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29th May 2023

Model Prisons Act

Context

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decided to completion the Model Prisons Act of 2023 to shift the focus of incarceration away from retributive deterrence and towards reform and rehabilitation.

What is the context in which the 2023 Act is being proposed?

  • The Model Prisons Act of 2023 is being introduced following a spate of killings and gang violence within prisons.
  • One such incident was the killing of 33-year-old Tillu Tajpuriya, who was allegedly stabbed to death by members of a rival gang inside Tihar jail.
  • The National Investigation Agency (NIA) asked the Union Home Ministry to shift several gangsters lodged in north India’s prisons to those in the southern states.

Recently, The MHA assigned the task of revising the Act to the Bureau of Police Research and Development, who prepared the draft, which culminated in the 2023 Act.

What are the new provisions being proposed?

  • The Model Prisons Act, 2023 is an attempt to overhaul the colonial 1894 Act and create provisions for parole, furlough, and remission to prisoners.
  • Objective: It also aims to provide separate accommodation for women and transgender inmates, ensure the physical and mental well-being of prisoners, and focus on the reformation and rehabilitation of inmates.
  • Protection of prisons: It also seeks to bring about "transparency in prison management" and includes provisions for security assessment and segregation of prisoners, individual sentence planning, grievance-redressal, prison development board, use of technology in prison administration, and protecting society from criminal activities of hardened criminals and habitual offenders.
  • Video conferencing: It also introduces new measures for prisoners to video conference with courts, but if a prisoner is using prohibited items in jail, they will be punished for it.

What were the previous prison laws?

  • Prisons Act of 1894: The first legislation that governed the management and administration of prisons in India.
    • It defined a “prison” as any jail or place used permanently or temporarily under the general or special orders of a State Government for the detention of prisoners, excluding police custody and subsidiary jails.
    • It dealt with provisions for accommodation, food, clothing, bedding segregation, and the discipline of prisoners, including solitary confinement.
    • It also laid down provisions for the prisoners’ employment, health, and visits.
  • However, it had no provisions for reformation or rehabilitation and permitted “whipping, provided that the number of stripes shall not exceed thirty.”
  • Prisoners Act of 1900: The Prisoners Act 1900 was introduced with the objective of consolidating the “several acts relating to prisoners” and replacing the “separate enactments by a single act, expressed more simply and intelligibly”.
    • It also included provisions on how to deal with lunatic prisoners and allowed prisoners to be removed from prisons on conditions like receiving death sentences and maintaining good behaviour within prisons.
  • Currently, the jail manuals of each state also deal with the administration and management of its prisons.

Is the Model Prisons Act, 2023, binding on states?

  • The Constitution states that prisons and persons detained therein fall under the State List, meaning that the responsibility of prison management and administration lies with the state government.
  • However, the MHA stated that due to the critical role played by efficient prison management in the criminal justice system, the Centre finds it crucial to support the States and UTs in this regard.
  • Additionally, the existing Prisons Act was revised to align it with modern day needs and requirements of prison management.
  • The ministry of home affairs also clarified while announcing the 2023 Act that it “may serve as a guiding document for the States” so that they may benefit from its adoption in their jurisdictions.

Shrinking snow cover continues to haunt Himachal Pradesh

Context

According to the recent report, the total area covered by snow in Himalayan region is shrinking due to rise in average temperature.

Why is the snow cover decreasing in Himalayan region?

  • The trend of gradual reduction in snow cover in ecologically fragile Himachal Pradesh is continuing to haunt the hill State, and the mean maximum and minimum average temperature is on the rise in the Himalayan region.
  • Concern: This is an immediate concern as it could have a devastating impact on hydropower, water sources, people, livestock, forests, farms, and infrastructure.
  • In the 2022-23 winter period (October-April), there was an overall reduction of 14.05% in the total area under snow cover in Himachal Pradesh compared to 2021-22.
  • This has been revealed in the latest scientific report conducted jointly by the Himachal Pradesh’s State Centre on Climate Change (HIMCOSTE) and Geo-Sciences, Hydrology, Cryosphere Sciences, and Applications Group (GHCAG) and Space Applications Centre (SAC-ISRO).
  • Geographical feature: Himachal Pradesh receives winter precipitation in the form of snow at the higher altitudes.
    • About one-third of the total geographical area of the State remains under thick snow cover during the winter season.
  • Rivers’ discharge dependability: Most of the major rivers like Chenab, Beas, Parvati, Baspa, Spiti, Ravi, Satluj, and their perennial tributaries originating from the Himalayas, depend upon the seasonal snow cover for their discharge dependability.

