UPSC Daily Current Affairs - 20th December 2022 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

Context

President Droupadi Murmu tweeted her greetings to the nation on December 19, marking Goa Liberation Day, which is celebrated annually to mark the success of ‘Operation Vijay’ undertaken by the Indian armed forces to defeat Portuguese colonial forces and liberate Goa in 1961.

About Goa Liberation Day:

• The Indian government finally declared that Goa should join India “either with full peace or with full use of force”.
• December 18 and 19, 1961 saw a full-fledged military operation termed ‘Operation Vijay’, which was carried out with little resistance and an instrument of surrender was signed, leading to Goa’s annexation by India.

History of Goa:

• The Portuguese colonial presence in Goa began in 1510, when Alfonso de Albuquerque defeated the ruling Bijapur king with the help of a local ally, Timayya, and subsequently established a permanent settlement in Velha Goa (or Old Goa).
• During the Napoleonic Wars, Goa was briefly occupied by the British between 1812 and 1815.
• In 1843, the capital was moved to Panjim from Velha Goa.
• Portuguese colonial rule also saw the advent and growth of Christianity in Goa.

Goa’s Independence:

• By the turn of the twentieth century, Goa had started to witness an upsurge of nationalist sentiment opposed to Portugal’s colonial rule.
• Leaders such Tristão de Bragança Cunha, celebrated as the father of Goan nationalism, founded the Goa National Congress at the Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress in 1928.
• In 1946, the socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia led a historic rally in Goa that gave a call for civil liberties and freedom, and eventual integration with India, which became a watershed moment in Goa’s freedom struggle.
• Post-1947, Portugal refused to negotiate with independent India on the transfer of sovereignty of their Indian enclaves.
• After Portugal became part of the US-led Western military alliance NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) in 1949, Goa too became part of the anti-Soviet alliance by extension.
• Fearing a collective Western response to a possible attack on Goa, the Indian government continued to lay stress on diplomacy.
• As India aggressively championed the Non-Aligned Movement, decolonisation, and anti-imperialism as pillars of its policy, the continuation of colonial rule in Portugal became increasingly unsustainable.

Source:  Indian Express

Context

Recently Cambridge scholar claims to have solved Sanskrit’s biggest puzzle—a grammar problem found in the ‘Ashtadhyayi’, an ancient text written by the scholar Panini towards the end of the 4th century BC.

About Panini, the ‘father of linguistics’:

• Panini probably lived in the 4th century BC, the age of the conquests of Alexander and the founding of the Mauryan Empire.
• He has also been dated to the 6th century BC, the age of The Buddha and Mahavira.
• He likely lived in Salatura (Gandhara), which today would lie in north-west Pakistan.
• Panini was probably associated with the great university at Taksasila, which also produced Kautilya and Charaka, the ancient Indian masters of statecraft and medicine respectively.

About Ashtadhyayi

• ‘Ashtadhyayi’, or ‘Eight Chapters’ – Panini’s great grammar
• It is a linguistics text that set the standard for how Sanskrit was meant to be written and spoken.
• The Ashtadhyayi laid down more than 4,000 grammatical rules, couched in a sort of shorthand, which employs single letters or syllables for the names of the cases, moods, persons, tenses, etc. in which linguistic phenomena are classified.

Significance of Asthadhyayi:

• By the time it was composed, Sanskrit had virtually reached its classical form — and developed little thereafter, except in its vocabulary.
• Panini’s grammar, which built on the work of many earlier grammarians, effectively stabilized the Sanskrit language.
• Panini’s grammar is one of the greatest intellectual achievements of any ancient civilization, and the most detailed and scientific grammar composed before the 19th century in any part of the world.
• The earlier works had recognised the root as the basic element of a word, and had classified some 2,000 monosyllabic roots which, with the addition of prefixes, suffixes and inflexions, were thought to provide all the words of the language.
• Commentaries on Panini includes Mahabhasya of Patanjali (2nd century BC) and the Kashika Vritti of Jayaditya and Vamana (7th century AD).

