Section 144 CrPC

For Prelims: Section 144, CrPC, High Court, fundamental rights, Citizenship (Amendment) Act

For Mains: Issues with Section 144 CrPC, Issues Arising Out of Design & Implementation of Policies

Why in News?

Recently, the administration of Uttarakhand’s Haridwar district imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code Of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973 near the town of Roorkee.

What is Section 144 CrPC?

• About:
  • This law empowers the magistrate of any state or union territory in India to pass an order prohibiting the gathering of four or more people in a specified area.
  • It is imposed in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger of some event that has the potential to cause trouble or damage to human life or property.
  • This order can be passed against a particular individual or general public.
• Features of Section 144:
  • It places restrictions on handling or transporting any kind of weapon in the given jurisdiction.
    • The maximum punishment for such an act is three years.
  • According to the order under this section, there shall be no movement of public and all educational institutions shall also remain closed.
  • Further, there will be a complete bar on holding any kind of public meeting or rallies during the period of operation of this order.
  • It is deemed a punishable offence to obstruct law enforcement agencies from disbanding an unlawful assembly.
  • It also empowers the authorities to block internet access in the region.
  • The ultimate purpose of Section 144 is to maintain peace and order in the areas where trouble could erupt to disrupt the regular life.
• Duration of Section 144 Order:
  • No order under this section can remain in force for a period of more than 2 months.
  • Under the state government’s discretion, it can choose to extend the validity for two more months with the maximum validity extendable to six months.
  • Once the situation becomes normal, Section 144 levied can be withdrawn.

What is the Difference between Section 144 and Curfew?

• Section 144 prohibits the gathering of four or more people in the concerned area, while during curfew people are instructed to stay indoors for a particular period. The government puts a complete restriction on traffic as well.
• Markets, schools, colleges and offices remain closed under the curfew and only essential services are allowed to run on prior notice.

Why has this Section been Criticized?

• Gives Absolute Power:
  • It is too broad and the words of the section are wide enough to give absolute power to a magistrate that may be exercised unjustifiably.
    • The immediate remedy against such an order is a revision application to the magistrate himself.
• Infringement of Rights:
  • An aggrieved individual can approach the High Court by filing a writ petition if his fundamental rights are at stake.
    • However, fears exist that before the High Court intervenes, the rights could already have been infringed.
• Imposing Prohibition on Large Area not Justifiable:
  • Imposing prohibitory orders over a very large area is not justified because the security situation differs from place to place and cannot be dealt with in the same manner.
    • Prohibitory orders over a very large area were ordered in all of Uttar Pradesh during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

What has been the Court’s Ruling on Section 144?

• Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya case 1967: The Supreme Court held that “no democracy can exist if ‘public order’ is freely allowed to be disturbed by a section of the citizens”.
• ‘Madhu Limaye vs Sub-Divisional Magistrate, 1970:
  • A seven-judge Bench headed by then Chief Justice of India M Hidayatullah said the power of a magistrate under Section 144 “is not an ordinary power flowing from administration but a power used in a judicial manner and which can stand further judicial scrutiny.
    • The court, however, upheld the constitutionality of the law, ruling that the restrictions imposed through Section 144 are covered under the “reasonable restrictions” to the fundamental rights laid down under Article 19(2) of the Constitution.
    • The Court held that the fact that the “law may be abused” is no reason to strike it down.
• In 2012, the Supreme Court criticised the government for using Section 144 against a sleeping crowd in Ramlila Maidan.
  • The court held that such a provision can be used only in grave circumstances for maintenance of public peace.
  • The efficacy of the provision is to prevent some harmful occurrence immediately. Therefore, the emergency must be sudden and the consequences sufficiently grave.
• The Supreme Court also held that such a section cannot be used to impose restrictions on citizens' fundamental right to assemble peacefully, cannot be invoked as a 'tool' to 'prevent the legitimate expression of opinion or grievance or exercise of any democratic rights'.

Way Forward

• Section 144 is a useful tool to help deal with emergencies. However, absence of any narrow tailoring of wide executive powers with specific objectives, coupled with very limited judicial oversight over the executive branch, makes it ripe for abuse and misuse.
• Before proceeding under this section, the Magistrate should hold an enquiry and record the urgency of the matter.
• There is a need to balance the granting of plenary powers by the legislature to deal with emergent situations, and the need to protect the personal liberty and other freedoms granted to the citizens under the fundamental rights of the Constitution.

