Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Why in News?

• Recently, a Supreme Court (SC) judge recused herself from hearing a writ petition filed by Bilkis Bano against a Gujarat government decision to prematurely release 11 men sentenced to life imprisonment for gang-raping her during the 2002 riots.

What is Recusal?

• About:

• It is the act of abstaining from participation in an official action such as a legal proceeding due to a conflict of interest of the presiding court official or administrative officer.

• Rule for Recusal:

• There are no formal rules governing recusals, although several SC judgments have dealt with the issue.

• In Ranjit Thakur v Union of India (1987), the SC held that the test of the likelihood of bias is the reasonableness of the apprehension in the mind of the party.
• The judge needs to look at the mind of the party before him, and decide that he is biased or not.

• Reason for Recusal:

• When there is a conflict of interest, a judge can withdraw from hearing a case to prevent creating a perception that he carried a bias while deciding the case.
• The conflict of interest can be in many ways such as:

• Having a prior or personal association with a party involved in the case.
• Appeared for one of the parties involved in a case.
• Ex parte communications with lawyers or non-lawyers.
• An appeal is filed in the SC against a judgement of a High Court (HC) that may have been delivered by the SC judge when he was in the HC.
• In a matter of a company in which he holds shares unless he has disclosed his interest and there is no objection to it.

• The practice stems from the cardinal principle of due process of law that nobody can be a judge in her own case.

• Any interest or conflict of interest would be a ground to withdraw from a case since a judge has a duty to act fair.

What is the Process of Recusal?

• The decision to recuse generally comes from the judge himself as it rests on the conscience and discretion of the judge to disclose any potential conflict of interest.

• Some judges orally convey to the lawyers involved in the case their reasons for recusal, many do not. Some explain the reasons in their order.

• In some circumstances lawyers or parties in the case bring it up before the judge. Once a request is made for recusal, the decision to recuse or not rests with the judge.

• While there are some instances where judges have recused even if they do not see a conflict but only because such an apprehension was cast, there have also been several cases where judges have refused to withdraw from a case.

• If a judge recuses, thecase is listed before the Chief Justice for allotment to a fresh Bench.

What are the Concerns related to Recusal?

• Undermining Judicial Independence:

• It allows litigants to cherry-pick a bench of their choice, which impairs judicial fairness.
• Also, the purpose of recusal in these cases undermines both independence and impartiality of the judges.

• Different Interpretations:

• As there are no rules to determine when the judges could recuse themselves in these cases, there are different interpretations of the same situation.

• Delays the Process:

• Some requests for recusal are made with the intent to intimidate the court or to get better of an ‘inconvenient’ judge or to obfuscate the issues or to cause obstruction and delay the proceedings or in any other way frustrate or obstruct the course of justice.

Way Forward

• Recusals should not be used as a tool to manoeuvre justice, as a means to pick benches of a party’s choice, and as an instrument to evade judicial work.
• Judicial officers must resist all manner of pressure, regardless of where it comes from and if they deviate, the independence of the judiciary would be undermined, and in turn, the Constitution itself.
• Therefore, a rule that determines the procedure for recusal on part of judges should be made at the earliest.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Why in News?

• Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) will charge a “small fee” from platforms that will contribute towards “maintenance and development” of the network.
• The network will seek to reduce the compulsory commissions charged from sellers and logistics partners on the network by private e-commerce firms such as US-based Amazon and homegrown Flipkart — the two largest e-commerce firms in the country. 

What is ONDC?

• About:

• It is an open e-commerce protocol set up by the Ministry of Commerce’s Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
• Under ONDC, it is envisaged that a buyer registered on one participating e-commerce site (for example, Amazon) may purchase goods from a seller on another participating e-commerce site (for example, Flipkart).
• Presently, buyers and sellers have to be on the same app for a transaction which happens through the same platform. For example, a buyer needs to go to Amazon, to buy a product from a seller on Amazon.

• Objectives:

• Democratisation and decentralization of eCommerce
• Inclusivity and access for sellers, especially small and medium enterprises as well as local businesses
• Increased choices and independency for consumers

What Benefits Does the ONDC Offer?

• Level Playing Field: ONDC is keen to level the playing field for e-commerce operators and widen the digital market access for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and small traders in the country.
• Competitive and Innovative Ecosystem: ONDC will empower suppliers and consumers by breaking the monopoly of giant platforms to drive innovation and transform businesses in sectors like retail, food, and mobility.
• Freedom of Choice for Consumers: Consumers can potentially discover any seller, product or service in a common platform, thus increasing freedom of choice for consumers.
• Neutral and Regulated Platform: ONDC aims at fostering open networks developed on open-sourced methodology, using open specifications and network protocols, and independent of any specific platform.

