9 PM Daily Current Affairs Brief – September 30th, 2022

Current Affairs Compilations for UPSC IAS Prelims 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

• After the floods, Bengaluru needs to clean up its act
• How dreams of freedom are shattered for working women in small-town India
• Keep up pressure: India-US teaming up on Pacific Islands will trouble China. That’s welcome

GS Paper 3

• How much should India prop up the rupee?
• Rupee trade settlement offers India structural benefits
• Chief of Defence Staff
• Convergent growth
• The right corporate culture would end moonlighting
• A costly decision – Extension of PMGKAY should have been avoided
• Saving the world – DART can reduce risks from meteors

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

• India climbs to the 40th rank in the Global Innovation Index of WIPO; a huge leap of 41 places in 7 years
• Why India wants desi navigation tech on phones
• Supreme Court’s abortion ruling
• SC moves the needle on marital rape debate: for MTP purposes, it is rape
• Major floods on Mars? China’s rover finds evidence
• What is the Rs 600-crore redevelopment plan for Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar temple
• How climate change is threatening Himalayan hydropower projects
• UNESCO launches list documenting 50 iconic Indian heritage textiles

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

After the floods, Bengaluru needs to clean up its act

News:  Bengaluru’s floods have gone but they have left difficulties for the people. Difficulties such as flying of the dust in the air.

According to the various analyses rainfall has been expected to increase to an average of 1,000 mm per annum from the current 650 mm per annum.

The flood like situation in Bengaluru is generally blamed on builders, migrant, lack of spatial planning, etc.

However, these are not only the cause of flooding in Bengaluru.

There are other structural issues such as corruption also involved with the government that became the cause of flooding.

 How does corruption affect the system?

Corruption reduces the economic growth.  It transfers excessive wealth to the undeserving.

It also leads to people who are against the anti-corruption process reforms. The corrupt often use the honest to fulfil their agendas. For example, abound.

A government plays a major rule in reducing and increasing corruption. For example, it can make bye-laws so complex that the strictest law-abiding citizen cannot comply with them.

These complex laws provide corrupt officials and politicians to freedom to bend them. These types of laws also provide opportunities for agents who bypass the rigidities of the system.

These agents work parallelly with the government officials and people generally do not complain about them.

The legal definition of corruption enables many in a corrupt system to escape punishment. Indian law recognises only corrupt acts by public servants to be ‘acts of corruption’ under the law.

It gives the way to private corruption. Many government actions are outsourced to private agents who collect handling fees on behalf of the government.

For example, builder’s agents openly asking for bribes. Therefore, corruption can also be blamed for the Bengaluru floods.

Moreover, e-governance mechanism has not helped to reduce corruption.

How has e-governance not been effective in controlling corruption?

E-Governance is often not the effective solution as claimed. E-enabled systems only relocate the place of corruption and they do not solve the problem.

When large databases, such as land records are moved to paperless systems, they become vulnerable to manipulation.

This leads to shifting of power form land administrators to the one who possesses the digital signature.

Therefore, data entry operator becomes an important and corruptible person in the system.

What can be the course of action?

First, there should be regular assessments and evaluations of ongoing anti-corruption measures. They help in alerting new corruption opportunities.

Second, there is a need for a genuine law of whistle-blower protection.

• It assures honest citizens, politicians, bureaucrats and judges of protection, as they otherwise fear the adverse consequences for disclosing illegal activities.
• Confidence-assuring whistle-blower protection measures can lead to exposure of more corruption, particularly at higher levels.

Third, there has to be a conscious move towards promoting ethical behaviour.

Fourth, there is a need for good leadership in order to make anti-corruption strategies successful.

How dreams of freedom are shattered for working women in small-town India

News: Urban cities are the hope of social and economic independence for young girls.

However, the murder of 19-year-old Ankita Bhandari in Uttarakhand has shattered the dreams of many young girls all over the country.

This has generated a fresh wave of anxiety and fear in the minds of girls who have such dreams.

Why do young girls migrate to urban cities and what are the problems associated with it?

They generally migrate in the search of employment. Some girls require to support their family with their incomes.

However, migration to big cities is a hard task for those coming from the economically weaker section of society. There are difficulties in finding jobs and places to stay.

Therefore, service sector jobs in small towns are the only option to for such women. However, there are other concerns associated with employment of women.

