16 June 2023

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – Types of Cyclones: GS I – Geography related issues:

Context:

• Before it makes landfall, tropical cyclone Cyclone Biparjoy is expected to produce winds of 125–135 kph with gusts as high as 150 kph.

About cyclone:

• A large air system known as a cyclone spins around the centre of an area of low pressure.
• It frequently occurs in conjunction with violent storms and adverse weather.
• According to the National Disaster Management Authority, a cyclone is characterised by inward swirling winds that rotate anticlockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

Several forms of cyclone:

• According to the National Disaster Management Authority, cyclones are often split into two categories:
• further tropical storms,
• hurricanes in the tropics.

What are extratropical cyclones?

• Storms that form outside of the tropics are extratropical cyclones, often known as mid-latitude cyclones.
• Since they are mostly made of cold air, their energy comes from the potential energy released when cold and warm air masses contact.
• All of these cyclones contain such storm fronts.
• A front is a type of weather phenomena that divides two different air masses.
• It is connected to them, can occur over land or water, and is symbolised by warm air in one case and cold air in the other.

What are tropical cyclones?

• The phrase “tropical cyclone” describes storms that develop between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer.
• They are the most damaging storms on Earth.
• Such cyclones develop when the centre of circulation experiences an increase in thunderstorm activity and the greatest winds and rainfall are no longer confined to a band outside the centre.
• The majority of the storm’s energy originates from the “latent heat” produced when warm ocean water evaporates and then condenses back into liquid form, which warms the storm’s centre.
• Warm or cold fronts have no bearing on tropical cyclones.
• Tropical cyclones are known by a variety of names depending on their location and strength.
• They are known as hurricanes in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the North Atlantic Ocean, and the eastern and central North Pacific Ocean.
• In the western North Pacific, they are known as typhoons.

National Disaster Management Authority:

• The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is India’s highest statutory body for disaster management.
• On September 27, 2006, the NDMA was formally constituted under the Disaster Management Act of 2005.
• The prime minister serves as its chairman, and there are nine other members.
• One of the nine participants is given the role of vice-chairperson.
• The Disaster Management Act also authorised the creation of State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs), which would be presided over by the corresponding Chief Ministers, and District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs), which would be co-chaired by the Chairpersons of local organisations.
• In the first case, managing disasters is the responsibility of the State Government in issue.
• The Federal Government, States, and Local Governments all benefit from the enabling environment that the National Policy on Disaster Management produces.
• India is a signatory to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), which lays out objectives for disaster management.

Source The Hindu 

2 – National Crisis Management Committee: GS II – Statutory and Non Statutory Bodies:

Context:

• The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) is discussing preparations for the approaching storm “Biparjoy” in the Arabian Sea.

 

• Function of the National Crisis Management Committee:

 

• The newly constituted NCMC is presided over by the Cabinet Secretary.

 

• Others who took part:
• the secretary to the prime minister.
• RAW, the director of the intelligence agency, and the secretaries of the home affairs, defence, agriculture, and cooperation ministries.
• The NCMC offers advice to the Crisis Management Group as needed.
• This panel, which is presided over by the Relief Commissioner, is made up of senior representatives from a number of ministries and other pertinent departments.
• The CMG will meet at least twice a year.

 

• CMG’s activities:

 

• The central ministries’ and departments’ emergency plans are examined annually.
• covers the procedures required to handle a natural disaster.
• oversees the coordination of local, state, and federal initiatives linked to preparedness and assistance during disasters.
• receiving information from the nodal offices about the aforementioned actions.

 

• The Disaster Management Act of 2005 has provisions for the formation of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) with the aim of providing a specialised response to natural and man-made disasters.
• The NDRF was established in 2006 with eight battalions as a result.
• The NDRF now consists of 16 battalions, each with 1,149 personnel.
• Members of the NDRF were formerly dispatched on routine law enforcement tasks.
• In 2008, NDRF was converted into a force with a focus on disaster response responsibilities under the unified leadership of DG NDRF.

 

 

 

• Source àThe Hindu

 

3 – Exercise Ekuverin:

 

GS II

 

International Relations:

 

• Context:

 

• In Chaubatia, Uttarakhand, the joint military exercise “Ekuverin” between India and the Maldives began.

 

• Important details:

 

• The 12th round of the joint military drill “Ex Ekuverin” between the Indian Army and the Maldives National Defence Force has recently begun.
• The definition of the term ekuverin is “friends.”
• India and the Maldives take turns hosting the yearly bilateral exercise.

 

• Aim:

 

• The exercise intends to undertake coordinated operations for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and to strengthen interoperability in counterinsurgency/counterterrorism operations carried out in accordance with UN mandate.

 

 

 

• Source àThe Hindu

 

4 – Global Slavery Index:

 

GS II

 

Social Issues

 

• Context:

 

• The Global Slavery Index 2023 was just published.

