Current Affairs Compilations for UPSC IAS Prelims 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

• The stage has been set for gender equity in Digital India
• Japanese PM Kishida’s visit to India, Chinese president Xi’s trip to Moscow, and the rearrangement of great power and regional politics
• Discrimination in the IITs is something to write about
• On Bhopal Gas tragedy curative petition: Where did the constitutional sympathy for the victims vanish?
• On the India and Japan relationship and challenges from geopolitical issues

GS Paper 3

• Understanding waste-to-energy plants
• A grave mistake in Great Nicobar
• Credit Suisse collapse: The collapse of two mid-sized banks in the US does not portend a hard landing or a tipping point
• Do not let increasing heatwaves sap worker productivity in India

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

• Carborundum Universal partners DRDO for ‘ceramic radome’ technology
• Lost Continent Found: Zealandia Emerges After 375 Years
• IMF announces $3-b credit facility to revive Lanka’s economy
• SC Bench seeks data on alternatives to hanging
• Union Minister releases 14 guidelines for Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation promoting harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife
• How Serious Is India’s Water Crisis?
• Credit Suisse crisis: How AT1 wipeout could impact the global bond market
• Govt to support solar products’ adoption
• Panel to moot ways to lure Indian startups back to India
• Union Minister inaugurates Asia’s largest 4-metre International Liquid Mirror Telescope at Devasthal in Uttarakhand
• World Happiness Report: Finland happiest country in the world, India ranked 126th: U.N. report

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

The stage has been set for gender equity in Digital India

News: The article discusses the measures that can be adopted to reduce digital gender divide. 

What are the highlights of the data? 

As per the National Family Health Survey (2019-21), only one in three women in India (33%) have ever used the internet, compared to more than half (57%) of men.  

Men compared to women (49% vs. 25%) have used the internet twice which creates a stark digital disparity. 

India is home to the largest number of women anywhere in the world. Therefore, problems that create a digital gender divide need to be addressed. 

What are the reasons behind the digital gender divide? 

Lack of access: Due to the low levels of digital infrastructure, internet coverage, and smartphone availability, women have less access to it than men do. The digital gender gap also widens because of gender inequality. 

Digital illiteracy: The lack of digital literacy also causes gender divide. Girls with lower levels of functional literacy often cannot make optimum use of smartphones.  

As per the National Family Health Survey (2019–21), 66% of women in rural areas and 59% of women across urban and rural areas in India have not finished at least 10 years of schooling. This makes them incompetent to have digital access. 

Cyber safety and security: The lack of proper digital literacy makes women vulnerable to online harassment, cyberbullying and cyberstalking. The fear of these in turn leads to a digital gender gap. 

Read More: Bridging the Digital Divide 

What can be done to overcome the challenges of digital gender divide? 

Designing digital solutions to advance gender equity: Participation of girls and women in co-creation of digital solutions will increase digital adoption and aid in bridging the digital gender divide. 

Digital literacy and capacity building: Women should be provided digital literacy because it could help them in getting new knowledge and skills which in turn may help them in getting better employment opportunities. 

Responsible technology: Technology should be developed in such a way that it protects user privacy and data. It should also not lead to discrimination against women. For this, the government and stakeholders need to collaborate along with educating users to act responsibly. This would ensure a safe and secure digital environment for women and girls. 

What steps have been taken by the government to bridge the digital gender divide? 

The government has taken various initiatives such as Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyaan (PMGDISHA), National Digital Library for children and adolescents which has also been proposed in the Union Budget 2023-24 and Stay Safe Online campaign. 

What can be the course of action? 

Economic, social and digital empowerment for women is rising in India. Therefore, women should be given ample opportunities to have full digital access and technology so that they can grow, and the digital gender gap might be reduced. 

Japanese PM Kishida’s visit to India, Chinese president Xi’s trip to Moscow, and the rearrangement of great power and regional politics

News– Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is visiting India with ambition to elevate the Indo-Pacific partnership with India. Chinese President Xi Jinping is also visiting Moscow this week to consolidate the Eurasian alliance with the Russian leader Vladimir Putin.  

What are the major changes happening in international politics? 

A recalibration of relations among major middle powers is happening. Recently, there was a thaw in the relations of Iran and Saudi Arabia at a ceremony in Beijing. 

The first summit in nearly twelve years between the leaders of South Korea and Japan was organised. 

The Saudi-Iran entente is a diplomatic triumph for Beijing and a setback for Washington. But Seoul and Tokyo coming together is a major diplomatic win for the US and a big loss for China.  

The US has made other gains on China’s periphery. It has managed to win the confidence of the new Philippines president Bongbong Marcos. The Philippines is an old treaty ally of the US that was drifting towards China under Marcos’s immediate predecessor. 

