Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

After the success of the Co-WIN platform, the government is looking to repurpose the technology for various healthcare cases.

• CoWIN is currently being repurposed for the universal immunisation program (UIP).
• It will bring the ease of discovery of vaccination centres/camps and reminders for subsequent vaccinations for preventable diseases for mothers.
• The addition of digitally verifiable certificates for routine immunisation would be the first of its kind globally and a great way to start building longitudinal health records for a child right from its birth.
• In addition to immunisation, the platform would also be considered for the use-cases of blood donation and organ donation in the months to come.
• Additional of digitally verifiable certificates for routine immunisation would be the first of its kind globally and a great way to start building longitudinal health records for a child right from its birth.
• In addition to immunisation, the platform would also be considered for the use-cases of blood donation and organ donation in the months to come.

Co-WIN App (Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network)

• It was launched by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(MoHFW) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• It is a digitalised platform to help agencies keep a track of Covid-19 vaccination programme and allow Indian citizens to apply for a Covid-19 vaccine shot.
• Co-WIN, a cloud-based IT platform, is supposed to handle minute details for India’s Covid-19 immunisation programme, including registering beneficiaries, allocating vaccination centres, sending text messages with name of their vaccinator to beneficiaries and live monitoring of vials in cold storage.

Functions

• Monitoring and Tracking: It enables monitoring the inoculation drive and tracking the listed beneficiaries for vaccination on a real-time basis.
• Thus, it also helps to counter proxy vaccinations.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

India’s largest floating solar plant in now fully operational at Ramagundam in Telangana. It is a 100-megawatt(MW) floating solar power photovoltaic project commissioned by the National Thermal Power Corporation(NTPC). 

Features 

• The project is endowed with advanced technology and Environment-friendly features.
• The solar modules are placed across 500 acres on floaters manufactured with high-density polyethene material that keeps floating irrespective of water-level fluctuations
• This project is also unique in the sense that all the electrical equipment including inverter, transformer, HT panel, and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) are also on floating Ferro cement platforms.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Prime Minister launched the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX), India’s first International Bullion Exchange in GIFT-IFSC.

• India is a major player in the global gold market but largely a price taker. 
• The exchange may help increase India’s role in price discovery in the global market and help India become a major trading hub in Asia.

India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX)

• IIBX will facilitate efficient price discovery with the assurance of responsible sourcing and quality, apart from giving impetus to the financialisation of gold in India. 
• It will empower India to gain its rightful place in the global bullion market and serve the global value chain with integrity and quality.
• IIBX also re-enforces the commitment of the Government of India towards enabling India to be able to influence global bullion prices as a principal consumer.

Advantages of Bullion Exchange

• The exchange will be an additional platform for gold imports into the country in addition to banks and nominated agencies.
• The platform will help with efficient price discovery and provide additional transparency in transactions.
• It will also give an option to trade gold and silver in the US dollar.
• Since gift city is a free trade zone, no duty will be paid.

NSE IFSC-SGX

• It connect is a framework between NSE’s subsidiary in the GIFT International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) and Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX). 
• Under Connect, all orders on NIFTY derivatives placed by members of Singapore Exchange will be routed to and matched on the NSE-IFSC order matching and trading platform. 
• Broker-Dealers from India and across international jurisdictions are expected to participate in large numbers for trading derivatives through Connect.  
• It will deepen liquidity in derivative markets at GIFT-IFSC, bringing in more international participants and creating a positive impact on the financial ecosystem in the GIFT-IFSC.

GIFT City 

• GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) was envisaged as an integrated hub for financial and technology services not just for India but for the world. 
• IFSCA is the unified regulator for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions in International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) in India.
• The building has been conceptualised as an iconic structure, reflective of the growing prominence and stature of GIFT-IFSC as a leading International Financial Centre.
• It  is located in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

 International Financial Services Centres Authority

• It was established in April 2020 under the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019.
• It is headquartered at GIFT City, Gandhinagar in Gujarat.

Powers

• All powers exercisable by the respective financial sector regulatory (viz. Reserve Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, IRDAI, etc.) under the respective Acts shall be solely exercised by the Authority in the IFSCs in so far as the regulation of financial products, financial services and FIs that are permitted in the IFSC are concerned.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Ministry of Port, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) in association with India Ports Global observed ‘Chabahar Day’ to mark the Chabahar – Link to INSTC – Connecting Central Asian Markets in Mumbai today.

