Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE
Topics Covered
- Motion of Thanks
- Eco Sensitive Zone
- UNHRC
- Section 124 A – Sedition Law
- Road Accident in India
- Hope Mars Mission
- Facts for Prelims
1 . Motion of Thanks
Context : Prime Minister Narendra Modi is replying to the motion of thanks on President Ram Nath Kovind’s address in Lok Sabha.
About Motion of Thanks
- In the days following the President’s address, a motion is moved in the two Houses thanking the President for his address.
- The Prime Minister replies to the motion of thanks in both Houses, and responds to the issues raised by MPs.
- The motion is then put to vote and MPs can express their disagreement by moving amendments to the motion.
- Opposition MPs have been successful in getting amendments passed to the motion of thanks in Rajya Sabha on five occasions (1980, 1989, 2001, 2015, 2016). They have been less successful in Lok Sabha.
- The President’s address is one of the most solemn occasions in the Parliamentary calendar. It is the only occasion in the year when the entire Parliament, i.e. the President, Lok Sabha, and Rajya Sabha come together.
2 . Eco Sensitive Zone
Context : Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allay the apprehension of the people in Wayanad over the recent draft notification of the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC) that envisages a buffer zone around the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS).
About the issue
- State government had prepared recommendations for notifying ecosensitive zones (ESZ) around 21 protected areas in December 2019.
- The government after considering the genuine concerns of the people living near the sanctuaries submitted an amended proposal on January 13, 2020.
- According to the amended proposal for draft notification, the ESZ measures 88.2 sq km around the WWS. The present draft issued by the MOEFCC notifies 118.59 sq km around the WWS as ESZ.
- The government is of the view that densely populated areas should be excluded while notifying ESZs.
About Eco Sensitive Zone
- Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) or Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFAs) are areas notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India around Protected Areas ,National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
- The purpose of declaring ESZs is to create some kind of “shock absorbers” to the protected areas by regulating and managing the activities around such areas. They also act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to areas involving lesser protection.
- The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 does not mention the word “Eco-Sensitive Zones”. However, Section 3(2)(v) of the Act, says that Central Government can restrict areas in which any industries, operations or processes or class of industries, operations or processes shall not be carried out or shall be carried out subject to certain safeguards.
- Besides Rule 5(1) of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 states that central government can prohibit or restrict the location of industries and carrying on certain operations or processes on the basis of considerations like the biological diversity of an area, maximum allowable limits of concentration of pollutants for an area, environmentally compatible land use, and proximity to protected areas. The above two clauses have been effectively used by the government to declare ESZs or EFAs.
3 . UN Human Rights Council
Context : The U.S. announced plans on Monday to reengage with the much-maligned UN Human Rights Council that former President Donald Trump withdrew from almost three years ago, as President Joe Biden’s administration reverses another Trump-era move away from multilateral organisations and agreements.
About UNHRC
- The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system made up of 47 States responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights around the globe.
- The Human Rights Council is a forum empowered to prevent abuses, inequity and discrimination, protect the most vulnerable, and expose perpetrators.
- The Human Rights Council is a separate entity from Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
- The Human Rights Council replaced the Commission on Human Rights
4 . Section 124 A – Sedition Law
Context : The Supreme Court protected Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and six senior journalists from arrest in multiple sedition FIRs registered against them for allegedly tweeting and sharing unverified news that a young farmer died at the hands of the police during the tractor rally held on Republic Day.
What is sedition?
- Under Section 124A of the IPC, the offence of sedition is committed when any person by words or otherwise brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the government established by law.
- Three explanations added to the provision lay down that while “disaffection” shall include disloyalty and all feelings of enmity, comments without exciting or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, will not constitute an offence.
Punishment for the offence of sedition
- Sedition is a cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable offence under the law, entailing life imprisonment as maximum punishment, with or without a fine.
- A person charged under this law is barred from a government job. They have to live without their passport and must produce themselves in the court at all times as and when required.
- Sedition was not a part of the original IPC that was enacted in 1860 — it was introduced in 1870, when it was said it had been dropped from the original IPC draft by mistake.
Origin of sedition law in modern India
- The law was originally drafted in 1837 by Thomas Macaulay, the British historian-politician, but was inexplicably omitted when the IPC was enacted in 1860.
- Section 124A was inserted in 1870 by an amendment introduced by Sir James Stephen when it felt the need for a specific section to deal with the offence. It was one of the many draconian laws enacted to stifle any voices of dissent at that time.
Famous Sedition Trials during Independence movement
- It came in handy to muzzle nationalist voices and demands for freedom — the long list of India’s national heroes who figured as accused in cases of sedition includes Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh and Jawaharlal Nehru.
- Tilak was sentenced to six years in jail after he was held guilty of sedition by the Privy Council for writing a piece in his newspaper, Kesari, under the heading “The misfortune of the country”.
Constitutional validity?
- The constitutionality of sedition was challenged in the Supreme Court in Kedar Nath Vs State of Bihar (1962).
- The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court ruled in the Kedar Nath case that any act that had the “effect of subverting the Government” by violent means or create public disorder would come within the definition of sedition.
- The court ruled that disapproval of the measures of government with a view to their improvement or alteration by lawful means is not sedition. It held that “comments, however strongly worded, expressing disapprobation of actions of the Government, without exciting those feelings which generate the inclination to cause public disorder by acts of violence” would not attract the penal offence.
- Commenting in strong terms upon the measures or acts of Government, or its agencies, so as to ameliorate the condition of the people or to secure the cancellation or alteration of those acts or measures by lawful means, that is to say, without exciting those feelings of enmity and disloyalty which imply excitement to public disorder or the use of violence”, is not sedition.
