The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) with improvements added to its cryogenic upper stage (CUS) is expected to be ready in the second half of this year.
What is GSLV?
GSLV is an expendable space launch vehicle designed, developed, and operated by the ISRO to launch satellites and other space objects into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbits.
GSLV is 49.13 m tall and tallest among all other vehicles of ISRO.
It is a three-stage vehicle with a lift-off mass of 420 tonnes.
ISRO first launched GSLV on April 18, 2001 and has made 13 launches since then.
Stages in GSLV
The first stage comprises S139 solid booster with 138-tonne propellant and four liquid strap-on motors, with 40-tonne propellant.
The second stage is a liquid engine carrying 40-tonne of liquid propellant.
The third stage is the indigenously built Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) carrying 15-tonne of cryogenic propellants.
Variants in GSLV
GSLV rockets using the Russian Cryogenic Stage (CS) are designated as the GSLV Mk I while versions using the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) are designated the GSLV Mk II.
All GSLV launches have been conducted from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
Difference between PSLV and GSLV
GSLV has the capability to put a heavier payload in the orbit than the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
PSLV can carry satellites up to a total weight of 2000 kg into space and reach up to an altitude of 600-900 km.
GSLV can carry weight up to 5,000 kg and reach up to 36,000 km.
PSLV is designed mainly to deliver earth observation or remote sensing satellites, whereas, GSLV has been designed for launching communication satellites.
GSLV delivers satellites into a higher elliptical orbit, Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO).
Back2Basics: ISRO’s transportation modules
(1) SLV
In the space transportation domain, the commissioning of the Satellite Launch Vehicle-3 (SLV-3) project in the early 1970s was the first indigenous experimental satellite launch vehicle.
As a four stage, all solid, launch vehicle, SLV-3 had its successful launch in July 1980, thrusting India into the select league of six countries with the capability to launch satellites on their own.
The ASLV- Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle project, in the early 1980s, was the next step of evolution in launch vehicle technology.
(2) PSLV
In mid 80s came the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) project. PSLV was successfully launched in 1994.
The vehicle has proven to be a workhorse of ISRO, logging over 50 successful missions, launching national as well as foreign satellites.
On 15 February 2017, PSLV created a world record by successfully placing 104 satellites.
The nation embarked upon a highly challenging quest to master the complex cryogenic technology.
Many students from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Rajasthan are enrolling for training of Yakshagana theatre.
What is Yakshagana?
Yakshagana is a traditional theater, developed in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Kerala.
It emerged in the Vijayanagara Empire and was performed by Jakkula Varu.
It combines dance, music, dialogue, costume, make-up, and stage techniques with a unique style and form.
Towards the south from Dakshina Kannada to Kasaragod of Tulu Nadu region, the form of Yakshagana is called as ‘Thenku thittu’ and towards north from Udupi up to Uttara Kannada it’s called as ‘Badaga Thittu‘.
It is sometimes simply called “Aata” or āṭa (meaning “the play”). Yakshagana is traditionally presented from dusk to dawn.
Its stories are drawn from Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata and other epics from both Hindu and Jain and other ancient Indic traditions.
Try this question from CSP 2017:
Q.With reference to Manipuri Sankirtana, consider the following statements:
It is a song and dance performance.
Cymbals are the only musical instruments used in the performance.
It is performed to narrate the life and deeds of Lord Krishna.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1, 2 and 3.
(b) 1 and 3 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1 only
[wpdiscuz-feedback id=”t4gdklzgyg” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]
An Indian researcher has found that it is possible to use light as a fuel to move microbots in real-body conditions with intelligent drug delivery that is selectively sensitive to cancer cells
Microswimmers for drug delivery
Made from the two-dimensional compound poly (heptazine imide) carbon nitride (aka PHI carbon nitride), these microbots are nothing like the miniaturised humans.
They range from 1-10 micrometre (a micrometre is one-millionth of a metre) in size, and can self-propel when energised by shining light.
