03 October 2023

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – Goa’s new beach shack policy: GS II – Topic – Government Policies and Interventions

Context:

• For the construction of temporary seasonal structures, beach shacks, deck beds, and umbrellas along beach stretches for the upcoming three tourism seasons, the Goa government recently authorised the “Goa State Shack Policy 2023-2026.”

What beach shacks are:

• Typically, beach shacks are constructed from environmentally friendly materials like bamboo, wooden poles, and thatched palm fronds.
• These are now a well-liked destination for both local and foreign visitors to Goa.
• Beach shacks are transient buildings that double as restaurants and bars, complete with sunbeds on the sand and people to serve you there.

The revised shack rule:

• The shack policy permits Goan residents who are unemployed to run “temporary” shacks on the beaches during the busiest travel season.
• Shacks must be forcibly taken down by the end of tourist season.
• In order to simplify digital transactions for clients, a “Digital Coast” has been planned along the beaches, where shack allottees will be given POS (point of sale) machines.

Source The Hindu

2 – Women Reservation Bill: GS II – Topic – Parliament-related issues

Context:

• The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty Eighth Amendment) Bill, also known as the women’s reservation bill and granting 33% of seats to women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, was enacted by Parliament in a historic act.

Regarding the Bill:

• In the Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies, and Delhi’s National Capital Territory, one-third of all seats will be set aside for women under the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, as the Bill is known.
• This will also apply to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies seats designated for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
• After each exercise in delineation, the chairs set apart for women will be switched.

Evolution:

1988 National Perspective Plan:

• Reservations for women were encouraged by the National Perspective Plan for Women at all levels of government, from the Panchayat to the Parliament.
• As a result, the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments were passed, mandating that women hold one-third of the seats in Panchayati Raj institutions and one-third of the chairperson positions at various levels, with additional reservation for women from Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) groups.

Parliamentary introduction – 1996:

• The H D Deve Gowda-led administration initially introduced the Women’s Reservation Bill to Parliament in 1996.
• The Lok Sabha was presented with the Constitution (Eighty-first Amendment) Bill, 1996 (insertion of new Articles 330A and 332A).
• However, a number of the United Front government’s 13-party coalition leaders opposed the Bill.
• After that, it was sent to a Joint Committee under the direction of Geeta Mukherjee.
• The committee believed that “as nearly as may be, one-third” should be used in place of “not less than one-third”.

Other suggestions were as follows:

• Rajya Sabha seat reservations,
• taking Other Backward Classes (OBCs) into consideration, and
• the time that women must occupy a seat under reservation.
• The committee also suggested that, on a rotating basis, one of the Anglo-Indian members be a woman.
• For states with current reservations for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in less than three seats, a rotation mechanism was also proposed.
• The Bill failed to pass despite numerous attempts by various governments because of a lack of political agreement.

NDA Administration (1998–2004):

• The Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government made repeated attempts between 1998 and 2004 to approve the Women’s Reservation Bill.
• These efforts were fruitless since the Bill again expired.

UPA administration:

• Manmohan Singh, the prime minister at the time, and the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) administration made a commitment in 2004 to draught legislation granting women a third of the seats in Vidhan Sabhas and the Lok Sabha.
• However, important UPA supporters opposed the Bill.
• When the UPA reintroduced the Bill in 2008, the Parliament descended into pandemonium.
• Later, it was referred to a parliamentary committee, which advised swift passage of the Bill but disagreements continued.
• The Bill was approved by the Rajya Sabha in 2010 but was rejected by the Lok Sabha.

Principal concerns with the Bill:

Connection to the delineation exercise:

• The Opposition has questioned the decision to tie the implementation of the women’s reservation to the periodic redistricting process since doing so would cause a significant delay in the implementation of the quota.
• The biggest concern was whether or not the women’s quota would be applied once the 2031 Census results were available and delimitation had been completed.
• The decadal Census, scheduled for 2021 but postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, has not yet been completed.

