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  • Innovations in Sciences, IT, Computers, Robotics and Nanotechnology

    [pib] Param Ananta Supercomputer

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

    Param Ananta, a state-of the art Supercomputer was commissioned at IIT Gandhinagar.

    Param Ananta

    • Param Ananta is capable of offering peak performance of 838 teraflops.
    • It is a joint initiative of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Department of Science and Technology (DST).
    • This facility is established under Phase 2 of the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).
    • The system is equipped with a mix of CPU nodes, GPU nodes, High Memory nodes, High throughput storage and high performance Infiniband.
    • The supercomputer will rank behind C-DAC’s Param Siddhi-AI, which as of November 2021 was the 102nd most powerful supercomputer in the world — with peak performance capability of 3.3 petaflops.

    What is a Supercomputer?

    • A supercomputer is a computer with a high level of performance as compared to a general-purpose computer.
    • The performance of a supercomputer is commonly measured in floating-point operations per second (FLOPS) instead of million instructions per second (MIPS).
    • Since 2017, there are supercomputers which can perform over a hundred quadrillion FLOPS (peta FLOPS).
    • Since November 2017, all of the world’s fastest 500 supercomputers run Linux-based operating systems.

    Specific features

    • Param Ananta system is based on Direct Contact Liquid Cooling technology to obtain a high power usage effectiveness and thereby reducing the operational cost.
    • Multiple applications from various scientific domains such as Weather and Climate, Bioinformatics, Computational Chemistry, Molecular Dynamics, Material Sciences, Computational Fluid Dynamics etc. have been installed on the system for the benefit of researchers.
    • This high end computing system will be a great value addition for the research community.

    Back2Basics: National Supercomputing Mission (NSM)

    • NSM is a proposed plan by GoI to create a cluster of seventy supercomputers connecting various academic and research institutions across India.
    • In April 2015 the government approved the NSM with a total outlay of Rs.4500 crore for a period of 7 years.
    • The mission was set up to provide the country with supercomputing infrastructure to meet the increasing computational demands of academia, researchers, MSMEs, and startups by creating the capability design, manufacturing, of supercomputers indigenously in India.
    • Currently there are four supercomputers from India in Top 500 list of supercomputers in the world.

    Aims and objectives

    • The target of the mission was set to establish a network of supercomputers ranging from a few Tera Flops (TF) to Hundreds of Tera Flops (TF) and three systems with greater than or equal to 3 Peta Flops (PF) in academic and research institutions of National importance across the country by 2022.
    • This network of Supercomputers envisaging a total of 15-20 PF was approved in 2015 and was later revised to a total of 45 PF (45000 TFs), a jump of 6 times more compute power within the same cost and capable of solving large and complex computational problems.

    When did India initiate its efforts to build supercomputers?

    • India’s supercomputer program was initiated in the late 1980s, when the United States ceased the export of a Cray Supercomputer due to technology embargos.
    • This resulted in India setting up C-DAC in 1988, which in 1991, unveiled the prototype of PARAM 800, benchmarked at 5 Gflops. This supercomputer was the second-fastest in the world at that time.
    • Since June 2018, the USA’s Summit is the fastest supercomputer in the world, taking away this position from China.
    • As of January 2018, Pratyush and Mihir are the fastest supercomputers in India with a maximum speed of Peta Flops.

    What are the phases of the National Supercomputing Mission?

    Phase I:

    • In the first phase of the NSM, parts of the supercomputers are imported and assembled in India.
    • A total of 6 supercomputers are to be installed in this phase.
    • The first supercomputer that was assembled indigenously is called Param Shivay. It was installed in IIT (BHU) located in Varanasi.
    • Similar systems, Param Shakti (IIT Kharagpur) and Param Brahma (IISER, Pune) were also later installed within the country.
    • The rest will be installed at IIT Kanpur, IIT Hyderabad and Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Advanced Studies (JNIAS).

    Phase II:

    • The supercomputers that are installed so far are about 60% indigenous.
    • The 11 systems that are going to be installed in the next phase will have processors designed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and will have a cumulative capacity of 10 petaflops.
    • These new systems are to be constructed more cost-effectively than the previous ones.
    • One of the 11 proposed supercomputers will be installed
    • at C-DAC exclusively for small and medium enterprises so that they can train employees as well as work on supercomputers at a very low cost.

