Print

THE INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. THE PRACTICE OF TALAQ-E-HASAN NOT SO IMPROPER: SUPREME COURT

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the Supreme Court said it was of the prima facie view that the practice of talaq-e-hasan followed by Muslim men for divorce by saying ‘talaq’ to the wife once a month for three months, is “not so improper”.
THE EXPLANATION:
What is Talaq-e-Hasan?
Talaq-e-Hasan is a type of extra-judicial divorce mentioned under Islam that only men can practice. In this, a man can divorce his wife by saying the word “Talaq” in three instalments over three months.
• It is revocable form of divorce. Extra-judicial divorce forms are approved by prophet Mohammad and are valid under all schools of Muslim law.
• The husband has to make sure that the wife is not menstruating when he’ll be pronouncing ‘Talaq’.
• There need to be a gap of one month between all three pronouncements.
• These three months are also known as a period of abstinence.
• The duration for this ‘Iddat period is 90 days or three menstrual cycles or three lunar months.
• In case, the couple starts cohabitation during the abstinence period, the divorce will be revoked.
• The idea behind this period of abstinence is that the evil of divorce doesn’t become final at once.
Though Triple Talaq Is Banned In 2019, Why Is It Challenged?
• In a landmark Shayara Bano v Union of India judgment in 2017, the Supreme Court declared Talaq-e-Biddat unconstitutional. It was a form of extra-judicial divorce when a man pronounces ‘talaq’ thrice in just one sitting and marriage between the two parties gets dissolved.
• Triple talaq was declared unconstitutional by a five-judge bench on grounds of being arbitrary and against the Quran. These are two different forms of divorce and therefore need to be challenged separately.
Will Banning Talaq-e-Hasan Deprive Men of Their Rights?
• Article 25 of the Indian Constitution allows every citizen the freedom to profess, practice and propagate religion. All personal laws, including the Muslim Personal Laws (Shariat) Application Act of 1937, draw their powers from Article 25. Islamic personal laws have recognised extra-judicial divorce procedures and therefore, Shariat Act allows extra-judicial divorce proceedings legally.
• As Muslim women also have the right to practice extra-judicial divorce, a challenge to the constitutional validity of a man’s right to pronounce extra-judicial divorce on his wife is violative of Article 14 and Article 15 becomes questionable.

VALUE ADDITION:

Talaq- e- Ahsan form: Under this form, once the husband pronounces talaq, there has to be a three-month iddat period to factor in three menstrual cycles of the woman. This time is meant for reconciliation and arbitration. During this period, if any kind cohabitation occurs, the talaq is considered to have been revoked.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

2. IRAN’S RESPONSE IN NUCLEAR DEAL TALKS

THE CONTEXT: Iran recently submitted a “written response” to final roadmap of restoring its torn nuclear deal with world powers. The country would not go with the proposal mediated by European Union.
THE EXPLANATION:
• Iran and United States have differences on three issues. Though, United States noted verbal flexibility in two issues. But Iran demands to include it in written.
• The third issue is “to guarantee the continuation of Nuclear Deal”. This issue depends on realism of the United States.
• On the other side, EU is the negotiator in the indirect talks, because Iran did not agree to negotiate with America directly. This is because, former US President Donald Trump had withdrawn the U.S. from Nuclear Deal in 2018.
Uranium enrichment in Iran:
• As per latest report, Iran has accumulated around 3,800 kilograms of enriched uranium. Under the nuclear deal, Iran can enrich uranium to 3.67% purity and accumulate 300 kilograms of uranium, under the scrutiny of international inspectors and surveillance cameras. But now Iran enriches Uranium with up to 60% purity. It has also turned off the surveillance cameras and seized other footage.
Iran Nuclear Deal:
• This deal is also known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. It is an agreement on Iranian nuclear program. It was signed on July 14, 2015 in Vienna between Iran and the P5+1 countries. Under the deal, Iran had agreed to remove the accumulation of medium-enriched uranium, and reduce the accumulation of low-enriched uranium by 98%. Iran also agreed to enrich uranium up to 3.67%, for next 15 years.

THE ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

3. UNDERSTANDING ETHANOL BLENDING

THE CONTEXT: Recently the Prime Minister announced that India has achieved its target of blending 10% sugarcane-extracted ethanol in petrol, ahead of schedule.
THE EXPLANATION:
Addressing the nation from the Red Fort on the 76th Independence Day, he rooted for energy independence stating that, “we need to be Aatmanirbhar (self-sufficient) in our energy sector”. India is one of the world’s biggest oil importing nations.

What is ethanol blending?
• Blending ethanol with petrol to burn less fossil fuel while running vehicles is called ethanol blending. Ethanol is an agricultural by-product which is mainly obtained from the processing of sugar from sugarcane, but also from other sources such as rice husk or maize.
• Currently, 10% of the petrol that powers your vehicle is ethanol. Though we have had an E10 — or 10% ethanol as policy for a while, it is only this year that we have achieved that proportion. India’s aim is to increase this ratio to 20% originally by 2030 but in 2021, when NITI Aayog put out the ethanol roadmap, that deadline was advanced to 2025.
• Ethanol blending will help bring down our share of oil imports (almost 85%) on which we spend a considerable amount of precious foreign exchange. Secondly, more ethanol output would help increase farmers’ incomes.
• The NITI Aayog report of June 2021 says, “India’s net import of petroleum was 185 million tonnes at a cost of $55 billion in 2020-21,” and that a successful ethanol blending programme can save the country $4 billion per annum.
What are the generation ethanol’s?