Regarding Delimitation:

• Delimitation, or the readjusting of the Lok Sabha and Assembly constituency boundaries as well as the number of seats in the Assembly and the Lok Sabha in each State, is an ongoing process based on the data from the most recent Census.
• The Delimitation Commission’s last delimitation order, which fixed the borders of each constituency, was released in 2008.
• The number of seats in the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies, however, cannot now be adjusted.
• As a result of an amendment to Article 82 made in 2002, the division of each State into constituencies and the allocation of Lok Sabha seats to States were postponed until the results of the first Census performed after 2026.

Problem with this:

• The issue of a sub-quota for women from Other Backward Classes (OBCs) is another matter.
• Although there is a separate reservation for OBCs, who make up more than 40% of the population, there is a reserve for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.

The minority quota:

• Due to the underrepresentation of both OBC and Muslim women in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies, some lawmakers rejected the bill on the grounds that it should have distinct quotas for each group.

Consequences of the Bill:

• 82 women are currently serving in the Lok Sabha.
• At least 181 women should be present after implementation.
• In Legislative Assemblies, where women currently represent less than 10% in 20 States and Union Territories, the proportion of women will also climb dramatically.

Moving ahead:

• To make sure that proposals are not just symbolic efforts to increase women’s political representation when they are passed into law, proposals should be refined.
• Local governments do in fact have higher representation, with women making up far over 50% in panchayati raj institutions in various States.
• Lessons must be learned about how grassroots women have overcome a variety of obstacles, including patriarchal beliefs at home and being treated lightly in their official capacities, and made a difference.

Women face numerous more challenges:

• individuals have unequal access to food, education, and health care.
• There aren’t enough secure locations,
• Additionally, women are leaving the labour; among the G-20 nations, India has the lowest female labour force participation rate at 24%.
• India, which granted women the right to vote from the beginning, shouldn’t slack up in securing more political participation for women.
• Women must be heard in order to promote progress and implement change in important areas.

Source The Hindu

3 – Monsoon ephemerals: GS III – Topic – Environmental Conservation related issues

Context:

• Some plant species in Maharashtra wait all year before blooming only during the monsoon.

Key information:

• Ephemeral refers to such plants that only bloom during the monsoon season.

Examples of ephemeral monsoon creatures:

When the monsoon arrives, blooms like:

• Eulophia and Nervilia, ground orchids
• lilies (crinum, grass, pancratium, and star lilies),
• “wild yam” (suran)
• squill indian.

Following the late monsoon, blooms like:

• ground orchids (Peristylus and Habenaria),
• a variety of balsams,
• lane hill meadow,
• species of dipcadi,
• Corynandra (spider-flowers),
• The pond weed Aponogeton
• luminary blossoms (Ceropegia),
• urticaria (Utricularia),
• Eriocaulon pipeworts, and
• grass varieties.

Ephemerals’ contribution to the ecology:

• These flowers’ main function is to provide as a vital supply of nectar and pollen for local pollinators.
• They guarantee the proper presence of soil and, most crucially, water in all micro habitats on a plateau.

Threats:

• Due to changes in land use, the expansion of roads and infrastructure, and few of them are threatened.

Source The Hindu

4 – Battle of Haifa: GS II – Topic – International Issues

Context:

• Israeli government representatives on behalf of the mayor of the northern port city of Haifa and diplomats from India’s embassy in Israel recently gathered at the Haifa War Cemetery to pay tribute to the Indian soldiers who were killed and wounded in combat on foreign land.