Agreement between Germany and Japan to coordinate their policies on Russia and reduce their excessive dependence on China-centred supply chains is also a major development.  

What are the reasons for realignment of international relations? 

The realignment underway is part of the emerging post-post-Cold War world. The rules governing the world that emerged at the end of the Cold War during 1989-91 have been under stress for a while now.  

The Russian aggression against Ukraine and the deepening conflict over Taiwan have accelerated the breakdown. The conflict envelops the economic and technological domains as well. 

The sharpening contradictions between Russia-China axis and the West have given regional powers some room for bargaining with both sides.  

What are different perspectives to look at realignment of the relationships among middle powers? 

Some trends of rearrangement of great power and regional politics are sustainable, and others are short-term adjustments. 

In the Middle East, the Saudi-Iran rapprochement could be seen as either tactical or strategic. There exist deep contradictions between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Saudis will find it hard to break up their hundred-year-old partnership with the western powers.   

But the effort to limit the conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia is not an exception in the Middle East. The conflict between UAE and Saudi Arabia on the one hand and Qatar on the other was resolved in 2021. Turkey is now trying to end the political rift with Saudi Arabia and Egypt. 

Turkey and Iran face deepening domestic crises and scaling down their foreign policy adventurism of recent decades. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are not so sure about Biden’s policies. 

The changes that are happening may not be sustained in the longer term. In the case of South Korea, it is not clear if the current bold policies of the President will be sustained by the next president. South Korea’s deep economic relationship with China cannot be overturned in the immediate future. 

What are different ways of looking at the long-term concern for Delhi towards Putin’s growing dependence on Xi? 

One view is that a weakened Russia will inevitably become a junior partner to China. It will make Moscow a less reliable partner for Delhi in balancing Beijing. 

A second position argues that Russia-India relations are essentially immune to change. Russia will always be an independent great power. Moscow can keep the ties with Beijing and Delhi on separate tracks despite the growing Sino-Indian contradictions. 

A third view is less hopeful about the future of the Sino-Russian partnership. There is a need to prepare for the worst possible outcomes for India in relation to China. India will need stronger strategic ties with the US, Europe and Japan. 

Discrimination in the IITs is something to write about

News– Recently an undergraduate student of chemical engineering at the IIT Bombay, committed suicide. 

What is discrimination? 

Discrimination is not necessarily hurling abuse at somebody. It is a layered and continuous process that happens every day. It steadily creates an atmosphere of “us” and “them”.  

Why discussion on discrimination at the IITs needs to be a discussion on merit? 

The political philosopher, Michael Sandel, provides criticism of meritocracy. He calls it a societal ideal. He argues that arrogance among the elites of their capabilities and politics of humiliation are natural outcomes of meritocracy.  

Some sections of the IITs are also suffering from meritocratic arrogance. This happens, when elite class tend to “look down on those who do not rise”. 

Such an approach undermines social recognition and esteem for those who lack the credentials that are rewarded by the system to the upper class.  

How is the principle of equal opportunity not sufficient for social well-being? 

It is only a corrective measure of historical injustice. It is not a sufficient principle to foster an equitable society. 

Social well-being depends upon cohesion and solidarity. Individual happiness does not only require the freedom to rise to new positions of comfort and distinction. It also requires that they should be able to lead a life of dignity and culture. 

What is the way forward to end discrimination at IITs? 

IITs should reflect on the blind spots of biases. Faculty at the IITs need to re-imaginate classrooms as spaces free of meritocratic or discriminatory judgements.  

Building empathy and fostering a culture of equality, dignity, and fraternity cannot happen through short orientation programmes. These should be built into the curriculum at the IITs. It should become the DNA of campus life. 

On Bhopal Gas tragedy curative petition: Where did the constitutional sympathy for the victims vanish?

News – Recently, the Constitution bench of SC disposed of the curative petition related to Bhopal gas tragedy case. 

What are the issues with the court order on curative petition? 

Language used by the SC– The Court considered it an “incident”. As per SC, the case is declared as justly settled by the Court in the past because it amounts to six times more than the compensation for motor accidents.  

This is nothing when Intergenerational impacts on victims are taken into account.  The original Indian suit was for three billion dollars. But a judicial settlement of $470 million is described consistently as just.  

The Court’s frequent references to private parties demote them. This is rarely used in constitutional discourse for petitioners who seek relief from injustice or tyranny. 

Legal reasoning- The Court has justified the 1989 Bhopal judicial settlement order because of certain imperatives. It invoked the enormous suffering of the victims. The court said that, without a settlement, immediate funds would not have been available for the victims.  

It also invoked the inadequate assets of Union Carbide India Limited in India. It said that mere sympathy for the sufferers does not enable us to devise a panacea. 

The Court stated that providing closure to the case was also an important aspect. It is more important in the context of Indian judiciary where delay is almost inevitable.  

