9 PM Daily Current Affairs Brief – December 20th, 2022

Current Affairs Compilations for UPSC IAS Prelims 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

• Criminalising consensual relationships
• A role for India in a world wide web
• Guns and butter – Govt must review its military spending
• Hooch tragedy in Bihar: Nitish Kumar needs to learn from his mistakes

GS Paper 3

• The cost to the country just for savings in CTC
• The era of free data is over — the law is coming for Big Tech
• A planet in crisis – Tangible outcomes from biological diversity convention are far away
• Nuclear fusion may offer India a clean-energy pathway
• About the Competition Act 2002: Gatekeepers of digital markets

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

• NASA set to launch first global water survey satellite
• Explained | What are carbon markets and how do they operate?
• Organ donations rise after Covid-19 dip: What do the numbers show?
• Government has taken several steps to provide Vocational Education to the youth
• About global minimum tax: The minimum tax on big businesses
• Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: Historic biodiversity deal gets the nod at COP15 summit in Canada
• Bullock Heart Tree: ICRISAT intern awarded for developing bio-insecticide from ‘ramphal’ leaves
• Telangana’s Tandur red gram gets GI tag
• The many Latin terms in legal jargon: How many do you know?

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

Criminalising consensual relationships

News– The article explains the issues of consensual relationship between adolescents in context of the POCSO Act.

According to an analysis by Enfold Proactive Health Trust, cases related to consensual relationships constituted 24.3% of the total cases registered and disposed under the POCSO Act between 2016 and 2020. The data is of cases by special courts in Assam, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

What are issues related to criminalization of consensual relationships between adults under POCSO Act?

Its unintended effect has been the criminal prosecution and the deprivation of liberty of young people in consensual relationships. The law is also used by parents of adolescent girls to safeguard family honour.

The prosecution process has an adverse impact on the adolescents’ development, education, employment, self-esteem, social reputation, and family life.

The law casts adolescent girls as victims, thus rendering them voiceless. Adolescent boys are by default treated as children in conflict with the law and can even be tried as adults.

Such blanket criminalisation of consensual sexual acts among adolescents is gross oversight of their sexual development, bodily integrity and autonomy. It violates their right to life, privacy, and dignity.

The penal approach also impedes adolescents’ right to barrier-free access to sexual and reproductive health services and information recognised under the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram.

The mandatory reporting obligation under the POCSO Act deters girls from availing themselves of medical services and pushes them towards unsafe abortions.

The inclusion of consensual and non-exploitative acts involving adolescents diverts time and resources from the investigation and trial of actual cases of sexual violence and exploitation.

According to Crime in India, 2021, 92.6% of cases under the POCSO Act were pending disposal. Consensual cases among these are overburdening the criminal justice system. There are abnormally high acquittal rates of 93.8% in cases related to consensual relationships and the girl did not say anything incriminating against the accused in 81.5% of the cases.

What are arguments in support of decriminalisation of consensual relationships between adolescents?

In Vijayalakshmi vs State Rep. (2021), the Madras High Court cited evidence that “adolescent romance is an important developmental marker for adolescents’ self-identity, functioning and capacity for intimacy”.

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that states should avoid criminalizing adolescents of similar ages for factually consensual and non-exploitative sexual activity.

What is the way forward?

Comprehensive sexuality education is needed to bridge knowledge gaps, build positive skills and attitudes. It will enable adolescents to make informed decisions and navigate through interpersonal relationships.

An amendment needs to be considered to the POCSO Act and the Indian Penal Code to decriminalise consensual acts involving adolescents above 16 years. It should also ensure that those above 16 years and below 18 years are protected against non-consensual acts.

Till such time as the law is amended, government agencies may consider exercising the discretion available to them under existing provisions in the best interest of children.

A role for India in a world wide web

News– The article explains the case of leadership role for India in new global power equations. It explains the available foreign policy choices for India in the changing world order.

Recently Foreign MInister gave a statement on India’s role in global politics. He stated that India can play a “stabilising” and “bridging” role in the world and can contribute towards the de-risking of the global economy and depolarise the world.

What is the conventional notion of world leadership?

It relies on the economic and hard-power assumptions.

It is military strength, nuclear capacity and level of economic development and soft power that decides any country’s stature in international politics.

Sould India look for a leadership role in the new world order?

India has the world’s fourth-strongest army.

In case of nuclear capacity, India’s status having been made clear in 1998, and then formally recognised in the India-U.S. nuclear deal some years later.

it is already the world’s third largest economy in PPP.

