[Mission 2022] INSIGHTS DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS + PIB SUMMARY 16 MAY 2022

GS Paper 1:

Topics Covered: Indian culture – salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Context:

Char Dham Yatra has come to be known as a risky pilgrimage because at least 23 pilgrims have died en route since the Char Dham Yatra began on May 3 in Uttarakhand.

• This was primarily owing to cardiac-related illnesses like heart attack, hypertension, or other comorbidities.

What makes it so difficult?

• Tough terrains, high altitudes and changing weather conditions make the pilgrimage a tough one, especially for senior citizens.
• Those visiting are affected by sudden low temperature, low humidity, increased ultraviolet radiation, low air pressure, and low oxygen levels.
• Due to low humidity, within the first few hours of altitude exposure, water loss also increases, resulting in dehydration.

Do you know about the Supreme Court appointed High Powered Committee (HPC) on the Char Dham project?

1. What are the functions of the committee?
2. What is the composition?
3. What’s the environmental concern associated with the implementation of this project?
4. What needs to be done?

Reference: read this.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. Overview of the project.
2. Important National Parks and wildlife sanctuaries in the region.
3. Important rivers flowing through these places.
4. Difference between National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.

Mains Link:

Discuss the significance of Chardham Project.

Q.1) Which of the following are covered under Char Dham Yatra?

1. Gangotri.
2. Yamunotri.
3. Kedarnath.

Choose the correct answer using the codes given below:

1. 1 and 2 only.
2. 2 and 3 only.
3. 1 and 3 only.
4. All of the above. 

Sources: Indian Express.

GS Paper 2:

Topics Covered: Indian Constitution and historical underpinnings.

Context:

The Delhi High Court has ordered the Centre to file its submissions in response to a petition seeking restoration of Anglo-Indian representation by nomination in Parliament.

• The court observed that the provision for Anglo-Indian representation by nomination in Lok Sabha was introduced to give community members assurance that they would be protected and heard when they returned.

What’s the issue?

The court was hearing a petition challenging the Constitutional (One Hundred and Fourth Amendment) Act, 2019.

• The amendment removed the nomination-based representation of the Anglo-Indian community in Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies.

How has the centre justified its stand on the removal of this provision?

The community has merged within the Indian population with time. Besides, the constitutional scheme itself is that they are for a limited period of time. It cannot continue indefinitely.

Arguments against the removal of this provision:

The number of Anglo-Indian community members is not accurately reflected in the 2011 Census, on which the then Law Minister relied while tabling the amendment Bill in Parliament.

• So, this breaches the constitutional promise to a ‘minority within a minority’ and could virtually become the trigger for systematic cultural-political annihilation of the Anglo-Indian community in the short to medium term.

Constitutional Provisions:

Article 334 has laid down provisions for reserving the seats for SCs and STs and nomination of Anglo-Indians to Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, which shall cease to be in effect on the 25 January 2020, if not extended further.

Meaning of Anglo Indians in India:

The term Anglo Indian is defined as per the article 366 (2) of the Indian constitution; “a person whose father or any of whose other male progenitors in the male line is or was of European descent but who is a native of India.”

Anglo Indians in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies:

• Under article 331; the President of India is authorised to nominate 2 members of the Anglo Indian communityif know member of this community is elected among the 543 members for the Lok Sabha.
• In the same way the governor of the state is authorised to nominate 1 Anglo Indian in the lower house of the State Legislature (in case of under representation).
• According to the 10th schedule of the Constitution, any Anglo-Indian member can take the membership of any party within 6 months of the nomination. After the membership; they are bound to the party whip and they have to work in the house according to the party’s agenda.

Insta Curious:

Did you know that the idea of Anglo Indian nominations is traced to Frank Anthony, who headed the All-India Anglo-Indian Association? Article 331 was added in the Constitution following his suggestion to Jawaharlal Nehru.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. About Article 331.
2. Representation of Anglo Indian community in Lok Sabha and Assembly.
3. Provisions related to reservations under the Indian Constitution.

Mains Link:

Discuss the significance of Article 331.

Q.2) Article 334 in the Indian Constitution talks about reservations/nominations related to?

1. SCs
2. STs
3. Anglo-Indians

Choose the correct answer using the codes given below:

1. 1 only.
2. 2 and 3 only.
3. 1 and 3 only.
4. All of the above. 

