20 Oct 2019: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

October 20th, 2019 CNA:-Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS1 Related
B. GS2 Related
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. U.K. Parliament votes to force Brexit delay
2. India decides to put off PM Modi’s visit to Turkey
3. Uneasy ceasefire takes hold in Syria
4. IMF members delay quota changes, agree to maintain funding
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. DNA regulation Bill referred to House panel
HEALTH
1. ‘Help make CGHS more beneficiary friendly’ 
C. GS3 Related
ENVIRONMENT
1. Centre clarifies on definition of forest
ECONOMY
1. RBI Dy. Governor post vacant for 3 months
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. How insects, pests wipe off Ajanta cave paintings
D. GS4 Related
E. Editorials
POLITY 
1. What is the furore around the land law case?
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. Are RCEP trade negotiations on sticky ground?
F. Tidbits
G. Prelims Facts
1. India-Myanmar Naval Exercise
2. INTERPOL
3. Apple production in India
4. Catalonia
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

A. GS1 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

B. GS2 Related

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. U.K. Parliament votes to force Brexit delay

Context:

Three years after Britain voted 52-48% to leave the EU, Prime Minister Boris Johnson struck a deal with the EU in Brussels recently to ensure Britain’s scheduled departure by 31st October 2019. Parliament has voted to postpone a vote on his Brexit deal. The parliament vote means Mr. Johnson is obliged to write to the EU seeking a delay in Brexit.

Details:

• The default legal position is that Britain leaves the EU on October 31 unless it asks to delay, and the other 27 member states agree.
• British MPs have again ruptured the Brexit process by withholding their support for Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s new divorce deal with the EU.
• MPs passed the amendment claiming they fear the risk of a potentially disastrous “no deal” exit by accident on October 31. Business and markets across Europe fear the shock of a sudden Brexit that even the government’s own assessment says would cause economic damage. However The Prime minister has insisted that he would not be seeking for a third delay in Brexit.

2. India decides to put off PM Modi’s visit to Turkey

Context:

The government has decided to put off a proposed visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Ankara as part of a number of measures showing its displeasure with Turkey.

Issue:

• Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) last month, in which he criticised its move on Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir. India considers it an internal issue.
• India’s expected decision to cancel the selection of Turkey’s Anadolu Shipyard for building naval support ships for India. While the sources noted that rules for local procurement and security concerns over Anadolu’s work for the Pakistan navy were reasons for the likely cancellation, diplomatic sources said Turkey’s recent statements and its support for Pakistan at the Financial Action Task Force on terror financing were also considered.
• India’s sharp criticism of Ankara’s unilateral military offensive against Syria. However turkey defending its Operation Peace Spring along its border with Kurdish-held parts of northeast Syria claimed that all operations were on “legitimate terrorist targets” and claimed “zero civilian casualties”.

3. Uneasy ceasefire takes hold in Syria

Context:

Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring along its border with Kurdish-held parts of northeast Syria in a bid to push Kurdish fighters away from its southern border by establishing a 30 km deep “safe zone” on the Syrian side of the frontier. However following global outrage for its unilateral military offensive and following USA’s intervention, Turkey agreed to “pause” the operations for 120 hours to ensure the safety of civilians and to allow those belonging to the Kurdish groups YPG (PKK) to withdraw from the 32-km ‘safe zone’ along the border.

Issue:

• The offensive has killed dozens of civilians, mainly on the Kurdish side, and prompted hundreds of thousands to flee their homes in the latest humanitarian crisis of Syria’s eight-year civil war
• The deal announced late on Thursday is intended to halt a Turkish-led offensive against Kurdish forces launched on October 9, on condition they pull out of a “safe zone” on the Syrian side of the border. Kurds, meanwhile, accused Turkey of trying to sabotage deal.
• The withdrawal of Turkish forces from the strategic location of the Ras al-Ain area, has become a sticking point of the deal.
• The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), still wished to see a role for the U.S. in Syria to counterbalance Russian influence, while recommitting their forces to countering the Islamic State group in Syria and adjoining areas.

