UPSC Daily Current Affairs- 3rd December 2022 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I 

Context

The city of Visakhapatnam is blessed with a number of sites that have geological importance. One among them is the coastal red sand dunes, popularly known as Erra Matti Dibbalu.

Context

On the occasion of Assam Day, or “Asom Diwas”, celebrated every year on December 2, tributes poured in for Swargadeo Chaolung Sukapha.

Context

Baguette the staple French bread has been inscribed into the UN’s list of intangible cultural heritage (ICH).

What is a Baguette?

• The baguette is a long and thin loaf made of flour, water, salt and yeast, and is consumed as a staple in France.
• Some believe that it was invented by August Zang, a baker and an entrepreneur from Vienna in 1839, who introduced the world to the taste of crusty bread with softer insides, using a steam oven.
• It gained its official name in 1920.
• The history of the bread is uncertain, some also believe that Napoleon Bonaparte ordered thin sticks of bread for consumption by his soldiers as they could be carried from one place to another more conveniently.

Why did France nominate it for the UN list?

• About 10 billion baguettes are consumed every year in France by a population of 67 million.
• It drew attention to the steady decline in the number of bakeries in the country as around 20,000 of them have closed down since 1970.
• In March 2021, France nominated the baguette as its candidate for consideration within the UNESCO ICH list.
• In 1970, there were 55,000 artisanal bakeries (one for every 790 residents) compared with 35,000 today (one for every 2,000), often in favour of baguettes produced industrially.

Back2Basics: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH)

• ICH means the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated with them that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as a part of their cultural heritage.
• Furthermore, its importance is not in the cultural manifestation itself, but in the wealth of knowledge, know-how and skills that are transmitted from one generation to the next.
• The adoption of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the ICH by the General Conference of UNESCO in 2003 was a crucial step towards preserving intangible heritage.
• UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity was established in the year 2008.

Criteria for the selection

• There are three criteria for an intangible cultural heritage to be inscribed in the United Nations list.
• The entity must-
  • be recognized by communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals as part of their cultural heritage,
  • be transmitted from generation to generation and be constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history and
  • provide them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity

India’s ICH on the UNESCO list

• Sangeet Natak Akademi is the nodal organisation which looks after this function, and files nominations of intangible cultural entities from India, for evaluation by the international body.
• ICG from India include Kolkata’s Durga Puja (2021), Kumbh Mela (2017), Navroz (2016), Yoga (2016), traditional brass and copper craft of utensil-making among coppersmiths of Punjab (2014), Sankirtana, a ritual musical performance of Manipur (2013), and the Buddhist chanting of Ladakh (2012).
• Before 2011, the list included Chhau dance, Kalbelia folk songs and dance of Rajasthan, and Mudiyettu, a dance drama from Kerala (2010), Ramman, a religious festival and theatre performance of Garhwal in the Himalayas (2009), and Kutiyattam or Sanskrit theatre, and Vedic chanting (2008).
• Ramlila, a traditional performance of Ramayana, was also included in 2008.
• This year, India nominated Garba, a traditional dance form that originated in the state of Gujarat, for inscription on UNESCO’s ICH list.

Source: Indian Express

Context

Recently, Maharashtra Tourism Minister Mangal Lodha triggered a controversy by equating Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s legendary Agra escape to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s defection from the Uddhav Thackeray-led camp in Maharashtra. His comments drew sharp criticism from political parties and other organisations that venerate Shivaji as a Maratha icon, with no parallel in the past or present.

Brief Political background of the issue

• Eknath Shinde’s “revolt” against party leadership and CM Uddhav Thackeray in June this year led to the fall of the coalition government of the Shiv Sena, NCP, and the Congress. He has since taken the reins of Maharashtra as its CM.

Who was Chhattrapati Shivaji Maharaj?

• Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (1630-1680): He was born on 19th February, 1630 at Shivneri Fort in District Pune in the present-day state of Maharashtra. He was born to a general Shahaji raje who served different Deccan Sultans over the course of his life and Jijabai, as known to be an influential and determined woman who was an embodiment of self-respect and virtue.
• Founder of Independent Maratha kingdom: Shivaji Maharaj was keen on expanding his father’s fiefdom of modern-day Pune into an independent Maratha state. He carved out an independent Maratha kingdom from various Deccan states in the 17th century. At the time of his death, he held around 300 forts over an area that stretched across the Konkan coast, from Surat to near Goa, and was overlooked by the strategic Western Ghats.
• Contemporary kingdoms and power struggle: At this point of time, several Sultanates (mainly Bijapur, Golkonda and Ahmadnagar) and the Mughals were vying for the control of the Deccan. As Mughal power grew, these Sultanates would become tributaries to the Mughal Empire (while often continuing to bicker among themselves) with the rulers and ruling clans being given positions in the Mughal court.
• Lifetime conflicts and fights for Swaraj: His conflict with the Adil Shahi Sultanate of Bijapur began when he was only 16. He would spend the rest of his life fighting various opponents, and in the process, laying the foundation for the Maratha Empire which would stretch across large parts of the Indian subcontinent and rule till the 19th Century.
• Importance of forts in his times: Early in his life, he realised that the key to holding power in the Deccan (or for that matter, many places in India in that era) was to capture and hold important forts. Thus, his strategies would be centred around taking control of forts in strategic locations, often on hilltops. He also repaired and built new forts as his sphere of control increased.

