Daily Prelims Notes 2 June 2023

Daily Prelims Notes

2 June 2023

Table of Contents

1. Tribes of Manipur
2. Odisha to procure sal seeds from 9 districts.
3. Why is China digging a 10-km-deep hole into Earth’s crust?
4. Who should own the world’s lithium?
5. Yellow River protection efforts stepped up
6. Idols, coins, seals: Latest finds at Purana Qila excavation site
7. In new Parliament building, the story of India told through its art and craft forms
8. Scheme For Circular economy in Smart Cities gets approval
9. Puff the magic dragon – e cigarette
10. Law Commission on Sedition
11. Africa mulls legal options on ICC warrant against Putin
12. U.S. and Taiwan ink trade deal as China issues warning
13. NCERT in ‘rationalisation’ move drops periodic table chapter from Class X book
14. Suspension of Operations (So0) Agreement
15. Mural of Akhand Bharat in Parliament stirs up row in Nepal
16. IRDAI: Bima Sugam, Bima Vahaks and Bima Vistaar
17. NPAs linked to trade credit crisis
18. CBDT removes Fair Market Value (FMV) hurdle to Disinvestment

1. Tribes of Manipur

Subject: History

Section: Art & Culture

Context: Ethnic clashes

Content: There are 33 recognised tribes (in Manipur) which either fall under the Nagas or the Kukis, the two different conglomerates of Manipur tribals. Despite the socio-political and linguistic differences among them, all the ethnic tribes originate from the same Mongoloid group. Rice is consumed as the main food by all tribes of Manipur whereas meat, fish and seasonal vegetables are being the favorites. Some of the tribals are listed below.

2. Odisha to procure sal seeds from 9 districts.

Subject : Geography

Section: Physical geography

Context:

• The government-owned Tribal Development Co-operative Corporation of Odisha Ltd (TDCCOL) decided to procure sal seeds (Shorearobusta) from nine Odisha districts in late May 2023.

Details:

• The district administration has entrusted Odisha Rural Development and Marketing Society (ORMAS) to purchase the seeds from the tribals at a fair price at the beginning of the procurement season.
• ORMAS has already procured around 150 metric tonnes of sal seeds from the tribals in the district, which would be supplied to a Chhattisgarh-based company.
• The move, which comes after a gap of three years, intends to arrest the distress sale of the minor forest produce (MFP).
• The government will procure the sal seeds from tribal people at the minimum support price (MSP) of 20rs/kg.
• Associated issues:
  • Odisha has no major solvent extraction plant that produces oil from sal seeds, due to which the intermediaries procure the seeds from the state at a lower rate and sell them at a higher rate to the oil companies of other states
  • The sal seeds will be procured from 9 tribal districts only, the rest of the sal seeds will be sold at throwaway prices.
  • Some major districts that are excluded are Deogarh, Koraput, Rayagada, Gajapati, Nayagarh and Mayurbhanj..
  • The decision came a bit late, as tribals from many districts have already sold the seeds at 10-15rs/kg.

Sal tree (Shorearobusta):

• A species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae.
• The tree is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet and across the Himalayan regions.
• In India, it extends from Chhattisgarh, Assam, Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand west to the Shivalik Hills in Haryana, east of the Yamuna.
• The range also extends through the Eastern Ghats and to the eastern Vindhya and Satpura ranges of central India.
• It is often the dominant tree in the forests where it occurs.

Sal seeds in Odisha:

• Odisha has a rich depository of sal seeds accounting for 25 per cent of the country’s production, which played a significant role in the economics of the tribal people in the state.
• Around 40 per cent of the total tribal populations here are engaged in collecting and processing the seeds to eke out a living.
• Other major sal seeds producing states include Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
• Generally, the collection starts in mid-April and is completed before the onset of monsoon.
• After collecting the raw seeds, they are processed, dried, roasted, winnowed and pounded to separate the husk and the kernel.
• The process is very difficult and involves the labour of an entire family to produce quality dry seeds.

3. Why is China digging a 10-km-deep hole into Earth’s crust?

Subject : Geography

Section: Physical geography

Context:

• China has embarked on an ambitious endeavour to dig a 10-kilometre-deep hole into the Earth’s crust as part of its exploration efforts with the aim to reach rocks from the Cretaceous Period, the layer known as the Cretaceous System, which dates back up to 145 million years.

Details:

• The project is taking place in the Tarim Basin of Xinjiang province.
• The excavation is located in the challenging environment of the Taklimakan Desert, China’s largest desert. 
• The project will fetch the information about:
  • The evolution of landscapes,
  • Climate change, and
  • The distribution of life
• The project will allow the scientists to identify and date significant events such as:
  • Volcanic eruptions,
  • Earthquakes,
  • Shifts in climate,
  • Study ancient life forms

Deepest hole dug by human:

• The deepest man-made hole on Earth is held by the Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia, which reached a depth of 12,262 meters.
• The Kola project was aimed to study the Earth’s crust and mantle.
• The digging was stopped in 1992 when the temperature reached 180⁰C.
• Apart from Russia and China, the US and Germany have also previously tried digging into the Earth’s crust but weren’t able to finish the project because of the increasingly unbearable temperature and lack of funds.

