CNA 12 March 2021:- Download PDF Here
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. GS 1 Related B. GS 2 Related POLITY AND GOVERNANCE 1. EC files FIR over fake news on hacking of EVMs INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1. India, Japan space agencies review ties C. GS 3 Related ECONOMY 1. ‘Economies to see pre-Covid activity only by ‘22’ 2. ‘Govt. owning bad bank is more capital efficient’ 3. Petition in HC seeks expansion of ambit of electric vehicles scheme D. GS 4 Related E. Editorials ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY 1. Working towards climate justice in a non-ideal world F. Prelims Facts 1. Mission divine G. Tidbits 1. Saving the sea giants 2. Killing two birds with one stone H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
A. GS 1 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
B. GS 2 Related
Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. EC files FIR over fake news on hacking of EVMs
Context:
- The Election Commission has lodged an FIR over “fake news” about the hacking of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) being spread on some social media platforms/internet.
Details:
- The FIR has been lodged by the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer under Section 500 of the IPC, which pertains to punishment for defamation, and Sections 128 and 134 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
- Section 500 of the IPC deals with punishment for defamation. In India, defamation is both a civil and a criminal offence. Section 500 reads: “Whoever defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.”
- The Representation of the People Act, 1951 is an act of Parliament of India to provide for the conduct of elections to the Houses of Parliament and to the House or Houses of the Legislature of each State, the qualifications and disqualifications for membership of those Houses, the corrupt practices and other offences at or in connection with such elections and the decision of doubts and disputes arising out of or in connection with such elections.
Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. India, Japan space agencies review ties
Context:
- Bilateral meeting between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
Background:
India-Japan space collaboration:
- India and Japan are working on a joint lunar polar exploration (LUPEX) mission.
- The Lunar Polar Exploration mission is a robotic lunar mission concept by the Indian Space Research Organisation and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency that would send a lunar rover and lander to explore the South Pole region of the Moon in 2024.
Details:
- Indian and Japanese space agencies have reviewed cooperation in earth observation, lunar cooperation and satellite navigation, and also agreed to explore opportunities for cooperation in “space situational awareness and professional exchange programme”.
- With respect to earth observation collaboration, ISRO and JAXA have signed an Implementing Arrangement for collaborative activities on rice crop area and air quality monitoring using satellite data.
Additional information:
Space diplomacy:
Italy:
- India and Italy have decided to explore opportunities in earth observation, space science and robotic and human exploration.
Australia:
- India and Australia are in discussions for Australia to host vital tracking infrastructure to support India’s planned Gaganyaan manned space flight mission.
- Such space diplomacy will only help further consolidate the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and Australia.
C. GS 3 Related
1. ‘Economies to see pre-Covid activity only by ‘22’
Context:
- Moody’s forecast for the global economy.
Background:
Impact of the pandemic on the global economy:
- The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the global economy and triggered a credit downturn accompanied by a spike in bond defaults.
Details:
- Moody’s in its latest assessment has said that the current credit slump arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic would be short-lived and fade away but has also warned that most economies would not return to pre-pandemic activity levels until 2022.
- Moody’s expects a slow and bumpy global recovery and notes that the uncertainty around the macroeconomic outlook remains much higher than usual.
- This calls for policy actions to support economic activity for an extended period of time.
2. ‘Govt. owning bad bank is more capital efficient’
Context:
- In the Union Budget 2021, Finance Minister announced the creation of a bad bank.
Background:
Non Performing Assets issue in India:
- According to the figures released by the RBI, the total size of bad loans in the balance sheets of Indian banks at a gross level was around Rs. 9 lakh crore as of March 31, 2020.
- The proportion of banks’ gross non-performing assets is expected to rise sharply from 7.5% of gross advances in September 2020 to at least 13.5% of gross advances in September 2021 given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bad bank:
- The proposed bad bank will be based on an asset management company-asset reconstruction company model to absorb the stressed assets in the banking system.
- The bad bank will purchase Non-performing assets (NPAs) from banks at a discount. The entity will then attempt to achieve resolution in such accounts through a professional approach.
For more information on this refer to:
Details:
- Amid confusing reports about the control of the proposed bad bank, a report from the Bank of America has argued for a government ownership model given the following benefits.
