Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 06-04-2021

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 06-04-2021

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. World Economy - Volkswagen emissions scandal - Volkswagen ended its six-year investigation into the emissions-cheating scandal that wiped billions off its market value in 2015, and decided to pursue claims for damages against Martin Winterkorn, the carmaker’s chief executive at the time, and Rupert Stadler, the former head of Audi, vw’s luxury brand. vw alleges that Mr Winterkorn failed to clarify the circumstances behind the use of unlawful software functions in diesel engines between 2009 and 2015. The Volkswagen emissions scandal, also known as Dieselgate or Emissionsgate, began in September 2015, when the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to German automaker Volkswagen Group.
2. Health and medicine - Increase in maternal deaths and stillbirths due to COVID - According to a study published in the journal The Lancet Global Health, the health system failed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to increased maternal deaths and stillbirths. Overall, the chance of stillbirth has increased by 28%. The mother’s risk of dying during pregnancy or childbirth increased by about one third. Maternal depression has also increased. In poorer countries, COVID-19 has a disproportionate impact on pregnancy outcomes. The report analyzes 40 studies in 17 countries/regions. The inefficiency of the healthcare system, rather than strict lock-in measures, has led to reduced opportunities for medical treatment. It seems that the impact of Covid will last longer than the pandemic itself.
3. Health and medicine - WHO warns against fake information - The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a clarification after a video claimed that the global body issued a warning about 50,000 COVID-19 deaths in the country by April 15, saying it is "fake news". The World Health Organization Regional Office for South-East Asia (SEARO) said in a tweet that it did not issue any such warning. India has so far reported over 1,26,86,049 COVID-19 cases. The death toll in the country has gone up to 1,65,547.
4. Indian Economy - Oil import contracts - Amid tensions with Saudi Arabia over oil production cuts, the Indian government has asked its state refiners (IOC, BPCL and HPCL) to look for oil supplies from outside the Middle East region and use collective bargaining power to get favourable terms. When oil prices started to rise in early 2021, India wanted Saudi Arabia to relax output controls but the Kingdom ignored its calls. This has led to the Indian government pressing for diversification of the supply base. Saudi Arabia and other OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) producers have been the mainstay suppliers of crude oil for India. But their terms have often been loaded against the buyers. OPEC is a permanent intergovernmental organization of 13 oil-exporting developing nations that coordinates and unifies the petroleum policies of its Member countries. Member Countries: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Congo, Angola, and Venezuela.
5. Indian Economy - Decline in India's forex reserves - According to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s Foreign Exchange (Forex) reserves declined by USD 2.986 billion to reach USD 579.285 billion in the week ended 26th March 2021. The gold reserve component of the Forex Reserve increased whereas the other components - Special Drawing Rights (SDR), the Foreign Currency Assets (FCA) and the Reserve Position witnessed decline. Foreign exchange reserves are assets held on reserve by a central bank in foreign currencies, which can include bonds, treasury bills and other government securities. It needs to be noted that most foreign exchange reserves are held in US dollars. RBI holds forex for supporting and maintaining confidence in the policies for monetary and exchange rate management. It also provides the capacity to intervene in support of the national or union currency, and limits external vulnerability by maintaining foreign currency liquidity to absorb shocks during times of crisis or when access to borrowing is curtailed.
6. Polity and Constitution - Tribunals reforms ordinance - The President of India has promulgated the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021, by which the appellate authorities under nine Acts have been done away with and the right to hear appeals under the statute has been conferred to High Courts. Section 184 of the Finance Act, 2017 has been amended to empower the Central Government to make rules for qualifications, appointment, term of office, salaries and allowances, resignation, removal and other terms and conditions of service of Members of Tribunals. A gazette notification concerning the promulgation of the ordinance was issued on April 4, Sunday, which also intimates that the ordinance has come into effect at once.
7. Defence and Military - Chaff technology - India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an Advanced Chaff Technology to safeguard the naval ships against enemy missile attack. Defence Laboratory Jodhpur (DLJ), a DRDO laboratory, has indigenously developed three variants of this technology namely Short Range Chaff Rocket (SRCR), Medium Range Chaff Rocket (MRCR) and Long Range Chaff Rocket (LRCR) meeting Indian Navy’s requirements. Chaff is a passive expendable electronic countermeasure technology used worldwide to protect naval ships from enemy’s radar and Radio Frequency (RF) missile seekers. The importance of this development lies in the fact that very less quantity of chaff material deployed in the air acts as decoy to deflect enemy’s missiles for safety of the ships.
8. World Economy - Cryptocurrency market doubles in value to $2 trillion in 3 months - The total market value of cryptocurrencies passed $2 trillion on Monday, hitting an all-time high and doubling in value in just three months. Bitcoin, the world's largest cryptocurrency, has a market value of nearly $1.1 trillion and its price has more than doubled in 2021 to over $58,800, according to CoinGecko. Ethereum's market value stood at over $244 billion. Investors in search of the new winner keep piling into ever new potentials, like they did with WazirX's own cryptocurrency, that shot into stratosphere in April 2021. Meanwhile, two Coinbase employees exchanged NFTs as rings, as they exchanged vows at their wedding, by sending them to each other from their cryptocurrency wallets. In a Twitter thread, the bride said their rings now exist on the blockchain "for all to see as proof of our commitment to each other". The token's name is Tabaat, the Hebrew word for ring.
9. People and Personalities - Apple's stories - Apple CEO Tim Cook in an interview said Facebook is not Apple's biggest competitor. "I think that we compete in some things...But no, if I may ask who our biggest competitor are, they would not be listed. We're not in the social networking business," he added. Cook also called Facebook's arguments against Apple's new App Tracking Transparency feature "flimsy". Also, Cook has responded to Elon Musk's claim that he once tried to hold talks about the possibility of selling Tesla to Apple. Cook said that he's never spoken with Musk but that he has "great admiration and respect" for the company he built. "I think Tesla has done an unbelievable job," he further said.
10. Indian Economy - Banking NPAs - According to a report by ICRA, gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks could rise to 9.6-9.7% by March 31, 2021, from 8.6% a year ago. It may worsen further to 9.9-10.2% by March 31, 2022, ICRA said. This comes as the impact of various relief measures, including a moratorium on loan repayment and asset classification standstill wanes off.

