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  • Illicit Proliferation of networks of N-weapons

    India has underlined the need for the international community to pay closer attention to the “illicit proliferation” of networks of nuclear weapons, their delivery systems, components and relevant technologies.

    Key takeaways from India’s remarks

    • India’s remarks appeared to be a veiled reference to China and its “all-weather ally” Pakistan.
    • China’s nuclear cooperation with Pakistan was in contravention with the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
    • Several concerns have been raised over the export of nuclear materials to Islamabad by Beijing and that they are in violation of international norms and established procedures.

    Do you know?

    India has played a leading role in global efforts towards nuclear disarmament and was the first country to call for a ban on nuclear testing in 1954 and a non-discriminatory treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, as distinct from non-dissemination, in 1965. Its no-first-use doctrine is a worldwide appreciated strategy.

    Issues in Nuclear Disarmament

    • Notion of Nuclear ‘Haves’ and ‘Have-Nots’: The proponents of disarmaments are themselves nuclear armed countries thus creating a nuclear monopoly.
    • Concept of Peaceful Nuclear Explosion (PNE): conducted for non-military purposes such as mining.

    India’s commitment for de-nuclearization

    India has always batted for a universal commitment and an agreed global and non-discriminatory multilateral framework.

    • It has outlined a working paper on Nuclear Disarmament submitted to the UN General Assembly in 2006.
    • India participated in the Nuclear Security Summit process and has regularly participated in the International Conferences on Nuclear Security organised by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
    • India is also a member of the Nuclear Security Contact Group (but has signed off the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)).
    • India has expressed its readiness to support the commencement of negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT).
    • India couldn’t join the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) due to several concerns raised by India.
    • India has piloted an annual UNGA Resolution on “Measures to Prevent Terrorists from Acquiring Weapons of Mass Destruction” since 2002, which is adopted by consensus.

    Why didn’t India join NPT?

    • India is one of the only five countries that either did not sign the NPT or signed but withdrew, thus becoming part of a list that includes Pakistan, Israel, North Korea, and South Sudan.
    • India always considered the NPT as discriminatory and had refused to sign it.
    • India maintains that they are selectively applicable to the non-nuclear powers and legitimised the monopoly of the five nuclear weapons powers.

    Way forward

    • India has actively supported and contributed to the strengthening of the global nuclear security architecture.
    • There is a need for the international community to pay closer attention to the illicit proliferation of networks of nuclear weapons, their delivery systems, components and relevant technologies.
    • India hopes that the international community will continue to work towards realising our collective aspiration for a nuclear weapon-free world.

     

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    Back2Basics:

    Nuclear Security Contact Group

    • The NSCG was established in 2016.
    • The NSCG or “Contact Group” has been established with the aim of facilitating cooperation and sustaining engagement on nuclear security after the conclusion of the Nuclear Security Summit process.
    • The Contact Group is tasked with:
    1. Convening annually on the margins of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and, as may be useful, in connection with other related meetings
    2. Discussing a broad range of nuclear security-related issues, including identifying emerging trends that may require more focused attention

    Nuclear Suppliers Group

    • NSG is a group of nuclear supplier countries that seeks to contribute to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons through the implementation of guidelines for nuclear exports and nuclear-related exports.
    • The NSG was set up as a response to India’s nuclear tests conducted in 1974.
    • The aim of the NSG is to ensure that nuclear trade for peaceful purposes does not contribute to the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

    Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

    • CTBT was negotiated at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1996.
    • The Treaty intends to ban all nuclear explosions – everywhere, by everyone.
    • It was opened for signature in 1996 and since then 182 countries have signed the Treaty, most recently Ghana has ratified the treaty in 2011.

    Fissile material cut-off treaty

    • FMCT is a proposed international agreement that would prohibit the production of the two main components of nuclear weapons: highly-enriched uranium (HEU) and plutonium.
    • Discussions on this subject have taken place at the UN Conference on Disarmament (CD), a body of 65 member nations established as the sole multilateral negotiating forum on disarmament.
    • The CD operates by consensus and is often stagnant, impeding progress on an FMCT.
    • Those nations that joined the nuclear NPT as non-weapon states are already prohibited from producing or acquiring fissile material for weapons.
    • An FMCT would provide new restrictions for the five recognized nuclear weapon states (NWS—United States, Russia, United Kingdom, France, and China), and for the four nations that are not NPT members (Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea).

