Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: No-Confidence Vote
Mains level: Not Much
British Prime Minister will face a no-confidence vote that could oust him from power.
What is No-Confidence Vote?
- If the government has to demonstrate its strength on the floor of the House, it can have a motion of confidence.
- However, the opposition parties (or any member) can move a motion expressing want of confidence (no confidence) in the Council of Ministers.
- The procedure is laid down under Rule 198 of the rules of procedure and conduct of the business of the Lok Sabha.
- A no-confidence motion need not set out any grounds on which it is based.
- Even when grounds are mentioned in the notice and read out in the House, they do not form part of the no-confidence motion.
Its procedure
- A no-confidence motion can be moved by any member of the House.
- It can be moved only in the Lok Sabha and not Rajya Sabha.
- Rule 198 of the Rules of Procedure and conduct of Lok Sabha specifies the procedure for moving a no-confidence motion.
- The member has to give written notice of the motion before 10 am which will be read out by the Speaker in the House.
- A minimum of 50 members have to accept the motion and accordingly, the Speaker will announce the date for discussion for the motion.
- The allotted date has to be within 10 days from the day the motion is accepted. Otherwise, the motion fails and the member who moved the motion will be informed about it.
- If the government is not able to prove its majority in the House, then the government of the day has to resign.
How is the voting done?
These are the modes by which voting can be conducted:
- Voice vote: In a voice vote, the legislators respond orally.
- Division vote: In case of a division vote, voting is done using electronic gadgets, slips or in a ballot box.
- Ballot vote: The ballot box is usually a secret vote â just like how people vote during state or parliamentary elections.
What happens if there is a tie?
- Following the vote, the person who has the majority will be allowed to form the government.
- In case there is a tie, the speaker can cast his vote.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Consider the following statements regarding a No-Confidence Motion in India:
- There is no mention of a No-Confidence Motion in the Constitution of India.
- A Motion of No-Confidence can be introduced in the Lok Sabha only.
Which of the statements given above is / are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Post your answers here.
Back2Basics:Â What is a Trust-Vote?
- A confidence motion or a trust vote is a procedure for the government to prove its majority in the House.
- A trust vote can take place by way of a motion of confidence which is moved by the government or brought by the opposition.
- It is a motion normally proposed by the Prime Minister to test the majority in the Lok Sabha.
- Such an exercise normally takes place when a new government is set to be formed.
- Any party will first have to prove its majority on the floor of the House before taking over.
- A trust vote can also be brought about if a government resigns and another party stakes a claim to form the government.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Kabir, Bhakti Movement
Mains level: NA
President Kovind inaugurated the Sant Kabir Academy and Research Centre Swadesh Darshan Yojana and paid tribute to the Bhakti saint, Kabir at Maghar, his resting place in Uttar Pradesh.
Kabir and the Bhakti Movement
- The Bhakti movement, which began in the 7th century in South India, had begun to spread across north India in the 14th and the 15th centuries.
- The movement was characterized by popular poet-saints who sang devotional songs to God in vernacular languages.
- Most of the preaching were meant for abolishing the Varna system and promoting Hindu-Muslim unity.
- They emphasized an intense emotional attachment with God.
Who was Sant Kabir?
- One school within the Bhakti movement was the Nirguni tradition and Sant Kabir was a prominent member of it.
- In this tradition, God was understood to be a universal and formless being.
- Many of the saints of the Bhakti movement came from the ranks of the lower to middle artisanal classes.
- Kabir was an alleged âlow casteâ weaver (Julaha), Raidas was a leather worker and Dadu a cotton carder.
- Their radical dissent against orthodoxy and rejection of caste made these poet-saints extremely popular among the masses and their ideology of egalitarianism spread across India.
His life
- He was born in Varanasi and lived between the years 1398 and 1448, or till the year 1518 according to popular belief.
- He was from a community of âlower casteâ weavers of the Julaha caste, a group that had recently converted to Islam.
- He learned the art of weaving, likely studied meditative and devotional practices under the guidance of a Hindu guru and grew to become an eminent teacher and poet-singer.
- Kabirâs beliefs were deeply radical, and he was known for his intense and outspoken voice which he used to attack the dominant religions and entrenched caste systems of the time.
- He composed his verses orally and is generally assumed to be illiterate.
His literary works
- Kabirâs compositions can be classified into three literary forms â dohas (short two liners), ramanas (rhymed 4 liners), sung compositions of varying length, known as padas (verses) and sabdas (words).
- There are myriad legendary accounts on the other hand, for which there exists less of a factual historical basis.
Kabirâs critique of religion and caste
- Kabir is in modern times portrayed as a figure that synthesized Islam and Hinduism.
- While he did borrow elements from different traditions, he very forcefully proclaimed his independence from them.
- He did not only target the rituals and practices of both Hinduism and Islam, but also dismissed the sacred authority of their religious books, the Vedas and the Quran.
- He even combined Allah and Ram in his poems.
- He sought to eradicate caste distinctions and attempted to create an egalitarian society, by stressing the notion that a Bhakt (devotee) was neither a Brahmin nor an âuntouchableâ but just a Bhakt.
Kabirâs legacy
- Kabirâs own humble origins and his radical message of egalitarianism fostered a community of his followers called the Kabir Panth.
- A sect in northern and central India, many of their members are from the Dalit community.
- All regard Kabir as their guru and treat the Bijak as their holy scripture.
- The Bijak contains works attributed to Kabir and is argued by historians to have been written in the 17th century.
- Several of Kabirâs verses and songs form a vital part of the Guru Granth Sahib.
Try this PYQ from CSP 2019:
Q.Consider the following statements:
1.Saint Nimbarka was a contemporary of Akbar.
2.Saint Kabir was greatly influenced by Shaikh Ahmad Sirhindi.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Read the attached story
Mains level: NA
Ten antiquities (sculptures) retrieved from Australia and the United States were handed over to the Government of Tamil Nadu.
Some of the returned antiquities, and how they had gone missing:
(1) Dvarapala:
- Retrieved in 2020 from Australia, this stone sculpture belongs to the Vijayanagar dynasty dating to the 15th-16th century.
- He is holding a gada in one hand and has another leg raised up to the level of his knee.
- The sculpture was burgled from Moondreeswaramudayar Temple, Tiruneveli in1994.
(2) Nataraja:
- Retrieved in 2021 from the US, this image of Nataraja, a depiction of Shiva, in his divine cosmic dance form, is in tribhanga posture, standing on the lotus pedestal.
- It is dateable to the 11th-12th century. Possibly, ananda tandava or the Dance of Bliss is portrayed here.
- The sculpture was burgled from the strong room of Punnainallur Arulmigu Mariyamman Temple, Thanjavur, in 2018.
