Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Short for Open Radio Access Network, Open RAN, is critical to 5G deployment. In India, the Open RAN architecture is essential but also fraught with challenges.

What is Open RAN?

Open Radio Access Network, or Open RAN, is a key part of a mobile network system that uses cellular radio connections to link individual devices to other parts of a network.

• It comprises antennae, which transmits and receives signals to and from our smartphones or other compatible devices. The signal is then digitised in the RAN-base station and connected to the network.
• O-RAN uses software to make hardware manufactured by different companies work together.

Advantages of Open-RAN:

• An open environment expands the ecosystem, and provides more Options to the Operators.
• It will boost new opportunities for the Indian entities to enter into the network equipment market.
• It is expected to make 5G more flexible and cost-efficient.
• The Open RAN architecture allows for the separation or disaggregation, between hardware and software with open interfaces.

How is Open RAN different from traditional RAN?

In the traditional set-up, Radio Access Network is provided as an integrated platform of both hardware and software. Therefore, it is difficult to mix vendors for the radio and baseband unit, and in most cases, they come from the same supplier.

• The idea of Open RAN is to change this, and enable operators to mix and match components.

Radio access network (RAN)

• It is a part of a mobile telecommunication system. It implements a radio access technology.
• Conceptually, it resides between a device such as a mobile phone, a computer, or any remotely controlled machine and provides connection with its core network (CN).
• RAN functionality is typically provided by a silicon chip residing in both the core network as well as the user equipment

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The extended-range BrahMos missile was tested from a naval ship, the missile was air-launched from a Su-30 MKI aircraft

About BrahMos

• BrahMos is an indigenously manufactured supersonic cruise missile, jointly developed with Russia
• Name: BrahMos is named on the rivers Brahmaputra and Moskva.
• Stages in Brahmos Missile: It is a two-stage (solid propellant engine in the first stage and liquid ramjet in second) missile.
• Multiplatform Missile:e. it can be launched from land, air, and sea and multi capability missile with pinpoint accuracy that works in both day and night irrespective of the weather conditions.
• Fire and Forgets Principle: It operates on the “Fire and Forgets” principle i.e. it does not require further guidance after launch.
• Range: The range of BrahMos was earlier around 290 km, which, with the new version, has reached around 350 km.
• Speed: Brahmos is one of the fastest cruise missile currently operationally deployed with speed of Mach 2.8, which is nearly 3 times more than the speed of sound.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

The Government of India has appointed current Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar as the next Chief Election Commissioner of India (CEC)

Election Commission

• Part XV of the Indian constitution deals with elections, and establishes a commission for these matters.
• The Election Commission was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25th January 1950.
• Article 324 to 329 of the constitution deals with powers, function, tenure, eligibility, etc of the commission and the member

Structure of the Commission

• Election Commissioner Amendment Act 1989, it has been made a multi-member body
• The commission consists of one Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners.
• The President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.

Tenure

• They have a fixed tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
• They enjoy the same status and receive salary and perks as available to Judges of the Supreme Court of India.

Removal

• The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office only through a process of removal similar to that of a Supreme Court judge for by Parliament.
• They can resign anytime or can also be removed before the expiry of their term. 

Functions

• The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country
• To determine the territorial areas of the electoral constituencies throughout the country on the basis of the Delimitation Commission Act of Parliament
• To prepare and periodically revise electoral rolls and to register all eligible voters
• To grant recognition to political parties and allot election symbols to them
• Election Commission ensures a level playing field for the political parties in election fray, through strict observance by them of a Model Code of Conduct
• the Commission has advisory jurisdiction in the matter of post election disqualification of sitting members of Parliament and State Legislatures
• The opinion of the Commission in all such matters is binding on the President or, as the case may be, the Governor to whom such opinion is tendered
• The Commission has the power to disqualify a candidate who has failed to lodge an account of his election expenses within the time and in the manner prescribed by law

Limitations

• The Constitution has not prescribed the qualifications of the members of the Election Commission.
• The Constitution has not specified the term of the members of the Election Commission.
• The Constitution has not debarred the retiring election commissioners from any further appointment by the government.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) facility, revealed the first image of the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way.

• Astronomers believe nearly all galaxies, including our own, have these giant black holes at their centre
• The Milky Way black hole is called Sagittarius A*, near the border of Sagittarius and Scorpius constellations.
• It is 4 million times more massive than our sun.
• The image of Sagittarius A* (SgrA*) gave further support to the idea that the compact object at the centre of our galaxy is indeed a black hole, strengthening Einstein’s general theory of relativity.

