Daily Current Affairs : 22nd & 23rd December 2023

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. Flying Squirrel
2. Volcano
3. Post office bill
4. Palna Scheme
5. Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) 
6. Facts for Prelims

1 . Namdapha Flying Squirrel

Context : A nocturnal flying squirrel has resurfaced in Arunachal Pradesh after going missing for 42 years. The Namdapha flying squirrel was last described in 1981 based on a single individual found in the 1,985 sq. km. Namdapha Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh’s Changlang district.

About Namdapha Flying Squirrel

• The Namdapha flying squirrel is an arboreal, nocturnal flying squirrel endemic  to Arunachal Pradesh, where it is known from a single specimen collected in Namdapha National Park in 1981.
• No population estimate is available for B. biswasi, but the known habitat is tall Mesua ferrea jungles, often on hill slopes in the catchment area of Dihing River (particularly on the western slope of Patkai range) in northeastern India.
•  has reddish, grizzled fur with white above. Its crown is pale grey, its patagium is orangish and its underparts are white.
• The cheek teeth of are simple, and its incisors are unpigmented. Septae are multiple in auditory bullae and sometimes honeycomb-shaped with 10 to 12 cells in it
• The Namdapha flying squirrel is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. It is known from a single specimen collected in 1981 in Namdapha National Park.
• Its range of the Namdapha flying squirrel may be restricted to a single valley and it is threatened by poaching of animals for food from within the park, and possibly by habitat destruction.
• It is among the 25 “most wanted lost” species that are the focus of Re:wild’s “Search for Lost Species” initiative.
• There are several later reports of sightings by tourists and local researches, but a review by scientists specialising in flying squirrels found that most—if not all—have been the result of confusion with other, more common species that occur in Namdapha National Park, especially the rather similar candidula red giant flying squirrel

2 . Volcano

Context : Iceland is one of the most volcanically active regions on the planet. It witnesses an eruption every four to five years. However, since 2021, the frequency has spiked to almost one eruption per year

What are volcanoes?

• According to the US Geological Survey: “Volcanoes are openings, or vents where lava, tephra (small rocks), and steam erupt onto the Earth’s surface.”
• Volcanoes can be on land and in the ocean. They are formed when material significantly hotter than its surroundings is erupted onto the surface of the Earth. The material could be liquid rock (known as “magma”, when it’s underground and “lava” when it breaks through the surface), ash, and/or gases.
• The rise of magma can take place in three different ways, according to NASA. First, when tectonic plates — massive, irregularly shaped slabs of solid rock that carry both continents and oceans and are constantly in motion — move away from each other. “The magma rises up to fill in the space. When this happens underwater volcanoes can form,” it added.
• Second, when the plates move towards each other. “When this happens, part of Earth’s crust can be forced deep into its interior. The high heat and pressure cause the crust to melt and rise as magma,” NASA said.
• Third is how magma rises at the hotspots — hot areas inside of the Earth, where magma gets heated up. As magma gets warmer, it becomes less dense, leading to its rise.

What are the different kinds of volcanoes?

• According to the British Geological Survey, the type of volcano depends on the viscosity of the magma, the amount of gas in the magma, the composition of the magma, and the way the magma reaches the surface.
• There are two broad types of volcanoes: a stratovolcano and a shield volcano.
  • Stratovolcanoes have steep sides and are more cone-shaped than shield volcanoes have a low profile and resemble a shield lying on the ground.
• There are also a host of different “volcanic features that can form from erupted magma (such as cinder cones or lava domes) as well as processes that shape volcanoes,” the government agency added.

Why is Iceland so volcanically active?

• There are two reasons for this.
  • One, Iceland sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (part of the longest mountain range in the world) in the North Atlantic Ocean, where the Eurasian and North American plates are moving apart a few centimetres every year. This produces volcanic rift zones, regions where the Earth’s crust is being pulled apart and fractured, and here molten rock, or magma, rises up, and some reaches the surface and erupts as lava and/or ash.”
  • Two, the island sits over a hot zone (or hotspot, as mentioned before), which leads to enhanced volcanic activity in the region.

3 . Post Office Bill

Context : On December 18, the Parliament passed the Post Office Bill, 2023, that seeks to replace the colonial-era Indian Post Office Act, 1898

What are the key features of the Bill?

