Daily CURRENT AFFAIRS

Daily Current Affair - UPSC/KAS Exams - 1st September 2021

What : Democracy is a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives

Elements of a democracy: Constitution and laws

Working :

• In healthy democracies, citizens participate effectively in the shaping of the policies and laws by which they are governed.
• Democratic constitutions provide elected assemblies for citizens’ representatives to shape new policies and pass laws.
• Open-minded deliberation in these forums is necessary to meet the requirements of democracy.

Issues in Indian Democracy

• Regional parties gaining importance across states.
• We have moved towards multi-party system, with fractured mandates becoming the norm.
• Discretionary powers of the governor.
• Government formation now seems to be like who approaches the governor the fastest to stake claim to form the government.
• The issue of office of profit.
• Migration causing low voter turnout.
• Freebies given by political parties during elections.
• Disruptions in parliament. The duration for which Parliament meets in India, compared with other democracies, is short.
• Illiteracy, Poverty, Gender Discrimination, Casteism, Communalism, Religious Fundamentalism, Regionalism, Corruption, and Criminalization of Politics.
• Anti-Defection law does not seem to be doing much to stop MLAs from defecting.
• This is primarily because MLAs are offered back-door entry to assemblies by rival parties.
• Ethics of post-poll alliances.
• Unlike pre-poll alliances, where the voters are aware of whom they are voting for, post-poll alliances present a new set of challenges. The post-poll alliance is seen as a betrayal of the trust of the voters by many.
• Misuse of data on social media sites, privacy of users and the power of social media to influence important political outcomes.
• The indiscriminate use of exemption for the office of profit.
• For instance same posts are exempt from the purview of office of profit in some states, while they are deemed as office of profit in others.
• While there are posts of parliamentary secretaries in several states, such posts were denied to Delhi and some states.
• Dynastic politics, lack of strong opposition at the centre and Religion based politics. Ex: Government's decision to classify Lingayats as a religious minority in Karnataka.
• The delay in disposal of cases by the courts is a concern to people.

Way forward

• Universal literacy i.e. education for all, poverty alleviation, elimination of gender discrimination, removal of regional imbalances, administrative and judicial reforms and sustained economic, social and environmental development.
• What is required is a set of rules which would curb the menace of defection as well as the misuse of powers of the governor’s office.
• A defecting MLA must be disqualified from contesting or becoming a minister for at least six years.
• A distinction needs to be drawn whether a member is leaving a party for ideological differences or for money and power.
• In case of hung assembly, whether the governor must call the single largest party first, or a postpoll alliance, the process must be uniform across the country.
• The governors’ discretionary powers must be abolished and replaced with clear guidelines based on the Sarkaria Commission.
• Stricter data protection laws are required to ensure that political parties do not indulge in practices that involve undue influencing of voting behaviour.
• Voter education, electoral reforms and periodical highlighting of the performance (or nonperformance) of elected representatives should be high priority.
• People must exercise their right to vote, participate in democracy and contribute towards the development of the country.
• The youth must be aware of the problems that the country is facing and choose the candidate who is most likely to bring about a change
• Democracy cannot survive without both citizens’ participation and politicians’ accountability.
• The promises of democracy can only be realised through collective action in civil society.
• The state must respect the articulation of the politics of voice and not just the politics of the vote

ECONOMY

What is in news : The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is planning to enable international settlement of transactions in government securities (G-secs) through International Central Securities Depositories (ICSDs), to help expand the investor base for the G-secs market

Details :

A CENTRAL SECURITIES DEPOSITORY (CSD)

• Financial organisation
• Specialises in holding securities
• May be for a specific type of security(such as government bonds).
• Either certificated or uncertificated
• Ownership can be easily transferred electronically without the need for physical certificates.
• Brokers and financial companies can hold their securities at a single location for clearing and settlement.

NATIONAL CENTRAL SECURITIES DEPOSITORY (CSD):

• Many countries have one domestic CSD that is traditionally associated with the national stock exchange.
• Regulated by the government
• Sometimes be separate from the security trading exchanges.

INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL SECURITIES DEPOSITORY (ICSD)

• Settles trades in international securities such as eurobonds
• Also settle trades in various domestic securities, either directly or through local agents.
• International CSDs include Clearstream, Euroclear and SIX SIS.

