11 Jul 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

CNA 11 July 2022:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
POLITY
1. Twitter’s petition on Section 69A of the IT Act
C. GS 3 Related
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
HEALTH
1. What ails the current approach to Ayurveda
POLITY
2. The worth of liberty in the eyes of the law
INFRASTRUCTURE
3. The road to productivity
F. Prelims Facts
1. Khejri trees and Bishnoi Movement
G. Tidbits
1. Assam man burnt after kangaroo court trial
2.  Army needs new utility helicopters
3. Renewable energy to reduce revenues
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

Category: HEALTH

1. The road to productivity

Syllabus: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health

Mains: Challenges associated with the Ayurveda system of medicine and key recommendations

Context

This article discusses the various challenges associated with the Ayurveda system of medicine

Ayurveda

• Ayurveda is India’s traditional medicine which has been in practice for about three thousand years.
• Ayurveda is attributed to Dhanvantari, the physician to the gods in Hindu mythology.
• This system of treatment promotes the prevention of diseases by maintaining a balance between body, mind, and spirit. 
• Charaka is called the “Father of Ayurveda”.
• Ayurvedic treatment focuses on balancing the five elements namely, aakash (space), jala (water), prithvi (earth), teja (fire), and vayu (air).
• The three doshas according to Ayurveda include Pitta (fire & water), Vata (air & space) and Kapha (earth & water).

Currently challenges associated with Ayurveda medical system

• Since Ayurveda is an ancient treatment system, it cannot be expected to be completely relevant in the present context. The Ayurveda system of medicine currently contains some of the most useful treatment methodologies along with some obsolete ones.
  • Example: Ayurveda says that “A sense of ease, improved fitness, easy digestion, ideal body-weight, and handsomeness of bodily features are the benefits that would accrue from regular exercise” which is relevant and valid even today.
    • However, Ayurveda’s take on urine formation which disregards the role of kidneys is considered to be irrelevant.
• The teachers of Ayurveda have difficulty differentiating between ancient speculations and established scientific facts.
• The tridosha theory of Ayurveda is a rough-and-ready model that was formulated to organise the medical experiences of the authors. 
  • The diagnosis measures and the treatment methodologies were classified on the basis of this heuristic model.
  • As there was a lack of understanding of the biological processes behind health and illness, speculations also made their way into this model. 
  • Therefore, this theory contains heuristically valid aspects as well as those which are merely hypothetical. 
• Further, the research centres under the Ministry of AYUSH and other academic institutes still believe that since Ayurveda was devised by divine sages it retains timeless relevance.
  • Experts say that this has misguided students of Ayurveda into believing that Ayurveda is a “super-sophisticated advanced science”.

Recommendations

• P.S. Varier of the Arya Vaidya Sala Kottakkal pointed out that the “Sareerasthana section of Ayurveda that deals with body structure and function must be revised and other key sections also must be reviewed and rectified.
• Scholars like Debiprasad Chattopadhyaya and Priyavrat Sharma have also called for a review and revision of Ayurvedic texts.
• An article named “Confessions of an Ayurveda Professor” of the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics has also urged for the reform and revision of Ayurveda.
  • The author has confessed that the anatomy and physiology contained in the Ayurvedic classics is mostly outdated and the mentioned approaches to this subject are misguided. 
  • The author has called for a thorough change in the curriculum.

Nut graf: Ayurveda is one of the oldest traditional medicine systems in the world and is still regarded as valuable for its theories and observations. However, there is a need to reform these theories and correct outdated theories and abstract speculations to retain its credibility.

Category: POLITY

1. The worth of liberty in the eyes of the law

Syllabus: Constitution of India — features and significant provisions

Mains: Concerns raised about the criminal proceedings in India

Context

The arrest of AltNews website’s co-founder

Details

• The individual was arrested by the Delhi Police for his tweet which was almost four years ago on account of causing hurt to the religious sentiments of unidentified persons.
• The charges on him included the ones under IPC Section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 295-A (malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings) 
• This has brought the debate on the criminal proceedings in India into the limelight.

Concerns raised about the criminal proceedings in India

Impact of unnecessary arrests

• Critics point out that it is not correct to arrest a person in one case, after summoning him in respect of another.
• Experts feel that wrongful and unnecessary arrests followed by delays in the judgment have severe consequences on the mental health of the individuals.
• Further, many of the times the police are not held accountable for such wrongful arrests.

