Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ECOWAS
Mains level: Not much
West African leaders were due to meet in Ghana to discuss a response to Mali’s second coup in nine months.
- Since 1960, when Mali gained independence from France, there have been five coups — and only one peaceful transition from one democratically elected president to another.
- But on Monday, soldiers detained transitional President Bah Ndaw and Prime Minister Moctar Ouane, releasing them on Thursday while saying that they had resigned.
Recent coup
- Nine months ago, President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita was overthrown in the wake of mass anti-government protests.
- Last week, the announcement of a new cabinet was made that excluded two key military leaders. Following this, the army has detained the President and the Prime Minister.
About ECOWAS
- The Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional group of fifteen countries, founded in 1975 via the treaty of Lagos.
- Mission: To promote economic integration in “all fields of economic activity, particularly industry, transport, telecommunications, energy, agriculture, natural resources, commerce, monetary and financial questions, social and cultural matters.
- Vision: Creation of a borderless region where the population has access to its abundant resources and is able to exploit same through the creation of opportunities under a sustainable environment.
- ECOWAS can be divided into two sub-regional blocs:
- West African Economic and Monetary Union – established in 1994
- West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) – established in 2000
- ECOWAS is meant to be a region governed in accordance with the principles of democracy, rule of law and good governance.
- The member countries of ECOWAS comprises: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’ Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Goan liberation from Portuguese
Mains level: Decolonization in India
On 18 December 1961, the Indian government took military action against the Portuguese rule in Goa culminating in the liberation of Goa and its merger with the Indian Union.
About Goa
- Goa is located on the southwestern coast of India within the region known as the Konkan, and geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats.
- Capital: Panji.
- Official Language: Konkani which is one of the 22 languages from the Eight Schedule.
- Borders: It is surrounded by Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the east and south, with the Arabian Sea forming its western coast.
History:
- Portugal conquered Goa in 1510 and made it a colony.
- In 1950, the Indian government, in a bid to start diplomatic measures to free Goa, asked the Portuguese government to start negotiations for the independence of Goa. However, Portugal refused.
- The Goan movement was supported by Indian independence leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia and Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
- Dadra and Nagar Haveli was annexed by India in 1954 with the support of the United Front of Goans, the Azad Gomantak Dal and the National Movement Liberation Organisation.
- The commander of the Indian forces was Major-General K.P. Candeth. The operation for Goa liberation was codenamed “Operation Vijay”.
- After the fall of Goa, Portugal terminated all diplomatic relations with India and only in 1974 Portugal recognise Goa as a part of India and resume diplomatic relations.
- The USSR had steadfastly supported India in this matter and also vetoed a resolution condemning the Indian invasion in the UN Security Council.
Geography:
- The highest point of Goa is Sonsogor.
- Goa’s seven major rivers are the Zuari, Mandovi, Terekhol, Chapora, Galgibag, Kumbarjua canal, Talpona and the Sal.
- Most of Goa’s soil cover is made up of laterites.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: `Paper 3- Role of data analytics during pandemic
The article highlights how data played an important role in decision-making in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Importance of data in decision making
- The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted globally how important data is to governments in decision-making.
- Epidemiological data is of paramount significance for targeting and implementing control measures for public health in a timely manner
- Such data was used effectively in the evidence-based response and decision-making in countries like South Korea.
- Modern response to pandemics has focused on exploiting all the available data to inform policy action in real time.
How data analysis helped during pandemic
- Data analysis has revealed the need for continuous and repeated tracking of case numbers, fatalities and recoveries.
- The epidemiological concept of flattening the curve and its predictions are results of data analysis and modelling.
- Understanding testing adequacy or lack thereof allows us to measure our preparedness, prognostic versus diagnostic ability, and shape our responses to identify, manage, and care for new cases.
- Epidemic outbreak data like case data, medical and treatment data can be used to understand disease pathogenesis and severity.
- Genome sequencing surveillance helps identify and track viral genome sequence variants in real time and the evolution of the virus.
- The concept of open access to various data enables models to improve forecast and study the spread of the disease.’
Integration and analysis of multiple datatypes
- The integration and analysis of multiple heterogeneous datatypes eventually would yield a holistic picture.
- This helps guide policy decisions for control and management of public health.
- When genome surveillance data is correlated with the magnitude of cases and their outcomes, then we can understand the transmissibility or infectivity of the virus.
- Geographical mapping of prevalence of mutants allows us to understand viral spread and explain recoveries or deaths in a specific area.
- The roll out of vaccinations can shape viral evolution and drug-treatment strategies.
- Surveillance through studying genome sequencing of the virus, coupled to other epidemiological data allows us to identify these connections.
Challenges
- Part of the challenge lies in the standardisation of data collection, curation, annotation and the integration of data analytics pipelines for outbreak analytics.
Way forward
- Ensuring data availability and quality under operational constraints is critical.
- The use of data standards instils consistency, reduces errors and enables transparency.
- Embedded in the idea of data sharing lies the concept of data security and confidentiality.
- Concerns of privacy and security calls for a systemic infrastructure with built-in safeguards to ensure data encryption while preserving anonymity and ensuring privacy.
- As our dependence on data-based decisions becomes more and more critical, an urgent charter for standardised digital health data in India is required.