(3) Kankalamurti:
- Retrieved in 2021 from the US, Kankalamurti is depicted as a fearsome aspect of Lord Shiva and Bhairava.
- The sculpture is four-armed, holding ayudhas such as damaru and trishula in the upper hands and a bowl and a trefoil shaped object, as a treat for the playful fawn, in the lower right hand.
- The idol is dateable to the 12th-13th century, and was stolen from Narasinganadhar Swamy Temple, Tirunelveli in 1985.
(4) Nandikeshvara:
- Retrieved in 2021 from the US, this bronze image of Nandikeshvara is dateable to the 13th century.
- It is shown standing in tribhanga posture with folded arms, holding an axe and a fawn in the upper arms, with his forearms in namaskara mudra.
- This sculpture was stolen from Narasinganadhar Swamy Temple, Tirunelveli, in 1985.
(5) Four-armed Vishnu:
- Retrieved in 2021 from the US, dateable to the 11th century, and belonging to the later Chola period.
- The sculpture has Lord Vishnu standing on a padma pedestal holding attributes such as shankha and chakra in two hands; while the lower right hand is in abhaya mudra.
- It was stolen from Arulmigu Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Ariyalur, in 2008.
(6) Goddess Parvati:
- Retrieved in 2021 from the US, the image depicts a Chola-period sculpture dateable to the 11th century.
- She is shown holding a lotus in the left hand whereas the right is hanging down near her kati.
- This sculpture was also stolen from Arulmigu Varadharaja Perumal Temple, Ariyalur in 2008.
(7) Standing child Sambandar:
- Retrieved in 2022 from Australia. Sambandar, the popular 7th-century child saint, is one of the Muvar, the three principal saints of South India.
- The sculpture is dateable to the 11th century.
- The legend goes that after receiving a bowl of milk from Goddess Uma, the infant Sambandar devoted his life to composing hymns in praise of Lord Shiva.
- The sculpture displays the saintâs childlike quality, while also empowering him with the maturity and authority of a spiritual leader.
- It was stolen from Sayavaneeswarar Temple, Nagapattinam, between 1965 and 1975.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Malnutrition challenge
Context
The countryâs response to its burden of malnutrition and growing anaemia has to be practical and innovative.
What is malnutrition?
- Malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in a personâs intake of energy and/or nutrients.
- The term malnutrition covers 2 broad groups of conditions.
- One is âundernutritionââwhich includes stunting (low height for age), wasting (low weight for height), underweight (low weight for age) and micronutrient deficiencies or insufficiencies (a lack of important vitamins and minerals).
- The other is overweight, obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer).
What are the root causes of malnutrition in India?
The following three deficits are the root cause of malnutrition in India.
1) Dietary deficit
- There is a large dietary deficit among at least 40 per cent of our population of all age groups, shown inâ the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureauâs Third Repeat Survey (2012), NFHS 4, 2015-16, the NNMB Technical Report Number 27, 2017.
- Our current interventions are not being able to bridge this protein-calorie-micronutrient deficit.
- The NHHS-4 and NFHS-5 surveys reveal an acute dietary deficit among infants below two years, and considerable stunting and wasting of infants below six months.
- Unless this maternal/infant dietary deficit is addressed, we will not see rapid improvement in our nutritional indicators.
2) Information deficit at household level
- We do not have a national IEC (information, education and communication) programme that reaches targeted households to bring about the required behavioural change regarding some basic but critical facts.
- For example, IEC tells about the importance of balanced diets in low-income household budgets, proper maternal, child and adolescent nutrition and healthcare.
3) Inequitable market conditions
- The largest deficit, which is a major cause of dietary deficiency and Indiaâs chronic malnutrition, pertains to inequitable market conditions.
- Such market conditions deny affordable and energy-fortified food to children, adolescents and adults in lower-income families.
- The market has stacks of expensive fortified energy food and beverages for higher income groups, but nothing affordable for low-income groups.
The vicious cycle of malnutrition
- Link with mother: A childâs nutritional status is directly linked to their mother.
- Poor nutrition among pregnant women affects the nutritional status of the child and has a greater chance to affect future generations.
- Impact on studies: Undernourished children are at risk of under-performing in studies and have limited job prospects.
- Impact on development of the country: This vicious cycle restrains the development of the country, whose workforce, affected mentally and physically, has reduced work capacity.
Marginal improvement on Stunting and Wasting
- The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) has shown marginal improvement in different nutrition indicators, indicating that the pace of progress is slow.
- This is despite declining rates of poverty, increased self-sufficiency in food production, and the implementation of a range of government programmes.
- Children in several States are more undernourished now than they were five years ago.
- Increased stunting in some states: Stunting is defined as low height-for-age.
- While there was some reduction in stunting rates (35.5% from 38.4% in NFHS-4) 13 States or Union Territories have seen an increase in stunted children since NFHS-4.
- This includes Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Kerala.
- Wasting remains stagnant: Wasting is defined as low weight-for-height.
- Malnutrition trends across NFHS surveys show that wasting, the most visible and life-threatening form of malnutrition, has either risen or has remained stagnant over the years.
Prevalence of anaemia in India
- What is it? Anaemia is defined as the condition in which the number of red blood cells or the haemoglobin concentration within them is lower than normal.
- Consequences: Anaemia has major consequences in terms of human health and development.
- It reduces the work capacity of individuals, in turn impacting the economy and overall national growth.
- Developing countries lose up to 4.05% in GDP per annum due to iron deficiency anaemia; India loses up to 1.18% of GDP annually.
- The NFHS-5 survey indicates that more than 57% of women (15-49 years) and over 67% children (six-59 months) suffer from anaemia.
Way forward
1] Increase investment:
- There is a greater need now to increase investment in women and childrenâs health and nutrition to ensure their sustainable development and improved quality of life.
- Saksham Anganwadi and the Prime Ministerâs Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment (POSHAN) 2.0 programme have seen only a marginal increase in budgetary allocation this year (âš20,263 crore from âš20,105 crore in 2021-22).
- Additionally, 32% of funds released under POSHAN Abhiyaan to States and Union Territories have not been utilised.
2] Adopt outcome oriented approach on the nutrition programme
- India must adopt an outcome-oriented approach on nutrition programmes.
- It is crucial that parliamentarians begin monitoring needs and interventions in their constituencies and raise awareness on the issues, impact, and solutions to address the challenges at the local level.
- Direct engagement: There has to be direct engagement with nutritionally vulnerable groups and ensuring last-mile delivery of key nutrition services and interventions.
- This will ensure greater awareness and proper planning and implementation of programmes.
- This can then be replicated at the district and national levels.
