Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 28-06-2021

Useful compilation of Civil Services oriented - Daily Current Affairs - Civil Services - 28-06-2021

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• SECTION 1 - TEN NEWS HEADLINES

1. Terrorism - India's first ever 'drone terror attack' - At Dushanbe, India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval underlined the need to monitor new technologies used by terrorists, including drones, at a meeting with his counterparts at the regional Shanghai Cooperation Organisation group. Immediately thereafter, the Indian Air Force (IAF) base in Jammu was hit on 27th June, with two low-intensity improvised explosive devices (IEDs), allegedly dropped from two drones. There was no damage to equipment, and an investigation was in progress along with civilian agencies. Goal is to ascertain the flight path of the two drones. The location is 14 km (as the crow flies) from Jammu Airport, a civilian facility with the runway and air traffic control under the IAF, to the international border. The IAF station at Jammu is an important base for helicopters operating along the Western Front and in the Himalayas.
2. Healthcare and Medicine - India surpasses US in vaccination - India surpassed the United States in the total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered so far, as per the Union Health Ministry. While India has administered a total of 32,36,63,297 doses till date, the US has given 32,33,27,328 doses. A total of 17,21,268 vaccine doses were administered in India on 27th June. Indian government has promised to vaccinate all eligible adults by 31st December 2021. It informed the Supreme Court that ample quantities were being procured to ensure the same.
3. World Politics - FATF retains Pakistan on "Grey List" - The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) decided to retain Pakistan on its 'increased monitoring list’, another name for the 'Grey List'. The FATF issued the 27-point action plan after placing Pakistan on the ‘Grey List’ in June 2018. The action plan pertains to curbing money laundering and terror financing. During the October-2020 Plenary, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Pakistan was given an extension for full compliance with the 27-point action plan till February 2021. It had then not fully complied with 6 of the 27 directives. In February 2021, FATF acknowledged Pakistan’s significant progress in combating terrorism, however it was still to fully comply with three of the 27-point action plan. The three points pertained to effective steps in terms of financial sanctions and penalties against the terror funding infrastructure and the entities involved.
4. Agriculture - Digital push in agriculture via Agristack - The Ministry of Agriculture signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft to run a pilot programme for 100 villages in 6 states. The MoU requires Microsoft to create a ‘Unified Farmer Service Interface’ through its cloud computing services. This comprises a major part of the ministry’s plan of creating ‘AgriStack’ (a collection of technology-based interventions in agriculture), on which everything else will be built. It is a collection of technologies and digital databases that focuses on farmers and the agricultural sector. AgriStack will create a unified platform for farmers to provide them end to end services across the agriculture food value chain. It is in line with the Centre’s Digital India programme, aimed at providing a broader push to digitise data in India, from land titles to medical records. The government is also implementing the National Land Records Modernisation Programme (NRLMP). Under the programme, each farmer will have a unique digital identification (farmers’ ID) that contains personal details, information about the land they farm, as well as production and financial details. Each ID will be linked to the individual's digital national ID Aadhaar.
5. Polity and Governance - Ladakh's jobs reseravation - All jobs in the Union Territory (UT) of Ladakh have been reserved for the residents of the region, according to an order issued by Lieutenant-Governor R.K. Mathur. No person shall be qualified for appointment to the service unless the person is a resident of the UT of Ladakh. The new recruitment rules are mentioned in the Clause 11 of the Union Territory of Ladakh Employment (Subordinate) Service Recruitment Rules, 2021. This was a long-pending demand of the people of Ladakh, after it was carved out as a UT on August 5, 2019. The population of Ladakh, which comprises the districts of Leh and Kargil, is around 2.8 lakh as per the last census. In 2020, J&K introduced the domicile certificate as eligibility criteria for appointment to government services.
6. Defence and Military - Defence Industrial Corridors - During a webinar on India-Sweden Defence Industry Cooperation, DM Rajnath Singh invited Swedish firms to invest in Defence Corridors in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. To support the growth of the Defence sector and enhance manufacturing capacity in the sector, these are being set up. Promoting Make in India, the Corridors will catalyse indigenous production of defence and aerospace-related items. This will reduce imports needs, and promote the export of these items to other countries. The Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor consists of the following six nodal points - Agra, Aligarh, Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Kanpur and Lucknow. The Tamil Nadu Defence Corridor (by the Government of Tamil Nadu) consists of five nodal points - Chennai, Coimbatore, Hosur, Salem and Tiruchirappalli.
7. Social Issues - LGBTQIA+ community gets support from Madras HC - Empathising with the LGBTQIA+ community, the Madras High Court directed the Union Ministry of Social Justice to enlist NGOs that could provide counselling, monetary support, legal assistance and protection to them until a law could be enacted to protect them. Ministry should upload the details of the NGOs on its website within eight weeks and revise the information periodically. Any person who faced an issue because he/ she/ they belonged to the LGBTQIA+ community could approach any of the enlisted NGOs for safeguarding their rights. NGOs should also coordinate with the police with respect to offences committed against them. Appropriate changes should be made to the existing government short stay homes, anganwadi shelters, Garima Greh (shelter home for transgender persons) for providing accommodation, food, medical care facilities to those from the community in need of such assistance. Sensitisation programmes could also be conducted for stakeholders, including police and prison authorities, judges, physical and mental health professionals, educational institutions, health workers, public and private workplaces. LGBTQIA+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and such others’ (LGBTQIA+) community.
8. Religion - Uttarakhand High Court objects to Yatra - Calling the BJP state government’s decision to start the Char Dham Yatra “impractical if not foolhardy” as “such a scenario would not only endanger the lives of the local population but could also spread the virus,” the Uttarakhand High Court has directed the government to review its decision to commence the Yatra from July 1. “Perhaps the yatra needs to be postponed or canceled, as in the case of the Amarnath Yatra,” said the order. The court also referred to infections caused by large gatherings like the Mahakumbh in May, where lakhs of people were allowed to congregate at Har-ki-Pauri in Haridwar for a dip in the Ganga without caring about consequences. “The court is of the firm opinion that a catastrophe like Covid should not be re-invited by allowing the Char Dham Yatra,” read the order.
9. Defence and Military - Iran’s nuclear sites. Iran’s parliament speaker said the country would not hand over recordings from nuclear sites to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors as a temporary agreement to do so has expired, complicating ongoing nuclear negotiations in Vienna. Iran will also turn off the IAEA cameras if the United States fails to remove all sanctions. The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that a failure to extend the monitoring agreement would be a “serious concern” for Vienna negotiations. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said that it would only make the decision on whether to extend the IAEA monitoring agreement once it had expired.
10. Indian Politics - Covid Update - (a) Noting that India's Covid vaccination drive "keeps gaining" momentum, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on June 28, 2021, that "vaccines for all, free for all" remains the government's commitment. While India launched the COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16, and has administered over 32.36 crore doses till date, the US which started its inoculation drive on December 14, 2020 has given over 32.33 crore doses. (b) The Supreme Court on June 28 paid tribute to 77 advocates of the apex court lawyers’ body, who lost their lives due to COVID-19. (c) Drugmaker Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories has announced the commercial launch of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), an oral drug for use as an adjunct therapy for hospitalised COVID-19 patients.

