TOP 5 TAKKAR NEWS OF THE DAY (2nd JUNE 2023)

1. EXCAVATION AT PURANA QILA AND PRE MAURYAN CONNECTION

TAG: GS 1: ART AND CULTURE

CONTEXT: A fresh round of excavations at the site of Delhi’s Purana Qila or Old Fort has uncovered evidence of the continuous history of the city since the pre-Mauryan era. The findings include shards of Painted Gray Ware pottery which are usually dated to around 1200 BC to 600 BC.

EXPLANATION:

• The new excavations have also found remains of a 900-year-old Vaikuntha Vishnu from the Rajput period, a terracotta plaque of Goddess Gaja Lakshmi from the Gupta period, the structural remains of a 2,500-year-old terracotta ring well from the Mauryan period, and a well-defined four-room complex from the Sunga-Kushan period dating back to 2,300 years ago, besides beads, seals, copper coins and a bone needle.
• Trade activities: More than 136 coins and 35 seals and sealings have been discovered from a small excavated area, indicating the site’s pivotal role as a centre for trade activities.
• Earlier efforts have revealed nine cultural levels, representing different historical periods, including pre-Mauryan, Mauryan, Sunga, Kushana, Gupta, post-Gupta, Rajput, Sultanate, and Mughal. The ongoing excavation, initiated in January 2023, aims to establish a complete chronology of the site.

Pre Mauryan characteristics:

• The political system at the time of pre mauryan was characterized by the existence of two distinct forms of government: monarchical kingdom and clan oligarchies or Ganasamghas.
• The geographical locations of these units were unique with the monarchical kingdom occupying the Ganga-Yamuna valley and the Ganasamghas being located near the foothills of the Himalayas.
• The agrarian based economy encouraged the formation of an impressive officialdom that is an indispensable aspect of state formation.
• It made possible the support of a large standing army that was imperative for the expanding frontiers of the kingdoms of the Ganga valley and as an instrument of coercive control within the kingdom.
• The standing army divided into various specialized groups replaced the tribal militia of the earlier society and became an instrument of coercion directly in the control of the king.

Purana qila:

• Purana Qila, built by Sher Shah Suri and Mughal emperor Humayun, is believed by many to be the site of Indraprastha, as mentioned in the Mahabharat.
• The fort was the inner citadel of the city of Din Panah during Humayun’s rule who renovated it in 1533 and completed five years later.
• Shah Suri, defeated Humayun in 1540, naming the fort Shergarh; he added several more structures in the complex during his five-year reign. Purana Qila and its environs flourished as the “sixth city of Delhi”.
• Purana Quila is roughly rectangular in shape having a circuit of nearly two kilometers.
  The thick ramparts crowned by merlons have three gateways provided with bastions on either side.
• It was surrounded by a wide moat, connected to river Yamuna, which used to flow on the east of the fort.
• The northern gate way, called the Talaqui darwaza or the forbidden gateway, combines the typically Islamic pointed arch with Hindu Chhatris and brackets; whereas the southern gateway called the Humayun Darwaza also had a similar plan.
• The massive gateway and walls of Purana Quila were built by Humayun and the foundation laid for the new capital, Dinpanah.

2. DISCLOSURE NORMS FROM HIGH-RISK FOREIGN PORTFOLIO INVESTORS (FPIs)

TAG: GS 3: ECONOMY

CONTEXT: The markets regulator SEBI floated a consultation paper mandating additional disclosure norms from high-risk foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) that have either concentrated single group exposures and/ or significant overall holdings in their India equity investment portfolio.

EXPLANATION:

• SEBI said there is a need for additional disclosures for certain types of FPIs in order to have greater investor protection, and for fostering greater trust and transparency in the Indian securities market ecosystem.
• The paper has mandated additional disclosure norms from these FPIs to guard against possible circumvention of Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS), and to prevent possible misuse of the FPI route to circumvent the requirements of Press Note 3 (PN3).
• SEBI said such disclosures must be unconstrained by any materiality thresholds set by the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering) rules and FPI regulations.
• The paper has proposed to categorize FPIs into high, moderate and low risk. All FPIs except for government and government-related entities such as central banks, sovereign wealth funds, and pension funds or public retail funds, are proposed to be categorized as high-risk FPIs.

