CNA 30 May 2022:- Download PDF Here
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A. GS 1 Related B. GS 2 Related POLITY 1. Reservation in public employment C. GS 3 Related SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 1. 5G: Under the hood D. GS 4 Related E. Editorials INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1. The return of the great power rivalries 2. Building peace and prosperity with strong BRICS POLITY 1. Absolution F. Prelims Facts 1. Jan Samarth Portal G. Tidbits 1. Centre retracts caution on Aadhaar photocopies 2. U.S. becomes India’s biggest trading partner at $119 billion H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
A. GS 1 Related
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B. GS 2 Related
1. Reservation in public employment
Syllabus: Constitution of India – features, significant provisions and basic structure.
Prelims: Articles related to reservations in the constitution
Mains: Evolution of the jurisprudence of reservations in public employment
Context:
This article talks about the evolution of reservations in public employment in India.
Reservations in public employment:
- The extension of reservation in India is based on the mutual coexistence of Article 16 (1) of the Constitution which guarantees “equality of opportunity in public employment” and provisions mentioned in various clauses of the same article namely Article 16(4) and Article 16 (4 A).
- These articles provide a discretion to the government to consider extending reservations for the socially and educationally backward classes and to provide reservations in the promotion of SC and STs.
- It has been clarified by the Supreme Court that there is “no fundamental right to reservation or promotion” under the articles Article 16(4) and Article 16 (4 A).
- Articles 16(4) and 16 (4 A) just provided enabling options for extending reservations if needed.
- The Directive Principle of State Policy (DPSP) Article 46 of the constitution, however mandates the state to promote the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, particularly that of the SCs, STs and other weaker sections.
Evolution of reservations in public employment in India
- The Mandal committee report and Indra Sawhney judgement
- As per the Mandal Committee recommendations (1980), the reservations were extended to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) which were erstwhile restricted to SCs and STs.
- The Mandal Committee recommended extending 27% reservation to OBCs in central services and PSUs over the existing 22.5% reservation for SCs and STs.
- In the historic Indra Sawhney Judgment (1992), the apex court upheld the 27% reservation to OBCs but introduced a ceiling of 50% for reservations unless in exceptional situations.
- The SC also reiterated that Article 16(1) is a fundamental right and Article 16(4) is an enabling provision and not an exception to Article 16(1)
- Further, the SC ordered for the exclusion of the creamy layer from reservation through horizontal division of OBCs into creamy layer and non-creamy layer.
- 77th Constitution Amendment Act, 1995
- This Act inserted Article 16(4-A) that extended reservations for promotion in employment for SCs and STs which are not adequately represented in the opinion of the State.
- Later, two more amendments were introduced that ensured consequential seniority [Article 16(4 A)] and another that provided to carry forward unfilled vacancies of a year [Article 16(4 B)]
- Judgement in M. Nagaraj case, 2006
- A constitutional bench of SC consisting of five judges declared that the 1995 amendments did not violate the basic structure of the Constitution and provided conditions which included the collection of “quantifiable data showing backwardness of the class and inadequacy of representation of that class in public employment”.
- The bench also asked for the exclusion of the creamy layer of SCs and STs from the reservation.
- Jarnail Singh v/s Lachhmi Narain Gupta case, 2018
- The SC in this judgement rejected the need to collect “quantifiable data” in relation to SCs and STs
- The Court however upheld the application of the concept of creamy layer to SCs and STs.
- The Jarnail Singh judgment is said to be a crucial development in the jurisprudence of reservation in India.
- 103rd Constitution Amendment Act, 2019
- The act provided 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), other SCs, STs and backward classes for public employment and educational purposes.
- Dr. Jaishri Laxmanrao Patil v/s Chief Minister case, 2021
- Despite the Indra Sawhney judgement, many states in the past have attempted to extend the reservations over the 50% ceiling and the Maharashtra Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act 2018 was challenged in the Supreme Court
- The Supreme Court upheld the Indra Sawhney ruling and struck down Sections in the Act that provided 12% reservation for Marathas in educational institutions and 13% reservation in public employment respectively, noting that reservations were not made out of any extraordinary situations to exceed the 50% limit.
