UPSC Key- January 30, 2023: Know about Project 39A, Beating Retreat Ceremony and Plateau

Report: 165 death penalties by trial courts in 2022, most since 2000

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary—Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Even as the Supreme Court has called for reforming death penalty sentencing, trial courts awarded 165 death sentences in 2022, the highest in over two decades, according to the Annual Death Penalty Report, 2022. The report will be released on Monday by Project 39A, a criminal reforms advocacy group with the National Law University, Delhi.

• What is Project 39A?

• What Article 39A of the Indian Constitution says?

• How Article 39A is different from Article 22 of the Indian Constitution?

• Annual Death Penalty Report, 2022-Know the key highlights

• Do You Know-With 165 death sentences at the end of 2022, this is the highest number of death sentences imposed in a year in over two decades (since 2000). This shift has been sharply influenced by the extraordinary sentencing of 38 persons to death in Ahmedabad in a single bomb blast case, representing the largest number of persons sentenced to death in a single case since 2016. According to NCRB data, 165 death penalties were awarded by trial courts in 2000. The corresponding figure for the last five years was 146 in 2021, 78 in 2020, 104 in 2019, 163 in 2018, and 110 in 2017.

• What else the annual statistics report ‘death penalty in India’ says on Capital Punishment?

• What is Capital Punishment?

• How Countries retained death penalty or Capital Punishment?

• Know the Important Supreme Court Judgements Related To Capital Punishments in detail

• What was the judgment delivered by the Supreme Court recently in Manoj & others v. State of MP?

• What was the Supreme Court of India’s verdict in Jagmohan Singh v state of Uttar Pradesh in 1972?

• Bachan Singh v state of Punjab in 1980 and ‘rarest of rare cases’-What Supreme Court said about rarest of rare cases?

• Machhi Singh v state of Punjab in 1983 and broadening the categories of rarest of the rare cases by Supreme Court of India-Know in detail

• Kehar Singh v union of India,1989 and pardoning power of executive is subject to judicial review-Know in detail

• What are the arguments for Capital Punishment in India?

• What are the arguments against Capital Punishment in India?

• “Capital Punishment is a form of retribution”- What do you understand by this statement?

• Objective of justice should be reformative and not retributive- What do you understand by this statement?

• What Law commission of India says about death penalty?

• Pardoning Power of the President in India and Death Penalty-connect the dot

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍An Expert Explains: Reforming death penalty

📍There is a concerted effort to plug procedural gaps in death penalty sentencing

THE CITY

RAINY RETREAT

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance

Main Examination: General Studies II: Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- The Beating Retreat Ceremony held in Vijay Chowk, Delhi, is a sombre end to the four-day-long Republic Day celebrations in India, including the Republic Day parade held nearby a few days prior.

• What is the Beating Retreat Ceremony?

• Who is present at the Beating Retreat?

• Who plays the music at the ceremony?

• What do you understand by the word ‘Republic’?

• Why do we choose 26 January on Republic Day?

• What is the main difference between republic and democracy?

• Does republic mean independent?

• Does independent mean republic?

• What is Constitution and Constitutionalism?

• What do you understand by ‘Government of the people, by the people, for the people’?

• Poorna Swaraj resolution in1929 and Republic day in 26th Jan 1950-Connect the dots

• Do You Know-The Indian military showcased only indigenous equipment and weapon systems to drive home the message of self-reliance in defence. The Army’s British-era 25-pounder guns — which traditionally offered the symbolic 21-gun salute — were replaced by the indigenous 105-mm Indian Field Guns (IFG) this year.

• What makes this year’s Republic Day unique?

• What is tableaux on Republic Day?

• How are tableau selected for Republic Day parade?

• What is the difference between Republic Day and Independence Day flag hoisting?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:   

📍Beating Retreat today: Three things to watch out for in spectacular ceremony

GOVT & POLITICS

‘Democracy is in our veins, in our culture’

Syllabus:

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

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Indian Constitution—historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Observing that India is a democratic society by nature, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Sunday that democracy is in our veins, in our culture, and for centuries it has been an integral part of our daily lives. In his monthly radio programme — Mann Ki Baat, PM Modi said, “India is the world’s largest democracy and we Indians are also proud of the fact that our country is also the mother of democracy.”

• “Democracy is in our veins, in our culture. For centuries, it has been an integral part of our daily lives. By nature, we are a democratic society”-Decode and elaborate

• What do you understand by the term ‘democracy’?

• How India is called a democratic country?

• What type of democracy is in India?

• What are the features of Democracy?

• What does the word democracy mean in the Constitution of India?

• What does the Constitution say about democracy?

• Democracy in ancient India-What you know about this?

• What are the core values of Indian democracy?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:   

📍Tavleen Singh writes: Democracy and freedom are worth defending, these are India’s foundational values

EXPRESS NETWORK

Jharkhand Gov returns domicile Bill, asks govt to review legality

Syllabus:

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

Main Examination: General Studies II: Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais Sunday returned the domicile Bill — which defines a local in the state based on 1932 land records — to the state government , asking it to “seriously review” its legality. The move comes over two months after the Jharkhand Assembly unanimously passed the Bill at a special session — with the provision that it would come into force only after the Centre carries out amendments to include it in the Ninth Schedule, putting it beyond judicial scrutiny.