What has SEBI proposed?

• The markets regulator has proposed that enhanced transparency measures for fully identifying all holders of ownership, economic, and control rights may be mandated for certain high-risk FPIs.
• It proposed that high-risk FPIs, holding more than 50 per cent of their equity Asset Under Management (AUM) in a single corporate group, would be required to comply with the requirements for additional disclosures.
• Also, the existing high-risk FPIs with an overall holding in Indian equity markets of over Rs 25,000 crore will also be required to comply with new disclosure requirements.
• They will have to follow the new norms within 6 months, failing which the FPI will have to bring down its AUM below the threshold within a time frame.

What is Press Note 3?

• During the Covid-19 pandemic, the government amended the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy through a Press Note 3.
• The amendments were said to have made to check opportunistic takeovers/acquisitions of stressed Indian companies at a cheaper valuation.
• The new regulations required an entity of a country, sharing land border with India or where the beneficial owner of an investment into India is situated or is a citizen of any such country, to invest only under the Government route.
• Also, in the event of the transfer of ownership of any existing or future FDI in an entity in India, directly or indirectly, resulting in the beneficial ownership falling within the restriction/purview of the said policy amendment, such subsequent change in beneficial ownership will also require government approval.

Will the proposed norms be applicable to FPIs?

• The capital markets regulator said the proposed additional requirements are for high-risk FPIs and will not impact low-risk and moderate-risk FPIs in any

Foreign portfolio investment (FPI):

• Foreign portfolio investment (FPI) is a common way to invest in overseas economies.
• It includes securities and financial assets held by investors in another country.
• It also includes bonds or other debt issued by these companies or foreign governments, mutual funds, or exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that invest in assets abroad or overseas.
• On a macro-level, foreign portfolio investment is part of a country’s capital account and shown on its balance of payments (BOP). BOP calculates the amount of money flowing from one country to other countries over a financial year.
• FPI is relatively liquid depending on market volatility.
• Individual investors interested in opportunities outside their own country invest via FPI.  It does not give investors direct ownership of a company’s assets.

3. AIMING FOR NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTIONS (NDC) TARGETS

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

CONTEXT: While India may have internationally committed in its Nationally Determined Contributions(NDC) to half its installed electricity being sourced from renewable sources by 2030, an estimate of the country’s projected power needs by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) suggests that this target may be achieved early, by 2026-27.

EXPLANATION:

• National Electricity Plan (NEP) notes that the share of non-fossil based capacity is likely to increase to 57.4% by the end of 2026-27 and may likely to further increase to 68.4% by the end of 2031-32 from around 42.5% as on April 2023.”
• Installed capacity, however, does not perfectly translate into generated power as different sources of energy have varying efficiencies, and not all sources of power are available at all times. Accounting for this, the available power from renewable energy will only be around 35.04% of the total generated electricity by 2026-27 and 43.96% by 2031-32, the NEP estimates.
• The NEP projects that the likely installed capacity for 2026-27 would be 609,591 MW, comprising 273,038 MW of conventional capacity (coal-235,133 MW, gas-24,824 MW, nuclear-13,080 MW) and 336,553 MW of renewable-based capacity (large hydro-52,446 MW, solar-185,566 MW, wind-72,895 MW, small hydro-5,200 MW, biomass-13,000 MW, pump storage plants-7,446 MW) along with Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) capacity of 8,680 MW/34,720 MWh.
• By 2031, the proportion of renewable energy capacity in the overall mix is likely to be 66%. Thus, in 2031-32, the total capacity is estimated to be 900,422 MW comprising 304,147 MW of conventional capacity (coal-259,643 MW, gas–24,824 MW, nuclear-19,680 MW) and 596,275 MW of renewable-based capacity (large hydro-62,178 MW, solar-364,566 MW, wind-121,895 MW, small hydro-5,450 MW, biomass-15,500 MW, pump storage plants-26,686 MW), along with BESS capacity of 47,244 MW/236,220 MWh.

Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)

• Following Prime Minister 2022 announcement in Glasgow, Scotland of India’s 2070 Net Zero target, India updated its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in August 2022 whereby it committed to achieving “about 50 percent cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030 and reduce emission intensity by 35 percent from 2005 levels, and become carbon-neutral by 2070.
• The NDCs are commitments made by countries under the terms of the Paris Agreement to keep global temperatures from rising beyond two degrees Celsius by the end of the century, and are required to be updated once in five years.

Central Electricity Authority

• It is a Statutory Body constituted under the erstwhile Electricity (Supply) Act, 1948, hereinafter replaced by the Electricity Act, 2003, where similar provisions exists, the office of the CEA is an “Attached Office” of the Ministry of Power.
• The CEA is responsible for the technical coordination and supervision of programmes and is also entrusted with a number of statutory functions.
• It is headed by a Chairman, who is also ex-officio Secretary to the Government of India, and comprises six full time Members of the CEA of the rank of ex-officio Additional Secretary to the Government of India, they are designated as Member (Thermal), Member (Hydro), Member (Economic and Commercial), Member(Power Systems), Member(Planning) and Member(Grid Operation and Distribution).
• Section 73 of the Electricity Act, 2003 empowers the Authority to perform such functions and duties as the Central Government may prescribe or direct, and in particular to: –

1. a) Advise the Central Government on the matters relating to the national electricity policy, formulate short-term and perspective plans for development of the electricity system and co-ordinate the activities of the planning agencies for the optimal utilization of resources to sub serve the interests of the national economy and to provide reliable and affordable electricity for all consumers
2. b) Specify the conditions for installation of meters for transmission and supply of electricity:
3. c) Promote and assist in the timely completion of schemes and projects for improving and augmenting the electricity system
4. d) Promote measures for advancing the skill of persons engaged in the electricity industry
5. e) Advise the Central Government on any matter on which its advice is sought or make recommendation to that Government on any matter if, in the opinion of the Authority, the recommendation would help in improving the generation, transmission, trading, distribution and utilization of electricity.

National Electricity Plan

• It is prepared by the CEA and is a five-year plan that assesses India’s current electricity needs, projected growth, power sources, and challenges.
• It is prepared in accordance with the National Electricity Policy and notify such plan once in five years.

Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC)

• CERC is a statutory body constituted under the provision of the erstwhile Electricity Regulatory Commissions Act, 1998 and continued under Electricity Act, 2003 (which has since repealed inter alia the ERC Act, 1998).
• The main functions of the CERC are to regulate the tariff of generating companies owned or controlled by the Central Government, to regulate the tariff of generating companies other than those owned or controlled by the Central Government, if such generating companies enter into or otherwise have a composite scheme for generation and sale of electricity in more than one State, to regulate the inter-State transmission of energy including tariff of the transmission utilities, to grant licences for inter-State transmission and trading and to advise the Central Government in formulation of National Electricity Policy and Tariff Policy.

State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC)

• The concept of SERC as a statutory body responsible for determination of tariff and grant of licence at intra-State level was envisaged in the erstwhile Regulatory Commissions Act, 1998 and has been continued in the Electricity Act, 2003 (which has since repealed inter alia the ERC Act, 1998).
• Main responsibilities of the SERC are to determine the tariff for generation, supply, transmission and wheeling of electricity, whole sale, bulk or retail sale within the State; to issue licences for intra-State transmission, distribution and trading; to promote co-generation and generation of electricity from renewal sources of energy etc.

4. SECTION 124A OF THE INDIAN PENAL CODE (IPC)

TAG: GS 2: GOVERNANCE

CONTEXT: The Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) dealing with sedition needs to be retained but certain amendments could be made for greater clarity regarding its usage, the 22nd Law Commission has said in its report to the government.

EXPLANATION:

Highlights of the 22^nd Law commission report:

• The commission said sedition being a “colonial legacy” is not a valid ground for its repeal but in view of the misuse of Section 124A, the panel has recommended that the Centre issue model guidelines to curb any misuse.
• In this context, it is also alternatively suggested that a provision analogous to Section 196(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 [CrPC] may be incorporated as a proviso to Section 154 of CrPC, which would provide the requisite procedural safeguard before filing of an FIR with respect to an offence under Section 124A of IPC.
• The Law Commission said the existence of laws such as Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the National Security Act (NSA) does not by implication cover all elements of the offence envisaged under Section 124A of the IPC.
• Further, in the absence of a provision like Section 124A of IPC, any expression that incites violence against the government would invariably be tried under the special laws and counter-terror legislation, which contain much more stringent provisions to deal with the accused.
• While any alleged misuse of Section 124A of IPC can be reined in by laying down adequate procedural safeguards, repealing the provision altogether can have “serious adverse ramifications for the security and integrity of the country, with the subversive forces getting a free hand to further their sinister agenda as a consequence”.

