CHAHAL FEBRUARY 2023 MAGAZINE (For Website)

CURRENT
AFFAIRS
MONTHLY MAGAZINE
February 2023
Articles from
Yojana
(Youth and Sports)
(Feb 2023)
NEW DELHI MUMBAI JAIPUR KOLKATA AHMEDABAD ANAND BHILAI BHUBANESWAR CHANDIGARH
DEHRADUN GANDHINAGAR KANPUR PATNA RAIPUR RAJKOT RANCHI SURAT VADODARA
WHATSAPP NO. 93132-18734, 82877-76460, (CONTACT @ CHAHALACADEMY.COM)
MONTHLY MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2023
INDEX
POLITY & GOVERNANCE................................01 - 16 • UNDERWATER NOISE EMISSIONS
• PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS • MISHTI
• KHALISTAN MOVEMENT • EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY
• THE RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN • ANATOMY OF HEAT WAVES
• ARTICLE 105 OF CONSTITUTION • CHILIKA LAKE
• SECTION 153A • BUDGET’S GREEN GROWTH PUSH
• OPEN PRISONS
• LITHIUM RESERVES
• CORRUPT PRACTICES UNDER RPA, 1951
• MARINE PROTECTED AREAS
• SECTION 69(A) OF IT ACT
• YELLOW RIVER
• ARTICLE 356
• ASSI RIVER
• SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
• OMORGUS KHANDESH
• NEUTRAL CITATION SYSTEM
• LINKING AADHAAR TO VOTER ID SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY...............................51 - 67
• SYMBOL ALLOTMENT BY ELECTION • MUONS
COMMISSION
• ASTROSAT
• NATIONAL INTEREST CONTENT
• LAB GROWN DIAMONDS
• ELECTORAL BOND SCHEME
• SICKLE CELL DISEASE
ECONOMY..........................................................17 - 31 • VOICE DEEPFAKES
• FISCAL DEFICIT IN INDIA • NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL POLICY 2022
• DISINVESTMENT • ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION IN INDIA
• PAYMENT AGGREGATORS
• BHASHINI INITIATIVE
• MAN MADE FIBRE
• NISAR
• PRIMARY AGRICULTURAL CREDIT
SOCIETIES • ALMA TELESCOPE
• VOSTRO ACCOUNTS • DEEP OCEAN MISSION

• STOCK MARKET IN INDIA • MANIPUR’S HEIMANG
• ADDITIONAL SURVEILLANCE MECHANISM • IN-SPACe
(ASM) • MICROLED DISPLAYS
• HIGHER PENSION OPTION OFFERED BY • AMORPHOUS ICE
EPFO
• AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
• ANGEL TAX
• VACCINE-DERIVED POLIO
• MIIRA
• POLIOVIRUS
ENVIRONMENT & GEOGRAPHY......................32 - 50 • CCR-5 MUTATION FOR HIV
• ORANGUTANS • NATIONAL SCIENCE DAY 2023 AND CV
• GLACIAL LAKE OUTBURST FLOODS RAMAN
• ROCHE LIMIT
• EARTHQUAKES
• SMALL SATELLITE LAUNCH VEHICLE
• VACCINE TO REDUCE ‘VERMIN’
POPULATIONS • H5N1 VIRUS
• PANGOLINS
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS........................ 68 - 73
• WHALE STRANDING
• CANADA’S INDO-PACIFIC STRATEGY AND
• CYCLONE FREDDY INDIA-CANADA RELATIONS
• RHODODENDRONS • PARIS CLUB
• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH
• DEHRADUN • GANDHINAGAR • JAIUR • KANPUR • PATNA • RAIPUR • RAJKOT • RANCHI • SURAT • VADODARA
Whatsapp No. 93132-18734, 82877-76460 (contact@chahalacademy.com)
MONTHLY MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2023
• SPY BALLOON • NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR SAFAI

• NEW START AGREEMENT KARAMCHARIS
• CHICAGO CONVENTION • BUDGET ALLOCATIONS FOR MINORITIES
• RAISINA DIALOGUE
MISCELLANEOUS....................................... 107 - 112
DEFENCE & SECURITY................................... 74 - 78
• MUKAAB
• EXERCISE DHARMA GUARDIAN
• DESIGNATED SURVIVOR
• IDEX AND NAVDEX 23
• EXERCISE DUSTLIK • JAIPUR DECLARATION
• ORDNANCE FACTORY BOARD • SANSAD RATNA AWARD

• EXERCISE TARKASH • e-SANJEEVANI
• EXERCISE COBRA WARRIOR • YUVA SANGAM PORTAL
• INDO-TIBETAN BORDER POLICE • E-GRAM SWARAJ
• MEDIUM ALTITUDE LONG ENDURANCE • BORTHEKERA PLANT
TAPAS UAV
• SUSHI TERRORISM
•
AIR-LAUNCHED UNMANNED AERIAL
VEHICLE • QUOTES & THEIR MEANING
• OPERATION SADBHAVANA • CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
• mPASSPORT POLICE APP
CULTURE.......................................................... 79 - 92
• DAYANAND SARASWATI • OPERATION DOST
• SANT SEVALAL MAHARAJ

GOVERNMENT SCHEMES........................... 113 - 114
• SURSINGAR, MANDOLIN AND KARAKATTAM
• PRADHAN MANTRI MUDRA YOJANA
• LAVANI DANCE
• PETROGLYPHS • VIVAD SE VISHWAS II SCHEME
• SALIMGARH FORT • AMRIT BHARAT STATION SCHEME

• VICTORY CITY
LOCATIONS IN NEWS........................................... 115
• YAMUNOTRI TEMPLE
• MOHINIYATTAM • SOLOMON ISLANDS
• MEHRAULI • THWAITES GLACIER
• ELLORA CAVES
• GRISHNESHWAR TEMPLE ARTICLES FROM YOJANA (FEBRUARY 2023)....116
• ALUX AND MAYAN CIVILISATION

• PARHAIYAS
• DRAFT BILL FOR GEOLOGICAL HERITAGE
OF INDIA
• TREATY OF ALINAGAR
• KEELADI
SOCIAL ISSUES............................................. 93 - 106

• MENSTRUAL LEAVE POLICY IN INDIA
• MENTAL HEALTHCARE ACT, 2017
• ANUBHUTI INCLUSIVE PARK
• AISHE REPORT
• MANUAL SCAVENGING IN INDIA

1 MONTHLY MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2023
POLITY & GOVERNANCE
PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS To address the opening session of a


new legislature after a general election.
Context: Ahead of the recent Union Budget, Indian
To address the first
 sitting of
President Droupadi Murmu addressed the joint sitting Parliament each year.
of Parliament.
o A session of a new or continuing
legislature cannot begin without
fulfilling this requirement.
 When the Constitution came into force,
the President was required to address
each session of Parliament.
 In 1951, the First Amendment to the
Constitution changed this and made the
President’s address an annual affair.
 Article 176(1) enjoins that the Governor
shall Address both the Houses assembled
together at the commencement of the first
Key details: Session after each general election to
the Assembly and at the commencement
• Practice before independence: of the first session of each year.
 The practice of the President addressing • Government’s role in President’s Address
Parliament was established after the
 There is no set format for the President’s
promulgation of the Government of
or Governor’s speech.
India Act in 1919.
 It follows a general structure in which
 This law gave the Governor-General it highlights the government’s
the right of addressing the Legislative accomplishments from the previous
Assembly and the Council of State. year and sets the broad governance
 The law did not have a provision for a agenda for the coming year.
joint address but the Governor-General  The President’s speech is essentially the
did address the Assembly and the Council viewpoint of the government and is also
together on multiple occasions. written by it.
• Practice after independence:  The President’s address serves as a
platform for the government to make
 Between 1947 and 1950, there was no
policy and legislative announcements.
address to the Constituent Assembly
(Legislative). • What if the President disagrees with the
text of the speech?
 After the Constitution came into force,
 The President or Governor cannot refuse
President Rajendra Prasad addressed
to perform the constitutional duty of
members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
delivering an address to the legislature.
for the first time on January 31, 1950.
 But there can be situations when they
• Constitutional status: deviate from the text of the speech
 The Constitution gives the President prepared by the government.
and the Governor the power to address  So far, there have been no instances of a
a sitting of the legislature. President doing so.
 Article 87 provides two special occasions  But there have been occasions when a
on which the President addresses a joint Governor skipped or changed a portion
sitting. of the address to the Assembly.

• Motion of thanks  This is why the Motion of Thanks is

 After the President’s address, the two deemed to be a no-confidence motion.
Houses move a motion to thank the
President for her speech. KHALISTAN MOVEMENT
 The motion is then put to vote and MPs Context: Hundreds of followers of a radical preacher
can express their disagreement by and pro-Khalistan leader, clashed violently with police
moving amendments to the motion. near Amritsar.
 This motion must be passed in both of What is the Khalistan movement?
the houses.
• The Khalistan movement is a fight for a
 A failure to get motion of thanks passed separate, sovereign Sikh state in present
amounts to defeat of government and day Punjab (both India and Pakistan).
leads to collapse of government.

• The movement was crushed in India the Akali Dal’s leadership, launched a
following Operation Blue Star (1984) and civil disobedience movement called the
Operation Black Thunder (1986 and 1988). Dharam Yudh Morcha.
 But it continues to evoke sympathy and  He took up residence inside the Golden
support among sections of the Sikh Temple, directing demonstrations and
population, especially in the Sikh clashes with the police.
diaspora in countries such as Canada,
the UK, and Australia.  Indira Gandhi’s government declared
the movement tantamount to secession
• Origins:
and ordered Operation Blue Star.
 The origins of the movement have been
• Operation Blue Star and its impact
traced back to India’s independence
and subsequent Partition along religious  Indira Gandhi took the decision to order
lines. the Indian Army to flush out militants
from the Golden Temple and neutralise
Lahore, the capital of Maharaja
 Bhindranwale.
Ranjit Singh’s great Sikh Empire,
went to Pakistan, as did holy Sikh  While the operation was ostensibly
sites including Nankana Sahib, successful in its aims, it gravely
the birthplace of Guru Nanak, the wounded the Sikh community around
the world.
founder of Sikhism. While most
Sikhs found themselves in India,  It also galvanised the demand for
they were a small minority in the Khalistan.
country, making up around 2 per  On October 31, 1984, Prime Minister
cent of the population. Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two
 The political struggle for greater autonomy Sikh bodyguards.
began around the time of Independence,  This triggered the worst communal
with the Punjabi Suba Movement for the violence since Partition.
creation of a Punjabi-speaking state.
The
 States Reorganisation
THE RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN
Commission, in its 1955 report Context: The Delhi High Court is all set to hear a
rejected this demand. doctor’s plea for enforcement of his ‘Right to be
In 1966 the state of Punjab was
 Forgotten’.
reorganised to reflect the Punjabi
What is the Right to be Forgotten?
Suba demand.
• The “Right to be Forgotten” is the right to
• The erstwhile Punjab state was trifurcated remove or erase content so that it’s not
into the Hindi-speaking, Hindu-majority states accessible to the public at large.
of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, and the
• It empowers an
Punjabi-speaking, Sikh-majority Punjab. individual to have
• Anandpur Sahib Resolution information in the form
 The Punjabi Suba movement had of news, video, or
galvanised the Akali Dal which became photographs deleted
a major force in the new Sikh-majority from internet records
Punjab. so it doesn’t show
up through search
 The party met at the sacred town of engines, like Google in
Anandpur Sahib in 1973, and released the present case.
a list of demands that would guide the
political path of the Akali Dal. • Indian law related to
Right to be Forgotten
 Among other things, the Anandpur Sahib
Resolution demanded autonomy for  Section 43A of the Information
the state of Punjab, identified regions Technology Act, 2000 says that
that would be part of a separate state and organizations who possess sensitive
sought the right to frame its own internal personal data and fail to maintain
constitution. appropriate security to safeguard such
data, resulting in wrongful loss or wrongful
• Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale gain to anyone, may be obligated to pay
 In 1982, Bhindranwale, with support from damages to the affected person.

 The IT Rules, 2021 do not include this For compliance with legal obligations,

right but lay down the procedure for or
filing complaints with the designated For the performance of tasks in the

Grievance Officer so as to have content
public interest or
exposing personal information about a
complainant removed from the internet. On grounds of public interest in the

area of public health or
 In 2019 the Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology introduced the Scientific or historical research

Personal Data Protection Bill in the Lok purposes or statistical purposes, or
Sabha. For the establishment and exercise or

Clause 20 under the draft bill mentions
 defense of legal claims.
the “Right to be Forgotten” as
the right to restrict or prevent the
continuing disclosure of personal data
by a data fiduciary.
This bill is yet to be passed by the

parliament, owing to a parliamentary
joint committee’s suggestion to amend
81 of the 99 sections.
Origins of this Right

• The Right to be Forgotten originates from
a 2014 European Court of Justice ruling
where it was codified for the first time.
• Court rulings: • Thereafter, it
 The right is not recognized by a law or a was included
statute in India expressly. in the EU’s
 The courts have repeatedly held it to be General Data
endemic to an individual’s Right to Protection
Privacy under Article 21 since the Apex Regulation
Court’s 2017 ruling in “K.S.Puttaswamy (GDPR) in
vs Union of India”. addition to
the right to
 However, the court also recognized that erasure.
such a right can be restricted:
By the right to freedom of expression

and information or

Arguments for and against the Right to be proceedings of, a House of Parliament
forgotten: or any committee thereof as they apply
in relation to members of Parliament.
• Simply put, Members of Parliament are
exempted from any legal action for any
statement made or act done in the course of
their duties.
 For example, a defamation suit cannot be
filed for a statement made in the House.
• This immunity extends to certain non-
members as well, such as:
 the Attorney General for India or
 a Minister who may not be a member but
speaks in the House.
• In cases where a member oversteps or
ARTICLE 105 OF CONSTITUTION exceeds the contours of admissible free
speech, the Speaker or the House itself will
Context: Protesting against the expunction of parts of deal with it, and not a court.
his speech on the motion of thanks on the President’s
Address, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Sources of Privileges:
Congress president has argued that MPs have • Constitutional Provisions
freedom of speech under Article 105.
• Various Laws made by the Parliament
Key details: • Rules of both the Houses
• Article 105 of the Constitution deals with • Parliamentary Conventions
powers, privileges, etc of the Houses
of Parliament and of the members and • Judicial Interpretations
committees thereof.
Origin of the idea of privilege:
• It has the following provisions:
• The Government of India Act, 1935 first
 Subject to the provisions of this Constitution brought this provision to India, with references
and to the rules and standing orders to the powers and privileges enjoyed by the
regulating the procedure of Parliament, House of Commons in Britain.
there shall be freedom of speech in • An initial draft of the Constitution too
Parliament. contained the reference to the House of
 No member of Parliament shall be liable Commons, but it was subsequently dropped.
to any proceedings in any court in respect
of anything said or any vote given by him
in Parliament or any committee thereof.
 No person shall be so liable in respect of
the publication by or under the authority
of either House of Parliament of any
report, paper, votes or proceedings.
 In other respects, the powers, privileges
and immunities of each House of
Parliament shall be defined by Parliament
by law.
 The provisions of the above clauses shall
apply to:
Persons who by virtue of this

Constitution have the right to speak
in, and otherwise to take part in the

SECTION 153A  But this is required before the trial

begins, and not at the stage of preliminary
Context: The Supreme Court granted interim bail to investigation.
chairman of the media and publicity department of the
All-India Congress Committee, who had been arrested  To curb indiscriminate arrests, the
for alleged hate speech by Assam Police earlier in the Supreme Court laid down a set of
day. guidelines in its 2014 ruling in Arnesh
Kumar v State of Bihar.
According to the 267th Report of the Law As per the guidelines, for offences

Commission of India, Hate Speech is stated that carry a sentence of less than
as an incitement to hatred primarily against seven years, the police cannot
a group of persons defined in terms of race,
automatically arrest an accused
ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious
before investigation.
belief, and the like.
Thus, hate speech is any word written or spoken,  In a 2021 ruling, the SC said that the state
signs, visible representations within the hearing will have to prove intent for securing a
or sight of a person with the intention to cause conviction under Section 153A.
fear or alarm, or incitement to violence.
OPEN PRISONS
Context: The open prison model adopted in Rajasthan,
with convicts staying on community land without high
walls or strict surveillance, has promoted a reformative
form of punishment and succeeded in transforming the
lives of inmates.
What is an open prison?

• The Rajasthan State Prison Rules define
open jails as, “Prisons without walls, bars and
locks” that fundamentally rely on self-discipline
About Section 153A of inmates.
• Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) • Many open jails even allow prisoners to live
penalises promoting enmity between different
in proximity with their families and earn their
groups on grounds of religion, race, place of
livelihood.
birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts
prejudicial to maintenance of harmony. • Open prison systems are premised on the
 This is punishable with imprisonment Reformative theory of justice and punishment,
up to three years, or with fine, or with as opposed to retributive theories of punishment,
both. and advocates in favor of turning criminals into
• The provision was enacted in 1898 and was law abiding citizens without confining them.
not in the original penal code. • This standpoint highlights that man is sent to
• At the time of the amendment, promoting class prison as punishment and not for punishment.
hatred was a part of the English law of sedition,
What are the international precedents
but was not included in the Indian law.
supporting open prison systems?
• Along with Section 153A, Section 505, which
penalises statements conducing to public • In the early 19th century, open prisons in
mischief was also introduced. the United States for prisoners nearing the
completion of their terms. Often such inmates
• In 1969, the offence was amended to enlarge
were sent to work as laborers to evaluate their
its scope to prevent communal tensions.
behavior.
 In the same amendment, the offence was
also made cognizable, which means a • Since 1930s, open prison has been common in
police officer can make an arrest without the United Kingdom.
a warrant. • In 1955, at the United Nations Congress
• Safeguards against misuse on Prevention of Crime and Treatment
 Sections 153A and 153B require prior of Offenders held in Geneva, the global
sanction from the government for community first extensively discussed the need
initiating prosecution. to incorporate open prison systems.

• In 2015, the UN General Assembly What are some issues with open jail systems?
unanimously adopted the United Nations
• One key concern with open prison systems at
Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment
present pertains to the process of selection of
of Prisoners, also referred to as the Nelson
Mandela Rules, which laid down the objectives criminals who can be lodged in such jails.
of open prisons.  A committee appointed by the state
government makes the selections but is
What has been the progress in India?
not required to record the reasons for the
• In 1953, The first open jail established in same, which leaves scope for ambiguity,
Uttar Pradesh where housed inmates were
bias and corruption.
requisitioned to construct a dam over the
Chandraprabha River in Varanasi. • Another significant loophole in legislation does
• In 1954, The most significant case study of not permit undertrial prisoners to be considered
an open jail in India was established as the for open jails.
Sanganer jail in Jaipur. It hosts nearly 450  The Prisoners Act of 1894 governs
convicts currently, who live with their families prison management in India, which was
and go out to earn their living.
designed by a colonial government,
• In 1980, the All-India Committee on Jail and thus outdated and unfit for present
Reforms recommended the government to set assessments.
up and develop open prisons in each state and
union territory. • Additionally, many states have failed to enact
laws to establish open prisons despite the apex
• In 2017, a Supreme Court directive urged
state governments to examine the feasibility of court’s directives.
establishing open prisons across the country.  No union territory presently has an open
• Recently, The Tamil Nadu Law ministry prison.
touted the idea of establishing open jails in the • Even the open jails that have been established
state for female convicts. and are operational have remained
Why are activists urging governments to underutilized due to poor levels of awareness
establish more open prisons? and acceptability.
• First and foremost, the Constitution of India  As per data from 2015, open prisons have
guarantees the fundamental right to every a cumulative capacity to accommodate
citizen to live a life with dignity under Article 25,776 prisoners however, only 3,786
21. prisoners were lodged in them.
• Additionally, Article 39A under the Directive • Studies also suggest that once prisoners are
Principles of State Policy instructs the state to
lodged in open jails, they become reluctant to
ensure effective justice delivery.
leave the jails even after the completion of their
• Open jails help in reformative justice and helps terms.
in effective justice delivery.
• Open jails also help to address the CORRUPT PRACTICES UNDER RPA, 1951
overcrowding and presence of large numbers
of undertrial prisoners in Indian jails. Context: The Supreme Court observed that providing
 As per the Prison Statistics of India false information about an electoral candidate’s
Report 2020, over 15 states are currently qualifications cannot be considered a “corrupt practice”
operating at over 100% capacity, with seven under Sections 123 (2) and Section 123 (4) of the
states, namely Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Representation of People’s Act, 1951.
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand,
Sikkim, Meghalaya and Delhi having an Corrupt practices under the RPA, 1951
occupancy rate of 150%.
Section 123 of the Act defines ‘corrupt practices’ to
 Furthermore, over 80% of the 6 lakh include:
prisoners lodged in Indian jails are
• Bribery
undertrials, wherein many are unable to
access legal aid. • Undue influence:
• Researchers say that open prison systems Any direct or indirect interference

offer a more humane and equitable means of or attempt to interfere with the free
justice delivery. exercise of any electoral right.

• False information • An elected representative can

be disqualified if:
• Promotion or attempted promotion of
 Convicted of certain offenses;
feelings of enmity or hatred between different
 On grounds of corrupt practices;
classes of the citizens of India on grounds of
 For failing to declare election expenses;
religion, race, caste, community, or language.
 For interests in government contracts or
works.
REPRESENTATION OF PEOPLE ACT, 1950 AND REPRESENTATION OF PEOPLE ACT, 1951.
Representation of People Act, 1950 Representation of People Act, 1951
The Act makes provisions relating to the The Act makes provisions relating to
allocation of seats in the House of the qualifications and disqualifications
People, the State Legislative Assemblies for membership of Parliament and State
and the State Legislative Councils. Legislatures.
The Act makes provisions relating to The Act makes provisions relating to
delimitation of Parliamentary, Assembly notification of general elections.
and Council Constituencies.
The Act makes provisions relating to The Act makes provision relating to
election officers like chief electoral administrative machinery for the conduct of
officers, district election officers, electoral elections.
registration officers and so on.
electoral rolls for Parliamentary, Assembly registration of political parties.
and Council constituencies.
manner of filling seats in the Council of conduct of elections.
States to be filled by representatives of
union territories.
local authorities for purposes of elections disputes regarding elections.
to the State Legislative Councils.
The Act makes provisions relating to The Act makes provisions relating to bye-
barring the jurisdiction of civil courts. elections and time limit for filling vacancies.

SECTION 69(A) OF IT ACT  Section 69A empowers the Centre

to request that any government
Context: The Ministry of Electronics and Information
agency or intermediary prohibit
Technology (MeitY) recently issued orders to block
138 online betting platforms and 94 money lending public access to any information
apps on an “urgent” and “emergency” basis under generated, communicated, received,
Section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. stored, or hosted on any computer
resource for comparable reasons
What is Section 69 of the IT Act? and grounds.
• Section 69 of the IT Act allows the government  Any such request for access
to issue content-blocking orders to online
restriction must be supported by
intermediaries such as:
written justification.
 Internet Service Providers (ISPs),
 Only the Central government can
 Telecom service providers,
exercise this power of directing
 Web hosting services, intermediaries to block access to
 Search engines, online content directly, and not the
 online marketplaces, etc. State governments.
• It gives the Central and State governments the  The procedure typically provides
authority to intercept, monitor, or decrypt that Central or State agencies will
any information generated, sent, received, or appoint a “nodal officer” who will
stored in any computer resource. forward the blocking order to the
• Grounds of blocking content: “designated officer” of the Central
 Sovereignty or integrity of India, government.
 Defence of India,  The designated officer, as part of a
 Security of the State, committee, examines the request
of the nodal officer.
 Friendly relations with foreign States
 The committee comprises
 Public order representatives from the Ministries
 For preventing incitement to the of:
commission of any cognizable offence Law and Justice,

relating to above
Information and Broadcasting,

 For investigation of any offence.
Home Affairs, and

• Procedure to block such apps:
The Cert-In.

 A detailed procedure for blocking content is  The creator/host of the content in
provided by the Information Technology question is given a notice to submit
Rules, 2009 (IT Rules, 2009) that have clarifications and replies.
been formulated under Section 69A of the
 The committee then makes a
Information Technology Act, 2000.
recommendation on whether the request
 Although MeitY derives these powers of the nodal officer should be accepted or
from the IT Act, it is the Information not.
Technology (Procedure and Safeguards If this recommendation is approved by

for Blocking for Access of Information the MeitY, the designated officer can
by Public) Rules, 2009 or the IT Rules, direct the intermediary to remove
2009, which explain the process to issue content.
such orders.
• Shreya Singhal vs Union of India:
 The IT Rules include provisions such as:  In a landmark 2015 ruling, the Supreme
Review committees,
 Court in “Shreya Singhal vs Union
The opportunity for a fair hearing,
 of India” struck down Section 66A
of the Information Technology Act of
Strict confidentiality, and
 2000, which entailed punishment for
Maintenance of records by designated
 sending offensive messages through
officers. communication services, etc.

 The plea had also challenged Section

69A of the Information Technology
Rules 2009, but the SC held this to be
“constitutionally valid”.
Conclusion
• The courts, despite the severe criticism of
their expanding public roles, even today
rarely strike down provisions of law.
• They presume legislation to be valid and
also view reasonable restrictions as
legal limits.
• Hence, until the law does not exceed
these limits, it remains constitutional.
• In holding the blocking rules as
constitutional, the court has commented
only on their legality — not their
desirability.
• The latter remains open for the
legislature and civil society to consider.
ARTICLE 356
Context: Prime Minister of India recalled in Rajya
Sabha that Congress governments at the Centre had
dismissed 90 state governments by “misusing” Article
356 of the Constitution, and that former PM Indira
Gandhi had “misused” it 50 times to dismiss elected
state governments.
ht tps:/ / images.livemint.com/r/ LiveMint/

Period1/2016/01/28/Photos/chart1.jpg
Judicial interventions and interpretation of

use of Article-356
Judiciary’s views have evolved in the interpretation of
use of Article-356.
• From 1947 to 1977: Judiciary took conservative
view on the use of Article 356. It held that the
use of Article-356 is political question and
courts must not jump into political questions.
• From 1977 to 1990: Judiciary rectified its
earlier view in the State of Rajasthan vs.
Union of India case (1977) and interpretted
broad powers under Article 131 of its original
jurisdiction. But it has not given clear guidelines
on use of Article-356.

• Post 1990: The S. R. Bommai vs. Union of About Supreme Court of India:
India case (1990) judiciary gave a slew of • History:
directions for the proper use of Article-356.  The Supreme Court in India was
established through an enactment
Working of Article 356 (post Sarkaria
passed in pre-independent India, with the
Commission Report): introduction of the Regulating Act, 1773.
Sends direction to the said  The 1st Supreme Court started its
State to comply with the con- function as a court of record at Calcutta.
Union Government as- stitutional provisions as a first
certains that the State is warning under Article 256 and  The court was established to resolve the
violating the Constitutional Article 257(1)
Machineries
disputes in Bengal, Orissa, and Patna.
[Not possible in situations
where actions are required  Consequently, in 1800 and 1834, the
immediately]
King Gorge-III established the other two
Supreme Courts in Bombay and Madras.
 Soon after the enactment of the Indian
If, even after the direction the High Court Act, 1861, the Supreme
State does not comply with
the constitutional provisions – Thus, Article 356 is effectu- Courts in Calcutta, Bombay, and
the President vide Article 365 ated (subject to limitations as Madras were consequently abolished
renders the State incapable mentioned in the article itself) and the courts in Calcutta, Bombay, and
of being run on its own
administration.
Madras resumed its functioning as High
Court.
 The Government of India Act, 1935, led
Should Article-356 be scraped or retained: A to the establishment of the Federal Court
mixed reaction? in India, which has vested more judicial
power than the High court with original,
• The Rajamannar Committee (1969) and appellate, and advisory jurisdiction.
1977 resolution of West Bengal Assembly
• After independence:
suggested to scrap the Article-356 altogether.
 The Supreme Court of India came into
• While, the Sarkaria Commission and National being on the January 28, 1950.
Commission to review the working of the
 The Parliament House was to be the
Constitution (NCRWC) (2000) recommended home of the Supreme Court for years that
not to scrap the Article altogether, but were to follow until the court acquired its
recommended various reforms. own present building with lofty domes in
1958.
• Sarkaria Commission recommendations:
• Composition:
 The Sarkaria Commission which was
 The original Constitution of 1950
appointed to review the Centre–State
envisaged a Supreme Court with a Chief
relations also recommended that Article Justice and 7 puisne judges – leaving it
356 should be used only as a last resort. to Parliament to increase this number.
 The Commission also suggested that the  Parliament increased the number of
State Legislative Assembly should not be Judges from 8 in 1950 to 11 in 1956, 14
dissolved unless the proclamation is in 1960, 18 in 1978, 26 in 1986, 31 in
approved by the Parliament. 2009, and 34 in 2019 (current strength).
 As the number of Judges has increased,
 It further suggested that all possibilities
they sit in smaller benches of two and
of forming an alternative government three – coming together in larger benches
should be fully explored before the of 5 and more only when required to do
Centre imposes emergency in a State so or to settle a difference of opinion or
on grounds of breakdown of Constitutional controversy.
machinery. • Significance of the Supreme Court:
 The Supreme Court is the highest appeal
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA court that is also known as the apex court
of India and even the last resort, where
Context: The Supreme Court of India is hosting its the citizens of India can seek justice if they
first-ever celebration of the 73rd anniversary of its are not satisfied with the judgment of the
establishment. High court.

 The citizens of India, as per Article 32 court proceedings, a uniform citation is

of the Constitution, can even directly necessary.
sort for remedy through writs if their
fundamental rights are violated. LINKING AADHAAR TO VOTER ID
 The Supreme Court has Judicial Review Context: Over 60% of India’s 94.5 crore voters have
power that is being vested through Article linked their Aadhaar to their voter IDs, the Election
13 of the Constitution, which means the Commission (EC) disclosed in a Right to Information
Supreme Court has the power to strike response.
down any legislation and executive
action if such acts are found to be Key details:
inconsistent with the Constitution of
• Tripura had the highest rate of Aadhaar
India.
linking with 92%.
• Powers of the SC:
• After Tripura, Lakshadweep and Madhya
Pradesh occupy the second and third spots,
respectively, with over 91% and 86% of voters
having provided the number.
• Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka both fell shy
of 71%, whereas the number stands around
63% and 61% for Tamil Nadu and Kerala,
respectively.
• The State with the lowest Aadhaar registration
by voters is Gujarat, where only 31.5% have
linked the document to their voter ID.
NEUTRAL CITATION SYSTEM • Less than 34% of voters in Delhi had their
Aadhaar linked.
Context: Chief Justice of India announced that the
Supreme Court will adopt a “neutral citation system”
for its judgments.
What is a “citation”?
• A case citation is essentially an identification
tag for a judgment.
• It would contain:
 A reference number,
 The year of the judgment,
 The name of the court that delivered that
judgment, and
 A shorthand for the journal publishing the
judgment.
What is a neutral citation?

• A neutral citation would mean that the court
would assign its own citation distinct from
those given by traditional Law Reporters.
 Law Reporters are periodicals or annual
digests that publish judgments, often with
an editorial note to make it accessible for
lawyers to refer to precedents. Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021
• The Act amends the Representation of the
Significance of Neutral system: People Act, 1950 and the Representation
• Judgments mention citations while referring of the People Act, 1951 to implement certain
to precedents and often use citations from electoral reforms.
different Law Reporters. • The Act says that the electoral registration
• With artificial intelligence (AI) enabled officer may require a person to furnish their
translation of judgments and transcribing of Aadhaar number for establishing their identity.

