ALL SARKARI EXAM: UPPSC

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Wednesday, 16 February 2022

Anti-mob lynching bills: why in news? recent incidents of mob lynching

Bills passed against mob lynching in the past four years by at least four States have not been implemented with the Union government taking a view that lynching is not defined as a crime under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

These states include Jharkhand, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Manipur.

Why have the bills been delayed so much?

In 2019, the MHA informed the Lok Sabha that it had received the bills passed by the State legislatures that have been reserved by the Governor for consideration of the President.

The President has to go with the advice given by the Council of Ministers, in the case of such legislation, represented by the MHA.
The Ministry examines the State legislations on three grounds— repugnancy with Central laws, deviation from national or central policy and legal and constitutional validity.

Recent incidents of mob lynching in India

In December 2021, a man was lynched to death by the Sikh Sangat (Sikh devotees) in Shri Harmandir Sahib Gurudwara (Golden Temple) in Amritsar over an alleged attempt to disrespect the holiest book of Sikh religion, Shri Guru Granth Sahib Ji.
In 2021 in Assam, a 23-year-old student leader was allegedly killed by a mob.
In 2021 October a man was allegedly lynched, his limbs cut off and left to die at the Singhu Border, site of the farmers’ protest against the three farm laws.
In 2021 August, a bangle seller in Indore was reportedly beaten up by a mob for allegedly hiding his identity.
The man survived and was sent to judicial custody.

In 2021 May, a 25-year-old Gurugram man was allegedly lynched when he went out to buy medicines.

What is meant by Lynching? Why in news ?

Any act or series of acts of violence or aiding, abetting (encouraging) such act/acts thereof, whether spontaneous or planned, by a mob on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth, language, dietary practices, sexual orientation, political affiliation, ethnicity or any other related grounds.

How are these cases handled?

There is “no separate” definition for such incidents under the existing IPC. Lynching incidents can be dealt with under Section 300 and 302 of IPC.

Section 302 provides that whoever commits murder shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine. Offence of murder is a cognisable, non- bailable and non-compoundable offence.

SC guidelines about mob lynching

There should be a “separate offence” for lynching and the trial courts must ordinarily award maximum sentence upon conviction of the accused person to set a stern example in cases of mob violence.
The state governments will have to designate a senior police officer in each district for taking measures to prevent incidents of mob violence and lynching.
The state governments need to identify districts, sub-divisions and villageswhere instances of lynching and mob violence have been reported in the recent past.
The nodal officers shall bring to the notice of the DGP about any inter-district co-ordination issues for devising a strategy to tackle lynching and mob violence related issues.
Every police officer shall ensure to disperse the mob that has a tendency to cause violence in the disguise of vigilantism or otherwise.
Central and the state governments shall broadcast on radio, television and other media platforms about the serious consequences of mob lynching and mob violence.
Despite the measures taken by the State Police, if it comes to the notice of the local police that an incident of lynching or mob violence has taken place, the jurisdictional police station shall immediately lodge an FIR.
The State Governments shall prepare a lynching/mob violence victim compensation scheme in the light of the provisions of Section 357A of CrPC.
If a police officer or an officer of the district administration fails to fulfill his duty, it will be considered an act of deliberate negligence.

Monday, 14 February 2022

Supreme court refuses plea for including madrasas, Vedic schools under RTE

The Supreme Court has refused to intervene in a petition challenging sections of the Right to Education Act of 2009 which exclude vedic pathsalas , madrasas and institutions imparting religious education from its ambit.

The Court observed that the exclusion of these institutions was specifically inserted into the 2009 Act by an amendment of August 2012 and since then there has never been any controversy in the past decade.

What’s the issue?

The petitioner said, Right of a child should not be restricted only to free education, but must be extended to have equal quality education without discrimination on the ground of child’s social economic and cultural background. Therefore, the court may declare Sections 1(4) and 1(5) of the 2009 Act arbitrary and irrational.

Sections 1(4) and 1(5) of the 2009 Act:

Section 1(5) of the Act states, “Nothing contained in this Act shall apply to madrasas, Vedic pathshalas and educational institutions primarily imparting religious instruction”.

Section 1(4) says, “Subject to the provisions of Articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution, the provisions of this Act shall apply to conferment of rights on children to free and compulsory education.

Article 29 and 30 contain provisions securing rights of minorities and minority-run institutions.

Constitutional Provisions regarding Minority Educational Institutions:

Article 30(1) recognizes linguistic and religious minorities but not those based on race, ethnicity.

It recognizes the right of religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions, in effect recognizing the role educational institutions play in preserving distinct culture.
A majority community can also establish and administer educational institutions but they will not enjoy special rights under Article 30(1)(a).

