| CONTENTS 1) Krishna Janmabhoomi in UP 2) Cuban missile crisis 3) National investigation agency 4) Glyphosate 5) Floating trash barrier 6) Mains value addition 7) Prelims , Places |
GS-I / II- Culture
Krishna Janmabhoomi – Communal harmony
TAJ BIBI & RAKSHAN
✓ Raskhan and Taj Bibi, the two most famous Muslim devotees of Lord Krishna. With the Uttar Pradesh government focussed on creating Krishna Janmabhoomi as a major pilgrim tourist destination in the State, the redevelopment of these burial sites has been prioritised.
✓ Raskhan, or Syed Ibrahim Khan, was a 16th century Sufi Muslim poet born either in Amrohaor Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh. He became a follower of Krishna and spent his life in Vrindavan.
✓ Taj Bibi, also known as the ‘Mughal Mirabai’, was the daughter of a Muslim nobleman, appointed by the Mughals to protect the Gokul area.She got married to emperor Akbar.
✓ One of the first pilgrim tourist sites to be developed in the Braj (Mathura-Vrindavan) area, and the Chief Minister was “excited” about the project, for which funds were released immediately.
GS-I-World History
LESSONS FROM CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
Context – Russia – Ukraine war brought in to limelight the Lessons from Cuban missile crisis after Russia said they would use Dirty bomb .
• The Ukraine war is testing the old lessons of nuclear deterrence. Russia sees itself at war, not with non-nuclear Ukraine, but with a nuclear armed NATO.
• Putin cited U.S. bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 as a precedent.
• India’s response was that any use of such weapons would be against “the basic tenets of humanity”.
• In 1945, Japan was on the verge of surrender and only the U.S. possessed nuclear weapons.
• Use of a tactical nuclear weapon will only strengthen Ukrainian national resolve; NATO response is unlikely to be nuclear but will be sharp. International political backlash would be significant and Mr. Putin may find himself increasingly isolated.
• Many countries in East and Central Asia could reconsider nuclear weapons as a security necessity.
Role for global diplomacy
• The United Nations appears paralysed given the involvement of permanent members of the Security Council.
• Therefore, it is for other global leaders who have access and influence, to convince Mr. Putin that nuclear escalation would be a disastrous move.
• Indonesia is the G-20 chair and President Joko Widodo will be hosting the summit meeting next month. India is the incoming chair; .
• In a meeting with Mr. Putin in Samarkand , Mr. Modi emphasised that “now is not the era of war”.
• In the run-up to the G-20 summit, Mr. Widodo and Mr. Modi are well placed to take a diplomatic initiative to persuade Mr. Putin to step away from the nuclear rhetoric. ; to reiterating Russia’s official declaratory position that restricts nuclear use for “an existential threat”.
• Such a statement would help reduce growing fears of escalation and may also provide a channel for communication and open the door for a dialogue that can lead to a ceasefire. The lessons of the Cuban Missile crisis remain valid 60 years later.
CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS
• In October 1962, the Soviet provision of ballistic missiles to Cuba led to the most dangerous Cold War confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union and brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.
• Over the course of two extremely tense weeks, US President John F. Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev negotiated a peaceful outcome to the crisis.
• The crisis evoked fears of nuclear destruction, revealed the dangers of brinksmanship, and invigorated attempts to halt the arms race.
Cuban revolution
• After waging a successful guerrilla war against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, Fidel Castro came to power on January 1, 1959.
• Over the course of 1959 and 1960, US-Cuban relations worsened due to Castro’s anti-US rhetoric and radical policies, especially his refusal to hold elections.
• Castro turned to the Soviet Union for support. The Soviets signed multiple trade and aid agreements with Cuba, provided Castro with arms and weaponry, and also gave political support in international organizations.
Origin of crisis
• Lie in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, during which US-supported Cuban exiles were overpowered by the Cuban armed forces.
• After the invasion, Castro turned to the Soviets for protection against future US aggression. The Soviets provided Cuba with nuclear weapons on the condition that the deal would remain secret until the missiles were fully operational.
• In October 16, 1962, US U-2 spy plane flights over Cuban territory revealed the missile installation sites. This discovery inaugurated what became known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• Those weapons were enormous: the missiles could easily reach targets in the United States.
• USA established a naval blockade on oct 22 to prevent any more missiles from reaching Cuba, and demanded the immediate removal of existing missiles .
• The danger of this approach was that if the Soviets refused to remove the missiles, the United States would be forced to escalate the crisis by authorizing air strikes over Cuba to bomb the missile sites.