Consider the question “The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted globally how important data is to governments in decision-making. Explain how data helps in decision making and challenges in evidence-based decision making based on data.”
Conclusion
Rational and scientific methods necessitate data without which neither can we have information, nor knowledge or wisdom. Data sharing, and transparency and timely dissemination of data are critical to overcome the pandemic.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Midday Meal Scheme
Mains level: Food and nutrition security measures
The Centre has decided to give about ₹100 each to children studying in Class 1 to Class 8 in government schools, who are beneficiaries of the Mid Day Meal scheme.
Mid Day Meal Scheme
- The Midday Meal Scheme is a school meal programme in India designed to better the nutritional standing of school-age children nationwide.
- It is a wholesome freshly-cooked lunch served to children in government and government-aided schools in India.
- The programme supplies free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes in government, government-aided, local body and alternate innovative education centres, Madarsa and Maqtabs.
- Serving 120,000,000 children in over 1,265,000 schools and Education Guarantee Scheme centres, it is the largest of its kind in the world.
- The programme has undergone many changes since its launch in 1995. The Midday Meal Scheme is covered by the National Food Security Act, 2013.
The scheme aims to:
- avoid classroom hunger
- increase school enrolment
- increase school attendance
- improve socialization among castes
- address malnutrition
- empower women through employment
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.An objective of the National Food Security Mission is to increase the production of certain crops through area expansion and productivity enhancement in a sustainable manner in the identified districts of the country. What are those crops?
(a) Rice and wheat only
(b) Rice, wheat, and pulses only
(c) Rice, wheat, pulses, and oilseeds only
(d) Rice, wheat, pulses, oilseeds, and vegetables
What is the new move?
- The money, ₹1200 crore in total, will be given to 11.8 crore children through direct benefit transfer as a one-time payment.
- The money comes from the cooking cost component of the scheme, it said.
- This decision will help safeguard the nutritional levels of children and aid in protecting their immunity during challenging pandemic times.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Engage with Nepal without intervening
The article suggests recalibration of India’s approach towards political turmoil in Nepal.
Nepal in political crisis
- For the second time in weeks, Prime Minister K P Oli has persuaded President Bidya Devi Bhandari to dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections.
- That is, unless the Supreme Court decides to declare the dissolution of parliament as unconstitutional, as it had done in the recent past.
- The current dissolution has been challenged in the court by five political parties.
Medhesi demand fulfilled
- Prime Minister Oli has also delivered on the longstanding Madhesi demand to reverse a constitutional provision which denied citizenship to children born of Nepali mothers who had foreign husbands.
- The widespread unrest in the Terai adjoining India in 2015 was triggered by this attempt to deny equal rights to the Madhesi population.
- This provision had directly targeted the Madhesi population, which has close kinship and marital ties across the border with India.
- While this provision has now been removed through a presidential ordinance, it could well be reversed in future by Nepali political parties dominated by the higher caste.
Steps India needs to take
- Political uncertainty in a neighbouring country is never good news for India, particularly in Nepal with whom we share a long and open border.
- The Indian government has maintained a studied silence on the current political developments in Nepal and this may be the right thing to do.
- But this silence should not imply the lack of a proper assessment of the political situation in Nepal and what would serve the interests of India best.
- Following are the steps India need to take:
1) India should declare it does not support the revival of monarchy
- The abolition of the monarchy is a net gain for India and the government must firmly and unambiguously declare that it does not support the revival of the monarchy, which has already been rejected by its people.
- India should declare its unconditional support to Nepal’s republican democracy.
2) Remain engaged with Nepal
- India should remain fully engaged with Nepal at all levels and across the political spectrum.
- The safeguarding of India’s vital interests demands such sustained engagement.
- A hands-off policy will only create space for other external influences, some of which, like China, may prove to be hostile.
- However, engagement must dispense with the recurrent tendency to label Nepali political leaders as friends or enemies.
- India should advocate policies rather than persons.
3) Recognise the role of Madhesi population
- In India’s engagement with Nepal, the Terai belt and its large Madhesi population plays a critical and indispensable role.
- In an effort to win over the Kathmandu political and social elite, one should be careful not to neglect citizens living in the plains.
- Our engagement with Nepal must find an important place for Nepali citizens who are our immediate neighbours and act as a kinship, cultural and religious bridge between our two countries.
4) Appreciate people-to-people link
- India needs to appreciate that the people-to-people links between our two countries have an unmatched density and no other country, including China, enjoys this asset.
- The challenge to our Nepal policy lies in leveraging this precious asset to ensure a stable and mutually-productive state-to-state relationship.
- India has every reason to approach its relations with Nepal with confidence and assurance.
Consider the question “What are the factors that make India-Nepal relationship special? What are the recent challenges impacting this special relationship? ”
Conclusion
The safeguarding of India’s vital interests demands India’s engagement with Nepal without intervening in its politics. A hands-off policy will only create space for other external influences.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: India's oil import
Mains level: Impact of covid on food basket
Edible oil prices have risen sharply in recent months.
How much have edible oil prices rising?
- The prices of six edible oils — groundnut oil, mustard oil, vanaspati, soya oil, sunflower oil, and palm oil — have risen between 20% and 56% at all-India levels in the last year.
- The prices of soya oil and sunflower oil, too, have increased more than 50% since last year.