4. IMF members delay quota changes, agree to maintain funding

Context:

At a time when multilateral institutions stand on increasingly shaky ground, members of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to maintain its funding at $ 1 trillion but postponed changes to its voting structure. The deal is a compromise with the U.S., the Fund’s largest shareholder, which has resisted changes to the organisation’s voting structure as well as increases in its permanent resource base.

Highlights of the deal:

Resource base

• Deal will allow an extension of non-permanent, supplementary sources of funds – such as the New Arrangement to Borrow (NAB), a renewable funding mechanism that has existed since 1998, and bilateral borrowings from countries – the IMF had entered into these after the 2008 financial crisis to increase its lending ability.
• The agreement extended the bilateral borrowing facility by a year – to the end of 2020 and a potential doubling of the NAB.

Quota and vote share

• Specifically, the agreed package will leave IMF quotas (the primary source of IMF funds), which determine voting shares, unchanged. Instead, these will be reviewed before the end of 2023.
• Quotas are supposed to be reviewed every five years although these reviews can be delayed – as was the case with the 14th review. That process, completed in 2010, needed approval of the U.S. Congress, and it was not closed out till early 2016. The review’s outcomes included a doubling of the quota total and a shift in some voting rights to underrepresented and emerging market countries. India’s vote share increased marginally. The 15th quota review is currently underway.

Additional information:

• IMF quotas are distributed according to a four pronged formula that considers a member country’s GDP, its economic openness, its “economic variability” and international reserves
• Some IMF members have become frustrated with the pace of governance reforms, as the balance of economic and geopolitical power has shifted, becoming more dispersed across the world, particularly with the emergence of China and India – among the world’s largest and fastest growing economies.
• India’s quota is 2.76% and China’s is 6.41%, while the U.S.’s quota is 17.46 % (translates to a vote share of 16.52%) giving it a unique veto power over crucial decisions at the IMF, many of which require a supermajority of 85%.

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. DNA regulation Bill referred to House panel

Context:

The Bill seeks to control the use and application of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) technology for establishing the identity of certain categories of persons, including offenders, victims, suspects and under-trials. The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Bill of 2019 was introduced in and passed by the Lok Sabha in January this year, but lapsed before it could be taken up by the Rajya Sabha. It was reintroduced in July 2019 and is now pending in the Lok Sabha. It has been referred to a parliamentary standing committee for examination.

Importance of the Bill:

• The Bill seeks to regulate use and application of DNA technology for the purposes of only establishing identity of certain categories of persons, including victims, offenders, suspects, under trials, missing persons and unknown deceased persons and related matters.
• The Bill’s Statement of Objects and Reasons explains that DNA technology has the potential of wide application in the justice delivery systems – both criminal and civil. In criminal cases, it helps in investigation of crimes through biological evidence, including semen evidence in rape cases, blood evidence in murder cases, saliva evidence in identification of source of anonymous threat letters etc. In civil cases, it helps in investigation relating to victims of disasters like cyclone, air crash etc.

Concerns:

• Regulation is also required to check misuse or improper use of DNA analysis which can harm individuals or society.
• It seeks to regulate laboratories for DNA testing and analysis by providing for their accreditation, establish national and regional DNA Data Banks to store and maintain DNA profiles and a DNA Regulatory Board for their governance.

To read more about the issue: Click Here

Category: HEALTH

1. ‘Help make CGHS more beneficiary friendly’

Context:

The “Central Government Health Scheme” (CGHS) provides comprehensive health care facilities for the Central Govt. employees and pensioners and their dependents at the CGHS wellness centres. Started in New Delhi in 1954 it is now available across major cities of India.

To improve the services and make the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) more beneficiary friendly, the government has invited the beneficiaries and other stakeholders to send in their suggestions.

