IAS UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 14th June 2019

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(PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS)

Modi, Xi meet in Bishkek, agree to speed up boundary talks

Part of Mains GS II: International Relations

In news

• India and China agreed to expedite the dialogue on the India-China boundary issue for securing a “fair” solution.
• The two leaders met in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, where they will participate in the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
• The two leaders discussed the status of the bilateral relationship since the Wuhan summit of April 2018, which came in the backdrop of tension following the 73-day Doklam standoff.
• China highlighted the need for regional cooperation and connectivity and singled out the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor as an example for expanding the India-China ties, which had entered a “new phase” after the Wuhan informal summit.
• The two sides should adhere to the basic judgment that China and India are the opportunities for development and do not pose a threat to each other.
• Russia invited India to take part in the Vladivostok Forum in September

Do you Know?

Vladivostok Forum

Eastern Economic Forum is an international forum held each year in Vladivostok, Russia, for the purpose of encouraging foreign investment in the Russian Far East.

For Wuhan Summit, read: IASbaba daily current affairs 30 April 2018

India will have its own space station, says ISRO chief Sivan

Part of Prelims and mains GS III: Science and Technology

In News

• India plans to have its own space station, and the modalities for it will be worked out after the first manned mission, Gaganyaan, scheduled for August 2022.
• The ISRO would also join the international space community for a manned mission to the moon and beyond.
• A Gaganyaan National Advisory Council has been created with members from different institutions and industries. Selection of two to three crew members would be done in six months. They would then undergo training for 1-1.5 years after that
• A GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle will be used to launch the Gaganyaan. Prior to that, two unmanned missions would be undertaken, one in December next year and the second, six months after that.
• The Gagayaan mission aims to send a two or three member crew to space for a period of seven days. The spacecraft would be placed in a low earth orbit of 300-400 km.

Do you know?

The only countries that have had space stations so far are the US, Russia, China and a consortium of nations that own the International Space Station (ISS).

Low Earth Orbit: Low earth orbits (LEO) are satellite systems used in telecommunication, which orbit between 400 and 1,000 miles above the earth’s surface. They are used mainly for data communication such as email, video conferencing and paging. They move at extremely high speeds and are not fixed in space in relation to the earth.

Microgravity: Microgravity is when the pull of gravity is not very strong. In microgravity, it is easy to move heavy objects. The studies help show what happens to people and other things in space. Microgravity does things to the human body. For example, muscles and bones can get weaker. Astronauts on the space station spend months in microgravity.

Govt makes changes to Employees State Insurance Scheme

Part of Prelims: Indian Economy

In news

The Government has recently decided to reduce the contribution of the employees and employers under the Employees State Insurance Scheme. The reduced rates will come into effect on July 1, 2019.

Do you know?

Details about Employees State Insurance Scheme

What is it?

Employees’ State Insurance Scheme of India is a multi-dimensional Social Security Scheme tailored to provide Socio-economic protection to the ’employees’ in the organized sector against the events of sickness, maternity, disablement and death due to employment injury and to provide medical care to the insured employees and their families.

Who administers the Scheme?

The ESI Scheme is administered by a statutory corporate body called the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC).

How is the Scheme financed?

The ESI scheme is a self-financing scheme. The ESI funds are primarily built out of contribution from employers and employees payable monthly at a fixed percentage of wages paid.

Coverage of the Scheme

It extends to all the factories employing 10 or more employees. Further, it covers all the employees with wages up to Rs 21,000.

TRAI asked to revisit spectrum auction recommendations

Part of Prelims and mains GS II: Governance, GS III: Economics

In news

The Digital Communications Commission (DCC) — the highest decision-making body at the Department of Telecom, on Thursday asked the TRAI to reconsider its entire recommendation on the forthcoming spectrum auctions that includes reserve price and methodology, keeping in view the larger objective of Digital India. DCC seeks 5G for rural health and education.

Do you know?

About Digital Communications Commission

The ‘National Digital Communications Policy-2018’ re-designated the ‘Telecom Commission’ as the ‘Digital Communications Commission’ to ensure effective implementation and monitoring of the National Digital Communications Policy-2018.

The Secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Telecommunications is the ex-officio Chairman of the Digital Communications Commission.

The Digital Communications Commission is responsible for:

• Formulating the policy of Department of Telecommunications for approval of the Government;
• Preparing the budget for the Department of Telecommunications for each financial year and getting it approved by the Government;
• Implementation of Government’s policy in all matters concerning telecommunication.

