Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Context

• Recently, The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022 has been unanimously passed in Lok Sabha.
• The Bill seeks to amend The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act, 2005, to provide against the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems in line with India’s international obligations.
• The 2005 Act prohibited the manufacturing, transport, and transfer of weapons of mass destruction, and their means of delivery.

Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Weapons 

• While there is no single, authoritative definition of a WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) in international law, the expression is usually understood to cover nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons. 
• India’s 2005 WMD Act defines:
  • “Biological weapons” as “microbial or other biological agents, or toxins of types and in quantities that have no justification for prophylactic, protective or other peaceful purposes; and weapons, equipment or delivery systems specially designed to use such agents or toxins for hostile purposes or in armed conflict” .
  • “Chemical weapons” as “toxic chemicals and their precursors” except where used for peaceful, protective, and certain specified military and law enforcement purposes; “munitions and devices specifically designed to cause death or other harm through the toxic properties of those toxic chemicals”.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 1

Context

• El Nino, which is characterised by a warming of temperatures in the Central Pacific and is connected with low rainfall over India, is not likely to appear this year.
• Its polar opposite, or La Nina, contributed to two years of above-average rainfall in 2019 and 2020, as well as “normal” rainfall in 2021.
  • The previous two monsoon seasons have been driven by the southwest monsoon, and rainfall in August, the second rainiest month, is projected to be muted in 2022.
  •  The north-eastern states have a high baseline amount of precipitation. However, the major kharif agricultural districts of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, as well as the rain-fed provinces of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, have seen back-to-back La Nina episodes. The development of El Nino, which generally corrupts the monsoon, is ruled out.

About El Nino

• El Nino is a climatic trend characterised by unusually warm surface waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
• El Nino is the “warm phase” of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation, which is a broader phenomenon (ENSO).
• El Nino and La Nia are the ocean components of ENSO, whereas the Southern Oscillation is the atmospheric component.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Context

• Recently, the Union Cabinet approved a scheme to distribute fortified rice under government programmes.
• Earlier the Prime Minister had announced the fortification of rice distributed under various government schemes, including the public distribution system (PDS) and midday meals in schools, by 2024.

What is rice fortification?

• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) defines fortification as “deliberately increasing the content of essential micronutrients in a food so as to improve the nutritional quality of food and to provide public health benefit with minimal risk to health”.
• Various technologies are available to add micronutrients to regular rice, such as coating, dusting, and ‘extrusion’. 
• Extrusion involves the production of fortified rice kernels (FRKs) from a mixture using an ‘extruder’ machine. It is considered to be the best technology for India. The fortified rice kernels are blended with regular rice to produce fortified rice.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Context

• The United States, India’s key partner, has warned of dire consequences for any nation, including India, that conducts local currency transactions through Russia’s central bank or builds a payment mechanism that subverts or circumvents US sanctions against Russia.
• Many nations, including the United States, have been irritated by India’s constant neutral stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has been shaped by its decisions. It is necessary to determine India’s non-aligned stance on the conflict.

Neutralising Geo Political Equations

• India has solid connections with both Russia and the United States, and siding with one might jeopardise India’s relationship with the other.
• However, this has not been the case thus far, since India appears to have adopted a neutral stance. India has frequently stated that it considers its relations with Russia and the United States as distinct and would not allow either to dictate its foreign policy.
• Russia has undoubtedly been India’s most trustworthy partner for more than five decades, but due to deteriorating ties with the US, Moscow has increased its connection with China in recent years.
• India, which has been strengthening ties with the US since the turn of the century, is now speeding up its multifaceted collaboration with the US, mostly to counterbalance a confrontational China.
• These shifting geopolitical dynamics have also raised concerns about an Indo-Russian drift and India’s capacity to manage its relations with other major powers.
• Despite the prospect of American penalties under CAATSA, India not only opted to go with the 2018 sale for S-400 missile defence systems, but also completed a new agreement for INR 5,000 crores for the manufacturing of 7.5 lakh AK 203 Russian assault rifles.
• Similarly, India has been collaborating closely with the US in the Indo-Pacific, which Russia has slammed as a US-led plot to undermine India’s long-standing alliance with Russia.
• Despite Russia’s vehement opposition, India has continued to pursue its Indo-Pacific Strategy through frequent contacts inside and beyond the QUAD, demonstrating that it will act exclusively in its own interests.
• India’s defence and energy partnerships with Russia are critical.
• Russia is India’s most seasoned strategic partner, with the two having worked together on political, security, and other strategic issues for a long time and continuing to do so.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Context

• On January 31 2022, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry barred the transmission of Malayalam news channel Media One citing ‘security reasons‘. Later, the Kerala High Court granted a stay, allowing the channel to continue functioning.
• Recently, the Supreme Court Tuesday stayed the Centre’s decision to revoke the security clearance of Malayalam news channel MediaOne
  • In the case of  Media One, its licences were revoked because the Home Ministry had denied it security clearance, which is essential as part of the policy.

