DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 25th March 2024

Syllabus

• Prelims & Mains – History

Context: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has voiced his backing for Carnatic vocalist T M Krishna in the midst of a debate surrounding the conferral of the Sangita Kalanidhi title by the Music Academy, Madras. The matter has attracted political and societal interest, particularly regarding critiques of the social reformer Periyar.

Background:-

• Over the years, Periyar has transcended the political divide as well as the faultlines of religion and caste, and come to be revered as Thanthai Periyar, the father figure of modern Tamil Nadu.

About Periyar

• Born in 1879, Periyar is remembered for the Self Respect Movement aimed at achieving social equality for those oppressed by the caste system.
• Periyar started his political career as a Congress worker. He quarrelled with Gandhi over the question of separate dining for Brahmin and non-Brahmin students at Gurukkulam, a Congress-sponsored school owned by nationalist leader V V S Iyer in Cheranmahadevi near Tirunelveli.
• At the request of parents, Iyer had provided separate dining for Brahmin students, which Periyar opposed. Gandhi proposed a compromise, arguing that while it may not be a sin for a person not to dine with another, he would rather respect their scruples.
• After failing to bend the Congress to his view, Periyar resigned from the party in 1925, and associated himself with the Justice Party and the Self Respect Movement, which opposed the dominance of Brahmins in social life, especially the bureaucracy. The Justice Party had a decade earlier advocated reservation for non-Brahmins in the bureaucracy and, after coming to power in the Madras Presidency, issued an order to implement it.
• The Self Respect Movement he led promoted weddings without rituals, and sanctioned property as well as divorce rights for women. He appealed to people to give up the caste suffix in their names, and to not mention caste. He instituted inter-dining with food cooked by Dalits in public conferences in the 1930s.
• Periyar’s fame spread beyond the Tamil region during the Vaikom Satyagraha of 1924, a mass movement to demand that lower caste persons be given the right to use a public path in front of the famous Vaikom temple. Periyar took part in the agitation with his wife, and was arrested twice. He would later be referred to as Vaikom Veerar (Hero of Vaikom).
• He reconstructed the Tamil identity as an egalitarian ideal that was originally unpolluted by the caste system.He argued that caste was imported to the Tamil region.
• Under him, the Dravidian Movement became a struggle against caste and an assertion of Tamil national identity.
• In the 1940s, Periyar launched Dravidar Kazhagam, which espoused an independent Dravida Nadu comprising Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannada speakers.
• For the average Tamil, Periyar today is an ideology. He stands for a politics that foregrounded social equality, self-respect, and linguistic pride. As a social reformer, he focused on social, cultural and gender inequalities, and his reform agenda questioned matters of faith, gender and tradition. He asked people to be rational in their life choices.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus

• Prelims – Geography

Context: A modelling study suggests that a dormant subduction zone beneath the Gibraltar Strait (Gibraltar Arc) could become active and migrate into the Atlantic Ocean, potentially forming an Atlantic “Ring of Fire” in about 20 million years.

Background:

• The Gibraltar arc’s potential awakening could significantly impact the configuration of the Atlantic Ocean over millions of years.

About GIBRALTAR ARC:

• The Gibraltar Arc, also known as the Gibraltar Subduction Zone, is a geological formation located beneath the Gibraltar Strait.
• The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow passage connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea.
• It serves as a natural boundary between Europe and Africa.
• This region marks the meeting point of two tectonic plates: the Eurasian Plate and the African Plate.
• The African Plate is currently subducting beneath the Eurasian Plate in this area.
• Subduction occurs when one tectonic plate slides beneath another, leading to seismic activity, volcanic eruptions, and the formation of mountain ranges.
• The Gibraltar Arc represents a dynamic boundary where these immense forces shape the Earth’s crust.
• Other Subduction Zones in Atlantic region is Lesser Antilles Arc in the Caribbean and Scotia Arc near Antarctica.

Source: Live Science

Syllabus

• Mains – GS 3

Context: In 2022, the top 0.1 per cent in India earned nearly 10 per cent of the national income, while the top 0.01 per cent earned 4.3 per cent share of the national income and top 0.001 per cent earned 2.1 per cent of the national income, according to a paper released by World Inequality Lab

Background:

• Co-authored by economists Nitin Kumar Bharti, Lucas Chancel, Thomas Piketty, and Anmol Somanchi, the paper stated that the “Billionaire Raj” headed by “India’s modern bourgeoisie” is now more unequal than the British Raj headed by the colonialist forces.