Nut Graf
As many state governments in recent years have breached the ceiling limit of 50% of reservation mandates through the Indra Sawhney for electoral gains, the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Maratha reservation law is a welcome sign and is expected to extend to other states as well.
C. GS 3 Related
Category: SCIECE AND TECHNOLOGY
Syllabus: Indigenization of technology.
Prelims: About 5G Technology
Mains: Advantages and challenges associated with 5G and the need for enhanced infrastructure and R&D.
Context
Prime Minister inaugurated India’s first indigenous test bed that assists the 5G ecosystem.
Latest developments
- The Government has said that it plans to conduct 5G spectrum auctions in June (2022) and services are expected to be started in the third quarter of 2022.
- The service providers are undertaking 5G trials while the 5G compatible phones have been sold extensively in the market.
5G Technology
- In simple terms, 5G represents the allocation of a new spectrum to increase capacity since the spectrum allocated currently is insufficient to cater to the requirements.
- Radio electronics refers to the technologies that transmit, receive and process wireless signals.
- Radio electronics use the electromagnetic spectrum for communications and the lower frequencies of this spectrum are attractive as they can travel longer distances and penetrate obstacles
- Also, Electronic components such as amplifiers, transmitters, receivers that operate at lower frequencies are also simpler to design and manufacture, hence most of the bandwidth in the lower frequencies of the spectrum is already allocated.
- Mobile communications generally use the spectrum from 800MHz to 2.5 GHz.
- 5G involves the allocation of higher frequency spectrum and the first allocations in India would be 3GHz and is expected to increase to 25GHz and beyond.
- 5G offers various benefits such as low latency, energy efficiency and standardisation.
Advantages and challenges in the implementation of 5G
- Increased frequency of spectrum helps to expand the bandwidth available for mobile services but the design and manufacturing of equipment become complex.
- Signal attenuation also increases which reduces the coverage area of towers and hence the towers will have to be placed more closely.
- With higher frequencies, the process of directing a signal in a specific direction becomes more easier, hence the signals transmitted from a tower can be more precisely directed at a specific user which was earlier spread out in different directions resulting in the wastage of energy.
- Also, the improved directivity leads to less interference between signals meant for different users which ultimately leads to increased capacity.
- 5G regards the importance of energy efficiency and this would result in lesser energy bills for service providers and longer battery life for mobile devices.
Need for enhanced infrastructure
- As the 5G infrastructure is being built from scratch, there is a chance to redesign the technology to make it feasible for the evolving communication needs of the future.
- The current wireless communication infrastructure is mainly designed to cater to the requirements of mobile phones. However, the emerging applications in automation, gaming and remote healthcare sector need latency requirements.
- Example: Self-driving cars can work only with low delays in transmission and reception of messages as the cars need it to avoid accidents.
- As 5G rolls out, the volume of data is predicted to increase significantly and the infrastructure has to be built accordingly.
- To ensure speedy deployment of 5G infrastructure there is an effort to standardise interaction between components.
- Increased standardisation will help the service providers build their infrastructure by mixing and matching components from various vendors.
- Switching vendors would also be easier which would foster competition and lower costs.
Enhanced Research & Development
- There has been increased research in both industry and academia focused on 5G.
- There is a convergence seen in positioning, sensing and communication which have been seen as separate technologies and 5G communication has helped integrate these technologies.
- There has been increased research on the cost and energy efficient electronic devices that help transmit and receive high frequency signals.
- This requires knowledge about semiconductor technologies and is expected to be the foundation for the growth of wireless technology in higher frequency bands.
- Research is also underway on building a 6G system that uses frequencies above 100 GHz.