Issues:

• The government had previously instructed that under emergency conditions a beneficiary should get admission in any CGHS empanelled hospital without any prior permission. However, they found that hospitals were denying admission or insisting on referral memo from the CGHS Wellness Centre even in emergency conditions.
• To fix the loopholes in the implementation of this scheme it becomes important to involve the stake-holders feedback.

C. GS3 Related

Category: ENVIRONMENT

1. Centre clarifies on definition of forest

Context:

The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the Environment Ministry has clarified that the States need not take the Centre’s approval to define what constitutes unclassified land as forest. The states are free to decide on the criteria to classify land as forests.

What is the Issue?

• The freedom to define land, not already classified as forests by the Centre or State records, as forest has been the prerogative of the States since 1996 and stems from a Supreme Court order, called the Godavarman judgment.
• The conundrum of defining forests has been around since the 1980s. The 1996 Supreme Court judgment expanded the definition of forest to include lands that were already notified by the Centre as forests and appear in government records as forests as well as those that fell in the “dictionary definition” of forest.
• The latter clause allows the States to evolve their own criteria and define tracts of land as forest, and these would then be bound by forest conservation laws.
• States, having well established forest departments, are in a better position, rather than MoEF&CC, to understand their own forests and needs, and should frame criteria for their forests and the criteria so finalised by a State need not be subject to approval by MoEF&CC.
• An all-encompassing definition of forest wasn’t possible for India, because the country has 16 different kinds of forest. A tract of grassland in one State might qualify in one region as forest, but not in another.
• The onus on the States to define forests is also significant, because the States often claim that they are helpless in preventing encroachment because a patch of land in question hadn’t been notified as forest. A recent instance was the felling of trees in Mumbai’s Aarey Colony, which officially isn’t classified as forest.

Additional Information:

Forest conservation act:

• The Forest Conservation Act, 1980 is a Central Act of Parliament with a view to provide for the conservation of forest and for matters connected therewith or ancillary or incidental thereto. This law extends to the whole of India. It was enacted by Parliament of India to control further deforestation of Forest Areas in India. The act came into force on 25 October 1980
• Section 2 of the act makes a provision of a prior approval of the Central Government necessary before a State Government or any other authority issues direction for de-reservation of reserved forests (which have been reserved under the Indian Forest Act 1927), use of forest land for non – forest purpose, assigning forest land by way of lease or otherwise to any private person or to any authority, corporation, agency or any other organization not owned, managed or controlled by the government and clear felling of naturally grown trees.
• The term “forest land” mentioned in Section 2 of the Act refers to reserved forest, protected forest or any area recorded as forest in the government records. Lands which are notified under section 4 of the Indian Forest Act would also come within the purview of the Forest Conservation Act 1980. The Supreme Court has also held that “forest” as understood in the dictionary sense would also be included under “forest land”.

Category:ECONOMY

1. RBI Dy. Governor post vacant for 3 months

Context:

At a time when the economy is facing headwinds from several fronts, the government is yet to appoint the Deputy Governor in-charge of Monetary Policy at the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The post had fallen vacant after the resignation of Viral Acharya almost three months ago.

Additional information on RBI:

Organizational structure

Importance of the post of deputy governor

• The Financial Sector Regulatory Appointment Search Committee (FSRASC) is responsible for selecting the candidate. The central bank has four Deputy Governors of which two are appointed from outside — one, a commercial banker and the other, an economist. The remaining two are promoted from within the RBI.
• The importance of the economist-Deputy Governor can be gauged from the fact that the person is on the monetary policy committee that decides on interest rate and also handles the all-important monetary policy department.

Category:SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. How insects, pests wipe off Ajanta cave paintings

Context:

A classic masterpiece of Buddhist art, the Ajanta caves, is a UNESCO world heritage site and a protected monument of the Archaeological Survey of India. But the cave paintings have started deteriorating in the past few decades and are losing the battle against insects and other climatic stressors.