    Phase III:

    • The third phase aims to build fully indigenous supercomputers.
    • The government had also approved a project to develop a cryogenic cooling system that rapidly dispels the heat generated by a computing chip. This will be jointly built together by IIT-Bombay and C-DAC.

     

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: Indo-Pacific and QUAD

    Pacific Nations reject China Security Pact

    National Parks/WS | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

    China has suffered a big diplomatic humiliation in the pacific. 10 island nations in the region rejected China’s proposed security pact.

    Why in news?

    • Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi has returned empty-handed in a highly decorated visit to the Pacific Nations.
    • The secret deal that was to be brokered got leaked in public media, caused huge embarrassment to the Chinese.

    Conspicuous features of the Pact

    • China has had offered to radically ramp up its activities in the South Pacific, directly challenging the influence of the US and its allies in the strategically vital region.
    • The failed deal saw Beijing to:
    1. Train Pacific island police,
    2. Become involved in cybersecurity,
    3. Expand political ties,
    4. Conduct sensitive marine mapping and
    5. Gain greater access to natural resources on land and in the water
    • As an enticement, Beijing is offering millions of dollars in financial aid, the prospect of a potentially lucrative China-Pacific islands free trade agreement and access to China’s vast market.

    Why Pacific Nations rejected this lollipop?

    • The offer is perceived was “disingenuous” and would “ensure Chinese influence in government” and “economic control” of key industries.
    • The nations also cited a lack of regional consensus.

    Pls make observations about Pacific Island Nations:

     

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  • Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Global Implications

    The return of the great power rivalries

    op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Effect Of Policies & Politics Of World On India’S Interests

    Context

    The post-Cold War period of peace in Europe is more an aberration than norm in the continent’s history of conflicts.

    Background of the First World War

    • The Russian power had collapsed in its far east after the war with Japan in 1904-05.
    • Faced with the erosion of Russian influence and the rise of Wilhelmine Germany, which together threatened to alter Europe’s balance of power, France and Britain, competing colonial powers, came together. 
    • France had already reached an alliance with Russia.
    • The three would later form the Triple Entente, triggering a dangerous security competition in Europe with the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy), which would eventually lead to the First World War in 1914.
    • What triggered the great power security competition in the run-up to the First World War was the phenomenal rise of Wilhelmine Germany as a military and industrial power and the regional hegemons’ response to it.

    Similarities with the past

    • When Otto von Bismarck became the Minister-President of Prussia in September 1862, there was no unified German state.
    •  Bismarck adopted an aggressive foreign policy, fought and won three wars — with Denmark, Austria and France — destroyed the confederation, established a stronger and larger German Reich that replaced Prussia.
    • Bismarck stayed focused on transforming Germany internally in his last two decades.
    • It was on the foundation Bismarck built that Wilhelmine Germany turned to weltpolitik in the early 20 century, seeking global domination.
    • If Bismarck inherited a weak, loosely connected group of German speaking entities in 1862, Russian President Vladimir Putin got a Russia in 2000 that was a pale shadow of what was the Soviet Union.
    • Bismarck spent his years in power expanding the borders of Germany and building a stronger state and economy.
    • The post-Cold War Russia initially stayed focused on the restoration of the state and the economy, and then sought to expand its borders and challenge the continent’s balance of power — first the Crimean annexation and now the Ukraine invasion.
    • While NATO’s expansion deepened Russia’s security concerns, driving it into aggressive moves, Russia’s aggression has strengthened NATO’s resolve to expand further into Russia’s neighbourhood.

    Offensive realism

    • Offensive realists argue that “revisionist powers” tend to use force to rewrite the balance of power if they find the circumstances are favourable, while the status quo powers, or the existing regional hegemons, would seek to thwart any new country attaining more power at their expense.
    • The result of this type of competition is permanent rivalry and conflict.
    • One major difference between the era of Wilhelmine Germany and modern Russia is that there were no well-defined international laws in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
    • The international system has evolved ever since.
    • But its basic instincts, as realists would argue, have not changed much.
    • Mr. Putin’s Russia is not the first country that violated the sovereignty of a weaker power and flouted international laws in the “rules-based” order.