IPC Section 124 A:

• The IPC Section 124 A says, “Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government estab­lished by law in India shall be punished with [im­prisonment for life], to which fine may be added, or with impris­onment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.
• The expression “disaffection” includes disloyalty and all feelings of enmity. It is a non-bailable offence.
• Section 124A is useful in the fight against anti-national, separatist, and terrorist factors, among others.
• It defends the elected government against attempts to destroy it through the use of violent acts and illegal methods.
• It helps in maintaining the legitimacy of the government established by law is a necessary condition for the cohesion of a state.

5. LITHIUM AND MINERAL REGULATION IN INDIA

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

CONTEXT: The news of potentially significant reserves of lithium, an element needed to manufacture batteries used in electric cars and other renewable energy infrastructure, in Jammu and Kashmir has been welcomed universally. Commentators have called this a boost for national prosperity and security without dismissing concerns about the potential social and environmental impacts.

EXPLANATION:

Status of India’s lithium industry:

• India’s electric-vehicle (EV) market was valued at $383.5 million in 2021, and is expected to expand to $152.21 billion in 2030.
• India imported 450 million units of lithium batteries valued at $929.26 million (₹6,600 crore) in 2019-2020, which makes the development of the country’s domestic lithium reserves a matter of high stakes. Scholars have argued that the ongoing global transition to low-carbon economies, the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), and 5G networks will greatly reshape global and regional geopolitics. The access to and control over rare minerals, such as lithium and cobalt, will play a crucial role in these epochal changes.

How do other countries manage lithium reserves?

• The Supreme Court also recalled that the Union government could always ban private actors from mining sensitive minerals, as is already the case with uranium under the Atomic Energy Act 1962. In today’s context, lithium is as important as, if not more than, uranium.
• The stories of two South American countries, Chile and Bolivia — which have the largest known reserves of lithium are particularly instructive. And here the government has designated lithium as a strategic resource and its development has been made the exclusive prerogative of the state.

Lithium:

• Lithium is the world’s softest and lightest metal, needed by battery-powered devices.
• It is soft enough to be cut with a vegetable knife and light enough to float when put in water.
• It stores chemical energy and converts it into electrical energy.
• Also known as ‘White Gold’, lithium attracts a massive demand in global markets as the metal is present in every chargeable electronic and battery-powered gadgets.
• According to a World Bank report, the global demand for lithium metal will increase by 500 percent by 2050.
• The metal is also widely used to manufacture wind turbines, solar panels, and EVs – which are the leading carbon-neutral alternatives for the future.
• A lithium battery is the only alternative for EVs since it has a high power-to-weight ratio, enabling it to provide a large charge while keeping the vehicle’s curb weight low.

Regulation of minerals in India:

• India’s mineral and mining sector operates under a federal structure where the powers and responsibilities for regulation of the sector are divided between the central government and the respective State governments in accordance with the Union List, State List and the Concurrent List contained in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India.
• Administration of the mining sector in India is the collective responsibility of the central government and the State governments.
• The central government has the power under entry 54 of the Union List to regulate mines and mineral development to the extent that such a regulation is declared by the Parliament to be in public interest.
• The State governments’ power to regulate mines and mineral development under entry 23 of the State List is subject to the power of the central government.
• Further to its powers under entry 54 of the Union List, the central government has framed the Mines & Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957 (MMDR Act), which is the principal legislation governing the mineral sector (other than petroleum and natural gas) in India.
• Minerals are classified into minor minerals and major minerals. Minor minerals include building stones, gravel, ordinary clay, ordinary sand and other minerals that the central government declares to be a minor mineral. Minerals that cannot be categorised as minor minerals are considered to be major minerals and include coal, manganese ore and iron ore, as well as other minerals used for industrial purposes.

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