Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 05-02-2021

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 05-02-2021

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. World Politics - US extends Nuclear Treaty with Russia for 5 years - In a major development, the United States has extended nuclear arms control treaty with Russia for five more years, till 2026. The announcedment was made by the Secretary of State Antony Blinken just one day before the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was set to expire. The move is expected to prevent an arms race amid rising tensions with Moscow. The New START Treaty, which went into effect in 2011, limits the US and Russia to deploying no more than 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads each and imposes restrictions on the land and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them (but does not cover new types of weapons).
2. Defence and Military - TPMW treaty comes into force - The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), or Nuke ban treaty, came into force on 22 January 2021. It is a legally binding instrument aimed at total elimination of nuclear weapons, under the aegis of the United Nations. The treaty did not find support from the P-5 countries of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) despite being party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). This is since it prevents countries from participating in any nuclear weapons-related activities, including development, testing, possession, stockpile, use, or threat of use of nuclear weapons. India refused to be a party to the talks. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) spearheaded the efforts for the signing of a nuke ban treaty and was awarded the Nobel Prize for peace in 2017. In the past, India has refrained from signing nuclear disarmament treaties such as the NPT and Comprehensive Nuclear Ban Treaty (CTBT), primarily because it feels they are discriminatory — while non-nuclear states aren’t allowed to have nuclear weapons, nuclear-weapon states have no obligation to give them up. Also, the NPT only recognises a country as a nuclear power if tests were conducted before 1967. India isn’t ready to sign the treaty as a non-nuclear weapons state.
3. People and Personalities - Still stand with farmers, no amount of threats will change that: Greta - Global environmental activist Greta Thunberg on 04 Feb, 2021 again tweeted, "I still #StandWithFarmers and support their peaceful protest. No amount of hate, threats or violations of human rights will ever change that." This comes after a large number of Indians on social media (mainly Twitter) accused her of being a part of an "international conspiracy to defame India" after she tweeted a toolkit on farmers' protest. India media went ballistic proving that "her toolkit of instigating protests" proves that farmer protests are globally engineered and fake. The Delhi police registered an FIR (police report) against "the toolkit", bringing more attention to farmers protests from the world!
4. Healthcare and Medicine - 19 people have died after Covid-19 vaccination, no evidence of vaccine link: Govt - Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has said that 19 people, who have received Covid-19 vaccine, have died and there is no evidence of these deaths being caused due to the vaccination. "We have a total of 8,563 adverse event following immunisation (AEFI) cases...We have done vaccination in lakhs. So what percentage is this? 0.18% only," he added. India's Covaxin (Bharat Biotech + ICMR) had generated controversy due to lack of publicly available Phase III efficacy results prior to launching of vaccination drive. India is also exporting its Covid vaccines worldwide as part of Vaccine Diplomacy.
5. Healthcare and Medicine - UNICEF, SII sign agreement for long term supply of COVID-19 vaccines - The Serum Institute of India (SII) and the UNICEF entered into an agreement for long-term supply of Novavax and AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccines. Oxford-AstraZeneca's vaccine Covishield is being manufactured by the SII and Novavax vaccine is being produced by US-based Novavax Inc. The UNICEF will have access to about 1.1 billion vaccine doses for 100 countries. There are various global alliances working towards ensuring vaccine availability for all. Rich world stands accused of cutting deals with vaccine manufacturing firms, bypassing WHO procedures, inviting criticism of "moral collapse" from WHO chief.
6. World Politics - Myanmar military blocks Facebook amid protests over coup - Myanmar's military run-government blocked Facebook amid protests following the coup. Facebook would be unavailable until February 7 in order to maintain "stability" in the country, the Ministry of Communications and Information said. Facebook urged authorities to restore connectivity so that people "can communicate with their families and friends and access important information". In recent years, FB has been blamed for doing little while hateful posts circulated on its platform led to the 'genocide' of Rohingyas at the hand of military. State counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi is also under arrest now.
7. Science and Technology - Elon Musk-led SpaceX successfully launches 60 Starlink satellites - SpaceX on 04-02-2021 successfully launched 60 Starlink satellites from its Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The Falcon 9 first stage booster successfully returned to Earth, completing its fifth launch and landing. SpaceX has launched over 1,000 satellites to date and has also started beta testing its satellite internet in the US and the UK. Starlink is a satellite internet constellation being constructed to provide satellite internet access. The constellation will consist of thousands of mass-produced small satellites in low Earth orbit, working in combination with ground transceivers. Once active, it will prove challenging for governments that block internet locally, as internet from space will always be there.
8. Indian Politics - India falls to 53rd spot in Democracy Index - India had slipped two places to 53rd position in the annual Democracy Index published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), which analysed 167 countries. Norway is ranked 1st, and Pakistan 105th. India's ranking has slipped from 27th in 2014 "as a result of democratic backsliding" under PM Modi's leadership, the EIU said. India is classified as a "flawed democracy" along with countries like the US, France, Belgium and Brazil. Trump was responsible for the slide US saw. The EIU Democracy Index provides a snapshot of the state of world democracy for 165 independent states and two territories. The Democracy Index is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of government, political participation, and political culture.
9. People and Personalities - Kohli India's most valued celebrity brand for 4th year in a row at ₹1,734 cr: Report - Team India captain Virat Kohli has been named as India's most valuable celebrity brand for the fourth year in a row in Duff & Phelps' latest celebrity valuation report. Kohli's brand value rose to $237.7 million (₹1,734 crore) in 2020. Actor Akshay Kumar retained his second spot in the rankings with a brand valuation of $118.9 million (over ₹865 crore).
10. Trivia and Miscellaneous - Kerala to launch first human milk bank on 5th February - Kerala's first Human Milk Bank will be launched by state's Health Minister KK Shailaja on February 5, 2021 at the Ernakulam General Hospital. A milk bank collects breast milk from mothers who have more than their babies need, then screens, pasteurizes, and tests the milk, after which it is dispensed primarily to premature and sick babies whose mothers do not have enough milk for them. The Bank will ensure the availability of breast milk for newborn babies, who are not being breastfed by their mothers. The first human milk bank in Asia was established in 1989 in Lokmanya Tilak General Hospital, Mumbai, India, by Dr. Armida Fernandez.

