UPSC Daily Current Affairs- 20th November 2022 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

Context

Recently, the Prime Minister of India has paid tributes to Acharya Kripalani on his Jayanti.

About J B Kripalani:

• He was born on 11th November 1888 in Hyderabad, Sindh.
• His original name was Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani but was popularly known as Acharya Kripalani.
• Educationist: From 1912 to 1927, he taught at various places before becoming wholly involved in the freedom movement.
  • He earned the moniker ‘Acharya’ around 1922 when he was teaching at the Gujarat Vidyapith, founded by the Mahatma a couple of years before.
• An Environmentalist: He, along with Vinoba Bhave, was involved in preservation and conservation activities throughout the 1970s.
• Books: My Times, his autobiography published posthumously in 2004 and Gandhi: His Life and Thought (1970).

Association with Indian Independence:

• He was associated with Gandhi by 1917 after Gandhi had taken up the cause of indigo workers in Gujarat.
• He was part of the Non-Cooperation Movement (1920-22) and the Civil Disobedience movements (started in 1930) and Quit India Movement (1942).
• He was the President of Indian National Congress (INC) at the time of independence. He served in the Interim government of India (1946–1947) and the Constituent Assembly of India.

Post-Independence political career:

• He became one of the founders of the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party (KMPP) after independence leaving congress.
• He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1952, 1957, 1963 and 1967 as a member of Praja Socialist Party.
• He moved the first-ever No confidence motion in Lok Sabha in 1963, immediately after the India-China War (1962).
  • In 1963, Sucheta Kripalani, a Congress leader became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, a first for any woman in the country while her husband Acharya remained an opponent to the Congress.
• He was a critic of Nehru’s policies and Indira Gandhi’s rule. He was arrested during Emergency (1975).

Source: PIB

Context

 The Supreme Court sought reports from Maharashtra administration on the demolition drive conducted around the tomb of Afzal Khan, a 17th-century commander of the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur.

About Afzal Khan:

• Afzal Khan was a general who served the Adil Shahi dynasty of Bijapur Sultanate.
• He played an important role in the southern expansion of the Bijapur Sultanate by subjugating the Nayaka chiefs who had taken control of the former Vijayanagara territory.
• In 1659, the Bijapur government sent Afzal Khan to subjugate Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, a former vassal who had started acting independently.
• He was killed at a truce negotiation meeting with Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, and his army was defeated at the Battle of Pratapgad.’

History of Afzal Khan’s tomb:

• With Shivaji’s rise and increasing control of the region, Afzal Khan was seen as the man to subdue him in the Deccan.
• Khan put together a force of 10,000 cavalry and marched from Bijapur to Wai, plundering Shivaji’s territory along the way.
• Shivaji called a council of war at the fort of Pratapgarh, where most of his advisers urged him to make peace.
• Shivaji was not eager to back down and he set up a meeting with Khan.
• Afzal Khan was killed on November 10, 1659 when during a meeting, an embrace between the two turned into an attack in which Shivaji emerged victorious.
• Khan’s remains were buried at the fort and a tomb was constructed on Shivajij’s orders.
• The tower is still known by the name ‘Afzul Buruj’ at Pratapgarh.

Source: Indian Express

GS-II

Context

Recently concluded DefExpo22 exposed the need for India to acquire self-reliance in the defence sector.

