Daily Prelims Notes 6 December 2022

Daily Prelims Notes

6 December 2022

Table Of Contents

1. UK: Six children die of Strep A, a common bacterial infection
2. A dangerous pesticide isn’t being monitored in key bird of prey populations — we’re shedding light on that gap
3. Major rivers in Africa ran drier than usual in 2021, finds WMO
4. Foreign source under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010
5. Digital Markets Act
6. Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan AarogyaYojana (AB-PMJAY)
7. Offences under GST
8. National Single Window System
9. Print, digital self-regulatory news association(PADMA) gets government’s approval
10. In first, Ajit Doval to host NSAs of Central Asian nations
11. Dominique Lapierre
12. 55% of cooking oil is from countries with GM Crops
13. No Uniformity in parole and furlough rules across the country
14. Soil Health Management
15. Belagavi

1. UK: Six children die of Strep A, a common bacterial infection

Subject: Science and Technology

Context-

• At least six children have died of a common bacterial infection, Strep A, in the United Kingdom as of December 5, 2022.

Strep A and its symptoms-

• Group A streptococcus (GAS) is a common bacteria found in the throat and on the skin.
• This is called invasive Group A Strep (iGAS).
• It usually manifests as high fever, severe muscle aches, pain in an area of the body and unexplained vomiting or diarrhoea.
• symptoms of Strep A include fever, skin rashes and a sore easily treated with antibiotics. 
• However, there is a chance the infection can get severe when the bacteria enters the bloodstream.
• These are communicable and can spread through coughs, sneezes and close contact.
• Currently, there is no vaccine available to prevent them.

What are the past trends-

• As many as 851 cases of Strep A were reported from November 14-20, compared to an average of 186 for the same duration in preceding years.
• Incidence of iGAS cases is also increasing, up from the pre-pandemic 0.5 cases per 100,000  children aged 1-4 years from 2017-2019 to 2.3 cases per 100,000 children this year.

2. A dangerous pesticide isn’t being monitored in key bird of prey populations — we’re shedding light on that gap

Subject: Environment

Context-

• DDT is known for its devastating effects on the environment, as well as animal and human health.

About DDT-

• It was first used in the second world war to protect Allied soldiers against malaria and typhus, which are spread by mosquitoes and body lice. Thus considered as miracle chemical.
• Its insecticidal properties were discovered in 1939 by a Swiss chemist, Paul Hermann Müller and he won a Nobel Prize for medicine for discovering the usees of DDT.
• It became a widely available pesticide to kill insect crops pests and insects causing disease in humans.
• Continued exposure to the chemical can cause neurological damage, endocrine disorders and reproductive failure in both humans and animals.

Awareness about the harmful effect of DDT-

• Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring, published in 1962.
• Silent Spring brought global attention to DDT’s environmental impacts and sparked a public outcry that forced much of the developed world – the “global north” – to ban the use of DDT in the 1970s and 1980s.
• In 2004 the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants – those that stay in the environment for a long time after use – was adopted by over 90 nations.
• DDT was among the most dangerous pesticides, industrial chemicals and by-products placed on the convention’s “dirty dozen” list, and was banned in most parts of the world.
• Two years later the World Health Organization recommended the restricted use of DDT to control malaria.
• It remains in use for this purpose in various tropical countries in Asia, Africa, and South and Central America.
• Its use here put the human as well as raptors health at risk.

Birds of prey as sentinels-

• Being at top of the food chain they can act as an “ecological baraometer”, helping us gauge the health of the environment.
• In addition to their value as indicator species, they provide valuable ecosystem services, controlling pest animals such as rodents and removing carrion from the environment, potentially reducing the spread of disease.
• Because DDT accumulates in wildlife and magnifies up the food chain, many raptor populations were nearly wiped out by its use.
• However, this bio-accumulation also means they have the potential to serve as a useful indicator to monitor levels of DDT in the environment.
• Thus, raptors can be regarded as sentinels for DDT.

