Weekly Current Affairs (1st to 7th January 2023) Part - 2 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Crypto Awareness Campaign

Context: The Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) will launch an outreach programme to create awareness of Cryptocurrencies and Online Gaming.

What is the Outreach Programme?

• The need for the outreach programme is based on the observation that both crypto-assets and online gaming (that extends to gambling and betting) are still being promoted in a risky manner despite the recent turmoil in the sector.
• The programme will help potential investors to thoroughly educate themselves before making any decision since cryptocurrency investing is a complex and risky endeavour.

What is the IEPF?

• It is managed by the IEPF Authority, which was set up in 2016 under the provisions of Section 125 of the Companies Act, 2013.
• The Authority is entrusted with the responsibility of administration of the IEPF, which, besides promoting awareness among investors, makes refunds of shares, unclaimed dividends, matured deposits and debentures and so on to rightful claimants.
• As for investment education, the idea is to reach out to household investors, housewives and professionals alike in rural and urban areas and teach them the basics.
• Focus areas include primary and secondary capital markets, various saving instruments, the instruments for investment (such as mutual funds, equity, among others), making investors aware of dubious Ponzi and chit fund schemes and existing grievance redressal mechanisms, among other things.

Why is there a Concern about Cryptocurrency?

• The crypto dilemma stems from concerns about the unregulated currency having a destabilising effect on the monetary and fiscal stability of a country.
• Further, crypto exchanges in India are being investigated for their alleged involvement in unlawful practices such as drug trafficking, money laundering, violating foreign exchange legislation and evasion of GST (Goods and Services Tax).
  • As on December 2022, Rs 907.48 crore have been attached/seized, three persons have been arrested and four prosecution complaints have been filed before the Special Court, Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
• The immutable, public nature of the blockchain makes crypto a poor choice for money laundering because it allows law enforcement to uncover and trace money laundering far easier than cash transactions.”
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recommended framing legislation on the sector. It is of the view that cryptocurrencies should be prohibited.

What about Online Gaming?

• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has been appointed the nodal industry for online gaming in India; for e-sports, the nodal agency is the Department of Sports, under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
• A proposed framework for Central regulation by MeitY is expected to address issues faced by the sector.
• For instance, there is confusion about the definitions of a ‘game of chance’ like fantasy games, and a ‘game of skill’, a term which has been used in the Public Gaming Act (1867) but has not been spelt out. There are risks from cybercrimes as well.
• In a ‘game of skill’, while the element of chance cannot be entirely ruled out, it is the ‘element of skill’ (mental or physical skill of the user) that plays a dominant role in determining the outcome of the game rather than pure chance.
• As per several rulings of the Supreme Court and several High Courts clearly establish ‘Games of Skill’ as legitimate business activities protected under Article 19(1)(g) of the Indian Constitution.
• These rulings have also emphasized a clear distinction between ‘Games of Skill’ and ‘Games of Chance’.
• Despite these court rulings, online skill games have faced restrictions in a few States due to addiction, financial losses and the thin line between skill and chance.

Way Forward

• Apart from the outreach programme, there has to be a regulatory mechanism for the crypto sector.
• If the government takes a heavy-handed approach and starts saying things like virtual currency is not legal in India, that will not be entirely true. People may presume incorrectly that it is illegal, and One may be indulging in unlawful transactions like money laundering using crypto assets. But unlawful transactions can also be executed using legal banking channels as well.

Draft Rules for Online Gaming

Context: Recently, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has released the Draft Rules for Online Gaming.

• The proposed rules have been introduced as an amendment to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

What are the Draft Rules?

Self Regulatory Body:

• Online games will have to register with a self-regulatory body, and only games cleared by the body will be allowed to legally operate in India.
• The self-regulatory body will have a board of directors with five members from diverse fields, including online gaming, public policy, IT, psychology and medicine.
• There could be more than one self-regulatory body and all of them will have to inform the Centre about the games they have registered along with a report detailing the criteria for registering.

