13 Aug 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

CNA 13 Aug 2022:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
INDIAN SOCIETY
1. The ‘NAMASTE’ Project
B. GS 2 Related
C. GS 3 Related
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
INDIAN SOCIETY
1. Moving policy away from population control
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. No holds barred
GOVERNANCE
1. Never-ending fight
F. Prelims Facts
1. Garuda Shield
2. SMILE 75
G. Tidbits
1. Essential Commodity Act
2. Stampede
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

B. GS 2 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. No holds barred

Syllabus: India and its neighbourhood relations.

Prelims: About UNSC’s 1267 Committee and sanctions on individuals designated as terrorists

Mains: Impact on the India-China relations due to China’s actions of blocking the terror listing.

Context: China placed a “technical hold” on the joint India-U.S. proposal to designate Jaish-e-Mohammad deputy chief Rauf Asghar, a global terrorist on the United Nations Security Council 1267 Committee listing.

Details:

• Asghar is responsible for organizing the hijack of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 and holding 200 civilians hostage on the Kandahar tarmac and other terrorist attacks. 
• Asghar is on both U.S.’s and India’s domestic ‘most wanted terrorist’ lists.
• China’s decision to halt an important terror listing has come as another blow to the already fragile India-China ties.
• Beijing made a similar move two months before in the case of Lashkar-e-Taiba deputy chief Abdul Rahman Makki.

Causes of India-China stressed relations:

• India and China have failed to resolve the standoff that began with the PLA amassing troops in April 2020 despite 16 rounds of military commander talks at the Line of Actual Control.
• Both the countries engaged in a maritime spar after India made its concerns over the proposed docking of a Chinese satellite tracking ship at Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port clear to the Sri Lankan government.
• The Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax authorities are raiding Chinese technology majors under suspicions of a range of financial crimes.

Way Ahead:

• India should persevere with its attempts to designate terrorists responsible for attacks on Indians, without losing faith in the process. 
• India should build international pressure and garner more co-sponsors for the listing.
• One way should be to work on changing 1267 Committee procedures so that they don’t allow one country to hold back such important terror listings without due cause. 
• India can also open dialogues with both China and Pakistan bilaterally on the issue to ensure the listings are accomplished.

Read more on the issue in UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis. June 18th, 2022.

Nut Graf: It is insensitive on the part of China and unfortunate for India-China relations as India has always been sensitive on the issues of terrorist attacks. India should work on all avenues to ensure that perpetrators of terrorist acts are held accountable. 

Category: GOVERNANCE

1. Never-ending fight

Syllabus: Government policies and interventions.

Prelims: Section 295A of IPC.

Mains: Freedom of speech and expression and section 295A of IPC.

Context: Madras High Court (HC) quashed a criminal case against the actor and director of a film (Jai Bhim) facing proceedings for allegedly insulting the Vanniyar community.

Details of the case:

• The FIR was filed citing Section 295A of the IPC, which makes it a crime to commit “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings”.
• A magistrate forwarded the complaint to the police for the registration of an FIR concluding that it was a “cognizable offense”.
• The HC has rightly ruled that the magistrate acted mechanically as the order did not even mention what offense was made out in the complaint. In this case, it was quite strange that a perceived insult to a caste was seen as outraging “religious” feelings. 

Misuse of Section 257 of IPC:

• The casual resort to criminal proceedings for perceived insults to religion or any other social segment has become a common feature of contemporary life.
• Various groups and individuals use some imagined slight as a pretext to infringe the right to freedom of speech and expression by objecting to films, plays, and public performances.
• The police also tend to give greater importance to such complaints and cite the possibility of a disruption of law and order situation rather than protecting free speech.
• Such incidents are also reported in cases of book releases, performances, and lectures. These developments can only mean that the fight for free speech has to be fought anew from time to time.

Judicial stand on the matter:

• The Constitution Bench in 1957 interpreted Section 257 to the effect that it only “punishes the aggravated form of insult to religion” when something is done with a deliberate and malicious intention to outrage the religious feelings of a class.
• A few years back, the Supreme Court quashed a criminal charge against cricket star Mahendra Singh Dhoni for being featured in the likeness of a deity on the cover of a magazine. 
• Constitutional courts intervene from time to time protecting freedom of expression, but such relief comes after some delay.

Read more: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis. August 01st, 2022

Nut Graf: The freedom of speech and expression are often undermined by the use of Section 257 of IPC just on the basis of a perceived insult to religion or community. Society, in general, should appreciate the difference between deliberate malicious intent to hurt religious feelings and the mere expression of opinions.

F. Prelims Facts

1. Garuda Shield

Prelims: Military Exercise

Context: The United States, Indonesia and other countries are conducting joint combat exercises on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

Key Details: 

• It has been an annual military training since 2009, known as Garuda Shield.
• Participation of several other countries, including Australia and Japan, makes the 2022 edition the largest ever.
• The exercises encompass army, navy, air force and marine drills.
• It is designed to strengthen capability, interoperability, trust and cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

2. SMILE 75

Syllabus: GS01-Indian Society-Social Empowerment

Prelims: Government Schemes

Context: Recently, the Union Ministry for Social Justice & Empowerment launched the “SMILE-75 Initiative”.

Key Details:

• It is an initiative with the objective of comprehensive rehabilitation of persons engaged in begging in 75 identified municipalities as a part of the celebrations of 75 years of Independence.
• It is part of the ongoing SMILE project (Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise).
• This initiative will cover various welfare measures for persons who are engaged in the act of begging with a focus on rehabilitation, counselling, provision of medical facilities, education, awareness, skill development, economic linkages and convergence with other government welfare programmes.
• This project is aimed towards making cities and municipal areas begging-free.