How is Shivaji Maharaj remembered?

• An inspiration to fight against the colonial rule: Shivaji remained a Maratha folk legend until two centuries after his death. It was the British Raj and the subsequent anti-colonial movement that marked his increasing stature in history and as a pan Indian hero.
• From a folk hero to a Pan India hero: Nationalist historians saw him as an example of an local Indian ruler who was able to successfully resist and defeat the powerful and oppressive “outsiders” (Muslim rulers, including both Mughals and the Deccan Sultans). Thus, Shivaji rose from being a folk hero to a nationalist icon, seen as a proto-nationalist himself.
• Tales of his bravery and just rule used to infuse motivation: Tales of his bravery were told to galvanise a population that was enduring emasculation and injustices under its British overlords. Over the 19th and 20th centuries, the narrative around Shivaji Maharaj emphasised on both his military heroism and his just rule.

Shivaji Maharaj and the Mughals

• Meteoric rise: Shivaji Maharaj’s meteoric rise posed challenges to the suzerainty of the Mughals. His first direct encounter with the Mughals was during Aurangzeb’s Deccan campaigns of the 1650s. As Aurangzeb went North to fight for the Mughal throne, Shivaji Maharaj was able to seize further territory.
• Swift and smart warfare tactics beyond understanding of the Mughals: His tactics against the Mughals were adapted to the specific nature of his force and the flabby Mughal armies. Using swift cavalry attacks, he would raid and pillage Mughal strongholds. While on the rare occasion he would engage in battle to actually capture and hold Mughal positions, most often, he would simply cause much menace, raid the treasury, and leave with the Mughals in terror and disarray.
• Well know Seize of Surat: Famously, in 1664, he attacked the port of Surat (now in Gujarat) and plundered one of the richest and busiest commercial towns of Mughal India while the local governor hid in a nearby fort.
• Posed a greatest challenge to Aurangzeb and subsequent treaty of Purandar: As the legend of Shivaji and the physical sphere of his influence grew, Aurangzeb sent a 100,000-strong, well-equipped army under Raja Jai Singh I to subdue him in 1665. After putting up a valiant fight, Shivaji was besieged in the Purandar hill fort.

The chronology of the great escape

• Taken to Agra after purandar treaty: He was taken to Aurangzeb’s court in Agra in 1666. He presented Aurangzeb with various gifts, but he felt slighted at the treatment he received in return, and made his displeasure clear in open court.
• Kept under strict House arrest: Aurangzeb put him under house arrest in Agra. Far away from home and help, Shivaji realised he needed to escape to save himself and his territories. He began to plot a plan to return home and keep up his fight against the Mughals.
• The perfect plan of escape: The story of Shivaji’s subsequent escape is now part of common lore. The popularly told story involves an elaborate plan, under which he began daily distribution of alms to brahmans. The alms would be sent from his home in Agra in large, covered baskets.
• The final escape right inder the nose of Mughals: After some time, the Mughal guards became lax about checking the contents of the baskets that daily left his house. One day, Shivaji slipped into one of the baskets, and put his young son, Sambhaji, in another basket. It was in these covered baskets that Shivaji and his son left Agra, right under the noses of the Mughals.
• Smart and swift movement in disguise from the Mughal territory: From there, he would traverse across Mughal territory, living incognito until he reached the safer lands closer to home. Some versions of this story say that he took the disguise of a wandering ascetic while others say he had a number of different disguises. His exact path is not known, though folktales and songs memorialising Shivaji often mention different towns and places he crossed.
• Embarrassed Aurangzeb regarded him as king himself: Aurangzeb was livid and embarrassed. But he chose not to start an immediate conflict with Shivaji again. Instead, he offered Shivaji the title of Raja and guaranteed his authority in the Maratha lands as long as he acknowledged the supremacy of the Mughals and maintained truce.

