29 June 2021: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

CNA 29th June 2021:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. A-G Venugopal gets one more extension
C. GS 3 Related
ECONOMY
1. Govt. unveils ₹6.28 lakh crore stimulus post 2nd COVID wave
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Nuclear-capable Agni-P missile test-fired
SECURITY
1. Small civilian drones pose significant threat, say officials
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
ECONOMY
1. Reopen the files, reconsider privatisation
2. Rattling foreign investors
F. Prelims Facts
1. Optimism over tiger sighting in small Assam sanctuary
2. P. Sainath selected for 2021 Fukuoka Grand Prize
3. Ukraine, U.S. launch Black Sea drills
4. 2nd-biggest dam starts making power
5. Keeping alive conversations about AIDS
G. Tidbits
1. ‘CoWIN’s open-source version to be provided to 50 nations’
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

Category: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Nuclear-capable Agni-P missile test-fired

Context:

A new-generation nuclear-capable ballistic missile, Agni-P (Prime) has been successfully test-fired by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Agni-P:

• Agni-P is a new-generation advanced variant of the Agni class of missiles.
• Its range capability is between 1,000 and 2,000 km.
• The missile is fully made up of composite material.
  • Composites are lightweight, have better strength and offer more design and production flexibility over conventional materials.
• Agni Prime comes in a canisterised configuration.

Canisterisation:

• In this configuration, a missile mated with a nuclear warhead is sealed in a canister, which is placed atop a road-mobile launcher.
• Canisterisation significantly enhances the mobility of a missile.
• In canisterised configuration, a missile requires very short preparation time and can be launched at short notice.
• Canisterisation also increases the reliability of a missile and its shelf-life.
• A canisterised missile can be fired directly from the canister or cylindrical container containing the missile by elevating it.

Details:

• The test was conducted from the A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Island, Balasore, off the coast of Odisha.
• Agni-P missile would further strengthen India’s credible deterrence capabilities.
• In the past few years, India has also operationalised its submarine-based nuclear launch capability, completing the nuclear triad.
  • This is especially important given India’s no-first-use policy while reserving the right of massive retaliation if struck with nuclear weapons first.
  • A nuclear triad is a three-pronged military force structure that consists of land-launched nuclear missiles, nuclear-missile-armed submarines, and strategic aircraft with nuclear bombs and missiles.
• In 2020, the DRDO successfully test-fired a 3,500-km range submarine-launched ballistic missile, K-4.
  • Once inducted, these missiles will be the mainstay of the Arihant class of indigenous ballistic missile nuclear submarines (SSBN).
  • It will give India the stand-off capability to launch nuclear weapons submerged in Indian waters.
• INS Arihant, the only SSBN in service, is armed with K-15 missiles with a range of 750 km.

Category: SECURITY

1. Small civilian drones pose significant threat, say officials

Context:

Two explosions at the Jammu airbase are believed to have been carried out using drones.

Concerns:

• A quadcopter available in the open market for a few thousand rupees can hit strategic targets and cause huge damage.
• In the past couple of years, quadcopters have been used to drop drugs, arms and ammunition from across the border in Jammu and Punjab.

As the civilian market for drones is set to see a major expansion, requisite measures in terms of capabilities, as well as policy measures, should be put in place.

This issue has been covered in  June 28th, 2021 CNA.

Note:

The armed forces have indicated their intent to develop or acquire Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems capability in the Technology and Capability Perspective Roadmap-2018 issued by the Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff.

• The most popular methods of neutralising drones, as per the article, are:
  • Jamming or spoofing of the radio frequency link between the rogue UAS and its operator.
  • Using Directed Energy Weapons such as lasers for dazzling of sensors
  • Destructing the critical airframe components of the drone
  • Employing guns, missiles and other hard kill options.

2. Rattling foreign investors

Background:

FDI into India:

• India has been emerging as a major destination for foreign direct investment (FDI).
  • The Commerce Ministry recently reported India attracting the highest ever FDI of $81.72 billion in 2020-21.