13 MONTHLY MAGAZINE FEBRUARY
JANUARY 2023
2023
• If their name is already in the electoral roll, • It may help political parties to profile voters as
then the Aadhaar number may be required for favourable or unfavourable.
authentication of entries in the roll.
Related cases
• Persons will not be denied inclusion in the
electoral roll or have their names deleted from • In Puttaswamy, one of the questions that
the roll, if they are unable to furnish Aadhaar the Supreme Court explored was whether the
number due to sufficient cause as prescribed. mandatory linking of Aadhaar with bank
accounts was constitutional or not.
• Such persons may be permitted to furnish
alternate documents prescribed by the central  The Court observed that the mandatory
government. linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts was
not only for new bank accounts but also
Is Aadhaar-voter ID link mandatory? existing ones, failing which the individual
• The step is voluntary in nature to the extent will not be able to operate their bank
that it says that no person can be denied account.
inclusion in the electoral roll or any entry  The Court held that depriving a person of
deleted because of the inability of an individual their right to property for non-linkage fell
to furnish or intimate Aadhaar number. foul of the test of proportionality.
• However, such inability or non-submission must  It needs to be considered whether requiring
have sufficient cause as may be prescribed. an Aadhaar holder to mandatorily provide
• Rule 26 B and Form 6B under Registration Aadhaar for authentication or verification
of Electors Rules, 1960: would not be considered violative of
 Rule 26B was added after the amendment their informational autonomy (right to
to provide that every person whose name privacy) which would allow them to decide
is listed in the roll may intimate his which official document they want to use
Aadhar number to the registration officer. for verification and authentication.
 Form 6B provides the format in which • In Lal Babu Hussein (1995), the Supreme
Aadhaar information may be submitted Court had held that the Right to vote cannot
to the electoral registration officer. be disallowed by insisting only on four proofs
of identity.
 Form 6B provides the voter to either
submit their Aadhaar number or any  Voters can rely on any other proof of
other listed document. identity and obtain the right to vote.
However, the option to submit other
 Operational difficulties
listed documents is exercisable only if
• The preference to Aadhaar for the purposes of
the voter is not able to furnish their
determining voters is puzzling as Aadhaar is
Aadhaar number because they do
only a proof of residence and not a proof of
not have an Aadhaar number.
citizenship.
 To that extent, the element of choice that
 Therefore, verifying voter identity against
has been incorporated in the amendments
this will only help in tackling duplication
seem to be negated or at the very least
but will not remove voters who are not
thrown into confusion.
citizens of India from the electoral rolls.
Concerns: • The estimate of error rates in biometric based
• It violates individual privacy by mandating authentication differs widely.
the linking of Aadhaar details with voter identity  As per the Unique Identification Authority
cards; of India in 2018, Aadhaar based biometric
• It goes against the Supreme Court judgment authentication had a 12% error rate.
that limits the use of Aadhaar to the financial  This led the Supreme Court to hold in
and welfare benefits given by the government, Puttaswamy that a person would not
and bars the unnecessary expansion of the be denied of benefits in case Aadhaar
scope of Aadhaar to other areas of life; based authentication could not take
• It may lead to large-scale deletion of names place.
either inadvertently or deliberate targeting; • Civil society has highlighted that linking of the
• It is not really voluntary, as only a set of two databases of electoral rolls and Aadhaar
reasons can be given for those who cannot or could lead violation of the right to privacy
do not wish to give their Aadhaar number; and surveillance measures by the state.

 To address these concerns, one needs for resolution of disputes in cases

to have enforceable data protection involving splits in recognized parties or
principles that regulate how authentication merger of two or more political parties.
data will be used.  It distinguishes between a reserved and a
free symbol.
Conclusion
A reserved symbol is one that is

• The Aadhaar number is not a proof of
allocated to a political party.
citizenship and is meant to be issued to
residents, while only adult citizens who are A free symbol is available to be

resident in India are eligible to vote. allocated to non-recognized parties
and independent candidates.
• Matching the Aadhaar number to the
electoral roll in order to perform verifications • Disputes in Election Symbols
is not a foolproof process.  The dispute regarding electoral symbols is
• Self-reported errors in the Aadhaar database resolved by the Election Commission
are higher than those in the electoral database. of India.
• There is also evidence that Aadhaar-linkage  In Sadiq Ali and Another v. Election
with voter identity cards, as in the Assembly Commission of India 1972 SC held that
elections in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh symbol is not a property that can be
recently led to the arbitrary deletion of eligible simply divided between two owners.
voters on a large scale.  The EC’s power to adjudicate disputes
• The Election Commission of India should limit regarding allotment of election symbols is
itself to utilising existing proofs for voter drawn from Article 324 and the Conduct
authentication and Aadhaar declaration of Election rules, 1961.
should remain voluntary.  The EC has the exclusive authority to
decide on issues over merger or split of a
SYMBOL ALLOTMENT BY ELECTION party.
COMMISSION
 Where the party is vertically divided and it
Context: The Election Commission of India (ECI) is not feasible to establish majority through
ordered a political party to retain the official name and these wings, then the Commission may
symbol of the party. freeze the party’s symbol and advise
the factions to contest elections under
Key details: different names and with temporary
• What are Election symbols? symbols.
 An electoral or election symbol is a  If they settle their differences and reunite,
standardized symbol allocated to a they may approach the Commission again
political party. They are used by the and seek to be recognized as a political
parties during their campaigning and are party.
shown on Electronic Voting Machines  The Commission may even restore the
(EVMs). name and symbol of the original party.
• Origin:
NATIONAL INTEREST CONTENT
 They were introduced to facilitate voting
by illiterate people. The allotment of Context: Recently, the Ministry of Information &
symbols is supervised by the provisions Broadcasting issued an advisory that from march 1,
of Election Symbols (Reservation and all private television channels in the country will be
Allotment) Order, 1968. required to air ‘national interest content’ on a daily
• The Election Symbols (Reservation and basis.
Allotment) Order, 1968
Key details:
 It provided for specification, reservation,
choice and allotment of symbols at • New policy guidelines include a requirement
elections in Parliamentary and State for private broadcasters to undertake public
Assemblies’ constituencies. service broadcasting for 30 minutes every
day, based on certain themes given by the
 It also had provisions regarding the I&B ministry.
registration and recognition of political
parties as state and national parties. • The government also requires the broadcasters
to submit a monthly report online on the
 The Election Symbols Order also provided Broadcast Seva Portal.

What are the themes? Issues and challenges

• Education and literacy • Concerns about electoral corruption:
• Agriculture and rural development  The Election Commission submitted that
• Health and family welfare contrary to the government’s claims,
donations received through electoral
• Science and technology bonds would cause a serious impact on
• Welfare of women transparency.
• Welfare of the weaker sections of the society • Amendments to Finance Acts:
• Protection of environment and of cultural  In order to bring in the scheme, the Centre
heritage had made multiple amendments by
way of two Finance Acts— Finance Act,
• National integration 2017 and Finance Act, 2016, both passed
as money bills (not necessitating the
Exceptions
oversight of the Rajya Sabha).
• The condition applies to all channels, except
 The amendments are challenged as being
those mentioned specifically as exempt, where
“unconstitutional”, “violative of doctrines
this may not be feasible. of separation of powers” and violative of
• These include: some fundamental rights.
 Wildlife channels  The ECI said that the amendments would
 Foreign channels pump in black money for political funding.
 Live telecast in case of sports channels. • Amendment to the Representation of the
People Act:
• Channels broadcasting more than 12 hours
of devotional/spiritual/yoga content are  The government amended Section 29C
of the Representation of the People Act,
exempt from furnishing monthly reports.
1951, effectively exempting political
parties from informing the ECI about the
ELECTORAL BOND SCHEME details of contributions made to them
Context: The Supreme Court is scheduled to examine through electoral bonds.
whether petitions challenging the validity of the electoral  This would impact transparency and
bonds scheme need to be referred to a Constitution keep citizens from vital information
Bench. about how much contribution a political
party received and through what source,
as the source or donor is anonymous
under electoral bonds.
 The ECI said that would prevent it from
ascertaining whether the donations
were received illegally from government
companies or foreign sources, calling it a
retrograde step for transparency.
• Companies Act amendment:
 No companies are required to give
details of political contributions in their
annual profit and loss accounts.
 It is argued that this would increase
opacity in political funding and the danger
of quid pro quo in return for benefits
passed to such companies by political
parties.
 The removal of the cap or ceiling for
companies to make donations was also
opposed.
• Income Tax Act amendment:
 The ECI also raised concerns about the
amendment to the Income Tax Act 1961,
allowing anonymous donations only
less than Rs. 20,000.

 Due to this, many political parties had • That’s because while a donor’s identity is
started reporting a major portion of the hidden from the public view, it is possible
donations received as being less than for the ruling party to know since these
the prescribed limit of Rs. 20,000. bonds are issued by a government-
owned bank (State Bank of India).
• Derailing of ECI guidelines:
• This advantage with the ruling party
 The ECI said that the amendments derailed
allows the possibility for the government
its 2014 guidelines on disclosure of
of the day to either extort money or
expenditure and contributions received
victimise those individuals/ entities
by political parties. that fund the Opposition.
Way forward: • Another key area of concern is that the
• In actual practice, the electoral bonds government, as part of the introduction
of the electoral bonds, had removed the
scheme has left a lot to be desired.
cap on how much money a company
• It has not improved transparency in could donate.
electoral funding. • A quick closure in these matters is
• It is being argued that this scheme has necessary to ensure transparency
rigged the game in favour of the ruling in campaign financing, critical to the
party. integrity of the electoral process.
    
NOTES

ECONOMY
FISCAL DEFICIT IN INDIA  Definition:

Fiscal deficit is the excess of total

Context: In the Union Budget for 2023-24, Finance
Minister projected a decline in fiscal deficit to 5.9% of disbursements from the Consolidated
gross domestic product (GDP) in FY24, compared with Fund of India, excluding repayment
6.4% in FY23. of the debt, over total receipts into
the Fund (excluding the debt receipts)
Key details: during a financial year.
• The government planned to continue on the  A fiscal deficit situation occurs when the
path of fiscal consolidation and reach a fiscal government spends more than it earns.
deficit below 4.5% by 2025-26.
 This deficit is calculated in absolute
• Net market borrowings: terms and also as a percentage of the
 Dated securities - ₹11.8 lakh crore Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the
 Small savings and other sources country.
 Gross market borrowings - estimated at • How it is computed?

₹15.4 lakh crore.  The deficit is calculated by taking out the
• Fiscal deficit to GDP - 5.9% difference between the government’s
total income or receipts and its
• Revenue deficit - 2.9% of GDP.
expenditures.
• Primary deficit - 3% of GDP
 Formula:
 When interest payments are deducted
Fiscal Deficit = Government Revenue

from fiscal deficit
– Government Expenditure
 It reflects the current fiscal stance devoid
of past interest payment liabilities.
About fiscal deficit? • Impact of fiscal deficit:

• Meaning:
 The word ‘fiscal’ refers to annual
government account statements and
the word deficit stands for ‘shortage’.
 The fiscal deficit is the term used to
define the difference between what a
government spends and what it collects
as revenue.

Conclusion:  Complete privatization:

• India is focusing on economic growth In complete privatisation, 100% control

recovery through capex. of the company is passed on to the
buyer.
• Infrastructure investment will boost private
investment. • Who undertakes disinvestment?
• In the fiscal deficit-GDP ratio, if the  The Union Finance Ministry has a
separate department for undertaking
denominator GDP expands, it will reduce the
disinvestment-related procedures called
overall fiscal deficit-GDP ratio.
the Department of Investment and
• The focus is on economic growth recovery to Public Asset Management (DIPAM).
strengthen GDP. • Why the government disinvests?
DISINVESTMENT  To reduce the fiscal burden
 To bridge the revenue shortfall for that
Context: In the Union Budget for 2023-24, the year
government has set a disinvestment target of ₹51,000
 To finance the fiscal deficit
crore.
 To invest in the economy and
development or social sector
programmes
 To retire government debt
Differences between Disinvestment and

privatization
What is disinvestment?
Basis Disinvestment Privatization
• Meaning:
Means Government sells Government
 Disinvestment or divestment is when only a minor stake sells an entire
the government sells its assets or a to a private entity and subsidiary or a
subsidiary, such as a Central or State holds the majority majority stake,
stake with itself which results in the
public sector enterprise. government losing
• Approaches to disinvestment: its control and
ownership
 Minority disinvestment:
Control Dilution of control, the Transfer of control,
On fruition of minority disinvestment,
 government retains control changes
the government retains a majority control hands
in the company, typically greater than Shareholding Government retains G o v e r n m e n t
more than 50% retains less than
51%, thus ensuring management
50% or nil
control.
Examples Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd., Maruti Udyog,
 Majority disinvestment: IRCTC, Coal India Bharat Aluminium
Limited, HAL, BHEL, C o m p a n y
In the case of majority divestment, the
 Indian Oil Corporation (BALCO), Videsh
government hands over control to Ltd., LIC, etc. Sanchar Nigam
the acquiring entity but retains some Limited (VSNL), Air
stake India, etc.

Advantages of Disinvestment How has disinvestment fared?

• Reduces the burden on governments’ • In 2021-22, when Air India was added to
exchequer the Tata group, the Centre missed its high
• Frees government’s capitals to be invested disinvestment target of ₹1.75 lakh crore by a
significant margin, raising just ₹13,534 crore
in other more productive sectors, welfare of
in disinvestment proceeds.
citizens.
• In the current year, a third of its budget
• Brings greater efficiencies and competitiveness
estimate came from the delayed LIC IPO.
to market.
• The sale of the 52.8% stake in Bharat
• Employees can gain monetarily through
Petroleum (BPCL) had to be called off in
Employee stock ownership plan (ESOPs) and mid-2022 because almost all the bidders had
preferential issue of shares. withdrawn.
• Improvement in corporate governance, • The strategic sale of Central Electronics was
efficiency and autonomy to the PSUs. also shelved due to lapses in the bidding
• Unlocking more shares for retail investors. process and the Pawan Hans stake-sale did
not take off as well.
Disadvantage of disinvestment
• While the Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd. (NINL)
• Loss of public wealth to private investors was sold to a steel entity of the Tata group,
• Fear of price rise due to monopoly no sale proceeds accrued to the Centre’s
exchequer as it held no equity in the company.
• Fear of foreign control when a foreign company
buys the major stake of the disinvested • With ₹31,106 crore in the exchequer as
company disinvestment proceeds so far, and less than
two months remaining in the current fiscal, the
• Loss of employment due to privatization government is likely to miss its target.
• Loss of public interest
A brief journey of disinvestment in India:
India’s disinvestment policy
Conclusion
• The Centre needs to stop relying on
disinvestment proceeds to bridge the gap in
its Budget.

20 MONTHLY MAGAZINE JANUARY 2023
• The sums earmarked for these receipts had • A payment aggregator bridges the gap
been increased sharply in recent years, between merchants and acquirers. A merchant
amounting to over 10 per cent of the fiscal need not have a merchant account directly
deficit. with the bank.
• It may be a good idea to not set any budget • At its core, payment aggregators bear the
targets for disinvestment. heavy load of integration with various payment
providers to provide an all-inclusive solution for
• If any sum is realised due to the sale of strategic
payment acceptance.
or partial stake in any year, it can be accounted
for in the actual budget numbers.
• This way, there would be no urgency to
sell stakes in profitable PSUs at cheap
valuations, or to devise innovative methods
to show higher proceeds.
• Not budgeting for such receipts would also
mean that the Centre need not fret about the
fiscal deficit if the disinvestment target is not
met.
• The Centre could, instead, focus
on improving the management of Types of payment aggregators in India
these enterprises to increase their • Third-party payment aggregators:
profitability.
 Third-party PAs offer innovative payment
solutions to businesses.
PAYMENT AGGREGATORS  Their user-friendly features include a
comprehensive dashboard, easy merchant
Context: The payments arm of big technology onboarding, and quick customer support.
companies Amazon and Google have been given in- • Bank payment aggregators
principal approval by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
 It involves high setup costs and is
to operate as online payment aggregators.
difficult to integrate.
 They lack many of the popular payment
options along with detailed reporting
features.
 Because of the high cost, bank payment
aggregators are not suitable for small
businesses and startups.
Payment Aggregator vs Payment Gateways

• A Payment Aggregator offers the customers
various payment options so a merchant does
not need a separate integration system.
• A payment gateway is a company that provides
technology infrastructure to facilitate online
payment processing.
• A payment aggregator handles funds, while
Payment aggregators the gateway only provides the technology.
• A payment aggregator or merchant aggregator
is a third-party service provider that
MAN MADE FIBRE
allows merchants to accept payment from
customers by integrating it into their websites Context: Textile Minister holds first meeting of
or apps. Few examples of payment aggregators the newly constituted Textile Advisory Group for
include PayPal, Stripe, Square, and Amazon Manmade Fibre (MMF).
Pay.


PRIMARY AGRICULTURAL CREDIT SOCIETIES  Credit from the SCBs is transferred to

the district central cooperative banks,
Context: The Union Budget has announced Rs 2,516 or DCCBs, that operate at the district level.
crore for computerisation of 63,000 Primary Agricultural
 The DCCBs work with PACS, which deal
Credit Societies (PACS) over the next five years.
directly with farmers.
Key details:  Individual farmers are members of the
• While SCBs and DCCBs are connected to PACS, and office-bearers are elected
from within them.
the Core Banking Software (CBS), PACS are
not.  A village can have multiple PACS.
• Some PACS use their own software, but • Type of loans:
a compatible platform is necessary to bring  PACS are involved in short term lending
about uniformity in the system. or what is known as crop loan.
• Computerisation of PACS has already  Banks extend this credit at 7 per cent
been taken up by a few states, including interest, of which 3 per cent is subsidised
Maharashtra. by the Centre, and 2 per cent by the state
 The Maharashtra State Cooperative government.
Bank has plans to directly lend to PACS  Effectively, farmers avail the crop loans at
in districts where the DCCBs are either 2 per cent interest only.
financially weak or have lost their • Activities of PACS
banking licence.
 Short term loans to members
 In such a scenario computerisation of
 Accepting Savings deposits from members
PACS would help.
 Running PDS shops
What are PACS?  Selling agricultural inputs
PACS are village level cooperative credit societies  Running Janata Bazar
that serve as the last link in a three-tier cooperative • Significance of PACS:
credit structure headed by the State Cooperative  Provides last mile finance need in rural
Banks (SCB) at the state level. Credit from the SCBs is areas.
transferred to the district central cooperative banks, or
DCCBs, that operate at the district level. The DCCBs  Provides timely access to capital to
work with PACS, which deal directly with farmers. farmers.
• Organisational structure:  Provides credit with minimum paper works
 General Body of PACS: and within shortest duration possible.

• Concerns:
It exercises the control over board as

well as management.  Lack the capability of recovery of distributed
loans.
 Management Committee:
 Political affiliation of chairpersons and
It is elected by the general body to

political interference in day-to-day
perform the work as prescribed by the
businesses of PACs.
society’s rules, acts, and by-laws.
 Lack of adequate coverage in Northeast
 Chairman, Vice-Chairman, and India and in rural populations.
Secretary:
 Lack of adequate medium-term and short-
They work for the benefit of the
 term credits.
members by performing their
roles and duties as assigned to them.  Lack mobilization of self-resources and
always dependent on higher financing
agency for finances.
• Features:  Large overdue problem.
 PACS are village level cooperative  Provide credit to only a small proportion of
credit societies. the total rural population.
 It serves as the last link in a three-tier  Many a times loan amount is spent on
cooperative credit structure. non-farming activities.
 It is headed by the State Cooperative  Lack of credits to farm-gate infrastructures
Banks (SCB) at the state level. like warehouses, micro-irrigation facilities
etc.

Regulatory framework: What is a vostro account?

• A Vostro account is an account that a domestic
bank holds on the behalf of a foreign bank
in the former’s domestic currency, in this case,
the rupee.
• In a Vostro account, a local currency account
can be managed and held by a domestic bank
on behalf of a foreign correspondent bank.
The SRVA arrangement:

• The SRVA is an additional arrangement to the
existing system that uses freely convertible
currencies and works as a complimentary
system.
 Freely convertible currencies refer
to currencies permitted by rules and
regulations of the concerned country to be
converted to major reserve currencies
(like U.S. dollar or pound sterling) and for
Way forward: which a fairly active market exists for
• Need for transforming them into MSCs: dealings against major currencies.
 A PACS must first transform from a  The existing systems thus require
credit society into a multi-service centre maintaining balances and position in
(MSC) and into a one-stop shop for both such currencies.
commodities and services in order to
• Who can have such accounts?
make a significant impact.
 Vostro accounts are not restricted
 To take the process forward, the
to banks, they can be used by other
concerned agencies need to take up
identification of suitable PACSs in each entities such as insurance companies
district based on the potential available and business entities to keep funds with
and chalk out an action plan to convert another entity.
them into MSCs in a defined time frame. • What facilities are provided?
 This process should simultaneously involve  When Vostro accounts are used by
capacity-building of human resources, corresponding banks, the domestic
technology adoption and adoption of bank can execute transfers, deposits,
better governance standards. and withdrawals on behalf of the
• Good Governance: corresponding bank.
 There is a need to transform the working of • How does it function?
rural credit cooperatives by bringing about  The framework entails three important
professionalism and good governance components, namely, invoicing,
practices and making them modern, exchange rate and settlement.
vibrant and relevant institutions for
today’s times. Invoicing entails that all exports and

imports must be denominated and
• A push for Aatmanirbhar bharat:
invoiced in INR.
 These institutions can occupy a prominent
The exchange rate between the

space in the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat
currencies of the trading partner
as also Vocal for Local of the Government
of India as they have the potential to be countries would be market-
the building blocks of an Atmanirbhar determined.
village economy. The final settlement also takes place

in Indian National Rupee (INR).
VOSTRO ACCOUNTS  Domestic importers are required to make
Context: 20 Russian banks have opened Special payment in INR into the SRVA account
Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVA) with partner banks in of the correspondent bank against the
India. invoices.

 Domestic exporters are to be paid

the export proceeds in INR from the
balances in the designated account of the
correspondent bank of the partner country.
• Legal framework:
 All reporting of cross-border
transactions are to be done in accordance
with the extant guidelines under the
Foreign Exchange Management Act
(FEMA), 1999.
• Eligibility criteria of banks
 Banks from partner countries are required
to approach an authorised domestic
dealer bank for opening the SRVA. The The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999
domestic bank would then seek approval (FEMA)
from the apex banking regulator • It is a civil law dealing with foreign exchange
providing details of the arrangement. market in India.
 Domestic banks should ensure that • Under it the Central Government can regulate
the correspondent bank is not from the flow of payments to and from a person
a country mentioned in the updated situated outside the country.
Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
Public Statement on High Risk & Non-Co- • Financial transactions concerning foreign
securities or exchange cannot be carried
operative jurisdictions.
out without the approval of FEMA.
 Authorised banks can open multiple SRV
• The Act empowers RBI to place restrictions
accounts for different banks from the
on transactions from capital Account even if
same country. Balances in the account
it is carried out via an authorized individual.
can be repatriated in freely convertible
currency and/or currency of the
beneficiary partner country depending STOCK MARKET IN INDIA
on the underlying transaction, that is, for
which the account was credited. CONTEXT: The Supreme Court asked the Securities
and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the government
• Significance:
to produce the existing regulatory framework in place
 It helps domestic banks gain wider to protect investors from share market volatility.
access to foreign financial markets and
serve international clients without having What is a stock market?
to be physically present abroad. • It is a place where shares of pubic listed
 The framework could largely reduce the companies are traded. A stock exchange
net demand for foreign exchange, the facilitates stock brokers to trade company
U.S. dollar in particular, for the settlement stocks and other securities. A stock may
of current account related trade flows. be bought or sold only if it is listed on an
 The framework would also reduce the exchange.
need for holding foreign exchange • India’s premier stock exchanges are the
reserves and dependence on foreign Bombay Stock Exchange and the National
currencies, making the country less Stock Exchange.
vulnerable to external shocks.
• Primary market:
 In the long-term it can promote INR as an
international currency once the rupee  The primary market is where companies
settlement mechanism gains traction. float shares to the general public in an
initial public offering (IPO) to raise
As per the Bureau for International

capital.
(BIS) Settlements’ Triennial Central
Bank Survey 2022, the U.S. dollar was • Secondary market:
the most dominant vehicle currency  Secondary market is a market where one
accounting for 88% of all trades. investor buys shares from another
The INR accounted for 1.6%.
 investor at the prevailing market price.

The BSE and NSE Market Regulation

• Most of the trading in the Indian stock market • The stock market is regulated by the Securities
takes place on its two stock exchanges: and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
 The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and • It was formed in 1992 as an independent
 The National Stock Exchange (NSE). authority.
• The BSE has been in existence since 1875. • It enjoys vast powers of imposing penalties on
• The NSE was founded in 1992 and started market participants, in case of a breach.
trading in 1994.
• Both exchanges follow the same trading Laws governing the stock market
mechanism, trading hours, and settlement • The securities market in India is regulated by
process.
four key laws:
• The BSE is the older stock market but the
NSE is the largest stock market, in terms of  The Companies Act, 2013,
volume.  the Securities and Exchange Board of
India Act, 1992 (SEBI Act),
 the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act,
1956 (SCRA) and
 the Depositories Act, 1996.
• The Sebi Act:
 The SEBI Act empowers SEBI to protect
the interests of investors and to promote
the development of the capital/securities
market, besides regulating it.
 SEBI was given the power to:
Register intermediaries like stock

brokers, merchant bankers, portfolio
managers and
Regulate their functioning by

prescribing eligibility criteria, conditions
to carry on activities and periodic
inspections.
 SEBI also has the power to impose
penalties.
Market Indexes • The SCRA:

• The two prominent Indian market indexes are  The SCRA empowers SEBI to:
Sensex and Nifty. Recognise and derecognise stock

 Sensex is the oldest market index for exchanges,
equities Prescribe rules and bye laws for their

 It was created in 1986 and provides functioning, and
time series data from April 1979,
onward.  regulate trading, clearing and settlement
 Nifty was created in 1996 and provides on stock exchanges.
time series data from July 1990 onward. • Depositories Act:
 This Act introduced and legitimised the
concept of dematerialised securities
being held in an electronic form.
 Today almost all the listed securities are
held in dematerialised form.
 What is a dematerialized security?
Dematerialisation is a process through

which physical securities such as
share certificates and other documents
are converted into electronic format
and held in a Demat Account.

 A depository is responsible for holding and Unfair Trade Practices Regulations in

the securities of a shareholder in 1995 and the Prohibition of Insider Trading
electronic form. Regulations in 1992 to prevent the two key
forms of fraud:
SEBI’s role during market volatility  Market manipulation and
• What is market volatility?  Insider trading.
 Market volatility is the frequency and • Violation of these regulations are predicate
magnitude of price movements, up or offences that can lead to a deemed violation
down. of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
• While SEBI does not interfere to prevent • SEBI has been given the powers of a civil
market volatility, exchanges have circuit court to:
filters — upper and lower — to prevent  Summon persons,
excessive volatility.
 Seize documents and records,
• SEBI can direct stock exchanges to stop
 Attach bank accounts and property and
trading or prohibit entities or persons from
buying, selling or dealing in securities, etc.  To carry out investigations.
• Appeals against SEBI:
Guidelines on fund-raising
 Appeals against orders of SEBI and
• The Companies Act has delegated the the stock exchanges can be made to the
authority to enforce some of its provisions Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT).
to SEBI, including the regulation of raising
 Appeals from the SAT can be made to
capital, the Supreme Court.
• SEBI brought out a set of guidelines called • Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT)
the Disclosure and Investor Protection
 A Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has
Guidelines which were thereafter subsumed
been constituted to protect the interest
into a more comprehensive Issue of Capital
of entities that feel aggrieved by Sebi’s
and Disclosure Requirement Regulations.
decision.
• In order to ensure that listed companies followed  SAT consists of a presiding officer and
corporate governance norms, SEBI notified
two other members.
the Listing Obligations and Disclosure
Requirements Regulations in 2015.
• The Collective Investment Regulations
define a CIS (collective investment scheme)
and provide for penal actions against those
running unregistered CIS schemes.
• Entities involved in fund-raising through
issue of capital such as merchant bankers are
also regulated through specific regulations.
Regulation of stock exchanges:
• The SCRA has empowered SEBI to recognise
and regulate stock exchanges and later
commodity exchanges in India.
 This was earlier done by the Union
government.
• Powers to declare an instrument as a
security remain vested in SEBI.
• The Act also seeks to protect the interests of
investors by creating an Investor Protection
Fund for each stock exchange.
Safeguards against fraud

• SEBI notified the Prohibition of Fraudulent

ADDITIONAL SURVEILLANCE MECHANISM is based on criteria that are jointly decided by

(ASM) the Securities and Exchange Board of India
(SEBI) and exchanges.
Context: The National Stock Exchange (NSE) placed • Parameters covered:
Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, and Ambuja Cements
under the additional surveillance mechanism (ASM).  High low variation,
 Client concentration,
What is additional surveillance mechanism
 Close to close price variation,
(ASM)?
 Market capitalisation,
• The ASM was introduced in 2018.
 Volume variation,
• Aim: To protect investors from market
volatility and unusual changes in share  Delivery percentage, and
price.  Number of unique PANs
• Additional Surveillance Measures (ASM) are • Put simply, an ASM shortlisting signals to
based on objective parameters viz. Price / investors that the stocks have seen unusual
Volume variation, Volatility etc.” activity.
• The shortlisting of securities for placing in ASM
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA

• SEBI is a statutory body and a market regulator, which controls the securities market in
India.
• Its basic function is to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote and regulate
the securities market.
• Sebi is run by its board of members.
 The board consists of a Chairman and several other whole time and part time members.
 The chairman is nominated by the union government.
 The others include:
 Two members from the finance ministry,
 One member from Reserve Bank of India and
 Five other members are also nominated by the Centre.
• The headquarters of Sebi is situated in Mumbai and the regional offices are located in
Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai and Delhi.
History
 Before Sebi came into existence, Controller of Capital Issues was the regulatory authority.
 It derived authority from the Capital Issues (Control) Act, 1947.
 In 1988, Sebi was constituted as the regulator of capital markets in India.
 Initially, Sebi was a non-statutory body without any statutory power.
 Following the passage of the Sebi Act by Parliament in 1992, it was given autonomous
and statutory powers.
Functions and powers of Sebi

 It controls activities of stock exchanges
 It safeguards the rights of shareholders
 It guarantees the security of their investment
 It aims to check fraudulence by harmonising its statutory regulations and self-regulating
business
 It also enables a competitive professional market for intermediaries
 It provides a marketplace in which the issuers can increase finance properly.
 It also ensures safety and supply of precise and accurate information from the investors.
 It analyses the trading of stocks and saves the security market from the malpractices.
 It controls the stockbrokers and sub- stockbrokers.
 It provides education regarding the market to the investors to enhance their knowledge.

HIGHER PENSION OPTION OFFERED BY 2014 amendments in EPS

EPFO • The amendments raised the pensionable
salary cap to Rs 15,000 a month from Rs
Context: The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation 6,500, and allowed members along with their
(EPFO) has issued guidelines to allow a section of employers to contribute 8.33% on their actual
its older members to opt for higher pension under salaries (if it exceeded the cap) towards EPS.
the Employees’ Pension Scheme (EPS). • Members opting for pension linked to actual
salaries exceeding the wage ceiling were
Current pension structure:
required to contribute an additional 1.16% of
• The Employees’ Provident Funds and their salary towards the pension fund.
Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 did not • Those who did not exercise the option within
provide for a pension scheme. the stipulated or extended period were deemed
• The EPS, administered by the EPFO, came to have not opted for contribution and the
into being in 1995. extra contributions were to be diverted to
the provident fund account of the member,
• The contribution: along with interest.
 The pension fund was to comprise a
Implications:
deposit of 8.33% of the employers’
contribution towards the PF corpus. • For EPFO:
 This will mean a stream of sharply higher
 Both employees and employers
pension payouts, when linked to actual
contribute 12% of the employee’s basic basic salary rather than the Rs 15,000
salary, dearness allowance and retaining ceiling.
allowance to the EPF.
 It could create strain on the finances of
 The employee’s entire contribution the retirement fund body in future.
goes to EPF, while the 12% contribution  The payouts could extend beyond the
by the employer is split as 3.67% to EPF death of the member, with a provision
and 8.33% to EPS. for pension to the dependent family
 The Government of India contributes members as well.
1.16% for an employee’s pension. • For members and employers:
 Employees do not contribute to the  This would imply higher annuity after
pension scheme. retirement.
 The choice for higher pension would
• Pensionable salary:
then involve transferring of funds from
 At the time of introduction of EPS, the provident fund to pension fund going
maximum pensionable salary was Rs back until September 2014.
5,000 per month.
ANGEL TAX
 This was subsequently raised to Rs 6,500
and, from September 1, 2014, to Rs Context: Indian start-ups that offer their shares to
15,000. foreign investors, may have to pay ‘angel tax’, which
was earlier only supposed to be paid for investments
 The pension contribution currently is raised by resident Indian investors, as per a motion
8.33% of Rs 15,000 unless the employee made in the Finance Bill, 2023.
and employer have opted to contribute
at actual basic salary exceeding the The proposal
pensionable salary. • The Finance Bill, 2023 has proposed to amend
Section 56(2) VII B of the Income Tax Act.
Who gets pension under the EPS?  The provision states that when an unlisted

• The EPS provides employees with pension company, such as a start-up, receives
after the age of 58, if they have rendered at equity investment from a resident for
least 10 years of service and retired at age issue of shares that exceeds the face
58. value of such shares, it will be counted as
income for the start-up and be subject to
• If a member leaves employment between ages income tax under the head ‘Income from
50 and 57, they can avail early (reduced) other Sources’ for the relevant financial
pension. year.