A global north bias

• DDT monitoring in raptors is heavily biased toward the global north. Europe and North America account for 95% of samples.
• This is a concern because most DDT use is currently in the global south, as are most raptor species.
• Just three species account for half of all raptor samples collected: bald eagle, Eurasian sparrowhawk and peregrine falcon.
• Only the peregrine falcon occurs on all continents, but have been sampled far less in Africa, Asia, Central and South America than Europe and North America.
• The Eurasian sparrowhawk is also found in Asia but similar to the peregrine has been sampled far less frequently there than in Europe.

And it’s worrying for three reasons-

1. Most current DDT use is in the global south because of the chemical’s role in malaria control.
2. The region is home to most of the world’s raptors. There are also many declines of species in these regions.
3. Many countries in the global south are notoriously poor enforcers of environmental legislation.

3. Major rivers in Africa ran drier than usual in 2021, finds WMO

Subject: Geography

Context:

• The volume of water in Africa’s major rivers decreased in 2021 compared to the average in the last two decades, according to a new report by a United Nations body.

State of Global Water Resources report-

• The first edition was published by the WMO.
• The water discharge of Niger, Volta, Nile and Congo rivers in 2021 was less than the average calculated from 2002-2020.
• The water storage levels in the river basins, however, have gone up since 2002, an anomaly compared to the rest of the world.
• The water storage levels, also known as terrestrial water storage (TWS), in these river basins have gradually increased since 2002.
• The rise in TWS was seen in Congo, Nile, Zambezi, Orange, Lake Victoria and other parts of North Africa and Madagascar.
• The rise in water storage in Lake Victoria due to intense rains were attributed to climate change.
• TWS has gone down in all other continents other than Africa from 2002-2021.

Lake victoria-

• Lake Victoria, also called Victoria Nyanza, largest lake in Africa and chief reservoir of the Nile, lying mainly in Tanzania and Uganda but bordering on Kenya.
• Its area is 26,828 square miles (69,484 square km).
• Among the freshwater lakes of the world, it is exceeded in size only by Lake Superior in North America.
• It is an irregular quadrilateral in shape.
• Many archipelagos are contained within the lake, as are numerous reefs, often just below the surface of the clear waters.
• Lake Victoria has more than 200 species of fish, of which the Tilapia is the most economically important.

Important rivers of Africa-

Important lakes of Africa-

4. Foreign source under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010

Subject: Economy

Context:

The Union Home Ministry has released a list of 117 organisations whose contribution to Indian entities will not be covered under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.

Details:

The UN agencies and other international bodies-“to be not covered” by the definition of “foreign source” under the FCRA among others includes the UN System’s Secretariat, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS),Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR),Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF),United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNClAD).

Concept:

Foreign source under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010

• Indian organisations receiving foreign funds are mandatorily registered under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.
• Organisations/associations in India can accept contributions from a “Foreign Source” only if they are registered with the Ministry of Home Affairs or only after obtaining prior permission from the above Ministry.
• The “Foreign Source” has been defined in Section 2(e) of the Act and includes:
  • the Government of any foreign country or territory and any agency of such Government;
  • any international agency, not being the United Nations or any of its specialized agencies, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund or such other agency as the Central Government may, by notification, specify in this behalf;
  • a foreign company;
  • a corporation, not being a foreign company, incorporated in a foreign country or territory;
  • a multi-national corporation
  • a company within the meaning of the Companies Act, 1956, and more than one-half of the nominal value of its share capital is held, by one or more of the following, namely:-
    • the Government of a foreign country or territory;
    • the citizens of a foreign country or territory;
    • corporations incorporated in a foreign country or territory;
    • trusts, societies or other associations of individuals;
    • Foreign company;
  • a trade union in any foreign country or territory, whether or not registered in such foreign country or territory;
  • a foreign trust or a foreign foundation mainly financed by a foreign country or territory;
  • a society, club or other association or individuals formed or registered outside India;
  • a citizen of a foreign country.
• remittances from Indians abroad i.e. Indian citizens, for the purpose of contributing to the aforesaid associations/organisations do not attract the provisions of FCRA.
• Contribution given by the non-resident foreign citizens of Indian origin through their NRE and FCNR accounts maintained in India, the provisions of FCRA will be attracted and these contributions are to be treated as “Foreign Source”.

