DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS (MAY 31,2022)

THE SOCIAL ISSUES

1. PM RELEASES BENEFITS FOR COVID-19 ORPHANS UNDER PM-CARES

THE CONTEXT: Pm releases benefits for children who lost both their parents or a primary caregiver between March 11 2020, and February 28 2022, under PM-CARES.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • A total of 4,439 children have been approved for the scheme. Children who lost both their parents or a primary caregiver between March 11, 2020, and February 28 2022 are eligible for the scheme.
  • The scheme offers a lumpsum amount of ₹10 lakh when children turn 23 years old as well as a monthly stipend from 18 years to 23 years. School-going children will also receive free education, textbooks, and uniforms at the nearest government schools.
  • Those in private schools may avail of fee reimbursement under norms for the Right to Education Act, 2005. Older students can also avail free education at residential schools such as Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalay. Students between Class 1 and Class 12 will also receive a scholarship of ₹20,000 per month from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
  • Students can also avail of loans for professional courses and higher education for payment of interest.
  • Beneficiaries can also avail of health insurance coverage of ₹5 lakh at public and private hospitals under the Pradhan Mantri-Jan Aarogya Yojana scheme.

2. WHY CLIMATE CHANGE HITS WOMEN HARDER THAN MEN

 THE CONTEXT: Stronger weather extremes prove particularly damaging for women and worsen existing inequalities, scientists have shown.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • Weather extremes like these have in common is not just that burning fossil fuels makes them stronger — it’s that they hit men and women in wildly different ways.
  • In Bangladesh, nine times more women than men were killed when Cyclone Gorki battered coasts in 1991. In Australia, twice as many women as men wanted to evacuate to safety during devastating bushfires in 2009. In Kenya, women were last in line to receive food during a 2016 drought that left more than 2 million people hungry.
  • For decades policymakers have ignored warnings that rigid gender roles make people more vulnerable to extreme weather. Now — with the effects of climate change hammering at their doors — they are being forced to consider how to adapt in ways that reduce those inequalities rather than increasing them.
  • Climate change puts pressure on people without power, said Lisa Schipper, co-author of a landmark report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published in February. “When you’re excluded from the decision-making club — as most women are in most countries — then you can’t make decisions about the resources you know you need.”
  • Women are less likely to own land but at greater risk of hunger when droughts hit.
  • People who are marginalized by society because of their gender are less able to adapt to climate change or recover from its effects, scientists concluded in a mega-review of the academic literature on climate impacts and adaptation. Women generally have less money, fewer opportunities and are not prioritized by policymakers, who are disproportionately men.
  • That, in turn, leaves them more vulnerable to further discrimination.
  • During droughts, women and girls are forced to walk further, and often in the dark to fetch water. That places them at greater risk of sexual violence. Longer distances also mean they make fewer trips, reducing the amount of water available to the family — and leaving even less for women in cultures where men are the first to eat and drink. The scarcity can also make menstrual hygiene harder and stop girls going to school.
  • In many countries women are not taught to swim, leaving them at greater risk from rising sea levels and coastal floods
  • Too much water can have similarly devastating effects. Floods that displace people or destroy toilets and make sanitation products scarce carry an extra burden in countries with strong taboos around menstruation. In Bangladesh, more than two-thirds of women working in factories lose six days of work per month because they lack safe places to change and dispose of menstrual pads, according to a study published in the journal Frontiers in Water in 2020.
  • Yet not all the effects of extreme weather on gender work in the same direction. In the US, men are twice as likely to die from heat-related illnesses than women because they are more likely to work outside on farms and building sites. During the deadly “Black Saturday” bushfires in Australia, men were more likely to stay to defend homes — and died in greater numbers as a result.
  • They were less likely to heed the advice of friends and family to leave for safety, according to a study published in the journal Geographical Research in 2016.
  • Scientists have conducted little research on the effects of climate change on transgender people but in countries where data exist, they are more likely to be homeless and suffer discrimination from health services. That could place them in greater danger from weather extremes from heat to storms.
  • Rigid gender roles increase pressure on men to stay in dangerous situations
  • In 2015, world leaders signed the Paris Agreement to try to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures. They acknowledged they should follow a “gender-responsive” approach when adapting to climate change, guided by the best available science.
  • Policymakers could do this by transforming systems that perpetuate inequality and renegotiating unequal power dynamics, the IPCC found in its report on adaptation. That could mean sharing wealth and resources equally and ensuring fair representation in environmental decision-making.
  • While there are many examples of countries led by women that hampered climate policy — former German Chancellor Angela Merkel blocked reforms of the EU’s car industry, for instance — scientists say the broad trend is less polluting than under men.
  • Across society, women prioritize climate change in the ways they vote, work, shop, and get involved in their communities, the report found. They are more likely than men to become environmental activists and less likely to deny climate change.

THE POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

3. WHY IS NGT ENTERTAINING LETTERS FROM LAWMAKERS: SC

THE CONTEXT: The Supreme Court on Tuesday wondered why the National Green Tribunal is taking up letter petitions filed by lawmakers. A vacation bench of Justices B R Gavai and Hima Kohli said it thought the NGT jurisdiction was available to persons who can’t approach courts.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • The National Green Tribunal is also entertaining letters from Members of Parliament. We thought that this jurisdiction was available for have-nots and persons who can’t approach courts. Ordinary citizens and not legislators, the bench observed.
  • The observation came while hearing the Andhra Pradesh government’s appeal against an NGT order halting construction work at Rushikonda Hills in Visakhapatnam.
  • At this juncture, the bench asked if he has a copy of the judgment which says NGT is a tribunal subordinate to the high court under Article 227 of the Constitution.
  • The National Green Tribunal was established under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010 for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection.

4. WARNING THAT WASN’T: UIDAI WAS RIGHT TO FLAG INDISCRIMINATE COLLECTION OF AADHAAR DATA. IT SHOULD MANDATE STRONGER MEASURES

THE CONTEXT: A UIDAI advisory warning citizens of the misuse of Aadhaar card photocopies and e-copies by unlicensed entities went viral across the country.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • GoI withdrew the note and asked cardholders to exercise “normal prudence” while sharing Aadhaar numbers. However, specific concerns raised by the UIDAI advisory weren’t addressed. Officials seemed more worried about the “possibility for misinterpretation” and stressed that the Aadhaar ecosystem had adequate safety features.
  • Many private agencies demand and collect Aadhaar card photocopies even when they are not licensed to do online authentication. Digital photo-editing tools can easily manipulate images and text on Aadhaar card copies. However, such fraud can’t evade authentication checks against UIDAI’s central identity data repository.
  • Still, it is a fraud. But one that has a solution. UIDAI allows offline verification-seeking entities (OVSE), which don’t have to be accredited, to scan the QR code on Aadhaar cards to check the identity and demographic information of a person. And Section 8A (4) of the Aadhaar Act 2016 stipulates that no OVSE shall “collect, use or store” Aadhaar numbers or biometric information of any individual.
  • Perhaps recognizing the scale of unauthorized storage, UIDAI regulations in February mandated that any organization seeking to check identities offline should scan the QR code on Aadhaar cards, verify the authority’s digital signature, and tally identity information encoded by the QR code.
  • UIDAI was therefore not wrong in suggesting caution in the press release that was withdrawn. Such digital identity scanning should certainly replace the collection of photocopies. And UIDAI should perhaps penalize unauthorized storage.
  • An additional threat is the collection of biometric information like fingerprints by employers, lenders, and state agencies. Unlike UIDAI, these smaller entities cannot boast of robust security protocols. Theft of such poorly stored biometric data is undermining Aadhaar-enabled payment systems.
  • Telangana police recently warned users who lost money they should disable their biometric link to Aadhaar. These crimes require GoI to strongly regulate biometric and Aadhaar data collection by private entities.
  • The crux of the problem is that governments have been too permissive about private and public entities seeking and collecting personal data. The Supreme Court had barred commercial entities from demanding Aadhaar.
  • The flipside was that many people in a document-poor country didn’t have any means to prove identity when, say, applying for a SIM card. GoI specifically allowed telecom companies to use Aadhaar for e-KYC. But restrictions should be put in for many other entities demanding and storing Aadhaar.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

