UPSC Daily Current Affairs- 29th November 2022 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

Context

According to Scientists, the Shiveluch volcano in Russia’s far eastern Kamchatka peninsula may be gearing up for its first powerful eruption in 15 years.

GS-II

Context

Just ahead of the International Day for Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women (November 25), the brutal murder and mutilation of a young woman by her partner has drawn attention to intimate partner violence, also recognized under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 (PWDVA) as a kind of domestic violence.

Background

• Due to prevalence of patriarchy women have been discriminated not only in India but in most parts of the world.
• According to The United Nations, one out of every three women experience domestic violence. The same UN report suggests that the most dangerous place for women is their home.
• Gender equality and women’s empowerment are essential for the development and well-being of families, communities and nations.

Domestic Violence

• Domestic violence is any pattern of behavior that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. It encompasses all physical, sexual, emotional, economic and psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person.

Domestic violence can include the following

• Physical violence: Use of Physical force or hurting or trying to hurt a partner .it also includes denying medical care.
• Sexual violence: Forcing a partner to take part in a sex act when the partner does not consent.
• Psychological violence: Psychological violence involves causing fear, threatening physical harm or forcing isolation from friends, family, school or work.
• Economic violence: Making or attempting to make a person financially dependent by maintaining total control over financial resources.
• Emotional violence: Undermining a person’s sense of self-worth through constant criticism; belittling one’s abilities; verbal abuse. 

Analysis of Domestic violence cases and protection of women in India

• Punishable offence: Domestic violence is a punishable offence under Indian law. It is a violation of human rights.
  • According to NFHS-5: yet, National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21) reveals that we live in a society where violence against women persists to such an extent that 32% of ever-married women aged 18-49 years have ever experienced emotional, physical, or sexual violence committed by their husband, with more rural than urban women reporting experiences of domestic violence.
• Protection of women from domestic violence Act 2005: Over 17 years ago the PWDVA, a progressive legislation, was passed, promising a joined-up approach, involving civil and criminal protections, to support and protect women from violence within the household, not just from husbands.
• Unable to access the law: Despite the law existing on paper, women are still largely unable to access the law in practice. Its promise and provisions are unevenly implemented, unavailable and out of reach for most Indian women.
• Very less percentage of women who seek help: The most disheartening reality is that despite almost a third of women being subject to domestic violence, the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-21) reports that only 14% of women who have experienced domestic violence have ever sought help; and this number is much lower in the rural areas.
• Despite of multiple laws, most women choose not to seek help: In a country where domestic violence is a crime, where there are multiple laws explicitly designed to protect women against violence, most women survivors of domestic violence never seek help.

An interesting first-hand case study on “why women choose to remain silent”?

• Subject: Research in Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu aims to better understand ‘help seeking’ and the everyday realities, obstacles, prejudices and fears that women experience around sharing and reporting experiences of violence.
• Questions: Simple and well-meaning questions, “Why didn’t you leave earlier?” “Why didn’t you tell someone about the violence earlier?”
• Thoughts and Response:
  • Women were hopeful that things would change, that they could change their husband’s behaviour, that he would listen to them.
  • Crucially women did not want to be a ‘burden’ on others, in particular their families. ‘My mother has a lot of worries, she has her own life so I didn’t want to add to her own worries, with mine.’
  • By naming the violence they experienced, women believed that they would become ‘a problem’ or a source of ‘tension’ for their families, in bringing them shame and dishonor, irrespective of the survivor’s level of education, caste, or class.
  • For migrant women, transpeople or those with several sisters, or ill, older or deceased parents, it was felt even more acutely that the perpetrator’s violence was their individual responsibility to manage.

Findings of the case study on seeking help

• Majority of parents asks to accommodate: The first group of women mainly turned to their parents who, in a majority of cases, insisted on their daughter preserving the family environment which they should do by ‘adjusting’ to, or accommodating their husband’s (and his family’s) needs better.
• Minority cases where daughters’ welfare is prioritized: In a minority of cases, the daughter’s welfare was prioritized over the well-being of the ‘the family’ and steps were taken to help mediate or exit the relationship, and much more infrequently approach the police and lawyers.
• Accepted as patriarchal norm mostly by women themselves: So ingrained are social norms about gender inequality that NFHS-5 data reports that women are more likely than men to justify a scenario in which it is acceptable for a husband to beat or hit his wife.
• Sharing experience gives relief: For instance, one interviewee explained, ‘the way we are conditioned, it was hard to complain about any suffering’. Though survivors who did (finally) confide in relatives and friends about domestic violence described feeling a ‘sense of a relief’ and that a ‘burden had been lifted’, giving them new ‘hope’ that things might change.
• Confession is powerful step, seek for help comes with mixed emotions: Whilst sharing experiences of violence was an incredibly powerful step for women, actually transforming their violent domestic experiences and accessing services and support provided by the state and non-state actors proved to be an arduous roller coaster of emotions, promises, uncertainty, fear and disappointment.
• Financial dependence stops women form accessing legal justice: With few safe houses across India, the simple reality was that many women have nowhere else to go, and access to legal justice through the courts was a material possibility only for women with independent wealth and connections or those supported by specialist non-governmental organizations. So, for many survivors, transforming their situation depended on securing their economic self-sufficiency by pursuing new skills and livelihood opportunities.