Sources: Indian Express.

GS Paper 2:

Topics Covered: Population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies.

Context:

The Centre has committed Rs 2.01 lakh crore for the PMAY-U, of which Rs 1.18 lakh crore has been released and Rs 1.10 lakh crore has been spent.

• 21 crore houses have been sanctioned under the scheme so far.

About PMAY- Urban:

Launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (MoHUPA) in Mission mode in 2015.

It envisions provision of Housing for All by 2022, when the Nation completes 75 years of its Independence.

The Mission seeks to address the housing requirement of urban poor including slum dwellers through following programme verticals:

1. Slum rehabilitation of Slum Dwellers with participation of private developers using land as a resource.
2. Promotion of Affordable Housing for weaker sections through credit linked subsidy.
3. Affordable Housing in Partnership with Public & Private sectors.
4. Subsidy for beneficiary-led individual house construction /enhancement.

Credit linked subsidy component will be implemented as a Central Sector Scheme while other three components will be implemented as Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS).

Ownership of houses:

Houses are to be allotted in the name of adult female members or in joint name and all houses to have toilet facility, drinking water and power supply. Preference is given to persons with disabilities, ST/ SC/ OBCs, minorities and transgender.

Insta Curious:

Did you know that Under the PMAY-U guidelines, it is mandatory for the state government to ensure that all houses built under the scheme are geotagged to the Bhuvan HFA (housing for all) application, which has been developed by the government for the monitoring of the scheme? Reference: read this.

Differences between centrally sponsored schemes and central sector schemes? Read this, 

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. PMAY Urban vs Rural.
2. Key features.
3. Implementation.
4. Eligibility.

Mains Link:

Write a note on PMAY- URBAN.

Q.3) Which of the following is/are the components of PMAY – Urban?

1. In-situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR).
2. Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS).
3. Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP).
4. Beneficiary-led individual house construction/enhancements (BLC).

Choose the correct answer using the codes given below:

1. 1 only.
2. 2 and 3 only.
3. 1, 2 and 4 only.
4. All of the above. 

Sources: Indian Express.

GS Paper 2:

Topics Covered: Effects of policies of developed nations.

Context:

The United States sees India’s participation in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) as “very important”.

• Therefore, Washington is designing the framework to prioritise “flexibility and inclusion”.
• Under this, participating countries can join IPEF without necessarily joining all the four pillars of the framework — a pick-and-choose arrangement that could make India more open to coming on board.

About IPEF:

• Announced in 2021, the IPEF aims to set regional standards for cooperation, and includes the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states.
• The Framework is the Biden administration’s answer to questions about the United States’ economic commitment to the vital Indo-Pacific region.
• IPEF is created to encourage regional economies to “decouple” from the Chinese market by leading them to alternative supply chains.

The IPEF will consist of four “pillars” of work:

• Fair and resilient trade (encompassing seven subtopics, including labor, environmental, and digital standards).
• Supply chain resilience.
• Infrastructure, clean energy, and decarbonization.
• Tax and anti-corruption.

Strategic significance of Indo-Pacific region for India:

Strategic significance: The Indo-Pacific is a multipolar region that accounts for over half of global GDP and population.

Mineral Resources: Maritime regions have also become important storage areas for essential resources such as fish stocks, minerals, and offshore oil and gas.

Economic Growth: The Indo-Pacific area accounts for approximately 60% of world GDP, making it the most important contributor to global growth.

Commerce: Many of the world’s most important choke points for global trade are located in this region, including the Straits of Malacca, which are crucial for global economic growth.

Insta Curious:

The UK, US and Australia, in 2021, announced a historic security pact in the Asia-Pacific, in what’s seen as an effort to counter China. It is called the AUKUS pact and AUKUS alliance. What is it? Reference: read this.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. About Pacific Region.
2. Overview of Indian Ocean Region.
3. Important straits, bays and passes in these regions.

Mains Link:

Discuss the strategic significance of Indo- Pacific region for India.

Q.4) Malacca Strait connects South China Sea with:

1. North China Sea.
2. Andaman Sea.
3. Both A and B.
4. None of the above. 

Sources: Hindustan Times.

GS Paper 2:

Topics Covered: Important International Institutions.

Context:

While speaking to the heads of countries at the second global COVID-19 conference in the third year of the pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the much-discussed matter of revamping the World Health Organization.