Due Diligence:

• Online gaming firms will be required to undertake additional due diligence, including KYC of users, transparent withdrawal and refund of money, and a fair distribution of winnings.
• For KYC, they will have to follow norms laid down for entities regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Random Number Generation Certificate:

• Gaming companies will also have to secure a Random Number Generation Certificate, which is typically used by platforms that offer card games to ensure that game outputs are statistically random and unpredictable.
• They will also have to get a “no bot certificate” from a reputed certifying body.

Restrictions on Betting:

• Online gaming companies will not be allowed to engage in betting on the outcome of games.

Compliance:

• Similar to social media and e-commerce companies, online gaming platforms will also have to appoint a compliance officer who will ensure that the platform is following norms, a nodal officer who will act as a liaison official with the government and assist law enforcement agencies, and a grievance officer who will resolve user complaints.

What is the Need for the Rules?

• Around 40 to 45 % of the gamers in India are women, and therefore it was all the more important to keep the gaming ecosystem safe.
• It is believed to be a great first step for comprehensive regulation for online gaming and will reduce the state-wise regulatory fragmentation that was a big challenge for the industry.
• The revenue of the Indian mobile gaming industry is expected to reach USD 5 billion in 2025.
• The industry grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 38% in India between 2017-2020, as opposed to 8 % in China and 10% in the US.
• It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15 % to reach Rs 153 billion in revenue by 2024, as per a report by VC firm Sequoia and management consulting company BCG.

Jain Community Protests

Context: The Jain community has been protesting over demands related to two holy sites — Sammed Shikhar on Parasnath hill in Jharkhand and Shatrunjaya hill in Palitana of Gujarat.

• In Jharkhand, the issue is about Parasnath hill being declared a tourist spot and an eco-sensitive zone without consulting the people from the Jain community, while in Gujarat, the row is over the vandalising of a shrine and related security concerns in Shatrunjaya Hill.

What are the Key Facts about Parasnath Hills and Shatrunjaya Hill?

Parasnath Hills:

• Parasnath Hills are a range of hills located in Giridih district of Jharkhand.
• The highest peak is 1350 metres. It is one of the most important pilgrimage centre for Jains. They call it Sammed Sikhar.
• The hill is named after Parasnath, the 23rd Tirthankara.
• Twenty of Jain Tirthankaras attained salvation on this hill. For each of them there is a shrine (gumti or tuk) on the hill.
• Some of the temples on the hill are believed to be more than 2,000 years old.
• The Santhals call it Marang Buru, the hill of the deity. They celebrate a hunting festival on the full moon day in Baisakh (mid-April).
• Every year, thousands of Jains from across the world undertake the 27 km long trek of climbing the hills to reach the summit.

Palitana and Shatrunjaya Hill:

• Shatrunjaya Hill is a sacred site containing hundreds of shrines in Palitana town, Bhavnagar District, Gujarat.
• The shrines were sanctified when Rishabha, the first Tirthankara of Jainism, gave his first sermon in the temple on the hilltop.
• It is one of the Jainism’s holiest pilgrimage sites, the Shatrunjaya hill is an incredible hill studded with temples, built over 900 years.
• It is said that Adinath (also known as Rishabha), the founder of Jainism, meditated beneath the rayan tree at the summit.

What is Jainism?