FUNCTIONS OF CSD:

• Safekeeping Securities may be in de-materialised (uncertificated) form, book-entry only form (with one or more ‘global’ certificates), or in physical form immobilised within the CSD.
• Support deposits and withdrawals
• Dividend, interest, and principal processing, as well as corporate actions including proxy voting.
• Provide securities lending and borrowing, matching, and repurchase agreement, or ISIN assistance.
• Provide pledging of share and securities. Every country is required to provide a legal framework to protect the interest of the pledger and pledgee

ENVIRONMENT & GEOGRAPHY

What : Migratory Bird

What is in news :  Latham’s Snipe shorebird fly non-stop from Japan to Australia twice in a year. The bird takes five days to cover the distance of thousands of kilometres of ocean for their survival

ABOUT LATHAM’S SPINE

• Migratory shorebird
• Similar in size to a blackbird
• Also known as Japanese Snipe
• Scientifically called as Gallinago hardwickii
• Medium-sized, long-billed, migratory snipe in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway
• Identified as a Gallinago snipe by its cryptically-patterned black, brown, buff and white plumage
• Mainly breeds in Hokkaido in northern Japan and in small proportion in Honshu (eastern Russian mainland). 
• Breeding habitat of the bird in Asia include alpine moorland, rough pasture, young tree plantations, grasslands and cultivated areas.
• Least Concern species
• In Australia it was earlier hunted as a gamebird but it is now protected
• The bird is listed as “rare” under South Australia’s National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

What is in news : Russia issued a warning about the possibility of rise in cases of West Nile Virus  infections this autumn because mild temperatures and heavy precipitation are the favourable circumstances for mosquitos carrying the virus.

What is West Nile virus:

Single-stranded RNA virus causing West Nile fever

Member of family Flaviviridae(which also comprises the Zika virus, dengue virus, yellow fever virus)

Primarily transmitted through mosquitoes and mostly by species of Culex

Primary hosts are birds

Genetically related to the Japanese encephalitis family

Humans and horses both exhibit disease symptoms from this virus.

First human case of the disease was reported in 1937 in Uganda and now it is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in continental United States.

Symptoms:

• Usually have no symptoms or mild symptoms.
• Fever, headache, body aches, skin rash, and swollen lymph glands
• Last a few days to several weeks, and usually go away on their own.
• If enters the brain, it can be life-threatening. It may cause inflammation of the brain, called encephalitis, or inflammation of the tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord, called meningitis.

Treatment:

• No specific vaccines or treatments
• The best way to avoid is to prevent mosquito bites.
• Treatment is supportive for patients with neuro-invasive West Nile virus, often involving hospitalization, intravenous fluids, respiratory support, and prevention of secondary infections.

TOY TRAINS

What is in news : The Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) has launched a regular Jungle Tea Toy Train Safari on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Route.

Details

• From Siliguri West Bengal to Rongtong
• Feature a heritage steam engine and view dome dining car
• Spectacular views of Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary and surrounding hills from trains.
• Expected to boost the tourism sector in the region. Locals will be having the opportunity to participate in weekend tours regularly

Additional information

• Existing direct DHR Toy train service was discontinued for one and a half years due to covid-19 pandemic
• Existing toy train services
  • The heritage toy train services, launched earlier, started again in between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling in West Bengal. The service was halted for 17-month amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Currently, one train is running between New Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling, each day to cover a distance of 88 kilometres.
  • The train climbs from New Jalpaiguri (100 metres above sea level) to Darjeeling (2,200 metres above sea level).
  • Steepness of the route was the most challenging part for the train. To tackle this challenge, oops and zig-zags were incorporated along the train route.
  • In order to gain altitude while going up the hill, this train moves forward, reverses and moves forward again.
  • DHR toy train is a UNESCO World Heritage site as it was declared by the UN body on December 5, 1999.

What is in news : Indian Royal Jelly has been found to surpass top-quality sellers, including those produced in Thailand and Taiwan.

