UPSC Daily Current Affairs- 17th January 2023 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

Ancient Votive Stupas found near Nalanda

Context

The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has discovered two 1200-year-old miniature votive stupas during landscaping activities near Sarai Tila mound on the premises of ‘Nalanda Mahavihara’, a world heritage site in Nalanda district.

What has ASI found?

• The stupas, carved from stone, depict Buddha figures.
• These two votive stupas (offered in fulfillment of a vow) were discovered by the ASI officials during landscaping near Sarai Tila mound within the premises of ‘Nalanda Mahavihara on January 4.
• These, carved from stone depicting Buddha figures, must be around 1200 year old.

What are Stupas?

• The Sanskrit word stupa signifies “heap, mound, and pile” and is derived from the root ‘stup’ “to pile up.”
• The ashes of Buddha collected were divided into eight parts and stupa was erected on them.
• The legend of relic sharing has been imagined latter on, after the establishment of relic worship and stupa.
• This belief was raised only when the Buddha was considered as a God, a Chakravartin.

Types of Stupa

• Buddha himself distinguished three kinds of stupa (Chaitya): (i) Sariraka, (ii) Paribhogika and (iii) Uddesika (according to Mahaparinibbanasutta).
• Beside all these, there are also the sculpted, engraved painted stupas intended to procure merit for the donors.
• Mostly stupa is containing a relic, that the stupa must have been considered from ancient times as a substitute of the Buddha.
• In Buddhist history, the Buddha was considered to be a Chakravartin, a universal monarch.

How votive stupas were erected?

• As his ashes were no longer available, they were replaced by his written law –i.e. factitious body of the Buddha (Niramanakaya), the relic stupas contain the spiritual relics (Dharama Sarira) and the body of law (Dharamakaya) of these represented as Buddha.
• These stupas erected over relics are called Sariraka Stupas.
• Other stupas called Paribhogika were erected over objects used by the Buddha, such as his bowl, girdle, clothes etc.
• Others called Uddesika(votive) were raised over places which were made famous by the presence of Buddha (Buddha’s presence). These are commemorative stupas.

Source: Indian Express

Context

The Supreme Court is set to begin hearing a series of petitions seeking to criminalize marital rape from March 14.

What is Marital Rape?

• Marital rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one’s spouse without her consent.
• It is no different manifestation of domestic violence and sexual abuse.
• It is often a chronic form of violence for the victim which takes place within abusive relations.

Status in India

• Historically considered as right of the spouses, this is now widely classified as rape by many societies around the world.
• In India, marital rape is not a criminal offense (as protected under IPC section 375).
• India is one of fifty countries that have not yet outlawed marital rape.

Reasons for disapproval of this concept

• The reluctance to define non-consensual sex between married couples as a crime and to prosecute has been attributed to:
  • Traditional views of marriage
  • Interpretations of religious doctrines
  • Ideas about male and female sexuality
  • Cultural expectations of subordination of a wife to her husband
• It is widely held that a husband cannot be guilty of any sexual act committed by himself upon his lawful wife on account of their mutual matrimonial consent.

Why it must be a crime?

• Associated physical violence: Rape by a spouse, partner or ex-partner is more often associated with physical violence and sexual mutilation.
• Mental harassment: There is research showing that marital rape can be more emotionally and physically damaging than rape by a stranger.
• Compulsive relationship: Marital rape may occur as part of an abusive relationship.
• Revengeful nature: Furthermore, marital rape is rarely a one-time event, but a repeated if not frequent occurrence.
• Obligation on women: In the case of marital rape the victim often has no choice but to continue living with their spouse.

Violation of fundamental rights

• Marital rape is considered as a violation of FR guaranteed under Article 14 of the Indian constitution which guarantees the equal protection of laws to all persons.
• By depriving married women of an effective penal remedy against forced sexual intercourse, it violates their right to privacy and bodily integrity, aspects of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21.