- In fact, the monthly average retail prices of all six edible oils soared to an 11-year high in May 2021.
- The sharp increase in cooking oil prices has come at a time when household incomes have been hit due to Covid-19.
Trends of oil consumption in India
- With rising incomes and changing food habits, consumption of edible oils has been rising over the years.
- While mustard oil is consumed mostly in rural areas, the share of refined oils —sunflower oil and soyabean oil — is higher in urban areas.
How much is produced domestically and how much is imported?
- In 2019-20, domestic availability of edible oils from both primary sources (oilseeds like mustard, groundnut etc.) and secondary sources (such as coconut, oil palm, rice bran oil, cottonseed) was only 10.65 million tonnes against the total domestic demand of 24 million tonnes.
- Thus, India depends on imports to meet its demand.
- In 2019-20, the country imported about 13.35 million tonnes of edible oils or about 56% of the demand.
- This mainly comprised palm (7 million tonnes), soyabean (3.5 millon tonnes) and sunflower (2.5 million tonnes).
- The major sources of these imports are Argentina and Brazil for soyabeen oil; Indonesia and Malaysia palm oil; and Ukraine and Argentina again for sunflower oil.
Answer this PYQ from CSP 2019:
Q.Among the agricultural commodities imported by India, which one of the following accounts for the highest imports in terms of value in the last five years?
(a) Spices
(b) Fresh fruits
(c) Pulses
(d) Vegetable oils
Global prices rising
- The increase in domestic prices is basically a reflection of international prices because India meets 56% of its domestic demand through imports.
- In the international market, prices of edible oils have jumped sharply in recent months due to various factors.
- Even the FAO price index (2014-2016=100) for vegetable oils, an indicator of the movement of edible oil prices in the international market, has soared to 162 in April this year, compared to 81 in April last year.
But why are international prices rising?
- One of the reasons is the thrust on making biofuel from vegetable oil. There is a shifting of edible oils from food basket to fuel basket.
- There has been a thrust on making renewable fuel from soyabean oil in the US, Brazil and other countries.
- Other factors include buying by China, labour issues in Malaysia, the impact of La Niña on palm and soya producing areas, and export duties on crude palm oil in Indonesia and Malaysia.
What are the options before the government?
- One of the short-term options for reducing edible oil prices is to lower import duties.
- However, the edible oil industry is not in favor of reducing duties.
- If import duties are reduced, international prices will go up, and neither will the government get revenue nor will the consumer benefit.
- The government can rather subsidize edible oils and make them available to the poor under the Public Distribution System.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Neglected Tropical Diseases
Mains level: Burden of NTD in India
The ongoing World Health Assembly has declared January 30 as ‘World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day’.
Neglected Tropical Diseases
- NTDs are a group of infections that are most common among marginalized communities in the developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
- They are caused by a variety of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and parasitic worms.
- These diseases generally receive less funding for research and treatment than malaises like tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS and malaria.
- Some examples of NTDs include snakebite envenomation, scabies, yaws, trachoma, Leishmaniasis and Chagas disease.
Significance of global recognition
- NTDs affect more than a billion people globally, according to the WHO. They are preventable and treatable.
- However, these diseases and their intricate interrelationships with poverty and ecological systems — continue to cause devastating health, social and economic consequences.
- A major milestone in the movement to recognize the global burden of these diseases was the London Declaration on NTDs that was adopted January 30, 2012.
- The first World NTD Day was celebrated informally in 2020. This year, the new NTD road map was launched.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Tree transplantation and its feasibility
The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) wants to transplant over 1,800 trees which are inside what used to be the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) complex, as part of the Central Vista redevelopment project.
Transplantation of trees
- The transplantation of trees is a complex and delicate process whose outcome cannot be predicted.
- A tree cannot be transplanted by simply uprooting it and placing it in a pit dug elsewhere. The process involves multiple steps and requires significant expertise.
How it is done?
- First, the soil around the tree is dug up to isolate the roots. The big branches are lopped off, leaving only small shoots for regeneration. This is done to make transportation of the tree to the new location easier.
- The root system is covered with wet gunny bags to protect the roots and to keep the tree hydrated.
- The tree has to be first sent to a nursery to acclimatize to a new kind of soil, and to regenerate.
- Once new shoots start sprouting, the tree is lowered into a pit created in its new spot.
What factors determine the success of a transplant?
- Even after all steps are meticulously followed, a lot depends on luck. The survival rate of a transplanted tree is about 50%.
- Not all trees can be transplanted. While peepal, ficus, semal and sheesham are tolerant to transplantation, trees such as dak, palash, arjun, shahtoot and jhilmil are not.
(1) Roots
- Any tree that has a tap root system cannot be transplanted, as the root goes deep into the soil, and it is not possible to isolate it without damage.
(2) Size
- Transplanting any tree with a trunk girth of more than 80-90 cm is not advisable as the tree cannot bear the shock, and will eventually die.
(3) Age
- That effectively means that big, old trees cannot, in most cases, be removed to another location.
(4) Soil
- It is important to consider soil type before transplantation.
- A tree growing on, say, the Delhi Ridge will not easily acclimatize to the soil in the Yamuna floodplain, as the two ecosystems are entirely different.
How expensive is transplantation?
- The cost of transplanting an average-sized tree might come to around Rs 1 lakh, which included post-transplantation care.
