Current Affairs March 2023

CURRENT AFFAIRS COMPENDIUM – MARCH 2023

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MARCH 2023 CURRENT AFFAIRS

1. Windsor Framework
2. US Communications Decency Act of 1996
3. International Big Cat Alliance
4. Compensatory Afforestation
5. Australia’s Deakin University to set up campus in GIFT City
6. Coin Vending Machine
7. UK’s Illegal Migration Bill
8. Old Pension Scheme
9. Supreme Court Panel on Adani
10. World Happiness Report 2023
11. Khalistan Issue
12. SIPRI Report 2023

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1. WINDSOR FRAMEWORK

In a line- The United Kingdom and the European Union struck a deal called The
Windsor Framework on February 27 regarding post¬- Brexit trade rules for Northern
Ireland, with a view to remove the border between Britain and Northern Ireland
running through the Irish Sea.

Important Points-

• In 1921, the Anglo- Irish Treaty was signed and the island of Ireland was
divided into two self- governing entities.

• The Northern Ireland remained a part of UK and the Southern Ireland

(consisting 26 out of 32 counties of Ireland) formed the independent Republic
of Ireland.
• The political split on the island was exacerbated by growing tensions, especially
from the 1960s onwards, with spiralling violence between Unionists, who were
set on Northern Ireland remaining within the U.K., and the Republicans, who
favoured unification with the Republic of Ireland.
• The Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998 between the UK and the
Republic of Ireland to bring these clashes to an end and the Northern Ireland
remained a part of UK.
• After Brexit, the Northern Ireland Protocol came into force on January 1, 2021,
which allowed EU customs rules to apply in North Ireland. This was to avoid a
hard customs border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
• Specifically, under the Protocol, Northern Ireland would formally be outside the
EU single market, yet EU rules on the free movement of goods and customs
union would continue to apply.
• This aggravated the Northern Ireland unionists as it de facto cuts Northern
Ireland off from the UK in terms of trade by imposing, in effect, a hard customs
border in the Irish Sea.

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• The Windsor framework seeks to address this issue by permitting free trade
between Great Britain and Northern Ireland through the use of green and red
lanes for goods flowing into Northern Ireland.
• Red lane goods under the framework will be subject to full checks and controls
to preserve the EU’s single market.
• Agri¬food goods such as meat and dairy will have reduced checks and controls,
and food retailers, including supermarkets, wholesalers, and caterers, will be
able to move agri¬food with ease via the green lane.
• The prohibition on certain chilled meats from Great Britain being sold in
Northern Ireland will be removed. This would lead to greater availability of
British goods in Northern Ireland markets, including both foods and medicines.
• The British lawmakers also approved a key element of the post Brexit deal on
Northern Ireland, that is, The Stormont Brake.
• The Stormont Brake allows the democratically elected Northern Ireland
Assembly to object to new EU goods regulations that would have a major and
long-lasting impact on Northern Ireland’s day-to-day existence.
• Other Important Details –
➢ Capital of Northern Ireland – Belfast
➢ Capital of the Republic of Ireland – Dublin
➢ The United Kingdom consists – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland.

2. Section 230 of the U.S. Communications Decency

Act of 1996 and the Safe Harbour Provision

In a line- The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has begun hearing
two pivotal lawsuits that will for the first time ask it to interpret Section 230 of the
U.S. Communications Decency Act of 1996, the law that has shielded tech
companies from liabilities over decades.

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Important Points-

• Both the lawsuits, that is, Gonzalez versus Google and Twitter versus
Taamneh, have been brought by families of those killed in Islamic State
(ISIS) terror attacks.
• Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) provides immunity to
online platforms and protects them from being liable for the content people
post on their platform every day. This provision is generally called the Safe
Harbour Provision.
• This section has a provision which states that the providers of “interactive
computer services” are free from being treated as the publisher or speaker of
any information posted by the users, taking these platforms out of state and
federal law’s ambit.
• Another thing Section 230 does is allow interactive computer service providers
to engage in content moderation, removing posts that violate their guidelines
or are obscene. According to the statute, these platforms can remove content
posted on them as long as it is done in “good faith”.
• The Union government, in March 2023, formally outlined the Digital India Act,
2023 which is a broad overhaul of the decades-old Information Technology
Act, 2000.
• The government is reconsidering a key aspect of cyberspace — ‘safe harbour’,
which is the principle that so-called ‘intermediaries’ on the internet are not
responsible for what third parties post on their website. Rajeev
Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology,
announced the changes in a presentation in Bengaluru.
• The safe harbour provision has been given under Section 79 of the IT Act
2000.
• Safe harbour has been reined in in recent years by regulations like the
Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics
Code) Rules, 2021, which require platforms to take down posts when ordered
to do so by the government, or when required by law.