- State-funding of bad banks would be more capital efficient. Government ownership would not impact the fiscal numbers; as otherwise, the government will have to keep on recapitalising the state-owned lenders which would strain the already fragile fiscal position of the country. The public sector banks would be the biggest beneficiaries of the proposed bad bank.
- State ownership would help speed up the implementation of the proposed bad bank as there would not be the need to incentivize the private sector and wait.
- Also, the state backed bad bank is expected to lower the credit costs for the banks. As per the Bank of America report, a state backed bad bank could lower the credit charge on banks to a fifth in the worst-case scenario from the 100% now.
3. Petition in HC seeks expansion of ambit of electric vehicles scheme
Context:
- A petition filed before the Delhi High Court has sought a direction to expand the ambit of the FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles) India Phase-II scheme to the hydrogen energy infrastructure.
Details:
- The petition seeks to ask the government to allocate a part of the unutilised funds from the FAME India Phase-II Scheme for promoting and incentivising demand for hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles and construction and operation of hydrogen refuelling stations.
- There has been inadequate utilization of budget allocation made towards the FAME scheme. Out of a total budget of Rs. 700 crore for setting up charging infrastructure, only Rs.20 crore has been disbursed until now.
Significance of hydrogen energy:
- The adoption of hydrogen as a fuel will help reduce the dependence of India’s transport sector on imported oil and gas.
- The hydrogen energy system can be conceived as a circular process. Hydrogen can be manufactured by the hydrolysis of water using renewable energy. This would make hydrogen a truly sustainable fuel source.
- The emission or by-product of hydrogen gas is water vapour. This would help decarbonize the energy mix. This augurs well for mitigating the GHG emissions.
National Hydrogen Energy Mission:
- The government has announced a National Hydrogen Energy Mission [NHEM] during the budget speech in February 2021.
- The National Hydrogen Energy Mission (NHM) will draw up a road map for using hydrogen as an energy source. NHEM initiative will capitalise on one of the most abundant elements on earth (Hydrogen) for a cleaner alternative fuel option.
- The National Hydrogen Energy Mission will focus on the generation of hydrogen from green power resources and will aim to link India’s growing renewable capacity with the hydrogen economy.
Conclusion:
- The government should support and incentivize alternate fuel technologies, such as hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles.
D. GS 4 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
E. Editorials
Category: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. Working towards climate justice in a non-ideal world
Context:
- The article discusses global climate action in general and issues related to India in particular.
U.S. review of climate action:
- The election of Joe Biden as the U.S. President has catapulted climate change to the top of the global agenda, after the tumultuous years for global climate action under President Trump, who had the U.S. pull out of the Paris Climate deal.
- The new U.S. administration under Joe Biden has promised to “lead a major diplomatic push” to increase global climate ambition.
- Interestingly, the U.S. is not just returning back to the Paris Accord with its voluntary commitments but is taking an extra step forward through its call to reconvene the Major Economies Forum (MEF) starting with a Leaders’ Climate Summit in the coming months. This amounts to a strong step forward to get the major emitters to agree to stronger climate commitments.
- The MEF was first convened in March 2009 to rope in major emitters. The serious unwillingness of emerging economies to be labelled “major emitters” saw the meeting retitled “Major Economies Meeting” given the link between GDP and GHG.
Global climate action:
- All countries have been asked to commit to net-zero (GHG emissions) by 2050 with credible plans to ensure meeting this domestic target. The Chinese had set a target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060.
- The UN Secretary-General has called on countries to declare national climate emergencies apart from building a coalition for a carbon-neutral world by 2050. As of today, countries representing around 65% of global CO2 emissions have already agreed to this.
General challenges for climate action:
- The effectiveness of the proposed plans and their implementation will depend on the compliance of the member nations which depends on a number of factors; this gives rise to uncertainty.
- The negotiations between the developing countries and the developed countries over the principle of differentiated responsibilities and recognition of historical responsibilities have resulted in a stall.