What are concerns associated with the employment of women?

Low participation: There has been low participation and a decline in women’s employment.

However, in urban areas there has been a long-term trend of more women in employment but there is discrimination.

Discrimination: Women’s employment shows concentration in a few occupational segments and sectors.

This shows the broader discriminatory components of the urban labour market and the manner of women’s exclusion/inclusion in urban employment.

Education: There is also more focus on the employment of younger aged girls who are educated.

Therefore, those women who migrate and are not educated end up with domestic work and informal services which are highly unregulated.

Low wages: These women are further forced to face the gender discrimination and their jobs also do not pay them. Those jobs are temporary but serve a purpose for them to earn and support their families.

Accessibility: According to Centre for Women’s Development Studies, many women reported their difficulty in accessing employment in urban areas.

Lack of awareness and laws: There is also lack of awareness of rights of women and laws on sexual harassment which leaves women on the hands of the employers.

There are other issues such as lack of adequate information of the job, conditions of work among others are the problems faced by the women.

There were also report on non-uniform wage rates, the absence of defined working hours, incidences of violence and harassment including sexual harassment.

Society: Girls often face many challenges like convincing their families and societies to migrate in the search of jobs.

All of these factors force young women to put up with hostile workspaces and insecure working conditions.

Further, such crimes will also discourage their hope to attain self-dependency and economic freedom.

Keep up pressure: India-US teaming up on Pacific Islands will trouble China. That’s welcome

News: The troop disengagement process in eastern Ladakh remains incomplete and China continues to block UN sanctions against Pakistan-based terrorists. Despite that, China’s ambassador to India has recently said that the border situation is “switching to normalised management and control” and bilateral ties have shown positive momentum.

This shows China’s subtle overtures to India due to the pressure on China by the US in East Asia.

What are the advantages China gained in delayed disengagement?

China has achieved their near-term objectives by delayed disengagement such as a) Along the LAC most of the disengagement buffer zones coming up on the Indian side, b) China has further bolstered its infrastructure on its side.

How China is approaching Pacific Islands?

China has been slowly peeling away the islands. For instance, a) Kiribati and the Solomon Islands switched recognition from Taiwan to Beijing, b) Kiribati pulled out of the Pacific Island Forum earlier this year on China’s instructions.

What India should do if China is looking for peace?

China will talk about cooperation with India whenever it is in a tight spot strategically but will revert to an aggressive posture when the pressure eases. So, a) India should stick to its position that there can be no normalisation until China drops its aggressive behaviour, b) India should keep up the pressure by teaming up with the US to counter China’s growing influence among the Pacific Island nations,  and c) India should boost our defence infrastructure along the LAC.

GS Paper 3

How much should India prop up the rupee?

News:  The rupee weakened against the dollar recording a low at Rs 81 per dollar in the last week. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been intervening in the forex market to smoothen the decline.

Indian foreign exchange reserves have fallen to about $545 billion till mid-September 2022 in order to control the volatility.

How much of forex reserves should be used by the RBI to control the rupee volatility?

The use of forex reserves is appropriate at this point. Forex reserves are being spent to curb currency volatility.

It is not easy to fix the rupee at a particular level but it is possible to make it less volatile.

However, there is also a limit to rely on the reserves in order to control the rupee volatility.

How excessive intervention by the RBI can affect and forex reserves and what steps are needed?

Forex reserves can finish if RBI is aggressive in the intervention. Therefore, a holistic approach is needed. Thus, a multi-dimensional policy will be required, which includes easing provisions for remittances, allowing short-term foreign portfolio investments in government securities, etc.

Further a scheme to attract NRI investment can also be considered.

Depreciating the rupee sustainably will help the export sector and will address the challenge of high current account deficit (CAD) to some extent

Interest rate policy can be used to address domestic concerns and to help sustain the impact of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s rate hikes.

However, there is a limit to the RBI continuously managing volatility because its priority is price stability through inflation containment and not the exchange rate management.

What has been the reason for rupee volatility and what measures are required to address it?

The US Federal Reserve’s decision to increase rates is making foreign portfolio investors move out of emerging markets.

Geopolitical uncertainties like the war in Ukraine, energy price volatility has also contributed to this situation.

What is the level of forex reserves in India in terms of number of months of import cover and is this measure adequate?

