1. The next step: Ethnicisation and poor governance are stumbling blocks to peace in Manipur READ MORE
2. Embracing change is key to good life READ MORE

1. Explained: Why Cyclone Biparjoy is so unusual and deadly READ MORE  
2. Tackle plastic menace to sustain the Earth READ MORE
3. Give a green touch to product development READ MORE

1. How technology can help India’s urban centres become disabled friendly READ MORE
2. How social inequality across religions is hampering quest for an inclusive India READ MORE

1. Where anyone can be accused of sedition: No linguistic change and procedural reform can remedy the problem that Section 124A poses in a post-colonial democracy READ MORE  
2. Tax law in the shadow of the higher judiciary: The central precepts on which India’s law of taxation is built face erosion, as two judgments by the top court show READ MORE
3. Digital India is not built on the Constitution READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Cyclone ‘Biparjoy’ | 21,000 shifted to safer places from Gujarat coast READ MORE  
2. Lightning, blamed for Canada fires, will get worse in a warming world READ MORE
3. Disinflation to be slow and long: Das READ MORE
4. No CERT-in update yet on CoWIN data leak; experts demand transparency  READ MORE
5. UN needs to be more democratic and representative, says Rajnath READ MORE
6. Two warships launched, keel laid for a third vessel at Chennai shipyard READ MORE
7. Why the US wants to rejoin UNESCO after years of disputes over Israel and Palestine READ MORE
8. What is El Nino and how it impacts the monsoon READ MORE
9. Why Punjab’s area under cotton cultivation has been decreasing READ MORE
10. What are some of the deadliest cyclones to have hit India in the past? READ MORE
11. Global Slavery Index: Where does India rank, and why are its findings contested? READ MORE
12. Western Pacific Region may see 5.2 million AMR-related deaths from 2020 to 2030: WHO study READ MORE
13. Odisha reels under intense heatwave conditions; IMD issues orange alert READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Explained: Why Cyclone Biparjoy is so unusual and deadly READ MORE  
2. How technology can help India’s urban centres become disabled friendly READ MORE
3. How social inequality across religions is hampering quest for an inclusive India READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Where anyone can be accused of sedition: No linguistic change and procedural reform can remedy the problem that Section 124A poses in a post-colonial democracy READ MORE  
2. Tax law in the shadow of the higher judiciary: The central precepts on which India’s law of taxation is built face erosion, as two judgments by the top court show READ MORE
3. Digital India is not built on the Constitution READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. Amplify the subject of adolescent girl nutrition READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. India’s call for reformed multilateralism in G20 READ MORE
2. Peacemaker China: Beijing ticking the right boxes in West Asia READ MORE
3. Stakes high for India in West Asia: Saudi-Iran détente has put a question mark on the viability and endurance of I2U2 process READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Tax law in the shadow of the higher judiciary READ MORE  
2. Modest MSP hike is a tightrope act by govt READ MORE
3. The impact of climate change on Indian crops READ MORE
4. De-dollarisation is fast becoming a reality READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Tackle plastic menace to sustain the Earth READ MORE
2. Give a green touch to product development READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Plug R&D gaps to make the most of US cooperation READ MORE

SECURITY

1. Data protection: CoWIN leak scare a wake-up call READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. A Disaster That Was Waiting to Happen: Averting accidents on the overloaded railway networks is easier said than done. READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. The next step: Ethnicisation and poor governance are stumbling blocks to peace in Manipur READ MORE
2. Embracing change is key to good life READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. India-Nepal ties have been viewed primarily from a political lens but time has came when the economic aspects of relation should be emphasized. Comment.
2. At a time when multiple crises of global magnitude affect us all, India’s approach of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam gives a way to the world to move forward. Discuss.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Oil is a resource that anaesthetises thought, blurs vision, corrupts.
• The de-hyphenation dogma continues to haunt New Delhi even when it has been freed of the same in relation to Western views viz neighbourhood equations in the subcontinent.
• To survive the AI era, democracies will have to come up with institutions and alliances to counter this misinformation armageddon.
• Enviornment considerations can provide a sustainable future for all. It is not only a responsible but also a promising opportunity.
• The use of skill-building activities in conjunction with a stronger push for empowerment, which includes the provision of economic opportunities, gender sensitization, as well as financial and social aid, may be able to increase this number.
• The central government ordinance on Delhi shows the dismal view of the ruling party towards opposition-led state governments.
• To successfully implement Agenda 2030, a fresh perspective is required, whereby the economic and social facets of the SDGs are conceptualised as integral components.
• Around the world, significant issues are negatively impacting water security. While the situation appears dire, cooperation initiatives show some signs of relief.
• In the true spirit of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam’, India is trying to bring about a world order which is just, equitable and mutually respectful to all.
• India’s vision for the world has always been that of ‘Vasudaiv Kutumbakam’. It has been a culture on the soil of India that considers everyone equal and wants the welfare of everyone.
• India-Nepal ties have, for the most part, been viewed primarily from a political lens. Prachanda’s visit has instead emphasised the economic aspects of the relationship, thus steering the relationship back to normal waters after a stormy interlude.
• The balance between technological gains and the harmful effect of the technology is a policy debate that will challenge governance all over the world.
• At a time when multiple crises of global magnitude affect us all, the importance of keeping Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’s sentiment alive has never been more critical.

50-WORD TALK

• It is the great resilience and tolerance of the Indian people that has contributed to the unity amidst fascinating diversity. It is the spirit of togetherness and tolerance, mostly conspicuous by its absence in the European land mass, which has bound together the Indian people of diverse regions and culture while extreme individualism and separatism have marked the evolution of European nationalism.
• India has realised that despite numerous rounds of talks at the political and military levels, there is no abatement of China’s aggression and hostility, which, in fact, have increased in the past six months. India has to develop closer ties with the US to secure political support, new investments, markets, supply chains and technologies for critical industries and build its indigenous defence industry.

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 in 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.

1. GLOBAL SLAVERY INDEX 2023

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: Global Slavery Index 2023 have been recently released. According to it, on any given day in 2021, as many as 50 million people were living in “modern slavery”. Among these 50 million, 28 million suffer from forced labour and 22 million from forced marriages. Of these 50 million, 12 million are children. To be sure, the phrase “modern slavery” has a specific definition.

EXPLANATION:

What is modern slavery?

• According to the index, “modern slavery” refers to situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, or abuses of power.
• Modern slavery is an umbrella term and includes a whole variety of abuses such as forced labour, forced marriage, debt bondage, sexual exploitation, human trafficking, slavery-like practices, forced or servile marriage, and the sale and exploitation of children.
• The schematic alongside provides a broad framework of what all modern slavery covers.
• The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations also resolve to end modern slavery. Target 8.7 of the SDGs states: “Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms.”

What is the Global Slavery Index?

• The index presents a global picture of modern slavery. It is constructed by Walk Free, a human rights organisation and is based on data provided by the Global Estimates of Modern Slavery, which, in turn, is produced by International Labour Organization (ILO), Walk Free, and International Organization for Migration (IOM).
• This is the fifth edition of the Global Slavery Index and is based on the 2022 estimates.
• However, the initial estimates are regional and to arrive at country-wise estimates, the index uses several representative surveys.

What are the country-wise findings?

There are three sets of key findings.

• The first looks at the prevalence of modern slavery. The prevalence refers to the incidence of modern slavery per 1000 population. On this count, the following 10 countries are the worst offenders: North Korea, Eritrea, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Afghanistan, Kuwait.
• These countries share some political, social, and economic characteristics, including limited protections for civil liberties and human rights,” states the index.
• Following are the countries with the lowest prevalence: Switzerland, Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Ireland, Japan, Finland.
• However, apart from prevalence, the index also calculates the countries hosting the maximum number of people living in modern slavery. Here the list is as follows: India, China, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey, Bangladesh, United States.
• Collectively, these countries account for nearly two in every three people living in modern slavery and over half the world’s population. Notably, six are G20 nations: India, China, Russia, Indonesia, Türkiye, and the US,” points out the index.