4. Who should own the world’s lithium?

Subject : Geography

Section: Economy geography

Context:

• Recently, a significant reserve of lithium has been found in the Raesi district of Jammu and Kashmir UT.

Who should own these minerals:

• In July 2013, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India ruled that the owner of the land has rights to everything beneath, “down to the centre of the earth”.
• Yet, large areas of land, including forests — which make up more than 22% of India’s landmass — hills, mountains, and revenue wasteland are publicly owned.
• The Supreme Court also recalled that the Union government could always ban private actors from mining sensitive minerals, as is already the case with uranium under the Atomic Energy Act 1962.

Importance of lithium reserve:

• The ongoing global transition to low-carbon economies, the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), and 5G networks will greatly reshape global and regional geopolitics.

Global practices to manage lithium reserves:

• In Chile, the government has designated lithium as a strategic resource and its development has been made the exclusive prerogative of the state.
  • The state has licensed only two companies — SQM and Albemarle — to produce lithium in the country.
  • In April 2023, Chile’s president Gabriel Boric announced a new “National Lithium Strategy”,the new strategy calls for public-private partnerships for future lithium projects, which will allow the state to regulate the environmental impact of lithium mining,distribute the revenue from lithium production more fairly among local communities, and promote domestic research into lithium-based green technologies.
• Bolivia’s new constitution gave the state“the control and direction over the exploration, exploitation, industrialisation, transport, and commercialisation of natural resources.”
  • Bolivia has nationalised lithium and adopted a hard line against private and foreign participation.
  • Bolivia’s current president, Luis Arce, seeks to change that.
• Mexico’s president Andrés Manuel López Obrador also nationalised lithium in February this year, declaring, “Oil and lithium belong to the nation, they belong to the people of Mexico.”

Lithium metal:

• A soft, silvery metal. It has the lowest density of all metals. It reacts vigorously with water.

Applications of lithium:

• The most important use of lithium is in rechargeable batteries for mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras and electric vehicles.
• Lithium is also used in some non-rechargeable batteries for things like heart pacemakers, toys and clocks.
• Lithium metal is made into alloys with aluminium and magnesium, improving their strength and making them lighter.
• A magnesium-lithium alloy is used for armour plating.Aluminium-lithium alloys are used in aircraft, bicycle frames and high-speed trains.
• Lithium oxide is used in special glasses and glass ceramics.
• Lithium chloride is one of the most hygroscopic materials known, and is used in air conditioning and industrial drying systems (as is lithium bromide).
• Lithium stearate is used as an all-purpose and high-temperature lubricant.
• Lithium carbonate is used in drugs to treat manic depression, although its action on the brain is still not fully understood.
• Lithium hydride is used as a means of storing hydrogen for use as a fuel.

Natural occurrence:

• Lithium does not occur as a metal in nature but is found combined in small amounts in nearly all igneous rocks and in the waters of many mineral springs.
• Spodumene, petalite, lepidolite, and amblygonite are the more important minerals containing lithium.
• Most lithium is currently produced in Chile, from brines that yield lithium carbonate when treated with sodium carbonate.
• The metal is produced by the electrolysis of molten lithium chloride and potassium chloride.

Status of India’s lithium industry:

• India’s electric-vehicle (EV) market was valued at $383.5 million in 2021, and is expected to expand to $152.21 billion in 2030.
• India imported 450 million units of lithium batteries valued at $929.26 million (₹6,600 crore) in 2019-2020, which makes the development of the country’s domestic lithium reserves a matter of high stakes.

5. Yellow River protection efforts stepped up

Subject : Geography

Section: Places in news

Context:

• China’s top legislature passed the Yellow River Protection Law on October 30, 2022.

Yellow River Delta protection reserve:

• The reserve, established in October 1992 to protect the wetlands, covers about 1,530 square kilometres, with the wetlands comprising most of the area.
• The reserve is situated in Dongying, Shandong Province.
• The environment at the reserve has significantly improved over the years. It is now home to many birds.

Causes of destruction of yellow river delta:

• Back in the 1980s and ’90s, coastal erosion, seawater encroachment and drought caused the wetlands to shrink.
• The delta’s rich wetland ecosystems were also seriously threatened by oil production, industrial waste pollution and land reclamation.

Efforts to protect the delta:

• The Yellow River Law, which took effect in April, regulates water use along the river, to which more water resources will be added to supplement the wetlands.
• In recent years, the city has spent 1.36 billion yuan (Rs 15.92 billion) to support 17 wetland protection and restoration projects in the delta, including water supplements, cordgrass treatment, and offshore biodiversity conservation, which has helped strengthen the city’s wetland ecosystem.
• In the past three years, more than 480 million cubic metres of water from the Yellow River has been replenished at the reserve.
• Data from the reserve’s management committee show that this work has effectively alleviated soil salinisation in the wetlands.
• They have built channels and sluices to ensure that water is replenished when needed at the wetlands.
• The reserve management committee divided the wetlands into 49 areas based on the growth conditions for animals and plants, ensuring that each area receives the correct amount of water. Nurtured by the waterway, the animals and plants are thriving.
• Work is being carried out in Dongying to restore seagrass beds and native plants growing along waterways in the wetlands, such as Suaeda salsa, a type of herb.
• Removal of invasive plants:
  • Teaming up with the Chinese Academy of Sciences Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, the local government has created an effective way to eradicate Spartina alterniflora, a type of marsh cordgrass found on the estuary coastline that was seriously threatening the habitats of numerous species.
  • Spartina alterniflora found on more than 8,730 hectares of land has been eradicated in past years, resulting in 76 kilometres of blocked tidal channels being cleared, the management committee’s data show.