The import cover is one way to measure reserves adequacy but it’s a very narrow one. There are other measures such as the Guidotti–Greenspan rule that looks at external debt that is less than one year.

Forex reserves should be sufficient to serve short term debt. From that point of view, we still have adequate reserves.

How can the real effective exchange rate (REER) be helpful for RBI in forex management?

It may not be a good approach and it is better to move with interest rate defense.

Therefore, addressing the macroeconomic fundamentals is necessary as it helped during the taper tantrum in 2013.

High inflation is also increasing the import costs which is widening the CAD.

However, we have already lived with CAD of 4% of GDP and it more important to come up with measures to finance the deficit.

Financing the CAD with capital inflows and preventing hot money outflow with the help of interest rates could be an effective long-term solution.

What are the consequences for the economy if CAD hits 4%?

Even during the tenure of Raghuram Rajan the CAD went up to 4% but as soon as hot money became volatile panic set in.

However, if RBI can operate the interest rate effectively that can check the outflow. But in using this tool RBI has to focus on the real interest rate and economic growth, i.e., R and G, for public debt management.

If the R is going to be greater than G then there is an unsustainable situation.

The only way to address these concerns such as fiscal consolidation, twin deficit crisis, a negative real rate of interest is to raise rates.

What are the concerns associated with the falling rupee?

As per an RBI report, 44% of the outstanding debt has not been protected and is vulnerable to forex volatility.

The rupee hasn’t seen the kind of weakness that it saw during the taper tantrum and now it is extremely orderly. The pace of rupee depreciation has not been very severe this time to cause concern. However, uncertainties remain.

Moreover, rupee depreciation and appreciation are market-based and it is based on demand and supply mechanism.

Therefore, RBI needs to intervene only if the rupee is on a sustained free fall.

Rupee trade settlement offers India structural benefits

News: RBI has taken a decision recently to let domestic exim traders facilitate and settle invoicing and payments for international trade in rupees.

This is a welcome step as it will reduce India’s trade deficit and India can more easily raise its proportion of Russian oil purchases at discount prices.

How is this measure helpful?

It is a departure from the long-standing Foreign Exchange Management Act provision mandating final settlement in free foreign exchange.

It would need foreign banks opening Vostro accounts in India with settlements taking place instantly. It would further allow Indian exim dealers to settle rupee-denominated trade invoices using these Vostro accounts.

It also provides the parties with some leeway by allowing advance flow management.

It is done by using excess rupee balances for permissible capital and current account transactions in accordance with mutual agreements.

The provision for opening bank accounts in the case of Russia is limited to Russian banks that are not on the US-Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list.

Therefore, this step has come as the rupee falls to historic lows versus the dollar.

Why are the consequences of falling rupee?

Imports: The sharp rise in global commodities, particularly oil imports have caused India’s trade and current account deficits (CAD) to worrying levels.

The current account deficit is expected to touch 3% of GDP in 2022-23 despite a record increase in exports.

Inflation: A weakening rupee worsens the threat of imported inflation in India, since India is dependent on imports for about four-fifths of its annual motor-fuel demand.

Therefore, this policy would lower demand for foreign exchange for the settlement of current account-related trade flows.

Further this step taken by the RBI also has economic and geopolitical implications.

How this measure has economic and geopolitical implications?

First, it has liberalized capital account convertibility to decrease pressure on India’s dollar reserves. Capital account flexibility diminishes the function in trade of currency reserves.

Second, the move could assist Indian exporters in collecting advance payments in Indian rupees from overseas clients.

Third, even if a Vostro account is not pre-funded, foreign importers will have to buy rupees. The rupee payment method can be used to set off export and import transactions.

Fourth, the move could have a favourable long-term influence on regional nations wanting to trade with India.

Moreover, the measure will also affect international politics.

How will this measure affect international politics?

First, it signals the beginning of more concerted attempts to settle payments in non-dollar currencies among BRICS nation and with other South Asian countries.

Second, it would support the Indian rupee’s position on the internationally with China and Russia looking for alternative payment systems.

Moreover, the US dollar holds importance around the globe including in India.

How does US dollar hold importance around the globe and in India?

Internationally: The US dollar is defined as Dominant Currency Paradigm’ (DCP) which means the US dollar holds importance as the source, destination and vehicle currency.