• With the latest amendment, the government • Market Need

has proposed to also include foreign investors
 The next most important challenge for
in the ambit, meaning that when a start-up
raises funding from a foreign investor, that a startup is the location from which it is
too will now be counted as income and be being launched and gauging the market
taxable known as angel tax.s need for the product.
What is angel tax?  Innovation is the key here, in the sense

that the startup would need to tweak
• Angel tax was first introduced in 2012 to
deter the generation and use of unaccounted products existing in the market to suit the
money through the subscription of shares of a demands of the clientele.
closely held company at a value that is higher • Digital Divide:
than the fair market value of the firm’s
shares.  Nearly 70% of the Indian population lives
in rural areas.
• This clause of angel tax was inserted into the
act in 2012 to prevent laundering of black  The customers of the mass market tend to
money, roundtripping via investments with a come from low-income backgrounds in
large premium into unlisted companies. villages.
• Essentially, it’s a tax on capital receipts.  This often discourages many startups to
The tax covers investment in any private
come up with a pan-India approach.
business entity, but only in 2016 was it
applied to startups. • Constant Reinvention
• The Angel Tax is being levied on startups at  The need to constantly reinvent and
30.9% on net investments in excess of the fair come up with a service to be able to
market value. match customer expectations are one
Concerns of the biggest challenges.
• Drop in funding:  Due to the advent of technology and
 The change comes as the funding for competition, the challenge to provide
India’s startups dropped by 33 per cent over and above an earlier innovation is
to $24 billion in 2022 as compared to the immense.
previous year.
• Regulations
 Foreign investors are a key source of
funding for the start-ups and have played  Although things are improving on the
a big role in increasing the valuation. regulations front, it is still challenging
 This could compel more startups to flip to register a company, which takes
overseas, as foreign investors may not anywhere between a month to 6 months.
want to deal with additional tax liability by  Regulations pertaining to labour laws,
virtue of their investment in the startup. intellectual property rights, information
Issues faced by Startups in India technology, contracts, dispute
• Funding resolution etc. are stringent in the
country which might make it difficult for the
 Nearly 242 million dollars of venture
startup initially.
capital funding has gone into a total of 64
startups in India according to a research.
Conclusion
This number is negligible and there is a
strong cause to increase it substantially • Currently startups in India are witnessing
more to sustain early-stage risk capital. a golden chapter in the history of Indian
 Due to the processes involved and the entrepreneurship. Still the government has a
high-interest rates, debt as a source crucial role to play in positioning India as the
of funding is also not a viable option. Tech Garage of the World.
Personal funding becomes an issue as
• Startups should act as a catalyst, and bring
financial stability calls for immediate
sources of revenue which may not be together the synergies of the private sector
possible in the initial stages of starting with the aim of innovating for India and the
a company. world.

MIIRA • Secretariat:
 The MIIRA secretariat will be in Delhi.
Context: India has introduced a draft to launch a global
initiative to encourage the consumption and production About Millets:
of millet known as MIIRA.
• Millets are small-grained cereals such as:
What is MIIRA?  Sorghum (jowar),
• MIIRA stands for ‘Millet International Initiative  Pearl millet (bajra),
for Research and Awareness’.
 Foxtail millet (kangni/ Italian millet),
• Aim:
 Little millet (kutki),
 The MIIRA will be aimed at coordinating
 Kodo millet,
millet research programmes at the
international level.  Finger millet (ragi/ mandua),
 Besides setting up a web platform  Proso millet (cheena/ common millet),

to connect researchers and holding  Barnyard millet (sawa/ sanwa/
international research conferences, jhangora), and
the plan is also to raise awareness for  Brown top millet (korale).
promoting the consumption of millet.
• These crops require much less water than rice
• Significance: and wheat, and are mainly grown in rainfed
 This is significant as issues like food areas.
security and nutrition are among the key • Global producers:
priority areas in the agriculture sector
 Its major producers are the US, China,
during India’s G20 Presidency.
Australia, India, Argentina, Nigeria, and
India assumed the G20 Presidency on
 Sudan.
December 1, 2022.
• Millets as Nutri Cereals:
• Funding:
 The Agriculture Ministry declared millets
 India will contribute the seed money. as ‘Nutri Cereals’ for their high nutritive
 Each G20 member will later have to value.
contribute to its budget in the form of a  Finance Minister of India has described
membership fee. millets as “Shree Anna”.

RELATED INITIATIVES TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT

National Millets Mission (NMM)
NMM was launched in 2007 to promote the production and consumption of millets.
Price Support Scheme (PSS)

Provides financial assistance to farmers for the cultivation of millets.
Development of Value-Added Products
Encourages the production of value-added millet-based products to increase the demand and
consumption of millets.
Promoting Millets in PDS
The government has introduced millets in the Public Distribution System to make it accessible and
affordable to the masses.
Promotion of Organic Farming
The government is promoting organic farming of millets to increase the production and consumption
of organic millets.
    
NOTES

ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRONMENT &
& GEOGRAPHY
GEOGRAPHY
ORANGUTANS GLACIAL LAKE OUTBURST FLOODS
Context: A gang smuggling orangutans in India has Context: Around 15 million people across the world
escaped through Chennai, allegedly with the help of face the risk of sudden and deadly flooding from glacial
some police personnel. lakes, which are expanding and rising in numbers due
to global warming, according to a new study.
Key findings of the study:

• More than half of those who could be impacted
live in four countries:
 India
 Pakistan
 Peru
 China
• According to a 2020 study, the number and
total area of glacial lakes worldwide have
increased by about 50 percent since 1990.
The paper estimates that 15 million people
live within the 50 km danger zone of glacial
lakes.
• Populations in High Mountains Asia (HMA) —
a region stretching from the Hindu Kush all the
way to the eastern Himalayas are the most
exposed. India and Pakistan make up one-
third of the total number of people globally
exposed to GLOFs — around three million
people in India and around two million people
in Pakistan.
• In the past two decades, due to climate
change, glacial lakes across the Andes have
increased by 93 per cent, in comparison to 37
per cent in high-mountain Asia.
What are glacial lake outburst floods or

GLOFs?
• Glacial lakes are large bodies of water that
sit in front of, on top of, or beneath a melting
glacier.

• In case the boundary around them breaks, • Existing buildings are to be relocated to
huge amounts of water rush down the side a safer nearby region and all the resources
of the mountains, which could cause flooding for the relocation have to be managed by
in the downstream areas. Central/State governments.
• This is called glacial lake outburst floods or • New infrastructures in the medium hazard
GLOF. zone have to be accompanied by specific
protection measures.
• A GLOF refers to the flooding that occurs when
the water dammed by a glacier or a moraine
EARTHQUAKES
is released suddenly.
• Unlike earthen dams, the weak structure of Context: Recently, an earthquake of magnitude 7.8
the moraine dam leads to the abrupt failure of struck south-central Turkey and Northwest Syria.
the dam on top of the glacial lake, which holds
large volume of water. What kind of earthquake occurred in Turkey
and Syria?
• Causes of GLOF:
• Turkey and Syria lie at the confluence of three
 Earthquakes plates — the Arabian Plate, the Anatolian
 Ice avalanche Plate and the Eurasian Plate, making the
 Global warmig region an extremely seismically active zone.
• Example: • The Arabian Plate is inching north into Europe,

causing the Anatolian Plate (which Turkey sits
 In 2013, one such event took place in on) to be pushed out west.
Uttarakhand’s Kedarnath when the
• The bulk of Turkey sits on the Anatolian Plate
region witnessed flash floods along with
between two major faults: the North Anatolian
a GLOF caused by the Chorabari Tal
Fault and the East Anatolian Fault.
glacial lake, killing thousands of people.
How can the risk be reduced?

• Limiting climate change and keeping warming
under 1.5 degree Celsius will help slow the
growth of glacial lakes
• Identifying and mapping such lakes, taking
structural measures to prevent their sudden
breach, and establishing mechanism to save
lives and property in times of a breach.
• Potentially dangerous lakes can be identified
based on field observations, records of past
events, geomorphologic and geotechnical
characteristics of the lake/dam and
surroundings, and other physical conditions. • Geologists say that the earthquakes were
from a ‘strike-slip’ which is typical of the
• Use of Synthetic-Aperture Radar imagery to
earthquakes in the region.
automatically detect changes in water bodies,
including new lake formations, during the Why were these earthquakes so devastating
monsoon months. and deadly?
• Methods and protocols could also be developed • As this region hosts many fault systems, there
to allow remote monitoring of lake bodies are many earthquakes being recorded in the
from space. region.
• To manage lakes structurally, reduce • Only those that result in a release of energy
the volume of water with methods such as above a certain threshold are captured by
controlled breaching, pumping or siphoning seismological instruments.
out water, and making a tunnel through the
• At magnitude 7.8, the February 6 event is much
moraine barrier or under an ice dam.
bigger than the ones the area has experienced
• Restricting constructions and development before.
in GLOF/LLOF prone areas.
• The fault system runs along nearly 190 km
• Construction of any habitation should be which is why the impact of the earthquakes
prohibited in the high hazard zone. was so far-ranging.

• The second earthquake, of 7.5 magnitude, • All the subsequent ones, including the one of
occurred further to the north on a different but 7.5 magnitude, emerged from even closer to
adjacent fault system called the Sürgü Fault. the surface.
• The magnitudes of these earthquakes suggest • Shallow earthquakes are generally more
that there will be several aftershocks that can devastating because they carry greater energy
be registered in a wide radius and reports of when they emerge on the surface.
shakes from as far away as Cairo (950 km) and • Deeper earthquakes lose much of their energy
Istanbul (815 km) away have been reported. by the time they come to the surface.
Do shallow earthquakes cause greater • The deeper quakes spread farther though —
damage? the seismic waves move conically upwards to
the surface — even as they lose energy while
• Recent earthquakes emerged from relatively travelling greater distances, and hence cause
shallow depths which made them devastating.
less damage.
• The first earthquake, of magnitude 7.8,
originated 17.9 km below the Earth’s surface.
Turkey Earthquakes
and ‘Pancake Collapse’
of building structures
Context: The collapse of buildings, which added to the
damage caused by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that
claimed the lives of many people in Turkey and Syria,
occurred within a range of about 300 kilometers from the
hypocenter, while in many areas, floors fell vertically and
stacked on top of each other like pancakes, according to
experts.
What is pancake collapse?
• This means that the lower floors of middle- or high-rise buildings first crumbled, creating a domino effect
and triggering upper floors to collapse vertically into the floors below so they became stacked like pancakes.
What are guidelines to escape from pancake collapses?
• Turkey's quake-resistance standards, like those of many other countries, specify that by using an increased
amount or thicker rebar for pillars, they should be designed to be stronger than horizontal beams.
• By doing so, in the event of powerful earthquakes, the beams crumble before the pillars, apparently
enhancing the toughness of the structure so it can avoid a collapse while changing its shape.
• Moreover, if the earthquake's intensity surpasses the building's resistance, the entire building collapses.
What happened in Turkey?
• Many pieces of footage confirmed in the current earthquake showed "pancake collapses" in which pillars
fall apart first.
• There is the possibility that the buildings had not fulfilled current quake-resistant standards, citing an
insufficiency in the cross-sectional area of the pillars, an insufficient quantity of rebar in the area joining
the pillars and beams, and poor concrete quality.
• If the pillars crumble first, the building collapses instantaneously. The damage grew larger through pilotis
architecture which features a first floor with store establishments and parking lots, and few quake-resistant
walls, as well as apartments with few pillars.
Are Indian buildings ‘Pancake collapse proof’?
• No, most of the old Indian buildings have similar kind of ‘piolotis architecture’ as found in Turkey.
• There is a need of retrofitting in these old building structure, which requires a lot of capital expenditure.

What are aftershocks and why do they occur?

• Aftershocks are a sequence of earthquakes that happen after a larger mainshock on a fault.
• Aftershocks occur near the fault zone where the mainshock rupture occurred and are part of the
readjustment process after the main slip on the fault.
• While they become less frequent with time, although they can continue for days, weeks, months, or
even years for a very large mainshock.
• Impact of aftershocks:
Although aftershocks tend to be weaker than the main seismic event, they can cause significant

damage.
Aftershocks throw a spanner in ongoing relief and rescue operations, often hurting rescuers

themselves.
What is an earthquake and how it occurs?

• According to the plate tectonic theory the
surface of the Earth is divided into 7 major
plates and several minor ones.
• They move a few centimetres a year, riding
on semi-molten layers of rock underneath the
crust.
• As the plates move, they pull apart or collide,
unleashing the powerful movements known
as earthquakes.
Types of Plate Boundary

Measuring earthquake’s magnitude • This will be done by injecting a hormone

• Richter Scale. derived from the ovary lining of pigs.
 It was devised in 1935 by Charles Francis • The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests
Richter. and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) approved
the 10-year research project for developing
 The Richter Scale (denoted as ML) the immuno-contraception in 2016.
is a logarithmic scale, where each
step represents a tenfold increase in • What are vermin?
magnitude. Vermin are pests or nuisance animals

 Thus, an earthquake measured 7 on the that spread diseases or destroy crops or
Richter Scale has 10 times the magnitude livestock.
of one measured 6. The scale was • On which vermin will it be used?
calibrated by defining a magnitude 0 shock
 It includes a study on immune-
as one that produces (at a distance of 100
contraceptive measures for population
km) a maximum amplitude of 1 micron
management of four species namely:
using the Wood-Anderson seismograph.
Elephant

• Consequently, the Moment Magnitude Scale
(denoted as Mw) was developed. Wild pig

 A Moment is a physical quantity Rhesus macaque

proportional to the slip on the fault Nilgai

multiplied by the area of the fault surface
that slips.  Nilgai antelope and wild boar have
become a menace in many areas of India,
 Thus, it is related to the total energy destroying crops and causing human-
released in the earthquake. animal conflict.
 This scale provides a more accurate  The project deals with population
estimate of magnitude, especially as one management of species involved in
goes higher up the scale. human-wildlife conflict.
 Like the Richter Scale, this too is a • Status of vermin under law:
logarithmic scale.
 The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972,
Measuring the intensity states that the central government can
• Intensity scales, like the Modified Mercalli declare any wild animal other than
Scale and the Rossi-Forel scale, measure those specified in Schedule I and Part
the amount of shaking at a particular location. II of Schedule II to be vermin for any area
and for such period as may be specified
• An earthquake causes many different
therein.
intensities of shaking, depending on how
deep it is located on the earth’s crust and how  So long as such notification is in force,
far it is from its epicentre. such wild animal shall be deemed to have
been included in Schedule V.
• Earthquakes of lower magnitude can be more
intense if they are located in more shallow Schedules of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
ground or if the area where they occur has
more loose soil, etc. • The WPI is divided into six schedule
lists that provide varying degrees of
• The Modified Mercalli Scale, the most
protection.
commonly used intensity scale, ranks
earthquake intensity on a scale of I to XII.  Schedule I
This
 Schedule deals with
VACCINE TO REDUCE ‘VERMIN’
POPULATIONS endangered species.
Because
 these species require
Context: The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is working
strict protection, the greatest
to develop immuno-contraceptive measures for
population management of species that have become punishments for law violations
problematic for humans in many parts of the country. are listed in this Schedule.
Key details: Species
 listed in this Schedule
are forbidden from being hunted
• The new measures will be able to reduce
reproduction in the species by making the in India, unless they pose a
female sterile. threat to human life.

Species on
 this list have absolute  Schedule 5
protection. Schedule 5 animals are referred to

It is illegal to trade these animals.
 as “vermin” and can be hunted.
For
 eg: It includes only four animals:

o Mice, rats,
o Tiger, blackbuck, Himalayan
Brown Bear, Brow-Antlered o Common crows, and
Deer, Blue whale, Common o Flying foxes (fruit eating
Dolphin, Cheetah, Clouded bats).
Leopard, hornbills, Indian  Schedule 6
Gazelle. It
 regulates the cultivation of
 Schedule II a specific plant and restricts
its possession, sale, and
Animals
 on this list are also
transportation.
afforded high protection, with
trade prohibited. Plant cultivation and trade are

only permitted with the prior
They
 cannot be hunted unless approval of a competent authority.
there is a threat to human life or Schedule VI plants include:

they are suffering from a disease/
o Beddomes’ cycad (Native to
disorder that is beyond recovery.
India)
For
 eg: o Blue Vanda (Blue Orchid)
o Assamese Macaque, Pig o Red Vanda (Red Orchid)
Tailed Macaque, Stump Tailed
o Kuth (Saussurea lappa)
Macaque, Bengal Hanuman
o Slipper orchids (Paphiopedilum
langur, Himalayan Black Bear,
spp.)
Himalayan Newt/ Salamander,
Jackal, Flying Squirrel, Giant o Pitcher plant (Nepenthes
Squirrel, Sperm Whale, Indian khasiana)
Cobra, and King Cobra.
 Schedule 3 and Schedule 4 WILDLIFE INSTITUTE OF INDIA
Schedules
 III and IV contain non- • It is an autonomous body established in 1982
endangered species. under the Ministry of Environment Forest and
Climate change.
This
 includes protected species
• It carries out wildlife research in areas of study
where hunting is prohibited,
like:
but the penalty for any violation is
 Biodiversity,
less severe than in the first two
schedules.  Endangered Species,
 Wildlife Policy,
Examples
 of Schedule III
animals:  Wildlife Management,
o Chital (spotted deer), Bharal  Wildlife Forensics,

(blue sheep), Hyena, Nilgai,  Spatial Modeling,
Sambhar (deer), Sponges  Ecodevelopment,
Examples
 of Schedule IV  Ecotoxicology,
animals:  Habitat Ecology and
o Flamingos, Hares, Falcons,  Climate Change.
Kingfishers, Magpies, • Headquarters: The institute is based in
Horseshoe Crabs Dehradun.

PANGOLINS WHALE STRANDING

Context: A not-for-profit organisation working on the Context: Many pilot whales were stranded near the
international trade of animals and plants, has brought shore of Kalpitiya, a town located on Sri Lanka’s west
out a fact sheet reporting that 1,203 pangolins have coast.
been found in illegal wildlife trade in India from 2018
to 2022.
What is whale stranding?

• Whale stranding is a phenomenon in which
whales are stuck on land, usually on a beach.
• Reasons for mass strandings: Topography of
the region, illness, human activities, increasing
noise pollution etc. among others.
 Noise pollution severely impacts whales’
and other marine animals’ ability to use
sound to navigate, find food and protect
themselves.
 This can drive them ashore by
deafening, disorienting, or
frightening them.
CYCLONE FREDDY
Context: Cyclone Freddy made landfall along
Madagascar’s south-eastern coast recently.
Key details:
• It is a Very Intense Tropical Cyclone.
• Freddy travelled around 7,200 km from the
southeast Indian Ocean to Madagascar in
15 days.
• This is the first time since 2000 that a cyclone
has moved such a long distance from the
south-eastern parts to the south-western parts
of the Indian Ocean.
• It is highly unusual for cyclones to be
sustained for such long time periods
and travel such long distances.


RHODODENDRONS • However, the sound that radiates from ships,

on a long-term basis, affects them and results
Context: The Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas in internal injuries, loss of hearing ability,
are home to more than one-third of all types of change in behavioural responses, masking,
rhododendrons found in India, according to the latest and stress.
publication of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI). • What is an Underwater noise emission or
ocean noise?
Key findings:
 Ocean noise refers to sounds made by
• Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas comprise human activities that can interfere with
only 0.3% of India’s geographical area but or obscure the ability of marine animals
the region is home to one-third (34%) of all to hear natural sounds in the ocean.
rhododendron types.
• Noise pollution in Indian waters:
• Rhododendron, meaning rose tree in Greek, is  The UNE or underwater sound pressure
considered an indicator species for climate levels in the Indian waters are 102-115
change. decibels.
 The East Coast level is slightly higher
than that of the West.
• Causes:
 Continuous shipping movement is
identified to be a major contributor to the
increase in the global ocean noise level.
The noises from ships are overlapping

the marine species’ communication
frequencies.
This is called masking, which could

have led to a change in the migration
route of the marine species to the
shallow regions.
It is also making it difficult for them to

About Rhododendron: go back to the deeper water.
• Rhododendron are woody plants.
• They can be either evergreen or deciduous.
• Distribution:
 Native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan
region
 North America, Europe and Australia
 Between latitudes 80°N and 20°S
• It is the national flower of Nepal, the state
flower of Nagaland and the state tree of
Sikkim and Uttarakhand.
UNDERWATER NOISE EMISSIONS

Context: The rising man-made (anthropogenic)
underwater noise emissions (UNE) from ships in the
Indian waters are posing a threat to the life of marine
mammals like Bottlenose dolphin, Manatees, Pilot
whale, Seal and Sperm whale.
Key details:
• The main form of energy for multiple
behavioural activities of marine mammals is
based on sound.

MISHTI • The country lost 40% of its mangrove cover

during the last century.
Context: Finance Minister of India announced a new
initiative MISHTI for mangrove plantations along the • Kerala, for instance, lost 95 percent of its
coastline and on saltpan lands in her budget speech. mangroves in the last three decades.
• This decline has been attributed to the
conversion of the habitat to agriculture,
aquaculture, tourism and urban development.
Current state of the mangroves

• South Asia houses some of the most extensive
areas of mangroves globally, while Indonesia
hosts one-fifth of the overall amount.
• India holds around 3% of South Asia’s
mangrove population.
 The Sundarbans in West Bengal, the
Andamans region, the Kachchh and
Jamnagar areas in Gujarat too have
substantial mangrove cover.
• Between 2010 and 2020, around 600 sq km of
mangroves were lost of which more than 62
per cent was due to direct human impacts.
Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC)

• It was launched by the UAE and Indonesia,
on the sidelines of the UN climate summit
COP27, held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
• It was launched to meet the goal towards
Importance of Mangroves: carbon sinking by restoring mangrove
• Mangroves cover only about 0.1 per cent of plantations.
the planet’s surface. Yet, they can potentially
store up to 10 times more carbon per EXTENDED PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY
hectare (ha) than terrestrial forests.
Context: In line with the clarion call given by Prime
• Mangrove forests — consisting of trees and Minister to phase out single use plastics, the Central
shrub that live in intertidal water in coastal Government and State Governments have been taking
areas host diverse marine life. resolute steps for elimination of single use plastics
• They also support a rich food web, with which includes Extended Producer Responsibility.
molluscs and algae-filled substrate acting as a
breeding ground for small fish, mud crabs and What is Extended Producers’ Responsibility?
shrimps, thus providing a livelihood to local • Extended producers’ Responsibilities is a
artisanal fishers. globally recognized policy used as an
• These plantations can protect coastal effective tool to put the onus on the producers
communities by acting as a natural barrier for efficient end of life waste management
against storm surges. of the plastic, electronic and electrical
• Mangrove ecosystems prevent more than equipment.
$65 billion in property damage and reduce • The concept of EPR responsibility is based on
flood risks for around 15 million people yearly. three foundation principles:
Mangroves in India:  Pollution prevention approach
• In India, the total mangrove cover is 4,992  Life cycle thinking
square kilometers, according to the 2021  Polluter pay principle
Forest Survey Report (FSR).
• EPR responsibility makes it the responsibility
• Odisha, Maharashtra and Karnataka are of the producers not only to take back
ranked top in terms of mangrove cover. products for recycling but also to design
 Sundarbans in Bengal is one of the better and longer life products to minimize
largest mangrove forests on the planet. the amount of waste generated.

 Producers of waste are mandated to

ensure that generation of plastic waste
is minimized, and plastic waste is not
littered and stored at the source, which
is then handed over to local bodies or
authorized agencies.
• EPR responsibility Certificate
 EPR responsibility Certificate is authorized
by Central Pollution Control Board
which is mandatory for Producers/
Importers of the Electronic products.
• Under these rules, the producers have a
responsibility to delegate this responsibility to
the third party or specialized organizations
which manufacturers can financially aid for
proper waste management.
Central Pollution Control Board

• It was established under the Water
EPR in India (prevention and control of pollution) Act,
1974 and later entrusted with the functions and
• EPR Responsibility Policies under E-Waste responsibilities under the Air (prevention and
Management Rules control of pollution) Act, 1981.
 E-Waste (management and handling) • It functions under the Ministry of Environment,
Rules, 2016 adopted Extended Producers Forest and Climate Change.
Responsibility for the first time in India.
• It serves as a field formation and also
 EPR responsibility under E-Waste provides technical services to the Ministry of
(Management) Rules, 2016 stipulates Environment and Forests of the provisions of
collection targets of E-Waste for the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
producers.
 The producers are responsible for
setting up collection centres Advantages of EPR Responsibility
for e-waste and financing • Producers get financial incentives to
and organizing a system for escape from the added cost of waste
environmentally sound management management and recycling.
of e-waste.
• EPR responsibility has opened the
 The producers are required to have
market to the new and innovative
an arrangement with dismantlers
and recyclers through either business of Producers Responsibility
the Producers responsibility Organisation waste management.
organization or the E-Waste • EPR responsibility puts more pressure
exchange system. on developed countries that are major
 Marketing or selling any electronic contributors to exporting E-Waste to
equipment without EPR developing countries to build their
responsibility Authorization is recycling units and facilities.
considered a violation of the rules. Challenges
• EPR responsibility Policy under Plastic
• No clear-cut demarcation of responsibility:
Waste Management Rules
 In EPR responsibility policy itself as
 The Plastic Waste Management
the regulations fail to define each
(Amendment) Rules, 2022 provide
guidelines for strengthening the circular stakeholder’s individual responsibility,
economy of plastic packaging waste as making it more confusing for them to
well as promoting alternatives to plastic. understand.

• Hurdles for legal recycling plants: • There is also a heat wave if the maximum
 Due to the vast reach of illegal recycling temperature crosses 45°C in plains or 37°C
units among the general public, finding at a hill-station.
a lucrative and profitable market for legal
Heat waves in India:
recycling plants has become very difficult
and costly. • Heat waves are expected to become longer
and more intense and frequent over the
• Hurdles for formal sector:
Indian subcontinent.
 Lack of handling capacity to illegitimate
• They also extended further south into
facilities of the large informal sector in the
peninsular India due to a north-south
forms of multiple accounting of waste,
pressure pattern set up by the La Niña.
selling to aggregators and leakages.
 La Nina is a world-affecting weather
Way forward: phenomenon in which a band of cool
• A tracking mechanism: water spreads east-west across the
equatorial Pacific Ocean.
 What India needs is to develop tracking
mechanisms and provide oversight of • The last three years have been La Niña
waste compliance, in order to ensure years, which has served as a precursor to
that the mechanism of waste disposal is 2023 likely being an El Niño year.
streamlined as much as possible.  The El Niño is a complementary
• Incentives: phenomenon in which warmer water
 While enforcement strictness is of spreads west-east across the equatorial
paramount importance, it is also vital Pacific Ocean.
to build an incentive structure around • Heat waves tend to be confined to north
this to ensure better complicity by the and northwest India in El Niño years.
producers. • In spring, India typically has air flowing in
• Innovations: from the west-northwest.
 The time is ripe for innovators to come  In the context of climate change, West
up with propositions that bridge the gap Asia is warming faster than other regions
between the compliance necessity and serves as a source of the warm air
faced by producers and the strong will of that blows into India.
the Government to rid the toxic waste in a
 Air flowing in from the northwest rolls in
sustainable and safe manner.
over the mountains of Afghanistan
Conclusion and Pakistan and enters India with a
bristling warmth.
• With the influx in the number of electronic
products and new technology in the market,  While air flowing in over the oceans is
the recent years have seen an increase in expected to bring cooler air, the Arabian
E-Waste. Sea is unfortunately warming faster
than most other ocean regions.
• EPR responsibility aims to decrease this
influx by putting the responsibility on the  The strong upper atmospheric westerly
producers to create a better product with winds that come in from the Atlantic
better technology that can last longer. Ocean over to India during spring, control
• But along with producers, the policymakers the near-surface winds.
also have to take into account the large  This descending air compresses and
market of informal recyclers who are major warms up to generate some heat waves.
contributors to E-Waste pollution. • Global warming and heat wave:
ANATOMY OF HEAT WAVES  The Lapse rate (the rate at which
temperatures cool from the surface to the
Context: The India Meteorological Department upper atmosphere) is declining under
(IMD) warned that the maximum temperatures over global warming.
northwest, west, and central India would be 3-5°C  Global warming tends to warm the upper
higher than the long-term average. atmosphere faster than the air near the
What is a heat wave? surface.
• According to the IMD, a region has a heat wave  The sinking air is warmer due to global
if its ambient temperature deviates by at least warming, and thus produces heat waves
4.5-6.4°C from the long-term average. as it sinks and compresses.

• India should further improve forecast

warnings, issue them as soon as possible,
and couple them with city-wide graded heat
action plans to protect the vulnerable.
CHILIKA LAKE
Context: The intense storm surge that had
accompanied extremely severe cyclone Fani in early
May 2019 had opened four new mouths in the Chilika
Lake in Odisha. These were distinct from the main
mouth of the lake where it opens into the sea.
• While two of the new mouths closed down in
April 2022, two others are still open, affecting
the biodiversity of the lake and the livelihoods
of the people dependent on it.
• Many people around the lake have no other
means of earning an income other than
fishing.
Consequences:
• If the new mouths do not close down and
sea water continues to enter the lake, it
could be disastrous for the ecosystem as the
biochemistry of Chilika would change.
• For instance, the species with low salinity
Occurrence of Heat waves:
tolerance like some of the macrophytes and
• Heat waves are forms for one of two reasons: weeds will die, which might affect other fish
 warmer air is flowing in from elsewhere or species dependent on them. This could also
 it is being produced locally. impact fish catch.
• It is a local phenomenon when the air is
warmed by higher land surface temperature
or because the air sinking down from above
is compressed along the way, producing hot
air near the surface.
• Air mass and heat waves
 The north-northwestern heatwaves
are typically formed with air masses that
come from 800-1,600 km away and are
around two days old.
 Heat waves over peninsular India on the
other hand arrive from the oceans, which
are closer (around 200-400 km) and are
barely a day old and are on average less
intense.
Conclusion:
• Heat waves have a sophisticated anatomy
with important implications for how well we can
predict them.
• Early-warning systems can improve the
quality of warnings and also increase how
soon they can be issued.
• Sizeable investments in human and
computational resources have already
increased India’s forecast skills in the last
decade.
• Mortality over India due to heat waves are
substantially lower than those in other mid-
latitude regions.

BUDGET’S GREEN GROWTH PUSH  It will be notified under the Environment

(Protection) Act.
Context: Recently, the finance minister listed ‘Green
Growth’ as one of the seven priorities of Budget. • PM-PRANAM: ‘Programme for Restoration,
Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration
of Mother Earth’
 To incentivize States and UTs to
promote alternative fertilizers and
balanced use of chemical fertilizers.
• GOBARdhan scheme: Under it, 500 new
‘waste to wealth’ plants will be established
for promoting circular economy.
• Bhartiya Prakritik Kheti Bio-Input Resource
Centres: To facilitate 1 crore farmers to adopt
natural farming, over the next three years.
 For this, 10,000 Bio-Input Resource
Centres will be set-up, creating a national-
level distributed micro-fertilizer and
pesticide manufacturing network.
• MISHTI (Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline
Habitats & Tangible Incomes): For mangrove
plantation along the coastline and on salt pan
lands, wherever feasible, through convergence
Component elements of the Budget’s Green between MGNREGS, CAMPA Fund and other
Growth push sources.
• Green Hydrogen Mission: National Green
Hydrogen Mission will:
 Facilitate transition of the economy to
low carbon intensity
 Reduce dependence on fossil fuel
imports, and
 Make the country assume technology
and market leadership in this sunrise
sector.
India aims to reach a target of an

annual production of 5 MMT of green
hydrogen by 2030.
• Energy Transition: The Budget has provided
for priority capital investments towards energy
transition and net zero objectives, and
energy security.
• Energy Storage Projects: To steer the
economy on the sustainable development
path, Battery Energy Storage Systems with
capacity of 4,000 MWH will be supported with
Viability Gap Funding.
 VGF: Designed to provide capital LITHIUM RESERVES
support to PPP projects which would
not otherwise be financially viable. Context: News of the discovery of 5.9 million
• Renewable Energy Evacuation: The
tonnes inferred resources of lithium in the
construction of Inter-state transmission Salal-Haimana area of Reasi district, Jammu &
system for evacuation and grid integration. Kashmir, by the Geological Survey of India has
been received as a game-changer in India’s
• Green Credit Programme: For encouraging
impending transition to a green economy.
behavioural change.