While carbon nitride is an excellent photo-catalyst, the two-dimensional PHI has a sponge-like structure full of pores and voids and charge storage properties.
The researchers found that the ions in the salty solution passed through the pores of PHI carbon nitride.
Thus, there was little or no resistance from the salt ions.
How do they swim across the blood?
The PHI carbon nitride microparticles are photocatalytic.
Like in a solar cell, the incident light is converted into electrons and holes.
These charges drive reactions in the surrounding liquid. The charges react with the fluid surrounding them.
This reaction, combined with the particle’s electric field, makes the microbots (micro-swimmers) swim.
As long as there is light, electrons and holes are produced on the surface of the swimmers, which in turn react to form ions and an electric field around the swimmer.
These ions move around the particle and cause fluid to flow around the particle.
So this fluid flow causes the micro-swimmers to move.
How does the ion movement occur?
The ions move from the bright surface of the micro-swimmer to the rear end.
The diffusion of the swimming medium in one direction propels the micro-swimmer in the opposite direction.
This is like a boat moving in the direction opposite to the oar strokes.
The particles are nearly spherical, and the incident light illuminates one-half of the sphere, leaving the other dark.
As photocatalysis is light-driven, it occurs only on the brightened hemisphere.
As the ions move from the bright side to the dark side, micro-swimmers march in the direction of the light source.
Passed by the Parliament this week, the Bill seeks to repeal The Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920 and expands the scope of information the government can collect from convicts, arrested persons and other persons such as habitual offenders.
According to Union Home Minister, the sole objective of the legislation is:
To improve the conviction rate in the country
To protect the human rights of crores of law-abiding citizens
Send a strong message in the society
Opposition members, however, claim the legislation is:
Violative of fundamental rights
Infringes upon individual freedom and privacy
How valid are these concerns? What checks and balances does the proposed law provide to prevent misuse and how effective will it be in strengthening our criminal justice system?
The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022: Major Propositions
It authorises law enforcement agencies to collect, store and analyse physical and biological samples of convicts and other persons for the purposes of identification and investigation in criminal matters.
It seeks to repeal the Identification of Prisoners Act 1920 which provided for the collection of only fingerprints and footprints.
The said Act, in its present form, provides access to a limited category of persons whose body measurements can be taken.
As per the Bill, any state government OR Union Territory administration may notify an appropriate agency to collect, preserve and share the measurements of a person of interest in their respective jurisdictions.
Key features of the Bill
The Bill seeks to:
Define “measurements”: To include finger impressions, palm-print and foot-print impressions, photographs, iris and retina scan, physical, biological samples and their analysis, etc.;
Empower the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB): To collect, store and preserve the record of measurements and for sharing, dissemination, destruction and disposal of records;
Empower a Magistrate: To direct any person to give measurements; a Magistrate can also direct law enforcement officials to collect fingerprints, footprint impressions and photographs in the case of a specified category of convicted and non-convicted persons;
Empower police or prison officers: To take measurements of any person who resists or refuses to give measurements
Authorises police to record signatures, handwriting or other behavioural attributes: Referred to in section 53 or section 53A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, for the purposes of analysis.
Notable feature: Maintenance of Record
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) will be the repository of physical and biological samples, signature and handwriting data that can be preserved for at least 75 years.
The record of these measurements will be retained in digital or electronic form for a period of seventy-five years from the date of collection.
The court or Magistrate, for reasons to be recorded in writing, can direct agencies to maintain the records.
The records are to be destroyed in the case of any person who has not been previously convicted of an offence punishable under any law with imprisonment for any term.
