Daily Current Affairs – 01-06-2023

Pre- Mauryan Era Finds in Purana Qila

Syllabus: GS-1/Culture

News

• A fresh round of excavations at the site of Delhi’s Purana Qila (Old Fort) have uncovered evidence of the continuous history of the city since the pre-Mauryan era. 

Excavations of new site

• This was the third round of excavations at the site, beginning from January. Earlier excavations had been carried out in 2013-14 and 2017-18.
• These efforts have revealed nine cultural levels, representing different historical periods, including pre-Mauryan, Mauryan, Sunga, Kushana, Gupta, post-Gupta, Rajput, Sultanate, and Mughal.

The Findings of new excavations include:

• shards of Painted Gray Ware pottery which are usually dated to around 1200 BC to 600 BC,
• remains of a 900-year-old Vaikuntha Vishnu from the Rajput period, 
• a terracotta plaque of Goddess Gaja Lakshmi from the Gupta period, 
• the structural remains of a 2,500-year-old terracotta ring well from the Mauryan period, and 
• a well-defined four-room complex from the Sunga-Kushan period dating back to 2,300 years ago.

Purana Qila

• Purana Qila‘ (Old Fort) is one of the oldest forts in Delhi. 
• Excavations point to traces from the 3rd century BC, the pre-Mauryan period. It is believed by many to be the site of Indraprastha, as mentioned in the Mahabharat.
• The present fort was re-built under the reign of the second Mughal Emperor Humayun and Sur Emperor Sher Shah Suri.
  • The fort was the inner citadel of the city of Din Panah during Humayun’s rule who renovated it in 1533 and completed five years later. 
  • The founder of the Suri Dynasty, Sher Shah Suri, defeated Humayun in 1540, naming the fort Shergarh; he added several more structures in the complex during his five-year reign. 

Source: TH

China’s Military Diplomacy in Southeast Asia

Syllabus: GS2/International Relations, Foreign Affairs

In News

• Due to its intensifying geopolitical competition with the U.S. and its own security interests in the region, China is expanding its military outreach to Southeast Asian countries. 

South East Asia Region

• It is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and north-west of mainland Australia which is part of Oceania.
• Southeast Asia is composed of eleven countries: Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. 
• It is also one of the most dynamic areas of the world economically, a factor which largely accounts for its growing international significance.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

• It is a political and economic organization aimed primarily at promoting economic growth and regional stability among its members.
• Foundation: It was founded in 1967 by the five South-East Asian nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
  • Brunei Darussalam joined in 1984, Vietnam in 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar in 1997, and Cambodia in 1999, making up ten Member States of ASEAN.
• Current members: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
• ASEAN Plus Three: It is a forum that functions as a coordinator of co-operation between the ASEAN and the three East Asian nations of China, South Korea, and Japan.
• ASEAN Plus Six: The group includes ASEAN Plus Three as well as India, Australia, and New Zealand. 

China’s Global Security Initiative

• The GSI was launched by China at the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference in 2022, it contains broad general principles reiterating China’s previous foreign policy and security statements. 
• China is launching a series of international initiatives which include proposals to support dialogue between third parties, the revival of the country’s forum diplomacy, more Chinese funding to several multilateral institutions, and the expansion of Chinese training programmes to foreign military and policy staff, among other elements.
  • These initiatives are first and foremost targeting the ‘developing world’, which China sees as a priority partner, with the aim to promote China’s model of domestic security governance at national level, and an alternative security governance architecture globally. 
• While the content mostly restates long-standing principles and groups existing activities under a new label, it is packaged as a “global initiative.” 
• It should be seen as a statement of China’s intent to claim a much more significant role in international politics. 