Special rights enjoyed by religious minority institutions are:

Under Art 30(1)(a), MEI enjoy right to education as a Fundamental Right. In case the property is taken over by state, due compensation to be provided to establish institutions elsewhere
Under Article 15(5), MEIs are not considered for reservation
Under Right to Education Act, MEI not required to provide admission to children in the age group of 6-14 years upto 25% of enrolment reserved for economically backward section of society
In St Stephens vs Delhi University case, 1992, SC ruled that MEIs can have 50% seats reserved for minorities
In TMA Pai & others vs State of Karnataka & others 2002 case, SC ruled that MEIs can have separate admission process which is fair, transparent and merit based. They can also separate fee structure but should not charge capitation fee.

Geomagnetic storm: Elon Musk’s Starlink has lost 40 satellites that were caught in a geomagnetic storm

Recently, Elon Musk’s Starlink has lost 40 satellites that were caught in a geomagnetic storm a day after they were launched.

However, these satellites have not created any space debris as the satellites were designed to burn up on reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere.

What is Geomagnetic Storm.

A geomagnetic storm, also known as a magnetic storm, is a temporary disturbance of the Earth's magnetosphere caused by a solar wind shock wave and/or cloud of magnetic field that interacts with the Earth's magnetic field.

The disturbance that drives the magnetic storm may be a solar coronal mass ejection (CME) or (much less severely) a co-rotating interaction region (CIR), a high-speed stream of solar wind originating from a coronal hole. The frequency of geomagnetic storms increases and decreases with the sunspot cycle. During solar maximum, geomagnetic storms occur more often, with the majority driven by CMEs.

The increase in the solar wind pressure initially compresses the magnetosphere. The solar wind's magnetic field interacts with the Earth's magnetic field and transfers an increased energy into the magnetosphere. Both interactions cause an increase in plasma movement through the magnetosphere (driven by increased electric fields inside the magnetosphere) and an increase in electric current in the magnetosphere and ionosphere. During the main phase of a geomagnetic storm, electric current in the magnetosphere creates a magnetic force that pushes out the boundary between the magnetosphere and the solar wind.

Why In News

Elon Musk’s Starlink has lost dozens of satellites that were caught in a geomagnetic storm a day after they were launched on February 3. Up to 40 of the 49 satellites were impacted, Starlink said, causing them to fall from orbit before they could be commissioned.

“(Rocket) Falcon 9’s second stage deployed the satellites into their intended orbit, with a perigee of approximately 210 km above Earth, and each satellite achieved controlled flight. Unfortunately, the satellites deployed on Thursday (February 3) were significantly impacted by a geomagnetic storm on February 4,” Starlink said in a statement on Tuesday.

Solar storms/flares

Solar storms are magnetic plasma ejected at great speed from the solar surface. They occur during the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots (‘dark’ regions on the Sun that are cooler than the surrounding photosphere), and can last for a few minutes or hours. The solar storm that deorbited the satellites occurred on February 1 and 2, and its powerful trails were observed on February 3.

“The emerging data suggest that the passing of the latter part of the storm, with its high density core, possessed speeds higher than what was recorded during the storm’s arrival — something we did not expect,” said physicist Prof Dibyendu Nandi, head of the Centre of Excellence in Space Sciences India (CESSI) at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Kolkata.

The storm was unusual, an unexpectedly extended event and of a kind not seen in the recent past, Prof Nandi said.

Effect on Earth

Not all solar flares reach Earth, but solar flares/storms, solar energetic particles (SEPs), high-speed solar winds, and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that come close can impact space weather in near-Earth space and the upper atmosphere.

Solar storms can hit operations of space-dependent services like global positioning systems (GPS), radio, and satellite communications. Geomagnetic storms interfere with high-frequency radio communications and GPS navigation systems. Aircraft flights, power grids, and space exploration programmes are vulnerable.

CMEs, with ejectiles loaded with matter travelling at millions of miles an hour, can potentially create disturbances in the magnetosphere, the protective shield surrounding the Earth. Astronauts on spacewalks face health risks from possible exposure to solar radiation outside the Earth’s protective atmosphere.

Predicting solar storms

Solar physicists and other scientists use computer models to predict solar storms and solar activities in general. The February 1-2 phenomenon that knocked out Starlink’s satellites was predicted on January 29.

“Current models are capable of predicting a storm’s time of arrival and its speed. But the storm’s structure or orientation still cannot be predicted,” Prof Nandi said.

Certain orientations of the magnetic field can produce a more intense response from the magnetosphere, and trigger more intense magnetic storms.

With the increasing global dependence on satellites for almost every activity, there is a need for better space weather forecasts and more effective ways to protect satellites.

What are Geomagnetic Storms?