The argument of being ever too late to plead a fraud is contrary to legislative and administrative principles. The Court says the sovereign state of India is unable to “furnish any rationale for raking up this issue more than two decades after the incident”.  

But one needs to distinguish between mere “raking up” an issue and a genuine policy shift. The Bhopal catastrophe was a “rarest of rare” case deserving curative judicial sympathy. 

The Court further said that reopening the settlement will open a “Pandora’s box” to the detriment of the beneficiaries. Courts can reopen the settlement amount on the grounds that a fraud has been practised in reaching it. 

The counsel for Union Carbide maintained that the Union of India will have to pay back the entire amount of compensation with interest and begin the suit all over again. But the court did not ask the Union government to pursue it. Bhopal Act has provisions for providing funds for the care and justice of Bhopal tragedy victims. 

Neglecting the constitutional principles– The principle of constitutional sympathy was not invoked. Rather, the “settled principles of law” was preferred. Justice and fairness cannot be achieved in the curative petition by mere reiteration of “settled principles of law”. 

The idea of invocation of power to do complete justice was not used by the court. The Court stated that Article 142 would not be an appropriate course of action or a method to impose a greater liability on UCC. 

The Supreme Court should not have abandoned all obligations of care and justice owed to the victims of Bhopal. Our Constitution insists not just on closure, but on just closure. 

On the India and Japan relationship and challenges from geopolitical issues

News: Recent visit of Japanese Prime Minister to India holds much more significance than it appears.   

Since 2006, the Prime Ministers of India and Japan have exchanged visits for their “annual summit” since 2006. These summits have been focussed on India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership.  

However, this year’s visit of Japan’s PM is focussed on 2 main objectives: 

First, coordinating the G-7 and G-20 agendas on food and energy security issues arising mainly due to Ukraine conflict. Unveiling Japan’s $75 billion plan for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) 

Second, to work with countries in the region on avoiding debt traps, building infrastructure, and enhancing maritime and air security. 

What are Japan’s Objectives behind recent visit to India? 

Japan is looking bring India on board with the G-7’s plans to address the Ukraine issue and call out “Russian aggression”.  

Japan’s FOIP plan against China includes India as an important member.  

This visit is also a show of strength against the recent Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Moscow visit.  

What is the significance of India and Japan relations? 

First, India and Japan share a close bilateral and multilateral cooperation (the Quad).  

Second, India and Japan collaborate on many projects. Japanese corporations and investors have been a major source of infrastructure finance. For example, Japanese loan for the much-delayed “Bullet train” project, plan develop infrastructure to link Bangladesh and India’s northeast.  

Third, India is also a major economic and geo-economic partner for Japan.  

Fourth, as the presidents of G-7 and G-20, cooperations between both can ensure that the outcomes come in the favour if global south. There are pending issues like climate finance and transition finance, as well as reforming multilateral development banks like the World Bank. India has been invited as an observer to the G7 summit in Tokyo later this year.  

Fifth, both countries have common goals to end the Ukraine war and pushback against China’s aggression.  

Sixth, strategic component of the relations has expanded vastly. Present Japanese PM has also continued on the same approach.  

What are the differences between India and Japan’s approaches? 

First, Japan is part of the U.S.’s alliance, Unlike India. 

Second, Japan has been in favour of sanctions against Russia, while India has been neutral on this issue.  

Third, While India has been vocal about its concerns over China’s actions at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), it has been hesitant in directly criticising China’s actions in the South China Sea, Taiwan Straits, etc. 

Fourth, India’s refusal to join Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and hesitancy towards the trade vertical of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. 

GS Paper 3

Understanding waste-to-energy plants

News: The Kerala government recently announced the State’s first waste-to-energy project in Kozhikode. The planned facility is expected to be built in two years and generate about 6 MW of power.  

What do waste-to-energy projects do?  

These projects use non-recyclable dry waste to generate electricity and in turn increase the State’s power generation capacity and ease the solid waste management (SWM) burden. 

These plants use non-biodegradable waste to generate power. The waste is combusted to generate heat, which is converted into electricity. 

Why is it needed in Kozhikode?  

Kozhikode has a population of about 6.3 lakh and generates approximately 300 tones per day (TPD) of waste. Of this, around 205 TPD is biodegradable and 95 TPD is non-biodegradable. 

Out of the 95 TPD non-biodegradable waste, only about 5 TPD is recycled. Therefore, the remaining non-recyclable dry waste could be used to generate power at the waste-to-energy plant. 

What are the concerns associated with non-biodegradable waste required to generate electricity? 

Solid wastes usually contain 55-60% biodegradable organic waste which gets converted into organic compost. 25-30% are non-biodegradable dry waste and around 15% are silt, stones, and drain waste.  

