InstaLinks : help you think beyond the issue but relevant to the issue from UPSC prelims and Mains exam point of view. These linkages provided in this ‘hint’ format help you frame possible questions in your mind that might arise(or an examiner might imagine) from each current event. InstaLinks also connect every issue to their static or theoretical background. This helps you study a topic holistically and add new dimensions to every current event to help you think analytically
Table of Contents:
GS Paper 2:
1. India-Palestine relations: Ignoring the dispossessed people goes against India’s anti-colonial legacy
GS Paper 3:
1. What’s the hurry for GM mustard?
Facts for Prelims:
1. Guru Tegh Bahadur
2. Inclusion in ST list
3. Wet leasing of aircraft
4. Red Planet Day
5. Semi-Automated Offside Technology
6. Himalayan yak
Note: Remaining articles will be covered tomorrow.
India-Palestine relations: Ignoring the dispossessed people goes against India’s anti-colonial legacy
GS Paper 2
Syllabus: International Relations
Source: IE
Direction: This article highlights how India-Palestine evolved over the years and the changes in India’s approach towards Palestine.
Context: India’s hesitation to support Palestine is deeply regretful because it departs from India’s own tradition of anti-colonial humanism.
Background:
- India and Palestine share many commonalities –
- Both have a colonial history of subjugation
- Both have been home to multiple religious communities with a complex sense of nationhood.
- For several decades after independence, India’s stance on Israel-Palestine has been of sympathy and support for Palestinians.
- The leaders of India’s anti-colonial movement were vocal in their condemnation of Israel’s forcible occupation of Palestine in order to establish a Jewish homeland.
- For example, Mahatma Gandhi stated that imposing Jews on Arabs is unjust and inhumane.
- During the 1947 and 1998 UN General Assembly Resolutions (UNGA), India submitted that
- Independence for Palestine should be the primacy of any future plan for the country.
- Right of Palestinians to self-determination
- India was also among the first countries that recognised the Palestinian state.
Change in India’s approach toward Palestine:
- According to experts, India has now turned its face from Israeli atrocities on Palestinians.
- Turning a blind eye to human rights breaches in Gaza, India abstained from UN Human Rights Council resolutions on war crimes and violence in Palestinian territory in 2015 and again in 2021.
- However, India’s support for the Palestinian cause still reflects in the work of several Indian civil society, educational and cultural institutions.
- For example, the work of the Indian Campaign for the Cultural and Academic Boycott of Israel has underlined that a violent occupier like Israel is deeply unjust and morally repugnant.
India’s current approach towards the Israel-Palestine conflict driven by pragmatism:
| De-hyphenation | Careful Balancing Act |
| Meaning: Dealing with two countries, having adversarial relationship between them, in an independent manner.
Examples: ● In 2018, the PM of India became the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel who skipped visiting the Palestinian Authority. ● Improving ties with Israel and Arab countries as some Arab states themselves try to improve ties with Israel. |
Meaning: Choosing sides based on facts rather than emotions.
For instance, ● India opposed the Trump administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. ● It abstained from a UNHRC report on the human rights situation in Palestine.
|
Conclusion: Not only India, but the entire globe, must acknowledge that Palestine is a moral issue. Global solidarity for Palestine is justified by the universal principle of Justitia nemini neganda est – justice should be denied to no one, regardless of their faiths or beliefs.
Insta Links:
Mains Links:
Q. Indian and Palestine relations are old and time tested. India’s development assistance for Palestine has been consistent and has grown over the years. Discuss. What are the irritants in the relationship? What are the measures needed to strengthen ties?
What’s the hurry for GM mustard?
GS Paper 3
Syllabus: Awareness in the fields of Biotechnology
Source: IE
Direction: Like a coin, GM technology has 2 sides (pros and cons). The article highlights the concerns regarding GM mustard in India and the precautions needed before it is rolled out for commercial production.
Context: Experts express concern regarding the recent recommendation of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) for approval for the environmental release of genetically engineered (GE) mustard (DMH-11 hybrid) in India.
Background:
- India’s rising import bill for edible oil: In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, the country produced just 8.5-9 million tonnes (mt) of edible oil while importing 14-14.5 mt, resulting in a record foreign exchange outflow of $18.99 billion.
- DMH-11 hybrid: It was developed by genetic modification (GM) by the DU’s Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP) by the process of hybridisation of two alien genes (barnase + barstar) isolated from a soil bacterium called Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.
- Hybridisation involves crossing two genetically dissimilar plant varieties that can even be from the same species to have higher yields than what either parent can individually give.
- DMH-11 is claimed to have shown an average 28% yield increase over the Indian mustard variety ‘Varuna’ in field trials carried out by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
- GEAC: It is a body responsible for the appraisal of proposals relating to the “release” of GM organisms and products (ordinarily considered hazardous) into the environment.
- In the case of the DMH-11 hybrid, it has recommended the environmental release of DMH-11 for its seed production and testing prior to commercial release.
Concern raised by experts:
- The potentially harmful long-term ecological and economic consequences of releasing DMH-11.
- Details of the mandatory trials to ensure food-environmental safety – a prerequisite before environmental release have not been made public.
- A detailed long-term assessment of the potential social and economic benefits of using DMH-11 remains to be made.
- Will cause displacement of manual labour engaged in weeding as the GM mustard is weed tolerant.
- The new system may threaten the population of honey bees as mustard flowers are a source of nectar for honey bees.
- Disastrous effect of the spread of a herbicide resistance (HT) gene on the normal crop.
