Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 19-06-2021

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 19-06-2021

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Infrastructure - Tamil Nadu industrial corridor - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India signed a $484 million loan to improve transport connectivity and facilitate industrial development in the Chennai–Kanyakumari Industrial Corridor (CKIC) in Tamil Nadu. CKIC is part of India’s East Coast Economic Corridor (ECEC). It stretches from West Bengal to Tamil Nadu, and connects India to the production networks of South, Southeast, and East Asia. ADB is the lead partner of the Government of India in developing ECEC. The project shall provide (i) seamless road connectivity across industrial clusters, transport gateways and consumption centers, (ii) help reduce logistics and production costs. The goal is to accelerate industrial transformation by providing essential transport, energy and urban infrastructure. It emphasises sustainability, climate change resilience, and road safety elements.
2. World Politics - India extends $100 mn loan to Sri Lanka for solar energy - India signed an agreement extending a USD 100 million Line of Credit (LOC) to Sri Lanka for solar energy projects. The LOC is for a period of 20 years, with an interest of 1.75%. It was signed between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of India. The EXIM Bank is a specialized financial institution, wholly owned by the Government of India. This LOC will help Financing various projects in Sri Lanka’s solar energy sector. India has taken the international initiative for global cooperation in solar energy, in the form of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), launched by the Indian Prime Minister and the French President in 2015. The ISA’ vision is "To enable One World, One Sun, One Grid (OSOWOG)".
3. Science and Technology - Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) - Indian Railways has approved Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System. Purpose - TCAS will help in avoiding train collisions thereby reducing accidents and ensuring passenger safety. It will increase the line capacity to accommodate more trains  using the existing infrastructure. Also, it will attract multinational industries to set up manufacturing units to fulfil the ‘Make in India’ mission and generate employment. LTE - The Cabinet has approved allotment of 5 MHz LTE spectrum in 700 MHz band to Indian Railways. It would provide secure and reliable voice, video and data communication services for operational, safety and security applications. It will be used for modern signalling and train protection systems and ensure seamless communication between loco pilots and guards. Spectrum charges may be levied based on formula prescribed by Dept of Telecommunications for Royalty Charges and License Fee for Captive use as recommended by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
4. Social Issues - Birth and death registrations in India, 2019 - The level of registration of births and deaths in the country improved in 2019, according to the “Vital Statistics of India Based on The Civil Registration System” report. Some States and Union Territories were, however, lagging behind. The level of birth registration increased from 87.8% in 2018 to 92.7% in 2019; and death registrations went up from 84.6% to 92% during the period. While 14 States/Union Territories achieved 100% level of birth registrations, 19 States/Union Territories achieved the same level in cases of death. Mizoram and Tripura reported 100% registration of both births and deaths. Meghalaya had 100% registration of births and 97.6% registration of deaths, while Assam reported 100% registration of births and 74% registration of deaths. Sex ratio at birth (SRB) - The highest sex ratio at birth (SRB) based on registered events was reported by Arunachal Pradesh (1,024), followed by Nagaland (1,001) Mizoram (975) and Andaman & Nicobar Islands (965). The lowest SRB was reported by Gujarat (901), Assam (903) and Madhya Pradesh (905), followed by Jammu & Kashmir (909).
5. People and Personalities - Milkha Singh passes away aged 91 - Legendary sprinter Milkha Singh has passed away at the age of 91, a month after contracting COVID-19. The three-time Olympian and 1958 Commonwealth Games gold medallist breathed his last at PGI in Chandigarh, two days after being shifted out of COVID-19 ICU. His wife and ex-captain of Indian women's volleyball team Nirmal Kaur had died after battling COVID-19, recently. Captain Milkha Singh was also known as "The Flying Sikh". He is the only athlete to win gold in 400 metres race at the Asian Games as well the Commonwealth Games, and also won gold medals in the 1958 and 1962 Asian Games. He represented India in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour, in recognition of his sporting achievements.