India is a land of paradoxes. So many speak about India as a great power of the 21st century when we are not yet able to feed, educate and employ all our people.

So it is not economic growth, military strength or population numbers that would underscore our nation’s potential role in the world of the 21st century. Rather, it is a transformation of the terms of global exchange and the way countries adapt to the new international, interlinked landscape that will shape their future role and direction.

India should not look for the role of “world leader”. It should become an active participant in a world that is no longer defined by parameters such as “superpowers” or “great powers”.

What are the new dynamics of international politics?

Old binaries of the Cold War era are no longer relevant. The distinction between domestic and international is less and less meaningful in today’s world.

Foreign policy is no longer just foreign. There is a need to think of its domestic implications. The ultimate purpose of any country’s foreign policy is to promote the security and well-being of its own citizens.

One defining paradigm for foreign policy is impossible for today’s world. India cannot simply be non-aligned between two superpowers when one of them sits on our borders and nibbles at our territory.

It can not  afford to sacrifice strategic autonomy in a quest for self-protection. We need to define a new role for ourselves that depends on our understanding of the way the world is.

There will be  multiple networks, which will sometimes overlap with each other with common memberships, and sometimes be distinct. But they all serve our interests in different ways and for different purposes.

What is the unique position of India in global affairs?

India belongs both to the non-aligned movement and western democracies. India is a leading light of grouping developing countries, the G-77. It is also part of G-20 grouping. India plays an influential role both in the United Nations, a universal organisation that has 193 member states, and in the SAARC that has only its seven neighbours.

India has the great ability to be in all these great institutional networks, pursuing different objectives with different partners. It has moved beyond non-alignment to multi-alignment.

What is the way forward for India foreign policy?

Today, India can take its sovereignty for granted. Our strategic autonomy is a fact of life and no longer something that has to be fought for.

Our country is now in a position to exercise a vision of responsibility on the world stage. It can assume the new role of participating in the making of global rules and even playing a role in imposing them.

Guns and butter – Govt must review its military spending

News: The Tawang clash between the Indian Army and Chinese PLA has been a matter of debate. The clash also highlights the lacunae of the Indian military.

What is the present condition of the Indian Army?

The Indian military has been the subject of under-investment.

Budgets are mainly set aside for infrastructure and welfare spending whereas the defence budget is merely at 2.5 percent of gross domestic product.

Even out of 2.5 percent, the vast amount is spent on personnel costs, especially on pensions and very little is spent on capital spending.

Therefore, the Indian armed forces have not been modernized up to the expectations.

This is why the government is also quiet on the current Tawang clash and it hopes that India-China relationship can be managed without any further confrontation.

What is the way ahead?

China prefers war whereas India has been trying to solve the issue diplomatically and with dialogues but this won’t work for a longer period of time. India should also be ready to face the clash with China.

For this, the government will have to start re-investing in security and prioritising modernisation of the military in its Budget allocation.

Moreover, India has only one-fifth the per capita income of China. Therefore, the government needs a smart strategy and spending choices to deal with the current situation.

Hooch tragedy in Bihar: Nitish Kumar needs to learn from his mistakes

News: The death of over 70 people in Bihar after consuming illicit liquor underlines the challenges associated with prohibition.

About prohibition in Bihar

In 2016, the Rules of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act sought to punish the families of “offenders”, including fines, confiscation of property and jail. In 2018, some of the law’s more draconian provisions were amended.

However, from 2016, when prohibition was imposed in Bihar, to 2021, there have been over 200 hooch-related deaths in the state.

What are the challenges associated with prohibition?

States such as Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have tried the policy of prohibition and understood that prohibition is not the solution to alcoholism.

In each case, the policy has been withdrawn because a) it pushes consumption underground, b) places an undue burden on the law and order machinery, c) increases criminalisation, and depletes revenues.

So, the counterproductive measure should be revoked in Bihar to save people and the exchequer.

GS Paper 3

The cost to the country just for savings in CTC

News– The article explains the issue of increasing casual and contractual employment in India.

What is the status of the casual workforce in India?

According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2021, India has about 100 million casual workers and 50 million salaried workers with no written job contract. This gives us an estimate of 150 million contract workers. It is about 30% of the total labour force in the country.

In the Annual Survey of Industries, the share of contract employment in total industrial employment increased from 24% in 2004 to 38% in 2017.

After 2001, the public sector also started outsourcing many vacancies, citing them as non-core activities. In the Public Enterprises Survey 2021, the share of contract workers in PSUs was 17.1% in 2011-12. It increased to 19% in 2015-16 and 37.2% in 2020-21.

