Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Konark Sun Temple
Mains level: Kalinga and other temple architecture
The Archaeological Survey of India is working on a preliminary roadmap to safely remove sand from the interiors of Odisha’s Sun Temple, which was filled up by the British 118 years ago to prevent it from collapsing.
Konark Sun Temple
- Konark Sun Temple is a 13th-century CE Sun temple at Konark about 36 kilometres northeast from Puri on the coastline of Odisha, India.
- The temple is attributed to king Narasinga Deva I of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty about 1250 CE.
- Declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1984 it remains a major pilgrimage site for Hindus, who gather here every year for the Chandrabhaga Mela around the month of February.
Its architecture
- Dedicated to the Hindu Sun God Surya, what remains of the temple complex has the appearance of a 100-foot (30 m) high chariot with immense wheels and horses, all carved from stone.
- Its architecture has all the defining elements of the Kalinga architecture – it includes Shikhara (crown), Jagmohana (audience hall), Natmandir (dance hall), and Vimana (tower).
- Also called the Surya Devalaya, it is a classic illustration of the Odisha style of Architecture or Kalinga Architecture.
- Once over 200 feet (61 m) high, much of the temple is now in ruins, in particular the large shikara tower over the sanctuary; at one time this rose much higher than the mandapa that remains.
- The structures and elements that have survived are famed for their intricate artwork, iconography, and themes, including erotic kama and mithuna scenes.
- The Jagamohan is the only structure that is fully intact now.
Earlier restoration efforts
- It had been filled with sand and sealed by the British authorities in 1903 in order to stabilize the structure, a/c to ASI.
- The sand filled in over 100 years ago had settled, leading to a gap of about 17 feet.
- However, the structure was found to be stable.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Apatani textile, GI tags
Mains level: Not Much
An application seeking a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the Arunachal Pradesh Apatani textile product has been filed by a firm.
Apatani textile
- The Apatani weave comes from the Apatani tribe of Arunachal Pradesh living at Ziro, the headquarters of lower Subansiri district.
- The woven fabric of this tribe is known for its geometric and zigzag patterns and also for its angular designs.
- The community weaves its own textiles for various occasions, including rituals and cultural festivals.
- The tribe predominantly weaves shawls known as jig-jiro and jilan or jackets called supuntarii.
- The traditional handloom of this tribe is a type of loin loom, which is called Chichin, and is similar to the traditional handloom of the Nyishi tribe.
What makes it special?
- The people here use different leaves and plant resources for organic dying the cotton yarns in their traditional ways.
- Only women folk are engaged in weaving.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.Which of the following has/have been accorded ‘Geographical Indication’ status?
- Banaras Brocades and Sarees
- Rajasthani Daal-Bati-Churma
- Tirupathi Laddu
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Post your answers here.
About Geographical Indication
- A GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
- Nodal Agency: Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- India, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 w.e.f. September 2003.
- GIs have been defined under Article 22 (1) of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
- GI is granted for a term of 10 years in India. As of today, more than 300 GI tags has been allocated so far in India (*Wikipedia).
- The tag stands valid for 10 years.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Aadhar-voter ID linking issue
Context
The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 which facilitates amendment to the Representation of People’s Act, is a step toward implementing online-based remote e-voting for which the use of Aadhaar will be the primary identity.
Objectives of linking
- The linking of Aadhaar with one’s voter ID was primarily to build a biometric dependent voting system from the very beginning.
- The change could help fight fraud and duplicates in the electoral rolls.
About the pilot programmes on linking the voter id
- In 2014, the Election Commission of India (ECI) conducted two pilot programmes on linking the voter id with Aadhaar in the districts of Nizamabad and Hyderabad.
- Based on the effectiveness, the ECI called for a National Consultation on Aadhaar and voter id linking.
- The ECI launched the National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP) on April 1, 2015, which had to be completed by August 31, 2015.
- After a Supreme Court of India order on August 11, 2015, it was announced that this NERPAP would be shut down.
- But as Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were early adopters of this programme since 2014, both States have nearly completed linking Aadhaar and voter id for all residents.
- Methodology is unknown: The methodology followed by the ECI to find duplicate voters using Aadhaar is unknown to the general public.
- SRDH data used: In a letter from the CEO Andhra Pradesh (then for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh) to the ECI, it is clear that the State Resident Data Hub (SRDH) application of the Government of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh was used to curate electoral rolls.
- The SRDH has data on residents of the State which is supplied by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) or collected further by the State governments.
- While the UIDAI was constrained not to collect data on caste, religion and other sensitive information data for Aadhaar, it recommended to the States to collect this information, if required, as part of Aadhaar data collection; it termed the process as Know Your Resident (KYR) and Know Your Resident Plus (KYR+).
- It is these SRDH applications that the ECI used to curate electoral rolls which resulted in the deletion of a sizeable number of voters from the list in Telangana in 2018.
Concerns
- Disenfranchisement: The role of the ECI to verify voters using door-to-door verification (in 2015) has been subsumed; a software algorithm commissioned by the Government for purposes unknown to the public and maintained by a private IT company is in control now.
- Subjecting key electoral rolls to surveillance software damages the concept of universal adult suffrage.
- What the experience in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh highlights is voter suppression and disenfranchisement.
- Issue of ensuring electoral integrity: In a situation where the role of money makes a mockery of the democratic process, linking Aadhaar will be futile.
- Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), if foolproof, put an end to the days of booth capturing prevalent in the days of paper ballots.
- E-voting can also be gamed using malware to change the outcome of an election.
- While the Bill does not look into large-scale e-voting, there is an issue of ensuring electoral integrity.
- Voter profiling: An Aadhaar-voter ID linkage will also help political parties create voter profiles and influence the voting process.
- Online trends on the day of voting and micro-targeting voters using their data will make it easier for political parties in power to use data for elections.
Consider the question “What are the objectives of Aadhar-Voter Id linking? What are the concerns associated with such linking?”
Conclusion
The linking of Aadhaar with voter ID will create complexities in the voter databases that will be hard to fix. This process will introduce errors in electoral rolls and vastly impact India’s electoral democracy.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: EPR
Mains level: Paper 3- Regulations on EPR and issues with them
Context
In October, the Environment Ministry published draft regulations on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), set to come into effect by the end of this year. These regulations denote a backslide, particularly with respect to integration of the informal sector.
What is EPR?
- Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requires the manufacturer of a product, or the party that introduces the product into the community, to take responsibility for its life cycle.