Source: IE

Need for New IT Law

For Prelims: Information Technology Act,2000, Cybercrimes, Splinternet, Section 66A of the IT Act, Data Protection law

For Mains: Need for Review of Information Technology Act,2000, Cyber Security, IT & Computers, Government Policies & Interventions

Why in News?

Recently, the Minister of State for Electonics and Information Technology (IT) spoke on the need for legislative overhaul of the 22-year-old Information Technology Act,2000.

• The government enacted the original IT legislation in 2000.
• The IT (Amendment) Act came into force in 2009 and was aimed at facilitating e-governance, preventing cybercrime and fostering security practices within the country.
• Recently, the government has notified Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021.

Why is there a need for New IT Law (External Issues)?

• India Entering into Digital Age: India is going to have a trillion-dollar digital economy in a few years, and a large number of businesses will be on the Indian Internet.
  • Therefore, an open & secure Internet becomes an important economic component of our country.
• Rise of Splinternet: The global internet as we know it is on the verge of splintering into smaller bubbles of national networks due to aggressive national policies, trade disputes, censorship, and dissatisfaction with big tech companies.
  • This will have far-reaching consequences that impact international unions, data enterprises and individual consumers alike.
  • Perhaps the most sophisticated instance of a splintered internet today would be China’s Great Firewall’.
  • What are seen as essential services, like Google Search and Maps, Western social media, and so on – are entirely banned and replaced by Chinese alternatives like Weibo in the name of Cyber Sovereignty

Why is there a need for New IT Law (Internal Issues)?

• Majority of Cybercrimes in India are Bailable Offense: A historical mistake was made when the IT (Amendment) Act, 2008, made almost all cybercrimes, barring a couple, bailable offences.
  • The focus was more on enhancing the quantum of civil liability and reducing the quantum of punishment, which explains the reason why the number of cybercrime convictions in the country is in single digits.
• Restricted Cyber Security Remedy: IT Act is effective in metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bhopal, Bangalore, etc., but it is feeble in tier-two level cities as awareness of the law by enforcement agencies remains a big challenge.
  • The IT Act does not cover most crimes committed through mobiles. This needs to be rectified.

What are Present Government Initiatives for Cyber Security?

• Cyber Surakshit Bharat Initiative.
• Cyber Swachhta Kendra.
• Online cybercrime reporting portal.
• Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).
• National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC).
• Information Technology Act, 2000.

Way Forward

• The government is looking at a new legislative framework with the new rulemaking capabilities that deal with various issues related to digital space. This should include:
  • The majority of cybercrimes need to be made non-bailable offences.
  • A comprehensive data protection regime needs to be incorporated in the law to make it more effective.
  • Cyber war as an offence needs to be covered under the IT Act.
  • Parts of Section 66A of the IT Act are beyond the reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech and expression under the Constitution of India. These need to be removed to make the provisions legally sustainable.
• Increasingly bilateral or multilateral arrangements between countries will have to evolve in such a way that nothing can be done in isolation from other countries.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Q. In India, it is legally mandatory for which of the following to report on cyber security incidents? (2017)

1. Service providers
2. Data centres
3. Body corporate

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• According to section 70B of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act), the Union Government by notification should appoint an agency named Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERTIn) to serve as the national agency for incident response.

Source: TH

India’s Labour Force Participation Rate

For Prelims: India’s labor force participation rate (LFPR), Types of Unemployment in India, Initiatives taken by Government to deal with Unemployment

For Mains: Types of Unemployment in India, solutions of unemployment in India

Why in News?

Recently, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) shows that India’s Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) has fallen to just 40% from an already low 47% in 2016.

• This suggests not only that more than half of India’s population in the working-age group (15 years and older) is deciding to sit out of the job market, but also that this proportion of people is increasing.

What is LFPR?

