Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 17-06-2021

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 17-06-2021

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. World Politics - EU alarmed at Sri Lanka's human rights situation - A resolution was adopted by the European Parliament in June 2021, urging the European Union (EU) Commission to consider a temporary withdrawal of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) status given to Sri Lanka. The June 10 resolution expressed deep concern over Sri Lanka’s grave human rights violations, use of the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), arrests of prominent lawyers and “arbitrary” detentions, continuing discrimination and violence towards religious and ethnic minorities, etc. It voiced concern about the 20th Amendment passed in 2020, and decline in judicial independence, reduction of parliamentary control, and the excessive accumulation of power with the presidency. GSP - EU rules allowing exporters from developing countries to pay less or no duties on exports to the European Union, to help developing countries alleviate poverty and create jobs. The EU’s GSP is the most progressive in coverage and benefits. The EU monitors and reviews GSP+ beneficiary countries’ implementation of the international conventions on human rights and labour rights. The GSP was adopted at UNCTAD in New Delhi in 1968 and was instituted in 1971. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body.
2. Environment and Ecology - Southern Ocean recognised as fifth ocean by National Geographic magazine - On the occasion of World Ocean Day (8th June), the National Geographic magazine recognised the ‘Southern Ocean’ as the world’s fifth ocean. Other four Oceans are: Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic Oceans. The Southern Ocean is the only one to touch three other oceans (Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Ocean), and the only Ocean to completely embrace a continent rather than being embraced by them. It is also defined by its Antarctic Circumpolar Current that was formed 34 million years ago. The current flows from west to east around Antarctica. Antarctic versus Antarctica - The Antarctic is made of (i) the continent of Antarctica, (ii) the Kerguelen Plateau and (iii) other island territories located on the Antarctic Plate. The Antarctic region includes the ice shelves, waters, and all the island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence, and covers 20 percent of the Southern Hemisphere (of which 5.5 percent is the surface area of the Antarctica continent itself).
3. Science and Techology - Milky Way to collide with Andromeda galaxy - The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy, with a relatively thin, flattened disk. It has three main parts - the core, the disk and the halo. First seen by Galileo Galilei with a telescope, it is organized into spiral arms of giant stars that illuminate interstellar gas and dust. The sun is in a finger called the Orion Spur. Like all other galaxies, it is an isolated collection of stars, planets and other material bound together by common pull of gravity, and is moving at approx. 630 kms/second. Stars are only 1% of the mass and interstellar gas accounts for only 0.1%. The vast majority of gas is hydrogen and helium. Between the stars sit innumerable nebulas (clouds of gas and dust). Its nearest neighbour is the Andromeda galaxy, located 2.5 million light-years away. Together with Andromeda and about 80 smaller galaxies, the Milky Way is a part of the Local Group. Milky Way is on a collision course with Andromeda, and they will begin to merge in about 5 billion years. Both are moving together in the direction of what's called the Great Attractor. [Much of Milky Way's mass is perhaps dark matter, an invisible matter form that interacts gravitationally with ordinary matter. Dark matter may be around 85% of the matter in the universe]
4. Environment and Ecology - World Sea Turtle Day - The day is celebrated on 16 June every year to educate people on the need to conserve the world’s Sea turtles and their habitats. Turtles are the world’s oldest reptile groups in existence, thought to be around even before lizards and snakes. The first few years of a marine turtle’s life are often referred to as the ‘lost years’. That’s because the time between when the hatchlings emerge until they return to coastal shallow waters to forage is difficult to study. The lost years they spend at sea – which can be up to 20 years – largely remain a mystery to humans. The seven species of sea turtle are Loggerhead, Green, Leatherback, Hawksbill, Olive Ridley, Kemp’s Ridley, and Flatback. Out of these seven, two species, Hawksbill and Kemps Ridley are considered critically endangered. Turtles differ from tortoises as tortoises spend most time on land but turtles are adapted for life in water. All tortoises are turtles but all turles are not tortoises. Unlike most sea turtles, which take to land only when they are laying eggs, tortoises don’t get into water much, other than drinking it and occasionally bathing in it.
5. World Politics - NATO re-energised for space too, by America - In a 2021 summit statement, NATO leaders have expanded the use of their "all for one, one for all" mutual defence clause to include a collective response to attacks in space. Article 5 of NATO’s founding treaty states that an attack on any one of the 30 allies will be considered an attack on them all. Until now, it’s only applied to more traditional military attacks on land, sea, or in the air, and more recently in cyberspace. In December 2019, NATO leaders declared space to be the alliance’s “fifth domain” of operations, after land, sea, air and cyberspace. Around 2,000 satellites orbit the earth, over half are operated by NATO countries. Around 80 countries have satellites, and private companies are moving in, too. President Biden has played a key role in re-energising the US-NATO relationship, something President Trump was keen on ending.