Key details: • It never occurs freely in nature, but only in

• The term ‘inferred’ refers to the ‘preliminary compounds. Due to its solubility as an ion, it
is present in ocean water and is commonly
exploration stage’, the second of a four-step
obtained from brines.
process.
• Lithium-ion batteries are used in wind What is lithium used for?
turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicles, • It is mostly employed in the manufacturing of
all of which are crucial in a green economy. ceramics and glassware, greases,
• A World Bank study suggests that the demand medicinal compounds, air conditioners,
for critical metals such as lithium (Li) and cobalt and aluminum, among other things.
is expected to rise by nearly 500% by 2050. • Due to its maximum energy storage capacity
• As India currently imports all of its Li from per kilogramme it is an ideal option for electric
Australia and Argentina and 70% of its Li- vehicle manufacturers due to its enormous
ion cell requirement from China and Hong energy storage capacity and incredibly low
Kong. weight.
• The lithium reserves in J&K could boost the • It is used in batteries to power smartphones,
domestic battery-manufacturing industry. laptops and other gadgets.
• If the perceived size of the mineral reserves in • Lithium is an essential component in the
rechargeable batteries that run electric
J&K is borne out by further exploration, India
vehicles (EVs) and in storage batteries for
could jump ahead of China vis-à-vis its Li
energy from renewable sources.
stockpile.
• In Pharmaceuticals, it is used as a mood
• The J&K reserves will also help advance the
stabilizer in the treatment of the bipolar
Indian government’s ambitious plan of 30%
disorder, depression, and other mental
EV penetration in private cars, 70% for
health conditions.
commercial vehicles, and 80% for two and
three-wheelers by 2030 for the automobile • Lithium is used in the aerospace and military
industry. industries to cool the temperature-sensitive
components in space vehicles and military
• They will strengthen India’s National Mission equipment, such as radar systems and missile
on Transformative Mobility and Battery guidance systems.
Storage as well.
India’s Lithium reserve vs Lithium reserves in
other countries
• The lithium deposit in Jammu and Kashmir
may contain a significant amount of lithium,
however it is currently insufficient to compare
to the top lithium reserves in the world.
• Earlier, researchers at the Atomic Minerals
Directorate (under India’s Atomic Energy
Commission) estimated lithium reserves of
14,100 tonnes in a small patch of land surveyed
in Southern Karnataka’s Mandya district.
• Lithium is currently extracted from two main
sources—hard rock mines or as brine from
salt flats and lakes, from where it is recovered
using evaporation tanks.
• Identified lithium resources worldwide stood
at 89 million tonnes at the start of 2022, the
reserves or mineable parts of the resources
stood at 22 million tonnes.
• Half of the world’s lithium resources are
What is lithium? concentrated in Latin America (mostly Bolivia,
• Lithium is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. It Chile, and Argentina), Australia, and China.
is the least dense metal and the least dense • In 2021, almost 90% of lithium mining
solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is happened in Chile, China, and Australia, with
highly reactive and flammable. Australia leading production.

• Since South America is a particularly rich  To reduce dependence on China, the

supply of the metal, the three nations of Bolivia, Indian government and industry are
Chile, and Argentina are collectively referred pushing for a ‘Rare Earths Mission’
to as the “Lithium Triangle.” to exploit the country’s critical mineral
• Furthermore, China is the world’s leader in reserves, which account for 6% of the
the manufacture of electric vehicles. world’s rare-earths’ reserves prior to the
• Beijing currently has 55% of the chemical discovery of Li in J&K.
lithium supply needed for battery-powered Environmental effects
electric vehicles.
• Water consumption and CO2 emissions:
 It is one of the largest EV battery
suppliers to India.  Extracting Li from hard rock mines entails
open-pit-mining followed by roasting
the ore using fossil fuels.
 Industry estimates suggest that this
process consumes 170 cubic metres of
water and releases 15 tonnes of CO2 for
every tonne of Li extracted.
• Open-pit-mining, refining, and waste disposal
from these processes substantially degrade
the environment, including depleting and
contaminating waterways and groundwater,
diminishing biodiversity, and releasing
Geostrategic concerns considerable air pollution.
• Net Zero carbon system:
What safeguards does India’s mining sector
 Critical mineral dependencies constitute have?
a major geostrategic concern in the
• In recognition of the local effects of mining, in
transition to net-zero carbon energy
2015, the Lok Sabha amended the Mines and
systems.
Minerals (Development and Regulation)
 As countries seek to avoid dependencies Act 1957 to establish the ‘District Mineral
and vulnerabilities related to critical Foundation’ (DMF).
minerals, the latter are likely to be at least
 The DMF is a non-profit statutory ‘trust’
as important as oil and gas in the near
future. for every Indian district affected by mining-
related operations that should work for
• Dependence on China:
the interest and benefit of persons,
 A high level of dependence on China and areas affected by mining-related
for Li and other crucial metals and their operations.
derivatives are also perceived to be
sources of energy security risks. Conclusion
 China currently controls 77% of the global • India, which has mostly relied on imports for
lithium-ion battery manufacturing the mineral, now has hope with the finding of
capacity and is home to six of the world’s a large reserve. The fact that the majority of
10 manufacturing companies. the global reserve is located in regions with
 As a result, the EU, the U.S., Canada, India, severe water stress makes this discovery
and other major economies have been even more important.
trying to leverage alternative supplies • India is a potential replacement because the
that can challenge China’s geopolitical mineral requires a large amount of water for
dominance in this area. extraction and the majority of the reserves are
 The growing geopolitical rivalry in nations with water shortages. The discovery
with China makes India’s security might mark the start of a new era for the entire
considerations more immediate. world as well as India.

MARINE PROTECTED AREAS • IUCN offered seven categories of protected

area, based on management objectives and
Context: Roughly 10 million square kilometers of four broad governance types.
the ocean must be annually brought under Marine
Protected Areas (MPA) to protect 30 percent of the
Category IUCN Protected Area
world’s ocean by 2030, according to experts speaking
at the ongoing fifth International Marine Protected Management Categories:
Areas Congress.
I (a) Strict nature reserve
Key details:
• Countries set a target of protecting 30 percent A marine reserve usually connotes
of the planet’s lands and oceans by 2030 at “maximum protection”, where all
the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15)
resource removals are strictly
to the Convention on Biological Diversity
(CBD) held in 2022. prohibited.
• Currently, MPAs represent only about 6

percent of the ocean. I (b) Wilderness area
 Of this, 2.4 percent are fully and highly
protected and 3.6 per cent are highly II National Park
protected.
 The remaining 0.8 percent are designated A marine park may prohibit
and 2 per cent have been proposed and fishing or extraction of resources,
committed. but allow recreation.
 Fully protected areas prevent extractive
or destructive activities. III Natural monuments or features
 Highly protected MPAs allow light
extractive activities. Established to protect historical
sites such as shipwrecks and
What are Marine protected areas?
cultural sites such as aboriginal
• Marine protected areas (MPA) are protected fishing grounds.
areas of seas, oceans, estuaries, or in the
US, the Great Lakes.
IV Habitat/species management
• MPAs restrict human activity for a
area
conservation purpose, typically to protect
natural or cultural resources.
Established to protect a certain
• Definition: species, to benefit fisheries, rare
 The International Union for habitat, as spawning/nursing
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) defines
grounds for fish, or to protect entire
a marine protected area as:
ecosystems.
Marine protected area (MPA) is a term for

protected areas that include marine
environment and biodiversity.
V Protected seascape
 The Convention on Biological Diversity Limited active management, as

defined the broader term of marine and
with protected landscapes.
coastal protected area (MCPA):
Any defined area within or adjacent
 VI Sustainable use of natural
to the marine environment, together
resources
with its overlying water and associated
flora, fauna, historical and cultural
features, which has been reserved by Marine Protected Areas in India
legislation or other effective means, • Considering both the national parks along the
including custom, with the effect that coastlines of the peninsular Indian subcontinent
its marine and/or coastal biodiversity as well as the sanctuaries in the islands and
enjoys a higher level of protection than Union Territories there are altogether 31
its surroundings. marine protected areas in India.

• There are four significant national parks • It is also been known as the ‘River of
where the Bureau of the Interior Department Disaster’ and ‘China’s sorrow’ because of
checks human interference in marine life as the devastating floods it has wrought in its
per the terms of 1972’s Wildlife Protection basin from pre-history to the last century.
Act.
• Some examples:
 Bhitarkanika National Park
 The Sundarbans in West Bengal.
 The Gulf of Mannar Marine
Conservation in Tamil Nadu.
 The Gulf of Kachchh in the southern
part of Gujarat.
 Some notable marine sanctuaries
of the country include:
 Chorao Island in Goa,
 Chilka in Odisha,
 Malvan Sanctuary and Thane
Creek Sanctuary of Maharashtra, ASSI RIVER
 Pulicat Lake of Andhra Pradesh. Context: The Assi a minor tributary of the Ganga
 The union territories of Lakshadweep has been struggling for a while now, with rampant
and Andaman and Nicobar Islands encroachments and administrative negligence.
also feature numerous protected areas to
About the river:
safeguard marine life.
• Varuna river, a minor tributary of the
Conclusion
Ganga is named after the god Varuna,
• The Marine Protected Areas in India feature the god of water.
a rich variety of wildlife that attracts visitors
from different nations. After the Wildlife • The river rises from Melhum at Phulpur
Protection Act was passed in 1972, the Wildlife in Allahabad and enters Varanasi in
Conservation Society has put extensive order to finally merge in the Ganga at
efforts to preserve marine biodiversity. Still, Sarai Mohana.
large areas remain unprotected. • The rivulet that borders the city of
• The nation as a whole commit to the act of Varanasi at its south and joins the Ganga
protecting the biodiversity that bring pride to our at Asi Ghat is known as Assi or Asi
nation and are part of our profound heritage. River.
YELLOW RIVER • The name Varanasi itself is interpreted
to be derived from combination of
Context: Recently, a new study has noted that the ‘Varuna’ and ‘Asi’ on the name of rivers.
Chinese practice of building embankments is also to joins the Ganga at Asi Ghat.
blame for the devastating floods the Yellow River has
wrought in its basin from pre-history to the last century.
About Yellow River (Huang He)

• It is the second-longest river in China, after
the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river
system in the world.
• Origin: Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai
province of Western China
 It empties into the Bohai Sea.
• It is known as the ‘mother river’ of Chinese
civilization.

OMORGUS KHANDESH
    
NOTES

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

MUONS

ASTROSAT
Context: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has made an announcement of opportunity (AO) to
allow scientists and researchers to analyse data from the first dedicated Indian astronomy mission, AstroSat.
LAB GROWN DIAMONDS  These gas molecules are broken down

into carbon and hydrogen atoms, which
Context: Recently, the Finance Minister of India has get deposited on the seed giving it a shape
announced the government’s move to focus on lab of square, tabular diamond crystal. This
grown diamonds. process also requires heat or irradiation
to give the crystal a colour effect.
• Uses
 LDGs are most often used for industrial
purposes, in machines and tools.
 Their hardness and extra strength make
them ideal for use as cutters.
 Furthermore, pure synthetic diamonds
have high thermal conductivity, but
negligible electrical conductivity.
This combination is invaluable for

electronics where such diamonds can
be used as a heat spreader for high-
How are LDGs produced?
power laser diodes, laser arrays and
• High pressure high temperature method: high-power transistors.
Most common and cheapest method.  As the Earth’s reserves of natural
 This method requires extremely heavy diamonds are depleted, LDGs are slowly
presses that can produce up to 730,000 replacing the prized gemstone in the
jewelry industry.
psi of pressure under extremely high
temperatures (at least 1500 celsius).  Like natural diamonds, LDGs undergo
similar processes of polishing and
 Usually, graphite is used as the diamond cutting that are required to provide
seed. diamonds their characteristic lustre.
• Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD): A
chemical process in which the seed is heated
SICKLE CELL DISEASE
up to 800 degrees in a sealed chamber filled Context: In the union budget of FY 2023-24, it is
with molecules of carbon-rich gas such as announced to launch a mission to eliminate sickle cell
methane. anemia by 2047.

What is Sickle Cell Disease? • Cause of SCD

• Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of  SCD is a genetic condition that is present
inherited red blood cell disorders. at birth.
 Red blood cells contain hemoglobin, a  It is inherited when a child receives two
protein that carries oxygen. genes—one from each parent—that code
• Healthy red blood cells are round while in SCD, for abnormal hemoglobin.
the hemoglobin is abnormal, which causes • Prevention and Treatment
the red blood cells to become hard and sticky
 Prevention strategies include lifestyle
and look like a C-shaped farm tool called a
behaviors as well as medical screening
“sickle.”
and interventions to prevent SCD
• The sickle cells die early, which causes a complications.
constant shortage of red blood cells.
 Vaccines can protect against harmful
• Also, when they travel through small blood infections.
vessels, they get stuck and clog the blood
 The only therapy approved by the FDA
flow.
that may be able to cure SCD is a bone
• This can cause pain and other serious marrow or stem cell transplant.
complications (health problems) such as
infection, acute chest syndrome and stroke.  Bone marrow is a soft, fatty tissue inside
the center of the bones, where blood cells
are made.
 A bone marrow or stem cell transplant
is a procedure that takes healthy cells that
form blood from one person—the donor—
and puts them into someone whose
bone marrow is not working properly.
• Types:
 HbSS
People who have this form of SCD

inherit two genes, one from each
parent, that code for hemoglobin “S.”
Hemoglobin S is an abnormal form of

hemoglobin that causes the red cells
to become rigid, and sickle shaped.
This is commonly called sickle cell
 VOICE DEEPFAKES
anemia and is usually the most severe
Context: Several users of the social media platform
form of the disease.
4chan, used speech synthesis and voice cloning
 HbSC service provider, ElevenLabs, to make voice deepfakes
 of celebrities like Emma Watson, Joe Rogan, and Ben
inherit a hemoglobin “S” gene from Shapiro.
one parent and a gene for a different
type of abnormal hemoglobin called Key details:
“C” from the other parent. • What are voice deepfakes?
This is usually a milder form of SCD.
  A voice deepfake is one that closely
 HbS beta thalassemia mimics a real person’s voice.
  The voice can accurately replicate
inherit a hemoglobin “S” gene tonality, accents, cadence, and other
from one parent and a gene for unique characteristics of the target person.
beta thalassemia, another type of  People use AI and robust computing
hemoglobin abnormality, from the other power to generate such voice clones or
parent. synthetic voices.

• Threats
 Attackers are using such technology to India and deepfakes
defraud users, steal their identity, and • In India there are no legal rules against using
to engage in various other illegal activities
deepfake technology.
like phone scams and posting fake
videos on social media platforms. • However, specific laws can be addressed for
misusing the tech, which include Copyright
 Voice deepfakes used in filmmaking have
Violation, Defamation and cyber felonies.
also raised ethical concerns about the
use of the technology.
NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL POLICY 2022
Context: Experts suggested ways of pushing forward
the new Geospatial Policy and harnessing it for
National Development at the two-day conference on
“Geospatial Policy for National Development”.
What is the National Geospatial Policy?

• The new Geospatial Policy will replace the
National Map Policy, 2005.
• Aim and purpose:
 To strengthen the location-centric
industry to support the information
economy.
 To make India a global leader in Global
Geospatial space.
• It uses guidelines for acquiring and producing
geospatial data and related services including
maps as its foundation.
• The DST guidelines deregulated the
What are the ways to detect voice deepfakes?
geospatial sector and liberalised the
• Detecting voice deepfakes need highly acquisition, production, and access of data in
advanced technologies. the field.
• Cybersecurity tools have yet to create • The government aims to employ geospatial
foolproof ways to detect audio deepfakes. technology and data towards achieving
• Research labs use watermarks and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
blockchain technologies to detect deepfake • The policy emphasises the importance of
technology. locally available and locally relevant maps
• Programmes like Deeptrace are helping to and geospatial data.
provide protection.
• It seeks to create long-term, sustainable
• Multifactor authentication (MFA) and anti- geospatial information management
fraud solutions can also reduce deepfake through capacity development and education
risks. programmes.
• Role of Survey of India:
What is a deepfake?  SOI will play the lead role in maintaining
high resolution/high spatial accuracy
• Deepfakes are a compilation of artificial orthoimagery (geometrically corrected
images and audio put together with machine- image to remove geographical and optical
learning algorithms to spread misinformation distortion)
and replace a real person’s appearance,
 Actual collection and collation of data
voice, or both with similar artificial likenesses
will be increasingly done with private
or voices. sector participation.
• It can create people who do not exist and it
can fake real people saying and doing things • Significance:
they did not say or do.  The government hopes that the policy will
• The term deepfake originated in 2017. encourage open standards, open data
and platforms.

 The policy is structured to contribute Security Concern

towards the democratization of data. • Securing complex data such as geospatial data
 Survey of India (SoI) topographic data poses major challenges and bottlenecks that
and other geospatial data produced using are yet to be fully understood and addressed.
public funds would be treated as common • Importance has to be given to addressing the
goods and made easily available. National security concerns, such as:
 Liberalisation in the field has the potential  Access control
to support the government’s ease of  Securities and privacy policies
doing business policy.
 The development of GIS applications in
• Organisational Structure: the areas of Defence
 The Geospatial Data Promotion and • The simple integration of data from the di erent
Development Committee:
ﬀ
repositories makes it more vulnerable and
At the national level it shall be the
 there are chances of data misuse and privacy
apex body for formulating and violations.
implementing strategies related to
promotion of the Geospatial sector.
It would replace the National Spatial

Data Committee (NSDC) constituted
in 2006.
 Department of Science and Technology:
Department of Science & Technology

shall be the nodal Department.
The above Committee shall make

recommendations to DST in the
discharge of its functions relating to the
Geospatial regime.
ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION IN INDIA

Context: Union Health Ministry does away with a
clause in the National Organ and Tissue Transplant
Organisation guidelines that said a patient should be
less than 65 at the time of registration
Key details:
• The government has decided to do away with
the clause in the National Organ and Tissue
Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) guidelines
as it violates the right to life. Now an individual
of any age can register for organ transplant.
• Earlier, an organ recipient could register for a
prospective transplant only in the domicile
State. The government has decided to do
What is geospatial data? away with the domicile policy.
• Geospatial data are descriptions of events or
occurrences with a location on or near the Status of organ transplantation in India
surface of the earth. • There is a wide gap between patients who
need transplants and the organs that are
• This location can be:
available in India.
 Static – relating to earthquakes,
• An estimated around 1.8 lakh persons suffer
vegetation, etc., from renal failure every year, however the
 Dynamic – a person walking on the road, number of renal transplants done is around
a package being tracked, etc. 6000 only.

• An estimated 2 lac patients die of liver failure Legal Framework in India

or liver cancer annually in India, about 10-
• Transplantation of Human Organs Act
15% of which can be saved with a timely liver
(THOA) 1994:
transplant.
 Transplantation of Human Organs
• Similarly, about 50000 persons suffer from
Heart failures annually but only about 10 Act (THOA) 1994 was enacted to
to 15 heart transplants are performed every provide a system of removal, storage
year in India. and transplantation of human organs
for therapeutic purposes and for the
• In case of Cornea, about 25000 transplants
prevention of commercial dealings in
are done every year against a requirement of 1
human organs.
lakh.
 Under THOA, source of the organ may
be:
NOTTO: National Organ and Tissue
Near
 Relative donor
Transplant Organization
Other than near relative donor

• National Network division of NOTTO would Deceased donor

function as apex centre for all India activities • The Transplantation of Human Organs
of coordination and networking for procure-
(Amendment) Act 2011.
ment and distribution of organs and tissues
and registry of Organs and Tissues Donation  Some of the important amendments under
and Transplantation in country. the (Amendment) Act 2011 are as under: -
Tissues have been included along

• Headquarters: New Delhi
with the Organs.
• NOTTO is set up under the Directorate General ‘Near relative’ definition has been

of Health Services, Ministry of Health and expanded to include grandchildren,
Family Welfare. grandparents.
• Two divisions: Provision of Swap Donation included.

Provision of Mandatory ‘Transplant

 National Human Organ and Tissue
Coordinator’ in all hospitals registered
Removal and Storage Network
under the Act
 National Biomaterial Centre National Human Organs and Tissues

Removal and Storage Network and
• Functions:
National Registry for Transplant are
 Lay down policy guidelines and protocols to be established.
for various functions.
Issues and Challenges
 Creating awareness, promotion • High Burden (Demand Versus Supply gap)
of deceased organ donation and
• Poor Infrastructure especially in Govt. sector
transplantation activities.
hospitals
 Dissemination of information to all • Lack of Awareness of concept of Brain Stem
concerned organizations, hospitals and Death among stakeholders
individuals.
• Poor rate of Brain Stem Death Certification
 Monitoring of transplantation activities by Hospitals
in the regions and States and maintaining • Poor Deceased Organ donation rate
data-bank in this regard.
• Lack of Organized systems for organ
 To assist the states in data management, procurement from deceased donor
organ transplant surveillance & Organ • Maintenance of Standards in Transplantation,
transplant and Organ Donor registry. Retrieval and Tissue Banking
 Consultancy support on the legal • Prevention and Control of Organ trading
and non-legal aspects of donation and • High Cost (especially for uninsured and poor
transplantation. patients)
• Regulation of Non- Govt. Sector

NISAR

NASA Key details:

• About ALMA:
• The National Aeronautics and Space
 ALMA is a state-of-the-art telescope that
Administration is an independent agency of
studies celestial objects at millimetre
the U.S. federal government responsible for the
civil space program, aeronautics research, and submillimetre wavelengths.
and space research. These wavelengths can penetrate

• NASA was established in 1958. through dust clouds and help
astronomers examine dim and distant
• Headquarters: Washington, D.C.
galaxies and stars out there.
ISRO  It also has extraordinary sensitivity,

which allows it to detect even extremely
• The Indian Space Research Organisation is
faint radio signals.
the national space agency of India.
• Headquarters: Bengaluru.  The telescope consists of 66 high-
precision antennas, spread over a
• It operates under the Department of Space
distance of up to 16 km.
(DOS) which is directly overseen by the
Prime Minister of India. • Who operates ALMA?
• It is one of six government space agencies  ALMA is operated under a partnership
in the world which: among the United States, 16 countries
 Possess full launch capabilities, in Europe, Canada, Japan, South Korea,
Taiwan, and Chile.
 Deploy cryogenic engines,
• Who constructed it?
 Launch extraterrestrial missions and
 Operate large fleets of artificial satellites.  It is fully functional since 2013.
• ISRO has the world’s largest constellation  The radio telescope was designed,
of remote-sensing satellites and operates planned and constructed by:
the GAGAN and NAVIC satellite navigation The US’s National Radio Astronomy

systems. Observatory (NRAO),
The
 National Astronomical
BHASHINI INITIATIVE Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) and
The European Southern Observatory

(ESO).
• Location of the telescope:
 ALMA is situated on the Chajnantor
plateau in Chile’s Atacama Desert as
the millimetre and submillimetre waves
observed by it are very susceptible to
atmospheric water vapour absorption
on Earth.
 The desert is the driest place in the
world, meaning most of the nights here
are clear of clouds and free of light-
distorting moisture, making it a perfect
location for examining the universe.
• Notable discoveries made by ALMA
 In 2013 it discovered starburst galaxies
ALMA TELESCOPE earlier in the universe’s history than they
were previously thought to have existed.
Context: The Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre  In 2014 ALMA provided detailed images of
Array (ALMA), a radio telescope comprising 66 the protoplanetary disc surrounding HL
antennas located in the Atacama Desert of northern Tauri — a very young T Tauri star in the
Chile is set to get software and hardware upgrades. constellation Taurus.

 In 2015, the telescope helped scientists  Ocean climate change advisory

observe a phenomenon known as the services:
Einstein ring, which occurs when light  Under the mission, the government
from a galaxy or star passes by a massive will work on development of
object en route to the Earth. models upon observations that
 More recently, as part of the Event Horizon will provide future projections of
Telescope project (a large telescope important climate variables.
array consisting of a global network of  This will be made from seasonal
radio telescopes), it provided the first to decadal time scales.
image of the supermassive black hole  This particular component will be
at the centre of our own Milky Way galaxy. supporting the “Blue Economy
priority area of coastal tourism.”
 Technologies for deep sea mining,
and manned submersibles:
 The component is focused
on developing a manned
submersible that will be able to
carry three people to a depth of
6000 meters in the ocean.
 Scientific sensors and tools can
also be taken for an Integrated
Mining System in order to conduct
DEEP OCEAN MISSION exploration services.
Context: The Centre’s Deep Ocean Mission, which  There are only a few countries
aims to explore marine biodiversity for the sustainable
that have acquired this capability.
use of resources, has been allocated Rs 600 crore in  Conducting deep ocean survey
the Union Budget 2023-2024. and exploration:
 The Indian government is trying
What is Deep-sea mining?
to explore as well as identify
• Deep-sea mining involves extracting ores potential sites that have multi-
rich in cobalt, manganese, zinc and other rare metal Hydrothermal Sulphides
metals from the sea floor. mineralization within the Indian
• They contain critical minerals needed to build Ocean mid-oceanic ridges.
batteries for electric vehicles and renewable  Technological innovations for
energy capacity, smartphones and laptops, exploration and conservation of
according to experts. deep-sea biodiversity:
• In 2016, India was awarded a 15-year  Under this component, the
contract to explore an area of 75,000 square focus of the government will be
kilometres for mining polymetallic nodules bioprospecting of deep-sea
from the Central Indian Ocean Basin at flora and fauna and also study
depths of 5,000-6,000 metres. how utilization of deep sea can be
sustainable.
About Deep Ocean Mission:  Energy and freshwater from the
• The mission is expected to explore the deep ocean:
ocean for resources and at the same time,  For off-shore energy development,
develop deep sea technologies that can be the aim under this component
used for sustainable use of ocean resources. will be studying the detailed
• The government is envisioning the new India engineering design for offshore
by 2030 where the focus is also on the Blue Ocean Thermal Energy
Economy. Conversion (OTEC).
• The deep ocean mission has six major  This will also power a desalination
components: plant.

 Advanced marine station for ocean IN-SPACe

biology:
Context: Till date, 135 applications have been received
 The marine stations will be formed by IN-SPACe from 135 Non-Governmental Entities
to study ocean biology and (NGEs) in the Space Sector.
engineering.
 This component will translate About IN-SPACe
research into industrial • Indian National Space Promotion and
application and product Authorization Centre (IN–SPACe) is a
development through on-site single-window autonomous agency under
business incubator facilities. the Department of Space of the Government
of India.
• The Indian government took the historic
decision in 2020 to open up the Space
sector and enable the participation of Indian
private sector in the entire gamut of space
activities.
• To facilitate private sector participation, the
government has created the Indian National
Space Promotion and Authorisation
Centre (IN-SPACe), as a single-window,
independent, nodal agency.
• IN-SPACe plays an important role in boosting
the private space sector economy in India.
• Functions: IN-SPACe, is responsible to:
 Promote, enable authorize and supervise
various space activities of the NGEs that
include:
The building of launch vehicles &

satellites
Providing space-based services;

Sharing of space infrastructure and

premises under the control of DOS/
ISRO;
Establishment
 of new space
infrastructure and facilities.
 IN–SPACe will act as a link between the
MANIPUR’S HEIMANG Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO) and private sector companies,
Context: A recent study, conducted in vitro, states assessing how best to utilise India’s space
that extracts of the heimang fruit inhibits the formation resources and increase space-based
of calcium oxalate crystals (which make the most activities.
common type of kidney stones) and of experimentally • Three Directorates:
induced urinary stones.
 Promotion Directorate (PD),
 Technical Directorate (TD) and
 Program Management and Authorization
Directorate (PMAD)

MICROLED DISPLAYS • Benefits over other displays

 MicroLED displays are brighter,
Context: Apple’s shift to microLED display technology
have better colour reproduction
is reportedly under process. and provide better viewing angles.
 MicroLEDs have limitless
scalability, as they are resolution-
free, bezel-free, ratio-free, and
even size-free.
 The screen can be freely resized in
any form for practical usage.
 MicroLEDs also individually
produce red, green, and blue
colours without needing the same
backlighting or colour filters as
conventional displays.
• Issues associated with Micro LEDs
 High manufacturing cost.
About microLEDs  Highly complex manufacturing
process, thus requiring precise
• MicroLEDs are self-illuminating diodes that
control over many variables.
have brighter and better colour reproduction
 Less energy-efficient, as they require
than Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED)
a lot of power to operate.
display technology.
 An OLED is a solid-state device AMORPHOUS ICE
consisting of a thin, carbon-based Context: Scientists have created a new type of ice
semiconductor layer that emits light that matches the density and structure of water,
when electricity is applied by perhaps opening a door to studying water’s mysterious
adjacent electrodes. properties.
 In order for light to escape from the Key details:
device, at least one of the electrodes
• The ice is called medium-density amorphous
must be transparent. ice.
• The basis of microLED technology are • Normally, when water freezes, it crystallizes
sapphires. and its molecules are arranged into the
 A sapphire can shine on its own familiar hexagonal, solid structure that we
forever. call ice.
• Ice is less dense than its liquid form — an
• How they work:
unusual property for a crystal.
 The picture in a microLED screen • Depending on conditions such as pressure
is generated by several individual and the speed of freezing, water can also
light-emitting diodes. solidify in any of two dozen other regular
 MicroLED is as small as cutting a arrangements.
centimetre of hair into 200 smaller • Amorphous ice has no such order.
pieces.
Amorphous ice
 Each of these microLEDs are • Amorphous ice is an amorphous solid form
semiconductors that receive of water.
electric signals.
• How it is produced:
 Once these microLEDs are gathered,  Amorphous ice is produced either by
they form a module. rapid cooling of liquid water, or by
 Several modules are then combined compressing ordinary ice at low
to form screens. temperatures.

 Amorphous ice dominates in the depths Link with microbiome

of interstellar medium, making this likely • The gut microbiome is believed to have a big
the most common structure for H2O in
impact on immune modulation and metabolic
the universe at large.
activities in the human body.
• Properties:
 Immune modulation refers to the efforts
 Suppressing long-range density of the immune system to ensure its
fluctuations and are, therefore, nearly response is proportionate to a threat.
hyperuniform.
• Research has shown that abnormalities in gut
 Amorphous ices are glasses
microbiome can challenge a person with
• Forms toxic metabolites and keep the person from
 Low-density amorphous ice synthesising the metabolites required to
Low-density amorphous ice, also called
 produce neurotransmitters.
LDA, vapor-deposited amorphous • As a result, fixing the gut in ASD can reduce
water ice or amorphous solid water the toxic.
(ASW) is usually formed in the
laboratory by a slow accumulation of Way forward
water vapor molecules onto a very • Reinstating a balance in the gut microbiome
smooth metal crystal surface
and reversing gut dysbiosis among children
 Medium-density amorphous ice with ASD could alleviate many problems they
Medium-density
 amorphous ice face and improve their quality of life.
(MDA) can be created by shaking • One promising approach to reverse gut
regular ice in a small container with dysbiosis is faecal microbial transplantation
centimeter-wide stainless-steel balls at
(FMT).
temperatures of –200˚ C.
 Here stool samples from healthy
 High-density amorphous ice
individuals are transplanted into the
High-density amorphous ice (HDA) can
 large intestines of affected children
be formed by compressing ice Ih at
temperatures below ~140 K. • There is also some evidence that gluten-free
and casein-free diets can help children with
 Very-high-density amorphous ice
ASD.
Very-high-density
 amorphous ice
(VHDA) become denser if warmed to • Hence, the role of diet, prebiotics, probiotics,
160 K at pressures between 1 and 2 synbiotics (which combine the benefits of
GPa. probiotics and prebiotics), and FMT for the
efficient management of ASD can be said to
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER be encouraging.
Context: Researchers are yet to fully understand

the causes of ASD. However, they are beginning to
find that a disorder in the gut-brain axis could have a r
prominent role.
About Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

• ASD is the term for a group of
neurodevelopmental disorders.
• It is a developmental disability caused by
differences in the brain. People with ASD often
have problems with social communication
and interaction, and restricted or repetitive
behaviors or interests.
• People with ASD may also have different ways VACCINE-DERIVED POLIO
of learning, moving, or paying attention.
According to the WHO, ASD affects one in 100 Context: The risk of global spread of vaccine derived
children. poliovirus remains a public health emergency of
• Treatment: Current treatments for ASD seek international concern, a World Health Organization
to reduce symptoms that interfere with daily committee has found after looking into updates from
functioning and quality of life. 10 countries.