• According to the CMIE, the labor force consists of people who are 15 years or older, and belong to either of the following two categories:
  • Are Employed
  • Are unemployed and are willing to work and are actively looking for a job.
• These two categories have people “demanding” jobs. This demand is what LFPR refers to.
• Thus, the LFPR essentially is the percentage of the working-age (15 years or older) population that is asking for a job.
  • It represents the “demand” for jobs in an economy.
  • It includes those who are employed and those who are unemployed.
• The Unemployment Rate (UER), which is routinely quoted in the news, is nothing but the number of unemployed (category 2) as a proportion of the labor force.
• In India, the LFPR is not only lower than in the rest of the world but also falling.
  • In India, it has been sliding over the last 10 years and has shrunk from 47% in 2016 to just 40% as of December 2021.

Why is India’s LFPR so low?

• The main reason for India’s LFPR being low is the abysmally low level of female LFPR.
• According to CMIE data, as of December 2021, while the male LFPR was 67.4%, the female LFPR was as low as 9.4%.
• In other words, less than one in 10 working-age women in India are even demanding work.
• Even if one sources data from the World Bank, India’s female labor force participation rate is around 25% when the global average is 47%.
• The reasons or low women LFPR is essentially about the working conditions — such as law and order, efficient public transportation, violence against women, societal norms etc. — being far from conducive for women to seek work.
  • Further, lot of women in India are exclusively involved within their own homes (caring for their family)

What is Issue with LFPR calculation?

• Unemployment Rate only measures person who are unemployed, but it didn’t calculate the total people have stopped demanding work.
  • Typically, this happens when people of the working-age get disheartened from not finding work.
• Thus, it is better to track another variable: the Employment Rate (ER).
  • The ER refers to the total number of employed people as a percentage of the working-age population.

What are Different Types of Unemployment in India:

• Disguised Unemployment: It is a phenomenon wherein more people are employed than actually needed.
  • It is primarily traced in the agricultural and the unorganized sectors of India.
• Seasonal Unemployment: It is unemployment that occurs during certain seasons of the year.
  • Agricultural laborers in India rarely have work throughout the year.
• Structural Unemployment: It is a category of unemployment arising from the mismatch between the jobs available in the market and the skills of the available workers in the market.
  • Many people in India do not get jobs due to lack of requisite skills and due to poor education level, it becomes difficult to train them.
• Cyclical Unemployment: It is a result of the business cycle, where unemployment rises during recessions and declines with economic growth.
  • Cyclical unemployment figures in India are negligible. It is a phenomenon that is mostly found in capitalist economies.
• Technological Unemployment: It is the loss of jobs due to changes in technology.
  • In 2016, World Bank data predicted that the proportion of jobs threatened by automation in India is 69% year-on-year.
• Frictional Unemployment: Frictional Unemployment, also called Search Unemployment, refers to the time lag between the jobs when an individual is searching for a new job or is switching between jobs.
• Vulnerable Employment: This means people working informally, without proper job contracts and thus lacking any legal protection.
  • These people are deemed ‘unemployed’ since records of their work are never maintained.
  • It is one of the main types of unemployment in India.

What are Recent Initiatives taken by Government?

• Support for Marginalized Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise (SMILE)
• PM-DAKSH (Pradhan Mantri Dakshta Aur Kushalta Sampann Hitgrahi)
• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)
• Start Up India Scheme

Way Forward

• Promoting Labour Intensive Industries: There are several labor-intensive manufacturing sectors in India such as food processing, leather and footwear, wood manufacturers and furniture, textiles and apparel and garments.
  • Special packages, individually designed for each industry, are needed to create jobs.
• Decentralization of Industries: Decentralization of Industrial activities is necessary so that people of every region get employment.
  • Development of the rural areas will help mitigate the migration of the rural people to the urban areas thus decreasing the pressure on the urban area jobs.
• Drafting National Employment Policy: There is a need for a National Employment Policy (NEP) that would encompass a set of multidimensional interventions covering a whole range of social and economic issues affecting many policy spheres and not just the areas of labor and employment.
  • The underlying principles for the National Employment Policy may include:
    • Enhancing human capital through skill development.
    • Creating enough decent quality jobs for all citizens in the formal and informal sectors to absorb those who are available and willing to work.
    • Strengthening social cohesion and equity in the labor market.
    • Coherence and convergence in various initiatives taken by the government.
    • Supporting the private sector to become the major investor in productive enterprises.
    • Supporting self-employed persons by strengthening their capabilities to improve their earnings.

