12 Sep 2019: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A.GS1 Related
SOCIETY
1. NCST recommends ‘tribal area’ status for Ladakh
B.GS2 Related
HEALTH
1. Centre to bring ordinance to ban e-cigarettes in country
POLITY AND GOVERNANCE
1. National Animal Disease Control Programme (NACDP)
2. Two anti-lynching Bills being examined by Centre
C.GS3 Related
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Russia scraps robot after odyssey
ECONOMY
1. Tax authorities to file special appeal even for small cases
D. GS4 Related
E. Editorials
SOCIAL ISSUES
1. Lynching, not murder
ENVIRONMENT
1. A case for a differential global carbon tax
F. Tidbits
1. Post-study work visa back in the U.K.
2. Stolen Nataraja idol on the way back to Tamil Nadu after 37 years
G. Prelims Facts
1. Future grows cold for this Andhra quilt
2. DRDO successfully test fires indigenous Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile system
3. C. boreas is the largest flying animal of all time
4. Gifts given to PM to be auctioned
5. Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA)
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

A. GS1 Related

Context:

The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has written to Home Minister Amit Shah and Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda, recommending that Ladakh be declared a tribal area under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

Details:

• The Home Ministry is the central authority for declaring an area as a “tribal area”.
• The NCST’s recommendation comes against the backdrop of growing demand from a predominantly tribal population and political leaders of Ladakh for according “tribal area” status to the region.
• Though Ladakhis have welcomed the Centre’s decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, and make Ladakh a Union territory, they fear an influx of outsiders would lead to a change in the region’s demography, jeopardising their culture and identity.
• It is estimated that more than 90 percent of Ladakh’s population is tribal.
• The NCST opines that, including Ladakh under Schedule 6 will help in:
  • Democratic devolution of powers.
  • Preserving and promoting distinct culture of the region.
  • Protection of agrarian rights including rights on land and.
  • Enhancing transfer of funds for speedy development of the region.

Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution:

• The Sixth Schedule is related to the administration of the North Eastern states of of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
• The Sixth Schedule gives tribal communities considerable autonomy.
• The role of the Governor and the State are subject to significant limitations, with greater powers devolved locally.
• 6th schedule provides for District Councils and Regional Councils with certain legislative and judicial powers.
• The District Council and the Regional Council under the Sixth Schedule have real power to make laws, possibility on the various legislative subjects, receiving grants-in-aids from the Consolidated Fund of India to meet the costs of schemes for development, health care, education, roads and regulatory powers to state control.
• The mandate towards Devolution, deconcentration and divestment determines the protection of their customs, better economic development and most importantly ethnic security.
• 6th schedule provides for District Councils and Regional Councils with certain legislative and judicial powers.

National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST):

• National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) is a constitutional body.
• It was established through Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003
• On the 89th Amendment of the Constitution coming into force in 2004, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes was set up under Article 338A on bifurcation of erstwhile National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to oversee the implementation of various safeguards provided to Scheduled Tribes under the Constitution.
• With the amendment, the erstwhile National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was replaced by two separate Commissions:

(i) National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC)

(ii) National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST)

Read more about: National Commission for Scheduled Tribes

B. GS2 Related

Category: HEALTH

1. Centre to bring ordinance to ban e-cigarettes in country

Context:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP).

Details:

• India has the world’s largest livestock population of 125-crore plus heads, but cattle productivity is low, and animal diseases are a major concern.
• The diseases have resulted in some overseas markets being shut to Indian dairy and meat products, and prevented the industry from realising its income potential.

National Animal Disease Control Programme:

• The program is aimed at eradicating foot and mouth disease (FMD) and brucellosis in livestock.
• The NADCP aims to control these two diseases by 2025, and to eradicate them by 2030.
• According to a government release, the programme aims to vaccinate over 500 million livestock heads, including cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats and pigs, against FMD, and some 36 million female bovine calves annually against brucellosis.
• The programme has received 100% funding from the Centre

Foot and Mouth Disease FMD:

• It is a highly infectious viral disease of cattle, swine, sheep, goats, and other cloven-hooved ruminants.
• FMD is generally not fatal in adult animals but leaves them severely weakened, and results in a drastically reduced production of milk and can, therefore, be financially ruinous for dairy farmers.
• Infected animals get a fever, sores in their mouth, on their teats, and between their hooves.
• FMD spreads through excretions and secretions; infected animals also exhale the virus.
• According to the World Organisation for Animal Health, the intergovernmental organisation responsible for improving animal health worldwide, FMD is endemic in several parts of Asia, most of Africa, and the Middle East. Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Central and North America, continental Western Europe, and most Latin American countries are FMD-free.
• Measures to stop outbreaks and check FMD transmission include controlled introduction of new animals into existing herds, regular cleaning and disinfection of livestock areas, monitoring and reporting of illness, and use of effective vaccination strategies.

