UPSC Daily Current Affairs- August 11, 2022 PDF Download

GS-I

Context

In a big win for an aspiring pilot and the entire transgender community, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has for the first time framed new medical guidelines that allow transgender persons who have completed gender transition therapy or surgery to be declared fit to fly. 

What did DGCA allow?

• The DGCA guidelines for aeromedical evaluation of transgender persons for obtaining medical clearance for all categories of pilot’s licence — private pilot’s licence, student pilot licence and commercial pilot licence.
• An ongoing hormone therapy will also not be a ground for disqualification.
• It says that candidates who have completed their hormone therapy and gender affirmation surgery more than five years ago will be declared medically fit.
• They should clear screening for mental health in accordance with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.

Some limitations

• However, transgender pilots “may” have some limitations imposed such as being allowed to only fly as first officers (junior pilots).
• When they are flying as pilot-in-command their co-pilot has to have 250 hours of flying on that particular type of aircraft or the co-pilot has to be a senior captain who is a trainer.

Why such modification?

• An Indian citizen, is the first transgender trainee pilot with a private pilot licence from South Africa.
• He/she was unable to complete his training in India after the DGCA in April 2020 rejected his medical clearance needed to obtain a student’s pilot licence.
• The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment intervened and wrote to the DGCA.
• It called the rules “discriminatory” and in violation of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2019 and demanded “guidelines for licensing” for transgender persons.

Conclusion

• Because of the fear of backlash from society, family and friends, coming out as a transgender is itself a very challenging move for those who hide their identity.
• Major issue lies with societal acceptance of transgender and recognition. Such steps create awareness among people with example.
• Society should be made sensitive enough to realize it is none of the concerned person’s fault.

Context

Inspiring and controversial, this article explains the history of slogans that have endured in India’s politics. 

‘Jai Hind’ by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

• Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose popularised ‘Jai Hind’ as a salutation for soldiers of his Indian National Army (INA), which fought alongside Netaji’s ally Japan in the Second World War.
• But according to some accounts, Netaji did not actually coin the slogan.
• A book says the term was coined by Zain-ul Abideen Hasan, the son of a collector from Hyderabad, who had gone to Germany to study.
• There, he met Bose and eventually left his studies to join the INA.
• Khan was tasked by Bose to look for a military greeting or salutation for the INA’s soldiers, a slogan which was not caste or community-specific, given the all-India basis of the INA.
• The idea for ‘Jai Hind’ came to Hasan when he was at the Konigsbruck camp in Germany.

‘Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe aazadi doonga’ by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

• This slogan had origins in a speech Netaji made in Myanmar, then called Burma, on July 4, 1944.
• Underlining his core philosophy of violence being necessary to achieve independence, he said, “Friends! My comrades in the War of Liberation! Today I demand of you one thing, above all.
• He ended the speech saying “Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe aazadi doonga” (Give me blood and I promise you freedom).

‘Vande Mataram’ by Bankim Chandra Chatterji

• The term refers to a sense of respect expressed to the motherland.
• In 1870, Bengali novelist Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote a song which would go on to assume a national stature, but would also be seen as communally divisive by some.
• Written in Bengali, the song titled ‘Vande Mataram’ was not introduced into the public sphere until the publishing of the novel Anandamath in 1882, of which the song is a part.
• Vande Mataram soon became the forefront of sentiments expressed during the freedom movement.
• The novel, set in the early 1770s came against the backdrop of the Fakir-Sannyasi Rebellion against the British in Bengal.

‘Inquilab Zindabad’ by Maulana Hasrat Mohani

• ‘Inquilab Zindabad’ (Long live the revolution) was first used by Maulana Hasrat Mohani in 1921.
• Hasrat was his pen name (takhallus) as a revolutionary Urdu poet, which also became his identity as a political leader.
• Hasrat Mohani was a labour leader, scholar, poet and also one of the founders of the Communist Party of India in 1925.
• Along with Swami Kumaranand — also involved in the Indian Communist movement — Mohani first raised the demand for complete independence or ‘Poorna Swaraj’, at the Ahmedabad session of the Congress in 1921.
• His stress on Inquilab was inspired by his urge to fight against social and economic inequality, along with colonialism.
• Before Mohani coined this slogan, the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia made the idea of revolution symbolic of the struggle for oppressed nationalities globally.
• It was from the mid-1920s that this slogan became a war cry of Bhagat Singh and his Naujawan Bharat Sabha, as well as his Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA).