 

• Important details:

 

• It states that in 2021, up to 50 million people worldwide were allegedly involved in “modern slavery” on any given day.
• Of these 50 million people, 28 million are forced to labour, and 22 million are coerced into marriages.
• Of these 50 million people, 12 million are children.

 

• How is contemporary slavery carried out?

 

• According to the index, “modern slavery” refers to forms of exploitation from which a person cannot leave or refuse participation due to coercion, violence, threats, or other abuses of power.

 

• The phrase “modern slavery” is a catch-all that covers a variety of wrongdoings, such as:

 

• enforced labour
• imposed unions
• debt slavery
• sex abuse of any kind
• exploitation of people
• comparable to slave methods
• coerced or subservient marriage, and
• the purchasing, selling, and mistreatment of kids.

 

• A goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN is to eradicate modern slavery (Target 8.7).
• What is the Global Slavery Index?

 

• The index provides a global overview of contemporary slavery.

 

• Who creates the index?

 

• Walk Free, a human rights NGO.

 

• How is it produced?

 

• The data on which it is based is taken from the Global Estimates of Modern Slavery, a project of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Walk Free, and International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
• The predictions in the Global Slavery Index’s fifth edition are for 2022.
• Initial estimates are regional, then the index generates national data using a variety of representative surveys.

 

• Results by country:
• Each set contains three primary conclusions.
• The first looks at the prevalence of modern slavery.
• The prevalence is the number of cases of modern slavery per 1000 individuals.

 

• The ten nations listed below are the worst offenders in this regard:

 

• North Korea
• Eritrea
• Mauritania
• Arab nations
• Turkey
• Tajikistan
• Embattled Arab State
• Russia
• Afghanistan
• Kuwait

 

• Countries with the lowest prevalence:

 

• Switzerland
• Norway
• Germany
• Netherlands
• Sweden
• Denmark
• Belgium
• Ireland
• Japan
• Finland

 

• The countries with the highest rates of modern-day slavery are:

 

• India
• China
• North Korea
• Pakistan
• Russia
• Indonesia
• Nigeria
• Turkey
• Bangladesh
• United States

 

• Challenges to the index:

 

• There is no agreed-upon definition.

 

• Contrary to human trafficking, which has a definition that is universally accepted, contemporary slavery lacks such a definition, making it impossible to determine its prevalence in a precise and comprehensive manner.
• The term “modern slavery” has no official meaning under international law. In actuality, the meaning used in this Index changes every year.
• Finding the elements is like determining the degree of development of a nation:
• The authors calculate the number of people impacted by modern slavery in each nation using a “risk score” system.
• The “risk” of a nation is nevertheless determined by many of the same factors that determine whether a nation is “developed” or “developing.”
• Therefore, it is not unexpected that the Index came to the conclusion that “Africa is the region most vulnerable to modern slavery” and “Europe is the region least vulnerable to modern slavery.”

 

• Contradictions:

 

• The quantitative data included in the report’s primary body of qualitative research actually conflicts with some of the figures in the Index.
• As seen by the ranking, the UK has the best government response to modern slavery.
• However, the UK’s general strategy [against slavery] has gotten worse since 2018.

 

• Conclusion:

 

• This categorization of nations absolves wealthy nations of responsibility for issues like human trafficking while stigmatising impoverished nations.
• Even while there may be a number of issues with a contemporary slavery index, the fact is that workers in countries like India do face significant odds.
• When reverse migration was noticed during the initial Covid shutdown, this was brutally made evident.
• Similar indicators demonstrate how poorly women are doing, especially in terms of economic liberty, such as one of the lowest female labour market participation rates.
• In the aftermath of the epidemic and in the G20 year we are in charge of, we may take steps to effectively address the precarity of millions of workers in our country.

 

 

 

• Source àThe Hindu

 

5 – Will a hike in MSP help farmers:

 

GS III

 

Agriculture related issues:

 

• Context:

 

• The Centre announced the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for the summer (kharif) crop season of this year, which resulted in a price increase of between 5 and 10% over the previous season.

 

• What steps are taken by the MSP?

 

• The MSP, which is a part of the government’s agricultural price strategy, is the price at which the government agrees to buy farmers’ produce throughout the growing season.
• It serves as a tool for pricing control and production stabilising.
• However, selling their produce at the MSP has been challenging for farmers all across the country.

 

• Challenges:

 

• building procurement centre gradually,
• Farmers are routinely taken advantage of by commission brokers, who frequently pay them less than the MSP for their produce.
• A sizable percentage of farmers are ignorant about the MSP.
• Farmers have been asking the MSP for a “legal status” as a result.
• The MSP is of little use if farmers are not paid the fixed price for their produce.
• concerns are still there despite the growth

 

• In the past, few crops were purchased:

 

• The historical data shows that only three to four commodities, principally wheat, paddy, cotton, and sporadically certain pulses, were bought at MSP, while the other crops were bought at prices far lower than the MSP.
• Farmers’ dependence on the market and free agents is the main cause of this.

