UPSC Daily Current Affairs: 21st June 2024 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

Mudgal Fort: Key Highlights

Location:

• Situated in the state of Karnataka, India.

Historical Significance:

• The fort has a history spanning over 1000 years, with connections to several prominent dynasties:
  • Chalukyas
  • Rashtrakutas
  • Deccan Sultanate
  • Vijayanagara Empire
• Gained prominence under the Bahmani Sultans, who ruled the Deccan Plateau from Gulbarga (now Kalaburagi).
• Later controlled by the Vijayanagara Empire.
• Became a significant site of conflict between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Adil Shahi Sultanate following the fragmentation of the Deccan Sultanate into five states.

Strategic Importance:

• Located at the border between the Adil Shahi and Vijayanagara empires.
• Witnessed 11 battles between the 14th and 16th centuries.
• Valued for its strategic position in controlling the Raichur Doab, a fertile and mineral-rich region between the Tungabhadra and Krishna rivers.

Cultural and Linguistic Diversity:

• Home to 99 inscriptions in various languages: Kannada, Sanskrit, Telugu, Persian, Arabic, and Gujarati.
• Notable inscriptions include those describing Malik Murad Khan's bravery, a military general under Ibrahim Adil Shah II of Bijapur, who fought against the Vijayanagara Empire between 1590 and 1610.

Architectural Style:

• Features a mix of architectural styles reflecting the diverse traditions of its inhabitants.
• Contains significant structures such as:
  • Ranganathaswamy Temple
  • Hussain Alam Dargah
• These structures share a common wall and compound, symbolizing the coexistence of different cultures and religions.
• The fort includes several intricately carved gates with strategic defensive placements, with the main entrance on the north side known as Fateh Darwaza.

GS-III/Environment

Diatoms

World Economic Forum (WEF) on GM Technology

WEF Support for GM Technology:

• Food Security: Advocates for GM technology to ensure food security for the projected global population of 10 billion by 2050.
• Research Focus: Emphasizes research into new strains of staple crops like rice, maize, wheat, potato, and cassava to withstand extreme weather and climate-induced diseases.
• Carbon Capture: Highlights bioengineering technologies that help plants and soils capture and store atmospheric carbon, potentially mitigating climate change.
• Optimizing Photosynthesis: Projects aimed at improving photosynthesis in crops like maize and rice to enhance yields and reduce atmospheric carbon.

Criticism of Industrial-Scale GMOs:

• Agro-Industrial System: Critics argue that GM crops sustain an agro-industrial system responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions.
• Environmental Impact: Large-scale monocultures of GMOs require substantial artificial fertilizers, pesticides, and irrigation, making the system energy-intensive and unsustainable.
• Market Dominance: Benefits large agro-industrial companies dominating the seed, food, pesticide, and fertilizer markets, raising concerns about sustainability and equity.

Present Scenario

Adoption of GM Crops:

• US Cropland: Over half of harvested cropland in the US uses genetically modified seeds.
• Food Insecurity: Despite GM crop proliferation, food insecurity remains widespread, with 250 million people in nearly 60 countries facing crisis-level food insecurity.

Resistance and Regulation:

• Moratoriums: Successful campaigns, such as in the Philippines, have led to production moratoriums on certain GM crops due to health and ecological concerns.

Non-GM Ecological Crops as a Solution

Resistance to GMOs:

• Safety and Ecological Impact: Persistent skepticism about the safety and ecological impact of GMOs.
• Research Support: Non-GM ecological approaches face challenges due to limited research funding, predominantly controlled by large agri-biotech companies.

Benefits of Non-GM Ecological Farming:

• Biodiversity and Climate Resilience: Ecological, non-GM crops aim to produce toxic-free food and foster biodiverse ecosystems that can resist and mitigate climate change.
• Development Efforts: Ongoing development of non-GM seed, food, and nutrition systems to address food security in a warming world.

