30th March 2021
World Development Report 2021
Recently, the World Development Report 2021: Data for Better Lives has been released by World Bank.
- The report highlights that most countries have shied away from an open-data policy and more so countries with developing economies.
- The report stated that only 11 per cent low-income countries consistently made available with a license classifiable as ’open’.
- The comparable rate for lower-middle-income countries was 19 per cent, for upper-middle-income countries 22 per cent and high-income countries 44 per cent.
Challenges posed by report
- Underinvestment in public intent data systems: Only half the countries had a national statistical plan that was fully funded as of 2019.
- While 93 per cent of high-income countries had a fully funded national statistical plan, not a single low-income country had one.
- Lower-income countries were unable to harness the potential of data due to a lack of institutions, decision-making autonomy, and financial resources.
- Gaps in data on women and girls were particularly severe: Only 10 of the 54 gender-specific indicators (19 per cent) in the United Nations-mandated sustainable development goals were widely available.
- Only 24 per cent of the available gender-specific indicators were from 2010 or later.
India and World Development Report 2021
- The report stated that the concerns on assessment of global poverty by World Bank, which has been skewed due to absence data on poverty from India.
- India monitors 54 out of the 130 SDG indicators.
- The overall number of monitored indicators has gone up but the country has dropped four indicators from its tracking list pointed out the State of India’s Environment In figures, 2020.
Recommendations of World Development Report 2021
- The data offer tremendous potential to create value by improving program and policies, driving economies, and empowering citizens.
- The perspective of poor people has largely been absent from the global debate on data governance and urgently needs to be heard.
- The report called for international cooperation to harmonise regulations and coordinate policies so that the value of data can be harnessed to benefit all, and to inform efforts toward a green, resilient and inclusive recovery.
- The making of data accessible to more users and creating systems that facilitate their reuse also opens the door for data to be misused in ways that can harm individuals or development objectives.
World Development Report
- It is annual report which is being published since 1978.
- It is an invaluable guide to the economic, social, and environmental state of the world today.
- It provides in-depth analysis and policy recommendations on a specific and important aspect of development from agriculture, the role of the state, transition economies, and labor to infrastructure, health, the environment, and poverty.
Ad-Hoc Judges in High Court
Recently, the Supreme Court has suggested that appointing ad-hoc judges in high courts would overcome the vacancy crisis in the judiciary and reduce the number of pending cases.
Ad-Hoc Judges in High Court
- The President can appoint duly qualified persons as additional judges of a high court for a temporary period not exceeding two years when:
- There is a temporary increase in the business of the high court; or
- There are arrears of work in the high court.
- The President can also appoint a duly qualified person as an acting judge of a high court when a judge of that high court (other than the chief justice) is:
- Unable to perform the duties of his office due to absence or any other reason; or
- Appointed to act temporarily as chief justice of that high court
- Tenure: An acting judge holds office until the permanent judge resumes his office.
- The Constitution provides that both the additional or acting judge cannot hold office after attaining the age of 62 years.
Constitutional Provisions for Ad-Hoc Judges in High Court
- The SC had asked all 25 high courts to respond to a public interest litigation filed by Lucknow-based non-profit organisation, Lok Prahari, asking for the appointment of retired judges as ad-hoc judges under Article 128 of the Constitution.
- Article 128 talks about “attendance of a retired judge” as the judge of the Supreme Court.
- It states that the Chief Justice of India at any time, with the previous consent of the President, may request any person who has held the office of a judge of the Supreme Court or the high court to sit and act as a judge of the Supreme Court.
- Under Article 224A, the retired high court judges can be appointed as ad-hoc judges to HCs.
African Elephant
Recently, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has found that the forest elephant and savanna elephant are threatened with extinction.
- The report stated that poaching and the “silent killer” of human-driven habitat loss have caused sharp declines.
- The IUCN highlights that forest elephant numbers falling by 86% in the past 31 years and savanna elephants by about 60% in the past half-century.
- The report has opted to assess the African mammal as two separate species following genetic studies of populations.
- The IUCN has found that the forest and savanna elephants split from each other 5–6m years ago, at about the same time humans separated from chimpanzees.
- The forest elephant has been classified by the IUCN as critically endangered, while the savanna elephant is listed as endangered.
- The African elephant had previously been categorised as vulnerable.
Forest and Savanna Elephants
- The majority of critically endangered forest elephants are in the Congo basin in Gabon, West Africa, while Botswana has the largest population of savanna elephants.
- The forest elephants are generally smaller in size, have oval-shaped ears, straighter tusks and longer gestation periods.
- The savanna elephants live in larger family groups; have bigger ears and different-shaped skulls, among other differences.
