Part of: Prelims and GS II – Polity and GS-III- Money laundering
Context The Indian President recently promulgated (brought into effect) two ordinances that would allow the Union Government to extend the tenures of the directors of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) from two years to up to five years.
The chiefs of the Central agencies currently have a fixed two-year tenure, but can now be given three annual extensions.
The amended Acts
For CBI director: The Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946 was amended
The Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003 was amended with respect to the ED Director’s post.
About Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
The CBI is the premier investigating agency of India.
Ministry: Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
Role: It was originally set up to investigate bribery and governmental corruption. In 1965, it received expanded jurisdiction to investigate breaches of central laws enforceable by the Government of India, multi-state organised crime, multi-agency or international cases.
CBI is exempted from the provisions of the Right to Information Act.
CBI is India’s officially designated single point of contact for liaison with the Interpol.
The CBI headquarter: New Delhi.
About Enforcement Directorate (ED)
Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is a law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India.
Ministry: Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance
The prime objective is the enforcement of two key Acts:
The Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 (FEMA)
The Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (PMLA)
Headquarters: New Delhi
Five regional offices: Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Delhi headed by Special Directors of Enforcement.
In October 2018, India and Russia signed a $5.43 billion deal for five S-400 regiments.
Ahead of the scheduled deliveries, two Indian Air Force (IAF) teams have already been trained on the system by the manufacturer Almaz Antey, in Russia.
What is CAATSA?
Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA)‘s core objective is to counter Iran, Russia and North Korea through punitive measures.
Enacted in 2017.
Includes sanctions against countries that engage in significant transactions with Russia’s defence and intelligence sectors.
What is S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft missile systems?
The S-400 Triumfis a mobile, surface-to-air missile system (SAM) designed by Russia.
It can simultaneously track numerous incoming objects — all kinds of aircraft, missiles and UAVs — in a radius of 400km and launch appropriate missiles to neutralise them.
Part of: Prelims and GS-III – Biodiversity; Environment
Context A swallowtail butterfly carrying ‘India’ in its name will become the State butterfly of Arunachal Pradesh.
The butterfly is also known as Kaiser-i-Hind.
Pakke Tiger Reserve 2047 declaration
The State Cabinet also adopted the Pakke Tiger Reserve 2047 declaration on climate change-resilient and responsive Arunachal Pradesh aimed at lowering emissions and sustainable development.
About Kaiser-i-Hind
Kaiser-i-Hind ( Teinopalpus imperialis ) literally means Emperor of India.
This butterfly with a 90-120 mm wingspan is found in six States along the eastern Himalayas at elevations from 6,000-10,000 feet in well-wooded terrain.
Countries: The butterfly also flutters in Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and southern China.
Protection: It is protected under Schedule II of Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
Threats: It is hunted for supply to butterfly collectors.
The species is confined to very few pockets of Arunachal Pradesh and could become extinct if not conserved
Implication of the tag: The State butterfly tag can translate into its habitat conservation
About Pakke Tiger Reserve
It is also known as Pakhui Tiger Reserve.
It is located in Arunachal Pradesh
Falls within the Eastern Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspot.
Known for its amazing sightings of four resident hornbill species.
This Tiger Reserve has won India Biodiversity Award 2016 in the category of ‘Conservation of threatened species’ for its Hornbill Nest Adoption Programme.
It is bounded by Bhareli or Kameng River in the west and north, and by Pakke River in the east. It is surrounded by contiguous forests on most sides.
Context On November 24 NASA will launch the agency’s first planetary defense test mission named the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART).
Key takeaways
DART is a planetary defense-driven test of technologies for preventing an impact of Earth by a hazardous asteroid.
The main aim of the mission is to test the newly developed technology that would allow a spacecraft to crash into an asteroid and change its course.
The spacecraft will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The target of the spacecraft is a small moonlet called Dimorphos (Greek for “two forms”). The spacecraft is expected to collide when it is 11 million km away from Earth.
Dimorphos orbits a larger asteroid named Didymos (Greek for “twin”)
The leaders concluded the 2021 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting by adopting a declaration under the theme of ‘Join, Work, Grow, Together’.
Commitments:
Accelerating economic recovery and achieving sustainable and inclusive growth
Tackling climate change
Empowering groups with untapped economic potential
Addressing the digital divide.
