25 JULY 2023

Topic 1: The Trinity Nuclear Test

Context: Oppenheimer and others underestimated fallout of the Trinity nuclear test, new study finds

The Manhattan Project

• After Germany initiated World War II by invading Poland, a letter signed by Nobel prize-winning physicist Albert Einstein warned then-US President Franklin D Roosevelt of the potential threat posed by an atomic weapon being developed by Adolf Hitler.
• Soon after, the United States launched a secret atomic research undertaking, code-named the Manhattan Project, which sought to develop an atomic weapon to end the war.
• The Los Alamos team developed two types of bombs:
  • one was uranium based, which was later code-named ‘the Little Boy’ before it was dropped on Hiroshima;
  • the other had a plutonium core.
  • Testing the ‘Little Boy’ was not feasible, as there was not enough uranium available.
  • The Plutonium bomb was eventually tested at the Trinity site on July 16, 1945.

About the Trinity Test

• Trinity was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon.
• It was conducted by the United States Army as part of the Manhattan Project.
• The test was conducted in the Jornada del Muerto desert about 35 miles (56 km) southeast of Socorro, New Mexico.
• The code name “Trinity” was assigned by J. Robert Oppenheimer, the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory.
• The test was of an implosion-design plutonium device, nicknamed the “Gadget“, of the same design as the Fat Man bomb later detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945.

Repercussions of the Trinity Test

• New Mexico residents were not warned before the test, to ensure that it was carried out secretly.
• Data collected by the New Mexico health department, which showed the adverse impact of radiation caused by the detonation, was ignored for years after the test.
• A sudden rise in infant mortality was reported in the months after the explosion.
• Several residents also complained that the number of cancer patients went up after the Trinity Test.
• It was only in 1990, when the federal government passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), that residents of North Mexico who contracted Cancer and other other illnesses due to radiation exposure received compensation.

How many countries worldwide now have nuclear weapons?

• Seventy-five years after the Trinity Test, as many as nine countries around the world are currently in possession of nuclear weapons.
• These include:
  • the US, the UK, Russia, France, India, China, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea.
• The most recent instance of nuclear bomb test explosions conducted by India, were the series of five explosions done as part of the Pokhran-II tests in May 1998.
  • The first test, code-named Smiling Buddha, took place in May 1974.

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Topic 2: INS Kirpan

Context: INS Kirpan decommissioned from Indian Navy, handed over to Vietnam.

About INS Kirpan:

• INS Kirpan is a Khukri-class corvette.
• It was recently decommissioned and handed over to Vietnam People’s Navy.
• It is the first active warship that India has ever gifted to another country.
• It is an indigenously built missile corvette.

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Topic 3: King Mihir Bhoj

Context: The controversy around the lineage of Mihir Bhoj has surfaced recently in Haryana.

The current controversy in Haryana

• The Gurjar community in Haryana’s Kaithal had planned to unveil a statue of Mihir Bhoj, calling him a Gurjar Pratihar Samrat (king).
• The Rajput community members objected to this.

About Mihir Bhoj

• Mihir Bhoj (c. 836-885 CE) was a successful and ambitious ruler of ninth century India.
• At that time, the Gurjara-Pratiharas were ruling over a vast empire, from Kashmir to Gujarat.
• Mihir Bhoj successfully conquered areas of Deccan and Malwa too.
• During the ninth century, the major political struggle was for control over Kannauj as it was considered that whoever conquered Kannauj would be emperor of the country.
• Hence, the country witnessed a tripartite struggle among three big powers of the times —
  • the Gurjara-Pratihara,
  • the Rashtrakutas of Deccan and
  • the Palas of Bengal.
• In that struggle, Mihir Bhoj was, by and large, the most successful.
• He conquered areas of Gujarat and Malwa from the Gujarat-Rashtrakutas.
• Similarly, the king launched a campaign towards Bengal and conquered territories of Gorakhpur from the Palas of Bengal too.

