UPSC Daily Current Affairs- 21th October 2022 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

Context

Prime Minister, in the presence of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, launched ‘Mission LiFE’ (Lifestyle For Environment).

What is Mission LiFE?

• NITI Aayog has conceptualized the idea of mission LiFE.
• It states that the aim of the mission is to follow a three-pronged strategy for changing our collective approach toward sustainability.
• PM elaborated that Mission LiFE emboldens the spirit of the P3 model i.e. Pro Planet People.
• The approach of LiFe campaign includes:
  • Focus on individual behaviours: To make life a mass movement (Jan Andolan).
  • Co-create globally: Crowdsourcing empirical and scalable ideas
  • Leverage Local Cultures: Leverage climate-friendly social norms and beliefs of different cultures worldwide to drive the campaign

Understanding Sustainable living

• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the global authority that sets environmental agenda and promotes the implementation of environmental dimension of sustainable development.
• UNEP says that as the population of the world is increasing the demand for food, fashion, travel, housing, etc also increases.
• Hence, a sustainable living approach is necessary to make a balance between the needs of the present generation with that of the future.
• Sustainable living means acknowledging day-to-day life choices and reflecting if there can be alternatives that may impact the environment less.

Context

The 11th volume of the Report of the Official Language Committee submitted to the President of India, has triggered angry reactions from some of the Southern states (they view the report as an attempt to impose Hindi on them).

What are the Recommendations of the Panel?

• Hindi should be the medium of instruction in IITs, IIMs, and central universities in the Hindi-speaking states.
• The language used for communication in the administration should be Hindi, and efforts should be made to teach the curriculum in Hindi.
• High Courts in other states, where proceedings are recorded in English or a regional language can make available translations in Hindi, because verdicts of High Court of other states are often cited in judgments.
• Lower courts in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, and Rajasthan already use Hindi.
• The use of Hindi, by the officers and other employees in the central government, in Hindi-speaking states would reflect in their Annual Performance Assessment Report (APAR).
• It is the Committee’s responsibility and role to see that the Hindi language is promoted in official communication.
• There are specific proposals to make the language in official letters and invitations simpler.
• “There should be a deliberate attempt to reduce the usage of the English language in official communication and to increase the usage of Hindi”.
• “Knowledge of Hindi would be compulsory in a number of government jobs,”.

Are these Recommendations Intended for Every State Government, its Institutions, and Departments?

• States like Tamil Nadu and Kerala are exempt as per The Official Languages Act, 1963 and the Rules and Regulations (of the Act), 1976.
• The law is implemented only in ‘A’ category states, in which the official language is Hindi.”
• According to the Rules, region ‘A’ includes the states of Bihar, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, and the Union Territories of Delhi and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• Region ‘B’ includes Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Punjab, and the Union Territories of Chandigarh, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
• Other states, where the use of Hindi is less than 65%, are listed under region ‘C’.
• The Committee has suggested that efforts should be made to use Hindi “100%” in the ‘A’ states.
• The medium of instruction in IITs, central universities, and Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) in the ‘A’ states should be Hindi, while the regional language should be used in other states.
• As per Committee, Use of Hindi in Government Departments:
  • The use of Hindi in Ministries like Defence and Home are 100% but the Education Ministry has not yet come to that level.
  • The Committee had certain parameters to assess the usage of language.
  • Many central universities including Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia, BHU, and AMU, the usage is just 25-35% when it should have been 100%.

What is Committee of Parliament on Official Language?

• The Committee of Parliament on Official Language was set up in 1976 under Section 4 of The Official Languages Act, 1963.
• With the active promotion of Hindi being mandated by Article 351 of the Constitution, the Official Language Committee was set up to review and promote the use of Hindi in official communications.
• The first Report of the Committee was submitted in 1987.
• The Committee is constituted & chaired by the union home minister, and has, in accordance with the provisions of the 1963 Act, 30 members (20 MPs from Lok Sabha and 10 MPs from Rajya Sabha).
• Unlike the other Parliamentary panels submit its report to Parliament, this panel submits its report to the President, who “shall [then] cause the report to be laid before each House of Parliament, and sent to all the State Governments”.

What are the Government’s Effort to Promote Hindi and Other Regional Language?