6. Social Issues - Israel first mask-free country - Israel will no longer require people to wear masks indoors, removing one of the last remaining coronavirus restrictions as infections continue to decline. Masks will be required for passengers and crews on airplanes, and for unvaccinated people in care facilities. In June, Israel lifted capacity restrictions and retired its Green Pass System, allowing vaccinated and unvaccinated people equal access to cultural and economic activities. The main limitations that remain concern travel into and out of Israel, which involves strict testing and quarantine rules. Israel’s vaccine rollout began in December 2020 and was swift, supplied by ample no. of doses and the "Green Pass", which granted vaccinated Israelis more freedoms than people who did not get a shot.
7. Social Issues - Sankalp Se Siddhi — Mission Van Dhan - This was launched by Arjun Munda, Minister for Tribal Affairs on June 15. The event witnessed the inauguration of new premises of the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) headquarters. TRIFED has come up with initiatives aimed at sustainable livelihoods for our tribal population. Over the past two years, the ‘Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce (MFP) through Minimum Support Price (MSP) and Development of Value Chain for MFP’ has impacted the tribal ecosystem in a major way. It has injected Rs.3,000 crores into the tribal economy. The Van Dhan tribal start-ups, a component of the scheme, emerged as a source of employment generation for tribal gatherers and forest dwellers and the home-bound tribal artisans. In less than two years, 37,362 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs), subsumed into 2240 Van Dhan Vikas Kendra Clusters (VDVKCs) of 300 forest dwellers each, have been sanctioned by TRIFED out of which 1200 VDVK Clusters are operational. A total number of 134 Tribes India Outlets have been opened for retail marketing to date, and have made a total sale of Rs.53.66 crores. Two TRIFOOD Projects at Jagdalpur and Raigarh (Maharashtra) are being commissioned for value-addition of forest products being procured by beneficiaries of Van Dhan Kendras. Target is the establishment of 50,000 Van Dhan Vikas Kendras, 3000 Haat Bazaars, 600 godowns, 200 Mini TRIFOOD units, 100 common facility centres, 100 TRIFOOD parks, 100 SFURTI clusters, 200 Tribes India retail stores, e-commerce platforms for TRIFOOD and Tribes India brands.
8. Defence and Military - ASEAN defence ministers' meet - Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus through video conferencing. The ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) is a forum comprising 10 ASEAN member countries and 8 dialogue partner nations including India, China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States. The 15th Meet is being hosted by Brunei being the chair of the ASEAN grouping for 2021. The ADMM-Plus forum aims to strengthen security and defence cooperation for peace, stability and development in the region. The inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2010.
9. Science and Technology - Various updates - (a) The World Wide Web's creator Tim Berners-Lee is auctioning off his invention's source code as an NFT (non-fungible token). The original archive of dated and time-stamped files contains the source code, written between October 3, 1990, and August 24, 1991. These files contain code with approximately 9,555 lines, the contents of which include implementations of HTML, HTTP and URLs. (b) Solapur-based developer Mayur Fartade was awarded $30,000 by Facebook for finding a bug on Instagram that allowed anyone to see private accounts. He revealed that Facebook fixed the bug on June 15. (c) Microsoft has named CEO Satya Nadella as its new chairman, in place of John Thompson. The top-level executive change comes just over a year after co-founder Bill Gates stepped down from the board, saying he would focus on philanthropic works of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
10. Indian Politics - Covid Update - (a) A single day rise of 67,208 new coronavirus infections were recorded taking India's total tally of Covid-19 cases to 2,97,00,313, while the active cases declined to 8,26,740. The Covid-19 death toll climbed to 3,81,903 with 2,330 fresh fatalities. (b) Maharashtra and Mumbai reported an increase in Covid-19 cases but a dip in fatalities. After reporting under 10,000 cases for the last two days, the state reported 10,107 cases, with Mumbai seeing almost a 50% rise. (c) New Zealand will take up to the end of the year to inoculate all those eligible for Covid-19 vaccinations, PM Jacinda Ardern said. NZ had shut its borders and used tough lockdown measures to become one of the few countries to have virtually eliminated Covid-19, but slow rollout of vaccines didn't help. (d) Keeping in view the limited access of medical facilities in the rural and tribal areas, a Hyderabad based non-profit organization (NGO) has combined service and technology to extend help to inaccessible areas. The Social Data Initiatives Forum (SDIF) of Hyderabad helped those from rural and tribal places of Telangana.