Chinese Initiatives in South East Asia

• The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA)’s global activities and influence campaigns are part of its broader reform process initiated by the Chinese President in 2015, and form a fundamental element of China’s overall foreign policy. 
• Friendship Shield 2023: The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Laotian People’s Armed Forces (LPAF) have recently concluded their bilateral military exercise, Friendship Shield 2023. 
  • The drills aim to foster interoperability to effectively counter transnational armed criminal groups based in jungles and mountains.
• Golden Dragon drills:  In 2023, the PLA conducted the ‘Golden Dragon’ drills with Cambodia. 
  • The drills saw the participation of over 200 troops from Army, the Navy, and the Logistical Support Force, who arrived in Cambodia. The exercise entailed joint anti-terrorism and humanitarian aid operations.
• Singapore: A few weeks later the PLA conducted a joint exercise with the Singaporean Navy. 
• Laos, Vietnam and Brunei: All of these joint military endeavours were preceded by a visit from a working group of the Chinese Ministry of National Defence to Laos, Vietnam and Brunei, where the two sides discussed “the relationship between the two militaries and regional security issues of common concern”.
• These are a few of the many instances of China’s military diplomacy with Southeast Asian countries. 
  • In this light, ASEAN has become a priority target for the People’s Liberation Army’s military diplomacy.
  • And in the past couple of months, the frequency of Chinese military drills with its ASEAN partners appears to have increased for two primary reasons. 

ASEAN and Chinese Relations

• The GSI invited varied responses from the ASEAN, during the ASEAN-China Summit in Cambodia, all parties cautiously agreed to take note of the GSI proposed by China and looked forward to further details of the GSI but over the past few months, the divergences on it have become visible. 
• Indonesia Supportive of China: China’s heavy Belt and Road investments have been welcomed by Indonesia. Moreover, despite tensions in the South China Sea, Indonesia has been proactively applauding Chinese support in the advancement of its vaccine programme and its high-speed rail network.
• Vietnam’s neutral stance: Despite Vietnam’s mistrust of the GSI, analysts suggest that it maintains a relatively neutral stance in its relations with China, which indicates that there is neither rapid progress nor significant deterioration in bilateral relations.
  • This may be because a cautious Vietnam may not want to invite hostility from a significantly larger power in its neighbourhood. 
• China-Myanmar Economic Corridor: In Myanmar, despite a majority of observers placing little to no confidence in the GSI, China is making political, military and economic inroads. 
  • Since the takeover of the junta, the development of the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor has only accelerated, while new satellite imagery is showing China building a surveillance military base on Great Coco Islands in Myanmar. 
  • This also impacts India because the Great Coco Islands lie just 55 km north of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and their militarisation by China poses a strategic threat to India’s national security.

India’s Relations with South East Countries

• India has always considered Southeast Asia as a region of high economic and strategic priority.
• Look East Policy: India initiated Look East Policy (LEP) in 1992 which reinforced the significance of countries of Southeast Asia in its foreign policy and strategic planning. 
• Other Initiatives: India has also undertaken sub-regional initiatives, such as, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC). 
  • Both the BIMSTEC and MGC aim to engage the mainland Southeast Asian countries – Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
• Strategic Significance: India’s linkages with Southeast Asia encompass numerous aspects including culture, diaspora, defence cooperation, economic ties and India’s own developmental and security concerns. 
  • Each of these factors contributes to the strategic significance of countries in the region for India. For instance, while Vietnam has traditionally been a close friend on defence issues, Singapore is an equally important partner. 
  • By virtue of being a maritime neighbour and biggest country in terms of size, population and economy, Indonesia has always been a priority country. 
  • India has also maintained cordial relations with Malaysia and the Philippines over the years. 
  • Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam are critically important for development and security of India’s north-eastern states. Transport linkages and religious tourism has further enhanced their importance.
• Multilateral Association: Additionally, India has had multilateral linkages with Southeast Asian countries through a number of institutional mechanisms, such as, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM) Plus.

Source: TH

Mandatory Tobacco related Warning for OTT Platforms

Syllabus: GS2/ Health

In News

• The Union Health Ministry made it mandatory for OTT platforms to display tobacco-related health warnings at the beginning and in the middle of streamed content.
  • The new rules, announced by amendment under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2004.on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day (31 May). 

What are the new rules?

• OTT platforms (like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix etc) will be required to attach anti-tobacco health spots, lasting a minimum of thirty seconds each at the beginning and middle of the programme, and a static message when the product or its use is shown.
• An audio-visual disclaimer on the ill-effects of tobacco use, lasting a minimum of twenty seconds each, must be shown at the beginning and middle of the programme.
• The online content is further prohibited from including the brands of cigarettes or other tobacco products. 
• If a programme or platform fails to comply with the new guidelines, an inter-ministerial committee will be authorised to take action against violators.