UPSC Civil Services Examination Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Q. Disguised unemployment generally means (2013)

(a) large number of people remain unemployed
(b) alternative employment is not available
(c) marginal productivity of labour is zero
(d) productivity of workers is low

Ans: (c)

• An economy demonstrates disguised unemployment when productivity is low and too many workers are filling too few jobs.

Source: IE

Child and Adolescent Healthcare Systems of the World

For Prelims: National Health Mission (NHM), Mid-Day Meal Scheme, Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyan

For Mains: Child and Adolescent Healthcare Systems in India and related issues

Why in News?

Recently, a series on Child and Adolescent Healthcare Systems of the World was published in the Lancet Global Health Journal.

• A series of four papers set out the current position, with the gains that have been made globally, which points out the stark variations in the global scenario, with some nations showing more marked improvements than others.

What are the Major Findings of the Series?

• According to estimate, over 8.62 million deaths occurred between 28 weeks of gestation and 20 years of age in 2019.
  • Stillbirths (23%) and neonatal deaths (28%) together accounted for over half these deaths, while another one-third (32%) of the deaths occurred in children between one month and five years of age.
• It records the advancements as contributing to a fall in child mortality and morbidity.
  • However, there are huge inequities, and several children and adolescents do not thrive or survive because low-cost interventions are not deployed to their benefit.

What about the impact of Pandemic?

• The Covid-19 pandemic showed the devastating effects that gaps in care and education can have on children.
  • Health and social systems must be better equipped to work together to address the emerging needs of children and families as part of the effort to rebuild equitable and resilient services.
• The challenges faced in responding to the needs of children and families during the Covid-19 pandemic should serve as a wake-up call to the global community, underlining the urgent need to transform the child and adolescent health agenda on a global scale.

What are the Recommendations?

• Piecemeal Approach is Needed:
  • The series, while calling for efforts to reimagine the delivery of services that will help children thrive, mentions that a piecemeal approach, catering only to certain age groups may not be the best way to handle the crises.
• Comprehensive Care is Needed:
  • The authors call for comprehensive care that spans nutrition, preventive health, education, economic, and community support across age groups from preconception through the age of 20.
    • The close involvement of families, particularly in offering support right from the stage of pregnancy, continuing through the relevant years allowing the child to bloom, is also recommended strongly.
• Evidence-based Interventions are Needed:
  • While calling for scaling-up of evidence-based interventions for children under five years,
  • The authors highlighted interventions for school-going children and the period of transition from childhood to adolescence.
    • This includes recommendations to support mental health, address unintentional injuries, non-communicable diseases, and neglected tropical diseases.

What are the Related Initiatives taken by India?

• National Health Mission (NHM)
• Mid Day Meal Scheme
• Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyan
• PM Poshan
• The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013
• Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)
• Integrated Child Development Scheme

UPSC Civil Services Examination Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Q. Which of the following are the objectives of ‘National Nutrition Mission’? (2017)

1. To create awareness relating to malnutrition among pregnant women and lactating mothers.
2. To reduce the incidence of anaemia among young children, adolescent girls and women.
3. To promote the consumption of millets, coarse cereals and unpolished rice.
4. To promote the consumption of poultry eggs.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1, 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 4 only
(d) 3 and 4 only

Ans: (a)

• National Nutrition Mission (POSHAN Abhiyaan) is a flagship programme of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, GoI, which ensures convergence with various programmes like Anganwadi services, National Health Mission, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, Swachh-Bharat Mission, etc.
• The goals of National Nutrition Mission (NNM) are to achieve improvement in nutritional status of children from 0-6 years, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers in a time bound manner during the next three years beginning 2017- 18. Hence, 1 is correct.
• NNM targets to reduce stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia (among young children, women and adolescent girls) and reduce low birth weight of babies. Hence, 2 is correct.
• There is no such provision relating to consumption of millets, unpolished rice, coarse cereals and eggs under NNM. Hence, 3 and 4 are not correct.

Source: TH

World Economic Outlook: IMF

For Prelims: World Economic Outlook, IMF, Global Financial Stability Report, World Economic Outlook.

For Mains: Important International Institutions, Effect of Policies & Politics of Countries on India's Interests, Growth & Development, World Economic Outlook, International Monetary Fund.

Why in News?

The latest edition of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook cut its forecast for India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in FY 2022-23 to 8.2%, making it the fastest-growing major economy in the world, almost twice faster than China’s 4.4 %.

