23rd April 2021
Special Task Force (STF) under Article 311
Recently, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has set up a Special Task Force (STF)under Article 311 of the Constitution.
Provision of Article 311 of the Constitution
- The special task force has been passed under provisions of Article 311(2) (C) of the Constitution.
- It gives the administration power to terminate an employee without constituting an inquiry against him or her on grounds of security of the State.
- Article 311 provides two safeguards to civil servants against any arbitrary dismissal from their posts:
- A civil servant cannot be dismissed or removed by an authority subordinate to that by which he was appointed.
- A civil servant cannot be dismissed or removed or reduced in rank except after an inquiry in which he has been informed of the charges against him and given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in respect of those charges.
- The above two safeguards are available only to the members of the civil services of the Centre, the all-India services, the civil services of a state or to persons holding civil posts under the Centre or a state.
- It is not available to the members of defence services or persons holding military posts.
- The second safeguard of holding inquiry is not available in the following three cases:
- Where a civil servant is dismissed or removed or reduced in rank on the ground of conduct which has led to his conviction on a criminal charge; or
- Where the authority empowered to dismiss or remove a civil servant or to reduce him in rank is satisfied that for some reason (to be recorded in writing), it is not reasonably practicable to hold such inquiry; or
- Where the president or the governor is satisfied that in the interest of the security of the state, it is not expedient to hold such inquiry.
Purpose of Special Task Force
- The Special Task Force (STF) has been set up to initiate action against government employees suspected of activities against “security of the State”.
- The sanction is accorded to the constitution of a Special task Force for identifying and scrutinizing cases of government employees, to initiate the process under Government Order for action in terms of provisions of Article 311(2) (C) of the Constitution of India.
- The order adds that the terms of reference of the STF would include compiling records of employees suspected of activities requiring action under Article 311(2) (C):
- To refer them to a committee constituted by the government;
- To engage with other members of the Terror Monitoring Group for identifying such other employees; and
- To take assistance of other agencies and departments in this regard
- The STF would be headed by the J&K Additional Director General of Police.
- It will include Inspectors General of Police, Kashmir and Jammu, a representative of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, and a representative of the departmentthe employee belongs to.
Legal status of cryptocurrencies in India
Recently, the uncertainty over the legal status of cryptocurrencies is unnerving Indian investors who hold around $1.5 billion (Rs 10,000 crore) in digital currencies.
- In April 2018, RBI banned banks and other regulated entities from supporting crypto transactions after digital currencies were used for frauds.
- In March 2020, the Supreme Court struck down the ban as unconstitutional.
- The government, which plans a law to ban private digital currencies, favours a digital currency backed by the Reserve Bank of India.
- The existing investors could get breathing space to exit their holdings in the event of a ban on trading, mining and holding cryptos.
- The proposed legal structure may seek declarations of holdings and transactions retrospectively from investors and traders.
Cryptocurrency Law proposed by RBI
- The Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 will prohibit all private cryptocurrencies.
- It will lay down the regulatory framework for the launch of an “official digital currency”.
- A 3-6 month exit period prior to banning the trading, mining and issuing of cryptos has been discussed in inter-ministerial discussions regarding the law.
- The high-power inter-ministerial committee has previously recommended a ban on all private cryptocurrencies.
- The sources have said that the proposed law will be prospective, even though declarations of holdings and transactions may be sought retrospectively.
Digital Currency of RBI
- The RBI had said central banks are exploring DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) for application in improving financial market infrastructure.
- The RBI is considering DLT as a potential technological solution in implementing central bank digital currency (CBDC).
- A recent survey of central banks conducted by the Bank for International Settlements found that some 80 per cent of the 66 responding central banks have started projects to explore the use of CBDC in some form.
- The RBI had expressed concern over other cryptocurrencies, saying they can be used for illegal activities, and poses a threat to financial stability.
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)
- It is a digital system for recording the transaction of assets in which the transactions and their details are recorded in multiple places at the same time.
- A distributed ledger is a database that exists across several locations or among multiple participants.
- A distributed ledger is decentralized to eliminate the need for a central authority or intermediary to process, validate or authenticate transactions.
- The DLT proponents say digital ledgers can be used in multiple areas, including government and business dealings, in addition to financial transactions.
- The experts believe that digital ledgers can be used in tax collection, property deed transfers, social benefits distribution and even voting procedures.
Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)
- The central banks are keen on designing their own network of digital payments by officially issuing what is called a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in order to prevent extreme decoupling.
- It is a legal tender and liability of a nation's central bank in the digital form.
- It is denominated in a sovereign currency and appears on the balance sheet of a nation's central bank.
- It is a digital currency which can be converted/exchanged at par with similarly denominated cash and traditional central bank deposits of a nation.
- The novelty of such general-purpose CBDCs lies in its character of being legal tender.
India-US Clean Energy Initiative
Recently, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden launched the India-US Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership at the Leaders’ Summit on Climate hosted by the US.
- India’s per capita carbon footprint is 60 per cent lower than the global average and it is because our lifestyle is still rooted in sustainable traditional practices.
- India has made an ambitious commitment of achieving the renewable energy target of 450 gigahertz by 2030.
- The Nationally Defined Contributions (NDCs) are each country’s goals towards achieving the Paris Agreement target of limiting rising temperatures to less than 2 degrees Celsius.