Result of the protection efforts:

• Statistics show that the number of avian species in the delta has risen from 187 in the years after the reserve was established to 373.
• Last year, 470 chicks were born to Oriental storks at the reserve, while 315 red-crowned cranes were observed wintering at the wetlands.
• To create a good environment for the birds, they built some small islands on waterways where the Yellow River flows through the wetlands.

About Yellow River:

• The Yellow River or Huang He is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at an estimated length of 5,464 km (3,395 mi).
• Originating at an elevation above 15,000 feet (4,600 metres) in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai province of Western China, it flows through nine provinces, and it empties into the Bohai Sea near the city of Dongying in Shandong province.
• It carries millions of tonnes of soil east every year, some of it reaching the estuary, where the waterway flows into the Bohai Sea in Dongying, forming the wetlands.
• The Yellow River’s basin was the birthplace of ancient Chinese, and, by extension, East Asian civilisation.

6. Idols, coins, seals: Latest finds at Purana Qila excavation site

Subject : History

Section: Art and Culture

Context:

• Excavations at Purana Qila, where the ‘sixth city’ of Delhi once stood, have so far revealed nine cultural levels and a continuous history spanning over 2,500 years.

The artifacts recovered:

• The artifacts recovered — ranging from idols of Hindu deities to over a hundred coins and almost three dozen seals among others — will be show- cased as an Open Air Site Museum at the fort.
• As per the Ministry of Culture, the ongoing leg of excavation work aims to establish “a complete chronology of the site”, which has yielded artifacts from different historical periods: Pre-Mauryan, Mauryan, Sunga, Kushana, Gupta, Post Gupta, Rajput, Sultanate and Mughal.
• Currently, after reaching a depth of 5.50 meters, according to the Ministry, structures from early Kushana level have been exposed, and the excavation is expected to provide further insights into the ancient city of Indraprastha.
• The ministry listed a stone image of Vaikuntha Vishnu, a terracotta plaque of Gaja Laxmi, a stone image of Ganesha, seals and sealings, coins, terracotta figurines, beads of various stones and a bone needle among the notable recoveries from the site.
• Purana Qila — which served as an internment camp for Japanese civilians of British India during the Second World War and as a refugee camp following the Partition — has witnessed multiple excavations in the past.
• Padma-awardee Professor BB Lal conducted excavations in 1955 and 1969-73, followed by excavations led by Dr Vasant Kumar Swarnkar of the ASI in 2013-14 and 2017-18.

Purana Qila:

• Purana Qilla, the 16th-century fort, was built by Sher Shah Suri and second Mughal emperor Humayun. The fort is standing on a site with thousands of years of history.
• PuranaQila is built on the banks of river Yamuna and is the oldest fort of Delhi.
• It has been said that the fort was previously built by the Pandavas for their kingdom Indraprastha as some gray ware of that period was found during excavation.
• PuranaQila was renovated by Humayun in 1533 and it took around five years to complete.
• The fort was built inside Din Panah Which was a small city in Delhi. Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun in 1540 and captured the fort.
• Sher Shah Suri ruled for five years and in his reign he constructed many structures inside the fort and named the fort as Shergarh.After winning again, the renovation of the fort continued by Humayun.
• Shah Jahan wanted to shift his capital from the old fort so he constructed Lal Qila or Red Fort.

Gateways of the fort

• The walls of the fort are 18m high and the circumference of the fort is 1.5km. There are three gates in the fort which are Bara Darwaza, Humayun Darwaza, TalaqiDarwaza
• The Bara Darwaza is still in use and it faces west. Humayun Darwaza was named so because Humayun’s tomb is visible from here.
• TalaqiDarwaza or forbidden gate is the third gate of the fort. Each of the gates has two storeys and are built with sandstone. Each gate also has two bastion towers made up of marble.
• Qila-i-Kuhna Mosque: Sher Shah Suri built this mosque in 1541. Five doorways are there, each having a pointed arch in each. In this mosque the king and his courtiers used to offer prayers.
• Sher Mandal: The construction of Sher Mandal was started by Babur and completed by Humayun. The building is made up of red sandstone and is octagonal in shape. Babur used the building as an observatory and library.

7. In new Parliament building, the story of India told through its art and craft forms

Subject : History

Section: Art and Culture

Context:

• The answers to these have found their way into the Shilp Gallery of
• The new Parliament is  home to eight rare installations by 300-odd workers and one of three such galleries dedicated to the arts.