6. Indian Economy - Helpline 155260 - To provide a safe and secure digital payments eco-system, the Union Home Ministry has operationalised the national Helpline 155260 and Reporting Platform for preventing financial loss due to cyber fraud. The National Helpline and Reporting Platform provides a mechanism for persons cheated in cyber frauds to report such cases to prevent loss of their hard earned money. As of now, the Helpline covers seven States and Union Territories (Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh) covering more than 35 per cent of the country’s population. The hotline is manned and operated by the concerned State Police. The Helpline 155260 and its Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System has been developed and made operational by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is supported by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as well as all major banks, Payment Banks, Wallets and Online Merchants.
7. Environment and Ecology - Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India - On the occasion of the Desertification and Drought day, India's ministry of environment released the latest version of “Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India. It has been published by Space Application Centre, ISRO, Ahmedabad, and provides state-wise area of degraded lands for the time frame 2018-19. It also provides the change analysis for the duration of 15 years, from 2003-05 to 2018-19. India is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Combating Desertification (UNCCD), and is committed to combat desertification and land degradation. It intends to achieve land degradation neutral status by 2030. The MoEF&CC is the nodal Ministry for the implementation of the UNCCD.
8. World Economy - Crytocurrency updates - (a) Landon Cassill will be the first NASCAR driver paid entirely in cryptocurrency in a sponsorship deal with Voyager. Cassill and his racing team JD Motorsports have signed a 19-race deal with Voyager. The firm will pay Cassill entirely in cryptocurrencies, most of which will be Litecoin and Voyager Token. (b) Cryptocurrency billionaire Michael Saylor said that Bitcoin is the highest and most dominant digital property network. Saylor's firm MicroStrategy owns more than 92,000 Bitcoins. (c) A patch of land in the virtual world Decentraland has sold for Rs.6.7 cr ($913,228.20) worth of MANA, Decentraland's own cryptocurrency. Republic Realm, a digital real estate investment fund, acquired the NFT. (d) Billionaire investor Mark Cuban said he was "hit" by the crash of DeFi token TITAN as it fell 100% from $60 to $0 in one day. The TITAN crashed after large "whale" crypto accounts dumped their holdings, triggering panic-selling.
9. Energy - India's largest solar carport inaugurated at Tata Motors' Pune plant - Tata Motors and Tata Power jointly inaugurated India's largest grid-synchronised, behind-the-metre solar carport at the Tata Motors car plant at Chikhali, Pune. The 6.2 MWp solar carport deployed by Tata Power will generate 86.4 lakh kWh of electricity per year. Moreover, it's estimated to reduce 7,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually and 1.6 lakh tonnes over its lifecycle. A solar carport is a ground-mounted canopy construction that stretches out over the car parking spaces. The canopy roof area is slightly tilted – offering a perfect platform for solar panels to be seamlessly mounted, which also adds to the aesthetics of the structure.
10. Indian Politics - Covid Update - (a) India saw a dip in new COVID-19 cases for second day in a row as 60,753 people tested positive in the last 24 hours, and reported 1,647 deaths in 24 hours. India has reported 3,85,137 COVID-19 deaths so far, while 2,86,78,390 people have been discharged. (b) With a rise in mucormycosis or black fungus cases in Jharkhand, the state government has directed the health machinery to be on high alert and extend all possible care to the affected people (79 confirmed and 53 suspected cases reported to date). (c) The WHO is urgently trying to work with AstraZeneca, Serum Institute of India (SII) as well as the Indian government to restart shipments of COVID-19 vaccines to countries that had to suspend vaccinations.