Key findings of the report:

• Inequality declined post-independence till the early 1980s, after which it began rising and has skyrocketed since the early 2000s.
• Between 2014-15 and 2022-23, the rise of top-end inequality has been particularly pronounced in terms of wealth concentration.
• By 2022-23, top 1 per cent income and wealth shares (22.6 per cent and 40.1 per cent) are at their highest historical levels and India’s top 1 per cent income share is among the very highest in the world, higher than even South Africa, Brazil and US.
• Wealth is highly concentrated even within the top 1 per cent. In 2022-23, the top 1 per cent wealth share was 39.5 per cent, 29 percentage points went just to the top 0.1 per cent, 22 percentage points to just the top 0.01 per cent and 16 percentage points to just the top 0.001 per cent.
• The sharp rise in top 10 per cent shares from 1991 onwards came at the loss of both bottom 50 per cent and middle 40 per cent shares. From stagnating at 11 per cent during 1961-1981, bottom 50 per cent shares first fell to 8.8 per cent in 1991 and further to 6.9 per cent by 2002. After which, they have hovered between 6-7 per cent over the next two decades with no signs of recovery.
• In 1961, bottom 50 per cent and top 1 per cent shares were identical; by 2022-23, the top 1 per cent share was more than 5 times larger.
• The paper finds suggestive evidence that the Indian income tax system might be regressive when viewed from the lens of net wealth.
• A restructuring of the tax code to account for both income and wealth, and broad-based public investments in health, education and nutrition are needed to enable the average Indian, and not just the elites, to meaningfully benefit from the ongoing wave of globalisation.
• A “super tax” of 2 per cent on the net wealth of the 167 wealthiest families in 2022-23 would yield 0.5 per cent of national income in revenues and create valuable fiscal space to facilitate such investments.
• The quality of economic data in India is notably poor and has seen a decline recently. It is therefore likely that these new estimates represent a lower bound to actual inequality levels.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus

• Prelims & Mains -Environment

Context: The Fourth Global E-waste Monitor (GEM) 2024 was recently released.

Background:

• The report providing crucial insights into the global electronic waste crisis.

About E- Waste:

• E-waste, short for Electronic Waste, refers to old, end-of-life, or discarded electronic appliances.
• It encompasses a wide range of electrical and electronic devices, including their components, consumables, parts, and spares. E-waste poses environmental and health risks if not appropriately treated, disposed of, and recycled.
• The 2024 Global E-waste Monitor (GEM) was prepared by the UN’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).

Key Highlights of the Global E-waste Monitor 2024

E-waste Generation Trends:

• Between 2010 and 2022, global e-waste generation surged from 34 billion kilograms to 62 billion kilograms.
• This upward trend is expected to continue, reaching an estimated 82 billion kilograms by 2030.
• Unfortunately, only 13.8 billion kilograms of this e-waste were formally collected and recycled in an environmentally sound manner.

Factors contribute to the increase in e-waste

• Technological Progress: Rapid advancements lead to shorter product lifecycles.
• Higher Consumption Rates: Our reliance on electronic devices continues to grow.
• Limited Repair Options: Many devices are designed for obsolescence.
• Growing Electronification: More aspects of our lives become digital.
• Inadequate E-waste Management Infrastructure: Insufficient systems for proper disposal and recycling.

Informal Recycling Sector:

• The informal sector handles a significant portion of e-waste globally.
• This holds true for both high- and upper-middle-income countries as well as low- and lower-middle-income countries.
• The lack of formal e-waste management infrastructure drives reliance on informal channels.

Regional Disparities:

• Europe leads in documented formal collection and recycling of e-waste, with a rate of 42.8%.
• In contrast, Africa faces challenges, with a recycling rate of less than 1%, despite generating lower amounts of e-waste.
• Asia, including India, generates a significant portion of global e-waste but has made limited advances in e-waste management.
• Countries in Asia generate almost half of the world’s e-waste (30 bn kg) but relatively few of them have enacted legislation or established clear e-waste collection targets.

Policy Adoption:

• 81 countries have adopted e-waste policy, legislation or regulation.
• Sixty-seven countries have legal provisions on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for e-waste.
• Another 46 have provisions on e-waste collection rate targets. Finally, 36 countries have provisions on e-waste recycling rate targets.

Source: Business Standard

Previous Year Question

Q1. Due to improper/indiscriminate disposal of old and used computers or their parts, which of the following are released into the environment as e-waste?