Tobacco Production & Consumption in India

• Tobacco Production in India:
  • India stands behind China and Brazil, as one of the largest producers and exporters of Tobacco. 
  • Tobacco is mainly produced in the southern states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in India, where the weather is suitable for the crop.
  • Tobacco provides livelihood security to 36 million people including 6 million farmers and 20 million farm labour engaged in tobacco farming besides 10 million people working in processing, manufacturing and exports, in India.
• Tobacco Consumption in India:
  • India is home to over 120 million smokers, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the world’s smoking population. 
  • Tobacco consumption causes approximately 80 lakhs worldwide, which is around 5,500 deaths every minute. Around 14 lakh people in India die due to tobacco, which translates to approximately 700 deaths every minute. 

Consequences of  Tobacco Consumption

• Health Effects:
  • Tobacco has physical impacts on almost every body part and their functions and increases the risk of cancers, heart diseases and other fertility and reproduction-related problems.
  • Smokers face a 40-50 percent higher risk of developing severe disease deaths from Covid-19.
  • Passive smoking or second-hand smoke threatens the health of those who do not smoke.
• Environmental effects: According to the WHO
  • 600 million trees are chopped down annually to make cigarettes, 
  • 84 million tonnes of CO 2 emissions are released into the atmosphere, 
  • 22 billion liters of water are used to make cigarettes. 
  • Hazardous substances like arsenic, lead, nicotine and formaldehyde have been identified in cigarette butts, which leach into aquatic environments and soil.
  • Unlike cigarette butts, e-cigarette waste cannot biodegrade even under severe conditions. 
• Negative Social consequences:
  • Tobacco use has negative social consequences as it affects social interactions and relationships negatively.
• Financial Burden:
  • It adds to the financial burden as smokers burn through an average of USD 1.4 million in personal costs, including spending on cigarettes and associated medical costs.
• Involvement of Child Labour and farmers’ exploitation:
  • The tobacco industry exploits farmers and children and deteriorates growers’ health as they are exposed to ill health by nicotine that is absorbed through the skin, as well as exposure to heavy pesticides and tobacco dust.

Efforts Taken in this regard

• Global Efforts:
  • WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC): It provides a strong, concerted response to the global tobacco epidemic and its enormous health, social, environmental and economic costs.
    • To help countries implement the WHO FCTC, WHO introduced the MPOWER technical package to support implementation of key strategies, such as raising tobacco taxes, creating smoke-free environments and offering help to quit.
  • Director General’s Special Recognition Awards: Every year, WHO recognizes individuals or organizations in WHO Regions for their accomplishments in the area of tobacco control.
    • Meghalaya, which is deemed the ‘cancer capital of India’, has been conferred with prestigious World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) Award-2023 by the World Health Organization.
    • In 2022, the WHO selected Jjharkhand for the World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) Award
  • Other Steps: In 2008, the UN General Assembly adopted a Resolution for Smoke-free United Nations Premises.
    • In 2012, the United Nations Economic and Social Council called for “system-wide coherence on tobacco control”.
• Efforts by India:
  • Cigarettes Act, 1975: Tobacco control legislation in India dates back to the Cigarettes Act, 1975 which mandates the display of statutory health warnings in advertisements and on cartons and cigarette packages.
  • Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade, Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA) 2003: This Act includes the prohibition of smoking in public places, advertisement of cigarettes and other tobacco products, sale of cigarettes or other tobacco products to anyone below the age of 18 years, and prohibition of selling areas like schools, colleges, etc.
  • National Health Policy 2017: It sets an ambitious target of reducing tobacco use by 30 percent by 2025, which has been devised keeping in view the targets for control of NCDs.
  • National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP): It was launched by The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to create awareness of the negative impacts of Tobacco Consumption. Currently, the Programme is being implemented in all States/Union Territories covering over 600 districts across the country.
  • Tax on Tobacco: Tobacco products fall in the highest GST slab of 28% as it attracts a heavy cess.
  • Crop diversification programme: Farmers are encouraged to replace tobacco crops with less water-consuming alternatives to conserve water and soil.