What is the IMF’s Growth Forecast?

• Indian Scenario:
  • It has also lowered India’s growth projection by 0.8 % points for 2022-23 from its previous forecast (9%) for the same period in 2021.
    • In 2021, India registered a growth rate of 8.9 %.
    • In 2023-24, India is estimated to grow at 6.9 %.
  • With import bills rising due to high commodity and fuel prices, the IMF estimates India’s current account deficit to widen to 3.1% in FY 2022-23 from 1.6% in FY 2021-22.
  • India was “suffering like many other countries because of the Russia –Ukraine war and negative terms of trade shock "due to higher food and energy prices weighing down trade balances.
  • Additionally, external demand was also softening as the rest of the world’s growth was impacted.
• Global Scenario:
  • The IMF has projected global growth at 3.6 % in 2022 and 2023, 0.8 and 0.2 % lower than in the January 2022 forecast, respectively.
    • A deceleration in global growth dampens India’s growth prospects especially because it would lead to lower demand for Indian exports.
  • The downgrade largely reflects the war’s direct impacts on Russia and Ukraine and global spillovers.
  • The recent lockdowns in key manufacturing and trading hubs such as Shenzhen and Shanghai (China) due to the resurgence of covid cases would likely compound supply disruptions elsewhere in the region and beyond.

What are IMF’s Recommendations?

• Monetary Tightening:
  • It recommended monetary tightening by central banks to keep inflationary expectations in check amid global supply disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine.
    • The IMF warned that the war would “severely set back the global recovery," slow growth and stoke inflation.
• Monitoring of Rising Prices:
  • Monetary authorities should carefully monitor the pass-through of rising global prices to domestic inflation expectations to calibrate their responses.
• Targeted Income Support to Households:
  • The IMF report backed targeted income support by governments to alleviate stress on household budgets in countries facing large price increases.

What is the International Monetary Fund?

• About:
  • The IMF was set up along with the World Bank after the Second World War to assist in the reconstruction of war-ravaged countries.
    • The two organizations agreed to be set up at a conference in Bretton Woods in the US. Hence, they are known as the Bretton Woods twins.
  • Created in 1945, the IMF is governed by and accountable to the 189 countries that make up its near-global membership. India joined on 27^th December 1945.
  • The IMF's primary purpose is to ensure the stability of the international monetary system — the system of exchange rates and international payments that enables countries (and their citizens) to transact with each other.
    • The Fund's mandate was updated in 2012 to include all macroeconomic and financial sector issues that bear on global stability.
• Reports by IMF:
  • Global Financial Stability Report.
  • World Economic Outlook.
• World Economic Outlook
  • It is a survey by the IMF that is usually published twice a year in the months of April and October.
  • It analyzes and predicts global economic developments during the near and medium term.
  • In response to the growing demand for more frequent forecast updates, the WEO Update is published in January and July, between the two main WEO publications released usually in April and October.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Q. Global Financial Stability Report’ is prepared by the (2016)

(a) European Central Bank
(b) International Monetary Fund
(c) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(d) Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

Ans: (b)

Source: FE

First Human Case of H3N8 Bird Flu

For Prelims: First Human Case of H3N8 Bird Flu, Influenza, SARS-CoV-2, Types of Influenza Virus

For Mains: Health, Economics of Animal-Rearing, Bird Flue & Influenza

Why in News?

China's National Health Commission (NHC) announced that a four-year-old boy was found to have been infected with the H3N8 variant of Bird Flu after developing several symptoms, including fever.

• H3N8 variant has previously been detected elsewhere in the world in horses, dogs, birds and seals.
• However, before this no human cases of H3N8 have been reported.

What is Bird Flue?

• Avian influenza—known informally as avian flu or bird flu—refers to “influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds”.
  • Most avian influenza viruses do not infect humans, however, some, such as A(H5N1) and A(H7N9), have caused serious infections in people.
• There is no vaccine against H5N1.
• Most avian influenza viruses do not infect humans, however some, such as A(H5N1) and A(H7N9), cross the species barrier and cause disease or subclinical infections in humans and other mammals as well.
• The Avian (H5N1) virus subtype, a highly pathogenic virus, first infected humans in 1997 during a poultry epidemic outbreak in Hong Kong SAR, China.