India’s BIT disputes:

• In 2020, India lost two high-profile bilateral investment treaty (BIT) disputes to two leading global corporations — Vodafone and Cairn Energy — on retrospective taxation. India has challenged both the awards at the courts of the seat of arbitration. Read more on the Cairn Energy dispute in the link.
• Another high-profile BIT dispute has been the one involving the cancellation of an agreement between Antrix, a commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation, and Devas Multimedia, a Bengaluru-based start-up, for the lease of satellite spectrum.
  • The agreement was arbitrarily struck down on the grounds of national security.
• India has lost all the subsequent legal disputes challenging the government’s move. The ICC arbitration tribunal has even ordered Antrix to pay $1.2 billion to Devas after a U.S. court confirmed the award earlier this year. India’s challenge to the verdict has also been turned down.
• India seems to be dragging its feet on the issue of compliance with these verdicts.

Concerns:

Impact on India’s image as a favourable FDI destination:

• The article argues that the failure of India to honour its contracts and also the reluctance to enforce tribunal awards could hurt India’s image as a favourable FDI destination.
• An important factor that propels investors to invest in foreign lands is the host states honouring contracts and India’s approach to deliberately delaying compliance of tribunal awards is sending out a wrong message to foreign investors.
• Such behaviour decreases the confidence in the host state’s credibility towards the rule of law, and increases the regulatory risk enormously for the investor.
• Such an attitude will not be helpful in attracting global corporations into India and may even push out foreign investment already in India.

Threat of legal proceedings:

• Cairn has launched legal proceedings in the U.S. to enforce the arbitral award of $1.2 billion by seizing the assets of Air India.

Conclusion:

• The article suggests honouring the arbitral awards and restoring India’s lost credibility in the eyes of the investor community.

2. P. Sainath selected for 2021 Fukuoka Grand Prize

What’s in News?

Noted journalist P. Sainath has been selected as one of the three recipients of the Fukuoka Prize for 2021.

Fukuoka Prize:

• The Fukuoka Prize is given annually to distinguished people to foster and increase awareness of Asian cultures, and to create a broad framework of exchange and mutual learning among the Asian people.
• Sainath will receive the ‘Grand Prize’ of the Fukuoka Prize, the other two categories being Academic Prize and the Prize for Arts and Culture.
• The prize was established in 1990.
• Eleven Indians have received the Fukuoka Prize so far.

3. Ukraine, U.S. launch Black Sea drills

What’s in News?

Ukraine and the United States have launched joint naval exercises in the Black Sea.

Background:

• It comes in the backdrop of Ukraine’s recent face-off with Russia.
• The US is a key ally of Ukraine in its conflict with Russia over Crimea and pro-Moscow separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.
• In 2018 Russian forces boarded and took control of three Ukrainian naval ships off the Black Sea peninsula.

Read more on this issue covered in  June 25th, 2021 CNA.

Details:

• The Sea Breeze drills will involve some 5,000 military personnel from more than 30 countries.
• Sea Breeze drills have taken place 21 times since 1997.

4. 2nd-biggest dam starts making power

What’s in News?

The first two generating units of Baihetan Dam have officially been turned on.

Baihetan Dam:

• It is the world’s second-biggest hydroelectric dam and is located in southwestern China.
• It is built on the Jinsha River, a tributary of the Yangtze.
• It is part of Chinese efforts to curb surging fossil fuel demand by building more hydropower capacity, despite dams having fallen out of favour in other countries due to environmental complaints.

5. Keeping alive conversations about AIDS

Targets to end HIV/AIDS:

• The 2017 National Health Policy and the UN Sustainable Development Goals aim to end HIV/AIDS by 2030.
  • The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set a target of ending the epidemics of AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria by 2030 (SDG 3.3).

90-90-90 target:

• In order to infuse energy and urgency into global efforts to combat HIV-AIDS and complement the prevention target set by the SDGs, an ambitious treatment target was also adopted through UNAIDS, the lead UN agency that coordinates the battle against HIV. The “90-90-90” target stated that by 2020, 90% of those living with HIV will know their HIV status, 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained anti-retroviral therapy and 90% of all people on such therapy will have viral suppression.
• This target has now been pushed by five years.

Q1. With reference to Attorney General (AG) of India, which of the following statements is/are
 correct?

Q2. Which of the following statements about Exercise Sea Breeze is/are correct?

Q3. Consider the following statements:

Q4. Which of the following statements is/are correct?

Q5. Consider the following statements: (UPSC 2013)

Read the previous CNA here.

CNA 29th June 2021:- Download PDF Here