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• SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

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• 1. ECONOMY (Prelims, GS Paper 3, Essay paper)

The effectiveness of MGNREGA: a study

• World's biggest: The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is the largest workfare programme in the world with an average annual expenditure of over USD 5 billion (Rs.60000 cr). Pandemic pushed the need for expanding the programme, due to rural stress.
• Who needs it: The MGNREGA is expected to provide employment opportunities to migrant workers (from poor households) who were displaced by the economic disruption due to State governments claim they care about the lives of these workers and that there are enough employment opportunities available via MGNREGA.
  

• Analysis: Using the Workers Level Schedule (WLS), sourced from the All India Coordinated Report by the NITI Aayog (earlier, Planning Commission) tried to find out workers’ response to MGNREGA's effectiveness. Many states were considered and a total of 6,580 raw data points used from 40 districts, covering 162 grampanchayats. Results were:

1. The impact of MGNREGA in providing employment opportunities and augmenting market-wage rates varied enormously across states.
2. States that did well in terms of implementing MGNREGA programmes are Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Tripura.
3. Assumption is that poorer states do more MGNREGA programmes, but data finds no such direct correlation.
4. There are incidences of poverty in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, there seems to be lack of usage of MGNREGA funds. For north-eastern states, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur did not do well in terms of providing MGNREGA work.
5. Some poorer states such as Chhattisgarh and Tripura did well and for the relatively rich states such as Punjab and Haryana, where the demand for MGNREGA work was low, there is apparently not much interest.
6. Workers from Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, and West Bengal believed that MGNREGA intervention increased the market-wage rates.
7. MGNREGA work created demand for unskilled workers and had some spillover effect in raising market-wage rates for non-MGNREGA-related unskilled work, such as manual farm labour, porter, etc.
8. For industrially advanced states such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, the workers felt no drastic improvement in market-wage rates. So funds were used for buying heavy machinery for the construction of MGNREGA assets.
9. Due to presence of an alternative industrial base (with demand for manual labour), these were not too successful in terms of providing wage employment related to MGNREGA work.

• Corruption: There are many ways money is stolen– through false documentation, bogus workers’ lists, and a significant portion of missing assets. It was found that many jobs were allocated on a ‘verbal basis’, and no documentation was available with the village body. There is undesirable and unlawful political intervention. In Kerala, not many workers are available for MGNREGA work and the panchayat pradhans are instructed to submit wage bills where the beneficiaries are the local party workers.
• Kerala and Assam: Workers in Kerala have alternative employment opportunities in tea plantation, spice, and tourism industries. In Assam there's a big difference between MGNREGA-wage rate and market-wage rates. This has to do with flourishing oil, tea plantation, and tourism sectors in Assam. The migrant labourers prefer to work in low-wage-type MGNREGA opportunities.
• Political connection: Political affiliation matters. In West Bengal, households that are politically active and supporters of the local ruling party are more likely to receive MGNREGA work. In Rajasthan, the workers themselves did not apply for work knowing that the government is slow in implementing the MGNREGA work. In transparency, the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttarakhand were more unbiased in doling out MGNREG schemes.
• Conclusion; For MGNREGA, a pan-India, uniform implementation won’t be effective. If the variations are not incorporated in the Act, implementation cannot be perfect. Fortunately, the National Agricultural Research Project by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has divided the country into 127 independent agro-climatic zones depending on soil, rainfall, and agricultural productivities. For programmes to be effective, it is advisable that the MGNREG scheme is implemented as per the requirements of the geographical characteristics, taking into consideration the occupational patterns of the local people.

