Current Affairs Compilations for UPSC IAS Prelims 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 1

• Cities would literally be much cooler with more trees around

GS Paper 2

• In light of the Russia-Ukraine war, an opportunity to modernise India’s defence industry
• Neglecting the health sector has consequences
• A quick reset – India and Canada are looking at the big picture as they put behind discord

GS Paper 3

• India must reduce its public debt ratio to build economic resilience
• U.S. shot down a Chinese ‘spy’ balloon
• Boosting pharma research
• Private sector has not responded to government initiatives so far
• Make In IndAIa – As Google comes up with a ChatGPT rival & AI becomes ubiquitous, here’s what GoI must do
• Signs of a weakening public sector

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

• What has the Union Budget allocated to minorities?
• CAR T-cell therapy: the next step towards a holistic treatment of cancer
• Why railways around the world are ditching diesel for hydrogen
• Dhamaal: The incredible story of how East African culture shaped the music of a state in India
• Department of Animal Husbandry implements various schemes to promote and develop animal husbandry and dairying sector across the country
• Row over Nagaland DGP: How are state police chiefs appointed?
• NCAER Report on Farm Machinery Industry in India presented to MoS (Agriculture) Ms. Shobha Karandlaje
• Stone-age carvings found in Aravalis in Gurugram
• No Bar of Res-judicata on Second Petition for Divorce If It Is Founded on New Facts: Madras HC
• Yuva Sangam registration portal launched

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 1

Cities would literally be much cooler with more trees around

Context: 2022 was Europe’s hottest summer on record. However, this summer could be even worse with the return of El Niño. Urban areas are likely to be much more affected in this scenario.

Due to urban heat islands (UHIs) affect, urban areas are 1.5° Celsius warmer than surrounding areas.

Building materials (concrete, asphalt, metal) and machinery (cars, trucks, air-conditioners) absorb and produce heat, turning city blocks into baking ovens.

What are the other factors that make cities unhealthy place to live?

4.3% of premature deaths in cities during the summer months are attributable to UHIs.

Outdoor air pollution kills more than 4 million people a year.

Noise causes the loss of more than 1.8 million healthy life years in Europe.

What are the options available to make urban areas more liveable?

Encouraging denser living could be a key part of the race to net zero carbon emissions.

Increasing tree canopy cover in urban areas could reduce premature summer deaths in cities.

Equitable distribution of trees throughout the city.

Reflective roofs or whiter-than-white paint.

Urban green spaces are also associated with a lower prevalence of diabetes, heart problems, better birth outcomes and improved cognitive functioning.

What are the challenges to urban forestry?

After buying and planting, new trees require maintenance because like human trees can’t survive in urban areas without much care.

GS Paper 2

In light of the Russia-Ukraine war, an opportunity to modernise India’s defence industry

News– New global defence engagements are emerging with the Ukraine war. It opens the possibility of modernising its defence industrial base for India

What are new geopolitical dynamics emerging in the context of the Ukraine war?

Asia is no longer a passive theatre for rivalry among the Western powers. Asian powers are contributing to European security. NATO is stepping up its engagement with Asian powers.

Pakistan is transferring ammunition to Ukraine as part of a major diplomatic effort to reset relations with the US. The current government is trying to correct that tilt towards the Sino-Russian alliance by the former PM.

North Korea has joined the party on the other side. Russia has turned to North Korea for the supply of winter clothing and ammunition. Iran has become a major supplier of drones to Russia.

Turkey has supplied drones and more to Ukraine over the last year. It has also been in the lead in creating diplomatic engagement between Ukraine and Russia.

South Korea has emerged as a major supplier of arms to Europe. South Korea and Japan are not only bringing NATO into Asia, but also taking Asia to NATO’s frontlines with Russia.

The idea that Europe and Asia are separate strategic theatres is becoming difficult to sustain. China’s alliance “without limits” unveiled last year with Russia has broken it.

The US has responded by promoting greater cooperation between NATO and America’s Asian allies. NATO’s Madrid summit last June saw the participation for the first time of Asian leaders from Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea.

How is the global defence ecosystem changing?

Korean arms sales to Europe are surging. Poland alone is expected to bury nearly $16 billion worth of arms from South Korea. Norway and Estonia are among other European states looking for Korean arms to cope with the perceived security threats from Russia.