Why is contract employment considered better by the firms?

The cost to the company (CTC) is lower for contract employment when compared to permanent employment. This is considered beneficial for the economy as reduced CTC has also attracted foreign investment.

Besides wages, there are five typical human resource costs: hiring costs, induction costs, career progression costs, severance and superannuation costs.

Hiring costs are higher for the public sector when compared to the private sector. Millions apply for a few hundred vacancies in the public sector. Conducting examinations on this scale becomes a nightmare for the state machinery. Hiring through manpower suppliers is cost and time efficient.

As contract labour requires minimal training, it reduces CTC. Management prefers contract labour as they are not entitled to the generous paid leave enjoyed by a permanent employee.

Saving comes from no commitment to promotion or post-retirement benefits to contractual workers.

The flexibility of firing contractual employees is considered to be positively impacting labour productivity.

What are the negative impacts of casualisation of the workforce?

A major saving in CTC comes from wage suppression. It hurts on account of reduced consumption and saving.

Corners cut in hiring and training lead to a deterioration in service quality. It results in second-order losses, and sometimes accidents. According to a recent study published in The Lancet, an annual increase in outsourced spending of 1% in the National Health Service in England is associated with a rise in treatable mortality of 0.38%.

Underpaid contractual workers cannot afford adequate health care for themselves and their family members. It leads to decline in overall human capital.

As nobody invests in the upskilling of contractual workers, the labour productivity of the economy is also adversely impacted. Contractual workers are not as interested in improving the quality of the product and services. It is affecting the export competitiveness of the economy.

What are innovative ways used by companies to get around the legal provisions of labour acts?

Some are designating employees as business partners in the case of online cab booking and food delivery companies. Others are segmenting core activity as tech business in the case of most of the service aggregators.

What is the way forward to overcome the challenges related to casualisation of the workforce?

More research is required to quantify the adverse impact of replacing permanent jobs. The well-being of contract workers and their family members should not be the price the country should pay for savings in CTC.

The argument that permanency of employment breeds inefficiency has its own merit and should be dealt with for its root causes.

The public sector should reform its appraisal mechanism so as to reward the efficiency of permanent workers.

The private sector should realise that outsourcing’s cost to the country might be much more than the cost to the company in the long run.

The era of free data is over — the law is coming for Big Tech

News– The article explains the increasing relevance of data across the world and efforts to regulate it. It also explains the Indian scenario.

Which are major developments across the world for regulation of data?

The American Data Privacy and Protection Act promises to radically transform the US data privacy and protection landscape. Data will only be collected to achieve the allowed purposes. It will also ban the use of “sensitive” data like health information and geolocation.

GDPR is another law for regulation data. UNCTAD reports that 80% of all countries in the world have data protection and privacy legislation or are putting one into effect.

Why are countries falling to control and manage data?

It is only lately that data has been thought of as a valuable resource as well as a potent weapon.

Historically, the greatest wealth has been created by harnessing and exploiting natural resources. It was land in ancient times. Timber was the next logical resource to be exploited. Then came oil. Now, data is the new oil. The future world powers will be created on the back of data.

How countries across the world are recognising the importance of data?

China is leveraging data and AI. Vladimir Putin has famously remarked that “the nation that leads in AI and data will lead the world”.

The US is waging war by choking off chips and technologies that enable AI from their geopolitical foes.

Much like oil, data has been used as a weapon too – influencing elections, defrauding investors, faking news.

What is the scenario in the case of India?

The Indian situation is particularly interesting. India and China are perhaps the only two large countries where digitisation and data have happened at “population scale”.

The big difference in India is that it has happened with large government intervention . The digital transformation of the West, and even China, are largely private enterprise-led.

The Indian digitisation story has been breath-taking in its scope of scale: Digital Public Infrastructure Aadhaar, UPI and the upcoming National Health Stack and the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), built on the India stack have begun to transform its society and economy.

The Indian government is treating these as Digital Public Goods. The scale and richness of consumption, generation of data is massive. There is an immense scope to leverage this.

The Indian approach to regulating data is three-pronged: The Data Protection Bill, the forthcoming Telecom Bill and a Digital India Act to replace IT Act.

What can be the possible outcomes of these developments?

The era of “free data” is over. The Big Tech companies will have to tweak their business models.

There will be a patchwork of laws across the globe. Multinational companies dealing with data will find it very cumbersome to work across all of them.