Leaders also endorsed the Aotearoa Plan of Action. It is blueprint to implement the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040, which was adopted at the 2020 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting.
Aotearoa Plan of Action aims for an “open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community by 2040
APEC summit-2022 will be held in Thailand.
About APEC
It is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
It was started in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence of Asia-Pacific economies and the advent of regional trade blocs in other parts of the world.
It aimed to establish new markets for agricultural products and raw materials beyond Europe.
Headquarter: Singapore.
The group represents approximately 60% of world GDP and 48% of world trade in 2018.
Official observers: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Secretariat (ASEAN), the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIF).
Its full members are: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; China; Colombia; Ecuador; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Peru; Philippines; Singapore; Pacific Islands Forum; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; USA; and Vietnam.
India is not a Member.
India had requested membership in APEC, and received initial support from the United States, Japan, Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Officials have decided not to allow India to join as India does not border the Pacific Ocean, which all current members do.
Miscellaneous
Landraces
Among the winners of this year’s Padma awards is Rahibai Popere, popularly known as Seedmother, from Akole taluka of Ahmednagar, Maharashtra.
Her Padma Shri is a recognition of her work that has helped save hundreds of landraces (wild varieties of commonly grown crops) at the village level.
Landraces refer to naturally occurring variants of commonly cultivated crops. These are opposed to commercially grown crops, which are developed by selective breeding (hybrids) or through genetic engineering to express a certain trait over others.
Amid the threat of climate change, a challenge before scientists and policymakers is to develop varieties that can withstand both abiotic and biotic stresses.
Naturally occurring landraces have a large pool of still untapped genetic material, which can provide solutions.
Tele-Law: Reaching the Unreached e-interface platform was launched in 2017 by the Department of Justice, to strengthen the pre-litigation mechanism in the country.
This is operational in 51,434 Common Service Centres across 50,000 Gram Panchayats in 633 districts Tele-Law leverages technology (viz. tele-video conferencing facilities) to connect the beneficiary with the Panel Lawyer to seek legal advice and consultation for an early redressal of their grievance.
Expanding its reach and ambit the Citizens’ Tele-Law Mobile App intends to widen the access to increased legal information and empowers the masses to identify their problem and chose from appropriate forum of dispute redressal to claim their entitlements and rights by connecting the beneficiary directly to the Panel Lawyer or with an assistance of Para Legal Volunteers, Village Level entrepreneurs, in case of beneficiary who are unable to read or write.
A first of its kind wherein as part of our constitutional mandate for providing equal opportunities before law, every citizen would now be entitled to have access to lawyer on a touch of a finger
On 14 November 1889, Jawaharlal Nehru was born in Allahabad to parents with Kashmiri Pandit lineage. He played a prominent role in the freedom struggle and became the first prime minister of independent India.
A prominent lawyer and a member of the Indian National Congress, and also served as its president twice.
Influenced by the works of G B Shaw, H G Wells, Bertrand Russell, J M Keynes, Meredith Townsend and Lowes Dickinson
In 1912, Nehru returned to India and started practice at the Allahabad High Court. However, he was disinterested in this job and soon drifted towards the national cause. He attended a Congress session in 1912 in Patna and felt that the membership of the party was restricted to upper-class elites. The INC at that time was in its moderate phase.
Advocated for non-cooperation and resigning from honorary positions. He supported more aggressive nationalists who were pressing for home rule.
He was influenced by Annie Besant and worked for her Home Rule League.
He was involved in the non-cooperation movement in 1920 and was imprisoned for the first time. When Gandhi called off the movement in the wake of the violence at Chauri Chaura, there was a split in the party and Motilal Nehru and C R Das formed the Swaraj Party. Jawaharlal Nehru, however, remained with the Congress and Gandhi.
The preamble of the Indian constitution, which is based on the objective’s resolution drafted by Jawaharlal Nehru, summarises the ideals and thoughts the founding fathers of independent India had dreamed of. It is the central theme around which the constitution revolves.
From 1957, his birth anniversary is celebrated as ‘Children’s Day’ in India.
Five principal pillars of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s legacy to India — Nation-building, Democratic institution-building, Secularism, Democratic Socialist economics, and a Novel foreign policy (Non-alignment, Panchsheel) still form the cardinal values of India.
