UPSC Daily Current Affairs- 30th December 2022 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS - I 

Context

The Indian National Congress (INC), India’s largest opposition party, marked its 138th foundation day on December 28.

How the Congress was founded?

• The English bureaucrat Allan Octavian Hume or AO Hume is credited as the founder of the organisation.
• On December 28, 1885, 72 social reformers, journalists and lawyers congregated for the first session of the INC at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College, Bombay.
• At that point, the aim of this group was not to demand independence from the ongoing colonial rule but to influence the policies of the British government in favour of Indians.

Transformation towards the demand for independence

• Over the next few years, the party’s work continued, to shift the colonial administrators’ attitudes and policies on the rights and powers allowed to Indians.
• The party largely consisted of educated, upper-class people who were likely to have studied abroad. But with time, this grouping became more diverse, as the organisation began setting up provincial organisations.
• At its Eleventh Session in 1895, there was an increase in the number of delegates from 1,163 the previous year to 1,584. President Surendranath Banerjea congratulated the Congress for bringing together “the scattered element of a vast and diversified population.”

Splits and reconvening

• In Surat in 1906, the divisions between the ‘moderates’ led by Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Surendranath Banerjea, and the ‘extremists’ led by Bal Gangadhar Tilak came to the fore and there was a split. While Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai wanted the Congress to boycott the visit of the Prince of Wales in protest against the Bengal Partition a year prior, the moderates opposed any such move.
• But by 1915, the Bombay session saw these two groups coming together again as one.

Source: The Hindu

Maharashtra state government is planning to rename the city of Ahmednagar as ‘Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Nagar’, after the 18th century Malwa queen.

About:

Who is Ahilyabai Holkar?

• Ahilyabai (1725 -1795) was one of the women rulers of Medieval India who belongs to the Holkar dynasty of the Maratha Empire.
• She was married Khanderao Holkar in 1733 at the tender age of 8. Her husband was killed in the battle of Kumbher in 1754.
• Ahilyabai is famous for having built numerous forts and roads in the Malwa region, sponsoring festivals and offering donations to many Hindu temples. Her philanthropy was reflected in the construction of several temples, ghats, wells, tanks and rest houses stretching across the length of the country.
• She welcomed stalwarts such as Marathi poet Moropant, Shahir Ananta Gandhi, and Sanskrit scholar Khushali Ram into her capital.
• John Keay, the British historian, gave the queen the title of ‘The Philosopher Queen’. She had been an acute observer of the wider political scene.

Source: The Hindu

GS-II

Context

Recently, the Union Government tabled the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022 in Parliament.

• The objective is to “decriminalize” 183 offences across 42 legislations and enhance the ease of living and doing business in India.
• Some Acts that are amended by the Bill include: the Indian Post Office Act, 1898, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991, and the Information Technology Act, 2000.

What are the Highlights of the Bill?

• Decriminalizing Certain Offences:
  • Under the Bill, several offences with an imprisonment term in certain Acts have been decriminalised by imposing only a monetary penalty.
  • For example:
    • Under the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937, counterfeiting grade designation marks is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of up to five thousand rupees. Grade designation mark indicates the quality of an article under the 1937 Act.
  • The Bill replaces this with a penalty of eight lakh rupees.
  • Under the Information Technology Act, 2000, disclosing personal information in breach of a lawful contract is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years, or a fine of up to five lakh rupees, or both.
  • The Bill replaces this with a penalty of up to 25 lakh rupees.
  • In certain Acts, offences have been decriminalised by imposing a penalty instead of a fine.
  • For instance, under the Patents Act, 1970, a person selling a falsely represented article as patented in India is subject to a fine of up to one lakh rupees.
  • The Bill replaces the fine with a penalty, which may be up to ten lakh rupees. In case of a continuing claim, there shall be an additional penalty of one thousand rupees per day.
• Revision of Fines and Penalties:
  • The Bill increases the fines and penalties for various offences in the specified Acts.
  • Further, these fines and penalties will be increased by 10% of the minimum amount every three years.
• Appointing Adjudicating Officers:
  • As per the Bill, the central government may appoint one or more adjudicating officers for the purpose of determining penalties. The adjudicating officers may: (i) summon individuals for evidence, and (ii) conduct inquiries into violations of the respected Acts.
• Appellate Mechanisms:
  • The Bill also specifies the appellate mechanisms for any person aggrieved by the order passed by an adjudicating officer.
  • For instance, in the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, appeals may be filed with the National Green Tribunal within 60 days from the order.

Why has the Bill been Introduced?

• Rise in Criminal Cases:
  • For decades, scholars of law have been concerned that criminal law has grown unprincipledly.
  • As per the National Judicial Data Grid, of the 4.3 crore pending cases, nearly 3.2 crore cases are in relation to criminal proceedings.
• Political Motives:
  • As opposed to punishing wrongful conduct, criminalization often becomes a tool for governments to project a strong image.
  • Governments offer little in the way of justifications to support such decisions. This phenomenon has been termed “overcriminalisation” by scholars.
• Overcrowding of Prisons:
  • As per the National Crime Records Bureau’s Prison Statistics of 2021, a total of 5.54 lakh prisoners were confined in prisons against a capacity of 4.25 lakh.

What is the Scope of the Bill?

• The Bill might undertake ‘quasi-decriminalisation’.
• The Observer Research Foundation’s report titled Jailed for Doing Business found that there are more than 26,134 imprisonment clauses in a total of 843 economic legislations, rules and regulations which seek to regulate businesses and economic activities in India.
• In this light, the number of offences deregulated under the Bill seems to be a mere drop in India’s regulatory framework.
• The regulatory offences to be considered for ‘decriminalisation’ need to be prioritised not only from the point of view of the ease of doing business but also from the points of view of the ills that plague our criminal justice system itself.
• The bill conforms to the understanding of the government that decriminalization should be limited to regulatory domains.