5. Digital Markets Act

Subject: Economy

Context:

the fifth edition of the EU-India Competition Week held at CCI headquarters in New Delhi.

Concept:

• In 2013, CCI and Directorate General for Competition (DG COMP) of the European Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for technical cooperation that has provided a platform for dialogue and exchange of best practices between EU and India.
• It highlighted that topics related to application of antitrust laws to the digital economy/markets, introduction of the EU’s Digital Markets Act etc

About Digital Markets Act 

• It applies to the ‘gatekeepers’ in the online space.These companies will have to comply with the new rules.
• The Digital Markets Act (DMA) entered into force in the European Union (EU) on November 1 2022.
  • It introduces quantitative thresholds and penal provisions to keep a check on large digital platforms.
  • It opens up possibilities of an equal market – based on the merits of their products and services.
  • As for consumers it ensures access to a wider array of options as well as a lower price of services by enforcing competition and de-exclusivities.
• The Act designates companies with sizeable dominance in any of the ‘core platform services’ as ‘gatekeepers’. 
  • These services include app stores, online search engines, social networking services, certain messaging services, video sharing platform services, virtual assistants, web browsers, cloud computing services, operating systems, online marketplaces and advertising services.
• What is the quantitative threshold to be deemed a ‘gatekeeper’? 
  • an annual turnover of at least €7.5 billion within the EU in the past three years, or a market valuation of at least €75 billion
  • over 45 million monthly end-users
  • at least 10,000 business users established in the EU.
• The rules state that users will have the right to choose and install their apps and will not be forced to use software by default when installing the OS and web browsers.
• It provides “interoperability”–mean that a user on WhatsApp and one on iMessage should be able to talk to each other
• Obligations on gatekeepers:
  • Gatekeepers must “allow the installation and effective use of third party software applications or software application stores”.
  • Gatekeepers cannot establish unfair conditions for business users or require app developers to use certain services in order to be listed in app stores.
  • Gatekeepers will have to give sellers access to their marketing or ad performance data on the platform.
  • The gatekeepers will have to inform the European Commission of their acquisitions and mergers.
  • The new rules also forbid the gatekeepers from ranking their own products or services higher than others, and from reusing private data collected during a service for the purposes of another service.
• A proportionate subset of obligations for a non-gatekeeper, attains the stipulated threshold in the future to prevent them from acquiring the same ‘gatekeeper dominance’ by unfair means.
• What happens when rules are violated? 
  • Violators can be fined up to 10 percent of the company’s global annual sales,  rising to 20 per cent for repeated infringements.
  • In worst case scenarios, they could even be banned from any further acquisitions

6. Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan AarogyaYojana (AB-PMJAY)

Subject: Government Schemes

Context:

The National Health Authority (NHA) may see a nominal increase in fund allocation in the upcoming union budget for 2023.

Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan AarogyaYojana (AB-PMJAY)

• Ayushman Bharat is a progression towards Universal Health Care through access of Health and Wellness Centers (HWCs) at the primary level and provision of financial protection for accessing curative care at the secondary and tertiary levels through engagement with both public and private sector.
• Two components:
  • Creation of 1,50,000 Health and Wellness Centres– to provide Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC), covering both maternal and child health services and non-communicable diseases, including free essential drugs and diagnostic services.
  • Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana (PMJAY) which provides health protection cover to poor and vulnerable families for secondary and tertiary care.

Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana (PMJAY)

• AB-PMJAY was launched  by the Prime Minister on 23rd September, 2018.
• It is the “world’s largest government funded healthcare program” targeting more than 50 crore beneficiaries.
  • Over 10.74 crore vulnerable entitled families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) are eligible for these benefits.
• It provides a cover of up to Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year, for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.
  • The family cap is of five members.
• It covers up to 3 days of pre-hospitalization and 15 days of post- hospitalization expenses such as diagnostics and medicines.
• PMJAY provides cashless and paperless access to services for the beneficiary at the point of service.
• NHA is the apex implementing agency of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).
• PM-JAY offers 1,949 treatment procedures across 27 medical specialties.
• Eligibility:
  • The households included are based on the deprivation and occupational criteria of Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 (SECC 2011) for rural and urban areas respectively.
  • The coverage mentioned under PM-JAY, therefore, also includes families that were covered in RSBY but are not present in the SECC 2011 database.
• Cover Under PM-JAY-includes all expenses incurred on the following components of the treatment.
  • Medical examination, treatment and consultation
  • Pre-hospitalization
  • Medicine and medical consumables
  • Non-intensive and intensive care services
  • Diagnostic and laboratory investigations
  • Medical implantation services (where necessary)
  • Accommodation benefits.
  • Food services
  • Complications arising during treatment
  • Post-hospitalization follow-up care up to 15 days