Role of the police

• Police were the part of problem than the solution: Women who reported experiences of violence to the police were cynical about the outcome. Though a small minority had positive experiences, for the majority of those we interviewed, the police were part of the problem rather than a solution to violence.
• Police more likely to send women back to reconcile: Across the States, that the police were more likely to send women back to violent households to reconcile with the perpetrator or use violence against perpetrators as a deterrent instead of filing an official complaint or connecting women to protection officers and other service providers, as the PWDVA outlines they should.
• Absence and under resourced Protection officers: Several States are yet to implement Protection officers. And where they are in post, they are under resourced, under-skilled and overworked, making their remit impossible.

Conclusion

Even whilst its legislature recognizes that domestic violence is a crime, and civil remedies exist through protection orders, managing the fallout of domestic violence is still being subcontracted to survivors and the family. That is the biggest crime being committed against women today. Women empowerment without social justice is a futile exercise, State must take appropriate social empowerment steps in this direction.

Source: The Hindu

Context

Recently, the Supreme Court made it clear that the collegium system for appointment of judges is the law of the land and the Centre would have to follow it till it is replaced or changed.

It observed that the bitter failure of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) cannot give reasons to the government to take on the judiciary by delaying Collegium recommendations.

Collegium System

• The current collegium system has evolved over a period of time through the judicial pronouncements. These cases have been mentioned as below:
  • First Judges Case (1982)
    • SC held that consultation does not mean concurrence
    • Gave Primacy to Executive.
  • Second Judges Case (1993)
    • Court reversed its earlier ruling by changing the meaning of consultation to concurrence.
    • Advice tendered by CJI is binding.
    • CJI would take into account the views of two of his senior most colleagues.
  • Third Judges Case (1998)
    • Court gave primacy to the opinion of CJI in the matter of appointment of Judges
    • However, Chief Justice must consult four senior most judges of SC.
    • Opinion of all members of the collegium should be in writing.
    • If the majority of the collegium is against the appointment of a particular person that person shall not be appointed.

National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC)

• The NJAC Act, 2014 was enacted to regulate the procedure to be followed for recommending names for appointment as Chief Justice of India and other judges of Supreme Court and Chief Justices and judges of High Courts and for their transfers.
• The commission was established by the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2014.
• The Act proposed that the members of NJAC would be composed of members from the legislative, judicial, and civil society. 
• However, in October 2015, Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional an amendment to the Constitution establishing the NJAC.
  • The five-judge bench struck down the NJAC Act along with the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act in a 4:1 ratio.

Rational Behind Bringing NJAC:

• The NJAC amended the Constitution, so the second judges case that created the collegium is irrelevant because the Constitution is now different from what it was back then.
• The NJAC is good for democracy (which is also a basic feature of the Constitution) and requires that no organ of the state, including the judiciary, enjoys absolute freedom.
• Judicial appointments “must be seen both in the context of independence of the judiciary as also the need for checks and balances on it".
• The NJAC Act involves a smooth and transparent process for the appointment of judges.
  • Collegium system’s opaqueness was blatantly expressed as the proceedings of the collegium are inaccessible to the public and, therefore, it lacks transparency.
• The executives with administrative machinery are seen as capable of making enormous and valuable contributions to the selection process.

Why unconstitutional:

• The involvement of the legislature in the appointment of judges might lead to the creation of a culture of ‘reciprocity.’
• The future judges appointed under NJAC cannot be expected to be independent-minded.
  • The Union Law Minister is the member of the commission responsible for their appointment.
• The NJAC Act would compromise the principle of independence of the judiciary guaranteed under the existing collegium system.
  • The basic structure of the Constitution enshrines that the judiciary is solely responsible for the appointment of judges.
• The NJAC Act provides arbitrary power to legislatives and executives to appoint two eminent personalities into the NJAC body.
• The applicability of veto power by the two eminent personalities was speculated to be biased.

Source: The Hindu

Context

Russia postponed nuclear weapons talks with the United States under the New START Treaty with neither side giving a reason for the postponement.

New START Treaty

• The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) pact limits the number of deployed nuclear warheads, missiles and bombers and is due to expire in 2021 unless renewed.
• The treaty limits the US and Russia to a maximum of 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, well below Cold War caps.
• It was signed in 2010 by former US President Barack Obama and then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
• It is one of the key controls on the superpower deployment of nuclear weapons.