3] Increase awareness and mother’s education
- With basic education and general awareness, every individual is informed, takes initiatives at the personal level and can become an agent of change.
- Â Various studies highlight a strong link between mothersâ education and improved access and compliance with nutrition interventions among children.
4] Monitoring
- There should be a process to monitor and evaluate programmes and address systemic and on the ground challenges.
- A new or existing committee or the relevant standing committees meet and deliberate over effective policy decisions, monitor the implementation of schemes, and review nutritional status across States.
Conclusion
We must ensure our young population has a competitive advantage; nutrition and health are foundational to that outcome.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Accessible India Campaign
Mains level: Facilitating PWDs
With its deadline of June 2022 almost up, the status of targets under the Accessible India Campaign (AIC) is likely to be discussed during a meeting of the Central Advisory Board on Disability.
What is Accessible India Campaign?
- Accessible India Campaign or Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan is a program that is launched to serve the differently-able community of the country.
- The flagship program has been launched on 3 December 2015, the International Day of People with Disabilities.
- The program comes with an index to measure the design of disabled-friendly buildings and human resource policies.
- The initiative also in line with Article 9 of the (UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) which India is a signatory since 2007.
- The scheme also comes under the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 for equal Opportunities and protection of rights which provides non-discrimination in Transport to Persons with Disabilities.
Recent developments
- The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) released the Harmonised Guidelines and Standards for Universal Accessibility in India 2021.
- Drafted by a team of the IIT-Roorkee and the National Institute of Urban Affairs of the MoHUA, the revised guidelines aim to give a holistic approach.
- Earlier, the guidelines were for creating a barrier-free environment, but now they are focusing on universal accessibility.
Key highlights
- Ramps: The guidelines provide the gradient and length of ramps â for example, for a length of six metres, the gradient should be 1:12. The minimum clear width of a ramp should be 1,200 mm.
- Beyond PwDs: While making public buildings and transport fully accessible for wheelchair users is covered in the guidelines, other users who may experience temporary problems have also been considered. For instance, a parent pushing a childâs pram while carrying groceries or other bags, and women wearing saris.
- Women friendly: Built environment needs for accessibility for women should consider diverse age groups, diverse cultural contexts and diverse life situations in which women operate. Diverse forms of clothing (saris, salwar-kameez, etc.) and footwear (heels, kolhapuri chappals, etc.) require a certain orientations.
- Accessibility symbols: The guidelines call for accessibility symbols for PwD, family-friendly facilities and transgender to be inclusively incorporated among the symbols for other user groups.
- Targeted authorities: The guidelines are meant for State governments, government departments and the private sector, as well as for reference by architecture and planning institutes.
Policy measures for PwDs
- India is a signatory to the UN Convention the Right of Persons with Disabilities, which came into force in 2007.
- The Union Minister for Social justice and Empowerment has also launched the âSugamya Bharat Appâ to complain for ease accessibility for PwDs.
- India has its dedicated the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, which is the principal and comprehensive legislation concerning persons with disabilities.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs)
Mains level: Prevention of juvenile crimes
The CBI is in the process of sending requests to several countries seeking information under the MLATs about those involved in the online sexual abuse of minors and circulation of child pornographic material on social media platforms.
What are MLATs?
- The MLATs in criminal matters are the bilateral treaties entered between the countries for providing international cooperation and assistance.
- These agreements allow for the exchange of evidence and information in criminal and related matters between the signing countries.
Benefits of Treaty
- It enhances the effectiveness of participating countries in the investigation and prosecution of crime, through cooperation and mutual legal assistance.
- It will provide a broad legal framework for tracing, restrain and confiscation of proceeds and instruments of crime as well as the funds meant to finance terrorist acts.
- It will be instrumental in gaining better inputs and insights in the modus operandi of organized criminals and terrorists.
- These in turn can be used to fine-tune policy decisions in the field of internal security.
Enforcing MLATs in India
- The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is the nodal Ministry and the Central authority for seeking and providing mutual legal assistance in criminal law matters.
- The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) may be involved in this process when such requests are routed through diplomatic channels by these Ministries.
- Section 105 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) speaks of reciprocal arrangements to be made by the Centre with the Foreign Governments
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Tiangong space station
Mains level: Not Much
Three Chinese astronauts floated into the countryâs new Tiangong space station for a three-month mission.
Tiangong Space Station
- Tiangong means âHeavenly Palaceâ.
- It was 10.4 metres long and 3.35 metres wide at its widest point, and weighed 8.6 metric tonnes.
- It was launched on September 15, 2016 and, in late 2016, hosted two Chinese astronauts for 30 days in what was Chinaâs longest manned space mission so far.
- The recently decommissioned space lab followed the Tiangong-1, Chinaâs first space station, which crashed into the southern Pacific Ocean on April 1, 2018 after Chinese scientists lost control of the spacecraft.
- China had launched Tiangong-1 in 2011 as proof-of-concept of technologies for future stations.
- The Tiangong will be fully operational by the end of 2022.
Features of this Space Station
- The significant feature of Tiangong is its two robotic arms.
- The US has previously expressed concern over its ability to grab objects including satellites from space.
- The 10-meter-long arm was in action previously seen in action successfully grabbing and moving a 20 tonne Tianzhou-2 cargo ship in a test.
- One of the noteworthy tasks for the Shenzhou-14 crew is to test and operate the large and small
- The small arm is quite flexible and can perform operations with greater precision.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: eVTOL Aircrafts
Mains level: Not Much
The Union Civil Aviation Ministry is exploring the possibility of inviting manufacturers of Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft to set up base in India.
What is eVTOL?
- EVTOL aircraft is one that uses electric power to hover, take off, and land vertically.
- Most eVTOLs also use what is called as distributed electric propulsion technology which means integrating a complex propulsion system with the airframe.
- There are multiple motors for various functions; to increase efficiency; and to also ensure safety.
- It works on electric propulsion based on progress in motor, battery, fuel cell and electronic controller technologies.
- It is also fuelled by the need for new vehicle technology that ensures urban air mobility (UAM).
Features of eVTOL
- eVTOL is emerging as a runway independent technological solutionâ for the globeâs transportation needs.
- There are an estimated 250 eVTOL concepts or more being fine-tuned to bring alive the concept of UAM.
- Some of these include the use of multi-rotors, fixed-wing and tilt-wing concepts backed by sensors, cameras and even radar.
- The key word here is âautonomous connectivityâ. Some of these are in various test phases.
- In short, eVTOLs have been likened to âa third wave in an aerial revolutionâ; the first being the advent of commercial flying, and the second, the age of helicopters.
What are the developments in powering eVTOLs?