On search and seizure

• Critics say that there are wide powers of warrantless search and seizure conferred to the police which doesn’t require the police to obtain permissions before searches.

• Further, the only condition that the law requires the police to meet for seizing the property is whether such property is “found under circumstances which create suspicion of the commission of any offence” which can be easily by expanding the contours of an investigation 
• Also, there are no separate statutory rules that govern searches and seizures of digital devices, such as phones and laptops.

On the provisions of bail

• In case of non-bailable offences (there is no right of bail for an accused), the grant of bail is up to the discretion of the judge which is not regulated by any statutory norms or rules
• Critics say that the exercise of judicial discretion must take into account various factors like the seriousness of the allegations and the interests of the pending investigation. 

Nut graf: Controversial arrests of individuals in recent times have been deeply criticised and experts demand reforming legislations that govern investigations and prosecutions as they have a huge impact on the liberty, privacy, freedom of movement and association of the citizens.
Category: INFRASTRUCTURE

1. The road to productivity

Syllabus: Infrastructure: Roads

Mains: Significance of cities and infrastructure in achieving economic growth.

Context

This article talks about the important role played by cities and roads in economic development.

Significance of cities in economic development

• Countries around the world have realised the importance of cities in achieving national and macroeconomic growth targets during the COVID pandemic.
• A Barclays report pointed out that “the absolute economic loss was likely the largest from the shutdown of Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Delhi and Mumbai, which resulted in the losers ranging from $1 billion-$1.7 billion per week.
• Experts feel that the pandemic-induced lockdowns in cities adversely impacted India’s goal of becoming a $5 trillion economy.
• Cities through their labour market contribute significantly to economic productivity as the labour force exchanges their labour that helps in knowledge spillovers.
• According to a famous French planner Alain Bertaud “a significant amount of economic and productive activities take place in cities and their jobs”.
• Further, the larger a city’s effective labour market, the greater will be its agglomeration economies and knowledge spillovers.

Importance of having better road and infrastructure

• Correlation between travel time and productivity– the travel time of the labour force to the workplace plays a crucial role in determining their productivity in cities.
  • The longer the commute time in a city, the smaller will be its effective labour market.
• The travel time and the state of roads in the city has a huge impact on the health and productivity of the labour market
• A study on cities in Karnataka revealed that the length of the road had a positive effect on the city’s tax base. 
  • This is because better roads ensure easy access to jobs and increase economic activity, thereby providing confidence and motivation to the public to pay their taxes.
  • Further, the study highlighted that every one km increase in the length of the road of a city translated into an increase in the revenues of urban local bodies (ULB) by about ₹430 per capita.

Issues with the roads in the cities in India

• In 2016, it was seen that the travel time to work was one of the slowest in cities like Bengaluru (slowest at 22 km/hour), Delhi (25 km/hour), and Chennai (at 33 km/hour).
• Further, the travel time continues to increase post-pandemic as the ULBS are financially stressed and are unable to address problems such as potholes.
• The private firms in Bengaluru had warned about leaving the city and relocating if the traffic problems were not fixed, as it was impacting the productivity of their employees.

Way forward

• Experts feel that there is a need to develop the roads such that the commute time is shortened and also the commuting cost is reduced within a city.
• The ULB must invest more in the development of infrastructure such as road networks as the development of which will result in increased revenues.
• Further, improving infrastructure like fixing potholes on roads will lead to a significant reduction in travel time which not only enhances effective labour markets of cities and their economic output but also improves access to schooling and healthcare which results in overall well-being of the residents.

Nut graf: Cities and the infrastructure in the cities, such as better roads, play a very crucial role in achieving robust economic growth and ensuring the overall human development of the country which in turn will help the country achieve its vision of becoming a $5 trillion economy.

F. Prelims Facts

1. Khejri trees and Bishnoi Movement

Syllabus: GS-3; Environment; Biodiversity and Conservation

Prelims: Khejri trees and Bishnoi Movement

Context

The Bishnoi activists, protest against the felling of khejri trees for the installation of eight solar power plants in Jodhpur district.