Way ahead:
The following requirements for environmental release have been proposed by GEAC –
- Usage of any formulation of herbicide is recommended only under controlled and specified conditions.
- Usage of any formulation of herbicide is not permitted for cultivation in the farmer’s field.
- The applicant (CGMCP) should conduct field demonstration studies with respect to the effect of [GM mustard] on honey bees.
Conclusion: A great deal of time, effort and resources have gone into the development and testing of DMH-11 mustard. However, the existing investment should not discourage us from doing a thorough examination of the risks posed by GM mustard.
Insta Links:
Mains Links:
Q. The decision to remove the unscientific ban on Genetically Modified (GM) crops reflects the determination of the government to move towards Atmanirbhar Bharat. It also meets the aspirations of our scientific community and farmers can derive the benefits of innovative technology. Critically analyse. (250 words)
Prelims Links:
Consider the following statements:
-
- Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee is the apex regulator of GM crops in India.
- India does not permit the commercial cultivation of GM rice.
- GM seed companies must mandatorily obtain permission from the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee for conducting field trials of GM crops in India.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
(a) 2 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) 2 and 3 only
Ans: (b)
Explanation:
- India does not permit the commercial cultivation of GM rice, but research groups are testing varieties of such rice in trial plots.
- Though the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee is the apex regulator of GM crops, it is mandated that trials of GM crops obtain permission from States.
Refer: https://www.insightsonindia.com/2022/10/27/gm-mustard/
Facts for Prelims
Guru Tegh Bahadur
Source: PIB
Context: The Prime Minister of India has paid tributes to Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Ji on his Shaheedi Divas/martyrdom day.
Background: Guru Tegh Bahadur stood up against forcible conversions by the Mughals and was executed on the orders of Aurangzeb in 1675.
Guru Tegh Bahadur:
- He was born to Mata Nanki and Guru Hargobind, the sixth Sikh guru, who raised an army against the Mughals and introduced the concept of warrior saints.
- He was the 9th of 10 Gurus and a fearless warrior, a learned spiritual scholar whose hymns are included in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the main text of Sikhism.
- On the orders of Aurangzeb, Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed in Delhi and Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib in Chandni Chowk now stands on his execution site.
Inclusion in the ST list
Source: TH
Context: The Save Tribal March (STM), a street agitation launched by Gujjar and Bakerwal activists in protest to the government’s move to include Paharis, a linguistic minority, in the Schedule Tribe (ST) list, was called off recently.
Background:
- Gujjar and Bakerwals are opposed to D Sharma Commission’s and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes’ (NCST) recommendations to include Paharis in the ST list.
- The NCST has also given a go-ahead to the inclusion of Paddari tribe, Kolis, and Gadda Brahmans in the ST list.
- Paharis, unlike Gujjars and Bakerwals who are Muslims, comprise a mixed population of both Hindus and Muslims.
Article 342 of the Indian Constitution:
- The President may, with respect to any State (after consultation with the Governor) or UT, by public notification, specify the tribes deemed to be ST in relation to that state or UT.
- The Parliament may by law include or exclude from the list of ST specified in the above notification. This means, the Presidential orders can be modified only through an Act of Parliament.
- The above Article also provides for listing of STs State/UT wise and not on an all-India basis.
Wet leasing of aircraft
Source: IE
Context: In efforts to boost international air traffic, the civil aviation ministry has allowed Indian airlines to take wide-body planes on wet lease for up to one year.
Background:
- The decision came on a request by the country’s largest airline, IndiGo, planning to induct B777 aircraft on wet/damp lease basis.
- About half the planes used by airlines around the world are not owned but leased, to avoid massive lump sum payments and to quickly increase capacity temporarily.
Wet leasing:
- Wet leasing means taking the plane along with the operating crew and engineers, while dry leasing refers to taking only the aircraft on rent.
- Dry leasing was already allowed for up to 12 months, with the option to extend the contract for 12 another year.
- Operations of an aircraft on wet lease are more difficult for the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to monitor, which is why it is allowed for shorter durations.
Red Planet Day
Source: Indian Express
Context: On November 28, 1964, the NASA mission Mariner 4 was launched, which ended up capturing significant information on, and photographs of, Mars for the first time thus marking Red Planet Day.
Semi-Automated Offside Technology
Source: The Hindu
Context: FIFA is using SAOT for offside decisions in the ongoing football world cup.
There are two parts to the technology — a sensor inside the match ball (Adidas’s Al Rihla) that is held using suspension technology, and existing tracking tools that are part of the VAR system.
Every time the ball is hit, data is sent in real-time (at a whopping 500 frames per second) to a network of antennae installed around the playing field. Additionally, there are 12 Hawk-Eye cameras set up around the turf that shadow both the ball and the players, with as many as 29 separate points in the human body tracked.
The coming together of the ball sensor and the Hawk-Eye cameras is in effect SAOT, which allows for decisions that are highly accurate and quick. These two data sets are run through artificial intelligence software which generates automated alerts about offsides to the match officials.
Himalayan yak
Source: TheWire
Context: The Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) has approved the Himalayan Yak as a ‘food animal’.
The categorization is expected to check the decline in the population of high-altitude bovine.
The yak plays a multidimensional socio-cultural-economic role for the pastoral nomads who rear it mainly for earning their nutritional and livelihood security due to the lack of other agricultural activity in the higher reaches of the Himalayan region where it is difficult for animals except the yak to survive.
Research at the NRC-Y has revealed yak milk is highly nutritious, rich in fat, contains essential minerals, and has medicinal values. The products which are traditionally produced from yak milk are churkum, churpi, ghee and paneer.
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