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• SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

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

India's Covid economy resilient - Diret tax surges in FY22

 

• The story: In an unexpected sign of economic resilience despite the devastating Covid-19 second wave, the advance tax collections have risen almost one-and-half times in the first quarter of 2021-22 compared to fiscal 2020-21. That has pushed up the net direct tax collections in the first two-and-half months of the new fiscal.

• Details: The 2021-22 opened on a very challenging note, with several lakh gasping for breath and dying due to Covid-19's almost unchecked spread. But the income tax collection seems unaffected!

1. (a) Advance tax collection for Q1 stood at Rs.28,780 crore against Rs.11,714 crore in the corresponding previous period, a growth of 146 per cent (as per the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)
2. (b) June 15 was the due date for the first instalment of advance tax. Out of total collection, corporate tax had a share of Rs.18,358 crore while personal income tax contributed Rs.10,422 crore. The CBDT said that number could go up as reconciliation with banks was pending.

• Advance tax: As per Section 208 of the Income Tax Act, every assessee, barring those above the age of 60 not running any business, having estimated TDS (Tax Deducted at Source)/TCS (Tax Collected at Source) for the year of Rs.10,000 or more, is required to pay advance tax in four instalments (15 per cent of the total by June 15; 45 per cent by September 15; 75 per cent by December 15, and the entire amount by March 15).
• Net collection soars: Overall, gross direct tax collections for FY22 exceeded Rs.2.16-lakh crore against Rs.1.38-lakh crore in the corresponding previous period. With refunds of over Rs.30,000 crore, the net collection totalled Rs.1.86-lakh crore, showing a growth of more than 100 per cent over the Rs.93,000 crore mopped up in the same two-and-half of the last fiscal. Corporate tax collection topped Rs.74,000 crore while personal income tax contributed over Rs.1.11-lakh crore.
• Why the rise: The primary reason for this appears to be the success of the "Vivad se Vishwas" scheme. Taxpayers have taken advantage of the scheme and settled their disputes/ litigations with the Income-Tax Department besides depositing their tax dues.
• Summary: This sudden burst of revenue will be a sigh of relief for the government, struggling with pushing the economy back into recovery mode.

India's poverty data is a decade old

• The story: For meaningful policymaking, it is important to have the right data on a steady basis. Only then can right policy be formed. Sadly, India has no official, updated data on poverty for the last 10 years, with the Modi government delaying exercises to estimate poverty and scrapping the survey reports that did so.

• Estimating poverty: The standard way of estimating poverty has two steps.

1. One, the National Statistical Office or NSO (formerly National Sample Survey Organisation or NSSO) carries out a sample Consumer Expenditure Survey every five years to see how much families are spending on necessities.
2. Two, a previously set poverty line -- a set of minimum expenditure criteria -- is applied to the survey findings to determine what percentage of families qualifies as poor. This poverty line is expected to be revised every 10 to 15 years.
3. The Centre has refused to release the report of the 75th Consumer Expenditure Survey, done in 2017-18, claiming a divergence between its findings and "administrative data". The survey had found a fall in consumer spending for the first time in more than four decades.

• Net summary: The latest poverty data of India comes from the previous such survey from 2011-12, which put 21.9 per cent of the population below the poverty line. Nor has the Centre revised the old poverty line, fixed in 2005, after having rejected the recommendations of an expert committee the UPA had formed in 2012 to work out a new poverty line.

1. N.C. Saxena, a member of the UPA-era National Advisory Council (NAC), said poverty data was crucial to determining how effectively government welfare schemes were helping people improve their living standards.
2. Such data is also key to estimating where India stands in relation to other countries in the matter of poverty alleviation, and whether it can achieve the UN's Sustainable Development Goal target of eradicating poverty by 2030, to which New Delhi is a signatory.
3. Today, there's no real data on the progress towards poverty eradication. Had the NSO report been released, the poverty estimate would have come in 2019.

• Wait is on: Now everyone waits for the next NSO report. The NSO's sample household survey captures how much money a family has been spending on food, shelter, clothing, health, education, transport, entertainment and other needs.

• Poverty line: The current poverty line was fixed in 2005 by the Suresh Tendulkar committee set up by the UPA government. It suggested that a person should be considered poor if they spend less than Rs 447 a month in rural areas and Rs 578 a month in urban areas (in keeping with the 2004-05 price index).

1. Based on this, 37 per cent people -- 26 per cent in urban areas and 42 per cent in rural India -- were found to be poor in 2004-05. This improved to 21.9 per cent by 2011-12.
2. In 2012, the UPA government set up a committee under C. Rangarajan to revise the poverty line.
3. In June 2014, the committee submitted its report to the Modi government, which rejected it. In 2015, the government set up a task force under the then Niti Aayog deputy chairman, Arvind Panagariya, to recommend a fresh poverty line.
4. On February 4 this year, the minister of state for planning, Rao Inderjit Singh, told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply that the task force had not recommended any definition of poverty or a methodology to estimate poverty (poverty line) but suggested that another expert panel be set up. No such panel has been set up yet.

• Official stand: In the absence of any official poverty estimation data for the past 10 years, all the government says is that India will be able to achieve the (UN-mandated) goal on poverty; but there's no data. Tendulkar's poverty line can still be used if no new methodology is worked out.

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

Climate change preparedness in India

• The story: The COVID-19 pandemic was a forewarning of the other under-addressed global disasters looming on the horizon, particularly climate change. The onset of climate change impacts and disasters are an even bigger threat to public welfare and health than the ongoing pandemic.
• Exposed structures: It took a pandemic to expose the fundamental weaknesses and lack of preparedness in the existing healthcare system worldwide, and especially in India. It led to human tragedy on an unimaginable scale, despite many scientists having been issuing warnings on the eventuality of pandemics.

• What climate change will bring: It is expected to have a long-term and persistent adverse impact on livelihoods and many key economic sectors. To avoid getting caught at a point where developing countries like India have to make hard choices between their economic growth and public welfare, the importance of understanding impacts and being prepared is crucial.

1. In the Global Climate Risk Index 2021, India ranked as the 7th most affected country with the highest absolute losses in terms of purchasing power parity in 2019.
2. The climate risk is also seen by the Indian government - a 2020 Ministry of Earth Sciences study projected increasingly intense and variable monsoons, heat stress, and extreme weather events.
3. The study concluded that these will highly impact human health and well-being, and damage the country's critical ecosystems and infrastructure. The question that arises is, are we doing enough in the present to cope in the future?

