UPSC Essentials: Key terms of the past week

Why in news?

— Russia has promised its ally Belarus a delivery of nuclear- capable missiles in the coming months to take on an “aggressive” West. Russian President Vladimir Putin made the announcement as Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko arrived in Moscow.

What is Iskander-M missile system ?

— Code-named “SS-26 Stone” by NATO, Iskander-M is a term used by Russia to define both the transporter-erector launch system and the short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) it fires.

—The system can also fire ground-launched cruise missiles (GLCMs) – the SSC-7 and the SSC-8.

—The Iskander-M system has been exclusively used by the Russian military, whereas Iskander-E is the one meant for export.

—The Iskander-M missile has a range of 500 km and it can carry a payload of up to 700 kg. It is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads.

—The export variant, Iskander-E, has a range of 280 km with a reduced 480 kg payload.

—US-based think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), says that the Iskander missiles are designed to confuse missile defences by flying on a low trajectory and manoeuvring in flight to strike targets within 2 to 5 metres accuracy.

Point to ponder: What does Iskander-M missile system’s delivery to Belarus by Russia mean?

G7

Why in news?

—Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Germany to attend the Group of Seven (G7) Summit at Schloss Elmau, a century-old retreat in a nature reserve in the Bavarian Alps.

What is G7?

—It is an intergovernmental organisation that was formed in 1975.

—The G7 is an informal forum of leading industrialised nations, which include Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

—Representatives of the European Union are always present at the annual meeting of the heads of state and government of the G7.

—The G7 does not have a formal charter or a secretariat. The presidency, which rotates among member countries each year, is in charge of setting the agenda. Sherpas, ministers and envoys hammer out policy initiatives before the summit.

—As of 2022, G7 countries make up 10 per cent of the world’s population, 31 per cent of global GDP, and 21 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to the Summit website.

—China and India, the two most populous countries with among the largest GDP figures in the world, are not part of the grouping.

—In all G7 countries, annual public sector expenditure exceeded revenue in 2021. Most G7 countries also had a high level of gross debt, especially Japan (263 per cent of GDP), Italy (151 per cent) and the US (133 per cent).

—Germany holds the presidency of the G7 in 2022.

Point to ponder: What were the key highlights of G7 with respect to India?

Web 3.0

Why in news?

— Multiple Indian entrepreneurs and developers in the Web 3.0 space are moving out of the country in a bid to shift base to more crypto-friendly destinations.

—This comes amid a progressive clamping down on cryptocurrencies, including action by enforcement agencies against some platforms, new rules and regulatory tweaks being issued every few weeks even as there is lack of clarity on policy in the longer run.

What is Web 3.0?

—Web 3.0 is a decentralized internet to be run on blockchain technology.

—Users have ownership stakes in platforms and applications unlike now other versions where tech organizations control the platforms.

—Gavin Wood, founder of a block chain technology company, used the term Web 3 first in 2014.

—Web 3.0 delivers a decentralized and fair internet where users control their own data.

—With block chain, the time and place of the transaction are recorded permanently and thus no other intermediary is required for the task
—Web3 enables peer to peer (seller to buyer) transactions by eliminating the role of the intermediary.

Point to ponder: How web 3.0 differ from web 1.0 and 2.0? What is web 5.0?

Gig economy

Why in news?

— NITI Aayog pitched for incentives to draw more women into the gig economy in its report, ‘India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy’.

— In an attempt to increase the participation of women in the gig economy, the NITI Aayog has proposed fiscal incentives like tax breaks or startup grants for companies with about one-third of their workforce as women and people with disabilities (PwDs).

What is gig economy?

—The economy based on flexible, temporary, or freelance jobs, is called gig economy. It may involve connecting with clients or customers through an online platform.

—The gig economy can benefit workers, businesses, and consumers by making work more adaptable to the needs of the moment and the demand for flexible lifestyles.

—The gig economy can have downsides due to the erosion of traditional economic relationships between workers, businesses, and clients.

