Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for February 7, 2024. If you missed the February 6, 2024 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here

EXPLAINED

WHAT IS THE ‘ATMOSPHERIC RIVER’ BRINGING HEAVY RAIN TO CALIFORNIA

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies I: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- California braced on Sunday for the worst of a potentially dangerous storm that threatened to hammer parts of the state with hurricane-force winds and cause flooding and mudslides as it moves down the coast over the next few days.

• What does “Pineapple Express” mean?

• What is an atmospheric river?

• What happens when an atmospheric river reaches land?

• Where did the term atmospheric river come from?

• Do You Know-The weather system, known as an atmospheric river, gets its name from the flow of moisture that periodically heads east from waters adjacent to the Hawaiian Islands to soak the US West Coast. It blanketed parts of Hawaii with snow over the weekend and was expected to drench California this week.

The storm, called a “Pineapple Express” because the atmospheric river’s plume of moisture stretches back across the Pacific to near Hawaii, arrived in Northern California on Saturday when most of the state was under some sort of wind, surf or flood watch. By early Sunday, the National Weather Service issued a rare “hurricane force wind warning” for the Central Coast, with wind gusts up to 92 mph (148 kph) from the Monterey Peninsula to the northern section of San Luis Obispo County. The storm was expected to move down the coast and hit the Los Angeles area with downpours, flash floods and high-elevation mountain snow on Sunday and to hammer Orange County and San Diego on Monday. Heavy to moderate rain was expected to stay in Southern California until Tuesday.

The National Weather Service forecast up to 6 inches (15 centimetres) of rainfall across Southern California’s coastal and valley areas, with up to 12 inches (31 centimetres) likely in the foothills and mountains. Forecasters predicted mudslides, debris flows and flooding to occur. It is the second time in days that California has been hit by an atmospheric river, a long band of moisture that forms over the Pacific. The first arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area on Wednesday, delivering downpours and heavy snowfall that brought cable car service to a halt before moving down the coast.

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????‘Pineapple Express’ from Hawaii set to soak California

FRONT PAGE

Uttarakhand brings one code for marriage, inheritance, divorce

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance

Main Examination: 

• General Studies II: Indian Constitution—significant provisions etc.

• General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- From requiring compulsory registration with the state while starting or ending a live-in relationship for heterosexual couples — a record of which will be kept in a police station; providing for maintenance to the woman when “deserted” by her partner; to prescribing jail term of up to six months for not producing a “certificate” of the relationship — the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill introduced in the Uttarakhand Assembly Tuesday enters uncharted territory, imposes stringent terms on a consensual relationship between adults and raises constitutional concerns of privacy and personal liberty.

• Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill-Why in news these days?

• Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill-Know key features and highlights

• Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill-Know issues and controversies

• Uttarakhand Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill-Know provisions for live-in relationships

• For Your Information-Essentially, the Bill seeks to equate heterosexual live-in relationships to the status of a marriage. A separate chapter in the proposed Code deals with live-in relationships, defining them as a “relationship between a man and a woman” (partners) who “cohabit in a shared household through a relationship in the nature of marriage, provided that such relations are not prohibited.”

The Bill requires the partners to notify the “Registrar” within a month of entering into a live-in relationship and while terminating a live-in relationship. It prescribes a jail term of upto three months for not registering a live-in relationship. In case of failing to produce a certificate of live-in relationship, a term of six months is prescribed on conviction. When asked about these provisions, an official in the state government claimed that “concerns over heinous crimes among live-in couples” was the key imperative behind this provision. And that registration would act as a “mental deterrent” if a partner had “bad intentions.”

Significantly, the proposed Code also provides for maintenance for women “deserted” by her partner, similar to a married woman. Section 388 states: “If a woman gets deserted by her live-in partner, she shall be entitled to claim maintenance from her live-in partner, for which she may approach the competent Court having jurisdiction over the place where they last cohabited, and, in such a case, the provisions contained in chapter 5, Part 1 of the Code shall mutatis mutandis apply.”

Live-in relationships are currently accounted for only under the Domestic Violence Act, 2005 as “domestic relationships”. The law, which also has provisions for maintenance, only recognises relationships “akin to marriage” when women complain of domestic violence.

In a 2010 ruling, the Supreme Court, in Velusamy v Patchaiammal case, dealing with the Domestic Violence Act, said that spending weekends together or a one-night stand would not make it a “domestic relationship”. The proposed law will apply to those living in Uttarakhand as well as residents of Uttarakhand living elsewhere in India.

