Daily Current Affairs : 10th January 2024

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. International Court of Justice (ICJ)
2. Section 69A of the IT Act 
3. Minority Character of an Educational Institute
4. Square Kilometer Array Project
5. Warmest year
6. Facts for Prelims

1 . International Court of Justice (ICJ)

Context : Israel and South Africa face off at the UN’s top court from Thursday, after Pretoria accused Israel of “genocidal acts” in Gaza, charges the Israelis have dismissed as “blood libel”.

About the News

• In an 84-page submission to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), South Africa urged judges to order Israel to “immediately suspend its military operations” in Gaza.
• South Africa alleges that Israel “has engaged in, is engaging in, and risks further engaging in genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza”.
• South Africa has filed the case against Israel because both countries have signed the UN Genocide Convention, created in 1948 as a response to the Holocaust.
• Any country that has signed the convention can sue another at the ICJ if they disagree on the “interpretation, application or fulfilment” of the rules designed to prevent genocide.

About ICJ

• The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946.
• The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).
• Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York (United States of America).
• The Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.
• The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council.
• It is assisted by a Registry, its administrative organ.
• Its official languages are English and French.
• All members of the UN are automatic parties to the statute, but this does not automatically give ICJ jurisdiction over disputes involving them. The ICJ gets jurisdiction only on the basis of consent of both parties.

Where does India stand vis-a-vis dispute resolution at ICJ?

• In September 1974, India declared the matters over which it accepts the jurisdiction of the ICJ. This declaration revoked and replaced the previous declaration made in September 1959.
• Among the matters over which India does not accept ICJ jurisdiction are: “disputes with the government of any State which is or has been a Member of the Commonwealth of Nations”, and “disputes relating to or connected with facts or situations of hostilities, armed conflicts, individual or collective actions taken in self-defence…”.
• The declaration, which includes other exceptions as well, has been ratified by Parliament.

UN Genocide Convention

• Genocide Convention is the first human rights treaty in the history of the United Nations, adopted on the eve of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948. It entered into force in 1951 after 20 States had ratified or acceded to it. Unlike most of the other main human rights treaties, the Genocide Convention does not establish a monitoring mechanism. The Convention confirms that genocide is a crime under international law, identifies five acts which constitute genocide and lists five acts as punishable: genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, attempt to commit genocide and complicity in genocide.
• India is a signatory to the United Nations Genocide Convention. India ratified the Convention on August 27, 1959, demonstrating its commitment to preventing and punishing acts of genocide as outlined in the Convention.

Key Provisions

• Definition of Genocide: The convention defines genocide as specific acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. These acts include killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, imposing conditions intended to destroy the group, preventing births within the group, and forcibly transferring children from the group to another.
• Prevention and Punishment: Signatory states are obligated to prevent and punish acts of genocide. They must not only enact domestic laws but also take necessary measures to prevent and suppress genocide within their territories and punish perpetrators.
• Individual Criminal Responsibility: The convention establishes individual criminal responsibility for genocide. This means that individuals, regardless of their official capacity, can be held accountable and prosecuted for committing genocide.
• No Statute of Limitations: Genocide is considered a crime under international law without any statute of limitations. This means that there is no time limit within which legal action must be initiated against individuals accused of genocide.
• Jurisdiction and Extradition: The convention emphasizes that genocide should be tried by a competent tribunal of the state where the crime was committed or by an international tribunal. It also obligates states to extradite any person accused of genocide, making it a punishable offense to shelter or protect such individuals.
• United Nations’ Role: The convention empowers the United Nations to take action against genocide, including investigating situations where genocide may have occurred and bringing attention to potential cases.
• Reservations and Disputes: Countries can make reservations when signing the convention, but these should not be contrary to the purpose and objectives of the convention. Disputes between signatory states are settled through negotiation, arbitration, or referral to the International Court of Justice.

2 . Section 69A of the IT Act 

Context : Website blocking orders have grown over a 100-fold from 2013 to October 2023, shows a reply to a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by the Bihar-based activist Kanhaiya Kumar.

About the News

• Mr. Kumar obtained statistics on website and online post blocking orders issued under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
• The Union government issued 62 such orders in 2013, and in 2023, 6,954 till October.
• This comes even as the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), in December, directed Internet service providers (ISPs) to compile Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of servers in India, to facilitate blocking them quickly.
• Most of the webpages blocked are likely to be individual posts, videos or profiles. In 2022, the Union government said in response to a parliamentary query that 228 websites were blocked. When other orders, such as those sent directly to social media and online content providers, are factored in, the number for that year is 6,775.