- An FMCG company should not only account for the costs of making, packing and distributing a packet of chips, but also for the collection and recycling/reuse of the packet.
Shortcomings in the guidelines
The guidelines fall short in three areas: people, plastics and processing.
[1] Integration of informal sector is lacking
- By failing to mention waste pickers or outlining mechanisms for their incorporation under EPR, the guidelines are retrogressive.
- For decades, waste pickers, working in dangerous and unsanitary conditions, have picked up what we throw away.
- Besides, by diverting waste towards recycling and reuse, waste pickers also subsidise local governments responsible for solid waste management.
- Further, they reduce the amount of waste accumulating in cities, water bodies and dumpsites and increase recycling and reuse, creating environmental and public health benefits.
- Between 1.5 and 4 million waste pickers in India work without social security, health insurance, minimum wages or basic protective gear.
- Suggestions: An effective EPR framework should address the issue of plastics and plastic waste management in tandem with the existing machinery, minimise duplication and lead to a positive environmental impact, with monitoring mechanisms including penalties for non-compliance.
- EPR funds could be deployed for mapping and registration of the informal sector actors, building their capacity, upgrading infrastructure, promoting technology transfer, and creating closed loop feedback and monitoring mechanisms.
[2] The scope of plastic covered need to be altered
- The EPR guidelines are limited to plastic packaging.
- There are other multi-material plastic items like sanitary pads, chappals, and polyester that pose a huge waste management challenge today, but have been left out of the scope of EPR.
- Three categories of plastic packaging: Plastic packaging can be roughly grouped into three categories: recyclable and effectively handled by the informal sector, technologically recyclable but not economically viable to recycle, technologically challenging to recycle (or non-recyclable).
- [1] Rigid plastics like PET and HDPE are effectively recycled.
- Suggestion: The government could support and strengthen the informal recycling chain by bridging gaps in adequate physical spaces, infrastructure, etc.
- [2] Typically flexible plastics like LDPE and PP bags are recyclable, but due to their contamination with organic waste, lightweight, and high volume, the costs of recycling are prohibitively expensive relative to the market value of the output.
- Suggestion: Market value for these plastics can be increased by increasing the demand for and use of recycled plastics in packaging, thus creating the value to accommodate the current costs of recycling.
- [3] Multi-layered and multi-material plastics are low weight and voluminous, making them expensive to handle and transport.
- Since they are primarily used in food packaging, they often attract rodents, making storage problematic.
- Even if this plastic is picked, recycling is technologically challenging as it is heterogeneous material.
- The Plastic Waste Management Rules mandated the phase-out of these plastics.
- However, in 2018, this mandate was reversed.
[3] Processing technologies need to be closely evaluated
- Not all processing is recycling.
- Processes like waste-to-energy, co-processing and incineration have been proven to release carbon dioxide, particulate matter, harmful dioxins and furans which have negative climate and health impacts.
- While the environmental impact and desirability of these processes continues to be debated, the draft regulations legitimise them to justify the continued production of multi-layered plastics.
- Technologies like chemical recycling and pyrolysis are capital-intensive, yielding low returns and running into frequent breakdowns and technological problems.
- They also release carbon dioxide and other pollutants.
- These end-of-life processes are economically, environmentally and operationally unsustainable.
- A number of gasification, pyrolysis and other chemical recycling projects have figured in accidents such as fires, explosions and financial losses.
Way forward
- Address issues of the informal sector: The consultation process should involve informal workers.
- Alter the scope of plastics covered: The scope of plastics covered by the guidelines could be altered to exclude those plastics which are already efficiently recycled and to include other plastic and multi-material items.
- Processing technologies should be closely evaluated: And end-of-life processing technologies should be closely evaluated, based not only on their health and environmental impacts, but also on the implications for continued production of low-quality and multi-layered plastics.
Consider the question ” The Environment Ministry published draft regulations on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Examine the issues with the regulations and suggest the way forward”
Conclusion
In conclusion, the government should redo the consultation process for the draft guidelines.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Dowry deaths in India
Dowry death can be presumed if the wife was harassed, mentally and physically close before her death in the marital home, the Supreme Court has held.
Section 304B, IPC
- A Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana was interpreting Section 304B of the Indian Penal Code (dowry death).
- The provision mandates that the death of a married woman could be linked to the crime if she had been harassed for dowry “soon before her death”.
What is the recent judgment?
Ans. Bridges the gap between extreme Harassment and Death
- The cruelty has to be proved during the close proximity of time of death. It should be continuous.
- Such continuous harassment, physical or mental, by the accused should make life of the deceased miserable which may force her to commit suicide, ruled Justice Hima Kohli.
- The court said the expression “soon before her death” would normally imply that the interval should not be much between the cruelty or harassment concerned and the death in question.
- In other words, there exists a proximate and live link between the effect of cruelty based on dowry demand and the death concerned.
Other takeaways
- Frequent incidents of cruelty disturb the mental equilibrium of the women concerned, ruled the court.
- However, the presumption of dowry death was also rebuttable, observed the court.
Dowry System : A Backgrounder
- The dowry system in India incorporates payments in the form of capital, durable goods, real estate among others, made to the bridegroom from the family of the bride as a condition for marriage.
- The abuse for the demand for dowry can be in the form of verbal and the most serious can take the shape of death of the victim or dowry death.
Dowry Deaths in India
- Dowry deaths are deaths of married women who are murdered or driven to suicide by continuous harassment and torture by their husbands and in-laws.
- This is mainly over the demand of dowry, making the women’s homes the most dangerous place for them to be.
What numbers reveal?
- In 2020, reported dowry death cases in India amounted to nearly seven thousand.
- This was a gradual decrease from the 2014, in which this number was approximately 8.5 thousand.
Why is dowry so much prevalent?
- Bride pricing: There exists a system of “bride price”, whereby the family of the groom had to give some gifts to the family of the women before marriage.
- Property inheritance: Until its amendment in 2005, the Hindu Succession Act of 1956 was biased towards the male next of kin when it came to property inheritance. The amendment stated that women had the right to their parents’ property irrespective of being married.
- Financial dependency: In practice, the inheritance of the woman is socially imparted to her as dowry in marriage leading to financial dependence on the husband or the in-laws.
Factors contributing to its continuance
- Traditions and historicity: It has been a preconceived notion of the people that the dowry system has been existing since centuries back and it is quintessential to be followed by the two families.
