[Mission 2022] INSIGHTS DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS + PIB SUMMARY 29 MARCH 2022

 Table of Contents:

GS Paper 1:

1. Malabar rebellion of 1921.

GS Paper 2:

1. Chandigarh employees to be under central civil services rules.

2. Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill.

3. Ghar Ghar Ration Yojna.

GS Paper 3:

1. Permanent Body constituted to prevent elephant deaths on railway tracks.

2. What causes coral bleaching at the Great Barrier Reef?

3. Boundary dispute along the Manipur-Nagaland border.

Facts for Prelims:

1. Amarnath Yatra

2. Kerala govt issues ‘dies-non’ order.

3. What is alopecia areata?

4. UNESCO’s City of Literature.

5. October 5 to be designated as National Dolphin Day.

Malabar rebellion of 1921:

GS Paper 1:

Topics Covered: Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues.

Context:

The Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR) has deferred its decision on a recommendation to remove the 1921 Malabar Rebellion martyrs, including Variamkunnaathu Kunhahamad Haji and Ali Musliyar, from the list of India’s freedom fighters.

What’s the issue?

• The panel was of the view that the rebellion that took place at Malabar was a one-sided attack on Hindus. Just two Britishers were killed during the unrest and hence the rebellion could not be considered as part of the freedom struggle.
• The subcommittee had recommended the removal of the Malabar Rebellion leaders, mostly Muslims, from the list. This is viewed by some as an attempt to distort history.

 

What was the Mapilla rebellion?

The Mapilla rebellion or Moplah Rebellion (Moplah Riots) of 1921 was the culmination of a series of riots by Moplahs (Muslims of Malabar) in the 19th and early 20th centuries against the British and the Hindu landlords in Malabar (Northern Kerala).

• The year 2021 will mark the 100th year anniversary of the uprising.

Causes and outcomes of the revolt:

1. The resistance which started against the British colonial rule and the feudal system later ended in communal violence between Hindus and Muslims.
2. Gandhiji along with Shaukat Ali, the leader of the Khilafat movement in India, visited Calicut in August 1920 to spread the combined message of non-cooperation and Khilafat among the residents of Malabar.
3. In response to Gandhiji’s call, a Khilafat committee was formed in Malabar and the Mappilas, under their religious head Mahadum Tangal of Ponnani who pledged support to the non-cooperation movement.
4. Most of tenants’ grievances were related to the security of tenure, high rents, renewal fees and other unfair exactions of the landlords.
5. The British government responded with much aggression, bringing in Gurkha regiments to suppress it and imposing martial law.

Wagon Tragedy:

A noteworthy event of the British suppression was the wagon tragedy when approximately 60 Mappila prisoners on their way to prison, were suffocated to death in a closed railway goods wagon.

 

 

 

Chandigarh employees to be under central civil services rules:

GS Paper 2:

Topics Covered: Issues related to Civil Services.

Context:

The Central Government has announced that the central civil services will now apply to the employees of the Chandigarh administration.

• The Union Territory of Chandigarh is the common capital of Punjab and Haryana.

Implications:

1. Enhancement of retirement age from current 58 years to 60 years.
2. Women employees will now have two years of child care leave from the existing one year.
3. It will have other benefits like an increase in child education allowance.
4. Those with the education department, their retirement age will enhance to 65.

Opposition to this decision:

The decision has invited sharp criticism from Punjab leaders who, cutting across party lines, termed it “an encroachment on Punjab’s rights”.

• This is in violation of the spirit of Punjab Reorg Act and must be reconsidered.

Chandigarh status:

So far, the UT employees were covered under Punjab Civil services rules.

• In 1966, when Punjab was split into Punjab and Haryana, with some territory to Himachal Pradesh, both states claimed Chandigarh as their capital. Pending a resolution, the Centre declared Chandigarh a Union Territory.
• As per the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, Chandigarh was to be governed by the Centre but laws in force in undivided Punjab were to be applicable to the UT.
• In 1984, the Punjab governor was made administrator of the city at a time when the region was battling terrorism.

 

Administration of UTs:

Articles 239 to 241 in Part VIII of the Constitution deal with the union territories and there is no uniformity in their administrative system.

• Every union territory is administered by the President through an administrator appointed by him.

