CURRENT AFFAIRS DECEMBER 11, 2021

I. Centre says no proposal to scrap sedition law.

1. News:
• Union Law Minister told the Lok Sabha that the Ministry of Home Affairs had no
proposal under consideration to scrap Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code that deals
with sedition.
• The question of law” regarding Section 124A was pending for adjudication before the
Supreme Court

2. Prelims Facts:

• Historical Background of Sedition Law:

i. Sedition laws were enacted in 17th century England when lawmakers believed
that only good opinions of the government should survive, as bad opinions were
detrimental to the government and monarchy.
ii. The law was originally drafted in 1837 by Thomas Macaulay, the British historian-
politician, but was inexplicably omitted when the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was
enacted in 1860.
iii. Section 124A was inserted in 1870 by an amendment introduced by Sir James
Stephen when it felt the need for a specific section to deal with the offence.

• Sedition Law Today: Sedition is a crime under Section 124A of the Indian Penal
Code (IPC).

• Punishment for the Offence of Sedition:

i. Sedition is a non-bailable offence. Punishment under the Section 124A ranges

from imprisonment up to three years to a life term, to which fine may be added.
ii. A person charged under this law is barred from a government job.
iii. They have to live without their passport and must produce themselves in the court at
all times as and when required
3. Mains Related Info:

• Section 124A IPC:

i. It defines sedition as an offence committed when "any person by words, either

spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or
attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite
disaffection towards the government established by law in India".
ii. Disaffection includes disloyalty and all feelings of enmity. However, comments
without exciting or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, will not
constitute an offence under this section

INDIASHASTRA
GS II POLITY
II. President calls for a debate on right to climate
justice

1. News:
• Every year Human Rights Day is celebrated on 10thDecember all around the world.

2. Prelims Facts:

• World Human Rights Day:

i. On that day, the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
ii. The UDHR established a set of common basic values both with regard to the view of
human beings
iii. Theme 2021: “EQUALITY – Reducing inequalities, advancing human rights” .

• Objective:

i. To promote equality, peace, justice, freedom and the protection of human dignity.
ii. Every individual is entitled to rights irrespective of race, colour, religion, sex,
language, or social status.

• International Human Rights Conventions and Bodies:

➢ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR):

i. The 30 rights and freedoms include civil and political rights, like the right to life,
liberty, free speech and privacy and economic, social and cultural rights, like the
right to social security, health and education, etc.
ii. India took an active part in drafting of the UDHR.
iii. The UDHR is not a treaty, so it does not directly create legal obligations for
countries.

➢ Other Conventions:

i. the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948)
ii. the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination (1965),
 iii. the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
(1979)
iv. the Convention on the Rights of the Child(1989) and the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities (2006), among others.

➢ India is a party to all these Conventions.

• Human Rights Council:

i. The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United

Nations system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of
human rights.
ii. It is made up of 47 United Nations Member Stateswhich are elected by the UN
General Assembly.
iii. The most innovative feature of the Human Rights Council is the Universal Periodic
Review.
iv. This unique mechanism involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN
member states once every four years.

• Amnesty International:

i. An international organisation of volunteers who campaign for human rights.

ii. This organisation brings out independent reports on the violation of human rights all
over the world.

• Human Rights in India

➢ Enunciated in the Constitution:

i. Since inception, the Indian Constitution incorporated most of the

rights enumerated in the Universal Declaration in two parts, the Fundamental
Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy.

ii. Fundamental Rights: Articles 12 to 35 of the Constitution. These include the

Right to Equality, Right to Freedom, Right Against Exploitation, Right to
Freedom of Religion, Cultural & Educational Rights, Saving of Certain Laws and
Right to Constitutional Remedies.

iii. Directive Principles of State Policy: Article 36 to 51 of the Constitution. These

include 'right to social security, right to work, to free choice of employment,
 and protection against unemployment, right to equal pay for equal work, right
to existence worthy of human dignity, right to free & compulsory education,
equal justice & free legal aid and the principles of policy to be followed by the
State.'

3. Mains Related Info:

• Human Rights:

i. These are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality,
ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status.
ii. These include the right to life and liberty,freedom from slavery and torture, freedom
of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more.
iii. Nelson Mandela had stated ‘To deny people their human rights is to challenge their
very humanity’.

