Daily Current Affairs : 19th October 2022

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. Recommendation by Parliamentary Committee on Official Languages
2. ISA
3. Guidelines on Remission Scheme
4. GI Tag
5. Facts for Prelims

1 . Recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Official Language

Context: The reported recommendation of the Parliamentary Committee on Official Language to use Hindi as the medium of instruction in Central institutions of higher education in Hindi-speaking States and regional languages in other States has once again ignited a controversy over, what is called by critics of the BJP, an attempt to impose Hindi on non-Hindi speaking people. Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, M. K. Stalin and Pinarayi Vijayan have voiced their concerns over the recommendation.

What is the backdrop to the Hindi imposition row?

• The origin of the linguistic row goes back to the debate on official languages.
• In the Constituent Assembly, Hindi was voted as the official language by a single vote.
• However, it added that English would continue to be used as an associate official language for 15 years.
• The Official Languages Act came into effect on the expiry of this 15-year period in 1965. This was the background in which the anti-Hindi agitation took place.
• However, as early as in 1959, Jawaharlal Nehru had given an assurance in Parliament that English would continue to be in use as long as non-Hindi speaking people wanted it.

 Why do many parties in Tamil Nadu stand against the recommendation?

• Tamil Nadu has had a long history of agitations against “Hindi imposition”.
• In August 1937, in the then Presidency of Madras, the regime headed by C. Rajagopalachari, also known as Rajaji or CR, decided to make Hindi compulsory in secondary schools.
• E.V. Ramasamy, or Periyar as he was known, who was still in the Justice Party at that time, had spearheaded an agitation against the move, marking the first such stir.
• A few months after CR’s resignation, the British government, in February 1940, made Hindi optional.
• In January 1965, the second round of agitations erupted in the wake of Hindi becoming the official language of the Union government coupled with the approach adopted by the Central government towards the whole issue.
• At different points in time, leaders, starting from Jawaharlal Nehru in the mid-1950s, assured the people of Tamil Nadu that there would be no “imposition” of Hindi.
• However, in recent years, be it the National Education Policy or reports of English signage on National Highways in the State getting replaced with Hindi signage, the political class of the State had overwhelmingly expressed its reservations.
• The reiteration of the age-old assurance by the Central government coupled with the promise of the promotion of other Indian languages have barely mollified the protesters.
• The essence of the Official Languages Act, 1963, is to provide something to each of the differing groups to meet its objections and safeguard its position.
• Whenever the parties in the State see any attempt to disturb this status quo, their reaction is always uniform — a virulent opposition.

 What does the present proposal say?

• English, as a medium of instruction in all technical and non-technical institutions, will be permitted only where it is absolutely essential, as the idea is to replace the language gradually with Hindi in those institutions.
• While IITs, IIMs and All India Institute of Medical Sciences are considered technical institutions, Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas fall under the other category.
• Also, the committee has recommended the removal of English as one of the languages in examinations held for recruitment to the Central services.
• It has stated that the requisite knowledge of Hindi among candidates should also be ensured.

 What is the alternative suggested by critics of the proposal?

• Both Mr. Stalin and Mr. Vijayan have called for equal treatment to all the languages specified under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
• The Kerala Chief Minister has specifically stated that question papers for competitive examinations should be prepared in all languages while his Tamil Nadu counterpart has urged the Centre to promote all languages and keep open the avenues of progress in terms of education and employment equal to speakers of all languages.
• At different points in time, leaders, starting from Jawaharlal Nehru in the mid-1950s, assured the people of Tamil Nadu that there would be no “imposition” of Hindi.
• The essence of the Official Languages Act, 1963, is to provide something to each of the differing groups to meet its objections and safeguard its position.
• Chief Ministers of Kerala and Tamil Nadu have called for equal treatment to all the languages specified under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

2 . International Solar Alliance

Context: To promote investments in solar power projects, the International Solar Alliance (ISA) approved the ‘Solar Facility’.

About ‘Solar Facility’

• ‘Solar Facility’ is a payment guarantee mechanism expected to stimulate investments into solar projects through two financial components — a Solar Payment Guarantee Fund and Solar Insurance Fund. 
• Objective: Attract private capital to flow into “underserved markets” in Africa.
• The ISA would aim to crowdsource investments from various donors across the globe and proposed projects in Africa would be able to purchase payment guarantees or partial insurance premium from these funds, said a statement from the ISA.
• With the Solar Facility ISA is looking to support projects by reducing lenders’ apprehensions and enabling finance to flow for projects that otherwise may not have received funding.
• The payment guarantee fund will only provide a partial guarantee.
• With minimal default, the guarantee fund would enable investments in geographies that do not receive investments.
• In addition, the Solar Insurance Fund will reduce the burden of insurance premium for solar developers in the pre-revenue phase of the project.
• It will offset the cost of insurance for a specified period.
• ISA’s mission is to unlock US$ 1 trillion (₹80 lakh crore) of investments in solar power by 2030 while reducing the cost of the technology and its financing.