5. DOSES OF STATECRAFT TO MEET INDIA’S CHALLENGES

THE CONTEXT: The war in Europe, involving Russia and Ukraine — with Kyiv being backed by western powers and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) — and the political turmoils in South Asia dominate newspaper headlines today. This has pushed the debate on India’s many internal security problems on the backburner. This is unfortunate, for many long-standing security problems have a propensity to wax and wane and seldom seem to go away.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • While the country’s security agencies do maintain a tight vigil, what is seldom realized is that security agencies can only deal with the immediate threat. Long-term solutions require the use of statecraft. Additional doses of security whenever a situation arises are at best a temporary solution. This does not amount to problem-solving.
  • To change the mindsets of both the authorities and those challenging the existing order, it may be first necessary to admit that more and more security has its limitations. The next step is even harder, viz., to admit that the forces threatening the state have lately become nimbler in adopting new technologies and modes of warfare.
  • In many countries, both the authorities and security agencies are beginning to acknowledge the importance of resorting to statecraft as a vital adjunct to the role played by the security agencies. Statecraft involves fine-grained comprehension of inherent problems; also an ability to quickly respond to political challenges.
  • It further involves strengthening the ability to exploit opportunities as they arise and display a degree of political nimbleness rather than leaving everything to the security agencies. In short, it entails a shift from reposing all faith in the security establishment to putting equal emphasis on the implementation of policies and programmes. In effect, it shifts the emphasis to formulating strategies that favor political deftness, strength, and agility, after the initial phase.
  • Two prime examples which provide grist to the above proposition are the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the continuing problem involving Maoists. While Jammu and Kashmir have been a troubled region ever since 1947, the situation has metamorphosed over the years — at times tending to become extremely violent followed by spells of near normalcy. No proper solution has emerged to a long-standing problem.
  • While problems seem to be mounting for the security establishment in Jammu and Kashmir as of now, across several heartland states of India, the police face a different kind of threat. Of all the strands of the militancy in India, Maoists or Naxalites stand apart as being the only ones with strong ideological underpinnings. Notwithstanding its ideological veneer, Maoists/Naxalites nevertheless tend to indulge in mindless violence carrying out brutal killings.
  • The original Maoist leaders in Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala (in the late 1960s and early 1970s) who were inspired by Charu Mazumdar who talked of a ‘Spring Thunder over India’ (followed by his claim to have lit a spark to initiate a ‘prairie fire’) have since been replaced by lesser leaders with few ideological pretensions.
  • The need to use statecraft to deal with quite a few other internal security problems — some of which have lain dormant for years — is also becoming more manifest by the day. In this category may be included the resurgence of militancy by pro-Khalistan groups in Punjab, which could spill over into Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
  • The recent discovery of ‘sleeper cells’ in Punjab clearly indicates the potential for the revival of a pro-Khalistan movement — which once ravaged large parts of Punjab. While the pro-Khalistani sentiment is present in pockets in the United Kingdom and in Europe, it has not been in evidence in India for some time. Hence, the recent attack by pro-Khalistan elements on the headquarters of the Punjab Police Intelligence wing in Mohali was a rude shock to the security establishment.
  • The incident appeared to be like a warning shot ‘across the bow’ by the Babbar Khalsa International, which has the backing of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence — a reminder that militancy in Punjab has not been permanently extinguished, and will need deft statecraft to nip it in the bud.
  • In India’s northeast, more specifically in the States of Assam and Nagaland, there are again incipient signs of trouble which, for the present, may need the use of statecraft rather than the security forces. In Assam, the United Liberation Front of Asom–Independent (ULFA-I) is trying to revive its activities after a long spell of hibernation.
  • Currently, the ULFA-I operates from Myanmar, and its fortunes have been on a steady decline in the past decade. However, latest reports indicate that ULFA-I has embarked on a recruitment drive which will need to be curbed before matters get out of hand. Likewise in Nagaland, where the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (I-M) has recently initiated a fresh push for a solution of the ‘Naga political issue’, the situation is pregnant with serious possibilities. Both instances merit the use of statecraft so that the situation does not get out of hand.
  • In the South, intelligence and police officials appear concerned about a likely revival of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)-sponsored activities in Tamil Nadu. This stems from a possible revival of LTTE-sponsored militancy in Sri Lanka following the recent economic crises and uncertainty there. Security agencies in India believe that an attempt could be made to reach out to elements in Tamil Nadu to revive the spirit of the 1980s. This situation again needs deft statecraft to prevent a resurgence of the past.
  • Hence, it should be evident that statecraft is critical in finding lasting solutions to a host of problems that continue to afflict India. India faces several challenges today, but the answer to this is neither grand strategy nor grand simplifications nor resort to higher doses of security. India must navigate its way through a complex set of circumstances and situations, and suitably manage crises that might otherwise undermine peace and stability.
  • A properly structured set of policies, having liberal doses of statecraft in addition to a proper set of security measures, is the best answer to India’s needs, now and in the future.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

6. INDIA’S CHANGING GOAL POSTS OVER COAL

THE CONTEXT: In April, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India’s transition away from coal as a fuel for power would be hampered by the Russia-Ukraine war.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • The threat of global warming looms over the planet, promising to bring about unprecedented natural calamities.
  • An effective way to keep the danger at bay is to cut the use of fossil fuels — coal, natural gas, and oil. About 80% of the world’s energy requirements are met by these three fuels. They have likely brought on the climate crisis we now face, as they trigger the emission of carbon dioxide.
  • However, the worst culprit of them all is coal, which emits nearly twice as much carbon dioxide as natural gas and about 60% more than oil, on a kilogram-to-kilogram comparison.
  • Combusting coal also leaves behind partially-burnt carbon particles that feed pollution and trigger respiratory disorders. The consequence of these chemical reactions gains great significance because, the power sector in India accounts for 49% of total carbon dioxide emissions, compared with the global average of 41%.

What is the extent of India’s dependence on coal?

  • As of February 2022, the installed capacity for coal-based power generation across the country was 2.04 lakh megawatt (MW). This accounts for about 51.5% of power from all sources. This compares with about 25,000 MW of capacity based on natural gas as fuel, or a mere 6.3% of all installed capacity. Renewable power accounted for 1.06 lakh MW or 27%.
  • Coal-based power stations are retired periodically which happens all the time. But is not fast enough nor are new additions being halted. And with good reason – coal is still inexpensive compared with other sources of energy.
  • For FY20, for example, India added 6,765 MW power capacity based on coal as fuel. But only 2,335 MW was retired. According to the IEA’s Coal Report 2021, India’s coal consumption will increase at an average annual rate of 3.9% to 1.18 billion tonnes in 2024.
  • Natural gas has been dubbed as the transition fuel in India’s plans to move away from coal. The international cost of natural gas has zoomed in the recent past from a level that was considered already too high to be financially viable. On May 17, 2022, the price per MMBTU of gas was ₹1,425, compared with ₹500 in April 2021.
  • Even back in November last, well before the war made things difficult, the government put in place a committee to ensure that natural gas prices remained stable. Of the 25,000 MW of gas-based power plants, about 14,000 MW remains stranded, or idle, because they are financially unviable.
  • While renewable energy sources are cheaper than coal, their ability to generate power consistently is subject to the whims of nature — the wind and the Sun. Coal can give you power on demand. Storage technologies are still not mature enough to help renewable energy sources become reliable generators of power.

Is there a coal availability crisis that is exacerbating our problems?

  • It appears that the pent-up demand returning in the economy which was in a pandemic-induced stupor for a while has caught policymakers off guard. From having asked States only recently to stop importing coal, the power Ministry urged States earlier this month to step up coal imports as the private sector would take till about 2025 to produce significant amounts of coal.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION FOR 31ST MAY 2022

Q1. Which of the following is incorrect about PM CARES scheme for children orphaned by the COVID-19 pandemic?

  1. To avail the scheme, a child should not have turned 18 on the date of death of his or her parents.
  2. It provides lump sum amount of ₹15 lakh when a beneficiary turns 23 years old.
  3. All beneficiary children will be enrolled as a beneficiary under Ayushman Bharat Scheme (PM-JAY) with a health insurance cover of Rs. 5 lakhs.
  4. The Ministry of Women and Child Development shall be the nodal Ministry for the execution of the scheme at the central level.

ANSWER FOR THE 30th MAY

Answer: D

Explanation:

  • Statement 1 is correct: The U.S. surpassed China to become India’s top trading partner in 2021-22.
  • Statement 2 is correct: According to data from the Commerce Ministry, the bilateral trade between the U.S. and India stood at $119.42 billion in 2021-22 as against $80.51 billion in 2020-21. Exports to the U.S. increased to $76.11 billion in 2021-22 from $51.62 billion in the previous fiscal year, while imports rose to $43.31 billion from about $29 billion.
  • Statement 3 is correct: During 2021-22, India’s two-way commerce with China aggregated at $115.42 billion as compared to $86.4 billion in 2020-21, the data showed. Exports to China marginally increased to $21.25 billion last fiscal year from $21.18 billion in 2020- 21, while imports jumped to $94.16 billion from about $65.21 billion in 2020-21.



Ethics Through Current Developments (31-05-2022)

  1. Oneness is essential for society to thrive READ MORE
  2. Eastern consciousness READ MORE
  3. High-rise and shine READ MORE



Today’s Important Articles for Sociology (31-05-2022)

  1. PM releases benefits for COVID-19 orphans under PM-CARES READ MORE
  2. Why climate change hits women harder than men READ MORE
  3. World No Tobacco Day, and the role of role models READ MORE



Today’s Important Articles for Pub Ad (31-05-2022)

  1. Warning that wasn’t: UIDAI was right to flag indiscriminate collection of Aadhaar data. It should mandate stronger measures READ MORE
  2. PM-KISAN scheme: PM transfers ₹21,000 crore for 10 crore farmer families READ MORE
  3. Why is NGT entertaining letters from lawmakers, asks SC READMORE
  4. NITI Aayog needs a new plan READ MORE



Today’s Important Articles for Geography (31-05-2022)

  1. 1 in 4 deaths among children could be averted by improving environmental factors: UNICEF READ MORE
  2. World no tobacco day: Tobacco impacts environment, not just health READ MORE
  3. Etalin hydel: Experts warn of biodiversity loss in Dibang Valley in letter to forest advisory panel READ MORE
  4. How Maharashtra overtook UP to re-emerge as top sugar producer READ MORE



WSDP Bulletin (31/05/2022)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

  1. QUAD leaders’ summit Outcomes for future READ MORE
  2. NITI Aayog needs a new plan READ MORE
  3. PM releases benefits for COVID-19 orphans under PM-CARES READ MORE
  4. World No Tobacco Day, and the role of role models READ MORE
  5. Declining trend: Public spend on Indian agriculture has shrunk in a decade READ MORE
  6. Fuelling federal fights: Bitter Centre-state disputes over tax cuts, GST role show huge trust deficit READ MORE

GS 1

  1. How Maharashtra overtook UP to re-emerge as top sugar producer READ MORE

GS 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

  1. Warning that wasn’t: UIDAI was right to flag indiscriminate collection of Aadhaar data. It should mandate stronger measures READ MORE
  2. PM-KISAN scheme: PM transfers ₹21,000 crore for 10 crore farmer families READ MORE
  3. Why is NGT entertaining letters from lawmakers, asks SC READMORE
  4. NITI Aayog needs a new plan READ MORE

SOCIAL JUSTICE

  1. PM releases benefits for COVID-19 orphans under PM-CARES READ MORE
  2. Why climate change hits women harder than men READ MORE
  3. World No Tobacco Day, and the role of role models READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

  1. Doses of statecraft to meet India’s challenges READ MORE
  2. The status of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine READ MORE
  3. China, Pacific islands unable to reach consensus on security pact READ MORE
  4. QUAD leaders’ summit Outcomes for future READ MORE

GS 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

  1. India’s changing goal posts over coal READ MORE
  2. Declining trend: Public spend on Indian agriculture has shrunk in a decade READ MORE
  3. Coal India to Import for the First Time Since 2015 Amid Looming Power Crisis READ MORE
  4. Prescribe generic drugs to cut costs READ MORE
  5. The policy flip-flop on wheat exports READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

  1. 1 in 4 deaths among children could be averted by improving environmental factors: UNICEF READ MORE
  2. World no tobacco day: Tobacco impacts environment, not just health READ MORE
  3. Etalin hydel: Experts warn of biodiversity loss in Dibang Valley in letter to forest advisory panel READ MORE

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

  1. Oneness is essential for society to thrive READ MORE
  2. Eastern consciousness READ MORE
  3. High-rise and shine READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1.“Though women in post-Independent India have excelled in various fields, the social attitude towards women and the feminist movement has been patriarchal.” Apart from women education and women empowerment schemes, what interventions can help change this milieu?