Way Forward

Regulatory Oversight and Support:

• Enhanced Regulations: Strengthen regulations to ensure the safe development, testing, and deployment of GM crops.
• Support for Ecological Practices: Increase support for research and development of non-GM ecological farming practices.

Public Awareness and Research Funding:

• Education Campaigns: Launch public education campaigns to inform communities about the benefits and risks of GM and non-GM crops, fostering informed decision-making.
• Inclusive Funding: Promote inclusive research funding to support a diverse range of agricultural approaches, balancing GM and non-GM methods.

GS-II/Polity and Governance

What is ‘Blood Money’ in Islamic Law?

Source: Indian Express

Why in News?

The Indian Government has approved the transfer of the sum of $40,000 for preliminary discussions regarding the release of Nimisha Priya from a Yemeni prison.

• Currently, Priya’s mother is in Yemen, trying to waive her death penalty by paying “blood money” to the murdered man’s family.

Blood Money: An Overview

Definition and Principle:

• Blood Money (Diyya): Under Islamic law, victims of crimes and their families have a say in the punishment of criminals. In the case of murder, the victim’s family (specifically, heirs) can choose to forgive the murderer in exchange for monetary compensation.
• Holy Quran: The concept of Diyya is rooted in Islamic teachings.

Applicability of Blood Money

• Unintentional Homicide (Qatl Khata): Diyya is applicable in cases of accidental death or unintentional homicide.
• Bodily Injury or Negligence: It also applies to cases of bodily harm or injury caused by negligence or unintentional actions.

Practical Implications of Blood Money

• Encouragement of Forgiveness: The principle aims to promote the virtue of forgiveness and provide reparative justice to the victim’s family.
• Negotiation-Based Compensation: The amount of Diyya is not specified in the scriptures and is typically negotiated between the murderer’s family/representatives and the victim’s family.
• Minimum Compensation: Some Islamic countries have established minimum compensation amounts.

Significance of Blood Money

• Virtue of Forgiveness: Islam highly encourages forgiveness from the victim’s family, considering it a virtuous act.
• Prevention of Retaliation (Qisas): Diyya aims to prevent cycles of vengeance or retaliation, which could lead to further social harm or conflict.
• Promotion of Reconciliation: The principle of blood money fosters reconciliation and mutual understanding between the parties involved.

GS-III/Environment and Biodiversity

PARIVESH Portal

Source: Times of India

Why in News?

Kerala is set to construct a ropeway in Sabarimala by compensating the Forests department with alternative land at Chinnakkanal in Idukki.

• The 2.7-kilometre-long ropeway aims to transport goods from the Pampa base station to the Sabarimala Sannidhanam.
  • Once the land is transferred for compensatory afforestation, an application will be submitted in the PARIVESH portal for clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

• PARIVESH, which stands for Pro-Active and Responsive facilitation by Interactive Virtuous & Environmental Single-window Hub.
• It is an online portal developed by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change.
• It is designed to streamline and expedite the process of obtaining clearances related to environment, forests, wildlife, and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) from central, state, and district-level authorities.
• Purpose and Scope:
  • PARIVESH is intended to enhance efficiency, transparency, and accountability in the clearance processes for environment, forests, wildlife, and CRZ.
  • It aims to reduce the turnaround time for obtaining clearances and improve responsiveness through workflow automation and real-time information availability.
• Functionality:
  • It serves as a role-based, web-based workflow application where user agencies can submit proposals online for clearances.
  • It operates on a Web Architecture using IIS as an Application Server, .NET framework, and SQL Server as a database server.

• Allows for online submission and monitoring of compliance reports, including geo-tagged images of sites through a Mobile App, enhancing compliance monitoring.
• Integrates Geographic Information System (GIS) interface for Appraisal Committees to analyze proposals efficiently.
• Accessible 24×7 from any PC with internet connectivity, ensuring continuous availability for users across different locations and time zones.