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INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

WHAT IS TWO FINGER TEST?

THE CONTEXT: The Supreme Court recently said that those conducting the ‘two-finger test’ on alleged rape victims will be held guilty of misconduct.

THE EXPLANATION:

• A woman who has been sexually assaulted undergoes a medical examination for ascertaining her health and medical needs, collection of evidence, etc.
• The two-finger test, carried out by a medical practitioner, involves the examination of her vagina to check if she is habituated to sexual intercourse. The practice is unscientific and does not provide any definite information. Moreover, such ‘information’ has no bearing on an allegation of rape.
• A handbook released by the World Health Organization (WHO) on dealing with sexual assault victims says, “There is no place for virginity (or ‘two-finger’) testing; it has no scientific validity”.

The Supreme Court Observations:

• In 2004 SC observed that whether a woman is ‘habituated to sexual intercourse’ or ‘habitual to sexual intercourse’ is irrelevant for the purposes of determining whether the ingredients of Section 375 (rape) of the IPC are present in a particular case.
• In 2013, the SC court had held that the two-finger test violates a woman’s right to privacy and asked the government to provide better medical procedures to confirm sexual assault.
• Invoking the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights 1966 and the UN Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power 1985, the apex court said rape survivors are entitled to legal recourse that does not re-traumatise them or violate their physical or mental integrity and dignity.

UNIFIED DISTRICT INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR EDUCATION PLUS (UDISE) 2021-22

THE CONTEXT: Ministry of Education recently released a detailed report on Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) 2021-22 on school education of India.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to the report, Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) has improved at primary, upper primary, and higher secondary levels of school education in 2021-22 as compared to 2020-21.
• GER in higher secondary has made a significant improvement from 53.8 percent in 2021-21 to 57.6 percent in 2021-22.
• In 2021-22, the Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) stood at 26 for primary, 19 for upper primary, 18 for secondary, and 27 for higher secondary showing an improvement since 2018-19.
• In 2021-22, over 12.29 crore girls are enrolled in primary to higher secondary showing an increase of 8.19 lakh as compared to the enrolment of girls in 2020-21.
• More than 20,000 schools were closed across the country during 2020-21 while the number of teachers also declined by 1.95% in comparison to the previous year.
• It pointed out that only 44.85% schools had computer facilities while nearly 34% had internet connection.
• While only 27% schools have special toilets for children with special needs (CSWN), more than 49% of them have ramps with handrails

VALUE ADDITION:

Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE):

• The UDISE+ system of online data collection from the schools was developed by Department of School Education & Literacy in the year 2018-19 to overcome the issues related to erstwhile practice of manual data filling in paper format.
• In UDISE+ system, improvements have been made particularly in the areas related to data capture, data mapping and data verification.
• In UDISE+ 2021-22, additional data on important indicators viz., digital library, peer learning, hard spot identification, number of books available in school library, etc have been collected for the first time to align with the National Education Policy 2020 initiatives.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

BIOLOGICAL WEAPON CONVENTION

THE CONTEXT: India has abstained on yet another resolution involving Ukraine, this time a motion sponsored by Russia at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

THE EXPLANATION:

It aims to establish a commission to investigate claims by Moscow that the U.S. and Ukraine are carrying out “military biological activities” in laboratories in Ukraine in violation of the biological weapons convention (BWC).

About Biological Weapons Convention:

• It is a key element in the international community’s efforts to address Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) proliferation and it has established a strong norm against biological weapons.
• WMD is a weapon with the capacity to inflict death and destruction on such a massive scale and so indiscriminately that its very presence in the hands of a hostile power can be considered a grievous threat.
• Formally known as “The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction”, the Convention was negotiated by the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland.
• It opened for signature on 10th April 1972 and entered into force on 26th March 1975.

Members:

• 183 States Parties and 4 Signatory States.
• India is a signatory of the convention.

Convention Prohibits:

• It effectively prohibits the development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling and use of biological and toxin weapons.
• It was the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning an entire category of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).

SECURITY AFFAIRS

SURGE IN OPIUM POPPIES CULTIVATION IN AFGHANISTAN

THE CONTEXT: According to UNODC findings, cultivation of opium poppies in Afghanistan increased by 32 per cent over the previous year, to 233,000 hectares – making the 2022 crop the third largest area under cultivation since monitoring began.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The UNODC report says the 2021 harvest of 6,200 tonnes, 10 per cent less than in 2021, could be converted into 350-380 tonnes of export-quality heroin. Eighty per cent of the world’s opiates come from Afghanistan.
• The income of farmers from opium sales more than tripled from $425 million in 2021 to $1.4 billion in 2022, according to the report — 29 per cent of the Afghan agricultural sector’s total value in 2022, higher by 20 percentage points over the previous year.
• Cultivation continued to be concentrated in the southwestern parts of the country, which accounted for 73 per cent of the total area, and registering the largest crop increase.
• In Helmand province, one-fifth of all arable land was dedicated to opium poppy cultivation.

Potential Threat:

• According to the sources, opium production in Afghanistan has surpassed 6,000 tonnes for the sixth year in a row.
• As a result of the stated increase in worldwide opium prices, the exponential output of opiates has increased by 8%.
• The Taliban controls 85 percent of the world’s opium-growing land, making them the world’s most powerful narcotics gang.
• According to a report by the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), illegal drugs account for up to 60% of the Taliban’s annual earnings.
• India’s fears of ungoverned regions and a lawless Afghanistan being a major source of domestic security danger are increasingly becoming a reality.

VALUE ADDITION:

Golden crescent

• The Golden Crescent is the name given to one of Asia’s two principal areas of illicit Opium production, located at the crossroads of central, south and western Asia.
• This space overlaps three nations, Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan whose mountainous peripheries define the crescent.

Golden triangle

• The Golden Triangle is located in the area where the borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong Rivers.
• Along with the Golden Crescent, it is regarded as one of the largest producers of opium in the world since the 1950s until it was overtaken by the Golden Crescent in the early 21st century.

THE PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

PLACES IN NEWS: MAUNA LOA

THE CONTEXT: The recent incidents of ground shaking and swelling at Mauna Loa indicate that the largest active volcano in the world could erupt.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that together make up the Big Island of Hawaii, which is the southernmost island in the Hawaiian archipelago.
• It’s not the tallest (that title goes to Mauna Kea) but it’s the largest and makes up about half of the island’s land mass.
• It sits immediately north of Kilauea volcano, which is currently erupting from its summit crater.
• Kilauea is well-known for a 2018 eruption that destroyed 700 homes and sent rivers of lava spreading across farms and into the ocean.
• Mauna Loa last erupted 38 years ago. In written history, dating to 1843, it’s erupted 33 times.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q1. In which of the following states of India, Amur Falcons have stopovers while on their journey as a migratory birds?

a) Manipur

b) Tamil Nadu

c) Nagaland

d) Kerala

Answer: C

Explanation:

• Wokha district, in Nagaland is the most preferred stopover of the Amur falcons while travelling from east Asia to southern Africa.