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• SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

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

India’s merchandise trade deficit

• The story: Data released by the government showed that India's trade deficit in goods widened to USD 14.11 billion in March 2021 from USD 9.98 billion during March 2020.
• Points to note: India’s merchandise exports in March 2021 were USD 34.0 billion as compared to USD 21.49 billion in March 2020, an increase of 58.23%. For the first time ever in a month, Indian exports crossed USD 34 billion in March 2021. India’s merchandise imports were USD 48.12 billion as compared to USD 31.47 billion in March 2020, an increase of 52.89%. India is thus a net importer in March 2021, with a trade deficit of USD 14.11 billion.
• Reasons for increased imports: Relaxation in lockdown policy and start of economic activities are the main reasons for increase in demand for the goods and the import. Also the rise in global trade has made the global supply chain active and the commerce is taking place. Oil import has increased due to opening up of the transportation sector. Trade Deficit: A trade deficit is an amount by which the cost of a country's imports exceeds its exports. The trade deficit in goods shows a rise of demand in the economy. It is a part of the Current Account Deficit.
• Current Account Deficit: The current account records exports and imports in goods and services and transfer payments. It represents a country’s transactions with the rest of the world and, like the capital account, is a component of a country’s Balance of Payments (BOP). There is a deficit in Current Account if the value of the goods and services imported exceeds the value of those exported. Its major components are goods, services, and net earnings on overseas investments (such as interests and dividend) and net transfer of payments over a period of time, such as remittances. It is measured as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The formulae for calculating Current Account Balance is - Current Account Balance = Trade gap + Net current transfers + Net income abroad. (Trade gap = Exports – Imports)
• Balance of Payments: The BoP of a country can be defined as a systematic statement of all economic transactions of a country with the rest of the world during a specific period usually one year. For preparing BoP accounts, economic transactions between a country and rest of the world are grouped under - Current account, Capital account and Financial Account and Errors and Omissions. It also shows changes in Foreign Exchange Reserves.
• Current Account: It shows export and import of visibles (also called merchandise or goods - represent trade balance) and invisibles (also called non-merchandise). Invisibles include services, transfers and income.
• Capital Account and Financial Account: It shows a capital expenditure and income for a country, and gives a summary of the net flow of both private and public investment into an economy. External Commercial Borrowing (ECB), Foreign Direct Investment, Foreign Portfolio Investment, etc form a part of capital account. Sometimes the balance of payment does not balance. This imbalance is shown in the BoP as errors and omissions. It reflects the country’s inability to record all international transactions accurately. Overall the BoP account can be a surplus or a deficit. If there is a deficit then it can be bridged by taking money from the Foreign Exchange (Forex) Account. If the reserves in the forex account are falling short then this scenario is referred to as BoP crisis.

 