Out of non-biodegradable wastes, only 2-3%, like hard plastics, metals, and e-waste, is recyclable. The remaining consists of low-grade plastic, rags, and cloth that can’t be recycled.  

This part of the non-recyclable dry waste is the most challenging portion of the SWM system. The presence of these materials also reduces the efficiency of recycling other dry and wet waste.  

What are the challenges with Waste to Energy plants? 

Read Here: Waste to Energy Plants: Benefits and Concerns 

What measures can be adopted to overcome these challenges? 

First, people need to follow strict segregation practices and process biodegradable wastes. For example, Kozhikode’s projected population and waste generation rate could use around 100 TPD of non-recyclable dry waste to generate power. But this is only possible when people follow proper segregation.  

Second, the municipality must ensure that only non-biodegradable dry waste is sent to the plant and separately manage the other kinds of waste. 

Third, it is also necessary that biodegradable-waste-processing plants should operate efficiently. Else, all the waste would be transferred to Waste to Energy Plants which might affect its power generation capacity. 

Fourth, Segregation should be streamlined to ensure the waste coming to the facility has 2,800-3,000 kcal/kg calorific value for proper generation of electricity. 

Fifth, the department responsible for SWM should be practical about the high cost of power generation. Hence, a tripartite agreement between the municipality, the plant operator, and the power distribution agency might be fruitful. 

A grave mistake in Great Nicobar

News– Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has given clearance to a mega project at the cost of about ₹70,000 crore at the southern tip of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 

What are some facts about the mega project at Andaman and Nicobar Island? 

NITI Aayog is piloting the project and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation is the project proponent.  

The project aims to develop an international transshipment port of 14.2 mTEU cargo capacity at Galathea Bay along the island’s south­eastern coast, an international airport to support 4,000 passengers during peak hours, 

A 450 MVA gas and solar based power plant, and an ecotourism and residential township of about 160 sq km is also proposed. 

What are issues related to this mega project? 

Hasty clearance– The environmental clearance process seems very fast. The MoEFCC’s Expert Appraisal Committee initiated the process of environmental clearance in April 2021. 

The Great Nicobar Island has a population of about 8,000. Once completed, the project is expected to attract more than 3 lakh people. It is equal to the current population of the entire island chain.  

The ecological and environmental cost of this urbanisation project in a marine and terrestrial biodiverse area appears to not have been considered seriously.  

Ecological challenges– The island, which is spread over 900 sq km, was declared a biosphere reserve in 1989 and included in the UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme in 2013. 

Afforestation is recommended as compensation for the loss of forest in the Great Nicobar Island is farcical. The EIA report says compensatory afforestation will be carried out in Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. Far­field afforestation makes no sense.  

However, the project will end up destroying vast stretches of coral reefs. The report recommends ‘translocation’ of these organisms. Transplanted corals do not have a high survival rate and are susceptible to bleaching. 

Impact on indigenous people– This project will impact the rights of vulnerable tribal communities, such as the Nicobarese and Shompen. They have been living in these areas for thousands of years and who depend on the forests for survival. 

Tectonic instability– The Great Nicobar Island is located close to the epicentre of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.  

The coastline of the Great Nicobar Island sank several metres during the earthquake. The island topography is slowly regaining its original height. 

The repeated up and down movement makes the Great Nicobar Island unsuitable to be developed as an urban port city. But the EIA report hardly considers the tectonic instability around Great Nicobar. 

Credit Suisse collapse: The collapse of two mid-sized banks in the US does not portend a hard landing or a tipping point

News: The banking stress in Europe and the US has caused a hike in global interest rates and surged credit spreads. This caused fears that the global economy is tipping into a recession.

About SVB Crisis

Why does the fall of banks not detected earlier?

Market’s focus was elsewhere: The market’s focus was on the quality of loans and not on the valuation of bond holdings.

US legislative changes in 2018: Due to these changes, smaller banks (those with less than $250 billion in assets) were more loosely regulated and bigger banks where closely monitored.

Why Emerging Markets are not vulnerable?

Emerging Markets (EMs) have a history of frequent financial crises. So, banks in EM are supervised more closely with stricter regulations and regulators typically have ready facilities to provide liquidity to banks. These facilities as well as regulatory forbearance were vastly expanded during the pandemic.

What will be US Fed decisions and How it will impact India?

How India can act as a role model to prevent a bank crisis? 

What should be done to prevent a bank crisis?

Central banks will have to be more cautious. They will continue to tighten monetary policy and should provide enough liquidity to safeguard financial stability. This separation principle on which central banks operates is unlikely to change.

Do not let increasing heatwaves sap worker productivity in India

News: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that February 2023 was the warmest February since 1901 with the average maximum temperature at nearly 29.54°C. The latest monthly report by the finance ministry mentions heatwaves as one of the extreme weather conditions that could feed food inflation this year. The recent IPCC Synthesis Report also mentioned increasing temperatures and their impacts.