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

  • India has a long and a chequered history of planning, with some success but many failures. It has tried three distinct types of planning: directed planning, indicative planning, and now ‘a strategy, but no planning’. It needed to replace the Planning Commission, but not give up on planning altogether. In doing so in August 2014, India may have thrown the baby out with the bathwater.
  • The Supreme Court’s recent ruling that GST Council decisions are not binding on states can at one level be seen as a reiteration of the constitutional provision – there is nothing in constitutional amendments relating to GST to force compliance with GST Council decisions. It’s just a healthy convention that has developed that the Centre and states have decided to fall in line with the Council’s collective decisions.
  • For decades policymakers have ignored warnings that rigid gender roles make people more vulnerable to extreme weather. Now — with the effects of climate change hammering at their doors — they are being forced to consider how to adapt in ways that reduce those inequalities rather than increasing them.
  • People who are marginalized by society because of their gender are less able to adapt to climate change or recover from its effects, scientists concluded in a mega-review of the academic literature on climate impacts and adaptation. Women generally have less money, fewer opportunities and are not prioritized by policymakers, who are disproportionately men.

ESSAY TOPIC

  • Why climate change hits women harder than men.

Things to Remember:

  • For prelims-related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
  • Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do map work (marking those areas on maps and exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers, etc. same applies to the national places.)
  • For economy-related news (banking, agriculture, etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related to various economic aspects, for example, if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing price rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates, etc.
  • For main exam-related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occur frequently and are important from the mains point of view will be covered in ED.
  • Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment to your writing.



Day-215 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | GEOGRAPHY

[WpProQuiz 234]

 




DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS (MAY 30,2022)

THE SOCIAL ISSUES

1. THE BATTLE OVER MINING IN CHHATTISGARH’S HASDEO FOREST

THE CONTEXT: The state government had in March given a go-head for coal mining in an area of 1,136 hectares under the second phase of Parsa East-Kete Basan (PEKB) coal block.

THE EXPLANATION:                                                             

  • The state government had in March given a go-head for coal mining in an area of 1,136 hectares under the second phase of the Parsa East-Kete Basan (PEKB) coal block.
  • A sprawling forest in the northern part of Chhattisgarh, Hasdeo Arand is known for its biodiversity and also its coal deposits. The forest falls under Korba, Sujapur and Sarguja districts with sizeable tribal populations. The Hasdeo river, a tributary of Mahanadi, flows through it.

Released in 2021, a report on the region by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, termed Hasdeo Arand the “largest un-fragmented forests in Central India consisting of pristine Sal (Shorearobusta) and teak forests.”

  • The Hasdeo Arand Coal Field (HACF) is spread over nearly 1,880 sq km and comprises 23 coal blocks. The demand for mining picked up around 2010, when the Chhattisgarh government recommended forest clearance for diverting 1,898.328 hectares of forest land for Parsa East and Kente Basan (PEKB) coal fields. These were allotted to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited (RRVUNL).
  • The PEKB coal block is run by Adani Enterprises, the official Mine Developer and Operator in this venture.
  • However, this first move was followed by multiple court orders, forest assessment reports, and protests by forest-dwellers.
  • In June 2011, the Forest Advisory Committee of the Environment ministry recommended against diverting the forest land for mining. The then Environment Minister, the Congress party’s Jairam Ramesh, overruled this decision, saying coal mining will be done in an area away from the dense forests.
  • In 2012, Forest Clearance was granted by the MoEF for mining in phase I of PEKB coal mines, which limited mining to 762 hectares and a reserve of 137 million tonnes.
  • In March, the Chhattisgarh government said that it has given permission to Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam for coal mining in an area of 1,136 hectares under the second phase of PEKB coal block.
  • As of May 2022, two studies by the ICFRE and Wildlife Institute of India (WII) have come out. Both have underlined the importance of biodiversity in the region that mining will undoubtedly affect. They also address the issue of human-elephant conflicts, noting that while Chhattisgarh has less elephants compared to other states, it accounts for a significant percentage of conflict due to habitat loss or clearing of forests. Further deforestation could lead to elephant movements spilling over to urban areas, these studies have noted.
  • The ICFRE also noted the loss of the natural environment and the “serious impact on the community in form of loss of livelihood, identity, and culture” with regards to tribal people living in the area, if mining were to be allowed. But it backed considering mining in four blocks: Tara, Parsa, PEKB and Kente Extension with “strict environmental safeguards”. It further said that the PEKB block was a “habitat to rare, endangered and threatened flora and fauna”.
  • Though cases are pending in various courts and a further study has been suggested by even the ICFRE, in March 2022 the Chhattisgarh government approved the second phase of mining in PEKB coal block.

THE POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

2. RESERVATION IN PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT

THE CONTEXT: The jurisprudence of reservation relies on the symbiotic coexistence of constitutionally guaranteed equality of opportunity in public employment under Article 16 (1) of the Constitution of India and classifications thereunder various clauses of the same article, especially Article 16(4) and Article 16 (4 A), which are in the nature of facilitating provisions, vesting a discretion on the government to consider providing reservations for the socially and educationally backward sections of the society and to provide reservation in promotion to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, respectively.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • It is settled law, time and again reiterated by the Supreme Court, that there is no fundamental right to reservation or promotion under Article 16(4) or Article 16(4 A) of the Constitution, rather they are enabling provisions for providing reservation, if the circumstances so warrant ( Mukesh Kumar and Another vs State of Uttarakhand &Ors. 2020).
  • However, these pronouncements no way understate the constitutional directive under Article 46 that mandates that the state shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people and in particular Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
  • In fact, the sensitivity of the welfare state towards the weaker sections over decades resulted in the gradual expansion of canopy of reservation in the form of increasing classifications under Article 16, a set of actions that created a wave of litigation by which resulted in the ever-evolving jurisprudence of affirmative action in public employment.
  • Reservation in employment which was otherwise confined to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes got extended to Other Backward Classes as well on the basis of the recommendations of the Second Backward Class Commission as constituted, headed by B.P. Mandal.
  • The recommendation of the Mandal Commission (1980) to provide 27% reservation to Other Backward Classes in central services and public sector undertakings, over and above the existing 22.5% reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, was sought to be implemented by the V.P. Singh Government in 1990 and the same was assailed in the Supreme Court resulting in the historic Indra Sawhney Judgment (1992). In the judgment, a nine-judge bench presided by Chief Justice M.H. Kania upheld the constitutionality of the 27% reservation but put a ceiling of 50% unless exceptional circumstances warranting the breach, so that the constitutionally guaranteed right to equality under Article 14 would remain secured.
  • The Court dwelled on the interrelationship between Articles 16(1) and 16(4) and declared that Article 16(4) is not an exception to article 16(1), rather an illustration of classification implicit in article 16(1).
  • While Article 16(1) is a fundamental right, Article 16(4) is an enabling provision. Further, the Court directed the exclusion of the creamy layer by way of horizontal division of every other backward class into creamy layer and non-creamy layer.
  • In Indra Sawhney Case, the Supreme Court had held that Article 16(4) of the Constitution of India does not authorise reservation in the matter of promotions. However, the judgment was not to affect the promotions already made and hence only prospective in operation, it was ruled.
  • By the Constitution (Seventy-seventh Amendment) Act, 1995, which, Article 16(4-A), was inserted to provide that “nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any provision for reservation in matters of promotion to any class or classes of posts in the services under the State in favour of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes which, in the opinion of the State, are not adequately represented in the services under the State”.
  • Later, two more amendments were brought, one to ensure consequential seniority and another to secure carry forward of unfilled vacancies of a year, the former by way of addition to Article 16(4 A) and the latter by way of adding Article 16(4 B).
  • A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court declared the 1995 amendment as not vocative of basic structure of the Constitution but laid down certain conditions which included the collection of “quantifiable data showing backwardness of the class and inadequacy of representation of that class in public employment”. . The bench held that the creamy layer among Scheduled castes and tribes is to be excluded from the reservation.
  • In the aforementioned case, a constitution bench of the Supreme Court was called on to examine the wisdom of the 2006 judgment in the light of the constitutionally recognised socio-economic backwardness of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes which may not require any further substantiation. It was also contended that the requirement to identify creamy lawyer among Scheduled Castes and Scheduled tribes fell foul of Indra Sawhney’s decision.
  • The constitution bench invalidated the requirement to collect quantifiable data in relation to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes but upheld the principle of applicability of creamy lawyer in relation to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Jarnail Singh judgment authored by Justice Rohinton Nariman indicates a critical turn in the jurisprudence of reservation.
  • The 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), other Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and backward classes for government jobs and admission in educational institutions is currently under challenge before the Supreme Court which has referred the same to a constitution bench.
  • The adjudication awaited in this regard may also turn to be a critical milestone in the jurisprudence of reservation as the traditional understanding of backwardness is broadened to specifically include economic backwardness without social backwardness as is traditionally seen.
  • Despite the Indra Sawhney ruling, there have been attempts on the part of many States to breach the rule by way of expanding the reservation coverage and Maharashtra Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act 2018, (Maratha reservation law) came under challenge before the Supreme Court which referred the same to a bench of five judges and one question was whether the 1992 judgment needs a relook.
  • Interestingly, the Supreme Court not only affirmed the Indra Sawhney decision but also struck down Section 4(1)(a) and Section 4(1)(b) of the Act which provided 12% reservation for Marathas in educational institutions and 13% reservation in public employment respectively, citing the breach of the ceiling. “The 2018 Act as amended in 2019 granting reservation for Maratha community does not make out any exceptional circumstance to exceed the ceiling limit of 50% reservation,”, declared the apex Court.
  • This judgment is likely to rein in the propensity on the part of some State governments to blatantly disregard the stipulated ceiling on electoral grounds rather than any exceptional circumstances as conceived by the constitution bench. It is pertinent to note that several States such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh had made submissions before the Supreme Court against any upper limit on the reservation.