PLI Scheme for Food Processing Industry

• The story: The Union Cabinet has approved the Central Sector Scheme - "Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI)" entailing an outlay of Rs. 10,900 crore.
• Points to note: In order to boost domestic manufacturing and cut down on import bills, the central government in March 2020 introduced a PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme that aims to give companies incentives on incremental sales from products manufactured in domestic units. Apart from inviting foreign companies to set shop in India, the scheme also aims to encourage local companies to set up or expand existing manufacturing units. The PLI Scheme has also been approved for sectors such as automobiles, pharmaceuticals, IT hardware including laptops, mobile phones & telecom equipment, white goods, chemical cells and textiles, etc.
• Objectives of the PLISFPI: It intends to support creation of global food manufacturing champions. It will strengthen select Indian brands of food products for global visibility and wider acceptance in the international markets. It will increase employment opportunities of off-farm jobs. It will also ensure remunerative prices of farm produce and higher income to farmers.
• Features of PLISFPI: It will support food manufacturing entities with stipulated minimum Sales and willing to make minimum stipulated investment for expansion of processing capacity and Branding abroad. The first component relates to incentivising manufacturing of four major food product segments viz. Ready to Cook/ Ready to Eat (RTC/ RTE) foods, Processed Fruits & Vegetables, Marine Products, Mozzarella Cheese. It also covers organic products, free-range eggs, poultry meat and egg products. The second component relates to support for branding and marketing abroad.
• Duration: The scheme will be implemented over a six year period from 2021-22 to 2026-27. Expected benefits include expansion of processing capacity to generate processed food output of Rs. 33,494 crore. It will hopefully create employment for nearly 2.5 lakh persons by the year 2026-27.

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

Effect of dust on Monsoon

• The story: A research study detailed how the Indian monsoon gets influenced by the atmospheric dust particles swept up by winds from deserts in the Middle East (Asian Deserts).
• The dust story: Dust refers tp very small dry particles of earth or sand. PM10 and PM2.5 refers to dust classified by the size of particles. The natural erosion of soil, sand and rock is the most common source of dust. Dust emission is common in urban areas from a range of activities such as gardening, to large scale industrial operations. It is known to influence monsoons, hurricanes and even fertilize rainforests. The dust emission scheme is extremely sensitive to climate change and understanding these mechanisms and effects of dust can help understand our monsoon systems in the face of global climate change.
• Effect of dust on Monsoon: Dust storms from the desert when lifted by strong winds can absorb solar radiation and become hot. This can cause heating of the atmosphere, change the air pressure, wind circulation patterns, influence moisture transport and increase precipitation and rainfall. Dust from the Middle East [West Asia] and also from the Iranian Plateau also influences the Indian Summer Monsoon (South West Monsoon). The hot air over the Iranian Plateau can heat the atmosphere over the plateau, strengthen the circulation over the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula and increase dust emission from the Middle East [West Asia].
• Reverse effect: Indian Summer Monsoon has a reverse effect and can increase the winds in West Asia to produce yet more dust. A strong monsoon can also transport air to West Asia and again pick up a lot of dust. Some studies found that anthropogenic aerosols emitted from the Indian subcontinent can decrease summer monsoon precipitation, while others found that absorbing aerosols such as dust can strengthen the monsoon circulation.
• What are aerosols: Aerosols are defined as a combination of liquid or solid particles suspended in a gaseous or liquid environment. Anthropogenic aerosols include sulfate, nitrate, and carbonaceous aerosols, and are mainly from fossil fuel combustion sources. However, a recent study showed that they can strengthen Indian summer monsoon rainfall. Aerosol particles, such as dust, play an important role in the precipitation process, providing the nuclei upon which condensation and freezing take place.
• Role of deserts in Monsoon: Deserts across the globe play important roles in monsoons. The dust aerosols from deserts in West China such as the Taklamakan desert and the Gobi Desert can be transported eastward to eastern China and can influence the East Asia summer monsoon. In the southwest United States, there are some small deserts that influence the North African monsoon.

• Nature of monsoon: A monsoon often brings about thoughts of torrential rains, similar to a hurricane or typhoon. But there is a difference: a monsoon is not a single storm; rather, it is a seasonal wind shift over a region. The shift may cause heavy rains in the summer, but at other times, it may cause a dry spell. A monsoon (from the Arabic mawsim, which means "season") arises due to a difference in temperatures between a land mass and the adjacent ocean. The sun warms the land and ocean differently, causing the winds to play "tug of war" eventually switching directions bringing the cooler, moister air from over the ocean. The winds reverse again at the end of the monsoon season.

1. Wet Monsoon - A wet monsoon typically occurs during the summer months (about April through September) bringing heavy rains. On average, approximately 75% of India's annual rainfall and about 50% of the North American monsoon region comes during the summer monsoon season. The wet monsoon begins when winds bring cooler, more humid air from above the oceans to the land.
2. Dry Monsoon - A dry monsoon typically occurs between October and April. Instead of coming from the oceans, the winds tend to come from drier, warmer climates such as from Mongolia and northwestern China down into India. Dry monsoons tend to be less powerful than their summer counterparts. The winter monsoon occurs when "the land cools off faster than the water and a high pressure develops over the land, blocking any ocean air from penetrating." This leads to a dry period.
3. Location - A monsoon forms in the tropics (between 0 and 23.5 degrees latitude north and south) and subtropics (between 23.5 degrees and 35 degrees latitude north and south). The strongest monsoons tend to occur in India and South Asia in the north and Australia and Malaysia in the south. Monsoons also occur in southern parts of North America, in Central America, northern areas of South America, and in western Africa.

