[Mission 2022] INSIGHTS DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS + PIB SUMMARY 27 MAY 2022 – INSIGHTSIAS

GS Paper 1:

Syllabus: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Context:

The National Monuments Authority (NMA) (set up for the protection and preservation of monuments under the Ministry of Culture) has planned to erect a statue of Anangpal Tomar II somewhere in central Delhi and develop it into a tourist spot.

• Many believe he was the founder-king of Delhi.

Who was Anangpal II?

1. Belonged to the Tomar dynasty that ruled parts of present-day Delhi and Haryana between the 8th and 12th centuries.
2. He was succeeded by his grandson Prithviraj Chauhan, who was defeated by the Ghurid forces in the Battle of Tarain (present-day Haryana) after which the Delhi Sultanate was established in 1192.
3. The Tomar dynasty shifted its capital in the 8th century), to Dhillikapuri (Delhi) during the reign of Anangpal II.
4. The Vishnu Garud Dhwaj (iron pillar) in the Qutub complex was also brought by King Anangpal Tomar II.

About Tomar Dynasty:

Tomara dynasty is one of the minor early medieval ruling houses of northern India.

• According to bardic tradition, the dynasty was one of the 36 Rajput tribes.
• The history of the family spans the period between the reign of Anangpal, who founded the city of Delhi in the 11th century CE, and the incorporation of Delhi within the Chauhan (Chahamana) kingdom in 1164.
• Although Delhi subsequently became decisively a part of the Chauhan kingdom, numismatic and comparatively late literary evidence indicates that Tomara kings such as Anangapala and Madanapala continued to rule as feudatories, presumably until the final conquest of Delhi by the Muslims in 1192–93.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. About Tomar Kingdom.
2. Important Kings and their contributions.
3. Their capitals.
4. Important battles and outcomes.

Mains Link:

Assess the elements of change and continuity in Architecture under various Dynasties of Delhi Sultanate.

Q.1) Consider the following statements:

1. Tomar II was succeeded by his grandson Prithviraj Chauhan.
2. Dhillikapuri was the capital of Tomar Dynasty.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only.
2. 2 only.
3. Both.
4. None of the above.

Sources: the Print.

GS Paper 2:

Syllabus: Protection of the Vulnerable Sections of the society.

Context:

In a momentous order, the Supreme Court of India recognised sex work to be a ‘profession.’

• The apex court was hearing a plea that has raised the problems faced by sex workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The plea has highlighted the destitution faced by sex workers on account of COVID-19 and sought relief measures for over nine lakh women and transgender sex workers across India.

The verdict – Guidelines:

1. Police forces in all states and Union territories should treat sex workers with dignity and not to abuse them, verbally or physically.
2. The authorities have a duty to protect them under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956.
3. The police and other law enforcement agencies should be sensitised to the rights of sex workers.
4. The newly introduced Section 354C, IPC which makes voyeurism a criminal offence, should be strictly enforced against electronic media, in order to prohibit telecasting photos of sex workers with their clients in the garb of capturing the rescue operation.
5. State governments should do a survey of shelter homes so that cases of adult women who are detained against their will can be reviewed and processed for release in a time-bound manner.
6. The Central Government and the State Governments, through National Legal Services Authority, State Legal Services Authority and District Legal Services Authority, should carry out workshops for educating the sex workers abut their rights.

What necessitated this?

The attitude of the police to sex workers is often brutal and violent.

Significance of the verdict:

The court held that every individual in this country has a right to a dignified life under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Challenges ahead:

1. Sex workers are exposed to a slew of abuses that range from physical to mental attacks.
2. Most of them do not have access to clean and safe housing, as they are refused outrightly by owners or the society.
3. Access to essential health services are limited.

Relevant Court Judgements:

1. In Kajal Mukesh Singh vs State of Maharashtra (2021), the Bombay High Court said “Prostitution is not an offence, a woman has a right to choose her vocation”.
2. In Manoj Shaw vs State of West Bengal (2003), the Calcutta High Court observed that sex workers should be treated as victims of crime rather than the accused.
3. In Budhadev Karmaskar vs State of West Bengal (2011), the High Court observed that sex workers are also entitled to live a dignified life as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Pros and cons of legalizing Prostitution: Read here

Insta Curious:

Do you know about the Blue Heart Campaign by the UN? Read Here.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. Section 370 and 370A of the IPC are related to?
2. Article 23(1) of the constitution.
3. About World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.