Source: The Hindu

The border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka is intensifying, with both states passing a unanimous resolution to support a legal battle to resolve the dispute 

What is Maharashtra-Karnataka Border Dispute?

• About:
  • The border dispute over Belagavi, Karwar and Nipani in North Karnataka is long-standing.
  • When state boundaries were redrawn on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act of 1956, Belagavi became part of the erstwhile Mysore state.
  • The Act was based on the findings of the Justice Fazal Ali Commission which was appointed in 1953 and submitted its report two years later.
  • Maharashtra claims that parts of Belagavi, where Marathi is the dominant language, should remain in Maharashtra.
  • In October 1966, the Centre set up the Mahajan Commission, led by former Chief Justice of India Mehr Chand Mahajan, to resolve the border dispute in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala.
  • The Commission recommended that Belgaum and 247 villages remain with Karnataka. Maharashtra rejected the report, and in 2004, moved the Supreme Court.
• Basis of Maharashtra’s Claim:
  • Maharashtra’s claim to seek the readjustment of its border was on the basis of contiguity, relative linguistic majority and wishes of the people. If the claim over Belagavi and surrounding areas was based on Marathi-speaking people and linguistic homogeneity, it laid its claim over Karwar and Supa where Konkani is spoken by citing Konkani as a dialect of Marathi.
  • Its argument was based on the theory of villages being the unit for calculation and enumerated linguistic population in each village. Maharashtra also points out the historical fact that the revenue records in these Marathi-speaking areas are also kept in Marathi.
• Karnataka’s Position:
  • Karnataka has argued that the settlement of boundaries as per the States Reorganisation Act is final.
  • The boundary of the State was neither tentative nor flexible. The State argues that the issue would reopen border issues that have not been contemplated under the Act, and that such a demand should not be permitted.

How is the Issue Being Resolved?

• Attempts are often made to resolve inter-state disputes with the cooperation of both sides, with the Centre working as a facilitator or a neutral mediator.
• If issues are resolved amicably, Parliament can bring a law to alter state boundaries, such as the Bihar-Uttar Pradesh (Alteration of Boundaries) Act of 1968 and the Haryana-Uttar Pradesh (Alteration of Boundaries) Act of 1979.
• In the Belagavi issue, Union Home Minister Amit Shah met Chief Ministers of both states and asked them to form a six-member team, comprising three ministers from each side, to address all boundary issues.

What are the other Methods Available?

• Judicial Redressal:
  • The Supreme Court in its original jurisdiction decides disputes between states.
  • As per Article 131 of the Constitution reads, the Supreme Court have original jurisdiction in any dispute between the Government of India and one or more States or between the Government of India and any State or between two or more states.
• Inter-state Council:
  • Article 263 of the Constitution gives powers to the President to set up an Inter-state Council for resolution of disputes between states.
  • The Council is envisaged as a forum for discussion between the states and the Centre.
  • In 1988, the Sarkaria Commission suggested that the Council should exist as a permanent body, and in 1990 it came into existence through a Presidential Order.

Way Forward

• Boundary disputes between the states can be settled by using satellite mapping of the actual border locations.
• Reviving the Inter-state council can be an option for resolution of an Inter-state dispute.
• Under Article 263 of the Constitution, the Inter-state council is expected to inquire and advise on disputes, discuss subjects common to all states and make recommendations for better policy coordination.
• Similarly, Zonal councils need to be revived to discuss the matters of common concern to states in each zone—matters relating to social and economic planning, border disputes, inter-state transport, etc.
• India is the epitome of unity in diversity. However, to strengthen this unity furthermore, both the centre and state governments need to imbibe the ethos of cooperative federalism.

Source: Indian Express

GS-III

Context

Recently, U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc said that its experimental gene therapy for the treatment of haemophilia B, met its main goal in a late-stage study.

About:

• Data from the study showed that a single dose of the therapy was superior to the current standard of care in helping reduce the bleeding rate in patients with moderately severe to severe forms of hemophilia B.

What is Haemophilia?

• It is a medical condition, mostly inherited, in which the ability of blood to clot is severely reduced. 
• This disease is caused by a mutation in one of the genes, that provides instructions for making the clotting factor proteins needed to form a blood clot.
• This change or mutation can prevent the clotting protein from working properly or to be missing altogether. These genes are located on the X chromosome.
• Men are more vulnerable to haemophilia than women. It is a rare disease where in about 1 in 10,000 people are born with it.

Source: PIB

Context

Astronomers and scientists at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), while studying the Omega Centauri found that hot stars and white dwarfs emitted less ultraviolet radiation than expected.

About:

• A team of Scientists at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics detected strange hot stars in the Globular clusters using the Ultra Violet Imaging Telescope (UVIT) images on AstroSat (India’s first dedicated space observatory, which has been operating since 2015).

What are Globular clusters?

• Globular clusters are spherical aggregates of several thousand to millions of stars bound by gravity. These systems are thought to have formed early on in the Universe and can serve as perfect astrophysical laboratories for astronomers to understand how stars evolve through various phases.
• Omega Centauri is a globular cluster in the constellation of Centaurus that was first identified as a non-stellar object by Edmond Halley in 1677.
• Located at a distance of 17,090 light-years, it is the largest-known globular cluster in the Milky Way at a diameter of roughly 150 light-years.

What is Galaxy?

• A galaxy is a huge collection of gas, dust, and billions of stars and their solar systems bound together by gravity.
• Milky Way, is stuffed with between 100 billion and 400 billion other stars, many of them with planets of their own. The Milky Way got its name from the way it looks from the ground: like a streak of spilt milk across the sky .

Source: Indian Express