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• SECTION 2 - DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

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

India's household savings update - June 2021

• RBI data on household savings: In June, when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released data on household savings for the third quarter of 2020-’21 (October-December 2020), it captured the aftermath of first Covid-19 wave in India and the economic disruptions by lockdowns. The numbers are disappointing as they show a sharp dip in the net financial assets (NFA) of households. ["Households" refers to unregistered businesses also, whose assets and liabilities are not counted as part of private corporate data.]
• Interpretation of dropping NFA: It points to the economic hit the Indian middle class has taken and also shows emerging problems for India’s post-Covid economic recovery. Why? It might lead to reduced spending as well as a lower funds available for investment.

1. The RBI tracks household assets and liabilities; Assets include items such as bank deposits, provident funds and mutual funds investments, among others. Liabilities, on the other hand, are loans that a household has taken.
2. Net assets are total assets minus liabilities. In FY21, from Q1 to Q3, the NFA dropped from 21% of India’s GDP to just 8.2%, after two consecutive quarters of decline.
3. Total assets dropped from 19% of GDP to 12.7%.

• From banks to MFs: Bank deposits first rose from 2.9% of GDP in Q1 of FY21 to 7.7%, and then dropped to 3%. The spike was due to the lockdown which cut discretionary spending. A large number of fixed deposits were broken from January to March, showing financial distress among the Indian middle class.

1. But investments in mutual funds rose sharply, going up from 0.3% of the GDP in Q2 of FY21 to 1.2% in Q3.
2. The MF fund figure for Q3 is higher than the averages for 2019-’20 (0.2%) and 2018-’19 (0.3%), which means more flows went into the stock market as it rose sharply, and as interest rates in traditional saving instruments (fixed deposits) declined steadily. This is also known as "financial repression".

• Loans fell in Q3: Total loans dropped from 5.4% of GDP in Q2 of FY21 to 4.6% in Q3. Since loans are drivers of economic activity, this is bad news. The flow of loans in Q1 was negative, which meant a cessation of economic activity during the national lockdown.
• Why savings matter: Savings are important for individual households but on a bigger scale, they help the economy by providing capital for investment. India has traditionally had a high rate of saving, much more than in developed countries (United States) and comparable to developing economies (Brazil and South Africa). The lion’s share of India’s savings are due to households, with the corporate sector and the public sector being the other minor contributors). In 2017, out of a total savings of 30% of the GDP, 17.2% was due to households. Now, household savings have taken a hit. The “twin shocks of demonetisation and GST” have hit the MSMEs hard, leading to this scenario. As stated earlier, "hoseholds" in India includes unregistered businesses also.

India's debt to GDP ratio at a 14 year high

• The story: The Union government's debt rose to 58.8% of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the fiscal year 2020-21, up from 51.6% in 2019-20. This was due to economic contraction, which forced the government to borrow huge amounts (from the market) to meet a revenue shortfall. This raises some concerns over debt sustainability in the medium term.  (Debt sustainability - ability to comfortably service debt obligations (principal and interest))
• Deficits: The fiscal deficit grew to 9.2% of GDP in FY21 from 4.6% of GDP in FY 20, largely as revenue receipts contracted 3%. The economy shrunk by 7.3% (GDP contraction). This was the steepest contraction in independent India, due to Covid-19 disruptions. India has had five recessions in all so far, with 2020's recession being the latest. Also note that deficits eventually add up to debt.
• What is debt: The Union government debt includes (a) the stock of total liabilities due to internal debt raised through treasury bills, bonds and securities; (b) external debt mainly raised from multilateral institutions; and (c) public account liabilities such as provident fund commitments and National Small Savings Fund.
• GDP growth and debt-to-GDP ratio: The higher debt-to-GDP ratio in FY21 was due to the GDP contraction, which led to the denominator shrinking. Debt sustainability from a medium-term perspective can show a different picture.

1. Despite Covid-2.0, the nominal GDP growth in FY22 may be 12 - 14%. This will push the debt-to-GDP down by at least by one percentage point.
2. To have sustainable debt, strong GDP growth momentum has to be maintained. That will give annual relief in the way of lower fiscal deficits.

• Rating agencies: In May 2021, rating agency Moody’s found three constraints for India’s credit profile - (i) obstacles to economic growth, (ii) a high debt burden and (iii) a weak financial system. It warned that the longer the period of relatively subdued growth, the more likely it would be that India’s debt burden will continue to rise. Further contingent liabilities for the government may rise if it decides to give renewed financial support to financial institutions.
• Finance Commission: The Fifteenth Finance Commission (FFC) had said that fiscal uncertainty was at an all-time high amid covid. The Nominal GDP and government revenues contracted in FY21 and placed distinct upward pressure on Union and states’ fiscal and debt positions. This upward pressure was unavoidable when growth destruction must be mitigated, and income support extended. This is the reason to consider flexibility. These are extraordinary times (October 2020).
• FRBM's irrelevance in today's India: The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, as amended in 2008, mandated the debt-to-GDP ratio to serve as the medium-term anchor for fiscal policy, with the fiscal deficit as the operational target. It mandated the debt-to-GDP ratio of the Centre to be brought down to 40% and that of states to 20% by 2024-25.

