The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 1 June 2023

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis for UPSC

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 31 May 2023

• Necrophilia is the act of having sexual intercourse with a dead body, or the desire to do this.
• Observing that the attendants appointed to guard the bodies in mortuaries of many government and private hospitals indulge in “sexual intercourse” on the bodies, the High Court of Karnataka has recommended that the Union government amend the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to bring necrophilia under the definition of offence of unnatural sex or introduce new provision in IPC to make necrophilia an offence.
• Referring to laws in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa where necrophilia is an offence, the court said “unfortunately in India no specific legislation is enacted, including under the provisions of IPC for the purpose of upholding dignity and protecting rights and crime against the body of the woman.”
• Sections 377 (unnatural sex) and 376 (rape) the IPC.
• IPC do not include the term ‘dead body,’ the Bench said while pointing out that necrophilia does not attract the provision of rape under Section 376 of IPC.

 The Hindu Editorial Today

• First, the possibility of intra-party dissent within Parliament has been stamped out by virtue of the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution, popularly known as the “anti-defection law”. Introduced through a constitutional amendment in 1985, the Tenth Schedule penalises disobedience of the party whip with disqualification from the House altogether.
• Second, right from its inception, the Indian Constitution did not carve out any specific space for the political Opposition in the House.
• Third, this is exacerbated by the fact that the Speaker, in our system, is not independent. The Speaker is not required to give up membership of their political party, and is not constitutionally obligated to act impartially.
• Fourth, the role of the Upper House is undercut not only by the Speaker’s misclassification of Bills but also by the constitutionally-sanctioned ordinance making power.

• The observance of International Biodiversity Day (May 22) was yet another reminder of the pivotal role our natural world plays in resolving the climate change crisis, which, along with the decline of biodiversity, poses an existential threat to our future.
• Biodiversity, the rich variety of life forms and their interconnections with each other and the environment, is everywhere: inside our bodies as ubiquitous microbiomes, in our backyards, villages, towns, and cities, and in remote wild places as well-organised ecological communities and ecosystems.
• About CBD:
• At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, world leaders agreed on a comprehensive strategy for “sustainable development” — meeting our needs while ensuring that we leave a healthy and viable world for future generations. One of the key agreements adopted at Rio was the Convention on Biological Diversity.
• The Convention on Biological Diversity is the international legal instrument for “the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources” that has been ratified by 196 nations.
• What are Aichi Targets?
• The ‘Aichi Targets’ were adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at its Nagoya conference. It is a short term plan provides a set of 20 ambitious yet achievable targets, collectively known as the Aichi Targets.

• Graphene is the world’s thinnest, strongest, and most conductive material of both electricity and heat. It conducts electricity better than copper.
• It is 200 times stronger than steel but six times lighter. It is almost perfectly transparent as it absorbs only 2% of light. It is impermeable to gases, even those as light as hydrogen and helium. It has the potential to revolutionise electricity, conductivity, energy generation, batteries, sensors and more.
• Graphene-based sensors are used for environmental monitoring, healthcare and wearable devices. Graphene oxide membranes are used for water purification and desalination. Graphene-based masks were made during COVID.
• Graphene has the potential to absorb and dissipate electromagnetic waves, making it valuable for developing stealth coatings and materials that reduce radar signatures and electromagnetic interference.
• Among the leading countries in graphene research are China, the U.S., the U.K., Japan, South Korea, Russia, and Singapore. Till 2012, graphene-related patent filing was dominated by the U.S. From 2013 to 2016, South Korea and China matched the U.S. After 2017, China surged ahead. In 2018, China filed 218 patents while the other leading countries together filed 79. India had eight filings.
• China and Brazil are global leaders in the commercial production of graphene.
• Kerala government announced that the country’s first Graphene Innovation Centre would come up in Thrissur, Kerala.

• The acronym “BRICS” was initially formulated in 2001 by economist Jim O’Neill, of Goldman Sachs, in a report on growth prospects for the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China – which together represented a significant share of the world’s production and population.
• In 2006, the four countries initiated a regular informal diplomatic coordination, with annual meetings of Foreign Ministers at the margins of the General Debate of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
• This successful interaction led to the decision that the dialogue was to be carried out at the level of Heads of State and Government in annual Summits.
• The first BRIC Summit took place in 2009 in the Russian Federation and focused on issues such as reform of the global financial architecture.
• South Africa was invited to join BRIC in December 2010, after which the group adopted the acronym BRICS.
• South Africa subsequently attended the Third BRICS Summit in Sanya, China, in March 2011.

• It’s now mandatory for over-the-top (OTT) streaming platforms to display anti-tobacco warnings as seen in movies screened in theatres and TV, as per a Union Health Ministry notification on Wednesday amending the rules under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2004.
• They shall also be required to exhibit an anti-tobacco health warning as a prominent static message at the bottom of the screen when tobacco products or their use are displayed during the programme.
• It added that the anti-tobacco health warning message as specified in clause(b) of sub-rule (1) shall be legible and readable, with font in black colour on white background and with the warnings ‘Tobacco causes cancer’ or ‘Tobacco kills’.

• Cancer treatment, emergency care, orthopaedic and urology (kidney-related ailments) top the tertiary care specialities treatment availed by beneficiaries under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) till date, as per data released by the Health Ministry on Wednesday. The yojana has now recorded five crore hospital admissions amounting to ₹61,501 crore under the scheme.
• Approximately 49% of Ayushman card recipients are women and over 48% of total authorised hospital admissions under the AB PM-JAY scheme have been availed by women, noted the data.
• Key Features:
• It is the world’s largest health insurance/ assurance scheme fully financed by the government and the cost of implementation is shared between the Central and State Governments.
• It provides a cover of Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization across public and private empanelled hospitals in India.
• It covers up to 3 days of pre-hospitalization and 15 days of post-hospitalization expenses such as diagnostics and medicines.
• There is no restriction on the family size, age or gender.
• The RSBY had a family cap of five members.
• All pre-existing conditions are covered from day one.
• Eligibility:
• The households included are based on the deprivation and occupational criteria of Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 (SECC 2011) for rural and urban areas respectively.

• The Union government on Wednesday approved the second phase of the City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS) project, a programme under the ambit of the Smart Cities Mission, which aims to promote integrated waste management and climate-oriented reform actions.
• The CITIIS 2.0 will be implemented in 18 cities which would be selected based on a competition.
• It would span over a period of four years from 2023-2027 and has been conceived and would be implemented in partnership with the French Development Agency (AFD), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the European Union (EU), and National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA).
• CITIIS, or the City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain, is a sub-component of the Government of India’s Smart Cities Mission.
• It is a joint program of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Agence Francaise de Development (AFD), the European Union (EU), and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA)

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