23 August 2022

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – Review Petition: GS II – Judiciary Related Issues

Constitutional clause:

• Any judgement or order issued by the Supreme Court may be subject to review under Article 137 of the Constitution.

Review’s Petition’s Overview:

• In order to fix a “patent error” and not “minor mistakes of insignificant relevance,” the Court has the authority to revisit its decisions. A review is by no means a covert appeal.
• This implies that rather than reviewing the case from scratch, the Court is permitted to fix serious mistakes that led to a miscarriage of justice.

Filing a petition for review:

• Any person who feels wronged by a decision may request a review in accordance with the Civil Procedure Code and the Supreme Court Rules. This suggests that not all parties to a lawsuit must request a review of the ruling.
• The deadline for filing a review petition is 30 days after the date of the judgement or order.
• If the petitioner can demonstrate compelling grounds for the delay, the court may, in some cases, excuse the delay in filing the review petition.

Reasons to Take Into Account the Review Petition:

• It should be emphasised that not every review petition submitted is considered by the Court. It only uses its discretion to grant a review petition once the reasons for the request have been established.

The Supreme Court has established three justifications for asking for a review of a decision it has made:

• The discovery of new and significant information or evidence that, after exercising due diligence, was not known to or could not be supplied by the petitioner;
• Mistake or error that is clear from the record’s surface; or
• Any other adequate justification that is comparable to the other two justifications.

Courtroom procedure:

• Ordinarily, review petitions are considered without legal counsel’s oral arguments. The judges hear it in their chambers “via circulation.”
• The court does permit an oral hearing, though, in extraordinary circumstances. The Supreme Court ruled in a judgement from 2014 that review petitions in all cases involving the death penalty must be reviewed in public by a bench of three judges.
• The same panel of judges that rendered the original order or judgement being sought to be reviewed also hears review petitions.

Option if Review Petition is rejected:

• The notion of a curative petition, which may be heard following the denial of a review petition, was developed by the court in the Roopa Hurra v. Ashok Hurra case (2002). Anyhow, there can be no injustice committed as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision.
• Similar to a review petition, a curative petition is similarly considered on extremely limited grounds and typically does not get an oral hearing.

Source The Indian Express

2 – United Nations Security Council: GS II – International Relations

About:

• In 1945, the UN Charter created the Security Council. It is one of the United Nations’ six main bodies.
• The General Assembly (UNGA), the Trusteeship Council, the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat make up the remaining 5 institutions of the UN.
• Its major duty is to contribute to the preservation of world peace and security.
• The council has its main office in New York.

Members:

• Ten non-permanent members chosen for two-year terms and five permanent members make up the council’s fifteen members.
• The United States, the Russian Federation, France, China, and the United Kingdom are the five permanent members.
• India joined the UNSC as a non-permanent member last year (2021), becoming a member for the eighth time. It will serve on the council from 2021 to 2022.
• Out of a total of 10 non-permanent members, the General Assembly elects five of them each year for terms of two years. The 10 non-permanent seats are allocated according to regions.
• The 15 council members alternate holding the position of president each month.

Voting authority:

• Each Security Council member gets one vote. The Security Council makes decisions by a majority vote of nine members, including the permanent members who concur in the decision. The resolution cannot be passed if one of the five permanent members votes “no.”
• Any UN member who is not a member of the Security Council is permitted to take part in discussions without having a vote whenever the Security Council determines that the member’s interests are particularly impacted.

UNSC & India:

• India actively participated in the 1947–1948 drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and spoke out vehemently against racism in South Africa.
• India has contributed to the formulation of policies on a number of matters, including the admission of former colonies to the UN, resolving lethal conflicts in the Middle East, and preserving peace in Africa.
• It has made significant contributions to the UN, particularly for the upkeep of world peace and security.
• India has participated in 43 peacekeeping missions, contributing more than 160,000 troops and many police officers in all.
• India’s demand for a permanent seat in the UNSC is entirely sensible given its population, territory, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), economic potential, civilisational legacy, cultural variety, political system, and historical and current contributions to UN activities.

Problems associated with the UNSC:

Lack of Meeting Minutes and Records:

• The UNSC does not operate under standard UN procedures, and none of its meetings are recorded.
• Furthermore, there isn’t a “text” of the meeting for debate, amendment, or objection.

