From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Digital Rupee
Mains level: Not Much
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that the first pilot for the retail version of the digital Rupee (e₹-R) would be introduced on December 1, 2022.
Where would be the pilot project launched?
The pilot will initially cover the four cities of Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Bhubaneswar, where customers and merchants will be able to use the digital rupee (e₹-R), or e-rupee.
Four banks will be involved in the controlled launch of the digital currency in these four cities: State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, and IDFC First Bank.
The service will be subsequently extended to the cities of Ahmedabad, Gangtok, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Lucknow, Patna, and Shimla.
Four more banks — Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, and Kotak Mahindra Bank — will join the pilot.
What is Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)?
CBDC / Digital Rupee is a RBI bank-issued digital currency which is backed by some kind of assets in the form of either gold, currency reserves, bonds and other assets, recognised by the central banks as a monetary asset.
The present concept of CBDCs was directly inspired by Bitcoin, but a CBDC is different from virtual currency and cryptocurrency.
Cryptocurrencies are not issued by a state and lack the legal tender status declared by the government.
What are the types of Digital Rupee?
Based on the usage and the functions performed by the digital rupee and considering the different levels of accessibility, CBDC can be demarcated into two broad categories:
General purpose (retail) (CBDC-R): It is an electronic version of cash primarily meant for retail transactions. It will be potentially available for use by all — private sector, non-financial consumers and businesses — and can provide access to safe money for payment and settlement as it is a direct liability of the central bank.
Wholesale (CBDC-W): It is designed for restricted access to select financial institutions. It has the potential to transform the settlement systems for financial transactions undertaken by banks in the government securities (G-Sec) segment, inter-bank market and capital market more efficiently and securely in terms of operational costs, use of collateral and liquidity management.
What are the forms of CBDC?
The central bank says e-rupee, or CBDC, can be structured as token-based or account-based.
Token-based CBDC: It would be a bearer instrument like banknotes, meaning whosoever holds the tokens at a given point in time would be presumed to own them. In this, the person receiving a token will verify that his ownership of the token is genuine. It is viewed as a preferred mode for CBDC-R as it would be closer to physical cash.
Account-based CBDC: It would require maintenance of record of balances and transactions of all holders of the CBDC and indicate the ownership of the monetary balances. In this case, an intermediary will verify the identity of an account holder. This system can be considered for CBDC-W.
What’s the model for issuance?
There are two models for issuance and management of CBDCs under the RBI’s consideration — direct model (single tier model) and indirect model (two-tier model).
Direct model: Here the central bank will be responsible for managing all aspects of the digital rupee system such as issuance, account-keeping and transaction verification.
Indirect model: It would be one where the central bank and other intermediaries (banks and any other service providers), each play their respective role. In this model, the central bank will issue CBDC to consumer’s indirectly through intermediaries and any claim by consumers will be managed by the intermediary.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CCUS
Mains level: Not Much
The NITI Aayog has prepared a report on the policy framework for Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS).
What is Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS)?
It is the process of capturing carbon dioxide emissions and either using them to make things such as building materials (utilization) or permanently storing those thousands of feet below the surface (storage).
Capturing carbon dioxide from industrial operations before it has a chance to enter the atmosphere helps reduce emissions, as does removing it directly from the air.
The carbon dioxide is then reused or sent through an injection well deep underground where it is locked away safely and permanently.
It’s a straightforward concept that takes infrastructure and policy considerations to implement, and Chevron is committed to making it work.
Steps involved in CCUS
Capturing the carbon dioxide for storage: The CO2 is separated from other gases produced in industrial processes, such as those at coal and natural-gas-fired power generation plants or steel or cement factories.
Transport: The CO2 is then compressed and transported via pipelines, road transport or ships to a site for storage.
Storage: Finally, the CO2 is injected into rock formations deep underground for permanent storage.
What has NITI Aayog identified?
CCUS has a critical role to play for the country to halve CO2 emissions by 2050.
Key challenge would be to reduce the cost of the mechanisms to implement the technology.
CCUS could enable the production of clean products while utilising rich endowments of coal, reducing imports and thus leading to a self-reliant India economy.
It has an important role to play in enabling sunrise sectors such as coal gasification and the nascent hydrogen economy in India.
Key sectors identified for carbon utilization
Green urea: Green urea can be produced from the captured CO 2 and cost-competitive green hydrogen, from renewable energy-based electrolysis of water. Green urea can replace/complement the traditional LNG/NG-based production and import of ammonia and urea.
F&B applications: CO2 is utilized in F&B applications such as carbonated drinks, dry ice, and modified atmosphere packing; however, the scales are much lower compared to green urea.
Building materials (concrete and aggregates): There is a large market for aggregates and concrete in a developing country like India, providing a pathway for utilizing CO2 for producing building materials through concrete curing and aggregate formation. In these applications, CO2 is injected in a liquid state without any conversion, thus reducing the energy requirements.
Chemicals (methanol and ethanol): Conversion of CO2 to methanol and ethanol from CO2 is proven at a commercial scale in different parts of the world.
Why such move?
India’s per capita CO2 emissions were about 1.9 tonnes per annum, which was less than 40% of the global average and about one-fourth of that of China.
India needs a sustainable solution for the decarbonization of sectors that contribute to 70% of emission.
Why CCUS is important?
CCUS helps reduce the carbon intensity of industrial operations and is a critical component of meeting the global net-zero ambitions of the Paris Agreement.
In fact, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change notes in its Global Warming of 1.5 °C report that achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 isn’t possible without ambitious mitigation action.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: In-Camera Proceedings
Mains level: Not Much
The Supreme Court has rejected a plea by a rape case accused for an in-camera hearing.
What are in-camera proceedings?
In-camera proceedings are private, unlike open court proceedings.
It is conducted as per the court’s discretion in sensitive matters to ensure protection and privacy of the parties involved.
The proceedings are usually held through video conferencing or in closed chambers, from which the public and press are excluded.
In an open court or open justice system, which is the usual course of proceedings, the press is allowed to report on the matter being heard.
In-camera trial in rape cases
Section 327 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) has detailed the types of cases that should be recorded on camera, including inquiry into and trial in rape case.
The said section states that if the presiding judge or a magistrate thinks fit, she can order at any stage of the proceedings that the public generally, or any particular person, shall not remain present in the courtroom or the court building.
The said provision says that the inquiry into and trial be held in camera for various offences punishable under section 376 (rape) of the IPC.
The law also prescribes that in such cases, the trial be conducted as far as possible by a woman judge or a magistrate.
Other cases where in-camera proceedings are held
In-camera proceedings are usually conducted at family courts in cases of matrimonial disputes, including judicial separation, divorce proceedings, impotence, and more.
In-camera proceedings are also conducted during the deposition of witnesses of terrorist activities as per the court’s discretion, so as to protect them and maintain national security.
What about publishing of such a hearing?
Section 327 of the CrPC states that it shall not be lawful to publish any matter in relation to in-camera proceedings except with the previous permission of the court.
It adds that the ban on publishing of trial proceedings for offence of rape may be lifted subject to maintaining confidentiality of name and address of the parties.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mauna Loa
Mains level: Not Much
Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano has erupted after 38 years, spewing ash and debris, and covering the sky of Hawaii’s Big Island.
Where is Mauna Loa?
Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that together make up the Big Island of Hawaii (biggest being the Mauna Kea).
It is the southernmost island in the Hawaiian archipelago.
It’s not the tallest (that title goes to) but it’s the largest and makes up about half of the island’s land mass.
It sits immediately north of Kilauea volcano, which is currently erupting from its summit crater.
Do you know?
Any volcano that has erupted within the Holocene period (in the last 11,650 years) is considered to be “active” by scientists. “Dormant” volcanoes are those active volcanoes which are not in the process of erupting currently, but have the potential to do so in the future.
Why do volcanoes erupt?
The deeper one goes under the surface of the Earth towards its core, the hotter it gets.
The geothermal gradient, the amount that the Earth’s temperature increases with depth, indicates heat flowing from the Earth’s warm interior to its surface.
At a certain depth, the heat is such that it melts rocks and creates what geologists call ‘magma’.
Magma is lighter than solid rock and hence it rises, collecting in magma chambers.
Chambers that have the potential to cause volcanic eruptions are found at a relatively shallow depth, between six to ten km under the surface.
As magma builds up in these chambers, it forces its way up through cracks and fissures in Earth’s crust. This is what we call a volcanic eruption.
The magma that surfaces on the Earth’s crust is referred to as lava.