What is Black Hole?

• Black hole refers to a point in space where matter is so compressed as to create a gravity field from which even light cannot escape.
• Light gets chaotically bent and twisted around by gravity as it gets sucked into the abyss along with superheated gas and dust.
• Black-holes were theorized by Albert Einstein in 1915.

A black hole has two parts:

• Singularity at its core– a point that is infinitely dense, as all the remnant mass of the star is compressed into this point.
• Event Horizon – There is a region of space beyond the black hole called the event horizon. This is a “point of no return”, beyond which it is impossible to escape the gravitational effects of the black hole.

Event Horizon Telescope Project

• EHT is a group of 8 radio telescopes located in different parts of the world.
• In 2006, an international team of more than 200 researchers, led by Harvard University astronomers, launched the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project with a sole aim: to capture a direct shot of a black hole.

General Theory of Relativity

• Essentially, it’s a theory of gravity. The basic idea is that instead of being an invisible force that attracts objects to one another, gravity is a curving or warping of space. The more massive an object, the more it warps the space around it

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Researchers have announced that they have made a precise measurement of the mass of the so-called W boson.

What did the researchers find? Why is it significant?

They stated that the W boson is slightly heavier than that predicted by the so-called Standard Model of particle physics.

• This result is highly significant because this implies the incompleteness of the standard model description.

What is the standard model description?

The Standard Model of Particle Physics is scientists’ current best theory to describe the most basic building blocks of the universe. It explains how particles called quarks (which make up protons and neutrons) and leptons (which include electrons) make up all known matter.

• The Standard Model explains three of the four fundamental forces that govern the universe: electromagnetism, the strong force, and the weak force.

Why is the standard model believed to be incomplete?

• It gives a unified picture of only three of the four fundamental forces of nature. It totally omits gravity.
• The model does not include a description of dark matter particles. So far these have been detected only through their gravitational pull on surrounding matter.

What is W Boson?

Discovered in 1983, the W boson is a fundamental particle.

Together with the Z boson, it is responsible for the weak force.

The W boson, which is electrically charged, changes the very make-up of particles.

It switches protons into neutrons, and vice versa, through the weak force, triggering nuclear fusion and letting stars burn.

In contrast to the photon, which is massless, the W bosons are quite massive, so the weak force they mediate is very short ranged.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 1

India is taking part in the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in Cote d’Ivoire (Western Africa).

About COP15 of UNCCD:

• Theme: The COP15 theme, ‘Land. Life. Legacy: From scarcity to prosperity’, is a call to action to ensure land, the lifeline on this planet, continues to benefit present and future generations.
• Mandate: COP15 of UNCCD to drive progress in the future sustainable management of land and will explore links between land and other key sustainability issues.
• UNCCD COP 15 Agenda: Drought, land restoration, and related enablers such as land rights, gender equality and youth empowerment are among the top items on the Conference agenda.

About UNCCD:

• Established in 1994.
• It is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
• It is the only convention stemming from a direct recommendation of the Rio Conference’s Agenda 21.
• Focus areas: The Convention addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

A two-judge Bench of the Delhi High Court has delivered a split verdict in a batch of petitions challenging the exception provided to marital rape in the Indian Penal Code

• The court was hearing a clutch of four petitions challenging the constitutionality of the exception to Section 375
• While one judge held that the exception under Section 375 of the IPC is unconstitutional, the other judge held that the provision is valid

What is the marital rape exemption?

• Section 375 defines rape and lists seven notions of consent which, if vitiated (violated), would constitute the offence of rape by a man.
• The provision contains a crucial exemption: “Sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, the wife not being under eighteen years of age, is not rape.”
• This exemption essentially allows a marital right to a husband who can with legal sanction exercise his right to consensual or non-consensual sex with his wife.

What happens when there is a spilt verdict?

• In case of a split verdict, the case is heard by a larger Bench.
• The larger Bench to which a split verdict goes can be a three-judge Bench of the High Court, or an appeal can be preferred before the Supreme Court.