Three-Language Formula (Kothari Commision 1968)

• First language: It will be the mother tongue or regional language.
• Second language: In Hindi speaking states, it will be other modern Indian languages or English. In non-Hindi speaking states, it will be Hindi or English.
• Third Language: In Hindi speaking states, it will be English or a modern Indian language. In the non-Hindi speaking state, it will be English or a modern Indian language.
• The new National Education Policy (NEP) in 2020 too had attempts to “promote Hindi, Sanskrit” and regional languages. The NEP says that mother tongue or the regional language would be the “preferred” mode of instruction until Class 5, and possibly Class 8.
• NEP 2020 it was decided to push for the three-language formula, to promote multilingualism and national unity.

What is Position of Hindi in India with respect to other Regional Languages?

• As per, 2011 Linguistic census: there are 121 mother tongues in India.
  • 52.8 crores individuals or 43.6% population declared Hindi as its mother tongue and 11% of the population reported Hindi as their second language.
  • So, 55% of the population knows Hindi as either as mother tongue or as their second language.
  • Bengali 9.72 crore individual and 8% population, as 2nd most spoken language in India.
  • The share of the languages like Bengali, Malayalam and Urdu has declined but Hindi and Punjabi speakers have increased.
  • Between 1971 to 2011 the speakers of Hindi multiplied by the 2.6 times from 20.2 Crore to 52.8 crores.

What is the Constitutional Status of Hindi?

• Schedule 8 of the Indian Constitution has 22 Official Languages, including Hindi as well.
• Article 351 states that, it is the duty of the Union to encourage the spread of the Hindi language to make it lingua franca (a shared language of communication used by people who are speakers of different languages) in India without interfering with its genius, style and expressions.
• Article 348 (2) provides that the Governor of the State may, with the previous consent of the President, authorize the use of the Hindi language or any other language used for any official purpose of the State, in the proceedings of the High Court having its principal seat in that State provided that decrees, judgments or orders passed by such High Courts shall be in English.
• As per Article 343(1) of the Constitution of India, Hindi in Devanagari script shall be the official language of the Union.
• The Official Language Act, 1963 provides under Section 7 that the use of Hindi or official language of a State in addition to the English language may be authorized, with the consent of the President of India, by the Governor of the State for the purpose of judgments, decrees etc. made by the High Court for that State.

Context

Recently, Government of India has announced a month-long programme named the ‘Kashi-Tamil Sangamam’ “to strengthen” and “rekindle” the cultural and civilisational bond between Tamil Nadu and Varanasi.

• This programme would be a part of the Ek Bharat Sreshtha Bharat initiative.

What is Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat?

• Launched: It was launched in 2015 to promote engagement amongst the people of different States/UTs so as to enhance mutual understanding and bonding between people of diverse cultures, thereby securing stronger unity and integrity of India.
• Ministry Involved: It is an initiative of the Ministry of Education.
• Activities Under the Scheme: Every State and UT in the country would be paired with another State/UT for a time period, during which they would carry out a structured engagement with one another in the spheres of language, literature, cuisine, festivals, cultural events, tourism etc.
• Objectives:
  • Create the Unity in Diversity of our Nation and to maintain and strengthen the fabric of traditionally existing emotional bonds between the people of our Country.
  • Promote the Spirit of National Integration through a deep and structured engagement between all Indian States and Union Territories through a year-long planned engagement between States.
  • Showcase the rich Heritage and Culture, Customs and Traditions of either State for enabling people to understand and appreciate the diversity that is India, thus fostering a sense of common identity.
  • Establish long-term Engagements.
  • Create an environment which promotes learning between States by sharing best practices and experiences.

Context 

The 2nd India-Africa Defence Dialogue (IADD) was held on the sidelines of DefExpo 2022 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

What is India-Africa Defence Dialogue?

• Theme:
  • Adopting Strategy for Synergizing and Strengthening Defence and Security Cooperation.
• Outcome Document:
  • The Gandhinagar Declaration was adopted as an outcome document of IADD 2022.
  • It proposes to enhance cooperation in the field of training in all areas of mutual interest by:
    • increasing training slots and deputation of training teams,
    • empowerment and capability building of the defence forces of Africa,
    • participation in exercises, and
    • providing humanitarian assistance during natural disasters.
    • A volume on India–Africa Defence cooperation was also released.