Three, some law is better than no law. There are hopes of more consumer protection, transparency and privacy protection than before. However, it will continue to be an arms race. Governments will follow a piecemeal approach with data entities. These entities will try to stamp out new ways to beat new regulations.

A planet in crisis – Tangible outcomes from biological diversity convention are far away

News: The article discusses about the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) that took place in Montreal, Canada recently and the concerns over biodiversity.

What are the concerns for biodiversity?

As per the UN estimate, 34,000 plant and 5,200 animal species including one in eight of the world’s bird species face extinction.

About 30% of breeds of main farm animal species are currently at high risk of extinction and about 45% of the earth’s original forests do not exist.

What has been the stand of India in conserving biodiversity?

India has decided to reduce the use of pesticides and conserve 30% of land and sea. These both are great steps towards conserving biodiversity.

India has also said that different nations have different responsibility towards biodiversity conservation and richer nations should take efforts and provide funds to conserve biodiversity.

What was the outcome of the current CBD and what can be the course of action?

Countries have agreed to prepare road maps by 2024 and the rich countries have committed $30 billion an annum by 2030.

However, these commitments can become successful only when countries agree to define achievable targets to conserve biodiversity and there is a need to take urgent action by the countries across the globe to conserve the biodiversity.

Nuclear fusion may offer India a clean-energy pathway

News: Scientists in the United States have for the first time achieved a net gain in energy from a nuclear fusion reaction.

About the recent achievement and Nuclear fusion

About the history of nuclear fission and its development

This happens when heavy elements like uranium and plutonium split. The science and subsequent technology of nuclear fission began with the discovery of uranium in 1789 by Martin Klaproth.

William Rontgen discovered ionising radiation (x-rays) a century later and Pierre and Marrie Curie gave the name ‘radioactivity’ to the phenomenon of decay with energy release.

Ernest Rutherford demonstrated radioactivity and performed the first artificially induced nuclear reaction in 1917. Rutherford established the nuclear structure of the atom and radioactive decay as a nuclear process.

Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch first used the term ‘fission’ and experimentally calculated the energy released.

During World War II, the world developed fission bombs and then adapted fission for civilian nuclear technology. Since that time, much effort has gone into making nuclear reactors safe and reliable.

About the history of nuclear fusion

Hydrogen had been produced for many centuries, it was only identified as an element by Henry Cavendish in 1766. Helium was discovered a century later by Jules Janssen and Norman Lockyer.

In 1920, Arthur Eddington suggested that hydrogen-helium fusion could be the source of stellar energy. Similarly, fusion was achieved in the operation of the first hydrogen bomb in 1952.

The recent experiment proved a sustained and controlled fusion with a positive energy yield. Apart from this, this year itself, a) China’s EAST reactor established a record-breaking sustained reaction of 17 minutes, b) UK scientists at the Joint European Torus (JET) laboratory announced that they had generated a record breaking 59 megajoules of sustained fusion energy.

Note: Einstein’s mass-energy equivalence provides the theoretical framework for fusion as well as fission.

What is the significance of nuclear fusion?

How India is joining the nuclear fusion race?

a) India joined the US, UK, EU, Japan and Russia in a consortium to establish International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), b) India’s own attempt at an experimental fusion reactor continues with the SST-2 tokamak at the Institute of Plasma Research in Gujarat.

India should improve its nuclear fusion research as a) India is not endowed with the required resources either for hydrocarbon energy or nuclear fission-based energy. So, India’s interest and investment in nuclear fusion are essential, b) India declared to become net-zero in 2070. Focussing on nuclear fusion will provide a practical and preferred complement to renewables.

About the Competition Act 2002: Gatekeepers of digital markets

News: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has recently issued a series of orders penalising entities for abusing their dominant positions in digital markets. These orders expect digital platforms to serve as gatekeepers to maintain market contestability.

What is the need for Competition Act 2002?

Digital platforms provide a gateway between consumers and producers and must not impose terms that restrict users’ ability to compete and innovate. According to the CCI, any condition imposed on business users by the gatekeepers or platform operators should be fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory.

By abusing market power (dominance), digital platforms can make it difficult for others to do business. Hence, the Competition Act 2002 (Act) proscribes abuse of dominance and empowers the CCI to protect businesses from such abuse.

What are the concerns associated with the Competition Act 2002?