• Jainism came to prominence in the 6th century B.C., when Lord Mahavira propagated the religion.
• There were 24 great teachers, the last of whom was Lord Mahavira.
• These twenty-four teachers were called Tirthankaras-people who had attained all knowledge (Moksha) while living and preached it to the people.
• The first Tirthankara was Rishabnatha.
• The word Jaina comes from the term Jina, meaning conqueror.
• Tirthankara is a Sanskrit word meaning 'Ford maker', i.e., one who is able to ford the river, to cross beyond the perpetual flow of earthly life.
• Jainism attaches utmost importance to ahimsa or non-violence.
• It preaches 5 mahavratas (the 5 great vows):
  • Ahimsa (Non-violence)
  • Satya (Truth)
  • Asteya or Acharya (Non-stealing)
  • Aparigraha (Non-attachment/Non-possession)
  • Brahmacharya (Celibacy/Chastity)
• Among these 5 teachings, the Brahmacharya (Celibacy/Chastity) was added by Mahavira.
• The three jewels or Triratna of Jainism include:
  • Samyak Darshana (right faith).
  • Samyak Gyana (right knowledge).
  • Samyak Charitra (right conduct).
• Jainism is a religion of self-help.
  • There are no gods or spiritual beings that will help human beings.
  • It does not condemn the varna system.
• In later times, it got divided into two sects:
  • Shvetambaras (white-clad) under Sthalabahu.
  • Digambaras (sky-clad) under the leadership of Bhadrabahu.

What is the Pilgrimage vs Tourism Debate?

Pilgrimage:

• Pilgrimage is the purpose of traveling to the destination, which is mostly focused on religion. Pilgrimage shrines are an important aspect of any religion’s materiality and sacred geography.
• Despite using the term Pilgrimage and Tourism interchangeably, the two cannot be mixed, if a pilgrimage shrine is declared a tourist spot, even people who may not have the distinct sensibilities for the shrine may enter the sacred place, thus affecting the sanctity and the “purity” of the place.
• Also, the sacred character of the place helps to protect the entire landscape from degradation.
  • Consider the sacred groves spread throughout India, protected by local deities of different communities and connected to people’s behaviour in these places, showing us the traditional example of ecological conservation practiced by local communities.
• Therefore, declaring the area open for tourism may be doing more harm than good, not only to the community and its faith but also to nature and its fragile ecosystem.
  • We have seen what happened in Kedarnath, especially when the cloudburst occurred in June 2013.
  • The lack of planning, clearing of forests, and absence and violation of construction codes in a fragile Himalayan ecosystem meant that a natural calamity turned into a human-made disaster.

Tourism:

• Tourism attracts more people in the country and thus creates more employment opportunity, also brings in focus the importance of sites and need to preserve them.
• Tourism as a form of soft power, helps in promoting cultural diplomacy, people to people connect and thereby promotes friendship and cooperation between India and other countries.
• The growth of domestic tourism largely depends on the Pilgrimage tourism in India and restricting any sort of tourism may affect the economic growth of the place and of the country.

Way Forward

• Pilgrimage tourism is the type of tourism that entirely or powerfully motivates tourists for the achievement of religious attitude and practices. Thus, pilgrimage and “religious tourism could become an enduring source of employment and income, without sacrificing the important social and religious functions of the sanctuaries and their pilgrimages.

Honey Mission and Sweet Revolution

Context: Under the Honey Mission, 1 lakh and 75 thousand bee boxes have been distributed so far by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) after providing beekeeping training to 17 thousand 500 beneficiaries across the country.

• As per the National Horticulture Board (NHB), Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab, Bihar, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka were the top ten honey-producing states in 2021-22.

What is Honey Mission?

• It was launched in 2017 in line with the ‘Sweet Revolution’.
• Under the mission, the KVIC under Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises provides the farmers or beekeepers –
  • Practical training about the examination of honeybee colonies,
  • Identification and management of bee enemies and diseases along with the management of bee colonies in all seasons.
  • Acquaintance with apicultural equipment’s and
  • Honey extraction and wax purification.

What is Sweet Revolution?

About:

• It is an ambitious initiative of the Government of India for promoting apiculture, popularly known as 'beekeeping'.
• To provide a booster shot to Sweet Revolution, the government launched the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission in 2020 (a central sector scheme under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare) as part of the AtmaNirbhar Bharat scheme.

Aim:

• It aims to accelerate the production of quality honey and other related products.
• The demand for good quality honey has grown over the years as it is considered a naturally nutritious product.
• Other apiculture products such as royal jelly, beeswax, pollens, etc., are also used extensively in different sectors like pharmaceuticals, food, beverage, beauty, and others.

