UPSC Key- 12 July, 2023: What you should read in the news today

Extension of ED chief tenure invalid, he must go July 31: SC

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Mains Examination: 

• General Studies II: Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies.

• General Studies III: Money-laundering and its prevention

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Declaring as “not valid in law” the two tenure extensions granted by the government to Sanjay Kumar Mishra, Director of Enforcement Directorate, beyond the September 8, 2021 cut-off date it had fixed, the Supreme Court Tuesday said he can continue on the post only until July 31. This cuts short Mishra’s stint as the ED chief. In November last year, the 1984-batch IRS officer was granted a second tenure extension up to November 18, 2023.

• Who is Sanjay Kumar Mishra?

• What exactly the Supreme Court said?

• What is the role of Central Vigilance Commission?

• What was the recent verdict of the Supreme Court (SC), in the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) sweeping powers under the PMLA?

• Over the past few years, major amendments in key Acts have given teeth to central agencies-Discuss

• Directorate of Enforcement (ED)-Role and Function

• Enforcement Directorate is a statutory body-True or False?

• Directorate of Enforcement (ED) comes under which Ministry or Organisation?

• The Directorate of Enforcement is a multi-disciplinary organization mandated with investigation of offence of money laundering and violations of foreign exchange laws. The statutory functions of the Directorate includes enforcement of certain acts-What are those acts?

• What makes Enforcement Directorate so powerful?

• The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA)-Know key highlights

• The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA)- Know key highlights

• The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA)- Know key highlights

• For Your Information-In April this year, the Supreme Court declined to entertain a plea by 14 political parties which alleged “selective and targeted” use of Central probe agencies such as the ED and CBI by the BJP-led Central government against their leaders. The top court said it can intervene in individual cases when facts are before it, but cannot lay down separate general guidelines only for politicians who “stand absolutely on the same standing as the (rest of the) citizens of the country”. On Tuesday, the top court allowed Mishra to remain on the post until July 31, taking into account the government’s submission that India is undergoing a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) review and his continuance in office is necessary for “effective presentation of the efforts made by the country”. The bench also noted that the appointment of a new ED Director “is likely to take some time”. It noted that the Supreme Court, in its September 8, 2021 ruling in the matter Common Cause (A Registered Society) v. Union of India and Others, had issued a “specific mandamus that no further extension shall be granted to” Mishra and that this “was binding on” the parties, one of which was the Centre. Mishra, who used to be Principal Special Director in ED, was appointed its Director on November 19, 2018, for a period of two years. On November 13, 2020, this was amended and made three years. This was challenged by Common Cause. Although the Supreme Court dismissed the petition on September 8, 2021, it directed that no further extension be granted to Mishra.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍SC strikes down ED Director’s third extension: Who is Sanjay Kumar Mishra?

Slew of pacts, strategy to students, 25-yr plan as PM heads to Paris

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-A 25-year vision statement for India-France bilateral ties, a private dinner at the Elysee Palace, guest of honour at the Bastille Day parade, and a state banquet at the Louvre Museum — Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Paris later this week is high on both symbolism and substance. Besides the vision document, sources said ambitious outcomes are expected on defence, space, geo-strategy, infrastructure, energy, climate action, museology, student mobility, people to people, sports, culture. Separate joint statements are expected on Indo-Pacific, as well as on the strategic pillar. While French President Emmanuel Macron will host Modi at the Elysee Palace for a private dinner on July 13, he is also expected to host a state banquet at the Louvre Museum the next day. Sources said Macron may also take Modi for a tour of the museum.

• In the backdrop of the 25th anniversary of the India–France strategic partnership, analyse India-France bilateral relations

• For Your Information-India and France have traditionally close and friendly relations. In 1998, the two countries entered into Strategic Partnership which is emblematic of their convergence of views on a range of International issues apart from a close and growing bilateral relationship. 2. The areas of Defence & Security cooperation, Space cooperation and Civil nuclear cooperation constitute the principal pillars of our Strategic Partnership with France. India and France are increasingly engaged in new areas of cooperation like security in the Indian Ocean region, climate change including the International Solar Alliance, and sustainable growth and development among others. 3. India and France share a close degree of convergence on a range of regional and global issues. In the economic domain, while there exists vast potential, French economic capacities, its business and industry, its capital and technologies have forged linkages with Indian economy and India’s developmental goals. There exist vibrant bilateral cultural and educational linkages as also growing people-to-people contacts. Indian diaspora also has a sizable presence in France and in its overseas territories.

• India and France-Historical Background and Strategic partnership between the two Nations

• What is Bastille Day celebration?

• Do You Know-The Bastille Day parade is the highlight of the Bastille Day celebrations, and is akin to India’s Republic Day parade. However, it is not common to invite foreign leaders as guest of honour – the last time was in 2017, when then US President Donald Trump was invited. Even rarer is to include foreign marching contingents and foreign aircraft in the parade.