- Social status associated with Dowry: It is a belief among people that dowry giving or receiving gives a lot of merit in reputation and honor within the society.
- Illiteracy: Although dowry is something that is even practiced by the literates of our society, it becomes a lot difficult to make them understand the laws.
- Bridegroom coercion: The demand for the well-earned bridegroom in prestigious workplaces often encourages brides families to pay hefty dowries leading to the continuance of such evil customs.
Legal measures against dowry
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973: Dowry death is a non-bailable offence and the person cannot be acquitted without court’s order.
- Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961: It was passed by the government which prohibits the giving or taking of dowry in India.
Dysfunctions created by the Dowry system
- Defamation: There have been many instances where these laws have been used to defame or slander one’s name.
- Fights for property inheritance: This go ugly when the girl involves into interfaith marriage. This often leads to honor killing.
Way forward
- The dignity, modesty and safety of women must be prioritized by all. Abusing them just for dowry or any other financial favour is a shameful act in itself.
- To prevent such heinous crimes stringent provisions and measures need to be undertaken by the government.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Left-Wing Extremism
Six Maoists including four women cadres were killed morning in an “exchange of fire” with a joint team of Telangana and Chhattisgarh police in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh.
What is Naxalism?
- The term ‘Naxal’ derives its name from the village Naxalbari of district Darjeeling in West Bengal, where the movement originated in 1967 under the leadership of Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal.
- It refers to the use of violence to destabilize the state through various communist guerrilla groups.
- Naxalites are far-left radical communists who derive their political ideology from the teachings of Mao Zedong.
History and evolution
- Russian Revolution: Naxalism in India, like any other leftist movement around the globe draws its ideological basis from the Russian revolution.
- Overthrowing Tsarist Regime: Lenin successfully fought against the Czarist Rule through a combination of peasant movement and an armed struggle.
- Marxian ideology of class struggle: The prime intent was to bestow power in the hands of the exploited and marginalized and enforce societal control over governance and nation building.
- Neo-Marxism: After the success of the Lenin-led revolution in Russia, the intellectual class in many countries got inspired. Prominent amongst them were Fidel Castro and Mao Zedong.
Root cause of origin in India
- Corporate exploitation: Since Eastern India is rich in natural resources including forests, minerals and mines, tribal face exploitation and harassment from government and corporate bodies targeting to extract those resources.
- Tribal alienation: Tribal communities have been systematically alienated from their traditional rights over natural resources after independence.
- Livelihood losses: Tribal livelihood is at stake due to depletion of natural resource base.
- Forceful displacement: Forceful displacement from their homeland destroys their traditional governance system.
- Absence of governance: In such exploited areas, the absence of governance becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy since the delivery systems are extinguished through killings and intimidation.
- Foreign provocations: Many of LWE outfits are supported by external forces inimical to India and the Maoists consider such alliances as strategic assets.
Other factors:
- Oppression and HR violations by Security Forces e.g. AFSPA
- Violation of Constitutional Protections under PESA and FRA
- Prevalence of Acute Poverty
Impact of LWE
- Romanticism without a cause: Some sections of the society, especially the younger generation, have romantic illusions about the Maoists, arising out of an incomplete understanding of their ideology of Class –Struggle.
- Extreme violence: Their doctrine glorifies violence as the primary means to overwhelm the existing socio-economic and political structures.
- Destruction of governance mechanism: LWEs aims at creating a vacuum at the grassroots level of the existing governance structures by killing lower-level government officials, police personnel of the local police stations and the people’s representatives of the PRIs.
- Radicalization of youths: After creating a political and governance vacuum, they coerce the local population to join the movement.
- Urban-Maoism: Many extremists have facilitated mass-mobilization in semi-urban and urban areas through ostensibly democratic means often led by well-educated intellectuals.
Outcomes of perpetrating LWE
The Leftist organizations skilfully use state structures and legal processes to further the Maoist agenda and weaken the enforcement regime through:
- Recruitment of ‘professional revolutionaries’
- Raising funds for the insurgency
- Creating urban shelters for underground cadres
- Providing legal assistance to arrested cadres and
- Mass- mobilization by agitating over issues of relevance/ convenience
Govt initiatives for LWE affected areas
- Aspirational Districts: The MHA has been tasked with the monitoring of the Aspirational districts programme in 35 LWE affected districts.
- HRD measures: Building of schools under the Eklavya model.
- Road Connectivity Project for LWE affected areas (RRP-II): This aims for improving road connectivity in LWE affected States. Under this, 9279 km of roads and 392 bridges are sanctioned.
- Naxal Surrender Policy: It aims to wean away misguided youth and hardcore naxalites who have strayed into the fold of the naxal movement and cannot find a way back.
SAMADHAN doctrine: It encompasses the entire strategy of government from short-term policy to long-term policy formulated at different levels. SAMADHAN stands for-
- S- Smart Leadership
- A- Aggressive Strategy
- M- Motivation and Training
- A- Actionable Intelligence
- D- Dashboard Based KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and KRAs (Key Result Areas)
- H- Harnessing Technology
- A- Action plan for each Theatre
- N- No access to Financing
Way forward
- Indian counterinsurgency has to work with a dual objective of defeating the insurgents militarily and fully quell the insurgent impulses. This will need institutional overhauls.
- States must do more to synergize their efforts by launching coordinated operations, thereby denying Maoists any space for maneuverability.
- On parallel grounds, it is also important to segregate the population from the insurgents both operationally and ideologically.
- The conflict over the distribution of resources can be mended with economic development.
With inputs from:
https://www.mha.gov.in/division_of_mha/left-wing-extremism-division
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: 5G technology
Mains level: Issues with 5g rollout
Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Pune will be the first places to get 5G services next year in 2022, informed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
Must read:
[Burning Issue] 5G Technology
What is 5G technology?
- 5G or fifth generation is the latest upgrade in the long-term evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks.
- It’s a unified platform which is much more capable than previous mobile services with more capacity, lower latency, faster data delivery rate and better utilisation of spectrum.
5G spectrum
5G mainly works in 3 bands, namely low, mid and high-frequency spectrum — all of which have their own uses as well as limitations.
(1) Low band spectrum
- It has a great promise in terms of coverage and speed of internet and data exchange but the maximum speed is limited to 100 Mbps (Megabits per second).
