Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is in the process of implementing the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in a phased manner for wholesale and retail segments.
• The introduction of CBDC was announced in the Union Budget 2022-23, by Finance Minister.
• The necessary amendments to the relevant section of the RBI Act, 1934 have been made with the passage of the Finance Bill 2022.

Central Bank Digital Currency 

• CBDC is a digital or virtual currency but it is not comparable with private virtual currencies or cryptocurrency.
• In simpler terms, a CBDC is the legal tender of a particular country as it is issued by the central bank but in the digital form. 
• It is an electronic record or digital token of the official currency issued by the monetary authority of a nation.

Advantages of CBDC

• CBDC will be the final payment and eliminate the risk of settlement in the financial system, particularly banks. 
• The CBDC will be the actual store of value and will transfer the value from one entity to another. 
• It will lead to lower transaction cost and make the flow of money easier. 
• CBDCs will move towards real time transactions and a globalized cost effective payment settlement system. 
• The increased use of CBDC could be explored for many other financial activities to push the informal economy into the formal zone to ensure better tax and regulatory compliance. It can also pave the way for furthering financial inclusion.

Risks in CBDC

• Low user adoption: This can arise if its usefulness to consumers and merchants are not well perceived. Low CBDC adoption could hinder the policy objectives of the central banks.
• Elevated cyber security risks, vulnerability testing and costs of protecting the firewalls.
• Operational burden and costs for the central bank in managing CBDC.
• Reduced privacy relative to physical cash as the CBDC holdings could be tracked and accounted for.
• Data privacy threats and compromise of credentials.
• Faster obsolescence of technology could pose threat to CBDC ecosystem calling for higher costs of upgradation.
• Operational risks of intermediaries as the staff have to be retrained and groomed to work in CBDC environment.

Way forward

• Robust data security systems will have to be set up to prevent data breaches. Thus, it is important to employ the right technology that will back the issue of CBDCs.
• The financial data collected on digital currency transactions will be sensitive in nature, and the government will have to carefully think through the regulatory design. This would require close interaction between the banking and data protection regulators.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 1

• India and Namibia sign agreement and India came one step closer to bringing back the world’s fastest animal to the country.
• The cheetah was declared extinct in the country in 1952.
• The agreement will prepare the ground for the relocation of the first batch of cheetahs from southern Africa to Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park.
• Plans for the cheetah translocations to Kuno are in compliance with the IUCN’s guidelines, with particular focus on the forest site quality, prey density and the current carrying capacity for a large mammal like the cheetah.
• Kuno had earlier been identified for the translocation of Gujarat’s Gir lions, but the State government has refused to allow them to be transferred out.
• While the current carrying capacity for the Kuno National Park is a maximum of 21 cheetahs, once restored, the larger landscape can hold about 36 cheetahs.

Kuno National Park 

• Kuno National Park of Madhya Pradesh is one the most unique destination for all wildlife lovers and enthusiasts. 
• Government of Madhya Pradesh realising the significance of this place established the Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary of about 345 square km in 1981.
• In December 2018 it was upgradation of Kuno Sanctuary to Kuno National Park further cements it’s importance in the field of Wildlife Conservation.

Asiatic cheetah

• Acinonyx:  Jubatus Venaticus
• IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
• CITES: Appendix-I of the List

African Cheetah

• Acinonyx: Jubatus Jubatus
• IUCN: Vulnerable
• CITES: Appendix-I of the List

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

• A 25-year-old pregnant woman moved the Supreme Court seeking an abortion after the Delhi High Court declined her plea.
• The woman has also challenged Rule 3B of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Rules, 2003, which allows only some categories of women to seek termination of pregnancy between 20 and 24 weeks.
• The case has raised very important questions about the framework of reproductive rights, and recognising female autonomy and agency in India.

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 

Abortion Law in India

• The MTP Act, more commonly known as the Medical Termination of Pregnancy act, was enacted in 1971, mainly as a means to control the population. 
• The MTP act said that abortion can be permitted up to 20 weeks of pregnancy. 
• It also stipulated that the procedure can be carried out only by a registered medical practitioner. 
• The abortion should take place at a hospital or at a clinic that is fully equipped to do so.
• As of 2017, the period for the abortion was extended to 24 weeks as detection of certain conditions like congenital heart defect and Down Syndrome.
• A woman can undergo an abortion if the pregnancy is the result of incest or rape. 
• Major deformations in the fetus can also be grounds to medically terminate a pregnancy. 
• Other reasons can be the abortion is a result of failed contraception.
• A woman can also avail of an abortion if the continuation of the pregnancy can cause grave injury to the physical or mental health of the mother. 
• An abortion can also be availed in case of a miscarriage i.e. if the baby is dead inside.
• An unmarried woman too can avail of abortion in India.  