• Foreign official from Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan were present on the occasion.
• INSTC (International North-South Transport Corridor) is India’s vision and initiative to reduce the time taken for EXIM shipments to reach Russia, Europe, and enter the central Asian markets. 
• The Chabahar Port located in Iran is the commercial transit center for the region and especially Central Asia.
• The port is being developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan to boost trade ties among the three countries in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi.

Chabahar Port

• It is a seaport in Chabahar located in southeastern Iran, It is located on the Makran coast of Sistan and Baluchistan Province, next to the Gulf of Oman and at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz. 
• It is the only Iranian port with direct access to the Indian Ocean and consists of two separate ports named Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti. 
• It is considered to be a major transit point to connect with several Central Asian countries.
• Being close to Afghanistan and the Central Asian countries of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan etc., it has been termed the “Golden Gate” to these land-locked countries.

International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC)

• The port is also seen as a feeder port to the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) that has sea, rail and road routes between India, Russia, Iran, Europe, and Central Asia. 
• The INSTC was expanded to include eleven new members, namely: the Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Armenia, Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Ukraine, Republic of Belarus, Oman, Syria, Bulgaria (Observer).
• It envisions a 7,200-km-long multi-mode network of ship, rail and road route for transporting freight, aimed at reducing the carriage cost between India and Russia by about 30% and bringing down the transit time from 40 days by more than half.
• This corridor connects India Ocean and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via the Islamic Republic of Iran and then is connected to St. Petersburg and North Europe via the Russian Federation.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is the proposal to replace the personal laws with a common law for property, marriage, divorce, inheritance and succession for all religions. Article 44 of the Constitution of India mentions that the State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India. Both the Union and State Governments have the power to enact laws on issues related to marriage, divorce, inheritance and adoption etc. under the Item 5 of the Concurrent List (Seventh Schedule). The Governments of several States are contemplating on the enactment of UCC in their respective States.

• The demand for a Uniform Civil Code was first put forward by women activists in the beginning of the twentieth century, with the objective of women’s rights, equality and secularism. 
• The Constituent Assembly had put the UCC under the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) having considered the UCC as desirable but voluntary.

Advantages of implementing the UCC

• Equality: India is a secular democracy. A common civil and personal law in India would ensure equality among all its citizens, irrespective of their religion, class, caste, gender etc.
• Reduce Gender Discrimination: Personal laws of almost all religions are discriminatory towards women. Men are usually granted upper status in personal laws. Uniform civil code will bring both men and women at par and would reduce discrimination against women.
• Societal Reforms: Existing personal laws are mainly based on the patriarchal notions of the society in all religions. 
• Simplify Legal Matters: UCC will simplify the cumbersome legal matters governed by personal laws. It will also help in speedy disposal of cases and reduce burden on the judiciary.
• National Integration: A Uniform Civil Code will eliminate the scope of politicisation of issues of perceived discrimination or concessions/special privileges enjoyed by communities on the basis of their religious personal laws.

Challenges 

• Diverse Personal Laws and Customary Practices: There is huge diversity in the customary practices among communities across India. This makes uniformity very difficult to achieve. 
• False Perceptions: There are still false perceptions about the UCC among the communities. This makes a rational debate on its implementation quite difficult.
• Violation of Fundamental Rights: There is an apprehension that the uniform civil code may be in conflict with the fundamental rights of freedom of conscience of free profession, practice and propagation of religions (Article 25), and the freedom to manage religious affairs (Article 26).
• Political Willpower: The Judiciary has asked the Government multiple times to enact a UCC. The government lacks the will to face the consequences of abolishing the personal laws of the religions and to convince the people about the benefits of UCC.

UCC in its true spirit, must be brought about by making gradual changes. As recommended by the Law Commission, the focus should be on ending discriminatory practices against women, rather than enforcing uniformity. Resolve the contentious issues like UCC, common consensus of all the stakeholders is needed.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

The Supreme Court while allowing the Maharashtra government to implement the Banthia Commission report recommending 27% OBC reservation in state local bodies, had specifically excluded the 367 local bodies from the ambit of reservation as the election programme.

Contempt of Court

• Contempt of court, as a concept that seeks to protect judicial institutions from motivated attacks and unwarranted criticism, and as a legal mechanism to punish those who lower its authority
• This follows the initiation of contempt proceedings by the Supreme Court of India, on its own motion.

