Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Parliament house architecture
Mains level: Need for new parliament building
PM would on December 10 lay the foundation stone for the new Parliament building, which would be a symbol of “Atmanirbhar Bharat” and a “temple of democracy” for Independent India.
Try this MCQ first:
Q.The architecture of the present Parliament House of India is inspired from:
a) Ekattarso Mahadeva Temple
b) Virupaksa Temple
c) Dilwara Temples
d) Brihaddeswara Temple
The new Parliament Building
- The building, to be constructed by Tata Projects Ltd. would have a built-up area of 64,500 square metres over four floors and would be built adjacent to the existing building over 22 months.
- Artisans and sculptors from across the country would contribute to the new building, showcasing the diversity and making it a symbol of “Atmanirbhar Bharat”.
- The building would have modern equipment, be earthquake-safe and accommodate up to 1,224 MPs during joint sessions in the Lok Sabha chamber.
- The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha chambers themselves would accommodate 888 and 384 MPs respectively.
Issues with the old building
- The existing British-built Parliament building, built in the 1920s, was designed for the Imperial Legislative Council and not for a bicameral Parliament.
- The building has been modified over the years, including in 1956 when two floors were added.
- While the number of Lok Sabha seats has remained 545 based on delimitation carried out on the basis of the 1971 Census, it is likely to increase after 2026 as the number of seats has been frozen till then.
- The sources said the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha halls are packed and would not be able to accommodate additional seats when the number of seats goes up.
Back2Basics: Parliament House (Sansad Bhavan)
- The Sansad Bhavan is the seat of the Parliament of India. It houses the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha which represent lower and upper houses respectively in India’s bicameral parliament.
- The existing building draws inspiration from Ekattarso Mahadeva Temple (in M.P.) and was built under the British empire for its Imperial Legislative Council in 1927.
- The opening ceremony, which then housed the Imperial Legislative Council, was performed on 18 January 1927 by Lord Irwin, Viceroy of India.
- Following the end of British rule in India, it was taken over by Constituent Assembly of India which was succeeded by the parliament of India once Constitution of India came into force in 1950.
- In the 2010s, a proposal was introduced to revamp Central Vista and re-build or relocate a number of administrative buildings which initiated a program expecting completion in 2024.
Architectural details:
- Originally called the House of Parliament, it was designed by the British architects’ Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in 1912-1913.
- It was held as part of their wider mandate to construct a new administrative capital city for British India.
- The perimeter of the building is circular, with 144 columns on the outside.
- The building is surrounded by large gardens and the perimeter is fenced off by sandstone railings (jali).
- Construction of the House began in 1921 and it was completed in 1927.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Hazards of rat-hole mining
Rat-hole coal mining had sucked the life out of a village in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district.
Q.Despite a ban, rat-hole mining continues to prevail as an important practice in Meghalaya. What are the issues associated with it? Discuss. (150W)
Rat Hole Mining
- It is a primitive and hazardous method of mining for coal, with tunnels that are only 3-4 feet in diameter (hence, rat-hole), leading to pits ranging from 5-100 sq. mt deep.
- It involves digging of very small tunnels in which workers, more often children, enter and extract coal.
- Although the coal is of bad quality, people see it as a treasure chest.
- In backward regions, where there is the loss of livelihood, lack of employment opportunities and under-education, people see rat-hole mines as an opportunity to earn daily bread.
- A major portion of these employees are children, who are preferred because of their thin body shape and ease to access depths.
Despite a ban
The National Green Tribunal banned rat-hole mining in Meghalaya in 2014 on a petition that said acidic discharge from the mines was polluting the Kopili River. But the practice continues unabated.
Threats of such mining
- Water from rivers and streams in the mining area has become unfit for drinking and irrigation and is toxic to plants and animals.
- Layers of rock above the coal removed during mining contain traces of iron, manganese and aluminium that get dissolved from mining sites through the acid run-off or are washed into streams as sediment.
- There are several mishaps where workers get trapped to death due to the sudden collapse of such mines.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GI tags in news
Mains level: Importance of GI tags
The Himachal Pradesh government is trying to obtain GIs for five products from the state – Karsog Kulth, Thangi of Pangi, Chamba Metal Crafts, Chamba Chukh, and Rajmah of Bharmour.
Read more about GIs at:
GI(Geographical Indicator) Tags
Which are the five HP products?
- Karsog Kulth: Kulthi or Kulth (horse gram) is a legume grown as a kharif crop in Himachal Pradesh. Kulth grown in the Karsog area of Mandi district is believed to be particularly rich in amino acids.
- Pangi ki Thangi: It is a type of hazelnut which grows in Pangi valley located in the northwestern edge of Himachal. It is known for its unique flavour and sweetness.
- Chamba metal crafts: These include items such as metal idols and brass utensils which, historically, were made by skilled artisans in the courts of kings of Chamba. There are efforts to revive the trade, and a plate made from a brass-like alloy and having carvings of gods and goddesses is still popular.
- Chamba Chukh: It’s a chutney made from green and red chillies grown in Chamba, and prepared in traditional and unique ways. The practice has largely declined in rural households of Chamba, but survives to some extent at the small-scale industrial level.
- Bharmouri Rajmah: It’s more specifically called the Kugtalu Rajmah, since it grows in the area around Kugti Pass in the Bharmour region of Chamba district. It is rich in proteins and has a unique flavor.
