A. GS 1 Related
Nothing here for today!!!
Context:
The Chief Justice of India has expressed concerns over the large number of criminal cases pending in the Allahabad High Court.
According to an affidavit filed by the U.P. government in the Supreme Court in August 2021, the Allahabad High Court has 1.83 lakh pending criminal appeals.
Recommendations:
India has an integrated system of judiciary. Increasing the efficiency of the subordinate judiciary would be critical to expedite the disposal of pending cases. In this direction, the judicial process should be strengthened with the arrangement of adequate facilities and resources for the subordinate judiciary.
The number of working judges should be increased through timely appointment processes.
The Allahabad High Court has 68 judicial vacancies out of a total sanctioned strength of 160 judges.
Given the lack of good infrastructure for courts in India there is the need to form a National Judicial Infrastructure Corporation (NJIC) that will work towards creating infrastructure assets for the judiciary across the country
The proposed new bill on mediation and arbitration should be expedited to help establish alternate avenues for dispute resolution and reduce the load on judiciary
Drastic decline in vulture population in India:
Once very common, vultures are on the verge of extinction in India.
The vulture population in India was estimated at 40 million once. Populations of Oriental white-backed vultures, Long-billed vultures and Slender-billed vultures have declined by over 97% since the 1990s, and that of the Oriental white-backed vultures by a drastic 99.9%.
Threat:
Studies have shown that the vulture population was mainly affected by the veterinary usage of Diclofenac in India.
The Diclofenac drug is toxic to vultures if they feed on carcasses within 72 hours of the drugs’ administration to such livestock.
Despite Diclofenac being banned, its usage continues illegally in India mainly because it’s a very low-cost drug.
Uncontrolled veterinary usage of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), including Aceclofenac, Ketoprofen and Nimesulide is also adversely affecting the vulture population.
Quarrying and blasting of stones where vultures nest have also adversely impacted the vulture populations.
For more related information on this issue refer to the following article:
Conservation efforts:
As part of the efforts to conserve the dwindling population of vultures in India, eight captively bred Oriental white-backed vultures were released into the wild for the first time in India from the Jatayu Conservation and Breeding Centre, Pinjore.
Jatayu Conservation and Breeding Centre is situated at the Bir Shikargah Wildlife Sanctuary of Haryana.
Oriental white-backed vultures are critically endangered.
These captive bred vultures have blended well into the natural habitat outside the aviary, offering hope to conservationists.
Context:
The Reserve Bank of India has recently launched the account aggregator framework.
Details:
The account aggregator framework will allow financial data to be exchanged between the holders of data and its users.
Account aggregators will act as intermediaries who will collect data from one financial entity and exchange it with another.
Under the framework a number of fin-tech entities have been granted the licence to operate as account aggregators.
Significance:
The account aggregator framework is aimed at making financial data more easily accessible.
Currently, the various financial data of an individual is scattered across the databases of several financial institutions.
The easier availability of information will benefit the economy in the following ways.
The framework will help financial institutions make better assessment of the creditworthiness of individuals, and thus make better loan decisions.
Although other mechanisms such as CIBIL and individual’s PAN number do exist to assess the creditworthiness of the borrowers, their scope is limited.
Account aggregators can also make it easier for creditworthy customers to access loans.
The availability of wider financial data may also help financial institutions offer better products tailored to the needs of individual customers.
Challenges:
The security of the financial data of individuals will be a major concern, given the risk of data theft.
Measures prescribed to uphold privacy of data:
The account aggregators are supposed to receive and share financial data in an encrypted form to help protect the privacy of individuals.
Notably, the data ownership will reside with individuals.
The account aggregators will be able to share data only with the consent of the individual.
F. Prelims Facts
The standard model of physics considers four known fundamental forces – weak, strong, electromagnetic and gravitational.
A novel experiment has now defined stringent bounds on what is called the fifth force or the Yukawa force – a component that plays a role in some extensions of the standard model beyond the four known fundamental forces.
Orca is a direct-air carbon capture facility in Iceland. It will pull CO2 from the air and trap it in the ground.
It has a capacity of capturing 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, which is the amount the world would release in four seconds.
The synthetic industrial dyes and the effervescent colour and odour from textile industries have a long-lasting carcinogenic and toxic effect on the ecological balance, especially aquatic life.
Indian researchers have developed an improved water management system that eliminates the toxicity of wastewater from textile industries and make it suitable for domestic and industrial usage.
The new method is an improvement over the advanced oxidation process (AOP) treatment technique for colour and odour properties in industrial effluents (dye-based).
Nipah virus:
The Nipah virus is classified as an ‘emerging zoonotic disease’, meaning that it is caused by germs that spread between animals and people.
The Nipah virus (NiV) is classified as a “highly pathogenic paramyxovirus”.
The natural reservoir for the virus is large fruit bats of the Pteropus genus.
Unlike in the case of the coronavirus which is airborne and can spread across great distances, contact with body fluids and an infected person’s respiratory droplets are the most common ways to catch an infection.
High mortality rate of around 40%-75% has been reported for Nipah virus.
Currently, there is no known treatment or vaccine for either people or animals.
Context:
Kerala has reported a fatality from a case of infection by the Nipah virus in the northern district of Kozhikode.
G. Tidbits
In a major indication of climate change affecting not only humans but also animals, some warm-blooded animals are shape shifting and getting larger beaks, legs and ears to better regulate their body temperatures as an adaptation to a warming planet.