What is a heat wave, and what are its implications?

How do heat waves impact economy?

a) Rising temperatures can hurt labour productivity. This includes outdoor sectors like agriculture, construction sites and street vendors and indoor sectors such as cloth weaving, garment sewing and steel infrastructural products. This is because workers will work less and absenteeism will increase.

b) Economists estimate that worker productivity declines by 2-4% with every degree Celsius increase in the temperature above normal levels, c) Denial of sleep at the night also hurts the ability to work the next day.

What should be done to mitigate heat waves impact on economy?

Change in forecast model: The forecasting model used by the Reserve Bank of India, the Quarterly Forecasting Model can be used in predicting heat waves also.

Innovative model: A collaborative effort by the government, private sector and voluntary organizations must invest in new building materials for homes as well as factories. Private investments in new roofing solutions to cool down homes in urban slums should be encouraged.

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

Carborundum Universal partners DRDO for ‘ceramic radome’ technology

Source: The post is based on the article “Carborundum Universal partners DRDO for ‘ceramic radome’ technology” published in the Business Standard on 20th March 2023.

What is the News?

Defence Research and Develop­ment Organisation (DRDO) has entered an agreement with a private sector firm for manufacturing ceramic radomes.

About ceramic radomes

Ceramic radome is regarded as an essential, state-of-the-art technology for ballistic and tactical missiles and high-performance aircraft.

Need: Missiles undergo extremely high surface temperatures while travelling thro­ugh the atmosphere, and while re-entering from space. To withstand those temperatu­res, radomes located at the tip of a missile are made of ceramic.

How present demand for ceramic radomes are met?

The ceramic radomes have been developed indigenously by Research Centre Imarat (RCI) which has developed India’s missile arsenal.

Note: RCI is India’s premier DRDO laboratory for carrying out R&D in the technologies of control engineering, inertial navigation, imaging infrared seekers, radio frequency seekers and systems, onboard computers and mission software.

What is ceramic?

It is classified as inorganic and nonmetallic material. Ceramics are corrosion-resistant, hard, and brittle.

The majority of ceramics are excellent insulators and can withstand high temperatures.

What are radomes?

Radomes are structures or enclosures designed to protect an antenna and associated electronics from the surrounding environment and elements such as rain, UV light, etc.

Lost Continent Found: Zealandia Emerges After 375 Years

Source: The post is based on the article “Lost Continent Found: Zealandia Emerges After 375 Years” published in the Times Now on 20th March 2023.

What is the News?

After 375 years of speculation and exploration, scientists have finally confirmed the existence of a “missing” continent known as Zealandia.

About Zealandia

Discovered by: The existence of Zealandia was first recorded in 1642 by Dutch businessman and sailor Abel Tasman, who was on a mission to find the “great Southern Continent,” or Terra Australis.

Size: It is a long, narrow microcontinent that is mostly submerged in the South Pacific Ocean. It is 1.89 million square miles land, , about half the size of Australia.

Located in: It was once part of an ancient supercontinent called Gondwana. The vast majority of this “new” continent is located underwater, lying beneath 6,560 feet (2km) of water.

Reason for submergence: Zealandia began to “pull away” from Gondwana roughly 105 million years ago. As Zealandia started pulling away, it began to sink beneath the waves, with over 94 percent remaining underwater for millennia.

Significance of the discovery: a) Zealandia is now recognized as the world’s eighth continent, b) The part of Zealandia which is above water forms the foundation of New Zealand’s north and south islands as well as the island of New Caledonia, c) The discovery will shed light on the earth’s geological history and the forces that shaped the planet.

IMF announces $3-b credit facility to revive Lanka’s economy

Source: The post is based on the article “IMF announces $3-b credit facility to revive Lanka’s economy” published in Indian Express on 22nd March 2023

What is the News?

The International Monetary Fund(IMF) has cleared a $3-billion-Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Sri Lanka.

What is an Extended Fund Facility(EFF)?

Setup by: International Monetary Fund(IMF) 

Purpose: Provide assistance to countries experiencing serious payment imbalances because of structural impediments or slow growth and an inherently weak balance-of-payments position.

– To support comprehensive programs with a focus on policies needed to correct structural imbalances over an extended period.

Why has the IMF provided a $3-billion Extended Fund Facility(EFF) to Sri Lanka?

The EFF-supported program aims to 1) restore Sri Lanka’s macroeconomic stability and debt sustainability, 2) mitigate the economic impact on the poor and vulnerable, 3) safeguard financial sector stability and 4) strengthen governance and growth potential. 

