Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

National Highways Infra Trust (NHAI InvIT), the infrastructure investment trust sponsored by National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to support Government of India’s National Monetization Pipeline, has raised a sum of Rs 1,430 crore from domestic and international investors through placement of its units, for part funding its acquisition of three additional road projects from NHAI.

Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvIT)

• InvITs are similar to mutual funds.
• While mutual funds provide an opportunity to invest in equity stocks, an InvIT allows one to invest in infrastructure projects such as road and power.
• InvITs are listed on exchanges just like stocks — through IPOs.
• The InvITs listed on the stock exchange are IRB InvIT Fund and India Grid Trust.
• InvITs are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014.
• Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) are similar to InvITs but they are present only in Real estate sector.
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NHAI InvIT 

• The infrastructure investment trust is sponsored by National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to support Government of India’s National Monetization Pipeline.
• In order to enhance participation by domestic investors, NHAI InvIT is issuing Non-Convertible Debentures or NCDs to raise Rs.1500 crore, which have a long dated maturity of 24 years. 
• The minimum investment amount has been kept low at Rs.10,000, so that common man can participate in it. 
• 25% of the NCD issue is being reserved for retail investor. 
• The coupon is 7.9% payable half yearly, which works out to 8.05% interest for the year. 
• While the NCDs are not guaranteed by the government or NHAI, it carries AAA rating from two rating agencies.
• In the current environment, this presents an attractive opportunity to make investments from long term perspective

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is developing a rocket named Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) to replace its ageing workhorse the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) that was developed in the 1980s.

• ISRO to develop a ‘Bharat Krishi satellite’ to study the growth pattern of crops, identify irrigation deficiencies and provide information that will help in pest-control and verification of farm insurance claims besides many other applications.
• The space agency is exploring the possibility of increasing civilian use of the country’s indigenous satellite navigation system NaVIC.
• It is penetrating slowly into the civilian sector. But the primary goal of NaVIC continues to remain as a service to the strategic sectors.

NGLV 

• It will use ‘semi-cryogenic’ technology which is both efficient and cost-effective. 
• The new rocket could also be ‘reusable’. “
• A reusable rocket will have a smaller payload than an expendable one. If it is reusable, the payload will be around five tonnes and if it’s expendable, it will go up 10 tonnes.
• Participation of the industry would ensure that capability is created outside ISRO to build, operate and launch it on a commercial basis.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

There has been a 69 per cent decline in the wildlife populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish, across the globe in the last 50 years, according to the latest Living Planet Report by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). 

• The highest decline (94 per cent) was in the Latin America and the Caribbean region.
• Africa recorded a 66 per cent fall in its wildlife populations from 1970-2018 and the Asia Pacific 55 per cent.
• Freshwater species populations globally reduced by 83 per cent.
• Habitat loss and barriers to migration routes were responsible for about half of the threats to monitored migratory fish species.
• The Living Planet Index (LPI), featuring about 32,000 populations of 5,230 species across the world, showed that vertebrate wildlife populations are plummeting at a particularly staggering rate in tropical regions of the world.
• Mangroves continue to be lost to aquaculture, agriculture and coastal development at a rate of 0.13 per cent per year.
• Many mangroves are also degraded by over exploitation and pollution, alongside natural stressors such as storms and coastal erosion.
• Around 137 square kilometres of the Sundarbans mangrove forest in India and Bangladesh has been eroded since 1985, reducing land and ecosystem services for many of the 10 million people who live there.

WWF identified six key threats to biodiversity — 

• Agriculture
• Hunting
• Logging 
• Pollution
• Invasive Species
• Climate change 

To highlight ‘threat hotspots’ for terrestrial vertebrates. 

About Living Planet Report

• The Living Planet Report 2022 is a comprehensive study of trends in global biodiversity and the health of the planet.
• It is an annual flagship World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) publication.
• It is the world’s leading, science-based analysis, on the health of our planet and the impact of human activity.
• It links climate change and biodiversity loss for 1st time. Biodiversity loss and climate crisis should be dealt with as a single issue.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 1

Odisha Millet Mission was launched to promote seven millet crops, ragi dominates production and procurement.

