UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS – 11 January 2024

GS Paper 2

Syllabus: Comparison of the Indian Constitution with other countries

Source: IE

Context: Gabriel Attal is the new Prime Minister of France, succeeding Elisabeth Borne. He is known for banning abayas, proposing mandatory school uniforms, and addressing bullying. Attal is France’s first openly gay Prime Minister and left the Socialist Party in 2016 to support Emmanuel Macron’s presidential bid.

Similarities and differences between the Indian Constitution and the French Constitution:

Conclusion

Thus, the Indian constitution is longer, and more elaborate and aims to bring about social change. The French constitution is more open to interpretation and focuses on upholding republican ideals.

Comparison of the Indian Constitution with other countries:

Insta Links:

Comparison of the Indian Constitutional Scheme with that of Other Countries

Content for Mains Enrichment:

Source: Today.com

Lily Gladstone made history at the 2024 Golden Globes as the first Indigenous person to win best actress in a motion picture drama. She began her acceptance speech in the Blackfeet language, translating to a standard greeting expressing love and identity.

What is the Blackfeet language?

It is the native language of the Blackfeet people, an Indigenous group in North America. It is spoken by the Blackfeet Nation, primarily in the United States and Canada.

Usage: Using indigenous language on such a mainstream stage, will help inspire indigenous youth, and help in preserving the Indigenous Blackfeet language.

Content for Mains Enrichment:

Source: HT

Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, at 21, became New Zealand’s youngest MP in 170 years, making history during the recent national elections. In her inaugural speech, she performed the traditional Maori haka, emphasizing her commitment to her constituents and her role as a guardian of the Maori language, land, and wisdom.

Maipi-Clarke’s achievements include managing a Maori community garden and authoring a book. Her lineage includes notable figures advocating for Maori rights and cultural preservation.

Usage: The example shows the values such as cultural pride, unity, resilience, commitment to her community, commitment to cultural preservation and ethical responsibility.

Facts for Prelims (FFP)

Source: Hindustan Times

 Context: The Chandubi Festival is a vibrant event held near Chandubi Lake in Assam’s Kamrup district.

• Celebrated for the past 14 years, the festival showcases Assamese culture with activities such as folk music performances, traditional dance shows, local handicraft exhibitions, and Assamese cuisine stalls.
• The festival has been providing an opportunity to generate livelihood for different tribes –Rabhas, Garos, Gorkhas and tea tribes.

Chandubi lake:

• It was created during a massive earthquake in the year 1897.
• It is a very prosperous wetland of the state that houses numerous species of aquatic flora and fauna.

Facts for Prelims (FFP)

Source: LM

 Context:  India plans to establish its own Protection and Indemnity (P&I) entity, named the India Club, to provide insurance for ships operating along its coasts and waterways.

What are P&I clubs?

They are mutual insurance associations that offer risk pooling and coverage for third-party risks like cargo damage, war, and environmental hazards.

Aim:

The initiative aims to reduce vulnerability to international pressures, particularly in conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine situation. The India Club will initially focus on insuring ships involved in domestic movements, led by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways.

Global P&I Club: International Group of P&I Clubs: Headquartered in London, this group comprises 13 clubs covering about 90% of the world’s ocean-going vessels.

Facts for Prelims (FFP)

Source: Hindu Business Line

 Context: ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has proposed key policy suggestions, including the introduction of the Marine Fishery Act, to enhance India’s marine fisheries sector.

Recommendations of CMFRI:

1. Introduce the Marine Fishery Act: It aims to regulate fishing in areas beyond territorial waters, addressing a policy and legislative vacuum.
2. Institutionalize regular stock assessments, establishing a national guideline for eco-labelling of marine fishery resources
3. Streamline open sea mariculture with a focus on sustainability
4. Implement AI-mediated automated mechanisms for landing estimation, and tracking fishing vessels.
5. Focused research on deep-sea and non-conventional fishery resources
6. Establish an institutional mechanism for overseeing deep-sea fishing
7. Strengthening insurance for fishers

Facts for Prelims (FFP)

Source: BusinessLine 

Context: The Delhi High Court has ruled in favour of PepsiCo, allowing the company to claim a patent for the potato variety used in its potato chips.

• Pepsi had filed an appeal under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001 (the Act) challenging the order of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Authority (the Authority) in the Delhi High Court. 
• The decision overturns a previous order that revoked Pepsi’s patent-protected potato variety, FL 2027, used in chip production

Facts for Prelims (FFP)

Source: Live Mint

Context: A private US spacecraft, part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, took off with the Peregrine lander module and Vulcan rocket built by private space companies.

• This mission aims to be the first US spacecraft to land on the Moon in over 50 years and would have marked the first landing of a private spacecraft on the Moon.
• The Peregrine Mission-1, a private lunar lander, encountered an “anomaly” and will be unable to make its planned soft landing on the moon due to a propellant leak.

Facts for Prelims (FFP)

Source: TH

 Context: Scientists at Stanford University are researching the use of sisal leaves to create a highly absorbent material that could replace cotton, wood pulp, and chemical absorbents in sanitary napkins.

• The absorption capacity of the sisal-based material is reported to be higher than that in commercial menstrual pads.
• The method developed by the researchers involves using a decorticator to mechanically separate the fibres from sisal leaves and employing a process inspired by termite guts to delignify the fibres.
• The study claims that the process uses no polluting or toxic chemicals and can be conducted on a small scale, making it environmentally sustainable.

Facts for Prelims (FFP)

Source: TH

 Context: A study published in the journal Nature reveals the oldest evidence of photosynthetic structures found in a collection of 1.75-billion-year-old microfossils known as Navifusa majensis.

• The microstructures identified as thylakoids, membrane-bound structures inside chloroplasts, provide direct evidence for oxygenic photosynthesis.
• This process, unique to cyanobacteria and related organelles in eukaryotes, involves converting water and carbon dioxide into glucose and oxygen with sunlight.

The discovery suggests that photosynthesis may have evolved before 1.75 billion years ago, shedding light on the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis, a process that played a crucial role in the Great Oxidation Event around 2.4 billion years ago.