that the cabinet ministers could have been dismissed only if the Prime Minister ceased to hold office by death, resignation or otherwise, or only if the Parliament rejects a statement of government policy or the budget or if the parliament passes a vote of no confidence against the Government.
• The amendment also restricted the President’s powers to dismiss Cabinet ministers as he was required to act on the advice of the Prime Minister.

THE POLITY

4. PARDON POWERS OF PRESIDENT AND GOVERNOR

THE CONTEXT: The Supreme Court has reserved orders on the question whether a Governor can refer the State government’s advice for granting remission to life convicts to the President for a decision.

THE EXPLANTION:

• The court is examining a petition from A.G. Perarivalan, one of the life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, questioning the delay in his release even after the Tamil Nadu government, in 2018, recommended the release of all seven convicts in the case under Article 161 of the Constitution.
• The Governor, instead of acting on the recommendation, referred it to the President.

What is the scope of the pardon power?

• Both the President and the Governor have been vested with sovereign power of pardon by the Constitution, commonly referred to as mercy or clemency power.
• Under Article 72, the President can grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence in all cases where the punishment or sentence is by a court-martial, in all cases where the punishment or sentence is for an offence under any law relating to the Union government’s executive power, and in all cases of death sentences. It is also made clear that the President’s power will not in any way affect a Governor’s power to commute a death sentence.
• Under Article 161, a Governor can grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment, or suspend, remit or commute the sentence of anyone convicted under any law on a matter which comes under the State’s executive power.

What is the difference between statutory power and constitutional power?

• The Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) provides for remission of prison sentences, which means the whole or a part of the sentence may be cancelled. Under Section 432, the ‘appropriate government’ may suspend or remit a sentence, in whole or in part, with or without conditions.
• This power is available to State governments so that they may order the release of prisoners before they complete their prison terms. Under Section 433, any sentence may be commuted to a lesser one by the appropriate government.
• However, Section 435 says that if the prisoner had been sentenced in a case investigated by the CBI, or any agency that probed the offence under a Central Act, the State government can order such release only in consultation with the Central government.
• In the case of death sentences, the Central government may also concurrently exercise the same power as the State governments to remit or suspend the sentence.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

5. INDIAN GOVERNMENT PROHIBITS EXPORT OF WHEAT WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT

THE CONTEXT: Citing a threat to food security, the Union government has “prohibited” the export of wheat with immediate effect. The decision was announced on Saturday in view of the “sudden spike in the global prices of wheat arising out of many factors” the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Significantly, the order came two days after the government decided to send trade delegations to a number of countries to explore possibilities for its export.
• The global agriculture market has been destabilised by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a major wheat-producing nation and a major supplier to the European market. Apart from national requirements, the order cited the requirement of India’s wheat among its neighbours in the region.
• Officials revealed that there was a decline in the “opening stock” compared with last fiscal’s.
• The prohibition was “not a ban”, and was also aimed at controlling the sudden rise in the price of wheat and atta in India. The order will prevent some traders from carrying out “speculative” trading in wheat and help in stabilising the agriculture sector.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

6. HEATWAVE IN INDIA

THE CONTEXT: Severe heatwave conditions have been consistently reported over large parts of India since the beginning of the summer season in March. In April, the mercury touched nearly 50 degrees Celsius in some areas of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, a day after Jacobabad in neighboring Pakistan had recorded 51 degree Celsius.

THE EXPLANATION:

• March and April saw early and unprecedented heat across India. March was the warmest and April was the fourth-warmest in 122 years.
• Though heatwave over large parts of north and central India is an annual phenomenon in May, the maximum temperatures in areas of Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir have been unusually high.

Sweltering heat grips north and central India

• Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana are some of the states that witnessed heatwave conditions.
• A severe heatwave is declared when the maximum temperature jumps over 6 degrees Celsius above normal.

Why have the temperatures been so high?

• Urban areas like Delhi and Gurgaon recording day temperatures in the 45-49 degrees Celsius range is abnormal and was aggravated by contributions from other local weather, and anthropogenic and man-made factors.
• Western disturbances, which bring rainfall and cloudy skies to northwest India and regulate temperatures at this time of the year, have been feeble and lacked sufficient moisture, keeping the temperature high. In the absence of cloud cover, temperatures can soar with the solar radiation, while dry westerly winds do not bring any moisture.
• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) rainfall data since March shows that many states in north and central India have remained parched.