3. ABSOLUTION: ON NEED TO COMPENSATE FOR UNLAWFUL ARRESTS

THE CONTEXT: India needs a law to make compensation for unlawful arrest a statutory right

THE EXPLANATION:

  • Shoddy investigation is one thing, but a malicious and motivated probe is quite another. The probe conducted by former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) official Sameer Wankhede into a purported tip-off about the consumption of drugs on board a cruise ship, in October 2021, seems to fall in the latter category.
  • The raid on the vessel resulted in seizure of narcotic substances and the arrest of several people, including Aryan Khan, son of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan. Even though nothing was seized from Mr. Khan, the agency made sensational claims in court about his being part of an international drug trafficking network and, quite strangely, cited messages purportedly exchanged on WhatsApp as ‘evidence’. By the time he obtained bail weeks later, the case had all the makings of a witch-hunt.
  • A special investigation team from Delhi, which took over the case after allegations of extortion surfaced against Mr. Wankhede, has now cited lapses in the initial investigation and the lack of prosecutable evidence, and absolved Mr. Khan and five others and excluded them from the charge sheet filed recently. The lapses include failure to video-graph the search of the ship, not conducting a medical examination to prove consumption, and examining Mr. Khan’s phone and reading messages on it without any legal basis.
  • It is good that the agency made amends for the mischief done by the initial set of investigators by applying the standard of ‘proof beyond reasonable doubt’ while presenting its final report. At the same time, the NCB has to re-examine its priorities. It is an elite agency in the fight against international trafficking in narcotic and psychotropic substances.
  • Its primary focus ought to be on trans-national smuggling networks, while the job of pursuing drug peddlers and raiding rave parties must be left to the local police. While strict disciplinary action is warranted if any officer is found involved in ‘fixing’ someone, it is also time that the Government came out with a legal framework for compensating those jailed without proof. The country does not have a law on the grant of compensation to those maliciously prosecuted.
  • However, constitutional courts do exercise their vast powers sometimes to award monetary recompense; the remedy of a civil suit is also available in law, but it is time-consuming. The Law Commission of India has recommended the enactment of a law to make compensation in such cases an enforceable right. Currently, Section 358 of the Cr.P.C. provides for a paltry fine to be imposed on a person on whose complaint a person is arrested without sufficient grounds.
  • Such provisions should be expanded to cover just compensation by the state for unnecessary arrests. It is a sobering thought to note that even people with celebrity status and vast resources are not insulated from the misuse of police powers, even while recognising that it is still possible to vindicate one’s innocence and force the establishment to adopt a course correction.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

4. DEEPENING STRATEGIC COMMITMENT

THE CONTEXT: The Quad (the U.S., India, Japan and Australia) held its second in-person leaders’ summit in Tokyo on May 24. It has emerged stronger and clearer in its strategy and goals for the security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific. The efforts by the Quad countries should be viewed not only from the prism of the summits but also from the wider context of international developments and the continuing process of consolidation of the bilateral relations within, especially U.S.-India ties.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • This is the second interaction of the Quad leaders held after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That war has no end in sight. With India abstaining from most anti-Russia voting in multilateral bodies, experts in India worried about the impact of Ukraine on the Indo-Pacific region, particularly U.S.-India ties. Some feared that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would face new and intense pressure in Tokyo from the U.S. to condemn Russia. Others argued that the U.S. understood India’s nuanced position on Ukraine and may refocus on China’s strategic game in the region.
  • The latter interpretation proved correct. India and the U.S. agreed to disagree on Ukraine but showed full readiness to further strengthen the Quad and their bilateral cooperation, which, U.S. President Joe Biden said, he was “committed to making…among the closest we have on Earth.”
  • With China, he has moved beyond the traditional U.S. stance of ‘strategic ambiguity’ and pointedly referred to Ukraine to stress that China’s armed action against Taiwan would be unacceptable and attract a military response.
  • The central driving force of the Quad is to counter China’s growing expansionism and belligerence. The grouping’s diplomatic device of defining its raison d’être without ever using the word ‘China’ was best reflected in the ‘Quad Joint Leaders’ Statement’ which reads, “We reaffirm our resolve to uphold the international rules-based order where countries are free from all forms of military, economic and political coercion.”
  • Thus, China is not only the glue that holds the Quad together; it is also the fuel that may, through Beijing’s bad behaviour in the future, drive the grouping’s inner consolidation, as shown by an expanding agenda.
  • The Quad agenda now covers nine sectors: vaccine partnership and health security, climate action, critical and emerging technologies, cooperation on infrastructure, cyber security, space cooperation, education and people-to-people ties, maritime domain awareness, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. The Quad claims to have established “a positive and practical agenda” in year one; in year two, it will focus on “delivery.” This needs to be watched.
  • Not all commitments have been met. The promise of making available at least one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to Indo-Pacific countries has fallen short. Excluding what the Quad countries contributed to COVAX, just 25% have been delivered to the region so far.
  • This needs to be expanded rapidly. Meanwhile, Quad experts have begun planning ways to enhance capacity for early detection and monitoring of “new and emerging pathogens with pandemic potential.”
  • On infrastructure, a new commitment was made at Tokyo for the Quad to extend over $50 billion in investment and assistance to the Indo-Pacific countries over the next five years. While the focus is on the ASEAN countries and the Pacific Island States, a part of this funding should perhaps reach the Indian Ocean region too, with its touch points in Africa.
  • The Common Statement of Principles on Critical Technology Supply Chains is significant, as it concerns cooperation on semiconductors.
  • The atmospherics of the summit improved significantly after the launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) a day earlier. The joint announcement was made by the Quad, seven ASEAN member-states (excluding Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos), South Korea and New Zealand.
  • The plan is to prepare their economies for the future by conducting negotiations on the pillars of trade; supply chains; tax and anti-corruption and clean energy; decar bonisation and infrastructure. The IPEF is ambitious, but doable.
  • India’s constructive participation in the Tokyo summit and agreement to join IPEF demonstrated commitment to strengthening its strategic partnerships in order to push back China’s dominance. At the same time, New Delhi has agreed to the expansion of BRICS membership. This simultaneous engagement with the Quad and BRICS is New Delhi’s strategic autonomy in full play.
  • India’s presidency of the G20 in 2023 and the likelihood of India hosting the Quad summit in 2024 will ensure that it follows a calibrated policy and stays on track, as every major step will attract international attention.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

5. ECONOMY FACING STAGFLATION

THE CONTEXT: The Government, worried about the inflation rapidly inching up month after month, has finally become proactive. The steps announced are designed to lower the prices of basics like diesel, steel, cement and plastics. Wholesale Price Index (‘WPI’) has risen at more than ten percent for more than a year, and in April 2022, it was at 15.08 percent – a level not seen in more than a decade. Consumer Price Index (‘CPI’) has risen 7.8 percent, well above the Reserve Bank of India (‘RBI’)’s target of four percent plus-minus two percent for the fourth consecutive month.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • Inflation is high whichever measure we take. The CPI reflects the impact of inflation on the citizen’s budget. If it is higher than the increase in incomes, wages and salaries of people, then their standard of living declines. The WPI is what the producers take into account in their cost of production.
  • That in turn determines the price of their product and the profits they earn. Rising WPI sooner or later translates to higher consumer prices, which have been moderated of late by the decline in the wage bill and interest costs. That is why the CPI has lagged considerably behind the WPI for some time.
  • The April 2022 data shows that the increase in CPI is accelerating. It is much higher (7.8 percent) than its level in April 2021 (4.2 percent). Also, it is substantially above March 2022, at about 20 percent at an annualized rate. This has given momentum to the rising rate of inflation measured by CPI, and it is likely to continue to rise in the coming months. The government is trying to check this.
  • The situation is aggravated by the slowing down of the world economy due to the war in Ukraine and lockdowns in China. They are causing increased supply disruptions and shortages of various critical inputs like energy, fertilizer, metals, computer chips, manufactured products, wheat and soybean.
  • Consequently, prices are not only rising; India’s current account deficit has rapidly increased, thereby weakening the rupee against the dollar, though not against other major currencies. Since trade is denominated in dollars, it has meant that all imported items, including energy, become more expensive in India and inflation kicks up.
  • Including the unorganized sectors, production, employment and investment have not recovered to the pre-pandemic levels. The economy has recouped only a part of the pandemic hit production in 2020-21.
  • Not only is the economy below the pre-pandemic level: if undisturbed by the pandemic, it would have continued to grow at about four percent; thereby in 2021-22, it would have been higher than its level in 2019-20 by more than eight per cent (not the official 1.7 per cent).
  • So, at best, one can say the economy is stagnant. Combined with the accelerating inflation, the implication is that the economy is in stagflation. This has serious implications for the economy and especially for the marginalized sections. For them, a reduction in the rate of inflation is not enough, given their stagnant or declining incomes.
  • It puts policy makers in a fix. If, to control inflation, they try to reduce demand, then the economy slows down. If they try to boost growth, then inflation may rise. The delicate solution lies in eliminating supply bottlenecks without curtailing demand.
  • The RBI raised the cash reserve ratio to reduce liquidity, and raised interest rates to reduce demand. However, these do not address the reasons for rising inflation, which are: supply bottlenecks in India and abroad, the war in Ukraine and consequent shortages, the lockdown in China, the increased pricing power of corporates, closure of units in small and micro sectors in India and increase in global freight charges. Presently, when consumption has not yet recovered and demand is short, an increase in interest rates will only reduce investment, employment and incomes – worsening stagflation.
  • It is for government to address supply bottlenecks, check speculation and reduce indirect taxes to lower inflation. Units that have closed down need to be helped to revive. Direct tax collections have to be increased so that the indirect taxes can be cut without driving up the fiscal deficit in the budget. Specific steps for doing this have been suggested many times recently. The budget needs to be redrawn since expenditures will rise with inflation (through, for instance, the subsidy bill) while revenue buoyancy will decline due to slowdown in the economy.
  • In brief, the economy faces stagflation, to tackle which government, rather than the RBI, needed to act; the steps announced are a start. More needs to be done to eliminate supply bottlenecks without curtailing demand.

