GS Analyst: Daily Current Affairs

Context:

The Central government undertook the challenging task of refining the IPC for enhanced precision, clarity, and accessibility. While some progress has been made, certain aspects of the new code's definition clauses remain unchanged for most crimes, merely combining penal and definition sections which is drawing criticism.

New Reforms and idea

• Criminal Law's Dual Nature: Criminal law holds the potential to both enhance safety and inflict significant harm, embodying the direct relationship between a state and its citizens.
• Three New Bills and Objectives: The passage of three new Bills aimed at improving law and order, simplifying the criminal justice process, and enhancing the quality of life underscores a pivotal shift in criminal law.
• Historical Context: While acknowledging the relevance of Macaulay's code in its historical context, government recognizes the need to reform or eliminate outdated and problematic concepts to align criminal law with contemporary constitutional ideals.

Perspectives of Change

• Historical Significance of IPC: Enforced in 1860, the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was revolutionary for its time, being ahead of its era. Over time, it has become the longest-serving penal code in the common law world, highly regarded for its state-of-the-art nature.
• Government's Reform Efforts: Notable modifications include broader definitions in areas like rape and omission of the term "sedition," along with improved incorporation of the concept of mens rea ("purposely or knowingly").
• New Challenges and Critiques: Despite the positive changes, some issues persist. The term "subversive activities" is introduced without a clear definition, potentially broadening its scope.

Criticism surrounding changes

• Continuation of Ambiguous Definitions and Retained Practices: The new code maintains certain shortcomings, such as inadequate definitions, including mob lynching, and retaining the death penalty, reflecting outdated retribution and deterrence beliefs.
• Missed Opportunities for Reform: Despite the intent to create a gender-neutral approach, the new code fails to rectify the issue of non-gender-neutral crime like cruelty.
• Controversial Offenses and Omissions: Marital rape remains unpunished, hate speech provisions (Sections 153A and 153B) lack substantial improvement, and the offense of adultery reemerges in a new form.

Context:

Recently a group of researchers at Korea University, in Seoul, announced that they had discovered a “room-temperature superconductor”, a material named Lk-99, which has debunked claims after made scrutinized by scientific community.

About the Information

• LK-99 Superconductor Claim Debunked: The scientific community has concluded that the material LK-99 is not a room-temperature and ambient-pressure superconductor, ending the excitement generated by South Korean researchers' initial claim.
• Swift and Open Peer-Review Process: The initial claim that LK-99 could conduct electric current with zero resistance under normal conditions prompted global interest, but now failed too.
• Hype, Misinformation, and Collaboration: The rapid pace of developments led to hype and misinformation, but the collaborative efforts of scientists worldwide, including those in India, exemplified an organic peer-review process.

Reasons and Proof of false claims

• Magnetic Field Response: Independent researchers revealed that LK-99, instead of being a superconductor, was an insulator with magnetized impurities, explaining the observed partial magnet repulsion.
• Electrical Resistivity Behavior: The South Korean team cited a significant drop in electrical resistivity at around 104°C as a potential sign of superconductivity. However, this drop was attributed to the presence of copper sulphide impurities.
• Invalidated by open and rapid peer-review process: Researchers both within and outside academia engaged in an open and rapid peer-review process by publishing preprint papers and replicating experiments to validate or debunk the claim.

Key reasons of failure:

• Misinterpretation: The reasons for disproving LK-99's superconductivity claims were the misunderstanding of magnetization effects and the misinterpretation of resistivity drop.
• Presence of impurities: The presence of impurities like magnetized materials and copper sulphide created misleading experimental outcomes, leading to the conclusion that LK-99 was not a genuine superconductor.
• Way forward: The LK-99 incident showcases real-time collaboration through open science, highlighting the value of shared documentation, despite potential misunderstandings.

Context:

BRICS prepares to host its 15th annual summit from August 22 -24 at Johannesburg in South Africa.

Growing clout of BRICS

• GDP representation- BRICS represents 40 per cent of the world’s population and 23 percent of global GDP.
• Countries waiting to join- More and more countries are showing eagerness to join BRICS, including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Algeria and Argentina.
• New Development Bank- Developing world’s countries seeking aid sometimes face harsh regulations from the Bretton Woods institutions, so a new avenue was created in the form of the New Development Bank.

BRICS and creation of multipolar world

• Change the world economic system-BRICS is actively involved in the efforts to change the world economic system by increasing the number of non-Western states in international financial institutes
• Impact of Ukraine crisis- The current crisis in Ukraine will consolidate BRICS as the group will make further efforts to become a real alternative to the West to create a real multipolar world.
• Rupee-ruble cross currency pairing- The proposed arrangement for rupee-ruble cross currency pairing could well be a harbinger of more concerted efforts to settle payments in non-dollar currencies.

Way Ahead

• Balancing Act- Countries like India, South Africa and Brazil need to do a balancing act on BRICS’ agenda.
• Should not stand against West- It should not spend energy on taking adversarial positions against the West.
• Economic Governance- BRICS should focus on representative economic governance.