There are two types of contempt of Court:

1. Civil Contempt
2. Criminal Contempt

• Civil contempt of Court: Under Section 2(b) of the Contempt of Courts Act of 1971, civil contempt has been defined as willful disobedience to any judgment, decree, direction, order, writ, or other processes of a court or wilful breach of an undertaking given to a court.
• Criminal Contempt of Court: It is defined under Section 2(c) of Contempt of Court Act, 1971. According to which criminal contempt is any publication which may result in:
• Scandalizing the Court by lowering its authority.
• Interference in the due course of a judicial proceeding.
• Creates an obstruction in the administration of justice.

Source of Contempt Law

• The contempt powers of the Supreme Court trace their source to different provisions in the Constitution of India, namely, Article 32, 129, 131, 139A, and 142(2).
• Article 129: “The Supreme Court shall be a court of record and shall have all the powers of such a court including the power to punish for contempt of itself”
• Article 215: “Every High Court shall be a court of record and shall have all the powers of such a court including the power to punish for contempt of itself”
• High Courts have been given special powers to punish contempt of subordinate courts, as per Section 10 of The Contempt of Courts Act of 1971.
• High Courts do not have the power to initiate contempt proceedings of the Supreme Court, if there is contempt of the Supreme Court then only the Supreme Court can initiate the contempt proceeding.
• Article 142(2): Enables the Supreme Court to investigate and punish any person for its contempt. 

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Indian Navy has created maritime history today by taking delivery of the prestigious Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC) ‘Vikrant from her builder Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), Kochi.

• Designed by Indian Navy’s inhouse Directorate of Naval Design (DND) and built by CSL, a Public Sector Shipyard under Ministry of Shipping (MoS), the carrier is christened after her illustrious predecessor.
• India’s first Aircraft Carrier which played a vital role in the 1971 war. 
• With an overall indigenous content of 76%, IAC is a perfect example of the nation’s quest for “Aatma Nirbhar Bharat” and provides thrust to Government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. 
• Vikrant has been built with high degree of automation for machinery operation, ship navigation and survivability, and has been designed to accommodate an assortment of fixed wing and rotary aircraft. 
• The ship would be capable of operating air wing consisting of 30 aircraft comprising of MIG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31, MH-60R multi-role helicopters, in addition to indigenously manufactured Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) (Navy).
• Using a novel aircraft-operation mode known as STOBAR (Short Take-Off but Arrested Landing), the IAC is equipped with a ski- jump for launching aircraft, and a set of ‘arrester wires’ for their recovery onboard.

Significance

• The reincarnation of Vikrant is a true testimony to the country’s zeal and fervor in pursuing capability build-up towards enhanced maritime security.
• With the delivery of Vikrant, India has joined a select group of nations having the niche capability to indigenously design and build an Aircraft Carrier.
• The indigenisation efforts has also led to development of ancillary industries, besides generation of employment opportunities and bolstering plough back effect on economy, both locally as well as pan-India.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

According to SonicWall, a US-based cybersecurity firm’s report, Cryptojacking attacks on computer systems have gone up by 30% to 66.7 million in the first half of 2022 compared to the first half of last year.

Cryptojacking 

• Cryptojacking is a cyber attack wherein a computing device is hijacked and controlled by the attacker, and its resources are used to illicitly mine cryptocurrency.
• In most cases, the malicious programme is installed when the user clicks on an unsafe link, or visits an infected website and unknowingly provides access to their Internet-connected device.

Reasons Behind Cryptojacking

• Coin mining is a legitimate, competitive process used to release new crypto coins into circulation or to verify new transactions. 
• It involves solving complex computational problems to generate blocks of verified transactions that get added to the blockchain. 
• The reward for the first miner who successfully manages to update the crypto ledger through this route is crypto coins.
• But the race to crack this crypto code needs considerable computing power involving state-of-the-art hardware and electrical power to keep the systems involved up and running.
• Cryptojackers co-opt devices, servers and cloud infrastructure, and use their resources for mining. The use of ‘stolen’ or cryptojacked resources slashes the cost involved in mining.

