Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 12-04-2021

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 12-04-2021

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Indian Politics - Second Covid wave - In a massive surge, India reported more than 1.68 lakh new COVID-19 cases through 11-04-2021. Horrifying scenes were reportred from various states of patients and relatives struggling for support in facilities, and new lockdowns arriving. Russia's Sputnik-V coronavirus vaccine was on 12-04-2021 recommended for emergency use in India by DCGI's Subject Expert Committee (SEC). The vaccine has proved to be 91.6% effective in phase 3 clinical trial that included data on 19,866 volunteers in Russia. Meanwhile, several lakh devotees gathered in Haridwar to take part in Kumbh Mela's Shahi Snan ritual amid the resurgence of coronavirus cases in India. The Kumbh Mela in Haridwar will conclude on April 30 with three Shahi Snans on April 12, 14 and 27. Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said PM Narendra Modi's call to CMs to organise a 'Tika Utsav is nothing but "rhetoric and hyperbole" to cover up the way the Centre has "messed up" management of the production and supply sides of the COVID-19 vaccines. Criticising the central government, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the Centre could neither control the COVID-19 pandemic nor address the problems of farmers and labourers.
2. Foreign Affairs - The OPEC story - The price of Brent crude has fallen under $63 per barrel from a high of $70 per barrel in early March 2021. A recent resurgence in Covid-19 infections coupled with a decision by OPEC+ (a keep producers’ block) to increase crude oil production has contributed to a fall in crude oil prices. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is an intergovernmental organization of 13 countries. It was founded in 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela). Since 1965, it is headquartered in Vienna, Austria, although Austria is not an OPEC member state. The current OPEC members are the following: Algeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. A larger group called OPEC+ was formed in late 2016 to have more control on the global crude oil market. The stated mission of the organization is to "coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its member countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets".
3. Constitution and Law - The curious case of Italian marines - The Supreme Court of India said that the case against two Italian marines who gunned down two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala in February, 2012, will be closed only after Italy deposits with it Rs 10 crore as compensation to victims. On February 15, 2012, two Indian fishermen returning from a fishing expedition near Lakshadweep islands onboard fishing vessel St Antony were gunned down by two Italian marines on board oil tanker Enrica Lexie. The incident occurred around 20 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala. Shortly after the incident, the Indian Coast Guard intercepted Enrica Lexie and detained the two Italian marines— Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre. Following this, the Kerala Police registered an FIR against them for murder and arrested them. In April, 2013, the case was transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which invoked the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (SUA). The SUA Convention was passed in 1988 with the goal of suppressing international terrorism. India argued it had jurisdiction over the case as the two fishermen were killed without warning just 20.5 nautical miles from Indian coast making the area part of India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). On March 7, 2014, India dropped the SUA charges against the marines. Later, Latorre and Girone returned from India to Italy on September 13, 2014 and May 28, 2016, respectively. The opposition BJP pilloried the UPA in early stages of the case, claiming Indian government wasn't taking care of Indians. But soon, both were released and went to Italy!
4. Governance and Institutions - Celebrating vaccination in 'Tika Utsav' - A total of 27.69 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered till 8 pm on day one of the four-day-long 'Tika Utsav' (vaccine festival) announced by the Centre, as per the Union Health Ministry. Vaccination was done at 63,800 COVID-19 vaccination centres and the cumulative number of vaccine doses administered has reached over 10.4 crore. The health minister kept tweeting images of large political rallies in West Bengal, while in parallel, request people to maintain Covid protocol and behaviour. Various states are facing an acute shortage of vaccines, as well as medicines like remdesivir.
5. Foreign Affairs - Iran upset with blackout at nuclear facility - A blackout at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility on 11-04-2021 was caused by an act of "anti-nuclear terrorism", the country's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said. "To thwart the goals of this terrorist movement...Iran will continue to seriously improve nuclear technology," he added. Earlier, a government spokesman had blamed a problem with the electrical distribution grid for the blackout. The power outage brought to mind a fire that broke out in a centrifuge assembly area at the Natanz facility on 2 July 2020, a blaze that caused major equipment destruction. The IAEA has access to Natanz – and other Iranian nuclear plants – to inspect Iran’s nuclear program as part of the 2015 nuclear deal Tehran signed with the United Nations Security Council’s five permanent members plus Germany in exchange for lifting sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
6. World Economy - Pay first, take ship later, Suez authorities warn - Egypt won't release the massive container ship Ever Given that blocked the Suez Canal for nearly a week until its owners agree to pay compensation. "The vessel will remain here until investigations are complete and compensation is paid," Suez Canal Authority's Chairman said. Earlier, it was reported that Egypt may seek $1 billion in compensation. The figure would cover the expense of the equipment and machinery used to clear the way and damage to the canal itself by the dredging while also compensating about 800 people who worked to release the 200,000-ton ship. The 1,300-foot Ever Given made headlines on March 23 when it steered off course during an unexpected wind storm and became lodged in the sandbanks of the Suez Canal, disrupting global trade. It was freed six days later. The ship, its cargo, and the 25-person Indian crew of sailors will remain at anchor in Egypt's Great Bitter Lake until the investigation is over.
7. Indian Economy - Crypto-economy key to achieve $5 trillion economy - Infosys Co-founder Nandan Nilekani said that crypto-economy may be one of the key ways for India in becoming a $5 trillion economy. "We'll need to close the $250 billion financing gap for India's small businesses by attracting global, risk-tolerant pools of capital... the rapidly growing crypto-economy may be one of the key ways". Since early 2021, Nilekani has been backing crypto assets, while the government was pondering banning them. He had said that crypto as a transaction medium will not work as fast as UPI, which is targeting a billion transactions a day. He had stated that Indians have undoubtedly embraced blockchain. "Indian regulators are also considering a Central Bank Digital Currency or CBDC. I am not sure if we need a private stable coin or if a digital rupee will be good enough. We need to look at how it will help Indians, how MSMEs can access capital using Bitcoins. No amount of tech is going to sway anyone's view."
8. Foreign Affairs - US restores aid to Palestinians - The United States, in a significant reversal to the earlier policy, has announced the restoration of at least USD 235 million in financial assistance to the Palestinians. The US administration had already announced USD 15 million in coronavirus relief to the Palestinians. The financial aid includes USD 75 million economic help for the West Bank & Gaza, USD 10 million for ‘peacebuilding’ programmes of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and  USD 150 million in humanitarian assistance to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The UNRWA funds would include educational assistance for at least 5,00,000 Palestinian children living in West Asia. The Trump administration (former administration) had almost ended all funding to the organisation in 2018. The UN welcomed the move, hoping it would attract more funds to the body. There were a number of countries that had greatly reduced or halted contributions to UNRWA after the US stopped the aid. The Prime Minister of Palestine welcomed the move and called it a new political path that meets the rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people based on international law and UN resolutions. However, Israel, which has accused UNRWA of anti-Semitism (hostility to, prejudice, or discrimination against Jews), objected to the funding plans.
9. Foreign Affairs - China launches hotline to report comments defaming ruling party - China has launched a hotline to report online comments that defame the ruling Chinese Communist Party and its history. "Some [people]...have been spreading historical nihilistic misrepresentations online, maliciously distorting, denigrating and negating the history of the Party," Chinese cyber regulator said. It didn't mention what punishments would be dealt to people reported through the hotline. This move is another one in a series to ensure total submission of the population to a singular narrative propagated by the Xi Jinping administration.
10. Environment and Ecology - The story of Dolphins - The population of dolphins in Chilika, India’s largest brackish water lake, and along the Odisha coast has doubled in 2020-21 compared with last year. The State Environment Department released the final data on the dolphin census conducted in January and February 2021, indicating a good growth in numbers. Three species were recorded during the census, with 544 Irrawaddy, bottle-nose and humpback dolphins sighted, compared with 233 last year. The endangered Irrawaddy dolphins is mostly found in Chilika lake. Few were also sighted in the Rajnagar mangrove division. The highest growth has been noticed in the case of humpback dolphins with a population of 281. These humpback dolphins were not part of any riverine systems, so they cannot be identified as residential mammals. They were spotted travelling along the Odisha coast and the number is likely to fluctuate in the next census.