About International Solar Alliance (ISA)

• The International Solar Alliance (ISA) was launched by Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and former French president Francois Hollande in November 2015 at the 21st session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP-21) in Paris.
• The alliance was formed with the aim to promote solar energy in 121 member countries and to mobilise over $1 trillion of investment for the deployment of solar energy at affordable costs.
• It is the first inter-government organisation headquartered in India, in Gurugram.
• In the wake of Covid-19, ISA has been working towards providing 24×7 electricity to some member countries to power cold storages that will store vaccine.
• It is a coalition of solar resource-rich countries that lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

Administrative structure

• The ISA primarily consists of an Assembly, Secretariat and different committees.
• The assembly is the apex decision-making body of the 110-member ISA that works with governments to improve energy access and security worldwide and promote solar power as a sustainable way to transition to a carbon-neutral future.
• The secretariat is responsible for its operations and functioning.
• The body is funded by voluntary contributions by its members, partner countries, the UN and the private sector, while revenue is generated from specific activities approved by the Assembly.
• The body aims to scale up solar energy applications, take coordinated action through programmes and activities launched on a voluntary basis and facilitate collaborative research and development activities in solar energy technologies

3 . Guidelines on Remission Scheme

Context: Months before sanctioning the release of convicted rapists and killers in the Bilkis Bano case of the 2002 Gujarat riots, the Union Home Ministry framed guidelines that 12 categories of convicts, including “prisoners convicted for the offence of rape” are not eligible to be released prematurely under a special remission scheme to commemorate 75 years of Independence.

 Key Highlights

• To celebrate the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav programme, the Ministry wrote to all the States where it proposed to give special remission to certain categories of prisoners in three phases.
• The concurrence of the Union government is required.
• Since prison is a State subject, the Union government’s opinion is required in cases where a Central agency such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the National Investigation Agency (NIA) investigated the case.
• The Gujarat state government informed the court that it considered the plea for early release of the 11 prisoners as per the policy of 1992 and remission was granted.
• Remission was not granted under the circular governing grant of remission to prisoners as part of celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• Though the CBI and the CBI court opined that the convicts cannot be released as the crime is “heinous, grave and serious” and the “crime was committed only on the ground that the victims belongs to a particular religion”, the Gujarat government released the convicts on account of “good behaviour”.
• Section 435 of the Code of Criminal Procedure states that a State government should act after consultation with the Central Government in certain cases of remission.

The new Remission schemes

• It was intended to do a phased commutation of sentence, subject to prisoner’s behaviour in jails, as part of plans to celebrate ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav‘.
• The scheme covered
  • Thousands of women and transgender convicts above the age of 50 
  • Male prisoners above the age of 60 and
  • Physically challenged convicts who have completed more than half of their total sentence.
• Poor or indigent prisoners who have completed their sentence but are still in jails due to non-payment of fines imposed on them will benefit too by way of waiving off the fines.
• Persons who committed an offence at a young age between 18-21 years and with no other criminal case against them and who have completed 50 per cent of their sentence period will also be considered for special remission.
• The scheme did not apply to those prisoners who were convicted with death sentence, life imprisonment, rape, terror charges, dowry deaths and money laundering cases.
• Those convicted under terror charges, Explosive Act, National Security Act, Official Secrets Act, Anti-Hijacking Act, Prevention of Corruption Act, dowry death, counterfeiting currency notes, human trafficking, money laundering charges, black money cases will not be considered for remission.
• The eligibility criteria for prisoners to be considered for remission includes those convicts who have consistently maintained good conduct during their term in prison especially those with no punishment during the sentencing period in the last three years.

4 . GI Tag

Context: The Embassy of Japan, New Delhi, has filed an application seeking Geographical Indication (GI) tag for nihonshu/Japanese sake, an alcoholic beverage.

Key Highlights

• This is the first time a product from Japan has filed for a tag at the Geographical Indication Registry in Chennai.
• In Japan, nihonshu is regarded as a special and valuable beverage made from fermenting rice.
• People traditionally drink nihonshu on special occasions, such as festivals, weddings or funerals, but it is also consumed on a daily basis.
• Thus, it is an integral part of the lifestyle and culture in Japan.
• The sake market (almost all are nihonshu) is the second largest brewed liquor (such as beer) market in Japan.
• For making nihonshu three main raw materials – rice, koji-kin (a type of fungal spore) and water – are required.
• The production of nihonshu follows an alcoholic fermentation method called parallel multiple fermentation and involves raw material treatment, koji making, starter culture making, mash making, pressing, heat sterilisation and bottling.
• The rice and koji used should originate in Japan.
• The Embassy of Japan also mentioned that in the past, the economy of Japan was based around rice, which was used as a sort of quasi-money before the establishment of a monetary economy in the Meiji period (1869-1912).
• As a result, nihonshu production was thoroughly under the government’s control.
• As nihonshu’s production became more industrialised in the Edo period (1603-1868), those who had special licences began hiring many farmers in the agricultural off-season.
• They gradually won a reputation as craftsmen, which resulted in the establishment of the hierarchical Toii system (Toii is the person responsible for sake brewing), likened to an apprenticeship or guild system.