Refusal to Comply
Resistance to or refusal to allow the taking of measurements under this Act shall be deemed to be an offence under section 186 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC);
No suit or any other proceeding shall lie against any person for anything done, or intended to be done in good faith under this Act or any rule made thereunder;
Central government or state government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act;
Manner of collection, storing, preservation of measurements and sharing, dissemination, destruction and disposal of records under sub-section (1) of section 4;
Comparison of key provisions of the 1920 Act and the 2022 Bill
1920 Act
Changes in the 2022 Bill
Data permitted to be collected
Fingerprints, foot-print impressions, photographs
Adds: (i) biological samples, and their analysis, (ii) behavioural attributes including signatures, handwriting, and (iii) examinations under sections 53 and 53A of CrPC (includes blood, semen, hair samples, and swabs, and analyses such as DNA profiling)
Persons whose data may be collected
Convicted or arrested for offences punishable with rigorous imprisonment of one year or more Persons ordered to give security for good behaviour or maintaining peaceMagistrate may order in other cases collection from any arrested person to aid criminal investigation
Convicted or arrested for any offence. However, biological samples may be taken forcibly only from persons arrested for offences against a woman or a child, or if the offence carries a minimum of seven years imprisonmentPersons detained under any preventive detention law On the order of Magistrate, from any person (not just an arrested person) to aid investigation
Persons who may require/ direct collection of data
Investigating officer, officer in charge of a police station, or of rank Sub-Inspector or above
Officer in charge of a police station, or of rank Head Constable or above. In addition, a Head Warder of a prison
Magistrate
Metropolitan Magistrate or Judicial Magistrate of first class. In case of persons required to maintain good behaviour or peace, the Executive Magistrate
With inputs from PRS.
Why need such law?
The world has undergone technological and scientific changes, crime and its trend have increased.
Advanced countries across the globe are relying on new “measurement” techniques for reliable results.
It was felt necessary to expand the “ambit of persons” whose measurements can be taken as this will help investigating agencies gather sufficient legally admissible evidence and establish the crime of the accused person.
The Bill will not only help our investigation agencies but also increase prosecution.
There is also a chance of an increase in conviction rates in courts through this.
Practical significance of the bill
Beyond the accuracy of biometrics: The existing law only allowed authorities to take only fingerprint and footprint impressions of a limited category of convicted persons.
Ambit of the persons: The new bill also expands the “ambit of persons” whose measurements can be collected will help the investigating agencies to obtain necessary legally admissible evidence and establish the crime of the accused person.
Unfolding the covert crimes: Criminals are proficient in identity theft and identity fraud. They keep changing their modus operandi.
Enhancing national security: The bill will help to check serious national and global threats posed by them.
Issues with the Bill
Un-constitutionality: The proposed law will be debated against Article 20(3) of the Constitution, which is a fundamental right that guarantees the right against self-incrimination.
Violation of Article 21: Dissemination of biometric and biological data is against Article 21 of the Constitution.
Misuse of preventive detention provisions: The Bill also seeks to apply these provisions to persons held under any preventive detention law.
Legislative competence of Centre: The Bill was beyond the legislative competence of Parliament as it violated fundamental rights of citizens, including the right to privacy.
Lack of data protection in India: While the European Union has the General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR) and additional statutes, India’s structure is still in development, with new regulations promising to rationalise data protection.
Non-conformity of parliamentary debate: The government resorted to the usual binary arguments: If prisoners have human rights, so do victims. The Bill is not about victims but about arrestees, detenus and prisoners.
Others: While the jurisprudence around the right to be forgotten is still in an early stage in India, the Puttaswamy judgment discusses it as a facet of the fundamental right to privacy.
Potential for Misuse
Contentious provisions: The Bill proposes to collect samples even from protesters engaged in political protests. There is no MP, MLA, political worker, trade unionist, student leader, social activist or progressive writer or poet who has never been arrested or who can claim to be never be arrested.
Promotes self-incrimination: The bill fails to comply with Article 20(3) of the Constitution, which explicitly states that no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.