Sri Lanka’s top three bilateral creditors India, Japan [as a member of the Paris Club group of creditors] and China have played a crucial role in unlocking IMF assistance to the island, by providing financing assurances to the Fund.

What is the economic crisis Sri Lanka is facing?

Click Here to read

SC Bench seeks data on alternatives to hanging

Source: The post is based on the article “SC Bench seeks data on alternatives to hanging” published in The Hindu on 22nd March 2023

What is the News?

The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to provide data which may point to less painful, more dignified and socially acceptable methods of executing prisoners other than death by hanging.

What was the case about?

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of death by hanging as a mode of execution. 

Section 354 (5) of the Code of Criminal Procedure mandates that a person sentenced to death shall “be hanged by the neck till he is dead”.

The petitioner said there is a need to evolve a “humane, quick and decent alternative”. The petitioner also termed hanging as “cruel and barbarous” compared to lethal injection as used in the United States.

Note: In the landmark 1982 ruling in ‘Bachan Singh v State of Punjab’, a five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the death sentence by a 4:1 majority ruling.

What is the Centre’s stand on death by hanging?

In its 2018 affidavit, the government argued that death by hanging was the only “viable” option to execute a death warrant. However, the government also sought additional time to examine the methods followed in other countries.

Law Commission of India in 2003 recommended that Section 354(5) of the CrPC should be amended by providing an alternative mode of execution of the death sentence by “lethal injection until the accused is dead”.

– The report suggested that it should be the discretion of the judge to pass appropriate orders regarding the mode of execution of the death sentence and to hear the convict on the question of the mode of execution of the death sentence before passing the discretionary order.

What is the practice in other countries?

According to Amnesty International, 55 countries around the world have the death sentence on the books. While death by hanging is still the most prevalent form of execution, especially in the former British colonies, other modes are followed in some countries.

In the United States, for example, an intravenous lethal injection is given in every state (27 states and American Samoa) that allows the death penalty.Electrocution is a secondary method in some states. 

Execution by firing squad is employed in China and Saudi Arabia uses beheading apart from other methods.

Union Minister releases 14 guidelines for Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation promoting harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife

Source: The post is based on the article “Union Minister releases 14 guidelines for Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation promoting harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife” published in PIB on 21st March 2023

What is the News?

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has released 14 guidelines to address Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC).

What is Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC)?

Click Here to read

What are the guidelines issued for Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation?

The guidelines have been developed under the Indo-German cooperation project on HWC Mitigation. 

The guidelines are advisory in nature. A review of these guidelines is planned to take place every five years from 2023 onwards.

Objectives of the guidelines: 1) To facilitate a common understanding of effective and efficient mitigation of HWC among key stakeholders, 2) To facilitate the development of site-specific HWC mitigation measures.

Key Features of the guidelines: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has released 14 guidelines. Among them:

10 are species-specific guidelines: Guidelines for Mitigating Human-Elephant, -Gaur, -Leopard, -Snake, -Crocodile, -Rhesus Macaque, -Wild Pig, -Bear, -Blue Bull and -Blackbuck Conflict and

4 are guidelines on cross-cutting issues:

– Guidelines for Cooperation between the Forest and Media sector in India: Towards effective communication on Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation.

– Occupational Health and Safety in the Context of Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation.

– Crowd Management in Human-Wildlife Conflict-Related Situations.

– Addressing Health Emergencies and Potential Health Risks Arising Out of Human—Wildlife Conflict Situations: Taking a One Health Approach.

How Serious Is India’s Water Crisis?

Source: The post is based on the article “How Serious Is India’s Water Crisis?” published in TOI on 22nd March 2023

What is the News?

On Independence Day in 2019, the Prime Minister set the goal to provide tap water to every rural household by 2024 and the country has made tremendous progress on this since. 

Over 11.4 crore of India’s 19.4 crore rural households (59%) have been covered already, so the promise will likely be fulfilled by next year. But the big question is whether all households will regularly get enough water of the right quality.

How serious is India’s water crisis situation?

India could be a water-scarce country in the next 40 years. With 1,486 cubic metres (1. 5 million litres) of water available per person, per annum, India falls in the water-stressed category.

A dip below 1,000 cubic metres per person, per annum, will push it into the water-scarce category.

India practically depends on groundwater, which meets 62% of India’s irrigation needs, 85% of its rural water supply and 50% of its urban water supply.

Indiscriminate use of groundwater has turned 4% (260) of the total 7,089 assessed units in the country critical in 2022 while 14% (1,006 units) were assessed as over-exploited.

In India, 87% of groundwater is extracted for irrigation and experts say excess withdrawal around the year may be the biggest reason for depletion, as the recharge primarily happens in the monsoon.

Apart from this, the encroachment of water bodies and the discharge of untreated wastewater into rivers and streams have reduced surface water resources.