How have other countries fared?
• Though the U.S., China, Canada and Brazil all have ethanol blending programmes, as a developing country, Brazil stands out. It had legislated that the ethanol content in petrol should be in the 18-27.5% range, and it finally touched the 27% target in 2021.
How does it impact the auto industry?
• At the time of the NITI Aayog report in June last year (2021), the industry had committed to the government to make all vehicles E20 material compliant by 2023. This meant that the petrol points, plastics, rubber, steel and other components in vehicles would need to be compliant to hold/store fuel that is 20% ethanol. Without such a change, rusting is an obvious impediment.
Are there other alternatives?
• Sources in the auto industry state that they prefer the use of biofuels as the next step, compared to other options such as electric vehicles (EV), hydrogen power and compressed natural gas. This is mainly because biofuels demand the least incremental investment for manufacturers.
• Even though the industry is recovering from the economic losses bought on by the pandemic, it is bound to make some change to comply with India’s promise for net-zero emissions by 2070.

4. RAMSAR SITES: 11 MORE INDIAN WETLANDS HAVE GOT RAMSAR RECOGNITION

THE CONTEXT: India has added 11 more wetlands to the list of Ramsar sites to make a total of 75 such sites covering an area of 13,26,677 hectares in the country.
THE EXPLANATION:
The 11 Indian wetlands which have been designated as new Ramsar sites:
1. Tampara Lake in Odisha.
2. Hirakud Reservoir in Odisha.
3. Ansupa Lake in Odisha.
4. Yashwant Sagar in Madhya Pradesh.
5. Chitrangudi Bird Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.
6. Suchindram Theroor Wetland Complex in Tamil Nadu.
7. Vaduvur Bird Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.
8. Kanjirankulam Bird Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.
9. Thane Creek in Maharashtra.
10. Hygam Wetland Conservation Reserve in Jammu and Kashmir.
11. Shallbugh Wetland Conservation Reserve in Jammu and Kashmir.

What is the Ramsar site?
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, also known as “The Convention on Wetlands”, an intergovernmental environmental treaty established in 1971 by UNESCO, which came into force in 1975. It provides for national action and international cooperation regarding the conservation of wetlands, and wise sustainable use of their resources
VALUE ADDITION:
Montreux Record:
• Montreux Record under the Convention is a register of wetland sites on the List of Wetlands of International Importance where changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring, or are likely to occur as a result of technological developments, pollution or other human interference.
• It is maintained as part of the Ramsar List.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

5. BHARAT BIOTECH’S INTRANASAL VACCINE

THE CONTEXT: Bharat Biotech recently sought approval for its intranasal Covid vaccine candidate, BBV154, as two-dose vaccine as well as booster dose. It submitted data from Phase 3 clinical trials of BBV154 to seek approval.
THE EXPLANATION:
• The heterologous booster infers that, third or subsequent dose of the vaccine is not similar to its primary dose.
• Usually, primary doses include two shots.
• According to Bharat Biotech, BBV154 is stable at 2-8 degrees Celsius. It is safe, well-tolerated and immunogenic under controlled clinical trials.
About BBV154:
• BBV154 is an intranasal vaccine, that have capability to produce local antibodies in upper respiratory tract. These are capable of reducing infection and transmission.
• To evaluate BBV154 as primary dose and booster dose, two separate & simultaneous clinical trials were conducted.
• Primary dose Phase III trials were conducted on more than 3000 individuals, to test its safety, and immunogenicity. Trials were conducted across 14 sites in India.
• On the other hand, studies on heterologous booster dose were conducted on over 800 individuals.
• This vaccine has been formulated to allow its delivery through nasal.
• Nasal delivery system is cost-effective for low and middle-income countries.
• BBV154 nasal vaccine has been developed by Bharat Biotech, in association with the Washington University.
Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL):
BBIL is headquartered in Hyderabad. The company is engaged in discovering drug, developing drug, manufacturing vaccines, pharmaceuticals and health care products. It was established in 1996.

THE PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

6. WHY LOW WATER LEVELS ON THE RHINE RIVER HURT GERMANY’S ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT: Recently the water levels on the Rhine river are very low because of unusually hot and dry weather, preventing many vessels from navigating the critical European shipping route fully loaded.
THE EXPLANATION:
Why is Rhine river shipping important?
• Flowing from the Swiss Alps to the North Sea via German industrial heartlands, the Rhine is a major route for products ranging from grains to chemicals and coal.
• It is an important link between industrial producers and global export terminals in North Sea ports such as Rotterdam and Amsterdam, while canals and other rivers link the Rhine to the Danube, making it possible to ship to the Black Sea as well.
What is the critical water level?
• There is no specific water level at which shipping stops, and authorities do not close the river. It is up to vessel owners to decide whether they can operate safely.
• The reference waterline level at the chokepoint of Kaub near Koblenz was at 32 centimetres down from 42 centimetres and from 51 centimetres a week ago. Vessels need about 1.5 metres of Kaub reference waterline to sail fully loaded.
What is the impact on Germany’s economy?
• Shipping bottlenecks are another drag on the German economy, which is already grappling with high inflation, supply chain disruptions and soaring gas prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. Economists estimate the disruption to Rhine shipping could knock as much as half a percentage point off overall economic growth this year in Europe’s largest economy.
• The low Rhine water levels are expected to increase costs for chemicals companies such as BASF and could lead to production cuts.
• Coal power plants – now back in fashion as an alternative to Russian gas supplies – also face supply shortages with boats unable to take on enough coal. Utility Uniper has warned of output cuts at two of its plants that make up 4% of Germany’s coal-generated electricity capacity.
PRELIMS FACTS
• The Rhine is one of the longest and most important river in Europe. It runs for over 1,232 km (766 mi) from its source in the in the Swiss Alps (in Switzerland), issuing from the Rheinwaldhorn Glacier 3,353m above sea level.
• The Rhine flows through six countries -Switzerland, Principality of Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France and the Netherlands before flowing into the North Sea at Rotterdam.