- For larger trees, the cost could go up to Rs 3 lakh.
- Private and voluntary organizations, however, claim that the cost is between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 per tree.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Lakshadweep and its location
Mains level: Not Much
A series of regulations proposed by the Lakshadweep administrator has caused widespread resentment and fear among its residents.
What are the new regulations?
[1] Cow slaughter & beef
- An order from the Administration seeks to ban the slaughter of cow, calf, bull, and buffalo without a certificate from a competent authority.
- It prohibits the sale, transport, and storage of beef and beef products. Penalties include a jail term of up to one year and a fine of Rs 10,000.
- The Administration has not provided an explanation on why the rule was brought in.
- Residents view the rule as a direct infringement on their culture and eating habits. They allege the rule was decided without consultation with local bodies.
[2] Two-child policy
- Under the Draft Panchayat Regulation 2021, the Administration aims to bar people with more than two children from becoming a member of the gram panchayat.
- For those who already have more than two children, the regulation does not disqualify them provided they do not have further children after the date on which the rule comes into effect.
[3] Serving liquor to tourists
- The Administration has decided to allow liquor to be served at resorts on inhabited islands.
- Currently, prohibition is in place on all inhabited islands, with liquor served only at resorts on the uninhabited Bangaram Island.
- The Dist Collector clarified that liquor permits would be given only to resorts for tourists, not for locals.
- Residents have alleged that the move will lead to a proliferation of liquor sales on the island, which had been observing near-prohibition until now.
[4] Land acquisition powers
- The Administration brought in a draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation (LDAR) to oversee the development of towns on the islands, with sweeping changes in the way land can be acquired and utilized.
- It talks of the declaration of ‘planning areas’ and constitution of ‘planning and development authorities’ for preparing a land-use map and register, ostensibly for large projects.
- Residents have protested against the way it was prepared and pushed through without consultation.
- They fear large infrastructure and tourism projects can destabilize the ecology, and that the notification gives powers to the Administration to remove small landholdings of ST residents.
[5] Anti-social activities regulation
- The draft Lakshadweep Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Regulation provides for powers to detain a person for up to one year to prevent him from “acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order”.
- It allows for detention for anti-social activities from six months to a year without legal representation.
- The Collector said while the island remains peaceful, there have been reports of drugs being found along with weapons and live ammunition.
- He said the regulation is required to keep the “youth from getting misguided by illegal businesses”.
- Residents are skeptical of the need for such stringent law in a UT with one of the lowest crime rates in the country. They allege it has been brought in to arrest those opposed to the Administration.
Back2Basics: Lakshadweep Islands
- There are 36 islands across 12 atolls, closest to Kerala, on which it depends for essential supplies. Only 10 of the islands are inhabited.
- Once a part of the Malabar district of the Madras Presidency, Lakshadweep was given Union Territory status following Kerala state’s formation in 1956.
- With a population of 65,000 (2011 Census), Lakshadweep is India’s smallest Union Territory.
- It has the highest population share of Muslims (96%) and Scheduled Tribes (94.8%) among the UTs.
- Residents speak Malayalam and Dhivehi.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: INDIAai
Mains level: AI promotion moves by the government
The ‘National AI Portal (https://indiaai.gov.in)’, celebrated its first anniversary on May 28, 2021.
National AI Portal
- INDIAai is the National AI Portal of India – a central hub for everything AI in India and beyond.
- A joint initiative of MeitY, NeGD and NASSCOM, the website aims to be the trusted content powerhouse in the backdrop of India’s journey to global prominence in Artificial Intelligence.
- It serves as a central hub for AI related news, learning, articles, events and activities etc., in India and beyond.
- It has been set up to prepare the nation for an AI future.
- It is the single central knowledge hub on artificial intelligence and allied fields for aspiring entrepreneurs, students, professionals, academics, and everyone else.
- The portal focuses on creating and nurturing a unified AI ecosystem for driving excellence and leadership in India’s AI journey, to foster economic growth and improve lives through it.
B2BASICS
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a wide-ranging branch of computer science concerned with building smart machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. AI is an interdisciplinary science with multiple approaches, but advancements in machine learning and deep learning are creating a paradigm shift in virtually every sector of the tech industry.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Provisions of IT Rules 2021
Mains level: Paper 3- Issues with IT Rules 2021
The article highlights the issues with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
Important provision made in the IT Rules 2021
- The Rules mandate duties such as removal of non-consensual intimate pictures within 24 hours.
- The rules also mandates publication of compliance reports to increase transparency.
- Rules provides for setting up of a dispute resolution mechanism for content removal.
- It provides for adding a label to information for users to know whether content is advertised, owned, sponsored or exclusively controlled.
Issues with the rules
1) Affects right to free speech and expression
- The Supreme Court, in the case of Life Insurance Corpn. Of India vs Prof. Manubhai D. Shah (1992) had elevated ‘the freedom to circulate one’s views as the lifeline of any democratic institution’.
- So, the rules need to be critically scrutinised for the recent barriers being imposed by it.
2) Violation of legal principles
- The rules were framed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeiTY).
- However, the Second Schedule of the Business Rules, 1961 does not empower MeiTY to frame regulations for digital media.
- This power belongs to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
- This action violates the legal principle of ‘colourable legislation’ where the legislature cannot do something indirectly if it is not possible to do so directly.