Power struggle in UNSC:

• It is antiquated in this day and age for the five permanent members of the UNSC to have veto power.
• In its current form, the UNSC has become a barrier to comprehending the global dynamics and developments in the field of human security and peace.

Conflicts Among the P5:

• Decisions are either not made or are made with little consideration due to the extreme polarisation among UN members.
• The UNSC P-5 frequently splits, which prevents it from making important decisions.
• As an illustration, when the coronavirus epidemic emerged, the UN, UNSC, and World Health Organization were unable to effectively assist governments in controlling the spread.

An Organization with Underrepresentation:

• It is troubling that the UNSC is devoid of the four most significant nations in the world: South Africa, Germany, Brazil, and India.

Steps to Take:

• There is an urgent need to address the disparities in power between the P5 and the rest of the world.
• In order for the UN body to properly address the “ever-complex and growing problems” to maintaining global peace and security, the Security Council must also be reformed by adding more permanent and non-permanent seats.
• India, one of the UNSC’s existing non-permanent members, can begin by formulating a resolution that includes a thorough list of recommendations for revamping the body.
• It can also approach other nations with similar views (such as the G4: India, Germany, Japan, and Brazil) and expand its network of allies until a sufficient number of nations come together to address the entire UNGA and propose the resolution with a reasonable possibility of passing.

Source The Hindu

3 – Organic Farming: GS III – Agriculture Related Issues

About:

• According to the FAO, organic farming is a special form of production management that fosters and improves the health of agroecosystems, biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity.
• According to the FSSAI, “organic farming” is a technique of farm design and management that avoids using synthetic external inputs like chemical fertilisers, pesticides, synthetic hormones, or genetically modified organisms to build an ecosystem for agriculture production.
• Produce from organic farming is referred to as organic farm produce, whilst food produced in compliance with organic production norms is referred to as organic food.

Indian Organic Farming Principles:

• These concepts help organic agriculture expand and prosper. These could help the development of organic farming globally.

The following are the guiding principles of organic farming:

• Principles of Health: The wellbeing of individuals, groups, and communities.
• The correct balance between an ecosystem and its surroundings or nature is one of ecology’s tenets.
• Fairness rules: healthy interpersonal interactions and a high standard of living.

Indian Organic Agriculture:

• India came in first place for both the number of organic producers and the area that has been certified organic.
• In terms of total organic agricultural land, India is eighth in the world.
• The output of organic goods increased by 51% in the years between 2020 and 21.
• The only state that is currently regarded as entirely organic is Sikkim. Additionally, when it comes to the promotion and adoption of organic farming, the states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, and the union territory of Jammu & Kashmir are in the lead.
• As a result of a long history of organic farming, North East India consumes much fewer chemicals than the rest of the nation.
• Similar to tribal areas, organic farming has long been practised in island nations.
• Flax seeds, sesame, soybean, tea, medicinal plants, rice, and pulses have been India’s top organic exports.
• In 2018–19, organic exports increased by over 50% and totaled Rs. 5151 crore.
• As the demand for health foods rises, the beginning of exports from Assam, Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland to the UK, USA, Eswatini, and Italy have demonstrated the potential by growing in volume and reaching new markets.

Governmental initiatives that are important:

• Promotes cluster-based organic farming with PGS (Participatory Guarantee System) certification through the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana. The programme supports cluster formation, training, certification, and marketing.
• Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana: With the consent of the State Level Sanctioning Committee, assistance for promoting organic farming on several components is also accessible.
• One District – One Product: The programme intends to promote greater awareness of and sales of local, specialised goods produced in Uttar Pradesh, creating jobs at the district level.
• Financial support is being given for many components of the National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm, including bio-fertilizers, the provision of Rhizobium culture, Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria (PSB), Zinc Solubilizing Bacteria (ZSB), Azatobacter, Mycorrhiza, and vermin-compost.
• The goal of the Organic Farming Action Programme is to significantly advance and promote organic farming through prioritised initiatives.
• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is in charge of overseeing imports and domestic sales of organic food in the nation.
• Participatory Guarantee System (PGS): PGS is a certification method for organic products that makes sure their production adheres to established quality requirements. PGS Green is applied to chemical-free vegetables throughout the three-year transition to “organic.” It serves primarily domestic needs.
• A third party certification procedure is used by the National Program for Organic Production (NPOP) to offer certification for organic farming for export.
• 2018 Agri-export Policy:
• Concentrate on groups and Zero Budget Natural Farming is a form of chemical-free agriculture that draws on traditional Indian practises. Marketing and promotion of “Produce of India” have favourably benefited organic farming in India.

