The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 6 December 2022

 

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis for UPSC

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 4 December 2022

• The Supreme Court on Monday said acts of charity or good work to help a community or the poor should not cloak an intention to convert them religiously as payback.
• A Bench, led by Justice M.R. Shah, said conversion on the basis of a voluntarily felt belief in the deity of a different faith was different from belief gained through allurement.
• The court said it would examine such veiled intentions behind religious conversions through allurement by offering food, medicines, treatment and so on.
• “Everybody has a right to choose their faith but that does not mean luring somebody by giving something. If you believe that a particular community needs help, you help it. It is charity. But the purpose of charity should not be conversion. Every charity or good work is welcome, but what requires to be considered is the intention… Charity, help, everything is welcome, but within the framework. The intention should be very clear. That is what we will consider,” Justice Shah said. “When everybody is India, they have to act as per the culture of India,” he noted.

The Hindu Editorial Today

• International Religious Freedom (IRF) was released by the US Department of State.
  • The document is distinct from the IRF report released by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

What is the State of Freedom of Religion in India?

• Freedom of religion in India is a fundamental right guaranteed by Article 25-28 of the Constitution of India.
  • Article 25 (Freedom of conscience and  free profession, practice and propagation of religion).
  • Article 26 (Freedom to manage religious affairs).
  • Article 27 (Freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any religion).
  • Article 28 (Freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in certain educational institutions).
• Further, Article 29 and 30 of the Constitution deal with the protection of interests of minorities.

• India’s consumption of Russian oil is just one-sixth of European consumption and should not be compared unfavourably, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said in his talks with visiting German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Monday, defending the government’s decision to increase the intake of Russian oil since the war in Ukraine.
• Baerbock’s visit coincided with the launch of an “oil price cap” plan by the G-7 and European Union countries to withdraw shipping and insurance services to countries that buy Russian oil above the price of $60 a barrel.
• At the end of talks, India and Germany signed a comprehensive partnership on migration and mobility meant to ease travel for research, study and work for people in both countries. Mr. Jaishankar said it would be the “basis for a more contemporary partnership” to relations.

What is Group of Seven (G7)?

• It is an intergovernmental organisation that was formed in 1975.
• The bloc meets annually to discuss issues of common interest like global economic governance, international security and energy policy.
• The G7 countries are the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US.
• All the G7 countries and India are a part of G20.
• 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% of the world’s population, 31% of global GDP, and 21% 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.

• Unbridled flow of drugs and spurious liquor will “finish off” the youth of the border State of Punjab and then the entire country, the Supreme Court warned the Punjab government on Monday.
• The court said the State had to issue circulars making the local police responsible for the presence of units making spurious liquor.

Constitutional Provisions:

• Article 47: The Directive Principle in the Constitution of India states that “The state shall undertake rules to bring about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal purposes of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health”.
• State Subject: Alcohol is a subject in the State list under the seventh schedule of the Indian Constitution.

• As mass lay-offs and interrupted food supply chains caused substantial income losses and food price spikes, low-income households barely maintained their subsistence while others made substantial adjustments to their allocation of household expenditure.
• However, food being a priority, Engel’s law suggests that the share of food expenditure rises as income falls. This is further aggravated by food price spikes. The two together cause the share of food expenditure to rise. Given the budget constraint, a higher share of food expenditure is expected to lower that of socialising expenditure.
• Pulling together these arguments, income, food prices and preferences for socialising simultaneously determine the share of socialising expenditure.
• Food price stabilisation is a priority. The premise that inflation is largely a monetary phenomenon as reflected in increases in policy interest rates by the Reserve Bank of India is debatable.
• That inflation continues to be driven by supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic is overlooked.
• Further, disruptions in energy and fertilizer supply due to the Ukraine war and the continuing surge in food prices have entrenched inflationary expectations that call for decisive policy intervention.
• An overhaul of the Public Distribution System and, specifically, more stringent regulation of diversion of food supply by PDS shops to the market are imperative.

