12 July 2023 : Daily Current Affairs
DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS
12-July-2023
Daily Current Affairs For UPSC ,Daily Current affairs of The hIndu and Indian Express.
1. North India’s monsoon mayhem.
Topic: GS1 –geography.
Changes in patterns of monsoon:
- The onset of monsoon this year was delayed due to interactions between typhoons and cyclones, causing Cyclone Biparjoy to linger and delay the arrival of monsoon over Mumbai by nearly two weeks.
- The distribution of rainfall remains patchy, with excess rainfall in the northern Western Ghats and northwest India, and deficits in a horseshoe pattern from Uttar Pradesh to Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
- Climate change, with a warmer and more humid atmosphere, contributes to weather events. Global warming acts like a steroid for the weather, although other factors such as El Niño and wildfires also play a role.
- The Indian subcontinent experiences patchy rainfall due to its geography and the complex interplay of factors such as warm Arabian Sea temperatures, instabilities in the atmosphere, land-use patterns, and the influence of the Atlantic Ocean and upper atmospheric circulation.
- The warming over the Himalaya is not uniform, leading to irregular weather patterns during the monsoon.
- Hence, to better deal with the situation – Improved forecasts with detailed spatial and temporal granularity are needed to better understand and predict these complex weather phenomena and reduce surprises.
Source: The Hindu, 12 July 2023, page 8.
2. Poll bonds chief source of donations for parties: report
Topic: GS2 –Indian polity.
What’s the news?
- Electoral bonds were the main source of donations for political parties in India, with the BJP receiving the majority share.
- The BJP received ₹5,271.97 crore, while all other national parties combined received ₹1,783.93 crore.
- The Electoral Bond Scheme 2018, introduced for electoral funding, and the Finance Act, 2017, which removed the previous limit on political donations, played a significant role during this period.
- Of the total donations received by the analyzed parties,9% came from electoral bonds, 28.07% from the corporate sector, and 16.03% from other sources.
About Electoral Bonds Scheme:
- The Electoral Bonds Scheme is a scheme introduced by the Government of India in 2018 to make political donations more transparent.
- Under the scheme, individuals and companies can donate money to political parties by buying electoral bonds from designated banks. The bonds are then redeemed by the political parties at the State Bank of India.
- The Electoral Bonds Scheme has been controversial since its inception. Critics argue that the scheme makes it easier for anonymous donors to donate money to political parties, which could lead to corruption. They also argue that the scheme does not do enough to prevent the misuse of electoral bonds by shell companies.
- Supporters of the Electoral Bonds Scheme argue that it makes political donations more transparent and reduces the scope for corruption. They also argue that the scheme is a more efficient way of collecting political donations.
- The Electoral Bonds Scheme has been challenged in court, but the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutional validity of the scheme.
Here are some of the key features of the Electoral Bonds Scheme:
- Electoral bonds are bearer instruments:This means that the name of the donor is not recorded on the bond.
- Electoral bonds can be purchased by individuals and companies:There is no limit on the amount that an individual or company can donate.
- Electoral bonds can be purchased from designated banks:There are currently 11 designated banks in India where electoral bonds can be purchased.
- Electoral bonds can be redeemed by political parties:Political parties can redeem electoral bonds at the State Bank of India.
- Electoral bonds have a validity period of 15 days:Electoral bonds must be redeemed within 15 days of purchase.
Source: The Hindu, 12 July 2023, page 8.
3. 415 million Indians came out of multidimensional poverty in 15 years, says UNDP study
Topic: GS3.
What’s the news?
- Within a span of 15 years, from 2005-06 to 2019-21, India witnessed a significant reduction in poverty, with 415 million people moving out of poverty.
- The incidence of poverty in India decreased from 55.1% to 16.4% during the same period, according to the United Nations’ Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).
More information about the news:
- The UNDP and OPHI highlighted that 25 countries, including India, successfully halved their global MPI values within 15 years, indicating rapid progress is achievable.
- The report acknowledged that poverty reduction is attainable but also noted that the lack of comprehensive data during the COVID-19 pandemic poses challenges in assessing immediate prospects.
- In 2005-06, around 645 million people in India lived in multidimensional poverty, which reduced to approximately 370 million in 2015-16 and further to 230 million in 2019-21.
- The report emphasized that deprivation in all indicators declined in India, and the poorest states and groups, including children and disadvantaged caste groups, showed the fastest progress.
- Specific improvements were seen in indicators such as nutrition, child mortality, access to cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, and housing.
- Despite varying starting levels of poverty incidence, countries with different levels of poverty were able to halve their global MPI values.