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• SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

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

Why Adani group shares crashed

 

• The story: In June, suddenly the shares of companies controlled by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani recorded their biggest weekly losses ever. The six stocks cumulatively lost nearly 2 trillion Indian rupees ($26.98 billion) of value in four days. It started when the Economic Times reported that the accounts of three Mauritius-based funds, among the top foreign investors in Adani group companies, were frozen by the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL).
• Details: The NSDL website showed accounts held by the three funds frozen as of May 31, among thousands of others, without citing a reason. The Adani Group firms, in identical statements issued to stock exchanges, rejected the media reports as "blatantly erroneous." The companies are in the businesses of operating airports and ports, power generation and transmission, coal and gas trading. Despite clarifications, the shares of the Adani companies continued to fall.
• Which funds: The three foreign funds - Albula Investment Fund, Cresta Fund and APMS Investment Fund - are registered at the same address, according to the Mauritius financial regulator. They cumulatively control 2.7% of all shares in the Adani Group companies as on June 11. Two other Mauritius-based funds that are also investors in Adani companies - LTS Investment Fund and Asia Investment Corp - are also registered at the same address.

1. The five funds deployed 94.4%-97.9% of their total capital in Adani companies' shares, data by analysts showed
2. Four of the six Adani stocks have a public shareholding of about 25% - the minimum level mandated by regulators for companies listed on Indian exchanges
3. Indian stock exchange data shows most shares of Adani Group companies are held by trusts controlled by Adani. Foreign portfolio investors are the next largest shareholders, while retail and domestic investors typically control about 5%.

• Market cap drops: The decline saw the firms' cumulative market capitalisation decline by over a sixth. It clearly showed that the market wasn't convinced by the clarifications issue by the Adani group.
• History: Excitement around the Adani empire spanning ports, mines and power plants had been building up over the past couple of years as the coal magnate looked beyond the dirtiest fossil fuel for expansion, seeking to change his group priorities in line with PM Modi's priorities. Investors had sent some of the group’s stocks soaring more than 500% since the start of 2020, betting on the big push into sectors such as renewable energy, airports, data centers and defense contracting.  Adding to the push was MSCI Inc.’s decision to include more Adani stocks to its India benchmark index despite scant analyst coverage. Three of Adani’s listed companies were included in May 2021, taking the group’s total to five.
• Summary: More and transparent public shareholding may be the road ahead for Adani group.

Why Indian farmers avoid pulses and oilseeds 

 

• The story: The government raised the minimum support price (MSP) of main kharif crops in June 2021, but the maximum increases were reserved for pulses and oilseeds. The goal is to encourage farmers to move away from wheat and paddy and opt for pulses and oilseeds instead.
• Is change happening: Both the acreage and production of pulses and oilseeds have risen in the last few years, but not at the cost of rice and wheat production.

1. Between 2014-15 and 2020-21 (July to June), when the MSP of paddy (common) was hiked by almost 37 per cent, the acreage under the crop dipped only marginally — by around 2.5 per cent. And while the MSP of wheat increased by 36.2 per cent during the same period, there was a 10 per cent increase in its area under cultivation.
2. In contrast, while the MSP of chana rose by almost 61 per cent between 2014-15 and 2020-21, the area under the crop rose by almost 36 per cent. The area under soya bean cultivation increased by nearly 10 per cent on the back of its MSP rising by almost 51.5 per cent.
3. Though higher MSPs encouraged farmers to grow more pulses and oilseeds, there was no simultaneous shift away from wheat and paddy.

• The strategy: It is a good idea to use the MSP as a tool to encourage farmers to shift from water-guzzling paddy to more in-demand pulses and oilseeds. But experience shows that the shift does not happen so easily as climatic conditions needed for growing paddy are entirely different from that for growing tur or urad. While paddy is grown in high rainfall areas or in well-irrigated areas of the country, pulses like tur and urad are grown in areas with less rainfall or poor irrigation. So the MSPs can encourage farmers in areas where pulses and oilseeds are already grown to bring more areas under the crops. Also, unless backed by strong procurement mechanisms or ready markets, MSPs alone are not enough to encourage farmers to leave cereal cultivation and opt for pulses and oilseeds.
• Production data: In the past few years, India’s pulses production has risen from a mere 14-15 million tonnes to almost 22-23 million tonnes not just due to higher MSPs, but also because of an assured procurement system by state agencies. For a farmer, the rate of return on investments is the most important factor that determines whether he wants to make the switch from paddy and wheat to pulses or oilseeds in a season. Only regular procurements or the markets could do this. Else, only have farmers on the margins will make the shift, and there won’t be any wholesale transition.
• Alternatives: Some state governments have now started giving them a per hectare incentive for cultivating crops other than cereals. For example, the Haryana government under its, ‘mera pani-meri virasat’ scheme, is providing an incentive of Rs 7,000 per acre to farmers who opt for pulses, cotton, maize and horticulture crops. Chhattisgarh is giving a higher input subsidy of Rs.10,000 per acre to all farmers who shift from paddy to kodo-kutki (traditional millets), sugarcane, maize, soybean, pulses, oilseeds and so on, under its Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana.