- The roles eVTOLs adopt depends on battery technology and the limits of onboard electric power.
- Power is required during the key phases of flight such as take-off, landing and flight (especially in high wind conditions).
- There is a âDiamond Nuclear Voltaic (DNV) technologyâ using minute amounts of carbon-14 nuclear waste encased in layered industrial diamonds to create self-charging batteries.
- There are some industry experts who are questioning the use of only batteries and are looking at hybrid technologies such as hydrogen cells and batteries depending on the flight mission.
What are the challenges?
- As the technology so far is a mix of unpiloted and piloted aircraft, the areas in focus include âcrash prevention systemsâ.
- There are also issues such as ensuring safety in case of power plant or rotor failure.
- Aircraft protection from cyberattacks is another area of focus.
- A third area is in navigation and flight safety and the use of technology when operating in difficult terrain, unsafe operating environments, and also bad weather.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Fishing Cats
Mains level: Not Much
The Chilika Lake, Asiaâs largest brackish water lagoon, has 176 fishing cats, according to a census done by the Chilika Development Authority (CDA) in collaboration with the Fishing Cat Project (TFCP).
About Fishing Cats
- About twice the size of a typical house cat, the fishing cat is a feline with a powerful build and stocky legs.
- It is an adept swimmer and enters water frequently to prey on fish as its name suggests.
- It is known to even dive to catch fish.
- It is nocturnal and apart from fish also preys on frogs, crustaceans, snakes, birds, and scavenges on carcasses of larger animals.
- It is capable of breeding all year round but in India its peak breeding season is known to be between March and May.
Conservation status
- IUCN Red List: Endangered
- CITES: Appendix II
- Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I
Various threats
- One of the major threats facing the fishing cat is the destruction of wetlands, which is its preferred habitat.
- As a result of human settlement, drainage for agriculture, pollution, and wood-cutting most of the wetlands in India are under threat of destruction.
- Another threat to the fishing cat is the depletion of its main prey-fish due to unsustainable fishing practices.
- It is also occasionally poached for its skin.
Back2Basics: Chilika Lake
- Chilika Lake is a brackish water lagoon, spread over the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Odisha.
- It is located at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal, covering an area of over 1,100 km2.
- It is the largest coastal lagoon in India and the largest brackish water lagoon in the world after The New Caledonian barrier reef.
- It has been listed Ramsar Site as well as a tentative UNESCO World Heritage site.
Its formation
- The process of the formation of the Chilika might have begun in the latter part of the Pleistocene epoch, around 20,000 years ago.
- Indiaâs peninsular river Mahanadi carried a heavy load of silt and dumped part of it at its delta.
- As the sediment-laden river met the Bay of Bengal, sand bars were formed near its mouth.
- These created a backflow of the seawater into the sluggish fresh water at the estuary, resulting in the huge brackish water lake.
- Marine archaeological studies on the Odisha coast clearly show that the Chilika once acted as a safe harbor for cargo ships bound for Southeast Asia and other parts of the world.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Tackling inflation
Context
The economy now seems to be largely out of the shadow of Covid-19, and only a notch better than in 2019-20. But the big question remains: can India rein in the raging inflation that is at 7.8 per cent (CPI for April 2022), with food CPI at 8.4 percent, and WPI at more than 15 per cent?
Need for bold steps on three fronts to tackle inflation
- Unless bold and innovative steps are taken at least on three fronts, GDP growth and inflation both are likely to be in the range of 6.5 to 7.5 per cent in 2022-23.
- 1] Tightening of loose monetary policy: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is mandated to keep inflation at 4 per cent, plus-minus 2 per cent.
- The RBI has already started the process of tightening monetary policy by raising the repo rate, albeit a bit late.
- It is expected that by the end of 2022-3, the repo rate will be at least 5.5 per cent, if not more.
- It will still stay below the likely inflation rate and therefore depositors will still lose the real value of their money in banks with negative real interest rates.
- That only reflects an inbuilt bias in the system â in favour of entrepreneurs in the name of growth and against depositors, which ultimately results in increasing inequality in the system.
- 2] Prudent fiscal policy: Fiscal policy has been running loose in the wake of Covid-19 that saw the fiscal deficit of the Union government soar to more than 9 per cent in 2020-21 and 6.7 per cent in 2021-22, but now needs to be tightened.
- Government needs to reduce its fiscal deficit to less than 5 per cent, never mind the FRMB Actâs advice to bring it to 3 per cent of GDP.
- However, it is difficult to achieve when enhanced food and fertiliser subsidies, and cuts in duties of petrol and diesel will cost the government at least Rs 3 trillion more than what was provisioned in the budget.
- 3] Rational trade policy: Export restrictions/bans go beyond agri-commodities, even to iron ore and steel, etc. in the name of taming inflation.
- But abrupt export bans are poor trade policy and reflect only the panic-stricken face of the government.
- A more mature approach to filter exports would be through a gradual process of minimum export prices and transparent export duties for short periods of time, rather than abrupt bans, if at all these are desperately needed to favour consumers.
- Liberal import policy: A prudent solution to moderate inflation at home lies in a liberal import policy, reducing tariffs across board.
Way forward
- If India wants to be atmanirbhar (self-reliant) in critical commodities where import dependence is unduly high, it must focus on two oils â crude oil and edible oils.
- In crude oil, India is almost 80 per cent dependent on imports and in edible oils imports constitute 55 to 60 per cent of our domestic consumption.
- In both cases, agriculture can help.
- Ethanol production: Massive production of ethanol from sugarcane and maize, especially in eastern Uttar Pradesh and north Bihar, where water is abundant and the water table is replenished every second year or so through light floods, is the way to reduce import dependence in crude oil.
- Palm plantation: In the case of edible oils, a large programme of palm plantations in coastal areas and the northeast is the right strategy.
Conclusion
We need to invest in raising productivity, making agri-markets work more efficiently.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PIL
Mains level: Issues with PIL
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petitioner in the Supreme Court barely escaped having to pay âš18 lakh for indulging in a âluxury litigationâ.
What is the news?
- A Supreme Court Bench of Justice B.R. Gavai and Hima Kohli initially asked the litigant to pay âš18 lakh, that is, âš1 lakh for every one of the 18 minutes the case took up.
- However, the court later, in its order, slashed the amount to âš2 lakh on the request of the litigantâs counsel.
Why did the apex court got disgusted?
- The bench criticized the highly derogatory practice of filing frivolous petitions encroaching valuable judicial time.
- This time can otherwise be utilised for addressing genuine concerns.
What is Public Interest Litigation (PIL)?
- PIL refers to litigation undertaken to secure public interest and demonstrates the availability of justice to socially-disadvantaged parties.
