DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 16th June 2022

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Science and Technology

In News: The Union Cabinet has approved the auction of airwaves capable of offering fifth generation, or 5G

• Taking the first step towards rolling out 5G services, the government has invited bid applications for spectrum auctions starting in July after it proposal to auction over 72,000 megahertz (MHz), or 72 GHz, of airwaves with a validity period of 20 years.
• The auction will be held for spectrum in the frequencies of 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 3,300 MHz and 26 GHz
• It is expected that the Mid and High band spectrum will be utilised by telecom service providers to roll out 5G technology-based services capable of providing speed and capacities which would be about 10 times higher than what is possible through the current 4G services

5^th generation

• 5G is the 5th generation mobile network. It is a new global wireless standard after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks.
• It enables a new kind of network that is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices.
• Internet speeds in the high-band spectrum of 5G has been tested to be as high as 20 Gbps

Different Bands of 5G:

• 5G mainly works in 3 bands, namely low, mid and high frequency spectrum — all of which have their own uses as well as limitations.
• Low Band Spectrum: In terms of coverage and speed of Internet and data exchange, the maximum speed is limited to 100 Mbps
• Mid Band Spectrum: It offers higher speeds compared to the low band, but has limitations in terms of coverage area and penetration of signals.
• This band may be used by industries and specialised factory units for building captive networks that can be moulded into the needs of that particular industry.
• High Band Spectrum: It offers the highest speed of all the three bands, but has extremely limited coverage and signal penetration strength

Source: The Hindu,  Indian Express

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Syllabus

• Mains

Context: The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) released its yearbook highlighting some trends of the past year in international security.

Key Findings

What have been the trends in military spending?

• During 2012-2021, military spending as a percentage of gross domestic product has largely been stable.
• Russia leads the charge in absolute numbers of nuclear inventory (5977 against the U.S.’s 5428), however it is the S. that has the largest number of deployed warheads (1744 against Russia’s 1588).
• The U.K. has 225 nuclear weapons in its inventory, while France has 290, China has 350, India has 160, and Pakistan has 165.

Global arms imports

• Military modernisation is seen to be a global trend.
• India was the top weapons importer during the 2017-2021 period.
• Other countries to feature in the top five arms importers list include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, China, and Australia.
• According to SIPRI, these five nation states account for 38% of total global arms import.

What are the key developments/concerns flagged by the yearbook?

• The yearbook mentions low level border clashes between India and Pakistan, the civil war in Afghanistan, and the armed conflict in Myanmar as some of the worrying indicators of an unstable system.
• It also highlighted three causes of concern trends: Chinese-American rivalry, involvement of state and non-state actors in multiple conflicts, and the challenge that climatic and weather hazards pose.
• The Russian invasion of Ukraine has raised some serious concern because of the continuous rhetoric from the Kremlin over them not shying away from the use of nuclear weapons.
• China’s recent activities surrounding construction of 300 new nuclear missile silos have also been turning heads.
• The report claimed that Iran’s military budget grew to $24.6 billion, growing for the first time in four years.

What is the general attitude among countries about existing nuclear and arms related treaties?

• The leaders of the P5 countries (China, France, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S.) issued a joint statement affirming the belief that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”.
• This highlights collective belief that bilateral and multilateral arms control agreements and commitments were indeed important.
• The dichotomy of this sentiment against the upward trend in absolute numbers of arms and nuclear arsenals is rather unsettling.
• Even with these upward trends, the nation states are making sure to remain well within the ambit of what the treaties and agreements ask for.

What lies ahead?

• A strong political opposition would be needed to help keep the ruling dispensation in check.
• Furthermore, the two largest nuclear weapons holding states need to take on a more engaging role in the international arena.
• Nations should opt for peaceful resolution through negotiation.

Source: The Hindu

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Polity & Governance
• Mains – GS 2 (Polity & Governance)

In News: The debate surrounding the comments by ruling party spokespersons have put the spotlight on the law that deals with criticism of or insult to religion.

• Section 295A of IPC defines the contours of free speech and its limitations with respect to offences relating to religion.
• India does not have a formal legal framework for dealing with hate speech.
• However, a cluster of provisions, loosely termed hate speech laws, are invoked.

Section 295A & others

• Section 295A defines and prescribes a punishment for deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.
• It includes offences to penalise damage or defilement of a place of worship with intent to insult the religion (Section 295); trespassing in a place of sepulture (Section 297); uttering, words, etc, with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person (Section 298); and disturbing a religious assembly (Section 296).
• The state often invokes Section 295A along with Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code, which penalises promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony and Section 505 of the IPC that punishes statements conducing to public mischief.

