Daily Current Affairs : 8th March 2022

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. International Court of Justice
2. No Fly Zone
3. Stagflation
4. Mahatma Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule
5. Facts for Prelims

1 . International Court of Justice

Context : Russia declined to attend a hearing at the UN’s top court International Court of Justice on Monday at which Ukraine is asking for an immediate order to halt the conflict, the head judge said.

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.

2 . No Fly Zone

Context: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that the organisation would not designate the Ukranian airspace as a ‘No Fly Zone’ which he said would lead to a full-fledged war in Europe, involving many more countries and resulting in greater human suffering.

What is a No-Fly Zone?

• In simple terms, a No-Fly Zone refers to a particular airspace wherein aircrafts, excluding those permitted by an enforcement agency, are barred from flying.
• Articles under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter dealing with ‘Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression’ are invoked to authorise a potential no-fly zone.
• Article 39 dictates the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to determine the probable existence of any threat to peace or an act of aggression. It suggests further measures, if required, are to be carried out in accordance to Article 41 and 42 to restore international peace and security.
• No fly zones have been implemented without UN mandate too. In 1991 after the first Gulf War, U.S. and its coalition partners imposed two no fly zones over Iraq to prevent Saddam Hussain from attacking ethnic groups. In non-combat situations, No fly zones can be imposed permanently and temporarily over sensitive installations or for high profile events like Olympics.

What is the feasibility of ‘No fly zone’ over Ukraine?

• No-fly zone declarations are essentially a compromise in situations demanding a response to ongoing violence, but full military intervention is politically untenable.
• NATO has previously imposed No-Fly Zones in non-member states like Libya and Bosnia. With Russia it fears a full-fledged war in Europe. It has been demanding that NATO scale back to the pre-1997 arrangements. Both Russia and Ukraine are not members of NATO. Due to this, the idea of imposing a ‘no fly zone’ over Ukraine has been rejected outright.
• In addition, a ‘No fly zone’ needs to be implemented meaning NATO deploying aircraft and assets which would result in a direct confrontation with Russia as it may require NATO shooting down Russian fighters or taking down its air defence systems. While Russia has an overall superiority over Ukraine air space, it has not demonstrated that so far in its offensive in Ukraine.
• In addition, a ‘No fly zone’ would achieve very little as majority of the Russian attacks on Ukraine are coming from ground attacks rather than air strikes.

What are the broad contours in a No-Fly Zone?

• The UNSC had banned all flights in the Libyan airspace post adoption of Resolution 1973 in 2011 in response to the Libyan Civil War. Member states were asked to deny permission to any Libyan registered aircraft to use the territory without requisite approval. Further, the member states could bar any entity from flying if they found reasonable grounds to believe the aircraft is ferrying lethal or non-lethal military equipment.
• Member states were permitted to allow flights whose sole purpose was humanitarian, such as delivery of medical supplies and food, chauffer humanitarian workers and related assistance, or evacuating foreign nationals from the territory.
• A U.S. Congressional Research Service Report, published in 2013, draws up important implications concerning authorisation, legality and legitimacy of a No-Fly Zone operation.
• The report prepared for members and committees of the Congress seeks consideration on how the nature, extent and conduct of the international authorisation (to the no-flying zone operation) is likely to shape the perceived legitimacy of the operation and support from the international community.

3 . Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan Scheme

Context : The Union Labour and Employment Ministry launched the “donate a pension” scheme allowing any citizen to pay the premium amount on behalf of an unorganised worker under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan Scheme.

About Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan Scheme

• Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan is a government scheme meant for old age protection and social security of Unorganized workers.
• The pension scheme, which was launched in 2019, allows unorganised sector workers between the age of 18 and 40, who earn up to ₹15,000 a month, to enroll by paying a premium amount between ₹55 and ₹200, depending on the age, that would be matched by the government.
• On reaching the age of 60, the beneficiaries would get a ₹3,000 monthly pension. As of March 3, the scheme had 46.34 lakh enrollments, according to the Labour Ministry’s portal.

Features

• Assured Pension of Rs. 3000/- month
• Voluntary and Contributory Pension Scheme
• Matching Contribution by the Government of India

About donate a pension scheme

• “Donate a pension” scheme allows a citizen to “donate the premium contribution of their immediate support staff such as domestic workers, drivers, helpers, care givers, nurses, in their household or establishment
• The donor can pay the contribution for a minimum of one year, with the amount ranging from ₹660 to ₹2,400 a year, depending on the age of the beneficiary.