Three major achievements and their impact on shaping future of India:
Welfare State:
Through the planned economy approach, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru envisaged that in a land of extreme poverty and inequality, the objective of government policy must be the welfare of the poorest, most deprived and most marginalised of the people.
This notion drives the policy of successive governments that poverty and inequality in India cannot be tackled only by the market.
It can be reflected in creation of a framework of rights, including the right to work, the right to food, the right to education and the right to fair compensation for land, all of which have empowered the poorest of people in India.
Establishing Institutions of Excellence:
It was Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s who built the scientific base for India’s space and engineering triumphs today.
With the establishment of what is now the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), India has achieved the status of Space power today.
With the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) established in his tenure, Indians have a worldwide reputation for engineering excellence.
Also, he laid the foundations of a dual-track nuclear programme due to which India achieved nuclear-capable status.
Also, the economic policies of investing in heavy industries and protecting the nascent manufacturing sector, helped India to substitute imports to a certain extent.
Foreign Policy:
For Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s , Non-alignment (NAM) was the response to the bipolar divisions of the Cold War era.
After two centuries of British rule, Nehru was determined to protect the country’s strategic autonomy without compromising independence by aligning itself to either superpower in the Cold War.
This policy of NAM, made India one of the most distinguished leaders of Third World solidarity, reached out to the rest of the colonised world, and forged a joint front against colonialism and a reinvented imperialism.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was also a skilled exponent of soft power, much before the term was even coined.
He developed a role for India in the world based entirely on its civilisations history and its moral standing, as the voice of the oppressed and the marginalised against the hegemony of the day.
This gave India global reputation and prestige across the world for years, and strengthened our self-respect as we stood, proud and independent, on the global stage.
At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. – Pandit Nehru, 15 August 1947.
(Mains Focus)
ECONOMY/ GOVERNANCE
GS-3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.
GS-2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation
Context: The RBI had in February 2021 announced proposals for the Retail Direct Scheme for investors in government securities and the Integrated Ombudsman Scheme. The schemes were unveiled by the Prime Minister on November 12.
What is the Retail Direct Scheme?
Under the Retail Direct Scheme, small investors can now buy or sell government securities (G-Secs), or bonds, directly without having to go through an intermediary like a mutual fund.
It is similar to placing funds in debt instruments such as fixed deposits in banks. However, the same tax rules apply to income from G-Secs. But, with the Government being the borrower, there is a sovereign guarantee for the funds and hence zero risk of default.
Also, government securities may offer better interest rates than bank fixed deposits, depending on prevailing interest rate trends. For example, the latest yield on the benchmark 10-year government securities is 6.366%.
India’s largest lender, State Bank of India, offers 5.4% on deposits of less than ₹2 crore for a tenure of five to 10 years.
How can individuals access G-Sec offerings?
Investors wishing to open a Retail Direct Gilt account directly with the RBI can do so through an online portal set up for the purpose of the scheme.
Once the account is activated with the aid of a password sent to the user’s mobile phone, investors will be permitted to buy securities either in the primary market or in the secondary market.
The minimum amount for a bid is ₹10,000 and in multiples of ₹10,000 thereafter. Payments may be made through Net banking or the UPI platform.
Retail participants would be bidding for the securities under the “non-competitive segment of primary auctions of Government Securities and Treasury Bills”, the RBI said in a November 12 notification.
Why was it necessary to introduce this scheme?
Increases Investor base: The RBI said the scheme would help “broaden the investor base and provide retail investors with enhanced access to the government securities market — both primary and secondary.”
Leads to success of Government Borrowing Programme: RBI also said the scheme was a “major structural reform placing India among select few countries which have similar facilities”. This scheme, among others, would “facilitate smooth completion of the Government borrowing programme in 2021-22”.
The Government intends to borrow up to ₹12 lakh crore this year ending March 31, 2022.
The significant spike in borrowing — that is expected to spur infrastructure and social funding — follows a steep decline in the economy last fiscal.
The Union Government, hence, wishes to broaden the base of investors signing up for bond purchases.
Frees Institutional Investors: The added benefit of the Government accessing retail investors could be the freeing up of room for companies to mop up funds from institutional investors; funds that may otherwise have been cornered by the government to fund its expenses.