Why is the 1.5 degree Celsius target critical?

Context

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) recently published two studies named "Global Annual to Decadal Climate Update 2023-2027" and "State of Global Climate 2022."

Key highlights of the report:

  • The WMO has made decadal estimates that between 2023 and 2027, the annual mean global surface temperature will be 1.1–1.8 degrees Celsius higher than the baseline temperature of 1850–1900 or pre-industrial levels.
  • The average will surpass 1.5 degrees by 2027, which will mark a turning point beyond which there may be no turning back. In 2022, it was 15 degrees above the baseline.

What is the 1.5 degree Celsius target?

  • The 1.5 degree Celsius target is a global climate target that aims to limit warming by 2100.
    • It was initially seen as unrealistic and unachievable, but was accepted by small island countries.
  • In 2010, the Cancun COP16 agreed to limit the global average warming to below 2 degree Celsius.
  • In 2015, the Paris Agreement pledged to limit the average temperature rise to below 2 degree, while actively aiming for 1.5 degree above pre-industrial levels.
  • This was endorsed as a global target by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2018.

Why is the 1.5 degree target critical?

  • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a special report in 2018 on the impact of global warming when temperature reaches 1.5 degree Celsius above baseline.
    • It estimated that anthropogenic activities would have caused 1 degree of warming, likely to reach 1.5 degree between 2030 and 2052 at the current rate.
  • However, regional differences and vulnerability factors make it more urgent for climate action to limit the average planetary warming to 1.5 degree.

Why are we missing the target?

  • The Climate Performance Index has shown that developed countries have made little progress in meeting their pledges to reduce GHG emissions.
  • Polluters like China, Iran and Saudi Arabia rank low in climate performance.
  • The pandemic has pushed the world into a socio-economic crisis, but there is little consideration for building-back in a sustainable manner.
  • The Ukraine conflict has further added to the woes and sparked an energy crisis, threatening climate goals.

Are extreme weather events linked to the global rise in temperature?

  • Effect of Heat Wave: The most important details in this text are the predictions of precipitation anomalies and an increase in marine heat waves, the El Nino, the shrinking cryosphere, and the melting of the Greenlandic ice sheet.
  • Climate Change: Climate risks and hazards impact human population and the ecosystem, such as food insecurity, displacement, and deaths.
  • Food Scarcity: Climate change has been affecting crop yield negatively and the risks posed by agricultural pests and diseases have also increased.
  • Countries like Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, and Afghanistan are facing acute food shortages due to the complex interaction of climate conditions with other factors such as droughts, cyclones, and political and economic instability.
  • Extreme Weather Anomalies: It caused the deaths of two million people and incurred $4.3 trillion in economic damages over the past fifty years. In 2020-2021, 22,608 disaster deaths were recorded globally.

How is India impacted?

  • India has been facing the brunt of climate change, with February 2023 being the hottest month since record-keeping began in 1901. Last year, Indian monsoons were wetter than usual, leading to wildfires and acute food shortages.
  • India is attempting to balance its development needs with ongoing climate action both at the domestic and international levels.
  • Reducing Emissions: Domestic measures such as the Green Hydrogen Mission and the introduction of green bonds are performing fairly well despite contributing only a miniscule to cumulative GHG emissions.
  • Efforts: At the international level, India can prove to be a responsible climate player through the International Solar Alliance and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.
  • Target: The 1.5 degree Celsius target is the global climate target that aims to limit warming to said level by 2100, to prevent the planet from slipping into further climate crises.
  • Climate risks and hazards impact human population and the ecosystem depending on exposure, vulnerability, and adaptive capacity, and have exacerbated food insecurity, displacement, and deaths.

According to the Climate Change Performance Index 2023, India ranked eighth with a high-performance after Denmark, Sweden, Chile, and Morocco.

India has reduced stunting, but wasting and obesity remain concerns

Context

According to UNICEF, WHO, and World Bank Joint Malnutrition Estimates, there will be 1.6 crore fewer stunted children under the age of five in 2022 than there were in 2012, obesity incidence has slightly grown over the past ten years.