Violation of prisoners’ rights: Use of force to take measurements in the Bill violates the rights of the prisoners laid down in series of Supreme Court judgements, such as A.K. Gopalan (1950), Kharak Singh (1962), Charles Sobhraj (1978), Sheela Barse (1983) and Pramod Kumar Saxena (2008).
Lack of clarity: The statement of objects says it provides for collection of measurements for “convicts and other persons” but the expression “other persons” is not defined. It is ambiguous whether the ‘measurements’ include narcoanalysis, polygraph test, BEAP and psychiatric examination.
Overpowering the state: The bill overpowers the state by facilitating invasive biometric measurements for all arrested, convicted, and detained persons, regardless of the gravity of the offense.
Profiling of the criminals (and the citizens): If taken to its logical conclusion is an attempt to create a comprehensive profile of all the citizens in this country.
Way forward
Balancing threats and rights: No society is perfect, nor is ours. There are deeply held biases and prejudices embedded in our social consciousness. Our police is a product of its social milieu, and as such is far from being perfect. However, that does not mean we do not empower it with requisite powers and instruments.
Political will: There is no law in India which is not misused. We can have much political willpower that we will not allow it to be misused.
Third-party regulation: The bill can limit state power with third party regulator having the power to enforce the rules and penalise infractions.
Global best practices: These best practices must go hand in hand with expanded biometrics collection rather than following as an afterthought.
Only then can the government’s stated intent of modernising its criminal identification processes turn into a beneficial reality, rather than a citizen’s nightmare.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday gave a surprise, with a formal start to policy normalisation. This was contrary to the predominant market expectations of a hold.
RBI on the path of policy normalisation
Focus on target of 4% +/- 2%: While the MPC voted unanimously to remain accommodative, in a change of language, the focus would now be on “withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that (CPI) inflation remains within the target (of 4 per cent +/- 2 per cent) going forward”.
Remember, the RBI had become a (flexible) inflation-targeting central bank since FY17, whose primary objective is price stability, that is, inflation management.
The Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) corridor was narrowed back to the conventional 0.25 percentage points from the earlier extraordinary pandemic widening in late March 2020.
The cap of the erstwhile corridor was the repo rate and the floor was the reverse repo.
Now, while the repo rate was held at 4.0 per cent and the latter at 3.35 per cent, the floor of the corridor was increased by 0.4 percentage points from 3.35 per cent.
There was also a change in the monetary policy orientation, of which the stance is one component.
The priority for monetary policy now is inflation, growth and financial stability, in that order.
Reasons for unexpected tightening of policy
Inflation concerns: Despite uncertainty over growth impulses and demand concentrated at the upper-income level households, inflation has increasingly emerged as a big concern.
Given that inflation is likely to average 6.1 per cent in Q4 of FY22, this increases the risk of inflation remaining above the 6 per cent upper target for three consecutive quarters, necessitating an explanation to the government by the MPC.
One comforting aspect of this scenario is that household inflation expectations remain anchored, with the median of three months to one year ahead expectations (as of March ’22) rising by only 0.1 percentage points from the earlier January readings.
Stabilisation of demand: On demand conditions, the RBI scaled-down the FY23 real GDP growth projection to 7.2 per cent (from 7.8 per cent), indicating that a combination of continuing supply dislocations, slowing global economy and trade, high prices and financial markets volatility are likely to take a toll.
One possible reconciliation with modest GDP growth is continuing weakness in services, which is also borne out by channel checks.
Certainly, continuing high inflation is likely to lead to some demand destruction, which will act as an automatic stabiliser.
A relatively loose fiscal policy is likely to offset some of this reduced demand, particularly with continuing subsidies to lower-income households.
Financial stability: This has multiple dimensions – interest and foreign exchange rates, market volatility, banking sector asset stress, and so on.
An important objective for the RBI is the management of money supply and system liquidity.
In a rising rate cycle, with a large borrowing programme of the Centre and state governments, interest rates on sovereign bonds are likely to increase without a measure of support from the RBI through Open Market Operations (OMOs).