His contested lineage:

• Gurjar Pratiharas, the group to which Mihir Bhoj belonged, are often considered both Rajputs and Gurjars.
• Gurjars were a nomadic tribe in ancient India, initially spreading in Rajasthan and Gujarat regions.
• It is believed that Mihir Bhoj belonged to this tribe.
• However, it is also believed that he claimed Kshatriya status for himself.
  • The Pratihara branch of the dynasty was linked to Rajputs.
  • It was considered that only a Kshatriya (warrior) could become a king.
  • In ancient India, all kings claimed Kshatriya status.

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Topic 4: Quote: Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it

Context: Recentl, the birth anniversary of Bal Gangadhar Tilak was commemorated.

Key details:

• Mahatma Gandhi called him “the Maker of Modern India”.
• Jawaharlal Nehru described him as the “the Father of the Indian Revolution”.
• However, the epithet Tilak is most identified with is ‘Lokmanya’, or the beloved of the people, and it also best encapsulates Tilak’s contribution to the Indian freedom struggle: in taking the movement to the masses.
• His critique:
  • Tilak has been criticised for giving the freedom struggle a communal shade.
  • His mass mobilisation programmes like the celebration of Ganesh chaturthi and Shivaji Jayanti revolved around Hindu festivals and heroes.
  • His conservative stand on women’s emancipation and caste reforms.

About Tilak:

• Tilak was born on July 23, 1856.
• A lawyer, scholar, and journalist (he ran the newspaper Kesari in Marathi and Maratha in English), Tilak joined the Indian National Congress in 1890.
• Tilak grew impatient with the Congress’s moderate approach of prayers and petitions for a more just British rule.
• Along with Lala Lajpat Rai and Bipin Chandra Pal, Tilak became part of the Lal Bal Pal troika, which advocated complete freedom from the British as the goal, and the pursuit of unconstitutional means, including violence, to attain that goal.
• The chasm between the moderates and the extremists widened, and the Congress eventually split in 1907.
• Tilak’s famous quote on Swaraj came in 1916, the year he rejoined the Congress after his conviction and imprisonment in a sedition case.
• It was in this unstinting pursuit of swaraj (self-governance, or freedom from foreign rule) that Tilak uttered his famous line: “Swaraj is my birthright and I shall have it”.

About the Quote:

• It was in 1916, in Belgaum in Karnataka, that Tilak is believed to have uttered his famous words of Swaraj being a birthright.
• According to Tilak, swaraj, or the right to govern oneself, is fundamental and he as an Indian was born with it.
• Indians didn’t have to prove they were capable of ruling themselves, or that they would govern themselves better than the British.
• Freedom was simply an inalienable birthright, and every Indian was entitled to that right.
• The Swaraj that Tilak conceived and wanted to achieve was meant to liberate us, both from the yoke of foreign rule and from the exploitative social traditions indigenous to our country.
• His vision and his desire to achieve Swaraj through the mobilisation of common people constituted a turning point in our struggle for independence.

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Topic 5: Enforcement Directorate’s power to arrest and seek custody

Context: In a major setback to Tamil Nadu Minister V. Senthilbalaji, the Madras High Court upheld the legality of his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and his subsequent remand in judicial custody in a money-laundering case linked to a cash-for-jobs scam.

Key details:

• The central question of the case was whether the ED has the power to seek custody of a person arrested.
• The sessions judge remanded Balaji to judicial custody as per Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
• Since the Prevention of Money Laundering Act stipulates that the provisions of the CrPC shall apply subject to the condition that the same are not inconsistent with those of the PMLA, CrPC should be applicable mutatis mutandis (making necessary changes without altering the essence) and that the word ‘police’ has to be read as Investigating Agency or the Enforcement Directorate.
• It was also observed that the Court designated ED officials to not be police officers only for the reason that the statements given to the latter in any criminal case would not be admissible in evidence before the trial court under the CrPC, whereas statements given to the former were admissible in evidence under the PMLA.