Why is the eruption of Mauna Loa so explosive?
Eruptions vary in intensity and explosiveness, depending on the composition of the magma.
In simple terms, runny magma makes for less explosive volcanic eruptions that typically are less dangerous.
Since the magma is runny, gasses are able to escape, leading to a steady but relatively gentle flow of lava out of the mouth of the volcano.
The eruption at Mauna Loa is of this kind. Since the lava flows out at a slow pace, people typically have enough time to move out of the way
. Geologists are also able to predict the flow of the lava depending on the incline and exact consistency it has.
How is vulcanism measured?
The Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) is a scale used to measure the explosivity of a volcano.
It has a range of 1 to 8 with a higher VEI indicating more explosivity.
While the VEI of the current eruption at Mauna Loa is not known yet, the previous eruption in 1984 was deemed to have a VEI of 0.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GM mustard
Mains level: Herbicide tolerant GM crops and the GM mustard debate
Context
Concerns regarding the recent recommendation for approval for the environmental release of genetically engineered (GE) mustard (“DMH-11 hybrid”) in India. The recommendation was made by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC).
DMH-11 is a hybrid variant of mustard developed by researchers at The Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants, at the University of Delhi.
It is a hybrid variant that was developed without transgenic technology.
DMH-11 is a result of a cross between two varieties: Varuna and Early Heera-2. Such a cross wouldn’t have happened naturally and was done after introducing genes from two soil bacterium called barnase and barstar.
The result is DMH-11 (where 11 refers to the number of generations after which desirable traits manifest) that not only has better yield but is also fertile. DMH-11 is a transgenic crop because it uses foreign genes from a different species.
What are the concerns?
Not sufficient consideration: The potentially harmful long-term ecological and economic consequences of releasing DMH-11 have not received sufficient consideration.
Details of trials not made public: Details of the mandatory trials to ensure food and environmental safety which is a prerequisite before environmental release have not been made public.
A long-term assessment is yet to be done: a detailed long-term assessment of the potential social and economic benefits of using DMH-11, vis-à-vis its potential drawbacks, remains to be made. Without minimizing the importance of the last two aspects, the present note is restricted to highlighting the first aspect.
Gene for herbicide resistance (HT): A central feature of DMH-11 is that it carries a gene for herbicide resistance (also termed herbicide tolerance or HT). This fact has not received appropriate consideration.
Negatives outcomes: The deployment of herbicide-resistant or HT crops has been accompanied by deleterious outcomes in several places including the US, Australia, and Canada (so-called developed countries) as well as Argentina (a developing country).
Consequences of herbicide resistant weeds: The most well-established harmful consequence has been the spread of herbicide-resistant weeds across large tracts of agricultural land, which can spell disaster for the normal crop.
Critical and technical analysis of DMH-11
On the use of Basta herbicide: The developers of DMH-11 have stated in their food and environmental safety assessment submission of 2016 that “Although GE mustard hybrid DMH-11 contains the bar gene conferring resistance to the herbicide Basta (phosphinothricin), Basta herbicide is required to be used only by seed producer for hybrid seed production (and) farmers are not required to spray Basta in the hybrid GE DMH-11 for weed control”.
Certain conditions placed by GEAC for environmental release of DMH-11:
The GEAC in its recommendation made on October 18 for environmental release of DMH-11 has accepted this position and also placed certain conditions for environmental release.
Usage only under control: Usage of any formulation of herbicide is recommended only under controlled and specified conditions exclusively for hybrid seed production.
Requires necessary permission: Usage of any formulation of herbicide is not permitted for cultivation in the farmer’s field under any situation and such use would require the necessary permission as per procedures and protocols of safety assessment of insecticides/herbicides by CIB&RC (Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee).”
Knowing the facts GEAC ignoring the reports: In other words, GEAC assumes that farmers will use DMH-11 without adding herbicideeven though they know that it carries a gene for herbicide resistance. It ignores the known fact that there have been numerous recent reports in the Indian media of the illegal use of unapproved herbicide-resistant crops, which has been brought to the notice of the government.
Registers usage on a crop-wise basis is not enough: GEAC has considered the possible use of herbicide with DMH-11 merely as a matter of herbicide usage and referred its approval to the CIB&RC, which registers usage of herbicides on a crop-wise basis. It is not enough for GEAC to merely refer it for chemical registration since the CIB&RC is not the competent body for recommending approval of GM crops.
HT technology is different from conventional herbicides:
On multiple counts, HT technology is qualitatively different from the conventional use of herbicides.
They include the levels of herbicide used, which is much higher than in conventional use; its effect on the crop which is engineered to be resistant to the herbicide and thereby to tolerate much higher levels of herbicide and its agro-ecological impact including on agricultural biodiversity and insect populations.
The scope of issues connected to use of herbicide with a herbicide-resistant crop places it squarely within the purview of GM regulation (that is, GEAC).
Remarks: Developers Intent may not define how it is likely to be used
Notwithstanding the statement of the developers and its implicit acceptance by GEAC, DMH-11 does meet the definition of an HT crop.
The answers to two questions show this. Is DMH-11 herbicide tolerant? Yes. Is it a crop? Yes.
The intent of the developer on how it is meant to be used does not determine how it is actually likely to be used, especially if that usage appears to confer obvious advantages.
HT technology involves the use of a herbicide in far higher amounts than conventional herbicide treatments, high enough to kill all weeds in the field, leaving only the engineered crop to grow. Thereby, it replaces all other weed control measures.
Conclusion
HT may be effective for a few years. But basic evolutionary considerations, as well as experience in other countries, shows that it imposes strong selective pressure for resistant weeds to emerge. They invariably do so in the course of time and spread rapidly. HT offers short-term benefits at the cost of long-term sustainability. Long term assessment is necessary before clearing its way.
Mains Question
Q. GM mustard is often in the news recently. Discuss the advantages and raised concerns over the usage of this new hybrid variety.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MPI
Mains level: MPI estimation and the concerned debate
Context
There is debate going on over Multi-dimensional Poverty (MPI) estimation and Covid impact on poverty. Various experts are arguing that poverty decline faster during NDA years than UPA years.
How MPI is estimated as per oxford poverty and human development initiative (OPHD)?
Two set of estimates: There are two sets of poverty estimates provided by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) that compile these data across countries, primarily from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS).
Uncensored estimate: The first are uncensored estimates for individual indicators, which correspond to a simple question regarding whether a household is deprived (poor) in a given indicator for example, nutrition.
Censored estimate: Alternatively, one can obtain an indicator-specific censored poverty estimate via a two-stage process. Censored data helps shift the focus onto those who have been (multidimensionally) identified as poor. A higher MPI suggests greater intensity of deprivation while a higher censored poverty rate is an important signal to policymakers to redirect policy focus.
Multidimensionally poor: The first stage estimates the population that is multidimensionally poor.
Poor on each indicator: The second stage estimates the population that is poor in each indicator for the multi-dimensionally (MP) poor. For example, in 2005-06, the MP poor were 55.1 per cent; uncensored nutritionally poor were 57.3 per cent; and 44.3 per cent were censored nutritionally poor.
Poor in both categories: In other words, close to 80 per cent of the nutritionally deprived are also multidimensionally poor. For the DHS India survey years, censored estimates are used.
Advantage of using censored estimates
No mismatch in absolute and indicator specific poor: For some individual indicators such as assets, some households may be considered as deprived (poor) even as they are relatively better off in other areas such as nutrition, sanitation, etc.
Interlinkages between poverty indicators: Other advantage of a censored approach is that it allows the capture of interlinkages between several poverty indicators. For example, environmental enteropathy is known to have a key role in nutrition absorption in children. Therefore, investments made towards providing sanitation facilities and piped water connections will have an impact on nutritional absorption.
Annual improvement in health and education: Annual pace of improvement in the health, education and living standards indicators during 2005-15: 7.3, 10.0 and 9.6 per cent respectively. In the NDA years: 11, 8.4 and an outsized 17.2 per cent annual gain in living standards.
Efficient redistribution of resources: An efficient redistribution combined with direct fiscal resources targeted specifically to reduce deprivation across individual indicators.
Inclusive growth: The inclusive growth belief was that period I would show a greater improvement because the dominant component of poverty decline, growth in per capita consumption, was about 0.8 percentage point higher in period I (annual 3.8 per cent increase vs. 3 per cent in period II).
Faster poverty decline: The pace of MPI index decline was almost twice the pace in period II relative to period I! This result is strongly indicative of considerably more inclusive (and more efficient and less corrupt) growth in period II compared to period I.
