06 SEPTEMBER 2023

Topic 1: History of the India’s names

Why in news: Opposition politicians have been posting images of an official invitation to a G20 dinner hosted by “The President of Bharat” instead of the usual “President of India”.

History of the names that India bear:

• Bharat:
  • The roots of “Bharat”, “Bharata”, or “Bharatvarsha” are traced back to Puranic literature, and to the epic Mahabharata.
  • The Puranas describe Bharata as the land between the sea in the south and the abode of snow in the north.
  • ‘Bharata’ refers to the supraregional and subcontinental territory where the Brahmanical system of society prevails.
  • Bharata is also the name of the ancient king of legend who was the ancestor of the Rig Vedic tribe of the Bharatas, and by extension, the progenitor of all peoples of the subcontinent.
• Hindustan
  • The name Hindustan is thought to have derived from ‘Hindu’, the Persian cognate form of the Sanskrit ‘Sindhu’ (Indus).
  • It came into currency with the Achaemenid Persian conquest of the Indus valley (northwestern parts of the subcontinent) that begin in the 6th century BC (which was the time of The Buddha in the Gangetic basin).
  • The Achaemenids used the term to identify the lower Indus basin, and from around the first century of the Christian era, the suffix “stan” came to be used with the name to create “Hindustan”.
  • By the time of the early Mughals (16th century), the name ‘Hindustan’ was used to describe the entire Indo-Gangetic plain.
  • In the mid-to-late eighteenth century, Hindustan often referred to the territories of the Mughal emperor, which comprised much of South Asia.
• India:
  • The Greeks, who had acquired knowledge of ‘Hind’ from the Achaemenids, transliterated the name as ‘Indus’.
  • By the time the Macedonian king Alexander invaded India in the 3rd century BC, ‘India’ had come to be identified with the region beyond the Indus.
  • From the late 18th century onwards, British maps increasingly began to use the name ‘India’, and ‘Hindustan’ started to lose its association with all of South Asia.
  • Part of the appeal of the term India may have been its Graeco-Roman associations, its long history of use in Europe, and its adoption by scientific and bureaucratic organisations such as the Survey of India.

Use of ‘Bharat’ and ‘India’ into the Constitution

• When the question of naming India in the Constitution arose, ‘Hindustan’ was dropped, and both ‘Bharat’ and ‘India’ were retained.
• There were quite a few members who were against the use of the name ‘India’, which they saw as being a reminder of the colonial past.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar on the concept of Hindustan and Bharat:

• According to Savarkar, the word Hindu and Hindustan best describe the people who lived between Sindhu in the north and the Indian Ocean in the south.
  • While the name ‘Sindhu’ was given by the Aryans, and S is replaced by H in both Persian and Prakrit, the Aryans could have possibly picked the name already being used by the local tribes living in the region — thus seeking to establish the word as firmly indigenous.
• The word Bharat came about when the centre of gravity shifted from Sapta Sindhu to the Gangetic delta.
• The terms Aryawarta or Bramhawarta were not so suitable as to express the vast synthesis that embraced the whole continent from the Indus to the sea and aimed to weld it into a nation.
• This necessity of finding a suitable term to express the expansive thought of an Indian Nation was more or less effectively met when the House of Bharat came to exercise its sway over the entire world.

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Topic 2: Sanatan Dharma and Hindu Dharma

Why in news: Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, in his seminal work Essentials of Hindutva, has dealt with the difference between Sanatan Dharma, Hinduism, and Hindutva..