Brucellosis:

• Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease.
• According to the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying, is endemic in most parts of the country.
• Brucellosis causes early abortions in animals, and prevents the addition of new calves to the animal population.
• The control the disease, the World Health Organisation recommends the vaccination of cattle and, in some cases, testing and culling.
• The Brucellosis Control Programme component of the NADCP envisages 100% vaccination coverage of female cattle and buffalo calves (4-8 months of age) once in their lifetimes.

Context:

The anti-lynching Bills passed by the Rajasthan and West Bengal Assemblies will have to be cleared by the Union Home Ministry before they become law.

Background:

• In 2018, the Supreme Court condemned the increasing number of incidents of mob lynchings across the country, calling them “horrendous acts of mobocracy” and had then asked Parliament to make lynching a separate offence.
• On August 5 2019, the Rajasthan Assembly passed the Rajasthan Protection from Lynching Bill, 2019 providing for life imprisonment and a fine from 1 lakh up to Rs. 5 lakh to those convicted in cases of mob lynching leading to the victim’s death.
• On August 30 2019, the West Bengal Assembly passed a Bill to prevent and punish mob assaults and lynching.

Details:

• The West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill, 2019 proposes a jail term from three years to life for those involved in assaulting and injuring a person and also defines terms such as “lynching” and “mob”.
• The State also proposed the West Bengal Lynching Compensation Scheme.
• The Centre has reconstituted the empowered Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Home Minister to suggest measures to combat lynchings, but a senior government official had indicated that a new law was unlikely as existing laws were enough and the problem was that of enforcement of the rules.
• Under norms of the Union Home Ministry, the State laws are examined from three angles — repugnancy with Central laws, deviation from national or central policy and legal and constitutional validity.
• Based on the comments by the Ministry, the President rejects or gives assent to a Bill.

C. GS3 Related

Category: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Russia scraps robot after odyssey

Context:

The Income Tax Department has issued a circular saying it would file special appeals in cases falling below the threshold, if it feels there is evidence of deliberate tax avoidance.

Background:

• The Income Tax Department periodically reviews the monetary limits for the filing of its appeals before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), the High Courts, and the Supreme Court.
• The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had sharply raised the threshold for filing appeals in tax disputes to reduce tax litigation and to give relief to tax payers.
• In August 2019, the tax department had announced that it will not appeal to the tax tribunal (ITAT) unless the ‘tax effect’ or the disputed tax claim is over Rs. 50 lakh in a case.
• It had also doubled the monetary limit for appealing against the decisions of the High Courts in the Supreme Court to 2 crores
• The move was expected to improve ease of doing business for companies struggling to cope with a cooling down economy.

Issue:

• The Income Tax Department’s decision to increase the monetary limit for the cases below which it could not appeal the court’s decision has somewhat backfired.
• It is now detecting a lot of organised tax evasions, specifically designed to fall below that threshold.

Details:

• Taking cognisance of the fact that there have been a lot of organised tax evasions ever since the announcement was made, the Department has issued a circular saying it would file special appeals in cases falling below the threshold, if it feels there is evidence of deliberate tax avoidance.
• The Income Tax Department has issued that circular and has sent it to all tax officials.

D. GS4 Related

E. Editorials

Context

• Jharkhand Police has dropped murder charges against all 11 accused in the Tabrez Ansari lynching case and said that doctors have stated in the autopsy report that he died due to cardiac arrest.
• The decision of the Jharkhand police that the killing of Tabrez Ansari, did not amount to murder is quite debatable.
• They have chosen to charge the 11 men arrested for his lynching with culpable homicide that does not amount to murder.

There are two classes of culpable homicide:

• Culpable Homicide Amounting to Murder: It is known as simple murder.
• Culpable homicide not amounting to Murder: There is necessarily a criminal or knowledge in both. The difference does not lie in quality; it lies in the quantity or degree of criminality closed by the act. In murder, there is greater intention or knowledge than in culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Background

• Tabrez Ansari was brutally thrashed by a mob on the allegations of bike theft.
• He was tied to a pole and assaulted for hours at night.
• It is known that it was only the arrival of the police that ended the assault on him.