Coronation of Shivaji Maharaj to Chhatrapati and the ideal rule

• By 1669, Shivaji had regrouped and raised an effective army. Using his old guerilla tactics, he would swiftly descend into static Mughal and Bijapuri strongholds, looting and pillaging the shocked Mughals.
• During this time, Aurangzeb was occupied with Pathan revolts in the North-West corner of his Empire. Shivaji deftly regained his lost positions in the Konkan coast. In 1674, he crowned himself Chhatrapati, officially creating an independent Maratha kingdom.
• The next six years were spent expanding his rule and forging new political norms, replacing the prevailing Indo-Persian court culture. He promoted the use of Marathi and Sanskrit in his courts and created an elaborate administrative system with a council of ministers known as “Ashta Pradhan.”

Conclusion

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not just a name or a person but to many he is an idea, a life and inspiration for today and tomorrow, which has no parallel in the past or the present. His iron determination, valour, and dominance were the epitomes to follow. His courage knew no bounds.

GS-II

European Union governments tentatively agreed on a $60 a barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil, with an adjustment mechanism to keep the cap at 5% below the market price.

Russian oil price cap plan

• In September 2022, members of the G7 have agreed to impose a price cap on Russian oil in a bid to hit Moscow's ability to finance the war in Ukraine.
  • G7 is a group of the most developed and the advanced economies of the world.
  • US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan are the current members of this group.
  • G7 provides a platform to discuss and coordinate solutions to major global issues, especially in the areas of trade, security, economics, and climate change.
• The plan, however, doesn’t include Russian gas, which Europe is still quite dependent on.

Price cap plan

• The introduction of a price cap on Russian oil means countries that sign up to the policy will only be permitted to purchase Russian oil and petroleum products transported via sea that are sold at or below the price cap.
• The price cap is being designed to limit Russia from profiting from its war of aggression while limiting the impact on global energy prices.
• S. and EU officials have been trying to convince countries including India, China and Turkey to join the coalition or to at least support the price cap.
• As per them, price cap is in the interests of all oil buyers from Russia as it will give them leverage to lower purchase prices.

How will it be enforced?

• For countries that join the coalition, it would mean simply not buying Russian oil unless the price is reduced to where the cap is determined.
  • In other words, buyers could continue to buy Russian crude provided that they pay less than the agreed-upon maximum price.
• For countries that don’t join the coalition, or buy oil higher than the cap price, they would lose access to all services provided by the coalition countries.
  • Services provided by the coalition countries include: insurance, currency payment, facilitation and vessel clearances for their shipments.
  • Eg. - London is a major global centre for maritime insurance.
• G7 countries say they are aiming to reduce the price of oil, but not the quantity of oil that Russia sells, so as to control inflation globally while hurting the Russian economy.
• This could only work, of course, if all countries joined the coalition.

India’s response:

• India’s oil intake from Russia, which was minuscule prior to the war, has soared 50 times over.
• Indian government’s stand is believed to be driven by its national interest which, at this moment, is to provide affordable oil to Indian consumers.
  • India has made it clear that it will examine the prospect of a price cap on Russian oil and will respond according to its supreme national interest.
• Experts believe that India might not abide by the price cap as it is receiving oil at discounted price from Russia.

Source: The Hindu

Context

International Day of Persons with Disabilities is being observed on December 3, 2022.

Context

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched the first pilot of the retail digital rupee, also known as e₹-R, on December 1, 2022. The digital token that represents legal tender will be issued in the same denominations as paper currency and coins. The RBI’s pilot on the digital rupee will test the robustness of the new system. Let’s understand it in detail.

The first pilot project of retail digital rupee

• Allowed banks: Initially, only four banks- State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC First Bank in four cities have been allowed to offer e₹-R. The scope of the pilot will be increased gradually to include more banks, users and locations.
• Transaction: People will get e₹-R from banks and will be able to make transactions via their digital wallets. The digital rupee can be stored on mobile phones or devices.

What is a Central bank digital currency (CBDC)?

• Like fiat currency in digital form: CBDC is a legal tender issued by the central bank in digital form. Like rupee notes or coins, which are in physical form. Like fiat currency, it can also be exchanged between people. Simply, put it’s just like rupee (₹) notes but in digital form (e₹). You can also exchange e₹ for physical currency notes.
• Unlike fiat currency no need to have account: However, unlike fiat currency that’s usually stored in banks and hence their liability, CBDC is a liability on the RBI’s balance sheet. That’s why you don’t necessarily need to have a bank account to own a digital rupee.

Why do we need CBDC?

