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  • Digital India Initiatives

    Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) Project

    7 July 2021 | | Governance
    Mains GS2: Government Scheme/Policies

    The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has issued orders appointing an advisory committee for its Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) project.

    What does one mean by ‘Open-source’?

    • An open-source project means that anybody is free to use, study, modify and distribute the project for any purpose.
    • These permissions are enforced through an open-source licence easing adoption and facilitating collaboration.

    What is ONDC Project?

    • ONDC seeks to promote open networks, which are developed using the open-source methodology.
    • The project is aimed at curbing “digital monopolies”.
    • This is a step in the direction of making e-commerce processes open-source, thus creating a platform that can be utilized by all online retailers.
    • They will encourage the usage of standardized open specifications and open network protocols, which are not dependent on any particular platform or customized one.

    What processes are expecting to be open-sourced with this project?

    • Several operational aspects including onboarding of sellers, vendor discovery, price discovery and product cataloguing could be made open source on the lines of Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
    • If mandated, this could be problematic for larger e-commerce companies, which have proprietary processes and technology deployed for these segments of operations.

    What is the significance of making something open-source?

    • Making a software or a process open-source means that the code or the steps of that process is made available freely for others to use, redistribute and modify.
    • If the ONDC gets implemented and mandated, it would mean that all e-commerce companies will have to operate using the same processes.
    • This could give a huge booster shot to smaller online retailers and new entrants.

    What does the DPIIT intend from the project?

    • ONDC is expected to digitize the entire value chain, standardize operations, promote inclusion of suppliers, derive efficiencies in logistics and enhance value for stakeholders and consumers.

    What is a ‘Digital Monopoly’?

    • Digital monopolies refer to a scenario wherein e-commerce giants or Big Tech companies tend to dominate and flout competition law pertaining to monopoly.
    • The Giants have built their own proprietary platforms for operations.
    • In March, India moved to shake up digital monopolies in the country’s $ 1+ trillion retail market by making public a draft of a code of conduct — Draft Ecommerce Policy, reported Bloomberg.
    • The government sought to help local start-ups and reduce the dominance of giants such as Amazon and Walmart-Flipkart.
    • The rules sought to define the cross-border flow of user data after taking into account complaints by small retailers.

    Processes in the ONDC

    • Sellers will be onboarded through open networks. Other open-source processes will include those such as vendor and price discovery; and product cataloguing.
    • The format will be similar to the one which is used in the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
    • Mega e-commerce companies have proprietary processes and technology for these operations.
    • Marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, BigBasket and Grofers will need to register on the ONDC platform to be created by DPIIT and QCI.
    • The task of implementing DPIIT’s ONDC project has been assigned to the Quality Council of India (QCI).

    Back2Basics: Quality Council of India

    • QCI was set up in 1997 by the government of India jointly with Indian industry (represented by CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM) as an autonomous body under the administrative control of the department.
    • QCI establishes and operates the National Accreditation Structure for conformity assessment bodies; providing accreditation in the field of education, health and quality promotion.

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  • Waste Management – SWM Rules, EWM Rules, etc

    How India can face the tidal wave of marine plastic

    7 July 2021 | | Environment
    Mains GS3: GS3-18.Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.

    The problem of marine plastic pollution has reached a new peak. Hence it must be tackled from various perspectives. This article discusses some of them.

    Plastic use in India

    • The Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) Annual Report on Implementing the Plastic Garbage Rules, 2016, is the only regular estimate of the quantum of plastic waste generated in India.
    • According to it, the waste generated in 2018-19 was 3,360,043 tonnes per year (roughly 9,200 tonnes per day).
    • Given that total municipal solid waste generation is between 55 and 65 million tonnes per day, plastic waste contributes about 5-6 per cent of total solid waste generated in India.

    What happens to Plastic Waste?

    • Only nine per cent of all plastic waste has ever been recycled.
    • Approximately 12 per cent has been burnt, while the remaining 79 per cent has accumulated in landfills.
    • Plastic waste is blocking our sewers, threatening marine life and generating health risks for residents in landfills or the natural environment.