Asiatic Golden cat wears new colours

Part of Prelims: Environment and Biodiversity

In News

Scientists have discovered six different ‘colour morphs’ of the Asiatic golden cat in Arunachal Pradesh.

Do you know?

Asiatic Golden cat is a medium-sized wild cat native to north-eastern Indian subcontinent and is listed as ‘Near Threatened’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Colour morphs are basically occurrence of two or more discrete colour forms of the animal within a population, due to a genetic mutation. For example- Black panther is a color morph of the common leopard.

National

TOPIC: General studies 2

• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes;
• Mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

Justice that heals: Why cases under POCSO law should deploy restorative justice

Introduction

A district court in Madhya Pradesh sentenced a person to death under the POCSO (Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences) Act was doing the rounds, research conducted by the Counsel to Secure Justice (CSJ) and National Law University Delhi (NLUD) offered significant insights.

Meaning of Justice

The meanings of “justice” tend to vary for the victim, offender, family, and community. The survivors or their families did not necessarily want the death penalty — or even strict punishment — for the accused. Rather, in many cases, they wanted the offenders to acknowledge their wrongdoing or tender an apology for their act.

Restorative Justice

Restorative justice is emerging as a powerful tool in the criminal justice process, especially with regard to conciliation and mediation. The concept involves bringing the victim and offender together to remedy the harm — it makes the offender accept his/her offence.

Restorative justice involves the victim, offender and the community in its quest for solutions, which are about repairing, reconciliation, and reassurance.

Punitive Justice

Punitive options, including the death penalty, are not the product of the concerns of victims or their families — they are notions of the state and therefore, driven by political considerations.

Punishment seldom matches with the idea of justice held by the victims, their families or the community. Victimisation leads to trauma, shame, insecurity, and several other social and emotional consequences.

The study revealed that families of victims often felt that the offenders usually do not experience any remorse or guilt even after undergoing the severest of punishments. The stakeholders in these communities felt that, apart from harsh punishment, measures like community service, education — or even treatment for the offender — and restorative programmes ought to be initiated.

Current justice system

The current justice system often ignores the need to restore relationships that were broken, because family members blamed victims and failed to support them. The aim of the criminal justice process ought to be the creation of peace and, more importantly, enabling the community to deal with the effects of crime — as well as preventing it.

Communities often perceive the system as corrupt, dismissive of the poor and insensitive towards victims and their families.

The study presents a powerful case for applying restorative justice, especially because re-victimisation and secondary victimisation, including discrediting crime victims during cross-examination, results in more harm than good — they discourage victims from reporting abuse. Victims believe that the system shares the society’s victim-blaming culture.

POCSO and Restorative justice

In 90 per cent cases of child sexual abuse, the offender is not only known to the victim but is also a close relative. Many organisations worldwide have “victim offender reconciliation programmes” or “sentencing circles”. These involve trained facilitators who make the parties discuss possible solutions by driving the offenders to own up to their offence.

A restorative justice approach would require the POCSO Act to concentrate on the victims’ needs — material, financial, emotional and social. POCSO ought to recreate or restore a community that supports the rehabilitation of victims and offenders — and in doing so, prevent crime. Adoption of such strategies will also obviate the costs and delays associated with the current legal justice system.

Conclusion

Restorative justice programmes enable the victim, the offender and affected members of the community to be directly involved in addressing the situation that arises after a crime. They become central to the criminal justice process, with government officers and legal professionals serving as facilitators of a system that aims at offender accountability and reparation. This restorative process — that often involves face-to-face interactions between all parties — is a powerful way of addressing not only the material loss as a result of the crime, but the social and
emotional trauma caused by it.

Connecting the dots:

Restorative Justice versus Punitive justice: Which one side would you take? Justify your stand.

(TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE)

Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section)

Note:

1. Featured Comments and comments Up-voted by IASbaba are the “correct answers”.
2. IASbaba App users – Team IASbaba will provide correct answers in comment section. Kindly refer to it and update your answers.

Q.1) Bishkek was recently in news. It is

1. A tribe residing in central Asia
2. Capital city of Kyrgyzstan
3. Desert in Russia
4. None of the above

Q.2) Consider the following countries :

1. India
2. Pakistan
3. Afghanistan
4. Tajikistan

Which of the above are not members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)?  

1. 1, 2 and 4
2. 1 and 2
3. 3 and 4
4. 3 only

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