 

Power of parliament to make laws:

• The Parliament can make laws on any subject of the three lists (including the State List) for the union territories.
• The President can make regulations for the peace, progress and good government of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu.
• A regulation made by the President has the same force and effect as an act of Parliament.

 

Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill:

GS Paper 2:

Topics Covered: Government policies and associated issues.

Context:

The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill has been introduced in the Lok Sabha.

• After the introduction, the Opposition sought a division, resulting in 120 votes in favour and 58 votes against the Bill.

Key Provisions:

1. It seeks to repeal the Identification of Prisoners Act 1920. The said Act, in its present form, provides access to a limited category of persons whose body measurements can be taken.
2. It authorises law enforcement agencies to collect, store and analyse physical and biological samples of convicts and other persons for the purposes of identification and investigation in criminal matters.
3. The Bill also authorises police to record signatures, handwriting or other behavioural attributes referred to in section 53 or section 53A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, for the purposes of analysis.
4. As per the Bill, any person convicted, arrested or held under any preventive detention law will be required to provide “measurements” to a police officer or a prison official.
5. Any state government of Union Territory administration may notify an appropriate agency to collect, preserve and share the measurements of a person of interest in their respective jurisdictions.
6. Resistance to or refusal to allow the taking of measurements under this Act shall be deemed to be an offence under section 186 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The Bill seeks to:

1. Define “measurements” to include finger impressions, palm-print and foot-print impressions, photographs, iris and retina scan, physical, biological samples and their analysis, etc.
2. Empower the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) to collect, store and preserve the record of measurements and for sharing, dissemination, destruction and disposal of records.
3. Empower a Magistrate to direct any person to give measurements; a Magistrate can also direct law enforcement officials to collect fingerprints, footprint impressions and photographs in the case of a specified category of convicted and non-convicted persons.
4. Empower police or prison officers to take measurements of any person who resists or refuses to give measurements.

 

Need for and significance of the Bill:

• The Bill states that it is necessary to expand the “ambit of persons” whose measurements can be taken as this will help investigating agencies gather sufficient legally admissible evidence and establish the crime of the accused person.
• The Bill will not only help investigation agencies but also increase prosecution. There is also a chance of an increase in conviction rates in courts through this.

 

Opposition:

Opposition members in parliament have termed it as “draconian” and “illegal”.

• It infringed upon the right to privacy.
• It violated Article 20 (3) of the Constitution that safeguards the rights of citizens by providing that “no person accused of an offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself”.
• The proposed law, that also provides for retaining the people’s measurements for 75 years from the date of collection, was in “violation of the Right to be Forgotten enshrined in the Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution”.

Ghar Ghar Ration Yojna:

GS Paper 2:

Topics Covered: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Context:

The new scheme was announced by the Punjab Government recently.

Highlights of the new Scheme:

• It provides for home delivery of foodgrains to beneficiaries.
• The government gives 5 kg wheat to every individual beneficiary per month at Rs 2 per kg.
• The Centre will fund the scheme under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013 for 1.43 lakh beneficiaries (comprising 36 lakh families).

 

Beneficiaries:

• The beneficiaries of the Atta-Dal Scheme of the state government, which is a tweaked version of the Centre’s Food Security Act, will get ration at their doorsteps.
• The scheme will be optional and all those who do not want to queue up outside the fair price shops or the ration depots can opt for it.
• There are 1.54 crore individual beneficiaries (in 43 lakh families) of the Atta-Dal scheme in Punjab.

 

National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013:

The objective is to provide for food and nutritional security in the human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity.

Key features:

Coverage and entitlement under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS): The TDPS covers 50% of the urban population and 75% of the rural population, with uniform entitlement of 5 kg per person per month. However, the poorest of the poor households will continue to receive 35 kg of food grains per household per month under Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY).

Subsidised prices under TPDS and their revision: For a period of three years from the date of commencement of the Act, Food grains under TPDS will be made available at subsidised prices of Rs. 3/2/1 per kg for rice, wheat and coarse grains.

Identification of Households: The identification of eligible households is to be done by States/UTs under TDPS determined for each State.

Nutritional Support to women and children: Children in the age group of 6 months to 14 years and pregnant women and lactating mothers will be entitled to meals as per prescribed nutritional norms under Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and Mid-Day Meal (MDM) schemes. Malnourished children up to the age of 6 have been prescribed for higher nutritional norms.

