Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 10th February 2022

Unitary Digital Identity Framework:

India has agreed to provide a grant to Sri Lanka to implement a ‘Unitary Digital Identity framework’, apparently modelled on the Aadhaar card.

• The Rajapaksa government will “prioritise” the implementation of the Framework as a national level programme, Sri Lanka’s Cabinet decided.
• Under the proposed Unitary Digital Identity Framework, it is expected to introduce a personal identity verification device based on biometric data, a digital tool that can represent the identities of individuals in cyberspace, and the identification of individual identities that can be accurately verified in digital and physical environments by combining the two devices.
• The initiative follows bilateral talks between President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2019.
• It also comes amid substantive economic assistance from India — totalling $ 1.4 billion since the beginning of this year — to Sri Lanka, to help the island nation cope with its dollar crunch, and import food, medicines and fuel amid frequent shortages.
• While India has confirmed support for Sri Lanka’s effort to transition to a digital identity system, there is no official information yet on the value of the grant, and whether it would include technological support or training.

Haryana Prevention Of Unlawful Conversion Of Religion Bill, 2022.:

The Haryana Cabinet approved the draft of the Haryana Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill, 2022.

• It seeks to prohibit religious conversion effected through misrepresentation, force, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or by marriage or for marriage, by making it an offence.
• According to the draft Bill, the burden of proof “lies on the accused”. The draft Bill will now be tabled before the Assembly.
• The Bill, on the lines of recent anti-conversion laws passed in other States, proposes to make conversion by marriage an offence.
• It also prescribes higher punishment for conversion of minors, women, and members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.
• The burden of proof as to whether a conversion was not affected through misrepresentation, use of force, under threat, undue influence, coercion, allurement or by any fraudulent means or by marriage or for marriage for the purpose of carrying out conversion lies on the accused.
• The draft Bill provides for declaring marriages null and void, which were solemnized by concealment of religion.

Semiconductors Shortage:

The European Union (EU) unveiled a plan to quadruple the supply of semiconductors in Europe by 2030, hoping to limit the bloc’s dependence on Asia for a key component used in electric cars and smartphones.

• The production of chips has become a strategic priority in Europe as well as the United States, after the shock of the pandemic choked off supply, bringing factories to a standstill and emptying stores of products.
• The manufacturing of semiconductors overwhelmingly takes place in Taiwan, China and South Korea and the European Union wants factories and companies inside the bloc to take on a bigger role.
• The highly anticipated EU Chips Act will “mobilise more than €43 billion ($49.1 billion) of public and private investments” and “enable the EU to reach its ambition to double its current market share to 20% in 2030”.
• The proposal will need the approval of the EU member states and European Parliament, where opinions will vary between the ambitions of industrial heavyweights such as Germany, France and Italy and those of smaller states that are worried about closing off valuable supply chains with Asia.

The Fairbank’s Disease:

The Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, informed Rajya Sabha about the Cases of Fairbank’s disease and Acromegaly in India.

• The Fairbank’s disease (Multiple epiphyseal dysplasia) patient usually requires management of pain and orthopedic procedures, for which facilities are available at tertiary care institutions in India.
• Another rare disorder, Acromegaly is caused by excessive secretion of growth hormone, most often from a tumor in the pituitary gland.
• The disorder causes increased height when it manifests in childhood and adolescent age group, before the fusion of bony epiphysis.
• The somatostatin drug used for Acromegaly, is a scheduled drug as per the National List of Essential Medicines 2015.
• Therefore, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority has fixed the ceiling price.

National Single Window System (NSWS):

In a historic achievement, Jammu & Kashmir became the first Union Territory to be onboarded the National Single Window System (NSWS). This marks a major leap in Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) in the Union Territory.

• Lieutenant Governor Shri Manoj Sinha launched the J&K Single Window Clearance System integrated with NSWS.
• NSWS is linked with India Industrial Land Bank (IILB) which hosts 45 industrial parks of J&K. This will help Investors to discover available land parcels in J&K.
• The NSWS, a 2020 budgetary announcement of the Government of India, is a digital platform that serves as a guide for investors to identify and to apply for approvals as per their business requirements.
• The platform was soft launched in September 2021 by the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal.
• NSWS will eliminate the need for investors to visit multiple platforms/offices to gather information and obtain clearances from different stakeholders.
• Twenty Ministries / Departments have been integrated on NSWS including Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare amongst others. Currently 142 central approvals can be applied through the NSWS portal.
• 14 States/UTs onboarded on NSWS include Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
• The Know Your Approval (KYA) module on NSWS guides investors to identify approvals required for their business based on a dynamic intuitive questionnaire. Currently, the module hosts more than 3,000 approvals across Centre & States.