• What are the main areas where the two countries cooperate?

• What are the challenges observed in the bilateral relations between India and France?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Next tango in Paris

GST Council: 28% tax on online gaming, casinos and horse-racing

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-THE GOODS and Services Tax (GST) Council, in its 50th meeting on Tuesday, decided to levy a uniform 28 per cent tax on full face value for online gaming, casinos and horse-racing, while reducing the rate for uncooked/ unfried snack pellets, cancer medicine and imitation zari thread. The meeting also clarified the rate for food and beverages sold inside multiplexes and the definition of all utility vehicles to bring parity for cess levy. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the intent was not to end any industry linked to online gaming, casinos and horse-racing, but there was discussion on the moral question of whether these should be taxed at the same rate as essential items.

• Quick Recall-An inter-ministerial task force, set up by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to propose contours of a national-level legislation to regulate online gaming, has proposed the creation of a central regulatory body for the sector, clearly defining what games of skill and chance are, and bringing online gaming under the purview of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, among other things.

• Why a central-level law?

• Online gaming so far has been a state subject-true or false?

• How big is the online gaming market in India?

• What are the recommendations of the task force?

• Which ministry will be in charge of the regulation?

• What did the task force say about offshore betting apps?

• Games of chance and Games of skill-compare and contrast

• “The distinction between a game of chance and a game of skill has been maintained for over 150 years”-Analyse the statement

• ‘In May 2022, Group of Ministers (GoM) were formed to look into the tax rate on casinos, online gaming and race courses, has arrived at a broad consensus to levy a flat rate of 28 per cent on these services under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime’-But, why 28 percent?

• Why it is economically unwise to look at online games from a purely GST perspective?

• GST on online gaming-brainstorm the pros and cons

• What is your opinion on this entire issue?

• GST Council and Article 279A of the Constitution-Key Provisions

• GST Council and Members-Know in detail

• What is the role of GST Council?

• For Your Information-The GST Council is learnt to have received various representations for a mechanism for the state governments to reimburse balance 42 per cent of the CGST and 21 per cent of IGST paid by them to make the projects located in Himalayan and north-eastern states economically viable. States are learnt to have communicated that they are not in a position to reimburse the remaining portion of CGST, with Uttarakhand and Meghalaya saying that GST revenue growth was not satisfactory to provide additional incentives to these units. The Council is also expected to discuss the second report of the ministerial panel on online gaming to draw a consensus on whether the tax would be levied on full value of bets placed or gross gaming revenue. Earlier, the Group of Ministers was of the same view of levying a uniform 28 per cent rate on online gaming, casinos and horse racing. Later when the decision was put up for review, the GoM could not reach consensus on whether the tax levy should be on full face value of bets or GGR and hence, the final decision would be taken by the GST Council.

• What is the Goods and Services Tax (GST)?

• The Kelkar Task Force on the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2003 and the Genesis of Goods and Services Tax (GST)

• Goods and Services Tax (GST) and 101st Amendment Act, 2016-Know in detail

• What are the different types of Goods and Services Tax (GST)?

• Know the differences between Central GST (CGST), State GST (SGST), Union territory GST (UTGST) and Integrated GST (IGST)

• How would a particular transaction of goods and services be taxed simultaneously under Central GST (CGST) and State GST (SGST)?

• What are the benefits of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India?

• Goods and Services Tax (GST)-Issues and Challenges

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:    

📍Explained: Why online gaming could now attract a higher GST of 28%

EXPRESS NETWORK

One more cheetah dead at Kuno, 7th since March

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Another male cheetah died at the Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday, the seventh feline fatality at the park in more than three months. The cheetah, Tejas, was brought to KNP from South Africa in February this year. A monitoring team spotted some injuries on the neck of the cheetah, Tejas, at boma (enclosure) number 6 around 11 am, said Principal Chief Conservator of Forests J S Chouhan.

• And how do cheetahs die?

• Social structure of Cheetahs and other cats-Compare

• For Your Information-On June 27, a violent encounter took place between two cheetah coalitions, which wildlife officials said may have been due to territorial disputes. According to the officials, Namibian cheetahs Guarav and Shaurya, known as “The Rock Stars”, fiercely defended their territory against a South African coalition Agni and Vayu, called “The White Walkers”. With Tejas’s death, seven felines, including three cubs born to Namibian cheetah Jwala, have died at KNP since March in a setback to the reintroduction programme launched with much fanfare in September last year. The latest death came a day after two more male cheetahs were released into the wild at KNP. On May 9, a female cheetah, Daksha, brought from South Africa died following a “violent interaction” with two male cheetahs during mating. Daksha’s death came close on the heels of the death of Uday, who had taken ill in April. On March 27, a Namibian cheetah named Sasha died of kidney complications. Sasha was believed to have contracted the kidney ailment during its captivity in Namibia and had been unwell since arriving at Kuno.