Supreme Court’s Rulings:

• Vijay Madanlal Choudhary versus Union of India:
  • In its landmark 2022 ruling on Vijay Madanlal Choudhary versus Union of India, the Supreme Court upheld various provisions of the PMLA which relate to the powers of arrest, attachment, search, and seizure conferred upon the ED.
  • The court was of the opinion that all the provisions under PMLA have a reasonable nexus with the objects sought to be achieved by the Act to effectively prevent money-laundering.
• P. Chidambaram versus Directorate of Enforcement:
  • In P. Chidambaram versus Directorate of Enforcement (2019), the Supreme Court rejected a prayer for anticipatory bail with respect to an offence of money-laundering and proceeded to grant custody to the ED.
  • The court reasoned that in a case of money-laundering which involves many stages of placement and layering of funds, a ‘systematic and analysed’ investigation is required which would be frustrated if pre-arrest bail is granted.
  • The court also cautioned that it must only exercise its inherent powers under Section 482 of the CrPC to interfere in an investigation into a cognisable offence if it is convinced that the power of the investigating officer is exercised mala fide or where there is an abuse of power and non-compliance with the provisions of the CrPC.

Enforcement Directorate and its powers:

• About ED:
  • The Enforcement Directorate (ED) was originally established as an ‘Enforcement Unit’ in 1956 under the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance.
  • Subsequently, it was renamed as the ‘Enforcement Directorate’ in 1957 and currently operates under the administrative control of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, for its operational purposes.
• The statutory functions of the Directorate include enforcement of following Acts:
  • The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA):
    • It is a criminal law enacted to prevent money laundering and to provide for confiscation of property derived from, or involved in, money-laundering and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
    • ED has been given the responsibility to enforce the provisions of the PMLA by:
      • conducting investigation to trace the assets derived from proceeds of crime,
      • to provisionally attach the property and
      • to ensure prosecution of the offenders and confiscation of the property by the Special court.
  • The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA):
    • It is a civil law enacted to consolidate and amend the laws to facilitate external trade and payments and to promote the orderly development and maintenance of foreign exchange market in India.
    • ED has been given the responsibility to conduct investigation into suspected contraventions of foreign exchange laws and regulations, to adjudicate and impose penalties on those adjudged to have contravened the law.
  • The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA):
    • This law was enacted to deter economic offenders from evading the process of Indian law by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts.
    • It is a law whereby Directorate is mandated to attach the properties of the fugitive economic offenders who have escaped from the India warranting arrest and provide for the confiscation of their properties to the Central Government.

Key Powers And Functions Under Relevant Laws

• Power of Investigation
  • Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002
    • The officers of the Directorate of Enforcement have been given powers to investigate cases of Money Laundering.
    • The officers have also been authorised to initiate proceedings for attachment of property and to launch prosecution in the designated Special Court for the offence of money laundering.
  • Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999
    • ED have the power to conduct investigation for any contravention that may occur under FEMA.
    • The power given to the ED is the same as that of an Income Tax Officer under the ITA. 
  • Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018
    • The Director is empowered to conduct investigations, enforce attendance of persons, compel production of records etc for determining whether the individual is a fugitive offender or not. 
• Powers of ED during Survey
  • Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 and Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018
    • The Investigating authority during the survey may:
      • Place marks of identification on the records inspected by him and make or cause to be made extracts or copies therefrom. 
      • Make an inventory of any property checked or verified by him.
      • Record the statement of any person present in the place which may be useful for, or relevant to, any proceeding under this Act.
• Powers of ED during Search and Seizure
  • Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 and Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018

