04 Jul 2020: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

4 July 2020 CNA:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
HEALTH
1. ICMR looks at vaccine launch by Aug. 15
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. ‘India won’t import power equipment from China’
2. Will accept marines case ruling: Centre
3. ‘Japan against unilateral action that changes status quo along LAC’
C. GS 3 Related
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. Italian Marines Case (Enrica Lexie incident)
GOVERNANCE
1. Police violence and how some lives do not matter
F. Prelims Facts
1. M.P. Ministry exceeds size limit: Cong.
G. Tidbits
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. ‘India won’t import power equipment from China’

Context:

The Union Power Minister has said that India will not import power equipment from China, saying that the sector, being strategic and essential, was vulnerable to cyberattacks.

• The announcement comes amidst rising tensions between India and China owing to the standoff at the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.
• Any import of equipment from prior reference countries will require prior permission of the government, the Minister said, even as he reiterated that such permission won’t be available for either China or Pakistan.

Concerns:

• China has over the last few years been a major source of power equipment for India, with a share of roughly a third of the total imported machines in terms of value.
• Imports of these capital-intensive machines have been rising at a fast rate despite sufficient, if not surplus, domestic capacity and India being a serious exporter of such equipment.
• China constituted close to 30 percent of the total imports in the electrical equipment segment in FY19.
• The Minister highlighted the need for self-reliance in the sector.

India’s progress in the power sector:

• A lot has been achieved in the power sector, including capacity addition of 15,000 MW a year since 2014, and connecting the entire nation through one grid.
• However, a major challenge is to make the distribution companies viable and the country self-reliant in equipment manufacture.

2. Will accept marines case ruling: Centre

Context:

The Centre informed the Supreme Court that it has decided to accept and abide by the international tribunal’s ruling that the Italian marines accused of killing two fishermen off the coast of Kerala in 2012 enjoy immunity and are outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts.

Details:

• The award is a substantial victory for India inasmuch as:
  • Concurrent jurisdiction was recognized, but immunity clause was applied to take the trial out of India.
  • The compensation claim was allowed.
  • Counterclaim for compensation by Italy was denied.
• India is bound by the award of the arbitral tribunal formed under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The award is final and without appeal, as India is a party to the U.N. Convention.

This issue has been covered in the 3^rd July 2020 Comprehensive News Analysis. Click here to read.

3. ‘Japan against unilateral action that changes status quo along LAC’

Context:

“Japan opposes unilateral action that changes the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China”, said Japanese Ambassador Satoshi Suzuki in a discussion with Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on the India-China standoff in eastern Ladakh.

Details:

• The discussion follows a joint exercise held by the two countries in the Indian Ocean.
• The exercise in the Indian Ocean is significant as China is trying to increase its military presence in this region.
• There is growing talk of the possibility of the emergence of a joint front of India, Japan, the US and Australia (Quad) to counter the threat of the Chinese Navy in the region.
• There is also growing tension between Japan and China over the Senkaku islands.
• Japan had backed India during the Doklam standoff with China and has also expressed condolences on the death of 20 Indian soldiers in Galwan Valley during a clash with Chinese soldiers.

Category: GOVERNANCE

1. Police violence and how some lives do not matter

Background

Check CNA dated June 2, 2020

Key Stats

• In the last three years, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India, has received nearly 5,300 complaints of custodial deaths (police and prison), and the actual number of such deaths can be more.
• If reporting such deaths is difficult, the legal process to investigate, prosecute and fix accountability has even more hurdles.
  • This is evident from the fact that while government data recorded 1,727 deaths in police custody between 2000 and 2018, only 26 police officials were convicted.

Concerns

1. Lack of domestic law

• Rise in custodial deaths and police torture is no secret. In spite of these issues surfacing periodically, we still do not have a domestic law that enables torture prosecution. The criminal justice system fails in this regard.

2. Law Commission of India’s advice not considered

• Despite a suggestion by the Law Commission of India that if a person dies in police custody, the burden should be on the police to show that they are not responsible for it, the law still requires the prosecution to prove that the police caused the death.

3. Failure to ratify the UN Convention against Torture

• India has not ratified the UN convention thereby putting itself in the list of only 19 countries to have not adopted it.

4. Why torture continues?

• The use of torture is also often justified by police personnel as being required to teach ‘hardened criminals’ on behalf of society.
• The system incentivizes torture by seeking convictions without modernizing the police force.

5. 2015-2016 NHRC Annual Report states:

• Custodial violence and torture continue to be rampant in the country. It represents the worst form of excesses by public servants entrusted with the duty of law enforcement.

6. Munshi Singh Gautam and others vs the State of Madhya Pradesh (SC)

• The dehumanizing torture, assault and death in custody which have assumed alarming proportions raise serious questions about the credibility of the rule of law and administration of the criminal justice system.

National Police Commission (NPC) Recommendations

It was appointed by the Government of India in 1977 with wide terms of reference covering the police organization, its role, functions, accountability, relations with the public, political interference in its work, misuse of powers, evaluation of its performance, etc.

1. Complaints against the police

• According to the NPC, any arrangement for inquiry into complaints against the police should be acceptable both to police and public as fair and just. The Commission felt that a large number of complaints against the police should be looked into and disposed of by the supervisory ranks in the police hierarchy.
• The Commission, however, recommended that a judicial inquiry should be made mandatory in the following categories of complaints against the police:
  • The alleged rape of a woman in police custody;
  • Death or grievous hurt caused while in police custody; and
  • Death of two or more persons resulting from police firing in the dispersal of unlawful assemblies.

2. Judicial Inquiry

• It should be held by an Additional Session’s Judge nominated for this purpose in every district by State Government in consultation with the High Court. He will be designated as the District Inquiry Authority (DIA) and be assisted by an assessor.
• The DIA shall send the report of the inquiry to the State Government.

Q1. Consider the following statements with respect to Nagarhole National Park:

Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to the Tiwa tribe:

Q3. “Dharma Guardian” is 

Q4. ‘Prerak Dauur Samman’ awards are announced as a part of:

4 July 2020 CNA:- Download PDF Here