    Marine plastic pollution

    • Incredibly vast and deep, the ocean acts as a huge sink for global pollution. Some of the plastic in the ocean originates from ships that lose cargo at sea.
    • Abandoned plastic fishing nets and longlines – known as ghost gear – is also a large source, making up about 10% of plastic waste at sea.
    • Marine aquaculture contributes to the problem, too, mainly when the polystyrene foam that’s used to make the floating frames of fish cages makes its way into the sea.
    • The financial costs of marine plastic pollution are significant as well.
    • According to conservative forecasts made in March 2020, the direct harm to the blue economy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will be $2.1 billion per year.

    Threats posed to coastal areas

    • Enormous social costs accompany these economic costs.
    • Residents of coastal regions suffer from the harmful health impacts of plastic pollution and waste brought in by the tides and are inextricably linked to the fishing and tourism industry for their livelihoods.
    • Therefore, we must begin finding solutions to prevent plastics and other waste from polluting our oceans and clean them up.

    Tackling the issue

    The problem of marine plastic pollution can — and must — be tackled from a range of perspectives. Some of the solutions are as follows:

    1.Designing a product: Identifying plastic items that can be replaced with non-plastic, recyclable, or biodegradable materials is the first step. Find alternatives to single-use plastics and reusable design goods by working with product designers.

    2.Pricing: Plastics are inexpensive because they are made with substantially subsidized oil and may be produced at a lower cost, with fewer economic incentives to employ recycled plastics.

    3.Technologies and Innovation: Developing tools and technology to assist governments and organizations in measuring and monitoring plastic garbage in cities. ‘Closing the loop’ project of the UN assists cities in developing more inventive policy solutions to tackle the problem. A similar approach can be adopted in India. 

    4.Promoting a plastic-free workplace: All catering operations should be prohibited from using single-use plastics. To encourage workers and clients to improve their habits, all single-use goods can be replaced with reusable items or more sustainable alternatives.

    5.Producer responsibility: Extended responsibility can be applied in the retail (packaging) sector, where producers are responsible for collecting and recycling products that they launch into the market.

    6.Municipal and community actions: Beach and river clean-ups, public awareness campaigns explaining how people’s actions contribute to marine plastic pollution (or how they may solve it) and disposable plastic bag bans and levies.

    7.Multi-stakeholder collaboration: Government ministries at the national and local levels must collaborate in the development, implementation and oversight of policies, which includes participation from industrial firms, non-governmental organisations and volunteer organisations. Instead of acting in silos, all these stakeholders must collaborate and synchronise with one another.

    Way forward

    • Solving the problem of marine plastic involves a change in production and consumption habits, which would help meet the SDGs.
    • Apart from the solutions mentioned above, the government can take several steps to combat plastic pollution.
    • Identifying hotspots for plastic leakage can assist governments in developing effective policies that address the plastic problem directly.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Why is there a great concern about the ‘microbeads’ that are released into environment? (CSP 2019)

    (a) They are considered harmful to marine ecosystems.

    (b) They are considered to cause skin cancer in children.

    (c) They are small enough to be absorbed by crop plants in irrigated fi elds.

    (d) They are often found to be used as food adulterants.

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  • Parliament – Sessions, Procedures, Motions, Committees etc

    Government creates Ministry of Cooperation

    7 July 2021 | Prelims Only | Polity
    Mains GS2: Ministries & Departments Of The Government

    The Union Government has created a new Ministry of Cooperation with an aim to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country.

    With the creation of the Ministry of Cooperation, there will now be a total of 41 central government ministries. Several of these ministries also have separate departments and organizations under them.

    What defines a Cooperative?

    • A cooperative is “an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned enterprise”.
    • Cooperatives are democratically owned by their members, with each member having one vote in electing the board of directors.

    Ministry of Cooperation

    • The ministry has been created for realizing the vision of ‘sahkar se samriddhi’ (through cooperation to prosperity).
    • The NGO Sahakar Bharati, whose founder member Satish Kashinath Marathe is a part-time director on the RBI board, says it was the first to pitch for the creation of a separate ministry for the cooperative sector.
    • It will provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement in the country.
    • It will help deepen cooperatives as a true people-based movement reaching up to the grassroots.
    • The ministry will work to streamline processes for ‘ease of doing business’ for cooperatives and enable the development of multi-state cooperatives (MSCS).

    Why need such Ministry?