Outcome
• Over the course of approximately two weeks, Kennedy and Khrushchev negotiated a peaceful outcome to the missile crisis. The Soviets compared their provision of nuclear weapons to Cuba with the stationing of Jupiter missiles in Turkey, which were in range of Soviet territory.
• Kennedy agreed to remove the missiles from Turkey, and also pledged that the US government would not undertake another invasion of Cuba.
• Throughout the negotiations, Khrushchev failed to consult with Castro. For Castro, this was humiliating and seemed to prove that the Soviets prioritized relations with the United States over relations with their own allies.
• Castro hoped to negotiate the closing of the US naval base at Guantanamo and the cessation of U-2 flights over Cuban territory. Ultimately, Khrushchev agreed to remove all of the nuclear missiles from Cuba.
Consequences
• Although the Soviets attempted to portray the outcome of the missile crisis as a victory, one of the consequences of the crisis was the ouster of Khrushchev.
• Stating that the missile crisis was proof of Khrushchev’s reckless decision-making and his inability to lead the Soviet Union.
• John F. Kennedy came out of the crisis in a much better position. His calm but firm stance in the negotiations was heralded as great statesmanship, though it is often forgotten that his Cuba invasion had lead to the missile crisis in the first place.
• The Cuban Missile Crisis also convinced Kennedy of the dangers of nuclear brinksmanship.
• In August 1963, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain signed a treaty banning atmospheric and underwater nuclear testing. Nevertheless, the test-ban treaty failed to halt the arms race.
GS-II -Polity (Statutory bodies)
NATIONAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY
Context – Union Home Minister said that States should have a uniform law and order policy as certain crimes such as cross-border terrorism and cybercrimes transcend regional and international boundaries.
• By 2024, to counter terror activities, each State would have a National Investigation Agency (NIA) office as the agency had been given “extra territorial jurisdiction” and additional powers to confiscate property in terror-related cases.
• He called for centralisation of data on terror and other crimes and said that following the principle of “one data, one entry,” the NIA had been entrusted with the task of maintaining a national terror database,
• The Enforcement Directorate a dataset on financial crimes and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on narco crimes.
• The Minister urged the States to utilise the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) that was operational now. The NATGRID brings datasets of 11 agencies on a common platform.
• the spirit of ‘cooperative federalism’, cooperation, coordination and collaboration between the Centre and the States is required.”
• Law and order was a State subject, the Constitution provided that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) could intervene in matters concerning national security
NIA
• Constituted in 2009 under NIA Act , 2008 – in backdrop of 2008 Mumbai attacks
• Central counter terrorism law enforcement agency in India under Ministry of HOME AFFAIRS
• HQ – Delhi. 12 branches.
• It has a Terror Funding and Fake Currency Cell (TFFC)
• Current Director general – Dinkar gupta, appointed by Central government.
NIA (Amendment) Act , 2019 :
1. It applied the provisions of the NIA Act also to persons who commit a scheduled offence beyond India against Indiancitizens or affecting the interest of India.
2. It provided that the officers of the NIA shall have the similar powers, duties, privies and liabilities being exercised by the police officers in connection with the investigation ofoffences, not only in India but also outside India.
3. It empowered the central government, with respect to a scheduled offence committed outside India, to direct the NIAto register the case and take up investigation as if such offence has taken place in India.
4. It provided that the central government and the stategovernments may designate Sessions Courts as Special Courts for conducting the trial of offences under the NIA Act.
5. It inserted certain new offences in the Schedule of the NIAAct – offences relating to human trafficking, counterfeit currency or bank notes, manufacture or sale of prohibited arms, cyber-terrorism and explosive substances.
Related news – The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) handedover the probe in the recent Coimbatore car-explosion case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA)
GS-III-Environment
GLYPHOSATE
Context – The Indian Government officially restricted the use of popular herbicide glyphosate.
What is glyphosate?
• It is a non-selective herbicide that can kill almost all plants by stopping them from producing specific proteins required for their growth.
• Sodium salt form of this herbicide is used to regulate the plant’s growth and ripen specific crops.
What are the new rules on the use of glyphosate in India?
• The Indian Government officially restricted the use of the glyphosate due to fears of health risks to humans and animals.
• The new rules permit only pest control operators to apply glyphosate. Pest control operators are licensed to use deadly chemicals for eliminating pests like rodents.
• The order is expected to cause challenges due to the absence of the pest control operator system at the cultivation areas. Adding of the pest control operator could increase cost of the herbicide significantly, which would adversely affect farmers to a large extent.