• It will set protocols for cataloguing, vendor match, and price discovery on an open source-basis, like the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

What are the Issues with ONDC?

• ONDC is a complex ecosystem to implement, unlike UPI.
• Switching customers from the incumbents, which are offering a satisfactory service, will be difficult.
• Network participants may not make significant market development investments
• Growth in the seller base will not necessarily improve buyer experience on the network.
• Monetisation on the network is not very clear.
• Attaining critical mass will be difficult as buyer and seller sides are disconnected.
• Lack of clarity on accountability, especially in addressing customer complaints and returns. 

Way Forward

• A better digital space for e-commerce must be built by the government in order to compete with the dominant e-commerce platforms.

• Along with this, it’s important to create a proper digital education policy that takes into account various languages and user-friendly interface for the benefit of the consumers as well as sellers.

• A massive, well-funded adoption campaign will be needed to bring over tens of millions of kirana stores to the platform.
• The demand and supply sides should be able to access a secured single window to resolve issues such as information asymmetry, opaque pricing, quality concerns, and buyer-seller disputes.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Why in News?

• Recently, the Union Government has approved the continuation of the Scheme ‘Indian Footwear and Leather Development Programme (IFLDP)’till 31^st March 2026 or till further review.
• IFLDP was approved as continuation of the erstwhile IFLADP (Indian Footwear Leather and Accessories Development Programme).

What is IFLDP Scheme?

• About:

• It is a Central Sector Scheme, which aims at development of infrastructure for the leather sector, address environmental concerns specific to the leather sector, facilitate additional investments, employment generation and increase in production.
• It was launched by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

• Sub-Schemes:

• Sustainable Technology and Environmental Promotion (STEP)
• Integrated Development of Leather Sector (IDLS)
• Mega Leather Footwear and Accessories Cluster Development (MLFACD)
• Establishment of Institutional Facilities (EIF)
• Brand Promotion of Indian Brands in Footwear and Leather Sector
• Development of Design Studios in Footwear and Leather Sector

What is the Impact of erstwhile IFLADP?

• The programme has a direct benefit towards quality employment generation especially for women, skill development, decent work, making the industry more environment friendly and prompting a sustainable production system.
• The leather clusters located in different parts of the country have accrued benefit in terms of reduction of poverty, gender equality, sector specific skill/education,, thus touching many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Other National Development Plans (NDPs)such as economic growth, generation of employment, good health and well-being, infrastructure development, affordable and clean energy and other environmental benefits are well-served by the IFLAD Programme.

What is the Current Status of India’s Leather Industry?

• The Leather industry in India accounts for around13% of the world’s leather production of hides/skins and handles a robust annual production of about 3 bn sq. ft. of leather.
• The industry is known for its consistency in high export earnings and it is among the top 10 foreign exchangeearners for the country.
• India has an abundance of raw materials with access to 20% of the world’s cattle and buffalo and 11% of the world’s goat and sheep population.
• The Leather industry is an employment intensive industry providing jobs to more than 4 million people, mostly from the weaker sections of the society.

• Women employment is predominant in Leather products industry with about 30% share.
• The Leather industry in India has one of the youngest workforces with 55% of the workforce below 35 years of age.

• As of 2022, India is the second largest producer of footwear and leather garments, second largest exporter of leather garments and fifth largest exporter of leather goods & accessories in the world.
• The major production centres of leather and footwear products in India are located in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.
• The major markets for Indian Leather & Footwear Products are USA, Germany, U.K, Italy, France, Spain, Netherlands, U.A.E, China, Hong Kong, Belgium, and Poland.

• USA is the largest importer of leather and leather products from India and accounted for 25.19% of the country’s total leather exports during April-August 2022.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The American football writer Grant Wahl died last week after a catastrophic tear in a major blood vessel leading out of his heart. The autopsy found that Wahl had an “ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm”, a weakening of the blood vessel that often goes undetected. 

About Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm

• As the aneurysm grows, it may produce a cough, shortness of breath or chest pain.
• An aneurysm is a localised weakening of the wall of a blood vessel, which causes the vessel to bulge in that area — as a result of which the vessel may widen to more than 50 per cent of its usual diameter. Aneurysms are more commonly seen in arteries than in veins.
• The aorta is the main artery that carries oxygenated blood from the heart to the rest of the body; it is also the body’s largest blood vessel.
• An aortic aneurysm is a weakening and bulging in a portion of the aorta; “thoracic” refers to that section of the blood vessel that passes through the chest. 
• According to a note by Johns Hopkins Medicine, aneurysms occur more often in the portion of the aorta that runs through the abdomen rather than the chest (causing what is called “abdominal aortic aneurysm”).
• An aneurysm increases in size over time, and the wall of the blood vessel gets progressively weaker in that area. 
• The vessel may ultimately burst or separate, triggering a bleeding rush that can be life-threatening, and potentially lethal.

Causes and symptoms

• Among the possible causes of thoracic aortic aneurysm, the Johns Hopkins note lists 
• Degenerative disease that causes breakdown of the aortic wall tissue; 
• Genetic disorders
• Family history
• Vasculitis, or inflammation of the arteries
• Atherosclerosis, or the build-up of plaque on the walls of the artery. In rare cases, an infection can also trigger an aneurysm.
• Wahl had Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder that increases the risk of this type of aneurysm. 
• He was tall and thin and had long arms, all of which can be signs of the syndrome.
• The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) page on Marfan syndrome describes it as a genetic condition that affects connective tissue and can damage the blood vessels and cause aneurysms of the aorta. 
• The syndrome presents in around 1 in 5,000 individuals and is caused by a mutation in the FBN1 gene that limits the body’s ability to make the proteins needed to build connective tissue, according to the CDC.

Treatment

• Treatment may include monitoring the size and rate of growth of the bulge through an MRI or CT, and managing risk factors or a surgery.

Question: What is the Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm? What are its symptoms and causes.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

To improve the quality of life of the Senior Citizens by providing basic amenities like shelter, food, medical care and entertainment opportunities and by encouraging productive and active ageing through providing support.

• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
• Type: Central Sector Scheme

Objectives

• To improve the quality of life of the Senior Citizens by providing basic amenities like shelter, food, medical care and entertainment opportunities, free of cost to indigent senior citizens.
• Provision of financial security, healthcare, nutrition, shelter, welfare etc. for senior citizens.
• Encouraging productive and active ageing through providing support for capacity building of State/ UT Governments/Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)/Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) / local bodies and the community at large.

Integrated Programme for Senior Citizens(IPSrC):

• It is a component of AVYAY
• Functions: Senior citizen homes (old age homes) are provided in gap districts, i.e. districts not having senior citizen homes which includes senior citizen homes not being maintained even by the State Government.
• Applications are invited from eligible organisations on e-Anudaan portal only.
• Organisations are then selected on the basis of documents provided by them, and also the recommendation of the respective State/ UT Government.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The Delhi Forest Department is in the process of procuring electric cycles and golf carts to enable visits to the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary.

About the Asola Bhatti Sanctuary

• Asola-Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary covering 32.71 sq km area on the Southern Delhi Ridge of Aravalli hill range on Delhi-Haryana border lies in Southern Delhi as well as northern parts of Faridabad and Gurugram districts of Haryana state.
• Biodiversity significance of Ridge lies in its merger with Indo-Gangetic plains, as it is the part of the Northern Aravalli leopard wildlife corridor, an important wildlife corridor which starts from the Sariska National Park in Rajasthan, passes through Nuh, Faridabad and Gurugram districts of Haryana and ends at Delhi Ridge.
• This protected area contains one of the last surviving remnants of Delhi Ridge hill range and its semi-arid forest habitat and its dependent wildlife.
• Once the whole Delhi Ridge was a forested area, but development has destroyed several parts of it.
• Historical place around sanctuary are Suraj Kund and Anangpur Dam (both in Haryana), Tughlaqabad Fort and Adilabad ruins (both in Delhi), Chhatarpur Temple (in Delhi).
• There are several dozen lakes formed in the abandoned open pit mines in and around the sanctuary. It is contiguous to the seasonal waterfalls in Pali-Dhuaj-Kot villages of Faridabad and the sacred Mangar Bani.