Mains Link:

What are the constitutional & legislative provisions related to Trafficking in India? Discuss.

Q.2) Consider the following statements:

1. Section 354C IPC makes voyeurism a criminal offence.
2. Trafficking in Human Beings or Persons is prohibited under the Constitution of India.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only.
2. 2 only.
3. Both.
4. None.

Sources: the Hindu.

GS Paper 3:

Syllabus: Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security.

Context:

The government has notified that sugar exports will be restricted, or allowed only with permission.

• The curbs come into effect from June 1 and will continue till October 31, or until further orders.

What are the latest changes?

• Restricted Category: Sugar has moved from the ‘open category’, which requires no government intervention, to ‘restricted’ category.
• Specific permission: Export of sugar is allowed only with specific permission from the Directorate of Sugar, Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
• Re-exports of refined sugar, made from raw sugar imported under the Advance Authorisation Scheme, may not require prior permission.

Why the curbs?

1. To maintain “domestic availability and price stability of sugar”.
2. Exports, if allowed, can lead to supply constraints for around three months in the next season.
3. If there is scarcity of back-up stocks during this period then prices can escalate in the domestic market.
4. To Curb inflation: India’s retail inflation has been above RBI’s tolerance band for the fourth straight month in April, and is likely to continue in the coming months too.

Impacts:

• Curbs on exports may further flame global food prices.
• The export restrictions will make more surplus sweetener (sugar) accessible for domestic ethanol production, which is a primary government aim as per National Biofuel Policy.

Sugar- production, imports and exports:

India is the biggest producer of sugar and the second largest exporter after Brazil.

Insta Curious:

Did you know about the Agriculture Infrastructure Development Cess?

• It will be used for a specified purpose i.e. to improve agricultural infrastructure in India firstly by enhancing production, secondly by protecting this sector from undue competition and thirdly by enhancing its output competently.

Know more about it. Reference: read this.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. What is Minimum Selling Price?
2. How is it set?
3. Differences between Minimum Support Price and Minimum Selling Price.
4. What is FRP?

Mains Link:

Discuss the significance of Minimum Selling Price (MSP) for sugar.

Q.3) Consider the following statements:

1. India is the biggest producer of sugar.
2. India is the second largest exporter after Brazil.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only.
2. 2 only.
3. Both.
4. None. 

Sources: Indian Express.

GS Paper 3:

Syllabus: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.

Context:

PARAM PORUL, a state-of-the-art Supercomputer was inaugurated at NIT Tiruchirappalli recently.

How many Super Computers have been installed in the country so far?

As per the ministry of science and technology’s annual year-end review:

Under the National Super-Computer Mission (NSM), four new Supercomputers have been installed since July 2021 at IIT-Hyderabad, NABI- Mohali, CDAC-Bengaluru and IIT Kanpur.

What is National Supercomputing Mission (NSM)?

It is being implemented and steered jointly by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY).

• Implemented by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru.

Focus of the mission:

• The Mission envisages empowering national academic and R&D institutions spread over the country by installing a vast supercomputing grid comprising of more than 70 high-performance computing facilities.
• These supercomputers will also be networked on the National Supercomputing grid over the National Knowledge Network (NKN). The NKN is another programme of the government which connects academic institutions and R&D labs over a high speed network.
• The Mission includes development of highly professional High Performance Computing (HPC) aware human resource for meeting challenges of development of these applications.

Achievements:

• The first supercomputer assembled indigenously, called Param Shivay, was installed in IIT (BHU).
• Similar systems Param Shakti and Param Brahma were installed at IIT-Kharagpur and IISER, Pune. They are equipped with applications from domains like Weather and Climate, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Bioinformatics, and Material science.

Insta Curious:

India has developed an indigenous server (Rudra), which can meet the High-Performance Computing (HPC) requirements of all governments and PSUs.

• This is the first time that a server system was made in India, along with the full software stack developed by C-DAC.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. Super computers in India and the world.
2. How do they perform faster?
3. About NKM.
4. Targets under NSM.