2. LEPTOSPIROSIS

TAG: GS 2: HEALTH ISSUES

THE CONTEXT: Leptospirosis is a disease that surges in the monsoon month. The disease is an occupational hazard for people working in agricultural settings. Its severity ranges from a mild flu-like illness to being life-threatening

EXPLANATION:

• Leptospirosis has emerged as an important infectious disease in the world today.
• It is a potentially fatal zoonotic bacterial disease that tends to have large outbreaks after heavy rainfall or flooding.
• The disease is more prevalent in warm, humid countries and in both urban and rural areas.
• However, the numbers at the global and regional levels aren’t exact because of misdiagnosis (its symptoms mimic those of dengue, malaria, and hepatitis), limited access to reliable diagnostics, lack of awareness among treating physicians, and lack of environmental surveillance.

What causes the disease?

• The disease is caused by a bacterium called Leptospira interrogans, or leptospira. It is a contagious disease in animals but is occasionally transmitted to humans in certain environmental conditions.
• The carriers of the disease can be either wild or domestic animals, including rodents, cattle, pigs, and dogs.
• The cycle of disease transmission begins with the shedding of leptospira, usually in the urine of infected animals.
• According to the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, infected animals can continue to excrete the bacteria into their surroundings for a few months, but sometimes up to several years.

Which people are at risk?

• Humans become part of the cycle when they come in direct contact with this urine or indirectly, through soil and water that contain leptospira bacteria. A person is more likely to contract leptospirosis if they have cuts or abrasions on their skin.
• The disease is also considered an occupational hazard for people working in agricultural settings, with animals, or in sanitary services that bring them into contact with contaminated water.
• Recreational activities in contaminated lakes and rivers are also reported to increase the risk of leptospirosis.

What are the symptoms of leptospirosis?

• The severity of a leptospirosis infection ranges from a mild flu-like illness to being life-threatening.
• The infection can affect many organs, reflecting the systemic nature of the disease. This is also why the signs and symptoms of leptospirosis are often mistaken for other diseases.
• In milder cases, patients could experience a sudden onset of fever, chills, and headache – or no symptoms at all. But in severe cases, the disease can be characterised by the dysfunction of multiple organs, including the liver, kidneys, lungs, and the brain.
• Animals exhibit a variety of clinical symptoms and indications. In cattle and pigs, the disease can potentially cause reproductive failure, stillbirths, and weak calves or piglets. Dogs experience a range of symptoms, including fever, jaundice, vomiting, diarrhoea, renal failure, and even death.

What are the misconceptions about leptospirosis?

• Preventing leptospirosis requires appropriate and adequate health education, community health empowerment, and preventive habits.
• The disease has been called “ili jwara” in Kannada and “eli pani” in Malayalam, both meaning “rat fever. This usage has fed the common belief that rats are the sole cause of the disease, which is not true.
• Leptospirosis has a spectrum of reservoir hosts, including pigs, cattle, water buffaloes, goats, dogs, horses, and sheep. Further, seasonal patterns such as the onset of the monsoon can also potentially facilitate the disease’s incidence and transmission.
• The incidence of the disease is also linked to extreme weather events like floods and hurricanes, when people are exposed to contaminated water.
• Similarly, poor waste management, a high density of stray animals, faulty drainage systems, and unhygienic sanitation facilities are major drivers of the disease in urban areas. In rural parts, these are contaminated paddy fields, dirty livestock shelters, and poor water-quality and sanitation.

How can we prevent leptospirosis?

• Leptospirosis control can benefit from a ‘One Health’ approach. ‘One Health’ is an interdisciplinary approach that recognises the interconnections between the health of humans, animals, plants, and their shared environment.
• Preventing animals from getting infected is also important to reduce the risk of leptospirosis spreading and to limit farmers’ economic losses (when the disease causes reproductive failures in pigs and cattle). This in turn requires sanitary animal-keeping conditions, which is also desirable to improve the animals’ health and to prevent the spread of many diseases.
• Given the spike in leptospirosis during the monsoons, it is best to take precautions, including washing one’s arms and legs with an antiseptic liquid after handling animal waste and after working in water.

3. NUTRIENT-BASED SUBSIDY (NBS)

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: CACP recommends Centre to bring urea under NBS regime to check overuse. Disproportionate use of urea in agriculture over the years has been one of the primary reasons for worsening plant nutrient imbalance

EXPLANATION:

• The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) has recommended the Centre to bring urea under the nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) regime to address the problem of imbalanced use of nutrients.
• According to CACP report, fertiliser response and efficiency has continuously declined over decades mainly due to imbalanced use of nutrients, deficiency of micro and secondary nutrients and depletion of soil organic carbon, while fertiliser subsidy has been rising.

Issue:

• Urea does not come under NBS, which includes non-urea fertilisers like phosphorous and potassium.
• Keeping urea out of NBS essentially means that the government has retained direct control over MRP of urea and its subsidy.
• The MRPs of other fertilisers have been under indirect control by virtue of NBS policy.
• Manufacturers of these fertilisers have the freedom to fix MRP within “reasonable limits”, and a fixed per-tonne subsidy linked to their nutrient content is given.
• This has caused their MRPs to increase over the years, whereas urea’s price has remained unchanged. This has led to tilting of the usage of fertilisers in favour of urea because farmers have overused it, owing to its low pricing, thus resulting in deteriorating soil health.
• India is one of the largest producers and consumers of fertilisers in the world, and fertiliser consumption has increased significantly over the years.

Nutrient-Based Subsidy(NBS) Scheme:

• NBS scheme, which governs the subsidy on P&K fertilizers, has been instrumental in ensuring the availability of essential nutrients to farmers at subsidized prices since 1 April, 2010.
• It aims at ensuring Nation’s food security, improving agricultural productivity and ensuring the balanced application of fertilizers.
• NBS is applicable for Di Ammonium Phosphate (DAP, 18-46-0), Muriate of Potash (MOP), Mono Ammonium Phosphate (MAP, 11-52-0), Triple Super Phosphate (TSP, 0-46-0), Single Super Phosphate (SSP, 0-16-0-11), Ammonium Sulphate (AS – (Caprolactum grade by GSFC and FACT)  and 16 grades of complex fertilizers which. Primary nutrients, namely Nitrogen ‘N’, Phosphate ‘P’ and Potash ‘K’ and nutrient Sulphur ‘S’ contained in the fertilizers.
• The government has now approved the revision in NBS rates to provide 25 grades of P&K fertilizers to farmers during the rabi and kharif seasons.
• This decision by the Cabinet brings two significant benefits. Firstly, it ensures the availability of diammonium phosphate DAP and other P&K fertilizers to farmers at subsidized, affordable, and reasonable prices during the Kharif season.
• This will enable farmers to access essential fertilizers necessary for their agricultural activities. Secondly, the decision rationalizes the subsidy on P&K fertilizers, ensuring effective and efficient utilization of government resources.

4. CHILD TRAFFICKING

TAG: GS 1: SOCIETY

THE CONTEXT: The United Nations World Day Against Child Labour 2023 emphasises how social injustices, such as poverty and lack of education, create precarious conditions for children.

EXPLANATION:

• Child labour a form of modern slavery includes any work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that harms their physical or mental development, per the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition.
• The practice includes, and is not limited to, trafficking, sexual exploitation, debt bondage, and exploitation in armed conflicts. 12% of those in forced labour are possibly children, ILO noted.
• Child trafficking manifests in the form of domestic labour, forced child labour across industries, and illegal activities such as begging, organ trade and commercial sex purposes.
• Eight children were trafficked every day in India in 2021 for labour, begging and sexual exploitation per data from the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
• One such practice happens in the name of ‘khadama’, where girls go to Gulf countries to work as housemaids.
• This data only includes confirmed cases of trafficking, which does not account for “missing children.” One child goes missing every eight minutes in India with millions ending up in domestic slavery, sex work and forced labour.
• Global prevalence of child trafficking

1. Domestic work (21%)
2. Begging (10%)
3. Hospitality sector (7%)
4. Street and small-scale retail (6%)
5. Illicit activities (6%)
6. Agriculture (5%)
7. More than 40% of children trafficked were recruited by a family member or relative.

