GS Analyst
Daily Current Affairs

Recently, the Supreme Court ruled that even a mere membership of a banned association is sufficient to constitute an offence under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967.

• The ruling lowers the bar for who can be charged under the stringent anti-terror law.

• A three-judge bench of SC has overruled three key precedents on aspect of banned organisation, which had distinguished between active and passive membership of an unlawful association and the crucial difference between ‘advocacy and incitement to violence’.

• The bench has upheld the constitutional validity of Section 10(a)(i) of the UAPA.
• Section 10(a)(i) of the UAPA says that, “Penalty for being member of an unlawful association, etc.—Where an association is declared unlawful by a notification issued under section 3 which has become effective under sub­-section (3) of that section,—
• A person, who is and continues to be a member of such association,
• The rest of Section 10(a) includes a person who takes part in meetings of such association; or contributes to, or receives or solicits any contri­bution for the purpose of, such association; or in any way assists the operations of such association.

Other judgements:

• In 2011, in ‘Arup Bhuyan v State of Assam’, the Supreme Court bench has said that a “person’s association with an unlawful organisation must be an active ‘membership’ which required actual incitement to violence or the act of committing violence.”

Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), 1967:

• The Act provides special procedures to deal with terrorist activities, among other things.
• Unlawful activity means any conduct which constitutes a crime or which contravenes any law whether such conduct occurred before or after the commencement of this Act and whether such conduct occurred in the Republic or elsewhere.
• Section 15 of the UAPA defines “terrorist act” and is punishable with imprisonment for a term of at least five years to life. In case the terrorist act results in death, the punishment is death or imprisonment for life.
• The Act assigns absolute power to the central government, by way of which if the Centre deems an activity as unlawful then it may, by way of an Official Gazette, declare it so.
• The provisions of this Act apply also to—
• Citizens of India outside India;
• Persons in the service of the Government, wherever they may be; and
• Persons on ships and aircrafts, registered in India, wherever they may be.

The Federal Reserve Bank has raised the interest rate by 25 basis points, it sent an important signal, that the US central bank will prioritise the fight against inflation over the turmoil in the banking sector.

Why Fed has taken this step?

• According to IFA Global, the hike was expected — as a pause would have indicated a lack of confidence in the measures taken to address the troubles in the banking system.
• The Fed remains committed to achieving its inflation mandate.
• The decision of the Central Bank of US, to raise the interest rate is likely to impact the banking system across world.

How fluctuating rates of Bank impact economy?

• Impact on demand: The hikes are set to raise the lending rates in the banking system and impact the demand in the economy.
• When interest rates are raised, it makes money more expensive, thereby resulting in reduction of demand in the economy and bringing down inflation.
• High EMI’s: The rate hike will force banks and non-banking finance companies to increase lending rates and result in higher equated monthly instalments (EMIs) of existing borrowers.
• New home, vehicle and personal loans will also become costlier.

What does the Fed hike mean for investors?

• When interest rates rise in the US and other developed markets, foreign investors, especially from the US, go for investments in US debt and other avenues, which impact the flow of funds into Indian equity markets.

Will the RBI rates hike as well?

• The Fed’s decision also indicates more rate hikes by the RBI going and subdued equity market returns for now.
• While it is not necessary that the RBI will blindly follow the Fed and other central banks in hiking rates, interest rates in India have, in fact, moved in tandem with rates in the US.
• While most central banks, including the RBI, have been raising rates to tame inflation, the RBI considers domestic factors, especially retail inflation, while reviewing interest rates. As price pressures wane, several central banks have opted for slower rate hikes or pauses.

Impacts on India:

• Increasing Investor risk: While the rising interest rates represent a headwind for Indian equities, our buoyant domestic demand scenario presents hope for global investors looking to diversify globally.
• Leads to Currency depreciation: Increase in interest rates tends to raise more for emerging markets, including India, which see sharp currency depreciation.
• Deviation from Inflation target: Fed action is due to large excess demand, tight labour markets and an unprecedented deviation from the inflation target.
• Nominal Policy rates: It also started from higher nominal policy rates.

The Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has imposed a penalty of ?10 crore on the Kerala government for its failure to check the indiscriminate pollution of the listed Ramsar sites.