• India’s calls for WHO reforms, especially after the body’s initial handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, have been backed by countries around the world.

Need for WHO Reforms:

The growth and scope of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) has prompted requests for increased international public health collaboration, both at the regional and global levels; especially reforming the WHO.

WHO is not immune to global power-play. Powerful countries such as the US and China influence decision making.

Funding issues: Only a quarter of its budget comes from contributions from UN member-states, and the real money to power its work is from voluntary funding by countries and organisations.

WHO’s institutional arrangements must be able to strongly push global cooperation in public health and support developing countries in real-time.

Neither WHO nor any multilateral organisation is involved in drugs research.

Reforms suggested:

• Executive Board (EB) should be made a standing body with the elected countries having Geneva-based permanent representatives on it.
• The EB should meet when required and direct action by WHO.
• The EB also needs to go beyond only geographic representation and ensure that major stakeholders such as the largest economies and those with the largest populations are always on it.
• WHO must be involved in rolling out new drugs and drug research in developed countries.
• WHO, along with others such as the World Trade Organization, must find ways to make affordable access to such key drugs in critical times possible.
• Increased mandatory funding by member states.

India’s nine-point plan for reforms of the World Health Organization (WHO) include:

1. Changes in mechanisms to monitor health emergencies that can cross borders.
2. Giving the head of the UN body greater power to declare an international public health emergency.
3. Changes and improvements in the body’s funding and governance.
4. Transparency in use of funds.
5. A greater role for the world body in ensuring fair, affordable and equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines.
6. WHO’s regular budget should also be increased so that core activities “are financed from it, without putting an overwhelming financial burden on developing countries”.
7. Since WHO has little flexibility in using these funds, voluntary contributions should be “unearmarked to ensure that the WHO has necessary flexibility for its usage in areas where they are required the most.
8. WHO must maintain its technical focus but broaden its expertise to include more input from political scientists, urban designers, lawyers, logisticians, or information technology specialists.

Insta Curious:

How is WHO funded? Reference: read this.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. WHO governance.
2. Types of contributions in WHO.
3. Largest contributors.
4. Significance of World Health Day.

Mains Link:

Discuss the role of WHO in promoting public health and environmental health across the globe.

Q.5) Which of the following make up funding for the WHO?

1. Assessed contributions.
2. Voluntary contributions.
3. Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Contributions.
4. All of the above. 

Sources: the Hindu.

GS Paper 3:

Topics Covered: Awareness in space.

Context:

Space Debris from the re-entry of the Chang Zheng 3B serial Y86 — China’s orbital launch vehicle, us suspected to have fallen at various places in Gujarat.

What is Chang Zheng 3B serial Y86, from where the debris is suspected to have fallen?

Chang Zheng 3B, commonly known as CZ 3B, is China’s orbital launch vehicle, similar to India’s GSLV or PSLV.

• The third stage, which releases the satellite at the required orbit following which it remains in sub-orbital flight, remains outside the purview of being controlled by human intervention and ultimately re-enters earth.
• It is this third stage of the Long March 3B Y 86 rocket launch that is now suspected to have re-entered earth, leading to debris falling in Gujarat.

What is space debris?

Space debris can include natural space debris such as meteoroids, or man-made ones which can include defunct spacecrafts and satellites, stages of rockets which have launched payloads, dead satellites, satellite explosions and collisions.

Amount of space debris in space:

• The real amount of space debris is said to be between 500,000 and one million pieces as current sensor technology cannot detect smaller objects.
• They all travel at speeds of up to 17,500 mph (28,162 kmph) fast enough for a relatively small piece of orbital debris to damage a satellite or a spacecraft.

Technologies that can tackle the problem in future are:

1. Nasa’s Space Debris Sensor orbits the Earth on the International Space Station. REMOVEdebris, satellite contain two cubesats that will release simulated space debris so that it can then demonstrate several ways of retrieving them.
2. Deorbit mission: There are two emerging technologies being developed under what’s known as the e.Deorbit mission to grasp the wayward space junk, or to catch it.
3. Other technologies include moving objects with a powerful laser beam. It is important to start doing that soon, current scientific estimates predict that without active debris removal, certain orbits will become unusable over the coming decades.

Insta Curious:

Did you know that anti-satellite weapons are high-tech missiles possessed by few nations?  Which countries have these weapons?