• Were these unfortunate cheetah deaths unexpected?

• So is shifting the goalpost a viable step?

• So what options are available to the project now?

• What is the Reintroduction of the cheetah in India plan?

• Cheetah in India- Background

• Extinction of Cheetah from Indian Landscape-know the reasons

• Action Plan for Introduction of Cheetah in India-Important Highlights

• Know the difference between cheetah and Leopard and African cheetah and Asiatic cheetah

• Supreme Court of India on Translocating Animals-know in detail

• Trans-continental translocation of Animals-know the Issues and Challenges

• Map Work World-South Africa, Namibia and Botswana

• Map Work India-Kuno Palpur National Park (Madhya Pradesh)

• For Your Information-Cheetahs are among the oldest of the big cat species, with its ancestors going back about 8.5 million years. It is listed as “vulnerable” by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Two subspecies, the Asiatic cheetah and the Northwest African cheetah, are listed as “critically endangered”.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍The 360° UPSC Debate: Project Cheetah — Is it problematic, or is it too early to judge?

EXPLAINED

Moon’s south pole: why Chandrayaan-3 will go where no craft has       

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Set to be launched from Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota on July 14 at 2.35 pm, Chandrayaan-3 is India’s third lunar mission. It is a follow-up to the 2019 Chandrayaan-2 mission, which partially failed after its lander and rover couldn’t execute a soft-landing on the Moon.

• What is Chandrayaan-3 mission?

• For Your Information-According to Isro officials, the Chandrayaan-3 will reach the lunar orbit almost a month after its launch, and its lander, Vikram, and rover, Pragyaan, are likely to land on the Moon on August 23. Notably, the landing site of the latest mission is more or less the same as the Chandrayaan-2: near the south pole of the moon at 70 degrees latitude. If everything goes well, the Chandrayaan-3 will become the world’s first mission to soft-land near the lunar south pole. All the previous spacecraft to have landed on the Moon have landed in the equatorial region, a few degrees latitude north or south of the lunar equator. The furthest that any spacecraft has gone from the equator was Surveyor 7, launched by NASA, which made a moon landing way back on January 10, 1968. This spacecraft landed near 40 degrees south latitude.

• Why hasn’t any spacecraft ever landed near the lunar south pole?

• Why do scientists want to explore the lunar south pole?

• Why don’t some parts of the lunar polar regions receive any sunlight?

• What is the name of Chandrayaan-3 lander Rover?

• Is Chandrayaan-1 success or failure?

• Has the Chandrayaan-2 mission encountered failure?

• What was the Chandrayaan-2 mission?

• What went wrong with the Chandrayaan-2’s Vikram lander?

• What was missed because of the crash landing?

• How Chandrayaan-3 mission is different from Chandrayaan-1 and Chandrayaan-2?

• Do You Know-The landing site for the integrated Vikram lander and Pragyan rover will remain the same as the previous mission: near the south pole of the moon at 70 degrees latitude. If successful, Chandrayaan-3 will become the first mission to soft land near the southern pole of the moon. The site was selected as it has several craters that remain permanently in shadows, increasing the chances of examining water ice. Chandrayaan 1, which also carried NASA payloads, was instrumental in confirming the presence of water and hydroxyl (OH) molecules on the moon. The mission will also make India the fourth country in the world to achieve soft landing on the moon after the US, Russia and China.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Chandrayaan-3 to be launched on July 12: Chandrayaan-2 and why it partially failed

Extreme rain events in July

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change

Mains Examination: 

• General Studies I: Urbanisation, their problems and their remedies.

• General Studies I: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Northern India is currently in the midst of an extremely wet phase of the monsoon. July rainfall in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh is substantially higher than normal. Heavy rain has resulted in large-scale destruction and loss of lives, particularly in the hilly areas.
The monsoon season this year was not expected to be very wet. The start certainly wasn’t that great, and notwithstanding the reassuring predictions of a normal monsoon by India Meteorological Department, rains were expected to be suppressed by a developing El Nino.

• Why North Indian is badly hit?

• The India Meteorological Department attributed the heavy rainfall to what?

• IMD has attributed this spell to an interaction between the monsoon winds and western disturbances-Comment

• Interaction of a western disturbance and monsoonal winds-what have you understood by this?

• For Your Information-The India Meteorological Department attributed the heavy rainfall to the interaction of a western disturbance and monsoonal winds. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General, IMD, said, “This happens because of large-scale systems. We had good monsoon circulation, and at the same time a western disturbance was passing over the region. So, we had strong westerly winds, along with moist easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal, resulting in convergence of these two types of winds over northwest India.”

• What is torrential rain?

• What causes the torrential rain?

• What is the difference between torrential rain and heavy rain?