Galleries in Parliament:

• While the Shilp Gallery, entry to which is from the old Lok Sabha side, is completed, the Sangeet gallery for India’s dance and music traditions and the Sthapatya gallery, dedicated to the country’s architectural her- itage, are works in progress.
• From using traditional forms of storytelling to showcase the festivals of India to calligraphy to present the different scripts through poems, sayings and shloka, the gallery is a rich layer- ing of India’s numerous crafts.
• DastkariHaat Samiti, has brought together eight installations in parliament under themes that were given by the Ministry of Culture. These include — Gyan (knowledge), Prakriti (nature), Aastha (faith), Ullas (happiness), Parv (celebration), Swavlamban (self- reliance) and Yatra (journey).

Highlights of Ancient Artworks model in Parliament:

• The new building has six entrances to exhibit “guardian statues showing auspicious animals.
• These “auspicious animals” have been chosen based on their importance in Indian culture, vaastu shastra and traits such as wisdom, victory, power and success.
• Each animal chosen to be installed in the building possesses a set of affirmations, spreading well-being and harmony.
• Importance of Direction:
  • The North: Guarding the ceremonial entrance to the north is the gaja (elephant), which represents wisdom, wealth, intellect and memory.
  • According to vastu shastra, the northern direction is associated with Mercury, which is the source of higher intellect.
  • The South: The southern entrance is the ashva (horse), which is symbolic of endurance, strength, power and speed — describing the quality of governance.
  • The East: Soaring at the eastern entrance is the garuda (eagle), which symbolizes the aspirations of the people.
  • In vaastu shastra, the east is associated with the rising sun, representing victory.
  • The northeastern entrance has hamsa (swan), representing discernment and wisdom.
  • The remaining entrances showcase the Makara (a mythical aquatic creature that is a combination of the body parts of different animals), which represents unity in diversity, and the shardula (a mythical animal that is said to be the most powerful of all living beings), which symbolizes the power of the people of the country.
• Remains of India’s freedom struggle:
  • The new building will have six granite statues devoted to personalities involved in the freedom struggle and making of the Constitution, four galleries each for the two Houses, three ceremonial foyers, as many India galleries and one Constitution gall

8. Scheme For Circular economy in Smart Cities gets approval

Subject : Environment

Section: Pollution

Context:

• THE UNION Cabinet approved the City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS) 2.0 to promote circular economy in 18 smart cities to be selected through a competition.

Circular economy in smart cities:

• The total funding for the scheme — Rs 1,760 crore — will come from loans from French Development Agency (AFD) and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), a German development bank; and a grant of Rs 106 crore from the European Union, the government said in a statement.
• The programme starts this year and will run until 2027, with the support of the National Institute of Urban Affairs.
• The programme envisages to support competitively selected projects promoting circular economy with focus on:
  • integrated waste management at the city level, 
  • climate-oriented reform actions at the state level, and 
  • institu- tional strengthening and knowledge dissemination at the National level.
• The first iteration of CITIES was launched in 2018 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), AFD, the EU and the NIUA with a total outlay of Rs 933 crore. Twelve cities out of the 100 smart cities were selected for this.
• CITIIS 2.0 will include financial and technical support for 18 cities to develop projects on climate resilience, with a focus on integrated waste management.
• In the second component, all states and UTs will be eligible for support to set up climate centers, creating state and city-level climate data observatories and ca- pacity-building for municipal staff.
• The projects likely to be funded through the scheme would be collection and transportation of waste, including transfer stations; automated recovery facilities; biomethanation plants; construction and demolition waste processing plants; and sanitary landfills.

Smart Cities Mission:

• The Smart Cities Mission was launched by the Hon’ Prime Minister on 25 June, 2015.
• The main objective of the Mission is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment and give a decent quality of life to their citizens through the application of ‘smart solutions’.
• It is under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• The Mission aims to drive economic growth and improve quality of life through comprehensive work on social, economic, physical and institutional pillars of the city.
• The focus is on sustainable and inclusive development by creation of replicable models which act as lighthouses to other aspiring cities. 100 cities have been selected to be developed as Smart Cities

9. Puff the magic dragon – e cigarette

Subject: Science and tech

Section: Msc

Concept :

• On World No Tobacco Day, when countries are pressed into performing, the Union Ministry of Health has directed OTT platforms to run anti-tobacco health spots and warnings, notifying the amended rules under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2004.
• However, e-cigarettes, or vaporisers, or vapes that contain nicotine, a tobacco extract, do not fall under the rule.

E-cigarettes

• E-cigarettes are sometimes called “e-cigs,” “vapes,” “e-hookahs,” “vape pens,” and “Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS).”
• Some e-cigarettes look like regular cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. Some look like USB flash drives, pens, and other everyday items.
• Using an e-cigarette is sometimes called “vaping.”
• Potential Benefits: E-cigarettes have often been suggested as a potential means to help smokers quit.

What are the harmful effects?

• E-cigarettes are not safe for youth, young adults, and pregnant women, as well as adults who do not currently use tobacco products.
• In 2016, the U.S. Surgeon General had concluded that “e-cigarette use among youths and young adults is a public health concern; exposure to nicotine during adolescence can cause addiction and can harm the developing adolescent brain.”
• Study of 2018: It found the use of e-cigarette daily was associated with a 79% increase in heart attack risk after other variables were taken into account.
• the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR): According to a white paper on e-cigarettes by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), depending on the battery output voltage used, nicotine solvents can release in varying amounts potential carcinogens such as acetaldehyde, formaldehyde and acetone.
• The liquid-vaporizing solutions also contain “toxic chemicals and metals that can cause several adverse health effects including cancers and diseases of the heart, lungs and brain”.
• Defective e-cigarette batteries have caused fires and explosions, some of which have resulted in serious injuries. Most explosions happened when the e-cigarette batteries were being charged.

