Current Affairs Reverse Engineering – CARE (21-05-2024)
| News at a Glance |
| Disaster Management: Copernicus EMS rapid response service in news |
| Science and Technology: Space tourism and sub-orbital trips |
| International Relations: US-Saudi civil nuclear deal |
| Ecology and Environment: Key Antarctica meetings begin in Kochi |
| Polity and Governance: Supreme Court and review of its 2022 judgment on ‘Shamlat deh’ land rights |
Copernicus EMS rapid response service in news
Source: The Hindu
UPSC Syllabus Relevance: GS 3- Disaster Management
Context: European Union’s Copernicus EMS rapid response service
Why in news
- As part of a multi-agency effort to locate a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi that crashed in East Azerbaijan province, the European Union activated its emergency satellite mapping service at Iran’s request as adverse weather and darkness hampered search and rescue operations.
What is Europe’s Copernicus programme?
- The rapid response mapping technology is a critical component of the Emergency Management Service (EMS) within the Copernicus programme.
- Named after the renowned 15th-century scientist Nicolaus Copernicus, the programme is the earth observation component of the European Union’s space initiative.
- Copernicus was launched in 1998, and was earlier known as the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security Programme (GMES).
- The programme uses global data from satellites, and ground-based, airborne, and sea-borne measurement systems to provide environment-related information to researchers, policymakers, public authorities, international organisations, and commercial and private users to address issues related to climate change, disaster management, and agriculture, among other uses.
- The space segment uses a group of satellites, called the Sentinels and the Contributing Missions.
- It is complemented by a ground segment which includes in-situ sensors that provide access to the Sentinels and Contributing Missions data.
Implementation of Copernicus Programme
- Presently, the programme is implemented by EU member states with the support of the European Space Agency (ESA) for the space component and the European Environment Agency (EEA) for the in-situ component.
- The European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), EU Agencies and Mercator Océan, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the Joint Research Center (JRC) also assist.
- Notably, data from the Copernicus programme is freely available and accessible to all.
What is the rapid response mapping service activated to locate the Iranian President?
- Copernicus provides geospatial information from satellite images and other data sources to help manage a wide range of emergencies resulting from natural or man-made disasters like flood, earthquake, and tsunamis, as well as aid during humanitarian crises by monitoring refugee and internally displaced people.
- Active since 2012, the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) works on two models to issue warnings, risk assessments and information on the impact of disasters worldwide, before, during, or after a crisis.
- While on-demand mapping offers detailed information for specific emergencies, early warning provides critical geospatial data through monitoring and forecasts for floods, droughts, and forest fires.
- In the case of the Iranian President’s helicopter crash, the EU activated the rapid response mapping service.
How does rapid mapping work?
- The Copernicus EMS on-demand rapid mapping provides geospatial information within a few hours or days of a request to support efforts in the immediate aftermath of an emergency or a disaster anywhere in the world.
- It acquires, processes, and analyses satellite images, geospatial data, and relevant social media in rapid mode to provide information, according to the Copernicus official website.
- A rapid mapping activation is defined by one event and a location.
- There can be more than one area of interest (AOI) in an activation but these need to be linked to the same event. AOIs represent the geographical areas to be analysed and mapped.
| CARE MCQ | UPSC PYQ |
Q1. Consider the following statements with regards to Copernicus programme:
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
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Q. With reference to India’s satellite launch vehicles, consider the following statements: (2019)
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Ans: (A) |
| Answer 1 C
Explanation
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Space tourism and sub-orbital trips
Source: Indian Express
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-sci-tech/space-tourism-gopi-thotakura-9340113/
UPSC Syllabus Relevance: GS 3 (Science and Technology)
Context: The recent Blue Origin journey was a sub-orbital space flight, meaning it did not get into an orbit around the Earth.
Why in News
- India-born aviator and commercial pilot Gopi Thotakura was among the six space tourists who undertook a short recreational trip to space on May 19.
What are sub-orbital trips?
- Gopi Thotakura flew aboard a spacecraft of Blue Origin, one of the several private space companies offering a joy ride to people wanting to venture into space.
- Thotakura, who is based in the United States, is the first space tourist from India.
- From take-off to landing, the whole journey lasted only about ten minutes, during which the spacecraft attained a maximum height of about 105 km from the Earth.
- It was one of the shortest and quickest trips to space.
- The passengers – among them a 90-year-old American – got to experience weightlessness for a few minutes and observe Earth from a height.
- Space travel begins at about 100 km altitude from Earth, after crossing the so-called Karman line, which is generally considered to be the boundary between the Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.
- Anything flying below this altitude is called an aircraft while those crossing this line get classified as a spacecraft.
- Thotakura’s journey was what is called a sub-orbital space flight. The spacecraft did not get into an orbit around the Earth. It crossed the Karman line, stayed there for some time, and then descended back to Earth, similar to how most space tourism flights operate.