  • Right to Govt. Aid is not a Fundamental Right: SC

    The right of an institution, whether run by a majority or minority community, to get government aid is not a fundamental right.  Both have to equally follow the rules and conditions of the aid, the Supreme Court held in a judgment.

    What is the case about?

    • The judgment came in an appeal filed by Uttar Pradesh against a decision of the Allahabad High Court to declare a provision of the Intermediate Education Act of 1921 unconstitutional.

    Key takeaways from the Judgment

    • The SC has clarified that if the government made a policy call to withdraw aid, an institution cannot question the decision as a “matter of right”.
    • Whether it is an institution run by the majority or the minority, all conditions that have relevance to the proper utilisation of the grant-in-aid by an educational institution can be imposed.
    • All that Article 30(2) states is that on the ground that an institution is under the management of a minority, whether based on religion or language.
    • The grant of aid to that educational institution cannot be discriminated against, if other educational institutions are entitled to receive aid.

    Basis of the Judgment

    • A grant of government aid comes with accompanying conditions.
    • An institution is free to choose to accept the grant with the conditions or go its own way.
    • If an institution does not want to accept and comply with the conditions accompanying such aid, it is well open to it to decline the grant and move in its own way.
    • On the contrary, an institution can never be allowed to say that the grant of aid should be on its own terms, the Bench observed.

    Various grounds discussed

    The court explained why institutions cannot view government aid as a “matter of right”.

    • Government aid is a policy decision: It depends on various factors including the interests of the institution itself and the ability of the government to understand the exercise. Therefore, even in a case where a policy decision is made to withdraw the aid, an institution cannot question it as a matter of right.
    • Financial constraints and deficiencies: These are the factors which are considered relevant in taking any decision qua aid, including both the decision to grant aid and the manner of disbursement of an aid.
    • Not arbitrary decision: The bench said that a policy decision is presumed to be in public interest, and such a decision once made is not amenable to challenge, until and unless there is manifest or extreme arbitrariness, a Constitutional court is expected to keep its hands off.

     

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    Back2Basics: Minority Rights in India

    • Article 15: prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion race cast sex or place of birth
    • Article 17: prohibits untouchability
    • Article 25 provides the right to practice any religion.
    • Article 26 allows religious institutions to be opened.
    • Article 27 provides that no person shall be forced to pay any taxes which is not mandatory.
    • Article 28 provides that there shall be no religious instruction to be followed in any particular educational institutions.
    • Article 29 provides that no citizen shall be denied admission in any educational institution on grounds of religion race caste.
    • Article 30 provides that minority shall not be prohibited from any educational institutions.

     

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  • Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

    The PM has launched the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission to provide a digital Health ID to people which will contain their health records.

    Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

    • The pilot project of the National Digital Health Mission was announced by PM Modi during his Independence Day speech from the Red Fort on August 15, 2020.
    • The mission will enable access and exchange of longitudinal health records of citizens with their consent.
    • This will ensure ease of doing business for doctors and hospitals and healthcare service providers.

    The key components of the project include

    • Health ID for every citizen that will also work as their health account, to which personal health records can be linked and viewed with the help of a mobile application,
    • Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR)
    • Healthcare Facilities Registries (HFR) that will act as a repository of all healthcare providers across both modern and traditional systems of medicine

    What makes this special?

    • The mission will create integration within the digital health ecosystem, similar to the role played by the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in revolutionising payments.
    • Citizens will only be a click-away from accessing healthcare facilities.

     

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  • Cyclone Gulab

    As a very rare occasion during monsoons, Cyclone Gulab has been developed in the Bay of Bengal and later made landfall close in Andhra Pradesh.

    Tauktae, Amphan, Fani, Titli, Bulbul, Gaja… And now Gulab. As and when cyclones with intriguing names approach the Indian coasts, a common question comes to our minds: Who names these storms?

     

    This time it is Pakistan, not India, who proposed this name Gulaab!

    About Tropical Cyclones

    • A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure centre, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rains.
    • Depending on its location and strength, a tropical cyclone is referred to by different names, including hurricane, typhoon, tropical storm, cyclonic storm, tropical depression, or simply cyclone.
    • A hurricane is a tropical cyclone that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and the northeastern Pacific Ocean, and a typhoon occurs in the north-western Pacific Ocean.
    • In the south Pacific or the Indian Ocean, comparable storms are referred to simply as “tropical cyclones” or “severe cyclonic storms”.