SAMRIDH Initiative:

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced a new partnership under the Sustainable Access to Markets and Resources for Innovative Delivery of Healthcare (SAMRIDH) initiative, which will improve access to affordable and quality healthcare for vulnerable populations in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and rural and tribal regions.

• In 2020, USAID, IPE Global, and stakeholders from the Indian government, academia, and the private sector developed the innovative SAMRIDH blended finance facility to combine public and philanthropic funds with commercial capital to create and rapidly scale market-based health solutions.
• This new partnership announced will enhance SAMRIDH’s efforts to reach vulnerable populations, leveraging AIM’s expertise in innovation and entrepreneurship.
• AIM and SAMRIDH will leverage philanthropic capital, and public sector resources to offset barriers for commercial investments in small and medium health enterprises to invest in and scale healthcare solutions.

What Is Section 498A IPC?

The Supreme Court in a recent judgement highlighted the growing misuse of Section 498A IPC, with friction rising in marriages.

• The incorporation of section 498A was aimed at preventing cruelty committed upon a woman by her husband and her in-laws by facilitating rapid state intervention.
• The court held that there is an increased tendency to employ provisions such as Section 498A IPC as instruments to settle personal scores against the husband and his relatives.
• Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code 1860 was passed by the Indian Parliament in 1983.
• The section of 498A of the Indian Penal Code is a criminal law.
• It is defined that if the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman, subjected such woman towards cruelty would be punished with imprisonment for a term which might extend to 3 years and may also be liable for fine.
• Section 498 A of Indian Penal Code is one of the greatest rescues for Violence against Woman (VAW), which is a reflection of the pathetic reality of the domestic violence occurring within the four walls of a house.

Acts of Domestic Violence:

• Physical violence, such as slapping, hitting, kicking and beating.
• Sexual violence, including forced sexual intercourse and other forms of sexual coercion.
• Emotional (psychological) abuse, such as insults, belittling, constant humiliation, intimidation, threats of harm, threats to take away children.
• Controlling behaviors, including isolating a person from family and friends, monitoring their movements and restricting access to financial resources, employment, education or medical care.

Marine Heatwaves:

According to a study, marine heatwaves — or the ones that form on oceans — have been on the rise in the waters around India.

• Emerging studies have reported their occurrence and impacts in the global oceans, but are little understood in the tropical Indian Ocean.
• Also, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), the sea surface temperature over the Indian ocean is likely to increase by 1 to 2 °C when there is 1.5°C to 2°C global warming.
• The Western Indian Ocean region experienced the largest increase in marine heatwaves at a rate of about 1.5 events per decade, followed by the north Bay of Bengal at a rate of 0.5 events per decade.
• The marine heatwaves in the Western Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal increased drying conditions over the central Indian subcontinent.
• Correspondingly, there is a significant increase in the rainfall over south peninsular India in response to the heatwaves in the north Bay of Bengal.
• From 1982 to 2018, the Western Indian Ocean had a total of 66 events, while the Bay of Bengal had 94 events.
• These changes are in response to the modulation of the monsoon winds by the heatwaves.
• This is the first time that a study has demonstrated a close link between marine heatwaves and atmospheric circulation and rainfall
• Marine heatwaves are periods of extremely high temperatures in the ocean.
• These events are linked to coral bleaching, seagrass destruction, and loss of kelp forests, affecting the fisheries sector adversely.
• Study showed that 85% of the corals in the Gulf of Mannar near the Tamil Nadu coast got bleached after the marine heatwave in May 2020.
• The most common drivers of marine heatwaves include ocean currents which can build up areas of warm water and air-sea heat flux, or warming through the ocean surface from the atmosphere.
• Winds can enhance or suppress the warming in a marine heatwave, and climate modes like El Niño can change the likelihood of events occurring in certain regions.

Falkland Islands Issue:

Britain rejected a statement from China that affirmed it’s support for Argentina’s claim to the Falkland Islands.