How many registered GIs does Himachal currently have?
- They are eight in number.
- It includes four handicrafts (Kullu Shawl, Chamba Rumal, Kinnauri Shawl and Kangra Paintings).
- There are three agricultural products (Kangra Tea, Basmati and Himachali Kala Zeera) and one manufactured product (Himachali Chulli Oil).
- Kullu Shawl and Kangra Tea were the first to be registered in 2005-06.
- Basmati has been registered jointly from seven states of North India, including Himachal Pradesh.
- Chulli (apricot) oil and kala jeera (cumin), mainly associated with Kinnaur and known for their medicinal properties, were the last to be registered in 2018-19.
How does a GI tag help?
- A GI tag provides a better market for these products and prevents misuse of the name.
- A GI registration is given to an area, not a trader, but once a product gets the registration, traders dealing in the product can apply for selling it with the GI logo.
- Authorised traders are each assigned a unique GI number. For example, Kullu shawl has 135 authorised traders. A shawl made in Ludhiana cannot be sold as a Kullu shawl.
- If any unauthorised trader, even from Kullu, tries to sell a shawl under the name of Kullu shawl, he or she can be prosecuted under The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.
- GIs are also expected to boost or revive the items whose production has declined, as is being aimed in the case of Chamba Chukh and metal crafts.
Back2Basics: Geographical Indication (GI)
- The World Intellectual Property Organisation defines a GI as “a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin”.
- GIs are typically used for agricultural products, foodstuffs, handicrafts, industrial products, wines and spirit drinks.
- Internationally, GIs are covered as an element of intellectual property rights under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
- They are also covered under the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.
- Presently, there are 370 registered GIs in India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Vijayanagara architecture
Mains level: Vijayanagara architecture
Tourists can no longer get too close to the iconic stone chariot in front of the Vijaya Vittala Temple due to a protective ring by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Try this question from CSP 2019:
Q.Building ‘Kalyaana Mandapas’ was a notable feature in the temple construction in the kingdom of
(a) Chalukya
(b) Chandela
(c) Rashtrakuta
(d) Vijayanagara
The Vijayanagara Capital: Hampi
- Hampi or Hampe, also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in east-central Karnataka.
- Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th century.
- The old city of Hampi was a prosperous, wealthy and grand city near the Tungabhadra River, with numerous temples, farms and trading markets.
- By 1500 CE, Hampi-Vijayanagara was the world’s second-largest medieval-era city after Beijing, and probably India’s richest at that time, attracting traders from Persia and Portugal.
- The Vijayanagara Empire was defeated by a coalition of sultanates; its capital was conquered, pillaged and destroyed by sultanate armies in 1565, after which Hampi remained in ruins.
Major attractions
- The Krishna temple complex, Narasimha, Ganesa, Hemakuta group of temples, Achyutaraya temple complex, Vitthala temple complex, Pattabhirama temple complex, Lotus Mahal complex, can be highlighted.
- Suburban townships (puras) surrounded the large temple complexes contains subsidiary shrines, bazaars, residential areas and tanks applying the unique hydraulic technologies.
- The Vitthla temple is the most exquisitely ornate structure on the site and represents the culmination of Vijayanagara temple architecture.
- It is a fully developed temple with associated buildings like Kalyana Mandapa and Utsava Mandapa within a cloistered enclosure pierced with three entrance Gopurams.
- In addition to the typical spaces present in contemporary temples, it boasts of a Garuda shrine fashioned as a granite ratha and a grand bazaar street.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Red Sea Turtles
Mains level: Impact of climate changes
Turtle populations in the Red Sea could be turning overwhelmingly female because of a rise in sea temperatures caused due to anthropogenic climate change, a new study has showed.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Consider the following fauna of India:
- Gharial
- Leatherback turtle
- Swamp deer
Which of the above is/are endangered?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) None
Red Sea Turtles
- There are seven extant species worldwide, five of which can be found in the Red Sea: the green turtle, the hawksbill turtle, the loggerhead turtle, the olive ridley turtle and the leatherback turtle.
- In order to maintain a 50:50 ratio of male and female in the population, a temperature of 29.2 degrees Celsius is pivotal.
- Above this, hatchlings would be predominantly female.
- The sand temperatures at four of the sites exceeded 29.2 degrees; leading the team to the conclusion that ‘feminization’ of the population could be already happening.
Their significance
- Marine turtles—as all top predators—have a prominent role in maintaining balanced and healthy ecosystems, in particular seagrass beds and coral reefs.
- They also help in transporting nutrients towards naturally nutrient-poor ecosystems (the nesting beaches), and providing food and transportation for other marine species (e.g., barnacles and commensal crabs).
- Marine turtles also play an important role in the economy of the tourism industry.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MPC
Mains level: Paper 3- Tackling inflation while maintaining the availability of easy money
The MPC decided on Friday to leave the Repo rate unchanged at 4%. However, the RBI faces a dilemma over the excess liquidity in the economy while tackling inflation.
Limits of monetary policy
- Even though our economy slumped into a recession in the first half of 2020-21, there seems little further RBI can do with monetary policy to spur growth.
- Its monetary decision to leave its main policy rate unchanged at 4%, the rate at which it lends money to banks, thus seems appropriate.