‘Sarfaroshi ki Tamanna’ by Bismil Azimabadi

• This is the first line of a poem written by Bismil Azimabadi (and NOT Ramprasad Bismil), a freedom fighter and poet from Bihar, after the Jallianwalah Bagh Massacre of 1921 in Amritsar, Punjab.
• The lines were popularised by Ram Prasad Bismil, another revolutionary.
• He was a part of the Kakori train robbery, a successful and ambitious operation in which a train filled with British goods and money was robbed for Indian fighters to purchase arms.

‘Do or Die’ by Gandhi Ji

• In 1942, the Second World War commencing and the failure of Stafford Cripps Missions – which only promised India a ‘dominion status’ where it would still have to bear allegiance to the King of England .
• This made Gandhi Ji realise that the movement for freedom needed to be intensified.
• On August 8, 1942, the All-India Congress Committee met in Gowalia Tank Maidan (August Kranti Maidan) in Bombay.
• Gandhi addressed thousands after the meeting to spell out the way forward.

‘Quit India’ by Yusuf Meherally

• While Gandhi gave the clarion call of ‘Quit India’, the slogan was coined by Yusuf Meherally, a socialist and trade unionist who also served as Mayor of Mumbai.
• A few years ago, in 1928, Meherally had also coined the slogan “Simon Go Back” to protest the Simon Commission – that although was meant to work on Indian constitutional reform, but lacked any Indians.
• Meherally was a Congress Socialist Party member who was actively involved in anti-government protests.

GS-II

Context

The Union Cabinet has approved the signing of an Audio Visual Co-production Treaty between India and Australia, which is aimed at facilitating joint production of films between the two countries.

• This is a great achievement for cultural cooperation between India and Australia.

Audio Visual Co-production Treaty

• Audio visual co-production treaties are enabling documents which facilitate co-production of films between both countries.
• Under such umbrella agreements, private, quasi-government or governmental agencies enter into contracts to produce films together.
• India has so far signed 15 audio visual co-production treaties with other countries.
• According to the co-production treaty, the respective contributions of the producers of the two countries may vary from 20% to 80% of the final total cost of the jointly produced work.

Need for such treaty

• Australia has emerged as a preferred destination for shooting of Indian films.
• India is fast emerging as a major content hub for film-makers looking for new projects.
• India has abundance of exotic locations, talent pool and relatively cheaper cost of production, making India a favoured destination of foreign film-makers.

Significance of the treaty

• The proposed agreement will boost ties with Australia, lead to exchange of art and culture, showcase the soft power of our country.
• This will generate employment among artistic, technical as well as non-technical personnel engaged in audio visual co-production, including production and post-production work.
• The use of Indian locations would increase the prospects of the country becoming a preferred film-shooting destination and also lead to inflow of foreign exchange.

Context

Almost three years after the novel coronavirus was detected in China, a new zoonotic virus has been discovered in the country’s two eastern provinces with 35 infections identified so far.

• This new type of Henipavirus is also being called Langya Henipavirus or the LayV.

About Langya virus

• The newly discovered virus is a “phylogenetically distinct Henipavirus”, according to a recent study — A Zoonotic Henipavirus in Febrile Patients in China
• The types of Henipaviruses that had been identified prior to this included Hendra, Nipah, Cedar, Mojiang and the Ghanaian bat virus.
• According to the US CDC, the Cedar virus, Ghanaian bat virus, and Mojiang virus are not known to cause human disease. But Hendra and Nipah infect humans and can cause fatal illness.
• Langya, meanwhile, is known to cause fever.
• The study adds that Langya’s genome organization is “identical to that of other Henipaviruses”, and that it is closely related to the “Mojiang Henipavirus, which was discovered in southern China”.
  • Henipaviruses are classified as biosafety level 4 (BSL4) pathogens.
    • They can cause severe illness in animals and humans, and as of now there are no licensed drugs or vaccines meant for humans.