Savarkar On Sanatan Dharma, Hindu dharma, and Hindutva

• Sanatan Dharma and Hindu dharma:
  • Savarkar describes the followers of Sanatan Dharma as those who recognise the authority of Shruti, Smriti and Puranas.
    • Shruti and Smriti both refer to Vedic literature.
    • Shruti is first-hand knowledge, that which was heard (Vedas, Upanishads, etc.), while Smriti is that which is written down from memory (Upvedas, Tantras, etc.)
  • The majority of the Hindus subscribes to that system of religion which could fitly be described by the attribute that constitutes its special feature, as told by Shruti, Smriti and Puranas or Sanatan Dharma.
  • They would not object if it even be called Vaidik Dharma.
  • There are other Hindus who reject either partly or wholly, the authority of some of the Puranas, some of the Smritis and some of the Shrutis themselves.
  • The religion of the majority of the Hindus could be best denoted by the ancient accepted appellation, the Sanatan dharma or the Shruti-smriti-puranokta Dharma or the Vaidik Dharma.
  • While the religion of the remaining Hindus would continue to be denoted by their respective and accepted names Sikha Dharma or Arya Dharma or Jain Dharma or Buddha Dharma.
  • Therefore the Vaidik or the Sanatan Dharma itself is merely a sect of Hinduism or Hindu Dharma, however overwhelming be the majority that contributes to its tenets.
• Hindutva:
  • Hindutva is not a word but a history.
  • It is not only the spiritual or religious history of our people as at times it is mistaken to be by being confounded with the other cognate term Hinduism, but a history in full.
  • Hinduism is only a derivative, a fraction of Hindutva.

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Topic 3: Laws governing forests of the Northeast

Why in news: Recently, the Mizoram Assembly unanimously passed a resolution opposing the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023, “to protect the rights and interest of the people of Mizoram”.

Key details:

• The amendment allows the diversion of forest land for roads, railway lines or strategic linear projects of national importance and concerning national security within 100 km of India’s international borders or lines of control, without a forest clearance under the Forest (Conservation) Act (FCA) 1980.
• Most of India’s Northeast falls in this 100 km range.

Applicability of FCA to the Northeast:

• Special constitutional protections, such as Article 371A for Nagaland and 371G for Mizoram, prohibit the application of any law enacted by Parliament that impinges on:
  • Naga and Mizo customary law and procedure, and
  • ownership and transfer of land and its resources.
• Such laws can be extended to these States only if their Legislative Assemblies decide thus in a resolution.
• Application in Nagaland:
  • In 1986, Nagaland extended the application of the FCA to government forests and such other forests and Wildlife Sanctuaries under the control of the State Government
    • Government forests make up only 2.71% of the State’s Recorded Forest Area.
  • In 1997, the Home Ministry confirmed to the Union Environment Ministry that the FCA is covered under the term “land resources” and is not applicable to Nagaland, as its Legislative Assembly had not adopted any resolution to apply FCA to the State.
  • Since 1980, the Environment Ministry has not granted an FCA clearance to forests in Nagaland.
• Applicability in Mizoram:
  • In 1986, the Union Territory became a State with the 53rd amendment of the Constitution, adding Article 371G to the Constitution.
  • It stipulated that all Central Acts in force before 1986 are extended to the State, including the FCA.
  • The powers of the Autonomous District Councils in the three Sixth Scheduled areas in Mizoram don’t extend to reserved forests.
  • The FCA covers 84.53% of forest areas that are notified forests, and 6,630 ha have thus far received FCA clearance.
• Status of other northeast states:
  • The FCA is applicable in the rest of the Northeast.
    • It is applicable in Meghalaya and Tripura, the Sixth Schedule Areas within these States, and in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Manipur.
    • Arunachal Pradesh ranked first among these States in FCA clearance (21,786.45 ha), followed by Tripura (9,051 ha), Assam (5,261 ha), Manipur (3,604 ha), Sikkim (2,902 ha), and Meghalaya (807 ha).

What is Recorded Forest Area?

• In 1996, the Supreme Court expanded the term “forest land” in the FCA in the Godavarman case.
  • It is to not only include ‘forest’ as understood in the dictionary sense, but also any area recorded as forest in the Government record irrespective of the ownership”, thus extending the FCA to unclassed forests.
• These are recorded forests but not notified as forests.
• More than half of the Northeast is Recorded Forest Area (RFA).
  • Of this, 53% are unclassed forests controlled by individuals, clans, village councils or communities, and governed by customary law and procedures.
  • The remainder is notified forest controlled by State Forest Departments.
• RFA range:
  • 34.21% in Assam
  • 82.31% in Sikkim
  • Mizoram 35.48%,
  • Meghalaya 42.34%,
  • Nagaland 53.01%,
  • Arunachal Pradesh 61.55%,
  • Manipur 78.01% and
  • Tripura 60.02%.
• Unclassed forests range:
  • Nil in Sikkim
  • 97.29% in Nagaland,
  • 15.47% in Mizoram,
  • 33.43% in Assam,
  • 42.96% in Tripura,
  • 75.67% in Manipur
  • 88.15% in Meghalaya.
• Forests neither recorded nor surveyed:
  • 38.5% in Assam;
  • 29% in Nagaland; and
  • 1.5% in Mizoram.

