UPSC Daily Current Affairs- 31st July 2023 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

Subject: Geography

Why in News?

A new study by scientists of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology has found that three glacial lakes are likely to form around Parkachik Glacier in Ladakh due to rapid ice melt.

About Parkachik Glacier:

• The Parkachik glacier is one of the largest glaciers in the Suru River valley, covering an area of 53 square km and is 14 km long.
• The Suru River valley is a part of the southern Zanskar Ranges in the western Himalayas.
• There are two main reasons for the rapid melting of the glacier. 
  • The first is global warming and increasing temperatures in the region.
  • The second is that it is at a lower altitude than other glaciers in the Zanskar region.

Key facts about Zanskar Ranges

• Zanskar is a high altitude semi-desert lying on the Northern flank of the Great Himalayan Range.
• This mountain range acts as a climatic barrier protecting Ladakh and Zanskar from most of the monsoon, resulting in a pleasantly warm and dry climate in the summer.
• Flora: Much of Zanskar's vegetation is found in the lower reaches of the valleys, and consists of alpine and tundra species.
• Fauna: Among the wildlife that can be found in Zanskar are the marmot, bear, wolf, snow leopard, kiang, bharal, alpine Ibex, wild sheep and goats, and the lammergeier.

Source: Indian Express

Subject: Society

Why in News?

The Union government has told the Supreme Court that transgender persons can avail of any of the existing 50% reservation in admissions and government jobs already available to Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Socially and Educationally Backward Communities (SEBC) across the country.

About reservation for Transgender:

• Transgender persons are those whose gender identity or expression does not match their assigned sex at birth.
  • They face discrimination, stigma, violence and exclusion from various spheres of life.
• To address these issues and ensure their rights and dignity, some countries have introduced reservation policies for transgender persons in education, employment, health care and political representation.
• In India, reservation is granted to certain castes, tribes, and religious minorities that are classified as socially and educationally backward classes (SEBCs).
  • One such group that has been recognized as SEBCs by the Supreme Court of India is the transgender community.

Demand for horizontal reservation for transgender community:

• Transgender individuals have faced long-term marginalization in society, warranting specific provisions and recognition of their social identity.
• The NALSA judgment has been interpreted as directing reservations for transgender individuals in the OBC category due to their identification as a socially and educationally backward class.
• The demand for horizontal reservation raises concerns that Dalit, Bahujan, and Adivasi transgender individuals may have to choose between availing reservation based on caste and gender identities, leading to competition and exclusion.

NALSA judgement:

• A study conducted by the National Human Rights Commission revealed that in 2017, only 6% of transgender people were formally employed.
• In the National Legal Services Authority of India (NALSA) vs Union of India (2014) case, the Supreme Court ruled that transgender persons have a right to reservation.
• It also directed the Centre and the State Governments to take steps to treat them as socially and educationally backward classes of citizens and extend all kinds of reservation in education and employment.

Horizontal and Vertical Reservations in India

• Reservation in education and employment can be divided into two broad categories, namely, vertical and horizontal.
• Vertical reservations are provisions aimed at addressing social asymmetry arising out of caste hierarchy, and in the case of OBCs, social and educational “backwardness”.
  • These include reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC).
• Horizontal reservation, on the other hand, cuts across all vertical groups to provide affirmative policies for disadvantaged groups within categories.
  • For example, disabled persons are guaranteed horizontal reservation in all the aforementioned vertical categories, general and reserved (vertical) alike, by the Central government.

Challenges faced by Transgender Community

• Social Stigma: They often face difficulty in property inheritance or child adoption.
  • Because of being socially ostracized, they are compelled to take up menial jobs despite good qualifications or forced into sex work.
• Identity crisis: They are often forced to identify with a gender with which they are not associated at the workplace despite the government passing the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 that allows the community the right to self-perceived gender identity.
• Discrimination and ostracisation: They face discrimination in employment, educational institutes, and within families which severely affects their overall wellbeing.
• Unemployment: The community has limited avenues of employment and faces severe discrimination at work because of the associated social stigma.
• Lack of public amenities: They face issues with the accessibility of public toilets and public spaces.
  • They often face problems in prisons, hospitals and schools.