Significance:

• Technology intervention through this mission will ensure bee conservation, prevent diseases or the loss of bee colonies and provide quality and quantity of apiculture products.
• Farming practices will yield superior-quality honey and other products for the domestic as well as international market.
• Beekeeping is a low investment and highly skilled enterprise model, in which technology application has emerged as a great enabler for socio-economic growth.
• Scaling up beekeeping will double farmers' income, generate employment, ensure food security and bee conservation, and increase crop productivity.

What is KVIC?

• KVIC is a statutory body established under the Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act, 1956.
• The KVIC is charged with the planning, promotion, organisation and implementation of programmes for the development of Khadi and other village industries in the rural areas in coordination with other agencies engaged in rural development wherever necessary.
• It functions under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

Global Glacier Change in the 21st Century

Context: Recently, a report titled “Global glacier change in the 21st century: Every increase in temperature matters”, which states half the Earth’s glaciers may disappear by 2100.

• The researchers used two decades of satellite data to map the planet’s glaciers with greater precision than ever before.
• The United Nation’s (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s sixth assessment report released in 2022 also warned that we are running out of time to attain the 1.5°C target.

What are the Findings?

Glaciers Melting at Unprecedented Rate:

• Glaciers are receding at unprecedented rates due to climate change and rising temperatures.
  • The amount of ice lost by glaciers between 1994 and 2017 was around 30 trillion tones and they are now melting at a pace of 1.2 trillion tonnes each year.
  • The glaciers in the Alps, Iceland and Alaska are some of those that are melting at the quickest rates.
• Half the Earth’s glaciers are destined to vanish by 2100, even if we adhere to the Paris Climate Agreement goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
• A minimum of 50 % of the loss will occur within the next 30 years. 68% of glaciers will vanish if global warming continues at the current rate of 2.7°C.
• If this happens, by the end of the following century, there would be practically no glaciers left in central Europe, western Canada and the United States.
  • Some of these glaciers can be saved from extinction by reducing global warming, the researchers noted.
  • Glaciers, which hold 70 % of the Earth’s freshwater, currently encompass around 10 % of the planet’s land area.

Increasing Risk of Disaster:

• Melting glaciers raise sea levels dramatically, jeopardizing up to two billion people’s access to water and increasing the risk of natural disasters and extreme weather events like floods.
• Global sea level rose by 21 % between 2000 and 2019. This was solely due to meltwater from melting glaciers and ice sheets.
• Recommendations:
  • The rapidly increasing glacier mass losses as global temperature increases beyond 1.5C stresses the urgency of establishing more ambitious climate pledges to preserve the glaciers in these mountainous regions.

Hockey World Cup

Context: Ahead of Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023, Odisha Chief Minister has inaugurated Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium, one of the largest hockey stadiums in Rourkela.

• The 15th edition International Hockey Federation (FIH) Hockey World Cup 2023 will be held in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela from January 13 to 29.

What are the Key Points of the Hockey World Cup?

• Conceived jointly by India and Pakistan as the premier standalone competition for hockey outside of the Olympics and approved by the International Hockey Federation in 1969, it still took 13 long years and four editions of the event to be held in the Indian subcontinent for the first time.
• While the first edition in 1971 was allotted to Pakistan before being moved to Spain due to political and security issues, India was supposed to host in 1975 before governance issues forced it to be moved to Malaysia.
• While the initial editions were held every two years, since 1982 the tournament has been held every four years, bisecting the Olympic cycle.
• Pakistan was the inaugural world Cup winner, defeating Spain in 1971.
• The last world Cup hockey was played in 2018, where Belgium was the winner by defeating the Netherlands.

What is International Hockey Federation?

• FIH, founded in 1924, is responsible for field hockey’s major international tournaments, notably the World Cup.
• It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland.
• The FIH is recognised by the International Olympic Committee as the sole ultimate governing body for the sport of Hockey throughout the world.