Problems in prosecuting marital rape

• Lack of awareness: A lack of public awareness, as well as reluctance or outright refusal of authorities to prosecute is common globally.
• Gender norms: Additionally, gender norms that place wives in subservient positions to their husbands, make it more difficult for women to recognize such rape.
• Acceptability of the concept: Another problem results from prevailing social norms that exist.

Present regulations in India

• Indian Penal Code criminalizes rape in most cases, although marital rape is not illegal when the woman is over the age of 18.
• However, until 2017, men married to those between 15 and 18 could not be convicted of rape.
• Marital rape of an adult wife, who is unofficially or officially separated, is a criminal offence punishable by 2 to 7 year in prison; it is not dealt by normal rape laws which stipulate the possibility of a death sentence.
• According to the Protection of Women From Domestic Violence Act (2005), other married women subject to such crime by their husband may demand for financial compensation.
• They also have the right to continue to live in their marital household if they wish, or may approach shelter or aid homes.
• However, marital rape is still not a criminal offense in this case and is only a misdemeanor.

Arguments against criminalization

• Subjective: It is very subjective and intricate to determine whether consent was acquired or not.
• Prone to Misuse: If marital rape is criminalized without adequate safeguards it could be misused like the current dowry law by the dissatisfied wives to harass and torture their Husbands.
• Burden on Judiciary: It will increase the burden of judiciary which otherwise may serve other more important causes.

Way forward

• Sanctioning marital rape is an acknowledgment of the woman’s right to self-determination (i.e., control) of all matters relating to her body.
• In the absence of any concrete law, the judiciary always finds it difficult to decide the matter of domestic rape in the absence of solid evidence.
• The main purpose of marriage is procreation, and sometimes divorce is sought on the ground of non-consummation of marriage.
• Before giving a final interpretation, the judiciary must balance the rights and duties of both partners.

Source: The Hindu

GS-II

What is a Default bail?

Context

Recent, the Supreme Court said that grant of default bail will not operate as an absolute bar to canceling it once the charge sheet is filed and the same can be considered if a strong case is made out.

What is a Default bail?

• Also known as statutory bail, this is a right to bail that accrues when the police fail to complete investigation within a specified period in respect of a person in judicial custody.
• This is enshrined in Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) where it is not possible for the police to complete an investigation in 24 hours, the police produce the suspect in court and seek orders for either police or judicial custody.
• Under Section 167(2) of the Code, a Magistrate can order an accused person to be detained in the custody of the police for 15 days. Beyond the police custody period of 15 days, the Magistrate can authorize the detention of the accused person in judicial custody i.e., jail if necessary. However, the accused cannot be detained for more than:
  • ninety days, when an authority is investigating an offense punishable with death, life imprisonment or imprisonment for at least ten years; or
  • sixty days, when the authority is investigating any other offense.
  • In some other special laws like Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, this period may vary. For eg: In Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, the period is 180 days.
• At the end of this period, if the investigation is not complete, the court shall release the person “if he is prepared to and does furnish bail”. This is known as default bail.

Principles:

• It is a right, regardless of the nature of the crime.
• The stipulated period within which the charge sheet has to be filed begins from the day the accused is remanded for the first time.
• It includes days undergone in both police and judicial custody, but not days spent in house-arrest.
• A requirement for the grant of statutory bail is that the right should be claimed by the person in custody.
• If the charge sheet is not filed within the stipulated period, but there is no application for bail under Section 167(2), there is no automatic bail.
• Once the accused files an application for bail under Section 167(2), it is considered that he/she has enforced the right to be released on default bail.
• This right only comes into place after the stipulated time limit for investigation has expired.
• If the accused fails to apply for default bail after the investigation time period has expired, and the investigating agency files a charge-sheet or seeks more time before the accused makes such an application for default bail, then the right of default bail is no longer applicable.
• The Magistrate can then grant further time for completion of the investigation.
• However, the accused may still be released on bail under other legal provisions of the Code.