The DCP has affected national exchange-rate policies by emphasizing the stability of the US retail price index and input costs.

According to estimates, the dollar’s proportion of global invoices is currently 4.7 times more than its share of global imports.

India: 60% of all export-import payments in India are made in US dollars (and 86% in the case of imports).

The settlement at the sovereign level is carried out in dollars even if an Indian exporter is paid in rupees.

Moreover, the rupee’s current depreciation can be given to dollar strength globally.

Chief of Defence Staff

News– The article explains the new vision of the Indian government for transformation of armed focus and bringing synergy. It also explains the challenges before the institution of Chief of Defence Staff.

What is the status of armed forces in a democracy?

They are constitutionally empowered instruments of the state under the umbrella of civilian supremacy.

They operate with a great deal of autonomy and are largely trusted by the politicians to offer sound policy advice.

Indian armed forces have followed this model. In the case of India, bureaucracy has acted as a policy interface between executive and armed forces.

What is the proposed vision for transformation of armed forces and CDS role in this transformation?

One of the main components of this new vision is reorganisation of the armed forces into integrated theatre commands.

It focuses on bringing synergy between all wings of armed forces.

CDS mandate is to ensure “jointness” of the three services in operations, logistics, transport, training, support services, communications, repairs and maintenance.

CDS is also the Principal Military Adviser to the Defence Minister and Permanent Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee.

What are challenges before the institution of Chief of Defence Staff?

To build a bridge between a government that wants quicker changes and an organisation that is resistant to change.

Build operational capability at a pace that will ensure that the military power asymmetry with China remains manageable.

Address the challenges related to integrated military planning and training. India specific requirements have to be addressed for fresh structures that focus on jointness.

To properly articulate policies, doctrines and strategy. A National Security Strategy needs to be devised. It will act as a guiding framework for policies and doctrines.

Balancing the need to retain the operational capability and the government’s push towards self-reliance in defence manufacturing. The current silos of innovators and designers, manufacturers and armed forces needs to be broken down. We have to ensure lateral entry into innovation and manufacturing spaces to develop intellectual capital.

Shedding colonial legacies and traditions that are irrelevant. The focus should be upon fostering a sense of pride in India’s martial traditions that go back to epics such as the Mahabharata and to Cholas and Marathas.

To bring in fiscal prudence and optimisation in utilisation of the defence budget especially given the tough economic outlook

More clarity is needed regarding the functions of the CDS, particularly their relationship with the Service Chiefs in terms of operational roles and administrative duties.

Convergent growth

News– The article explains the historical reason for disparity in growth and development performance between Indian states. It also tells about the steps needed to be taken to remove this disparity.

The prime minister’s August 15 speech spoke of a united and integrated India as one of the five focuses for policy in the years ahead to the centenary of independence.

What are some facts related to disparity in growth and development performance of states?

Low growth states are in northern, eastern and central parts of the country.

High growth states are in the south, west and south-west parts of the country.

There is a widening gap between low growth and high growth states of the country

The ratio of per capita state product increased from 1.6 in 1990-91 to 2.6 in 2019-20.

What are the historical reasons for this disparity?

Colonial period- Madras and Bombay presidencies saw higher growth. It was shaped by domestic entrepreneurship driven by nationlist considerations.

Large princely states also experienced higher growth. There was significant government support for industry, education.

The low growth areas coincides with the old Bengal presidency. Although in some parts, there was significant development in industry and agriculture. But it was dominated by British companies.

After independence– There was substantial public investment in manufacturing and mining directed mainly at the eastern and central regions. But this heavy investment could not  generate opportunities for private enterprises. In west Bengal. Growth was further impacted by extreme leftism.

States in the south and west were benefited by private investment in chemical, engineering and consumer industries. There was also public investment in the petroleum and chemical sectors.

After liberalisation– There has been a substantial shift from public to private investment. There has been rapid growth of export-oriented hightech services like the IT sector.

Higher growth states are the main beneficiary due to their strong private sector, coastal location and global interactions.

What is the way forward?

The focus of convergent-growth policies must therefore be on the five northern and central states-Rajasthan, UP, Bihar, MP and Jharkhand. There is a need to focus upon West Bengal which has the presence of most growth factors.

There is a need to properly utilise the demographic dividend of these five northern and central states. These states will account for 91.6 per cent of the national increase in the working-age population between 2030 and 2050.

