[Mission 2022] INSIGHTS DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS + PIB SUMMARY 24 JANUARY 2022

GS Paper 1:

Topics Covered: Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues.

Context:

Recently, the government has decided to install a grand statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate to commemorate his 125th birth anniversary and as part of the year long celebrations.b

About Subhash Chandra Bose:

Subhas Chandra Bose was born on 23rd January 1897, in Cuttack, Orissa Division, Bengal Province.

His Jayanti is celebrated as ‘Parakram Diwas’ on 23rd January.

• Subhash Chandra Bose was twice elected President of the Indian National Congress, (1938-Haripur and 1939-Tripuri).
• He resigned from the Congress Presidentship in 1939 and organised the All India Forward Bloc a faction within the Congress in Bengal.
• In 1919, he had cleared the Indian Civil Services (ICS) examination. Bose, however, resigned later.
• He was highly influenced by Vivekananda’s teachings and considered him as his spiritual Guru.
• His political mentor was Chittaranjan Das.

Azad Hind government:

Bose had arrived in Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 1943 after Japan handed them over to his Azad Hind government. Japan had captured the islands during the second world war.

• He had announced the establishment of the provisional government of Azad Hind in occupied Singapore in
• Known as Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind, it was supported by the Axis powers of Imperial Japan, Nazi Germany, the Italian Social Republic, and their allies.
• He had launched a struggle to free India from British rule under the banner of the provisional government-in exile during the latter part of the Second World War.

Who were part of this?

Under his provisional government, the Indians living abroad had been united. The Indian National Army drew ex- prisoners and thousands of civilian volunteers from the Indian expatriate population in Malaya (present-day Malaysia) and Burma (now Myanmar).

• Under the provisional government, Bose was the head of the state, the prime minister and the minister for war and foreign affairs.
• Captain Lakshmi headed the women’s organisation while S A Ayer headed the publicity and propaganda wing.
• Revolutionary leader Rash Behari Bose was designated as the supreme advisor.

Subhas Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar:

The annual Subhas Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar has been instituted to recognize and honour the invaluable contribution and selfless service rendered by individuals and organisations in India in the field of disaster management.

• The award is announced every year on 23rd January.
• It carries a cash prize of Rs. 51 lakh and a certificate in case of an institution and Rs. 5 lakh and a certificate in case of an individual.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. Bose and INA.
2. Bose and the Indian National Congress.
3. Formation of Azad Hind Government.
4. Distribution of various portfolios.

Mains Link:

Write a note on Azad Hind Government.

Sources: PIB.

GS Paper 2:

Topics Covered: Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

Context:

Attorney General K K Venugopal has granted consent to initiate contempt proceedings against ‘Dharam Sansad’ leader Yati Narsinghanand over his alleged remarks against the Constitution and the Supreme Court.

Need for consent:

As per Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act, the nod of the Attorney General or the Solicitor General is a condition precedent to set the criminal contempt proceedings in motion before the apex court.

What is the law on contempt of courts?

The Contempt of Courts Act 1971 defines civil and criminal contempt, and lays down the powers and procedures by which courts can penalise contempt, as well as the penalties that can be given for the offence of contempt.

• Contempt of court is the offense of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice and dignity of the court.

Why is the consent of the Attorney General required to initiate contempt proceedings?

The objective behind requiring the consent of the Attorney General before taking cognizance of a complaint is to save the time of the court.

• This is necessary because judicial time is squandered if frivolous petitions are made and the court is the first forum for bringing them in.
• The AG’s consent is meant to be a safeguard against frivolous petitions, as it is deemed that the AG, as an officer of the court, will independently ascertain whether the complaint is indeed valid.

Under what circumstances is the AG’s consent not needed?

The AG’s consent is mandatory when a private citizen wants to initiate a case of contempt of court against a person.

However, when the court itself initiates a contempt of court case the AG’s consent is not required.

• This is because the court is exercising its inherent powers under the Constitution to punish for contempt and such Constitutional powers cannot be restricted because the AG declined to grant consent.

What happens if the AG denies consent?

If the AG denies consent, the matter all but ends.

The complainant can, however, separately bring the issue to the notice of the court and urge the court to take suo motu cognizance.

• Article 129 of the Constitution gives the Supreme Court the power to initiate contempt cases on its own, independent of the motion brought before it by the AG or with the consent of the AG.

Insta Curious:

Civil contempt refers to the wilful disobedience of an order of any court. How is it different from Criminal Contempt? Reference: read this.

Insta Link:

Prelims Link:

1. Powers of SC vs HCs wrt Contempt cases.
2. Constitutional provisions in this regard.
3. Changes brought about by Contempt of Courts (Amendment) Act, 2006.
4. Civil vs Criminal contempt.
5. Rights under Article 19.
6. Section 10 of The Contempt of Courts Act of 1971 is related to?

Mains Link:

Discuss how contempt cases are handled by the Supreme Court in India.

Sources: the Hindu.

GS Paper 2:

Topics Covered: Governance and transparency related issues.

Context:

Union home minister Amit Shah recently launched the District Good Governance Index (DGGI) in Jammu and Kashmir, which is the first Union Territory to have such an index.