Default Bail as Fundamental Right:

• The Supreme Court while hearing an appeal regarding default bail said that default bail under first proviso of Section 167(2) of the Cr.P.C. is a fundamental right and not merely a statutory right as it is, a procedure established by law under Article 21 of the Constitution. 

Source: The Hindu

Integrating Transgender Concerns in Schooling Processes

Context

Recently, the draft manual titled “Integrating Transgender Concerns in Schooling Processes” has been released.

• The document aims to initiate a dialogue among the participants and bring to fore their experiences with transgenders and understanding of transgender concerns.
• It is prepared by a new committee convened by the National Council of Educational Research and Training’s (NCERT) Department of Gender Studies head (Jyotsna Tiwari)

What is the Background in which the New Draft came?

• It came two years after NCERT removed a document (“Inclusion of Transgender Children in School Education: Concerns and Roadmap”) on inclusion of transgender children in schools.
• The old document was removed following an objection by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to suggestions on gender-neutral toilets and puberty blockers.
• The NCERT has released a fresh manual, which avoids the usage of not just those terms but also references to caste system and patriarchy that were highlighted in the previous one.

What are the Key Highlights of the New Draft?

• Diverse gender expressions have a long history of acceptance in India: It was documented in various art forms and multiple texts of ancient period, including epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata.
  • However, it avoids any discussion of the role of the caste system or patriarchy in maintaining stigmas.
• Recognise people with diverse sexualities: It includes LGBTQIA+ communities and the present module is specifically focusing upon transgender persons by birth.
• Recommends the introduction of gender-neutral uniforms: From Grade VI onward, the schools can introduce gender neutral uniforms which are comfortable, climate appropriate, fit and do not conform to a particular gender.
• Toilets exclusively for transgender students: In case there is a toilet for Children with Special Needs (CWSN) that can also be shared by transgender students.

What are the Concerns Related to the New Draft?

• The two manuals (old and new), prepared by two different committees, are starkly different in nature despite dealing with the same subject.
• For instance, the previous manual, categorically stated that -
  • There is evidence of diverse genders and gender expression being socially accepted in the subcontinent since the Vedic age.
  • The dominant social system of caste patriarchy in India had relegated transgender persons to occupations that are stigmatised.
  • Textbooks should provide all students with a critical lens to investigate a variety of issues that continue to confront us, such as caste, class, gender and power relations, patriarchy, diverse sexual identities and marginalisation, etc.
• Does not deal with all categories of gender non-conforming children: No information for teachers on dealing with children who may not be transgender but show signs of “Gender Dysphoria”.
  • Gender Dysphoria indicates psychological distress resulting from a conflict between a person’s assigned gender at birth and the gender with which they identify or the “agender” category (neither man nor woman).

Source: Indian Express

GS-III

Snow Leopard

Context

Recently 4 snow leopards were spotted in a rare sighting in Himachal Pradesh.

About Snow Leopard:

• It is found in the mountainous regions of central and southern Asia.
• In India, it is seen in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.
• The Hemis National Parkhas a good presence of Snow Leopard.
• They play a key role as a top predator, an indicator of the health of their high-altitude habitat, and, increasingly, an important indicator of the impacts of climate change on mountain environments. 

What is the Conservation status?

• IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
• Under CITES it is listed in Appendix I 
• Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972:Schedule I

Source: PIB

Context

Mutual Fund’s SIP collection jumps 31% to ₹1.5 lakh cr. in 2022 on account of higher retail participation, data with the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) showed.

What is a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP)?

• SIP is an investment methodology offered by mutual funds wherein an individual saver can invest a fixed amount in a chosen scheme periodically at fixed intervals - say once a month, instead of making a lump sum investment.
• The SIP installment amount can be as small as ₹500 per month and is similar to a recurring deposit.
• SIPs help to achieve financial goals by investing small sums of money on a monthly basis that eventually leads to accumulating the required corpus for reaching the goal.