—Gig workers are typically hired by companies on a contractual basis and are not considered their employees. As a result, they do not receive some of the benefits that an on roll employee of the company may have — this means that they often do not receive benefits like paid sick and casual leaves, travel and housing allowances, and provident fund savings, among other things.

—Gig workers can be broadly classified into platform and non-platform workers. Platform workers are those whose work is based on online software apps or digital platforms. Example: those whose work is based on online software apps or digital platforms such as food aggregator platforms Zomato, Swiggy, Ola, and others.

—Non-platform gig workers are generally casual wage workers, working part-time or full- time.

Point to ponder: What are the key highlights of ‘India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy‘– Report of NITI Aayog?

Kihoto Hollohan

Why in news?

—Maharashtra Shiv Sena political crisis: References have been made to the landmark judgment in ‘Kihoto Hollohan vs Zachillhu And Others’ (1992), in which Supreme Court upheld the sweeping discretion available to the Speaker in deciding cases of disqualification of MLAs.

What is Kihoto Hollohan?

—The law covering the disqualification of lawmakers and the powers of the Speaker in deciding such matters became part of the statute book in 1985 when the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution, commonly known as the ‘anti-defection law’, was adopted.

—A constitutional challenge to the Tenth Schedule was mounted, which was settled by the apex court in ‘Kihoto Hollohan’.

—The principal question before the Supreme Court in the case was whether the powerful role given to the Speaker violated the doctrine of basic structure — the judicial principle that certain basic features of the Constitution cannot be altered by amendments by Parliament.

—The Supreme Court laid down the doctrine of basic principle in its landmark judgment in ‘Kesavananda Bharati vs State Of Kerala’ (1973).

—The petitioners in ‘Kihoto Hollohan’ argued whether it was fair that the Speaker should have such broad powers, given that there is always a reasonable likelihood of bias.

—The majority judgment authored by Justices M N Venkatachaliah and K Jayachandra Reddy answered this question in the affirmative: “The Speakers/Chairmen hold a pivotal position in the scheme of Parliamentary democracy and are guardians of the rights and privileges of the House. They are expected to and do take far reaching decisions in the Parliamentary democracy. Vestiture of power to adjudicate questions under the Tenth Schedule in them should not be considered exceptionable.”

—They added that the Schedule’s provisions were “salutory and intended to strengthen the fabric of Indian Parliamentary democracy by curbing unprincipled and unethical political defections.”

Point to ponder: What is the extent of the Speaker’s powers under the Tenth Schedule? what does the Constitution say about the role of the Deputy Speaker?

Hermit

Why in news?

—’Hermit’ is the latest sophisticated spyware in the news, and it is believed to have targeted iPhones and Android devices in Italy and Kazakhstan.

—Hermit’s deployment – the spyware has been developed by an Italian vendor called RCS Lab – was first reported by cyber security researchers at the Lookout, a San-Francisco-based cybersecurity firm. Then Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) put out a detailed blog post last week, explaining how they believed Hermit was used to targeting devices.

What is Hermit?

—Hermit is spyware on the lines of Pegasus by NSO Group. Once installed on a device, it can record audio on the device, carry out unauthorised calls, and carry out many unauthorised activities.

—Once Hermit has been deployed to a phone, it can control and track data from all key applications.

Point to ponder: What is spyware? How is it different from a virus?

PGII

Why in news?

—The G7 countries, meeting during the ongoing Leaders’ Summit in Germany, have officially launched the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), a joint initiative to fund infrastructure projects in developing countries.

—The project, launched on June 27, is being seen as the bloc’s counter to China’s ‘Belt and road initiative.

—US President Joe Biden said on Twitter, “Collectively, we aim to mobilise nearly $600 billion from the G7 by 2027 to invest in critical infrastructure that improves lives and delivers real gains for all of our people.”

What is PGII initiative?

—It is a $600-billion global infrastructure investment partnership aimed at helping developing countries.

—The infrastructure plan was first announced in June 2021 during last year’s G7 Summit in the UK- called as Build Back Better World (B3W) framework.

—The initiative will help developing countries make improvements in four core areas:

1) Healthcare infrastructure 2) Digital connectivity 3) Gender equality 4) Climate and energy security.