It is time that the legislature identifies this loophole in the present law and take the appropriate steps to uphold the reproductive rights of the women.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 4

The wormhole theory postulates that a theoretical passage through space-time could create shortcuts for long journeys across the universe.

• Wormholes were first theorized in 1916.
• Just like black holes were predicted by Einstein’s theory of gravity long before they were experimentally observed, the existence of wormholes, too, has been predicted. Ludwig Flamm, in 1916, first discovered that they could exist.
• He described a “white hole,” a theoretical time reversal of a black hole.
• Entrances to both black and white holes could be connected by a space-time conduit.

• In 1935, Einstein and physicist Nathan Rosen used the theory of general relativity to elaborate on the idea, proposing the existence of “bridges” through space-time.
• These bridges connect two different points in space-time, theoretically creating a shortcut that could reduce travel time and distance.
• The shortcuts came to be called Einstein-Rosen bridges, or wormholes.
• However, the presence of wormholes has not yet been established through observation or inference by astronomers.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Chile’s draft Constitution is an example of a framework for an enduring and egalitarian democracy.

Background

• In 2019, a wave of protests engulfed the country of Chile.
• These protests were triggered by familiar themes: social inequality, the cost of living, and probity in governance.
• But at the heart of the protests was also the fact that Chile’s Constitution was no longer fit for purpose.
• Drafted in 1980 previous constitution led to Chile becoming one of the most unequal countries in the world.
• Consequently, one of the demands of the Chilean protesters was to replace Pinochet’s Constitution with a democratic Constitution, written by the People of Chile, for themselves.

Inclusive constitution

• The Chilean government eventually conceded to this demand.
• This led to the formation of a directly-elected Constituent Assembly, which was strikingly representative: 51% of the Constituent Assembly members were women, and there were 17 reserved seats for indigenous peoples.
• Constituent Assembly members also included people from across the socio-economic and geographical spectrum of Chile, sexual minorities too.
• This intensely representative and participatory process has led to the drafting of a Constitution that is both inclusive and visionary.

Constitutionalism – Evolution

• In the early to mid-20th century, constitutional drafting around the world often followed the United States model.
• It was believed that the purpose of a Constitution was to constrain state power.
• To this end, Constitutions set out enforceable bills of rights, and divided power between the three wings of State — the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary.
• In the latter half of the 20th century, it came to be understood that this vision of constitutionalism was necessary, but inadequate, to address the many problems faced by countries across the world.
• In response, starting in the 1980s, Constitutions began to include “socio-economic rights” — such as the rights to housing, to education, and to health, among others — within their bills of rights.
• Second, it was recognised that the complexities of governance require a set of institutions that are independent of the State and can hold them to account. Some familiar examples include information commissions, human rights commissions, and electoral commissions.
• These are sometimes referred to as “integrity institutions”, as their task is to ensure integrity in the functioning of state agencies
• Third, it was recognised that mere periodic elections constitute only a thin and attenuated version of democracy.
• This has come to be known as the requirement of “public participation

It’s a document of vision

However, what is even more striking is that the Chilean draft Constitution not only draws upon past wisdom; it is a future-facing document as well

• The Constitution grapples with the pervasive role of technology in lives by stipulating the existence of a National Data Protection Authority, as well as guaranteeing a right to digital connectivity. The draft Constitution’s move to enshrine within it – the need for an independent data protection body.
• Similarly, the draft Constitution acknowledges the gravity of the climate crisis, and constitutionalises important principles of international environmental law, such as inter-generational equity.
• It also guarantees a right to nature, which is something that courts in different countries, from India to New Zealand, have recently explored.

Thus, when we consider the draft Chilean Constitution in its historical and present context, a remarkable picture emerges: this is a document, drafted through an intensely inclusive, participatory, and egalitarian process, and which — in its substantive content — both draws upon the wisdom of the past, and looks to the future. It is, in many ways, a model for how Constitutions in the modern world ought to be drafted, and a lesson to the rest of the world.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 1

The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment) Bill, 2022 has been listed by the government for introduction and passing in the monsoon session.