Strong shape shifting has particularly been reported in birds with some species indicating larger bill sizes.
There have also been reported changes in mammalian species. Researchers have reported tail length increases in wood mice and tail and leg size increases in masked shrews.
Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand, like mainland China, adopted a “Zero COVID” strategy. The goal was to aim for almost zero daily fresh cases through a mix of border closing, quarantining people coming into the country, extensive testing and strict implementation of COVID-appropriate behaviour.
However these countries have begun reporting a large number of new cases due to the Delta variant amid the gradual re-opening.
In this light, an increasing number of countries are abandoning their Zero Covid strategy and adopting a COVID resilience strategy
Once the combination of acquired immunity and vaccination is achieved in every part of the world, targeting endemicity may become the best exit strategy from the pandemic.
Endemic means sustained transmission at an expected or basal level which could be sustained by the system.
The U.K. government’s Age Appropriate Design Code or the Children’s Code is a data protection code of practice for online services likely to be accessed by children.
It aims to operationalize a set of regulations that will make using the digital space safer for children, especially while accessing online services.
It will require the companies that collect, share and use children’s data to offer children a high level of privacy protection by default.
Notably, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises the special safeguards children need in all aspects of their life including the digital environment.
Recently tech majors such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube have tightened safety rules for children, and campaigners hope this will become the norm globally.
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
Q1. With reference to National Commission for Minorities (NCM), which of the following statements is/are correct?
The Constitution of India defines the word ‘Minority’ on the basis of religion
Five religious communities are notified as minority communities
Each Member of the commission holds office for a period of three years from the date of assumption of office
Options:
1 only
1 and 2 only
3 only
None
Answer: C
Explanation:
The Constitution of India uses the word ‘minority’ or its plural form in some Articles viz Article 20 to 30 and 350 A to 350 B, but does not define the word ‘minority’.
The Constitution recognises religious and linguistic minorities.
Six religious communities, viz; Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains have been notified in Gazette of India as minority communities by the Union Government all over India.
National Commission for Minorities consists of a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson and five members and all of them shall be from amongst the minority communities. Total of 7 persons to be nominated by the Central Government should be from amongst persons of eminence, ability and integrity.
Each Member holds office for a period of three years from the date of assumption of office.
Q2. Which of the following statements about Rice Fortification is/are correct?
The cooking of fortified rice does not require any special procedure.
Rice Fortification process increases the cost
Options:
1 only
2 only
Both
None
Answer: C
Explanation:
Food fortification or enrichment is the process of adding micronutrients (essential trace elements and vitamins) to food. It can be carried out by food manufacturers, or by governments as a public health policy which aims to reduce the number of people with dietary deficiencies within a population.
Fortifying rice makes it more nutritious by adding vitamins and minerals in the post – harvest phase; many of which are lost during the milling and polishing process. Rice fortification may be considered as having the highest potential to fill the gap in current staple food fortification programs as it is the staple food of 65 percent of the Indian population and reaches the most vulnerable and poorer section – with the highest uptake in the government safety net programmes .
Notably, the cooking of fortified rice does not require any special procedure which will help increase its uptake.
However, rice Fortification process increases the cost of such rice. Hence the government intervention is essential to make it accessible for poorer sections of the society.
Q3. With respect to India's military exercises with the Central Asian Countries, which of the following is/are incorrectly matched?
Military Exercise Country
KAZIND Kazakhstan
Prabal Dostyk Kyrgyzstan
Khanjar Turkmenistan
Options:
1 only
1 and 2 only
2 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3
Answer: C
Explanation:
‘PRABAL DOSTYK is a joint training exercise between the Indian Army and the Kazakhstan Army.
Khanjar is a military exercise between India and Kyrgyzstan
Q4. Consider the following statements with respect to ATL Space Challenge 2021:
It is an initiative of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), ISRO, NASA and ESA.
The challenge will allow private players to focus on building new technologies for the space sector
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
1 only
2 only
Both
None
Answer: D
Explanation:
Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation and Central Board of Secondary Education successfully launched the ATL Space Challenge 2021 for all school students across the country.
This is to ensure that students of classes 6 to 12 are given an open platform where they can innovate and enable themselves to solve digital age space technology problems.
The challenge has been designed for all the school students, mentors and teachers who not only are associated with schools having Atal Tinkering Laboratories but for all the non ATL schools as well.
Q5. Which of the following are the discretionary powers given to the Governor of a State? (UPSC-2014)
Sending a report to the President of India for imposing the President’s rule
Appointing the Ministers
Reserving certain bills passed by the State Legislature for consideration of the President of India
Making the rules to conduct the business of the State Government
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
1 and 2 only
1 and 3 only
2, 3 and 4 only
1, 2, 3 and 4
Answer: B
Explanation:
The Governor appoints the Ministers based and distributes portfolios to them on the advice of the chief minister.
Sending a report to the President of India for imposing the President’s rule and reserving certain bills passed by the State Legislature for consideration of the President of India are the discretionary powers given to the Governor of a State
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions
In light of the extension of the PLI scheme to the Textile Sector, discuss how this scheme will benefit the man-made fibers and technical textiles segments of the industry? (10 marks, 150 words)[GS-3, Economy]
“Financial Data aggregation is the need of the hour” Critically analyze the statement with regards to the recent developments in licensing of Account Aggregators by the RBI. (10 marks, 150 words)[GS-3, Economy]
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