Key highlights of the report:


  • The Joint Malnutrition Estimates (JME) released by UNICEF, WHO and the World Bank revealed that India recorded 1.6 crore fewer stunted children under five years in 2022 as compared to 2012.
  • Stunting: This was accompanied by India's share of the global burden of stunting declining from 30% to 25% in the past decade.
  • Wasting: The prevalence of wasting in 2022 was 18.7% in India, with a share of 49% in the global burden of this malnutrition indicator.
  • Obesity: The prevalence of obesity marginally increased in a decade from 2.2% in 2012 to 2.8% in 2022 with the numbers growing to 31.8 lakh from 27.5 lakh.
  • Globally, stunting declined from a prevalence rate of 26.3% in 2012 to 22.3% in 2022.
  • Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Targeting: There is insufficient progress to reach the 2025 World Health Assembly (WHA) global nutrition targets and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 targets; only about one-third of all NFHS-5 showed evidence of continued reduction of stunting and instances of underweight children, though anaemia was disappointing.
  • Concerns: It also showed an improvement in access to health services such as family planning, ante-natal care, deworming, and breastfeeding counselling.
  • Wasting is an outlier, with two-thirds of children at 12 or 24 months having wasting at birth or at one month of age.
  • This means that children were born with very low weight for height and didn't recover even six months or 12 months later despite weight gain.
  • Estimation: The JME estimates for stunting and obesity are based on country-level modelled estimates derived from primary sources, while for wasting, the estimates are based on national-level country prevalence data.

NavIC satellite: Why a regional navigation system matters to India

Context
  • The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the first of its second-generation navigation satellites.

Key highlights:

  • The heaviest satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) constellation, IRNSS-1I, was launched by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) rocket from Sriharikota.
  • Each of the seven satellites in the NavIC constellation were launched by the lighter Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
  • The last IRNSS satellite, IRNSS-1I, was launched in April 2018 to replace an older, partially defunct satellite in the constellation.

What’s new in the second-generation NavIC satellite?

  • The second-generation satellite, christened NVS-01, the first of ISRO’s NVS series of payloads is heavier. The features and component of the satellite are:
  • Atomic Clock: The satellite will have a Rubidium atomic clock onboard, a significant technology developed by India. “The space-qualified Rubidium atomic clock indigenously developed by Space Application Centre-Ahmedabad is an important technology which only a handful of countries possess,” ISRO said in a statement.
  • L1 frequency: L1 signals for better use in wearable devices: The second generation satellites will send signals in a third frequency, L1, besides the L5 and S frequency signals that the existing satellites provide, increasing interoperability with other satellite-based navigation systems.

Frequency: The L1 frequency is among the most commonly used in the Global Positioning System (GPS), and will increase the use of the regional navigation system in wearable devices and personal trackers that use low-power, single-frequency chips.

  • Longer mission life: The second-generation satellites will also have a longer mission life of more than 12 years. The existing satellites have a mission life of 10 years.

What is the significance of the atomic clock on board the NVS-01 payload?

  • The launch of a replacement satellite in 2018 was due to the failure of existing satellites' onboard atomic clocks.
  • This meant that only four IRNSS satellites are able to provide location services, while the other satellites can only be used for messaging services such as disaster warnings and fishing zone messages.

What about the age of the satellites?

  • 1A is almost defunct - the failed 1H mission of 2018 was intended to replace this satellite, and all the three oldest satellites in the constellation are close to the end of their 10-year mission lives.
  • At least three new satellites must be put into orbit to keep the seven-satellite constellation fully functional.

What practical purpose does the NAvIC constellation serve for users?

  • A 2018 report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India said that work on the project started only in March 2017, by which time seven launches had already taken place.
  • The receivers have now been developed, and NavIC is in use for projects like public vehicle safety, power grid synchronisation, real-time train information systems, and fishermen’s safety.
  • Other initiatives such as common alert protocol based emergency warning, time dissemination, geodetic network, and unmanned aerial vehicles are in the process of adopting NavIC system.
  • Some cell phone chipsets such as the ones built by Qualcomm and MediaTek integrated NavIC receivers in 2019.
  • The Ministry of Electronics and IT is in talks with smartphone companies to urge them to make their handsets NavIC compatible.