- It was introduced by Justice P. N. Bhagwati in 1979.
- It is the chief instrument through which judicial activism has flourished in India.
- It is suited to the principles enshrined in Article 39A[a] of the Constitution to protect and deliver prompt social justice with the help of law.
How was it introduced?
- PIL is a relaxation on the traditional rule of locus standi.
- Before 1980s the judiciary and the Supreme Court of India entertained litigation only from parties affected directly or indirectly by the defendant.
- It heard and decided cases only under its original and appellate jurisdictions.
- However, the Supreme Court began permitting cases on the grounds of PIL, which means that even people who are not directly involved in the case may bring matters of public interest to the court.
- It is the court’s privilege to entertain the application for the PIL.
Filing a PIL
Any citizen can file a public case by filing a petition:
- Under Art 32 of the Indian Constitution, in the Supreme Court
- Under Art 226 of the Indian Constitution, in the High Court
- Under 133 of the Criminal Procedure Code, in a Magistrate’s Court
Parties against whom PILs can be filed
- A PIL may be filed against state government, central government, municipal authority, private party.
- Also, private person may be included in PIL as âRespondentâ, after concerned of state authority.
- g. a private factory in Mumbai which is causing pollution then PIL can be filed against the government of Mumbai, state pollution central board including that private factory of Mumbai.
Importance of PIL
- PIL gives a wider description to the fundamental rights to equality, life and personality, which is guaranteed under part III of the Constitution of India.
- It also functions as an effective instrument for changes in the society or social welfare.
- Through PIL, any public or person can seek remedy on behalf of the oppressed class by introducing a PIL.
Issues with PIL
- Off late, PILs have become a tool for publicity.
- People file frivolous petitions which result in the wastage of time of the courts.
- People have used them with a political agenda as well.
- They unnecessarily burden the judiciary.
- Even if the petition is eventually dismissed, the courts spend time and effort on them before dismissing them.
How do frivolous petitions waste time?
- At present, only judges have the power to dismiss a petition.
- The Registry of the SC or HC only ensures that the technical requirements of filing a petition are fulfilled.
- As a result of which petitions are admitted to the court irrespective of the merits of the case.
Way forward: Preventing frivolous PILs
The Supreme Court had issued eight directions in its Balwant Singh Chaufal Judgment to help constitutional courts separate genuine PIL petitions from the barmy ones:
- It had asked every High Court to frame its own rules to encourage bona fide PIL petitions and curb the motivated ones
- Verifying the credentials of the petitioner before entertaining the plea
- Checking the correctness of the contents
- Ensuring the petition involves issues of âlarger public interest, gravity and urgencyâ which requires priority
- Ensuring there is no personal gain, or oblique motive behind the PIL
- Ensuring that it is aimed at redressal of genuine public harm or public injury
Conclusion
- PIL petitions have had a beneficial effect on the Indian jurisprudence and has alleviated the conditions of the citizens in general.
- Such petitions bring justice to people who are handicapped by ignorance, indigence, illiteracy.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
Mains level: E-waste management
Attero Recycling, one of Indiaâs largest electronic waste management companies, is set to invest close to $1 billion in expanding their electronic waste recycling facilities in India.
E-waste Management: A tricky task
- E-waste management is a complicated process given the multitude of actors that are involved in the process.
- The major stakeholders in the value chain include importers, producers/manufacturers, retailers (businesses/government/others), consumers (individual households, businesses, government and others), traders, scrap dealers, dissemblers/dismantlers and recyclers.
- To critically assess each in the different stages of processing, it is important to understand the e-waste value chain.
- The process involves four stages: generation, collection, segregation and treatment/disposal.
Indiaâs regulatory ecosystem
- Indian electronics sector boomed in the last decade.
- Increased production and penetration of imported electronics items led to an accelerated e-waste generation that necessitated regulatory control over the sector.
- India has Electronic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2011 in place since . Its scope was expanded in 2016 and 2018 through amendments.
Provisions of the 2011 Rules
- To streamline e-waste management, the Government introduced Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) whereby producers were required to collect and recycle electronic items.
- Since manufacturers were incurring the disposal cost, their designs would incorporate less toxic and easily recyclable materials, thereby reducing input material requirements.
Inherent flaws in Implementation
- Recycling: Less than five percent of the waste is treated through formal recycling facilities.
- Informal sector: The rest is handled by the informal sector with very little enforcement of environmental and occupational safety norms.
- Weak Regulations: A deeper analysis revealed that the EPR regulations in India were not quantified through collection or recycling targets as in other countries with better implementation framework and mechanisms.
- Lack of incentivization: In the absence of targets, producers had little incentive to ensure the collection of their used products.
Current scenario and issues in e-waste recycling
- Crude and Scrappage: As of today, some 95% of e-waste is managed by the informal sector which operates under inferior working conditions and relies on crude techniques for dismantling and recycling.
- Infrastructure lacunae: Another important issue is the lack of sufficient metal processing infrastructure which is why recyclers have to export materials to global smelters.
- Price competencies: As aggregators are mostly informal, they demand up-front cash payments.
- Bloomed informal network: The informal network is well-established and rests on social capital ties that PROs have yet to establish and are hence insulated from reaching the viable number of aggregators.
- Policy failure: Policy changes have tried repeatedly to formalize the sector, but issues of implementation persist on the ground.
Way forward
- Effective design: Since India is highly deficient in precious mineral resources, there is a need for a well-designed, robust and regulated e-waste recovery regime that would generate jobs and wealth.
- Consumer responsibility: The consumers must responsibly consume the product for its useful life and then weigh between the chances of repair or disposal with utmost consciousness towards the environment.
- Recyclable products: On the supply side, e-waste can be reduced when producers design electronic products that are safer, and more durable, repairable and recyclable.
- Reuse: Manufacturers must reuse the recyclable materials and not mine rare elements unnecessarily to meet new production.
- Commercial recycling: Rather than hoping that informal recyclers become formal it would be more feasible for companies and the state to design programs ensure e-waste easily makes its way to proper recyclers.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ESZ
Mains level: Read the attached story
The Supreme Court has directed that every protected forest, national park and wildlife sanctuary across the country should have a mandatory eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of a minimum one km starting from their demarcated boundaries.
Why such move?
- The purpose of declaring ESZs around national parks, forests and sanctuaries is to create some kind of a âshock absorberâ for the protected areas.
- These zones would act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to those involving lesser protection.
What are the Eco-sensitive Zones (ESZs)?
- Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) or Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFAs) are areas notified by the MoEFCC around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
- The purpose of declaring ESZs is to create some kind of âshock absorbersâ to the protected areas by regulating and managing the activities around such areas.
- They also act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to areas involving lesser protection.