Geomagnetic storms are caused when events such as solar flares can send higher than normal levels of radiation towards Earth. This radiation interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field causing a geomagnetic storm.

Causes:

Effects of Geomagnetic storms:

Effects from the geomagnetic storm can range from the appearance of auroras or the northern and southern lights to disruptions in communications systems due to high radiation. This would make it difficult to communicate with others on Earth.

Classification of Geomagnetic storms:

Geomagnetic storms are classified according to a scale that measures the effect that storms will have.

At its safest level, a G1 storm affects power grids by causing weak fluctuations, minor impacts on satellite operations, and causes the northern and southern lights to occur.
At its most extreme, G5, there would be voltage control problems with some grid system collapses or blackouts, radio waves wouldn’t be able to travel for one to two days, low-frequency radio would be out for hours, and the auroras would be able to be seen at lower latitudes than usual.

Tuesday, 8 February 2022

Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 4.0

Key Facts

India is running the largest inoculation drive globally in which more than 3 crore pregnant women and 2.6 crore children are covered through Universal Immunisation Programme annually.
The IMI 4.0 will have three rounds and it will be conducted across 416 districts, across 33 states and UTs. It also includes 75 districts identified for Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
On the occasion, IMI 4.0 portal was also launched.
Minister also released the “Operational Guidelines for IMI 4.0 – “Strengthening Immunisation in Urban Areas-A framework for Action”. It is a handbook for “Mahila Arogya Samiti on Urban Immunisation”.

Significance of the programme

This programme will immensely contribute in filling the gaps as well as make lasting gains for universal immunisation.
It will ensure that Routine Immunisation (RI) services reaches to the unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children & pregnant women.

First round of IMI 4.0

First round of the IMI 4.0 will be implemented during February 2022 to April 2022. In the first round, 11 States will conduct IMI 4.0. These states include Assam, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Tripura.

Second Round of IMI 4.0

Second Round of IMI 4.0 will be implemented from April 2022 to May 2022, across 22 States. These States and UTs, include Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Bihar, Odisha, Delhi, Puducherry, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Telangana, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

When was mission Indradhanush launched?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Mission Indradhanush in December 2014, with the aim of increasing full immunisation coverage. It was launched for covering partially and unvaccinated children and pregnant women, in pockets of high-risk, hard-to-reach and low immunisation coverage areas. This mission was focused on protecting them from vaccine preventable diseases. This mission was also identified as one of the flagship schemes under Gram Swaraj Abhiyan and Extended Gram Swaraj Abhiyan.

ISRO: Demonstration of Quantum Communication

Scientists conducted hack-proof communication between two places, using real-time Quantum Key Distribution (QKD). These places were separated by 300 meters.

What is Quantum communication?

Quantum Communication is one of the safest ways to connect two places with high levels of quantum and code cryptography, which cannot be decrypted or broken by an external entity. If any hacker tries to crack message in quantum communication, it changes its form in a way that would alert the sender. It would also cause the message to be altered or deleted. Quantum communication is a field of applied quantum physics. It is closely related to quantum teleportation and information processing. The most developed and well-known application of quantum cryptography is quantum key distribution (QKD), which describes the use of quantum mechanical effects for performing cryptographic tasks or for breaking cryptographic systems.

Creation of atmospheric channel

During the demonstration, scientists created an atmospheric channel on ground in a bid to enable sharing of quantum-secure text, quantum-assisted two-way video calling and image transmission. During this, various images were encrypted using generated quantum key. These images were transmitted over a classical channel from one building to another building. They were decrypted in real-time, at receiving terminal.

How was this feat achieved?

This feat was achieved, as scientists developed several key technologies like BBM92 protocol implementation, robust & high brightness entangled photon source (EPS), polarization compensation technique, NavIC enabled synchronization, etc. The cryptographic application software suite with integrated quantum security was also developed and demonstrated for text, video and image encryption or decryption.

Quantum Key distribution (QKD)

QKD is the technology behind Quantum Communication technology. It ensures unconditional data security by using the principles of quantum mechanics. These crypto-systems are used for data-encryption and they rely on complexity of mathematical algorithms.

J&K in National Single Window System

The UT has been integrated to facilitate investment in the region. With this the global investors can apply for their business approvals in online mode. With this, the union territory is being linked in to a big network of partnerships. These partnerships include both domestic and foreign companies. The integration will make Jammu and Kashmir more competitive.

Background

The reforms being introduced in Kashmir are bringing in more investments. In 2021 alone, Kashmir received Rs 70,000 crores of investment. The key driving factor for these investments is the Industrial Development Scheme. The scheme was announced in January 2021 with a total outlay of Rs 28,400 crores.