The Act guides the demarcation of relevant markets, determines its dominance in the said market, and defines whether its conduct amounts to abuse or not. But such guidance may not be helpful in the case of digital markets/ platforms. This is because

1) Digital markets/ platforms can restrict access to markets by denying or restricting access to sellers in such platforms. Hence, the platform decides what to be consumed and what to be produced in an economy, 2) The firm providing the platform may be competing with other firms and, therefore, having a conflict of interests. For example, a firm may be producing games, and listing games of the same genre, including the ones produced by it, on its platform.

3) A platform enjoys certain externalities that enable it to wield huge market power. For instance, the platform has vast data collected from its users, which it may use to strategise digital advertising, 4) Digital platforms create entry barriers to digital markets. For instance, platforms usually create networks of users. They may attract new users by making it free to connect with existing users of the network. The larger the number of users in the network, the larger is the network externality.

Note: These concerns, to some extent, exist in brick-and-mortar space as well. But, they do not own the data hence, have trust.

What are the recommended amendments to the Competition Act 2002?

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce recommended that a) The Act should prescribe norms for the identification of gatekeeper platforms for stricter oversight, b) The CCI should formulate a mandatory code of conduct that comprises a set of core principles, as well as a list of hardwired dos and don’ts for gatekeepers.

How can the Digital Markets Act of the EU help India to frame a better Competition Act of 2002?

The Digital Markets Act of the European Union adopts ex-ante regulations to make digital markets fairer and more contestable. For example, it a) Defines gatekeepers as entities that have significant market influence as well as the threshold of turnover or users, b) Places a set of negative and positive obligations on such entities, and c) Bars targeted advertising and the use of personal data gathered from one platform to offer services on another.

India’s Competition Amendment Bill should include these provisions and ensure fair competition.

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

NASA set to launch first global water survey satellite

Source: The post is based on the article “NASA set to launch first global water survey satellite” published in The Hindu on 20th December 2022

What is the News?

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has launched the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite from Southern California by SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

What is Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT)? 

SWOT is an advanced radar satellite jointly developed and operated by NASA and CNES, the French space agency in partnership with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and UK Space Agency (UKSA).

Objectives: 1) To make the first global survey of the Earth’s surface water, 2) To observe the fine details of the ocean surface topography and 3) To measure how terrestrial surface water bodies change over time.

Features: The satellite incorporates advanced microwave radar technology to collect high-definition measurements of oceans, lakes, reservoirs and rivers over 90% of the globe.

What is the significance of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission?

Firstly, SWOT will provide a significantly clearer picture of Earth’s freshwater bodies. It will provide data on more than 95% of the world’s lakes. Currently, freshwater researchers have reliable measurements for only a few thousand lakes around the world. 

Secondly, it will also be able to improve the accuracy of flood forecasts and provide scientists with more precise monitoring of impending droughts, rising sea levels, and life on Earth.

Thirdly, it will help explore how oceans absorb atmospheric heat and carbon dioxide in a process that naturally regulates global temperatures and has helped to minimize climate change.

– Oceans are estimated to have absorbed more than 90% of the excess heat trapped in Earth’s atmosphere by human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

Explained | What are carbon markets and how do they operate?

Source: The post is based on the article “Explained | What are carbon markets and how do they operate?” published in The Hindu on 20th December 2022

What is the News?

Parliament passed the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022. The Bill amends the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 to empower the Government to establish carbon markets in India and specify a carbon credit trading scheme.

What is the Carbon Market?

Click here to read

What are the types of carbon markets?

There are two types of carbon markets:

Voluntary markets: It is a decentralized market in which emitters— corporations, private individuals, and others— voluntarily buy and sell carbon credits that represent certified removals or reductions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. For instance, in the aviation sector, airlines may purchase carbon credits to offset the carbon footprints of the flights they operate. 

Compliance Carbon Market: It is used by companies and governments that by law have to account for their GHG emissions. It is regulated by mandatory national, regional or international carbon reduction regimes.

– Today, compliance markets mostly operate under a principle called ‘cap-and-trade”, most popular in the European Union (EU).

What is the size of the carbon market?

According to an analysis by Refinitiv, the value of global markets for tradeable carbon allowances or permits grew by 164% to a record 760 billion euros ($851 billion).

The EU’s ETS contributed the most to this increase, accounting for 90% of the global value at 683 billion euros. As for voluntary carbon markets, their current global value is comparatively smaller at $2 billion.

What does the Paris Agreement say about the carbon market?

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement provides for the use of international carbon markets by countries to fulfil their NDCs.

But this article is yet to kick off as multilateral discussions are still underway about how the inter-country carbon market will function. 

