UPSC Daily Current Affairs- 5th December 2022 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

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Mount Semeru volcano erupted recently triggering top alert status.

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In 2020, India has been ranked first in the Social Hostilities Index (SHI) released by US think-tank Pew Research Center.

What is Social Hostilities Index (SHI)?

• SHI measures acts of religious hostility by private individuals, organisations or groups in society.
• The SHI measures acts of religious hostility by private individuals, organizations or groups.
• The index comprises 13 metrics, including religion-related armed conflict or terrorism and mob or sectarian violence.
• Questions used to compute the SHI included whether the country saw violence motivated by religious hatred or bias, whether individuals faced harassment or intimidation motivated by religious hatred or bias and whether there was mob violence against those of particular religious groups.

How bad has India fared?

• At 9.4 out of a maximum possible score of 10, India’s SHI in 2020 was worse than neighbouring Pakistan and Afghanistan, and a further increase in its own index value for 2019, the Pew data showed.
• India has faced severe backlash due to its crackdown on a ‘religious’ congregation held in New Delhi defying the COVID pandemic.

Other components: Government Restrictions Index (GRI)

• India much better on a second index: the Government Restrictions Index (GRI).
• This index looks at laws, policies and state actions restricting religious beliefs and practices.
• China ranked the worst, with a score of 9.3.
• India’s 34th rank was enough to categorize it among countries with “high” levels of such government restrictions.
• The GRI comprises 20 measures, including efforts by governments to ban particular faiths, prohibit conversion, limit preaching or give preferential treatment to one or more religious groups

Official data for substantiation

• By India’s own official crime statistics, the picture is more mixed.
• According to police data, religious riots for which cases were filed rose substantially in 2020, and declined again in 2021.
• But there have been significant variations over time, and the numbers are too low as a share of overall rioting incidents to indicate a definitive trend.
• Moreover, the home ministry no longer provides data on “communal incidents”, and the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) now only publishes data on religious “riots”.

 Source: Indian Express

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On November 21, China’s top development aid agency convened the first “China-Indian Ocean Region Forum” in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming.

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Iran’s morality police has been abolished following months of protests triggered by Mahsa Amini's death.

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• As World Soil Day (WSD) 2022 arrives on December 5, over 29% (96.4 million hectares) of India's entire geographical area (328.7 million hectares) is degraded, with the level of degradation in terms of soil fertility reaching 40% globally.
• WSD 2022, with the guiding theme "Soils: Where Food Begins," aims to raise awareness about the importance of maintaining healthy soils, ecosystems and human well-being.

Land degradation:

• Meaning:
  • Land degradation is the deterioration or loss of the productive capacity of the soils for present and future.
  • It is a global challenge contributing to a dramatic decline in the productivity of croplands and rangelands worldwide, affecting everyone through food insecurity, climate change and the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services.
• Scenario in India and the world:
  • Reasons for the large land degradation in India: Over-exploitation of land through unsustainable farming practices, mining and deforestation over the centuries.
  • Threats: If the current trends continue,
    • It would disrupt food supply and lead to rapid biodiversity loss and species extinctions in this century itself.
    • The world’s topsoil could become unproductive within 60 years.
• Attempts to halt further degradation and restore degraded land:
  • Bringing life to soil through regenerative/restoration practices:
    • This includes nature-positive food production in rural landscapes and greening the urban areas through planting trees and protecting vegetation.
    • These can also enhance the world’s ability to cope with drought, floods, wildfires, sand storms and pollution linked to dust.
  • Zero budget natural farming (ZBNF):
    • Restoring soil fertility by regenerating organic content and microorganism is one of the key components of the whole land restoration exercises.
    • The ZBNF guides the farmers towards sustainable farming practices, which helps not only in retaining soil fertility but also ensuring low cost of production and thereby enhancing the farmers income.
• Global efforts:
  • Under a UN Convention, the countries have already agreed to restore one billion hectares of degraded land by 2030 by achieving land degradation neutrality (LDN).
  • Under LDN, the quantity and quality of land resources stay steady or increase, taking into account degradation and restoration. If a country achieves LDN, there will be no net loss in terms of land degradation.
• Indian efforts:
  • The Government of India is implementing a five-pronged strategy for soil conservation, including,
    • Making soil chemical-free,
    • Saving soil biodiversity,
    • Enhancing SOM,
    • Maintaining soil moisture,
    • Mitigating soil degradation and preventing soil erosion.
  • India has been working to restore 26 million hectares of degraded land throughout the country by 2030 and voluntarily pledged to achieve LDN by 2030.
  • India is currently pitching for fertilizers/pesticides-free ZBNF and soil health cards (SHC) scheme informs farmers of the status of soils, providing a ground for multiple actions for restoring soil fertility.
  • The Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana prevents soil erosion, regeneration of natural vegetation, rainwater harvesting and recharging of the groundwater table.
  • In addition, the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) has schemes promoting traditional indigenous practices such as organic farming and natural farming.
  • The FAO is collaborating with the -
    • National Rainfed Area Authority and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare to develop forecasting tools to make informed decisions on crop choices.
    • The Ministry of Rural Development, supports the Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission’s (DAY-NRLM) Community Resource Persons to increase their capacities.

Source: The Hindu

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• In a first, the celebrations for the Navy Day was held out of Delhi.
• President Droupadi Murmu was the Guest of Honour as the naval combat prowess is demonstrated at the ‘Operational Demonstration’ at Visakhapatnam.
• The day is celebrated each year to mark the Indian Navy's achievements in ‘Operation Trident’ during the 1971 Indo-Pak War.

• Every year, India celebrates December 4 as Navy Day to commemorate Operation Trident – a key offensive during the 1971 India-Pakistan War, when the Indian Navy inflicted heavy damage on Pakistani vessels in Karachi harbour.
• The same day also marks the end of Navy Week, which, too, is celebrated annually.

• The India-Pakistan War of 1971 had begun on December 3, when the Pakistan Air Force launched pre-emptive strikes on airfields in Western India.
• India responded by formally declaring war in the wee hours of December 4.
• On December 4, under Operation Trident, the Indian Navy sank three vessels near the Pakistani port city of Karachi.
• The Indian Air Force also played a crucial role during Operation Trident, when Karachi’s Kemari oil tanks were strafed by the IAF on the same day in an independent operation which it did not claim.
• The 1971 War ended on December 16, as India sealed its victory when the instrument of surrender was signed by Lt Gen A A K Niazi of Pakistan with Lt Gen J S Aurora watching, at Dhaka at 4.55 pm that day.
• That remains the abiding image of the 1971 War. 

News Summary:

• President of India Droupadi Murmu participated in the Navy Day celebrations at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
• She said that oceans will play a vital role in India’s growth and prosperity with the future linked to the waters, as in the past.
• Referring to Visakhapatnam as ‘Jewel of the East Coast’, the President said that the city had emerged as an important hub as the Headquarters of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) and its importance as an industrial and port city.
• Expressing happiness to launch various projects virtually, she said that the National Open Air Range (NOAR) in Kurnool district would help in strengthening India’s defence sector.
  • The NOAR is a missile testing range, built by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh.

Source: Indian Express