• In 2017, the state launched the Odisha Millet Mission (OMM), which aims to bring millets back to its fields and food plates by encouraging farmers to grow the crops that traditionally formed a substantial part of the diet and crop system in tribal areas.
• To improve nutritional security and promote sustainable agricultural practices
• OMM also sells millet products, such as cookies, savoury snacks, vermicelli and processed millets, under a brand called “Millet Shakti” through food trucks, cafés, kiosks and other outlets.
• Women self-help groups (SHGs) have been kept at the centre of the programme.

Green Revolution 

Green Revolution of 1960s and 1970s made India self-sufficient in food grain production. Government provided several policy incentives to farmers, like:  

• Price support for crops 
• High-yielding seeds 
• Expanded irrigation:  
• Increased use of fertilizers, pesticides and weedicides in order to reduce agricultural loses 
• Introduction of combine harvesters 

Significance

• Increase in food grain production, especially in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
• Development of high-yielding varieties of wheat and rust resistant strains of wheat.
• The Green Revolution has transformed India to a food grain surplus country from a deficit one.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Researchers have created a chart of the corpses of massive stars that have since collapsed into black holes and neutron stars. 

• The study reveals that this “galactic graveyard” stretches three times the height of the Milky Way and that close to one-third of the objects have been flung out from the galaxy.
• These compact remnants of dead stars show a fundamentally different distribution and structure to the visible galaxy.
• The ‘height’ of the galactic underworld is over three times larger in the Milky Way itself. And an amazing 30 per cent of objects have been completely ejected from the galaxy.

Formation of Black Hole

• Black holes and neutron stars are formed when stars which are more than eight times larger than our Sun exhaust their fuel supply and suddenly collapse. 
• When this happens, it triggers a reaction that blows apart the outer portion of the star in a supernova explosion. 
• Meanwhile, the core keeps compressing itself until it becomes either a neutron star or a black hole, depending on its starting mass.

Neutron Stars 

• Neutron stars have cores so dense that electrons and protons combine at the subatomic level to form neutrons. 
• This squeezes its total mass into a sphere that is “smaller than a city.”
• If the starting mass of the star is more than 25 times that of our Sun, this collapse will continue until the core gets so dense that even light cannot escape, creating a black hole. 
• Both kinds of stellar remnants warp space, time and matter around them due to their density.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

In a first in the country, Tamil Nadu government notified Kaduvur slender loris sanctuary covering 11,806 hectares in Karur and Dindigul districts.

• Slender lorises, which are small nocturnal mammals are arboreal in nature as they spend most of their life on trees. 
• The species acts as a biological predator of pests in agricultural crops and benefits farmers.
• Listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). 
• Slender Loris has a wide range of ecological roles to play in the terrestrial ecosystem.
• The survival of the species depends on its habitat improvement, conservation efforts and mitigation of threats.

In significant steps towards conservation of wildlife, Tamil Nadu government notified 

• India’s first Dugong Conservation Reserve in Palk Bay, 
• Kazhuveli bird sanctuary in Villupuram
• Nanjarayan Tank birds sanctuary in Tiruppur 
• The State’s fifth elephant reserve at Agasthyamalai in Tirunelveli.
• 13 wetlands across the State were declared as Ramsar sites.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The incumbent Chief Justice of India (CJI), Justice U.U. Lalit, had set in motion the procedure contemplated for the collegium of the Supreme Court which is enshrined in the Memorandum of Procedure of 1999.

• He also forwarded the name of Justice D Chandrachud as his successor. This has again put in focus the institution of the ‘collegium’ system that rules the appointments in higher judiciary.

The Collegium System 

• It was introduced in response to the executive interference in judicial appointments. However, this system has failed to protect judicial appointments from executive interference. It is due to the reasons like Post-retirement appointments of judges.
• At present, the collegium comprises of CJI (Chief Justice of India) and 4 senior-most judges of the Supreme Court. Despite various criticisms and attempts to reform the appointments and transfers process, the collegium system still persists and remains stronger.

