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  • 17th May 2022 | Nikaalo Prelims- Science and Technology Test 3: Non-Conventional Energy; Health Information Technology

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  • 17th May 2022 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

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  • 16th May 2022 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

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  • What is the Places of Worship Act?

    The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the order of a civil court in Varanasi directing a videographic survey of a temple- mosque complex upholding the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.

    What is the Places of Worship Act?

    • The long title describes it as an Act to prohibit conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship.
    • It holds places of worships as it existed on the 15th day of August, 1947, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

    When was this law passed?

    • The Act was brought in 1991 by the then pseudo-secular government at a time when the Ram temple movement was at its peak.
    • Then, communal tensions in India were at peak.
    • Parliament determined that independence from colonial rule furnishes a constitutional basis for healing the injustices of the past.
    • It sought to provide the confidence to every religious community that their places of worship will be preserved and that their character will not be altered.

    What are its provisions?

    • Anti-conversion: Section 3 of the Act bars the conversion, in full or part, of a place of worship of any religious denomination into a place of worship of a different religious denomination — or even a different segment of the same religious denomination.
    • Holiness of a place: Section 4(1) declares that the religious character of a place of worship “shall continue to be the same as it existed” on August 15, 1947.
    • Litigation: Section 4(2) says any suit or legal proceeding with respect to the conversion of the religious character of any place existing on August 15, 1947, pending before any court, shall abate — and no fresh suit or legal proceedings shall be instituted.
    • Exception for Ayodhya: Section 5 stipulates that the Act shall not apply to the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case, and to any suit, appeal or proceeding relating to it.

    Issues with the law

    • The law has been challenged on the ground that it bars judicial review, which is a basic feature of the Constitution.
    • It imposes an “arbitrary irrational retrospective cutoff date”, and abridges the right to religion of Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs.

    What is the recent controversy?

    • The temple-mosque complex in Varanasi clearly shows that the mosque stands over a rundown temple.
    • Videography shows the presence of Hindu deities inside the mosque.
    • Right-wing propagandists highlight the intention of Aurangzeb behind leaving remnants of the temple to keep reminding communities of their historical fate and to remind coming generations of rulers of their past glory and power.

    What did the Supreme Court say in its Ayodhya judgment?

    • The constitutional validity of the 1991 Act was not under challenge, nor had it been examined before the Supreme Court Bench that heard the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit.
    • The Places of Worship Act imposes a non-derogable obligation towards enforcing our commitment to secularism under the Indian Constitution.
    • The law is hence a legislative instrument designed to protect the secular features of the Indian polity, which is one of the basic features of the Constitution.
    • The Places of Worship Act is a legislative intervention which preserves non-retrogression as an essential feature of our secular values.

     

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  • Report flags Risk of Fortified Rice

    A report has flagged issues due to threats posed to anaemic persons over iron over-nutrition created by rice fortification.

    Highlights of the report

    • No prior education: The activists discovered that neither field functionaries nor beneficiaries had been educated about the potential harms.
    • No warnings issued: There were no warning labels despite the food regulator’s rules on fortified foods.
    • No informed choice: The right to informed choices about one’s food is a basic right. In the case of rice fortification, it is seen that no prior informed consent was ever sought from the recipients.

    What are the risks highlighted?

    • Thalassemia, sickle cell anaemia and malaria are conditions where there is already excess iron in the body, whereas TB patients are unable to absorb iron.
    • Consumption of iron-fortified foods among patients of these diseases can reduce immunity and functionality of organs.

    Endemic zones identified

    • Jharkhand is an endemic zone of sickle cell disorder and thalassemia, with a prevalence of 8%-10%, which is twice the national average.
    • Jharkhand is also an endemic zone for malaria — in 2020, the State ranked third in the country in malaria deaths.

    What is Fortification?

    • The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has explicitly defined fortification.
    • It involves deliberate increasing of the content of essential micronutrients in a food so as to improve the nutritional quality of food and to provide public health benefit with minimal risk to health.

