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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Who was freedom fighter Udham Singh?

    Prelims Only | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History

    December 26 was the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Udham Singh, who is known for avenging the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.The Ghadr (Ghadar) was a –

    (a) Revolutionary association of Indians with headquarters at San Francisco.

    (b) Nationalist organization operating from Singapore

    (c) Militant organization with headquarters at Berlin

    (d) Communist movement for India’s freedom with head-quarters at Tashkent

    Who was Udham Singh?

    • Singh, born in Sunam in Punjab’s Sangrur district in 1899, was a political activist who got associated with the Ghadar Party while in the US.
    • The multi-ethnic party was believed to have communist tendencies and was founded by Sohan Singh Bhakna in 1913.
    • Headquartered in California, the party was committed to the ouster of the British from India.
    • In 1934, Singh made his way to London with the purpose of assassinating O’Dwyer, who in 1919 had been the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab.

    Why did he consider O’Dwyer responsible for the massacre?

    • O’Dwyer ordered Brigadier Reginald Dyer to Amritsar before the massacre; he was worried that there might be a second Indian mutiny, given the Hindu-Muslim unity and the demonstrations and strikes.
    • Instead of Dyer, O’Dwyer is considered to be the actual perpetrator, since Dyer could not have executed it without his permission.
    • On March 13, 1940, Udham Singh shot O’Dwyer at a meeting of the East India Association and the Royal Central Asian Society at Caxton Hill.
    • He was immediately arrested and held in Brixton prison and was sentenced to death and was hanged on July 31, 1940, at Pentonville Prison.

    A legend in India

    • For avenging the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Singh is seen by many as a hero. Gandhi, though, had famously called Singh’s revenge as an “act of insanity”.
    • While being on trial, he referred to himself as Mohamed Singh Azad, to symbolize Hindu-Sikh-Muslim unity in the fight for India’s freedom.
    • In 1974, his remains were sent back to India and he was cremated in his village in Sunam.
    • There have been several demands in the past few years for Udham Singh’s statue to be installed in Jallianwala Bagh and the Parliament complex.
    • In 2018, his statue was installed at Jallianwala Bagh during Baisakhi.
    • Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttarakhand is named after the freedom fighter.

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  • New Species of Plants and Animals Discovered

    Species in news: Wild Sun Rose (Portulaca Laljii)

    Species | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Botanists have discovered a new species of wild Sun Rose from the Eastern Ghats in India.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2018:

    Q.Why is a plant called Prosopis juliflora often mentioned in the news?

    (a) Its extract is widely used in cosmetics.

    (b) It tends to reduce the biodiversity in the area in which it grows

    (c) Its extract is used in the pesticides.

    (d) None of the above

    Portulaca Laljii

    • The new species named Portulaca laljii was discovered from the Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh.
    • It has unique features such as a tuberous root, no hair in its leaf axils, a reddish-pink flower, prolate-shaped fruits, and copper brown seeds without luster.
    • Portulaca Laljii has been named to honor the contribution of Lal Ji Singh, an eminent botanist of the Botanical Survey of India.
    • The species has been placed under the ‘Data Deficient’ category of the IUCN List of Threatened Species because very little information is available about the population of the species.

    Morphological features

    • These morphological features distinguish the species from other species of the genus Portulaca.
    • The flowers, which are reddish-pink in color, are very minute, at about 0.5mm.
    • The plant was found growing in rocky crevices at an altitude of about 1,800 meters above mean sea level, very close to the ground, at about less than 10 cm.
    • The plants belonging genus Portulaca are classified in the category Sun Rose because they flower in bright sunshine.
    • The genus was described by Linnaeus in 1753 as a type genus of the flowering plant family Portulacaceae.

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  • Health Sector – UHC, National Health Policy, Family Planning, Health Insurance, etc.

    [pib] PM-JAY SEHAT

    PIB | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education

    The Prime Minister has launched Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY SEHAT to extend coverage to all residents of Jammu & Kashmir.

    Q.Discuss various challenges in ensuring Universal Healthcare in India. (150W)

    PM-JAY SEHAT

    • The full form of SEHAT is social, endeavor for health, and telemedicine. Under this scheme, the SEHAT card will be distributed to all the eligible beneficiaries.
    • All the eligible beneficiaries of Jammu and Kashmir can apply for the Scheme through common service center operators
    • Around 1 crore beneficiaries will cover under this scheme. All the eligible citizens of Jammu and Kashmir will get cashless treatment up to Rs 5 lakh under the Scheme.