How are they demarcated?
- The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 does not mention the word âEco-Sensitive Zonesâ.
- However, Section 3(2)(v) of the Act, says that Central Government can restrict areas in which any industries, operations or processes or class of industries, operations or processes shall be carried out or shall not, subject to certain safeguards.
- Besides Rule 5(1) of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 states that central government can prohibit or restrict the location of industries and carrying on certain operations or processes on the basis of certain considerations.
- The same criteria have been used by the government to declare No Development Zones (NDZs).
Defining its boundaries
- An ESZ could go up to 10 kilometres around a protected area as provided in the Wildlife Conservation Strategy, 2002.
- Moreover, in the case where sensitive corridors, connectivity and ecologically important patches, crucial for landscape linkage, are beyond 10 km width, these should be included in the ESZs.
- Further, even in the context of a particular Protected Area, the distribution of an area of ESZ and the extent of regulation may not be uniform all around and it could be of variable width and extent.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: D2M Technology
Mains level: Telecom sector reforms
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Indiaâs public service broadcaster Prasar Bharati are exploring âdirect-to-mobileâ (D2M) broadcasting.
What is D2M Technology?
- The technology is based on the convergence of broadband and broadcast, using which mobile phones can receive terrestrial digital TV.
- It would be similar to how people listen to FM radio on their phones, where a receiver within the phone can tap into radio frequencies.
- Using D2M, multimedia content can also be beamed to phones directly.
Benefits of D2M
- It allows broadcasting video and other forms of multimedia content directly to mobile phones, without needing an active internet connection.
- It promises to improve consumption of broadband and utilisation of spectrum.
Why need D2M?
- The idea behind the technology is that it can possibly be used to directly broadcast content related to citizen-centric information.
- It can be further used to counter fake news, issue emergency alerts and offer assistance in disaster management, among other things.
- Apart from that, it can be used to broadcast live news, sports etc. on mobile phones.
- More so, the content should stream without any buffering whatsoever while not consuming any internet data.
What could be the consumer and business impact of this?
- For consumers, a technology like this would mean that they would be able to access multimedia content from Video on Demand (VoD) or Over The Top (OTT) content platforms.
- This will be without having to exhaust their mobile data, and more importantly, at a nominal rate.
- The technology will also allow people from rural areas, with limited or no internet access, to watch video content.
- For businesses, one of the key benefits of the technology is that it can enable telecom service providers to offload video traffic from their mobile network onto the broadcast network.
- It thus helps them to decongest valuable mobile spectrum.
- This will also improve usage of mobile spectrum and free up bandwidth which will help reduce call drops, increase data speeds etc.
What is the government doing to facilitate D2M technology?
- The DoT has set up a committee to study the feasibility of a spectrum band for offering broadcast services directly to usersâ smartphones.
- Band 526-582 MHz is envisaged to work in coordination with both mobile and broadcast services.
- DoT has set up a committee to study this band.
- At the moment, this band is used by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting across the country for TV transmitters.
What are the possible challenges to the technologyâs rollout?
- Bringing key stakeholders like mobile operators onboard will be the biggest challenge in launching D2M technology on a wide scale.
- A mass roll out of the technology will entail changes in infrastructure and some regulatory changes.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Article 279A
Mains level: Paper 3- Fiscal federalism in GST Council
Context
The recent ruling of the Supreme Court held that the states were free to use means of persuasion ranging from collaboration to contestation.
 Simultaneous or concurrent powers under Article 246A
- Article 246A confers simultaneous or concurrent powers on Parliament and the state legislatures to make laws relating to GST.
- This article is in sharp contrast to the constitutional scheme that prevailed till 2017.
- It clearly demarcated taxing powers between the Centre and states with no overlaps.
- After 2017, several central and state levies were subsumed into GST.
- Each state was to have its own GST Act, all of them being almost identical to the Central GST Act.
- Inter-state supplies and imported goods are liable to IGST.
Composition of GST Council
- The GST Council has the Union finance minister as the chairperson and the Union minister of state in charge of revenue or finance as a member.
- Centre has one-third voting power, 31 states (including two Union Territories) share the remaining two-thirds of the vote.
- The GST Council has a total of 33 members.
- Out of a total of 33 votes, 11 belong to the Centre and 22 votes are shared by 31 states/UT, with each state/UT having a 0.709 vote.
- Any decision of the GST Council requires a three-fourth majority or a minimum of 25 votes.
- As the Centre has 11 votes, it requires an additional 14 votes.
- Unlike so many statutes, Article 279A has made no provision to make the decision of the majority binding on the dissenting states.
- Â Paragraph 2.73 of the Select Committee Report on the 122nd Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2014, noted that this voting pattern was to maintain a fine balance as, in a federal constitution, the dominance of one over the other was to be disallowed.
Role of GST Council
- Under Article 279A, the GST Council has to make ârecommendationsâ on various topics including the tax rate and exemptions.
- The Union of India argued that the âconstitutional architectureâ showed that Articles 246A and 279A, when read together, made the GST Council the ultimate policy-making and decision-making body for framing GST laws.
- The GST Council was unique and incomparable to any other constitutional body and its recommendations would override the legislative power of Parliament and state legislatures.
- Neither of them could legislate on GST issues independent of the recommendations of the GST Council.
- The argument went further: On a combined reading of Article 279A, the provisions of the IGST and CGST Acts and the recommendations of the GST Council were transformed into legislation.
- The Supreme Court rightly noted that several sections in the state GST laws, CGST and in IGST, cast a duty even on dissenting states to issue notifications to implement the recommendations of the GST Council.
Observations on federalism
- Delving into legislative history, the court ruled that a draft Article 279B, which provided for a GST Disputes Settlement Authority, was omitted because it would have effectively overridden the sovereignty of Parliament and the state legislatures, and diminished the fiscal autonomy of the states.
- It was desirable, the Court said, to have some level of friction, some amount of state contestation, some deliberation-generating froth in our democratic system.
- Putting to rest any controversy, the court held that the recommendations of the GST Council had only a persuasive value.
- To regard them as binding edicts would disrupt fiscal federalism because both the Union and states were conferred equal power to legislate on GST.
- Rule-making power bound by recommendations of GST Council: The Court held that the state governments and Parliament, while exercising their rule-making powers under the provisions of the State GST Acts, CGST & IGST Acts, are bound by the recommendations of the GST Council.
- States can amend GST laws:Â But even this did not mean that all recommendations of the GST Council are binding on state legislatures or Parliament to enact primary pieces of legislation on GST.
- In effect, states can amend their GST laws if they so choose.