1. Those earlier targets have lost all relevance due to past 3 years of Indian economic reality
2. The FFC thus recommended setting up an FRBM review panel to draft a new fiscal consolidation framework because the current challenges have made the earlier targets impossible to achieve.

• Summary: Since the general government debt (states and Centre’s debt) may have crossed 90% in FY21, the FFC recommended a slow and gradual decline in central government and general government debt to 56.6% and 85.7% (of GDP), resp., by FY26 due to adverse debt dynamics over the next few years. The journey ahead is not going to be easy at all.

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

India's cooling needs now need energy efficiency

• The story: As India is urbanising fast, the demand for sustainable, clean, and energy efficient cooling solutions is rising in tandem. Heat makes humans less efficient, and in modern workplaces, access to cooling is a development need and an equality issue.
• If not cooling, then what: A large part of the population lies at the risk of being exposed to life-threatening temperatures, as the frequency of heatwaves across India increases due to climate change. So access to cooling has become a 'development need' and an equality issue. It can add on to the larger developmental goals on clean energy, sustainable cities, health, and well-being. But India has to address this without adding to global warming creating emissions.
• Policies and global commitments: Energy efficient and sustainable cooling lies at the heart of key international multilateral agreements - (i) The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, (ii) the Paris Agreement under the UNFCCC, and (iii) the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

1. Recognizing 'cooling as a development need' is important, as it is linked with achieving the SDGs, such as the health and well-being (SDG 3), decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), sustainable cities (SDG 11), and climate action (SDG 13).
2. The Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP) is a philanthropic programme on the global scale, which has been launched to support the successful implementation of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. It promotes collaborative research to help countries find innovative cooling solutions and make an accelerated shift away from hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Ratification by 65 countries or parties brought the amendment to force on 1st January 2019.
3. However, India and major countries such as China, USA, Brazil, Thailand, and South Korea, which make up about 77% of AC compressors' trade flow, have not yet ratified the Kigali Amendment.

• India's plan: The Government launched the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) in 2019 to provide a 20-year view on the evolving cooling demand, along with several short-term and long-term recommendations to achieve sustainable cooling. If robust policies are implemented to encourage the use of best available energy efficient cooling technologies in the cooling sector, the associated emission (GHG) reductions from cooling will also decrease. The ICAP has close links with several other governmental programmes, such as the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Housing for All), Smart Cities Mission, and National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency.
• Future of cooling in India: A major share of the increase in energy use for space cooling comes from emerging economies, such as India, China, and Indonesia – the three nations that are predicted to account for half of the global cooling energy demand growth by 2050. In India, roughly 8% of the households were air-conditioned as of March 2018. This coverage is expected to rise to 50% by 2050, which would translate into a significant increase in energy needs in addition to HFC leakage from AC units. The government can support interventions and energy efficiency measures in cooling through standards and labelling schemes, as well as by introducing new ways to regulate energy consumption, such as MEPS (minimum energy performance standards). Energy efficient appliances will not only help consumers save money, but also reduce overall energy consumption and therefore emit less CO2 over their lifetime. The interplay of a variety of factors is important to understand in order to encourage energy efficiency in cooling.
• Poor choices: There is a need to bring energy efficient and low global warming potential (GWP) non-HFC-based refrigerants to the mainstream. To enable this, the ICAP highlights the importance of an accelerated 'HFC phase-down' process and further development of cooling technologies. The current models of high efficiency ACs are unaffordable for majority of Indian consumers. Public procurement of energy efficient equipment is crucial.
• 'Not-in-kind' solutions: These will play a key role in the area of climate-friendly HFC-free cooling, and include evaporative cooling, adsorption cooling systems, and district cooling, where a central cooling facility is in use and cool water is delivered to houses in the district. Other climate-friendly systems are available that reduce the electricity consumption by being paired with a waste heat energy source or a solar thermal energy source, such as solar adsorption chillers. Many 'not-in-kind' technologies are still in the early stages of research and development.
• Building code amendment: India needs to define thermal comfort in order to guide interventions for energy efficiency in buildings. Building codes should be amended to ensure all buildings are designed such that passive design is preferred. Passively cooled building design and natural ventilation can reduce cooling load and minimize peak power requirement. The PMAY is primarily aimed at achieving government's objective of housing for all and has also been included in the COVID stimulus package. The scheme attempts to boost demand for affordable housing and create jobs. However, it is important that the building envelope should comply with the requirements of Eco-Niwas Samhita 2018 to ensure thermal comfort for the occupants of these upcoming housing projects.
• Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all sectors of the economy and economic package and structural reforms were announced by the government. As a positive side effect, the opportunity for a faster transition to clean energy across key sectors of the economy has opened up. Better data collection on cooling needs across different sections of the society, urban and rural areas, and commercial and residential sectors will lead to more reliable estimates of the cooling requirement, energy demand projections, and appropriate technical solutions. The new 'clean cold chains' must be seen as a key component of the agri-supply chain. The journey of produce from the farm to end consumers should occur with minimal environmental impact.

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

Softer Russia policy creates problem for Biden

• The story: President Donald Trump had a generally compliant attitude toward Russia, and now, the Biden administration is facing pressure from the US Congress and his Eastern European allies to harden its stance toward Russia. This happened after the June meeting between Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. France and Germany are trying to restart a dialogue with Putin.
• Two inherited problems: President Biden has inherited two messes working at cross-purposes: (i) He needs to repair relations with Germany, America’s main ally in mainland Europe, and (ii) chart a stronger approach to control Russia’s malicious behavior.