Under the proposed market, countries would be able to offset their emissions by buying credits generated by greenhouse gas-reducing projects in other countries. 

What are the challenges to carbon markets?

The challenges to carbon markets are: 1) Double counting of greenhouse gas reductions, 2) Quality and authenticity of climate projects that generate credits to poor market transparency and 3) Greenwashing—companies may buy credits, simply offsetting carbon footprints instead of reducing their overall emissions or investing in clean technologies.

What does the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022, say about carbon markets and what are the concerns?

The Bill empowers the Centre to specify a carbon credits trading scheme. Under the Bill, the central government or an authorized agency will issue carbon credit certificates to companies or even individuals registered and compliant with the scheme. These carbon credit certificates will be tradeable in nature. Other persons would be able to buy carbon credit certificates on a voluntary basis.

Concerns with the bill

Firstly, the bill does not provide clarity on the mechanism to be used for the trading of carbon credit certificates— whether it will be like the cap-and-trade schemes or use another method— and who will regulate such trading.

Secondly, there is a question of whether the Ministry of Power is the appropriate Ministry to regulate this scheme or whether should it be the Ministry of Environment.

Thirdly, the bill does not specify whether certificates under already existing schemes would also be interchangeable with carbon credit certificates and tradeable for reducing carbon emissions. 

– Note: Two types of tradeable certificates are already issued in India— Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) and Energy Savings Certificates (ESCs). These are issued when companies use renewable energy or save energy, which is also activities which reduces carbon emissions. 

Organ donations rise after Covid-19 dip: What do the numbers show?

Source: The post is based on the article “Organ donations rise after Covid-19 dip: What do the numbers show?” published in Indian Express on 20th December 2022

What is the News?

According to the data presented by the government in Parliament, organ donations have picked up again in 2021 after they had decreased in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

What is Organ Donation?

Click Here to read

About Organ donations in India

Data on Organ Donations in India: Of the 12,387 organs donated in 2021, only a little more than 14% — were from deceased donors.

The numbers were skewed in favour of living donations — organs like kidneys and livers donated by living family members.

Geographical skew in deceased donations:  Most of the deceased organ donations in 2021 were in 15 states with the top five — Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Karnataka — accounting for more than 85% of the total. 

– One reason for the geographical skew could be that most organ transplant and harvesting centres are concentrated in these geographies.

What is the organ donation rate in India?

India has an organ donation rate of about 0.52 per million population. In comparison, the organ donation rate in Spain, the highest in the world, is 49.6 per million population. 

Unlike India where a person has to register to be an organ donor — and the family has to consent to it after death — Spain has an opt-out system where a person is presumed to be a donor unless otherwise specified.

Why is there a need to increase deceased donations?

Gap in the number of organs needed: In absolute numbers, India conducts the third-highest number of transplants in the world. 

– Yet, of the estimated 1.5-2 lakh persons who need a kidney transplant every year, only around 8,000 get one. 

– Demand is on the rise because of the increasing prevalence of lifestyle diseases. Besides, organs like hearts and lungs can be retrieved only from deceased donors.

Without deceased donations, a precious resource is wasted: Nearly 1.5 lakh persons die in road traffic accidents every year in India, many of whom can ideally donate organs. Although donations are possible after the heart stops working, almost all organs are currently harvested from brain-dead persons.

How can deceased donations be increased?

a) Hospitals should have a ​​medically qualified transplant coordinator to explain and guide the families through the process, b) More awareness about organ transplants so that people register as donors, c) Good transport networks between cities and states can help boost organ donation. For this, Road, Railway, and Aviation Ministries are working to facilitate the creation of green corridors for faster transportation of organs.

Government has taken several steps to provide Vocational Education to the youth

Source: The post is based on the article “Government has taken several steps to provide Vocational Education to the youth” published in PIB on 19th December 2022

What is the News?

The Minister of State for Education has informed Lok Sabha about the steps taken by the government to provide vocational education to the youth.

What are the steps taken by the Government to provide vocational education?

Vocationalisation of School Education Initiative: The Department of School Education and Literacy is implementing the Vocationalisation of School Education Initiative under the umbrella of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme ‘Samagra Shiksha’. 

Aim: To integrate Vocational Education with general academic education in all Secondary/ Senior Secondary schools.

– To enhance the Employability and Entrepreneurial abilities of the students

– To provide exposure to the work environment and generate awareness amongst students about various career options so as to enable them to make a choice in accordance with their aptitude, competence and aspirations.  