Current Scenario

Jammu and Kashmir is right now in a new stage of development. The central government is providing focused growth in dynamic sectors such as horticulture, real estate and tourism. The focus is mainly on increasing employment opportunities. This way, the energy of the youths can be diverted towards productive works. And their involvement towards terrorist and anti – governmental mishaps shall be reduced.

Nodal Agency

The Department of Industries and Commerce is the current nodal agency in implementing the industrial reforms in the union territory. The department will make sure the Jammu and Kashmir administration is complying to the Business Reform Action Plan, 2022 and Regulatory Compliance Burden, 2022.

What is National Single Window System?

It is a digital platform where the investors can identify and apply for approvals. It also provides advisory services. Also, the portal gives updated information about the approvals.

Monday, 7 February 2022

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana

The Government has clarified that Aadhaar of Husbands is not mandatory under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, PMMVY, to facilitate the inclusion of single mothers and abandoned mothers.

About PMMVY:

It is a Maternity Benefit Programme that is implemented in all the districts of the country in accordance with the provision of the National Food Security Act, 2013.

The direct benefit cash transfer is to help expectant mothers meet enhanced nutritional requirements as well as to partially compensate them for wage loss during their pregnancy.
The scheme was announced on December 31, 2016. It is being implemented in all districts of the country with effect from 1st January, 2017.

Beneficiaries:

All Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers (PW&LM), excluding those who are in regular employment with the Central Government or the State Governments or PSUs or those who are in receipt of similar benefits under any law for the time being in force.
All eligible Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers who have their pregnancy on or after 1st January 2017 for the first child in the family.

Benefits:

Beneficiaries receive a cash benefit of Rs. 5,000 in three installments on fulfilling the following conditions:

Early registration of pregnancy
Ante-natal check-up
Registration of the birth of the child Completion of the first cycle of vaccination for the first living child of the family.

The eligible beneficiaries also receive cash incentive under Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY). Thus, on an average, a woman gets Rs. 6,000.

Proposed reforms:

The Centre is likely to soon extend the benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) — currently applicable to eligible pregnant women and lactating mothers for the first child in the family to the second one — only if the child born is a girl.

Move aimed at discouraging pre-birth sex selection.

Delimitation Panel

Overview:

The Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission (headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai) has submitted its interim report. As per the report:

Of the 90 Assembly seats, 28 new Assembly constituencies have been reconfigured or renamed.
19 Assembly segments have been deleted.
All the five Lok Sabha seats will be redrawn.
The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi constituency has been identified as the smallest of all with just 73,648 votes in the Jammu region.
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Delimitation exercise in J&K- a timeline:

The first delimitation exercise, carving out 25 assembly constituencies in the then state, was carried out by a Delimitation Committee in 1951.
The first full-fledged Delimitation Commission was formed in 1981 and it submitted its recommendations in 1995 on the basis of 1981 Census. Since then, there has been no delimitation.
In 2020, the Delimitation Commission was constituted to carry out the exercise on the basis of 2011 Census, with a mandate to add seven more seats to the Union Territory’ and grant reservations to SC and ST communities.
Now, the total number of seats in Jammu and Kashmir will be raised to 90 from the previous 83. This is apart from 24 seats which have been reserved for areas of PoK and have to be kept vacant in the Assembly.

What is delimitation and why is it needed?

The Delimitation Commission for Jammu and Kashmir was constituted by the Centre on March 6 last year to redraw Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies of the union territory in accordance with the provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 and Delimitation Act, 2002, passed by the Centre in August 2019 along with other J&K-specific Bills.

What is Delimitation?

Delimitation literally means the process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a state that has a legislative body.

Who carries out the exercise?

Delimitation is undertaken by a highly powerful commission. They are formally known as Delimitation Commission or Boundary Commission.
These bodies are so powerful that its orders have the force of law and they cannot be challenged before any court.

Composition of the Commission:

According to the Delimitation Commission Act, 2002, the Delimitation Commission will have three members: a serving or retired judge of the Supreme Court as the chairperson, and the Chief Election Commissioner or Election Commissioner nominated by the CEC and the State Election Commissioner as ex-officio members.

Constitutional Provisions:

Under Article 82, the Parliament enacts a Delimitation Act after every Census.
Under Article 170, States also get divided into territorial constituencies as per Delimitation Act after every Census.
भारत के प्रमुख दर्रे।
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Vinay Kumar Tripathi becomes new Chairman, CEO of Railway Board
A colony of frogs.
Sri Lanka gives $1 billion relief as anger grows over food costs
Delhi to soon get its first 100 percent electric buses
Census and the National Population Register (NPR)
Tamil Nadu govt permits Jallikattu with strict precautions in place
Why has Earth's Northern Hemisphere witnessed year's shortest day today?
Delhi Subordinate Service Selection Board (DSSSB) Assistant Law Officer/ Legal Assistant Recruitment 2022

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