24 October 2023

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – About Caste Census in India: GS II – Government Policies and Interventions

Context:

• The Indian prime minister rejected and attacked opposition parties’ calls for a national caste census following the release of a caste survey in Bihar.

What may be inferred from socioeconomic data?

• Numerous socioeconomic data points show how caste-based impoverishment and class overlap in Indian culture.

Costs of consumption:

• According to the National Sample Survey (NSS), 2011–12, the average monthly per capita consumption expenditures (MPCE) of the MPCE of the “Others,” or the general category, in rural areas were:
• Tribes Scheduled (ST): 65%,
• 73% of Scheduled Castes (SC) and
• 84% of OBC households
• The average MPCE of ST, SC, and OBC households in urban areas in 2011–12 was 68%, 63%, and 70% of the general category.

Multifaceted impoverishment:

• The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4/2015-16) multidimensional poverty figures demonstrate the continued existence of caste-based inequalities in India.
• In 2015–16, the average percentage of Indians living in multidimensional poverty was 25%; however, the percentage of poverty among SCs was 29.2%, OBCs was 24.5%, and Others was 14.9%.
• According to this estimate, the poor in India were primarily made up of SCs, OBCs, and STs, who together made up approximately 73% of the population.
• The OBC group included more than 50% of India’s multidimensionally impoverished population.

Headcount ratio of poverty:

• The percentage of the population that lives below the federal poverty threshold is known as the poverty headcount ratio.
• According to estimates provided by researchers from the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), the numbers for STs, SCs, OBCs, and Others were, respectively, 50.6%, 33.3%, and 15.6% of the poverty headcount.
• Muslims had a greater multidimensional poverty headcount ratio (31%), compared to Hindus (28%), Christians (16%), and other religious groupings (15.7%).
• Based on data from the NSS 61st cycle, 2004–05, the Sachar Committee report (2006) stated that 31% of Muslims were “Below Poverty Line.”
• While the percentage of Hindu OBCs living in poverty was 21%, that of other Hindus (general category) was 8.7%, and that of SCs and STs combined was 35%.

Stability of poverty in different areas:

• Over time, there has been little change in the disproportionate concentration of poverty among Muslims, OBCs, SCs, and STs in India.
• This makes it abundantly evident that poverty and deprivation are directly related to caste-based discrimination and exclusion against STs, SCs, and OBCs as well as religion, notably against Muslims.
• Within its publications on the national multidimensional poverty index based on NFHS-4/2015-16 and NFHS-5/2019-21, the Niti Aayog has not disclosed data pertaining to caste and religion.

Employment and education:

Instruction:

• Compared to OBCs, SCs, and STs, the general group has a substantially greater percentage of literate individuals, secondary and high school graduates, and post-graduate individuals.
• According to the NSS 75th cycle (2017–18), the percentage of graduates in the general category is over 12%, but only 3% of STs, 4% of SCs, and 6% of OBCs are graduates.
• In the general category, the percentage of post-graduates is above 3%; among OBCs, it is approximately 1%; and among SCs and STs, it is less than 1%.

Employment:

Routine work:

• Regarding employment status (PLFS 2021–22), more than thirty percent of workers in the general category were employed on a regular basis.
• Approximately 20% of OBCs, SCs, and STs were regular or salaried workers, while little over 12% were.

Unpaid labour:

• On the other hand, compared to just 11.2% of the general population, over 29% of STs, 38% of SCs, and 20% of OBCs worked as casual labourers.
• This suggests that while the general category has a disproportionately large share of formal work, STs, SCs, and OBCs make up the majority of the population in the informal sector.

Jobs in government:

• In the cohort of workers who are the most qualified and well-paid, the percentage of general category employees is significantly higher—more than 64%. Group A workers.
• This suggests that even thirty years after the Mandal Commission recommendations were formally implemented, the persistence of caste inequality in educational achievements is recreating a similar pattern of caste inequality in skilled, formal employment.

When did surveys on caste start?

• Under the British colonial government, caste-based population counts were instituted in 1881 and persisted until the 1931 census.
• The administrations of independent India gave up on complete caste enumeration because they believed it would exacerbate caste divides and the caste system.
• The Mandal Commission report stated that the combined population of Hindu and non-Hindu OBCs made about 52% of India’s total population, based on extrapolation from the caste/community-wise population estimates of the 1931 census.
• The Mandal panel suggested a 27% quota for OBCs in all government offices, technical and professional institutions, despite the fact that the population proportion of OBCs was expected to be 52%.