1. The first trouble is Russia’s gas pipeline project into Germany, the Nord Stream 2. Biden did not launch the sanctions on this issue, as he tries to repair relations with Germany. At the same time Eastern European officials raised alarm bells about Russia’s refusal to remove military forces near its border with Ukraine.
2. Biden has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to visit in July, when both the issues will be tackled - Ukraine’s low-simmering war with Russian-backed separatists and his policy toward Nord Stream 2.

• Helping Ukraine: Biden gave $275 million in military aid to Ukraine since March 2021, approved by the Congress, as Russian forces built up along the border. Russia could quickly stage a new offensive. Russian forces have left a large residual presence of vehicles and military equipment from the April buildup, including major elements of a motorized rifle division, such as tanks, armored personnel carriers, and artillery. There is a buildup along the Black Sea too, with similar equipment.
• Summary: If Russia keeps threatening, then the small progress that Biden and Putin made on easing tensions, during their June summit in Geneva, could be undone. America has reiterated its call for Russia to fully implement its Minsk commitments and return full control of Crimea to Ukraine.
• Knowledge centre: The Minsk Protocol is an agreement to halt the war in the Donbas region of Ukraine. It was signed by Ukraine, the Russian Federation, the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on 5 September 2014. The Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine was a group of representatives from Ukraine, the Russian Federation, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe formed as means to facilitate a diplomatic resolution to the war in the Donbas region of Ukraine. The Minsk agreements 2014 and 2015 remain the basis for any future resolution to the conflict, as agreed at the Normandy Format meeting. Critics say that the Minsk Agreements were forced upon Ukraine by the international community to end the agressive war by Russia, and both sides are using it to their selfish ends - President Putin to preserve the status-quo and the West to do (more or less) nothing.

India and the Quad - Growing strong

• Quad comes of age: The Quad is the strategic grouping joining Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. Since its revival in 2017 amid rising shared concerns about China, it has grown. In 2021, the Quad survived the first major change of government among its members and is set to grow as India is extremely keen on it now. US also has confirmed that it will not dump the Quad.
• US stance: The US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan praised the Quad as “a foundation upon which to build substantial American policy in the Indo-Pacific region.” The Quad group took a step forward with the first-ever Quad summit in March 2021. The four leaders agreed to begin meeting regularly in person. The Quad was building momentum since 2019, when meetings were upgraded to the ministerial level and counterterrorism exercises were added to the agenda.
• Quad plus: A Quad-Plus group of seven countries was formed to coordinate responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the four countries held the first Quad naval exercises in ten years! At the Quad summit 2021, the group pointed to a new focus on pandemic response and vaccines, climate change, and supply chains alongside its legacy commitments to maritime security and a free and open Indo-Pacific.
• The biggest push: The most encouraging sign for the Quad is India’s change of heart. It was earlier skeptical of reviving the group, but now has become a driver of recent progress. Reason is simple: an escalating rivalry with China, and declining confidence in former friend Russia. So India is now a vocal champion of the Quad and the Indo-Pacific. India is directly confronting criticism coming from Chin and Russia too.
• Weakest link in the chain: For any multilateral group, its pace is decided by the most skeptical member. India always was the Quad’s most cautious member. The first attempt at a Quad was disbanded in 2008, when a new government in Australia, friendly with China, signaled its disinterest. But since then, so much water has flown that India experienced growing trust and comfort with the United States and the other Quad democracies, diminished ideological attachment to its previous Cold War philosophy of nonalignment, and outspoken advocacy for the Quad and Indo-Pacific.
• China pushed India: The new rifts that opened with China tipped the scales toward more open rivalry. The clashes on the Doklam plateau in 2017 and in Ladakh in 2020 were decisive. China’s aggressive behavior at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) disrupted a delicate balancing act. China has lost India strategically, in case they wanted India to play a neutral role between them and the U.S. India is now firmly with the U.S.
• Threats and more threats: The Chinese warned India that its participation in the Quad meant it had become a “negative asset” to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) groupings led by Beijing and Moscow. It warned India it risked becoming “cannon fodder”. The threats fell on deaf ears! Appeals from India’s traditional patron, Russia, to abandon the Quad and Indo-Pacific don’t hold the same sway they once did.
• India's unique geography: India’s views of the Quad are a product of its unique position on the geopolitical map: relatively vulnerable and alone on the western flank with its more powerful partners clustered safely together on the eastern flank. India is the only member of the Quad that borders China, has been invaded by China, has an active land border dispute with China, is wedged between two nuclear-armed rivals, and lacks treaty alliance commitments from the other Quad members.

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

Twitter's interim grievance officer quits

• The story: India brought in the new IT rules, putting many restrictions on the operations of social media firms in the country. A key part was appointment of certain officials, to handle customer grievances. After some resistance, the platforms started appointing officials.
• Twitter churn: In June itself, Twitter’s interim resident grievance officer for India stepped down, leaving the micro-blogging site without a grievance official as mandated by the new IT rules to address complaints from Indian subscribers. Mr Dharmendra Chatur, appointed as interim resident grievance officer for India by Twitter, quit from the post. The social media company’s website no longer displayed his name, as required under Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021.
• Government's stand: The development comes at a time when the micro-blogging platform has been engaged in a tussle with the Indian government over the new social media rules. The government slammed Twitter for deliberate defiance and failure to comply with the country’s new IT rules. The new rules came into effect from May 25 and mandate social media companies to establish a grievance redressal mechanism for resolving complaints from the users or victims.
• 4. 5 million users: All "significant social media companies", with over 50 lakh user base shall appoint a grievance officer to deal with such complaints and share the name and contact details of such officers.

1. The big social media companies are mandated to appoint a chief compliance officer, a Nodal Contact Person and a resident grievance officer. All of them should be resident in India.
2. Twitter in response to the final notice issued by the government on June 5 had said that it intends to comply with the new IT rules and will share details of the chief compliance officer. In the meantime, the microblogging platform had appointed Chatur as interim resident grievance officer for India.