Geographical indication

• A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.
• In order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place.
• In addition, the qualities, characteristics or reputation of the product should be essentially due to the place of origin.
• Since the qualities depend on the geographical place of production, there is a clear link between the product and its original place of production.
• Geographical indications are typically used for agricultural products, foodstuffs, wine and spirit drinks, handicrafts, and industrial products.
• Geographical indications registered as collective and certification marks are generally protected for renewable ten-year periods.
• The right to use a protected geographical indication belongs to producers in the geographical area defined, who comply with the specific conditions of production for the product

What rights does a geographical indication provide?

• A geographical indication right enables those who have the right to use the indication to prevent its use by a third party whose product does not conform to the applicable standards.
• For example, in the jurisdictions in which the Darjeeling geographical indication is protected, producers of Darjeeling tea can exclude use of the term “Darjeeling” for tea not grown in their tea gardens or not produced according to the standards set out in the code of practice for the geographical indication.
• However, a protected geographical indication does not enable the holder to prevent someone from making a product using the same techniques as those set out in the standards for that indication.
• Protection for a geographical indication is usually obtained by acquiring a right over the sign that constitutes the indication.

Advantages of GI Tags

• Products are legally protected.
• It prevents unauthorized use of GI tag items.
• It enables buyers to obtain high-quality items with desired characteristics while ensuring authenticity.
• Increases the economic success of GI tag product manufacturers by increasing their desire in national and international markets.
• Along with the positives, there are also drawbacks to using GI tags. Recently, there has been an increase in disagreements over the provenance of the goods under examination. A lack of unambiguous historical evidence exacerbates this.

5 . Facts for Prelims

Interpol General Assembly

• The General Assembly is INTERPOL’s supreme governing body, comprising representatives from each of our member countries.
• It meets once a year and each session last around four days.
• Each member country may be represented by one or several delegates who are typically chiefs of police and senior ministry officials.
• Its purpose is to ensure that INTERPOL’s activities correspond to the needs of our member countries. It does this by determining the principles and measures for the Organization to reach its objectives, and by reviewing and approving the programme of activities and financial policy for the coming year.
• In addition, the General Assembly elects the members of the Executive Committee, the governing body which provides guidance and direction in between sessions of the Assembly.
• On the agenda each year are also the major crime trends and security threats facing the world.
• As the largest global gathering of senior law enforcement officials, the General Assembly also provides an important opportunity for countries to network and share experiences.
• The General Assembly takes decisions in the form of Resolutions. Each member country represented has one vote.
• The decision-making process is made by either a simple or two-thirds majority, depending on the subject matter.
• These Resolutions are public documents and available from 1960 to the current date on this site.
• INTERPOL: International Criminal Police Organization is an inter-governmental organization.
  • It has 195 member countries, and they help police in all of them to work together to make the world a safer place.

UN office on Drugs and crime

• The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in the United Nations Office at Vienna.
• It was renamed the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in 2002.
• The agency’s focus is the trafficking in and abuse of illicit drugs, crime prevention and criminal justice, international terrorism, and political corruption.
• It is a member of the United Nations Development Group.
• The Office is committed to supporting Member States in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at its core.
• The 2030 Agenda clearly recognizes that the rule of law and fair, effective and humane justice systems, as well as health-oriented responses to drug use, are both enablers for and part of sustainable development.
• UNODC incorporates the secretariat of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB).[6]
• The agency is a member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group

Numbian giraffe

• The Nubian giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis) is the nominate subspecies of giraffe.
• It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan and Sudan.
• It is currently extinct in the wild of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt and Eritrea.
• The Nubian giraffe used to be widespread in northeast Africa.
• The subspecies was listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN in 2018 for the first time due to a 95% decline in the past three decades.
• The Nubian giraffe has sharply defined chestnut-colored spots surrounded by mostly white lines, while undersides lack spotting.
• The median lump is particularly developed in the male giraffe.
• The most extraordinary characteristic of the Nubian giraffe is that the extreme length of the forelegs gives the animal a huge stride, so that in spite of a rather slow galloping rhythm it can move at speeds up to 30 miles per hour.
• They were brought to India by Britishers from Africa.

Thumboormuzhi butterfly park

• The park is situated in a mystic forest patch near Athirappilly falls in Thrissur district of Kerala.
• This natural habitat of the butterflies is believed to consist of almost all the species of butterflies in the world. With good infrastructure the park has around 148 species of butterflies.
• Some of the commonly observed species of butterflies in the park include lemon butterfly, common rose, southern birdwing, dark blue tiger, and light blue tiger.
• To feed these butterflies, some of the plants grown in the region are Pagoda flower, flame or fire lily, Mexican heather, Heliotropium etc.