Budget impact: Focus on building buffer stocks of onions, pulseshe

1. Tears no more: Government will procure 50% more onions in 2021-22 to tide over the period when there is short supply of onions. The government also has created buffer stock of 2 million tonnes of pulses, which were distributed to control prices. It was also used for free distribution during the pandemic.
2. Budget provisions: The Budget allocated Rs 2,700 crore to the price stabilisation fund (PSF) for 2021-22, to be used to create buffer stocks of onions and pulses to check price volatility in these commodities. This is 35% more than the allocation of Rs 2,000 crore in the last budget but 77% less than the actual expenditure of Rs 11,800 crore in 2020-21. The PSF will also be used to fund states that are looking to create their own PSFs.
3. Free distribution: In 2020-21, the expenditure went up astronomically due to free distribution of pulses to 200 million poor families under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKAY) during Covid-19 pandemic. And the government created buffer stock of 99,000 tonnes of onions.
4. Procurement ops: Govt. will start procuring onions from March-April for the buffer stock. Onions produced in winter are better suited for storage. In 2020-21, 25,000 tonnes of onions in buffer stock got damaged due to moisture loss.

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• 2. ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY (Prelims, GS Paper 3, Essay paper

India's first centre for wetland conservation in Chennai

1. Wetland Conservation Day: On the Wetland Conservation Day February 2, 2021, India established its first centre for wetland conservation in Chennai. The wetlands occupy around 4.6% of the country’s landmass. The ‘Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management’ will assist in the regulatory framework and policy, monitoring, management planning as well as the targeted research for the conservation of the wetlands in India.
2. What it will do: The specialized institution known as ‘Centre for Wetland Conservation and Management’ is part of the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management- NCSCM, which comes under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Currently, India has 42 sites that are designated as the wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. These wetlands cover a surface area of 1.08 million hectares.
3. Objective: The Wetland Conservation Centre will assist the national and state governments in the design and the implementation of the regulatory framework and policy, monitoring, management planning as well as the targeted research for the conservation of the wetlands in India. It will be a knowledge hub for the wetland researchers, managers, policymakers, and users. The dedicated centre will also address the knowledge gaps and specific research needs.
4. Ramsar Sites in India: This year commemorates the 50th anniversary of the signing of the convention on wetlands in Ramsar, Iran on February 2, 1971. India has 42 Ramsar sites that are recognized as the wetlands of international significance. These sites are named after the city in Iran. The international treaty signed at a convention was for the conservation and the sustainable use of wetlands in India.
5. Wetlands in India: Wetlands are one of the most significant freshwater sources as they also provide various ecological services. It is a distinct ecosystem which is flooded with water, either seasonally or permanently, where the oxygen-free processes prevail. India is extremely prosperous in terms of wetland diversity. It is also one of the few countries in the world to have a wetland inventory system, where remote sensing techniques have been used for the mapping of the wetlands

 

Switch Delhi: Delhi government EV campaign

1. Switch Delhi: The Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal on February 4, 2021, launched the ‘Switch Delhi’ campaign in order to promote the use of electric vehicles. He also appealed to the citizens to buy such vehicles to combat the pollution in the capital city. Under the new campaign, an awareness will be created about the benefits of electric vehicles as well as in what way it can contribute to making Delhi clean and pollution-free.
2. A big push: The CM said the government will only hire electric vehicles for various purposes in the next six weeks. He also asked the big companies and delivery chains, market associations, resident welfare associations, malls, and cinema halls to promote the use of electric vehicles and to set up the charging stations at their premises. He encouraged the youths of the city to buy an electric vehicle as their first vehicle.
3. Objective: Under the campaign, an awareness will be created about the benefits of electric vehicles as well as in what way it can contribute to making Delhi clean and pollution-free.
4. Delhi government’s electric vehicle policy: As per CM, the electric vehicle policy of the Delhi government has been considered as one of the best in the world and now it's high time that it is implemented with commitment. Under the policy, the government has planned extensive subsidies on the purchase of the electric two-wheelers and four-wheelers, besides waving the registration charges and road tax.
5. Sale of EVs in Delhi: Ever since the Electric Vehicle Policy was launched by the government in August 2020, more than 6,000 electric vehicles have been purchased. The state government has also issued the tenders to set up 100 charging stations across the city. Delhi government has fixed an ambitious target of 25% electric vehicles among the total vehicle registrations in Delhi by 2024.
6. FAME I and II: The FAME I (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles in India) Scheme came in the year 2015 with an outlay of INR 8.95 billion (USD 130 million), which provided subsidies for electric 2- and 3-wheelers, hybrid and e-cars and buses. Target was to have 70 lakh EV and hybrid vehicles by 2020. In FAME II, the outlay is of Rs.10,000 crore, for three years till 2022. The support is for 10 lakh e-2-wheelers, 5 lakh e-3-wheelers, 55000 4-wheelers, and 7000 buses. Nearly 3000 charging stations were proposed.