Transgender initiatives in India

• Transgender (Protection of Rights) Act 2019: The Act, passed by Parliament, aims to end discrimination against Transgender people in access to education, employment and healthcare and to recognize the right to their self-perceived gender identity.
• Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2020: To carry out the provisions of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 of the Government.
• National Transgender Council: The Transgender (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 established the National Transgender Council to advise the Central Government on the formulation and evaluation of policies, programmes, legislation and projects for the welfare of the Transgender community.
• National Transgender Portal: It is a portal of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment that helps transgender people to apply for certificates and identity cards digitally from anywhere in the country.
• Garima Greh: The aim of the scheme is to provide refuge to Transgender people with basic amenities like shelter, food, medical care and recreational facilities.

Way Forward:

By implementing these measures, we can create a more inclusive and equitable society for transgender persons and other marginalized groups. The establishment of National Council for Transgender Persons has been a welcome step to mainstream the community in the society and increase sense of respect for transgender community. Reservation policies are not a panacea, but they are a necessary and effective tool to address the historical injustices and systemic barriers that transgender persons face.

Source: The Hindu

GS-II

Subject: Polity

Why in News?

The Office of Registrar General of India (ORGI) recently said, that the Census exercise in the country may not take place in 2024.

Background:-

• The Office of Registrar General of India (ORGI) said this replying to an RTI query received.
• The ORGI’s response said, “It is very difficult to conduct the Census and general elections simultaneously.”

About the Office of Registrar General of India (ORGI):-

• Establishment:1961.
• Ministry: Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
• Current ORGI: Shri Mritunjay Kumar Narayan.
• Role: Arranging, conducting and analyzing the results of the demographic surveys of India including the Census of India and Linguistic Survey of India.(Census – Challenges & Importance)
• It provides information on size, distribution and socio-economic, demographic and other characteristics of the country’s population.
  • The decennial Census of India has been conducted 15 times, as of 2011.
  • Beginning of Census: 1872; under British Viceroy Lord Mayo.
  • First complete census: 1881.
  • Post-1949: it has been conducted by the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 
• The Census Commissioner, India is the statutory authority vested with the responsibility of conducting the Housing & Population Census in India under the Census Act, of 1948 and the Rules framed thereunder.
• The Census Commissioner, India is also designated as Registrar General, India under the Registration of Births & Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969, which provides for the compulsory registration of births and deaths. 

Functions of ORGI:-

• Housing & Population Census: Planning, coordination and supervision of the field activities; data processing; compilation, tabulation and dissemination of Census results are the primary duties of this office.
• Civil Registration System (CRS): In the role of the Registrar General, India the Census Commissioner coordinates the functioning of the civil registration and vital statistics system in the country through all States and UTs.
• Sample Registration System (SRS): Implementation of a Sample Registration System, wherein a large-scale sample survey of vital events is conducted on a half-yearly basis, is also the responsibility of the ORG&CCI.
  • SRS is an important source of vital rates like Birth Rate, Death Rate, Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Rate at the State level in the country.
• National Population Register (NPR): In pursuance to provisions contained in Citizenship Rules, 2003 framed under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
  • The National Population Register is prepared by collecting information relating to all persons who are usually residing in the country.
• Mother Tongue Survey: The project surveys the mother tongues, which are returned consistently across two and more Census decades.
  • The research programme documents the linguistic features of the selected mother tongues.

Source: Times of India

Subject: Polity and Governance

Why in News?