Status of the FRA Act in Northeast India:

• In the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (FRA) 2006, forest land includes:
  • unclassified forests,
  • undemarcated forests,
  • existing or deemed forests,
  • protected forests,
  • reserved forests,
  • Sanctuaries and National Parks.
• Nothing prevents the north eastern states from taking suo motu cognisance of these existing rights and obtaining the concerned Gram Sabha approvals for issuing titles.
  • The Ministry of Tribal Affairs can also issue legally enforceable directions under the FRA, paving the way for this.
  • It would add another layer of legal security to traditional community tenurial rights over forests.
• However, none of the Northeast States have implemented FRA except for Assam and Tripura.
• Why the non-implementation:
  • The reasons include the FRA being irrelevant as communities, clans, chiefs and individuals own most of the land, that their rights are already being enjoyed and a lack of forest-dwellers who are totally forest dependent.

How can forests then be protected?

• Delegation of power to District Collector:
  • The Environment Ministry mandated FRA implementation and prior informed consent of the Gram Sabha in 2009 to admit a forest diversion proposal.
  •  
  • The responsibility was delegated to the District Collector, who ironically also headed the District Committee that issues FRA titles.
  • The Collectors’ certificate of FRA compliance in the in-principle Stage I forest clearance was shifted to Stage II final clearance.
• Environment Ministry Rules 2022:
  • The Ministry’s 2022 Forest Conservation Rules eliminated compliance with the FRA before final approval altogether.
  • It said that State governments shall issue order for diversion, assignment of lease or dereservation as the case may be after fulfillment and compliance with the FRA including ensuring settlement of rights.
  • States can formulate and take legal measures to ensure mandatory fulfillment of the FRA before recommending a forest diversion proposal, and ensuring Gram Sabha consent before handing over forest land.
  • The Ministry of Tribal Affairs can also issue legally enforceable directions under the FRA, or even enact a separate law, to recognise and settle forest rights when forests are diverted for other purposes and forest-dwellers are relocated.
  • This way, the States and the Tribal Affairs Ministry have a way to provide tenurial security to forest-dwellers and protect the forests.

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Topic 4: One-hour trade settlement

Why in news: Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is now planning to implement one-hour settlement of trades.

What is trade settlement?

• Settlement is a two-way process which involves the transfer of funds and securities on the settlement date.
• A trade settlement is said to be complete once purchased securities of a listed company are delivered to the buyer and the seller gets the money.
• T+1 settlement:
  • The current cycle of T+1 means trade-related settlements happen within a day, or 24 hours of the actual transactions.
  • India became the second country in the world to start the T+1 settlement cycle in top-listed securities after China.

Benefits of one-hour trade settlement

• Under the current T+1 settlement cycle, if an investor sells securities, the money gets credited into the person’s account the next day.
• In one-hour settlement, if an investor sells a share, the money will be credited to their account in an hour, and the buyer will get the shares in their demat account within an hour.

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Topic 5: Exercise Trishul

Why in news: The annual training exercise, Trishul, of the Western Air Command (WAC) of the Indian Air Force (IAF) began recently.

Key details:

• The Indian Air Force is going to carry out a major training exercise codenamed Trishul in the northern sector along the borders with both China and Pakistan.
• All major fleets of fighter aircraft including the Rafale, Mirage 2000 and the Su-30MKIs will be participating in the drills along with heavy-lift transport aircraft and choppers including the Chinooks and Apache.
• Significance:
  • Since the stand-off with China in eastern Ladakh in 2020, which is still ongoing, the Indian military has seen a major reorientation from its focus from Pakistan to China and the IAF has maintained a high tempo of operations.