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3. International Big Cat Alliance

In a line- India has proposed to launch a mega global alliance under its leadership
to protect big cats and assured support over five years with guaranteed funding of
$100 million (over Rs 800 crore).

Important Points-

• The proposed International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA) will work towards the
protection and conservation of the seven major big cats — tiger, lion,
leopard, snow leopard, puma, jaguar and cheetah.
• Membership to the alliance will be open to 97 “range” countries, which
contain the natural habitat of these big cats, as well as other interested
nations, international organisations, etc.
• After the first five years, which will be supported by India’s ‘total grant
assistance’ of $100 million, the IBCA is expected to sustain itself through
contributions from the private sector, multilateral institutions and bilateral
institutions and membership fees.
• India is the only country in the world to have all the three prime members of
the wild big cat family, that is, Lion, Tiger and Leopard. It hosts some 15 Big
Cat Species. Except Pumas and Jaguars, we have all the big cats.
• The major activities of the alliance will include “advocacy, partnership,
knowledge e-portal, capacity building, eco-tourism, partnerships between
expert groups and finance tapping”.
• Governance structure of IBCA –
➢ General Assembly – consisting all members
➢ A Council – Minimum 7 and maximum 15 member countries elected by
the General Assembly for a term of 5 years
➢ A Secretariat
➢ Upon the recommendation of the Council, the General Assembly will
appoint the IBCA Secretary General for a specific term.

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• Other Important Details-

According to sources in the Environment Ministry, the IBCA was “inspired by
the arrival of cheetahs” last year from Namibia.
India introduced 12 cheetahs in the Kuno National Park, Madhya Pradesh
from South Africa and 8 others were imported from Namibia in 2022.

4. Compensatory Afforestation

In a line- A report released on March 20, that originates in the Synthesis Report of
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a U.N. expert body, states
that not degrading existing ecosystems in the first place will do more to lower the
impact of the climate crisis than restoring ecosystems that have been destroyed — a
finding that speaks to an increasingly contested policy in India, that is ,
Compensatory Afforestation .

Important Points-

• Compensatory Afforestation- It is a program implemented in India to

ensure that forest land diversion for non-forest purposes, such as industrial or
infrastructure development, is accompanied by afforestation on an equal area
of land.
• The concept of Compensatory Afforestation was first started in India through
its Forest conservation act of 1980.
• According to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, the project proponent that
wishes to divert the land must identify land elsewhere to afforest, and pay for
the land value and the afforestation exercise. That land will, thereafter, be
stewarded by the forest department.
• Afforestation is also codified in the Compensatory Afforestation Fund
Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), a body created in

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2002 and chaired by the Environment Minister. It was made a legal

requirement through the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act 2016.
• The money paid sits in a fund overseen by the CAMPA. As of 2019, the fund
had ₹47,000 crore.
• According to the CAG report (2013), most of the money (~Rs 47,000 crore in
2019) in the CAMPA fund had been unspent.
• The IPCC report found that the sole option (among those evaluated) with
more mitigating potential than “reducing conversion of natural ecosystems”
was solar power and that the third ¬highest was wind.
• IPCC report also noted that “reducing conversion of natural ecosystems”
could be more expensive than wind power, yet still less expensive than
“ecosystem restoration, afforestation, [and] restoration”, for every GtCO2e.
• India has committed to adding “an additional (cumulative) carbon sink
of 2.5-3 GtCO2e through additional forest and tree cover by 2030”, as part
of its climate commitments to the U.N.