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

Coup brews in Jordan and Israel

• The story: Jordan and Israel are neighbors in the grips of political crises. Over the weekend in the Hashemite kingdom, authorities detained at least 17 high-level Jordanian officials for allegedly taking part in a plot that threatened Jordan’s “security and stability.” This included former crown prince Hamzeh bin Hussein, 41, who is estranged from his half brother King Abdullah II, 59, and now under house arrest in his palace in Amman.
• Israel too: Next door in Israel, PM Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in a Jerusalem district court (on 05-04-2021) as prosecutors began the evidentiary phase of a corruption trial facing the Israeli leader. Though he left early, Netanyahu was in the room when state prosecutor Liat Ben-Ari delivered her opening statement, accusing the prime minister of “grave government corruption” for allegedly manipulating coverage for his benefit at a major Israeli news site starting in 2012. The case is part of a string of bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges leveled against Netanyahu by the country’s attorney general last year.
• Coup in Israel: The trial wasn’t even the most immediate threat to Netanyahu’s rule. On Monday, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin met individually with the country’s main party leaders in the aftermath of March 2021 election. As in the three previous votes, the political arithmetic is tight, with both pro- and anti-Netanyahu blocs possibly unable to secure a governing mandate. Rivlin is supposed to announce by Wednesday which candidate will be given the first opportunity to form a ruling coalition. Though he hinted that “ethical considerations” may preclude tapping Netanyahu, the current prime minister secured more endorsements from other party leaders than any of his rivals.  
  

1. Experts feel Israel is most likely in for a prolonged period of coalition negotiations, deal-making and horse trading to see whether Netanyahu or his putative opposition can put together a coalition
2. In remarks following his court appearance, Netanyahu described the legal proceedings against him as a “witch hunt” and “an attempted coup.” But Benny Gantz, Israel’s defense minister, tweeted that Netanyahu “is the one who is trying to carry out a government coup.”

• US for Jordan's king: U.S. officials and those of leading Arab countries, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, voiced their support for Abdullah. Under the king, the resource-poor kingdom of 10 million has been a major partner in the U.S.-led campaign against the Islamic State and has assisted U.S. forces in security operations around the globe. A coup plot is high intrigue for Jordan, where the Hashemite regime portrays itself as an oasis of stability in a sea of unrest. King Abdullah II is not popular, but many view his continued reign as preferable to alternatives that might include Islamist rule, a descent into civil war or a loss of power for Jordanians of East Bank descent. (More than half the country’s population is of Palestinian origin, that is, those of West Bank descent.)

• Not going out quiety: Hamzeh, though, did not go quietly. In a leaked recording filmed Saturday, he struck a defiant tone and said he wouldn’t stay silent as authorities painted his activities as seditious. “I am not the person responsible for the breakdown in governance, the corruption and for the incompetence that has been prevalent in our governing structure for the last 15 to 20 years and has been getting worse … and I am not responsible for the lack of faith people have in their institutions,” Hamzeh said in a video leaked to the BBC. “It has reached a point where no one is able to speak or express opinion on anything without being bullied, arrested, harassed and threatened.”

1. Jordan’s Royal Hashemite Court announced that the differences between the king and his half brother would be mediated by their uncle, Prince Hassan, as an internal family matter. Hamzeh’s alleged co-conspirators may face more severe repercussions.
2. Hamzeh, the eldest son of Queen Noor, the late King Hussein’s fourth wife, was stripped of his status and privileges as crown prince in 2004 by Abdullah, who tapped his own son for succession instead. In the years since, he has been a vocal critic of government mismanagement and graft and fraternized with certain opposition camps within the country.

• Trouble brewing: Jordan has been rocked over the years by waves of protests, including a major uprising in 2018 that prompted the resignation of the prime minister and forced Abdullah to intervene and freeze planned price hikes on electricity and fuel. In Washington, Abdullah remains a known and respected statesman and was the first Arab leader President Biden spoke to after his election victory in November 2020. But his troubles may be mounting at home. 

 

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

QS World Subject Rankings 2021

• The lineup: 25 programmes offered by higher education institutions in India ranked among the top 100 in the world in their respective subject categories, according to the latest edition (11th) of the QS World University Rankings by Subject.

• Points to note: The Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) is a leading global career and education network for ambitious professionals looking to further their personal and professional development. It develops and successfully implements methods of comparative data collection and analysis used to highlight institutions’ strengths. QS World University Rankings: It is an annual publication of university rankings which comprises the global overall and subject rankings.

• Six parameters and their weightage for the evaluation: Academic Reputation (40%), Employer Reputation (10%), Faculty/Student Ratio (20%), Citations per faculty (20%), International Faculty Ratio (5%), and International Student Ratio (5%).

1. QS World University Rankings by Subject: It calculates performance based on four parameters — academic reputation, employer reputation, research impact (citations per paper) and the productivity of an institution’s research faculty.
2. Top Performers: Globally Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT -USA) and Harvard (USA) are among top performers, Russia and China record best-ever performances.