• Enter and search any building, place, vessel, vehicle or aircraft where he has reason to suspect that such records or proceeds of crime are kept.
• Break open the lock of any door, box, locker, safe, almirah or other receptacle where the keys thereof are not available.
• Seize any record or property found as a result of such search.
• Place marks of identification on such record or properties if required or make or cause to be made extracts or copies therefrom.
• Make a note or an inventory of such record or property.
• Examine on oath any person, who is found to be in possession or control of any record or property.
• Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999
  • The ED is empowered to conduct investigations, search and seize property during such investigation. 
• Power to issue Summons
  • Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002
    • The ED has the power to summon any person whose attendance he considers necessary whether to give evidence or to produce any records during the course of any investigation or proceeding under this Act. 
    • All the persons so summoned are bound to attend in person or through authorised agents.
  • Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018
    • The FEOA empowers the Director to issue summons for the purpose of enforcing the attendance of any person, compelling the production of records, receive evidence of affidavits, discovery and inspection of documents etc. 
  • Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999
    • The FEMA empowers the Director or Assistant Director of the ED to summon a person.
    • A show cause notice may then be issued to the person who has failed to appear before the ED, by the Adjudicating Authority.

• Power of Search of Persons
  • Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 and Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018
    • If  the Authorised Authority has  reason , he may  search  that  person  and  seize  such  record  or  property  which  may  be  useful  for  or  relevant  to  any proceedings under the respective statutes.
• Attachment of Property
  • The Director, or any other officer not below the rank of Deputy Director authorised by the Director by an order in writing, provisionally attach such property for a period not exceeding 180 days from the date of the order, in such manner as may be prescribed.
• Recovery of Fines, Penalties and Arrears of Penalties
  • Where any fine imposed on any person is not paid within six months from the day of imposition of fine or penalty, the authority may proceed to recover the amount as per the Income Tax Act, 1961.
• Appeals
  • The Director or any person aggrieved by an order made by the Adjudicating Authority under this Act, may prefer an appeal to the Appellate Tribunal within a period of forty-five days.
  • Any person aggrieved by any decision or order of the Appellate Tribunal may file an appeal to the High Court within sixty days.

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Topic 6: Cantonment Towns

Context: The government has decided to consider to merge certain Cantonments with neighbouring State municipalities.

About cantonment towns:

• Cantonment area is a proclaimed area under the Cantonments Act, 2006, governed and controlled by the central government of India to provide municipal services for civilians living in the area.
• A cantonment board is a civic administration body in India under control of the Ministry of Defence.
• The board comprises elected members besides ex-officio and nominated members as per the Cantonments Act, 2006.
• The term of office of a member of a board is five years.
• Cantonments are divided into four categories:
  • Category I – population exceeds fifty thousand
  • Category II – population exceeds ten thousand, but does not exceed fifty thousand
  • Category III – population exceeds two thousand five hundred, but does not exceed ten thousand
  • Category IV – population does not exceed two thousand five hundred.

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Topic 7: Film Certification in India

Context: Union Information & Broadcasting Minister is upset with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) over their nod to the Hollywood film Oppenheimer.

About CBFC

• CBFC is a statutory body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B).
• It is tasked with regulating the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act, 1952.
• Films can be shown in India only after they have been certified by the Board.
• Composition of the Board:
  • The Board consists of members and a Chairperson (all of whom are appointed by Central Government).
• Headquarters: Mumbai.
• Term of office:
  • The chairperson and board members serve for three years.
  • The CEO, under the chairperson, is in charge of the administrative functioning.

CBFC composition:

• CBFC has nine Regional Offices.
• The ROs are assisted in the examination of films by Advisory Panels that can have multiple members.
  • These panel members are nominated by the Central Government for two years.
  • While the board members are usually film and TV professionals, members of the advisory panel are often from outside the industry.

What is the film certification process?

• Examining Committee:
  • After receiving all of the film’s materials, requisite fees and other matter required under the rules, the regional officer forms an Examining Committee to view the film.
  • This Examining Committee, in the case of a short film (shorter than 72 minutes), will consist of an officer of the CBFC and one advisory panel member, either of whom must be a woman.
  • In the case of a long film/feature film (longer than 72 minutes), at least two persons in the committee must be women.
  •  After the film has been previewed, the CBFC has to ensure that each member gives a report in writing about his recommendations about the modifications and the classification recommended to the film.
  • The report is then given to the Chairperson who will ask the regional officer to initiate further procedures.
• Rules under various acts:
  • The Certification process is in accordance with:
    • The Cinematograph Act, 1952,
    • The Cinematograph (certification) Rules, 1983, and
    • the guidelines issued by the Central government under section 5 (B).
  • A film shall not be certified if any part of it is against:
    • the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India,
    • the security of the State,
    • friendly relations with foreign States,
    • public order,
    • decency
    • involves defamation or contempt of court or
    • is likely to incite commission of any offence.