The northern states cannot be integrated easily with the global economy. There is a need to connect them with the higher-growth states through encouraging a national value chain in manufacturing.

Making the northern states part of a national manufacturing value chain will require serious investment in logistics and infrastructure for manufacturing, skill development, and organised support for local MSMEs. It can not be done without central government support.

The right corporate culture would end moonlighting

News: Wipro has sacked 300 employees it found guilty of working for its competitors. This triggered the ‘moonlighting’ debate.

What is moonlighting?

Why moonlighting is not acceptable?

Not for all: When it comes to professionals who have access to sensitive data such as customer information and trade secrets of their employers or are in possession of the company’s intellectual property, moonlighting poses a direct risk to the organization. So, in sectors such as fintech and banking, moonlighting shouldn’t be acceptable due to the sheer magnitude of risk it poses.

The employee-Employer agreement: Under it, the employee has explicitly agreed to a non-compete and single employment clause while joining a company. So, moonlighting raises questions about a person’s integrity and violates the implicit bond of trust shared between an employee and the employer. Further, it might even cause legal ramifications.

Where moonlighting is acceptable?

In countries like the US, moonlighting is close to the norm. Many people work multiple gigs to make ends meet.

An employee and a freelancer are not the same. So, it is acceptable for the segment of professionals who prefer to work on short-term projects while being connected to multiple organizations. Consultants, gig workers, freelancers, etc, have limited exposure to an organization’s trade secrets.

Combined with a non-disclosure agreement for them, there is a fair amount of confidentiality and protection built in.

What are the conditions that lead to moonlighting?

Employees actually accept two different professional responsibilities due to reasons such as a) First organization’s pay and benefits are lacking, b) Lack of opportunities to grow and learn within the organization, c) Lack of job satisfaction, and d) Organization lag on employee engagement, e) An employee may need an additional source of income due to an emergency, f) Employee may desire a move into a more challenging role or want to learn something new.

What are the concerns associated with moonlighting and work culture?

There has been a consistent and strong focus on the work culture and work-life balance since the pandemic. If employees are seeking additional work while organizations facilitate initiatives to promote a better work-life balance, there must be a crack in the foundation of work culture.

What should be done?

Improve the organization’s culture: a) Every manager and every leader must be equipped to understand the struggles of their teammates, b) Sustain the focus on the well-being of employees, c) Provide employees financial options to take care of themselves and their families during medical crises, d) Offering work flexibility to those who are also primary caregivers to children or the elderly, and e) Establishing a support system of mental health professionals along with empathetic managers.

The right culture is the only solution to this perennial problem of moonlighting. Further, a good work culture will also create a mutual sense of belonging, loyalty and trust.

A costly decision – Extension of PMGKAY should have been avoided

News: Recently, the government has extended the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY-Phase VII) for a further period of 3 months i.e. October to December 2022.

What is Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)?

What are the concerns associated with extending PMGKAY?

Not an emergency situation: The scheme has been extended due to successive waves of the pandemic, which affected economic activity. But now the economy has now opened up completely.

Against finance ministry advice: Against the advice of finance ministry officials, the government extended the scheme due to political considerations.

Additional expenditure: In terms of fiscal impact, the extension will lead to an additional expenditure of Rs 44,762 crore. This is expected to take the food subsidy bill to about Rs 3.38 trillion, as against the Budget estimate of Rs 2.07 trillion.

Difficult to withdraw: The extension of the scheme gives an impression that it would continue even in normal times and was not necessarily an emergency intervention.

Impact money market: Because of measures taken by the Reserve Bank of India to contain inflation, the liquidity conditions have changed significantly. Higher government borrowing at this stage can push up the cost of money.

What should be done instead of extending PMGKAY?

Higher revenues at this stage should have been used to either push up capital expenditure, which would have boosted growth or reduced the fiscal deficit.

A swift fiscal consolidation in the case of better revenue realisation is needed in the medium term.

The global economic outlook has worsened significantly and will affect growth in the Indian economy as well. So India should use every opportunity to move forward in fiscal consolidation. This would help create some policy space to deal with another potential adverse shock.

Saving the world – DART can reduce risks from meteors

News: NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) spacecraft has collided with the asteroid Dimorphous.

What is the DART Mission?