• India’s Performance: The 2021 QS’s global university performance comparison offered independent data on the performance of 253 programs at 52 Indian higher education institutions, across 51 academic disciplines. The number of Indian universities/institutes in the top 100 subject rankings has increased from 8 to 12 this year. 12 Indian institutions that have made it to the top 100 of the world - IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur, IISC Bangalore, IIT Guwahati, IIM Bangalore, IIM Ahmedabad, JNU, Anna University, University of Delhi and OP Jindal University. IIT-Bombay has cornered more top 100 positions than any other Indian institution.

1. Except one, all the 25 programmes are in institutions run by either the state or union government. However, last year, this number stood at 26.
2. 17 of the 25 globally ranked Indian programmes are in engineering. IIT-Madras’s Petroleum Engineering programme registered the best performance among Indian institutes - 30th in the world.
3. The government-run Institutions of Eminence (IoE) remains significantly better-represented in the rankings than the private ones.
4. OP Jindal Global University has entered the global top-100 for law (76th). This is the only top-100 result achieved by a private IoE.

• IoE: It is a government's scheme to provide the regulatory architecture for setting up or upgrading of 20 Institutions (10 from public sector and 10 from the private sector) as world-class teaching and research institutions. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences remained the only institution in the top 300 in the area of life sciences and medicine, but also dropped more than 10 places.

• Analysis: One of the biggest challenges faced by India is providing high-quality tertiary education in the face of exploding demand - this much was recognized by last year’s National Education Policy (NEP), which set the ambitious target of a 50% gross enrolment ratio by 2035. It should therefore be small cause for concern that the number of Indian programs featuring across 51 subject rankings has actually decreased over the last year – from 235 to 233. While this is a minor decrease, it is indicative of the fact that expanding provision in a way that does not sacrifice quality remains a highly-challenging task. A number of programs at India’s privately-run prospective Institutions of Eminence have made progress this year, demonstrating the positive role that well-regulated private provision can have in enhancing India’s higher education sector. India remains at the forefront of global environmental science research. Data indicates that India ranks 5th in terms of its research footprint in this field – behind only Germany, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Commonalities between nations that are improving and nations that are not (three factors):

1. First, an international outlook – both in terms of faculty body and research relationships– correlates strongly with improved performance.
2. Second, rising universities have received strong targeted investment from governments over a decade or more– particularly in China, Russia, and Singapore.
3. Third, improving relationships with industry is correlated with better employment, research, and innovation outcomes.

• National Institutional Ranking Framework: The Ministry of Human Resource Development (now Ministry of Education) established the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in September 2015. This framework outlines a methodology to rank institutions across the country according to parameters covering: Teaching, Learning and Resources; Research and Professional Practice; Graduation Outcomes; Outreach and Inclusivity; and Perception.

 

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

Justice NV Ramana appointed next chief justice of India

• The story: Justice NV Ramana has been appointed the next Chief Justice Of India (CJI) by the President of India. A notification in this regard has been issued by the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law & Justice today. The warrant of appointment and a copy of the notification of appointment have been handed over to Justice N. V. Ramana. He will take over as next Chief Justice of India (CJI) on April 24.
• Background: He is first-generation lawyer, having agricultural background, and hails from Ponnavaram Village, Krishna District in Andhra Pradesh. He is an avid reader and literature enthusiast. He is passionate about Carnatic music.
• Process: Earlier, CJI SA Bobde had recommended Justice NV Ramana as his successor after he retires. In a letter to the Central government, the CJI had given the name of senior most Supreme Court Judge Justice NV Ramana to be appointed as the next CJI. Justice Bobde was sworn in as the 47th CJI in November 2019, succeeding Justice (retired) Ranjan Gogoi. He has been part of several key cases, including the historic verdict that cleared the way for the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

 

Acquittal by 'Benefit of Doubt'

• The story: The Supreme Court has held that a public employer can reject a candidate as unsuitable if he/she had, in the past, been acquitted of a serious crime merely on the benefit of doubt.
• What it is: Benefit of doubt is granted to the accused when there is total absence of evidence or in the criminal jurisprudence requiring the case to be proved beyond reasonable doubt.
• Points to note: The Petitioner in the Supreme Court cleared the recruitment for the post of constable in Rajasthan Police Service. However, he was not appointed in view of being tried in a criminal case. It was found that, though he was acquitted, the charges against him were not of a trivial nature but were serious offences and the candidate was acquitted on the “Benefit of Doubt”. He was not honourably acquitted by the Court.
• Supreme Court observations: The mere fact of an acquittal would not suffice but rather it would depend on whether it is a clean acquittal. Employers would be well within their rights to consider the antecedent and suitability of the candidate. In this context, the employer is entitled to take into account the job profile for which the selection is undertaken, and the severity of the charge levelled against the candidate and whether the acquittal in question was an honourable acquittal or was merely on the ground of benefit of doubt.

1. An acquittal on the benefit of doubt is quite different from an honourable acquittal.
2. A person should be honourably acquitted of a heinous crime to be considered eligible for public employment.
3. The court, however, reminded employers that the rejection should not be mechanical since employment opportunity is a scarce commodity in the country.

