UPSC Daily Current Affairs | Prelim Bits 30-06-2021

Persons with disabilities have right to reservation in promotion: Supreme Court

Part of: GS Prelims and GS -II – Judiciary; Rights and duties
In news
• SC ruled that a disabled person can avail the benefit of reservation for promotion even if he
or she was recruited in the regular category or developed the disability after gaining
employment.
• The 1995 Act (Persons with Disabilities Act of 1995) does not make a distinction between a
person who may have entered service on account of disability and a person who may have
acquired disability after having entered the service.
• 1995 Act recognises the right to reservation in promotion
The background of Reservation in promotion
• In the Indira Sawhney case (1992), SC held that the reservation policy cannot be extended to
promotions.
• However, the 77th Constitutional Amendment inserted clause 4A in article 16 and restored
provision of reservations in promotions.
• In Nagaraj judgement (2006), Court laid down three controlling conditions that the state must
meet prior to granting SC/ST a reservation in promotion:
o state must show that backwardness of the class
o class is inadequately represented in position or service
o reservations are in the interest of Administrative efficiency
• In Jarnail Singh case (2018), it struck down the demonstration of backwardness provision
from Nagaraj judgement.
Related articles:
Launch of Sugamya Bharat App
National Social Assistance Programme

Tenure of Attorney General of India extended

Part of: GS Prelims and GS -II – Indian Constitution
In news
• The central government has extended the term of K.K. Venugopal as Attorney General (AG)
for one more year.
o He had also received his first extension of term in 2020.
• He would be in command of the government’s legal defence in several sensitive cases
pending in the Supreme Court such as challenge to the abrogation of Article 370 and
the Citizenship Amendment Act.
About Attorney General (AG)
• The AG of India is a part of the Union Executive.
• S/He is the highest law officer in the country.
• Article 76 of the Constitution provides for the office of AG of India.
• Appointment and Eligibility:
o AG is appointed by the President on the advice of the government.
o S/he must be a person who is qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme
Court, i.e. s/he must be a citizen of India and must have been a judge of some
high court for five years or an advocate of some high court for ten years or an
eminent jurist, in the opinion of the President.
• Term of the Office: Not fixed by the Constitution.
• Removal: Not stated in the Constitution.
o S/he holds office during the pleasure of the President
• Duties and Functions:
 o To give advice to the Government of India (GoI) upon such legal matters, which
are referred to her/him by the President.
o To perform such other duties of a legal character that are assigned to her/him by
the President.
o To appear on behalf of the GoI in all cases in the Supreme Court or in any case in
any High Court in which the GoI is concerned.
o To represent the GoI in any reference made by the President to the Supreme Court
under Article 143 (Power of the President to consult the Supreme Court) of the
Constitution.
o To discharge the functions conferred on her/him by the Constitution or any other
law.
• Rights and Limitations:
o S/he has the right to speak and to take part in the proceedings of both the Houses
of Parliament or their joint sitting and any committee of the Parliament of which
s/he may be named a member, but without a right to vote.
o S/he enjoys all the privileges and immunities that are available to a member of
Parliament.
o S/he does not fall in the category of government servants. S/he is not debarred
from private legal practice.
o However, s/he should not advise or hold a brief against the GoI.
• Solicitor General of India and Additional Solicitor General of India assist the AG in fulfillment
of the official responsibilities.
• Corresponding Office in the States: Advocate General (Article 165).

Interest Rates on Small Saving Schemes

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Economy
In news
• Government may reduce interest rates on small saving schemes for the July – September
Quarter.
• A cut in small savings rates at this point would further hurt households amid increase in
inflation.
About Small Saving Schemes/Instruments
• They are the major source of household savings in India and comprises 12 instruments.
• The depositors get an assured interest on their money.
• Collections from all small savings instruments are credited to the National Small Savings
Fund (NSSF).
• Small savings have emerged as a key source of financing the government deficit.
Small savings instruments can be classified as
• Postal Deposits comprising savings account, recurring deposits, time deposits of varying
maturities and monthly income scheme.
• Savings Certificates: National Small Savings Certificate (NSC) and Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP).
• Social Security Schemes: Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme, Public Provident Fund (PPF) and
Senior Citizens‘ Savings Scheme (SCSS).