• Summary: Twitter now displays the company’s name in the place of grievance officer for India with a US address and an email ID. If this continues, then the company will have lost legal protection as an intermediary and will be legally held responsible for all content posted by its users on the platform.

Gaps in digital media rules

• The story: India's new IT rules are pretty strict, but experts say there wasn't any meaningful public consultation before implementing them.
• Why the new rules: Growing concerns around misinformation globally and inappropriate curated content in India, led to the the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 being made by the Central government. The 2021 Rules have a thrust on self-regulation of publishers of news media and curated content, and provide a Code of Ethics for guiding their conduct.
• Requirments: All publishers of news media and curated content are required to register with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and appoint a grievance officer, resolve complaints in 15 days and publish monthly updates about complaints received.

1. The definition of publishers of news media in the 2021 Rules is widely worded and overbroad.
2. It includes different media outlets of varying scales such as online local news portal run by individuals, news portals dealing exclusively with sports news, and the online presence of established media outlets alike, resulting in casting onerous obligations even on small scale news portals with limited readership and creating operational difficulties.

• Three-tier self-regulatory model: Complaints to the grievance officer is the first level of the three-tier self-regulation model. The second level of self-regulation is scrutiny by a self-regulating body. Each publisher must become a member of a self-regulating body headed by a retired Supreme Court or High Court Judge or an independent eminent person from a relevant field. The body can issue recommendations and ensure compliance of the Code of Ethics. No provisions have been provided for (i) publishers to appeal against any recommendation of the body and (ii) procedure to resolve any dissent within the self-regulating body while issuing recommendations. The third level of self-regulation involves the oversight by the Central government. In fact, the Central government has a role even in the second level because each self-regulating body must be registered with the IB Ministry. The registration itself will be based on scrutiny of its constitution and alignment with Code of Ethics. If the self-regulating body fails to ensure compliance, in the third level, the Central government retains vast supervisory powers through the inter-departmental committee to hear complaints or references.
• Australian case: Australia too set up self-regulation by a voluntary body of peers for online content. However, the involvement of the Central government in the self-regulation model is unique to India. Add to that the ambiguities of the 2021 Rules and Code of Ethics, and the possible chilling effect on the free speech of the media becomes apparent.
• Genesis of new rules: The 2021 Rules came in force after a recent controversy about alleged inappropriate content in a web series on a platform. In that case even the platform’s head was embroiled in legal proceedings. The standard for classification for online curated content in the 2021 Rules is ambiguous. The practicality of obligation to ensure age verification of viewers of online curated content remains untested. This is an area of concern and will require evolution of jurisprudence as well as technology.
• More powers: Another addition is the power to order deletion or modification, as appropriate for a specific piece(s) of content either on the recommendation of an inter-departmental committee or in case of emergency with the approval of the Secretary of IB Ministry. These powers are in addition to the Information Technology (procedure and safeguards for blocking for access of information by the public) Rules, 2009 (or, ‘Blocking Rules’). The emergency blocking procedure under Part III of the 2021 Rules deviates significantly from the Blocking Rules. This is because it fails to provide the procedural safeguard of an opportunity to be heard post-facto in case of emergency blocking.
• Judicial challenge: The Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) does not contain any provisions dealing with the governance of publishers of news media and curated content. Several petitions have been filed challenging Part III of the 2021 Rules as ultra vires. As such, Part III of the 2021 Rules does not have any nexus to the object and scheme of the parent statute, i.e., IT Act. If implemented in its present form, the exercise of wide adjudicatory powers by a self-regulating body and inter-departmental committee will have a lasting impact on artistic freedom and digital news reporting.

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

Welfare of Delhi's migrants needs a robust database

• The story: The Delhi government started work on building an Aadhaar-linked database of all migrants engaged in the unorganised sector. This step comes a year after the large-scale exoduses during the Covid-19 lockdowns in the Capital as lakhs left Delhi for their towns and villages.
• Help from states: To create a comprehensive database of migrant workers, the government of Delhi has also issued a letter to states from which majority of the migrant workers come to Delhi, namely Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha, to share the database of migrant workers prepared by them. Today, there is no integrated and complete database of migrant workers in Delhi, affecting government estimates and budget allocations. It is also a question of implementation and delivery, especially for food grains for people — mostly migrants.
• Lack of pan-India database: The unorganised sector remains mostly undocumented in India, creating blind spots for the state and harming policy drafting and implementation. Almost 90% of the country’s workers are employed in the informal unorganised sector.
• New labour Code: The Delhi govt. move highlighted that such a database will be essential to efficiently implement The Code of Social Security Act, 2020, which merges eight existing labour laws and is supposed to include migrant workers in the unorganised sector in its ambit. The Union government also began an independent survey of migrants across the country in 2020 and individual state databases are supposed to enhance its strength. The survey was suspended mid-March 2021 in the light of uptick in Covid-19 cases but is likely to resume soon, said a senior official, adding that the national database will be necessary to properly implement The Code of Social Security Act.
• Influx is huge: Delhi has the second highest population of inter-state migrants in India, according to 2011 Census data on migration released in July 2019, which shows that marriage and work or business drive the influx. The city-state only trails Maharashtra, a much larger and more populous state.

1. More than 6.3 million people in Delhi – which is nearly 40% of its 2011 census population of around 16 million – were migrants from other states. Of these, around two million were recorded to have migrated for work. But the data did not bifurcate employment in the organised sector and the unorganised sector.
2. Labour unions in the city peg the number of migrants engaged in the unorganised sector at two million, of which around 60% would be in the construction sector and the remaining would be in industries and daily wage work. Experts called the state government’s database plans an “essential initiative”.

• Summary: At present, other than the 2011 Census data, there is no official database on migrants in Delhi which could help the government to work out their social protection strategies. It is important to have recent data on migrants by various indicators like their place of origin (states, cities and/or villages), period of stay, reasons for migration and other important parameters which may help the government work out a comprehensive policy for their overall well-being.