- The Kármán line is based on physical reality in the sense that it roughly marks the altitude where traditional aircraft can no longer effectively fly.
Are longer journeys possible for space tourists?
- Longer joy rides in space are also available.
- Space tourists have orbited around the Earth, and even spent a few days on the International Space Station, the permanent space laboratory that goes around the Earth at an altitude of about 400 km.
- In fact, the first space tourist was Dennis Tito, an American who paid to travel on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in 2001.
- He spent over seven days on the International Space Station.
- Between 2001 and 2009, the Russians took seven tourists to the space station with one of them, Charles Simonyi, travelling twice.
- There are plans afoot for having much deeper space trips for interested individuals, potentially to destinations around the Moon, other planets or asteroids. But these are still some times away in the future.
- For the time being, sub-orbital space flights are the most favoured journeys for space tourism enthusiasts.
About Blue Origin
- Blue Origin, which carried out the latest flight, has taken 37 tourists to space – all of them in suborbital flights.
- There are about a dozen private space companies offering tourism opportunities.
- These include established players like Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, Axiom Space, Zero Gravity Corporation, and airline companies like Boeing and Airbus.
What are the costs of space tourism?
- Blue Origin has not disclosed the price that its latest set of passengers paid for a seat on this journey.
- But according to Space.com, a similar journey on a Virgin Galactic spacecraft, costs about $450,000 (about Rs 3.75 crore).
- A journey to the International Space Station is now estimated to cost anything between 20 to 25 million dollars (about Rs 160 to 210 crore).
- A recent NASA paper mentions that space companies SpaceX and Space Adventures were planning to offer a journey around the Moon for about 70 to 100 million dollars (about Rs 600 to 850 crore).
- Clearly, space tourism is accessible to only the super-rich right now. But it is a market that is predicted to grow rapidly.
| CARE MCQ | UPSC PYQ |
Q2. An astronaut experiences weightlessness in a space satellite. This is mainly because:
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Q. Recently, India signed a deal known as ‘Action Plan for Prioritization and Implementation of Cooperation Areas in the Nuclear Field’ with which of the following countries? (2019)
Ans: (B) |
| Answer : 2
Explanation
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US-Saudi civil nuclear deal
Source: Indian Express
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-global/us-saudi-civil-nuclear-deal-9337350/
UPSC Relevance: GS 2- International Relations
Context: Civil nuclear cooperation agreement between US and Saudi Arabia
Why in News
- White House National Security Adviser to visit Saudi Arabia for talks expected to touch on a civil nuclear cooperation agreement that may lead to normalisation of Israeli-Saudi relations.
What is a civil nuclear cooperation agreement?
- Under Section 123 of the US Atomic Energy Act of 1954, the United States may negotiate agreements to engage in significant civil nuclear cooperation with other nations.
- It specifies nine non-proliferation criteria those states must meet to keep them from using the technology to develop nuclear arms or transfer sensitive materials to others.
- The law stipulates congressional review of such pacts.
Why does Saudi Arabia want a US nuclear cooperation agreement?
- As the world’s largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia at first glance is not an obvious candidate for a nuclear pact typically aimed at building power plants to generate electricity.
- There are two reasons Riyadh may wish to do so.
- The first is that under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious Vision 2030 reform plan, the kingdom aims to generate substantial renewable energy and reduce emissions.
- At least some of this is expected to come from nuclear energy.
- Critics cite a second potential reason: that Riyadh might wish to develop nuclear expertise in case it someday wishes to acquire nuclear weapons despite the safeguards enshrined in any deal with Washington to prevent this.
- The Saudi crown prince has long said that if Iran developed a nuclear weapon, Saudi Arabia would follow suit, a stance that has fueled deep concern among arms control advocates and some U.S. lawmakers over a possible US-Saudi civil nuclear deal.
- The Sunni Muslim kingdom and Shi’ite revolutionary Iran have been at odds for decades.
How would the US benefit from a civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia?
- There could be strategic and commercial gains.
- The Biden administration has made no secret of its hope to broker a long-shot, multi-part arrangement leading Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalize relations.
- It believes Saudi support for normalization may hinge partly on striking a civil nuclear deal.
- The strategic benefits would be to shore up Israel’s security, build a wider coalition against Iran and reinforce U S ties to one of the wealthiest Arab nations at a time when China is seeking to extend its influence in the Gulf.
- The commercial benefit would be to put U.S. industry in a prime spot to win contracts to build Saudi nuclear power plants, as U.S. atomic companies compete with Russia, China and other countries for global business.
What are the hurdles to a US-Saudi civil nuclear deal?
- To start, it is all but inconceivable while the Gaza war rages.
