The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 22 April 2023

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis for UPSC

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 21 April 2023

• In recalling its recommendation to appoint Justice S. Muralidhar as Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, the Supreme Court collegium has let the Union government, which did not act on the decision for eight months, have its way.
• One can only conclude that the Centre has been deliberately refraining from acting on the recommendation, presumably to stall the transfer.
• It was decided in September 2022 that Justice Muralidhar would be shifted from the Orissa High Court to succeed Justice M.N. Bhandari, who retired as head of the Madras High Court. Meanwhile, Justice T. Raja, the senior-most judge in Chennai, was acting as Chief Justice, but it was decided in November 2022 that he would be shifted to the Rajasthan High Court.
• Article 124(2) says: “Every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with such Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in the States as he may deem necessary.
• Please note: There is no such law or constitutional provision that mentions or defines the collegium system.
• FIRST JUDGES CASE: In S P Gupta Vs Union of India, 1981, the Supreme Court judgment held that consultation does not mean concurrence and it only implies an exchange of views.
• SECOND JUDGES CASE: In The Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association Vs Union of India, 1993, a nine-judge Constitution Bench overruled the decision and devised a specific procedure called ‘Collegium System’ for the appointment and transfer of judges in the higher judiciary.
• The majority verdict in the Second Judges Case accorded primacy to the CJI in matters of appointment and transfers while also ruling that the term “consultation” would not diminish the primary role of the CJI in judicial appointments.
• The role of the CJI is primal in nature because this being a topic within the judicial family, the executive cannot have an equal say in the matter.
• THIRD JUDGES CASE: In the Third Judges case (1998), the Court opined that the consultation process to be adopted by the Chief Justice of India requires ‘consultation of plurality judges’.

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About Olive Ridley turtle

• The Olive Ridley turtles are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world.
• They are best known for their unique mass nesting called Arribada, where thousands of females come together on the same beach to lay eggs.
• They are carnivores and get their name from their olive-colored carapace, which is heart-shaped and rounded.
• They are mainly found in the warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
• Odisha’s Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary is known as the world’s largest rookery (a colony of breeding animals) of sea turtles.
• Conservation status
• IUCN Red List:Vulnerable
• Operation Olivia: Every year, the Indian Coast Guard’s “Operation Olivia”, initiated in the early 1980s, helps protect Olive Ridley turtles as they congregate along the Odisha coast for breeding and nesting from November to December.

• The world’s glaciers melted at dramatic speed last year and saving them is effectively a lost cause, the United Nations reported on Friday, as climate change indicators once again hit record highs.
• The last eight years have been the warmest ever recorded, while concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide hit new peaks, the UN’s World Meteorological Organization said.
• Sea levels are also at a record high, having risen by an average of 4.62 millimetres per year between 2013 and 2022 — double the rate it was between 1993 and 2002.
• Record high temperatures were recorded in the oceans — where around 90% of the heat trapped on Earth by greenhouse gases ends up.
• The 2015 Paris Agreement saw countries agree to cap global warming at “well below” two degrees Celsius above average levels measured between 1850 and 1900 — and 1.5 degrees Celsius if possible.

• Aggregate demand conditions remain resilient in India, notwithstanding an uncertain global outlook, supported by a rebound in contact-intensive services, RBI officials observed in the central bank’s bulletin.
• Expectations of a bumper rabi harvest, fiscal thrust on infrastructure, and revival in corporate investment in select sectors augur well for the economy, the RBI officials led by Deputy Governor Michael D. Patra, wrote in an article on ‘State of the Economy’.

Q) Consider the following statements regarding National Quantum Mission (NQM):

1. India is the only country in the world to have a dedicated quantum mission.
2. It will have defined milestones that are expected to be achieved over the course of eight years.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

राष्ट्रीय क्वांटम मिशन (एनक्यूएम) के संबंध में निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार करें:

1. भारत दुनिया का एकमात्र ऐसा देश है जिसके पास समर्पित क्वांटम मिशन है।
2. इसमें परिभाषित मील के पत्थर होंगे जो आठ वर्षों के दौरान हासिल किए जाने की उम्मीद है।

उपरोक्त कथनों में से कौन-सा/से सही है/हैं?