• Earlier, China and Argentina issued a joint statement that said China “reaffirms its support for Argentina’s demand for the full exercise of sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands (Falkland Islands),” using the Argentine name for the territory.
• Falkland Islands, also called Malvinas Islands or Spanish Islas Malvinas, internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the South Atlantic Ocean.
• It lies about 300 miles northeast of the southern tip of South America and a similar distance east of the Strait of Magellan.
• The capital and major town is Stanley, on East Falkland, there are also several scattered small settlements as well as a Royal Air Force base that is located at Mount Pleasant.
• The two main islands, East Falkland and West Falkland, and about 200 smaller islands.
• The government of the Falkland Islands also administers the British overseas territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, including the Shag and Clerke rocks.
• Argentina based its claim to the Falklands based on an official document of 1493 modified by the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), by which Spain and Portugal had divided the New World between themselves; on succession from Spain; on the islands’ proximity to South America, and on the need to end a colonial situation.
• Britain based its claim on its “open, continuous, effective possession, occupation, and administration” of the islands since 1833 and its determination to apply to the Falklanders the principle of self-determination as recognized in the United Nations Charter.
• Britain asserted that, far from ending a colonial situation, Argentine rule and control of the lives of the Falklanders against their wishes would in fact create one.

Nai Roshni Scheme:

The Ministry of Minority Affairs has informed the Rajya Sabha that the Government has sanctioned Rs 26 crore under the Nai Roshni scheme in the last three years (2018-19 to 2020-21) through which around one Lakh women have been trained.

• Nai Roshni-a Leadership Development Programme for Minority Women is a Central Sector Scheme for women belonging to minority communities in the age group of 18 to 65 years.
• It was started in 2012-13.
• The objective of the scheme is to empower and instil confidence among minority women, including their neighbours from other communities living in the same village/locality, by providing knowledge, tools and techniques for interacting with Government systems, banks and other institutions at all levels.
• It is run with the help of NGOs, Civil societies and Government Institutions all over the country.
• It includes various training modules like Leadership of women, Educational Programmes, Health and Hygiene, Swachch Bharat, Financial Literacy, Life Skills, Legal Rights of Women, Digital Literacy and Advocacy for Social and behavioral change.

Sachindra Nath Sanyal (1893 – 1942):

His 80th death anniversary was observed on 7th February this year. He was born in 1893.

• He was the founder of the Hindustan Republican Association. HRA was created to carry out armed resistance against the British Empire in India.
• Sanyal founded a branch of the Anushilan Samiti in Patna in 1913.
• In 1912 Delhi Conspiracy Trial, Sanyal with Rashbehari Bose attacked the then Viceroy Hardinge.
• He was extensively involved in the plans for the Ghadar conspiracy, and went underground after it was exposed in February 1915.
• He was a close associate of Rash Behari Bose.
• After Bose escaped to Japan, Sanyal was considered the most senior leader of India’s revolutionary movement.
• He was a mentor for revolutionaries like Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh.
• Sanyal and Mahatma Gandhi engaged in a famous debate published in Young India between 1920 and 1924. Sanyal argued against Gandhi’s gradualist approach.
• Sanyal was sentenced to life for his involvement in the Kakori conspiracy and was imprisoned at Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where he wrote his book titled Bandi Jeevan (A Life of Captivity, 1922).

What Is Quad grouping?

With China and Russia coming closer, the US has planned to “enhance cooperation, engagement, strategic and economic ties” with its Quad partners.

• To further bolster ties between their countries at all levels of government while finding creative and holistic ways to manage national security risks.
• To facilitate better coordination on international engagement between national and subnational officials throughout the four participating countries.
• As competition continues between China and members of the Quad, it will be critical to find ways to creatively engage in ways that mitigate risk.
• Quad grouping is The quadrilateral security dialogue includes Japan, India, United States and Australia.
• All four nations find a common ground of being the democratic nations and common interests of unhindered maritime trade and security.
• The grouping traces its genesis to 2004 when the four countries came together to coordinate relief operations in the aftermath of the tsunami.
• It then met for the first time in 2007 on the sidelines of the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
• The intention was to enhance maritime cooperation between the four nations.
• Quad is an opportunity for like-minded countries to share notes and collaborate on projects of mutual interest.
• Members share a vision of an open and free Indo-Pacific. Each is involved in development and economic projects as well as in promoting maritime domain awareness and maritime security.
• It is one of the many avenues for interaction among India, Australia, Japan and the US and should not be seen in an exclusive context.

Sowa Rigpa:

It is a traditional system of medicine practised in the Himalayan belt of India.

• It originated in Tibet and popularly practiced in countries namely, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, and Russia.
• The majority of theory and practice of Sowa-Rigpa is similar to “Ayurveda”.
• Yuthog Yonten Gonpo from Tibet is believed to be the father of Sowa Rigpa.
• The basic theory of Sowa-Rigpa may be adumbrated in terms of the following five points:
  • The body in disease as the locus of treatment.
  • Antidote, i.e., the treatment.
  • The method of treatment through antidote.
  • Medicine that cures the disease.
  • Materia Medica, Pharmacy & Pharmacology.