Moscow’s neighbours to the West are also arming themselves with new weapons due to fear of Russian expansionism. The Western and Russian arms industries are not able to meet the massive demand.

The arms bazaar is no longer exclusively Western. Asian powers are now important producers and traders of weapons.

China is the fourth largest arms exporter in the world after the US, Russia, and France. Most of China’s arms exports are to the developing world.

Korea arms exports reached nearly $20 billion last year. It is now ranked eighth on the list of arms exporters. The capacity to deliver high-quality weapons at low cost and on short order has put Korea in a pivotal position.

Russia’s war in Ukraine has also woken up Japan to rethink its security policies. Japan’s recent national defence policy has led to selling arms to friends and partners. It has provided some non-lethal military assistance to Ukraine.

It plans to double defence spending over the next five years. Japan is also tying up with European and American arms companies to develop fighter aircraft, missiles and drones for domestic use as well as exports.

What is the case of India?

India wants to be an exporter of arms. The export of Brahmos to the Philippines last year has been a major milestone in the country’s evolution as an arms producer.

The largest destination for Indian arms exports is not the developing world, but the US. That has largely come from the Indian supply sub-assemblies to US weapons systems.

India is facing competition from the better-organised and more developed South Korean manufacturers.

What is the way forward for the defence ecosystem in India?

For India, the new and dynamic defence engagement between Europe and Asia opens up multiple opportunities. This includes the possibilities for modernising its  defence industrial base in partnership with friendly states.

India’s recent agreement with the US on expanding joint defence production and technology should be a precursor to agreements with its partners to enhance its arms exports.

Neglecting the health sector has consequences

News– The allocations in the Budget for health, education and nutrition has remained stagnant.

What is the importance of health and education?

For sustainable, long-term growth of the country, expanding universal access to high quality education, healthcare and nutrition is imperative.

No country can go far if a significant proportion of its population is illiterate, unhealthy or malnourished. All the countries that are developed today invested well in education, health and nutrition.

Studies in the U.S. show that after the Reagan era, innovation and scientific capability were impacted when public investment in education was reduced to push privatisation.

What is the status of the social sector in India?

A study showed that 230 million Indians slid into poverty due to COVID-19. The ASER report shows the abysmal state of education. Many Class 5 students are unable to read a Class 2 textbook.

NFHS-5 data show that among children aged below five years, 35.5% were stunted and 32.1% were underweight.

Disease burden is rising with non-communicable diseases, mental health and geriatric care adding to the load of communicable diseases.

India lacks adequate human resources, infrastructure and access to affordable diagnosis and treatment.

What are indications from the budget for the health sector?

Budget is disappointing in the case of the health and education sector.

The allocations for education and nutrition are stagnant. The budget for midday meals was reduced by 9%.

The budget provides allocation for free foodgrains to 80 crore poor and other welfare provisions. But these are partial gains. They don’t address the widening inequalities.

What were the lessons learnt from COVID19 in case of the health sector?

There is a lack of financial risk protection. This leads to citizens incurring huge expenses, estimated to be more than ₹70,000 crore.

A broken down primary health system, particularly in the north resulted in a large number of avoidable deaths.

There is absence of well-equipped and functioning district hospitals to cope with demand. India needs an infusion of resources and a bold imagination to address these.

It also showed us the poor state of the regulatory framework. Many laws have serious infirmities and embed conflicts of interest. Some need to be scrapped and some amended.

COVID-19 also underscored the need to invest in public health to build our disease surveillance system and strengthen resilience to such shocks.

What is the way forward for better healthcare provisioning in India?

Addressing flaws in the healthcare sector is urgent because there is no guarantee that the worst is over.

It is the responsibility of a government to protect its citizens against any such eventuality by improving the healthcare system and reducing vulnerability.

We need political leadership backed by adequate funding to rebuild our public health system, promote scientific research, and expand health security.

Equity and justice are values that must be guiding factors. Measuring policy and money allocation in terms of political benefits is short-term and unsustainable. When such structures collapse, the poor and marginalised suffer disproportionately.