About the index:

Launched for 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

It has been prepared by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) in partnership with the Union Territory’s administration.

Under the index, the policies, schemes and programs of the central as well as the state governments have been monitored at the district level.

Significance of the index:

• The beginning of this index in Jammu and Kashmir will slowly expand to all other states and a good governance competition will start in every district of the country.
• The index covered 10 sectors and 58 indicators.
• The index will benefit residents of Jammu and Kashmir in a big way as it will work towards improving the district machinery, make districts result-oriented and also improve their delivery mechanism.

Highlights of the index:

• Jammu district topped the composite ranking, followed by Doda and Samba districts of the Jammu Division.
• This was followed by Pulwama district of the Srinagar Division at fourth spot and Srinagar district at the fifth.
• The district of Rajouri finished at the last spot, while Poonch and Shopian districts also featured towards the end of the rankings.
• Srinagar district bagged the first rank in Public Infrastructure and Utilities sector.
• Srinagar also ranked in the top 5 districts in Composite GGI in Kashmir Division with a score of 5.313 points.
• Kishtwar topped in ‘Agriculture and Allied Sector’, Pulwama topped in ‘Human Resource Development’, Reasi topped in ‘Public Health’, Ramban topped in ‘Social Welfare and Development’, and Ganderbal topped in the ‘Financial Inclusion’ sector.

Performance of J&K in the National Good Governance Index:

Previously, the Centre had released the National Good Governance Index on December 25 last year that indicated Jammu and Kashmir saw an increase of 3.7% in Good Governance Indicators from 2019 to 2021.

• The strong performance of J-K was also noted in the fields of commerce and industry, agriculture, judiciary and public infrastructure among others.

To know more about the National Good Governance Index, read this.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. About GGI.
2. Key features.
3. Performance of various states in latest edition of the index.

Sources: the Hindu.

GS Paper 2:

Topics Covered: India and its neighbours.

Context:

Construction of a bridge by China on the Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh is a latest addition to the ongoing standoff between India and China.

Where is China building the bridge?

It is being built on the north bank of the Pangong Tso and the Chushul sub-sector on the south bank.

The site of the bridge is within India’s claim line, although the area has been under Chinese control since 1958.

Significance of the bridge for India:

• It will help in quick mobilization of PLA troops between the two banks at one of the lake’s narrowest points.
• The Kailash range is around 35 km west of the bridge site. Once this bridge gets completed, it will enable Chinese troops to simply cross over, slashing travel time to Kailash range from about 12 hours to about four hours.
• It will strengthen the idea of permanency being established by Beijing in the region.

About Pangong Tso:

• Pangong Tso literally translates into a “conclave lake”. Pangong means conclave in Ladakhi and Tso means lake in Tibetan language.
• Situated at over 14,000 feet, the Lake is about 135 km long.
• It is formed from Tethys geosyncline.
• The Karakoram Mountain range, which crosses Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and India, with heights of over 6,000 meters including K2, the world’s second highest peak, ends at the north bank of Pangong Tso.
• Its southern bank too has high broken mountains sloping towards Spangur Lake in the south.
• The lake’s water, while crystal clear, is brackish, making it undrinkable.

Why there is a dispute here?

The Line of Actual Control (LAC) – the line that separates Indian and Chinese troops since 1962 – generally runs along the land except for the width of Pangong Tso. Here, it runs through water.

Both sides have marked their areas announcing which side belongs to which country.

India controls about 45 km stretch of the Pangong Tso and China the rest.

What are fingers?

The lake has mountain spurs of the Chang Chenmo range jutting down, referred to as fingers.

There are eight of them in contention here. India and China have different understanding of where the LAC passes through.

• India has maintained that the LAC passes through Finger 8, which has been the site of the final military post of China.
• India has been patrolling the area – mostly on foot because of the nature of the terrain – up to Finger 8. But Indian forces have not had active control beyond Finger 4.
• China, on the other hand, says the LAC passes through Finger 2. It has been patrolling up to Finger 4- mostly in light vehicles, and at times up to Finger 2.

Why does China want to encroach areas alongside Pangong Tso?

Pangong Tso is strategically crucial as it is very close to Chusul Valley, which was one of the battlefronts between India and China during the 1962 war.

• China appears to keep India constricted in the region by taking strategic advantage of looking over the Chusul Valley, which it can do if it advances along Pangong Tso.
• China also does not want India to boost its infrastructure anywhere near the LAC. China fears it threatens its occupation of Aksai Chin and Lhasa-Kashgar highway.
• Any threat to this highway also puts Chinese rather imperialist plans in Pakistan-occupied territories in Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, and beyond in Pakistan.

Insta Curious:

Have you heard of the Ice Stupas of Ladhak? Read Here.

InstaLinks:

Prelims links:

1. Geographical position of all areas which were point of contention between the two armies.
2. Important geographical features in these areas. Ex: Rivers, mountain valleys etc.

Mains links:

Discuss the steps taken by China and India to de-escalate the border tension which occurred in 2020.

Sources: Indian Express.