This will entail injecting more liquidity into an already large surplus, which might add to inflationary pressures.
The introduction of the overnight Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) was a significant measure in this context.
Unlike the reverse repo facility, the RBI will not need to give banks government bonds as collateral against the funds they deposit.
This is thus a more flexible instrument should a shortage of government bonds in RBI holdings actually transpire under some eventuality, say the need to absorb large capital inflows post a bond index inclusion.
What are the implications?
Interest rates will begin to increase but, for bank borrowers, this is likely to be a very gradual process.
For corporates and other wholesale borrowers, who also borrow from bond markets, this increase is likely to be faster as the surplus system liquidity is gradually drained.
How this is likely to affect demand for credit is uncertain, given the capex push of the government, some revival of private sector investment and likely continuing demand for housing.
Conclusion
This cycle of policy tightening will present a particularly difficult mix of economic and financial trade-offs, but RBI has demonstrated the ability to innovatively use the multiple instruments at its disposal to ensure an orderly transition.
The following three phases are envisaged for full implementation of the initiative:
Phase-I: Covering ICDS and PM POSHAN in India all over by March, 2022 which is under implementation.
Phase-II: Phase I above plus TPDS and OWS in all Aspirational and High Burden Districts on stunting (total 291 districts) by March 2023.
Phase-III: Phase II above plus covering the remaining districts of the country by March 2024.
What is Fortification?
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has explicitly defined fortification.
It involves deliberate increasing of the content of essential micronutrients in a food so as to improve the nutritional quality of food and to provide public health benefit with minimal risk to health.
Types of food fortification
Food fortification can also be categorized according to the stage of addition:
Commercial and industrial fortification (wheat flour, cornmeal, cooking oils)
Biofortification (breeding crops to increase their nutritional value, which can include both conventional selective breeding, and genetic engineering)
Home fortification (example: vitamin D drops)
How is fortification done for rice?
Various technologies are available to add micronutrients to regular rice, such as coating, dusting, and ‘extrusion’.
The last mentioned involves the production of fortified rice kernels (FRKs) from a mixture using an ‘extruder’ machine.
It is considered to be the best technology for India.
The fortified rice kernels are blended with regular rice to produce fortified rice.
How does the extrusion technology to produce FRK work?
Dry rice flour is mixed with a premix of micronutrients, and water is added to this mixture.
The mixture is passed through a twin-screw extruder with heating zones, which produces kernels similar in shape and size to rice.
These kernels are dried, cooled, and packaged for use. FRK has a shelf life of at least 12 months.
As per guidelines issued by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, the shape and size of the fortified rice kernel should “resemble the normal milled rice as closely as possible”.
According to the guidelines, the length and breadth of the grain should be 5 mm and 2.2 mm respectively.
But why does rice have to be fortified in the first place?
India has very high levels of malnutrition among women and children.
According to the Food Ministry, every second woman in the country is anaemic and every third child is stunted.
Fortification of food is considered to be one of the most suitable methods to combat malnutrition.
Rice is one of India’s staple foods, consumed by about two-thirds of the population. Per capita rice consumption in India is 6.8 kg per month.
Therefore, fortifying rice with micronutrients is an option to supplement the diet of the poor.
What are the standards for fortification?
Under the Ministry’s guidelines, 10 g of FRK must be blended with 1 kg of regular rice.
According to FSSAI norms, 1 kg of fortified rice will contain the following: iron (28 mg-42.5 mg), folic acid (75-125 microgram), and vitamin B-12 (0.75-1.25 microgram).
Rice may also be fortified with zinc (10 mg-15 mg), vitamin A (500-750 microgram RE), vitamin B-1 (1 mg-1.5 mg), vitamin B-2 (1.25 mg-1.75 mg), vitamin B-3 (12.5 mg-20 mg) and vitamin B-6 (1.5 mg-2.5 mg) per kg.
Does fortified rice have to be cooked differently?
