02 Apr 2019: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A. GS1 Related

B. GS2 Related

C. GS3 Related

Context:

Odisha had registered a sudden jump in forest fires across the State resulting in massive damage to flora and fauna.

Details:

• As many as 5,332 fire spots had been noticed since November 1 last, the beginning of forest fire season, in the State.
• The month of March had alone registered 4,495 fire spots.
• As per statistics generated by SNPP (Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership) satellite, only 385 fire spots were recorded February while in January, only 55 fire incidences were detected.
• The month of April started with 11 fires on Monday as detected by Moderate resolution Imaging spectro-radiometer (MODIS) with a resolution of 1 km.

Effects of Forest fire:

• The forest fires have caused a huge loss to the timber and other fruit and leaf-bearing trees and creepers of the forest.
• They also destroy wildlife and their habitat.
• Nests and eggs of ground-dwelling birds are lost.
• Reptiles also lose their young ones due to forest fires.

Relaying information:

• • When a fire anywhere in the world is detected by NASA’s MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) satellites, the Forest Survey of India (FSI) analyses the data by overlaying the digitised boundaries of forest areas to pinpoint the location to the exact forest compartment.
  • The FSI relays news of the fire to the concerned State, so that the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) in charge of the forest where the fire is raging is informed

Meanwhile, news of the fire would have reached the DFO from his guards in watchtowers and on patrol.

• The DFO decides whom to deploy. Usually, there is a master fire control room which is informed and which sends firefighters from local fire crew stations to fight the blaze.

Forest fire management:

• Fire could only be tamed at the initial stage before it became a conflagration preventing anybody from even approaching it due to the intense heat generate.
• Prevention of human-caused fires through education and environmental modification. It will include silvicultural activities, engineering works, people participation, and education and enforcement. It is proposed that more emphasis be given to people participation through Joint Forest Fire Management for fire prevention.
• Prompt detection of fires through a well-coordinated network of observation points, efficient ground patrolling, and communication networks. Remote sensing technology is to be given due importance in fire detection. For successful fire management and administration, a National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) and Fire Forecasting System are to be developed in the country.
• Fast initial attack measures.
• Vigorous follow-up action.
• Introducing a forest fuel modification system at strategic points.
• Fire fighting resources.

MODIS:

• MODIS (or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) is a key instrument aboard the Terra (originally known as EOS AM-1) and Aqua (originally known as EOS PM-1) satellites.
• They are designed to provide measurements in large-scale global dynamics including changes in Earth’s cloud cover, radiation budget and processes occurring in the oceans, on land, and in the lower atmosphere.
• Terra’s orbit around the Earth is timed so that it passes from north to south across the equator in the morning, while Aqua passes south to north over the equator in the afternoon.
• Terra MODIS and Aqua MODIS are viewing the entire Earth’s surface every 1 to 2 days, acquiring data in 36 spectral bands, or groups of wavelengths (see MODIS Technical Specifications).
• These data will improve our understanding of global dynamics and processes occurring on the land, in the oceans, and in the lower atmosphere.
• MODIS is playing a vital role in the development of validated, global, interactive Earth system models able to predict global change accurately enough to assist policy makers in making sound decisions concerning the protection of our environment.

Context:

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the country’s first electronic surveillance satellite, EMISAT.

Details:

• Emisat, the chief payload on PSLV-C45, is meant for electromagnetic spectrum measurements.
• As many as 28 small satellites of international customers were also put in space as secondary riders.

How does EMISAT work?

• EMISAT is an advanced electronic intelligence (ELINT) satellite jointly developed by ISRO-DRDO.
• EMISAT is modelled after a famous Israeli spy satellite called SARAL (Satellite with ARgos and ALtika). Both these satellites have the SSB-2 bus protocol — the core component for their sharp electronic surveillance capabilities across the length and width of a large country like India
• EMISAT also has a special altimeter (a radar altitude measuring device) called ‘AltiKa’ that works in the Ka-band microwave region of the spectrum. The electronic surveillance payload of EMISAT was developed under a DRDO’s project called KAUTILYA.
• The main capability of EMISAT is in signal intelligence — intercepting signals broadcasted by communication systems, radars, and other electronic systems. The Ka-band frequency that EMISAT is sensitive to, allows the 436-kg EMISAT — India’s newest spy in the sky — to scan through ice, rain, coastal zones, land masses, forests and wave heights with ease.

Electronic Intelligence (ELINT)

• Electronic Intelligence includes the collection (recording) and analysis of intercepted signals. It primarily deals with radars signals.
• An ELINT system intercepts radar signal and analyzes it i.e. determines the frequency of carriers and subcarriers, modulation, bandwidth, power level, beam footprint parameters, and emitter location and motion.
• Basically, it creates an RF signature of a radar which can be used for locating and quickly identify the radar in subsequent encounters.
• Furthermore, based on RF signature information of a radar, jamming techniques can be developed to counter the radar.
• Space-based electronic intelligence, the realm that India just forayed into with EMISAT, is said to have been around since the early 1960s, pioneered by the U.S.
• At least three other space powers are said to be past masters at it — the U.S. as the leader is said to be having fifth-generation ELINT satellites; Russia is not far behind. Then comes China. Around 150 military satellites may be hovering over Earth right now.
• According to a few present and former defence scientists, one satellite for ELINT will not suffice and the country may need to have at least three more working in tandem.