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• SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

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

Major data leak from UPSTOX traing portal

1. The story: Retail broking firm Upstox alerted customers of a major security breach that included contact data and KYC details of customers, but assured users that their funds and securities remain safe. In recent data, there've been similar reports of data breaches at MobiKwik, Facebook and LinkedIn also.
2. What Upstox said: "On receipt of e-mails claiming unauthorised access into our database, we have appointed a leading international cyber-security firm to investigate possibilities of breach of some KYC data stored in third-party data warehouse systems. This morning, hackers put up a sample of our data on the dark web." The spokesperson added that as a proactive measure, the company has initiated multiple security enhancements, particularly at the third-party warehouses, real-time 24x7 monitoring and additional ring-fencing of its network.
3. Don't worry, your money is safe: Upstox said funds and securities of all Upstox customers are protected and remain safe. We have also duly reported this incident to the relevant authorities. The company said it didn't know with certainty the number of customers whose data had been exposed. Upstox is backed by investors like Tiger Global and Ratan Tata, has over three million users. On the company website, Upstox co-founder and CEO Ravi Kumar said funds and securities of customers are protected and remain safe.
4. How safe: It said "Funds can only be moved to your linked bank accounts and your securities are held with the relevant depositories. As a matter of abundant caution, we have also initiated a secure password reset via OTP. Through this time, we have also strongly fortified our systems to the highest standards."
5. More: The company has ramped up its bug bounty programme to encourage ethical hackers to stress test its systems and protocols and help it identify any vulnerabilities from time to time. The company urged customers to always use unique strong passwords that are different from older versions and to not share OTPs with anyone. It also urged the customers to beware of online fraud and double-check the legitimacy of links and senders, to watch out for OTPs that they have requested and to alert the service provider in such events.
6. Mobikwik data breach: In March 2021, important user information including mobile phone number, bank account details, email, and even credit card numbers of 9.9 crore Mobikwik users was leaked. The screenshots of the Mobiwik breach were posted on Twitter by a French security researcher who goes by the name Elliot Alderson. He called it the “largest KYC data leak in the history”. Mobikwik denied this leak, but since the data of Mobikwik founder Bipin Preet Singh and Mobikwik CEO Upasana Taku itself was leaked from the database, the breach did happen.
7. LinkedIn data breach: Professional networking site LinkedIn faced a major data breach, as data of more than 500 million users was leaked. The data was listed on hacker forums. LinkedIn claimed that all the data was not picked up from its platform, instead of from a number of websites and companies. It said it had determined that it is actually an aggregation of data from a number of websites and companies.
8. Facebook data breach: Facebook decided not to notify over 530 million of its users whose personal data was lifted in a breach sometime before August 2019 and was made available in 2021, in a public database. Phone numbers, full names, locations, some email addresses, and other details from user profiles were posted to an amateur hacking forum. The leaked data includes personal information from 533 million Facebook users in 106 countries. Facebook said that "malicious actors" had scraped the data by exploiting a vulnerability in a now-defunct feature on the platform that allowed users to find each other by phone number. The social media company said it found and fixed the issue in August 2019 and its confident the same route can no longer be used to scrape that data.