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  • Important Judgements In News

    Deconstructing the opposition between merit and reservation

    op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Laws, Institutions & Bodies Constituted For The Vulnerable Sections

    The Supreme Court in recent judgement in Saurav Yadav Vs. State of Uttar Pradesh made it clear that reservation and merit are not mutually exclusive. The article deals with this issue.

    Vertical Vs. Horizontal reservation

    • Articles 15(4) and 16(4) enable vertical reservation based on slotting the population in terms of SC, ST, OBC, and General Category.
    • But there is also a class of reservations that cuts across all these categories and are referred to as horizontal reservation.
    • Horizontal reservation includes a reservation for women differently-abled persons, freedom fighters, army veterans, etc.

    Specifying the relationship between horizontal and vertical reservation

    • In cases like Anil Kumar Gupta v/s State of Uttar Pradesh, the Court had made it clear that horizontal reservation ought to be generally understood in compartmentalized terms: recognition of inequalities within each vertical category.
    •  In a particular case, candidates were excluded from competing from the General Category positions even though they have scored more, simply because they were OBC.
    • However, some state governments are trying to use the open category seats as a quota for general category candidates.
    • The High Courts had been giving contrary directions: Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh excluded reserved category women for consideration in the general category.
    • Rajasthan and Gujarat, amongst others, included them.
    • The Supreme Court, in a three-judge bench, ruled against the UP government and clarified the relationship between horizontal and vertical reservations.

    Analyzing the judgment

    • The judgments reiterate the principle that groups eligible for horizontal reservation cannot be excluded from the open category seats because they are from other vertically reserved category communities, like SC or OBC.
    • Women from all categories are eligible to be considered for the open category.
    • It also made it clear that the open category seats are not meant to be a quota for the non-reserved categories.

    Merit Vs. Reservation

    • The Court has often contrasted merit with reservation.
    • But this has always been a mistaken view of the relationship between merit and reservation.
    • In principle, reservation is an instrument for identifying merit in individuals from historically marginalized communities.
    • The Court is saying that by excluding the adjustment of OBC women who had scored higher against general category seats, the UP government was ironically using the General Category to exclude meritorious candidates.
    • When the Court is using the term merit, it is simply pointing out that certain selection criteria are being used.
    • Such selection criteria are also within particular reserved categories: which is also a function of selection criteria, in this case, marks.
    • From this point of view, even those who advocate reservation do not fully give up on the meritocratic criteria of selection — they just apply it differentially.
    • What the Court was concerned with is fairness in the application of the selection criteria within the overall framework of reservation.

    Conclusion

    What the court is trying to say something more interesting: Members of the reserved category must be fully considered as falling under the rubric of being potentially meritorious.

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  • President’s Rule

    Possibility of judicial use or misuse of Article 356

    op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Indian Constitution – historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure

    Article 356 and the word ‘otherwise’ in it has led to the recent Andhra Pradesh High Court order. The order raises several questions. The article deal with this issue.

    Controversial High Court order

    • Recently the Andhra Pradesh High Court directed the Andhra Pradesh government to come prepared to argue on the ‘breakdown of constitutional machinery in the state’.
    • The order opens up the possibility of use or even misuse of Article 356 by the judiciary.
    • The Supreme Court of India has stayed the order.
    • However, we need to go deeper into this observation and look at the controversial provision of Article 356 due to which the High Court could make such an observation.

    Historical background of the article

    • Both India and Pakistan borrowed this provision from the Government of India Act, 1935.
    • Interestingly, the leaders of our freedom struggle were so very opposed to this provision that they forced the British government to suspend it.
    • The provision which we had opposed during our freedom struggle was incorporated in the Constitution strangely in the name of democracy, federalism and stability.
    • It was agreed in the Constituent Assembly that the Governor could use this emergency power.
    • By this time the Governor was supposed to be elected by the people of the State rather than nominated by the Centre.
    • After several revisions, provision became Article 278 (now Article 356).

    The issue with the word ‘otherwise’

    • H.V. Kamath criticised the word ‘otherwise’ and said only god knows what ‘otherwise’ means.
    • As the Governor had been made a nominee of the Centre by this time, he asked why the President could not have confidence in his own nominees.
    • ‘Otherwise’ can include anything including a presidential dream of breakdown of constitutional machinery in a state.
    • The Andhra Pradesh High Court could pass such an order due to this very term ‘otherwise’.
    • This word negates the ideals of constitutionalism by giving unlimited powers to the Centre, also allowed the High Court to overstepped the line.
    • But this is not the first instance of judicial overreach on this issue.
    • On August 13, 1997, a Patna High Court had observed that the High Court could also report to the President about the breakdown of constitutional machinery in the State.