- Moreover, the Information Technology Act, 2000, does not regulate digital media.
- Therefore, the new IT Rules which claim to be a piece of subordinate legislation of the IT Act, goes beyond the rule-making power conferred upon them by the IT Act.
- This makes the Rules ultra vires to the Act.
3) Deprives the fair recourse to intermediary
- An intermediary is now supposed to take down content within 36 hours upon receiving orders from the Government.
- This deprives the intermediary of a fair recourse in the event that it disagrees with the Government’s order due to a strict timeline.
4) Privacy violation
- These Rules undermine the right to privacy by imposing a traceability requirement.
- The immunity that users received from end-to-end encryption was that intermediaries did not have access to the contents of their messages.
- Imposing this mandatory requirement of traceability will break this immunity, thereby weakening the security of the privacy of these conversations.
- This will also render all the data from these conversations vulnerable to attack from ill-intentioned third parties.
- The threat here is not only one of privacy but to the extent of invasion and deprivation from a safe space.
- Recent data breach affecting a popular pizza delivery chain and also several airlines highlights the risks involved in such move in the absence of data protection law.
- Instead of eliminate the fake news, the Rules proceed to hurriedly to take down whatever authority may deem as “fake news”.
5) Operational cost
- The Rules create additional operational costs for intermediaries by requiring them to have Indian resident nodal officers, compliance officers and grievance officers.
- Intermediaries are also required to have offices located in India.
- This makes profit making a far-fetched goal for multinational corporations and start-up intermediary enterprises.
- Therefore, not only do these Rules place a barrier on the “marketplace of ideas” but also on the economic market of intermediaries in general by adding redundant financial burdens.
Consider the question “What are the challenges associated with the social media? How the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 will help is dealing with these challenges? What are the issues with these rules?”
Conclusion
Democracy stands undermined in direct proportion to every attack made on the citizen’s right. The IT Rules 2021 have tilt towards violation of rights. Therefore, these rules need reconsideration.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Blackbuck
Mains level: Not Much
Odisha’s blackbuck population has doubled in the last six years, according to figures from the latest population census.
Blackbucks in Odisha
- Blackbucks are found only in the Ganjam district in the southern part of the state, which is where the census was carried out.
- It is known in Odisha and Ganjam as Krushnasara Mruga.
- The people of Ganjam believe the sighting of a blackbuck in a paddy field is a harbinger of luck for them.
- It used to be sighted in the Balukhand-Konark Wildlife Sanctuary in Puri district till 2012-13, but now has vanished from the area.
- The blackbuck is a Schedule-1 animal according to the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (amended in 1992) and is considered as ‘Vulnerable’ according to the Red Data Book.
Reasons for their rise
- Improvement of habitats, the protection given by the local people and forest staff were some of the reasons for the increase of the population.
- The people of Ganjam had been enthusiastically protecting the animal like the Bishnois of western Rajasthan and the Vala Rajputs of Saurashtra.
Answer this PYQ:
Q.With reference to ‘Eco-Sensitive Zones’, which of the following statements is/are correct?
- Eco-Sensitive Zones are the areas that are declared under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
- The purpose of the declaration of Eco-Sensitive Zones is to prohibit all kinds of human activities, in those zones except agriculture.
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
Back2Basics: Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
- WPA provides for the protection of the country’s wild animals, birds, and plant species, in order to ensure environmental and ecological security.
- It provides for the protection of a listed species of animals, birds, and plants, and also for the establishment of a network of ecologically important protected areas in the country.
- It provides for various types of protected areas such as Wildlife Sanctuaries, National Parks, etc.
- There are six schedules provided in the WPA for the protection of wildlife species which can be concisely summarized as under:
| Schedule I: |
These species need rigorous protection and therefore, the harshest penalties for violation of the law are for species under this Schedule. |
| Schedule II: |
Animals under this list are accorded high protection. They cannot be hunted except under threat to human life. |
| Schedule III & IV: |
This list is for species that are not endangered. This includes protected species but the penalty for any violation is less compared to the first two schedules. |
| Schedule V: |
This schedule contains animals which can be hunted. |
| Schedule VI: |
This list contains plants that are forbidden from cultivation. |
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Dealing with vaccine hesitancy
The article deals with the issue of vaccine hesitancy and its consequences.
Why vaccinate?
- The primary purpose of vaccination is to protect individuals against severe infection.
- Vaccination also protects populations by providing ‘herd immunity’, if done on a large scale.
- Globally, vaccinations against polio, small pox, meningitis and so on have seen huge success.
Need to address the vaccine hesitancy
- The results of a 2020 Gallup poll, conducted before the vaccine roll-out reveals that 18% of the Indian said that they won’t take the vaccine.
- But vaccine hesitancy has gone up in India since then, due in part to largely overblown reports of complications or even deaths.
- The consequences of vaccine hesitancy are disastrous.
- If herd immunity does not develop, disease outbreaks and pandemics will prevail.
- The slower the vaccination rate, the wider the spread of infection and the greater the chances of mutations and the emergence of new variants.
Factors driving vaccine hesitancy
- The influencing factors include a lack of awareness of the extent of benefits.
- Fears based on inaccurate information.
- Lack of access to vaccine.
- Disinformation, especially on social media.