7. Offences under GST

Subject: Government Schemes

Context:

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting is likely to discuss decriminalization of offenses under GST law.

Concept:

Prosecution under GST-Prosecution is the conducting of legal proceedings against someone in respect of a criminal charge.

Offences liable for prosecution

Any person committing the following offences (i.e., deliberate intention of fraud) becomes liable to prosecution, i.e., face criminal charges.

• Supplies any goods/services without an invoice in order to evade tax
  • GST officers can launch prosecution against GST offenders in cases where the amount of evasion or misuse of input tax credit is more than ₹5 crore.
• Issues any invoice without supplying any goods/services- thus taking input credit or refund by fraud
• Collects any GST (even if in contravention of provisions) but does not submit it to the government within 3 months.
• Obtains refund of any CGST/SGST by fraud.
• Submits fake financial records/documents or files fake returns to evade tax
• Obstructs the proper officer during his duty (for example, he hinders the officer during the audit by tax authorities)
• Acquires/receives any goods/services with full knowledge that it is in violation of GST rules and is liable for confiscation
• Destroys any evidence
• Does not provide information/gives false information during proceedings
• Helps any person to commit fraud under GST

Punishment:

The person committing any of the offences above shall be punished as follows:

• Tax amount involved between 100-200 lakhs– bailable and jail term upto 1 year
• Tax amount involved between 200-500 lakhs- bailable and jail term upto 3 years
• Tax amount involved between above 500 lakhs-bailable and jail term upto 5 years

Compounding:

• GST Act also allows for compounding of offences.
• Compounding of offences is a shortcut method to avoid litigation.
• In compounding, the accused is not required to appear personally and can be discharged on payment of compounding fee.
• The amount payable for compounding of offences shall be 50% of the tax involved subject to a minimum Rs. 10,000. Maximum amount for compounding is 150% of the tax or Rs. 30,000 -Whichever is higher.
• Compounding will be allowed only after payment of all tax, interest and penalty dues.

Arrest under GST:

• Section 69 in the Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST) Act gives power to authorities to arrest any person if there is “reason to believe” that he has committed tax evasion.
  • A person under the CGST Act can only be arrested, if the amount of tax evasion is more than ₹2 crore.
  • All offences in which tax evasion is less than ₹5 crore are bailable and only grave offences involving tax evasion of ₹5 crore and above are non-bailable and cognisable.

8. National Single Window System

Subject: Economy

Context:

PAN could become a single ID for investment approvals.

Details:

Investors may soon no longer have to fill in multiple identity details for accessing the National Single Window System for project-related clearances and approvals.

Concept:

National Single Window System?

• The platform was soft launched in September 2021 by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• It is a one-stop digital platform that aims at allowing investors to apply for various pre-operations approvals required for commencing a business in the country.
• It makes the business registration process easier, allowing the beneficiary to get significant approvals online, without having to run to the government offices for approvals and can avail themselves of services with just a click.
•  The portal hosts applications for approvals from 26 Central Departments and 16 State Governments. 
• These approvals can be applied through NSWS.
• The National Single Window System (NSWS) is a digital platform for guidance
  • Central Approvals
  • State Approvals
  • Government Schemes
• The platform is built to serve as an advisory tool to identify approvals based on user input and is to be used for guidance purpose only.
• Services includes:
  • All approvals in one place
  • Real-time status tracking
  • Secure document repository
  • Easy renewal
  • Fast query management
  • Know your approvals

Permanent Account Number:

• The PAN is a 10-digit alphanumeric number allotted by the tax department to an individual, company or entity.
•  PAN card comes in a tangible form in that the specific PAN number is assigned, including Organization Name, DOB, and a photo that can also be provided as identification proof and for several other regulatory standards.
• The PAN card provides the following pieces of information:
  • Individual’s Name
  • Name of the applicant’s father
  • The applicant’s Birth Date and Registration date with the appropriate authority in the case of non-individuals.
  • PAN number
• Importance of PAN Card
  • PAN number is required to prove identity and file an income tax return.
  • For bank purposes such as opening an account, getting a loan or credit card, etc., a PAN number is required.
  • A PAN is an essential document for selling or purchasing a property worth more than five lakh.
  • PAN number is necessary when buying or selling automobiles, etc.

9. Print, digital self-regulatory news association(PADMA) gets government’s approval

Subject : Governance

Context:

• The government has approved the Print and Digital Media Association (PADMA) as a self-regulatory body for publishers of news and current affairs across the country.

More about Print, digital self-regulatory news association(PADMA)

• The Print and Digital Media Association (PADMA) will be a self-regulatory body for publishers of news and current affairs across the country.
• The organization consists of 47 digital news publishers on board  and will look at grievances related to digital media news content on their platforms.
• The organization will be headed by former HC Judge Mool Chand Garg and have part-time members from Prasar Bharati Ashok Kumar Tandon and journalist Manoj Kumar Mishra as members.
• PDMA shall perform functions laid down in the sub rules (4) and (5) of rule 12 for the purpose of redressing grievances related to the code of ethics under the rules.
• The body will also ensure that the member publishers have agreed to adhere to the provisions of the rules, including furnishing the requisite information under rule 18,
• Rule 12 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, states that self-regulatory bodies will oversee and ensure adherence by the publisher to the code of ethics; provide guidance to publishers on aspects of the code of ethics; address grievances which have not been resolved by publishers within 15 days; hear appeals filed by the complainant against the decision of publishers; issue such guidance or advisories to such publishers for ensuring compliance to the code of ethics

What is Information Technology Rules, 2021

• IT Rules 2021 were released under section 87 of the IT Act, 2000 for Social-Media, Digital Media, and OTT platforms.
• It covers digitized content that can be transmitted over the internet or computer networks and includes intermediaries such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube.
• It also includes publishers of news and current affairs content and also curators of such content over online papers, news portals, news agencies and news aggregators.
• However, e-papers are not covered because print media comes under the purview of the Press Council of India.Newspapers and TV news channels are governed under the Press Council of India Act, 1978 and Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, 1995 respectively.
• Through the act the digital media is brought under the ambit of Section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 which gives takedown powers to the government.
• The section allows the Centre to block public access to an intermediary in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States or public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognisable offence relating to above”.
• It also deprives the intermediaries of their “safe harbour protections under Section 79 of the IT Act, 2000.
• Safe Harbour provisions protect the intermediaries from liability for the acts of third parties who use their infrastructure for their own purposes.
• The act provides for three Tier Check Structure part III of the rules imposes three-tier complaints and adjudication structure on publishers.
  • Level I: Self-regulation.
  • Level II: Industry regulatory body headed by a former judge of the Supreme Court  and High Court with additional members from a panel approved by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
  • Level III: Oversight mechanism that includes an inter ministerial committee with the authority to block access to content, which can also take suo moto cognisance of an issue and any grievance flagged by the Ministry.
• Social media companies are needed to appoint Content Moderation Officers who will be responsible for complying with content moderation orders.
• The New rules make it mandatory for platforms such as WhatsApp to aid in identifying the originator of unlawfull messages.
• The rules mandate the creation of a grievance redressal portal as the central repository for receiving and processing all grievances.
• Intermediaries are required to act on certain kinds of violations within 24 hours, and on all concerns of a complainant within 15 days.
• The rules also hold that Information Disclosure to Competent Authorities may demand pertinent information for the purposes of prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution or punishment of crimes. However, it excludes the intermediary from having to disclose the content of the personal messages.
• The Ministry has approved nine self-regulatory bodies since May 2021 under rule 12 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. They include DIGIPUB News India Foundation, Confederation of Online Media (lndia), and NBF- Professional News Broadcasting Standards Authority etc.