- The habitat range of both species rarely crosses over in Africa, with savanna elephants preferring grasslands and deserts, while the forest elephant is mainly found in tropical rainforests.
Range States for the Forest Elephant
- Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, C όte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Uganda.
Range States for the Savanna Elephant
- Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
African Elephant
- African elephants are the largest land animals on Earth.
- They are slightly larger than their Asian cousins and can be identified by their larger ears that look somewhat like the continent of Africa.
- African elephants are a keystone species, meaning they play a critical role in their ecosystem as they are known as ecosystem engineers.
- African elephants are categorized into savanna elephants and forest elephants.
- The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) banned the global commercial ivory trade in 1989.
Election Commission’s new rules for polling agents
Recently, the Election Commission’s decision to change the rules for appointing polling agents has sparked off a debate in West Bengal.
Who is a polling agent?
- A polling agent is a person appointed as a representative of a political party as it is not possible for a candidate to be physically present at every polling booth on the day of the elections.
- The Election Commission allows a candidate to appoint a polling agent who keeps an eye on the voting process.
New Rules for Polling Agent
- The new regulation says that a political party can now nominate a polling agent for any booth within the assembly segment he/she is a voter from.
- Previously, the polling agent had to be a voter of the booth or an adjoining booth that he/she is working at.
- The ECI has defended the change in rule saying that the new norms have been formulated so that every political party gets to appoint polling agents as it is difficult to convince people to sit at the booths amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Role of Polling Agent
- As per the Election Commission’s rules, a polling agent should be familiar with the rules and procedures to conduct elections using EVMs and VVPATs, and with the working of these machines.
- A polling agent attends the demonstrations arranged by the Returning Officer, where the functioning and operation of these machines are explained.
CJI’s remark on Uniform Civil Code
Recently, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) has lauded Goa’s Uniform Civil Code, and encouraged “intellectuals” indulging in “academic talk” to visit the state to learn more about it.
- In September 2019, the Supreme Court had described Goa as a “shining example” with a Uniform Civil Code.
- It observed that the founders of the Constitution had “hoped and expected” a Uniform Civil Code for India but there has been no attempt at framing one.
- The founders of the Constitution in Article 44 in Part IV dealing with the Directive Principles of State Policy had hoped and expected that the State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territories of India
What is Uniform Civil Code?
- It is one that would provide for one law for the entire country, applicable to all religious communities in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc.
- Article 44 of the Constitution lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for the citizens throughout the territory of India.
- Article 44 is one of the Directive Principles of State Policy as defined in Article 37, are not justiciable (not enforceable by any court) but the principles laid down therein are fundamental in governance.
- Article 43 mentions “state shall endeavour by suitable legislation”, while the phrase “by suitable legislation” is absent in Article 44.
Fundamental Rights vs DPSP
- The Supreme Court held in Minerva Mills (1980) states that “Indian Constitution is founded on the bed-rock of the balance between Parts III (Fundamental Rights) and IV (Directive Principles)".
- Article 31C inserted by the 42nd Amendment in 1976 lays down that if a law is made to implement any Directive Principle, it cannot be challenged on the ground of being violative of the Fundamental Rights under Articles 14 and 19.
Idea of a Uniform Civil Code relate to the fundamental right to religion
- Article 25 lays down an individual’s fundamental right to religion;
- Article 26(b) upholds the right of each religious denomination or any section thereof to “manage its own affairs in matters of religion”;
- Article 29 defines the right to conserve distinctive culture.
- An individual’s freedom of religion under Article 25 is subject to “public order, health, morality” and other provisions relating to fundamental rights, but a group’s freedom under Article 26 has not been subjected to other fundamental rights.
Asteroid Apophis
Recently, the USA’s NASA space agency has ruled out the possibility of the dreaded asteroid Apophis causing any damage to the Earth for the next 100 years.
Asteroid Apophis
- It is named after the ancient Egyptian god of chaos and darkness.
- It was discovered in 2004, after which NASA had said that it was one of the asteroids that posed the greatest threat to Earth.
- It measures 340 metre across which is comparable to the size of the huge ship that has currently blocked the Suez Canal.
- The astronomers used the 70-metre radio antenna at the Deep Space Network’s Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California in order to track Apophis’ motion.
- They also used the 100-metre Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia which showed imaging of Apophis.
- The two systems were used together in a “bistatic” experiment that doubled the strength of the received signal.
- Apophis is categorised as a potentially hazardous asteroids (PHAs).
What are asteroids?
- Asteroids are rocky objects that orbit the Sun, much smaller than planets. They are also called minor planets.