Arguments for criminalizing Marital Rape

• A marriage should not be viewed as a license for a husband to forcibly rape his wife with impunity.
• The Doctrine of Coverture: The marital exception to the IPC’s definition of rape was drafted based on Victorian patriarchal norms
• The Doctrine of Coverture – It did not allow married women to own property, and merged the identities of husband and wife
• Against Basic Rights of Women – Indian women deserve to be treated equally under Article 14
• Bodily Integrity is intrinsic to Article 21: A woman is entitled to refuse sexual relations with her husband as the right to bodily integrity and privacy is an intrinsic part of Article 21 of the Constitution
• The Justice Verma committee set up in the Nirbhaya gang-rape case and the UN Committee on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 2013 had recommended that the Indian government should criminalize marital rape
• Rape is rape, irrespective of the identity of the perpetrator, and the age of the survivor.

Arguments against criminalizing Marital Rape

• Destabilize marriage as an Institution – It will create anarchy in families and destabilize the institution of marriage
• Misuse of law – It may become an easy tool for harassing the husbands by misusing the law similar to misuse of Section 498A (harassment caused to a married woman by her husband and in-laws) of IPC and the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
• Diversity in Cultures of the states – Criminal law is in the Concurrent List and implemented by the states and there is a vast diversity in the cultures of these states

Way forward

• The legislature should take cognizance of this legal infirmity and bring marital rape within the purview of rape laws by eliminating Section 375 (Exception) of IPC
• Adopt multi-stakeholder approach while deciding the sentencing
• Bringing behavioral changes awareness campaigns sensitizing the public regarding the importance of consent, medical care and rehabilitation

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 1

The 161st birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore was celebrated across the nation on May 7. He was born on 7 May 1861.

Early life:

• Popularly known as ‘Gurudev’, he was born in an affluent family.
• Tagore was primarily known as a writer, poet, playwright, philosopher and aesthetician, music composer and choreographer, founder of a unique educational institution – Visva- Bharati and a painter.
• Tagore wrote his first poetry aged16 under the pen name Bhanusimha.
• He had spoken at the World Parliament for Religions in the years 1929 and 1937.

 Contributions:

• He wrote the National Anthems of India and Bangladesh.
• He left his imprint on art and played a role in transforming its practices and ushering into modernism.
• Between 1928 and 1940, Rabindranath painted more than 2000 images. He never gave any title to his paintings.
• Expressionism in European art and the primitive art of ancient cultures inspired him.

Awards:

In 1913, he became the first Indian to receive a Nobel Prize in Literature for his novel ’Geetanjali’.

Role in the freedom struggle:

• He denounced British imperialism, yet he did not fully support or agree with Gandhi and his Noncooperation Movement.
• He viewed British rule as a symptom of the overall “sickness” of the social “disease” of the public.
• In his writings, he also voiced his support of Indian nationalists.
• Rabindranath Tagore wrote the song Banglar Mati Banglar Jol (Soil of Bengal, Water of Bengal) to unite the Bengali population after Bengal partition in 1905.
• He also wrote the famed ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’ which helped ignite a feeling of nationalism amongst people.
• He started the Rakhi Utsav where people from Hindu and Muslim communities tied colourful threads on each other’s wrists.
• Tagore rejected violence from the British as well and renounced the knighthood that had been given to him in by Lord Hardinge in 1915 in protest of the violent Amritsar massacre in which the British killed at least 1526 unarmed Indian citizens.
• The cornerstone of Tagore’s beliefs and work is the idea that anti-colonialism cannot simply be achieved by rejecting all things British, but should consist of incorporating all the best aspects of western culture into the best of Indian culture.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Supreme Court expressed displeasure over the Centre changing its stand on a plea that sought minority status for Hindus where their numbers have gone below other communities

What Happened?

• In the earlier (March) affidavit, the Centre had sought to shift the onus of granting minority status on states, stating centre and state have concurrent powers to do so
• However, in a fresh affidavit it said “the power is vested with the Centre to notify minorities”

Background

What is the case?

• The plea contended that Hindus are in a ‘minority’ in six states and three Union Territories of India but was allegedly not able to avail themselves of the benefits of schemes meant for minorities.
• Plea Showed as per 2011 census Hindus have become a minority in Lakshadweep (2.5%), Mizoram (2.75%), Nagaland (8.75%), Meghalaya (11.53%), J&K (28.44%), Arunachal Pradesh (29%), Manipur (31.39%), and Punjab (38.40%).
• They should be given minority status in these states in accordance with the principle laid down by the SC in its 2002 TMA Pai Foundation and 2005 Bal Patil Case ruling.
• The petition also argued that NCMEI (National Commission for Minority Education Institution) Act 2004 gives unbridled power to the Centre and is “manifestly arbitrary, irrational, and offending”.
• Section 2(f) of NCMEI Act 2004 confers power to the Centre to identify and notify minority communities in India

TMA Pai Case:

• The SC had said that for the purposes of Article 30 that deals with the rights of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions, religious and linguistic minorities have to be considered state-wise.