THE MISCELLANOUS

6. WHAT IS THE WEST NILE VIRUS, HOW DOES IT SPREAD?

THE CONTEXT: The Kerala health department is on alert after the death of a 47-year-old from Thrissur due to the West Nile Virus. Earlier in 2019, a six-year-old boy in Malappuram district had died of the same infection. The virus was first reported in the state in Alappuzha in 2006 and then in Ernakulam in 2011.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • The West Nile Virus is a mosquito-borne, single-stranded RNA virus. According to the WHO, it is “a member of the flavivirus genus and belongs to the Japanese Encephalitis antigenic complex of the family Flaviviridae”. Culex species of mosquitoes act as the principal vectors for transmission. It is transmitted by infected mosquitoes between and among humans and animals, including birds, which are the reservoir host of the virus.
  • WNV can also spread through blood transfusion, from an infected mother to her child, or through exposure to the virus in laboratories. It is not known to spread by contact with infected humans or animals.
  • According to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it does not spread “through eating infected animals, including birds. Always follow instructions for fully cooking meat”.
  • To date, no human-to-human transmission of WNV through casual contact has been documented, says the WHO.
  • The disease is asymptomatic in 80% of the infected people. The rest develop what is called the West Nile fever or severe West Nile disease. In these 20% cases, the symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, body aches, nausea, rash, and swollen glands.
  • The virus was first isolated in a woman in the West Nile district of Uganda in 1937. It was identified in birds (crows and columbiformes like doves and pigeons) in the Nile delta region in 1953. Before 1997, WNV was not considered pathogenic for birds, but then, a more virulent strain caused the death in Israel of different bird species, presenting signs of encephalitis and paralysis.
  • In 1999, a WMV strain, believed to be one circulating in Israel and Tunisia, reached New York producing a large outbreak that spread across the United States and eventually across the Americas, from Canada to Venezuela.
  • According to the WHO, human infections attributable to WNV have been reported in many countries in the world for over 50 years.
  • WNV outbreak sites are found along major bird migratory routes.
  • Today, the virus is found commonly in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and West Asia.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION FOR 30TH MAY 2022

Q1.Consider the following statements about India’s external trade in 2021-22:

  1. U.S. surpassed China to become India’s top trading partner.
  2. Exports to U.S. from India are higher than exports to China.
  3. Imports from China to India are higher than imports from U.S.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 1 and 2 only

c) 2 and 3 only

d) 1, 2 and 3

ANSWER FOR THE 28th MAY

Answer: A

Explanation:

  • The Sela Pass is the high-altitude mountain pass located in Tawang District. It has an elevation of 4170 m (13,700 ft) connects the Buddhist city of Tawang Town to Tezpur and Guwahati and is the main road connecting Tawang with the rest of India.




Today’s Important Articles for Geography (30-05-2022)

  1. The battle over mining in Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo forest READ MORE
  2. One step too far: Madras High Court ban on forest grazing may hurt on forest dwellers, biodiversity READ MORE
  3. Least Developed Countries want major emitters, G20 to increase climate efforts READ MORE



Today’s Important Articles for Pub Ad (30-05-2022)

  1. Absolution: On need to compensate for unlawful arrests READ MORE
  2. Centre retracts caution on Aadhaar photocopies READ MORE
  3. National Facility for Gene Function in Health & Disease: what it will do, what it has READMORE
  4. NHA launches online public dashboard for Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission READ MORE
  5. FBI report ranks India in top 5 countries with victims of cybercrimes READ MORE
  6. Meghalaya HC directs State to implement SC, NGT orders on illegal rathole coal mining READ MORE



Today’s Important Articles for Sociology (30-05-2022)

  1. Rising Farmer Suicides Leaves Families Adrift as Vidarbha Grapples With Multiple Crises READ MORE
  2. PM releases benefits under PM CARES for Children Scheme READ MORE



Ethics Through Current Developments (30-05-2022)

  1. Power of ethics READ MORE
  2. Tech firms are using human cells to make computer chips. How ethical is it? READ MORE



WSDP Bulletin (30/05/2022)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

  1. Reservation in public employment READMORE
  2. Place of worship ( special provision) act,1991: A shield for Indian secularism READ MORE
  3. The battle over mining in Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo forest READ MORE
  4. What is the West Nile Virus, how does it spread? READ MORE
  5. Deepening strategic commitment READ MORE
  6. Economy facing stagflation READ MORE

GS 1

  1. The battle over mining in Chhattisgarh’s Hasdeo forest READ MORE

GS 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

  1. Absolution: On need to compensate for unlawful arrests READ MORE
  2. Centre retracts caution on Aadhaar photocopies READ MORE
  3. National Facility for Gene Function in Health & Disease: what it will do, what it has READMORE
  4. NHA launches online public dashboard for Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission READ MORE
  5. FBI report ranks India in top 5 countries with victims of cybercrimes READ MORE
  6. Meghalaya HC directs State to implement SC, NGT orders on illegal rathole coal mining READ MORE

SOCIAL JUSTICE

  1. Rising Farmer Suicides Leaves Families Adrift as Vidarbha Grapples With Multiple Crises READ MORE
  2. PM releases benefits under PM CARES for Children Scheme READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

  1. The return of the great power rivalries READ MORE
  2. Deepening strategic commitment READ MORE

GS 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

  1. US surpasses China as India’s biggest trading partner in FY22 at $119.42 bn READ MORE
  2. India, China will soon be ‘economically sick’ after Covid subsides. Here’s how to avoid it READ MORE
  3. RBI to adopt graded approach to introduction of digital currency READ MORE
  4. Economy facing stagflation READ MORE
  5. Ease of doing business has actually meant ease of violations – at the cost of workers’ lives READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

  1. One step too far: Madras High Court ban on forest grazing may hurt on forest dwellers, biodiversity READ MORE
  2. Least Developed Countries want major emitters, G20 to increase climate efforts READ MORE

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

  1. Power of ethics READ MORE
  2. Tech firms are using human cells to make computer chips. How ethical is it? READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

  1. Examine the factors for the high rate of inflation in the Indian economy in the recent months. Suggest measures to keep the inflation within the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s tolerance band.

ESSAY TOPIC

  • The future of multilateralism: towards a responsible globalization

Things to Remember:

  • For prelims-related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
  • Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do map work (marking those areas on maps and exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers, etc. same applies to the national places.)
  • For economy-related news (banking, agriculture, etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related to various economic aspects, for example, if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing price rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates, etc.
  • For main exam-related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occur frequently and are important from the mains point of view will be covered in ED.
  • Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment to your writing.



Day-214 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | INDIAN POLITY

[WpProQuiz 233]




DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS (MAY 28, 2022)

THE SOCIAL ISSUES

1. DROP IN LEARNING OUTCOMES ACROSS GRADES, SUBJECTS, FINDS EDUCATION MINISTRY SURVEY

THE CONTEXT: The National Achievement Survey, conducted in November last year, found that the national average of scores in all subjects evaluated fell from the last iteration of the survey in 2017, and that learning outcomes get progressively worse in higher grades.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • The performances of students in schools from across the country have suffered in the five years since 2017, a survey by the Ministry of Education has found.
  • The National Achievement Survey (NAS) was conducted by the Ministry in November last year and covered 34 lakh students from 1.18 lakh schools in 720 districts across states and Union Territories (UTs) in the country.
  • The survey tested students from classes 3, 5, 8 and 10 and covered a variety of subjects, from math to environmental and social science, with the specific concepts tested being tweaked for students from each grade.
  • Importantly, a dip in educational outcomes was observed across grades and subjects with national average scores dropping by nine percentage points since the last time the survey was conducted, in 2017. Moreover, all but two states – Punjab and Haryana – saw poorer outcomes than in the last survey, the Indian Express reported.
  • “The objective of NAS 2021 is to evaluate children’s progress and learning competencies as an indicator of the efficiency of the education system, so as to take appropriate steps for remedial actions at different levels,” the newspaper quoted an official Ministry statement as saying.

 COVID and the digital divide

  • A major driver of disruption in the education sector was the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020. Not only were learning outcomes in general disturbed by lock downs and school closures, but the migration to the online mode of learning deepened the existing digital divide among students from different socio-economic backgrounds.
  • The NAS, 2021 found that 24% of students surveyed did not have access to digital devices in their homes and 38% claimed that they had difficulty carrying out learning activities at home during the pandemic.
  • Importantly, a whopping 80% of students said that they learnt better at school, where they could solicit the help of their peers.

THE POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

2. DIGITIZATION WILL ENSURE SPEEDY, EFFICIENT DELIVERY OF JUSTICE

THE CONTEXT: Digitization of court records, e-filing of cases and their virtual hearing, live streaming of court proceedings are particularly important.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • The Indian judiciary has increasingly started using technology and the change is reflected in the legal profession in general as well. Some significant developments had taken place before the Covid –19 crisis in 2020, with the digitization of judicial records and establishing of e-courts. Hence, it is imperative that the use of digital technology be discussed to better utilize its potential, particularly in terms of digitization of court records, e-filing of cases and their virtual hearing, live streaming of court proceedings.
  • In India, e-governance in the field of administration of justice began in the late 1990s, but it accelerated after the enactment of the Information and Technology Act, 2000. As the 21st century began, the focus was on digitizing the court’s records and establishing e- courts across the country. In the year of 2006, e-courts were launched as a part of the National e-Governance Plan (NEGP).
  • The time consumed in summoning records from the lower courts to the appellate courts is one of the major factors causing delays in cases. With digitization, it will take much less time for the lower courts to transmit the records as and when called for. It has also been observed that cases are adjourned simply because affidavits filed several years ago were not restored with the record or were not traceable.
  • Once the documents are digitized and e-filed by counsels, at least the cases would not get adjourned by the courts on this account.
  • Before the pandemic, virtual hearings were used only in a limited manner; for example, in criminal cases where it was not possible to produce the accused physically before the court or while extending the remand of the accused. Not every case can be disposed of virtually, however.
  • Cases related to matrimonial issues and domestic violence, bounced cheques, motor accident compensation referred to mediation centres and lokadalats could be included in the list of cases fit for disposal through the virtual hearing.
  • Internet connectivity issues and the need for a well-equipped space where lawyers can conduct their cases are some of the major problems requiring attention. Political will and the support of judges and lawyers are also necessary. Judges, court staff and lawyers are not well-versed with digital technology and its benefits. The need of the hour is for them to be made aware of these and receive adequate training.
  • Virtual hearings cannot be a substitute for physical court hearings in all cases. However, in appropriate cases and certain categories of cases as identified by the court administration in consultation with the members of the Bar, virtual hearing should be made mandatory.