    • In our country, a Co-operative based economic development model is very relevant where each member works with a spirit of responsibility.
    • This creation has signalled its deep commitment to community-based developmental partnerships.

    Second new ministry created so far

    • The Ministry of Cooperation is the second ministry to be created since 2019 after the Modi government came to power for the second time.
    • Soon after taking charge, the government had created the Jal Shakti ministry.
    • However, it was not altogether new as the Ministry of Cooperation.
    • It was created by integrating two existing ministries dealing with water — Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, and Drinking Water & Sanitation ministry.

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-Africa

    Crafting a unique partnership with Africa

    6 July 2021 | op-ed snap | International Relations
    Mains GS2: GS2-18.Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

    This op-ed analyses the future of India-Africa cooperation in agriculture amid the looming Chinese involvement in African countries.

    Agricultural significance of Africa

    • With 65% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, employing over 60% of the workforce, and accounting for almost 20% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP, agriculture is critical to Africa’s economy.

    China factor behind

    • As this relationship enters the post-pandemic world, it is vital to prioritize and channel resources into augmenting partnerships in agriculture.
    • This is crucial given its unexplored potential, centrality to global food security, business prospects and to provide credible alternatives to the increasing involvement of Chinese stakeholders in the sector.

    Analyzing Chinese engagement

    Chinese corporations, small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs adopt has provided a layered perspective of the sociopolitical, economic and environmental impact of Chinese engagement.

    • Trade: China is among Africa’s largest trading partners.
    • Credit facility: It is also Africa’s single biggest creditor.
    • Infrastructure: Its corporations dominate the region’s infrastructure market and are now entering the agri-infra sector.
    • Strategic support: While access to Africa’s natural resources, its untapped markets and support for ‘One China Policy’ are primary drivers of Chinese engagement with the region, there are other factors at play.

    China is going strategic in the guise of agriculture

    • Increasingly critical to China’s global aspirations, its engagement in African agriculture is taking on a strategic quality.
    • Chinese-built industrial parks and economic zones in Africa are attracting low-cost, labour-intensive manufacturing units that are relocating from China.
    • Chinese engineers interviewed spoke of how their operations in Africa are important to accumulate global experience in management, risk and capital investments.
    • Not only are they willing to overlook short-term profits in order to build a ‘brand China’, but they want to dominate the market in the long term, which includes pushing Chinese standards in host countries.
    • Chinese tech companies are laying critical telecommunications infrastructure, venture capital funds are investing in African fintech firms, while other smaller enterprises are expanding across the region.

    Agricultural landscape

    • While many Chinese entities have been active in Africa’s agriculture for decades now, the nature, form and actors involved have undergone substantial change.
    • In Zambia, Chinese firms are introducing agri-tech to combat traditional challenges, such as using drone technology to control the fall armyworm infestation.
    • They have set up over Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centers (ATDCS) in the continent where Chinese agronomists work on developing new crop varieties and increasing crop yields.
    • This ATDCs partner with local universities, conduct workshops and classes for officials and provide training and lease equipment to small holder farmers.
    • Chinese companies with no prior experience in agriculture are setting out to build futuristic ecological parks while others are purchasing large-scale commercial farms.

    Inducing their soft power

    • The exponential growth in the China-Africa economic ties and the emergence of Beijing as an alternative to traditional western powers have motivated change in perceptions across groups.
    • Governments and heads of state are recalibrating approaches, media houses are investing more resources for on-the-ground reporting.

    Dark Side of the Sino-Africa ties

    • Simultaneously, Africa-China relations are becoming complex with a growing, insular diaspora, lopsided trade, looming debt, competition with local businesses and a negative perception accompanied by greater political and socioeconomic interlinkages.
    • On occasion, there seems to be a gap between skills transferred in China and the ground realities in Africa.
    • In some cases, the technology taught in China is not available locally and in others, there is inability to implement lessons learnt due to the absence of supporting resources.
    • Larger commercial farms run by Mandarin-speaking managers and the presence of small-scale Chinese farmers in local markets aggravates socio-cultural stresses.