A quick reset – India and Canada are looking at the big picture as they put behind discord

News: Recently, the Canadian Foreign Minister visited India for bilateral talks. With the upcoming G-20 summit in India, the visit of the Canadian Prime Minister for the summit will be key for India – Canada relations.

What are the key discussions on bilateral ties between India and Canada?

What are the importance of India for Canada and vice versa?

Canada was among the first countries associated with India’s nuclear programme. Both countries have an agreement on civil nuclear cooperation.

Canada’s deteriorating ties with China: Canada in its new Indo-Pacific Strategy marked out China as an “increasingly disruptive global power” and mentioned India as a “critical partner” with shared traditions of democracy and pluralism.

Canada’s search for new markets to diversify its considerable economic engagement with China coincides with India’s push to conclude free trade agreements with many countries.

India also has a massive diaspora population and student links in Canada.

Note: Both India and Canada are already working on an “Early Progress Trade Agreement” and planned to finalise a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

What are the challenges in developing bilateral ties between India and Canada?

a) India has continued to express concerns over the resurgence of Khalistani separatism, b) Canadian pronouncements on developments in India, including on rights and freedoms is always a cause of concern. For instance, the Canadian PM’s comment on farmers’ agitation in 2020-21 led to the cancellation of diplomatic activity for a while.

Overall, bilateral ties between India and Canada can bring strategic and economic gains but for achieving that both nations should side-step the political pitfalls.

GS Paper 3

India must reduce its public debt ratio to build economic resilience

News– The new budget has a credible plan to reduce the fiscal deficit as a proportion of India GDP.

What are the implications of high public debt ratio for macroeconomic policy over the medium term?

Interest cost of servicing this public debt reduces the capacity of the government to spend on essential things like infrastructure, welfarism and defence.

It reduces the capacity of the government in responding to future shocks.

RBI ability to conduct independent monetary policy to control inflation is impacted.

How can public debt be managed?

Any strategy to reduce public debt needs to be built on three pillars–

There must be acceleration in nominal GDP growth.

Acceleration in nominal GDP growth should be seen in context of the cost of government borrowings.

The focus of fiscal policy must be to reduce not only the headline deficit but also the primary deficit.

The experience of previous decades provides us with useful context. Public debt came down by 17% between 2002 and 2011. This period can be broken down into two.

The first part of success was because of the high growth rate. It led to a sharp fall in primary deficit. In the second part, nominal GDP grew at a fast pace despite the global financial crisis. This was possible by high inflation.

What is the future scenario of public debt for the Indian economy?

Trajectory of public debt will depend on growth in economic output, inflation, interest rate and fiscal policy.

Nominal GDP in coming years is likely to be in very low double digits, unless there is structural shift in potential growth and inflation. The gap between nominal GDP and inflation will be low.

So, the automatic drivers bringing down public debt will not work. Government will have to use fiscal policy to bring down the primary deficit.

U.S. shot down a Chinese ‘spy’ balloon

Read more- Advantages of Spy balloons over spy satellites

On Jan 28, defence and military officials confirmed that a Chinese reconnaissance balloon has entered the US air defence zone.

Soon the balloon was shot down by a short-range AIM-9X Sidewinder missile of US.

What are spy balloons?

Spy balloons are high-altitude surveillance tools. They usually operate at 80,000-1,20,000 feet to gather intelligence. This height is well above the altitude of commercial aircraft.

These spy balloons are equipped with cameras and imaging devices.

Unlike satellites, balloons are economically viable. Due to their proximity to the Earth’s surface, they can widely scan an area from close quarters and capture clearer, high-resolution images of the target.

Boosting pharma research

News: Government is going to introduce research-linked incentive (RLI) scheme for pharmaceutical sector, just like PLI scheme for other sectors.

Not much is clear about the scheme, but specific areas within the pharma sector — including antibiotics and biosimilars, could be the target areas.

What are the needs of boost to pharmaceutical sector?

Research and development (R&D) spending in the sector is too low.

In fact, multinational pharma companies operating in India are spending higher part of their domestic revenue on R & D than by Indian companies.

R & D is still not considered profitable by companies. Because they have not yet seen visible returns on any successful innovation in India.

What are things to be considered before launching the scheme?

If RLIs are linked to individual projects, then there will be a dilemma whether higher R&D will be achieved over time without unsustainable expenditure by the government.