• The planned revision to Section 20 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act is

Proposed provisions

• In a current law, Section 20 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act of 1958, last amended in 2010, prohibits construction within a 100 metre radius of all Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)-protected monuments and regulates activities within another 300 metre radius.
• The new Bill proposes to revise this section.
• Henceforth, expert committees will decide on the extent of the prohibited and regulated areas around each monument and activities permitted herein.
• The ASI would be given enforcement powers such as in the Forest Act which would empower it to act against those encroaching at protested sites.

Concerns

• Archaeological Sites across India have become commons for human and animal communities.
• Altering land around ASI-protected monuments into industrial, commercial, or even residential plots will thus deprive human and animal communities of much-needed commons.
• Permitting construction work risks weakening the foundations of centuries-old edifices.
• Also construction machines may disturb the art facets near the site, thus making the task of undertaking new research more difficult
• Domestic waste and greywater regularly seep into ancient sites any changes in protection status now will aggravate this problems.

• In recent years, the Government has built new highways, metro-rail systems, and industrial parks without methodical archaeological impact assessments.
• These projects have led to the shattering of an untold number of historical artefacts and the casual collection of many others. We cannot afford to lose more of our tangible heritage.

Now is the time to learn from painstaking efforts to preserve our composite tangible heritage and the ecosystems that they are in. Any modification to the present act requires proper examination with the involvement of various stakeholder and proper analysis of its consequences.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Union Finance Minister stated that Crypto legislation can only work with global collaboration

• She stated that a law to regulate or ban cryptocurrencies can only be effective once there’s some form of international agreement in place.
• Finance Minister Statement in Parliament signals law on cryptocurrencies may be off the table for now.

What is Cryptocurrency?

• Cryptocurrency, sometimes called crypto-currency or crypto, is any form of currency that exists digitally or virtually and uses cryptography to secure transactions.
• Cryptocurrencies don’t have a central issuing or regulating authority, instead use a decentralized system to record transactions and issue new units.
• It is supported by a decentralized peer-to-peer network called the blockchain.

Benefits of Cryptocurrency

• Inherent security: Use of pseudonyms and ledger systems conceals the identities.
• Low transaction cost: Very low fees and charges for transactions.
• Lack of interference from the banking system: Outside ambit of banking systems.
• Lower Entry Barriers: No entry barriers, unlike conventional banking systems.
• Universal recognition: Lots of cryptocurrencies and acceptable in many nations.

Challenges

• Security risks: Cyberattacks on wallets, exchange mechanism (Cryptojacking).
• Shield to Crime: Used for Illicit Trading, Criminal Activities, & organised crimes.
• Threat to the domestic currency: If a large number of investors invest in digital coins rather than domestic currency based savings like provident funds, the demand of the latter will fall.
• Lack of Liquidity and Lower Acceptability: Outside the traditional banking systems.
• Price Volatility: Prone to price fluctuations & waste of computing power.
• Lack of Consumer Protection: No Dispute Settlement Mechanisms and control of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The three economic terms have gained focus in the present global economic scenario.

• Many observers have pointed to an inversion of the US yield curve to argue that the US central bank will not be able to achieve a soft-landing for the economy.
• And yet, the US dollar continues to gain against all other currencies.
• In what is being seen as a reverse currency war, most central banks across the world are trying to raise their interest rates to counter the Fed’s actions and ensure their respective currency claws back value against the dollar.
• There are three key terms that one is likely to hear repeatedly in the coming days: Yield inversion, soft-landing and reverse currency war.

Bond Yield Curve Inversion

• A yield curve illustrates the interest rates on bonds of increasing maturities.
• An inverted yield curve occurs when short-term debt instruments carry higher yields than long-term instruments of the same credit risk profile.
• Inverted yield curves are unusual since longer-term debt should carry greater risk and higher interest rates, so when they occur there are implications for consumers and investors alike.
• An inverted yield curve is one of the most reliable leading indicators of an impending recession.

Soft Landing

• A soft landing is a cyclical slowdown in economic growth that avoids recession.
• A soft landing is the goal of a central bank when it seeks to raise interest rates just enough to stop an economy from overheating and experiencing high inflation, without causing a severe downturn.
• Soft landing may also refer to a gradual, relatively painless slowdown in a particular industry or economic sector.
• But when the actions of the central bank bring about a recession, it is called a hard-landing.