Biodiversity and important species

• There are about 193 species of birds reported from Asola along with large number of medicinal plants, more than 80 species of butterflies, hundreds of other insects, mammals such as leopards, nilgai (blue bull, the largest antelope of the country), blackbuck (fastest land animal surviving in the wild in the country), black-napped hare, Indian crested porcupine, small Indian civet, golden jackal, and jungle cat.
• Delhi Ridge is the northernmost extension of one of the oldest mountain systems of the world, Aravalli range, which begin in the state of Gujarat near Great Rann of Kutch.
• Biogeographically it represents outlier of Aravalli Mountain Range among protected area in India.
• It has a high potential for establishing conservation education and nature interpretation programs.
• It is Delhi NCR’s green lung, carbon sink, source of ground water recharge, and shelter belt against advancing aridity.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

French-Canadian singer Celine Dion has opened up about being diagnosed with Stiff-Person Syndrome (SPS), a rare neurological condition that makes the muscles spasm uncontrollably. The disorder has left her with difficulties in walking and singing.

What is Stiff-Person Syndrome?

• It is a syndrome of fluctuating but progressive muscle stiffness and spasm that preferentially affects axial (back and abdominal) muscles, neurological experts noted.
• It is a central nervous system disorder, meaning encephalomyelopathy, in which myelopathic features predominate in most patients. 
• It frequently affects women with a median onset of 35 to 40 years of age.

What are its causes?

• There have been reports that spasms occur at any random time and can be triggered by loud noises, touch, and emotional distress.
• This autoimmune disease is caused by antibodies to proteins, resulting in impaired GABAergic (Gamma amino butyric acid) inhibition of the motor nerves in the brain and spinal cord. “
• It is associated with GAD65 (Glutamic acid decarboxylase) and amphiphysin antibodies. 
• 70 per cent of patients with GAD antibodies have diabetes mellitus as a comorbidity. 
• It is associated with other autoimmune diseases like cerebellitis, myasthenia gravis, hypo/hyperthyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus.
• People with amphiphysin antibodies can have SPS as a paraneoplastic (a symptom of underlying malignancy) manifestation with predominant upper limbs or cranial nerve involvement. 
• The malignancies associated with stiff-person syndrome are breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and small cell carcinoma of the lung.

Common Symptoms

• SPS is known to affect the body posture of a person due to severe pain and stiffness in muscles in the trunk (torso), arms and legs.
• But symptoms can also include a person having greater sensitivity to noise, touch, and emotional distress

Treatment

• Since it is a rare disease with heterogenous clinical manifestations, the diagnosis may be delayed by an average of six years following symptom onset
• Treatment involves the use of both symptomatic agents to enhance GABAergic influences and Immuno modulating treatment aimed at the autoimmune basis of the disease.
• In patients with paraneoplastic Stiff Person Syndrome, identification and eradication of the underlying malignancy can alleviate symptoms

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

MSMEs have availed the benefit under erstwhile PTUAS scheme. However, the PTUAS has been incorporated as a sub-scheme under the Scheme – Strengthening of Pharmaceutical Industry (SPI), which was launched in July 2022.

Three components, to provide infrastructure support for pharma MSMEs in clusters and to address the issues of technology upgradation of individual pharma MSMEs :-

• Assistance to Pharmaceutical Industry for Common Facilities (API-CF)
• Pharmaceutical Technology Upgradation Assistance Scheme (PTUAS
• Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices Promotion and Development Scheme (PMPDS)

About the PTUAS Scheme

• PTUAS is a credit linked scheme and under this, applications are invited from eligible Pharma MSME units since 01.08.2022. 
• For registration of application, online portal has been developed by SIDBI, the Project Management Consultant (PMC) of the scheme and details are available at https://spi.udyamimitra.in.
• The sub-scheme PTUAS is aimed to facilitate Micro, Small and Medium Pharma Enterprises (MSMEs) of proven track record to meet national and international regulatory standards (WHO-GMP or Schedule-M), interest subvention or capital subsidy on their capital loans will be provided, which will further facilitate the growth in volumes as well as in quality and it is ensivaged to support about 400 Pharma MSME units under this sub-scheme during the scheme tenure.
• SIDBI is the Project Management Consultant (PMC) of the scheme.

Question: Identify the factors responsible for the location of Pharmaceutical industry.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

 The Department has commenced the work for creating Agristack in the country. In order to create Agristack, the department has finalized the core concept of “India Digital Ecosystem of Agriculture (IDEA)” which lays down a framework for Agristack. For this, a Task Force was constituted and in furtherance, a concept paper on IDEA was prepared and comments were invited from subject experts, farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and general public.

• Agristack is a federated structure and ownership of data is with the States only.
• Access to federated Farmers’ database is with Government only. No private company is involved in developing the federated Farmers’ database. 
• As of now, the federated database is being built by taking the publicly available data as existing in the Department and in various data silos in Government.