Poor performance on some indicators: For only four indicators is the rate of uncensored poverty decline lower in period II. Assets and school attendance are lower in period II for both uncensored and censored poverty. Incidentally, school attendance improvement is expected to be lower as one approaches 100 per cent enrolment, the pace of change from 20 to 25 per cent enrolment is 25 per cent versus a pace of only 1 per cent when enrolment increases from 95 to 96 per cent.
Conclusion
Poverty estimation debate will continue among the experts. Government should solely focus on poverty reduction policies. Present priority should be reducing the Covid induced poverty.
Mains Question
Q. What is the censored and uncensored poverty estimates? Analyse the recent data on multi-dimensional poverty index (MPI) in India?
Just ahead of the International Day for Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women (November 25), the brutal murder and mutilation of a young woman by her partner has drawn attention to intimate partner violence, also recognized under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 (PWDVA) as a kind of domestic violence.
Background
Due to prevalence of patriarchy women have been discriminated not only in India but in most parts of the world.
According to The United Nations, one out of every three women experience domestic violence. The same UN report suggests that the most dangerous place for women is their home.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment are essential for the development and well-being of families, communities and nations.
Domestic Violence
Domestic violence is any pattern of behavior that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. It encompasses all physical, sexual, emotional, economic and psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person.
Domestic violencecan include the following
Physical violence: Use of Physical force or hurting or trying to hurt a partner .it also includes denying medical care.
Sexual violence: Forcing a partner to take part in a sex act when the partner does not consent.
Psychological violence: Psychological violence involves causing fear, threatening physical harm or forcing isolation from friends, family, school or work.
Economic violence: Making or attempting to make a person financially dependent by maintaining total control over financial resources.
Emotional violence: Undermining a person’s sense of self-worth through constant criticism; belittling one’s abilities; verbal abuse.
Punishable offence: Domestic violence is a punishable offence under Indian law. It is a violation of human rights.
According to NFHS-5: yet, National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21) reveals that we live in a society where violence against women persists to such an extent that 32% of ever-married women aged 18-49 years have ever experienced emotional, physical, or sexual violence committed by their husband, with more rural than urban women reporting experiences of domestic violence.
Protection of women from domestic violence Act 2005: Over 17 years ago the PWDVA, a progressive legislation, was passed, promising a joined-up approach, involving civil and criminal protections, to support and protect women from violence within the household, not just from husbands.
Unable to access the law: Despite the law existing on paper, women are still largely unable to access the law in practice. Its promise and provisions are unevenly implemented, unavailable and out of reach for most Indian women.
Very less percentage of women who seek help: The most disheartening reality is that despite almost a third of women being subject to domestic violence, the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21) reports that only 14% of women who have experienced domestic violence have ever sought help; and this number is much lower in the rural areas.
Despite of multiple laws, most women choose not to seek help: In a country where domestic violence is a crime, where there are multiple laws explicitly designed to protect women against violence, most women survivors of domestic violence never seek help.
An interesting first-hand case study on “why women choose to remain silent”?
Subject: Research in Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu aims to better understand ‘help seeking’ and the everyday realities, obstacles, prejudices and fears that women experience around sharing and reporting experiences of violence.
Questions: Simple and well-meaning questions, “Why didn’t you leave earlier?” “Why didn’t you tell someone about the violence earlier?”
Thoughts and Response:
Women were hopeful that things would change, that they could change their husband’s behaviour, that he would listen to them.
Crucially women did not want to be a ‘burden’ on others, in particular their families. ‘My mother has a lot of worries, she has her own life so I didn’t want to add to her own worries, with mine.’
By naming the violence they experienced, women believed that they would become ‘a problem’ or a source of ‘tension’ for their families, in bringing them shame and dishonor, irrespective of the survivor’s level of education, caste, or class.
For migrant women, transpeople or those with several sisters, or ill, older or deceased parents, it was felt even more acutely that the perpetrator’s violence was their individual responsibility to manage.
Findings of the case study on seeking help
Majority of parents asks to accommodate: The first group of women mainly turned to their parents who, in a majority of cases, insisted on their daughter preserving the family environment which they should do by ‘adjusting’ to, or accommodating their husband’s (and his family’s) needs better.
Minority cases where daughters’ welfare is prioritized: In a minority of cases, the daughter’s welfare was prioritized over the well-being of the ‘the family’ and steps were taken to help mediate or exit the relationship, and much more infrequently approach the police and lawyers.
Accepted as patriarchal norm mostly by women themselves: So ingrained are social norms about gender inequality that NFHS-5 data reports that women are more likely than men to justify a scenario in which it is acceptable for a husband to beat or hit his wife.
Sharing experience gives relief: For instance, one interviewee explained, ‘the way we are conditioned, it was hard to complain about any suffering’. Though survivors who did (finally) confide in relatives and friends about domestic violence described feeling a ‘sense of a relief’ and that a ‘burden had been lifted’, giving them new ‘hope’ that things might change.
Confession is powerful step, seek for help comes with mixed emotions: Whilst sharing experiences of violence was an incredibly powerful step for women, actually transforming their violent domestic experiences and accessing services and support provided by the state and non-state actors proved to be an arduous roller coaster of emotions, promises, uncertainty, fear and disappointment.
Financial dependence stops women form accessing legal justice: With few safe houses across India, the simple reality was that many women have nowhere else to go, and access to legal justice through the courts was a material possibility only for women with independent wealth and connections or those supported by specialist non-governmental organizations. So, for many survivors, transforming their situation depended on securing their economic self-sufficiency by pursuing new skills and livelihood opportunities.
Role of the police
Police were the part of problem than the solution: Women who reported experiences of violence to the police were cynical about the outcome. Though a small minority had positive experiences, for the majority of those we interviewed, the police were part of the problem rather than a solution to violence.
Police more likely to send women back to reconcile: Across the States, that the police were more likely to send women back to violent households to reconcile with the perpetrator or use violence against perpetrators as a deterrent instead of filing an official complaint or connecting women to protection officers and other service providers, as the PWDVA outlines they should.
Absence and under resourced Protection officers: Several States are yet to implement Protection officers. And where they are in post, they are under resourced, under-skilled and overworked, making their remit impossible.
Conclusion
Even whilst its legislature recognizes that domestic violence is a crime, and civil remedies exist through protection orders, managing the fallout of domestic violence is still being subcontracted to survivors and the family. That is the biggest crime being committed against women today. Women empowerment without social justice is a futile exercise, State must take appropriate social empowerment steps in this direction.
Mains question
Q. What is the status of women facing domestic violence in India? Despite many laws and a country where domestic violence is a crime, most women prefer to remain silent and do not seek help. Discuss.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: New Start Treaty, INF Treaty
Mains level: Nuclear disarmament
Russia postponed nuclear weapons talks with the United States under the New START Treaty with neither side giving a reason for the postponement.
New START Treaty
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) pact limits the number of deployed nuclear warheads, missiles and bombers and is due to expire in 2021 unless renewed.
The treaty limits the US and Russia to a maximum of 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, well below Cold War caps.
It was signed in 2010 by former US President Barack Obama and then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
It is one of the key controls on the superpower deployment of nuclear weapons.
Background of US-Russia Nuclear Relations
The US formally QUIT the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF)
The agreement obliged the two countries to eliminate all ground-based missiles of ranges between 500 and 5,500 km.
When did nuclear disarmament begin?
In 1985, the two countries entered into arms control negotiations on three tracks.
The first dealt with strategic weapons with ranges of over 5,500 km, leading to the START agreement in 1991.
It limited both sides to 1,600 strategic delivery vehicles and 6,000 warheads.
A second track dealt with intermediate-range missiles and this led to the INFTreaty in 1987.
A third track, Nuclear, and Space Talks was intended to address Soviet concerns regarding the U.S.’s Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) but this did not yield any outcome.
Success of INF
The INF Treaty was hailed as a great disarmament pact even though no nuclear warheads were dismantled.
As it is a bilateral agreement, it did not restrict other countries.
By 1991, the INF was implemented. USSR destroyed 1,846 and the US destroyed 846 Pershing and cruise missiles.
Associated production facilities were also closed down.
INF Treaty was the first pact to include intensive verification measures, including on-site inspections.
How has the nuclear behavior been?
With the end of the Cold War and the break-up of the USSR in end-1991, former Soviet allies were joining NATO and becoming EU members.
The U.S. was investing in missile defense and conventional global precision strike capabilities to expand its technological lead.