• India's commitments: Till 2020, India was the only country among the G20 countries that had 2-degree compatible climate commitments. Even though India's per capita carbon footprint is a small fraction of the global average, India's ambitious climate and energy targets were clear.

1. India is taking the lead in mobilising others for implementing climate interventions, through two international initiatives - the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
2. While India's climate actions have largely focused on the energy sector, with an increasing focus recently on the transportation sector, it is now imperative for India to develop roadmaps for transitioning to low-carbon resilient pathways for manufacturing industries, critical infrastructure, urban habitats, agriculture, and for development in coastal and mountainous regions.

• After the pandemic: It is critical to take scientific expertise into account while determining climate events and devising a coping response. It is also essential to have an institutional framework in place which allows for inter-agency and inter-state decision-making, as well as international cooperation for sharing resources and expertise.
• Biden's about turn: With the US re-entering the Climate Accord following President Joe Biden's election victory, international cooperation for climate change has started to ramp up. At the US Leadership Climate Summit held in mid-April 2021, the US announced its intent to double its climate finance flows by 2024 and tripling its adaptation finance, focused on climate-smart development and sustainable infrastructure for developing nations. India announced a renewed bilateral cooperation with the US for mobilising finance and accelerating clean energy deployment under the Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership.
• The money part: Mobilizing international private finance is crucial. Private finance is the panacea for enabling ambitious climate actions, but there is very little of it on the ground in developing countries for sectors besides energy. India has started conducting state-wise vulnerability assessments. These should be collated and updated in a central database and made accessible to the industries and the general public.
• Summary: India should capitalise on the emerging global cooperation to ensure sustainable financing for long-term climate actions, and go for a green recovery. Instead of joining the 'net-zero' race at the cost of its development, India can focus on putting forth implementable and increasingly ambitious climate actions for key sectors.
  

India to launch deep ocean mission

• The story: India has approved a long pending "Deep Ocean Mission", which involves developing a submersible vehicle to allow a crew to plunge 6,000 metres into the ocean and hunt the floor for precious metals. India would be among a handful of countries able to launch an underwater mission at such depths.

• Details: In the works since 2018, the mission is expected to cost Rs.4,077 crore over the next five years. The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) will be the nodal Ministry implementing this multi-institutional mission.

• The geology of it: The Deep Ocean Mission was in 2019 envisaged as a Rs.8,000 crore mission. India has been allotted a site of 75,000 square kilometres in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) by the UN International Sea Bed Authority for exploitation of polymetallic nodules (PMN). These are rocks scattered on the seabed containing iron, manganese, nickel and cobalt. Being able to lay hands on a fraction of that reserve can meet the energy requirement of India for the next 100 years, as 380 million metric tonnes of polymetallic nodules are available at the bottom of the seas in the Central Indian Ocean. India’s Exclusive Economic Zone spreads over 2.2 million square kilometres.

• Six parts: There are six components to the programme.

1. A manned submersible will be developed to carry three people to a depth of 6,000 metres in the ocean with a suite of scientific sensors and tools. An Integrated Mining System will be also developed for mining polymetallic nodules at those depths in the central Indian Ocean.
2. The second component involves developing Ocean Climate Change Advisory Services, which entails developing a suite of observations and models to understand and provide future projections of important climate variables on seasonal to decadal time scales.
3. The third component is searching for deep sea flora and fauna, including microbes, and studying ways to sustainably utilise them.
4. The fourth component is to explore and identify potential sources of hydrothermal minerals that are sources of precious metals formed from the earth’s crust along the Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges.
5. The fifth component involves studying and preparing detailed engineering design for offshore Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) powered desalination plants.
6. The final component is aimed at grooming experts in the field of ocean biology and engineering. This aims to translate research into industrial applications and product development through on-site business incubator facilities.

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

Delta variant slows escape from pandemic

 

• The story: The coronavirus has the bad habit of ruining the best-laid plans. The delta variant, the fast-spreading version of the virus first detected in India in 2020, is changing the rules of the game as the world tries to exit the pandemic.
• British cries: In Britain, PM Boris Johnson announced that a long-planned final lifting of all coronavirus restrictions in England on June 21 would be delayed by four weeks because of the fast-spreading Delta variant, making up an estimated 90 percent of new cases in Britain. He reminded the public of the "remorseless logic of exponential growth”, adding that pushing back the full reopening of the country until July 19 will save thousands of lives.
• India's second wave: There was evidence of that remorseless logic, when India experienced a devastating surge as the delta variant spread widely. Although new daily cases in India fell from their peak later — a record-breaking roughly 4,00,000 a day in early May — they remained alarmingly high, with around 62,000 new daily cases reported on 16th June. Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s covid-19 technical lead, said that the delta variant had been detected in more than 80 countries around the world and that public health experts are keeping tabs on potential additional mutations.
• US situation: In the United States, the delta variant accounts for around 6 percent of new cases, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added delta to its list of “variants of concern.” The variant may not yet change U.S. reopening plans, but combined with the slower than expected pace of vaccinations in recent weeks, it just might.