3 . Stagflation

Context : Such a sudden and sharp spike in oil prices may push a relatively vulnerable economy like India into stagflation.

What is Stagflation?

• Stagflation is a blend of stagnant growth and persistently high inflation. It, thus, describes a rather rare and curious condition of an economy.
• Iain Macleod, a Conservative Party MP in the United Kingdom, is known to have coined the phrase during his speech on the UK economy in November 1965.
• Typically, rising inflation happens when an economy is booming — people are earning lots of money, demanding lots of goods and services and as a result, prices keep going up. When the demand is down and the economy is in the doldrums, by the reverse logic, prices tend to stagnate (or even fall).
• But stagflation is a condition where an economy experiences the worst of both worlds — the growth rate is largely stagnant (along with rising unemployment) and inflation is not only high but persistently so.

Stagflation and Oil Price

• The best-known case of stagflation is what happened in the early and mid-1970s. The OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries), which works like a cartel, decided to cut crude oil supply. This sent oil prices soaring across the world; they were up by almost 70%.
• This sudden oil price shock not only raised inflation everywhere, especially in the western economies but also constrained their ability to produce, thus hampering their economic growth. High inflation and stalled growth (and the resulting unemployment) created stagflation.

Why is Stagflation difficult to control for Central Banks

• Governments respond to recessions through expansionary monetary and fiscal policies. That is, they pump more money into the economy. More money means cheaper money. Businesses are encouraged to borrow, grow, and hire. Consumers use credit more and consider major purchases.
• Inflation requires the opposite response. The government restricts the supply of money in the system in order to make it more expensive to borrow. Businesses and consumers borrow less and spend less. The overall economy slows down. With demand declining, prices stop rising.
• It becomes difficult for policy-makers when a recession coincides with higher inflation

4 . Mahatma Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule

Context : Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has recently received flak for his remarks on the social reformist couple Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule. In a video said to have been taken during the inauguration of Savitribai Phule’s statue at the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) two weeks ago, the Governor can be seen purportedly commenting on the child marriage of the activists.

Who were the Phules?

• Mahatma Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule stand out as an extraordinary couple in the social and educational history of India.
• They spearheaded path-breaking work towards female education and empowerment, and towards ending caste- and gender-based discrimination.
• In 1840, at a time when child marriages were common, Savitri at the age of ten was married to Jyotirao, who was thirteen years old at the time. The couple later in life strove to oppose child marriage and also organised widow remarriages.

Contributions

• Jyotirao, the revolutionary that he was, observed the lack of opportunities for education for young girls and women. He started to educate his wife at home and trained her to become a teacher.
• Together, by 1848, the Phules started a school for girls, Shudras and Ati-Shudras in Poona. The historic work was started by Jyotirao when he was just 21 years old, ably supported by his 18-year-old wife.
• In 1853, Jyotirao-Savitribai opened a care centre for pregnant widows to have safe deliveries and to end the practice of infanticide owing to social norms. The Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha (Home for the Prevention of Infanticide) started in their own house at 395, Ganj Peth, Pune.
• Jyotirao and Savitri did not have biological children, and adopted the child of a widow. Yashwantrao grew up to be a doctor, rendering his services in the 1897 Bubonic plague.
• The Satyashodhak Samaj (The Truth-Seeker’s Society) was established on September 24, 1873 by Jyotirao-Savitribai and other like-minded people. The Samaj advocated for social changes that went against prevalent traditions, including economical weddings, inter-caste marriages, eradication of child marriages, and widow remarriage.
• The Phules also had far-sighted goals — popularising female education, establishing an institutional structure of schools in India, and to have a society where women worked in tandem with men.

5 . Facts for Prelims

Back to School Campaign

• The Centre is launching a back-to-school campaign to bring at least four lakh young girls who are out of school into the formal education system.
• Under the new Saksham Anganwadi scheme of the Women and Child Development Ministry, these girls in the 11-14 age group will no longer receive anganwadi support, as the focus shifts to 14 to 18-year-olds
• The campaign to enrol them in schools will be driven by anganwadi workers in collaboration with district education officers, supported by tracking systems used by the WCD and Education Ministries
• Anganwadi workers would map the number of girls in each district and the list would be shared with the Education Department, whose local officials would then ensure that each girl was enrolled either directly in the school system or in vocational training programmes, skill centres or open schooling
• The anganwadi workers will be given additional financial incentives ranging from ₹500 to ₹1,000 to counsel adolescent girl dropouts in their anganwadis and ensure that they are enrolled in schools.