The official explanation for concluding that it was not murder is unconvincing.

• The two-pronged argument is that the medical report gave the cause of death as ‘cardiac arrest due to stress’, and the fact that the victim did not die immediately, but succumbed some days later.
• The police also say a second opinion from forensic experts was that the death was caused due to a combination of heart attack and the injuries he suffered.
• It is quite obvious that merely attributing death to a heart attack is meaningless without referring to the trauma caused by the physical assault.

Inferences

• The line between culpable homicide and murder is thin.
• It is the courts that usually assess the circumstances in which a homicide took place and decide whether it amounted to murder or not.
• Murder is punishable under Section 302 with death or life imprisonment, while forms of culpable homicide attract either a life term or 10 years in prison under Section 304 of the IPC.
• By invoking only the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder may make it easier for the defence to claim that their offence lacked premeditation or intention.
  • Instead, they could claim that they were deprived of their self-control by the “provocation” given by the victim.

Way forward

• The suspicion that the charge is being diluted underscores the need for a special anti-lynching law.
• Such a law could cover acts of group violence, whether spontaneous or planned, so that those who join lynch mobs do not gain from any ambiguity about their intentions.

Introduction

• Climate change is a global problem, and a global problem needs a global solution. The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report suggests that we, as humankind, might have just over a decade left to limit global warming.
• The IPCC says total global emissions will need to fall by 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.
• If these targets are not met, tropical regions of the world, which are densely populated and happen to be mainly concentrated in the global South, are likely to be most negatively affected because of their low altitudes and pre-existing high temperatures.
• Some impact of this was already felt during the Tamil Nadu water crisis this year.

The Global North has previously added to climate injustice

• The Global South, which has historically contributed less to the problem (and even at present its per capita carbon emissions are much smaller in comparison to the countries in the Global North), happens to be at the receiving end of the lifestyle choices made by the global North.
• Although time is running out, a genuine global consensus on the mitigation of this problem is unfortunately missing. In the absence of a collective agreement, the environment is becoming the casualty.
• The bottom line is that both the worlds need to contribute to avert this danger in their self-interest.
• At the same time, the burden of adjustment cannot be equal when the underlying relationship between the two worlds has been historically unequal. But what is the correct balance in terms of sharing this burden, something which can be politically and juridically just?

Correcting injustice

How can this injustice be corrected while making the planet a better place to live in for future generations?

• The first priority is to fundamentally change the energy infrastructure, which requires massive investments for the green energy programme across the world.
  • Developed and advanced countries apart from funding their own energy transition, partially support the transition for the countries at the bottom and this sharing of the burden of development be done in a way which inverts climate injustice
• Who subsidises whom and by how much? Those countries which emit more than the global per capita average pay for their own transition plus fund a part of the energy transition of those who are below this average.
  • So, those at the receiving end of climate injustice are duly compensated for even as the entire world transitions to greener earth as a result of this process of carbon tax sharing.
  • Currently, the global average of carbon emissions is 4.97 metric tonne per capita. All the countries with emissions above this level (68 in all) are “payers” to finance energy transition for ‘beneficiary’ countries (135 in number), which are emitting below this level.

Carbon Compensation

• The total amount of “carbon compensation” made by the Payer Nations comes to around $570 billion. The distribution of this amount across the payer countries is based on their distance from the global average (controlled for their population size).
• The other side of the same coin is the Compensated Countries, and the distribution of this fund across them is also based on how lower their emissions are in comparison to the global average.
• Once you add (subtract) the carbon compensation amount to (from) each of the countries, you get the effective carbon tax for them.

Top payer Countries

• The two top ‘payer’ countries in terms of absolute amounts of transfers are the S. and China since their emissions are higher than the global average.
• What’s interesting is that despite being a payer country, the effective tax rate for the Chinese is lower than the possible universal tax rate of $46.1 per metric tonne and that’s because their own energy transition (1.5% of China’s GDP) plus the global compensation they make requires a tax rate only of $34.4 per metric tonne.
• So, in that sense, the burden of adjustment is only partially falling on their shoulder and only because they emit more than the global average.

Conclusion

• In terms of ‘compensated’ countries, India comes at the top due to its population size and its distance from the global emissions’ average (India has per capita emissions of 1.73 metric tonne).
• The other suspects are all countries from the global South, but this list springs a few surprises like France, Sweden, and Switzerland.
• What this tells us is that even high-income countries which have currently kept their per capita emissions low are beneficiaries of this globally-just policy.
• With China in the first list and some of the first world countries in the second, all nations will have to climb down the emissions ladder without necessarily having to give up on their standard of living.