• Mutation opportunities: The problem is that the coronavirus has spread so far and wide that it has plenty of opportunity to mutate. The WHO has tracked more than 50 different strains. Though most are not considered of extra concern, four have been labeled as being of particular concern, one of which is B.1.617.2 — the scientific name of the delta variant. Since first detected in India in October 2020, researchers studied delta closely. They soon discovered that it has two mutations on the spike protein that help the coronavirus latch onto healthy cells. These have helped make the variant more infectious.

1. Delta is 60 percent more infectious than alpha, a variant first detected in Britain, according to U.K. officials.
2. The good news is that vaccinations still work well in protecting people who are fully vaccinated against the delta variant.
3. The U.K. studies show that both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines are highly effective at protecting against symptomatic disease when the full two-dose regime is administered (with efficacy rates of 88 percent and 60 percent, respectively).

• The evolution process: Although the delta variant emerged via natural processes, man-made factors have aided its spread. In Britain, the focus on prioritizing first doses may have come back to bite the country. Many critics of the government also say that restrictions on travel from India were put in place too late because of political concerns. In India itself, the wide spread of the variant this spring may have been helped by a combination of loosened government restrictions and a slow vaccine rollout.
• Summary: The delta variant has put a speed bump in the world’s path out of the pandemic.

Biden-Putin Summit 2021

• The story: U.S. President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, met in Geneva, Switzerland, on 16th June 2021 for their first in-person summit as the relationship between their two countries has deteriorated to its lowest point in decades. The meeting was an effort by both to establish ground rules to ease tensions in the wake of a series of cyberattacks attributed to Russian hackers, sanctions over Moscow’s alleged interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential elections, and a rally of diplomatic expulsions.

• Thawing relations: As a first step, the two agreed to return their respective ambassadors to Washington and Moscow after they were both recalled for consultations earlier in 2021.

1. After the meetings, Biden and Putin characterized the summit as productive and outlined a limited range of areas for further discussion on cybersecurity and prisoner exchanges.
2. In a joint communiqué, the two presidents reaffirmed their commitment to averting nuclear war and announced plans to resume strategic stability talks to lay the groundwork for future arms control negotiations.

• Learnings: Biden’s meeting with Putin took place almost three years after the now infamous summit in Helsinki, Finland, where then-U.S. President Donald Trump said he believed Putin over his own intelligence agencies on the question of alleged election interference.

1. Putin said although he didn’t “swear eternal friendship” to his U.S. counterpart, he saw a “spark of hope” in his eyes. Biden, for his part, described the summit as “good, positive” and said although there was disagreement, it was not “done in a hyperbolic atmosphere.”
2. Biden warned there would be “devastating consequences” should Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny die in prison and warned the Russian leader against conducting cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, such as energy and water supplies, in the United States.

• No Breakthroughs: There were no major breakthroughs in Geneva. But both presidents identified a handful of key areas where there may be some potential for progress, starting with the agreement to return their ambassadors to their respective posts. Biden also raised the issue of two Americans, Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed, who have separately received lengthy prison sentences in Russia. Putin said the two countries might be able to “find some compromise there” and noted the U.S. State Department and Russian Foreign Ministry would work on the issue. Russia is likely to seek notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout and convicted drug smuggler Konstantin Yaroshenko to be released in return.
• Arms control: With just one arms control agreement left in place between Russia and the United States, who hold some 90 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons between them, the communiqué agreed to bilateral strategic stability talks, which could pave the way for future arms control negotiations.
• Summary: The history of whether or not the summit will go down as a success is yet to be written. It will now fall to their administrations to hammer out the details amid ongoing tensions and intense political scrutiny in Washington. Biden clearly said “the proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

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

Covid vaccination gap

 

 

• The story: The government said that the decision to increase the gap between two doses of Covishield vaccine from 4-6 weeks to 12-16 weeks was “unanimous” and based on studies that showed that a longer interval resulted in higher efficacy.

• NTAGI: It was reported that three members of the group denied backing the 12-16 weeks dosage interval. But the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) countered the report and said there was no dissent from any member when the decision was vetted by the Covid-19 working group and the standing technical sub-committee (STSC) under NTAGI.

1. It said that in the open and transparent system where decisions are taken on scientific basis, the Covid working group took that decision, with no dissenting voice.
2. The recommendation was that the vaccine interval has to be 12-16 weeks.
3. The decision to increase the gap was based on scientific studies regarding behaviour of ‘adenovector’ vaccines which were seen to function with longer gaps.

• Health Minister's dynamic attacks: Meanwhile, health minister Harsh Vardhan said the issue was being “politicised”, referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s tweet. “Decision to increase the gap between administering two doses of Covishield has been taken in a transparent manner based on scientific data. But in front of Rahul Gandhi’s unparalleled wisdom, even Aryabhatta and Aristotle will fail,” he said on Twitter.
• Global situation: The interval between two doses of Covishield has been extended in many countries, but it created a stir in India in May 2021 as it came amid reports of vaccine shortage. The government maintained that the decision was driven by scientific reasons. The UK’s decision to reduce the gap further fuelled the controversy. The UK was able to come out of it because the interval they kept was 12 weeks. India also thought that this is a good idea, since there are fundamental scientific reasons to show that when interval is increased, adenovector vaccines give better response.
• Summary: This also gives flexibility to the community, since everyone cannot get the second shot precisely at 12 weeks. The government now plans to have a tracking system to monitor different trends related to vaccine administration in the local population.