• Honourable Acquittal And Acquittal by Extending the “Benefit of Doubt”: The trial court after giving due consideration to the evidence placed on record and examining the witness may do any of the following:

1. Convict the person
2. Acquit the person unconditionally. In other words, it is Honourable acquittal
3. The term “Honorable acquittal” is nowhere defined under Indian laws and it is the invention of Indian judiciary
4. An accused who is acquitted after full consideration of the prosecution evidence and prosecution has miserably failed to prove the charges levelled against the accused
5. Acquitting the person by extending the “benefit of doubt” or due to the failure on the prosecution's side to prove the guilt “beyond reasonable doubt”.

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

Electricity can be transmitted through the air

• Through the air: Behind Nikola Tesla's former laboratory at Wardenclyffe on Long Island, New York, are some old foundations. They are all that remains of a 57-metre tower which Tesla began building in 1901 as part of an experiment to transmit information and electricity wirelessly over long distances. It half worked.
• Tesla's predictions: As he foretold, wireless communications have had world-changing effects. But he failed to get electric power itself to travel very far. As a consequence, within five years work stopped and the tower was later scrapped to help repay his debts. Tesla—a pioneer who, among other things, developed the generation and transmission of alternating current—faded into relative obscurity.
• Enter Elon Musk: And so it remained until Tesla’s name was revived by Elon Musk as the brand for his electric-car company. Now Tesla’s vision of wireless power transmission looks like making a comeback, too. Emrod, a firm based in Auckland, has collaborated with Powerco, a New Zealand electricity distributor, to develop a prototype system for use in an enclosed test facility. Then, in a separate project, the plan is to beam energy from a solar farm on the North Island to a client several kilometres away.

• Scientific goal: The aim is to transmit the power as a narrow beam of microwaves. That will overcome the two fundamental flaws in Tesla’s plan. One was how to charge people for electricity they can simply scoop from the air. The other was the need to overcome the law of radiative propagation, which states that the strength of a signal is inversely proportional to the square of the distance it has travelled from the transmitter. The upshot is that a signal’s strength falls sharply even over short distances. Transmitting power in a tight beam, instead of radiating it in all directions, helps minimise the issue.

1. Power-beaming, as Emrod’s process is known, has been tried before, but mainly for military applications, or for use in outer space. In 1975 NASA, America’s space agency, used microwaves to send 34kW of electricity a distance of 1.6km—a record that still stands. It has never, though, been developed for commercial use.
2. Emrod’s operation will begin cautiously. It will start by transmitting what Greg Kushnir, the firm’s founder, describes as “a few kilowatts” over 1.8km. It will then gradually increase both power and distance. The crucial variable is the efficiency with which it can be done. According to Mr Kushnir, this is currently around 60%. That, he reckons, is already good enough to make power-beaming commercially viable in some circumstances, such as reaching remote areas without spending money on costly power lines. But, to improve matters, Emrod has two other tricks up its sleeve. One is to employ relays. The other is to spice up the receivers with so-called metamaterials.
3. The relays, which are passive devices that do not use any power, work like lenses, refocusing the microwave beam and sending it on its way with minimal transmission losses. They can also steer it, if necessary, in a new direction. This means that transmitter and receiver need not necessarily be in line of sight of one another.

• Metamaterials: These are composites containing tiny amounts of conductive metals and insulating plastics arrayed in a manner that causes them to interact with electromagnetic radiation such as microwaves in particular ways. They are already employed in so-called cloaking devices that help warships and military aircraft hide from radar. But they can also be used in a receiving antenna, to convert electromagnetic waves into electricity more efficiently.
• Risks: Broadcasting powerful microwaves through the air does carry risks. Similar waves are, after all, the means by which microwave ovens heat what is put into them. Emrod says brief exposure to its beams should not cause any harm to people or animals as the power density is relatively low. Nevertheless, to avoid accidents the beams will be surrounded by so-called laser curtains. These are low-power laser beams that are not themselves harmful. But if a curtain is twitched by the interposition of things such as birds or low-flying helicopters (which in New Zealand are used to round up sheep), that interruption will be detected instantly and the microwave transmission temporarily cut. Batteries at the receiving end will fill in during any outages.

• Potential: If power-beaming does take off, Emrod will not have the field to itself, for a number of other firms are working on the idea. TransferFi, based in Singapore, is developing a system that shapes beams of radio waves, which generally have a lower frequency than microwaves, to transmit power to specific receiving devices. This is a short-range idea, designed to power gadgets in factories and homes.

1. PowerLight Technologies, an American firm, has been working with that country’s armed forces on using lasers to transmit power to remote bases and also to power drones while they are in the air. The company also has its eyes on commercial applications. So does Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, a Japanese engineering firm.
2. Mitsubishi, in particular, has lofty ambitions. Besides industrial applications on Earth, it is exploring how the technology might be used to send power to the ground from geostationary satellites fitted with solar panels. That would involve transmitting it more than 35,000km. Less a case of “beam me up, Scotty” than “beam me down”.
   