- This is because retail inflation has hovered above its 6% upper tolerance limit for much of this year.
- It is the first time its 2016-adopted price-stability framework looks poised for failure.
- Meanwhile, it has announced wider coverage of an earlier scheme by which banks buy bonds issued by firms in specific stressed sectors–a way to ease credit.
Poor credit demand
- Supply-side measures have their limits of efficacy, with aggregate demand observed to be in a bad way and investments restrained by uncertainty.
- Therefore, RBI’s focus had to shift to the inflationary effects of excess liquidity detected in the economy.
- Oddly, this doesn’t seem to have happened.
- With over ₹6 trillion still being parked daily by banks with RBI at its reverse repo window, a reflection of poor credit demand.
Dilemma RBI faces in maintaining low interest rate
- Plus, India has seen a large sum of dollars coming into India.
- To keep the rupee’s global value stable and Indian exports competitive, RBI has been buying those dollars, thus raising our foreign exchange reserves and pumping more liquidity into the domestic arena.
- Sterilizing the inflationary effect of this usually requires bonds to be sold, which increases their market supply and pressures yields up-a dilution of its stance on easy money.
- This poses a dilemma that RBI may soon have to grapple with.
- RBI’s core task as a central bank, of watching both the external and internal stability of the currency under its charge, may get more complex than ever if capital inflows stay high, global investors see an opportunity in ‘carry trade’ profits, and price trends don’t go by its expectations.
Conclusion
If India’s broad policy frame is being pushed by our covid crisis towards a major reset, with the Centre’s fisc granted a freer run and its debt burden to be partially inflated away over the years, then that would call for another debate.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: APMC Act
Mains level: Paper 3- Farmers protest against Farms Acts
Farmers protest against the Farm laws is based on the multiple reasons. The article analyses these concerns of the protesting farmers.
Three farm laws and response to it
- Three Farm Bills were passed by the Central government in September 2020.
- In the process, the regulatory role the state played hitherto with regard to these issues was watered down to a great extent.
- Apart from complex challenges that rural India confronts today, there is a substantial body of studies that demonstrates how the vagaries of the market and the role of the middlemen reinforce agrarian distress in India.
- However, organised farmers’ bodies are not in sync with the reasoning of the government.
Role of the states
- There is a debate around the constitutional provisions with regard to the respective domains of the State and the Union with regard to agricultural marketing,
- However, issues affecting the farming community have a far greater bearing on the States relative to the Centre.
- Ideally, given its immediacy, the States are the apt agencies to respond to a host of concerns faced by the farming community, which includes agricultural marketing.
- While enacting the Farm Bills, the Centre extended little consideration to the sensitivity of the States.
Role of APMC
- In Punjab and Haryana, tweaking the APMC system and its resultant bearing on Minimum Support Price (MSP) is seen by the farmers as a threat to an assured sale of their produce at a price.
- MSP system provides a cushion, wherein the farmer can anticipate the cost of opting for these crops and tap the necessary supports through channels he has been familiar with.
- Farmers are apprehensive of the vagaries of a competitive market where he would eventually be beholden to the large players including monopolies.
- There is widespread apprehension that the measures proposed by the Farm Acts in addition to the existing agrarian distress, are only going to make the lot of the farmer even more precarious.
- All across the country, the farming community is prone to sympathise with the demand to scrap the new laws, as they have little to offer to them in a positive sense.
Conclusion
Those with large holdings and produce for the market — are spearheading the present stand-off against the Farm Bills, as it affects them very deeply. But farming distress is shared in common by the different strata within the farming community, even though it has a differential impact on them.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Analysis of economic recovery post-Covid
The economies across the world are showing recovery driven by profits. However, one cannot neglect the implication of such recovery for the long term growth given the pressure such recovery has been exerting on the labour markets. The article deals with this issue.
3 Ways to look at GDP
- The first is what they tell us about the past.
- Here, the news has generally been better-than-expected.
- The US and India saw a much stronger recovery last quarter than previously envisioned.
- The second is sectoral, production side-agriculture, manufacturing, services- and the functional, expenditure side consumption, investment, net exports.
- But there’s a third way — the income side.
- Value addition must ultimately accrue to the different factors of production.
- On the income side, therefore, GDP is simply the sum of profits, wages and indirect taxes.
Profit-driven growth and impact on employment
- The economic recovery in many parts of the world is driven disproportionately by capital than labour.
- In India, the net profits of listed companies grew 25 per cent (in real terms) last quarter. This despite revenues shrinking.
- Revenue shrank because firms aggressively cut costs, including employee compensation.
- This implies that if listed company profits are growing 25 per cent, and yet GDP contracted 7.5 per cent, it reveals (by construction) significant pressure on profits of unlisted SMEs, wages and employment.
- Labour market pressures are evident in India too.
- Household demand for MGNREGA remains very elevated, suggesting significant labour market slack.
- The employment rate in some labour market surveys still reveal about 14 million fewer employed compared to February, and nominal wage growth across a universe of 4,000 listed firms has slowed from about 10 per cent to 3 per cent over the last six quarters.
Why this matters
- It may be rational for any one firm to boost profits by cutting employee compensation.
- But if every firm pursued that strategy, that simply reduces future aggregate demand and profitability for all firms.
- This is quintessential fallacy of composition that Keynes enumerated.