Way forward
- Â If the GST Council meets periodically as mandated and there is active participation of the states in making recommendations, no state will oppose a recommendation that has been carefully deliberated and is in the national interest.
Conclusion
Indeed, there is little chance of cracks developing in the GST edifice as long as the spirit of cooperative and collaborative federalism prevails.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PIC
Mains level: Indo-Pacific
Wang Yi, the Foreign Minister of China, is currently on an eight-day visit to ten Pacific Island Countries (PICs) after the MoU failed to gain consensus among the PICs.
What are the PICs?
- The Pacific Island Countries are a cluster of 14 states which are located largely in the tropical zone of the Pacific Ocean between Asia, Australia and the Americas.
- They include Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
- The islands are divided on the basis of physical and human geography into three distinct parts â Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia.
Geo-economics of PICs
- The islands are very small in land area, and are spread wide across the vast equatorial swathe of the Pacific Ocean.
- Even being the smallest and least populated states, they have some of the largest Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) in the world.
- Large EEZs translate into huge economic potential due to the possibility of utilising the wealth of fisheries, energy, minerals and other marine resources present in such zones.
- Hence, they prefer to be identified as Big Ocean States, rather than Small Island States.
- In fact, Kiribati and FSM, both PICs, having EEZs larger than that of India.
Strategic significance
- PICs have played an important role in major power rivalry as springboards for power projection and laboratories for developing and demonstrating strategic capabilities.
- The major powers of the colonial era competed with each other to gain control over these strategic territories.
- The Pacific islands also acted as one of the major theatres of conflict during the Second World War â between imperial Japan and the US.
- Due to the remoteness of these islands from major population centres of the world, some of the major nuclear weapon test sites of the US, UK and France were located here.
- In addition, the 14 PICs account for as many number of votes in the United Nations, and act as a potential vote bank for major powers to mobilise international opinion.
Chinaâs vested interests in PIC
- China does not have any particular historical linkages to the PICs unlike the Western powers.
- Therefore, its interest in the PICs is of relatively recent origin, and is linked to Chinaâs rise in the past few decades.
- The PICs lie in the natural line of expansion of Chinaâs maritime interest and naval power.
- They are located beyond Chinaâs âFirst Island Chainâ, which represents the countryâs first threshold of maritime expansion.
- The PICs are located geostrategically in what is referred to by China as its âFar Seasâ.
- Their control will make Chinese Blue Water Navy capable, an essential prerequisite, for becoming a superpower in maritime domain.
For the Taiwan narrative
- China is preparing for what seems like an inevitable military invasion of Taiwan, sooner or later.
- In this context, it becomes important to break Western domination of island chains of the Pacific.
- This could otherwise impede reunification.
- Wooing the PICs away from the West and Taiwan will therefore make the goal of Taiwanâs reunification easier for China.
- Currently, only four PICs have recognised Taiwan. They are Tuvalu, Palau, Marshall Islands and Nauru.
What are the implications of Chinaâs latest move?
- China has increasingly started talking about security cooperation in addition to its economic diplomacy towards the PICs.
- In April 2022, China signed a controversial security deal with the Solomon Islands, which raised regional concerns.
- The PICs as a collective did not agree to Chinaâs extensive and ambitious proposals, and therefore China failed to get a consensus on the deal.
Why did the PICs refuted China?
- PICs perceived that they could have negative implications for the sovereignty and unity of PICs and may drag them into major power conflicts in the future.
- Some have argued that China has acted too boldly and has therefore met with such a debacle.
- China might have also miscalculated the regional reaction, perhaps led by a monolithic understanding of the PICs after seeing Solomon Islandsâ positive response earlier this year.
A caution for the world
- China can always come back with improvised plan (rather bigger lollipop) which is more acceptable and use it to further pursue its final objectives incrementally.
- Moreover, this debacle does not stop China from pursuing bilateral deals of similar nature.
Conclusion
- The intensification of Chinaâs diplomacy in PICs have made the powers who have traditionally controlled the regional dynamics like the US and Australia more cautious.
- The US has started revisiting its diplomatic priority for the region ever since the China-Solomon Islands deal.
- The role played by the US in mobilising opposition against Chinaâs proposed deal could not be ruled out.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Unlawful (Activities) Prevention Act (UAPA)
Mains level: Sedition and anti-national activities
The Supreme Court recently put freeze on sedition proceedings under the Section 124A (sedition law) of the IPC for persons who have also been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) of 1967 in the same case or separately.
What is the news?
- This freeze has rejected bails for some journalist and JNU activists who also face charges under the UAPA (for anti-India sloganeering and activites).
- Now they have been accused of making anti-national activities during the Delhi Riots.
Why is UAPA significant?
- An amendment made in 2019 has made the Act even more powerful.
- Now it can designate individuals, and not just associations, as âterroristsâ.
Unlawful (Activities) Prevention Act (UAPA)
- The UAPA is aimed at effective prevention of unlawful activities associations in India.
- Its main objective was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India
- It is an upgrade on the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act TADA, which was allowed to lapse in 1995 and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) was repealed in 2004.
- It was originally passed in 1967 under the then Congress government led by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
- Till 2004, âunlawfulâ activities referred to actions related to secession and cession of territory. Following the 2004 amendment, âterrorist actâ was added to the list of offences.
Major feature: Designation of Terrorists
- The Centre had amended UAPA, 1967, in August 2019 to include the provision of designating an individual as a terrorist.
- Before this amendment, only organisations could be designated as terrorist outfits.
- Section 15 of the UAPA defines a âterrorist actâ as any act committed with intent to threaten or likely to threaten the unity, integrity, security, economic security, or sovereignty of India or with intent to strike terror or likely to strike terror in the people or any section of the people in India or in any foreign country.
- The original Act dealt with âunlawfulâ acts related to secession; anti-terror provisions were introduced in 2004.
Who makes such designation?
- The UAPA (after 2019 amendment)seeks to empower the central government to designate an individual a âterroristâ if they are found committing, preparing for, promoting, or involved in an act of terror.
- A similar provision already exists in Part 4 and 6 of the legislation for organizations that can be designated as a âterrorist organisationsâ.
How individuals are declared terrorists?
- The central government may designate an individual as a terrorist through a notification in the official gazette, and add his name to the schedule supplemented to the UAPA Bill.
- The government is not required to give an individual an opportunity to be heard before such a designation.
- At present, in line with the legal presumption of an individual being innocent until proven guilty, an individual who is convicted in a terror case is legally referred to as a terrorist.
- While those suspected of being involved in terrorist activities are referred to as terror accused.
What happens when an individual is declared a terrorist?
- The designation of an individual as a global terrorist by the United Nations is associated with sanctions including travel bans, freezing of assets and an embargo against procuring arms.