Section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act

• Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, was introduced by an amendment to the Act in 2008. It gives the Central government the power to block public access to any information online — whether on websites or mobile apps.
• Under Section 69A, if a website threatens India’s defence, its sovereignty and integrity, friendly relations with foreign countries and public order, the government can ban it, after following due procedure.
• The detailed procedures to do so are listed under the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009. Apart from this, a court may also issue directions for blocking information online. The Department of Telecommunications, too, can issue blocking orders to internet service providers, to enforce licensing conditions.

Blocking Procedure

• In terms of process, there are two options available to the government under Section 69A of the IT Act to issue ban orders — normal and emergency.
• Section 69A mandates that every ministry in central, state and Union Territory governments must have a nodal officer, to receive complaints about websites that host ‘offensive’ content. Once the nodal officer sees merit in the complaint, he/she then forwards it to a designated officer, who chairs a committee to examine the grievance.
• This committee includes representatives from the Ministries of Law and Justice, Home Affairs, Information and Broadcasting and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), and give the intermediary a hearing.
• In the normal course, an order to block content requires: (a) a decision to be made by a government committee (b) relevant intermediaries to be given an opportunity to be heard by this committee. These processes are not required when emergency provisions are used.
• The emergency route allows content to be blocked on the directions of the Secretary, Department of IT, who must consider the impugned content and record his reasons for doing so.
• However, in the case of emergencies, the order of the Secretary, Department of IT, must be placed before the government committee within 48 hours. Based on the recommendations of this committee, the order can then be finalised or vacated.

Government can ask internet giants to remove content on users’ complaint  

• The Centre has also given itself powers to direct social media platforms to take down or moderate certain contentious content on user complaints 
• As per the rules, a person could now file an appeal with the government’s appellate panels, if they have grievances against decisions of social media platforms on hosting contentious content.  
• The government has, in the rules, added objectionable religious content (with intent to incite violence) alongside pornography, trademark infringements, fake information and something that could be a threat to sovereignty of the nation that users can flag to social media platforms.  
• The amendments provide for social media platforms to acknowledge user complaints within 24 hours, and resolve them within 15 days thereafter and take down certain contentious content within 72 hours of reporting.  
• The complaints could range from child sexual abuse material to nudity to trademark and patent infringements, misinformation, impersonation of another person, content threatening the unity and integrity of the country as well as “obectionable” content that promotes “enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion or caste with the intent to incite violence”

3 . Minority Character of an Educational Institute

Context : A seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court started hearing the matter pertaining to Aligarh Muslim University’s minority character. This is a dispute that dates back almost 57 years and has been adjudicated upon multiple times by different courts.

What is the ‘minority character’ of an educational institution?

• Article 30(1) of the Constitution empowers all religious and linguistic minorities to establish and administer educational institutions.
• This provision reinforces the Union government’s commitment to foster growth and development of minority communities by guaranteeing that it will not discriminate in giving aid on the basis of their being ‘minority’ institutions.

When and how was AMU set up?

• AMU’s origins can be traced back to the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental (MOA) College, established by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan in 1875 to help Muslims overcome educational backwardness and prepare for government services. MOA not only imparted Western education but also emphasised Islamic theology. Sir Syed also advocated for women’s education.
• In 1920, the institution was conferred university status and all assets of MOA College were transferred to it. The long title to the AMU Act read: “An Act to incorporate a teaching and residential Muslim University at Aligarh.”

When did the university’s minority character come under dispute?

• The legal dispute over AMU’s minority status dates back to 1967 when the Supreme Court (in S. Azeez Basha and another versus Union of India), led by then Chief Justice of India KN Wanchoo, was reviewing changes made in 1951 and 1965 to the AMU Act of 1920. These amendments affected how the university was run. For instance, originally, the 1920 Act said that the Governor General of India would be the head of the University. But in 1951, they changed it to replace ‘Lord Rector’ with ‘Visitor,’ and this Visitor would be the President of India.
• Further, a provision that said only Muslims could be part of the University Court was removed, allowing non-Muslims to join. Additionally, the amendments reduced the authority of the University Court and increased the powers of the Executive Council of AMU. As a result, the Court essentially became a body appointed by the ‘Visitor’.
• These alterations in the AMU’s structure faced a legal challenge in the Supreme Court. The petitioners argued primarily on the grounds that Muslims established AMU and, therefore, had the right to manage it. It was while considering the challenge to these amendments that the top court held on October 20, 1967, that AMU was neither established nor administered by the Muslim minority.
• The highest court determined that in 1920, Muslims could have set up a university, but that would not have guaranteed that the degrees from that university would be officially recognised by the Indian government. Hence, the court emphasised, AMU was established through a central Act to ensure the government’s recognition of its degrees. So while the Act may have been passed as a result of the efforts of the Muslim minority, it does not imply that the University, under the 1920 Act, was established by the Muslim minority, the SC ruled.
• Additionally, according to the 1920 Act, the SC stated, the university was not solely operated by Muslims. Instead, its administration was entrusted to the Lord Rector and other statutory bodies. Even the University Court, which had only Muslim members, was elected by an electorate which was not exclusively Muslim, the Supreme Court noted.

