DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 20th July 2022

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Polity

In News: In 2021, over 1.6 lakh Indians renounced citizenship

• Over 1.6 lakh Indians renounced their citizenship in 2021, highest in the past five years, according to information provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the Lok Sabha.
• Over 78,000 Indians acquired U.S. citizenship, the highest among all other countries, by giving up Indian citizenship.
• India does not allow dual citizenship. As many as 362 Indians living in China also acquired Chinese citizenship.

Citizenship

• Citizenship signifies the relationship between individual and state.
• Like any other modern state, India has two kinds of people—citizens and aliens. Citizens are full members of the Indian State and owe allegiance to it. They enjoy all civil and political rights.

Constitutional Provisions

• Citizenship is listed in the Union List under the Constitution and thus is under the exclusive jurisdiction of Parliament.
• The Constitution does not define the term ‘citizen’ but details of various categories of persons who are entitled to citizenship are given in Part 2 (Articles 5 to 11).
• Unlike other provisions of the Constitution, which came into being on January 26, 1950, these articles were enforced on November 26, 1949 itself, when the Constitution was adopted.

Article 5: It provided for citizenship on commencement of the Constitution.

• All those domiciled and born in India were given citizenship.
• Even those who were domiciled but not born in India, but either of whose parents was born in India, were considered citizens.
• Anyone who had been an ordinary resident for more than five years, too, was entitled to apply for citizenship.

Article 6: It provided rights of citizenship of certain persons who have migrated to India from Pakistan.

• Article 6 laid down that anyone who migrated to India before July 19, 1949, would automatically become an Indian citizen if either of his parents or grandparents was born in India.
• But those who entered India after this date needed to register themselves.

Article 7: Provided Rights of citizenship of certain migrants to Pakistan.

• Those who had migrated to Pakistan after March 1, 1947 but subsequently returned on resettlement permits were included within the citizenship net.

Article 8: Provided Rights of citizenship of certain persons of Indian origin residing outside India.

Article 9: Provided that if any person voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign State will no longer be a citizen of India.

Article10: It says that every person who is or is deemed to be a citizen of India under any of the foregoing provisions of this Part shall, subject to the provisions of any law that may be made by Parliament, continue to be such citizen.

Article 11: It empowers Parliament to make any provision with respect to the acquisition and termination of citizenship and all matters relating to it.

Citizenship Act and Amendments

• The Citizenship Act, 1955 provides for the acquisition and termination of Indian citizenship.

Acquisition and Determination of Indian Citizenship

• There are four ways in which Indian citizenship can be acquired: birth, descent, registration and naturalisation. The provisions are listed under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

Termination

According to the Act, citizenship can be revoked in three ways:

Renunciation: Any Indian citizen who is also a national of another country who renounces his Indian citizenship in the prescribed manner through a declaration ceases to be an Indian citizen.

• When a male person loses his Indian citizenship, all of his minor children lose their Indian citizenship as well.
• However, such a child may become an Indian citizen within one year of reaching full age by making a declaration of his intention to reclaim Indian citizenship.

Termination: An Indian citizen’s citizenship can be revoked if he or she knowingly or voluntarily adopts the citizenship of another country.

Deprivation: In some cases, the Indian government may deprive a person of his citizenship. However, this does not apply to all citizens.

• The act has been amended four times — in 1986, 2003, 2005, and 2015.

Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019

• The CAA was passed by Parliament on December 11, 2019 and the Act was notified on December 12.
• In January 2020, the Ministry notified that the Act will come into force from January 10, 2020.
• It amended the Citizenship Act, 1955 by providing a pathway to Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis or Christians, and arrived in India before the end of December 2014.
• The law does not grant such eligibility to Muslims from these Muslim-majority countries.
• The act was the first time that religion had been overtly used as a criterion for citizenship under Indian law and attracted global criticism
• It exempts the members of the six communities from any criminal case under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Passport Act, 1920.
• The two Acts specify punishment for entering the country illegally and staying here on expired visas and permits.

Must Read: National Register of Citizens (NRC)

Source: The Hindu

Previous Year Question

Q.1) Consider the following statements

1. The Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959 exempts several posts from disqualification on the grounds of ‘Office of Profit’. (2019)
2. The above-mentioned Act was amended five times.
3. The term ‘Office of Profit’ is well-defined in the Constitution of India.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Science and Technology

Context: The wormhole theory postulates that a theoretical passage through space-time could create shortcuts for long journeys across the universe.