- Other factors include civil liberty concepts, cost, cultural issues, and various layers of confidence deficit.
Way forward
- To allay vaccine fears, our messaging needs to focus on simple facts.
- Before attempting to persuade people, we need to understand the basis of their fear, hesitancy and the anti-vax attitude.
- By challenging untruths, we inadvertently feed the perception that we are actively suppressing the “real” truth.
- The objective now should be to reach more people faster with a message that doesn’t just provide more science but includes guidance.
- Providing practical information through social media, alternatives to apps for those lacking easy access to vaccines, and taking the help of well-informed frontline workers will all help.
Conclusion
The possibility of a significant number of people not getting vaccinated thwarts our collective ability to reach the herd immunity threshold against Covid-19. Therefore the issue of vaccine hesitancy needs to be urgently addressed.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Currency Swap
Mains level: Bangladesh economic growth
Bangladesh’s central bank has approved a $200 million currency swap facility to Sri Lanka.
Practice question for mains:
Q. What are Currency Swaps? Discuss the efficacy of Currency Swap Agreements for liberalizing bilateral trade.
What is a Currency Swap?
- In this context, a currency swap is effectively a loan that Bangladesh will give to Sri Lanka in dollars, with an agreement that the debt will be repaid with interest in Sri Lankan rupees.
- For Sri Lanka, this is cheaper than borrowing from the market, and a lifeline as is it struggles to maintain adequate forex reserves even as repayment of its external debts looms.
- The period of the currency swap will be specified in the agreement.
A helping hand for SL
- Bangladesh Bank, the central bank, has in principle approved a $200 million currency swap agreement with Sri Lanka.
- Dhaka decided to extend the facility after a request by Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa to Bangladesh’s PM Sheikh Hasina.
- It will help Colombo tide over its foreign exchange crisis, according to media reports from Bangladesh, quoting the bank’s spokesman.
- Sri Lanka, staring at an external debt repayment schedule of $4.05 million this year, is in urgent need of foreign exchange.
An unusual move
- Bangladesh has not been viewed so far as a provider of financial assistance to other countries.
- It has been among the most impoverished countries of the world, and still receives billions of dollars in financial aid.
- But over the last two decades, its economy has pulled itself up literally by the bootstraps, and in 2020, was the fastest growing in South Asia.
- Bangladesh’s economy grew by 5.2 percent in 2020 and is expected to grow by 6.8 percent in 2021.
- The country has managed to pull millions out of poverty. Its per capita income just overtook India’s.
A break in monopoly
- This may be the first time that Bangladesh is extending a helping hand to another country, so this is a landmark of sorts.
- It is also the first time that Sri Lanka is borrowing from a SAARC country other than India.
- The presumption was that only India, as the regional group’s largest economy, could do this.
- The Bangladesh-Sri Lanka arrangement shows that is no longer valid.
Why didn’t SL approach India?
- Last year, it requested for a $1 billion credit swap, and separately, a moratorium on debts that the country has to repay to India.
- But India-Sri Lanka relations have been tense over Colombo’s decision to cancel a valued container terminal project at Colombo Port.
- India put off the decision, but Colombo no longer has the luxury of time.
Is SL in a crisis?
- With the tourism industry destroyed since the 2019 Easter attacks, Sri Lanka had lost one of its top foreign exchange pullers even before the pandemic.
- The tea and garment industries have also been hit by the pandemic affecting exports.
- Remittances increased in 2020, but are not sufficient to pull Sri Lanka out of its crisis.
- The country is already deep in debt to China. According to media reports, Sri Lanka owes China up to $5 billion.
What about the previous swap facility that India gave Sri Lanka?
- Last July, the RBI did extend a $400 million credit swap facility to Sri Lanka, which the Central Bank of Sri Lanka settled in February. The arrangement was not extended.
- RBI has a framework under which it can offer credit swap facilities to SAARC countries within an overall corpus of $2 billion.
- According to RBI, the SAARC currency swap facility came into operation in November 2012 with the aim of providing to smaller countries in the region.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indian Broadcasting Foundation
Mains level: Self regulation by electronic media
The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the apex body of broadcasters, is expanding its purview to cover digital streaming platforms and will be renamed the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF).
Why such a move?
- The move would bring broadcasters and OTT (over-the-top) platforms, which have seen a substantial jump in their viewership base after the pandemic, under one roof.
- For this, the IBDF was in the process of forming a new wholly-owned subsidiary to handle all matters of digital media, an official statement said.
- The IBDF would also form a self-regulatory body, the Digital Media Content Regulatory Council (DMCRC), for digital OTT platforms.
Indian Broadcasting Foundation
- The IBF is a unified representative body of television broadcasters in India.
- The organization was founded in the year 1999. Over 250 Indian television channels are associated with it.
- The organization is credited as the spokesman of the Indian Broadcasting Industry.
- The IBF is the parent organization of the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) which was set up in the year 2011.
- The BCCC examines content-related complaints relating to all non-news general entertainment channels in India.
Note: The IBF has no statutory backing.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CNR Rao and his scientific contributions
Mains level: Not Much
Bharat Ratna Professor C.N.R. Rao has received the International Eni Award 2020 for research into renewable energy sources and energy storage, also called the Energy Frontier award.
Who is CNR Rao?