Coverage: The scheme covers Government and Government aided schools. 

Steps taken by University Grants Commission(UGC): UGC has taken initiatives to facilitate higher education institutions across the country to provide skill-based education under the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF).

– The institutions have been allowed to offer full-time, credit-based programmes at the level of Certificate, Diploma, Advanced Diploma and Research with multiple entry and exit options.

Skill Hubs Initiative(SHI): The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) in coordination with the Ministry of Education has launched the Skill Hubs Initiative (SHI) under the central component of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 3.0 (PMKVY 3.0). 

– Purpose: SHI is the integration and mainstreaming of vocational education with general education as has been envisaged under the National Education Policy, 2020(NEP, 2020).

Skill Training: Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) is providing Long Term Skill Training through Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and Short-Term Skill training through various schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Jan ShikshanSansthan (JSS), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) etc.

About global minimum tax: The minimum tax on big businesses

Source: The post is based on the article “The minimum tax on big businesses” published in The Hindu on 20th December 2022

What is the News?

Members of the European Union have agreed in principle to implement a minimum tax of 15% on big businesses.

What have EU members agreed on?

EU members have agreed to implement a minimum tax rate of 15% on big businesses in accordance with Pillar 2 of the global tax agreement framed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 

Under the OECD’s plan, governments will be equipped to impose additional taxes in case companies are found to be paying taxes that are considered too low. This is to ensure that big businesses with global operations do not benefit by domiciling themselves in tax havens in order to save on taxes.

What is the need for a global minimum tax?

Corporate tax rates across the world have been dropping over the last few decades as a result of competition between governments to spur economic growth through greater private investments. Global corporate tax rates have fallen from over 40% in the 1980s to under 25% in 2020.

The OECD’s tax plan tries to put an end to this “race to the bottom” which has made it harder for governments to shore up the revenues required to fund their rising spending budgets. 

How do the countries view global minimum tax?

Some governments particularly those of traditional tax havens are likely to disagree and stall the implementation of the OECD’s tax plan. 

High-tax jurisdictions like the EU are more likely to fully adopt the minimum tax plan as it saves them from having to compete against low-tax jurisdictions. 

Low tax jurisdictions, on the other hand, are likely to resist the OECD’s plan unless they are compensated sufficiently in other ways. 

What are the benefits and drawbacks of OECDs global tax plan?

Firstly, supporters of the OECD’s tax plan believe that it will end the global “race to the bottom” and help governments collect the revenues required for social spending.

Secondly, it will also help counter rising global inequality by making it tougher for large businesses to pay low taxes by availing the services of tax havens. 

However, critics of the OECD’s proposal argue that without tax competition between governments, the world would be taxed a lot more than it is today, thus adversely affecting global economic growth.

In other words, these critics believe that it is the threat of tax competition that keeps a check on governments which would otherwise tax their citizens heavily to fund profligate spending programs.

Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: Historic biodiversity deal gets the nod at COP15 summit in Canada

Source: The post is based on the article “Historic biodiversity deal gets the nod at COP15 summit in Canada” published in The Hindu on 20th December 2022

What is the News?

At the United Nations Biodiversity Conference or COP15, countries adopted a major biodiversity pact called Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

What are the key provisions of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework?

30 by 30: Countries agreed to protect 30% of land and water considered important for biodiversity by 2030 known as 30 by 30. Currently, 17% of terrestrial and 10% of marine areas are protected.

Financing: Ensure $200 billion per year is channelled to conservation initiatives from public and private sources. Wealthier countries should contribute at least $20 billion of this every year by 2025, and at least $30 billion a year by 2030.

Big companies report impacts on biodiversity: Companies should analyse and report how their operations affect and are affected by biodiversity issues. The parties agreed to large companies and financial institutions being subject to “requirements” to make disclosures regarding their operations, supply chains and portfolios.

Harmful subsidies: Countries committed to identifying subsidies that deplete biodiversity by 2025, and then eliminate, phase out or reform them. They agreed to slash those incentives by at least $500 billion a year by 2030, and increase incentives that are positive for conservation.

Reduce pesticide use: Countries have agreed to a target of reducing the risk posed by pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals to almost half.

Not legally binding: The agreement is not legally binding, but countries will be required to show their progress on meeting targets through national biodiversity plans.

Bullock Heart Tree: ICRISAT intern awarded for developing bio-insecticide from ‘ramphal’ leaves

Source: The post is based on the article “ICRISAT intern awarded for developing bio-insecticide from ‘ramphal’ leaves” published in Down To Earth on 20th December 2022

What is the News?