Key-highlights of the Order:

• The order by NGT was made in lines with a petition alleging failure of statutory and administrative authorities in taking remedial action for protection of the Vembanad and Ashtamudi lakes hit by illegal waste dumping.

• The penalty was imposed on the basis of the ‘polluter pays principle’ which had to be deposited in a ring-fenced account to be operated under the authority of the Chief Secretary.
• The penalty of ?10 crore has been imposed which had to be made within a month.
• The penalty will be utilised for conservation/restoration measures by preparing an action plan to be preferably executed within six months.

About Ramsar Sites:

• These are wetlands deemed to be of "international importance" under the Ramsar Convention.
• It is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the convention was signed in
• Ramsar sites are trans-boundary in which case more than one Contracting Party is responsible for their conservation and management.
• The inclusion in the list is for-
  • the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands,
  • recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their
  • Economic value
  • Cultural value
  • Scientific value
  • Recreational value
• It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands.

Vembanad Lake:

• This is the largest lake in Kerala and the longest Lake in India.
• The lake has its source in four rivers, Meenachil, Achankovil, Pampa and Manimala
• In 2002, it was included in the list of wetlands of international importance, as defined by the Ramsar Convention.
• It is the second-largest Ramsar site in India only after the Sundarbans in West Bengal.
• The Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary is located on the east coast of the lake.
• In 2019, Willingdon Island, a seaport located in the city of Kochi, was carved out of Vembanad Lake.

 Ashtamudi Lake:

• Ashtamudi Lake is a large freshwater lake located in the Kollam district of Kerala, India.
• It is known for its unique ecosystem and biodiversity, and is an important tourist destination in the region.
• Ashtamudi Lake is significant because it has been recognized as a Ramsar site, which is a wetland site, designated of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.
• The lake also plays an important role in supporting the livelihoods of local communities through fishing and tourism.

Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi’s membership of India’s lower house of Parliament, the Lok Sabha, has been cancelled following his conviction and sentencing by a local court in Surat.

What are the important rules pertaining to ‘disqualification’?

• The law under which Rahul Gandhi has been disqualified is the Representation of People Act, 1951.
• Section 8(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 states that “a person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years shall be disqualified from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release.”
• Disqualification under Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 is enabled by Article 102 (1) of the Constitution of India.
  
  

Way forward

• The Supreme Court in its ruling in Lok Prahari v Union of India (2018) clarified that a disqualification triggered by a conviction will be reversed if the conviction is stayed by a court. 

Transgender women have been barred from competing in the female category by World Athletics (WA).

Background (previous rules)

• Under previous rules, World Athletics required transgender women to reduce their amount of blood testosterone to a maximum of 5nmol/L, and stay under this threshold continuously for a period of 12 months before competing in the female category.

What does the ban mean?

• Transgender women who have experienced male puberty will not be able to compete in the female competition after March 31 this year.
• The decision to exclude transgender women who had gone through male puberty was based "on the overarching need to protect the female category".

Issues faced by Transgender

• Discrimination
• Unemployment
• Lack of educational facilities
• Homelessness
• Lack of medical facilities like HIV care and hygiene
• Depression
• Hormone pill abuse
• Tobacco and alcohol abuse
• Penectomy
• Problems related to marriage and adoption

Constitutional rights related to Transgender (in India)

• Preamble to the Constitution mandates Justice - social, economic, and political equality of status.
• Article 14 provides ‘right to equality’
• Article 15 speaks about the prohibition of discrimination on the ground of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
• Article 21 ensures right to privacy and personal dignity to all the citizens.
• Article 23 prohibits trafficking in human beings as beggars and other similar forms of forced labor and any contravention of these provisions shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.
• The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act (TPPRA), 2019 prohibits discrimination against transgender people when it comes to things like education and employment.
• A National Portal For Transgender Persons(NPTP) was introduced so that people could apply online for a ‘transgender ID’.