Barnadi Wildlife Sanctuary: Assam

Part of: GS Prelims and GS -III – Environment
In news
• Recently, the World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF) found a few tigers inhabiting the
Barnadi Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam.
• It is one of the smallest WS (Wildlife Sanctuary) of Assam
About the Sanctuary
• It is located in northern Assam’s Baksa and Udalguri districts bordering Bhutan.
• It is bordered by the Barnadi river and Nalapara river to the west and east respectively.
• Barnadi was established specifically to protect the Pygmy Hog (Sus salvanius) and Hispid
Hare (Caprolagus hispidus).
• About 60% of the BWS is reported to be grassland, most of it is now grassy woodland.
• The main Forest types: Tropical Moist Deciduous (northern edge of the Sanctuary) and mixed
scrub and grassland (southern part).
• Most of the natural vegetation has been replaced by commercial plantations of Bombax
ceiba, Tectona grandis and Eucalyptus and by thatch grasses
Other Protected Areas in Assam:
• Dibru-Saikhowa National Park
• Manas National Park
• Nameri National Park
• Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park
• Kaziranga National Park.

Exercise Sea Breeze

Part of: GS Prelims and GS II – International Relations
In news
• Ukraine and USA launched joint naval Exercise ‘Sea Breeze’ in the Black Sea to show Western
cooperation with Ukraine as it faces off with Russia.
o The exercise Sea Breeze has been held since 1997, involving NATO states and
their allies.
o This edition (2021) will be the largest In Exercise’s history that will involve some
5,000 military personnel from more than 30 countries.
Aim of the Exercise
• Improving naval and land operations
• Improving cooperation among participating counties.
• Sending a powerful message to maintain stability and peace in the region.
Significance of Black Sea for Russia
• The unique geography of the Black Sea region provides several geopolitical advantages to
Russia
o Russia has always wanted to control the region.
• It is an important crossroads and strategic intersection for the entire region.
• Its Access greatly enhances the projection of power into several adjacent regions.
• The region is an important transit corridor for goods and energy.
• It is rich in cultural and ethnic diversity, and shares close historical ties with Russia.
About Black Sea
• It is marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
• The bordering countries of Black Sea are: Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria and
Romania.
• It is the largest water body with a meromictic basin
o It means the movement of water between the lower and upper layers of the sea
is a rare phenomenon which is also responsible for its Anoxic Water (significant
absence of oxygen in the water).
Pic courtesy: Wikipedia

Miscellaneous
Baihetan Dam
• Recently, China has put into operation the Baihetan Dam, world’s Second Biggest Hydropower
Dam.
•
o The Three Gorges Dam is the largest hydropower dam in the world and is also
along China’s Yangtze River
• It is on the Jinsha River, a tributary of the Yangtze (the longest river in Asia).
• It has been built with a total installed capacity of 16,000 megawatts.
• It will eventually be able to generate enough electricity each day once to meet the power
needs of 5,00,000 people for an entire year.
• It is part of Chinese efforts to curb surging fossil fuel demand by building more hydropower
capacity
• Concerns:
o A huge dam could hold back the massive amount of silt carried by the river which
could affect farming in the areas downstream.
o India is also worried about the release of water during the monsoons
o It could have disastrous consequences in the ecologically sensitive zone.
o Huge displacement of hundreds of thousands of local communities
 30 June 2021: The Hindu Editorial

1] Flying terror (GS 3 Security)

Context –

• On June 27-28, drones were used to attack an Indian Air Force installation in
Jammu, bringing to light a disturbing, but not unexpected, new form of terrorism
for the country.
• A least two further efforts to utilise drones to strike military sites were made
afterward indicates that terrorism is here to stay.