F. Tidbits

• K. has decided to re-introduce the two-year post-study work visa for international students.
• The move is believed to boost opportunities for talented students to build successful careers there after their education.
• The move comes after intense debate and demand by the universities in the U.K. that feared losing talent to other countries.
• The work visa was revoked in 2012 by the then government, affecting the international student admissions as they had to leave just four months after completing their course.
• According to the new proposals, complete restrictions have been lifted on the kinds of jobs they prefer to pursue.
• The U.K. varsities feel the new move will be a big boost to attract the best talent from India and open up more opportunities to work in the field of science, technology, and research.
• The British High Commission said that the new ‘graduate’ route will be open to all international students – including those from India – who have valid U.K. immigration status as a student and have successfully completed a course of study in any subject at undergraduate level or above at an approved U.K. Higher Education Provider.
• As of now 19,750 Indian students are on U.K. campuses including 11,255 pursuing Masters degree.
• Unlike the route which closed in 2012, this new route will also include safeguards to ensure only genuine, credible students are eligible.

• A Nataraja idol, which was stolen 37 years ago from a temple at Kallidaikurichi in Tirunelveli district and smuggled outside the country, is on its way back to India from Australia.
• It was taken away from the Kulasekaramudayar Aramvalartha Nayaki Amman temple in 1982.
• The 600-year-old idol, weighing around 100 kg, was stolen after the doors of the sanctum sanctorum were broken open on July 5, 1982.
• Along with it, panchaloha idols of Sivakami, Manickavasagar and Sribali Nayagar were stolen.
• Following consistent efforts of the Idol Wing special officer, the Australian authorities formally handed over the idol to officers of the wing in New Delhi.

G. Prelims Facts

• Parla village in Andhra Pradesh is renowned for weaving kammadlu.
• Kammadlu is the quilt made of sheep’s wool.
  • There are two kinds of quilts — ‘kammadi’ and ‘jadi’.
  • ‘Jadi’ is used as a blanket
  • ‘Kammadi’ is a shawl that’s ceremonial as well as for protection against the weather.
• The kammadi is also used during religious celebrations. Demand for it goes up after Deepavali when a lot of indigenous festivals in Telangana State and Rayalaseema are celebrated.
• This quilt also is known as ‘gongali’ in Telangana.
• In the last few decades, the ‘gongali’ was popularised by the Telangana balladeer Gaddar, who still wears it during his performances.
• At its peak, Parla was home to over 400 people involved in this fine art.
• The quilts can be made only from the wool of black sheep, whose numbers have also fallen over the years as shepherds prefer rearing red sheep because it matures faster than black sheep.
• Wool from red sheep is of inferior quality and not preferred for quilt weaving.
• Now, due to lack of raw material, the art is on the brink of extinction.
• Apart from the lack of adequate raw materials, drought-like conditions in the district too have driven shepherds away.

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully flight tested the indigenously developed Man Portable Anti-tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) in Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh.
• It was the third series of successful testing of MPATGM.
• The missile is derived from India’s Nag ATGM.
• The MPATGM will be used by the Army.
• The fire and forget missile was launched from a man portable.
• The missile was launched with state-of-the-art infrared imaging seeker along with advanced avionics.
• It has a range of about 2.5 km.

• Scientists have unveiled a new species of pterosaur – Cryodrakon boreas. It is the first pterosaur to be discovered in Canada
• Cryodrakon boreas roughly translates to ‘frozen dragon of the north wind’ in tribute to the landscape of the Albertan winter.
• Cryodrakon boreas are from the Azhdarchid group of pterosaurs.
• There are more than 100 known species of pterosaurs.
• Cryodrakon boreas are plane-sized reptiles that lorded over primeval skies above T-rex, Triceratops and other dinosaurs of the late Cretaceous.
• Cryodrakon boreas rivals another pterosaur – Quetzalcoatlus as the largest flying animal of all time.
• Its remains were first discovered more than 30 years ago in Alberta, Canada, yet elicited scant excitement because of its misclassification as Quetzalcoatlus.
• It had a wingspan of 10 m and weighed 250 kg.
• Like other winged reptiles living at the same time, about 77 million years ago, C. boreas was carnivorous and probably fed on lizards, small mammals and even baby dinosaurs.
• Despite a likely capacity to cross large bodies of water, the location of fossil remains and the animal’s features point to an inland habitat.