The Supreme Court recently held that period of parole granted to prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic period to prevent the overcrowding of prisoners.
Key-highlights of the Judgment

• The SC Bench dismissed a writ petition filed by a prisoner who sought for a declaration that the period of parole granted allowed by the High Powered Committee during the pandemic based on the orders passed by the Supreme Court in the suo motu case In Re Contagion of COVID 19 virus in Prisons be counted towards the period of actual sentence.
• The bench relied on the recent judgment in Rohan Dhungat vs State of Goa which held that parole period cannot be counted towards the period of actual sentence.

• A parole can be defined as conditional release of prisonerse. an early release of a prisoner, conditional on good behaviour and regular reporting to the authorities for a set period of time.
• It can also be defined as a form of conditional pardon by which the convict is released before the expiration of his term.
• Thus, the parole is granted for good behaviour on the condition that parolee regularly reports to a supervising officer for a specified period.
• Such a release of the prisoner on parole can also be temporarily on some basic grounds. In that eventuality, it is to be treated as mere suspension of the sentence for time being, keeping the quantum of sentence intact.
• Release on parole is designed to afford some relief to the prisoners in certain specified exigencies. Parole is granted by Divisional Commissioner Parole can be granted number of times

According to the European Commission, biomass, which includes firewood, plants and other organic materials, makes up 60% of the EU’s renewable energy source.

• According to the EU law, as they tend to plant new trees after others have been chopped down, firewood gets the renewable seal of approval.
• That means member countries can subsidize wood burning, as long as certain sustainable sourcing rules are met.
• It means that “EU citizens are paying energy companies to burn forests in the midst of a climate and biodiversity crisis.”

What does the renewable energy means?

• Renewable energy is energy derived from natural sources that are replenished at a higher rate than they are consumed.
• Sunlight and wind, for example, are such sources that are constantly being replenished.
• Renewable energy sources are plentiful and all around us.
• Fossil fuels - coal, oil and gas - on the other hand, are non-renewable resources that take hundreds of millions of years to form.
• Fossil fuels, when burned to produce energy, cause harmful greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide.

Argument for using bioenergy:

• Bioenergy needs to comply with strict sustainability criteria that ensure sourcing and use of biomass for energy does not cause any environmental harm or biodiversity loss.
• The EU officially counts wood and other biomass as carbon neutral, based on the premise that CO2 emitted through burning will be reabsorbed by more trees in the future.

Argument against Wood burning:

• But the European Academies Science Advisory Council says scientific study suggests the trend to replace coal with wood pellets as a means of generating electricity actually increases “atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide for substantial periods of time.”
• A 2019 EASAC report says the time it takes for carbon emissions associated with wood burning to be evened out can range from years to decades or even centuries, depending on conditions.

India’s Renewable energy:

• Today, India is the world's third largest producer of renewable energy, with 40% of its installed electricity capacity coming from non-fossil fuel sources.
• India has always shown its willingness in leadership to fight climate change.
• The country’s vision is to achieve Net Zero Emissions by 2070, in addition to attaining the short-term targets which include:
  • Increasing renewables capacity to 500 GW by 2030,
  • Meeting 50% of energy requirements from renewables,
  • Reducing cumulative emissions by one billion tonnes by 2030, and
  • Reducing emissions intensity of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 45% by 2030.

North Korea had tested an underwater nuclear attack drone able to unleash a “radioactive tsunami”.

• North Korea has blamed recent U.S.-South Korea exercises for a deteriorating regional security situation.
• Thus claimed that it has tested for an underwater nuclear drone attack which can cause tsunami.
• The new weapon, ‘called Haeil’ which means tsunami in Korean, can be deployed at any coast and port or towed by a surface ship for operation.
• It is designed to create massive radioactive waves through submarine explosions.
• Objective: The mission is to “stealthily infiltrate into operational waters and make a super-scale radioactive tsunami to destroy naval striker groups and major operational ports of the enemy.

Details of the test:

• It reportedly cruised underwater for 59 hours at a depth of 80 to 150 metres.
• The drone detonated after reaching the target location.
• North Korea also launched four strategic cruise missiles affixed with mock nuclear warheads.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty:

• The NPT is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to foster the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of disarmament.
• It was signed in 1968 and entered into force in 1970. Presently, it has 191 member states.
• India is not a member.
• The treaty requires countries to give up any present or future plans to build nuclear weapons in return for access to peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
• It represents the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of disarmament by the nuclear-weapon States (NWS) (those who manufactured/exploded a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive devices before 1st January, 1967).