Hyperlocal e-commerce startup magicpin in a pact with NCCF recently started selling tomatoes for Rs.70 per kilogram through select online platforms registered on the government-backed ONDC

About National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India (NCCF):

• It was established on 16th October 1965 to function as the apex body of consumer cooperatives in the country. 
• It is an organization to promote consumer cooperative movement in the country, aspires to facilitate the voluntary formation and democratic functioning of cooperatives, based on self-reliance and mutual aid for overall economic betterment and financial autonomy.
• It is registered under the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act, 2002.
• NCCF functions under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Government of India.
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Structure:
  • The management of NCCF vests in the Board of Directors. 
  • The ultimate authority of NCCF vests in the hands of the General Body.
  • Board of Directors exercises all the powers of NCCF except those reserved for General Body.
  • The current sanctioned strength of the Board of Directors is 21.

What is Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC)?

• It is an open-source network set up to enable buyers and sellers to transact with each other irrespective of the e-commerce platform on which either of them is registered.
• It will enable local commerce across segments, such as mobility, grocery, food order and delivery, hotel booking and travel, among others, to be discovered and engaged by any network-enabled application.
• It is an initiative of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• It comprises buyer-side apps where consumers can place orders, seller-side apps that onboard merchants and display their listings, and logistics platforms that handle deliveries.
• Benefits:
  • It offers small retailers an opportunity to provide their services and goods to buyers across the country through an e-commerce system.
  • ONDC enables merchants to save their data to build credit history and reach consumers.
  • It is expected to digitise the entire value chain, promote the inclusion of suppliers, derive efficiencies in logistics and enhance value for consumers.
  • ONDC protocols would standardize operations like cataloguing, inventory management, order management and order fulfilment.

Source: Money Control 

GS-III

Subject: Economy

Why in News?

Recently, the new Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS) held its first meeting.

Background:-

• The newly-formed Standing Committee on Statistics held its first meeting recently and discussed the yet-to-be-released results of the Annual Survey of Industries and Annual Survey of Unincorporated Enterprises in detail.
• The Annual Survey of Industries (ASI): it covers all factories registered under the Factories Act across the country, and is considered an important source of industrial statistics of the registered organized manufacturing sector of the economy.
  • The survey results for 2020-21 are expected to be released in 2023.

About Standing Committee on Statistics (Sos):-

• Formation: 2023.
  • It was constituted on July 13, 2023.
• Historical background: The government renamed and expanded the scope of coverage of the Standing Committee on Economic Statistics (SCES) formed in December 2019 as the Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS).
• The SCoS has a broader mandate to review the framework and results of all surveys conducted under the aegis of the National Statistical Office (NSO).
  • NSO: It is the Statistics Wing of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI).
  • It was created in 2019 by merging the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) and the Central Statistical Office (CSO).
• Objective: it will provide a new internal oversight mechanism for official data, revamping a SCES set up in 2019.
• Headed by: Pronab Sen (former Chief Statistician and former Chairman of the National Statistical Commission).
• Ministry: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI).

Members of the Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS):-

• The Standing Committee on Economic Statistics had 28 members which made reaching consensus difficult. 
• Currently, the Standing Committee on Statistics is composed of 14 members.
• It includes four non-official members, 9 official members, and a member secretary.
• The committee can have a total of 16 members, with the possibility of extending this number based on future requirements.

The mandate of the Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS):-

• To provide a new internal oversight mechanism for official data.
• To review the framework and results of all surveys conducted under the aegis of the NSO.
• While the panel will help finalize survey results.
  • The National Statistical Commission (NSC) will have the ultimate authority to approve the publication of those results. 

Terms of reference (ToR) of the Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS):-

• To review the extant framework.
• To address the issues raised from time to time on the subject/ results/ methodology, etc. related to all surveys as brought before the SCoS by MoSPI.
• To advise on survey methodology including sampling frame, sampling design, survey instruments, etc.
• To finalize the tabulation plan of surveys.
• Finalization of survey results.