G. Tidbits

1. Essential Commodity Act

• Essential Commodities Act was invoked recently to control the rise in tur dal price.
• Prices of Tur dal have risen due to slow progress in Kharif sowing as compared to 2021 due to excess rainfalls and water logging conditions in parts of major tur dal growing States of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and  Maharashtra.
• Also, some sections of traders and stockists are resorting to ‘restricted sales’ and creating artificial scarcity to push the price for tur dal upwards.

Read more about Essential Commodities Act.

2. Stampede

• The recent stampede in Khatu Shyam temple which killed 3 women has brought focus on a similar incident at Chamunda Devi temple in Jodhpur’s Mehrangarh Fort in 2008 which had claimed 216 lives. 
• In January 2022, 12 people died in a stampede at Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Jammu and Kashmir’s Katra.
• The Rajasthan state government is working with temple management to evolve strategies for managing the crowds.
• The emphasis is on making corridors for pedestrians at religious places and ensuring strict compliance with the guidelines.

Read more on Crowd Disaster Management.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

 

Q1. Consider the following statements: (Level – Medium) 

1. Project Elephant is a centrally sponsored scheme and was launched in February 1992 for the protection of elephants, their habitats and corridors.
2. As per Elephant Census (2017), Karnataka has the highest number of elephants, followed by Assam and Kerala. 
3. The elephant herd is led by the oldest and largest female member (known as the matriarch).

Choose the correct code:

1. 1 & 2 only
2. 2 & 3 only
3. 1 & 3 only
4. All of the above

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation:

• Statement 01 is correct, Project Elephant is a Central Government sponsored scheme launched in February 1992.
• Statement 02 is correct, India has the world’s largest population of Asian Elephants with around 27,000 Elephants. As per the 2017 Elephant Census, Karnataka has the highest number of elephants (6,049), followed by Assam (5,719) and Kerala (3,054).
• Statement 03 is correct, The elephant herd is led by the oldest and largest female member (known as the matriarch). This herd includes the daughters of the matriarch and their offspring.

Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to the Essential Commodities 
Act, 1955: (Level – Medium)

1. There is no specific definition of essential commodities in the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
2. The Ministry of Rural Development implements the Act.
3. The Act gives powers to the central government to add or remove a commodity from the list of essential commodities.

Choose the correct code:

1. 1 & 2 only
2. 2 & 3 only
3. 1 & 3 only
4. All of the above

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation:

• Statement 01 is correct, There is no specific definition of essential commodities in The EC Act. Section 2(A) of the Act states that an “essential commodity” means a commodity specified in the “Schedule” of this Act.
• Statement 02 is incorrect, The Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution implements the Act.
• Statement 01 is correct, The Act empowers the central government to control the production, supply, distribution, trade, and commerce in certain commodities by adding or removing a commodity in the list of essential commodities.

Q3. As per the recent judgment of the Supreme Court, national parks, wildlife 
sanctuaries and such protected forests must have an Eco-Sensitive Zone of 
minimum ________ from their boundaries. (Level – Easy)

1. 10 km
2. 5 km
3. 1 km
4. 20 km

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation: The three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India directed that every protected forest, national park and wildlife sanctuary across the country should have a mandatory eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of a minimum of one km starting from their demarcated boundaries.

Q4. Consider the following statements with regards to Joint Comprehensive Plan of 
Action (JCPOA): (Level – Easy)

1. China was a part of the JCPOA deal.
2. Under the agreement, Iran agreed to implement a protocol that would allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
3. After Donald Trump backed out of the deal, the other nations launched a barter system known as INSTEX to facilitate transactions with Iran outside the US banking system.

Choose the correct code:

1. 1 & 2 only
2. 2 & 3 only
3. 1 & 3 only
4. All of the above

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation:

• Statement 01 is correct, The Iran Nuclear Deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)  is an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program reached in Vienna on 14 July 2015, between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States—plus Germany).
• Statement 02 is correct, Iran agreed to implement a protocol that would allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency unrestricted access to its nuclear facilities. This access can also be applied to undeclared sites.
• Statement 03 is correct, after the exit of the United States, the other powers, in an attempt to keep the deal alive, launched a barter system known as INSTEX to facilitate transactions with Iran outside the US banking system. 

Q5. Who of the following scientists proved that the stars with mass less than 
1.44 times the mass of the Sun end up as White Dwarfs when they die? (Level – Medium)

1. Edwin Hubble
2. S. Chandrashekhar
3. Stephen Hawking
4. Steven Weinberg

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: b

Explanation: In the 1930s, using Albert Einstein’s special theory of relativity and the principles of quantum physics, Subramanyan Chandrasekhar proved that it is impossible for a white dwarf star, which is supported solely by a degenerate gas of electrons, to be stable if its mass is greater than 1.44 times the mass of the Sun. This limit is crucial in the evolution of stars. This is known as Chandrasekhar Limit.

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. India has witnessed many stampedes in the past. Discuss the reasons for such occurrences and suggest measures to overcome the issue. (15 Marks, 250 Words) (GS-3, Disaster Management)
2. Should the state stop focusing on population control and focus on investment in human capital, on older adults living with dignity, and on healthy population ageing? Evaluate. (10 Marks, 150 Words)(GS-1, Social Issues)

Read the previous CNA here.

CNA 13 Aug 2022:- Download PDF Here