Obstacles to Organic Farming:

• Lack of Biomass: Experts are unsure as to whether organic materials can provide all the nutrients in the necessary proportions. They believe that even if this issue can be resolved, the amount of organic matter now available is insufficient to satisfy the requirements.
• Supply and demand imbalance:
• Fruits and vegetables cannot be grown or moved to any area like non-perishable grains can, yet non-perishable grains can be cultivated anywhere.
• Time: Organic farming calls for more engagement between a farmer and his crop, such as for weed control, timely intervention, and observation.
• High MRP: It is virtually a given that the outcomes of organic farming would be retained at a high price due to the extraordinary care done to go along with it.
• Lack of specialised infrastructure: The majority of sizable organic farms continue to practise industrialised agriculture, including the transportation of their produce from the field to the table. Unfortunately, doing so entails using the same destructive environmental methods as factory farms, but they do so while pretending to be organic.
• Additionally, organic vegetable marketing might use some improvement. Many farms in India have either never used chemicals to manage or cultivate them or have switched back to organic farming due to the farmers’ convictions or merely for economic reasons.

The advantages of organic farming include:

• They are allowed a lot more time to develop and are not pumped with artificial substances, which results in better taste and more nutrition.
• ensures the health of soil, water, air, and flora and fauna while reducing pesticide and chemical residue in soil.
• Increased health for all living things is promoted by biodiversity, which is enhanced by growing animals naturally and rotating crops to improve soil fertility. Local ecosystems get better as organic farms give wildlife safe havens.
• Less Energy Consumed: This is because producing synthetic fertilisers requires a lot of energy.
• Sustainability over the long term: Organic farming adopts a proactive, preventative strategy rather than addressing issues after they arise, which may be too late.
• improved water management and less erosive conditions
• Knowledge of the methods: Organic farming is like returning to the days when machinery swept across the landscape. As a result, farmers can easily comprehend and use organic agricultural methods that draw on traditional wisdom.

Steps to Take Ahead:

• According to experts, the advancement of technology and enabling agricultural research will accelerate the growth of organic farming.
• This would guarantee income generation, reducing reliance on outside goods.
• Since nature is the best model to be scaled and replicated through active international collaboration and appropriate government initiatives, the experts advise incorporating the natural approach into the farming system.
• Connecting organic farmers with the global supply chain would be made possible by this.
• The experts envisioned a strategy for holistically utilising the entire home market for organic goods.
• Indian organic farmers will soon be reaffirming their proper place in the global agri-trade with increased awareness and the capacity building of the producers in conformity with international norms.
• India has to implement structural reforms through changes in legislation and the use of technology in organic farming to make it resilient, sustainable, and profitable.
• Universities of agriculture should place more of an emphasis on natural and organic farming as well as encourage young people to engage in innovation and agri-entrepreneurship.

Source The Indian Express

4 – Chabahar Port: Prelims Specific Topic

About:

• The Gulf of Oman is home to the port city of Chabahar in southeast Iran.
• The only port in Iran with direct access to the sea is this one.
• It is situated in the province of Sistan-Balochistan on Iran’s energy-rich southern coast.
• India, Iran, and Afghanistan view the port of Chabahar as a route to lucrative economic potential with central Asian nations.

Significance:

• Chabahar has never experienced the same level of Indian interest and passion as any other international port.
• It will allow India to get directly to Afghanistan from the sea without going via Pakistan.
• Pakistan currently forbids India from moving its territory into Afghanistan.
• The International North-South Transport Corridor, of which both are early signatories together with Russia, would gain impetus as a result.
• The main entry point for this initiative is Iran.
• It would combat Chinese influence on the Arabian Peninsula.

Source The Hindu