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Topic 6: Regional and international groupings invited in G20

Why in news: India has invited three regional and three international organisations as guests to the G20 summit.

Regional organisations invited to the G20 New Delhi summit

• African Union (AU)
  • The AU is an intergovernmental organisation, which comprises the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African Continent.
  • Officially launched in 2002, the AU seeks to achieve greater unity and solidarity between African countries and their people.
  • The organisation is likely to become the 21st member of the G20 during this year’s Leaders’ Summit..
• AUDA-NEPAD
  • The New Partnership for Africa’s Development is an economic development program of the African Union.
  • The organisation came into existence in 2018, when the African Union decided to transform the NEPAD Planning and Coordination Agency (established in 2010) into the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD).
  • Its main purpose is to coordinate and execute priority regional and continental projects in Africa to realise ‘Agenda 2023’.
    • Agenda 2023 is Africa’s blueprint and master plan for transforming the continent into the global powerhouse of the future.
• ASEAN
  • Established in 1967, ASEAN is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia. Members:
    • Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand are its founding members.
    • Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia joined the organisation later.
  • ASEAN’s main objectives include:
    • accelerating economic growth, social progress and cultural development in Southeast Asia, and
    • promoting regional peace and stability in the region.

International organisations invited to the G20 New Delhi summit

• The International Solar Alliance
  • The International Solar Alliance is a treaty-based intergovernmental organisation, launched by India and France in 2016.
  • Its aim is to provide a dedicated platform for cooperation among solar resource-rich countries and the wider global community to support the increasing use of solar energy.
  • Currently, 116 countries are signatories to the ISA Framework Agreement, of which 94 countries have submitted the necessary instruments of ratification to become full members of the ISA.
• CDRI
  • Founded in 2019, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure is a coalition of:
    • national governments,
    • UN agencies and programmes,
    • multilateral development banks,
    • private sector and
    • educational institutes
  • It aims to promote new and existing disaster-resilient infrastructures.
  • The organisation also seeks to increase awareness about such infrastructures, and increase the availability of technical assistance and improve capacities.
• Asian Development Bank:
  • Founded in 1966, ADB is engaged in promoting the economic and social progress of its developing member countries (DMCs) in the Asia Pacific Region.
  • The main instruments that it uses to do this are loans and equity investments, providing technical assistance for development projects and programmes, along with other advisory services, loan guarantees, grants and policy dialogues.
  • ADB has 68 members, with its headquarters in Manila, Philippines.
  • India holds 6.317% of shares, with 5.347 per cent voting rights.
  • Japan and the US represent the largest shareholders, followed by China and India.

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Topic 7: ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC)

Context: The second earth-bound manoeuvre of the Aditya L-1 mission to study the sun has been performed successfully by the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bengaluru.

About ISTRAC:

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), over the years, has established a comprehensive global network of ground stations to provide Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TTC) support to satellite and launch vehicle missions.
• These facilities are grouped under ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC).
• Its headquarters is at Bangalore.
• Mission
  • Tracking, commanding and housekeeping data acquisition.
  • Health analysis and control, orbit and attitude determination and network co-ordination support to all low Earth orbit satellite missions of ISRO throughout their mission life.

• Telemetry data acquisition support for ISRO launch vehicle missions and down range tracking support for monitoring and determining the satellite injection parameters.
• Coordinating between spacecraft and launch vehicle teams.
• Supporting ground stations right from planning till the completion of mission for the national and international satellite missions.
• Telemetry, tracking and command support for the International satellite launch projects.
• Ground Stations in India:
  • Hyderabad
  • Bangalore
  • Lucknow
  • Port Blair
  • Sriharikota
  • Thiruvananthapuram
• Global Stations
  • Port Louis, Mauritius
  • Bear Lakes, Russia
  • Biak, Indonesia
  • Brunei
  • Svalbard, Norway
  • Troll, Antarctica
  • Vietnam
  • Gatun Lake, Panama
  • São Tomé and Príncipe, West Africa