    India’s agricultural engagement

    • Diverse portfolios: India-Africa agricultural cooperation currently includes institutional and individual capacity-building initiatives, an extension of soft loans, supply of machinery, acquisition of farmlands and the presence of Indian entrepreneurs in the African agricultural ecosystem.
    • Land acquisition: Indian farmers have purchased over 6,00,000 hectares of land for commercial farming in Africa.
    • States cooperation: Sub-national actors are providing another model of cooperation in agriculture. Consider the case of the Kerala government trying to meet its requirement for cashew nuts with imports from countries in Africa.
    • Civil society: Similar ideas could encourage State governments and civil society organizations to identify opportunities and invest directly.
    • Agri-business: There is also promise in incentivizing Indian industries to tap into African agri-business value chains and connecting Indian technology firms and startups with partners in Africa.
    • Investment: In the past year, despite the pandemic, the sector witnessed a record increase in investments.

    Way forward

    • A thorough impact assessment needs to be conducted of the existing capacity-building initiatives in agriculture for India to stand in good stead.
    • This could include detailed surveys of participants who have returned to their home countries.
    • Country-specific and localized curriculum can be drawn up, making skill development demand-led.
    • In all senses, India has consistently chosen well to underline the development partnership to be in line with African priorities.
    • It is pertinent, therefore, that we collectively craft a unique modern partnership with Africa.

    Conclusion

    • While India’s Africa strategy exists independently, it is important to be cognizant of China’s increasing footprint in the region.
    • Beijing’s model, if successful here, could be heralded as a replica for the larger global south.
    • It is important to note, however, that prominent African voices have emphasized that their own agency is often overlooked in the global discourse on the subject.

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-Middle East

    India-Turkey relations

    6 July 2021 | op-ed snap | International Relations
    Mains GS2: India & Its Neighborhood – Relations

    As a new round of geopolitical jousting begins on India’s north-western frontiers, Delhi must deal with a number of new actors that have carved out a role for themselves in the region.

    Overambitious Turkey

    • Our focus today is on Turkey’s regional ambitions (particularly in Afghanistan) and their implications for India.
    • Ankara is in negotiations with the US on taking charge of the Kabul airport which is critical for an international presence in Afghanistan that is coming under the Taliban’s control.
    • Turkey has been running Kabul airport security for a while, but doing so after the US pullout will be quite demanding.
    • Taking a longer view, though, Turkey is not a new regional actor in India’s northwest.

    Turkey and Afghanistan

    • Ankara and Kabul have recently celebrated the centennial of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
    • Through this century, Turkey has engaged purposefully with Afghanistan over a wide domain.
    • While it joined the NATO military mission in Afghanistan after the ouster of the Taliban at the end of 2001, Turkey avoided any combat role and differentiated itself from the Western powers.
    • Ankara has contributed to the training of the Afghan military and police forces.
    • It has also undertaken much independent humanitarian and developmental work.

    Affinity with Pakistan

    • Turkey’s good relations with both Afghanistan and Pakistan have also given space for Ankara to present itself as a mediator between the warring South Asian neighbours.
    • Turkey’s “Heart of Asia” conference or the Istanbul Process has been a major diplomatic vehicle for attempted Afghan reconciliation in the last few years.
    • Widespread goodwill for Turkey in Afghanistan has now come in handy for the US in managing some elements of the post-withdrawal phase.
    • In Pakistan, PM Imran Khan has rallied behind Erdogan’s ambition to seize the leadership of the Islamic world from Saudi Arabia.
    • Pakistan’s Army Chief had to step in to limit the damage with Saudi Arabia, which has long been Pakistan’s major economic benefactor.

    Challenges for India

    • Turkey’s growing role in Afghanistan opens a more difficult phase in relations between Delhi and Ankara.
    • India’s opposition to alliances and Turkey’s alignments reflected divergent international orientations of Delhi and Ankara after the Second World War.
    • And Turkey’s deepening bilateral military-security cooperation with Pakistan made it even harder for Delhi to take a positive view of Ankara.
    • Turkey and Pakistan were part of the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) that was set up in 1955 by the British.
    • Although CENTO eventually wound up in 1979, Turkey and Pakistan remained close partners in a number of regional organizations and international forums like the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

    Pre-Erdogan era Turkey

    • The shared secular values between Delhi and Ankara in the pre-Erdogan era were not enough to overcome the strategic differences between the two in the Cold War.
    • To make matters more complicated, the positive legacy of the Subcontinent’s solidarity with the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic, emerged out of its ruins in the early 20th century, accrued mostly to Pakistan.
    • There were moments — during the tenures of PM Rajiv Gandhi and Mr Vajpayee, when India and Turkey seemed poised for a more productive relationship.
    • But those have been rather few and far between.