- Weak demand, in turn, disincentivises re-hiring, reinforcing the risks of settling into a sub-optimal equilibrium.
Need to remain vigilant about labour market
- Remaining vigilant about labour markets is particularly important for India.
- Private consumption was increasingly financed by households running down savings and taking on debt pre-COVID-19.
- Consequently, if job-market pressures induce households into perceiving this shock as a quasi-permanent hit on incomes, households will be incentivised to save, not spend in the future.
Way forward for fiscal consolidation
- While economic momentum is expected to slow as pent-up demand wears off, the level of output will progressively reach pre-COVID levels as the economy normalises.
- The question is what will drive growth after that?
- India’s fiscal response has been restrained thus far, with the Centre’s total spending similar to last year and state capex under pressure.
- It’s therefore important for the Centre to step up spending in the remaining months.
- More importantly, public investment, and a large infrastructure push, must be the leitmotif of the next budget.
- This will be crucial to boost demand, create jobs, crowd-in private investment and improve the economy’s external competitiveness.
- If higher infrastructure spending is financed by higher asset sales, the headline fiscal deficit (which matters for bond markets and interest rates) can be slowly reduced, even as the underlying fiscal impulse (which matters for growth and jobs) remains positive.
- This is the only way to undertake fiscal consolidation without incurring a fiscal drag.
- Monetary policy has led the charge in 2020. But with inflation continuing to remain sticky and elevated, the RBI has fewer degrees of freedom going forward.
Conclusion
The stronger-than-expected GDP print is very encouraging. But this is the start of a long journey back. Much, therefore, remains to be done. The excitement around the vaccine shouldn’t obscure this fundamental premise.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Cannabis
Mains level: Cannabis and its de-regulation
The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) voted to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, decades after they were first placed on the list.
Q. Too much de-regulation of Cannabis could lead to its mass cultivation and a silent economy wreaking havoc through a new culture of substance abuse in India. Critically analyse.
What is Cannabis?
- Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant used primarily for medical or recreational purposes.
- The main psychoactive component of cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is one of the 483 known compounds in the plant, including at least 65 other cannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD).
- It is used by smoking, vaporizing, within the food, or as an extract.
UN’s decision and India
- Currently in India, the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, illegalizes any mixture with or without any neutral material, of any of the two forms of cannabis – charas and ganja — or any drink prepared from it.
- The WHO says that cannabis is by far the most widely cultivated, trafficked and abused illicit drug in the world. But the UN decision could influence the global use of medicinal marijuana,
- India was part of the voting majority, along with the US and most European nations.
- China, Pakistan and Russia were among those who voted against, and Ukraine abstained.
Cannabis in India
In India, cannabis, also known as bhang, ganja, charas or hashish, is typically eaten (bhang golis, thandai, pakoras, lassi, etc.) or smoked (chillum or cigarette).
Under international law
- The Vienna-based CND, founded in 1946, is the UN agency mandated to decide on the scope of control of substances by placing them in the schedules of global drug control conventions.
- Cannabis has been on Schedule IV–the most dangerous category– of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs for as long as the international treaty has existed.
Fuss over Cannabis
- Cannabis has various mental and physical effects, which include euphoria, altered states of mind and sense of time, difficulty concentrating, impaired short-term memory and body movement, relaxation, and an increase in appetite.
- But global attitudes towards cannabis have changed dramatically, with many jurisdictions permitting cannabis use for recreation, medication or both, despite it remaining on Schedule IV of the UN list.
- Currently, over 50 countries allow medicinal cannabis programs, and its recreational use has been legalized in Canada, Uruguay and 15 US states.
Impact of the decision
- The reclassification of cannabis by the UN agency, although significant, would not immediately change its status worldwide as long as individual countries continue with existing regulations.
- The decision would add momentum to efforts for decriminalizing cannabis in countries where its use is most restricted, while further legalizing the substance in others.
- Scientific research into marijuana’s medicinal properties is also expected to grow.
- Legalising and regulating cannabis will “undermine criminal markets” as well as its smuggling and cultivation.
Risks of Legalizing Cannabis
(1) Health risks continue to persist
- There are many misconceptions about cannabis. First, it is not accurate that cannabis is harmless.
- Its immediate effects include impairments in memory and in mental processes, including ones that are critical for driving.
- Long-term use of cannabis may lead to the development of addiction of the substance, persistent cognitive deficits, and of mental health problems like schizophrenia, depression and anxiety.
- Exposure to cannabis in adolescence can alter brain development.
(2) A new ‘tobacco’ under casualization
- A second myth is that if cannabis is legalized and regulated, its harms can be minimized.
- With legalization comes commercialization. Cannabis is often incorrectly advertised as being “natural” and “healthier than alcohol and tobacco”.
- Tobacco, too, was initially touted as a natural and harmless plant that had been “safely” used in religious ceremonies for centuries.
Way ahead
- It’s important to make a distinction between legalization, decriminalization and commercialization.
- While legalization and decriminalization are mostly used in a legal context, commercialization relates to the business side of things.
- For India to liberalise its policy on cannabis, it should ensure that there are enough protections for children, the young, and those with severe mental illnesses, who are most vulnerable to its effects.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Municipal Bonds
Mains level: Fund raising mechanisms for local bodies
Bonds issued by the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) got listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. It’s the ninth city in the country to raise capital through municipal bonds.