Key details: • Advantages of oral polio vaccine

• Several countries reported climate-related (OPV) used
disasters, including both flooding and drought,  People who receive OPV cannot be
that were causing greater vulnerability to silent spreaders.
several disease outbreaks, including polio.
 After developing an immune response
• The ongoing conflict in several polio-affected
to the vaccine, they are immune to
countries also continued to pose significant
challenges to the programmes.
polio for life.
• However, the successful introduction of the  Polioviruses cannot replicate in
novel oral polio vaccine and re-introduction their gut and infect others.
of the trivalent oral polio vaccine (tOPV) • Symptoms and treatment:
are expected to mitigate the risk of the
international spread of cVDPV2.
 Affecting mainly children under five,
it is often asymptomatic but can also
• Clusters of WPV1:
cause symptoms including fever and
 There remain only three genetic clusters vomiting.
of WPV1 internationally —
 Around one in 200 infections leads to
A cluster in Pakistan,
 irreversible paralysis, and among those
One in Afghanistan and
 patients, up to 10% die.
One in Africa.
  There is no cure, but since a vaccine
was found in the 1950s, polio is entirely
Vaccine derived polio
preventable.
• What is it?
 Vaccine-derived polioviruses are POLIOVIRUS
related to the active viruses in the Context: The West Bengal government announced
oral polio vaccine (OPV). that it was introducing an additional dose of injectable
 OPV works by infecting cells in the polio vaccine as part of the Universal Immunisation
gut with weakened polioviruses, Programme (UIP) for children.
allowing the body to safely develop
What is polio?
immunity to polio without the risk of
paralysis posed by the real disease. • Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a disabling and life-
threatening disease caused by the poliovirus.
 The weakened viruses would still The virus spreads from person to person
infect you. and can infect a person’s spinal cord, causing
 One will develop a lifelong immunity, paralysis.
but will not get paralyzed. • Poliovirus can invade the central nervous
 But the vaccine-derived virus will system causing irreversible paralysis in
still be able to transmit from person hours.
to person • Types:
• Vulnerabilities and threats:  There are three types of polio virus
 This transmission becomes serotypes: types 1, 2 and 3.
problematic in communities with low • Prevention
vaccination rates.  There are two types of vaccine that can
 If the virus can spread for a long time, prevent polio:
it has many chances to mutate and Inactivated
 poliovirus vaccine
revert to a dangerous paralytic form. (IPV) given as an injection in
 In communities with low vaccination the leg or arm, depending on the
rates and poor sanitation, however, patient’s age.
the live weakened virus that is A live attenuated (weakened)

contained in the oral polio vaccine oral polio vaccine (OPV) is still
may be allowed to circulate for long used throughout much of the
periods. world.

• Treatment: Tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis


 There is no cure for polio. (whooping cough), tetanus,
poliomyelitis, measles, hepatitis B,
diarrhoea, Japanese encephalitis,
rubella, pneumonia (haemophilus
influenzae type B) and Pneumococcal
diseases (pneumococcal pneumonia
and meningitis).
India’s achievement against polio

• In 2012, the WHO removed India from the list
of endemic countries.
• In 1995, the Union government announced the
first National Polio Immunisation Day.
• Detection of last cases in India:
 The last case of poliovirus type 2 case
was recorded in India in October 1999 at
Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.
was on October 22, 2010, at Pakur,
Jharkhand. About International Astronomical Union
was recorded on January 13, 2011, at • The IAU is a nongovernmental organisation.
Howrah, West Bengal.
• The International Astronomical Union is
• As of 2022, the WHO said only two the foremost international association of
countries worldwide remain with indigenous professional astronomers.
transmission of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1)
— Afghanistan and Pakistan. • It has more than 13000 individual members
and 82 national members, including India.
• Government initiatives:
• Aims:
 Pulse Polio initiative:
 Advancing astronomy in all aspects,
The Pulse Polio Initiative was started
 including promoting astronomical
with an objective of achieving hundred
research, outreach, education, and
per cent coverage under Oral Polio
development through global cooperation.
Vaccine.
• It was founded in 1919 and is based in Paris,
It aimed to immunize children.

France.
 Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0:
A nationwide immunisation drive

that marked 25 years of Pulse polio CCR-5 MUTATION FOR HIV
programme.
Context: A 53-year-old man from Germany, referred
 Universal Immunization Programme to as the Dusseldorf patient, has become at least the
(UIP): third person to have been “cured of HIV” with the virus
 Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) not being detectable in his body even four years after
is a vaccination programme launched in stopping the medicine.
1985.
• This was achieved with a bone-marrow
 The programme consists of vaccination transplant from people carrying a specific
for 12 diseases- HIV-resistant genetic mutation.

About CCR5 mutation • Is any vaccine available?

• The HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)  Although there is no vaccine for HIV, there
mainly attacks the CD4 immune cells in the are Pre-exposure prophylaxis (or PrEP)
human body. medicines that can be taken by people at
 It reduces a person’s ability to fight off high risk of contracting the infection.
secondary infections.  PrEP reduces the risk of getting HIV from
• The CCR5 receptors on the surface of the sex by about 99 per cent.
CD4 immune cells act as doorway for the HIV
virus. NATIONAL SCIENCE DAY 2023 AND CV
RAMAN
• However, the CCR5-delta 32 mutation
prevents these receptors used by the HIV Context: In 1986, the Government of India, under then
virus from forming on the surface, effectively Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, designated February
removing the doorway. 28 as National Science Day to commemorate the
• Only 1 per cent of the people in the world announcement of the discovery of the “Raman Effect”
carry two copies of the CCR5-delta 32 by Sir CV Raman.
mutation.
National Science Day 2023:
 They got it from both their parents.
• Significance
• Another 20 per cent carry one copy of the
mutation, mainly those of European descent.  The National Science Day not only serves
as a way to celebrate Raman and
• Those with the mutation hence are almost
his discovery, but it is also meant for
immune to the infection, although some
encouraging development, discoveries
cases have been reported.
and experimentation in the science
Significance of transplants: community in India.
• With the mutation existing in very few people  The day is meant to encourage students
and nearly 38.4 million people living with HIV into choosing scientific fields but also
across the world, it would be very difficult to to honour the contributions of the millions
find a matching donor. of scientists within the country.
• Even if donors were to become available, it is • Theme
highly unlikely that bone marrow transplants  This year’s theme for National Science Day
can be rolled out for all those with HIV. is ‘Global Science for Global Wellbeing’.
• This is because it is a major procedure with  It aims to focus attention on the increasing
high risks associated, especially that of the need for India’s emerging role as a
person rejecting the donated marrow. global centre of scientific discovery.
• There is also the likelihood of the virus
mutating to enter the cells through other About CV Raman and his career:
mechanisms in such persons. • Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was an
Indian physicist whose work was influential in
Current treatments for HIV
the growth of science in India.
• Although there are no cures for the infection
• Government service:
at present, the disease can be managed using
antiretroviral therapy.  Raman joined the Indian government’s
financial department after receiving
• Antiretroviral medicines:
a master’s degree in physics from
 These medicines suppress the Presidency College, University of Madras,
replication of the virus within the body, in 1907.
allowing the number of CD4 immune cells
to bounce back. • Educational career:
 The drugs have to be taken for life  In 1917, he was appointed professor of
because the virus continues to persist in physics at the University of Calcutta.
reservoirs across the body.  In 1928, he discovered that when a
 If left untreated, the virus destroys a transparent substance is irradiated by
person’s immune system and they are a beam of light of one frequency, a little
said to be in Acquired Immunodeficiency amount of the light emerges at right
Syndrome stage (AIDS) where they get angles to the initial direction, and some of
several opportunistic infections that may this light has other frequencies than the
result in death. incident light (Raman Effect).

 In 1947, he was appointed director of the ROCHE LIMIT

Raman Research.
Context: Astronomers have found a ring around a
• Knighthood:
dwarf planet called Quaror, located in the Kuiper Belt
 Raman was knighted in 1929, and in 1933 at the solar system’s edge, far away from the Roche
he became the director of the physics limit.
department at the Indian Institute of
Science in Bangalore. What is the Roche limit?
• Nobel Prize: • Roche limit is a mathematically determined
distance beyond which rings aren’t supposed
 C.V. Raman was the first Asian and non- to exist.
White person to get a Nobel Prize in
science. • The Roche limit or Roche radius, is the
distance within which a celestial body
• National Science Day in his name: held together only by its own gravity will
 In the 1980s, the National Council disintegrate due to a second celestial
for Science and Technology body’s tidal forces exceeding the first body’s
Communication (NCSTC) asked the gravitational self-attraction.
Indian government to designate February  For example, if you bring the moon closer
28 as National Science Day in honour of to the Earth, the tidal force will overcome
Raman and his discovery. the satellite’s gravity and then disintegrate
 The government accepted the proposal it, turning the moon into a ring.
and since 1986, the day has been marked  The minimum distance at which this
as the National Science Day in India. happens is known as the Roche limit.
• It is named after the French astronomer
Édouard Roche, who discovered the limit in
1848.
• Inside the Roche limit, orbiting material will tend
to disperse and form rings, while outside the
limit, the material will tend to coalesce.
• Since tidal forces overwhelm gravity
within the Roche limit, no large satellite can
coalesce out of smaller particles within that
limit.
• They could either be remnants from the
planet’s proto-planetary accretion disc that
failed to coalesce into moonlets, or conversely
have formed when a moon passed within its
Roche limit and broke apart.
SMALL SATELLITE LAUNCH VEHICLE

Context: In its second development flight, the Small
Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D2) will place the
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) earth
observation satellite EOS-07 and two co-passenger
satellites — Janus-1 and AzaadiSat2 — developed
by start-ups in a 450-km circular orbit around the Earth.
Key details:
• About the vehicle:
 The new vehicle was developed to capture
the emerging small and micro satellite
commercial market, with launches
offered on demand.
 The rocket can be assembled by a small
team in only a few days, compared to the
six months and around 600 people it
takes for ISRO’s workhorse PSLV.

 The launch vehicle uses three solid • H5N1 is a highly pathogenic subtype of
stages followed by a liquid-fuel-based avian influenza that causes severe disease
Velocity Trimming Module (VTM) to and death in birds.
place satellites in orbit. • This subtype has caused a number of human
infections through close contact with infected birds
or contaminated environments, and is often fatal.
• Recent reports of H5N1 spread between
mammals raise concerns about its potential to
cause a human pandemic if it were to spill over
and become transmissible among humans.
• Prevention of spillovers:
 Preventing H5N1 spillovers and
outbreaks requires a combination
of measures including:
H5N1 VIRUS Vaccination of poultry,

Safe disposal of dead birds,

Context: Monitoring the evolution of the shapeshifting
H5N1 virus can add to the preparedness against Quarantine and culling of affected

another potential pandemic. animals,
Wearing
 personal protective
What is bird flu? equipment when handling birds, and
• Bird flu or avian influenza is a disease caused Improved surveillance and monitoring

by avian influenza Type A viruses found of H5N1 in birds and other animals.
naturally in wild birds worldwide.
Molecular surveillance of H5N1

• It can infect:
 Domestic poultry including chickens, o Genome sequencing can be
ducks, turkeys, pigs, cats. tigers etc. employed to monitor the emergence
of new subtypes, and keep a close
• Types of avian influenza: watch on mutations and virulence
 Avian Influenza type A viruses are factors that may increase the ability
classified based on two proteins on to infect humans.
their surfaces – Hemagglutinin (HA) and
Neuraminidase (NA).
 There are about 18 HA subtypes and 11
NA subtypes.
 Several combinations of these two
proteins are possible e.g., H5N1, H7N2,
H9N6, H17N10, etc.
• Symptoms
 Virus infections in humans
have ranged from mild to severe
influenza-like illness.
Fever, cough, sore throat, muscle

aches, nausea, abdominal pain,
diarrhea, vomiting
Severe respiratory illness (e.g.,

shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, Conclusion:
pneumonia, acute respiratory distress,
viral pneumonia, respiratory failure) • In summary, although the risk of H5N1 to infect
Neurologic changes (altered mental
 and spread among humans has been evaluated
status, seizures) as low, disease and genomic surveillance as
an integrated approach to controlling avian
What is virus spillover? influenza are needed to keep a close watch
• Avian influenza, or bird flu, is a highly contagious on the outbreak.
viral infection that primarily affects birds. • As we learned from the COVID-19 outbreak,
• Infrequently, the virus can infect mammals monitoring the evolution of the virus can add
from birds, a phenomenon called spillover, to the preparedness against a potential
and rarely can spread between mammals. pandemic.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
CANADA’S INDO-PACIFIC STRATEGY AND against China; Supports ‘One China Policy’;
INDIA-CANADA RELATIONS opposes any unilateral action against Taiwan;
wishes to improve its studies about China etc.
Context: Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly
made a bilateral visit to India before her participation India’s Place in the Strategy
in official G20 Foreign Minister meeting in March. Also, • India’s growing strategic, economic and
Canada became the last G7 nation to release its Indo- demographic importance in the Indo-Pacific
Pacific strategy. makes it a critical partner in Canada’s pursuit
Objectives outlined in Canada’s Indo-Pacific of its objectives under this strategy.
strategy • In its engagement with India, Canada will:
• Five objectives are outlined:  Grow economic ties, including through
1. Promote peace, resilience and security; deeper trade and investment, as well as
cooperate on building resilient supply
2. Expand trade, investment and supply chains
chain resilience;
 Seek to expand market access by
3. Invest in and connect people; concluding an Early Progress Trade
4. Build a sustainable and green future; Agreement (EPTA) as a step toward a
5. Be an active and engaged partner to the Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Indo-Pacific. Agreement.
• Engagement with India is seen as critical to the  Invest in and connect people, including
strategy. by bolstering Canada’s visa-processing
capacity in New Delhi and Chandigarh.
Features of Strategy  Support academic, educational, cultural,
• Canada has included 40 countries in its Indo- youth and research exchanges
Pacific map (starting from Pakistan in east to
 Accelerate cooperation in the fight
the 14 Pacific islands countries in west)
against climate change, in protecting
• It calls itself a Pacific nation and calls Indo- the environment and in deploying green
Pacific region as its neighboring region. technologies
• It introduces a new term—people of Indo-  Send enhanced Team Canada trade
Pacific origin, and stresses that the largest missions in priority sectors of mutual
diaspora in Canada is of Indo-Pacific origin. interest, such as renewable energy and
• It does not include separate sections on clean technology
connectivity or security, and there is no hint of
any strategic autonomy. Challenges in India-Canada Relations
• Specific areas and steps for engagement with Khalistani factor
Australia, ASEAN countries, China, India,
• The early Sikh immigrants to Canada sought to
Japan, and the ROK have been outlined.
politically organise themselves, reacting to the
Policies against China in the strategy anti-immigrant sentiments and discrimination
they faced in the country.
• The engagement plan with China is put
forward in a different way from the others and • While Sikh militancy has largely died down in
is described at various levels—domestic, India, concerns remain about the revival of the
bilateral, regional, and multilateral. Khalistan movement.
• With relations to China, it has called for • Amongst a small but highly motivated section
deeper relations with China and desire for of the Canadian Sikh diaspora, the movement
diversification away from China; its desire to has been heavily internalized.
save its businesses from China’s state-owned • Vandalism and Attacks on Hindu place of
enterprises; aligned itself with its western allies worship in Canada.

Trade Issues • Also, structural impediments such as complex

• Bilateral agreements such as the labour laws, market protectionism, and
Comprehensive Economic Partnership bureaucratic regulations are roadblocks for
Agreement (CEPA) and Investment Promotion Indo-Canadian relations.
and Protection Agreements (BIPPA), have been
in negotiation for long time and no progress
has been reached by both the countries

PARIS CLUB What is a spy balloon?

Context: The Paris Club, an informal group of creditor • Around a decade-and-a-half after the first
nations, will provide financial assurances to the ever hot air balloon took flight with humans,
International Monetary Fund on Sri Lanka’s debt. balloons were already being used for
military purposes.
What is the Paris Club? • During the French Revolutionary Wars in
• An informal group of creditor nations whose the late 18th century, balloons were used to
objective is to find workable solutions to provide a bird’s eye view of the battlefield, with
payment problems faced by debtor nations. there being documented evidence of their use
• It has 22 permanent members. in the Battle of Fleurus in 1794.
 Includes most of the western European • Since then, balloons have been in use in all
and Scandinavian nations, the United kinds of conflict, from the American Civil War
States, the United Kingdom, and Japan. to World War I.
 All 22 are members of the group called • Balloons vs satellites:
Organisation for Economic Co-
 Unlike satellites which can cost millions of
operation and Development (OECD).
dollars to create, and require sophisticated
• As an informal group, it has no official statutes technology to launch, high-altitude
and no formal inception date, although its first balloons are cheap and easy to launch
meeting with a debtor nation was in 1956, with and control.
Argentina.
 While balloons cannot directly be steered,
they can be roughly guided to a target
area by changing altitudes to catch
different wind currents.
 Unlike satellites which are at much
higher altitudes and moving at incredible
speeds, spy balloons have the advantage
of being able to hover around at lower
heights, thus providing better quality
images as well as more time to gather
intelligence in a particular area.
About OECD Who has sovereignty over the air?

 The international law is clear over the
• The Organisation for Economic Co- sovereignty of airspace within 12 nautical
operation and Development (OECD) is an miles (about 22 kilometers) from its land
intergovernmental organisation. territory.
• It has 38 member countries.  This sovereignty is for allowing passage
• It was founded in 1961 to stimulate of military and civilian aircrafts, whether
economic progress and world trade. human operated or remotely operated.
• The majority of OECD members are high-  The international laws are not very
income economies with a very high conclusive over the height up to which this
Human Development Index (HDI), and are sovereignty of airspace is applies.
regarded as developed countries.
 Generally, 45000 feet (about 13.75 km)
• Headquarter: Paris, France. over the sea-level height is considered
• Funding: within state’s sovereignty limit (in
 The OECD is funded by contributions supersonic Concorde jet, however, this
from member countries at varying limit was assumed to be at 60,000 feet).
rates.  The Chinese balloon was also reported to
be operating at a distance of 60,000 feet.
SPY BALLOON  International law does not extend to the
distance at which satellites operate, which
Context: The United States has accused China of is traditionally seen as falling within the
flying a “spy balloon” in its airspace. realm of space law.

 There are international legal frameworks  If the balloon was autonomous, it would
in place that allow for permission to be have been entirely dependent on wind
sought to enter a country’s airspace, such patterns.
as the 1944 Chicago Convention on
 However, a report in Scientific American
International Civil Aviation.
said the balloon appeared to have a high
 The International Civil Aviation level of maneuverability, especially when
Organization has set an additional layer
it appeared to linger over sensitive US
of rules on airspace access, including for
defence facilities in Montana.
hot air balloons, but it does not regulate
military activities. What is geo-political implication of whole ‘spy
 The US also has its own “air defence balloon incident’?
identification zone”, a legacy of the Cold
 Washington displayed a lot of patience in
War.
dealing with the incursion.
 It requires all aircraft entering US airspace
to identify themselves.  The balloon incident has clearly tested the
Biden administration and the US response
 Canada has its own complementary zone.
to China’s growing military assertiveness.
 During the height of Cold War tensions,
the US would routinely scramble fighter  Similar events occur on a regular basis in
jets in response to unauthorized Soviet the South China Sea, where the US Navy
incursions into US airspace, especially in conducts freedom of navigation operations
the Arctic. through Chinese claimed waters.
 Many other countries and regions have  The US presence is vigorously
similar air defence identification zones, challenged by the Chinese Navy.
including China, Japan and Taiwan.  China has also responded aggressively
 Taiwan, for instance, routinely scrambles to the presence of US reconnaissance
fighter jets in response to unauthorised planes over the South China Sea, raising
incursions of its airspace by Chinese the risks of an accident that could spark a
aircraft. wider conflict.
Response of USA and China on ‘Spy Balloon  What is remarkable about the balloon
issue’ incident is China has asserted its
 President Joe Biden authorised military physical presence well within America’s
jets to shoot down the balloon, but it sovereign borders.
took some days before that could be done  This incidence has also brought the
safely without endangering lives on the memory of Cold-wars era, where the
ground. frequent news of airspace violation, spying
 given these above-mentioned international etc. were seen.
rules, the US was on very firm legal
 How both sides respond in the aftermath
footing in its response to the Chinese
balloon. Overflight could only have been will determine whether China-US tensions
undertaken with US permission, which worsen further and if we can expect
was clearly not sought. potential future provocations between the
two sides in the air, as well as the seas.
 China initially attempted to suggest the
balloon malfunctioned and drifted into US  According to a report of The Washington
airspace, claiming force majeure. Post, based on interviews with several
anonymous defence and intelligence
Force majeure – a legal term meaning officials, China has operated a fleet of
non-compliance with a law or agreement due to spy balloons targeting several countries
unforeseeable forces beyond a party’s control. including India and Japan.
According to legal experts, by invoking the claim NEW START AGREEMENT

of force majeure China essentially recognised US
Context: Russian President announced that Russia is
sovereign airspace to be at least the altitude of
suspending its participation in the New START, the last
the balloon, and conceded that it had violated US
remaining major military agreement with the United
airspace. States.

About New START

• START I:
• India’s ICBM:
 START stands for the original “Strategic  Agni-V is an Indian nuclear capable
Arms Reduction Treaty”, known as intercontinental ballistic missile
START-I, which was signed between the developed by the Defence Research
US and the erstwhile USSR in 1991, and and Development Organization.
came into force in 1994.  The missile have a range of around
 START-I capped the numbers of nuclear 5,000 to 5,500 kilometers.
warheads and intercontinental ballistic
missiles (ICBMs) that each side could
deploy at 6,000 and 1,600 respectively. CHICAGO CONVENTION
 This agreement lapsed in 2009, and was Context: Cabinet approves the ratification of three
replaced first by the Strategic Offensive Protocols on Article 3 and Article 50 (a) & Article
Reductions Treaty (SORT, also known 56 relating to amendments in the convention on
as the Treaty of Moscow), and then by the International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention),
New START treaty. 1944.
• The New START:
Key details:
 The New START, officially, the “Treaty
• The Chicago Convention has undergone a few
between the United States of America
amendments and India has been ratifying
and the Russian Federation on
such amendments from time to time.
Measures for the Further Reduction
and Limitation of Strategic Offensive • The ratification has been approved in the
Arms”, entered into force on February 5, following three protocols:
2011.  To refrain member States from resorting
 It placed new verifiable limits on to the use of weapons against civil
intercontinental-range nuclear weapons. aircraft in flight;
 The US and Russia Federation  For raising the strength of the

subsequently agreed to extend the treaty International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO) Council from 36 to 40;
through February 4, 2026.
 For raising the strength of the Air
• How is compliance with the treaty ensured?
Navigation Commission from 18 to 21.
 The treaty provides for 18 on-site
inspections per year for US and Russian About Chicago Convention:
inspection teams. • The Convention on International Civil
Aviation, also known as the Chicago
Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Convention, established the International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
• An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is  ICAO a specialized agency of the United
a ballistic missile with a range greater than Nations charged with coordinating
5,500 kilometres. international air travel.
• It is primarily designed for nuclear weapons • The Convention establishes rules of airspace,
delivery. aircraft registration and safety, security, and
• The only known countries to have sustainability, and details the rights of the
operational ICBMs are: signatories in relation to air travel.
 Russia • The Convention also contains provisions
pertaining to taxation.
 The United States
• The document was signed on December 7,
 China 1944, in Chicago by 52 signatory states.
 France • The Chicago Convention currently have 193
 India state parties, which includes all member
 the United Kingdom states of the United Nations (including India)
except Liechtenstein.
 Israel
• The Cook Islands is a party to the Convention
 North Korea
although it is not a member of the UN.

• Organised by:
 The Observer Research Foundation in
partnership with the Ministry of External
Affairs.
The Observer Research Foundation

is an independent think tank in New
Delhi with three centres in Mumbai,
Chennai and Kolkata.
• Significance:
 The Dialogue provides a platform for the
government to state its position on various
questions and issues of international
relations.
RAISINA DIALOGUE  The event gives many experts, and other
countries, a glimpse into the Indian
Context: Italian Prime Minister will be the chief guest
government’s near-term priorities in
and keynote speaker at the 8th Raisina Dialogue.
international relations.
What is the Raisina Dialogue?  It gives a platform for researchers to
• The Raisina Dialogue is an annual conference network and perhaps even collaborate.
on geopolitics and geoeconomics addressing  The event creates an ecosystem for the
issues facing the global community. growth and development of think tanks
and other policy groups.
• It takes its name from the Raisina Hill, the
seat of the Indian government. • RAISINA DIALOGUE 2023 PILLARS
• The Dialogue is structured as a multi-  Neo Insurgence: Geographies, domains,
stakeholder, cross-sectoral discussion, ambitions
involving:  Amoral Mosaic: Contest, cooperate, or
 Heads of state, cancel
 Cabinet ministers  Chaotic codes: Sovereignty, security,

society
 Local government officials
 Pernicious passports: Climate,
 Private sector, commons, citizens
 Media and academia.  Grey Rhinos: Democracies,
Dependencies, and debt traps
    
NOTES

DEFENCE & SECURITY
EXERCISE DHARMA GUARDIAN • Features:

 Fitted with an impressive array of weapons
and sensors,
 Can carry an integral helicopter and
 Long endurance.

India-UAE relations:
Defence relations between the two nations were
elevated to a 'Comprehensive Strategic partnership’
in 2017.
• A 'strategic relationship' involves a shared

understanding between the two or more
states involved on the nature of threats and
the place of their collective power in helping
mitigate the threats.
• This does not amount to an ‘alliance’,
meaning a deeper relationship in which the
states are treaty bound to come to each
other’s assistance in case of materialisation
of a threat against any member state.
• In a strategic relationship, the states involved

discuss the role of power through periodic
bilateral or multilateral meetings at a high,
ministerial and bureaucratic-military official
level.
IDEX AND NAVDEX 23
• Defence exercise:
Context: Indian Naval Ship Sumedha arrived at Abu  Indian Navy-UAE Navy bilateral exercise,
Dhabi to participate in NAVDEX 23 and IDEX 23. Zayed Talwar initiated in 2018.
Key details:  The last edition was in 2021.
• NAVDEX stands for Naval Defence Exhibition
and IDEX stands for International Defence
EXERCISE DUSTLIK
Exhibition. Context: The 4th edition of joint military exercise
• This participation will showcase the strengths ‘DUSTLIK’ between the Indian Army and Uzbekistan
of India's indigenous ship building and Army commenced in Uttarakhand.
underscore the vision of 'Aatma Nirbhar Bharat'.
Key details:
About INS Sumedha • The Indian Army contingent comprises of
• INS Sumedha is the third ship of the troops from an Infantry Battalion from the
indigenously built Saryu class Naval Offshore Garhwal Rifles Regiment.
Patrol Vessels (NOPV).
• It was commissioned into the Indian Navy in • The first edition of the exercise was held at
2014. Uzbekistan in November 2019.
• It was built indigenously at Goa Shipyard

• It is a 14 days long joint exercise which would
Limited.
focus on:

 Joint counter-terrorist operations in ORDNANCE FACTORY BOARD

mountainous and semi-urban scenario
Context: To enhance functional autonomy, efficiency
 Field training exercises,
and unleash new growth potential and innovation
 Combat discussions, in Ordnance Factories, the Government of India
 Lectures, demonstrations and a validation has decided to convert the production units of
exercise. Ordnance Factory Board into 7 Defence Public Sector
Undertakings.
India-Uzbekistan Relations:
Key details:
• India-Central Asia Summit:
• Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), consisting of
 The Presidents of Kazakhstan,
the Indian Ordnance Factories, now known
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan
as Directorate of Ordnance (Coordination
and Uzbekistan attended the first India-
& Services) was an organisation, under the
Central Asia Summit in 2022.
Department of Defence Production (DDP) of
 The Leaders agreed to hold the next Ministry of Defence (MoD).
meeting of the India-Central Asia Summit
• The 41 Indian Ordnance Factories have been
in 2024.
converted into 7 Defence Public Sector
• Bilateral and Multilateral mechanisms: Undertakings (DPSUs).
 National Coordination Committees:
About OFB
India and Uzbekistan have set up

National Coordination Committees • OFB was the 37th-largest defence equipment
to oversee the implementation manufacturer in the world, 2nd-largest in
of mutually agreed projects and Asia, and the largest in India.
initiatives. • OFB was the world's largest government-
 India-Central Asia Business Council: operated production organisation, and the
oldest organisation in India.
The
 dialogue brought together
Business Councils of all five • Role:
Central Asian countries to take the  It was engaged in research, development,
trade and investment partnership production, testing, marketing and
forward with special focus on energy, logistics of a product range in the areas
pharmaceuticals, automotive, of air, land and sea systems.
agro-processing, education, urban • Apex Board
infrastructure and transport, civil
aviation, IT and tourism.  The Apex Board was headed by the
Director General of Ordnance Factories
 India- Central Asia Dialogue:
(DGOF), who acts as the Chairman of the
Central Asia Dialogue is held at the
 board who is the ex officio Secretary to
level of Foreign Ministers. Government of India.
• Bilateral Trade and Investments  Ordnance factories were divided into five
 Bilateral trade at about USD 442 million is operating divisions:
well below potential. Ammunition and Explosives

 The major items of India’s exports are:
 pharmaceutical products Weapons, Vehicles & Equipment

 mechanical equipment
 vehicle parts Materials and Components

 services
Armoured Vehicles

optical instruments and equipment

 India’s import from Uzbekistan consists Ordnance
 Equipment Group of
largely of: Factories
Fruit and vegetable products

Services
 EXERCISE TARKASH
Fertilizers
 Context: An ongoing Indo-US joint exercise, named
TARKASH, has for the first time included Chemical,
Juice products and extracts

Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) terror
Lubricants
 response in its drill.

Key details: • The Royal Air Force (UK) provides special

• It is currently being held in Chennai, Tamil training to pilots from different countries.
Nadu. It is a joint exercise by the National • Aim:
Security Guard (NSG) and US Special  The aim of the exercise is to participate
Operations Forces (SOF). in diverse fighter aircraft engagements
• The new drill has been made part of the exercise and learn from the best practices of
in the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war. various Air Forces.
The exercise also included a drill for tackling • Other exercises between India and UK:
chemical and biological attacks by terrorists.
 Exercise KONKAN - Bilateral exercises
What are CBRN weapons? between navies.
• CBRN weapons have the capability of creating  Exercise INDRA DHANUSH - Bilateral
mass casualties as well as mass disruption exercise between the air forces.
and therefore, are classified as weapons of  Exercise AJEYA WARRIOR - Bilateral
mass destruction. exercise between the armies.
• The range of these weapons is quite extensive.
INDO-TIBETAN BORDER POLICE
• Chemical weapons include:
 mustard gas (damages the respiratory Context: With a view to bolstering the social and
tract, skin, and eyes) and security framework along the China border, the Union
Cabinet approved raising of seven new battalions of
 nerve agents (victims rapidly become
the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
unconscious, have breathing difficulties,
and may die). About ITBP
• Biological/ Biochemical weapons: • The ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) is a
 Anthrax - causes fever, malaise, cough, border guarding force.
and shock. Death can be within 36 hours), • It is deployed along its borders with Tibet
 Botulinum toxin - leads to paralysis of Autonomous Region.
respiratory muscles and • It was established in 1962 in the aftermath of
 Plague. the Sino-Indian War of 1962.
• Radiological weapons include weaponized • It is headed by an IPS officer and is under the
radioactive waste and dirty bombs as well administrative control of the Ministry of Home
as nuclear weapons. Affairs (MHA).
• Presently, battalions of ITBP are deployed
Safeguards against these weapons:
on border guarding duties from Karakoram
• Countries came together to sign the Protocol Pass in Ladakh to Diphu La in Arunachal
for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Pradesh, covering 3,488 km of the Indo-China
Asphyxiating, Poisonous or other Gases, and Border.
of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, also
• It is a mountain trained force and most of
known as the Geneva Protocol, on June 17,
the officers and men are professionally trained
1925, at Geneva.
mountaineers and skiers.
 The treaty prohibited the use of
asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases, • Defence functions:
and of all analogous liquids, materials or  Vigil on the northern borders, detection

devices and bacteriological methods of and prevention of border violations
warfare. and promotion of the sense of security
among the local populace
EXERCISE COBRA WARRIOR  Check illegal immigration and

Context: Indian Air Force (IAF) will participate in trans-border smuggling
'Exercise Cobra Warrior' in the UK.
 Provide security to sensitive installations
Key details:

and threatened VIPs
• It is a multilateral air exercise in which Air
 Restore and preserve order in any area
Forces from Finland, Sweden, South Africa,

in the event of disturbance
United States of America and Singapore
would also be participating alongside Royal  To maintain peace in the country
Air Force and IAF.