- The UAPA, however, does not provide any such detail.
- It also does not require the filing of cases or arresting individuals while designating them as terrorists.
Removing the terrorist tag
- The UAPA gives the central government the power to remove a name from the schedule when an individual makes an application.
- The procedure for such an application and the process of decision-making will is decided by the central government.
- If an application filed by an individual declared a terrorist is rejected by the government, the UAPA gives him the right to seek a review within one month after the application is rejected.
- The central government will set up the review committee consisting of a chairperson (a retired or sitting judge of a High Court) and three other members.
- The review committee is empowered to order the government to delete the name of the individual from the schedule that lists âterroristsâ if it considers the order to be flawed.
- Apart from these two avenues, the individual can also move the courts to challenge the governmentâs order.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PM Shri Schools
Mains level: New Education Policy, 2020
Union Education Ministry is planning to set up “PM Shri Schools”.
PM Shri Schools
- PM Shri Schools will be the laboratory of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
- They will be fully equipped to prepare students for the future.
Likely features of these schools
- It could imbibe 5+3+3+4 (to replace the 10+2 schooling system) approach of NEP covering pre-school to secondary, emphasis on ECCE, teacher training & adult education.
- There will be an integration of skill development with school education and prioritising learning in mother tongue which are steps for preparing global citizens of the 21st century.
- Since the NEP 2020 also increases the span of the Right to Education Act, it will now cover ages 3 to 18.
Explained: 5+3+3+4 Schooling System
- As per the new school education system of 5+3+3+4 outlined in NEP 2020, children will spend 5 years in the Foundational stage, 3 years in the Preparatory stage, 3 years in the Middle stage, and 4 years in the Secondary stage.
- The division of stages has been made in line with the kind of cognitive development stages that a child goes through early childhood, school years, and secondary stage.
- Here is the age-wise breakdown of the different levels of the new school education system:
(1) 5 years of Foundational stage:
For ages: 3 to 8, For classes: Anganwadi/pre-school, class 1, class 2
- The foundational stage of education as per the national education policy will comprise 3 years or preschool or anganwadi education followed by two years of primary classes (classes 1 and 2).
- This stage will focus on teaching in play-based or activity-based methods and on the development of language skills.
(2) 3 years of Preparatory stage:
For ages: 8 to 11, For classes: 3 to 5
- The focus in the preparatory stage will remain on language development and numeracy skills.
- Here, the method of teaching and learning would be play and activity-based, and also include classroom interactions and the element of discovery.
(3) 3 years of Middle stage:
For ages: 11 to 14, For classes: 6 to 8
- As per NEP 2020, this stage of school education will focus on critical learning objectives, which is a big shift from the rote learning methods used in our education system for years.
- This stage will work on experiential learning in the sciences, mathematics, arts, social sciences and humanities.
(4) 4 years of Secondary stage:
For ages: 14 to 18, For classes: 9 to 12
- This stage will cover two phases classes 9 and 10, and classes 11 and 12.
- The main change in these classes is the shift to a multidisciplinary system where students will have access to a variety of subject combinations that they can choose as per their skills and interest areas instead of being strictly divided into Arts, Science and Commerce categories.
- This stage will again push for greater critical thinking and flexibility in the thought process.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT)
Mains level: Not Much
The four-meter International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) saw the first light recently, gazing out from its vantage on Devasthal, a hill in Uttarakhand.
What is the ILMT?
- The telescope has been built by a collaboration of scientists from Canada, Belgium and India.
- It is located at an altitude of 2,450 metres on the Devasthal Observatory campus of the Aryabhata Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) in Nainital district.
- A large pool of mercury placed in a vessel is spun around so fast that it curves into a parabolic shape. Since mercury is reflective, this shape helps in focusing the reflected light.
- Nearly 50 litres of mercury, weighing close to 700 kilograms, is spun hard to form a paraboloid mirror of just 4 mm thickness and a diameter of about 4 metres.
- A thin sheet of mylar protects the mercury from the wind.
- Once it starts making observations, the telescope will collect gigabytes of data, which will need to be analysed using artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI and ML) tools.
Itâs utility
- The telescope will make sky surveys possible and obtain images that can help observe transient phenomena.
- It will help analyse events such as supernovae and record the presence of space debris or meteorites â basically, watch the skies.
What is the first image?
- The first image made by the telescope consisted of several stars and a galaxy, NGC 4274, which is 45 million light years away.
- The telescope, having a primary mirror that is liquid, cannot be turned and pointed in any direction.
- It âstaresâ at the zenith and watches the sky as the earth rotates, thereby giving a view of different objects.
- This property can be used to scan and survey the sky, and observe transients and moving objects such as meteorites.
- It will work in tandem with the existing 3.6-metre Devasthal Optical Telescope.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Posidonia Australis
Mains level: Not Much
The worldâs largest plant has recently been discovered off the West Coast of Australia: a seagrass 180 km in length.
Posidonia australis
- The ribbon weed, or Posidonia australis, has been discovered in Shark Bay by a group of researchers from Flinders University and The University of Western Australia.
- These researchers have also found that the plant is 4,500 years old, is sterile, has double the number of chromosomes than other similar plants.
- It has managed to survive the volatile atmosphere of the shallow Shark Bay.
So how remarkable is this plantâs size?
- The ribbon weed covers an area of 20,000 hectares.
- The next on the podium, the second largest plant, is the clonal colony of a quaking Aspen tree in Utah, which covers 43.6 hectares.
- The largest tree in India, the Great Banyan in Howrahâs Botanical Garden, covers 1.41 hectares.
If it is so large, how come it has just been discovered?
- The existence of the seagrass was known, that it is one single plant was not.
- Researchers were interested in what they then thought was a meadow because they wanted to study its genetic diversity, and collect some parts for seagrass restoration.
How did it grow, and survive for, so long?
- Sometime in the Harappan era, a plant took root in the Shark Bay.
- Then it kept spreading through its rhizomes, overcoming everything in its way, and here we are today.
- Ribbon weed rhizomes can usually grow to around 35cm per year, which is how the scientists arrived at its lifespan of 4,5000 years.
- The researchers found that the ribbon weed cannot spread its seeds, something that helps plants overcome environmental threats.
- Also, Shark Bay sees fluctuations in temperature and salinity and gets a lot of light, conditions challenging for any plant.
Ecological significance
- Because seagrass performs a vital role in the environment, and if some of it is hardy, it is good news for everyone in a world threatened by climate change.
- In India, seagrass is found in many coastal areas, most notably in Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait.
- Apart from being home to a variety of small organisms, seagrass trap sediments and prevent water from getting muddy, absorb carbon from the atmosphere, and prevent coastal erosion.
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