• Such events of extremely heavy rainfall are not unexpected during the monsoon season-Why?

• How IMD defines an extremely heavy rainfall?

• For Your Information-Such events of extremely heavy rainfall are not unexpected during the monsoon season. IMD defines an extremely heavy rainfall event as one in which more than 205 mm of rainfall happens at any place within a 24-hour period. Hundreds of such events, at different locations in the country, are recorded during the monsoon season every year (chart 3).
Most of these instances of extremely heavy rainfall go unnoticed. But depending on their location, many of these events lead to large-scale urban flooding or, as is being seen in Himachal Pradesh, widespread destruction by raging rivers, landslides, and broken bridges and roads.
Such rainfall-triggered disaster-like situations have become a regular feature during the monsoon. After the 2013 Uttarakhand tragedy, there has not been a single year without at least one major disaster-like situation produced by an extreme rainfall event.

• Is it climate change?

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📍WEATHERING IT OUT

Not enough rain in pulses heartland: Why arhar could face the heat this yr

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country, – different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage, transport and marketing of agricultural produce and issues and related constraints; e-technology in the aid of farmers.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Even as Northwest India reels under excess rain, the situation is quite the opposite in the two major pulses-growing states of Maharashtra and Karnataka. According to the Union Agriculture Ministry, the total area sown under pulses in the current kharif season from June till July 9, at 46.32 lakh hectares (lh), was 17.9% lower than the 56.43 lh during the corresponding period of last year. The acreage declines have been particularly sharp for Maharashtra (9.46 lh to 3.83 lh) and Karnataka (12.97 lh to 6.02 lh), while less in Madhya Pradesh (9.53 lh to 8.61 lh), Uttar Pradesh (3.69 lh to 2.70 lh) and Telangana (1.11 lh to 0.80 lh). On the other hand, the progressive coverage in Rajasthan, at 22.38 lh, has been higher compared with 16.82 lh for the same period of 2022.

• Which state is leading producer of arhar in India?

• Arhar is kharif or Rabi Crop?

• For Your Information-The overall shortfall in pulses area is a result of cumulative rainfall during the ongoing monsoon season from June 1 to July 11 being 23% below the historical normal average for this period in Maharashtra, 26.2% in Karnataka and 30.9% in Telangana. This is as against a rainfall surplus of 155.4% recorded by Rajasthan during this period. Arhar is mostly cultivated as an inter-crop with soyabean, cotton and even moong and urad. Farmers who inter-crop arhar with soyabean would typically sow both after mid-June with the onset of the monsoon. The soyabean crop is harvested in 90-100 days (by end-September/early-October), while the market arrivals of arhar start only after mid-December.

• What type of climate is required for arhar dal cultivation?

• Do You Know-Arhar is a largely rain-fed crop, with hardly 8% of its total area coming under irrigation (it’s less than 2% in Maharashtra and about 12.5% in Karnataka). Its relatively long duration of 5-6 months requires at least a couple of good showers. “We generally recommend that farmers should sow only after about 100 mm of rainfall is received. Adequate soil moisture is necessary both for germination and vegetative growth (roots, stems and leaves) during the first 40-45 days. Rain is also needed prior to flowering and pod formation,” said Changdev Wayal, senior pulses scientist at the Mahatma Phule Agricultural University in Rahuri, Maharashtra.

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📍The pulse of the matter

ECONOMY

India explores liquefaction units in Iraq to convert flared gas into LNG

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s Interest

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-India has initiated exploratory talks with Iraq to assess the possibility of building facilities to liquefy natural gas that is flared at the West Asian country’s oil and gas facilities, and transporting it as liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India, a senior government official said. The proposal came up during last month’s India-Iraq Joint Commission Meeting in Delhi. India already has strong ties with Iraq, particularly in energy trade with Baghdad being a top source of Delhi’s crude oil imports.

• What is liquified natural gas called?

• Recently, the 18th Session of the India – Iraq Joint Commission meeting was held in New Delhi-what are the key takeaways?

• What is gas flaring?

• For Your Information-Put simply, gas flaring refers to burning of unwanted and unutilised associated natural gas that is produced during oil production and other processes in the oil industry. A major oil and gas producer, Iraq is one of the biggest gas flaring countries as it lacks facilities to capture and process the gas to convert it into fuels or export it as LNG. “Iraq flares a lot of natural gas and we are a large importer of gas. So, we are exploring if our companies can set up plants in Iraq to liquefy that gas into LNG,” said the official, who did not wish to be identified. As per estimates by global agencies, Iraq flares around 50 million standard cubic metres per day (mscmd) of natural gas. In 2022-23, India’s LNG imports stood at 19.9 million tonnes, which is equivalent to 71.6 mscmd of natural gas.

• What is the relationship between India and Iraq?

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📍What is the relationship between India and Kurdistan?

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