Maternity Benefit: Pregnant women and lactating mothers will also be receiving maternity benefit of Rs. 6,000.

Women Empowerment: For the purpose of issuing of ration cards, eldest woman of the household of age 18 years or above is to be the head of the household.

Grievance Redressal Mechanism: Grievance redressal mechanism available at the District and State levels.

Cost of transportation & handling of food grains and Fair Price Shop (FPS) Dealers’ margin: the expenditure incurred by the state on transportation of food grains within the State, its handling and FPS dealers’ margin as per norms to be devised for this purpose and assistance to states will be provided by the Central Government to meet the above expenditure.

Transparency and Accountability: In order to ensure transparency and accountability, provisions have been made for disclosure of records relating to PDS, social audits and setting up of Vigilance Committees.

Food Security Allowance: In case of non-supply of entitled food grains or meals, there is a provision for food security allowance to entitled beneficiaries.

Penalty: If the public servant or authority fails to comply with the relief recommended by the District Grievance Redressal Officer, penalty will be imposed by the State Food Commission according to the provision.

 

Permanent Body constituted to prevent elephant deaths on railway tracks:

GS Paper 3:

Topics Covered: Conservation related issues.

Context:

The Union Environment Ministry has constituted a “permanent” coordination committee that includes the Ministry of Railways and the Environment Ministry to prevent elephant deaths on railway tracks.

Background:

19 elephants were killed across the country on railway tracks in 2018-19, 14 in 2019-20 and 12 in 2020-21.

Concern:

Railway collisions were the second-largest reason for the unnatural deaths of elephants despite tracts being specifically demarcated and notified as elephant passages.

Key measures taken:

1. Setting up of a Permanent Coordination Committee between the Ministry of Railways (Railway Board) and the MoEFCC for preventing elephant deaths in train accidents.
2. Clearing of vegetation along railway tracks to enable clear view for loco pilots.
3. Using signage boards at suitable points to alert loco pilots about elephant presence.
4. Moderating slopes of elevated sections of railway tracks.
5. Setting up underpass/overpass for safe passage of elephants.
6. Regulation of train speed from sunset to sunrise in vulnerable stretches.
7. Regular patrolling of vulnerable stretches of railway tracks by frontline staff of the Forest Department and wildlife watchers.

 

Eco Bridges as a solution:

1. Eco Bridges are wildlife corridors also known as wildlife crossing that are a link of wildlife habitat which connects two larger areas of similar wildlife habitat.
2. It connects wildlife populations that would otherwise be separated by human activities or structures such as roads and highways, other infrastructure development, or logging and farming, etc.
3. Eco Bridges aims at enhancing wildlife connectivity.
4. These are made up of native vegetation i.e., it is overlaid with planting from the area to give a contiguous look with the landscape.

 

What causes coral bleaching at the Great Barrier Reef?

GS Paper 3:

Topics Covered: Conservation related issues.

Context:

Scientists have warned that the Great Barrier Reef will face a critical period of heat stress over the coming weeks, following the most widespread coral bleaching the natural world has ever endured.

About Great Barrier Reef:

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which spreads across a length of over 2,300 km and is roughly the size of Italy, is home to about 3,000 coral reefs, 600 continental islands, 1,625 type of fish, 133 varieties of shark and rays and 600 types of soft and hard corals.

It is a world heritage site.

 

 

 

What are Coral reefs?

Coral reefs are important hotspots of biodiversity in the ocean. Corals are animals in the same class (Cnidaria) as jellyfish and anemones. They consist of individual polyps that get together and build reefs.

Significance:

Coral reefs support a wide range of species and maintain the quality of the coastal biosphere.

Corals control the level of carbon dioxide in the water by converting it into a limestone shell. If this process does not take place, the amount of carbon dioxide in the ocean water would increase significantly and affect ecological niches.

Threats:

• Coral reefs are threatened by climate change.
• When the sea surface temperature increases beyond a tolerable limit, they undergo a process of bleaching.

What is bleaching?

Basically bleaching is when the corals expel a certain algae known as zooxanthellae, which lives in the tissues of the coral in a symbiotic relationship. About 90% of the energy of the coral is provided by the zooxanthellae which are endowed with chlorophyll and other pigments. They are responsible for the yellow or reddish brown colours of the host coral. In addition the zooxanthellae can live as endosymbionts with jellyfish also.