• Disaster management functions: AIR-LAUNCHED UNMANNED AERIAL

 The ITBP has recently taken on a VEHICLE
disaster management role.
Context: A prototype of the Air-Launched Unmanned
 It is the first responder for natural Aerial Vehicle (ALUAV) developed jointly by India and
disaster in the Himalayas. the United States is likely to be flight-tested later this
 ITBP commando units also provide year.
security to the embassy andconsulates
of India in Afghanistan. Key details:
 The force has also been providingsecurity • India and USA signed a Project Agreement
to pilgrims during the annual Kailash for ALUAV, under the Joint Working Group
Mansarovar Yatra since 1981. Air Systems in the Defence Technology and
Trade Initiative (DTTI).
• ITBPF Act:
• It is a long-term agreement and it also involves
 In 1996, the Parliament of India enacted
technology transfer.
the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force
Act, 1992 to provide for the constitution • It was signed in 2006 and renewed in 2015.
and regulation of the ITBP for ensuring • About DTII:
the security of the borders of India.
 Aim:
MEDIUM ALTITUDE LONG ENDURANCE The Defence Technology and Trade

Initiative (DTTI) aims to bring sustained
TAPAS UAV
leadership focus in a bid to promote
Context: The Prime Minister of India has collaborative technology exchange
between both the countries.
shared aerial coverage of Ground and Air
display captured from indigenously developed It seeks to create opportunities for

Medium Altitude Long Endurance TAPAS UAV co-production and co-development of
future technologies military forces of
during rehearsal. India and US.
 Joint working group:
A Joint Working Groups on

land, naval, air, and aircraft carrier
technologies have been set up to
focus on mutually agreed projects in
respective domains.
 Projects under the initiative:
Near-term projects:

o Air-launched Small Unmanned
Systems (drone swarms),
o LightWeight Small Arms Technology

and
o Intelligence-Surveillance-Targeting
& Reconnaissance (ISTAR) systems.
Medium-term projects:

o Maritime Domain Awareness
Solution and
o Virtual Augmented Mixed Reality for
Aircraft Maintenance or VAMRAM.
Long term projects:

o Terrain Shaping Obstacle
(lethal munitions) and
o Anti-drone technology called
Counter-UAS, Rocket,
Artillery & Mortar (CURAM)
system for the Indian Army.

Other India and US agreements

• COMCASA: • BECA:
 COMCASA stands for Communications  The Basic Exchange and Cooperation
Compatibility and Security Agreement (BECA) for geo-
Agreement. spatial cooperation is essentially a
 COMCASA allows India to communication agreement proposed
procure transfer specialised between India and USA.
equipment for encrypted  It will allow India and the US to share
communications for US origin military military information including advanced
platforms. satellite and topographic data such as
 It was signed in 2018 maps, nautical and aeronautical charts
and geodetic, geophysical, geomagnetic
 These platforms use commercially and gravity data.
available communication systems.
 It was signed in 2020.
• The LEMOA:
• The GSOMIA:
 LEMOA stands for Logistics Exchange
Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA)  It stands for General Security of
Military Information Agreement.
 LEMOA gives access, to both countries,
to designated military facilities on  It was signed in 2002.
either side for the purpose of refuelling  It aims to protect the military
and replenishment. information shared by the US.
 It was signed in 2016.
OPERATION SADBHAVANA

CULTURE
DAYANAND SARASWATI

SANT SEVALAL MAHARAJ

SURSINGAR, MANDOLIN AND KARAKATTAM

LAVANI DANCE Difference Between Petroglyphs and Rock Art

• Whereas a petroglyph is a narrow type of
Context: An NCP leader has directed members of
stonework, the term rock art is a much wider
his party to not organise raunchy public shows in the
term which embraces three types of art:
name of Lavani, a folk song-and-dance performance
that is popular in Maharashtra.  Petroglyphs;
 Pictographs, including cave painting or
any other form of pictorial symbol; and
 Megalithic Art, or petroforms, involving
the arrangement of stones (e.g.,
Stonehenge stone circle, Salisbury Plain,
England).
What Are the Oldest Petroglyths?

• The oldest art in this particular category of
prehistoric rock carving is the Bhimbetka
Petroglyphs in India.
• The petroglyphs were created between
290,000 and 700,000 BCE, during the
Acheulian period of the Lower Paleolithic.
Famous Petroglyphs in India:
• Bhimbetka Petroglyphs, at (290,000-

700,000 BCE) – Madhya Pradesh,
technically, the oldest cave art on the
planet.
PETROGLYPHS
Context: Stone carvings that archaeologists say date • Daraki-Chattan Petroglyphs (290,000-
back to the Paleolithic period or the Stone Age has 700,000 BCE) - Madhya Pradesh.
been recently discovered on an Aravalli hilltop.
Key details:
• The petroglyphs discovered in Badshapur

Tethar village of Sohna include graffiti, and
hand and footprints of humans and animals
engraved on quartzite rocks.
• The Paleolithic era spans from about 25

lakh years to 10,000 BP (before present, the
carbon dating marker that archaeologists use
with 1950 treated as the base year).
What Are Petroglyphs? SALIMGARH FORT

• The term "petroglyphs" are derived from Context: Salimgarh Fort is up for a revamp ahead of
the Greek word "petra" meaning stone, and the upcoming G20 Summit.
"glyphein" meaning to carve.
About the fort:
• It is used to describe any image created on
a rock surface by scouring, scratching, • Salimgarh Fort was built in 1546 AD, in
engraving, chiseling, carving or any similar Delhi, in a former island of the Yamuna
method. River, by Salim Shah Suri, son of Sher
Shah Suri.
• Painted or drawn images on rocks are not • In 1555 CE, Mughal Emperor Humayun
classified as petroglyphs. captured the Salimgarh Fort and renamed
 Instead, they are defined as pictographs. it “Nurgarh”.

• Emperor Akbar is believed to have given the About Vijaynagar Kingdom:

Salimgarh Fort as a jagir to Shaikh Farid • Founded in 1336, the kingdom of Vijayanagara
Bukhari (a Mughal noble). lasted for more than three centuries.
• When Shah Jahan constructed Red Fort, • Founded by Harihara I of the Sangama
Salimgarh Fort came into the precincts of dynasty, Vijayanagara expanded from
the fort. a strategic position on the banks of the
• Aurangzeb, the Mughal emperor, converted Tungabhadra River.
the fort into a prison, which practice was • The kingdom reached its peak under Krishna
perpetuated by the British who took control of Deva Raya (reign 1509-1529), a period in
the fort in 1857. which it enjoyed military superiority to its rival
• Many prisoners of the INA (Indian National kingdoms such as the Bahmani Sultanate,
Army) were held captive at the Salimgarh Fort the Golconda Sultanate and the Gajapatis of
and tortured. Odisha.
• Architecture • The kingdom stretched from Goa in the
 The imposing structure of the Salimgarh Konkan coast to parts of southern Odisha in
Fort is triangular, with massive rubble the east and all the way to the very tip of the
brick walls. subcontinent in the south.
 An arched bridge, built during the reign of
Bahadur Shah Zafar, connects it to the
Red Fort.
 The main entrance to the Salimgarh Fort
is popularly known as the Bahadur Shah
Gate.
• In 1995, owing to its close connection

with the Indian National Army, the
fort was turned into a memorial for
Indian Freedom Fighters and renamed
“Swatantrata Senani Smarak”.
Economy:
• While the economy of the kingdom was largely
dependent on agriculture, trade thrived in
its many ports on either coast.
• Principal exports:
 pepper, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom,
myrobalan, tamarind timber, anafistula,
precious and semi-precious stones,
pearls, musk, ambergris, rhubarb, aloe,
cotton cloth and porcelain.
 There was a high degree of monetisation

VICTORY CITY in the Vijayanagara kingdom.
Context: Recently, novelist Salman Rushdie has come  Coins were minted by the state as well
up with his latest novel, Victory City. as by merchant guilds using gold,
About Book ‘Victory City’ silver, copper and brass, and their value
depended on material weight.
• The book is a fictionalised telling of the story
of the Vijayanagara Kingdom, narrated by a • Culture and architecture
sorceress and poet named Pampa Kampana,  This was a period when poetry and
who, over more than two centuries, witnessed scholarship flourished, both in sacral and
Vijayanagara’s many victories and defeats. secular contexts.

 Literature in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada  built by granite stones that are

as well as Sanskrit was produced in the sourced from the surrounding
kingdom, with new writing styles and mountains.
methods emerging.
 Vijayanagara architecture is a vibrant  The top of the temple contains a
combination of the Chalukya, Hoysala, medium conical shaped minaret.
Pandya and Chola styles.
 The Prasanna Virupaksha temple of  Interiors consist of Garbha Griha or
Bukka I and the Hazara Rama temple of sanctum sanatorium.
Krishna Deva Raya are striking examples
of Vijayanagara’s characteristic style and
intricate artistry.
 There’s also a Mandap or assembly
hall where pilgrims gather for Darshan
 Vijayanagara’s capital Hampi is a
and prayer.
UNESCO World Heritage Site.
 Hampi-Vijayanagara was probably the
second largest urban settlement on the
planet (after Beijing) and among the most
prosperous.
• Last bastion of Hindu rule in the South
 Vijayanagara has been remembered
as an era of “cultural conservatism”,
when classical forms of Hinduism were
preserved amidst growing Islamization of
the rest of the subcontinent, especially the
North.
YAMUNOTRI TEMPLE
Context: The Uttarakhand government signed a
memorandum of understanding (MoU) for laying a
ropeway from Kharsali to Yamunotri temple.
About the temple:
• situated in the western region of Garhwal
Himalayas in Uttarakhand.
• dedicated to Goddess Yamuna, Char Dham/Chota Char
• flanked with two beautiful springs Surya Kund
(hot water) and Gouri Kund (cold water).
Dham Uttarakhand
• The Suryakund is also the setting for an • The Chota Char Dham is an important
important Shila is called the Divya Shila that is Hindu pilgrimage circuit in Uttarakhand.
worshiped.
• an important part of the Char Dham Circuit in • It is located in the Garhwal region.
Uttarakhand.
• The circuit consists of four sites:
• was built in the AD 1839 by the famous Garhwal
monarch Tehri Naresh Sudarshan Shah.  Yamunotri
• an earthquake destroyed large part of the
temple.  Gangotri
• The Maharani of Jaipur Gularia Devi got the
 Kedarnath
temple repaired in the 19th Century AD.
• Architecture:  Badrinath
 built in the Nagara pattern of architectural
style. Badrinath is also one of the four

 has a black marble idol of the goddess destinations of the longer Char
Yamuna (made of polished black ebony Dham.
marble with exquisite carvings.)

MOHINIYATTAM
Classical dances of India
Context: Mohiniyattam exponent Kanak Rele passed
away recently. • Classical dance forms of India, also known
as Shastriya Nritya, come from the words,
About Rele: Shastriya meaning classical and Nritya
meaning the act of dancing.
• In 1973, Dr. Rele established the Nalanda • Sangeet Natak Akademi has recognised
Nritya Kala Mahavidyalaya offering 08 classical dance forms whereas the
undergraduate, post-graduate and Ph.D. Ministry of Culture has recognised 09
degrees affiliated to the Bombay University. classical dance forms.
• Treaties on classical dance:
• In 2022, Dr. Rele released the book, Me
and My Mohini Attam.  Acharya Nandikeshawara’s Abhinaya
Darpan
• In 2013, Dr. Rele was conferred the  Sharangdev’s Sangeeth Ratnakar
(Nartanadhyaya)
Padma Bhushan.
 Natya Shastra
• Classical dances recognised by the
Sangeet Natak Akademi
 Bharatanatyam, from Tamil Nadu
 Kathak, from Uttar Pradesh
 Kathakali, from Kerala
 Kuchipudi, from Andhra Pradesh
 Manipuri, from Manipur
 Mohiniyattam, from Kerala[a]
 Odissi, from Odisha
 Sattriya, from Assam
• Additional dances recognised by the
Ministry of Culture
 Chhau, from Eastern India (Odisha,
Jharkhand, and West Bengal)
MEHRAULI
Context: Demolition as part of an anti-encroachment
drive by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is
being carried out in the adjacent villages of Mehrauli
and Ladha Sarai.
History of Delhi:
• Mehrauli is the oldest inhabited area of Delhi.
• The city’s history far predates Shahjahanabad,
with the oldest evidence of habitation –
painted grey ware fragments found in Purana
Quila dating back to the Iron Age (circa 1100-
800 BC).
• There were seven cities of Delhi, dating from
the 11th century onwards:
 Lalkot/Quila Rai Pithora/Mehrauli,
 Siri,
 Tughlaqabad,
 Firozabad,
 Shergarh (present-day Old Fort),  Annual community celebration of ‘Phool

Walon ki Sair’ or Sair-e-Gulfaroshan
 Shahjahanabad and
(walk of the flowers).
 New Delhi.  This is a 19th-century Mughal-era
• Mehrauli is widely considered to be the oldest festival.
‘city’ of Delhi and is the oldest area of the  It was revived in 1962 by Jawaharlal
metropolis to be continuously inhabited. Nehru.
 An offering of pankhas (large floral
About Mehrauli fans) is made to the Yogmaya Temple
• Origin: and a chadar is offered at the dargah
of Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki.
 It was first founded as Lalkot in the 11th
century by Anangpal II, a ruler of the ELLORA CAVES
Rajput Tomar dynasty.
 This was later christened ‘Quila Rai Context: Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Pithora’ by Mughal court historian Abu’l visited the historic Ellora Caves in Aurangabad district
Fazl in his epic hagiography, ‘Ain-i- of Maharashtra during.
Akbari’.
Key details about the cave:
• The city fell into the hands of the Mamluk
• Ellora is a UNESCO World Heritage
dynasty (Slave dynasty) in 1192.
Site located in the Aurangabad district of
 Under ruler Qutubudin Aibak, the first Maharashtra.
ruler of the Slave dynasty, the next round • It is one of the largest rock-cut Hindu temple
of construction began in the area. cave complexes in the world.
 He began the building of the Qutub Minar • Built during 600 to 1000 CE, Ellora Caves lie in
to commemorate his victory as well as the Sahyadri hills.
the Quwwat-al-Islam (Might of Islam) • The Ellora Caves comprise Hindu, Buddhist
mosque, the oldest known mosque in and Jain temples and over 100 caves.
north India.  There are 17 Hindu caves, 12 Buddhist
India’s oldest mosque – Cheraman Juma
 and five Jain caves with deities, carvings
– was built by Arab merchants in Kerala. and even monasteries depicting the
 Sultan Jalaluddin Khilji (1290-1296) built mythology of each religion.
and settled the merchants within the  A part of the Hindu and Buddhist Caves
walls of a grain market/mandi by Mandavi were built during the Rashtrakuta
Darwaza of Mehrauli and a cloth market dynasty, and the Jain Caves were built by
known as Sara-E-Adl near Badaun Gate. the Yadav dynasty.
• Summer palaces: • These are excavated from the basalt cliffs in
 Two Mughal summer palaces (Zafar the Charanandari hills.
Mahal and Jahaz Mahal) and a • Three major construction periods for the
summer abode of Sir Thomas Metcalfe Ellora caves:
(Dilkhusha) are situated here.  Early Hindu period from 550 to 600 CE,
• Cosmopolitanism of Mehrauli  Buddhist period from 600 to 730 CE, and
 Mehrauli is also a spiritual centre, home  The Jain and Hindu period lasting from
to both Hindu and Muslim shrines. 730 to 950 CE.
 Sufi saint Hazrat Qutubuddin Bakhtiar • Ellora Caves Architecture
Kaki (1173 -1235 AD) was buried in the  The inscriptions on the walls of the Ellora
city and his dargah remains popular till Caves date back to the 6th century and
date, across religious lines. a famous one is the Rashtrakuta king
Dantidurga on the mandapa of Cave 15
 Another spiritual centre for the community inscribed during 753 to 757 AD.
is the Yogmaya mandir.  Out of all the excavations done, Cave 16 or
Kailasha temple - a monument dedicated
Yoginis (semi-divine deities) have

to Shiva is the largest single monolithic
been an integral part of Indian folklore
rock excavated in the world.
and this temple dedicated to them is
believed to have been constructed by It was built during 757-783 AD by
o
the Pandavas. Krishna I who was the uncle of
Dantidurga.

• Hindu Monuments  Smaller than the Hindu and Buddhist

 Built during the 6th to 8th century in the Caves, these have the architectural
Kalachuris period, the Hindu Caves were attributes such as mandapa and a pillared
built in two phases. verandah.
 Caves 14, 15, 16 were built in the  The Jain temples have the carvings of the
Rashtrakuta period. yaksa and yaksi, gods and goddesses,
and devotees all depicting the Jain
 The early Hindu caves were dedicated
mythological sensibilities of that time.
to Shiva with inscriptions depicting the
mythology related to other gods as well.  Chota Kailasha, Cave 30:
 A typical attribute of these temples was Designed on the same lines as that of
o
the lingam-yoni placed in the centre of the original Kailasha temple or Cave 16
the shrine. the temple was built in the 9th century
along with the Indra Sabha, Cave 32.
 Kailasha Temple, Cave 16:
o Carved out of a single rock, this temple The temple contains two gigantic
o
is one of its kind in the world. statues of Indra.
o Dedicated to Shiva, the temple is
based on Shiva’s abode - Mt Kailash.
What is a World Heritage Site?
o It comprises the typical features of a • A World Heritage Site is a location having
Hindu temple namely: an “Outstanding Universal Value”.
the sanctum which houses the lingam-
 • According to the World Heritage
yoni, Convention’s Operational Guidelines,
a space for circumambulation,
 an Outstanding Universal Value signifies
an assembly hall,
 cultural and/or natural significance
which is so exceptional as to transcend
a gateway,
 national boundaries and to be of common
shrines based on the square pattern.
 importance for present and future
 Other shrines in the temple carved out of generations of all humanity.
the same rock are dedicated to Vishnu, • The Sites fall into three categories:
Saraswati, Ganga, Vedic and non-Vedic Cultural heritage:
o
gods.
• Buddhist Monuments Cultural heritage entails an
o
 These caves are estimated to have been Outstanding Universal Value from
built during 600 to 730 CE. the point of view of history, art or
science, and includes monuments,
 The earliest Buddhist cave to be built groups of buildings, and sites
was Cave 6, with Cave 11 and 12 being which are the combined work of
the last. nature and human agency.
 These caves feature monasteries,
shrines which include bodhisattvas, and Examples include the Taj Mahal,
o
carvings of Buddha. the Statue of Liberty, and the
 Vishvakarma Cave, Cave 10: Sydney Opera House.
o Built around 650 CE the cave is also Natural heritage:
o
known as the Carpenter’s Cave
because of the finishing of the rock The Sites under natural heritage
o
which looks like the wooden beam. are those having an Outstanding
Inside the stupa hall, lies the 15 ft statue
o Universal Value from the point of
of Buddha resting in a preaching pose. view of science, conservation
or natural beauty, such as the
The cave is the dedicated prayer
o Sundarbans Natural Park or the
house among all the caves here and Victoria Falls.
has eight cells and also a portico.
• Jain Monuments o Mixed heritage:

 The five caves lying to the north of the A mixed site comprises components
o
Ellora Caves belonging to the Digambara of both natural and cultural
sect were excavated in the 9th to 10th importance.
century.

• The temple is an important pilgrimage site in the

About UNESCO Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, which considers
it as the twelfth Jyotirlinga.
• It aims at promoting world peace  Jyotirlingas are sacred shrines of Lord
and security through international Shiva.
cooperation in education, arts,
sciences and culture. • Maharashtra has three Jyotirlingas:
 Bhimashankar
• Headquarters: Paris, France.
 Trimbakeshwar
• UNESCO was founded in 1945 as
the successor to the League of  Grishneshwar
Nations's International Committee
on Intellectual Cooperation. • History
 The temple structure was destroyed by the
Delhi Sultanate in 13th and 14th-century.
• UNESCO is governed by the General
Conference, composed of member  It was rebuilt in the current form in the
states and associate members, which 18th century under the sponsorship of
meets biannually to set the agency's queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore, after
programmes and the budget. the fall of the Mughal Empire.
• Architecture:
• UNESCO is a member of the United
Nations Sustainable Development
Group, a coalition of UN agencies and  Grishneshwar Temple has a traditional
organisations aimed at fulfilling the South-Indian Temple architecture.
Sustainable Development Goals.
 The temple is built of red rocks and is
composed of a five-tier shikara.
GRISHNESHWAR TEMPLE
 This temple is the smallest Jyotirlinga
Context: Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary temple in India.
Clinton visited the Grishneshwar temple, which is the
12th Jyotirlinga in the country.  The temple complex consists of inner
chambers and a sanctum sanctorum.
 The red-stone walls mostly depict the

legends of Lord Shiva and the ten
incarnations of Lord Vishnu.
ABOUT THE TEMPLE

• Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga Temple is dedicated
to Lord Shiva that is referenced in the Shiva
Purana.
• It is is located in Ellora in Aurangabad,

Maharashtra.

ALUX AND MAYAN CIVILISATION  This sub-category was named "Primitive

tribal group".
 The features of such a group include a

pre-agricultural system of existence,
that is practice of hunting and gathering,
zero or negative population growth,
extremely low level of literacy in
comparison with other tribal groups.
 Groups that satisfied any one of the

criterion were considered as PTG.
• There are total of 75 PVTGs in India.
• No new group was declared as PTG on the
basis of the 2001 census.
• In 2006 the government of India renamed
"Primitive tribal group" as Particularly
vulnerable tribal group.
STATE / UT NAME PVTGS NAME

1. Bodo Gadaba
2. Bondo Poroja
3. Chenchu
PARHAIYAS 4. Dongria Khond
5. Gutob Gadaba
Context: A research paper, ‘Food and Social Security
at the Margins: The Parhaiyas of Jharkhand’ is one Andhra Pradesh and 6. Khond Poroja
such study that examines the level of penetration and Telangana 7. Kolam
coverage of government schemes and the bottlenecks 8. Kondareddis
that hinder its implementation. 9. Konda Savaras
10. Kutia Khond
About the Parhaiyas
• Parhaiya is one of the nine Particularly 11. Parengi Poroja
Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) l2. Thoti
of Jharkhand state. They are mainly 13. Asurs 14. Birhor
concentrated in Latehar and Palamau 15. Birjia 16. Hill
districts of Jharkhand state. Kharia 17. Konvas
• Parhaiyas are still lagging behind on most of Bihar and Jharkhand 18. Mal Paharia
the important indicators of development such 19. Parhaiyas
as health, education, and income. The name 20. Sauda Paharia
Parahiya literally means "the burners of the 21. Savar
forest" or "hill dweller."They rely on the Jharkhand Same as above
forest for their sustenance. 22. Kathodi
23. Kohvalia
About PVTGs Gujarat 24. Padhar 25. Siddi
Particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) is a
 26. Kolgha
sub-classification of Scheduled Tribe, who
are most vulnerable in certain parameter 22. Kathodi
then the other Scheduled Tribe community. 23. Kohvalia
Gujarat
Government of India created PVTG list with
 24. Padhar 25. Siddi
the purpose of enabling improvement in the 26. Kolgha
conditions of those communities in priority 29. Cholanaikayan
basis. (a section of
During the fourth Five Year Plan a sub-
 Kattunaickans)
category was created within Scheduled Tribes 30. Kadar
Kerala
to identify groups that considered to be at a
31. Kattunayakan
lower level of development.
32. Kurumbas
 This was created based on the Dhebar
33. Koraga

Commission report and other studies.

34. Abujh Macias • The Bill gives it the power to:

35. Baigas  Declare sites as having ‘geo-heritage’
Madhya Pradesh and 36. Bharias 37. Hill value,
Chhattisgarh Korbas 38. Kamars  Take possession of relics (fossils, rocks)
39. Saharias that rest in private hands,
40. Birhor
 Prohibit construction 100 metres around
Chhattisgarh Same as above such a site,
41. Katkaria
 Penalise with fines up to ₹5 lakh and
Maharashtra (Kathodia) 42. Kolam
possibly imprisonment for vandalism,
43. Maria Gond
defacement, and violations of directives of
Manipur 44. Marram Nagas a site by the Director General of GSI.
45. Birhor • Need for the bill:
46. Bondo

47. Didayi  Other than protecting places of geological
48. Dongria-Khond interest, the need for a law that specifically
49. Juangs protects sites of geo-heritage value
50. Kharias follows from India being a signatory to
Odisha 51. Kutia Kondh the UNESCO Convention concerning the
52. Lanjia Sauras Protection of the World Cultural and
53. Lodhas Natural Heritage, since 1972.
54. Mankidias
55. Paudi Bhuyans
56. Soura
57. Chuktia Bhunjia
Rajasthan 58. Seharias
59. Kattu Nayakans
60. Kotas
61. Kurumbas
Tamil Nadu
62. Irulas
63. Paniyans
64. Todas
Tripura 65. Reangs
Uttar Pradesh and 66. Buxas
Uttarakhand 67. Rajis
68. Birhor
West Bengal 69. Lodhas About the Geological Survey of
70. Totos
India
71. Great
Andamanese • The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is a
Andaman & Nicobar 72. Jarawas scientific agency.
Islands 73. Onges • It was founded in 1851 under the Ministry
74. Sentinelese of Mines.
75. Shorn Pens • It is one of the oldest of such organisations
in the world and the second oldest survey
DRAFT BILL FOR GEOLOGICAL HERITAGE in India after Survey of India (founded in
OF INDIA 1767)
• Role:
Context: A draft Bill, aimed at protecting India’s
 Conducting geological surveys and
geological heritage that includes fossils, sedimentary
studies of India
rocks, natural structures, has raised alarm in India’s
geo-sciences and palaeontology community.  Prime provider of basic earth
science information to government,
Provisions of the bill: industry and general public
• The Draft Geo-Heritage Sites and Geo-  Official participant in steel, coal,
relics (Preservation and Maintenance) Bill, metals, cement, power industries and
2022 vests powers entirely in the Geological international geoscientific forums.
Survey of India (GSI).

About Treaty of Alinagar (1757)

• Evolution:
• Signed between: Robert Clive (East India
 Until 1852, Geological Survey primarily Company) and Mirza Muhammad Siraj ud-
remained focused on exploration Daulah (Nawab of Bengal)
for coal, mainly for powering steam
transport, oil reserves, and ore • Alinagar was the short-lived name given
deposits. to Calcutta given by the Nawab after it was
captured by him.
 Then Sir Thomas Oldham broadened
the ambit of the scope of functioning • The Nawab had seized the English fort at
of the Geological Survey of India to Calcutta, but facing the threat of Afghans in
map the rock types, geological the rear and the military might of the English, he
structures and relative ages of signed the treaty.
different rock types. • Terms of the treaty:
 In 19th and early 20th century GSI  The Nawab would recognize
made important contributions all the provisions of Mughal
to Seismology by its studies and Emperor Farrukhsiyar's farman of 1717.
detailed reports on numerous Indian  All British goods that passed through
earthquakes. Bengal would be exempt from duties.
 In 2017 GSI began pilot project, with  The British would not be
the first ever aerial survey of mineral hindered from fortifying Calcutta, as
stocks by GSI, to map the mineral well as mint coins in Calcutta.
stocks up to a depth of 20 km using
 The signing of the treaty was one of the
specially-equipped aircraft.
events leading up to the famous Battle of
• Restructuring of GSI: Plassey.
 The GSI was restructured into 5  The Nawab was defeated and killed by
Missions on the basis of the Report Clive and his allies.
of a High-level Committee chaired
• Significance of the treaty:
by Mr S.Vijay Kumar:

 The Treaty strengthened the position of
Baseline Surveys
 the British in Bengal.
Mineral resource Assessments
  It laid foundations for the Battle of
Plassey.
Geoinformatics
  It set the stage for British colonial
Multi-disciplinary Geosciences
 expansion in India, turning what was an
economic enterprise into an imperial one.
Training and Capacity Building

KEELADI
Context: The excavations in Keeladi from 2015 prove
TREATY OF ALINAGAR
that an urban civilisation existed in Tamil Nadu in the
Context: The Treaty of Alinagar, signed on February Sangam age on the banks of the Vaigai river.
9, 1757, was a reluctant agreement signed by Bengal’s
Nawab Siraj ud Daula with the English East India Key details:
Company. • Where is Keeladi?

 Keeladi is a tiny hamlet in south Tamil
Nadu located along the Vaigai river.
• Link with Sangam age

 The unearthed artefacts from Keeladi are
dated to a period between sixth century
BCE and first century BCE.
 The Sangam age is a period of history in
ancient Tamil Nadu which was believed
to be from the third century BCE to the
third century CE.
 The excavations have pushed the
Sangam age further back.

• Significance:  Spindle whorls, copper needles, terracotta

 Keeladi could provide crucial evidence seal, hanging stones of the yarn, terracotta
for understanding the missing links of spheres and earthen vessels to hold liquid
the Iron Age (12th century BCE to sixth suggest various stages of a weaving
century BCE) to the Early Historic Period industry.
(sixth century BCE to fourth century BCE)  There also existed a dyeing industry and
and subsequent cultural developments. a glass bead industry.
• Links to Indus Valley

 Jewellery:
 The unearthed Keeladi artefacts have
been described as part of the Vaigai Gold ornaments, copper articles,

Valley Civilisation. semi-precious stones, shell bangles,
 Some of the symbols found in pot sherds ivory bangles and ivory combs reflect
of Keeladi bear a close resemblance to the artistic, culturally rich and
Indus Valley signs. prosperous lifestyle of the Keeladi
people.
 Keeladi has all the characteristics of an
urban civilisation, with brick structures,  Agate and carnelian beads suggest
luxury items and proof of internal and import through commercial networks.
external trade.
 Terracotta and ivory dice, gamesmen
• What has been unearthed so far? and hopscotch have also been unearthed.

 Over 120 potsherds containing Tamil
Brahmi inscriptions have been found.
    
NOTES

SOCIAL ISSUES
MENSTRUAL LEAVE POLICY IN INDIA Menstrual leave policies around the world
Context: A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice  Russia:
of India asked the petitioner to approach the Union  Nearly 100 years ago, in the 1920s and
Ministry of Women and Child Development Ministry to 30s, Soviet Russia relieved menstruating
frame a policy for menstrual leave. women from paid labour to safeguard their
Key details: reproductive health, thus originating the
idea of formal menstrual leave policy.
• Bihar and Kerala are the only States that
 Japan:

allow menstrual pain leave.
• The petitioner sought a direction from the court  In the late 1920s, labour unions

under Section 14 the Maternity Benefit Act, in Japan popularized the concept,
1961.
subsequently codified in Japanese
 Section 14 under the Act deals with
appointment of inspectors and says Law in 1947.
appropriate governments may appoint  South Korea:
such officers and may define the local  In South Korea, period leave was
limits of jurisdiction within which they implemented in 1953.
shall exercise their functions under this
law.  China:
 No government in India has created the  Certain regions, businesses, and

post of inspectors. provinces are rapidly enacting menstrual
leave laws in China that include a variety
What are menstrual leaves? of privileges.
• Menstrual leave refers to a specific form of  Taiwan, Indonesia, Zambia are a few more

time off for those who experience period/ countries that recognise menstrual leave
menstruation pains. and is a part of their employee leave policy.
• It recommends that workers be given leave Status of menstrual leave in India

from work while menstruating, just as they
would for any illness. • The Menstruation Benefit Bill, a private

member's bill, was introduced in the Lok
• These leaves are not covered and are taken in Sabha in 2017 to provide women working in

addition to the usual sick leaves provided to public and private sectors with two days of
all employees. paid menstruation leave each month.
How menstruation is neglected and tabooed? • Since 1992, the Bihar government has

• Due to its taboo nature, menstrual hygiene granted two days of period leave to female
employees.

continues to be one of the most neglected
issues that Indian women face. • A Kerala girls' school has provided

• In a country where more than 355 million menstruation leave to its students since 1912.

women are in the menstrual age, it is • Many companies like Zomato, Mathrubhumi
saddening to know that more than 75 per

(Malayalam News Channel), etc. have
cent of them use unhygienic methods of introduced the menstrual leave policy in their
protection. organisations.
• Reasons for the neglect and taboo:
Biological significance of menstrual leaves

 Misinformation
• Women experiencing menstrual discomfort of
 Superstitions

any degree and suffering from illnesses related
 Societal restrictions to menstruation, including dysmenorrhea,
 Poor access to sanitation facilities and endometriosis, ovarian cysts, and mood
menstrual products disorders, may benefit from menstrual leave.