What is in e-cigarette aerosol?

• The e-cigarette aerosol that users breathe from the device and exhale can contain harmful and potentially harmful substances, including:
• Nicotine
• Ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs Flavouring such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to a serious lung disease
• Volatile organic compounds
• Cancer-causing chemicals
• Heavy metals such as nickel, tin, and lead

What is Nicotine?

• Nicotine is a highly addictive chemical compound present in a tobacco plant.
• All tobacco products contain nicotine, including cigarettes, non-combusted cigarettes (commonly referred to as “heat-not-burn tobacco products” or “heated tobacco products”), cigars, smokeless tobacco, hookah tobacco, and most e-cigarettes.
• Nicotine chemical symbol over a woman holding her head
• Using any tobacco product can lead to nicotine addiction. This is because nicotine can change the way the brain works, causing cravings for more of it.

10. Law Commission on Sedition

Subject : Polity

Section: Constitution

Concept :

• The Law Commission of India has recently released a report on sedition law, which is a colonial-era provision that criminalises any speech or expression that incites hatred or contempt against the government.
• The report has recommended that the sedition law should not be repealed but rather amended to make it more clear and more specific.

Some of the changes proposed by the report are:

• The definition of sedition should be narrowed down to include only those acts that involve violence or incitement to violence against the government or public order.
• The words ‘hatred’, ‘contempt’ and ‘disaffection’ should be replaced by ‘incitement to violence’ in Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with sedition.
• The burden of proof should be on the prosecution to show that the accused had the intention to incite violence or public disorder through their speech or expression.
• The courts should take into account the context and circumstances of the speech or expression, as well as its impact and tendency, before deciding whether it amounts to sedition or not.
• The Centre should issue model guidelines for police officers and magistrates on how to deal with sedition cases, such as requiring prior sanction from a senior official before registering a case, conducting a preliminary inquiry, and granting bail to the accused.
• The punishment for sedition should be reduced from life imprisonment to a maximum of seven years, with or without a fine.

Court Judgement

• The report also highlights some landmark judgments of the Supreme Court and High Courts on sedition law, such as Kedar Nath Singh v/s State of Bihar (1962), Balwant Singh v/s State of Punjab (1995), Shreya Singhal v/s Union of India (2015), and Common Cause v/s Union of India (2016).
• These judgments have clarified that mere criticism or disapproval of the government or its policies does not amount to sedition unless it is accompanied by violence or incitement to violence.

Sedition law

• The sedition law under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been a subject of debate and controversy for a long time.
• The law was introduced by the British colonial government in 1870 to suppress the freedom movement and punish those who spoke or wrote against British rule.
• The law defines sedition as any act or attempt to bring into hatred or contempt, or excite or attempt to excite disaffection towards the government established by law in India.
• The law has been criticized by many as being vague, draconian and against the fundamental right of freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution of India.
• The law has been used to arrest and prosecute activists, journalists, students, academics and others who have expressed dissenting opinions or criticized the government or its policies.
• The law has also been challenged in various courts on the grounds of being unconstitutional and violative of human rights.
• The Sedition law under Section 124A is a contentious and controversial issue that requires a careful and balanced approach. The law should not be used to stifle legitimate criticism or dissent, but it should also not be abolished or diluted to the extent that it becomes ineffective in dealing with threats to the unity and integrity of the nation.
• The law should be applied judiciously and sparingly, with due regard to the principles of natural justice and human rights. The law should also be reviewed and amended periodically to keep pace with the changing times and circumstances.

11. Africa mulls legal options on ICC warrant against Putin

Subject : International Relations

Section: International organization

Concept :

• South Africa is mulling its options over an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin should he accept an invitation to a BRICS summit in August, a South African government official said.
• A member of the ICC, South Africa would theoretically be required to arrest Putin under the warrant issued in March by the court, which accused him of the war crime of forcibly deporting children from Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine.

Details

• South Africa on Monday issued diplomatic immunity to all leaders attending the meeting and a gathering of BRICS foreign ministers in Cape Town this week.
• The international relations department said this was standard procedure, however, for all international conferences in South Africa.
• “These immunities do not override any warrant that may have been issued by any international tribunal against any attendee of the conference,” department spokesperson said.
• South Africa previously signaled its intention to withdraw from the ICC following protests about its failure to arrest Sudan’s former president Omar al-Bashir, wanted on genocide charges, when he attended an African Union summit in Johannesburg in 2015.
• The governing African National Congress decided in December that South Africa should abandon the process and try to effect changes to the ICC from within.

Concept:

The International Criminal Court (“the ICC” or “the Court”) is a permanent international court established to investigate, prosecute and try individuals accused of committing the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole, namely the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression

• On 17 July 1998, 120 States adopted the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court establishing the

• The International Criminal Court is not a substitute for national courts. According to the Rome Statute, it is the duty of every State to exercise its criminal jurisdiction over those responsible for international crimes.
• The International Criminal Court can only intervene where a State is unable or unwilling genuinely to carry out the investigation and prosecute the perpetrators.
• The ICC is an independent body whose mission is to try individuals for crimes within its jurisdiction without the need for a special mandate from the United Nations.