India's only national emergency by Indira Gandhi

• June 25, 1975: India's first and last (till date) National Emergency was imposed from 25 June 1975 until its withdrawal on 21 March 1977. The order was issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352, and it gave the PM Indira Gandhi the authority to rule by decree. In the early hours of June 26, hundreds of political leaders, activists, and trade unionists were jailed. An analysis shows that the primary reasons were all internal to India, and not external at all.
• Why emergency: A goal of the 21-month-long Emergency in the country was to control “internal disturbance”, for which the constitutional rights were suspended and freedom of speech and the press withdrawn. Logic given was one of 'national interest', due to three reasons.

1. First, India’s security and democracy was in danger owing to the movement launched by Jayaprakash Narayan.
2. Second, the PM was of the opinion that there was a need for rapid economic development and upliftment of the underprivileged.
3. Third, the PM warned against the intervention of powers from abroad which could destabilise and weaken India.

• Difficult period: The years before the Emergency saw many economic troubles — growing unemployment, rising inflation and paucity of food. There were many riots and protests across India, but the borders of the country were quiet! The trouble first started in Gujarat, spread to Bihar and from there to several other parts of Northern India. And then the final straw came in the forms of the petition filed in the Allahabad High Court.
• Key triggers for emergency: There were at least four triggers in the 1970s -

1. Navnirman Andolan in Gujarat - In December 1973, students of LD College of Engineering in Ahmedabad went on a strike to protest the hike in fees. Then the Gujarat University erupted in protest, demanding dismissal of the state government. This ‘Navnirman movement’ (movement for regeneration) happened under the Congress rule of CM Chimanbhai Patel, who enjoyed a reputation for corruption. Soon factory workers and other people joined in, and clashes with the police, burning of buses and government office and attacks on ration shops became common. By February 1974, the central government suspended the Assembly and imposed President’s rule. Then in March 1975, Indira Gandhi dissolved the assembly and announced fresh elections.
2. The JP movement - A similar movement was launched in Bihar when a student protest erupted in March 1974, and opposition forces lent their strength. It was headed by 71-year-old freedom fighter Jayaprakash Narayan or JP. PM Indira Gandhi did not concede to the suspension of the Assembly. A hero of the freedom struggle, JP was known for his selfless activism since the days of the nationalist movement. His entry gave the struggle a great boost, and also changed its name to the ‘JP movement’. He motivated students to boycott classes and work towards raising the collective consciousness. Clashes ensued. In June 1974, JP led a procession through Patna culminating in a call for ‘total revolution’. Then JP toured large sections of North India, drawing students, traders and sections of the intelligentsia towards his movement, facing off PM Indira Gandhi directly.
3. The railways’ protest - A railways strike led by socialist leader George Fernandes started in May 1974, resulting in the halt of the movement of goods and people. A million railwaymen participated, with militant demonstrations in many towns and cities. Indira government came down heavily on the protesters.
4. The Raj Narain verdict - While the streets were raging in protest, a threat emerged in the form of a petition filed in the Allahabad High Court by socialist leader Raj Narain who lost to Gandhi in Raebareli parliamentary elections of 1971. It accused the PM of having won the elections through corrupt practices, and alleged that she spent more money than was allowed and further that her campaign was carried out by government officials. On March 19, 1975, Gandhi became the first Indian PM to testify in court. On June 12, 1975, Justice Sinha read out the judgment in the Allahabad High Court declaring Gandhi’s election to Parliament as null and void, and she was given a span of 20 days to appeal to the Supreme Court. On June 24, the Supreme Court put a conditional stay on the High Court order: Gandhi could attend Parliament, but would not be allowed to vote unless the court pronounced on her appeal. The judgments gave the impetus to the JP movement, convincing them of their demand for the resignation of the PM. But Indira Gandhi firmly held on to the prime ministerial position.

• Summary: A day after the Supreme Court judgment, an ordinance was drafted declaring a state of internal emergency and the President signed on it immediately. In her letter to the President requesting the declaration of Emergency, Gandhi wrote, “Information has reached us that indicate imminent danger to the security of India.” On 18 January 1977, Indira called fresh elections, and the Emergency officially ended on 21 March 1977. The opposition Janata movement's campaign warned Indians that the elections might be their last chance to choose between "democracy and dictatorship."

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• 6. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (Prelims, GS Paper 3)

Delta Plus Variant of Covid causing havoc

• The story: It is the job of viruses to keep mutating, as natural selection forces them into it. So it is with the novel coronavirus too. As new variants kept emerging, India's Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) warned people against the new Covid-19 strain ‘Delta Plus’ (DP).
• Points to note: The Delta plus (B.1.617.2.1/(AY.1) was a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus formed due to a mutation in the Delta strain of the virus (B.1.617.2 variant). It is technically the next generation of SARS-COV-2. This mutant was first detected in Europe in March 2021.

1. The Delta variant that was first detected in India (in February 2021) eventually became a huge problem for the whole world. However, the Delta Plus variant, at present, is limited to smaller areas in the country.
2. It is resistant to monoclonal antibodies cocktail. Since it’s a new variant, its severity is still unknown.
3. People reported symptoms like headaches, sore throats, runny noses, and fever.
4. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is tracking this variant as part of the Delta variant, it is doing so for other Variants of Concern with additional mutations.