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

Natural hazards in a row

 

• Trickle turns into a flood: India was hit in June by two cyclones, first on the Western Coast (Cyclone Tauktae) and then on the eastern coast (Cyclone Yass). The increasing frequency of environmental hazards indicate the vulnerability owing to climate change.
• Overlapping hazards: The real concern is the occurrence of overlapping hazards. While the Yaas cyclone caused immediate damage, the flooding it induced created problems on a different scale altogether. These environmental hazards happened in the middle of another mega hazard – the Covid-19 pandemic. A clear strategy is needed to tackle this "multi hazard scenario".
• Some examples:

1. Floods in the Ganga-Brahmaputra plains - Flood months bring with themselves a typology of hazards associated with the geographical location of habitation and have differential effects. The typologies include waterlogged regions, areas which are in the riverside and prone to bank erosion, riverine floods in areas with no embankment, riverine floods in the countryside after the breach of the embankment, flash floods, river bank erosion.
2. Cyclone induced flooding - As an outcome of the cyclone Yass and the Yaas-induced flooding, the affected witnessed many overlapping hazards. For example disruptions in the form of salinity intrusion, loss of agriculture and capture fisheries, decimation of the marine capture fishery supply chain, rotting fish, plants and animals are resulting in severe stench and pollution are enhancing the possibility of water borne disease.
3. Social vulnerability: The underlying socio-economic-political conditions lead to certain vulnerabilities. Often the (socially, economically and politically) marginalised population have to reside in such precarious areas. They often lack access to various resources – land (due to salinity intrusion or erosion), safe housing, water and sanitation, stable livelihoods and markets. All this is both a cause and outcome of their social vulnerability.

• Identifying risk drivers: When overlapping hazards take place, with different characters, the final shape of the hazard is often a product of these individual characters. The disaster risk reduction activities need to be geared towards first an interdisciplinary diagnosis of various risk drivers.

1. A disaster atlas of India is now needed for better preparedness and mitigation measures.
2. Rather than focusing on knee-jerk ex-post set of actions, there is a need to build resilience at the individual and community level.
3. This is possible by reducing the probability of the occurrence of the hazards in the first instance. Early warning systems too can help.
4. Disaster Impact Assessment must be made a mandatory part of Environment Impact Assessment.

• Insurance: A policy of 'Disaster risk insurance' will cover hazards arising from geological, meteorological, hydrological, climatological, oceanic, biological, and technological/man-made events, or a combination of them. The disaster management approach too needs to be more decentralised as suggested by the Sendai Framework and 14th Finance Commission. The key action points may be a ward-level disaster management plan, large-scale construction of elevated platforms through MGNREGA, universal access to safe water and sanitation facilities, etc.
• Summary: Various disciplines need to come together, to properly assess and understand the risk profile of multiple disasters. Only then can appropriate policymaking happen.

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

Pacific undersea cable project stopped

 

• The story: After America's warning regarding risks involved in Chinese firms bidding for a large Pacific ocean undersea cable project, the project has come to a sudden halt.
• Details: The World Bank-led project refused to give a contract to lay sensitive undersea communications cables after Pacific island governments agreed to US warnings that participation of a Chinese company posed a security threat. The East Micronesia Cable system was designed to improve communications in the island nations of Nauru, Kiribati and Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), by providing underwater infrastructure with a far greater data capacity than satellites.

1. The former Huawei Marine Networks, now called HMN Technologies and majority owned by Shanghai-listed Hengtong Optic-Electric Co Ltd, submitted a bid for the $72.6 million project priced at more than 20% below rivals Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), part of Finland's Nokia, and Japan's NEC.
2. The project reached a stalemate due to security concerns raised within the island nations over HMN Tech's bid. The project's planned connection to a sensitive cable leading to Guam, a US territory with substantial military assets, heightened those security concerns.
3. Since there was no tangible way to remove Huawei as one of the bidders, all three bids were deemed non-compliant.
4. The World Bank was working with the respective governments to map out the next steps.

• Do not discriminate: The Chinese foreign ministry said that all parties should provide a non-discriminatory business environment that companies from all countries, including China, can participate in. It said that Chinese companies always maintained an excellent record in cyber security. The Chinese government encouraged Chinese companies to engage in foreign investment and cooperation according to market principles, international regulations and local laws.
• Summary: The three island nations involved in the project were represented on the bid assessment committee. Development agencies typically review the committee's recommendations to ensure the selected bidder complies with the agencies' policies and procedures. This new development shows how seriously America is treating the emerging Chinese tech threat.