Issue:

• Research shows that a mixture of hemp, clay, and lime plaster was considered efficient for preserving paintings and carvings in nearby Ellora caves but this method was not used in Ajanta caves. Previous studies have shown that the basal layer of the murals was made of mud plaster and organic matter such as paddy husks, grass, vegetable fibres, thus making it a good breeding place for microbes and insects.
• The main problem was the entry of rainwater and water from the Waghura River. This leads to dampness in the cave atmosphere causing an increase in algae, fungi, insects, and microbes. All these together were changing the original colour of the paintings — white is turning to yellow and blue is becoming green.
• Even though ASI has started many initiatives to keep bats and pigeons from the caves, it has failed and bat and bird excreta continue to damage the paintings.

Solutions:

• The researchers have suggested using certain lights and colour to tackle the problem of insects. For instance, they suggest using ultraviolet light traps as nocturnal insects are known to get attracted to ultraviolet radiation
• A research team from National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) have suggested a few environmentally friendly solutions to the problem.
• ASI is presently carrying out precautionary treatments such as spraying of insecticides and herbicides, fixing the loose plaster on cave walls, regular cleaning and use of preservative coating on the painting.

D. GS4 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

E. Editorials

Category: POLITY

1. What is the furore around the land law case?

Context

• The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 (2013 Act), replaced the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (1894 Act). The new Act provides for higher compensation to those deprived of land by the government for both public and private sector projects. It also mandates consent of a majority of land-owners, and contains provisions for rehabilitation and resettlement. However the implementation of the new act has not been smooth and has been challenged in the courts.

Issue and Background

• Under Section 24(2), land acquisition made under the old law of 1894 lapses if the award of compensation had been made five years before the new Act came into force, but has not been paid. In such cases, the process will have to be gone through afresh under the new Act, which mandates higher compensation. There are cases in which farmers and other land-owners have refused the compensation, leading to delay in the government taking possession. In this situation, the compensation amount is deposited in the government treasury.
• According to one interpretation, if this is done, the acquisition process is saved. Then again, others contend that such cases will fall under the new Act because compensation has not been paid to the land-owners, and the lapsing clause in Section 24 should be applied. Such a scenario would be to the advantage of the landowners but would put the project proponents at a disadvantage. Therefore, the provision concerned is often a subject of litigation. There have been two SC judgment’s which took opposite stands on the same issue.
• On January 24, 2014, a three-judge Bench, comprising Justices R.M. Lodha, Madan B. Lokur and Kurian Joseph, in Pune Municipal Corporation vs. Harakchand M. Solanki, ruled that the acquisition of a piece of land had “lapsed” because the compensation awarded had neither been paid to the landowners/persons interested nor deposited in the court. The deposit of the compensation amount in the government treasury was held to be “of no avail” as it was not equivalent to the compensation being “paid”. The judgment considered that acquisition that had taken place earlier than five years before the new Act commenced would lapse if compensation amount was not paid to the land-owners or, in cases in which the owners refused to accept compensation, deposited in court.
• In Indore Development Authority vs. Shailendra case another three-judge Bench, comprising Justice Arun Mishra, A.K. Goel and M.M. Shantanagoudar, did not accept the earlier Bench’s view. On February 8, 2018, the majority, consisting of the first two judges, ruled that the acquisition would not lapse merely because the compensation amount was not deposited in court, but was instead deposited in the treasury. It ruled that the past practice of more than a century, under which the amount was deposited in the treasury, was not taken into account by the earlier Bench. Justice Mishra and Justice Goel overruled the earlier judgment and held that it was per incuriam, that is a verdict passed in disregard of law and, therefore, wrong.
• In subsequent cases of the Supreme Court it was felt that Justice Mishra’s Bench, being of the same size of the one that rendered the earlier verdict, was bound by it, and ought not to have overruled it. In case, it disagreed with the earlier view, it could have referred the matter to a larger Bench. The court, then, put on hold all hearings involving Section 24(2). Later, the question was referred to a larger Bench for an authoritative judgment.
• A larger bench was constituted headed by Justice Mishra. It was argued by some parties that it was improper for the Justice Mishra to hear this matter because he had already taken a firm view in favour of one interpretation leading to demands for Justice Mishra’s recusal, invoking the principle that even the apprehension of bias on the part of a judge was enough to ask for ones withdrawal from a case.
• Justice Mishra has refused recusal stating that there was nothing to suggest that he would be unwilling to be persuaded by new arguments to take a fresh view of the legal questions.