    Turkey’s departure from Secularism

    • Meanwhile, Turkey’s Islamist internationalism under Recep Tayyip Erdogan has inevitably led to its deeper alliance with Pakistan, greater meddling in South Asia, and a sharper contraction with India.
    • The Pakistani prism through which Delhi has long seen Ankara, however, has prevented it from fully appreciating the growing strategic salience of Turkey.
    • Erdogan’s active claim for leadership of the Islamic world has seen a more intensive Turkish political, religious, and cultural outreach to the Subcontinent’s 600 million Muslims.

    Self-goals on Kashmir

    • Turkey has become the most active international supporter of Pakistan on the Kashmir question.
    • Delhi is aware of Erdogan’s hypocrisy on minority rights.
    • While pitching for self-determination in Kashmir, Erdogan actively tramples on the rights of its Kurdish minority at home and confronts them across Turkey’s border in Syria and Iraq.

    Other ambitions in Asia

    • Erdogan was quick to condemn the Bangladesh government’s hanging of a senior extremist leader in 2016.
    • But in a reflection of his strategic suppleness, Erdogan also offered strong political support for Dhaka on the Rohingya refugee crisis.
    • As Bangladesh emerges as an attractive economy, Ankara is now stepping up its commercial cooperation with Dhaka.
    • Turkey, which hosted the Caliphate in the Ottoman era, had natural spiritual resonance among the South Asian Muslims.

    Riving the Caliphate

    • With the abolition of the Caliphate in 1924, Turkey’s Westernization under Ataturk reduced its religious significance.
    • Erdogan’s Islamist politics are about regaining that salience.
    • Erdogan’s strategy marks the declining relevance of the old antinomies — between alliances and autonomy, East and West, North and South, Islam and the West, Arabs and the Jews — that so resonate with the traditional Indian foreign policy discourse.

    Stance on Israel

    • Turkey was the first Muslim-majority nation that established full diplomatic relations with Israel.
    • Erdogan now actively mobilizes the Arab and Islamic world against Israel without breaking relations with Tel Aviv.
    • Erdogan’s outrage on Israel is about presenting himself as a better champion of Palestine than his Arab rivals.

    India’s option against Turkey

    • India, which has been at the receiving end of Erdogan’s internationalism, has multiple options in pushing back.
    • The recent naval exercise between India and Greece in the Mediterranean offers a small hint of India’s possibilities in Turkey’s neighbourhood.
    • Many Arab leaders reject Erdogan’s policies that remind them of Ottoman imperialism.
    • They resent Erdogan’s support of groups like the Muslim Brotherhood that seek to overthrow moderate governments in the Middle East.
    • There is much that India can do to up its game in the Arab world.

    Lessons for India

    • The new fluidity in geopolitics in India’s extended neighbourhood to the west.
    • Agency for regional powers is growing as the influence of great power weakens.
    • Religious ideology, like the more secular ones, is a cover for the pursuit of power.
    • Finally, Erdogan has carefully modulated his confrontation with major powers by avoiding a breakdown in relations.

    Conclusion

    • For Erdogan, the choices are not between black and white. That should be a good guide for India’s own relations with Turkey.
    • Delhi needs to vigorously challenge Turkey’s positions where it must, seize the opportunities opened by regional resentments against Erdogan’s adventurism, and at the same time prepare for a more intensive bilateral engagement with Ankara.

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  • Human Rights Issues

    Draft Anti-trafficking Bill 2021

    6 July 2021 | Bills/Act/Laws | Polity
    Mains GS1: Population & Associated Issues

    The Ministry of Women and Child Welfare has invited suggestions and comments for its Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2021 which it has released.

    A re-attempted legislation

    • A previous draft had been introduced in 2018 and had been passed by Lok Sabha despite stiff opposition from both parliamentarians as well as experts.
    • It was later never introduced in Rajya Sabha.
    • Experts say that nearly all the concerns raised in 2018 have been addressed in this new draft Bill.