What are asteroids and their potential impact on Earth?

A large meteorite burning up in the lower atmosphere could damage the ozone layer, or release enough energy to cause damage similar to a nuclear explosion.

What are the previous instances of asteroid strikes on Earth?

On average about 17 meteorites of substantial size hit the Earth every day (smaller ones burn up due to friction in the atmosphere).

Approximately 66 million years ago, a very large meteorite crashed into the Yucatan region of Mexico and caused the extinction of a large number of animal and plant species. It caused tsunamis and led to a nuclear winter that lasted a long time. It is estimated that the object was around 10 km in diameter and it caused a crater that’s 180 km wide and 2 km deep.

In 1908, when a large meteorite smashed into an uninhabited part of Siberia with a force equivalent to a large nuclear bomb.

What are the advantages of the DART Mission?

a) Directly addresses a long-standing nightmare of mass extinction, b) It tests proof of concept for a planetary defence system, which could prevent a large asteroid from smashing into the Earth, or making a close fly-by with disastrous consequences, c) Since DART appears to have worked, scientists can now conceive a similar mission possibly involving a large nuclear warhead if there’s a future emergency.

What are the challenges with missions like DART?

-DART was planned for several years, and the vehicle was launched in November 2021 in order to intersect Dimorphos ten months later.

– Given mankind’s propensity for weaponising everything, such missions could also be used for military purposes.

What is ahead after the DART Mission?

The Observational capabilities will need to be good enough to observe the potential impact with enough time if there is indeed a hazardous object heading on a collision course.

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

India climbs to the 40th rank in the Global Innovation Index of WIPO; a huge leap of 41 places in 7 years

Source: The post is based on the article “India climbs to the 40th rank in the Global Innovation Index of WIPO; a huge leap of 41 places in 7 years” published in PIB on 30th September 2022.

What is the News?

The Global Innovation Index 2022 has been released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

What is the Global Innovation Index?

Published by: World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) annually

Aim: To track the most recent global innovation trends against the background of an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, slowing productivity growth and other evolving challenges.

Parameters: The index is calculated as the average of two sub-indices.

– Innovation Input Sub-Index: It gauges elements of the economy that enable and facilitate innovative activities and is grouped into five pillars: (1) Institutions, (2) Human capital and research, (3) Infrastructure, (4) Market sophistication, and (5) Business sophistication.

– Innovation Output Sub-Index: It captures the actual result of innovative activities within the economy and is divided into two pillars: (6) Knowledge and technology outputs and (7) Creative outputs.

What are the key findings of the index?

India: India has been ranked at the 40th position in the index in 2022. This is the first time India has entered the top 40. In 2021, India was in the 46th position.

– India is the innovation leader in the lower middle-income group. It continues to lead the world in ICT services exports and holds top rankings in indicators like venture capital receipt value, finance for startups, graduates in science and engineering and domestic industry diversification.

Topped by: Switzerland has emerged as the world’s most innovative economy for the 12th consecutive year.

– The second position was secured by the United States (US) followed by Sweden, the United Kingdom (UK) and the Netherlands.

Why India wants desi navigation tech on phones

Source: The post is based on the article “Why India wants desi navigation tech on phones” published in Livemint on 30th September 2022.

What is the News?

India is reportedly applying pressure on phone-makers to integrate its home-grown navigation system called NavIC. This may increase costs for manufacturers.

What is NavIC?

Click Here to read

Why does India need NavIC?

Navigation apps and mobiles in India typically use Global Positioning System(GPS) owned by the US government and operated by the US Air Force.  

According to a Reuters report, India wants to reduce its dependence on such technology from foreign countries.

This is because, in 1999, the US refused an Indian request for GPS data to track Pakistani troops in Kargil. Ever since, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has been working on Navigation with the Indian Constellation, or NavIC.

How does NaviC work compared to GPS systems? 

The GPS needs nearly 24 operational satellites and has 31 satellites in orbit. All 55 satellites are geosynchronous satellites which means that they do not remain stationary in space regarding the revolving earth.

NavIC has 3 geostationary satellites and 4 geosynchronous satellites which are placed in much higher orbits due to which the signal is less prone to obstructions.

The GPS uses a single frequency band while the NavIC satellites use dual frequency bands (L5-band and S-band).

NavIC is said to be accurate up to 5-10 meters on land against 20-30 meters for GPS.