Find out the rest eight cities issuing Municipal Bonds in India. Do let us know in the comment box.
What are Municipal Bonds?
- A municipal bond or muni bond is a debt instrument issued by municipal corporations or associated bodies.
- These local governmental bodies utilise the funds raised through these bonds to finance projects for socio-economic development through building bridges, schools, hospitals, providing proper amenities to households, et al.
- Such bonds come with a maturity period of three years, whereby municipal corporations provide returns on these bonds either from property and professional tax collected or from revenues generated from specific projects or both.
- The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) revised the guidelines related to the issuance of municipal bonds in 2015 in an attempt to enable ULBs or local government bodies to raise finances from such sources.
- Following this measure, different cities have capitalized on the new guidelines to fund initiatives such as Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urbanisation Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart Cities Mission.
Their types
There are primarily two types of municipal bonds in India, categorised as per their usage. These are –
(1) General Obligation Bonds
- These are issued to raise finances for general projects such as improving the infrastructure of a region.
- Repayment of the bond, along with interest, is processed through revenue generated from different projects and taxes.
(2) Revenue Bonds
- These are issued to raise finance for specific projects, such as the construction of a particular building.
- Repayment of such bonds (principal and accrued interest) shall be paid through revenues explicitly generated from the declared projects.
Advantages of such Bonds
There are multiple advantages of investing in municipal bonds which include –
(1)Transparency
Municipal bonds that are issued to the public are rated by renowned agencies such as CRISIL, which allows investors transparency regarding the credibility of the investment option.
(2)Tax benefits
In India, municipal bonds are exempted from taxation if the investor conforms to certain stipulated rules. In addition to such conformation, interest rates generated on such investment tools are also exempt from taxation policy.
(3) Minimal risk
Municipal bonds are issued by municipal authorities, implying involvement of minimal risk with these securities.
Their limitations
The disadvantages of municipal bonds are enumerated below –
(1) Long maturity period
- Municipal bonds come with a lock-in period of three years, imposing a burden on the liquidity requirements of investors.
(2) Low-interest rates
- Even though interest rates on municipal bonds, in some cases, are higher than other debt instruments, these rates are considerably low when compared to returns from market-linked financial instruments such as equity shares.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: HL-2M Tokamak, Nuclear fusion and fission
Mains level: Artificial Sun
China successfully powered up its “artificial sun” nuclear fusion reactor for the first time marking a great advance in the country’s nuclear power research capabilities.
Scratch your school basics to answer this PYQ:
Q.The known forces of nature can be divided into four classes, viz, gravity, electromagnetism, weak nuclear force and strong nuclear force.
With reference to them, which one of the following statements is not correct? (CSP 2012)
(a) Gravity is the strongest of the four
(b) Electromagnetism act only on particles with an electric charge
(c) Weak nuclear force causes radioactivity
(d) Strong nuclear force holds protons and neutrons inside the nuclear of an atom.
HL-2M Tokamak
- The HL-2M Tokamak reactor is China’s largest and most advanced nuclear fusion experimental research device.
- The mission is named Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST).
- Located in Sichuan province and completed late last year, the reactor is often called an “artificial sun” on account of the enormous heat and power it produces.
- It uses a powerful magnetic field to fuse hot plasma and can reach temperatures of over 150 million degrees Celsius- approximately ten times hotter than the core of the sun.
- Scientists hope that the device can potentially unlock a powerful clean energy source.
Back2Basics: Nuclear Fusion
- Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei are combined to form one or more different atomic nuclei and subatomic particles (neutrons or protons).
- Fusion is the process by which the sun and other stars generate light and heat. It is a nuclear process, where energy is produced by smashing together light atoms.
- It is the opposite reaction of fission, where heavy elements like Uranium and Thorium are split apart.
Nuclear Fusion Reaction
- For a nuclear fusion reaction to occur, it is necessary to bring two nuclei so close that nuclear forces become active and glue the nuclei together.
- Nuclear forces are small-distance forces and have to act against the electrostatic forces where positively charged nuclei repel each other.
- This is the reason nuclear fusion reactions occur mostly in high density, high-temperature environment (millions of degree Celsius) which is practically very difficult to achieve under laboratory conditions.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indian Cancer Genome Atlas (ICGA)
Mains level: Burden of non-communicable diseases on India
The Ministry of Science & Technology has inaugurated the 2nd Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) 2020 Conference.
Do you know?
According to the World Cancer Report by the WHO, one in 10 Indians develops cancer during their lifetime and one in 15 dies of the disease!
The Cancer Genome Atlas
- The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) is a landmark project started in 2005 by the US-based National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI).
- The idea was to make a catalogue of the genetic mutations that cause cancer.
- This meant collecting tumour samples and blood samples (known as the germline) from patients and processing them using gene sequencing and bioinformatics.
- The TCGA is a continuing effort even after fifteen years and has generated over 2.5 petabytes of data for over 11,000 patients.
- This data is available to researchers all around the world and has been used to develop new approaches to diagnose, treat and prevent cancer.
Indian Cancer Genome Atlas (ICGA)
- On similar lines, the establishment of an ICGA has been initiated by a consortium of key stakeholders in India led by CSIR in which several government agencies, cancer hospitals, academic institutions and private sector partners.
- It is aimed at improving clinical outcomes in cancer and other chronic diseases.