In 2001, the U.S. announced its unilateral withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty).
The US also blamed Russia for not complying with the ‘zero-yield’ standard imposed by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). This may indicate the beginning of a new nuclear arms race.
Implications of the New Start
The 2011 New START lapsed in 2021. It may meet the fate of the INF Treaty.
The 2018 NPR envisaged the development of new nuclear weapons, including low-yield weapons.
China is preparing to operate its test site year-round with its goals for its nuclear force.
CTBT requires ratification by U.S., China, and Iran, Israel and Egypt and adherence by India, Pakistan and North Korea. It is unlikely to ever enter into force.
Conclusion
A new nuclear arms race could just be the beginning. It may be more complicated because of multiple countries being involved.
Technological changes are bringing cyber and space domains into contention. It raises the risks of escalation.
| Economics | Mains Paper 3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways Etc.
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Silverline Project
Mains level: Railway modernization issues
Protests are taking place across Kerala against SilverLine, a semi high-speed railway project that envisages trains running at 200 km/h between the state’s northern and southern ends.
What is the SilverLine project?
The proposed 529.45-km line will link Thiruvananthapuram in the south to Kasaragod in the north, covering 11 districts through 11 stations.
KRDCL, or K-Rail, is a joint venture between the Kerala government and the Union Ministry of Railways created to execute this project.
The deadline for the project, being executed by the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL), is 2025.
Features of the Project
The project will have trains of electric multiple unit (EMU) type, each with preferably nine cars extendable to 12.
A nine-car rake can seat a maximum of 675 passengers in business and standard class settings.
The trains can run at a maximum speed of 220 km/hr on a standard gauge track, completing journeys in either direction in fewer than four hours.
At every 500 metres, there will be under-passages with service roads.
Need for the SilverLine project
Time saving: On the existing network, it now takes 12 hours. Once the project is completed, one can travel from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram in less than four hours at 200 km/hr.
Old infrastructure: Existing railway infrastructure in Kerala cannot meet the demands of the future.
Terrain limitations: Most trains run at an average speed of 45 km/hr due to a lot of curves and bends on the existing stretch.
De-trafficking: The project can take a significant load of traffic off the existing stretch and make travel faster for commuters, which in turn will reduce congestion on roads and help reduce accidents.
Others: The project would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, help in expansion of Ro-Ro services, produce employment opportunities, integrate airports and IT corridors, and enable faster development of cities it passes through.
Present status of the Project
Ans.Land acquisition is underway
The state government has begun the process of land acquisition after the cabinet approved it this year.
As part of the first stage of acquisition, local revenue and K-Rail officials are on the ground, demarcating land and placing boundary stones.
This is done to give the officials a sense of how much private land will have to be acquired and the number of families who will be displaced.
Issues with the Project
Political rhetoric: All political parties have been spearheading separate protests.
Huge capital requirement: They argue that the project was an “astronomical scam in the making” and would sink the state further into debt.
Displacement of families: The project was financially unviable and would lead to the displacement of over 30,000 families.
Ecological damage: It would cause great environmental harm as its route cuts through precious wetlands, paddy fields and hills.
Flood hazard: The building of embankments on either side of the major portion of the line will block natural drainage and cause floods during heavy rains.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Saras 3
Mains level: Not Much
India’s SARAS radio telescope has helped scientists determine the properties of the earliest radio luminous galaxies formed 200 million years after the Big Bang, a period known as the Cosmic Dawn.
SARAS 3 Telescope
SARAS stands for Shaped Antenna measurement of the background Radio Spectrum 3 (SARAS) telescope.
It is an indigenously designed and built at Raman Research Institute and was deployed over Dandiganahalli Lake and Sharavati backwaters, located in Northern Karnataka, in early 2020.
What have the researchers found?
Researchers have been able to determine properties of radio luminous galaxies formed just 200 million years post the Big Bang, a period known as the Cosmic Dawn.
These are the masses of the first generation of galaxies that are bright in radio wavelengths.
This helps provide an insight into the properties of the earliest radio loud galaxies that are usually powered by supermassive black holes.
What is Cosmic Dawn?
The ignition of the first stars marks the end of the Dark Ages and the beginning of our “Cosmic Dawn,” some 100 million years after the Big Bang.
For the first time, our universe began shining with a light other than the afterglow of the Big Bang.
SARAS 3 had improved the understanding of astrophysics of Cosmic Dawn by telling astronomers that less than 3% of the gaseous matter within early galaxies was converted into stars.
It found that the earliest galaxies that were bright in radio emission were also strong in X-rays, which heated the cosmic gas in and around the early galaxies.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bluebugging
Mains level: Cyber security challenges
Cybersecurity experts note that apps that let users connect smartphones or laptops to wireless earplugs can record conversations, and are vulnerable to hacks through a process called Bluebugging.
What is Bluebugging?
It is a form of hacking that lets attackers access a device through its discoverable Bluetooth connection.
Once a device or phone is blue-bugged, a hacker can listen to the calls, read and send messages and steal and modify contacts.
It started out as a threat for laptops with Bluetooth capability. Later hackers used the technique to target mobile phones and other devices.
Independent security researcher Martin Herfurt blogged about the threat of bluebugging as early as 2004.
He noted that the bug exploited a loophole in Bluetooth protocol, enabling it to download phone books and call lists from the attacked user’s phone.
How does bluebugging hack devices?
Bluebugging attacks work by exploiting Bluetooth-enabled devices.
The device’s Bluetooth must be in discoverable mode, which is the default setting on most devices.
The hacker then tries to pair with the device via Bluetooth. Once a connection is established, hackers can use brute force attacks to bypass authentication.
They can install malware in the compromised device to gain unauthorised access to it.
Bluebugging can happen whenever a Bluetooth enabled device is within a 10-metre radius of the hacker.
However, according to a blog by VPN service provider NordVPN, hackers can use booster antennas to widen the attack range.
Why is it a big threat?
Even the most secure smartphones like iPhones are vulnerable to such attacks.
Any app with access to Bluetooth can record users’ conversations with Siri and audio from the iOS keyboard dictation feature when using AirPods or Beats headsets, some app developers say.
Through Bluebugging, a hacker can gain unauthorised access to these apps and devices and control them as per their wish.
How can one prevent bluebugging?
Here are some of the ways to prevent bluebugging-
Turning off Bluetooth and disconnecting paired Bluetooth devices when not in use,
Updating the device’s system software to the latest version,
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Wet and dry leasing
Mains level: Not Much
In efforts to boost international air traffic, the civil aviation ministry has allowed Indian airlines to take wide-body planes on wet lease for up to one year.
What is Wet Leasing?
Wet leasing means taking the plane along with the operating crew and engineers, while dry leasing refers to taking only the aircraft on rent.
The technical term for wet leasing is ACMI which stands for aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance.
These are the aspects of the operation that the wet lease airline takes care of, while the airline client will still be responsible for paying for direct operating costs.
This includes catering and fuel as well as fees such as airport fees, ground handling charges and navigation fees.
Operations of an aircraft on wet lease are more difficult for the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to monitor, which is why it is allowed for shorter durations.
What are the new rules?
The rules had been relaxed, allowing the wet leasing for a year as opposed to the six months permitted so far.
Dry leasing was already allowed for up to 12 months, with the option to extend the contract for 12 another year.
Why has govt extended limit now?
The civil aviation ministry’s decision came on a request by the country’s largest airline, IndiGo.
It plans for inducting B777 aircraft on wet/damp lease basis during the current winter schedule.
The relaxation will be available to all Indian carriers and will be granted based on international destinations they wish to operate to.
With Covid-related restrictions lifting, international travel is lifting up, and the wet leasing will allow airlines to fly more routes and rounds.
Wide-body planes can accommodate more passengers, thereby boosting revenue.
Why airlines lease aircraft?
About half the planes used by airlines around the world are not owned but leased.
Airlines and aircraft operators prefer leasing planes in order to avoid massive lump sum payments that buying them would entail, and to quickly increase capacity, perhaps temporarily, on certain routes or sectors.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PR23
Mains level: Rice for global food security
Farmers in China are now growing a perennial variety of rice called PR 22 which does not need to be planted every year.
What is PR23?
Researchers at the Yunnan University have developed a variety of perennial rice named PR23 by cross-breeding regular annual rice Oryza sativa with a wild perennial variety from Africa.
Unlike regular rice which is planted every season, PR23 can yield eight consecutive harvests across four years (as these plants with stronger roots grow back vigorously after each harvest).