New Developments at DefExpo2022: 

• HTT-40 aircraft:
  • The HTT-40 indigenous trainer aircraft was unveiled at the India Pavilion during the Expo.
  • It is designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
• Deesa airfield:
  • The foundation stone for the Deesa airfield in Gujarat which will be a forward Air Force base was also unveiled.
  • Forward air force base would add to the security architecture of the country.
• Mission DefSpace:
  • “Mission DefSpace” is launched for developing innovative solutions for the Armed Forces.
• Indian Ocean Region plus (IOR+) conclave:
  • The 2nd Indian Ocean Region plus (IOR+) conclave was also held during the Expo,
  • This will provide a stage for a comprehensive dialogue to promote defence cooperation amongst IOR+ nations to foster peace, growth, stability and prosperity.
  • It is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision for Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR).
• India-Africa Defence Dialogue:
  • India-Africa Defence Dialogue was held on the side-lines of DefExpo 2022.
  • Gandhinagar Declaration was adopted to enhance cooperation in the fields of training & military exercises.
• The theme of the second India-Africa defence dialogue was:
  • “Adopting strategies for synergising and strengthening defence and security cooperation”.
  • This is the first defence expo where only Indian companies are participating and it features only Made in India equipment.

Need of self-reliance in the defence sector:

National security:

• Even as India aspires to become a $5-trillion economy, it is evident that it faces many national security inadequacies.

Dependency on foreign suppliers:

• The high dependency index on foreign suppliers (traditionally the former USSR now Russia) for major military inventory items is stark.
• This dependency induces a macro national vulnerability and dilutes India’s quest for meaningful and credible strategic autonomy.

Combat capacity:

• Furthermore, the current gaps in combat capacity expose the chinks in the Indian ability to safeguard core national security interests.

Meeting targets:

• The government has set a defence export target of $5 billion (Rs 40,000 crore).
• This is an ambitious target and will demand mission-mode resolve to be realised.

India’s progress in recent years:

• India’s defence exports have grown eight times in the last five years.
• India is exporting defence materials and equipment to more than 75 countries of the world.
• In 2021-22, defence exports from India reached $1.59 billion (about Rs 13,000 crore).

Challenges associated with Self Defence:

Global issues:

• Unexpected exigencies such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other factors including the Covid that disrupted the global economy and related supply chains.

Weakening of rupee:

• The global challenges are further exacerbated by a weakening rupee add to the challenges faced by the Indian defence manufacturing ecosystem.

Manufacturing sector:

• India missed the industrial design and manufacturing bus, a national competence demonstrated by nations like South Korea and China, over the last five decades.
• Technological advances have made the design and manufacture of the semiconductor chip the new currency of national prosperity and military power.
• The US and China are now locked in intense competition in this domain and India is yet to acquire a profile that would be deemed relevant.

Aatmanirbhar in defence production

Make-I Category:

• Under the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020, ‘Make’ Category aims to achieve self-reliance by involving greater participation of Indian industry.
• Projects involving design and development of equipment, systems, major platforms or upgrades thereof by the industry can be taken up under this category.
• Financial Support:
• The Ministry of Defence will provide financial support up to 70% of the total cost of prototype development.

Make-II Category:

• It is funded by industry with assured procurement. The following platform has been listed –
• Anti-jamming Systems for Multiple Platforms

Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) Model:

• Under this, private industry will be encouraged to take up the design and development of military platforms and equipment in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and other organisations.
• Following two platforms have been identified under this category.
  • Long Range Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) [High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE)]
  • Indian Multi Role Helicopter (IMRH)

iDEX:

• Projects of Start-ups, MSMEs etc. involving high-end innovation would be pursued under the iDEX category and the following platform has been selected under this category –
• Low Orbit Pseudo Satellites.

Way Forward:

• To become a major defence manufacturer, India needs to re-examine its structure of governing defence production, as the Chinese did in 2000.
• Progressively changing this techno-strategic landscape in India’s favour should be accorded the highest priority in the national policy debate.
• This will give a chance to employing more people in India and thereby increasing the Growth parameters of the Economy.

Source: Indian Express

Context

A few political parties are promising to restore to the Old Pension Scheme in some states.

What is the Old Pension Scheme?