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

Abuse of NSA in UP - Allahabad H.C. steps up

• The story: Between January 2018 and December 2020, the Allahabad High Court ruled in 120 habeas corpus petitions challenging preventive detention under the NSA. In 94 detentions, it quashed orders of DMs in as many as 32 districts and ordered the release of the detainees. An analysis by Indian Express newspaper laid bare the whole story, in April 2021.

• Scathing criticism: Police FIRs that cut and paste key details across different locations; detention orders signed by District Magistrates that show “non-application of mind”; denial of due process to the accused; repeated use of the law to block bail — in case after case, the Allahabad High Court has red-flagged the way the UP government has used the draconian National Security Act (NSA) which gives the state powers to arrest without formal charge or trial.

1. Between January 2018 and December 2020, the Allahabad High Court ruled in 120 habeas corpus petitions challenging preventive detention under the NSA. In 94 detentions, it quashed orders of DMs in as many as 32 districts and ordered the release of the detainees.
2. Cow slaughter, records show, is Category Number One when it comes to invoking NSA: it accounts for 41 cases, more than a third of the total that reached the High Court. All the accused are from the minority community and were detained by the District Magistrate based on FIRs alleging cow slaughter.
3. In 30 of these cases — more than 70% — the High Court came down heavily on the UP administration: it quashed the NSA order and called for the release of the petitioner.
4. Even in the remaining 11 cow-slaughter cases where it upheld detention, except in one, the lower court and the High Court subsequently granted bail to the accused making it clear that their judicial custody was not required.
5. In each cow-slaughter case, records investigated by The Indian Express show, the DMs virtually echo each other to state that the reason to invoke NSA was that the accused had moved for bail and their release was “imminent.” And that if the accused was out of jail, he would “again” indulge in “activities prejudicial to public order”.

• Detentions: In as many as 11 detentions, the court cited “non-application of mind” by the DM while passing the order. In 13 detentions, the court said the detained person was denied the opportunity to represent himself effectively while challenging the NSA. In seven detentions, the court noted that these cases came under the ambit of “law & order” and there was no need to invoke the NSA. In six detentions, the court flagged that NSA was invoked on the basis of a solitary case — and that the accused had no criminal antecedents.

1. Strongly suggesting a common playbook for the administration, there are several examples of cut and paste in the FIRs: In nine detentions, the NSA was invoked on the basis of FIRs that claimed that police were set into action on the basis of a lead given by an anonymous “informer” on the cow slaughter.
2. Thirteen detentions were based on FIRs that claimed that slaughter allegedly took place in an “open agricultural field” or a forest; in nine detentions, DMs relied upon FIRs that said the slaughter allegedly took place inside the four walls of a private residence; and in five detentions, DMs relied upon FIRs that said slaughter allegedly took place outside a shop.
3. The 41 rulings on the cases related to alleged cow slaughter were delivered by ten two-judge benches of the Allahabad High Court, involving a total of 16 judges.
4. Not just the content of the FIRs, even the grounds of detention mentioned by the DMs in NSA orders are strikingly identical — and in many cases ad verbatim.
5. In seven detentions alleging cow-slaughter, the NSA order said that “atmosphere of fear and terror has engulfed the whole vicinity”. In six detentions, the NSA orders used six identical grounds: some “unknown persons” fled from the spot; minutes after the incident, police personnel were “attacked”; due to attack on the police party, “people started running helter-skelter and the situation has become tense”; people “started running to reach to a safe place”; due to the “atmosphere, people are not attending their day to day work”; due to the act of the accused, “peace and tranquility of the area and law and order situation was badly disturbed”. In two detentions, the NSA orders have identical grounds: “women, in particular, became reluctant to go out of their house and do their routine work”; and that “tempo of life was adversely affected and the public order was shattered”. In two other detentions, the grounds were the same: “An atmosphere of fear had developed, nearby girls school was closed as also doors of the neighbouring houses”.

 

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

Putin the Permanent President

• The story: The Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a legislation in April 2021 that will allow him to stay in power till 2036. The Russian leader had already been in power for more than two decades. And he is 68 years old.
• Historty: According to the previous constitution, Putin should have stepped down after his second consecutive term that is to end in 2024. Now, with the new constitutional amendment, he can stay in power till 2036. In 2020, the Russians voted for constitutional amendments that will allow Putin to recontest after 2024. Majority voted in favour of the amendment.
• Why the changes: According to Article 81 of Russian Constitution, the same person cannot hold the office of President more than two terms in a row. Vladimir Putin was elected as president in 2012 and again re-elected as president in 2018. He will now stay in power till 2024. The term of a president in Russia is six years.
• What changes: The new constitution has not changed the two-term limit. However, it has removed the words “in a row”. With this, Putin will be able to run for President elections for another two terms under the new constitution.
• 2020 Referendum: A Constitutional referendum was held in Russia in 2020. In this, 79% of the voters supported the changes to the constitution.
• The amendments increased the powers of advisory bodies and State councils. Bottom line, the amendments tightened Putin’s grip over Russia. Vladimir Putin was a former intelligence officer. According to Putin, India is one of the best Strategic Partners of Russia.