What are Types of Influenza Virus?

• There are four types of influenza viruses: influenza A, B, C, and D.
• Influenza A and B are the two types of influenza that cause epidemic seasonal infections nearly every year.
  • Avian influenza Type A viruses
    • Type A viruses are classified based on two proteins on their surfaces – Hemagglutinin (HA) and Neuraminidase (NA).
    • There are about 18 HA subtypes and 11 NA subtypes.
    • Several combinations of these two proteins are possible e.g., H5N1, H7N2, H9N6, H17N10, H18N11 etc.
• Influenza C mainly occurs in humans, but has been known to also occur in dogs and pigs.
• Influenza D is found mainly in cattle. It’s not known to infect or cause illness in humans yet.

Why are Bird Flu Viruses a Cause of Concern?

• Speculation about the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 has heightened worries about animal- and bird-borne viruses.
• The emergence of new strains, particularly among domesticated animals and birds, is a story of evolution and inevitability, and sporadic reports of new viruses infecting humans abound.
• As long as avian influenza viruses circulate in poultry, sporadic infection of avian influenza in humans is not surprising, which is a vivid reminder that the threat of influenza pandemic is persistent

How Does it Spread to Humans?

• Several subtypes and strains of avian influenza viruses are now found around the world, some of them capable of causing death among humans and others inflicting serious losses on poultry farmers.
• Though Human to Human transmission — which takes place mostly after intimate and constant physical contact — is rare, the infection is virulent and, in an estimated 60% of cases, fatal.
• There are no known instances of the flu spreading through ingestion of the bird, even though people do contract it while plucking or culling an infected bird without proper protection, or if they are in a water body that has the droppings of an infected bird.
• In humans, the symptoms of bird infection are the same as that of any other seasonal flu — fever, body ache, sore throat, runny nose, headache, fatigue, etc., however, it can turn serious very quickly, and lead to respiratory distress.

How to Counter the Bird Flu Threat?

• As a major agricultural nation with a large poultry industry, India has implemented an action plan formulated by the Centre’s Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries to deal with avian influenza.
  • It incorporates a clear protocol for preventive checks and testing, for reporting an outbreak, removing farm birds from an affected area and compensating farmers.
  • It relies on a broad-based periodic testing system for farm birds and wet markets, and upgrading of apex scientific institutions such as the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases, Bhopal.
  • The early detection and identification of the virus subtypes helps in launching containment measures.
• Public health messaging, with advice on poultry consumption during a suspected outbreak, is essential to contain the outbreak as well as curtailing rumor mongering.
• The efficacy of the measures naturally depends on the alacrity with which the animal husbandry apparatus at the State level collects samples and sounds the alarm when a disease outbreak is imminent.

UPSC Civil Services Examination Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Q. H1N1 virus is sometimes mentioned in the news with reference to which one of the following diseases? (2015)

(a) AIDS
(b) Bird flu
(c) Dengue
(d) Swine flu

Ans: (d)

Explanation:

• H1N1 virus is related to Swine Flu.
• The World Health Organization declared the flu caused by H1N1 to be a global pandemic in 2009.
• Symptoms of Swine Flu include fever, cough, sore throat, chills, weakness and body aches.

Source: IE

Kwar Hydroelectric Project

Why in News?

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the 540-megawatt Kwar hydroelectric project on the Chenab in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir.

What is the Kwar Project?

• This is part of the Indus basin and would be one of at least four projects coming up in the district, including the 1,000 MWs Pakal Dul hydroelectric project and 624 MWs run-of-the-river Kiru hydroelectric project.
• Under the 1960 vintage Indus Water Treaty (IWT) between India and Pakistan, the two countries share the waters of six rivers in the Indus basin that flow through India towards Pakistan.
  • Of these, India has complete rights over three eastern rivers - Sutlej, Beas and Ravi, while Pakistan has rights over the western rivers - Chenab, Jhelum, and Indus.
• The Kwar project will be implemented by Chenab Valley Power Projects Private Ltd (CVPPL), a joint venture company between NHPC Ltd and Jammu & Kashmir State Power Development Corporation (JKSPDC).
• The project is expected to generate 1975.54 million units in a 90% dependable year.
• The construction activities of the Project would result in direct and indirect employment of about 2,500 people.

