Daily Current Affairs : 16th and 17th October 2022

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. Issues in the Collegium functioning
2. Lab grown meat & Milk
3. Swacch Bharat Mission 2.0
4. Digital Banking Units
5. Facts – NPTEL and SWAYAM, nicobar treeshaw, gaurs, neela kurinji, spirt sd 1

1 . Issues in the Collegium functioning

Context: A meeting of the Supreme Court Collegium, comprising the Chief Justice of India (CJI), and four senior-most judges, which was called for but did not take place, was subsequently “closed without there being any further deliberation”. The postponement of the meeting and its subsequent closure has drawn attention to the manner in which the Collegium functions.

 What is the work of the Collegium?

•  The Collegium system, one in which a group of the senior-most judges make appointments to the higher judiciary, has been in practice for nearly three decades.
• Its importance lies in the fact that its opinion has primacy in the matter of appointments to the high courts and the Supreme Court, as well as transfers.
• Its legal basis is found in a series of three judgments — usually referred to as the ‘Judges Cases’ — concerning the higher judiciary.
• Its manner of functioning has been laid down in the form of a ‘Memorandum of Procedure’.
•  The Constitution says a Supreme Court judge is appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
• In the ‘First Judges Case’, the court held that the consultation with the CJI should be “full and effective”.
• The Second Judges case introduced the collegium system in 1993. It ruled that the CJI would have to consult a collegium of his two senior-most judges in the apex court on judicial appointments.
• The ‘Third Judges Case’ case in 1998, which was a Presidential reference, expanded the collegium to its present composition of the CJI and four of his senior-most judges.

 How does it discharge its functions?

• The Collegium’s functioning has been criticised for being opaque.
• Its resolutions and recommendations are hosted on the Supreme Court’s website, giving relevant information about its decisions.
• However, the nature of the deliberations and whether there are any internal differences of opinion on the suitability of a particular candidate are unknown.
• It functions mainly through the system of adopting resolutions and sending them to the Union Law Ministry for further action.
• If a proposal for appointment of a judge is returned for reconsideration, the Collegium may either drop it or reiterate it.
• When the Collegium reiterates its decision after reconsideration, it is binding on the government.

 Why was the meeting closed without result?

• The meeting had to be postponed because on that day, a member of the Collegium, who will be the next Chief Justice of India, was preoccupied with his list of cases well beyond court hours.
• Subsequently, a difference of opinion has been acknowledged over the manner in which the deliberations were to go on.
• While Chief Justice of India wanted to circulate the files pertaining to some recommendations for appointment to the Supreme Court, two judges in the Collegium did not favour any decision through circulation. They preferred deliberations in person.
• Meanwhile, the Union Law Minister asked the Chief Justice to name his successor.
• By convention, once a recommendation for the successor to the CJI’s office is made, the Collegium ceases to make decisions.
•  There is no law or rule that says the Collegium should become dysfunctional during the last month of a Chief Justice’s tenure, but it is observed as a matter of convention.

 What are the issues from this development?

• Three questions may have arisen from the development.
• One is whether there ought to be a prescribed mode of decision-making, that is, through personal deliberations or by circulation or by adopting both means as per convenience.
• The second is whether all members of the Collegium give their opinions in writing, or whether they convey reservations, if any, orally.
• A related question that arises is whether all decisions ought to be unanimous and consensual.
• There is a view that a recommendation by the majority, with one or two expressing reservations, may give a good reason for the executive to reject the recommendation or seek reconsideration.
• Also, the need for the Collegium not to hold any deliberations in the last month of a Chief Justice’s tenure is something to be debated.
• Given that the CJI is appointed by seniority, many of them have only a short tenure running into a few months. This convention may slow down decision-making.

2 . Lab grown meat & Milk

Context: Last week, meat and seafood retailer Licious forayed into the marketing of “mock” chicken and mutton under a new ‘UnCrave’ brand.  

What is plant-based meat?

• “Plant-based” refers to products that bio-mimic or replicate meat, seafood, eggs, and milk derived from animals — by looking, smelling, and tasting like them.
• Eg: Patties, apart from using coconut oil to copy the melty beef fat of a real hamburger, apparently even bleed as they cook — the “blood” coming from a beetroot juice-based liquid.
• Plant-based dairy products include ice-cream that isn’t simply frozen dessert that replaces milk fat with vegetable oil. Even the proteins and other solids-not-fat ingredients are sourced from plants.

How are these made?