Heatwaves not unusual for May

• Heatwave season over India begins in March and peaks in May, especially over the core heatwave zone areas. This summer saw record temperatures during March and April but such warm days in May are normal.
• The current heatwave spell, prevailing for a week, is spread across 11 states and UTs. While the geographical extent may be similar to the spell recorded between March 27 and April 12, the severity this time is manyfold higher.
• The last spell saw a severe heatwave limited to some pockets of Rajasthan and eastern Uttar Pradesh, whereas the May spell has had similar conditions raging across all north and central India regions.
• On Sunday, more than ten meteorological stations recorded maximum temperatures over 47 degrees Celsius, including Banda (49), Gurgaon (48), Churu (47.9), Ganganagar (47.6), Pilani (47.7), Khajuraho and Nowgong (47.4 each), Jhansi (47.6), Hissar (47.3) and Delhi ridge (47.2).

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

7. WHAT IS POST COVID AND LONG COVID?

THE CONTEXT: With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, evidence showed that a considerable proportion of people who have recovered from COVID-19 continue to face long-term effects on multiple organs and systems.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Technically, post-COVID defines symptoms that persist four weeks after infection and Long COVID, 12 weeks past a COVID-19 infection.
• The effects range from skin rash, sleep difficulties, fatigue or muscle weakness, hair loss, joint pain, palpitations, dizziness, cough, headache, sore throat, chest pain, smell and taste disorders, anxiety disorders and mobility issues.
• The government of India developed its own National Comprehensive Guidelines for the management of post-COVID sequelae. This document sets out detailed techniques to treat post-COVID complications affecting cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, nephrological, neurological and respiratory systems.

8. BLOOD GROUPS AND BLOOD DONATION

THE CONTEXT: Blood in a healthy human body is about 7% of the total body weight (the average body weight being 55- 65 kg), or 4.7 to 5.5 litres (1.2 to 1.5 gallons).

THE EXPLANATION:

• India is the second-largest producer of wheat in the world, with a share of around 14.14 per cent of the total production in 2020. The country produces around 107.59 million MT of wheat annually and a major chunk of it goes towards domestic consumption.In a regular donation, the donor gives about 500 ml of blood, and this is replaced in the body within a day or two (24-48 hours).
• Blood types are determined by the presence (or absence) of certain antigens (molecules that can trigger an immune response), if they are foreign to the body of the recipient. Thus, a matching of the blood type of the donor with that of the receiver is necessary.
• Antigens are classified as antigens A and B in our red blood cells.
• Landmark research on these was done by a medical doctor, Dr. Karl Landsteiner of University of Vienna in Austria. He defined three acceptable types of blood cells which he called as A, B and O blood types.
• Blood group A in India to be about 40%, blood group B between 25-35% and group O to be 40-50%.
• Primates (chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan, gibbons) also have blood groups containing AB, A, B and O, just as we humans have. Indeed, we owe our blood types (A, B, O, AB), thanks to what our primate monkey ancestors had millions of years ago.

Who can donate blood to whom?

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION FOR 16th MAY 2022

Q1. Consider the following statements about Election Commission:

1. Indian Constitution provides for establishment of Election Commission as multi-member body.
2. CEC and ECs have equal powers and equal salary, allowances which are similar to a judge of a High Court.
3. Constitution has debarred CEC and ECs from any further appointment by government after their retirement.

Which of the statements given above is/are incorrect?

a) 1 only

b) 1 and 2 only

c) 2 and 3 only

d) All of them

 

ANSWER FOR THE 14TH OF MAY

Answer: B

Explanation:

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

• Prior to creation of SCO in 2001, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan were members of the Shanghai Five.
• Shanghai Five (1996) emerged from a series of border demarcation and demilitarization talks that the four former Soviet republics held with China to ensure stability along the borders.
• Following the accession of Uzbekistan to the organisation in 2001, the Shanghai Five was renamed the SCO.
• Eurasian political, economic and military organisation aims to maintain peace, security and stability in region.
• India and Pakistan became members in 2017.
• 8 members: Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan
• Secretariat: Beijing
• Official languages: Russian and Chinese.
• The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) is a permanent organ of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which serves to promote cooperation of member states against the three evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism. Its headquarters are located in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

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