- Rao is an Indian chemist who has worked mainly in solid-state and structural chemistry.
- Rao is one of the world’s foremost solid state and materials chemists. He has contributed to the development of the field over five decades.
His scientific contributions
His work on transition metal oxides has led to a basic understanding of novel phenomena and the relationship between materials properties and the structural chemistry of these materials.
- Rao was one of the earliest to synthesize two-dimensional oxide materials such as La2CuO4.
- He was one of the first to synthesize 123 cuprates, the first liquid nitrogen-temperature superconductor in 1987. He was also the first to synthesis Y junction carbon nanotubes in the mid-1990s.
- His work has led to a systematic study of compositionally controlled metal-insulator transitions.
- Such studies have had a profound impact in application fields such as colossal magnetoresistance and high-temperature superconductivity.
- He has made immense contributions to nanomaterials over the last two decades, besides his work on hybrid materials.
Answer this PYQ from CSP 2020 in the comment box:
Q. With reference to carbon nanotubes, consider the following statements:
1. They can be used as carriers of drugs and antigens in the human body.
2. They can be made into artificial blood capillaries for an injured part of the human body.
3. They can be used in biochemical sensors.
4. Carbon nanotubes are biodegradable.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2, 3, and 4 only
(c) 1, 3, and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Citations for the Energy Frontiers award
- Professor Rao has been working on hydrogen energy as the only source of energy for the benefit of all mankind.
- Hydrogen storage, photochemical and electrochemical production of hydrogen, solar production of hydrogen, and non-metallic catalysis were the highlights of his work.
- The EF award has been conferred for his work on metal oxides, carbon nanotubes, and other materials and two-dimensional systems, including graphene, boron-nitrogen-carbon hybrid materials, and molybdenum sulfide (Molybdenite – MoS2) for energy applications and green hydrogen production.
- Green hydrogen production can be achieved through various processes, including the photodissociation of water, thermal dissociation, and electrolysis activated by electricity produced from solar or wind energy.
Significance of this award
- This is considered to be the Nobel Prize in Energy Research.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Golden visa scheme
Mains level: Not Much
A Bollywood actor has recently received a golden visa from the UAE government.
What is the Golden Visa?
- The Golden Visa system essentially offers long-term residency (5 and 10 years) to people belonging to the following groups: investors, entrepreneurs, individuals with outstanding talents the likes of researchers, medical professionals and those within the scientific and knowledge fields, and remarkable students.
- The main benefit of the visa will be security.
- The UAE government has made it clear that they are committed to providing expatriates, investors and essentially everyone looking to make the UAE their home an extra reason to feel secure about their future.
Who are eligible to apply?
- For the 10-year visa, investors having no less than AED (Dirham) 10 million worth of public investment, either in the form of an investment fund or a company, can apply.
- However, at least 60 per cent of the total investment must not be in the form of real estate and the invested amount must not be loaned, or in case of assets, investors must assume full ownership.
- The investor must be able to retain the investment for a minimum of three years as well.
- The long-term visa can also include the holder’s spouse and children, as well as one executive director and one advisor.
- In addition to the aforementioned, foreign nationals who are looking to set up their business in the UAE may also apply for permanent residency (5 years) through the Golden Business Visa scheme.
Perks for the talent
- Besides entrepreneurs, individuals with specialized talent can also apply for the visa. They include doctors, researchers, scientists, investors and artists.
- These individuals may be granted a 10-year visa following accreditations granted by their respective departments and fields and the visa will also be extended to their spouses and children.
- Exceptional high school and university students are eligible for a 5-year residency visa in the UAE.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Smallpox vaccination in colonial India
Mains level: Not Much
A 19th-century portrait of three women from Mysore has been going viral as “one of the most important scientific pictures in the history of medicine in India”.
What did the portrait depict?
- Believed to be painted in 1805 by Irish-born artist Thomas Hickey, the oil on canvas was initially thought to be portraits of “dancing girls or courtesans”.
- The painting depicted one of the first vaccine drives in India, with bejewelled women from the Wadiyar dynasty posing for Hickey.
- The canvas was commissioned to promote participation in the smallpox vaccination programme and the women posing with the scars.
What is smallpox?
- Smallpox is an acute contagious disease caused by the variola virus, a member of the orthopoxvirus family.
- It was one of the most devastating diseases known to humanity and caused millions of deaths before it was eradicated.
- It is believed to have existed for at least 3000 years.
How and when did the smallpox vaccine reach India?
- The smallpox vaccine, discovered by Edward Jenner in 1796, was the first successful vaccine to be developed.
- On June 14, 1802, Anna Dusthall, an Anglo-Indian toddler, was the first person in India to be successfully vaccinated against the virus that relied on the cowpox virus, “a mild cousin of smallpox” to trigger immunity.
- The “vaccine vesicle” that came on the arm of the receiver was a source of lymphatic fluid or pus that would act as a vaccine, leading to an arm-to-arm immunisation chain.
- The vaccine subsequently travelled to different parts of India, including Hyderabad, Cochin, Madras and Mysore.
How was the drive carried out?
- While the lymph was at times reportedly dried and sealed between glass plates to be transported, it often did not survive long journeys, due to which the British had to primarily rely on a human chain.
- There was also opposition from the domestic population on the introduction of the cowpox virus and also because some believed the goddess of smallpox would be angered by the vaccination.