Context:

Scientists confirmed the presence of the life-indicating gas on the Red Planet (Mars) as well as where it might have come from.

Details:

• Gas detected by Curiosity rover may have been released from fractured Martian permafrost.
• Two independent investigations pointed to an ice sheet east of Gale Crater as the likely source for the gas.
• The most likely source was a sheet of frozen methane beneath a rock formation, which the team believes periodically ejects the gas into the atmosphere.
• Giuranna from Rome’s National Astrophysics Institute said that while methane is a sign of life on Earth, its presence on Mars doesn’t necessarily constitute evidence of something similar on the Red Planet.
• Methane is important because it could be an indicator of microbial life. But life is not required to explain these detections because methane can be produced by abiotic processes.
• Though not a direct bio signature of life, methane can add to the habitability of martian settings, as certain types of microbes can use methane as a source of carbon and energy.
• If founded to be extensive, the methane it contains “could support a sustained human presence” on Mars as a possible source of fuel for industrial processes and a propellant for returning manned missions to Earth.

Gale Crater:

• Gale is a crater, and probable dry lake, on Mars near the northwestern part of the Aeolis quadrangle
• The crater was named after Walter Frederick Gale, an amateur astronomer from Sydney, Australi
• Aeolis Mons is a mountain in the center of Gale

Context:

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed a self-regulatory organisation (SRO) for the growing number of investment advisers to address issues related to the quality of advice given to investors by such entities.

Detail:

• The capital markets regulator released a consultation paper on Monday, which, among other things, proposed the strengthening of the existing regulatory framework for SROs by introducing features such as a governing board with public interest directors and a clear policy for arbitration and dispute resolution.
• SEBI was in receipt of a large number of complaints alleging charging of exorbitant fees, assurance of returns, misconduct etc. by investment advisers.
• Given the growth in this segment of the market, it is felt that the time is appropriate to initiate the formation of an SRO [for the sector],” stated the SEBI statement.
• The regulator has proposed a governing board with at least 50% public interest directors along with 25% representation each of shareholder directors and elected representatives.
• Further, the governing board can appoint a managing director or chief executive officer to manage the daily affairs of the SRO.
• Incidentally, the regulator has said that there was a need for an SRO for mutual fund distributors — that currently register with Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) — as well to bring in consistency in industry practices and also to take disciplinary action against alleged malpractices such as mis-selling of products and churning of portfolio, among others.

Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO):

• SRO is the first-level regulator that performs the crucial task of regulating intermediaries representing a particular segment of securities market on behalf of the regulator.
• SRO would be seen as an extension of the regulatory authority of the SEBI and would perform the tasks delegated to it by the SEBI,” said the paper.
• The role of SRO is developmental, regulatory, related to grievance redressal and dispute resolution as well as taking disciplinary actions.

SEBI has sought public feedback on whether there should be a single or different SRO for different categories of market intermediaries, and whether the minimum net worth criteria for SROs should be enhanced from the current requirement of Rs.1 crore.

Context:

The Reserve Bank of India on Monday asked banks to disclose bad loan divergences in their financial statements if the additional provisioning exceeds 10% of profit before provision and contingencies.

Details:

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said banks should disclose bad loan divergences if the additional provisioning has exceeded 10% of the company’s profit before provision and contingencies.
• The central bank altered the additional provisioning requirements, which previously stated that banks should disclose divergences if the provisioning has exceeded 15% of net profit after tax.
• The RBI further said disclosure has also to be made if the additional gross NPAs identified by RBI exceed 15% of the published incremental gross NPAs for the reference period.
• Since provisions and contingencies form a major part of banks’ line item, the change in norms may mean that a few banks, particularly those making losses, will be spared from disclosing provision divergence.
• However, banks must compute these exposures separately and report to the Department of Banking Regulation on quarterly basis, it added.

D. GS4 Related

E. Editorials

Editorial Analysis:

• It is important to note that the justice system in any democracy is set up, under the Constitution to serve the public without “fear or favour, affection or ill-will” as far as judges are concerned.
• However, some experts believe that the protagonists, as far as India is concerned, in operating the system have stopped that very access — judges through lack of prescience, and many lawyers through their dishonesty in many forms.

Revisiting judges’ advice

• There was a time when at an informal meeting, all of the sitting judges of the Supreme Court advised the then Chief Justice of India to decide against the request of the then Central government to sit in other places in the country under Article 130 of the Constitution.
• The reason the judges decided against it was because they felt that the authority of the Supreme Court would get diluted. The reasoning, in retrospect, was fallacious.
• Many High Courts in this country have different Benches for meting out justice without ‘justice’ being ‘diluted’. For example, the Bombay High Court has four Benches — in Mumbai, Aurangabad, Nagpur and Panaji (Goa) — and the quality of its decisions or status have certainly not been diluted thereby.
• The number of Benches depends on the size of the State, the idea being to facilitate easier access to justice.