• Cost efficient management: CBDC will cut the cost related to physical cash management. India spent ₹4,984.80 crore on printing money in FY22 and ₹4,012.10 crore a year before that. These expenses are borne by people, businesses, banks and the RBI. e₹ cuts all kinds of printing, storage, transportation and replacement and settlement costs. Though the RBI will invest a significant amount in building CBDC infrastructure, subsequent marginal operating costs will be very low.
• Boost to digital economy and financial inclusion: It’ll fulfil the higher cash requirement of the country. The government will be able to make money available in areas where it’s a challenge to provide physical cash. Also, it’ll boost India’s digital economy, enhance financial inclusion, and make the financial system efficient.
• People will have money in uncertain times: Since e₹ is the central bank money, in any uncertain situation like COVID-19, it’ll save people’s savings. Banks only insure deposits up to Rs 5 lakh. In case of defaults, people could lose their savings.
• Multiple saving and transaction options: e₹ will provide you with other options like e-wallets, mobile banking, and UPI to make payments.
• Much safer payment option: e₹ is a safe central bank instrument, with direct access to the RBI money for payment and settlement. It is an electronic version of cash, whose main use case is retail.

Will CBDC replace UPI?

• Not expected to substitute but supplement payment option: The CBDC-based payment system is not expected to substitute other modes of existing payment options. It will supplement by providing another payment avenue to people.
• India already has a sound payment system: UPI uses your money deposited with banks but with CBDC, the money becomes the liability of RBI India already has a sound payment system, with payment products like RTGS, NEFT and UPI, etc., coupled with an exponential increase in digital transactions.

No interest on e₹? but why?

• No interest on digital money: According to the RBI, if it starts paying interest on digital money, it could lead to a massive disintermediation in the financial system, in which banks will lose deposits, and thus hurt their credit creation capacity in the economy.
• Rationale behind No interest on digital rupee: Banks may be compelled to increase deposit rates, which will increase their costs of funding and decrease net interest income. Ultimately, the cost will be passed on to borrowers.
• CBDC will be attractive payment option without interest: If there is no interest, CBDC can still be attractive as a medium of payment, even while its attractiveness as a savings instrument diminishes. Also, banks would restrain themselves from distributing CBDCs if they find it as a threat to bank deposits, which can hamper credit flows and the adoption of CBDCs.

How will CBDC be different from crypto?

• CBDC is Algorithm based unlike crypto mining: The central bank will be issuing CBDCs based on algorithm-driven processes, rather than mining through competitive reward methods. These algorithms will have energy efficiency and environmental friendliness as their core principles, unlike private crypto mining.
• Less energy consumption unlike crypto: Therefore, issuance and management of CBDCs are expected to have much lesser energy consumption vis-à-vis more energy-intensive processes normally associated with the mining and distribution of private cryptocurrencies.
• Legal consumer protection: Unlike private cryptos wherein any individual can compete to mine and create the cryptocurrency, only the central bank can issue the CBDC and can simply opt for conversion of the bank’s existing balances to CBDC balances. So, CBDCs will provide the public with the benefits of virtual currencies, while ensuring consumer protection by avoiding the damaging social and economic consequences of private virtual currencies.

Why India needs a digital rupee?

• Online transactions: India is a leader in digital payments, but cash remains dominant for small-value transactions.
• High currency in circulation: India has a fairly high currency-to-GDP ratio.
• Cost of currency management: An official digital currency would reduce the cost of currency management while enabling real-time payments without any inter-bank settlement.

Conclusion

• e₹-R is a digital token that has real value like rupee notes or coins. CBDC will make transactions and currency exchange smoother, and it’ll boost financial inclusion. The RBI’s pilot on the digital rupee will test the robustness of the new system.

Source: The Hindu

The centre has introduced paperless entry at select airports to make air travel hassle-free under the DigiYatra initiative.

• DigiYatra envisages that travellers pass through various checkpoints at the airport through paperless and contactless processing.
• This means, passengers won’t need to carry their ID card and boarding pass.
• This would rather use facial features to establish their identity, which would be linked to the boarding pass.
• With this technology, the entry of passengers would be automatically processed based on the facial recognition system at all checkpoints – including entry into the airport, security check areas, aircraft boarding, etc.

• In the first phase, the initiative will be launched at seven airports, starting with three — Delhi, Bengaluru, and Varanasi.
• It will then be followed by four airports namely Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, and Vijayawada by March 2023.
• Subsequently, the technology will be implemented across the country.

• The project is being implemented by the DigiYatra Foundation — a joint-venture company whose shareholders are the Airports Authority of India (26% stake) and Bengaluru Airport, Delhi Airport, Hyderabad Airport, Mumbai Airport and Cochin International Airport.
• These five shareholders equally hold the remaining 74% of the shares.

• For availing the service, a passenger has to register their details on the DigiYatra app using Aadhaar-based validation and a self-image capture.
• In the next step, the boarding pass has to be scanned, and the credentials are shared with airport authorities.
• At the airport e-gate, the passenger has to first scan the bar coded boarding pass and the facial recognition system installed at the e-gate will validate the passenger’s identity and travel document.
• Once this process is done, the passenger can enter the airport through the e-gate.
• The passenger will have to follow the normal procedure to clear security and board the aircraft.

Source: The Hindu