• What were the key provisions of ‘Jharkhand Reservation of Vacancies in Posts and Services (Amendment) Bill, 2022’ and ‘Jharkhand Definition of Local Persons and for Extending the Consequential, Social, Cultural and Other Benefits to Such Local Persons Bill, 2022’?

• Jharkhand Definition of Local Persons and for Extending the Consequential, Social, Cultural and Other Benefits to Such Local Persons Bill, 2022’-highlights of the bill

• As per the draft Bill, ‘a local will be a person whose name or his ancestors’ name is recorded in the survey/khatiyan of 1932 or before’-so, why 1932?

• Why the need to include in Ninth Schedule?

• What is the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution?

• Are laws in the Ninth Schedule completely exempt from judicial scrutiny?

• What Supreme Court of India said in I R Coelho v State of Tamil Nadu?

• How a bill is passed in state legislature?

• Bill and role of Governor-Connect the dots

• What role does the Governor play in the passage of a Bill?

• When the governor returns the bill, what happens?

• For Your Information-The Ninth Schedule of the Constitution contains a list of central and state laws that cannot be challenged in courts. However, courts in the past have said that it can be reviewed if it violates the fundamental rights or the basic structure of the Constitution.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:   

📍Why Jharkhand wants to define a ‘local’ with 1932 as the cut-off for domicile

📍NINTH SCHEDULE (OF CONSTITUTION)

Rare plateau found by ARI team could hold clues to plant survival amid climate change

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.

Mains Examination: 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- Scientists at the Agharkar Research Institute (ARI) in Pune have found a rare low-altitude basalt plateau in the Western Ghats, an important discovery they believe could hold the clues to how plant species globally survive climate change. Presence of the low-altitude plateau, an isolated flat-topped steep hill, found at Manjare village in Thane district was not known to scientists who have been studying plateau formations and plant species in the Western Ghats for decades now.

• What is called plateau?

• For Your Information-According to Dr. Mandar Datar, the lead scientist of the study that announced the discovery, “The Western Ghats are one of the four global biodiversity hotspots in India. There were so far three known plateau types in the Western Ghats — high altitude laterite plateaus, low altitude laterite plateaus and high-altitude basalt plateaus. We only recently discovered there is a fourth type – the low altitude basalt plateau.”

• What are the types of plateaus?

• How many plateau are in India?

• Do You Know-Scientists say the low-altitude plateau at Manjare supports a unique model that can be used to study the survival of plants in varying environmental conditions. This is crucial given that climate change continues to threaten species, including plants, as average temperatures rise globally.

• Which part of India is called plateau?

• Why this recently found rare low-altitude basalt plateau in the Western Ghats is an important discovery?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:   

📍ARI Pune scientists discover a new kind of plateau in Western Ghats

THE IDEAS PAGE

Enforcing the Patent Bargain

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Issues relating to intellectual property rights.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- In May 2016, the then Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (now known as the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) under the Ministry of Commerce released the 32-page National IPR Policy. The overall purpose of this document was to spell out the government’s comprehensive vision for the IPR ecosystem in the country towards shaping a more innovative and creative Bharat. To this end, seven broad objectives were spelt out, of which three are relevant to the discussion at hand.

• National IPR policy-Know in detail

• What do you understand by Intellectual Property Rights?

• “The IPR ecosystem in this country has witnessed both structural and legislative changes”-Discuss

• Intellectual property Rights, Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883) and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1886)-How they are interconnected?

• Know about World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Detail.

• What is “Global Innovation Index”? Which organization Publishes Global Innovation Index?

• What is the need of Intellectual property Rights (IPR)?

• India and Intellectual property Rights (IPR)-Know in Detail

• The National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy 2016-Know the Key Highlights

• What do you understand by the term “Trademark”?

• What Is Included in a Trademark?

• What is “Copyright” and “Patent”?

• Know the difference between “Trademark”, “Copyright” and “Patent”?

• “It must be understood that IP legislations such as the Patents Act do not exist for the sole benefit of IP right owners”-Elaborate

• There are four stakeholders under the Patents Act-Who are they?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:   

📍IP protection: India among most challenging economies, says USTR

EXPLAINED

The inflation in milk

Syllabus:

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

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Within the last year, the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation has raised the maximum retail price (MRP) of its Amul brand full-cream milk (containing 6% fat and 9% SNF or solids-not-fat) in Delhi from Rs 58 to Rs 64 per litre. The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB)-owned Mother Dairy went further — from Rs 57 to Rs 66 per litre — between March 5 and December 27, 2022.

• What explains this recent inflation?

• Is the legacy of underfed animals the only reason?

• What’s the current situation and the future outlook?

• What can the government do now?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:   

📍Explained: What are the factors driving the increase in milk prices?

For any queries and feedback, contact priya.shukla@indianexpress.com
The UPSC KEY Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with the latest Updates.