A separate vertical for incentives for micro, small, and medium enterprises to invest in R&D cannot replace the need for access to basic science and cheap financing and human capital that allows such start-ups to flourish.

It would be difficult to identify sub-sectors within the pharma business that would be the most productive recipients of RLI.

Private sector has not responded to government initiatives so far

News– Despite record profits of the larger firms and the increase in capital spending by the public sector, a broad-based recovery in private sector investments and consumption has not materialised.

What are the broad points that show the changing structure of the Indian economy?

Profits of larger firms– Larger firms have shown the trend of the rising share of capital and the falling share of labour in national income. A few big firms now account for a higher portion of profits.

In 2019-20, 433 firms had reported profits in excess of Rs 500 crore. In 2020-21, the first year of the pandemic, this rose to 517.

There were 1,558 companies whose profits ranged between Rs 100-500 crore. Together these  firms accounted for 77.41% of all profits. These firms represent just 0.2% of the entire corporate sector.

Corporate tax regime– For companies having profit above 500 crores, the effective tax rate is around 19.14%. It is much lower than that for the smaller-sized companies.

For firms with profits in the range of 0-1 crore and 1-10 crore, the tax rate was 24.82% and 23.13% respectively.

These tax rate differentials imply that the larger firms have either availed of the higher deductions or incentives under the old tax regime or have shifted to the new regime of lower taxes.

So far, 20% of all firms have opted for the exemption-less regime. These firms account for a little more than 60% of total income.

This suggests that the larger, more profitable firms are opting to shift. There are also indications that this regime has perhaps led to a reduction in tax disputes.

However, only 3,508 companies had opted for the 15% tax regime during this period. This suggests that lower tax rates were perhaps not strong enough incentive for fresh private sector investments in the manufacturing sector.

New Income tax structure– The new personal income tax regime has not seen much traction. Migration to the new regime will depend on the extent of individuals taking advantage of the existing exemptions. The revenue foregone by the government on these items are still high

Calculations suggest that if a salaried taxpayer is availing of exemptions for investments and medical insurance, then the switching point will perhaps be a little less than Rs 9 lakh.

However, the more the exemptions are availed, higher will be the income threshold at which the individual will want to switch to the new tax framework.

Increased public investment– The larger public sector now accounts for a much bigger share of overall investment in the economy than before.

At the end of 2022-23, capital expenditure by the public sector was around a quarter of all investments  in the economy. Their share is up by roughly 5% since 2014-15.

In the coming year, if state governments match the central government’s  increase in capex, then the share of the public sector in total investments in the economy may be closer to 30%.

Make In IndAIa – As Google comes up with a ChatGPT rival & AI becomes ubiquitous, here’s what GoI must do

News: Recently, Google said that a new artificial intelligence (AI) service named Bard is being tested ahead of a public launch. Its public launch will make it the second generative AI, after ChatGPT.

What is AI research?

AI doesn’t have a precise definition. It’s best described as a constellation of technologies. The idea arises from English mathematician Alan Turing’s work in 1950 where he suggested a machine could be programmed to learn from experience like children do. AI rests on three pillars: data, algorithms and computing power.

What is ChatGPT?

What is the potential of Generative AI?

How global nations are promoting AI research?

a) A lot of US government support to domestic AI development is routed through its defence industry, b) China also allocated state resources behind its attempt to dominate the AI market.

How Indian government is promoting AI research in its recent budget?

Acknowledging AI’s importance, the budget announced that three centres of excellence in AI will be set up in top educational institutions, with the private sector contributing to the effort.

What should be done to improve AI research in India?

Government needs to prioritise Large-scale funding and the creation of research ecosystems that draw in global Indian talent in AI.

AI is already in extensive use at the commercial level. Indian firms at present have access to domestic talent now they should also have access to data also. Indian firms need a sound regulatory framework that allows access to a lot more anonymised data.

Government’s expert committee suggested open access to non-personal data. For that, India’s should establish a legal framework to both safeguard privacy and provide open access to anonymised data for Indian startups.

Overall, with the AI’s technological frontier, India can have a chance of leapfroging few traditional stages of growth.

Signs of a weakening public sector

News: The Budget reveals the nature of the Centre’s financial engagement with public sector undertakings (PSU).