• Menstruation symptoms can disrupt some MENTAL HEALTHCARE ACT, 2017

women's daily lives, making it harder for them
to attend to routine daily tasks. Context: The National Human Rights Commission
(NHRC) in a report flagged the “inhuman and
• According to a study conducted in 2012, 20
deplorable” condition of all 46 government-run mental
per cent of women have painful cramps that
healthcare institutions across the country. These
significantly affect their everyday activities.
observations were made after visits to all operational
• A 2017 study on Dutch women also showed that government facilities, to assess the implementation of
the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 (MHA).

productivity was below par on more than 23
days of the working year with lost productivity
totalling about nine days every year. Key provisions:
• Definition of mental illness:
• The study also found that women experiencing
 The MHA 2017 provides a wide &

menstrual symptoms were less productive for
a third of the time (33 per cent). elaborative definition of “mental illness”
which was lacked by the previous act
1987.
Arguments against menstrual leave policy
 According to this act mental illness
• It is a normal phenomenon:
indicates a substantial disorder of

 The first argument is how women have thinking, mood, perception, orientation or
been in the workforce for decades, and thought that grossly damages judgment,
they have been managing well. behaviour, capacity to recognise reality
or ability to meet the usual requirements
 It has been normalised for women.
of life, mental conditions associated with
• It will lead to less women being employed: the degradation of alcohol and drugs

 It does not constitute mental barrier
 If menstrual leaves come into the picture,
which is a condition of arrested or
more organisations will further restrain
inadequate development of mind of a
from hiring women.
person, particularly characterised by
• Economically unviable: subnormality of knowledge.

 Many people argue that menstrual leaves • Role of Government:
hinder business and can prove to be  The government was made responsible
economically harmful. for creating opportunities to access less
restrictive options for community living
Conclusion: such as:
• The concept and idea of menstrual leaves is Halfway homes,


not foreign to our culture.
Sheltered accommodations,

• It needs to be used, accepted, and normalised
Rehab homes, and


more.
Supported accommodation.

• Therefore, menstrual leave legislation needs
• Prohibitions under the Act:

to be implemented in workplaces, so that
women can take the necessary time off, every  The Act discourages using physical
month, to recover and maintain their physical restraints (such as chaining), unmodified
and mental well-being.
electro-convulsive therapy (ECT).
• A workplace’s culture can only be considered • Advance Directives:

truly inclusive, if it takes into consideration  Under the Act, people are empowered
the needs of its diverse workforce. to make “advance directives”. They
can nominate a representative for
• Creating policies that understand the actual themselves, thereby potentially helping to

practical needs of the employees can go a long eliminate absolute forms of guardianship
way, in creating a healthy work life balance. in favour of supported decision-making.
 Exception:
• Policies that are employee centric such as the
This is barring cases where the person


Menstrual Leave Policy, can lead the way into
creating a welcoming professional space for needs a higher degree of care and
women who wish to join the workforce. support.

• Nominated Representative Develop quality and service provision


 This Act makes provision for the norms for these establishments as
appointment of nominated representative well as to supervise them.
by the mentally ill person. In case of
Maintain a register of mental health

absence of any recommendation by
professionals.
the mentally ill person, any relative,
care giver, suitable persons may be Train every relevant persons about

appointed to act as the nominated the provisions and implementation of
representative. this Act
• Right of persons with mental illness
Discharge such other functions as

 Every person shall have a right to access the Central or State Government may
mental healthcare and treatment from
decide accordingly.
mental health services run or funded by
the appropriate Government. • Mental Health Authority Fund
 Those living below the poverty line or  The Mental Health care Act, 2017 provides
who are destitute or homeless shall be for the setting up of Central Mental
entitled to mental health treatment and Authority Fund and State Mental Health
services free of any charge at all such Authority Fund to keep an account of all
establishment run, funded or designated the grants, loans, fees, charges, sums
by the Government. etc., made by the authorities under this
Act.
 Every person with mental illness shall be
treated as equal to persons with physical  This Fund shall be utilised for meeting the
illness in the provision of all healthcare. salary, allowances, remuneration of the
officials connected with discharging the
 Such mentally ill persons and their purposes of this Act.
nominated representative have been given
• Mental Health Establishments
the right to information in a language
which he can understand, which includes:  The Act makes it mandatory for every
mental health establishment to be
Right to know the provisions of
 registered with the respective Central
this Act, or State Mental Health Authority.
Nature of person’s mental illness
 • Mental Health Review Boards
and  This quasi-judicial body shall be mainly
responsible for:
Proposed treatment etc.
 Registering,
 reviewing, altering,
 This Act also provides for the right to modifying or cancelling an advance
confidentiality to a mentally ill person directive
Appointing a nominated representative

 These mentally ill persons have also been
granted the right to access their basic Adjudicating complaints regarding

medical records. deficiencies in care and services
Taking appropriate measures to protect

 They have been provided with the right the right of persons with mental illness
to make complaints about deficiencies
• Decriminalising Suicide
in provision of services to the concerned
authorities.  Under this Act, any person who attempts
to commit suicide shall be presumed to
• Mental Health Authority have severe stress and shall not be tried
 The Act seeks to establish a Central and punished under Section 309, Indian
Mental Health Authority at the national Penal Code.
level and State Mental Health Authorities  It also imposes a duty on the Government
in every State. to provide care, treatment and
 The function of these authorities is to:- rehabilitation to a person who attempted
Maintain a register of all mental health
 to commit suicide, to reduce the risk
establishments under Central and of recurrence of attempt to commit
State Government. suicide.

Challenges Way Forward

• Non-implementation: • The present healthcare system seems to
 Under the MHA, all States are required be incompetent and we suffer from lack of
to establish a State Mental Health infrastructure and specialists in the field.
Authority and Mental Health Review As a result, it causes the degraded quality of
Boards (MHRBs). living and healthcare of the mentally ill.
 These bodies can further draft standards • The Act has taken a standard shift of rendering
for mental healthcare institutes, oversee mental healthcare essentially as justiciable
their functioning and ensure they comply rights. Breaching its stated policies of equality,
with the Act. the act ends up discriminating against the
 In a majority of States these bodies are mentally ill.
yet to be established or remain defunct. • There is a lack of comprehensive rules and
 Many States have not notified minimum regulations to include all the settings.
standards which are meant to ensure the • More promotive programs & campaigns
quality of MHEs. should be promoted on mental health.
• The government should press more on
• Budgetary and fund constraints: allocating more funds in Mental Health
 Poor budgetary allocation and utilisation Organisations.
of funds creates a scenario where:
Shelter homes remain underequipped,
 ANUBHUTI INCLUSIVE PARK
Establishments understaffed, and
 Context: Recently the government laid foundation
stone of the world's largest and unique Divyang Park -
Professionals and service providers
 Anubhuti Inclusive Park.
not adequately trained to deliver
proper healthcare. About Anubhuti Inclusive Park
• Location: Nagpur, Maharashtra
Criticisms
• It will have adapted facilities for all 21 types of
• The Act does not provide for the advance disabilitie.
directive to minors.
• The Centre and State, both have • It will have a tiled road/footpath accessible
responsibilities as per the Act but it does not to the visually impaired, a touch and smell
provide sharing of funds between them. garden and various other facilities for the
• The Act does not clarify for how long and differently-abled.
what procedure is to be adopted to give the • It will have a special play area for children,
person an effective chance to live in the hydrotherapy room, waterfall sound therapy,
community. potter’s wheel, sensory park and theatre.

Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPD) Act Key highlights of the report
of 2016: • Total enrolment: Increase of 7.5% in higher
• The Act replaces the Persons with Disabilities education.
(Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights • Female enrolment: Increased from 45%
and Full Participation) Act, 1995. (2014-15) to around 49% (2020-21)
• It fulfills the obligations to the United National
Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities (UNCRPD), to which India is a
signatory.
• It expands the definition from 7 to 21
conditions.
• It introduces a new system to streamline
the process for producing and obtaining
disability certification for institutions.
 The Indian government provides disability
certificates to people deemed to have
disabilities of more than 40%, which
allows them to avail of certain benefits
and concessions.
• The RPD Act also increases the public sector
quota from 3% to 4% for persons with certain
types of disabilities.
• It provides incentives for companies to
ensure that at least 5% of their workforce is • SC/ST/OBC enrolment: Increase as
composed of people with disabilities of 40% compared to the 2014-15 data.
or more. • Gross enrolment ratio:
• Special Courts will be designated in each
district to handle cases concerning violation of  As per 2011 population projections for 18-
rights of PwDs. 23 years age group, GER has increased
to 27.3 from 25.6 in 2019-20.
AISHE REPORT  Notable increase of 1.9 points is observed
Context: Recently, the Union Education Ministry in GER of ST students in 2020-21, as
released data from the All-India Survey on Higher compared to 2019-20
Education (AISHE), 2020-2021.  Female GER has overtaken Male GER
since 2017-18.
 Gender Parity Index (GPI), the ratio of

female GER to male GER, has increased
from 1 in 2017-18 to 1.05 in 2020-21.
• Enrolment in NE states: 12.06 Lakh in 2020-
21 as compared to 9.36 Lakh in 2014-15
• Enrolment in Distance education: Increase

of 7% since 2019-20 and 20% since 2014-15.
• Top states in terms of students enrolled:

UP> MH> TN> MP>KN>RJ
• Enrolment in different streams:

 Enrollment is highest in Arts (33.5%),
followed by science (15.5%), Commerce
(13.9 %) and Engineering and
Technology (11.9%).
 STEM enrolments (at all levels of higher

education): Showed that women lagged
behind men, who accounted for over 56%
of enrolments in these fields.

• Enrolment in Institute of National • Prevalence of Quota System:

Importance: Increased by nearly 61% during  A huge percentage of students are
the period 2014-15 to 2020-21. restricted from the available educational
• Minority: opportunities due to the influence of
 The proportion of Muslim students quota system.
dropped to 4.6% from 5.5% in 2019-20 • Lack of research opportunities:
with the proportion of “other minority  It has been witnessed that research
students” dropping to 2% from 2.3%. publications from India are rising since last
• Students in Persons with Disabilities: decade but still it saunters behind other
Dropped in 2020-21 to 79,035 from countries with major percents.
92,831 the previous year. • Faculty vacancies are high:
• Representation of teachers: Number  University Grant Commission (UGC) has
of teachers increased across higher notified through the statistics that various
education institutes but SC and ST teaching posts lie vacant which affects
teachers continued to be under- the teacher student ratio and sometimes,
represented. restrict authorities to give admission to
 There are 75 women teachers to every more students.
100 male ones across institutes. • Low GER:
• Teacher pupil ratio: 27 for all universities,  Gross Enrollment Ratio shows how many
colleges and stand-alone institutions students are enrolled at different levels
 24, if only regular mode is considered. for education.
 Best ratio in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.  India has a GER in higher education sector
is too low.
GER • Shortage of resources:
Total enrolment in a specific level of  Bulk of the enrolment in higher education
education, regardless of age, expressed as is handled by state universities and their
a percentage of the eligible official school- affiliated colleges.
age population corresponding to the same  These state universities receive very
level of education in a given school year. small amounts of grants in comparison.
Institute of National Importance (INI)  Nearly 65% of the University Grants
Commission (UGC) budget is utilised
An INI, in India, is defined as one which by the central universities and their
serves as a pivotal player in developing colleges while state universities and their
highly skilled personnel within the specified affiliated colleges get only the remaining
region of the country/state. 35%.
Challenges of Higher education in India: Conclusion:

• Privatization of educational sector: • There is a strong case for reviving philanthropy
 Private Schools and colleges offer and community support for higher education
education at a very higher cost and in India.
demand donations. • Corporates, generous alumni, and people at
 Many parents are compelled to abandon large can join in to create strong philanthropic
their child from higher education just support for higher education and make quality
because they are not able to arrange education tuition-free.
finances. • The government, for its part, should
• Gap Employable skills: be generous enough to declare such
philanthropic donations to the cause of
 Students are learning theoretical
higher education and research tax-free.
knowledge but there has been skills
gap in different sectors. Recruiters find
MANUAL SCAVENGING IN INDIA
absence of employable skills from Indian
graduates. Context: Nearly ₹100-crore was allocated in this year’s
 This challenge should be overcome Budget for the newly named NAMASTE (National
by introducing paradigm shifts in the Action Plan for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem)
curriculums. scheme.

About NAMASTE scheme: • Expected outcomes:

 The NsAMASTE scheme subsumed  Zero fatalities in sanitation work in India.
the already existing Self Employment All sanitation work is performed by skilled
Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual workers
Scavengers (SRMS).
 It is a Central Sector Scheme of  No sanitation workers come in direct
the Ministry of Social Justice and contact with human faecal matter.
Empowerment (MoSJE) as a joint Sanitation workers are collectivized
initiative of the MoSJE and the Ministry into SHGs and are empowered to run
of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). sanitation enterprises.
• Aims of the scheme:
 All Sewer and Septic tank sanitation
 Enumeration: workers (SSWs) have access to
The Social Justice Ministry intends
 alternative livelihoods. Strengthened
to first enumerate the number of supervisory and monitoring systems at
people engaged in hazardous national, state and ULB levels to ensure
cleaning of sewers and septic tanks enforcement and monitoring of safe
across 500 AMRUT (Atal Mission sanitation work.
for Rejuvenation and Urban
Transformation) cities and then  Increased awareness amongst
proceed with its plans. sanitation services seekers (individuals
 Subsidies: and institutions) to seek services from
The NAMASTE scheme, among other
 registered and skilled sanitation workers.
things, provides for capital subsidies
to sewer cleaners on the purchase About Amrut Scheme:
of sanitation machinery, training
of workers, and loan subsidies on • AMRUT is a project that aims to transform
sanitation equipment. select 500 cities across the country into
efficient urban cities.
 Safe working environment:
• AMRUT stands for Atal Mission for
NAMASTE envisages safety and

Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation.
dignity of sanitation workers in
urban India by creating an enabling • It is a revamped version of the earlier
ecosystem and providing sustainable similar scheme, Jawaharlal Nehru National
livelihood and enhancing their Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
occupational safety through capacity
building and improved access to safety • It was initiated in the year 2015 by the
gear and machines. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
 Alternative livelihood:
• The focus of this scheme is to provide
NAMASTE would also aim at providing
 better infrastructure in the selected
access to alternative livelihoods cities to thereby enrich the citizen’s life,
support and entitlements to reduce
the vulnerabilities of sanitation
especially poor.
workers.
 Self-employment: Key provisions of the scheme:
It enables them to access self-

• Extending Insurance Scheme Benefits:
employment and skilled wage
employment opportunities and break  For providing a safety net to identified
the intergenerationality in sanitation SSWs and their families they will be
work. covered under the Ayushyaman Bharat-
 Socio-psychological changes: Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-
NAMASTE would bring about a
 PMJAY).
behavior change amongst citizens  The premium for AB-PMJAY for those
towards sanitation workers and identified SSWs families who are not
enhance demand for safe sanitation covered earlier shall be borne under
services. NAMASTE.

• Livelihood Assistance: Issues and challenges of manual scavenging:

 The Action Plan will promote • Health
mechanization and enterprise  The average life expectancy of sanitation
development. workers is 40-45 years, significantly lower
 National Safai Karamchari Financial than the national average of 70 years.
Development Corporation will provide They experience high rates of prolonged
funding support and subsidy (capital + illness and mortality because of the work
interest) to the sanitation workers, SHGs they do.
of SSWs and private sanitation service • Incomes and compensation
organizations
 Sanitation work is not well-paid work
• Saturation with Social Security Schemes’ and most workers are daily wagers
benefits: or contractors whose incomes are
 The identified sanitation workers and their unpredictable, making them highly
family members will be extended benefits susceptible to financial shocks. Though
of all the social security schemes being they are eligible for loans and cash
implemented by various departments in assistance, very few are able to access
the area. them.
• National/State/City NAMASTE Management  Their savings go into tackling health
Unit: issues and diseases caused by
 National Safai Karamchari Financial occupational hazards. A significant
Development Corporation (NSKFDC) proportion of victims’ families have not
would be implementing agency for received compensation as provided
NAMASTE. for in the Prohibition of Employment
as Manual Scavengers and Their
 At the apex of the structure will be the
Rehabilitation (MS) Act, 2013.
National NAMASTE Monitoring Unit
(NNMU) under Managing Director, • Social ostracism and violence
NSKFDC.  Sanitation workers, who typically come
 The State Govt. will decide a suitable from the most underprivileged castes of
officer to be designated as State Dalits and de-notified tribes are socially
Namaste Director to head State Namaste ostracised and often not given fair access
Management Unit (SNMU). to education, health, land, housing, jobs
 Project Management Unit will be and financing.
constituted as implementation body at
the city level.  A recent study conducted by WaterAid,
World Bank and the WHO found that a
What is manual scavenging? third of sanitation workers experience
• Manual scavenging is the practice of removing violence and half of them still experience
human excreta by hand from sewers or septic untouchability and discrimination.
tanks.
• Policy and governance bottlenecks
• Prohibition of Employment as Manual
Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act,  Public bodies continue to deny the
2013: existence of unsafe sanitation work
and under-report the incidence of manual
 India banned the practice under the scavenging.
Prohibition of Employment as Manual
Scavengers and their Rehabilitation  Claiming benefits is a cumbersome
Act, 2013 (PEMSR). and complicated process and it demands
 The Act bans the use of any individual documentation that many do not have.
for manually cleaning, carrying, disposing
of or otherwise handling in any manner,  Contracted labour does not receive health
human excreta till its disposal. insurance or accident coverage; the safety
 The Act recognizes manual scavenging as regulations and salaries of these workers
a dehumanizing practice. are determined by the contractors.
 In 2013, the definition of manual  Sanitation workers also have limited
scavengers was also broadened to access to legal aid, which hinders their
include people employed to clean ability to seek justice.
septic tanks, ditches, or railway tracks.

• Social and behavioural drivers  It was passed to prohibit manual

 The lack of education and an scavenging and to ensure that the people
understanding of their rights leaves who are indulged in this practice are not
sanitation workers open to exploitation deprived of their right to live with human
from contractors. dignity.
 Caste and class discrimination lead to  It prohibits the employment of the
the systematic denial of access to essential manual scavengers and also the building
services such as education, healthcare of the insanitary latrines.
and housing. • The Self Employment Scheme for
 They are reluctant to try other work or Rehabilitation of Manual Scavenging, 2007
start enterprises (for example, tea stalls) (SRMS):
that interface with the broader community  It aims to help and provide assistance
because of the fear of discrimination. to the manual scavengers and their family
 Caste-based segregation also means members for their rehabilitation in some
that they cannot organise into a strong alternative occupations.
collective voice or network to demand • The Prohibition of Employment as Manual
justice. Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act,
• Outdated and incompatible infrastructure 2013:
and equipment  It demolished all the insanitary latrines.
 Sanitation infrastructure in most Indian  The local authorities like municipal
cities is also outdated and difficult to corporations, railway authorities etc. will
operate with machines, thereby requiring be held responsible under this Act.
human intervention.  It prohibited employment of any person
for manual scavenging or hazardous
 Replacing this infrastructure with modern cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
options will require significant budgets
and political will. Way forward:
• End the denial
 Bureaucrats and agencies must be
incentivised to accurately identify and
report the number of sanitation workers
beyond manual scavengers. This can
be done by creating safe spaces for
bureaucrats to be able to report correct
numbers without the fear of repercussions.
• Incentivise innovation across areas
 The failure of traditional methods to
deliver the desired results highlights the
need to test and scale new solutions to
improve sanitation worker safety and
livelihoods.
 We could explore innovative financing
mechanisms, such as results-based
financing to bring in funding from the
development and private sectors.
• Enhance awareness of risks and worker
rights
 Workers and their families need to be
made aware of:
The risks of sanitation work and the

measures to mitigate them,
Laws to Prevent Manual Scavenging:
 Their legal rights under the MS Act
• The Employment of Manual Scavenging and
Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition)  Available resources and

Act, 1993:  Enforcement mechanisms.

 This should be supplemented with the NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR SAFAI

provision of legal aid, which workers can KARAMCHARIS
access if they are denied their rights and
entitlements. Context: The government informed that there is no
• Strengthen governance structures proposal to convert National Commission for Safai
Karamcharis into a statutory body.
 Since sanitation work cuts across ministries
and departments, it needs a strong anchor About safai karamcharis:
- a governance framework that can • Definition of safai karamcharis as per Article
bring everyone together and hold them of Association of National Safai Karamcharis
accountable to their commitments at the Finance and Development Corporation –
central, state and sub-state levels.
 “Safai Karamchari” means a person,
 This governance must include strict including his/her dependents, engaged
rules and regulations for hiring and in or employed for any sanitation
contracting workers to ensure employers’ work and includes waste pickers, but
responsibility and accountability towards excludes domestic worker and manual
their safety and livelihoods. scavengers.
 It is vital to set up a unified data system About the Commission:
that can serve as a single source of truth
on sanitation work and workers. This will • The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis
help improve decision-making and (NCSK) is currently a non-statutory body.
enhance visibility. • It investigates the conditions of Safai
Karamcharis in India and makes
• Break the intergenerational trap recommendations to the Government of
 There is a desperate need to adopt whole India.
community approaches to rehabilitation. • It was constituted in 1994 as a statutory body
 These would include: for a three-year period under the NCSK ACT,
1993.
education for children,
 • It continued till February 2004, when the
Skilling for youth (in caste-neutral
 relevant Act expired.
occupations) and • Functions
Entrepreneurial
 opportunities for  Recommending programmes to
spouses. the Central Government to eliminate
 Employers should be sensitised and inequalities in status and facilities, and
incentivised to employ family members to promote opportunities for Safai
of sanitation workers. Karamcharis
 Studying and evaluating the
Conclusion implementation of the programmes and
• Even after passing of many Acts, this degrading schemes for the social and economic
practice is not abolished. It is the collective rehabilitation of Safai Karamcharis.
responsibility of our government and of the
 Investigating specific grievances and
society in which we reside. It is the duty of the
take suo moto notice non-implementation
executive to implement the laws passed by
of:
the legislature effectively and also the duty of
the society to abide by these laws. Programmes or schemes in respect

of any group of Safai Karamcharis;
• Manual Scavenging is an unlawful practice
and also an offence. It is the violation of Decisions, guidelines or instructions,

Article 21. aimed at mitigating the hardship of
Safai Karamcharis with measures for
• The Constitution of India bans the practice
the social and economic upliftment of
of untouchability. If the society actively
Safai Karamcharis;
participates in the issue of eradicating manual
scavengers from our society and takes an The provisions of any law in its

action against this practice wherever they application to Safai Karamcharis,
see it happening then together we will surely  Take up such matters with the concerned
eradicate this peril which has been in practice authorities or with the Central or State
since many years. Governments;

 make periodical reports to the Central

and State Governments
Scheme for “Pay and use” community
• In the discharge of its functions, NCSK can 6
toilets
demand information from any Government
or local or other authority.
• As per mandate of National Commission for

Safai Karamcharis identification of safai Scheme for procurement of sanitation
karamcharis has not to be done by them. 7
related vehicles
• Sanitation is a state subject and no central
data is maintained in this regard.
Numbers of safai karmcharis in India: 8 Sanitary Marts Scheme

No concrete Data
9 Green Business Scheme
Vocational Education and Training Loan

10
Scheme
Schemes for them: Non-loan-based schemes:
Loan schemes:
100% in the form

S. NO. NAME OF THE SCHEME Skill Development of grant including
1. Training stipend of Rs.1500
Programme per month/per
candidate.
1. Mahila Samridhi Yojana
Reimbursement
2 Mahila Adhikarita Yogana of expenditure for
2. Job Fair holding job fairs
upto Rs. 50000/-
per job fair.
3 Micro Credit Finance
Reimbursement
4 General Term Loan of expenditure
for organizing
AWARENESS awareness
3.
PROGRAMME programme upto
Education loan Rs. 30000/- per
awareness
5 -For study in India
programme.
-For study abroad

BUDGET ALLOCATIONS FOR MINORITIES

Context: The Union Budget for 2023-24 came with a
reduction of 38% in funds for the Ministry of Minority
Affairs.
Reimbursement of
4. Workshops expenditure upto Rs. Effect on schemes:
25000 per workshop.
• Cuts in Educational scheme:
 The worst affected scheme under
the all-encompassing fund crunch is
the Education Scheme for Madrasas
which suffered a whopping 93% cut in
National Safai Karamcharis Finance and allocation, down to ₹10 crore from the
Development Corporation: ₹160 crore in the previous financial year.
• NSKFDC is a not-for-profit company  The total allocation for minorities’
under the Ministry of Social Justice and educational uplift was slashed to ₹1,689
Empowerment. crore from ₹2,515 crore last year.
• It aims to uplift the Safai Karamcharis, • Research schemes:
Scavengers and their dependents  The allocation for research schemes for
socially and economically. minorities, including Muslims, Christians,
Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Parsis was
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual reduced by a little more than 50%, down
Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 from ₹41 crore last year to ₹20 crore this
• The Act aims to eliminate insanitary year.
latrines (those not connected to pits/septic • Pre-Matric scholarships:
tanks/sewage lines) alongside tracking the
rehabilitation of manual scavengers in other  The government hugely cut the funds for
occupations and conducting periodic pre-matric scholarships for minorities,
surveys. down from ₹1,425 crore last year to ₹433
crore in the upcoming financial year.
• To eliminate this practice, the act has
provisions for stringent penalties, for • Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram
direct or indirect employment of any person in (PMJYK):
hazardous cleaning of sewers or septic tanks  The allocation for PMJYK came down
by any person, local authority or agency. from ₹1,650 crore to ₹600 crore this year.
 For example, even the first instance  The scheme aims to provide socio-
of its contravention is punishable economic infrastructure and elementary
amenities in minority concentrated areas.
with imprisonment up to two years or
fine up to Rs 2 lakh or both. • Nai udaan grounded:
• If a worker dies while performing such work,  The Nai Udaan Scheme meant to help
even with safety gear and other precautions, the minority students prepare for the
employer is required to pay compensation Union Public Service Commission
of Rs 10 lakh to the family. examinations was grounded.
 It was argued that the scheme overlaps

Way forward
with other similar affirmative plans of
• Given the gaps in assessment and laxity the government.
in implementation, it is unlikely that manual
scavenging would end anytime soon. • Loan subsidy:
• The state and society need to take active  The loan subsidy to minorities to study
interest in the issue and look into all abroad under the Padho Pardesh
possible options to accurately assess and Scheme also stood withdrawn.
subsequently eradicate this practice.
Minorities in India:
• It also warrants an engagement of all
stakeholders for the proper introduction of • Definition of minority
mechanisation and ensuring that it is made  The expression “minorities” appears in
available to all those who are forced to engage some Articles of the Constitution, but is
in this undignified practice. not defined anywhere in the Constitution.

• Constitutional status of minorities Ministry of Minority Affairs:

 Article 29 deals with the Protection of  Educational schemes:
interests of minorities. Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme – for

 Article 30 deals with the right of Class I to X.
minorities to establish and administer Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme –

educational institutions. for Class XI to PhD.
 Article 350(A) says there shall be a Merit-cum-Means based Scholarship

Special Officer for linguistic minorities Scheme – for professional and
to be appointed by the President. technicalcourses.
• National Commission for Minorities Act, Maulana Azad National Fellowship –

1992: for MPhil and PhD.
 The term 'minority' has been defined Free Coaching and Allied Scheme

under Section 2(c) of the National (Naya Savera) – for competitive
Commission for Minorities Act, examinations of proe
fsso
inal courses and
1992, which states that a 'minority' is government jobs.
a community notified as such by the
Central Government. Begum Hazrat Mahal National

Scholarship for Meritorious Girls
 While the Act does not exactly define belonging to minoritycommunities
the term 'minority', it says that the Centre
would notify and designate those who 'Padho Pardesh' – scheme for interest

are minorities. subsidy on educational loans for
overseas studies.
• Which are the minorities notified by the
Government of India? Nai Udaan – support for students to

clear preliminary exams conducted by
 In the exercise of its powers under the Act, the Union Public Service Commission
the Centre on October 23, 1993, notified (UPSC), the Staff Selection
five groups — Muslims, Christians, Commission (SSC), the State Public
Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis — as Service Commission (SPSC) etc.
‘minority’ communities.
 Economic schemes
 Jains were added to the list in January
2014. Seekho Aur Kamao is a placement-

linked skill development programme.
• Population Percentage
Nai Manzil – a scheme for formal

school education and skilling of school
Muslims 14.2% dropouts
Gharib Nawaz Employment Training

– it's for providing short-term job-
Christians 2.3% oriented skill development courses
to youths belonging to minority
communities.
Sikhs 1.7% National Minorities Development

and Finance Corporation – it provides
concessionalloans to minorities for self-
Buddhists 0.7% employment and income-generating
ventures.
 Socio-economic schemes
Jain 0.4% Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram

– it is an area development scheme.
o The thrust of the scheme is to
Parsis 0.06% allocate at least 80% of the
resources towards education,
Various schemes for minorities: health and skill development,
• These six minority communities are entitled to out of which 33-40% are to
various socio-economic and educational be specifically allocated for
schemes that have been implemented by the women-centric projects.

Naya Savera Scheme – it assists

 Nai Udaan Scheme – it provides

students or candidates belonging financial support to minority
to minority communities with candidates who clear preliminary
special coaching for competitive examinations conducted by the UPSC,
examinations for recruitment to the SSC and the SPSC.
Group A, B and C services and other
equivalent posts under the Central and
state governments.
    
NOTES

MISCELLANEOUS
MUKAAB • To be a designated survivor, one must be
eligible to become United States’ President.
Context: Recently, Saudi Arabia unveiled its latest
• If a higher-ranking official survives the
grand plan to transform its capital city. The new project
attack, the designated survivor gives way to
coming up in Riyadh is called the Mukaab – “cube” in
them when they are fit to lead.
Arabic.
What is Mukaab? JAIPUR DECLARATION

• It will be the world’s first immersive, Context: The 18th UIC World Security Congress, jointly
experiential destination, where one enters a organized by Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the
new reality. International Union of Railways (UIC), concluded with
• It will be constructed in central Riyadh. the adoption of the Jaipur Declaration.
• It will house residential units, hotel rooms and What is Jaipur declaration?
office space, as well as dozens of entertainment • “Jaipur declaration” outlines an actionable
and culture venues. agenda for UIC to explore innovative
• The project is named as Murabba project. approaches that can help global Railway
The Mukaab will be the highlight of this
 organizations achieve their long-term goal
project. of safety and security
• The Mukaab will be built using the modern • About UIC

Najdi architectural style.  The UIC (Union International Des
Chemins) or International Union of
Railways established in 1922.
 Headquarters: Paris.
 It is the worldwide professional
association representing the railway
sector for research, development &
promotion of rail transport.
• About Railway Protection Force (RPF)
 Railway Protection Force (RPF) is the
prime security and law- enforcement
organization in the field of Railway
DESIGNATED SURVIVOR Security in India.
• In the United States, a designated survivor or  Constituted as a federal Force in the year
designated successor is a named individual 1957, RPF is responsible for security
in the presidential line of succession, chosen of railway property, passenger and
to stay at an undisclosed secure location, passenger zones.
away from events such as State of the Union
addresses and presidential inaugurations.
SANSAD RATNA AWARD
• The practice of designating a successor
is intended to prevent a hypothetical Context: Eight Lok Sabha members and five Rajya
decapitation of the government and to Sabha members have been nominated for the Sansad
safeguard continuity in the office of the Ratna Awards, based on performance in questions,
president in the event the president along with private members’ Bills and participation in debate.
the vice president and multiple other officials
in the presidential line of succession die in a About the award:
mass-casualty incident. • Sansad Ratna Award ("Gem of Parliament") is
• The procedure originated in the 1950s during a private award established in 2010 by the
the Cold War with its risk of nuclear attack. Prime Point Foundation and e-magazine
PreSense.