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

Climate change and EU support to Southeast Asia

• The story: The European Union (EU) has earmarked millions of euros for supporting climate friendly development in Southeast Asia. After the EU became a “strategic partner” of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc in December 2020, both blocs pledged to make climate change policy a key area of cooperation.

• Points to note: The EU is the largest provider of development assistance to the ASEAN region, and has committed millions of euros to various environmental programs. This includes 5 million Euros to the ASEAN Smart Green Cities initiative and another 5 million Euros towards a new means of preventing deforestation, called the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade in ASEAN. Along with multilateral assistance, the EU also works with individual ASEAN member states on eco-friendly policies like Thailand’s Bio-Circular-Green Economic Model and Singapore’s Green Plan 2030.

• Problems faced: The region’s environmental policy is problematic, as Southeast Asia seems headed in the wrong direction in many areas on climate change. Five ASEAN states were among the fifteen countries most affected by climate change between 1999–2018, according to the Climate Risk Index 2020.

1. Coal Consumption in Southeast Asia - Southeast Asia’s energy demand is projected to grow 60% by 2040. Coal-fired energy will overtake natural gas as the main power source in the ASEAN region by 2030. And by 2040 it could account for almost 50% of the region’s projected CO2 emissions. In 2019, the region consumed around 332 million tons of coal, nearly double the consumption from a decade earlier, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). This will contribute to a two-thirds rise in CO2 emissions to almost 2.4 gigatons, according to the Southeast Asia Energy Outlook 2019.
2. ( Risks for EU in Southeast Asia - If the EU takes a strong forceful stance on coal consumption in the region, it could spark anger from the main exporters of the commodity, China, India and Australia.
3. Policy resistance - The EU's climate change policy in the region has already been met with resistance. Indonesia in 2020 initiated proceedings at the World Trade Organization against the EU’s phased ban on palm-oil imports. The EU contends the ban is to protect the environment, but Indonesia, the world’s largest palm oil producer, says it is mere protectionism. Malaysia, the world’s second-largest palm oil producer, supports Indonesia in its battle against the EU.
4. Accusations of hypocrisy - The other problem for the EU is that it risks accusations of hypocrisy if it takes too forceful a stance on coal-fired energy production in Southeast Asia. Poland and the Czech Republic of the EU remain dependent on coal-fired energy production. Southeast Asia and Europe each accounted for around 11% of the world’s thermal coal imports in 2019.

• India’s coordination with ASEAN: In 2012, both adopted a 'New Delhi Declaration on ASEAN-India Cooperation in Renewable Energy'. ASEAN-India Green Fund was established in 2007 with USD 5 million for funding pilot projects to promote adaptation and mitigation technologies in the field of climate change. Both are collaborating on several projection Climate Change and biodiversity through partnership with IISc, Bangalore.

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

Changing face of India-Russia relations

• The story: The Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited India in 2921, to make preparations for the upcoming visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin for the annual summit.

• Key points: Both sides appeared to make progress on strategic cooperation, cooperation in energy, nuclear and space sectors. The talk on a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) was discussed. India and Russia also discussed agreements on military-technical cooperation for the joint production of India-made Russian weapons.

1. Mr. Lavrov highlighted that Russia was the only partner supplying India “cutting-edge military technology”. Neither side referred to the upcoming delivery of the $5 billion S-400 missile defence system directly.
2. They reaffirmed their commitment to their defence partnership. Affirmations included those on avenues for more investment in connectivity. This included the International North-South Transport Corridor and the Chennai-Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor.

• Conflicting areas: The areas of divergence over their worldview seemed to emerge during their public remarks. India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar made reference to the “rebalanced nature” of international relations. Mr. Lavrov’s praise of Russia-China ties was clearly not shared by Jaishankar.

