22 May 2021: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A. GS 1 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

B. GS 2 Related

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Clashes erupt in East Jerusalem after ceasefire comes into effect

Context:

• Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire.

Background:

• The 11 days of rocket attacks from Gaza based Hamas and the retaliatory airstrikes by Israel had resulted in a loss of lives on both sides apart from the damage to buildings and other infrastructure.
• Over the last few days, there had been a growing call for a ceasefire. In the UNSC, most countries, including India, backed an immediate ceasefire. The U.S. administration, which had been supportive of Israel’s right to self-defence had also been pressing for a significant de-escalation lately.

Details:

• Amid international pressure, the Israeli Security Cabinet unanimously accepted a “unilateral and mutual” ceasefire with Hamas and Hamas immediately confirmed the truce.
• The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been mediated by Egypt.

Concerns:

• Though the ceasefire appears to be holding, there continue to be grave risks for further escalation.
  • Militarily, Hamas, despite the heavy losses it suffered, demonstrated its growing rocket fire capabilities. This does not augur well for peace in the region.
  • The two sides have propounded different lines on the truce deal.
  • The Sheikh Jarrah issue is complicated, where Palestinians face eviction from their houses. The Supreme Court of Israel is supposed to give a final ruling on the eviction of Palestinians in the neighbourhood. If Israel goes ahead with the eviction process, there could be more protests and violence.
  • The continuing riots between Jewish vigilantes and Arab mobs and the increasing protests in the West Bank continue to be a cause of concern.

Read more on the Israel Palestine Conflict.

C. GS 3 Related

Category: ECONOMY

1. SC: personal guarantors liable for corporate debt

Context:

• The Supreme Court has upheld the legal validity of the government notification allowing financial creditors, to initiate insolvency proceedings against personal guarantors of stressed corporate entities under the Indian Bankruptcy and Insolvency Code (IBC).

Background:

• The central government had released a notification in November 2019 allowing lenders to initiate insolvency proceedings against personal guarantors along with the stressed corporate entities for whom they gave guarantee.
• This was challenged before several High Courts by a group of petitioners, mostly personal guarantors to stressed companies.
• Given the multiple appeals in different High Courts, the Supreme Court had transferred the petitions from the High Courts to itself on a request from the government.

Salient aspects of the judgement:

• The bench noted an “intrinsic connection” between personal guarantors and their corporate debtors and hence the need to hold the personal guarantors accountable too.
  • The personal guarantors are usually promoters of big business houses.
• The Court also noted that the intimate connection between the personal guarantors and their corporate debtors necessitates a common forum for adjudication under the IBC.
  • Section 60(2) of the Code requires the bankruptcy proceedings of corporate debtors and their personal guarantors to be held before a common forum — the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
• The Court has clarified that the discharge of a principal borrower from the debt by operation of law, or due to liquidation or insolvency proceeding, does not absolve the guarantor of his or her liability thus implying that the liability of the guarantor is not co-extensive with that of the corporate debtor.

Significance of the judgement:

More effective outcomes:

• Involving the personal guarantors in the liquidation process will also facilitate the Committee of Creditors to frame realistic resolution or liquidation plans, keeping in mind the prospect of realising some part of the creditors’ dues from personal guarantors.
• A common forum for adjudication will help the NCLT have a better overview of the case and hence will aid in more effective verdicts at the appellate stage.
• The judgement is expected to boost banks’ recovery efforts involving bad loans. The inclusion of the guarantors in insolvency proceedings would push the guarantors to arrange for the payment of the debt to the creditor bank in order to obtain a quick discharge from insolvency proceedings.

Rectifying a loophole in the IBC framework:

• The personal guarantors and related parties in some insolvency cases had been able to escape insolvency proceedings against them despite indications of collusion between the borrowers and the guarantors. This judgement will now help rectify such a loophole in the IBC.

D. GS 4 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

F. Prelims Facts

1. Deep purple from Odisha

• The Koraput traditional agriculture was accorded the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) status in 2012.
  • Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) are outstanding landscapes of aesthetic beauty that combine agricultural biodiversity, resilient ecosystems and a valuable cultural heritage. Located in specific sites around the world, they sustainably provide multiple goods and services, food and livelihood security for millions of small-scale farmers.
  • GIAHS status helps to promote public understanding, awareness about sustainable agriculture and to safeguard the social, cultural, economic and environmental goods and services that provide to family farmers, smallholders, indigenous peoples and local communities.
• Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) was started by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), an agency of the United Nations.
• The other recognised GIAHS sites in India include the following:
  • Kuttanad Below Sea Level Farming System of Kerala.
  • Pampore Saffron Heritage of Kashmir.

G. Tidbits

1. Pandemic has made countries more self-seeking: Jaishankar

• External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has spoken about COVID induced anxieties and their impact on international relations.
• The speech by the minister noted that the pandemic had prompted countries to become more self-seeking and renege on their commitments, block supply chain and logistics to cater to their own domestic demand while also leveraging their capabilities to create shortages for strategic purposes or to gain financially. This had led to countries prioritising self-interest and national security.
• This the minister noted is in stark contrast to the pre-pandemic phase wherein globalization emphasized global exchanges based on economic efficiency.
• The minister emphasized the need for manufacturing security to hedge against excessive international dependency.
• The speech is being interpreted as an admission by the Minister to the problems that India itself is facing in continuing with the Vaccine Maitri project, under which it had promised to deliver vaccines all over the world and especially to the South Asian partner countries.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. “Bao-dhaan” recently in News is: 

1. A medium-grain rice, grown in Bhutan and the eastern Himalayas.
2. Red parboiled rice variety grown in Palakkad district of Kerala.
3. A GI-tagged variety of rice known for its strong aroma that is widely used in traditional Bengali cuisine.
4. Iron rich red rice grown in Brahmaputra valley of Assam.

Q2. Consider these statements w.r.t Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs):

1. A separate category for Primitive Tribal Groups was created by the Bhuria Commission.
2. India has more than 100 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups.
3. Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of PVTGs.

Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?

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

Q3. Which of the given statements w.r.t Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems 
(GIAHS) is/are correct?

1. It was conceptualized in 2002 during World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa.
2. Koraput in Odisha known for Kayal cultivation is a recognised GIAHS site in India.
3. Kuttanad in Kerala and Kashmir valley’s Pampore region are proposed to be recognised as GIAHS sites.

Options:

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

Q4. Which of the following is/are correctly matched?

1. Chipko Movement – Uttarakhand
2. Appiko Movement – Andhra Pradesh
3. Save Silent Valley Movement – Kerala
4. Jungle Bachao Andolan – Bihar

Choose the correct option:

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

Q5. Which of the following statements is/are correct? (UPSC 2017)

Viruses can infect

1. bacteria
2. fungi
3. plants

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

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

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. What do you understand by ‘Voluntary Licensing‘ (VL)? Should countries and companies explore VL to enhance access to essential Covid vaccines and medicines? Discuss. (15 Marks, 250 Words) [GS-3, Economy].
2. There is a growing demand for India to write laws on data protection and privacy in the wake of the WhatsApp privacy policy. Examine. (10 Marks, 150 Words)[GS-2, Governance].