To know more about – 5G Technology
Nut Graf
The 5G technology despite having some fundamental challenges, offers significant benefits such as increased capacity, lower latency, and energy efficiency and with enhanced infrastructure and R & D, the 5G system is expected to improve the state of art and enable new applications.
D. GS 4 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
E. Editorials
Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. The return of the great power rivalries
Syllabus: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries
Mains: Similarities between the power rivalries of the past and the present in Europe and the impact of the Ukraine war on the Balance of Power in Europe.
Context: This article discusses the recent geopolitical developments in Europe and compares them with the events that took place in the past.
Onset of the First World War
- Referring to the agreement between France and British and Germany’s concerns over it, Herr von Tschirschky, a politician in imperial Germany said that “Germany’s policy always would be to try and frustrate any coalition between two states which results in damaging Germany’s interests and Germany would not hesitate to take such steps to break up the coalition.”
- The security landscape in Europe was witnessing remarkable transformation as the Russian power had collapsed in its far east after the war with Japan in 1904-05.
- The erosion of Russian influence and the rise of Wilhelmine Germany together posed a challenge to Europe’s balance of power.
- During this period, the two competing colonial powers France and Britain came together while France had already reached an agreement with Russia. The three later formed the Triple Entente.
- This triggered a severe security competition in Europe between the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy which ultimately led to the First World War in 1914.
Recent events and the similarities from the past
- When Otto von Bismarck became the Minister-President of Prussia in 1862, there was no unified German state. Prussia was a part of the vulnerable German Confederation.
- Bismarck undertook an aggressive foreign policy, he fought and won three wars with Denmark, Austria and France. He broke the confederation and established a stronger and larger German Reich that replaced Prussia.
- Similarly, the Russian President Vladimir Putin took over the Russian administration in 2000 amidst a period of lows due to the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
- Russia had lost a large portion of its territories, the economy was witnessing severe lows, its currency had crashed, the standard of living of Russians had collapsed and the global position of Russia had fallen.
- Like Bismarck who focused on transforming Germany internally for laying the foundation, Russia also focused on restoring the state and the economy and later expanded its borders and challenged Europe’s balance of power, first with the annexation of Crimean peninsula and later with the invasion of Ukraine
- The great powers in Europe believed that Germany was a threat to power equations and joined together to counter Germany.
- Germany on the other hand felt that the formation of the Entente was a threat to its larger interests.
- Similarly in the present context, the West led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) saw Russia as a threat to their security interest in the region like the Entente perceived Germany.
- Like Germany in the past, Russia has constantly voiced concerns about the “eastward expansion of NATO” which has influenced its aggressive actions.
The concept of “Offensive realism”
- The nature of 20th century Germany and 21st century Russia can be explained through the concept of “offensive realism” by John Mearsheimer.
- Offensive realists believe that “revisionist powers” such as 20th century Germany and 21st century Russia tend to use force to alter the power equations if they find favourable circumstances.
- However the “status quo or the existing powers” would try to counter any new country which is gaining more power against their interest.
- This type of conflict eventually leads to permanent rivalry and conflict.
- The offensive realism concept can be applied to understand Russia’s aggression towards Georgia which was aimed to counter the country’s NATO ambitions.
- Russia annexed Crimea without war and had sent troops to Syria to protect Russia’s Mediterranean naval base in Tartus and also to neutralise Turkey and Israel
- Russia also reinforced its primacy in Central Asia by its actions of brokering peace in the Nagorno-Karabakh and sending forces to restore order in Kazakhstan.
- These successes increased Russia’s confidence and promoted it to invade Ukraine, thus challenging the power equations in Europe.
Impact of Ukraine war on the “balance of power” in Europe
- Russia is said to have had two objectives in Ukraine,
- To expand Russian borders and create a buffer
- To reinforce Russia’s deterrence against NATO
- While Russia has succeeded with its objective to create a buffer territory through the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has not been able to achieve its second objective.