- The US pledged to cut emissions by 50 to 52 per cent of its 2005 levels by 2030which is double the 2015 goal set by former President Barack Obama.
India-US Clean Energy Initiative
- It will help in mobilising investments, demonstrate clean technologies, and enable green collaborations.
- It will proceed along two main tracks i.e. the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership andthe Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue, which will build on and subsume a range of existing processes.
- India and the United States aim to demonstrate how the world can align swift climate action with inclusive and resilient economic development.
Leaders’ Summit on Climate
- It is a two-day virtual conference hosted by United States.
- It will serve as an opportunity to release their countries climate ambition and how they will take action to reduce emissions.
- The main objectives of this summit are:
- Get the world's major economies to reduce emission in this decade while also getting the public and private sector involvement.
- Show how climate action can have economic and social benefits and build new businesses and industries.
- Using the technology available to adapt to climate change but also reduce emissions.
- Use nature-based solutions to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
- Protect lives and livelihoods by finding ways to adapt to climate change.
- The world's top five highest emitters are China, The United States, India, Russia and Japan.
- Biden has announced that the US will double its public climate financing development to developing countries and triple public financing for climate application in developing countries by 2024.
- The Chinese President has promoted its “green Belt and Road Initiative” and announced efforts to “strictly control coal-fired power generation projects” and phase down coal consumption.
- China has pledged net zero emissions by 2060.
- The British Prime Minister has said that they were first country to pass legislation for net zero and announced a target of 78 per cent emission reductions by 2035(compared to 1990 levels).
- The Japan Prime Minister has announced that Japan aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and that it will cut its emissions by 46% over 2013 levels by 2030.
US prepares to recognise Armenian genocide
Recently, the US President Joe Biden has said that the US administration is preparing to formally acknowledge the Armenian Genocide.
Armenian Genocide
- It was the systematic killing and deportation of hundreds of thousands of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire.
- It occurred more than a century ago between 1915 to 1922.
- It is during the First World War, thousands of Armenians perished due to killings, starvation and disease, when they were deported by Ottoman Turks from eastern Anatolia.
- It is difficult to estimate the total number of Armenians who died during the genocide, but the Armenian diaspora says that approximately 1.5 million died.
- Turkey rejects that number and claims that some 300,000 Armenians may have perished.
- The International Association of Genocide Scholars estimates that more than 1 million Armenians may have died.
Implications of recognizing Armenian Genocide
- The researchers say that the acknowledgement by the US government would havelittle legal impact on Turkey, other than becoming a cause for embarrassment for the country.
- Some researchers have asserted and drawn comparisons between the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide and the acknowledgement of it in the international community may be unwelcome and unpalatable for Turkey.
- The US’s move indicates that the White House has chosen to focus on one of Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign promises, which was officially recognising the Armenian Genocide.
- The move could deteriorate the US’s relations with Turkey and government officialstold that there was a possibility that Biden may just change his mind.
- Turkey could also slow non-NATO operations at Incirlik Air Base, located in Adanathat American forces use as a base and a station for equipment in the region.
- The report indicates that Turkey could engage in provocation that would result in new sanctions against the country or the reimposition of the ones that had been suspended.
Arguments of Turkey on US’s decision
- The Turkey’s Foreign Minister has said that such moves would only set back the already strained relationship between Washington D.C. and Ankara, both of whom are North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies.
- The ties between the US and Turkey have been strained over a range of issues that include Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 defence systems, foreign policy differences with regard to Syria, human rights etc.
- In retaliation for recognising the Armenian Genocide, a report suggests that Turkey might to try to stymie or delay specific policies to aggravate the Biden administration.
NASA’s Perseverance mission produced oxygen on Mars
Recently, NASA has announced that a device aboard the rover under Perseverance Mission was able to produce oxygen from the thin Martian atmosphere for the first time.
Production of oxygen by Perseverance Mission
- The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) produced 5 grams of oxygen from carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere, enough for an astronaut to breathe for 10 minutes.
- On Mars, carbon dioxide makes up ~96% of the gas in the planet’s atmosphere while the Oxygen is only 0.13%, compared to 21% in Earth’s atmosphere.
- It is similar to a tree on Earth i.e. MOXIE inhales carbon dioxide and exhales oxygen.
- MOXIE separates oxygen atoms from carbon dioxide molecules in order to produce oxygen.
- It does so by using heat at a temperature of around 800 degrees Celsius, and in the process also produces carbon monoxide as a waste product, which it releases in the Martian atmosphere.
Producing oxygen on Mars is important - Because
- A substantial amount of oxygen supply on Mars is essential for crewed missions that plan to go there.
- The oxygen can also be used for rockets to use as fuel while coming back to Earth.
- The NASA has said that for four astronauts to take off from Mars, a future mission would require around 7 metric tons of rocket fuel and 25 metric tons of oxygen.
- The scientists believe that it will be an enormous challenge to haul the 25 metric tons of oxygen from Earth to Mars for the return journey.
- It would become significantly easier if the liquefied oxygen can be produced on the Red Planet.
- NASA hopes to build a larger technological descendant of the experimental MOXIE that can do this job.
- A one-ton oxygen converter of this kind would be much more economical and practical to take to Mars, instead of 25 metric tons of oxygen.
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