1. While India’s side referred repeatedly to India’s “Indo-Pacific” strategy, Mr. Lavrov preferred the more continental reference to the “Asia-Pacific” region. Lavrov’s indirect reference to the Quad as an “Asian NATO” was significant. He said both sides agreed that military alliances in Asia were inadvisable and counterproductive.
2. On Afghanistan, the Russian push for bringing the Taliban into a power-sharing arrangement in Kabul seemed to be against India’s consistent push for a “democratic Afghanistan”. Besides these, unlike earlier, the visit did not include a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
3. The absence of a meeting at the highest level is notable. Modi met with U.S. Special Envoy John Kerry just a day later.
4. In Islamabad, the next day, Lavrov was received by Prime Minister Imran Khan and Pakistan Army Chief General Bajwa. It was Lavrov’s first visit to Pakistan in 9 years, and was a clear message of deepening ties.
5. Unlike in 2012, Lavrov, this time, said that Russia was ready to strengthen Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts with the supply of “relevant equipment.”
6. So many feel that New Delhi and Moscow are not as much on the same page as they have traditionally been.

• Summary: India and Russia have successfully addressed divergences between them in the past. But even the deep, traditional and “time-tested relations” of the kind they have shared for decades cannot be taken for granted. Both should move quickly, if they desire to dispel the notion that those ties are under any strain by the changed reality.

US FONOPs in India's EEZ

• The story: In a shocking development, the US Seventh Fleet announced that one of its warships, USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53), had carried out a Freedom of Navigation operation (FONOP) west of Lakshadweep Islands. It did this inside India’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), without requesting India’s prior consent consistent with international law.
• The announcement: The operations had asserted navigational rights and freedoms approximately 130 nautical miles west of Lakshadweep Islands, inside India’s EEZ. It said “India requires prior consent for military exercises or maneuvers in its EEZ or continental shelf.” This is a claim inconsistent with international law. It also said the “FONOP” upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea recognized in international law, by challenging India’s excessive maritime claims.
• India’s response: It conveyed its concerns regarding this to the Government of USA through diplomatic channels. The Ministry of External Affairs asserted its position in the context of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). UNCLOS does not authorise other States to carry out military exercises or manoeuvres, particularly those involving the use of weapons or explosives in the EEZ and on the continental shelf without the consent of the coastal state.
• Freedom of Navigation operation (FONOP): The FONOP involves passages conducted by the US Navy through waters claimed by coastal nations as their exclusive territory. According to the US Department of Defense (DoD), the FON Program has existed for 40 years. It has continuously reaffirmed the US’s policy of exercising and asserting its navigation and overflight rights and freedoms around the world. These assertions communicate that the US does not acquiesce to the excessive maritime claims of other nations. It thus prevents those claims from becoming accepted in international law.
• US 7th Fleet: It is the largest of the US Navy’s forward deployed fleets, and at any given time there are roughly 50-70 ships and submarines, 150 aircraft, and approximately 20,000 Sailors in 7th Fleet. India had a close encounter with the 7th fleet during the 1971 war with Pakistan.
• Exclusive economic zone (EEZ): An EEZ is defined under the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea), and is an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea, subject to the specific legal regime. The rights and jurisdiction of the coastal State and the rights and freedoms of other States within this are governed by the relevant provisions of the Convention. In India’s case, it is specified as per Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and Other Maritime Zones Act, 1976. Accordingly, EEZ of India is an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial waters, and the limit of such zone is 200 nautical miles from the baseline. India’s limit of the ‘territorial waters’ is the line every point of which is at a distance of 12 nautical miles from the nearest point of the appropriate baseline. Under the 1976 law, all foreign ships (other than warships including sub-marines and other underwater vehicles) shall enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial waters. Innocent passage here means being “not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of India”.
• Importance: The US Navy’s Freedom of Navigation operation near Lakshadweep is not unprecedented. The US DoD publishes an annual Freedom of Navigation report. India found mention in the 2019 report along with 21 other countries that included China, Russia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives and Saudi Arabia. India was mentioned in the 2017, 2016 and 2015 reports as well, but this is the first time the US Navy has issued a public statement giving details of the operation. The sad thing is it came when India is inching closer to US, militarily.

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

Anamaya: Tribal Health Collaborative

• The story: In April 2021, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched Tribal Health Collaborative (THC) 'Anamaya' through a video conference. In 2018, an expert committee released a comprehensive report on tribal health in India which highlighted the issues and concerns of tribal health.
• Points to note: It is an initiative bringing together governments, philanthropists, national and international foundations, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)/Community Based Organizations (CBOs) to end all preventable deaths among the tribal communities of India. It will converge efforts of various Government agencies and organisations to enhance the health and nutrition status of the tribal communities of India.
• Goal: To build a sustainable, high-performing health ecosystem to address the key health challenges faced by the tribal population of India. It is a multi-stakeholder initiative of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs supported by Piramal Foundation and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). The Piramal Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Piramal Group. The foundation undertakes projects under the four broad areas – healthcare, education, livelihood creation and youth empowerment.
• Operations: It will begin its operations with 50 tribal, Aspirational Districts (with more than 20% Scheduled Tribe population) across 6 high tribal population states. Over a 10-year period, the work of the THC will be extended to 177 tribal Districts as recognised by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
• Programme for Capacity Building of Scheduled Tribe (ST) Representatives in Local Self Governments: It is aimed at empowering tribal Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) representatives by enhancing their decision making capabilities at local government level.
• 1000 Springs Initiative: The 1000 Springs Initiative aims at improving access to safe and adequate water for the tribal communities living in difficult and inaccessible parts of rural areas in India, and will help in harnessing the potential of perennial springs’ water to address natural scarcity of water in tribal areas. A ‘Tribal Health Cell’ is being set up in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. It will help central ministries and state governments to facilitate and strengthen primary health care systems and invest in tribal health research.