About Centre’s fiscal relations with states

The Centre’s fiscal relations with states are principally governed by the recommendations of the Finance Commission. Accordingly, states have a 41% share in the total taxes (Only in net shareable tax proceeds but not in cesses and surcharges) collected by the Union government.

In the last few years, the share of collections from various cesses and surcharges has gone up steadily. From about 5% of the Centre’s gross tax collections in 2017-18 to about 13% in the revised estimate of the Budget this year. Hence, the State’s share in the Centre’s gross tax collections has declined to 30-33%.

How the budget responded to Cess and Surcharges?

Cesses and surcharges in 2023-24 are expected to see one of the lowest increases in recent years. This is because, a) The share of cesses and surcharges in the gross domestic product (GDP) is declining, for the first time in the last three years, to 1.35%, b) The super-rich tax has come down from 42.7% to 39% because the surcharge on it has been slashed from 37% to 25%.

Why the states are happy with the recent budget?

1) The revenue hit from cess and surcharge reduction will be borne entirely by the Centre and, therefore, would not affect the amount of tax transfer to the states, 2) States will witness an increased allocation of capital expenditure advances by 30%, 3) The states get assistance from the Centre by way of grants and loans. This is not reduced in the recent budget.

Why the PSUs are happy with the recent budget?

The budget for 2023-24 has been generous with its capital expenditure. A large chunk of its capital outlay would be routed through capital support to PSUs. For instance, in 2022-23, PSUs accounted for over half of the government’s capital expenditure, up from a share of 42% in 2021-22.

What are the challenges faced by PSUs recently?

a) There is a decline in the share of the PSUs’ own contribution to their total capital outlay on projects. Hence, PSUs are increasingly becoming more dependent on the Centre to meet their capital expenditure requirements. For instance, the gradual weakening of the PSUs is clearly visible from the state of the Indian Railways.

In 2023-24, Railways would be helped by Rs 2.4 trillion of capital support from the Centre. But its own contribution to its capital projects will decline to 18%.

b) There is also a lack of accountability in ensuring a decent return on such investment.

Overall, the government must expedite its plan for asset sale and privatisation.

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

What has the Union Budget allocated to minorities?

Source: The post is based on the article “What has the Union Budget allocated to minorities?” published in The Hindu on 8th February 2023.

What is the News?

The Union Budget for 2023-24 came with a reduction of 38% in funds for the Ministry of Minority Affairs.

Which schemes might be impacted due to the reduction of funds for minorities’ welfare?

Impact on Education Schemes: The total allocation for minorities’ educational upliftment was slashed to around ₹1600 crore from around ₹2,500 crore last year.

-The education scheme for Madrasas suffered a whopping 93% cut in allocation. The scheme’s allocation is down to ₹10 crores from the ₹160 crores in the previous financial year.

Research schemes for minorities: The allocation for research schemes for minorities, including Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Parsis was reduced by a little more than 50%.

Pre-matric scholarships for minorities: The government also cut down the funds for pre-matric scholarships for minorities in the upcoming financial year.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram(PMJVK): The allocation for PMJVK also came down.

Note: The scheme aims to provide socio-economic infrastructure and elementary amenities in minority-concentrated areas. It was said to be a key part of the government’s Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas initiative.

Similar reduction is witnessed in a) Hamari Dharohar Scheme for conservation of minorities’ culture and heritage, b) Scheme for Leadership Development of Minority Women, c) Skill Development Initiative among minorities, d) Nai Manzil, an integrated educational and livelihood scheme, e) Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development scheme (USTTAD), f) Padho Pardesh Scheme and Nai Udaan Scheme was grounded.

What are the reasons for the reduction of funds for Minorities?

The government said that schemes like Nai Udaan overlaps with other similar affirmative plans of the government. Recently, the Prime Minister demanded that nobody should be left behind in the nation’s progress. But the Budget failed to follow up his words with action.

CAR T-cell therapy: the next step towards a holistic treatment of cancer

Source: The post is based on the article “CAR T-cell therapy: the next step towards a holistic treatment of cancer” published in Indian Express on 7th February 2023.

What is the News?