Status of India:

• The 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report released by the U.S. Department of State categorises India as Tier 2 in terms of progress. It implies that India “does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.”
• Countries in tier 2 are those where a) the estimated number of victims is very significant or is significantly increasing and the country is not taking proportional concrete actions; b) the country has failed to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat rising cases.
• India doesn’t have a composite anti-trafficking law that addresses prevention, protection, rehabilitation and compensation of survivors. There are, however, separate regulations that address different crimes related to trafficking.

Laws governing anti-trafficking crimes

• The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (PITA) is targeted at stopping immoral trafficking and sex work. It went through two amendments, in 1978 and 1986. Experts have criticised PITA for falsely presuming that all trafficking is done for sex work only, and say that it criminalises sex workers without providing sufficient legal recourse or scope for rehabilitation.
• The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, prohibits and penalises the act of child marriage. In August 2021, the NGO Save the Children warned of a rise in child marriage and sexual abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, prevents children from partaking in certain employments and regulates the conditions of work for children in other fields. In 2016, an amendment completely banned the employment of children below 14 years; adolescents aged 14-18 years are allowed to work in family-related businesses but not in fields that have “hazardous” working conditions.
• The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, prohibits systems of labour where people, including children, work under conditions of servitude to pay off debt, and also provides a framework for rehabilitating released labourers.
• The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015, which governs laws relating to children alleged and found to be in conflict with law.
• The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, makes commercial dealing in human organs a punishable offence.
• Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, which seeks to prevent commercial sexual exploitation of children.
• India set up Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) in 2007. AHTUs are tasked with “addressing the existing gaps in the law enforcement response,” “ensuring a victim-centric approach which ensures the ‘best interest of the victim/ survivor’ and prevents ‘secondary victimization/ re-victimisation of the victim,” and developing databases on traffickers.
• The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, revised Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with buying and selling of any person as a slave, to include the concept of human trafficking. Two sections — 370 and 370A — form the framework “to provide a comprehensive definition of human trafficking and also provide for strict punishment,” the Ministry of Home Affairs noted.

What is the Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill? 

• MWCD published the Draft Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill in June 2021, with 11 chapters detailing measures to prevent, protect and rehabilitate victims.
• There are specified penalties for offences divided into “trafficking” and “aggravated trafficking”.
• The Bill built upon its 2018 iteration: it widened the scope of “victims” to include transgender persons and others, introduced mechanisms for the prevention and rehabilitation of victims (such as providing shelter and food) and extended the framework to include cross-border trafficking cases.
• The Bill proposes district- and State-level “anti-trafficking units” with designated police officers and a National Anti-Trafficking Bureau which looks after investigations involving two or more States. Investigations are required to be completed within 90 days of the offender’s arrest, and there are appointed sessions courts for speedy trials measures which could potentially address low conviction rates. The Bill, expected to be tabled in the parliament’s 2022 monsoon session, was not brought up.

5. WORLD’S FIRST CARBON-NEUTRAL AIRLINE

TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: World’s first carbon-neutral airline is facing law suit. In this regard, lets look into the issue and the mechanisms involved.

EXPLANATION:

Issue:

• Delta Air Lines in 2020 marketed itself as the “world’s first carbon-neutral airline”, investing $1 billion to work on reducing fuel usage and investing in carbon removal techniques. Recently it is facing lawsuit the first of its kind against a U.S. airline’s climate claims  arguing Delta Air Line’s assertions were bogus, misleading and false.
• The ‘green airline’ tag is a contested commodity, as flyers and companies alike are realising that flying is a significant contributor to carbon pollution (accounting for more than 2% of all greenhouse-gas emissions).
• Aviation emissions could grow by 300-700% by 2050, per estimates.

What does the lawsuit say?

• Delta relied on “carbon offsetting”, shorthand for a slew of ways companies can reduce or remove carbon emissions from the environment. Activities like planting trees, shifting to cleaner fuel, funding carbon capture techniques in theory balance out a company’s carbon emissions.
• A 2021 Guardian investigation found the carbon offset systems of most airlines are “flawed” and deceptive.
• In 2021, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which is home to 300 airlines across 120 countries, pledged to achieve net zero by 2050, in a move that was criticised as “greenwashing”.

What are carbon credits?

• Carbon offsets work like a game of Monopoly, except instead of money, companies deal in carbon emissions. A company gets “carbon credits” for investment in offset projects, tokens which represent an amount of carbon dioxide which would have been funnelled out of the atmosphere due to these initiatives.
• Each credit is equal to a metric ton of CO2, which would have caused global warming. These credits allow companies to continue emitting carbon in one place (say, aeroplane travel), with the promise their offsets are reducing emissions elsewhere (in distant rainforests).
• The voluntary carbon-offset market is expected to grow from $2 billion in 2020 to around $250 billion by 2050,
• The United Nations in 2008 formalised this idea by setting up the Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), believing that the incentives from offsetting will help nations achieve climate goals.
• There are also blind spots built into the offset system. The voluntary carbon offset market is self-regulated: there are middlemen in the form of organisations like REDD+ that connect credit buyers and sellers. There are “certification” standards set by companies like Verra which allow companies to create and register their carbon-offsetting projects (the Gold Standard is considered among the most rigorous credit programs).
• Offset programs work only when they remove or reduce carbon emissions that wouldn’t have been eliminated otherwise, what is called “additionality”. Proving additionality is a structural challenge, for it is hard to track the genuine progress of activities on the ground.

THE CONTEXT: A colossal police hunt for the Sikh separatist, Amritpal Singh who has revived calls for an independent homeland named ‘Khalistan’ in India’s Punjab state has stoked fears of violence and revived painful memories of a bloody insurgency that killed thousands.

EVOLUTION OF THE KHALISTAN MOVEMENT

• Khalsa is referred to as the community that practices Sikhism as a faith and a special group of initiated Sikhs. The Khalsa tradition was introduced in 1699 by Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Guru, after his father Guru Tegh Bahadur, was beheaded in the reign of Aurangzeb.
• The roots of the Khalistan movement can be traced back to the partition of India in 1947, which led to the formation of India and Pakistan. The Punjab region was divided between the two countries, with the majority of Sikhs living in the Indian part of Punjab. Many Sikhs felt that they had been betrayed by the Indian government, which had promised them autonomy but had failed to deliver. This feeling of betrayal led to a growing sense of alienation among Sikhs, which was exploited by some militant leaders.
• Jagjit Singh Chohan is the discredited founder of the Khalistan movement. In his early life, he was a dentist and was later first elected to the Punjab Assembly in 1967. He then became the finance minister.
  • Chohan moved to Britain in 1969 and began campaigning for Khalistan to be created. In 1971, he went to Nankana Sahib in Pakistan and initiated setting up a Sikh government.
  • Chohan was considered a Sikh leader by Yahaya Khan, the military dictator of Pakistan, and was handed over certain Sikh relics which he took with him to Britain. These relics helped him to gather support and followers. Thus, he visited the US at the invitation of his supporters in the Sikh diaspora.
• The Khalistan movement is a separatist movement that emerged in the 1970s, with the aim of creating an independent Sikh state, Khalistan, in the Punjab region of India. The movement gained momentum in the 1980s and early 1990s, during which time it became notorious for its violent tactics and terrorist attacks.
• The Khalistan movement was further led by Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a charismatic preacher who gained a large following among the Sikh community. Bhindranwale believed that the Sikhs were being discriminated against by the Indian government and that the only solution was to create a separate Sikh state. In 1984, Bhindranwale and his followers took over the Golden Temple in Amritsar, which is the holiest site in Sikhism. The Indian government launched a military operation (Operation Blue Star) to remove Bhindranwale and his followers from the Golden Temple, which resulted in the deaths of many innocent civilians and damaged the temple itself.
• The attack on the Golden Temple sparked outrage among Sikhs around the world, and the movement gained widespread support. Many Sikhs felt that the Indian government had shown its true colors by attacking the holiest site in Sikhism and that they needed to take drastic action to protect their community. This led to a wave of violence in the Punjab region, with terrorist attacks becoming increasingly common. The Indian government responded by launching a crackdown on the movement, which resulted in the deaths of many Sikh militants and innocent civilians.
• The Khalistan movement declined in the mid-1990s, due in part to the death of Bhindranwale and the capture of many other militant leaders. The movement also lost support among the Sikh community, as many Sikhs came to see it as a violent and extremist movement that did not represent their values. Today, the Khalistan movement remains a controversial issue in India, with some Sikhs continuing to advocate for an independent Sikh state while others believe that the movement is a relic of the past and that the focus should be on building a more inclusive and diverse India.