- The 2023 release of the report highlighted that approximately 1.1 billion people, or just over 18% of the global population, live in acute multidimensional poverty across 110 countries.
Source: The Hindu, 12 July 2023, page 12.
4. Moon’s south pole: why Chandrayaan-3 will go where no craft has
Syllabus – GS II
Recent Context – On Friday, chandrayaan-3, India’s third lunar mission, is scheduled for launch from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
Other Missions
- If the mission goes to plan, Chandrayaan-3 will become the world’s first mission to soft-land near the lunar south pole.
- The spacecraft that has landed the farthest from the equator so far is NASA’s Surveyor 7, which made a landing close to 40 degrees south latitude.
- China’s Chang’e 4 mission, which in January 2019 became the first spacecraft to land on the far side of the Moon — the side that does not face the Earth — descended on the lunar surface near the 45-degree latitude.
Why has no spacecraft ever targeted a landing near the lunar south pole?
- It is easier and safer to land near the lunar equator.
- The terrain and temperature are more hospitable and conducive for the long and sustained operation of the instruments on board.
- The surface in this region is even and smooth, very steep slopes are almost absent, and fewer hills or craters exist.
- There is abundant sunlight, at least on the side facing the Earth, offering a steady energy supply for solar-powered instruments.
- The polar regions of the Moon are a very different, difficult terrain.
- Many areas near the lunar poles lie in a completely dark region where sunlight never reaches, and temperatures can fall below minus 230 degrees Celsius.
So why does India want to explore the lunar south pole?
- Due to the environment and the difficulties it presents, the polar regions of the Moon have remained unexplored.
- However, several Orbiter missions have proved that these regions could hold several interesting secrets.
- There are indications that ice molecules are present in substantial amounts in some of the deep craters — two instruments on board India’s Chandrayaan-1 mission in 2008 detected the presence of water on the lunar surface.
- Also, the extremely cold temperatures in this region mean that anything trapped here will likely remain frozen in time without undergoing much change.
- The rocks and soil at the north and south poles of the Moon could provide clues to the early Solar System.
But why don’t some parts of the lunar polar regions receive any sunlight?
- Unlike the Earth, whose spin axis is tilted with respect to the plane of the Earth’s solar orbit by 23.5 degrees, the Moon’s axis tilts only 1.5 degrees.
- Because of this unique geometry, sunlight never shines on the floors of a number of craters near the lunar north and south poles. These areas are known as Permanently Shadowed Regions, or PSRs.
5. WHY TURKEY IS OPPOSING SWEDEN’S BID TO JOIN THE NATO ALLIANCE
Syllabus – GS II
Recent Context – Sweden applied for NATO membership together with Finland, and both expected a quick accession process. Finland is in more than a year later, but Sweden is still in the alliance’s waiting room.
What is NATO?
- The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is a 31-member security alliance comprising countries on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, led by the United States.
- It was formed in 1949, in the wake of the Second World War. This was a period when the rise of the USA and the USSR accompanied the relative decline of erstwhile European powers such as the UK, France and Germany.
- However, they were in ideological opposition to one another, with the US favouring a capitalistic, liberal democratic model and the USSR moving towards socialism and State control over the economy.
- This led to the ‘Cold’ War, where the battle for dominance manifested itself in the Space race, arms race, and shoring up as many allies as possible.
- NATO was thus formed on April 9, 1949. Its centrepiece was the ‘principle of collective defence’ – the idea that an attack against one or several of its members is considered as an attack against all.
- Till now, Article 5 has been invoked once – after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the USA in 2001.
- Its members include the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Greece and Turkey. The latest member to join it was Finland.
Why does Sweden want to join NATO?
- After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Nordic neighbours Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO. This changed their long-held policies of not participating in a formal military alliance.
What’s the process for a country to join NATO?
- According to NATO, countries interested in joining NATO must adhere to certain basic political and military standards, such as having “a functioning democratic political system based on a market economy” and the “ability and willingness to provide a military contribution to NATO operations”.
- Then, formalities for accession take place, where a major step is all the governments of NATO member states ratifying the ‘accession protocols’. This is where Sweden faces a problem.
What are Turkey’s objections to Sweden joining NATO?
- Turkey has accused Sweden of being home to what it categorises as terror organisations or existential threats from the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
- Turkey wanted Stockholm and Helsinki to take a tougher line against the PKK and another group it blames for a 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.
- Sweden denies Turkey’s accusations of harbouring Kurdish terrorists and actively supporting the PKK.
- With a recent case of burning of the Quran in Sweden, Turkey’s foreign minister said that there are further security concerns and questions about Sweden’s credentials for possible NATO membership.
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