Longi Green enters Hydrogen market

• The story: The world's largest solar company Longi Green is set to enter the Hydrogen Market. Longi Green is a Chinese company that manufactures solar panels, wafers and solar cells. Today several such solar companies are entering the hydrogen market. This is mainly because hydrogen is a carbon-free fuel that can be produced by electrolysis of water and then stored and transported and used in every possible machinery such as cars to electrical generators to steel mills.
• Longi Green: It was founded in 2000, with headquarters in Xi’an, China. It has plants in India, Malaysia and China. In 2019, Longi Green brought 300 MW monocrystalline PV products to India.
• Hydrogen Market in India: The Hydrogen market in India is valued at 50 million USD. It is projected to reach 81 million USD by 2025. In India, the major end use of hydrogen is in petroleum refining industry. Here, hydrogen is used to refine crude oil. Though India is moving towards clean fuel, the high transportation and high storage cost is hampering the growth of hydrogen market in the country. However, the emerging liquid organic hydrogen carrier technologies (LOHC) will make storage and transportation of hydrogen easier.
• Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHC): They are organic compounds that can absorb and release hydrogen through chemical reactions. Thus, LOHCs are ideal for hydrogen storage and transportation. In 2020, Japan built the first international hydrogen supply chain in the world using LOHC. It was built between Brunei and Kawasaki city using toluene based LOHC technology.
• Working of LOHC: The dehydrated form of LOHC reacts with hydrogen in a hydrogenation reaction. The end product thus formed can be stored or transported under ambient conditions. Whenever hydrogen is needed the hydrogen rich form of LOHC is dehydrogenated. Hydrogenation is an exothermic reaction and dehydrogenation is endothermic reaction.

 

E9 Education Ministers Meet

• The story: Minister of State for Education Sanjay Dhotre attended the Education Ministers meet of E9 countries. The meeting is to be held under the following theme: The E9 initiative theme is "Scaling up digital learning to accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4".
• About the meet: During it, the leaders are to create an initiative on digital learning and skills. The initiative is to target marginalised children and youth. The initiative will mainly accelerate three of the 2020 Global Education Meeting objectives. They are - Support to teachers; Investment in skills and Narrowing of the digital divide. The 2020 Global Education Meeting was organised by UNESCO. It acted as a unique platform for exchange among high-level political leaders and policy makers.
• E9 initiative: It is a forum of nine countries. It was created to achieve the goals of “Education for All” initiative of UNESCO. In E9, E stands for Education and 9 represents nine member countries. The member countries of E9 initiative are Brazil, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Mexico and Nigeria. These countries represent half of the world population. 70% of the world’s literate adults are from these countries. The E9 initiative was launched at the EFA Summit in New Delhi. The E9 initiative has become a forum for countries to discuss their experiences related to exchange of best practices, education, etc. The E9 members that are also G20 members are India, China, Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico. Mexico is an OECD member. In 1993, the E9 countries accounted only to 16.5% of the world GDP. However, today they account to 30% of the world GDP.
• Education for All: It is a global movement led by UNESCO. It aims to meet the learning needs of youth, children and adults. The Education for All initiative was adopted by the Darkar Framework in April 2000.

 

Chenab bridge arch closure completed

• The story: Indian Railways completed in April 2021 the arch closure of the world's highest railway bridge, Chenab bridge. The bridge is a part of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project.
• About the arch closure: Arch Closure was one of the most difficult parts of the bridge. An Arch consists of steel boxes. To improve the stability of the arch, concrete is to be filled in the boxes.
• Chenab Bridge: The Chenab bridge is located in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. The height of the bridge is 359 metres. The deck height, that is, the height above the river bed is 359 metres. The length of the bridge is 650 metres. The construction of Chenab bridge was declared as a national project in 2002. The most challenging aspect of this rail link was the large number of tunnels and bridges to be constructed in the rugged mountainous terrain. Of all this, the most difficult part was to cross the deep gorge of Chenab river whose arch closure has now been completed. Another small arch bridge proposed in the same route is Anji Khad bridge.
• Standards used in Chenab Bridge construction: The arch rail bridges at such heights require number of additional parameters such as global stability, fatigue, composite action, second order effects, etc. In order to achieve these parameters, Indian Construction Standards such as Indian Road Congress, Indian Standards and Indian Railway Standards were inadequate. This is because the Indian Railway Standards are primarily intended for simply supported bridges up to 100 metres of span. The span of Chenab bridge was greater than this. Thus, international standards such as International Union of Railways, British Standards were supplemented to construct the Chenab bridge.

 

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• SECTION 3 - MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions)

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