How was Langya virus discovered?

• Langya was discovered in eastern China during surveillance testing of patients who had fever along with a recent history of animal exposure.
• It was identified and isolated from the throat swab sample of one of those patients.
• 35 patients with LayV infection were found in Shandong and Henan provinces, out of which 26 were only infected with this new virus and no other pathogen.

Symptoms of Langya virus

• The study looked at the 26 patients with only LayV infection to identify the associated symptoms.
• While all 26 had fever, 54% reported fatigue, 50% had cough, 38% complained of nausea.
• Also, 35% of the total 26, complained of headache and vomiting.
• The study found that 35% had impaired liver function, while 8% had their kidney function impacted.
• The patients were accompanied by abnormalities of “thrombocytopenia (35%), leukopenia (54%), impaired liver (35%) and kidney (8%) function”, the study noted.
  • Thrombocytopenia is low platelet count, while leukopenia means a fall in the white blood cell count, in turn reducing the body’s disease-fighting capability.

Where has Langya virus come from?

• In all likelihood, the new virus has jumped from an animal to humans.
• The LayV virus RNA has been predominantly found in shrews, which may be its natural hosts.
• The study zeroed in on shrews after conducting a serosurvey of domestic and wild animals.
• Among domestic animals, seropositivity was detected in goats and dogs.

What about human-to-human transmission?

• There are no clear answers yet.
• The authors of the study have underlined that the sample size of their investigation is too small to determine human-to-human transmission. However, they point out that among the 35 patients infected by LayV, there was “no close contact or common exposure history”, which suggests that the “infection in the human population may be sporadic”.

Context

In exercise of the power conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the President has appointed Shri Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, Judge of the Supreme Court as the Chief Justice of India.

Appointment of the CJI

• The Chief Justice of India and the Judges of the Supreme Court (SC) are appointed by the President under clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution.
• As far as the CJI is concerned, the outgoing CJI recommends his successor.
• The Union Law Minister forwards the recommendation to the Prime Minister who, in turn, advises the President.
• SC in the Second Judges Case (1993), ruled that the senior most judge of the Supreme Court should alone be appointed to the office of the CJI.
• The Supreme Court collegium is headed by the Chief Justice of India and comprises four other senior most judges of the court.
  • The collegium system is the system of appointment and transfer of judges that has evolved through judgments of the Supreme Court (Judges Cases), and not by an Act of Parliament or by a provision of the Constitution.

Qualifications

The Indian Constitution says in Article 124 (3) that in order to be appointed as a judge in the Supreme Court of India, the person has to fit in the following criteria:

• He/She is a citizen of India
• Has been for at least five years a Judge of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession;
• Has been for at least ten years an advocate of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession; or is, in the opinion of the President, a distinguished jurist.

Administrative Powers of CJI (Master of Roster)

• It is common to refer to the office as primus inter pares – first amongst equals.
• Besides his adjudicatory role, the CJI also plays the role of the administrative head of the Court.
• In his administrative capacity, the Chief Justice exercises the prerogative of allocating cases to particular benches.
• The Chief Justice also decides the number of judges that will hear a case.
• Thus, he can influence the result by simply choosing judges that he thinks may favour a particular outcome.
• Such administrative powers can be exercised without collegial consensus, and without any stated reasons.

Context

Mexican President has proposed the setting up of a commission called ‘Commission of Global Notables’ comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Commission of Global Notables

• Apart from Mr. Modi, the proposed “commission of global notables” includes Pope Francis and the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
• This is yet a proposal in writing presented to the UN
• It is understood that the list will find mention during the annual session of the UN General Assembly that will convene in September.
• PM Modi and other leaders of the Member States are expected to participate in the session when the global body will discuss the crises in Ukraine, Gaza Strip and the regional tension over Taiwan.