Composition and voting power:

• The Court’s management oversight and legislative body, the Assembly of States Parties, consists of one representative from each state party.
• Each state party has one vote and “every effort” has to be made to reach decisions by consensus. If consensus cannot be reached, decisions are made by vote.
• The Assembly is presided over by a president and two vice-presidents, who are elected by the members to three-year terms.

12. U.S. and Taiwan ink trade deal as China issues warning

Subject: International Relations

Section: International events

Concept:

• US-Taiwan trade deal: In a latest development, the United States and Taiwan entered into a trade agreement amid the continued opposition by China, which claims the self-ruled island democracy as part of its territory.
• After the signing of the deal, the two concerned governments claimed that the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade will strengthen commercial relations by improving customs, investment and other regulations.
• They have no formal diplomatic ties but maintain unofficial relations and have billions of dollars in annual trade.

Aim of the trade agreement

• The agreement is intended to “strengthen and deepen the economic and trade relationship,” the Office of the US Trade Representative said in a statement. The deputy USTR, Sarah Bianchi, attended the signing.
• The Chinese government accused Washington of violating agreements on Taiwan’s status and demanded the US government stop official contact with the island’s elected government.
• Taiwan and China split in 1949 after a civil war. The island never has been part of the People’s Republic of China, but the mainland’s ruling Communist Party says it is obligated to unite with China, by force if necessary.

Tensions escalate between China and US

• It is pertinent to mention here that tensions between China and the US have been escalating since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi paid a visit to Taiwan on August 2.
• The relations between the two countries have hit a new low after her visit to the self-ruled democratic island despite continuous warnings from the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

About Taiwan

• Taiwan is officially known as the Republic of China (ROC).
• It is a state in East Asia with Neighbouring states include the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to the west, Japan to the north-east, and the Philippines to the south.
• The East China Sea lies to its north, the Philippine Sea to its east, the Luzon Strait directly to its south and the South China Sea to its southwest.
• The Taiwan Strait separates the island of Taiwan from mainland China. The strait is currently part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north.
• Taipei is the capital.
• Taiwan is no longer a member of the UN, having been replaced by the PRC in 1971. Taiwan is claimed by the PRC, which refuses diplomatic relations with countries that recognize the ROC.
• Taiwan maintains official ties with 14 out of 193 UN member states and the Holy See.
• The bilateral relations between India and Taiwan have improved since the 1990s despite both nations not maintaining official diplomatic relations.

13. NCERT in ‘rationalisation’ move drops periodic table chapter from Class X book

Subject : Science and technology

Section: General Science

Concept :

• The chapter on ‘Classification in Elements and Periodicity in Properties’ in NCERT’s Class 11 Chemistry textbook begins with these words of American chemist Glenn T Seaborg.
• Yet, a full chapter, which introduces students to the topic, has been removed from NCERT’s Class 10 Science textbook as part of the council’s “rationalisation” exercise. The Class 11 chapter on the topic, however, remains part of the syllabus.

Periodic Table of elements

• The periodic table is an organisation of all known elements in order of increasing atomic number and recurring chemical properties.
• They are organised in a tabular format, with a row representing an era and a column representing a group.
• Elements are ordered in increasing atomic number order from left to right and top to bottom. Elements of the same group will therefore have the same valence electron configuration and, as a result, identical chemical characteristics.
• Elements in the same period, on the other hand, will have an increasing order of valence electrons.
• As a result, as the atom’s energy level rises, so does the number of energy sub-levels per energy level.
• The first 94 elements of the periodic table occur naturally, but the remaining elements from 95 to 118 have only been created in laboratories or nuclear reactors.
• The contemporary periodic table, which we presently use, is a revised and enhanced version of certain models proposed by scientists in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
• Dimitri Mendeleev proposed his periodic table based on the discoveries of previous scientists such as John Newlands and Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier. Mendeleev, on the other hand, is awarded sole credit for developing the periodic table.

Why Arrange Elements in a Table?

• The contemporary periodic table of chemical elements is as familiar as a map of the earth, yet it was not always so evident.
• Dmitri Mendeleev, the author of the periodic table, began collecting and organising known properties of elements while travelling by train in 1869, as if he were playing a game. He discovered groups of elements with similar features, but he also noticed that there were many exceptions to the emerging patterns.
• There were many critics, and it took years for Mendeleev’s patterns to be accepted internationally, but after freshly discovered elements matched those predicted by Mendeleev, his patterns could not be disregarded.
• Furthermore, some of the “fudged” attributes were later recalculated and found to be substantially closer to his predictions.
• Instead of giving up, he experimented with changing the measured property values to better fit the patterns! In order for the patterns in his “game” to operate, he anticipated that certain elements needed exist that did not exist at the time.

Who Created The Periodic Table?