Certificates that can be issued to Indian films

• Certification is decided by the Regional Officer based on reports by Examining Committee members in unanimity or majority.
• In case of a divided opinion, the case rests with the chairperson.
• These certifications include:
  • unrestricted public exhibition (U),
  • parental guidance for children below age 12 (U/A),
  • adult (A), or
  • viewing by specialised groups (S).

What if the applicant is not satisfied?

• In most such cases, the CBFC shares a list of “suggested changes”.
• If the applicant is unhappy with the certification or the list of changes, he or she can apply to the Revising Committee, which is made of the Chairperson and up to nine committee members from both the board and the advisory panel.
• The committee cannot have a member from the advisory panel who may have already viewed the film.
• A similar process is followed at this stage, with the final word resting with the Chairperson.
• The last point of appeal is the Appellate Tribunal, an independent body, members of which are appointed by the ministry for three-year terms.
• Any further dispute can be taken to a court.

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Topic 8: India’s first gig workers’ rights Bill stipulate

Context: Recently, the Rajasthan government passed the Rajasthan Platform Based Gig Workers (Registration and Welfare) Bill, 2023. It is the first legislation of its kind in India outlining welfare schemes for the State’s approximately three lakh gig workers.

About the Bill:

• The Bill applies to:
  • “aggregators” – digital intermediaries connecting buyers and sellers
  • “primary employers” – individual or organisations engaging platform-based workers.
• Welfare Board:
  • The Bill proposes a Welfare Board comprising:
    • State officials,
    • five representatives each from gig workers and aggregators, and
    • two others from civil society.
  • The Welfare Board will:
    • set up a welfare fund,
    • register platform-based gig workers, aggregators and primary employers
    • facilitate guarantee of social security to platform-based gig workers
  • The Board will maintain a database of companies and workers and each worker will receive a unique ID which shall be valid in perpetuity.

Funding:

• The Board will create a Social Security and Welfare Fund comprising contributions made by:
  • individual workers,
  • State government aids,
  • other sources and
  • a ‘welfare cess’ — a cut from each transaction — which the aggregator is required to pay.
    • The rate of the welfare cess will not exceed 2% nor fall short of 1% of the value of “each transaction,” and aggregators are required to submit the amount within the first five days of a month.

Who are Gig Workers? Gig workers are those engaged in livelihoods outside the traditional employer-employee arrangement.They can be broadly classified into two categories:Platform based workers:Platform workers are those whose work is based on online software apps or digital platforms.Non-platform-based workers:Non-platform gig workers are generally casual wage workers and own-account workers in the conventional sectors, working part-time or full time.

Are workers’ rights recognised?

• Under existing labour laws, gig workers who are named ‘partners’ by platforms are not ‘employees’ because theirs is not a “fixed term of employment”.
  • It is marked by providing exclusive service to one provider for a specified duration.
• The Bill states any person has the right to be registered the minute they join an app-based platform, regardless of the duration of work or how many providers they work for.
• The Welfare Board is expected to formulate schemes for social security, listing only accidental insurance and health insurance, and other benefits concerning health, accident and education as may be prescribed.

Workers’ grievances

• A worker can file a petition physically before an officer or online through the web portal.
• The employer can object to the order within 90 days before an ‘Appellate Authority’.

Aggregators’ duties

• An aggregator’s duties under the Bill include:
  • depositing welfare cess on time,
  • updating the database of gig workers, and
  • documenting any variations in numbers within one month of such changes.
• If they fail to comply, they will be fined up to ₹5 lakh for the first offence and ₹50 lakh for further violations;
• Primary employers will pay up to ₹10,000 for the first offence and ₹2 lakh for subsequent violations.