    Types of food fortification

    Food fortification can also be categorized according to the stage of addition:

    1. Commercial and industrial fortification (wheat flour, cornmeal, cooking oils)
    2. Biofortification (breeding crops to increase their nutritional value, which can include both conventional selective breeding, and genetic engineering)
    3. Home fortification (example: vitamin D drops)

    How is fortification done for rice?

    • Various technologies are available to add micronutrients to regular rice, such as coating, dusting, and ‘extrusion’.
    • The last mentioned involves the production of fortified rice kernels (FRKs) from a mixture using an ‘extruder’ machine.
    • It is considered to be the best technology for India.
    • The fortified rice kernels are blended with regular rice to produce fortified rice.

    How does the extrusion technology to produce FRK work?

    • Dry rice flour is mixed with a premix of micronutrients, and water is added to this mixture.
    • The mixture is passed through a twin-screw extruder with heating zones, which produces kernels similar in shape and size to rice.
    • These kernels are dried, cooled, and packaged for use. FRK has a shelf life of at least 12 months.
    • As per guidelines issued by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, the shape and size of the fortified rice kernel should “resemble the normal milled rice as closely as possible”.
    • According to the guidelines, the length and breadth of the grain should be 5 mm and 2.2 mm respectively.

    But why does rice have to be fortified in the first place?

    • India has very high levels of malnutrition among women and children.
    • According to the Food Ministry, every second woman in the country is anaemic and every third child is stunted.
    • Fortification of food is considered to be one of the most suitable methods to combat malnutrition.
    • Rice is one of India’s staple foods, consumed by about two-thirds of the population. Per capita rice consumption in India is 6.8 kg per month.
    • Therefore, fortifying rice with micronutrients is an option to supplement the diet of the poor.

    What are the standards for fortification?

    • Under the Ministry’s guidelines, 10 g of FRK must be blended with 1 kg of regular rice.
    • According to FSSAI norms, 1 kg of fortified rice will contain the following: iron (28 mg-42.5 mg), folic acid (75-125 microgram), and vitamin B-12 (0.75-1.25 microgram).
    • Rice may also be fortified with zinc (10 mg-15 mg), vitamin A (500-750 microgram RE), vitamin B-1 (1 mg-1.5 mg), vitamin B-2 (1.25 mg-1.75 mg), vitamin B-3 (12.5 mg-20 mg) and vitamin B-6 (1.5 mg-2.5 mg) per kg.

    How can a beneficiary distinguish between fortified rice and regular rice?

    • Fortified rice will be packed in jute bags with the logo (‘+F’) and the line “Fortified with Iron, Folic Acid, and Vitamin B12”.

    Advantages offered

    • Health: Fortified staple foods will contain natural or near-natural levels of micro-nutrients, which may not necessarily be the case with supplements.
    • Taste: It provides nutrition without any change in the characteristics of food or the course of our meals.
    • Nutrition: If consumed on a regular and frequent basis, fortified foods will maintain body stores of nutrients more efficiently and more effectively than will intermittently supplement.
    • Economy: The overall costs of fortification are extremely low; the price increase is approximately 1 to 2 percent of the total food value.
    • Society: It upholds everyone’s right to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger

    Issues with fortified food

    • Against nature: Fortification and enrichment upset nature’s packaging. Our body does not absorb individual nutrients added to processed foods as efficiently compared to nutrients naturally occurring.
    • Bioavailability: Supplements added to foods are less bioavailable. Bioavailability refers to the proportion of a nutrient your body is able to absorb and use.
    • Immunity issues: They lack immune-boosting substances.
    • Over-nutrition: Fortified foods and supplements can pose specific risks for people who are taking prescription medications, including decreased absorption of other micro-nutrients, treatment failure, and increased mortality risk.

     

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  • How Sikkim became a part of India?

    It was on May 16, 1975 that Sikkim became 22nd state of the Union of India.

    Why in news?