1. केवल 1
2. केवल 2
3. 1 और 2 दोनों
4. न तो 1 और न ही 2

About National Quantum Mission (NQM):

• NQM will fund research and development of quantum computing technology and associated applications.
• The mission will have defined milestones that are expected to be achieved over the course of eight years (2023-24 to 2030-31).
• India is the sixth country to have a dedicated quantum mission after the US, Austria, Finland, France and China.
• Four thematic hubs, or T-Hubs, with a focus on quantum computing, communication, sensing and metrology, and materials and devices will be established in India’s leading academic and national R&D institutes.
• Objectives:
• Create intermediate-scale quantum computers with 50-1000 qubits in the next eight years.
• Establish satellite-based secure quantum communications between ground stations within India, as well as with other countries, covering a range of 2000 km.
• It will look to provide inter-city quantum key distribution over 2000 km.
• Multi-node quantum network with quantum memories.

Q) State of World Population Report 2023, which was recently in the news, is published by which organization?

1. United Nations Population Fund
2. International Monetary Fund
3. World Bank
4. None of these

स्टेट ऑफ वर्ल्ड पॉपुलेशन रिपोर्ट 2023, जो हाल ही में खबरों में थी, किस संस्था द्वारा प्रकाशित की जाती है?

1. संयुक्त राष्ट्र जनसंख्या कोष
2. अंतर्राष्ट्रीय मुद्रा कोष
3. विश्व बैंक
4. इनमें से कोई नहीं

Key Highlights of the Report 2023:

• India’s total fertility rate, or births per woman, was estimated at 2, lower than the world average of 2.3.
• The average life expectancy for an Indian male was projected at 71 and 74 for females.
• The report also brought up worrying statistics regarding gender rights in India.
• The adolescent birth rate per 1,000 girls aged 15–19 was 11, while 23 per cent of girls were married off before the age of 18.
• United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is an international development agency created in 1968 to support the execution of projects and programmes in the area of population and sexual and reproductive health.
• Its mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.
• In 1987, it was officially renamed as the United Nations Population Fund but the original abbreviation UNFPA (United Nations Fund for Population Activities) was retained.
• Headquarters: New York

Q) With reference to the Hakki-Pikki tribe, consider the following statements:

1. They are a semi-nomadic tribal group belonging to the state of Karnataka.
2. They speak the Vagri language which is listed as an endangered language by UNESCO.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

हक्की-पिक्की जनजाति के संदर्भ में निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिये:

1. वे कर्नाटक राज्य से संबंधित एक अर्ध-खानाबदोश आदिवासी समूह हैं।
2. वे वागरी भाषा बोलते हैं जिसे यूनेस्को द्वारा लुप्तप्राय भाषा के रूप में सूचीबद्ध किया गया है।

उपरोक्त कथनों में से कौन-सा/से सही है/हैं?

1. केवल 1
2. केवल 2
3. 1 और 2 दोनों
4. न तो 1 और न ही 2

Explanation :

Thirty-one tribals belonging to ‘Hakki-Pikki’ are stranded in Sudan, where violent clashes between a powerful paramilitary force and the country’s armed forces are going on.

• They are a semi-nomadic tribal group belonging to the state of Karnataka.
• In Kannada, the word ‘Hakki’ stands for ‘bird’ and ‘Pikki’ stands for the verb ‘to catch’.
• The community is known as the ‘bird catcher,’ which is their traditional occupation.
• The population is predominantly found in the Shivamogga, Davanagere and Mysuru districts of Karnataka.
• Their mother tongue was designated as ‘Vaagri’ by scholars.
• UNESCO has listed ‘Vaagri’ as one of the endangered languages.
• They have traditional medical knowledge that is in demand in several African countries.
• The community resided in the dense jungles for a long time and created its own plant and herb-based medicine systems.

Q) Satkosia wildlife sanctuary, which was recently seen in the news, is located in which state?

1. Odisha
2. Gujarat
3. Andhra Pradesh
4. None of these

हाल ही में खबरों में रहा सतकोसिया वन्यजीव अभ्यारण्य किस राज्य में स्थित है?

1. ओडिशा
2. गुजरात
3. आंध्र प्रदेश
4. इनमें से कोई नहीं

Explanation :

Recently, amidst the scorching heat good news came from the Satkosia wildlife sanctuary where the breeding of Indian Skimmers has been recorded for the first time.

• It is a popular wildlife destination located in the state of Odisha.
• It is situated on the banks of the Mahanadi River.
• The sanctuary has been recognized as a critical tiger habitat by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
• Flora: It is home to a diverse range of flora, including dry deciduous forests, moist deciduous forests, and tropical moist forests. The sanctuary is known for its Sal forests, which cover a large part of the area.
• Fauna: Elephants, Tigers, Leopards, Wild dogs, Sloth bears, Gaurs, sambar deer, spotted deer etc.

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