- So Telcos can use and install it for commercial cell phone users who may not have specific demands for very high speed internet, the low band spectrum may not be optimal for specialized needs of the industry.
(2) Mid-band spectrum
- It offers higher speeds compared to the low band, but has limitations in terms of coverage area and penetration of signals.
- This band may be used by industries and specialized factory units for building captive networks that can be moulded into the needs of that particular industry.
(3) High-band spectrum
- It offers the highest speed of all the three bands, but has extremely limited coverage and signal penetration strength.
- Internet speeds in the high-band spectrum of 5G has been tested to be as high as 20 Gbps (giga bits per second), while, in most cases, the maximum internet data speed in 4G has been recorded at 1 Gbps.
Stipulated bands for roll-out
- While the low band spectrum has shown great promise in terms of coverage and speed of Internet and data exchange, the maximum speed is limited to 100 Mbps (Megabits per second).
- This means that while telecoms can use and install it for commercial cellphone users who may not have specific demands for very high speed Internet.
- However the low band spectrum may not be optimal for specialised needs of the industry.
- The mid-band spectrum, on the other hand, offers higher speeds compared to the low band, but has limitations in terms of coverage area and penetration of signals.
Where does India stand in the 5G technology race?
- Like other global players, India had, in 2018, planned to start 5G services as soon as possible, with an aim to capitalise on the better network speeds and strength that the technology promised.
- India’s private telecom players have been urging the DoT to lay out a clear road map of spectrum allocation and 5G frequency bands.
Issues in roll-out
- Monopoly: One big hurdle, however, is the lack of flow of cash and adequate capital with some players due to an existing monopoly.
- AGR dues: There is an ongoing dispute between the telecoms and the government mainly over the definition of Adjusted Gross Revenue.
- Device upgrade: As far as commercial smartphones are concerned, some newer devices in the market claim to be 5G-ready but are much costlier.
Why is there early roll-out in big cities?
- Services penetration: One of the reasons why the bigger cities were chosen for these trials is their telecom services penetration, making it easier to convince more people to upgrade from 4G.
- Cost management: Since the costs for 5G services are initially going to be on the higher side, it would be wise to test the service in areas where more consumers would find them affordable.
- Testing ground: A third reason is that cities provide all kinds of locations, such as walled complexes and open spaces, that are suitable for testing of various 5G bands.
What is the global progress on 5G?
More than governments, global telecom companies have started building 5G networks and rolling it out to their customers on a trial basis.
- South Korea: Samsung, which had started researching on 5G technology way back in 2011, has taken the lead when it comes to building the hardware for 5G networks for several companies.
- USA: In countries like the US, companies such as AT&T, T-mobile, and Verizon have taken the lead when it comes to rolling out commercial 5G for their users.
- China: In other countries such as China, some of the telecoms such as China Unicom had started 5G trials as early as 2018, and have since rolled out the commercial services for users.
What changes for consumers with 5G?
- One of the major changes will be in terms of rich experiences on their phones and other connected devices.
- For instance, users will be able to stream videos with multiple camera angles during sports matches or even play immersive video games using VR headsets or other accessories.
- This next-generation telecom network will also enable a mesh of connected Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled devices and services with zero-fail rate, as in the case of connected cars.
- 5G could also draw high-speed mobile broadband connectivity to replace existing broadband services, especially in locations where these services are constrained, provided there isn’t a huge price differential.
Try this question from CSP 2019:
With reference to communication technologies, what is/are the difference/differences between LTE (Long-Term Evolution) and VoLTE (Voice over Long-Term Evolution)?
- LTE ‘is commonly marketed as 3G and VoLTE is commonly marketed as advanced 3G.
- LTE is data-only technology and VoLTE is voice-only technology.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Post your answers here.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: FCRA
Mains level: Threats over foreign fundings of NGOs
The Union Home Ministry has refused to renew the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration of Missionaries of Charity (MoC) set up by Nobel laureate Mother Teresa.
About Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA)
- The FCRA regulates foreign donations and ensures that such contributions do not adversely affect internal security.
- First enacted in 1976, it was amended in 2010 when a slew of new measures was adopted to regulate foreign donations.
- The FCRA is applicable to all associations, groups and NGOs which intend to receive foreign donations.
- It is mandatory for all such NGOs to register themselves under the FCRA.
- The registration is initially valid for five years and it can be renewed subsequently if they comply with all norms.
Why was FCRA enacted?
- The FCRA sought to consolidate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by individuals, associations or companies.
- It sought to prohibit such contributions from being used for activities detrimental to national interest.
What was the recent Amendment?
- The FCRA was amended in September 2020 to introduce some new restrictions.
- The Government says it did so because it found that many recipients were wanting in compliance with provisions relating to filing of annual returns and maintenance of accounts.
- Many did not utilise the funds received for the intended objectives.
- It claimed that the annual inflow as foreign contributions almost doubled between 2010 and 2019.
- The FCRA registration of 19,000 organisations was cancelled and, in some cases, prosecution was also initiated.
How has the law changed?
There are at least three major changes that NGOs find too restrictive.
- Prohibition of fund transfer: An amendment to Section 7 of the Act completely prohibits the transfer of foreign funds received by an organisation to any other individual or association.
- Directed and single bank account: Another amendment mandates that every person (or association) granted a certificate or prior permission to receive overseas funds must open an FCRA bank account in a designated branch of the SBI in New Delhi.
- Utilization of funds: Fund All foreign funds should be received only in this account and none other. However, the recipients are allowed to open another FCRA bank account in any scheduled bank for utilisation.
- Shared information: The designated bank will inform authorities about any foreign remittance with details about its source and the manner in which it was received.
- Aadhaar mandate: In addition, the Government is also authorised to take the Aadhaar numbers of all the key functionaries of any organisation that applies for FCRA registration or for prior approval for receiving foreign funds.
- Cap on administrative expenditure: Another change is that the portion of the receipts allowed as administrative expenditure has been reduced from 50% to 20%.
What is the criticism against these changes?
- Arbitrary restrictions: NGOs questioning the law consider the prohibition on transfer arbitrary and too heavy a restriction.
- Non-sharing of funds: One of its consequences is that recipients cannot fund other organisations. When foreign help is received as material, it becomes impossible to share the aid.
- Irrationality of designated bank accounts: There is no rational link between designating a particular branch of a bank with the objective of preserving national interest.
- Un-ease of operation: Due to Delhi based bank account, it is also inconvenient as the NGOS might be operating elsewhere.