    • While in many modern narratives, the tale of the former kingdom under the Namgyal dynasty acquiring Indian statehood begins in decades close to the 1970s.
    • The real story, according to experts, can only be understood by tracing the events back to 1640s when Namgyal rule was first established.

    Sikkim’s accession into India: A complete timeline

    (1) Attacks during Namgyal Rule

    • Beginning with Phuntsog Namgyal, the first chogyal (monarch), the Namgyal dynasty ruled Sikkim until 1975.
    • At one point, the kingdom of Sikkim included the Chumbi valley (part of China now) and Darjeeling.
    • In the early 1700s, the region saw a series of conflicts between Sikkim, Nepal, Bhutan, and Tibet, which resulted in a shrinking of Sikkim’s territorial boundaries.

    (2) Under East India Company

    • When the British arrived, their expansion plans in the Indian subcontinent included controlling the Himalayan states.
    • The kingdom of Nepal, meanwhile, continued with its attempts to expand its territory.
    • This resulted in the Anglo-Nepalese war (November, 1814 to March, 1816), also known as the Gorkha war, which was fought between the Gorkhali army and the East India Company.
    • Both sides had ambitious expansion plans for the strategically important mountainous north of the Indian subcontinent.
    • In 1814, Sikkim allied with the East India Company in the latter’s campaign against Nepal.
    • The Company won and restored to Sikkim some of the territories that Nepal had wrested from it in 1780.

    (3) Administrative control of British

    • A turning point in the history of Sikkim involves with the appointment of John Claude White as Political Officer of Sikkim.
    • Sikkim by then was a British Protectorate under the Treaty of Tumlong signed in March, 1861.
    • As with most of the Indian subcontinent that the British had under their administrative control, the kingdom of Sikkim, although a protectorate, had little choice in the administration of its own kingdom.
    • The Namgyal monarch could not criticise decisions made by the British, but the ruler did complain about this influx of Nepali migrants into the kingdom.

    (4) Scenario after 1947

    • Three years after India’s Independence in 1947, Sikkim became a protectorate of India.
    • In 1950, a treaty was signed between the then Sikkim monarch Tashi Namgyal and India’s then Political Officer in Sikkim, Harishwar Dayal.
    • A clause in the treaty read: “Sikkim shall continue to be a Protectorate of India and, subject to the provisions of this Treaty, shall enjoy autonomy in regard to its internal affairs.”

    (5) Chinese invasion of Tibet

    • China’s invasion of Tibet in 1949 and Nepal’s attacks on Sikkim throughout the kingdom’s history were cited as reasons why the kingdom needed the support and protection of a powerful ally.
    • Further, the talk of persecution of Tibetans after China’s arrival at the scene generated fear of the possibility of Sikkim suffering a similar fate.

    (6) Dalai Lama’s Arrival

    • In March 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama escaped from Tibet.
    • After the Dalai Lama reached Indian borders, he and his entourage settled at the Tawang monastery in Arunachal Pradesh.
    • A month later, he travelled to Mussoorie, where he met then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to discuss the future of the Tibetan refugees who had travelled with him.
    • The repercussions of India’s decision to welcome and give refuge to the Dalai Lama sent a message to some in Sikkim that unlike China, aligning with India would guarantee their protection and security.
    • This was the perspective of the ruling elite in Sikkim.

    (7) Public discontent against monarchy

    • The period between the 1950s and the 1970s marked growing discontent in Sikkim.
    • Primarily, there was anger against the monarchy because of growing inequality and feudal control.
    • Anti-monarchy protests grew in 1973, following which the royal palace was surrounded by thousands of protesters.
    • Indian troops arrived after the monarch was left with no choice but to ask New Delhi to send assistance.
    • Finally, a tripartite agreement was signed in the same year between the chogyal, the Indian government, and three major political parties, so that major political reforms could be introduced.