REASONS FOR RESURGENCE OF KHALISTAN MOVEMENT

There are several factors that have contributed to the revival of the Khalistan movement in Punjab:

• Political marginalization: Many Sikhs in Punjab feel that they are politically marginalized in the Indian political system. They feel that their voices are not being heard and that their needs are being ignored. This feeling of political isolation has contributed to the resurgence of the Khalistan movement.
  • Also, Punjab in recent years has witnessed a political crisis leading to a change in governments, ruling political parties and CM’s giving chance for radical outfits to grow.
• Economic grievances: Punjab has seen a decline in economic growth in recent years, which has led to widespread unemployment and poverty. Many Sikhs in Punjab feel that they are being left behind and that their economic needs are not being addressed. The Khalistan movement has tapped into this sense of economic disenfranchisement.
  • Punjab state has a high employment rate (According to data from the Centre’s Periodic Labour Force Survey 2019-20, Punjab’s unemployment rate is higher than the national average).
• Perception of injustice: Many Sikhs feel that they have been treated unjustly by the Indian government. This feeling of injustice is rooted in the Sikh community’s history of persecution, including the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, in which thousands of Sikhs were killed in retribution for the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Many Sikhs feel that justice has not been served in these cases, which has contributed to the revival of the Khalistan movement.
• Social and cultural issues: There is a growing sense among many Sikhs that their culture and traditions are being eroded in the modern Indian society. They feel that their unique identity is not being respected and that their religious rights are being violated. The Khalistan movement has become a way for Sikhs to assert their identity and protect their cultural heritage.
• International support: The Khalistan movement has received support from Sikhs living abroad, particularly in countries like Canada and the United Kingdom. These expatriate Sikhs have provided financial and political support to the movement, which has helped to increase its influence in Punjab.
  • Also, investigations by security agencies suggest links between Khalistani groups and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), further increasing the likelihood of feelings of separatism due to drug trafficking and networking through Sikh pilgrimages.

WHY IS THERE SUPPORT FOR KHALISTAN OUTSIDE OF INDIA?

The support for Khalistan outside of India is primarily driven by the Sikh diaspora, which includes millions of Sikhs who have emigrated from India to countries around the world. There are several reasons why the Sikh diaspora supports the Khalistan movement:

• Identity and cultural preservation: Many Sikhs living outside of India feel a strong attachment to their cultural and religious identity. They believe that the establishment of Khalistan would provide a way to protect and preserve their unique cultural heritage.
• Historical grievances: The Sikh community has a long history of persecution and marginalization in India. This includes the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, in which thousands of Sikhs were killed in retribution for the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Many Sikhs feel that justice has not been served in these cases and that the Indian government has not done enough to address their historical grievances.
• Political influence: The Sikh diaspora is a significant political force in many countries around the world. By supporting the Khalistan movement, Sikhs living abroad can influence government policy and draw attention to their cause on the global stage.
• Support for self-determination: Many Sikhs living outside of India support the idea of self-determination for the people of Punjab. They believe that the establishment of Khalistan would provide a way for Sikhs to govern themselves and to achieve greater autonomy within India.
• Economic interests: Some Sikhs living outside of India have financial interests in the Punjab region. They believe that the establishment of Khalistan would provide greater economic opportunities and help to develop the region.

KHALISTAN MOVEMENT: CAUSE OF CONCERN FOR INDIA

• Threat to National Security: The Khalistan movement seeks to establish a separate state in the Punjab region of India, which would involve the secession of a significant part of the country. This would threaten the territorial integrity and national security of India by kindling other separatist movements within India.
• Terrorism: The Khalistan movement has been associated with acts of terrorism and violence in the past. The movement has carried out several bombings, assassinations, and other violent acts in India. The Indian government views the Khalistan movement as a terrorist threat and has taken steps to counter its activities.
• Instability: The Khalistan movement has the potential to create instability and unrest in the Punjab region of India. The movement has the support of some sections of the Sikh community, and its activities could lead to protests, strikes, and other forms of civil unrest.
• Religious tensions: The Khalistan movement is rooted in the Sikh community’s identity and grievances. However, it could also lead to tensions between Sikhs and other religious communities in India, such as Hindus and Muslims.
• Economic Impact: The establishment of Khalistan could have a significant economic impact on India, as the Punjab region is an important agricultural and industrial hub. The movement could disrupt economic activities, deter investment, and hurt the livelihoods of millions of people.

STEPS TAKEN BY GOVERNMENT OF INDIA TO TACKLE THE KHALISTAN MOVEMENT

The Indian government has taken several steps to tackle the Khalistan movement, which seeks to establish a separate Sikh state in the Punjab region of India. The government views the movement as a threat to national security and has implemented a range of measures to counter its influence. Some of the key steps taken by the government include:

• Counter-terrorism measures: The Indian government has taken a tough stance against Khalistan militants, cracking down on terrorist activities and launching anti-insurgency operations to disrupt their networks. This has included targeted killings, raids on suspected militant hideouts, and the use of military force to quell violent protests.
• Legal action: The government has also used legal means to crack down on the Khalistan movement. Several Khalistan leaders and activists have been arrested and charged with sedition and terrorism-related offenses. The government has also banned several Khalistan organizations and declared them as terrorist organizations.
  • The Khalistan movement is outlawed in India and considered a grave national security threat by the government – a number of groups associated with the movement (like Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), Khalistan Commando Force (KCF), International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF), All-India Sikh Student Federation (AISSF)) are listed as “terrorist organizations” under India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
• Dialogue with moderate Sikh leaders: The government has engaged in a dialogue with moderate Sikh leaders to address their grievances and to find a peaceful solution to the issue. The government has also encouraged moderate Sikh leaders to speak out against the Khalistan movement and to promote the idea of a united India.
• Development initiatives: The government has launched several development initiatives in Punjab to address economic grievances and improve the living conditions of the people. These initiatives include infrastructure development, job creation, and social welfare programs.
• Diplomatic pressure: The Indian government has also put diplomatic pressure on foreign countries to prevent them from supporting the Khalistan movement. This has included lobbying foreign governments to ban Khalistan organizations and to extradite Khalistan militants who are living abroad.

OTHER MOVEMENTS FOR SEPARATE STATE IN INDIA

The Khalistan movement is not the only separatist movement in India. There have been several other movements seeking the creation of separate states based on ethnic, linguistic, or regional identities. Here are some of the major movements:

• Gorkhaland: The Gorkhaland movement seeks to create a separate state for the Gorkha ethnic community in the Darjeeling hills of West Bengal. The movement has been ongoing for several decades and has been marked by protests, strikes, and violence.
• Bodoland: The Bodoland movement seeks to create a separate state for the Bodo tribe in the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts of Assam. The movement has been ongoing for several decades and has been marked by violent clashes between Bodo militants and the Indian government.
• Greater Nagalim: The Nagaland movement seeks to create a separate state for the Naga people in the northeastern region of India. The movement has been ongoing for several decades and has been marked by armed conflict between Naga militants and the Indian government.
• Tamil Eelam: The Tamil Eelam movement seeks to create a separate state for the Tamil people in the northern and eastern regions of Sri Lanka. The movement has been marked by a prolonged civil war and international involvement.

VARIOUS INSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL MECHANISMS TO DEAL WITH HINTERLAND TERRORISM IN INDIA

KEY LEGAL MECHANISMS:

• The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA): The UAPA is the primary legislation that deals with terrorism-related offenses in India. The act provides for the detention of suspects without trial, the freezing of assets, and the seizure of property in terrorism-related cases. The act also contains provisions for the investigation and prosecution of terrorist acts.
• The Indian Penal Code (IPC): The IPC contains provisions that deal with various offenses related to terrorism, including waging war against the nation, sedition, and conspiracy to commit an offense.
• The Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (POTA): POTA was enacted in response to the growing threat of terrorism in India. The act provided for special courts to try terrorism-related cases, allowed for the interception of communications, and contained provisions for the investigation and prosecution of terrorist acts. However, POTA was repealed in 2004 due to concerns about its misuse.
• The National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 (NIA Act): The NIA Act provides for the establishment of the National Investigation Agency, which is a specialized agency that investigates and prosecutes terrorism-related cases. The act provides the agency with extensive powers, including the power to arrest and detain suspects and to conduct searches and seizures.
• The Arms Act, 1959: The Arms Act regulates the possession, acquisition, and transfer of arms and ammunition. The act contains provisions for the punishment of offenses related to the illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
• The Explosives Act, 1884: The Explosives Act regulates the manufacture, possession, and use of explosives. The act contains provisions for the punishment of offenses related to the illegal possession and use of explosives.

INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS:

• National Security Council (NSC): The NSC is the apex body for the formulation and implementation of national security policies. It advises the government on matters related to national security and crisis management.
• National Investigation Agency (NIA): The NIA is a specialized agency that investigates and prosecutes terrorism-related cases. It was established in 2009 and has the power to take over any terrorism-related case from the state police and conduct its investigation.
• National Security Guard (NSG): The NSG is a specialized counter-terrorism force that is equipped and trained to handle terrorist situations. It was established in 1984 and is available for deployment anywhere in the country.
• Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS): The ATS is a specialized unit of the state police that deals with terrorism-related cases. Each state has its ATS, which works in coordination with the central agencies.
• Multi-Agency Centre (MAC): The MAC is an intelligence-sharing platform that brings together various intelligence agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), to coordinate their efforts and share information.
• Cyber Security and Information Assurance (CSIA) Cell: The CSIA Cell is a specialized unit that deals with cyber threats and information security issues. It works in coordination with other intelligence agencies to provide a comprehensive threat assessment.

THE WAY FORWARD:

The Khalistan issue is a complex and sensitive matter that requires a nuanced approach. Here are some steps that could be taken to address the issue:

• Address Historical Grievances: The Indian government could take steps to address the historical grievances of the Sikh community, such as the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. This could involve providing compensation to the victims and their families, holding those responsible for the riots accountable, and ensuring that such incidents do not happen again.
• Political Dialogue: The Indian government could engage in political dialogue with the leaders of the Khalistan movement to understand their concerns and work towards a peaceful resolution. The dialogue could involve representatives from the Sikh community, civil society, and other stakeholders.
• Address Economic Concerns: The Indian government could take steps to address the economic concerns of the people of Punjab, such as creating jobs, promoting investment, and developing infrastructure in the region. This could help to address some of the underlying causes of the Khalistan movement.
• Promote Cultural Diversity: The Indian government could promote cultural diversity and respect for all religious communities in the country. This could involve promoting interfaith dialogue, celebrating cultural festivals, and creating opportunities for people from different communities to come together and interact.
• Counter Radicalization: The Indian government could take steps to counter the radicalization of the Sikh community by promoting moderate voices and countering extremist propaganda. This could involve working with civil society organizations, religious leaders, and the media to promote messages of peace, tolerance, and understanding.
• Strict Law Enforcement: The Indian government could also take strict law enforcement measures against those involved in violent activities, while also respecting the rights of peaceful protestors and activists.

THE CONCLUSION: The Khalistan movement is a cause of concern for India due to its potential to inflict multi-dimensional impacts on India. Addressing the Khalistan issue requires a comprehensive approach that involves multiple stakeholders, including the government, civil society organizations, religious leaders, and the media.

1. EL NINO

TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: NOAA flags dramatic warming in Pacific Ocean after 7 years. It is important to note that El Niño has no one-on-one links India’s summer monsoon. However, it is true that practically all drought years in India since Independence have witnessed El Niño events of varying intensity.

EXPLANATION:

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States federal administration, announced El Niño is back in the Pacific Ocean after seven years.

What is El Niño?

• El Niño, which in Spanish means “little boy”, is a climate pattern that develops along the equatorial Pacific Ocean after intervals of a few years ranging between 2 and 7 years.
• Essentially, water on the surface of the ocean sees an unusual warming in a band straddling the equator in the central and east-central pacific broadly extending from the International Date line and 120°W longitude, i.e., off the Pacific coast of South America, west of the Galapagos islands.

How and why does El Niño happen?

• When the so-called El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is in its neutral phase, the trade winds blow west along the equator and take the warm water from South America towards Asia.
• However, during an event of El Niño, these trade winds weaken (or may even reverse) and instead of blowing from the east (South America) to the west (Indonesia), they could turn into westerlies.
• In this situation, as the winds blow from the west to east, they cause masses of warm water to move into the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, and reach the coast of western America.
• During such years, there prevails warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures along the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

And what is the impact of El Niño conditions?

• Globally, El Niño has been associated with severe heatwaves, floods, and droughts in the past.
• Depending on its strength, El Niño can cause a range of impacts such as increasing the risk of heavy rainfall and droughts in certain locations around the world.

How severe are this year’s El Niño conditions?

• The 2023 event is the fifth since 2000 — which means they develop every 4-5 years on average.
• Sea surface temperatures along the equatorial Pacific Ocean, especially along the various Niño regions, have been showing signs of much more rapid warming than had been predicted by the weather models.
• The Niño 3.4 index value the vital indicator confirming an event of El Niño jumped from minus 0.2 degrees Celsius to 0.8 degrees Celsius between March and June this year. Whereas, the threshold value of this index is 0.5 degrees Celsius.

How worried should India be about this development?

• In the Indian context, over the last hundred years, there have been 18 drought years.
• Of these, 13 years were associated with El Niño. Thus, there seems to be a correlation between an El Niño event and a year of poor rainfall in India.
• Also, between 1900 and 1950, there were 7 El Niño years but during the 1951-2021 period, there were 15 El Niño years ( 2015, 2009, 2004, 2002, 1997, 1991, 1987, 1982, 1972, 1969, 1965, 1963, 1957, 1953 and 1951). This suggests that the frequency of El Niño events has been increasing over time.
• Of the 15 El Niño years in the 1951-2021 period, nine summer monsoon seasons over the country recorded deficient rain by more than 90 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA).
• Climate change can exacerbate or mitigate certain impacts related to El Niño.
• It could lead to new records for temperatures, particularly in areas that already experience above-average temperatures.

2. KAZIRANGA MAHOUTS CAUGHT FOR CONSUMING RARE TURTLES 

TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: Three persons engaged as mahouts in the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve have been arrested for capturing and consuming a rare species of a freshwater turtle i.e spotted pond turtles inside the one-horned rhino habitat. Action against the trio was taken under relevant sections of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972.

EXPLANATION:

Spotted pond turtles

• Spotted pond turtles are named for the yellow or white spots on their black heads, legs and tails. They have large heads and short snouts, and their webbed feet help them swim.
• The pond turtle’s carapace, or upper shell, is generally black with bright patterns that fade with age. Males have concave carapaces and larger, thicker tails than females.
• Pond turtles bask in the sun to regulate their body temperature.
• Spotted pond turtles are found in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent in the Indus and Ganges river drainages. Their range includes parts of Pakistan, northern India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

• They are semi-aquatic and can typically be found in shallow, standing waters, such as oxbow lakes, ponds and marshes.
• They prefer water with thick vegetation that provides cover, as well as places to lie and bask.
• Communication : When they retreat into their shells, spotted pond turtles make a soft croak.
• Spotted pond turtles are primarily carnivorous and eat aquatic invertebrates. They use the bony surfaces of their strong jaws to crush the shells of snails, prawns, crabs and other crustaceans. They also eat mollusks, fish, amphibians and cereal grains, and will sometimes graze on grasses.
• Spotted pond turtles reach sexual maturity between 6 and 8 years old. Females dig a bowl-shaped nest for their eggs that is about 6-10 centimeters (2-4 inches) deep. The nest is dug into loamy soil (soil with sand, silt and clay) in a spot where it will be concealed by bushes and other vegetation.
• Spotted pond turtles are crepuscular, meaning they are most active at twilight (dusk and dawn).