Other Important Details-

• The Haryana govt is planning to develop the world’s largest curated

safari using CAMPA funds received from deforestation in Great Nicobar.
• This has also been contested as Creating single-species plantations a does not
really come close to the natural forests in terms of biodiversity, local
livelihoods, hydrological services, and sequestered carbon.
• According to CAMPA, 45 per cent of funds allocated by the Central
Government for compulsory afforestation between 2017 and 2022 have not
been utilized by Kerala. The state government’s target for each year’s
plantation has also not been met.
• Inter- governmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC)-
➢ Established in 1988 by World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and
the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
➢ Releases reports in every 5-6 years.

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➢ First report was released in 1990.

➢ Latest and 6th report was released in 2021.
➢ It has 3 working groups.
➢ Won peace prize in 2007 for the Fourth Assessment Report.
➢ The 2nd Assessment Report resulted in Kyota Protocol and 5th
Assessment Report resulted in the Paris Agreement.

5. Australia’s Deakin University to set up campus in

GIFT City

In a line- Australia’s Deakin University is set to become the first foreign varsity to
set up its independent offshore campus in Gujarat’s GIFT City.

Important Points-

• Deakin University, which is a premier University in Australia, has become the

first foreign university to receive approval of the International Financial
Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) to set up an International Branch Campus
(IBC) in GIFT-IFSC, GIFT City, Gujarat.
• It will roll out academic programmes from July 2024 where students
will also have the option to migrate to campuses in its home country.
• The IFSCA, which is the unified financial regulator for IFSCs in India, notified
IFSCA (Setting up and Operation of International Branch Campus and
Offshore Education Centres) Regulations, 2022 in October, 2022, which has
received encouraging response from reputed foreign universities from across
the world.
• The IFSCA has granted in-principle approval to Deakin University based on
the recommendation of the Committee of Experts set up by the GIFT City
Company Limited.

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• By virtue of this approval, Deakin University will be able to offer the same
degree courses it offers in Australia in the areas of Science, Technology,
Engineering, Mathematics and Financial Management in GIFT IFSC to both
Indian and foreign students. The degree offered shall be identical or similar to
that offered in the home jurisdiction.
• Deakin’s international branch campus will be spread over 25,000 square
feet within GIFT City, and will be set up with an investment of 4 million
Australian dollars.
• Deakin is a public university in Australia, and ranks 266 in the QS Global
Rankings 2022.
• The programmes will be delivered in a trimester structure of February, July
and October and the students can move seamlessly between the campus in
Gujarat and one of the five campuses of the university in Australia.
• The university will start with an intake of 50-60 students and gradually raise
that to nearly 100. The tuition fee is yet to be finalised and is estimated to be
half of the what is charged in the campuses in Australia.
• The students finishing their postgraduate degree from Deakin’s campus in
GIFT City will not have the benefit of post-study work visa which is given to
students who study in Australia for a period of two years.
• But their Australian degree will earn them extra points in their work visa
application where one of the questions is whether a candidate has a degree
from an Australian university.
• About 80% of the faculty will be hired from India and the remaining will
come from Australia.
• Australia’s University of Wollongong has also signed a Letter of Intent to set
up a campus in GIFT City.

Other Important Details-

• GIFT City- Gujarat International Finance Tec-City is located in

Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

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• It consists of a multi-service Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which houses

India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) and an exclusive
Domestic Tariff Area (DTA).
• The social infrastructure in the city includes a school, medical facilities, a
proposed hospital, GIFT City business club with indoor and outdoor sports
facilities.

6. RBI’s new pilot project for coin vending machines

In a line- Recently, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had stated during the most
recent Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) address that the apex banking regulator, in
collaboration with banks, would launch a pilot project to evaluate the operation of a
QR-code based coin vending machine.

Important Points-

• The vending machines would dispense coins with the requisite amount being
debited from the customer’s account using United Payments Interface (UPI)
instead of physical tendering of banknotes.
• Customers would be endowed the option of withdrawing coins in required
quantities and denominations.
• The pilot is initially planned to be rolled out at 19 locations in 12 cities
across the country.
• It is aimed at easing the accessibility to coins.
• The proposed mechanism for coin dispensation would be a departure from
the conventional machines which relied on banknotes for facilitating coin
exchanges.
• The proposed machine would eliminate the need for physical tendering of
banknotes and their authentication.