Section 378 of the Code requires submission of a statement by partners to a live-in relationship. “It shall be obligatory for partners to live-in relationship within the state, whether they are resident(s) of Uttarakhand or not, to submit a statement of live-in relationship under sub-section 1 of section 381 to the Registrar within whose jurisdiction they are living,” it states. “Any resident(s) of Uttarakhand staying in a live-in relationship outside the territory of the state, may submit a statement of live-in relationship under sub section 1 of section 381 to the Registrar within whose jurisdiction such resident ordinarily resides,” it adds. The Bill also explicitly recognises that a child born in a live-relationship is a legitimate child. This has been the legal position but is now codified as law.

The Registrar, similar to powers granted to the magistrate in the anti-conversion legislation, is empowered to conduct a “summary inquiry”, summoning the live-in partners or “any other persons” for verification. The Registrar will forward the record to the police station concerned and, in case either partner is less than 21 years of age, inform the parents or guardians. In the 2017 landmark Puttaswamy ruling where the Supreme Court recognised the right to privacy, the Court had cited several precedents stating that “personal information which has no relationship to any public activity or interest”, or which would cause “unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual”, unless the authority is “satisfied that the larger public interest justifies its disclosure”.

The Delhi High Court in the Naz Foundation ruling in 2009, which for the first time struck down Section 377 of the IPC, had said: “…The sphere of privacy allows persons to develop human relations without interference from the outside community or from the State. The exercise of autonomy enables an individual to attain fulfilment, grow in self-esteem, build relationships of his or her choice and fulfil all legitimate goals that he or she may set. In the Indian Constitution, the right to live with dignity and the right of privacy both are recognised as dimensions of Article 21…”

• What changes for Muslims after Uttarakhand civil code?

• What changes for Hindus after Uttarakhand civil code?

• Article 44 of the Indian Constitution and Uniform Civil Code-What is the ongoing debate?

• What is Article 44 of Indian Constitution i.e. Uniform Civil Code?

• What is Directive principles of State Policy (DPSP)?

• Difference Between Fundamental Rights and Directive principles of State Policy

• ‘Reform of Family Law’ report by 21st Law Commission of India on Article 44-Know in detail

• Issues and Controversy with Uniform Civil Code and Why it has not been Implemented even after seven decades of Independence?

• Know how the government’s stance on a uniform civil code (UCC) has evolved between the year 1991 to 2004?

• What are arguments for implementing Uniform Civil Code in India?

• What are arguments against implementing Uniform Civil Code in India?

• What constitutional experts saying in this regard?

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????Uttarakhand civil code: The key changes for Hindus and Muslims in marriage, inheritance

????Uttarakhand civil code: how needle has moved

EC rules Ajit faction is real NCP, Sharad Pawar faction will go to SC

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc

Main Examination: General Studies II: Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- IN A setback for Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar, the Election Commission (EC) on Tuesday recognised the faction led by his nephew, Ajit Pawar, as the real NCP, giving it control over the party name and ‘clock’ symbol.

• How does the EC decide on splits within parties?

• For Your Information-On the question of a split in a political party outside the legislature, Para 15 of the Symbols Order, 1968, states: “When the Commission is satisfied…that there are rival sections or groups of a recognised political party each of whom claims to be that party the Commission may, after taking into account all the available facts and circumstances of the case and hearing (their) representatives…decide that one such rival section or group or none of such rival sections or groups is that recognised political party and the decision of the Commission shall be binding on all such rival sections or groups.” This applies to disputes in recognised national and state parties (like the Shiv Sena). For splits in registered but unrecognised parties, the ECI usually advises the warring factions to resolve their differences internally or to approach the court.

The first case to be decided under the 1968 Order was the first split in the Indian National Congress in 1969. After the party old guard led by K Kamaraj, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, S Nijalingappa, and Atulya Ghosh, known as the Syndicate, expelled Indira Gandhi from the Congress, and the party split into the “old” Congress (O) led by Nijalingappa and the “new” Congress (J) led by Indira. The “old” Congress retained the party’s official symbol of a pair of bullocks carrying a yoke; the breakaway faction was given the symbol of a cow with its calf.

• What happened before 1968?

• Is there a way other than the test of majority to resolve a symbol dispute?

• What happens to the group that doesn’t get the parent party’s symbol?