Rebuttals to a caste census:

It will surpass the 50% cap:

• The disclosure of the precise population percentage of OBCs over or equivalent to 52%, as approximated by the Mandal panel, will incite calls to augment the 27% OBC reservation quota.
• But such demands were already in motion after the Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019 was passed. This act reserved 10% of admission to public and private educational institutions, civil posts, and services, for “economically weaker sections” (EWS) within the general category (excluding SC/ST/OBCs).
• Despite facing legal challenges for exceeding the 50% reservation ceiling, the law was ultimately maintained by a majority decision from the Supreme Court.

Path ahead:

• The only way to determine an exact number is to enumerate every caste.
• More crucially, given worries about reservations and other benefits for OBCs becoming concentrated within specific dominant caste groups, determining the exact numbers and proportions of individual castes within the OBC category have taken on significant importance.
• According to the Bihar caste survey, for example, the EBC category, which includes 122 tiny caste groups, makes up the greatest share of the state’s population (36%), among all social categories.
• August 2023 saw the submission of the Justice Rohini Commission’s report. The commission was established by the Modi administration in 2017 to investigate the subclassification of OBCs on the Central list.
• It will take a national socioeconomic caste census to develop scientific standards for this kind of sub-classification.
• Given the considerable variation in caste composition, this would also be required for all States, each of which has its own State-level OBC lists.

Source The Hindu

2 – Do War Crimes laws apply in Israel-Palestinian conflict: GS II – Government Policies and Interventions

Context:

• The conflict is governed by a convoluted international legal framework that was established following World War II.

Which Laws Apply To This Conflict?

Conventions in Geneva:

• The 1949 Geneva Conventions, which have been adopted by every state in the UN, gave rise to internationally recognised guidelines for armed combat. These guidelines are further enhanced by decisions made by international war crimes tribunals.

Different Treaties:

• The “Law of Armed Conflict” or “International Humanitarian Law” is the collective term for a set of treaties that regulate how citizens, soldiers, and POWs are treated.
• It covers both organised armed groups, such as Hamas terrorists, and government forces.

Court International Criminal:

• The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague is the only international court authorised to file charges if suspected Palestinian perpetrators of crimes in Israel and all suspected Palestinian perpetrators of crimes on the occupied Palestinian territories are not prosecuted domestically.
• In war crimes proceedings, domestic courts may exercise so-called universal jurisdiction, however this authority would be restricted.
• In cases when domestic authorities are unable or unwilling to look into allegations of crimes committed on the territory of the ICC’s members or by their citizens, the organisation is legally authorised by the Rome Statute to investigate the matter.

The ICC’s role is:

• The Permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) was established in 2002 at The Hague as the global war crimes tribunal.
• It has jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide committed by citizens of its 123 member nations or in those states.

Numerous powerful nations around the world are not members, such as:

• Asia
• the United Kingdom
• Russia
• both India and
• Egypt
• While Israel does not openly interact with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and rejects its authority, the ICC accepts Palestine as a member state.
• Since 2021, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been looking into claims of war crimes and crimes against humanity that may have been perpetrated in the occupied Palestinian territories.
• It hasn’t released any warrants for arrest.

Which Acts May Break the Law Against War Crimes?

Among the potential war crimes are:

• the intentional destruction of civilians
• untargeted rocket assaults
• the kidnapping of people by armed Palestinian organisations
• the hundreds of Palestinians slain by Israeli counterattacks in Gaza.

The Geneva Conventions’ application:

• If a siege is seen to be unreasonable or targeting people rather than being a legal way to weaken Hamas’ military capabilities, it may be classified as a war crime.
• According to international law, attacks on military targets must be proportionate, meaning they cannot cause an undue number of civilian casualties or damage to civilian property relative to the anticipated direct and tangible military advantage.