10. In first, Ajit Doval to host NSAs of Central Asian nations

Subject : International Relations

Context:

• National Security Adviser Ajit Doval will, for the first time, host a special meeting on Tuesday with his counterparts from Central Asian countries,

More about the meeting:

• This will be the first time that NSAs of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will be in Delhi for a high-level security meeting, which focus mainly on the security situation in Afghanistan and the threat of terrorism originating from the country under the Taliban.
• A joint communique will be issued after the meeting, which is expected to outline some of the mechanisms and framework for cooperation in the security arena.

More about the first India-Central Asia Summit:

• India hosted the first India-Central Asia Summit in virtual format in January,2022.
• This first India-Central Asia coincided with the 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Central Asian countries.
• During that summit it was agreed on regular meetings of Foreign Ministers, Trade Ministers, Culture Ministers and Secretaries of the Security Council to prepare the groundwork for the Summit meetings.
• Moreover, it was decided that India-Central Asia Secretariat in New Delhi would be set up to support the new mechanism

11. Dominique Lapierre

Subject :History

Who is Dominique Lapierre:

• Dominique Lapierre was a French author
• He was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian award, in 2008.
• He was passionate about India, which was reflected in his 1985-work City of Joy, based on the hardships of a rickshaw puller in Kolkata, that turned out to be a massive success. It was also adapted for a movie in 1992 which starred Patrick Swayze and was directed by Roland Joffe
• He also co-authored Five Past Midnight in Bhopal, a historical account of the Bhopal gas tragedy told through multiple witness accounts which he researched by living in the city for three years in the 1990s.
• He co authored many renowned book with Larry Collins :
  • Is Paris Burning?
  • O Jerusalem, 
  • The Fifth Horseman, 
  • Is New York Burning?
  • City of Joy  and
  • Freedom at Midnight.

12. 55% of cooking oil is from countries with GM Crops

Subject :Science and Technology

Context:

• Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav in a recent interview at the express adda said that about 55-60 percent of the cooking oil that India consumes is imported from countries where genetically modified crops are permitted.

What is GM crops;

• A genetically modified organism (GMO) is any living organism whose genetic material has been modified to include certain desirable techniques.
• In crops, genetic modification involves the manipulation of DNA instead of using controlled pollination, the conventional method to improve crops to alter certain characteristics of the crop.
• To genetically modify a crop, the gene of interest is identified and isolated from the host organism. It is then incorporated into the DNA of the crop to be grown.
• Then the performance of the GM crop is tested under strict laboratory and field conditions.

What is Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC):

• It functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
• Composition:
  • It is chaired by the Special Secretary/Additional Secretary of MoEF&CC and  co-chaired by a representative from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
  • Presently, it has 24 members and meets every month to review the applications in the areas indicated above.
• Functions:
  • As per Rules, 1989, it is responsible for appraisal of activities involving large scale use of hazardous microorganisms and recombinants in research and industrial production from the environmental angle.
  • It is also responsible for appraisal of proposals relating to release of genetically engineered (GE) organisms and products into the environment including experimental field trials.
  • It evaluates research into GM plants and recommends, or disapproves, their release into farmer fields.

What is the legal position of genetically modified crops in India:

• In 2002, the GEAC had allowed the commercial release of Bt cotton.
• Use of the unapproved GM variant can attract a jail term of 5 years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh under the Environmental Protection Act,1989.
• The Central government had for the first time exempted certain types of genome-edited crops from the stringent regulations applicable on genetically modified or GM crops, paving the way for further R&D on them.
• The Ministry of Environment and Forests had, in the order, exempted SDN1 and SDN2 genome edited plants from Rules 7-11 of the Environment Protect Act for manufacture, use or import or export and storage of hazardous microorganisms or genetically engineered organisms or cells rules-1989.
• FSSAI issued an order on February 8, 2021, setting the permissible limit for genetically modified organisms  in imported food crops at 1%.