Why does the dispute persist?

• The SC ruling triggered nationwide protests from Muslims. In response, political authorities yielded in 1981 and introduced an amendment to the AMU Act, explicitly affirming its minority status. The amendment introduced Section 2(l) and Subsection 5(2)(c), which stated that the university was “an educational institution of their choice established by the Muslims of India” and “subsequently incorporated” as the AMU.
• In 2005, the AMU implemented a reservation policy, reserving 50% of seats in postgraduate medical courses for Muslim candidates. This was challenged in the Allahabad High Court, which, in the same year, overturned the reservation and nullified the 1981 Act. The court reasoned that the AMU could not maintain an exclusive reservation because, according to the Supreme Court’s verdict in the S. Azeez Basha case, it did not qualify as a minority institution. Subsequently, in 2006, a set of eight petitions, including one from the Union government, contested the High Court’s decision before the Supreme Court.
• In 2016, the NDA government informed the SC that it was withdrawing the appeal filed by the government, saying, “as the executive government at the Centre, we can’t be seen as setting up a minority institution in a secular state.”
• On February 12, 2019, a three-judge Bench presided by the then CJI Ranjan Gogoi referred the matter to a seven-judge Bench. On Tuesday, the Bench, comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Surya Kant, JB Pardiwala, Dipankar Datta, Manoj Misra and Satish Chandra Sharma, started hearing the case.

4 . Square Kilometer Array Project

Context : The new year ushered in the news that India had decided to formally join the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) project, an international scientific collaboration working to build the world’s largest radio telescope.

About the News

• India had already been contributing to the project for the past several years, but the full member status, which offers greater scientific opportunities to use the upcoming facility, requires countries to sign and ratify an international treaty, and also make a financial commitment.
• India has approved Rs 1,250 crore for the project, which includes its funding contribution for the construction phase.
• The decision to join SKA as a full member ensures India’s participation in yet another international mega science project in the most advanced areas of scientific research.
• India has already decided to build a gravitational wave detector to join the international LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory) network, and is a full member of the ITER project, which is working to harness energy from nuclear fusion reactions. India also has a strong participation in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator that is running some of the most exciting experiments in particle physics.

About SKA

• The Square Kilometer Array will not be a single large telescope, but a collection of thousands of dish antennas operating as a single unit. The name, Square Kilometer Array, comes from the original intention to create one square kilometre (one million square metre) of effective area for collecting radio waves.
• This was meant to be achieved by installing thousands of smaller antennas in a specific array design that would make them function like a single radio telescope. As of now, it appears that the USD 2.4-billion project (2021 prices) would eventually have a lesser collecting area than one square kilometre, but the original name has been retained.
• The antennas, about 200 of them in South Africa and more than 130,000 in Australia, are being installed in sparsely populated locations, chosen to ensure they are as far away from human activities as possible. This has been done in order to minimise signal interference from undesirable Earth-based sources. Construction at both the sites began in December 2022, and the first phase of the project is expected to be completed by next year.
• Once operational, SKA would be between 5 to 60 times more powerful than the most advanced existing radio telescopes functioning in comparable frequency ranges.

What’s in it for India

• Though none of the SKA facilities would be located in India, there are immense science and technology gains for the country by participating in the project as a full member. SKA offers opportunities similar to the LHC or the ITER, which too are located on foreign soil but have brought rich dividends to the Indian scientific community.
• Radio astronomy is something in which India already has highly developed capabilities. The Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (GMRT) near Pune is one of the most advanced — and sought-after — facilities in the world, which has been producing remarkable scientific results. There are other similar facilities in Ooty, Nainital and Bengaluru. The SKA, which will become the most promising tool for research in the most pressing scientific questions in astronomy, offers the next logical step forward for Indian scientists working in this area.
• A full member status would provide India preferential access to the SKA facilities. Most existing telescopes operate under an open-use policy which allows research groups from any country to get time on the facility through competitive bidding by making a scientific case. This is how the GMRT also works. But there is a growing argument that countries that contribute to building any large international project should have priority access to that facility. This is likely to be the case with the SKA. Member countries will get preferential allocation of time on the radio telescope, roughly in proportion to their contribution to the project, and only limited time slots would be available through competitive bidding.
• There are technology benefits as well. The SKA would work on highest-end technologies, including electronics, software, materials science and computing. The intellectual properties generated by the project, though owned by the SKA Observatory, would be accessible to all the member countries. This can offer huge learning opportunities for scientists, academics and even private industry.
• Participating in the project is also expected to result in expanding the science and technology base in this area, along with capacity building and training opportunities. The Indian participation in the project is being led by Pune-based National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), but 22 institutions are collaborating on SKA-related activities in the country. These include not just leading research institutions and some IITs and IISERs, but also a couple of universities and colleges. A few private companies are also involved.