Key information:

Historical context:

• During the Sinai and Palestine campaign of the First World War, the Battle of Haifa was fought.
• In opposition to the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the German Empire, the Arab Revolt was waged alongside the British Empire, the Kingdom of Italy, and the French Third Republic.
• The Ottoman Empire was divided as a result, and as a result, the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, the Kingdom of Iraq was established in 1932, the Lebanese Republic was established in 1943, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic was established in 1946, and the State of Israel was established in 1948.
• News of the war’s outbreak reached the Indian subcontinent’s princely state of Jodhpur only a few weeks after it began in 1914.
• As the Maharaja of the princely state of Idar (modern-day Gujarat), as well as the administrator and Regent of Jodhpur, Sir Pratap Singh, a British Indian Army commander, assured the British that the resources of the princely state would be utilised for the war.
• The princely state of Jodhpur donated horses, transport tents, saddlery, clothes, and other supplies for the Battle of Haifa at its own expense.
• The Jodhpur Lancers’ two regiments were united to form a single force for the purposes of mobilisation for the First World War.
• The Battle of Haifa The Ottoman army had control of Haifa.
• Haifa’s capture was the responsibility of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Cavalry Brigades of the 5th Cavalry Division.
• The Mysore, Hyderabad, and Jodhpur Lancers made up the 15 Cavalry Brigade.
• Haifa was actually taken by the Jodhpur Lancers with assistance from the Mysore Lancers.
• The cavalry of the Jodhpur Lancers only had a lance, a 12-foot-long bamboo sword-wielding weapon.
• The Ottoman Turks had rifles, machine guns and field artillery and were positioned on a height.
• The regiment of the Jodhpur Lancers managed to kill and capture numerous Ottoman Turks despite their advantage in having machine guns that could fire hundreds of bullets per second, along with a number of weapons and ammunition.

About Haifa Day:

• Haifa Day is now observed in honour of the victory that the 5th Cavalry Division achieved.
• The 61st Cavalry Regiment, which is currently located in Jaipur, was formed in 1953 after the cavalry units from Jodhpur, Gwalior, Mysore, and Hyderabad were combined.
• The 61st Cavalry regiment has since observed Haifa Day and has “Haifa” as one of its combat honours.
• Due to their charge, Jodhpur received the battle honour “Haifa,” which they then bestowed upon the 61st Cavalry.

Murti Teen Chowk:

• After the British Indian Army won the battle of Haifa, the three maharajas who had sent lancers to fight made the decision to build a monument in Delhi to honour the victory and the participation of the Indian soldiers.
• The maharajas made the Teen Murti statues in Delhi for the unidentified warriors from Hyderabad, Mysore, and Jodhpur with 3,000 pounds apiece, and the viceroy unveiled them in March 1922.
• To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Haifa, the Teen Murti Chowk was renamed Teen Murti Haifa Chowk in 2018.

Source The Hindu

5 – Pterygotrigla intermedica: GS II – Topic – Environment Conservation

Context:

• A new species of vivid orange-colored deep-water marine fish has been identified by scientists in West Bengal’s Digha Mohana.

Key information:

• The new species, also referred to as gurnards or sea-robins, is a member of the Triglidae family.
• Its scientific name is Pterygotrigla intermedica, and it has many traits with Pterygotrigla hemisticta-like species.
• There are 178 species in the Triglidae family worldwide, and this is the fourth Pterygotrigla species to be recorded in India.

Source The Hindu

6 – First Trilateral Maritime Exercise between Australia, Indonesia, and India: GS II – Topic – International Issues

Context:

• The Indian Naval Ship Sahyadri Takes Part In The First Trilateral Maritime Exercise Between India, Indonesia, and Australia

Key information:

• The first trilateral maritime partnership exercise included the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Indonesian Navy, and the Indian Navy’s indigenously built destroyer, INS Sahyadri.
• The trilateral exercise gave the three maritime states a chance to solidify their alliance and increase their capacity to support an Indo-Pacific area that is stable, peaceful, and secure.
• Regarding INS Sahyadri:
• The third ship of the locally designed and constructed Project-17 class of multirole stealth frigates, INS Sahyadri, was constructed at Mazagon Dock Ltd.

Source The Hindu