GS Paper 3:

Topics Covered: Conservation related issues.

Context:

4th Asia Ministerial Conference on Tiger Conservation was recently organised by the Government of Malaysia and Global Tiger Forum (GTF).

• The conference is an important event for reviewing progress towards the Global Tiger Recovery Programme and commitments to tiger conservation.

Outcome: The Kuala Lumpur Joint Statement was adopted.

India’s statement at the summit:

India will facilitate Tiger Range Countries towards finalisation of New Delhi declaration for the Global Tiger Summit to be held at Vladivostok, Russia later this year.

A “Pre-Tiger Summit” meeting was held at New Delhi in 2010, wherein the draft declaration on tiger conservation for Global Tiger Summit was finalised.

India’s efforts in tiger conservation:

• India has achieved the remarkable feat of doubling the tiger population in 2018 itself, 4 years ahead of the targeted year 2022.
• The model of success of India’s tiger governance is now being replicated for other wildlife like the Lion, Dolphin, Leopard, Snow Leopard and other small wild cats.
• The budgetary allocation for tiger conservation has increased from Rs 185 crore in 2014 to Rs 300 crore in 2022.
• 14 Tiger Reserves in India have already been awarded with international CA|TS accreditation and efforts are on to bring in more Tiger Reserves under CA|TS accreditation.
• Approximately 4.3 million man-days of employment are being generated by 51 Tiger Reserves in India and funds from Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) are being utilized for promoting voluntary village resettlement from core areas of the Tiger Reserves.
• India is one of the Founding members of the intergovernmental platform of Tiger Range Countries – Global Tiger Forum, and over the years, GTF has expanded its programme on multiple thematic areas, while working closely with the Government of India, tiger states in India and tiger range countries.
  • Global Tiger forum is the only intergovernmental international body established with members from willing countries to embark on a global campaign to protect the tiger.

Two legal instruments that have enabled tiger recoveries in India are:

1. The Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
2. The Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980, which reinforced Project Tiger.

Conservation Status of Tiger:

1. Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I.
2. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List: Endangered.
3. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): Appendix I.

What is Conservation Assured | Tiger Standards (CA|TS)?

CA|TS has been agreed upon as an accreditation tool by the global coalition of Tiger Range Countries (TRCs) and has been developed by tiger and protected area experts.

• CA|TS is a set of criteria which allows tiger sites to check if their management will lead to successful tiger conservation.
• It was officially launched in 2013.
• The Global Tiger Forum (GTF) and World Wildlife Fund India are the two implementing partners of the National Tiger Conservation Authority for CATS assessment in India.

Insta Curious:

Did you know that the Global Tiger Day is observed on 29 July? It was created in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. Differences between National Parks, wildlife sanctuaries and biosphere reserves.
2. M-STrIPES is related to?
3. What is GTIC?
4. When was project tiger launched?
5. NTCA- composition and functions.
6. Why the fourth cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation 2018 entered Guinness Record book recently?
7. State with highest number of tigers.
8. State with highest tiger density.

Mains Link:

The centrality of tiger agenda is an ecological necessity for the sustainability of our environment. In this context, examine the steps taken by India to conserve tigers?

Sources: the Hindu.

GS Paper 3:

Topics Covered: Conservation related issues.

Context:

The governments of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh have entered into an agreement to build a dam at Adi Badri in Yamunanagar district, which, among others, will rejuvenate the mythical Saraswati river.

• Adi Badri, situated in Haryana near the Himachal Pradesh border, is believed to be the river’s origin point.

Committee to study the river:

The Centre, in 2021, reconstituted an advisory committee to chalk out a plan for studying the mythical Sarasvati river for the next two years, after the earlier panel’s term ended in 2019.

• The ASI had first set up the committee on December 28, 2017 for a period of two years.

About Saraswati:

The river, which had originated from Kapal tirith in the Himalayas in the west of Kailash, was flowing southward to Mansarovar and then taking a turn towards west.

The river flowed through Haryana, Rajasthan and North Gujarat. It also flowed through Pakistan before meeting Western Sea through Rann of Kutch and was approximately 4,000 km in length.

• The river had two branches: western and eastern. The Himalayan-born Satluj “of the PAST”, which flowed through the channels of present-day Ghaggar-Patialiwali rivulets, represents the western branch of the ancient river.
• On the other hand, Markanda and Sarsuti represented the western branch of Saraswati, known as Tons-Yamuna.
• The confluence of the branches was near Shatrana, 25 km south of Patiala. And suddenly, it flows crossing the dessert (Rann of Kutch) and meet gulf of western sea.

Historical evidence:

• The Sarasvati River is one of the main Rigvedic rivers mentioned in the scripture Rig Veda and later Vedic and post-Vedic texts.
• Book 6 of the Rig Veda includes a hymn called the ‘Nadistuti Sukta’, which sings praises of the Saraswati as being “perfect mother, unsurpassed river, supreme goddess”.
• For 2000 years, between 6000 and 4000 B.C., the Saraswati flowed as a great river.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. About the river.
2. Its origin, basin states and tributaries.
3. Other Himalayan rivers.

Sources: the Hindu.