Background of US-Russia Nuclear Relations

• The US formally QUIT the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF)
• The agreement obliged the two countries to eliminate all ground-based missiles of ranges between 500 and 5,500 km.

When did nuclear disarmament begin?

• In 1985, the two countries entered into arms control negotiations on three tracks.
• The first dealt with strategic weapons with ranges of over 5,500 km, leading to the START agreement in 1991.
• It limited both sides to 1,600 strategic delivery vehicles and 6,000 warheads.
• A second track dealt with intermediate-range missiles and this led to the INF Treaty in 1987.
• A third track, Nuclear, and Space Talks was intended to address Soviet concerns regarding the U.S.’s Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) but this did not yield any outcome.

Success of INF

• The INF Treaty was hailed as a great disarmament pact even though no nuclear warheads were dismantled.
• As it is a bilateral agreement, it did not restrict other countries.
• By 1991, the INF was implemented. USSR destroyed 1,846 and the US destroyed 846 Pershing and cruise missiles. 
• Associated production facilities were also closed down.
• INF Treaty was the first pact to include intensive verification measures, including on-site inspections.

How has the nuclear behavior been?

• With the end of the Cold War and the break-up of the USSR in end-1991, former Soviet allies were joining NATO and becoming EU members.
• The U.S. was investing in missile defense and conventional global precision strike capabilities to expand its technological lead.
• In 2001, the U.S. announced its unilateral withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty).
• The US also blamed Russia for not complying with the ‘zero-yield’ standard imposed by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). This may indicate the beginning of a new nuclear arms race.

Implications of the New Start

• The 2011 New START lapsed in 2021. It may meet the fate of the INF Treaty.
• The 2018 NPR envisaged the development of new nuclear weapons, including low-yield weapons.
• China is preparing to operate its test site year-round with its goals for its nuclear force.
• CTBT requires ratification by U.S., China, and Iran, Israel and Egypt and adherence by India, Pakistan and North Korea. It is unlikely to ever enter into force.

Conclusion

• A new nuclear arms race could just be the beginning. It may be more complicated because of multiple countries being involved.
• Technological changes are bringing cyber and space domains into contention. It raises the risks of escalation.

Source: The Hindu

GS-III

Context

In the opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2022 between host Qatar and Ecuador, the first goal of the tournament was ruled out for offside within a quick span of time.

FIFA’s brand new Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) was responsible for this quick decision.

Offside rule

• An attacking player is considered to be in an offside position if:
  • any part of their body - except hands and arms - is in the opposing team's half; and
  • there's no opposing player between attacking player and the goalkeeper before the ball is played forward.
• Being in an offside position is not an offence in itself.
• However, the moment the player in the offside position plays the ball or attempts to play the ball, then it will be seen as actively involved in play and that is when the offence occurs.
• When a player is flagged, the only sanction is that the ball is given to your opponents to restart play in the form of a free kick in their own half of the pitch.

Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT)

• SAOT is a support tool for the video match officials and the on-field officials to help them make faster, more reproducible and more accurate offside decisions.
• FIFA had announced that semi-automated offside technology will be used at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar starting on 21 November.

Technologies used in SAOT

• There are two parts to the technology:
  • a sensor inside the match ball (Adidas’s Al Rihla) that is held using suspension technology, and
  • existing tracking tools that are part of the VAR system.
    • Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology was first introduced in Russia in 2018.

Working

• The new technology uses 12 dedicated tracking cameras mounted underneath the roof of the stadium to track the ball and up to 29 data points of each individual player, 50 times per second, calculating their exact position on the pitch.
• The 29 collected data points include all limbs and extremities that are relevant for making offside calls.
• Al Rihla, adidas’ official match ball for Qatar 2022, will provide a further vital element for the detection of tight offside incidents as an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor will be placed inside the ball.
  • This sensor, positioned in the centre of the ball, sends ball data to the video operation room 500 times per second, allowing a very precise detection of the kick point.
• By combining the limb- and ball-tracking data and applying artificial intelligence, the new technology provides an automated offside alert to the video match officials.
• Hence, the coming together of the ball sensor and the Hawk-Eye cameras is in effect SAOT, which FIFA says allows for decisions that are highly accurate and quick.

Other possible uses of SAOT

• Experts believe offside decision-making is just the starting point and the wealth of tracking data will soon be used by coaches for tactical analyses and gauging individual athlete performances.
• The metrics can also be useful for scouting good players.
• SAOT is expected to aid such statistical thinking and data mining in football.

Source: The Hindu 

Context

Protests are taking place across Kerala against SilverLine, a semi high-speed railway project that envisages trains running at 200 km/h between the state’s northern and southern ends.

What is the SilverLine project?

