[Mission 2023] INSIGHTS DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS + PIB SUMMARY 8 December 2022

GS Paper 1

Syllabus: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, tsunamis, Volcanic activity, cyclones, etc.

Source: DTE

 Context: A new report by the World Bank suggests India could soon become one of the first places in the world to experience heatwaves that break the human survivability limit.

India has witnessed a concurrent increase in meteorological droughts and heat waves over the last 60 years.

About Heatwaves:

A Heat Wave is a period of abnormally high temperatures, more than the normal maximum temperature that usually occurs during the summer season.

 About Human Survivability Limit:

The Human Survivability Limit refers to the rule of thumb, which states humans can survive three minutes without air, three days without water, and three weeks without food.

Heatwave in India

• In April 2022, India suffered an early spring heat wave that saw temperatures in New Delhi, topping 46 degrees Celsius.
• The month of March, which witnessed extraordinary spikes in temperatures, was the hottest ever recorded.
• The heatwaves would be devastating for many poor and marginalized communities across India, who live in inadequately ventilated, hot, and crowded homes without proper access to cooling.
• Only eight per cent of Indian households own air-conditioning units, according to an analysis presented in the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP), 2019. 

Negative effects of Heatwaves:

On Indian economy

• By 2030, India may account for 34 million of the projected 80 million global job losses from heat stress-associated productivity decline.
• Analysis by global management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company shows that lost labour from rising heat and humidity could put up to 4.5% of India’s GDP 

On food and public health

• India’s long-term food security and public health securitywill depend on a reliable cold chain network. A single temperature lapse in the journey can break the cold chain, spoiling fresh produce and weakening the potency of vaccines.

Human Health

• Heat conditions can alter human behaviour, the transmission of diseases, air quality, and critical social infrastructures such as energy, transport, and water.

Ecological impacts

• Heatwaves, without concomitant increases in precipitation, can lead to water shortages and increased stress for plants, particularly in arid regions.
• Animals are also highly impacted because of heat waves.

Way forward to sustainability

• The most effective way to avoid the negative impacts of heatwaves is to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and minimising the rise in global mean temperatures.
• New initiatives to create early warning and response systemsand improved communication approaches can help to save lives and build resilience to heat waves.
• Decision-makers can employ a range of strategies and policies to modify social behaviour and reduce exposure to heat by closing schools or offices, which lack adequate air conditioning, ensuring availability of water, health care, and first aid, and extending access to pools, parks, and public cooling centers
• Improved urban design and sustainable planning that increases access to green space and other cool environments (pools, air-conditioned spaces) and encourages white roofs.

Insta Links:

Heatwaves

Prelims Link:

• IMD criteria for Heatwaves
• India Cooling Action Plan

Mains Link:

Q. What is a heatwave? Account for the increasing frequency and unprecedented heatwaves across multiple cities in India. 150Words

GS Paper 2

Syllabus: Appointment to various Constitutional Posts, Powers, Functions and Responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies

Source: IE

 Direction: The article covers the process and apparatus involved during the counting of votes once polling is over.

Context: As Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh wait for the results of their Assembly elections, we will try to understand the process of counting votes.

Background: For a country like India where each individual constituency can have lakhs of voters, counting votes is a complex process that requires both pace and precision.

Process of counting of votes:

Location:

• Ideally, all votes should be counted in one location in the constituency. But during General Elections, many counting centres can be appointed.
• The location(s) for counting votes is decided by the Returning Officer (RO), with multiple centres being under the supervision of the Assistant Returning Officers (each centre under one ARO).

Role played by the Returning Officer (RO):

• The RO is appointed for each constituency by the Election Commission and is the highest authority (during the course of the election) in the constituency to peacefully and impartially conduct elections.
• Generally, the District Magistrate is the ex-officio RO in Lok Sabha elections while the Sub-Divisional Magistrate is the RO in state assembly elections.
• With respect to the counting of votes, the RO has the following duties:
  • To designate the counting centres and get them approved by the Commission well in advance;
  • To send notice to the candidates about the place, date and time of counting of votes;
  • To appoint and train counting staff;
  • To count the votes and declare the result. However, ROs themselves do not count all votes but verify the counting at multiple stages.
• They are the final authority in the matter of vote counting in an election. The EC also appoints AROs to assist the RO in carrying out all the duties.