- A citizen has a right to say or write whatever he likes about the Government, or its measures, by way of criticism or comment, so long as he does not incite people to violence against the Government established by law or with the intention of creating public disorder,
Arguments in support of Section 124 A
- Such acts are necessary to combat divisive tendencies, secessionist activities
- Sovereign countries, including the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and other democracies, have such provisions in their penal code.
- The freedom of speech in a country is not a license to spread disaffections hence Sedition law helps in curtailing it.
- Calls for violent revolutions seeking to overthrow the government, appeals for a separate Khalistan or Kashmir and other atrocity propaganda, which does not qualify as protected speech and has the ability to denude the legitimacy of a democratically elected government.
- Supreme Court has repeatedly observed that the mere possibility of misuse of a provision does not per se invalidate the legislation. In such cases, the vulnerability extends only to the ‘action’ and not the ‘section’.
Arguments against Section 124A
- For decades, successive governments have used a colonial-era sedition law – the dreaded section 124a of the antiquated Indian Penal Code – against students, journalists, intellectuals, social activists, and those critical of the government.
- The law is purely used now to instil fear and intimidate people who protest against authority
- It is a constraint on the legitimate exercise of constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech and expression.
- The British, who introduced sedition to oppress Indians, have themselves abolished the law in their country.
- The terms used under Section 124A like ‘disaffection’ are vague and subject to different interpretation to the whims and fancies of the investigating officers.
- IPC and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act have provisions that penalize “disrupting the public order” or “overthrowing the government with violence and illegal means”. These are sufficient for protecting the national integrity. There is no need for Section 124A.
- The sedition law is being misused as a tool to persecute political dissent.
- In 1979, India ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which sets forth internationally recognized standards for the protection of freedom of expression. However, misuse of sedition and arbitrary slapping of charges are inconsistent with India’s international commitments.
5 . Road Accidents in India
Context : Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said that the road accident scenario in the country was ‘much serious than the Covid-19 pandemic’ and ‘an alarming situation’.
Key observations
- “Seventy per cent deaths are in the working age group of 18 to 45 years old.
- There are 415 deaths per day in road accidents in India.
- “Unfortunately we stand at position 1 in road accidents in the world, ahead of US and China.
- 415 deaths take place daily due to accidents on Indian roads, the highest in the world, and losses amount to 3.14 per cent of the GDP.
- India accounts for the highest road accidents globally, with 1.5 lakh people being killed and over 3.5 lakh crippled annually.
- Tamil Nadu could reduce road accidents by 38 per cent and deaths by 54 per cent, the minister urged states to replicate the Tamil Nadu model. He also stressed the need for qualitative, comprehensive and uniform accident data collection and recording.
- “In India, 78 per cent of road accident deaths are of two-wheeler riders, bicyclists and pedestrians.
Solutions
- Conducting Safety audit of highways so as to find and correct design and other deficiencies
- Over 60 per cent of the accidents occur at road junctions, which clearly indicates that there are deficiencies in their design and construction. By redesigning them into roundabouts/rotaries, grade separators, flyovers or channelised diversions we can reduce the accidents
- Stressing that 70 per cent of accident deaths in India are due to over-speeding hence fitness check of all vehicles should be mandated through Automated Vehicle Inspection and Certification (I&C) centres. The government has recently announced scrapping policy to deal with old, unfit vehicles and their safety concern. It is expected that more than 1 crore such vehicles would be removed
6 . HOPE Mars Mission
Context : Arab spacecraft enters orbit around Mars in historic flight
What is the Hope probe?
- Hope was developed by UAE scientists in the US.
- It was launched in July 2020 from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan aboard a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ H-II A rocket and its launch became the 45th for H-II A.
- Carrying three instruments, including a high-resolution camera and a spectrometer, the spacecraft is on an orbital mission to collect data on Martian climate dynamics and help scientists understand why Mars’s atmosphere is decaying into space.
- Hope is the UAE’s fourth space mission and first interplanetary one. The previous three were all Earth-observation satellites.
- Its overall mission life is one Martian year, which is about 687 days on Earth.
- Apart from the UAE, the US and China also launched missions to Mars during the brief launch window which was available in July. During this launch window, Earth and Mars were aligned at their closest points in two years, which means using less fuel to reach the planet. Launch windows are significant since if a spacecraft is launched too early or too late, it will arrive in the planet’s orbit when the planet is not there.
7 . Facts for Prelims
Carotene
- A new variety of marigold was developed with carotene content of 2.8%, which is the highest content from a plant source. All marigolds have a carotene content of up to 1.4%.
- There is always a high demand for carotene in the pharma sector. Presently, India imports most of its carotene from China and other countries.
- Carotenes are photosynthetic pigments important for photosynthesis. Carotenes contain no oxygen atoms. They absorb ultraviolet, violet, and blue light and scatter orange or red light, and (in low concentrations) yellow light.
- Carotenes are powerful antioxidants that may increase the integrity of the epithelial lining of the respiratory tract and act as substrates for lipoxygenase, possibly competing with arachidonic acid and thereby decreasing leukotriene formation.
- Carotenes are responsible for the orange colour of the carrot, for which this class of chemicals is named, and for the colours of many other fruits, vegetables and fungi (for example, sweet potatoes, chanterelle and orange cantaloupe melon). Carotenes are also responsible for the orange (but not all of the yellow) colours in dry foliage. They also (in lower concentrations) impart the yellow coloration to milk-fat and butter.