PR23 yields, reported at 8 tons per hectare, are comparable to regular irrigated rice.
But growing it is much cheaper since it requires less labour, seeds and chemical inputs.
Benefits of the variety
It can result in remarkable environmental benefits such as soils accumulating close to a ton of organic carbon (per hectare per year) along with increases in water available to plants.
It is were preferred by farmers since it saved 58% in labour and 49% in other input costs, over each regrowth cycle.
The researchers claim it can transform farming by improving livelihoods, enhancing soil quality and by inspiring research on other grains.
The invention could transform rice farming by making it climate-friendly, besides using less of labour and other inputs.
Why is the discovery of the new variety significant?
Rice feeds about half of the world, and its farming and consumption are primarily in Asia.
Most crops grown today were once perennial, but bred to be annual, short-duration, to make them more productive.
Perennial rice could be a transformational innovation if it proves to be economically sustainable.
Significance for India
India is the world’s second largest rice producer, after China, and the largest exporter with a 40% share in global trade.
It is grown during both summer and winter crop seasons.
Perennial rice can reduce the drudgery of annual trans-plantation, a back-breaking task, and generate savings on seeds and other inputs.
China’s early success has another lesson for India: to raise investments in public research and agricultural sciences.
This can help counter the impact of climate change on food security and rural incomes.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: China BRICS strategy, Role of India
Context
At the 14thLeaders’ Meeting of the BRICS, held virtually in June 2022, China dwelt on the issue of expanding the group beyond its five existing members to include more emerging economies. At a time when China-India relations are at a low point, the proposal has raised concerns in New Delhi. As India deliberates its stance on this contentious issue, it is important to understand China’s approach towards BRICS.
BRICS is an acronym for the grouping of the world’s leading emerging economies, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Jim O’Neill, a British economist, coined the term ‘BRIC’ to describe the four emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. He made a case for BRIC on the basis of econometric analyses projecting that the four economies would individually and collectively occupy far greater economic space and become among the world’s largest economies.
The importance of BRICS is self-evident: It represents 42% of the world’s population, 30% of the land area, 24% of global GDP and 16% of international trade.
The five BRICS countries are also members of G-20.
BRICS for China
Strategy of multiple engagements: For China, it is the grand strategy that is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that threads its many engagements: BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) where it is not directly a member, the Eurasian Economic Union, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Projecting the connection between BRICS and BRI: BRICS as an entity, has not signed any memorandum of cooperation with the BRI, In Chinese strategic thinking, the BRI and BRICS are deeply connected.
Repeated assertion by Xi Jinping: President Xi Jinping himself has harped on this notion in his speeches on multiple occasions, such as the 9th BRICS Business Forum in September 2017 and the 11th BRICS Leaders’ Meeting in November 2019. In his speech he stated that China would cooperate with other multilateral development institutions such as the BRICS New Development Bank to support BRI and jointly formulate guidelines to finance development projects.
China’s Approach towards BRICS: The Link with BRI
Policy of Five connectivities: Chinese scholars are of the opinion that the “five connectivities” in policy, infrastructure, trade, finance, and people-to-people constitute the common way forward for both the BRI and BRICS.
Economic development strategy: China has been working towards strengthening the interconnection of economic development strategies of different states along the BRI, particularly the BRICS nations, aligning and integrating BRI and BRICS infrastructure projects, ensuring unimpeded trade, pursuing multiple forms of cooperation.
China’s Silk Road Economic Belt and EEU: The most significant progress made so far by China in this regard has been the official docking between China’s Silk Road Economic Belt (the land part of the BRI) and the EEU (where Russia is the dominant player) in May 2015.
Infrastructure models that China is emphasising: A high-speed railway project from Moscow to Kazan is being constructed under this strategic cooperation, funded by the BRICS New Development Bank. This is the model that China wants to replicate with other BRICS nations as well. In December 2015, South Africa and China signed a memorandum of understanding on jointly promoting the construction of the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road.”
Why China needs BRICS to promote the BRI?
To avoid direct conflicts: Chinese policymakers believe that although China is the main proponent of the BRI, it needs to avoid both strategic overdraft and direct conflicts with the pillars of the present international order while implementing the strategy.
To use resources effectively: To improve efficiency in the use of funds and other resources, China, it is argued, should shift from individually leading specific projects to constructing and leading various international institutions and exerting itself through institutional norms.
Strategic alignment and ambition to lead: President Xi emphasised this as well at the ‘Belt and Road’ International Cooperation Summit Forum in May 2017, saying that the BRI “is not about starting from scratch and reinventing the wheel, but realising strategic alignment and (reaping) complementary advantages (of various existing or new mechanisms).”
Dominating the financial mechanism through BRI partnership: Chinese scholars point out that all the BRICS countries have already been made part of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), one of China’s key financing mechanisms for the BRI. Further, given China’s clear dominance in the New Development Bank (NDB), Contingency Reserve Fund (CRA), the AIIB, as well as Silk Road Fund, it is only imperative for it to use these institutions to incentivise more BRICS countries to participate in the BRI, and to lay the foundation of a global financial system for the Chinese currency (RMB) trade settlement.
Creating an acceptable front: China is aware that the BRI has provoked extensive discussion around the world. It has been interpreted differently by different countries and has even drawn suspicion and caution in certain quarters. China is aware that to implement the BRI smoothly, it needs an additional front that is less controversial and more acceptable to the international community at large, and in particular, to developing countries.
Promoting priorities in contrast: China prioritises the ‘BRICS + Asia’ cooperation mechanism – ‘BRICS + ASEAN’ on the one hand, and ‘BRICS + Bay of Bengal’ on the other, thereby integrating BRICS more closely with the Southeast Asian countries as well as with the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM-EC) and Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) nations.
Aligning with BIMSTEC to counter India’s resistance to BRI: The aligning with BIMSTEC is particularly aimed at countering India’s reticence to endorse the BRI, while seeking its cooperation through either coercion (i.e., using other member states of the said groupings as bargaining chips to pressure India to cooperate) or deception (i.e., temporarily ignoring the BRI banner).
Using BRICS at its advantage: China wants to use the BRICS platform to establish links and influence policies of these key regional organisations, including the African Union in Africa, the Arab League in West Asia, the SCO in Central Asia, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in South Asia, and ASEAN in Southeast Asia.
Ambition to formulate the world order in its own way: It wants BRICS, especially the BRICS New Development Bank, to strengthen cooperation with the IMF, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization. This will enable China, through BRICS, to strengthen its international leadership, play a bigger role in the formulation of international rules, and influence the overall global governance mechanism.
Conclusion
As China-US rivalry intensifies and the BRI faces a plethora of challenges, BRICS is increasingly gaining significance for China. Within the grouping, China sees itself as the ‘core’ of BRICS, while India as its weakest link.
India needs to accurately grasp the geopolitical shifts taking place within BRICS and deftly navigate the complex dynamics between the member states to safeguard its own interests within the grouping and avoid being drawn passively into China’s Great Game.
Mains Question
Q. China has focused on expanding the BRICS group to achieve its own ambitions. Discuss the significance of BRICS for China and India’s concerns.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Falling of Indian rupee, challenges and advantages
Context
The Indian rupee has been quite the controversial newsmaker this year. Having fallen more than 11 percent against the US dollar so far in 2022, the rupee breached the much-feared 80-mark in July and went on to set record lows, touching 83 to a dollar late in October.
Widening trade deficit: The first phenomenon is one of the biggest worries caused by a falling rupee, a rise in import costs, threatening higher inflation and a widening trade deficit.
Advantage for export: However, there also exists a ray of hope, a depreciated currency implies cheaper, more competitive exports and therefore, a possible export-led boost to the domestic economy. The net effect of these opposing forces would determine the impact of a depreciating currency on an economy.
Robust Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI): The import bill has risen not only on the back of a raging dollar and hardening crude prices but has also been spurred by strengthening domestic demand and manufacturing, as evidenced by a robust Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) of 55.3 in October.
Subdued merchandized export: Although service exports have done fairly well in FY 2022-23, merchandise exports have remained subdued and could soon worsen due to economic downturns in Europe and the US.
Impact on foreign investment
Weak rupee low foreign portfolio investors (FPI): The rupee has a complicated relationship with the moody foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). A weaker rupee can discourage FPIs. In turn, FPI outflows can further push the rupee to depreciate.
Falling NRI deposits: With the rupee losing value against the dollar, and interest rates around the world rising, NRI deposit flows also fell in the five-month period from April to August 2022, down to US$1.4 billion from US$2.4 billion a year ago.