    Repeated misuse of Article 356

    • In the very first invocation of Article 356 in 1951, central government removed the Gopi Chand Bhargava ministry in Punjab though he enjoyed the majority.
    • In 1959, it was used against the majority opposition government of the E.M.S. Namboodripad government in Kerala.
    • Indira Gandhi used Article 356 as many as 27 times.
    • The most notable case of non-use of Article 356 was the refusal of the P.V. Narasimha Rao government prior to the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

    Consider the question “Examine the contest in which the word ‘otherwise’ in Article 356 leads to judiciary exercising its powers. What are the concerns in such case?”

    Conclusion

    Ideally, the word ‘otherwise’ should be deleted from Article 356 and the provision be used only sparingly and to never remove a majority government.

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-China

    Reading the new US policy on Tibet

    IOCR | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Effect Of Policies & Politics Of World On India’S Interests

    The Tibet Policy and Support Act (TPSA) passed by the US Senate earlier this week, bookends a turbulent year in US-China relations.

    Must read:

    Tibetan Policy and Support Act (TPSA)

    Do you think that India’s support for the Tibetan cause is the root cause of all irritants in India-China relations?

    TPSA: A backgrounder

    • The TPSA is an amended version of the Tibet Policy Act of 2002, which came into existence during the Bush Administration.
    • The act once signed into law would make it the official policy of the US Government to oppose any effort by the govt. of the People’s Republic of China to select, educate, and venerate Tibetan Buddhist religious leaders in a manner inconsistent with Tibetan Buddhism.
    • The proposed legislation will empower the US Government to impose sanctions on China who might try to interfere in the process of selecting the next incarnation of the Dalai Lama.

    US and China, today

    • US-China relations have become much more difficult over the last two decades, particularly worsening in the Trump Administration.
    • The matters range from the pandemic to trade tariffs and its cross-world coalition-building against Chinese superpower ambitions.
    • Earlier in the year, President Donald Trump signed into law the Hong Kong Autonomy Act.

    Fuelled by TPSA

    • Adding much fuel to the issue, the TPSA introduces stronger provisions on Tibet, plus teeth in the form of a threat of sanctions, including travel bans on Chinese officials.

    The Dalai Lama

    • Among the most significant amendments is that the TSPA makes it US policy to oppose attempts by Beijing to install its own Dalai Lama in a manner inconsistent with Tibetan Buddhism.
    • The legislation makes reference to the Chinese government’s ‘Measures on the Management of the Reincarnation of Living Buddhas’ in 2007.
    • China had earlier insisted that the reincarnation of living Buddhas including the Dalai Lama must comply with Chinese laws and regulations.

    Other provisions of TPSA

    • The TPSA has introduced provisions aimed at protecting the environment of the Tibetan plateau, calling for greater international cooperation and greater involvement by Tibetans.
    • Alleging that China is diverting water resources from Tibet, the TPSA also calls for a regional framework on water security, or use existing frameworks… to facilitate cooperative agreements among all riparian nations.
    • While the 2002 Act said the US should establish a “branch office” in Lhasa, the TSPA ups the ante by changing that to a “consulate”.
    • It recognizes the Central Tibetan Administration, whose Prime Minister Lobsang Sangay takes credit for ensuring that the Senate took up the legislation for a vote.

    Chinese response to TPSA

    • China had earlier said the TPSA severely breached international law and basic norms governing international relations, interfered in China’s internal affairs, and sent a wrong message to ‘Tibet independence’ forces”.
    • After the passage of the Bill through the Senate, China said it “resolutely opposes” the “adoption of Bills containing such ill contents on China.

    India’s present stance on Tibet

    • If India is pleased with this latest US barb to China, it has not said so openly.
    • India has mostly refrained from playing the Tibet card against China, and like the US, has a one-China policy.
    • It was only this year, in the ongoing Ladakh standoff, that it used Special Forces made up almost entirely of Tibetan exiles to occupy strategic heights in Pangong Tso’s south bank.

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  • Genetically Modified (GM) crops – cotton, mustards, etc.

    IISER scientists identify the gene that greens plants

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) have identified a gene that facilitates in the greening of plants.