A Research intern at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has won the prize for developing a cost-effective bio-insecticide from the leaves of bullock’s heart tree (Annona reticulata), popularly known as Ramphal.

What is Bullock Heart Tree?

Bullock’s heart tree (Annona reticulata) is a small deciduous or semi-evergreen tree in the plant family Annonaceae and part of the Annonas group.

It is best known for its fruit, called custard apple, a common name shared with fruits of several other species in the same genus: A. cherimola and A. squamosa.

Uses: Bullock heart tree’s extracts have traditionally been used to cure conditions including dysentery and pediculosis (louse infestation)

– Extracts from its leaves may also be useful against three destructive pests — Pod borer, Green peach aphid and fall armyworm — with a mortality rate of 78-88%. All these pests are known for incurring crop losses to farmers.

What is ICRISAT?

ICRISAT is an international organization that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia & sub-Saharan Africa. 

It helps farmers by providing improved crop varieties and hybrids and also helps smallholder farmers in the drylands fight climate change.

Founded in: 1972 by a consortium of organizations convened by the Ford and the Rockefeller foundations. Its charter was signed by the FAO and the UNDP.

Headquarters: Hyderabad, Telangana with several regional centres in Nigeria, Kenya, Mali etc.

Mandated crops: ICRISAT performs crop improvement research, using conventional as well as methods derived from biotechnology on the following crops: chickpea, pigeonpea, groundnut,  pearl millet, sorghum and  finger millet.

Status in India: Since its inception, host country India has granted a special status to ICRISAT as a UN Organization operating in the Indian territory making it eligible for special immunities and tax privileges.

Telangana’s Tandur red gram gets GI tag

Source: The post is based on the article “Telangana’s Tandur red gram gets GI tag” published in The Hindu on 18th December 2022

What is the News?

The Tandur red gram of Telangana has got geographical indication (GI) tag. With this, the total number of GI registrations in the country has reached 432.

What is Tandur Red Gram?

Tandur red gram is a local variety of pigeon pea which is mainly grown in the rainfed tract of the Tandur and nearby region of Telangana. 

Suitable Habitat: The specific quality traits of Tandur Red Gram has been attributed to the fertile deep black soil with huge deposits of Attapulgite clay mineral specifically in Tandur region along with huge limestone deposits.

Significance: It contains about 22-24% protein, which is almost three times that of the protein content in cereals. 

– It has good taste, better cooking quality as well as enhanced storage quality.

Benefit of GI Tag: Now with the GI tag and registration, individual farmers and dal mill owners of Tandur will have to register themselves as authorized users and start branding Tandur red gram with GI tag to get better prices as the tag is an assured symbol of quality.

The many Latin terms in legal jargon: How many do you know?

Source: The post is based on the article “The many Latin terms in legal jargon: How many do you know?” published in Indian Express on 18th December 2022

What is the News?

The Gujarat High Court recently appointed amici curiae in the Morbi bridge collapse case in which it has taken suo motu action. 

What is the meaning of some Latin legal terms used regularly?

Suo motu: It means ‘on its own motion’. High courts and the Supreme Court in India have the constitutional mandate to act on their own to preserve the fundamental rights of individuals or take an action to set a wrong right even though an aggrieved party does not file a petition. This may happen when the court’s attention is drawn to an incident through news reports or any other means. 

Amicus curiae: It literally means ‘friend of the court’. Sometimes the court appoints an advocate as amicus curiae in a case to assist it. An amicus works without any expectation of monetary compensation and being appointed one is an acknowledgement of professional competence and integrity.

Ad hoc: It means ‘for the present matter or situation’. An ad hoc committee is one which is set up to dispose of a particular matter and is wound up once the task is over.

Ex post facto: If someone is punished ex post facto it means that the relevant law came after the crime was committed. So, it means ‘after the fact or event, or retroactive’.

Quid pro quo: It is used to refer to something given in lieu of something received, a fair exchange. Example: The defendant agreed to a written apology and, as quid pro quo, the petitioner withdrew her case.

Status quo: It is often used in cases where courts restore an earlier state of affairs where a change has been carried. Since the condition is the previous one which is to be restored, purists insist that the expression should be status quo ante (the last word stands for ‘before’). However, status quo is popular with headline writers to indicate the idea of preserving without change.

Sine qua non: It is something which is indispensable, a prerequisite. Example: An independent judiciary is a sine qua non of a healthy democracy.