- Russia’s inability to win the war quickly has raised doubts about Russian power which invariably has strengthened NATO as even Sweden and Finland are pushed towards it.
- Also, the economic sanctions have impacted Russian economy severely
- But despite all these, Russia still continues to be a strong military and geopolitical power that can be ignored and would remain an important part of the European state system.
Conclusion
This period of chaos and disruption in peace is expected to continue in Europe unless Russia accepts its diminishing role in the region and the West accommodates Russia’s security concerns.
Nut Graf
Significant similarities can be seen between the recent power struggle in Europe with the power rivalries of the past but what makes the recent events more dangerous is the advent and the presence of nuclear weapons.
1. Building peace and prosperity with strong BRICS
Syllabus: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India
Mains: Need for strengthening BRICS across various sectors and the way forward.
Context: Recently China hosted a meeting of BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs.
Details
- The first dialogue of Foreign Ministers between BRICS and emerging markets was also held.
- The BRICS Foreign Ministers reached a consensus on multiple important issues regarding global security and development and made preparations for the 14th BRICS summit.
- This meeting has gained significance as it reflected that the members will strengthen their cooperation during challenges and undertake actions that promote peace and stability.
Know more about BRICS and BRICS Summit
Need for strengthening cooperation among BRICS countries
In upholding universal security
- BRICS countries should take up the initiative of building universal security.
- BRICS countries must improve their mutual trust and security cooperation also maintaining communication and cooperation on key international issues
- There is a need to accommodate each other’s core interests and major concerns, respect each other’s sovereignty, security and development interests, together oppose hegemonism and power politics, and collaborate to ensure security for all.
In economic fronts
- BRICS countries must ensure common development of all as the COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the global economy.
- BRICS countries must enhance mutual cooperation in their supply chains, energy sector, food security and financial resilience, which would help implement the Global Development Initiative and create an open world economy and a favourable environment for common development.
In health sector
- There is a need for BRICS countries to collaborate closely in COVID-19 pandemic management.
- Efforts are to be built upon India’s vision of “One Earth, One Health” and promote the development of global health governance that helps developing and underdeveloped countries.
- The countries can utilise BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Center and establish a BRICS early warning system aimed at preventing the spread of large-scale infectious diseases, and providing high-quality public goods for global health governance.
In global governance
- BRICS countries should take part actively in safeguarding the global order
- BRICS countries must work with the United Nations and ensure that the international laws are followed by all, international affairs and international rules are formulated by the participation of all, and the following developmental outcomes are shared by all.
- There is a need to promote a global governance philosophy that emphasises extensive consultations, joint contributions and shared benefits thereby enhancing unity and cooperation among the countries across the world.
- In line with this, the first dialogue of Foreign Ministers between BRICS promoted the importance of multilateralism, close cooperation, common development, and solidarity and cooperation.
Conclusion
The members of the BRICS are required to work closely to support and advocate the ‘BRICS plus’ cooperation model that will help in strengthening the BRICS countries’ representation and influence across the world.
Nut Graf
The increasing instability, uncertainty and insecurity in the global order and failure of other key international groupings in this regard have provided BRICS an opportunity to take up the role of a leader and undertake actions that ensure international order and promote common development.
1. Absolution
Syllabus: Constitution of India – features, significant provisions and basic structure.
Mains: Analysing the need for a law on providing compensation to victims of misuse of powers.
Context:
Son of an actor who was accused in the Mumbai ‘drugs-on-cruise’ case has been cleared of all charges.
Background
- A probe was conducted by a former Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) official after a purported tip-off about the consumption of drugs on a cruise ship, in October 2021.
- The raid on the vessel led to a seizure of narcotic substances and the arrest of many including a son of an actor.
- The agency accused the individual of being part of an international drug trafficking network and produced messages exchanged on WhatsApp as ‘evidence’.
- The case was later transferred to a special investigation team (SIT) from Delhi following the charges of extortion against the former NCB official.
