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.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Context

• The World Health Organization (WHO), about six months after tightening its guidelines on air quality, issued an update to its database on air quality that draws on information from a growing number of cities, towns and villages across the globe, now totalling over 6,000 municipalities.
• The database, which has traditionally considered two types of particulate matter known as PM2.5 and PM10, for the first time has included ground measurements of nitrogen dioxide. The last version of the database was issued in 2018.

Key Points

• The UN health agency says nearly everybody in the world breathes air that doesn’t meet its standards for air quality, calling for more action to reduce use of fossil-fuel, which generates pollutants that cause respiratory- and blood-flow problems and lead to millions of preventable deaths each year.
• Around 99% of the global population breathes air that exceeds its air-quality limits and is often rife with particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs, enter the veins and arteries and cause disease.
• Air quality is poorest in WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Asia regions, followed by Africa.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Context

• Nearly two decades ago, when scientists published the map of the human genome for the first time, it was hailed as a breakthrough. That was incomplete, however: about 8% of the human DNA was left unsequenced.
• Now, in a series of papers published in Science, a large team has accounted for that 8%, completing the picture of the human genome for the first time.

Why does it matter?

• A complete human genome makes it easier to study genetic variation between individuals or between populations.
• A genome refers to all of the genetic material in an organism, and the human genome is mostly the same in all people, but a very small part of the DNA does vary between one individual and another.
• By constructing a complete human genome, scientists can use it for reference while studying the genome of various individuals, which would help them understand which variations, if any, might be responsible for disease.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Context

Near-field communication (NFC) is a wireless connectivity technology that allows NFC capable devices to converse and transmit information with a single touch. Aside just driving payment services, NFC technology offers a wide range of uses. It is utilised in contactless banking cards and to produce contactless public transportation tickets.

Background

• Near-field communication technology is based on Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID), which merchants have used for decades to tag and monitor merchandise within stores.
• Near-field communication technology gained traction in 2004 with the formation of the NFC Forum, a non-profit organisation dedicated to extending the ease of NFC technology to many parts of life.
• The Forum publicly detailed the architecture for NFC technology in 2006, and its standards continue to provide a road map for all interested parties to construct strong new consumer-driven products.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Context

• Chief Justice of India said CBI’s credibility has come under deep public scrutiny with the passage of time as its actions and inactions have raised questions in some cases.

About Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

• It is the premier investigating police agency in India.
• It has its origin in the Special Police Establishment set up in 1941 to probe bribery and corruption during World War II.
• It was set up by a resolution of the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1963 after Santhanam committee recommendation.
  • It functions under the Department of Personnel, Ministry of Personnel, Pension & Public Grievances, Government of India.
• It is an elite force playing a major role in preservation of values in public life and in ensuring the health of the national economy.
• It is also the nodal police agency in India, which coordinates investigations on behalf of Interpol Member countries.
• The Supreme Court, the High Courts, the Parliament and the public, holds CBI as an organisation in high esteem. 

Power and Functions 

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Context

• Microplastic pollution has been detected in human blood for the first time. The study, published in the journal Environment International, tested 22 anonymous blood samples.

About microplastics

• Microplastics are tiny bits of various types of plastic found in the environment. The name is used to differentiate them from “macroplastics” such as bottles and bags made of plastic. There is no universal agreement on the size — the U.S. NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the European Chemical Agency define microplastic as less than 5mm in length.
• The researchers have an upper limit on the size of the particles as 0.0007 millimetre.
• Microplastics are divided into two types: primary and secondary.
  • Primary microplastics are tiny particles designed for commercial use, such as cosmetics, as well as microfibers shed from clothing and other textiles, such as fishing nets.  Microbeads(used in personal care products), plastic pellets, and plastic fibres are some of the examples.
  • Secondary microplastics are created when bigger plastics, such as water bottles, degrade. Exposure to external stimuli, namely the sun’s rays and ocean waves, causes this disintegration.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Context

• The Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Rameswar Teli in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha informed that the Government is promoting Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme with broader objectives of providing boost to domestic agriculture sector, environment benefits, reducing import dependency and savings in foreign exchange.
• Government has also notified the National Policy on Biofuels – 2018 which laid out indicative target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol and 5% blending of biodiesel in diesel by 2030 in the country.
• Based on the encouraging initiatives on supply side of ethanol, Government has advanced the target of 20% blending of ethanol in petrol from 2030 to 2025-26.

About Ethanol

• Ethanol, an anhydrous ethyl alcohol having chemical formula of C2H5OH, can be produced from sugarcane, maize, wheat, etc  which are having high starch content. 
• In India, ethanol is mainly produced from sugarcane molasses by fermentation process. 
• Ethanol can be mixed with gasoline to form different blends.
• As the ethanol molecule contains oxygen, it allows the engine to more completely combust the fuel, resulting in fewer emissions and thereby reducing the occurrence of environmental pollution.