- Illogical narrative: ‘National security’ cannot be cited as a reason without adequate justification as observed by the Supreme Court in Pegasus Case.
What does the Government say?
- Zero tolerance against intervention: The amendments were necessary to prevent foreign state and non-state actors from interfering with the country’s polity and internal matters.
- Diversion of foreign funds: The changes are also needed to prevent malpractices by NGOs and diversion of foreign funds.
- Fund flow monitoring: The provision of having one designated bank for receiving foreign funds is aimed at making it easier to monitor the flow of funds.
- Ease of operation: The Government clarified that there was no need for anyone to come to Delhi to open the account as it can be done remotely.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: State Health Index
Mains level: Competitive Federalism
NITI Aayog has released the fourth edition of the State Health Index for 2019–20.
State Health Index
- The State Health Index is an annual tool to assess the performance of states and UTs. It is being compiled and published since 2017.
- The index is part of a report commissioned by the NITI Aayog, the World Bank, and the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry.
- The reports aim to nudge states/UTs towards building robust health systems and improving service delivery.
Components of the index
- It is a weighted composite index based on 24 indicators grouped under the domains of ‘Health Outcomes’, ‘Governance and Information’, and ‘Key Inputs/Processes’.
- Health outcomes: It includes parameters such as neonatal mortality rate, under-5 mortality rate, and sex ratio at birth.
- Governance: This includes institutional deliveries, average occupancy of senior officers in key posts earmarked for health.
- Key inputs: It consists of the proportion of shortfall in healthcare providers to what is recommended, functional medical facilities, birth, and death registration, and tuberculosis treatment success rate.
Performance of the states
- For the fourth year in a row, Kerala has topped a ranking of States on health indicators. Uttar Pradesh has come in at the bottom.
- Kerala is followed by Tamil Nadu and Telangana, which improved its ranking.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Carmichael Mine
Mains level: NA
The Adani Group will begin exporting high quality, low sulphur coal from its Carmichael mine in Australia as early as this week, tapping a new multi-decade source to meet energy needs.
Carmichael Mine
- The Carmichael mine is located in the North Galilee Basin, more than 300 kilometers from the Queensland coastline and approximately 160 km north-west of Clermont in regional Queensland.
- The Carmichael project, proposed in 2010, had provoked a sustained campaign by climate activists in Australia and other places globally, forcing banks and insurers not to work with the Adani group.
- The conglomerate run by India’s second-richest man Gautam Adani has planned an initial production of 10 million tonnes a year from the mines in the Galilee Basin.
- The Coal mined here has low sulfur content and high calorific value.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NFHS and other survey mentioned
Mains level: Need for national health data architecture
This article discusses the feasibility of conducting a single comprehensive survey for collecting health-related data in India.
Context
- In a country perennially thirsty for reliable health data, the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) is like an oasis.
- It has a large volume of data that is openly accessible.
- The report of the fifth round of the NFHS was recently released. Since then, we had many articles covering different aspects (malnutrition, fertility, and domestic violence to name a few).
What is NFHS?
- The NFHS is a large-scale, multi-round survey conducted in a representative sample of households throughout India.
- Three rounds of the survey have been conducted since the first survey in 1992-93.
- Currently, the survey provides district-level information on fertility, child mortality, contraceptive practices, reproductive and child health (RCH), nutrition, and utilization and quality of selected health services.
- The Ministry of Health has designated the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) Mumbai, as the nodal agency, responsible for providing coordination and technical guidance for the survey.
Issues with health surveys in India
- Multiple surveys: The NFHS is not the only survey. In the last five years, there has been the National NCD Monitoring Survey (NNMS), the National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) etc.
- Huge cost: Each survey funding for different rounds of NFHS costs upto ₹250 crore.
- Huge chunk of data: The size of the survey has obvious implications for data quality.
- Different estimates: Multiple surveys also raise the problem of differing estimates, as is likely, due to sampling differences in the surveys.
- Limited respondents: The respondents are largely women in the reproductive age group (15-49 years) with husbands included.
- Global obligations: Some of these surveys are done to meet the global commitments on targets (NCDs, tobacco, etc.).
- Undefined purpose The health surveys have confusing research with programme monitoring and surveillance needs. Ex. Questions on domestic violence in NFHS.
Need of the hour
- Alignment of purpose: There have been previous attempts to align these surveys but they have failed as different advocates have different “demands” and push for inclusion of their set of questions.
- Regularity of surveys: NFHS is the only major survey that India has a record of doing regularly. One does not know if and when the other surveys will be repeated.
One-stop solution
- National health data architecture: With diverse aspects of health, there is a need to plan the public health data infrastructure for the country.
- Budgetary outlay: We also need to ensure that these data are collected in an orderly and regular manner with appropriate budgetary allocation.
- Purpose definition: This requires clarity of purpose and a hard-nosed approach to the issue that randomized activities.
- National-level indicators: We have to identify a set of national-level indicators and surveys that will be done using national government funds at regular intervals.
How should surveys be done?
- There should be three national surveys done every three to five years in a staggered manner:
- NFHS focuses on Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) issues
- Behavioral Surveillance Survey (focusing on HIV, NCD, water sanitation and hygiene (WASH)-related and other behaviors) and
- Nutrition-Biological Survey (entails collection of data on blood pressure, anthropometry, blood sugar, serology, etc.)
We need to look at alternate models and choose what suits us best.
Way forward
- Important public health questions can be answered by specific studies conducted by academic institutions on a research mode based on availability of funding.
- States have to become active partners including providing financial contributions to these surveys.
- It is also very important to ensure that the data arising from these surveys are in the public domain.
Conclusion
- We are ready to establish public health data architecture for our complexity of needs.
- We have the technical capacity to do so.
- All it requires now is the political will.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- India-Myanmar relations
Context
The recent short visit to Myanmar by India’s Foreign Secretary had a clearly-etched mandate: to deepen cooperation with an important neighbour. His mission succeeded to a large extent, but challenges remain.
Background of the current political scenario in Myanmar
- Transition to democracy and derailment: Since the military coup on February 1, 2021, the international community has stayed divided on how to address the derailment of Myanmar’s transition to democracy.
- For a decade, the country’s system based on power-sharing between the military and elected representatives ran well enough.
- An overwhelming electoral victory of the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in November 2020, unnerved the military leadership.