India's state secrets - document declassification process

• The story: India’s Ministry of External Affairs has a "document declassification process", wherein there is a 25-year rule, and documents older than that are declassified. At least, in theory it works like that.
• Official secrets: Seven decades after independence, India relies on the colonial-era Official Secrets Act of 1923 to keep information it deems sensitive from the public. This grants the government sweeping power to limit access to classified information. In some recent cases, Indian courts have started to limit the act’s very expansive provisions and protect the rights of investigative journalists. There are two sources for this -

1. The judiciary recognized that provisions of the code are much too broad and can be applied arbitrarily.
2. It is cognizant that the legislation is contrary in both the spirit and form to the Right to Information Act of 2005, meant to give citizens the ability to access government information, even when it relates to foreign policy or national security.

• Status as on date: Although the government has started selectively declassifying documents related to India’s foreign relations, anyone who tries to access archival information knows that declassification remains haphazard, cleared files are often missing, and the acquisition process is tough.
• Defence Ministry takes the lead: Given this truth, the Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh's ordering his ministry to declassify and transfer all pertinent war records older than 25 years to the archives, was happy news.

1. This decision came exactly a year after a major border clash with China. The Defence Minister is trying to promote greater awareness of national defense. Yet, the particular timing of the announcement was interesting.
2. There are terms and conditions attached - Some military operations that should fall within the purview of the ordinance but are deemed to be sensitive will not be turned over to the National Archives. For example, in 1984, the Indian Army carried out Operation Blue Star, at the Golden Temple in Amritsar in Punjab. The operational details of this case and others like it will be subjected to careful internal vetting before they are handed over to the National Archives.
3. The government has no intention of releasing the much-sought-after Henderson Brooks-Bhagat Report on the performance of the Indian Army during the military debacle of 1962. This despite the fact that Neville Maxwell (correspondent for the Times of London) had somehow obtained access to the report and revealed part of its contents in 2014.
4. The Public Records Act of 1993 had already outlined a procedure for the declassification of records after 25 years or longer. Initially the released documents will be used to construct “authoritative compilations” under the aegis of the History Division of the ministry. Only after these official histories have been drafted will the actual records be transferred to the National Archives. (So the government will have the ability to shape public understanding of how events unfolded)

• Bar on civil servants: Under the terms of another new directive, any civil servant who publishes an account of their tenure in office without prior permission from relevant authorities stands in danger of losing their pension. No guidelines for granting such permission have been announced. So few officials connected to the national security or intelligence policy arenas will speak out.
• Summary: The more things change, the more they remain the same.

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

India Covid vaccination programe - full vaccination of adults to take 7 months if pace doubled 

• The story: The Covid-19 vaccination programme of India suffered many changes as the pandemic evolved. By June, it was clear that fully vaccinating India’s entire adult population by December was tough, and even by doubling the daily pace, the vaccination exercise can be completed only by the end of January 2022. At the current rate, it would take around 15 more months, or September 2022.
• Data: There are 86.5 crore adults who need vaccination to meet the December 2021 target; according to demographic data from the Department of Economic Affairs May 2021 Monthly Economic Review. This means 173 crore vaccine doses, assuming a two-dose vaccination. About 5 crore people have already received two doses of the vaccine. Another 16-17 crore have received one dose.

1. The government will need to administer another 163 crore vaccine doses. The number of days this takes would depend on the pace of vaccination
2. With the supply situation improving, the pace of vaccination has almost doubled since April with more than 30 lakh doses being done a day
3. But at this rate, it would be 453 more days to administer the remaining doses
4. It would take 227 days at twice the current pace to vaccinate everyone.

• Finance Ministry assumptions: The finance ministry has said assuming herd immunity at 80 per cent, the target population to be vaccinated is 700 million who should be vaccinated by September 2021. The government estimated that about 9.3 million vaccinations are required per day to achieve herd immunity. That means almost tripling the current weekly average per day vaccinations. The peak daily vaccination rate attained to date is about 4 million.

1. Bharat Biotech said the company was on track to touch an annual capacity of one billion doses (100 crore) by December through the ramping up happening in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ankleshwar. This would mean a capacity of 83-85 million doses of Covaxin a month up from current estimated 35 million a month.
2. Add to this SII’s capacity to make Novavax vaccine. The target is to make 50 million doses of Covovax per month. However, the company has not touched the production target yet after the USFDA approval, and one can expect Covovax in the market by October. Novavax has said it expected to file for approvals from the USFDA in the third quarter of calendar 2021.