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• The physical tendering of banknotes had to be eliminated as the currency

being fed into the machines were often found to be fake and could not be
checked right at that point of time.
• The machines are intended to be installed at public places such as railway
stations, shopping small and marketplaces for better ease and accessibility.
• As per the latest RBI bulletin, the total value of circulation of rupee coins
stood at ₹28,857 crore as of December 30 last year. The figure is an increase
of 7.2% from the year-ago period.
• Circulation of small coins remained unchanged at ₹743 crore.
• Small Coins- Coins up to 50 paise
Rupee Coins- one rupee, two rupees, five rupees, ten rupees and twenty
rupees.
• According to the Digidhan Dashboard, the volume of digital payments until
December 2022 was approximately Rs.9,557.4 crore. The number includes
mobile banking, internet banking, IMPS, BHIM-UPI, and NEFT, among other
services.

Other Important Details-

• UPI- It was launched in India in 2016.

• It is an advanced version of Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) and is
operated by National Payments Corporation of India.
• According to a data released by NPCI last month, UPI recorded 7.82 billion
transactions worth Rs. 12.82 trillion in December, 2022.
• Reserve Bank of India- Established in 1935 as a private entity and
nationalized into a fully Government owned body in 1949.
• The headquarters were initially established in Calcutta and then were
permanently moved to Mumbai in 1937.
• Monetary Policy Committee- Created in 2016.
• Committee comprises of six members where Governor RBI acts as an ex-
officio chairman. Three members are from RBI and three are selected by
government.

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• It conducts meetings at least four times a year and the Monetary Policy is
published after every meeting.

7. UK’s controversial Illegal Migration Bill

In a line- British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a new bill on 7th March,
2023, aimed to help the immigrant crisis faced by the country.

Important Points-

• The illegal Migration Bill, which was not subject to public consultation, faced
domestic and international backlash.
• According to the British Home Secretary Suella Braverman, the provisions in
the bill say that people who arrive by boat illegally will be detained for 28
days before they are deported to their home or to a "safe third country",
such as Rwanda, under an existing U.K. plan, where they could then claim
asylum. There will be a few exceptions for children, people who are medically
unfit to fly, or those who are at risk.
• Legal challenges or human rights claims would be heard in that country.
• Once deported, the individuals will be banned from returning to the UK or
applying for British citizenship in the future.
• Another important provision in the bill is that it will be applied
retrospectively. This means the law could be made effective from a date in
the past, thus affecting those who have already arrived in the UK.
• Migrants who are victims of human trafficking would be barred from using
Britain’s modern slavery laws to prevent deportation. This includes the
landmark Modern Slavery Act, 2015, which deals with offences like forced
labour, human trafficking, and exploitation among others.

• Major reasons for the introduction of the bill-

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➢ More than 45,000 arrivals from across the Channel were recorded last
year, with 3,150 already having made the journey so far in 2023.

➢ Interior minister Suella Braverman says that as many as 80,000 could

cross by the end of the year, and that the "broken" asylum system is
costing U.K. taxpayers £3 billion ($3.55 billion) annually.

• Compatibility of the bill with International Laws-

➢ The 1951 UN Refugee Convention, to which Britain is a signatory,
sets numerous responsibilities for countries towards people fleeing
persecution or war.
➢ Britain also has obligations under the European Convention on
Human Rights (ECHR) that entered into force in 1953, to avoid
putting people at risk of torture or other forms of inhuman or
degrading treatment.
➢ UK’s Human Rights Act of 1998 also offers asylum-seekers various
protections.

Other Important Details-

• The UK government inserted what is called a section 19(1)(b) statement into

the bill, which indicates that the government intends to proceed.
Section 19(1)(b)- allows a minister to make a statement to the effect that
although he is unable to make the statement of compatibility, the government
nevertheless wishes to proceed with the bill.
• In April 2022, UK signed a deal with Rwanda, under which Rwanda will
commit to taking asylum seekers to come to UK on or after January 1, 2022
and function as holding centre.
The deal states that UK will pay Rwanda 120 million pounds as part of an
economic transformation and integral fund and will also bear the operational
costs for each migrant.

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8. Select Central Government Employees can opt for

Old Pension Scheme

In a line- In a significant decision, the government has decided to give a one-time

option to select Central government employees to migrate to the Old Pension
Scheme (OPS).