- The Tatmadaw (Myanmar’s military) moved faster, seizing power in violation of the Constitution and putting down the Opposition with an iron hand.
- Global reaction: Global dismay was evident in the western sanctions, but others such as Russia saw the opportunity to strengthen ties with the new rulers.
- China took urgent steps to stabilise and expand cooperation with the military regime.
- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) first showed creativity through its ‘Five-Point Consensus’ formula, but later its unity stood damaged once Myanmar’s top leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing refused to cooperate.
India’s position and bilateral concerns
- In Indian foreign Secretary Mr. Shringla visit he succeeded in holding substantive discussions with various stakeholders.
- India’s position: India’s position, as conveyed to Myanmar, is similar to and supportive of ASEAN: release of political prisoners; resolution of issues through dialogue; cessation of “all violence”; and full cooperation with ASEAN.
- Assistance for capacity building: In recent years, India has assisted Myanmar through capacity-building programmes for strengthening the transition to democracy.
- This assistance remains available, but it is not an offer of mediation by India in the military-NLD conflict.
- This burden will have to be borne by ASEAN.
- India’s concerns: India’s principal concerns pertaining to border security and stability in its neighbourhood were clearly conveyed, especially the noticeable escalation of activities of anti-India insurgent groups.
- Refugee issue: The second issue — the outcome of Myanmar’s instability — is that of refugees. Several thousands of Myanmar people have sought shelter in Mizoram.
- This will only be reversed by a political settlement in Myanmar, through dialogue.
- Economic cooperation: Economic cooperation has always been a major agenda item in all bilateral discussions with Myanmar.
- Central to this is India’s long-delayed commitment to “expeditious implementation” of mega initiatives such as the Trilateral Highway and Kaladan projects.
Way forward
- China is not the only friend: India continues to have high equity in Myanmar, which it must now carefully leverage.
- It is reflected in the special gesture made by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to receive Mr. Shringla and hold detailed discussions in Yangon. This is unusual.
- The protocol departure for Mr. Shringla revealed current political realities which should be carefully factored in against the argument that China is the only friend Myanmar has.
- Leverage the gainst of the visit: India can leverage the gains of this visit and keep up the momentum by inviting Myanmar’s Foreign Minister at an appropriate time as well as other important stakeholders to India for deliberations with their counterparts here.
Conclusion
The single goal should be to put Myanmar back on the path of becoming “a stable, democratic and federal union.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Extending coverage to OP care
Context
Over the past two decades, initiatives announced to extend health care coverage to the indigent sections have come under criticism due to their near-exclusive focus on hospitalisation (inpatient, IP) care.
Significance of outpatient health care
- What is outpatient health care: Outpatient (OP) health care, mainly comprising doctor consultations, drugs, and tests, can be called ‘the elephant in the room’ of Indian public health care policy.
- OP expenses have the majority share in total out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure on health.
Why do we need to extend OP care coverage?
- How IP care differs from OP care? IP care comprises high-impact and unavoidable episodes that are less prone to misuse than OP care, for which demand is considerably more sensitive to price and is thus more prone to overuse under health insurance.
- IP insurance prioritised: This logic, among other reasons, has led to IP insurance schemes being prioritised.
- [1] OP care and preventive care is neglected: While a price-sensitive demand for OP care entails that it could be misused under insurance, it also means that OP care is the first to come under the knife when there is no insurance.
- In India, where there are many public IP insurance schemes but no OP coverage, this incentive is further amplified.
- The mantra of ‘prevention is better than cure’ thus goes for a toss.
- [2] Against economic sense: It defies economic sense to prioritise IP care over OP care for public funds.
- Preventive and primary care services which often come with externalities, elicit little felt need and demand, and must therefore be the primary recipients of public investment.
- Not conducive to epidemiological profile: Greater investments in IP care today translate to even greater IP care investments in future, further reduction in primary care spending, and ultimately lesser ‘health’ for the money invested.
- None of these are conducive to the epidemiological profile that characterises this country.
Issues with using private commercial insurance to extend OP care coverage nationwide
- Some recent policy pronouncements by the Centre have conveyed an inclination to expand healthcare coverage with little fiscal implications for the government.
- Challenges:
- [1] The OP practices are under-regulated and there is a lack of standards.
- [2] The difficulty to monitor OP clinical and prescribing behaviours and the concomitant higher likelihood of malpractices.
- [3] Low public awareness of insurance products and a low ability to discern entitlements and exclusions.
- [4] Add to it the inexperience that a still under-developed private OP insurance sector brings.
- All these entail tremendous and largely wasteful costs and administrative complexity, and it would be of little help even if the government was to step in with considerable subsidies.
Suggestion
- Need for fiscal and time commitment: Significant improvements in healthcare are implausible without significant fiscal and time commitments.
- No perfect model: There is no ‘perfect’ model of expanding healthcare — the emphasis must be on finding the best fit.
- Implementing even such a best fit could involve adopting certain modalities with known drawbacks.
- Expand public spending: The focus must be on expanding public OP care facilities and services financed mainly by tax revenues.
- For India, wisdom immediately points to successful countries that are (or were, at one point) much closer to its socioeconomic fabric, such as Thailand, than countries like the U.S. which we currently look to emulate.
- Now, the sparse number and distribution of public facilities offers various modes of rationing care, and their expansion is likely to result in a considerable spike in demand.
- Contracting with private players: Contracting with private players based on objective and transparent criteria would also be called for, with just enough centralised supervision to deter corruption while preserving local autonomy.
- To deter supply-side malpractices, low-powered modes of provider payment, such as capitation, may be considered for private providers wherever possible.
Conclusion
There are several compelling reasons for extending outpatient health care coverage even though there are several challenges to overcome to achieve this.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Labour codes
Mains level: Labour reforms in India
India is likely to implement four new labour codes on wages, social security, industrial relations, and occupational safety by the next fiscal year beginning 2022.
Must read:
[Burning Issue] New Labour Laws
New Labour Codes
The four codes likely to be implemented in FY23 are:
- Code on Wages
- Industrial Relations Code
- Social Security Code, and
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code
Objectives of the Labour Code
- The new labor codes are aimed at facilitating ease of doing business in the country and seek to replace 29 cumbersome laws.
- The objective is to encompass over 500 million organized and unorganized sector workers—90% of the workforce which has been outside labour laws.
- The idea is to ensure that they receive wage security, social security and health security, gender equality in terms of remuneration, a minimum floor wage, make the lives of inter-state migrant workers easier.