Other participants in the counting apparatus:

• Counting Supervisors and Assistants: They should be gazetted officers and are appointed by the RO.
• Observers:
  • The EC appoints observers (generally employees of the Govt of India) at each counting room, who are supposed to record the proceedings and file a report.
  • They are the eyes and ears of the EC on the ground, who ensure that all procedures are being followed and are also supposed to randomly verify votes counted for some EVMs in each round of counting.
• Candidates and Counting Agents: Candidates who were on the ballot are also allowed in the counting room along with their representatives.
• Security:
• While armed forces are typically not supposed to enter counting rooms, they are in charge of maintaining multiple layers of security, both at the
  • Counting room
  • Path through which EVMs are brought to the counting rooms from their strong rooms (where they are stored after polling).
• The security forces, including CRPF and local police, are under the authority of the RO of the constituency.

Insta Links:

Election Commission

Mains Links:

Q. In the light of recent controversy regarding the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), what are the challenges before the Election Commission of India to ensure the trustworthiness of elections in India? (2018)

GS Paper 2

Syllabus: Structure, Organization and Functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary

Source: TH

 Direction: The article discusses the issue of the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary in the context of the 2015 SC’s verdict which struck down NJAC.

 Context: The Vice ­President of India recently commented on the ongoing heated debate between the Central government and the Supreme Court over the matter of judicial appointments.

Background: The VP questioned the SC’s 2015 decision, which struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) and the 99th Constitutional Amendment, 2014, on the grounds of endangering judicial independence.

Changes brought by the Constitution (99th Amendment) Act, 2014:

• In order to replace the collegium system, it introduced 3 primary Articles.
• Article 124A, created a constitutional body – NJAC to replace the collegium system.
• Article 124B, which conferred the NJAC powers to make appointments.
• Article 124C, empowering Parliament to regulate the NJAC’s functioning.

Appointment procedure provided under the NJAC Act:

• The NJAC was to recommend the Chief Justice of India and Chief Justices of the HCs based on seniority, while SC and HC judges were to be recommended based on ability, merit and other criteria.
• Unlike the collegium system, the Act enables both executive and judicial members to serve on the NJAC and empowered any 2 members of the NJAC to veto a recommendation.

Why was the NJAC challenged?

• In 2015, the Supreme Court Advocates­on­Record Association (SCAORA) filed a plea arguing that –
  • The NJAC took away the primacy of the judiciary’s collective opinion as it could be vetoed.
  • The amendment “severely” damaged the basic structure (independence of the judiciary) of the Constitution.

The Centre’s argument:

• The collegium that worked on an “intra­dependence” structure has “no transparency.”
• The Act did not deprive the judiciary of its primacy but rather diminished the executive’s power because the NJAC had only 1 member (Law Minister), as compared to 3 SC judges.
• The amendment was “perfectly consonant” with the basic structure as it strengthened the independence of the judiciary, checks and balances and democracy.

The SC’s 2015 ruling (4:1 majority) (4^th Judge Case):

• The NJAC was unconstitutional and violated the basic structure of the constitution.
• The Bench admitted that all was not well even with the collegium system and that the time was ripe to improve the system of judicial appointments.

Criticism of the ruling: The NJAC came through a unanimously passed constitutional provision that reflected “the will of the people,” as both the bills were ratified by the required number of State Legislatures.

Current arrangement of judicial appointments:

• The collegium system was restored.
• The Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) – an agreement between the judiciary and the government (which came into existence after NJAC) that outlines the criteria for appointing judges to the SC and HCs.

Insta Links:

Collegium system of appointments of judges to the HCs and the SC

Mains Links:

Q. Critically examine the Supreme Court’s judgment on ‘The National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014’ with reference to the appointment of judges of the higher judiciary in India. (UPSC 2017)

Prelims Links:

GS Paper 2

Syllabus: Parliament-Structure, functioning and conduct of business, institutions and bodies for the protection of vulnerable sections of society

Source: TH

 Direction: The article highlights the issues related to the inclusion/exclusion of communities in the SC list.