Statistics show 1. 6% (38,496) of India’s 24.2 lakh water bodies have already encroached while 53,396 of them in rural areas are not in use as they have dried up, silted or turned saline. Due to this, there is an increase in the use of groundwater.

What are the steps taken to address India’s water crisis?

National Aquifer Mapping Programme(NAQUIM)

 Jal Shakti Abhiyan(JSA)

Atal Bhujal Yojana

Amrit Sarovar Mission

Credit Suisse crisis: How AT1 wipeout could impact the global bond market

Source: The post is based on the article “Credit Suisse crisis: How AT1 wipeout could impact the global bond market” published in Indian Express on 22nd March 2023

What is the News?

Swiss regulator FINMA wrote down $17 billion of additional tier one, or AT1, Contingent Convertible (CoCo) bonds of Credit Suisse as UBS agreed to buy Credit Suisse to protect the financial system.  

What are AT1 Bonds?

Click Here to read

How is the US Silicon Valley bank crisis different from the Credit Suisse crisis?

The Credit Suisse crisis happened due to: 1) bond market losses, 2) poor governance record and 3) good and bad investment decision-making which saw the bank suffering from scandal to scandal over much of the last decade and it was repeatedly categorized as Europe’s weakest “systemically important” bank.

In the US, the triggers were different. Over 90% of deposits at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank were uninsured, and thereby prone to bank runs. 

– These banks were also invested heavily in long-term government bonds — and when interest rates rose, the value of their bond portfolios declined. They sold some bonds to raise funds, and when these losses came to light, panicky depositors rushed to pull out.

– There was also an asset-liability mismatch in SVB’s case: being overly exposed to the same profile of funders and customers — venture capital funds and start-ups.

What will be the impact of the global banking crisis on India’s banking sector?

Foreign banks have a relatively smaller presence in India with a 6% share in total assets, 4% in loans and 5% in deposits. 

They are more active in the derivative markets (forex and interest rates) where they have a 50% share. Credit Suisse is not being seen as a direct threat in India as it owns just 0.1% of assets in the Indian banking system. It is the 12th largest foreign bank in India, owning assets worth Rs 20,700 crore. 

However, unlike SVB, Credit Suisse is a much larger global financial entity. If it remains in trouble for a long time or fails, the impact will be felt across world financial markets and the global economy. 

The impact will be seen on Indian financial markets and the economy too. But the impact may be muted as India’s financial markets are not as interlinked with global financial markets as those of some other countries. 

Govt to support solar products’ adoption

Source: The post is based on the article “Govt to support solar products’ adoption” published in Livemint on 22nd March 2023

What is the News?

The government is likely to extend the scope of its ‘Off-grid Solar PV Applications’ programme to encourage small businesses in semi-urban and rural areas to go solar.

What is the Off-grid Solar PV Applications programme?

‘Off-grid’ refers to using solar power from sources other than the power grid. 

The scheme is aimed at providing solar PV-based applications in areas where grid power is either not available or is unreliable. 

Under the programme, the Centre provides financial support to help set up solar-powered street lights, study lamps and water pumps among others.

What is the government planning to do now?

Under the Off-grid Solar PV Applications’ programme, applications such as home lighting, street lighting, power plants, water pumps, lanterns and study lamps are currently covered.

Government is now likely to extend the scope of this programme to encourage small businesses in semi-urban and rural areas to go solar. It is looking to include solar looms, solar dryers and solar ‘charkha’ (spinning wheel) under the programme.

What are the other steps taken by the government to promote renewable energy?

The Government of India in 2022 has released a framework for promoting decentralized renewable energy (DRE) livelihood applications.

​​The framework defines DRE livelihood applications as applications powered by renewable energy – solar, wind, micro-hydro, and biomass. Their combinations are used for earning livelihoods directly such as solar dryers, solar mills, solar or biomass-powered cold storage/chiller, solar charkha and small-scale biomass pellet-making machines.

According to the framework, DRE-powered livelihood solutions have the potential to reduce and eventually eliminate the reliance of livelihood on diesel, particularly in rural settings, and can supplement power supply from the grid.

The framework stresses the scaling up of the currently available DRE livelihood applications and supports the development of such new applications. 

Panel to moot ways to lure Indian startups back to India

Source: The post is based on the article “Panel to moot ways to lure Indian startups back to India” published in The Hindu on 22nd March 2023

What is the News?

The International Financial Services Centres Authority(IFSCA) has formed a committee to design a road map to attract Indian start-ups to set up bases in GIFT City and not have their domicile in other nations.

Why are Indian Startups based outside India?

Many Indian start-ups are domiciled outside India, despite having the majority of their market, personnel, and founders here. These ‘externalized’ or ‘flipped’ start-ups constitute a large number of India’s unicorns.