What is the current status of the codes?
- The central government has completed the process of finalizing the draft rules, state governments are in the process of drafting the same.
- With labor being a concurrent subject, states are in the process of pre-publishing draft rules for these reforms.
How many labour laws do Indian states have?
- The simplification of 29 labour laws into the four labour codes is expected be a watershed moment for labour reforms.
- India currently has a web of multiple labour legislations, over 40 central laws and 100 state laws involving labour.
- The Second National Commission on Labour (2002) recommended simplification to bring about transparency and uniformity.
What are the major goals in these codes?
- Social security benefits: With organized sector workers being approximately 10% of the total workforce, the new codes may ensure that social security benefits are for all.
- Take-home salary: As per the proposed labour codes, total allowances such as house rent, leave, travel etc. are to be capped at 50% of the salary, while basic pay should account for the remaining 50%.
- Four days work: There could also be a permissible four-day work week of 12 hours per day.
How will it affect ease of doing business?
- Labour productivity: It is likely to improve with both employees and employers developing a sense of being partners in wealth creation.
- Labour reform: A transparent environment in terms of workers’ compensation, clear definition of employee rights and employer duties.
- Compliance un-burdening: Simplified labour codes making compliance easier are likely to attract investments.
- Formalization of the economy: With more workers in the organized sector, leakage in terms of direct as well as indirect taxes may be plugged.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Trincomalee oil field
Mains level: Indian infrastructure projects in SL
After a year of negotiations, Sri Lanka will ink the deal with India to jointly develop the Trincomalee oil tank farms — a coveted project that has remained controversial for decades.
About Trincomalee oil field
- The facility, built by the British around World War II as a refueling station, has 99 storage tanks that look like giant wells.
- They have a capacity of 12,000 kilolitres each.
- Eighty-four of those are in the 800-acre Upper Tank Farm (UTF). For a good part of a century now, these tanks have remained unused, shrouded in a forest.
- The Lower Tank Farm (LTF) has 16 tanks, spread across 50 acres.
Historical background
- Trincomalee harbor is the second deepest natural harbor in the world.
- The British who were in control of the island decided to make this as their primary logistics station in the east after World War I.
- It is also a lesser-known but important logistic station during World War II.
- British started the oil storage project in 1924 and completed in late 1930s.
- After that it was abandoned by the British in 1948 when Sri Lanka gained independence.
- In 2002, the development of this tank farm was revived by an Indian company Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
History of India’s interest in Trincomalee
- The development of the Trincomalee Oil Tank farm has been a recurring talking point in Indo-Lanka relations since 1987.
- It was first mentioned in the Indo- Lanka Accord signed by PM Rajiv Gandhi and President Jayewardene.
- Despite that, nothing really took off until 2003, when Indian Oil Corporation set up Lanka IOC, its Sri Lankan subsidiary.
- The agreement remained dormant for years, until the Sirisena- Wickremesinghe administration tried revisiting it through the 2017 MoU.
Significance of Trincomalee
- Demography: Trincomalee is home to 3.7 lakh Muslim, Tamil and Sinhala people and Trincomalee, in Sri Lanka’s post-war years.
- Tourism: It has emerged as a favorite destination for surfers from around the world, gradually transforming with plush resorts and restaurants dotting its coast.
- Important sea route: Trincomalee remains in spotlight as a potential transit point for international trade routes, particularly drawing India which has known strategic interests there.
- Balancing China: From India’s geostrategic viewpoint, Trincomalee is an important counterbalance to the southern Hambantota Port backed substantially by China.
Hurdles to the Project
- Public resistance: India-backed projects in Sri Lanka tend to draw way more public resistance from nationalists among the majority Sinhalese constituency than projects with Chinese or American involvement.
- Anti-India sentiments: Observers in Sri Lanka attribute this to the “baggage” that Indian diplomacy carries, years after its intervention during different stages of Sri Lanka’s civil war.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: E-Shram Portal
Mains level: Welfare of the unorganized workers
Every third informal sector worker in India is now registered on the e-Shram portal with registration on the portal crossing the 14 crore mark in four months.
About E-Shram Portal
- The Ministry of Labour and Employment has launched the E-Shram Portal for creating a National Database of Unorganized Workers (NDUW) this year.
- The E-Shram portal will cover all unorganised workers of the nation and help link them to social security schemes of the Government of India.
- Aadhaar with mobile number linked is mandatory for the registration.
Category of unorganized workers covered:
- Construction Worker
- Migrant Worker
- Gig & Platform Worker
- Street Vendor Worker
- Agriculture Worker
- Others
Broad objectives of this portal
- Creation of a centralized database of all unorganized workers (UWs)
- To improve the implementation efficiency of the social security services for the unorganized workers
- Integration of Social Security Schemes meant for UWs being administered by MoLE and subsequently, those run by other ministries as well
- Portability of the social security and welfare benefits to the migrant and construction workers
- Providing a comprehensive database to Central and State Governments for tackling any National Crises like COVID-19 in future
Benefits of registration
- Under the scheme, Rs 2.0 Lakh Accidental Insurance cover will be provided to every registered (on E-Shram portal) unorganized worker.
- Every registered unorganized worker shall be issued an E- Shram card with a unique Universal Account Number (UAN).
- He/She will be able to access the benefits of the various social security schemes through this Card anywhere anytime.
Who can register on this Portal?
Any individual satisfying the following conditions can register on the portal:
- An unorganized worker (UW).
- Age should be between 16-59 years.
- Not a member of EPFO/ESIC or NPS (Govt. funded)
What is required for registration?
Following is required to register on the portal:
- Aadhaar Number
- Mobile number linked with Aadhaar.
- Savings Bank Account Number with IFSC code
Registrations done so far
- The latest data of the portal shows that the top five States in terms of number of registrations on e-Shram are U.P., West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand.
- Gender analysis of the data shows that 52.56% are female while 47.44% are male.
- The data show that 42.64% of the registered workers are other backward classes (OBC) followed by 26.45% from general category, 22.54% from the scheduled caste and 8.38% from the Scheduled Tribe.
- It also show that over 94% registered workers’ income is ₹10,000 per month or below while over 4% have income in the rage of ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 per month.
- About 51% workers are farm laborers, 11% in construction, 10% in domestic and household work and 6.5% in the apparel segment.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GGI
Mains level: Not Much
The Centre has released the Good Governance Index 2021 prepared by DARPG (Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances) on Good Governance Day.