Reverse Currency War

• A flip side of the US Fed’s action of aggressively raising interest rates is that more and more investors are rushing to invest money in the US.
• This, in turn, has made the dollar become stronger than all the other currencies.
• Every central bank is trying to figure out ways to counter the US Fed and raise interest rates themselves in order to ensure their currency doesn’t lose too much value against the dollar.
• That’s because a currency which is losing value to the dollar, on the other hand, finds that it is getting costlier to import crude oil and other commodities that are often traded in dollars.
• But raising the interest rate is not without its own risks. Just like in the US, higher interest rates will decrease the chances of a soft-landing for any other economy.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The Centre has constituted a committee to look into the issues of minimum support price (MSP).

Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare issued a notification stating:

• A committee will be constituted to promote Zero budget based farming, to change crop pattern keeping in mind the changing needs of the country, and to make MSP more effective and transparent
• The committee will consist of representatives of the Central Government and State Governments, Farmers, Agricultural Scientists and Agricultural Economists.”
• The committee, headed by former Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agrawal, has 26 members including farmer representatives.

The committee will provide suggestions/measures

• To make available MSP to farmers of the country by making the system more effective and transparent and will also give suggestions to give more autonomy to Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and measures to make it more scientific.
• To strengthen the Agricultural Marketing System as per the changing requirements of the country to ensure higher value to the farmers through remunerative prices of their produce by taking advantage of the domestic and export opportunities.
• On 5 points regarding natural farming including suggestions for programmes and schemes for value chain development, protocol validation & research for future needs and support for area expansion under the Indian Natural Farming System by publicity and through involvement and contribution of farmer organizations.
• On 4 points related to crop diversification including
• mapping of existing cropping patterns of agro-ecological zones of producer and consumer states;
• strategy for diversification policy to change the cropping pattern according to the changing needs of the country;
• arrangement for agricultural diversification & system to ensure remunerative prices for the sale of new crops; review and suggestion on micro irrigation scheme.

Minimum Support Price (MSP)

• The MSP is the rate at which the government purchases crops from farmers, and is based on a calculation of at least one-and-a-half times the cost of production incurred by the farmers.
• The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) recommends MSPs for 22 mandated crops and fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane.
• CACP is an attached office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
• The mandated crops include 14 crops of the kharif season, 6 rabi crops and 2 other commercial crops.
• In addition, the MSPs of toria and de-husked coconut are fixed on the basis of the MSPs of rapeseed/mustard and copra, respectively.

Factors for Recommending the MSP:

The CACP considers various factors while recommending the MSP for a commodity, it considers following factors

• Cost of production
• Changes in input prices
• Input-output price parity
• Trends in market prices
• Demand and supply
• Inter-crop price parity
• Effect on industrial cost structure
• Effect on cost of living
• Effect on general price level
• International price situation
• Parity between prices paid and prices received by the farmers
• Effect on issue prices and implications for subsidy

Crops covered

The list of crops is as follows.

• Cereals (7) – paddy, wheat, barley, jowar, bajra, maize and ragi
• Pulses (5) – gram, arhar/tur, moong, urad and lentil
• Oilseeds (8) – groundnut, rapeseed/mustard, toria, soyabean, sunflower seed, sesamum, safflower seed and nigerseed
• Raw cotton
• Raw jute
• Copra
• De-husked coconut
• Sugarcane (Fair and remunerative price)
• Virginia flu cured (VFC) tobacco

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Supreme Court says that Minority status of religious, linguistic communities is State-dependent.

• It held that every person in India can be a minority in one State or the other.
• Minority status of religious and linguistic communities is “State-dependent”.
• It says a religious or linguistic community which is a minority in a particular State can claim protection and right to run own educational institutions under Articles 29 and 30.

Background

• The court was hearing a petition filed by a Mathura resident, complaining that followers of Judaism, Bahaism and Hinduism, who are the real minorities in some states cannot establish and administer educational institutions of their choice because of non-identification of ‘minority’ at State level, thus jeopardising their basic rights guaranteed under Articles 29 and 30.
• The petition has argued that the recognition of Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis nationally by the Centre as ‘minorities’ ignored the fact that religious communities like Hindus were “socially, economically, politically non-dominant and numerically inferior” in several States.
• It pointed out that Hindus were a mere 1% in Ladakh, 2.75% in Mizoram, 2.77% in Lakshadweep, 4% in Kashmir, 8.74% in Nagaland, 11.52% in Meghalaya, 29% in Arunachal Pradesh, 38.49% in Punjab and 41.29% in Manipur.
• The petition also challenged Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) Act 1992, which gave “unbridled power” to the Centre to notify minorities in defiance of the Supreme Court’s 11-judge Bench judgment in T.M.A Pai case

Judgements related to determination on minority status

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’.

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.

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.