Why need such Atlas?
- Diverse molecular mechanisms- including genetic and lifestyle factors contribute to cancer, posing significant challenges to treatment.
- Therefore, it is necessary to better understand the underlying factors- patient by patient.
- In this context, it is important to create an indigenous, open-source and comprehensive database of molecular profiles of all cancer prevalent in Indian population.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Operation Trident
Mains level: Liberation of Bangladesh
Every year, India celebrates December 4 as Navy Day to commemorate Operation Trident – a key offensive during the 1971 India-Pakistan War. This year, it is the 50th anniversary of the victory in the 1971 War.
This newscard is crucial for the CAPF aspirants. It hardly holds any importance for CS prelims. But the grit, glory and honour of our armed forces is a matter of pride that every CS aspirants should know.
Operation Trident
- The India-Pakistan War of 1971 had begun on December 3, when the Pakistan Air Force launched pre-emptive strikes on airfields in Western India.
- Following the Battle of Longewala, the Indian Navy inflicted heavy damage on Pakistani vessels in Karachi harbour.
- India responded by formally declaring war in the wee hours of December 4.
- On December 4, under Operation Trident, the Indian Navy sank three vessels near the Pakistani port city of Karachi.
- The Indian Air Force also played a crucial role, when Karachi’s Kemari oil tanks were strafed by the IAF on the same day in an independent operation which it did not claim.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bhashan Char Island and its location
Mains level: Rohingya Crisis
Bangladesh has transported more than 1,600 Rohingya refugees to a low-lying island in the first phase of a controversial planned relocation of 1,00,000 people.
Can you see, what the so-called champions of tolerance and human rights doing to the refugees in their own country!
Bhashan Char Island
- Bhasan Char also known as Char Piya, is an island in Hatiya, Bangladesh.
- Located 34 kilometres (21 miles) from the mainland, its name in Bengali means “floating island.”
- The island was formed with Himalayan silt in 2006 spanning 40 square kilometres.
- It is underwater from June to September annually because of the monsoon, and it has no flood fences.
- In June 2015, the Bangladeshi government suggested resettling Rohingya refugees on the island under its Ashrayan Project.
- The proposal was characterized by the UN Refugee Agency as “logistically challenging”.
Extraditing to another hell
- Bhashan Char is a flood-prone island that emerged from the sea 20 years ago.
- The refugees had been coerced into going to this flood-prone island which is also vulnerable to frequent cyclones.
- This compact island is too small to occupy and nurture the Rohingya population and there is chronic overcrowding in camps.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: National Food Security Act 2013
Mains level: Paper 3- Farmers apprehension over MSP
Context
- Farmers’ protests have erupted once again in north India, their main worry is about a possible withdrawal of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) and a dismantling of the public procurement of grains.
Why farmers in Punjab and Haryana are protesting
- Farmers in Punjab and Haryana are heavily dependent on public procurement and assured price through MSP.
- Nearly 88% of the paddy production and 70% of the wheat production in Punjab and Haryana (in 2017-18 and 2018-19) has been absorbed through public procurement [Food Grains Bulletin and Agricultural Statistics at a Glance, Government of India].
- In contrast, in the other major paddy States such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh, only 44% of the rice production is procured by public agencies.
- In the major wheat States of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, only 23% of the production is procured by public agencies.
Government needs to continue procurement
- If farmers of Punjab and Haryana need the procurement system, the government needs it even more.
- This is because of its obligations under the PDS and the National Food Security Act (NFSA).
- Support under the NFSA is a legal and rights-based entitlement.
- There are nearly 80 crore NFSA beneficiaries and an additional eight crore migrants who need to be supported under the PDS.
- In the last three years, nearly 40% of the total paddy production in the country and 32% of wheat production has been procured by public agencies to supply the PDS.
- Thus, the government has little option but to continue its procurement from these States in the foreseeable future.
Way forward
- Therefore, it is imperative that the government reaches out to the farmer groups and assures them of the indispensability of MSP-procurement system.
- The government needs to start this initiative immediately to allay their legitimate concerns.
- Two of the major limitations in the laws that need to be addressed immediately:
- 1) The absence of a regulatory mechanism to ensure fair play by private players vis-à-vis farmers.
- 2) The lack of transparency in trade area transactions.
Conclusion
The severe trust deficit that resulted from the way the Farm Bills have been rushed through needs to be addressed by adopting a conciliatory approach towards farmers and the States.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Scope of Article 25
Mains level: Paper 2- Freedom of conscience under Article 25
The order delivered by the Allahabad High Court underlines the most cherished values of our Constitution. The order examines the scope of individual choice and personal liberty on the touchstone of constitutional values.
Background
- The Allahabad High Court declared last month that religious conversions, even when made solely for the purposes of marriage, constituted a valid exercise of a person’s liberties.
- The petitioners had approached the High Court seeking orders to quash a First Information Report (FIR) that was lodged against them.
- The petitioners claimed that they were both adults competent to contract a marriage, and had, in fact, wedded in August 2019, as per Muslim rites and ceremonies, only after the girl had converted to Islam.
- The State argued that petitioner’s partnership had no sanctity in the law, because a conversion with a singular aim of getting married was illegitimate.
- In making this argument, the government relied on a pair of judgments of the Allahabad High Court, in particular on the judgment in Noor Jahan v. State of U.P. (2014).