• The Post Office Bill, 2023 allows the interception of articles transmitted via post on grounds such as the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, emergency, public safety, or contravention of the provisions of the Bill or any other laws.
• The officer-in-charge appointed by the Union government is empowered to ‘intercept, open or detain’ any postal article on the aforementioned grounds. Such an item can also be disposed of by the government in a manner it deems appropriate.
• The Union government by notification can also empower any officer of the Post Office to deliver a postal article suspected of containing any prohibited item to the customs authority or any other specified authority.
• The Bill exempts the Post Office from incurring any liability pertaining to its services. It specifically stipulates that no officer shall incur any liability unless the officer has acted fraudulently, or wilfully caused any loss, delay, or mis-delivery of service.
• There are also no offences and penalties specified under the Bill except one: amounts not paid by a user will be recoverable as arrears of land revenue.
• The 1898 Act contained offences such as theft, misappropriation, or destruction of postal articles which are punishable with imprisonment up to seven years and a fine. However, such offences and penalties were subsequently removed by the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023.

What were the concerns raised?

• It has been alleged that bill violates the fundamental right to privacy. “
• Bill, in the absence of guidelines, encourages state surveillance and violates Articles 14, 19(1)(a), and Article 21 of the Constitution. Concerns has also been raised on the power provided to post officer to exercise search and seizure. By granting such powers, the privacy of all the citizens who use the services of Indian Post can be severely compromised since there is no provision in the Bill which injuncts the officer from leaking any contents of the intercepted postal articles.
• Law does not clarify the grounds for interception. For instance, it does not stipulate what would qualify as an ‘emergency’ — a ground for interception under Section 9(i) of the Bill.
• Bill does not provide any grievance redressal mechanism to citizens despite relieving post officers of any liability with regard to the services offered.

What has been the history of the Bill?

• Similar to the ground of ‘emergency’ under the Bill, the 1898 Act permits interception on grounds of ‘public emergency’. While examining the Act, the Law Commission of India in its 38th report pointed out that since the term ‘emergency’ has not been explicitly defined, it provides a wide ground for interception. It also flagged that since the term has not been defined in the Constitution, it cannot serve as a reasonable ground for suspension of fundamental rights under Article 19(1). The Commission highlighted that a state of public emergency must be such that it is not secretive and is apparent to a reasonable man. Accordingly, it recommended that the legislature should amend the existing laws relating to interception to ensure that they adhere to the Constitution. This led to the enactment of the Telegraph (Amendment) Act of 1981.
• A provision permitting interception was introduced earlier in the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill, 1986. It empowered the Union Government or the State Government or any authorised officer to ‘intercept or detain’ any postal article on the following grounds — public safety or tranquillity, the sovereignty, and integrity of India, the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, for preventing incitement to the commission of any offence, or on the occurrence of any public emergency. While the Bill was passed by both Houses, former President Zail Singh neither assented nor returned the Bill to the Parliament for reconsideration (he demitted office in July 1987). As a result, the legislation remained in limbo and was withdrawn by the Vajpayee government in 2002.

What are the relevant Supreme Court rulings?

• Inthe People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) versus Union of India (1996), the constitutionality of Section 5(2) of the Telegraph Act was challenged for permitting telephonic interception without any due process guarantees. The Supreme Court acknowledged that telephone tapping infringed upon the fundamental right to privacy, and created safeguards against arbitrariness in the exercise of the state’s surveillance powers. It underscored that in the absence of a just and fair procedure to regulate the powers of interception, it is not possible to safeguard the rights of citizens under Articles 19(1)(a) and Article 21.
• In the landmark verdict Justice KS Puttaswamy versus Union of India (2017), the Supreme Court unanimously declared the right to privacy to be a fundamental right of all Indians. The verdict stipulated that any state measure that proposes to interfere with the right to privacy must satisfy certain requirements —
  • Legality, the measure is authorised by statute;
  • Legitimate goal, the measure pursues a proper purpose;
  • Suitability, the measure takes meaningful steps towards achieving the proper purpose;
  • Necessity, the measure is the least rights-restrictive measure amongst equally effective alternatives;
  • Proportionality, the measure does not disproportionately impact individual rights; and
  • Procedural safeguards, the measure incorporates meaningful guardrails against possible abuse.
• Additionally, the Court had opined with respect to the Pegasus spyware scandal that the state did not get “a free pass every time the spectre of national security is raise. National security cannot be the bugbear that the judiciary shies away from, by virtue of its mere mentioning.”