• About:
  • The scheme assures life-long income, post-retirement.
  • Under the old scheme, employees get a pension under a pre-determined formula which is equivalent to 50% of the last drawn salary. They also get the benefit of the revision of Dearness Relief (DR), twice a year. The payout is fixed and there was no deduction from the salary. Moreover, under the OPS, there was the provision of the General Provident Fund (GPF).
  • GPF is available only for all the government employees in India. Basically, it allows all the government employees to contribute a certain percentage of their salary to the GPF. And the total amount that is accumulated throughout the employment term is paid to the employee at the time of retirement.
  • The Government bears the expenditure incurred on the pension. The scheme was discontinued in 2004.
• Concerns:
  • Unfunded Pension Liability:
    • The main problem was that the pension liability remained unfunded — that is, there was no corpus specifically for pension, which would grow continuously and could be dipped into for payments.
    • The Government of India budget provided for pensions every year, there was no clear plan on how to pay year after year in the future.
  • Unsustainable:
    • The OPS was also unsustainable. For one, pension liabilities would keep climbing since pensioners’ benefits increased every year, like salaries of existing employees, pensioners gained from indexation, or what is called ‘dearness relief’.
    • And two, better health facilities would increase life expectancy, and increased longevity would mean extended payouts.
    • This has led to a massive pension burden on the Union and state Governments.

What was Planned to Address Related Concerns?

• In 1998, the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment commissioned a report for an Old Age Social and Income Security (OASIS) project. An expert committee submitted the report in January 2000.
• The primary objective of OASIS was targeted at unorganised sector workers who had no old age income security.
• The OASIS report recommended individuals could invest in three types of funds — safe, balanced, and growth — to be floated by six fund managers.
• The balance would be invested in corporate bonds or government securities. Individuals would have unique retirement accounts, and would be required to invest at least Rs 500 a year.
• Post retirement, at least Rs 2 lakh from the retirement account would be used to purchase an annuity.
• An annuity provider invests the amount and provides a fixed monthly income — which was Rs 1,500 when the report was prepared — for the remainder of the individual’s life.

What was the Origin of the New Pension Scheme?

• About:
  • The OASIS report became the basis for the New Pension Scheme, which was notified in December 2003.
  • The Central Government introduced the National Pension System (NPS) with effect from January 2004 (except for armed forces).
  • In 2018-19, to streamline the NPS and make it more attractive, the Union Cabinet approved changes in the scheme to benefit central government employees covered under NPS.
  • The NPS was launched as a way for the government to get rid of pension liabilities.
  • According to a news report that cited research from the early 2000s, India's pension debt was reaching uncontrollable levels.
  • On introduction of NPS, the Central Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1972 was amended.
  • After retirement they can withdraw a part of the pension amount in a lump sum and use the rest to buy an annuity for a regular income.
• Implementation:
  • NPS is being implemented and regulated by PFRDA (Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority) in the country.
  • National Pension System Trust (NPST) established by PFRDA is the registered owner of all assets under NPS.
• Features:
  • The All-Citizens Model of the NPS allows all citizens of India (including NRIs) aged between 18 - 70 years to join NPS.
  • It is a participatory scheme, where employees contribute to their pension corpus from their salaries, with matching contributions from the government. The funds are then invested in earmarked investment schemes through Pension Fund Managers.
  • In this NPS, those employed by the government contribute 10% of their basic salary to NPS, while their employers contribute up to 14%.
  • In 2019, the Finance Ministry said that Central government employees have the option of selecting the Pension Funds (PFs) and Investment Pattern.
  • At retirement, they can withdraw 60% of the corpus, which is tax-free and the remaining 40% is invested in annuities, which is taxed.
  • Even private individuals can opt for the scheme.
• Issues with the NPS:
  • Unlike OPS, the NPS requires employees to deposit 10% of the basic pay, along with the dearness allowance.
  • There is no GPF advantage and the amount of pension is not fixed.
  • The major issue with the scheme is that it is market-linked and return-based. In simple terms, the payout is uncertain.

Source: Indian Express

GS-III

Context

Amid concerns over the direction that Twitter seems to be taking after its takeover by billionaire Elon Musk, a number of users are flocking to a platform called Mastodon, a decentralised, open source social media platform.