What are the Key Points of Chenab River?

• Source: It rises in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh state.
  • The river is formed by the confluence of two rivers, Chandra and Bhaga, at Tandi, 8 km southwest of Keylong, in the Lahaul and Spiti district.
    • The Bhaga river originates from Surya taal lake, which is situated a few kilometers west of the Bara-lacha la pass in Himachal Pradesh.
    • The Chandra river originates from glaciers east of the same pass (near Chandra Taal).
• Flows Through: It flows through the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir into the plains of Punjab, Pakistan, before flowing into the Indus River.
• Some of the important projects/dams on Chenab:
  • Ratle Hydro Electric Project
  • Salal Dam- hydroelectric power project near Reasi
  • Dul Hasti Hydroelectric Plant- power project in Kishtwar District
  • Pakal Dul Dam (under construction)- on a tributary Marusadar River in Kishtwar District.
  • Kiru Hydroelectric Project (Kishtwar District)

UPSC Civil Services Examination Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Q. With reference to the Indus river system, of the following four rivers, three of them pour into one of them which joins the Indus directly. Among the following, which one is such a river that joins the Indus direct?

(a) Chenab
(b) Jhelum
(c) Ravi
(d) Sutlej

Ans: (d)

• The Jhelum joins the Chenab near Jhang in Pakistan. The Ravi joins the Chenab near Sarai Sidhu. Satluj is joined by the Chenab in Pakistan. Thus, Satluj receives the collective drainage of the Ravi, Chenab and Jhelum rivers. It joins the Indus a few kilometres above Mithankot. Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

Q. Consider the following pairs (2019)

   Glacier           River

1. Bandarpunch : Yamuna
2. Bara Shigri : Chenab
3. Milam : Mandakini
4. Siachen : Nubra
5. Zemu : Manas

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

(a) 1, 2 and 4
(b) 1, 3 and 4
(c) 2 and 5
(d) 3 and 5

Ans: (a)

Q. Rivers that pass through Himachal Pradesh are (2010)

(a) Beas and Chenab only
(b) Beas and Ravi only
(c) Chenab, Ravi and Satluj only
(d) Beas, Chenab, Ravi, Satluj and Yamuna

Ans: (d)

Source: TH

Malcha Mahal

Why in News?

The Delhi government is about to renovate the 14^th century monument Malcha Mahal.

What is Malcha Mahal?

• It was built in 1325 by the then Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq and was, for a long time, used as a hunting lodge.
• It later became the residence of the descendants of the Nawab of Awadh.
• It is said that it came to be known as ‘Wilayat Mahal’ after Begum Wilayat Mahal of Awadh, who claimed that she was a member of the royal family of Oudh. She was given the palace by the government in 1985.
• When she died by suicide in 1993, it came into the ownership of her daughter Sakina Mahal, and son Prince Ali Raza (Cyrus), who died in 2017, his sister passed away some years before that.

Who was Feroz Shah Tughlaq?

• He was born in 1309 and ascended the throne of Delhi after the demise of his cousin Muhammad-bin-Tughlaq.
• He was the third ruler of the Tughlaq dynasty that ruled over Delhi from 1320 to 1412 AD. Tughlaq was in power from 1351 to 1388 AD.
• He was the one who started the imposition of Jaziya.
  • Jaziya' or 'Jizya' implies a per capita yearly taxation historically levied in the form of financial charge on permanent non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Islamic law to fund public expenditures of the state.
• He provided the principle of inheritance to the armed forces where the officers were permitted to rest and send their children to the army in their place. However, they were not paid in real money but by land.
• The British called him the ‘father of the irrigation department’ because of the many gardens and canals that he built.

What are the Key Points of Tughlaq Dynasty?

• The Tughlaqs were a Muslim family of Turkic origin. The dynasty reached its zenith point between AD 1330 and 1335 when Muhammad Bin Tughlaq led military campaign.
• Its rule was marked by torture, cruelty and rebellions, resulting in the rapid disintegration of the dynasty's territorial reach after 1335 AD.
• The Tughlaq's provided three competent rulers – Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq (AD 1320-1325), Muhammad-bin- Tughluq (AD 1325-1351) and Firuz Shah Tughluq (1351 to 1388 AD).
• Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq was the founder of the dynasty.

Source: IE