Need for Global Nuclear order:

• Rising energy demands have led to a growing number of countries pursuing nuclear energy, and many countries wish to be energy-independent, in order to ensure a sustainable and dependable domestic energy supply.
• Thus, the international community should focus on reconciling the states’ desire for energy independence with their desire to both reduce the intrusiveness of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards and diminish the possibility of proliferation.
• Although the non-nuclear weapon states (NNWS) welcome New START and other initiatives, they are willing to see more concrete actions on reducing the role of nuclear weapons in national security doctrines, reducing alert levels, and increasing transparency.
• More regions in the world, preferably comprising NWS, should enter into an arrangement of establishing Nuclear-weapon-free zones.

North Korea and Nuclear weapons:

• North Korea is a party to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) and Geneva Protocol, but is suspected of maintaining an offensive weapons program in defiance of the BTWC.
• North Korea's interest in a nuclear weapons program dates to the end of World War II.
• North Korea has continuously tested its nuclear missile amid the global concerns.
• It has an offensive standoff with South Korea and United States (US).

Finance Minister announced the constitution of a committee to propose changes to “improve” the National Pension System (NPS) for government employees in a way that balances their aspirations with fiscal prudence. 

What is the Old Pension Scheme (OPS)?

• Often described as a ‘Defined Benefit Scheme’, OPS assures life-long income, post-retirement.
• Under OPS, employees get a pension under a pre-determined formula which is equivalent to 50% of the last drawn salary.
• They also get the benefit of the revision of Dearness Relief (DR), twice a year.
• The pay-out is fixed and there was no deduction from the salary.
• There was the provision of the General Provident Fund (GPF).
• The Government bears the expenditure incurred on the pension. The scheme was discontinued in 2004.

Concerns associated with the old pension scheme:

• No fund for pension liability: As there was no corpus specifically for pension, which would grow continuously and could be dipped into for payments.
• No fixed source of funding: The Government of India's budget provided for pensions every year; there was no clear plan on how to pay year after year in the future.
• The burden on Government Budget: The government estimated payments to retirees ahead of the Budget every year, and the present generation of taxpayers paid for all pensioners as of date.
• The ‘pay-as-you-go’ scheme created inter-generational equity issues — meaning the present generation had to bear the continuously rising burden of pensioners

The New Pension Scheme (NPS):

• The New Pension System proposed by the Project OASIS reportbecame the basis for pension reforms and what was originally conceived for unorganised sector workers, was adopted by the government for its own employees.
• The NPS was for prospective employees; it was made mandatory for all new recruits joining government service from January 1, 2004.
• Contributions:
  • The defined contribution comprised 10 per cent of the basic salary and dearness allowance by the employee and a matching contribution by the government this was Tier 1, with contributions being mandatory.
  • In 2019, the government increased its contribution to 14 per cent of the basic salary and dearness allowance.
• Schemes under the NPS are offered by nine pension fund managers
  • It is sponsored by SBI, LIC, UTI, HDFC, ICICI, Kotak Mahindra, Aditya Birla, Tata, and Max.

How NPS is a better option?

• Freedom to allocate savings
  • The biggest fear about the NPS is that it redirects subscribers’ money into the ‘volatile’ stock market.
  • But the fact is that NPS subscribers have complete freedom to allocate their savings to equities, corporate bonds or government securities, or any combination of the three.
  • Risk-averse investors can simply allocate all their money to bonds or gilts in NPS, altogether skipping stocks.
• Beating Inflation:
  • A 20-year analysis of Nifty50shows that while it frequently delivered losses over one-year periods, stretching one’s holding period to 10 years reduced the loss probability to zero while fetching an 11-12 percent return.
  • While the EPFO has been struggling to declare an 8-8.5 percent return from its ‘safe’ debt portfolio, NPS managers have earned a 13-14 percent returnon equities and 5-9 percent on bonds and government securities over a decade.
• Greater control:
  • With NPS, an employee has greater control over his pensionas he can save more or allocate more to equities.
  • In the old pension scheme, the employee’s pension is mandatorily limited to half of his last-drawn pay.