The three major forms of treatment for any cancer are surgery (removing the cancer), radiotherapy (delivering ionising radiation to the tumour), and systemic therapy (administering medicines that act on the tumour). 

A new development in the treatment of cancer currently holding the attention of many researchers worldwide is CAR T-cell therapy.

What are CAR T-cells?

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies represent a quantum leap in the sophistication of cancer treatment. 

Unlike chemotherapy or immunotherapy, which require mass-produced injectable or oral medication, CAR T-cell therapies use a patient’s own cells. Hence, they’re called ‘living drugs’.

How does CAR T-Cells therapy work?

In CAR T-cell therapy, the patient’s blood is drawn to harvest T-cells which are immune cells that play a major role in destroying tumour cells. 

Researchers then modify these cells in the laboratory so that they express specific proteins on their surface, known as chimeric antigen receptors (CAR). They have an affinity for proteins on the surface of tumour cells. 

These modified cells are then infused back into the patient’s bloodstream after conditioning them to multiply more effectively. 

This modification in the cellular structure allows CAR T-cells to effectively bind to the tumour and destroy it. The final step in the tumour’s destruction involves its clearance by the patient’s immune system.

Where is CAR T-Cell therapy used?

CAR T-cell therapy has been approved for leukaemias (cancers arising from the cells that produce white blood cells) and lymphomas (arising from the lymphatic system).

It is also used among patients with cancers that have returned after an initially successful treatment or who haven’t responded to previous combinations of chemotherapy or immunotherapy.

How widespread CAR T-cell therapy is used?

The complexity of preparing CAR T-cells has been a major barrier to their use. The first clinical trial showing they were effective was published almost a decade ago.

The first indigenously developed therapy in India was successfully performed only in 2022.

Moreover, trials are underway in India, with companies looking to indigenously manufacture CAR T-cells at a fraction of the cost. The preliminary results have been encouraging.

Why railways around the world are ditching diesel for hydrogen

Source: The post is based on the article “Why railways around the world are ditching diesel for hydrogen” published in TOI on 7th February 2023.

What is the News?

Indian Railways has planned to operate 35 hydrogen-powered trains on various heritage and hilly routes in India under its ‘Hydrogen for Heritage’ Project.

What is Hydrogen for Heritage Project?

Under this project, hydrogen-powered trains will be known as Vande Metro. 

It will initially run on historic, narrow-gauge routes including the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, the Kalka Shimla Railway, the Matheran Hill Railway, the Kangra Valley, the Bilmora Waghai, and the Marwar-Devgarh Madriya, which will make travel more environmentally friendly.

The first hydrogen train designed and manufactured locally will be ready by December 2023 on the Kalka-Shimla historic circuit.

What are Hydrogen Trains?

Hydrogen trains are those that use hydrogen fuel cells rather than traditional diesel engines. The hydrogen fuel cells produce electricity by converting hydrogen and oxygen, which is then used to power the train’s motors.

Why Hydrogen Trains?

In India, which has the world’s third-largest railway network, 37% of the trains are pulled by diesel locomotives. That’s roughly 5,000 trains a day. Indian Railways used 2.3 billion litres of diesel to haul trains in FY 2019-20 – almost 6. 5 million litres a day.

While many of these diesel locomotives could be replaced with conventional electric locomotives in the years ahead, some routes might not have enough traffic to justify building and maintaining catenary systems or the terrain might not be suitable for this infrastructure.

Hydrogen fuelled locomotives are clean, efficient and powerful like electric motors but do not require a network of poles and overhead wires.

What are the advantages of Hydrogen Trains?

Green hydrogen, which is made with renewable energy, costs far more than diesel at present, and hydrogen locomotives are about 30% costlier than diesel locomotives. In India, the cost of converting each train to run on hydrogen will be about Rs 80 crore.

Although hydrogen is costly, 1kg of hydrogen replaces 4.5 litres of diesel. And the price of green hydrogen is expected to fall sharply by 2030. Also, the service and maintenance costs of hydrogen trains are likely to be lower.

Dhamaal: The incredible story of how East African culture shaped the music of a state in India

Source: The post is based on the article “Dhamaal: The incredible story of how East African culture shaped the music of a state in India” published in Down To Earth on 7th February 2023.

What is the News?