About Agristack

• The project will collect granular data to provide growers with a range of customized services. Like, what to plant, where to sell, market information on price movements, and linkages to formal credit arrangements. 
• Each farmer will be provided a unique farmer’s ID, which will be linked to her Aadhaar number.  
• It will contain details related to land ownership, the crops she grows, soil health and the benefits available under government schemes such as direct cash transfers, crop insurance and subsidized credit. 
• It is in line with the Centre’s Digital India programme, aimed at providing a broader push to digitise data in India, from land titles to medical records.

Benefits

• Problems such as inadequate access to credit and information, pest infestation, crop wastage, can be addressed by use of digital technology
• It will increase innovation and investment towards the agricultural sector.

Significance of Agristack

• The stack will fuel innovation and support several value-added services as deduced by a consultation paper titled India Digital Ecosystem of Agriculture-IDEA. 
• It would curtail information anomalies and allow farmers to effectively plan what and how much to produce. 
• It would breed investment towards the agricultural sector and augment research towards more resilient crops.  
• Agri-tech startups received over $1.5 billion of investment in the past 5-7 years and AgriStack can open the taps for more inflows. 
• It would enable use of Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) on large datasets. This will not only support farm management but can also help develop and design new crop protection products. 
• It would be used by insurance firms to do effective crop loss assessment. This would result in prudent settlement of claims and rationalisation of future premiums.

Concerns associated with Agristack 

• Linking land ownership data with Aadhaar may hit a roadblock because the process of digitizing land records is still under progress in India. Further land disputes account for more than 60% of all civil litigation. 
• A blind reliance on technology may lead to exclusion errors as observed in other welfare programmes like the food subsidy scheme. 
• Accessibility of data is another issue as big players can easily access it while small farmers are excluded due to digital divide. Further, if the same data ends up solely in the hands of a set of large traders, it could help them manipulate markets. 
• It can be used by large corporations to encourage unnecessary purchase by the farmers. They can then sell farmers everything from chemicals to credit and pare their own current marketing and human resource costs. 
• Accuracy of data may be questionable as capturing high quality data on crops and soil conditions from India’s 150 million land parcels is not an easy task. 
• The revenue model of private firms working on pilot projects is still not clear. They may sell farmers data and breach their privacy. 

Question: What is the Agristack Project? List its benefits and limitations of the project.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

This year, the Geminids will peak around December 13-14, when, with a clear sky and away from bright city lights, you can watch scores of meteors streak across the sky.

What causes meteor showers?

• Meteors are usually fragments of comets. 
• As they enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, they burn up, creating a spectacular “shower”.
• Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from asteroids.
• When these objects come around the Sun, they leave a dusty trail behind them. 
• Every year Earth passes through these debris trails, which allows the bits to collide with our atmosphere where they disintegrate to create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky.

What makes the Geminids unique?

• NASA describes the Geminids as “one of the best and most reliable annual meteor showers”. 
• If their peak coincides with the new moon, and if the weather is clear, the Geminids can produce approximately 100-150 meteors per hour for viewing. 
• This year however, the moon is bright, and so only 30-40 meteors per hour will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere. “But the Geminids are so bright that this should still be a good show.
• The Geminids are unique because unlike most meteor showers, they originate not from a comet, but from an asteroid, the 3200 Phaethon.
• The 3200 Phaethon was discovered on October 11, 1983. 
• It is named after the Greek mythology character Phaethon, son of the Sun God Helios. 
• It takes 1.4 years to complete one round of the Sun. 
• As the 3200 Phaethon moves close to the Sun while orbiting it, the rocks on its surface heat up and break off. 
• When the Earth passes through the trail of this debris, the Geminids are caused.

Why are they called Geminids?

• That comes from the constellation Gemini, from whose location in the sky the meteor shower appears to originate. 
• The constellation for which a meteor shower is named only serves to aid viewers in determining which shower they are viewing on a given night. 
• The constellation is not the source of the meteors. Also, you should not look only to the constellation of Gemini to view the Geminids – they are visible throughout the night sky.

How to view

• Chances of a successful viewing are higher from locations far away from the lights of cities.
• Generally, pollution makes viewing meteor showers from India difficult.
• But in areas where there is no light or air pollution, viewers do not need to use any special equipment to view the showers.
• Make sure to give your eyes enough time to adjust to the darkness, which can take about 30 minutes.
• Additionally, viewers should try to stay away from their phones, as looking at bright screens affects night vision.

Question: Differentiate between an asteroid and meteor.