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

The damage electoral bonds are doing

 

• The story: In a democracy, political power should flow from people’s approval, as measured by results in elections. In practice, this system is often distorted by a number of factors, financial power being the most prominent of them. If large corporates or foreign groups start funding local political parties in a big way, a lot can change quickly.
• Foreign funding: It was found by the Delhi High Court in 2014 that Indian political parties took foreign funds in violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976. Soon, the government brought amendments to the law {Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 1976, and Companies Act, 2013} which retrospectively set right the wrongs committed by multiple parties! In 2016 and 2018, the government amended the FCRA through the annual Finance Bills, to retrospectively legalise the violations.

• Arrival of electoral bonds: The biggest setback has been the lack of transparency in political funding due to the new electoral bonds.

1. In 2017, the introduction of electoral bonds brought a new form of anonymity to thousands of crores of donations. These bonds are such that only the ruling party via the State Bank of India (SBI) has a full account of all donations being made via electoral bonds.
2. The Parliament, the Election Commission and the Opposition parties do not have this information, nor do the public.
3. In effect, electoral bonds give political power to companies, wealthy individual donors, and foreign entities, thus diluting the universal franchise of one voter-one vote.
4. Earlier, foreign companies or companies where the controlling stake was held by a foreign company couldn’t contribute to political parties. Now they can. According to the ECI, this may allow unchecked foreign funding of political parties in India, leading to policies being influenced.

• Amendments in Companies Act, 2013: The Finance Bill of 2017 amended Section 182 of the Companies Act of 2013 to remove the requirement for declaring disaggregated donations to political parties. Earlier, only profit-making domestic companies could contribute to political parties; now loss-making companies can too. Also, the limit of 7.5% for corporate donations to political parties has been removed. With this, corporations are free to donate any amount of money and are not liable to declare the recipient of their donations.
• RTI gone: The Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2005 enables easier access to information held by public authorities. But above changes could in effect nullify the impact of transparency provisions even if political parties come under the Right to Information (RTI) umbrella.
• Summary: The Supreme Court can order full and real-time disclosure, to the actual benefit of transparency and accountability. Companies and political parties could exercise moral leadership and voluntarily disclose the identity of recipients and donors, as the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha recently did. In many advanced countries, elections are funded publicly. This ensures principles of parity and there is not too great a resource gap between the ruling party and the opposition. Until the elections get publicly funded, there can be caps or limits on financial contributions to political parties. Every vote is not equally valuable if companies can influence policies through hidden donations.

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

Global battle for microchip domination

• The story: Nations of the world are all set for a battle over semiconductors, mostly between the US and China. The U.S. will have to weigh its strategy carefully and learn the lessons of the past. The right balance of support for both production and innovation will distinguish the winners.
• Reasons for its importance: Of all modern industries, semiconductors (computer chips) are the most jealously guarded and sought-after by national governments, for many reasons. They’re militarily important — all weapons are computerized now, and in a war a country needs to be able to make your own chips. Then, semiconductor manufacturing is a very high-value activity that generates a lot of revenue and a lot of good-paying jobs. Since computer chips are key inputs into a huge variety of other high-tech industries, having semiconductors located in one's own country supports an entire ecosystem of high-value economic activity.
• Funding in US: The US government's embrace of industrial policy would focus first and foremost on semiconductors. Of the $250 billion allocated in the competitiveness bill passed by the Senate, $52 billion is to boost domestic semiconductor production. President Joe Biden’s new review of U.S. supply chains singles out computer chips as a key area in need of reshoring.
• US versus China: The US is up against China, which has rolled out a huge program aimed at boosting its own semiconductor industry to world-beating position. Japan and Europe are trying to claw back some of the market share they’ve lost. South Korea, whose companies have taken some market share from the U.S. in recent years, is also making its own big push. And Taiwan is home to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., TSMC, which is now regarded as the global technological leader in chip manufacturing after leaving U.S. champion Intel Corp. in the dust.
• Fabulous fabs: So many nations will finance the construction of giant fabricator plants (called “fabs”), doing more research and development. If the U.S. is able to simply preserve its market share — currently still the world’s biggest at around 47% — it should be counted as a victory. And if the U.S. can persuade TSMC to locate more of its factories in the U.S., that will count as a major strategic success, even though TSMC is a Taiwanese company.
• History's lesson: In the 1980s, Japan’s memory chip industry caught up with America’s technologically and started taking away market share. The US, which was much more protectionist then than now, started a trade war. In the 80s, America used high tariffs to force Japan to agree to set aside a portion of its domestic market for U.S.-made memory chips, and to share some of its technology. Meanwhile, the U.S. set up Sematech, a government-organized consortium of private semiconductor companies dedicated to maintaining the U.S.’ technological edge. None of this saved domestic producers of memory chips. Japan retained its lead for a few years, then was outcompeted by Korea, which spent big to dominate what by then was an increasingly commoditized and low-margin market. The U.S. did recover its pole position in the global semiconductor market overall. Because while the world was fighting over memory chips, U.S. companies like Intel switched to making something much more valuable — microprocessors. American CPUs raked in the cash while Asian countries fought over the scraps in the memory industry.
• Intel inside: US giant Intel is suffering now, but its multi-decade dominance came not via cheap government financing or dogged competition, but by focusing on innovative new types of products. Similarly, later shifts came via novel products: GPUs, low-power chips, mobile chips and TSMC’s foundry model.

