26 Jun 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
C. GS 3 Related
ECONOMY
1. Sterlite plant sale could impact investor confidence in Tamil Nadu
2. Salt sector crisis pinches livelihood of lakhs
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
POLITY
1. Has the anti-defection law failed in India?
F. Prelims Facts
1. Jyotirgamaya Festival
G. Tidbits
1. Hasina opens Padma multipurpose bridge
2. Udaipur’s ‘bird village’ to be declared wetland
3. Kerala to have its own regional red list of birds
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

A. GS 1 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

D. GS 4 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

1. Has the anti-defection law failed in India?

Syllabus: Indian Constitution—Evolution, Features, Amendments, Significant Provisions and Basic Structure.

Prelims: Anti-defection law provisions

Mains: Concerns associated with anti-defection law and recommendations

Context:

• Many ruling party legislators from the Shiv Sena political party from the state of Maharashtra have revolted against the leadership. There are indications of mass defection in the party.
• This political churn in Maharashtra has brought the focus upon the anti-defection law.

Anti-defection law:

• The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, popularly referred to as the ‘Anti-Defection Law’ was inserted by the 52nd Amendment (1985) to the Constitution.
  • ‘Defection’ has been defined as, “To abandon a position or association, often to join an opposing group”.
• The law contemplates two kinds of defection:
  • A member voluntarily giving up membership of the party on whose symbol he got elected
  • Member violating a whip issued by the party to vote in a particular way or to abstain from voting.
• The anti-defection was introduced to ensure that a party member does not violate the mandate of the party and in case he/she does so, he/she will lose membership of the House.  It was meant to curtail the menace of floor-crossing and toppling of elected regimes by engineering defections. Hence it sought for stability of governments.

For detailed information on the anti-defection law refer to the following article:

Anti-defection Law

Concerns with the anti-defection law:

Antithetical to the principle of representative democracy:

• The anti-defection law by forcing the elected members to stand by the party line comes across as being against the principle of representative democracy. The provisions of the law prevent the members from representing the views of the people of their constituency and is also found to violate their freedom of expression.

Exceptions to application of anti-defection law:

• Paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule provides for an exception to the application of anti-defection law for disqualification in case of a merger of one party with another. As per this provision, a deemed merger is said to have occurred only if two-thirds of the party’s total strength agrees to the merger. This paves the way for mass defections.
• There are also concerns that this provision would be used to save the defectors from the anti-defection law.

Misuse of the provisions:

• Recent instances are indicative of the misuse of provisions by parties, legislators and Speakers to either evade the law against defection or to achieve partisan political ends.
• The speaker has in many cases misused his/her powers with respect to the provisions of anti-defection law. In many cases, speakers have chosen not to act on anti-defection petitions. This has allowed members to continue as members of the house as well as become ministers despite having had defected to the ruling party.
  • As per the anti-defection law, the Presiding Officer of the legislature to disqualify any defector on a petition by another member
• There have been recent episodes of members submitting resignation letters to escape disqualification proceedings.

Uncertainty around the law:

• A member using the ‘voluntarily giving up membership’ mode of defection has been a source of dispute and litigation.
• The Supreme Court decisions on this aspect have not been conclusionary and there continues to remain scope for further dispute and litigation.

For more detailed information on the concerns with anti-defection law refer to the following article:

CNA dated Feb 26, 2021

Recommendations:

• As the anti-defection law has failed to curtail defections and has been liable to misuse, there is a strong case to reform the anti-defection law.
• Redefining the merger clause, shifting the adjudicatory power from the Speaker to some other credible authority could be some of the important aspects to be considered for reforming the law.

F. Prelims Facts

1. Jyotirgamaya Festival

Syllabus: GS-1, Indian Heritage and Culture; Salient aspects of Art Forms

Prelims: World Music Day, Jyotirgamaya Festival and Sangeet Natak Akademi 

Context

On the occasion of World Music Day, Jyotirgamaya Festival was organised.

Jyotirgamaya Festival

• Jyotirgamaya Festival is organised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi 
• Jyotirgamaya is a unique festival organised to showcase the talent of rare musical instruments from across the country, including street performers, train entertainers, performers attached to temples, etc.
• The festival aims to spread awareness about the need to protect the craft of making and the skill of playing rare musical instruments, and to provide a platform to ‘unheard’ artists.

Sangeet Natak Akademi 

• Sangeet Natak Akademi was established in 1953 with the objective of preserving and promoting the vast intangible heritage of India’s diverse culture expressed in forms of music, dance and drama.
• It is the apex body in the field of performing arts in the country
• It is an autonomous body working under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture.
• The Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi is appointed by the President of India for a term of five years.
• The registered office of the Akademi is at Rabindra Bhavan.
• The Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards are the highest national recognition conferred to artists.

G. Tidbits

1. Hasina opens Padma multipurpose bridge

• The Government of India congratulated Bangladesh on the completion of the Padma Multipurpose Bridge which is regarded as the biggest infrastructure project in Bangladesh.
• Along with enhancing the internal connectivity in Bangladesh, the Padma bridge is expected to improve trade and logistics between India and Bangladesh. 
• The bridge is expected to play a crucial role in improving bilateral India-Bangladesh and subregional links.
• The Padma Bridge will facilitate faster transportation of goods and commodities between Bangladesh and India and other countries like Nepal and Bhutan.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Which of the following statement/s is/are correct with respect to salt production 
in India? (Difficulty level- Difficult)

1. India is the world’s largest producer of salt.
2. Among the states, Rajasthan accounts for the largest salt production in India.
3. Salt produced from mining accounts for around 30% of the total salt production in India.