- Israel invaded the Gaza Strip after Hamas-led gunmen on Oct 7 attacked southern Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
- The Gaza death toll, health officials in the Hamas-run coastal enclave say, has risen to more than 35,000 and malnutrition is widespread.
- It is hard to imagine the Saudis being willing to normalize relations while Palestinians are dying in such numbers.
Wider pact of a nuclear deal
- The United States hopes to find a way to give Saudi Arabia several things it wants – a civil nuclear pact, security guarantees and a pathway toward a Palestinian state – in return for Riyadh agreeing to normalize relations with Israel.
- Earlier this month, seven people familiar with the matter told Reuters the Biden administration and Saudi Arabia were finalizing an agreement for U.S. security guarantees and civilian nuclear assistance to Riyadh.
- However, the wider Israel-Saudi normalization envisaged as part of a Middle East “grand bargain” remains elusive.
Key issues to be worked out in a Saudi-US nuclear deal
- A key issue is whether Washington might agree to build a uranium enrichment facility on Saudi territory, when it might do so, and whether Saudi personnel might have access to it or it would be run solely by U.S. staff in a “black box” arrangement.
- Without safeguards built into an agreement, Saudi Arabia, which has uranium ore, could theoretically use an enrichment facility to produce highly enriched uranium, which, if purified enough, can yield fissile material for bombs.
- Another issue is whether Riyadh would agree to make a Saudi investment in a US-based and US-owned uranium enrichment plant and to hire US companies to build Saudi nuclear reactors.
| CARE MCQ | UPSC PYQ |
Q3. Under Indo-US civil nuclear Agreement:
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Q. In India, why are some nuclear reactors kept under “IAEA Safeguards” while others are not? (2020)
Ans: (B) |
| Answer 3– D
Explanation –
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Key Antarctica meetings begin in Kochi
Source: Economic times
UPSC Syllabus Relevance: GS 3- Science and Technology
Context: 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM)
Why in News
- The 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) commences in Kochi, with discussions overshadowed by the Ukraine-Russia conflict, which has impacted previous deliberations.
46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting
- The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India, through the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), will host the 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM 46).
- The 10-day deliberations among signatory nations to the Antarctic Treaty are expected to focus on collaboration between parties on research and exchanging information on plans for sustainable management of resources in the icy continent.
- Also on the agenda for the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) is the development of a framework for regulating tourism in Antarctica, given the pristine and delicate nature of the continent, and applications by Belarus and Canada for consultative status at the deliberations.
About Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting
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- The Parties to the Antarctic Treaty meet every year at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative meeting to exchange information.
- It aims to consult together on matters of common interest pertaining to Antarctica, and to formulate, consider, and recommend measures to their Governments.
- These meetings are known as Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM).
- Consultative Parties host the ATCM-CEP and the sequencing of the hosts is usually determined by alphabetical order in the English language.
- It is now the first time that Finland hosts the ACTM having accepted as a consultative party in 1989.
Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP)
- The Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) was established under the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (the Madrid Protocol) in 1991.
- The CEP advises the ATCM on environmental protection and conservation in Antarctica.
- Protocol on Environmental Protection entered into force in 1998 and the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) was established.
- Since then, the CEP has usually met at the same time as the ATCM, to discuss issues related to environmental protection and to provide advice to the ATCM.
- Similar to previous years, the CEP meeting takes place during the first week of the ATCM.
Antarctic Treaty Secretariat (ATS)
- Antarctic Treaty Secretariat (ATS) serves as the administrative hub for the Antarctic Treaty System.
- Established in 2004, the ATS coordinates the ATCM and CEP meetings, reposits and disseminates information, and facilitates diplomatic communication, exchanges, and negotiations related to Antarctic governance and management.
- It also monitors compliance with Antarctic Treaty provisions and agreements and provides assistance and guidance to Antarctic Treaty Parties on treaty implementation and enforcement matters.
| CARE MCQ | UPSC PYQ |
Q 4 Consider the following statements
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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Q. With reference to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which of the following statements is/are correct? (2015)
1. IUCN is an organ of the United Nations and CITES is an international agreement between governments 2. IUCN runs thousands of field projects around the world to better manage natural environments 3. CITES is legally binding on the States that have joined it, but this Convention does not take the place of national laws Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Ans-B |
| Answer 4 A
Explanation
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Supreme Court and review of its 2022 judgment on ‘shamlat deh’ land rights
Source: Indian Express
UPSC Relevance: GS 2- Polity and Governance, Judiciary
Context: The Supreme Court has allowed for the review of its own 2022 judgment on ‘shamlat deh’ land, essentially land contributed to by multiple landowners to serve the “common purposes” of village’s people.
Why in News
- Protecting the rights of village landowners in Haryana, the Supreme Court allowed a review of a 2022 judgment where a Bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubramanian allowed gram panchayats to acquire shamlat deh land.