What is Royal Jelly:

• Pearly white or pale yellow-coloured cohesive mixture of honey and secretions from the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of worker honeybees
• Contains moisture or water (60-70 per cent), lipids (1-10 per cent), minerals (0.8-3 per cent), proteins (9-18 per cent), sugar (7 per cent) and other elements.
• Highly nutritious
• Used as food to young larvae and adult queen honeybees
• Commercially, produced artificially by stimulating bee colonies to produce queen bee, grown outside its natural habitat. The larvae in the queen cells are fed with nutritious royal jelly. The perfect time to harvest royal jelly is when the maximum amount gets accumulated upon the larva turning 5 days old.
• Extraction requires specially trained manpower with expertise in extraction and excellent larvae grafting skills.
• Needs to be stored in sub-zero temperatures immediately after production, during packaging and also at the consumer’s end. Recommended temperature for fresh royal jelly is below –20 degrees Celsius. Freezee drier, a special machine, is needed to remove moisture from the fresh produce. At present, there are three such machines in India, which are imported from Germany.
• In a season of five to six months, a well-maintained hive can produce an estimated 900gms of royal jelly.

Benefits of consuming royal jelly :

• No medicine but a nutritious substance
• An average healthy person needs to consume only about 500 mg (fresh) and 200mg (powder) in a day to get maximum health benefits
• Known for its antioxidant properties
• It cures damaged cells in the body and rejuvenates them(cancer patients are advised consumption)
• Consumption is suggested to women for improving their fertility
• Found effective for women suffering from premenstrual and post-menopausal problems.
• Believed to cut down body ageing and makes people look much younger than their actual age, and is thus popular among celebrities.
• Royal jelly with higher 10 HDA is most nutritious.

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

What is in news : The United Nations Security Council, under the Presidency of India, adopted a resolution on the situation in Afghanistan

Situation in Afghanistan :

• The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan on August 15, 2021.
• They captured the country two weeks before the United States was set to complete its troop withdrawal, ending the longest war in US history.
• This seizing also forced Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to flee to the United Arab Emirates.

Resolution  :

• Demanded that the war-torn country, Afghanistan, not be used to threaten or attack any nation or shelter terrorists.
• Put forward by the US, UK and France.
• Adopted with the votes of 13 Council members in favour.
• Permanent members Russia and China abstained from the voting.

Who are Taliban :

• Sunni fundamentalist organisation
• Also a military group that is involved in an insurgency
• Controlled almost three-quarters of the country from 1996 to 2001 and was notorious for their strict implementation of the Sharia or Islamic law there.
• Widespread abuse of human rights, especially targeted against women.
• The current head of the Taliban is Hibatullah Akhundzada.
• Mullah Omar is regarded as the founder of the Taliban. He died in 2013.
• The Taliban officially refers to itself as the ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’.
• The word ‘Taliban’ in Pashto means ‘students’.

About UNSC

• One of the organs of the United Nations
• Charged with the maintenance of international peace and security
• Powers include :
  • Establishment of peacekeeping operations
  • Establishment of international sanctions
  • Authorization of military action through Security Council resolutions
• Only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states.
• Members: The Security Council consists of fifteen members. Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, and the United States—serve as the body’s five permanent members.
• These permanent members can veto any substantive Security Council resolution, including those on the admission of new member states or candidates for Secretary-General.
• The Security Council also has 10 non-permanent members, elected on a regional basis to serve two-year terms. The body’s presidency rotates monthly among its members.

• Deendayal Port Trust, consecutively second time, bagged the highest "Rajbhasha Kirti Award (Third prize in 'B' region)" for the year 2020-21. Department of Official Language, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India announced today this award to Deendayal Port Trust for excellent performance in the field of Official Language Implementation amongst various Boards/Autonomous Bodies/Trusts/Societies etc. of Government of India.
• The first shipments on a newly-launched railway line from the Myanmar border to the key commercial hub of Chengdu in western China, that provides China a new road-rail transportation channel to the Indian Ocean was delivered recently.The transport corridor involves a sea-road-rail link. Goods from Singapore reached Yangon Port, arriving by ship through the Andaman Sea of the northeastern Indian Ocean, and were then transported by road to Lincang on the Chinese side of the Myanmar-China border in Yunnan province. The new railway line that runs from the border town of Lincang to Chengdu, a key trade hub in western China, completes the corridor. It is called China Myanmar new passage