India–Africa Security Fellowship Programme:

• IADD also encouraged further research of security issues through offer of fellowships to experts from African countries.
• This will be done under the India–Africa Security Fellowship Programme.

How has India’s Relations with Africa been?

Loan and Assistance:

• India has extended concessional loans of over USD 12.3 billion to Africa.
• In addition, India has granted USD 700 millions of grant assistance.

Projects:

• India has completed 197 projects so far, 65 more are currently under execution, and 81 are at the pre-execution stage.
• In Gambia, India has constructed the National Assembly building and undertaken projects in water supply, agriculture and food processing.
• In Zambia, India is involved in an important hydro-power project, in the erection of pre-fabricated health posts and in the supply of vehicles.
• In Mauritius, recent notable projects include the metro express, the new Supreme Court and social housing.
• In Namibia, a new Centre of Excellence in IT has just become operational.
• Whereas in South Sudan, India is focusing on training and education.

Covid - 19 Assistance:

• 32 African countries received 150 tonnes of medical assistance from India.
• Many of them also utilized ‘Made in India’ vaccines received directly or otherwise from India.
• At international forums, India has worked together to press for equitable and affordable access to vaccines, including through a TRIPS waiver.

Human Resource:

• India had announced 50,000 scholarships during India–Africa Forum Summit (IAFS)-III in 2015, out of which more than 32,000 scholarship slots have already been utilized.
• To provide high quality virtual education and medical services to partners, the e-VidyaBharti and e-ArogyaBharti networks were launched in 2019 for tele-education and tele-medicine respectively.

Help & Relief Assistance:

• Operation Sahayata to assist cyclone IDAI-hit Mozambique in 2019, Operation Vanilla to provide relief to flood victims in Madagascar in January 2020, the support to Mauritius in containing the oil spill due to the grounding of ship Wakashio.

Energy:

• The International Solar Alliance is a notable platform that has promoted the rapid development of clean energy technologies.
• This has been followed by the ‘One Sun One World One Grid’ initiative to further promote solar and renewable energy.
• In recent years, clean and green energy have been increasingly prominent in India’s development programmes in Africa as also in third country collaborations.

Trade and Economics:

• India’s bilateral trade with Africa has now reached USD 89.5 billion in 2021-22 compared with USD 56 bn the previous year.
• With cumulative investments at USD 73.9 billion from 1996-2021, India is among the top five investors in Africa.
• Through the Duty-Free Tariff Preference (DFTP) Scheme that extends duty free access to 98.2% of India’s total tariff lines, India has opened its market to African countries.
• So far 33 Least Developed Countries (LDC) African nations have been entitled to get benefits under this scheme.

GS-III

Context

The Tamil Nadu government formed a committee to set up an institutional framework for the effective conservation of vultures. The State is home to four species of vultures the white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis), long-billed vultures (Gyps indicus), the Asian king vulture (Sarcogyps calvus) and the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus).

Are the vulture population decreasing?

• Absolute numbers are low: While the population of the vultures in the Nilgiris, Erode and Coimbatore districts has remained largely stable, experts state that the numbers are still extremely low, and that even a single poisoning event could lead to several of the species going locally extinct, especially the long-billed and Asian king vulture.
• Fewer hatchings of vultures: Over the last few years, breeding seasons have also seen fewer hatchings than is the norm, with experts attributing the cause to lesser availability of prey as well as erratic weather.

Vulture

The status of Vultures in Tamilnadu

• Sighting of vultures in Nilgiris, erode and Coimbatore: While there have been reported sightings of vultures in other districts including Dharmapuri; essentially the Nilgiris, Erode and Coimbatore districts are believed to form one of the largest contiguous expanses where vultures are spotted.
• In the Tiger reserves and forest areas: Home to the nesting sites of three of the four species of vultures seen in the State, the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, parts of the Nilgiris forest division and the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve are crucial strongholds for the vultures in southern India.
• Sighting of Himalayan griffon vulture: Occasional migrants such as the Himalayan griffon vulture and the Cinerous vulture are also spotted each year.
• Larger population of vultures in the South of Vindhiya mountain range: Tamil Nadu boasts the largest population of vultures south of the Vindhiya Mountain Range. In the Nilgiris, researchers and forest department officials estimate that there are between 100 and 120 white-rumped vultures, 10 and 15 long-billed vultures and less than 10 Asian king vultures.
• Spotted at Sigur plateau: Though Egyptian vultures are spotted in the Sigur plateau, encompassing the Nilgiris and Erode districts, they are not believed to use the landscape to breed, while researchers still remain unsuccessful in tracing the breeding sites of the critically endangered Asian king vulture.