History of Drone Attacks –

• States' use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), autonomous weapons systems,

and robotic soldiers in conflict and law enforcement has created moral and
practical problems that have yet to be answered. Non-state actors have soon
caught up.
• Syrian rebels attacked Russian military positions in Syria with homemade drones
in 2018, while Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro narrowly escaped death
when a drone flying towards him detonated a short distance away.

Role of Technology -

• Technologically enabled new techniques of sabotage and violence minimise

the expenses and risk of detection for terrorists while boosting their
effectiveness.
• Simultaneously, traditional counter-terrorism tools would be rendered obsolete
by security authorities.
• Terrorism may not even necessitate the employment of organisations, as
individuals with sufficient drive and abilities can carry out such assaults while
remaining undetected, much like the drones they employ.
• The exponential proliferation of new technologies and Artificial Intelligence,
vertically and horizontally, will make the task of combating terror even more
challenging.

International Framework –

• The existing international frameworks for limiting the proliferation of weaponized

technology, such as the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Missile Technology
Control Regime, are completely ineffective in the new environment.
 • States such as India have attempted to combat terrorism by enacting strict
legislation, invasive surveillance, tougher enforcement, and offensives against
countries that assist terrorist groups but with limited success.
• The introduction of drones necessitates a more nuanced response to
terrorism. Terrorist groups certainly benefit from governmental support, but
technology is allowing them to be more autonomous than ever before.

Conclusion –

• Terrorism has come a long way since converting passenger planes into
missiles in 2001, and no one knows where it will go next.
• To meet the challenge, increased international cooperation and consensus on
technology development and deployment are required. India has the ability to
and must play an active role in the process.

2] Apt judicial reminder in era of over-

criminalisation (GS 2 Governance)
Role of Criminal Justice System –

• The criminal justice system is a state instrument and a fundamental indicator of

democracy's health.
• According to French lawyer Montesquieu, any punishment that is not based
on absolute necessity is tyrannical.
• In truth, criminal law should only be utilised as a "last choice" (ultima ratio) and
for the "most heinous wrongs."

Context –

• Unfortunately, because "crimes" are the result of government policy, criminal

law reflects the concept of "power" rather than "justice."
• We need to find why activists, students, intellectuals and protesters be charged
for the crime of terrorism

Example of misuse

• Between 2015 and 2019, 7,840 people were detained under the harsh UAPA,
but only 155 were convicted by trial courts.
 • The Supreme Court of India observed in Kartar Singh (1994) that in several cases,
the prosecution had unjustifiably applied TADA rules "with the veiled objective of
denying the accused persons bail."
• It went on to say that invoking TADA in this way was "nothing more than the
police's blatant misuse and abuse of the Act."
• TADA's experience has been more negative than UAPA's. UAPA has been utilised
and misused in equal measure.
• The definition of the term "terrorism" and when UAPA can be used lawfully are at
the heart of the debate.

Ambiguities in the definition –

• Despite the fact that there are over 100 definitions of terrorism available
worldwide, there is no common definition of the term "terrorist" in India or
internationally.
• The UN General Assembly has tasked a committee with this responsibility, but
there has been no unanimity on the definition of terrorism in nearly 50 years.
• Section 15 of UAPA merely defines a terrorist act in extremely wide and
vague words: ‘as any act with intent to threaten or likely to threaten the unity,
integrity, security, or sovereignty of India or with intent to strike terror or likely to
strike terror in the people....