Bal Patil Case:

• In 2005, the SC in its judgement in ‘Bal Patil’ referred to the TMA Pai ruling.
• The legal position clarifies that henceforth the unit for determining status of both linguistic and religious minorities would be ‘state’.

What was the Centre’s stand (earlier)?

• Earlier centre stated that Parliament and State legislatures have concurrent powers to enact law to provide for the protection of minorities and their interests.
• States can also “certify institutions as being minority institutions” as per the rules of the said state.
• The Centre pointed out that Maharashtra had notified Jews as a minority community in 2016 and Karnataka had notified Urdu, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Tulu, Lamani, Hindi, Konkani and Gujarati as minority languages.
• But now in a fresh it contended that “the power is vested with the Centre to notify minorities”

How is a community notified as a minority?

• Under Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act of 1992 central government has the power to notify a community as a minority

Notified Minorities in India

• Currently, only those communities notified under section 2(c) of the NCM Act, 1992, by the central government are regarded as minority.
• In 1993, the first Statutory National Commission was set up and five religious communities viz. The Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis) were notified as minority communities.
• In 2014, Jains were also notified as a minority community.

 National Commission for Minorities  (NCM) 

• In 1992, with the enactment of the NCM Act, 1992, the Minority Commission became a statutory body and was renamed as the NCM

Composition:

• NCM consists of a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson and five members and all of them shall be from amongst the minority communities.
• Total of 7 persons to be nominated by the Central Government should be from amongst persons of eminence, ability and integrity.
• Tenure: Each Member holds office for a period of three years from the date of assumption of office.

Functions:

• Evaluation of the progress of the development of minorities under the Union and States
• Monitoring of the working of the safeguards for minorities provided in the Constitution and in laws enacted by Parliament and the state legislatures
• Making recommendations for the effective implementation of safeguards for the protection of the interests of minorities by the central or state governments
• Investigates matters of communal conflict and riots
• Looking into specific complaints regarding deprivation of rights and safeguards of minorities

Constitutional Provisions for Minorities

Article 29

• It provides that any section of the citizens residing in any part of India having a distinct language, script or culture of its own, shall have the right to conserve the same.
• It grants protection to both religious minorities as well as linguistic minorities

Article 30:

• All minorities shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
• The protection under Article 30 is confined only to minorities (religious or linguistic) and does not extend to any section of citizens (as under Article 29).

Article 350-B:

• The 7th Constitutional (Amendment) Act 1956 inserted this article which provides for a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities appointed by the President of India.
• It would be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities under the Constitution

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Punjab Government is promoting the cultivation of green manure these days.

• The state government is providing a subsidy on the seed at the rate of Rs 2,000 per quintal.

 What is green manure?

• These are crops grown specifically for maintaining soil fertility and structure.
• They are normally incorporated back into the soil, either directly, or after removal and composting.
• Green manure varieties are incorporated into the soil when the crop is 42-56 days old.

Examples:

• There are three main varieties of green manure, including Dhaincha, Cowpea, Sunhemp. Also some crops such as summer moong, mash pulses and guar act as green manure.

Benefits:

• Helps in enhancing the organic matter in the soil.
• Meets the deficiency of the micronutrients.
• Reduces the consumption of the inorganic fertilisers.
• It is a good alternative to the organic manure.
• It conserves the nutrients, adds nitrogen and stabilises the soil structure.
• It decomposes rapidly and liberates large quantities of carbon dioxide and weak acids, which act on insoluble soil minerals to release nutrients for plant growth.
• It contains 15 to 18 quintals of dry matter, which also contains phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, iron and manganese, per acre and 20 to 40kg per acre of nitrogen.

 Why is sowing of green manure important in Punjab?

Punjab’s per hectare fertiliser consumption, which is around 244 kg, is one of the highest in the country and is also higher than the national average.

• Green manure can curtail this consumption to a large extent by 25 to 30% and can save huge input cost for the farmers.
• Regular use of chemical fertilisers such as urea, diammonium phosphate (DAP) lead to deficiencies of micronutrients like iron and zinc, especially in the soils where rice is cultivated thus affecting productivity.
• PH level of the soil in several parts of Punjab is more than 8.5 and 9 per cent. Green manure helps maintain it.