• Sputnik: The Centre expects 156 million doses of Sputnik V by the year-end, apart from 100 million doses of Bharat Biotech’s nasal vaccine, and 60 million doses of the Gennova mRNA vaccine, both of which are being developed. The Health Ministry has placed orders for 300 million doses of Biological E vaccine, which is in phase 3 clinical trials now. It is placing bets on 750 million doses of Covishield and 550 million doses from Bharat Biotech.
• Summary: Overall, the govt. sees about 1.5 billion doses of vaccine supplies in the second half of the year.

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

UN Special Rapporteurs say India's IT rules do not conform with international human rights

• The story: Experts from the United Nations said that India’s new IT rules do not conform with international human rights norms. Three special rapporteurs from the UN expressed “serious concerns" with certain parts of the legislation, and said that “due diligence obligations" placed on intermediaries may lead to "infringement of a wide range of human rights".
• Details: The communication is available on the UN’s website. It was written by Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Clement Nyaletsossi Voule, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and Joseph Cannataci, Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy.

1. They say that terms such as "racially or ethnically objectionable", "harmful to child", "impersonates another person", threatens the unity...of India", "is patently false and untrue", "is written or published with the intent to mislead or harass a person…" are too broad and "lack sufficiently clear definitions", which may lead to "arbitrary application".
2. The letter says that India’s new IT Rules are in violation of rules laid down in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), a key international human rights treaty.
3. Pursuant to Article 19 (3) of the ICCPR, restrictions on the right to freedom of expression must be ‘expressly prescribed by law’ and necessary ‘for respect of the rights or reputations of others’ or for ‘the protection of national security or of public order, or of public health or morals’".

• Why pressurise the companies: They expressed serious concern about obligations on companies to monitor and rapidly remove user-generated content, which is likely to undermine the right to freedom of expression. The intermediaries will over-comply with takedown requests to limit their liability, or will develop digital recognition-based content removal systems or automated tools to restrict content. These techniques may not accurately evaluate cultural contexts and identify illegitimate context.
• Encryption: The letter expresses support for encryption, a technology that has been a major bone of contention between Facebook-owned WhatsApp and the Indian government. WhatsApp sued the Indian government in May over the new IT rules, alleging that they undermine the users’ right to privacy. Encryption is an ‘effective technical safeguard’ that can contribute to the protection of the right to privacy. It is privacy by design.
• What government said: In response to the letter, the Indian government told the UN that the IT rules are "designed to empower ordinary users of social media" and that the government had held broad consultations with civil society and other stakeholders in 2018. It said that the "traceability of first originator" seeks "only limited information". Only when a message already in public circulation is giving rise to violence, impinging on the unity and integrity of India, depicting a woman in a bad light, or sexual abuse of a child and when no other intrusive options are working, only then the significant social media intermediary will be required to disclose as to who started the message."
• Summary: The traceability rule is the central conflict between encrypted platforms like WhatsApp, and the Indian government. The platforms, which use end-to-end encryption technology to ensure user privacy, have argued that they will have to read, track and trace all user messages in order to trace the first originator of the texts that are offensive.

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

Genetic material sequencing - a powerful conservation tool

 

 