Importance of the case

• A ruling that old acquisitions lapse for non-deposit of compensation will be more beneficial to land-owners and farmers as they stand to get higher compensation and rehabilitation and resettlement measures. On the other hand, project proponents feel such an interpretation would mean that those who refused to take compensation, even after it had been fixed and the money deposited in the government treasury, would be taking advantage of their own wrong. Hence it would have a direct impact on the investors. The ruling from the larger bench will once for all end the confusion in this regard and bring in much needed certainty. .
• The court order on the principles of recusal will also bring in the much needed clarity on the issue of bias and principles of recusal. This question has arisen in many cases.

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Are RCEP trade negotiations on sticky ground?

To read about the topic: Click Here

F. Tidbits

Nothing here for today!!!

G. Prelims Facts

1. India-Myanmar Naval Exercise

The second edition of the ‘India Myanmar Naval Exercise’ (IMNEX-19) got off to a positive start onboard INS Ranvijay in Visakhapatnam. The Myanmarese navy will engage in professional interactions with Indian Navy personnel for sharing expertise on maritime issues.

2. INTERPOL

The Central Bureau of Investigation will host the 91st General Assembly of Interpol in 2022 as part of the 75th anniversary celebrations of India’s Independence. Interpol comprises of 194 member States. The International Criminal Police Organization, more commonly known as INTERPOL, is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police co-operation and crime control. Headquartered in Lyon, France, it was founded in 1923 as the International Criminal Police Commission (ICPC).

3. Apple production in India

Around 20 Lakh tonnes of Apple is produced in India every year. The top apple producing states of India are Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand & Arunachal Pradesh with their respective shares of 70%, 21.5%, 6.4% and 1.6%. Further, apple is also produced in Mizoram, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu and Nagaland also.

4. Catalonia

Catalonia is an autonomous community on the north-eastern corner of Spain. It is associated with Spain by its Statute of Autonomy.

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Which of the following statements are correct with regard to Catalonia?

1. It is bordered by the Mediterranean sea to the west.
2. Barcelona is the regional capital of Catalonia.

Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. None of the above

Q2. Which of the following naval exercises of India with other countries have been 
matched correctly?

1. INDRA: Russia
2. VARUNA: United Kingdom
3. SIMBEX: Singapore
4. KONKAN: France

Options:

a. 1 and 2
b. 1, 2 and 3
c. 1 and 3
d. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q3. Which of the following statements are false?

1. The Ajanta caves were sponsored by the Satvahana dynasty in the Hinayana phase and the Vakataka dynasty in the Mahayana phase.
2. Unlike the Ellora caves, ajantha caves are excavated in the sloping sides of a hill and not in a perpendicular cliff.
3. Ajantha caves have Viharas, Chaitya halls, temples and edifices.
4. Boddhisatva Padmapani is a famous mural painting associated with the ajantha caves.

Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?

a. 1 and 2
b. 1 and 4
c. 1, 2 and 3
d. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q4. Which of the following are apple producing states?

1. Jammu and Kashmir
2. Himachal Pradesh
3. Tamil Nadu
4. Rajasthan

Which of the given statement/s is/are correct?

a. 1 and 2
b. 1, 2 and 3
c. 1, 2 and 4
d. 1, 2, 3 and 4

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. In the light of the DNA Technology regulation bill being reintroduced in Lok Sabha, discuss the uses of DNA profiling and the concerns associated with it. Also discuss what provisions are inbuilt in the bill to address these challenges. (15 Marks, 250 words)
2. There has been a growing call for reforms in the global organizations. In this context discuss the need and significance of such reforms in IMF. (10 marks, 150 words)

October 20th, 2019 CNA:-Download PDF Here

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