What is the State of Edible Oil Sector in India

• India is one of the largest producers of oilseeds in the world.
• India is the world’s second-largest consumer and number one importer of vegetable oil ad meets its nearly 55% to 60% of its edible oil demand through imports
• Palm oil (Crude + Refined) constitutes roughly around 62% of the total edible oils imported and are imported mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, while Soyabean oil (22%) is imported from Argentina and Brazil and Sunflower oil (15%) is imported mainly from Ukraine and Russia.

13. No Uniformity in parole and furlough rules across the country

Subject : Polity

Context : Lack of uniformity in parole rules does not bode well for the criminal justice system.

Concept : 

• There was a huge uproar in the media when Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, a convict serving a 20-year prison sentence for raping two disciples, was seen organising an online ‘satsang’ while on a 40-day parole in October.
• On the other hand, S. Nalini, a convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, who was serving life imprisonment, was given several extensions of parole from December 2021 until her release.

Parole and Furlough

• Both parole and furlough are considered as reformative processes. These provisions were introduced with a view to humanising the prison system.
• The Prisons Act, 1894, and the Prisoners Act, 1900, did not contain any specific provision pertaining to parole and/or furlough.
• State are empowered to make such rules: Section 59 of the Prisons Act empowers States to make rules inter alia “for the shortening of sentences” and “for rewards for good conduct”.
• It should be noted that Prisons, Reformatories, and other associated institutions fall in the State list of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.

Parole: 

• It is a system of releasing a prisoner with suspension of the sentence.
• The release is conditional, usually subject to behavior, and requires periodic reporting to the authorities for a set period of time.
• Parole is not a right, and is given to a prisoner for a specific reason, such as a death in the family or a wedding of a blood relative.
• It may be denied to a prisoner even when he makes out a sufficient case, if the competent authority is satisfied that releasing the convict would not be in the interest of society.
• It requires periodic reporting to the authorities for a set period of time. It is granted to that person who has already served a portion of his or her sentence.
• Types of parole : Regular and Emergency or Custody parole

Custody parole:

• It can only be given in emergency events and circumstances, such as the death of a family member, the marriage of a family member, a family member’s major illness, or any other emergency situation.
• During the custody parole, the prisoner must be escorted to and from the location of visitation in order to ensure the prisoner’s safe custody.
• Such inmates would be considered to be in prison for the duration of the sentence, and the time would be counted as time spent in prison.

Regular Parole

• In Regular Parole, the prisoner is released based on certain terms and conditions.
• So, the Parolee (Prisoner) must follow the rules mentioned in the Parole.
• In Regular Parole, there are no police with the prisoner like in custody parole, therefore it is considered discretionary parole.

Furlough

• It is similar to parole, but with some significant differences. It is given in cases of long-term imprisonment The period of furlough granted to a prisoner is treated as remission of his sentence.
• Unlike parole, furlough is seen as a matter of right for a prisoner, to be granted periodically irrespective of any reason, and merely to enable the prisoner to retain family and social ties, and to counter the ill-effects of long time imprisonment
• The right to be released on furlough is a substantial and legal right of the prisoner, and it cannot be rejected if permitted by law.

Differences between Parole and furlough

14. Soil Health Management

Subject: Government Schemes

Context : On the occasion of inauguration of the National Conference on Soil Health Management for Sustainable Farming Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar said that  more than 22 crore Soil Health Cards have been distributed to farmers across the country.

Concept : 

• To promote natural farming, the Central Government has approved the National Mission on Natural Farming as a separate scheme with an expenditure of Rs. 1,584 crores, Shri Tomar said.
• Under the Phase-I (2015-17) of the scheme, 74 crore cards were distributed, while under the Phase-II (2017-19), 11.69 crore cards have been distributed.
• Infrastructure development is also being done by the Government under the Soil Health Management Scheme, in which there is a provision to set up different types of Soil Testing Laboratories.