Need for the new Standing Committee on Statistics (SCoS):-

• Survey design: The members of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister have critiqued India’s statistical machinery.
  • Its chairperson Bibek Debroy has highlighted the lack of expertise in survey design within the Indian Statistical Service.
• Data quality: In recent years, there have been concerns about the credibility of certain data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), particularly regarding the various household surveys.
• Data divorced from ground realities: Due to the lack of updated data from a recent Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES), India is currently using the 2011-12 figures.
  • These do not accurately reflect the present-day ground realities.

Source: Indian Express

Subject: Environment and Ecology

Why in News?

The Indian Embassy in Kathmandu and the Indian Consulate General in Birgunj recently held a series of events on the LiFE mission.

About LiFE Mission:

• Mission LiFE, or Lifestyle for Environment, is an India-led global mass movement to nudge individual and community action to protect and preserve the environment.
• It was launched by the Indian Prime Minister at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2021.
• The program hopes to “mobilize one billion Indians as well as people in other countries to become individuals who practice sustainable lifestyles.
• The global movement will showcase sustainable goals and climate actions taken by countries and individuals around the world.
• It makes the fight against climate change democratic, in which everyone can contribute with their respective capacities.
• It emboldens the spirit of the P3 model, i.e., Pro Planet People.
• It functions on the basic principles of ‘Lifestyle of the planet, for the planet and by the planet’.
• It aims at following a three-pronged strategy for changing people's collective approach towards sustainability,
  • nudging individuals to practice simple yet effective environment-friendly actions in their daily lives (demand)
  • enabling industries and markets to respond swiftly to the changing demand (supply)
  • to influence government and industrial policy to support both sustainable consumption and production (policy).

Source: The Print

Subject: Economy

Why in News?

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently reintroduced Worldcoin, a project that was previously overshadowed by the popularity of ChatGPT.

What is WorldCoin?

• The Worldcoin venture involves a unique model where individuals have their eyes scanned to establish their human uniqueness.
• In return for the eye scan, participants receive cryptocurrency and a World ID, forming the basis of the project.
• Worldcoin’s aim is to create the “world’s largest identity and financial public network,” accessible to people globally.

How does it works?

• Orb Operators: Worldcoin relies on volunteers called “Orb operators” who use a device called “Orb” to scan people’s iris patterns and collect their biometric data.
• World ID: Participants receive a World ID through the World app after getting their irises scanned. This unique ID allows them to claim Worldcoin cryptocurrency and conduct transactions.
• Proof of Personhood: Scanning irises ensures that people cannot sign up multiple times to receive more crypto rewards.
• Cryptocurrency and Transactions: Users can collect WLD at regular intervals or use it for transactions, similar to a standard digital currency.

WLD Cryptocurrency and Compliance

• WLD Token: WLD is a cryptocurrency based on the Ethereum blockchain and can be bought, sold, or traded on major exchanges.
• Regulatory Compliance: Worldcoin ensures compliance with Europe’s GDPR and uses zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to maintain user privacy. User data is encrypted and not sold, though it may be shared with necessary third parties.

Various risks

• Price Volatility: As with most cryptocurrencies, the price of WLD is subject to fluctuations. Its value can rise or fall, and users should be cautious about investing in lesser-known digital currencies.
• Security Risks: Users must be wary of potential scams or hacks related to cryptocurrency investments.

Criticism and Controversies

• Privacy Concerns: Worldcoin faced criticism over privacy concerns about the use of biometrics for verification.
• Scanning in Emerging Economies: Reports indicated that Worldcoin scanned underprivileged people’s irises in emerging economies during the COVID-19 pandemic, raising ethical questions about informed consent and rewards for scans.

Worldcoin in India

• Orb Operators in India: Worldcoin has deployed Orb operators in various locations, particularly in Delhi, Noida, and Bangalore, where people’s irises are scanned to join the network.

Conclusion

• Worldcoin’s vision of a global digital network with biometric identity and cryptocurrency rewards is both promising and controversial.
• While it aims to foster financial inclusion and provide digital opportunities, it must address privacy and ethical concerns to gain wider acceptance and trust among users worldwide.

Source: The Hindu