What is Shamlet deh?
- Shamlat deh is essentially village common land, created by multiple landowners contributing an equal portion of their individual land holdings to serve the “common purposes” of village’s people.
Supreme Court Ruling
- The apex court in 2022 had upheld a 1992 amendment to the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961 which allows gram panchayats to manage and control shamlat deh land as “lands reserved for the common purposes of a village”.
- A Bench of Justices B R Gavai and Sandeep Mehta reopened the challenge to the 1992 amendment on May 17 this year, after observing that the 2022 decision disregarded an important and relevant Constitution Bench decision in the case of Bhagat Ram vs State of Punjab (1967).
Bhagat Ram: clarifying the meaning of land acquisition under Article 31A
- In 1967, a five-judge Bench was deciding the validity of a land consolidation scheme for the village of Dolike Sunderpur, which proposed to reserve lands “for common purposes” and divert the income of these lands to the panchayat.
- Landowners challenged the scheme arguing that it violates the second proviso of Article 31A which prevents the government from acquiring land from a person.
- The state of Punjab argued that reserving lands for the income of the panchayat does not qualify as land acquisition as the income would be used to benefit the village community.
- The five-judge Bench decided the case of Ajit Singh v State of Punjab (1967), carving out the difference between land being acquired by the state, and the modification or extinguishment of land rights under Article 31A.
- When land is acquired, the state is the beneficiary, which is not the case when land rights are modified or extinguished the Bench ruled.
- Applying this logic in Bhagat Ram, the SC held that the beneficiary of the land consolidation scheme was the panchayat, and thus, also the state.
- The court held that the panchayat was effectively acquiring the land by reserving its income.
- The court also observed that the panchayat’s income can only be used for the village community’s benefit, regardless.
- Thus, accepting the state’s argument would “defeat the object” of the second proviso of Article 31A, the Bench ruled.
- The state of Punjab had also argued that even if the land was being acquired, this was done before Article 31A came into force through the 17th constitutional amendment of 1964, and thus, the second provisio would not apply.
Does shamlat land belong to the landowners or the Panchayat?
- In 2003 a Full Bench of the Punjab & Haryana High Court decided a challenge to the 1992 amendment to the Punjab Act which vested control of shamlat deh land in Haryana with the gram panchayat.
- This amendment was challenged by several village landowners in Haryana in the case of Jai Singh vs State of Haryana.
- The court gave partial relief to the petitioners by distinguishing between land that has been reserved for common purposes under the Consolidation Act.
- The High Court held that control over lands contributed not a part of the consolidation scheme — bachat or surplus land — could not vest with the panchayat as a part of the consolidation scheme.
- The state of Haryana challenged this decision at the Supreme Court, where it was decided by a Bench comprising Justices Gupta and Ramasubramanian in 2022.
- The Bench overruled the 2003 decision, finding that there was no requirement to pay compensation since the amendment to the Punjab Act was passed after Article 31 had been omitted following the forty-fourth constitutional amendment.
- Further, the requirement in the second proviso of Article 31A did not apply as the panchayat was merely managing the land — not acquiring it — on behalf of the land-holders.
Karnail Singh: SC allows review of 2022 judgment
- The Bench of Justices Gavai and Mehta, in Karnail Singh vs State of Haryana (2024), found that the 2022 decision only made a “cursory reference” to the Constitution Bench’s decision in Bhagat Ram by saying that “There is no dispute about the said proposition in the present appeals”.
- As the 2003 High Court judgment that was being appealed heavily relied on Bhagat Ram, Justices Gavai and Mehta stated that the “least that was expected of this Court” was to explain why the High Court was wrong.
- Instead “there is not even a whisper about the Constitution Bench judgment in Bhagat Ram”.
- The apex court held that a smaller bench ignoring a Constitution Bench decision was a “material error manifest on the face of the order”, which is the bar that is set for allowing a Supreme Court judgment to be reviewed.
- Consequently, the Bench recalled the 2022 decision and directed the challenge to the 2003 High Court decision to be heard once again, beginning on August 7.
What is Article 31A?
- It saves five categories of laws from being challenged and invalidated on the ground of contravention of the fundamental rights conferred by Article 14 and Article 19.
- It includes:
- Acquisition of estates and related rights by the State;
- Taking over the management of properties by the State;
- Amalgamation of corporations;
- Extinguishment or modification of rights of directors or shareholders of corporations
- Extinguishment or modification of mining leases.
- It also provides the guaranteed right to compensation in case of acquisition or requisition of the private property by the state.
| CARE MCQ | UPSC PYQ |
Q5. Consider the following statements:
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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Q. In India, which one of the following Constitutional Amendments was widely believed to be enacted to overcome the judicial interpretations of the Fundamental Rights? (2023)
Answer: (B) |
| Answer 5 A
Explanation
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