    Future of Europe’s security

    • Russia apparently had two strategic objectives in Ukraine —
    • One, to expand Russian borders and create a buffer.
    • And two, to reinforce Russia’s deterrence against NATO.
    • While Russia has succeeded, though slowly, in expanding its borders by capturing almost all of Ukraine’s east, the war has backfired on its second objective.
    • Russia’s inability to clinch a quick outright victory in Ukraine and the tactical retreats it has already made have invariably dealt a blow to the perception of Russian power that existed before the war.
    • This has strengthened NATO, driving even Sweden and Finland into its arms. Besides, the economic sanctions would leave a long-term hole in Russia’s economy.
    • But a Russia that is bogged down in Ukraine and encircled by NATO need not enhance Europe’s security.
    • As Henry Kissinger said at Davos, Russia had been and would remain an important element in the European state system.

    Conclusion

    The prospects are bleak. There will not be peace in Europe unless either Russia accepts its diminished role and goes into another spell of strategic retreat or Europe and the West in general accommodate Russia’s security concerns. Both look unrealistic as of today.

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  • E-governance

    op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: E-Governance

    Context

    There are several reforms and governance initiatives that have successfully steered India to its current strength.

    Contribution of Digital India program

    • A report carding of Digital India’s performance shows impressive progress.
    • Thus far, the government has transferred more than Rs 17 lakh crore through DBT while saving Rs 2.2 lakh crore.
    • Today, India has the world’s fastest-growing and most vibrant startup ecosystem with close to 70,000 registered startups and around 100 unicorns, with a unicorn coming up every week.
    • GST regime: Thanks to the most significant reform in indirect taxation through the GST and tax compliance, India has registered its highest ever collections.
    • Revenue increased from Rs 22 lakh crore in FY 21 to Rs 27 lakh crore in FY 22 — a whopping 22 per cent growth.
    • Role in India’s response to pandemic: Digital India played a significant role in India’s response to the pandemic.
    • It ensured that the government could reach people in remote parts of the country.
    • Health, education and other essential services migrated swiftly to the online mode.

    Use of technology for governance amid pandemic

    • Digital India played a significant role in India’s response to the pandemic.
    • It ensured that the government could reach people in remote parts of the country.
    • Health, education and other essential services migrated swiftly to the online mode.
    • It would not be an aberration to say that post-Covid, India emerged as a preeminent nation in the use of technology for governance.

    Conclusion

    The rapid digitalisation of the world along with a new focus on trust in the global supply chains for digital products and services presents tremendous opportunities for India and its youth.  It is now up to all of us to engage in a collective “sabka prayas” to realise New India’s economic potential.

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  • Minority Issues – SC, ST, Dalits, OBC, Reservations, etc.

    Reservation in Public Employment: Key Events

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

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

    Reservation in Promotion

    • The jurisprudence of reservation relies on the symbiotic coexistence of constitutionally guaranteed equality of opportunity in public employment under Article 16 (1) of the Constitution of India.
    • The classifications were various clauses of the same article, especially Article 16(4) and Article 16 (4 A).
    • It specifically aimed to provide reservation in promotion to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, respectively.
    • These articles vested a discretion on the government to consider providing reservations for the socially and educationally backward sections of the society.

    Reservation not a fundamental Right

    • It is a settled law, time and again reiterated by the Supreme Court, that there is no fundamental right to reservation or promotion under Article 16(4) or Article 16(4 A) of the Constitution.
    • Rather they are enabling provisions for providing reservation, if the circumstances so warrant (Mukesh Kumar and Another vs State of Uttarakhand & Ors. 2020).
    • However, these pronouncements no way understate the constitutional directive under Article 46.
    • Article 46 mandates that the state shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people and in particular SCs and STs.
    • However such provisions resulted in the ever-evolving jurisprudence of affirmative action in public employment.