Important Judgements -

• The Supreme Court stated in Yaqoob Abdul Razzak Memon (2013) that terrorist
crimes can range from threats to actual killings, kidnappings, airline hijacking, car
bombs, explosions, shipping of dangerous materials, and the use of chemical,
biological, and nuclear weapons, among other things.
• Justices Anup Jairam Bhambhani and Siddharth Mridul could not be convinced
that the three student activists were involved in any terrorist attack because they
did not do any of these things.
• Justice Bhambani reminded the Delhi police of the true definition of a terrorist act
with an authoritative and intelligent bail order based purely on top court
judgments.
• Justice Bhambhani based his conclusion on A.K. Roy (1982), a case in which the
constitutionality of the National Security Act (NSA) was challenged. To ensure that
a person who is not within the parliamentary intent is not caught up in a
penal provision, the penal provision must be construed more strictly.
 • The Supreme Court had previously stated that when construing preventative
detention legislation like the NSA, care must be made to limit their application
to the fewest conceivable circumstances.
• The Supreme Court had previously declared in Sanjay Dutt (1994) that people who
the law did not intend to penalise should not be dragged into it by straining the
punitive provisions.
• As a result, the Delhi High Court determined that because the definition of a
"terrorist act" under UAPA is broad and ambiguous, it cannot be applied
arbitrarily to ordinary crimes, and the accused's act must reflect the core nature
of terrorism.
• The CAA protests were not, in fact, terrorist attacks. It may be tough to define
terrorism, but does everyone know when an act of terror has been committed?

Way Forward –

• In any event, no anti-terror law, no matter how strict, can truly solve the terrorism
problem. Terrorists' tried and true method is to push a civilised state into state
terrorism. Let us not get caught in their web.
• Only individuals who have been subjected to real or perceived injustices tend to
become radicalised. To battle terrorism, let us eliminate injustice.
• Combating terrorism would be significantly more effective if a truly equitable,
egalitarian, and non-oppressive society were established.

30 June 2021: The Indian Express Editorial Analysis

1) Teachers & Technology

GS2: Issues related to education

Context:

• The author talks about the need for a new Ed-tech policy to maximize student
learning.

Editorial Insights:
What's Happening?

• India’s school education landscape is facing daunting challenges.

o Even before COVID-1, the country was under an acute learning crisis with 1
in 2 children under 10 lacking basic reading proficiency.
o The pandemic just exacerbated this crisis because of the physical closure of
15 lakh schools that affected 25 crore students.
• Further to aid this learning crisis, the 4th industrial revolution makes the situation
more critical.
o Because current imperative is to reimagine education & align it with the
unprecedented technological transformation.
▪ The pandemic-induced disruption of traditional delivery models
offers a critical reminder of the impending need to weave tech into
education.

India & 4th Industrial Revolution in Education:

• The new NEP 2020 is a response to the clarion call to integrate tech at every level
of instruction.
o It envisions the establishment of the National Education Technology Forum
(NETF) to spearhead efforts towards providing strategic thrust to the
deployment & use of tech.

Best Practices/Case Studies across India in Edu-tech innovations:

• Hamara Vidhyalaya of Arunachal Pradesh : Fostering tech-based performance asses

• Assam’s online career guidance portal
• Samarth of Gujarat : Facilitating the online professional development of teachers
• Jharkhand’s DigiSATH : Establishing stronger parent-teacher-student linkages.
• Himachal Pradesh’s HarGhar Pathshala : Providing Digi-education for special needs c
• Uttarkhand’s Community Radio : Promoting early reading through byte-size broadca
• Madhya Pradesh’s DigiLEP : Delivering content for learning enhancement through Wh
• Kerala’s Aksharavriksham : Focus on digital edutainment to support learning & skill d

• India is well-poised to take this leap forward

o with increasing access to tech-based infra & affordable internet connectivity
o which is fueled by flagship programmes such as Digital India, DIKSHA &
UDISE+(largest education management systems).
• India needs a comprehensive Ed-tech policy architecture that must focus on
4 key elements:
o Providing access to learning mainly to disadvantaged sections,
o Enabling processes of teaching, learning & evaluation,
o Facilitating teacher training & continuous professional development.
 o Improving Governance system.
• Learning’s from India's experiences in this regard:
o Technology is a tool & not a panacea,
o Technology must be in service of the learning model but there is a danger
in providing digital infra without a plan.
o Technology cannot substitute schools or replace teachers.
▪ It’s not teachers versus tech, the solution is in teachers & tech.
▪ Tech solutions are impactful only when embraced & effectively
leveraged by teachers.
o With conditional good learning design, tech has potential in enabling
greater personalization of education & enhancing educational productivity
by:
▪ Improving rates of learning
▪ Reducing costs of study material & service delivery at large.

Further-Ahead:

To craft a cohesive strategy Action needs to be taken on multiple fronts:

• Immediate term:
o There must be a mechanism to map the ed-tech landscape.
o The focus should be on
o Access,
o Equity,
o Infra,
o Governance & quality-based outcomes
o Challenges for teachers & students.
• Short to Medium-term:
o The policy formulation & planning must strive to
▪ Enable convergence across schemes,
▪ Foster integration of solutions through PPP,
▪ Factor in voices of all stakeholders,
▪ Bolster cooperative federalism across all levels of govt.
o Special attention paid to address the digital divide at two levels:
▪ Access & skills to effectively use tech & leverage its benefits.
o Thematic areas of the policy should feature:
▪ Infra & connectivity.
▪ High quality & relevant software & content,
▪ Rigorous global standards for outcome-based evaluation,
▪ Real-time assessments & systems monitoring.
• Longer-Term:
 o As policy translates to practice at local levels & tech-based solutions
become ubiquitous, then good practices & lessons from successful
implementation must be curated.

Conclusion:

• India’s journey from a holistic strategy to its successful application is daunting &
longer. It needs careful planning, sustained implementation & calculated course
corrections.
• India with NEP 2020 having set the ball rolling, the need of hour is a
transformative Ed-tech policy architecture to effectively maximize student
learning.

2) Ration Card Reform, so far

GS3: Issues related to PDS & Food distribution

Context:

• The author talks about the One Nation, One Ration Card system.

Editorial Insights:

What's the issue?

• Recently the SC has directed all states & UTs to implement the One Nation, One
Ration Card (ONORC) system which allows for inter-& intra-state portability, by
July 31.

About One Nation, One Ration Card (ONORC):

o The ONORC scheme is aimed at enabling migrant workers & their families’
members to buy subsidized ration from any fair shop anywhere in the country
under the National Food Security Act 2013.
o To promote this reform in the archaic PDS, the Centre has provided incentives to
states.
o It even had set the implementation of ONORC as a precondition for
additional borrowing by states during the Pandemic period.

Mechanism of ONORC:
 • It is based on technology that involves details of beneficiaries' ration cards,
Aadhaar numbers & electronic Points of Sale (ePoS).
• The system identifies a beneficiary through biometric authentication on ePoS
devices at fair shops.
• The system runs with the support of two portals such as Integrated Management
of Public Distribution System & Annavitan which host all the relevant data.

Factors that led to ONORC launch:

• Under the NFSA2013, about 81 crore people are entitled to buy subsidized food
grains from designated fair-price shops.
o Each ration card holder is assigned to a fair price shop near the place where
their ration card is registered.
o Earlier NFSA beneficiaries were not able to access their PDS benefits outside
the jurisdiction of their assigned specific fair price shop.
• The govt envisioned the ONORC to give them access to benefits from any fair
shop.
o Full coverage only possible after 100% Aadhaar seeding of ration cards has
been achieved & all fair price shops are covered by ePoS devices.
o ONORC launched in 2019 to reform the PDS which has been historically
marred by inefficiency & leakages.
o It was initially launched as an inter-state pilot, however last year the COVID-
19 forced migrants to return back to their villages then govt felt the need to
expedite the rollout.
o As part of its COVID economic relief package, the govt announced the
national rollout of ONORC in all states & UTs by March 2021.
• Till date 32 states & UTs have joined the ONORC with 69 crore of NFSA
beneficiaries’ coverage.
• As per the official data, about 1.35 crore portability transactions every month are
recorded under ONORC on average.
• But some 4 states are not yet joined because:
o Lack of workable ePoS system in fair price shops.
o The state govts demand of including non-NFSA ration card holders under
ONORC coverage.

Way-Ahead:

• The ONORC System is a transformative & reformative step in achieving a public

delivery system in spirit without any archaic & rigid faultiness.