21 August 2023 CNA
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. GS 1 Related B. GS 2 Related C. GS 3 Related ECONOMY 1. What is RBI’s new pilot for frictionless credit? D. GS 4 Related E. Editorials INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1. The Katchatheevu Controversy GOVERNANCE 1. Criminal law Bills renaming is needless meddling F. Prelims Facts 1. Superconductivity: stay in the flow G. Tidbits 1. Luna 25, Russia’s first lunar mission in 47 years, crashes into the moon 2. Banasthali Vidyapith gets Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award 3. Carmona’s strike gives Spain maiden World Cup title H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
A. GS 1 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
B. GS 2 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
C. GS 3 Related
1. What is RBI’s new pilot for frictionless credit?
Syllabus: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment.
Mains: Economic and Financial Policies, Banking Reforms, Technological Interventions.
Prelims: About Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit
Context:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated a pilot program for its ‘Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit.’ The platform aims to streamline the process of delivering digital credit and loans, eliminating hurdles in the flow of essential digital information to lenders. It addresses challenges associated with the credit appraisal process, which is crucial for loan disbursement.
Introduction: RBI’s Pilot Programme for Frictionless Credit Platform
- RBI initiated a pilot programme on August 17 to explore the feasibility of the ‘Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit’.
- The platform aims to enhance the seamless flow of digital information to lenders, facilitating frictionless credit delivery.
Purpose and Functionality of the Platform: Improving Digital Credit Delivery
- Credit appraisal process involves assessing borrowers’ repayment ability and adherence to credit agreements before loan disbursal.
- Data required for this process is scattered among various entities like governments, banks, credit information companies, etc., causing hindrances in timely lending.
- The proposed platform consolidates all necessary data in a single place to enable smooth rule-based lending.
Pilot Project on Digitalization of KCC Loans: Doorstep Disbursement
- RBI’s earlier pilot project focused on digitalizing Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans of less than ₹1.6 lakh, aiming for paperless and hassle-free lending.
- Currently ongoing in select districts of five states, enabling doorstep disbursement without paperwork.
Expansion of Scope: Public Platform for All Types of Digital Loans
- The RBI’s public platform expands the concept based on the ongoing projects.
- Developed by RBI’s subsidiary, Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH), the platform features open architecture and APIs for seamless connection of financial sector players.
- Participating banks will extend the platform to include dairy loans, collateral-free MSME loans, personal loans, and home loans.
Incorporating Various Data Sources: Comprehensive Loan Assessment
- The platform integrates Aadhar e-KYC, e-signing, land records, satellite data, PAN validation, transliteration, account aggregation, and more.
- It covers aspects essential for farming operations and financial profiles, minimizing risk assessment.
Benefits and Implications: Promoting Inclusive and Efficient Credit
- Enhanced access to information leads to fact-based and swift credit assessments.
- Facilitates credit extension to a broader range of borrowers with good credit history.
- Reduces borrowers’ capital access costs, translating into productive investment spending.
- Streamlines lending processes, reducing costs, and enabling quicker disbursement and scalability.
Conclusion: Transforming Lending with Frictionless Credit Platform
- RBI’s Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit aims to revolutionise lending through consolidated data and seamless connectivity, fostering financial inclusion and efficiency.
Nut Graf: The RBI’s pilot program introduces the ‘Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit,’ aiming to streamline digital credit delivery by integrating data from various entities. The platform reduces costs, expedites disbursement, and promotes data-driven lending.
D. GS 4 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
E. Editorials
Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. The Katchatheevu Controversy
Syllabus: India and its neighborhood- relations.
Mains: Katchatheevu Controversy and India-Sri lanka Relations
Context
Recently, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister revived the debate over Katchatheevu, an uninhabited and barren 285 acre islet about 14 nautical miles off Rameswaram.
Background
- Sri Lanka asserts control over Kachatheevu on the grounds that the islet was under Portuguese rule from 1505 to 1658 CE while the Portuguese were occupying the island.
- India claimed that it belonged to the former Raja of Ramnad because it was a part of his zamin.
- The islet has long been used for fishing by people in the two nations.
- Despite the fact that this feature was acknowledged in the 1974 agreement, it was made plain in the supplemental pact in March 1976 that fishing boats and fishermen from the two nations are not permitted to fish in the ancient waters.