Benefits of SIP:

• SIP’s bring in an investment discipline for the investor.
• SIPs are done in open-ended funds where the investors can invest and take out the money anytime.
• There is no fixed tenor for running SIP. Once the SIP tenor is fixed, it can BE stopped in between or could be continued even after the tenor by placing the request with the respective mutual fund company.
• Full and partial withdrawal is possible during or after the SIP tenor.
• The SIP amount can be increased or decreased.

What is a Mutual Fund:

• A mutual fund is a pool of money managed by a professional Fund Manager.
• It is a trust that collects money from a number of investors who share a common investment objective and invests the same in equities, bonds, money market instruments and/or other securities.
• The income / gains generated from this collective investment is distributed proportionately amongst the investors after deducting applicable expenses and levies.

Source:  Indian Express

Context

Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cautioned against the reintroduction of the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) by some states.

What is the Old Pension Scheme (OPS)?

• OPS offers pensions to government employees on the basis of their last drawn salary. 50% of the last drawn salary.
• The attraction of the Old Pension Scheme lay in its promise of an assured or ‘defined’ benefit to the retiree. It was hence described as a ‘Defined Benefit Scheme’.
  • Eg., if a government employee’s basic monthly salary at the time of retirement was Rs 10,000, she would be assured of a pension of Rs 5,000.
• Also, like the salaries of government employees, the monthly pay-outs of pensioners also increased with hikes in dearness allowance or DA announced by the government for serving employees.
• The OPS was discontinued by the Central government in 2003.

What were the concerns with the OPS?

• The main problem was that the pension liability remained unfunded — that is, there was no corpus specifically for pension, which would grow continuously and could be dipped into for payments.
• The Government of India budget provided for pensions every year; there was no clear plan on how to pay year after year in the future.
• The ‘pay-as-you-go’ scheme created inter-generational equity issues — meaning the present generation had to bear the continuously rising burden of pensioners.

What is New Pension Scheme (NPS)?

• As a substitute of OPS, the NPS was introduced by the Central government in April, 2004.
• This pension programme is open to employees from the public, private and even the unorganised sectors except those from the armed forces.
• The scheme encourages people to invest in a pension account at regular intervals during the course of their employment.
• After retirement, the subscribers can take out a certain percentage of the corpus.
  • The beneficiary receives the remaining amount as a monthly pension, post retirement.
• Nodal agency: Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)

Eligibility:

• Any Indian citizen between 18 and 60 years can join NPS.
• NRIs (Non-Residential Indians) are also eligible to apply for NPS.

Permanent Retirement Account Number (PRAN):

• Every NPS subscriber is issued a card with 12-digit unique number called Permanent Retirement Account Number or PRAN.

Minimum contribution in NPS:

• The subscriber has to contribute a minimum of Rs. 6,000 in a financial year.
• If the subscriber fails to contribute the minimum amount, his/her account is frozen by the PFRDA.

Who manages the money invested in NPS?

• The money invested in NPS is managed by PFRDA-registered Pension Fund Managers.
• At the moment, there are eight pension fund managers.

What is the Difference between NPS and OPS?

• The Old Pension Scheme is a pension-oriented scheme. It offers regular pensions to employees during retirement. The pension amount is 50% of the last drawn salary by the employee.
  • Thus, in OPS, the pension amount is constant.
• On the other hand, the National Pension Scheme is an investment cum pension scheme.
• NPS contributions are invested in market-linked securities, i.e., equity and debt instruments.
  • Therefore, NPS doesn’t guarantee returns.
• However, the investments, in NPS, are volatile and hence have the potential to generate significant returns.

News Summary:

• The RBI has red-flagged the return to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) by some states as a major concern on the sub-national fiscal horizon.
• The RBI said “by postponing current expenses to the future, states risk accumulation of unfunded pension liabilities in the coming years”.
• Several states, including Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan have announced a return to the OPS, promising retired government employees 50% of the last pay drawn as the monthly pension.
• Several economists have criticised the move by the states. In several cases, the pension outgo is already high (see graphic below).
  

Source: The Hindu