Concerns

• Cryptojacking is hard to detect and the victims of these attacks mostly remain unaware that their systems have been compromised.
• Some telltale signs are the device slowing down, heating up or the battery getting drained faster than usual.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

The Supreme Court upheld the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and retained the powers of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

• The core amendments made to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which gives the government and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) virtually unbridled powers of summons, arrest, and raids, and makes bail nearly impossible while shifting the burden of proof of innocence on to the accused rather than the prosecution.
• The verdict came on an extensive challenge raised against the amendments introduced to the 2002 Act by way of Finance Acts.
• The PMLA a law against the “scourge of money laundering” and not a hatchet wielded against rival politicians and dissenters.

Extensive Challenge

• The verdict came on an extensive challenge raised against the amendments introduced to the 2002 Act by way of Finance Acts.
• Over 240 petitions were filed against the amendments, which the challengers claimed would violate personal liberty, procedures of law and the constitutional mandate.

EDs Power of Arrest: 

• The petitioners had argued that the ED could arrest a person even without informing him of the charges. This power was violative of the right to ‘due process’ enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution. 
• However, the court rejected the notion that the ED has been given blanket powers of arrest, search of person and property and seizure. The court said there were in-built safeguards” within the Act, including the recording of reasons in writing while effecting an arrest.

Conditions of Bail

• The court upheld the stringent twin bail conditions required under the law for granting bail to an accused. The two conditions require a court to hear the public prosecutor against the bail plea and reach a satisfaction that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the accused is not guilty of the offense and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail.
• However, the court said undertrials could seek bail under Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure if they had already spent one-half of the term of punishment in jail for the offence prescribed in law. But, again, this is not an “absolute right” and would depend from case to case.

Burden of Proof 

• The court upheld this provision and said that this provision did not suffer from the “vice of arbitrariness or unreasonableness”.

Attaching a property

• Petitioners’ argument: They objected the powers bestowed on the ED to attach a property as proceeds of crime.
• They had contended that even properties which were not proceeds of crime could be attached by the agency.
• SC: The court said Section 5 of the PMLA, which concerns with the provisional attachment of property, cannot be used by the agency “mechanically”.
• The court said the provision provided a “balancing arrangement” between the interests of the accused and that of the State.
• Further, if the accused was eventually absolved of the crime, no further action could be taken against the attached property suspected to have been linked to the crime.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Odisha is the first State in the country to make budgetary provision for implementation of the Central Act – ₹8 crore for 168 FRA cells in 2021-22. 

• Till last year, forest rights committees were functioning in Tribal Sub Plan areas. 
• Now, they have been extended to the entire State. 
• The State is not only ensuring tenurial security and entitlement over land but also addressing livelihood and food security under the Act.
• State about to launching Mission 2024 for FRA by granting all kinds of forest rights whether it is for the individual, community or habitat,”
• Odisha’s ST and SC Development Department is about to launch Mission 2024 for FRA by granting all kinds of forest rights whether it is for the individual, community or habitat.
• The mission, currently under Finance Department and Planning and Convergence Department scrutiny, aims at granting the tribal people their rightful ownership.

About Forest Rights Act 2006

• The symbiotic relationship between forests and forest-dwelling communities found recognition in the National Forest Policy, 1988.
• The policy called for the need to associate tribal people in the protection, regeneration and development of forests.
• The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, was enacted to protect the marginalised socio-economic class of citizens and balance the right to environment with their right to life and livelihood.

Provisions of the 2006 Act

• The Act recognizes that tribal and other traditional forest-dwelling communities would be hard put to provide documentary evidence for their claims.
• Rule 13 of the Act, therefore, stipulates that the gram sabhas should consider more than one evidence in determining forest rights.
• The rule sanctions a wide range of evidence, including “statements by village elders”, “community rights” and “physical attributes such as houses, huts and permanent improvements made to land such as levelling, bunds and check dams”.

The act identify four types of rights:

• Title rights: It gives FDST and OTFD the right to ownership to land farmed by tribals or forest dwellers subject to a maximum of 4 hectares.

• Ownership is only for land that is actually being cultivated by the concerned family and no new lands will be granted.

• Use rights: The rights of the dwellers extend to extracting Minor Forest Produce, grazing areas, to pastoralist routes, etc.
• Relief and development rights: To rehabilitation in case of illegal eviction or forced displacement and to basic amenities, subject to restrictions for forest protection
• Forest management rights: It includes the right to protect, regenerate or conserve or manage any community forest resource which they have been traditionally protecting and conserving for sustainable use.