- There is the distinct possibility of the EU imposing carbon border levies on those who do not take on high carbon cut-down targets and do so unilaterally if there is no global agreement. More developed countries could join in. In such a scenario, the World Trade Organization rules that presently exclude the use of tariffs on environmental grounds will certainly get modified. This will only further complicate climate negotiations.
- The lack of adequate finances for climate action has been a perennial issue in the climate discourse with the developed countries reneging their commitments towards the global climate fund.
India’s stand:
- India has an extraordinarily small carbon footprint in per-capita terms. India’s per capita CO2 emission stands at around 2 tons.
- India has been a global record-setter in pushing renewables and has been an active participant in climate negotiations representing the interests of the developing nations. It has been a strong orator of the principle of differentiated responsibilities and recognition of historical responsibilities.
Concerns for India:
Balancing the two imperatives:
- India, housing a huge population and pursuing huge development imperatives, would need fine balancing between the two imperatives of economic growth and environmental sustainability.
- India will have to sustain its economic growth to lift millions out of poverty while ensuring it does not irreversibly alter the environmental state. This could require India to reduce its reliance on the cheaper coal-produced electricity while also ensuring universal access to electricity to all its citizens.
Complex negotiations:
- There has been very little acceptance of the principle of differentiated responsibilities and recognition of historical responsibilities among the major emitters.
- There has been very little leeway in the negotiations given that the various countries have stuck to their stands on the climate action front.
Climate Injustice:
- The new proposals seem to focus on current and future emissions, and in keeping with the contract and converge approach, allows practical considerations to trump fairness by not only giving a short shrift to historical responsibility but also denying priority access to the remaining carbon space for developing countries.
- More than 75% of the carbon space available to humankind to keep global temperature rises to 1.5° C has already been taken up by the developed world and China.
Difficulty in accessing climate finance:
- Despite being eligible for climate finance given its developmental level and potential for climate action, it is very unlikely that real politics would allow a major economy like India to benefit from climate action fund flows or receive any form of concessional climate finance.
Recommendations:
Finance:
- All countries could pay into a global fund amounts based on their carbon emissions over and above the global per-capita average of five tons. Those above the global average would pay, while those below would receive money.
- Such a mechanism would ensure certain equity and would also disincentivise coal in a big way while incentivising renewables.
Market incentives:
- Alternatives such as emission trading need to be promoted as they incentivize the adoption of greener options in places where it is viable, thus ensuring efficient climate action.
Conclusion:
- Climate justice is imperative for India, and it needs to leverage its green and pro-nature commitment to ensure carbon and policy space for its developmental and global aspirations.
- India’s diplomatic and negotiating efforts must be oriented in this direction.
For related information on climate action refer to the following article:
F. Prelims Facts
- Lingaraja Temple is a Hindu temple in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
- The temple is believed to be built by the kings from the Somavamsi dynasty, with later additions from the Ganga rulers.
- The temple is a classic example of the Kalinga style of architecture. The temple is built in the Deula style that has four components namely, vimana (structure containing the sanctum), jagamohana (assembly hall), natamandira (festival hall) and bhoga-mandapa (hall of offerings), each increasing in height compared to its predecessor.
- The central deity of the temple, Lingaraja, is worshipped both as Shiva and Vishnu. The harmony between the two sects of Hinduism, Shaivism, and Vaishnavism, is seen in this temple where the deity is worshipped as Harihara, a combined form of Vishnu and Shiva.
G. Tidbits
- A recent study published in Nature states that the global population of sharks and rays has decreased by over 70% in the past five decades. This can be attributed to their intentional hunting and also due to the rising instances of by-catch during fishing expeditions.
- India is now the second-largest shark fishing nation in the world, following Indonesia.
- In a conservation attempt, whale sharks were included in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972, rendering the capture and killing of whale sharks a cognisable offence. It was the first-ever species to be protected under this act, after which the Ganges Shark, speartooth shark were added to the list.
- The whale shark is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. It is the largest living non-mammalian vertebrate.
- The whale shark is found in the open waters of the tropical oceans. They feed almost exclusively on plankton and small fishes, and pose no threat to humans.
2. Killing two birds with one stone
- The authorities in Assam’s Hailakandi district have made the house sparrow the mascot of Hailakandi’s SVEEP (Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation) programme.
- Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation program, better known as SVEEP, is the flagship program of the Election Commission of India for voter education, spreading voter awareness and promoting voter literacy in India.
- SVEEP’s primary goal is to build a truly participative democracy in India by encouraging all eligible citizens to vote and make an informed decision during the elections.
- The programme is based on multiple general as well as targeted interventions which are designed according to the socio-economic, cultural and demographic profile of the state as well as the history of electoral participation in previous rounds of elections and learning thereof.
- It will spread awareness about the need to conserve the small bird and also motivate the voters to exercise their franchise.
Also read: Electoral reforms in India
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
Q1. Which of the following statement/s is/are correct with respect to defamation?
- In India, defamation is both a civil and a criminal offence.
- The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of the criminal provisions of defamation in the Subramanian Swamy v. Union of India case.
Options:
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
Explanation:
- Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) deal with defamation in India.
- The Supreme Court in the Subramanian Swamy v. Union of India case has ruled that the criminal provisions of defamation are constitutionally valid and are not in conflict with the right to free speech.
- The Court held that Section 499 is not an excessive restriction under Article 19(2). It held that society is a collection of individuals, and what affects individuals also affects society as a whole. Hence, it held that it is valid to treat defamation as a public wrong. It held that criminal defamation is not a disproportionate restriction on free speech, because the protection of reputation is a fundamental right as well as a human right.
- The Court reaffirmed the right to reputation as a part of the right to life under Article 21. Using the principle of ‘balancing of fundamental rights’, the court held that the right to freedom and speech and expression cannot be “allowed so much room that even reputation of an individual which is a constituent of Article 21 would have no entry into that area”.
Q2. The joint lunar polar exploration (LUPEX) mission is a joint collaboration between India and which other country?
- Japan
- USA
- Russia
- France
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: a
Explanation:
- India and Japan are working on a joint lunar polar exploration (LUPEX) mission.
- The Lunar Polar Exploration mission is a robotic lunar mission concept by the Indian Space Research Organisation and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency that would send a lunar rover and lander to explore the South Pole region of the Moon in 2024.
Q3. What are the advantages of hydrogen as a fuel?
- Ease of storage
- High energy density
- Higher safety
- Non-polluting
- Renewable source
Options:
- 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
- 1, 2, 3 and 4 only
- 2, 4 and 5 only
- 2, 3 and 5 only
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
Explanation:
Advantages of hydrogen as a fuel:
- Hydrogen has the highest energy content of any common fuel by weight.
- Its usage can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and thus help improve environmental quality. Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the Universe and despite the challenges associated with its extraction from water, it is a uniquely abundant and renewable source of energy, perfect for our future zero-carbon needs for combined heat and power supplies. Hydrogen can be produced from diverse domestic resources with the potential for near-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Challenges in using hydrogen as a fuel:
- Hydrogen’s energy content by volume is low. This makes storing hydrogen a challenge because it requires high pressures, low temperatures, or chemical processes to be stored compactly. Because hydrogen has a lower volumetric energy density than gasoline, storing this much hydrogen on a vehicle currently requires a larger tank at a higher pressure than other gaseous fuels.
- Hydrogen has a wide range of flammable concentrations in air and lower ignition energy than gasoline or natural gas, which means it can ignite more easily.
Q4. Which of the following pairs of temple and associated school of architecture is incorrectly matched?
- Lingaraja Temple: Kalinga style
- Kandariya Mahadeva Temple: Khajuraho school
- Modhera Sun Temple: Solanki school
- Meenakshi Temple, Madurai: Vijayanagara school
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: d
Explanation:
- Meenakshi temple in Madurai is based on the Nayaka school of architecture.
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
- Enumerate India’s stand with respect to Global Climate Action and list the actions taken by India in this direction. Also analyze the major challenges for India when it comes to climate action. (15 marks, 250 words) (GS Paper 3/Environment and Ecology)
- The government should support and incentivize alternate fuel technologies to help meet climate action commitments but also galvanize the economy and ensure environmental sustainability. Elucidate. (10 marks, 150 words) (GS Paper 3/Economy)
Read the previous CNA here.
CNA 12 March 2021:- Download PDF Here
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