    Draft Anti-trafficking Bill 2021

    The Bill has increased the scope of the nature of offences of trafficking as well as the kind of victims of these offences, with stringent penalties including life imprisonment, and even the death penalty in cases of an extreme nature.

    Types of offenders

    • The scope of the Bill vis offenders will also include defence personnel and government servants, doctors and paramedical staff or anyone in a position of authority.

    Penalty

    • In most cases of child trafficking, especially in the case of the trafficking of more than one child, the penalty is now life imprisonment.
    • While the penalty will hold a minimum of seven years which can go up to an imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of Rs 5 lakh.
    • In certain cases, even the death penalty can be sought.

    Definition of exploitation

    • Exploitation has been defined to include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation including pornography.
    • It also includes any act of physical exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or forced removal of organs, illegal clinical drug trials or illegal bio-medical research.

    Victims covered

    • The Bill also extends beyond the protection of women and children as victims to now include transgenders as well as any person who may be a victim of trafficking.
    • It also does away with the provision that a victim necessarily needs to be transported from one place to another to be defined as a victim.

    Investigation Agency

    • The National Investigation Agency (NIA) shall act as the national investigating and coordinating agency responsible for the prevention and combating of trafficking in persons.

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Person in news: Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair

    6 July 2021 | Prelims Only |
    Mains GS1: GS1-02.Modern Indian History- Mid-18th century – Present (significant events, personalities, issues);

    A noted filmmaker has recently announced his decision to produce the biopic of Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair, an acclaimed lawyer and judge in the Madras High Court and one of the early builders of the Indian National Congress.

    Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair

    • Nair was born in the year 1857 in Mankara village of Malabar’s Palakkad district.
    • He belonged to an aristocratic family and his great grandfather was employed by the East India Company to enforce peace in the Malabar region.
    • His grandfather was employed as the chief officer under the Civilian Divisional Officer.

    His legal career

    • Nair was drawn towards Law while he was completing his graduation from Presidency College in Madras.
    • After completing his degree in Law, he was hired by Sir Horatio Shepherd who later became the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.
    • Since his early days as a lawyer, Nair was known for his defiant attitude.
    • He went against a resolution passed by Indian vakils (advocates) of Madras stating that no Indian vakil would work as a junior to an English barrister.
    • His stance on the issue made him so unpopular that he was boycotted by the other vakils, but he refused to let that bother him.

    Legacy

    • Nair was known for being a passionate advocate for social reforms and a firm believer in the self-determination of India.
    • But what really stood out in his long glorious career is a courtroom battle he fought against the Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab, Michael O’Dwyer.
    • Nair had accused O’Dwyer in his book, ‘Gandhi and anarchy’ for being responsible for the atrocities at the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
    • Consequently, he was fighting against an Englishman, in an English court that was presided over by an English jury.
    • In all senses, the case was bound to make history.
    • When the 1908 Montague-Chelmsford reforms were being discussed, he wrote an article in the Contemporary Review criticizing the English jury for being partial towards Englishmen.
    • This infuriated the Anglo-Indian community who petitioned the Viceroy and the Secretary of State for India objecting to his appointment as high court judge the first time.
    • He was once described by Edwin Montague, the secretary of state for India as an ‘impossible person’.

    Key positions held

    • In 1897 he became the youngest president of the INC in the history of the party till then, and the only Malayali to hold the post ever.
    • By 1908 he was appointed as a permanent judge in the Madras High Court. In 1902 Lord Curzon appointed him a member of the Raleigh University Commission.
    • In 1904 he was appointed as Companion of the Indian Empire by the King-Emperor and in 1912 he was knighted.
    • In 1915 he became part of the Viceroy’s Council, put in charge of the education portfolio.

    Career as judge

    • As a Madras High Court judge, his best-known judgments clearly indicate his commitment to social reforms.
    • In Budasna v Fatima (1914), he passed a radical judgement when he ruled that those who converted to Hinduism cannot be treated as outcasts.
    • In a few other cases, he upheld inter-caste and inter-religious marriages.

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  • Climate Change Impact on India and World – International Reports, Key Observations, etc.

    Arctic’s ‘Last Ice Area’

    6 July 2021 | Prelims Only | Environment
    Mains GS1: GS1-14.Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc.,

    A part of the Arctic’s ice called the “Last Ice Area”, located north of Greenland, has melted before expected. Scientists had believed this area was strong enough to withstand global warming.