- SIT has identified lapses in the initial investigation, lack of evidence and discharged six members and excluded them from the charge sheet filed.
Lapses found in the investigation
- Failure to video-graph the search of the ship
- Not conducting a medical examination to prove consumption
- Examining individual’s phones without any legal basis
Various recommendations to prevent such instances in the future
- The priorities of NCB have to be revisited and the elite agency must be mandated to involve itself in the fight against international drug trafficking
- The fight against smuggling networks within the country, local drug peddlers and raiding rave parties must be left to the jurisdiction of local police.
- There is a need to introduce stringent disciplinary actions against officials who are involved in false accusations against individuals for malafide reasons.
- Government must intervene and formulate a legal framework for compensating those jailed without proof as the country currently lacks a law that grants compensation to those maliciously prosecuted.
- The Law Commission of India has recommended introducing legislation that makes compensation in such cases an enforceable right.
- Currently, Section 358 of the Cr.P.C. provides for a fine to be imposed on a person on whose complaint a person is arrested without sufficient grounds and such provisions must be expanded to include compensation by the state for needless arrests.
Nut Graf
As there is an increase in the number of instances of wrongful arrests of innocent citizens in recent years by the individuals in power due to various malafide reasons, there is a need for the government and the judiciary to intervene and formulate a law or mandate that makes compensation for unlawful arrest a statutory or a legal right.
F. Prelims Facts
Syllabus: GS2, Governance; Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors
Prelims: About Jan Samarth Portal
Context:
The Union government is planning to launch the Jan Samarth portal.
Jan Samarth Portal
- Jan Samarth Portal is an initiative of the Central government that links government schemes, incentives and subsidies.
- It is proposed to link 15 credit-linked government schemes under one platform.
- Objective: is to promote inclusive growth and development of various sectors by providing them access to various government schemes.
- The Portal is developed with cutting edge technologies and smart analytics.
- The Portal aims to connect the beneficiaries with the nodal agencies, financial institutions and Central and State government Ministries.
- It also integrates platforms such as the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL), Local Government Directory (LGD), etc.
G. Tidbits
1. Centre retracts caution on Aadhaar photocopies
- Two days after issuing an order warning people against sharing a photocopy of their Aadhaar card, the central government withdrew the order saying that it could be “misinterpreted”.
- After the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) issued guidelines, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the parent body of the UIDAI, said the authority advised Aadhaar card holders only to exercise “normal prudence” in using and sharing their Aadhaar numbers.
- The statement by MeitY said that the “Aadhaar identity authentication ecosystem has adequate safety features for protecting the identity and privacy of the Aadhaar holders”.
- The UIDAI notification had recommended the use of a masked Aadhaar which displays only the last four digits of Aadhaar number.
2. U.S. becomes India’s biggest trading partner at $119 billion
- The U.S. surpassed China to become India’s biggest trading partner in 2021-22, which shows strengthening economic relations between the two countries.
- Bilateral trade between the U.S. and India reached $119.42 billion mark in 2021-22 as compared to $80.51 billion in 2020-21.
- Exports to the U.S. have raised to $76.11 billion in 2021-22 from $51.62 billion in 2020-21
- The imports to India have also increased to $43.31 billion from about $29 billion.
- Bilateral trade between China and India stood at $115.42 in 2021-22 billion as against $86.4 billion in 2020-21.
- Exports to China saw a slight increase and stood at $21.25 billion compared to $21.18 billion in 2020-21.
- The imports from China increased to $94.16 billion from $65.21 billion in 2020-21.
- The trade gap between India and China widened to $72.91 billion in 2021-22 in favour of China as compared to $44 billion in 2020-21.
- Experts believe that India is emerging as a trusted trading partner as companies look to reduce their dependence on China for their supplies.
- Further, India has joined the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) which is expected to boost economic ties.