The cooking of fortified rice does not require any special procedure.
The rice needs to be cleaned and washed in the normal way before cooking.
After cooking, fortified rice retains the same physical properties and micronutrient levels as it had before cooking.
What is India’s capacity for fortification?
At the time of the PM’s announcement last year, nearly 2,700 rice mills had installed blending units for the production of fortified rice.
India’s blending capacity now stands at 13.67 lakh tonnes in 14 key states, according to figures provided by the Ministry.
FRK production had increased rapidly from 7,250 tonnes to 60,000 tonnes within 2 years.
How can a beneficiary distinguish between fortified rice and regular rice?
Fortified rice will be packed in jute bags with the logo (‘+F’) and the line “Fortified with Iron, Folic Acid, and Vitamin B12”.
Advantages offered
Health: Fortified staple foods will contain natural or near-natural levels of micro-nutrients, which may not necessarily be the case with supplements.
Taste: It provides nutrition without any change in the characteristics of food or the course of our meals.
Nutrition: If consumed on a regular and frequent basis, fortified foods will maintain body stores of nutrients more efficiently and more effectively than will intermittently supplement.
Economy: The overall costs of fortification are extremely low; the price increase is approximately 1 to 2 percent of the total food value.
Society: It upholds everyone’s right to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger
Issues with fortified food
Against nature: Fortification and enrichment upset nature’s packaging. Our body does not absorb individual nutrients added to processed foods as efficiently compared to nutrients naturally occurring.
Bioavailability: Supplements added to foods are less bioavailable. Bioavailability refers to the proportion of a nutrient your body is able to absorb and use.
Immunity issues: They lack immune-boosting substances.
Over-nutrition: Fortified foods and supplements can pose specific risks for people who are taking prescription medications, including decreased absorption of other micro-nutrients, treatment failure, and increased mortality risk.
Back2Basics: Public Distribution System (PDS)
The PDS is an Indian food Security System established under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution.
PDS evolved as a system of management of scarcity through the distribution of food grains at affordable prices.
PDS is operated under the joint responsibility of the Central and State Governments.
The Central Government, through the Food Corporation of India (FCI), has assumed the responsibility for procurement, storage, transportation, and bulk allocation of food grains to the State Governments.
The operational responsibilities including allocation within the State, identification of eligible families, issue of Ration Cards and supervision of the functioning of FPSs etc., rest with the State Governments.
Under the PDS, presently the commodities namely wheat, rice, sugar, and kerosene are being allocated to the States/UTs for distribution.
Some states/UTs also distribute additional items of mass consumption through PDS outlets such as pulses, edible oils, iodized salt, spices, etc.
Mid-Day Meal Scheme
The Midday Meal Scheme is a school meal program in India designed to better the nutritional standing of school-age children nationwide.
It is a wholesome freshly-cooked lunch served to children in government and government-aided schools in India.
It supplies free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes in government, government-aided, local body, and alternate innovative education centers, Madarsa and Maqtabs.
The program has undergone many changes since its launch in 1995.
The Midday Meal Scheme is covered by the National Food Security Act, 2013.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF), an additional tool for absorbing liquidity, at an interest rate of 3.75 per cent.
What is SDF?
In 2018, the amended Section 17 of the RBI Act empowered the Reserve Bank to introduce the SDF – an additional tool for absorbing liquidity without any collateral.
By removing the binding collateral constraint on the RBI, the SDF strengthens the operating framework of monetary policy.
The SDF is also a financial stability tool in addition to its role in liquidity management.
The SDF will replace the fixed-rate reverse repo (FRRR) as the floor of the liquidity adjustment facility corridor.
Both the standing facilities — the MSF (marginal standing facility) and the SDF will be available on all days of the week, throughout the year.
How it will operate?
The main purpose of SDF is to reduce the excess liquidity of Rs 8.5 lakh crore in the system, and control inflation.