• Starting from dead bodies: In the year 2000, the carcasses of several northern hairy-nosed wombats and some fragments of intestine were discovered in Australia’s Epping Forest National Park, perhaps left behind by a mystery predator. Cattle farming has shrunk the wombats’ natural habitat and consequently their population, which reached a low of just 20-30 animals in the 1970s before land-management policies helped push numbers back up to roughly 100 in the early 2000s. By sequencing DNA extracted from the Epping Forest remains, researchers identified six males and one female. But what had killed them?
• The suspectS: Suspicion fell on either dingoes or wild dogs, and the final answer came from the faeces collected in the park. Some yielded the same genetic sequences as the carcasses. They had been left by dingoes. So having identified the killers, a 20km protective fence was put up around the forest.
• Environmental DNA: This is eDNA, an increasingly popular tool among conservation biologists and land managers. The DNA-sequencing tools have become smaller, faster and cheaper. The field began in the late 1980s, when microbiologists started using it to look for bacteria in rivers and sediment. This had previously involved smearing water or dirt on Petri dishes to grow colonies of the resident microbes and then identifying them under the microscope, based on the shape of the colonies or how they responded to being stained with dye. It was lengthy and error-prone. Extracting DNA from samples instead, and comparing their genetic sequence to reference libraries, was quicker and more reliable.
• Just study the DNA shed by animals: The approach was adopted in the early 2000s by ecologists, who knew that animals constantly shed DNA in faeces, saliva, blood, scales and sloughed tissue. Gathering and sequencing this provided information without needing to interact with the animals themselves. By simply dipping a test tube into a freshwater stream, scientists could find out if a target species was present and even how abundant it was. This is magic!
• Trace amounts: As trace amounts of DNA can be amplified before sequencing using a method called polymerase chain reaction (PCR), the same method used to detect SARS-CoV-2 in coronavirus testing, the eDNA studies can detect species present in low numbers also. So spotting invasive ones before they wreak havoc on a fishery is now possible.
• Scat DNA: The DNA from wild animal droppings can map out food chains without having to capture and kill animals in order to examine the contents of their guts. Killing large or rare species like whales, even for conservation purposes, poses ethical and practical challenges. But whale scat has the great advantage of buoyancy. Finding a turd floating in the middle of the ocean is possible with trained dogs. On land, researchers can use eDNA from faeces, urine or hair to see how populations are interacting.
• Metagenomic: The “metagenomic” studies use e DNA to map the genetic make-up of entire communities, such as coral reefs, or the vast, largely unexplored bacterial community that lives deep inside the Earth’s crust and whose biomass is an order of magnitude greater than that of all animals combined. But it can be difficult to tell when eDNA was deposited. DNA sampled at one point in a river could have come from anywhere upstream. And species identification is only as good as the species-specific genetic barcodes and reference genomes that serve as points of comparison.
• The tools: Oxford Nanopore’s Min ION, a USB-powered, pocket-sized device, allows every part of the sequencing process to be done in the field. Sequences are produced within an hour. The devices are relatively affordable: prices start at around $1,000, though subsequent recharges are needed to run more samples. The technology also opens up new possibilities for investigation and enforcement.
• Summary: Genetic sequencing in the field can be used to identify the nature and origin of illegal bushmeat, fish or smuggled ivory.

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

Global Covid deaths cross 40 lakhs in June 2021

 

• The story: Coronavirus-related deaths worldwide passed the grim milestone of 40 lakh on 18th June, as many countries struggled to procure enough vaccines to inoculate their populations.
• Straining with strains: Even as the number of new cases and deaths have abated in countries like the United States and Britain, the Delta variant, first identified in India, is fast becoming the dominant strain around the world. The World Health Organization’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said “The Delta variant is well on its way to becoming the dominant variant globally because of its increased transmissability.”
• Data: In the UK, the number of Delta variant infections jumped by 33,630 in a week to hit a total of 75,953, with the highly transmissible variant now making up 99 per cent of all Covid-19 cases in there. Public Health England, which has been tracking variant of concerns (VOCs) on a weekly basis, said its data shows an increased risk of hospitalisation with Delta VOC compared to Alpha — the VOC first detected in the Kent region. In the US, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said it expects the Delta variant to become the dominant strain in USA. Germany, too, stressed it needed to keep up the pace of the vaccination to stave off the Delta variant. (50.1 per cent of German residents have had at least one dose, and 29.6 per cent were fully immunised against Covid-19)
• Russia: The Kremlin blamed reluctance to vaccines and “nihilism” after record new infections in Moscow, mostly with the Delta variant.
• Japan: Tokyo 2020's organising committee chief wants to allow thousands of Olympics spectators, setting up a possible clash with Japan's top medical adviser who is urging no crowds as the least risky option during a pandemic. Japan is pushing ahead with hosting the Games which kick off on July 23 despite an ongoing fourth wave of Covid and strong public opposition. A final decision will be made at a meeting to be held as early as Monday among Tokyo 2020 organisers, the International Olympic Committee, Japanese government, and other key stakeholders.
• Summary: In January 2020, no one had expected the world to change so rapidly. But by June 2021, humanity's entire perception of its own strength and weakenesses is laid bare, as future strategies to deal with newer pandemics now are keeping policymakers seized. The biggest mistake was that mankind have the novel coronavirus the entire planet, and many months, to keep spreading almost unhindered.