In which sectors can the I&B Ministry regulate content?

• Until 2021, it had the powers to regulate content across all sectors — TV channels, newspapers and magazines, movies in theatres and on TV, and the radio — barring the internet.
• In 2021, the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, extended its regulatory powers over internet content too, especially on digital news platforms and OTT platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime etc.

In the case of movies

• Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) has a mandate to give any film that will be played in a theatre, a rating indicating the kind of audience it is suitable for. For example, a movie with sensitive or sexual content would get an adults-only certificate.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Context

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved continuation of Atal Innovation Mission till March 2023.
• The intended targets that will be achieved by AIM are:
  • Establishing 10000 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs),
  • Establishing 101 Atal Incubation Centers (AICs),
  • Establishing 50 Atal Community Innovation Centers (ACICs) and
  • Supporting 200 startups via the Atal New India Challenges.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Context

• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked the parliamentary committee for more time to frame the rules of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA), on the grounds that consultation process is on.
• Besides the consultation process, MHA said that the construction of the rules had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Without the rules being framed, the Act cannot be implemented.
• The tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram or Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution and States of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland and Manipur are exempted from CAA.

How is citizenship acquired in India?

• In India, citizenship is regulated by the Citizenship Act, 1955.
• The Act specifies that citizenship may be acquired in India through five methods – by birth in India, by descent, through registration, by naturalisation (extended residence in India), and by incorporation of territory into India.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Context

• According to the estimates of the FAO, about 60 per cent of the global population is still dependent, directly or indirectly, on agriculture. Yet, its contribution to the world GDP is just about 4 per cent — a dismal figure in comparison to the combined contribution of 90 per cent of the secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy.
• The Indian scenario isn’t much different, except that the GDP contribution of this sector (12-15 per cent) to the economy is somewhat higher than the world average. This is a case of sectoral income inequalities.

The need for imbibing technology into agriculture

• An Ernst & Young 2020 study pitches India’s agritech market at USD 24 billion by 2025 with the potential for supply chain technology and output markets at the highest. But this ecosystem can sustain at the last mile only when technology interventions are popular and adopted by small and marginal farmers.
• The ‘Digital India Initiative’ aims at widespread adoption of technology through digital platforms, analytics, artificial intelligence, blockchain, machine learning, Software as a Service (SaaS) and Internet of Things (IoT) in agriculture.
• Experts have opined that the onset of Covid-19 pandemic has led to aggressive adoption of automation, machines and technology.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Context

• India and Australia have signed an Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA). The landmark bilateral trade pact is the second trade agreement India has signed this year after inking a similar deal with the United Arab Emirates in February.
• The ECTA is expected to increase trade between the two sides to $45-50 billion over five years, from the current estimate of $27 billion, and create over 10 lakh additional job opportunities. 
• Under this agreement, India will give 85% of Australia’s exports zero-duty access to its domestic market. India is expected to get zero-duty access to Australia for its goods over five years. 
• The negotiations had begun over a decade ago in 2011, but were restarted in September 2021.

What are the main features?

• The ECTA is guided by a Preamble and is divided into multiple sections that will govern what is hoped to be the most expansive bilateral trade since the two countries established diplomatic ties before India attained independence.
• It has a section on goods exports, and lays out clearly “Rules of Origin” that are aimed at creating anti-dumping measures. There are also sections that are aimed at providing remedies and mechanisms for resolving trade disputes. 
• The Commerce Ministry underlined that this is the first trade deal signed by India that has a compulsory review mechanism after 15 years of implementation.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Context

• Chief Justice of India N V Ramana has assured petitioners that the Supreme Court will take up for hearing a pending plea challenging the Electoral Bond Scheme, 2018.
  • Two NGOs — Common Cause and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) — have challenged the scheme, alleging that it is “distorting democracy”.

Electoral Bonds Scheme

• Features:
  • Introduced with the Finance Bill, 2017, the Electoral Bond Scheme was notified on January 29, 2018.
  • Electoral bonds is an instrument through which anyone can donate money to political parties
  • It is like a promissory note that may be purchased by a person who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India.
  • A person being an individual can buy Electoral Bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals.
  • The bonds are like banknotes that are payable to the bearer on demand and are interest-free
  • There is no limit on the number of bonds an individual or company can purchase.
  • The bonds that are not encashed by a party within 15 days are deposited by the SBI into the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.