Did you know about Netra?

Netra:

To safeguard its space assets from space debris, Isro had set up a dedicated Space Situational Awareness (SSA) Control Centre named “Netra” in Bengaluru last December.

• Netra’s key objective is to monitor, track and protect the national space assets and function as a hub of all SSA activities.
• Only the US, Russia and Europe have similar facilities in place to track space objects and share collision warnings.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. Space Debris.
2. Space junk.
3. Netra.
4. India’s A – SAT missile.
5. Deorbit mission.

Mains Link:

Discuss the concerns associated with Space Debris.

Q.6) Which of the following countries have setup facilities in place to track space objects and share collision warnings?

1. INDIA.
2. RUSSIA.
3. JAPAN.
4. BOTH A AND B. 

Sources: Indian Express.

GS Paper 3:

Topics Covered: Food security related issues.

Context:

Recently, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has released Global Food Policy Report: Climate Change & Food Systems.

Key findings on India:

1. India’s food production could drop 16% and the number of those at risk for hunger could increase 23% by 2030 due to climate change.
2. The number of Indians at risk from hunger in 2030 is expected to be 73.9 million in 2030 and, if the effects of climate change were to be factored in, it would increase to 90.6 million.
3. However, climate change will not impact the average calorie consumption of Indians and this is projected to remain roughly the same at 2,600 kcal per capita per day by 2030 even in a climate change scenario.

Global Scenario:

• Global food production will grow by about 60% over 2010 levels by 2050 in the context of climate change.
• Despite this growth, per capita consumption levels in developing countries will remain less than half of those in developed countries.
• Production and demand are projected to grow more rapidly in developing countries, particularly in Africa, than in developed countries, due to projected growth in population and incomes.
• Diets are also shifting toward higher-value foods, including more fruits and vegetables, processed foods, and animal-source foods, outside of high-income countries.

Recommendations:

1. Investments in R&D for innovation.
2. Improved governance of resources.
3. Healthier diets and more sustainable production.
4. Stronger value chains.
5. Climate-smart finance.

Q.7) Which of the following is/are the indicator/indicators used by IFPRI to compute the Global Hunger Index Report? (2016)

1. Undernourishment.
2. Child stunting.
3. Child mortality.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(c) 1, 2 and 3.

(b) 2 and 3 only.

(d) 1 and 3 only. 

Sources: the Hindu.

GS Paper 3:

Topics covered: Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate.

Context:

The government is reassessing the concept of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) to fix overlaps in the system and streamline the process due to which there has been a delay in the appointment of a new CDS.

Background:

In December 2019, the government approved the creation of the post of CDS who would also function as the Principal Military Adviser to Defence Minister and Permanent Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CoSC).

• In addition, the DMA was created as the fifth department in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) with the CDS functioning as its Secretary.

What’s the issue?

1. Till now there are legacy issues of work distribution between DMA and the Department of Defence (DoD), headed by the Defence Secretary.
2. Coordination mechanisms are not standardised and accepted by both sides.
3. There are overlaps of roles and responsibilities.

About CDS:

• He will be the single-point military adviser to the government as suggested by the Kargil Review Committee in 1999.
• He will be a Four-star General.
• CDS acts as the permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee which will also have three service chiefs as members.
• His core function will be to foster greater operational synergy between the three service branches of the Indian military and keep inter-service frictions to a minimum.

Conditions:

• Not eligible to hold any Government office after demitting the office of CDS.
• No private employment without prior approval for a period of five years after demitting the office of CDS.

Roles and functions:

1. CDS will provide “single-point military advice”to the government, inject synergy in planning, procurements and logistics in the armed forces.
2. It will ensure integration of land-air-sea operations through the eventual setting up of theatre commands.
3. The CDS will also function as the military advisor to the PM-led Nuclear Command Authority,as also have direct command of tri-Service organizations to handle the new warfare domains of space and cyberspace.
4. He will function as the Principal Military Adviser to the Defence Minister and also as the Permanent Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC).
5. The CDS will be member of Defence Acquisition Council and Defence Planning Committee.

Insta Curious:

Do you know what Theatre of War & Theatre of Operations are? Read Here

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. About CDS.
2. Roles and functions.
3. Powers.
4. What are theatre commands?

Mains Link:

Discuss the need for and significance of theatre commands.

Sources: the Hindu.