 

• Lack of MSP implementation and the challenge of crop diversification:

 

• The lack of MSP implementation and the purchase of a significant number of crops at prices below MSP have been two of the key barriers to “crop diversification,” which is crucial for Indian agriculture and the preservation of the environment.
• The “non-procurement” of all the crops at the MSP and the ineffective MSP execution are two of the main concerns of farmers.
• A situation like this makes a strong argument for giving MSP “legal status” because it acts as the benchmark or floor.
• While it is not implied that the government should purchase every one of those crops, doing so would at the very least compel private parties to purchase them at the MSP.
• It would stimulate agricultural diversification, which the government supports, and boost farmers’ income.

 

• What Food Grain Stock Means:

 

• The nation’s total foodgrain output is anticipated to reach a record 330.5 million tonnes in 2022–2023, up 14.9 million tonnes from 2021–2022 levels, according to the third advance predictions.
• According to official data, this is the biggest growth in the previous five years.
• 06 lakh tonnes of rice and 290.28 lakh tonnes of wheat made up the 555.34 lakh tonnes of rice and wheat that Food Corporation of India (FCI) and State agencies owned as of May 1, 2023.
• The nation’s non-irrigated areas’ cropping would be damaged by the delayed monsoon.
• However, there is now no need for alarm because the nation’s food grain stocks are at a comfortable level.

 

• Moving forward:

 

• The MSP tries to strike a balance between consumer and agricultural interests.
• The government maintains reasonable prices for food and other agricultural products in an effort to safeguard the interests of consumers while also making an effort to provide farmers with a fair return.
• Over time, farming has not proven to be viable for the great majority of farmers, especially small and marginal farmers.
• Increased revenue may be the long-term answer to farmers’ financial difficulties.
• In order to assure this rise in revenue, the government should concentrate on developing an effective structure to ensure farmers’ purchases and returns for all important crops at the MSP, as is done in the case of wheat and rice, or extend subsidies on input costs.

 

 

 

 

 

• Source àThe Hindu

 

 

6 – Betelgeuse:

 

GS III

 

Science and Technology:

 

• Context:

 

• According to a study from Japan and Switzerland that examined the star’s pulsation, Betelgeuse is in the last stages of its carbon-burning phase.

 

In relation to Betelgeuse:

• Betelgeuse is one of the largest red supergiant stars that can be seen without a telescope.
• Betelgeuse is a bright red star that may be seen in the constellation Orion. It is also known as Thiruvathirai or Ardra in Indian astronomy.
• Betelgeuse was the first extrasolar star whose photosphere’s angular size was determined.
• In October 2019, Betelgeuse began to dramatically dim, but in April 2023, the brightness level stabilised.
• The source of the fading, according to infrared signals, is not a more profound modification than a shift in the extinction surrounding the star.
• An investigation by the Hubble Space Telescope indicates that the obscuring dust was produced by a surface mass ejection.

What stage of carbon burning is that?

• A star burns carbon as it fuses together at its core to form heavier elements like neon and magnesium.
• Carbon is eventually consumed by all stars with an initial mass greater than or equal to eight solar masses.
• Recently, scientists from Japan and Switzerland reported that by observing the star’s pulsation—the periodic contraction and expansion of the star—they could ascertain the star’s stage of carbon burning.
• In big stars like Betelgeuse, the carbon-burning stage only lasts a few hundred years or so before the star “dies” and bursts into a supernova within a few months.

Source The Hindu

7 – Cowin Portal: GS II – Government Policies and Interventions

Context:

• Following accusations of a data leak affecting recipients of the COVID vaccination, the Union Health Ministry insisted that the CoWIN portal was completely secure and had adequate data privacy safeguards in place. A report was requested, thus the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) was sent to investigate the issue.

What is CoWIN:

• CoWIN (Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network) is the name of a website for COVID-19 vaccine registration.
• It is owned and operated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• It provides a list of COVID-19 booking times that are open in the area and may be reserved on the website.
• The website also provides immunisation certificates to the recipients.
• A cloud-based IT system is being used to organise, carry out, monitor, and evaluate the Covid-19 vaccination in India.

What exactly is it?

• The “Indian Computer Emergency Response Team” (CERT-In) is the country’s national agency for responding to cyber security incidents and taking preventative measures to shield the nation from cyber disasters.
• The Central Government may appoint CERT-In within the authority of the Information Technology Act of 2000 (IT Act, 2000).

What does a cyber security incident entail?

• Any actual or suspected negative cyber security incident that results in unauthorised access, denial of service or disruption, unauthorised use of a computer resource for the processing, storing, or altering of data, or unauthorised disclosure of information is referred to as this.

What does CERT-In do?

• acquiring, analysing, and sharing information on cyber occurrences.
• forecasts and alerts for cybersecurity incidents.
• Immediate processes for reacting to breaches in cyber security.
• action coordination in response to cyber incidents.
• Disseminate information security best practises, protocols, vulnerability notes, and whitepapers, as well as information on how to prevent, handle, and report cyber incidents.
• such additional obligations relating to cyber security as may be necessary.

Source The Hindu