About Mastodon:

• Mastodon was founded in 2016 by a German software developer.
• Unlike Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and Instagram, it is a decentralised, open source, ad-free platform that is essentially made up of thousands of different servers, or “instances”, run across the world.
• All the different instances on Mastodon can communicate to each other, that is, what users in a certain instance are posting is accessible to users in a different instance.
• Users or organisations can even start their own servers.
• Otherwise, there’s a list of servers which focus on specific locations or topics of interest.
• The admin of each server can decide the content moderation guidelines for that particular server.
• It essentially means that anyone can download, modify and install Mastodon on their own server.
• The developers of the platform don’t own the copyright.
• However, if someone creates a platform using Mastodon’s code, they will have to acknowledge the source of the code.

Content moderation on Mastodon:

• Since Mastodon is a collection of thousands of different servers, there is not a singular content moderation strategy for the entire platform.
• Content moderation is done by admins of each server who can set their own rules — this means that a kind of speech allowed on one server may not be allowed on a different one.
• Users can also migrate to other instances on Mastodon.

Source: Indian Express

Context

NASA has announced the recovery of debris from the Challenger spaceship that exploded 73 seconds after lift-off killing all seven astronauts aboard 37 years ago.

About the mission:

• The shuttle mission, which was NASA’s 25th, was supposed to be a six-day mission wherein, the seven-member crew was to deploy a large communications satellite, deploy and retrieve an astronomy payload to study Halley’s Comet.
• A teacher, also the first civilian to head to space, was to conduct lessons for schoolchildren from orbit.
• The primary objective of the STS-51L mission was to launch the second Tracking and Data Relay System (TDRS) satellite into orbit.

The Space shuttle disaster:

• The spacecraft broke apart on January 28, 1986 after it suffered a major malfunction less than 2 minutes into its flight with investigations revealing freezing temperatures having affected the integrity of O-ring seals in the solid rocket booster segment joints.
• The O-ring seals are used to keep fluids from leaking and components sealed.
• Ice had formed on the shuttle amid freezing temperatures as Challenger remained on the launch pad overnight.
• The last Challenger mission was dubbed as STS-51L.

Source: Indian Express

Recently, the 16th Asian Conference on Diarrhoeal Disease and Nutrition (ASCODD) was held at Kolkata.

Theme: “Prevention and control of cholera, typhoid and other enteric diseases in low and middle-income countries through community participation: beyond the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic”.

Focus Areas:

• Epidemiology of cholera and typhoid
• Roadmap to end Cholera by 2030, Cholera vaccine development and rapid diagnostics,
• Contemporary perspectives of antimicrobial resistance of enteric bacteria: new Initiatives and challenges,
• Enteric bacterial infections, including Shigella spp, epidemiology, burden, and
• vaccines against other viral infections, including Hepatitis,
• Lessons learned about diarrhoea research during the COVID pandemic.

About Diarrhea:

• Gastrointestinal infection leading to Loose, watery and possibly more-frequent bowel movements

Caused by:

• A Variety of bacterial, viral and parasitic organisms.
• Infection is spread through contaminated food or drinking-water, or from person to person as a result of poor hygiene.
• Associated with other symptoms: nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain or weight loss.
• Measures to treat diarrhoea:
• Rehydration with oral rehydration salts (ORS) solution
• Rehydration may require intravenous fluids in case of severe dehydration or shock.
• Zinc supplements
• Nutrient-rich foods.

Achievements of India:

• India successfully ran a free vaccination program with record break vaccination of more than 219 crores.
• India provided vaccinations to other nations so that it can win over the pandemic together. Effective use of safe and affordable vaccines,
• Various Health initiatives under Digital India initiative:
  • Online Registration System,
  • eHospital for hospital management,
  • eSanjeevani telemedicine app

Source: PIB