The Conventions of Geneva:

• The Geneva Conventions, which set down international legal requirements for the treatment of civilians during times of conflict, are a set of four treaties and three supplementary protocols.
• Usually, the 1949 agreements that were reached in the wake of World War II are referred to as the Geneva Convention (1939–1945).
• The Geneva Conventions created safeguards for the ill and injured, defined basic rights for prisoners of war, civilians, and military personnel, and offered protections for populations in and around a conflict zone.
• The Geneva Conventions only cover civilians who are not engaged in conflict.
• The 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons and the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 both cover the use of conventional weapons during combat.
• The Geneva Protocol of 1925 addresses chemical and biological warfare in international armed situations.

Source The Hindu

3 – Saraswati Samman: GS II – Government Policies and Interventions

Context:

• The “Saraswati Samman” 2022 was given to Tamil author Sivasankari in recognition of her biography Surya Vamsam.

Important information:

• The Saraswati Samman is an annual literary prize given for exceptional prose or poetry in any of the 22 Indian languages included in Schedule VIII of the Indian Constitution.
• It bears the name Saraswati, after the Hindu goddess of enlightenment.
• The K. Saraswati Samman was established in 1991. K. Birla Memorial Fund.
• It comes with a plaque, citation, and ₹15 lakh in prize money.
• A jury of professors and past prize winners chooses the candidates from among literary works that have been published in the last ten years.
• Harivanshrai Bachchan received the first prize for his four-volume autobiography, Dashdwar se Sopan Tak, Needa Ka Nirman Phir, Basere Se Door, and Kya Bhooloon Kya Yaad Karoon.

Concerning Surya Vamsam:

• Two volumes make up the memoir book Surya Vamsam.
• Together, these two volumes show the development of a young kid into a well-known writer as well as the changes society has experienced over the past seven decades.
• It is an autobiography in book form.

Source The Hindu

4 – About Global Hunger Index: GS II – International Issues

Context:

• India dropped from 107th place out of 125 nations in the 2022 Global Hunger Index to 111th place in the 2023 edition.

Key conclusions regarding India:

• According to the indicator, India has the highest global rate of child wasting (18.7%), which is indicative of severe undernutrition.
• In the index, India performed worse than its neighbours Pakistan (ranked 102nd), Bangladesh (ranked 81st), Nepal (ranked 69th), and Sri Lanka (ranked 60th).
• The index stated that 3.1% of children under five died in India and 16.6% of undernourishment occurred there.
• Additionally, the report stated that 58.1 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 24 had anaemia.
• But the government disapproved of the index, claiming it was an inaccurate indicator of hunger that did not accurately represent India’s situation.

What is the index of global hunger?

• An instrument for thoroughly assessing and monitoring hunger at the international, regional, and national levels is the Global Hunger Index.
• The Alliance2015, a network of seven non-governmental organisations in Europe involved in development and humanitarian assistance, is the entity that issued it.
• Three aspects of hunger are represented by the index:
• inadequate food availability
• deficiencies in children’s nutritional status and
• Child mortality (which undernutrition is largely responsible for).
• As a result, it has three indications with equal weights:
• the percentage of the population that the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates to be food energy deficit,
• the World Health Organisation (WHO) data on the prevalence of underweight in children under five years old, and
• the UNICEF-reported mortality rate for children under the age of five.
• A 100-point rating system is used to rank countries, with 0 and 100 representing the highest and worst possible results, respectively.

What does the globe look like in GHI 2023?

• Up until 2015, there had been significant progress made against hunger, but things are remained essentially stagnant globally.
• In addition, the number of undernourished individuals has increased from 572 million to around 735 million since 2017, according to data on the prevalence of undernourishment, one of the factors used to determine GHI scores.

Source The Hindu

5 – Indian NCX 2023: GS II – Government Policies and Interventions

Context:

• The National Cyber Security Exercise Bharat NCX 2023 is organised by the National Security Council Secretariat in its second edition.

Important information:

• The goal of this exercise is to improve India’s critical sector’s cyber posture for government agencies, the public sector, and the private sector.

Goal:

• to provide top management and technical staff from Public and Private Agencies, Government/Critical Sector Organisations, with training on modern cyber risks, incident control, and response.
• The National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), in strategic collaboration with Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU), is executing the programme.
• Strategic leaders will benefit from Bharat NCX India’s assistance in evaluating preparedness, comprehending cyber risks, and honing their cyber crisis management and collaboration abilities.

Source The Hindu