• Transmissibility: It acquired the spike protein mutation called K417N which is also found in the Beta variant first identified in South Africa. The spike protein is used by SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes Covid-19, to enter the host cells. Some scientists fear that the mutation combined with other existing features of the Delta variant could make it more transmissible.
• Worries: Multiple studies are ongoing in India and globally to test the effectiveness of vaccines against the Delta plus Covid-19 mutation. India's health ministry warned that regions where it has been found "may need to enhance their public health response by focusing on surveillance, enhanced testing, quick contact-tracing, and priority vaccination." There are worries Delta Plus would inflict another wave of infections on India after it emerged from the world’s worst surge in cases only recently. Just over 4% of Indians are fully vaccinated and about 18% have received one dose so far.
• Virus variants: Variants of a virus have one or more mutations that differentiate it from the other variants that are in circulation. While most mutations are useless or harmful for the virus itself, some make it easier for the virus to survive. The SARS-CoV-2 (Corona) virus is evolving fast because of the scale at which it has infected people around the world. High levels of circulation mean it is easier for the virus to change as it is able to replicate faster. The original pandemic virus (founder variant) was Wu.Hu.1 (Wuhan virus). In a few months, variant D614G emerged and became globally dominant. Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG) is a multi-laboratory, multi-agency, pan-India network to monitor genomic variations in the SARS-CoV-2.
• Summary: The Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) is a public platform started by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2008 for countries to share genome sequences. The GISAID Initiative promotes the international sharing of all influenza virus sequences, related clinical and epidemiological data associated with human viruses, and geographical as well as species-specific data associated with avian and other animal viruses.

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

India’s nutrition crisis needs urgent remedies

• The story: The Covid pandemic has hit the vulerables in India quite hard, leading to a decline in incomes, rising unemployment and the nutritional shortfalls affecting children and women the most. These are problems with potentially long-term implications.
• The fat and the rest: India’s paradoxical nutritional landscape is one where obesity ails India’s ultra-rich upper-class residents and malnutrition makes those at the bottom of the pyramid suffer.
• NFHS: The fourth National Family Health Survey (NFHS) indicated how 53.1% of all women age 15-49 were anaemic. A high rate of undernourished mothers results in low-weight, poorly nourished babies and infants, whose in-utero lack of nutrition can have lifelong consequences. Twenty one percent of all children under 5 years remain unproductive or wasted (with low weight-to-height), as per India’s child wasting statistics.
• PMMVY: In 2017, having recognised this problem, the government launched the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, a centrally sponsored (CSS) conditional cash transfer scheme. Under it, pregnant women and lactating mothers are entitled to Rs 5,000 for their first live birth subject to fulfilling certain conditions.

1. The cash incentive is paid in three instalments with the first Rs 1,000 being awarded on early registration of the pregnancy at an anganwadi centre (often with the help of an Accredited Social Health Activist or ASHA worker). Once the beneficiary receives at least one ante-natal check-up, they become eligible for the second instalment (of Rs 2,000).
2. The Union government further complements this scheme with the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan that offers free, universal antenatal care to all pregnant women. The final instalment (Rs 2,000) is paid after the birth and immunisation of the child. Between the fiscal years of 2018 and 2020, almost 1.75 core eligible beneficiaries were paid Rs 5,931.95 crores.
3. By tying the cash-transfer to conditions, the government hoped to incentivise mothers to engage in undertaking basic (self) maternal and childcare. Meanwhile, the money provided offers financial support for the soon-to-be-mothers to meet their nutritional requirements.

• Implementation troubles: The grassroot implementation of schemes is riddled with flaws. The efficiency of conditional cash transfers is hit by high administrative cost due to factors like identifying eligible beneficiaries, targeting and monitoring the disbursements made to them, and ensuring that intended goals are met with a given scheme’s actual implementation.  Complaints about delayed payments of “assigned transfers” have risen since 2020.
• Foodgrain but not nutrition: The focus since March 2020's pandemic has been only on providing public distribution system-supported food grains to the very poor and not supporting that with more funding for existing nutrition-focused welfare programmes. Similarly, due to fiscal constraints, some schemes are getting merged, leading to effectively low layouts (e.g. the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan clubbed with other programmes under Mission Shakti for women’s protection and empowerment).
• Deterioration of regular services: During the pandemic, many maternal child health and nutrition progammes were suspended, with regular health services like antenatal check-ups, immunisation, and child-growth monitoring being terminated for respondents across the state (much like the situation across the nation). ASHA workers, anganwadi workers, and nurse midwives conducted counselling sessions online and provided supplementary tablets and contraceptive devices during house visits, but their services too were constrained due to administrative delays and shortage of tech-abled resources (most workers didn’t even have a smart phone for use).
• Summary: Conditional cash transfers have limited effectiveness during times of crisis. Schemes like the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan are already troubled with bureaucratic overload and over-centralisation in processing of claims. A renewed focus on improving community healthcare access is now needed.

World Bank's "Learning Poverty" indicator

• What is 'learning poverty': The World Bank (WB) introduced a new 'Learning Target' in 2019, which aimed at cutting by at least half, the global rate of Learning Poverty by 2030. The term 'Learning Poverty' is defined as the percentage of 10-year-olds who cannot read and understand a simple story.
• Situation today: More than half of all 10 year olds in low-income and middle-income countries cannot read and understand a simple story. So it's a global learning crisis, stifling opportunities and aspirations of hundreds of millions of children which is unacceptable. It wastes the children’s potential and also hurts entire economies as they grow into adults with poor comprehension. It will impact the future workforces and economic competitiveness negatively.
• Why a must to end: The ability to read is an especially critical skill which opens a world of possibilities for the individual, and the foundation on which other essential learning is built. So, ending 'learning poverty' is an urgent matter, a key for eliminating poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Over the last several years, progress in reducing learning poverty has been stagnant. Between 2000 and 2017, there has only been a 10% improvement in learning outcomes for primary school-aged children globally. If this pace continues, 43% of 10-year-olds will not be able to read in 2030.
• Ambitious but achievable SDG: The children who will turn 10 in 2030 will have been born in 2020, and if the world works urgently, there is an opportunity to reverse this trend. The target set is ambitious but achievable and should galvanise action toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG4). The SDG4 is ensuring quality education for all. It will require nearly tripling the rate of progress worldwide, and can be done if every country can match the performance of the countries that made the most progress between 2000 and 2015.
• Good examples: In India, the Right-to-Education Act (RTE) was successful in increasing coverage and access to school education. The need to shift the focus to quality is now urgent. The decision of India to join the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the merger of schemes under Samagra Shiksha are encouraging signs that India is moving in this direction. In Kenya, the national reading programme has more than tripled the percentage of grade two students reading at an appropriate level. This was accomplished through technology-enabled teacher coaching, teacher guides, and delivering one book per child.
• Challenges: The challenges of reducing learning poverty will differ between countries and regions, because access to school remains an enormous problem in some, while quality of learning is in others. By setting a global target, the WB can work with countries to define their own national learning targets.
• Summary: Cutting learning poverty in half by 2030 is only an intermediate goal. As the WB is the largest financier of education in low-and middle-income countries, it will work with countries to promote reading proficiency in primary schools. Policies include providing detailed guidance and practical training for teachers, ensuring access to more and better age-appropriate texts, and teaching children in the language they use at home.