Why is the RBI setting up an Integrated Ombudsman?
Prior to the introduction of this scheme, the RBI had three different ombudsman schemes to aid dispute resolution with respect to
Banks
NBFCs
Non-bank pre-paid payment issuers (PPIs).
They were operated by the RBI through 22 ombudsman offices.
Integrated Ombudsman is aimed to make dispute resolution more simpler, efficient and responsive. Hence the proposal to integrate the three ombudsman schemes and introduce the centralised processing of grievances.
This enables redress of grievances easier by enabling customers to register their complaints under the integrated scheme, with one centralised reference point.
The RBI would appoint the Ombudsman and a Deputy Ombudsman for three years.
Complaints may be made either physically to the Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre or the RBI’s offices; or electronically through the regulator’s complaint management system (https://cms.rbi.org.in/).
With the introduction of the integrated scheme, the earlier ones stand repealed.
However, the RBI clarified that the adjudication of pending complaints, appeals and execution of the awards passed shall continue to be governed by the provisions of the respective Ombudsman Schemes and instructions of RBI.
Context: The Supreme Court has reserved its judgment on petitions challenging the validity of amendments introduced in 2020 to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, aimed at tightening the curbs on NGOs allowed to receive foreign funds.
While NGOs that have termed the amendments as harsh and arbitrary, the Government has argued that its intended to streamline the flow of funds and to enhance transparency and accountability.
What is the background to the amendments?
Foreign donations received by individuals and organisations in India have been regulated by law since 1976.
The Act was since repealed and re-enacted with fresh measures and restrictions as the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.
The law sought to consolidate the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution or foreign hospitality by individuals, associations or companies, and to prohibit such contributions from being used for activities detrimental to national interest.
The Government says it did so because it found that many recipients were wanting in compliance with provisions relating to filing of annual returns and maintenance of accounts.
Many did not utilise the funds received for the intended objectives.
It claimed that the annual inflow as foreign contributions almost doubled between 2010 and 2019.
The FCRA registration of 19,000 organisations was cancelled and, in some cases, prosecution was also initiated.
How has the law changed?
There are at least three major changes that NGOs find too restrictive.
An amendment to Section 7 of the Act completely prohibits the transfer of foreign funds received by an organisation to any other individual or association.
Another amendment mandates that every person (or association) granted a certificate or prior permission to receive overseas funds must open an FCRA bank account in a designated branch of SBI in New Delhi. All foreign funds should be received only in this account and none other.
However, the recipients are allowed to open another FCRA bank account in any scheduled bank to which they could transfer the received funds for utilisation.
The designated bank will inform authorities about any foreign remittance with details about its source and the manner in which it was received.
In addition, the Government is also authorised to take the Aadhaar numbers of all the key functionaries of any organisation that applies for FCRA registration or for prior approval for receiving foreign funds.
Another change is that the portion of the receipts allowed as administrative expenditure has been reduced from 50% to 20%.
What is the criticism against these changes?
NGOs questioning the law consider the prohibition on transfer arbitrary and too heavy a restriction. One of its consequences is that recipients cannot fund other organisations.
When foreign help is received as material, it becomes impossible to share the aid if the recipient NGO does not have the means to distribute on its own.
Even the court wanted to know whether this means that one organisation funding other organisations for designated activities is completely prohibited.
Lawyers have argued that there is no rational link between designating a particular branch of a bank with the objective of preserving national interest. It is also inconvenient as the NGOS might be operating elsewhere.
They have also cited the recent Supreme Court judgment on the alleged use of Pegasus spyware to argue that ‘national security’ cannot be cited as a reason without adequate justification.
What does the Government say?
The Government has contended that the amendments were necessary to prevent foreign state and non-state actors from interfering with the country’s polity and internal matters.
The changes are also needed to prevent malpractices by NGOs and diversion of foreign funds. Preventing possible diversion of funds is also the reason cited for reducing the administrative expense component, as some organisations tended to inflate the actual expenditure incurred.
The provision of having one designated bank for receiving foreign funds is aimed at making it easier to monitor the flow of funds. The Government clarified that there was no need for anyone to come to Delhi to open the account as it can be done remotely.