    Cyclone Gulab

    • Three factors —in-sync phase of Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO), warm sea surface temperatures over the Bay of Bengal, and the formation of a low-pressure system.
    • The system’s intensification phases between low pressure – well-marked low pressure – depression – deep depression and to finally becoming Cyclone Gulab was rather rapid, even as the system moved closer to the south Odisha – north Andhra Pradesh coast, where it also made landfall.

    What makes Gulab special?

    • India has a bi-annual cyclone season that occurs between March to May and October to December. But on rare occasions, cyclones do occur in June and September months.
    • Cyclones are less common during the June to September monsoon season, as there are limited or almost no favourable conditions for cyclogenesis due to strong monsoon currents.
    • This is also the period when the wind shear — that is, the difference between wind speeds at lower and upper atmospheric levels — is very high.
    • As a result, clouds do not grow vertically and monsoon depressions often fail to intensify into cyclones.
    • So it can be stated that this year, the cyclone season commenced earlier than usual. The last time a cyclone developed in the Bay of Bengal in September was Cyclone Day in 2018.

    Also read

    [Burning Issue] Tropical Cyclones and India

     

     

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  • [pib] Crop varieties with special traits

    In an endeavor to create mass awareness for adoption of climate resilient technologies,  PM will dedicate 35 crop varieties with special traits to the Nation.

    About Crop Varieties with Special Traits

    • The crop varieties with special traits have been developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to address the twin challenges of climate change and malnutrition.
    • Thirty-five such crop varieties with special traits like climate resilience and higher nutrient content have been developed in the year 2021.
    • These special traits crop varieties also include those that address the anti-nutritional factors found in some crops that adversely affect human and animal health.

    Which are these varieties?

    • Drought tolerant variety of chickpea
    • Wilt and sterility mosaic resistant pigeonpea
    • Early maturing variety of soybean
    • Disease resistant varieties of rice
    • Biofortified varieties of wheat, pearl millet, maize and chickpea, quinoa, buckwheat, winged bean and faba bean
    • Pusa Double Zero Mustard 33
    • Canola quality hybrid RCH 1 with <2% erucic acid and <30 ppm glucosinolates and
    • Soybean variety free from two anti-nutritional factors namely Kunitz trypsin inhibitor and lipoxygenase.

    Try answering the PYQ:

    The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee is constituted under the:

    (a) Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006

    (b) Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999

    (c) Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

    (d) Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

     

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  • DRDO tests Akash Prime Missile

    The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully tested a new version of Akash Surface to Air missile Akash Prime from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, Odisha.

    About Akash Missile System

    • Akash is a medium-range mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system.
    • It is developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).
    • It can target aircraft up to 50–80 km away, at altitudes up to 18,000 m.
    • It has the capability to neutralise aerial targets like fighter jets, cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles as well as ballistic missiles.
    • It is in operational service with the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force.

    Upgrade in Akash Prime

    • In comparison to the existing Akash System, Akash Prime is equipped with an indigenous active Radio Frequency (RF) seeker for improved accuracy.
    • Other improvements also ensure more reliable performance under low temperature environment at higher altitudes.

     

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  • Flood management that cannot be watered down

    Over the years, many of Bihar’s districts have been facing serious challenges with recurrent and massive flooding.  It is the right time to look at some of the key aspects of India-Nepal flood management.

    Simultaneous floods in Bihar and Nepal

    • Some of Nepal’s biggest river systems originate in the Himalayan glaciers which then flow into India through Bihar.
    • During the monsoons, these river systems flood causing many problems for Bihar.
    • It is a necessity that there is process-driven coordination between the Centre and the Government of Bihar to handle the flooding in Nepal’s Terai and North Bihar (largely the Mithilanchal region).

    Which are those flooding rivers?

    • Nepal’s three biggest river systems—Kosi, Gandaki and Karnali—originate in the high mountain glaciers, flow through the country and then enter India through the state of Bihar.
    • During the monsoon season, these river systems often get flooded due to heavy rains/landslides in Nepal which create floods in India’s most flood prone state—Bihar.

    Bihar’s vulnerability

    • The history of floods in Bihar from 1998 to 2012 reveals how strong discharges of water due to heavy rains in the catchment areas of Nepal have created a strong pressure on the river embankments in India.
    • About 76 per cent of the population living in northern Bihar live under threat of floods due to these river systems and a total of 73.06 per cent of the total geographical area of Bihar is flood affected (mostly during the monsoon).