• There are three problems with the current negotiating process. First, citizens in developed countries are not even aware that two-thirds of their national emissions of carbon dioxide come from their diet, transport, and residential and commercial sectors, which together constitute the major share of their GDP; the consumption sectors are not independent silos but reflect their urban lifestyles.
• Second, the process ignores that global well-being will also follow urbanisation of the developing country’s population, requiring fossil fuels for infrastructure and energy to achieve comparable levels.
• Third, the need for vast quantities of cement and steel in developing countries for infrastructure — constituting essential emissions, as they urbanise — is not being considered.
• As late urbanisers, developing countries account for more than half the annual emissions and most emissions growth. They cannot affordably access many of the new technologies to decarbonise quickly. The result is a shrinking of their policy space and human rights, endangering efforts to achieve comparable levels of well-being with those who developed earlier without any constraints. Such discussions are not taking place in the climate negotiations because of the way the agenda is set.
• The objective of the Climate Treaty is to avoid a concentration of cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide, prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system and enable sustainable economic development. The Paris Agreement (2015) agreed to a 1.5°C global temperature goal.
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2018 recommended that net emissions needed to zero out around 2050.
• India’s thrust on LiFE (or “Lifestyle for Environment”), with the individual shifting from wasteful consumption of natural resources goes back to the original science.
• For example, in developed countries, exchanging overconsumption of red meat for poultry can meet half the global emissions reduction required by the end of the century. A just transition for developing countries is about keeping within their carbon budget. And not de-carbonisation of arbitrarily selected sectors.

• The Prisons Act, 1894, and the Prisoners Act, 1900, did not contain any specific provision pertaining to parole and/or furlough. However, Section 59 of the Prisons Act empowers States to make rules inter alia “for the shortening of sentences” and “for rewards for good conduct”. Since “prisons, reformatories…” fall in the State List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, States are well within their reach to legislate on issues related to prisons.
• While ‘furlough’ is considered as an incentive for good conduct in prison and is counted as a sentence served, parole or leave is mostly a suspension of sentence. Emergency parole or leave is granted for specified emergencies such as a death, serious illness or marriage in the family.
• Though regular parole or leave is granted after serving minimum sentence (varying from one year to four years) in prison, some States include other familial and social obligations such as sowing or harvesting of agricultural crops, essential repair of house, and settling family disputes.

• After more than five years of its formation, the commission for the sub-categorisation of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) is now in the final stages of finishing its task of coming up with a formula to further classify the nearly 3,000 caste groups and preparing a report on it, according to multiple officials aware of the developments.
• The five-member commission, headed by Justice G. Rohini (retd), was constituted in October 2017 and was initially given 12 weeks to submit its report to the President of India. Since then, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has extended the deadline more than 10 times, first citing the additional time required by the commission to gather information and data and then the pandemic.
• In addition to recommending a formula that distributed the quota available to OBCs equitably among the caste groups, the commission was also tasked with identifying which caste groups would get what share of the 27% reservation pie.

• The International Labour Organisation (ILO) recently released two reports that gave an indication of the global employment scenario post-pandemic. The ‘Global Wage Report 2022-2023: The Impact of inflation and COVID-19 on wages and purchasing power’ discuss the twin crises, inflation and economic slowdown, which created a “striking fall” in real monthly wages around the globe.
• Another report, the ‘Asia-Pacific Employment and Social Outlook 2022: Rethinking sectoral strategies for a human-centred future of work’ stated that the Asia-Pacific region lost about 22 million jobs in 2022.
• ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo said the decrease in wages is placing millions of workers in a dire situation. “Income inequality and poverty will rise if the purchasing power of the lowest paid is not maintained,” he warned.
• Established in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles as an affiliated agency of the League of Nations.
• Became the first affiliated specialized agency of the United Nations in 1946.
• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
• Founding Mission: social justice is essential to universal and lasting peace.
• Promotes internationally recognized human and labour rights.
• Received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1969.
  • For improving peace among classes
  • Pursuing decent work and justice for workers
  • Providing technical assistance to other developing nations

ILO is the tripartite principle, i.e. the negotiations within the organization are held between the representatives of governments, trade unions, and member-states’ employers.