For start-ups, a friendlier business environment, easier access to cheaper capital and talent as well as an openness to emerging fields such as crypto, fintech are the primary attractions abroad. As per Henley & Partners’ ranking, Singapore and UAE are the top choices at the moment for entrepreneurs.

What is IFSCA doing to attract Indian startups to set up based in GIFT City?

IFSCA has formed a committee headed by former RBI Executive Director G Padmanabhan.

The terms of reference for the committee include: 1) measures required to encourage the Indian fintech firms and start-ups domiciled abroad to relocate to GIFT IFSC, 2) To identify issues that are critical to the development of GIFT IFSC as a global fintech hub, and 3) To encourage new fintech firms to have a global outlook to set up their commercial presence in GIFT IFSC.

Union Minister inaugurates Asia’s largest 4-metre International Liquid Mirror Telescope at Devasthal in Uttarakhand

Source: The post is based on the article “Union Minister inaugurates Asia’s largest 4-metre International Liquid Mirror Telescope at Devasthal in Uttarakhand” published in PIB on 22nd March 2023

What is the News?

The Union Minister of Science & Technology has inaugurated Asia’s largest 4-metre International Liquid Mirror Telescope at Devasthal in Uttarakhand

What is the International Liquid Mirror Telescope(ILMT)?

Located at: The telescope is located at an altitude of 2450 metres at the Devasthal Observatory campus owned by Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES),Nainital in Uttarakhand.

Working of the telescope: ILMT employs a 4-metre-diameter rotating mirror made up of a thin layer of liquid mercury to collect and focus light. 

– The metal mercury is in liquid form at room temperature and at the same time highly reflective. It is ideally suited to form such a mirror. 

– The telescope is designed to survey the strip of the sky passing overhead each night, allowing it to detect transient or variable celestial objects such as supernovae, gravitational lenses, space debris and asteroids.

– While scanning the strip of the sky every night, the telescope will generate nearly 10-15 Gigabytes of data and the Big Data and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) algorithms will be implemented for classifying the objects observed with the ILMT.

– The data will be analyzed quickly to discover and discern variable and transient stellar sources.

Countries involved: The telescope has been set up by India in collaboration with Belgium, Canada, Poland and Uzbekistan. 

– It was designed and built in Belgium at the Advanced Mechanical and Optical Systems Corporation and the Centre Spatial de Liez.

Significance of the telescope: ILMT is the first liquid mirror telescope designed exclusively for astronomical observations and this is the largest aperture telescope available in the country at present and is also the first optical survey telescope in India. 

How is a liquid mirror telescope different from conventional telescopes?

Firstly, a conventional telescope is steered to point towards the celestial source of interest in the sky for observations.

– The liquid-mirror telescopes, on the other hand, are stationary telescopes that image a strip of the sky which is at the zenith at a given point of time in the night.

– In other words, a liquid-mirror telescope will survey and capture any and all possible celestial objects — from stars, galaxies, supernovae explosions, asteroids to space debris.

Secondly, Conventional telescopes have highly polished glass mirrors — either single or a combination of curved ones — that are steered in a controlled fashion to focus onto the targeted celestial object on specific nights. The light is then reflected to create images.

– As opposed to this, the liquid-telescope is made up of mirrors with a reflective liquid, in this case, mercury — a metal which has a high light-reflecting capacity.

– The mercury will spread as a thin layer in the container forming a paraboloid-shaped reflecting surface which will now act as the mirror. Such a surface is ideal to collect and focus light. 

Thirdly, the difference between the two is their operational time. While conventional telescopes observe specific stellar sources for fixed hours. ILMT will capture the sky’s images on all nights — between two successive twilights — for the next five years starting October 2022.

Note: For protecting it from moisture during monsoon, the ILMT will remain shut for operations between June and August.

World Happiness Report: Finland happiest country in the world, India ranked 126th: U.N. report

Source: The post is based on the article “Finland happiest country in the world, India ranked 126th: U.N. report” published in Indian Express on 22nd March 2023

What is the News?

The United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network has released the World Happiness Report 2023.

What is the World Happiness Report?

The World Happiness Report is a publication of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Parameters: The report measures happiness based on GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and low corruption. 

The report was released on March 20, which is celebrated as International Day of Happiness. 

What are the key findings of the World Happiness Report?

Globally: The Happiest country in the world was Finland. Two more Nordic countries – Denmark and Iceland – are second and third on the list.

– Afghanistan has occupied the bottom spot on the table since 2020. It saw its humanitarian crisis deepen since the Taliban government took power in 2021 following the US-led military pull-out.

India: India was placed at the 126th position out of 137 countries. It has improved from the 2022 index where it was ranked 136th.

– However, still India was ranked below Pakistan, Nepal, China, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. In Asia, India is only better off than Afghanistan which was placed at 137th position.