• Human dignity:
i. Nondiscrimination was the first condition for absolute respect for human dignity,
the world was beset with countless prejudices
ii. Tolerance and inclusion were non-negotiable human rights.
iii. Necessary to provide remedy to the victims of unfair economic structure and
business related human rights violations
iv. Need to debate and discuss the “right to a healthy environment and climate justice
v. Human rights discourse was justifiably focused on rights, India had always
understood that rights and duties were two sides of the same coin
vi. Freedom of speech is the most cherished value and fundamental right to be
protected. However, the extent of freedom of cyberspace both online and offline
is a matter of debate, as it has fuelled grave apprehension of its misuse, violating
the sovereignty, integrity of the country, public order, decency and morality

INDIASHASTRA
GS II POLITY
III. Centre looking to use stubble as biofuel

1. News:
• The Union Government is working on a plan to use stubble as a biofuel and manure as
part of an effort to deal with stubble burning that was often cited as a source of
pollution in northern India
• National Thermal Power Corporation had procured 3,000 tonnes of stubble to be used
as bio-fuel and would study the results
• About one lakh acres of manure and compost from stubble were used in Punjab and
Haryana, while Uttar Pradesh used it in six lakh acres.
• PM’s announcement of a ‘Net Zero’ target of 2070 at the climate summit in Glasgow at
CO26

2. Stubble Burning

• Prelims Facts:

i. Stubble (parali) burning is the act of setting fire to crop residue to remove them from
the field to sow the next crop.
ii. In order to plant next winter crop (Rabi crop), farmers in Haryana and Punjab have to
move in a very short interval and if they are late, due to short winters these days,
they might face considerable losses. Therefore, burning is the cheapest and fastest
way to get rid of the stubble.
iii. If parali is left in the field, pests like termites may attack the upcoming crop.
iv. The precarious economic condition of farmers doesn’t allow them to use expensive
mechanised methods to remove stubble

• Mains Related Info:

➢ Causes of the Stubble Burning

o Technology:
i. The problem arises due to the use of mechanised harvesting which leaves several
inches of stubble in the fields.
ii. Earlier, this excess crop was used by farmers for cooking, as hay to keep their
animals warm or even as extra insulation for homes.
iii. But, now the stubble use for such purposes has become outdated.
➢ Effects of Stubble Burning

o Pollution:
i. Open stubble burning emits large amounts of toxic pollutants in the atmosphere
which contain harmful gases like methane (CH4), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Volatile
organic compound (VOC) and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
ii. After the release in the atmosphere, these pollutants disperse in the
surroundings, may undergo a physical and chemical transformation and
eventually adversely affect human health by causing a thick blanket of smog.

o Soil Fertility:
i. Burning husk on ground destroys the nutrients in the soil, making it less fertile.

o Heat Penetration:
i. Heat generated by stubble burning penetrates into the soil, leading to the loss of
moisture and useful microbes

3. Biofuels:

• Prelims Facts:

i. Any hydrocarbon fuel that is produced from an organic matter (living or once living
material) in a short period of time (days, weeks, or even months) is considered a
biofuel.
ii. Biofuels may be solid, liquid or gaseous in nature.
iii. Solid: Wood, dried plant material, and manure
iv. Liquid: Bioethanol and Biodiesel
v. Gaseous: Biogas
vi. These can be used to replace or can be used in addition to diesel, petrol or other
fossil fuels for transport, stationary, portable and other applications. Also, they can
be used to generate heat and electricity.
vii. Some of the main reasons for shifting to biofuels are the rising prices of oil, emission
of the greenhouse gases from fossil fuels and the interest for obtaining fuel from
agricultural crops for the benefit of farmers.
• Mains Related Info:

➢ Advantages of Biofuels

i. Availability: biofuels are produced from biomass and thus are renewable.

ii. Source material: Whereas oil is a limited resource that comes from specific
materials, biofuels can be manufactured from a wide range of materials including
crop waste, manure, and other byproducts.

iii. Environment Pollution: Biofuels do not release as much carbon as fossil fuels do
but fertilizers that are used in the growing bio fuels lead to greenhouse emissions.
Also, biofuels can help in managing the municipal solid wastes i.e. the waste can be
converted into fuel.

iv. Security: Biofuels can be produced locally, which decreases the nation's
dependence upon foreign energy. By reducing dependence on foreign fuel sources,
countries can protect the integrity of their energy resources and make them safe
from outside influences.

v. Economic stimulation: Because biofuels are produced locally, biofuel

manufacturing plants can employ hundreds or thousands of workers, creating new
jobs in rural areas. Biofuel production will also increase the demand for suitable
biofuel crops, providing economic stimulation to the agriculture industry.

➢ Disadvantages of Biofuels

i. Efficiency: Fossil Fuels produce more energy than some of the biofuels. E.g. 1 gallon
of ethanol produces less energy as compared to 1 gallon of gasoline (a fossil fuel).
ii. Cost: Pumping fossil fuels from the ground is a difficult and expensive process
leading to high costs. Production of biofuels require land, this impacts cost of
biofuels as well as that of food crops. Also, though growing engineered biofuel crops
can benefit farmers commercially but the excess number of such crops can also lead
to loss of biodiversity.

iii. Food shortages: There is concern that using valuable cropland to grow fuel crops
could have an impact on the cost of food and could possibly lead to food shortages.

iv. Water use: Massive quantities of water are required for proper irrigation of biofuel
crops as well as to manufacture the fuel, which could strain local and regional water
resources

INDIASHASTRA
GS III ENVIRONMENT