9 PM UPSC Current Affairs Articles 20th December, 2024

Mains Oriented Articles

GS PAPER - 1

Ambedkar’s Legacy and Dalits’ Ongoing Struggle

Source: The post Ambedkar’s Legacy and Dalits’ Ongoing Struggle has been created, based on the article “Don’t invoke Babasaheb Ambedkar selectively” published in “Indian Express” on 20th December 2024

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper1- Society-Social empowerment

Context: The article discusses the ongoing political controversy over Babasaheb Ambedkar’s legacy, highlighting how politicians, especially from dominant castes, exploit it without addressing caste-based discrimination. It stresses that Dalits fight for dignity, equality, and opportunities, not just identity, and emphasizes Ambedkar’s vision for the nation.

What Is the Current Political Controversy over Ambedkar?

1. Politicians, mostly from dominant castes, are debating Ambedkar’s legacy without addressing caste discrimination.
2. Congress historically resisted Ambedkar’s initiatives, opposing reservation and the Mandal Commission recommendations.
3. The party treated Dalits as a poor class (“gareeb janta”) rather than addressing caste realities.
4. Dalits still face issues in education, health, and employment, similar to 50-60 years ago, despite budget allocations.

How Has the Government Addressed Dalit Issues?

1. The government has introduced initiatives like the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, focusing on women’s empowerment.
2. It emphasized Dalit dignity by creating panch teerth sites to honor Ambedkar’s legacy.
3. Programs such as GYAN (gareeb, yuva, annadata, nari) aim to empower marginalized groups, including Dalits.
4. Dalit representation in the BJP has significantly increased in recent years.
5. Despite these efforts, caste-based discrimination persists, with incidents like a Dalit man being urinated upon.

What is the Role of Babasaheb Ambedkar Today?

1. Babasaheb Ambedkar remains a revered figure, central to Dalit aspirations for dignity and equality.
2. His legacy extends beyond Dalits, influencing broader discussions on discrimination and nation-building.

What are Dalits Fighting for Today?

1. Dalits seek equal opportunities, equity in governance, and respect for their aspirations beyond mere identity politics.
2. Their struggle encompasses broader themes of aspiration and national inclusivity.

Question for practice:

Examine the current political controversy surrounding Babasaheb Ambedkar’s legacy and its impact on the fight for Dalit dignity and equality.

GS PAPER - 2

5 ways in which India-Russia relations will shape in 2025

Source: The post 5 ways in which India-Russia relations will shape in 2025 has been created, based on the article “5 ways in which India-Russia relationship will shape the world in 2025” published in “Indian Express” on 20th December 2024

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper2- International Relations-Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Context: The article highlights the importance of India-Russia relations in 2025. It explains how this partnership supports global stability by balancing Russia’s ties with China, fostering multilateralism, stabilizing energy markets, aiding Arctic governance, and moderating group dynamics like BRICS and SCO.

For detailed information on India-Russia Relations read this article here

What are the 5 ways in which India-Russia relations will shape in 2025?

1. Bridge Between Russia and the World:

• India acts as a link between an alienated Russia and the global order.
• Its multilateral approach anchors Russia to a system it might otherwise disrupt.
• India connects diverse global systems without pushing specific geopolitical agendas.

2. Balancing Russia-China Relations:

• India prevents Russia from becoming overly reliant on China.
• Russia seeks equal partnerships, which India provides, unlike China.
• At BRICS summits, Russia values India’s independent stance over aligning solely with China.

3. Energy Trade and Market Stability:

• India-Russia energy trade complies with sanctions while stabilizing global energy markets.
• This benefits Europe by avoiding energy crises.
• India’s fossil fuel trade with Russia supports price stability crucial for Europe.

4. Strategic Role in the Arctic:

• India’s presence with Russia in the Arctic counters potential Russia-China dominance.
• Projects like the Chennai-Vladivostok corridor enhance Arctic governance and connectivity.

5. Moderating Global Groupings:

• India’s leadership ensures platforms like BRICS and SCO remain non-weaponized against the West.
• India facilitated UAE, Egypt, and Vietnam joining BRICS to foster balance.

Question for practice:

Examine how India-Russia relations in 2025 contribute to balancing global power dynamics and fostering multilateral cooperation.

GS PAPER - 3

The Rise and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence

Source: The post The Rise and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence has been created, based on the article “Artificial intelligence: The latest opium of the masses” published in “Live mint” on 20th December 2024

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper3- Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.