Ethanol blending racing ahead in India

• The story: Various steps are initiated to accelerate India’s ethanol blended petrol programme, and results are now visible.
• Current status: In 2017, ethanol blending was less than 2% and has never exceeded 5% blending thus far. In the first four months of the current supply year (December 2020 to November 2021), about 80 crore litres of ethanol was supplied to the fuel pumps. This can translate to a blending ratio of 7% and if supplies continue at this pace, the blending ratio could reach 8.5% for the full year.
• Benefits: It can reduce India’s fossil fuel dependence and trim the large crude oil import bill. It helps in achieving the targets set in the National Bio fuels Policy - 10% ethanol blending by 2022 and 20% by 2025. But India’s EBP programme has often been questioned.
• Problems: The sugar industries and oil marketing companies (OMCs) are taking an opportunistic approach to the EBP which has proved to be undoing. Though sugar mills make strident demands for higher blending to get rid of excess cane, they are reluctant to stick to the fixed annual supplies. In deficit years, they prefer to divert more cane to sugar and alcohol to industrial or potable uses in the hunt for better margins. On the other hand OMCs have failed to take their contracted quantities of ethanol when imported crude oil becomes cheaper.
• Steps taken: The Centre has established some ground rules in the last three years — (i) Setting annual supply obligations for sugar millers; (ii) Fixing the selling prices for ethanol produced through different routes; (iii) Requiring OMCs to pay these prices with reasonable transportation costs. This has helped in rising the ethanol supplies from 38 crore litres in 2013-14 to a targeted 262 crore litres in 2020-21. In the above targets, sugar industry alone owns the capacity for 300-350 crore litres. The 20% blending ratio target will roughly require 1,000 crore litres of ethanol. For this OMCs have to invest in distillery capacity and storage and blending infrastructure.
• Summary: India’s expanding sugarcane acreage is a big contributor to its acute water stress and poor crop diversification. The Centre must look at ways to reduce the programme’s dependence on the sugarcane. Alternative feedstocks like agricultural waste, recycled cooking oil, provides for more environmentally friendly bio-fuels. Hence the policy should now focus on raising the non-cane contribution to the ethanol mix. This can be done by incentivising both public and private players to set up second-generation ethanol facilities.

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

Digging up the past with ASI help

• The story: A Varanasi civil court ordered the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a survey to ascertain whether the Gyanvapi mosque was built over a demolished Hindu temple.
• An order in 2021: Earlier petitioners had filed a suit as representatives of Hindu faith to reclaim the land on which the mosque stands. Now they have succeeded in getting the court to commission an ASI survey to look for the evidence. This order has been issued despite the fact that the Allahabad High Court reserved its order and it is yet to pronounce the ruling. The civil judge's hurry is unprecedented! The court also said that by an order in 1997 it decided that the suit was not barred by Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991.
• The Places of Worship Act, 1991: The Act says all pending suits concerning the status of places of worship will get abated and none can be instituted. It also froze the status of all places of worship, barring the then disputed site in Ayodhya, as on August 15, 1947. An exception to this act is- any place of worship that was an archaeological site or ancient monument covered by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
• What next: This may potentially open the floodgates for another prolonged religious dispute. It will give a fillip to political ideas that earlier carried on the Ram Janmabhoomi movement over a site in Ayodhya, leading to the demolition of the Babri Masjid Mosque. This order seems in violation of the explicit legislative prohibition on any litigation over the status of places of worship.
• Summary: Attempts in the 21st century to revive disputes of earlier centuries now buried by modern law can be a setback to the cause of secularism and progressive ideals. Over time, it can distract entire nation's energy.

The Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021

• The story: The President promulgated Tribunal Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance 2021 through which the Appellate authorities under nine laws have been replaced with High Courts. The Ordinance has amended the Finance Act 2017 to include provisions related to the composition of search-cum-selection committees, and term of office of members in the Act itself.
• The Finance Act 2017: It empowered the central government to notify rules on qualifications of members, terms and conditions of their service, and composition of search-cum-selection committees for 19 tribunals (such as Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal).