 

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• 3. FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Prelims, GS Paper 3, Essay paper)

Conflict in Libya

 

1. UAE wades into Libya: A new United Nations report alleges that the United Arab Emirates has established direct contact with armed Sudanese groups fighting in Libya’s proxy conflict on the side of Khalifa Haftar. The report said that for around a year the UAE has had “direct relations” with armed groups from Sudan’s Darfur region fighting in Libya on the side of Haftar’s Libyan National Army. This is in violation of a U.N. arms embargo.
2. Not trusting Haftar: The UAE’s contact with the Sudanese armed groups in Libya, bypassing Haftar’s forces, is seen by some experts as a sign of the country’s appetite for a more hands-on role in the conflict and of growing mistrust of the renegade general. Haftar’s international backers have stuck by him so far out of concern that eastern Libya could descend further into chaos fueled by fracturing rebel groups in the absence of clear leadership.
3. Complex conflict, many players: The UAE is one of several countries that waded into the complex conflict in Libya as they jostle to further their own objectives in the fragile North African nation. The proxy war has pitted allies against each other. France, Egypt, and Russia (through the Wagner mercenary group) have thrown their support to Haftar and his Libyan National Army. Turkey, Italy, and Qatar have provided military backing to the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord in Tripoli. Complicating matters further is the presence of militias from Sudan, Chad, and Syria.
4. What UN wanted: In October 2020, the U.N.-backed government and Haftar’s Libyan National Army signed a peace deal that stipulated that all foreign parties leave the country by Jan. 23. Satellite imagery reveals that Russian fighters are digging enormous trenches, and the UAE’s outreach to Sudanese groups suggests that foreign parties are in no hurry to disentangle themselves from the conflict.
5. Fear of political Islam: Perhaps the UAE’s intervention in Libya stems from a deep fear of political Islam and is intended to send a message about the perils of popular uprisings. A peace deal signed between the Sudanese government and an alliance of rebel groups in August 2020 called on all members of armed groups to return to the country.

US and Myanmar - post the Coup

 

1. Myanmar coup 2021: Foreign policy is a realm of constant surprises, and no global leader can anticipate everything that might occur on their watch. Leaders do get to decide how to react. Feb 2021's events in Myanmar do not require much in the way of a U.S. response. The coup is not good, but the military’s decision to reject the landslide victory by the National League for Democracy in the November 2020 elections and to detain members of the civilian government—including nominal leader Aung San Suu Kyi—does not impinge on vital U.S. interests or require dramatic action.
2. Biden and Blinken: Some US experts said it was “an early test of American moral authority” under the new administration. Others say it's haughty to put it that way! President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have both pledged to give human rights greater priority in the conduct of U.S. foreign policy, and Biden repeatedly stressed his deep commitment to America’s democratic values. But realistically speaking, there’s little the United States can do to alter the trajectory of events in Myanmar.
3. What US will do: The United States is certainly not going to invade Myanmar to restore civilian authorities to (partial) power. The US will call for swift verbal condemnation (administration has already done so), a review and/or suspension of some aid programs, and (perhaps) some precisely targeted economic sanctions against a few individuals, most of whom have probably been sanctioned in this way before (and without much effect).
4. Let's be real: The plain fact is that the United States doesn’t have much leverage here. U.S. trade with Myanmar amounted to roughly $1.4 billion, but Myanmar’s annual trade with China is more than 10 times that (about $17 billion in 2019). Chinese investment in Myanmar’s economy is vastly greater than that of the United States. Indeed, Myanmar has been a prime target of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
5. China and Myanmar: China has an extensive economic role in Myanmar and has helped mediate conflicts with several rebel groups there in the past. China has invested billions of dollars to develop the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, a combination of rail and port developments designed to bypass chokepoints like the Strait of Malacca and give Beijing easy access to the Indian Ocean.
6. Lessons for others: The entire saga of Myanmar’s turbulent experiment with democracy is a cautionary tale for those who still believe promoting democracy should be a central pillar of U.S. foreign policy. Turning a dictatorship into a democracy is a massive and highly contingent project of social engineering that invariably produces unintended consequences and rarely proceeds as expected.

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• 4. GOVERNMENT SCHEMES (Prelims, GS Paper 2, Essay paper)

Government earned 80 % more from fuel cess in 2020-21

1. The fuel bonanza: The government has mopped up nearly 80% more road and infrastructure cess levied on petrol and diesel compared to what it had estimated for 2020-21. According to budget documents, the receipts on the fuel excise account increased to nearly Rs 2.3 lakh crore in the revised estimates compared to the nearly Rs 1.3 lakh crore, projected in the budget (BE).
2. Citizens paid the price: This increased flow of revenue has pinched vehicle owners, but was a big help to the government to increase expenditure in some sectors. The entire allocation of Rs 50,000 crore for Jal Jeevan Mission in rural areas for 2021-22 will come from road and infrastructure cess. The government has hiked the allocation by five times for this scheme to ensure tap water connection to every rural household. Similarly, around 65% of the entire budgetary allocation for the road transport and highways ministry will come from this cess.
3. The Cess story: Earlier the cess from fuel, known as Central Road Fund, was primarily used for development of highways and rural roads. But since the government renamed this fund as Central Road and Infrastructure Fund in 2019, it has been earmarking portions of the fund for other infrastructure sectors such as ports, shipyards, inland waterways, airports, railways, urban public transport, energy, water and sanitation, communication infrastructure.
4. The politics of it: Till 2014, fuel prices were a political hot potato, but since then, citizens have accepted higher fuel prices and there are hardly any protests.