Way Ahead

• Educating potential consumers to not consume tobacco. School-based awareness campaigns, Engaging youths, celebrities, and media influencers for awareness is one of the options for achieving our goal of ending tobacco consumption in India.
• Finding alternative livelihoods for tobacco farmers still remains one of the major issues in the tobacco industry.
• Strict implementation of laws and regulations need to be done.

Source: TH

 

World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector

Syllabus: GS-3/Economy

In News

• The Union Cabinet approved the constitution and empowerment of an Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) for facilitation of the “World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in the Cooperative Sector”.

Implementation Mechanism

• An Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) will be constituted under the Chairmanship of the Minister of Cooperation.
• Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Minister of Food Processing Industries and Secretaries concerned will be members of this Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC).
• The Ministry of Cooperation will implement a pilot project in at least 10 selected Districts of different States/ UTs in the country. 

Schemes under the plan

• The plan would be implemented by convergence of various schemes of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
• Following schemes have been identified for convergence under the Plan:

Role of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS)

• There are more than 1,00,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) in the country with a huge member base of more than 13 crore farmers.
• The plan aims for the creation of infrastructure such as warehouse, custom hiring center, processing units, godowns, etc. for Agriculture and Allied purposes, at selected ‘viable’ Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), thus transforming them into multipurpose societies
• This would also enable PACS to undertake various other activities, viz:
  • Functioning as Procurement centres for State Agencies/ Food Corporation of India (FCI);
  • Serving as Fair Price Shops (FPS);
  • Setting up custom hiring centers; and 
  • Setting up common processing units, including assaying, sorting, grading units for agricultural produce, etc.

Expected benefits

• It aims to leverage the strength of the cooperatives to realize the vision of “Sahakar-se-Samriddhi” and create the ‘World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector’.
• Through the ‘whole-of-Government’ approach, the Plan would strengthen PACS by enabling them to diversify their business activities, thus enhancing the incomes of the farmer members as well.
• Creation of decentralized storage capacity at the local level would reduce food grain wastage and strengthen food security of the country.
• By providing various options to the farmers, it would prevent distress sale of crops, thus enabling the farmers to realise better prices for their produce.
• It would hugely reduce the cost incurred in transportation of food grains to procurement centres and again transporting the stocks back from warehouses to FPS.

Source: TH

Necrophilia 

Syllabus: GS 1/2/Social Issues/Governance 

In News

• The Karnataka High Court ruled that raping the dead body of a woman will not come under the ambit of rape or unnatural offences under Sections 377 (unnatural sex) and 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code(IPC).

About Necrophilia 

• It is defined as sexual attraction or sexual relations with corpses and dead bodies.
• The act of necrophilia, though not defined as illegal by law in many counties
• It is deemed unnatural and frowned upon, also seen as a psychological disease.
• Global Scenario: Necrophilia is an offence in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa where necrophilia is an offence,.
• Status in India: Unfortunately in India no specific legislation is enacted, including under the provisions of IPC.

Coutr’s recommendations 

• High Court of Karnataka has recommended that the Union government amend the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to bring necrophilia under the definition of the offence of unnatural sex or introduce a new provision in IPC to make necrophilia an offence.

• the Bench directed the State government to ensure CCTV cameras are installed, mortuaries are regularly cleaned so that body is preserved in a proper manner to maintain its dignity and that staff of mortuary are sensitised to handle bodies with care in the mortuaries of all the government and private hospitals, to prevent an offence against dead, particularly of women, within six months.

Source: IE

Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) 

Syllabus: GS 2/3/International /Defence

In News

• The United Arab Emirates has withdrawn from the Combined Maritime Forces.

About Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) 

• It is a multinational maritime partnership, which exists to uphold the International Rules-Based Order (IRBO) by countering illicit non-state actors on the high seas and promoting security, stability and prosperity.
• The Bahrain-headquartered CMF was established in 2001, initially as a partnership between 12 nations. 
• Focused areas: Counter-narcotics, counter-smuggling, suppressing piracy, encouraging regional cooperation and engaging with regional and other partners to strengthen relevant capabilities in order to improve overall security and stability, and promote a safe maritime environment free from illicit non-state actors. 
  • When requested, CMF assets at sea will also respond to environmental and humanitarian crises.