Animal frozen 30 yrs ago in Antarctica brought to life

 

• The story: Japanese scientists successfully revived an animal which froze 30 years ago in Antarctica. Japan's National Institute of Polar Research brought back a 'Tardigrade' to life, which they had collected in Antarctica.
• What are these: Tardigrades are commonly known as 'water bears'. They are about 0.5 mm (0.02 in) long when fully grown. They are short and plump, with four pairs of legs, each ending in claws (usually four to eight) or suction disks. They feed on plant cells and algae. They can go years without food or water, withstand freezing and scalding temperatures and endure blistering radiation and the vacuum of outer space.
• Earlier record: Previously, tardigrades had been successfully revived after nine years, but this is thought to be the first-ever instance of successful revival after 30 years. NASA sent 5,000 tardigrades into space, in 2021. Their ability to survive under high-stress environments was being tested.

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

Guru Nanak's langar and legacy

• The story: The practice of "langar", whereby Sikh gurdwaras around the world serve free food and the poor and hungry can eat there as often as they want, emerged because of Guru Nanak's failure as a merchant. It is an embodiment of his compassion and rejection of caste.
• Details: The langar or communal kitchen is one of the pillars of Sikh religious life. Eating a delicious meal in the langar, served with a smile, is a memorable experience that stays on. It is much more than a convivial meal served by a people known for their hospitality as it is a profound embodiment of the philosophy of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism.

• The Janamsakhis: When Nanak was a young man, his father Mehta Kalu, who was an important revenue official, was constantly anxious that his son take up a profession successfully. Nanak was a dreamy youth, given to spiritual pursuits, who showed little interest in worldly affairs and preferred to spend his time discoursing with holy men. At one point, the exasperated Mehta Kalu, having resolved to set his son up as a trader, commanded him to go to a nearby town to buy salt, turmeric and other items, which were then to be sold at a profit. Mehta Kalu handed 20 rupees to a servant that he commanded to accompany Nanak on his mission and sternly remonstrated with him to ensure that he struck a good bargain. Determined to carry out his father’s wishes, Nanak set out for the town with his companion. After Nanak and his companion had walked for a bit, they came upon a forest which was home to several holy men. Nanak paused in wonder. Some of the holy men were seated silently and calmly, eyes shut in deep meditation. Some were performing austerities, twisting their bodies in complicated postures or standing upright with their arms stretched to the heavens.

1. Nanak whispered to his companion excitedly, 'What better bargain could there possibly be! Let us offer the money to these fine holy men. They will eat and buy clothes and they will be pleased!' His companion, in great alarm, voiced his disagreement, 'Your father Mehta Kalu gave you strict instructions to buy goods for trading with the money and you know his temper! But I am your servant and I shall do as you say.'
2. With this he handed the money to Nanak, who approached the leader of the holy men, saluted him politely and squatted on the ground before him. After questioning him curiously about the ways of mendicants and ascetics, Nanak placed the 20 rupees before the sage. The holy man refused the money but permitted Nanak to go to a nearby village to buy food for his fellow mendicants, which they ate with great relish as Nanak watched with a smile. The holy men blessed Nanak, declaring that they had been hungry for seven whole days and dismissed him. Nanak humbly bowed before the holy men and left.
3. As they walked back, Nanak, fearful of his father’s wrath, did not enter the next village and sat down under a tree at the outskirts. Mehta Kalu saw that Nanak’s companion had returned without his son and it didn't take long for him to get the truth out of the terrified servant. Roaring with anger, Mehta Kalu stormed out of his house to look for his wayward son. His wife, Tripta, fearful of his anger, sent Nanak’s sister Nanaki in the hope that she might restrain her angry husband.
4. Mehta Kalu found Nanak cowering at the outskirts of the village and asked him to explain his actions, after which he slapped him hard on both cheeks. Just then Nanaki arrived and fell at her father’s feet, begging forgiveness for her brother, pointing to his cheeks, wet with tears, that had purple welts on them.
5. From the ashes of Nanak’s failure as a merchant rose the institution of the langar which, above all else, epitomised his commitment to social justice. What better use could money be put to, than feeding the hungry? 500 years later, Guru Nanak’s grand act of compassion lives on in the form of The Langar. Sikh gurdwaras around the world serve free food and the poor and hungry can eat there as often as they want, no questions asked.

• On caste: Born into a ‘high caste’ Kshatriya family, at the age of nine, at the time of his initiation, he firmly rejected the sacred thread and the perpetuation of caste discrimination that it signified. Commensality refers to the beliefs, practices, rules and regulations that determine inter-caste relationships regarding eating and drinking. Commensal contacts include the cooking of food and its consumption. A superior caste will not eat from the cooking vessels nor the hands of a caste which it regards as inferior. Anyone who has ever eaten at the langar will immediately understand the significance of what Nanak did - everyone sits in an unbroken line known as the pangat and eats together.
• Summary: Guru Nanak’s entire life is a paean to his commitment to equality and social justice. A brilliant creation, the langar is the everlasting embodiment of this commitment.