 

SISFS: New Rs 945 crore seed fund scheme for Startups

1. A new idea: The government has approved the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) with a corpus of Rs 945 crore to provide financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialization. The funds will be disbursed through selected incubators across India from 2021-25, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said in a notification.
2. Details: The funds will be disbursed through selected incubators across India from 2021-25, as per the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said in a notification. An Experts Advisory Committee (EAC) will be constituted by DPIIT.
3. Who will get it: The SISFS can be availed by a startup, recognised by DPIIT, incorporated not more than two years ago at the time of application. It must have a suitable commercially viable business idea and should use technology in its core product or service. Preference would be given to startups creating innovative solutions in sectors such as social impact, waste management, water management, financial inclusion, education, agriculture, food processing, biotechnology, healthcare, energy, mobility, defence, space, railways, oil and gas, textiles, etc.
4. Eligibility: The National Seed Fund will to support ideation and development of early-stage startups whereas the credit guarantee scheme will enable startups to raise loans for their business purposes. Eligible startups should not have received more than Rs 10 lakh of monetary support under any other central or state government scheme. However, this does not include prize money from competitions and grand challenges, subsidised working space, founder monthly allowance, access to labs, or access to prototyping facility. Another condition for eligibility is that shareholding by Indian promoters in the startup should be at least 51% at the time of application to the incubator for the scheme, as per the Companies Act, 2013 and SEBI (ICDR) Regulations, 2018.
5. For incubators: A startup will not receive seed support more than once each as per provisions of guidelines. As for the eligibility criterion for incubators, they must be legal entities, be operational for at least two years on the date of application to the scheme, have facilities to seat at least 25 individuals and have at least five startups undergoing incubation physically. The incubators must also have a full-time Chief Executive Officer, supported by a capable team.   
   

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• 5. POLITY AND CONSTITUTION (Prelims, GS Paper 2, GS Paper 3)

Article 32 - Heart and Soul of Indian Constitution

1. An unhappy Chief: The CJI of SC noted in 2021 that there was "a spate of Article 32 petitions" and reiterated that the High Court can also uphold fundamental rights (under article 226).
2. What it is: The Article 32 of the Constitution (Right to Constitutional Remedies) is a fundamental right, which states that individuals have the right to approach the Supreme Court (SC) seeking enforcement of other fundamental rights recognised by the Constitution. The SC has power to issue directions or orders or writs for the enforcement of any of the fundamental rights. The writs issued may include habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari and quo-warranto.
3. Who can suspend it: The right to move the SC shall not be suspended except as otherwise provided for by the Constitution. Thus, the Constitution provides that the President can suspend the right to move any court for the enforcement of the fundamental rights during a national emergency (Article 359).
4. Original and Concurrent: In case of the enforcement of Fundamental Rights, the jurisdiction of the SC is original but not exclusive. It is concurrent with the jurisdiction of the high court under Article 226. It is original, because an aggrieved citizen can directly go to the SC, not necessarily by way of appeal. It is concurrent as when the Fundamental Rights of a citizen are violated, the aggrieved party has the option of moving either the high court or the Supreme Court directly.
5. Guaranteed: Since the right guaranteed by Article 32 (ie, the right to move the SC where a fundamental right is infringed) is in itself a fundamental right, the availability of alternate remedy is no bar to relief under Article 32. However, the SC has ruled that where relief through the high court is available under Article 226, the aggrieved party should first move the high court. In the Chandra Kumar case (1997), the SC ruled that the writ jurisdiction of both the high court and the Supreme Court constitute a part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
6. Counter-Argument: Even as the SC underlines the powers of the high courts, it has in the past transferred cases to itself from the high courts. Most recently, the SC transferred the case involving land use for the national capital’s Central Vista project to itself from the Delhi High Court. Incidentally, the petitioners had not sought such a transfer. When such transfers are made, the petitioners lose a stage of appeal that would otherwise have been available had the high courts heard and decided the case. Recently, the SC also conveyed its concerns that in many matters involving personal liberty, the High Courts are not exercising their jurisdiction as constitutional courts.
7. Article 226: This article empowers a high court to issue writs including habeas corpus, mandamus, certiorari, prohibition and quo warranto for the enforcement of the fundamental rights of the citizens and for any other purpose. The phrase ‘for any other purpose’ refers to the enforcement of an ordinary legal right. This implies that the writ jurisdiction of the high court is wider than that of the SC. This is because the SC can issue writs only for the enforcement of fundamental rights and not for any other purpose. But the high court can issue writs to any person, authority and government not only within its territorial jurisdiction but also outside its territorial jurisdiction if the cause of action arises within its territorial jurisdiction.
8. Summary: The founder fathers envisaged an India where fundamental rights would be supreme, and the core of citizen's existence. The individual was given supremacy, over society or religion or community, as clearly reflected in Part III on Rights. The judiciary was appointed the watchdog. Over time, many challenges arrived, and judiciary has tried in various ways to preserve these values. 