3. WHAT ARE COMMUNITY FOREST RIGHTS, WHY DO THEY MATTER?

THE CONTEXT: The Chhattisgarh government has become only the second state in the country to recognize Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights of a village inside a national park. The CFR rights of tribals living in Gudiyapadar, a hamlet inside the Kanger Ghati National Park in Bastar district.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • The community forest resource area is the common forest land that has been traditionally protected and conserved for sustainable use by a particular community. The community uses it to access resources available within the traditional and customary boundary of the village, and for seasonal use of landscape in case of pastoralist communities.
  • Each CFR area has a customary boundary with identifiable landmarks recognized by the community and its neighboring villages. It may include forest of any category – revenue forest, classified & unclassified forest, deemed forest, DLC land, reserve forest, protected forest, sanctuary, and national parks etc.
  • The Community Forest Resource rights under Section 3(1)(i) of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (commonly referred to as the Forest Rights Act or the FRA) provide for recognition of the right to “protect, regenerate or conserve or manage” the community forest resource.
  • These rights allow the community to formulate rules for forest use by itself and others and thereby discharge its responsibilities under Section 5 of the FRA.
  • CFR rights, along with Community Rights (CRs) under Sections 3(1)(b) and 3(1)(c), which include nistar rights and rights over non-timber forest products, ensure sustainable livelihoods of the community.
  • These rights give the authority to the Gram Sabha to adopt local traditional practices of forest conservation and management within the community forest resource boundary.
  • Aimed at undoing the “historic injustice” meted out to forest-dependent communities due to curtailment of their customary rights over forests, the FRA came into force in 2008.
  • It is important as it recognises the community’s right to use, manage and conserve forest resources, and to legally hold forest land that these communities have used for cultivation and residence.
  • It also underlines the integral role that forest dwellers play in sustainability of forests and in conservation of biodiversity.
  • It is of greater significance inside protected forests like national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves as traditional dwellers then become a part of management of the protected forests using their traditional wisdom.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

4. THE WHAT, HOW AND WHY OF THE INDO-PACIFIC ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK

THE CONTEXT: On May 23, US President Joe Biden officially launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) in Tokyo. Conceived and led by the United States, the IPEF has 13 founding members, including Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • During the East Asia Summit in October 2021, President Biden announced plans to launch a US-led IPEF. Subsequently, US officials conducted exploratory discussions with their traditional allies in the region. In February 2022, an Indo-Pacific strategy was revealed, which mentioned the formal launch of the IPEF in early 2022.
  • Not surprisingly, the United States has not invited China to join the IPEF despite China belonging to the Indo-Pacific region and holding significant regional economic influence. China has also not shown any interest in joining this framework, interpreting Indo-Pacific initiatives as a US-led containment strategy directed against it. Although Taiwan is eager to join the IPEF, the US would only pursue a bilateral engagement with it. Three ASEAN countries (Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar) are also not part of the IPEF.
  • With the shift of the centre of gravity from the Atlantic to Asia, the new concept of the ‘Indo-Pacific’ has entered the geopolitical discourse, replacing the hitherto dominant ‘Asia-Pacific’ construct, even though its geographic boundaries are not well defined.
  • Based on maritime geography, the Indo-Pacific refers to a contiguous zone encompassing the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The geographic boundaries of the Indo-Pacific could stretch from East Africa to the west coast of the US and encompass a large number of countries at varying stages of development, with distinct policy agendas and divergent interests.
  • Bringing together highly heterogeneous countries with high-standard commitments on the digital economy, green infrastructure, clean energy, and social and environmental standards under the rubric of IPEF is a herculean effort.
  • The term ‘Indo-Pacific’ started to be discussed in strategic circles about a decade ago, but has rapidly gained importance in recent years. The economic rise of India and the massive increase in maritime trade passing through the Indian Ocean have helped make the Indo-Pacific a geopolitical and geo economic construct. Currently, the Indo-Pacific is the most contested maritime zone in the world because of the growing strategic rivalry between the US and China and the security interests of other key players in the region.
  • In the economic realm, the Indo-Pacific is one of the world’s most dynamic regions. The region accounts for more than 60% of the global GDP, and almost 50% of the global merchandise trade passes through its waters.
  • The region includes the world’s four big economies: the USA, China, Japan, and India. With the engine of global economic growth shifting eastwards, the Indo-Pacific region will gain greater importance in coming years.
  • Since the launch of the “Pivot to Asia” strategy (the re balancing towards Asia-Pacific) by the Obama administration in 2011, the US has intensified its engagement with the wider Asia-Pacific region to advance its economic and geopolitical interests. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was the centre piece of Obama’s strategic pivot to Asia and the Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor was also part of this strategy.
  • In their foreign policy calculations, successive US administrations have given greater prominence to the Indo-Pacific region, pushing to connect the Indian and Pacific Oceans as a single maritime entity, which also enables India to play a more proactive role in the region.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

5. INDIA LIKELY TO GET ITS FIRST SEMI-HIGH SPEED FREIGHT TRAIN BY THIS DECEMBER

THE CONTEXT: To tap the growing freight sector, the Railways is aiming to introduce the country’s first semi-high speed freight train by December 2022.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • Based on the Vande Bharat platform, the 16-coach ‘Gati Shakti’ train will be able to run at 160 km/hour and will be manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai.
  • With these trains, the Railways plans to target the e-commerce and courier parcel segment. Quoting data from IBEF, an ICF official added that with the turnover of $50 billion in 2020, India had become the 8th largest market for e-commerce.
  • “India’s ecommerce market is expected to reach $111 billion by 2024 and $200 billion by 2026 and expected to reach $350 billion by 2030,” the official said, adding that the Railways planned to capture the small size parcel shipments by running dedicated high speed freight trains.
  • Additionally, each train would have two refrigerated wagons — the first and last cars, to ferry perishable items such as fruits and vegetables.
  • The Railways is aiming to increase its share in freight transportation from the present 27% to 45% by 2030 through better infrastructure and business development plans, according to the National Rail Plan.

THE MISCELLANEOUS

6. NEW ARUNACHAL MONKEY NAMED AFTER SELA PASS

THE CONTEXT:A new species of old-world monkey recorded from Arunachal Pradesh has been named after a strategic mountain pass at 13,700 ft above sea level.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • Sela macaque (Macacaselai), the new-to-science primate was identified and analysed by a team of experts from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and the University of Calcutta. Their study has been published in the latest edition of Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
  • Phylogenetics relate to the evolutionary development and diversification of a species or group of organisms.
  • The phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Sela macaque was geographically separated from the Arunachal macaque (Macaca munzala) of Tawang district by Sela.
  • This mountain pass acted as a barrier by restricting the migration of individuals of these two species for approximately two million years.
  • Sela is situated between Dirang and Tawang towns in western Arunachal Pradesh.
  • The new macaque species in western and central Arunachal Pradesh while exploring the Arunachal macaque’s wild population for genetic insights. It was found to be genetically different from the other species of monkeys reported from this region,” ZSI’s Mukesh Thakur.

Major cause for crop loss

  • The study describes the Sela macaque as genetically closer to the Arunachal macaque. The two have some similar physical characteristics such as heavy-build shape and long dorsal body hair. Both species have troops that either avoid proximity to humans or are used to human presence.
  • The zoologists identified some distinct morphological traits to differentiate the two species. While the Sela macaque has a pale face and brown coat, the Arunachal macaque has a dark face and dark brown coat.
  • According to the villagers, the Sela macaque is a major cause of crop loss in the West Kameng district of the State.
  • The study says the Sela macaque has a tail longer than the Tibetan macaque, Assamese macaque, Arunachal macaque and the white-cheeked macaque but shorter than the bonnet macaque and toque macaque.
  • Sela macaque belongs to the sinica species-group of Macaca, but it differs from all other members of this group through attributes such as brown collar hair and muzzle, thick brown hair around the neck and the absence of chin whiskers.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION FOR 28TH MAY 2022

Q1. Sela pass, sometimes seen in news, is located in

a) Arunachal Pradesh

b) Himachal Pradesh

c) Jammu & Kashmir

d) Sikkim

ANSWER FOR THE 27th MAY

Answer: C

Explanation:

The Emissions Gap Report 2021 shows that new national climate pledges combined with other mitigation measures put the world on track for a global temperature rise of 2.7°C by the end of the century. That is well above the goals of the Paris climate agreement and would lead to catastrophic changes in the Earth’s climate. To keep global warming below 1.5°C this century, the aspirational goal of the Paris Agreement, the world needs to halve annual greenhouse gas emissions in the next eight years. It is published by the United Nations Environment Programme.




Ethics Through Current Developments (28-05-2022)

  1. Nurture your sattvic traits to shine brightly READ MORE
  2. Ethical AI – a challenge for security applications? READ MORE



Today’s Important Articles for Sociology (28-05-2022)

  1. Sex workers from Sonagachi call SC verdict ‘step towards life of dignity’ READ MORE
  2. Drop in Learning Outcomes Across Grades, Subjects, Finds Education Ministry Survey READ MORE



Today’s Important Articles for Pub Ad (28-05-2022)

  1. Digitisation will ensure speedy, efficient delivery of justice READ MORE
  2. Does the CDS Appointment Delay Indicate Bigger Problems? READ MORE
  3. How to solve crimes better READMORE
  4. What are community forest rights, why do they matter? READ MORE



Today’s Important Articles for Geography (28-05-2022)

  1. India Asks Power Producers to Seek Weekly Payments to Manage Pricey Coal Imports READ MORE
  2. This paddy cultivation technique is Punjab govt’s answer to ‘save water, avoid crisis’ READ MORE
  3. Green roofs can boost energy efficiency and benefit the environmentREAD MORE



WSDP Bulletin (28/05/2022)

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

  1. The What, How and Why of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework READ MORE
  2. India likely to get its first semi-high speed freight train by this December READMORE
  3. New Arunachal monkey named after Sela pass READ MORE
  4. What are community forest rights, why do they matter? READ MORE
  5. Government sets target to achieve 100 MT coal gasification by 2030 READ MORE

GS 1

  1. India Asks Power Producers to Seek Weekly Payments to Manage Pricey Coal Imports READ MORE
  2. This paddy cultivation technique is Punjab govt’s answer to ‘save water, avoid crisis’ READ MORE

GS 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

  1. Digitisation will ensure speedy, efficient delivery of justice READ MORE
  2. Does the CDS Appointment Delay Indicate Bigger Problems? READ MORE
  3. How to solve crimes better READMORE
  4. What are community forest rights, why do they matter? READ MORE

SOCIAL JUSTICE

  1. Sex workers from Sonagachi call SC verdict ‘step towards life of dignity’ READ MORE
  2. Drop in Learning Outcomes Across Grades, Subjects, Finds Education Ministry Survey READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