• Those who applied for jobs advertised before December 22, 2003, the day
the National Pension System (NPS) was notified but joined the service in
2004, when the NPS came into effect, are eligible to join the old pension
scheme under the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 (now 2021).
• The order will be applicable to Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel
and other Central government employees who joined the services in 2004 as
the recruitment process was delayed due to administrative reasons.
• The employees’ contribution to the NPS will be credited to the General
Provident Fund (GPF) of the individual.
• This option may be exercised by the government servants concerned latest by
August 31st, 2023.
• The move came following various representations/references and court
decisions in this regard.
• The Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DPPW) held extensive
consultations with the Ministries of Finance and Law and Departments of
Expenditure and Personnel and reached a consensus to allow the employees
the option to switch to the OPS.
• Those servants who are eligible to exercise the option but do not exercise it
till the stipulated date shall continue to be covered by the New Pension
Scheme.
• In case the government servant fulfils the condition for coverage under the
CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 (now 2021), necessary orders shall be issued
latest by December 31st, 2023.

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• The NPS account of such employees shall be closed with effect from
December 31st, 2023.

Other Important Details-

• The Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 2003 decided to discontinue the OPS
and introduced the NPS which became applicable from January 1, 2004.
• Initially introduced for the new government recruits (except armed forces),
the NPS has been provided for all citizens of the country including the
unorganized sector on a voluntary basis with effect from 1st May, 2009.
• The OPS or the Defined Pension Benefit Scheme assures life-long income
post-retirement which is usually equivalent to 50% of the last drawn
salary.
• The NPS is a participatory scheme, where employees contribute to pension
corpus from their salaries, with matching contribution from the government
and is market linked.

9. Supreme Courts forms expert panel to probe any

regulatory failure on Adani Issue

In a line- The Supreme Court formed a five-member apex committee to look

into allegations of regulatory lapse by the Hindenburg report which led to the decline
of the Adani group of shares.

Important Points-

• The expert committee is being headed by former apex court judge, Justice
Abhay Manohar Sapre.
• Other Members of the committee-
➢ Former chairman of the State Bank of India OP Bhatt
➢ Retired Bombay High Court judge Justice JP Devadhar
➢ Former chief of the New Development Bank of BRIC countries K.V. Kamath

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➢ Co-founder of Infosys Nandan Nilekani

➢ Securities expert and lawyer Somasekhar Sundaresan
• Major Objectives of the Committee-
➢ To provide an overall assessment of the situation, including the relevant
causal factors which led to the volatility in the securities market in the
recent past.
➢ To suggest measures to strengthen Indian investor awareness.
➢ Investigate whether there has been a regulatory failure in dealing with the
alleged violation of laws protecting the securities market in relation to the
Adani Group of companies.
➢ Suggest measures to strengthen the statutory and regulatory framework
and secure compliance with the existing framework for the protection of
investors.
• The Expert Committee has been requested by the Supreme Court to submit
the report is a sealed cover within two months.
• The expenses of the committee would be borne by the Union government.
• SEBI has to provide all “material and requisite information” to the committee.
• The court recorded in its order that the SEBI is already investigating into the
allegations in the Hindenburg report against the Adani Group as well
enquiring into “market activity immediately preceding and post the publication
of the Hindenburg report to identify violations”.
• Some of SEBI’s market regulation laws whose violation is being investigated
by it-
➢ SEBI (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices relating to
Securities Market) Regulations, 2003
➢ SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015
➢ SEBI (Foreign Portfolio Investors) Regulations, 2019
➢ Offshore Derivative Instruments (ODI) norms, short selling norms, if any
• 3 other aspects that the court directed SEBI to cover-
➢ Whether there has been a violation of Rule 19A of the 1957 Rules.

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Rule 19A of the 1957 Rules provides that the listed companies, other
than public sector units, should maintain public shareholding of at least
25%.
➢ Whether there has been a failure to disclose transactions with related
parties and other relevant information which concerns related parties in
contravention with the law.
➢ Whether there was any manipulation of stock prices in contravention of
existing laws.
• The court added that the committee doesn’t take away SEBI’s powers to
investigate into the recent volatility in the securities market. According to the
Prakash Gupta versus SEBI, SEBI has an important role to play in
maintaining an orderly and stable securities market.
• The directed the SEBI to complete its investigation an submit the report in 2
months.