• Points to note:

1. Search-cum-selection committees - The Chairperson and Members of the Tribunals will be appointed by the central government on the recommendation of a Search-cum-Selection Committee. The Committee will consist of - Chief Justice of India, or a Supreme Court Judge nominated by him, as the Chairperson (with casting vote), Secretaries nominated by the central government, the sitting or outgoing Chairperson, or a retired Supreme Court Judge, or a retired Chief Justice of a High Court. The Secretary of the Ministry under which the Tribunal is constituted (with no voting right).
2. Term of Office - The term of office for the Chairperson of the tribunals will be of four years or till the attainment of the age of seventy years, whichever is earlier. For other members of the tribunals, the term will be of four years or till the age of sixty-seven years, whichever is earlier.
3. The Nine Laws (Replacement of Appellate Authorities/Tribunals):

•         The Cinematograph Act, 1952
•         The Trade Marks Act, 1999
•         The Copyright Act, 1957
•         The Customs Act, 1962
•         The Patents Act, 1970
•         The Airports Authority of India Act, 1994
•         The Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002
•         The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999

• Reason for replacing Tribunals: The quality of adjudication has been underwhelming in most cases, the delays have been substantial because the government has struggled to find competent persons willing to accept positions on these tribunals, and litigation has actually become more expensive, as these tribunals added another layer to it. There has been incessant litigation since 1985 by advocate bar associations against the tribunals over serious questions of their independence from the executive. But now, the cases with High courts could increase.

• Tribunals: These are quasi-judicial institutions set up to deal with problems such as resolving administrative or tax-related disputes. They perform a number of functions like adjudicating disputes, determining rights between contesting parties, making an administrative decision, reviewing an existing administrative decision and so forth.

1. The term ‘Tribunal’ is derived from the word ‘Tribunes’, which means ‘Magistrates of the Classical Roman Republic’. Tribunal is referred to as the office of the ‘Tribunes’ i.e., a Roman official under the monarchy and the republic with the function of protecting the citizen from arbitrary action by the aristocrat magistrates.
2. A Tribunal, generally, is any person or institution having an authority to judge, adjudicate on, or to determine claims or disputes – whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title.

• Constitutional Provisions: Tribunals were not originally a part of the Constitution. The 42nd Amendment Act 1976 introduced provision for tribunals in accordance with the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee. The Amendment introduced Part XIV-A to the Constitution, which deals with ‘Tribunals’ and contains two articles:

• Article 323A: It deals with Administrative Tribunals. These are quasi-judicial institutions that resolve disputes related to the recruitment and service conditions of persons engaged in public service. While the Article 323B deals with tribunals for other subjects such as Taxation, Industrial and labour, Foreign exchange, import and export, Land reforms, Food, Ceiling on urban property, Elections to Parliament and state legislatures, Rent and tenancy rights.

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

Muon g-2 breaks the Laws of Physics

• First time: When the muon was first discovered, Isidor Isaac Rabi reacted saying “Who ordered that?” Rabi, a Nobel laureate who helped America develop the atom bomb, was reflecting physicists’ general surprise that muons, which are just heavy and unstable versions of electrons, actually exist. To an orderly physicist’s mind they somehow seemed superfluous to Nature’s requirements.
• Details: Establishing the muon’s nature was an important part of the creation of what is known as the Standard Model of particle physics. This, along with Einstein’s general theory of relativity (actually a theory of gravity), is one of the two foundation stones on which modern physics is built. Yet the Standard Model is known to be incomplete for several reasons, one of which is precisely the fact that it does not yet embrace gravity. So it seems fitting that an answer to Rabi’s question, and with it a path to an explanation of physics beyond the Standard Model, may now have been opened by a measurement made on muons.

• Latest study: The study in question, called Muon g-2, used a superconducting storage device to look at the magnetic behaviour of muons. Experiments conducted with this machine at Brookhaven National Laboratory, in New York state, in the 1990s, had suggested an anomaly in such behaviour—a deviation of about 0.1% from theoretical predictions about the way that muons should spin in magnetic fields—but without sufficient statistical power to be sure. If this anomaly were real, it would suggest that an unknown force was tugging on the muons in the experiment.

1. To have another go at finding out, the storage device was shipped to Fermilab, outside Chicago, in 2013. There, it was linked to equipment which gave it more oomph.
2. This boost has, indeed, confirmed the previous result—though irritatingly not quite unambiguously enough for physics’ finicky requirements.
3. These demand “five sigma” of significance (five standard deviations from the mean, for the mathematically inclined).
4. The new data, added to the old, and announced on April 7th, give only 4.2 sigma. That, nevertheless, suggests there is only one chance in 40,000 that the result is a fluke.

• LHC: This is the second time in a month that a group of physicists has published a result which might lead beyond the Standard Model, for on March 23rd researchers on a project being conducted at cern, home of the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest particle accelerator, pulled a similar surprise. Their work involved the decay of particles called b-mesons into electrons, muons and their antimatter equivalents. Again, the details are not yet quite as statistically robust as might be desired. But two such findings in short order give hope that the hunt for physics beyond the Standard Model may soon run its quarry down.