    Major events

    (1) Mandal storm

    • Reservation in employment which was otherwise confined to SC and STs got extended to new section called the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
    • This was the basis of the recommendations of the Second Backward Class Commission as constituted, headed by B.P. Mandal.
    • The Mandal Commission (1980) provided for 27% reservation to OBC in central services and public sector undertakings.
    • This was over and above the existing 22.5% reservation for SCs and STs, was sought to be implemented by the V.P. Singh Government in 1990.
    • The same was assailed in the Supreme Court resulting in the historic Indra Sawhney Judgment.

    (2) Indra Sawhney Judgment (1992)

    • In the judgment, a nine-judge bench presided by CJI MH Kania upheld the constitutionality of the 27% reservation.
    • But it put a ceiling of 50% unless exceptional circumstances warranting the breach, so that the constitutionally guaranteed right to equality under Article 14 would remain secured.
    • While Article 16(1) is a fundamental right, Article 16(4) is an enabling provision and not an exception.
    • Further, the Court directed the exclusion of creamy layer by way of horizontal division of every other backward class into creamy layer and non-creamy layer.

    (3) The Constitution (Seventy-seventh Amendment) Act, 1995

    • In Indra Sawhney Case, the Supreme Court had held that Article 16(4) of the Constitution of India does not authorise reservation in the matter of promotions.
    • However, the judgment was not to affect the promotions already made and hence only prospective in operation, it was ruled.
    • By the Constitution (Seventy-seventh Amendment) Act, 1995, which, Article 16(4-A), was inserted.
    • It aimed to provide the State for making any provision for reservation in matters of promotion to any class or classes of posts in the services under the State.
    • This was to be in favour of the SCs and the STs which, in the opinion of the State, are not adequately represented in the services under the State.
    • Later, two more amendments were brought, one to ensure consequential seniority and another to secure carry forward of unfilled vacancies of a year.

    (4) M. Nagaraj (2006) Case

    • A five-judge bench of Supreme Court declared the 1995 amendment as not vocative of basic structure of the Constitution.
    • It laid down ceratin conditions which included the collection of quantifiable data showing backwardness of the class and inadequacy of representation of that class in public employment.
    • The bench held that the creamy layer among SCs and STs is to be excluded from reservation.

    (5) Jarnail Singh vs Lachhmi Narain Gupta (2018)

    • It was authored by Justice Rohinton Nariman and indicates a critical turn in the jurisprudence of reservation.
    • In this case, a constitution bench of Supreme Court was called on to examine wisdom of the 2006 judgment.
    • This task was to examine the constitutionally recognised socio-economic backwardness of the SCs and STs which may not require any further substantiation.
    • It was also contended that the requirement to identify creamy lawyer among SC and STs fell foul of Indra Sawhney decision.
    • The constitution bench invalidated the requirement to collect quantifiable data in relation to SCs and STs.
    • It upheld the principle of applicability of creamy lawyer in relation to SCs and STs.

    (6) The Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019

    • The 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) other SCs, STs and backward classes for government jobs and admission in educational institutions.
    • This is currently under challenge before the Supreme Court which has referred the same to a constitution bench.
    • This was a critical milestone to specifically include economic backwardness without social backwardness as is traditionally seen.

    (7) Dr. Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil vs Chief Minister (2021)

    • Despite the Indra Sawhney ruling, there have been attempts on the part of many States to breach the rule by way of expanding the reservation coverage.
    • The Maharashtra Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act 2018, (Maratha reservation law) came under challenge before the Supreme Court.
    • This case was referred to a bench of five judges to question whether the 1992 judgment needs a relook.
    • Interestingly, the Supreme Court affirmed the Indra Sawhney decision, and struck down Section 4(1)(a) and Section 4(1)(b) of the Act which provided 12% reservation for Marathas in educational institutions and 13% reservation in public employment respectively.
    • This judgment gave out a strong message that some State governments blatantly disregard the stipulated ceiling on electoral gains rather than any exceptional circumstances.

     

     

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  • Goods and Services Tax (GST)

    Price Rise and GST

    | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    The GST regime is due for an overhaul in tax rates levied on different products because of structural anomalies and to reduce the multiple tax slabs.