Context: India has made significant commitments at COP26 towards climate action. These include fulfilling 50% of its energy requirement through renewable energy and bringing its non-fossil fuel energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030. All this will require huge investment in green technologies and big corporates are gearing up for this task.
Renewable Energy in India
Solar and wind energy prices have fallen over 90% since 2000, incentivized by only modest subsidies. However, solar and wind energy are intermittent and cheap storage is needed for them to ensure power 24/7.
New batteries and renewables are all set to power the world in a few decades based on commercial profitability.
Growth of Renewable Energy Sector in India
Doubled generation capacity: Renewable generation, at 138 billion units, has doubled in FY20, from 66 billion units in FY16.
Robust growth of sector: The country witnessed 20% CAGR growth in the renewable generation since FY16 while total electricity generation saw 4.3% growth in the same period.
Decreasing Cost: The current levelised cost of energy (LCOE) for large scale solar in India is around Rs 2.5 per kWh, compared to ~Rs 12 in 2010. In the recent bidding, it came down to Rs 2.
Measures taken by government that accelerated the progress in renewable sector:
Waiver of inter-state transmission charges for the sale of solar and wind power
The renewable purchase obligation (RPO) trajectories for states
Focus on maintaining the sanctity of contracts
Permitting FDI in the renewable sector
Challenges w.r.t Renewable Energy
Vulnerable to Weather Conditions: While conventional power plants—that are coal-based or large hydro—have the ability to vary the generation as per need, renewable generation is more at the mercy of nature. Nor are the buyers who are focused on commercial considerations keen to purchase renewable power.
Challenges of Market Intervention: Given the seasonality and intermittency of renewable power, it is not easily susceptible to market intervention.
Weak participation in electricity exchanges: Most renewable power generation companies in India are committed to selling their power to consumers—mostly discoms and a few third-party consumers under the long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), with little prospect of excess generation to be offered on the exchange and the inability to schedule power supply
E-Mobility in India
India’s 2030 vision of e-mobility includes 70 per cent of all commercial cars, 30 per cent of private cars, 40 per cent of buses, 80 per cent of two-wheelers and three-wheeler sales to be electric by 2030. This translates into more than 100 million Electric Vehicles and would require approximately 12.5 lakh crore rupees investment.
Issues with Electric Vehicles
Electric Vehicles may eventually solve the tailpipe-emission problem, they don’t address all the damage done to the environment while making them
Compared with traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, greenhouse gases released while making EVs account for a higher portion of life-cycle emissions.
As the EV gains momentum, battery production and research is powering ahead and sales are growing. That means material emissions will rise to over 60% by 2040 from 18% today.
Decarbonizing the production phase of a car is harder than the use phase
Currently battery units in EVs are heavy, increasing the total weight of the car, which in turn requires more energy to drive. To deal with this, carmakers are turning to aluminium for light-weight body designs, with EVs using 45% more of the Aluminium than traditional vehicles. Emissions from aluminium have started rising because it’s energy-intensive to mine and produce.
Companies try to make batteries that can take cars further, they are using nickel, cobalt and manganese, which generate still more greenhouse gases.
The high greenhouse gas emissions in the car manufacturing supply chain are “not even properly quantified by carmakers, because of poor disclosure of their suppliers’ emissions data
Note: Part-2 elaborating on Green Hydrogen will be covered on 15th Nov 2021 (Tomorrow’s edition)
(TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE)
Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section)
Note:
Correct answers of today’s questions will be provided in next day’s DNA section. Kindly refer to it and update your answers.
Q.1 Consider the following statements regarding The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
The leaders concluded the 2021 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting by adopting a declaration under the theme of ‘Join, Work, Grow, Together’.
India is one of its founders
It is headquartered in Beijing
Which of the above is or are correct?
1 and 2 only
1 only
2 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3
Q.2 Landraces refer to Which of the following?
Fencing to prevent landslides
Tribal group practicing indigenous health practices
Naturally occurring variants of commonly cultivated crops
International demand for real estate post COVID pandemic
Q.3 Consider the following statements:
Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is a planetary defense-driven test of technologies for preventing an impact of Earth by a hazardous asteroid.
It will be launched by ISRO to small moonlet called Dimorphos.
Select the correct answer from the following codes:
Only 1
Only 2
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2
ANSWERS FOR 13th Nov 2021 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE (TYK)