Source: IE

Yuri Olefirenko

Syllabus: GS 3/Defence

In News:

• Russia claimed it had destroyed the last major warship (‘Yuri Olefirenko’) of the Ukrainian naval forces, which it said was stationed in the southern port of Odesa.

About 

• The Yuri Olefirenko is a medium-sized landing ship for troops and vehicles.
• First named “Kirovograd”, the ship was renamed in 2016 in honour of a Ukrainian marine killed near Mariupol in 2015.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky decorated its crew in June 2022.

Source: TH

Lightweight Payments System

Syllabus: GS3/Indian Economy & Related Issues

In News

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has conceptualised a lightweight payment and settlements system, which it is calling a “bunker” equivalent of digital payments.

About the Lightweight Payments System

• It can be operated from anywhere by a bare minimum staff in exigencies such as natural calamities or war.
• The infrastructure for this system will be independent of the technologies that underlie the existing systems of payments such as UPI, NEFT, and RTGS.
• The central bank has not offered a timeline for the launch of this payments system yet.

How it is different from UPI

• The existing conventional payments systems such as RTGS, NEFT, and UPI are designed to handle large volumes of transactions while ensuring sustained availability. As a result, they are dependent on complex wired networks backed by advanced IT infrastructure.
• The lightweight and portable payment system is expected to operate on minimalistic hardware and software, and would be made active only on a “need basis”.

Significance

• Such a lightweight and portable payment system could ensure near zero downtime of the payment and settlement system in the country and keep the liquidity pipeline of the economy alive and intact by facilitating uninterrupted functioning of essential payment services.
• The system is expected to process transactions that are critical to ensure the stability of the economy, including government and market related transactions.
• Having such a resilient system is also likely to act as a bunker equivalent in payment systems and thereby enhance public confidence in digital payments and financial market infrastructure even during extreme conditions.

Source: IE

Shenzhou-16 (Tiangong Space Station)

Syllabus: GS-3/Science and Tech

News

• China launched a spacecraft carrying three astronauts, including its first civilian, to its Tiangong space station. 

About 

• So far, China has been sending astronauts chosen from its People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
• China was the third country to put humans in orbit after USA and Russia.
• The spacecraft, the Shenzhou-16, was launched atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert in northwest China.

Tiangong space station

• Tiangong is a permanently crewed space station.
• It is operated by China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
• It operates in low Earth orbit between 340 and 450 km above the surface.
• Its first module entered orbit in 2021 and two more modules were added to it in the following years.
• It is expected to become the sole in-orbit outpost for scientific research after the end of operations for the International Space Station in 2030.

Source: IE

City Investments to Innovate, Integrate & Sustain 2.0 (CITIIS 2.0)

Syllabus: GS-2/Governance and Society

News

• The Union Cabinet has approved the City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain 2.0 (CITIIS 2.0).  

About 

• Objective: The program aims to support competitively selected projects promoting circular economy with focus on integrated waste management at the city level, climate-oriented reform actions at the State level, and institutional strengthening and knowledge dissemination at the National level.
• Funding: The funding for CITIIS 2.0 would include a loan of Rs.1760 crore (EUR 200 million) from AFD and KfW (EUR 100 million each) and a technical assistance grant of Rs.106 cr. (EUR 12 million) from the EU.
• Agencies involved: CITIIS 2.0 is a program conceived by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in partnership with the French Development Agency (AFD), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the European Union (EU), and National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA). 
• Duration: The program will run for a period of four years, i.e., from 2023 till 2027.

CITIIS 2.0 has three major components:

• Component 1: Financial and technical support for developing projects focused on building climate resilience, adaptation and mitigation in up to 18 smart cities.
• Component 2: All States and UTs will be provided support to (a) set-up State climate centres (b) create State and city level Climate Data Observatories (c) facilitate climate-data driven planning, develop climate action plans and (d) build capacities of municipal functionaries. 
• Component 3: Interventions at all three levels; Centre, State and City to further climate governance in urban India through institutional strengthening.

Significance 

• CITIIS 2.0 will supplement the climate actions of Government of India through its ongoing National programs (National Mission on Sustainable Habitat, AMRUT 2.0, Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 and Smart Cities Mission).
• CITIIS 2.0 will contribute positively to India’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and Conference of the Parties (COP26) commitments.

Source: TH