FDI is Rising: Net FDI flows have remained positive and are set to grow, with April-June 2022 seeing an inflow of US$13.6 billion, higher than the same period last year. Even Indian stock markets have remained resilient, particularly on the back of large net-purchases by domestic institutional and retail investors, offsetting the equity sell-off by foreign investors.
Negative foreign investment: Net foreign investment (FII) flows did turn negative for a few months in 2022, and while rebounding FPI and resilient FDI do point to a more optimistic opinion of India among foreign investors, foreign investment is absolutely crucial at this juncture in India’s growth story and must be watched closely.
Efforts taken by RBI
Use of forex reserve: In an effort to defend the rupee, the RBI has intervened and sold off some of its foreign exchange reserves. The reserves stood at US$524.52 billion as of 21 October 2022, witnessing a fall of over US$115 billion since the beginning of the year.
according to RBI external situation is better: RBI has stated that most external indicators such as external debt to GDP ratio, net international investment position to GDP ratio and the ratio of short-term debt to reserves reflect India’s relatively comfortable position in meeting its external financing requirements–even in contrast to other emerging economies.
Careful intervention: Over-tightening of monetary policy and excessive intervention in the currency market can pose significant risks to the country’s growth prospects and the RBI must be careful to intervene just enough to quell volatility, without expending an inordinate amount of reserves.
Leveraging the growth rate: India has the chance to leverage its relatively healthy growth rates and rising infrastructure and capital expenditure to attract foreign investment, spurring growth and strengthening the capital account.
High investor confidence: Investor confidence has been steady, with the country seeing a record high of annual FDI inflows of US$84.8 billion in FY2021-22 in spite of the pandemic and volatile geopolitical scenario.
Stability in growth: This confidence needs to be leveraged and by positioning India on the international stage as a thriving and stable haven for investments, both the country’s growth and forex needs can be met.
Sufficient policy support is needed: Although the falling rupee has caused worry for a few economic indicators, with sufficient policy support, the domestic economy could emerge as an outlier in a global downturn.
Conclusion
With the United States (US) on a war path to curtail inflation and the supply side stifled by the conflict in Ukraine, even historically strong currencies like the euro and the British pound have plummeted against the raging dollar, more than the rupee. Government and RBI must stay on course of steady growth of economy.
Mains Question
Q. Discuss the impact of falling rupee on Trade and foreign investment in India? How India has unique opportunity for growth amidst the crisis around the world?
| Polity | Mains Paper 2: Indian Constitution - historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Read the attached story
Mains level: Making of Indian Constitution
PM highlighted the contribution of women in the Constituent Assembly which drafted the Constitution was hardly discussed and efforts should be made to educate future generations about their work.
These are the 15 invisible architects of the Indian republic cited by the PM-
Note: This newscard has some invincible set of facts that no one can remember in one go. However, we advise you to take some notes and have it on your desk. Be it sticky notes or something. Revise them for some days.
(1) Ammu Swaminathan
She was born into an upper-caste Nair family in the Palghat district of Kerala.
She was a social worker and politician who along with Annie Besant, Margaret Cousins, Malathi Patwardhan, Mrs. Dadabhoy, and Mrs. Ambujammal, formed the Women’s India Association in 1917 in Madras.
One of the first associations to demand adult franchise and constitutional rights for women.
She strongly opposed discriminatory caste practices although, she belonged to an upper-caste and strongly advocated equal status, adult franchise, and the removal of untouchability.
Ammu became a part of the Constituent Assembly in 1946 from the Madras constituency.
She felt that the Constitution was too long and that it had gone into unnecessary detail and wanted a constitution that could fit easily into a pocket or purse.
(2) Annie Mascarene
Annie Mascarene was born into a Latin Catholic family belonging to Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
She was one of the first women to join the Travancore State Congress and became the first woman to be part of the Travancore State Congress Working Committee.
She was one of the leaders of the movements for independence and integration with the Indian nation in the Travancore State.
She was elected to the First Lok Sabha in the Indian general election, 1951.
She was the first woman MP from Kerala and one of only ten elected to Parliament in the elections.
Before her election to Parliament, she had served briefly as Minister in Charge of Health and Power during 1949-1950.
(3) Begum Aizaz Rasul
She was born into the princely family of Malerkotla, Punjab.
She was the only Muslim woman in the Constituent Assembly.
She, together with her husband joined the Muslim League after the enactment of the GOI Act 1935.
In 1950, after the dissolution of the Muslim League in India, she joined Congress.
She was elected to the Constituent Assembly as a member of the Muslim League representing the United Provinces.
Although she was not a part of any committee in the Assembly, she advocated for National language, reservation and property rights, and minority rights.
She was against making ‘Sanskritised Hindi’ the National language, as only very few understood it and instead advocated for Hindustani.
(4) Dakshayani Velayudhan
She was born into an agrestic slave caste, Pulayas, on a small island of Bolgatty on the coast of Cochin.
She was the only Dalit women member of the Constituent Assembly and also the youngest at 34 years.
She was the first Dalit woman to graduate in India, and was the only female student pursuing a course in the sciences.
She was inspired into politics through her family’s fight against discriminatory caste practices.
She was the first generation Kerala woman to be able to cover their upper-body.
She was nominated to the Assembly in 1945 from Madras.
In the Assembly, she advocated on issues of untouchability, forced labour, reservations, and against separate electorates for Dalits.
She believed that the best way to address untouchability was through sustained state propaganda and not through punishment.
In 1977 she set up a women’s rights organization Mahila Jagriti Parishad in Delhi.
(5) Durgabai Deshmukh
Durgabai, from the ripe age of twelve, was a part of the Indian freedom movement.
She quit school to protest the imposition of English as a medium of education, part of the Non-Cooperation Movement.
She volunteered at a conference held by the Indian National Congress in Kakinada at the age of 14.
She participated in the Salt Satyagraha from Madras in May of 1930.
While she was in prison, she studied English and completed her master’s degree from Andhra University.
She then studied law at Madras University and practiced at the bar for a few years.
She established Andhra Mahila Sabha to coach young Telugu girls in Madras for their Matriculation examination conducted by the Banaras Hindu University in 1936.
She was elected to the Constituent Assembly from Madras and was part of the Committee on Rules and Procedure and the Steering Committee.
She also advocated for judicial-independence and human trafficking.
She also felt that Hindustani should be adopted as a national language instead of Sanskritised Hindi but, she later argued against adopting Hindi as the national language.
(6) Hansa Jivraj Mehta
She was a writer, social reformer, social activist, and educator.
In 1937, she contested in the Bombay Legislative Council elections from the general category; she not only won but remained on the council till 1949.
She became President of the All India Women’s Conference in 1946.
During the presidency, she drafted the Indian Women’s Charter of Rights and Duties, which called for gender equality and civil rights for women.
She is 1946 also served as a member of the UN sub-committee on the status of women.
She along with Eleanor Roosevelt, vice-chaired the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights Committee.
She was part of the Advisory Committee, Sub-Committee on Fundamental Rights, Provincial Constitution Committee.
She strongly advocated for a uniform civil code and believed that purdah was an evil practice. She also rejected quotas, reserved seats, and separate electorates for women.
(7) Kamla Chaudhary
She was a feminist, fictional writer, and political activist.
Her political career began in 1930 when she joined the Indian National Congress and was an active participant in the Civil Disobedience Movement.
At the 54th session of the All India Congress Committee, she was the vice-president.
She was elected to the Constituent Assembly.
(8) Leela Roy
She was a great social reformer, a staunch feminist and a social and political activist, and a close associate of Subash Chandra Bose.
In 1923 she received her M.A from Dhaka University and was the first woman to obtain it from the University.
She was an advocate for women’s education and established Dipali Sangh, an association for women, in 1923.
She founded a school named Dipali School and twelve other free primary schools with the help of the Dipali Sangha.
Subsequently, in 1928, she established two other schools known as Nari Shiksa Mandir (Temple of Women’s Education) and Shiksa Bhaban (House of Education).
Another important contribution was made b her to Muslim women’s education by setting up one of her schools as Qamrunnessa Girl’s School in Dhaka.
She was the only woman to be elected from Bengal to the Constituent Assembly on 9th December 1946.
However, she resigned from her post a few months later to protest against the partition of India.
(9) Malati Choudhury
She hailed from East Bengal (now Bangladesh).
At the age of 16, in 1929, she was sent to Santiniketan where she got admitted to Viswa-Bharati.