• Animal meat contains protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, and water, just like plants.
• This biochemical similarity allows for finding analogues in the plant kingdom or making them through mechanical, chemical, or biological treatment of such ingredients.
• Three kinds of cell lines are critical to recreate meat: fibroblasts — the cells that form connective tissue and collagen — myoblasts, which form muscles and adipocytes, which make up fat tissue.
  • The bigger challenge is in bringing all of these together.
• Cell-lines are a group of cells derived from an animal that can be used to recreate several of their kind indefinitely.
  • However, deriving an ideal stock is often a challenge because of which some companies have set their sights on relatively simpler life forms such as shrimp and prawn, whose texture and taste are easier to create.
• The challenge also lies in replicating muscle tissue that plants don’t have.
• The unique spatial arrangement of proteins in these tissues is what creates the distinct texture of animal meat.
• That’s why plant-based mutton samosas, kebabs or keema, having a simpler texture, are easier to make than larger whole cuts of animal meat such as chicken breasts and pork chops.
• As for plant-based dairy, the main products are milk from oats, almond, soyabean, coconut, and rice.
• Among these, oat milk is considered the closest to regular milk in taste and texture.
• It is also thicker and creamier, as oats absorb more water than nuts or rice during soaking, and more of the grain gets strained for incorporation into the final product.

How big is the industry?

• Retail sales of plant-based animal product alternatives in the US stood at $7.4 billion in 2021.
• The major categories were plant-based milk ($2.6 billion), meat ($1.4 billion), creamer ($516 million), ice-cream ($458 million), yogurt ($377 million), cheese ($291 million), butter ($214 million), ready-to-drink beverages ($202 million), meals ($513 million) and protein liquids, powders, and bars ($463 million).
• While the industry has grown from $4.8 billion in 2018, it hasn’t lived up to the initial hype.
• Sales of plant-based meat were flat in 2021, with milk growing at only 4%.

The targeted group

• Cultivated meat was targeted at non-vegetarians, and those who’d want to continue to experience the taste and texture of meat but would like their meat to be ‘cruelty-free’ and in consonant with the challenges posed by climate change.
• Even vegetarians concerned about the carbon footprint from cattle and methane emissions have an alternative to one of India’s most widely consumed foods — milk.

What is the scope in India?

• Probably not much, at least in the dairy. Most Indians take naturally to milk, which is a classic “superior food”.
• Both milk and, to a lesser extent, meat (which includes fish and prawn) are superior foods — unlike cereals and sugar, whose share in the value of consumption reduces with increasing incomes, making them “inferior foods”.
• Market for plant-based milk in the West “has been driven by lactose intolerance, real or imagined”.
• Those digestive concerns aren’t very serious in India and, at any rate, pale in comparison to the perception of milk as a wholesome food.
• Plant-based beverages cannot compete with real milk either in nutrition, taste, or affordability.

3 . Swacch Bharat Mission 2.0

Context: Preparations to complete one of the targets of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) 2.0 that was launched a year ago – the remediation of all legacy landfills in the country – are in full swing and a public dashboard on the progress at 2,200 such sites is in the offing.

Key Highlights

• The official said, there was no data on the exact number of landfill sites.
• While landfills were only supposed to contain the remnants of solid waste after processing, the segregation and management were not carried out over the years, leaving mountains of trash.
• Any waste that has remained dumped for over three months is considered “legacy”.
• The process of reconciliation of the details of all such sites was on and the online dashboard that would be launched would contain the exact number, size and remediation plans of the sites, which are estimated to be around 2,200, the official said.
  • These “sizeable” landfills each contain at least 1,000 Tonnes of waste.
  • The preparations for all the sites would be completed in this financial year.
  • Through the portal, citizens would be able to track the progress of their cities’ action plans for remediation of legacy landfills.
• The plans cover everything from remediation of the landfill to the eventual reuse of the land.
• Once removed, the landfill sites would free up 15,000 acres of land.
• The action plans for each site take into account the quantum of waste generated and a financial assessment.
• The waste is separated into materials for refuse derived fuel (RDF) for industries, construction and demolition (C&D) waste to be recycled into building materials and bio-soil that is used to fill in low-lying areas after passing a check for heavy metals.
• Apart from the action plans for legacy dumpsites, the Ministry has also approved many holistic cities action plans on the management of new waste.