What is the advantage of having a regional navigation system?

  • NavIC provides coverage over the Indian landmass and up to a radius of 1,500 km around it, and uses satellites in high geo-stationery orbit.
  • NavIC signals come to India at a 90-degree angle, making it easier for them to reach devices located even in congested areas, dense forests, or mountains.
  • India is the only country that has a regional satellite-based navigation system. There are four global satellite-based navigation systems - the American GPS, the Russian GLONASS, the European Galileo, and the Chinese Beidou.
  • Japan has a four-satellite system that can augment GPS signals over the country.

Short News Article

Science & Technology

Indian Research Base Station

  • The Indian Antarctic program began in 1981, and it has built three permanent research base stations in Antarctica, named DakshinGangotri (1983), Maitri (1988) and Bharati (2012). As of today, Maitri and Bharati are fully operational.

About:

  • The continent of Antarctica, the fifth-largest in terms of total area, covers a significant part of the Antarctic region. It is a cold terrain, located in a remote area in the Southern Hemisphere covered by the Antarctic Convergence – an “uneven line of latitude where cold, northward-flowing Antarctic waters meet the warmer waters of the world’s oceans.”
  • The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa—an autonomous institute under the ministry of Earth Sciences—manages the entire Indian Antarctic program.

Science & Technology

Rice fortification

  • India's pilot studies on rice fortification showed that nutritional anaemia could be reduced, with a significant drop in the prevalence of anaemia among schoolchildren, according to a United Nations report.

About:

  • Under the fortification scheme, milled broken rice is ground to dust and a premix of vitamins and minerals is added to it. Thereafter, an extruder machine is used to produce fortified rice kernels (FRK) resembling rice grains.
  • The kernels are then mixed in a 1:100 ratio with regular rice to produce fortified rice. The cost to the consumer is estimated to be less than 50 paisa per kg.
  • Various technologies are available to add micronutrients to regular rice, such as coating, dusting, and ‘extrusion’.

Science & Technology

X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat)

The Indian Space Research Organisation is collaborating with the Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bengaluru, an autonomous research institute, to build the X-Ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) that is scheduled to be launched later this year.

About:

  • XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite) is India’s first dedicated polarimetry mission to study various dynamics of bright astronomical X-ray sources in extreme conditions.
  • The spacecraft will carry two scientific payloads in a low earth orbit.

Editorial

At Hiroshima, Japan’s moment to reinforce partnerships

Context:

The G-7 Hiroshima Summit is the first hosted by Tokyo since the 2008 summit. It comes at a time when the world is faced with threatening challenges like war in Ukraine.

Why agenda is vital for Japan

  • Russian aggression: Russian aggression in Ukraine has continued for more than one year. Recently, Russia carried out one of the largest drone attack on the Ukraine.
  • Chinese aggression: China is increasingly on the offensive with an ever-active military and nuclear modernisation plan. Also, China is increasing its military pressures on Taiwan. It is in immediate vicinity of Japan, thus posing threat to it.
  • North Korea’s belligerence: North Korea is nearer to the Japan but its aggression is increasing. North Korea’ increasingly volatile nuclear posturing and nuclear weapons pose threat to Japan.

New Delhi-Tokyo Partnership is important

  • Joint collaboration: Recent Years have witnessed increasing collaboration between New Delhi and Tokyo. There is regular joint military exercises and the progress of agreements on economic cooperation. 
  • Principles: Two key tenants form the key for both Indo-Japan role in the Indo-Pacific. First, the preservation of a rules-based order; and second, opposition to any unilateral attempt to alter regional order.
  • Middle power diplomacy: Both countries have reiterated 2 principles at the Hiroshima Summit. Stronger ties between India and Japan are significant for boosting middle-power diplomacy in the region.

Advancing Shinzo Abe’s Legacy

  • Current PM: Fumio Kishida, as the current Japanese Prime Minister, is proactively carrying forward the legacy of Shinzo Abe, who was a strong advocate for Japan’s active role in the world.
  • Efforts by Kishida:Mr. Kishida has advanced Shinzo Abe’s work by developing security and diplomatic partnerships across the world.
  • Crucial security actor: The Hiroshima Summit confirmed Japan's resurgence as a crucial security actor, one that is more eager than ever to influence the evolving strategic contours of the Indo-Pacific and the larger international order.
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