What is Katchatheevu?
- Katchatheevu is a remote deserted island in the Palk Strait. In the fourteenth century, volcanic explosions caused it to form.
- During British administration, the 285-acre area was jointly managed by India and Sri Lanka.
- The island of Katchatheevu was formerly owned by the Raja of Ramnad, which is now Ramanathapuram in the Tamil Nadu state, and then joined the Madras Presidency.
Source: WION
Reasons of conflict over Katchatheevu Island
- For a very long time, fishermen from both nations have fished peacefully in each other’s territorial waters.
- The problem arose after both nations agreed to four maritime boundary agreements between 1974 and 1976.
- The agreement delineated Sri Lanka’s and India’s international maritime border.
- The goal of the agreement was to make Palk Strait resource management and law enforcement easier.
- Indian fishermen were no longer permitted to utilise the island for anything other than resting, drying nets, and the yearly St. Anthony’s celebration. They are not allowed to fish off the island.
- However, Indian fishermen persisted in entering Sri Lankan territorial waters while looking for a better catch nearby.
India and Sri Lanka Agreement
- The boundary between the two nations would be marked in the historic waters from Palk Strait to Adam’s Bridge, according to a 1974 agreement between the prime ministers of India and Sri Lanka at the time.
- A boundary had been established, according to a joint statement, in accordance with historical evidence, legal precedents, and international legal norms.
- Additionally, it is noted that this limit is one mile off the uninhabited island of Katchatheevu’s west shore.
- The 1976 supplemental agreement stipulated that fishermen from the two nations were not permitted to fish in each nation’s historic waters, territorial sea, exclusive economic zone, or zone of special claim without Sri Lanka’s or India’s prior written consent.
Read more on India-Sri Lanka Relations.
Significance of Kachatheevu Island
- Fishermen from both countries have always used the islet for fishing.
- The recovery of Katchatheevu, according to some political parties and fishermen in Tamil Nadu, will end the issue of fishermen being forced to illegally breach the International Maritime Boundary Line.
- While fishermen in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province claim that this would only make their suffering from fishermen utilising the bottom trawling technique in their territorial seas worse.
Why Do Indian Fishermen Want The Island?
- Between Katchatheevu and Neduntheevu, there have been a lot of arrests in recent months.
- The island should be designated as Indian territory, according to Indian fishermen, who claim that it is a traditional fishing location with good catch availability.
- This would provide them an additional seven to ten nautical miles of fishing grounds, substantially reducing the number of arrests made by the Sri Lankan Navy.
- They further claim that when the Sri Lankan Navy detains them, their boats are taken, causing them to suffer significant losses.
- They argue that not all fishermen purposefully trespass into Sri Lankan waters. Due to engine failure and bad weather, they occasionally unintentionally enter the waters of the neighbouring country where the boundary is not always clear.
- Due to fish shortages on the Indian side, Indian fishermen are forced to venture there.
Negotiations between India and Sri Lanka
- Sri Lanka asserted control over Kachatheevu on the grounds that the Portuguese had done so during their 1505–1658 CE occupation of the island.
- Since the beginning, the zamin had control over Kachatheevu.
- However, the decision had been made following extensive examination of historical and other data regarding the islet, according to the then-External Affairs Minister Swaran Singh.
Way forward
The Indian government stated before the Supreme Court that the island could not be regarded as having been ceded because it had long been a contentious issue. Some of the ideas put forth include leasing the island, managing Palk Bay’s fishing grounds jointly, and encouraging Indian fishermen to relocate to the Bay of Bengal for deep sea fishing.
Nut Graf: There has long been a call to bring back Katchatheevu. However, it is noteworthy that this demand has arisen at a time when Sri Lanka is going through its worst economic crisis.
1. Criminal law Bills renaming is needless meddling
Syllabus: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Mains: Issue of renaming of Criminal law Bills
Background
- Recently, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Bills were introduced in Parliament as replacements for the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively.
- These Bills violate the first requirement for acceptance since the names are unpronounceable to more than half of the population as well as the vast majority of lawyers.
- Furthermore, according to Article 348 of the Constitution, all Acts passed by the Parliament or State legislatures must have authorised texts in the English language.