• Its aim is to honour top performing Members e-SANJEEVANI

of the Indian Parliament.
• It was formed on the suggestions given by A. P.
J. Abdul Kalam, Former President of India.
Sansad Ratna Award
Best Parliamentarian Award
Top performing Indian

Awarded for
Lok Sabha Members
Prime Point Foundation

Sponsored by
and PreSense
First awarded 2010
YUVA SANGAM PORTAL

• It is not related to the Outstanding
Parliamentarian Award given by the Indian Context: The “Yuva Sangam” registration portal was
Parliamentary Group. launched recently.
Key details:
 The Outstanding Parliamentarian Award is
an award given by the Indian Parliamentary • What is it?
Group to an outstanding sitting Member  The Yuva Sangam is an initiative of Ministry
of the Indian Parliament for overall of Education and Skill Development
contribution in the Indian Parliament. and Entrepreneurship to build close ties
between the youth of North East Region
 It was instituted in 1995 by Shivraj Patil, and rest of India under the spirit of Ek
who was the Speaker of Lok Sabha. Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.
Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme

• Sansad Ratna Awards are given on behalf of
aims to enhance interaction & promote
civil society through a transparent selection
mutual understanding between people
process by a Jury committee of eminent
of different states/UTs through the
Parliamentarians, based on the data on
concept of state/UT pairing.
various performance parameters.

• Aim and Purpose: About the plant:

 Over 20000 youth will travel across India • Commonly known as 'Borthekera' in Assamese,
and gain a unique opportunity of cross- Garcinia pedunculata, a medicinal plant has
cultural learning. been found to protect from heart diseases.
 YUVA Sangam tours are being organized • Traditionally forbidden for raw consumption,
for the youth of different states, with in Assam, dried slices are used for preparing
an aim to promote a sense of respect delicacies like "tenga diya masor jol" (sour
towards each other`s heritage, culture, fish curry).
customs, traditions to further the spirit of
• Administration of the dried pulp of the ripe
Shreshtha Bharat.
fruit of the medicinal plant reduced cardiac
 It will provide an immersive, hypertrophy indicators and oxidative stress
multidimensional experience of various and heart inflammation brought on by ISO.
facets-under four broad areas of:
• The sun-dried slices are known to have
Paryatan (Tourism),
 therapeutic properties like:
Parampara (Traditions),
  Anti-inflammatory,
Pragati (Development) and
  Anthelmintic,
Paraspar Sampark (People-to-people
  Antibacterial,
connect).
 Antifungal,
• Eligibility:
 Antidiabetic,
 Youth between the ages of 18 and 30 will
 Hypolipidemic,
take part in this programme.
 Nephroprotective,
E-GRAM SWARAJ  Neuroprotective activity.
Context: Information was provided by Panchayats on
eGramSWARAJ application of Ministry of Panchayati
Raj.
About eGramSwaraj
• It is one single interface on which the details
will be listed panchayat wise.
• The platform will provide records of work
from planning to the implementation in every
village panchayat under Gram Panchayati
Development Plan (GPDP).
• All the details related to Panchayat Sachiv
and Panch can be viewed on Gram Swaraj
Portal.
• The works of the Ministry of Panchayati
Raj will be accessible through Gram Swaraj
Portal.
• The Gram Swaraj Portal and application
will provide a boost in transparency by
decentralized planning of development
projects, with progress reports updates and
increased accountability.
• Anybody can create an account on the
Gram Swaraj Portal and know about the
developmental works of villages.
SUSHI TERRORISM
Context: Japan’s signature cuisine is at the
BORTHEKERA PLANT
centre of a police investigation after customers
Context: A medicinal plant, commonly called at revolving sushi restaurants posted video clips
'Borthekera' in the Assamese language, has been of themselves interfering with food and playing
found to protect from heart diseases. pranks on other customers.

QUOTES & THEIR MEANING  There have been several mechanisms

like COP27 but there has not even
HUMAN SPIRIT MUST PREVAIL OVER been any global consensus to
TECHNOLOGY effectively tackle the issue.
 Humans are still not letting their
Context: A quote attributed to Albert Einstein, “Human

‘spirits prevail’ over technology,
spirit must prevail over technology”, warrants a proper making Einstein’s words sound even
analysis of uninterrupted discussion on the future of more like a prescient warning.
technology and human beings.
Where can this quote be used?
Meaning of the quote • ChatGPT:
 There have been several discussions on
• The quote is attributed to Albert Einstein.

how AI is going to affect humans in the
• The quote focuses on how technology should future, both near and far.
only be subservient to the ‘human spirit’,  There has been the usual fear about loss

and never be allowed to dominate over it. of jobs.
• The quote emerges as a warning: it is up  The rise of AI which can understand and

to humans to ensure that humanity is respond in natural language has also
retained during the process and that anything raised questions about what it actually
potentially harmful is modified or discarded means to be a human.
at the initial stages only.  One might make the observation that

despite everything, “the human spirit
• The quote also highlights how humans have must prevail over technology” since the
a tendency to look past their own long-term ultimate aim of AI should be to make
benefits in the pursuit of what they perceive to be human lives better.
important - short-term and short-lived gains.
• Medical advancement:
 Example:  The rapid pace at which the

 Despite decades of warning signs, Covid-19 vaccines were developed

humans have been unable to and administered can be seen as
satisfactorily resolve the issue of rising
an example of centering human
global temperatures.
welfare in the field of science.
• Public Administration: • Example:

 During the American military’s exit
 In the context of public administration,

from Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban
AI can be used as a powerful tool in
takeover was described often as a case of
maintaining records and other similar
‘history repeating itself’, given its earlier
activities, another instance of humans
emergence in the early 1990s after the
‘prevailing’ over technology.
Soviet Union troops left the country.
Similar quotes by Einstein:
CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
• Without ‘ethical culture’, there is no salvation
for humanity.
• Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the
world.
• A dictatorship means muzzles all round and

consequently stultification. Science can flourish
only in an atmosphere of free speech.
• Why does this magnificent applied science

which saves work and makes life easier bring
us so little happiness? The simple answer
runs: Because we have not yet learned to make
sensible use of it.
HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF, FIRST AS

A TRAGEDY, SECOND AS A FARCE
Meaning of the quote:
• The quote is given by Karl Marx.
• The quote refers to how humans rarely learn
from mistakes of the past, be it their own or
someone else’s.
• When the mistake is repeated the first time,

it is a tragedy.
• However, when it is repeated for the second

time, it is more absurd, making it almost funny
(a farce often refers to an event or situation that
is comically absurd).
• It is also because it ends up going against the

expectation that age or experience results in
wisdom.
mPASSPORT POLICE APP
• It is also interpreted as an observation of
how every generation seems to think they
are smarter and better-equipped than the
previous ones, and yet, they end up making
the same mistakes, sometimes with graver
consequences.
• The use of the word ‘farce’ is meant to reinforce

how the constant cycle of mistakes being
repeated lends itself to comedy, although of a
very dark kind.

OPERATION DOST has played an important role in sending humanitarian

medical assistance to quake-hit Syria and Turkey.
Context: Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
    
NOTES

GOVERNMENT
GOVERNMENT SCHEMES
PRADHAN MANTRI MUDRA YOJANA
Context: Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana generated
1.12 crore net additional employment from 2015 to
2018.
Key details:
• As per the results of a large sample survey
conducted at the national level by Ministry
of Labour and Employment to assess
employment generation under Pradhan
Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), the scheme
helped in generating 1.12 crore net additional
employment during a period of approximately
3 years (i.e., from 2015 to 2018).
• The Scheme is reviewed from time to time VIVAD SE VISHWAS II SCHEME
wherein the scope and coverage of the
Scheme has been extended: Context: The Finance Ministry released the contours
• In FY 2016-17, activities allied to agriculture of a draft voluntary settlement scheme to end festering
and services supporting these, which contractual disputes of government agencies called
promote livelihood or are income generating the Vivad se Vishwas II.
were brought under the ambit of PMMY. Key details:
• Since FY 2017-18, loans sanctioned for • It is a “one-time settlement” scheme that
purchase for Tractors and Power Tillers are contains a draft pact between the litigating
included as eligible loans under PMMY, parties to bring finality to the dispute.
subject to the upper ceiling of Rs. 10 lakh. • It is proposed to be implemented through
• Further, from 2018-19 onwards, loans a functionality on the Government
sanctioned for purchase of two-wheelers by e-Marketplace (GeM) portal.
individuals for commercial purpose have also • Eligibility:
been included under PMMY.
 Companies or entities in domestic
About PMMY

contractual disputes with the central
• Under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana government and associated bodies only
(PMMY), collateral-free institutional credit up can seek to settle pending matters under
to Rs. 10 lakh is provided by Member Lending the ‘Vivad se Vishwas II’ scheme.
Institutions (MLIs) such as:
 The scheme would apply to disputes
 Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs),

where one of the parties is either the

 Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), Centre, its autonomous bodies, public
sector banks, financial institutions

 Non-Banking Financial Companies
and enterprises, Union Territories,

(NBFCs) and
including Delhi, and their agencies, and
 Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs). organisations where the Centre has

• Are the loans subsidized? a stake of 50 per cent, like metro rail
 The loan provided under the PMMY is not corporations.

subsidised.  Disputes, where claims are raised against

 However, if the loan proposal is linked to procuring entities as above along with

some Government scheme, wherein the some other party (state government or
Government is providing capital subsidy, it private party), shall not be eligible under
will be eligible under PMMY also. the scheme.

 Disputes having only financial claims AMRIT BHARAT STATION SCHEME

against the procuring entities will be
settled through this scheme. Context: Recently, a new scheme for modernization
of railway stations, Amrit Bharat Station scheme, has
 The scheme proposes graded settlement
been launched.

terms depending on the pendency
level of the dispute and it is proposed to Key details about the scheme:
cover only cases involving domestic
• Under this scheme, a total of 1275 railway
arbitration and cases under international
stations have been identified in the country
arbitration are not eligible to be settled
including border areas for development
under this scheme.
under Amrit Bharat Station scheme.
• Conditions for the one-time settlement
• Aim of the scheme:
under the scheme:
 The scheme aims at preparation of
 No state government or any other
Master Plans of the Railway stations

private firm is party to the case, or and implementation of the Master Plan in
 The dispute pertains to pending phases to enhance the facilities.

financial claims, and not any • Developmental work to be undertaken:
performance claims.  Club different grades/types of waiting halls
 Provide good cafeteria/retail facilities,
Vivad se Vishwas Scheme  High level platforms
• Vivad se Vishwas Scheme is useful for  Widening of roads along
taxpayers with ongoing legal tax disputes  Removal of unwanted structures
at any level.
 Properly designed signages
• Under this scheme, the interest and
 Dedicated pedestrian pathways
penalty associated with the disputed tax
amount is completely waived off.  Well-planned parking areas
• As a result, the taxpayer has to pay only the  Improved lighting
amount of disputed tax.  Amenities for divyangjan at stations
    
NOTES

LOCATIONS IN NEWS
SOLOMON ISLANDS THWAITES GLACIER

Context: The U.S. opened an embassy in the Solomon Context: Scientists studying Antarctica’s vast Thwaites
Islands in its latest move to counter China’s push into Glacier say warm water is seeping into its weak spots,
the Pacific. worsening melting caused by rising temperatures.
    
NOTES

Articles from Yojana (February 2023)

(YOUTH AND SPORTS)
INITIATIVES FOR NEW INDIA • One of the key pillars of the Khelo
India Scheme is to make quality sports
Introduction infrastructure equitably accessible to the
• India has one of the youngest populations citizens. To ensure the same, MoYAS has
in the world with 27.2 percent of the nation’s sanctioned 294 sports infrastructure
population belonging to the 15-29 years projects across the country, amounting to
age group. A demographic dividend of this close to Rs 2,500 crore.
magnitude has the capability to uplift the nation
and raise living standards for all. • The various initiatives under the Khelo India
scheme including the establishment of district-
• The role of youth in nation-building is crucial
level Khelo India Centres, Khelo India State
in the 21st century with India playing a very
Centres of Excellence, organising annual
important role with the whole world watching
Khelo India Games (Youth Games, University
us.
Games, Winter Games, etc.), community
Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan coaching development programmes
(e-Khelpathshala), promotion of women’s
• Today, the youth of our nations are the biggest participation in sports through women sporting
ambassadors and advocates of the flagship leagues in various sporting disciplines, large-
Swachh Bharat Mission. As part of Azadi scale sports & fitness promotion events through
ka Amrit Mahotsav, Nehru Yuva Kendra the FIT India programme.
Sangathan (NYKS) under the guidance of
Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth • In order to constructively channelise the energy
Affairs and Sports (MoYAS) organized various of the youth in extremism and terrorism
activities of “Swachh Bharat 2.0” programme infested areas of the country, sports
from October 1 to 31 October 2022. competitions and programmes are organised in
Youth Volunteers such landmasses across the country engaging
the youth.
• The Ministry has launched a Capacity Building
Training Programme for 14,000 Youth • Integration of sport in the curriculum as
Volunteers of NYKS to enhance their life in NEP, is a cross-curricular pedagogical
skills. These trained youth volunteers will play approach to leverage sports and physical
pivotal role in realising the Punch Pran (five activities for skill development including
resolve) about which Hon’ble Prime Minister collaboration, teamwork, discipline, etc.
spoke during his Independence Day Speech.
FIT India Conclusion

• Today, universities and educational institutions • The youth of India, while being the “Future
are upgrading their sports infrastructure, thereby of India”, is more importantly “India’s
enabling the youth to actively participate in the Present”. They are the drivers of ideas and
FIT India movement to lead a fit and healthy innovation in this age of AI- “AatmaNirbhar
lifestyle on the lines of the inspirational slogan Innovation”. A youthful mind, body and soul is
‘Fitness Ka Dose, Aadha Ghanta Roz'. the key driver of a healthy and fit India.
Sports, Education and Youth development • With India taking over the prestigious presidency
• More than 23 lakh school going children in the of G20 nations this year, it is an opportune
age group of 5-18 years have been assessed moment for our youth to showcase their skills,
using the Khelo India Mobile App. More than talents, art, and exhibit their commitment and
82,000 physical education teachers have conviction towards the greater good of the
been trained to assess the sporting prowess of nation.
children.

NURTURING THE EXCELLENCE OF OUR of manufacturing industries, both at large

YUVA SHAKTI and medium scales, is benefitting largely
from the cyclical benefits of the Production
Introduction Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme; starting with
• The Government of India has undertaken a a high potential for generating employment,
number of steps to improve the quality of lives broadening manufacturing base, increased
and enhance ease of living, such as ensuring dependency of Indian market at global level
housing to all; clean cooking water; rural leading to more demand and therefore more
electrification; cooking gas, internet and opportunities and employment.
communication facilities; health insurance; • Improvement in the quality of life and
quality education and Vocational education for enhancing the ease of living-twin goals of
all citizens so that they are able to concentrate the Government have an implicit effect on the
on their future and realise their full potential. lives and potential for the youth of India.
• The country is getting its foothold in the global
Access to Holistic Education
market and is not only fiercely competing
with many developed economies, on the • The most significant among the educational
sheer force of innovation, incubation and reforms was the introduction of the New
youthfulness, but is also being recognized Education Policy that is changing India’s
for its remarkable contributions across major Education system. The new policy has
economies by our vibrant diaspora. prioritised efforts to boost literacy and
numeracy achievements in primary schools
Era of Techade while lowering dropout rates in middle and
• India is the 3rd largest startup ecosystem secondary schools.
with one in every 10 global unicorns claimed by • The ground focus of reforms is visible to
India. From a country having just 4 unicorns all. Another example of this is the medical
in 2014 to more than 100 unicorns in 2022, education system. In 2014, there were 387
the growth has been meteoric. medical colleges in the country. This number
• There are over 77,000 government- has increased to more than 600 medical
recognized startups spread across 656 colleges in 2022. showing a rise of over 50
districts of India with diversity in 56 industrial per cent.
sectors like IT services, healthcare, life science, • The footprint of education has been expanded
education, professional service, agriculture, to ensure that 'no one is left behind’. Eklavya
food & beverage, etc. Model Residential Schools (EMRS) have
• Another significant factor for developing been set up in tribal areas for talented
a sustainable startup ecosystem is the Scheduled Tribe children to have high-quality
availability of data, services, marketing education.
streams, outreach and reduced burden of
Ease of Living- A New Reality
the excessive cost of doing business and
compliances. • Under Swachh Bharat Mission launched in
2014, more than 11 crore household toilets
Job Creators have been built, while under the Ujjwala
• India’s multi-dimensional growth is mirrored Yojana, provision of cooking gas to make the
in its becoming the 5th largest economy, from home smoke-free, has been given to over 10
a 2 trillion-dollar economy in 2014 to a 3 trillion- crore families.
dollar economy in 2019; and with the goal to • Deendayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana
become the 3rd largest economy of the world by and SAUBHAGYA scheme ensured that
2030/2031. over 99 per cent of Indian households today
• This ambitious expansion and growth of India’s have electricity, bringing a huge change in the
economy are reliant on youth. To prioritise skill lives of the youth. Cleanliness is now part of a
development and employability of youth, the lifestyle for the youth.
Government has launched various schemes • Connectivity has been ensured with
such as Skill India Mission, and the MUDRA schemes like UDAN, which has made flying
scheme. Digital India and PM Kaushal Vikas not only accessible and affordable but has
Yojana to lay a strong foundation of knowledge, also provided much needed exposure and
proficiency and market-centric skills for the opportunities to youth. This is complimented by
upcoming workforce. the vast expansion of highways, railways and
• The second largest employable sector urban public transport networks, bringing the

transformational change in terms of efficiency • Physical Inactivity: It has been estimated that
and enhancing productivity of India’s youth. only 20 per cent of the young adults are known
to exercise adequately or be involved in sports
Way Forward activities which are for longer than 30 minutes
• It is the youth of the country who can enable per day and five days a week.
India to realise its full potential and dreams. • Diabetes and Hypertension: Diabetes is
In 2047, when India will be celebrating 100 becoming potentially epidemic, with one in
years of its independence, the contribution of every 10-adult having diabetes. One in every
today’s youth will be the key factor in making five adults in India have hypertension.
India become not only the 1 largest economy
• Other Health Problems: These include injuries
but truly a developed nation.
in the form of accidents, self-harm, workplace
• To achieve this goal, the Government has taken accidents and so on.
a number of initiatives to not only equip
• These health problems that have early onset
our youth with education, skills, and good
during youth can have long bearing effects at
health but also impart the right value system i.e.,
older age, especially chronic diseases.
fraternity- the well-being of everyone. As India
strives to change its destiny, the focus must be Improving health
continued on furthering ways and means to tap
the energy and ambitions of our youth. • The Ayushman Bharat programme with health
and wellness centre component has focus on
nirogi - or preventing illness by the adoption of
YOUTH & HEALTH
healthier lifestyle. ‘FIT India’ initiative is aimed
Introduction at increasing the exercise habits of people
including youth.
• Youth - though definitions vary - are considered
those individuals in the age group of 15 to Making Health of Youth a Mass Movement
44 years. Therefore, this age group includes
• This requires optimum utilization of every
late adolescence (15 to 19 years) and early
possible avenue for improving the health
adulthood (20 to 44 years).
of this age group. It requires interventions at
• The youth are amongst the healthiest of schools, colleges and workplaces amongst
population sub-groups. This age group has others.
the least burden of illnesses and mortality.
• It demands that the school health services are
Although, there are a few concerns which are
strengthened and work as early intervention
more common in this age group such as road
centres for dealing with the rising incidence of
traffic injuries.
various diseases in the current days.
• In addition, the health behaviour adopted in
• The workplace health has to be promoted by
this age group determines the health situation
installing weighing scales in bathroom,
in later life.
exercise time and large equipment in large
Some of the health issues are: offices as well as encouraging healthy food in
the cafeteria menu.
• Mental Health: Mental health is a major
challenge in this age group due to various Government Initiatives which aim at Healthier Youth
reasons including the non-availability of mental
health services as well as not recognising mental
health issues as a reason to seek healthcare.
• Alcohol and Drug Use: Alcohol and drug

use, especially intravenous drug use is largely
associated with various high-risk behaviours
that can cause communicable and non-
communicable diseases like HIV/AIDS,
hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and
liver diseases, etc.
• Tobacco Use: The majority of the individuals

who use tobacco in any form (smoking or
chewing) begin doing so in their adolescence.
This is usually combined with alcohol
dependence, increasing the risk of various
illnesses significantly.

Healthy Lifestyle • Karmayogi Bharat technology platform was

• To begin with Mental illness, a lot of stigmas launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister in the
are associated with it. This is a reason people same event and ‘Karmayogi Prarambh’ was
do not seek health care. However, mental highlighted.
illnesses are very similar to any physical illness. • Karamyogi Bharat is a Special Purpose
With the right advice from trained doctors and Vehicle (SPV) under the administrative
with medications, both physical and mental control of the department and personnel
illnesses can be treated. and training (DoPT) for capacity building of
• According to WHO and many other health all government employees.
agencies, people should engage in at least • As a leader in innovation and entrepreneurship,
150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic India provides numerous opportunities for its
physical activity per week or at least 75-150 young population to explore and grow. In the
minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical 2020 World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business
activity. (EoDB) ranking, India ranked 63 out of 190
• Regular and at least six to eight hours of economies.
sleep boosts our immunity, reduces stress • To “Cultivate One Million Children in India as
and keeps us away from many health issues. Neoteric Innovators,” more than 75 million
students are actively participating in almost
Sports, Health and Youth
10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) spread
• The leading health body, the World Health across 722 districts with 5800 plus Mentors of
Organization has established a Sports Change.
and Health programme to capitalise on the
• India was placed 40th out of 132 nations in the
potential of people to lead healthy lives
World Intellectual Property Organisation's
through promoting participation in sports and
(WIPO) 2022 Global Innovation Index (GI1)
working with the sports community.
rankings because of its robust exports of ICT
Conclusion services and other factors.
• Youth constitute around half of India’s population • The ‘Make in India' initiative launched in
and are the foundation of country’s economic 2014 is helping foster innovation, build world-
growth and development. Prevention of class and make India a hub for manufacturing
ill health effects in youth can have long term and design.
benefits individually, at the family level and at • The youth of India is a major driving force in the
the national level. country’s civil service, which plays a crucial role
• The policies aimed at youth should be targeted in delivering government services effectively
at healthier lifestyle, adoption of regular and efficiently to all citizens.
physical activity and health prevention and • The Government of India’s Capacity Building
promotion measures. Healthy youth today Commission (CBC) was set up on I April 2021
will make healthy nation tomorrow. to "radically improve the Human Resource
Management practices in the Government
ENABLERS FOR EMPLOYMENT through state-of-the-art infrastructure to
augment the capacity of Civil Servants.” The
Introduction
initiative is named as National Programme for
• The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports Civil Services Capacity Building (NPCSCB) -
(MoYAS) released a Draft National Youth Policy Mission Karmayogi.
(NYP) in April 2022 with a 10-year vision for youth
development, aligning with the Sustainable Way Forward
Development Goals (SDGs). Education; • The challenges faced by the youth of India
employment & entrepreneurship; youth are being addressed by the Government
leadership & development; health, fitness & on a mission mode. But the Government
sports; and social justice are the five focus alone cannot solve all the issues; equal
areas. participation of the private and non-profit
Boosting career opportunities for Youth sectors is of paramount importance.
• To boost career opportunities for youth, the • The recent outbreak of COV1D-19 in China,
Hon’ble Prime Minister launched a recruitment the Russia-Ukraine war, and ongoing
drive for 10 lakh personnel through the ‘Rozgar geopolitical challenges, are major concerns
Mela’ in a mission mode. 75,000 appointment for the world.
letters were distributed in October 2022 and • However, I am hopeful that India’s G20
71,000 in November 2022.

presidency in 2023, with the theme of enough to influence decision-makers and

“Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth, national leaders.
One Family, One Future,” will bring together
world leaders and contribute to a more Youth can do the critical thinking of existing

peaceful and prosperous future for all. And the problems.
contribution of Youth in that will be remarkable. Youth can mobilize global support in favor

of climate action and can act as change
Youth for Environment Sustainability makers.
Youth can innovate out of box solution of

Introduction: the problems.
• The earth is facing the destruction of ecosystem Youth can communicate and spread the


because of Anthropogenic activities. In its effort idea of climate actions across globe.
to raise the awareness UN General Assembly
Youth can provide the leadership required

designated decade from 2011 to 2020 as
to lead the fight against climate change.
‘Decade for Biodiversity’.
• Keeping in view of low carbon development • As young people connect more, they are

also embracing digital platforms to spread

strategy, India has embarked on a journey
of low carbon intensive economy through its knowledge, educate others, and increase their
‘Panchamrita strategy’. reach.
• Youth also play a crucial role in promoting the
• Priorities include increasing green space,

SDGs, particularly SDG 15,"Life on Land,”

creating more energy-efficient buildings, which calls for the conservation and restoration
improving water supplies, and reducing of the planet’s terrestrial ecosystems, forests,
greenhouse gas emissions from waste and and biodiversity.
urban transportation.
• The role of young people in collaborating

with local and national government to carry
Youth: Torch Bearer of Future Generations out policies and programmes on the ground,
• Youth have the capacity and potential to be the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of

driving engine for growth, development and a policies to fulfill the SDG agenda.
contributor to the peace and security of any
nation. Policy Actions:
• Any policy on climate change cannot become
• There are currently 1.8 billion people between

successful without youth’s participation.

the ages of 10 and 24, the largest generation
• Youth have large stake in conservation of
of youth in history; nearly 90 per cent of them

environment.
reside in developing nations, where they
account for a sizable share of the population. • They have provided with large potential of

innovative thinking.
• The role of young people becomes significant • Recently, youth have started taking participation

in the fight for reaching net zero carbon by

in environment meetings like World Summit on
2030. Sustainable Development.
• It is young generation, who is going to be • The adaptation of environment friendly lifestyle

as proposed by Hon’ble PM in COP26

subjected to the degraded environmental
condition in future, hence they must come Glasgow (LiFe) is crucial for preventing triple
forward to prevent the present degradation. crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and
pollution and waste generation.
• Innovative thinking will be required in the future • Similar efforts are done through Pro-Planet

to develop and prepare strategic frameworks,

People (P3) initiative.
policies, and procedures; undertake actual field
research; conserve biodiversity; and monitor
operations for land management, crisis and
Advocacy, Awareness-Raising, and Capacity-
disaster management, and so on. Building
• Youth led organization is at the forefront of the

campaign for environment conservation.
Roles for Youth and SDGs
• Youth initiatives span from regional projects to • They are influencing national and international

policy makers.

global campaigns, and some are well-known

• These organisations frequently struggle with a • The youth is the backbone of MyGov’s outreach

lack of financing, resources, and recognition. platform. MyGov facilitates participatory
Awareness of and capacity for development governance or Jan Bhagidari by:
activities could be greatly enhanced through
increased financial and regulatory support for • Information Dissemination: MyGov
youth-led structures. helps to reach out to the beneficiaries and
acts like a one-stop platform for citizens.
Way Forward In addition to ensuring the efficient
• Environmental and socially sustainable transfer of new knowledge, effective

development information and skills should be dissemination also increases awareness
included in all majors so that students can
and fosters cooperation.
become educated employees or employers,
customers, community members, and investors. • Two-Way Communication: MyGov facilitates
In order to promote green entrepreneurship, two-way through social media engagement
one must strengthen the connections between and innovative platforms. Suggestions from
SDG practitioners, green economy employers, citizens for Union Budget, Draft National Youth
and educational institutions. Policy, Draft Education Policy and so on have
been obtained for formulating inclusive and
LEADING INDIA TOWARDS TECHADE rooted policies. It acts as a feedback loop for
policy initiatives and numerous government
Introduction: initiatives.
• Participation in governance is one the aspect • Transparency: MyGov acts like a one-stop

of good governance. platform for filing nominations quickly and
• As 66 % of its population is below the age of digitally; this increases trust and confidence

65, the youth’s participation in governance is amongst citizens. Transparency fosters
critical to build civic capacities and long-term accountability and provides information for
community sustainability. citizens about what the Government is doing.
• Government launched MyGov App, which • Fact Check: MyGov helps citizens to know

places citizen at the center. about facts and government announcements.
• Infusing Collaborations: MyGov enables
MyGov App:
citizen-citizen and government-citizen
• MyGov has adopted multiple engagement collaborations. Like-minded citizens can work

methods like discussions, tasks, polls, surveys, together on ‘ideas. MyGov also acts as a great
blogs, talks, pledges, quizzes and on-ground networking platform for individuals who want to
activities by innovatively using the internet, bring a positive change.
mobile apps, IVRS, SMS and Outbound Dialing
• The youth of our country has played and is
(OBD) technologies for reaching out to the
playing a critical role in promoting participatory
citizens.
governance.
• MyGov has also launched State instances in • Whether suggesting taglines, jingles, and
19 States and has over 2.9 crores registered slogans or designing logos, youngsters
Saathis (companions). have always contributed their bit to foster
participatory governance.
    
NOTES

%=2
8*9=4
$#5431 =%
++++++ $#&*
<>====
8917
DEHRADUN
NEW DELHI
KANPUR
JAIPUR PATNA
AHMEDABAD
RAJKOT
KOLKATA
ANAND
RANCHI
VADODARA
SURAT BHILAI
RAIPUR
HYDERABAD
J JAIPUR : 9625994037 Rajkot: 76240-11227
Office No. 7, First Floor Ridhi Sidhi 3rd Floor,Balaji House 52 Janta
Society, Above FabIndia,Opp LIC
Crossing Mansarover Link Road, Of India, Tagore Road, Mahila
Gopalpura Bypass, Jaipur-302015 College Chowk, Rajkot 360001,
Gujarat.
D South Delhi (Satya Niketan) 96259-21997 72840-11227

72848-11227
299, 3rd Floor, Satya Niketan, Opposite
Sri Venkateswara College, Near Durgabai
Deshmukh South Campus Metro Station,
New Delhi - 110021.
Kolkata : 72850-11227
Ahmedabad-72659-91227 First Floor, Sunidhi Building,
104, First Floor, Ratna Business Square, Above PNB, 120 Lenin Sarani
Opposite H.K.College, Ashram Road, Road, Kolkata 700013, West
Ahmedabad - 380009, Gujarat. Bengal.
Mumbai : 99091-11227
Office No. 412, Pearl Plaza,
Next to McDonald’s Near
Railaway Station Andheri West,
Mumbai, Maharasthra 400058
96259-21993

CHAHAL FEBRUARY 2023 MAGAZINE (For Website)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

CHAHAL FEBRUARY 2023 MAGAZINE (For Website)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

CURRENT

• VOSTRO ACCOUNTS • DEEP OCEAN MISSION

• SPY BALLOON • NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR SAFAI

• ORDNANCE FACTORY BOARD • SANSAD RATNA AWARD

• SANT SEVALAL MAHARAJ

• SALIMGARH FORT • AMRIT BHARAT STATION SCHEME

• ALUX AND MAYAN CIVILISATION

SOCIAL ISSUES............................................. 93 - 106

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

POLITY & GOVERNANCE

PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS To address the opening session of a

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

• Motion of thanks  This is why the Motion of Thanks is

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

Origins of this Right

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

SECTION 153A  But this is required before the trial

What is an open prison?

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

• False information • An elected representative can

REPRESENTATION OF PEOPLE ACT, 1950 AND REPRESENTATION OF PEOPLE ACT, 1951.

Representation of People Act, 1950 Representation of People Act, 1951

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

SECTION 69(A) OF IT ACT  Section 69A empowers the Centre

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

 The plea had also challenged Section

ht tps:/ / images.livemint.com/r/ LiveMint/

Judicial interventions and interpretation of

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

 The citizens of India, as per Article 32 court proceedings, a uniform citation is

What is a neutral citation?

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

 To address these concerns, one needs for resolution of disputes in cases

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

What are the themes? Issues and challenges

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

FISCAL DEFICIT IN INDIA  Definition:

 Gross market borrowings - estimated at • How it is computed?

About fiscal deficit? • Impact of fiscal deficit:

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

Conclusion:  Complete privatization:

Differences between Disinvestment and

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

Advantages of Disinvestment How has disinvestment fared?

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

Payment Aggregator vs Payment Gateways

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

PRIMARY AGRICULTURAL CREDIT SOCIETIES  Credit from the SCBs is transferred to

• Organisational structure:  Provides credit with minimum paper works

 General Body of PACS: and within shortest duration possible.

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

Regulatory framework: What is a vostro account?

The SRVA arrangement:

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

 Domestic exporters are to be paid

• NEW DELHI • MUMBAI • KOLKATA • AHMEDABAD • ANAND • BHILAI • BHUBANESWAR • CHANDIGARH

The BSE and NSE Market Regulation