Other Important Details-

• SEBI- Came into existence in 1988 as a non- statutory body as the regulator
of capital markets in India. It given statutory powers in 1992.
Headquartered in Mumbai.
The regional offices of SEBI are located in Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Chennai and
Delhi.

10. World Happiness Report, 2023

In a line- The 2023 edition of the World Happiness Report has been released by
the United Nations Sustainable Development Network with India being ranked as
126th out of 137 countries on the list.

Important Points-

• For the sixth year running, Finland was named the world's happiest country.

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• Denmark, Iceland, Israel, and the Netherlands are the next happiest
countries, with other European countries such as Sweden, Norway,
Switzerland, and Luxembourg also making the top 10.
• While Ukraine's ranking improved from 98 to 92 this year, despite the
Russian invasion, its overall score fell from 5.084 to 5.071, on a scale of zero
to 10. Russia ranked 70th.
• The report also cited a "much stronger sense of common purpose,
benevolence and trust in Ukrainian leadership" than after Russia annexed
Crimea in 2014.
• Israel occupied fourth position, up five spots from last year.
• While the same countries typically top the list each year, Baltic countries are
rising rapidly towards Western European levels.
• Knocking France off the 20th spot, Lithuania became the only new
country in the top 20 with Estonia in at number 31, up from 66 in 2017.
• Afghanistan, occupying the last spot, has been ranked as the least
happy country. It saw its humanitarian crisis deepen since the Taliban
government took power in 2021 following the US-led military pull out.
• India was ranked 126th on the report, below neighbours China, Nepal, Sri
Lanka and Bangladesh. Last year, India was ranked 136.

Other Important Details-

World Happiness Report-

• First published in 2012.

• The report considers six key factors: social support, income, health,
freedom, generosity, and absence of corruption.
• The average score is given on a scale of 0-10.
• The World Happiness Day falls on March 20th.
• Theme for World Happiness Day 2023- Be Mindful, Be Grateful, Be Kind.
• The rankings are based on data from the main life evaluation question in the
Gallup World Poll, which measures how happy citizens perceive themselves
to be.

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11. Amritpal Singh and The Khalistan Issue

In a line-

A colossal police hunt for a Sikh separatist, Amritpal Singh, who has revived calls for
an independent homeland in India’s Punjab state has stoked fears of violence and
revived painful memories of a bloody insurgency that killed thousands.

Important Points-

• Amritpal Singh, 30, has been on the run since March 18 after he was accused
by police of attempted murder, obstruction of law enforcement and creating
“disharmony” in society.
• Singh is a leading ideologue within the outlawed separatist movement that
seeks to establish a sovereign state called Khalistan for followers of India’s
minority Sikh religion.
• The National Security Act (NSA),1980, has been imposed on four aides of
Amritpal Singh- Daljeet Singh Kalsi, Bhagwant Singh, Gurmeet Singh, and
‘Pradhanmantri’ Bajeka.
• His 4 aides along with his uncle Harjit Singh have been kept in the Dibrugarh
jail of Assam.
• Amritpal Singh-
➢ Amritpal Singh was born in Amritsar’s Jallupur Khera village in 1993.
➢ He moved to Dubai in 2012 to join his family's transport business after
studying in India till Class 12.
➢ His sudden rise was precipitated six months ago when he was appointed
head of Waris Punjab De, an organisation founded by actor-turned-
activist Deep Sidhu.
➢ Waris Punjab De mobilized farmers and activists – many of whom were
Sikh – against Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s attempt to
modernize the country’s agricultural sector. Farmers feared the changes
would push prices lower.