India’s involvement

• India has been involved in the SKA project right from its inception in the 1990s, and contributed to the design and development of the telescope as well as in negotiating the SKA Observatory Convention, the international treaty that established the facility as an intergovernmental organisation. The main contribution has come in the development, and operation, of the Telescope Manager, the ‘neural network’ or the software that will run the entire facility.
• There are plans to set up an SKA regional centre in the country that will be part of the global network to process and store data and make it available for the scientific community.
• Indian scientists have identified several areas of research for which they want to use the SKA telescopes. These include studies relating to the evolution of the early universe, the formation and evolution of galaxies, neutron star physics, and solar sciences. More than 150 scientists, researchers, and students from over 30 different Indian institutions, including a few private companies, have been participating in ongoing science activities related to the SKA.

5 . Warmest Year

Context : 2023 was the warmest year since records began in 1850, beating the previous record of 2016, Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said on Tuesday. The announcement said temperatures in 2023 likely exceeded those of any year-long period in at least the last 100,000 years.

Why was it so hot?

• The main driver behind the extreme warming is the increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane, and water vapour trap the Sun’s energy in the Earth’s system before it escapes to space, causing warming.
• Since the industrial revolution, human activities like burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gases have released unprecedented levels of such gases. As a result, the planet has warmed rapidly, especially in recent decades.
• In 2023, greenhouse gas concentrations reached the highest levels ever recorded in the atmosphere, according to C3S and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). Carbon dioxide concentrations in 2023 were 2.4 parts per million (ppm) higher than in 2022; methane concentrations increased by 11 parts per billion (ppb). Monthly global mean atmospheric CO2 (left) and CH4 (right) column-averaged concentration from satellites for 2003-2023 (grey curve) and 12-month average (red curve). Credit: C3S/CAMS/ECMWF/University of Bremen/SRON.
• The onset of El Niño last year, after seven years, played a role. El Niño refers to an abnormal warming of surface waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. It increased the likelihood that temperature records would be broken, and there would be more extreme heat in many parts of the world and the ocean.

What could happen now?

• Scientists have suggested that 2024 could be warmer than even 2023. Typically, in the past few decades, very hot years have been ones that began in an El Niño state. Last year, El Niño didn’t set in until around July, which means that it wasn’t the primary reason behind the abnormal heat at that point, Therefore, 2024 could be hotter than last year. “It’s very, very likely to be top three, if not the record
• It is also possible that the next year may surpass the 1.5 degree Celsius warming threshold across the entire calendar year for the first time. The WMO in its 2023 State of Global Climate report said there was a 66% chance that at least one of the years between 2023 and 2027 would cross the threshold.
• Long-term breach of the 1.5 degree limit would unleash far more severe climate change impacts, including more frequent and severe droughts, heatwaves, and rainfall. To prevent this, the world needs to urgently implement certain steps, including greenhouse gas emission cuts, which it has failed to do so far.

6 . Facts for Prelims

PM Mitra Parks

• Inspired by the 5F vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister (i.e. Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign), the PM MITRA Parks are a major step forward in realising the Government’s vision of making India a global hub for textile manufacturing and exports.
• PM MITRA Parks will help in creating world-class industrial infrastructure that would attract large scale investment including foreign direct investment (FDI) and encourage innovation and job creation within the sector.
• The Ministry of Textiles will oversee the execution of these projects. An SPV owned by Centre and State Government will be set up for each park which will oversee the implementation of the project.
• The Ministry of Textiles will provide financial support in the form of Development Capital Support upto Rs. 500 crore per park to the Park SPV. A Competitive Incentive Support (CIS) upto Rs 300 crore per park to the units in PM MITRA Park shall also be provided to incentivise speedy implementation.
• Convergence with other GOI schemes shall also be facilitated in order to ensure additional incentives to the Master Developer and investor units.
• The parks will offer an excellent infrastructure, plug and play facilities as well as training and research facilities for the industry.
• PM MITRA Parks represent a unique model where the Centre and State Governments will work together to increase investment, promote innovation, create job opportunities and ultimately make India a global hub for textile manufacturing and export

Central Consumer Protection Authority

• The Consumer Protection Act, 2019, paved way for creation of Central Consumer Protection Authority to regulate matters relating to violation of rights of consumers, unfair trade practices and false or misleading advertisements which are prejudicial to the interest of public and consumers and to promote and enforce the rights of consumers as a class.
• The CCPA or the Central Authority has since been established with effect from 24th July, 2020.
• It can inquire or cause an inquiry or investigation to be made into violations of consumer rights or unfair trade practices, either suo motu or on a complaint received or on the directions from the Central Government;