Source: Indian Express

GS-II

Context

The Lok Sabha recently witnessed a rare display of unity between the government and opposition benches as the Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill 2019 was passed almost unanimously.

The Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill 2019:

• Background:
  • The 1982 UNCLOS defines piracy to include any acts of violence, detention or destruction committed for private ends against persons or property on board a ship on the high seas or outside the jurisdiction of any state.
  • Acts of piracy threaten maritime security by endangering the welfare of people travelling by sea and the security of navigation and commerce.
  • As per the International Maritime Organisation, during 2018 and 2019, 84 acts of piracy were reported globally.
  • Currently, India does not have a domestic legislation on maritime piracy and the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) pertaining to armed robbery and the admiralty jurisdiction of certain courts have been invoked to prosecute pirates.
  • However, the sovereignty of India extends only up to the territorial waters of India (12 nautical miles from the coastline) and the piratical acts by a foreigner committed outside the territorial waters of India do not constitute an offence under the IPC.
  • In 1995, India ratified the UNCLOS, which gives a uniform international legal framework for combating piracy and consequently the Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019 was introduced and has been referred to the Standing Committee on External Affairs.
• Highlights of the Bill:
  • It enables Indian authorities to take action against piracy in the high seas, beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), i.e., beyond 200 nautical miles from India’s coastline.
  • It defines piracy as any illegal act of violence, detention or destruction against a ship, aircraft, person or property, for private purposes, by the crew or passengers of a private ship or aircraft.
  • Piracy also includes inciting and intentionally facilitating such acts of violence, and voluntarily participating in the operation of a pirate ship or aircraft.
  • Committing an act of piracy will be punishable with -
    • Up to 14 years of imprisonment and a fine, for participating, organising, aiding, and directing others to participate in an act of piracy.
    • Life imprisonment or death, if the act of piracy causes or seeks to cause death.
• Key issues and analysis:
  • A mandatory death penalty
    • Under the Bill, if a person, while committing an act of piracy causes or seeks to cause death, he will be punished with death. This implies a mandatory death penalty for such offences. 
    • The Supreme Court has held that mandatory death penalty for any offence is unconstitutional as it violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.    
  • Overlapping circumstances
    • The Bill provides for imprisonment of up to 14 years if a person participates in an act of piracy.
    • Committing an act of piracy (which includes voluntarily participating in the operation of a pirate ship or aircraft) is punishable with life imprisonment.
    • As these circumstances may overlap, it is unclear how the punishment would be determined in such cases.

Source: The Hindu

Context

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah presided over the 25th Eastern Zonal Council meeting .

Aim of Zonal councils:

• To solve inter-State problems and foster balanced socio-economic development of the respective zones.
• To develop the habit of cooperative working among these States

Zonal Councils:

• The idea of creation of Zonal Councils was mooted by the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru in 1956
• Five Zonal Councils were set up vide Part-III of the States Re-organisation Act, 1956 – north, south, east, west and central.
• The North Eastern States i.e. (i) Assam (ii) Arunachal Pradesh (iii) Manipur (iv) Tripura (v) Mizoram (vi) Meghalaya and (vii) Nagaland are not included in the Zonal Councils
• Their special problems are looked after by the North Eastern Council, set up under the North Eastern Council Act, 1972.
• The State of Sikkim has also been included in North Eastern Council vide North Eastern Council (Amendment) Act, 2002.