National Mission on Natural farming

• National Mission on Natural farming aims at creating institutional capacities for documentation and dissemination of best practices, make practicing farmers as partners in promotion strategy, ensure capacity building and continuous handholding and finally attracting farmers to the natural farming willingly on the merit of the system.
• National Mission on Natural Farming will be a demand driven programme and states shall prepare a long-term perspective plan with year-wise targets and goals.
• As per the budget announcements, area falling under the 5 km corridor on either side of river Ganga will be accorded highest priority, followed by area which are rain-fed & traditionally low or no fertilizer input users or default Natural Farming areas.
• Such category of areas is generally confined to hilly, tribal, high forest land districts and remotely located districts which due to other compulsions are low agro-chemical usage areas.
• Once the technology and practices are established and validated the mission goals will be spread to other areas and states.

About Soil Health Card Scheme

• Soil Health Card (SHC) scheme is promoted by the Department of Agriculture & Co-operation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
• An SHC is meant to give each farmer soil nutrient status of about 12 nutrients of his/her holding and advice him/her on the dosage of fertilizers and also the needed soil amendments, that s/he should apply to maintain soil health in the long run.
• SHC is a printed report that a farmer will be handed over for each of his holdings.
• It will be made available once in a cycle of 2 years, which will indicate the status of soil health of a farmer’s holding for that particular period.
• The SHC given in the next cycle of 2 years will be able to record the changes in the soil health for that subsequent period.
• Under the programme as of date, soil health cards have been distributed to about 23 crore farmers.
• The scheme has not only helped in improving the health of the soil, but has also benefited innumerable farmers by increasing crop production and their incomes.

Soil Health Management Scheme

• Setting up of new soil laboratories are done under Soil health management scheme under National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA).
• It provides 75% Assistance of total project cost to State Govt. subject to a maximum limit of Rs. 56 lakh.

Theme of the World soil day

• World Soil Day is celebrated every year on December 5.
• WSD 2022, with its guiding theme, ‘Soils: Where food begins’, is a means to raise awareness on the importance of maintaining healthy soils, ecosystems and human well-being by addressing the growing challenges in soil management, encouraging societies to improve soil health, and advocating the sustainable management of soil.

15. Belagavi

Subject :Polity

Context : Dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra

• Maharashtra has staked claim to over 7,000 sq km area along its border with Karnataka, comprising 814 villages in the districts of Belagavi (Belgaum), Uttara Kannada, Bidar, and Gulbarga, and the towns of Belagavi, Karwar, and Nippani.
• All these areas are predominantly Marathi-speaking, and Maharashtra wants them to be merged with the state.

What is the dispute?

• According to the State Reorganization Act of 1956, Belagavi was handed over to the Mysore state, which was renamed as Karnataka in 1973.
• In 1957, slighted by the implementation of the States Reorganization Act, 1956, Maharashtra demanded readjustment of its border with Karnataka.
• Maharashtra invoked Section 21 (2) (b) of the Act and submitted a memorandum to the Ministry of Home Affairs stating its objection to Marathi- speaking areas being added to Karnataka.
• The central government constituted the Mahajan Committee in 1966 to assess the situation. Representatives from both sides, Maharashtra and the then Mysore state were part of the committee.
• In 1967, the committee recommended that some villages in Karwar, Haliyal and Suparna talukas of Karnataka be given to Maharashtra but left Belagavi with the southern state.
• In 2006, the Supreme Court held that the issue should be resolved through mutual negotiation and that linguistic criterion should not be considered as it may create more practical problems.
• The case is still being heard by the Supreme Court.

The Mahajan Commission report:

• While demarcating borders, the Reorganization of States Commission sought to include talukas with a Kannada-speaking population of more than 50 per cent in Mysore.
• Opponents of the region’s inclusion in Mysore argued, and continue to argue, that Marathi-speakers outnumbered Kannadigas who lived there in 1956.
• In September 1957, the Bombay government echoed their demand and lodged a protest with the Centre, leading to the formation of the Mahajan Commission under former Chief Justice Mehr Chand Mahajan in October 1966.

Recommendations of the Commission:

• The Commission in its report in August 1967 recommended that 264 villages be transferred to Maharashtra (which formed in 1960) and that Belgaum and 247 villages remain with Karnataka.
• Maharashtra rejected the report, calling it biased and illogical, and demanded another review.
• Karnataka welcomed the report