Azhdarchids:

• Unlike most pterosaur groups, azhdarchids are known primarily from terrestrial settings and, despite their likely capacity to cross oceanic distances in flight, they are broadly considered to be animals that were adapted for, and lived in, inland environments.
• Despite their large size and distribution across North and South America, Asia, Africa and Europe, few azhdarchids are known from more than fragmentary remains.
• This makes Cryodrakon an important animal since it has very well preserved bones and includes multiple individuals of different sizes.

• Gifts given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the past six months would be auctioned off in an e-auction.
• The proceeds of the auction would go towards the government’s Namame Gange project
• While most gifts that will be auctioned have been given to the Prime Minister by Indians, ranging from political leaders to religious groups to industry, there are a handful of objects gifted by countries in the neighbourhood.
• This would be the second such e-auction of gifts given to Mr. Modi organised by the Culture Ministry.

Namami Gange:

• ‘Namami Gange Programme’, is an Integrated Conservation Mission, approved as ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government in June 2014 to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.
• It was launched with budget outlay of Rs.20,000 Crore.
• It is an integrated Ganga Conservation Programme that comprehensively addresses pollution issues in Ganga main stem as well as its tributaries.
• Taking an ecosystem approach, the programme also approaches biodiversity and flora conservation and augmentation, ensuring sustainable wateruses and finally overall protection of the Ganga basin and its constituents.
• This is not a mission limited to Ganga but extends to its tributaries as well. So it may be Yamuna, Gomti or river Damodar, etc.
• Namami Gange focuses on pollution abatement interventions namely interception, diversion and treatment of waste water flowing through the open drains through bio-remediation / appropriate in-situ treatment / use of innovative technologies / sewage treatment plants (STPs) / effluent treatment plant (ETPs); rehabilitation and augmentation of existing STPs and immediate short term measures for arresting pollution at exit points on river front to prevent inflow of sewage etc.
• Significantly the approach is underpinned by socio-economic benefits that the program is expected to deliver in terms of job creation, improved livelihoods and health benefits to the vast population that is dependent on the river.
• The main pillars of Namami Gange Programme are:
  1. Sewerage Treatment Infrastructure
  2. River-Front Development
  3. River-Surface Cleaning
  4. Bio-Diversity
  5. Afforestation
  6. Public Awareness
  7. Industrial Effluent Monitoring
  8. Ganga Gram

• Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) is an Indian social movement spearheaded by native tribals (adivasis), farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against a number of large dam projects across river Narmada, which flows through the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
• Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat is one of the biggest dams on the river and was one of the first focal points of the movement.
• It is part of the Narmada Dam Project, whose main aim is to provide irrigation and electricity to people of the above states.
• The mode of campaign under NBA includes court actions, hunger strikes, rallies and gathering support from notable film and art personalities.
• The ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’ led by leaders like Medha Patkar, Baba Amte etc is one of the most significant protest movement that Independent India has ever seen.
• The ‘Narmada Bachao’ movement has attracted international attention and many prominent intellectuals of the country have enlisted their support to the movement.
• The Narmada Bachao Andolan, with its leading spokespersons Medha Patkar and Baba Amte, have received the Right Livelihood Award in 1991.

H. Practice Questions for UPSC Prelims Exam

Q1. Consider the following statements with respect to National Commission for 
Scheduled Tribes:

1. National Commission for Scheduled Tribes is a constitutional body.
2. It is the central authority for declaring an area as a tribal area.

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

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2

See

Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to the Sixth Schedule of
Indian Constitution:

1. Sixth Schedule is related to the administration of the North Eastern states of of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram.
2. The Sixth Schedule provides for District Councils and Regional Councils.

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

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2

See

Q3. Consider the following statements:

1. Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease.
2. Brucellosis causes early abortions in animals, and prevents the addition of new calves to the animal population.

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

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2

See

Q4. Consider the following statements:

1. Namami Gange is an integrated Ganga Conservation Programme that comprehensively addresses pollution issues in River Ganga.
2. Cleaning of River Yamuna is also part of the Namami Gange Mission.

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

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2

See

1. How are e-cigarettes different from the conventional cigarettes? Discuss the potential health risks involved in smoking e-cigarettes? (15 Marks, 250 Words)
2. The fact that Mob lynching has become a recurring phenomenon in India, surging hate, violence against minorities underscores the need for a special anti-lynching law in the country. Comment. (10 Marks, 150 Words)

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