• The proposed 529.45-km line will link Thiruvananthapuram in the south to Kasaragod in the north, covering 11 districts through 11 stations.
• KRDCL, or K-Rail, is a joint venture between the Kerala government and the Union Ministry of Railways created to execute this project.
• The deadline for the project, being executed by the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL), is 2025.

Features of the Project

• The project will have trains of electric multiple unit (EMU) type, each with preferably nine cars extendable to 12.
• A nine-car rake can seat a maximum of 675 passengers in business and standard class settings.
• The trains can run at a maximum speed of 220 km/hr on a standard gauge track, completing journeys in either direction in fewer than four hours.
• At every 500 metres, there will be under-passages with service roads.

Need for the SilverLine project

• Time saving: On the existing network, it now takes 12 hours. Once the project is completed, one can travel from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram in less than four hours at 200 km/hr.
• Old infrastructure: Existing railway infrastructure in Kerala cannot meet the demands of the future.
• Terrain limitations: Most trains run at an average speed of 45 km/hr due to a lot of curves and bends on the existing stretch.
• De-trafficking: The project can take a significant load of traffic off the existing stretch and make travel faster for commuters, which in turn will reduce congestion on roads and help reduce accidents.
• Others: The project would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, help in expansion of Ro-Ro services, produce employment opportunities, integrate airports and IT corridors, and enable faster development of cities it passes through.

Present status of the Project

• Land acquisition is underway
• The state government has begun the process of land acquisition after the cabinet approved it this year.
• As part of the first stage of acquisition, local revenue and K-Rail officials are on the ground, demarcating land and placing boundary stones.
• This is done to give the officials a sense of how much private land will have to be acquired and the number of families who will be displaced.

Issues with the Project

• Political rhetoric: All political parties have been spearheading separate protests.
• Huge capital requirement: They argue that the project was an “astronomical scam in the making” and would sink the state further into debt.
• Displacement of families: The project was financially unviable and would lead to the displacement of over 30,000 families.
• Ecological damage: It would cause great environmental harm as its route cuts through precious wetlands, paddy fields and hills.
• Flood hazard: The building of embankments on either side of the major portion of the line will block natural drainage and cause floods during heavy rains.

Source: Indian Express

Harike Wetland

Context

Migratory birds from different countries have started arriving at Punjab's Harike wetland.

About:

• Harike wetland, spread over 86 square kilometers in Tarn Taran, Ferozepur, and Kapurthala districts, serves as a home to rare species of migratory water birds during the winter season.
• Harike Wetland also known as "Hari-ke-Pattan", with the Harike Lake in the deeper part of it, is the largest wetland in northern India.
• The wetland and the lake were formed by constructing the headworks across the Sutlej river in 1953.
  The headworks is located downstream of the confluence of the Beas and Sutlej rivers just south of Harike village.
• It has been designated as one of the Ramsar sites in India.
• Apart from the Harike wetland, migratory water birds also arrive at Keshopur Miani wetland, Nangal wetland, Ropar wetland, Kanjli wetland and Beas river wetland in Punjab.

Source: The Hindu

Context

Agnikul Cosmos sets up India’s first private space vehicle launchpad at Sriharikota.

About:

• The facility, which was designed by Agnikul and executed in support with ISRO and IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center) has two sections to it:
  • the Agnikul launchpad (ALP) and
  • the Agnikul mission control center (AMCC).
• All critical systems connecting these two sections, which are 4 km away from each other, are redundant to ensure 100% operationality during countdown.
• The launchpad is specifically built keeping in mind the necessity to support liquid stage controlled launches, while also addressing the need for ISRO’s range operations team to monitor key flight safety parameters during launches.
• Additionally, it has the ability to, as necessary, share data and other critical information with ISRO’s Mission Control Center.
• Agnikul’s first launch, which will be a controlled and guided mission, a vertical launch, using its patented engine will happen from this launchpad.
• The mission will be a technology demonstrator that will mirror Agnikul’s orbital launch but at a reduced scale.

Agnibaan:

• Agnibaan is Agnikul’s highly customizable, two-stage launch vehicle, capable of taking up to 100 kg payload to orbits around 700 km high (low Earth orbits) and enables plug-and-play configuration.

Agnilet:

• Agnilet is the world’s first single-piece 3-D printed engine fully designed and manufactured in India and was successfully test-fired in early 2021, making Agnikul the first company in the country to test its engines at ISRO.
• Agnibaan and Agnilet will be used in the Agnikul’s first launch.

Agnikul:

• It was founded in 2017 by Srinath Ravichandran, Moin SPM and Professor S.R. Chakravarthy from IIT Madras.
• Agnikul is an IIT Madras incubated startup.
• It became the first Indian company to sign an agreement with ISRO in December 2020.
• The agreement signed under the IN-SPACe initiative sanctioned Agnikul access to the Indian space agency’s expertise and facilities to build Agnibaan and its launchpads.

Source: The Hindu