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????NCP leadership tussle between Ajit Pawar and Sharad Pawar: How EC resolves these disputes

Indigenous CAR-T cell therapy gets rolling: ‘first’ patient is cancer-free

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Months after India’s drug regulator approved the commercial use of CAR-T cell therapy, a pioneering treatment that genetically reprogrammes a patient’s immune system to fight cancer, Gupta, a Delhi-based gastroenterologist, became one of the first patients to access the therapy by paying Rs 42 lakh — a treatment that costs approximately Rs 3-4 crore abroad.

• What is CAR T-cell therapy?

• What is NexCAR 19?

• CAR T-cell therapy and NexCAR 19-Compare

• Is NexCAR19 a type of CAR-T therapy?

• Who can get the NexCAR19 therapy?

• B-cell leukaemia is most common among children. Are they eligible for the therapy too?

• Is India’s indigenous CAR-T cell therapy any more or less effective than CAR-T cell therapies abroad?

• How do CAR-T cells find and destroy cancer cells?

• Do You Know-CAR-T is a revolutionary therapy that modifies immune cells, specifically T-cells, by turning them into potent cancer fighters known as CAR-T cells. T-cells are special cells (white blood cells that find and fight illness and infection) whose primary function is cytotoxic, meaning it can kill other cells. In CAR-T therapy, we genetically modify them into cancer-fighting cells. These supercharged cells are then put back into the body, and they go after cancer cells — especially in blood cancers like leukaemia and lymphomas.

NexCar19 is a type of CAR-T and gene therapy developed indigenously in India by ImmunoACT, which is a company incubated at IIT Bombay. Our therapy is designed to target cancer cells that carry the CD19 protein. This protein acts like a flag on cancer cells, which allows CAR-T cells to recognise and attach themselves to the cancer cells and start the process of elimination. Even some developed nations don’t have their own CAR-T therapies; they import them from the United States or Europe. India is now one of the first developing countries to have its indigenous CAR-T and gene therapy platform. The therapy is for people with B-cell lymphomas who didn’t respond to standard treatments like chemotherapy, leading to relapse or recurrence of the cancer.

The patient’s journey starts with a doctor’s prescription at the clinic, followed by donation of blood by the patient at a transfusion centre. The blood goes to the lab, where the T-cells are genetically modified. In a week to 10 days, these cells return to the clinic for patient reinfusion. Essentially, patients only need to give a blood sample at their clinic, and come back in 7-10 days for reinfusion.

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IN PARLIAMENT

Rajya Sabha passes Bill to amend Water Act, decriminalise minor pollution-linked crimes

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc

Main Examination: General Studies II: Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Bill, which seeks to decriminalise minor offences related to water pollution, and exempt certain categories of industrial plants from statutory restrictions.

• Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Bill-Know the highlights

• Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Bill-Issues and challenges

• For Your Information- The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Bill, 2024 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha by MoS for Environment Ashwini Kumar Choubey. It would be applicable to Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, and any other state that passes a resolution under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.

Currently, the Act prescribes imprisonment of up to three months for not informing the State Board about abstraction of water from a stream or well in a substantial volume and not providing information about construction, installation or operation of disposal system. The Bill amends it to a fine between Rs10,000 and Rs15 lakh. The Act states the chairman of the State Pollution Control Board will be nominated by the State government, to which the Bill adds “in such manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government”. The Bill enables the Centre to “exempt certain categories of industrial plants” from the restrictions on new outlets and discharges. It also enables the Centre to “issue guidelines” on matters relating to grant, establishment of any industry, etc.

According to the statement of objects and reasons of the Bill, the amendment proposes to rationalise criminal provisions and ensure that citizens, businesses and companies operate without fear of imprisonment for minor, technical or procedural defaults. Also, the nature of penal consequence of an offence must be commensurate with the seriousness of offence, it added.

According to the Bill, the central government will be empowered to exempt certain categories of industrial plants from the application of Section 25 relating to restriction on new outlets and new discharges. “This will reduce the duplication of surveillance and unnecessary burden on regulatory agencies,” Yadav said.

According to the proposed law, the central government will prescribe the manner of nomination of chairpersons of State Pollution Control Boards. It also empowers the central government to issue guidelines on the matters relating to the grant, refusal or cancellation of consent by any state board for establishment of any industry, operation or process, or treatment and disposal system or bringing into use of new or altered outlets.

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THE IDEAS PAGE

Policy must address growth gap

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.

Main Examination: General Studies III: Government Budgeting

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Amit Basole and Zico Dasgupta writes: The interim Union budget presented on February 1 was only a vote on account since the general elections are due soon. However, it still gives a picture of the government’s thinking on macroeconomic policy objectives and allows us to ask if the approach is correct, given the challenges currently facing the Indian economy.