The story of Dhamaal performance traditions by Siddis reveals the rich and complex mixing of cultures in a world shaped by human movement and history.

What is Dhamaal?

Dhamaal is a mix of Sufi and African (mostly East African) musical and dance traditions. 

It refers particularly to the spiritual practices of the Siddis of Gujarat.

Usually, Dhamaal songs and dances are performed by Siddis to celebrate the anniversary of the birth and death of spiritual leaders. 

They are performed in two ways — Dance Dhamaal and Baithaaki Dhamaal. The Baithaaki Dhamaal is performed in the sitting position and the Dance Dhamaal is performed in both sitting and dance positions.

The spiritual songs that are sung during the Dhamaals are known as zikrs.

Who are Siddis?

The term Siddi refers to Afro-Indians — Africans who mixed with Indians through marriage and relationships. 

They crossed the Indian Ocean and arrived in India during the 1200s, 1300s and 1400s. 

They were transported by Islamic invaders and Portuguese colonisers as enslaved people, palace guards, army chiefs, harem keepers, spiritual leaders, Sufi singers, dancers and treasurers.

The Siddis are followers of Islam. Today, the majority of Siddis are found in the west and southwest of India, in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana states. 

As they settled in India, they preserved and practised their African ancestral socio-cultural traditions — and also adopted local Indian traditions.

Department of Animal Husbandry implements various schemes to promote and develop animal husbandry and dairying sector across the country

Source: The post is based on the article “Department of Animal Husbandry implements various schemes to promote and develop animal husbandry and dairying sector across the country” published in PIB on 7th February 2023.

What is the News?

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying is implementing various schemes to supplement the efforts of States/UTs for promotion and development of the animal husbandry and dairying sector across the country.

What are the schemes being implemented for the promotion and development of animal husbandry and dairying sector?

Rashtriya Gokul Mission(RGM)

National Programme for Dairy Development (NPDD)

Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF)

Supporting Dairy Cooperatives and Farmer Producer Organizations engaged in dairy activities(SDCFPO): It aims to assist the State Dairy Cooperative Federations by providing soft working capital loans to tide over the crisis on account of severely adverse market conditions or natural calamities.

National Livestock Mission(NLM)

Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund(AHIDF)

Livestock Health & Disease Control scheme: It aims to improve the animal health sector by way of implementation of prophylactic vaccination programmes against various diseases of livestock and poultry, capacity building, disease surveillance and strengthening of veterinary infrastructure. 

Row over Nagaland DGP: How are state police chiefs appointed?

Source: The post is based on the article “Row over Nagaland DGP: How are state police chiefs appointed?” published in Indian Express on 7th February 2023.

What is the News?

The Nagaland government has issued an order appointing Rupin Sharma as Director General of the state police.

The order was passed after Nagaland challenged the Union Public Service Commission’s (UPSC) recommendation of Sharma as the only candidate for the post.

How are State Police Chiefs appointed?

Appointments of DGPs are now made on the basis of the Supreme Court judgment on police reforms in Prakash Singh vs Union of India 17 years ago. 

Based on the judgment, the UPSC issued its own guidelines in 2009 on the appointment of police chiefs of states. 

According to these guidelines, states are supposed to draw up and send to the UPSC a list of eligible officers with at least 30 years of service behind them, along with these officers’ service records, performance appraisal and vigilance clearance.

These officers are to be of the rank of ADG or the rank of police chief (and one below) stipulated for that state. The list is supposed to be given to UPSC six months before the incumbent DGP is to retire.

Then, an empanelment committee headed by the UPSC chairman and with the union home secretary, state chief secretary, state DGP, and the chief of a central police organization in it is supposed to select a panel of three officers “based on merit”. This list is then sent back to States.

The State, in turn, shall “immediately” appoint one of the persons shortlisted by the UPSC.

Note: Under the rules, the consent of an officer is not required for his/her posting. Also, the Centre has the power to not relieve an officer for posting in the state.

– Moreover, the SC in several of its judgements has also stipulated that the UPSC shall not put in the panel any officer with less than six months to retirement.

NCAER Report on Farm Machinery Industry in India presented to MoS (Agriculture) Ms. Shobha Karandlaje

Source: The post is based on the article “NCAER Report on Farm Machinery Industry in India presented to MoS (Agriculture) Ms. Shobha Karandlaje” published in PIB on 7th February 2023.