About the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban) 2.0

• It was launched on October 1, 2021.
• Aim: Making all cities “garbage-free” by the end of its five-year period.
• Action plans for 1,000 legacy landfill sites had been approved by the Ministry, with each having a different timeline for completion.
• PM Modi said the main aim of Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 is to make the “cities garbage-free”. He said the “garbage mountains in cities” will be processed and removed as part of Swachh Bharat mission.
• With this second phase, the aim was sewage and safety management, making cities water-secure and ensuring that dirty nullahs (drains) don’t merge into rivers.
• The garbage mountains in cities will be processed and removed completely as part of Swachta second phase.
• Duration: The mission will be in force for five years, from 1st October 2021 to 1st October 2026.
• Mission Coverage: All Statutory towns in India will be covered under the Mission.
• Mission Implementation: States/ UTs and ULBs have signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MoHUA.
  • This MoU represents the collective intent of A, State/ UT and ULBs for creating  “Garbage Free Cities”, through focus on complete source segregation, complete processing of all waste fractions, including the processing of construction & demolition waste, plastic waste along with phased reduction of single use plastic, and remediation of all legacy dumpsites.
  • MoHUA, States/ UTs and ULBs shall align themselves to the roles and responsibilities as per the MoU.

4 . Digital Banking Units

Context : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (October 16) dedicated 75 digital banking units to the nation, taking forward an announcement that was made in the 2022-23 Union Budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. 

What was the initial announcement?

• In the Budget for 2022-23, the Finance Minister said: “In recent years, digital banking, digital payments and fintech innovations have grown at a rapid pace in the country. The government is continuously encouraging these sectors to ensure that the benefits of digital banking reach every nook and corner of the country in a consumer-friendly manner. Taking forward this agenda, and to mark 75 years of our independence, it is proposed to set up 75 Digital Banking Units (DBUs) in 75 districts of the country by Scheduled Commercial Banks”.

What are these DBUs?

• In April this year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the guidelines for DBUs, following the report of a working group of the Indian Banks Association (IBA).
• A digital banking unit is a specialised fixed point business unit or hub, housing a certain minimum digital infrastructure for delivering digital banking products and services as well as servicing existing financial products and services digitally in self-service mode at any time.

Who will set up these DBUs?

• Commercial banks (other than regional rural banks, payment banks and local area banks) with past digital banking experience are permitted to open DBUs in tier 1 to tier 6 centres, unless otherwise specifically restricted, without having the need to take permission from the RBI in each case.

What services will be provided by these units?

• As per the RBI, each DBU must offer certain minimum digital banking products and services. Such products should be on both liabilities and assets side of the balance sheet of the digital banking segment. Digitally value-added services to conventional products would also qualify as such.
• The services include saving bank accounts under various schemes, current accounts, fixed deposit and recurring deposit accounts, digital kits for customers, mobile banking, Internet banking, debit cards, credit cards, and mass transit system cardss, digital kits for merchants, UPI QR codes, BHIM Aadhaar and point of sale (PoS).
• Other services include making applications for and onboarding customers for identified retail, MSME or schematic loans. This may also include end-to-end digital processing of such loans, starting from online application to disbursal and identified government-sponsored schemes that are covered under the national portal.

How will these DBUs compete with fintechs?

• Currently, fintechs operating as neobanks offer digital banking services but they do so in partnership with non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). Some of the neobanks offering services in India are Jupiter, Fi Money, Niyo, Razorpay X.
• Compared to conventional banks with online and mobile banking facilities, neobanks or digital banks excel at product innovation and offer far better digital solutions. However, given the arrangement they have currently with NBFCs or scheduled banks to conduct the actual banking part, some in the industry have pegged these digital banks as “glorified digital distribution companies”.

5 . Facts for Prelims

NPTEL and SWAYAM

• National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL)
  • It is a project of MHRD initiated by seven Indian Institutes of Technology (Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, Guwahati and Roorkee) along with the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 2003.
  • Aim: To provide quality education to anyone interested in learning from the IITs.
  • The main goal was to create web and video courses in all major branches of engineering and physical sciences at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and management courses at the postgraduate level.
• SWAYAM
  • SWAYAM is a programme initiated by Government of India and designed to achieve the three cardinal principles of Education Policy viz., access, equity and quality.
  • The objective of this effort is to take the best teaching learning resources to all, including the most disadvantaged.
  • SWAYAM seeks to bridge the digital divide for students who have hitherto remained untouched by the digital revolution and have not been able to join the mainstream of the knowledge economy.
  • This is done through a platform that facilitates hosting of all the courses, taught in classrooms from Class 9 till post-graduation to be accessed by anyone, anywhere at any time.
  • All the courses are interactive, prepared by the best teachers in the country and are available, free of cost, to any learner.
  • More than 1,000 specially chosen faculty and teachers from across the country have participated in preparing these courses.
  • The courses hosted on SWAYAM are in 4 quadrants – (1) video lecture, (2) specially prepared reading material that can be downloaded/printed (3) self-assessment tests through tests and quizzes and (4) an online discussion forum for clearing the doubts. Steps have been taken to enrich the learning experience by using audio-video and multi-media and state of the art pedagogy / technology.