What have experts said?

• “There is an absolute lack of safeguards under this Bill. It is not as if the Union government cannot have the power to notify a person to inspect, intercept, open, or detain a postal item. The issue is that there is a lack of the usual requirements that accompany such interception orders such as reasons to be recorded in writing — why is it being done? There needs to be a justifiable reason”, says Apar Gupta, lawyer and founding director of Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF).
• Highlighting how the Bill encourages state surveillance, he asserts, “We must also remember that the issue is that the interception provision is tied to the provision of services and these services include citizen delivery services. For instance, people who need to enroll for electoral cards or obtain police verification will avail of such postal services. So there is a possibility of state surveillance because there are no safeguards at all — even orders in writing are not needed any longer.”

4 . Palna Scheme

Context : The Women and Child Development Ministry said it aimed to establish 17,000 creches in anganwadis across the country. The Ministry added that 5,222 creches had been approved until now, and it planned to depute two additional creche workers in each anganwadi.

About the News

• Initiatives are being taken under the ‘Palna’ scheme to address the need for quality daycare facilities or creches for children of working women by providing a safe and secure environment for the nutritional, health and cognitive development of the children, thereby enabling more women among all socio-economic groups to take up gainful employment in the organised and unorganised sector

About Palna Scheme

• The Ministry of Women and Child Development during July 2022 issued guidelines of Mission Shakti wherein erstwhile National Creche Scheme has been reorganized and renamed as Palna Scheme under the sub scheme ‘Samarthya’ of ‘Mission Shakti’.  
• Under Palna Scheme, provision of Anganwadi cum Creches has been introduced by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Further, the crèches which were running under erstwhile National Creche Scheme have been included as Stand Alone Creches.  The government aims to establish 17000 Crèches across the country as part of the programme.

What is a crèche

• A crèche is a facility which enables parents to leave their children while they are at work and where children are provided stimulating environment for their holistic development. Crèches are designed to provide group care to children, usually up to 6 years of age, who need care, guidance and supervision away from their home during the day.

Objectives

• To provide day-care facilities for children (6 months to 6 years) of working mothers in the community.
• To improve nutrition and health status of children.
• To promote physical, cognitive, social and emotional development  (Holistic Development) of children.
• To educate and empower parents /caregivers for better childcare. 

Services

The scheme will provide an integrated package of the following services:

• Daycare Facilities including Sleeping Facilities.
• Early Stimulation for children below 3 years and Pre-school Education for  3 to 6 years old children.
• Supplementary Nutrition(to be locally sourced)
• Growth Monitoring.
• Health Check-up and Immunization. 

User charges are necessary to bring in an element of community ownership and may be collected as under:

• BPL families – Rs 20/- per child per month.
• Families with Income (Both Parents) of upto Rs. 12,000/-  per month – Rs 100/- per child per month
• Families with Income (Both Parents)  of above Rs. 12,000/-  per month – Rs 200/- per child per month 

Targt group

• The scheme focuses on children of 6 months to 6 years, of working women in rural and urban areas who are employed for a minimum period of 15 days in a month, or six months in a year. 

Implementing Agencies

• Implementation shall be effected through the respective State Governments.   These State Governments in turn could implement the Scheme through other suitable voluntary/ non-governmental organizations, if required. The State Government will run the crèches as per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). 

Financial assistance

• A Recurring Grant of Rs.152600/- per annum is provided for a crèche of 25 children.
• A Non-recurring grant for a period of five years – Rs 10,000/- once in the beginning of every new crèche and a subsequent grant of Rs. 5000/- at an interval of five years towards replacement/purchase of equipment/ furniture, water filter, etc. 

5 . Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE)

Context : With a little over 10% of funds under the Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) sanctioned so far, the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) convened a meeting with the Chief Ministers of the States in the region on Friday, asking for “feasible concept notes”.

About Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE)

• The Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) is a Central Sector Scheme with 100% Central funding. 
• PM-DevINE, was announced in the Union Budget 2022-23 to address development gaps in the North Eastern Region (NER). It will lead to creation of infrastructure, support industries, social development projects and create livelihood activities for youth and women, thus leading to employment generation.