• Knowledge centre:

• Standard model of Physics - The theories and discoveries of thousands of physicists since the 1930s have resulted in a remarkable insight into the fundamental structure of matter: everything in the universe is found to be made from a few basic building blocks called fundamental particles, governed by four fundamental forces. Our best understanding of how these particles and three of the forces are related to each other is encapsulated in the Standard Model of particle physics. Developed in the early 1970s, it has successfully explained almost all experimental results and precisely predicted a wide variety of phenomena. Over time and through many experiments, the Standard Model has become established as a well-tested physics theory.
• Four fundamental forces - There are four fundamental forces at work in the universe: the strong force, the weak force, the electromagnetic force, and the gravitational force. They work over different ranges and have different strengths. Gravity is the weakest but it has an infinite range. The electromagnetic force also has infinite range but it is many times

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

Chhattisgarh Police recruitment - Transgenders

• The story: At least 13 members of the transgender community have been selected recently as constables under the Chhattisgarh police. The 2014 Supreme Court ruling on transgenders said that the binary notion of gender denies equal protection of law to transgenders. This was rejected and the required relief was provided by the Supreme Court ruling in NALSA vs. Union of India (2014). It ruled that transgender persons have the right to decide their self-identified gender.
• Till then: The transgender community had no legal recognition till then. The induction of transgenders into the police force now is a vital message to people that they are as physically and mentally competent as others. This is more significant in the backdrop of the fact that there was no reservation for the transgender community as a separate category. Earlier, a few transgenders were inducted into the Tamil Nadu police too.
• Measures by Chhattisgarh government: Soon after the 2014 Supreme Court judgment, the Chhattisgarh government constituted the Third Gender Welfare Board. It was set up to take up various welfare measures in favour of trans people. Instructions were issued to all departments in this regard. They were to include ‘third gender’ as an option (along with male and female) in official documents that require mentioning the gender or sex of a person. Sensitisation workshops were organised at State and district levels by the police department. Police officers were apprised about the Central law and the Supreme Court’s ruling on transgenders.
• Legal provisions: The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act was enacted in 2019. It paved the way for issuing a certificate of transgender entity. This is in spirit with international conventions, particularly, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966, the Yogyakarta Principles, 2006 etc.
• Indian labour and Covid lockdowns: About 1.23 crore migrant labourers (official number) returned to their home States during the Covid–19 lockdowns during 2020 and once again many State governments including Maharashtra government are considering lockdowns to curb rising Covid-19 cases. While industrial and business sectors are strongly opposing the move, labourers face another livelihood crisis and horrifying journey to their home States.
• What next: About 67 per cent (61,34,943) migrant labourers who returned to their home State in the 2020 lockdown were from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Odisha. According to the Ministry of Labour and Employment most of these migrant workers have returned to their workplaces and have resumed productive employment. But what happened to livelihood and wages of workers including formal and informal workers last year?
• Data: A World Bank Group’s policy research working paper has found that the differential labour market shock experienced by informal wage workers during the national lockdown due to Covid -19 pandemic in 2020 did not persist for long. After April-May 2020, the labour market outcomes of informal workers began recovering towards their pre-Covid levels faster than those of their formal counterparts. By August 2020, there was no longer a significant differential between informal and formal wage workers in terms of the decline in the employment rate or income from pre-Covid levels.
• Self-employment rose, formal wage employment down: By August 2020, six months into the Covid crisis in India, employment (as a share of the total working age population) had nearly recovered to its pre-Covid levels but its composition had shifted markedly towards self-employment. Expressed as a share of total employment, formal wage employment shrank by nearly 30 per cent between December 2019 and August 2020. Informal wage employment too shrank marginally, while self-employment expanded from 48.2 per cent of total employed persons in December 2019 to 55 per cent of all employed persons in August 2020.
• Informals hit hard: There was considerable heterogeneity in the Covid shock, with the likelihood of employment loss being higher among those initially working in the informal sector than those initially in formal jobs. Informal workers are also more vulnerable than the self-employed. Among those in informal jobs in December 2019, over 57 per cent were not in employment by April 2020. Those initially self-employed in December 2019 had a 33 per cent chance of not being in employment by April 2020, while those initially formally employed in December 2019 had a 28 per cent chance of being unemployed by April 2020. Informal workers experienced a more severe shock than formal workers.
• Gig economy: The increasing role of the gig economy was evident with significant growth of online retail business. The lockdown period also saw employers preferring ‘Work from home’ of their employees, cutting down on staff strength and engaging freelancers or outsourcing tasks to reduce overhead costs. Drivers engaged in platforms like Uber/Ola, Swiggy, Big Basket and Pizza Hut are now showing potential as well.
• Employment opportunities: The World Bank paper adds that after the lockdown, a strikingly large proportion of those initially working in the formal sector transitioned to the informal and self-employed sectors. In addition, an unusually large proportion of those initially employed in informal wage jobs transitioned to self-employment. Overall, both among those with formal and informal wage jobs in December 2019, about 18 per cent were in self-employment by April 2020. Self-employed fared better than informal wage workers in the early phase of the Covid-19 crisis. Self-employment may also have served as a fallback for wage workers who lost jobs: both among those with formal and informal wage jobs in December 2019, about 18 per cent were in self-employment by April 2020.