Along with her husband, during the Salt Satyagrah joined the Indian National Congress.
In 1933, she formed Utkal Congress Samajvadi Karmi Sangh along with, her husband and later came to be known as the Orissa Provincial Branch of the All India Congress Socialist Party.
She joined Gandhiji in his famous padayatra in Orissa in 1934.
For the upliftment of vulnerable communities in Odisha, she set-up several organizations such as the Bajiraut Chhatravas.
(10) Purnima Banerjee
She was a part of the individual Satyagraha and Quit India movement.
She was a member of the Congress Socialist Party and the Indian National Congress.
She held the post as the Secretary of the Allahabad City Congress Committee, working towards creating rural engagement.
She was appointed to the Constituent Assembly from United Provinces.
She argued that the preventative detention clause in Draft Article 15A (Article 22 of the Constitution of India) must prescribe time limits beyond which a person cannot be detained.
During the discussion of the Preamble, she expressly stated that ‘sovereignty’ is derived from the people of India.
During the discussion around the qualifications of Rajya Sabha members, Banerjee believed that the age limit should be reduced from 35 to 30 years.
(11) Rajkumari Amrit Kaur
Inspired by Gandhi’s fight for Independence, she gave up her Sherborne and Oxford education to be his Secretary for 16 years.
In 1927 she along with Margaret cousins co-founded the All-India Women’s Conference.
She held the position of Secretary in 1930 and President in 1933.
She played a vital part in India’s establishment of constitutional equality of genders guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, and 16.
She was also played a pivotal part in the inclusion of the Uniform Civil Code as part of the Directive Principles of State Policy.
She was the first Health Minister of independent India and held office for ten years.
She was the first female and first Asian President of the world health Assembly.
(12) Renuka Ray
Renuka Rai is a celebrated women’s rights and inheritance rights in parent a property activist.
She, like Kaur, was inspired by Gandhi’s call for the independence struggle, joined Gandhi’s Ashram accompanying him in protests.
In 1934 while working as a secretary of the AIWC, she authored ‘legal disability is Women in India; A Plea for A Commission of Inquiry’.
She worked for the prevention of women trafficking and the improvement of conditions of female labourers.
Ray contributed to numerous women’s rights issues, minority rights, and bicameral legislature provisions. She fought for Uniform Personal Law Code.
In 1949 represented India in the UN General assembly.
(13) Sarojini Naidu
The first woman president of the Indian National Congress was popularly known as the Nightingale of India.
When in England, she had gained some experience in suffragist campaigns and was drawn to India’s Congress movement and Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-cooperation Movement.
Besides being a suffragette, she was also a women rights activist, and she advocated for reforms to improve the conditions of widows in the Indian National Social Conference in Madras, 1908.
In 1917 she headed the All-India Women’s Deputation and championed women’s suffrage before E. S. Montagu (Secretary of State for India).
In the same year, she together with Annie Besant, set up the Women’s India Association.
In 1931 she accompanied Gandhi to London for the inconclusive second session of the Round Table Conference.
She was appointed to the Constituent Assembly from Bihar as part of the ad-hoc committee on the national flag.
(14) Sucheta Kriplani
The first elected female chief minister of an Indian state was born in Ambala.
A graduate from Indraprastha College for Women, Delhi University, taught Constitutional History at Banaras Hindu University until 1939.
She became a member of the Congress Party in 1938, served as the Secretary to the Foreign Department and Women’s Section for a year and a half.
Under her leadership, the women’s wing of the Congress Party was established in 1940.
She held an active role in India’s struggle for independence during the 1940s and was remembered especially for her role in the 1942 Quit India Movement for which she was arrested in 1944 and detained for a year.
She was elected to the Constituent Assembly from the United Provinces in 1946 as a member of the Flag Presentation Committee.
This committee presented the first Indian flag before the Constituent Assembly.
Kriplani served as a Secretary to the Relief and Rehabilitation Committee established by the Congress Party, playing a pivotal role in rehabilitating the Bengali refugees during the partition.
She had a colourful political career. She was also a part of various delegations to international organizations and countries.
(15) Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Born, Swarup Kumari Nehru was a diplomat and politician. She changed her name after her marriage in 1921.
As an enthusiastic participant of the independence struggle, she was imprisoned on three different occasions.
After the Indian Independence, she became an eminent diplomat representing India in the United Nations between 1946- 48 and 1952-53.
She was an Ambassador to Moscow, Mexico, and Washington and later to England and Ireland concurrently.
She is the first woman to become President of the UN General Assembly.
She was appointed as the governor of Maharashtra after her return to India.
The Supreme Court (SC) made an observation in its judgment of November 16 in the infamous Kathua rape-murder case that the rising rate of juvenile delinquency in India is a matter of concern and requires immediate attention.
Present approach and implications towards Juvenile delinquency
The goal of reformation: There is a school of thought, that firmly believes that howsoever heinous the crime may be, be it single rape, gangrape, drug peddling or murder but if the accused is a juvenile, he should be dealt with keeping in mind only one thing i.e., the goal of reformation.
Continuance of crime: The school of thought, we are talking about, believes that the goal of reformation is ideal. The manner in which brutal and heinous crimes have been committed over a period of time by the juveniles and still continue to be committed, makes us wonder whether the [Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children)] Act, 2015 has subserved its object.
No reformation but more crime: We have started gathering an impression that the leniency with which the juveniles are dealt with in the name of goal of reformation is making them more and more emboldened in indulging in such heinous crimes.
Criminal trials are not allowed: The law, contained in successive Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Acts (JJ Acts), places a blanket ban on the power of the criminal court to try and punish a person below the specified age for committing any offence.
Lack of clarity on maturity of person: Should a person, who has sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the nature and consequences of his/her action, get blanket immunity from the criminal process without the fear of being prosecuted, tried and punished, merely because that person is below the specified age?
Child friendly inquiry: Under the existing law, such a person, at best, could be subjected to a child-friendly enquiry by a Juvenile Justice Board (JJ Board) and reformation for a maximum period of three years in a correctional home.
The issue of maturity of Juvenile offender
Help of experts to assess maturity: It is well settled that the assessment of whether or not an offender has attained sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the nature and consequences of his/her conduct is to be done by the court with the help of experts, and is a judicial function as exemplified by Section 83 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
Judicial discretion was not allowed in JJ Act 2000: The JJ Act 2000 to the extent it deprived the criminal court of the power to try and to punish a person below the age of 18 years for committing an offence, when such a person could be assessed to have attained sufficient maturity to judge the nature and consequences of his/her conduct ,encroached upon the judicial domain and was, therefore, unconstitutional.
No changes on maturity in JJ act 2015: The current JJ Act, 2015, suffers from the same defect, except that the age of criminal responsibility for heinous offences has been reduced to 16 years.
Immature send to correctional homes: It has been overlooked that the fundamental premise of juvenile justice law is that a juvenile offender who lacks such maturity should not be sent to a criminal court to be tried for the commission of an offence, and instead, should be sent to a correctional home for reform and rehabilitation.
Mature juvenile must be punished: Conversely, therefore, should the offender have such maturity, he/she must be prosecuted before the criminal court, tried and, if found guilty, punished. The age of the juvenile offender alone cannot, therefore, justify a blanket immunity from the criminal process rather, the question of such immunity must be assessed on a case-by-case basis depending on the maturity of such offender.
Trying the mature juvenile as adult
Mature juvenile and adults are not same: Indeed, Section 23 of the JJ Act, 2015 mandates that notwithstanding anything contained in Section 223 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1973 or in any other law for the time being in force, “there shall be no joint proceedings of a child alleged to be in conflict with the law, with a person who is not a child”.
Separate provision for mature juveniles: Provisions already exist in the JJ Act, 2015, as to how a child who has attained the age of 16 years could be tried and punished for a heinous offence.
Assessing the maturity of all juvenile irrespective of age: The same provisions could be extended to all juvenile offenders, regardless of age or nature of the crime, once it is found by the competent court that any such offender had sufficient maturity of understanding to judge the nature and consequences of his/her actions.
Conclusion
Government should amend JJ Act 2015. Such an amendment would go a long way in providing the requisite balance between the rationales underlying the juvenile justice system and the criminal justice system and realizing the objectives professed by both.
Mains Question
Q. What are the flaws with existing Juvenile Justice Act 2015 vis-e-vis maturity of juveniles? How to address the issue mature juvenile and punishment to them?