- With Tipu Sultan defeated in Mysore, and the reinstatement of the Wadiyars, the East India Company was trying to strengthen its position in South India.
- It protected the ex-pat population from an epidemic, making vaccination essential.
- Queen Lakshmi Ammanni, who had lost her husband to smallpox, supported their cause and wanted to vaccine her population against the deadly virus.
- The painting was supposed to encourage participation in the vaccination drive.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Social media regulation
The new rules for social media platforms and digital news outlets called the Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code has come into effect.
New guidelines for digital media
- The guidelines had asked all social media platforms to set up a grievances redressal and compliance mechanism.
- This included appointing a resident grievance officer, chief compliance officer and a nodal contact person.
- The IT Ministry had also asked these platforms to submit monthly reports on complaints received from users and action taken.
- A third requirement was for instant messaging apps was to make provisions for tracking the first originator of a message.
- Failure to comply with any one of these requirements would take away the indemnity provided to social media intermediaries under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act.
What is Section 79 of the IT Act?
- Section 79 says any intermediary shall not be held legally or otherwise liable for any third party information, data, or communication link made available or hosted on its platform.
- This protection, the Act says, shall be applicable if the said intermediary does not in any way, initiate the transmission of the message in question, select the receiver of the transmitted message and does not modify any information contained in the transmission.
- This means that as long as a platform acts just as the messenger carrying a message from point A to point B, without interfering in any manner, it will be safe from any legal prosecution.
- The intermediary must not tamper with any evidence of these messages or content present on its platform, failing which it loses its protection under the Act.
Effect of non-compliance
- As of now, nothing changes overnight. Social media intermediaries will continue to function as they were, without any hiccups.
- People will also be able to post and share content on their pages without any disturbance.
- Social media intermediaries such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram have so far not appointed any officer or contact person as required under the new rules.
- They have also failed to submit monthly action taken reports on grievances and complaints submitted to them by users. Thus, protection under Section 79 of the IT Act does will not hold for them.
Liabilities with the new rules
- Further, Rule 4(a) of the IT Rules mandates that significant social media intermediaries must appoint a chief compliance officer (CCO) who would be held liable in case the intermediary fails to observe the due diligence requirements.
- This means that if a tweet, a Facebook post or a post on Instagram violates the local laws, the law enforcement agency would be well within its rights to book not only the person sharing the content but the executives of these companies as well.
Global norms on safe harbour protection
- As most of the bigger social media intermediaries have their headquarters in the US, the most keenly watched is Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act.
- This provides Internet companies a safe harbour from any content users post of these platforms.
- Experts believe it is this provision in the US law that enabled companies such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google to become global conglomerates.
- Like Section 79 of India’s IT Act, this Section 230 states that “no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider”.
- This effectively means that the intermediary shall only be like a bookstore owner who cannot be held accountable for the books in the store unless there is a connection.
Repercussions of the rules in India
- WhatsApp has approached the Delhi High Court challenging the new Rules which include a requirement for social media platforms to compulsorily enable “the identification of the first originator of the information” in India upon government or court order.
- It argued that this provision forces it “to break end-to-end encryption on its messaging service, as well as the privacy principles underlying it.
Must read:
[Burning Issue] New IT Rules 2021
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Hate Speech vs Free Speech
A panel constituted by the Union Home Ministry to suggest reforms to the British-era Indian Penal Code (IPC) is likely to propose a separate Section on “offences relating to speech and expression.”
Panel to define hate speech
- As there is no clear definition of what constitutes a “hate speech” in the IPC, the Committee for Reforms in Criminal Laws is attempting for the first time to define such speech.
- Legally speaking, for criminal Sections to be invoked, any such speech has to lead to violence or disturbance of law and order.
What constitutes Hate Speech?
- Hate speech can be defined as “public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation”.
- The word ‘hate speech’ as is a loaded term and merely criticizing someone is not hate speech.
- There has been much debate over freedom of speech, hate speech and hate speech legislation.
Indian attempts for definition
- The Bureau of Police Research and Development recently published a manual for investigating agencies on cyber harassment cases.
- It has defined hate speech as a language that denigrates, insults threatens or targets an individual based on their identity and other traits (such as sexual orientation or disability or religion etc.).
- Earlier in 2018, the Home Ministry had written to the Law Commission to prepare a distinct law for online “hate speech”.
- A committee was formed in the wake of Section 66A of the IT Act, 2000, which provided punishment for sending offensive messages through communication services.
- In 2019, however, the Ministry decided to overhaul the IPC, framed in 1860 and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) after seeking suggestions from various stakeholders.
Recommendations of various committees
- The Viswanathan committee proposed inserting Sections 153 C (b) and Section 505 A in the IPC for incitement to commit an offence on grounds of religion, race, caste or community, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, place of birth, residence, language, disability or tribe.
- It proposed punishment by up to two years along with ₹5,000 fine.
- The Bezbaruah Committee was constituted by the Centre in February 2014 in the wake of series of racial attacks on persons belonging to the northeast.
- It proposed amendment to Section 153 C IPC (promoting or attempting to promote acts prejudicial to human dignity), punishable by five years and fine or both and Section 509 A IPC (word, gesture or act intended to insult a member of a particular race), punishable by three years or fine or both.
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