• According to the Royal Society of Chemistry, Dmitri Mendeleev, a Russian chemist and inventor, is regarded as the “father” of the periodic table (opens in new tab).
• Periodic Table: Mendeleev was a prominent lecturer at a university in St. Petersburg, Russia, in the 1860s. Mendeleev opted to produce one because there were no new organic chemistry textbooks in Russian at the time.

14. Suspension of Operations (So0) Agreement

Subject : Geography

Section: Places in news

Concept :

• The recent statement by the Union Home Minister, who threatened to take stern action against any Kuki militant groups that breach the Suspension of Operations (SoO) agreement, has drawn criticism from some members of the SoO groups.
• They claimed that they have not violated any of the terms of the pact, which was signed in 2008 with the Centre and the Manipur government to end decades of insurgency in the hill areas of Manipur.

Details

• The SoO groups, which comprise 24 Kuki insurgent outfits under two umbrella organisations, the United Peoples’ Front (UPF) and the Kuki National Organisation (KNO), have been demanding a separate administration for the Kuki tribal areas in Manipur as part of the peace talks with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
• The talks were progressing well until violence erupted on May 3 this year, when clashes broke out between Meitei and Kuki communities over land disputes.

SoO Agreement

• The SoO agreement was a result of the bloody Kuki-Naga clashes in the 1990s, which claimed hundreds of lives and displaced thousands.
• The agreement stipulated that the groups would surrender their weapons, join peace talks and stay in designated camps.
• The groups are also entitled to a monthly stipend of ₹6,000 per cadre. However, the SoO group member alleged that the camps were in poor condition and the stipend was delayed by months. The member said that if the cadres did not step out of the camps to earn their living, they would starve.

Background of the agreement

• This cease-fire agreement was made with two umbrella organisations, the Kuki National Organization (KNO) and the United People’s Front (UPF), which together represent 25 groups: 17 under the KNO and 8 under the UPF.
• This trilateral agreement, which was signed by the state, the groups, and the centre, called for an end to tensions and violence on all sides and the beginning of a political discussion.
• The tribal bodies said that “the Union Home Minister vowed to solve the Kuki demand for a separate ethnic state during the 2022 election, now the questions have been raised as a result of the recent step taken by the state government. The Centre will decide what happens next.”

Insurgency in Manipur

• The Insurgency in Manipur is a continuous armed conflict between the government and several separatist rebel groups.
• Manipur’s insurgency is a part of the larger insurgency in Northeast India and contains elements of an ethnic conflict and a battle for national liberation.
• Historical background:
• The Kangleipak State was established in 33 AD, beginning Manipur’s long tradition of independence. A single power did not rule the entire country before that.
• Following the brief Anglo-Manipur War of 1891, Great Britain seized control of the Kingdom of Manipur and turned it into a protectorate.

After Independence

• In October 1949, Manipur was integrated into India.
• It became an independent state in 1972 as a response to violent demonstrations.
• Following Manipur’s integration into the Indian state, several insurgent groups emerged, arguing that the union with India was forced upon Manipur and calling for the establishment of an independent state within its borders.

Main insurgent groups

• United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the first secessionist organisation, was established in 1964. However, they didn’t start using force until 1991.
• TheKangleipak Communist Party (KCP), People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), and the People’s Liberation Army of Manipur (PLA) were all founded between 1977 and 1980 and joined the conflict.
• The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, of 1958 was imposed on Manipur by the Indian government in 1980 after the region was declared a source of instability; the act is still in effect today.
• Manipur-based militants are differentiated from the other insurgencies in the Northeast by a low rate of defections and a well-organized intelligence network. However, they have avoided targeting local police officers to win over the public.
• The primary means of funding for armed organisations continue to be extortion.

15. Mural of Akhand Bharat in Parliament stirs up row in Nepal

Subject : History

Section: Modern India

Concept :

• A major controversy has broken out in Nepal over the mural of the Indian subcontinental landmass in the newly inaugurated Parliament building.
• The mural has been interpreted as a map of Akhand Bharat or undivided India, which has drawn angry responses from Nepali political leaders across party lines.
• The mural shows Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautama Buddha, suggesting India’s claims over the region. Nepal considers Lumbini as one of the major cultural centres on the Nepalese map.

Idea of Akhand Bharat

• The Indian activist and Hindu Mahasabha leader Vinayak Damodar Savarkar at the Hindu Mahasabha’s 19th Annual Session in Ahmedabad in 1937 propounded the notion of an Akhand Bharat that “must remain one and indivisible” “from Kashmir to Rameswaram, from Sindh to Assam.”
• He said that “all citizens who owe undivided loyalty and allegiance to the Indian nation and to the Indian state shall be treated with perfect equality and shall share duties and obligations equally in common, irrespective of caste, creed or religion, and the representation also shall either be on the basis of one man one vote or in proportion to the population in case of separate electorates and public services shall go by merit alone.

16. IRDAI: Bima Sugam, Bima Vahaks and Bima Vistaar

Subject: Economy

Section: Monetary policy

Insurance in India:

• Insurance penetration in India has increased steadily from 2.7% around 2000 to 4.2% in 2020, according to the Economic Survey 2022-23
• 50% of vehicles are uninsured, and the coverage of property insurance is minuscule. The MSMEs are not adequately covered.
• Towards achieving the objective of “insurance for all“, the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has brought many initiatives and developments in regulations, and also the insurance industry has seen a lot of innovation.
• The most recent measure on this by IRDAI has been the conceptualisation of ‘Bima Vahak’, ‘Bima Vistaar’ and the digital platform – Bima Sugam
• In 2022 IRDAI constituted a 24-member committee that will explore and recommend on how to bring about synergies in the working and operations of ‘Bima Vahak’, ‘Bima Vistaar’ and the digital platform – Bima Sugam.