Q) With reference to Dark Night Sky Reserve, consider the following statements:

1. India’s first Dark Night Sky Reserve will be set up at Hanle in Ladakh.
2. USA has the largest number of Dark Night Sky Reserves in the world

Which of the above statements is/are Not correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

डार्क नाइट स्काई रिजर्व के संदर्भ में निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिये:

1. भारत का पहला डार्क नाइट स्काई रिजर्व लद्दाख के हानले में स्थापित किया जाएगा।
2. संयुक्त राज्य अमेरिका में दुनिया में सबसे ज्यादा डार्क नाइट स्काई रिजर्व हैं

उपरोक्त कथनों में से कौन-सा/से सही नहीं है/हैं?

1. केवल 1
2. केवल 2
3. 1 और 2 दोनों
4. न तो 1 और न ही 2

Explanation :
What is a Dark Sky Reserve?

• The International Dark Sky Association (IDSA) defines an international dark sky reserve (IDSR) as “a public or private land of substantial size (at least 700 km², or about 173,000 acres) possessing an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and nocturnal environment, and that is specifically protected for its scientific, natural, educational, cultural heritage, and/or public enjoyment”.

Why Ladakh?

• The Hanle Dark Sky Reserve (HDSR) will come up within the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary, situated 4,500 metres above sea level, which makes it a perfect host for telescopes.
• Ladakh is also ideal for long-term observatories and dark-sky sites because of its large arid area, high elevation, and sparse population.
• The Milky Way Galaxy is visible through the night in the Hanle region due to its cloudless skies and lower atmospheric disturbance.

How many such reserves exist in the world?

• A dark sky reserve is only one of the designations given by the IDSA, others being international dark sky parks, communities, reserves, sanctuaries, and urban night sky places.
• At present, there are 20 dark sky reserves around the world, seven in the United Kingdom; four in France; two each in the USA and Germany; and one each in New Zealand, Canada, Namibia, and Australia.

Q) With reference to Salt Intake, consider the following statements:

1. The WHO recommends only 20gm of salt intake per day.
2. Salt intake in India is about 2gm per day.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

नमक के सेवन के संदर्भ में निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिये:

1. WHO प्रतिदिन केवल 20 ग्राम नमक खाने की सलाह देता है।
2. भारत में नमक की मात्रा प्रतिदिन लगभग 2 ग्राम है।

उपरोक्त कथनों में से कौन-सा/से सही है/हैं?

1. केवल 1
2. केवल 2
3. 1 और 2 दोनों
4. न तो 1 और न ही 2

Explanation :
About:

• It was found that adding less salt with food was associated with fewer heart attacks and strokes.
• This was found to be true even in participants who were following the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension).
• DASH is the best recommended diet to prevent cardiovascular events.
• DASH dietinvolves eating fruits, vegetables, lean meat, poultry, nuts, whole grains, and reducing the intake of saturated fats, cholesterol, and sugar.
• The WHO recommends only 5gm of salt per day. The recent study points to the immense benefit of avoiding salt on the table.

India:

• A consumption of more than 10 gm per day, far exceeding the recommended allowance.
• It could be worse in children since the recommendation is almost half.
• Intake of salt may be worse in Indians since pickles are often introduced early in life.
• It contains hidden salt in preserved and packaged foods.
• The consumer is not given a choice to choose food items based on salt content.

Q) Consider the following statements:

1. India carries out a census of the tiger population every two years.
2. Presently, there are 55 tiger reserves in India.