 

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• 6. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (Prelims, Various GS Papers)

Nuclear-powered rockets to take crewed mission to Mars

1. Cut the time: A nuclear-powered rocket could get a crewed mission to Mars in just under three months. NASA’s plan is to get human to Mars by the year 2035, but there are several challenges to the trip. The biggest being the time it would take to get to the red planet. A prolonged trip would also mean increased exposure to space radiation, which can seriously impact the health of astronauts on the mission.
2. New ideas: Firms like Ultra Safe Nuclear Technologies (USNC-Tech), a Seattle-based company, have come up with a design of a spacecraft that will use nuclear-powered rockets to shorten the trip. Currently, NASA’s goal for a one-way trip to Mars is around five to nine months. But switching to a nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) engine does come with its own risks, though USNC-Tech claims to have made it safe for the crew.
3. Making it safe: As per USNC-Tech, the rocket has been designed in such a way that it will store liquid propellants between the “engine and the crew area” and block out the radioactive particles to ensure the crew does not get exposed to radiation during the flight. NASA said that NTP rockets will “double the miles per gallon” meaning a round trip would be possible in less than two years.
4. Challenges: One is finding uranium fuel that can withstand high temperatures inside a nuclear thermal engine. The company claims to solve the problem by developing a fuel that will be able to work in temperatures as high as over 2,400 degree celsius. The fuel comprises of a material known as silicon carbide which is frequently used in tank armour. It is capable of preventing radioactive products from leaking from the reactor by forming a gas-tight barrier.
5. Different launch: The nuclear rockets will not lift off from Earth like other thermal-engine powered rockets. They will be taken to space by a regular rocket that would take it into Earth’s orbit and that’s when the nuclear-powered spacecraft will lift off. And in case something goes wrong and the rocket explodes, USNC-Tech said the pieces of the nuclear reactor would not land on Earth or any other planet as they cannot move in vacuum.

 

SpaceX Starship prototype rocket explodes on landing

1. Second failure: A prototype of SpaceX’s Starship rocket exploded during a landing attempt minutes after a high-altitude experimental launch from Boca Chica, Texas, on 02-Feb, 2021, in a repeat of an accident that destroyed a previous test rocket. The Starship SN8, the first prototype to fly in a high-altitude test launch, met a similar fate in December 2020. No injuries occurred in either of the two incidents.
2. Why did it explode: The Starship SN9 that blew up on its final descent, like the SN8 before it, was a test model of the heavy-lift rocket being developed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s private space company to carry humans and 100 tons of cargo on future missions to the moon and Mars. The self-guided, 16-story-tall rocket initially soared into the sky. Reaching its peak altitude of about 10 km (6 miles), the spacecraft then hovered momentarily in midair, shut off its engines and executed a planned “belly-flop” maneuver to descend nose-down under aerodynamic control back toward Earth.
3. The moment: Trouble came when the Starship, after flipping its nose upward again to begin its landing sequence, tried to reactivate two of its three Raptor thrusters, but one failed to ignite. The rocket then fell rapidly to the ground, exploding in a roaring ball of flames, smoke and debris – 6 minutes and 26 seconds after launch.
4. What Musk said on FAA: There was no immediate comment from Musk, who also heads the electric carmaker Tesla Inc. Hours earlier, Musk said on Twitter he planned to stay off the social media platform “for a while.” The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it would oversee an investigation of the landing mishap. Musk recently tweeted that the FAA’s “space division has a fundamentally broken regulatory structure” and that “humanity will never get to Mars” under its rules.
5. Reusable rockets: The complete Starship rocket, which will stand 394-feet (120 meters) tall when mated with its super-heavy first-stage booster, is the company’s next-generation fully reusable launch vehicle – the center of Musk’s ambitions to make human space travel more affordable and routine. A first orbital Starship flight is planned for 2021's end. Musk has said he intends to fly Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa around the moon with the Starship in 2023.

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• 7. SOCIAL ISSUES (Prelims, GS Paper 2)