    It would be no surprise to expect a core Biology question in the coming years, if we look at this PYQ:

    Q. Which of the following statements are correct regarding the general difference between plant cells and animal cells? (CSP 2020)

    1. Plant cells have cellulose cell walls whilst animal cells do not.
    2. Plant cells do not have plasma membrane unlike animals cells which do
    3. Mature plant cell has one large vacuole whilst animal cell has many small vacuoles

    Select the correct answer using the given code below-

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

    BBX11

    • The synthesis of chlorophyll in plants is a lengthy, multi-step process.
    • When a seedling emerges from under the soil it must quickly synthesize chlorophyll to start supporting its own growth.
    • In order to facilitate the quick synthesis of chlorophyll, plants make a precursor of chlorophyll called ‘protochlorophyllide’ in the dark, which glows red when blue light is shone on the plant.
    • As soon as the plant comes out into the light from under the soil, light-dependent enzymes convert protochlorophyllide to chlorophyll.
    • The two proteins oppositely regulate the ‘BBX11’ gene to maintain optimum levels of ‘BBX11’.

    How does it work?

    • It plays a crucial role in regulating the levels of protochlorophyllide — an intermediate in the biosynthesis of the green pigment chlorophyll.
    • The amount of protochlorophyllide synthesized needed to be proportional to the number of enzymes available to convert them to chlorophyll.
    • If there is an excess of free protochlorophyllide, then exposure to light converts it into molecules that cause ‘photobleaching’.
    • Thus, it is very important to regulate the amount of protochlorophyllide synthesized by the plant and here comes the vital plant played by the ‘BBX11’ gene.
    • If it is less, plants are unable to efficiently ‘green’ in order to harvest sunlight.

    Benefits of the research

    • The study could have tremendous implications in the agriculture sector in tropical countries like India and can help provide leads to optimize plant growth under stressful and rapidly changing climatic conditions.
    • Due to the rapidly changing climatic conditions, farmers in several states in India, especially in Maharashtra, are suffering huge losses in crop yields.
    • This often leads to severe distress among the farming community as indicated by the high number of farmer suicides in Maharashtra for the past several years.
    • Severe drought, high temperature and high light are some of the major reasons for crop failure. Young seedlings emerging out of the soil are extremely sensitive to high irradiance of light.
    • This study can provide leads to optimize plant growth under these stressful conditions.

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  • Fertilizer Sector reforms – NBS, bio-fertilizers, Neem coating, etc.

    How dangerous is Ammonia?

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Two persons died and several took ill in a major ammonia gas leakage at a fertilizers unit at Prayagraj.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. With reference to chemical fertilizers in India, consider the following statements:

    1. At present, the retail price of chemical fertilizers is market-driven and not administered by the Government.
    2. Ammonia, which is an input of urea, is produced from natural gas.
    3. Sulphur, which is a raw material for phosphoric acid fertilizer, is a by-product of all oil refineries.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 2 only

    (d) 1,2 and 3

    Ammonia

    • Ammonia is critical in the manufacturing of fertilizers and is one of the largest-volume synthetic chemicals produced in the world.
    • More than 80 per cent of ammonia made is consumed in the manufacturing of fertilizer, and most of the remainder goes into the production of formaldehyde.
    • A tri-hydroid of nitrogen (NH3), ammonia is a building block for ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) that is used in agriculture as a high-nitrogen fertilizer.

    Why is it harmful?

    • According to experts in Chemistry, ammonia is stored for industrial use in liquid form under high pressure or in gaseous form at low temperature.
    • In such cases, the cause of death is always suffocation as in the case of Prayagraj incident, the victims must have been very close to the point of a gas leak.

    Effects on the human body

    • Ammonia, even in moderate concentration, can cause irritation to eyes, skin, nose and throat.
    • It interacts immediately upon contact with moisture present in the skin, eyes, oral cavity, and respiratory tract to form ammonium hydroxide.
    • It is very caustic and disrupts the cell membrane lipids, ultimately leading to cellular destruction.
    • As cell proteins break down, water is extracted, resulting in an inflammatory response that causes further damage.

    Secretion in humans

    • Ammonia, which is highly soluble in water, is found in soil, air, and water; it is naturally present in the body.
    • It is secreted by the kidneys to neutralize excess acid.
    • However, it is highly diluted when in the environment and does not affect the human body to a noticeable level.

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Places in news: Rahim’s Tomb

    India MappingPrelims Only | History | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

    This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in The Hindu.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.With reference to Mian Tansen, which one of the following statements is not correct?