Supreme Court Judgment

• In 1957, the constitutionality of Section 295A was challenged in Ramji Lal Modi v State of Uttar Pradesh.
• The Supreme Court upheld the law on the grounds that it was brought in to preserve “public order”.
• Public order is an exemption to the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression and the right to religion recognised by the Constitution.
• In 1973, in Ramlal Puri v State of Madhya Pradesh, the Supreme Court said the test to be applied is whether the speech in question offends the “ordinary man of common sense” and not the “hypersensitive man”
• In Baragur Ramachandrappa v State of Karnataka, a 2007 decision of the Supreme Court, “a pragmatic approach” was invoked in interpreting Section 295A.

Source: Indian Express

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Current Affairs
• Mains – GS (Economy)

In News: The annual report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey for July 2020 to June 2021 was released by NSO

Findings

• The unemployment rate of 4.2 per cent in 2020-21, the lowest since the first PLFS showed an unemployment rate of 6.1 per cent in 2017-18.
• According to the report, the labour force participation rate (LFPR), or those working or seeking or available for work in the labour force, was the highest in four years at 39.3 per cent in 2020-21, as was the worker population ratio (WPR) at 36.3 per cent.
• The unemployment rate was higher for males in rural areas than females.
• In rural areas, the unemployment rate was 3.9 per cent in 2020-21, while that for females was 2.1 per cent.
• In urban areas, the unemployment rate for females was 8.6 per cent, while that for males was 6.1 per cent.
• While the overall employment situation showed improvement, the rise was seen in low-quality, unpaid work.
• Employment in the unpaid self-employed category continued to show an increase in 2020-21 by rising to 17.3 per cent from 15.9 per cent in 2019-20.
• Rural unpaid employment also showed increase to 21.3 per cent in 2020-21 from 20.0 per cent in the previous year, while that for urban areas increased to 6.3 per cent from 5.7 per cent.
• The data shows that the share of the labour force engaged in agriculture continued to show a rise in 2020-21, increasing to 46.5 per cent from 45.6 per cent in 2019-20 and 42.5 per cent in 2018-19 — a reversal of the decades-long decline in the labour force participation in agriculture.
• The increase in share of agricultural employment was seen more for urban areas than rural areas.
• In urban areas, male employment in agriculture increased to 5.3 per cent in 2020-21 from 5.0 per cent in 2019-20, while that for females increased to 10.4 per cent in 2020-21 from 8.2 per cent.
• In rural areas, both males and females recorded a slight moderation in agricultural employment to 53.8 per cent and 75.4 per cent, respectively, from 55.4 per cent and 75.7 per cent in the previous year.

Source: Indian Express

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Science and Technology

In News:  India successfully test-fired it’s indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile

Prithvi  missile

• Prithvi is a tactical surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) of India under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP).
• The Prithvi missile project encompassed developing three variants for use by the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy.
• Prithvi I (SS-150) – Army version (150 km range with a payload of 1,000 kg)
• Prithvi II (SS-250) – Air Force version (350 km range with a payload of 500 kg)
• Prithvi III (SS-350) – Naval version (350 km range with a payload of 1,000 kg)
• Prithvi II class is also a single-stage liquid-fueled missile having a maximum warhead mounting capability of 500 kg, with an extended range of 250 km

• The state-of-the-art missile uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target

Source: Indian Express

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Geography

In News: The Supermoon was seen worldwide in different time zones

• A supermoon occurs when the Moon’s orbit is closest to the Earth at the same time that the Moon is full.
• As the Moon orbits the Earth, there is a point of time when the distance between the two is the least (perigee).
• Also, there is a point of time when the distance is the most (apogee)
• Now, when a full moon appears at the point when the distance between the Earth and the Moon is the least, not only does it appear to be brighter but it is also larger than a regular full moon.
• In a typical year, there may be two to four full supermoons and two to four new supermoons in a row

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus

• GS-3: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life
• GS-2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. 

Context: The era of 5G is here! A technology that’s been talked about over the past couple of years is finally rolling out across different countries like China, US, Japan, and even South Korea.

Read Complete Details on 5G Technology

Q.1) Section 295A of IPC recently in news is related to?

1. Penalizes promoting enmity between different groups.
2. Punishes statements conducing to public mischief.
3. Punishment for rioting.
4. Prescribes a punishment for deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class.

Q.2) According to recent Periodic Labour Force Survey for July 2020 to June 2021 was released by NSO consider the following statements

1. The unemployment rate in 2020-21 is the lowest since the first PLFS in 2017-18
2. The unemployment rate was higher for males in rural areas than for females.
3. The unemployment rate was higher for females in urban areas than for males.

Choose the correct statements:

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

Q.3) Consider the following statements

1. Prithvi II is a tactical surface-to-surface long-range ballistic missile
2. Prithvi II missile is a two-stage liquid-fueled missile
3. It uses an advanced inertial guidance system with maneuvering trajectory to hit its target

Choose the incorrect statements:

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

Comment the answers to the above questions in the comment section below!!

ANSWERS FOR ’16th JUNE 2022 – Daily Practice MCQs’ will be updated along with tomorrow’s Daily Current Affairs.

Q.1) – a

Q.2) – c

Q.3) – a