Kaziranga national park

• Kaziranga National park’s 430 square kilometer area sprinkled with elephant-grass meadows, swampy lagoons, and dense forests is home to more than 2200 Indian one-horned rhinoceros, approximately 2/3rd of their total world population.
• The park is located in the edge of the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspots Golaghat and Nagaon district.
• In the year 1985, the park was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Along with the iconic Greater one-horned rhinoceros, the park is the breeding ground of elephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer.
• Over the time, the tiger population has also increased in Kaziranga, and that’s the reason why Kaziranga was declared as Tiger Reserve in 2006. Also, the park is recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International for the conservation of avifaunal species. Birds like lesser white-fronted goose, ferruginous duck, Baer’s pochard duck and lesser adjutant, greater adjutant, black-necked stork, and Asian Openbill stork specially migrate from the Central Asia during the winter season..
• There are mainly four types of vegetation’ like alluvial inundated grasslands, alluvial savanna woodlands, tropical moist mixed deciduous forests, and tropical semi-evergreen forests.

3. UNIFIED PAYMENTS INTERFACE (UPI)

TAG: GS 3: ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT: As transactions facilitated by the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) breach record highs, banks have opted for daily limits. These are over and above the already imposed ceilings mandated by the facilitator, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), in 2021. The idea is to sustain the smoother functioning of the payments interface as it continues to acquire popularity in our daily lives.

EXPLANATION:

• At present, users can make up to 20 transactions or ₹1 lakh in a single day either all at once or through the day.
• For certain specific categories of transactions such as the capital markets, collections (such as bills, among others), insurance and forward inward remittances, the limit is ₹2 lakh.
• In December 2021, the limit for the UPI-based ASBA (Application Supported by Blocked Amount) IPO and retail direct schemes was increased to ₹5 lakh for each transaction.
• As the payments interface looks to expand its footprint (recall the boarding of non-resident accounts having international numbers into the ecosystem) and its growing utility in daily lives, limits would help maintain an essential security infrastructure and its seamless functioning.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI)

• Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing & merchant payments into one hood.
• It also caters to the “Peer to Peer” collect request which can be scheduled and paid as per requirement and convenience. Each Bank provides its own UPI App for Android, Windows and iOS mobile platform(s).
• The Unified Payment Interface is a way to make payments that work in real-time.
• The Reserve Bank of India, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), and the Indian Banks Association started UPI (IBA).

How the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) works?

• UPI uses technologies like the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) and the Aadhaar-Enabled Payment System (AEPS) to ensure that payments between accounts go smoothly.
• It can handle push (pay) and pull (receive) transactions, over-the-counter or barcode payments and many recurring payments, like utility bills, school fees, and other subscriptions.
• Once a single identifier is set up, the method lets mobile payments be made without using credit or debit cards, online banking, or entering account information.
• This will make sensitive information safer, and people with bank accounts will be able to link their phones to their accounts to easily make transactions.

4. WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ARCTIC SEA ICE?

TAGS: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: A recent study in the Nature journal says that the loss of Arctic sea ice is inevitable in the decades ahead, even if the world somehow gets its act together and sharply reduces carbon emissions.

EXPLANATION:

Why is the Arctic sea ice important?

• The massive sheets of ice that pad the Arctic region play a major role in influencing global climate and the rise and fall in Arctic sea temperatures.
• During winter, the sea ice envelops most of the Arctic Ocean and in summer, a portion of it melts due to being exposed to longer periods of sunlight and elevated temperatures.
• Sea ice normally melts and is at its thinnest and most sparse in mid-September, when the area covered by ice is roughly half the size of the winter maximum.
• The United States’ Environment Protection Agency (EPA) explains the importance of sea ice thus: “Sea ice is light-coloured and therefore reflects more sunlight back to space than liquid water, thus playing a vital role in keeping polar regions cool and maintaining the earth’s energy balance. Sea ice also keeps the air cool by forming a barrier between the cold air above and the relatively warmer water below.
• As the amount of sea ice decreases, the Arctic region’s cooling effect is reduced, and this may initiate a ‘feedback loop’ whereby ocean warming caused by more absorption of solar energy leads to an even greater loss of sea ice and further warming.
• Changes in sea ice can affect biodiversity and impact mammals such as polar bears and walruses, which rely on the presence of sea ice for hunting, breeding, and migrating. The reduction in ice cover also affects the traditional subsistence hunting lifestyle of indigenous Arctic populations such as the Yup’ik, Iñupiat, and Inuit.
• On the other hand, reduced ice can present “commercial and economic opportunities” with the opening up of shipping lanes and increased access to natural resources in the Arctic region. This has already provoked global competition with several countries, including India, vying for greater influence in groups such as the Arctic Council that governs access to Arctic resources

What does the new study say?

• Arctic sea ice is decreasing is well-known and acknowledged in several reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and it is widely expected that the world will see its first ‘sea-ice free summer’ before 2050.
• This, however is under the assumption that global emissions will drive temperatures to beyond 4.5°C making the Arctic ice-free by 2081-2100.
• There was uncertainty on whether this sea-ice-free scenario applied to situations where carbon emissions were curbed enough to ensure that temperature-rise was restricted to say 1.5°C or 2°C, as envisaged in the Paris Agreement.
• The recent Nature study confirms that there is no scenario under which the Arctic sea ice can be saved in summer.
• Moreover, if drastic reductions in emissions aren’t undertaken, we could very well be seeing the first such summer in the 2030s. Satellites monitoring the Arctic have shown the rate of loss to be 13% every year.

Effects:

• The diminished sea ice while warming the Arctic also leads to a weakening of the polar jet streams, which are currents of air that form when warm and cold air meet.
• This weakening has been linked to rising temperatures and heatwaves in Europe as well as unseasonal showers in northwest India.
• While the ice-free summer may be inevitable, reducing carbon emissions might mean being better able to adapt to climate ‘tipping points.’

5. POWER TRADING AND CERC

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: The power ministry has asked Central Electricity Regulatory Authority (CERC) to initiate the process of coupling multiple power exchanges, a mechanism which seeks to ensure uniformity in price discovery of energy at trading platforms.

EXPLANATION:

• At present India has three power exchanges — Indian Electricity Exchange (IEX), Power Exchange of India (PXIL) and Hindustan Power Exchange (HPX). The IEX has the largest market share of 88% in total power trade at multiple exchanges in India
• In the present scenario, buyers and sellers at each exchange do trading of electricity and discover spot price separately at these exchanges. After coupling of exchanges, the price discovery would be uniform.
• This will give a fillip to the service levels in the power market, and ensure better transparency and uniform prices discovery across exchanges.
• The move is also expected to bring down the power tariff in the country significantly.

Central Electricity Regulatory Authority

• CERC is a statutory body functioning under sec – 76 of the Electricity Act 2003 (CERC was initially constituted under the Electricity Regulatory Commissions Act, 1998 on 24th July, 1998).
• The Commission intends to promote competition, efficiency and economy in bulk power markets, improve the quality of supply, promote investments and advise government on the removal of institutional barriers to bridge the demand supply gap and thus foster the interests of consumers.

In pursuit of these objectives the Commission aims to –

• Improve the operations and management of the regional transmission systems through Indian Electricity Grid Code (IEGC), Availability Based Tariff (ABT), etc.
• Formulate an efficient tariff setting mechanism, which ensures speedy and time bound disposal of tariff petitions, promotes competition, economy and efficiency in the pricing of bulk power and transmission services and ensures least cost investments.
• Facilitate open access in inter-state transmission
• Facilitate inter-state trading
• Promote development of power market
• Improve access to information for all stakeholders
• Facilitate technological and institutional changes required for the development of competitive markets in bulk power and transmission services.
• Advise on the removal of barriers to entry and exit for capital and management, within the limits of environmental, safety and security concerns and the existing legislative requirements, as the first step to the creation of competitive markets.

1. RAM PRASAD BISMIL: REVOLUTIONARY AND A POET

TAG: GS 1: HISTORY

THE CONTEXT: Born on June 11, 1897, Bismil was a revolutionary freedom fighter with a poet’s heart. On his 126th birth anniversary, we remember Ram Prasad Bismil, whose words and actions have inspired generations of Indians.

EXPLANATION:

Who was Ramprasad Bismil?