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

Indian Navy – EU Naval Force joint exercise

 

• The story: The Indian Navy and European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) conducted their first ever exercise in Gulf of Aden. This two-day exercise ended June 19, 2021.
• Points to note: The Indian Naval Ship (INS) Trikand participated in the exercise, currently deployed for anti-piracy operations. A total of five warships from four navies participated in the exercise held on 18th & 19th. Other warships that participated in exercise include Italian Navy Ship ITS Carabinere, two French Navy Ship FS Tonnerre & FS Surcouf and Spanish Navy Ship ESPS Navarra. A virtual “Information Sharing Exercise” was conducted between Indian Navy Information Fusion Centre in Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and Maritime Security Centre in Horn of Africa.
• More info: The two-day exercise witnessed high tempo-naval operations at sea such as advanced air defence & anti-submarine exercises, cross deck helicopter operations, boarding operations, tactical manoeuvres, underway replenishment, search & rescue etc. Ships of four navies endeavour to enhance their war-fighting skills and their ability to promote peace, security and stability in maritime domain. EUNAVFOR and Indian Navy also saw eye-to-eye on multiple issues such as counter piracy operations and protection of vessels which were deployed under charter of World Food Programme (UN WFP).
• Indian Navy and EUNAVFOR: Both conduct regular interaction through SHADE (Shared Awareness and Deconfliction) meetings which is held annually at Bahrain. It highlights their shared values of ensuring freedom of seas.

Veteran athlete Milkha Singh passes away

 

• The story: Indian athlete Milkha Singh, the Flying Sikh, passed away at the age of 91 due to Covid-19 related complications on June 18, 2021.
• Life and times: Captain Milkha Singh, known as The Flying Sikh, was a renowed Indian track and field sprinter. He was an armyman, too, and the only athlete who won gold in 400 metres race at Asian Games & Commonwealth Games. He won gold medals in 1958 and 1962 Asian Games, and represented India in 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
• Flying Sikh: During the 1960 Olympic Games, he finished at the fourth-place in the 400 metres final. His 45.73 seconds was an Indian national record for almost 40 years.

World’s third largest diamond 

• The story: The Debswana Diamond Company unearthed the world’s third-largest diamond in Jwaneng mine of Botswana in South Africa.
• About diamonds: Diamonds are only formed at high pressures. It is found in kimberlite, an ultrabasic volcanic rock (a type of igneous rock) formed very deep in the Earth's crust. The diamond is the hardest natural substance known. The diamond itself is essentially a chain of carbon atoms that have crystallized. The stone's unique hardness is a result of the densely concentrated nature of the carbon chains.
• Points to note: Botswana is called as largest producer of diamonds in Africa. This diamond weighing 1,098 carats was presented to President Mokgweetsi Masisi after it was unearthed. It weighs a little less than world’s second-largest 1,109-carat Lesedi la Rona diamond which was found in Botswana in 2015 and world’s largest 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond which was found in South Africa in 1905. The estimation of stone’s final value is not yet released. The world’s second-largest 1,109-carat Lesedi la Rona diamond was sold for $53 million.
• Background: The Debswana Diamond Company is a joint venture between global diamond giant De Beers and government. 80 percent of the income earned by selling of diamonds by Debswana goes to government by means of royalties, dividends, and taxes.

India's forex reserves touch $608.08 billion

 

• The story: India's foreign exchange reserve continued their skywards climb and surged by USD 3.074 billion to reach a record high of USD 608.081 billion in the week ended June 11, 2021. The reserves increased by USD 6.842 billion to USD 605.008 billion in the previous week ended June 4, 2021.
• Data: RBI’s weekly data showed that its FCA (foreign currency assets) rose by USD 2.567 billion to USD 563.457 billion. Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves. After declining in the previous week, the gold reserves rose by USD 496 million to USD 38.101 billion in the reporting week, according to the data. The special drawing rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) declined by USD 1 million to USD 1.512 billion. The country's reserve position with the IMF increased by USD 11 million to USD 5.011 billion in the reporting week.
• Meaning of the forex reserves: High reserves allow the country to weather any external shock better, and offer an import cover. They also offer the RBI the leeway to manage the rupee (in managed float system) better.

9.1 Today's best editorials to read

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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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