    What is GST?

    • GST launched in India on 1 July 2017 is a comprehensive indirect tax for the entire country.
    • It is charged at the time of supply and depends on the destination of consumption.
    • For instance, if a good is manufactured in state A but consumed in state B, then the revenue generated through GST collection is credited to the state of consumption (state B) and not to the state of production (state A).
    • GST, being a consumption-based tax, resulted in loss of revenue for manufacturing-heavy states.

    What are GST Slabs?

    • In India, almost 500+ services and over 1300 products fall under the 4 major GST slabs.
    • There are five broad tax rates of zero, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%, plus a cess levied over and above the 28% on some ‘sin’ goods.
    • The GST Council periodically revises the items under each slab rate to adjust them according to industry demands and market trends.
    • The updated structure ensures that the essential items fall under lower tax brackets, while luxury products and services entail higher GST rates.
    • The 28% rate is levied on demerit goods such as tobacco products, automobiles, and aerated drinks, along with an additional GST compensation cess.

    Why rationalize GST slabs?

    • From businesses’ viewpoint, there are just too many tax rate slabs, compounded by aberrations in the duty structure through their supply chains with some inputs are taxed more than the final product.
    • These are far too many rates and do not necessarily constitute a Good and Simple Tax.
    • Multiple rate changes since the introduction of the GST regime in July 2017 have brought the effective GST rate to 11.6% from the original revenue-neutral rate of 15.5%.
    • Merging the 12% and 18% GST rates into any tax rate lower than 18% may result in revenue loss.

    Haven’t GST revenues been hitting new records?

    • Yes, they have – GST revenues have scaled fresh highs in three of the first four months of 2022, going past ₹1.67 lakh crore in April.
    • But there is another key factor — the runaway pace of inflation.
    • Wholesale price inflation, which captures producers’ costs, has been over 10% for over a year and peaked at 15.1% in April.
    • Inflation faced by consumers on the ground has spiked to a near-eight year high of 7.8% in April.
    • The rise in prices was the single most important factor for higher tax inflows along with higher imports.

    Can we expect the rate reset this year?

    • Any re-arrangement of GST rates will entail some products being taxed higher, with concomitant ripple effects on prices.
    • The Centre and the States are not unmindful of the desperate need to rationalise the rate slabs and structure but we just need to get the timing right.
    • Presently inflation is the top worry.
    • With inflation, much of it imported through pricier fuels, commodities and food items, expected to hover high through the year, the GST rate reset hopes appear bleak in 2022-23.

     

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  • Monsoon Updates

    Monsoon sets in over Kerala

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Geographical Features & Their Location

    The monsoon has reached Kerala, the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

    What does the “Onset of Monsoon” mean?

    • The onset of the monsoon over Kerala marks the beginning of the four-month — June-September — southwest monsoon season over India.
    • It brings more than 70 per cent of the country’s annual rainfall. This marks a significant day in India’s economic calendar.
    • IMD announces it only after certain newly defined and measurable parameters, adopted in 2016, are met.
    • Broadly, the IMD checks for the consistency of rainfall over a defined geography, its intensity, and wind speed.

    (1) Rainfall

    • The IMD declares the onset of the monsoon if at least 60% of 14 designated meteorological stations in Kerala and Lakshadweep.
    • The 14 enlisted stations are: Minicoy, Amini, Thiruvananthapuram, Punalur, Kollam, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Thalassery, Kannur, Kasaragod, and Mangaluru.
    • It records at least 2.5 mm of rain for two consecutive days at any time after May 10.
    • In such a situation, the onset over Kerala is declared on the second day, provided specific wind and temperature criteria are also fulfilled.

    (2) Wind field

    • The depth of westerlies should be up to 600 hectopascal (1 hPa is equal to 1 millibar of pressure) in the area bound by the equator to 10ºN latitude, and from longitude 55ºE to 80ºE.
    • The zonal wind speed over the area bound by 5-10ºN latitude and 70-80ºE longitude should be of the order of 15-20 knots (28-37 kph) at 925 hPa.