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
Q1. Which of the following statement/s is/are correct about India-U.S. trade relations? (Level – Medium)
- The U.S. surpassed China to become India’s top trading partner in 2021-22.
- India enjoys a positive trade balance with the U.S.
Options:
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
Explanation:
- Statement 1 is correct, The U.S. surpassed China to become India’s top trading partner in 2021-22
- Bilateral trade between the U.S. and India reached $119.42 compared to $115.42 between China and India.
- Statement 2 is correct, Exports to the U.S. stand at $76.11 billion in 2021-22 compared to imports from the US which accounts for $43.31 billion.
- Hence, India enjoys a positive trade balance with the U.S.
Q2. Which of the following best describes the e- Shram portal? (Level – Easy)
- It is used for co-ordinating between college students seeking apprentice opportunities and the prospective companies.
- It is used for enrolment, registration, collection and identification of the required data of all the unorganised workers.
- It is used for providing an online registration platform for people looking for job opportunities in the Ministry of Labour and Employment
- It is used for collecting information on the skill set of the government employees.
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: b
Explanation:
- e-Shram portal is the first-ever national database of unorganised workers that includes migrant workers, construction workers, gig and platform workers, etc.
- The portal is used for enrolment, registration, collection and identification of the required data of all the unorganised workers.
Q3. Which of the following pair of places and associated countries have been correctly matched? (Level – Difficult) Place Associated country
- Nagorno-Karbakh Ukraine
- Kharkiv Azerbaijan
- Khobani Iraq
Options:
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- None of the above
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: d
Explanation:
- Nagorno- Karabakh is a disputed territory between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
- Kharkiv is a city in northeast Ukraine
- Khobani is a city in northern Syria
- None of the above are matched correctly, hence option d is correct.
Q4. Which of the following statement/s is/are incorrect with respect to Rajya Sabha? (Level – Medium)
- The Third Schedule to the Constitution provides for the allocation of seats to the States and Union Territories in Rajya Sabha.
- Currently, the Rajya Sabha has 245 members, the maximum limit as specified in the Indian Constitution.
- A member chosen to fill a casual vacancy in the Rajya Sabha will serve the full term of six years available to an elected member.
Options:
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: d
Explanation:
- Statement 1 is not correct, the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution provides for the allocation of seats to the States and Union Territories in Rajya Sabha.
- Statement 2 is not correct, the maximum strength of Rajya Sabha according to the constitution is 250 and the current strength is 245
- Statement 3 is not correct, A member chosen to fill a casual vacancy in the Rajya Sabha will serve for the remainder of his predecessor’s term of office.
Q5. Consider the following statements about Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India: (Level – Difficult) [PYQ-2019]
- PVTGs reside in 18 states and one Union Territory
- A stagnant or declining population is one of the criteria for determining PVTG status.
- There are 95 PVTGs officially notified in the country so far.
- Irular and Konda Reddi tribes are included in the list of PVTGs.
Options:
- 1, 2 and 3 only
- 2, 3 and 4 only
- 1, 2 and 4 only
- 1, 3 and 4 only
CHECK ANSWERS:-
Answer: c
Explanation:
- Statement 1 is correct, PVTGs resided in 18 states and one Union Territory
- Statement 2 is correct, The criteria for determination of PVTGs are:
-
-
- A pre-agriculture level of technology
- A stagnant or declining population
- Extremely low literacy
- A subsistence level of the economy
-
- Statement 3 is not correct, There are 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India.
- Statement 4 is correct, the Irular tribe of Tamil Nadu and Konda Reddi tribe of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are included in the list of PVTGs.
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
- 5G communication offers numerous advantages along with increased capacity, lower
latency, and energy efficiency. It is expected to significantly improve and enable new
applications while giving a fillip to AI and IoT. Discuss in detail. (250 words; 15 marks) (GS III – Science and Technology) - A stronger BRICS can help foster global peace and prosperity. Analyse.
(250 words; 15 marks) (GS II – International Relations)
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