• To implement the new order, all certificates of registration for the manufacturing or selling of glyphosate must be returned to the registration committee within three months.
• If any company fails to return the registration certificate within deadline, the government will take necessary actions against it under the Insecticides Act of 1968.
Why there is need to ban
• Because of its potential link to cancer and its role in causing deaths of important insects like bees. Its usage caused rapid decline in insect population, which damaged ecosystem by disrupting food chain and plant pollination.
Where is glyphosate used in India?
• Its usage became popular in the country after the illegal cultivation of Ht BT cotton started.
• In tea plantations to control the growth of unwanted plants.
• In non-crop areas to prevent plant growth.
• It is used alongside irrigation channels, railway sidings, fallow land, bunds, farm borders, parks, industrial and military premises, airports, power stations etc.
GS-III-Environment
FLOATING TRASH BARRIER (FTB),
• Developed by a Bengaluru firm (AlphaMERS Ltd ) and deployed in eight cities across India to trap trash in waterbodies,
• Won the Cleaning and Restoring India’s Water Bodies Challenge conducted by the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA).
• The challenge was conducted by the Waste to Wealth Mission — Swachh Bharat Unnat Bharat Mission .
• It could address the serious environmental issue of floating solid waste pollution plaguing India’s waterbodies.
• The FTB uses the natural flow of water to bring the trash to the riverbank where it is deployed and from there the trash is manually or mechanically removed.
• The FTB is deployed in eight cities — Bengaluru, Chennai, Puducherry, Hyderabad, Mysuru, Thanjavur, Tuticorin and Coimbatore.
• The FTB is said to be successful in cleaning up the Cooum in Chennai and the Musi in Hyderabad. In Bengaluru, it has been deployed in some storm-water drains, and Nagawaraand Dasarahalli lakes.
MAINS VALUE ADDITION
GS-I-Society
• A manufacturing facility for C-295 transport aircraft will be set up at Vadodara in Gujarat by Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. (TASL) in partnership with European aviation major Airbus. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for the plant
GS-II -Polity
• In a significant order, the Supreme Court has made it clear that the psychological evaluation of condemned prisoners by expert doctors, and access to them by mitigating investigators, are essential before the hearing begins on their appeals against the death penalty.
GS-II -Polity
• The special MP-MLA court awarded 3 years imprisonment to SP leader and ex-minister Azam khan in relation to 2019 hate speech case.
• Hate speech related – Case filed under Section 125 of RPA,1951… Sections 505 and 153 of IPC.
GS- I/ III-Environment
• Geo tube- Geotextile tubes are a component of the living shorelines approach to prevent coastal erosion and construction of underwater structures
• The Geotubes are also known as geobags — used for sludge dewatering projects of different sizes because of their simplicity and low-cost factor. They are containers that are hydraulically filled with a slurry mix of sand and water.
PRELIMS
✓ A manufacturing facility for C-295 transport aircraft will be set up at Vadodara in Gujarat by Tata Advanced Systems Ltd. (TASL) in partnership with European aviation major Airbus.
✓ Sri Damodaram Sanjeevaiah Thermal Power Station (SDSTPS) in Krishnapatnam of Andhrapradesh.
✓ Raksha Mantri graced the ‘Shaurya Diwas’ celebrations in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) on October 27, 2022 to commemorate the 75th year of air landed operations of Indian Army at Budgam Airport in 1947, which ensured the first civil-military victory of Independent India.
✓ The Prime Minister appealed to make an outreach to deprived minority groups such as Pasmanda Muslims, especially in Uttar Pradesh.
✓ A colony of bats was evicted from a Manipur cave system (Khangkhui Mangsor, is a natural limestone cave about 15 km from Ukhrul, )with a Palaeolithic past to make it tourist-friendly.
✓ Dirty Bomb –Radiological dispersion devices (Dynamite + Radioactive materials)
✓ Genetic Engineering appraisal committee under Ministryof Environment recommended the “environmental release” of the transgenic hybrid mustard DMH-11 for seed production and conduct of field demonstration studies with respect to its effects, if any, on honey bees and other pollinating insects.Khangkhui mangsor ,a limestone cave is in which state – Manipur
✓ Project Wave , Digital initiatives for enhancing customer experience is by- Indian Bank
Places in news
▪ Israel and Lebanon on Thursday separately signed a U.S.-brokered maritime border deal which paves the way for lucrative offshore gas extraction by the neighbours that remain technically at war.