Context: The article compares AI to religion, highlighting its growing influence and appeal. It discusses both AI’s benefits, like solving global problems, and its failures, such as accidents and project failures. The author calls for a balanced, skeptical approach to AI’s potential and limitations.

For detailed information on Generative AI read this article here

What are the impacts of AI?

1. AI is captivating public attention, much like religion did in its prime. It promises convenience and efficiency.
2. AI is becoming an “addictive toy” that people use without fully understanding. Businesses globally adopted AI 270% more between 2015 and 2022.
3. The AI industry is projected to be worth $1.8 trillion by 2030. ChatGPT, for example, reached 100 million users in just two months.

How does AI benefit society?

1. Global Problem Solving: AI aids in tackling global challenges such as flood management and environmental cleanup. For instance, Google Flood Hub uses AI to provide advance flood alerts in 80 countries.
2. Environmental Impact: Organizations like The Ocean Cleanup utilize AI to map and remove ocean litter more efficiently, enhancing environmental sustainability.
3. Technological Advancements: AI tools like ChatGPT rapidly gain widespread use, demonstrating their popularity and utility in everyday tasks.
4. Productivity Boost: GenAI tools improve developer productivity by approximately 4% without compromising code quality, showing their potential to enhance software development efficiency.

What are the challenges of AI?

1. Unrealistic Expectations: The term “Artificial Intelligence” can create unrealistic expectations. Renaming it as “Systematic Approaches to Learning Algorithms and Machine Inferences” (Salami) could help manage expectations better.
2. Failures in Implementation: Many AI projects fail due to miscommunication, data issues, and high costs. About 30% of Generative AI projects are abandoned after the proof-of-concept stage, and over 80% of AI projects overall fail, according to studies.
3. High Failure Rate: Around 30% of Generative AI projects are abandoned after the proof-of-concept stage. Over 80% of AI projects fail, often due to miscommunication or data issues.
4. Limited Impact: A study showed GenAI only boosted developer productivity by 4%, with minimal impact on team performance or code quality.

Question for practice:

Discuss the benefits and challenges of AI as outlined in the article.

Supreme Court Rules Coconut Oil as Edible Oil

Source: The post Supreme Court Rules Coconut Oil as Edible Oil has been created, based on the article “Is coconut oil an edible oil or a haircare product? Here is what Supreme Court ruled” published in “Indian Express” on 20th December 2024

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper3-Economy-taxation

Context: The article discusses how the Supreme Court decided that coconut oil should be classified as an edible oil for taxation purposes, not as a hair care product, despite being sold in small packets sometimes. This decision means coconut oil now attracts a lower Goods and Services Tax rate of 5% instead of 18%.

How was coconut oil classified earlier?

1. Before 2005: Coconut oil was broadly treated as an edible oil under tax regulations.
2. 2005 Amendment (CET Act): Coconut oil was classified under Section III as an edible oil, attracting an excise duty of 8%. Hair care products, under Section VI, were taxed at 16%.
3. 2009 Circular: The Central Board of Excise and Customs classified coconut oil in containers smaller than 200 ml as hair oil to impose a higher tax of 16%.
4. 2015 Withdrawal: The circular was withdrawn after tribunals ruled that small packs could not be presumed to be hair oil.
5. Tribunal Rulings: In challenges by companies like Madhan Agro, tribunals held coconut oil as edible oil, regardless of packaging size.

What led to the Supreme Court case?

1. In 2007, the central excise authorities issued show-cause notices to Madhan Agro Industries, questioning whether coconut oil sold in small packets should be taxed as a hair care product.
2. The company challenged this decision, leading to legal proceedings.
3. In 2015, after the Tribunal ruled that coconut oil in small packs is still edible oil, the Central Excise Commissioner appealed to the Supreme Court.
4. The case revolved around whether small-sized coconut oil should be taxed at the higher 18% rate for hair oils or the 5% rate for edible oils.

What were the Supreme Court’s views?

1. Supreme Court’s 2018 Views on Coconut Oil Taxation:

Split Verdict: The bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and R Banumathi delivered differing opinions:

• Justice Gogoi classified coconut oil as edible oil regardless of its packaging size, emphasizing its primary use as food.
• Justice Banumathi applied the Common Parlance Test, ruling that coconut oil in small containers is commonly understood as hair oil and should be taxed accordingly.
• The common parlance test determines how the public or market generally understands or uses a product. It is used when a product can be classified under two tax categories.