• Ram Prasad Bismil was born on June 11, 1897 in a nondescript village in the United Provinces’ (now Uttar Pradesh) Shahjahanpur district.
• Fighting against the British Raj, he was involved in the Mainpuri Conspiracy of 1918 as well as the more famous Kakori Train Action of 1925. He was hanged in 1927 by British authorities for his involvement in the Kakori Train Action.
• He founded the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA, later Hindustan Socialist Republican Association).
• Today, he is a revered symbol of patriotism and Hindu-Muslim unit.
• He is one of India’s most revered freedom fighters, known as much for his revolutionary zeal as for his poetic profundity.

Early life and Arya Samaj connections

• He was born into a Rajput Tomar family, he learnt Hindi from his father and Urdu from a maulvi who lived nearby.
• He also went to an English medium school in Shahjahanpur.
• His exposure to multiple languages would develop his instincts as a writer and poet at a very early stage in his life.
• He joined the Arya Samaj and became a prolific writer and poet, penning patriotic verses in Hindi and Urdu under pen names like ‘Agyat’, ‘Ram’, and the one that is most known ‘Bismil’ (meaning ‘wounded’, ‘restless’).
• At the age of only 18, he penned the poem Mera Janm (My Birth), venting out his anger over the death sentence handed out to Arya Samaj missionary Bhai Parmanand.

The Mainpuri Conspiracy

• After graduating from school, Bismil got involved in politics. However, he would soon be disillusioned by the so-called moderate wing of the Congress Party.
• Bismil was not willing to “negotiate” or “beg” for his country’s freedom if the British did not accede, he was willing to take it by force.
• To achieve his ends, he started a revolutionary organisation called Matrivedi (The Altar of the Motherland) and joined forces with fellow revolutionary Genda Lal Dixit. Dixit was well-connected with dacoits of the state and wanted to utilise them in the armed struggle against the British.
• In 1918, Bismil wrote arguably his most famous poem, Mainpuri ki Pratigya, which was distributed across the United Provinces in pamphlets, bringing him adulation of nationalist locals and notoriety with the British.
• In order to collect funds for his fledgling organisation, he carried out at least three instances of looting at government offices in Mainpuri district. A massive manhunt was launched and Bismil was located which led to dramatic shootout at the end of which Bismil jumped into the Yamuna river and swam underwater to escape.

Founding the Hindustan Republican Association

• After his escape, Bismil would remain underground for the next few years, writing avidly but not undertaking any major revolutionary activity.
• During this time, he released a collection of poems called Man ki Lahar and also translated works such as Bolshevikon ki Kartoot (from Bengali).
• In February 1920, when all the prisoners in the Manipuri conspiracy case were freed, Bismil returned home to Shahjahanpur. There he initially worked gathering support for the Congress-led Non-Cooperation Movement but after Gandhi called it off post the incident at Chauri Chaura in 1922, Bismil decided to start his own party.
• Thus the Hindustan Republican Association was formed with Bismil, Ashfaqullah Khan, Sachindra Nath Bakshi and Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee as founding members. Figures such as Chandra Shekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh would also later join the HRA.
• Their manifesto, largely penned down by Bismil, was officially released on January 1, 1925 and titled Krantikari (Revolutionary).
• It proclaimed, ‘’The immediate object of the revolutionary party in the domain of politics is to establish a federal Republic of United States of India by an organized and armed revolution.”
• Their envisioned republic would be based on universal suffrage and socialist principles.

The Kakori Train Action

• Revolutionaries planned to rob the train between Shahjahanpur and Lucknow, which often carried treasury bags meant to be deposited in the British treasury in Lucknow.
• On August 9, 1925, as the train was passing the Kakori station, about 15 km from Lucknow, Rajendranath Lahiri, a member of the HRA who was already seated inside, pulled the chain and stopped the train. Subsequently, around ten revolutionaries, including Ram Prasad Bismil and Ashfaqullah Khan, entered the train and overpowered the guard. They looted the treasury bags (containing approx Rs 4,600) and escaped to Lucknow
• However, the robbery both enraged the British and upset the Indian public. Due to a misfiring Mauser gun, one passenger (a lawyer named Ahmad Ali) was killed during the robbery – dampening the response to it from the public at large.
• British led a violent crackdown with almost everyone (with the exception of Chandrashekhar Azad) involved in the Kakori Train Action arrested. Bismil was picked up in October.

Death and legacy

• After an eighteen month long trial, Bismil, Ashfaqullah and Rajendranath Lahiri were sentenced to death. The sentence was carried out on December 19, 1927. Ram Prasad Bismil was just 30 years old when he died.
• Today, Ram Prasad Bismil has also become a symbol of communal harmony due to his close friendship with fellow revolutionary poet Ashfaqullah Khan.

2. DEFAULT LOSS GUARANTEE (DLG) IN DIGITAL LENDING

TAG: GS 3: ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT: The RBI has allowed banks to accept Default Loss Guarantee (DLG) in digital lending only if the guarantee is in the form of a cash deposit, or fixed deposits in a bank with a lien in favour of the RE(Regulated Entities), or a bank guarantee in favour of the RE.

EXPLANATION:

• The RBI, after examining First Loss Default Guarantee (FLDG), permitted the arrangements between banks and fintechs or between two regulated entities (REs).
• The central bank said an RE can enter into DLG arrangements only with an LSP or other REs with which it has entered into an outsourcing (LSP) arrangement.
• The LSP-providing DLG must be incorporated as a company under the Companies Act, 2013.
• Banks and NBFCs should ensure that the total amount of DLG cover on any outstanding portfolio does not exceed 5% of the amount of that loan portfolio.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed default loss guarantee (DLG), a safety-net arrangement among banks, non-banking finance companies, and lending service providers (LSPs, popularly known as fintech players) in the digital lending space.
• DLG is also known as First Loss Default Guarantee (FLDG). The RBI nod for compensating banks in case of default is expected to boost fintech activity in the financial sector.

What is an FLDG arrangement?

• FLDG is an arrangement whereby a third party such as a financial technology (fintech) player (LSP) compensates lenders if the borrower defaults.
• The LSP provides certain credit enhancement features such as first loss guarantee up to a pre-decided percentage of loans generated by it.
• For all practical purposes, credit risk is borne by the LSP without having to maintain any regulatory capital.

What does an LSP do?

• Lending service providers are new-age players who use technology platforms in the lending space.
• They are agents of a bank or NBFC who carry out one or more of a lender’s functions (in part or full) in customer acquisition, underwriting support, pricing support, disbursement, servicing, monitoring, recovery of specific loan or loan portfolio on behalf of REs as per the outsourcing guidelines of the RBI.

3. CAPTAGON PILLS CRISIS

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: Reports suggest that the Islamic State (IS) and Syrian fighters widely consumed Captagon to increase alertness and suppress appetite during their gruelling battles. Such use of amphetamine-type drugs isn’t a recent phenomenon though during World War II, Nazi Germany and the Allied forces provided their troops with amphetamines.

EXPLANATION:

• As global isolation of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad comes to an end with the Arab League reinstating Syria as its member, the discussions on the trade of Captagon pills have taken the centre-stage once again.
• Captagon is a highly addictive amphetamine-type drug, which is produced mainly in Syria and widely smuggled across West Asia.
• Sales of the drug have profited al-Assad, his associates and his family the pills have become a financial lifeline for them as Syria continues to struggle due to its economic crisis since the outbreak of the 2011 civil war.
• The reports of the rising prominence of Captagon first surfaced back in 2014, when it was found that the drug was being widely consumed by the Islamic State (IS) and Syrian fighters to increase alertness and suppress appetite during their gruelling battles.

What exactly is Captagon?

• Captagon is actually a counterfeit version of a medicine with the same brand name which was first produced in the 1960s by the German company Degussa Pharma Gruppe.
• They were manufactured to help treat attention deficit disorders, narcolepsy and other conditions.
• The original Captagon contained fenetylline, a synthetic drug of the phenethylamine family to which amphetamine also belongs.
• It was commercially sold in several countries until the 1980s and was banned due to fears of its highly addictive nature.
• In the following decades, new illicit tablets, mainly containing amphetamine, labelled Captagon surfaced in Bulgaria from where Balkan and Turkish criminal networks smuggled them to the Arabian Peninsula.
• The drug finally made a comeback post-2011 but this time in Syria, where a bloody civil war had plunged the country into an economic crisis.