Khejri trees 

• Khejri (Prosopis cineraria) is a species of flowering tree in Fabaceae (pea family) 
• It is also called Ghaf (in Middle East), Chhonkara (Uttar Pradesh) and Jammi (Telangana)
• The tree is found in the dry regions of Rajasthan, Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh in India and also found in Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. 
• It is regarded as the ‘kalpavriksha of the desert’ and also as the ‘king of the desert’ and the ‘wonder tree’ for its ability to survive in extreme desert type conditions.
• The tree plays a key role in preserving the ecosystem of arid and semi-arid areas.
• Khejri is the state tree of Rajasthan
• Khejri is a nitrogen-fixing tree and it enhances the fertility of the soil.
• The leaves of the tree have a high nutritive value which are locally called ‘loong’ and the bark of the tree is used in treating scorpion and snake bites.

To learn about – Bishnoi Movement

G. Tidbits

1. Assam man burnt after kangaroo court trial

• A man was allegedly burnt alive in Nagaon district of central Assam after a kangaroo court adjudged him guilty of murdering a 22-year-old woman
• A kangaroo court refers to one that has been set up without being recognised by any law or justice. These have no official backing in the territory.
• These courts do not necessarily follow the procedures established by law and the due process of law.
• It is named kangaroo courts as their proceedings are convened quickly and also because their justice proceedings take place “by leaps”, like a kangaroo which suggests that these proceedings ignore material evidence.

2. Army needs new utility helicopters

• In the wake of ageing Cheetah and Chetak helicopters, the Army Aviation Corps is looking to enhance its firepower with the induction of the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Apache attack helicopters.
• The induction of the Ka-226T and the indigenous Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) will significantly contribute to increasing the combat potential.
• The LUH is designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
• Apache attack helicopters are Boeing’s American twin-turboshaft attack helicopters.
• The Kamov Ka-226 is a small twin-engine Russian utility helicopter.

3. Renewable energy to reduce revenues

• A study by the International Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD) suggests that the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources could have financial challenges for India and other major developing countries like Russia, Brazil and China because of their high reliance on revenues from fossil fuel.
• Despite India being a net importer of petroleum products, it earns a significant amount of revenues from cesses and taxes on the consumption of petrol, diesel and oil.
  • Public revenues from fossil fuel production and consumption currently account for 34% of general government revenue in Russia, 18% in India, 16% in Indonesia, 8% in Brazil, and 6% in South Africa.
• The study points out that by 2050, overall fossil fuel revenues in Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, India and China could be as much as $570 billion, which is lower than a business-as-usual scenario.
• The widest gaps are expected to occur in India ($178 billion), China ($140 billion), and Russia ($134 billion).

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Which amongst the following is the best description of Bishnoi Movement?
(Level – Medium)

1. Protests against construction of large dams in Uttarakhand
2. A social movement aimed at the protection of Silent Valley, an evergreen tropical forest
3. A movement in Rajasthan to protect Khejri trees and other wildlife such as antelope, deer, and wildfowl.
4. An awareness campaign to show the necessity for the protection of migratory birds in Odisha

Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to Vellore Mutiny: (Level – Difficult)

1. The Vellore Mutiny predated the Indian Revolt of 1857 by about a decade.
2. It was the first instance of a large-scale and violent mutiny by Indian sepoys against the East India Company
3. One of the major cause was the English disregard to the religious sensitivities of the Hinduand Muslim Indian sepoys

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Q3. Consider the following Pairs: (Level – Medium)

    Helicopter                                                         Country

1. AH-64E Apache attack helicopter                  USA
2. Pole Star                                                             UK
3. CH-47 Chinook Helicopters                            France
4. Ml-35 helicopters                                            Russia

Which of the above is/are not correctly matched?

1. 3 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 2 only
4. 2 and 4 only

Q4. With respect to National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), which of the following statements
is/are correct? (Level – Medium)

1. 2015 is the base year for the National Clean Air Programme.
2. The programme is a pollution control initiative with a major goal of reducing the concentration of coarse and fine particulate matter in the atmosphere by at least 20% by theyear 2030.

Options:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both
4. None

Q5. Consider the following communication technologies:  PYQ (2022)

1. Closed-circuit Television
2. Radio Frequency Identification
3. Wireless Local Area Network

Which of the above are considered Short-Range devices/technologies ?

1.  1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3