2. Supreme Court’s Recent (2023) Views:

• Classification Under HSN Norms: The court ruled coconut oil as an edible oil based on Harmonised System of Nomenclature (HSN) norms, irrespective of packaging size.
• Rejection of Common Parlance Test: The test was deemed inapplicable as the product is clearly defined under the law.
• Size Irrelevance: The court noted that small-sized packaging is common for both edible and hair oils.
• Standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 1977: The court referred to this rule, which allows edible oils to be packed in sizes like 50 ml, 100 ml, and 200 ml.
• Examples of Precedents: The court cited cases like homeopathic hair oil being classified as a medicament (2023) and anardana as seeds (2022) to justify its decision.

Question for practice:

Discuss the Supreme Court’s decision on the classification of coconut oil for taxation purposes.

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

IRIS2 Space Programme

News: The European Union has launched an ambitious Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS2) space programme, its third major space infrastructure project, to rival Elon Musk’s Starlink.

About IRIS2

• It is the European Union’s third flagship satellite programme, after Galileo Navigation System and Copernicus.
  • Galileo is a civilian satellite navigation system while Copernicus is the world’s largest Earth Observation Programme.
• The European Space Agency has played a key role in the development of the programme.
• It has a constellation of 290 satellites, operating in medium and low earth orbit.
• It aims to provide secure, resilient and high-speed connectivity in areas where network connectivity is low or unavailable.
• It supports a large variety of governmental applications in the domains of surveillance, crisis management, security and defence etc.

Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems

News: All 17,130 police stations across the country have been successfully connected through the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems. 

About Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems 

• It is a centralised and integrated online platform to file First Information Report (FIR), chargesheets and investigation reports. 
• It was launched in 2009 with an outlay of Rs. 2000 crores, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, as a part of India’s National e-Governance Plan. 
• Benefits: 
  • Hosting the past and present crime records, including details of an accused, charge-sheeted persons, convicts, habitual offenders, and others. 
  • Accessibility to law enforcement agencies across the country. 
  • Generating analytical reports regarding criminal cases, property cases, and crime statistics. 
  • Development of Integrated Criminal Justice System (ICJS) by integrating police data with other pillars of the criminal justice system. 
• The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) is the central nodal agency and is responsible for monitoring the CCTNS. 

About National Crime Records Bureau  Founded in 1986 under the Ministry of Home Affairs.  It serves as a repository of information on crime and criminals to aid the investigating agencies.  Key functions:  Compiles and maintains a National Database on crimes and criminals.  Maintains a national repository of fingerprints of criminals.  Publishes key reports like Crime in India, Accidental Deaths and Suicides, and Prison Statistics.  Promotes capacity building of police forces in Information Technology and Fingerprint Science.

Joint Parliamentary Committee

News: The bills on “One Nation, One Election” have been referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) for wider consultation. 

About Joint Parliamentary Committee 

• JPC is an ad-hoc committee formed by both Houses of Parliament for examining a specific subject or Bill in detail. 
• JPC is formed after one House of Parliament has passed a motion and other house has agreed to it. 
• The composition of JPC is not fixed and determined by the Parliament.  
  • It has members from both the Houses of Parliament, including both members of the ruling party and opposition. 
• The recommendations of the committee are advisory in nature and not binding on the government. 
• Functions of JPC: 
  • Examines bills, policies, specific subject in detail. 
  • Gathers evidence from experts, public bodies, associations, individuals or interested parties. 
  • Scrutinises documents and summons people for questioning. 

Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum

News: The Ministry of Culture has partnered with France Museums Développement (FMD) to develop the Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum as part of the Central Vista Redevelopment Project. 

About Yuga Yugeen Bharat National Museum 

• The museum was first announced by the Prime Minister at the International Museum Expo in May 2023. 
• It will redefine the cultural experience by celebrating diversity, fostering inclusivity and bridging the past, present and future. 
• It will deepen India-France cultural cooperation and involves collaboration on feasibility study, museum case studies, interpretive planning and buidling programming. 
• The collaboration leverages France’s expertise in museum management and design to breathe new life into the historic North and South Blocks. 
• It will be developed through Adaptive Reuse, highlighting India’s commitment to sustainability.