- There, the High Court had held that a conversion by an individual to Islam was valid only when it was predicated on a “change of heart” and on an “honest conviction” in the tenets of the newly adopted religion.
- Additionally, the High Court had ruled that the burden to prove the validity of a conversion was on the party professing the act.
Major takeaways from the High Court order
- The Allahabad High Courtruled that the freedom to live with a person of one’s choice is intrinsic to the fundamental right to life and personal liberty.
- It order recognises that a person’s freedom is not conditional on the caste, creed or religion that her partner might claim to profess.
- And also that every person had an equal dominion over their own senses of conscience.
- The High Court’s order makes it clear that it is neither the province of the state nor any other individual to interfere with a person’s choice of partner or faith.
- By invoking the Supreme Court’s judgment in Puttaswamy, the High Court held that an individual’s ability to control vital aspects of her life inheres in her right to privacy.
- Term privacy includes the preservation of decisional autonomy, on matters, among other things, of “personal intimacies, the sanctity of family life, marriage, procreation, the home, and sexual orientation”.
- It Court that the judgment in Noor Jahan was incorrectly delivered.
- Marriage, the High Court said, is a matter of choice, and every adult woman has a fundamental right to choose her own partner.
Freedom of conscience under Article 25
- Article 25 of the Constitution expressly protects the choices that individuals make.
- In addition to the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion, it guarantees to every person the freedom of conscience.
- The idea of protecting one’s freedom of conscience goes beyond mere considerations of religious faith.
Conclusion
When we fail to acknowledge and respect the most intimate and personal choices that people make — choices of faith and belief, choices of partners — we undermine the most basic principles of dignity. Our Constitution’s endurance depends on our ability to respect these decisions, to grant to every person an equal freedom of conscience.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Current account and capital account
Mains level: Paper 3- Policy options to revive the Indian economy
The article weighs in the policy options with the Indian policymakers to revive the India economy. This leads to the trilemma of managing the exchange rate, controlling the inflation and maintaining the capital account open all at the same time.
A brief overview of 1991 economic reforms
- The crisis in 1991 was centred on the balance-of-payments.
- Allowing the Indian rupee to fall from an artificially high level was a key part of the solution.
- Since the reforms, the Indian rupee has steadily depreciated, roughly according to a market-determined equilibrium.
- Extraordinarily high tariff barriers were reduced, allowing for welfare gains from greater international trade.
- Reforms of the domestic economy that increased market orientation was, in some sense, opportunistically combined with these externally-oriented measures.
What should be India’s foreign economic policy
- In terms of connections to the rest of the world, however, it is less clear what the right policy mix should be.
- We can think of three types of international flows: labour, goods and services, and capital.
1) Internation flow of Indian labour
- India has benefited from being able to send workers with a variety of skills to different types of economies: construction workers and nurses in the Persian Gulf, software engineers in the US, and so on.
- Direct benefits came from large remittances back to India.
- The pandemic and US immigration policy, have had some major impacts on this international connectivity, but new vaccines and a change in the US president are likely to reverse these shocks.
- In any case, there is not much that Indian policymakers can do or need to do on this front.
2) Trade in Goods and Service
- India has been able to grow its exports, both in a variety of agricultural and manufactured commodities and in services, from software services to tourism.
- It has been reasonably competitive in a range of goods and services.
- It was only in the last few years, even before the pandemic, have Indian exports struggled to register growth.
- Whereas the export powerhouses of East Asia consistently ran surpluses on the current account of the balance of payments, India has mostly run deficits, albeit manageable ones.
3) Capital Flow: Area where policymakers have option
- Current account deficits have to be covered somehow, though various forms of foreign capital.
- Whereas economic theory and economic policymakers mostly agree on the benefits of international trade in goods and services there is less of a consensus on the benefits of international capital flows.
- Capital flows can raise fears of instability if they are reversed, or make exports less competitive if they push up the value of the rupee.
- The country is a relatively attractive destination for foreign capital, both FDI and portfolio investment.
- But, these flows can make Indian exports less competitive if the rupee appreciates too much, requiring domestic demand to do more of the work of absorbing increased output.
Lesson from Japan
- Right now, India is trying to build its manufacturing capacity by raising tariffs, in an old-style push for import substitution.
- It is also providing direct incentives, such as the new scheme rewarding increases in production.
- Arguably, this did work in Japan in the 1960s, but it is not clear if India is well-off enough to sustain that domestic strategy.
- In addition, the lack of competitive discipline exporting can hinder the achievement of acceptable quality levels.
Way forward
- Capital controls to some extent can help mitigate the risk in this situation.
- The Reserve Bank of India do more to keep the rupee at competitive levels, by accumulating foreign exchange reserves.
Consider the question “In terms of links with the rest of the global economy, it is less clear what the right policy mix should be. Do you agree with the view that focus on simultaneously managing the exchange rate and domestic inflation while maintaining an open capital account would help in the revival of India’s economic growth
Conclusion
Lurking under the surface of these issues is the trilemma of being unable to simultaneously manage the exchange rate and domestic inflation while maintaining an open capital account, although foreign exchange reserves provide a way of softening the trade-offs. These are not new challenges, but they will need to be a focus for India’s policymakers as they seek renewed economic growth.