—“When we demonstrate all that democracies have to offer — I have no doubt that we will win the competition every time,” said Biden in a speech announcing the plan on Monday. He added that around a dozen projects are already underway, with financing from both government and the private sector.

— The US president also mentioned that the fund does not mean “charity or aid”, but loans, and will be beneficial for both the countries lending and receiving them.

Point to ponder: What is the benefit for India through PGII? What is Partners in the Blue Pacific?

POEM

Why in news?

— Besides placing three Singaporean satellites in a precise orbit, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Thursday also achieved the feat of successfully launching the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module or ‘POEM’.

What is POEM?

— The PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM) is a platform that will help perform in-orbit experiments using the final, and otherwise discarded, stage of ISRO’s workhorse rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).

— The PSLV is a four-stage rocket where the first three spent stages fall back into the ocean, and the final stage (PS4) after launching the satellite into orbit — ends up as space junk.

— “It is the first time that the PS4 stage would orbit the earth as a stabilised platform,” ISRO said in a statement prior to the launch.

— POEM is carrying six payloads, including two from Indian space start-ups Digantara and Dhruva Space.

— According to ISRO, POEM has a dedicated Navigation Guidance and Control (NGC) system for attitude stabilisation, which stands for controlling the orientation of any aerospace vehicle within permitted limits. The NGC will act as the platform’s brain to stabilize it with specified accuracy.

— POEM will derive its power from solar panels mounted around the PS4 tank, and a Li-Ion battery. It will navigate using four sun sensors, a magnetometer, gyros and NavIC.

— “It carries dedicated control thrusters using Helium gas storage. It is enabled with a telecommand feature,” ISRO said.

Point to ponder: Has ISRO repurposed and used PS4 rocket junk earlier?

Anthrax

Why in news?

— After finding several carcasses of wild boar, Kerala health officials on Thursday (June 30) confirmed the presence of anthrax, a serious infectious disease caused by spore-forming bacteria, in Athirappilly of Thrissur district.

What is Anthrax?

—Anthrax, also known as malignant pustule or woolsorter’s disease, is a rare but serious disease caused by the rod-shaped bacteria known as Bacillus anthracis.

—It occurs naturally in soil and, according to the WHO it is primarily a disease of herbivores, with both domestic and wild animals being affected by it.

—Anthrax is a zoonotic disease, meaning that it is naturally transmissible from animals (usually vertebrae) to humans. People can get the disease through contact with infected animals or animal products that are contaminated with bacteria.

—According to the WHO, Anthrax is generally regarded as non-contagious. There have been instances of person-to-person transmission, however, such instances are extremely rare.

Point to ponder: How do animals and humans get anthrax?

Capstone

Why in news?

— NASA launched CAPSTONE, a microwave oven-sized CubeSat weighing just 55 pounds (25 kg).

What is Capstone?

—CAPSTONE, short for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, is designed to test a unique, elliptical lunar orbit.

—The satellite, launched on Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket from the Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, is heading toward an orbit intended in the future for Gateway, a Moon-orbiting outpost that is part of NASA’s Artemis program.

—As a pathfinder for Gateway, CAPSTONE aims to help reduce risk for future spacecraft by validating innovative navigation technologies, and by verifying the dynamics of the halo-shaped orbit.

—The orbit is known as a near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO). It is significantly elongated, and is located at a precise balance point in the gravities of Earth and the Moon. This offers stability for long-term missions like Gateway, NASA said on its website.

—At the Moon, CAPSTONE will enter NRHO, where it will fly within 1,600 km of the Moon’s North Pole on its near pass and 70,000 km from the South Pole at its farthest. The spacecraft will repeat the cycle every six-and-a-half days and maintain this orbit for at least six months to study dynamics.

—CAPSTONE will gain experience with small dedicated launches of CubeSats beyond low-Earth orbit, to the Moon, and beyond, NASA said.

Point to ponder: How is CubeSat different from SmallSat? What is the current status of the CAPSTONE mission? What is NASA’s Artemis program?