• “The interim Union budget presented on February 1 was only a vote on account since the general elections are due soon however, it still gives a picture of the government’s thinking on macroeconomic policy objectives”-Analyse

• The present fiscal policy framework is based on two distinct objectives-What are those?

• What is debt-to-GDP ratio?

• The debt-to-GDP ratio of any period depends on two distinct factors-what are those?

• Do You Know-The debt-to-GDP ratio of any period depends on two distinct factors. First is the gap between the GDP growth rate (g) and the interest rate (r) that the government has to pay on its borrowing. The greater g is with respect to r, the lower would be the ratio. Second, it depends on the primary deficit-GDP ratio, where the primary deficit is the excess of expenditures net of interest payment over the non-debt receipts of the government. The lower the primary deficit-GDP ratio, the lower would be the debt ratio. The policy objective of reducing debt-to-GDP ratio has involved the government reducing its borrowings and primary deficit ratio since 2021-22.

• There are two ways of reducing the ratio of primary deficit to GDP-know how?

• Interim Budget 2024-what are the key highlights?

• How much did the government proposed to spend or do its total expenditure in 2024?

• Which sector get the highest allocations, in 2024?

• What is the predicted growth rate in the Interim budget?

• The Finance Minister expects the nominal GDP growth rate to be 10.5%-What does this signifies?

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ECONOMY

Petronet LNG, QatarEnergy extend vital LNG supply deal by another 20 yrs beyond 2028

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Petronet LNG and QatarEnergy on Tuesday inked the deal to extend the supply of 7.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the latter for another 20 years beyond 2028, when the current long-term contract is set to expire.

• What is a liquefied natural gas?

• For Your Information-LNG is natural gas reduced to a liquid state (liquefaction) through intense cooling to around -161 degrees Celsius (-259 Fahrenheit). This liquid gas is 600 times smaller than the original volume and is half the weight of water. The compressed fossil fuel, which is constituted almost wholly of methane — a potent greenhouse gas —, can be transported around the world by ship. After arriving at its destination, the cargo is regasified in a floating terminal and redistributed through pipelines.

But despite LNG’s export potential, the high cost of liquefaction and producing LNG has limited its market. In Germany, the estimated cost of building floating LNG terminals for imports to substitute Russian gas has doubled, due in part to higher operating and infrastructure costs.

The cooling, liquefying and transport processes, as well as the post-transport regasification procedures, also require a lot of energy. “Between 10-25% of the energy of the gas is being lost during the liquefaction process,” according to Andy Gheorghiu, a Germany-based campaigner and consultant on climate and energy policy.

• What’s the climate impact of LNG?

• Why is LNG important in India?

• Who is the largest supplier of LNG to India?

• Why is LNG important to the economy?

• “India’s Gas import dependency”-Comment

• Do You Know-India’s import dependency in natural gas is around 50%, and given the government’s concerted push to increase natural gas consumption, imports are only likely to rise in the coming years, even if domestic production of natural gas increases.

Government-owned Petronet LNG, India’s largest LNG importer, has a long-term contract with Qatar for the import of 8.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG. In addition, Qatari gas has a sizable share in India’s LNG purchases from the spot market.

India has set itself an ambitious target to increase the share of natural gas in the primary energy mix to 15% by 2030 from a little more than 6% at present. This is bound to result in a rapid increase in LNG imports over the next few years. Natural gas is seen as a significantly cleaner alternative to conventional petroleum fuels like diesel and petrol, and is usually cheaper than crude oil. For India, which has an import dependency of over 85% in crude, gas is both more affordable and a better transition fuel in the energy transition pathway.

India’s total imports from Qatar in FY2022-23 were valued at $16.81 billion, of which LNG imports alone were worth $8.32 billion, or 49.5%, an analysis of official trade data shows. India’s other major imports from Qatar are also fossil fuel-linked commodities and products, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), plastics, and other petrochemicals.

India imported a total 19.85 million tonnes of LNG in FY23, of which 10.74 million tonnes, or 54%, came from Qatar, the trade data show. This means that apart from the 8.5 million tonnes of LNG that Qatar supplied as part of the Petronet LNG term contract, nearly 2.25 million tonnes of additional gas was purchased from Qatar on spot basis last year. While Indian LNG importers — predominantly the public sector oil and gas companies — continue to make efforts to diversify sourcing, it could be years before the high reliance on Qatar can be reduced to a meaningful extent.

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