Try this question from CS Mains 2016:
Q. What do you understand by the terms ‘governance’, ‘good governance’ and ‘ethical governance’?
What do you mean by Good Governance?
- It is the process of measuring how public institution conduct public affairs and manage public resources and guarantee the realization of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption and with due regard for the rule of law.
12 Principles of Good Governance:
- Participation, Representation, Fair Conduct of Elections
- Responsiveness
- Efficiency and Effectiveness
- Openness and Transparency
- Rule of Law
- Ethical Conduct
- Competence and Capacity
- Innovation and Openness to Change
- Sustainability and Long-term Orientation
- Sound Financial Management
- Human rights, Cultural Diversity and Social Cohesion
- Accountability
About Good Governance Index (GGI)
- The GGI is a uniform tool across States to assess the Status of Governance and the impact of various interventions taken up by the State Government and UTs.
- The objectives are:
- To provide quantifiable data to compare the state of governance in all states and UTs, enable states and UTs
- To formulate and implement suitable strategies for improving governance and shift to result-oriented approaches and administration
Components of GGI
- GGI 2021 Framework covered ten sectors and 58 indicators.
- These ten Governance Sectors are measured on total 50 indicators:
- Agriculture and Allied Sectors
- Commerce & Industries
- Human Resource Development
- Public Health
- Public Infrastructure & Utilities
- Economic Governance
- Social Welfare & Development
- Judicial & Public Security
- Environment
- Citizen-Centric Governance
Categorization of States and UTs
The GGI 2020-21 categorizes States and UTs into four categories, i.e.
- Other States – Group A
- Other States – Group B
- North-East and Hill States and
- Union Territories
Top performers in 2021
- Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa top the composite rank score covering 10 sectors.
- GGI 2021 says that Gujarat registered 12.3 percent increase and Goa registered 24.7 percent increase over GGI 2019 indicators.
- Rajasthan has topped the Other States (Group B) category in Judiciary and Public Safety, Environment & Citizen Centric Governance.
- GGI 2021 says that in the North-East and Hill States category, Mizoram and Jammu and Kashmir have registered an overall increase of 10.4% and 3.7% respectively over GGI 2019.
- In the UTs category, Delhi tops the composite rank registering a 14 percent increase over the GGI 2019 indicators.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Magnetars
Mains level: Not Much
An international group of researchers has succeeded in measuring for the first time the characteristics of a flare on a distant magnetar.
What is a Magnetar?
- Magnetars are the most magnetic stars in the universe.
- It is a rare compact type of neutron star teeming with energy and magnetism.
- It is an exotic type of neutron star, its defining feature that it has an ultra-powerful magnetic field.
- The field is about 1,000 times stronger than a normal neutron star and about a trillion times stronger than the Earth’s.
- Magnetars are relatively rare objects, with only about thirty having been spotted within the Milky Way so far.
What is the recent study?
- The studied magnetar is about 13 million light years away, in the direction of the NGC 253, a prominent galaxy in the Sculptor group of galaxies.
- Its flare spewed within a few tenths of a second as much energy as the Sun would shed in 100,000 years.
- It was captured accidentally on April 15, 2020, by the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor instrument (ASIM) of the International Space Station.
- This is the first study to characterize such a flare from so distant a magnetar.
How do magnetars form?
- During the course of their evolution, massive stars – with masses around 10-25 times the mass of the Sun – eventually collapse and shrink to form very compact objects called neutron stars.
- A subset of these neutron stars is the so-called magnetars which possess intense magnetic fields.
- These are highly dense and have breathtakingly high rotation speeds – they have rotational periods that can be just 0.3 to 12.0 seconds.
What characterizes Magnetars?
(1) Violent flares
- The observed giant flare lasted approximately 160 milliseconds and during this time 1039 joules of energy was released.
- The flare spewed as much energy in a tenth of a second that our Sun will radiate in 100,000 years.
(2) Starquakes
- Eruptions in magnetars are believed to be due to instabilities in their magnetosphere, or “starquakes” produced in their crust – a rigid, elastic layer about one kilometer thick.
- This causes waves in the magnetosphere, and interaction between these waves causes dissipation of energy.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Desmond Tutu
Mains level: Anti-apartheid struggle in Africa
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and veteran of South Africa’s struggle against white minority rule has died on December 26 at the age of 90.
Try this question from CS Mains 2016:
Q. The anti-colonial struggles in West Africa were led by the new elite of Western-educated Africans. Examine.
Desmond Tutu (1931- 2021)
- Tutu was a South African Anglican cleric who in 1984 received the Nobel Prize for Peace for his role in the opposition to apartheid in South Africa.
- A decade later, he witnessed the ends of that regime and he chaired a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, set up to unearth atrocities committed during those dark days.
- He was considered the nation’s conscience by both, the black majority and the white minority, an enduring testament to his faith and spirit of reconciliation in a divided nation.
His notable works
- During South Africa’s moves toward democracy in the early 1990s, Tutu propagated the idea of South Africa as “the Rainbow Nation”.
- The term was intended to encapsulate the unity of multi-culturalism and the coming together of people of many different nations, in a country once identified with the strict division of white and black under the Apartheid regime.
- In 1995 South African Pres. Nelson Mandela appointed Tutu head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated allegations of human rights abuses during the apartheid era.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Tai Khamti Rebellion
Mains level: Various tribal uprisings in India
The Arunachal Pradesh Deputy CM urged the Centre to recognize the Tai Khamti-British war as India’s first for independence.
Tai Khamti Rebellion
- The Tai Khamti Rebellion is the first such war took place in 1839 between the Tai Khamti people and the British.
- The theatre of this war was some 2,400 km east of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh where the mutiny began.
- Tai Khamtis resisted colonization by the British. Some 80 British soldiers, including Col. Adam White, were killed in the resultant conflict.
Who are the Tai Khamti people?
- The Tai Khamti people, who follow Theravada Buddhism, number a little more than 1,00,000 today and live in areas straddling Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
Other revolts in Arunachal
- Arunachal Deputy CM also batted for recognition of battles between other communities of Arunachal Pradesh and the British.
- They include a series of Anglo-Abor wars from 1858 to 1911 and the Wancho-British war in Tirap district’s Ninu in 1875.
- The Abors, now called Adis, inhabit central Arunachal Pradesh, while the Wanchos live in the southern part of the State.
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