Which of the above statements is/are Incorrect?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार करें:

1. भारत हर दो साल में बाघों की आबादी की गणना करता है।
2. वर्तमान में, भारत में 55 बाघ अभ्यारण्य हैं।

उपरोक्त में से कौन सा/से कथन गलत है/हैं?

1. केवल 1
2. केवल 2
3. 1 और 2 दोनों
4. न तो 1 और न ही 2

Explanation :

There is an increase in the number of incidents of Human- Tiger conflicts.

About:

• Every four years, India carries out a census of the tiger population across India.
• The latest estimate put the tiger population at 2,967.
• Tigers were reportedly increasing at a rate of about 6% per annum and the area that they occupied was roughly stable, at about 89,000 square km since 2014.
• These numbers are estimated using a sophisticated system that involves photographing animals via camera traps as well as mathematical analysis.
• In 2006, India had 1,411 tigers. This rose to 1,706 in 2010 and 2,226 in 2014 on the back of improved conservation measures and new estimation methods.

How did the numbers increase?

• The consistent implementation of Project Tiger since 1973, whereby dedicated tiger reserves were established in India, as well as anti-poaching measures have played a significant role in tiger conservation.
• India has 53 tiger reserves.
  • Uttar Pradesh’s Ranipur Tiger Reserve has become the 53rd tiger reserve of India.
• However, rising tiger numbers have meant that nearly half the tigers are now outside designated protected zones that lead to increasing instances of human-animal conflict.

Q) Consider the following statements.

1. National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 does not mention millets, under the definition of “foodgrains”.
2. The government declares a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for some of the millets.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार करें।

1. राष्ट्रीय खाद्य सुरक्षा अधिनियम (एनएफएसए), 2013 में “खाद्यान्न” की परिभाषा के तहत बाजरा का उल्लेख नहीं है।
2. सरकार कुछ बाजरा के लिए न्यूनतम समर्थन मूल्य (MSP) घोषित करती है।

उपरोक्त कथनों में से कौन-सा/से सही है/हैं?

1. केवल 1
2. केवल 2
3. 1 और 2 दोनों
4. न तो 1 और न ही 2

• Under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, eligible households are entitled to get rice, wheat, and coarse grain at Rs 3, Rs 2, and Re 1 per kg respectively. While the Act does not mention millets, coarse grains are included in the definition of “foodgrains” under Section 2(5) of the NFSA.
• The government declares a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for jowar, bajra, and ragi.
• Jowar is mainly grown in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, and Madhya Pradesh. Bajra is mainly grown in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Q) Satya Shodhak Samaj organized

1. a movement for upliftment of tribals in Bihar
2. a temple-entry movement in Gujarat
3. an anti-caste movement in Maharashtra
4. a peasant movement in Punjab

सत्य शोधक समाज का आयोजन किया गया

1. बिहार में आदिवासियों के उत्थान के लिए एक आंदोलन
2. गुजरात में एक मंदिर-प्रवेश आंदोलन
3. महाराष्ट्र में एक जाति-विरोधी आंदोलन
4. पंजाब में एक किसान आंदोलन

Explanation:

• Satyashodhak Samaj (Truth-seekers’ Society) was a social reform society founded by Jyotiba Phule in Pune, Maharashtra, on 24 September 1873. It espoused a mission of education and increased social rights and political access for underprivileged groups, focused especially on women, peasants, and Dalits, in Maharashtra.Jyotirao’s wife Savitribai was the head of women’s section of the society. The Samaj disbanded during the 1930s as leaders left to join the Indian National Congress party.

Mains Practice Question:

Q) A healthy living soil is a crucial ally to food security and nutrition. Explain (150 words)

एक स्वस्थ जीवित मिट्टी खाद्य सुरक्षा और पोषण के लिए एक महत्वपूर्ण सहयोगी है। समझाना (150 शब्द)

UPSC Mains Result 2022

 

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