Implementation agency

• The scheme is being implemented by Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) through North Eastern Council or Central Ministries/ agencies.
• The 2022-23 to 2025-26 period has an approved outlay of Rs. 6,600 crore, with an initial allocation of Rs. 1,500 crore for FY 2022-23.
• Scheme Duration : 2022-23 to 2025-26

Objectives

The objectives of PM-DevINE are to:

• Fund infrastructure convergently, in the spirit of PM Gati Shakti;
• Support social development projects based on felt needs of the NER;
• Enable livelihood activities for youth and women;
• Fill the development gaps in various sectors.

Projects supported

• Projects should range from a minimum of Rs. 20 crore to a maximum of Rs. 500 crore in cost, using the latest Schedule of Rates (SOR) of the relevant central line department/State Government for cost estimation. In cases without available SORs, estimates can be prepared by concerned departments adhering to existing rules and practices of the relevant Indian Government line Ministry, followed by techno-economic vetting by reputable institutions or NEC.
• Under PM-DEVINE, certain project types/components are ineligible, including those that provide long-term individual benefits or “Direct Benefit Transfer” elements.
• Additionally, projects already funded or planned by relevant line Ministries (to avoid duplication), land/site acquisition, and staff expenses are not covered.
• The scheme excludes projects for administrative buildings of government offices/agencies or institutional needs.
• Sectors already covered by other MDoNER schemes are also ineligible. Furthermore, any sector-specific projects specified in the Negative List by the Ministry of DoNER are not considered under PM-DEVINE.

6. Facts for Prelims

Adjourned sine die

• Adjournment sine die is the conclusion of a meeting by a deliberative assembly, such as a legislature, without setting a day to reconvene.
•  The assembly can reconvene, either in its present form or a reconstituted form, if preexisting laws and rules provide for this. Otherwise the adjournment effectively dissolves the assembly.

Ennore Creek

• Ennore Creek is a backwater located in Ennore, Chennai along the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal.
• It is located in the zone comprising lagoons with salt marshes and backwaters, submerged under water during high tide and forming an arm of the sea with the opening to the Bay of Bengal at the creek.

CISF

• The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is a federal police organisation in India under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• It is one among the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).
• CISF provides security to over 356 industrial units (including 13 Private Sector Units), government infrastructure projects and facilities and establishments located all over India. These include atomic power plants, space installations, mines, oil fields and refineries, major ports, heavy engineering, steel plants, barrages, fertiliser units, airports and hydroelectric/thermal power plants owned and controlled by Central Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), and currency note presses.

Prequalification of Vaccine

• The prequalification means larger access to vaccines as a key tool to prevent malaria in children, with it being a prerequisite for vaccine procurement by UNICEF and funding support for deployment by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance,”

Credit information companies and Credit Score

• There are four CICs, TransUnion CIBIL, Experian, Equifax, and CRIF High Mark, all of which are regulated by the RBI. They maintain credit information of borrowers — including individuals, corporates, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) — which can be accessed by banks and other lending institutions.
• They collect information from a variety of credit providers, including banks, credit card companies, and non-bank financial institutions, and rate borrowers on a scale of 300-900 with 900 being the highest rating.
• Banks and finance companies normally take a decision on giving a loan based on the rating given by the credit bureaus. Banks mandate the use of credit information report (CIRs) in their credit appraisal process. Both CICs and banks are supposed to keep the credit information collected/ maintained by them updated monthly, or at mutually agreed shorter intervals.
• The closer the score is to the maximum of 900, the better it is. A score between 550 and 700 is deemed to be fair, and 549 and below is deemed to be poor.

Punishment for Medical Negligence as per new criminal Law

• Amended Section 106 (1) of the Sanhita says: “Whoever causes death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act notamounting to culpable homicide, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, and shall also be liable to fine; and if such act is done by a registered medical practitioner while performing medical procedure, he shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, and shall also be liable to fine.” It further explains that for the purposes of this sub-section, “registered medical practitioner” means a medical practitioner who possesses any medical qualification recognised under the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 and whose name has been entered in the National Medical Register or a State Medical Register under that Act
• Currently, under Section 304A of the Indian Penal Code, the punishment for causing death by negligence is two years imprisonment and a fine or both. The BNSS, which will replace the IPC, increases the punishment for such acts to five years but specifies that doctors will still get the lower punishment of two years of jail time if convicted.