Source:-
https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/trade-offs-for-growth-revival-why-indias-policymakers-need-a-new-roadmap/2142900/
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: Disability in India
December 3 is marked by the UN as International Day of Persons with Disabilities in a bid to promote a more inclusive and accessible world for the differently-abled and to raise awareness for their rights.
Try this question from our AWE initiative:
What are the legal provisions and policy initiatives in India for the welfare of persons with disabilities? What are the challenges faced by persons with disabilities in India? 10 marks
Disability in India
- About 2.2% of India’s population lives with some kind of physical or mental disability, as per the National Statistics Office report on disability released last year.
How are the disabled identified?
- Until the 2011 census, there were questions on seven kinds of disabilities in the questionnaire.
- This list of disabilities was expanded to 21 when the Rights of People with Disabilities was introduced in 2016.
- Accordingly, the 2019 report included questions to identify people with temporary loss of ability as well as neurological and blood disorders in addition.
- The earlier definition included mental retardation and permanent inability to move, speak, hear and see.
- Significantly, the revised definition recognizes deformities and injuries of acid attack victims as disabilities, entitling them to various relief measures.
Who are disabled and in what way?
- Rural men had the highest prevalence of disability in India, according to the NSO report.
- A higher proportion of men were disabled in India compared with women, and disability was more prevalent in rural areas than in urban areas.
- Inability to move without assistance was the most common disability. More men experienced locomotor disability than women.
- These numbers were self-reported. In other words, the respondents were asked if they experienced any difficulty in performing tasks like moving, talking, etc.
Are these measures in line with those from other surveys?
- The 2011 census estimated that the number of people with disabilities in India is close to 2.68 crore (or 2.2% of the population) — that is more than the entire population of Australia.
- This number was based on the older definition of disability, yet the proportion of disabled people in the population is not different from the 2019 NSO report, which used the expanded definition of disability.
- Other metrics for evaluating disability have provided different estimates.
- A group of doctors from AIIMS found that alternate questionnaires like the Rapid Assessment of Disability have resulted in a prevalence ranging from 1.6%-43.3%.
How can the range be so wide?
- The proportion of population facing disability becomes bigger as one move from a narrow definition to a broader one.
- For instance, if one defines disability as the difficulty in accessing public services for all kinds of reasons, even social or economic, then the proportion goes up.
Why is it important to map disabled people?
- Like other disadvantaged groups, the disabled in India are entitled to some benefits, ranging from reservation in educational institutes to concessions on railway tickets.
- To claim these benefits, they have to furnish certificates as proof of disability.
- At the macro level, data on the prevalence and type of disability is useful while making allocations for welfare schemes.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GST
Mains level: Not Much
The Supreme Court has held that lottery, gambling and betting are taxable under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act.
Try this question from CSP 2018:
Q.Consider the following items:
- Cereal grains hulled
- Chicken eggs cooked
- Fish processed and canned
- Newspapers containing advertising material
Which of the above items is/are exempt under GST (Goods and Services Tax)?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
What did the court say?
- A three-judge Bench led by Justice Ashok Bhushan said the levy of GST on lotteries does not amount to “hostile discrimination”.
- The court held that lottery, betting and gambling are “actionable claims” and come within the definition of ‘goods’ under Section 2(52) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.
- Lottery, betting and gambling are well known concepts and have been in practice in this country since before Independence and were regulated and taxed by different legislations.
Parliament to decide
- The court said that the Parliament had an absolute power to go for an “inclusive definition” of the term ‘goods’ to include actionable claims like lottery, gambling and betting.
- The court accepted the government’s stand that the Parliament has the competence to levy GST on lotteries under Article 246A (inserted after GST Act) of the Constitution.
- The power to make laws as conferred by Article 246A fully empowers the Parliament to make laws with respect to GST and expansive definition of goods given in Section 2(52).
Must read:
Goods and Services Tax
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Surveyor-2
Mains level: Not Much
NASA has confirmed that the Near-Earth Object called 2020 SO is the rocket booster that helped lift the space agency’s Surveyor spacecraft toward the Moon in 1966.
Try this PYQ:
Consider the following phenomena:
- Size of the sun at dusk
- Colour of the sun at dawn
- Moon being visible at dawn
- Twinkle of stars in the sky
- Polestar being visible in the sky
Which of the above are optical illusions?
(a) 1, 2 and 3
(b) 3, 4 and 5
(c) 1, 2 and 4
(d) 2, 3 and 5
What is Surveyor-2?
- The Surveyor-2 spacecraft was supposed to make a soft landing on the Moon’s surface in September 1966, during which time one of the three thrusters failed to ignite.
- As a result of this the spacecraft started spinning and crashed on the surface.
- The aim of the mission was to reconnoiter the lunar surface ahead of the Apollo missions that led to the first lunar landing in 1969.
- While the spacecraft crashed into the Moon’s surface, the rocket booster disappeared into an unknown orbit around the Sun.
How was the object determined to be the rocket booster?
- Astronomers track asteroids using telescope to determine if there are potentially hazardous asteroids that pose a threat to the planet.
- Therefore, it is also important for them to be able to distinguish between natural and artificial objects that orbit around the Sun.
- The rocket booster has come “somewhat close” to the Earth in the past few decades.
- One approach to the Earth in late 1966 was so close that the object was thought to have originated from Earth.
- In September, the NASA-funded telescope detected it.
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