Context: The SC stated it would consider whether to wait for the Justice K.G. Balakrishnan Commission’s report or hear a series of petitions seeking Scheduled Castes quota benefits for Dalit converts to other religions, notably Christianity.

Article 341 of the Indian Constitution:

• Clause (1): The President may with respect to any State/UT and where it is a State after consultation with the Governor, may notify the castes, races or tribes or parts of or groups within castes, races or tribes to be SCs in relation to that State/UT.
• Clause (2): Parliament may by law include or exclude from the list of SCs specified in a notification issued.

Background:

• Earlier, the SC had sought the Union government’s position on petitions challenging the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order of 1950.
• The Order allows only members of Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist religions to be recognised as SCs.
• A group seeking inclusion under the Order, is required to show extreme social, educational and economic backwardness arising out of the practice of untouchability.
• The Union government rejected the possibility of including Dalit Christians and Muslims and recently constituted a new Commission (under former CJI K.G. Balakrishnan) under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952 to re-examine their inclusion.

A case for inclusion:

• The existence of caste and caste inequalities among Indian Christians and Indian Muslims.
• The caste-based discrimination continues even after conversion.
• The 1st Backward Classes Commission’s report (1953), the Mandal Commission Report, the Ranganath Misra Commission Report, etc., highlight the same fact.
• In Sikhism and Buddhism, though casteism is not present, they have been included as SCs.

Arguments against inclusion:

• Christianity is an egalitarian religion which did not adhere to any caste system. As a result, a 1936 Imperial Order, specifically excluded “Indian Christians” from the Depressed Classes list.
• The Union government refuses to accept the reports as they lack empirical evidence to support their claims.
• The government said that Dalits who converted to Christianity or Islam to escape caste discrimination could no longer claim the reservation benefits enjoyed by those who remained in the Hindu religious system.
• SC members had converted to Buddhism at the call of B.R. Ambedkar in 1956 on account of “some innate socio-political imperatives”.

Insta Links:

The criterion for SC status

Mains Links:

Q. Whether the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) can enforce the implementation of constitutional reservation for the Scheduled Castes in religious minority institutions. Examine. (UPSC 2018)

GS Paper 2

Syllabus: India and its neighbourhood- relations.

Source: The Hindu

 Context: India hosted a conclave of top security officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan with a focus on the evolving security situation in Afghanistan.

• This year was the 30^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between India and Central Asian countries

About Central Asia:

It is a diverse region with a mix of upper-middle and low-income countries with major strategic importance.

Key highlights of the meeting:

• Support for a peaceful, stable, and secure Afghanistan, emphasizing respect for its sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity and urging non-interference in its internal affairs.
• The participants supported India’s proposal to include the Chabahar port within the framework of the International North-South Transport Corridor.
• The communique also called for the early adoption of the UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT), which India had first proposed in 1996.

Why Central Asia is important for India:

• Historical reasons: Central Asia was a transit route “the silk route” for the continent.
• By acting as a bridge between Asia and Europe.
• As a bulwark against fundamentalism: Peace and stability in the Central Asian region and adjoining Afghanistan are important in the fight against religious fundamentalism and terrorism.
• Against Non-State Actors
• Counterbalancing China’s belligerent attitude
• As a consumer market
• For Energy Security
  • Kazakhstan has so far supplied a total of 9,000 tons of uranium
  • The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) and Iran -Pakistan-India (IPI) pipeline projects ensure energy security for India.
• For connectivity and trade:
  • Development of the International North-South Transport Corridor(INSTC)
• Becoming a member of the Ashgabat Agreement
• War on Drugs: Drug trafficking poses a great challenge to the region, hence it is of utmost importance to check the drug menace by engaging with the stakehol
• Soft power – sports, music, art, culture, and cinema to have a philosophical and moral high ground in the region.

Conclusion:

The vast scope for cooperation is evident from the fact that there is a huge level of unrealized potential that needs to be tapped. We need to revisit the Connect Central Asia Policy, which is based on – the 4Cs:

Insta Links:

India Central Asia

Prelims Link:

• Central Asian Countries
• INSTC
• TAPI

Mains Link:

Q. India’s carefully calibrated strategy in the Central Asian region is guided by mutual reciprocal interests both in economic and strategic terms. However, recent events have brought up new challenges to India’s interests. Analyze. 250 Words