Role of vultures in the Ecosystem

• As scavengers: vultures help prevent the spread of many diseases and can remove toxins from entering the environment by consuming carcasses of dead cattle/wildlife before they decompose.

What are the Threats to the Vulture population?

• Temple Tourism and increased activities around the temple: There are multiple. For one, temple tourism in the Sigur plateau is centered primarily around vulture habitats, such as Siriyur, Anaikatty and Bokkapuram. Over the last few years, there have been recorded instances of vultures abandoning nesting sites located too close to temples inside these reserves, with activists calling for strict controls on the amount of people allowed to attend these festivals.
• Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs): Experts also agree that the use of some Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) to treat cattle, such as diclofenac, nimesulide, ketoprofen among others, has led to the crash in vulture populations across India.
• Spread of invasive weeds: Another threat is the spread of invasive weeds such as the Lantana camara in vulture landscapes, which hinder the birds from scavenging as their large wingspans require plenty of open area to safely land and to take to the skies in case of any major threats.
• Vulnerable to even natural drugs: Unfortunately, their tolerance for harmful substances does not extend to manmade drugs.
• Climate change and forest fires: Finally, due to the illegal tapping of water along the streams running through these areas, possible climate change, and forest fires, the Terminalia arjuna trees, that many vultures use as nesting sites are disappearing.

Steps taken to protect the vultures

• Banning the harmful drugs: The State government has banned the use of diclofenac, a drug, to treat cattle, while there are strict restrictions for the sale of other NSAIDs in the Nilgiris, Erode and Coimbatore districts.
• Vulture census: Additionally, as the vultures in the Sigur plateau utilize landscapes in neighboring Karnataka and Kerala, experts have called for a synchronous vulture census to accurately identify vulture populations and nesting sites.

Conclusion

Only through a multipronged approach of increasing the amount of food available to the birds and managing invasive species can vulture numbers start rebounding.

Context

The Supreme Court recently ruled that shares within the lock-in period are not ‘quoted shares’, and thus they need to be valued as ‘unquoted shares’ to determine the gift tax liability.

What are quoted and unquoted shares?

• According to the Wealth Tax Act, ‘quoted share’ in relation to an equity share or a preference share means a share quoted on any recognised stock exchange with regularity from time to time.
• The quotations of such shares are based on current transactions made in the ordinary course of business.
• An ‘unquoted share’ is simply a share that is not a quoted share.
• So according to the SC order, if the locked-in shares of the promoter falls in the ‘unquoted share’ category, their price treatment can’t be that of the ‘quoted shares’, and so gift tax will not be applicable.

What are Gift Taxes?

• Gift tax is a provision introduced by the Parliament of India in 1958.
• It was introduced to impose tax on giving and receiving gifts under certain circumstances which is specified under the act.
• These gifts can be in any form including cash, jewellery, property, shares, vehicle, etc.

Gift Tax on Transfers

• The gift tax is also applicable on certain transfers that is not considered as a gift.
• The transfer of existing movable or immovable property in money or money’s worth qualifies for gift tax.

Certain exemptions

• Though gift tax is applicable on gifts whose value exceeds Rs.50,000, the gift is exempted from tax if it was given by a relative.
• The income tax rule specifies who can be considered as a relative and the list is mentioned below.
  • Parent
  • Spouse
  • Siblings
  • Spouse’s siblings
  • Lineal descendants
  • Lineal descendants of the spouse

Listed below are other situations in which the gift will be exempted from tax.

• Gifts received during weddings are usually exempted from tax.
• Gifts received as part of inheritance is exempted from tax.
• Cash or rewards received by local authorities or educational institutions on the basis of merit is exempted from tax.