The story of Indian migrants

1. India wakes up to its own migrants: The invisible migrants of India suddenly became visible to urban India, when their exodus from the cities following the announcement of the 21-day lockdown started. It threw focus on the vast number of Indians who live outside their home states.
2. Statistics: The total number of internal migrants in India, as per the 2011 census, is 45.36 crore or 37% of the country’s population. This includes inter-state migrants as well as migrants within each state, while the recent exodus is largely due to the movement of inter-state migrants. The annual net flows amount to about 1 per cent of the working age population. As per Census 2011, the size of the workforce was 48.2 crore people. This figure may be more than 50 crore in 2016 — the Economic Survey pegged the size of the migrant workforce at roughly 20 per cent or over 10 crore in 2016.
3. New estimates: There is no official data for the inter-state migrants in the country, but estimates for 2020 have been made by some experts who claims - based on the 2011 Census, NSSO surveys and economic survey - that there is a total of about 65 million inter-state migrants, and 33 per cent of these migrants are workers. By conservative estimates, 30 per cent of them are casual workers and another 30 per cent work on regular basis but in the informal sector.
4. Widening the net: If we add street vendors, another vulnerable community which is not captured by the worker data, that would mean that there are 12 to 18 million people who are residing in states other than that of their origin and have been placed at a risk of losing their income. A study by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) and Azim Premji University in 2019 estimates that 29% of the population in India’s big cities is of daily wagers. This is the number of people which would be logically wanting to move back to their states. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar account for the origin of 25 per cent and 14 per cent of the total inter-state migrants, followed by Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, at 6 per cent and 5 per cent.
5. Meaning: This means that around 4-6 million people would be wanting to return to Uttar Pradesh, and 1.8-2.8 million to Bihar. Another 700,000 to 1 million would be wanting to return to Rajasthan and 600,000-900,000 to Madhya Pradesh.
6. Livelihoods: Surveys show the monthly household income of 22% daily and weekly wagers is up to Rs 2,000; of 32%, between Rs 2,000 and 5,000; of 25%, between 5,000 and 10,000; of 13%, between Rs 10,000 and 20,000; and of 8%, more than Rs 20,000. A CSDS survey during the recent Delhi Assembly elections also found that 20% of respondents reported their monthly household income to be less than Rs 10,000. Among migrants from Bihar and UP, this was even higher at 33% and 27%, respectively.
7. Circular migrants: Research found that migrant populations neither wholly retain nor completely discard their village-based ethnic ties, which is witnessed by their willingness to walk hundreds of kilometres once their source of livelihood is taken away. Surveys show migrants experienced violent police action within recent past, while fewer had ever done so in their home villages.
8. Mostly in cities: That the inter-state migrant crisis after the lockdown was felt more by cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Surat is borne by the 2011 Census data. Delhi has a migration rate of 43%, of whom 88% are from other states and 63% are from rural areas. Mumbai has a migration rate of 55%, with 46% migrants from other states and 52% from rural areas.
9. District to district: District-wise migration data in the Economic Survey for 2016-17 show that the highest influx of migrants within the country is seen in city-districts such as Gurugram, Delhi and Mumbai along with Gautam Buddh Nagar (Uttar Pradesh); Indore, Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh); Bangalore (Karnataka); Thiruvallur, Chennai, Kancheepuram, Erode, Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu). The districts showing the highest outward movement of migrant workers include Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Moradabad, Rampur, Kaushambi, Faizabad and 33 other districts in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudra Prayag, Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Almora, Champawat in Uttarakhand; Churu, Jhunjhunu, Pali in Rajasthan; Darbhanga, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Sheikhpura, Bhojpur, Buxar, Jehanabad in Bihar; Dhanbad, Lohardaga, Gumla in Jharkhand; and Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg in Maharashtra.
10. Maximum: As per the Report of the Working Group on Migration, 2017 under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, 17 districts account for the top 25% of India’s total male out-migration. Then of these districts are in UP, six in Bihar and one in Odisha (see map above).
11. Summary: Relatively less developed states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have high net out-migration. Relatively more developed states take positive CMM values reflecting net immigration: Goa, Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. The largest recipient was the Delhi region, which accounted for more than half of migration in 2015-16, while Uttar Pradesh and Bihar taken together account for half of total out-migrants. Maharashtra, Goa and Tamil Nadu had major net in-migration, while Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh had major net out-migration,” the Economic Survey had stated.

 

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• 8. MISCELLANEOUS (Prelims, GS Paper 1, GS Paper 2)

EIU Democracy Index 2020

• The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) recently released its report titled “Democracy in sickness and in health?” and also published the Democracy Index 2020.
• Key Findings: The Democracy Index report 2020 by the covers the 167 countries. It has classified the economies in categories such as flawed democracies, full democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes. Today, 23 countries are full democracies, 52 are flawed democracies, 35 countries are hybrid regimes while 57 countries are authoritarian regimes out of total 167 countries.
• Ranks: Norway has topped. The next ranks have been secured by Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand and Canada, respectively. India’s rank has degraded by two places from the previous year ranking, to the 53rd place. Sri Lanka was placed at 68th position, a flawed democracy. Pakistan was ranked at 105th position, a ‘hybrid regime’. Other Hybrid regime countries include Bangladesh which has been ranked at 76th position and Bhutan which has been ranked at 84th.
• The India story: Multiple instances of “crackdowns” on civil liberties and the “democratic backsliding” by authorities has degraded the India’s ranking. India was ranked higher than most of its neighbouring nations. India has been classified as a ‘flawed democracy’. The other flawed democracies include U.S., France, Brazil and Belgium.
• Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU): The EIU is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the leading resource that provides the forecasting and advisory services through the  economic and business research across the world.