    (3) Heat

    • According to IMD, the INSAT-derived Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) value (a measure of the energy emitted to space by the Earth’s surface, oceans, and atmosphere) should be below 200 watt per sq m (wm2).
    • This is measured in the box confined by 5-10ºN latitude and 70-75ºE latitude.

    Is it unusual for the monsoon to hit the Kerala coast early?

    • Neither early nor late onset of the monsoon is unusual.
    • In 2018 and 2017, the onset over Kerala occurred on May 29 and May 30, respectively.
    • In 2010, onset was realised on May 31.
    • In 2020 and 2013, the monsoon was exactly on time, hitting the Kerala coast on June 1.

    Does an early onset foretell a good monsoon?

    • No, it does not — just as a delay does not foretell a poor monsoon.
    • The onset is just an event that happens during the progress of the monsoon over the Indian subcontinent.
    • A delay of a few days, or perhaps the monsoon arriving a few days early, has no bearing on the quality or amount of rainfall.

    How does the monsoon spread across the country after hitting Kerala coast?

    • The northward progression of the monsoon after it has hit the Kerala coast depends on a lot of local factors, including the creation of low pressure areas.
    • Though this year monsoon has arrived early, it is possible that despite a late onset over Kerala, other parts of the country start getting rain on time.
    • After its onset over Kerala, the monsoon spreads over the entire country by July 15.

    Back2Basics:

    Various terms related to Indian Monsoon

     

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

    What is the West Nile Virus?

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

    The Kerala health department is on alert after the death occurred due to the West Nile Virus.

    West Nile Virus

    • The West Nile Virus is a mosquito-borne, single-stranded RNA virus.
    • According to the WHO, it is a member of the flavivirus genus and belongs to the Japanese Encephalitis antigenic complex of the family Flaviviridae.

    How does it spread?

    • Culex species of mosquitoes act as the principal vectors for transmission.
    • It is transmitted by infected mosquitoes between and among humans and animals, including birds, which are the reservoir host of the virus.
    • Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds, which circulate the virus in their blood for a few days.
    • The virus eventually gets into the mosquito’s salivary glands.
    • During later blood meals (when mosquitoes bite), the virus may be injected into humans and animals, where it can multiply and possibly cause illness.
    • WNV can also spread through blood transfusion, from an infected mother to her child, or through exposure to the virus in laboratories.
    • It is not known to spread by contact with infected humans or animals.

    Symptoms of WNV infection

    • The disease is asymptomatic in 80% of the infected people.
    • The rest develop what is called the West Nile fever or severe West Nile disease.
    • In these 20% cases, the symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, body aches, nausea, rash, and swollen glands.
    • Severe infection can lead to encephalitis, meningitis, paralysis, and even death.
    • It is estimated that approximately 1 in 150 persons infected with the West Nile Virus will develop a more severe form of the disease.
    • Recovery from severe illness might take several weeks or months.
    • It usually turns fatal in persons with co-morbidities and immuno-compromised persons (such as transplant patients).

     

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  • Forest Conservation Efforts – NFP, Western Ghats, etc.

    What are Community Forest Rights?

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

    The Chhattisgarh government has become the only second state in the country to recognize the Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights of a village inside a national park.

    What is the news?

    • The CFR rights of tribals living in a hamlet inside the Kanger Ghati National Park in Bastar district, were recognised.
    • It gave the community the power to formulate rules for forest use.

    Try this PYQ first:

    Q.Under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, who shall be the authority to initiate the process for determining the nature and extent of individual or community forest rights or both?

    (a) State Forest Department

    (b) District Collector/Deputy Commissioner

    (c) Tahsildar/Block Development Officer/Mandal Revenue Officer

    (d) Gram Sabha

     

     

    Post your answers here.

    What is a Community Forest?

    • The community forest resource area is the common forest land that has been traditionally protected and conserved for sustainable use by a particular community.
    • The community uses it to access resources available within the traditional and customary boundary of the village; and for seasonal use of landscape in case of pastoralist communities.
    • Each CFR area has a customary boundary with identifiable landmarks recognised by the community and its neighboring villages.
    • It may include forest of any category – revenue forest, classified & unclassified forest, deemed forest, DLC land, reserve forest, protected forest, sanctuary and national parks etc.