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➢ In a rare retreat, Modi repealed the laws in November 2021. But even
after the revocation, Waris Punjab De continued its campaign to protect
the Sikh religion and Punjab’s culture.
➢ Sidhu was killed in a car crash in February 2022 and Amritpal Singh took
over the reins, leading marches and giving impassioned – often
provocative – speeches, building a large following and gaining popularity.
➢ Singh has likened himself to Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a leading
figure of the Khalistan movement.
• Khalistan Movement-
➢ The Sikh religion was founded in the Punjab in the 15th Century by Guru
Nanak and has about 25 million followers worldwide.
➢ Sikhs are a minority group in India, comprising of less than 2% of the
country’s 1.3 billion people, but they form a majority in Punjab.
➢ The origins of the modern Khalistan movement trace back to around the
time of India’s independence in 1947, when some Sikhs demanded that a
nation be carved in the state of Punjab for followers of the faith.
➢ When the Indian subcontinent won its independence, the bloody Partition
hastily divided the former colony along religious lines – sending Muslims to
the newly formed nation of Pakistan, and Hindus and Sikhs to newly
independent India.
➢ The Punjab, which was sliced into two parts, saw some of the worst
violence.
➢ Around this time, Sikhs began a greater struggle for political and cultural
autonomy, Kumar said, and the Khalistan movement gained prominence.
➢ The political struggle for greater autonomy began with the Punjabi Suba
Movement for the creation of a Punjabi-speaking state, led by Shiromani
Akali Dal.
➢ This demand of rejected by The States Reorganisation Commission
report of 1955.
➢ In 1966, Punjab was reorganized and was trifurcated into - Punjabi-
speaking, Sikh majority Punjab, the Hindi-speaking south broke off to form

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the state of Haryana and the Hindi-speaking northern region merged with
neighbouring Himachal Pradesh.
➢ In 1973, the Shiromani Akali Dal, in a meeting of its 12-member sub-
committee at Anandpur Sahib, Punjab (the birthplace of the Khalsa),
adopted a resolution demanding autonomy for the state of Punjab,
identifying regions that would be a part of a separate state and sought the
right to frame its own internal constitution. This resolution is famously
known as the Anandpur Sahib Resolution.
• Jairnail Singh Bhindrawale-
➢ Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was part of the ‘Dharam Yudh Morcha’
launched by Shiromani Akali Dal in 1982, headed by Sant Harchand Singh
Longowal. for the implementation of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, a
document calling for greater autonomy for the state within the Union of
India.
➢ Bhindranwale set up a base inside the Golden Temple complex, with
ammunition and his followers.
➢ Jarnail Singh was killed by the Indian army in 1984 after they stormed
Amritsar’s Golden Temple – Sikhism’s holiest shrine – in an operation
ordered by former prime minister Indira Gandhi, known as the Operation
Blue Star.
➢ That operation caused huge anger within the Sikh community and Gandhi
was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards on 31st October, 1984.
➢ This resulted in communal violence, many Sikhs were massacred and
Punjab became a hub of insurgency that lasted till 1995.

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12. SIPRI Report, 2023

In a line- The Swedish think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
(SIPRI) released the 2023 edition of its report which assesses the current state of
armaments, disarmament and international security.

Important Points-

• The assessment report which is released by the SIPRI is made for a five-year
period (2018-2022) and is titled `Trends in International Arms Transfer
-2022’.
• India remained the world’s largest arms importer for the five-year
period between 2018 and 2022 even though its arms imports dropped by
11% between 2013-¬2017 and 2018-¬2022.
• India is followed by Saudi Arabia (9.6%), Qatar (6.4%), Australia (4.7%), and
China (4.7%)
• Russia was the largest supplier of arms to India from 2013 to 2022,
but its share of total imports fell from 64% to 45% while France is the second
largest supplier with 29% share of imports, followed by United States with
11% share of imports.
• Other countries from where India has imported include South Korea, Israel
and South Africa.
• The US was the world’s topmost military exporter in the past five
years, accounting for 40% of global exports. It is followed by Russia (16%),
France (11%), China (5.2%) and Germany (4.2%).
• US arms exports jumped 14% between 2013-17 and 2018-22.
• Following the Russia-Ukraine war many European nations as well as the US
have sent in military aid to Ukraine making it the third biggest importer of
major arms in 2022 after India and Qatar and the 14th biggest during 2018-
22.
• France’s arms exports jumped 44% between 2013-17 and 2018-22.

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Current Affairs March 2023

• Pakistan’s arms imports have increased by almost 14 percent between the

period 2013-2017 and 2018-2022, this means it has accounted for 3.7 per
cent of the global total.
• Between 2018-22 China has supplied over three quarters (77 per cent) of
Pakistan’s arms imports.

Other Important Details-

SIPRI-

• The SIPRI is an independent international institute dedicated to research into

conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament.
• Established in 1966 at Stockholm, SIPRI provides data, analysis and
recommendations, based on open sources, to policymakers, researchers,
media and the interested public.

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