Class 12 marks: SC approves CBSE's 30:30:40 formula 

• The story: India's Supreme Court gave in-principle clearance to the schemes placed on record by the CBSE and ICSE to assess the final marks of Class 12 students whose Board exams were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• The plan: The CBSE has divided the marks’ assessment process into two components — theory and practical.

1. The theory component would be assessed by first giving 30% weightage to average scores obtained by students in Class 10 in their three best performing subjects out of a total five. Secondly, another 30% weightage would be given to marks based on the theory component of the final exam taken in Class 11. Finally, 40% weightage would be given for marks obtained in one or more unit tests, mid-term exams and pre-board exams in Class 12.
2. So, if the total marks for theory is 80. The 30% weightage of Classes 10 and 11 would come to 24 marks each. The 40% weightage derived from performance in various tests conducted in Class 12 year would translate to 32 marks.
3. On the practical component side, calculation would be on the “actual basis” of the marks uploaded by schools on the CBSE portal. According to the scheme, the total marks awarded should be in consonance with the past performance of the school in Class 12 Board examinations.

• Result committee: A result committee under the principal would be formed in each school comprising two seniormost postgraduate teachers from the same school and two postgraduate teachers from neighbouring schools. The committee has been given the liberty to prepare the result by following the policy. The CBSE would aid them by establishing a help desk and also by providing software support, etc, to prepare the result. The CBSE said it would declare the results by July 31, 2021.
• Questions: In case any candidate is not satisfied with the assessment done, based on the policy, he or she would be given an opportunity to take the examinations to be conducted by the Board when the situation is more “conducive”.
• CISCE formula: The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) assessment formula would include taking into consideration the students’ Class 10 ICSE Board exams, project and practical work in subjects, best marks obtained in school exams in Classes 11 and 12 and the best performance of the school itself in the past six years.

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

AY.1 variant of Coronavirus

 

• The story: The WHO tagged B.1.617.2 strain of coronavirus as ‘Delta’ variant, which now has further mutated. Mutated form of Delta variant is being termed as “Delta Plus” or “AY.1” variant.
• Points to note: The Delta variant was identified as one of the factors of second wave of coronavirus infections in India. Initial data shows that Delta plus variant have resistance against monoclonal antibody cocktail treatment, which was recently authorised by Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for COVID-19 treatment.
• Delta plus variant: The variant B.1.617.2.1 of coronavirus is known as AY.1 which is characterized by acquisition of K417N mutation. Delta plus variant was identified in six genomes in India as of now. Health agency has also confirmed the presence of 63 genomes of Delta variant with the new K417N mutation. However, there is no immediate cause for concern since prevalence of Delta Plus Variant is still low in India.
• Cases worldwide: As per reports, 36 cases of Delta Plus variant were reported in England. Majority of the cases were associated with travel from Nepal, Malaysia, Turkey and Singapore.

Google Pay expands 'Cards Tokenization'

 

• The story: Google has extended card tokenization by bringing in more banks for card on the Google Pay app. Card tokenization is a feature which lets users make debit or credit card payments through a secure digital token which is attached to their phone. It does not require to physically share credit or debit card details.
• Present status: Currently, this feature can be availed at about 2.5 million Visa merchant locations. With latest extension, it will allow users to scan and pay at about 1.5 million Bharat QR enabled merchants.
• Features: It lets users with Near-field communication (NFC) capable devices or phones to make contactless payments. Users would be able to pay their bills and recharge their numbers using credit cards. This feature also works with online merchants and provides seamless OTP experiences without redirecting to 3D Secure sites.
• Which banks: Google Pay had earlier rolled out the feature of card tokenization with State bank of India cards, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank. Google Pay has now added SBI, IndusInd Bank & Federal Bank and Credit cards of IndusInd Bank & HSBC India in the list to use tokenization feature.

GI certified Jalgaon Banana exported to Dubai

 

 

• The story: Consignment of fibre & mineral rich “Jalgaon Banana” was exported to Dubai on June 16, 2021, marking a major boost to exports. The Jalgaon Banana is Geographical Indications (GI) certified agricultural produce from Jalgaon district of Maharashtra.
• Details: Twenty-two metric tonnes of Jalgaon banana were sourced from progressive farmers of Tandalwadi village. This village is a part of Jalgaon district of Maharashtra. Jalgaon District is an identified banana cluster under Agri Export Policy and is called as “Banana city” of Maharashtra. It contributes for two-third of total production of banana in the state.
• Jalgaon Banana: It got GI certification in 2016. It was registered with Nisargraja Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Jalgaon. Banana export from India has been rising sharply because of adoption of farm practices in accordance with global standards. India’s banana exports have increased both in volume as well as value from 1.34 lakh metric tonne in 2018-19 to 1.95 lakh metric tonne in 2019-20. During 2020-21, India has exported banana worth of 1.91 lakh tonne which is valued at Rs 619 crore. India is world’s leading producer of bananas with its share of 25% in total output. Leading banana producing states are Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. These states account for about 70% of India’s banana production.

9.1 Today's best editorials to read

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• SECTION 3 - MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions)

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