What do amphetamine-based drugs do?

• Captagon pills, like other amphetamine-based drugs, stimulate the central nervous system, providing “a boost of energy, enhance someone’s focus, let someone stay awake for longer periods of time, and produce a feeling of euphoria.
• They don’t help someone gain “superhuman alertness, bravery, strength, or pain resistance” a person consuming any amphetamine-based drug might feel some sort of placebo effect though, which could lead to erratic behaviours.
• Captagon or other amphetamine-type drugs usually stay in the blood for around 36 hours.
• When taken orally, their peak effect occurs one to three hours after consumption, and effects last for as long as seven to 12 hours.

What are their side effects?

• Consumption of amphetamines can cause loss of appetite and weight, heart problems such as fast heart rate, irregular heartbeat, increased blood pressure, and heart attack, which can lead to death.
• They can also cause high body temperature, skin flushing, memory loss, problems thinking clearly, and stroke.
• The addiction, happens when the drug is consumed to get high or improve performance which can lead to tolerance.

How have militaries around the world used them?

• Although amphetamine was discovered in 1910 and chemically synthesised in 1927, its craze among militaries reached a crescendo during World War II.
• While Nazi Germany supplied Pervitin, a methamphetamine (now known as crystal meth) to its soldiers, the Allied forces gave their troops Benzedrine, which was amphetamine sulfate.
• The drug was also a significant part of their Blitzkrieg strategy, which involved carrying out a swift attack on the enemy and relentlessly pushing ahead with tank troops, day and night.
• The 2015 Vox report mentioned that the US Air Force still uses these performance-enhancing drugs.

4. DRIP IRRIGATION SCHEME

TAG: SCHEME

THE CONTEXT: Irregularities is noticed in Centre’s drip irrigation scheme in Jharkhand. The investigation found numerous violations Aadhaar cards were misused to create “ghost” beneficiaries with farmers completely unaware that money was being collected by private companies in their name; brand new equipment was gathering dust; and third-party verification by Nabcons was repeatedly falsified to beat the system.

EXPLANATION:

• An investigation has uncovered numerous violations and corrupt practices in the implementation of the “Per Drop More Crop — Micro Irrigation” (PDMC-MI) scheme in Jharkhand.
• Of the 94 beneficiaries who were tracked by this paper, only 17 were found to be actually utilising the scheme. Many apparent beneficiaries had no clue about their own enrollment in the scheme.

What is the “Per Drop More Crop” scheme?

• PDMC-MI is a central government scheme to promote micro irrigation drip or sprinkler systems which is implemented by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, with roughly 40% central funding. The rest is financed by states and farmers themselves; some states like Jharkhand and those in the Northeast have a different break-up.
• The scheme was launched in 2006 and was subsumed into the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojna (PMKSY) in 2015 as one of its four components.
• The main objectives of PDMC-MI are to enhance water-use efficiency and increase productivity, thus bolstering farmer incomes.
• The operational guidelines say the scheme is meant mostly for so-called water-guzzling crops like sugarcane, cotton, and banana, even though cereals and pulses may also be brought under its ambit.
• States are supposed to install irrigation infrastructure, conduct publicity campaigns, create market linkages, and provide training and other expert support.
• Drip irrigation systems are costlier than sprinkler systems. In drip irrigation, water is targeted directly at the roots of crops using emitters that are fitted on a lateral tube.

Why is this scheme important for Jharkhand?

• The state’s agricultural economy, especially its major crop, paddy, is predominantly rain-dependent.
• In 2022, Jharkhand suffered its worst drought in 122 years on record during the June 1-August 15 paddy sowing season.
• Drip irrigation can be of great help in this situation it enhances water-use efficiency by cutting water usage by roughly 70%, doubles productivity, assures energy savings, and helps directly deliver fertilisers to crop roots.
• Effective operation of PDMC-MI which was first introduced in the state in 2010-11 — can potentially reduce distress outmigration and deliver a climate-resilient solution for the agrarian economy.

How were the farmers and companies chosen?

• State governments are required to identify the places where drip/sprinkler irrigation can be used; then, companies that can provide the irrigation infrastructure, and the scheme’s beneficiaries are identified.
• In Jharkhand, the enrolment process is controlled by the companies, who in most cases reach out to farmers and apply to the agriculture department on their behalf, and then receive work orders from the district office of the department. This process often does not reflect the farmer’s opinion on drip irrigation or his willingness to buy into it.
• Companies are enlisted as PDMC-MI providers in the state for a period of five years through a tendering process, but each enlisted company has to re-register every year. Every district is allotted 4-5 companies.

How does the scheme work?

• The contracted companies install drip irrigation systems on the beneficiaries’ land, up to a ceiling of 5 ha (12.3 acres), contiguous or otherwise.
• Contract farmers, those who have taken land on lease, are also eligible if they can produce a lease agreement for a minimum period of seven years from the date of approval of the application. Beneficiaries to have already availed of the scheme are barred for the next seven years.
• The subsidy amount paid to the companies by the government depends on various factors, including water requirement, plant to plan spacing, water quality, and specific local factors.

Is there a verification process before and after installation?

• The process of applying for and receiving assistance under PDMC-MI incorporates various steps to ensure transparency and honesty within the system
• Pre-installation, the farmer fills out a form with all personal details, including Aadhaar, and attaches an affidavit detailing the land in possession. The mukhiya of the panchayat attests the documents, and a panchayat member or a government official certifies the authenticity of the details to the best of their knowledge.
• Post-installation of the drip irrigation infrastructure, the farmer writes a “satisfaction letter” stating that he has not received any subsidy, the installation is complete, and the requisite training has been provided to him. The farmer must also make a video statement, geotag it with the latitude and longitude of the farm with the drip irrigation equipment, and send it to Nabcons, the consultancy arm of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), for verification against the beneficiaries’ Aadhaar details.
• However, Nabcons relies on company agents/ representatives to reach the beneficiaries, which leaves scope for manipulation of data. The Investigation found that middlemen (company agents) and Nabcon verification personnel were in cahoots.
• Irrespective of the third party verification, the agriculture department is supposed to conduct verification exercises for 50% of beneficiaries this does not happen currently.

5. EU MIGRATION DEAL

TAG: GS 2: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

THE CONTEXT: European Union ministers agreed  on how to handle irregular arrivals of asylum-seekers and migrants, a deal hailed as a breakthrough after almost a decade of bitter feuds on the sensitive matter.

EXPLANATION:

• EU states is blamed over providing for the new arrivals since more than a million people mostly fleeing the war in Syria caught the EU bloc by surprise by reaching it across the Mediterranean in 2015.
• The bloc has since tightened external borders and its asylum laws, and struck deals in the Middle East and North Africa to have more people stay there. U.N. data shows fewer than 160,000 sea migrants made to it Europe last year.
• The bloc hopes lower irregular immigration would allow EU countries to restart cooperation to spread more evenly the task of taking care of arriving refugees and migrants

WHAT IS NEW PACT?

• Each EU country would be assigned a share of the 30,000 people overall the bloc is expected to accommodate in its joint migration system at any given time.
• That will be calculated based on the size of the country’s GDP and population, the number of irregular border crossings including via sea rescue operations, and more.
• Countries unwilling to take in people would instead be able to help their hosting peers through cash at least 20,000 euros per person a year equipment or personnel.
• The agreement would introduce a new expedited border procedure for those deemed unlikely to win asylum to prevent them from lingering inside the bloc for years.
• Instead, they should be sent away within six months if their asylum applications fails, one of several shortened deadlines in the deal.
• That mechanism would apply to all those deemed dangerous, uncooperative or coming from countries with low asylum recognition rates in the EU like India or Serbia.
• EU countries could also apply the speedy procedure to people picked up in the sea, caught while trying to get in illegally or filing for asylum at the border rather than in advance

ISSUES:

• It can create more overcrowded migration camps on the edges of the EU.
• New plan could lead to protracted detention of minors and criticised it as focusing on keeping people away rather than helping those in need.
• There is opposition from Warsaw and Budapest, however, majority deal among the 27 EU countries. Spain will now lead more negotiations on behalf of the member states with the European Parliament.

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