Mains Link:

Write a note on the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM).

Q.4) Which of the following are the names of supercomputers in India?

1. PARAM PORUL.
2. PARAM Yuva.
3. PARAM Shakti.

Choose the correct answer using the codes given below:

1. 1 only.
2. 2 only.
3. Both.
4. None.

Sources: PIB.

GS Paper 3:

Syllabus: Conservation related issues.

Context:

India, being a tropical country, has a significant edge in green hydrogen production due to its favourable geographical conditions and abundant natural resources.

• Therefore, at the recently held World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, India said it will emerge as the leader of green hydrogen by taking advantage of the current energy crisis across the globe.

Efforts in this regard:

1. The Centre has released guidelines on the National Hydrogen Mission which aims to increase production to 5 million metric tonnes (MMT) by 2030 to meet about 40 percent of domestic requirements.
2. The centre is considering a proposal to introduce a Rs 15,000-crore Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for electrolysers.
3. In February, the centre notified a green hydrogen and green ammonia policy that offers 25 years of free power for any new renewable energy plants set up for green hydrogen production before July 2025.
4. The government is also planning to introduce mandates requiring that the oil refining, fertiliser and steel sectors procure green hydrogen for a certain proportion of their requirements.

What is green hydrogen?

Hydrogen when produced by electrolysis using renewable energy is known as Green Hydrogen which has no carbon  footprint.

Significance of Green Hydrogen:

• Green hydrogen energy is vital for India to meet its Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) Targets and ensure regional and national energy security, access and availability.
• Green Hydrogen can act as an energy storage option, which would be essential to meet intermittencies (of renewable energy) in the future.
• In terms of mobility, for long distance mobilisations for either urban freight movement within cities and states or for passengers, Green Hydrogen can be used in railways, large ships, buses or trucks, etc.

Applications of green hydrogen:

• Green Chemicals like ammonia and methanol can directly be utilized in existing applications like fertilizers, mobility, power, chemicals, shipping etc.
• Green Hydrogen blending up to 10% may be adopted in CGD networks to gain widespread acceptance.

Benefits:

• It is a clean-burning molecule, which can decarbonize a range of sectors including iron and steel, chemicals, and transportation.
• Renewable energy that cannot be stored or used by the grid can be channelled to produce hydrogen.

Insta Curious:

Hydrogen is an invisible gas. But, then how are they named green, pink and so on? Read here.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

1. About Green Hydrogen.
2. How is it produced?
3. Applications.
4. Benefits.
5. About the Hydrogen Energy Mission.

Mains Link:

Discuss the benefits of Green Hydrogen.

Q.5) Consider the following statements:

1. Hydrogen when produced by electrolysis using renewable energy is known as Green Hydrogen.
2. Green Chemicals like ammonia and methanol can directly be utilized in existing applications like fertilizers.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only.
2. 2 only.
3. Both.
4. None.

Sources: the Hindu.

GS Paper 3:

Syllabus: Internal Security related issues.

Context:

The demands for a “Bhil Pradesh” have of late begun to be raised again.

What is Bhil Pradesh?

• It is a demand for a separate state for tribal people in western India.
• The demand is to carve out a separate state from 39 districts spread over four states: 16 in Gujarat, 10 in Rajasthan, seven in Madhya Pradesh, and six in Maharashtra.
• Bhil social reformer and spiritual leader Govind Guru first raised the demand for a separate state for tribals back in 1913 after the Mangarh massacre.

Need for:

The locals say, after the division of states, tribals in the region were scattered. This suppressed their collective voices. As a result, most schemes related to their development have not benefited them.

The Mangarh massacre:

The massacre, which took place six years before Jallianwalla Bagh and is sometimes referred to as the “Adivasi Jallianwala”, saw hundreds of Bhil tribals being killed by British forces on November 17, 1913 in the hills of Mangarh on the border of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Who are Bhils?

• Bhils or Bheels are an Adivasi ethnic group in West India. Bhils are listed as tribal people of the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
• Bhils are one of the largest tribal group in India. They speak the Bhil languages.

Know about various separatist movements here:

• Reference: Have a brief overview here.

Sources: Indian Express.