    (a) Tansen was the title given to him by Emperor Akbar.

    (b) Tansen composed Dhrupads on Hindu gods and goddesses.

    (c) Tansen composed songs on his patrons.

    (d) Tansen invented many Ragas.

    Who was Rahim?

    • Dating back to 1598, during the rule of Akbar, Abdur Rahim Khan I Khanan was one of the Navratna in the court.
    • Winning wars with his military training and hearts with his dohas and translated texts — he was a man who survived despite his father Bairam Khan’s assassination when he was just four.
    • Meant to be a dedication of a husband to his wife, the tomb ended up housing his own remains too when he died in 1627.

    His works

    • Apart from writing various dohas, Rahim translated Babar’s memoirs, Baburnama from Chagatai language to the Persian language, which was completed in 998 (1589–90) AD.
    • He had an excellent command over the Sanskrit language.
    • In Sanskrit, he wrote two books on astrology, Khetakautukam and Dwatrimshadyogavali.

    Why in news?

    • The tomb is in a run-down situation but undergoing renovation.
    • The historical and cultural significance is more than the archaeological and architectural significance, so restoring the dignity of the burial place has been very important.

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  • Panchayati Raj Institutions: Issues and Challenges

    Issues related to Urban local bodies

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters,Panchayats & Local Bodies

    The inability of ULBs’ to raise revenue

    • Although it is envisaged that municipal revenue should be 1% of GDP, between 2010 and 2018 revenues declined from 0.48% to 0.43%.
    • As against the municipal revenue of Rs 4,624 per capita, own-source revenue was only Rs 1,975 in 2018 (ICRIER, 2019).
    • This affects the low-levels of municipal services and translates into salary delays for employees.

    8-way strategy to increase the revenue of ULBs

    1) Increasing the property tax base

    • In India, property taxes only account for 0.15% of GDP, whereas in developing economies they account for 0.6% and the global average is 1.04%.
    • To double the property tax collection the property tax base needs to be expanded using GIS mapping, cross-checking with building licenses, ration cards, mutations, electricity/gas accounts, and review of exemptions.
    • This also needs to cover government properties as per GoI circular 2009 and the SC judgment in Rajkot Corporation vs Railways.
    • Similarly, rates need revision in the guiding value for rent or unit area; for instance, in Delhi, rates are fairly low.
    • The collection process needs to be automated too.
    • ABC (Always best Control) analysis should be done to target the top 10-20% properties, and measures such as attaching bank accounts must be implemented.

    2) Upward revision of various fees

    • The value capture taxes need to include upward revision of building license fee and new sources like impact fee, as imposed in Telangana, exactions, and betterment levy like the one imposed in Gujarat.

    3) Levy advertisement fee

    • An advertisement fee needs to be levied.
    • Thiruvananthapuram listed the sites and plugged leakages for 33,170 unauthorized boards to double its income from 2018 to 2019.
    • South Delhi MC has achieved a three-time increase with revision of rates in a ratio of 1:8 as per location and by dividing the city into clusters.

    4) Local fee

    • Local fee/charges also have immense potential such as (i) recovery on user charges (water, etc) which is only 20% (ii) right of way from gas/electricity and fiber optic lines, (ii) cell tower, (iii) leasing electricity poles, etc.

    5) Participatory funding

    • The potential of participatory funding (private sector, CSR, and local community) needs to be tapped.
    • This has been done by Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Mathura (Hybrid Annuity project), Indore, and Pune.

    6) Special attention for assigning and activating the fiscal instrument

    • Sixth, small and medium-sized municipal bodies need special attention for assigning and activating fiscal instruments.
    • Better mobilization of own sources may also lead to revenue account surplus.
    • This has been achieved in Ahmedabad, Pune, etc and it also enables access to the capital market.

    7) Revision of Article 243X

    • Article 243X needs suitable revision to allow larger inclusion of fiscal instruments above within the scope of a municipality’s own sources.

    8) Creating ULBs as per MoHUA’s advisory

    • Over 3,000 census towns not having city government need special attention to create ULBs in line with MoHUA’s advisory in 2016.
    • It will create an innovative and effective financing framework for sustainable urban development.

    Conclusion

    Financially strong local bodies hold the key to the development of the country. The steps mentioned here needs to be implemented effectively to make the ULBs financially strong.

    Source:-

    https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/bolster-ulbs-capacity-to-raise-revenue/2157171/

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