• Wormholes were first theorized in 1916.
• Just like black holes were predicted by Einstein’s theory of gravity long before they were experimentally observed, the existence of wormholes, too, has been predicted. Ludwig Flamm, in 1916, first discovered that they could exist.
• He described a “white hole,” a theoretical time reversal of a black hole.
• Entrances to both black and white holes could be connected by a space-time conduit.

• In 1935, Einstein and physicist Nathan Rosen used the theory of general relativity to elaborate on the idea, proposing the existence of “bridges” through space-time.
• These bridges connect two different points in space-time, theoretically creating a shortcut that could reduce travel time and distance.
• The shortcuts came to be called Einstein-Rosen bridges, or wormholes.
• However, the presence of wormholes has not yet been established through observation or inference by astronomers.

Source: The Hindu

Previous Year Question

Q.1) Recently, scientists observed the merger of giant ‘blackholes’ billions of light-years away from the earth. What is the significance of this observation? (2019)

1. ‘Higgs boson particles’ were detected.
2. ‘Gravitational waves’ were detected.
3. Possibility of inter-galactic space travel through ‘wormhole’ was confirmed.
4. It enabled the scientists to understand to ‘singularity’.

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Syllabus

• Prelims – Current Affairs

In News: the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment) Bill, 2022 has been listed by the government for introduction and passing in the monsoon session.

• The planned revision to Section 20 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act is

Proposed provisions

• In a current law, Section 20 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act of 1958, last amended in 2010, prohibits construction within a 100 metre radius of all Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)-protected monuments and regulates activities within another 300 metre radius.
• The new Bill proposes to revise this section.
• Henceforth, expert committees will decide on the extent of the prohibited and regulated areas around each monument and activities permitted herein.
• The ASI would be given enforcement powers such as in the Forest Act which would empower it to act against those encroaching at protested sites.

Concerns

• Archaeological Sites across India have become commons for human and animal communities.
• Altering land around ASI-protected monuments into industrial, commercial, or even residential plots will thus deprive human and animal communities of much-needed commons.
• Permitting construction work risks weakening the foundations of centuries-old edifices.
• Also construction machines may disturb the art facets near the site, thus making the task of undertaking new research more difficult
• Domestic waste and greywater regularly seep into ancient sites any changes in protection status now will aggravate this problems.
• In recent years, the Government has built new highways, metro-rail systems, and industrial parks without methodical archaeological impact assessments.
• These projects have led to the shattering of an untold number of historical artefacts and the casual collection of many others. We cannot afford to lose more of our tangible heritage.

Now is the time to learn from painstaking efforts to preserve our composite tangible heritage and the ecosystems that they are in. Any modification to the present act requires proper examination with the involvement of various stakeholder and proper analysis of its consequences.

Source: The Hindu

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Syllabus

• Mains – GS 2 (Polity)

Context: Unlike their counterparts in the U.K., MPs in India have no autonomy to question and challenge their party leadership

• The ousting of Boris Johnson as leader of the British Conservative Party is the latest in a series of coups periodically mounted by the party’s MPs to get rid of a leader who has become an electoral or political liability.
• If there is a sense that the leader is no longer acceptable to the country, then a well-oiled machine springs into action to protect the party’s electoral gains by providing fresh leadership.

In India

• In India, where the PM exercises absolute authority over party MPs, whose ability to even diverge slightly from the official government line on routine policy matters is almost non-existent.
• The PM’s power is strengthened by India’s unique anti-defection set-up, where uncooperative MPs who do not manage to carry two-thirds of their colleagues with them can always be disqualified.
• Also that PM or CM at the State level are chosen by legislators — the choice is invariably made by a party high command, and then submitted to MPs/MLAs to be rubber stamped.
• Our system allows voters to be heard once every five years.
• The underlying assumption is that, in the interim, their voice is articulated through their representatives.
• It is time for India to seriously consider empowering its elected representatives, to ensure accountability for party leadership.
• MPs in the U.K. are able to act boldly because they do not owe their nomination to the party leader, but are selected by the local constituency party.
• In India, however, it is the party leadership that decides candidates, with an informal consultation with the local party.
• Neither do MPs in the U.K. stand a risk of disqualification if they speak out against the leader, a threat perpetuated in India through the anti-defection law.
• These factors are the biggest stumbling blocks towards ensuring inner-party democracy in India.

Way Forward

Short Term

Adopt Best Practice

• A workable model can be borrowed from the U.K. where individual Conservative MPs write to the committee expressing that they have “no confidence” in their leader.
• If a numerical or percentage threshold is breached, an automatic leadership vote is triggered, with the party leader forced to seek a fresh mandate from the parliamentary party.
• The only way such a model would work is if an exception is made to the anti-defection law, which is at present misused by party leaders hoping to cling on to power.