    Measures: Joint flood management program

    • As part of the long-term measures to address the problem of massive and recurrent floods in Bihar, the Joint Project Office (JPO), Biratnagar, was established in Nepal in August 2004.
    • It aimed to prepare a detailed project report to construct a high dam on the Nepal side (on the Kosi, Kamla and Bagmati rivers).

    Flaws: Yet to get effect

    • Despite the best efforts made by the Government of Bihar, the task remains unaccomplished even after 17 years.
    • The Government of Bihar has raised the matter at regular intervals for this.

    Who is the obstructionist? : Fault lies with Nepal

    • The Central Water Commission (CWC) has convened several meetings with Nepali Authorities.
    • However, what is evident is Nepal’s lack of prompt reciprocation.
    • India has long-standing water sharing issues with Nepal.

    What has been done so far?

    • As in the figures shared by Bihar, a total of four new flood protection works in the Gandak basin area were proposed before the floods of 2020.
    • There were proposed Barrage structures located in the border districts.

    Nepal’s reluctance

    • However, Nepal argues that many of the bund area falls into no man’s land along the open international border.
    • This is notwithstanding the fact that the embankment was built by India 30 years ago and there has not been any dispute regarding its maintenance all these years.

    What does this signify?

    • There is a need for India-Nepal collaboration for an efficiently operated barrage.
    • It is evident that Nepal’s attitude towards mutual issues (water sharing, flood control, etc.) has been short of collaboration, unlike in the past.

    Way forward

    • In the best spirit of friendship, Nepal and India should restart the water dialogue and come up with policies to safeguard the interests of all those who have been affected on both sides of the border.
    • It is time the two friendly countries come together and assess the factors that are causing unimaginable losses through flooding every year.
    • Optimisation of the infrastructure will be decisive in finding an alternative paradigm of flood management.
    • By controlling the flooding and using the water resources for common developmental uses such as hydroelectricity, irrigation and waterways, India-Nepal relations can be strengthened even further.
    • Moreover, it is also linked to how the Himalayan glaciers and the green cover are managed.

    Conclusion

    • Water resources are priceless assets.
    • Water cooperation should drive the next big India-Nepal dialogue, and despite the challenges, wisdom should prevail to turn the crisis into an opportunity, for the sake of development and environmental protection.

     

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  • What is a Cartel?

    Last week, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has slapped a penalty on a cartel of beer companies for hiking the prices.

    What is a Cartel?

    • According to CCI, a “Cartel includes an association of producers, sellers, distributors, traders or service providers who, by agreement amongst themselves, limit, control or attempt to control the production, distribution, sale or price of, or, trade in goods or provision of services”.
    • The International Competition Network, which is a global body dedicated to enforcing competition law, has a simpler definition.
    • The three common components of a cartel are:
    1. an agreement
    2. between competitors
    3. to restrict competition

    What is Cartelization?

    • Cartelization is when enterprises collude to fix prices, indulge in bid rigging, or share customers, etc.
    • But when prices are controlled by the government under a law, that is not cartelization.
    • The Competition Act contains strong provisions against cartels.
    • It also has the leniency provision to incentivise a party to a cartel to break away and report to the Commission, and thereby expect total or partial leniency.
    • This has proved a highly effective tool against cartels worldwide.
    • Cartels almost invariably involve secret conspiracies.

    How do they work?

    • According to ICN, four categories of conduct are commonly identified across jurisdictions (countries). These are:
    1. price-fixing
    2. output restrictions
    3. market allocation and
    4. bid-rigging
    • In sum, participants in hard-core cartels agree to insulate themselves from the rigours of a competitive marketplace, substituting cooperation for competition.

    How do cartels hurt?

    • While it may be difficult to accurately quantify the ill-effects of cartels, they not only directly hurt the consumers but also, indirectly, undermine overall economic efficiency and innovations.
    • A successful cartel raises the price above the competitive level and reduces output.
    • Consumers choose either not to pay the higher price for some or all of the cartelised product that they desire, thus forgoing the product, or they pay the cartel price and thereby unknowingly transfer wealth to the cartel operators.

    In other words, by artificially holding back the supply or raising prices in a coordinated manner, companies either force some consumers out of the market by making the commodity (say, beer) more scarce or by earning profits that free competition would not have allowed.

    Are there provisions in the Competition Act against monopolistic prices?