  1. The What, How and Why of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework READ MORE
  2. Cuba seeks improved bilateral economic ties with India READ MORE
  3. UAE, India discuss economic opportunities of energy transition READ MORE

GS 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

  1. Government sets target to achieve 100 MT coal gasification by 2030 READ MORE
  2. RBI pitches for structural reforms; flags inflationary pressure READ MORE
  3. Snapshot of industry in ‘normal’ year that preceded the Covid pandemic READ MORE
  4. Government sets target to achieve 100 MT coal gasification by 2030 READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

  1. Green roofs can boost energy efficiency and benefit the environment READ MORE

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

  1. Nurture your sattvic traits to shine brightly READ MORE
  2. Ethical AI – a challenge for security applications? READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

  1. Write a note on coal gasification and liquefaction. Discuss their significance.

ESSAY TOPIC

  • Use of technology in the agriculture sector
  • How India will balance between Growth and the Environment

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

  • It is imperative to understand the main reasons behind Ambedkar’s active interest in economic and labour rights. First, he strongly argued for simultaneously addressing substantive questions of political, social, and economic democracy because they are intertwined with each other in a way that leaving out one will jeopardise the progress made in another. Second, he was as much a believer in economic justice as in social justice.
  • Coal gasification is the future. It is considered a cleaner option compared to the burning of coal. Gasification facilitates utilization of the chemical properties of coal.
  • India’s hydrogen demand is likely to increase to 11.7 million tonnes by 2030 from 6.7 million tonnes per year as of now. “Refineries and fertiliser plants are the largest consumers of hydrogen now, which is being produced from natural gas. It can be produced through coal in the processes during coal gasification
  • The Indian judiciary has increasingly started using technology and the change is reflected in the legal profession in general as well. Some significant developments had taken place before the Covid –19 crisis in 2020, with the digitisation of judicial records and establishing of e-courts. Hence, it is imperative that the use of digital technology be discussed to better utilise its potential, particularly in terms of digitisation of court records, e-filing of cases and their virtual hearing, live streaming of court proceedings.

50-WORD TALK

Like thousands of innocents implicated in specious police cases every year, Aryan Khan has suffered punishment for a crime he didn’t commit. The Narcotics Control Bureau’s decision to drop charges doesn’t excuse its egregious misconduct in pursuing a case unsupported by evidence. Those responsible must be punished, and victims compensated.

Things to Remember:

  • For prelims-related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
  • Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do map work (marking those areas on maps and exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers, etc. same applies to the national places.)
  • For economy-related news (banking, agriculture, etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related to various economic aspects, for example, if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing price rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates, etc.
  • For main exam-related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occur frequently and are important from the mains point of view will be covered in ED.
  • Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment to your writing.



DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS (MAY 27,2022)

THE SOCIAL ISSUES

1. DISCRIMINATION AGAINST LGBTQI+ PERSONS HAS ECONOMIC COST, SAYS ILO REPORT

THE CONTEXT: Acknowledging that multiple and intersecting layers of discrimination aggravate work experiences for LGBTIQ+ persons, the International Labour Organization has issued a ‘learning guide’ for creating inclusive workplaces.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • In spite of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognising that discrimination constitutes violation of human rights, only 29 countries legally recognise marriage equality, while 34 provide some same-sex partnership recognition.
  • In India, same-sex marriage is not recognised. Nationalist Congress Party MP Supriya Sule in April this year introduced a private member’s Bill in the Lok Sabha to legalisesame-sex marriage, and provide the same marital rights to LGBTQIA+ couples that heterosexual people are entitled to.
  • In the same month, the Allahabad high court rejected a plea by two women to recognise their marriage on the argument that such a union was not opposed by the Hindu Marriage Act.
  • The report also navigates absence of LGBTIQ+ persons in the formulation of diversity and inclusion strategies in workplaces.
  • For this report, ILO’s research primarily focuses on Argentina, Costa Rica, France, Indonesia, South Africa and Thailand but sheds light on global trends of harassment, violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics.
  • It also focuses on India, in a key sub-head on how discrimination against LGBTIQ+ persons has an economic cost.
  • In 2014, a World Bank model highlighted that an economy of India’s size could lose up to $32 billion per year or 1.7% of that country’s gross domestic product (GDP) over social exclusion of LGBTIQ+ persons.
  • There is a correlation between workplace bullying and poor physical and mental health, including depression, low self-esteem and suicidal thoughts, the report says.
  • Such discrimination results in lost labour time, lost productivity, under investment in human capital and the inefficient allocation of human resources. The decreased investment in human capital and sub optimal use of human resources also results in lower output at the broader economy level.
  • Unsurprisingly, the report notes that persistent violence and harassment leads to poor work performance and attendance. Concealment of sexual orientation or gender identity due to fear of discriminatory treatment and violence can lead to considerable anxiety and loss of productivity.
  • This leads to many excluding themselves from the formal economy altogether and isolating themselves, the report finds.
  • “Developing human capital is a smart investment. Investing in networking and learning opportunities for LGBTIQ+ workers can contribute to finding the right people, help companies better utilise talent and build the social capital of marginalized individuals,” the ILO says.
  • The report calls on governments to review national policy and labour law to assess a country’s work policy environment for LGBTIQ+ persons.
  • This will allow the identification of concrete steps for improving the legal and policy environment, ending discrimination and exclusions, and complying with international instruments.Equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace make good business sense.
  • Collaboration based on social dialogue, including with LGBTIQ+ workers and their representatives, and tripartite action by governments and employers’ and workers’ organisations are critical to ensuring an all-inclusive world of work, the ILO finds.
  • In addition, social dialogue with LGBTIQ+ communities will allow the identification of barriers faced by community members entering the labour market and accessing government schemes.
  • The report highlights how governments can work with diverse partners such as small and medium industry associations, sectoral unions and informal economy workers’ associations to monitor discrimination in the informal economy.

THE POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

2. APP-BASED ATTENDANCE HITS RURAL JOBS SCHEME WORKERS

THE CONTEXT: The Union government has made capturing of attendance through its app, National Mobile Monitoring System, compulsory at worksites where 20 or more workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) are employed. This move comes despite many problems, including patchy Internet connectivity in rural areas and little or no technical support.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • The Ministry of Rural Development had started the exercise on a pilot basis on May 21 last year. Initially, the utilization of application was to be voluntary but from May 16 this year, it has been made mandatory. The Ministry’s directive claims that the app, which requires two time-stamped and geo tagged photographs of the workers in a day, encourages transparency and increases citizen oversight.
  • The biggest setback after the move has been for women employees, especially the supervisors or “work mates”. In a majority of cases, the employees’ families are averse to giving phones to women, especially smartphones. Hence, many women have dropped out.
  • We had mobilised close to 15,000 women to work at these sites but the mandatory capturing of attendance through the app has led to their exclusion from the process. A majority of them do not have phones and they have to depend on their husbands or other men in their families. So essentially, we are on the reverse gear.
  • In the last one year, the Union government has resolved some critical issues. As per the MGNREGA Act, the workers can do time-bound work or task-based work. The initial guidelines required uploading of geotagged and time-stamped photographs of the workers at about 11 a.m. and another one after 2 p.m. For task-based work, the workers had to stay back post 2 p.m. even if they had completed their work in order to take the photograph to be eligible for the wages. This requirement has now been suitably amended.
  • There are other pitfalls that remain, primarily relating to technical glitches and minimal technical support.
  • The supervisors of the worksites are expected to have a smartphone with Internet connection. According to officials from various States, there have been complaints from the mates that they are not given added incentives to pay for the smartphones or Internet connections.
  • There is very little technical support provided. “Nobody at the village or even at the block level has any clear solution to offer in case the app doesn’t work or fails to upload a photograph. When we ask for help, the only thing they tell us to delete and reload the app

3. OVER 90 MILLION EXCLUDED FROM PDS ENTITLEMENT: REPORT

THE CONTEXT: More than 90 million eligible people have been excluded from legal entitlements under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TDPS), India’s tool to combat food insecurity, claimed a new report.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • The Census of India 2011 remains the source of data for arriving at the number of people to be covered by the scheme. As a consequence, subsequent years have seen the exclusion of a large chunk of the population. This in-built fallacy in the legal framework led to exclusion of at least 12 per cent of population from the legal entitlements in the most legitimised way, the report claimed.
  • The Union government is yet to start the Census process that was supposed to be over last year.
  • The citizen’s report published by Wada Na Todo Abhiyan (WNTA) — that loosely translates to Keep the Promise Campaign — read:
  • “Targetism, as the basis for provision of entitlements under TPDS, has always dampened the potential impact of the scheme. Despite being one of the most important schemes for addressing food insecurity in the country, complications pertaining to identification of beneficiaries continue to affect the efficacy of the whole scheme.”
  • WNTA, started in 2005 by civil society organisations, tracks delivery by governments on promises and commitments.
  • Most states have adopted both inclusion and exclusion criteria to identify priority households for TPDS under the National Food Security Act, 2013. Yet many do not automatically pass on TDPS benefits single women, socially vulnerable groups, transgenders, persons with disabilities and those chronically.
  • States like Rajasthan, Sikkim, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh did not include any of these population groups in their respective automatic inclusion criteria. Most of the states did not include SCs and STs automatically, the report said.
  • The National Human Rights Commission in May 2021 issued notices to the Centre, states and Union territories to ensure that nobodu eligible was deprived of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana —meant to provide free foodgrains to poor households during the COVID-19 pandemic — is deprived of the Right to Food due to problems regarding biometric authentication.
  • The WNTA report quoted a recent study by Dalberg Advisors and Kantar Public, with technical support from NITI Aayog, which found some three million children have grown weaker since the pandemic.
  • Findings from the Fifth round of National Family Health Survey also revealed that 89 per cent of children between the formative ages of 6-23 months do not receive a “minimum acceptable diet’’.
  • Also, increasing number of people across all population groups, including children below five years, adolescent girls and boys, and pregnant women, is being affected by anaemia. At least 67 per cent children (6-59 months) have anaemia as compared to 58.6 per cent in the last survey conducted in 2015-16. Among adults, 57 per cent of women and 25 percent of men (in the 15-49 group) have anaemia. Among women, its prevalence has increased from 53 percent in 2015-16 to 57 per cent in 2019-21. In men, it has increased from 23 per cent to 25 per cent.
  • The Promises and Reality report also goes on to highlight that most of the state food commissions suffer financial autonomy and the state governments have not gone beyond designating District Grievance Redressal Officers (DGRO) and forming vigilance committees.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