Why is the NaviC phone rollout taking time? 

Making all new smartphones NavIC-ready can be challenging for handset makers since most of them do their product planning at least a year in advance, including phone components.

There’s another reason — navigation signals are currently broadcast from NavIC satellites in the L5 and S bands. Most mobile System on Chips(SoCs), however, support the LI band. But this can be addressed with a software update.

Supreme Court’s abortion ruling

Source: This post is based on the following articles:

a. “Supreme Court’s abortion ruling” published in Indian Express on 30th September 2022.

b. “Doctors need not report identity of minors seeking abortion, says Supreme Court” published in The Hindu on 30th September 2022.

c. ​​”Supreme Court axes 51-year-old curb, single women get equal abortion rights” published in The Hindu on 30th September 2022.

What is the News?

The Supreme Court has held that all women, irrespective of their marital status, are entitled to safe and legal abortion till 24 weeks of pregnancy under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act.

What was the case about?

A petition was filed in the Supreme Court by a 25-year-old unmarried woman seeking an abortion of her 24-week pregnancy after the Delhi High Court declined her plea. 

The woman’s case was that she wished to terminate her pregnancy as her partner had refused to marry her at the last stage.

The petitioner also argued that the continuation of the pregnancy would involve a risk of grave and immense injury to her mental health.

What does the current MTP Act say on this?

Currently, the MTP Act mandates the medical opinion of a doctor to terminate pregnancy up to 20 weeks while the advice of two doctors is needed for pregnancies between 20 and 24 weeks.

However, only certain categories of women are allowed to terminate their pregnancies in this extended time period of 20 to 24 weeks.

The certain categories include the cases of sexual assault, rape or incest, women whose marital status changed during pregnancy, mentally-ill women, women with physical disabilities, women with foetal malformation and women with pregnancy in humanitarian settings or disaster or emergency situations as may be declared by the Government.

What was the court’s judgment?

On unmarried women seeking abortion

The Supreme Court ruled that all women, regardless of their marital status are entitled to safe and legal abortion till 24 weeks of pregnancy. 

The court declared that prohibiting single or unmarried pregnant women from pregnancies between 20 and 24 weeks from accessing abortion while allowing married women with the same term of pregnancy to access the care was violative of the right to equality before the law and equal protection (Article 14).

The court also held that reproductive autonomy required every pregnant woman to have the intrinsic right to choose to have or not have to undergo an abortion without any consent or authorisation from a third party.

On minors seeking abortion

The Supreme Court exempted the registered medical doctors from disclosing to the police the identity of minors who have come in for the abortion.

Note: Currently, a registered medical practitioner (RMP) is obliged under Section 19(1) of the POCSO Act to report to the police when a minor approach him or her for an abortion.

SC moves the needle on marital rape debate: for MTP purposes, it is rape

Source: The post is based on the article “SC moves the needle on marital rape debate: for MTP purposes, it is rape” published in Indian Express on 30th September 2022.

What is the News?

The Supreme Court has recently given its verdict on the termination of pregnancy under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy(MTP) Act. It said that for abortion, marital rape would be recognised as rape.

What was the court’s ruling on abortion due to marital rape?

The Supreme Court has held that the meaning of rape must be held to include “marital rape” for the purpose of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act and Rules.

It held that wives, who conceived out of forced sex by their husbands will also come within the ambit of survivors of sexual assault or rape or incest under the MTP Act. Hence, she can also go for an abortion without the requirement of anybody else’s consent. 

However, the court clarified that its interpretation only applies to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act and would not have any effect on the challenge to the marital rape exception under the Indian Penal Code that is pending before the Supreme Court.

What is the significance of this judgment?

Experts see this as a first step in the direction of eventually removing the marital rape immunity in law.

Note: Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code defines the offence of rape, but carves out an exception for sexual intercourse between a married couple.

Major floods on Mars? China’s rover finds evidence

Source: The post is based on the article “Major floods on Mars? China’s rover finds evidence” published in Down To Earth on 28th September 2022

What is the News?

China’s Zhurong rover that landed on Mars in 2021 has found evidence of major floods that took place billions of years ago.

What is Zhurong Rover?

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What did the Zhurong Rover find about Mars?

Zhurong Rover studied its landing site – Utopia Planitia – vast plains in Mars’s northern hemisphere.