Bima Sugam

• It will be an online portal that will be one-stop shop for all insurance related queries, policy purchase, claim settlement and insurance advice. It is envisioned as a trusted platform by the IRDAI.
• Web aggregators, brokers, insurance agents, bank agents, etc would act as facilitators on this platform for selling insurance policies. The portal would provide all such facilities to policyholders having an e-insurance account (E-IA).
• It will simplify and digitise the insurance marketplace— right from buying policies, to renewals, claim settlement, and agent and policy portability.
• It will assist consumers with all insurance related queries. It will further act as a window, to view all policies, details and renewal details.
• It will help in eliminating the need to fill lengthy forms, to cut down commissions paid to intermediaries.
• It will allow for a speedy acceptance of new/sandbox products.

Bima Vahak

• Bima Vahak will help insurance products reach the last mile. Each Gram Panchayat would have a ‘Bima Vahak’ who would be tasked to sell and service simple insurance products. It would be similar to the banking correspondents present in rural banking
• It will be a women-centric insurance distribution channel. Will also help foster greater trust and build awareness about insurance products in the rural areas of India.
• As part of the programme insurance companies adopt a state each and will develop state-level insurance plans with the help of state governments.

Bima Vistaar

• It is a social safety net product targeting the untapped geographies of the country and will be available on “Bima Sugam”.
• Objective will be to develop an affordable, accessible and comprehensive cover – Bima Vistaar — for rural population in the event of natural disasters, such as floods, and earthquakes, to name a few.
• Both Bima Vahak and Bima Vistaar together will help explore how insurance penetration can be increased in semi-urban, rural towns, or in villages.

17. NPAs linked to trade credit crisis

Subject: Economy

Section: Monetary policy

Present scenario of Non-performing assets (NPAs) in India:

• NPA has reduced to around 5% by end of FY22
• This low level has been possible because of:
  • Write-offs: From 2017-22 scheduled banks have written off Rs. 10 lakh crore.
  • Multiple recovery measures by RBI: from 2014-22 Rs 8.6 lakh crore have been recovered.
  • A general improvement in corporate financials
• There is presently a potential NPA/fraud risk, as indicated by RBI Governor’s message to PSB to check the true health of the Banks and not resort to “window dressing”.
• Delay in detection of Fraud:
  • The average time lag between occurrence of fraud and its detection is 23 months whereas it is 57 months for large frauds
  • the reason for this is our bank-centric approach, while disruptions in trade credit (TC)-related payables and receivables to bank working capital are not on the radar.

Importance of Trade Credit (TC):

• TC is far bigger than working capital from Banks. MSMEs predominantly depend on TC for their working capital.
• TC related disruptions create liquidity challenges for firms.resort to delays in submitting data to banks, manipulation of accounts and financial frauds to avail bank credit facility till it is detected by the bank. Early warnings are delayed and they are inadequate and less reliable. Hence the delays in detection of stress.
• TC acts as a source of short term capital for the firm, and it mostly operates through trust and perceived credit-worthiness of the network. After Covid-19 pandemic and demonetisation, the trust level especially in MSME TC network has seen a decline.

TC and NPA:

• Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) analysis of top 100 frauds as of 2017 showed most frauds related to TC/working capital operations.
• Frauds involve inflated/manipulated/fabricated receivables, payables and stocks and difficulties and delays in verification of these, diversion of funds and related parties transactions.

Solution:

• Mapping of the disruptive impacts of TC on market liquidity, payment system, financial stress and interconnected financial networks like banks needs to be done.
• An integrated approach involving banks, NBFCs and TC networks is needed to take a holistic view of NPAs and not just focus on Banks.
• GSTN as a Financial Information Provider under the Account Aggregator framework can provide a common platform to compile structured data on sales and purchases. This is because while TC/working capital operations are complex, the payment settlement data can help judge financial health of a firm.

18. CBDT removes Fair Market Value (FMV) hurdle to Disinvestment

Subject : Economy

Section: Fiscal Policy

• Income Tax Department has amended a rule to exempt the buyer in case shares are sold below the fair market value (FMV).
• Cent­ral Board of Dir­ect Taxes (CBDT), through a noti­fic­a­tion, has amended Rule 11 UAC(4) of the Income Tax Rules that deals with one of the excep­tions to the applic­ab­il­ity of Sec­tion 56(2)(x) of the Income Tax Act.

Why needed ? The Cent­ral gov­ern­ment or State gov­ern­ment com­pan­ies divested under stra­tegic divest­ment pro­cess may have a high book value but a lower fair value, which could res­ult in poten­tial tax con­sequences for a buyer of shares of such com­pany. The amend­ment aimed to address the poten­tial tax implic­a­tions for a buyer of shares of a gov­ern­ment com­pany under a stra­tegic divest­ment pro­cess.