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

GoI and National Programme on Artificial Intelligence

• The story: The Government of India is to launch National Programme on Artificial Intelligence. Under the programme, high value data sets in Public Sector Units are to be identified. These data will then be put under an Artificial Intelligence control framework. The framework will provide access to the appropriate units. This is being done to increase the safety of the data and its accessibility.
• The plan: Under this, a Centre for Transformational Artificial Intelligence to tap the data in various models is to be made available for the Artificial Intelligence model. The Government plans to launch Digital India 2.0. This will boost National Programme on Artificial Intelligence.
• Digital India 2.0: The main aim is to take cybersecurity, digital service offerings and infrastructure to next level. Under Digital India 2.0, the Government of India will develop indigenous cybersecurity products and robust digital infrastructure. It will also aim to create robust Direct Benefit Transfer. A Nationwide Enterprise Architecture is to be established under Digital India 2.0.
• Role of MSMEs: Both Digital India 2.0 and the National Programme on Artificial Intelligence will be implemented in such a way that they support MSMEs and startups in the respective fields. To achieve this, the MSME Ministry will set up Rs 1,000 crores of fund. The fund will provide access capital to these companies. To help the startups in the field, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology will set up Digital Product Fund. The fund will be invested in startups through incubators and accelerators.

Basic Savings Account in Post Offices

• The story: The Ministry of Finance recently notified changes in Post Office Savings Account Scheme, 2019. The ministry notified that a beneficiary of Government welfare scheme can open a basic savings bank account with any post office in the country.
• Changes: The accounts can be opened in an India Post Payment Bank or a Scheduled Commercial Bank. The deposit required to open this account is NIL. The account shall be opened by a beneficiary of any Government Welfare Scheme. The account shall also be opened by a beneficiary who is a minor. However, it is mandatory for the minor to assign a guardian. The Basic Savings Accounts that were opened under Post Office Savings Account Rules, 1981 are not covered under the new notification.
• Rules: The Basic Savings Account is very much like that of the Basic Saving Bank Deposit Account. However, the Basic Savings Account has certain conditions of operations. They are as follows:
• Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Account: The accounts opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana are Basic Savings Account. So far 42.2 crores of such accounts have been opened. They currently hold Rs 1.45 lakh crores of balance.
• Post Office Savings Account: The Post Office Savings Account is also a Basic Savings Account. It shall be opened with a minimum amount of Rs 500. It allows to deposit a minimum of Rs 10 and there is no maximum deposit limit.

World Homeopathy Day and Samuel Hahnemann

• The stoy: Every year, the World Homeopathy day is celebrated on April 10. The day is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of the founder of Homeopathy Dr Samuel Hahnemann. In India, the Homeopathy Day was celebrated under the theme "Homeopathy: Roadmap for Integrative Medicine".
• Samuel Hahnemann: Dr Hahnemann was born on April 10, 1755. He was a German physician and was best known for creating pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. The pseudoscientific system is called Homeopathy. Pseudoscience is a set of practices that are scientific and factual but are incompatible with scientific methods. He was dissatisfied of the fact that the medicines in his time at times created more harm than good. Thus, he gave up practicing medicine in 1784. Then on, he started investigating causes of alleged errors in the medicines.
• How did Samuel invent Homeopathy: He encountered the fact that Cinchona, the bark of Peruvian tree was effective in treating malaria. According to him, this was possible because of the astringency of the Peruvian tree. Astringency is the property that causes skin cell or other body cells to contract. To research about the effect of Cinchona on human body he self-applied it. The drug then induced malaria like symptoms in him. With this he concluded that it would do so in any healthy individual. Based on the above invention, he framed the concept that “Like Cures Like”, that is, “that which can produce symptoms in healthy individuals can treat a sick patient who is suffering from same kind of symptoms”. This principle was named by him as “Homeopathy”. This is the base of homeopathic treatment.
• Two days: The World Homeopathy Day is different from World Health Day. The World Health Day is celebrated on April 7. This year, the World Health Day was celebrated on the theme "Building a fairer, healthier world".

Endemic species and GHG emissions

• The story: A study published in the journal Biological Conservation says that many animals and plants might face extinction if green house gas emissions continue to rise.
• Details: All the endemic species in islands are at high risk of extinction due to climate change. Four out of every five endemic species in mountains are at the high risk of extinction due to climate change. 95% of marine species and 92% of land-based species will face reduction in numbers. In tropical region, over 60% of endemic species are facing extinction due to climate change. By maintaining the global heating well below two degrees Celsius as mentioned in the revised Paris Agreement will help to save majority of the species.
• Global temperature increase: If the global temperature increases by three degree Celsius, then a third of the endemic species living on land and half of endemic species living in sea will face extinction. At these temperatures, around 84% of species will face extinction in mountains. On Islands, all the 100% of the species will become extinct at these temperatures.
• 2050 scenario: The following will occur in 2050 - by 2050, the islands in Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka, Philippines, and the Western Ghats will lose most of their endemic plants if the current situation prevails. If the Greenhouse Gas Emissions increase, then the places such as Madagascar and Caribbean Islands will lose all their endemic plants by 2050. The Endemic species are the most iconic plants and animals in the world. The species that are highly threatened by climate change are lemurs (especially those that are unique to Madagascar), snow leopard. As compared to the species that are widespread, the endemic species are 2.7 times more likely to go extinct with unchecked temperatures.

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• SECTION 3 - MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions)

Solve the online quiz given, right now. Check scores, and relative performance!

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