The radar did not find any evidence of liquid water down to 80 meters but it did detect two horizontal layers with interesting patterns. Scientists think these layers may have been created due to flooding.

For instance, the older, deeper and thicker layer that is between 30 and 80 metres underground was probably formed by rapid flooding three billion years ago.

The upper layer (between 10 and 30 metres in depth) could have been created by another flood some 1.6 billion years ago when there was lots of glacial activity.

Note: Previous Mars exploration missions also indicated that there was once water on the planet’s surface, as well as massive floods.

What is the Rs 600-crore redevelopment plan for Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar temple

Source: The post is based on the article “What is the Rs 600-crore redevelopment plan for Ujjain’s Mahakaleshwar temple” published in Indian Express on 30th September 2022.

What is the News?

The Prime Minister will be inaugurating the Mahakaleshwar Corridor, constructed in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain.

What is the Mahakal corridor?

Mahakal Maharaj Mandir Parisar Vistar Yojna is a plan for the expansion, beautification, and decongestion of the Mahakaleshwar temple and its adjoining area in Ujjain district.

What is Mahakaleshwar temple?

Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva.It is located in the ancient city of Ujjain in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

River: The temple is situated on the side of the holy river Shipra. 

Built by: The temple in its present form was built by the Maratha general Ranoji Shinde in 1734 CE.

Significance: Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga is one of the 12 jyotirlingas considered the most sacred abodes of Shiva. 

– As per records, the temple’s Mahakal Lingam is believed to be Swayambhu (self-manifested) and unlike any other jyotirlingas in the country, the idol of Mahakaleshwar faces south.

– The shrine is also revered as one of the 18 Maha Shakti Peeth in India.

How climate change is threatening Himalayan hydropower projects

Source: The post is based on the article “How climate change is threatening Himalayan hydropower projects” published in TOI on 30th September 2022.

What is the News?

According to a study, more than 650 hydropower projects planned or under construction in the Himalayan region are at risk from hazards related to melting glaciers.

About the study on Hydropower projects in the Himalayas

Hydropower as a low-carbon source of energy is projected to play an important role in meeting the rising energy demands in South Asia. 

For instance, hydropower potential in the Himalayas are mostly untapped with 650-odd projects representing around 260 gigawatts of power. 

However, these hydropower projects are facing hazardous threats due to climate change. These hazards include landslides, rock-ice avalanches, debris flow and lake outburst floods, all of which could increase with glacier melt and slope destabilization. 

For example, the avalanche-triggered flood in Chamoli, Uttarakhand in February last year destroyed two hydropower projects.

Global warming is also expected to lead to more glacier melt and extreme precipitation events in the region. Increased development in the mountains could also aggravate risks. 

The biggest threat may be lake outburst floods including landslide-driven lake outbursts and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFS).

Note: GLOFS refer to the sudden release of water from a lake formed by glacial melt.

UNESCO launches list documenting 50 iconic Indian heritage textiles

Source: The post is based on the article “UNESCO launches list documenting 50 iconic Indian heritage textiles” published in The Hindu on 30th September 2022.

What is the News?

UNESCO has released a list of 50 exclusive and iconic heritage textile crafts of India under the title “Handmade for the 21st Century: Safeguarding Traditional Indian Textile”.

What are the textiles listed in the UNESCO document?

The UNESCO document lists the histories and legends behind the textiles, describes the complicated and secret processes behind their making, mentions the causes for their dwindling popularity, and provides strategies for their preservation.

Some of the textiles mentioned are: 

– From North: Khes from Panipat, Chamba rumals from Himachal Pradesh, Thigma or wool tie and dye from Ladakh and Awadh Jamdani from Varanasi.

– From the south: Ilkal and Lambadi or Banjara embroidery from Karnataka, Sikalnayakanpet Kalamkari from Thanjavur, Toda embroidery and Sungadi from Tamil Nadu and Himroo weaves from Hyderabad.

– Other states: Kunbi weaves from Goa, Mashru weaves and Patola from Gujarat, Himroo from Maharashtra and Garad-Koirial from West Bengal and Bandha tie and dye weaving from Sambalpur in Odisha.

Significance of this document: This list by UNESCO is significant as one of the major challenges to the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South Asia is the lack of proper inventory and documentation.