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

"Indians invested $40 bn in cryptocurrency in 2020" - Report

• Gold to CC: As per Chainalysis report, Indians who are known to traditionally invest in gold are now investing into cryptocurrency (CC).
• Findings: India is home to world’s biggest holders of gold (25,000 tonnes). But now, Indians are shifting towards cryptocurrency and have invested billions in it. Investments in cryptocurrency has increased from $200 million $40 billion in last one year, as higher returns attract young and aspiring investors, as well as HNIs.
• RBI unhappy: This shift has accelerated even though Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is not inclined towards promoting any private digital currency. RBI had banned banks from supporting cryptocurrency transactions in 2018 following several digital currency frauds. But in March 2020, Supreme Court struck down the ban and prompted RBI to notify that its earlier order has been reverted.
• Cryptocurrencies: A CC is a digital asset which is designed to work as a medium of exchange where individual coin ownership records are stored in ledger in the form of a decentralised computerized database, the blockchain. Strong cryptography is used to secure transaction records, control creation of additional coins and to verify transfer of coin ownership. It does not exist in physical form and is usually not issued by any central authority. Such currencies use decentralized control. When a cryptocurrency is minted or created prior to issuance or when it is issued by a single issuer, it is considered centralized. Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency released as open-source software in 2009, by an anonymous person Satoshi Nakamoto. El Salvador was the first country to formally adopt bitcoin as legal tender, in June 2021. 

Indian private firms to build and operate rocket launch sites

• The story: Government of India has finally allowed private companies to establish & operate rocket launch sites within and outside the country, subject to prior authorisation from government.
• Points to note: The Draft National Space Transportation Policy-2020 was put forward by the Department of Space, and IN-SPACe is the nodal agency responsible for overall approval. As per the policy, any orbital or sub-orbital rocket launch from Indian or overseas territory can be carried out only after authorisation from Indian National Space Promotion & Authorization Center (IN-SPACe).

1. Missions can be launched from own or leased launch site or from mobile platforms like land, sea or air.
2. Today, Agnikul Cosmos is developing small rocket to launch small satellites into orbit. Skyroot Aerospace is the other small rocket maker. As per the policy, IN-SPACe authorisation requires financial guarantee or insurance cover by proposer under its ownership to fulfil nation’s liability as per international agreements.
3. If the launch will be carried outside the India, all approvals necessary to undertake the scope of activities in another nation or territory will be in accordance with applicable laws of concerned nation or territory.
4. Compliance and approvals of administration which is controlling the territory from where Launch is performed will be ensured by proposer. The proof of compliance or approvals will be enclosed with application for authorisation.

• Importance: These reforms are to unlock the potential of space sector in India, and attract entrepreneurs to invest in cost-effective & quick turn-around space transportation systems. The comprehensive policy covers all aspects of space transportation like launching, launchpads and re-entry.

ESA to hire first disabled astronaut

• The story: The European Space Agency (ESA) is set to hire and launch world’s first physically disabled astronaut.
• For the 22-member space programme, a decennial recruitment call was given for astronauts. The agency received 22,000 applicants. Space mission will be ESA’s 7-billion-euro budget mission and is a third of NASA’s. (Seven or eight launches in a year are dwarfed by 40 launches by United States)
• Evolution: Space sector is developing fast, with different agencies refashioning their plans. The founder of Amazon - Jeff Bezos - hopes to become the first man to go into space on his own rocket in July 2021. This shows the role that tech billionaires are playing in space sector, once dominated by public agencies.
• European Space Agency (ESA): It is an intergovernmental organization comprising 22 member states. Established in 1975, it is dedicated to exploration of space and headquartered in Paris. Its space flight programme includes human spaceflight, launch & operation of unmanned exploration missions to other planets & Moon, Earth observation, science & telecommunication etc.

International Day against Drug Abuse

• The story: The International Day Against Drug Abuse is observed on June 26 every year to raise awareness among people regarding dangerous effects of drugs and it’s illicit trafficking.
• Importance: Drug abuse and mental health go hand in hand. People addicted to drugs not only put their physical health at stake but also give rise to severe mental issues. Thus, the day becomes significance to make aware people of harmful impact of drugs.
• 2021 theme of day: The theme was ‘Share Facts on Drugs, Save Lives’. The goal was to combat misinformation by sharing real facts on drugs ranging from health risks & solutions for world drug problem to evidence-based prevention, treatment & care.
• History: This Day is a United Nations International Day to fight the menace of drug abuse and illegal trading of drug. It is observed on June 26, a date selected to commemorate Lin Zexu’s dismantling of opium trade in Humen, Guangdong on June 25, 1839 before First Opium War in China. The day was instituted by General Assembly Resolution 42/112 of December 1987.
• Indian case: The menace of drug addiction is spreading fast among the youth, and India is sandwiched between two largest Opium producing regions of world, the Golden triangle and Golden crescent. The Golden triangle comprises Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos while golden crescent comprises Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. Alcohol remains the most abused substance in India. About 5 crore Indians used cannabis and opioids when survey was conducted in 2018.

9.1 Today's best editorials to read

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

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• SECTION 3 - MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions)

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

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