Evolution of Collegium System

• Article 124(2) of the Indian Constitution provides that the Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President. He/she should consult such a number of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in the States as he/she may deem necessary for the purpose.
• Article 217 of the Indian Constitution states that the Judge of a High Court shall be appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Governor of the State. Further, the Chief Justice of the High Court should also be consulted except in case of his/her own appointment.
• In First Judges Case (1981) – The court said consultation under Article 124 doesn’t mean concurrence (unanimity). Based on this judgement, the President is not bound by CJI’s advice.
• In Second Judges Case (1993) – The court overruled its previous decision and said CJI’s advice is binding. Further CJI is required to formulate its advice based on a collegium of judges consisting of CJI and two senior-most SC judges.
• In Third Judges Case (1998) – The court expanded the collegium to a five-member body to include the CJI and the four senior-most judges of the court after the CJI.
• In the Fourth Judges Case (2015)– The SC upheld the primacy of the collegium. Further, the court strikes down the NJAC (National Judicial Appointments Commission) Act as unconstitutional. The Court held that the Act gave the government significant powers to appoint Judges. The Court held the Act encroached upon the judiciary’s independence and undermined the basic structure.

• The NJAC comprised of 3 judges of SC, a central law minister, and 2 civil society experts.
• A person would not be recommended by NJAC if any 2 of its members did not accept such recommendation, making the appointment process more broad-based.  

Criticisms of the Collegium System

• It gives enormous power to judges that can be easily misused. The collegium system has made India, the only country where judges appoint judges.
• The selection of judges by collegium is undemocratic. Since judges are not accountable to the people or representative of peoples i.e. executive or legislative.
• There is no official procedure for selection or any written manual for functioning. This creates an ambiguity in the collegium’s functioning.
• Sons and nephews of previous judges or senior lawyers tend to be popular choices for judicial roles. Thus, it encourages mediocrity in the judiciary by excluding talented ones and breeds nepotism.
• The delays over the appointment are still persistent. The Supreme Court last appointed a judge in September 2019, and it currently has four vacancies, which is expected to be increased further this year. 
• The procedure lacks uniformity- Sometimes a judge of HC is elevated as chief justice of the same HC while in other cases he/she is made chief justice of some other high court.
• Proactive decisions on improving transparency were rolled back to secrecy. This includes the practice of disclosing the reasons while announcing the collegium’s decision. 

National Judicial Appointments Commission

• The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) is a constitutional body proposed to replace the present Collegium system of appointing judges.
• It will consist of six people — the Chief Justice of India, the two most senior judges of the Supreme Court, the Law Minister, and two ‘eminent persons’. These eminent persons are to be nominated for a three-year term by a committee consisting of the Chief Justice, the Prime Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and are not eligible for re-nomination.
• The NJAC was established by amending the Constitution [Constitution (Ninety-Ninth Amendment) Act, 2014] passed by the Lok Sabha on August 13, 2014 and by the Rajya Sabha on August 14 2014.
• The Supreme Court rejected the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act and the 99th Constitutional Amendment.

Way Forward

• In recent times, the Government seems to have given up on pursuing the commission for judicial appointments. It is time to revisit this question and secure a better, broad-based and transparent method of appointing senior judges to the High Courts and the Supreme Court.
• While doing so, we may also ask why there have been no appointments from the category of distinguished jurists which Article 124 of the Constitution contemplates. Appointments to the top court seem to be the preserve of judges from the High Courts with a handful of appointments from the Bar.
• Filling up of vacancies is a continuous and collaborative process involving the executive and the judiciary, so it is time to think of a permanent, independent body to institutionalize the process with adequate safeguards to preserve the judiciary’s independence guaranteeing judicial primacy but not judicial exclusivity.
• The mechanism for judicial appointments and transfer should ensure judicial independence, reflect diversity, demonstrate professional competence and integrity.
• Instead of selecting the number of judges required against a certain number of vacancies, the collegium must provide a panel of possible names to the President to appoint in order of preference and other valid criteria.
• Apart from the above suggestions, government may also examine the feasibility of reviving the idea of a National Judicial Oversight Committee (NJOC) that gives executive greater role in ensuring transparency and efficiency in higher judiciary of India.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The News Broadcasters and Digital Association (NBDA) approached the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against search-engine operator Google, alleging that the latter had deprived them of their justifiable revenue acquired from news dissemination on the tech-giant’s platforms. 

The complaint would be clubbed with similar cases filed by the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) in February this year and the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) last year.

Why is Google dominant?