    Legal basis for Community Forest Resource (CFR) rights

    • The CFR rights are acknowledged under the Section 3(1) (i) of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act.
    • This is commonly referred to as the Forest Rights Act or the FRA.
    • It aims to provide for recognition of the right to “protect, regenerate or conserve or manage” the community forest resource.
    • These rights allow the community to formulate rules for forest use by itself and others and thereby discharge its responsibilities under Section 5 of the FRA.

    Nature of rights included

    • CFR rights, along with Community Rights (CRs) under Sections 3(1)(b) and 3(1)(c), which include: nistar rights and rights over non-timber forest products, ensure sustainable livelihoods of the community.
    • ‘Nistar’ means the concession granted for removal from forest coupes (small trees) on payment at stipulated rates, specified forest produce for bonafide domestic use, but not for barter or sale.
    • These rights give the authority to the Gram Sabha to adopt local traditional practices of forest conservation and management within the community forest resource boundary.

    Why is the recognition of CFR rights important?

    • Aimed at undoing the “historic injustice” meted out to forest-dependent communities due to curtailment of their customary rights over forests, the FRA came into force in 2008.
    • It is important as it recognises the community’s right to use, manage and conserve forest resources, and to legally hold forest land that these communities have used for cultivation and residence.
    • It also underlines the integral role that forest dwellers play in the sustainability of forests and in the conservation of biodiversity.
    • It is of greater significance inside protected forests like national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves as traditional dwellers then become a part of management of the protected forests.

    How many CFR certificates have been given in Chhattisgarh?

    • According to state government officials, Chhattisgarh has recognised nearly 4,000 CFR rights in the state.
    • Kanger Ghati National Park is the second national park, after Simlipal in Odisha, where CFR rights have been recognised.

     

     

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  • Surrogacy in India

    Allow Surrogacy For Single Men, Mothers: Delhi HC

    | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education

    The Delhi High Court issued a notice to the Union government on a petition challenging some provisions of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act and the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act.

    Issues raised by the petition

    • Currently, the laws does not allow single men to have child through surrogacy.
    • Married women can only avail surrogacy services if they are unable to produce a child due to medical conditions.
    • Otherwise, for women to avail of surrogacy services, they must be aged between 35 and 45 and widowed or divorced.
    • Women can only offer surrogacy if they are aged between 25 and 35 and married with at least one biological child.
    • The laws also require a surrogate to be genetically related to the couple who intend to have a child through this method, their petition said.

    Basis of the Petition

    • The personal decision of a single person about the birth of a baby through surrogacy, i.e., the right of reproductive autonomy is a facet of the right to privacy guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
    • Thus, the right to privacy of every citizen or person affecting a decision to bear or beget a child through surrogacy cannot be taken away.

    Distinct features of the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021

    • Definition of surrogacy: It defines surrogacy as a practice where a woman gives birth to a child for an intending couple with the intention to hand over the child after the birth to the intending couple.
    • Regulation of surrogacy: It prohibits commercial surrogacy, but allows altruistic surrogacy which involves no monetary compensation to the surrogate mother other than the medical expenses and insurance.
    • Purposes for which surrogacy is permitted: Surrogacy is permitted when it is: (i) for intending couples who suffer from proven infertility; (ii) altruistic; (iii) not for commercial purposes; (iv) not for producing children for sale, prostitution or other forms of exploitation; and (v) for any condition or disease specified through regulations.
    • Eligibility criteria: The intending couple should have a ‘certificate of essentiality’ and a ‘certificate of eligibility’ issued by the appropriate authority ex. District Medical Board.

    Eligibility criteria for surrogate mother:

    • To obtain a certificate of eligibility from the appropriate authority, the surrogate mother has to be:
    1. A close relative of the intending couple;
    2. A married woman having a child of her own;
    3. 25 to 35 years old;
    4. A surrogate only once in her lifetime; and
    5. Possess a certificate of medical and psychological fitness for surrogacy.
    • Further, the surrogate mother cannot provide her own gametes for surrogacy.

    Also read

    [Burning Issue] Surrogacy in India

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