- Although the Hindi titles of these new bills violate the embargo imposed by the Article, the bills’ bodies are written in English.
Read more on Code of Criminal Procedure(CrPC).
Concerns over Language and the legal regime
- The Constituent Assembly engaged in intense debate and discussion on the topic of language, which resulted in the approval of a number of clauses in the Constitution as well as the Official Languages Act.
- English will continue to be an official language according to the current legal system unless State Legislatures and Parliament approve resolutions to stop using English as an official language.
- The feelings and sentiments that people attach to their language must be respected in a country with a diverse linguistic population where language has served as a focal point for several protests and popular movements.
- It is sufficient to show how closely linked language is to state identity and that of its citizens that India was divided into States based on linguistic distinctions.
Majoritarianism Issue
- The current occurrences in our immediate environment are what are causing the concern of non-Hindi speakers.
- Powerful individuals’ claims that Hindi must soon be recognised as the “national language” and the distribution of Hindi-only forms by government agencies like the Indian Railways and banks have drawn attention.
- Provisions in the National Education Policy 2020‘s initial draft that were perceived as an effort to “impose Hindi” elicited criticism.
- It appears that an effort is being made to elevate the most widely spoken regional language in India above other regional languages and to elevate it above other languages as being crucial to a person’s identity as an Indian.
Also read 8th Schedule of Indian Constitution.
Conclusion
- The High Courts and the Supreme Court of India are examples of India’s superior courts, and the language of the law and of the courts is undoubtedly English.
- According to the country’s legal position, English will continue to be an official language unless the non-Hindi-speaking States request otherwise.
- Therefore, those outside of the Hindi heartland have the right to declare Hindi the only official language, not those who live in it.
- The wording of laws adopted in Parliament must also follow constitutional requirements and be written in English. Apart from reigniting an old flame, the naming of these Bills is obviously unlawful.
- The change of names must be the first order of business for the Parliamentary Committee to which the Bill has been referred.
Nut Graf: Language and culture are inextricably linked, hence the Union Government’s attempt to include Hindi in the names of the Bills it has introduced will be viewed as imposing its culture on linguistic minorities.
F. Prelims Facts
1. Superconductivity: stay in the flow
Syllabus: GS 3- Science & Technology
Prelims: Basic understanding of superconductivity and related concepts.
Introduction
- Superconductivity stands as a crucial phenomenon within materials science due to its unique property of offering zero electrical resistance.
- This phenomenon has intrigued scientists for its potential to overcome energy loss and heat generation caused by resistance during electric current flow.
Defining Superconductors
- Superconductors possess the exceptional capacity to carry electric current without any resistance when they are in a superconducting state.
- Additionally, they exhibit the intriguing characteristic of repelling weak magnetic fields, a defining feature of their unique state.
Historical Discovery
- In 1911, Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes made a monumental breakthrough by uncovering superconductivity.
- Onnes’ pivotal experiment involved investigating mercury, which revealed that its electrical resistance vanished when cooled below an astonishingly low temperature of -268.95°C.
Practical Applications
- The modern world benefits from superconductors through their application in diverse fields, including MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machines and particle accelerators.
- Moreover, superconductors play an instrumental role in high-speed trains, reducing friction and enhancing efficiency.
Challenges and Quests
- While some materials exhibit superconductivity at elevated temperatures under specific pressure conditions, a significant challenge remains unsolved.
- This challenge centres on discovering a superconductor that operates at room temperature and standard atmospheric pressure, a pursuit that eludes scientists.
Conclusion
- The pursuit of practical superconductors holds promise for revolutionising various industries by minimising energy loss and enhancing efficiency.
- Within the realm of modern physics, a pivotal question remains: Can researchers uncover a material capable of achieving superconductivity at room temperature and normal pressure?
G. Tidbits
1. Luna 25, Russia’s first lunar mission in 47 years, crashes into the moon
- Russia’s Luna 25 spacecraft crashed into the moon after losing control and entering an unpredictable orbit, as stated by the Roscosmos space agency on August 20.
- The pilotless spacecraft aimed to land in the moon’s south pole region, where scientists believe valuable resources like frozen water and precious elements might exist.