What is the News?

National Council of Applied Economic Research(NCAER) has released a report titled “Making India a Global Power House on Farm Machinery Industry”.

What is the purpose of the report?

The report analyzed the non-tractor farm machinery industry from both demand and supply side perspectives, bringing out the challenges in the sector. It aims to make India a Global Power House of Farm Machinery.

What are the key highlights from the report?

Challenges of Farm Mechanization in India: Availability of adequate farm power is very crucial for timely farm operations for increasing production and productivity and reducing losses.

Though India is witnessing considerable progress in farm mechanization, its spread across the length and breadth of our country still remains uneven.

India’s farm power availability is at 2.49 Kw/ha in 2018-19 which is much lower as compared to Korea (+7 kw/ha), Japan (+14kw/ha), USA(+7kw/ha).

Steps taken by Government to promote Farm Mechanization: The Government is already promoting farm mechanization through various schemes and programmes like Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization(SMAM), Drones promotion etc.

The institutes have done commendable work in testing and training and have provided a pool of more than 2.3 lakh of skilled professionals in the area of farm mechanization.

Stone-age carvings found in Aravalis in Gurugram

Source: The post is based on the article “Stone-age carvings found in Aravalis in Gurugram” published in TOI on 7th February 2023.

What is the News?

Various Paleolithic paintings found in the Aravalli hills and the latest discovery of stone carvings in the Badshahpur area of Gurugram has widened the trove of history in the Gurugram region.

What has been discovered by Archaeologists?

Archaeologists have discovered petroglyphs (an image that is carved into a rock) in the Badshahpur area of Gurugram.

The petroglyphs discovered in the area include graffiti and hand and footprints of humans and animals engraved on quartzite rocks.

Archaeologists believe that these carvings are more than 10,000 BP(before present) old. 

Note: The Paleolithic era spans from about 25 lakh years to 10,000 BP (before present, the carbon dating marker that archaeologists use with 1950 treated as the base year).

About Aravallis as a pre-historic site

The Aravallis have been a subject of pre-historic research for several decades. 

Paleolithic paintings have been discovered in the region earlier. In 2021, the archaeological department discovered a 5,000-hectare site in Faridabad’s Mangar, where cave paintings were found along with rock shelters and tools.

No Bar of Res-judicata on Second Petition for Divorce If It Is Founded on New Facts: Madras HC

Source: The post is based on the article “No Bar of Res-judicata on Second Petition for Divorce If It Is Founded on New Facts: Madras HC” published in News18 on 7th February 2023.

What is the News?

Madras High Court has recently dismissed a civil revision petition filed by a woman against an order of a lower court that had allowed a second divorce petition filed by her husband.

The lower court had dismissed the women’s petition filed for rejection of her husband’s second divorce petition on the ground of res-judicata.

What is res-judicata?

Res judicata literally means ‘the thing has been judged”.

The principle of res judicata is applied when a litigant attempts to file a subsequent lawsuit on the same matter after having received a judgment in a previous case involving the same parties.

It is a judicial concept which means that the issue before the court has already been decided by another court, between the same parties. Therefore, the prior court will dismiss the case before it as being useless. 

Res Judicata as a concept is applicable both in case of Civil as well as Criminal cases.

The courts apply the Res Judicata doctrine to 1) preserve the effect of the first judgment, 2) prevent injustice to the parties of a case supposedly finished and 3) avoid unnecessary waste of resources and time of the Judicial System.

Yuva Sangam registration portal launched

Source: The post is based on the article “Yuva Sangam registration portal launched” published in PIB on 7th February 2023.

What is the News?

The Union Minister of Education has launched the “Yuva Sangam” portal.

What is Yuva Sangam?

It is an initiative of the Prime Minister of India.

Aim: To build close ties between the youth of the North East Region and the rest of India under the spirit of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.

Under the initiative, the youth of 18 years to 30 years from North East will get an opportunity to see different states of the country to understand their art, culture and languages.

Significance: The program is an opportunity for the youth of the North East to explore the country. It will also give an opportunity to them to celebrate the ancient culture and natural diversity of India.