Options:

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 only
3. 3 only
4. None of the above

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation:

• India is the world’s third largest salt producer.
• Among the Indian states, Gujarat accounts for the largest salt production. Gujarat accounts for 80% of the total salt production in India.
• Only around 0.5% of salt production in India is produced by mining. 99.5% salt is produced either from the seawater or from the subsoil water.

Q2. Which of the following statement/s is/are correct? (Difficulty level- Medium)

1. The levy and collection of GST compensation cess has been extended till March 2026.
2. The revenue collected from this cess will be used to compensate the states for any shortfall in their revenue collections under the GST system until March 2026.

Options:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: a

Explanation:

• The centre has extended the time for levy of GST compensation cess by four years till March 31,2026 based on the Goods and Services Tax (Period of levy and collection of cess) rules 2022 notified by the Finance Ministry.
• The levy of cess was to end on June 30 but has been extended till 2026 to repay the loans taken in the last two years to make up for the shortfall in their revenue collection. The regime of paying compensation to states would end by June 2022.

Q3. Consider the following statements about solid state batteries and liquid electrolyte 
batteries? (Difficulty level- Difficult)

1. The solid-state batteries are safer than batteries using liquid electrolytes.
2. A solid-state battery has higher energy density than a Li-ion battery that uses liquid electrolyte solution.
3. The solid- state batteries can charge faster than liquid electrolyte batteries.

Options:

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

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation:

• A lithium-ion battery is composed of cathode, anode, separator and electrolyte. A lithium-ion battery applied at smartphones, power tools and EVs uses liquid electrolyte solution. On the other hand, a solid-state battery uses solid electrolyte, not liquid.
• The solid-state batteries are safer than batteries using liquid electrolytes. Li-ion battery has a risk of battery damage such as swelling caused by temperature change or leakage caused by external force since it uses liquid electrolyte solution. The liquid electrolytes are flammable and degrade at high temperatures leading to poor battery life and in extreme cases lead to battery fires. A solid-state battery with solid battery shows improved stability with a solid structure and increased safety. It doesn’t have a risk of explosion or fire.
• A solid-state battery has higher energy density than a Li-ion battery that uses liquid electrolyte solution. Solid-state batteries can deliver 2.5 times more energy density as compared to lithium-ion batteries. This tremendous increase in solid-state batteries’ energy density means that they will be far smaller and lighter.
• Solid-state batteries are capable of holding much more energy per unit of mass than today’s lithium-ion batteries, which means an EV could go for much longer before needing to be recharged
• Solid-state batteries can work at very high rates of power. Research suggests that they may be able to recharge 4-6 times faster than current technologies safely.

Q4. Consider the following birds.

1. Banasura Chilappan
2. Ceylon Frogmouth
3. Jerdon’s nightjar
4. Great Hornbill

How many of the above birds are found in the state of Kerala? (Difficulty level- Difficult)

1. One only
2. Two only
3. Three only
4. All the above four

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation:

• The Banasura Chilappan bird is found in shola habitat in a small section of the Western Ghats in southwestern Karnataka and northern Kerala.
• The frogmouth is distributed across the Western Ghats’ wet evergreens from the Karnataka border to the Neyyar sanctuary at the tip of Kerala. The Thattekkad sanctuary has a rich population of the frogmouth. The frogmouths are named for their large flattened hooked bill and huge frog-like gape, which they use to take insects.
• Jerdon’s nightjar is a medium-sized nightjar species native to southern India and Sri Lanka. Nightjars are medium-sized nocturnal birds that usually nest on the ground.
• The great hornbill is one of the larger members of the hornbill family. It occurs in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is predominantly frugivorous, but also preys on small mammals, reptiles and birds. The Government of Kerala declared it as the official Kerala state bird.

Q5. The Chairmen of public sector banks are selected by the (Difficulty level- Easy)

1. Banks Board Bureau
2. Reserve Bank of India
3. Union Ministry of Finance
4. Management of concerned bank

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: a

Explanation:

• Bank Board Bureau is responsible for the selection of chairmen of public sector banks.
• ‘The Committee to Review Governance of Boards of Banks in India, headed by Chairman – P. J. Nayak had recommended the constitution of the Banks Board Bureau.
• The government, in 2016, approved the constitution of the BBB as a body to make recommendations for the appointment of whole-time directors as well as non-executive chairpersons of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and state-owned financial institutions.
• It also engages with the board of directors of all the public sector banks to formulate appropriate strategies for their growth and development. It is tasked with improving corporate governance at public sector banks, building capacities, etc.

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. Anti-defection law has been rendered meaningless due to loopholes in the law. Explain the statement with relevant examples. (15 Marks, 250 Words) (GS Paper 2/Polity)
2. Should the Sterlite Copper plant in Thoothukudi be allowed to restart its operations? Critically Analyze. (10 Marks, 150 Words) (GS Paper 3/Environment and Ecology)