 

Stardust 1.0 - First rocket to us Biofuel

• First ever: The launch vehicle Stardust 1.0 was launched from a former military base in US called Loring Commerce Centre. It is significant as this is the first  commercial space launch powered by biofuel.
• About Stardust 1.0: The launch vehicle Stardust 1.0 is suitable for student and budget payloads. It is 20 feet in height and approximately 250 kg in weight, and can carry a maximum payload mass of 8 kg. The launch vehicle will be used to launch the small satellites called CubeSats into space. The satellite will be launched in less toxic and relatively cheaper manner as opposed to the traditional rocket fuel. It has been manufactured by bluShift.
• The BluShift Company: It is an aerospace company based in Maine, US. This company is involved in developing the rockets powered by bio-derived fuels. It was manufacturing the Stardust 1.0 launch vehicle since 2014, and is also developing other rockets such as Stardust Gen. 2, Starless Rouge, and Red Dwarf.
• Biofuel: Fuel produced through the contemporary processes from biomass which can directly be converted into liquid fuels.  It is not produced by the usual slow geological processes of formation of fossil fuels like oil.

 

India-Bahrain: JWG meeting in the field of Renewable Energy

• What happened: The first meeting of the Joint Working Group between India and Kingdom of Bahrain in the field of Renewable Energy held virtually on February 4, 2021.
• Agenda: Both sides underscored the importance of renewable energy in order to meet climate change goals. They discussed the initiatives that the government has taken, progress that have been made and the future targets which are set by their respective governments. They agreed to forge the focused cooperation between concerned agencies and the private sector of engaged in the renewable energy sector in both the nations.
• Background: In July, 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between India and Bahrain, to promote the bilateral cooperation in Renewable Energy.
• India – Bahrain Relation: Both share an excellent bilateral relation, characterized by the cordial political, economic and cultural aspects. The bilateral Trade and commercial exchanges between both the countries dates back to 5,000 years ago. The origin can be traced back to period of Dilmun Civilization in Bahrain to the Indus valley civilization era in India. Bahrain is home to around 3,50,000 Indian nationals that account for one third of the total population in Bahrain. Indian Prime Minister Modi visited Bahrain in August 2019. This was the first ever visit by an Indian PM to Bahrain. Both the countries signed the 2 MOUs in the fields of Space, International Solar Alliance and the RuPay Card.

   Pakistan launched ‘Ghaznavi’

• A new test: Pakistan successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile called Ghaznavi. The missile was test fired on February 3, 2021.
• Highlights: The ballistic missile has a striking capability of up to 290 kilometres, and can deliver the nuclear and conventional warheads up to a range of 290 kilometres. Pakistan also test-fired the nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile Shaheen-III on January 20, 2021. This missile has the range of up to 2,750 kilometres.
• About Ghaznavi Missile: It is a surface-to-surface short range ballistic missile, designed and developed by the National Development Complex. The missile is named after the 11th century Muslim Turkic conqueror Mahmud of Ghazni. The missile commissioned into service with the Pakistan Army in the year 2012. It has a length of 9.64m and 0.99 m is the diameter of the missile.  The launch weight of the missile is 5256 kg. this missile is powered by a single stage solid fuel rocket motor. The design is the missile is influenced from a Chinese design called M-11.
• National Defence Complex (NDC): NDC is a Pakistani state-owned defence and aerospace contractor. The complex is based in Fateh Jang, Rawalpindi in Pakistan, founded in 1990.

Andhra Pradesh: Second state to undertake power reforms

• Second state: Andhra Pradesh has become the second State to implement the power sector reforms that was put forward by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.
• Highlights: The state has implemented the one of the three reforms that was bought in 2020. Under the reform, the state has started the Direct Benefit transfer (DBT) of electricity subsidy to farmers with effect from September, 2020 itself. After implementing the reform, State is now eligible to mobilise additional financial resources equal to 0.15 percent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). Andhra Pradesh has also completed One Nation One Ration Card reform, Ease of Doing Business Reforms and Urban Local Bodies Reforms besides the power sector reforms.
• Borrow more: Thus, Andhra Pradesh has been granted permission to raise a total additional amount of Rs. 9,190 crores as incentive. This amount will be used by the state to carry out reforms in the four citizen centric areas. Before Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh undertook the reforms in the power sector. It was given additional borrowing permission of Rs. 1,423 crores which is equal to 0.15 percent of its GSDP.
• Power sector reforms: These were stipulated by the Ministry of Finance, to create a transparent and hassle-free provision of power subsidy to the farmers. These reforms also aim to improve the health of power distribution companies by lowering their liquidity stress in a sustainable manner.
• Background: The government of India has enhanced the borrowing limit of the States by 2 percent of the GSDP in the backdrop of the challenges faced by the states amid the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020. Further, the states were allowed to raise additional fund amounting to 0.25% of GSDP. For that purpose, four citizen centric areas were identified for reforms namely, Ease of doing business reform, Implementation of One Nation One Ration Card System, (Urban Local body or utility reforms and Power Sector reforms.

9.1 Today's best editorials to read

• We offer you 7 excellent editorials from across 10 newspapers we have scanned. 

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• SECTION 3 - MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions)

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