The SDF rate will be 25 bps below the policy rate (Repo rate), and it will be applicable to overnight deposits at this stage.
It would, however, retain the flexibility to absorb liquidity of longer tenors as and when the need arises, with appropriate pricing.
The RBI’s plan is to restore the size of the liquidity surplus in the system to a level consistent with the prevailing stance of monetary policy.
Punjab government has announced gazetted holiday on the birth anniversary of Guru Nabha Dass, a 16th century saint, taking it out from list of restricted holidays.
Who was Guru Nabha Dass?
Guru Nabha Dass was born on April 8, 1537 at village Bhadrachalam on the bank of Godavari river in Khammam district, which falls in the present day Telangana.
He belonged to Mahasha also known as doom or dumna community, which is one of the Schedule Caste communities.
Since childhood, orphaned Guru Nabha Dass, whose original name was Narayan Dass, had an inclination towards spirituality.
Two religious gurus — Agar Dass and Keel Dass — who were passing through his village took the orphan child to a temple at Ghalta Dham, which is now main pilgrimage of Nabhadassias, at Jaipur.
People from this community are also known as Nabhadassias. They are known for making baskets and grain storage containers with bamboo.
His legacy
Guru Nabha Dass wrote ‘Bhagatmal’ in 1585.
It has the life history of around 200 saints. He died in 1643.
What is his connection with Punjab?
Guru Nabha Dass used to visit village Pandori in Gurdaspur district where people of Doom community live.
Some gurus of the community also used to live there.
What made government announce gazetted holiday now?
Political parties can’t manage to ignore the sentiments of such a large community.
The community had been requesting the government to declare April 8 as a gazetted holiday since long.
Russia’s membership to the Human Rights Council (UNHRC), to which it was elected in 2020, was suspended after the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) vote.
Why was Russia suspended from UNHRC?
Russia’s three-year term as member of the Council began on January 1, 2021.
With membership on the Council comes a responsibility to uphold high human rights standards.
It is this responsibility that Russia is alleged to have wilfully violated in Ukraine.
India stayed absent. Why?
India questioned the process by which the move to suspend Russia took place given that it happened before the international probe into the massacre.
New Delhi’s point is that it should have been brought before the Human Rights Council first, and not the UNGA, sources said.
This is a signal to the West that due process has not been followed, something that Indian interlocutors can draw Moscow’s attention to.
About UN Human Rights Council
The UNHRC is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system, which is responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the world.
It addresses and makes recommendations on situations of human rights violations, and can discuss all thematic human rights issues and situations.
The UNHRC replaced the former UN Commission on Human Rights.
It was created by the UNGA on March 15, 2006, and the body met in its first session from June 19-30, 2006.
Working of the Council
In 2007, the Council adopted an “institution-building package” to set up its procedures and mechanisms. Among these were:
Mechanism of Universal Periodic Review to assess the human rights situations in all UN Member States.
It has Advisory Committee that serves as the Council’s think tank providing it with expertise and advice on thematic human rights issues.
Its Complaint Procedure, allows individuals and organisations to bring human rights violations to the Council’s attention.
The Council also works with the UN Special Procedures established by the former Commission on Human Rights, consisting of special rapporteurs, special representatives, independent experts etc.
Membership of the Council
The Council, which meets at the UN Office in Geneva, Switzerland, is made up of 47 UN Member States who are elected by majority vote through a direct and secret ballot at the UNGA.
The membership of the Council is based on equitable geographical distribution.
African and Asia-Pacific states have 13 seats each, Latin American and Caribbean states have 8 seats, Western European and other states 7 seats, and Eastern European states 6 seats.
The members serve for three years and are not eligible for immediate re-election after serving two consecutive terms.
Leadership of the Council
The Council has a five-person Bureau, consisting of a president and four vice-presidents, each representing one of the five regional groups.
They serve for a year each, in accordance with the Council’s annual cycle.