Organisational structure:

• Chairman – The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each of these Councils.
• Vice Chairman – The Chief Ministers of the States included in each zone act as Vice-Chairman of the Zonal Council for that zone by rotation, each holding office for a period of one year at a time.
• Members- Chief Minister and two other Ministers as nominated by the Governor from each of the States and two members from Union Territories included in the zone.
• Advisers– One person nominated by the Planning Commission for each of the Zonal Councils, Chief Secretaries and another officer/Development Commissioner nominated by each of the States included in the Zone
• Each Zonal Council has set up a Standing Committee consisting of Chief Secretaries of the member States of their respective Zonal Councils.
• Union Ministers are also invited to participate in the meetings of Zonal Councils depending upon necessity.
• Each Zonal Council shall meet at such time as the Chairman of the Council may appoint in this behalf.
• Since their inception in 1957, the Zonal Councils have met 106 times.

Role & Objective:

• Bringing out national integration
• Arresting the growth of acute State consciousness, regionalism, linguism and particularistic tendencies;
• Enabling the Centre and the States to co-operate and exchange ideas and experiences;
• Establishing a climate of co-operation amongst the States for successful and speedy execution of development projects.

Functions:

• Each Zonal Council is an advisory body and may discuss any matter in which States have a common interest and advise the Government.
• In particular, a Zonal Council may discuss, and make recommendations with regard to:
• any matter of common interest in the field of economic and social planning;
• any matter concerning border disputes, linguistic minorities or inter-State transport;
• any matter connected with or arising out of, the re-organization of the States under the State’s Reorganisation Act.

Source: PIB

GS-III

Context

The Tal Chhapar blackbuck sanctuary in Rajasthan has received a protective cover against a proposed move of the State government to reduce the size of its eco-sensitive zone.

• The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) has taken up a major project for the conservation of raptors in the sanctuary, spread in an area measuring 7.19 sq. km.
• The court recently ordered a “complete prohibition” on any action to reduce the wildlife sanctuary’s area.

Tal Chhapar blackbuck sanctuary:

• District: Churu, Rajasthan
• Nokha-Sikar highway passes through the sanctuary
• Jaswantgarh forest block in Nagaur district is situated at a short distance from Tal Chhapar.

Biodiversity:

• About 4,000 blackbucks, over 40 species of raptors and more than 300 species of resident and migratory birds.
• The raptors, which include predators and scavengers, are on top of the food chain and control the populations of small mammals, birds and reptiles as well as insects.
• The sanctuary earlier had a large population of desert foxes and similar burrowing animals, while the large colonies of the only herbivorous lizard, the spiny-tailed lizard, exist as the prey base for raptors.
• Migratory birds arrive here for their winter sojourn.

Threats:

• Increase in human population around the sanctuary, and unplanned and rampant construction activities.
• Hyper-aridity, grazing pressure, the invasive weed Prosopis juliflora, and salt mines in the vicinity.
• The sanctuary’s area is insufficient for its large blackbuck population.

Initiatives:

• WWF-India’s Raptor Conservation Programme – recording the numbers of birds of prey and their population trends, behaviour and feeding habits would give an insight on how they were thriving or declining.

Black buck:

• The blackbuck also known as the Indian antelope, is an antelope found in India, Nepal, and Pakistan.
• The blackbuck is the sole extant member of the genus Antilope.
• In India, hunting of blackbuck is prohibited under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
• The blackbuck is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List.
• Blackbuck is believed to be the second-fastest animal after Cheetah.
• Punjab’s State animal: Blackbuck
• Blackbucks have religious significance in Hindu mythology and the Bishnoi tribe of Rajasthan is famous for its conservation efforts for Blackbuck.

Source: The Hindu

Global Biodiversity Framework

Context

Over 190 nations adopt landmark biodiversity pact to restore natural ecosystems

Aim:

• To restore natural ecosystems.
• countries agreed to protect 30 percent of the planet by 2030.
• Reducing pesticides use by half
• Raising annual international financial flows from developed to developing countries to at least 20 billion dollars by 2025, and to at least 30 billion dollars by 2030.
• To reduce harmful government subsidies worth 500 billion dollars annually, while vowing to identify subsidies that are harmful to biodiversity by 2025.

About Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF):

• Established at the UN Biodiversity Conference, COP15 in Montreal
• GBF is considered equivalent to the Paris Agreement on climate change in terms of its significance for protecting biodiversity.
• The countries pledged to achieve 23 targets to reverse ecosystem degradation under four overarching goals for the survival of the natural world.

Significance for India:

• The biodiversity plan gives India legroom on continuing farm subsidies and pesticide use.
• This has been a priority for India, which has been voluntarily pitching for natural farming in a big way

Source: Newsonair

Context

In a historic UN Biodiversity agreement, over 190 countries agreed to protect 30% of the planet by 2030, while pledging to achieve 23 targets to reverse ecosystem degradation under four overarching goals for survival of the natural world.

United Nations Biodiversity Conference:

• The UN Biodiversity Conference is the regular meeting of the countries who have signed (and are therefore ‘parties to’) the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
  • CBD is an international agreement for conserving biodiversity with the vision of “living in harmony with nature by 2050”.
  • The convention was adopted at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992.
• The first Conference of the Parties to the convention (COP 1) took place in Nassau, Bahamas in 1994.
  • The COP is the arena for international governments to meet and review progress on the convention and establish new measures needed to support its goals.
• The objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity encompass both social and economic aspects:
  • the conservation of biological diversity;
  • the sustainable use of its components; and
  • the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits of biological diversity.

What has been achieved so far?

• Areas of progress in biodiversity conservation include:
  • The incorporation of biodiversity values into national accounting systems;
  • A decline in the rate of deforestation globally of about one-third in 2020 compared with the previous decade;
  • The expansion of protected terrestrial and marine areas and areas of particular importance for biodiversity;
  • An increase in available data and information on biodiversity;
  • A doubling of financial resources available for biodiversity through international flows.
• The conferences have also seen the adoption of supplementary agreements, including the –
  • Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2000), on managing the movement of living modified organisms from one country to another and
  • the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing (2010), which aims to ensure that the benefits of genetic resources – which refers to living organisms with perceived value – are managed or distributed in a fair and equitable way.
• Along with the Nagoya Protocol, the COP-10 also adopted a ten-year framework for action by all countries to save biodiversity.
• Officially known as "Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020", it provided a set of 20 ambitious yet achievable targets collectively known as the Aichi Targets for biodiversity.

Countries as part of the Convention

• A total of 196 countries (including India) are party to the Convention on Biological Diversity – although the United States is notably absent.
• Each country is required to set National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) detailing how the principles of the conservation and sustainable use of biological resources will be integrated into their country’s national policies.

About Conference of Parties 15 (COP15):

• COP15 has been split into two parts, the first was held online in October 2021.
• The second part was recently held in Montreal, Canada.
• The COP15 was significant in the sense that a new ‘post-2020 global biodiversity framework’ was expected to be finalised and it has been finalised.
• UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called this conference an opportunity to “call a ceasefire” on the human-inflicted destruction of ecosystems, which he has labelled a “suicidal war against nature”.

News Summary:

• Under the presidency of China, the 15^th Conference of Parties (COP15) of the UN Biodiversity took place in Montreal, Canada from 7^th December to 19^th December, 2022.
• The parties have reached a historic deal that would represent the most significant effort to protect the world’s lands and oceans and provide critical financing to save biodiversity in the developing world.

Highlights of the Framework:

• The deal calls for raising $200 billion by 2030 for biodiversity from a range of sources.
• As a part of the financing package, the framework asks for increasing to at least $20 billion annually by 2025 the money that goes to poor countries.
  • That number would increase to $30 billion each year by 2030.
• Under the deal, countries have agreed to reduce harmful government subsidies worth $500 billion annually.
• The agreement also obliges countries to monitor and report every five years or less on a large set of headlines and other indicators related to progress against the GBF’s goals and targets.
• The next COP i.e., COP16 will be held in Turkey in 2024.

Source: Indian Express