4. SECURITY IN FRIENDSHIP: ON TOKYO QUAD SUMMIT

THE CONTEXT: The recent summit meeting of the leaders of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, could not have come at a more critical juncture in world politics.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • Between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that has destabilised accepted norms on respecting territorial sovereignty; its knock-on effects on commodity and input prices, fuelling inflationary pressures and impacting global supply chains; and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that spotlighted deficiencies in public health infrastructure, the leaders of India, the United States, Australia and Japan are likely to have had a full and multidimensional policy agenda in Tokyo.
  • For the leaders the obvious, if not always explicitly stated theme linking several global issues is the China factor and the unique strategic challenges that that country poses to the rules-based international order.
  • While U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida were blunt in their condemnation of Russia’s belligerence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and newly elected Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese avoided any direct reference to Moscow, as indeed did the summit’s joint statement.
  • On China, however, the four nations were on the same page, and the Quad joint statement called for continued cooperation towards maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific; championing adherence to international law as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and in maintaining freedom of navigation and overflight; and meeting challenges to the maritime rules-based order, including in the East and South China Seas.
  • The Quad leaders affirmed the Dialogue’s two core messages. First, they will continue to strongly oppose coercive, provocative, and unilateral actions by Beijing that seek to change the status quo and heighten tensions across the region, including through manoeuvres such as the militarization of disputed territories, the dangerous use of coast guard vessels and maritime militia, and clandestine attempts to disrupt other nations’ offshore resource exploitation activities. To this end, military coordination between the Dialogue members will continue to provide strategic depth to the mission, including notably the annual Malabar exercise.
  • The second message seeks to leverage Dialogue member resources in vaccine delivery, climate action, supply chain resilience, disaster response, cyber security infrastructure, and economic cooperation. Even though Beijing may consider the Quad to be an “Asian NATO”, the Dialogue can be about much more than a strategic push back on China’s hegemonic intentions.
  • At a time when the liberal consensus on globalization has anyway run its course and across the Indo-Pacific, there is, post-pandemic, a strong appetite for deepening regional cooperation for trade and investment. In this context, the Quad is in pole position to shape economic alliances and regional security architecture towards a new world order based on national interest and realpolitik.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

5. GREEN HYDROGEN: FUEL OF THE FUTURE?

THE CONTEXT: At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a few days ago, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said India will emerge as the leader of green hydrogen by taking advantage of the current energy crisis across the globe. His assertion came almost a month after Oil India Limited (OIL) commissioned India’s first 99.99% pure green hydrogen plant in eastern Assam’s Jorhat.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • A colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic and highly combustible gaseous substance, hydrogen is the lightest, simplest and most abundant member of the family of chemical elements in the universe. But a colour — green — prefixed to it makes hydrogen the “fuel of the future”. The ‘green’ depends on how the electricity is generated to obtain the hydrogen, which does not emit greenhouse gas when burned.
  • Green hydrogen is produced through electrolysis using renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind or hydel power.
  • Hydrogen can be ‘grey’ and ‘blue’ too. Grey hydrogen is generated through fossil fuels such as coal and gas and currently accounts for 95% of the total production in South Asia. Blue hydrogen, too, is produced using electricity generated by burning fossil fuels but with technologies to prevent the carbon released in the process from entering the atmosphere.
  • Under the Paris Agreement (a legally binding international treaty on climate change with the goal of limiting global warming to below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels) of 2015, India is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 33-35% from the 2005 levels. At the 2021 Conference of Parties in Glasgow, India reiterated its commitment to move from a fossil and import-dependent economy to a net-zero economy by 2070.
  • India’s average annual energy import bill is more than $100 billion and the increased consumption of fossil fuel has made the country a high carbon dioxide (CO2) emitter, accounting for nearly 7% of the global CO2 burden. In order to become energy independent by 2047, the government stressed the need to introduce green hydrogen as an alternative fuel that can make India the global hub and a major exporter of hydrogen.
  • The National Hydrogen Mission was launched on August 15, 2021, with a view to cutting down carbon emissions and increasing the use of renewable sources of energy.
  • India has just begun to generate green hydrogen with the objective of raising non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030.
  • It was on April 20, 2022 that the public sector OIL, which is headquartered in eastern Assam’s Duliajan, set up India’s first 99.99% pure green hydrogen pilot plant in keeping with the goal of “making the country ready for the pilot-scale production of hydrogen and its use in various applications” while “research and development efforts are ongoing for a reduction in the cost of production, storage and the transportation” of hydrogen.
  • The plant was set up at the petroleum exploration major’s Jorhat pump station, also in eastern Assam.
  • Powered by a 500 KW solar plant, the green hydrogen unit has an installed capacity to produce 10 kg of hydrogen per day and scale it up to 30 kg per day.
  • A specialized blender has also been installed for blending green hydrogen produced from the unit with the natural gas supplied by the Assam Gas Corporation Limited and supplying the blended gas to the Jorhat area for domestic and industrial use.
  • OIL has engaged experts from the Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati to assess the impact of the blended gas on the existing facility.
  • The intermittent nature of renewable energy, especially wind, leads to grid instability. Green hydrogen can be stored for long periods of time. The stored hydrogen can be used to produce electricity using fuel cells. In a fuel cell, a device that converts the energy of a chemical into electricity, hydrogen gas reacts with oxygen to produce electricity and water vapour. Hydrogen, thus, can act as an energy storage device and contribute to grid stability.
  • Experts say the oxygen, produced as a by-product (8 kg of oxygen is produced per 1 kg of hydrogen), can also be monetized by using it for industrial and medical applications or for enriching the environment. The possibilities of hydrogen have made many countries pledge investments with Portugal having unveiled a national hydrogen strategy worth $7.7 billion in May.
  • Renewable developers see green hydrogen as an emerging market and some have targeted the transport sector, although electric vehicles have begun to catch the imagination of consumers today.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

6. INDIA’S GDP TO TAKE A BIG HIT DUE TO PANDEMIC-LINKED LEARNING LOSSES FOR STUDENTS: ADB STUDY

THE CONTEXT: The gross domestic product (GDP) of India, which is among the countries with the longest school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, would see the highest decline in South Asia due to learning losses for the young, a new working paper published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has reckoned.

THE EXPLANATION:

  • Starting with a $10.5 billion dent in 2023, the country’s economy could take a nearly $99 billion hit by 2030, translating into a 3.19% reduction in GDP from the baseline growth trends, according to the paper on ‘Potential Economic Impact of COVID-19 related School Closures’.
  • India may thus account for over 10% of the global GDP decline of $943 billion estimated by the ADB on account of earning losses in 2030, with jobs for skilled labour expected to decline by 1%, and unskilled labour by 2% that year.
  • India has notable enrollment in secondary education and among students in rural areas. Pandemic-induced school closures have also been more extensive there.
  • Economies with a significant population of schoolchildren and college-going youth in rural areas and in the poorest and second wealth quintile — have been worst-hit as they lack access to stable Internet connection needed to study online.
  • Learning and earning losses are significant because a notable portion of the impacted population will migrate to the unskilled labour force, the paper said. A large part of India’s work force is constituted by unskilled labour — 408.4 million as per the ADB paper’s estimates, compared to 72.65 million skilled workers.
  • In terms of absolute change, India experiences the highest GDP decline in South Asia, at about $98.84 billion in 2030. In percentage terms, its GDP decreases by 0.34% in 2023, 1.36% in 2026, and 3.19% in 2030.
  • School closures lead to declines in global GDP and employment. Moreover, the losses in global GDP and employment increase over time. Declines in global GDP amount to 0.19% in 2024, 0.64% in 2028, and 1.11% in 2030.
  • India has the highest number of children enrolled in primary and secondary education among the Asian economies covered in the paper, at 255.74 million. The number of students in tertiary education were second only to China at 36.39 million, as per January 2022 data used for the research.
  • While mooting greater investments in education and skills with a focus on narrowing the digital divide, the paper’s authors have said the most immediate challenge for governments is to help students recover “lost opportunities” by conducting assessments among impacted children.
  • It is important to identify the learning gap and specific learning needs of individuals. Effective learning programs should be devised to offer appropriate support such as tutoring or special classes and help them to bridge the learning gap.
  • Governments need to direct adequate funding and resources to young populations most affected by closures, such as those from the poor, rural and socially disadvantaged groups. It is important to keep school-age children in education as much as possible by providing financial support and incentives, while giving additional support for skills training to youth already out of school.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION FOR 27TH MAY 2022

Q1. Which among the following institution releases the Emission gap report?

  1. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
  2. The Global Green Growth Institute
  3. United Nations Environment Programme
  4. Global Alliance on Health and Pollution

ANSWER FOR THE 26th MAY

Answer: A

Explanation:

  • Statement 1 is correct: The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) is a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change constituted under enabling provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as amended in 2006, for strengthening tiger conservation, as per powers and functions assigned to it under the said Act.
  • NTCA has been fulfilling its mandate within the ambit of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 for strengthening tiger conservation in the country by retaining an oversight through advisories/normative guidelines, based on appraisal of tiger status, ongoing conservation initiatives and recommendations of specially constituted Committees.
  • The ‘Project Tiger’ is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, providing funding support to tiger range States for in-situ conservation of tigers in designated tiger reserves, and has put the endangered tiger on an assured path of recovery by saving it from extinction, as revealed by the recent findings of the All India tiger estimation using the refined methodology.
  • Statement 2 is incorrect: The Minister for Environment & Forests is the current Chairperson of the National Tiger Conservation Authority.



Today’s Important Articles for Geography (27-05-2022)

  1. How SRI method of sowing paddy saves 15-20% water, gives better yield READ MORE
  2. Icebergs and fog: These unconventional sources can help beat global water scarcityREAD MORE
  1. How India’s power crisis is self-made & why we could face another crunch during the monsoon READ MORE



Today’s Important Articles for Pub Ad (27-05-2022)

  1. DTE Investigation: CPCB failed to recover fines from Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Reliance, Adani in last 30 years READ MORE
  2. Police Reform via New Legislation Should Not Dilute State Role READ MORE
  3. App-based attendance hits rural jobs scheme workers READMORE
  4. Sighting the finishing line in measles-rubella elimination Read More
  5. Countries agree to sustainably finance WHO amid COVID-19 pandemic READ MORE