Recently, when the world population touched eight billion, several headlines focused on how India was the largest contributor to the last billion and is set to surpass China as the world’s most populous nation by 2023. But missing in this conversation is the real threat of depopulation that parts of India too face, and the country’s complete lack of preparedness to deal with it.
Note: “The population and Population decline are continuously in the headlines which makes the population and associated topics important for the upcoming Mains Examinations.”
India’s Population trend
The total population of India currently stands at 1.37 billion which is 17.5% of the world population.
Between 1992 and 2015, India’s Total fertility rate (TFR) had fallen by 35% from 3.4 to 2.2.
Young people (15-29 age years) form 27.2% of the population in 2021. This made India enter the Demographic dividend stage.
The percentage of the elderly population has been increasing from 6.8% in 1991 to 9.2% in 2016.
What is depopulation?
The depopulation decline (also sometimes called population decline, underpopulation, or population collapse) in humans is a reduction in a human population size.
Over the long term, stretching from prehistory to the present, Earth’s total human population has continued to grow; however, current projections suggest that this long-term trend of steady population growth may be coming to an end.
The depopulation discussion and the missing links
Falling fertility rate and discussing reversal: Demographers, policy experts and politicians in countries such as Japan, South Korea and Europe, which are experiencing falling fertility and nearing the inflection point of population declines, are beginning to talk about what the future holds and whether reversal is possible.
The missing key elements in the conversation: Talking about equitable sharing of housework; access to subsidized childcare that allows women to have families as well as a career; and lowered barriers to immigration to enable entry to working-age people from countries which aren’t yet in population decline is missing.
Fertility in India
Falling fertility rate: It is now well-established that fertility in India is falling along expected lines as a direct result of rising incomes and greater female access to health and education. India’s total fertility rate is now below the replacement rate of fertility.
Many states are on the verge of population decline: Parts of India have not only achieved replacement fertility, but have been below the replacement rate for so long that they are at the cusp of real declines in population. Kerala, which achieved replacement fertility in 1998, and Tamil Nadu, which achieved this in 2000, are examples.
Decline in working age population: In the next four years, both Tamil Nadu and Kerala will see the first absolute declines in their working-age populations in their histories. With falling mortality (barring the pandemic), the total population of these States will continue to grow for the next few decades, which means that fewer working-age people must support more elderly people than ever before.
Replacement level fertility is the level of fertility at which a population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next.
In simpler terms, it denotes the fertility number required to maintain the same population number of a country over a given period of time.
In developed countries, replacement level fertility can be taken as requiring an average of 2.1 children per woman.
In countries with high infant and child mortality rates, however, the average number of births may need to be much higher.
RLF will lead to zero population growth only if mortality rates remain constant and migration has no effect.
A depopulating future and the challenges
Invisible trend because infuse of migrants: Access to working-age persons notably different from the situation in other States with low fertility. For instance, Delhi and Karnataka which are both net recipients of migrants, and will not confront population decline in the near future.
A skewed sex ratio remains a danger: As the latest round of the NFHS showed, families with at least one son are less likely to want more children than families with just one daughter.
Difference in education: The stark differences between northern and southern States in terms of basic literacy as well as enrolment in higher education, including in technical fields, will mean that workers from the southern States are not automatically replaceable.
Conclusion
With decades of focus on lowering fertility, the conversation in India is stuck in a rut. It is for the southern States to break away from this outmoded, data-free rhetoric and join the global conversation on depopulation. India’s cannot ignore the depopulation in the name of migration to meet its current labour needs.
Mains question
Q. What is depopulation, which has been a hot topic in recent times? Where do you see India in global population trends? Discuss.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NPR, NRC
Mains level: Read the attached story
The Central government proposes to make birth certificates a mandatory document for almost every sphere of life — admission in educational institutions, inclusion in the voter list, appointment in Central and State government jobs, issue of driving licence and passport.
Why in news?
These changes are proposed in the draft Bill to amend the Registration of Birth and Death (RBD) Act, 1969.
Registration of Births and Deaths Act (RBD), 1969
The registration of births, deaths and stillbirths are compulsory under the provisions of RBD Act in all parts of the Country.
The normal period of 21 days (from the date of occurrence) has been prescribed for reporting the birth, death and stillbirth events.
Registration of birth and death is already compulsory under the RBD Act, 1969 and violating it is a punishable offence.
Why need amendment?
The database may be used to update the Population Register and the electoral register, and Aadhaar, ration card, passport and driving licence databases after the amendment.
Presently, the registration of births and deaths is done by the local registrar appointed by States.
What are the proposed amendments?
Ans. Unified Database of Birth and Death
It is proposed that the Chief Registrar (appointed by the States) would maintain a unified database at the State level.
It would then integrate it with the data at the “national level,” maintained by the Registrar General of India (RGI).
The amendments will imply that the Centre will be a parallel repository of data.
It shall be mandatory for hospitals and medical institutions to provide a copy of all death certificates, stating the cause of death, to the local registrar apart from the relative of the deceased.
Significance of the database
It would help update:
Population Register prepared under the Citizenship Act, 1955;
Electoral registers or electoral rolls prepared under the Representation of the People Act, 1951
Aadhaar database prepared under the Aadhaar Act, 2016;
Ration card database prepared under the National Food Security Act, 2013;
Passport database prepared under the Passport Act; and
Driving licence database under the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, and
Other databases at the national level are subject to provisons of Section 17 (1) of the RBD Act, 1969
What are the newly proposed changes?
The centrally-stored birth/death data will be updated in real-time without any human interface required.
This would lead to addition and deletion from the electoral roll when an individual turns 18, and after death, respectively.
Why such move?
The government intends to improve compliance by making the registration mandatory to avail basic services such as admission in schools and registration of marriages.
Provisions exist for compulsory registration of births and deaths but after the law is amended, it will be
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sacred Grooves
Mains level: Not Much
This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in the Sunday edition of TH.
What are Sacred Grooves?
Sacred groves of India are forest fragments of varying sizes, which are communally protected, and which usually have a significant religious connotation for the protecting community.
It usually consists of a dense cover of vegetation including climbers, herbs, shrubs and trees, with the presence of a village deity and is mostly situated near a perennial water source.
Sacred groves are considered to be symbols of the primitive practice of nature worship and support nature conservation to a great extent.
The introduction of the protected area category community reserves under the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2002 has introduced legislation for providing government protection to community-held lands, which could include sacred groves.
Historical references
Indian sacred groves are often associated with temples, monasteries, shrines, pilgrimage sites, or with burial grounds.
Historically, sacred groves find their mentions in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, from sacred tree groves in Hinduism to sacred deer parks in Buddhism for example.
Sacred groves may be loosely used to refer to natural habitat protected on religious grounds.
Other historical references to sacred groves can be obtained in Vrukshayurveda an ancient treatise, ancient classics such as Kalidasa’s Vikramuurvashiiya.
There has been a growing interest in creating green patches such as Nakshatravana
Regulation of activities in Sacred Grooves
Hunting and logging are usually strictly prohibited within these patches.
Other forms of forest usage like honey collection and deadwood collection are sometimes allowed on a sustainable basis.
NGOs work with local villagers to protect such groves.
Traditionally, and in some cases even today, members of the community take turns to protect the grove.
Threats to such grooves
Threats to the groves include urbanization, and over-exploitation of resources.
While many of the groves are looked upon as abode of Hindu deities, in the recent past a number of them have been partially cleared for construction of shrines and temples.
Total grooves in India
Around 14,000 sacred groves have been reported from all over India, which act as reservoirs of rare fauna, and more often rare flora, amid rural and even urban settings.
Experts believe that the total number of sacred groves could be as high as 100,000.
They are called by different names in different states:
Sarna in Bihar
Dev Van in Himachal Pradesh
Devarakadu in Karnataka
Kavu in Kerala
Dev in Madhya Pradesh
Devarahati or Devarai in Maharashtra
Lai Umang in Maharashtra
Law Kyntang or Asong Khosi in Meghalaya
Oran in Rajasthan
Kovil Kadu or Sarpa Kavu in Tamil Nadu
What lies ahead?
The groves have great research value in in situ conservation of rare, endangered and threatened plant species.
It is high time that public awareness is created about the importance of these sacred groves, developmental activities are banned and the felling of trees or removal of any other vegetation is completely stopped.
This is possible only by way of enacting a special law for the protection and management of sacred groves.
As the management practices and other rituals vary from state to state, the concerned state governments may promulgate such an act as suitable for the state.
The idea should be to protect certain rare, endangered and threatened plant species in the era of global warming and climate change.