When a coral bleaches, it does not die but comes pretty close to it. Some of the corals may survive the experience and recover once the sea surface temperature returns to normal levels.

Boundary dispute along the Manipur-Nagaland border:

GS Paper 3:

Topics Covered: Internal security related issues.

Context:

Southern Angami Public Organisation (SAPO), a tribal body of Nagaland, has announced bandh from March 24 over Manipur’s failure in withdrawing armed personnel and permanent structures from the disputed Kezoltsa area.

Impact of the Bandh:

• The National Highway-2, which connects the two states and is a lifeline for Manipur, runs through the area.
• The bandh is likely to cause inconvenience to the travellers to Manipur and transportation of essential commodities to the state.

 

What’s the dispute all about?

At the root is an old land ownership dispute between three Naga tribes — the Angamis of Nagaland, and the Maos and Marams of Manipur.

• Kezoltsa is a thickly forested area on the periphery of the picturesque Dzukou Valley, bordering Nagaland and Manipur.
• Dzukou Valley, spread over the two states, has traditionally been a bone of contention between the Mao Nagas of Senapati (Manipur) and the southern Angami Nagas of Kohima (Nagaland).

The dispute: current context:

• Kezoltsa (also called Kozuru/Kazing) is not a part of Dzukou Valley, but has become a flashpoint in recent times with both the Marams and Maos claiming it belongs to Manipur’s Senapati district.
• The Angamis say it is part of the Angami tribal ancestral land, and was “unfairly” made a part of Manipur by the British in the colonial era.

 

What next?

The claim that the entire Dzukou Valley belongs to Nagaland is made by Southern Angami Public Organisation, not by the Nagaland state.

If the need arose, the Centre may play the part of mediator in resolving the issue.

Facts for Prelims:

 

Amarnath Yatra:

• Amarnath cave is a Hindu shrine located in Jammu and Kashmir, India.
• Each year, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims make the trek up to the shrine.
• Location: The cave is situated at an altitude of 3,888 m about 141 km from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir.
• Inside the Amarnath cave, a stalagmite is formed due to freezing of water drops that fall from the roof of the cave on to the floor and grow up vertically from the cave floor. It is considered to be a Shiva Linga by Hindus.

According to a Hindu religious beliefs:

• This is the place where Shiva explained the secret of life and eternity to his divine consort, Parvati.
• The Amarnath temple is one of 18 Maha Shakti Peethas, that commemorate the location of fallen body parts of the Hindu deity Sati.

 

 

Kerala govt issues ‘dies-non’ order:

Hours after the Kerala High Court directed the Left administration in the state to take steps to prevent its employees from abstaining from duty as part of the two-day nationwide strike, the government has issued a ‘dies-non’ order.

The “unauthorised absence of employees participating in the strike will be treated as dies-non”, under Rule 14 A of Part 1 of Kerala Service Rules.

What is dies-non?

As per Rule 14 (A) of Part I of Kerala Service Rules, the period of unauthorised absence of an officer on account of participation in a strike shall be treated as dies-non (no work, no pay).

Background:

The strike — on March 28 and 29 — has been called by the joint platform of central trade unions against “the anti-worker, anti-farmer, anti-people and anti-national policies” of the central government.

What is alopecia areata?

Alopecia areata is a condition that causes sudden hair loss in patches. The condition is developed after the immune system attacks the hair follicles, resulting in hair loss, which cannot be observed easily.

• It mostly occurs in people who have a family history of auto-immune conditions, such as diabetes and thyroid.

 

 

UNESCO’s City of Literature:

Kozhikode was proposed by the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) to be branded as a ‘City of Literature’ with the help of UNESCO.

• UNESCO’s City of Literature programme is part of the wider Creative Cities Network.
• The Network was launched in 2004, and now has member cities in seven creative fields.

The other creative fields are: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Media Arts, and Music. A city designated as ‘Creative City of Literature’ must have a sufficient number of institutions taking care of its literary life.

 

October 5 to be designated as National Dolphin Day:

• October 5th has been designated as National Dolphin Day to be celebrated every year as a historic step in creating awareness for conservation of Dolphins.
• The decision to designate a National Dolphin Day was taken by the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL).

 

Articles to be covered tomorrow:

SPACE ECONOMY.