    (8) Attempts for constitutional development

    • A year later, in 1974, elections were held, where the Sikkim State Congress led by Kazi Lhendup Dorji won, defeating pro-independence parties.
    • That year, a new constitution was adopted, which restricted the role of the monarch to a titular post, which Palden Thondup Namgyal bitterly resented.
    • In the same year, India upgraded Sikkim’s status from protectorate to “associated state”, allotting to it one seat each in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
    • Opposed to the move, the monarch attempted to bring international attention to it soon after.

    (9) Finally accession into India

    • A referendum was held in 1975 where an overwhelming majority voted in favour of abolishing the monarchy and joining India.
    • A total 59,637 voted in favour of abolishing the monarchy and joining India, with only 1,496 voting against.
    • Sikkim’s new parliament, led by Kazi Lhendup Dorjee, proposed a bill for Sikkim to become an Indian state, which was accepted by the Indian government.

     

    Also try this PYQ:

    Q.The latitudes that pass through Sikkim also pass through:

    (a) Rajasthan

    (b) Punjab

    (c) Himachal Pradesh

    (d) Jammu & Kashmir

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”pbi6jukf5c” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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  • Explained: Repo Rate in India

    Earlier this month, the RBI, in a surprise move decided unanimously to raise the “policy repo rate by 40 basis points to 4.40%, with immediate effect”.

    What is the Repo Rate?

    • The repo rate is one of several direct and indirect instruments that are used by the RBI for implementing monetary policy.
    • Specifically, the RBI defines the repo rate as the fixed interest rate at which it provides overnight liquidity to banks against the collateral of government and other approved securities under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF).
    • In other words, when banks have short-term requirements for funds, they can place government securities that they hold with the central bank and borrow money against these securities at the repo rate.
    • Since this is the rate of interest that the RBI charges commercial banks such as SBI and ICICI Bank when it lends them money, it serves as a key benchmark for the lenders to in turn price the loans they offer to their borrowers.

    Why is the repo rate such a crucial monetary tool?

    • According to Investopedia, when government central banks repurchase securities from commercial lenders, they do so at a discounted rate that is known as the repo rate.
    • The repo rate system allows central banks to control the money supply within economies by increasing or decreasing the availability of funds.

    How does the repo rate work?

    • Besides the direct loan pricing relationship, the repo rate also functions as a monetary tool by helping to regulate the availability of liquidity or funds in the banking system.
    • For instance, when the repo rate is decreased, banks may find an incentive to sell securities back to the government in return for cash.
    • This increases the money supply available to the general economy.
    • Conversely, when the repo rate is increased, lenders would end up thinking twice before borrowing from the central bank at the repo window thus, reducing the availability of money supply in the economy.
    • Since inflation is caused by more money chasing the same quantity of goods and services available in an economy, central banks tend to target regulation of money supply as a means to slow inflation.

    What impact can a repo rate change have on inflation?

    • Inflation can broadly be: mainly demand driven price gains, or a result of supply side factors.
    • This in turn push up the costs of inputs used by producers of goods and providers of services.
    • It is thus spurring inflation, or most often caused by a combination of both demand and supply side pressures.
    • Changes to the repo rate to influence interest rates and the availability of money supply primarily work only on the demand side.
    • It makes credit more expensive and savings more attractive and therefore dissuading consumption.
    • However, they do little to address the supply side factors, be it the high price of commodities such as crude oil or metals or imported food items such as edible oils.

     

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.If the RBI decides to adopt an expansionist monetary policy, which of the following would it not do?

    1. Cut and optimize the Statutory Liquidity Ratio
    2. Increase the Marginal Standing Facility Rate
    3. Cut the Bank Rate and Repo Rate

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”dqr429v2pr” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

     

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  • Ramgarh Vishdhari notified as India’s 52nd Tiger Reserve

    Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary is now notified as a tiger reserve after a nod by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).