Long Term

• The control over candidates must shift from central party leaders to local party members.

Source: The Hindu

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Syllabus

• Mains – GS 2 (Polity)

Context: Chile’s draft Constitution is an example of a framework for an enduring and egalitarian democracy.

Background

• In 2019, a wave of protests engulfed the country of Chile.
• These protests were triggered by familiar themes: social inequality, the cost of living, and probity in governance.
• But at the heart of the protests was also the fact that Chile’s Constitution was no longer fit for purpose.
• Drafted in 1980 previous constitution led to Chile becoming one of the most unequal countries in the world.
• Consequently, one of the demands of the Chilean protesters was to replace Pinochet’s Constitution with a democratic Constitution, written by the People of Chile, for themselves.

Inclusive constitution

• The Chilean government eventually conceded to this demand.
• This led to the formation of a directly-elected Constituent Assembly, which was strikingly representative: 51% of the Constituent Assembly members were women, and there were 17 reserved seats for indigenous peoples.
• Constituent Assembly members also included people from across the socio-economic and geographical spectrum of Chile, sexual minorities too.
• This intensely representative and participatory process has led to the drafting of a Constitution that is both inclusive and visionary.

Constitutionalism – evolution

• In the early to mid-20th century, constitutional drafting around the world often followed the United States model.
• It was believed that the purpose of a Constitution was to constrain state power.
• To this end, Constitutions set out enforceable bills of rights, and divided power between the three wings of State — the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary.
• In the latter half of the 20th century, it came to be understood that this vision of constitutionalism was necessary, but inadequate, to address the many problems faced by countries across the world.
• In response, starting in the 1980s, Constitutions began to include “socio-economic rights” — such as the rights to housing, to education, and to health, among others — within their bills of rights.
• Second, it was recognised that the complexities of governance require a set of institutions that are independent of the State and can hold them to account. Some familiar examples include information commissions, human rights commissions, and electoral commissions.
• These are sometimes referred to as “integrity institutions”, as their task is to ensure integrity in the functioning of state agencies
• Third, it was recognised that mere periodic elections constitute only a thin and attenuated version of democracy.
• This has come to be known as the requirement of “public participation

It’s a document of vision

However, what is even more striking is that the Chilean draft Constitution not only draws upon past wisdom; it is a future-facing document as well

• The Constitution grapples with the pervasive role of technology in lives by stipulating the existence of a National Data Protection Authority, as well as guaranteeing a right to digital connectivity. The draft Constitution’s move to enshrine within it – the need for an independent data protection body.
• Similarly, the draft Constitution acknowledges the gravity of the climate crisis, and constitutionalises important principles of international environmental law, such as inter-generational equity.
• It also guarantees a right to nature, which is something that courts in different countries, from India to New Zealand, have recently explored.

Thus, when we consider the draft Chilean Constitution in its historical and present context, a remarkable picture emerges: this is a document, drafted through an intensely inclusive, participatory, and egalitarian process, and which — in its substantive content — both draws upon the wisdom of the past, and looks to the future. It is, in many ways, a model for how Constitutions in the modern world ought to be drafted, and a lesson to the rest of the world.

Must Read: Link 1 + Link 2

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus

• GS-2: India and its neighbourhood
• GS-2: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests

Context: Sri Lanka’s economy is in free fall. Runaway inflation reached 54.6 percent and country is now headed toward bankruptcy.

• Nine in 10 Sri Lankan families are skipping meals, and many are standing in line for days in the hope of acquiring fuel.
• In an uprising nearly 300,000 protesters took over President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s home and offices and set fire to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s home. Rajapaksa resigned after fleeing the country, leaving Wickremesinghe as interim president.

Read Complete Details on Sri Lanka’s organic farming disaster

Q.1) Consider the following statements

1. The Citizenship Act, 1955 provides for the acquisition and termination of Indian citizenship
2. Under renunciation when a male person loses his Indian citizenship, all of his minor children lose their Indian citizenship as well.

Choose the correct statements:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Q.2) Consider the following statements

1. The GoI constituted a committee headed by Sanjay Agrawal committee to look into the issues of minimum support price (MSP)
2. The Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) recommends MSPs for mandated crops

Choose the incorrect statements:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Q.3) Consider the following statements

1. An inverted yield curve occurs when short-term debt instruments carry higher yields than long-term instruments of the same credit risk profile
2. When the actions of the central bank bring about a recession, it is called a hard-landing.

Choose the correct statements:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

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

ANSWERS FOR ’20th JULY 2022 – Daily Practice MCQs’ will be updated along with tomorrow’s Daily Current Affairs.

Q.1) – d

Q.2) – d

Q.3) – b