Consequences of the Supreme Court not having more benches:

• The direct consequence of the wrong decision has been three-fold.
• First, the Supreme Court sitting only in Delhi has resulted in excellent lawyers from other High Courts not appearing before the Supreme Court, possibly because it casts too large a monetary burden on their clients, many of whom are impoverished.
• Secondly, all lawyers, whatever their calibre or competence, who happen to be in Delhi now appear in the Supreme Court. Some of the good lawyers who were able to leave lucrative practices in the High Courts have settled down in Delhi, but they have established a monopoly, and, as a result, charge unconscionable fees even from charitable concerns — sometimes even when they do not appear at the hearing. This is also true of litigating lawyers at all levels of the judicial system.
• The third fallout of the failure to act under Article 130 is that the Supreme Court in Delhi has been flooded with work and been reduced to a District Court instead of a Court of Final Appeal and Constitutional Court as envisaged under the Constitution.

Unethical lawyers: A Perspective

• Experts point out that the fault in actually denying access to justice to citizens is the fault of unethical lawyers alone. That lawyers are generally dishonest is a well-known fact.
• Lawyers are (frequently) humorously called liars, and because they are the middle-men between judges and the litigating public, they act like dishonest brokers.
• Some of the lawyers specialising in victim compensation cases do not charge any fees for their services and render services free of cost.
• They generally obtain a blank cheque from the victim which is filled in after credit of the compensation to the bank account of the victim.
• Victims who open bank accounts for the purpose of victim compensation are being duped by some of the lawyers who link their or their assistant’s mobile number to the account so that they can have access to all the information of the transactions in the bank account.
• Some of the lawyers specialising in victim compensation cases thus take huge money as a percentage of compensation amount awarded towards victim compensation. Such a practice is frustrating the whole purpose of victim compensation.
• The procedure is similar to that adopted by some advocates dealing with Motor Accident Claim Cases under Section 166 (application for compensation) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. They agree to conduct the cases without a fee, but in the event of compensation being granted by the court, the advocates get a certain percentage.
• As a matter of fact, in some cases, as soon as an award of victim compensation is made by any Legal Services Authority (LSA), a statutory body to render free legal services to the impoverished all over India, the lawyer gets in touch with the victim and somehow convinces him/her to file a writ petition before the High Court to show that without such writ petition the compensation will not be disbursed by the State LSA (SLSA). Ultimately when the amount of compensation is finally disbursed by the SLSA, the lawyer takes credit and shows that it was because of his noble initiative that the victim got the relief, and in exchange claims a hefty share in the compensation.
• Such lawyers effectively create a perception of rendering a benevolent service by not charging any fees so the victim could never suspect him/her of any malpractice. Incidentally, according to a study carried out by a research organisation, Vidhi, in the Delhi High Court, more than 70% of the delays in the disposal of cases are attributable to lawyers, a major reason being sometimes unjust pleas for adjournments.

Efforts Made to address the Issue:

• The litigating public and lawyers (including women and students) — either because they do not trust the judicial system or they distrust lawyers in particular, or for whatever reason — write hundreds of letters to the Chief Justice of India and the Chief Justices and Justices of each High Court for relief.
• Some issues raised in these letters are administrative or statutory in nature.
• Apart from these letters, hundreds of letters are written to Chief Justices for relief on the judicial side.
• It is also important to note that given the huge workload before all judges, it is not possible to deal with all letter-appeals simultaneously on the statutory, administrative or judicial side, unless they are drawn specifically to the Justices’ attention.
• Unfortunately the disciplinary powers available to Bar Councils both in Delhi and in States are more often than not ineffective.
• Some are politically motivated and some States do not have disciplinary committees at all.
• The disciplinary jurisdiction over lawyers was originally with the courts.
• As far as the older High Courts are concerned, this is clear from the respective Letters Patents under which the courts were set up.
• This continued till the power was taken away by the Advocates Act, 1961. Significantly, the Law Minister at that time was Ashoke Sen, a well-known lawyer. The solution to the present situation is to give the disciplinary jurisdiction back to the courts and to repeal the Advocates Act, 1961.

The way forward:

• Firstly, the Supreme Court should reconsider setting up Benches in different States in keeping with the recommendations of the Law Commissions (125th Report and 229th Report).
• Second, the Bar Council of India should exercise its powers under the Advocates Act, 1961 more effectively.
• If not, the disciplinary jurisdiction must be returned to the judiciary as was the position prior to the Advocates Act, 1961 by repealing the 1961 Act.
• Third, lawyers should be made irrelevant by referring more cases to trained mediators, as the Supreme Court has done in the Ayodhya dispute.

2. Space for campaign

Q1. Consider the following statements with respect to Dhimsa:

Q2. Select the INCORRECT statement:

Q3. Who among the following do not find mention in the Second Schedule of the Indian
Constitution?

Q4. Consider the following Statements:

Q5. “Living Planet Report” is published by: