Daily Prelims Notes 10 February 2023

February 10, 2023
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes

10 February 2023

Table Of Contents

1. As we fight to protect species on the brink of extinction, let’s not forget the familiar ones

Subject: Environment

Section: Biodiversity

Context: To conserve nature, we must maintain our focus on the familiar.

More on the News:

In the natural world, rarity is most starkly represented by the last members of a declining species. These scarce plants and animals are infinitively valuable; they represent the final hope for averting extinction.
In the past few decades, declines of many endangered plants and animals have been reversed. Dozens of unique living forms have been saved from extinction. But a preoccupation with scarcity could come at the expense of overlooking the ordinary.
But if we are to conserve nature and its myriad benefits to people we must maintain our focus on the familiar.
In North America, they include the extinction of the passenger pigeon, which was once the most numerous bird in the world. These species were once regarded as super-abundant, their decline and disappearance inconceivable.
Notably, the shifts in abundance of common species can translate into sizeable shifts in ecosystem functioning. Birds, despite their diminutive stature, throw their aggregate weight around, owing to the innumerable insects they eat, the flowers they pollinate and the seeds they disperse.
Rarity will always occupy a prominent place in conservation. But in the quest for a sustainable and biodiverse future, we must avoid “the extinction of commonness.” The ingredients for success are at hand: Monitor nature closely, guard against complacency and invest for the long term.

2. Himalayan plunder: Manipur landslides raise environmental questions

Subject: Geography

Section: Indian Physical geography

Context: A large landslide that struck the Tupul Railway station building site on June 30, 2022, resulted in 61 fatalities and 18 injuries.

More on the News:

Extreme rains, long-term exposure to hill slopes cut for development projects, debris obstructing the flow of Ijei river and shifting land use patterns, such as deforestation, are thought to have contributed to the tragedy in the seismically active western Manipur region.
The landslide was caused by an extensive slope cut for the construction of the railway station, presence of break in slope in the upslope area, affluence convergence of water and unprotected slope cut for long duration (from 2014 onwards).
A major factor that caused the landslides was the debris restricting the normal water flow of Ijei river. The materials dumped at the railway construction sites and improper drainage made the hills geologically weak.
Changes in the land use pattern on the top hill, caused by deforestation, jhum cultivation and banana cultivation, also accelerate soil erosion and might have triggered landslides.
The fluctuation in the ongoing precipitation pattern and excessive rainfalls lead to the percolation of water below the slopes.
Contour cutting/ gentle slope cutting per hydrological aspect can prevent huge water flow from uphill to downhill.
Considering the long-term nature of the ongoing project, it is necessary to adopt regulatory and monitoring mechanisms at the vulnerable slopes along the railway line where the cut portion and yards are to be exposed.
Reassessment of slope stability (Factor of safety) analysis for open cut and yard of the Jiribam-Tupul railway line, regular drone survey and monitoring to detect mass movement along the open cuts and yard as well as beyond railway land boundary before and after monsoon season without significant failure event, detection of subtle slope movement will likely help mitigate the problem.

3. Alien invasive plants increasing in higher elevations

Subject: Environment

Section: Biodiversity

Context: In Kashmir Himalayas in India, scientists have noted railway and road infrastructure expansion is a contributing factor to the march of invasive alien plant species higher into the mountains.

More on the News:

The study shows “consistent increases” in the number of alien plant species and their swift spread into higher elevations between 2007 and 2017.
The number of alien plant species surveyed in each region has increased by a global average of 16% in the past 10 years. In addition, in ten out of the eleven mountain regions studied, the species are occurring at significantly higher elevations than ten or even five years ago
Most non-native plants are promoted by disturbance caused by human activities. In mountainous areas, roads provide access points and conduits for spread, with the result that many non-native plants can be found in disturbed roadside habitat. Roads also provide very convenient ways to sample a range of elevation zones.
Climate warming will “almost certainly” increase the suitability of higher-elevation regions for many nonnative plants, and so promote further expansion.
Invasive daisies such as the ox-eye daisy were detected in several of the regions surveyed in the study, including in the Kashmir Himalayas.
About 50% of invasive plants in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region have been introduced unintentionally. Largely, countries in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region lack policies and legislation to tackle invasive alien species because it is not a priority conservation issue.

4. Without considering green GDP, the budget’s claim of green growth is weak

Subject: Economy

Section: National Income

Context: While “green growth” is highlighted in the annual budget, experts note that there is a need to also factor in “green GDP” which is the basis of this growth.

Green GDP is a term used for expressing GDP after adjusting for environment degradations.
Green GDP accounts for estimates of environmental degradation, depletion of natural resources, and savings of resources and environment into the national income accounts.
There is no consensus over methodology for calculating green GDP worldwide, the RBI paper researchers have admitted. They claim that they have used the most comprehensive methodology of Green GDP estimation which includes environmental pollution cost, resource depletion cost, and savings of resources and the environment. They have used the following formula:
- Green GDP = GDP – (Carbon dioxide damage + particulate emission damage) – (Opportunity cost of energy depletion + mineral depletion + net forest depletion) + Expenditure on environmental protection.
The concept was first initiated through a System of National Accounts.
The System of National Accounts (SNA) is an accounting framework for measuring the economic activities of production, consumption and accumulation of wealth in an economy during a period of time. When information on economy’s use of the natural environment is integrated into the system of national accounts, it becomes green national accounts or environmental accounting.
The process of environmental accounting involves three steps Physical accounting; Monetary valuation; and integration with national Income/wealth Accounts.
- Physical accounting determines the state of the resources, types, and extent (qualitative and quantitative) in spatial and temporal terms.
- Monetary valuation is done to determine its tangible and intangible components.
- Thereafter, the net change in natural resources in monetary terms is integrated into the Gross Domestic Product in order to reach the value of Green GDP.
It reflects the deep need and commitment from the country internalising the values of its ecosystem and ecosystem services into mainstream accounting.

5. Tunnel to save mangroves to raise bullet train project

Subject: Environment

Section: Biodiversity

Context: Tunnel will escalate construction cost of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor project’s 21-km long stretch from ₹100 crore to ₹10,000 crore.

More on the News:

A seven-km undersea tunnel will be constructed for the bullet train project in a bid to save about 12 hectares of mangrove forests in Maharashtra’s Thane creek.
This will escalate the construction cost of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor project’s 21-km long stretch from Bandra Kurla Complex Station to Shilphata, from ₹100 crore to ₹10,000 crore.

Bullet train

It is under-construction high-speed rail line connecting the cities of Ahmedabad and India’s economic hub Mumbai with the help of Japan.
It will be built with the help of Japan through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Bullet train or High Speed Rail is an integrated system having overall optimization of various components, viz. Hardware, Software, Human-ware, and their interface, etc.
The train, with a capacity of 750 passengers, will travel at speeds between 320 km/hr and 350km/hr and is expected to reduce travel time between Ahmedabad and Mumbai to three-and-a-half hours or less from the present eight.
Potential benefit: High-speed connectivity; new job opportunities; Urban expansion; make India favorable destination for high-speed train technologies; Social Benefits (reduced CO2 emission, comparatively less land required than a 6-lane highway for same passenger capacity).

6. Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D2)

Subject : Science and technology

Section : Space Technology

Concept :

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the second edition of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D2) from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan space centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

About the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle:

The new vehicle was developed to capture the emerging small and microsatellite commercial market.
The SSLV (2m in diameter and 34m in length ) caters to the launch of up to 500 kg satellites to low earth orbits on a ‘launch-on-demand‘ basis.
The launch vehicle uses three solid stages followed by a liquid-fuel-based Velocity Trimming Module (VTM) to place satellites in orbit.
The key features of SSLV are –
- Low cost,
- With low turn-around time,
- Flexibility in accommodating multiple satellites,
- Minimal launch infrastructure requirements (assembled by a small team in a week, compared to 6 months and 600 people for ISRO’s workhorse PSLV), etc.
- It placed the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) earth observation satellite EOS-07 and two co-passenger satellites — Janus-1 and AzaadiSat2.
Note :
- The SSLV’s first development flight (August 2022, EOS 02), failed to place the satellites in precise orbit.
- A new vehicle is declared operational by the space agency after it completes two successful development flights.

EOS-07
- The EOS07 is a 156.3kg satellite designed, developed and realised by the ISRO.
- Its mission objective is to design and develop payload instruments compatible with micro satellite bus and technologies that are required for future operational satellites.
- It would design and develop a microsatellite accommodating new technology payloads in a quick turnaround time. New experiments include mm Wave humidity sounder and spectrum monitoring payload.
Janus-1
- Janus-1 is a technology demonstrator satellite built by United States-based Antaris and its Indian partners XD Links and Ananth Technologies.
- It weighs only 10.2 kg and is a six-unit cube satellite with five payloads on board — two from Singapore, and one each from Kenya, Australia, and Indonesia.
AzaadiSat2
- The payloads have been built by 750 girl students from across India.
- The payloads include: LoRa amateur radio, a sensor to measure radiation levels in space, and sensors to measure the health of the satellite such as temperature, reset count, and inertial data.

7. Free float in stocks

Subject : Economy

Section: Financial Market

Concept :

Recently, index provider MSCI said it has cut the free-float designations of four securities of India’s Adani group.

About Free Float:

The free float is also known as Public float which refers to the shares of a company that can be publicly traded and are not restricted.
It generally excludes promoters’ holding, government / strategic holding and other locked-in shares, which will not come to the market for trading in the normal course.
Free Float=(Outstanding shares-Restricted Shares-Closely held shares)
Outstanding shares refer to the number of shares held by all of the company’s shareholders
Restricted shares refer to shares that are not transferable until certain conditions are met. Restricted shares are generally held by corporate management, such as executives and directors.
Closely-held shares refer to shares that are typically held onto for a very long-term basis. Examples include major long-term shareholders and insiders.
Free Float Methodology is used to provide a more accurate reflection of market movements and stocks actively available for trading in the market.
The free-float methodology has been adopted by many of the world’s major indexes.

MSCI Index

MSCI is an acronym for Morgan Stanley Capital International.
It is an investment research firm that provides stock indexes, portfolio risk and performance analytics, and governance tools to institutional investors and hedge funds.
MSCI calculates free float-adjusted market capitalization for each security to calculate the weights of the securities in the MSCI indexes.
It is calculated by multiplying an equity’s share price to number of shares available in the market.
Rather than using all of the shares (both active and inactive), the free float method excludes the locked in shares.
The MSCI India Index is designed to measure the performance of the large and midcap segments of the Indian market.
With 96 constituents, the index covers approximately 85% of the Indian equity universe. The MSCI India Index was launched on Apr 30, 1993.

8. P.T. Usha chairs Rajya Sabha amid thumping by members

Subject : Polity

Section: Parliament

Concept :

PT Usha, nominated member of the Rajya sabha, presided over the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha in the absence of Chairman and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar.
In December 2022, Usha became the first nominated member in the history of the Rajya Sabha to be included in the panel of vice-chairman of the House.

Panel of Vice-Chairpersons of Rajya Sabha

The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha nominates a panel of vice-chairpersons from among the members, according to the Rajya Sabha Rules.
In the absence of the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman, any of them can preside over the House.
When presiding, he has the same powers as the Chairman. Until a new panel of vice-chairpersons is nominated, he remains in office.
When a member of the panel of vice-chairpersons is also absent, the House appoints someone else to act as Chairman.
It is important to note that while the Chairman or Deputy Chairman positions are vacant, a member of the panel of vice chairpersons cannot preside over the House.
During that time, the Chairman’s responsibilities are to be carried out by any member of the House that the President may appoint for the purpose.
To fill the vacated positions, elections are held as quickly as practicable.

9. 7 asphyxiated while cleaning edible oil tank

Subject :Science and Technology

Section :Health

Concept :

Seven workers died from asphyxiation during the removal of sludge from an edible oil tank at a mill in Kakinada district of Andhra Pradesh.

Asphyxiation

Asphyxiation is a condition in which the blood becomes more venous by the accumulation of more carbon dioxide and the oxygen supply is diminished.
Asphyxia is the extreme condition caused by lack of oxygen in the blood, produced by interference with respiration or insufficient oxygen in the air.

10. Article 356

Subject : Polity

Section :Federalism

Concept :

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recalled in Rajya Sabha that Congress governments at the Centre had dismissed 90 state governments by “misusing” Article 356 of the Constitution, and that former PM Indira Gandhi had “misused” it 50 times to dismiss elected state governments.

Article 356 of the Constitution

Article 356 of the Constitution of India gives President of India the power to suspend state government and impose President’s rule of any state in the country “if he is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution”.
Whether the constitutional machinery has broken down may be determined by the President at any time, either upon receipt of a report from the Governor, or suo motu.
It is also known as ‘State Emergency’ or ‘Constitutional Emergency’.

Origin of the article

Article 356 was inspired by Section 93 of the Government of India Act, 1935.
This provided that if a Governor of a province was satisfied that a situation had arisen in which the government of the province cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the said Act, he could assume to himself all or any of the powers of the government and discharge those functions in his discretion.
The Governor, however, could not encroach upon the powers of the high court.

Implications:

Upon the imposition of this rule, there would be no Council of Ministers.
Imposition of president rule, does not dissolves the legislature of the state automatically as in the case of the council of ministers.
The state will fall under the direct control of the Union government, and the Governor will continue to head the proceedings, representing the President of India.

Parliamentary Approval and Duration:

A proclamation imposing President’s Rule must be approved by both the Houses of Parliament within two months from the date of its issue.
The approval takes place through simple majority in either House, that is, a majority of the members of the House present and voting.
Initially valid for six months, the President’s Rule can be extended for a maximum period of three years with the approval of the Parliament, every six months.

Report of the Governor:

Under Article 356, President’s Rule is imposed if the President, upon receipt of the report from the Governor of the State or otherwise, is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of the State cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

Revocation:

A proclamation of President’s Rule may be revoked by the President at any time by a subsequent proclamation.
Such a proclamation does not require parliamentary approval.

Article 356 And Its Misuse

Even though B.R. Ambedkar had assured that it would remain a dead letter, Article 356 has been used/misused more than 125 times.
In almost all cases it was used for political considerations rather than any genuine breakdown of constitutional machinery in the States.
Until 1959, Jawaharlal Nehru’s government had used the article six times, including to dislodge the first-ever elected communist government in the world, in Kerala in 1959.
In the 1960s, it was used 11 times. After Indira came to power in 1966, Article 356 was used seven times between 1967 and 1969 alone.
The 1970s were more politically turbulent. Between 1970 and 1974, President’s Rule was imposed 19 times. Post Emergency, the Janata Party government used it in 1977 to summarily dismiss nine Congress state governments.
When Indira returned to power in 1980, her government too imposed President’s Rule in nine states.
In 1992-93, Prime Minister Narasimha Rao dismissed three BJP governments in the wake of the demolition of Babri Masjid, besides Kalyan Singh’s government in UP.

Article 356 And Safeguards

The 1994 Supreme Court (S.R. Bommai case) majority decision, in essence, overturned a long tradition that the use of Article 356 was not really subject to judicial review.
The Bommai case verdict laid down the conditions under which State governments may be dismissed, and mechanisms for that process.
In the R. Bommai case, a nine-member bench of the Supreme Court construed the scope of Article 356, which also allows the imposition of President’s Rule in the States, with stringent conditions.
The court held that Article 356 can be invoked in situations of the physical breakdown of the government or when there is a ‘hung assembly’, but that it cannot be used without giving the state government a chance to either prove its majority in the House or without instances of a violent breakdown of the constitutional machinery.
These included ascertaining whether objective conditions exist which render it impossible to carry out governance in the State where the proclamation has been made and the process has to be approved by both Houses of Parliament before consideration for judicial review.
Since the judgment, the arbitrary use of Article 356 has been largely controlled.

11. Bear cartel hand seen in $100b rout in Adani shares

Subject : Economy

Section :Money Market

Concept :

An initial probe by market regulator SEBI and government agencies suggests that a bear cartel may have triggered the $100billion rout in the share price of Adani Group companies through the use of highly potent structured product derivatives (SPDs), tailor made by foreign banks for high networth traders and funds.
SPDs, like Participatory Notes, keep the identity ofthe ultimate beneficiary hidden.
By India’s tax and SEBI laws, short selling of domestic stocks outside India is illegal.
But the probe reveals huge trading in Adani stocks outside the country that had a domino effect on domestic markets as the volatility increased.

Bear cartel

In the stock market, bears are those who identify problematic companies and short-sell them.
Short selling means that traders sell the shares of a particular company without owning them.
They can do this by borrowing shares from other shareholders or by going short in the futures market.
To create maximum impact on the share prices, the traders create a group termed as a bear cartel.
Since the bears attack a particular stock or group of stocks in order to gain from the fall in price, the action is performed normally in times of stress and bad market conditions.

How it happens?

Bears identify companies with relatively weak fundamentals to maximize gains.
For example, if a company has very high debt on its books and if there is news that it is facing problems on the cash flow front, the bears will quickly get into action and start selling that stock.
Since there is a group of people acting in a coordinated fashion, the impact is higher. As the stock price start falling, even normal shareholders get nervous and start selling, which leads to a further decline in the share prices.
Once the prices fall significantly, the original short sellers cover their positions and gain from the fall.

Example :

Let’s assume that a bear borrows a bunch of shares when the price is 100 per share and sells it in the market. Due to heavy selling pressure, the share prices collapse to 50 after a period of time. Now the bear will buy at 50 and return it to the shareholder.
Assuming there is no transaction cost, the bear will gain 50 per share. Similarly, in the futures market, the bear will short sell at the prevailing price and square off his position at a lower price.

Structured product

A structured product is essentially a customised financial instrument that utilizes various investment avenues and combines them in a package.
Structured products or market-linked debentures are products where majority of the money is invested in fixed-income securities and the smaller portion in derivatives linked to a assets such as equities.
The risk factors and the return objectives of structured products are not fixed and can vary per the needs of the investor.
Structured products utilise traditional underlying assets, but the returns from the underlying assets are swapped with derivatives.
Structured products include bonds, equities, and derivatives as the principal assets.
Bonds and equities together generate returns and derivatives act as the determinant of the overall risk involved in a structured product.
Derivatives help customise the returns from the underlying assets to meet the unique requirements of the investors.
Usually, structured products combine different asset classes to create a mixed investment portfolio. A structured product balances the risks it undertakes by including secure investments as part of the portfolio.
In India, the minimum value of a structured product investment is INR 10 lakhs.

Participatory notes

Participatory notes (P-notes) are issued by registered foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to overseas investors who wish to be a part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves under SEBI directly after going through a due diligence process.
The increase in P-notes investment is in line with the higher net inflows of Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) in the cash segment.
P-Notes are Offshore Derivative Investments (ODIs) with equity shares or debt securities as underlying assets, as they are used by the investors abroad but not within India.
They provide liquidity to the investors as they can transfer the ownership by endorsement and delivery.
While the FIIs have to report all such investments each quarter to SEBI, they need not disclose the identity of the actual investors.

12. India notifies to WTO its quality control plans for 12 protective textile items

Subject : Economy

Section :External Sector

Concept :

India has notified to the WTO of its intention to come up with a quality control order (QCO) for 12 items made of protective textile including protective clothing and gloves, bullet resistance jackets, high-visibility warning clothes and water-proof multi-purpose rain ponchos.
The QCO, which makes Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification mandatory for sale of the identified items in the domestic market, is aimed at ensuring health and safety of consumers but also plays an important role in curbing cheap imports.
The final date for comments (from WTO members) is 60 days from the date of notification as per the notification made to the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade of the WTO.

Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) of the WTO

WTO members/observers use the TBT Committee to discuss specific trade concerns (STCs) — specific laws, regulations or procedures that affect their trade, usually in response to notifications.
Committee develops a series of decisions and recommendations intended to facilitate implementation of the TBT Agreement.
The Committee usually holds three formal meetings per year. These are sometimes preceded by workshops or thematic sessions.
Meetings are open to all WTO members and observer governments.

Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement

The TBT Agreement was negotiated during the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, which was concluded in 1994
The Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement aims to ensure that technical regulations, standards, and conformity assessment procedures are non-discriminatory and do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade.
The TBT establishes rules and procedures regarding the development, adoption, and application of voluntary product standards, mandatory technical regulations, and the procedures (such as testing or certification) used to determine whether a particular product meets such standards or regulations.
The Agreement seeks to prohibit the use of technical requirements as needless barriers to trade.
At the same time, it recognises WTO members’ right to implement measures to achieve legitimate policy objectives, such as the protection of human health and safety, or protection of the environment.
Although it applies to a broad range of agricultural and industrial products, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and specifications for government procurement are covered under separate agreements.

13. India discovers lithium inferred resources in Jammu and Kashmir

Subject :Geography

Section : Economic Geography

Concept :

India has discovered lithium-inferred resources to the tune of 5.9 million tonnes in the Salal-Haimana area of Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.
According to a statement, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) report on lithium resources, along with 15 other resource-bearing geological reports (that are in general exploration and preliminary exploration stages) and 35 geological memoranda, were handed over to respective State governments during the 62nd Central Geological Programming Board (CGPB) meeting.

India’s lithium reserves

According to the Indian Mines Ministry, the government agencies made the small discovery of lithium resources at a site in Mandya, Karnataka. It is the country’s first lithium reserve.
Now, Lithium inferred resources have been found in the Reasi District of Jammu & Kashmir (UT).