    What is the Last Ice Area?

    • In an article published in 2015, National Geographic noted that climate projections forecast the total disappearance of summer ice in the Arctic by the year 2040.
    • However, the only place that would be able to withstand a warming climate would be this area of ice called the “Last Ice Area”.
    • But while this piece of ice above northern Canada and Greenland was expected to last the longest time, it is now showing signs of melting.
    • WWF claims that WWF-Canada was the first to call this area the‘ Last Ice Area’.

    Why is the area important?

    • The area is important because it was thought to be able to help ice-dependent species as ice in the surrounding areas melted away.
    • The area is used by polar bears to hunt for seals who use ice to build dens for their offspring.
    • Walruses too, use the surface of the ice for food search.

    When did the area start changing?

    • The first sign of change in LIA was observed in 2018.
    • Further, in August last year, sea ice showed its “vulnerability” to the long-term effects of climate change.
    • The ice in LIA has been thinning gradually over the years much like other parts of the Arctic Ocean.

    What are the reasons that explain the change?

    • About 80 per cent of thinning can be attributed to weather-related factors such as winds that break up and move the ice around.
    • The remaining 20 per cent can be attributed to the longer-term thinning of the ice due to global warming.

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  • Indian Army Updates

    Indian Army Memorial in Italy

    6 July 2021 | Prelims Only | Internal Security
    Mains GS1

    During his four-day visit to the UK and Italy, the Indian Army Chief will inaugurate the Indian Army Memorial at Cassino in Italy, about 140 km away from Rome.

    What is the memorial about?

    • The memorial commemorates over 3,100 Commonwealth servicemen who took part in the effort to liberate Italy in World War II.
    • Apart from this, 900 Indian soldiers were also commemorated on this memorial.

    What was happening in Italy in WWII?

    • Under Benito Mussolini, Italy had joined Nazi Germany in 1936 and in 1940 it entered WWII (1939-1945) against the Allies.
    • But in 1943, Mussolini was overthrown and instead, Italy declared war on Germany.
    • The invasion of Italy by the Allies coincided with an armistice that was made with the Italians.
    • Even so, the UK’s National Army Museum notes that for two years during WWII, Italy became one of the war’s most “exhausting campaigns” because they were facing a skilled and resolute enemy.

    What was India’s involvement in World War II?

    • In the first half of the 1940s, India was still under British rule and the Indian Army fought in both the world wars.
    • It comprised both Indian and European soldiers.
    • Apart from this, there was the East India Company Army that also recruited both Indian and European soldiers and the British Army, which was also present in India.

    India the largest volunteer

    • Indian Army was the largest volunteer force during WWII, with over 2.5 million (more than 20 lakh) Indians participating.
    • These troops fought the Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) as part of the Allies.
    • By 1945, the Allies had won, Italy had been liberated, Adolf Hitler was dead and India was barely a couple of years short of independence.
    • However, while millions of Indians participated, their efforts are not always recognized.

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  • Primary and Secondary Education – RTE, Education Policy, SEQI, RMSA, Committee Reports, etc.

    [pib] NIPUN Bharat Programme

    6 July 2021 | PIB | Governance

    Union Minister for Education has launched a National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat).

    NIPUN Bharat

    • This scheme aims for ensuring that every child in the country necessarily attains foundational literacy.
    • It has been launched under the aegis of the centrally sponsored scheme of Samagra Shiksha.
    • It would cover the learning needs of children in the age group of 3 to 9 years.
    • The unique feature is that the goals of the Mission are set in the form of Lakshya Soochi or Targets for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy.
    • The Lakshyas are based on the learning outcomes developed by the NCERT and international research and ORF studies.

    Envisaged outcomes

    • Foundational skills enable to keep children in class thereby reducing the dropouts and improve transition rate from primary to upper primary and secondary stages.
    • Activity-based learning and a conducive learning environment will improve the quality of education.
    • Innovative pedagogies such as toy-based and experiential learning will be used in classroom transactions thereby making learning a joyful and engaging activity.
    • Intensive capacity building of teachers
    • Since almost every child attends early grades, therefore, focus at that stage will also benefit the socio-economic disadvantageous group thus ensuring access to equitable and inclusive quality education.

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