Significance for India

• This shows significance of India under the present regime under PM Modi. We have to admit that India’s soft power is ever increasing.
• PM Modi has also received high honours from the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Bhutan and several other countries since since the beginning of his first stint in May 2014.
• That apart, he has also received awards from international non-government organisations.

GS-III

Context

In July 2022, Gold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) witnessed a net outflow of Rs 457 crore as investors parked their money in other asset classes as part of their portfolio rebalancing strategy.

• This was in comparison to a net inflow of Rs 135 crore in June 2022.

What are Gold Exchange Traded Funds?

• About
  • Gold ETF, which aims to track the domestic physical gold price, are passive investment instruments that are based on gold prices and invest in gold bullion.
  • Gold ETFs are units representing physical gold which may be in paper or dematerialised form.
    • One gold ETF unit is equal to 1 gram of gold and is backed by physical gold of very high purity.
    • They combine the flexibility of stock investment and the simplicity of gold investments.
• Advantages
  • There is complete transparency on the holdings of an ETF.
  • Gold ETFs have much lower expenses as compared to physical gold investments.
  • No wealth tax, no security transaction tax, no VAT and no sales tax is levied on ETFs.
  • There is no fear of theft as ETFs are safe and secure as units held in Demat Account of the holder.

What could be the Reasons for the Outflow?

• Investors’ expectations of a rising interest rate cycle leading to a fall in gold prices.
  • The fall in the gold price impacted the net flows into the gold ETFs.
• A falling rupee is another factor that has likely impacted the demand and supply dynamics of gold.
  • It has been witnessed globally too, with gold ETF’s posting significant outflows on the back of lower gold prices.

Butterfly Mine

Context

The UK Ministry of Defence, in its intelligence assessment of the ongoing war in Ukraine, has and sounded an alarm on the possible use of PFM-1 series ‘Butterfly Mines’ by the Russian military in Donetsk and Kramatorsk.

What is the ‘Butterfly Mine’ and why is it called so?

• The PFM-1 and PFM-1S are two kinds of anti-personnel landmines that are commonly referred to as ‘Butterfly mines’ or ‘Green Parrots’.
• These names are derived from the shape and colour of the mines.
• The main difference between the PFM-1 and PFM-1S mine is that the latter comes with a self destruction mechanism which gets activated within one to 40 hours.
• The ‘Butterfly mine’ has earned a reputation for being particularly attractive to children because it looks like a coloured toy.
• It is very sensitive to touch and just the act of picking it up can set it off.
• Because of the relatively lesser explosive packed in this small mine, it often injures and maims the handler rather than killing them. These mines are also difficult to detect because they are made of plastic and can evade metal detectors.
• These mines can be deployed in the field of action through several means, which include being dropped from helicopters or through ballistic dispersion using artillery and mortar shells.
• These mines glide to the ground without exploding and later explode on coming in contact.
• Since these mines were green in colour when they were first put to use they also earned the name ‘Green Parrots’.

How are these mines associated with Soviet Union and Afghanistan?

• By some estimates more than a million ‘Butterfly mines’ litter Afghanistan and were airdropped in valleys and mountain passes to impede the movement of the Afghan Mujahideen.
• More than 30,000 Afghans are believed to have been victims of these mines and a large number of children were among the casualties.

Are these kind of mines allowed by international law?

• The anti personal mines are banned by international convention on land lines but Russia and Ukraine are not signatories to it.
• However, there is a 1996 Amended Protocol II to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons-the Landlines Protocol to which Russia and Ukraine are signatories.
• In the ongoing conflict, both countries have accused each other of having used these mines, since both posses them in sufficient numbers.
• Allegations and counter-allegations of the use of these mines have been made in Mariupol, Kharkiv and now Donetsk.