Lithium Production in the world

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), global lithium production in 2019 stood at 77,000 tonnes.
Australia, Chile, China and Argentina are the world’s top four lithium-producing countries.
Australia is by far the world’s top producer of lithium, with an output of 42,000 tonnes in 2019.

About lithium

Lithium is a non-ferrous metal and is one of the key components in EV batteries.
It has the symbol Li and is a chemical element.
It’s a silvery-white metal with a delicate texture.
It is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element under normal circumstances.
It must be kept in mineral oil since it is very reactive and combustible.
It is both an alkali and a rare metal.

Advantages of lithium

Increased applicability: In order to take advantage of renewable energy, the need for bulk energy storage applications has been increasing. This includes electric vehicles (EVs) and backup electric storage systems.
The good life: Lithium-ion-based batteries have a good rate of charging and they last longer.
Higher energy density: The energy density of the Li-ion batteries is higher.
Wide usage: Being primarily used in batteries, it also finds its use in glass, ceramics, rocket fuel and lasers.

How critical is lithium for India?

The lithium deposits are critical for India as the country puts its focus on electric mobility for both public and private transport, especially in the country’s prime cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, and Chennai.
These metals are strategic in nature and have a wide range of applications in nuclear and other high-tech industries, including electronics, telecommunications, information technology, space, and the military.
India’s Ministry of Mines further stated that 51 mineral blocks including Lithium and Gold were handed over to respective state governments.
Out of the 51 mineral blocks, 5 blocks are of gold.
Other blocks pertain to commodities like potash, molybdenum, and base metals.

About the Geological Survey of India (GSI)

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) was established in 1851 to serve British interests in exploring coal deposits for the expansion of the railway network in the country.
After independence in 1947, it has come under the ambit of the mining ministry and also serves as the top scientific base for geological explorations.
The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is a scientific agency of India.
The main functions of the GSI relate to the creation and update of national geo-scientific information and mineral resource assessment.
It is headquartered in Kolkata and has six regional offices located at Lucknow, Jaipur, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Shillong and Kolkata.
Every state has a state unit.

14. History of child marriage

Subject : History

Section :Modern history

Concept :

From Rig vedic period to modern times, child marriage is practised throughout the country with religious sanctions.
Hindu and Muslim Personal Laws do not explicitly prohibit child marriage.
Manusmritis:
It says that if the father fails to marry off his daughter within three years of her attaining puberty, she can find a spouse on her own.
Medhatithi, one of the oldest and earliest commentators on the Manusmriti, eight years is the right age for a girl to be given in marriage
The Rig Veda mentions garbhadhan — literally, attaining the wealth of the womb. It is the first of the 16 samskaras a Hindu is expected to perform.
The Greek traveller Megasthenes (350-290 BC) has written that he was told that the women of the Pandian kingdom in South India bear children at six years of age.
About seven centuries later, the Persian polymath, Al Biruni, wrote that child marriages were rampant in India.
The Muslim clergy too considered child marriages to be valid, though such children have the option to nullify their marriage.
The colonial state should be credited for reforming marriage laws. The Age of Consent Acts of 1861 and 1891 brought in reform in conjugal rights.

Age of consent 1861

The 1861 Act laid down 10 years as the minimum age for sexual intercourse.
The Hindu intelligentsia opposed raising this age to 12 on the grounds that it violated norms related to garbhadhan.

Age of consent act 1891

The Age of Consent Act, 1891 was a legislation enacted in British India on 19 March 1891 which raised the age of consent for sexual intercourse for all girls, married or unmarried, from ten to twelve years in all jurisdictions, its violation subject to criminal prosecution as rape.
Tilak’s newspapers Maratha and Kesari were at the forefront of this campaign, which was opposed to the age of consent act.

Background

The sufferings of two young girls Rukhmabai and PhulmoniDasi has led to this act.
Rukhmabai case
In 1884, Rukhmabai, a 20-year-old woman was taken to Bombay high court by her husband Bhikaji after she refused to live with him.
Having married him at the age of 11 years, never having consummated the marriage and having lived separately for nearly 8 years she refused to move back with him.
She was ordered by the court to live with her husband or face a six month imprisonment. She refused to comply and the rising costs of the trial forced Bhikaji withdrew the case in July 1888 upon a settlement of 2000 rupees.
This trial was one of the precursors for the passage of this legislation.