    • There are provisions in the Competition Act against abuse of dominance.
    • One of the abuses is when a dominant enterprise “directly or indirectly imposes unfair or discriminatory prices” in purchase or sale of goods or services.
    • Thus, excessive pricing by a dominant enterprise could, in certain conditions, be regarded as an abuse and, therefore, subject to investigation by the Competition Commission if it were fully functional.
    • However, it should be understood that where pricing is a result of normal supply and demand, the Competition Commission may have no role.

    How might cartels be worse than monopolies?

    • It is generally well understood that monopolies are bad for both individual consumer interest as well as the society at large.
    • That’s because a monopolist completely dominates the concerned market and, more often than not, abuses this dominance either in the form of charging higher than warranted prices or by providing lower than the warranted quality of the good or service in question.

    How to stop the spread of cartelisation?

    • Cartels are not easy to detect and identify.
    • As such, experts often suggest providing a strong deterrence to those cartels that are found guilty of being one.
    • Typically this takes the form of a monetary penalty that exceeds the gains amassed by the cartel.
    • However, it must also be pointed out that it is not always easy to ascertain the exact gains from cartelisation.
    • In fact, the threat of stringent penalties can be used in conjunction with providing leniency — as was done in the beer case.

    Try this PYQ:

    One of the implications of equality in society is the absence of:

    (a) Privileges

    (b) Restraints

    (c) Competition

    (d) Ideology

     

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    Back2Basics: Competition Commission of India (CCI)

    • The CCI is the chief national competition regulator in India.
    • It is a statutory body within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
    • It is responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 in order to promote competition and prevent activities that have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India.

     

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  • National Mission on Cultural Mapping

    Having made little progress since its launch in 2017, the National Mission on Cultural Mapping has now been handed over to the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).

    About the National Mission on Cultural Mapping

    • The NMCM is a mission mode project of the Ministry of Culture. It was incepted in 2015.
    • It is aimed to address the necessity of preserving the threads of rich Indian Art and Cultural Heritage, convert vast and widespread cultural canvas of India into an objective Cultural Mapping while creating a strong “Cultural Vibrancy” throughout the nation.
    • It will identify, collect and record cultural assets and resources. It correlates this to planning and strategizing.
    • A portal and a database listing organisations, spaces, facilities, festivals and events will be created.
    • This database can be used to preserve culture and provide or ameliorate livelihoods.

    Objectives of the Mission

    Under this Mission, at broad-level, there are three important objectives as follows:

    1. National Cultural Awareness Abhiyan: Hamari Sanskriti Hamari Pahchan Abhiyan (Our Culture Our Identity)
    2. Nationwide Artist Talent Hunt/Scouting Programme: Sanskritik Pratibha Khoj Abhiyan
    3. National Cultural Workplace: Centralised Transactional Web Portal with database and demography of cultural assets and resources including all art forms and artists.

    Significance of the mission

    • Revival and safeguarding of oral traditions
    • Fostering Cultural Awareness
    • Cultural Preservation
    • Sustainable Employment to creative industries
    • Optimal Resource Allocation and Utilization:
    • Creation of objective Database for inclusive growth of cultural heritage

     

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  • What is Dark Energy?

    Last week, an international team of researchers has made the first direct detection of dark energy.

    About the Project

    • The XENON1T experiment is the world’s most sensitive dark matter experiment and was operated deep underground at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy.
    • The finding also suggests that experiments like XENON1T, which are designed to detect dark matter, could also be used to detect dark energy.

    What is Dark Energy?

    • Dark energy is an unknown form of energy that affects the universe on the largest scales.
    • The first observational evidence for its existence came from measurements of supernovae, which showed that the universe does not expand at a constant rate; rather, the expansion of the universe is accelerating.
    • Prior to these observations, it was thought that all forms of matter and energy in the universe would only cause the expansion to slow down over time.
    • Measurements of the cosmic microwave background suggest the universe began in a hot Big Bang, from which general relativity explains its evolution and the subsequent large-scale motion.
    • Without introducing a new form of energy, there was no way to explain how an accelerating universe could be measured.

    Does it exist?

    • Since the 1990s, dark energy has been the most accepted premise to account for the accelerated expansion.
    • As of 2021, there are active areas of cosmology research aimed at understanding the fundamental nature of dark energy.

    Dark energy Vs Dark matter

    • Everything we see – the planets, moons, massive galaxies, you, me, this website – makes up less than 5% of the universe.
    • About 27% is dark matter and 68% is dark energy.
    • While dark matter attracts and holds galaxies together, dark energy repels and causes the expansion of our universe.

     

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