1. Beryllium
2. Cadmium
3. Chromium
4. Heptachlor
5. Mercury
6. Lead
7. Plutonium

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

1. 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 only
2. 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 only
3. 2, 4, 5 and 7 only
4. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7

Syllabus

• Prelims – Current Event

Context: India has recently launched ‘Operation Indravati’.

Background:

• India’s Operation Indravati is a commendable effort to ensure the safety and well-being of its citizens in the midst of the crisis in Haiti.

About OPERATION INDRAVATI:

• Operation Indravati is an initiative launched by India to evacuate its citizens from Haiti amidst the country’s turmoil.
• The operation is named after the Indravati River in India.
• The aim of this operation is to transfer Indians to the neighbouring Dominican Republic due to escalating violence and chaos in Haiti.

Haiti

• Haiti, a Caribbean country sharing the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, has been grappling with widespread gang violence and political instability.
• This crisis in Haiti has been ongoing since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July 2021.
• The power vacuum that followed led to the assumption of power by Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who has been supported by several nations.
• However, attempts to establish a political transition have failed, and various armed groups have launched coordinated attacks on key installations in an effort to force Henry’s resignation.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus

• Mains – GS 2

Context: India is negotiating BITs with trade partners to boost the inflow of foreign direct investments (FDI).

Background:

• Before 2015, India had BITs with 83 countries or regions but India suspended BITs with 68 countries/regions with a request to re-negotiate based on the model 2016 BIT. Six BITs are still in force. The suspension was triggered by several high profile defeats in investor-state disputes.

About Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs):

• They are reciprocal agreements between two countries to promote and protect foreign private investments in each other’s territories.
• India had signed BITs with 83 countries of which 74 were in force till 2015.
• India revised its Model BIT in 2016. Since 2015, India has signed new BITs only with four countries is negotiating with 37 countries, and terminated its older BITs with 77 countries.

Key features of Model BIT 2016:

• “Enterprise” based definition of investment means an enterprise that has been constituted, organised, and operated in good faith by an investor in accordance with the domestic laws of the country.
• Non-discriminatory treatment through due process as each party shall accord full protection and security to the investments and investors.
• National treatment and protections against expropriation as neither party may nationalize or expropriate an investment of an investor directly or through measures having an effect equivalent to expropriation.
• A foreign investor should first exhaust local remedies at least for a period of five years before going for the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism.

Existing issues/concerns with Model BIT:

• Experts suggest that India brought in Model BIT 2016 in reaction to a series of notices that India received. It has too many exceptions which limit the liability of the host state and raise the bar required to bring a claim under the BIT.
• The Arbitration Mechanism is considered to be the most contentious issue which insists on the investor exhausting the domestic remedies for at least five years before commencing arbitration under the BIT.
• Enterprise-based definition of investment narrows down the definition of investment. Moreover, it is considered to have vague qualifications such as “certain duration” and “significance for the development of the party in whose territory the investment is made.”
• Omission of “fair and equitable treatment” standard. It has been replaced with protections that require steep thresholds to be triggered and/or invoked. Moreover, the doctrines of Most-Favoured Nation and “legitimate expectation” are also absent.
• Exemption of taxation measures from the protections offered under BIT seems to be a restatement of sovereignty rather than a treaty meant to protect cross-border commercial transactions.
• Lack of professionals as India does not have a sufficient number of lawyers/judges with the requisite expertise and experience. Thus, huge fees are paid to foreign law firms that represent India in investment arbitration.

Source: Indian Express

Q1.) India launched Operation Indravati to evacuate its citizens stranded in

1. Ukraine
2. Israel
3. Haiti
4. Sudan

Q2.) With reference to E- waste generation, consider the following:

1. Technological progress
2. Higher consumption rates
3. Limited repair options
4. Growing electronification
5. Inadequate e-waste management infrastructure

How many of the above are the factors contribute to the increase in E-waste?

1. Only two
2. Only three
3. Only four
4. All five

Q3.) Consider the following Subduction Zones:

1. Gibraltar Arc
2. Lesser Antilles Arc
3. Scotia Arc

How many of the above are located in Atlantic region?

1. Only one
2. Only two
3. All three
4. None

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

ANSWERS FOR ’  25th March  2024 – Daily Practice MCQs’ will be updated along with tomorrow’s Daily Current Affairs.st

Q.1) – b

Q.2) – c

Q.3) – c