PhulmoniDasi

In 1889, the death of an 11-year-old Bengali girl PhulmoniDasiafter being brutally raped by her 35-year-old husband Hari Mohan Maitee served as a catalyst for its legislation.
Hari Mohan Maitee was acquitted on charges of rape, but found guilty on causing death inadvertently by a rash and negligent act.

Sarda Act

The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 was also known as Sarda Act. The act was passed on 28 September 1929.
As per the act the age of marriage for girls was fixed at 14 years and for boys it was 18 years.
This law is also known as the Sarda Act after its sponsor Harbilas Sarda, a judge and member of Arya Samaj.
This act applied to the whole of the British India and the Princely states were exempted from the purview of this act.
The Sarda Act was amended in 1978 to prescribe the age of marriage for a girl and boy as 18 and 21 years respectively.

Joshi Committee and the act

Various bills addressing questions on the age of consent were introduced in the Indian legislatures and defeated.
The Joshi Committee was formed for the purpose of recommending the age for marriage and consent for males and females in British India.
The All-India Women’s Conference, Women’s Indian Association and National Council of Women in India, through their members developed and articulated the argument in favour of raising of the age for marriage and consent before the Joshi Committee.
Muslim women presented their views to the Joshi Committee in favour of raising the age limit of marriage even when they knew that they would face opposition from Muslim Ulemas.
The Joshi Committee presented its report on 20 June 1929 and was passed by the Imperial Legislative Council on 28 September 1929 and became a law on 1 April 1930, after approval from Lord Irwin extending to the whole of British India.
It fixed 14 and 18 as the marriageable age for girls and boys respectively of all communities.

International law on child marriage

Along with the Indian laws and constitutional provisions modern international laws and conventions do mandate countries to stipulate a minimum legal age for marriage.

Some of the conventions are:

The United Nations (UN) Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages (1962).
The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979).
The Beijing Declaration (1995).

15. Appeal for cow hug day unconstitutional – AITUC

Subject : History

Section :Modern India

Concept :

Leftwing trade union All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) questioned the appeal of Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) to mark February 14 as ‘cow hug day’.
Terming it as shocking and outrageously appalling, the AITUC secretariat said the Centre approving such an appeal was all the more deplorable.
The appeal was ‘unconstitutional’ as the Indian Constitution stood for encouraging scientific temper, it said and urged the Centre to immediately withdraw it.

All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)

The most important development in the workers’ movement during independence struggle was the formation of All-India Trade Union Congress under the leadership of Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai.
It was formed in 1920 at Bombay.
Since then the working class movement became strong and by 1930 onwards, an ideological tone was added to the movement.

Cause of Formation:

Many people connected with labour realised that there was a need for a central organisation of labour to coordinate the works of the trade unions all over India.
The formation of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 1919 acted as a catalyst for it.
The members selected from AITUC represented the Indian Labour at the ILO.

Leaders Involved:

Bal Gangadhar Tilak, N.M.Joshi, B.P.Wadia, Diwan Chamanlall, Lala Lajpat Rai and Joseph Baptista were the main leaders behind the formation of AITUC.
Lala Lajpat Rai became the first president of the AITUC and Joseph Baptista its vice president.
Lajpat Rai was the first to link capitalism with imperialism: “imperialism and militarism are the twin children of capitalism”.

Ideology of AITUC:

In the beginning, the AITUC was influenced by social democratic ideas of the British Labour Party.
The Gandhian philosophy of non-violence, trusteeship and class-collaboration had great influence on AITUC.
Since 1945, the All India Trade Union Congress has been politically associated with the Communist Party of India.
Trade Union Act, 1926:
The act recognised trade unions as legal associations.
It laid down conditions for registration and regulation of trade union activities.
It secured civil and criminal immunity for trade unions from prosecution for legitimate activities, but also put some restrictions on their political activities.

Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI )

AWBI is a statutory advisory body under the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying)
It derives its legal structure from the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
It was established in
It was started under the stewardship of Late Smt. Rukmini Devi Arundale, well known humanitarian.
Headquarters: Chennai
Mandate:
It frames rules on how animals ought to be humanely treated everywhere.
It has also frequently litigated to have stricter laws to ensure animals were not unduly harassed or tortured.

Membership:

Several government organisations, along with animal rights activists and parliamentarians, are represented on the Board.
The Board consists of 28 Members.
The term of office of Members is for a period of 3 years.