• As per the NBDA, Google’s search engine commands a 94% market share in the country. 
• The number becomes all the more crucial for news publishers with the increased transition toward news consumption online (inclusive of app-based consumption). 
• The traditional newspaper industry in India has sustained itself on a business model wherein advertising accounts for two-third of its total revenue. 
• On similar lines, with online proliferation, there is an increased reliance of news publishers on digital ad revenues, and in turn, tech-based companies. 
• More than half of the total traffic on news websites is routed through Google. 
• The search engine, by way of its algorithms and internal quality vetting, determines which news websites would be prioritised in search queries. 
• Essential to understand here is that search engines are an important determinant in online news consumption. 
• Readers would more often opt for an online web search rather than reaching out to a specific news website by typing its URL in a browser. 
• This has made search-engines the first port of call for information online.

Allegations against Google

• Dominance of Google: Google’s search engine commands a 94% market share in the country. More than half of the total traffic on news websites is routed through Google. The search engine, by way of its algorithms and internal quality vetting, determines which news websites would be prioritised in search queries.
• Google not compensated news publishers for their contribution to (Google’s various) platforms and has engaged in practices to bolster its monopoly in the space. The DNPA had put forth that website publishers receive only 51% of the advertisement revenue.
• “Unilateral and non-transparent” determination and sharing of ad revenues, lack of transparency and information asymmetry in the ad-tech services provided by Google. This bothers the quality of services and innovation in the news realm.
• Publishers have been “forced” to integrate content on their platforms and use its buying tool, Google Ads/DV 360, to receive bids from advertisers.
• Encouraging members to disable header bidding – It refers to a programmatic bidding process that unifies multiple exchanges for a single bidding event.
• “Forcing” members into using their Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) or building mirror-like ‘light-weight’ webpages. However, it restricted paywall options unless publishers rebuild their websites as per AMP standards.
• Google represents the buyer and the seller in the same transaction, while also operating the auction house in the middle, and selling its own inventory.

What is happening outside India?

• In February this year, the European Publishers Council filed an anti-trust complaint against Google with the European Commission, challenging its existing “ad tech stranglehold” over press publishers. 
• Australia introduced the ‘Media Bargaining Code’ in February to address the imbalance. 

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

PM recently addressed 2nd UN World Geospatial International Congress. It is being held in Hyderabad.

• The goal of this year’s UNWGIC is to promote a broad dialogue on global geospatial information management with all relevant governments, non-governmental organisations, academia, and the private sector.
• Theme: The theme of UNWGIC 2022 is ‘Geo-Enabling the Global Village: No one should be left behind’.
• It was hosted by the ministry of science and technology of the government of India.

United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC)

• The United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) convened the conference on UNWGIC 2022 and was organised by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
• It is conducted every four years with the objectives of enhancing international collaboration among the Member States and relevant stakeholders in Geospatial information management and capacities.
• The first UNWGIC was organized by China in October 2018.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States (Tele-MANAS) initiative launched on occasion of World Mental Health Day.

• Tele-MANAS aims to provide free tele-mental health services all over the country round the clock, particularly catering to people in remote or under-served areas. 
• The programme includes a network of 23 tele-mental health centres of excellence, with NIMHANS being the nodal centre and International Institute of Information Technology-Bangalore (IIITB) providing technology support. 
• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bengaluru and National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHRSC) will provide the technical support.
• The Union Government aims to open at least one Tele-MANAS Cell in each State/UT.

Important Points

• Tele-MANAS will be organised in two tier system; Tier 1 comprises of state Tele-MANAS cells which include trained counsellors and mental health specialists. 
• Tier 2 will comprise of specialists at District Mental Health Programme (DMHP)/Medical College resources for physical consultation and/or e-Sanjeevani for audio visual consultation.
• Presently there are 5 regional coordination centres along with 51 State/UT Tele MANAS cells.
• The initial rollout providing basic support and counselling through centralized Interactive Voice Response system (IVRS) is being customized for use across all States and UTs.
• Specialised care is being envisioned through the programme by linking Tele-MANAS with other services like National tele-consultation service, e-Sanjeevani, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, mental health professionals, Ayushman Bharat health and wellness centres and emergency psychiatric facilities.
• Eventually, this will include the entire spectrum of mental wellness and illness, and integrate all systems that provide mental health care.