- The expected landing date was August 21, but contact was lost with Luna 25 on August 19 due to difficulties and an “abnormal situation.”
- The spacecraft collided with the moon’s surface due to the unpredictable orbit it entered, leading to its destruction, according to the agency’s statement.
- A special commission is investigating the reasons behind the mission’s failure.
- India’s Chandrayaan 3 mission, launched on July 14, is also targeting a landing in the moon’s south pole area, with its lander’s powered descent expected on August 23.
- The failure of Luna 25 highlights Russia’s diminishing space power status, contrasting with its historic achievements in launching satellites and humans into orbit.
- The lunar south pole holds interest for scientists due to the possibility of frozen water in shadowed craters that could be used as air and rocket fuel by future explorers.
- Russia’s moon missions faced delays and cancellations over the past decades, partly due to the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991 and the ill-fated Fobos-Grunt mission to a Mars moon in 2011.
- Ultimately, Russia settled on the Luna 25 mission for exploring the lunar south pole in the early 2010s.
2. Banasthali Vidyapith gets Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award
- The 25th Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award was presented to Banasthali Vidyapith, a women’s educational institution in Rajasthan.
- Siddhartha Shastri of the institution received the award from former vice president M. Hamid Ansari.
- The award, established in 1992 during the Quit India Movement‘s golden jubilee, recognizes individuals or institutions contributing to peace, communal harmony, and national unity.
- Carries a cash reward of ₹10 lakh and a citation.
- Presented on the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
Also read Sadbhavana Diwas 2023.
3. Carmona’s strike gives Spain maiden World Cup title
- Spain claimed its inaugural Women’s Football World Cup title, triumphing over England with a 1-0 win in the final.
- Defender Olga Carmona scored the decisive goal, while Spain showcased superior skills and numerous opportunities.
- The victory validated Coach Jorge Vilda’s retention despite 15 players’ reluctance to represent Spain last year.
- England’s efforts fell short, and Spain’s dominance continued throughout the match.
- The historic win marked Spain’s remarkable achievement in women’s football.
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
Q1. With reference to Russia's Luna 25 mission, which of the following statements is/are incorrect?
- The Luna 25 spacecraft was planning to land on the moon’s south pole.
- The mission aimed to explore areas of the moon that may contain frozen water and precious elements.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: d
Explanation:
Both statements are correct
Q2. The 'RBI's Frictionless Credit' recently in the news, is related to the affairs of:
- Digital lending platforms
- Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI)
- Credit information companies
- Small-scale farmers and borrowers
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: a
Explanation:
RBI’s initiative aims to create a platform for seamless digital credit delivery, benefiting borrowers and lenders.
Q3. With reference to the 'Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award,' which of the following statements is/are correct?
- It was awarded to Banasthali Vidyapith in 2023.
- The award was instituted in 1992 to recognize contributions in the fields of science and technology.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: a
Explanation:
Statement 2 is incorrect. The award is given for special contributions towards peace, communal harmony, and national unity.
Q4. Consider the following statements about the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup:
- This was the first Women’s World Cup with more than one host nation.
- It featured for the first time an expanded format of 32 teams.
- Spain won the tournament by defeating England in the final.
How many of the statements given above are incorrect?
- Only one
- Only two
- All three
- None
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: d
Explanation:
All three statements are correct. This World Cup had multiple host nations, first time an expanded format of 32 teams, and Spain emerged as the winner.
Q5. Consider the following statements about superconductors:
- Superconductors exhibit zero electrical resistance.
- Magnetic fields can penetrate superconductors.
- Superconductivity can only be achieved at room temperature.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
- Only one
- Only two
- All three
- None
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: a
Explanation:
A superconductor has no electrical resistance and does not allow magnetic fields to penetrate. Superconductivity can only typically be achieved at very cold temperatures.
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
- Government’s decision to overhaul the IPC, CRCP and Indian Evidence Act will get rid of our colonial legacy but would still not bring linguistic justice in India. Do you agree? Examine. (250 words, 15 marks) [GS-2; Polity]
- What is the process under which India’s land may be ceded to another nation? Give examples of all such incidents in India’s independence history and their impact. (250 words, 15 marks) [GS- 2; Polity and International Relations]
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