    Ramgarh Vishdhari TR

    • Ramgarh Vishadhri, located mostly in Bundi district and in part in Bhilwara and Kota districts.
    • It is also home to the Indian wolf, leopard, striped hyena, chinkara, antelope and foxes among other animals.
    • It is now India’s 52nd tiger reserve and Rajasthan’s fourth, after Ranthambore, Sariska and Mukundra.
    • The reserve will be spread in an area of 1,501.89 sq km.
    • The area has been called ‘critical’ for the movement of tigers by wildlife experts and conservationists.
    • Though the tiger population in Ramgarh itself was not high, it plays an important role in connecting the Ranthambore and Mukundra Tiger Reserves of Rajasthan.

    Back2Basics: Tiger Reserves

    • The Tiger Reserves of India were set up in 1973 and are governed by Project Tiger, which is administrated by the National Tiger Conservation Authority.
    • A National Park or Wildlife Sanctuary that is considered significant for protecting tigers can be additionally designated as a Tiger Reserve.
    • A Tiger Reserve consists of a ‘Core’ or ‘Critical Tiger Habitat’, which is to be managed as an inviolate area, and a ‘Buffer’ or Peripheral area immediately abutting a Core area, which may be accorded a lesser degree of habitat protection.
    • This is the typical zonation of a Tiger Reserve.

     

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  • Live Webinar On How to clear UPSC-CSE 2023 in the very 1st Attempt by studying Only 5 hrs per day! | Free Live Webinar for Working Professionals with UPSC 2017 Ranker Megha Gupta | Direct Joining Link

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  • In abeyance of Section 124A, a provisional relief

    Context

    In a brief order delivered in S.G. Vombatkere vs Union of India, a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court of India effectively suspended the operation of Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code.

    What was the basis for the reconsideration?

    • This direction was issued after the Union government filed an affidavit informing the Court that it had decided to re-examine the law.
    • The Bench believed that the offer to reconsider the provision, if nothing else, showed that the Government was in broad agreement with the Court’s prima facie opinion on the matter, that the clause as it stands “is not in tune with the current social milieu, and was intended for a time when this country was under the colonial regime”.

     Section 125A and issues with it

    • Section 124A defines sedition as any action — “whether by words, signs, or visible representation” — which “brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law in India”.
    • The word “disaffection”, the provision explains, “includes disloyalty and all feelings of enmity”.
    • The adopted Constitution did not permit a restriction on free speech on the grounds of sedition. 
    • In the 1950s, two different High Courts struck down Section 124A as offensive to freedom.
    • But, in 1962, in Kedar Nath Singh vs State of Bihar, a five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court reversed these verdicts.
    • The Court paid no heed to the debates that informed the Constituent Assembly.
    • Instead, it found that Section 124A was defensible as a valid restriction on free speech on grounds of public order.
    • However, while upholding the clause, the Court limited its application to “acts involving intention or tendency to create disorder, or disturbance of law and order, or incitement to violence”.
    • Vague terms: The decision failed to recognise that terms such as “disaffection towards the government”, which are fundamentally vague.
    • Marginalised sections affected: Since then, in its application by law enforcement, the limitations imposed in Kedar Nath Singh have rarely been observed.
    •  As is often the case with abuses of this kind, it is the most marginalised sections of society that have faced the brunt of the harm.
    • Reading of fundamental rights changed: Since 1962, when the judgment was handed out, the Supreme Court’s reading of fundamental rights has undergone a transformative change.
    • Time to reconsider Kedar Nath: This altered landscape meant that when fresh challenges were mounted against Section 124A, the time to reconsider Kedar Nath Singh had clearly arrived. 
    • In the long run, the decision in Kedar Nath Singh will require a clear disavowal.
    • But in nullifying Section 124A, albeit for the present, the Court has provided provisional relief — allowing those accused of the offence to both seek bail in terms of the order, and to have their trials frozen.

    Conclusion

    To protect our democracy, we must ensure that the constitutional guarantees to personal liberty and freedom do not go in vain. For that, each of our penal laws must be animated by a concern for equality, justice, and fairness.

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