Nicobar treeshaw

• The Narcondam hornbill, its habitat restricted to a lone island; the Nicobar megapode, a bird that builds nests on the ground; the Nicobar treeshrew, a small mole-like mammal; the Long-tailed Nicobar macaque, and the Andaman day gecko, are among the 1,067 endemic faunal species found only on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and nowhere else.
• The Nicobar treeshrew (Tupaia nicobarica) is a treeshrew species within the Tupaiidae.
• It is endemic to the Nicobar Islands where it inhabits the islands’ rain forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
• Although previously listed as an endangered species, the Nicobar treeshrew is now commonly found in its appropriate habitats.
• It was first described by Johann Zelebor in 1868.
• It only occupies the Indian Islands of Great Nicobar and Little Nicobar and can be found on the highest points of these two islands, 640 m above sea level.

Gaurs

• The Indian government is considering a proposal from Sri Lanka to export a number of gaurs, or Indian bisons, to Sri Lanka to revive the population of gavaras that have been extinct in the island since the end of the 17th century.
  • If the project is cleared, it would be the first such agreement between India and Sri Lanka, and part of a global trend of “wildlife or zoological diplomacy”.
• Sri Lankan officials say the gaur, called the gavara in Sinhala, was once widespread and archaeological remains in ancient caves in the island included the remains of the animal.
• By the end of the 17th century, however, the species appears to have been extirpated in Sri Lanka, although they remain prominent in iconography and mythological stories.
• The Indian gaur, a reclusive beast that lives in the wild, is the largest wild bovine that is a protected species.
• It is included in Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and listed as vulnerable in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
• There are about 13,000 to 30,000 gaurs in the world with approximately 85% of the population present in India. It is also found in Burma and Thailand.
• The first-ever population estimation exercise of the Indian gaur carried out in the Nilgiris Forest Division in February 2020 estimated around 2,000 Indian gaurs to be inhabiting the division.
• This came after instances of people being attacked or injured by the bison primarily in and around plantations came to light.

Neela kurinji

• Strobilanthes kunthiana, known as Kurinji or Neelakurinji in Malayalam and Tamil and Gurige in Kannada is a shrub that is found in the shola forests of the Western Ghats in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
• The purplish-blue flower blossoms only once in 12 years, and gave the Nilgiri Mountains range its name, from the Tamil neelam (blue) + giri (mountain)
• An expert team has identified six varieties of the plant on a vast area on the Kallippara hills at Santhanpara in Idukki
• The types of neelakurinji flowers that have been identified from the hill ranges include Strobilanthes anamallaica, Strobilanthes heyneanus, Strobilanthes pulnyensis, and Strobilanthes neoasper.
• All these neelakurinji species are endemic to the Western Ghats and spread over nearly 200 acres of the Kallippara hills.
• In fact, the neelakurinji population here can be considered one of the biggest of the species after the protected areas of Munnar.
• Neelakurinji or ‘Strobilanthes kunthiana’ blooms in 40 or so varieties, a majority of them being blue in colour.
• ‘Neela’ literally translates to ‘blue’ and kurinji is the name given to it by the tribals of the area.
• Last seen in 2006, the time for viewing them begins in August and lasts up to October.
• In Munnar, one can view this great sight from Kovilur, Kadavari, Rajamala and Eravikulam National Park.
• Eravikulam is incidentally home to the endangered Nilgiri Tahr, hosting a majority of the remaining population of the species on the planet.

Spurt SDM 1

• Russia will field its Sprut-SDM1 light amphibious tank for the Indian Army’s upcoming tender for light tanks and has submitted technical details of the same.
• SPRUT-SDM1 has powerful weapon systems, modern automated fire control system, state-of-the-art armour protection, robust engine and transmission, and efficient chassis.
• SPRUT-SDM1 is intended for fire support of units fighting against heavily armoured materiel, destruction of enemy strongholds and fortifications, battle reconnaissance and combat security.
• The 125mm 2A75 cannon can fire guided missiles, APFSDS, HEAT and HEF projectiles.
• For smaller targets there is a Remote-Controlled Weapon Station with 7.62mm MG and a 7.62mm coaxial MG.
• The Tank is equipped with all necessities to successfully accomplish tasks in any climate and terrain.
• Due to great combat capabilities and performance the SPRUT-SDM1 Light Amphibious Tank can be efficiently used by the Marines and Land Forces.