- Asteroids are divided into three classes.
- First, those found in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, which is estimated to contain somewhere between 1.1-1.9 million asteroids.
- The second group is that of trojans, which are asteroids that share an orbit with a larger planet.
- NASA reports the presence of Jupiter, Neptune and Mars trojans.
- In 2011, they reported an Earth Trojan as well.
- The third classification is Near-Earth Asteroids (NEA), which have orbits that pass close by the Earth.
Permanent Indus Commission
Recently, the annual meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) comprising of Indus Commissioners of India and Pakistan was held in New Delhi.
- The talks are being held against the backdrop of a thaw in bilateral relations, which had taken a hit after the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing and a subsequent military standoff.
- The last meeting of the permanent Indus commission was held in Lahore in August 2018.
- In February 2021, the Indian and Pakistani militaries recommitted themselves to the 2003 ceasefire on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, raising hopes for further improvements in bilateral ties.
Key Highlights of 116th meeting of the India-Pakistan Permanent Indus Commission
- The two sides discussed on the designs of two Indian projects, namely, Pakal Dul (1000 MW) and Lower Kalnai (48 MW).
- The Indian side held that these projects are fully compliant with the provisions of the Treaty and provided technical data in support of its position.
- The Pakistan side requested India for sharing of information on design of other Indian hydropower projects being planned to be developed.
- Pakistan has raised objections to the designs of Pakal Dul and Lower Kalnai hydropower plants and sought more information on the projects in Ladakh sanctioned after the abrogation of Article 370.
Permanent Indus Commission
- It is a bilateral commission consisting of officials from India and Pakistan, created to implement and manage the goals and objectives and outlines of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).
- The two Commissioners are required to meet at least once every year, alternately in India and Pakistan under the provisions of the Indus Waters Treaty 1960.
Indus Waters Treaty
- It was signed between India and Pakistan in 1960.
- It was brokered by World Bank.
- The treaty fixed and delimited the rights and obligations of both countries concerning the use of the waters of the Indus River system.
- The Indus River rises in the southwestern Tibet Autonomous Region of China and flows through the Kashmir region and then into Pakistan to drain into the Arabian Sea.
- The treaty gave the waters of the western rivers i.e. the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab to Pakistan and those of the eastern rivers i.e. the Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej to India.
Pakal Dul Hydro Electric Project
- It is proposed on the Marusudar River, a tributary of the Chenab River
- It is located in Kishtwar district in Jammu and Kashmir.
Lower Kalnai project
- It is proposed in Kishtwar and Doda districts.
- It is a 48MW hydroelectric power project on Lower Kalnai Nalla, a tributary of Chenab River.
New Passport Rule for OCI Cardholders
Recently, the Government of India has announced that the People of Indian origin and Indian diaspora having overseas citizens of India (OCI) card are now not required to carry their old, expired passports for travel to India.
- The requirement of carrying old and new passports, along with the OCI card, has been done away with which addressed one of the major concerns of overseas Indians.
- An OCI cardholder travelling on the strength of an existing OCI card bearing old passport number is not required to carry the old passport.
- The embassy has stated that carrying the new (current) passport is mandatory for OCI Cardholders.
- The Indian government has also decided to grant further extension of time till December 31, 2021, to get the OCI cards re-issued for those below the age of 20 years and above 50 years..
- An OCI card is required to be re-issued each time a new passport is acquired by the cardholder up to the age of 20 years or after completing 50 years of age.
- The above provision is according to the current OCI guidelines that have been in force since 2005.
Double Mutant Covid-19 Variant
Recently, a new double mutant coronavirus variant has been detected in several Indian states, triggering fear that India’s “second wave” could be more dangerous than the first.
- The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG) is carrying out genomic sequencing on the latest samples of the double mutant variant.
- A total of 736 cases of the variant first discovered in the UK, 34 of the one from South Africa and one case of the variant from Brazil have been traced in the country.
What is a double mutant variant?
- The authorities say that an analysis of samples collected from the western state of Maharashtra shows a rise in E484Q and L452R mutations.
- The double mutation happens when two mutated variants of a virus come together to form a third variant.
- The health experts say the L452R variant was first found in the US, whereas the E484Q variant is indigenous.
Concerns associated with Double Mutant Variant
- The mutations in the spike gene can make the virus inherently "better" at infecting people.
- The scientists say reinfections will be very mild compared to primary infections in people who are vaccinated or who recovered already from an earlier case of Covid-19.
- The health experts worry that the double mutation could allow the virus to escape the body’s immune system, making itself more resistant to antibodies.
- There is also a possibility that it can reinfect patients who have already recovered from Covid-19.
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