The Human Rights Council President of the 16th Cycle (2022) is Federico Villegas, who is the Permanent Representative of Argentina to the UN and other international organizations in Geneva.
He was elected president of the Human Rights Council for 2022 in December 2021.
Meetings of the Council
The Human Rights Council holds no fewer than three regular sessions a year, for a total of at least 10 weeks.
These sessions take place in March (4 weeks), June (3 weeks) and September (3 weeks).
The Council met in its latest (49th) regular session from February 28 to April 1, 2022
If a third of the Member states requests, the Council can decide at any time to hold a special session to address human rights violations and emergencies.
Under the presidency of Nazhat S Khan of Fiji, the Council held a record five special sessions in 2021 — on Myanmar, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Ethiopia.
The world’s largest producer and exporter of palm oil, Indonesia, is facing domestic shortages, leading to price controls and export curbs.
What is the news?
It’s rare for any country that is the largest producer and exporter of a product to experience domestic shortages of the same product.
Consumers are unable to access or paying through the nose for a commodity in which their country is the preeminent producer and exporter.
What is Oil Palm?
Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp of the fruit of the oil palms.
The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel.
Palm oil production in Indonesia
Its palm oil production for 2021-22 (October-September) at 45.5 million tonnes (mt).
That’s almost 60% of the total global output and way ahead of the next bigger producer: Malaysia (18.7 mt).
It is also the world’s No. 1 exporter of the commodity, at 29 mt, followed by Malaysia (16.22 mt).
Do you know?
14,000 IDR is less than $1 or Rs 74! See the extent of depreciation one currency can undergo!
Have you ever heard of the Zimbabwean hyperinflation of 2009? One literally had to pay a heap of cash to buy a piece of bread!
Why in headlines?
Indonesia has seen domestic prices of branded cooking oil spiral, from around 14,000 Indonesian rupiah (IDR) to 22,000 IDR per litre between March 2021 and March 2022.
Much recently, the government imposed a ceiling on retail prices at 14,000 IDR.
This led to the product disappearing from supermarket shelves, amid reports of hoarding and consumers standing in long queues for hours to get a pack or two.
India’s imports of palm oil (in lakh tonnes)
Plausible factors
(1) Ongoing War
The possible reason has to do supply disruptions — manmade and natural — in other cooking oils, especially sunflower and soyabean.
Ukraine and Russia together account for nearly 80% of the global trade in sunflower oil, quite comparable to the 90% share of Indonesia and Malaysia in palm.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has resulted in port closures and exporters avoiding Black Sea shipping routes.
Sanctions against Russia have further curtailed trade in sunflower oil, the world’s third most exported vegetable oil after palm and soybean.
(2) Diversion for Bio-Fuels
Another factor is linked to petroleum, more specifically the use of palm oil as a bio-fuel.
The Indonesian government has, since 2020, made 30% blending of diesel with palm oil mandatory as part of a plan to slash fossil fuel imports.
Palm oil getting increasingly diverted for bio-diesel is leaving less quantity available, both for the domestic cooking oil and export market.
Impact on India
India is the world’s biggest vegetable oils importer.
Out of its annual imports of 14-15 mt, the lion’s share is of palm oil (8-9 mt), followed by soyabean (3-3.5 mt) and sunflower (2.5).
Indonesia has been India’s top supplier of palm oil, though it was overtaken by Malaysia in 2021-22 (see above table).
The restrictions on exports, even in the form of levy, take into cognizance Indonesia’s higher population (27.5 crores, against Malaysia’s 3.25 crore) as well as its ambitious biofuel program.
To that extent, the world – more so, the bigger importer India – will have to get used to lower supplies from Indonesia.
Answer this PYQ from CSP 2019:
Q.Among the agricultural commodities imported by India, which one of the following accounts for the highest imports in terms of value in the last five years?
(a) Spices
(b) Fresh fruits
(c) Pulses
(d) Vegetable oils
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